Chapter Twenty: Sparkle

Three Weeks Later

"I spy...something gray!'"

"Gray? My hair!"

"Your hair isn't gray! It's silver, I'd say."

"Silver, hm?" Lysander pulled a long strand of his hair into eyesight and studied it for a moment with a chuckle. "Silver it is, Lunabelle. Now, something gray..." He rolled his body up, sitting and turning his head to take in our surroundings with narrowed eyes. I stayed outstretched in the grass, giggling as I kept my eyes on the large gray boulder in the middle of our world.

"Oh!" He called, pointing up at a big, gray storm cloud. Was it about to rain? I hadn't even noticed. "The cloud?"

"Nope!" I shook my head, "think closer..."

I did my very best to block my thoughts from Lysander, otherwise he'd be able to find exactly what I spied. We found it incredibly amusing that we could play normal guessing games with each other, especially Lysander, since I was the only one ever capable of hiding my thoughts from him. He was apparently the champion at Guess Who, Twenty Questions, and Rock, Paper, Scissors. He never had to guess before, and he was giddy at the opportunity.

Lysander's eyes once again surveyed the land before finally falling on the boulder. He studied it, stroking his chin thoughtfully with long, pensive fingers before pointing to it with a shrug. "The rock?"

"Yes!" I awarded him by sitting up and clapping. He threw his hands into the air before they plunged around my waist, pulling me in for a giggly kiss.

It was our one-month anniversary, which thankfully fell on a sleepy Sunday. Appropriately, we were bundled up and romping in the field for the day.

Lysander had prepared me for my first cold December (despite my protests) with stylish scarves, long pants and cotton boot socks courtesy of Leigh, but it didn't seem as though snow was in the forecast any time soon. It was a disappointment to me, but everyone else in Amoris didn't seem to mind this winter's mildness.

Lost in thought, I found myself admiring Lysander for the millionth time that day. I loved to look at him. No matter how well I knew every detail of his face I could still study him for a lifetime. He was beautiful, and although from far away he seemed unrealistically perfect, up close and personal was where the little things that made him beautifully-human lived. Sometimes his chin was just slightly rough and rugged with the light, short stubble of facial hair that he'd never let grow past that length, and his silver eyebrows followed a smooth line, but looking extra close I'd noticed that just a few hairs strayed away from the direction of all the rest. He had not a blemish on his fair skin, but when he blushed he'd turn a hundred shades of different reds that lit him up like the sun. If only I could capture his beauty to hold in my hands forever...like a picture.

I could truly look at him all day long, and as I gazed at him I realized in the month we'd been together we'd never taken so much as one picture together.

Without a second thought I dug through my pocket and pulled out my phone, holding it up to the light to try and find the perfect position. Lysander watched me closely, reading my intentions and putting his cheek to mine with a smile. I snapped ten pictures in less than a minute, turning to kiss him on the cheek, and then on the lips. He'd kiss my cheek, we'd make silly faces, and smile after smile I was collecting treasures to take home and keep forever. They'd certainly come in handy when I was alone in my room missing him tonight.

'You look so effortlessly gorgeous in all of these, Lunabelle.' Lysander smiled as he flipped through the pictures we'd only just taken on my phone. After the last one of us he kept on going, coming to the last picture I took before we left California: my feet in the sand and my hand outstretched to a seagull, coaxing it into the frame with a piece of strawberry Poptart. Lysander's eyes smiled as he studied the photo. 'Do seagulls even like Poptarts?'

'Of course they do! Seagulls will eat anything, I promise. They used to constantly try to steal my food, especially when they learned that I'd share with them.'

He snickered, moving to the next picture of me at the top of a tall stone jetty in a short black sundress, looking down with a smile at father as he stood below in the sand taking the picture. Pictures of hermit crabs, my boots and other creations, of my painted walls back home and extremely embarrassing mirror-pictures of myself sparked memories that I was overjoyed to be sharing with Lysander as he engulfed each detail of every single picture.

'Now it's your turn!' I teased, wondering what kind of pictures Lysander took with his phone.

He laughed, digging through his pockets. 'I don't even remember the last time I used the camera on this thing.'

