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His forehead pressed to hers, their hot and ragged breath mingling, he untangled his fingers carefully from her curls. He brought his hand to her cheek, stroking his thumb against her green skin as he clumsily kissed her once more before dropping down next to her in the undergrowth. Staring up at the stars, he gave himself a second to catch his breath before reaching for her and pulling her into his arms. He couldn't resist burying his lips in her hair when her head fell heavily onto his chest, one hand running slowly along her spine while the other grabbed her cloak and dragged it up over her body.
As they settled, their breathing finally evening out while her fingertips traced patterns on his chest, he chuckled under his breath. It was just hitting him, the reality of what they had just done. Without a care in the world, he had just made passionate love to her right there in the middle of the forest. Right there in the open. Admittedly, he'd been expecting her to be anxious initially, somewhat unsure of herself, but boy had she proved him wrong. She was so confident. So full of fire. She told him what she desired - in no uncertain terms - and he merely let her be the one in control and followed her lead.
Now, this hadn't been his first time.
He was rather ashamed to admit it, but he had been with a number of girls in the past – albeit in much more comfortable surroundings – and if someone was to ask him the name of a single one of them then his mind would go completely blank. Those times were meaningless to him. Just a little bit of fun.
Not this time though.
Not with her.
It astounded him how much different it felt, making love to someone he loved and who loved him back as opposed to someone he merely found appealing and someone who clung to him. It made him want to take his time, to commit the moment to memory, and he'd done so. Each kiss, each touch, each soft sound she'd made…all that had been etched into his brain, never to be forgotten. It was sheer magic.
He was pulled from his thoughts when she moved in his arms, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as she ran her foot along his calf, and he had to smile when he turned his head and caught her eye.
She was perfection.
"You're quiet…" She reached up to stroke his cheek with the back of her finger. "Are you alright?"
"After that, how could I not be?" He kissed the corner of her mouth and smirked when he pulled back to see her biting her lower lip, chuckling as she looked up at him. "No, I'm fine. I'm just thinking."
She sucked in a breath. "Help us all."
He rolled his eyes, tutting.
"I'm sorry," She laughed, snuggling into him to steal his warmth. "What are you thinking about?"
"You." He moved a curl out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "You are so different to any other woman I have ever met. And not for the blatantly obvious," His little dig in retaliation earned him a slap on the arm and he chuckled, grabbing her waist and pulling her flush against him. "You don't let social norms dictate who you are and what you think. You're your own person and I think that's the thing I love the most about you, honestly. That and the fact you speak up for yourself and for others."
She smiled. "I think that stems from when I was a child, the speaking up for others part. I never had anyone to speak up for me. Father refused to acknowledge me. Unless he wanted something, he used to pretend I didn't exist and nothing I did was ever good enough for him. Mother was a bit different. She loved me in her own way, I think, although she never actually told me so herself, but she wouldn't defend me. She'd turn a blind eye to it if Father was cruel to me or if people laughed at me. I think it was easier for her, but it taught me that I had to fight my own corner since nobody else was going to."
He sighed, slipping his hand under her hair and caressing her face with his thumb.
"Since then, I've had a bit of a hard time keeping my mouth shut when others are being tormented and laughed at. I don't know, it makes me remember the way I felt when I was growing up and I just don't want anyone else to feel the way I did," She said. "It gets me into trouble on occasion, but I don't care."
He chuckled at that before leaning in to kiss her forehead. "You may not have had anyone to fight your corner when you were growing up, but you do now. I don't believe a word of what anyone is saying about you. I know you. Morrible can say what she likes about what happened with the Wizard, it makes no difference. Glinda explained to me what actually happened and even before that, when Morrible was saying about what you did to the monkeys, I didn't believe it for a clock-tick. You couldn't be evil, you don't have it in you, and I promise you that we'll make all of Oz see it for themselves as well."
"I love you for saying that," She whispered with a shake of her head, capturing his lips with her own in a kiss that was long and soft. "But do you really believe there's any chance? Especially now? Glinda hates me, so she's not going to be in any hurry to clear my name. Boq thinks I'm the one to blame for the way he is, Nessa's not going to say any different and both Morrible and the Wizard are going to take it to the grave with them. If I go back there to try and clear my name, I'll be locked away for good because no-one's going to listen. No-one is going to be slightly interested in my side of the story."
She was right and he knew it.
If she went back there, she would be signing her own death warrant.
"Then I'll go. I'll make them listen. I'll explain to Boq what really happened and…"
"No. You can't do that either. You're involved now, remember? You made it possible for me to escape, so you're as much of a fugitive as I am and you'll be in as much trouble as me," She reminded him. "I'm not going to cause any more damage than I already have. I've already wrecked your reputation by dragging you into all this, I'm not going to have you captured and…and tortured as well. I refuse."
He frowned, sitting up slightly so he could turn to her and take her face in both his hands. "Hey…" His voice was soft as he ran his thumbs across her cheeks, looking into her eyes. "You did not drag me into this. I dragged myself into it. I could have accepted it and let you go when you went into hiding. I could have stopped thinking about you, stopped caring about you, and gotten on with my life, but I didn't do that. I made the choice to search for you. When I found you, I made the choice to come here with you. You had no part in either decision. Even if you had, Elphie, I would still be here right now."
"You really mean that?" Her voice trembled.
"I would rather be ruined and be here with you than be glorified and let you do this alone." He told her.
Laying there in the undergrowth, she looked at him silently for a time before reaching up and resting a hand on the back of his neck to pull him down to her. She kissed him then, a warm and deep kiss that he gave into, and she smiled against his mouth when she felt him thread his fingers through her curls. When he moved over her again, she reached for her cloak and moved it so she could cover them both with it, that same hand finding his waist and pulling him against her as she met him kiss for kiss. Ugh, she'd never known a love like this. A love so ferocious and demanding. It was such a beautiful thing.
Bringing the hand on the back of his neck to his hair, she curled it into the strands and gently touched her tongue to his bottom lip, but it was then that he pulled back from her and she frowned at him in response. "What's wrong?" She asked, out of breath, her chest heaving as she looked up into his eyes.
"Nothing…" He was quick to sooth her with a soft kiss to her lips. "I just…I think we ought to get some sleep. We still need to come up with a plan as to what we're going to do and that's going to be hard enough as it is, never mind if neither of us have slept. Be honest, when was the last time you got any?"
She thought for a moment before sighing. "I can't remember."
"Exactly. You must be exhausted."
"Mmm."
Smiling when she nodded, he placed a kiss on her forehead before moving to lie down at her side once again and allowing her to share her cloak with him. He wrapped his arms around her a second time and let her rest her head on his shoulder, the love he had for her deepening when she tucked her head into his neck and breathed the deepest sigh of contentment. For the first time in years, he could be sure that she was safe, warm and comfortable and it was genuinely the most incredible feeling to him.
"Get some sleep." He murmured into her hair after turning his head her way.
"Promise me you'll still be here?" Her voice was quiet; a sign she was already fading fast.
"I already lost you once. Believe me, I'm not going anywhere." He assured her.
She smiled against his skin. "I love you."
"Good," He chuckled, settling down with her. "Because I love you too."