Years later, they would still end up on a balcony.

Not always the same one.

Better wine.

Softer lighting.

Less urgency in the way they spoke about things.

But always the same rhythm.

Sienna would lift her glass.

“You realise,” she’d say, “this is all your fault.”

Ava would smile.

“For what?”

“For summoning a man like you were ordering coffee.”

Ava would laugh.

“I didn’t summon anything.”

Sienna would raise an eyebrow.

“You literally said…”

“Don’t.”

They’d laugh the way people do when time has softened everything.

Not erased it.

Just… placed it.

They still remembered them all.

The Drifter.

The Charmer.

The Poet.

The Wounded.

The Wildfire.

The Ghost.

The Architect.

The Placeholder.

The Almost.

Not with regret.

With clarity.

Each one had felt important at the time.

Some had felt unforgettable.

None of them stayed.

Ava leaned against the railing.

“You know what’s funny?”

“What?” Sienna asked.

“I thought we were building a system to find him.”

Sienna smiled.

“We were.”

Ava shook her head gently.

“No.”

A pause.

“We were building a system to recognise what wasn’t him.”

Sienna considered that.

Then nodded.

“Same outcome.”

They stood there for a moment, watching the city.

Still full of movement.

Still full of stories.

“But you know what the best part was?” Sienna added.

Ava glanced at her.

“What?”

Sienna smiled.

“We never let each other settle.”

Ava’s expression softened.

Because that was the truth underneath everything.

The taxonomy hadn’t just filtered men.

It had held them steady.

Through bad decisions.

Through almosts.

Through moments where it would have been easier to shrink.

They hadn’t.

Not really.

Not for long.

Ava lifted her glass slightly.

“To research.”

Sienna clinked it.

“To better data.”

They laughed.

Still.

After everything.

Below them, somewhere in the city, a train passed.

Unremarkable.

On time.

Exactly where it was meant to be.

Sienna glanced out.

Then back at Ava.

“So,” she said lightly.

“Worth it?”

Ava didn’t hesitate.

“Yes.”

A pause.

Then, softer…

“Look how much we’ve grown.”

Sienna smiled, satisfied.

Of course, she did.

“About time,” she said.

Taxonomy update

**Final emotional note**

The Black Knight matters.

But what lasted…

what shaped everything…

was Ava and Sienna's friendship.

☕️ The taxonomy continues… just no longer out of need.