Star✨

Grabbing a piece of clear tape and hoping for the best for this crazy plan, I think by the skin of my teeth I got a decent shape of Caleb’s finger print from the tv remote. Standing in front of the biometric scan in front of his door has me formulating every lie, excuse, and unfathomable explanation I can give him if this doesn’t work.

With a shaky breath I tap on the screen and manage to get it to ask for a finger print, my heart pounds as it scans the tape. By some miracle I hear a positive jingle and the screen asks for a four digit code. This is the real test for me, if the code isn’t what I think it is, I’ll give up. 

I enter digits that make up the month and day of my birthday. 

And just like that, I’m in. 

I rush in and quickly am overwhelmed with a sense of dread as I immediately notice a desk that has surveillance cameras. Upon further inspection, the locations he is surveying are the street security camera outside my apartment complex, the camera outside the hunter’s association building, and my nearby trainstation. God, what is his fucking problem?

Having no time to ponder that, I rush to his desk to look at all the paper work on top of it. I don’t want to touch anything and alert him that someone was snooping, so I just quickly scan across all the out-in-the-open files. Most of it seems like general reports on missions, nothing screams Ever. Until I read something out of the blue: Subject S — Return to Gaia. My eyebrows furrow at this and I can’t help but reach out and grab this file to read more. 

The subject failed to resonate with 02, reset. 

The subject’s mental state could be linked to protofields - test

Added protocore level 897 to the subject.

The subject is experiencing heart failure - research.

All of this documentation makes no sense to me, as I’m caught up on finding an answer to who this research belongs to, my worst nightmare comes true.

“And what do you think you’re doing pipsqueak?” A chill permeates the air as Caleb slams the door shut behind him with a glare.

“Your door opened and I got curious…I should be the one asking you what the hell you think you're doing,” I choose anger instead of fear, seeing him glare below me like I’m some kind of untrained animal that pisses me off more than the embarrassment I have of being caught.

“I find that very hard to believe,” he grabs my wrist tightly and pulls me closer, “I’ll give you one more try to answer that again, correctly this time.”

I shiver at the lack of emotion behind his voice and my fear takes over as I let out a shaky breath, “I wanted to see if you were working for Ever. I wanted to know if I could trust you.”

“And what is your answer? Do you think you can trust me?”

My throat closes and swells with the words my heart doesn’t want to admit to. I swallow the truth behind my lips and pray that my eyes can answer for me as it feels like his eyes are peering into the depths of my soul.

“I didn’t want to have to do this pipsqueak, but since you’ve crossed a line, there’s no going back,” with a tsk he lifts me up fireman style and eerily takes me out of the room and into the room i’ve been staying in. 

I thrash my body around, “What do you think you’re doing?! And what the hell kind of experiments have you been up to?  What happened to no secrets?” Anger and hurt paint my tone to reach his blank stare. The lack of emotion on his familiar features bothered me more than him lifting me.

As he sets me down in the room, I don’t even notice he pick-pocketed my phone and stared at me dead panned in the face as he shattered it into pieces. “Since you want to poke your pretty nose where it doesn’t belong, you’ve lost your freedom. I may be yours, but I will not tolerate insubordination.” 

With no other words, he turned and locks me in the room. I panic and immediately bang on the door, “Caleb! You’re being crazy! Let me out now or I’ll find my own way out and kick your sorry ass!” 

Looking around at the room I've been staying in, there are no windows to try and bust through, so I start using my body weight to try and break the door down. Despite my hunter training, this gets me nowhere and exhausts me fast. I lay down on the bed with a frustrated groan and try not to let my emotions overwhelm me as tears of anger and frustration threaten to spill.

This isn’t my Caleb. I buried the Caleb I loved with Gran, this was a hard pill I am swallowing as I reflect on the coldness within those purple eyes I once adored. Memories flow into my head and my heart aches as I finally allow myself to once again mourn the love I have to bare.

“Who made you cry? I’ll beat them up!” Caleb, no more than 12-years old, saw my crestfallen and tear stained face in the hallway as I was reeling from a bad day at school.

“It’s ok Caleb, it’s my fault for thinking people wanted to be my friend…” My small hands could barely keep up with the fast-pace in which the tears streamed out of my eyes. 

He looked pained as he just reached out and held me close to his chest. The steady rhythm of his beating heart soothed the ache in my own. “Even if the whole world is against you, I’ll always be your friend, your brother, whatever you want me to be pipsqueak.” 

A greedy selfish desire of possession clawed inside me as I looked up at him with pleading eyes, “For now, can you be like the prince in the fairytales?”

“Of course, m’lady,” he faked a funny accent and lifted me up with his struggling lack of muscles. Caleb sat me on the kitchen table and got out paper to start making airplanes with.

“Pipsqueak, I’m gonna write your wishes on these planes and fly them so high, the universe and galaxy will have to listen to you.” he makes one in my favorite color and shows me the neatly bent wing with scratchy handwriting that read, ‘Keep Caleb by her side forever…’

