"Annie," Elio breathed, gazing deeply into her eyes to see the stars. Annie's eyes. He couldn't help the smile that overtook his face just at the thought of it. Annie. Full of grace. It was perfect for her. As he looked into the night sky of her eyes, Elio realized how wonderful it would be to drown in them, to fall into the depths of murky black and find himself placed amongst the stars. Her stars. Annie's.

"Annie," he said again because the sound of it coming from his lips was just too beautiful for him to believe it. His Annie. She was his beautiful Annie.

Elio couldn't help it. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, marveling at the smell of warm vanilla on his Annie's skin. "Annie," he whispered against her skin."Annie, Annie, Annie," he murmured, each time kissing another part of her face. First, he peppered her cheeks, then her forehead, then her jaw, before finally pecking each part of her face, whispering her name each time. "Annie... Annie... Annie."

Her name was like a prayer and he was a sinner desperate to repent.

"Annie. My Annie," Elio mumbled against her neck where his lips lay. To his surprise, she never moved. In fact, he could have sworn he felt her breath hitch when he kissed the column of her throat, the delicate spot where it meant her collarbone. Elio shuddered when he heard it, knowing that if he was ever lucky enough to make love to her, that would be a spot he would return to many times. He could already picture himself biting it as he buried into her. Buried into Annie.

"My name has never sounded so pretty," she whispered. Those night eyes were staring at him as if he were a new man, as if he had made his way past another one of her many walls. You can trust me, Little Mouse, he wanted to say. I will never deserve it yet always treasure it if you let me in.

"Your name is almost as beautiful as you are," he returned. Blood rushed to her cheeks. He vowed right then and there that she would always blush around him because he would rather die than let her go even an hour without hearing praises from his lips. You're beautiful. You're incredible. You're kind. You're radiant. You're delicate. You're wonderful. You're mine.

"I still don't know yours."

"Mine is far less beautiful than yours, topolina," he muttered, kissing the top of her hand in an effort not to kiss her lips anymore. He was still afraid to push his luck there. "But it's Elio."

"Elio," she whispered, tasting the name on her tongue. He realized at that moment that he would do absolutely anything for her. Murder? Easy. Go to Azkaban? His last thought before the kiss of death would be of her lips. Burn the world? Just hand him a match. Cut off his hand? He only needed one to pleasure her anyway. Just one whisper of his name on her lips had Elio ready to put a ring on her finger and sign away his soul for eternity. He regretted ever telling his mother that he wouldn't marry because, now, the thought of not marrying her was more painful than anything he'd ever experienced. If she asked him to, he would propose right now.

Every once in a while, the universe got it right. The stars would align and everything would be right in the world. Looking into her eyes with flecks of silver that reminded him of the stars that aligned, Elio realized that this was one of those times. Those beautiful times when life couldn't be better and he was blissfully happy.

Suddenly, the world seemed perfect. It seemed perfect and wonderful and utterly beautiful because how could a world that made Annie be anything but? Elio Nott realized that his life up until his point had been nothing. It had all just been a waste of loneliness and pride. Now, it revolved around her. She was everything.

"Say it again," he murmured, drawing in closer to her like a moth to a flame. "Please. Say it again."

"Elio," she breathed. And then he kissed her again.

His lips descended onto hers like a starved man. She was an intoxicating drug and he would do anything for another hit. Annie tasted like vanilla and minty toothpaste and heaven. She tasted like the rest of his life.

"Annie," he whispered breathlessly into the kiss, his tongue diving in further to soak up every inch he could. He had to force himself not to grab her and carry her to his bedroom so he could spend all night against her lips. Actually, he had to force himself not to grab her hand and ask her to begin the rest of their lives right now, right there in the corridor of a mansion that wasn't even theirs.

"Elio," she whispered back. He felt his knees go weak just at the sound. Her mouth was timid, her kisses even more so She opened her mouth a little more, allowing him to explore and consume her as much as he wanted. Elio got the distinct feeling that she didn't do this often; he had never felt luckier to be on the receiving end of a woman's lips.

