Later when Ruth and Harry are both tangled in the sheets, Ruth finally dares to speak. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming." Ruth whispers into Harry's chest.
"If you're dreaming then we're both having the same dream. Pinch me and we'll see if we're dreaming." Harry mumbles slowly.
Ruth reaches around and pinches Harry's bum. "Did you feel that?" Ruth asks slyly.
"Ow! Yes, I did feel that! Did you have to pinch me there?" Harry asks indignantly.
"I thought it would be sexy." Ruth explains. She slowly and gently draws designs on Harry's chest.
"It was nice. Interesting to note you have such a nice fascination with my bum." Harry teases. He runs his hands over Ruth's body and pulls her against him.
"Well, at least we know that we're not dreaming. This has been so wonderful. I can't believe this happened finally." Ruth says as she puts her arms around his neck.
"Was it everything you wanted it to be? Did you ever imagine this moment?" Harry asks looking down into Ruth's eyes.
"I imagined it probably more than was healthy. Somehow you ended up in my dreams and my nightmares every single night. Tonight was everything I wanted and so much more. It was perfect and I feel so loved right now. The experience was everything I expected of the two of us. You were so gentle and kind, Harry. I love you." Ruth looks deep into Harry's eyes and both loves and is surprised by the emotion he's displaying.
"God I love you, Ruth. Tonight was so brilliant. It was absolutely beyond anything I'd dared to hope for or anything I'd imagined. I've spent so many nights awake, staring at the ceiling thinking about this moment and how special it would be. It's been so much more special. You were amazing." Harry pushes Ruth's hair out of her face. Ruth blushes demurely under Harry's praise. "No, really, you have to believe me and believe in yourself a little more. You were amazing and you always have been. You know, considering how long we've been wondering and dreaming about this moment it's remarkable that it lived up to both our expectations."
"I think the reality of happy moments is always better than dreaming about it because the reality makes the moment even happier. I don't think I've ever seen you so happy, Harry. It's nice to see." Ruth twirls a curly chest hair around her finger.
"It's nice to see you so relaxed, Ruth. I'm used to seeing you calm and poised in crazy situations, but I don't think I've ever seen you quite so relaxed." Harry smiles at Ruth.
"You've never seen me quite like this before at all. Never mind that you've never seen me so relaxed. We've also never told each other that we love each other. I've never been this comfortable just the two of us. You've never seen me naked either. We've broken a lot of barriers tonight." Ruth teases as she runs her fingers over Harry's chest.
"And I'm so glad we did finally get rid of some of our inhibitions. It's simply not worth it to carry all those worries in our personal life. We already worry so much in our professional lives and I know that's sometimes difficult to separate." Harry sighs heavily and traces some of the freckles on Ruth's bare shoulder, peeking above the covers.
"It's not always going to be easy and there are going to be times when our personal lives are going to be affected by work. There are going to be times when we're frustrated at our lack of personal time because of our jobs, but if we don't at least try to be together like this then we're doing ourselves a disservice. I love you, Harry, and I am absolutely unwilling to give up my happiness to my career anymore." Ruth absentmindedly traces a scar on Harry's chest from his early days at 5.
"I've sacrificed too much to my career already. I'm certainly not going to add your name to my list of sacrifices. The job is not worth it anymore." Harry kisses Ruth's forehead.
"Well, at least we both have our priorities straight finally. It took us long enough." Ruth smiles into Harry's chest.
"It took us far too long."