His heart seems to pause and then speed up when he swings the door open to bark at whoever's banging away at it. She shows up in her winkled wedding dress, mascara streaming down her face, looking disheveled and beautiful all in the same moment.
She launches herself at him, sobbing into his throat.
"I'm sorry." She begs. "I'm sorry."
He lets his hands come up slowly, encircling her in his arms. His eyes drift shut as she shuttered, her wet cheeks touching the parts of his chest at the edges of his collar.
"I couldn't do it." She breathes. "I.. I.. couldn't.. Oh Todd I'm so sorry."
"Shh. Shh.." The soothing stutters out of him in awkward jagged stream. "Don't cry."
She pulls back and blinks at him, her eyebrows arching into triangles making her look like her younger self. Her former self, the first woman he ever loved, from the first moment he ever saw her, even before he knew it himself.
"Look at you." He whispers a little cheekily, picking pieces of leaves from her hair. "What did you crawl through shrubbery to get to me? You're a mess."
She watches him finger the greenery before letting it fall to the ground and pressing his finger tips to her puffy face.. He grins again as the look of stunned surrender that comes over her.
"You couldn't do it?" She shakes her head. "I'm assuming you mean get married? To Toe-maz." Her wet eyes rolled a little. "Since you're standing here dressed like this." Her lip trembles up into what may have been an attempt at a smile. "I'm also going to assume you couldn't do it because you remembered that you.. love me?" His eyebrows arched up with cocky vibrato. "That you belong with me? That you and I have an epic super couple status renowned by-."
She cuts him off with her lips, and it takes him mere seconds to recover. His fingers glide over her damp face and into loose locks of hair that's dropped away from where it had been pinned. She leans into him and he takes his free hand to the fastens and zippers between her shoulders.
He wants her out of this ruined dress that she put on for another man. He wants her to be his. Forever.
He will not share her with Delgado's brother with the stupid name. She belongs to him.
With him.
She doesn't protest and he realizes it's partly due to the bewildered state she arrived here in. He pulls the throw from the sofa as the dress falls into a heap on the floor and wraps her in, pulling her down beside him, cradling her in his arms.
"It's destroyed." She whispers looking at the puddle of silk, smoothing the side of her chin against his bicep.
"It's completely inferior to the dress you wore when you married me in anyway." He sighs.
"Which time?" She huffs absently.
"All of them." He decides pressing a kiss to her hairline. Her laugh is more of a scoff, thick with disgust.
"Todd." She begins, dropping her head back against his body. "I'm so sorry."
"Stop." He tells her, shaking his head. "You couldn't do it." He moves back so he can see her. "You couldn't do it, and you're here. You are the best part of me Blair. Everything about me that is in anyway redeemable is because I loved you…" She touches his face just below the scar. "Remember? All because of you." He fumbles for his wallet, pulling out a crinkled wedding photo holding it up for him to see. "This is me." His voice strains and she smiles at him. "And this is you."
"Me and you." She nods softly, as he joins in before leaning in to kiss her softly.
"Todd.." She sighs away the last bit of remorse. He cups the back of her head and presses his face into hers, kissing her softly.
"Me and you." He spoke slowly and firmly, drilling his eyes into hers. She nods and he settles her back into his arms. "It's going to be fine."
"Smooth sailing.." She scoffs at him.
"More like white water rafting." He admits with a impish nod. "But that's more exciting anyway."
"Terrifying." She teases.
"Exhilarating." He one ups her with a challenging glance.
"Exhilarating." She gives in with an almost relieved sigh.
"You're tired." He sweeps back her hair from her face.
"It's been an interesting day." She rubs at her eyes until he catches her hand in his.
"Did you fly in that?" He points at the offending garment collecting dust on the floor. She winces, covering her face. "I'm sure that was a site."
"Oh my God what people must think. What my family must think!"
"Who cares what they think?" He rolls his eyes. Her brow arches slowly like she's going to protest. "Apparently." He looks at her then the dress. "Not you."
"Not me." She smiles.
"Not me." He shakes his head. "I don't care what any of them thinks. They already hate me anyway. Hell, even my own family-."
"I love you." Her quiet confession startles him, his gaze catches hers again. "I love you Todd. Warts and all." He swallows hard.
"Me and you."
