the power of words
Summary: Words are dangerous. Drabble.
Warning: D.r.a.b.b.l.e.
Set: Another kind of ending to season 3 - though not less angsty.
Disclaimer: No copyright inFringement intended.
A/N: I haven't posted anything in weeks. If you are willing to listen to my complaints go ahead and ask, but it doesn't really matter. Merry Christmas to you all!
Words are dangerous, Olivia thinks.
They hold power over both the speaker and the addressee and they are, once spoken, impossible to take back. Words can hurt far worse than wounds can. She knows that much. But they can soothe, too, and reassure and heal.
I love you.
Peter's gaze is warm, as is his hand on her face. She leans into his touch because there is nothing better in the world than feeling his rough stubble, his calloused hands and his warm breath. She never knew how much she craved those feelings until he offered them to her and even if it took them longer to reach this point than they should have taken, she is happy. So happy she feels like crying.
You are safe.
His eyes bore into hers. His hand is warm and big and as she puts her smaller hand into his she knows he is telling the truth. As long as he is alive, he won't let anything happen to her.
I'll come back.
It's a promise, really, and she knows how breakable those are. Only when Peter says words like those she believes him, utterly and entirely. He won't ever – ever! – leave her behind. He will return, and she will feel his warmth again, see his face, hear his heart-beat.
You are beautiful.
When he says things like that she feels beautiful no matter where she is, how she feels and what she is wearing. Worry and trouble are erased when he looks at her like that (like she is the center of the universe) and says those words, and she knows she is the only woman he looks at.
You need to remember this.
What it is she promised him to remember? It seems to have slipped from her mind, has disappeared entirely. She is devastated, because she promised him to remember and now has forgotten. What is wrong with her? She does not know, either, and though she does not fear his reaction when she tells him she fears the disappointment and hurt in his face.
Everything will be alright.
But Peter has magic. He can calm her instantly, make all her fears disappear. His words make her feel safe, calm and beautiful – make her feel loved. He loves her, she thinks. He loves her and she does not need anything else except for him. Is it wrong to base your entire being onto another person like that?
I love you.
She tries to hold on to his hand but he slips away and the last thing she sees is his smile. The smile she loves so much – the face she loves so much. It is Peter she loves but his words when he repeats the sentence feel like a Farewell now.
I love you.
And then, just like that, he is gone.