End up here // lrh

Epilogue

"Love conquers all." Luke whispered through the phone to Mary.

With the phone between his shoulder and his head, Luke played with the silver ring on his pinky finger, twisting it round and round. Mary had given it to him half a year ago and everything about that moment made butterflies erupt in Luke's stomach. (It was a cold, breezy day in the middle of January and Mary and Luke were in a coffee shop, Mary sipping on her hot chocolate while Luke had some chai tea. And then out of nowhere Mary took out a small box from the pocket of her jacket and put it on the table in front of Luke. Luke wearily picked up the box and opened it after seeing Mary's encouraging look, inside was a very beautiful silver ring. "I know that we haven't been together for that long, Luke, but I love you. I love you I love you I love you. And I know that we're still young, but dear God Luke, I fucking love you. And that's why I'm asking you to marry me, not now, maybe not even in a year or in six years but someday in the future when we're ready, when we feel like there's no one else that could ever replace the other. Just as a promise ring that someday, somewhere we will look each other in the eyes and feel complete, feel at ease with life, and say those two words.")

"What?" Mary asked confused, they hadn't talked for over five minutes since both were tired and were really close to falling asleep.

"Remember that day when I said that Latin phrase?" Luke asked to see if his girlfriend even remembered him saying those three Latin words a year ago.

"Vaguely." Mary said with a sigh since she was too tired to even keep her eyes open.

"Amor vincit omnia." Luke spoke, the three words leaving his mouth with such ease as if those were the only words he had ever said in his whole life.

"Oh, yeah," Mary said with a soft giggle at the end, remembering that day when the two were in Luke's bedroom, "and you refused to tell me what they meant."

"I told you I'd let you know later." Luke said, remembering that day as if it had been yesterday. All days he had spent with Mary felt like yesterdays, he kept track of each day and he knew them like he knew the back of his hand.

Luke remembered the first day they met, at a party, the same place that Calum had met Kate. He remembered how he couldn't stop observing Mary's every step.

He remembered the day that he had lifted up Mary and kissed her after her saying that she liked him, a lot.

He remembered the day that him and Mary had sex with each other for the first time, he also remembered the day that they made love for the first time.

He remembered the day that he finally admitted his love (even though he didn't really know what love felt like at that point) for Mary and how their feelings were mutual.

He remembered the day he asked Mary to be his girlfriend, and he remembered thinking about why the hell he hadn't asked her earlier.

He remembered his surprise for Mary at the park and how they had fallen asleep in each other's arms with no care in the world. He remembered the morning after as well, when he chased Mary through the park. He had felt like Mary was the wind when she ran, she was just as free as it.

He remembered all of their promises of tomorrows. Every single one of them.

Mary was the air that he breathed and the blood that flowed through his veins. Luke wasn't even sure of how he had even been able to breathe before he met her, maybe he had never breathed before? Maybe it was the hopes of Mary that had kept him alive for the eighteen years he had lived before her. He wasn't sure.

Luke also remembered all of the tears they had been through, how could he just remember the good days when it was the bad days that made them appreciate what they had together, that made them appreciate each other. Every high has its low.

With each step Luke took backwards, Mary was there to hold him in her arms, telling him that it was okay to not be okay, but that it was also okay to be okay, and at each time they took two steps forward - together.

"Luke." Mary breathed out, breaking Luke from his thoughts, showing him the way out of memory lane with her soft voice.

"Yeah?" Luke said, equally as low as Mary's voice had been.

"How did we end up talking in the first place?" She giggled softly, using the words that Luke once had said and had written down for his song to Mary.

"You said you liked my Cobain shirt." Luke sang with the voice of a whisper.

"Then we were walking back to you- my place." Mary sang, with a laugh.

"You were telling me how you loved that song about Living like a prayer." Luke sang back, reliving that day together through the song.

"You were pretty sure that we were halfway there." Mary sang, letting out a sigh at the end, really close to falling asleep.

"But when I woke up next to you I wondered how, how did we end up here?" Luke sang out before letting out a soft giggle.

"Goodnight Lukey." Mary murmured.

"Goodnight baby." Luke whispered, the phone still pressed against his ear.

Not even a minute later both Mary and Luke were fast asleep, both experiencing their first day together once again in their dreams.

Nothing was the same anymore, everything was new, everything was better, settled.

The boy who never knew started to know and the girl who never understood started to understand.

The End.