FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: So we have reached the end, my friends, and it has been one long, and beautiful journey for me. I hope you have enjoyed the story thus far, and will continue to read other fics by other authors for many early days and late nights to come. Check out this fic's anthem: Paperweight by Joshua Radin feat. Schuyler Fisk.

I believe in Naomily. I believe their love story is one of the few truest ones out there in the fiction world, and no matter what, they will always love each other. No matter what words are printed on the page, Naomily's chemistry is beautiful, and that is of course due to Lily and Kathryn's performances. They are the reason why we watch, read, write, and rewrite their story. We can only hope their paths cross again on screen.

Thanks to my two betas, without whom, I doubt this would've ever been as good as I hope it was. They inspired and guided me, told me when something worked, when it didn't, read chapter after chapter and gave me the feedback I needed to continue. ToKaylee, Ally, and Annabel: this story would NOT been seen to its conclusion if it weren't for you guys. Your faith in me helped keep me going when nothing else could. You're not just readers, you're my friends

To the other fic writers who have given us all so much, thank you a hundred times over, particularly: thecon12 (Where I Stood), esdiferente (Dragons, The Avalanche Has Already Started, Close Protection), Blue-Eyed-Blonde-90 (Heart Skipped A Beat), lazyboo (No Barrier), PersephonesNauticalNun (Abnormally Attracted to Sin), emilionaomikins (There's Always A Choice, Lessons in Love), TrueFreak89 (The Life I Could Have Lived), HyperFitched (I Hold A Force I Can't Contain, The Bend In The Wave), post-war (Coming Back To You), Crevette (Breaking Points), niceoneblondie (Ink), partylikeits1999 (Somewhere He Opens A Window/Tomorrow Is Always Fresh With No Mistake In It) scriptmanip (Clean Sheet, Resting On Your Laurels), and of course luvactually/goldflecks (Coin Laundry). Their character interpretations are just as visceral and the stories are just as life-changing as anything "original" out there. Their art exists to exist.

"The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can." -Neil Gaiman. To you, the reader, you are wonderful, and I thank you for taking your time to read this story.

Now it is time to bid adieu to It's So Fragile, and I am proud to give you the final installment with my warmest wishes, tenderest thoughts, and a hopefully satisfying conclusion. To all of you from now until next time, cheers!

CHAPTER NINETEEN: It's You

EMILY'S POV

10 Months Later...

Cardiff Bay wasn't Goa. There weren't any exotic foods to eat, but the fish and chips were unbeatable. Beaches weren't too shabby. An ocean's an ocean, right? The sea air could did some good. I think. It blew cool from the balcony of the motel room this morning. My head lulled back against the wicker chair as I pulled my robe tighter around my knees. At least it was a place away from everything. For a while.

When mum and dad left for Glasgow, Katie and I put up a big enough row about needing to stay in Bristol. So we moved into Naomi's flat. I'd worked two jobs, one at a local bookstore, the other at a boutique, for nearly six months saving every penny which wasn't going toward necessary expenses. After everything that happened last year, I needed a break, to completely escape all of the memories which were landlocked in Bristol. My memory hadn't returned to me-

"Emily!"

-but my Naomi had.

"Emily!" The distress in Naomi's voice beckoned me quickly from the balcony back into the adjoining bedroom where Naomi was tugging at the covers, her eyes still shut in the dawning sunlight. Slipping into the sheets alongside her, I could easily make out sweat beading across her forehead. Her teeth ground hard on her bottom lip. If I didn't wake her from the nightmare soon, she would likely bite right through it again. I propped myself up on my elbow and ran my hand over her damp forehead. Her breath was quick ragged as she whimpered my name repeatedly. "Ssshhh, ssshhh, Naomi, it's all right. It's ok, it's just a bad dream. Wake up, Naoms...come on...come back to me..." Sleepy blue eyes opened slowly to mine. She swallowed, trying to gain control from the spinning limbo between sleep and awake. Her hand reached out and removed mine from her forehead and clutched it tightly. I could feel the pulse in her fingers slow as she began to slowly realize I was next to her. "Which one was it this time?" I asked once she had managed to still just the tiniest bit.