His gallery started with a picture of two big, beautiful and practically identical dogs. Sleek, black coats with fawn points, the only difference between the two was the size, and that one had a black spiked collar while the other wore a pink sequined harness. They both sat pretty for the camera and I smirked at their goofy, toothy grins.

"Angel and Demon...Brooke and Castiel's 'kids'. They're a lot of fun." Lysander laughed out loud.

"Oh, these are the dogs they're always talking so fondly about. They're adorable!"

The next picture was a little confusing. Lysander stood, a small plastic ball in hand, leaning slightly over a ping-pong table. There were six red solo cups below his chest on the table and his eyes narrowed as if he was focusing hard. 'Oh boy...these pictures are from the last party Brooke and Castiel had. I'm the beer pong champion, and I can't even cheat!'

'Beer pong?' I hadn't a clue what he was talking about.

'It's a drinking game. I don't much like drinking, but when everyone else does it gets tedious always being the sober one. I hope to never be as inebriated as I was that night, though.'

Lysander drunk...my imagination couldn't conjure up any imagery for that, but thankfully the next picture gave me a good idea. I couldn't help but to burst into laughter as I held the phone up closer to my eyes. Lysander was fully clothed and fast asleep on the ground, holding on tight to a big, pink unicorn pillow, a boozy smile scribbled across his face.

'I didn't pin you as the sloppy-drunk-type...' I thought in between howling laughter. Lysander peeked over my shoulder and turned bright red as he shook his head, trying not to laugh.

"I fell asleep and Castiel planted that there, I swear! At least I wasn't rolling around on the basement floor like Castiel and Leigh! If anyone is a sloppy drunk, it's Leigh. That was the night that he sang 'Circle of Life' for everyone whilst standing on the bar..." Lysander pressed his finger to the phone and scrolled over to a picture of Leigh doing just that with a hairbrush in his hands and his mouth open. Lysander couldn't contain his giggles as he flashed the picture towards me.

'Wait, you mean like, 'Circle of Life' from the Lion King?'

'The very same!' Tears welled up in the sides of Lysander's eyes as he brayed, and just the mere thought of Leigh attempting to drunkenly sing the introduction to that song made me lose it.

As we collapsed side by side I held my aching abdominal muscles and tried to catch my breath. Lysander's temple rattled against mine with laughter and I shut my eyes tight until I felt a cold, wet sensation on my cheek. A rain drop? I opened my eyes, Lysander's happy voice all around me and looking up, I was in a dream.

With the wide opaque-gray sky all around me I was breathless as I watched it flutter, pushing past the atmosphere like rain did; only it was whole and vivid, and fell in soft, radiant flickers. I slowly rose up once my laughter had turned to small gasps and held my hands out, letting the tender snowflakes tumble onto my woolen mitten. My eyes were wide and bright with fascination. Wonderstruck by the phenomenon I came to my feet and tilted my head towards the sky, watching the snow fall all around me. It was cold, wet, and melted on the tip of my nose. Had I always expected it to? I didn't really know what I'd anticipated, but either way this was so, so much better.

'Hey, it's snowing!' I heard Lysander's thoughts as he got up to join me. Once he read my marveling thoughts though, he gasped and came straight to me. 'Oh Luna...this is your first snow!'

My mittens in an instant were covered with flecks of the fluffy alien entity. Suddenly I was a little girl again, discovering something amazing about the world for the very first time and I twirled a circle to watch the snowflakes dance along with me. Lysander laughed out, taking my hands in his with a warm grin. He opened his mouth and turned his head to the sky, catching the flakes on his tongue. My eyebrows arched as I gawked on, confused as I'd ever been of what exactly he was trying to do.

'You...you can eat it?'

Lysander fixed his eyes on me. 'It's only water; like catching rain drops!'

Even though I'd learned about snow and precipitation a thousand times before I found it hard to believe that it was just water. It seemed more like magic. Tightening my eyelids, I turned my head towards the clouds, letting the snow melt on my tongue and drip down my throat as water.

When I looked over to Lysander I saw that he hid his grinning face behind his phone, snapping candid pictures of my wide-eyed wonder at the flurries around us. When I stopped to smile back, he caught another picture before shoving his phone back in his pocket and holding out his hands to catch the snow.

