"Endless Love"
He finds Hannah for her and she throws her arms around him and holds on tight. It's clear that she surprised not only him but herself too, because the hug lasts less than three seconds and then she's on the move again.
They both pretend that nothing's happened but he can feel his body tingling where she was pressed against him for hours after she's gone and can't help hoping she feels the same.
He thinks that he loves her already.
***
He watches her go and wants to follow after her so badly that he almost reaches for the door handle, but he knows she'd be long gone before he could even get out of the car.
She saves him the trouble, turning around and walking back, looking at him in a way she never did before.
His eyes are glued to hers and she hesitates for just a moment before she presses her lips against his.
It is their first kiss and he can barely stand the fact that it is also their last, so he pulls away and tells her to go, before she makes it impossible for him to do so.
He watches her go for the second time and when the door to the cabin slams shut, it's like a bullet to his heart.
Still, he doesn't think that he ever loved her more.
***
He gets back into his apartment and she's there, closing the distance between them before he can even blink, dropping to her knees next to him and pulling him against her in a fierce, desperate hug. She tells him that she'd been so scared and his hand goes into her hair like it's got a will of its own.
She's shaking and that's when he realizes what was he about to do not only to himself, but to her too.
When he pulls away and sees the fear in her eyes, he knows that he'll never do anything like that again, no matter what the circumstances.
He loves her too much for that.
***
He's on the floor and it's back to square one, the shame he feels making his blood boil and his cheeks burn.
She kneels in front of him and tells him it doesn't matter, her sincere eyes making him believe her even if he doesn't want to.
He grows bold, leans forward and kisses her cheek.
She looks a little surprised but recovers quickly, leaning toward him for a real kiss, the one that feels exactly like coming home.
He doesn't think that he'll ever love her more than he does right now, as she sits on the floor with him and kisses him like there's no tomorrow.
***
He feels her presence behind him and turns around, ready for another disappointment, but she's really there, standing in the middle of his living room with a guarded expression on her pretty face.
Her hair is longer than it's ever been and her eyes are haunted, but she smiles faintly and he stands up even if he doesn't exactly believe his eyes.
When he gets to her and touches her face she's warm and alive, and nothing else matters to him.
She tastes the same as he remembers and although he used to think he couldn't love her more than he does, tonight he is proved wrong.
Tonight, he loves her more than he ever did before.
***
He sits in the car with her and the beeping of her alarm is the worst sound he's ever heard. She looks exhausted from false hope and he's angry at her for not letting them have that perfect quickie.
He makes a move to get up but realizes that he needs to kiss her goodbye even if it kills him on the spot.
The fact that she lets him tells him how much this hurts her too and he hopes he's not making it harder. He feels her eyes on him as he climbs out of the car and turns around and tells her he loves her.
She looks like she's about to cry and he leaves, knowing that he couldn't stand to see it without trying to comfort her.
He doesn't think he'll ever love her more, but he's completely aware that he already felt like that before.
***
He wakes up to the feel of her soft lips pressed against his own and it feels too good to stop her. It's been years since they'd been this close but he still dreams about her and her kisses.
She pulls away first and her eyes glisten in the darkness of his room before she turns on the lamp and smiles at him.
That's the moment he realizes he's not dying.
He sits up against the headboard very slowly because he's afraid any sudden movement could shatter this new dream he's having.
She tells him that the virus is gone and that he won't die if they touch, and he pinches himself before asking her how long they have.
''Forever'', she says confidently, reaching for his hand before she looks up at his eyes.
He's too stunned to speak, so he just brings his free hand up and traces his fingers over her smooth cheek. She leans into his hand and closes her eyes, a few tears flowing from under dark eyelashes before he wipes them away for her.
There's a lump in his throat and he wraps his arm around her and pulls her into his lap, wanting her as close to him as possible. She lays her head against his shoulder and their hands do the talking, fingers slowly trailing over warm skin, tugging at each other's clothes until there is nothing between them except love.
Their first time is like a fulfillment of an unreachable dream; it's what walking is for him and flying is for her.
She tells him so herself as she lays in his arms in the early morning light, drawing circles on his skin just as he is on hers, still unable to stop touching her.
He closes his eyes and knows that even though he feels like he'll never love her more than he does right now, he will.
He will.