You Only Live Once

CHAPTER 39

The reception after the wedding would be held in an even grander venue with a huge dance floor in the middle and a beautiful garden with a huge fountain outside. Mira found herself walking outside to clear her thoughts right after they had served the wedding cake. She felt a little better than she had before but she still couldn't eat a bite off of that cake. She approached the fountain, wanting the sound of the water falling to tune out everything else. The wedding, the war, the danger. But it seemed like someone else had the same idea as her. Theo was sitting right in front of the fountain , a cigarette on his hand. Typical.
"Oh,I'm sorry. I'll leave" she hurried to say as soon as she saw him standing in front of her.
"This is an open space , Mira. You don't have to leave" he laughed at her expression, wide eyes that looked for the perfect route for her to escape. Mira slowly walked a little closer to him and sat on the ledge of the fountain. It was quiet for a while. Peaceful. The water running, the leaves rustling and the summer breeze softly caressing her skin ."Do you hate me?"
"What?" Mira questioned , shocked .
"You should" he stated , getting rid of his cigarette before going to sit next to her. "I was a little harsh"
"Just a tad" she chuckled , looking at anything but him.
"But it was good , wasn't it? While it lasted. It was really good. "
"Yes, yes it was"
"There's no one else quite like you, you know. Believe me I've looked. I've tried to find something like we had , someone like you. But it's impossible. And now I'm scared that my only purpose in life from now on will be to find you again. Because believe me , darling, I will look for you in everyone for the rest of my life."
During Theo's little speech, Mira's eyes had travelled to him, looking at him with so much sorrow she couldn't even understand it. She knew what they had was something special. He was something special for her . And she had missed him and what they had everyday since that day in December. The pain had faded and yet it was still there. She was afraid that it would always be there .
"And when I saw you that day with Regulus...you looked so happy, so over it. And here I am. Still stuck in December. Thinking that I was a game to you" he continued , making Mira all the more sad.
"If anything the past few months I saw you being over it . At first I told myself that you were faking it and I truly believed it. But as time passed by I couldn't help but think you were actually okay with everything that happened. And you can ask anyone and they will tell how important you were to me." She replied, saying things that she had been wanting to say for quite a while. Talking to someone you hadn't talked in months should have the most awkward and heartbreaking thing ever. And yet she never felt more comfortable to share her feeling of the past few months .
"We both did some damage ,I suppose." Theo shrugged, looking away from her , making her do the same. "I'm sorry"
"I'm sorry, too"
"Mira!" Evan called her name from afar, taking both her and Theo out of their little bubble.
"Coming!" She yelled back , standing up form the ledge of the fountain. She began to walk away to reach Evan and see what he wanted. But then it hit her: that might have been the last time she saw or talk to him for a long time.
"Have a good life , yeah?"
"Have a great life" she heard him say back while she was walking away. And suddenly , never seeing him again wasn't such a scary thought. She had gotten her closure.

......

"What is it?" Mira asked as soon as Evan practically dragged her to a corner far away from the venue where Regulus already awaited them.
"If we want to make any progress we need to leave now. So... we wanted to say goodbye" Mira's whole body tensed at that. She knew they would have to leave eventually but not so abruptly. "We've got everything under control. We have the key to Lestrange Vault, we know where his hometown is and we also know how to get in and out of that cave . We got it, Mira. It's been months in the making. You don't have to worry" Evan tried to reassure her , seeing her worried expression. He could understand how frustrating it must have been not being able to help , standing on the side lines and waiting for the worst to happen.
"I'm afraid that's impossible" she chuckled before she circled her hands around his neck and brought him in for a tight hug. "Don't tell, Reg but I'll miss you more" she whispered jokingly in his ear before they pulled back from each other .
"I think you'll miss us differently"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We'll discuss it when we come back"
Now it was time for her to say goodbye to Regulus. That's when she realised the past few months had been so unnecessarily awkward between them that they forgot how precious their time together was . Mira, especially who seemed to have forgotten what would happen to Regulus in the original  storyline. Guilt washed all over her , making her practically jump in his arms for a hug. For a while none of them talked. Mira just closed her eyes and enjoyed his  comfort , his warmness, his familiar presence that she had pushed away.
"Mira..." Regulus pulled back , holding her face in his hands .
"You'll be careful. And you'll come back. Promise me you'll come back" she pleaded ,her eyes starting to water. "Promise me , Reggie" the fear of never seen him again consumed her . What if things didn't play  in their favor and instead played out like they were supposed to. Which would mean that Regulus would be dead in a short while. A thought that terrified her.
"Mira, love" Regulus chuckled , kissing her forehead to try and calm her down. "I'll come back to you, okay?" Mira nodded her head feverishly before going in for another hug. Maybe Evan was right. She would miss them differently. She just didn't know what that difference meant yet. Regulus connected their foreheads together and his hands slowly moved down to her waist as Mira's circled around his neck . And as he slowly brought his lips closer and closer to hers she found out she actually wanted him to kiss her ,just like she did all those months ago. But she didn't want to take her chances so she gave him a kiss on the cheek before fully pulling back.
"I'll give as many of those as you want if you come back safe"
"Is that a promise?"
"I was trying to go for a threat"