Emberlynn was practically jumping up and down with anticipation as her gaze fell fixedly on the arrival gate, searching for some sign of Xander in the steady stream of passengers. He’d texted her a few minutes ago to let her know they’d landed safely and were still taxiing to the gate… What could be taking so long?

I bet it would’ve been quicker if he took the train… She thought impatiently. Well, for me. Not him, I guess. Ugh, okay, I’ve gotta chill and just be patient. I’ll give it a few more minutes…

The next two minutes felt like two years to Emberlynn, but she managed to survive them somehow. And then, just when she was about to pull out her phone and text him again…

There he was.

Emberlynn’s heart skipped a beat as she practically flew forward and threw herself at him. Xander chuckled heartily and promptly dropped his bag to the floor, lifting her off her feet with his embrace.

“Wow, what a welcome.” He said as Emberlynn finally pulled away from him.

“I just can’t believe you’re really here!” She cried happily, her eyes drinking in the sight of him.

It was really him! Xander! Here! In person! She couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face even if she tried.

“Ah, but are you sure I really am?” Xander teased with a smile. “I could just be a very convincing simulation…”

Emberlynn rolled her eyes and shoved playfully against his shoulder, relishing in the fact that she was able to do so.

“Okay, seriously though.” He continued, beaming at her. “This is fucking awesome.”

“I know!” Emberlynn ignored the slight aching in her cheeks from how hard she was smiling. “So how was the flight?”

“Quick and painless, thankfully… Nothing like that transatlantic nightmare. Oh my God, it was hell!”

Emberlynn couldn’t help but laugh. Xander had already given her the play-by-play of his miserable flight during their first Skype session after he’d arrived. “I know I already said this before, but I told you! Eight hour flights are torture.”

“I know, I know…” He shook his head almost sadly, but did not lose his smile. “But it was so worth it… I can’t wait til you come visit so I can show you around Paris. It’s insane!”

“I bet!” Emberlynn had never visited Paris before, and was eager for the chance to finally do so… especially with Xander. “But maybe we should worry about this visit first?” She teased.

“Fair enough!” He replied with a small laugh as they slowly began making their way toward the exit. “Hey, so once we drop my bag off at your place, do you think we can grab some lunch or something? I’m kinda starving.” Xander confessed.

“Sure! There’s a place down the street from my apartment that’s one of my favorites.”

“Perfect… This means I can start working my way down the list of German beers I’ve gotta try!”

At the mention of beer, Emberlynn replied with a loud and exaggerated gag.

Xander chuckled at her overdramatic reaction. “Are you sure you’re really German? How the hell can you hate beer so much?”

“Um, because I have good taste.” She replied, joining in his laughter.

They took the bus back to Emberlynn’s apartment, laughing and joking together the entire time. Perhaps it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise, but Emberlynn couldn’t help but marvel at how natural it felt to talk to each other. There was nothing awkward or uncomfortable about it — it was just as easy as all those times they’d chatted together on Skype over the years… Except this time, there wasn’t an entire ocean separating them.

“Sorry if it’s kind of messy. I didn’t have the chance to clean up as much as I wanted to.” Emberlynn explained as she and Xander finally crossed the threshold into her apartment.

“Um, did you forget who you’re talking to?” Xander asked with a smile as he set his bag onto the floor. “You should see my place in Paris. I haven’t even been there a month yet, and it already — OH MY GOD! Hey, buddy!”

Xander’s voice had risen about two octaves upon Gucci’s entrance into the living room. Emberlynn couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of her friend crouching excitedly to the floor, trying to coax the cat toward him.

“I’ve heard so much about you! But your mommy didn’t tell me just how handsome you are in person, little man.” Xander practically cooed as he reached out a hand, beckoning Gucci once more. “Come on, Gucci. It’s okay, boy. Good boy!”

Gucci merely stared at him in confusion.

“Wow… You weren’t kidding about how much you love cats.” Emberlynn smiled warmly at Xander as she spoke.

“Runs in the family, I guess.” He replied with a smile and a small shrug. Emberlynn knew he was talking about his mother who, according to Xander, was the textbook definition of a “crazy cat lady”, except that she preferred to pile her affection on one or two cats at a time, rather than a whole flock of them. He’d been raised as a cat lover his entire life. “I love this little guy. He’s so cute!” Xander continued happily. “Not sure how much he loves ME though…”

“Well, part of it’s probably because he can’t understand you. You’re using a lot of words he’s never heard before.” Emberlynn explained gently. “Gucci doesn’t speak English. Well, okay… He doesn’t ‘speak’ anything, but you know what I mean!” She turned her attention back toward the cat, smiling. “Hier, Gucci! Komm zu Mama!”

Gucci let out a soft little meow as he pranced forward.

“So ist brav, du bist so ein guter, süßer Kater, nicht wahr? Ja, genau!” Emberlynn gave him a small scratch behind the ears while Gucci purred in approval.

Xander looked down at the girl and her cat, clearly impressed. “Show-off…” He muttered teasingly.

“It’s easy. You try!” Emberlynn assured him, rising to her feet once more. “Komm zu mir.”

Xander looked down at Gucci once more. “Komm.” He said confidently. “Komm zu mir, Gucci!”