Naomi's eyes open and shut several times before she answering, "The worst one," knowing I would understand. Matt. His gun. Me. Not her. My voice was even and soothing as I assured her,

"Naomi...Matt's-"

"-dead. No yeah. I remember. It's just...for half a second it always feels like..." Kissing the top of her forehead I whispered,

"I know."

It's terrifying waking up in darkness. Even for a split second. Knowing there are bits and pieces which don't feel right, having to rely on whatever that core is inside you which keeps you doing. I knew what Naomi was going through because I had been there. Sometimes, it still felt like I was. On that cold hard kitchen floor, covered in my girlfriend's blood, crying my eyes out praying the paramedics would just make it there in time. And I'd never prayed for anything in my life.

Matt was the reason the paramedics almost didn't make it to the flat. The reason Naomi almost died. The reason a bullet had nearly obliterated her insides, barely missing her spine. The reason her physical therapy had to be constantly extended because there had been so much nerve and artery damage. I wasn't going to mourn someone who terrorized and shot my girlfriend, then hopped in front of a bus a few minutes later. But that didn't stop him from haunting Naomi, even now.

It had taken us ages to fully confront everything that had happened. Neither of us wanted to face the pain we'd caused the other person. Naomi couldn't accept I was still so angry with her. I couldn't accept anything. For a long time. Still...I stayed. When she was in the hospital, I was by her side. Like she was beside mine. I helped her during physical therapy whenever Gina couldn't make it down to the hospital. She would always get mad, and frustrated, and then turn to me and shout, "If you could just talk to me maybe I could fucking do this!" I made her a deal. If she could get out of the wheelchair and walk toward me without anyone's help...I would talk to her. I spent every day that winter wanting to simultaneously kiss her, slap her, and burst into tears. Every day Naomi got stronger. Eventually Naomi moved back home. It had been a normal day. A Monday I thin. Christmas was fast approaching. I was standing in the kitchen, the day it happened. I looked into the hallway after I heard the floor creak and watched with tear filled eyes as Naomi took one step and then another. At first she was allowing the wall to guide her. But her last few steps, she pushed away, her eyes fixated on the chair. When she reached it, my voice choked on a sob. She looked at me. She smiled. "Now?" she had asked. I agreed.

As the Cardiff gulf air continued to blow lightly against the bed sheets I held Naomi closer to me, her head slowly calming against my chin. "Is there tea?" Naomi asked, her voice dry and groggy. I smiled as I began running my hands through her hair.

"Since when did you drink tea?"

"I do sometimes, remember? Oh...sorry...not really awake yet." Her face flushed a bit as her eyes glanced away. I kissed her cheek.

"There's some in the cabinet. How do you take it?"

"White with just honey. I'm trying this new thing, y'know, cutting back on the smoking?"

"I'll put the kettle on then." I'd no sooner filled the iron pot and placed it on the gas stove, returning to the adjacent bedroom, only to fine Naomi out on the balcony with a fag lit and dangling from her lips. Walking slowly across the length of the room I adoringly gazed at her while she smoked. She was now sitting in the chair I had recently vacated, her head turned at an angle. Her lips curled over the filter as her long, lovely fingers held the stick close even after she had taken an inhale. Her eyes always glazed over in thought, on every puff, if only for a moment. The ritual was just as tantalizing for me as it was calming for her.

Slowly she turned the chair toward the balcony's edge so she could prop her feet up against the stone landing, leaning to one side the tiniest bit as she did so. Most of the pain from her bullet wound had faded, but occasionally something as simple as sitting could be tricky, especially in the morning when her muscles were still tense. Striding onto the patio, I stood behind her. I parted her hair where it fell down her back and lightly ran my fingertips the width of her shoulders. Glancing down, I watched her smile at the touch, her eyes lulling shut as she reveled at the contact.

