Epilogue:

Her feet were propped up on the arm of the couch, dangling off amusingly while her head rested in Peter's lap. He had unconsciously stretched his arm across her breasts to take hold of her hand while he read a book. It was so pleasantly wonderful to be there with him like this, a rare chance to be relaxed and unguarded; a brilliant smile worked onto her lips and stubbornly remained.

After they returned from Narnia for a second time, ending up right in the same train station they thought they had left behind all those years ago, Peter was absolutely terrified she would retreat from his as she did before. Susan surprised him though. She remembered his promise, that they would always find a way to be together, and swore to herself she would hold it true. Even though they were back in England, as she had always feared, she wouldn't have changed her decision in Narnia for anything. No matter what the future brought, even if they were torn apart again, still those glorious years together would remain – nothing could take away the memories. She wouldn't allow it.

Which isn't to say that their lives were so very easy - far from it in fact. Every move they made together was done with utmost caution, ever constant secrecy. Some days Susan felt like her whole life was just one massive lie all tied up with itself, and it truly was. Lightly, she nuzzled Peter's arm, turning her face in to rub against the cotton of his sleeve and brought him closer to use as a pillow. Still, as difficult as their lives became sometimes, all she ever had to do was fall into his arms and she would know with absolute certainty that it was all worth it. Besides, it wouldn't be this way forever, she and Peter had already begun to make their plans to leave once his schooling was finished. They would leave the country, change their names, be themselves in the open and no longer live in fear of discovery. They would be accepted again. One day she found herself discussing it with Lucy and said, "I have faith it will all sort itself." Never would she forget the look in her little sister's eyes when she said the word. She could hardly believe it herself. Lucy simply took Susan's hand in hers and agreed.

Yes, it would sort itself.

Now as they reclined in a quiet moment alone together, after spending so many painful months apart at school, Peter and Susan only had a few days left before their parents were to leave for America, Dad having business there. Edmund and Lucy were to go to their Aunt and Uncle's and suffer the spoilt Eustace. Ed was absolutely beside himself when they were told.

Mum wanted Susan to go with them to America, while Peter went to study with the Professor, but Susan couldn't bear to be away from him for so long. Six weeks would be intolerable, especially since they were forced to spend the better part of the year separated by school. Peter felt the same, and without her even knowing it, he applied to the Professor for help. Since the dear man had lost his fortune soon after the war, he only kept a humble cottage now with one bedroom to spare. Peter was so desperate not to be parted, he pleaded with the Professor to allow them to stay, revealing their unique relationship in the process.

At first, she was horrified that he could be so reckless as to give away their secret like that, knowing the damage it could cause, and doing so without telling her! It was a source of numerous arguments in the days following, but in the end, Peter's instincts had guided him well. The Professor immediately wrote back to their parents, offering accommodations for both. Susan knew not what to make of the old man, what he could be thinking, but with the knowledge that she would not be taken from her husband, she felt at ease. The Professor was no ordinary adult, just as they were no ordinary teenagers.

When she raised her fingers and started ticking off silent numbers in the air, Peter raised an eyebrow and said, "Counting sheep already? It's a bit early for that."

"As a matter of fact, I was merely tallying our years together."

"That shouldn't be difficult," he mumbled absently. "It matches quite well with our ages."

"Hardly! By my account, we're married twenty-two years now."

Peter blinked at that and cocked his head thoughtfully as he ruminated over the news.

"Twenty-two years of marriage when we're only fifteen and sixteen respectively…"

She laughed. "How peculiar we are!"

"Well, I know how peculiar you are, Susan Pevensie, I on the other hand…"

"Do shut up."

He chuckled. "Then I suppose we should be celebrating our twenty-third anniversary soon. We did have a summer wedding…"

"Shall I pick the day?" she asked. "Since we have no way to know the precise date… if it even coincides with this time…" she trailed off with a contemplative frown.

"I wouldn't analyze that too much, your brain might melt from sheer impossibility," he cautioned and added, "If you choose the date, will you tell me what is? Or leave me to guess and be cross when I do so incorrectly?"

Her brow furrowed and she looked up at him. "Why would I do such an absurd thing?"

"Isn't that what married women do? Wait for their husbands to forget anniversaries and then leap at the chance to snipe if the poor fools do?"

Susan elbowed him in the thigh. "What a ghastly thing to say of women! I had thought you better than chauvinism."

"Oi! I didn't mean it like that!"

"I suppose you'll have to do something especially important for our anniversary to make up for it," she sniffed.

"Suppose I do," he replied warmly.

Their mother walked in and narrowed her eyes at her eldest son.

"Peter, for pities sake, keep your boots out of the hall! I nearly broke my neck coming down this morning."

"Sorry, Mum!" Peter said with a sheepish look and Susan rolled her eyes.

The older woman never bat an eye at their reclined positions, having adjusted to their increased physical intimacy upon return from boarding school in the past years. Susan overheard her discussing the difference in their relationship with their father one night. Dad was a bit perplexed by how inseparable they appeared to be, a gross change from the division witnessed only a couple years before. Mum excused it, saying that they were always close, from birth really, and she assumed it was because of how matched they were in ages. With only a year to separate them, surely they found a great deal in common, more so than they would find with the younger ones.

Now, neither of their parents took surprise in finding them wrapped up as they were. Mum laughed once and said they would never have use for furniture with how they tended to use each other as pillows or chairs or whatever the situation called for. It never occurred to her how physical boundaries seemed to be nonexistent between them, a type of intimacy that can only be obtained by the deepest of joining between lovers. It simply pleased her to know that they were close, that they would lean on each other for support, and watch over the other when she herself couldn't. Her only wish was that Edmund and Lucy would find a similar accord, and put an end to their insufferable bickering. Upon hearing that, the two younger siblings turned a bit green and shot out of the room in opposite directions while Peter and Susan snickered. Their mother never suspected a thing.

"Won't happen again," he promised.

"See to it," Mrs. Pevensie huffed, searching for an object on the shelf. "Oh, and Susan, dear, Emily rang earlier whilst you were out and asked if you would be joining the girls next week."

Susan glanced up at him before looking to their mother again. "No, I should think not. I've already plans for that day."

"Oh?" she turned around, having found what she needed. "What plans?"

"Just a little celebration for two people I know," she replied evasively.

Mrs. Pevensie was far too focused on the other tasks at hand to really listen to what Susan was saying. "Very good. You'll ring her back then?" She didn't bother to wait for an answer before she disappeared from the room.

"So we have our day?" Peter prompted.

Susan nodded with a wistful smile.

"I'll bring the cake, you bring the horn."

"DO SHUT UP!"

A/N: FINI! It's interesting how my other chaptered P/S fic ("Fear and Love") was mostly about happiness, but ended with the utmost angst, whereas this fic was mostly about the angst and ended with total happiness. My attempt at balance? haha. I hope I didn't disappoint too much - I'm mostly just happy that I can consider it finished now! If you have any questions/comments/complaints, please review and let me know! Really, if you just want to yell at me for not ending it the way you hoped for, I'm all for it! :) I appreciate any and all constructive criticism - it can only be helpful. Thanks so much for reading!