Chapter 13 - The Magic of Reunion

Aiden eased the guild hall door open, stepping into the cool embrace of the night. The crisp air met him immediately, brushing against his skin and stirring the stiffness in his muscles. His movements were slow, deliberate, every step carried the faint echo of lingering pain. Robert and Gloria had told him earlier that he needed to start walking, to let his body remember what it meant to move. He had resisted at first. Resting felt easier, safer, but they had insisted. “Go outside,” Gloria had said. “Breathe the night air. There’s something waiting for you in the garden.”

A surprise, they had called it. Aiden wasn’t fond of surprises. Gifts were things he’d never taken easily. He was always thankful, just never able to express it that well. But tonight…something in their smiles had made him curious enough to obey.

The guild’s garden lay just beyond the side gate, where the stone walls gave way to rows of flowerbeds and climbing vines. Lanterns glowed softly along the cobblestone path, their warm light spilling in pools that stretched like stepping stones into the dark. The scent of lilacs and night-blooming jasmine hung in the air, heavy but calming. Aiden followed the path, his steps uneven but steadier than before.

Then he heard it.

A sound so soft he wondered if he’d imagined it at first: humming. A melody that pulled at the edges of memory, tugging him backward through years of laughter, dates, and quiet nights together. His heart jolted as recognition struck, it was their song. The couple’s song they had chosen back when they were just two kids fumbling through their first months of dating. Aiden froze, every ache in his body forgotten as the notes washed over him.

His chest tightened, warmth and dread colliding inside him. That voice…it couldn’t be anyone else.

He quickened his steps despite the flare of pain in his ribs, pushing himself forward along the lantern-lit path. The humming grew clearer, steadier, until he turned the corner and saw her.

Valerie sat in the center of the garden on a simple wooden bench, the moonlight pooling around her like silver silk. Her hands rested in her lap, her head tilted slightly as she hummed, her gaze lost in the flowers. The sound wrapped around him, familiar and aching, tugging at every memory of her smile.

For the first time in days, Aiden felt his throat tighten not from guilt or pain, but from sheer relief. She was here. Awake. Breathing. Alive.

But with the relief came hesitation. His feet slowed. His chest burned with a different ache, the fear of her eyes turning cold, of rejection waiting in the space between them. He wanted to run to her, to hold her, but the weight of his mistakes chained him down. Doubt whispered at the back of his mind: What if she doesn’t want me near her anymore?

He forced himself forward, each step heavy with both longing and guilt. When he reached the edge of the bench, he lifted a hand, holding it out as if to announce his presence so he wouldn’t startle her.

Still, she jumped at the sight of him. But in the same breath, her eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face, quick and bright. A faint blush dusted her cheeks, softening her features as she looked at him.

Aiden’s heart pounded in his chest. He swallowed hard, his voice coming out quieter than he intended. “Can I sit with you?”

Valerie tilted her head, her lips twitching upward. “I don’t know. Can you?”

Aiden froze, then let out a small chuckle despite himself. The old joke, the one they had traded countless times back home whenever one of them asked permission for something using the word "can". A simple thread of their past life, woven here in this strange new world. His chest loosened just a little. “Okay, smarty pants,” he said, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. “May I sit next to you?”

Her giggle was soft, almost musical. She nodded, patting the empty space beside her.

Aiden lowered himself carefully onto the bench, the wood creaking under their combined weight. For a long moment, neither spoke. The garden filled the silence instead—the chirp of crickets, the rustle of leaves, the faint trickle of water from a nearby fountain. The hum of the world carried on, but between them stretched a silence thick with nerves, anticipation, and unspoken words.

Minutes passed, though it felt like longer. Aiden’s hands clenched in his lap, his throat dry. He could feel Valerie’s presence beside him, the warmth of her shoulder just inches away. The words churned inside him, heavy and desperate to spill out, but fear pinned them down.

Finally, he couldn't hold it back anymore.

“I’m sorry.” His voice cracked. He swallowed hard and tried again, louder this time. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

Valerie blinked, turning to face him. Aiden kept his eyes low, unable to meet hers. “I’ve had a lot of time to think while lying in that bed. Too much time. And all I can see when I close my eyes is you—hurt, poisoned, and suffering—because of me.”

His hands trembled, curling into fists. “What I did was reckless. Stupid. I could’ve gotten more people hurt, not just you. I let my pride blind me, and I nearly…” He shut his eyes, the word catching in his throat. “…I nearly lost you again.”

The silence stretched again, heavy and suffocating. But then, gently, a hand reached out. Valerie’s fingers slipped into his, warm and steady. She squeezed, her touch grounding him. Aiden’s breath hitched, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes.

The words tumbled out before he could stop them. “The truth is…ever since the crash, I’ve been terrified. Terrified of losing you. When we got married, I vowed to protect you, no matter what. And I failed. You…you died because of me.” His voice broke, tears slipping free. “I can’t stop seeing it. Every mistake I make feels like I’m dragging us back to that night. And now…I just want to be stronger. Strong enough to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Because I can’t…” His shoulders shook, his voice falling to a whisper. “…I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Valerie gasped, the sound small and bright in the hush of the garden. Her fingers tightened around his as if afraid the truth might slip away if she let go. For a heartbeat, Aiden forgot to breathe. He had imagined the worst—coldness in her eyes, distance he could never cross—and instead found her voice shaking with the same fear he’d carried alone.

“That’s how I feel too,” she whispered. “I’ve been carrying it since the moment we got here. I’m terrified of losing you.”

The admission trembled through her, honest and bare. Aiden lifted his head, stunned. “You…feel the same?” His voice came out hoarse, the words stumbling over the dryness in his throat.