Sitting beside her, I pulled the fag from her lips and took my own puff. Leaning back with a smile, I exhaled the off-white smoke into the air as Naomi's eyes lingered on me. I hadn't thought on the afternoon for a while, but suddenly, Effy's words came filtering through my mind as Naomi's eyelashes slowly blinked with the pull of her drag.

"You don't get to see how she looks at you when she's certain no one can see. It's like she's terrified and blissful at the exact same time. I've never seen anyone do that. Least of all her. And with no one other than you."

Naomi's lips curled up into a small smile, and as they did, it was like they possessed some magical key which slipped into a lock and opened a door. Without pomp and circumstance, without any trigger or knock over the head...I looked into those torridly perfect, blue eyes and finally saw...myself.

The corners of my eyes prickled with oncoming tears as Naomi leaned forward, her brow etching with concern. "Ems, what is it? What's wrong?" My cheeks burst into a smile as I leaned forward and kissed her. Her hands gently wrapped around my arms and pulled me back, her face searching for the cause of the wetness she's just tasted between us. Through a choked laugh I whispered,

"I remember. Naomi...I remember everything." Instantaneous tears appeared in Naomi's eyes as her lips found mine again in quick successive kisses. After a few moments, my eyes opened to hers as she ran her hands through my hair, her gaze examining my every feature.

"Are you all right? How do you feel? Dizzy? Do you have a headache? Should we go back inside?" The questions spilled out of her so fast I couldn't attempt to answer. With a tiny laugh I held my hands up and shook my head.

"I'm fine," I insisted, "I don't feel any different. It's just a relief. There isn't this black cloud hanging over me anymore. It's as simple as...it's all there now..." Naomi's lip curled underneath the right corner of her teeth. The side of my mouth twitched as I surveyed her concentrated bite.

"We should still get you inside. Get you to lay down," she finally answered, almost pragmatically, mashing the butt of her fag into the glass ashtray as she stood.

"Couldn't agree more," I replied, my voice dipping just the tiniest bit as I followed Naomi in through the glass doors. Just as we stepped from patio, a loud whistle ripped through the kitchen, scaring the shit out of both of us. "Fuck! I forgot!" I bellowed as I ran toward the sound I don't know why I ran, perhaps it was the extra kick of adrenaline, but before I could blink my hand was on the iron teapot's handle, grateful for the wooden top as I hadn't even though to grab the potholder hanging from the nail in the stove top window.

I switched of the electric as I moved the kettle from one eye to another. Turning over my shoulder to reach for the tea kept in the adjoining shelf, I was immediately intercepted by Naomi who pulled me close, bringing her lips passionately down on mine. A sharp inhale at the surprise was seized from my lips. Tugging at the hem of my robe, I didn't question her as she pulled me and back toward the bedroom, never breaking contact from the kiss. "Thought I said we needed to lay down..." she muttered against my lips as her hands slipped into the silk rob and removed it from my shoulder to the ground. Her fingertips hooked onto the elastic band of my knickers, tugging my hips flush against her.

My hands squeezed her hips. She sucked my bottom lip between her teeth as I increased our pace toward the bed. A playful squeal broke the kiss as we finally landed on top of the mattress. Straddling Naomi's hips, I pulled her further onto the king size motel bed, my hands on either side of her head, as I began kissing down her neck. She released a moan which matched mine as both vibrated against one another with each pressure point I found. Fingernails ran up my sides, causing goosebumps to rise from the base of my spine to the top of my head. Naomi's hands tangled into my vest as she pulled it quickly over my head. I quickly worked Naomi free of her own. My hands slid into warm, blanketed blonde hair. Slowly, hands wrapped around my own neck, sweet, lingering pressure applied as our lips tangled together again.

"I'm not too heavy, am I?" I said, breathlessly, aware for the first time my knee was directly below Naomi's still somewhat tender side. Kissing my jawline into my ear she whispered,

"Is that your way of asking me to top you?" A smile crept over my lips.

