The car idled gently in the rapidly-dwindling evening light, as Daniel and Eliza almost, but not quite, forgot about their luggage. In their defense, Daniel mused, they had been going through some stuff. If ever they were allowed to be a little bit distracted, now was it. They’d gone from “I can’t go with you” to “I love you and I’m staying with you” in a single day, and that was taking some getting used to. Hells, even wrapping his head around it was a bit much. She loved him! And he loved her back! They were allowed to be together. 

He was shaken out of his reverie by the woman stepping out of the vehicle, and he froze for a moment. Of course they’d considered the fact that they were going to have to explain why he was taller, or significantly broader than he had been before, or why Eliza seemed to have gone up a size in both bust and… hip. But then they’d been distracted by each other again, huddled up close against the cold air, and had forgotten that they’d never actually reached any kind of conclusion. 

“Halló,” the woman said with a little wave. “I am back, like you asked.” She looked at Eliza. Then at Daniel, and then back at Eliza. “You look…” She paused and Daniel held his breath. “Happier,” she concluded, then walked around to open the trunk. Eliza let out a relieved chuckle, then dragged her bag to the car, Daniel right behind her. They stowed them in silence, then piled up in the car, as close together as they could within the limits of decency, their fingers interlaced. That was a thing they were just allowed to do now! He could just… hold her hand! Hold her close! Somehow, it was everything, in that moment. 

The drive back was as gentle as the ride there had been. After a little bit, the car’s lights turned on and it became too dark to really see anything outside, so Daniel and Eliza just leaned against each other, whispering sweet nothings, until Eliza suddenly stirred.

“I haven’t told you yet,” she said, quietly. He looked at her, no longer up at her. 

“Told me what?” he asked quietly. Her tone of voice made it quite clear there were no nasty surprises waiting in the answer to that question, so he just moved forward with curiosity, and kissed her cheek. 

“My name,” she said. “When I got the official documents made, I got to pick my name.” She gave him a little smile. “I didn’t know if… if it was something that would ever be relevant to you and…” She hesitated for a moment, her voice getting small. “I didn’t want you to say goodbye with an unfamiliar name on your lips.”

Daniel took a moment to figure out what to say, and then kissed her. She seemed surprised by the gesture, but leaned into it once it was clear this wasn’t just a ‘go on’ kind of kiss but more one of those ‘Not only do I want you to go on -- in just a moment -- I also want to make it very clear that the next few seconds, at the very least, are going to be very soft’ kind of kisses. When they finally pulled apart, he ended it with a little peck on her nose, like a signature. “Thank you,” he said. “I suppose the thought of leaving without having learned your real name is… sad, for a great number of reasons, but not knowing would have been the kind thing, I think.” She smiled at his reassurance. One more kiss. Just because. “So,” he whispered. “What’s your name?”

“Lisa,” she said. “Even if I don’t go back, I’m not Eliza. Never again. That name is dead to me, and the old demon queen with it.” 

“It’s beautiful.” He softly stroked the back of her hand with his thumb while he squeezed her hand. “Did you… eh… pick a last name?” He didn’t want to tell her, not yet, not while all of this was still so fresh, that he quite liked the idea of changing his last name, which was still, for all intents and purposes, Sally’s last name. But that would probably involve taking someone else’s last name. 

“You’ll have to promise not to mock me,” she said. Daniel forced the most neutral expression possible onto his face and took a deep breath. 

“Promise,” he said. “It’s your name.”

“Okay, so with everything I just said in mind… Drake.”

“Lisa Drake.”

“Yes.”

“Really.”

“Yes. Don’t you dare.” Daniel tried, he really did, to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Lisa bopped him in the arm playfully. 

“I’m not mocking you!” he said, and then nudged her with his nose. “I think it fits you. Not quite Demon Queen, certainly. But still a little bit of the dragon in you.” Lisa blushed and nodded. “That fire isn’t going out any time soon,” Daniel said. “It’s a beautiful name, Lisa Drake. I think it suits you.”

“Thank you,” she said and rested her head against his shoulder. Already the outskirts of the city were coming within view. Lisa had done her research. The next flight out was just a few hours away. They wouldn’t have stayed a single night on the island. Sure, it was a beautiful place, but Daniel was happy to let it be a beautiful place with other people. It reminded him too much of a place that was decidedly not home. Home was a flight away, and he’d rather sit on a plane twice in one day than spend another night away from his life with her. 

The airport itself came into view not too long after, and the woman parked the car close to the front entrance. They weren’t too far from where they’d rented it, after all, and the whole thing had been paid for. Regardless, he wanted to thank the lady again for coming back for them. He was sure it was something Lisa had negotiated, but the lady had made a pretty boring drive four times, and he liked to think he was still a gentleman. 

“You do not have to thank me,” the woman said with a professional smile, “but I appreciate it. I am glad to see she said yes,” she added with a conspiratorial whisper. Daniel blinked a few times. 

