10. I'd Wait Forever

"Sybil", replied Tom, his voice shaky.

For the past two years he had thought he had perfectly hardened his heart against anything. Who had he been fooling? He felt like an imaginary fist was clenching his heart, pressing harder and harder.

"I wondered what this moment would be like", said Sybil. "You look... different. You lost weight."

"You're the same", replied Tom, sounding colder than he had intended. And she was. The same Sybil. Dark, unruly curls. Bright blue eyes. Smooth skin. She was wearing a loose dress with a floral print. She looked more beautiful than he remembered.

"Thanks, I guess? I don't feel the same. I feel... older." She looked down at her feet.

"Well, you don't look it." He meant it as a compliment but again his voice betrayed his bitterness. Sybil looked up at him. He could see tears starting to form in her eyes.

"You must hate me", she whispered and her voice cracked. It was unfair. He should be mad at her. He should not be wanting to go over to her, hug her against his chest, never let her go. But he needed to know why she had come. She was the one who had told him not to contact her. And by God, had he come close. But wanting to respect her wish had won out in the end.

"Sybil, what are you doing here?" he asked, straining to make his voice sound warmer.

"Can we maybe go somewhere to talk? Your place?" She looked positively frightened of what his reaction might be. He was going to decline her offer but looking into her sad, beautiful face, he could not bear the thought of hurting her.

"Let me just check", he said and without another word, he made his way up to the office. He didn't have to check anything. He always came and left as he chose, depending on his work load. He just wanted a minute to himself. To process everything. Up in his office, he closed the door and slumped against the wall. He forced himself to breathe in deeply. Sybil. She had always had a way of bursting in and making a mess of things, hadn't she? He needed to be careful. Their short encounter alone had brought him dangerously close to the feelings he had once had for her. Had. Not anymore. Definitely not. Tom buried his face in his hands. Steeling his heart against further injury would not be an easy task where this woman was concerned.

Tom stood up, gathering his thoughts. Another deep breath and he was on his way down again. At the front desk, Declan raised his eyebrows at him quizzically. "That her?" he mouthed and Tom nodded. Declan threw him a look of pity and then smiled encouragingly. So that's what had become of him. Someone to be pitied.

Tom stepped outside the building where Sybil was waiting for him anxiously. "I thought you might have changed you mind", she said relieved.

"No. Just had to take care of a few things." Tom nodded into the direction of his flat and went on ahead of Sybil. Take care of a few things. Eegit. Take care of your mental state, more like, Tom thought to himself. This was dangerous. He could feel it in his gut. And in his heart.

The short walk to his flat was accompanied by an uncomfortable silence. As he turned the key and let Sybil into his flat, everything in him screamed no. She would not stay. She had come to torment him like she had done in his dreams.

"This is nice", said Sybil, gesturing to the general direction of his living room. It was close to exactly the same as she had seen it two years ago. Except that he had reversed the "Sybil do-over". He had de-Sybilled his flat. He had to grin at the absurdities his brain was coming up with to cope with his world being turned upside down.

He needed something to do. "Coffee?" he asked uncomfortably and was grateful when Sybil nodded and gave him an excuse to go into the kitchen. When he came back with two cups, she had found a tiny space between his dirty laundry on the couch. "Sorry", he mumbled and picked up his clothes, only to throw them to the far side of the room. He definitely wasn't going to make an effort. He sat down next to her, careful to leave enough space for comfort.

"So... are you seeing someone?" asked Sybil casually. Nothing casual about the question though. He looked up, trying to read her intentions in her face. He had been much better at guessing her every thought once. Maybe she had gotten older after all. More mature. Had she missed him?

"No. Not really. Haven't found that nice Irish girl you told me to marry yet." Sybil looked hurt at the memory.

"Well. Neither am I. If you're interested." She looked so sad. Tom wanted to put his arms around her and kiss her forehead. Kiss her nose. Kiss her mouth. Kiss her...