I laughed at how absurdly bold his wishes were. In the evening setting sun, I think is when I figured out that the love in his purple eyes would be imprinted in my fragile heart till the day we would die together.

~~~~~

A few years later, when I was older and struggling with change as a teenager, I snuck into Caleb’s room during a thunderstorm. Gram didn’t think it appropriate when we got older for us to be cuddling, but my fear of thunderstorms outweighed my fear of judgement. 

I clutched Caleb like a frightened stray cat, shaking and shivering in his warm embrace. He had grown older and despite both of us changing, at our very core we were still those children making paper airplanes. 

It wasn’t until his now slightly deeper voice asked me a question, did our pure love shift. 

“Hey… Have you had your first kiss yet?”

“Caleb!” I whisper yelled at him, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well…I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else would hold you this close…” he said with a frown.

“No…I haven’t,” I sigh and hide my face into his chest.

“Good,” he places his warm hand on my cheek to lift my head and he leaned in and his lips met mine. The pitter patter of rain became a backdrop noise for the feeling of his softness and delicate movements. 

After Caleb pulled away he just smiled and curled into me more as he closed his eyes to go to bed. 

My heart would not stop hammering as I spent the rest of the night staring at the glow-in-the-dark stickers on his ceiling and thinking about what this meant between me and him.

As I was reminiscing on our past, I wiped my current tears, and sat up and started messing with the locked door again. My heart was broken once more, but I needed to kill the nostalgia for a dead fantasy in order to get out and focus on my mission. 

When I woke up and saw the somber look on Caleb’s face as he flipped pancakes, I couldn’t help the guilty feeling welling inside me. I closed my eyes and sighed, trying to release these negative and encompassing emotions that were within my conflicted heart.

As I composed myself, I tried to pretend as if nothing ever happened, if only to try my best to move on and mend this dysfunctional relationship with the boy who had always been there. “Can you make a funny face on mine?”

The girlish lilt to my voice made him slowly bring his purple eyes to mine with a gleam of hopefulness and nostalgia. A smile broke out on his face, “With a side of whip cream I suppose?”

“Mhm! Of course,” I sat at the dinner table with expectancy as he just shook his head over the stove.

“Sure thing Pipsqueak, I would be crazy not to make your pancakes into a funny face.” 

He set the table with more of a pep-in his step, for a moment in time, I could live with the lie I was currently performing. Forgiveness is a bridge that is not easy to construct, but with this, I can try and build a foundation.

Breakfast was the first time in the past few weeks that have actually felt normal. Until Caleb decided to graciously bring up a topic I wasn’t sure how to approach…

“Sooo, how’s our buddy Zayne been?” 

I nearly spat out my orange juice all over Caleb at even a mention of Zayne. I had a suspicion that Caleb might have been eavesdropping on me, but I had no real way of knowing. “Oh you know, he’s as busy as ever…”

Caleb just let out an empty laugh as he wiped off the liquid that landed on his arms, “Is that so?” His brown hair shifted as he tilted his head in curiosity. 

“Yup, being a director at Akso keeps him constantly on the clock,” I said, trying my best to give short and curt answers to try and drop the conversation.

“Oh really? Is he taking house calls now?”

“What are you talking about?” My mood instantly sours at his accusational tone.

With a disapproving glare, he just scoffs and goes, “it’s nothing pipsqueak.”

“Do you have a problem with Zayne? Last time I checked he also gave you flowers on your aviation academy graduation.” 

“Yeah, Jasmines,” there was a sarcastic drone in his tone, “Which I’m allergic to.”

A part of me wanted to chuckle at that, but I just shrugged and said, “At least in his own way he was trying to be supportive.”

“Pipsqueak, I’m gonna tell you a secret, a secret kept only by men…We don’t like to be upstaged, and I think me and Zayne just are like oil and water and are continuously trying to be better than one another,” he shrugs a bit, “Must be testosterone or something.”

“But at the end of the day, we all still were once kids who got along…I think you would owe it to him, much like your pilot brothers, to let him know you were okay.”

There was a heavy silence for a moment, it was as if Caleb was testing the weight of my words in his mind before he spoke, “Did he come to my ‘funeral?’”

“Yes.” My voice came out a bit more gravely than intended as I was brought back to those memories. 

Hot tears were washed away by the rain drizzling down. A warm pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders. 

“You can cry…And if you run out of tears, I think the clouds have got your back.” Zayne’s voice was as soft as a feather when he spoke. As if any higher octane in tone would startle me. 

His kindness made me more sad, I felt so undeserving of it. It seemed like every time I would stumble, Zayne’s steady hands would hold me together. “I feel so empty, like I have nothing more to give…I wish I could call him to say I was sorry.”

I felt a dance of his fingertips as he brushed my hair out of my face, and stared at the rich green of his bright eyes that seemed to be kind and gentle against the painting of the gloomy skyline above us. 

“I’m sure he forgives you, you could never do wrong in his eyes. Remember when we were young and you broke his model airplane? I nearly was ready to take the blame for seeing you drowning in tears of regret, till he came over and accepted your blubbering apology.”

I nodded my head at the memory and then leaned my face onto Zayne’s shoulder, fully in emotional defeat. “Yeah I suppose Caleb was soft like that, I just wish we had a proper conclusion.”

Zayne looked out onto the distance and adjusted his glasses briefly before speaking, “It’s the curse of living. Never having the proper answers, conclusions, or moments to make us fully satisfied when we reach the end of the line. I see it constantly, death, injury, regret, grief. And unfortunately, the only truthful words I can offer you, is that you aren’t alone.”

He looks down at me and for a moment I just stared at him and as much as I am absorbing the truth of his words, I feel a flutter in my chest. A flutter of hope staring at me in the form of a gentle and defeated expression. It was as if I had just signed a silent agreement with the man in front of me, that whatever worries came my way, would suddenly become his too.

Ever since then I haven’t been able to shake the yearning I have for the stillness of his winter.

Now I am thrown back into the shocking warmth of summer as purple eyes bare into me as if I spoke out of tune. I let out a sigh and tried to shake the empathetic gloss in Caleb’s eyes.

“Forget it, that’s in the past,” I swift my gaze down to my now empty breakfast plate, “Whatever is between you and Zayne is none of my business I guess.”

Caleb looks awkward for a moment and then stands up to kneel down in front of me, “I’m sorry, I just can’t help but feel a little bit envious of him, that he was there for you when I should’ve been.” As Caleb grabs my plate to go wash I silently accept his honesty, but my heart doesn’t move the way it used to in his presence. And I’m not sure if it will ever again. 

“Well Pipsqueak? Is there something you want to do today? Should we go to an amusement park? Orrr, I can take you on a thrill ride in one of the aircrafts on the base.”

“Skipping out on your colonel duties?” I question his sudden lack of a busy schedule.

“Nah, I have some higher ups taking care of loose ends for me, so I have some freedom the last few days you're here. My time is all yours,” he throws his arms open to me.

“Hmmm, how about you teach me how to fly one of those fancy birds?” 

“Oh? Think you’re so grown up now because you got a motorcycle license huh? Alright pipsqueak, I can try to teach you, just know it’s reeaaally complicated.” His voice challenged me, reminding me of when we were young and he would always tease me for my boldness.

But frustration quickly spread throughout my chest as I sat in the cockpit of one of the latest AE52 Darts and had Caleb ramble off complex instructions as if manning this aircraft was as simple as screwing in a lightbulb.

“No, no, you need to connect the fueler before you can even think of programming your flight settings,” he corrected me as I was fiddling with the digital pad. “Here, let me help.”

He was crouched behind me in the cockpit and his larger frame loomed over me as he slightly stood up to flip some switches. Caleb’s face was next to mine and he was laser focused on his task of starting up this aircraft. 

“You’re still terrible at explaining things,” I chuckle as he just starts taking over the task at hand instead of letting me learn.

“Well, unless you’re thinking of switching careers, I doubt this information will stick with you, so it’s best if I do the technical stuff for you first.” 

