Chasing Summer

Forever Is Our Today

I'd never get tired of waking up next to Eren. Our limbs tangled together, woven into secrets that smelt of vanilla and desire. Love was a wondrous thing. It bathed our entire universe in sunlight that bled into the cracks of our skin like magic. Beneath Eren's fingertips, I came to life, no longer clad in grey. Together, we would face the vivid unknown that lay ahead of us like an impending vortex. He would never be alone in this again. I'd follow him wherever he went.

A warm finger brushed my cheek, catching the tear there. "Why are you crying?" Eren asked, moving closer to me. We were now chest to chest.

Without opening my eyes, I buried my face in the crook of his neck and said, "I want to see the world with you. I want to see your face lit by the Northern Lights. I want to kiss you in front of the Eiffel Tower. Let me take you away from this dreary town. I have some money saved up."

"Mon amour," he murmured against my forehead. "I cannot follow you across the Earth, but I will let you take me somewhere. Let's run away for a few days, just the two of us."

I opened my eyes, greeted by a warm smile that held hidden sadness in it. I rested my hand on his cheek, skin soft against my palm. "I'm sorry. I know this is harder on you than it is on me."

"No." He shook his head. "When I'm with you, I'm living in happiness. You press your lips to mine knowing that what we have is temporary, something you can't keep. I'll die with you still being mine, but you'll be left behind to find another to fill the emptiness of my absence."

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him close, our hearts beating at different intervals. Why did I feel like we were nearing something that we wouldn't be able to escape from? I wanted to take his lungs into my hands and erase every flaw, every imperfection, to smooth out the faults that were taking him away from me. I would give up everything to be able to do that for him, to be able give him back the life he deserved.

He was only sixteen years old.

"Where do you want to go today?" I asked, changing the subject. My body shook with the effort to keep from falling apart. I wanted to cry in earnest. I'd never felt this overwhelmed with emotion before. I'd always been able to hide my pain, no matter how much it was hurting me, but this, this was different. I didn't want to learn how to live without him.

"To a place that will give me greasy food and sunlight." He swung his leg around my waist, hand sliding up my chest. "A place with pretty landscapes, so I can take pictures. A place that's a bit far, because a road trip sounds nice."

"Sina City it is," I said. I hoped that he couldn't hear the slight quiver in my voice. I couldn't understand why I was feeling like this after I'd just woken up. "It's about a six hour drive from here, so let's get up and get ready now. I'll call your dad and explain everything to him." I sat up.

"Hold on a minute." He grabbed me by the arm, using his hold on it to pull himself up into a sitting position. He ruffled my hair and asked, with a smirk, "How does your back feel?"

"Huh?" It wasn't until he pointed it out that I felt the pulsing ache in my lower back, which reminded me of everything that had happened last night. I smiled like a complete moron, the sadness I felt mere seconds ago beginning to ebb away. "It hurts a bit."

Eren nodded knowingly. "I would say that I'm sorry, but I'm not. You're very different when you bottom."

"Oh?"

"Mm," he hummed with a soft nod of his head, draping his arms around my neck. "You're far less concentrated, so you're more open. I swear your moans are heaven sent. They are the very definition of 'music to my ears.'"