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He laughs, and his lips are still curved into a smile when they finally meet mine, and I melt into his kiss.

Epilogue

The July heat is sweltering, and I’m worried that I’m already sweating through my dress. The Tube carriage rocks to a stop and Jake, as the tallest, cranes his neck over the people packed in like sardines with us, but shakes his head.

‘West Brompton,’ he tells us. ‘Next one!’

The carriage jolts as it leaves the station, and Jake lets out an ‘Oof!’ when one of the prongs on Anissa’s elaborate antlers pokes him in the cheek. She cringes. ‘Sorry! Sorry!’

She’s come as Téiglin, using my art coursework sculpture as part of her costume rather than letting it gather dust in the classroom. Jake’s new Daxys wings, made with Max’s help, are held carefully, cautiously, in front of him – both to protect them on the journey and to protect other people from being smacked by them. The wingspan is impressive, if canon-accurately wonky.

The motion of the train makes me stumble too, and a hand slides firmly into the small of my back, keeping me balanced and upright. When I look up to Max with a grateful smile, he teases, ‘Not that you need saving, my lady.’

‘I don’t mind a bit of chivalry now and then,’ I respond, and go up on my tiptoes, planting a light kiss on his lips. He pulls me in deeper with the hand on my back, and obviously, I’m only holding on to his shoulders for balance, not to lean into the kiss.

What a ridiculous idea, honestly.

We’re both smiling as we pull away, and by then the train is coming to another stop, the automated tannoy telling us tomind the gapas what seems like half the carriage piles out into Earl’s Court. There’s a Stormtrooper without his helmet, a couple of Hobbits distinguishable by their waistcoats and very large, thick, fake feet. A Deadpool half falls on to the platform, nimbly catching himself as he trips over someone’s suitcase, and runs ahead to catch up to a female Captain America and Loki.

Once we’re out of the Tube station and on to the main road, we find a quiet patch of pavement to sort ourselves out. Max and Jake wrestle with his wings, fixing them into place and checking they weren’t damaged in transit, and Anissa fusses with her antlers,which have gotten a bit skew-whiff since she first put them on earlier in the Travelodge room we’re sharing.

I run my hands over my green dress, pressing out the creases in it and subtly checking that yes, phew, I have not ended up with huge, hideous sweat patches. My belt is tied neatly in place with a fake foam dagger at my hip, and I pat down my wig, feeling the intricate braids sitting exactly as they should be.

Perfect.

Jake fixes a tiny bend in one of his wings, and claps his hands together, his fingerless leather gloves muting the sound. ‘Sorted! Brayden Brown, here I come. Do you think he’ll remember me?’ He’s blushing a bit; it turns out that Daxys isn’t just Jake’s favourite character, but he has a raging crush on the actor – which, in hindsight, totally checks out.

‘How could he forget?’ Max says, grinning. He straightens his bandolier and waves both hands at himself. ‘You’re withthebest Moonwalker cosplay he’s ever seen.’

‘Well, he hasn’t seen my Téiglin yet,’ Anissa says archly, a smile stretched wide across her face.

‘Guys! Come on! What’s the hold-up?’

Just across the street, hopping on the corner, Chloe – wearing a cute pair of shorts and a tee from her merch store (she has amerch store, how cool is that?!) – iswaving us on impatiently, looking agitatedly over in the direction of the convention centre and the crowds pouring in.

‘I don’t want to miss the Zelda panel!’ she shouts to us. She has her day here planned to the minute: meet-ups with other Twitch streamers, some panels, a few exhibitor booths she wants to stop by. Jake’s got a similar schedule, actually. Max, Anissa and I are more than happy to let him take the lead, and go with the flow.

‘Be there now in a minute!’ I call back, and then look at the others, a bubble of excitement rising in my chest, and a grin on my face. ‘Alright, you rascals. Let’s go to Comic Con!’