I stared at you, at the way you stood there, looking at me like no time had passed at all. "These are yours?" I asked, gesturing to the sketches.
You nodded. "They've always been yours, too."
My heart swelled, memories rushing back like waves crashing on the shore. "Why didn't you tell me?"
You stepped closer, your voice low and steady. "Because I wanted you to find me when you were ready. When it felt right."
I blinked back tears, the ache of the years without you catching up to me all at once. "And now?"
You smiled again, softer this time. "Now, I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."
The world seemed to blur around us as you reached for my hand, just as you had all those years ago. Your fingers threaded through mine, warm and steady, as though they had never let go.
"I thought I'd lost you," I whispered.
"You didn't," you said gently. "You were always with me. In every star, in every sketch, in every dream I couldn't let go of."
I looked up at you, at the face I had memorized, the voice I had longed to hear, and for the first time in years, the weight in my chest lifted.
"I love you," I said, the words spilling out like a breath I'd been holding for far too long.
You smiled—radiant, glowing, as if the stars themselves had come down to rest in your eyes. "I love you, too. I always have."
And then you pulled me into your arms, and I let myself fall—fall into the moment, into you, into the love that had waited for us. The world outside the gallery disappeared, the music faded, and there was only us, two souls finding their way back to where they belonged.
We returned to the hill that night, the place where it had all begun. The sky was clear, the stars brighter than I'd ever seen them, as if they were celebrating with us. You lay beside me in the grass, our hands intertwined, our hearts finally at peace.
"Do you think they remember us?" you asked, gesturing to the stars.
I smiled, resting my head on your shoulder. "I think they never forgot."
You turned to me then, your eyes soft and steady. "This time, I'm not leaving."