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“Merry belated Christmas”, she greets him at the door. He smiles widely and drops his bag before opening his arms to her. She does not hesitate, she never does with him. She wraps her arms around him, closing her eyes as his familiar scent fills her senses, she missed this. Saul holds her just as tightly, unwilling to let her go. She wants to keep him close, but the cold outside makes her shiver and she is reminded that she is only in a dress. Pulling back she takes his hand and leads him inside. He takes his bag from the ground and follows her into the warmth of her tiny house. Sometimes she wonders why she even bought this place when she is barely here anyway, Alfea is more her home than this. At least, it is, until he steps through the door and suddenly this tiny house is her whole world.
He separates from her to take off his coat and hang it on his coat hanger. She always leaves that one for him, he is here so often that he deserves his own spot. The bag is left by the door. Farah knows he does not want to presume anything, but that bag will end up in her bedroom anyway. It is like that every time.
“How was Christmas?” She asks him softly, seating on the couch. He smiles fondly when dropping next to her.
“It was great. Sky is becoming a moody teenager, I know that for sure.” He sighs, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. “Just like his father if we are being honest.”
She lays her hand on his right tight, her thumb softly caressing his leg though his pants. “How old is he now?”
“Thirteen. How time flies doesn’t it? He is at his grandparents now. Hopefully he will behave a bit better with them than he is with me, but we all love the stubborn guy anyway.” He grins, thinking about the little blond boy that has captured his heart. After everything that happened in Aster Dell, Sky came into his care. Farah can still remember the first days, or the first months is more accurate, when he was mourning and freaking out about how to be a parent. She tried to help him the best she could, but honestly, she always knew Saul Silva would be a great father. How could a gentle, loyal man like him not be a man worthy of the name dad when he spends every single day working to put a smile on the little boy’s face.
“We did still make you the Christmas cookies”, he informs her. His body turns towards her when he says it, his fingers taking a soft lock of her blond hairs between his fingers and he tugs on it gently.
“They start to look better every year.” She laughs, remembering the amount of ugly cookies she had received over the years. She never cared what they looked like, she always ate them with love for both of the boys.
His eyes drop to her lips. He wants to kiss her, it is clear as day in the way he stares at her. She really wants to answer his stare with her lips, but she also wants to wait a bit longer, to build up the anticipation more over the night. Standing up, he drops his hands off her and she immediately misses his touch.
“You want something to drink?”
He nods and she leaves to the kitchen to get him something. Taking the wine she had left out for the occasion, she looks back at him, sitting on her small couch. His presence is felt all around the room and she wishes he could always be here. His black hair is ruffled from the cold winds outside, it makes her want to go through it with her hands, to feel the soft locks go through her fingers. She feels the familiar butterflies in her stomach when he looks over his shoulder and their eyes meet. His eyes seem to darken even if it should be hard to see from the distance, and she sighs.
Farah loves Saul, she has loved him for a long time. And loving him is as easy as breathing. She knows he loves her right back. It should be uncomplicated, but while feeling the way she does is natural, being together is not. She hates it, but they cannot be in a relationship. They both know it. The complications of it might ruin everything they built and she cannot risk it, she won’t allow it. Saul understands.
But just because they know that they can’t, does not make it any easier to stay away. So every year, during the final week of the year, they let themselves pretend that it is possible. A week where only the two of them exist, a week that needs to suffice until the next year.
Her thought process is interrupted when he suddenly stands in front of her, taking the wine from her hands and putting it on the counter behind her. Taking her hands in his own, he leans forwards so their foreheads meet. She closes her eyes at feeling him so close, having missed this. Missed him being openly affectionate.
“You look beautiful,” he whispers and his lips gently move over her face. He kisses her closer eyelids so softly, she swoons at the sensation. “You are so unbelievably strong,” he kisses her left cheek, burning her skin in anticipation. “You are kind” he kisses her other cheek. “Loyal” He kisses her nose. “And you are-“
She interrupts him with the honest truth before he can finish his last compliment. “Completely yours” She presses her lips to his softly.
He cradles her face between his palms and smiles beautifully, she swears her heart jumps a beat. “And I am yours, completely” His thumbs stroke over the soft skin of her cheeks as they stare into each other’s eyes. Saul has always looked at her like he could see all of her. While in the beginning it scared her, she now relishes in the feeling. He knows her and still loves her. How was she ever so lucky to find him?
No longer able to hold herself back, she kisses him softly. No matter how often they do this, it always feels like the first time. She knows it is cliché or whatever, but kissing Saul Silva feels like coming home. Everything around her is forgotten and she can only focus on him, can only see or feel him. Her hands moving in his hair, his dropping to her waist to pull her closer. His fingers digging in his hip as if she might disappear if he lets go. His lips moving over her own, opening up to her. His body pressed against hers.
How could she not love him?
She tells him in the way she clings to him. She tells him in the way she softly nibbles his lip. She tells him in the way she scratches his head. But she does not say it, she does not need to when she shows it with every action.
“Wait”, he murmurs, pulling back. She does not allow him to go far. Trying to ignore him even interrupting them to begin with, she gives him a quick succession of kisses. “Farah,” his lips form her name under her own, she smiles hearing him say it.
“Yes?”, she finally answers him with a sigh, resting her forehead on his shoulder in defeat. “Don’t you want to continue this?”
He laughs, she feels his shoulders lift under her, including her in his joy this way. “Don’t be silly, you and I both know we will end up in the bedroom later.” He moves her head so she is forced to look at him. Their eyes meet and she can see the lust she feels reflected in his. “But first, let’s have dinner together, I have missed being with you in every way and that includes just being here with you, talking with you.”
“You charmer”, she laughs loudly, pushing him away as she throws her head back. “You just want to fill your empty stomach.” Still grinning, she opens the oven behind her to check on the lasagne, his favorite that she had prepared earlier and that was being kept warm. “Honestly, sometimes I think you just come for my cooking skills”, she teases him while getting the dish.
When she stands upright with the food in her hands, she feels him move behind her, his arms circle her waist, his chin on her shoulder. “You know that is not true,” he tells her seriously, his hot breath tickles her ear. “I also come for the free fucks”. Not reacting to his crude words, already used to them, she shakes her head affectionately.
“You are an idiot,” she tells him while rolling her eyes. Turning around in his arms, her lips are back to being so close to his. “But you love me anyway.”, he whispers as his eyes roam over her face, taking in every tiny detail as if it might be the last time he gets to see her. Love me, love me . Does she ever. She doesn’t respond, she does not have to when they both know she does.
“You sure you don’t want to have pillowtalk instead of dinnertalk now?”, she asks, their lips touching with every word formed. He groans, tempted by her nibbling his bottom lip. She knows him well enough to get every reaction she wants from him. And dinner is the last thing on her mind.
“As always, you are right. What would I do without you?” He asks her fondly, kissing her while finally moving them to her bedroom. She jumps into his arms, her legs wrapping around him, hugging him close like a koala in a tree.
“Let’s hope you will never find out”, she tells him, laughing freely when he drops her on the bed. She loves him and he loves her, and for now, one week of full happiness is all they can have. So they better make it worth it. Five days until the new year, where everything will be back the way it was, but for now, they will enjoy being together in the way both of them crave.