#forden

Her eyes flutter open. Her hazel gaze lingers on him, watching the dancing shadows the flame makes behind him. She wonders if this is what their home will look like after tomorrow. Will she look at him and see the same red glow, but on a much larger scale? They'd seen the propaganda, and she'd been ready. There was no doubt in her mind what she had to do. She was going to fight. It'd taken some convincing, and now, in this moment, Eden regretted dragging Forest into this. He has a son, another tiny person to take care of. This was too dangerous. It was too late though. Any time she tried to talk him out of it he fought her. They were going to do this together. 

The thought had her reaching out and pulling his chest to her cheek. She clung to him like he was her breath. His arms wrapped around her and in silence they sat until a soft voice cut through the stillness. 

"Eden?"

"Yes, Forest?" Her head pulls away from his chest. His heart was racing, like he was afraid, but she was too. Her gaze finds him and she watched as it seems like a million different emotions cross his face before he gives in. 

"I love you."

Their gazes linger on one another for a moment. He's waiting on a response of some sort, but for a moment, she's lost. She thinks of Lella and how happy he'd been with her. She couldn't possibly live up to that, could she? She wanted nothing more than for the man beside her to be happy again, wanted to see Francis smile and laugh with his father again. She wanted to be that reason, but the weight of such responsibility was heavy. Eden wasn't afraid of much, not really, but failure frightened her more than anything. So much could go wrong. She could say or do the wrong thing. What if they came to resent each other? 

His hand found her cheek and tugged her chin up, forcing her gaze to meet his again. There was a soft, almost sad smile on his face. It was as if he had heard her thoughts himself. 

"I love you, Eden." 

Her eyes pressed shut, trying to block out the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. Her fingers wrapped around the ones against her cheek. There was so much behind the phrase this time. So many more questions, but just as many answers. He loved her. He didn't care that she wasn't Lella. He didn't care if she was stupid and foolish at times. He loved her. No one had ever loved her like that. No one had ever decided to risk everything they had to make sure they could see her through. 

It wasn't fair. He'd lost so much already. She should have been the one offering her heart to him first, not this way. Fear rushed through her again. What if she broke it? What if she lost it? She wasn't perfect after all, and she certainly didn't want the same to happen to her, though she doubted he could ever do such a thing. She looked at him again, trying to read his face as her fingers squeezed his hand.

"I... I'm scared, Forest," she whispered. "I'm scared of hurting you. I'm scared of letting you down. I'm scared that one or both of us could die tomorrow. I..." She shook her head, her gaze falling to the bed. His arms were pulling her to him again, holding her tight to his chest where she could hear his heart beating again. 

"That's what I love about you! Your honesty and your fears. It says so much about you. I want you to know, it's okay. You don't have to say it back. You can take the time you need, but that's not going to change my feelings for you. It's not going to change the fact that I'm going to be here beside you for as long as I can. You're not going to die tomorrow, Eden. You're going to die an old woman, maybe with kids of your own..." His calm voice falls away for a second, almost like he wants to say more, but he doesn't. "Everything's going to be okay."

She knows they've both been lonely for too long now. Maybe this was what she'd been looking for all these years. Maybe Forest had been the love she'd been so desperately seeking out in others. His words provoke the tears she'd been holding back and she moves again to look at him. She knows what she wants to do now.

"I love you too," she whispers beneath the soft drops of water. "I love you more than you could possibly know."

And she knows it's true. The fears, the worry, it's all from her heart. She doesn't have all the answers, she doesn't know what tomorrow might bring, but for tonight, she knows she can rest easy with the person she truly loves beside her. When their lips meet, it's gentle, passionate. It's not longer about want for intimacy, but need to share the same emotions. The lust is gone, swiftly replaced with something much more meaningful and heartfelt. Love.