People often commented on how the office reflected the one who owned it.

It was spacious, intended to accommodate for all manner of people. Chairs and tables that were highly adjustable so that no matter your body type, number of legs (or lack thereof), or size, you would be able to feel as though you'd never left your home. There was even a water tank, large enough to fit a kraken if need be, for any guests of a more aquatic persuasion. A refrigerator sat fully stocked in the corner, and along the bar were various hard liquors intended for special occasions.

The walls were practically cluttered with all sorts of shelves and cabinets, each one packed to the gills with the results of an eventful life. A seemingly endless stream of framed photos and printed news headlines, as well as gifts from those he had helped. A small, bulbous plant with a blue flower at the top, given life and tended to by a shy mandragora. A wiry necklace of feathers and bone, crafted by a haughty raptor. Those and more lined the man's office.

But his most precious possessions were kept close at hand. His wooden desk, grown by a dryad friend, was a large one, and yet still seemed to barely contain its contents. Books and files, covering all manner of subjects from the complicated relationship between the garuda and naga species to recent changes in harpy flight patterns. All of that knowledge regarding the world of liminals would have been unthinkable to have so readily on hand ten years ago, and yet there it was.

Of course, far more eye-catching were the photos. So many different people, on many different occasions from parties to ceremonies to weddings, all of them smiling back at him.

There was scarcely room for the only other two objects on the desk: a fossilized trilobite and a Godzilla figure, whose roaring visage always watched over his work. He'd insisted on bringing them even if no one actually protested their presence, and so there they were, the two signs of his childhood passions.

After all, he'd always loved the ancient and the monstrous.

As for the man himself, he sat at the desk, sipping a cup of coffee. His black hair had grown out a bit, and he was clean-shaven as always but stubble started to appear on his face indicating he needed a shave. Before him laid a new draft of the Cultural Exchange Bill, but he was taking a break from reading it for the moment. It was a rarity that he had moments of calm, especially in the morning, so he wished to savor the feeling.

He really should have known better.

"Good morning, Romance Master!" greeted a certain redhead lamia, swinging open the doors to his office and beaming as she slithered inside. "Today's the big day! Aren't you excited?!"

Of course, she wasn't alone.

"Hi-hi, Uncin," offered the drowsy child at her side, the little girl wiping at her eyes and letting out a loud yawn. She was like a miniature of her mother, red scales coating her long tail and framing her face, until one noticed the long black hair that fell from her head.

Despite his peace being disrupted, the man let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he stood up to meet them.

"Hi-hi to you too, Lia," Antonio warmly told his friend's daughter, walking over and bending down a little so they were eye to eye. "I'm amazed your mom was able to get you outta bed today; you inherited a bad habit of hers."

"O-Only on days I don't need to get up early!" her mother huffed, cheeks puffing out slightly. "Which is getting rarer every day now!"

"I'm not that bad," Lia murmured groggily, swaying on her tail. "'Sides, everyone's comin' early, and I wanna see 'em."

"That they are," Antonio agreed with a nod, straightening up and turning to regard the lamia woman. "You look good, Miia," he told her, giving her a hug.

"Eh heh heh, I always look good," Miia giggled, smiling as she squeezed him briefly and pulled back. "But I might have put a little more effort in than usual. Kimi hasn't seen me in person in weeks, so I wanted to really wow him!" She said that with a wink, pulling back a lock of red hair with a hand from which a ring glinted in the light.

"She's freaking out in there," Rachnera told him, a beleaguered expression on her pale face as she jerked a thumb at the door and Antonio came down the hallway. The two of them were far more nicely-dressed than usual; he in a fitted red suit jacket and she in a lovely silk dress the color of sunset. She even had an uncharacteristic yet familiar clip in her hair, a golden half-circle facing downward. "Isn't it part of your job to talk her down so she doesn't ruin her own big day?"

"I suppose so," Antonio sighed, about to run a hand through his hair before catching himself. He'd just gotten it how he wanted again, and lord help him if he messed it up again because of old habits. "I'll take it from here, Rachnee. Can you wrangle Papi for me? She wouldn't stop bouncing off the walls, quite literally thanks to Suu."

