E: "Don't come in yet!"

A: "Eli, what am I supposed to do? I can't just stand out here like an awkward stalker, hurry up!"

E: "Yelling through a closed door makes you look even more awkward and stalker-ish! I asked you to go and make yourself pretty, there's something to do."

A: "I am insulted." 

E: "Oh, I mean - er - not that you don't always look pretty. You're always exceptionally pretty - um - I mean-"

A: "I'm just kidding, Eli, but I can almost feel the ghost of your blushing cheeks right next to me."

E: "Hey!"

A: "Oh, by the way, I used your money to buy the dress I'm wearing."

E; "You did what?"

A: "You said to go shopping and make myself look pretty, although we have just established I apparently always look exceptionally so-"

E: "Shhhh."

A: "-but you didn't specify in what way I should pretty myself and with what I should shop. So I took the initiative and borrowed - the term 'borrowed' used loosely here - your money."

E: "That's a very eloquent way of saying you stole from me."

A: "Indeed."

E: "Y'know, you probably look awfully weird out there talking to a door."

A: "I wouldn't be if you would hurry up your cooking."

E: "The art cannot and will not be rushed."

A: "Eli-"

E: "I'm done!"

A: "Thank God!"

Relieved, she pushed the chalet door open, but she only managed to take one step inside before she froze and her eyes widened in surprise. In the middle of what before was a pokey living room, there was a big, square blanket layed on the floor surrounded by dozens of candles in a large circle. In the middle of the blanket there were two mini stools with trays on top, holding glasses of wine-looking ribena and two plates of steaming roast chicken dinners.

Sat cross-legged on the floor next to his creation, he began to smile sheepishly up at her before his mouth fell open.

E: "You-"

A: "Oh my gosh, Eli!"

E: "The dress-"

A: "This is, oh-"

E: "You look-"

A: "You did all this for me?"

E; "Your dress, you-"

A: "Oh, um, I'm sorry I spent your money, I will take it back after this, I just-"

E: "No!"

A: "Huh?"

E: "Don't take it back. Ever. You look a million times whatever that dress cost."

He stood then, and beamed widely at her. He reached for her hand, tugging her forward and back down to the ground. She flushed, the redness of her cheeks illuminated faintly by the waving candlelight.

A: "If these candles set this dress on fire I'll murder you."

E: "I technically paid for it anyway."

A: "Irrelevant."

E: "That's my word."

A: "Oops."

E: "But I love when you say it."

A: "It's a damn good word."

E: "Toast it?"

A: "Why not? Ribena is a nice touch, by the way."

E: "I thought so."

They raised their glasses and clinked them together.

E: "Irrelevant."

A: "Irrelevant."

E: "Aeryn, you've got..."

A: "What?"

E: "On your mouth, um..." 

A: "What is it?"

He leaned forwards and put pulled his sleeve out to wipe the drops of ribena from her mouth, but at the last second he decided that his lips could do just as good a job, and so he pressed them to hers while his eyelids flickered shut and his heart threatened to rip out of his chest to intertwine itself with hers.

She wound her hands into his hair - it was as soft beneath her fingertips as she's always thought it would be - and scrunched her eyes tight shut for fear that if she dared peak out from under her eyelashes the dream would be gone and this beautiful, wonderful moment would never have happened and the beautiful, wonderful boy that she loved didn't really exist.

E: "You had ribena on your mouth."

A: "I like you."

E: "Aeryn-"

A: "Actually no I don't, I don't like you-"

E: "Huh?"

A: "I don't like you, Eli, I love you. Damn you and your humour and your sucky jokes and your soft hair and your long eyelashes. I am in love with you."

E: "...I don't really know how to top that."

A: "Well-"

E: "Apart from saying that you are the most beautiful thing I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on, inside and out. Even before I ever spoke to you I saw you. You sat alone but it was intriguing to me because I'd heard you talking to people casually before, if you absolutely had to, and you were funny and friendly, but you just weren't interested in actually befriending someone. You weren't bullied, you weren't teased, you weren't shy or like a Bella Swan from a rubbish romance movie. You were just different, enigmatic like I told you when we first met, and there was nothing more I wanted than to break you down in the nicest way and get to know you. When we were partnered together in that project I was so over the moon, but I never comprehended how far and hard I would fall for you, Aeryn, because I am in love with you too."

A: "...I think you topped me."

E: "I'm glad you think so."

A: "We really do belong in some shitty movie, confessing our love to each other without even being together."

E: "We went on dates!"

A: "Yes."

E: "Although the pizza wasn't very romantic."

A: "It was perfect."

E: "And even if we weren't officially together, you've always had my heart."

A: "We could be 'officially together'..."

E: "Yes?"

A: "...if you ask me properly."

E: "Why do I have to do it?"

A: "You're mister manly-man, come, come, Eli."

E: "Fiiiiine. Aeryn. Love. Sweetie-pie-sugar-thing. DATE ME."

A: "Oh my God, I guess that's close enough. Yes, Eli, I will."

E: "I am so happy."

A: "I think I'm going to explode."

E: "You're a weirdo, Aeryn. But you're my weirdo."

A: "And you're mine."

E: "Always?"

A: "We're not Snape and Lily."

E: "I'm glad, I treasure you alive."

A: "But yes, always."

E: "Pinky promise?"

A: "Pinky promise."

_____________________________________________________________

I don't think you can ever understand how emotional I am feeling right now because this is actually over. Eli & Aeryn is finished [but lives on in my heart, of course] and I feel like screaming. I honestly know that the majority of you probably don't care about my a/ns - they're not interesting - but I just want to say how amazing the support and general not-hatred of this story makes me feel, it's one of the best things that's happened to me for a long, long time. I know any of the 'hype' or whatever will die down and this story will eventually be forgotten, as will all things in the end, but I am eternally grateful for what we have accomplished with this: at the moment a few thousand reads away from 1million and a few votes away from 40,000.

I know this story was quite drawn out, but I don't know, I find the idea of long romances cute and so sweet compared to 'be my boyfriend and let's shag in a few weeks', if you know what I mean. :P

I hope you enjoyed this last chapter and I hope [fingers crossed] that you stick around and see if you like anything else I write.

I'm going to attempt [eventually because procrastination] to reply to every comment (or at least every individual person 'cause some of you leave nice batches of comments), even if it's just with a smiley face, because I appreciate you and your face. <3