RDR2: Faithless

28: My Future Is You

"I love you, Ann, but you are a fool," a soft smile appeared on his face.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"If you think I'm going to leave you now that you've revealed you have tuberculosis, I'm sorry to say you're sorely mistaken," he said.

"But I'm dying, you're wasting your time!" I argued, my brow furrowing even deeper.

"Ann, we've both known that with the life you lead, you could die any minute, with or without tuberculosis," he told me, "And I'll be damned if I abandon you just because it seems set in stone. We don't even know how long it will take, it could be years, we don't know! All I know, is I want to spend whatever time there is to be spent with you, I don't give a damn how it ends. If I can spend any amount of time with you, I'll be happy."

"Harry, you can't damn your own future for me," I told him harshly.

"My future is you," he continued, "The only future I can see is you. And I refuse to let some stupid cough get in the way of that, I don't care what you think, I know what I want. And I think I know what you want, even if you're trying to be selfless and break things off."

"I..." I sighed, "This doesn't feel right, I don't want you to be with me for pity."

"For pity? Ann, I know you don't think much of yourself," he sighed, "But to me, you are the world. I'm not staying with you out of pity, please believe me for once. I love you."

"I love you too, but..." I was cut off suddenly by his lips being pressed firmly against mine, not aggressive but needy.

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as his hand found my face, his thumb moving over my cheek and pulling me deeper. I melted into the kiss, giving myself over entirely to him, his actions spoke louder than his words and I found myself suddenly believing every word he spoke, though I had doubted before.

"I should have done that a long time ago," he breathed as we broke apart, our lips still mere millimetres away from one another.

"I'd say so," I gave a breathy laugh, "You would have convinced me to believe you much easier."

"I swear to you," he whispered, "I love you more than I can explain, it's as if I'm not really me without you. So no more buts. There's just you and me, and nothing else can get in the way of this relationship."

"No more buts," I smiled, moving backwards slightly as he moved in again. My cheeks were still flushed and I felt on cloud nine, but I couldn't quite face being too intimate. Not so soon after what had happened.

"I'm sorry," his face fell slightly, "I got ahead of myself."

"No," I sighed, "It's not you. I just... I can't do this yet. That kiss, it was... something else. But I can't push it too far yet, I'm still... recovering."

"I understand," he grabbed my hand, "And I won't do anything you're not ready for. You can take the lead in this relationship, god knows I need someone telling me what to do. I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. And I will be by your side, helping you win this battle within yourself. I promise, I'll always be there."

"I can't believe how lucky I was to meet you," I gave a small laugh before standing, "I'm glad I came to see you. That I managed to tell you everything. I feel... I feel a bit better."

"Don't leave it too long until you come back," he laughed slightly, "Or else, I'll just have to find your gang and drag you back myself. It's been too long since I saw you, I missed you more than I can explain."

"And I missed you," I gave his hand a tight squeeze, "I'll see you soon, I hope. But right now, I have something I really need to do."

"You need to get your gang member out of jail," I looked at him with wide eyes, "His upcoming hanging is the talk of the town. It won't be for at least another few weeks, but it's highly anticipated. So I know you need to act fast."