“Hmm? Don’t think I have what it takes? Or are you scared that I could be coming for your colonel title?”

His laugh was instant and familiar, it was one I often heard on late school nights, “Oh you’re so cute pipsqueak, but let’s let the professionals do their job, yeah?”

I let out a huff and cross my arms as Caleb smugly goes about his business. While I am conceding for now, I am watching closely and taking mental notes. While this isn’t an official mission from the association, knowing any and all info on this type of aircraft could be useful in case I need to make a heist at the Farspace Fleet.

Eventually, we actually did get the plane off the ground, Caleb got too nervous with my confused shaky hands at the controls and forced me in the co-pilot seat. “Hmmm I will say, having you in the co-pilot seat is nice, maybe you should join the fleet and become my partner in crime.”

There was an air of playfulness in his tone, but knowing Caleb there was some truth to his jokes. I nearly shivered at the thought, recalling my interrogation with the ‘colonel’ and shaking my head at the idea of ever being in this kind of environment. Plus, I still have my suspicions of the Fleet’s involvement with Ever. 

“Ha-Ha, I think I’m too cheery for the fleet’s uptight and brooding environment.” 

“Oh? So what, you think I’m uptight and boring now?” he pauses for a moment as his face shifts a bit more stern, “Or maybe you’re into that sort of thing now?”

That comment makes me snap, “What do you mean by that?”

Caleb just scoffs and shakes his head, quickly returning back to his usual bright demeanor, “Nothing pips, unless…I’m right?”

“I didn’t think you still cared about my interest in ‘those sorts of things.’” I felt like I was doing mental gymnastics right now to understand his motives. My relationship with Caleb always teetered on a fine line of friendship and a burning obsession. As children, I was convinced we were made from the same cloth, meant to be. We shared a playful first kiss as tweens, and I had a Caleb shaped home in my heart. 

But that was before he decided to fake his death and leave me alone in the dark without so much as a glimpse into his real feelings. I regard the Caleb before me like a possessed version of the boy I thought was my soulmate, so I can’t help but feel angry at his insinuation that my romantic tastes have changed in a direction he couldn’t follow. 

It may be true, but it didn’t seem like that was any of his business at this current moment in time. 

“I will always care about you, in every aspect,” the deep and matter of fact tone left no room for any argument. But I couldn’t stop comparing his sudden authoritative-ness to his colonel status. 

It was silent and awkward for a few moments too long, before Caleb shook out of whatever trance he had going on, and he pointed out something about our altitude. I responded like how I think I should, but a part of me wanted to eject myself out of this uncomfortable tension.

This tug of war of, It’s Caleb ! He would never hurt you !, and the logical hunter in me cannot find an impasse of how to feel. The more things would be normal, the more frustrated I would become. The weirder things were, the more I got scared. My gut knows Ever has to have something to do with this, but that still doesn’t resolve the interpersonal conflict I’m having.

After our flight session, Caleb and I return to his home and he gets called for an impromptu meeting. I try to scheme my way around his house for any evidence. He has his bedroom locked with a biometric scan, which screams blaring red flags to me.

Feeling defeated, I get a text on my phone to distract me.

Zaynie

Saw these fellas on my hike today, reminded me of a certain hunter I know. 

[Image]

Attached was a picture of two cats sunbathing on a sidewalk. I recognized the pathway to one of the parks in Linkon and smile a bit as I recall Zayne telling me about his former marathon training days in the park. 

I text back, “Are you training for another marathon again? Lol you should’ve taken those kittys home!”

I get a reply a few moments later:

Zaynie

No marathon for me, just needed a change in routine today. And I don’t think I would be able to provide as much happiness for the kitties as they were experiencing in the evening sun.

I chuckle and type back, “I still think you need a companion at your home besides your roomba.”

This small exchange has given me some mental relief as I glance around again at Caleb’s apartment. A small idea forms in my head, as I think of Zayne’s condo. I give him a quick call.

“Don’t worry, my pet roomba is well fed,” a dry sarcastic voice greets me after four rings.

“With the dust in your place? I’m sure it’s overweight by now,” I chuckle, “Sorry to bug you out of the blue, you’re not busy at the moment are you?”

“I have a few minutes of down time, is something the matter?” Zayne always thinks the worst of an impromptu call, definitely need to try and change that habit.

“You have a biometric scanner for your condo right? Or something similar?”

“No my home’s door lock isn’t that secure, but Akso has a couple of those for a some of the restricted areas, so I have some knowledge of them…Why do you ask?” He had an almost scolding tone as he inquired about my inquiry. 

“Well…I’m currently trying to find some top-secret information, and it's locked behind one of the biometric scans…I suppose since you’re a law abiding doctor you wouldn’t have an idea of how to break into one would you?” 

I hear a soft and gentle laugh on the other end of the phone, “I may be a law abiding citizen, however, I do know that if one were to obtain a replica of a confirmed user's thumbprint, they may be able to gain access to at least try and enter a passcode. It’s a fail-safe backup the hospital uses in case of emergencies, we all had to make a backup four digit passcode.” 

“That is fascinating information that I promise to only use for good Dr. Zayne,” I let out a sigh of relief at this potentially helpful information.

“Well don’t involve your primary care physician if the law does come into play,” he jokes in his typical dead-pan fashion and then clears his throat, “Switching back to regular Zayne, will you still be coming home in two days? Or is your mission running longer.”

“Nope, it’s still on track, I will tell you right away if it changes…I’m looking forward to coming home.” My voice sounded clingy to my own ears. But it is true, I do miss my apartment, my friends, and I miss having the ability to see Zayne of course. We don’t see each other everyday, but we have been seeing each other more and more to the point where our relationship has become strong. It is hard to melt Zayne’s exterior persona, but he has been letting so many walls down around me, I just can’t figure out where we stand in a romantic setting. 

A part of me is scared to open that can of worms, another part of me just wants to know if I’m the only one of us with an ache in my chest far beyond my protocore syndrome. And if he doesn’t feel the same, maybe he can still cure me somehow.

“I’m looking forward to your return as well…I happen to have some time off when you come back, I need to treat you to this new bakery that opened up. I think sharing some deserts would be a way to soothe your recovering homesickness.”

“Well, if my doctor prescribes it, how am I to say no?”

“Yes, it is wise to listen to your doctor, but, I want this to be just between ‘Zaynie’ and you. If that is alright…” 

Ah. There it is again. Zayne has been very insistent to separate his professional self and personal self with me. I understand the need to be more explicit about it since he is technically my doctor, but I hope he is doing it to showcase he wants a different dynamic between us. 

“It’s more than alright, I miss being around Zaynie a lot, I think he would be able to pick out the best sweets to cheer me up.” 

I hear some voices in the background on the other end, Zayne and I had to end our conversation short since a surgeon wanted his opinion on something. He does send me a quick apologetic text, which I reassure him about. But, now with the new information about the biometric scanner, I devise a sketchy half-assed plan.

Do I know when Caleb will be back? No. Do I even know if this will work? Also no. 

But I need to know if Ever is involved here so I know whether or not Caleb can be trusted. I want to trust him. However, the voices in my head are screaming at the fact that he’s been lying to me consistently.

I slap my cheeks to hype myself up, and quickly get up to get the answers I’m scared of seeing.

Being with Caleb in Skyhaven has felt like a blur. The whirlwind of emotions passing through me with every glance in his presence was enough to make my head hazy and my heart heavy.

The purple gemstone-like eyes that were once my salvation now haunted my waking thoughts. Caleb had moved me into his home while I investigated the Farspace Fleet. While I was still grappling with the fact that my closest childhood friend was not dead, Caleb had acted so casually about his false demise. 

