Here we go this is my first Scentpack fic... and also my first gift fic which is pretty neat...

Basically this all happens like 2-3 years after everyone's back on Earth, and they're just trying to cope with trauma and readjust to normal life. They all get together once a week at Amelia's house to have group therapy/hang out time.

Also here's the song that helped inspire the fic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAADC5LOmB4

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The spring air was clear and warm, the freshness of the season starting to emerge from the bleakness of winter with revitalized vigor. The atmosphere was dusted with the pollen of the first spring blooms, though there were not many left from last week's late freeze. The tempertaures were predicted to remain warm for the rest of April, which would hopefully give all the plants a chance to recover from the sudden icy chill that robbed many of them of life.

Another season past, another season new. Another year past, another year new.

A green backpack biking along the side walk of a lively suburban neighborhood sombered at the thought of yet another year gone by. He was glad, he really was, to leave the past in the past. That was not the reason the passing of time troubled him so.

The wind of his passing caused his straps to flap and snap in the wind as he pedalled underneath the overhanging tree branches planted at even intervals along the road. The warm air made the trip far more pleasant than it had been for the past few months.

Tiny white and yellow flowers peaked between the short, well trimmed grass lining the sidewalk, fighting to make a reemergnence. There hadn't been many of them left after the frost last week, and they were already starting to make a noticable comeback. It was incredible how quickly nature bounced back, replacing the old with the new in a constant cycle of rebirth.

Liam glanced at the house numbers on the mailboxes as he flew past them. 401...403... not quite there yet...

The wheels of his bike buzzed beneath him as he rode a gentle downhill slope, lost in thought as the tug of gravity pulled him along. His thoughts were... scattered... as they often were. But there was this same dull ache which he could not shake. It began this morning and persisted all throughout his workday. He knew not what it was nor what caused it.

415...417.... Almost there...

Perhaps he would discuss the strange ache with the others today...

429... and there it was... 431...

Liam turned the handle bars, guiding his red bike up into the driveway of a small, one-story, light olive painted house. With a kick of his foot, he set the kickstand. He swung his foot over the seat, wobbling slightly as he regained balance on his own two legs...

He scanned the edge of the road, and the lack of cars there declared him to be the first to arrive, other than the occupant of the house of course. Over in the neighbors yard, a pair of very young children laughed and rolled in the front yard, a parent watching them from the front porch. Liam smiled as he watched them play-wrestle in the soft grass.

The ache twisted in his gut, and his smile faded as he turned away, replaced with a troubled expression. Why did it feel so awful to see other people happy?

Shaking his head to clear it, he hobbled up to the front porch, passing by the creaking porch swing that swayed slowly in the gentle evening breeze. He leaned his elbows on the railing, lost in thought as he waited.

A few minutes later, a small silver car pulled up to the sidewalk, and Charlotte stepped from the passenger's seat, bidding Parker farewell as he pulled away once again. She turned and saw Liam on the porch, and waved at him. She jogged up and gave him a hearty pat on the back, as she leaned on the railing next to him.

"How've you been, Plecak?" she smirked, taking a moment to adjust the bandage that covered the still-healing right side of her face.

"I've been ight," Liam shrugged, attempting to smile, but the flickering flame of false happiness died before it had a chance to flare, and his smile fell back into a pondering frown.

"What's up?" Charlotte questioned with a raised brow, noting his lack-luster mood.

"I... I'll talk more after Bryce gets here..." Liam pushed the issue away, resuming his thoughtful staring at the black pavement.

"He's always late..." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I hope he gets here soon, I'm starving."

"I swear you only come for the food..." Liam snickered softly.

"Hey, free dinner once a week ain't bad," Charlotte grinned, "But I seriously do enjoy hanging out. Don't get me wrong, I could never find a more caring person than Parker, but talking with y'all is just... different. I don't know..."

"Yeah, that makes sense... I feel that too..." Liam nodded with a sigh, "Owen's nice and tries to listen 'n stuff but, like..." Liam trailed off, not knowing how to finish his thought, so he just repeated what Charlotte said, "...yeah, it's just different."

Suddenly a dirty dark blue car pulled into the driveway, parking behind Liam's bicycle. After a moment, Bryce stumbled out, swearing as he tripped on a rock.

"Bryce! Get your LAZY *** over here! You're LATE!!!" Charlotte yelled at him, smiling broadly.

