Sam Guthrie awoke to the steely gray light of pre-dawn. He sighed softly, and shifted around under the covers of his bed, trying to decide if he REALLY wanted to get up and go back to the X-Mansion that day. He hadn't been able to think of the school as 'home' since Tabitha and the rest of X-Force had moved out.
Tabitha Smith, lying next to him, stirred in her sleep, but settled back down next to the curve of his body after a moment. Sam looked down at her with sleepy eyes, glowing with the soft light of love.
He bent his head to kiss her neck softly, his lips feather light against her smooth skin. She squirmed against him again, her eyes fluttering open.
"Hi." Tabitha said softly, turning to look at him.
"Hi yourself." Sam said back, propping his head up on his arm.
He bent down and kissed her eyes gently, and then nuzzled his face against her cheek. Tabitha giggled when his morning stubble scrapped at her face. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, and hugged him for a second.
She pulled away, and lay back down in bed, looking at him with large blue eyes.
"Baby?" Tabitha asked, her voice slightly worried. "Do you-never mind."
Sam looked down at her in confusion, and reached to trace her jaw line with ideal fingers. "Do Ah what?" She was silent for a minute, and Sam poked her gently in the ribs. "Tabitha, do Ah WHAT?"
"Do you…regret…last night?" Tabitha asked softly, looking down at the bed sheets. Sam looked at her for a long moment, then gathered her into his arms and held her close to his chest. She could feel his heart beat, and inhaled the scent of his skin.
"Tabby…Ah love you. Ah've never ever felt this way before, and Ah want to spend the rest of my life with you. Ah've…thought about making love with you before. This was not something that Ah just decided to do out of the blue." Sam assured her, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm glad." Tabitha said against his chest. Sam kissed the top of her head again.
"Me too. So…how did Ah…do?" Sam asked. Tabitha didn't have to look at him to know that he was blushing bright red.
"You were…amazing. Wonderful. I'd love to do it again, and again and again." Tabitha reassured him, looking up at him with bright blue eyes.
"Oh really…?" Sam asked, his lips quirking into a smile.
"Yes, really…" Tabitha laughed, her eyes taking on a slightly hungry look.
"Well, far be it from me to deny a lady such…pleasure." Sam drawled, flipping her over so that she was on her back underneath him.
"That's one of the things love best about you, Sam Guthrie…" Tabitha told him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her. Sam lifted an eyebrow, and grinned brightly at her. "You're always such a gentlemen!"
And then there were no more words needed between them, as they allowed their bodies to show the love that they had for one another. Each one holding onto the other, with the promise of forever in their hearts.