. . . You didn’t expect to see him. Not here. The spot overlooking the harbor had always been a safe a space; a place to breathe, to watch the stars reflect off the water and pretend the world wasn’t falling apart. It had been yours, once. Yours and Arthur’s.

Leaning against your motorbike, you sighed. The loud thrum of his car engine were unmistakable, the red colour of his Ferrari flashing everywhere, even in the soft glow of the streetlamp.

As the engine softened, the door opened and he stepped out. You held your breath, heart skipping a beat as if it was playing hopscotch. He hadn’t noticed you yet, leaning his body against the railing, eyes fixed on the horizon.

The wind tugged at his hair, but he didn’t seem to feel it. His shoulders were tense, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. You knew that look.

You almost turned to leave. Almost. But something held you in place, the same something that always brought you back here, nights when the silence was too loud and your chest felt too heavy.

He turned, eyes widening when he saw you. For a moment, neither of you spoke. The wind carried the scent of salt and distant rain, and the night stretched out between you, filled with ghosts of conversations you never had.

"Didn’t think I’d see you here," he finally said, his voice barely carrying over the sound of the waves below.

You shrugged, trying to ignore the way your heart twisted and started beating out of your chest. "I could say the same."

He looked back out at the water, the tension in his jaw easing just a little. "Still come here when it gets too much?"

"Yeah." The word felt small. Too small. Yet, the space between you was as vast as a thousand canyons combined.

The night sky was a patchwork of forgotten wishes, each star a memory you and Arthur couldn’t hold onto. It wrapped around you like a blanket of thorns, each moment of silence another prick.

You both stood there, the space between you filled with everything you weren’t saying. The air felt heavier than it should, every breath a reminder of what you’d lost.

When Arthur finally spoke, his words were like cracked porcelain; delicate, but also sharp, cutting you deep.

"We stood in this same space once, remember?" His voice was quiet, almost lost to the wind. "Laughing about how empty it was. Now it feels too big… just like the distance that is between us."

You remembered. The way his laughter had echoed, the way he’d pulled you close and whispered promises you both believed at the time. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"You broke us, Arthur." The words slipped out, raw and bitter. Your hands were shaking

He flinched, eyes meeting yours for a brief, painful moment. "I know, (Y/n)." His voice was soft, almost drowned by the crashing waves. The way he said your name made you melt, like it always did. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Walking away? How was that right?"

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration seeping into his voice. "You think it was easy for me? Every fight, every silence… it felt like we were drifting. I thought… I thought letting go would save us from breaking completely."

"But we did break." Your voice cracked, the memories crashing over you; the late night arguments, the slammed doors, the quiet moments where you both reached for each other but missed.

"You were always somewhere else," you continued, voice trembling. "Your job, your friends… I felt like I was barely a part of your life. Like I was unimportant, just a distraction."

Arthur’s eyes hardened, his jaw clenching. "And you were perfect, right? Every time I was late or distracted, you shut down. You wouldn’t talk to me."

"I tried!" The words came out sharper than you intended. "But you weren’t there to hear it. You were too busy with everything else."

He took a deep breath, the fight draining out of him. "I know. I prioritized the wrong things. Thought I had time to fix it later."

"Later never came, Arthur."

The silence stretched again, thick with everything you couldn’t say. The stars above seemed to watch, each one a distant reminder of what could’ve been.

"I still come here," you whispered, more to yourself than him. "When I miss you. When it hurts too much."

His eyes softened, the walls around them slipping for just a moment. "Me too."

The wind carried your silence, filled with words left unsaid. You could feel it, the love that hadn’t faded, buried under layers of hurt and regret. But love wasn’t always enough.

Arthur shifted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don’t know how to fix this."

"Neither do I."

The night wrapped around you both, the harbor stretching out below like a sea of broken memories. There was no resolution here, no easy answers. Just two people standing in the ruins of something beautiful, still attached to a past they couldn’t let go of.

The wind picked up, swirling leaves and fragments of old conversations around you. You remembered the nights you’d spent here together, wrapped in each other’s arms, talking about dreams that seemed so close you could touch them. Dreams that had slipped through your fingers like sand.

