A Century Between Us (Gojo x reader)
Synopsis: When she got teleported back in a whole different world, she didn't expect the one to catch her from the sky is the one she lost.
Warning: No warning, pure fluff and action
The sky over the city didn't look like a sky anymore. It was a bruised, swirling vortex of violet and charcoal, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm that made the very air hum against her skin. The ground beneath her boots shudderedânot with the natural shifting of tectonic plates, but with the violent, mechanical heaving of a world being forced open.
She arrived at the laboratory as the perimeter was already disintegrating. Steel girders groaned like dying beasts, and the smell of ozone was so thick it left a metallic tang on her tongue. Most would have run. Most would have looked at the collapsing facility and accepted that the battle was lost.
But she wasn't most people. She was a Special Agent, a ghost in the machine of the state, and she had nothing left to lose but the breath in her lungs.
âDon't go in there alone,â her commanderâs voice echoed in her memory. She ignored it. She had sent her bird spyâa masterpiece of clockwork and surveillanceâsoaring through the ventilation shafts minutes ago. Its mental link fed her a jagged, flickering map of the underground labyrinth.
She unsheathed Kazeshini. The sacred steel of her late masterâs blade caught the flickering emergency lights, humming in anticipation.
âItâs only you and me, Kazeshini,â she whispered, her thumb brushing the worn leather of the hilt. âLetâs get this bastard for good.â
She moved into the long, dimly lit hallway. It was a gauntlet of steel and blood. Dottoreâs bio-mechanical guards swarmed from the shadows, their movements jerky and inhuman. She didn't just fight; she danced. Her body was a blur of lethal precision, her blade carving arcs of silver through the gloom. The cries of her enemies were swallowed by the roar of the earthquake, a symphony of destruction that grew louder with every step she took toward the heart of the facility.
Her breath came in heavy, burning gasps. Her muscles screamed, but the image of the man she loved kept her legs moving. She had to reach the center before Dottore tore the timeline apart. She had to stop him before he turned their reality into a playground for his god-complex.
She reached the final bulkhead. Her hacking device hissed as it interfaced with the electronic lock. With a final, hydraulic groan, the doors slid open.
The laboratory was a cathedral of madness. At its center stood a towering spire of rotating rings, emitting arcs of white lightning that fed into a cloud-like rift at the ceiling. And there stood Dottore, looking as if he were merely tending a garden.
âWell, well⊠What do we have here? A lost raven?â
He turned, his smirk sharp enough to draw blood. In his hand, he held the crushed, lifeless remains of her spy bird. The mental link snapped, leaving a dull ache in her skull. She grit her teeth so hard her jaw felt like it might crack.
âLooks like you lured me here on purpose,â she rasped, gripping her sword. âNeed an audience for your wicked show, Dottore?â
âOh? You are angry,â the scientist mused, tilting his head. The lightning from the machine cast long, demonic shadows across his face. âSurely the earthquake earlier couldnât have made you this volatile. Or⊠did I accidentally take something important from you in the process?â
He gestured to the wall of monitors behind him. They were flickering through news feeds of the disaster. The headline burned into her retinas: EARTHQUAKE DISASTER: THE CITY MOURNS.
The screen paused. It was a grainy, high-angle shot of a rescue site. The camera focused on a face pulled from the rubbleâa face no one could mistake. White hair, stained with dust and crimson. Eyes that had always looked like the sky, now clouded and still.
The man who was supposed to marry her in seven days. The man who had promised her that, no matter how dangerous the mission, he would always be the one to bring her home.
âYou are grieving, tsk tsk tsk,â Dottore said, his voice dripping with a mocking, hollow sympathy. âDo you know grieving people should stay home and cry? Why are you here, little agent?â
The grief didn't break her. It transmuted. It turned into something cold, hard, and sharp. She didn't shed a single tear. Instead, a dangerous, predatory smirk mirrored his own.
âSo you know why Iâm going to kill you,â she whispered. âGood. Make this easier.â
She didn't waste another breath. She lunged with the speed of a winter gale, her blade aimed straight for his throat. She was a master of her craft, a weapon honed by years of tragedy. But as the tip of her sword grazed the air an inch from his neck, the rift above them screamed.
The sky boomed. A pillar of pure, blinding white light erupted from the machine, swallowing the room. The air was sucked out of her lungs, replaced by a suffocating, dizzying vacuum. Her body felt as if it were being pulled apart atom by atom.
âCongratulations,â Dottoreâs sinister voice echoed in her fading consciousness, sounding like it was coming from miles away. âYou just tore through space and time. If the vacuum doesn't kill you, the landing might. Good luck, Miss Special Agent.â
Darkness claimed her, cold and absolute.
The darkness didn't lift so much as it shattered.
She choked out a breath, her lungs burning as if they had been filled with glass. Her body shot up in a frantic burst of adrenaline, her fingers clawing at the earth to find the hilt of Kazeshini. But the cold, familiar leather was gone. Her hands met only damp soil and the sharp prickle of pine needles.
âFuck,â she whispered, her voice a ghost of its former self.
She forced her eyes open. The world was too brightâa vivid, aggressive green that made her head throb. This wasn't the grey, smog-choked forest outside the laboratory. The trees were massive, ancient oaks and towering pines that seemed to breathe with a quiet, undisturbed dignity. The air didn't smell like ozone; it smelled of rain-soaked moss and wildflowers.
She tried to stand, but the world tilted violently. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed back into the dirt with a groan of frustration. Footsteps approachedâheavy, rhythmic thumps on the forest floor, accompanied by the low hum of conversation.
She reached out, her fingers closing around a jagged, heavy stone. It was a pathetic substitute for her master's blade, but it would have to do. She crouched low in the brush, her eyes wide and frantic, waiting for the threat.
Two men stepped into the clearing. One had dark hair pulled back into a neat bun, wearing a high-collared black coat that looked like it belonged in a museum. But it was the other man who stopped her heart.
The white hair. The towering, lean frame. And then, he turned.
Those eyes. A blue so deep they seemed to hold the weight of the sky.
âMy lady! Are you alright??â
The manâs voice was a mirror of the one she had lost, but the cadence was wrongâtoo formal, too panicked in a way her Satoru never was. He was dressed like an English Duke, a midnight-blue velvet waistcoat hugging his broad shoulders, a crisp white cravat at his throat.
Heâs dead. I saw his face on the screen. This is a trick. Dottoreâs final cruelty.
As the man rushed toward her, his face a mask of genuine concern, her instincts took over. She didn't see a savior; she saw an impossibility. Her hand whipped forward, launching the rock with the deadly accuracy of a trained assassin.
âOw! Good heavens!â The man tumbled backward, his hand flying to his forehead as he hit the grass with a heavy thump.
