Extended Scene:

“It’s going to be used as a special guest perk for the hotel. A sort of meditation area for VIPs. But it’s still off limits.”

Tim pressed her shoulder as she made to get up at that bit of information. Holding out the key card, he said, “However, you’ll be allowed in whenever you like. If you need an escape, or a space to push away the pain outside of your apartment, this will be here. Quiet and waiting.”

Lucy looked up at him, her entire body sparkling in the moonlight as she matched the plants and wildlife with the paint on her skin. She was so alive. So full of the essence of the earth.

“You belong here. More than anyone I’ve ever met. And I’ve got some serious pull with the owner and the architect, so…”

Lucy stood slowly. And for the first time ever, she initiated a hug.

If jumping into his arms after a near death experience didn’t count.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling into his shoulder.

Tim could feel the curve of her lips against his neck, her warm breath heating up his skin, and for the first time in a long time found himself asking for something he wanted. “Dance with me?”

Lucy’s palms moved up his arms without a word, keeping contact between them as she switched into a dance hold, her eyes shining even as her face remained impassive.

Tim took one of those palms in his own and led Cinderella into a waltz he would’ve never dared downstairs before the brass, no music necessary when he could practically hear an entire orchestra in his mind.

*

I’ve never felt this way before. 

Lucy laid her head against Tim’s steady shoulder and allowed her soul to stop aching for a precious little while. All the cracks in her armor still throbbed, especially outside in the solitude of a sable night, but she was no longer alone. Not for this moment. Not for this dance. 

She was finally, fully, and foundationally at peace. 

Maybe that’s why it started as a hum, just a simple release of overflowing emotions, and turned into a gentle song she pressed against the left side of Tim's chest.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “What melody is that?”

“Hmm?” She looked up, allowing the words to sink in with a slow blink of her eyes. “Oh, I don't know. It just came to me. Like you did.”