She nodded, blinking away tears that glimmered in the lantern light. “When you went off without me in the dungeon, it felt like you were running ahead and leaving me behind. I thought… I thought maybe you would prefer this world without me in it with you.” Her mouth curved in a helpless smile that hurt to see. “And that scared me more than the goblins ever could.”

The confession landed like a weight and a relief all at once. Aiden’s chest tightened with remorse. Without thinking, he drew her into him. Pain sparked under the bandages at his ribs, hot and immediate, but he didn’t let go. The warmth of her against him chased away a cold he hadn’t realized had settled in his bones.

Valerie jerked back a fraction, eyes wide. “Wait, you’re still injured! Did I hurt you?”

He laughed softly despite the sting. “You know I’m the one who pulled you into me, right?”

Her shoulders loosened, a shaky laugh slipping out. “I'm still sorry,” she murmured, even as she leaned in again, careful this time.

He held her gaze, letting the quiet between them say what his pride had kept locked away. “Valerie,” he said, “I don’t deserve you. But I am so, so grateful I get to love you. I’m not perfect and I’ll probably keep messing up. But I’m done trying to bare this alone.” His voice steadied. “I’m going to uphold my vows with you, side by side. I hope you'll forgive me.”

Her breath caught, and for a long moment she just looked at him. Really looked, wanting to remember the look of resolve etched on his face. Then she nodded, tears slipping free even as she smiled. “Of course I forgive you. I want to make this journey with you. Always.” She swallowed, a faint laugh breaking through. “But you have to forgive me too. For doubting you, for doubting us. For letting fear cloud my heart."

“Val,” he said softly, “there’s nothing to forgive. You've been supporting me this whole time, despite how I've acted.”

She eased against him, resting her head on his shoulder. The pressure nudged a tender spot and he winced, breath hitching.

She shot upright. “Oh no, again? That one’s on me.”

“Maybe a little,” he admitted, grinning through the ache. He slid his arm around her anew, gentler this time. “But you’re worth the pain.”

Her cheeks went pink, and she tucked herself neatly into the safe space at his side, finding the contour that didn’t press on his wounds. The night air moved through the garden with a soft hand, stirring leaves and carrying the cool sweetness of the flowers. The world breathed around them, slow and kind.

They sat like that for a while, the way couples do when words would only clutter what the heart already understands. Aiden listened to the rhythm of her breathing syncing with his, felt her thumb trace a small, absent circle against his palm. Every tiny sensation seemed suddenly precious, the warmth of her arm against his, the way stray wisps of hair tickled his jaw when the breeze shifted, the faint hum in her throat when silence grew too wide and she bridged it without thinking.

He cleared his throat at last, his voice low. “When Robert clears us, I’m asking Maximus for a few days off of training. Just for us.”

She tilted her head, curious. “A few days?”

“Yeah.” He exhaled, the idea forming into a plan as he spoke it aloud. “No training. No contests. No proving anything to anyone. We’ll sleep in, find the best pastries in town, take the long path by the river, get lost on purpose. I want to learn about this world with you. Not sprint ahead of it.”

Valerie’s eyes brightened in the lantern glow. “That sounds…perfect.”

He smiled, and for the first time since the square, it didn’t feel borrowed. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

She traced the seams of the bandage at his side with the lightest touch. “I was humming our song because I hoped you’d find me,” she admitted, voice soft. “When we first chose it, I told myself that any time I didn’t have the words, I’d have the melody. Because you're my everything, Aiden.”

Aiden turned, pressing his forehead lightly to hers. “And you're my everything Valerie,” he said. “Always and forever.”

Her smile widened, small and sure. “Always and forever.”

Their words trailed off into quiet, but this time Valerie lifted her chin and closed the last of the space between them. Aiden met her halfway, their lips brushing in a tentative kiss that deepened with the relief of days of tension dissolving at once. The kiss was soft, but full of promise. When they parted, their foreheads rested together, and the silence around them felt whole.

“Can I ask you something?” Valerie’s voice was hesitant, but not afraid.

“Anything.”

“When you said you failed me…after the crash,” she began carefully, “I wanted to tell you then that it wasn’t your fault. I didn’t get the chance. So hear me now: I know you tried. I saw you.” She blinked away the sting in her eyes. “But you can’t spend the rest of this life paying for the last one.”

He swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to stop,” he admitted.

“Maybe you don’t stop all at once,” she said. “Maybe you let me carry some of it.” She squeezed his hand. “Let that be our vow, too.”

His answering nod was small and fierce. “Okay.”

The garden’s fountain gave a gentle splash, almost like agreement. Lantern light swayed across Valerie’s hair, catching little sparks of gold.

“Then here’s our plan,” he said. “First, we rest. We let Robert and Gloria do their jobs and maybe even pick their brains about Heartlink magic.”

Valerie’s lips quirked. “Smart.”

“Second, we take those days. We find a bakery, and you make me try whatever has too much frosting.”

“You say that like there’s such a thing as too much frosting.”

He lifted their joined hands, kissed her knuckles. “Third, when we train again, we do it together. Not to prove anything to anyone else, but to figure us out. Heartlink isn’t a trick. It’s about us.”

Her eyes softened. “Us.”

The night air cooled as the hour deepened, and the flutter in Aiden’s chest settled into a steady beat. He looked at Valerie, the woman who had once been a shy smile across a classroom and was now his whole future, and felt the ground beneath them turn from shifting sand into stone.

“Val,” he said quietly.

She hummed in answer.

“I’m excited,” he admitted, almost surprised by the simplicity of it. “To really start this life. With you.”

Her hand tightened around his. “Me too.”

They didn’t need to say more. The garden held their silence like a secret kept safe, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he felt peace.