A/N - First of all I need to say that I hate all things Twilight but I absolutely adore this song and the soundtrack for the latest movie lol. I've been sitting on it for the longest time so I finally bit the bullet. It's total fluff and overly on the lovey-dovey stuff, as most of my songfics seem to be lol, but whatever! Enjoy...
Heart…beats… fast
Colours and promises
How to be brave
How can I love…when I'm afraid…
To fall…but watching you stand alone
All of my doubt
Suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid…I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
What a night. It hadn't been termed as such but he knew it counted as their first official date. After all this time and after all the BS, finally he got to take her out. His eyes watched her as she scanned the area for their waiter. He felt his heart hammering in his chest. God she was beautiful. From her amazing blue eyes that were sparkling in the soft glow of the room to the slight frown starting to worry her forehead at the waiter seemingly ignoring her call; she simply took his breath away. Never before had he been rendered speechless yet there were times when he looked at this beautiful woman across the table from him and his mind went blank. Then she would smile at him and he would almost lose the ability to breath. Jesus he was head over heels for her, he knew it. He didn't stand a chance, hell, he never had. As their storyline progressed so too had their relationship from colleagues to acquaintances to friends to almost lovers then back to friends again and now this. Here they were, out for a meal upon getting the go ahead from her father to start dating again and he honestly just couldn't cope. The depth of feeling and emotion that he had for her was unbelievable.
"Paul?"
Her voice and the feel of her soft hand against his snapped him back to reality and he smiled at her absently. "Yeah?"
"You OK?"
"I'm fine."
Stephanie looked at him curiously, her thumb lightly tracing his knuckles. "You sure? I think you zoned out on me for a second there," she chuckled.
"I did but I'm back now," he grinned, taking both her hands in his and once again getting lost in her eyes. He sucked in a deep breath while his mind worked into overdrive. He wanted this so badly but he was still scared out of his mind. When they had first got together the rumblings in the back had affected him more than he let on. It killed him to know that people thought so lowly of him just because they were dating. It absolutely killed him and felt like a slap in the face. His passion and love for the business always came first. This company wanted for nothing when it came to him. He gave it everything he had and then some. To have that questioned by people he considered friends ate at his gut. More than once he was asking himself whether this was worth it, whether Stephanie was worth it? Did he really want to put his head on the chopping block for something that wasn't even a guaranteed success? He hated to admit it but when they were forced to break apart a small part of him welcomed the split. It meant that he didn't have to choose. The decision was made for him and part of him liked that. It meant that he didn't have to put his heart on the line because Jesus he loved her. He loved her with everything in him yet he was afraid of what taking that final step would mean for his career. As he looked at her tonight, all of that fear and doubt simply disappeared.
"Paul!" Stephanie said again, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she thumped his hand lightly off the table.
"Sorry. You're just too beautiful tonight. It's making me speechless," he admitted shamelessly, absolutely loving the faint blush that stained her cheeks as she ducked her head.
Stephanie looked over at him shyly and smiled softly. "Charmer."
"I can't help it. You take my breath away sometimes, Steph. I really mean that."
She gulped and held his intense gaze. Good God! Was it just her or were there actual sparks of electricity buzzing around them right now? She swore that she could feel them bouncing off her skin. She could also feel something else and that was a deep love for the man that had turned her world upside down. He was her soul mate and she knew it because they had found their way back to each other. After months of separation and too much crap from everybody else who didn't matter, they were finally here eating dinner and could finally start taking things to the next level. Shaking her head in disbelief almost, she squeezed his hands and cocked her head to the side. "Only sometimes?"
Paul broke into a gentle laughter and caught the waiter's attention out of the corner of his eye. The man walked towards them and he grinned at the expression on her face as he asked for the cheque. "Only sometimes. Now you're just making me laugh at that look on your face! It's not my fault you have no waiter-getting skills."
