Ebony & Ivory [H.S]

Seventy-One

Without finishing his sentence, I watch closely as Harry's eyes well with tears, and reaching out my hand, I grasp his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, letting him know that everything is going to be okay.

Rolling onto my stomach, I place my torso lightly over his chest, almost as though we were a T intersection if you were looking from above. Ironically, that's what our relationship has represented at times. Harry not knowing what was the right choice to make was - turning one way, before realising he couldn't live without the other in his life. I don't like that it had to be this way. Ultimately I wish that it would have been an easier road for us, but we're here now, and isn't that all that matters in the end?

I run my fingers lightly underneath his shirt in a comforting manner, wanting to offer the reassurance from me that I'm going to stand by him through his immeasurable loss. I still can't even fathom what he must be going through on the inside, and every day I hope to chip away at the pain.

Sometimes I get the feeling that he's trying to shield me from his pain. Almost as though the promise of another life would be burdening me, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In order to move on, his grief is essential to the process, rather than bottling it up, and bursting when it gets too much.

"It's okay," I soothe, as I watch his tears creep silently down his cheeks. "I'm never going to leave you."

I lay my head on his chest, and eventually, the steady rise and fall of his chest brings me to my slumber as I deliberate over my final words, questioning myself if I'm able to promise such a thing.

When I wake, sunshine is no longer streaming through the open windows. It takes a moment or two to realise my surroundings, and feel a sense of contentedness when I realise I'm still laying on Harry's chest, his fingers running rhythmically through my hair in a soothing manner.

"You're awake," he states. "I hope I had nothing to do with that, I just couldn't resist."

"No," I answer, stretching my body out. "I heard a buzzing noise somewhere in the room."

"That would be my phone," he states. "It's over on the dresser, but you just looked so peaceful, I couldn't live with myself if I moved."

Smiling, I turn on my back while remaining on him, and looking up, I see him looking down at me, and somehow, all is right in the world because he's here with me.

Reaching my hand out to him, I touch his cheeks with just my fingertips, trailing them over his sun-kissed skin, beautiful to the touch. Smiling, he leans his face closer to mine, rubbing his cheek gently against my cheek in a loving embrace. He lightly kisses my face with no particular rhyme, or reason, and I graciously absorb each one as though each kiss instilled more life within me. Pausing, he smiles as he looks upon me, before rubbing his nose deliberately against mine, despite his face being upside down to me in an eskimo kiss.

"An eskimo kiss," I laugh in glee. "I can't say I recall the last time I had one of these."

"Not just any eskimo kiss," he clarifies. "An upside down eskimo kiss."