A/N: Sorry for the long wait! School has been absolutely hectic for the past month, but I'm still alive and officially on sem break so here's the next chapter. : )

Chapter 6

The stars were bright . They blinked down at Michael, lying on the same table in the park that he and Sydney lay on that night so long ago.

It felt like a hundred years had passed since that night, and at times it also felt like just yesterday. Michael could still remember everything as vividly as if it had just happened yesterday. He remembered the glimmer of sadness in Sydney's eyes that he knew she was trying to keep in check, he remembered the warmth of her hand as it gripped his, he remembered how soft and full her lips looked even in the darkness and how much he had longed to close the small distance between them….

Michael couldn't believe that in the five years that had passed since that night, it had only recently just dawned on him that that was the night he had fallen in love with Sydney Bristow.

As much as he wanted to tell her how he felt, he didn't want to come in between her and Danny. Besides, he wasn't even sure that she felt the same way towards him. She had been avoiding him for the past month; after she and Ella had helped him get settled into his new apartment he had begun to see her less and less.

"Michael?" A voice called out in the darkness.

He knew that voice. He would recognize it anywhere.

Michael lifted his head slightly and there she was, Sydney Bristow in the flesh, standing right there in front of him. It was almost as if he had conjured her there from the sheer force of his thoughts.

"Syd? What are you doing here?"

Sydney lay down on the table beside him. "I came to find you."

"How did you even know I'd be here?" he asked her incredulously.

She just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, and turned her attention to the stars above them. "It's a beautiful night," she said softly. "It feels like forever since I've been able to see so many stars."

Michael was mesmerized. Not by the stars, but by Sydney. He watched her gaze up at the stars, the soft glow of the moonlight reflecting in her dark brown eyes, a small hint of a smile playing upon her lips. He just lay there, staring at her profile for what felt like hours. Finally, Sydney seemed to notice the intensity of his gaze and turned towards him.

"What?" she asked, self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

"You're beautiful," Michael blurted out. And then he mentally kicked himself, he did not just say that.

Sydney blushed and looked away. "Thank you," she said shyly.

"Syd, are you alright?" Michael asked, partly to distract her from the tension that had settled upon them like a dark cloud and partly because she had been acting strange ever since she got there.

Sydney opened her mouth to say something, closed it and then turned her head to look at him. "No," she said.

Michael's forehead wrinkled in concern. "What's the matter, Syd?"

He could see the hesitation in her eyes as she looked at him. He knew what the look on her face meant. She wanted to tell him something, but didn't know if she should. He hastened to reassure her, "You know you can tell me anything."

"I've been avoiding you," she said.

Michael didn't know what to say. He had suspected, of course, but he had managed to convince himself that she was just busy with school and Danny. But to hear her say it so matter of fact--for her to admit that she had been avoiding him on purpose--threw him for a loop.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No! No, it's not like that," Sydney hastened to add. She hesitated and then said, "Danny and I…we broke up."

Michael looked at her in disbelief. "But…why?"

Sydney shrugged again. "I've been avoiding you because I needed some time to figure things out."

Michael turned to look at the stars above. He reached up a hand to rub his forehead. What did Sydney's break-up with Danny have to do with him, and why was she telling him this now? Michael knew he should remain calm, but he couldn't stop the stab of hope that knifed through him.

Suddenly, Sydney was leaning over him, her face mere inches from his. She ran her hand gently over his cheek. Michael opened his mouth to say something and she put a finger over his lips to silence him. Then she was closing the distance between them and before Michael knew what was happening, her lips were on his. He lay there in shock for all of one second before letting instinct and the desire coursing through his body take over and kissed her back passionately.

Michael was lost, happiness surging through his body and warming every fiber of his being. Nothing in the world had ever felt so right as holding Sydney Bristow in his arms and kissing her like this. But then reality pierced through his delerium.

It was all very well and good to be kissing Sydney now, but will she regret it in the morning?

Michael reluctantly pulled away from her. "Syd, I don't think we should be doing this."

"Why not?" Sydney looked at him in confusion and then flushed red with embarrassment; she sat up and put her head in her hands. "Oh God…You don't want this…I just thought…I'm so sorry…"

"Syd…" Michael sat up and took her hands away from her face. "It's not that I don't want this--believe me, I do. But I think you need some time, I don't want to be your rebound guy. If anything is going to happen between us, I want it to be real."

Sydney smiled. All traces of doubt, embarrassment and fear left her eyes at his words. She leaned in to kiss him again, this time it was soft and gentle, full of understanding…and--he could swear--love.

"I broke up with Danny three weeks ago," Sydney confessed. "It's been over between us for awhile now. One of us should have ended it a long time ago but for some reason or another we didn't. When you came back, seeing you again, it brought back all these feelings that I thought I had left behind a long time ago. I just needed to know if you felt the same way."

"Syd, I…" Michael was speechless, utterly incapable of expressing through words what he felt.

So he kissed her, and poured everything he was feeling, all the happiness and love, into that kiss. One of his hands tangled into Sydney's hair while the other caressed her cheek tenderly.

They reluctantly broke apart, neither one of them able to stand the lack of oxygen any longer.

"Syd, I…." Michael whispered.

"Yes, Michael?" Sydney grinned.

"I love you," he said.

Sydney's grin widened. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear that."

"How long exactly?"

"It seems like forever," Sydney whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Michael caught one solitary tear as it made its way down her cheek. "I love you too, Michael."

He kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks; soft butterfly kisses, gently caressing her face until he finally reached her lips.

Sydney lay down on the table, pulling Michael down with her, their lips never breaking contact.

Most people believe that heaven fills the space beyond the stars. But at that moment Michael knew where heaven truly was. He had found it right there, holding Sydney Bristow in his arms and kissing her beneath the stars.

Fin

A/N: Yup, this is the end. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for reading and for leaving behind extremely kind reviews. And an extra special thank you to my beta Edy, without whose help this fic would not be half of what it is right now. : )