Disclaimers: Were the mine in the first seven chapters? No... and they still aren't, dammit..
A/N: Enjoy... I'll update ASAP..
"Through Thick and Thin"
Part Eight
There is truly nothing like a good pee. I'm hovering over some dingy rest stop toilet, praying what whatever it is that's growing on the toilet seat doesn't end up jumping off of it and onto me...
I can hear Harm humming just outside the door. I don't recognize the song..
Once my business is done, I wash my hands. Unfortunately, I look into the mirror. I don't recognize the person who is staring back at me... Her hair is too long, dark circles rest beneath her eyes... I frown. That poor girl, she probably hasn't been taking care of herself... She's been too busy being weak and walking around in pain to notice that she's losing the once firm grip she used to have on her life...
"Who are you, and what have you done with the real me?" I whisper to the girl trapped in the glass.
I run my fingers through my hair and close my eyes. I can't face her, not now... Maybe not ever...
"Who were you talking to?" He asks, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around me.
"The girl in the glass." I answer, immediantly realizing that my tone is going to give me away.. This man knows me too well...
"Is everything okay?" He asks, pulling my hair into a loose ponytail. He brushes it aside and trails kisses down my neck.
A warm wave of longing floods my very soul and I open my eyes. I am surprised by how much my reflection has changed.
I know it's not possible... But the proof is staring back at me.. The dark circles have disappeared, and suddenly, my long hair makes me more beautiful. My eyes are full of a fiery longing, full of a life only one person can breathe into me...
"It is now." I tell him, smiling at myself in the mirror. The girl smiles back at me and I laugh...
"I love you." He whispers into my ear, his hands roaming the length of my backside and torso.
"I love you too." I tell him, turning around to face him. I give him a kiss and run my hand up his chest... Again, that familiar warm wave of longing washes over me...
"You ready to go?" He asks, looking me in the eyes.
I have always loved that about him. He is as big on eye contact as I am.. And his eyes... His eyes are so full of emotion.. so many emotions all at once.. Right now they are full of love, longing, passion, and a hint of something that shockingly resembles nervous anticipation.
"Lets go, Navy." I say, slipping my hand into his. We walk back to the SUV and he follows me around to the passenger side to open the door for me.
"Thank you." I say, smiling up at him.
"You're welcome." He says, smiling back at me.
Once back down the path he gets out and starts messing with the back seats. To my surprise, they fold down and he spreads a blanket out and tosses a pillow my way. I catch it and smile. We're going to lay in the back of his SUV and stare up at the stars...
"Please tell me you don't think that this is stupid." He says, motioning for me to join him.
"Am I going to be with you all night?" I ask, crawling over my seat and into the back of the SUV.
"That's the plan." He says, smiling.
"Harm, nothing we do together is stupid..." I assure him, stretching out next to him.
"There's a meteor shower tonight, sometime after nine I think." He tells me, propping himself up on one elbow, staring at me intently.
"We've got 17 minutes and 12 seconds 'til nine..." I inform him.
He smiles at me and I can't help but return his smile.
"You know that I love you, right?" He asks, his eyes full of love and concern.
"Yes, and you know that I love you." I tell him, scooting closer to him, suddenly aware of the distance between us. I snuggle up next to him and he continues.
"I live and breathe for you... You're the reason I get up in the morning, and when I wake up and you're next to me, I feel complete, whole.. It's like finding the last peice of a puzzle that you've been searching for all your life. I woke up this morning and I just knew.. I knew that you are what has been missing from my life, you're the puzzle piece that completes my puzzle..." He says, and I can feel the tears forming..
"I just want you to know... you're the most important person in my life, and I have loved you since the moment I first layed eyes on you.. I didn't know it then.. but it didn't take too long to figure it out... I ran from it, I was... I was scared.. scared of so many things... So, I ran.. I ran from the truth. I ran from you.. I don't want to run anymore.. I'm not going to run from this, from us.." He tells me. He has run out of words and so he falls silent.
Tears are streaking down my face as I look up into his eyes. He wipes away my tears and kisses me.
"You complete me." I whisper, leaning in close to him...
During the meteor shower, we stare up at the sky in silence..
Once the meteor shower is over, we somehow manage to position ourselves so that it is possible for us to make love in the back of his SUV.
In between passionate sighs and deep, guteral moans, he tells me how much he loves me...
For once, these words are said, and I take them to heart.. For the first time in my life, I feel loved...
I am loved...
