Snapshots

They are eight when they first meet.

They are too young to save the world, too young to be so far from home, too young to fall in love. They gravitate towards each other, and in the manner of kids, become fast friends without reserve.

She is his strength. Takeru is barely taller than her, but he makes a promise to Sora-san that he will protect her at all costs and it is a vow he upholds for the rest of his life.

"You're the only one here that can protect Hikari-chan."

Takeru wipes away his tears, puts on a brave face and turns around to tell her that it will be all right, that they will find a way, that they will make it out alive.

She is his cause. Hikari is frail, he knows, but there is a determination in her voice, in her eyes, that surprises him. Hikari is the one that calls his name in worry when the end is near. She swears she will never let him go and it is an oath she keeps for the rest of her days.

They fall, tumbling, flailing but holding on to each other. When she slips out of his grasp and plummets towards the ground, he feels true fear for the first time.

In the aftermath, Takeru turns to smile reassuringly at her and she smiles back.

They are eleven when they reunite.

Hikari beams as he walks over to sit beside in the desk besides her.

"It's been a long time." He says. Just like that, they are back to where they were. It's been three years but nothing has changed between them.

Takeru is taller now, more confident. He is the voice of reason in their new group and Hikari is grateful he is the one by her side through their new adventures. His presence is familiar, comforting.

He is her anchor. It is his voice that calls her back from the dark, that wakes her from the living nightmare. One minute she is swimming in cold fog and murky waters, the world disappearing, the color draining, but when he says her name, she returns. His eyes are what she holds on to, to steady herself, before she falls out of her chair.

He is her support. She tells him of his fears, of disappearing, of being summoned, taken to a far off world, and he listens. When he yells at her for being too dependent on Taichi-san, she doesn't hear what he's really saying, that he also wants to be depended on.

There is a connection between them that is unexplainable, irreplaceable. It transcends worlds. It is more than a promise he made, a feeling he has. When she cries his name and her ghostly image appears before her, he doesn't need to think twice. He is her way home.

They are fourteen when it begins.

Hikari finds, suddenly and over night, he has become popular. The girls at school whisper and giggle whenever he visits her class. They ask her questions; if she knows he's single, what type of girls he likes, where does he hangout on the weekends. She shakes it off with a laugh and tells them she doesn't know. It doesn't bother her, not really, not yet.

Takeru has grown up and there is something different about him; the way he acts, the way he thinks. She can't reconcile it with the image of the little boy he used to be, but when she wakes up broken, shattered by loss, and finds him there, staring at her with those concerned eyes, she knows some things will not change.

He is just her friend, she explains, but no one believes her. There is something in the way he looks at her, they tell her. She shrugs it off and chalks it up to them watching too many romance movies and not believing a girl and a boy can just be friends.

Takeru doesn't feel disappointed when Hikari denies being jealous. He knows they aren't there yet, but he is patient and she is worth the wait. When he is on one knee, with only a towel around his waist, and Hikari holding on to him for dear life, he thinks this might be one of his favourite moments. He feels a sense of achievement when her face flushes red, like the setting sun, and knows she is slowly becoming aware of him. .

Hikari is just his friend, but he doesn't mind that, for now.

They are sixteen when things change.

"Go out with me." Takeru says breathlessly one afternoon.

It is not a big moment. It is just the two of them, walking home together, like they do every day after school. Hikari smiles, says goodbye and turns to go when he suddenly grabs her arm, stops her and says those simple words.

She looks at him in the eyes, sees the hope there and knows.

"Okay."

They smile at each other, a delicate pink dancing across their cheeks.

They make a leap from one relationship to another, except it wasn't a leap. It was a seamless transition, as if they went to sleep one night, just classmates, just friends, just two kids that had shared a lifetime of adventures together, and woke up the next day knowing they were meant to be.

Takeru thought everything was right in the world when he held Hikari close. Hikari thought the world could end and she'd still be happy when Takeru's lips met hers for the first time.

They shared 742 days of bliss and one afternoon of running away from Taichi when he found the two of them in a compromising situation. The house was supposed to be empty.

It had been an everlasting summer, but seasons are bound to change. The first signs of autumn began three months before graduation. Their talk of the future, about which school they would go to, the careers they'd pursue, somehow created a distant between them.

"We'll work things out." Takeru said when they received their letters of admission and found out they would spent the next four year apart.

"I know." Hikari smiled, squeezing his hand.

But life has it's own mind and teenage dreams are never set in stone.

They are nineteen when they call it quits.

It was too tiring being so far apart, of never being able to see each other at the end of the day, of only talking and texting by phone. It was too tiring constantly trying to figure out when they could see each other, too tiring worrying if their relationship would work out.

They are exhausted by the anticipation, the disappointment, the jealousy. They are exhausted by the time, the distance, but most of all, the loneliness. How can two people be together but feel so far apart?

