"Forgive me, Bruce. Let me give you a proper farewell this time."

She leaned up, and their mouths met.

It wasn't rushed. It wasn't hungry.

It was slow, deep, the kind of kiss meant to linger long after lips part.

Sophie's fingers slid gently up the line of his neck, settling at his jaw. Bruce's hand rose to cradle the back of her head, holding her close as if he wanted the moment to live just a little longer. Their lips moved with quiet intensity, savoring every second, breaths shared, warmth traded, a closeness that said more than either of them had ever dared speak aloud.

The cool evening breeze drifted through their hair as they kissed, carrying the scent of distant night blossoms and stone still warm from daylight. For a suspended heartbeat, the world felt very small, just the two of them, balanced between parting and longing.

When they finally drew apart, it wasn't abrupt. Their lips separated with reluctant softness, breathing still mingled. Bruce brushed his thumb along the line of Sophie's cheek, eyes resting on her with that unguarded expression he rarely showed anyone.

He shifted a stray lock of hair aside, tucking it gently behind her ear. A teasing wink and a quiet smile followed, full of affection, lightly edged with mischief.

"Goodbye, Sophie."

And then...

Swoosh!

His figure blurred, disappearing into motion faster than the eye could track, leaving a faint ripple in the air and the whisper of displaced wind in his wake.

Sophie stood there in the moonlight, heart trembling with the afterglow of everything that moment had meant. Her hand drifted to her chest, steadying the flutter there.

"Thank you, Bruce..." she breathed, eyes shining. "You're the best."

....

Meanwhile, Bruce sped through the night, leaving the quiet walls of the Reign family region behind him. The guards stationed along the pathways didn't move, didn't question, didn't even pretend to intercept. They simply watched in silence, eyes tracking the streak of motion he'd become.

They knew very well who he was. And more importantly… who he'd just left.

Word traveled fast in Reignland. Faster still among the elite guard.

Bruce Ackerman entering with Sophie Reign was one thing. Bruce leaving hours later, untouched, unchallenged, with the estate's inner aura unaltered, was another entirely.

There was only one explanation.

Bane Reign had seen him. Judged him. And allowed his daughter to remain in his arms.

None of the guards dared to interfere after that.

They might be blades forged for duty, but they weren't fools. Not when it came to the Reign's heir.

And certainly not when it came to the man she'd chosen.

Somewhere among them, a chuckle passed between one pair of soldiers as Bruce vanished beyond the outer boundary.

"Future brother-in-law," one muttered under his breath.

"Mm," the other agreed, already turning away. "And judging by Lady Sophie's expression when she escorted him out… she's chosen well."

No one contradicted it.

No one dared to.

...

Bruce ran lightly, boots tapping against stone, then earth, then smooth old road as the scenery grew familiar with every passing breath. The night air whistled past him, crisp and refreshing, threading through his hair as the distant glow of city lanterns came closer.

A small smile eased onto his lips without him meaning to summon it.

"What a wonderful day," he murmured to himself.

Moments slipped through his mind in rapid succession, Sophie's laughter, the warmth in her eyes, the stolen quiet in her arms, that teasing kiss under the moon. Tiny flashes of softness where there'd once been nothing but the constant grind toward survival and strength.

He hadn't expected it. Any of it.

The battles, the blood, the trials, those he understood. But this… the simple thrill of standing next to someone who chose him and meant it…

It was dizzying.

And addictive.

A rueful sigh escaped him as his pace finally slowed, heels tapping against familiar pavement.

"If I had my way," he muttered, half-amused, "I'd spend the entire night with her. Just talking. Just being there."

But Lily would be waiting. Ash too.

He pictured Lily's face, bright, impatient, unable to hide anything she felt for even a heartbeat. And Ash's silent stare, pretending indifference while secretly studying every change in Bruce's expression.

He couldn't leave them hanging. Not after everything.

That thought grounded him, warming his chest in a way very different from Sophie's touch, but no less deeply.

So, with one last long breath, Bruce veered right, instincts guiding him down a quieter street lit by scattered lantern glass. The scent of warmed sugar drifted on the breeze, familiar enough to draw him in before he even saw the storefront.

The same small shop he'd stopped at with Ash long before the Adventurer trial. Dark wooden beams, a lantern swinging above the door, and that unmistakable shelf stacked with bright wrappers and jars of colorful sweets.

Bruce slowed to a walk, shoulders relaxing.

"Candies first," he decided.

Because Lily always lit up at the sight of them.

And Ash… well, Ash pretended not to care, but Bruce had caught that tiny spark in his eyes when he thought no one noticed.

With that quiet thought lingering, Bruce stepped toward the shop, the small hanging bell over the doorway chiming lightly as he pushed inside.

The same plump vendor from before looked up from arranging jars behind the counter. Recognition lit his eyes almost instantly, softening into a wide, familiar smile. The man had one of those faces shaped by laughter, rounded cheeks, gentle lines at the corners of his eyes, hands calloused from lifting crates of sweets.

"Well now," the vendor greeted, grin spreading. "I remember you, lad. Hard to forget someone who bought half my stock and walked in with a drake at his heels."

Bruce chuckled lightly. It had been a memorable day.

"Did your sister like the Skyberry drops you purchased last time?"

Bruce nodded with an easy smile. "She loved them, actually. Which is why I'm here again. I want to buy another batch."

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