He could feel her presence even as the room shifted into darkness. As the night took away his vision his hearing sharpened. He could hear her breathing; it was the sweetest sound that he had ever heard. Well, not exactly the sweetest sound, the sweetest sound was something he didn't want to think about considering he didn't want to get a hard on with her sleeping just three feet away. It hitched a few times and he could tell that she was crying but trying to hide it from him. Gradually the sounds of her sobs died down and then eventually it fell into deep breaths of slumber.
She shifted in the bed and let out a gust of air. One of her hands dangled off of the bed and he had to fight the urge to reach out and grab it. He knew that he had to take this slow. He could tell that she didn't know how to act around him anymore. It was all his fault. He groaned anxiously and covered his face with his hands. God, how had he been so stupid as to leave her?
He heard her shift again and then he saw her head poke out from the top of the bed. She had never been a light sleeper when they were together but perhaps she had changed over the years they had been apart.
"You ok?" she whispered.
He stared at her a moment, admiring her in the moon lit water light. She looked so beautiful. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before he could even realize he was doing it. She flinched away from his hand but he saw her smile slightly to herself afterwards.
"Uh…yeah, I'm fine." He murmured back.
She nodded and made to fall back onto the bed.
"I missed you." He whispered to her before he could stop himself.
She froze. The silence pressed in on him and he wished, for once in the entire time he had been on this damn island, that the whale would go ahead and eat him up.
"I missed you too." She whispered back so quietly that he could barely hear. "But you broke my heart and I don't know where we stand anymore."
He heard her gasp. He knew almost immediately that she was sobbing. At that moment he hated himself so much he willed himself to stop breathing then and there. He sat up and fluttered his hands awkwardly around here. What was he supposed to do? He was pretty sure that he was the last person she would want comforting her.
"Elle," he whispered, secretly loving the way her name felt on his tongue. "Elle, I'm so sorry."
He could feel his throat closing as his emotions took over. He sobbed her name over and over. For a few minutes they cried together, just a few feet away from each other. Then suddenly he felt her hands on the tops of his arms and her head on his shoulder. He felt the wet warmth of her tears on the skin of his neck as he closed his arms around her, locking her in his embrace.
"I'm so sorry." He chanted, rocking her back and forth. "I'm so sorry."
He felt her straining against his arms and he let her lean back to look into his eyes. She looked sheepish and he wondered if she was embarrassed that she had fallen into his arms so quickly. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes.
"I'm seeing someone." She whispered and his heart dropped. "Well, at least I was."
"You're what?" He said.
She fiddled with her fingers and started edging away from him. "I met someone in Australia and we went out a few times. His name is Riley."
He ran a hand through his hair. He took in her form; she was kneeling in between his legs anxiously playing with her fingers.
"You met someone else?" He whispered still not believing her.
She nodded and then looked up at him. "You left and I needed to get over you."
"Get over me?" He repeated back to her. "Why would you want to get over me?"
She looked at him like he was crazy. "You left me. I waited for you and you never came. So I found someone to take your place."
He reached out to put a hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes and he saw a tear slide down her cheek. He wiped it away with his thumb and she pulled away.
"'D, what we had was great but things are different now." She whispered. "I think that what we have has come and gone."
"What? No!" He exclaimed, his voice rising in pitch. "No, no, no, Elle! I love you. I love you so much. I can't live without you. I shouldn't have left you. It was one of the worst decisions I have ever made in my entire life and I realize that now. We can try again and I promise I won't leave you."
Elle's eyes welled up with tears. He knew, if he still had tear ducts, his would already be rolling down his face. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She shook her head and climbed back into the bed.
"I can't 2D. I just can't." He heard her whisper before he watched her bury her face in the pillow that was once his and let out a muffled sob.
He stared up at the ceiling forcing himself to stay on the floor and not try to make her love him. It was his fault she wasn't his anymore and this was going to be his punishment. Like one of the circles of Hell, he had broken her heart so now she was going to be mere feet away from him and he wouldn't be able to have her. He covered his face with his hands again and took a deep cleansing breath.
He was still in love with her. He was pretty sure that his entire existence depended on her. She was his light, his life, his everything.