"Not at all, but now that you mention it-"

Naomi turned her head to meet my eyes with a mischievous twinkle as she twisted her hips opposite the direction of her wounded side and switched our positions. As she kissed below my ear, finding the spots which were hot wired to make my clit start throbbing, my hands pressed against Naomi's skin as I drug my palms up her back. Her shoulders arched into the touch as her hips came down against mine, grinding against me where I could already feel how wet she was under her knickers. A soft moan became vocal as the shift became immediate friction. Quick, high pitched sounds echoed with each slow rubbing of Naomi's hips.

A particularly rough bite against my neck triggered my hands to shoot into Naomi's hair, pulling her head back aggressively to kiss her with a slow, burning frenzy. Pushing my tongue into her mouth, I deepened the kiss with three languid strokes, feeling her moan into my mouth until I was satisfied from my thirst. Our lips released, parted just enough so I could feel her hot, ragged breath from arousal and passionate tension radiate down from her like the surface of the sun. I was bathed in this woman's desire. "I love you," I whispered, feeling my words land tangibly against Naomi's lips. I stopped breathing.

"I love you too, Em." I kissed her immediately, drank her in, savored how she tasted. Naomi's lips began their pursuit down my neck. They pressed against my collar bone, brushed across my tit until she sucked my nipple into her mouth. My upper back instinctively levitated into the biting draw of the combination of her teeth and lips. Her tongue fluttered pressure up and down, releasing gasps from within me. One of her hands ran across my lower stomach, over my hip around my hip, and up my side until it landed on my other nipple. Each flick of Naomi's tongue and twist of her fingers sent a shock wave of intense pleasure through me, inside me, against me. My blood was humming. It was on fire.

I ran my fingers through Naomi's hair as her mouth and hands switched sides. My heart raced as I watched my girlfriend grope and tease me. Her eyes locked on mine. The intensity of her gaze lingered only a moment before she released her hold on my tits with a final flick of her fingers and nip of her teeth which jolted my hips up into hers. Once she shifted I watched her face hallow into a gasp as she felt my wetness against her stomach. I smiled. "You're still always so surprised at how wet you make me," I said.

Naomi's chest rose and fell twice before she yanked my knickers free of my hips, kissing one hip bone all the way across to the other. My head lulled back as with each press of her lips, my inside walls clenched with wanting anticipation. I wanted her mouth on me. Lower. I didn't have to make the request. Naomi's lips vibrated with a pleasure to match my own as they wrapped around my swollen clit. "Fuck," I huskily moaned, clutching the duvet as.

She knew how to tease me. She knew if she flicked up and down quickly, my hips would buck against her tongue so she'd draw the pleasure from me in long thorough strokes. I knew she was watching me, my tits lightly bouncing up and down as my breathing increased. It only stirred her on further, her lips increasing their pressure as her tongue worked faster, and as a result my moans reached higher and higher in pitch and volume.

Right before I came, I grabbed a handful of Naomi's hair and pulled her away. "What?" she whispered, and before she could question me, I rolled up to a sitting position and crashed my lips against hers, using the force of my upper body to top her. "Wha-Em-wha're you do-" she asked as my hands raked down her sides and latched beneath the hem of her underwear. Tossing it to the floor beneath us, I drank in her wetness immediately. "Oh fuck!" she moaned, forgetting any protest she was beginning to create and her hands tangled into her hair.

Her taste only fueled my own arousal and as my tongue brushed and flicked against her, my own fingers moved to my still throbbing clit. I massaged it in slow, deliberate circles, matching what my tongue did against myself. I moaned repeatedly, my eyes glancing up to Naomi who's head was buried against her arm, her eyes squinted shut in pleasure. A particularly throaty, "Oh fuck, Em," sent a shock wave me to my pulsing center as two fingers thrust deep into Naomi. Her hands slammed against the headboard as she screamed, "Jesus fucking Christ!" accompanied by a high pitched moan as my fingers curled into a rhythm right against her g-spot.

