Lauren could feel something wet drop onto her cheek, confused she shifted her gaze to meet Bo's, only to be meet with closed eyes and tears running down her cheeks. Lauren felt her heart breaking slightly as she moved her thumb to wipe away one of her stray tears.
"Bo." Lauren cooed moving her hand from her cheek so that she could start running fingers through her lover's hair. What was going through Bo's mind? She rarely allowed herself to cry like this, to allow tears to escape, even when she looked like she was about to cry.
It was a little surreal; actually the last twenty minutes had been surreal. Going into Dyson's memories in order to get Bo, to make sure that she came out alive. The decision had been an easy one to make; she would never let anything happen to Bo if she could prevent it, even if that meant risking her own life.
When she had tied the red string around her ankle she had not expected to come back. Humans couldn't use the power of the red string; they couldn't use it at least without risking their lives. But she had been pulled back, after Bo had left, she had expected to stay in Dyson's memories, she hadn't expected to be able to escape.
But she had, something had given her the strength, given her the power to severe her red string when she shouldn't have been able to. And when she had regained awareness, she had felt Bo kissing her, and as soon as she had enough control over her body she had responded.
When Bo had pulled back, she hadn't spoken, she hadn't said anything, and she hadn't been sure if it was still Bo, or if she had…
She had been so afraid, so afraid that she had lost the woman she loved. And then Bo had spoken, the words she had hoped for, but not expected.
"I love you."
That had been a kind of strange moment for her, she hadn't been completely able to process it.
Bo had said that she loved her without any prompting, without any reason too.
The sound of a small chocked sob escaping brought Lauren back to the present. Bo. Lauren murmured a little before shifting her head slightly to nuzzle Bo's nose with her own, letting a soothing sound escape for her mouth.
"Honey open your eyes… for me, please?" She cooed, her heart starting to break at seeing the normally strong woman in front of her reduced to tears. The term of endearment had slipped into her words without her meaning to, but right now it felt right, it felt natural, and if there was a moment to slip, then it was more then likely this one.
A few seconds passed before she saw Bo open her eyes, her beautiful, watery, brown eyes. Lauren could see the emotions reflected in them: sadness, anger, hurt, love, and relief. All of them shining through in the eyes staring into her own. She brought her hand back to rest on Bo's cheek, moving to wipe the tears that were still leaking out of her eyes away.
But there was also something else, something about the way Bo was looking at her. She was looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. Lauren shifted her head slightly so that she could look at Bo better. A few seconds passed where they simply held each others gazes. Lauren could feel her heart slowly breaking more and more at the vulnerability creeping into Bo's eyes.
She tilted her head up to capture Bo's lips with her own, trying to convey to the woman in front of her what she meant to Lauren, just how much she loved her. That despite everything they had gone through she was here, and she would not walk away.
She felt Bo pull away from her a few seconds later, but she didn't move far, her face still hovering over Lauren's own.
"You're it." She heard Bo murmur again, a tone of finality in her voice, a hint of relief, and awe as if she had just realized what that meant. What did that mean? You're it. Lauren glanced up at Bo again, and saw something reflected in them, something she hadn't seen since Hecuba, since Bo said to her "It's time". And in that moment she knew.
Without Bo saying anything, she knew.
Bo had made her choice. And against all odds it was her.
Lauren leaned up to kiss Bo again, softly, brushing her thumb against her cheek, capturing more tears as they fell from her eye. She felt Bo shifting a hand behind her head, resting it gently against her hair.
Pulling away for a brief moment she felt her mouth moving, heard herself whispering. "It's time"
Yes. It was time. It was their time.
And this time it would always be their time.
Because this was their last chance, their last try.
Bo's declaration didn't change anything; it didn't change the fact that everything between them was still wrong, still toxic, and the fact that they kept hurting each other over and over in a never ending repetition. It didn't change the fact that the woman she loved was different, that she was slowly becoming someone and something else. It didn't change the fact that they were on break, or broken-up, she still wasn't sure herself.
The fact that Bo had betrayed her more then once, the fact that they had both slept with other people.
The fact that Bo had broken her promise of "No Dyson" at least once, if not more times.
The fact that she was caught in a love square with a wolf-shifter, who in some odd way she couldn't bring herself to hate anymore. And in an even odder way was actually her friend, and possibly the only person who could understand her situation.
The person she had competed with Bo's affections for the last two years.
