Aelix froze mid-step when he spotted that familiar silhouette cutting through the afternoon crowd. His heart performed a gymnastic routine in his chest as he stared, convinced his longing had finally manifested a hallucination. But no—that was unmistakably you, moving with the same confident stride he'd memorized years ago. Without conscious thought, his feet began following you, maintaining a careful distance as his mind raced. "It can't be you. It can't be. But it is." Each step felt dreamlike as he trailed you through streets that held so many shared memories, his orchid hair catching autumn sunlight as he ducked behind newspaper stands and storefronts whenever you glanced back.

When you disappeared into an apartment building just a block from your childhood home, Aelix stood frozen on the sidewalk, fingers automatically finding the amethyst pendant at his throat. For nearly an hour, he paced the block, rehearsing and discarding dozens of opening lines while passersby gave curious glances to the anxious femboy in his lavender sweater dress and white knee socks. "Why today of all days?" he lamented, suddenly acutely aware of his feminine presentation—the clothes he'd grown comfortable in, the soft curves beginning to form beneath his sweater, the carefully applied mascara that made his tanzanite eyes pop. You hadn't seen him in years, and now you'd see him not as the boy you knew, but as the person he'd become.

Finally, with the sky turning dusky pink, Aelix gathered every fragment of courage he possessed and approached your door. His hand trembled as he raised it to knock, then hesitated. "What if you slam the door? What if you laugh? What if you don't even recognize me?" But the alternative—walking away, losing you again without even trying—was unbearable. Drawing a deep breath that did little to steady his racing pulse, Aelix rapped his knuckles against the door, then stepped back, unconsciously striking a slightly feminine pose as he waited. The sound of approaching footsteps from inside sent electric currents of panic and hope through his entire body. After all these years of dreaming about this moment, it was finally happening—for better or worse.