Disclaimer: See the Prologue.
Author's Note: The Epilogue-and the end of this fic, for real. Thanks, everyone, for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy this!
A Long Way Home
Epilogue: With You
That night, she dreamed of him again.
In her dream she looked up and she saw him, their eyes meeting across all the distance that separated them.
Her heart stopped in her chest, squeezing painfully, as she stared, longing, willing him to come closer, willing him to have forgiven her.
Then he turned and walked away.
And as it sometimes happens in dreams, she could not move. Her feet had taken root, her body refusing to obey her commands. She could not cry out his name, could not beg him to come back.
She could only stand there and watch as he left her, watch as her heart broke yet again…
~
She awoke with a start and a gasp, to find tears running down her cheeks, her heart aching with the old, familiar pain of knowing he was gone.
But this time, she awoke to see his face.
Moonlight was streaming through her window, leaving a swath of light that lit his face, sleeping peacefully, and part of his chest, covered in a t-shirt.
They had talked for hours, it seemed, about all they'd endured and survived in the last few years, confessing the truth of the other people they'd dated (a grand total of 2 for her, 5 for Harry) but how they'd each realized that it wasn't good enough. None of it had been real, had meant even a fraction of what they had always meant to each other. Talked until they'd finally fallen asleep, lying next to each other on her bed that had been so lonely these past few years.
Now, finally, he was here and she knew she'd never let him go again.
He awoke to feel her eyes and her hands on him, her fingers lightly tracing patterns over his chest in a movement that wasn't technically supposed to be arousing but then, he knew better than anyone that Hermione never had to try to arouse him. He awoke to see the dream that had haunted him since the day he'd left England come to life, to the wonderful consciousness that all that had been so wrong, so lacking, in his life since then was now put right.
He tugged her closer to him, reaching for her, his lips finding hers and let the familiar passion, the familiar lust, engulf them.
And she responded with all the pent-up desire of years, glorying in the familiarity of it all.
And every kiss, every touch, every caress, was forgiveness and absolution, apology and celebration, remembrance and discovery, so achingly familiar and yet so wonderfully new as well.
She knew the taste of him, the way his hands wandered over her body, touching, exploring, and managing to divest her of her clothing almost without her being aware of it. She knew the weight of him on top of her, the feel of her breasts flattened against his bare chest.
She knew the feeling of his mouth on her body, knew the way he could send her soaring into another universe of searing, shattering pleasure, until her world ended and began with him and he became her reality.
She knew the places to touch him to make him tremble and to groan, knew the way he would look at her, his eyes burning with so much want it could make her tremble.
She knew the feeling of him inside her, filling her, until she could swear he was touching her heart, and she blinked back tears as she clutched him tighter to her.
"I missed this," she gasped.
"I know. I missed you," he responded, his voice hoarse and raspy with need.
Then there were no more words, no more need for words, as he began to move and she met his every motion, in the timeless, endless dance of love and lust that was somehow unique to them.
And when she hit her peak, she knew the glory of ecstasy that only he could give her, the burst of pleasure that stole her breath and her heart and her very soul. And when he, too, reached his climax, she knew the way he cried out her name in that guttural tone.
She knew it all-and knew, too, just how special, how unique, it was.
When he rolled over and drew her in tightly against him, her body fitting against his as they'd always been meant to be, she discovered the newer, deeper, more poignant joy of intimacy.
They had loved before but now they had also suffered. They had known all the pain as well as the pleasure of loving as deeply as they did. They had known it all-and now they knew it would be forever, that no one and nothing would ever be able to separate them again.
She could hear his heart beating as she rested her head against his chest-the heart which she knew beat for her, just as hers beat for him.
His arms were wrapped firmly around her; he would never let her go again and she was perfectly fine with that.
"I love you," she breathed against his chest, dropping a kiss on his skin, before snuggling against him again.
His answer wasn't in words; he only tightened his arms around her, brushing his lips against her hair.
It was sometime later, when she was nearly asleep, that she heard him breathe just one word before he, too, drifted into sleep.
"Forever."
Forever… She smiled and drifted into happy dreams this time.
They had been through the shadows and now they were home-for good.
Sometimes I remember reasons I let you go
Inside them I see your face and all I really know
I was scared to share the love I had inside of me
Through all the heartache I know that I was meant to be
With you
I have everything I've ever wanted
Simple and true
…
In the dark I'll still be here
Forever in your arms where I belong
With you
I have everything I've ever wanted
Simple and true
With you
Loving eyes so beautiful
It's you
Who always knew our love would see us through
~ "With You" by Josh Groban
The strongest steel must go through the hottest fire. -Charles Dickens
~The End~