IT STARTED WITH A WHISPER, Elizabeth Olsen

Write it on a Valentine card

"Y/n, wait" she said as she grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks. She pulled on my arm, forcing me to turn around and face her.

"Lizzie, I- I like you, a lot, but I can't do this again. I won't stay here all my life, waiting around, hoping that one day you might actually fight for me, I- I can't" I lowered my tone, making sure the conversation couldn't be heard from the next room.

"I love you. I love you more than anyone or anything in this world. And I am ready to fight for you, right here, right now because you're so worth it. I'm sorry it took me so long to realise it and I know I haven't always been fair to you but I mean it Y/n, I love you" she said in the sincerest way possible. I'd never heard her sound so sure about anything.

"You know those first three words would have been enough, right?" I teased, earning a light punch on the arm.

"Shut up" she mumbled as she pulled me closer, placing her hands on my hips. She leaned in, letting her lips brush against mines for a second before she actually kissed me. As her lips pressed against mines, she tightened her grip on my hips. I kissed her back. It was soft yet passionate, showing that we'd both been wanting to do that for a while.

"You know a anyone could walk in on us, right?" I whispered against her lips, feeling them curl into a smile.

"I don't care; I want you" she replied before pressing her lips against mines again. Only this time the feeling was almost overwhelming. Her lips danced against mine eagerly before her tongue effortlessly slide between my lips. Just like when we were kids, I let her take full control of the kiss which was odd because I'd never done that with anyone else. Eventually, we parted and took a minute to catch our breath before leaving the room.

When we walked back into the living room, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. Then, met eyes met Brie's and travelled around the room until they met Caity's. They knew. They knew exactly what had just happened, as did everyone else in the room. After a few awkward seconds, the space was quickly filled back with the same previous chatter. Eventually, they all started leaving one by one until Lizzie was the only one left. She took my hand and dragged me to the couch, she sat down, pulling me on her lap. I chuckled as I straddled her thighs and gently cupped her cheeks before meeting her lips.

"God, I missed the taste of your lips" she sighed as she broke the kiss.

"You should write that on a Valentine card" I chuckled, quickly cut off by her lips back on mine. She used to do that a lot when we were younger, kiss me to shut me up. The tension between us grew thicker as her hands moved from my hips to my lower back, pulling me impossibly closer to deepen the kiss. Her hands slowly moved up my back, making me flinch as they applied pressure of my ribs.

"I'm sorry" she said, quickly letting her hands drop to her sides. "You know we don't have to- I mean, we can stop at any time if you don't feel okay" she spoke with a look of worry on her face. I reassured her, told her I'd be fine but when she touched me again, I flinched again. She helped me make my way to my bed and after I was laid down on the mattress she softly kissed my cheek, then my forehead, my nose, my chin, my neck, my collarbone, before moving back to my lips. Her kisses were light and caring.

"Are you okay?" she asked, fingertips drawing random patterns on my chest.

"It's so frustrating to have you so close and not be able to-" I sighed, making her chuckle. "It's not funny, you have no idea how much I want to..." I trailed off, letting her imagination do the rest of the work.

"Oh, I do have a pretty clear idea. But as long as you're hurting I'm not going to... I'm not going to touch you and risk hurting you more" she whispered before dropping another soft kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry, love."

"Love?" I repeated in a questioning tone, slightly surprised by the use of the pet name. Then, I remember how she used to call me love or darling years ago.

"You don't like it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled back to get a better look at my face.

"I love it" I reassured her. I couldn't help but smile at how natural it felt to lay there beside her, to hold her, to kiss her... We stayed like this for a while, laying chastely in my bed until we both fell asleep. I had forgotten how peaceful it felt to sleep in her arms. How, even though she was one of the most anxious person I'd ever met, she made everything around her feel so quiet and calming. In fact, when it was just the both of us, away from the rest of the world, she didn't seem so stressed.

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed which scared me at first. What if it was just a dream? I asked myself as I rolled to the other side of the bed. Then I wondered, what if she wasn't ready? What if she didn't actually mean any of the things she said? Just as the questions repeated themselves in the back of my mind, the door cracked opened. I couldn't describe the feeling of guilt that took over me as she walked in carrying a tray. She had made me breakfast, and brought it to my bed... I felt embarrassed by the obvious lack of trust I had in her; it was definitely something I needed to work on. She seemed sincere last night when she told me she was willing to put in the work and fight for us. That morning, she didn't speak, simply placed a soft kiss on my lisp which felt so much better than words.

(Originally published on Sat. Nov. 6, 2021, rewritten on Tue. Feb. 18, 2025).