All too soon, Annie pulled back. She laughed nervously, the sound breathless. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

He grinned. "We could always practice."

There was a glint in her eyes. "Why did I know you were going to say that?"

"Because you know me too well, my love. And you know just how much I adore kissing you. I'll take any excuse I can get." She mumbled something under her breath but he couldn't make out a single word. "What was that, Little Mouse?"

Annie blushed. "I said that you don't need an excuse..."

If it was possible to go into cardiac arrest over just a few words said by a small voice, Elio would have in that moment. It felt like his heart was about to thump out of his chest from how intensely it was beating. If my heart does leave my chest, it will go straight to her. It already belongs to her anyway.

His smile brightened and he couldn't help but tuck a piece of brown hair behind her ear. "I'm glad to know that I have permission to kiss you, topolina. Lord knows you never needed permission to kiss me."

He watched as her eyes moved around the room—almost as if she was thinking very intensely about something—before her face turned the same shade as her lips. She's adorable, he thought. He wished more than anything that he was a legilimens so he could see exactly what was going on in her mind. Watching Annie think was like watching the poets write—beautiful and utterly captivating. He could watch it all day, watch her all day.

"Now what are you thinking?" he crooned.

"I- I, uh," she stuttered before turning pink again.

He laughed and placed his forehead on hers. "Do you want to know what I'm thinking?"

"Yes," she breathed, looking deeply into his gaze. Merlin, she was so beautiful. If he died right now, his last thought would be of her eyes, wishing that heaven looked half as beautiful as them.

He stood up before offering her a hand. She looked at it, confused. "I'm thinking that I want to dance with you again. Partially because you're a wonderful dancer but mostly because I want to hold you again." He smirked and she giggled before placing a delicate, ungloved hand in his. A dainty pearl bracelet dangled at the edges of her wrist and he couldn't help but brush his fingers along it. Was it just him or were their sparks everywhere that their skin touched?

"We don't have any music," Annie remarked as she stood stiffly in his embrace.

He just grinned and immediately spun her, eliciting a quiet gasp from her luscious lips. "Could have fooled me. Every time I touch you, I hear singing."

Annie quirked an eyebrow. "You're quite the flirt, Elio."

In an attempt to dispel the odd feeling in his stomach upon hearing his name again, Elio snorted. "You could say that." She frowned. Did he say something wrong? Shit. He made it sound like he was some kind of manwhore—which was definitely true at one point in time but now he couldn't imagine even looking at another woman. Scrambling, Elio blurted, "What I meant to say was that, in the past, I have done my fair share of flirting. But everything before I met you suddenly doesn't matter. It all pales in comparison to you."

"Ironic considering I'm quite pale."

He couldn't help the loud, deep laugh that burst from his chest. "You're quite funny. For someone so quiet, I wouldn't have guessed."

She blushed. "Sorry."

"No," he murmured, stopping their dance to cup her cheek. "I love it. I've... I've never found someone who makes me feel like this."

"Like what?"

"Alive. You make me feel alive, Annie. With you, I can laugh, smile... hell, I can even dance. I didn't realize how lonely I was until I found you."

It was true. Elio spent years filling the void that he didn't even know existed with alcohol, drugs, women, and parties. He would spend his days searching for something that was inside of him the whole time. It just needed to be brought out by kind eyes and an even kinder face. He finally understood what his parents were talking about. Elio wasn't sure he could ever repay the debt that Annie had unknowingly given him. She had given him himself back—how could he ever repay her for changing his life? Now, he couldn't imagine ever touching a drop of firewhisky again. He was intoxicated enough just standing in her presence. He couldn't imagine looking at another woman, not when they were all overshadowed by her. He couldn't imagine spending his nights doing anything other than worshipping her for as long as she let him.

He couldn't imagine finding love anywhere other than right in front of him. With her. With his Annie.

