p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" I wake up curled into a ball in the corner of my bed in the corner of my new hollow in the cave. It's been six months since I woke to find that Doc had disobeyed my wishes and stuck me into a new body. I obviously had some issues with it still, even though I had been working up Pet's muscle and endurance it appears that even Jeb won't allow me to work in the fields yet. I sit up lazily, my back quite sore from the position that I had been sleeping in. "Ready for another day of teaching and story telling?" I say to myself sleepily. That's my job during the weekdays in the morning, teaching the children, although there are only ten of them. After maths, science, english, history and story time I then cook with the other women. Since Mel is always working in the fields or with hollowing, I'm left with Maggie breathing down my neck. She always eggs Sharon on to hate me as well although I feel as if Sharon is slowly opening up to me, yet I think we still have a far way to go before we become friends. I stand slowly, bending slightly as it's still a force of habit being that Mel is nearly 5'7 and I've become accustomed to reacting to things as if I'm still in her body. This body, however, barely reaches 5'1, and it's sometimes convenient like right now. The ceiling to my little abode is 5'5 so Mel doesn't fit but I do. I walk over into the taller portion of my room and gather some cloths to change into after I wash in the river. /span/p
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p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" I walk outside, seeing the field and people starting to get up as well and get to work. I walk around the side, catching a glimpse of Mel and Jamie working away already. As I reach the mouth of the cave I need to get to the river, I stop and wait for Mel to see me. She does soon after standing to wipe the sweat off of her brow, waving at me kindly. I sigh, smiling lightly and waving back, and with that Jamie notices me as well and calls out "Hey I'll see you in two hours" and a chuckle and nod. I walk down into the cave, following the sound of rushing water. About five minutes into my peaceful, thoughtful walk, I run into Candy. She smiles nicely and I nod to her as she catches up to me after her cave merges with the one that I was walking in. She's carrying cloths as well, she must be washing up as well. She's been helping Doc take out Souls and travel them to distant planets. She has just found a partner "Hello, how is Light Surfer?" I ask her while he comes to mind. He's a Soul that went native, his host, Cole, faded away long ago. He was the first Soul to come into the caves after me and Sunny, and now there are five of us. She smiles "It's our three year anniversary!" She tells me excitingly, sending a bit of surprise through me. I tilt my head lightly, about to ask her but she answers for me "My host, Suns Ray, loved him. And as they courted, I fell in love with him to. But she had another love, Moon Beam, and she always knew she loved him more. Yet, Light Surfer was the one for me, and when he went native me and Suns came up with the plan to have Doc extract her and send her home. I thought that it would take him awhile to realize that it was me that he loved, but when I came to, he was there holding my hand saying that he had known all along" she tells me the story with this lovestruck look on her face. I smile, happy for her. We continue on the chit chat, talking about the harvest and she asks a lot about how the children are learning. /span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" After awhile of talking, we turn around the bend and finally we are at the river. We strip, not really caring to look at each other but we make sure that we are the only ones around. Then we dip into the water, grabbing some cactus soap and I scowl lightly as I use it. We need to go back out for another raid soon, I think as I finish up. As I dry off and get my cloths off, Candy gets out and begins to dry off as well. Just as she's pulling on her last article of clothing, her shirt, I look at her and catch a glimpse of her stomach. There, is an easily seen baby bump. I gasp, squealing and it startles her, taking her a moment to figure out that I saw. She blushes and giggles "Yes, I'm nearly two months along. Doc told me that everything is going great!" she gushes happily. I rattle off questions "Does Light know? Do you know the gender? What about names?" and she answers them all "Yes he does and he's thrilled! No I will only be able to know in about four more weeks and Light is so sure that we are going to have a boy so he wants to name him Denver, but I am certain that it's a girl and I want to name her Lillac." We walk back, gushing on and on, all the while I wonder how the /spanspan style="font-size: 11px;"whole/spanspan style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" of the caves wasn't speaking about this, news usually travels pretty fast here. