She only turned around when she heard his voice; when she knew she wasn't imagining things and he was actually there.

She met his eyes first, and then that smile she was daydreaming about only a few seconds ago.

She thought to herself that he had never looked as handsome as he looked right then; grinning from ear to ear, with his hands buried in his pockets like one of the heart-throbs from those classic movies she used to watch with her mother as a child.

He also stayed silent, taking in the sight of that girl he still, at times, finds it hard to believe is his. So beautiful, so wide eyed and full of light.

He slowly removed his hands from his pockets and reached out to her face; cradling it softly and running his thumbs along her jaw.

He smirked even wider when she let out a long sigh and her lips finally took the shape of that smile he so much needed to see in person.

They kissed. A kissed that, from the outside looking in, seemed like any other kiss of two people that love each other. But it was so much more than that. It was the kiss of two people that need one another more than anything or anyone else.

They held each other tight. Her, holding onto him so he would never leave again. Him, so he wouldn't have to.

"I can't believe you're here." She whispered in his ear while her hands roamed up and down his back, as if she still couldn't give credit to any of her five senses.

She could see him, touch him, smell him, taste him. But she was still in awe.

"And I can't believe you actually thought I would miss this."

She kept smiling, knowing that she probably looked like an idiot, but she didn't care. He was smiling in the same way, he might as well be her reflection in a mirror.

Another hug and another kiss later, Jasper came over to pop the bubble they were trapped in, and urged them to either join the party, or get a room.

They both laughed and did the former, but not without giving the second choice a serious thought.

"I've got you something." He leaned closer to her, so she could hear him through the loud music and she looked up at him.

She was about to say that there was nothing else she wanted other than him being there, but when she saw her walking towards them, her words got caught up in her throat.

Beth walked right up to her and she breached the distance between them with a jolt, clinging to her neck and barely managing to keep the tears of joy at bay.

They hugged tightly and then they chatted with a drink in hand for a few minutes until another familiar face came to view.

He was standing in a corner, looking at them as if he was wanting for a signal that he could approach.

"Is that...?" She asked her friend, who was looking in the same direction, and she shrugged.

"You see, there's been a development."

Beth waved her hand at the boy and he nodded, slowly heading towards them. And something in both of their faces made her click.

"You and Will?" She sounded surprised, but there was clear excitement in her voice. "That's so... right!"

She suddenly remembered that first and only date they had which somehow felt like it was a lifetime ago.

She remembered how nice and charming she thought he was, and how much she wanted to feel at least the slightest attraction towards him. Something that would make her believe she wasn't as lost as she knew she was.

She remembered thinking how lucky any girl would be to have someone like him by her side, and how tragic it was that he had set his eyes on the only one who, even though she could notice it, she was too far gone to seize it.

She didn't have to ask any questions. Beth started telling her the story of how they met and got together without leaving much detail to the imagination, and she listened quietly and fascinated.

Apparently, when Will spilled his coffee all over her that morning they met, he was coming out of the same coffee shop he would go to every day before work. Which happened to be the same one where Beth discovered what she described as the best Victoria cake sandwich in all of England, just a few days after Lea went back to the States.

He didn't soak her with his breakfast, though. Instead, he just offered to pay her bill when she realized she had left her wallet at home.

A proper gentleman; just as Lea thought.

At first they were just friends; meeting up for coffee every few days, talking about the little things of the everyday life, never getting too deep. But when he had to leave town for a couple of weeks for work and they spent days without seeing each other, they realized there was a whole lot more between them.

"I never knew he was your Will until he picked me up at the School one afternoon and he mentioned a girl he used to know that worked here." Beth said in what seemed to be an apology, and she snorted. "How crazy is that, uh? Fate? How often does it strike so bluntly?"

Lea smiled and rolled her eyes, finding Harry at the other side of the room chatting with his mates yet glancing in her direction.

How crazy is fate? Very. How often does it strike so bluntly? For them, very often. Often enough not to let them give up and just keep on fighting.

Fate, although at times she felt it was a punishment that would not let her move on, had been her greatest allied all along. Fate, for them, was their salvation.

"Really crazy...." Lea said, holding Harry's gaze and chuckling when he mouthed an I love you. "And bloody wise. Because I can not think of a person who deserves happiness more than you."

They looked at each other and Lea saw how the bad memories clouded her friend's eyes for a moment. But then she smiled and they vanished just as quickly as they appeared. And she prayed they would stay buried forever.

*****

They decided to leave the club when they realized they couldn't wait any longer to be alone, and although the rest of the gang wanted to keep on partying, they watched them leave without asking any questions.

The night was coming to an end but for them, it had barely started. And helping her to the car, laughing at how spirited she was, Harry drove to where the final surprise was awaiting.

"Our piece of sky!" She beamed, arms stretched towards the stars and skipping across the very same rooftop that had witnessed their spark turn into an all devouring flame."How I love our piece of sky!"

He walked behind her and reached out to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and as she tilted her head to let it rest on his chest, he buried his face in that soft place where her shoulder met her neck.

She felt his lips touching her skin, and although there was not even the slightest breeze, she trembled a little.

Her eyes were fixated on the night sky, clear and speckled with stars, and their story began to flash before her eyes like a movie.

All the bad things and the good ones. All the pain and all the joy. And she realized that the bad things and the pain had faded almost completely. At least enough so they could be just remembered as lessons learned.

She also looked ahead into the future, their future. And it looked as clear and bright as the sky over their heads.

"We've made it..." She said, almost to herself, and he felt the words vibrating in her throat as she spoke, which made him hold on tighter to her. "We actually made it, right?"

He nodded and smiled, still against her skin and leaving a trail of small kisses up to her earlobe.

"Don't sound so surprised, love." He said, and she snickered at the touch of his breath. "We knew it would happen... the third time's a charm. Or was it the fourth?"

He spun her around to face him, his hands sliding from her stomach to the small of her back. Their eyes locking with one another, and her arms twisting around his neck.

"Thank you... for being here tonight. I had a wonderful time." She smiled as she ran her fingers through his growing curls, thinking to herself that, even though he looked incredible as it was, she couldn't help but miss the long locks.

He leaned forward to kiss her, and she parted her lips open to welcome it passionately.

"Thank you..." He said when they broke apart. "For being in my life." And as soon as he heard those words leaving his mouth, he chuckled. "That sounded way more cheesy than it did in my head, though."

She laughed along, despite the fact she didn't think it was cheesy at all. Or maybe she did, but she didn't mind it in the slightest.

They spent the rest of the night in that rooftop; sitting on the floor, snuggling under the same small eave that saw them confess certain secrets to one another some time ago.

They kissed a lot and told each other the same things the did all those times they spoke about over the phone or through their screens, but they listened to every word like they were hearing them for the very first time. They kissed some more, maybe felt each other up a little, and then stayed quiet as they watched their piece of sky dyeing with the first colors of the morning.

They were hungry for one another, yet they didn't want to leave that rooftop.

There was something about being there without having to hide from anyone, that just made them want to stay there forever.

They were free. They were together. They were safe. And this time, all the way from their bones, they knew they would always be.