A caged bird [cw]

“Not really – I don’t... normally share” she mumbled, putting the water bottle on the coffee table, and started pulling out her hair from the bund it had been in. Taking out pins and the hairband that had held it together. Letting out a small sigh as her brown hair fell around her shoulders in big waves. She looked towards him, feeling he stole her breath as her eyes caught onto hers. The spell was broken when he asked about her family, she took in a breath letting out a laugh. “Well, my mother” she licked her lips and looked the other direction again. “Has lived almost as long as Rebekah Sinclair, and in all that pain and sadness of being ribbed away from my newborn sister, she forgot us” she let out a laugh feeling tears prickle against her eyes “but other than that, they are all doing fine, living their lives” she put her hand up to her lips, she closed her eyes and let out a short chuckle. “And I realized that I’ve been without family for so long, I’m not even sure that I want to be part of it anymore” she laughed, without any joy in it. She looked at him “please make me shut up, damn I’m just spilling all of my emotions here, too weird” she mumbled and got up from the sofa maybe she should change “Could you unzip it?” she asked and turned her back to him, indicating that he should help her get out of the dress. She could do it herself, but with his help it would be so much easier and quicker.

She didn’t really share. It was almost funny how much Hope and him shared of traits. He wasn’t really the one to share things either. He took her in as she pulled out everything which had held her hair together. It was impressive what women could do with their hair for festive arrangement.
Her mother had been ripped away from Hope’s sister and therefore forgot her children. It sounded like a sad story. He noticed how her eyes seemed glossier for every moment. Her family lived their lives, and she hadn’t been a part of her family for so long that she was unsure if she wanted to. He understood that. Things changed through time. He noticed how she didn’t think it was funny spilling all of her emotions. He wanted to tell her that it was alright and that she should tell him anything if she wanted to, but she asked him to make her stop which made him pull on a slightly sad smirk. She stood up and asked him to unzip her dress. “Of course,” he replied and stood up. He moved her air away and placed his fingers on the zipper to unzip it. He opened it and watched her back as it appeared before him. He got glimpses off the night he had spent with her. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” he wondered and without much thought he let his hand glide from her spine and up to her shoulder to move the strap off her shoulder.

She looked down her body and felt his slender fingers move some of her hair away. She noticed how long it had become as it glided down the side of her chest. But it was when his fingers locked around the metallic zipper and started to pull. The sound of plastic separating, and she could feel the apartment cool air glide down her freckled body. Her breath came out a little shallower, and she could hear her own thoughts telling her to get it together. It shouldn’t be that easy for him to turn the heat back on in her, not wanting to be the one that never really could turn of her desires for feeling him as close as they had been before it all had gone wrong.

Her eyes closed as his hand glide over her spine towards her shoulder moving the strap off her shoulder. Was he doing this on purpose? She had told him to make her shut up, but at the same time he had just asked if she was sure she didn’t want to talk about it. She turned around, holding up her dress with her arms and in front of her so it would fall down and reveal her naked body. “Yes, I’m sure” she whispered giving him a small smile, feeling her heart pick up speed.

His eyes had been on her shoulder and moved up to her eyes as she turned around. “Okay,” he exhaled softly. She hadn’t exactly told him why she wanted her dressed to be unzipped and therefore he was a little confused about what she wanted to do, even though her heart could tell him something. “You know, Hope… Standing there isn’t going to get us anywhere,” he said with a little smile. He was about to tell her to go on, and do what she wished to do, but remembered that she had told him that he was the one to set the pace. So, instead of shoving her away and tell her to go get changed, his hands found the side of her neck and pulled her in for a soft and almost sensual kiss. “Was that how you wanted to be shut up?” he whispered.

Her lips parted, almost in an expression that she found that very offensive that he would be thinking, they wouldn’t be getting anywhere with her just standing there in front of each other. But he knew he was right, and she needed to get up to her bed so she could chance into something more comfortable. But just as she was about turn around his hand found the side of her neck, she turned towards him again just to feel his lips press against hers. She couldn’t really help the moan leaving her as she kissed him back. Feeling the hairs rose on her body and her body craving more. A cheeky grin formed on her lips as he asked if that was how she had meant that she wanted to be shut up. “Well, it’s, one way of doing it” she mused, shaking her head and a soft giggle left her almost like a school girl not knowing what to do with herself. Shaking her head, she pointed towards him before turning around. “I’m going to get changed” she mumbled looking at his attire “I’m afraid I don’t really have anything to offer you to change into, but make yourself comfortable” she mumbled, walking up the stairs to her bedroom.