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" I make it to the meal room and I sit down next to Mel and across from Jamie for breakfast. I look down at my orange and oatmeal, my stomach growling. Pet's body likes food that's a lot different from what Mel does, like Pet doesn't like the taste of meat and loves fruit. A lot. Just then I feel my heart skip a beat and I look up to see Ian walking in. His messy blonde hair shakes a bit as he laughs, his arm swung over Kyle's shoulders. His smile spreads from his left side to the right, his dimple flashing. I blink, telling myself to calm down as I look down at my meal. These passed six months, Ian and me have talked and flirted and even held hands. At the same time though, I feel like he doesn't love me anymore. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" I grip my fork and think to myself "I knew it was the body he liked, not me as a being" I turn my head, wondering why I grabbed a fork instead of a spoon. I sigh, a golden curl falling into my view. Just then, a man sits himself down beside me and it doesn't take me long to figure out who. "Hey Wanda" he says softly, moving the curl out of my face gently, tucking it behind my ear. I search his eyes, seeing a sense of love in them for a moment only to be replaced by a longing and almost an emotion of missing. I sigh and turn away, he misses me in Mel's body. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Another girl sits beside Jamie, Lilly. I look over at her, smiling lightly as I see her swollen stomach as she is nearly seven months along. She has been working in laundry and soap making but today she'll be cooking with me later in the day. As she makes herself comfortable, I get up to throw away my remains that are inedible, like wrappers and plastic. Then I give my left over oatmeal to Paige, who helped make the breakfast, so that she may recycle it into tomorrows breakfast. I sit back down to see that Candy has joined Lilly and their sharing pregnancy tidbits. Lilly's baby is Wes' and a part of me is glad that she has a child from him to remember him at the same time I am sad that her child won't have a father. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" She speaks up, catching my attentions "So from the last raid a month ago, I was able to find that gender pill you thought you had lost" she speaks to me. I smile and nod "Wow that's great! So did you use it? Blue means boy and pink is girl when you suck on it" I remind her. She smiles "I know I already did the test. I'm having a boy!" and we all congratulate her. After breakfast ends, I go into the already harvested west end of the field with the kids Jamie, Brandt, Paige, Aaron, Ruth Ann, Andy, Carol, and Geoffrey who have all been here since before I came to the caves. Brandt, Aaron, Paige and Andy are all my human body's age if not a year or two older but they still need their education. I look to see Andy and Paige smiling and flirting lightly, Andy kissing her cheek lightly and making her giggle. All of them sit on the soil, waiting for our two newest members, who happen to be Souls who don't have fighters in them./span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Finally I see them making their way up to where we are, I guess that they haven't gotten used to waking up at five am and eating and six in these passed five months that they've been here. I smile as they reach us and sit down at the end "Thanks for making it Air Singer and Fire Dancer" I say nicely, nodding towards the twin twelve year olds. They giggle lightly, joking with Ruth Ann and Carol who are fourteen. I begin my lesson, going on about maths and soon dipping into english literature. Halfway through my lecture about how history and literature are very much combined throughout the human time, I feel an arm snake its way around my waist. I laugh as Ian pulls me against his chest, bringing a water bottle into view "Need a drink darling?" he whispers huskily. I blush and laugh lightly, trying to brush off the intimate feeling the motion has. I nod and take a drink, thanking him. He kisses my cheek lightly, which he hasn't done in three months, leaving me bright red. My 'students' laugh at my face and shush them, continuing on with my teachings. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" The day continues on and soon I find myself in the kitchen, making chicken soup for dinner. Jeb comes in, patrolling as of right now, and looks over my work. I ask lightly "So Jeb, how has the population been within the caves?" and he answers "We grew from 32 humans and 2 Souls half a year ago to 45 humans and 5 Souls, with 3 babies on the way" I nod, then it occurs to me that only Lilly and Candy are pregnant "Wait who else is pregnant?" I ask, very curious. He chuckles "Doc just assessed Candy and found out that she's having twins." With that, my alien state starts showing. I look at him confused, never having heard the word. He laughs "It's the term that's used fer when a human female carries two babies durin' one pregnancy." I laugh as well, happy for her and Light Surfer at the same time as I am confused as to how the whole 'twin' thing works. Then it occurs to me that he said 5 Souls but all I can remember is Air Singer, Fire Dancer, Light Surfer and me. I shake it off my mind, knowing that if I don't it will bother me into asking someone