Even as their combined juices spilled down her legs, she was hesitant to move away from him. She felt as though they were one entity -- to depart from his heat, to feel him slip out of her was an insurmountable thought. "Mmm," she whispered, smiling. "I've been waiting a long fucking time for that, Santos."
Even as he collapsed next to her, she couldn't help but admire him; beauty to rival any Aphrodite kid, with the Ares benefit of a deep-rooted firey determination that she deeply respected. She knew in that moment that she was extremely lucky. As soon as that realisation had dawned on her, she did something that surprised even her -- she took Liam into a big hug. She buried her face in his neck, enjoying the feeling of simply being close to him. She had a new-found love of intercourse, but even more so an obsession with intimacy. A hug conveyed that just as much as sex did -- perhaps even more so, for two people so hesitant to be vulnerable with anyone. Finally, she felt she had somebody she could be completely herself with. With that came a sense of fear. What if he hurt her? What if she gave him everything she had only to be turned away?
But in the night, curled into Liam's chest, she put those fears aside. As the cicadas chirped into the newly-quiet air, and the lake lapped onto its shore, Henry understood the world a little more. Loving must be worth it; this, the purest of happiness, couldn't never be a bad thing. "Thank you," she breathed. There was no sarcasm in her voice, no quip or retort. It was a moment of rare and unabashed sincerity. "You're perfect, Liam Santos."
For once, she wasn't ashamed.
--
The end