Morning was passing by slowly. Well, it was too slow for Scaramouche's taste.

A few weeks into their married life, all was contentment and bliss. They even plan to spend an entire month somewhere in Snezhnaya for their honeymoon.

Y/n wanted to see that particular spectacle tourists loved whenever they visited that cold nation; the night lights. The luminous colored lights that dance across the night sky. He remembered during each of those nights when they planned their honeymoon, Y/n would open the windows just to stare up at the sky and babble on and on about seeing the night lights. How childish yet so of her character.

She never changed one bit.

Scaramouche nowadays often smiles at the mere thought of his wife's happiness. He was even more glad to know that he himself was the primary reason for her happiness.

A happy wife is a happy life.

And he intended to keep it that way.

"My lord."

Snapped out of his thoughts, Scaramouche lifts his head to see one of the guards by the doorway, "It's the madame. She has returned home, but..."

A raised brow roused suspicion into him. Why would his wife be here at a time like this? He was sure that Y/n would return in three days time just as it was written from her letter he read the night before.

"Are the three aides with her?"

"It appears not so, my lord." The guard nervously answers, gulping down a large chunk of his saliva, praying to the Tsaritsa he wouldn't be in a bad mood, "The madame is waiting for you downstairs in the common room. She seems fine, but..."

Scaramouche sighs, glancing at his unfinished paperwork, now leaving it to another one of his overworked secretaries as he makes his way down to the common room, ignoring the guard who was still speaking to him about the three aides who haven't been seen since Y/n returned.

Something was amiss. Y/n was still in Fontaine, visiting one of her friends for a birthday celebration while he stayed in the Kaedehara manor (that is situated in Narukami island) to investigate the ongoing fluctuations and unstable state of the ley lines surrounding the island.

Did something happen, perhaps? Maybe Y/n decided to come home early as a surprise? He did that a few times, and it surely brought her joy to reunite with him earlier than expected, but something just felt so off about this. Those idiots- Uhm, the three aides weren't present nor had they immediately gone to see him to report what transpired in Fontaine the moment they returned with Y/n.

Approaching the common room, he could hear a faint hum growing louder from the inside as he approached. The voice was too familiar to mistake it for something or someone different. The tune of the humming was awfully more familiar, so many memories were held in that beautiful tune that he could just reminisce them in his head instead of stepping inside.

Pushing the doors, he stands firm as he needs to see it himself that the occupant of the room was indeed his wife, but he had to mentally yell at himself that his eyes were deceiving him upon stepping afoot. He did not want to believe the figure before him. He really didn't want to even speak or approach the woman sitting by the couch.

Her tune comes to a halt as her eyes shift its gaze onto Scaramouche. Her smile was only small yet sweet, gentle and kind. She stands tall from the couch, her purple veil swaying along with her hair. Her Kimono, in the same color and design as her veil, was beautifully tailored to show her status as a woman of noble lineage.

"Y/n..." Scaramouche mutters, realizing it wasn't his wife, but the Y/n he first loved 500 years ago.

"Kabu-chan!" 'Y/n' rushed excitedly, her abrupt embrace pulling him close to her as his hat fell off. Her touch felt almost the same as before. The warmth felt almost the same as before.

It was as if she... As if she never left.

"Kabu-chan?" Her voice was as smooth and silky as her singing voice. The motherly care you could feel from the way she spoke was still there. And that smile... that smile she always had on her face, he could still tell it was as fake as back then.

Scaramouche could only stare up at her, completely in disbelief of her presence. Surely, this wasn't a hallucination, right? He promised himself he would move on and be with his wife. His genuine Y/n.

'Y/n' steps back, gently caressing his hair, pointing out an obvious detail about him, "You look different, Kabu-chan."

"I do?" He scoffs.

"Certainly." 'Y/n' giggles, "Where's that adorable Kabu-chan of mine who always smiles at me?"

"He... He's not here anymore." Scaramouche crosses his arms, staring down at the beautiful patterns etched on her kimono, "Just... Just call me Scara-"

"But it's still you, isn't it, Kabu-chan?" Such a tender tone 'Y/n' spoke with, her stare towards the harbinger just as the same as she would to her beloved Kabukimono. She always knew it was him. She will never mistake his new identity with another,

"I noticed... Everything here is different. Outside, as well. I know this is the Kaedehara mansion in Narukami. I stayed here after I got married, but I only see odd-looking people who call themselves the Fatui..."

Surely, this Y/n isn't a hallucination. Perhaps a memory? Scaramouche remembers the reports he read through the other night regarding the Ley lines. There were mentions of manifestations of its memories. Kaedehara Y/n was perhaps one of those manifestations, it seems. Thankfully, there isn't a Kabukimono one. It would've been awkward to see his former self.

"Y/n, you're..." Scaramouche didn't know what to say. Tongue-tied, and confused with how he should take this all in and sink it into his comprehension. His first and perhaps greatest love, stands before him in all her glory and awe. But she was only a mere memory of unstable Ley Lines and ought to disappear after a period of time.

He must use his time wisely while this memory is still standing before him, he might be able to investigate the fluctuations thoroughly through this manifestation of Ley line memory.