“Excuse me?”

“The proposal? I thought that was what…” They looked at each other in awkward, stunned silence for a moment. Some moments are so awkward that they can be felt across the universe. Somewhere, a talking cat put its paws over its eyes without knowing why. A psychic vampire in a distant reality groaned with sympathetic embarrassment, and on a terrace in France, a glass of wine turned to vinegar out of sheer sourness. Because sometimes, the universe really does cringe along with you. The woman got back in the car. “I said nothing, I apologize, have a nice trip!” she stammered before she drove off, leaving only Lisa, the bags, and a laughing Daniel in her wake. 

“What was that about?” Lisa asked. Daniel was still chuckling when they started to make their way to the front desk. 

“A little misunderstanding about what we were doing at the lake,” he said, still vividly remembering the look of shock on the lady’s face when she’d realized her mistake. “She thought we…” He wanted to say it but, well, that would make it a bit more real, and now that he realized he was staying here there was suddenly a possibility… or a hope… “Well… she had the wrong idea, let’s leave it at that.”

“Oh, goodness,” Lisa said, getting the entirely wrong idea and clearly seeming to be overcome by certain… images. And apparently, she didn’t mind, if her smile was anything to go by. Daniel couldn’t help but blush a bit in embarrassment as they went through check-in. Where before, their move through the airport had been painfully quiet, now it was deliberate, and they constantly pointed out small things to each other. Lisa remarked on a scarf she liked the colour of. There was a boutique that sold, apparently, fermented shark, which neither was eager to try, and one that had chocolates, which both were eager to get at, especially if they were going to be on a plane for a while. 

While Lisa bought them some snacks, Daniel made a quick show of having to run to the bathroom and, on his way back, swung by the store that had the scarf on display. He saw her waiting for him at the entrance to their gate. Considering how lucky he was to be hers, that she had wanted him in her life, it was almost unbelievable that he was still, somehow, lucky enough that she wasn’t looking his way. He gingerly walked over to her and decided against surprising her from behind. Nobody, he reasoned, would respond well to being accosted by a potential stranger in a place this busy, so he coughed. 

Lisa turned around to face him and he was going to say things. He was certain he was going to say things. He’d had words and thoughts only seconds ago, and then she’d turned around and smiled and all of them had sort of dribbled out his ear and taken a stroll through the airport. He just stared at her, dumbstruck at how beautiful she was, how the force of her personality shone in her eyes. And then all of it just slammed into him. How amazing she really was. How clever. How kind. How sweet. How funny. How… he took her face in his hands and kissed her again, because every other important function had momentarily shut down in protest. 

“What was that for?” she finally asked when he pulled away. 

“For you,” was all he managed, and they both laughed at the silliness and the cheesiness of it. Then he remembered why he’d even walked up to her in a way that she couldn’t see him holding a package, and fished out the light blue scarf. Her eyes lit up when she saw it, and she bit her lip. 

“Daniel…” she sighed and took it, wrapping it around her neck. “You’re a sap.” There were tears in the corners of her eyes she was pretending weren’t there, so he decided that the best course of action was for him to do the same. He nodded.

“Yes,” was the best his language center could do before someone called their flight number over the speaker system. They hurried to the gate and it wasn’t long before they were ushered out onto the tarmac, a departure from how they’d boarded the plane through a covered walkway last time. 

When they finally got to their seats and sat down, both of them were sufficiently frazzled, as air travel is frazzling and discombobulating no matter what universe you’re from. Lisa sat by the windowside again. She’d offered it to Daniel this time, but he’d declined. It had clearly helped her be a bit more comfortable with the flying last time, and she had clearly been more perturbed than he had. Besides, all he really wanted to look at was her, and if she was on that side of him, he could pretend to look out the window while he fell for her, over and over again, once for each time he’d denied himself the pleasure before. 

Well, that had been the idea. Lisa didn’t look out the window once. They spent the entire flight talking, about nothing and everything, while they ate overpriced -- but still quite good -- chocolates. They talked about food and traveling, seeing different places together. About whether or not they would want to stay living in their little apartments. About Lisa’s career and about how Jenny and Pat and Hayden would respond to their changed appearances and that they might have to tell them something. They laughed. 

He wondered if he was good enough for this, for a moment, and then he saw the smile in her eyes and came to realize that he was him and she was her, and of course that was enough.

Elamimax

Don't mind me, just writing the ideal boyfriend

Also! A reminder that this story is completely finished!

You can already read all of it through my Patreon, (as well as get some insight on the next project ;) ) and you get a whole bunch of added benefits! On top of that, it keeps my lights on and even lets me eat! Patrons get a ton of benefits, like access to new stories, sometimes weeks or even months in advance, as well as cheaper commission rates, exclusive discord roles, and access to private polls about future projects. 

Regardless, I hope you like this, and I'll see you all soon!