âYour Grace!â the dark-haired manâLord Getoâshouted, rushing to his side. âI told you! Look at her, Satoru! Sheâs dressed like a vagabond in those⊠are those trousers? Sheâs clearly a madwoman. We should summon the constabulary!â
Satoru rubbed his forehead, which was already blooming into a vivid red knot. He looked at herânot with anger, but with a bewildered, intense fascination. âWh-what was that for? I was merely offering assistance!â
She tried to speak, to demand to know who he was and where the Doctor had hidden, but the buzzing in her brain intensified. The vibrant green of the forest bled into black. Her grip on the earth loosened, and she felt herself falling into the void again.
Satoru was on his feet in an instant, forgetting his own injury. He caught her before she hit the rocks, his gloved hands surprisingly gentle as they cradled her head.
âWe have to bring her back to the estate, Geto.â
âSatoru, be reasonable,â Geto sighed, crossing his arms. âShe just pelted a Duke of the Realm with a stone. Sheâs dangerous. And look at her clothesâthose materials... I've never seen such a weave. She isn't from around here.â
âI donât care if sheâs from the moon,â Satoru murmured, his thumb brushing a smudge of dirt from her cheek. He looked at her as if he were trying to solve a riddle that had been bothering him for a lifetime. âSheâs terrified. And sheâs under my protection now.â
The transition from the void was a violent one. Her eyes flew open, but the world didn't settle; it pulsed in sickening waves of emerald and gold. The silk pillows beneath her head felt like a trap, and the silence of the room was so heavy it made her ears ring.
She sat up too fast, a sharp gasp catching in her throat as her hand instinctively flew to her hip. Empty. No holster, no Kazeshini.
"Easy now, my lady. Youâve been through quite a tumble."
The voice hit her like a physical blow. She whipped her head around, her vision blurring. There, sitting in a velvet armchair by the window, was the man from the woods. He had discarded his coat, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. He was peeling an apple with a small silver knife, looking as casual as if they were back in their apartment on a Sunday morning.
"Satoru," she breathed, the name slipping out like a prayer.
The knife slipped. The Duke froze, his blue eyes snapping to hers, widening in genuine shock. He slowly set the apple down, his playful mask flickering for a split second.
"I don't believe Iâve had the pleasure of being introduced," he said, his voice dropping an octave. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "How is it that a woman who falls out of thin air in the middle of my hunting grounds knows the name given to me by my mother?"
Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Shit. "Iâ" she stammered, her mind racing at the speed of a high-end processor. "I heard your friend call you that. The dark-haired one. In the forest."
Satoru tilted his head, a lock of white hair falling over his brow. A slow, knowing smirk spread across his lipsâthe kind of look that said he knew she was lying, but he found the lie fascinating. "Lord Geto hasn't called me by my given name in public since we were boys, unless heâs particularly cross with me. He calls me 'Your Grace.' Or 'you insufferable fool.'"
"Maybe I guessed," she snapped, her defensive walls slamming back into place. She looked around the room, her eyes darting to the ceiling. "Where are the lights? Why is it so dark in here? And the air... why does it smell like a beeswax factory? Whereâs the ventilation?"
Satoruâs brow furrowed. "Lights? The sun is providing quite a bit of it, I should think. As for the 'ventilation,' the windows are open. Are you... are you feeling quite right in the head? Youâre asking for things that don't exist, my lady."
"The year," she demanded, ignoring his concern. "Whatâs the date? And don't tell me some medieval nonsense."
"It is the year of our Lord, 1812," he replied slowly, as if speaking to someone who might bolt at any second. "And you are in the North of England. My estate."
"1812," she whispered, the color draining from her face. She looked down at her hands. They were trembling. "No. No, no, no. Dottore, you son of aâ"
"Doctor? Is that who you seek?" Satoru rose from his chair, his height suddenly imposing. He moved toward the bed, his presence filling the space. "You mentioned a doctor in your sleep. And 'energy signatures.' And 'satellites.' Iâve had the best physicians in the country look at you, and none of them know what a 'satellite' is. They think youâve suffered a profound blow to the skull."
He sat on the edge of the mattress, the weight of him dipping the bed toward her. He reached out, his gloved hand stopping just short of her cheek. "You talk as if you come from another world. Or perhaps youâre just a very clever spy."
"I'm not a spy," she rasped, pulling the covers up to her chin. The proximity was killing herâthe way he smelled of sandalwood and expensive tobacco, the way his eyes searched hers with an intensity that felt like a physical touch. "I'm just... lost. My name isâ"
She stopped herself. Giving him her name felt like giving him a piece of her soul.
"I don't even know your name," he prompted, his voice softening into a gentle, honeyed lure. "Only that you know mine. Itâs quite a mystery. I love mysteries."
"It's just a coincidence," she lied, her voice shaking. "A common name, isn't it? Satoru? I must have known someone... someone else."
Satoru didn't move, but the air between them grew thick. He knew she was diverting. He knew there was a secret behind her eyes that could rewrite his entire understanding of the world. But instead of pressing her, he stood up and bowed with a flourish, the quintessential gentleman.
"A coincidence. Of course," he said, though his eyes sparkled with a dangerous, playful curiosity. "Well, 'coincidence' or not, you are my guest. And since you know my name so well, I suppose I shall have to spend my every waking hour making sure you don't forget the man it belongs to."
As he turned to leave, she caught him staring at her reflection in the darkened glass of a wardrobeâa look of such profound, quiet yearning that she had to look away.
"The man you mentioned... Lord Geto. Does he always look so... suspicious?"
Satoru laughed, a bright, clear sound. "Suguru? Heâs just protective. He thinks you're a witch or a French revolutionary. I, however, think youâre a breath of fresh air. Rest now. We have much to discuss tomorrow... over tea. Or whatever it is you people from 'elsewhere' drink."
The days at the estate bled into a surreal rhythm. To Satoru, she was a captivating enigma; to her, he was a living ache.
The library had become her sanctuary and her war room. She stood before a mahogany table littered with parchment, her brow furrowed as she scanned the local registries.
"I need to conduct a formal investigation," she said, not looking up as she heard the familiar, rhythmic click of his boots. "I need data on any recent seismic activity or strange light phenomena in the Northern Quadrant. And I need to know if any foreign nationals have been buying up properties with high-yield iron deposits."
Satoru stopped beside her, leaning his hip against the table. He looked down at the maps, then back at her, his expression one of genuine, charming confusion. "Data? Seismic? Iron deposits?" He chuckled softly, though there was a spark of frustration in his blue eyes. "My lady, I am a Duke with the Kingâs own ear, and even I haven't the slightest inkling of what you're prattling on about. Are you looking for a blacksmith? Or perhaps a geologist?"
She rubbed her temples, the weight of the era finally crushing her. For the first time in her career, her training was useless. There were no databases to hack, no satellite feeds to scour. "I don't know the terminology here," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I don't know how anything works."