The grass was quickly blanketed in a thin layer of the glimmering diamond snowflakes and Lysander bent down to pick up a hand full, throwing it in the air around us. I spun in circles catching as many of the flakes as I could on my tongue and mittens, just enthralled by everything all around me. I giggled and danced through the flurries, shaking tree branches and watching it oscillate in all sorts of directions, picking up handfuls of snow and balling it up, throwing it at the tress to watch it crash.

Lysander mostly watched on, admiring my childish jubilation with a smile that reflected off of the crystal surface below. 'We should make snow angels!'

I'd seen people make snow angels before on television and in movies, but I obviously had no idea how to make one of my own. 'Teach me?'

He got down to his knees and I mirrored him as he laid back, spreading his arms and legs. 'Flap them up and down, like you're flying!'

I don't know what was so funny, but as I waved my arms against the ground I couldn't stop giggling at the novel concept of everything. Simple things were much better when you were in love, and I truly believe that snow was definitely no exception. If I hadn't met Lysander I'd probably be staring outside my bedroom window watching my first snowfall from the house but instead I was experiencing with my whole heart and it was incredible.

With my back soaking as I laid in the imprint of my snow angel I suddenly felt an uncomfortable dripping sensation in my nose and sat up quickly. Was my nose bleeding? Fluid rushed out all at once and I held it with my mitten, sniffling so hard that I broke into a fit of exasperating coughs. Lysander perked up and came to my side, patting my back as I hacked up a lung. I'd never in my life felt so...runny.

'Are you okay? What's the matter, Luna? Are you not feeling well?' Lysander's soft but pressing thoughts were laced with worry.

'I'm fine...but my nose, is it bleeding?' My gloves were made of red yarn, so even if my nose had been bleeding I wasn't able to tell. Lysander shook his head, wrapping an arm around me as he settled in the snow beside me.

'Looks like you've got a runny nose. Come, lets get you back to the car before you catch a cold...'

'I'll be fine!' I giggled, stifling my sniffles with my mittens once more and coughing into my forearm. 'Promise!'

'That cough doesn't sound good. We need to get you warmed up, my love.'

I didn't want to leave, though. Leaving gave us nowhere else to go but home since practically everything in Amoris closed on Sunday. I wasn't ready yet. We still had three hours until I was expected home and there was no way I was going to waste that. Lysander pulled me up with outstretched arms and took my hands in his, the snow on our gloves crunching and meshing together between our embrace.

'I won't take you home until seven, promise.' Lysander ensured me as he lead me to the edge of the forest. Every fallen branch and twisted tree limb was covered in a soft blanket of snow that made all that was once dead and desolate sparkle and glow. He coaxed me into clambering onto his back halfway through he carried me the rest of the way, dusting off the thick blanket of snow that had piled onto the compact car as it waited for us in the empty parking lot of the school.

Lysander had pointed his house out to me in the past but I'd never even pulled into the driveway before. He parked his car on the snow covered asphalt and clicked a button velcroed to his visor. The garage door slowly crept open, revealing Leigh's spotless black Mustang. He unclasped his seat belt before taking his keys out of the ignition and shuffling out into the falling snow.

I was still mystified by it and getting out of the car I couldn't help but to gawk at our neighborhood's transformation. Everything was blindingly white and sparkling,; it was breathtaking. The Christmas lights that had been strung up along the block and around every tree in the last week or so were surreal, shining through a veil of white snow. The snow made everything sparkle with radiance.

Lysander's hand grasped my wet mitten and led me towards the garage while my heart leaped into my throat with excitement. I'd pictured the inside Lysander's house a thousand times in my head and couldn't wait to draw comparisons. We quickly darted through the garage and he opened the door, letting me slide in and following behind.

I was greeted with the warm, sophisticated smell of ginger and freshly laundered linen, similar to some of the many that made up Lysander's signature scent as soon as we entered his house, and the kitchen that we stood in was impressively neat for the kitchen of two young men. One-walled and spacious, an island sat in the middle with a quaint modern breakfast table to the side. As I took everything in I heard familiar thoughts approaching, followed by footsteps on the hardwood. 'Lys must be home...'

Lysander guided me past the island and a strangely-casual looking Leigh soon emerged from the hallway, smiling and waving when he saw me. He wore a long-sleeved black fleece shirt and beige hip-hugging pajama pants and came straight to me.

