Colin's posts

"...ah." Yuri responded.

"Well, fair enough, I suppose." he said.

"She's got all the time in the world to decide, as well." Bast interjected.

"That is true." Uriel agreed.

"So, I suppose you two are off to the Swiss Alps now?' he then asked with a smirk.

"If Jordan wants to come along." Bast replied.

"Indeed." Uriel said.

"You stuck with it, though. You should do well in your future." he reasoned.

He then looked at Jordan, and smirked.

"So." he said.

"How are things going for you and YOUR education?" he asked her.

"Mostly." Bast responded.

"Mostly?" Uriel asked.

"They said it was a vacation place, essentially." Bast told them. "And that's about it. Aside from it being a place for... Jordan and I." he added, clearing his throat a little.

"...yeah, sounds like something Lilim would say." Uriel sighed.

"Oh, and she mentioned that there would be a surprise there waiting." Bast then remembered.

"But that's all." he finished.

"My brother knows that a lot better than I, though." Yuri told her. "And you know which one I mean." he chuckled.

"Now, I can't tell you as to whether or not it's... well... permanent." he then warned.

"But I CAN say that what you two have is real." he promised them.

"Well. That's certainly good to know." Bast responded with a nod.

"Good luck putting the degree to good use, as well." Yuri then told him. "Any ideas where you'll be headed for that?" he asked.

"Not a clue." Bast sighed.

"I'll keep my ear to the ground and see if I find any leads... well... anywhere."

"Wait, what?" Bast inquired. "Really?" he asked further.

"I... I hope everything's okay..." he then said.

"I think Angela has a bug." Yuri commented.

"But she didn't want to miss this for anything, so she forced herself to be strong enough to stay. At least until the end of the ceremony." he added, looking around with Aimee.

"Yeah, not sure..." he mumbled.

"Regardless, we're proud of you, Sebastien." he told him.

"University, a degree, and you even found real love." he said, looking at Jordan.

Bast just rolled his eyes again, but before he could say anything, Lex gestured to the side, where Aimee and Uriel were waiting.

"Before you go, make sure you say hi." he told him.

Lex and Lilim then parted ways, leaving Bast and Jordan to join Uriel and Aimee.

"Lilim and I... have a tolerance." Yuri said. "But we really can't be super close to each other without instincts starting to flare up." he muttered.

"Regardless, congratulations, Sebastien." he told him.

"Thanks." Bast replied with a smile, before they shared a hug, and he then hugged Aimee.

"Thanks for coming, too." he told them.

Bast smiled at her at first, before sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Fair." he said.

"Don't feel the need to hang around here because of us." Lex then said.

"Your mother's probably going back home to work on her art." he told him. "And I have some appointments to confirm and such." he continued.

"So you two go on and check it out." he went on. "Address is on the keychain." he added.

"Congratulations again. We're both very proud of you." he finished, before looking at Lilim.

"Shall we take our leave?" he asked her.

"Oh... wow, I never did." Bast realised, looking at Jordan.

"I board." he told her. "Snowboarding." he clarified.

"He's darn good at it, too." Lex added.

"So your mother and I, with some help from your aunt, got you a place up there." he told him. "Think of it as a place you can go when you need to get away from it all. Some rest and relaxation." he continued.

"Oh... oh, wow." Bast stammered. "Thank you... thank you both so much." he said to them, sounding ready to break out in emotions.

"It's all right." Lex assured him, as the two of them hugged for a few seconds.

Bast then turned to his mother, and it was clear his human half wanted to hug her right there and then, but he knew it was best if SHE initiated it... if she even wanted to embrace, anyway.

"Oh, come on, that's not so horrible." Lex told her with a chuckle.

"Eh?" Bast muttered.

"A gift?" he asked them.

Lex then took a key out of his pocket, and lightly tossed iy towards Sebastien, who caught them automatically.

"..." he was silent as he looked at it, before looking at his parents.

"You didn't...?" he said, sounding a little stunned.

"We did." Lex confirmed.

Sebastien just sighed.

"Can you two not?" he asked.

"Even if for 5 minutes." he said.

"It's been minimal for the entire ceremony." Lex told him. "Pretty sure that's a minor miracle." he added.

"...probably, yes." Bast agreed.

"Regardless, now I start my search to put this degree to good use." he then said.

"Try and find a job... and a career, hopefully."

Lex just shook his head.

"Indeed." he said.

"It's... yeah, it's best to just let that sit where it is." he sighed.

"Let's just enjoy the rest of the ceremony." he told them.

And so they did. The diplomas were handed out, the speeches were given, the cheers were had, and eventually the graduates all began to disperse. Bast had noticed his parents and Jordan there, and made his way over towards them.

"Congratulations, son." Lex said to him, pride in his tone.

Lex just smirked.

"Yep." he responded.

"Got it right here." he said further, patting his pocket.

"We'll give it to him when he comes to us after the ceremony." he told her further.

"But it'll probably be nothing compared to the relief of not having to worry about being sent to Hell." he laughed.

"Was a good motivator, though."

Bast was silent as she kissed him and nipped his bottom lip some.

When she pulled away and made her suggestion, he smirked.

"Yes." he said. "Let's." he agreed, before they headed back into the house.

-Years later-

Bast stood on the small stage, wearing gown and hat, and smiled as he accepted his diploma. It had been a long time, but he'd managed it. Graduating with top honours.

His parents were watching, as was Jordan, and Lex sighed.

"Welp, he did it." he commented.

"And not ONE punishment trip." he said to Lilim.

Bast was silent for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure." he said.

"I'm game. At some point." he told her.

"And yeah, your conclusion is definitely one way to look at it." he then admitted.

"Gotta admit, wasn't expecting THAT reaction." he continued, then smirking.

"You're my kinda woman."