The soft moan was like music to his ears, and he could almost feel how she had a cheeky grin on her lips. He hummed a little teasingly, almost grinning, as she mentioned it was one way of shutting her mouth. He raised his brows a little as she pointed at him, nodding softly as she mentioned she was going to get changed. “I don’t mind not walking around in your skirts and crop tops,” he joked and watched her leave him in the living room. He looked a bit around and tried to figure out how he could make himself more comfortable. So instead of really doing much, he simply looked towards the mirror by the dining table and unbuttoned a button or two in his shirt, after all, he had already removed his jacket and shoes. He couldn’t really allow himself to strip into only pants or only his shirt, that might just be a little too comfortable. He ran his hand through his hair and started to look around to see if there was anything he believed was interesting.

She turned as he theorized what she would put him in. “You wound me to think, that I have skorts and crop tops” she mused, shaking her head with a cheeky grin on her lips. Bouncing up the last couple of stairs she stood in the open space. Only thing shielding him from him, was the fact it was high up. As there were no walls to separate the bedroom with the rest of the apartment. She pealed of the rest of her dress, letting her eyes glide towards the living room where she could see him walk around looking at her things. She quickly slipped into something much more comfortable. She quickly walked into the bathroom and washed off the makeup. Put her hair back in a loose bun. Looking into the mirror, she could see that she looked so much healthier than she had done for such a long time. Funny to think that the same man that had broken her trust and heart. Also were one of the reasons why she now took better care of herself.

After a moment she finally walked away from the sink and walked downstairs. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him wander around. One thing she had; was a small gramophone she had seen in a boutique that had sold second-hand items. And in all the items that seemed more like trash then anything else. She had been lucky enough to have found it. Another thing that had reminded her of him. She had found a man that could repair it, which meant that it was working. Walking over she squatted down and took out a LP of the cabinet. She opened it and turned the record lifted the lid of the gramophone and placed it in. The small squawky noise before she put it on. A soft saxophone started playing and she turned towards him. “We never got to dance at the party” she said with a soft smile and offered him her hand. “Would you dance with me now?” it was not as big a place as he had. But it didn’t need to be a giant gesture or them dancing around in big circles. More the intimacy of what they had when she had been at his house.

Ace chuckled a little as she commented on the fact that he believed that she had crop tops and skirts. “No,” Hope didn’t really seem like the type to have such things, but who knew. He wasn’t the type to peak, so when she got fully upstairs, he just minded his own business.

The brown eyes found her as soon as she got downstairs. He watched how she found a LP and put it on her gramophone. It made him smile a little. It was an interesting decoration in her room, which also worked. She let it play and turned towards him. He raised his brows a little when she mentioned they never got to dance. He stepped closer to her as she offered her hand. “Of course,” he replied. To him, it didn’t matter that she didn’t have a whole giant room, dedicated for dancing, but it mattered that they could stand close. One hand carried hers and the other found it’s way to her waist. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that a crop top?” Now, Ace was no fashion genius, but the t-shirt she was wearing simply looked shorter than a normal t-shirt…. So it was cropped right?

She couldn’t help but laugh as he pointed out the quite obvious. That she was actually wearing a crop top. ”Alright, you got me, I actually do own one, or two, maybe three” she shrugged her shoulders a little, while her right hand placed on his shoulder the other on in his left hand. Closing her eyes for a moment, letting the music wrap around them, and let her transform her back to the day they had done this. When they had kissed again, when it hadn’t been staged at the party to make their bond to each other look more real. How long they had gotten since then. “At least I don’t have the tiny skirts” she mumbled, opening her eyes, and let them glide over his face. She took her hand off her shoulder and placed it against his cheek instead. “So, how have you actually been, that last couple of weeks?” she asked, actually feeling the need to know more about him, than just – being around him.

Ace couldn’t help but chuckle a little as she gave in. She did have a couple of crop tops. The music surrounded them, and it didn’t take long before Hope changed the surroundings. “Do you have anything against tiny skirts?” he mumbled back to her as she mentioned she didn’t have any.
She moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek, which made him blink slowly. He took a slightly greater breath in as she asked how he had been. “Well, I’ve been quite distracted, so I actually had to cancel some operations and all that,” he said, pulling on a light grimace. He didn’t mention what had been distracting him, but truthfully, it had been Hope who had been interfering with his head and he hadn’t known what to do with it. It had made him uncomfortable... But in a nice way. It was difficult to describe. “Which means I’ve had more time to be at home,” he elaborated. “And what about you?” he wondered, pulling her a little closer while they were dancing ever so calmly.