"Kabu-chan, what happened here?" 'Y/n' asks, her smile never leaving her gentle expression.

With a sigh, he decided to offer an explanation to this whole predicament. It was a lot that had to be explained. Hopefully nothing goes wrong with telling her about the current state of Inazuma. She was only a memory now. It's not as if she came to the future from the past like those time travellers in the light novels his wife often spoke about during dinners.

Explaining to 'Y/n' the current state of Inazuma, he had made it clear that she was but a faint memory of the unstable Ley lines and that the real 'her' had long passed. He also pointed out that only very few of her descendants remained, but not daring to confess to her the atrocities he had committed in the past against her in-law's bloodline.

He even had to explain about himself, what had happened after her demise, his journey to getting to where he stands today, what he had become today, and what he had done today as well,

"I'm married now." Scaramouche confesses, showcasing the shiny, golden wedding band on his ring finger.

'Y/n' smiles tenderly, congratulating the boy, "That's so wonderful! Congratulations! Who's the lucky woman to be married to my adorable Kabu-chan?"

Scaramouche faces her, a grim expression holding back his emotions that he thought he had buried a long time ago, "I... It's somewhat complicated, but my wife... She's just like you. She has the same name as you, the same face as you, the same... She's basically almost a carbon copy of you."

He takes a glance once more, observing for any reaction. But all he saw was a smile. That damn fake smile that fooled many mortals, including an immortal like himself.

"Then that's good. You could say we have reunited in this timeline." 'Y/n' hums with satisfaction, "You want to know something, Kabu-chan?"

"Hm?"

"You're just as adorable as the day I first met you!" 'Y/n' smiled tenderly, a lively giggle resounding within the room.

"Y/n...!"

Time passes, and Scaramouche finds himself wandering around the island with 'Y/n' instead of investigating the Ley lines through her. None of the Fatui soldiers questioned their lord harbinger nor the fact that the woman he was accompanying was an uncanny copy of their madame. None even questioned her appearance that was more mature than what the actual, living Y/n of today looked like.

The manor was often quiet, not that anyone complains about it, and yet having been graced with the talents of the Y/n from 500 years ago, all soldiers were in awe as they watched 'Y/n' perform traditional sword dances as well as fan dances, her body graceful and poised as she spins, strike her props, and even had some of them join her.

She played traditional instruments like the Shamisen along with the soldiers who were native to Inazuma, her fingers swiftly and carefully pressed onto the right notes of the traditional instrument, her control over the dynamics and pace of the tune set an impression of a professional player.

She even sang songs to them to keep them even more entertained, her voice soothing to the anxiety of their hearts, the messages held in her lyrics breaching into their souls, their hearts.

The entire day was spent with nostalgia and nothing else, Scaramouche almost felt like he had returned to 500 years in the past.

But the past was still the past.

As the sun had begun to set for the night to be welcomed, he found himself at the same place where he used to watch the last sunsets he spent with Kaedehara Y/n. The sunset would remind him of the promises that were long broken and voided. No longer eligible to be upheld just as he had made the decision to move on.

And yet those were the same promises he wished he had honored upon her death.

"Kabu-chan?" 'Y/n' calls out to Scaramouche, her smile still as the same he saw on her face back then, her hair flowing gracefully against the breeze of dusk. The veil she cherishes so neatly lays flat and folded beside his hat,

"I want to ask you something."

"Hm?" He spares a side glance.

"If... If you were to meet me in another life, and supposedly my beauty faded in that new life... Would you still love me the same?"

"What an awful question." He rolled his eyes, "Your beauty doesn't matter."

'Y/n' chuckles, "True... I really don't mind my own beauty, but if I were to lose my talent in singing and dancing... Would you mind, then?"

"No."

"How about if I lose a finger? A pinky to be exact."

"No."

"Hm... If I become fat?"

"Who cares if you become fat!"

"Well, aren't you just as difficult as before." 'Y/n' laughs wholeheartedly, a rare yet almost non-existence instance that showcased her raw emotion, "But you're more haughty than timid now."

"Yeah, sure. Say whatever you like. I'm not the same naive puppet as before."

"You weren't naive, Kabu-chan." 'Y/n' reached out, her hand gently caressing his indigo hair once again, "This world was severely blinded by cruelty, unable to see how much of a precious lifeform you are."

Such words of comfort from her always get to him, remembering those nights 500 years ago. Whispers of sweet nothings, lullabies, words of affirmation... He was spoiled rotten to the core under her care before in Tatarasuna. He felt like he had regressed back to a child all over again.

"Kabu-chan, I want you to promise me something..." She held his hands tenderly, "Cherish your wife. Love her as you have loved me and other humans."

"What?" Scaramouche was bewildered, he only mentioned his Y/n to her once and the 'Y/n' of the past remembers.

"Kabu-chan, I wished and prayed to the heavens each night... I wished that If I were to pass, I want to be reborn over...and over... and over... Countless times. Forever perhaps. It seems that my wish came true, because you married someone who was like me."

"But you'll just keep dying. Human lives are significantly short, that's undeniable," Scaramouche retorts, "But still a foolish wish. My wife wouldn't probably wish for that. She's afraid to speak of dying over and over."

