Chapter 45

Epilogue: 2014

"Must I always tie this for you?" Tricia asked her husband with exasperation and amusement. She neatly arranged his tie, fingertips lingering with tenderness. Sheryl grasped them within his hand, pressing a kiss upon them.

"Only you can do it properly," he replied with a flirtatious twinkle in his eye. She blushed, still unused to the attentive attitude had gained once he ceased all duties as a Noah. He was a devoted and doting husband well attuned to her needs and –of course—desires.

"Dear, not in front of the children," she said in a flustered tone.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," Road replied with a shrug as she ate her cereal.

"I prefer this over the affection Tyki gives to Allen and vice versa," Wisely also put in as he peeled an orange at the table. Tricia frowned at him.

"Wisely, peel that over the sink, or you will end up leaving pieces everywhere," she told him. He sighed dramatically.

"Yes mother," he replied. He tossed the peels down the sink's drain and turned on the garbage disposal. The familiar and refreshing scent of oranges wafted from the kitchen.

Someone knocked on the door and the sound of footsteps could be heard from upstairs as Pierrot ran down.

"I'll get it!" he shouted. He jumped the last three steps.

"Please be careful," Tricia called after him. Sheryl squeezed her fingers with a chuckle.

"He's fine," he assured her. They heard the door open and the sound of Pierrot greeting his guests.

"What's up Pierre!" asked an exuberant red head. He shared a quick hug full of bromance with Pierrot and entered with a companion in tow. "Panda-ji and Yuu were so boring on the way here!"

"My name is Kand," snapped the irritable companion he was towing along. Bookman ignored them as he closed the door behind himself.

"You have to check out my new gaming system!" Pierrot enthused. All of the teenagers ran up the stairs. Even Kanda liked video games. Tricia shook her head at their behavior and returned to the dining table where all of the adults had gathered. Plus Wisley and Road. Sheryl was shaking Bookman's hand.

"It is good to see you again," he said pleasantly. "I have been following your works. The photographs you take of this world and its people are simply phenomenal!"

"Thank you. Your books on politics are also quite impressive," Bookman replied, referring to Sheryl's recent publications. "Where are the others?"

"The Earl will bring them here closer to dinner time so we can have a Family Dinner. Allen and Tyki—who knows what they are doing," he complained. "I thought becoming the Fifteenth Noah would make him spend more time with us, but he only visits every other weekend!"

"That is more often than most mortals," Bookman pointed out. "Besides, he is the Noah of Time. He may want to see as much of the world as possible before it decays."

They both fell silent as this conversation brought to mind a period of five years where Allen had thought himself mortal—they all had. It began with the end of the war, where Allen came back to his family, received a lecture from Tyki on how he should treasure his life more, and things seemed fine at first. But then the five years flew by and Allen seemed distraught by how quickly the years passed. No amount of reassurance or comfort given by anyone could give him solace. That's when the Transformation began Adam saw it first or rather he felt the stirrings of a new Noah. Allen's Awakening was a particularly long and painful one, and very traumatic. All of the people present in the room had been affected by his power as he thrashed and cried out in pain night after night. Tricia had been applying a cool cloth to keep his fever down, Bookman summoned for his medical knowledge and skills with acupuncture. Lavi helped his master while Kanda just sat in the corner watching his friend thrash around. After he woke everything was fine and seemed normal enough. But eventually they noticed things. Small things. They stopped aging. They became impervious to disease, injuries healed within seconds. They became immortal. It was a hard transition for all of them (Allen included) but a certain red-headed wielder of magic (Cross) knocked sense into them when the Noah had been unable to.

Now they adapted to the changes of time quite easily and simply enjoyed life. Every year they had a family dinner where all would gather at Sheryl's house or the Earl's house (they owned many estates now, but they preferred using the newer, less extravagant ones). The invitation had of course been extended to those who remembered things from the Black Order. Even Cross was invited.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," said Bookman. "Allen and I met in a bookstore not too long ago. I had a gift for him, so he may take a while to come here."

Sheryl frowned. "What did you give him?"

::+::+::+::+::+::

Tyki was looking over Allen's shoulder, arms wrapped around his husband's waist as the younger man turned the pages of the album. It was a thick volume carrying pictures, and no words for these pictures. Many pictures were of gravestones with familiar names, landscapes with nostalgic ruins, and places Allen had not visited in a long, long time. The pictures became older, black and white and they were a compilation of familiar faces and scenes. O the last page was a single picture of a lonely hill amidst green grasses and a sea of flowers. A tree sat at the top of the hill, bearing bright apples, its arms stretching over two weathered stones whose names could no longer be read. Allen touched that last page gently. Underneath it was a slip of paper folded. He opened it up and read it.

To the Destroyer of time who created this plan

A play for a stage:

Act I: Set up the stage, determine who plays the minor roles and who plays the larger roles

Act II: Make the Order speculate and suspicious, then use the minor characters to lead them in the right direction
Act III: Convince Leverrier and the Exorcists that the war has ended

Act IV: Deal with the Apocryphos so that Cross enters the stage and brings a story, a piece of evidence to support the scientist's theory and further convince them that the war has ended. Then use the Heart to make it even more real

Act V:Let the Heart grow each time they collect more Innocence. It needs to be real, gradual

Act VI: Let the Heart Awaken and declare that all is well

This is your plan, Destroyer of Time, to end the war no one thought could have ended without bloodshed.

This is your legacy as an Exorcist. But that is over. You are now the Noah of Time.

From, Bookman

"That old man must have a soft spot for you," Tyki remarked. "It would have taken him a long time to collect all of these photographs from that time, and to take the new ones. And these pictures are amazing."

"Yes they are. He really did these places and these people justice," Allen agreed. His fingers lingered on that note and the last picture for a moment before closing the book with a feeling of peace. He turned to Tyki, love filling his eyes. He gave his husband a quick peck on the cheek. "Let's get ready. We have a dinner to go to."

Tyki groaned, collapsing backwards on the couch.

"Can't we just stay?" he pleaded. Allen laughed, placing the album on the coffee table. He straddled Tyki's lap, draping his arms around the man's neck.

"We can stay like this for twenty minutes," he compromised. Tyki's hands rested about his waist once more and he gave Allen a lazy smile.

"Fine," he drawled lazily, straightening slightly so he could give Allen a kiss. When they broke apart he looked into Allen's silver eyes. "I love you Allen."

Those eyes melted, warm and like liquid silver.

"I love you too, Tyki."

And that it the absolute end.