Warm Bodies: Awakening

The Kiss

Hello! Some quick notes before I begin. This fic starts just after R and Julie hit the pool after jumping from the boneys. If you haven't seen the movie, this fanfic will make very little sense. Watch the movie ;) In this wee universe, zombies don't heal. I know that's suggested in the movie (with keloid scars n' stuff), but it didn't make much sense to me. Also, I thought everyone was just a little cavalier about R getting shot, so this is partly in answer to that! Please comment if you can, I appreciate the feedback. Warm Bodies belongs to Isaac Marion (brilliant book), with interpretation by Jonathan Levine (brilliant movie). This story is based more on the movie than the book. P.S. I hadn't read New Hunger when I wrote this.

P.P.S. This is the first in my Warm Bodies series, I'll post the next two shortly. Hope you enjoy it! :)

—-

As he sank through the cool water of the pool, R felt something he'd never experienced before.

Peace.

He was dimly aware of his head hitting something hard, shortly after breaking the surface. But now, he was weightless, suspended, adrift. Enveloped in a soundless void where there was no threat, no need to run anymore. Everything was okay. His body was tingling with something it had been building to for a while, something remarkable that the world had never before seen, and it felt... wonderful. The embers of life stirring in a body so long dead.

Arms enveloped him gently. An insistent tugging disturbed his peace, but he ignored it, wanting to hold onto the feeling just a little longer. As he was lifted, and his head broke the surface of the water, sound exploded around him.

"R!"

Julie.

"R! R.. please!" Her voice was frantic, and he didn't understand, not when everything felt so good. Why is she so worried?

"Please!"

R's eyes snapped open and he gasped, suddenly, desperately needing to breathe. His body felt like it was thundering inside, while the world pushed at him from the outside - raw sensation flooding his mind like the fireworks from Perry's memories. The water was cold, running in icy rivulets down his face, against his burning skin. Julie was so close, her hands holding his head, his neck, brushing his face, her touch made his skin spark, and he stared at her in wonder.

"You okay?" she asked, her blue eyes drawn with worry, water droplets clinging to her lips.

Her eyes had him transfixed. Unable to look away, he was drawn into those blue spheres, to the soul underneath. With an involuntary sigh, her lips moved again, and his heart shuddered quickly in his chest, warmth spreading from it in waves, enveloping him.

Love.

They drifted closer and he could feel himself moving effortlessly, with none of the ungainliness that came from being a corpse, to hold her in a tender kiss. Their lips touched again and again, each caress sending cascading sheets of fire through his body. His nervous system sang with light.

They parted, her eyes met his and she smiled in wonder. "Whoa..."

R stared at her with no words, just an overwhelming need to bathe in that fire again, to be so close to her they shared the same breath. He drew into her and kissed her soft lips, and his body thrummed, every cell sparking into glorious life. The erratic trembling of his heart became a drumbeat, strong and unwavering, and life pulsed outward, reaching the very tips of his fingers as he cradled her close.

Finally, they pulled away. She stared up at him and he stared back, in awe of what they had shared, in awe of her. Julie's expression slowly changed to wonder as she looked into his eyes and R felt a tingling there he didn't understand. He smiled at her, wondering what she saw.