Love in the Shadows ~ Dean Portman x OC

Ch. 37: "Morgan, We Gotta Talk"

Pov: Morgan Tibbles, September 4th, 1995, Minneapolis, Minnesota

"Morgan, we gotta talk"
"What's up Fulton?" (HA!! GOT YOU ITS NOT DEAN SIT YOUR ASS BACK DOWN)
"Do you love him?"
"Huh?"
"You heard me. Do you love Dean?"
It's takes me a bit to respond. "I do but it's more than that. He's like a chisel on my mind. Etching his way into every thought, every action, every single word I speak. But the difference is he's not hurting or carving away at me, more molding himself and everything about him into the grooves of my body to make a perfect unified love. The details of his body: the way his hands feel, like fine leather against my skin. The way his eyes aren't just brown they have specs of hazel, carmel, deep brown, and they look like an explosion from a distant brown star with all the colors clouding and swarming in his iris. The sound of his voice in all his many tones, his yelling, soft spoken, flirting even all ring in my ear like a harmonious chorus of sound. The way he smells of cheap cologne that on others is off putting but on him it's intoxicating. The way he's always protecting me at every opportunity. Against hockey jerks or even his own family and unfortunately, himself. He probably thinks he's protecting me from himself or his reaction to me saying I love him but it's tearing me apart. I lie awake at night holding onto my blankets and pillows, trying to format them to resemble him so I can pretend he's there and fall asleep. Every mention of hockey, or ducks, or Chicago, or anything in the physical world reminds me of him and it makes me wanna build a time machine so I can go back to the moment I last saw him so I can lock onto him and never let go. He's the reason behind every breath I inhale, every step I walk, every thought I imagine. He's the greatest thing to happen to not just me, but the world and I messed it up by scaring him off. Fulton, I genuinely want nothing more than to be in his arms and-"

Suddenly I'm being lifted off the ice by even stronger arms, crossed around my waist, spinning around at a mile a minute. I'm put down after a few seconds and turned to face the person who did it who then pulls me into a tight, almost suffocating embrace. I'm still dizzy and disoriented but I can recognize those arms anywhere "Dean-"
His head is in my shoulder, practically burrowing through my skin but I can still hear him say something "I love you". Believing I misheard, I push him back a bit so that I'm gave to face with him. "What did you-?"
"Morgan. I love you"
I'm so overcome with emotion and confusion that I do the only thing that will ground me. I yank Dean in by the back of the neck so our lips harshly meet. We're both smiling as we kiss, I'm near crying, and Dean picks me up with ease. I barely even notice the Ducks cheering around us as we separate our lips but continue to remain as close.

"I love you so much" Dean whispers, his forehead pressing into mine lovingly
"I love you so much" We giggle a bit as he pulls me in for a hug that eventually the rest of the Ducks join in on.

In all our merriment, neither of us even realize the camera flash in our direction from the bleachers... (GASP THIS ISN'T OVER!)

W/C: 609