"What a negligent big brother you are," she snorted, rolling her many eyes. "Fine, I'll do my job and you do yours. Good luck in there, 'Romance Master.'"

Antonio waved her off as she left, scuttling down the hallway. After a moment, he knocked on the door. "Miia? It's Tone, can I come in?" he called out, raising his voice.

"E-Eh?! Oh, um, n-no, I'm such a mess-!"

He opened the door anyway.

Contrary to her words, Miia had never looked more beautiful. The wedding dress was entirely custom, flowing as though it were an endless white wave that winded around her body and the upper portion of her tail. Her hair was done in an intricate series of thin braids that seemed to meld into one another. Mero's handiwork, through and through.

Miia's outrage at his entrance died almost as quickly as it'd started, lips quivering as emotions overtook her.

"I-I'm so scared, Antonio," she confessed, wrapping her arms around herself as she stood in the dressing room. "I'm... I'm so happy, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life! So, so why am I scared?! That doesn't make sense, right?!"

Antonio took a deep breath, and approached her.

"Of course it does," he told her, setting his hands on her shaking shoulders. "You're marrying the man you love. If I was in your position, I'd probably be puking from anxiety right now," he admitted, a self-deprecating smile on his lips.

"But why?" Miia pressed, golden eyes wide as she stared at him. "It's..."

"It's nerves," Antonio assured, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "Look: Kimihito is an incredible man. He's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. I can't think of anyone else that deserves to be with you. And yet..."

He leaned forward.

"He's damn lucky to be marrying you. You're strong, Miia. You've become far more than what you're afraid of being. You're the Chief Photographer for the Cultural Exchange, for crying out loud! You know how many historical events you've captured now?"

"... A lot," she admitted.

"That's right. You're a real mover and shaker now," Antonio encouraged. "You also manage to get my good side, which not many can do," he added with a teasing tone.

"Heh, you make that sound hard," Miia giggled, wiping her eyes. Her expression sobered. "... Is it bad that I wish Mama could be here?" she asked quietly.

Antonio let out a breath. "No, it's not bad. I get it, you still love her, she's your mom. But, well..." He shrugged, not knowing what else to say that hadn't been said already. The law was the law.

"I know, I know," Miia sighed. "I'd just always imagined she'd be there at my wedding."

"Yeah. Some things are meant to have family there for you." Antonio regarded her for a moment. "Which is why I'll be with you every step of the way. Or, uh, undulation in your case. You'll have to kiss him on your own though, I like the guy and all, but not that much."

"You better not!" Miia huffed, though her smile was coming back. She sniffled, and wiped her nose. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you..."

"You'd find your way. I'm just here to help make it a little easier." Antonio looked at the clock. "It's almost time. You gucci?"

Miia hiccuped, then took a long, deep breath. Once she exhaled, it was as though she'd shed the frightened girl she had been a minute ago away entirely.

"Yes, I'm gucci now," Miia proudly declared, smile brighter than the sun. "Thanks, Romance Master!"

Soon after, Antonio walked her down the aisle. Everyone was there, watching the beautiful bride make her way to the end of the red carpet. There, her bridesmaids waited, each sporting red dresses and golden half-circle hair clips.

There, Kimihito Kurusu, her soon-to-be husband, stood and had never looked happier.

Truly, Antonio was glad to have supported her.

That moment had been preserved on the photo at his desk.

"The hour draws ever nearer that the fellowship is reunited," declared an ominous voice from the doorway to his office. There stood a trenchcoat-sporting woman, her black and gold eyes regarding them with incredible weight. "Heroes gather, darkness quails in fear, and the light shines-"

"Too early, Auntie Lala," whined Lia.

"Urk," the blue-skinned woman choked, stopped in her tracks in the face of a grumpy child. "Y-Your words cut deeper than a mithril blade, serpent child..." Lala managed, her cheeks flushing slightly. "'Tis a bad habit learned from the arachne."

"Don't let it get to you," Antonio advised Lala. "Kids have a habit of making your life either heaven or hell on earth, sometimes both at the same time."

"It's exciting, isn't it?" Miia laughed, resting a head on her daughter's head and rubbing it playfully. Lia groaned but didn't resist, letting her head bob around limply.

