She Won't Be Lonely Long

Hannah left Xabi alone in the bathroom. The shower still ran consistently just as it had before but she soon left his sight and the sound of her feet slapping against the stone floors disappeared. He peered through the tufts of steam crowding the bathroom and to the interior of his home, for all that he could see. His stomach gathered in knots again and he went from feeling utterly content to irrevocably alone. That damn house was getting to him again. She hadn't left yet but she would soon and he would stay alone until the minute she returned, whenever that was.

He didn't bother drying himself before hastily pulling on a pair of cargo shorts. After a few minutes of wandering, he saw through a window in the center living area that she had gone outside. She had far bypassed the patio until she was sitting in the middle of the yard, her legs pulled up to her chest as she animatedly spoke on the phone. She had found a t-shirt of Xabi's and wore nothing else but didn't care; The sun of Spain was generous and shone directly on her so she wouldn't be cold any time soon. He waited until her phone was shut off to join her outside, sitting behind her and wrapping his legs around the petite ball she had formed.

He could see from his peripheral that she had long been wearing a grin, even before he had came outside.

"You're happy?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and looking to where she faced. It was just a row of pine so what was making her smile? "Good phone call?"

She shook her head, still smiling with grace as the sunshine cascaded across her face, lighting the hazel of her eyes on fire. "It's not that... I only called Maral to tell her when I'd be home... It's just, this."

"What?"

"This. Spain. I love it here."

He nodded and tightened his embrace. "Then stay."

The smile across her lips fell with confusion. "I'm going to... I live here, dork."

" Stay here, with me. Move in." he specified.

Her lips turned upwards again once the confusion weighing them down had disappeared, but that wasn't necessarily an agreement. "Oh, well... no."

"No?" he whimpered, the sick feeling returning in his stomach as the thought of being alone came to him again. "Please."

"I'm gonna live on my own for a while. I'm gonna move out of Sergio and Maral's as soon as my Spanish is good enough to get a job."

Xabi scoffed quietly. "Su cabello será gris."

After a few seconds of thought, Hannah fathomed what Xabi had just spoke and gasped, lightly smacking his chest and struggling to contain her laughter. "I understood that!"

He chuckled and turned her to face him. "I need you here."

She sighed. "You do not. You were doing just fine without me."

"No I was not!" he rose his voice, closer to a holler than she had ever heard from Xabi.

She flinched and pulled away from him enough that she could turn to face him as he continued to speak.

"This house... I hate it, unless you are here. And Madrid, I have not been happy living here until last night. I need you with me."

She stared blankly in the direction of a matted clump of grass between them, letting silence dampen the conversation for a minute as she thought.

"I'm sorry. I need to live on my own for a while after I leave Maral and Sergio. And.. in the future, well, this house is ridiculous and I don't think I could ever live in it."

He sighed. "It is ridiculous, isn't it?"

Lightly, she smiled. "Yes it is. If you don't like the house, then leave."

His head tilted, heavy with thoughts that he hadn't considered before. "Oh... I could do that..."

She chuckled and pulled his face forward to meet hers with a kiss. "Yes you could. And just because I don't live with you doesn't mean I won't be with you. That's just... silly."

He nodded and stared downward at the same clump of grass that was the previous subject of Hannah's attention. "You're being distant again; Why?"

She shrugged. "I'm really not, Xabi. I want to start a life here on my own, and once I'm settled we'll see what happens."

"Don't you know that you were meant to be mine?"

Her face burnt a deep shade of rose and she nodded, whilst forcing herself to maintain eye contact. Once again she found herself thinking 'How did I get so lucky?'

"How did I get so lucky?" he spoke fluidly, simultaneous with her thoughts.

Her bashful smile fell immediately and her eyes widened with shock. That single moment where her thoughts and his words were nearly synchronised had came and her mind was blown; All of the uncertainties she ever had were answered and she knew that this was the relationship of her lifetime, the relationship that she could finally put trust in and that she should truly be grateful for.

She didn't have the slightest clue how to react. She was startled yet incredibly exhilarated, and the words spilled from her mouth easier than they ever had.

"I love you, Xabi." she spoke, feeling confident with everything she never had been before.

Once those words were spoke, Xabi had her heart and the ability to break it easily, yet she felt safer than ever. She felt beautiful and worthy of him, yet incredibly grateful. It was almost as if all of the hardhips she had endured up to that point in her life were resolved with Xabi, and she never had to look back.

The only thing left was for him to respond, and he did.

"I love you too, Hannah."