The Moments I Play in the Dark

V - Come Home to My Heart

Alas, we have arrived here and it didn't take me a year! Yay! Anyway, this is the last chapter. Enjoy!

.::.

FIVE

'Come Home to my Heart'

It's like something's been ignited inside him and it explodes in flames as her lips touch his. It's been so long, too long, since he's had his mouth on hers and it's as familiar as it was novel and new. They have grown up and older in the last few years, so there is a difference from the Ela he'd known ten years ago to the Ela who's standing in front of him kissing her now. The way she kisses is different – subtle, but different nevertheless.

His hands find their way to her waist and he holds her there, places her where he can reach and hold her just in case this is a dream and she's nothing but a figment of his imagination. But she's solid under his palm, her warmth seeping through her clothes, and she's as real she can be. Right now, this is real and she is not a dream. Well, she is...a dream come true, that's what, and he can barely breathe as he reels from this surreal moment.

She pulls away slightly, catching her breath, but she doesn't look at him. He tries not to overthink it, and he's afraid to let her go. He decides not to, then, holding on to her and keeping as little distance between them as possible without crowding her too much and causing her to flee.

"Ela?" he asks, breaking the silence and taking a risk. Maybe this would cause her to wake up from her trance and make her snap back to reality and maybe she'd leave...but there is also that chance that she would stay. In case it's the latter, he wants her to make that choice lucidly.

"Hmmm?" she hums as she finally looks up at his eyes. There is a question in her eyes and he's not sure how to answer it.

So he tells her with actions what he cannot with his words. He cups her cheeks and kisses her again.

.::.

It's impulsive.

There aren't a lot of words that she would use to describe this...well, maybe stupid, thoughtless, careless, and a colossal mistake – but hey, impulsive sounds a lot better. Anyway, it is impulsive, because she's not supposed to be here, but she made the snap decision to come over anyway, even when she's completely unsure why and what she's going to do here. Or what on earth compelled her to come here in the first place (or perhaps she knows but she just doesn't want to admit it to herself).

When she felt his mouth in hers, she'd known. She had known right then and there what she's here for. And maybe it's not exactly for this— or at least not the physical aspect of it, but it's for this feeling. It's this feeling of safety, of belonging, of knowing that this is the man she's loved for so many years and who has loved her for just as long; despite everything, that is.

She tries to stop, tries to push him away as she places her hand over his chest, but whatever she's thinking no longer matters. Her mind is not in control here, it's her heart, and so she rests her palm over his clothed chest and feels the way his heart thumps, her fingers tapping against him twice or thrice in sync with his heartbeat. She even hears his heartbeat– barely, but she hears it (amidst the loud knocking of her heart against her ears, she hears his). There is no question that she feels it, though, because it's rapid, and she wonders if he feels the same way she does - exhilarated and ecstatic. Although there's apprehension in there somewhere, she barely takes notice. She wonders if his heart is beating inside his body as fast and as loudly as hers is at the moment or if she's just imagining it. She wonders if she can hear her heartbeat because hers threaten to deafen her now.