When he looked up, he saw his expression mirrored in her face. Their eyes interlocked like the first time they had seen each other. And suddenly, everything fell away. All the pain and bitterness was gone. The two years of agony were gone. There was only Sybil, beautiful like she had always been. She looked at him with such longing that he had no choice but to slide over to her. It took only moments for them to close the gap between them on the couch, the gap between their lips.

They kissed like they had never been parted from each other. It was like muscle memory. Tom remembered exactly where Sybil liked to be touched. Their lips moved against each other hungrily, their tongues exploring each other fiercely. He crushed her to him hard and she gasped. When she struggled free, Tom thought she might have changed her mind. But she only pulled her dress over her head in one swift movement and straddled Tom who was sitting upright to watch her undress. He touched her bare skin and the sensation was beyond belief. Sybil pulled off his shirt, laughing sweetly as it caught on his chin. Tom stood up, pulling her up with him and carried her to the bedroom.

He put her down on the bed and pulled off his trousers. She moaned deeply as he lay down on top of her, pinning her against the mattress. "Tom", she whispered and softly stroked his face. "I have missed you so much", she breathed before Tom closed his mouth upon hers. And as their bodies melted into each other, he felt like the blinding darkness had finally relinquished its hold on his heart.

Tom looked at Sybil's ivory skin glistening in the sunlight. Her raven hair made her smooth skin look even paler. Her lips were parted slightly, her eyes closed against the light. She sighed and turned around. As she opened her eyes, her intensely blue gaze locked on him. She smiled. Tom's heart stopped. She was so beautiful. She always had been the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

"I definitely, definitely didn't think this was going to happen", she grinned.

"What did you think was going to happen? We'd go out for a cuppa and you'd fly back in the morning?" Tom turned over to lie on his back. Damn you, Tom Branson. Just be nice for once. Like the man she used to know.

"I'm not going to fly back in the morning", Sybil said simply.

Tom sat up straight. "What?"

She looked at him nervously. "I thought maybe... I could stay a while."

"Define 'while'", Tom replied, careful not to let hope sneak in.

"I have to be back at uni in two weeks. To have my finals." Sybil sat up next to him and tucked the blanket around her shoulders.

"Sybil. What did you come for? Just tell me. You must know what this is doing to me." His heart was breaking at the thought of losing her a second time. He felt like he had barely survived the first. Looking at her, he realised that he was in much in love with her as ever. Like no time had passed at all. So much for not hoping.

"I'm so sorry." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I just needed to see you. So much." She brushed away a tear from her cheek and he wished he could have done it for her. "I have thought of you, every day. Every minute of every day."

"So have I." Tom breathed in deeply. No going back now. He could not let her go again, he had to hold on to his happiness this time. "Are you going to leave me again?" he asked, hopeful and desperately afraid of her answer at the same time. So she had missed him as much as he had missed her.

"I have to. But it won't be long now." Sybil's eyes caught sight of a picture sitting on a small table in the corner. Their picture. Happy faces, snow. "You kept it", she smiled but he would not let her get away so easily.

"I know what it is. I know you're too scared to admit it, but you're still in love with me", Tom said emphatically and forced Sybil to look him in the eye.

"I'm not", she whispered. His heart sank. He felt like he had taken a blow into his abdomen and all the breath had been knocked out of him.

When Sybil noticed her mistake, she flushed a deep crimson. "No, Tom, I didn't mean that! I just meant I'm not too scared. I do still love you. I never stopped, not for a second."

What Tom felt at this moment could not be put into words. A relief so profound flooded his body that he struggled to keep breathing. He gasped and Sybil smiled at him affectionately.

"You silly man. Of course I love you. It's why I came. To..." She stopped and looked down to the ground again. Tom cupped her face in his hands and gently raised her chin. He smiled at her encouragingly. "...to ask you to wait. Wait for me, Tom", she said, her voice brimming with love.

Tom felt like his heart was about to burst for love of her. "I'd wait forever", he breathed and pulled her into a never-ending kiss.

The End. For now. I don't know if it's worth going on, what do you think? Maybe to deal some more with her family's opposition but poor HMS Branson have probably been through enough already.