of reindeer and green balloons {m}

The power and gentleness shown in his eyes made her breath catch. There was no way to describe the way it made her feel. But she did know that, at this moment, she wished she could run away and shirk all future encounters and responsibilities. The true desire, deep down, was to not forget this day, though she knew she must; it was selfish of her to hold onto such things, especially when pack needs were to come first. There would be some days where she would forget, but others that would give the memory in waves and stay in her head all day, surroundings quiet but head roaring with question.

"Yes," she finally said after a bit of silence. "We will keep this forever quiet, Atticus." After a beat, she added, "Unless there was anymore you'd like to talk about, we should get going, I suppose." Her words lingered in the air like the bout of kisses she had so recently applied to his belly. The desire for this moment to never end squeezed her tightly, but she knew that it must eventually, whether sooner or later.