You could hear muffled laughter after the door was closed. Minutes seem to tick by in the closet, in the dark, and all you hear is each other breathing. You feel your heart pounding as if it wants to break free to be with his.

Aaron is the first to speak, "La, I never. . . "

You softly interrupt and tell him, "I know. I know everything." 

You hear his sigh of relief and realize how close you are in the dark as you feel his breath caress your cheek.

He asks, quietly so the others can't hear if there are ears pressed to the door, "May I kiss you?"

He hears your soft whisper of, "Yes . . . " and you feel his warm lips gently press to yours. You are suddenly teleported back in time to the first kiss in the dark, in a locked closet, when you are in love with him.

"Mmm, you still taste like strawberries," he mummers.

You softly giggle, "I still use strawberry lip balm."

You feel his hands on your shoulders, his thumbs caressing gently, "Please, don't change."

And he kisses you again, this time tasting your lips with his tongue. You sigh, and his tongue finds yours. He pulls you against him, deepening the kiss. He whispers next to your ear as he trails kisses toward your throat. He stops and nuzzles his face in your hair before slightly moving back, "I was in love with you then. I'm still in love, for what it's worth."

"You were in love with me?" spoken so softly he almost didn't hear you. You couldn't believe he was confessing how he felt back then. You had thought he had a crush on you, just like the one you had on him. The following week after Kraven's birthday party, your heart felt shattered, and the only way you found to cope with the pain was to fill your heart with hate for Aaron. Suddenly, you snap your head up when you hear him speak again.

"I still love you, Lala." You feel his hands gently pull your body closer to his, and you willingly go.

"Oh, Aaron, I love you too. All these years, I held you accountable for the hell I lived through after Kraven's birthday party. I didn't know it was him spreading lies about me." 

You regret never giving him a chance to talk to you before you moved away. It wasn't his fault you were assaulted at high school and then harassed at university. It was Kraven's. It had always been because of Kraven. Your chest hurts with the hate you directed at Aaron all these years and felt shame for how you acted. Can he ever forgive me?

With tears of regret brimming in your eyes, you apologize. "I'm so sorry. All these years, I blamed you for things you didn't do."

You place your hands in his hair and gently bring his face down, claiming his lips as yours. You both are so caught up with each other that you haven't noticed how quiet it is outside the closet. In the closet, all you hear is the soft rustle of clothes, the sounds your lips make as they dance against each other, and the sound of escaping sighs of pleasure.

The presence of time had no power as he had you close in his warm embrace, your face resting against his chest, as you listened to the rapid beating of his heart in pace with yours.

He explained everything since that night of Spin the Bottle, what he had found out, what Max had told him, and what he had overheard about you. He didn't tell you that he knew through Gigi what followed you through University. She had sworn him to secrecy.

He asks, desperately wanting to understand, "You thought I was spreading all those rumors, and all that followed you afterward was my fault? Is that why you hated me so much?"

He hangs his head, feeling guilty, even though he wasn't. He rests his chin gently on top of your head. Regret fills his heart. He says with sorrow, "I don't blame you for hating me. I hated me too."

Your voice softened in meekness and guilt, "I love you so much that hating you was the only way it didn't hurt."

He pulls you tightly against him, kissing the top of your head and inhaling the sweet scent of the strawberry taste of your lips left on his.

"I love you, La."

"I love you too," you say as you pull his face down to yours, kissing him deeply, trying to make up for all those lost minutes in heaven.

Shifting positions while kissing, you bump against the closet door, and it pops open—neither of you is aware.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the others return from dinner, Nathan carries the takeout they got for you and Falcon to the kitchen.

Parker quickly rushes past the others and goes to the hall. The closet door is open. He comes back, practically bubbling over with joy.

"The closet's empty!" He announces with enthusiasm.

The others pat Max on the back and congratulate him for his brilliant plan as they go to watch a move in the theater room.

You lie beside Aaron in his room, your head resting on his bare chest, your hair spread across his arm as he holds you. You both quietly try to catch your breath.

His gentle yet urgent caresses and kisses filled your body were pure euphoria, which you never felt with anyone. You both drift into a heavily sated sleep, two hearts in rhythm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, you open your eyes to Aaron smiling at you. "Good morning, Aaron." You softly say to him. The emptiness in your heart is gone replaced by love as he continues to smile.

"Good morning Lala." His smile shifts to a mischievous grin as he pulls you under the covers and takes you to heaven once again. The void in his heart that he suffered with most of his life is swiftly being filled, filled by being loved by you.