and then I'll feel dumb. Wait! Sunny! Ugh, I do feel dumb for forgetting about her for a moment.../span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" After dinner is all done and said with, I decide to take a little walk to the Glowing Worm cave to have time to think about me and Ian. About three minutes into my walk over to the cave, Ian proves to be telepathic as he meets up with me "Hey Wanda.." I look up at him and smile weakly, my heart heavy. I nod, wanting to give off the message that I am completely fine "Hey Ian… Did you hear that Candy is having twins?" He laughs, talking lightly about how that will be a handful to Light Surfer and that he can just see him now, all aggravated as one baby runs from him as he's changing the other. I should laugh as well to that image, but my heart just keeps getting heavier and heavier as he looks at me darkly like that, at the same time he won't say or do anything affectionate. We reach the Glowing Worm cave and I sit lightly, staring at the light and trying to shake off the weight./span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Soon, I can't take it any longer as he sits and talks to me about the fields as if everything is okay, I snap "Did you not mean it, Ian?" My voice a bit louder than I had intended it to get, causing the Glow Worms in the cave to blink out. He gulps, not answering until all the Glow Worms have resumed glowing "What do you mean Wanda?" I twirl my hair with my finger, a habit I tend to have. I look up into his love-me blue eyes and say all that I can before my short lived confidence evades me "In the fields when I was Mel, when you said that you loved me. Did you mean it? Because you barely touch me, talk to me as if we're in a fragile friendship and you haven't said it since that day. I knew I was right when I said that you only liked me for-" his hands reach up, cupping my face softly as he steps closer. I see something break in his eyes and they start to glass lightly /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" "Are you kidding me Wanda… I thought I loved you then… I didn't, not compared to the love I feel for you right now, and It just keeps growing. When you went into this new body, you just stopped talking to me so often… and it killed me, or at least I thought it had until you moved out. Then that's what truly killed me…. I've spent the last six months thinking the same about you as you did for me…. but don't you dare look me in the eye and doubt my love for you because I would rather die.." he rambles off, each word spiking my heart beat more and more. My hands move on their own, reaching up and sliding along his chest to grip his shirt. I pull him down, but he had already been bending down, crashing my lips on his. I kiss him passionately, electricity going down my spine as his lips copy mine, battling against me. I wrap my arms up around his neck as his arms gather me, wrapping around my waist as he pulls me up against his body. I pull away to breath and I murmur "I love you in every possible way that I can… And I can move back in if-" "Yes, I'm not letting you leave me again" he cuts me off roughly, sealing our lips again deeply. He picks me up and carries me all the way back to his- well soon to be our -room./span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-family: Helvetica;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" I walk outside, seeing the field and people starting to get up as well and get to work. I walk around the side, catching a glimpse of Mel and Jamie working away already. As I reach the mouth of the cave I need to get to the river, I stop and wait for Mel to see me. She does soon after standing to wipe the sweat off of her brow, waving at me kindly. I sigh, smiling lightly and waving back, and with that Jamie notices me as well and calls out "Hey I'll see you in two hours" and a chuckle and nod. I walk down into the cave, following the sound of rushing water. About five minutes into my peaceful, thoughtful walk, I run into Candy. She smiles nicely and I nod to her as she catches up to me after her cave merges with the one that I was walking in. She's carrying cloths as well, she must be washing up as well. She's been helping Doc take out Souls and travel them to distant planets. She has just found a partner "Hello, how is Light Surfer?" I ask her while he comes to mind. He's a Soul that went native, his host, Cole, faded away long ago. He was the first Soul to come into the caves after me and Sunny, and now there are five of us. She smiles "It's our three year anniversary!" She tells me excitingly, sending a bit of surprise through me. I tilt my head lightly, about to ask her but she answers for me "My host, Suns Ray, loved him. And as they courted, I fell in love with him to. But she had another love, Moon Beam, and she always knew she loved him more. Yet, Light Surfer was the one for me, and when he went native me and Suns came up with the plan to have Doc extract her and send her home. I thought that it would take him awhile to realize that it was me that he loved, but when I came to, he was there holding my hand saying that he had known all along" she tells me the story with this