"Luna! Nice to see you!" He threw a lazy arm around my shoulders for a half-hug and nodded his head to his brother with a smile. "I was worried when I heard you come in. You're usually out much later on Luna-days."

"Today was her first experience with snow and she's a little sniffly. I don't want her to catch a cold, so I figured I'd bring her here and make her a hot cup of tea or something." Lysander explained.

Leigh took a seat at the table, pulling out a chair and offering it to me as Lysander began rummaging through the cabinets. "Take off your coat and stay awhile!" He pointed to a coat rack beside the table. I shimmied out of it, hung it up, and slid in beside Leigh at the table. "What do you think about the snow?"

"It's amazing. I love it!"

Leigh rested his head in his palm as he leaned in, forthcoming as ever. "It's a real pain once you get used to it but at least it makes everything look nice."

Meanwhile, my eyes were stuck on Lysander and I watched as he put a stainless steal tea kettle on the stove. 'What kind of tea do you prefer, Lunabelle?'

'Anything you have is fine, plain black tea...or green tea.'

'You like green tea?' Lysander held up a box of just that with a smirk.

'Love it, actually. It's my favorite.'

'Me too. I don't know why I continue to be surprised by our uncanny similarities. Do I even have to ask if you'd like honey or not?'

'What do you think?'

Lysander poured some cough medicine into a tiny cup, handing me that to down with a steaming mug of tea and sat beside me as I nursed my runny nose.

"You guys are doing that creepy silent thing again. With the way you talk on the phone incessantly whenever you're apart I thought you'd be a little more talkative in person..."

"Scratchy throat." I shrugged with a smile, stirring the honey at the bottom of my piping tea cup and turning to wink at Lysander, who already wore a knowing smirk hidden from his unceasingly clueless brother.

The last warm sip of the tea slid down my throat and seemed to clear up most of the stuffiness. Blinking, I was already feeling ten times better, and Leigh poked my shoulder with a cocked eyebrow when he noticed that my teacup was empty. "Feeling better?"

I nodded my head with a smile. "Much! That really did the trick, Lysander." I turned to give him an affectionate expression.

"Good, because tea is so boring. Come see my room!" In one swift motion Leigh sprang to his feet and grabbed my hands, pulling me from my chair and to the living room, rushing for the staircase.

"Oh, okay!" I seemingly had no choice but to agree, but a part of me did want to see Leigh's clothing stash that Lysander had told me so much about. Lysander chuckled as he followed us up the stairs and I found myself wondering more than anything which room was his.

'Mine is downstairs. We'll make our way there eventually.'

Leigh led me to his bedroom door, pushing it open and ushering us in. Wide, roomy and a tad bit cluttered, the smell of spray starch, vanilla and cedarwood swirled together like they did most every time Leigh walked into a room. I found myself instantly drawn to the pictures and sketches of different outfits and styles that littered his walls. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room up against the wall, a wardrobe, mannequins, two ironing boards, and a desk with a large sewing machine beside a pair of double doors that I presumed lead to a closet of epic proportions.

"Wow Leigh, your room is great!" I gushed, studying the pictures on the walls and turning my head to take it all in. He smirked deviously and rushed to the closet.

"You haven't seen the best part, yet!"

'Leigh just loves to show off...' Lysander snickered behind me as I followed him inside the enormous walk-in closet, my eyes widening. I simply couldn't hold in a gasp as I peered at the hundreds upon hundreds of clothes that dressed Leigh's closet. It was quite possibly bigger than my bedroom. Rows and rows of colors, all different fabrics, textiles and materials lined the walls, an uncountable number of shoes below them.

I was speechless and took steps closer, running my fingers across each piece, amazed that Leigh had most likely made every article by hand.

'Impressive, huh?' Lysander thought as he watched my astonishment.

'I'd say!'

"So, what do you think?" Leigh asked excitedly.

"Leigh, this is amazing! I know I shouldn't be surprised, but gosh..." I rubbed my fingers over the texture of coats and dresses.

"Oh, I just recently threw this together...it's so Luna." Leigh mumbled to himself, driving his hand through the wall of cloth and plucking a hanger from the rack. My lips parted into a drooling jaw-drop as I gazed at the dress he held up.