"I'm TWO minutes late!!! Geez! Can't I catch a break?!?! You're worse than my boss!" Bryce snapped back, smiling just the same. "Why are you two waiting on the porch by the way? Did Amelia lock you out?"

"Nah, it just... felt weird going in alone I guess," Liam shrugged with a grin.

Charlotte playfully swatted the back of his head, "Alone, huh?! Do I just not exist to you??"

Liam laughed, "I meant before you showed up."

"Hmph." Charlotte sniffed, "Well let's head in. I'm hungry."

"Woooooooow, no one would've guessed," Bryce taunted her with a smirk.

Charlotte turned and feigned punching him in the face, "Shut up!"

Bryce laughed and walked over to ring the doorbell, but Charlotte stepped in front of him, cutting him off. "You don't need to knock, she never locks the door."

"But Charlotte, you can't just-" Liam tried to protest, but Charlotte literally kicked the door in before he could finish a sentence.

"WE'RE HERE!" Charlotte called out as she sauntered into the foyer, leaving the boys to stare after her in shock.

"Honestly, doesn't surprise me..." Bryce shrugged, "For all her big tough talk she has the mentality of a five-year-old."

"I just hope she didn't put a dent in the wall... Amelia probably wouldn't appreciate that." Liam sighed as the pair followed their 'energetic' friend inside.

The inside of the house was small, and rather outdated in design. The walls still had the original floral patterned wallpaper, and the house just had that specific smell that all older homes share. Perhaps some found the dusty smell unpleasant, but to Liam it smelled like home. He almost looked forward to it every week; that first inhale as he entered the one place he could freely talk about how he felt. It wasn't really the place and it wasn't really the smell that Liam looked forward to, it was the people and the memories within these walls.

There was a short hall dividing the foyer from the living room, and as they passed through they were greeted with the smell of freshly baked lasagna wafting from the kitchen, which adjoined the living space.

"Hey guys! Go ahead and turn on the TV if you want! I'm almost done!" Amelia's voice echoed out from the kitchen, where the sound of pots clanging and glasses rattling and silverware clattering could also be heard.

They exited the hall and saw that Charlotte was already making herself comfortable on one of the couches, one leg sprawled out on the cushion beside her and one arm hanging lazily over the arm of the couch as she reached over and grabbed the remote off the coffee table in the center of the room.

Bryce walked over and plopped down in the single seat chair in the corner. "Can you put it on the football game, Charlotte?" he requested.

"Na-uh, we're watching Survivor. They just started it back up again and I'm stoked."

"C'mon, Charlotte. The third quarter is happening right now. It'll be over soon; afterwards we can watch what you want."

"No."

"Why?"

"Cuz I got the remote so I get to pick."

"That's not-!"

Their argument faded into the background as Liam made his way into the kitchen, the sound of water running in the sink drowning out their voices. He stood in the doorway, leaning on the frame.

Amelia was washing the dirty pots she had just finished using, her hands moving in fast, deft strokes. He liked the way she cooked, cleaning up as she went instead of just throwing everything in the sink for later. Liam always procrastinated when it came to cleaning.

He watched as she cleaned the last spatula and set it in the drawer, wringing out a soapy cloth and beginning to wipe down the counters. Liam admired the candle's graceful movements as she maneuvered around the kitchen.

Suddenly he realized he was staring for an unusual amount of time.

Not wanting to be weird, Liam cleared his throat, "Hi."

Amelia turned, only just noticing his presence, and flashed a bright smile, "Oh hey Liam, do you need something?"

"No... I just wanted to see you. Unlike some people, I think it's polite to actually greet the hostess..." Liam chuckled, nodding towards the numbskulls in the living room. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so, but thank you, I'm almost done. Just gotta get it out of the oven." Amelia said as she pulled on a pair of pink oven mitts.

Not knowing what else to do, Liam walked over to her. She pulled open the oven door and was instantly punched in the face by an uppercut of hot steam, fogging up her glass. She blindly reaching down and pulled out the glass pan of lasagna, setting it on the stove top. The tomato sauce had boiled over the sides of the pan, and now her mitts were stained with the red liquid.

"Ugh, can't see..." she mumbled as she attempted to pull the gloves off, her face covered in condensation.

"Here, I can help," Liam quickly stepped up. With a gentle touch, he reached out and wiped the fog from her face, leaving his hand to rest on her cheek.

"Thanks..." Amelia smiled shyly, with her vision back, she was quickly able to pull off the dirty gloves. It took her a moment to register Liam's lingering touch on her cheek. A blush crept onto her face.

