Amélie Poulain stared at Nino Quincampoix as he pulled away from kissing her. Her mind was still struggling to make sure that this was not a dream and that this was in fact, real.
Real.
This being real meant that just minutes ago when Nino knocked on her apartment door, she had mistaken him for Dufayel and yelled at him to "Go away." Obviously- he had not, and had interrupted her; revealing that he was not, in fact, Dufayel.
Which was good. She hadn't wanted to see Dufayel right then.
Then the realization of the fact that it had not been Dufayel standing outside of her apartment door, knocking, and it had been Nino out there, had caused her to panic. Nino had been standing outside of her apartment... And he had wanted to come in?
Amélie still had not come to terms with the fact that he was out there, due to the inner turmoil she had faced. She was in love with him, but hadn't felt quite ready to face him just as herself.
Facing Him As Herself.
That meant no more costumes, no more hiding behind window frames, no more photographs of her that hid her face, no more arrows or breadcrumbs, or making her co-workers and friends cover for her while she escaped.
The word that had flown out of her mouth was quiet, but had still been loud enough to be heard through the wood of the door. "No."
He then asked another question that made her war she had been waging on herself grow. "Did she want him to go?"
Her inner turmoil had continued to rage, but that question had been easier to answer. She had wanted him to stay, so she again answered with the negative. "No."
Outside her apartment, it was quiet. Inside her apartment, the only sound Amélie had heard was the beating of her heart in her chest. "Stay," She had said softly, hoping he could hear her through the door.
He could, and he did. He had stayed outside her apartment door. He had stood with his body nearly pressed against it, his left cheek and one of the palms of his hands resting flat against the door. Although he had not spoken, in his mind, he answered Amélie's soft plea. 'I will.'
Unbeknownst to him, on the other side of that door, Amélie had mirrored his position. She had almost heard the song that she would've sung, begging him to stay as she fought with her instinct of forever to flee. She had not though. She had known that she needed to come face to face with him finally, after leading him on wild goose chase after wild goose chase. And even if she wanted to flee, he was probably right outside of her door.
And so, for the first time, Amélie had pushed down the instinct to flee and took a moment to collect herself for what she was about to do. She was about to face Nino Quincampoix.
On the other side of the door, Nino had pulled away so he was standing straight again. He had worried a bit about what he would do if Amélie never opened the door, but ultimately decided he would stay until she did.
Amélie, on the other hand, had worried no longer about what to do when she saw Nino face to face. She just would and they would go from there. She had also pulled away from the door and had rested her hand on the cool metal of the doorknob. After a moment's hesitation, she had twisted it and found Nino staring at her. Nino had opened his mouth to speak, so Amélie had quickly pressed her fingers against his lips to stop him. She had pulled them away after a moment, as he had gotten the message. She had then said nothing as she gently pulled him into her apartment by grasping his jacket.
Nino had let her and the door swung shut behind them, almost as soon as he was across the threshold. He had glanced back at the door when it shut before turning to face Amélie again. He had said nothing and just looked at her, hoping that she knew how he was feeling.
She, in fact, did, as she felt the same. She had let go of his jacket, but kept the same amount of distance between them.
They had stood there for a few moments, trying to decide what would happen now. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Amélie had made the first move.
She had leaned in and kissed the left corner of his upper lip. The pair had briefly made eye contact as Amélie pulled away, then moved to kiss somewhere else. She had moved to the right side of his neck, pressing her lips to it. She had pulled away again then, her nose gently grazed his neck. They had made eye contact again before Amèlie kissed him for a third time. She had then leaned up as he lowered his head a little. She had kissed just a hair's breadth below his left eyebrow. She had then pulled away for a third time as Nino's head rose again.
They had made eye contact yet again and Amélie took her left pointer finger and pressed it to the exact place where she had kissed him first, signaling she wanted him to do to her what she had just done to him. A small smile had twitched on Nino's lips as he moved to do just that as Amélie put her finger back down.
Nino had hesitated just for a moment, but did as Amélie had silently asked. He had kissed the left corner of her upper lip. He had then pulled away and they made eye contact. Amélie then had tilted her head a little to expose the right side of her neck for him to kiss as he leaned down. He had kissed it and gently grazed his nose up her neck and over her cheek a bit. He had then pulled away. He had then leaned back in to kiss just below her left eyebrow. He did so and then as he pulled away, he did what Amélie had not done when kissing him. He kissed her on the lips.
Amélie kisses him back and feels utter bliss as she does so. Things continued to move at very much the same pace after that, as they made their way to her bedroom. She could confirm that everything that had just taken place was very real. No more wondering or dreaming about how things with Nino would be like, she was finding out.
The next morning, Amélie woke up feeling changed. For once, she managed to do the thing that she had not been able to do all her life. Stay. She had stayed. She also feels complete and utter bliss after what had happened the night before. Nino had spent the night with her, and was still fast asleep beside her.
A few hours later, the pair was up and breaking their fast at Amélie's kitchen table. The air, which a few hours before had been still, was now filled with the thick tension of an unanswered question. Where would they go from here?
They were both dreamers. Would they keep dreaming? Would they stay together after the night before or would they go their separate ways? And if they stayed together, would there be troubles and sweet things? Would they be there for one another?
As they finished eating, Nino reached across the table with one of his hands and took one of Amélie's into his own. He squeezed it gently, and suddenly, the tension was gone. They knew the answers to the unspoken questions.
From here, they would move forward together. They would keep on dreaming. They might have troubles, but hoped to have sweet things as well. They would be there for one another when needed.
Amèlie's gaze travelled from where it had been on their intertwined hands to meet Nino's gaze. As she did, a smile graced her lips.