It was a breath caught in her throat, and the world stopping around her.
"Rin?" a familiar voice said, something that sent warm honey rolling down her chest.
Rin shifted her gaze to meet his, curious, questioning, careful. "Len."
Then her breath came back again, all at once, an ocean wave crashing against her back and starting the world up again.
Len's lips quirked in that way she fawned over in high school, mischievous and oh-so-loveable. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she moved her hand over it, trying to steady its beating.
"It's been a while, hasn't it."
It didn't take much until it was hot breath and the scent of alcohol tickling the tip of her nose.
They had tucked themselves away into a dark pocket on the street, away from prying eyes, stealing away at each other's heat.
Len's warm lips slid over hers and she tilted her head back, hands finding his shoulders, fingers pressing into the rough knit of his sweater. His palm sat in the nape of her back, thumb tracing circles through her cardigan that wasn't really enough for this chilly autumn night.
But in his arms, it didn't really matter.
Their mouths parted, wet and glistening, and with a laugh, he asked, "Should we be doing this?"
Yes , her heart thrummed. Yes, yes, a million times yes. Pull me into your arms and dance with me across the moon. I want to be yours forever.
But the words didn't make it out. Instead, she mustered a small, watery smile.
His arms wrapped around her shoulders, warmth radiating through the fabric of her shirt.
Rin sighed into his embrace, reaching up to hold his wrists in place. Don't let me go.
"You were dreaming?" Len murmured into her neck, hot air splashing against her skin.
The pillowcase under her face was wet. Her heart was tumbling in her chest, like she'd just run a marathon. It was only six in the morning; a slither of grey light peering through a crack in the curtains.
"Mhmm," was her best answer.
He kissed her shoulder, ticklish, loving; it left an imprint that spread a wildfire over her skin. "What was it about?"
Something, something, losing the one you love. But it was already beginning to fade, just leaving the scars of the horrible sensations she'd experienced only moments earlier.
"I can't remember," she lied, just wanting to bask in his company.
Len's hand fluttered to her hair, brushing it back, tucking it carelessly behind one ear. His fingertips glazed over her cheeks, before coming to rest on her waist.
"I love you, Rin," he said, a croak more than anything.
She replayed his words in her head. She wanted to hear them over and over again. Whispered to her in the night, murmured against her mouth, only for her and no one else. Was it selfish to want this so much?
Rin let herself relax into him, becoming clay in a mold, fitting to him as a puzzle piece. "I love you too, Len."
With his deep breathing the only sound in the room, she wished for them to be together like this forever.
hi have i told you how much i love rinlen? i love rinlen.