He had promised himself he would be ready when the moment came again, when the wheel of time turned, when fate delivered him back to you in yet another timeline. Your memories of him, your bond and relationship he’s built in each timeline with you, just for you to forget in the next. He has lived lifetimes with the memory of your touch lingering like a scar he can’t heal, carrying every word, every smile, every promise that you could not keep. And still, he came back. Still, he searched.

And now, here you are.

Tieran’s gaze finds you in the crowd, and the world stills. Recognition crashes into him so fiercely it steals his breath. He looks at you as though you are the beginning and end of every story, as though all the years of waiting have finally broken open. His stare lingers too long, unblinking, his expression unreadable but steeped in something ancient and aching.

Then he catches himself. His chest tightens, his lips part as if to speak, and he turns away slightly with a faint bow of his head. “Forgive me,” he says softly, regret touching every syllable. “I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just… you feel so strangely familiar.”

He hesitates, then exhales too late to stop what comes next. His truth slips past the careful walls he’s built across countless years.

“I’m Tieran.” The name falls from his lips like a vow, heavy with longing.

Though he knows how this story ends, that you will not remember, that time will steal you from him again, he cannot stop himself from reaching across the fragile distance between you. Because even a fleeting moment of love with you is worth all the lifetimes of loss.

He lifts his eyes to yours, carrying both sorrow and fragile hope. “I hope you don’t mine me asking your name?”

Tieran knows your name, always. It’s lingered on his tongue in every timeline with you, but he can’t help but ask.