"Excitement is both a blessing and a curse, truly," Lala droned.

"Speaking of," Antonio said after clearing his throat. "How goes the Far Side of things, ambassador? Should we expect the usual suspects?"

"Indeed, and more besides," the dullahan reported, dramatically tossing her long white hair. "Chthonia, Laestrygonia, and the Ascendant Kingdom will be present, as well as the delegate from Sheol." Lala paused, and for a moment looked sympathetic. "Regrettably, I must inform you it is the ghoul senator, rather than Belial."

Antonio groaned. "I'll never understand her deal with me, but oh well. I have the worst luck with ghouls. Anything else?"

"Yes." The sympathy faded, replaced by a small, genuine smile. "The portal to the other Earth is functioning well within expectations. Your relations will be able to attend without issue."

A slight hitch in his breath, and tension left his shoulders. "Good, good," Antonio murmured, a hand reaching up reflexively to run through his hair.

"You're joking," Antonio murmured, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"I never joke," Lala retorted in utter deadpan. "The path to your world that we have sought for four years has finally been discerned."

He sat stock still, bent forward with his elbows resting on his knees. There were so many thoughts and feelings bouncing inside him that it all became white noise, everything becoming an overwhelming nothing.

"We finally cracked it, Antonio." Kuroko was there, at her desk, the only other person in the room. "Our people have all worked together, digging into how you got here, and now..." The Japanese woman, usually so overworked and tired, actually looked revitalized. "You can see them again."

Them. His family. His friends. All of the people he'd left behind against his will.

It was the most impossible, terrifying, and amazing thought. The only way he'd been able to remember the faces and the sound of their voices was through his phone, with old photos and voicemail recordings. Somewhere along the way, for the past four years, he'd silently given up hope of ever seeing them again.

"H-How?" he asked in a quivering voice.

Lala shook her head. "'Tis not a question of 'how', but of 'when.' Leave the details to myself and the Director. All that is asked of you, bearer of God's Tongue and counselor of the Cultural Exchange, is for you to once more return to your origin and obtain catharsis."

"My... origin..." Antonio echoed, speaking the loaded words as though tasting them for the first time.

That was right.

His first life, his first family. They were there, waiting for him. It had been a long four years. What had changed? What had he left behind? Did they think he was dead? Did they have even the barest inkling of the truth?

He was shaking, but he stood up.

Waiting any longer was unbearable.

"Let's go," Antonio said, his voice trembling and thick.

Lala smiled. "Yes, let us begin your long awaited reunion. It is far too long in the making."

The moment where he stood before a shimmering green and blue portal, Lala gesturing grandly for him to step forward, had been preserved on the photo at his desk.

The four of them had made their way through the large building they so often worked at; the Cultural Exchange had grown as an institution in ten years, immensely so. Today in particular saw a flurry of activity, with humans and liminals both scurrying to hash out details, finalize negotiations, or put out whatever crisis cropped up that minute.

"Vice-Director! Sign this, please!"

Antonio took the clipboard offered by a fuzzy hand, giving it a once-over before signing. "Make sure that gets notarized," he instructed, passing it back and already moving on. "Don't want an issue like last May."

"Yes sir!"

"Ma'am, our airport photography crew is ready to go," called out a male barometz from his cubicle to Miia. "Just in time for the Russian representatives, too!"

"That's great news!" Miia shouted back happily. "What about the seaport? Kanaloa likes to arrive early!"

"We'll get right on it, ma'am!"

"Ambassador, we've run into a snag," spoke a cu sith that hurried to keep pace with Lala. "The ishigaq and kooshdakhaa are at it again..."

"Fairies and shapeshifters, fickle in both mind and body," Lala lamented, her face set. "They are aware of the reparations should they come to blows. This is not a day for petty squabbles. Elucidate such to them."

"Understood."

"So much noise," Lia whined, pressing her face against Miia's side. "How can everyone be so awake...?"

"Coffee, my tiny friend," explained a newcomer, striding up to them on many legs with a smirk made of fanged teeth. "Sweet, sweet, bitter coffee."

"Auntie Rachnee!" Lia gasped, her expression doing a complete 180. She bounced off the ground and leapt into the chuckling arachne's arms, wrapping her tail tightly around Rachnera's waist.