Satoruâs playful smirk softened. He reached out, his fingers hovering near hers. "Then let me be your eyes. You have the intellect, but I have the keys to this world. Tell me what you seek in plain English, and I shall find it."
"Fine," she sighed, finally looking at him. "But I canât do it in these." She gestured to the heavy, restrictive silk gown Shoko had forced her into. The stays were digging into her ribs, and the layers of petticoats felt like a cage. "I need trousers. Even men's trousers are fine. I can't move, I can't fight, and I certainly can't think while I'm trussed up like a holiday goose."
Satoruâs jaw practically dropped. "Trousers? On a woman of your... stature? The scandal alone would fuel the gossip mills for a decade." He paused, his gaze raking over her, imagining the sight. A slow, mischievous grin spread across his face. "Incredible. You truly are a marvel. Iâll have my tailor bring a selection of riding breeches. But you must promise to wear a cloak in the hallwaysâIâd rather my butler didn't have a fatal heart attack."
As the weeks passed, Satoru became a fixture in her life. He was a "lovesick puppy" with the authority of a lion. He followed her into the gardens, watching with rapt fascination as she practiced her hand-to-hand drills. He brought her rare teas and stayed up late into the night, listening to her talk about a world he couldn't imagine.
Every day, he fell a little deeper. He loved the way she challenged him, the way she didn't care for his titles, and the fierce intelligence behind her eyes. But every time he reached for her, she retreated. She treated him like a dangerous flameâbeautiful to look at, but capable of burning her to ashes.
The stone balcony of the Gojo estate was silvered by the moonlight, the air crisp with the scent of damp pine and night-blooming jasmine. She leaned against the balustrade, her new leather breechesâthe ones Satoru had commissioned with a mischievous glint in his eyesâfeeling more like a second skin than any silk gown ever could.
Behind her, the steady click of a glass being set on a stone table announced his arrival.
"You know, the astronomers in London claim that the stars are fixed," Satoru said, his voice light and melodic. He stepped up beside her, smelling of sandalwood and the cold night air. He pointed a long, elegant finger toward the shimmering cluster in the north. "That there is Andromeda. And just beside her, the Great Bear. My mother used to say the stars were the eyes of our ancestors, watching to see if weâd make a mess of things."
He turned his head to look at her, his blue eyes glowing in the dark like twin sapphires. "Do they look the same? From wherever it is youâve wandered from?"
She looked up, her throat tightening. "Mostly," she whispered. "But the light is different. Back home, the sky is never this dark. Thereâs too much... artificial light. The stars have to fight to be seen."
Satoru hummed, a low vibration in his chest. "A sky that fights. It sounds like a restless place. Much like you." He moved closer, his shoulder nearly brushing hers. "I find myself wondering, in the quiet moments, what you see when you look at me. Because I look at you and I see everything I didn't know I was missing."
His voice had lost its playful edge, dropping into a register of raw, unshielded sincerity. "Iâve spent years dodging the 'Season,' avoiding the daughters of Earls and Dukes because they felt like paper dolls. But you... you are a storm Iâve spent my whole life waiting to be caught in it."
The air between them grew heavy, charged with a tension that made her heart hammer against her ribs. Satoru reached out, his gloved fingers grazing the back of her hand.
"I love you," he whispered, the words simple and devastating. "I don't care about your secrets or your strange talk. I want you to stay. I want you to be the Duchess of the North."
The confession felt like a physical blow. Panic surged through herâthe familiar, desperate need to protect her heart from a man who was already dead. "I can't do this, Satoru," she gasped, pulling her hand away as if his touch had burned her. "I have to go. I shouldn't be here."
She turned to flee into the safety of the dark library, but she didn't even make it three steps. Satoru was faster. He moved with a grace that defied his size, his hand catching her arm, not with force, but with a firm, desperate plea.
"Don't run!" he commanded, his voice cracking. "Every time I get close, you vanish. You look at me with such agonizing yearning, and then you pull back as if Iâve struck you. Why? If you don't feel the same, tell me, and Iâll leave you in peace. But I see the way you look at me. Itâs not indifference. Itâs grief."
He spun her around to face him, his hands gripping her shoulders. "Why do you look at me like Iâm a ghost? Why did you know my name before I even spoke it? Enough with the riddles! Tell me the truth!"
The dam finally broke. The months of isolation, the trauma of the lab, and the sight of her fiancĂ©âs broken body all came crashing down in a single, jagged sob.
"Because you are a ghost!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the stone walls. "In my timeâin the world youâll never seeâyou were mine! We were supposed to be married in a week! I watched you die, Satoru! I watched a city fall on top of you while you were trying to save me! I saw your face on the news, cold and still, and then I was ripped away and dropped here into this... this nightmare!"
Satoruâs grip on her shoulders didn't loosen; it tightened, his eyes widening in profound shock.
"The future..." he breathed, the word sounding like a prayer.
"I know your name because itâs the only thing that kept me sane when I woke up in those woods!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands, her frame shaking. "I know the way you laugh, the way you tilt your head when youâre being annoying... but you aren't my Satoru. Heâs dead. If I love you, Iâm just loving a memory. It would be insulting to you. It's wrong..it just..wrong"
The silence that followed was broken only by her ragged gasps. Satoru didn't pull away. Instead, he pulled her into a crushing embrace, his arms wrapping around her like a fortress. He tucked her head under his chin, his breath warm against her hair.
"Then let him go," he whispered fiercely. "I am not a memory. I am right here. My heart is beating against yours. I am Satoru, the duke of the north. I am the man who wants to grow old with you in a world where the stars are still fixed."
He pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. He took off his glove on one hand before his thumbs wiping away the tears with a tenderness that broke her heart all over again.
"I am not the man you lost," he said firmly. "I am the man who found you. And I promise you, on my life and my titleâno cities are going to fall on me. Give me a chance to be your Satoru. Just... give us a chance."
She shook her head, even as she leaned into his warmth. "It's not right. This isn't where I belong."
"You belong with me," he countered, his voice a vow that felt stronger than time itself. "In any century. In any life."
After their confession on the balcony, a heavy, resonant silence settled over the estate. For days, the grand halls felt narrower, the air thick with the unspoken weight of two lives overlapping across centuries. She moved through the corridors like a specter, her heart a battlefield. Every time she caught Satoru watching her from across a roomâhis expression soft, devoid of his usual playful maskâshe felt the urge to run toward him and away from him all at once. He knows better than to force his feelings on her. He knows she is still grieving and she needs space, and space is what he will give.
The memory of her Satoru, the one who had kissed her goodbye before the earthquake, was still so vivid it felt like a fresh bruise. Loving this Duke felt like an act of survival that bordered on betrayal. Yet, the way this Satoru looked at her wasn't just a reflection; it was a brand new light.