He rolled over and closed his eyes trying to block out the image of kissing her after she read the song he had written about her or the image of her curled up around him, her head resting on his chest, after a night of exhausting yet satisfying love making. He tried to block out everything but he could still feel the hole of loneliness biting through his stomach, even though he knew she was just three feet away.
"Stuart." He heard a whisper. It was right in his ear and even before he opened his eyes he knew who it was. Elle.
He gasped. There she was, standing in front of him completely exposed. He rose to his feet quickly and pulled her to him, lavishing her with kisses which she eagerly returned. His heart swelled in his chest. She wanted him, she still loved him. God, she was right there in front of him baring everything she was to him. He ran a hand down her body and back up. It was beautiful, every piece of bone, muscle, nerves, and skin that made up Elle Mede's body.
"God, I love you so much." He choked out in between kisses.
"I know." She whispered back, red tears running down her face.
Wait, red tears?
2D pulled back and wiped a tear off of her face. It smeared across her cheek. Red like blood. He looked down at his fingers. They too were smeared with blood.
"Elle?" He asked, completely confused.
She didn't answer him, just crying those blood tears.
"I'm dead without you." She whispered.
"What? You've got me, I'm right here!" He exclaimed as he took in the open wound opening above her left breast, right where her heart would be. "I'm always here. I've always loved you! You can't be dead because I'm right here! Stop bleeding!"
He was panicking now. The blood just kept coming. Drenching him in her life essence, it mixed into his hair turning it a dull purple. He put a hand over the wound and tried to keep her alive.
She collapsed against his chest. Shaking he pulled her close to him, knowing it was only a matter of minutes before her soul left her body, left him.
"You're dead without me." She murmured into his ear.
Then he felt the sharp prick of pain in his left shoulder. He held her away from him to look down at his own opening wound. He looked up at Elle confused, why was she doing this to him? She smiled a bloody smile at him.
"But dead, we'll always be together." She whispered before her eyes rolled back into her head and she gave one last shuttering breath.
"Elle." He murmured through tears. They were leaking out of his empty eyeholes and dripped down onto her blood soaked chest, red tears mixing with red blood.
He knew he was going to die, he had just watched her go through the same ordeal. But he didn't have anyone to utter his last words to. Just the shell of the woman he loved. He lay down beside her and buried his face into her hair. It was sticky with both of their blood but he didn't care. He was already drenched. He took a shaky breath and inhaled the scent of her hair.
"I love you." He whispered as the darkness overcame him.
2D sat up and screamed. His hands patted down his chest, looking for any gaping wounds. They wound themselves into his hair, searching for any matted blood but there was none. It was just a dream. Just a stupid dream. It didn't mean anything.
Elle was by his side immediately.
"What's wrong?" She asked frantically, her hands fluttering around him.
He looked up at her, his eyes wide. She was staring back at him, worried, alive. He grabbed her face between his hands and dragged her lips onto his. He kissed her with all he had, spilling the feelings that he couldn't get out with words into that one kiss. She tried to pull away but he held her fast, loving the way her lips moved against his, even when she wasn't kissing back. He poured his heart and soul into her. And then just as soon as it had happened, it ended. She pulled loose and stared at him. They looked at each other for one long moment before she looked away.
"I-I had a nightmare." He whispered. "I'm sorry I frightened you."
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked hesitantly.
He lay back down, turning away from her. "No, not really."
She didn't say anything and in a few minutes he heard the creak of bed springs as she crawled back into the bed. They both lay awake for hours until he finally heard her breathing deepen, leaving him alone to his thoughts.
The dream was just a dream. It was the stress of being imprisoned on this island plus the fact that Elle was here but not with him. But the words she had whispered before she died still echoed in his mind.
But dead, we'll always be together.
Oooh, spooky.
Is it bad that I'm completely and utterly in love with this chapter? Does that make me shallow? Eh, fuck it. This chapter is the bomb. I personally think its my best chapter. But that's just me. I don't usually brag about my accomplishments.
So the dream...yeah, I don't really know where I'm going to take that...maybe I should have thought that through. Oh well. The inspiration will hit me soon. Like maybe right about now. Hmmm...ideas you are wonderful.
mmm, Dr. Spencer Reid, you sexy beast.
Anyhoo, goodnight good people of fanfiction. Please stay classy and be sure to tip your waiter.