Page 168 of Falling Into Gravity

“You done?” French asked.

“No,” Qamar said, reaching out dramatically. “Dance with me, nigga.”

French shook his head, but he didn’t move or walk off. Instead, he pulled Qamar in—rough, one-armed, but full of love. They started two-stepping to no music at all. Just the sound of people laughing, crying, and watching.

“That’smyDaddy,” Aku pouted, wiping her eyes again as she returned to Malik’s side.

“He a real as nigga,” Malik murmured, arm wrapping around her waist. “You just got first dibs.”

“And don’t think I don’t still want my one,” Qamar reminded Malik.

Malik put his arms up in mock surrender. “You got it, cuh.”

Aku took a deep breath and looked at the table full of people who had made her whole. Some by blood…Some by bond…All by love. “I know this whole day has been full of love, and I ain’t tryna make y’all cry again… but I gotta say this.”

Her eyes moved to the one who’d always been there since they were kids running barefoot through the backyards of Emerald City.

“Little Lunar,” she said, and he instantly smiled. “You been my best friend since before we knew what friendship meant. We grew up in the same noise, same mess, same magic. You saw every version of me and never judged none of them. You always said I was too loud, too wild, too everything—but you never made me feel like I had to shrink. You protected me and showed me what a real man could be. You’re the reason I can love Malik the way he deserves to be loved.”

Little Lunar nodded, his jaw clenched tight as he fought off tears. He looked down for a second, then back at her with nothing but pride in his eyes.

“Noodle,” Aku said next. “My sweet girl. We didn’t grow up together for the first ten years of our lives, but your story always felt close to mine. You never let this world break your softness. And the way you love…it changed me. Watching you and Bu build something that’s both solid and fun, I learned that real love don’t gotta be loud to be strong. You’re my reminder that dreams can survive even when you start with nothing.”

Noodle mouthed,I love you, and Aku smiled through the burn in her eyes.

“Ahvi,” she said, turning. “You mother with peace—so strong. You made it look effortless, even when it wasn’t. You taught me how to stretch grace. How to forgive, even when you never got the apology. You walk through life like you’ve already made peace with heaven, and I learned so much just by watching you.”

Ahvi dabbed her face, holding on to Kamari, who looked up at his Mama like she hung the sun.

“Pimp and Devonte,” she smiled. “I remember watching y’all from a distance, thinking ‘Damn, that’s what devotion looks like.’ You two never asked the world to understand you. You just loved each other so loud it forced people to listen. You didn’t wait for permission, you just built something real, and I’m better because I got to witness that.”

Both men leaned into each other, heads touching. Devonte wiped a single tear and shook his head like he wasn’t gonna let it fall.

“Bu,” she made it to him, eyes locking on her quiet protector. “You always been the one who stood behind the chaos with your arms crossed and your heart open. You ain’t speak much, but you made me feel safe every time I walked in a room. Even when I was messin’ with people I shouldn’t have, even when I didn’t know what I was doing, you never gave up on me. You held me down like a big brother supposed to.”

He nodded, not saying a word, just standing in that love the way he always did.

Then she turned to Pharoah…her voice softened.

“Pharoah - you’re the quiet in Malik’s storm, so I love you the most for that. You speak less than anybody, but we all hear you. You’ve been through so much…and yet, you still show up…you still love…you still let us in. You taught me what resilience looks like when it’s quiet and still. I will always see you.”

Pharoah gave her a small nod, and even that felt like a blessing.

Then she turned to Malik.

Her husband…Her calm…Her gravity.

“You…you gave me something I didn’t know I needed. You didn’t try to change me. You didn’t ask me to dim my light. You just held me where I was and loved me through our hard parts. You showed me that a man could protect you without caging you. You gave me freedom and a home to call my own, and when I feel our babies, I see everything we fought for. You changed my life.”

Malik stood up and kissed her hand.

“I know we all come from different places. Some of us come from hurt, from loss, from surviving more than we ever talk about, but we’re here…we made it. We made something outta nothing. Y’all are my people, and I’m proud to be one of yours.”

The DJ didn’t even need a cue, she’d already told him what to play.

“They got Big Lunar…we got Little Lunar—the sun, the galaxy, and gravity,” Aku declared. “We got us…and they took it to the moon, the stars, and the planets… we know we own this shit,” she winked at Javen. “But we’re the main characters now. We got superpowers.”

Superpowersby Daniel Caesar started playing. The whole room reacted like a string had been pulled from the center of their chest.

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