She broke the stalemate one morning in the solar. "There is a gala," she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. "Lord Il Dottore. Heâs masquerading as a foreign alchemist. Iâve confirmed heâll be at the seasonâs masquerade."
Satoru, who had been brooding over a ledger, froze. His head snapped up, and for the first time in a week, a dazzling, genuine grin split his face. It was the "lovesick puppy" in its purest form.
"You're going?" he asked, his blue eyes beaming with a brilliance that rivaled the sun. "With me? As my partner?"
"It is for serious business, Satoru," she reminded him sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am going to corner a murderer, not to dance the quadrille."
"Business, pleasureâitâs all the same when youâre on my arm," he chirped, leaning back with a triumphant huff. "I shall have the carriage readied. And Shoko will find you a mask. My lady, youâve just made me the happiest man in the North."
She smiles a bit, he is still just as sappy as he always is. Maybe she is destined to love every version of him.
Satoru spared no expense. He summoned the most prestigious tailor from London, a man who looked ready to faint at Satoruâs demands. For hours, she was draped in fabrics she didn't know the names of, while Satoru sat on a velvet chair, sipping brandy and providing a running commentary.
"Too dull," heâd say, waving off a pale pink silk. "She isn't a begonia, man! Sheâs a storm!"
When she finally stepped out in a gown of midnight blueâa shade that matched the sky just before a hurricaneâSatoru went silent. The dress was daring, with a sharp, structured bodice that reminded her of her old uniform and a skirt that flowed like liquid ink.
"There she is," Satoru whispered, standing up slowly. He walked around her, his eyes blazing with pride. "You look... absolutely lethal. Dottore won't stand a chance, and the rest of the Ton will simply perish of envy."
"It's a bit much, Satoru," she muttered, tugging at the low neckline.
"It is perfect," he insisted, his hand hovering near her waist. "You are the most beautiful woman to ever grace this century. Let them stare.â
The gala was a swirl of silk and scandal. As they entered the ballroom, a hush fell over the crowd. The Duke of the North, who had famously snubbed every debutante for five years, was finally appearing with a woman on his armâa woman who walked with the poise of a general and the grace of a panther.
"Your Grace," a high-ranking Duchess chirped, fanning herself aggressively as she blocked their path. "Who is this... enchanting creature? We heard rumors of a 'guest' at the estate, but surely you haven't been hiding a diamond of this caliber?"
Satoru didn't miss a beat. He tucked her hand deeper into his arm, leaning in with that arrogant, charming tilt of his head. "A guest? Heavens, no. This is the woman who has finally seen fit to end my bachelorhood. May I introduce my fiancée?"
Her head whipped toward him, eyes wide with shock. He hadn't asked. He hadn't even hinted. But before she could protest, he gave her arm a subtle, reassuring squeeze.
"FiancĂ©e!" the Duchess gasped, the news spreading through the room like wildfire. "But the Gojo lineâthe eldersâ"
"The elders will simply have to learn to love her as I do," Satoru said with a sharp, toothy grin that suggested anyone who disagreed would be dealt with. He turned to her, his voice dropping to a low, intimate hum. "Shall we dance, my love? Or shall we go find our 'friend'?"
The gala was a swirl of silk, perfume, and hidden faces. Under the golden chandeliers of the ballroom, she felt like a wolf in a sheepfold. Satoru was a constant, warm presence at her back, his hand resting possessively at the small of her waist as he navigated the sea of nobility.
Then, she saw him. Across the room, wearing a mask of silver filigree, was the man who had ruined her life twice.
They cornered him in a secluded gallery, away from the music. Dottore didn't look afraid; he looked amused. He swirled a glass of champagne, his eyes glinting behind his mask.
"How poetic!" he laughed, the sound jarring against the distant violins. "I give you your lover back, a pristine copy with a title and a fortune, and you still seek to kill me? You are remarkably ungrateful, Agent."
âYou didnât give him back,â she snarled. âYou stole a world to build a monument to your own madness.â
Dottoreâs gaze flickered to Satoru, who stood tall, his jaw set in a dangerous line. "Perhaps I should kill this version too. A matched set of corpses for your collection."
With a flick of his wrist, a mechanical blade shot from Dottoreâs sleeveâa blur of silver aimed at Satoruâs heart.
She didn't hesitate. In one fluid motion, she snatched the ornamental rapier from Satoruâs ceremonial belt. The ring of steel echoed through the gallery as she parried the blow. Satoru gasped, stepping back as he watched her move.
She wasn't just fighting; she was a storm. She moved with a ferocity the 19th century had never seenâspinning, parrying, and striking with the brutal, calculated efficiency of a modern soldier. Her feet danced over the marble, her blade a flickering extension of her rage. Dottore, caught off guard by her sheer speed, barely managed to deflect a lethal strike to his throat.
"Enough!" Dottore hissed, clutching a bleeding gash on his arm. He threw a smoke pellet to the floor, the thick grey mist swallowing him as he retreated through a service door.
The carriage ride back was silent, save for the sound of her heavy breathing. Satoru didn't say a word until they were back in his private chambers. He was flabbergasted, his mind reeling from the display of violence and grace he had just witnessed.
"You..." he started, then stopped, shaking his head. "I have seen the finest duelists in Europe, and none of them move like that. You were... terrifying. And magnificent."
She collapsed into a chair, her adrenaline fading into a sharp, stinging pain in her side. Dottoreâs blade had grazed her ribs. Satoru noticed the crimson stain on her torned dress immediately.
"You're hurt," he said, his voice dropping all pretense of playfulness.
He didn't call for a servant. He brought the basin of warm water and the bandages himself. He knelt between her knees, his large hands surprisingly steady as he began to undo her corset swiftly.
"Quiet," he murmured, his blue eyes focused and intense.
He peeled back the fabric, exposing the shallow but jagged cut. As he pressed a damp cloth to her skin, his touch was so delicate it made her breath hitch. He worked with a quiet reverence, his fingers brushing against her skin in a way that felt more intimate than a kiss.
"I thought I was the one meant to protect you," he whispered, his eyes meeting hers. There was a new look thereânot just love, but a profound, shaken respect. "But you fought like you were protecting the whole world."
"I was protecting you," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
Satoruâs hands paused. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. The scent of sandalwood and copper filled her senses. "I won't let you fight him with a borrowed toothpick next time."
She smiled tiredly, her gaze drifting to the window where the moon hung low over the moors. âI did have a sword,â she whispered, her voice cracking with a sudden, sharp grief. âBut I lost it on the way here. It was a precious thingâthe last physical anchor I had to my world. Now... even that is gone.â She let out a hollow, desperate chuckle that twisted in her chest. âI suppose Iâm truly a ghost now. Nothing left of me but memories.â
Satoruâs hands, normally so steady, trembled slightly as he looked up at her from his position on the floor. âTell me what it was like,â he commanded softly, his eyes searching hers with a fierce intensity. âDescribe every curve of the hilt, every inch of the steel. I will forge one just the way you like it, my love.â He pressed a lingering, reverent kiss to her knuckles.
