Before We Fall || Sky Flaherty

Epilogue

Alivia's POV

The city hummed softly beyond the windows, distant car horns and muffled footsteps threading through the quiet apartment. I was curled up on the couch, a throw blanket half-wrapped around me, while Sky made coffee in the tiny kitchen.

He carried the mugs over and settled beside me, careful not to spill. The steam curled up between us, warm and comforting.

For days now, since I'd flown in from San Antonio, this space had felt like a small island of calm. A place to breathe.

Sky leaned back, staring out the window for a beat before he looked at me.

"So," he said, voice low, like he was balancing the words carefully, "where do you want us to go? I mean, us."

I thought about it. About everything we'd been through these months—the rehearsals, the nights we stayed up until dawn, the constant moving, the growing up and growing closer.

"I want to keep going," I said finally. "With you. I want us to be more than just... touring cast roommates or summer flings."

He nodded slowly, eyes steady. "Yeah. Me too."

We sat like that for a moment, the silence folding around us.

"I think," Sky said, "we should move in together."

My heart skipped.

"Like, really move in," he added, catching the look on my face and smiling gently. "Make a place that's ours. No more temporary hotel rooms or waiting on buses. Just... us."

I reached for his hand, lacing our fingers.

"That sounds perfect," I said, voice soft.

But then the weight came on, the vulnerability I hadn't meant to bring up but couldn't stop myself from saying.

"All my life, I've been losing people," I whispered. "In these scarily permanent ways. My dad, my brother, my grandparents... It's like a shadow I carry."

Sky's thumb brushed over my knuckles.

"I can't help but think," I went on, "what if that happens to you? What if I lose you?"

His eyes found mine, unwavering.

"But I've come to realize something," I said, swallowing hard. "Everything is temporary. Everything ends, as much as it hurts. If I'm going to lose you one day, I want to cherish every moment we get until then."

Sky pulled me closer, forehead resting against mine.

"I've never been too sure about anything in my life," he said honestly, "but I'm sure about you. About us."

And in that quiet New York apartment, with the city lights flickering around us, I knew that whatever came next, we'd face it together.

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and that's a wrap!!! i have a lot more to say about this fic so I'll keep this short, thank you for reading before we fall!!!!! took way longer than expected to get here but we made it!

love you all lots!!