Short, snug, and square, it was made with intricate lace overlapping a solid white base. The sleeves were elbow length and the low, round neckline was lined with a solid black collar that matched the thin belt underneath the bodice. I was intrigued by the piece, to say the least, and tiptoed to it grabbing a pinch of the material, my fingertips tickling under the coarse lace.

"This is beautiful..."

"And it's yours!" Leigh dropped the dress in my arms and I instantly held it back out.

"Oh, no...I couldn't. You've given me quite enough already, Leigh. Sell this one. You deserve the profit from your hard work." I was flustered and just shook my head.

'Luna, he enjoys dressing people. It's his thing!' Lysander's thoughts whispered into my mind. It still didn't feel right, though. I was a stranger to taking gifts from anyone at all and it wasn't something I knew how to handle.

"This wouldn't look right on anyone but you...please take it? It's so you, Luna." Leigh whined once more. My cheeks were burning and I sighed, chewing my lip and drawing the dress to my chest.

"Thank you, Leigh. You're too kind; really."

"It's the least I can do for you, Luna. Lysander is the happiest I've ever seen him and it's all because of you! And there's more where that came from; don't forget it!"

Lysander pried the dress from my hands, offering to carry it for me like the gentleman he was, and I was feeling frazzled. I didn't like the attention, and tried desperately to find something that would redirect the focus. I scanned Leigh's room again, taking everything in and processing my surroundings. When my eyes fell on his sewing machine and narrowed in on the details I almost passed out cold on the carpet. There was no way...

"Is...is that a Bernina 830?!" I gasped, rushing to the desk and leaning in to get a better look at the fabled piece of $13,000 technology. I didn't even want to touch it and heard Leigh snicker as he walked over to me with a wild grin.

"Finally someone who recognizes! Yes, this is my baby...she's amazing." Leigh ran a soft hand along the pristine base.

"I'd do just about anything for one of these; the color touchscreen embroidery, LED sewing lights, drag-and-drop stitch combination, free-motion stitch regulator, jumbo bobbin...I'm extremely jealous."

Leigh was glowing and I could feel his thoughts growing eager to share his prized possession with someone who acknowledged its significance. It was the Ferrari of sewing machines and I was kind of freaking out, leaning in as Leigh showed me the mind-blowing technology with the touchscreen. Lysander hung back, laughing to himself as he watched us geek out. He showed me a few of the embroidery designs that he was having trouble with, one being an extremely intricate paisley design that he just couldn't get right. "I just don't know what it's missing, but it's obviously not complete, you know?"

"Yeah..." I droned, grabbing the stylus from his hand and peering up at him. "May I?"

"Be my guest!"

'The incredible Luna to the rescue!' Lysander sang in his head with a smirk.

I chewed my lip, leaning in and tapping the stylus to my chin for a moment before adding a few sweeping vines around the tear-drop shapes. Leigh and Lysander watched on while I combined swirling circles and just a hint of a leaf here, a flower there, among the unidentifiable designs that made up the embroidery. Drawing back the stylus and touching it to my cheek thoughtfully, the design looked whole.

'Wow, Lunabelle...'

"That's perfect!" Leigh leaned in, his mouth agape. He turned to me all at once and cupped my face dramatically with calloused hands. "Marry me?"

Oh Leigh, I can always count on you to say something completely out-of-line and ridiculous. Like that would ever happen!

I just shook my head and laughed as Leigh turned his attention again to the design I drew up for him.

"So, Luna...would you like to see my bedroom?" Lysander blurted, seeing a window of opportunity and taking it. I bit my tongue to hold in squealing excitement and nodded my head.

'Very savvy, brother. Guess it runs in the family...' I caught Leigh smiling to himself in thought and watched as Lysander rolled his eyes, apologizing for his brother's unsubtly needlessly. Leigh's silly thoughts only amused me.

"Well, my wallet is on the kitchen counter if you need it!" Leigh chirped, winking at his brother. Lysander scowled, shooting bashful daggers at him as I giggled softly.

'Lysander the boss...what a proud big brother I am. He had the right idea, taking her here when it started to snow. Now they have an excuse to warm each other up! Touche', little brother. I'll have to remember that one!'