Meanwhile, I had been up for nights screaming silent tears into my pillow every night I thought he was dead. Now, as he stood in the kitchen cooking dinner, I felt as if I wasn’t really here. It was like my body was on autopilot and I just allowed my grandest illusions to take over my psyche. 

“You still prefer your meat medium rare?” He called to me without a glance.

“Yup, you remembered correctly,” I tried my best to sound chipper to hide my discomfort, but there was a tinge of emotional distance in my voice. 

At my tone, he had spun around from the stove to meet my stare. I had wondered how I appeared in his eyes as he met my gaze with a frown. A gloss of something unreadable flashed in his piercing stare. He scanned my face as if it could give him all the answers. I almost wish it could.

I wish I could just scream my lungs out at him.

Why aren’t you dead?

Why don’t you care that I mourned for you?

How am I supposed to move on from the you I used to know?

These frustrations rang like a fire alarm in my aching heart, yet all I could muster was a fake smile to appease him. I didn’t want to upset him, I didn’t want him to leave again to try and make me feel better. In all honesty, I didn’t know what I wanted. I just didn’t want to be alone again.

“You look like you have somethin’ on your mind…You wanna talk about it?” He tilted his head in concern.

“I don’t know if I do,” I shake my head and sigh. 

In an instant, he turns the stove off and walks over to where I’m sitting on the couch, his towering figure looming over me. His expression is still hard for me to read, but he looks a cross between hurt and upset. I can’t tell which is worse.

“I would never lie to you,” these words leave his lips like a soft caress.

I want so desperately to believe him, but my mind and body shiver at recalling his actions during the Kevi incident. My face turns into a grimace as I inhale sharply and choose my words carefully.

“You knew, didn’t you? That night you gave me the sleeping pills?” My eyes bore daggers into him.

His gaze darkened as a shadow of something sinister flashed over his face, “I did what I had to keep you safe. I won’t apologize for it.”

His voice was stern and to the point, much like when he barks out orders like the Colonel he is. To me, this was a stranger. The Caleb I grew up with was my home, he was like the morning sun to my gentle moon. But this man? The Fleet’s Colonel? He was complete darkness. A black hole that encompassed every bit of sunshine Caleb had ever given me. It made my eyes glisten as he spoke to me in a command. 

“You didn’t keep me safe, you kept me trapped,” I spat with anger.

“Doesn’t matter how you see it as long as you’re here with me,” his voice shook as his hand reached out and grasped my face.

I tried to shake off his cold touch as my face crumbled into tears, “That’s not right Caleb…None of this is right…”

He kneels before me and pulls my sobbing form against his warm embrace. “What can I do?” he whispers like a desperate prayer, “I’m still me…Even if things are different, I’m still the Caleb you love.”

I pull away with glistening cheeks, my face flushed as anger courses through me, “And I had to watch you die.”

He freezes as I no longer stay silent and let my feelings pour out in my cracking voice, “Do you not know how fucked up that is? To watch my childhood friend die and not be able to do a damn thing about it. I mourned you. I lost sleep over you, I became such a husk of a human because of the grief I carried in my heart. And yet, here you are. Trying to laugh and pretend like none of it ever happened,” I let out a shaky breath after my rant.

Caleb was at a loss for words as he grabbed my hands and slowly rubbed the backs of them in a somewhat comforting manner. It was silent between us as I just stared at my hands in his and tried to contain my heated emotions. 

“There’s nothing I can do for you that will ever make up for what I made you go through,” he spoke softly, almost in a whisper as his glossy eyes met mine, “But, you have to let me try and make it up to you. I want to be here for you since I couldn’t before. Pipsqueak…. I will never let you go through that again. Ever.”

I could feel the sincerity in his voice, but his words felt more like empty promises. My heart would still be locked off to him, but I didn’t want him to leave me again. As I sat there lamenting, a calm yet gentle voice passed through my mind in a memory.

He had come by my apartment after a 12-hour shift at Akso. He brought me his favorite macarons to try and cheer me up. As soon as I opened the door to let Zayne into my house, he inhaled sharply at the sight of me.

His warm hand cupped my face, and I just burst into tears at his touch. Zayne brought me to his chest and gave me a gentle shush, “I’m here now. You don’t need to be alone.” 

Like the Doctor he is, he nursed me out of the darkness of despair. Zayne started to check up on me almost every hour of the day. I teased him about being like a clingy girlfriend, he faked offense, and gave in to my whims; Relieved that I was able to joke again.

When I thought Caleb was dead, it was the cool touch that taught me how to smile again.

Something must have flickered across my face because Caleb tilted his head, “Do you forgive me?”

I snapped back into reality as I stared back at the purple eyes that bore into me. A frown then fell to my lips as I was put on the spot, “I don’t know yet, Caleb…I think I just need some time.”

His large shoulders fell with a sigh, and he just nodded, “I understand. Take all the time you need.”

Dinner was insanely awkward after that. I kept glancing at Caleb, who just looked like a wounded puppy, but I didn’t have the courage or mental energy to keep a conversation going. He recognized the defeat on my face and just began telling me about the mundane things about his day at the fleet. I feigned as much interest as I could muster, and I suppose it was just enough to appease Caleb.

I immediately excused myself after dinner and shut the door to my room. I exhaled a held breath as the bliss of silence and stillness washed over me. Lying in the plush bed that wasn’t my own helped me crash back into the reality of my situation. I pulled out my phone and stared at the contact image of ‘Zaynie’ and felt a pang of want tug at my delicate heartstrings. I bravely tapped the call button and held my breath in a silent prayer as the first dial rang out loud. 

After three rings, that soft masculine voice spoke with bewilderment, “Is a certain patient of mine having a restless night?”

“Afraid so, she’s got a serious case of homesickness, she says her doctor is the only one with the cure,” I tease right back at him.

“Oh? That’s a serious prognosis. What is this cure she’s referring to?” His voice instantly became lighter at our silly banter.

“Her charts say she needs the cool touch of his hand and a gentle word of encouragement,” I bit my lip at our exchange, the ache in my chest amplified into a strong want. I want to see him. I want to laugh with him. I want him next to me. I want Zayne.

He was silent for a moment on the other end, before he took a breath, and his tone was heavy with concern, “Are you alright? Working during your supposed vacation isn’t healthy. Are you overwhelmed?”

Zayne’s words felt like a gentle caress of a winter breeze, which made my words catch in my throat because every syllable and vowel that would leave my mouth would be nothing but a lie. The raging turmoil inside me wouldn’t allow me to lie to him, not now, probably not ever again.

I can recall the light leaving his beautiful hazel eyes when I lied to him about my mental health, and the next day, arriving in his emergency room from a mental collapse. He never even scolded me; he just took me home and held me, brushed my hair, and just whispered words I never thought I needed to hear.

“I miss you,” I told the truth with my voice, nearly fighting tears.

He sharply inhales and speaks, “I miss you too…I’m worried about you. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I can’t…I want to, but I just can’t talk about it, I’m sorry,” I felt my tough exterior cracking a bit as a silent tear fell down my cheek.

“You’re not in any life-threatening danger, are you?” There was a stern edge to his voice that was laced with authority. 

“No, it’s not something like that, I promise,” I try to soothe his worry, “I just am going through a lot emotionally, and all I could think of was the sound of your voice.”

“Don’t push yourself, I’ll always tell you that, but if my words can cure your pain, I’ll tell you anything you want to hear.”

“Can you just…Tell me things will be alright? Even if things are different, I won’t fall apart.”

“I’ve seen you bleeding from wounds that would be the demise of the average person, I truthfully believe there is nothing that could ever truly break you… Even if you fall apart, you’ll stand back up again. And if you struggle, I’ll be there to give you a hand. Okay?”

“Yes, Doctor Zayne.” I smile a bit.

“Just Zayne.”

“Yes, Zayne…Thank you,” I whisper my appreciation before we both go silent. Neither one of us was brave enough to say the inevitable goodnight.

“When can I see you?” A rare crack in Zayne’s voice echoed into my chest. Even at our most vulnerable, I rarely ever saw or heard Zayne shaken up. It made me want to run out of this apartment and take the next flight to Linkon.

