[london] until it ends, there is no end. [billie]

When she smiled back at him from a couple paces ahead he felt a little bit of the tension he'd been building in his mind ease up. He walked a bit quicker to catch up only to stop when she blocked his path. Her arms fell around his neck and he smiled at her again. He loved the feeling of her hands on his skin. Blinking at her words he thought about nodding but he didn't want her to go inside yet. Not yet. He found himself gazing into her eyes again, this time illuminated by the street lamps behind them, this time level with his own as she stood taller. After a second his eyes flickered to the window behind her that was beside the door. He wished the room behind the curtain was dark, that they were alone again, because he knew he wanted to kiss her.

He didn't want to leave yet or for her to go inside or especially for tonight to be over. It had been the best day he'd had in a long time and he wasn't ready to let it come to an end. He wanted to keep her out there just a little bit longer. As long as she'd let him. His hands returned to the small of her back, resting there gently as he breathed in this moment. He knew he should kiss her but instead he froze, held back by all of the things that were making him worry. Stuck in his own nervous thoughts and staring at her awkwardly he was still.

He glanced behind her, and she wondered if he’d seen something. Kendrick through the window, or a light on inside or something. She resisted the urge to follow his gaze as he looked back at her. The thought of Kendrick waiting for her made her feel a little guilty, but at this point just one, last, stolen moment, didn’t feel so bad to take. That was an unusual feeling for her; She was so awfully bad at taking things she wanted.

After a beat, Billie leaned in slow, her wide eyes checking in with him non-verbally, closing only at the last moment before contact. She pressed her lips against his. It was a soft kiss, sweet and lingering. She felt dazed again, her body blazingly aware of every part of them that touched; his hands on her back, their chests, her tingling lips. After, she rested her forehead on his, her eyes still closed. “I’ll write,” she told him breathlessly.

Part of him was kicking himself when she began leaning toward him for not having the guts to do it first but most of him was just happy she was. He met her eyes and it was obvious how much he approved of what she was doing. Leaning toward her he closed the distance between them and felt that same flutter as their lips met again. His eyes lingered closed for a moment after she'd pulled her lips from him and moved to rest her head against his. Despite this kiss being far shorter, and softer, than the ones they had shared back in Ireland his heart was still racing.

It was still thumping loudly as she whispered to him and he felt her forehead against his. He was pretty sure tonight couldn't get any better and he hated the idea of her going inside and him returning to London but the idea of writing to her immediately made it a little easier to bare. He nodded against her forehead. "Me too." He whispered back, knowing she was going to pull away and head inside any minute, but also knowing he wasn't going to be the first to pull away.

She smiled, her eyes still closed, as they both lingered there, leaning against one another. Curious, she slid her arms further over his shoulders, moving the fingers of her right hand up into his hair. Being here with him, like this… well, it was a lot. Billie was nervous and elated and tense and emotional all at once. Once more, she entertained the fantasy of kissing his neck. Her left hand trailed down the back of his neck, drawing a light line down his shoulder blades.

She took a slow breath in and exhaled with a slight huff. “Okay,” she said, hating that she had to be the responsible one. She didn’t want Kendrick to wait anymore, and the boldness that tonight had given her only went so far; once again, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She had a funny, errant thought about Phillip having the power to bend time around him. She pulled back reluctantly, her fingertips trailling down his chest. She resisted the urge to kiss him again, knowing she’d probably get too distracted.

After another torturous minute, Billie took the final step up and moved to the door. One hand on the handle, she watched him with a smile. “Goodnight,” she said softly, hesitating.

He wanted to inch closer to her when she moved her hands to the back of his neck. Her finger tips sent goosebumps across his skin and he kept his eyes closed as he smiled. Knowing they could only remain this way for a short time, before they had to pull away, made the moment more bittersweet. He was already fighting to keep from trying to figure out when the next time he could see her would be. When the next time he could kiss her would be. And they hadn't even let each other go yet.

Sighing when she was the first to move he accepted it and pulled his hands away from her back. He slid them into his pockets as he rolled on the balls of his feet a little. There was a shy sort of smile playing on his lips now, but it was more than that, it was an admiring one, as he watched her reluctance and shared in it.

When it was finally time for her to turn and head for the door he took a step backward and off the lower step to the ground. Forcing himself to help her create the distance he hated so much between them. "Goodnight Billie." He said as he waited for her to unlock the door and head inside before he'd leave. When she had he turned around and stood for a moment, smiling to himself, still barely believing what had just happened.

He used the walk between her stoop and the street to try to calm down the roller coaster of thoughts that was swirling in his head. He was already replaying everything, every moment, every word, every touch, all of it, and he knew he'd need to settle if he didn't want to get splinched.

/end

She hesitated for the longest moment by the door, then laughed as he didn’t move and neither did she. Billie looked up at the ceiling, a small smile on her lips. She shook her head then looked back at him, wanting to wait until he left. Clearly he wanted the same thing. She was definitely not the more stubborn one of the pair.

Okay, she thought. Time to go. As reluctant as she was to leave him there, she knew it was probably quite a while past the time she was supposed to be home now. She opened the door, stealing a final, lingering glance at him as she closed it. A part of her wanted to run back outside, and a part of her wanted to run to her bedroom so she could start writing to him immediately. There was a third part though, with a different wish, and as she heard someone behind her, she thought that she might get to indulge that one.

/end