âItâs fine, Satoru,â she said, her fingers reaching out to stroke his face, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. âIâve learned to live and to lose. Itâs... itâs nothing.â Her breath hitched as her thumb brushed the corner of his lip. âBut losing youâthe first youâwas the one thing I never knew I could survive.â
The tears she had tried so hard to suppress finally spilled over, hot and silent.
Satoru was on his feet in an instant, leaning his forehead against hers, his breath hitching in tandem with hers. âYou didnât lose me. Iâm right here.â He caught a stray tear with his thumb. âI may not be the man who walked those neon streets, but I am the Satoru who loves you with every beat of his heart in this life. Tell me... am I so different? What am I missing that keeps you from letting me love you the way he did?â
He took her palm, pressing it firmly against his cheek, forcing her to feel the heat of his skin, the reality of his pulse. Her breath faltered, caught in the gravity of his gaze. âSa...toru...â
âLet me love you,â he pleaded, his voice a ragged whisper. âPlease.â
She took a deep, shuddering breath. Looking at him nowâthe raw vulnerability in those sapphire eyesâshe realized she was utterly, hopelessly weak for him. Not because he looked like a ghost, but because he was the most vibrant thing in her world.
âAlright,â she whispered.
Satoruâs face transformed, a wide, boyish smile breaking through his desperation. âReally? Because I wonât let you take that back, my love. Youâve given your word.â
She gave him a tired, genuine smile before her exhaustion finally won, and she drifted into a deep sleep in his arms.
For the next three days, the Duke vanished.
If she hadn't known better, she would have thought heâd retreated in fear of her answer. But the sounds from the estateâs forge told a different story. The servants whispered in hushed, shocked tones about the Duke working the bellows himself, the rhythmic, metallic clang of a hammer ringing out deep into the night.
When he finally returned to her chambers, he looked like a man who had been through a war. His white hair was dusted with soot, his fine linen shirt was stained with grease and sweat, and his hands were wrapped in light bandages. But his eyes were blazing with a triumphant light.
He handed her a heavy bundle wrapped in dark leather. Her heart hammered as she unwrapped it, revealing a blade of shimmering Damascus steel. The metal rippled like water under the candlelight. The hilt was a masterpiece: a raven with wings spread wide, its eyes set with two brilliant sapphires that matched his own perfectly.
"A new sacred weapon," he said, his voice husky and rough from the heat of the forge. "For my lady. For my agent."
He stepped into her personal space, his presence overwhelming, smelling of smoke and iron. "Now, give me a chance. Not a chance to be him, but a chance to be yours. One real, honest chance."
She looked at the swordâa bridge he had built between her shattered past and this strange, beautiful present. She looked at the man who had scorched his hands just to give her a piece of her identity back. The grief was still there, but the love was a roar that drowned it out.
She didn't answer with words. She grabbed the soot-stained lapels of his coat and pulled him down into a kiss. It was desperate, hungry, and tasted of salt and relief. As Satoruâs arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her off her feet and spinning her slightly, she finally let the ghost of the old world go.
âYou didnât have to do all that,â she murmured breathily against his lips when they finally pulled apart.
âI wanted to,â he countered, that stupidly charming, arrogant smirk returning to his face. He watched the way her cheeks flushed under his gaze, his heart fluttering at the sight. âNow... donât I deserve a reward for my labor?â
She raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. âAnd what did you have in mind?â
She froze, her eyes widening in shock. âExcuse me, what??â
Satoruâs smirk only widened into something more predatory and playful. âYou heard me. The forge was hot, Iâm covered in soot, and I think a fiancĂ©e should help her Duke with his... hygiene.â
âNo,â she groaned, though her heart wasn't in it.
âBut I deserve a reward!â he pouted, leaning in to pepper her face with tiny, soot-smudged kisses. âPlease? Iâll even let you use the expensive lavender soap.â
The following weeks were a soft blur of gold and emerald, a respite from the shadows that had trailed her across time. Satoru was a man of his word; having secured her heart, he set out to "wow" her with the fervor of a man possessed, determined to fill her mind with so many new memories that the old ones would have to make room.
It began with the horses. Satoru had noticed her eyeing the great northern stallions in the stablesâbeasts of muscle and fire that looked nothing like the mechanical transports of her world.
"You move like a storm on your feet, but can you ride one?" he challenged one morning, dressed in tight riding breeches and a linen shirt open at the throat.
"Iâve driven vehicles that could go two hundred miles an hour, Satoru," she countered, sliding a hand down the velvet nose of a charcoal-grey mare.
"Speed is easy. Spirit is harder," he grinned. He mounted his own white stallion, Six Eyes, with an effortless, fluid grace that made her breath hitch. He spent the afternoon teaching her the language of the reinsânot as a master, but as a partner. When she finally found her rhythm, galloping across the open moors with the wind whipping her hair into a frenzy, she felt a sense of freedom she hadn't known since before the lab fell.
Satoru rode beside her, watching her with a look of such pure, unadulterated adoration that she almost felt the heat of it. "You look like you were born for this world," he shouted over the thunder of hooves.
Sparring became their private language. In the secluded courtyard behind the armory, they would trade the Dukeâs finery for simple tunics, the air ringing with the song of steel.
She was faster, her movements surgical and modern, utilizing low centers of gravity and redirected momentum. Satoru, however, was a master of the blade in this eraâstrong, reach-heavy, and deceptively quick.
During one session, she ducked under his parry, her new Damascus bladeânow officially named Kage (Shadow)âstopping an inch from his ribs. Satoru didn't retreat. Instead, he dropped his sword, stepped into her space, and caught her wrist, spinning her against his chest.
"Youâre getting predictable, my love," he whispered, his chest heaving with exertion.
"Am I?" She swept his leg, sending them both tumbling onto the grass. She ended up on top of him, the tip of her blade hovering at his throat, while his hands were firmly locked around her waist.
They both burst into laughter, the tension of the "agent" and the "Duke" melting away into the simple joy of being alive. He pulled her down, stole kisses tasting of sweat and adrenaline, until the sun dipped below the battlements.
One evening, after a particularly long day of investigating Dottoreâs movements in the nearby villages, she found herself unusually quiet. They were sitting on the stone balcony, the stars beginning to pierce the twilight.
"Satoru," she began, her voice small. "I want to ask something of you. Something... difficult."
He turned from the telescope he had been tinkering with, his expression softening instantly. "Anything."
"I want to build a cenotaph. A memory tomb," she whispered, looking out at the sprawling forest. "For him. The Satoru I left behind. He has no grave in my worldâitâs all gone. I need a place to put the grief. So it doesn't keep getting in the way of us."
