Her tears slipped down and blended with the condensation on her glass. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and let her hair fall from behind her shoulders. He should not see her like this.
"This is not fair," she choked between sobs. "I never thought this could happen."
He rubbed his hand over his baldhead, forgetting he had no hair to run his hands through. He held back tears, trying to be strong for her.
He smiled lightly at her. "I thought this was too good to be true." His smile wavered as she glanced into his tired eyes. "I thought we were living in a fairytale for so long." He bent his head back and glanced thoughtfully through the opaque windows. "I dreamed that I would be your prince and we would live happily ever after." He chuckled softly.
"Don't talk like that," she replied sternly. He turned his head back to her, his smile gone. Fresh tears fell from her eyes. "How can you even say that?" She reached out to grab him by the shoulders. She wanted shake him and push him back into their fairytale. One glance at his frail frame forced her arms back at her sides. She glanced solemnly at her soft, unmarked palms. "I cannot survive without you. Your love is such a big part of me. I need you," she whispered, hating the whiteness of her skin.
He took her by the arms and pulled her into him. She sank her head into his shoulder, the soft fabric of his shirt erasing the tears from her eyes. He felt so unfamiliar. She circled her arms around his back and wished she could hold onto him tighter, but he was so frail. She would break him if she did. She wanted to close her eyes to keep from staring at the bruises on his arms but she could not. If she did, she would forget whom she was holding onto so desperately. His grip loosened and she felt a sob build up in her throat.
"Do not let go of me now," she whispered into his shoulder, hoping he caught the double meaning in her words. She held him tighter, selfishly demanding he do the same. "You are not gone yet. Let me dream for a while. Hold me like you used to." Her quiet demand was not answered immediately. She was too afraid to look into his eyes, afraid that he had already left her. Tears fell from her eyes when he slowly let her go, declining her offer.
He held her shoulders before him and forced her to look at him. "What do you want from me?" His question clouded the space between her, creating a barrier. She only wanted to destroy that wall and watch it crumble beneath their devotion.
Her pleading eyes met his immediately. Deep purple bruises lay beneath their once caramel hue. She released a sob and realized he was slipping away. There was nothing she wanted more than what lay before her. "I want you. Only you. I do not want you to hold back from me. I want you to crush me with everything you are." Her lips ranted her demands as he took her in. With her hair disheveled and her face blotchy and red from tears while demanding him and only him, she had never looked more beautiful. "I never want to feel any space between us," she continued. He knew, just as well as she did, that this was it. He would be gone tomorrow. And he wanted her just as badly as she did. With his decision made, he glanced into her eyes as she continued her rant. Before she could finish he crushed his lips upon hers using all the strength he had left.
Immediately, she accepted his lips with hers. They stood up slowly and held each other but his strength gave out and he fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry. I want you so bad," he gasped. He was so weak.
She bent down next to him and held his face in her hands. "Maybe I was being impractical," she reasoned. His worried eyes stared back at her. "I do not know if we should do this."
He did not need to look into her eyes to know that they contradicted her words. There was no denying their need. This was an all-new desire. One that was dire and impossible to retain.
He ignored her warning and pulled her roughly down to him, her lips crushing his. Her selfishness was just as pronounce as his. Without hesitation she gave her body over to him. They fell upon the carpet in a mess of fervent limbs.
Her mind clouded with the feeling of his body upon hers and the sweet smell of his skin. She was unable to hold her strength back. She would have, had he winced or showed any sign of discomfort, but his passion was escalating just as quickly as hers.
Pain was not even an option for him. Her body overwhelmed his. Every inch of her skin was beautiful. He did not even give his body the option of weakness. He pushed it to the back of his mind to make room for every part of her: her eyes, her laugh, and the freckles upon her arms. He tried to take her all in. It was pertinent for him to store this information in the back of his mind. He would have to endure a lifetime without her.
She brushed her hand along his tired forehead as he collapsed beside her. Her excited body sent shocks to her heart. She pulled his head upon her chest and held him. Reflexively, her fingers traced the scar on the back of his head, a product of the fiend that consumed him.
She sighed in contentment as he whispered her favorite three words. "Forever," he added at last. She held him tighter letting him know everything she was feeling but could not possibly put into words. She forced herself to keep her tears at bay. This was no place for them. This was peace. This was perfect. This was everything she could ask for. Everything she wanted.
And in the morning she held him closer, knowing full well he was gone. She admired his peaceful eyes and knew he had been wrong all along. He was her prince. He had granted her a fairy tale.