This time, the cat took a hesitant step toward him, sniffing at his shoes uncertainly.

“Better!” Emberlynn said as she watched Xander crouch down to pet Gucci. The cat darted away into the kitchen before Xander’s hand could make contact.

“Well… He also doesn’t know you yet, so that’s probably part of it too.” She explained apologetically as she took a seat on the couch. “But he’ll get used to you!”

Xander nodded, joining her. “Yeah, especially once you teach me more German! Then me and Gucci can shoot the shit like two old friends.”

“I can try, but I’m not sure I’ll be a very good teacher.” Emberlynn replied with a small laugh. “I still remember this time when I was a little kid. I tried to teach somebody some German, but it didn’t go so well…”

“Oh yeah?” Xander asked curiously.

Emberlynn nodded. “I went to the US with my parents for a wedding, and I met this boy there. I didn’t know much English back then, and he didn’t know any German…” Emberlynn’s speech slowed down a bit as she let herself get lost in the memory — one she hadn’t thought about in years. “We started pointing to all this stuff and telling each other the words. I even drew a few crappy little pictures. I think we both thought we were great teachers or something.” She paused to shake her head in amusement. “But I spent the next like, eight years thinking — What?”

Xander was staring at her in a way he’d never looked at her before. “Oh my god… no fucking way…” He muttered, still staring. “Ha!”

“What?” Emberlynn repeated, confused.

“This wedding… it was in Brindleton Bay, right? Where my mom’s from?”

She nodded slowly in reply.

“And you were gonna say ‘spent the next eight years thinking the English word for ‘knight’ was ‘robot’, weren’t you?” Xander asked. “Yeah, I eventually figured that one out too…”

Emberlynn couldn’t believe it. Had it really been him? All this time?! “Oh my God… Seriously?!”

“Unless it was some other little German girl who drew that awful knight in her notebook.” He teased.

She started laughing, still completely amazed at this revelation. “Holy shit, what are the odds?! And how did it take us six years to figure this out?!”

“No idea…” Xander shook his head for a moment. “But remember way back when you told me your real name for the first time? ‘Emberlynn’ isn’t exactly a common name, but I knew I’d heard it before!”

She nodded, remembering. “But you said you didn’t remember where… Wow. This is crazy!”

“It is. Damn…” Xander laughed softly. “Makes sense though, doesn’t it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, meeting this gorgeous, amazing girl in person for the first time felt pretty damn scary…” The way he smiled at her made Emberlynn’s breath catch in her throat. “But look how easy it ended up being! Must be because it’s not really the first time.”

“Must be.” She agreed softly. “It almost feels like… ‘fate’ or something, doesn’t it?” Emberlynn felt her cheeks grow slightly warm at voicing this thought aloud.

Xander shook his head and let out a small chuckle. “Nah, I don’t believe in fate. Just really weird coincidences.”

“Well, aren’t those basically the same thing?”

“Hmm…” Xander paused, seemingly lost in thought.

The silence was suddenly broken by the loud rumbling of his stomach, followed almost instantly by peals of laughter from both of them.

“Okay, maybe we should continue our philosophy debate over lunch?” Emberlynn suggested as her laughter died away. “Can’t let my guest starve to death…”

Xander nodded enthusiastically and followed her to the door. “You’ll probably have to order for me though… Or give me some more German lessons.”

“You really trust me with that after what happened last time?”

“Sure!” He smiled widely at her. “It’s been like thirteen years. I’m sure your teaching skills have gotten better since then…”

“Hopefully… There’s only one way to find out, right?” Emberlynn asked.

Xander nodded happily. “That’s the spirit! Okay… so what’s lesson one?”

She considered this question for a few moments while she locked the door behind them and began making her way toward the stairs. “Okay, let’s start with the important stuff. Like ordering beer.” She teased. “Ein Bier, bitte.”

“Sounds easy enough… ‘Ein Bier, bitte’?” Xander smiled hopefully at her as he spoke.

Emberlynn nodded in approval. “Not bad… What about this one? ‘Welche Biersorten habt Ihr hier?’“

This time, Xander didn’t appear quite so confident. “Say it one more time? Slower?”

“‘Welche Biersorten habt Ihr hier?’“ She repeated.

“Okay… Wel… Welke — ah, fuck! Can I have a do-over?”

Emberlynn giggled at the ridiculousness of his question as they stepped outside together into the sunshine. Beside her, Xander did the same.

Her eyes traced every line of his bright, laughing face and she felt an overwhelming urge begin washing over her. It was hard to say exactly where it was coming from, but she felt it growing more and more by the second…

Until finally, she decided to give in.

Xander looked down curiously at her hand, which was now closely intertwined with his. Emberlynn watched his lips curl into a small smile.

He finally lifted his gaze from their hands, now locking his eyes with hers. “Okay then.” He said softly.

Emberlynn felt her cheeks grow slightly warm under his gaze. “What?” She asked with a shrug. “You’re a foreigner in an unfamiliar city… I don’t want you getting lost or anything! Not on the first day.”

He chuckled quietly. “Uh-huh… Safety first right?”

“Exactly.”

“Well then, guess I’d better hold on tight.”