After waving a quick farewell to Leigh, Lysander led me down the stairs in a dash. 'Leigh has always got his mind in the gutter. Sorry about him.'

'Don't apologize! I quite like Leigh. I find his mind amusing. He's not a pervert or anything, he's just blunt. It's funny!'

'Yes, I've never heard any truly terrible thoughts in Leigh's mind. He thinks like the typical man, but he has his controls. I could do without the embarrassment, though.'

As Lysander giggled with his thoughts I stopped at the end of the staircase, gleaming at a picture of a little boy of about one or two with mismatched eyes on the wall. He stared doe-eyed at the camera, a black backdrop highlighting his beautiful silver hair. My lips tugged into an intense smile as I studied the rosy-cheeked baby. 'Mom and Dad always seemed to go with black, as if to emphasize how pale I really am.'

'You were such a sweet baby!' I gushed, biting my lip to quell any unbidden yips of pure bliss. There were others, too, and I took my time in studying every one. Lysander and Leigh as children, posing sweetly in a garden with muddy hands and faces, a younger looking Leigh standing outside a desolate building that would become his shop beaming proudly, and Christmas pictures of the two boys sitting at the same place by a trimmed tree in sweaters. I giggled as I came upon an old school photo of Lysander as a gawky and yet adorable adolescent, black-rimmed glasses framing a scrawny face, his hair in his eyes and his mouth pressed into a hard line.

'You wore glasses?' I pointed, turning to a very grown-up version of the adorably frustrated Lysander in the picture.

He chuckled as he shook his head. 'My eyesight is fine, I just thought I looked cool and unorthodox with fake glasses...thankfully I never smiled back then; you can't see my embarrassing braces.'

'You were positively adorable, Lysander. And you've grown into the most handsome man.'

His lips parted into a subtle smile, and he blushed as we walked to the kitchen. Folding the dress from Leigh and placing it on the island in the kitchen before turning to the hallway, Lysander guided me to the end, opening the last door and letting me slip past him first. When he flicked on the light switch my eyes started immediately darting around the room with wonder.

It was comfortable and cool, light gray walls lined with white borders and black modern furniture stringing the contemporary look together. His room was quite possibly the cleanest in the entire house, everything spotless and in place.

A few abstract paintings adorned the walls along with a large Victorian fan and two long, regal peacock feathers that crossed paths like swords above his perfectly-made up king-sized bed.

His bookshelf overflowed with only the best literature while his dresser was spotlessly bare, but two straight shelves above it held up quirky trinkets that gave the wall some life. A vintage Atari, a medium-sized shark jaw in a shadow box and an elegant Victorian masquerade mask, among other things.

A writing desk sat tucked neatly in a corner with a lamp overhead, and in the right corner stood a compact entertainment system with a television. On the ground across from it was a large, blue beanbag chair; without a doubt the most out-of-place item in his room.

As I gaped at the beauty that was his bedroom he led me to his bed, patting a spot and asking me to take a seat, his eyes fixed on his dresser.

Sitting on the down comforter atop Lysander's bed felt like what I'd think sitting on a cloud would be like, and I pressed my palms to the soft plush as I watched him run a Lysol disinfectant wipe across his already-spotless dresser. I couldn't help but to giggle at his compulsive behavior and he turned to me with a lopsided smirk. 'I told you I had OCD...Th-there was dust. I'm sure I must seem insane."

'Of course not; I think it's quite adorable, actually. Is there anything I can help you with?' Lysander brought a hand to his chin, stroking it thoughtfully as he looked around the room, setting his sights on the beanbag chair.

He took a few steps before backing up and dropping down onto it, his entire body sinking into the conforming beads. He looked to me with a smile and held out his arms. 'You can come over here and cuddle with me...'

My smile was vehement and in an instant I was hurling myself across the room and looking down, trying to figure out how to execute 'cuddling' in such a small space. Not once did I think about how the bed would've been a better alternative, though. The beanbag chair seemed much more appealing, even if there didn't seem to be enough room for the both of us.

Lysander reached out again, this time pulling me down on top of him, and as I straddled his hips with mine there was a hurricane ravaging my soul. My conscience was shaking her head, warning me that this was a little too close for comfort, but I ignored her completely and instead kept my sights set on the smiling face in front of mine.