“I have three more days here in Skyhaven…Would you be free to pick me up from the airport when I land? You can see me right away.I know it’s kind of last minute so I understand if you’re busy”

“For you I’m never busy,” there was an air of a chuckle to his voice, “I’ll clear my schedule, just let me know when you’re supposed to land.” 

I closed my eyes and hummed in response, his calm demeanor soothed some of the turmoil in my chest.

“Are you still feeling restless?” He whispered.

“I feel a bit better, but…” I suddenly felt shy, “I just don’t want to say goodnight to you yet.”

“Are you using me as a sleep-aid? I’m afraid I might have to charge for these services,” he teased.

“Well you do have a soothing voice Doc-tor,” I felt lighter as I chuckled, “However could I afford your services?”

“Hmph, I can make some special exceptions for my favorite patient…Is there anything you want to hear me talk about?”

“You can talk to me about medical procedures for all I care, I’m just going to focus on your voice,” I snuggled into bed and closed my eyes as his soft monotone voice talked me through the techniques used in a heart bypass. It was the best sleep I had gotten in weeks.

I dreamt of a Jasmine tree, and soft hazel eyes who seemed to gaze only at me.

Now as we spent time holding hands peacefully under a maple tree did I look up at Sylus’ relaxed and vulneranable gaze did I speak, “Did you enjoy your birthday? I wanted to do something you would enjoy. I know you live a pretty fancy life style, but I can tell you feel at ease in nature like this.”

He chuckled in amusement as if I had stated the obvious and peered down at me with his glowing carmine eyes, “Sweetie, you should know this is my first time actually celebrating my birthday, and I couldn’t have imagined anything better than this… Here in the green grass with you, I can’t say there’s anywhere else I would rather be.”

I sighed in relief and sat up to peer down at him, “Good, I’m glad I could impress the glamorous leader of Onychinus,” I chide with him and try to tease his vulernable stomach again, but he grabs my wrist and pulls my body on top of his.

“You know there are a few other things you can do to impress me kitten,” he says with mirth in his voice.

As we both lean in for a kiss, we’re interrupted by the sounds of the soft strings of a guitar in the distance. “Oh someone must be playing,” I pull away and listen to the gentle melody in the air.

Sylus then moves me to stand up, I follow suit and he holds out his palm to me. “May I have this dance?”

I chuckle, “Oh? How romantic,” I tease as I take his hand to be pulled close to him once again and gently moved by his large figure to the soft rhythm of the music behind us.

“You know in some birds, dancing is a form of seduction,” he leans in and informs me in my ear.

“Hmm, is this crow preforming a mating ritual now?”

“Depends….Is it working on the pretty dove before me?” he smirks as he twirls then dips me.

I run my hand from his shoulder to the plush of his cheek, “Yes, and this dove mates for life, is that okay?”

His hand on my lower waist tightens as he grabs my extended hand and pulls me into an even deeper dip, “No…I want more,” he growls a bit, his voice more desperate than harsh.

“More? What more could I offer?”

“Your soul and mine…I want to last longer than this life, I want the next one, and the one after as well,” he dips his head into the crook of my neck as he pleads.

I smile and let out a sigh, “Greedy bird…Okay, you can have me, forever and beyond.”

He lets out a shaky breath of relief as his lips seek mine in a passion kiss. It feels like he’s pouring all of his want into me and I can taste the need on his tongue as one of his hands slip into the nape of my neck. I just hum in content against his desperate mouth.

“No one’s taking me away,” I pull away for a breath and laugh at his childish behavior.

“No. But I just need to feel you, that this is real…Don’t ever want to forget it,” he sighs as he rests his forehead against mine. His red eyes sparkled with a sheen of unshed tears and I just soften my gaze.

“Your soul and mine, are bound forevermore, so even if we both forget, we’ll remember each other. I know that my heart will beat the same as yours even if we’re just two ducks in a pond.” I touch his fast beating chest for emphasis.

He let out a hearty laugh and smiled brightly, “Even if we’re two ducks huh?”

“Even as a duck I can imagine you’ll still be as cheeky as you are now,” I stick out my tongue at him to tease his challenging exterior. He response with a chaste kiss and a fit of deep laughter.

“I think you’d still be a curious kitten even as a duck,” he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and hugs me close, “And I’d love it no matter what.”

I hug him back and feel his comforting warmth wash over me, “Happy Birthday…I’m grateful you were born again in this life.”

He pulls back abit and looks at me, his gaze so intense it’s almost like he’s looking through me. Looking at the soul that’s in the same shade as his. A small tear threatens to spill from his eyes and I simply reach up and wipe it away before it can fall.

“Yeah,” his voice shakes, “I’m glad we were born again in this life…I love you,” he lifts his palm to hold my face gently in his hands.

“I love you more, my big bird.”

“Ha, I doubt that kitten,” he smirks and we both sway to the music in the background. The tall green grass brushing our ankles as a small breeze blows and it’s as if he and I are the only ones to exists.

<3 LoverBoy

Sweetie, what movies should I get for our time together?

Before you ask, I know you’re close to your period. You can’t hide from me 😎

I called him later that day to accuse him of obtaining this knowledge when he kindly reminded me of how I had added him to my period tracker. I was a bit annoyed at first, but now, after being in Sylus’ care, I really felt loved and cared for.

That is, until his inevitable betrayal.

He had me stay with him in his home in the N109 zone and all my cravings and aches were eased with nothing more but a lift of his finger. Today in particular, I was catching up on a book I had been reading in his study when Sylus came in, dressed to the nines, he must’ve come back from what I’m assuming is one of his fancy auctions.

“There’s my beloved, how are you feeling? Any cravings I need to quell?” His voice was in that soft yet gentled tone I know that was only reserved for me.

“You know, actually, now that you mention it,” I sit and ponder when I remember a pint of my favorite ice cream in the freezer downstairs, “I think I want something sweet right about now…”

His chuckle was light and airy, “Oh? How about some fresh pastries? Or perhaps you’re in the mood for some fresh fruits?” His ruby eyes then glisten with a hint of mischief as he smirks and places his hand on his chin, “Or maybe you’re after the desert in the freezer with the note labeled, ‘SYLUS DO NOT EAT.’”

I squint my eyes to glare at him, “You better choose your next words carefully…”

“Mmmm, we’ll you see kitten, I would offer to grab it for you, but I’m afraid the contents of your little treat are already in my stomach.”

Betrayal stabs me through my chest as I leap of the couch to lightly bang on his chest, “You bastard! How dare you! I hate you!”

His mocking laugh resounds in my ears as my emotions of anger overwhelm me, I was genuinely looking forward to my sweet treat and I specifically told him to stay away from my snacks. I felt a sting of tears in the corner of my eyes as I looked up at him with a genuine expression of hurt.

Sylus sighs seeing my expression and wipes the corner of my eyes, “Oh my sweet kitten,” he tries to kiss my lips and I dramatically turn my face away from him, “Now, now… I got you something better than some cheap ice cream.”

“It was my ice cream! I left a note so you wouldn’t eat it! And you still did!” I was not letting him go that easily.

“I ate it so you wouldn’t snack on it while I was away,” he suddenly used his evol to produce a fancy black gift bag into my hands.

I stepped back with an apprehensive look as I opened the bag to reveal the most beautiful boxed chocolate cake. I gasped as I opened it, “Sy! Is this from that high-end bakery?”

“Mhmm…It’s a chiffon chocolate cake. I believe a certain someone sent me a link to a video about how elusive this cake was supposed to be.” He spoke in an arrogant, ‘I told you so,’ tone as he puffed out his chest with pride.

“Isn’t this cake like stupid expensive? How did you get your hands on it?” I was still stunned with amazement as I walked over to the coffee table to sit down the pricey cake.

“Oh? you’re doubting my capabilities? Please, there is nothing on this planet or the cosmo’s beyond that I couldn’t get my hands on for you.”

I flush at his sincerity and walk up and wrap my arms around him in a tight hug.

“What do you say Sweetie?” he scolds me a bit with a teasing tone.

“Thank you… and sorry for hitting you… This is way better than ice cream,” I nestle my face in his chest to avoid his gloating attitude.

