Ryley's words hung in the air, soft as breath but heavy as fate.
Clyde stood frozen—his hand still pressed to the warmth of Ryley's stomach, but his soul somewhere between the past and this impossible, beautiful now.
It hit him like thunder.
Not just the meaning of the words. But what they carried.
His breath caught—his lips parted, but no sound came.
Only his eyes moved, wide and filled with something that looked like wonder and devastation all at once.
Tears gathered before he even knew they were there.
"Ryley…" he breathed, voice cracking open, raw.
And then, as if pulled by instinct, he wrapped the blond in his arms again—holding him with the desperation of someone who swore he would never let go again.
He didn't speak for a long moment.
He just held him.
And in that silence, the ocean roared below them, the sun rose behind them, and something ancient settled between their hearts—
Not a beginning. Not an end.
But the unbreakable pull that even time couldn't sever.