"I... I really appreciate you doing this every week..." Liam smiled down at her.

"It's really not much," Amelia said quietly, slightly flustered.

"It's everything to us. To me." Liam whispered, leaning closer, "And I know you put so much effort into it. Your house is always clean and your food is always amazing, we all know you really care. I love coming here and seeing you... all of them... but also just you."

Amelia didn't know what to say, so she simply leaned into Liam's fabric as he wrapped his arms around her. She simply breathed in the moment, a content smile growing on her face as she was held in Liam's arms. She reached around and linked her hands together behind his back, squeezing him gently.

"Can you two save the cuddling for later? I want to eat!" Charlotte's teasing protests interrupted the moment. Amelia startled, blushing intensely and pulling away from the embrace, suddenly very self conscious. The weight of her absence was too heavy for Liam to hold, and his arms fell back to his sides, that dull ache returning.

"Pfft, why do you two act like this is some big secret? Just get together already." Charlotte teased smugly, leaning on the doorframe leading into the living room.

Liam just sighed, and attempted to smile, "I'll get plates." He announced going over to the cabinet and grabbing a stack before leaving the kitchen, not taking a second to look back.

Charlotte's confident smile fell flat as she realized there was something a bit more serious going on, "What's up with him?" She asked Amelia.

The candle sighed, warring with her own emotions, "It's... it's kind of complicated..."

"Yeah, I can tell. Wanna talk about it?" Charlotte offered, walking over and patting the shorter object's shoulder for encouragement.

"Maybe later," Amelia half-heartedly smiled at her friend's attempt at making her feel better. "Right now we should go eat."

"Alright... but you can talk to me whenever you want. You know that right? That's literally the whole reason we're all here." Charlotte assured her.

"I know, thank you," Amelia smiled, a bit more genuinely this time. She reached over to pick up the lasagna pan, now slightly cooled.

Charlotte quickly reached ahead of her and grabbed it, "Let me carry that, Shortstack."

Amelia giggled and narrowed her eyes playfully, "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm weak."

"Yeah, yeah sure..." Charlotte teased as the pair headed to the dining table.

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The whole world was bathed in a vibrant orange glow, outlining and accenting every detail of every shadow. The clouds, drowned in the dying rays of the sun, painted the sky in great puffy paint strokes, billowing and churning in the undetected winds of a much higher altitude.

Liam watched from the front porch as Parker pulled up, hollering at Charlotte to hurry up. And of, course she wasn't one to turn down playful banter, and so the feigned argument escalated and carried on even after the car was out of sight.

Bryce had left only a couple minutes before, leaving Liam alone once again on the front porch, the swaying of the old wooden swing his only company.

Until Amelia stepped out of the house to join him. She had just finished cleaning up the plates from dinner.

"Tonight was a good talk," she commented, walking up next to him and leaning on the rail, much like Charlotte had done earlier that evening. Except Amelia was closer.

"Yeah, I'm glad to hear Charlotte and Parker are finally starting to get comfortable. It was rough there for a minute..." Liam added, repressing the urge to wrap his arm around the candle's shoulders. He had already overstepped once this evening...

"And Bryce seems to be adjusting better," Amelia's fingers rhythmically tapped the railing, her hand so tantalizingly close. Liam wanted nothing more than to hold it in his own, but he didn't. He wouldn't.

"As long as he can stay out of those bars. He'll be alright... that last fight he got into was intense..." Liam commented, staring off into the sunset to distract himself.

Silence fell between the two, both so full of thoughts they didn't know how to say.

"I suppose I better get going," Liam eventually sighed, taking a wobbly step towards his bicycle. He leaned on the railing for balance as he readjusted his stance to accommodate for his weak knee.

Suddenly, a warm hand reached out and wrapped around his. Liam froze.

"Wait." Amelia mumbled, struggling for words, "I... I want to talk... to you. Just you."

A ghost of a smile wisped across Liam's face, "Alright..."

The two headed over to the porch swing, keeping hold of each other's hand. They settled into the smooth wooden seat, swaying back and forth gently.

"I don't know what to say," Liam admitted after a moment of thoughtful silence.

"Neither do I," Amelia whispered.

"Can I talk about the Plane?" Liam asked. He always felt it was good to ask first.

"Sure," Amelia nodded for him to continue.

"Well, I think we can both agree that's where... this... started, right?" Liam gently squeezed Amelia's hand, softly caressing her fingers with his thumb.

