Short but I couldn't leave it where I did. Hope you enjoy :)

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." - Paulo Coelho

Murphy hadn't spoken to Cassidy since that day in the loft but she still consumed his every thought for the next couple of months. He tried to convince himself he was okay with the idea of her being hundreds of miles away but it was a lie. Connor had gotten the date of her graduation from her parents and Murphy drove all night to see her. He stood in the back cloaked by the shadows as Cassidy crossed the stage to receive her diploma, something she never would have accomplished if she stayed with him, but the smile on her face was enough for him. She was happy and that was all he could ever ask for. His daily routine became too robotic, his heart tearing more with every day that he was away from her, and he almost came to hate the fact she came home in the first place. He missed her before but it was nothing like this. That day in the loft had put a rift in their relationship.

Much like her graduation from high school, Cassidy's parents threw a party for her at McGinty's to celebrate her finishing school except this time she was two sheets to the wind. She wouldn't deny that she was enjoying herself but when the MacManus brothers entered there was a twinge of nerves in her stomach. She hadn't seen them since she came home to visit and wasn't sure they would even show after she had made a fool out of herself. Connor kissed her cheek in greeting before moving further into the bar towards the table of food leaving her alone with his twin.

"Congratulations," Murphy gave her a hug and she awkwardly patted his back.

"Thanks," she mumbled into his chest.

When he pulled away he could see the storm brewing in her eyes. "Aren't you happy? You did it! You got your degree."

Cassidy looked up at him through her lashes, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. "At what cost?" Her question came out barely above a whisper, the alcohol taking away any filter she normally would have, and as a tear escaped she just couldn't hold in her pain anymore. "You should have been there, Murph!" He reached for her but she stepped away until her back hit the wall, "I would have never been able to do it if it wasn't for you. You were the one who told me to chase my dreams and when I finally have one come true you were no where to be found!"

Murphy moved closer to her, placing his hands on her hips to keep her in place. "I was there."

"What?"

"I was there, Cassidy. I watched the whole ceremony right down to the last second when you threw your cap in the air with the biggest smile I've ever seen on you. I wouldn't miss something like that, not for the world."

"Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you come see me?"

He leaned in and captured her lips with his own as if it would answer any question she ever had. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close as she kissed him back, reveling in the feeling she got every time he was near. He pulled back after a few moments so he could look her straight in the eye. "Why didn't you visit?" She dropped her gaze and he lifted her chin with a hooked finger. "Don't have to be afraid to tell me anything."

"You didn't want me here," she whispered and swallowed the lump that had started to form in the back of her throat. Now it was his turn to be confused and as she watched an array of emotions flash through his eyes she continued. "I was waiting for you to ask me to stay. When you didn't I thought I overstepped a boundary. Figured you didn't feel that same spark I did."

"There is nothing I wanted more than for you to be here in Boston, with me, every day…but I couldn't ask you stay, Cassidy. That was a choice you needed to make on your own. I don't want to be the reason you wake up one day and realize that you missed out on something you wanted to do in life because I asked you to be with me."

She dropped her arms from around his neck as she chewed on her bottom lip. "Don't I get a say?"

"Of course."

"It's always been you, Murph. There isn't anyone else I could even imagine myself with and I don't know how we make this work. I don't know where we go from here of if this will even change anything…but I need to know you want to be with me too. I need to hear you say that you want me to stay because I can't go through that again. Those last few months thinking you didn't want me was some of the darkest I have ever experienced. I almost didn't want to come home."

"I love you," he simply stated, his breath fanning across her face.

It was in that moment that the rest of the world faded away. She could no longer hear the roar of conversation from the bar, she couldn't tell if the lights were on, or if the whole place had been set on fire because the only thing she could see was the man in front of her. The lanky teenager who she had met in high school had grown into the man that would hold her heart until her last breath. It didn't matter that she finally had her degree that she worked so hard for because now she really did have something to celebrate.

He hadn't said it so he could hear it back, he didn't need the reassurance of words he could see so clearly written in her eyes, but it was his way of telling her he wanted her to stay.

"What about you and your dreams though?" She questioned as she leaned into his side.

"Something tells me I won't have to chase them anymore."

He kissed her again but this time was as if they were both learning to breathe for the first time.