AN: Title says it all

It was a quiet night in the Candy Kingdom. Businesses were closed, traffic was scarce, and the residents slept soundly. The only sources of light that remained in the city were the street posts and the porch lights of people's homes. A swift, whispering wind was heard among the locals as cars would pass by occasionally. Children who stirred in each of their bedrooms would usually fall asleep quickly from the make-shift lullaby along with their families.

At downtown, a lone hooded figure and his fiery canine companion perched themelves on top of one of the tallest buildings near the palace. He stood upright for a few moments to survey the landscape before kneeling near the edge. So far there were no reports of criminal activity. No emergency vehicles were being dispatched, which meant there were no sirens blaring in the distance. Apparently in this one instance, everyone made an internal agreement to rest without any disturbances.

It had felt like hours for the individual when it had actually been minutes in reality. As he checked his phone, he noticed the clock read 3:00 in the morning with only one minute flickering on the screen. The young man closed his eyes and sighed. Despite patrolling the kingdom with Rattleballs voluntarily, the hero felt restless in his thoughts. He opened his eyes again and decided he would stay a little longer just in case there was trouble.

After a while, the wolf lifted its head and sensed a person approaching. The blonde hero, however kept his gaze towards the city streets below and mustered a small smile.

"Evelyn Petrikov," he greeted dramatically in a low voice. "What brings you here at this time of the night?"

"Nothing much, Billy Mertens," the newcomer said with a matching tone as she dismounted and folded her flying carpet, then joined him at his side. Her auburn hair was covered from the hooded cloak she wore. "What are you doing out over here?" She took on a look of concern, "It's kinda cold, you know."

He couldn't help but chuckle lightly from that last remark, "Like I'm ever going to freeze to death!" He briefly formed a small flame from one hand effortlessly which caused the young woman to roll her eyes. "I couldn't sleep," he answered in a more serious tone.

She placed her right hand behind the man's shoulder, "Why?"

He shrugged a little while still kneeling, "I don't know. My mind's running at a hundred miles an hour for no reason, so I figured I could go for a late night patrol. Maybe think about life's mysteries while I'm at it."

Evelyn giggled softly, "I guess.. Alright if I join?"

"Sure thing."

The couple stared into the city for a long moment until Billy asked, "How's everyone else doing?"

Evelyn chuckled at the question and said, "Oh, they're fine. I guess both of our parents are holding an unofficial sleepover at the Fire Kingdom palace after that movie marathon."

"Heh, they'll be making quotes in their sleep that's for sure."

"You bet."

They were quiet again as they stared into distant horizon. After a while, Billy said, "My dad told me he used to hang out here a lot."

She tilted her head, intrigued, "Oh?"

"Yeah, he told me about how this spot offers a great view of everything when he worked as a peacekeeper. He said if you tried hard enough, you could catch a glimpse of tree fort at the Grasslands. He also said you could get a better view of the stars since we're right above most of the smog and what not."

"Interesting."

"There was even a backstory as to why he truly hung out here though," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But I'm not sure if you'd like to know more."

"I've got no other plans to be elsewhere," she said with a reassuring smile. "If it bothers you, however I'll understand."

He returned the smile, "Thanks, I guess I'll go on then. Many years ago, when my dad told me was 'my age', he said would reflect on himself whenever he took a break from work. He said he would always recall the time when the Fire Kingdom went through its first coup."

Billy continued, "My mom lost her powers that day and visited my dad after being apart for a year. She needed his help to reclaim her throne and expected him to keep a mutual relationship. He accepted, but the problem was that he only cared about impressing her rather than focus on the current task. They were captured as a result and in the end, it was Cinnamon Bun who saved the day. My parents never spoke to each other again after that, and it wasn't until 4 years did they meet again in the second coup."

Evelyn could only nod in acknowledgement.

Billy looked down momentarily, "He managed to make a better impression that time but he thought it didn't matter anymore. All he cared about that point was to earn her respect and reach closure."

He frowned, "If there's one thing he knew overall was that he was lucky. There was no guarantee that he would get back together with mom after the first coup. Everyone had doubts, actually. When they were split for such a long time, you would think one or the other would have moved on. Instead, they worked everything out and started over. It amazes me about how all those events had to take place for my very existence. It's nothing short of a miracle that's for sure."

"I feel the same with my case," Evelyn commented. "When my dad was cursed with the crown for a thousand years, there was virtually no hope he would ever get back with mom. But in an unexpected turn of events, they also worked something out. Heh, we sure have interesting backgrounds when you think about it!"

He laughed briefly, "Just what are the odds?! And ever since then, my dad made it a priority to teach me a set of moral standards for myself and with others so I wouldn't stumble like he did. But even with that knowledge, I sometimes worry that I might take it all for granted." He turned and faced her, "That I might take us for granted."

She clasped his hands together with hers and eyed him directly, "You're not the kind of person to do that. I know you too well. All I ask is for you be the best at who you are and stay true to yourself. As long as we continue to work out our differences, we'll have a relationship that'll last us now and forever."

Their faces hovered near each other for a brief moment as his amber eyes met her blue ones. They continued to stare at each other endearingly until they both slowly leaned forward, closing the gap in between. Eyes drifted shut as their lips met, and the two kissed with all the passion they could muster deep beneath their hearts.

Both of them smiled contently as they parted and pressed their foreheads together.

"I love you, Ev," Billy said.

"I love you more," she retorted playfully.

"Let's head back and check with the others," he suggested.

"Sure, I doubt they know we've been gone for a while," she said as she straightened her glasses. "It was a long marathon today.. er yesterday (tch) You know what I mean!"

"Nope, I don't," he replied feigning a serious expression. He pulled a face, however when she pouted moments later. "I'm just kidding! Ready to go?"

Evelyn rubbed one arm nervously, "Yeah, mind if I ride along with you? I feel like I'll fall asleep in mid flight on the way there."

He shrugged, "No problem, we wouldn't want that to happen, right Jake 2?"

The wolf barked in agreement.

As the couple mounted, Billy smirked to himself when he felt a pair of arms encircling his stomach. "All set?"

"Much," Evelyn replied warmly as she nuzzled his back.

Nothing else was said after that and the two finished the rest of their trip in silence. Although one day was over, they still had many more in the future to live a life together filled with adventure, responsibility, and above all happiness.

AN: Heh, I didn't think I would ever update this story again aside from the revisions. I can hardly believe it myself. As my life progressively gets busier down the road though, I fear I will never be able to update any of my stories ever again. So, as a backup plan, I have included this bonus chapter whenever the time comes. Until then, I'll do the best I can to finish all my stories. Feel free to share your thoughts about the story and/or chapter in general and thank you for reading!