It's late before the last drunken guests leave the flat. Christopher and Valentine walked them to the door, Christopher gently pushing McKechnie out with a light shove, the man still waving his sonnet under Christopher's nose. It had been a pleasant night of remembrances and laughter and dancing. Valentine had seen a whole new side of Christopher emerge - one that was lighter, easier and happier. She felt the same. After nearly a decade of obstacles, they were now together.
Christopher turned from closing the door and Valentine found herself inches away from him. She had always felt a magnetic pull between the two of them and tonight the attraction seemed to vibrate through the entire air. Now was the moment she had dreamed of for years, pining for him and praying for him as he fought in a deadly, horrible war.
It seemed like the seconds had turned to agonizing minutes as he lowered his face towards her. She closed her eyes and felt her cheeks warm in anticipation. As his lips met hers, her heart throbbed with a depth of joy she had never experienced before.
At first he kissed her lightly, sweetly. He barely touched her, his hands skimming over her face and back. She could feel the tremble in his hands and hear the throbbing beat of his heart. She knew he wanted her as much as she did him, but something was holding him back. It was as if he were afraid she were a dream - a shadow of light. If he held her too close or kissed her too deeply, the dream might fade to black and he would be alone. She had to break him of that feeling. She pressed herself closer to him, returning each kiss as quickly as they came. She whispered his name when she had breath, wrapping her arms around his tall frame. Anything to anchor him to reality, to his Valentine.
It wasn't until he ripped the pins out of her hair, that he finally let go. He ran his hands through her cascade of corn silk hair and she heard him moan with ancient desire. He kept running his hands through her hair, like a man escaping prison and tasting sunshine for the first time. He kissed her deeper and deeper, pressing his body against hers, as if trying to soak up every last drop of the delicious sunshine.
She opened herself up to him in return. She opened up her heart to him, letting him see every room, every corner. She let him see the name Christopher painted on every wall.
They spun around the room, locked in a different kind of dance. Their clothes fell to the floor, like petals from spring flowers. He stumbled on the buttons of her blouse, his fingers shaking as much as hers. She suddenly felt as fragile as a leaf in a summer storm.
He noticed her nerves and paused, panting for breath. He took her hands in his own and pressed them against his naked chest. She stood almost as naked in front of him, feeling as vulnerable and afraid as any new flower in the field. Even under the fear, she somehow felt safe. The man she loved could never hurt her.
He pressed his forehead to hers, their breath mingling together. She inhaled his musky, male scent as they took a moment to pause, to stop the world from spinning. He kissed her hands and placed them back over his heart. She could feel it racing in as irregular a beat as her own.
"You know I can never hurt you," he whispered. "I don't have much to offer you - no name, no job - not ever Groby. Our old friends will shun us. They're homes are closed to us now. If you want to leave, there's still time, Valentine. You don't have to stay. I cannot be the one to destroy you and your good name."
"Oh, my dear," she murmured. "How can you ever hurt or destroy me? I've waited for this moment for years. I don't need your name or Groby or a fancy dinner party to be happy. We have new friends, so we don't have to worry about the old. You will find a new career and we will have a new home. We will be happy. We will get through this night and then the next and then the next. My dear, Christopher, I love you. There's nowhere else I want to be, but in your arms. Don't send me away - let me love you, the way you deserve to be loved. Please."
Eyes shining with tears, he took her in his arms. She could feel every beat of his heart in every kiss, the love of his soul with every touch. She returned each kiss and touch with as much love. She wondered if he had ever tasted such love and devotion. All of her fears disappeared. This was where she was meant to be.
When she stood naked before him, she blushed a dark crimson as his eyes took in every curve of her body. He lifted her into his arms and gasped as she was pressed against his own naked flesh. He laid her onto the army cot that she had lovingly prepared for this night. She waited for him to join her, waited for the moment when she could give herself completely to him. She wanted to let him know that she was his Valentine, nothing would part them now.
She would always remember that first night. How the cramped cot had felt like the most luxurious of beds. The weight of his body against hers. The brief pain, followed by a growing heat deep inside of her. How their bodies soon found a shared rhythm.
He kissed every inch of her, her body arching to meet every hungry embrace. It was as if he were mapping out her body, like an explorer in a foreign land, memorizing every freckle, every curve of her flesh. She ran her hands over his scarred, but unbroken body. He whispered sweet promises in her ear, words that had blessed her dreams. She ran her hands through his short blonde hair. She rejoiced in every moan she caused, every cry of Valentine.
When the stars finally burst over her, his name was a siren song on her lips. She could almost feel his heart break with the emotion of the moment. Valentine and Christopher echoed over and over again in the empty flat. Their names were as intertwined as their souls, drifting into the night to dance among the stars.
Afterwards, he merely held her. There were no words, none were needed. She lay wrapped in his arms, her hand caressing his beating heart. Their breath steadied and became one. He ran a hand through her hair, watching the soft sunshine slip through his fingers.
Sleep too soon began to steal the vision from Valentine's eyes. How could any dream be better than the one she lived through tonight? Encircled in his arms, she felt warm, safe and completely whole. She'd never be alone again. Everyday would be a new adventure, a new life to lead.
As sleep finally took hold, she heard him utter the words that would be seared onto her heart forever: "My sweet, Valentine. I love you."