And with this, the story comes to a close. It's a little surreal for me - this is by far the biggest project I've even undertaken. It isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it just the same. And I'm happy to let it go. Time to move on to bigger things.

Thank you all so much for your support and enthusiasm. Honestly, it really makes the whole thing worth while.

It comes in the mail a few days after your private prom.

At first, you don't even realize it's for you. You see the Mr. Vantas on the front of the envelope and hand it to your dad along with the rest of the mail. When he comes back a few minutes later and hands it back to you, a smile on his face, you peer down at it curiously.

It's when you see the university's name on the return address that your stomach leaps. Because holy shit, this is it, your hands shaking as you open the envelope.

You can barely contain your excited yell the moment your eyes land on the word 'accepted.'

Your dad is smiling, eyes a little red, and gives you a strong clap on the shoulder, says he couldn't ask for a better kid, that he is so happy to have two great sons that make him proud every day.

You have to read the letter three times before you can finally manage to take it all in, your eyes a little watery and your head to full of joy you have a hard time focusing on the words on the page. It tells you the basics, when to sign up for classes, when freshman move-in is, that kind of thing.

You're given an extra, written by the university's head LGBT director. It explains that you'll be given a suite-type dorm that's reserved for student's in special situations, that you'll have one 'roommate' that you'll share a private bathroom with (along with your future roommate's name - Something Captor. It's a strange name that you're not sure how to pronounce). It explains that there will be free LGBT councilors available, ones that can help you gain access to treatments like hormone therapy if you chose to.

And you're glowing. You're actually glowing. You don't think the biggest, nastiest storm cloud could rain on you now.

Dave takes you back out to the lake on Senior Skip Day, only two days before graduation.

You don't do much at first, just sit curled up together, watching the waves hit the shore. The air is bittersweet, a happy sort of melancholy deep in your chest. It all went by so fast. If feels like just yesterday the two of you were in Kindergarten, clacking sticks together like proud knights. The world seemed so small then, just this town, just you and Dave and your silly adventures.

"I can barely get my head around it," you tell him, carefully watch the way the light refracts off the nearest wave, before it breaks and washes up to shore. "It feels like we should be in school forever."

His chest rumbles against you as he laughs. "Do you really want to be?"

"Fuck no," you say, grimace. "But it's not like I hate everything about this godforsaken place, much as I probably should." You take a slow breath in. "It just feels weird, that we'll be leaving everything behind now."

He hums. "It's not so much about leaving it behind, as moving forward, yeah?"

You shake your head. "Everything you say sounds like a bad cliché."

"Maybe," he laughs. "But there's a reason they're cliché. Because there's truth in them."

"Not always," you say. "I feel like half the time, all they do is force you to believe something everyone else does. Like all it does is force you swallow a bunch of bullshit that's not even going to make your life better."

"I suppose," he replies. "But I think it's more finding the ones that fit with you. Someone's burden will be someone else's greatest bit of hope." He grins. "'One man's garbage is another man's treasure' kind of thing."

"Right," you snort. "But I guess." Another short, but peaceful silence falls over you again, before you say, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," he says, voice a little tight. The arm he has around you pulls you in closer. "But it's been one hell of a ride getting here, right?"

"Well, hell is the right word for it."

He snorts. "Naturally." He turns to press his lips to your cheek and whispers, "It went by fast, college will be even faster. Don't worry about it." He rests his head chin on the top of your head. "It's not an end. It's a beginning."

(Cliché.)

You talk until the sky turns red and the fireflies start to skim the surface of the lake. And then he suddenly stands up, trots to his car, and comes back with a big blanket, spreads it on the ground and tosses a string of condoms to you.

"You can't be serious," you groan.

"Of course I am," he grins. "First time. Graduation. Under the setting sun. Classic."

"Fucking cliché, Strider."

"You love it."

And god damn you, you totally do.

The whole thing in itself is pretty quiet. Your nerves get the best of you at first, but you trust him, it's Dave, you'd trust him with your life. It's a little awkward in some moments, a little funny others. But mostly it's just warm. Warm deep down in your core, like a little sun has been infused with your soul, and with your closeness, you swear you can feel Dave's burning right along with yours.

And it's the way he's warm against you, his arms wrapped tight, secure, safe around you. It's the way he breathes deep in your hair, the way you can feel his heartbeat in his throat when you press your face into his neck. It's the way your heart swells almost painfully against your ribs, like it's trying to break free and join his, his heart beating against the empty side of your chest.

It's the way he sighs your name.

It's the way you get lost in his eyes, his radiant smile. It's the way he kisses your cheeks until you're smiling back, laughing when he blows air against your skin.

It's the way he makes you feel like you're worth something. The way he presses his face to your shoulder as you run your fingers through his hair. It's the way he gives you the strength to be strong for him when he needs you, when things build up too fast, too hard. It's the way you've found a safe place within each other.

It's the way his breath feels against your face in the morning as he sleeps next to you. It's the feel of his skin under your fingers as you take him in and realize, he's yours, yours.

All your life you never thought you'd be so lucky, never thought you'd find someone who could chase your nightmares away, put up with your violently dark moods, your foul mouth. But he does, like a beacon of light, he puts the breath back in your lungs, makes your strong enough to move forward again.

Never in a thousand lifetimes did you think you'd get to have what you have with him, and never in a thousand lifetimes would you trade that away. It's a scary thing at first, to realize that your life is no longer only yours, but also his. It's scary the way your emotions feel too large for your body, like you'll burst. It's amazing the way, when he's pressed against you, desperate and sure, you feel as though you'll melt into him, like you've become the same person.

You weren't sure if you actually believed what your movies and books always told you. Weren't sure if any of that existed. But then you got what you have with him.

And you realized you were right. The movies and books did have it all wrong.

Because the way you feel, what you have.

It's just so much more.

The whole thing happens in a flurry of graduation gowns and lots and lots of photos.

Kankri is absolutely beside himself when he finds out that you're the top student in your English classes, says he knew it all along, after all, it's a Vantas trait to be good with words! You just roll your eyes and are privately really glad that all his bragging he does about it to Meulin is in sign language so you don't have to hear it. Kanaya gets student of the year, Dave gets an award for best music student, and John, of all people, is Valedictorian. You always knew the dumb fuck was smarter than he let on.

A lot like Kankri's graduation, it feels more like watching a movie, like it's not really happening, but you're just playing the part. It doesn't really start to sink in until you get called up on stage to get your diploma, and only really settles deep into your gut when you're tossing your hat up in the air.

Outside the gym, where everyone meets up with their families, there's lots of tears, lots of laughter, lots of hugging and picture taking. Your dad gives Dave a big hug, and when you find Bro, he fucking lifts you right off your feet, twirls you around and sets you back down, his face straight the entire time while Dave and John laugh their asses off.

After things begin to calm down, you and Dave sneak away to the Elementary school playground, stand in the spot you always had your swordfights as kids, and steal quick, short kisses while nobody's around.

It's warm out, dry and nostalgic. Perfect when Dave bends down to pick a dandelion, puts it in your hair, just like he used to when you were so little. But everything's different now, only it's not, because it still feels just the same.

And now the only way to go is forward.

fin.