grand gestures didn't come naturally, displays of emotion leaving him uncomfortable in his skin ; too accustomed to burying feelings there between his ribs. but desire to ensure her day was special outweighed own misgivings, adoration at odds with reserved manner. a gift of two tickets to an exhibit at a local art gallery he'd heard her mention, followed by dinner at home ( neither inclined to lavish meals at high-end restaurants ). a bottle of wine shared in the apartment's low lighting, everything warm & hazy round the edges. his palm sculpted to her jaw, 'happy birthday, baby' murmured into the gentle press of lips against lips.
self infliction of isolation was a thing of the past, a mere inkling of fragmented memory that had since been replaced with him. he, who had breathed life back into the hollows of her bones. he, who had coaxed the cold from her system from the warmth of his touch. he, who instilled the foreign conception of love into her heart that now only beat for him. he had graciously listened to her all day long, long - winded sentences pulled together by the excitement which fled into the centre of her gaze; quiet taps on his arm, digits pointing across the room, whispers of explanations and admirations. she knew he lacked any dire understanding of what she was even talking about, but he listened nevertheless, with that small smile on his face that could stop her heartbeat altogether. and she thinks, she’s never felt so loved in her entire life. by the time the drawn out day comes to its’ final close, the aroma of home - cooked meal ( which, she had no part in assisting with on the sole basis of avoidance of disaster ) and him drew her into state of euphoria. he carved a home in her where home had no longer existed. her body had never been her own, a temporary house of falsified sentiment and creations of versions of her to appease the masses. but to him, she had finally grown into her frame, becoming the rendition she’d been dying to be all along. without false pretense, he saw her. and isn’t that terrifying? to be so known? and yet, he knew her and he loved her all the same. she chases the warmth of his kisses, beckoning his touch to ground her to their little slice of heaven. surely, the closest she will ever be to such divinity. and as she sits there, body flush against his so that they could become one, she thinks they might have always been one. the red string that held them together, taut and then slack, perhaps existed in all their lifetimes and she hoped that in the next, she would find him just as easily. the kisses she writes to his skin promises one thing: i loved you in our past lifetime, i love you in this lifetime, i will love you in our next lifetime.
