around my bones {h.s. au}

in the end we'll all become stories

"I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I'll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again... I'll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment"

-philip pullman

present day

The night it all ends, is peaceful. Moon -bright, full, brimming with possibilities. It reflects in the dark sea before them. Shape distorted as it ripples along the tops of the waves. Each passing moment pulling the sea closer and closer. Lena thinks at some point the sea will reach the rocky overhand they are huddled under. Maybe carry them both off to sea.

There are worse ways to die.

Lena would know.

Aside from the gentle brushing of the waves over the shore, the night is soundless. Everything heightened. The breeze sounds like a roaring wind. The logs from the fire Harry is building crumble against each other and it sounds like a building collapsing.

The scene is familiar. Harry is building a fire. Both of them near the sea. If not for the cold and modern clothing, it could have been two thousand years ago. Nights spent in their hiding place by the sea. Waves rolling under Lena's body as she swam further and further and further. A hand catching her wrist before she went too far. Refusing to allow Lena to drift away.

Tonight, he meets her eyes. Fire between them.

Time has passed. Lives had been lived. Everything has changed.

But not whatever this was between them. Never them.

"Done." Harry announces proudly, wiping his hands against the back of his jeans.

Lena walks around the pit to him. Reaching for him. "Your hands are so cold." Lena says softly. Lifting them to her lips, pressing into each knuckle. Beside them the fire cracks. Sending sparks flying into the night. "Are you afraid?"

The question has been drifting in and out of Lena's mind for days. Because it was not that long ago, in this life, Harry was just a guy. Halfway through grad school. Nights were for the library and going to the bar with friends. A whole life stretching out before him. And now -now it could all end. Forever.

Cold fingers cup her face. He is there. All around her. And Lena is not afraid.

There is nothing to lose that Lena has not already lost a thousand times.

If this is to be their end. Lena is not afraid. Because Harry is here, hands resting along her face, and his name is on the tip of her tongue as it has always been.

"No." Harry tells her. Firm. Sure. And his lips quirk up as his thumb brushes over her brow. "I'm with you -I'm not afraid."

Numbly, Lena nods. Head dropping to rest on Harry's chest. Listening to the soft, steady beat of his heart. His hands are in her hair, stroking. Finding a rhythm. For a moment, it is them. The world slowly vanishes. Leaving two ghosts who have been chasing each other for thousands of years.

Lena lifts her gaze, and notices even in the dark, Harry's eyes are the color of the sea after a storm. With a steadying breath, she pulls a knife from her coat. An ancient thing from a civilization long vanished from this world.

Harry's hand drops from Lena's cheek. Nodding, he flips it over. Palm up. Stark against the evening. The knife shakes in Lena's trembling hand. And Harry's other hand wraps around her wrist. Quiet reassurance. Guiding the blade to his skin. "I have loved you a thousand times over -in different worlds, different lands -but I've always loved you and no matter what happens next, I'll find you."