"Oh shut up!" she rolled her eyes, thankful that their conversation had turned more playful. Anymore of what had been going on with them just a few seconds before and she was pretty sure she would have jumped his bones right then and there. A few minutes later, the cheque was paid and they were walking the short distance back to the hotel hand in hand. They walked through the foyer towards the elevator and she buried her head in his chest in an attempt to hide her laughter at the loud, "Asshole!" chant that erupted from a few rowdy fans that had spotted them. She glanced up and this time burst out laughing when Paul flipped them off and ushered her inside the open doors of the elevator. The fans seemed to lap it up for their chants quickly turned to cheers, likely due to the fact that they had seemingly just pissed Triple H off to the point where he decided to react. Wrestling fans were weird that way but so help her she wouldn't change them for the world. "That wasn't very nice," she teased, bumping her hip against his.
"Yeah? Well calling somebody an asshole isn't very nice either," he fake pouted, his eyes gleaming with his laugher before his expression suddenly grew tight. It had happened again. His eyes were transfixed on a wisp of hair that had fallen over her face and was slightly stuck to her lip. He reached up and swept it away, his thumb ever so slightly trailing across her lower lip.
Stephanie sucked in a breath and shut her eyes at the tenderness of his touch. Something was happening between them tonight. She felt it with every look into his eyes and every touch of his hand. Opening her eyes once more, she found his face right in front of hers, his soft breath fluttering over her mouth. There was a moment, a brief moment where everything just melted away to leave only the two of them standing together. And then it happened. His lips pressed gently down on hers and that was it. She was gone. His hand cupped her cheek gently while their mouths fused together in an overdue display of love. The last time he had kissed her had been months ago. She simply couldn't believe this was happening, nor could she believe the sheer and raw love she felt for this man. She was pretty sure that he was going to become everything to her, if he hadn't already.
They slowly broke apart and Paul could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. His thumb once again traced her lip and his final wall of defence came crashing down around him. He wanted this so badly that nothing else mattered. Nothing but her. He reached down and took her hand once again, leading her out of the elevator when it pinged and towards her hotel room. He had intended to just walk her back here and leave but not anymore. Not when he was overwhelmed so much. Not when he needed her this bad. All of the lingering doubts in his head disappeared. They didn't matter. He loved her and wanted to be with her. If that meant dealing with the snide looks and comments from the boys for the rest of his life then so be it. He didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Stephanie and showing her just how much he loved her. They came to a stop outside her room and he kissed her again, completely unable to control himself. He pressed her back against the door and got lost in the feel of her tongue working in tandem with his.
"Paul…..baby we can't…" Stephanie moaned against his mouth before gently pushing him back. She looked at the ground for a moment to gain her composure but lost it instantly the second she looked into his eyes. There was something in them she had never seen before and it penetrated right through her. Maybe this was too soon. They had just got back together. This was moving too fast. His hand caressed her cheek and that was all it took. She had been waiting for him all her life and she wasn't going to wait one second longer. Reaching behind her, she opened the door and took his hand, pulling him inside.
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid…I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
The room was completely silent, save for the gentle breaths that escaped with every rise and fall of her chest. Paul couldn't take his eyes off her. What they had just shared had been the most incredible experience of his life. His hand softly brushed away some wayward strands of hair that had fallen over her face to study her. He hadn't seen anything more perfect and he simply couldn't believe that they were actually going to try this. They were going to give it a shot. A brief flutter of excitement rushed throughout his body at that thought. He knew, all those months back when Vince asked them to break it off, he knew that she was worth taking the risk. But he simply didn't have the strength to stand in the face of adversity and fight it off. His career had meant too much to him. He quickly realized that losing his career meant nothing compared to losing Stephanie. Every day that they spent apart killed him inside. It killed him more than any hurtful comment or snide look ever could. Lying beside her in the aftermath of their first time together, he knew he would have been a damn fool for buying into the hype of everybody around him. Quite frankly, they could all go fuck themselves. Letting out a gentle sigh, he wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her closer, resting his head on the pillow next to her. He wasn't going to let anybody or anything take her away from him. He had let it happen once and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen again. They were forever now. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life waking up just like this. They had finally taken that final step and it had flipped his world upside down. The second their bodies had become one he felt like he was complete, like he was home. Looking at her now, her raw beauty blew him away. His heart swelled at the feel of her gentle breath caressing his face. He felt like he had loved her all his life and he planned on loving her for the rest of it.
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more
One step closer
One step closer
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid…I have loved you
For a thousand years
I love you for a thousand more