So he's 28 and lives in Berlin. We met through an online game, Guild Wars 2, almost half a year after my ex and I broke up but when we were still really (/too) close. That was about 2,5 years ago now, when he joined our small guild. We instantly started having long and meaningful conversations, which was really special. I liked him a lot, but our first few conversations were him asking me for advice because he liked some other girl, so I never paid much attention to it. About half a year later, we talked and played with our friend group a lot and I started liking him. Again, I brushed it off because I was in a very complicated place with my ex. I decided to stop talking to him too much because I was just entangling myself in complicatedness further. That didn't last long, and we've been talking increasingly ever since. It's actually really nice that he knows my entire history with my ex and everything that's happened since. I can really share everything with him.
Fast forward to last June, when he confessed that he liked me. In a really sweet way. I think the whole ex thing made me partially oblivious, and even after that I was kind of torn. Not only because of my ex, but also because we're at quite different places in our lives (he's still studying, lives with his parents). I decided to really think about it this time though because we clicked so well, see where it would lead and if I actually might have feelings for him. He still had a (long-distance, not serious, complicated) relationship at the time, which made the situation a bit difficult again. Last fall my ex messaged me he had a new girlfriend, and that was the turning point. I was finally able to let it all go. It's stupid that that needed to happen for me to be able too, but I'm glad it did. Around that time he had broken up with this girlfriend and asked me what we were and I said 'just friends right?', because we had never talked about it really. I think that kind of hurt his feelings, and he said he felt like I was holding out for someone better. That was quite the eye-opener, because I think I was. I had just started a new job with bright career prospects, bought a house, and finally felt like I could start my life. Another long-distance relationship just really wasn't what I had in mind (but who does..).
I started falling for him once I opened up my heart, and by the end of last year we were practically in a relationship. We had planned our first meeting for this February, and I was kind of holding back asking him what we were. I decided that it was now close enough to seeing him in real life and it would be better to wait until I could ask him face to face, so I did. I took the train to Berlin on the 16th of February and I asked him on the 17th, to which he said that he considered us to be together now. Then it was finally official, after such a long time of hovering around each other. The next day when he asked me what was on my mind I said it was something that I couldn't tell him yet. He asked if it was a certain word and I said yes. The day after, when we were laying around cuddling and I felt the happiest I've been in a very long time, he asked if that word was still on my mind. He gently encouraged me to say it, making me feel like it wasn't weird. So I told him I loved him, on day two of our relationship, and he said it back. As crazy as that sounds, we'd been forging a special bond for such a long time and I'd been waiting quite a while to see him. In that particular moment, I really felt so overwhelmed by it that I had to say it.
Last weekend he spent four days with me in Brussels, which was even better than our first visit. We didn't see much of the city (again..) and just enjoyed being together and doing everyday life stuff like watch Netflix, go to the supermarket, but mostly just spend time in each others arms and really talk. He left yesterday and I'm handling it quite well. He's coming to the Netherlands in just 22 days, and will actually spend my first night in my new house with me! I think that's incredibly special, it just turned out like that. I really can't wait.
Now that I'm in a healthy relationship, I realize what I've been missing all those years. He's a bit of a quiet, introvert person in a way as well, but so incredibly caring, funny and interesting. I can't believe I became OK with the lack of physical attention over the years, because damn it feels good
While I'm at it, I just want to remind everyone reading this to never sell yourself short, and thank you all for these past years of support and friendship 
Here's to many more!