Shorthand

you are my home

Sonia was thinking about Adam again. His dimpled smile and pale gray eyes, the way he tugged at his slender fingers when nervous, the way his cheeks turned the color of caramel and roses when he was nervous. Her heart thrummed against her chest like she contained an uneasy sea, and perhaps it was true. Sonia had a bitter habit of swallowing her emotions, most often by drowning them out with tea. She took a long sip and stared out at the crisp autumnal weather outside, before nearly choking. 

Sputtering with wide eyes and trying not to attract attention, she pulled the hem of her scarf up to try and hide her furious blush. What was Adam doing here? Stupid Adam, beautiful Adam, who stole her heart and played it deftly like his piano. Sonia had understood, of course, Adam was young. Weren't they both? Young, wide-eyed, soft touching loves fresh out of high school with hope and naivety lacing their hearts. They had a good run, she had thought over and over as she tried to bury her sorrow. Three years, three wonderful years. 

Raymond Park was notorious for hosting a multitude of alumni for heir college. It had been years since she'd last seen him, hands stuffed in jean pockets, his face tilted towards the crisp breeze. Involuntarily, her heart stirred and fluttered like a butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. With a start, she stood up from the bench and tried to hurry off before he saw her. 

Not like he'd remember her, the same way each kiss felt imprinted on her lips. Not like he'd have been whispering her name in his sleep the way she had, restless and melancholic and so so longing for his embrace-

"-Sonia?"

She turned around immediately, then berated herself for it. "Adam, what a lovely surprise," her voice was thin to keep it from wavering and carried an unintentional chill. 

"I..."

"You." Always you.

"I'm sorry."

She blinked, surprised. All the rationalizations he had made, the defenses he put up, seemed to vanish. He was utterly vulnerable, his eyes round and sad like a baby deer. His heart trembled on his words, cheeks an intense blush. 

"I left in pursuit of success, to find a home in stardom and concert halls and magnificent penthouses to call my home."

"You've told me all of this before," Sonia mumbled, frighteningly aware of his breath mere fractions from hers, the heave of his chest. They were close, too close. 

"I wanted a home that was grand, beautiful, adorned with gold and diamonds. I wanted a home I'd always be pleased to come back to after a day of trilling keys. I climbed and clawed to the top and I...I did it. I play concerts, my songs are often featured on classical radios-"

"You have your diamond-dressed home? Everything you wanted?" Sonia interrupted. 

"No, I'm missing something. I miss you," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the crunching of leaves nearby. He lowered his head. "I'm so, so sorry, Sonia. I still love you, and I know I'm a screwed up person-"

She stopped him with a kiss. His hands slipped around her back, fingers entangling in her hair. She leaned into him, his heartbeat beneath her fingers. 

"You have my heart, you've always had it." She said breathlessly when they parted. "I love you, Adam, I always have. I've missed you every day, I-oh my god!"

He kneeled down and pulled a ring from his jacket, a dopey grin on his face. "You are my home, and I'd love nothing more than to come home to you every day..." A diamond ring was revealed, and Sonia squeaked from behind a gloved hand. 

She answered him by collapsing to her knees, pulling him close for a kiss, giddily laughing between breaths, their foreheads pressed together. "I love you so much," she mumbled, delirious with happiness. Any ill will slipped between them, and they only had love. "I never stopped."

"I wished for you every day in New York," Adam replied, brushing her cheek with his thumb, trailing fingers to the corners of her lips. "You are my home, my one and only. I'd follow you across the world."

"You are my world," Sonia replied, her heart full to bursting.