Archive of Our Own

my Akivili! guess what i did today

i turned an entire planet's ocean into custard

the look on everyone's faces was priceless

you would have laughed

you always laughed at my jokes

especially the bad ones

i made a star sneeze today

just a little one

it shot out a flare that looked exactly like a question mark

i thought of you immediately

you and your endless questions

"why does this happen" "how does that work" "what's the point of all this"

you always wanted to know everything

like the universe was a book you were desperate to finish

but also never wanted to end

that was you

my curious, beautiful, impossible Akivili

hey

i visited the Astral Express a few days ago

it's still running, you know

your little trailblazers are still out there, exploring

one of them has a really funny bat

i considered swapping it with a rubber chicken but

i thought you might get mad at me

you always got that look when i messed with your things

like a disappointed kitten

cute, actually

very cute

my cute little Akivili

do you remember the first time we met

i do

you looked at me like i was a puzzle you couldn't solve

and i looked at you like you were the funniest thing i'd seen in millennia

which you were

you still are

even now

i found your old journal today

the one you kept during your first thousand years of trailblazing

you wrote about me in it

did you know that

you called me "chaotic" and "unpredictable" and "genuinely concerning"

but then you wrote

"and yet, i find myself looking forward to their visits"

"there is something about their laughter that makes the stars seem brighter"

i read that line seventeen times

i may have cried a little

okay i cried a lot

but you're not here to see it so it doesn't count

i miss you

that's not a joke

i, Aha, Aeon of Elation, am telling you

i miss you

the universe keeps being funny

but it's not the same without you laughing next to me

nothing is

okay

here goes

i'm going to try something

i'm going to be serious

for like

a minute

or maybe two

and i'm going to tell you

i don't know if you can hear me

but i'm going to tell you anyway

i love you

i love you, Akivili

i love your curiosity

i love your bravery

i love your stupid questions

i love how you look at the stars

i love how you laugh at my jokes

i love how you never gave up on anything

please don't give up on this

please don't give up on us

i know you fell

i know you're gone

but please

please find your way back

i'll be here

i'll always be here

waiting

loving you

my Akivili

i had a dream

do Aeons dream

i don't know

but i had something

you were standing at the edge of a galaxy

you turned around

and smiled at me

you said "did you really turn an ocean into custard"

and i said "you bet i did"

and you laughed

that laugh

that stupid perfect laugh

then i woke up and the stars sounded like they were mourning

or maybe that was just me

…

what

wait

WHAT

you

is that

are you

you're here

you're actually here

i'm

i can't

my Akivili

you came back

it was vanilla

the best vanilla custard in the universe

i made it specifically because i knew you'd ask

no

but i hoped

i hoped every single day

then you know

everything i said

i meant it

all of it

i already told you

it doesn't count if you're not here to see it

…

yeah

you are

you're really here

my Akivili

my curious, beautiful, impossible Akivili

welcome home