"I love you," he says, and kisses Lev's forehead and then sits up so Lev is in his lap. 

"I love you!"

No matter how much she tries to make the time drag out, the end of step three is sooner than it should be. 

Asher wakes her up. 

"Let's go. I want to see you when you look like you."

She gets up and gets dressed-enough as fast as she can. 

There's no point in being subtle; she stays by Asher's side. 

He clings to her on the entire car ride.

"Once I get home we can send emails," she says quietly. "And I can try to come up to New York, it won't be often or anything but there are trains —" 

"I'll wait for you, I promise. Until you tell me to stop."

"I love you." She's clinging. "I love you — I have two email addresses, the one you know is the one my parents don't, I'm good at hiding things you can send me anything you want —" 

"I love you. If you decide you want to run I'll figure something out to take care of you."

She nods and pulls her knees up to her chest and leans heavily on Asher's side. 

When they get to Ron's, Asher says, "I want pictures of you."

She kisses him and gets dressed, takes special care with her makeup. 

Her shoulders still relax, when she looks like her, but — it's different. It's more desperate. This is her last chance in, fuck, her last chance in months. 

He snaps pictures of her with his phone. 

"You're so beautiful."

"I love you." She's smiling. "I love you," and she drapes herself across Asher's lap and puts her head on his shoulder. 

He kisses her. "I want to go out dancing with you sometime."

"I've never been." 

"I'll spoil you for all other partners!"

"I think you already have." She kisses him once, twice. 

"That's true. Lev does not strike me as a particularly good dancer."

"Me either. And I can't imagine people who can throw me in the air and catch me are common." 

"--I wish there were something I could do. To show you that I want to be yours as long as you will have me."

"You promised to wait and offered to take care of me if I decided to run and you're here with me."

"I don't know. A symbol. Or something."

"I can make something and mail it to Natalie and tell her to mail it to you — do you want a necklace, a bracelet, I don't really trust myself not to fuck up a ring —"