lovestruck look on her face. I smile, happy for her. We continue on the chit chat, talking about the harvest and she asks a lot about how the children are learning. /span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" After awhile of talking, we turn around the bend and finally we are at the river. We strip, not really caring to look at each other but we make sure that we are the only ones around. Then we dip into the water, grabbing some cactus soap and I scowl lightly as I use it. We need to go back out for another raid soon, I think as I finish up. As I dry off and get my cloths off, Candy gets out and begins to dry off as well. Just as she's pulling on her last article of clothing, her shirt, I look at her and catch a glimpse of her stomach. There, is an easily seen baby bump. I gasp, squealing and it startles her, taking her a moment to figure out that I saw. She blushes and giggles "Yes, I'm nearly two months along. Doc told me that everything is going great!" she gushes happily. I rattle off questions "Does Light know? Do you know the gender? What about names?" and she answers them all "Yes he does and he's thrilled! No I will only be able to know in about four more weeks and Light is so sure that we are going to have a boy so he wants to name him Denver, but I am certain that it's a girl and I want to name her Lillac." We walk back, gushing on and on, all the while I wonder how the /spanspan style="font-size: 11px;"whole/spanspan style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" of the caves wasn't speaking about this, news usually travels pretty fast here. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" I make it to the meal room and I sit down next to Mel and across from Jamie for breakfast. I look down at my orange and oatmeal, my stomach growling. Pet's body likes food that's a lot different from what Mel does, like Pet doesn't like the taste of meat and loves fruit. A lot. Just then I feel my heart skip a beat and I look up to see Ian walking in. His messy blonde hair shakes a bit as he laughs, his arm swung over Kyle's shoulders. His smile spreads from his left side to the right, his dimple flashing. I blink, telling myself to calm down as I look down at my meal. These passed six months, Ian and me have talked and flirted and even held hands. At the same time though, I feel like he doesn't love me anymore. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" I grip my fork and think to myself "I knew it was the body he liked, not me as a being" I turn my head, wondering why I grabbed a fork instead of a spoon. I sigh, a golden curl falling into my view. Just then, a man sits himself down beside me and it doesn't take me long to figure out who. "Hey Wanda" he says softly, moving the curl out of my face gently, tucking it behind my ear. I search his eyes, seeing a sense of love in them for a moment only to be replaced by a longing and almost an emotion of missing. I sigh and turn away, he misses me in Mel's body. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Another girl sits beside Jamie, Lilly. I look over at her, smiling lightly as I see her swollen stomach as she is nearly seven months along. She has been working in laundry and soap making but today she'll be cooking with me later in the day. As she makes herself comfortable, I get up to throw away my remains that are inedible, like wrappers and plastic. Then I give my left over oatmeal to Paige, who helped make the breakfast, so that she may recycle it into tomorrows breakfast. I sit back down to see that Candy has joined Lilly and their sharing pregnancy tidbits. Lilly's baby is Wes' and a part of me is glad that she has a child from him to remember him at the same time I am sad that her child won't have a father. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" She speaks up, catching my attentions "So from the last raid a month ago, I was able to find that gender pill you thought you had lost" she speaks to me. I smile and nod "Wow that's great! So did you use it? Blue means boy and pink is girl when you suck on it" I remind her. She smiles "I know I already did the test. I'm having a boy!" and we all congratulate her. After breakfast ends, I go into the already harvested west end of the field with the kids Jamie, Brandt, Paige, Aaron, Ruth Ann, Andy, Carol, and Geoffrey who have all been here since before I came to the caves. Brandt, Aaron, Paige and Andy are all my human body's age if not a year or two older but they still need their education. I look to see Andy and Paige smiling and flirting lightly, Andy kissing her cheek lightly and making her giggle. All of them sit on the soil, waiting for our two newest members, who happen to be Souls who don't have fighters in them./span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Finally I see them making their way up to where we are, I guess that they haven't gotten used to waking up at five am and eating and six in these passed five months that they've been here. I smile as they reach us and sit down at the end "Thanks for making it Air Singer and Fire Dancer" I say nicely, nodding towards the twin twelve year olds. They giggle lightly, joking with Ruth Ann and