devilish grin and she punched his shoulder. "You're an asshole, really! I hate you."

The two broke into fits of laughter, enjoying the atmosphere between them. This is what Eleanor missed. The lightness, the large amount of trust, the care, the love they had with each other... because before they were even lovers, they were friends. They had established that first before anything else.

The woman didn't even know whether her tears were because of her happiness or sadness. Perhaps, they were a mixture.

"Here, I pour out my heart to you and all you've done is this." She mumbled, pushing him away. "Did you even hear what I was saying? Did my words mean to you? Did it even register to you?"

Erik immediately grasped her hand and placed his index finger under her chin, turning her to face him. "I heard everything. I feel the same. Never did a day pass by that you didn't cross my mind. I always thought how you were doing, if you were alright, if you went back to teaching... you were always in my mind."

"But, you had a wife..."

"Magda was... what happened between us was unexpected. It wasn't supposed to happen, but when it did, I took responsibility of my actions. I'm sorry for that. I know you're hurt because of it. I left to protect you, but then I engaged myself with another woman."

Eleanor released a sigh, looking at her feet that was dangling over the edge. "Well, I'm quite proud you didn't run away from her. At least, your daughter knew you as her father." She said. "Did Magda know about me?"

"She did. I told her about you. She understood."

"And did you..." Eleanor swallowed. "love her?"

Erik looked at the dark sky. "I did care for her, trusted her with my life, but there's only one who I always thought of..." He tilted his head towards her as he finally said. "You."

The brunette pursed her lips, and for the first time in a while, she reached out to his hand and laid her head on his shoulder. It was then she knew they were always going to go back to each other. That even if circumstances and time separate them, they'd always find a way back to one another.

"So, where do we go from here now, Eleanor?"

"I want us to take it slow. We can't just push this all of a sudden. Anastasia's still devastated. Nathan feels the same too though he doesn't say it." She explained, carefully. "You also need time to grieve properly for the family you lost and I need to recover too from the heartache you gave me, you idiot."

He nodded.

"You still have to earn my forgiveness, Erik. Don't think I'm just letting this all go. I'm not so prove that you're worthy of it."

"We'll do it your way this time."

Eleanor chuckled. "Fucking yes."

The couple spent the entire evening watching the stars in the evening sky. They laughed, smiled, teased each other... just like how they would always do when they're alone. Everything was just perfect.

Because from now on, nothing, nothing could separate them apart again.

Unless death comes along...