Interlude: Full Circle

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“Mmmm…” Hope sighed softly against Zayne’s lips as they moved with hers. He let his mouth travel down her jawline toward her neck, and she sighed even louder.

The sound was driving Zayne crazy. He and his new wife had finally managed to sneak away from the reception for some time alone, and he planned on taking full advantage of it. He reached down, gathering the soft fabric of her skirt into one of his large hands as he let his fingers begin creeping up the smooth skin of her thigh.

To his dismay, she broke away from him, giggling. “Woah there, mister.” Hope reached down, gently pushing his hands away.

“Aww, you’re no fun.” He pouted dramatically, eliciting another bright laugh from her lips.

“Sorry… But I don’t want to consummate our marriage in a bush, Zayne.” She teased.

Her husband laughed. “Alright, alright… Fair enough.” He paused for a moment. “In that case, the bridal suite is just upstairs…”

“Okay, now that isn’t such a bad idea.” Hope smirked playfully at him. “If we can manage to sneak past everybody again.”

“True… Might be a challenge. I swear, my grandparents are like vultures or something.” Zayne shook his head for a moment.

“They’re just happy, I guess… I don’t think any of them expected we’d ever get here.” She replied with a laugh.

“Good point… I mean hell, did you even think we would?”

“I had my doubts for a while.” She admitted. “But deep down, I think I always knew it had to be you.” Hope turned away from him then, looking out over the beautiful grounds of the estate. “I still think it’s so crazy that we somehow ended up back here… It’s like we came full circle or something.”

He nodded, pointing at the winding green hedge off in the distance. “See that bush? That’s the one I was hiding behind when I chickened out and ran back home…”

“Well, I’m really glad you didn’t this time.” His wife replied softly as her laughter died away.

“Never.” Zayne reached out to take her hands, pressing his lips against them for a moment. “This is the happiest day of my life, Hope. Seriously.”

“Oh yeah? Even happier than when your restaurant opened?” She teased.

“Hmm… Good point. Okay, second happiest.” Zayne winked at her. “Ow! Kidding!”

Hope pulled her hand back, giggling for a few moments. A soft sigh passed her lips as her smile slowly melted away. But she didn’t look angry or upset. Just thoughtful. Zayne wondered what she might be thinking. At last, she opened her mouth to speak.

“It’s just amazing isn’t it?” She said softly. “Thinking about how far we’ve come together… I mean, look at where we are. Look at where we started.” Hope shook her head. “It’s been one hell of a ride.”

“A rollercoaster.” Zayne agreed.

As his eyes glanced back toward the beautiful manor, he noticed that he and Hope were not the only couple who’d been looking for a little alone time. His in-laws stood together on the back porch, sharing a kiss in the cool night air. Beside him, he caught Hope making a face of disgust… But Zayne secretly thought it was wonderful.

He didn’t know many details — he doubted Hope did either. But Zayne knew that Carly and Ralph’s relationship hadn’t always been an easy one. They’d had a lot of ups and downs when they were younger… Hope had told him that they were even broken up for a while before she was born. But now here they stood, still happily married three decades later.

On the other side of the patio, Zayne could also see his aunt and grandfather sitting together beneath the stars. Mark would be turning eighty next year, and it was so upsetting to watch the signs of old age beginning to take their toll on him… Yet he and Jocelyne still flirted and giggled together like two school children, seemingly oblivious to the two decades that separated them.

Though they’d never told him the specifics, Zayne knew the two of them had faced a hell of a lot too. Breaking up, loss, heartache… Yet they both overcame it together, and Zayne couldn’t think of two people who were a better example of what true love should be.

“Look at our parents.” He whispered at last, breaking the silence. Zayne nodded in the direction of each couple as he spoke. “They’ve gone through hell and back together, haven’t they? Just like us. And look at them now.”

Hope smiled softly. “You’re right. I guess some of the best love stories are built on second chances…” She glanced back toward the older couples for a moment. “And there’s your proof.”

“Exactly.” Zayne turned to face his beautiful new wife once more. “They made it, and so will we.” He promised her, running his hand down her cheek. “No matter what crazy shit life decides to throw at us, we’ll be okay.”

“No, we won’t.” She replied, shaking her head. Her lips curled into a smile. “We’ll be a lot better than that.”

He chuckled as he lowered his lips to meet hers.

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Here is a little bonus pic (for my HoZay peeps) that wasn’t taken for the chapter, but was too adorable not to share:

Now, believe it or not, this is the end of Gen 5! 😮

“But Citizen, where are the nooboos?!”

Originally I planned on having one final arc to this gen showing Hope and Zayne’s journey with having their child, but I decided to cut it for two reasons. One, this is already my longest generation yet (haha) and two, I feel like after all the build-up throughout the second half of this generation, ending it with Hope and Zayne finally getting together (for better or for worse, depending on if you shipped them or not 😛 ) felt like a more fitting way for us to end things 🙂

To celebrate the end of Zayne’s generation, I have a new Casting Call for you guys participate in, if you’d like! Please click the link for all the information!

The casting call is CLOSED! You guys MORE than delivered. I already have nearly 40 sims and it’s only been one day. You’re amazing! If anyone started making a sim before I closed the call, you can still submit them, so I’m wiling to take on a couple extra. But after Saturday, it’s closed for good! Thank you all 🙂

And without further ado, I welcome you all to…

Generation Six: Harper

😀