Satoruâs eyes searched hers. There was no jealousy there, only a profound, quiet understanding. He took her hand, his thumb tracing the sapphire in her ring. "I have a grove of silver birches near the cliffside. Itâs the highest point on the estate. From there, you can see the sun rise and set. We will build it there. A place for his memory to rest, so that you can walk back to me with a lighter heart."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, tears of relief pricking her eyes. "Thank you."
That night, star-gazing became their favorite ritual. Satoru had moved his massive brass telescope to the highest turret. He would sit on a pile of furs, pulling her between his knees, pointing out the constellations of 1812.
"Thatâs Orion," he murmured, his arms wrapping around her middle, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Heâs a hunter. Like you. And thereâthatâs the North Star. Constant. Unwavering."
"In my time, we used the stars to navigate ships and planes," she said softly, leaning back into his warmth. "But here... they look like a map of something deeper."
Satoru turned her in his arms, the moonlight catching the crystalline blue of his eyes. "Theyâre a map of the soul, my lady. No matter the century, the stars don't change. And neither does the way I feel when Iâm holding you."
He leaned down, his lips meeting hers in a slow, lingering kiss that felt like a promise. For the first time, she didn't see a ghost when she closed her eyes. She felt the rough callouses on his handsâhands that had worked a forge for herâand the steady, rhythmic beat of a heart that beat only for her.
"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered against her lips. "Not in this life. Not in the next."
She smiled, a true, brilliant smile that reached her eyes. "Then you'd better keep up, Your Grace. Because I have no intention of slowing down."
The afternoon sun poured into the Dukeâs drawing room, illuminating the dust motes that danced around Gojo Satoru as he paced with an uncharacteristic restlessness. In the corner, a massive canvas sat on a mahogany easel, guarded by a very patient, very expensive painter who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
"Absolutely not," she said, not looking up from the blade she was sharpening. The rhythmic shing-shing of the whetstone was the only thing keeping her grounded in this velvet-draped reality.
"But my lady! My treasure! My mysterious traveler!" Satoru groaned, throwing himself onto the chaise lounge beside her with the dramatic flair of a Shakespearean lead. "The Gojo line is famous for its portraits. My great-grandfather is hanging in the hall looking like a sour lemon. Don't you want to be immortalized next to someone as dashing as me?"
"I am an agent, Satoru. We don't leave paper trails, and we certainly don't leave oil paintings."
Satoru sat up, his blue eyes losing their teasing glint for a moment. He reached out, his gloved fingers hovering just an inch from her hand. "It isn't about the 'line' or the history books. I want to look at the wall when you aren't in the room and know that you were real. That thisâusâisn't just a fever dream I had after a bump to the head."
She stopped sharpening. The vulnerability in his voice was her greatest weakness. He looked so much like him, yet the way he pleaded was so entirely this Satoruâa man who wore his heart on his silk sleeves.
"I don't even have a dress that fits the 'Duchess' look you're going for," she countered weakly.
Satoruâs face lit up instantly. He bounded to his feet, clapping his hands together. "Precisely! Which is why youâll wear the trousers and the tunic. And youâll hold that beautiful sword I made you. I want you exactly as you are. A warrior. My warrior."
He leaned down, his face inches from hers, his voice dropping to a persuasive, silky whisper. "Please? Iâll even stop pestering you about the tea ceremony with my aunts for a whole month."
She let out a long, defeated sigh, though a small smirk played at her lips. "One month? No pestering?"
"On my honor as a Duke," he vowed, crossing his heart.
Satoru let out a victorious "Yes!" that likely echoed halfway to London. He practically hauled her toward the easel, arranging her with obsessive care. He didn't want her sitting demurely; he had her stand with her back partially to him, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, while he stood behind her, one hand possessively yet gently resting on her shoulder.
"Look at the artist," Satoru murmured into her ear as the painter began the initial charcoal sketch. "But think of me."
The hours passed in a blur of stillness. As the sun began to dip, Satoruâs hand tightened slightly on her shoulderânot to hold her still, but as if he were anchoring himself to her.
"You're doing wonderfully," he whispered, his breath warm against her temple. "You look like a queen from a land that hasn't been discovered yet."
"I just look like a woman who wants a drink," she muttered, though she didn't pull away.
For the first time since she had fallen through the sky, she didn't feel like she was looking at a ghost. She felt the solid, living warmth of the man behind her. When the sketch was finished and they were allowed to break their pose, Satoru didn't let go. He turned her around in his arms, his blue eyes scanning her face as if he were trying to memorize every lash, every scar.
"I'm never letting this painting go," he said softly. "Even if the world ends again. I'll carry it through the fire."
She leaned her head against his chest, listening to the steady, frantic thrum of his heart. "You're a sentimental fool, Your Grace."
"Only for you," he replied, kissing the top of her head. "Only for you."
The romantic reprieve was a fragile glass bubble, beautiful but destined to shatter. The peace they had cultivated in the silver birch grove and under the ancient stars was abruptly severed when she found the final piece of the puzzle: a series of shipments of refined mercury and strange, humming crystals being funneled into a hollowed-out cathedral on the northern cliffs.
The cathedral was a skeletal ruin, its stained glass long replaced by the jagged silhouettes of Dottoreâs machinery. As they stepped through the heavy oak doorsâSatoru at her side, his Damascus blade reflecting the eerie, pulsating violet light of the riftâthe air grew cold and thin.
"Ah, the lovebirds have arrived," Dottoreâs voice echoed from the rafters. He stood atop a platform of iron and brass, a reconstructed version of the machine from the future humming behind him. "Tell me, Agent, does the Dukeâs bed make you forget the smell of the smoke? Does his touch erase the memory of the man I crushed?"
"He isn't a replacement, Dottore," she shouted, her hand tightening on the hilt of Kage. "Heâs the reason Iâm going to make sure you never breathe again."
"Brave words for a woman whose world is already a footnote in history," Dottore sneered. He pulled a lever, and the machine let out a high-pitched, agonizing scream. "The timelines didn't just merge; they were erased to make this one. You and I... we are the only things left of that dying future. Everything elseâeveryone elseâis gone."
She felt a jolt of pure, unadulterated rage. "Then Iâll be the one to bury you in the ruins of this one, too."
The battle was a blur of steel and light. Satoru moved with a ferocity she had never seen, his "Six Eyes" instinct allowing him to parry Dottoreâs mechanical projectiles with terrifying precision. He wasn't just a Duke; he was a force of nature, protecting her flank as she scaled the iron scaffolding to reach the core.
"Satoru, the pillars!" she screamed as the machineâs vibrations began to tear the cathedral apart.
She reached the top, her blade plunging into the glowing core of the rift. Dottore let out a howl of despair as his lifeâs work began to implode. In his final, spiteful breath, he didn't aim for herâhe aimed for Satoru. With a jagged mechanical claw, he swiped at a primary support beam, causing the vaulted stone ceiling to groan and buckle.