Then, you remembered your first kiss. You and Arthur. Tangled in each other's arms, the sound of the waves soothing you to a state of relaxation. It seemed as if that happened millenniums ago.

"You think we could’ve done it differently?" Arthur’s voice was almost lost in the wind.

"Maybe." The word hung between you, fragile and uncertain. "But we didn’t."

He stepped closer, just enough that you could feel his warmth. "Do you regret it?"

The question lingered in the air, heavy with meaning. You thought about everything you’d shared; the laughter, the pain, the quiet moments that felt like they would last forever. "No. Do you?"

He didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, almost broken. "No."

As Arthur turned to leave, he hesitated, his eyes lingering on you. "Maybe… maybe this isn’t the end."

You stood there, your heart heavy, the words caught in your throat. "You don’t get to just walk away, Arthur. Not like this."

His steps faltered, and for a moment, you both just stood there, staring at each other across the distance that had grown between you. The wind tugged at your hair, but neither of you moved.

"I still love you," you whispered, barely audible. "But I don’t know if that’s enough anymore."

Arthur’s eyes softened, and he took a step closer, but stopped short. His voice was thick with emotion when he finally spoke. "I don’t know how to fix this. But I’ll never stop caring about you."

The ache in your chest didn’t ease, but deep down, beneath the hurt and the silence, a flicker of something remained.

It wasn’t over. Not yet. But it wasn’t healed, either. Just a patchwork of forgotten wishes, waiting for a second chance that may never come.

And as the night wrapped around you, you realized some love stories don’t end, they just take time to heal, if they ever do.

. . . The harbor was the same as it always had been; peaceful, vast, and filled with that haunting sense of nostalgia. The water stretched out in endless blue, the stars above twinkling like distant memories, calling you back to a time when everything felt right.

The night air was cool, the breeze carrying the salt of the ocean, but the weight of everything unsaid between you and Arthur still lingered in the air, thick and obvious.

You could feel it, the push and pull, the magnetic force that had always existed between you two. It wasn’t something that could be ignored, no matter how hard you tried to bury it. And tonight, it felt stronger than ever, as if the universe was pushing you back into his orbit, despite everything that had happened.

Despite the hurt, despite the silence that had grown between you.

You stood by the railing, watching as Arthur’s car disappeared into the distance, wondering if that was the last time you would see him. Your mind was racing, full of denial. You were angry. You were hurt.

But you were also… still in love with him.

You couldn’t help it. It was like something deep inside your chest, an ache that you couldn’t shake no matter how hard you tried.

But then, a voice, soft but clear, broke through the quiet.

"I don’t know what I’m doing here, but I couldn’t just walk away."

You turned, your heart jumping into your throat. There he was again. Arthur, standing a few feet away, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, his eyes intense but vulnerable. His voice carried the weight of his feelings, and even though you could still see the cracks in the way he stood, you couldn’t deny the genuineness there.

He wasn’t giving up. Not this time.

"You left once before, Arthur," you said, your voice low but firm, holding onto that anger like a shield. "You thought it would be easier, didn’t you? Thought walking away would solve everything."

"I did." He took a step closer, and you could see the pain in his eyes. "And I was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I wasn’t. I pushed you away because I thought I was saving us from… from whatever it was we were becoming. But I see now… I was just scared. And I should’ve fought for you. For us."

The vulnerability in his voice, the raw honesty, hit you harder than you expected. Your heart was racing, not from anger anymore, but from something deeper, something that had always been there, buried under the hurt and the regret.

"I didn’t want to lose you," he continued, his voice catching just slightly. "But in pushing you away, I lost you anyway."

It was quiet for a moment. The sound of the waves crashing below, the distant hum of the city, the wind tugging at your hair, all seemed to fade into the background. All that was left was you and him. The years that had passed between you. The mistakes. The memories.

And the undeniable truth that, despite everything, you still felt something.

Something stronger than the hurt.

Something that had never truly gone away.

The look of love was still there, even after everything. It was in the way his eyes softened when they met yours, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his lips, like he couldn’t quite help himself.

But there was pain behind it. An ache that came from knowing things could never go back to what they once were. It felt like a distant memory, that love. Fading. Slipping through your fingers like water.

