Room, annnnd... Unrequited."

I looked at her blankly. "You'll have to describe them because I don't remember the names. Actually, I remember The Breathing Room. What was

Noisy Blushes?"

Naimh gave me a wry grin.

“Your supernova. It's called Noisy Blushes."

“Oh, okay then. What about Unrequited?"

The redhead blushed... well... noisily. It was a deep scarlet flush that briefly flooded her freckled face as she averted her gaze, and I immediately figured it had something to do with love, as if the title

Unrequited hadn't already given it away. I still had no idea which specific piece she was talking about, but her reaction made that point rather moot.

Taking a chance, I reached out and held her hand. "You DO know that your love for me isn't unrequited, don't you?"

She squeezed my hand back and sighed. "But isn't it?"

“I do love you."

She sighed. "You Love all of us."

"Doesn't make my statement less true."

"You Love me because I let you destroy my poor arsehole just now."

“Well... yes, I enjoyed that part quite a bit too. But there's more to our relationship than just sex, right? Tell me you didn't have a good time at the museum. Tell me you don't love cuddling on the beach watching the sunset."

“Of course I do.“

“Then what's the problem?"

She sighed. "I want you to love me the way I love you."

“Which is how, exactly?"

Naimh took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, collecting her thoughts.

She stared off into the middle distance, eyes unfocused. "I love you like Noisy Blushes. The whole point of that piece is that it has no walls, no defined outer boundary. Everything is just exploding outward like..."

“Like a supernova?" I drawled with a wry grin.

Naimh rolled her eyes and muttered, "Okay maybe it looks like a supernova. But it's a supernova of emotion. There are no boundaries it's limitless. The walls are shattered and yet I'm back at the start, staring outward into the distance seeking boundaries that aren't there not because I'm looking for limits, but rather just seeking some kind of definition to give myself a sense of order. I'm lost in the vast sea, adrift. I'm trying so hard to believe in a world I can't see while billions of cosmic particles are passing through me. There's some meaning out there. I can feel it. There's a future for us out there. I know it. But I'm still back at the start... adrift... feeling and believing and knowing there's... something... Happiness. Comfort.

Brilliance in those infinite combinations of Light. I want to scream with joy at the top of my lungs feeling the complete fullness of all those glittering pieces summed together. But it's a maze that requires me to find the right combination, as if each piece is a steppingstone across the ocean of space and I'm scared to miss a step and fall for all eternity into the black abyss. I... uh... sorry... I think I went off on a tangent there."

She was blushing again, but I smiled and caressed her cheek while drawing her face to mine. From only inches away, I gave her a sincere look and said, “I already told you: I LOVE your passion. And for all your uncertainty, please remember something very important we've already talked about."