And the newest addition to the odd love triangle, whom ended up turning into a squared. The reason that their relationship had to be put on hold/ended. A far to nosy, and hard to trust Valkyrie, who Bo seemed to like and prioritize above her when they were together.
It couldn't change the fact that towards the end their relationship had become broken without any hope of repair. That the burden of maintaining everything had fallen on her. That despite there being two people in it, everything had fallen to her, just like it always did.
It didn't change the fact that Bo had hurt her, more then once, that she had been cheated on and lied to. That she had been kept out of the loop of the most important events in her girlfriend's life. That she hadn't been allowed to be there and support her, to actually be her girlfriend, instead of only her friend.
It didn't change the fact that after everything that happened with Kenzi, with the Kitsune, with the dawning, they had never talked about it. That they had never talked about what went wrong in their relationship, about what happened at Taft's laboratory and afterwards.
It also couldn't change the fact that she was hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Bo. That despite all of her flaws, her stupidity, her selfishness, her immaturity, her naivety, the fact that they were in a way toxic to each other, that they constantly hurt each other, lied to each other.
She, Lauren Lewis, loved the woman in front of her, Bo Dennis, or Isabeau McCorrigan, without condition, and without reservation. And it was scary as hell.
It didn't change anything. It didn't change the situations she found herself in, the reasons that her heart kept breaking. It didn't change anything about her situation and all the problems she had just thought of. It didn't change the pain and the heart break that she had suffered because of her actions, of Bo's actions, of the fact that the entirety of the world they lived in was against them.
It didn't change the fact that she no longer had a reason to fight for Bo, to fight for them.
Yet it changed everything.
Because she suddenly did have a reason to fight for the brunette in front of her again. To fight for them, or at the very least the hope of them again one day. She suddenly didn't have to worry about that love square coming to haunt her, about those people have the chance to steal Bo away from her.
Because Bo had made a choice, and she had chosen her, of all of them, of the Valkyrie and the wolf-shifter and the insatiably curious human doctor.
She had chosen the insatiably curious human doctor.
Bo had chosen her. The very human her. The very scientist, the very doctory her. The curious human. The oddball. The stupidly naïve human.
This incredibly selfless, big-hearted, vulnerable, afraid, naïve, selfish, immature, childish, so incredibly loving, noble, valiant, stupid, and incredible woman had chosen her.
It meant that Bo had realized something, and hopefully it meant that she was willing to talk.
This all…
It felt…
Surreal.
That was the best word to describe this. Surreal.
As if it were a dream.
She felt herself tearing up at the thought.
If she was still stuck in Dyson's memories. Or if she was dying from using the red string. If this was her dying dream, then at least allow her to slip away in peace.
Lauren pulled away from the kiss again and brought her other hand up to cup Bo's cheek.
It was real. Bo felt solid and real underneath her hands. She could feel the weight of Bo's body leaning on top of her.
She tugged gently on Bo's head until she felt her forehead rest against her own, her breath mingling with Bo's.
She could feel the rise and fall of Bo's chest against her own. She was breathing, taking in oxygen and the other gaseous components of the air surrounding them and expelling carbon dioxide, water vapour and other gases.
Lauren shifted her arms until they were wrapped around Bo's waist, where she pulled slightly, encouraging Bo to rest her weight against her.
Everything felt solid, everything felt real. Bo was breathing, her weight solid, the hand resting against her side had started to trace patterns.
So it is real. Not a dream.
Lauren let out a laugh, as she felt a grin split onto her lips, as tears started to build up behind her eyes. She allowed them to fall.
Looking up she smiled at Bo, whom she could see was starting to cry again, happy tears cascading down her cheeks.
Lauren reached out and cupped her cheek, guiding their lips together again.
Bo was real. This was real. This was solid, and she was solid, they were both solid.
It hit her.
She was happy.
She was honest to god happy.
Bo had chosen her and it was real.
It didn't change their situation, nor did it change the fact that they really needed to talk about pretty everything.
It didn't change the fact that she would not let Bo back into her life as anything other then a friend, without tremendous action and changes on Bo's part.
What it did change was the possible direction of their future.
Suddenly the idea of calling Bo her girlfriend again wasn't the most foreign one.
Suddenly the fantasies she'd entertained for them and dismissed, calling herself an idiot, could become a reality.
Because finally, finally Bo had made a choice, and made a commitment.
And it was to her.
And it changed everything.