Three months later...

Lyn and Irene knocked on the door. There were some scuffling sounds before the door swung open, revealing a grinning Millie in a brand new apartment.

"Hey, Millie!" they exclaimed.

"Congrats on your new house," Irene added.

Millie nodded her head vigorously as she gestured for them to enter. They each gave her a quick hug before heading into the living room and settling their bags of beer on the dining table.

"Where's Raph?" Lyn asked.

Millie pointed to the kitchen and motioned a little more with her hands. Lyn was not yet well-versed in sign language, but Irene had seemed to pick it up faster than her.

"Oh, you guys made cookies," Irene translated, her eyes lighting up.

Lyn snorted. "Of course you'd be excited about that," she teased, only to earn herself a hard punch in the arm.

As they sat down at the table, Millie took out her handy notebook and began scribbling.

"How are you???" read the rushed handwriting. Millie wrote in large, cursive strokes that were still easy to read despite the haste. The words disappeared right after they read it, allowing Millie to write more. "How's your new job, Lyn? How's your new team, Irene? :)"

Millie bounced on her seat as she awaited their responses, with her large, sincere smile and her glowing, brown eyes. She was as cute as ever, but this jabbed at Lyn's heart. It did not feel right to not hear her voice. It did not feel... complete.

Irene and Lyn exchanged glances before Irene decided to start.

"Well, it's alright. Working with Emily is actually pretty awesome. She's way more organized than you, Lyn, like way more. Like I didn't even realize how much of a mess you are till I started working with her."

Lyn raised her eyebrows as Millie chuckled silently on the side. "Geez, way to break my heart. Why couldn't you get along this well with her when I was going out with her?"

Irene punched Lyn on the arm again. "It's because you made it unbearable, idiot!"

"Ow! Why is it my fault now?"

"Of course it's your fault." Irene rolled her eyes as she opened a can of beer. Taking a few sips, she added, "But don't get me wrong. I still miss you around, Lyn."

"Yeah, yeah. It's fine, I get it." Lyn let out a small laugh while cracking open a can of beer for herself too.

Ever since the last mission in the castle, Lyn had given up her questing license. She had to do it because she had led a dangerous mission that was not sanctioned by any organization, but she was wanting to do it anyway. She needed to change her career, to change to a job that allowed her to take extended time off whenever she needed it.

The team disbanded afterward, with Irene being the only one remaining in the questing career. She returned to Dawn Avengers under Emily's recommendation, and it seemed that they were working well together.

"How's your work, then?" Irene asked. "Training up the next generation of questers and stuff. Liking it so far?"

"Honestly? It's kinda tough."

Lyn had thought it would be easy helping a bunch of high school kids harness their magic and apply to quester programs—after all, the process had been easy for her. It finally occurred to her that her experiences were not at all universal.

"And teenagers aren't better than children at all," she added.

"Of course not. I told you, they're angsty as hell."

Millie giggled and flashed her notebook. "But you get more flexibility now!"

"That is true. It's not part of the regular school curriculum so I can take as many breaks as I need to." She tapped her fingers on the table in excitement. "Speaking of which, I'm taking the entire next month off."

Millie gasped. "Is Cyd coming back soon?"

"Yep. Tonight, actually." Lyn could feel her smile spread across her face like an idiot. "That's why I can't stay late today."

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Irene lamented. "We could have met tomorrow, all together!"

"Oh, hell no. I need at least three days of isolation with Cinna. I miss her so much and I have so many things planned for—"

"Okay, shush." Irene slapped a hand on Lyn's mouth. "Please, I don't need to hear it."

"Let's all meet up again next week?" Millie waved the note around.

Lyn pushed Irene's hand away. "Yeah, of course," she said with a grin.

"Hey, er, guys?" Raph's voice called from the kitchen. "I think I need some help here."

"I'll help!" Lyn volunteered immediately.

Without her, Millie and Irene could converse a lot more with sign language anyway. Indeed, as soon as she walked away, the two women started gesturing eagerly in silence.