Maybe she had something against short skirts. Alright, he nodded a little writing it behind his ear. He licked his lips and tilted his head a little to one side shortly. “That’s what I’ve been questioning myself,” he added, when she was unsure whether if it was good news or bad. Ace kept his eyes at her and for a moment, he just allowed himself to savor the moment, only seeing them, and nothing of their surroundings. It was just her in front of him – nothing else mattered. He was just falling… No, no, stop that. He blinked once and he once again noticed their surroundings, even though her focus was still on her. It was almost as if he had been in a pink bubble for a moment.
Recovery. Good. She had needed that indeed. What she didn’t need was fuzzing about and work right after what she had been experiencing. He didn’t even look towards her desk when she nodded towards it. His eyes stayed, looking calmly at her. She mentioned how she too had been distracted, and even though Hope hadn’t dug into his distractions, he wasn’t her. “What’s been on your mind?” He almost whispered.

She almost forgot to move when the last words left his tongue. Whispering, as if he almost wouldn’t let her hear them. Five of them, digging into why she had been distracting. What had been on her mind. The answer was so simple. It was all but one word. And still. She had no idea how he would react nor how she would react, when she finally let it slip. A soft exhale left her, as she forgot to move. Standing still. So close. “You” she finally whispered back; she wasn’t sure if time really stood still. Or it was just her mind. Because for brief second, she couldn’t think. She almost forgot to breathe as her eyes locked with his. She could see every color. All the small lines of a different kind of brown. Almost as if he was swallowing her with his gaze. She wasn’t sure if her heart stopped beating, or if it was just beating extremely fast. She slowly swallowed the lump in her throat, as her eyes dropped. The stop of time broke, and it was like everything washed over her so incredibly fast. She had just said it, and right now, she wasn’t sure if she dared to see the consequences.

It felt like an eternity. Time had stopped and she was the only thing that mattered. A long waiting and it was driving him insane because he could almost hear the word that she was about to say. When the word finally spilled from her lips it was like the world started again. He leaned in and kissed her. He could hear how her heart was beating, her breath, warmth, energy, and life. He pulled her closer. He wasn’t going to make the anxiety of being left and being all alone stop him this time. “You… You have been in my mind… Ever since you closed the door,” he explained to her. His words paused only by his kisses. He wrapped his arms even tighter around her. His mind had been swirling around about her and just her. It was impossible to help at the hospital when she was the only thing he could think about. She had truly been lucky that he had been there.

As he pulled her closer after her word, she placed her hands on his shoulder, still not breaking eye contact. Which was a wild experience. People so often got self-conscious to keep looking into another person’s eyes. As if it really was the gateway into their deepest thoughts and soul. But she liked that about him, that she could always see some of him when looking into his eye. Both when they looked like this, but also when his vampiric traits were showing. Something that still hadn’t scared her, nor put her off. Which she had always thought they would. Maybe it was the fact that it was him. And even if he had hurt her, she now understood that she wasn’t afraid. She didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, then he pulled her even closer. Letting her arms snake around his neck to do the same. Not afraid of being even closer to him. Even if it still scared a part of her, just how much she wanted him. And she didn’t want anyone else. Maybe it was also the thought that she would compare everyone to him.

Then he told his own truth. That she herself had been on his mind, ever since she had closed the door. She kissed him back, every time he broke the sentence with a new kiss. This time her fingers found their way into his air. And she felt like there was no way that she could be close enough to him. Nibbling his bottom lip, before she kissed him more passionately back. Now he had to stop her because he couldn’t say something like this, and not expect that would break the damp.

She let her arms snake around his neck, and he couldn’t help but smile while kissing her. Her fingers found their way into his hair, and he could feel how some of the hairs in his neck rose. A quite moan left him as she nibbled his bottom lip. His hands managed to find their way to the hem of her shirt. “I’m sure about this,” he mumbled passionately to her and let his cold fingers glide up her back, making her shirt slowly glide up. “I promise,” his voice cracked a little. “I promise,” he repeated. If she allowed him, he would pull of her shirt. His hands would then find her lower back and while they were there, he pulled of his daylight ring. He let his hand find hers and he slid the ring onto her finger. “I promise,” he said and let his lips collide with hers once more. He wasn’t backing out. His ring was no form for marriage or engagement ring, but simply his daylightring with a sun symbol on it. It made him able to wander in the daylight with less trouble. If he somehow didn’t keep his promise, she could keep the ring or throw it away somewhere, to make him think about his actions… But that wouldn’t happen. He was sure about this.