She'd tried to run, not realizing that he would chase her until the ends of the Earth. She'd tried to blend into the background not knowing that, to him, she was glowing. She'd tried to push him away but he would always find his way back home to her as long as she let him.

"You make me feel alive too, Elio. I've never felt so seen. So found." Something told him that Annie had spent most of her life overlooked by everyone around her, which was ridiculous considering she drew his eye every damn time. But that was the funny thing about love. It seems so impossible until you find someone who makes you feel like you're their entire world. And that was what she was to him already. His whole world. His shining star in a onyx sea of night. His Annie.

"I'll always find you, mia topolina. I am yours until my dying day for as long as you want me."

She chewed her lip and remained silent for a few agonizing moments. "And if I do?"

If he could fly, he would have at that moment. At hearing that she—this goddess divine—might want him. "I've always been yours. Always."

"Well then..." she whispered. Her eyes dared to move up to his and, once again, he was entranced. "I'm glad to have you."

The smile that appeared on his face was gentle but sincere. "And I, my Little Mouse, am so utterly glad to be had."

She blushed while he spun her in a circle, noticing the way her eyes lit up as her skirts billowed beneath her. The fear he had noticed on their first night together seemed gone, replaced by this carefree, sparkling woman. He told her that she needed to see how wonderful the world was. Let me show you, Annie darling. Let me give you the world on a silver platter.

When Elio spun her back, he brought her to his chest, enjoying the way goosebumps rose on her arm from their intimate position. He caressed her waist for a few moments before trailing one hand up her arm. It lingered at her ear, where Elio whispered, "May I?"

She gulped and nodded slowly. Elio reached behind her head before delicately undoing the silver strings that held her mask together. It fell to the ground with a soft clatter. Annie stiffened and Elio could have sworn that he felt the fear enter her body again. "It's just me, topolina. It's just us here." And then she relaxed once more, allowing him to gaze at her beautiful face.

And it was everything. Beautiful suddenly didn't seem like strong enough of a word to describe her. The same stars he saw in her eyes were framed within delicate freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose, so pale that he could hardly see her. Her features were small and dainty, her cheekbones high, her face soft and heart-shaped. She's radiant.

He was so stunned that he hadn't realized how silent he had been. Annie bit her lip and looked at him nervously. "That bad, huh?"

Elio shook his head adamantly. "La tua bellezza è sufficiente a mettere gli uomini in ginocchio e le città in polvere, amore mio. Sei meravigliosa."

"Does that mean you are stunned by how utterly plain I am?" And though the corners of her eyes crinkling, Elio got the feeling that she wasn't lying. She truly didn't know how beautiful she was, which was a damn shame because women like this were rarer than horcruxes.

"It means," Elio whispered, burying his head into her neck and placing a soft kiss on the column of her throat. "There isn't a single word on this Earth that can describe how radiant you are. I am certain that a vision of you inspired the heavens, that one glimpse of you would make God realize why he created man. You are a divine angel and I am but a humble man begging on his knees for a taste of you."

Annie's breath hitched. "Do you really think that?"

"Yes. And somehow it still doesn't seem like enough."

She shook her head. "There are many prettier girls in that ballroom. Some who are probably more worthy of your affections."

"First of all, that is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard," he said with a soft chuckle. "Because a million of them are worth only a fraction of you. And second of all, even if that were true, it wouldn't matter because my affections only belong to you."

"I feel so lucky," she whispered with widened eyes.

"Oh, but mia topolina," he purred, "It is I that is the lucky one."

Then his lips were on hers once more. And when he kissed her, it felt like the beginning of the rest of his life and the start of his forever.

Okay, I LOVE young love but something about Elio being down on his knees for Annie, completely feral has me hooked. I eat it up every time. Also, I've reached the end of my pre-written chapters so I'm sorry if there are a little longer waits from here on out but it shouldn't be too much longer, it just might not be as consistent. Also, your sweet comments and messages on my profile push me to keep writing so if you ever can't stand the wait, just spam me or something lol. Luv you my luvlies xx