"Yeah," Amelia agreed, squeezing back.

"I don't think we really thought about it back then. I mean, looking back we were pretty - affectionate I guess... but you were all I had. We only had each other in that empty Hell. If I'm being honest... it's almost like it was forced. We didn't really... choose this... I guess. We just needed it at that time," Liam paused to think of more words to continue, "I guess what I'm trying to say is it almost felt like desperation more than anything."

Amelia slowly nodded in agreement, though painful tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

"I mean, even before the Plane, I was always a bit of a loner. I really wanted to have a lot of friends and stuff but I just... didn't really know how. The only reason I'm friends with Owen is because we were basically forced to be together for four years as roommates." Liam took a deep breath, "But you... you're just so natural around people. You make it look so easy to talk to people. And you just... glow... when you're talking. You are just such a wonderful, caring person."

There was a long pause.

"I feel like I'm taking advantage of you." Liam finally admitted, his words coming out in forceful anger, as though he was disgusted with himself. "You have the ability to make connections with anyone, and I feel like I'm holding you back. I feel so selfish, keeping you from different relationships just because I suck at them. I'm taking advantage of the connection we had on the Plane. I'm using the most painful, vulnerable time of your life to MY advantage... and I just feel awful about it!"

"Liam..." Amelia spoke his name with sad, caring longing, "That's not true..."

Liam refused to make eye contact with her, tears pouring down and soaking into his fabric. He felt so dirty. So disgusting. So ashamed of himself. He couldn't look at her like this.

Deciding it was best to let him have a moment to himself, Amelia decided to redirect the conversation, "I've also been... hesitant... about all this, but for a completely different reason. I..."

She trailed off, tears clouding her vision as emotion overwhelmed her and choked out conscious thought. Eventually, she managed to continue, "I feel so... different. I know I'm not the same as I was before ONE; I don't think any of us are. But at the same time, it just feels different for me. When I was on the Plane... I just - gave up. I gave up on everything. And I was so terrified of the idea of coming back to this life I had given up on... that I didn't even want to think about leaving the Plane. I became Scenty. And that's who you knew me as. I was Scenty for those seven months when we became so close... And now..." She couldn't keep going, her tears won the battle for control of her voice and she wept, pressing her glass face into the fabric of Liam's shoulder.

Liam, whose tears still flowed freely, couldn't stand seeing her like this. Even though his thoughts told him to give her space, to not take advantage of her vulnerability more than he already had. He ignored them. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into a tight, intimate hug, as if he could chase away all her pain and tears if he only could hold her tight enough.

After a while, her tears and shaking breath finally calmed down enough for her to speak, though she still shivered and gasped, "Now I just don't know who I am! I'm not the Amelia who taught yoga in Washington, and I'm not the Scenty who you knew on the Plane. I don't know who I am!!! And I just feel like that's not fair to you. To expect someone as kind and empathetic as you to be with someone who doesn't even know who they are... It would be so stressful and depressing and just terrible!"

"There is nothing about you that makes me stressed or depressed." Liam assured her, rubbing slow soothing circles on her back as she clinged to him. "In fact I'm happiest when I'm with you."

"And you're not taking advantage of me," Amelia stated firmly, making sure her voice was steady enough to convey just how much she meant those words, "There is no one in this world or any other that I would rather be here with."

That aching pit in Liam suddenly didn't seem so empty as his whole being blossomed with pleasant warmth. "I... I love you, Amy."

"I love you, Liam."

"If... you really feel like that... would you be willing to be mine? I promise you that no matter who you think you are, I think you are the most amazing person I have ever met, and I will do anything and everything to help you." Liam whispered to her lovingly.

"Thank you... you mean everything to me..." Amelia whispered back, cuddling into his soft, warm fabric, "I would love to be yours."

And in the fading orange glow of the setting sun, two pairs of lips greeted one another for the first time.

In the warm aftermath of a tough, freezing winter, the flowers of love were finally able to grow and blossom.

Spring had finally arrived.

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*Contented sigh*

I will admit that writing fluff is pretty fun... It's just difficult to convince my angst-centric brain that there is such a thing as writing that is not angst, *gasp*... I want to get better at it though, it's just gonna take a minute... lol writing this chapter literally felt like writing in a foreign language XD

One last note, my beta reader informed me that Parker and Charlotte are married, it is not optional lol.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it Sunset!

Edgy out!