"Oy, look at you, you little hypocrite," Rachnera observed, smirk widening into a smile. "You're not giving your mom too much trouble while dad's away?"

"Nuh uh, just the right amount," Lia answered with a giggle.

"You're a bad influence, Rachnee," Miia chided, turning from the latest worker to grab her attention.

"Just the right amount of bad," Rachnera corrected, wagging a clawed finger as she handed Antonio a tablet. "Don't let all this chaos confuse you, everything's going on schedule. The Director just left her place with MON First Squad, so they'll, amazingly, get here on time. MON Second Squad is waiting to escort us to the airport."

"Gucci," Antonio replied, smiling as he looked down at the info displayed on the tablet. Once he saw certain names on the list, he let out a breath of relief. "I almost can't believe it. How long's it been since all of us were in the same spot?"

"More than long enough," Rachnera said with a small trace of bitterness.

They had left him to be with his first family for several months. Suu was the only one who stuck by his side at the beginning, but even she withdrew when it became clear he needed to spend time with those people alone. There were too many emotions, too many to catch up with, too much time to make up for.

It wasn't like they did nothing while he was away, of course. Opening a portal to a new Earth, one entirely without liminals, brought new challenges that needed to be handled. Kuroko had very firmly told them all not to bother Antonio with it, saying negotiations were best handled in an official and delicate capacity.

Not that Antonio couldn't handle official and delicate work, but the true intent was obvious: let the man enjoy his reunion without worrying about work.

And so he did. But, eventually, that time had to end.

Surprisingly, Rachnera was the first to see him. He was sitting on a bench overlooking a river in his hometown when he heard the tell-tale skitter of her legs approach from behind. The man looked utterly drained, the result of months of constant emotional reunions and social activity. For a time, the only sounds were that of croaking frogs and chirping insects, accompanied by the gentle churning of water.

"... Four years," he suddenly murmured. "Four years, Rachnee. Do you know how much can happen in four years?"

A sarcastic reply died before it could escape her lips. Rachnera knew the time and place for such things, and now wasn't it. "More than you can reconcile in a couple months, I imagine," she said with a sigh, folding her arms across her chest. All eight of her crimson eyes looked down at Antonio.

"My oldest sister got married. She has two kids, and my second oldest sister gave birth to a baby boy. I missed my sister's twentieth birthday," Antonio listed off, voice quiet. "Not only that, but..."

He sniffled.

"My aunt died on the first year anniversary of my disappearance. My uncle died a year later from health complications."

Antonio bit his quivering lip, blinking rapidly. "I... I can't even remember the last thing I said to them," he confessed, tears falling down his face. "Or what they said to me. And n-now... they're gone. Forever."

The silence that hung afterward was heavy. Rachnera was at a loss for words, looking down at Antonio with blatant concern and anxiousness. What could you say to something like that? Kimihito would probably know, or Suu, but her? She'd said the wrong thing too often, especially when it came to him. Doing more damage to him - to anyone - had always been her greatest fear.

But there he was, sobbing and alone. He would've done something for her, if the positions were reversed.

So she moved to his side, sitting down next to the bench. Tentatively, she reached over with her right claw, the same that had scarred Ren, and rested it on his head. Then, she started to scratch his hair.

Antonio froze. Slowly, he turned to her with wide, puffy eyes. "Rachnee...?" he breathed in bafflement.

"Zombina told me once that you calm down when she scratches your hair," she said by way of explanation, trying to appear cool and dignified but mostly failing. "You looked like you needed it."

He blinked a few times. Then the corner of his mouth quirked upward for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so," he admitted, closing his eyes and sagging into the bench. "Thank you, Rachnee."

"Don't mention it, Antonio."

That moment when his family found the two, and he introduced them to a surprisingly nervous Rachnera, had been preserved on the photo at his desk.

The sun was steadily crawling its way past the horizon, hazy orange melding into warm yellow and then a bright blue. All told, it was shaping up to be a beautiful day, but Antonio wouldn't let himself be deceived by the peaceful imagery; today was going to be a busy one, but then what day wasn't?

Outside waiting for them was a