I opened my eyes. I was in a white room. That was all there was; just pure whiteness. I'd never slipped into the Time Trance before, and this was not what I was expecting.

"What the hell," I mumbled to myself. "Where is this?"

"Wrong question."

My heart stopped at the sound of his voice and my eyes widened. I turned to face him. And there he was, that stupid smirk on his face and his hands in his pants pockets. "Eilian."

I ran to him. I leapt into his arms, wrapping my own around his neck and my legs around his waist. I lost it. I wept into his shoulder, the flood gates opening and tears gushing through. 

He chuckled. "Hello, Andi."

I buried my face into his neck. "I thought I lost you."

He eased me to the ground and pulled away to cup my face in his hands. His smile dissolved. "I'm sorry, Andi. I'm not really here."

My happy expression melted to that of disbelief and heartbreak. "W-What?"

"It's the Time Trance. It's letting you see what you really want. I'm what you want to see."

I stepped away. "B-But. I can touch you." I touched his cheek to be sure. "How are you not real?"

"It's the way it works."

My eyes flicked around my surroundings. If I could see what I wanted to... 

"I want to see Manhattan. I want to see the battle. What's happening?"

Eilian waved his hand. The far wall rippled. The battle was played in front of me. I watched Tony direct the missile into the portal. I watched him fall and the portal shut. I watched the Hulk catch him, and Thor and Cap with them on the ground.

It was over.

"Where am I?" I asked. "What did I do?"

"You destroyed them," Eilian replied. "Majority of the remaining foot soldiers. You turned them to ash."

"So the Time Trance worked?"

"It did."

"Then why am I still here?"

"You have unfinished business."

"And what's that?"

He held my hands. I missed the feel of them in mine. They felt weathered, centuries upon centuries of time battering and moulding them. They felt like mine. I looked up at him, into his bright blue eyes. I missed them—the mysterious and playful glint.

"I'm your unfinished business, Andi."

I frowned. "I-I don't understand."

He closed his eyes in sorrow. He frowned in pain. "You've got to let me go."

I shook my head. "N-No. I can't. You mean everything to me. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I wouldn't be me without you."

He stroked my cheek lovingly. "I know. But my time is over. I've roamed the earth since the creation of the Pyramids." He looked down at our hands. "I'm tired of running, Andi. I don't want to do this anymore. I want it to end. I want to sleep. Forever this time. And I can't do that if you're hanging onto me."

Bottled up feelings and my despair erupted like a volcano into salty and bittersweet tears. I searched for comfort in a place I could not find any. I felt hollow.

"I can't lose you," I whispered. "Losing you is like losing myself."

He squeezed my hands supportively. He wore a small, weak smile. "Have courage, Andi. Be as brave as you've always been."

My bottom lip quivered. "I can't be brave without you, Eilian."

"You can be." He turned, and I followed to see at what. Steve appeared on the wall. He was looking around frantically. I turned back to Eilian and frowned. He simply smiled in encouragement. "You won't be alone."

I turned back to the projection of Steve, still looking.

"He's looking for you." Eilian slipped his hands from mine and stepped away.

"Eilian?" I reached out, but I was too far. "Eilian!"

"Let go, Andi." He began to fade away. "It's time to let go."

As much as I loathed to admit it—as agonising as it was to—he was right. It was time to move on. I wasn't going to forget him. I would never forget the man who made me who I was today.

I pulled a smile laced with both pain and acceptance. "I love you, old man."

He grinned boyishly and mischievously. "And I love you, old girl. I will always love you."

And everything blasted white.

❈Author's Note: Hey, there! What did you think about this reunion? Are you glad Andi got to see Eilian one last time? Let me know below, lovelies!

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