I always understand that people are making me smaller than what is real about me
He lowers his head, guilt flooding through him. He had pushed them away, had kept his distance, thinking it was for the best.
But it had never been.
“I’m sorry,” They continued, voice raw and aching. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you sooner. The only reason I found you here... is because I came to watch the sea. I remembered we... spoke about it once. I thought... Maybe, if I came here, I’d find some way to remember it all. To remember you.”
His heart twists in his chest. He can’t stop the tears now. They spill down his cheeks, hot and desperate. "I thought... I thought you would never remember. I thought I would always be alone in this, always be trapped in the pain of the loop with no one to—"
“No,” They breathe gently, stepping closer, reaching out to him. They pull back just enough to look into his eyes, their hands holding his face gently. “You’re not alone anymore, Azure. No matter what happens, I’ll be with you—we’ll always face things together.”
He can't meet their gaze now. "I’m… I'm sorry," he mumbles, "It's all my fault."
“Don't say that, Azure. I—I’m so sorry I didn’t find you sooner, that I couldn’t remember you in time.”
“I… I love you so much…”
He closes his eyes, his shoulders shaking with the weight of it all. “I love you too,” he breathes. “I’ve always loved you.”
In that moment, all the pain, all the regret, fades into the background. It’s just them, here, in this moment, the world around them quiet, the waves still crashing on the shore.
As they hold each other, a warm light begins to glow around them, gentle and steady. The fear he’s carried for so long, the weight of the unknown, it begins to lift. He feels safe—finally, truly safe.
“No matter what,” Two Time murmurs, “we’ll always be together. I promise.”
The words hang in the air like a promise, fragile and delicate, but they are real.
At that moment, nothing else matters. The loops, the pain, the endless dying—none of it matters, because they are here. And they are together.
“I trust you,” He repeats, finally understanding. “And I believe you.”
He smiles through his tears, feeling a peace he hasn’t known in so long settled over him. “Thank you,” he whispers, his voice trembling, words filled with relief.
“Thank you for saving me.”
And with that, he closes his eyes. The world begins to fade away, but this time, Azure isn't afraid. He feels the warmth of their promise, and the feeling that no matter what, things will ultimately be alright.
The light envelopes them both, and everything else disappears.