Lyn stepped into the kitchen to see Raph trying his best to balance five trays of cookies on top of one another.

"Dude!" Lyn rushed forward to grab a few trays. "They smell so good!"

"Thanks," Raph said with a sigh of relief. "It's Cyd's recipe. She has the best baking recipes."

Lyn could feel her mouth water as she stared at the perfectly browned cookies. "She really does."

"When is she coming back?"

"Today, actually. Tonight."

Raph blinked in surprise, before breaking into a smile. "That's awesome. We should meet up again next week or something. Millie will love it."

"Of course! That was exactly what Millie suggested too. How... How is she by the way? Is her voice... well..."

The mood in the kitchen plunged as Raph's face fell.

"She's alright," he mumbled. He began loading up the cookies onto a plate one by one as if trying to slow down the process and giving himself more time to think. "I'm working with a bunch of healers from Blue Cross, and also talking to doctors at the hospital I'm working at to see if they have any other ideas. Currently, there... really isn't much we can do. We... kinda have to accept that her voice is permanently lost..."

His lips trembled as his voice trailed off.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Raph," Lyn muttered. She cast a glance towards the dining room. "How is she holding up?"

"She's getting better. She spends a lot of her day writing, and then she'll force me to read them when I come home from work."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's a voracious writer. It takes hours to read through them every night." A small exasperated sigh escaped Raph's throat. "And she insists I recite them to her while adding my own thoughts."

Lyn could not help but laugh out loud. "Wow. You are so dedicated."

"It's the least I can do, I guess." The cookies were all loaded neatly onto the plate. Raph stared at his handiwork before glancing at Lyn. "Hey, by the way, about meeting up next week, would it be okay... if it were an... engagement party?"

"Engagement party?" Lyn's eyes widened. "Raph, are you proposing to Millie?"

Raph shuffled on his feet; his ears had turned a strange shade of pink. "D- Don't tell her, okay? But... yeah, I've been... I've been preparing with our families."

"Raph!" Lyn gushed. "That's so awesome, dude. And of course, we'll come. We're also willing to help out too if you need any."

"Thank you," Raph said sincerely. Lifting the plate of cookies, he began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Hey Raph," Lyn called before the man could step out. "So, I... took some time to think about it. You know, after hearing about Irene's experience with other teams, and- and having some time to reflect, I realized I've treated you too unfairly. I was working you too hard, and I didn't care to ask how you were holding up as a healer in the team. I'm... I'm sorry."

There was a short pause before Raph shrugged. "No worries, Lyn. I mean, I was quite overwhelmed, but that's not completely your fault. The questing life just... isn't for me, you know? I'm sorry you don't get to continue it, though. You enjoyed it a lot, didn't you?"

"Oh, it's okay. I still get secondhand joy from the kids. And I'm glad you're finally working at a hospital. You seem much happier now."

A sheepish smile tugged at Raph's lips. "Yeah, I've always wanted to be a doctor. I honestly only did questing because of Millie. But the stress was worth it with her, so I don't mind it."

Lyn chuckled. "You're really sweet, Raph. No wonder Millie likes you so much."

The pink shade on Raph's ears turned crimson as he hurriedly walked out.

Outside in the dining room, Irene was chortling at something Millie wrote. As Lyn and Raph walked towards them, the words disappeared and the two women turned strangely quiet.

Lyn frowned. "Yo, what were you guys talking about?"

"Making fun of you, obviously," Irene said.

"Wow. Rude. No cookies for you."

"Fuck you. No beer for you, then."

"Hey, no fair! I bought them!"

ϟ☁ϟ☁ϟ

It was nighttime when Lyn made it back to her apartment. She had deep-cleaned her apartment the day before, and it showed: the floors were spotless, the counters were neat, and the tables were glistening in the moonlight.

Keeping the leftover beer in her fridge, Lyn began the ritual. She pushed the dining table aside, followed by the chairs, the coffee table, and then the couch. After creating a vast space in the middle of her apartment, she rolled out a large carpet on the floor that took up that entire space. A circle, enclosing a bunch of symbols that Lyn did not recognize, was printed onto the carpet.