Carol who are fourteen. I begin my lesson, going on about maths and soon dipping into english literature. Halfway through my lecture about how history and literature are very much combined throughout the human time, I feel an arm snake its way around my waist. I laugh as Ian pulls me against his chest, bringing a water bottle into view "Need a drink darling?" he whispers huskily. I blush and laugh lightly, trying to brush off the intimate feeling the motion has. I nod and take a drink, thanking him. He kisses my cheek lightly, which he hasn't done in three months, leaving me bright red. My 'students' laugh at my face and shush them, continuing on with my teachings. /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" The day continues on and soon I find myself in the kitchen, making chicken soup for dinner. Jeb comes in, patrolling as of right now, and looks over my work. I ask lightly "So Jeb, how has the population been within the caves?" and he answers "We grew from 32 humans and 2 Souls half a year ago to 45 humans and 5 Souls, with 3 babies on the way" I nod, then it occurs to me that only Lilly and Candy are pregnant "Wait who else is pregnant?" I ask, very curious. He chuckles "Doc just assessed Candy and found out that she's having twins." With that, my alien state starts showing. I look at him confused, never having heard the word. He laughs "It's the term that's used fer when a human female carries two babies durin' one pregnancy." I laugh as well, happy for her and Light Surfer at the same time as I am confused as to how the whole 'twin' thing works. Then it occurs to me that he said 5 Souls but all I can remember is Air Singer, Fire Dancer, Light Surfer and me. I shake it off my mind, knowing that if I don't it will bother me into asking someone and then I'll feel dumb. Wait! Sunny! Ugh, I do feel dumb for forgetting about her for a moment.../span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" After dinner is all done and said with, I decide to take a little walk to the Glowing Worm cave to have time to think about me and Ian. About three minutes into my walk over to the cave, Ian proves to be telepathic as he meets up with me "Hey Wanda.." I look up at him and smile weakly, my heart heavy. I nod, wanting to give off the message that I am completely fine "Hey Ian… Did you hear that Candy is having twins?" He laughs, talking lightly about how that will be a handful to Light Surfer and that he can just see him now, all aggravated as one baby runs from him as he's changing the other. I should laugh as well to that image, but my heart just keeps getting heavier and heavier as he looks at me darkly like that, at the same time he won't say or do anything affectionate. We reach the Glowing Worm cave and I sit lightly, staring at the light and trying to shake off the weight./span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" Soon, I can't take it any longer as he sits and talks to me about the fields as if everything is okay, I snap "Did you not mean it, Ian?" My voice a bit louder than I had intended it to get, causing the Glow Worms in the cave to blink out. He gulps, not answering until all the Glow Worms have resumed glowing "What do you mean Wanda?" I twirl my hair with my finger, a habit I tend to have. I look up into his love-me blue eyes and say all that I can before my short lived confidence evades me "In the fields when I was Mel, when you said that you loved me. Did you mean it? Because you barely touch me, talk to me as if we're in a fragile friendship and you haven't said it since that day. I knew I was right when I said that you only liked me for-" his hands reach up, cupping my face softly as he steps closer. I see something break in his eyes and they start to glass lightly /span/span/p
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p style="margin: 0px;"span style="font-family: Helvetica;"span style="font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0px;" "Are you kidding me Wanda… I thought I loved you then… I didn't, not compared to the love I feel for you right now, and It just keeps growing. When you went into this new body, you just stopped talking to me so often… and it killed me, or at least I thought it had until you moved out. Then that's what truly killed me…. I've spent the last six months thinking the same about you as you did for me…. but don't you dare look me in the eye and doubt my love for you because I would rather die.." he rambles off, each word spiking my heart beat more and more. My hands move on their own, reaching up and sliding along his chest to grip his shirt. I pull him down, but he had already been bending down, crashing my lips on his. I kiss him passionately, electricity going down my spine as his lips copy mine, battling against me. I wrap my arms up around his neck as his arms gather me, wrapping around my waist as he pulls me up against his body. I pull away to breath and I murmur "I love you in every possible way that I can… And I can move back in if-" "Yes, I'm not letting you leave me again" he cuts me off roughly, sealing our lips again deeply. He picks me up and carries me all the way back to his- well soon to be our -room./span/span/p