And yet, the rush of blood surged through you when you caught his gaze, as if the years that had passed were nothing but a blink. The heat of his stare wrapped around your chest, drawing you in despite the walls you had spent so much time building.

You wanted to look away, to stop yourself from feeling anything, but you couldn’t. It was like your heart had made its own decision, and your mind was helpless against it.

The weight of the silence between you was unbearable. It felt like an ocean, an expanse that had grown too vast to cross.

But in that moment, all it took was one look to pull you back to a time when it had all been so easy. When the world had felt simple, the love undeniable, and every touch meant forever. Now, it felt like those forever promises had been buried somewhere in the past, lost between the lines of things unsaid.

You swallowed hard, trying to suppress the emotions threatening to break free. You’d spent so long convincing yourself that you didn’t need him, that you were better off without him. But now, standing here, everything inside of you screamed that it wasn’t true.

That the love you had wasn’t something you could just throw away. And when his hand reached out, just inches away from yours, you didn’t know if you were ready to face it. You didn’t know if you could handle the pull of the past all over again.

But the truth was undeniable, the look of love never truly left, and the rush of blood you felt every time you saw him was proof enough.

That somewhere deep down, it had always remained.

"You don’t get to just waltz back into my life, Arthur," you said, your voice trembling despite yourself. You were trying to be strong, trying to guard your heart. But you knew, deep down, that this wasn’t over. That maybe it could never be over.

"I’m not asking for that." He shook his head, a small, sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I’m asking for a chance. A real one this time. I don’t want to fix everything in one night. But I want to start again. Slowly. If you’ll let me."

There it was. The offer. The carrot dangling in front of your eyes.

But you were still scared.

Scared that it wouldn’t work. Scared that you’d be right back here again, only with even more to lose.

But then, you saw it, the vulnerability in his eyes, the longing. And that familiar pull, the one you couldn’t resist no matter how hard you tried. It was there, strong as ever.

"I don’t know if I can trust you again," you whispered, stepping back slightly, heart pounding. "Not after everything."

"I know," Arthur said softly, stepping closer, his eyes never leaving yours. "I’ve lost your trust, and I understand that. But I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn it back. If you’ll let me."

Your breath caught in your throat as the silence stretched between you. The tension was thick, electric, even. The space between you was filled with everything you hadn’t said, everything you hadn’t done. The words hung there like a promise unspoken, but everything inside you was screaming to bridge the gap.

You didn’t know what would happen next. Maybe you would walk away again. Maybe this would turn out like every other time. But for some reason, tonight felt different. Tonight, the past didn’t feel like a weight. It felt like a possibility. A chance for something new.

Arthur’s hand reached out, hesitating just in front of yours, like he was waiting for your permission. You hesitated for a moment, your heart beating wildly in your chest. But then you took a step forward, closing the distance between you, your fingers brushing against his. The contact was electric, a spark that ran through you like wildfire.

"I’m scared," you admitted, your voice barely a whisper, but it felt like the most honest thing you’d said in years.

Arthur’s eyes softened, and he gently took your hand in his, his grip firm but soft and gentle. "I am too. But we can be scared together, right?"

There was nothing left to say. No more words that could undo the years, no more questions that could erase the past. There was only the moment, the connection that had always been there, pulling you together like gravity.

Without thinking, you reached up, your fingers tracing his jawline, and before you could second guess yourself, you kissed him.

Softly, hesitantly, as if testing the waters, and then, as if the universe had finally allowed you both this moment, the kiss deepened. Arthur’s arms wrapped around you, pulling you closer, and for the first time in so long, everything felt right again. His lips moved against yours, a promise, an apology, and everything that was unsaid wrapped up in one perfect moment.

When you finally pulled away, both of you breathless, Arthur’s forehead rested gently against yours. His hand cradled the back of your head, fingers tangled in your hair. "I don’t know what comes next," he murmured, his voice soft. "But I know I want to find out with you."

And for the first time in a long time, you believed him. You didn’t have the answers, but maybe you didn’t need them. Because as long as you were together, everything else could wait. The future, the past, the mistakes.

All of it faded into the background as you stood there, in the harbor, under the stars, finally together again.

And this time, you were going to make it work. Even if it meant you'd had to die doing so.

Things fall apart and time breaks your heart.

But this time, it didn't.