He stood there taller than me now, shoulders broad, but the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot was painfully familiar. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then his voice cracked. “I’ve wanted to come back for a long time,” he said. “I just… didn’t know if you’d remember me.” I laughed through tears I hadn’t planned on shedding. “Dylan, I never stopped.”

Inside, the house seemed to recognize him too. He ran his hand along the back of the old sofa, glanced toward the kitchen, and smiled. “It still smells like brownies,” he whispered. Over steaming mugs of hot chocolate, he told me everything: the distance from his parents, the years of doing what was expected, the quiet ache he couldn’t name. “You were the first person who made me feel enough,” he said finally. “I came back to say thank you… and to ask if I can still be yours, even if I’m grown.”