25 – But touch my tears with your lips. Touch my world with your fingertips. And we can have forever and we can love forever. Forever is our today." – "Who Wants to Live Forever" – Queen
As Cameron lazily opened her eyes, House's lean face swam into view. He was slowly kissing her face, her neck, her lips. His hands began floating along her body, gently brushing back and forth across her stomach before tenderly caressing her breasts. She moaned both in pleasure and anticipation and as she did so, his tongue moved into her mouth, gently stroking the inside.
She noticed the tears that still glistened on his cheeks but she was soon too preoccupied by their second round of lovemaking to ask him about it. Neither did she wish to break the profound silence now reigning over them; a peace that cast a powerful spell over everything. There was palpable magic in this room, in this world they had created together.
The second binding of their bodies seemed to forever seal this enchantment. This time was characterized by even more sensitivity, more ardor on House's part. Cameron realized that all the times House had insinuated or boasted about being talented regarding his prowess in the bedroom was not bragging at all. If anything, he had underplayed his skills.
They did not fall asleep again afterwards but instead rested together, he reclining on his back and she laying her head against his chest, her blonde hair cascading across his body while she listened, mesmerized, to the beating of his heart.
House felt himself torn between asking Cameron her thoughts and simply basking in the stillness of their afterglow. He satisfied himself with the continuing serenity, gently stroking her hair and her face with his right hand while his left arm pulled her body close to his own. From this time forward, he knew he could never be close enough to her. The intolerable demon of loneliness could only be exorcised from inside her, while lying in her arms and planting unending kisses upon her full lips.
Cameron felt as if she had fallen into a dreamlike trance. She slowly opened and closed her eyes, feeling her head rise and fall against his chest with his every breath. She thought back through all the years she had known House, the few precious times that she had seen glimpses of his heart before. But today, she felt as if she saw into his very soul and experienced it fully for the very first time.
She had opened her heart to him and he had responded in kind. Their words fell so far short of their emotions and the connection between them that it was as if they had both been struck dumb and were the better for it. They communicated through their senses and actions alone, their lips, their hands, their eyes, their guttural, wordless sounds of pleasure, all bespoke of their joy at finding one other human soul, one other contact to cherish as a balm to their wounded psyches.
Was it something that would last? How far could they make it together? These were not questions that intruded upon them. They were not valid. They were not significant.
That two broken pieces, or in this case two broken people, had come together and created something whole and infinitely more beautiful was the only thing that mattered. Questions of time were of no account. They had already created an eternity that existed for only now.
For these two outcasts however, eternity could not last forever. While neither wanted to leave the room, to fly this universe that existed only within its boundaries, both knew that they could no longer stay nor avoid the outside world forever.
Their thoughts began to weigh heavily upon them. If either had spoken, the other would have been grateful for the respite from what had become a depressing silence and the isolation and fear they both felt once they had slipped each other's embrace.
But they did not speak as they dressed and gathered their meager belongings. When they were ready to go, House, even more than Cameron, felt the finality of it, that once they walked out the door, they might never be like this with one another again. Perhaps it was Cameron's irrepressible hopeful outlook that made her feel like everything would work out. Or more likely, it was House's self-knowledge that no matter what good might happen in his life, he would, more than likely and sooner rather than later, screw it the hell up.
Be that as it may, House felt the need to make their exit, not dramatic, but somehow memorable; a pleasant memory, as sweet as the recollection of being held in her arms would always be for him. Standing in front of the door, he suddenly turned to Cameron who was directly behind him. He looked deeply into her eyes and took her hand. Raising it to his lips, he kissed the back of her hand very gently, then turned it over and kissed her upturned palm.
Cameron cupped his face with her hand. She reached up and kissed him warmly on the cheek. He closed his eyes in a torrent of emotion and lightly kissed her in return. Then he took her hand again and brushed his face against it before turning his back to her to open the door.
She understood this gesture on his part, understood the finality of it. Wordlessly, she followed him out to the bike where they put on their helmets and mounted the motorcycle once more. They had left the ocean far behind them by the time she had finally run out of tears.