Bucket List | Jack Duff

e p i l o g u e

*this epilogue will be pretty long*

Wandering through the wood, Brooklyn was glad to be out of the flat. It was surrounded by a bubble of sadness a lot of the time, nobody really having enough effort or motivation to do anything other than get upset. Being somebody who wanted everyone, including himself, to be happy, Brooklyn spent a lot of time outside the flat, on the park with fans, distracting himself from the emotional entities that were swirling in his stomach.

But being in the woods was something new for him. The last time he'd been in these woods was when him, the guys and Aria went on that midnight trek for Aria's bucket list goal, and that was when it was pitch black around them - it was completely different in the light. More beauty than Brooklyn had ever seen in one place, and it made him feel happy.

He knew exactly what he was looking for. He didn't know where he would find it, but he knew he would know immediately when he did. He searched and he searched, up, down, high, low, across, back, every single place he could've looked, believe me he looked there but didn't find a thing. He was going to give it up as a bad job, and come back tomorrow to try again, when he came across a sprout, a small, oak tree shaped sprout, which was just up to his thigh, maybe a little taller. It stood there, strong trunk, strong branches, fresh leaves, proud among the other tall tree's which it would be just as big as one day.

He crouched down in front of it, feeling himself well up as he realised this was the one. This is what he'd just been looking for for the past two hours, and he'd found it.

"Aria" he breathed softly, touching the leaves softly with the tips of his fingers, like they were delicate and would turn to dust at his touch. "I told you I would find you. I promised you I would, and I did. I was never going to give up on you, and I found you. And one day, you're going to be just as big as the rest of these tree spirits around you, and I'm going to be here to watch"

The day before Aria had passed, she'd made Brooklyn promise to find her tree spirit in the exact same woods she taught him about them - and a few weeks later, he did just that.

— — — — — — —  

It was quiet in the flat, only Andy and Rye being in there. Mikey and Brooklyn had taken Jack out to see Aria, it bringing him comfort to visit the place they buried her, and that was okay. It gave Rye time to do what Aria had wanted him to do. It'd been a few weeks now, and every time Rye tried, the boys were around, so now they weren't he couldn't pass the opportunity down.

"Andy?" Rye asked gently, and Andy looked at him from his bunk. "Can I talk to you for a minute? It's kinda important"

"Sure thing buddy, I'll come down" Andy said, jumping down from his bunk to come and sit on the couch with him. "Okay, what's up?"

Rye took a deep breath, not being able to find his words.

"It's just- I just- I don't- I like" I said, stuttering my words, and Andy chuckled.

"Cat got your tongue mate?" he said. "Go on, just say it, you know I'd never judge you"

Rye didn't know what to say, but he knew what to do. He kissed him. Just like that, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Rye kissed Andy, and Andy kissed him back. There was no hesitation, no backing away and shouting crazy things. It was perfect.

Rye was the one to pull away.

"You have no idea" Andy said, stopping to chuckle. "How bloody long I've been waiting for you to do that. I've been waiting so long for that moment"