>>5982522>>5982377>>5982300>>5982246>>5982204>>5982203The next day, you bring Etsy to the park. It's one you only passed by as you were talking with her. It was so long ago, yet you still remember the conversation you had. Talking about the apartment's weird history, how she tried to show you something on her phone, how you were awkwardly trying to find a conversation topic she'd like.
"T-That brings back memories. I-I remember when you knocked at m-my door, my first thought was, uhm- 'why is he here?' And when you said you just wanted to get to know me, I-I just wanted to close the door and leave you t-there but..." She locks eyes with you, and kisses you out of nowhere, her arms wrapping around you as if she were afraid you'd fall if she ever let go. "...s-sorry, sometimes I r-remember the life I used t-to live. I-I knew that talking with you b-back then was dangerous. C-Could be an agent, could be d-dangerous, but I wanted to at least try to k-know someone for once. I r-remember when you helped me clean my room. I-I hated you for it, felt p-patronizing, but I liked that y-you cared, I liked that y-you were willing to fight me a little. I-I don't know, that doesn't make sense, sorry for rambling-"
You tell her she's cute when she rambles.
"Y-Yeah, well you're cuter when you, uhm..." She kisses you again, light and sweet. "I don't know! S-Shut up! We're getting to our f-forties, and you're s-still saying that stuff. Y-You haven't changed at all."
You tell you've changed a lot, but your love for her hasn't budged.
"Y-You're just trying to get a r-reaction out of me now."
You are, and you keep trying to for the rest of the date. It doesn't quite hit you yet, that it's all over. The game, the hardship, the danger. Sure, you were 'safe' all the way back here, but now that there's an actual winner, you feel like you can finally breath a sigh of relief. In a way, you did manage to shape the future, if you didn't come to stop the agency from abducting Leah, who knows what would've happened?
Back in that fateful day, you also wondered about a lot of what ifs, what if you stayed in school, or what if you talked to more people, but this time, you can’t say you really regret any of it. Even if you managed to save more people, there’s no telling if it could’ve made things worse in other ways.
You lament the fact that the walls of your room aren’t soundproof when you come back to the hotel, and you may have to hold back until you’re home. You do still have some unfinished business, or at least Arachne does.