Artemis (CanEm Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Since having woken up screaming, Sanem hadn't been able to fall back asleep. She tossed and she turned until she huffed in annoyance. Can had been by her side, like promised, however, even he was aware that sleep would not come easy for Sanem now. There was a logical part of her that was constantly on edge and he knew he needed to distract her, give her some sort of normality again.

"Shall we watch a movie or something?" Can suggested, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"That sounds great ... just nothing too sad ... or scary." Sanem warned, her mind unable to handle anything too serious after the events that had just occurred. Can made a mental note to pick a rom-com for them to watch before handing her some clothes ... his clothes. He had brought her into the house earlier when she'd been asleep and so she'd fallen asleep in her little black dress but now that she was wide awake, Can knew Sanem would prefer to get into something a little more comfortable. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Can reached for Sanem, his hand encircling her neck as he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"Can, can I ask you something?" As Can pulled away, Sanem felt a certain fear possess her. Now that she wasn't as disorientated as she had been when she'd freshly woken up, she was familiar with the Divit house. But just the thought of being alone again frightened her even if Can was only in the next room over. "Will you stay with me whilst I change?"

"Of course." Despite having an acute awareness of Sanem's gorgeous body, Can knew there were no sexual undertones to Sanem's suggestion. He was consciously aware that she was still petrified to be by herself and just like he'd said, he wasn't going anywhere ... he was going to remain by her side for as long as she wanted him to be there. She had asked him to stay so he was going to stay

With a little look of understanding, Can turned around whilst Sanem scrambled into his clothes. Once she was done, the two walked rather comfortably – hand in hand – to the living room. By this time, Emre had retired to his bedroom but the fireplace was still up and roaring, providing a warm and inviting quality to the modern establishment. Sanem nestled herself into one corner of the sofa and Can quickly joined her with a bowl of popcorn, draping a blanket over both their bodies.

They flicked through the channels aimlessly for a while until they found a stereotypical romance movie. Periodically, Can would glance down at her face, slipping some popcorn into her readily outstretched lips before smiling at the little moan she'd let out as the buttery taste settled on her tongue. He even heard her giggle one time. It had been quiet, almost timid, but Can knew he wanted to hear that sound for the rest of his life. It was so wholesomely innocent, and representative that she was distracted of tonight's tragedy and Can couldn't stop his own chuckle emanating at the back of his throat.

Unfortunately though, as the movie progressed, it got sadder than Sanem had anticipated. The couple parted ways at the end and Can noticed Sanem's body shake in what he deduced was tears once again.

"Are you crying?" Can used his thumb to stroke away her tears, catching them before they could fall. He didn't understand why she was crying at the movie in all honesty. If he were a critic, he would have rated the movie poorly. They had sat through hours of loving gestures and romance and for nothing ... the couple had just broken up at the end. "Don't cry, it's not real."

"It's not that-" Sanem sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help but draw on the comparisons between herself and Can and the movie's unfulfilled protagonists.

"What is it?" Panic spiked through Can as he continued to swipe at Sanem's tears. Now that the movie was over, he was scared that she had resorted back to thinking of Fabri.

"But it is real, the movie is real." Sanem whimpered and ashamedly hid her face into Can's white flannel. The couple had been forced apart by outside forces and that concept had hit too close to home for Sanem. Even though she was sat with Can now, they weren't together together – they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend.

"What?"

"They're us." Sanem's voice drifted off at the end as another light sob took over her.

Finally, it made sense to Can and his mouth fell open in a little 'o' shape. Sanem was right. Despite loving each other dearly, he and Sanem had made a mess of their relationship that was once wholesomely good. They had let outside forces dictate their loves lives and all that resulted in was both of their distress. They were better together, and Can was certain of that, now more than ever.

"Sanem, they aren't us." Can placed both his hands on Sanem's cheeks, forcing her to look up at him. "We're not going to let that happen to us."

After everything had transpired as of lately, Can knew that forgiveness was about letting go of all negative emotions and memories that he had. He couldn't live without Sanem and he needed to move forward with whatever positive was remaining. Forgiveness was the liberty to love again and honestly speaking, he had never fallen out of love to begin with. Sanem would always be it for him.

"But they are-"

"They're not." Can gave Sanem's cheeks a light squeeze to emphasis his persistence on the manner. "I told you, Sanem, I'm never letting you go." Can really wanted to kiss Sanem then but he was scared to knowing that she was still probably on edge because of Fabri. He lent his head forward and let their noses touch, their breathes intermingling in a manner that was arguably more intimate than a kiss.

"What does that mean, Can? What does any of this mean?" Sanem was more confused now than she ever had been. Her mind was a battlefield, all of her thoughts flying at her left, right and centre. She didn't know which way was up and which was down, and it was all really difficult for her to understand.

"It means ... I love you." Can whispered the endearing words against Sanem's skin, his hands stroking her cheek. "I love you, more than anything and it means I want to try again." He said the words with a conviction that mirrored that day when she partly unconscious and at the hospital and once again, Sanem felt those butterflies erupt into a frenzy inside her.

He loved her – and she was confident of it.

Surprisingly, it was Sanem who pulled Can in for a kiss. She had hesitated at first, scared that the feeling of another person's lips against her own would make her feel nauseous again. But with Can, there was none of that. When he'd leaned forward, their forehead touching, Sanem couldn't fight against the thoughts going through her. Despite the raging conflict she was feeling mentally, she had never been surer of anything ... his very smell was flooding her senses and she kissed him. It was brief, practically a few seconds but it had been enough for Can.

"I love you too." Their second kiss was like something out of the movies, that idolised moment where violins played in the background. Can and Sanem were steeped in a passion that ignited a fire within them both. It contained the promise of their dedication to one another, their primal desire of each other and most importantly, it symbolised the start of a new beginning for them and their relationship.