Realization set in quickly about that moment, this one and another; when he carried me to his car. He said it already and I hadn’t noticed.
My heart began to beat a little faster before my throat bobbed. “Yes.”
He looked up with that, his gaze softening as it searched my face. For a split second, I saw him reconsider as doubt flashed across his eyes, but then he smiled faintly to himself. Visibly questioning if he was really doing this.
Without a hitch, Dean said, “I love you, Lily.”
It was such a simple little sentence but seemed to flood the room with warmth and light. I couldn’t fight the smile that tickled my lips, or the tears that slipped down my cheeks as I released a quiet sob in disbelief. It pinched my side, but that pain was nothing compared to the sudden fullness of my heart.
“And I think I’ve known since the moment you resuscitated me. Or at least that’s when I started falling— Fuck this sounds so cheesy, but it’s like you gave my life meaning again. You breathed life back into it.”
I was meant to be taking it easy, as ordered by the doctor, but had felt every emotion from the moment Dean entered the room. My entire body felt like a raw nerve.
The moment I realized I hadn’t responded, was the same moment we noticed the erratic beeping of the monitor by the bed. Tracking my pulse as it sped up, sending the machine into overdrive while the green lines on the screen spiked.
Dean huffed a laugh, eyes lined with tears before he looked at me again.
I didn’t care if it was too fast or too soon. So much had happened — so much had been at risk. I didn’t want to waste another second not telling him how I felt.
My voice was a broken whisper when I responded. “I love you.”
His smile was one I hadn’t seen before. One of the happiest to ever grace his features, and I wanted to savor every glorious moment of it. I felt the urge to grab a pencil and paper, but I also didn’t want to take my eyes off him as I smiled right back. Torn between wanting to cry again or laugh.
Dean interlocked our fingers, his smile fading to one that was more subdued while his eyes glistened with one question.
My heart skipped as I smiled knowingly. “I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You could eat an entire jar of anchovies and I’d still wanna kiss you... Okay, maybe not an entire jar, but you get the idea.”
I laughed quietly — carefully as I held my arm across my waist. Suddenly, I felt nervous again. The kind of nervous that made my stomach flutter with a million butterflies.
“Then yes,” I whispered.
He didn’t wait but also kept it slow. Unrushed and careful, he hovered over me, holding his weight in his arms while he brushed the gentlest of kisses across my mouth.
My fingers found their way to the back of his neck, curling into his hair as I let him in and remembered how he tasted and felt. This time with the added texture of the stubble tickling my face.
I tentatively shifted beneath him, to somehow allow him to move closer on the bed, but winced as my stitches flared with a mild ache. I hummed in pain, pausing for a moment.
Dean glanced down, his hand still on my face while he checked he hadn’t accidentally leaned on anything.
“You okay?”
I sighed but smiled, “I will be—”
“Alright, love birds. Some of us have flowers to give.”
Dean looked over his shoulder, while I peered around him. Instantly smiling at Seb and Kira while they stood in the doorway. Seb with a bouquet and a card. Kira with a small teddy bear and a plastic container of macarons. Her hair was braided away from her face, revealing the bruise around her right eye. But she was smiling again.
Crumbs dusted the hospital bed covers as Kira and I ate the colorful assortment of macarons. Eating felt strange after almost three days of sleep but the nurse said it was safe for me to do, so long as I paced myself and didn’t overindulge. I found a happy medium, taking small bites and drinking water between each. I was hungry but also didn’t want to make myself sick. Just the thought of retching with stitches in my side made my skin crawl.
After Seb and Kira entered the room, and many careful hugs were shared, Dean suggested he and Seb go sit out in the corridor to give us some privacy. It wasn’t until the guys stepped out that Kira let her smile slip, holding my hand while she sat on the edge of the bed.
Like everyone else who sat by my bed, she looked at the tubes and down at my waist. Tears welled in her eyes before mine did the same, but we didn’t speak. At least not about what happened. Enough had already been said and done. We were just happy to be in each other’s company again, talking about silly things to pass the time while we stuffed our faces in moderation with macarons.
When I stole a curious glance towards the corridor, Kira smiled knowingly.
“What?” I laughed.