He pats my head and kisses the top of it as he whispers, “You’re welcome… Now, would you like to share a slice with me, or shall I get you another Post-it to tell me to keep my claws off?”

“I think I can spare just one slice for you,” I pull away and smirk at him.

“Just one?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

He chuckled, “Wouldn’t dream of it kitten.”

For the past two years I’ve been Zayne’s plus one as his girlfriend. Recently however, this will be my first year attending as his fiancé. His coworkers were thrilled when he proposed early December and said that they would put in extra effort to make this Christmas party a special celebration for us.

Currently I was finishing up my hair and makeup in our shared bathroom when Zayne walked in to check up on me.

“We still have an hour to leave before the party,” he placed a kiss on my shoulder.

“I know. I know. I’m just really excited for this year’s party. Plus I heard Grayson ordered us a ride to the party?”

Zayne just chuckles and shakes his head, “Apparently the whole staff thought tonight should be the night that we let loose and celebrate.”

“They’re not wrong. You’ve been quite busy since our engagement to really celebrate. But your patients are safe….So your favorite patient is giving you permission to let loose tonight.” I turn and kiss his cheek since I haven’t put my lipstick on yet.

“Alright. But I won’t get too irresponsible, I still have to look after you,” his eyes trail down my form as he surveys the skin tight red dress he bought me for this occasion.

“I think I can handle myself,” I quirk my brow with a slight pout, “Besides it’s rare for Dr. Zayne to be allowed a moment of celebration. I think your team will be happy to know all their party planning efforts didn’t go to waste.”

“We’ll look after each other,” he runs the backside of his finger down the exposed skin on my arm, causing me to shiver.

“Always,” I snatch his hand from my shoulder and placed it on my blushing cheeks.

Getting ready was an easy process, till I was nearly finished and could hardly keep Zayne off of me. His lips sent chills up my spine as his lips ghosted so softly over the nape of my neck with such a passion.

“Zayne, I’m not letting you ditch this party,” I huff as his lips meet my jawline.

“But how could I refuse a taste of such a delicious sight before me?” He whines a bit as his teeth get ahold of the top of my ear.

“Paws off mister,” I playfully shove his chest, “We’re leaving for this party in a few minutes and I intend on leaving our apartment fully clothed thank you.”

He laughs at my words and concedes as he pulls away and puts his hands up in the air as a sign of innocence. “If my wife demands it, who am I not to listen?”

“ Fiance ,” I correct him.

“That’s just another word for my wife to me,” his hazel eyes sparkle with hints of mischief in them as he smirks to retort to me.

Before he could start another onslaught of kisses, our ride to the party shows up and we grab our coats and head over.

As we arrive to the rented out conference space in a fancy five star hotel, Zayne is immediately met with excited greetings from his peers and colleagues. I think this was my favorite part about attending the holiday parties, sure I visited Zayne a lot at work sometimes, but seeing how many people respect and look up to him makes my heart warm. He works so hard, and to me, every moment and minute of his efforts have all been worth it for moments like these.

“Oh! This misses is here too, very nice to meet you ma’am I’ve been doing a rotation with your husband and he’s taught me so much,” an excited young man says as he shakes my hand with such enthusiasm I can’t help but chuckle.

“I’m glad, my fiance has been such an inspiration to you, I hope you also continue to take care of him in the workplace,” I move my hand over to block the side of my mouth that Zayne could see, “He really forgets to take care of himself sometimes, don’t let his coolness fool you.”

“I can hear you dear,” he pinches my side in retaliation.

We make our way through the decorated venue with ease after some greetings when Greyson excitedly approaches us with a bottle of champagne, “Zayne! Misses!” With his glasses askew he presents us with a bottle, “Congratulations on your engagement!”

“Thank you Greyson,” I laugh and take the bottle from him, “Shall we pour some glasses for the rest of the guests to do a toast?”

Zayne is being quiet, I peer over at him, and his ears have a red tint to them as he looks off pretending to be uninterested.

So bashful, I think to myself.

As champagne flows, a very cheerful Yvonne joins us as she seems to be on her third glass of eggnog and clinging on to my waist in a joyful hug, “It’s about time! We’ve been waiting forever for you to finally marry this woman doctor! You better not take this long to have babies either!”

Greyson panics immediately and takes Yvonne off me with a nervous chuckle and a very embarrassed Dr. Zayne. Zayne downs his champagne flute in record time to ease his nerves and I can’t help but laugh at this whole scenario.

“Thank you Yvonne, we’re very excited for the future,” I turn to my shy fiance, “Right dear?”

“Yes. I know this was a long time coming, but I wanted to ensure the timing was right for both of us,” he pauses his speech with a sweet smile, “I am very happy to have my team’s support to my future wife. Thank you guys.”

After he says this, a group of doctors squee with excited and we all clink our glasses and toast to the future Dr. Zayne and I have ahead of us.

The flute of champagne was the first drink for both me and Zayne, but the team ensured it was not the last. I immediately had an espresso martini shoved in my hand and Zayne had some cranberry cocktail that tasted delicious. He forced me to swap with him since he hated me drinking too much coffee due to my ‘heart condition.’ I did call him a party pooper, but sipped my cranberry concoction with delight.

Time seemed to drift away from me as the warm buzz of alcohol took over my system. While Zayne never once let go of my hand or waist, I knew he was drunk based off his grip on my person. He held his composure well, but I spotted the subtle signs of intoxication.

I think I should write Greyson a personal thank-you note, as he had poured the shot that had sent my poor doctor over the edge. As soon as the tequila shot hit light-weight doctor Zayne’s system, that man had his head in the crook of my neck.

I rubbed my hand up and down his back, “You alright baby?”

“Mmmm,” he purred right in my ear, “You feel so warm…”

“So do you,” I brush my hand through his dark hair.

“Maybe I’m stealing your warmth.”

“Oh? So you’re a thief now huh? What a divergence in career paths Doctor.”

He chuckles and the vibrations from his voice rumble on my body, “Guilty as charged when it comes to you.”

Suddenly our flirty drunk moment is interupted by the nice apprentance that greeted us when we walked in, “Misses, Dr. Zayne! You guys should really do karaoke, Yvonne said you’re naturals at it!”

A flushed Zayne detached himself from my neck and stood tall in front of his underling and nodded his head, “Yeah, we are. Let’s show them darling,” he grabs my hand and pulls me on stage.

Drunk Zayne was very confident. In truth, I’ve never heard my fiance sing, he’s hummed ‘Mary had a little lamb’ once or twice in private moments, but we’ve never done karaoke together.

Suddenly the jazz swing tune of ‘Baby it’s cold outside’ starts as we’re both handed microphones. I haven’t even begun to sing, but all the Akso hospital staff is clapping and cheering as us newly engaged lovers take the stage to sing this christmas classic.

I start the song off with a gentle, “I really can’t stayy.”

And my jaw goes slack as Zayne’s deep velvety voice sings, “But baby it’s cold outside.”

He sounded like a natural jazz singer and it caused me to laugh a bit as I sang out my next line of, “I gotta go wayy.”

Zayne really got into his role as he grabbed my hands and rubbed the back of them while singing, “I’lll hold your hands they’re just like icee.”

As I sing I pretend to try and be leaving and he keeps pulling me into him to match the lyrics of the song. I honestly cannot tell if I sound amazing or terrible as my heart starts to race when he sang “Your eyes are like starlight now…” with his hazel drunken eyes boring into me as he holds my waist.

Our voices merge together as we sing the chorus, “Baby it’s colddd outsiidde.”

“You’re very pushy you know?” I say playfully reading off the dialogue within the song.

“I like to think of it as opertinustic,” Zayne delivers sarcastically with a flirtatious laugh.

The crowd in front of us feels like they’ve disappeared as me and Zayne continue to sing through this playful and flirtatious Christmas song. He begins to twirl me around as I sing out, “But maybe just a cigarette more.”

We finish the song with laughter as Zayne dips me low and lifts me up with a huge smile, he kisses me chastly, but we’re interrupted by the Akso hospital staff whistling and cheering.

“Thats our boss!”

“Go Dr. Zayne!”

“Wow I didn’t know he could sing like that.”

I then flush red and exit the stage with Zayne in hand and we’re met with the staff congratulating us once again. Someone hands Zayne another drink, but I snatch it away, “I’m cutting you off Dr. Jazz singer.”

