Heya. Without further ado, here is the new chapter... please, if you can, review.

Enjoy xxx

Chapter 22: Home Coming

The brass key had been quietly placed on the elegant wooden table next to the door, the colours of dusk and angst reflecting off its cool bronze coloured surface. When she saw it she would smile at the realisation of what it meant and silently place it amongst the paper and photographs of her desk drawer.

She had forced herself into work but had left the rotunda prematurely, his absenteeism present in the loneliness of his desk. The vacant space and questioning glances drove her home quicker than their daemons had driven them apart earlier the following evening and she had found herself once more in her empty house, perfectly alone and achingly sad.

As her great grandmother's carriage clock struck five thirty in the afternoon she lay there, her arm resting tiredly under her head supporting her neck and throbbing skull. Her eyes were closed, guarding a fragile layer of shallow slumber, her eyelashes flicking every now and than as fatigued and warn out images painted themselves across the darkened arch of her subconscious.

She inhaled deeply as she woke, her saddened eyes opening without stutter or tired flicker. They closed once more as she stretched as if an awakening feline, and she purred slightly as her muscles groaned in retaliation. Her body lay discarded along the couch for a few more moments as she breathed slowly and deeply, her eyes casually drinking in the muted afternoon shade of her surroundings. Her hand explored the back of the seat, hopelessly clawing for the light switch while her other arm remained draped up behind her head where she had thrown it as she woke. A cool charcoal coloured material glossed across her arm as the silken texture of her jacket's lining slid casually up her searching limb. A gentle click coated the silent room and she squinted slightly in the sting of the new and artificial light. In the ache of the cream glow that happily coloured everything it could reach, Sydney attempted to make out the figure that sat across from her as she slowly sat upright.

He'd been there for a while, an almost-there smile tickling his mouth in anticipation and adoration. The dullish jade of his eyes lit to a euphoric emerald as she woke, his tired form taking joy in the fact she did not immediately see him from her position directly opposite him. For a while now his eyes had traced the thin lines of her pinstriped suit as they glided and skipped down her slender and feminine legs. His eyes relished the modest hug of her black tank top, which flirtatiously hid itself under her light summer blazer. He felt his heart flicker as a surge of adrenaline rippled through him as she started to stir. The sheer emptiness he had felt when away from her had overwhelmed him, and he tried not to wish for her to wake nor to count down the seconds to the opening of her sleepy eyes. When the chocolate spheres he knew so well revealed themselves, his world started turning again.

She drank every part of that moment in as the colour hastily returned to the greying and suppressed butterflies flitting across her abdomen. He sat across from her, the contours of his back relaxing into the spongy surface of the armchair. His left arm was bent up from that of the chair, his jaw and chin resting against it, and the back of his hand hid his mouth from her while the knuckle of his thumb rested just above the dip of his chin. There was a gentle silence for a moment or two until his hand moved ever so slightly to free his mouth.

"Hey" he breathed

"Hi" she whispered gracefully in return after a few seconds of recognition and relief with a tiny nod. There was another pregnant silence

"I'm hopelessly in with love you," he declared softly and honestly

"I know" she nodded with a whisper and a nearly there smile of her own

His voice was quiet and slightly hoarse, and a darkened shadow had appeared on the curve of his jaw where stubble had started to form. She didn't see the greyish bags under his eyes or the heavy droop of his eyelashes, love's eye obscuring her vision of imperfection.

Sydney's heart began to palpitate almost violently as he slowly rose from his seat, the thin yet unsevered thread between them never breaking their eye contact. She heard his breath rattle slightly as his emotions broke through, and a glass-like sheen began to flood and cover both their eyes as their heart beats quickened. She shifter ever so slightly as the distance between them vanished

"Vaughn" she exhaled, the sound almost inaudible and the break of her voice nearly unnoticed. He frowned sadly as he knelt before her his body fitting gently in between her knees. She closed her eyes briefly, sighing as the onset of tears marked itself through the crack in her voice. His saddened orbs studied her face as he placed a slightly shaky palm to her cheek, brushing his thumb once against her glowing skin. A quiet and slightly high pitched whimper escaped her as he pressed his lips to her own in what proved to be one of the most emotionally and physically tender kisses they would ever experience together. He felt the cherished tickle of one of her tears stain his cheek and he could feel his own composure crack as he fell even further in love with her.

"Where did you go?" she whispered into him in between kisses, placing a hand to his cheek, her fingers occasionally skipping and stroking through the softness of his dishevelled hair. Her eyes searched his face and he knew she was talking about more than his visit to the beach "Where did you go?" she repeated in a muted sigh and a slight shake of the head

"It doesn't matter" he softly replied wiping her cheekbones and jaw with the back of his fingers. "I'm here now" he kissed her temple "I'm home" his voice broke as he continued, the raw sound of his emotion clawing at his words "I'm so sorry Sydney" he croaked, kissing her once more, finishing quietly with another crush of his lips "I'm so sorry... forgive me."

"I'm sorry," she corrected, placing a soft and forgiving kiss to the corner of his mouth and another on his neck. "Forgive me." She whispered

"I love you" he hushed in her ear after a small moment, the warmth of his breath mingling tastefully against her skin with that of his words and his actions. A pleasant shudder raced through her body, tickling her spine with its nimble fingers.

"I love you too." She returned dusting her nose against his neck, her fingers running through her hair as she pulled away slightly allowing a lover's silence "Make love to me" she whispered slowly and quietly into his ear, her lips brushing against him once more. It was his turn to shiver.

Carefully and with great tenderness, Michael turned his head towards her mouth letting his eyes slip closed as he kissed her again, a passionate chocolate sensation oozing from his movements. She hummed sadly into him, languorously placing her arms around his upper back. A few moments later he could feel the weak crush of her legs wrapping themselves around his waist, pleasantly trapping him in her warmth. At the same time Vaughn slowly and distractedly stood, and without breaking their gentle contact carried her across the space towards the place where his heart belonged. He tenderly complied to her soft demand, hushed 'I love yous' and gentle wishes of forgiveness being shared and fulfilled as they wholly and completely gave each other their bodies, their hearts and their souls once more, strengthening their bond and re-defining love.

He was home.

Thanks SO SO much for reading. I am truly very sorry its been so long for an update and the talkis approaching...just stick with me! The chapters will be com ing more frequently now (in theory :P) so watch this space!

P.s it's my birthday! Yay! Thanks for reading, Dani xxx