Takeru cries silently over the phone when they reach this decision. Their break up is a mutual conclusion, but all the more painful because of it. Hikari hangs up the phone and sobs into Taichi's arms.

They don't talk for 29 days.

Eventually, out of habit, they message each other. Just to check in. They sink back to their old habits quickly. The daily messages and weekly phone calls resume. They meet up once or twice over the holidays when they're both back home. They had been friends for more than eleven years and a failed relationship could not, does not break the bond they share.

It wasn't awkward, not even when Hikari heard a girl's voice in the background asking Takeru to accompany her somewhere. She didn't feel her heart clench and didn't imagine a tall, voluptuous blonde beckoning him over. Takeru didn't mind when photos of Hikari with a boy show up online. He didn't spend all day thinking about her, laughing and smilie with someone else, and he definitely didn't ask Koushiro to help him identify the dark haired figure.

Nothing has changed, not really, except the ground has slowly moved underneath their feet. There are things they do not, cannot share with each other anymore.

They are twenty-two when things start to settle.

She begins her teacher training and tells him amusing stories of her students. She shows him the photographs she takes, but doesn't bring up it is his face, his eyes, she sees everywhere she goes. They reminisce about the past and Hikari wonders if things could have been different.

He starts working in publishing and mentions to her his dream of writing novels. He reads her the rough drafts, but does not say his first book will be dedicated to her. They laugh about old times and Takeru questions what life would be like if they were still together.

"When are you and Hikari going to get back together?" Yamato asks one night when they are having dinner. Takeru looks up, genuinely surprised.

"We're not together."

"No." His brother concedes, "But you two still love one another." Takeru has nothing to say and is lost deep in thought.

Sora places a gentle hand on his shoulder before he leaves and tells him "you're the only one that can make her happy." He is reminded once again of the promise he made when he was eight and they were in a different universe. Except they are not eight anymore and they are here.

"When are you and Takeru going to start dating again?" Taichi asks, finally tearing his eyes away from the television screen. Hikari stops marking abruptly, her red pen hovering over a homework assignment.

"We're not together."

"No, but you could be. Why aren't you?" Her brother is still blunt and has no tact. Hikari doesn't have an answer.

Taichi kisses her forehead before she goes to bed that night and tells her, "I just want you to be happy". She thinks back to a time when happy meant something different and wonders if it can ever be the same.

Two months later, at their annual reunion in August, Hikari pulls Takeru aside from the others. She stumbles and mutters something he can't hear over Mimi's laughter, and Hikari looks crestfallen when he asks her to repeat herself.

"Go out with me." She says, her voice a whisper in the wind. For Takeru, the world, so loud and clamorous a second ago, has suddenly gone silent.

He looks at her in the eyes, sees the light there and knows.

"Okay."

They smile at each other and this time, Takeru kisses her. It was something he should have done weeks, months, years ago. It was everything; the sound of a door opening, the soft caress of a blanket, the warmth of a crackling fireplace, the smell of your favourite meal wafting through the air. It was everything; it was coming home.

When they break apart, they find it is too quiet.

"Finally!" Mimi cheers and everyone starts laughing. Yamato and Taichi exchange triumphant smiles and knows this is it.

They are twenty-five and times are changing.

Miyako and Ken are married, Jyou is a doctor now, and Daisuke is starting his own business.

It hasn't been all smiles, but they are determined to make it work this time. Time and maturity are funny things, and because of it, their relationship has grown so unexpectedly, so differently, so wonderfully.

He is her centre, her peace and quiet at the end of a long, rambunctious day. She is his core, his source of comfort and inspiration.

On their third anniversary, Takeru gets down on one knee, wearing more than just a towel this time, and asks Hikari to make him happy, to make him the happiest man in this world and all worlds.

He sees, hears and feels nothing but the beating of his heart, the pounding in his ears and her eyes shining with tears. When she says yes, the world comes rushing back to him. As he slips the ring on to her finger, he knows this is one of his favourite moments in life.

Hikari knows it's not a dream, but eleven months later, as she walks down the aisle towards him, she can't help but think it is. She is radiant in a white gown of satin and lace, and Takeru thinks she has never looked more beautiful.

They stand in front of their friends and family, holding hands and exchanging promises; promises of protecting each other, of keeping each other, promises they made seventeen years ago and have kept all these years, promises they will continue to keep until the day they die. They make promises that have been repeated again and again through the history of the world, promises of timeless love between two people that mean everything and more to each other.

There is not a dry eye in the audience. Yamato sniffs and clears his throat, while Taichi bawls openly. Sora smiles serenely and hands them tissues.

"I love you." Takeru says softly.

"I love you." Hikari says and kisses him again.

He knows that in this moment, everything was right in the world. She knows if the world were to end just then, she'd still be happy.