My eyes shut as Naomi's fingers clutched the back of my head, pulling at my scalp with just enough pressure for my heart to start hammering. "Faster, Emily, please, faster," she begged, her hips rising against me now. Pushing my fingers tightly against her upper wall, I pulled out just enough to push a third finger inside of her. My pace immediately increased as my fingers pumped harder. "Oh god, fuckfuckfuckfuck," My other hand rubbed against my clit like mad. Breaking my tongue away from Naomi, I shut my eyes as I began to match her moans as I felt the familiar white hot heat pulse through my body. My toes curled as Naomi's hips bucked wildly against my fingers which were hastily, hungrily, completely filling her. With a final downward push, a scream erupted out of Naomi as she came hard against me. Stars formed in the back of my eyes as I felt her walls pulse and flood. My mouth opened as my breathing increased. I held my breath tightly as I begged my body to come too.

"Ah, ah, oh, god, fuck," I moaned as I felt it begin for a second time, but before it hit me, Naomi had her hands on my waist, and was pulling me toward her. Losing my balance just slightly I worked my way up to where she was guiding me, outwardly groaning as I lost the momentum of my build. But the blood boiling in my body ignited when I saw what she wanted. Pulling my legs over her shoulders, she pushed underneath me, my knees now at her ear. My hands grappled the head board to keep myself up right as Naomi's hands clutched my hips to bring me down atop her anxiously awaiting lips. "Fuck!" I exhaled as I felt her tongue lick my clit yet again. It wouldn't take long for me to come, but I wanted to ride this out as long as I could physically take it. Her tongue moved from where it danced atop my engorged clit and slipped inside of me. Naomi was fucking me with her tongue, and it felt fucking amazing.

"Fuck me," I begged as my hips rode with the motions of Naomi's tongue. "Fuck me, Naomi," I pleaded more fervantly. My grip on the headboard tightened as I felt her thumb push against my clit. "Fuck me like you love me," I whimpered. I looked down and our eyes met, and we knwe she was going to undo me completely. Like everything about her always had. Her tongue pushed faster, deeper, her thumb pressed harder as I felt my orgasm building inside of me with a speedy climb. My hips bucked once, twice, three times, "Ohgod-ohfuck-oh-Naomi-Naomiiiiii!" I cried. My heart stopped. I was dead...again...and I was immediately reborn the very next second. My knees clenched and my body shook as I came against Naomi's lips. My head felt like it was going to float away as my hands trembled against the headboard. I allowed myself two seconds to catch my breath, feeling Naomi's tongue rub lightly against me, before I lowered myself back onto the bed. "Holy-"

"-Shit." My body was coursing with the aftershocks of the best sex I ever had. And now I could remember what to compare it too.

"Are you all right?" I whispered, turning my head to look at my utterly spent girlfriend. She looked at me as she smiled.

"Why?" she asked, her breathing just as unhinged as matching mine while we continued to come down.

"I didn't hurt you? We haven't really had sex that intense since-"

"The doctor recommended exercise and a balanced diet," her eyes sparked with glee as she concluded, "and I'm fairly certain I just had both." Our fingers joined against the sheets as I scooted close enough to her to rest my forehead against hers.

"Pretty sure I'm going to have to reheat the kettle if you still want your tea," I said with a bit of a wicked lilt to my voice. The smile which Naomi gave me in that moment was one which simultaneously awakened and broke my heart.

Biting her lip she said, "I couldn't bare to lose you again, Em." I blinked.

"What brings that up?"

"Everything," she insisted, running her fingers through my hair, "everything about this. About you. About us. I finally have you back," her voice cracked, "I know it's probably not worth much after everything I've done. And said. I don't presume getting away will fix it all, but Emily, please forgive me." Tears were forming in her eyes now. My hand rubbed across her neck.

"Naoms, we've already talked about all that. We're fine. We're ok." Kissing the top of her forehead, I added, "Better than ok." She always felt things so intensely. More so than anyone I had ever known. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with her in the first place. Because I knew. I knew she'd always loved me. Because a part of me had always loved her. Before I knew it, maybe before she knew it.

Naomi and Emily. Inevitable.

"We're always," I whispered, bringing my lips atop hers.

"Yeah. Always," she agreed, robbing me of my thoughts and breath all over again with each press of her lips, trace of her fingers, and pull of her arms.

I was home.

END