"You know I love you, right?" Danny murmured as he nuzzled my cheek, his arm wrapped around my waist and holding me close as he rested with me on my new bed in the Medical Building.
I nodded mutely, picking at the sheets as I waited for the green pill to take its effects for the day. I felt hollow until it did, unable to respond to anything, even to Danny as he talked to me. And he knew this, so he did all the talking until I was able to communicate with him.
He gave my cheek a kiss. "I fought Cyril to keep you safe," he continued. "He was going to hurt you. He was going to kill all of the campers staying during the school year. I couldn't let him do that, so I told Zavid his plans. I fought Cyril to keep you safe. You know that, right?"
The pill still hadn't taken its effects, and yet I was able to smile, even if just a little. Danny really and truly loved me if he was willing to risk his life for me, if he was willing to fight the half minotaur brute that had terrorized his life for eleven years. If Danny was willing to do that, to keep me safe...
Danny saw my smile, and he nuzzled my cheek again, letting out a happy horse-like whinny. The noise made my smile widen a little more. I wanted to giggle, too, but I couldn't. I still wasn't well enough to do that without the pill. So a smile was the best thing I could do. And that was a lot, for me. Going a month without a smile, without even a thought of happiness...
I was broken. But I was getting better, now, with Danny's help.
"I love you so much, Ty." He murmured again, even though I still haven't said it back to him since I began taking the pill a week ago. But he kept telling me that he loved me each day I fought through, like he had told me he would. "I don't know what I'd do without you. When the spirits told me you had..." Pain entered his voice and he paused for awhile before letting in a shuddering breath and continuing. "When the spirits had told me that you had... that you had tried to kill yourself and had almost succeeded, I was about to, too. I didn't want to live without you in my life. And it would have been all my fault... I didn't talk to you that day, love. It was my fault you wanted to kill yourself."
Something wet landed on my cheek, and Danny buried his his face in my neck as he began to cry.
"I'm so sorry, love. I didn't mean to make you so sad. I'm so sorry..." He stopped talking when he began to sob uncontrollably.
I bit my lip, almost crying when he bean to cry. But I stopped myself before I could. Instead, I turned in Danny's arms and wiped away his tears from his smooth, recently shaved cheeks. He sniffed as I did, trying to calm himself down. I hesitated before giving his lips a small kiss, and he smiled softly, returning it. I couldn't help but to smile slightly as well, and I gave him another small kiss.
"I love you, Danny." I murmured. The green pill still hadn't taken effect, yet I was still able to speak. It still had ten minutes before it was completely in my system, yet I was still able to feel a tiny bit of happiness, enough to tell him what I've wanted to tell him since we became just friends.
And that made him smile widely, his tears forgotten. It made him do more than smile. It made him grin, the first grin he had worn since he had heard about my attempt at taking my own life. Me saying I love you, Danny made him happier, and that made me happier, even though the pill hadn't taken hold of me yet.
"I love you, too, Ty." He murmured happily, letting me wipe away the rest of his tears. When I was done wiping away his tears, he pulled me ever so closer to him before pressing his lips to mine.
I closed my eyes and gently kissed him back, a greater spark of happiness igniting in my chest. By this time, the pill would have taken effect. But it wasn't strong enough to create this form of happiness in me that I was feeling while we kissed. I was able to feel joy, because he had said it back, and it ignited a fire of happiness inside of me. And that fire of joy, the ffirst in a month, was all I wanted to feel at the moment.
So I continued to kiss him and eventually Danny deepened the kiss. He turned me more in his arms so that neither of us had to strain while we kissed. He turned me in his arms more before rolling to the side so I was on top of him. We continued to kiss in the new position until we had to break for air, and when we did, my broad smile felt like a grin on my face.
Danny grinned back at me before resting his head back on my pillow. He let out a soft sigh, happy as he was before I had attempted suicide. And I was happy, too. I was finally able to say what I still felt for him. I was finally able to make us both happy. I was finally able to tell Danny that I still loved him, and he made me happier by saying it back.
I think... maybe... I was finally healing. I was finally getting better on my own, with the help of Danny, of course, and that I wouldn't need the pill anymore in a month or so, because I'd be healthy again. And that made me even happier, so I pressed my lips to Dannys once more.