“Are you impressed?”

“Beyond! I wish I knew sooner how well you sing, we could’ve been dominating the karaoke bars.”

“Let’s go on our next off day then,” he kiss my cheek.

“I’ll hold you to that, husband .”

His eyes widen and he takes a step back, “Finally, you’re using the word I’ve been dying to hear since we’ve been engaged.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, “I’ll be sure to use it more often, husband .”

Zayne places both hands around my lower body and says, “Maybe we should head out of here early, wife.”

I laugh and swat at his chest with a tease, “But, baby it’s cold outside.”

Needless to say, this was one of the most memorable Akso Hospital Christmas parties for us as a couple. And apparently for them as a staff as videos of me and Zayne singing would continue to float around for many Christmas’s to come.

However, I didn’t understand dragons, every couple months he had me practically bound into the bed as we did nothing but cuddle and make love. He claimed it was his animalistic nature to go into heat, but to me Sylus was human despite his otherworldly appearance. His heart and love were purer than the winter snow. Every word from his lips sang my praises, and at times he would refuse to let me return back to the tribe.

But I managed to escape his protective grasp to maintain some semblance of a human life to see my grandmother. In the meantime Sylus promised to dispel any of my “silly” desires of a human life, and promised he was going to build me a house surrounded by our favorite flowers.

Things remained as a normal courtship between us. It wasn’t till one day he noticed a change in me that I hadn't myself.

I hadn’t seen him in a few days, so I had been excited to spend more time with him. When I returned to his abode deep within the mountains, he immediately buried his nose against the crook against my neck as he breathed in, he pulled away with his red eyes blown wide with surprise.

“What? Is something wrong? I know I’ve been busy with dealing with my Tribe I haven’t had time to bathe-“ I try and make up an excuse as he pulls away with a shake of his head.

“No. No sweetness it isn’t that…” he pants in my ear and then chuckles, “Your scent….It’s different.” He pants out and starts nipping his fangs at my neck.

“Like a good difference or a bad difference ?” I say confused.

“My love,” he laughs full of pride and joy as he pulls away from my neck to press a soft kiss against my lips, “You’re pregnant.”

I freeze, “Excuse me?” Are the only words to leave my lips.

“You’re with my children,” he growls as he bends his face down to continue to kiss on my neck and collar bones.

“I don’t think I’m late on my period? How do you know for sure?” I try and grasp at his silver locks to pull away and explain himself to me.

“Your scent is giving off a pheromone to me that is screaming that you’re pregnant….I cant describe it, but it’s a sickly sweet smell that makes me want to worship you…Carrying my Babies…”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, I don’t feel any different,” she rolls her shoulders back, “I think maybe I’m just ovulating?”

He shakes his head no, “No I can tell….You’re pregnant.” He chuckles darkly, “Bless the gods, the mother of my children…I could only be so lucky.”

“Sylus…” I mentally try to deny his thoughts again and he just shushes me and places a fiery kiss to my lips.

“Mine forever,” his claws rake down my small form, stopping to caress my stomach. “A living part of me to be with you always.”

I let out a shaky breath and stare up at him in fear, “What am I….What are we to do?”

He quirks his head at me, “Is this not good news? A cause for celebration? Do humans not enjoy the idea of bringing life with their beloveds into the world?”

I shake my head, “It usually is, but Sy….Think of the complications. I’m a human. If my tribe finds out I’m carrying a dragons baby….” A shiver of fear went down my spine.

“You’re not to return,” he growls out as a command, “Your life is with me now. Under no circumstances will you even be let out of my sight while carrying my children,” his tail wraps around my middle. He isn’t applying any pressure to my body with it, but the visual is enough to send a message.

“But Sy my family-“

“We’re going to be a family,” his eyes flash an emotion of hurt as he hisses at me, “I will protect you and our babies till the ends of the earth. This family will never cast you out. I don’t want you to return to the tribe ever again. It’s dangerous.”

I shake my head, “They might come looking for me… What would they think of finding me in your treasure nest heavy with a baby…Sylus, we can’t do this…”

It was as if I had struck him, his face sinks and his red eyes glisten with tears as he walks closer and embraces me in his claws, “Beloved…What do I have to do? Do you not want this? Want me?” His deep voice cracks with hurt, his pride now wounded at my lack of joy.

I look up at him, both of our vulnerable expressions mirroring one another’s, my mouth opens and closes as I try and muster the words to say, “I don’t know much about your kind…I don’t know if our child will be a human, a dragon, or something in between….While I don’t know much I do know that we are bound to one another. You are mine. I am yours…”

A silent moment passes between us as he holds me in his arms and his eyes desperately scan my face, “I want this…I want you….But,” I look away, “I need to be sure that the life we have here in Taurus is safe enough for a child. And for me to even deliver one…”

Sylus closes his eyes and nods his head as he hears my words and my concerns, “I will find a way to prove and provide for you two…This isn’t the first instance of a hybrid child. I will find a nest of my people and do whatever it takes to let us have this…”

I take a step back out of his arms, “Until then I think I need to stay in the village…They won’t know for a while that I’m with child and I should build strength there until we can start a life out here…Besides I think if I have to leave my family there forever, I should at least say goodbye…”

He curls his claws around my waist and brings me closer, “Don’t leave me yet…Just….Let me have you for a while.”

Sylus curls his head into the nape of my neck and inhales with such a shaky breath his whole body shudders, “Gods your scent….It’s driving me crazy than usual…”

“Are you in heat?” I run my fingers down his back and caress the spot where his wings sprout out of his body.

“No…It’s not that it’s just…Knowing that you smell like this because of me,” he stands up straighter and runs a claw through my hair, “It makes me want to keep you this way. Hoard you here like my most prized treasure…”

“Sylus,” I whisper as I stare at his lips, “I want you.”

His tail happily swooshes at my words and he bends down to lift me up by my butt as he carries me to head out of his cave and into our spot full of flowers.

He lays me out on the field of green grass and wine colored flowers. The sun shines on my face making me feel warmer than usual with Sylus’ body heat leaning over me.

He undresses me slowly, unwrapping me both physically and mentally with his eyes. As I’m bare before him he leans his head down to my stomach and rests his cheek against my belly and closes his eyes.

A kitten-like purr escapes him and his body vibrates with the soothing joy.

“Twins,” he smiles as he keeps nuzzling his cheek against me.

“Twins?!?” I say more alarmed. “H-How are you-“

“I can hear their hearts…They love you already,” his red eyes flick open and meet mine. The tenderness in Sylus’ voice, this overwhelming news, and the truth my heart feels at his words break me and I feel tears stream down my face.

Sylus lifts himself up and curls his body over mine, to hide me away from the world, to make me weep with joy in his warmth.

“We’ll protect them my beloved…The four of us,” he chuckles, “We’re home now.”

Me and Rafayel were a bit exhausted from our long flight and were sluggish in the hotel lobby. However, as soon as we reached our room, we were jolted with surprise.

The neon moodlighting reflected off the clear plastic of fake bubbles along the walls, there were fishnets and various aquatic themed posters also on the walls. It was a mermaid themed room.

“Now this is just offensive,” Rafayel’s face contourted in disgust at the kitsch decor of the room.

I felt a burst of laughter erupt from my chest at this ordeal, “I guess this is what you get for giving Thomas gray hairs.” I set my bags down and began to take a look at all the cute mermaid and fish themed nicknacks that had adorned the dresser below the tv.

With a drained sigh he walks over to the bed that has a giant seashell headboard, he stares at it and reaches out to poke it, “A water bed really? That’s so outdated.” Rafayel rolls his eyes and scoffs at the bed as if it personally offended him.

I turn with wide eyes, “Really? I’ve never slept on a water bed before.”

Rafayel chuckles, “It’s not exactly practical cutie.” He then pauses briefly as his eyes catch something on the dresser.

