Hathor [18+]

Nature

Nikolai Romanov

We didn't talk much the ten minutes we hid in her bedroom. We just stayed in bed, holding onto each other as if we had been kept apart for years. Upstairs has been our safe space for so long; it's where we spent most of our time, so coming downstairs we know we must act differently since there's always eyes on us here.

My cheek rested on my fist as I happily watched Hathor tell my parents and her aunt about our first trip together. I don't know when and where it happened, but I fell in love with her. Maybe I do know, but it feels so unimportant — all I care about is that I love her.

"He obviously had to carry me because I didn't bring the shoes with me to the chambers," she chuckled. "From day one he has made all the efforts to understand me, and I'm so grateful for it. He entered my life at a moment where I felt the most alone, and he has worked so hard to make me understand that I'm not. Thank you for raising such a good man," Hathor looked at my parents.

My father grinned "Being good and protective has always been Nikolai's nature."

"I think everyone here agrees that you're one of the easiest persons to love," I said, looking into her eyes – Henry warned me to not be obvious, but I don't think my words will take them by surprise after they found us sleeping together. Hathor's cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, which is so endearing to me. "There's something so bright about you, Hathor; something I haven't seen in anyone, ever."

"Thank you, Nikolai," Hathor smiled, quickly taking a sip of her peach juice; she always hides her blushes from me. I need to remind her to stop doing that; the way her cheeks turn a hue of pink is a manifestation of how my words make her feel, and I love seeing it happen.

Henry cleared his throat "So, I was thinking maybe we could do something fun for lunch like pizzas. We could each make our own and drink wine while we wait for them to be ready."

Hathor and I continued to look at each other from opposite sides of the table; we are not usually this far apart, and it makes my hands ache for her closeness. I don't know what she has done to me, to that hard exterior I arrived here with and all the walls I had built around myself to not let one more person in. Maybe it was that warm smile she constantly gifts me or the way she always goes out of her way to understand and help me. Maybe it was the way her hand felt in mine the first time they touched: made to fit together. Or maybe it was the way she makes nothing else matter when we are together, as if the world was created in the very same room we were sharing and there was nothing beyond our joint existence.

The way I feel for her makes this world so insignificant. How could I have cared for other things before? Why wasn't she in my thoughts from the moment I was conscious of them? How was anything meaningful before I could share it with her? I would burn cities to the ground and commit every crime known and unknown to men to keep her safe. I would suffer a million deaths just to make her understand how much I love her, to make her feel my love.

There won't be a day she will ever have to spend alone. She will no longer wonder what love is because I will overwhelm her with definitions and examples of it. No second she wonders if someone loves her. Her existence is my purpose. Hathor is my world.

"Hey," Hathor broke my chain of thoughts as she sat to my right "what are you thinking about?"

I smiled, reaching for her hand "You."

Hathor stood up and my eyes followed her. Her free hand raised to caress my cheek and I leaned into her touch. My eyes fall close, allowing myself to enjoy the comfort her touch brings me.