It was happening again. The world was falling.
She saw the massive slab of marble shifting directly above Satoruâs head. He was looking at her, his hand outstretched, a look of triumph on his face that was about to turn into a mask of death.
Not again. I won't let it happen twice.
She threw herself off the platform, her body a projectile of pure desperation. She collided with Satoru, her weight shoving him out of the way just as the stone came crashing down.
A sickening crunch echoed through the chamber. The world turned black, then a searing, blinding red.
The dust of the collapsed cathedral hung in the air like a shroud, thick and suffocating. The silence that followed the explosion was worse than the roarâa heavy, tomb-like stillness that was broken only by the sound of shifting stone and a manâs ragged, panicked breathing.
Satoru was on his knees before he even realized he had been moved. He stared at the massive marble slab that had crushed the altar, and then his gaze drifted a few feet to the side.
Her body was twisted, pinned beneath a fallen support beam and a cascade of jagged masonry. The midnight-blue silk of her coat was shredded, soaked through with a crimson so dark it looked black in the dim light.
âNo,â Satoru whispered, the word a shattered thing. âNo, no, no!â
He threw himself at the rubble. He didn't use a lever or a tool; he used his bare hands, the very hands that had forged her sword, clawing at the stone until his fingernails cracked and his palms bled. He was a Duke of the Realm, a man of infinite poise, but in this moment, he was nothing but a terrified boy screaming at the heavens.
âMy lady! Open your eyes! Damn you, open your eyes! I am ordering youâas your Duke, as your husbandâopen them!â
With a guttural roar of exertion, he heaved a final stone away. He managed to pull her upper body into his lap, cradling her head against his chest. When he looked down, his breath hitched. Her legs were pinned at an impossible, sickening angle beneath the primary beam, and the pool of blood spreading beneath her was growing too fast.
Her eyelids fluttered, pale and translucent. When she finally looked at him, her eyesâusually so sharp and piercingâwere clouded with a distant haze.
âSatoruâŠâ she coughed, and a spray of crimson flecked her lips.
âDonât speak,â he sobbed, pressing his forehead against hers. His tears fell onto her cheeks, washing away the soot. âDonât you dare leave me. We have the moors to ride. We have the stars to name. You promised, you promised me a chance!â
She reached up, her hand trembling violently as she tried to touch his face. Her fingers were cold, the life force draining out of her like water through sand. She managed to brush his cheek, leaving a smear of blood against his pale skin.
âI told you,â she whispered, her voice bubbling, barely audible over the crackle of the dying fires. âI told you⊠I wouldn't let it happen again. I wouldn't let the world take you.â
âI donât care about the world!â he shrieked, his voice breaking. âI want you! Stay with me! Fight for me like you fought for him!â
A small, heartbreakingly peaceful smile touched her lips. She looked at himâreally looked at himâand for the first time, she wasn't seeing a ghost. She was seeing the man who had burned his hands for her. The man who had loved her through her madness.
âItâs just like⊠that day,â she breathed, her grip on his waistcoat tightening for a fleeting second before going limp. âBut this time⊠youâre safe. This time⊠I saved you.â
âYou didnât save me if you leave me!â he wailed, clutching her closer, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He could feel her pulse, a frantic, thready drumbeat that was slowing with every passing second. âPlease. Iâll give it all back. The title, the lands, the name. Just stay.â
Her eyes began to roll back, the light in them flickering like a candle in a gale. âSatoru⊠my SatoruâŠâ
The hand on his cheek slipped. It hit the stone floor with a dull, final thud. Her head lolled back against his arm, her breathing slowing into long, agonizing hitches until, finally, the air left her lungs in one last, rattling sigh.
âNo,â Satoru gasped, his body going rigid. âNo! Wake up! Wake up!â
He shook her gently, then violently, his screams echoing off the ruined walls of the cathedral. He let out a sound that wasn't humanâa high, keening wail of pure, unadulterated agony that tore through the night. He held her broken body against his heart, rocking her back and forth in the dust, a Duke in tatters, mourning a queen from a world that no longer existed.
Six Months Later: The Awakening
The first thing she felt was the warmth.
It wasn't the cold, biting grip of death or the suffocating pressure of the stones. It was the soft, rhythmic stroke of a hand over her hair. She dragged her eyes open, the light of the afternoon sun blinding her for a moment.
She was in the familiar chambers of the duke. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn back, revealing a view of the silver birches. And there, sitting in a chair pulled tight against the bed, was Satoru.
He looked like a shadow of himself. His white hair was longer, unkempt, and there were deep, dark hollows beneath his eyes. He was holding her hand, his thumb tracing the sapphire of her ring with an obsessive, repetitive motion.
When he noticed her eyes were open, he didn't move. He didn't speak. He simply stared at her as if he were waiting for her to vanish into smoke.
âSatoru?â she rasped, her voice sounding like dry parchment.
The sob that broke from his chest was violent. He collapsed forward, burying his face in the blankets beside her hip, his entire frame shaking with the force of his relief. âYouâre back,â he choked out. âGod, youâre back. Six months⊠six months Iâve sat here waiting for you to tell me to be quiet.â
She tried to move, to sit up and pull him into her arms, but her body stopped. From the waist down, there was nothing. No pain, no pressure, just a terrifying, hollow silence.
She looked at the blankets, then back at Satoruâs tear-streaked face.
âMy legs,â she whispered, her heart plummeting. âI canât feel them, Satoru.â
He sat up, taking her face in both of his hands. His eyes were fierce, burning with a love that bordered on madness. âIt doesn't matter. Do you hear me? It doesn't matter. The physicians said you wouldn't wake. They said your spine was shattered. My familyâthose vulturesâthey told me to abandon you. They said a Duke cannot marry a woman who cannot walk.â
He leaned in, his forehead pressing against hers, his voice a low, dangerous growl. âI told them I would rather burn this entire North to the ground than spend a single day without you. I will be your legs. I will carry you to the stars we named. I donât need you to stand, my lady. I only need you to breathe.â
She looked at himâthis man who had stayed by her side through the darkness, who had defended a "lost cause" against the worldâand she realized that her mission was finally over. The agent was gone. Only the woman remained.
âThen youâd better start practicing,â she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. âBecause Iâm going to be a very demanding Duchess.â
Satoru laughed, a broken, beautiful sound, and kissed her with a passion that tasted of a thousand tomorrows.
Weeks later, he carried her up to the silver birch grove. He had fashioned a chair for her, but for this moment, he held her in his arms as they watched the sunrise over the very spot where she had built the memory tomb for the other Satoru.
The sky was a riot of color, a new world for a new life.
"You spent your whole life fighting," Satoru murmured, his forehead resting against hers. "First for your world, then for mine. No more fighting, my love. Iâm here. Iâll do the fighting for both of us now."