Lastly, Lyn pulled apart the curtains, allowing the full brightness of the moon to illuminate her apartment, to shine onto the carpet.

It was done. Now all she had to do was wait.

She poured a small glass of wine for herself and settled on the couch. And waited.

And waited.

The light on the carpet intensified as if the moon had grown closer to the Earth. It got so bright and so dazzling that Lyn had to close her eyes. When she reopened them, a petite wolf-like figure with a severed foot had appeared in the middle of the carpet.

Lyn smiled. "Hey, Cinna. Welcome back."

The warped, canine mouth contorted into what was probably a smile, showing off Cydney's sharp fangs. She let out a soft growl before collapsing onto the ground, exhausted.

Lyn put aside her wine glass and walked towards Cydney. Holding her up in a bridal position, she carried the petite woman out of the living room and into the bedroom. Gently, she placed her on the bed and tucked her in. By the time she was done, Cydney had transformed back to her human form.

"Do you miss me, Lemon?" she asked. Her eyes were droopy as she pushed a smile against her cheeks.

"Of course I do." Lyn planted a kiss on Cydney's forehead. "How's your trip back?"

Cydney pulled on Lyn's shirt, prompting her to get under the blanket as well. They snuggled close, with Cydney burying her head into Lyn's neck, her warm breath heating every fiber of Lyn's being.

"I told my mom about you," Cydney whispered.

The statement made Lyn both ecstatic and nervous at the same time. "Really? W- What did she say?"

"I don't think she fully understands the extent of our relationship, but we'll get there." Cydney lifted her head. "I also showed her the pictures of you on my phone. She thinks you're pretty."

A blush crept up Lyn's face. "Oh."

Cydney giggled. "So, how's life here? Anything exciting happened?"

"Nothing much. Oh yeah, Gazini is in jail now. He's in the same high-security one Sybil is in."

"Oh." Cydney's face fell. "Sybil's still in jail, huh... What about Neil? Is he also..."

Lyn sighed. "The QA is still finding him, unfortunately. I'm sorry that I didn't get to... you know, finish him for you..."

"It's okay. I- I have a feeling he's no longer a threat to us anymore."

"Well, I sure hope so."

"What else?"

"Well, Brendan stepped down as his Department's director too, for some reason. I think the past few months must have given him too much stress. Oh, the QA also released to the public about Dark Magic and the presence of your world."

"They did? I thought they'll keep it to themselves as they continue their research on it."

"Yeah, I thought that too. I'm not sure. Maybe they're planning something. Maybe they're trying to get to your world. I don't know, but it may be useful for us, you know, so maybe, I can visit your family too, one day..."

Cydney chuckled. "Maybe. They'd love to meet you." She sat up suddenly, staring at Lyn accusingly. "What about your parents, Lyn? Have you been visiting them?"

Lyn scratched her head. "I visit them enough..."

"Lyn, come on," Cydney said with a pout. "Visit them more! How about this, let's go meet them next week."

"Sure. Oh wait, no, not next week, next week we're invited to an engagement party."

"Oh?" Cydney's eyes lit up. "Is it mine?"

"Wha—" Lyn sat up as well, flustered. "No! Not- Not yet, I- I won't be telling you like that if it's yours! I'll plan something soon, I'll—"

Cydney cut Lyn off with a pinch on her cheeks. "I'm just teasing you, Lemon," she said with another chuckle. "I'll wait for you, just as you waited for me."

Before Cydney put her hands down, Lyn grabbed them with hers.

"The wait for you is so painful, Cinna," she muttered. "I missed you so much."

The look on Cydney's eyes was as painful as the constant piercings in Lyn's heart. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Lyn." She leaned forward and whispered into Lyn's ears. "But I promise I'm gonna make up for it this month."

Lyn's mind went blank for a moment, but a grin took over her face. "Alright. As you say, Cinna."

Then, she wrapped her arms around Cydney's neck and plunged into a deep, passionate kiss.