"I love this beanbag chair; it's so comfortable. Even more comfortable now. I quite like this little arrangement... You're so close."

His words haunted me as I flushed scarlet. He was completely derailing me in one enticing look. He slowly brought his hands to my cheeks and touched his lips to mine, gently at first, over and over again before exposing my neck to his mouth. His teeth skimmed my chin before he began kissing the nape of my neck, and the sparks that each touch left in its wake sent me further into a dangerously lustful trance. His lips trailed back to mine in a turbulent, passionate apogee that soon devoured me whole and I was grabbing his face, pulling him closer as my tongue plunged into his mouth. The traction of the beanbag was our undoing, as Lysander sunk down in, bringing my hips closer to his. I couldn't help but to move them a bit, rocking and grinding against him in a fervent spell that made no sense to me. His fingers skimmed my back occasionally as they worked through my hair and I never wanted to stop this. I didn't know what I wanted from him, but I knew that I wanted him. Our thoughts were almost undetectable, mostly feelings and muffled mutters. All at once we were no longer ourselves. We were wild mouths and daring tongues, tangled hair and eager hips that wouldn't stop for anything.

I lost myself, and it was clear that Lysander did too, especially when his thoughts slipped away from mine in the blink of an eye. He squirmed under me and I pulled away, sensing his sudden discomfort as he surprisingly pushed me from him in one quick sweep.

I caught myself on the carpet and gawked at him as he rubbed his face uncomfortably with his hand, drawing a loud breath and closing his eyes tight. 'I'm sorry Luna...I'm sorry, please just give me a moment to collect myself. I'm so sorry.'

His thoughts were back in mine just as quickly as they had disappeared and I couldn't do anything but stare and blink. I'd done something wrong...I'd scared him, hurt him? I wasn't sure, but it was gut-wrenching to watch him in such turmoil.

'It wasn't you, I promise. It was me. I've never...I don't know. I can't explain it. I'm sorry.' His thoughts dripped guilt, disgust in himself? I was so confused and wanted to cry.

'Luna...I'm sorry.' He looked up from behind his hand, red and panting. 'I thought that I could control myself...I thought I was beyond not being able to control my hormones like most of the mindless, disgusting men on this Earth but I'm truly no better than them at all.' There was pain in his eyes and he shuffled very uncomfortably in the beanbag chair as he gazed at me. 'You make me so weak, Luna. You disarm me.'

'Lysander, please don't feel bad. You weakened me, too. Whatever you wanted, I wanted more.' I sniffled at the end of my thought, rubbing my itchy nose as the drippy sensation washed over me once again. Lysander heard my stuffy thoughts and slowly got up, pulling at his tight pants as he walked across the room to a tissue box. He sat down across from me and handed me the tissue, and I dabbed at my nose, a little unsure of how to use it.

"I'll bet if you blow your nose you'll feel a lot better." He offered a smile, tilting his head as he reached to run his fingers through my hair.

"Blow my nose? H-how?" I was a little embarrassed, and hung my head as my cheeks ran hot. Of course I knew what 'blowing your nose' was, but I'd never had a runny nose in my life...I didn't know how.

"Oh, you sweet, adorable girl..." Lysander smiled as he shook his head, "hold one nostril closed at a time and breathe hard through your nose into the tissue."

After a few blows I instantly felt better, and balled up the used tissue, leaning back to throw it in the trashcan behind me. Lysander gathered my hands in his and bit his lip, his mind racing as he looked at me.

'I really am sorry about freaking out on you, Lunabelle. I didn't want to stop, and I guess that kind of scared me. Mentally, and uh, physically. I just don't want to scare you, too. We're moving so quickly and I'm so new to this...I don't want to mess anything up..."

I wrapped my arms around him, nuzzling my face into his neck and kissing him tenderly. 'That's impossible, Lysander. Everything you do and will do is perfect. I love you so much.'

A/N: THE FLUFF IS CONSUMING ME AND I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.

Stay tuned for more fluff and some big surprises and secrets coming your way. I LOVE writing this story and am blown away by the incredible support and love you guys continue to show me. You have no idea how much it means!

XOXO Exactlyamanda