He pulled a ring from his pocketânot a family heirloom, but a band he had forged himself, set with a single, brilliant diamond that caught the first ray of the sun.
"Will you marry me? Not as a ghost, not as a memory, but as my wife? For as long as we both shall live?"
She looked at the man who had stayed by her side through the darkness, the man who had loved her through her grief and her brokenness. She reached up, framing his face with her hands.
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, Satoru. In this life and every one after."
As the sun rose over the cliffs, the Agent and the Duke finally found their peace, a love forged in fire and anchored in time.
The recovery was a long, arduous climb out of a valley of shadows. Satoru was a man transformed; the playful, arrogant Duke had been tempered into something more profound, his devotion becoming the very air she breathed. He had kept his word with a stubborn, beautiful ferocity. He spent hours each day helping her sit up, adjusting the pillows, and reading to her from the books she loved, never once letting her feel like a burden.
He had commissioned a chair of dark mahogany and wheels of reinforced iron, lined with the softest velvet, but he rarely let her use it within the house. To Satoru, the distance between her bed and the solar was just another excuse to hold her.
The day of the wedding arrived with a sky the color of a robinâs egg, clear and endless.
The Gojo elders had eventually been silencedânot by logic, but by the sheer, terrifying force of Satoruâs will. He had made it clear that he would renounce every acre of his land before he would renounce her. In the end, they had stayed away, leaving the silver birch grove to those who truly mattered: Shoko, Geto (who had finally, begrudgingly, come to respect the woman who could out-spar a Duke), and the ghosts of the past.
Satoru did not wait for her at the altar. Instead, he entered the guest wing and found her sitting by the window, dressed in a gown of ivory silk that pooled around her useless legs like seafoam.
"You look," Satoru started, his voice thick with emotion as he leaned against the doorframe, "like every prayer I never knew I had."
He walked over and knelt before her, his handsâstill scarred from the forgeâresting on her lap. "Are you ready? The grove is waiting. The stars are watching, even in the daylight."
"I can't walk down the aisle, Satoru," she whispered, a flicker of the old insecurity touching her voice.
He stood up, a brilliant, cocky smirk playing on his lipsâthe old Satoru, the one she had first met in the woods. "Who said anything about an aisle? I'm the Duke. We make our own path."
With a practiced, gentle strength, he scooped her into his arms. She instinctively looped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. He carried her out of the house, across the manicured lawns, and up the winding path toward the cliffside.
When they reached the silver birch grove, the sunlight filtered through the leaves in shimmering coins of gold. At the center of the grove stood the memory tomb she had requestedâa simple, elegant pillar of white stone.
Satoru carried her past it, a silent acknowledgment of the man she had lost, and stopped before the priest. He didn't set her down. He held her throughout the entire ceremony, his arms never wavering, his gaze never leaving her face.
"I, Satoru Gojo," he spoke, his voice ringing out over the crashing waves below, "take you to be my wife. In this life, and in every life that follows. I will be your strength when you are weary, your legs when you wish to roam, and your heart when the world grows cold."
She choked back a sob, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek. "And I take you. Not as a ghost, not as a memory... but as the man who saved my soul. I am yours, Satoru. Always."
Two years later, the Gojo Estate had become a place of legend.
The "Silent Duchess" was known far and wideânot for her disability, but for the sharp intellect that managed the estate's finances and the fierce training she gave the Dukeâs guard. Dottore was a name lost to the ash of the cathedral, and the rift had never reopened.
One evening, Satoru carried her out to the balcony. He had built a low, cushioned bench there so they could sit together and look through the telescope.
"Look there," he whispered, pointing to a star that seemed to pulse with a steady, blue light. "Iâve decided that one is ours. It doesn't belong to a constellation. itâs a wanderer. Just like you."
She leaned against him, the warmth of his body a constant comfort. "A wanderer that finally found home."
He kissed her temple, his arms tightening around her. "I was thinking... The forge has been quiet lately. I might start work on a new project. A chair that moves with the turn of a handle. Something to give you back the speed you miss."
She laughed, the sound bright and clear. "Still trying to 'wow' me, Your Grace?"
"Every day," he murmured against her lips. "For the rest of my life."
As the moon rose over the moors, the woman from the future and the Duke of the North sat in the comfort silence of their own making. The world of steel and smoke was a lifetime away, and for the first time, she didn't mind the distance. She was exactly where she was meant to be.
The first year of their marriage had been about healing; the second had been about discovery. But as the third winter settled over the North, a new kind of quiet took over the estate.
Satoru found her in the conservatory, the glass walls fogged with the cold while the interior was a lush, tropical paradise of ferns and lilies. She was in her velvet-lined chair, a book in her lap, but she wasn't reading. She was staring out at the falling snow, her hand resting idly on her stomach.
He approached with his usual grace, though these days his step was quieter, as if he were constantly attuned to her heartbeat. He knelt by her chair, sliding his hands over hers.
"Youâre far away today," he murmured, kissing her knuckles. "Thinking of the stars?"
"Thinking of the future," she said softly. She looked at him, her eyes shimmering with a mix of terror and wonder. "Satoru... I saw Shoko this morning. My cycle... itâs been months. I thought it was just the trauma of the accident finally catching up, or the cold..."
Satoruâs breath hitched. He went very still, his gaze dropping to where her hands rested on her lap. In this era, a spinal injury was often seen as the end of a womanâs "purpose," but he had never cared about that. He had loved her for her mind, her soul, and the fire in her spirit.
"And?" he whispered, his voice trembling.
"She says I'm healthy. She says that despite my legs... my body is doing exactly what it was meant to do." She took a shaky breath, a small, tearful smile breaking across her face. "I'm pregnant, Satoru."
The Duke of the North, a man who had faced down an alchemist from the future and the wrath of the King, let out a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh. He pressed his face into her lap, his arms wrapping around her waist with a tenderness that brought tears to her eyes.
"A life," he choked out against the velvet of her dress. "Our life. A piece of you and a piece of me, born in a world that finally deserves you."
"I was so afraid," she admitted, her fingers tangling in his white hair. "I thought I was too broken to give you this."
He pulled back, framing her face in his hands. His blue eyes were burning with a fierce, protective light. "You are not broken. You are the woman who tore through time to find me. You are the Duchess who manages my world better than I ever could. And now, you are the mother of my heir."
He leaned down, pressing a lingering, reverent kiss to her stomach, his voice a low promise.
"I carried you to the altar," he whispered. "And I will carry this child. I will build a world so safe, so beautiful, that they will never have to know what a 'war' or an 'earthquake' even is. They will only know the stars and the moors... and how much their father loved their mother."
She leaned back, a sense of peace finally settling over her. The Agent from the future was truly gone, buried beneath the silver birches. In her place stood a woman who had lost everything, only to realize that as long as she had the man with the sapphire eyes, she had never been lost at all.