"And yet you met someone who is exactly like me. That's what I want, Kabu-chan. To be reborn again, and find myself in your arms. That's what I only want in each lifetime I may have in this world." 'Y/n' leans downward, wanting to show her sincerity,

"If you ever find someone who resembles me, be it in the face or the personality or anything else, I want you to cherish them, love them... For I wished to reunite with you no matter what fate throws at us. That we would always find each other, no matter the circumstances, even if we forget our past lives... Fate will always find a way for us to be together again."

Sure, his wife had the same face, the same name as Kaedehara Y/n, but her life was different, her upbringing was different. How would he know if it was still his beloved in her next life? What if she looked different? What if she wasn't the same as before? How would he know it was still her by then?

"Would you still love me the same, Kabu-chan? Would you still love me as you have before even though I will have many different lives?" 'Y/n' held a sincere gaze, probably the most sincere she could be. She was never as sincere as she was to others, and yet she shows her raw, pure sincerity only to this puppet who couldn't even tell who's sincere anymore.

To love Kaedehara Y/n was to commit one's entire life span to understanding her nature. Her walls were as high as the palace of Tenshukaku, her heart locked away deep into her conscience as she became null and void of the will to continue living.

It was a journey to love her, and Scaramouche didn't care. He was willing to love her, he didn't care to understand her as much as her former suitors would. He was more willing to be present for her than to understand her, because he knows that she would prefer that way.

He was someone who already understood her.

And to love his wife, his dearest wife, his Y/n, it was the same. As long as he was there, as long as he showed his true sincerity, he knew that his love would finally reach her. Though he would question himself once in a while if his love ever reached Kaedehara Y/n in the past. He doesn't care to know anymore.

Fingers intertwined, Scaramouche was firm with his stance, "I don't care what becomes of you. As long as it's you, I will make sure that you're in my arms again."

"That's my Kabu-chan." 'Y/n' grinned, pressing her forehead against his,

"We will always find each other. No matter what."

And just as the sunset meets the night, his tears meet her final goodbye.

A week later...

Tightly locked within Scaramouche's embrace in bed, Y/n was in deep thought as she gazed towards him with a loving smile.

Since her return from Fontaine, there was a noticeable change in her husband. He was more affectionate and physical with her, even going as far as to ask for praise and kisses, especially that he was slowly getting comfortable with displaying their affection in public. Sure, they had their moments kissing and being affectionate in both public and private spaces, but it was different compared to before.

During the time they were engaged, Y/n learned of his need for her affection whenever he was missing her presence. It mostly happens whenever he was away for missions, long errands, or simply just whenever they've been apart for far too long despite being in the same room or place. She misses him as well while they are apart, but it was so childish yet so endearing of her husband to seek or demand for her attention and touch simply for that reason.

But as much as she wants to coddle her beloved, spoiling him with her love, she knew something was bothering him. He'd especially become clingy if that were to be the case, and currently, he was stuck to her like glue. His face buried deep into her bosom, nuzzling desperately as his arms around her waist tighten ever so slightly as if he was scared that she'd leave once he lets go.

With a sigh, her hands cup his face, tilting his head upward to meet her loving gaze, "Something's bothering you."

"Nothing is bothering me, Y/n." He denies firmly, leaning towards her touch.

Of course he'd deny it. He rarely speaks to her of his troubles, even if she asks him. She wanted to be someone he can rely on as much as she relies on him. She is his wife, afterall, and wives are supposed to hear out the woes of their husbands. Good communication fosters better understanding between couples, especially married couples.

Having no choice, but to give in, Scaramouche just sits up from his place, his palms pressed onto the bed sheet as he straddles her,

"Do you wish to be reborn one day?"

"Is this because I'm a mortal?" Y/n smiles sweetly. This topic was nothing new, his worry over her mortality was nothing new.

Human lives are significantly short, and it is inevitable that one day, she will grow old and pass away. To be reborn was such a fascinating yet terrifying concept for humans, as far as she knows, having to come to terms that the life you lived in the past would never be repeated, and the memories cherished from that life would be lost to time.

Was he really that scared of losing her? Does he truly wish to see her once more when she exists in a different timeline?

"Y/n, I... tell me..." Scaramouche sighs, "If... If we were to meet one day, and you have become someone entirely different, would you love me? Would you still love me the same way you love me now?"

Y/n's expression softens, her brows furrowed with a sad smile. She reaches out to his porcelain face, gently wiping away his tears with her thumb,

"No matter what becomes of me, I will love you the same."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what." She lifts herself up to embrace him, his head resting over her bosom as she wraps one arm around him, and the other maneuvering her hand that was caressing his hair.

The quiet night echoed her lullaby, humming as much as he could to sooth the worries of her husband. She may never know why he was so pressed about his troubles, but she will do her best to pour out all of her love to him.

Scaramouche, on the other hand, was slowly sinking into her comforting gesture. His wife never fails to make him melt for her. He loves her. He loves her so, so much. He might as well marry her a thousand times for this.

And from that day on, Kaedehara Y/n had truly become a thing of the distant past.

Y/n L/n is the only person