A small sigh left her throat, as he told her that he was sure about this. It was all she needed to hear. Leaning her head, a little back, biting her lip as his cold slender fingers glided over her skin. He could drive her insane, without even trying. She was sure that he just needed to look at her right, and she would be mold in his hands. It still scared her absolutely shitless. But as he kept saying over and over, that he promised. She opened her eyes and looked at what he was doing. How he had taken her hand and started to slip his ring over her finger. Her eyes widened a little, first not getting the meaning of it. Until she saw that it was his daylight ring. Her panic mind moved the possibility of this being any kind of promise about marriage away. Concluding that it was more a way to show her, that he wouldn’t be able to leave without feeling the sun burn his skin if he were to walk away from her. Punishment. He was such an odd type, and a crocket smile formed on Hope’s lips, as her fingers danced from his hair down his neck. Slipping down his shirt, as she slowly started opening one button at a time. Looking him into his eyes, not saying anything, and taken her very sweet time to do it as slowly as she could.

She let her fingers dance from his hair, down his neck and to his shirt. She was working slowly. Very, very slow. Not being as patient as her, he let his hand find the bottom of his shirt and a little impatient unbuttoned his shirt from the bottom and up. Being more impatient, he failed more. In the end their hand shared the last button. As soon as it was open hen opened it up and with a quick movement he flew of his shoulders. He then stepped closer to her again, placing a hand on each side of her head and kissed her longingly. “I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered against her lips and pulled her towards the kitchen counter, twirling them around once, so she had her back against the counter.
He started to kiss her down her neck, and down towards her sternum. His hands caressed hers. One hand on her back and the other about to find their way to her shorts. “I want this,” he mumbled against her skin, letting her kisses travel down her midline until they reached under her navel. “I want you,” he mumbled and closed his eyes as both his hands found the lining of her shorts about to pull them down.

She couldn’t help but let out a low laugh, as she could see just how impatient he became with her delicate work on his buttons as he started working on them himself. So, when he came to the same one, she was working on, she smacked his fingers away and got it open for him. In a faster manner than she had done the others. She leaned back as she saw how he quickly discarded the shirt. He really was in another mood than he usually was. Much more different when they had been together in the bedroom after going down from his dance studio. It was both exciting her and making her very confused. But he kept reassuring her, so she didn’t stop or ask him if it was really what he wanted. And he wasn’t just pulled on for the ride once again. Intoxicated by her blood, or her presents and therefore would be freaked out with him turning into something he usually wasn’t. But as her back hit the kitchen counter, and he started to kiss her down the neck. All thoughts evaporated. A soft moan left her, and she had to let her have fall back, letting the feeling of him kissing her body, his fingers teasing her. Overwhelm her and almost made her beg for more. To be fair, even though she had tried. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had been brought back to their night together. She had hated it, and always tried to think of something else. But it had been like he had haunted her. “I want you too” she whispered back, almost breathlessly so. How could he turn on this fire in her?

She smacked his fingers away and he had to bite down his urge to interfere again, but she sped up with working on the button. The fire in his chest had been spreading to his fingertips and wanted to dance over her skin. When he was allowed to do so he felt so complete. Her whisper was music to his ears, and he pulled off the short shorts she was wearing. His hands found their way around her thighs and with a quick little move moved her up on the countertop. He pulled one of her legs over his shoulder and slowly laid her down to make sure she didn’t get hurt in the process. He then kissed her up from the inside of her thigh until he reached her pubic area and he looked up at her, “I want to make you feel good,” he whispered, letting his cold breath tease her a little as he spoke before he let his lips met her lips that he hadn’t kissed before.

“Oh god” she whispered, as he placed her on the countertop, he hadn’t even done anything, and it was like explosions was going off in her body. Making everything hum from his touch. She wanted him, as if he had intoxicated her with his presents. It was a wild feeling, both feeling numb and feeling everything to an extreme. It was overwhelming and still she didn’t want it to stop. Her fingers glided into her hair, almost as if she needed to grip unto something, to make sure she stayed in the moment. His words that he whispered, made a small smirk form on her lips. “You already make me feel more than anyone has ever done” she whispered, which was the truth, everyone else had felt empty compared to how he could wake emotions in her that she had never been able to pull out before now. Then his lips glided over her intimate area. Making her groan in pleasure. Bucking her hips. “Oh god, Ace” she whimpered removing her fingers from her hair to grip ahold of the counter she was laying on.

