The Facts About Matt and Sky

I - Epilogue

"I simply can't breathe.
It seems my heart won't work, but
I'm trying to sleep.

The darkness is thick
in the quiet of my room;
You are on my mind.

The house is silent.
I call out loudly to you;
There is no answer.

The silence echoes.
I remember I can't sleep,
so why do I try?"

-Sleep from Matt's notebook
---

A year passed.

The world was slowly starting to heal from the destruction Matt had caused.

Maddie had a second child: A son, who looked exactly like his father. She named him Robin, because Aaron had always liked that name. Robin brought back her happiness, little by little.

Juan, Finn, and Noah all followed Sky's example, and returned to life.

Everyone was, for the most part, happy.

Almost everyone, that is. Matt hadn't left the palace at all. As an Immortal, he didn't have to eat or sleep to live. He had twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for a year to sit alone and think about life. No one came to visit him. No, not even Sky. He spent most of his time writing.

His writings were dark. They were filled with remorse- unless they weren't. Sometimes they were absolute madness, a series of unrelated words thrown together that made something strangely and insanely beautiful, or just a page filled with depressing words and thoughts. None of it, however, was happy. Even good memories were recalled with a dark twist. The palace was quiet, unless he was screaming. Whether or not that screaming was in his head was impossible for him to know.

Finally, a year after the trial, someone knocked on the door.

He looked up and stared at it, wondering if he'd imagined it again. Then, they knocked a second time.

Slowly, he got up and walked to the door, opening it.

There stood Sky, with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder.

Matt just stared at her, trying to figure out if this was real. She'd been gone for a year. Today wasn't anything special.

"Uh... hi?" Matt sounded uncertain, and his voice was hoarse. "Hey there. Sorry, I've been busy," Sky said, cheerily enough, walking in and tossing the bag on the ground. Matt still hadn't seemed to process her actually being there. He'd been alone the whole time.

"So how's your life been?" Sky asked. Matt only looked around at the papers littering the floor, and his notebook thrown in a corner out of frustration. He pulled his jacket sleeve over his left hand, which he'd written all over. She didn't know he'd taken up writing. Sky looked around, too, seeming unbothered. "We should probably clean this up," Sky smiled slightly, standing and starting to pick things up. Matt quickly moved to help her.

It wasn't long before the papers had been stacked and shoved into another room. Matt had picked up the notebook and held it the whole time. Sky flipped on the lights. When the room was clean, Sky gestured to the notebook. "What's that?"

Matt looked at her for a long moment, before sitting on the floor, opening the notebook, and sliding it towards her. She joined him on the floor, taking the notebook.

He kept all his final drafts in it.

Sky flipped through the pages, her expression unrevealing. He'd been writing as recently as that morning.

Each piece had a meaning. Each line alluded to something deeper, or hit the subject on the head. Some of it was madness, but some of it was a sad kind of beautiful.

Sky sighed, closing the notebook. "I missed you, too..."

Matt slowly took the notebook, setting it behind him, letting out a breath. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"For what?"
"For everything."

Sky looked at him, quiet for a moment. "Please forgive me," he said quietly, watching her. She shook her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I don't blame you for anything. But you did make a mess of things. You need to clean it up." Matt swallowed a lump in his throat. "I don't know if I can," he mumbled. "I'll help you," Sky smiled.

Matt relaxed slightly, letting out a breath he'd been unconsciously holding. "I love you," he said softly to her.

She smiled. "I love you, too, Matt." She moved and sat beside him. Slowly, he smiled at her.

It would be safe to say that it was his first genuine smile in over two years.

"Still gorgeous," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a hug. "Mattt," she laughed softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Sky," Matt said again.

"Hey Matt?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
Matt laughed slightly.
"Actually, I know I've fallen in love with you."

Matt laughed softly. "I am so glad to hear you say that."

And then, something completely expected happened.

Matt kissed Sky.

She kissed him back.