I quirk my head at his sudden peak of interest as he walks over and grabs an iridescent blue vase, it almost looks like an antique perfume bottle. Rafayel inspects it by trying to swish it around and determine if there’s liquid inside.

“What is it?” I ask.

“It couldn’t possibly be what I think it is, there’s no way a cheap hotel like this would have Lumerian scents…” He popped the topper off the vase and inhaled. Suddenly, it was like a switch had been flipped.

Rafayel immediately started panting and groaning.

“Raf? Are you okay?” I touched his shoulder to check on him and he tried to push me off with a slight hiss.

“This is…” he gasped as one of his hands clasped at the front of his shirt, “It’s…Lumerian…It’s a pheromone…One a bride would typically use on her wedding.”

He seemed in agony as he closed the vase and fell to his knees on the floor. His purple-pinkish eyes nearly looked black as he looked up at me with nothing but desperation painted across his face as he whimpered my name.

“Help….I…I can't, I need you right now….” He gasped and raised his torso to hug my legs and nuzzle into them with desperation.

I was at a loss of words at this sudden shift, but with the tight grip he had on the back of my thigh and the look in his eye, I let out a shaky breath and nodded, “I’m not sure what happened to you, but whatever you need. I’m yours…”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Rafayel stood and lifted me by my hips as he threw my back against the bed. As I fell back, the plop of water sloshing resounded in my ear as the next thing I knew Rafayel’s lips were on my neck as his hands lifted up my legs.

“Raf-“ I gasped at his boldness, his actions were hurried and desperate as he tried to hold on to my body desperately as if I would drift off like the waves of the water beneath us.

“Shhh, I need this right now or I’ll go crazy…Let me take care of you my beloved bride,” he groans as he slides off my leggings and panties all at once.

He lets out a shaky breath at my exposed form and I start to feel dizzy as Rafayel then begins to drool on my bare sex and licks his lips as he brings his face down to give an experimental lick. I arch my body up and close my thighs around his head, trapping his face to my hole.

He doesn’t move as he just sensually licks and sucks at me like he’s savoring his favorite ice cream. My moans are drowned out in my own ears as I can hear nothing but the water in the bed slosh around. It felt like I had laid back in the bathtub and could hear only sounds of water moving with my body, except, unlike the bathtub, the only thing wet was the mixture of slick and saliva as Rafayel ate me out.

My thighs gripped his face harder as he purposely sucked my sensitive bud, “C-Close…I’m close,” I gasped.

I received nothing but a happy humm in response, the vibrations of his voice sending me over the edge as I moaned with fervor at my release.

“Rafa….” I gapped as I opened my thighs to release his face. He pulled back and stared at me with those dark eyes as he undid his belt. His cheeks and ears were a bit tinged in a blush as his purple fluffy hair was now disheveled and his lower lips covered in my essence.

Never breaking eye contact, he ripped his high waisted black pants down and his usual low cut white shirt was gone in an instant as he crawled on top of my body. The motion of him climbing on top of me caused the water to propel me even closer to him as my bare cunt brushed against his still covered lower half.

As I could feel his hard length against me, I was taken aback as he laughed deeply in my ear. The reveberations of his laughter caused the waterbed to shake abit and I was moving up and down like I was floating in a lazy river. “What’s so funny?” I asked as he looked down at me with a bright and cheeky smirk, his usual teasing pink coloring returning to his eyes.

“You should see how you look right now, like a birdy drowning in the sea with how much you keep moving back and forth.”

“Well, I’m being swallowed by the motion of the water, what else am I supposed to do? How are you so composed on this thing?”

He sat up as he began to take off his boxers, a confident and arrogant expression painting his face, “Me and the waters are one and the same,” after he finished undressing and I can see his dripping length standing straight as he comes closer to whisper in my ear once more, “We’re both unpredictable and all encompassing.”

With that his hands slide down my torso to then lift up my shirt and push it over my head, his mouth meeting the pebbles of my now erect nipples. I let out a small moan at the sensation and desperation of his suckling mouth on my chest.

With a pop his mouth leaves my nipple as he laughs while moving his hips to make the water shake me, I’m at a loss as the waves make my body move sporadically. I try and sit up to have a similar vantage as Rafayel, but he meets my lips in a passionate kiss as I lay flat against my back.

“Are you ready for me my bride?” His voice is almost unfamiliar as its deep purr resounds into my very core and I shiver.

I let out a shaky yes and suddenly I gasp as he slams a knee into the bed and suddenly the motion of my body slides to connect him and me in one swift motion. “N-no fair! That was sneaky!”

“Shhh, you know you love it cutie,” he laughs as both of his hands grip the sides of my hips. Rafayel’s lips trail into the crook of my neck as his hips send crashing waves into the bed as he thrusts in and out of me with a smooth rhythm.

“I must say, this is actually fulfilling some fantasies of mine.”

I whine as he hits a sensitive spot within me and bites down on my neck, “Raf-Please.” I feel breathless as my body is floating in pleasure with every crash of our hips. The water surrounding us in this cheap mattress make me feel as if I’m drowning in an endless ocean of pleasure. I was drowning in Rafayel’s very being, and I never wanted to come up for air.

“Please,” he mocks me in a deep voice, “I should make you beg more for the way you’re driving me wild.” He removes his face from my neck and meets my lips to force them to open for him. With a moan he sucks on my tongue and his hips speed up.

The wetness of our bodies and groans of exctasy mix with the sounds of splashing waves of the bed below us. My nails find their way to Rafayels back and I drag them down as I feel my crescendo reaching.

I pull away from his lips and lean my back and yell out his name. “Rafayel!”

He lets out a shaky breath as he continues at a relentless pace, “Not yet, just a bit more cutie.” Rafayel grunts as he presses me deeper into the sinking bed. I clench around him unable to control my own bodily reactions.

“I can’t! Rafayel please,” I can feel tears welling in the corner of my eyes from trying my best to hold off my orgasm, but finally as his hips slam even deeper within me, I lose myself.

“Come for me, my beloved bride,” he pants as he keeps the same rhythm.

I feel weightless as my legs shake from intense pleasure and the rest of my body goes slack as Rafayel keeps chasing his high. I lightly drag my fingers up from the scratched I made on his back to reach up into the hair at the nape of his neck.

I dig my fingers in a bit gently and pull as my eyes meet his intense purple gaze, “Let go Rafayel…”

His face contorts into an almost melancholic pout as he scrunches his eyes closed and with a final thrust that resounds a smack throughout the cheesy themed room, I feel the warmth of his spend drip into me.

Rafayel pants and collapses ontop of me as he hums with pleasure in his voice as his body is still painting my insides.

“Well that certainly is one for the books for me,” my voice is a bit gravelly and hoarse as I laugh at the absurdity of our situation.

“I actually think I might have to thank Thomas instead of yelling at him,” Rafayel grumbles into my chest.

“And here I thought you didn’t like water beds,” I started to run my hands through his hair as I teased him.

“You know I think I might buy a couple for my studio now,” he props his chin up on my chest and looks at me with a cheeky smirk, “Only if you test them out with me.”

“While this was fun, I don’t know how fun sleeping on this will actually be.”

He reached a hand out to touch my cheek, his thumb rubbing gentle circles on them, “Who said anything about sleeping?”

After a few spent moments of us basking in the after glow, we got up and cleaned ourselves off to actually get some needed sleep. As I glanced back at that blue bottle on the counter, I couldn’t help my curiosity.

“Rafayel, what is that pheromone that made you crazy? You said something about Lumeria, right?”

He crosses his arm and stares at me with a pout, “Well, I’m not sure you need to know what it is, just know that I’ll be taking that stuff with me to use at a further date. So prepare yourself miss bodyguard, because next time you won’t walk away so easily from me.”

“Is that a threat?” I laugh as he lays down next to me and captures me in his arms. He once again manipulates the unease of the waters below us to push my body as close as possible to his.

“Oh cutie, it’s a promise.” He kisses the crown of my head as the waves and the warmth of his arms help me drift off to a peaceful slumber.

That night I dream of a life underseas and a purpled haired merman worshiping my body with the waves surrounding us.