He hummed a little as she responded to him. It was quite pleasant to know just how much of a difference he made for her. Not that he thought much into the detail of it right now, but she really, truly made a difference for him. He wasn’t just living to live anymore.
The grip around her leg tightened a bit as she buckled her hips, so he could follow her movements better. His free hand found their way up her body and grabbed onto her waist. He was taking his time and making sure she was feeling pleasured. Or that was at least until he realized for himself, that he would much rather make this be about her, than both of them. He made sure to please and tease. He didn’t have to be any kind of active, he just needed her to feel prioritized and not played.

Morning, or maybe it was too late to call it morning by now. The main reason to why Ace woke up was because of the sun shining into the apartment, which made him crawl under the bedsheets almost hugging the bedsheets with a groan. It had truly been a long time since he had been without his daylight ring and it made him a little nauseous to be without it and certainly gave him a headache.

Hope let out a soft groan, as someone stirred beside her. Now she had never had anyone by her place before. Never shared her bed with anyone. Either she had gone home to them and left before they had woken up. Which also had been another thing with Ace. That she had stayed after first time they had shared each other. Or she went to a hotel room, never to see the person again. So, this was very different for her to feel someone move around in the covers and crawl under the bedsheets. “What are you doing?” she whispered, still waking up. Until she felt the heaviness from a ring on her finger. Waking up a little more, she crawled under the covers as well. Giving Ace a soft kiss against his forehead, before she took his finger and placed the ring that he had given her yesterday to promise he wouldn’t just take back his words. Hopefully it would make it better. “You, okay?” she whispered, her voice still heavy from sleep.

Her voice reached his ears under the covers, and he groaned a little as a reply. He opened his dark eyes to look at her as she got underneath the covers too. He closed his eyes as she leaned in to give him a kiss on his forehead. He groaned, but a little kinder and sounded more like someone who just needed a few minutes, rather than the few hours he sounded like from just a moment ago. He immediately felt how she placed the ring on his finger and as soon as it was on, he folded his hand into a fist to make it sit correctly. He shuffled closer to her and hummed, to tell her that he was okay. He let his hand find her waist and slowly laid her down her back until he hovered over her. “I am more than okay,” he said as he felt how everything that had felt uneasy disappear. He leaned down and kissed her close to her ear. “I think you should know,” he whispered and pulled a little bit away, “Ever since I met you… The gloomy days seems just… A little bit brighter,” he said and pulled on a soft smile correcting a strand of her hair. Was he too much? Was he going to cross a line for her? He honestly didn’t know.



“How are you feeling?” he wondered and tried to look at her, searching for anything that could be unpleasant for her.

This was ridicules. The smile that formed over her lips, as he told her that he was more than okay. The warmth that spread in her chest, as he laid her down so he could hover over her. Her eyes that couldn’t stay away from his eyes and lips. Her eyes closed however, when he leaned down towards her. Feeling how his lips kissed the skin behind her ear, making her hum in appreciation. Her eyes opened once again, as he wanted to let her know something. The more he spoke, the more of a smile started to appear over her lips. Who would have known that this man was such a soft person? A little cheesy, and clearly harbored love in his heart, that no one really knew about. And might not believe, if she was ever to tell someone that had met Ace, as she had met him to start with.

With a little headshake, she let out a small laugh. Her fingers found his cheek and caressed it gently. “How am I feeling?” she asked, giving him almost a cheeky smile. “Now, normally I would just say fine, because you know –“ they weren’t really the kind of people that tore their heart out and started the morning with poetry about how much they cared about each other. “But since you are being so cheesy” she leaned up and captured his lips for just a second before falling down in the bed again. “I’m more than okay, when I’m with someo- with you, because I’m with you” she licked her lips nervously. She had been about to say love so casually, without her even thinking about it. Which of course meant that she actually was in fact, in love with Ace. And it scared her shitless, feeling how her heart picked up speed. Not that she moved or pushed him away, because when it came down to it. She was more afraid of what he would think about it. Because in Hope’s head, there would be no way that he wouldn’t have picked up on what she had just said. Or at least, how she had said it.