We are in this together

He gave her a tender smile as she spoke about them being a good team. “We sure are” he whispered back, pushing her hair back behind her ear. His eyes traveling over her face, as he took her in for a moment. Now, he wasn’t really all about asking people to be his, in the term boyfriend or girlfriend. He had never really thought about it that way. He committed the moment he told a person that he loved them, or that he liked them even.
He also knew that in the modern day of age, there was another concept to it all. And people liked to have some common ground on where the other on was standing. Committed, open. Dating, seeing other people. But he still didn’t really like the term girlfriend. He had no idea why. Wife he understood, love he understood.
“You know” he breathed leaning a little back, as his thumps and index finger travelled over her jaw for a moment. “I’m committed to you, I only want you, you know that, right?” he asked, not letting his brown eyes leave hers.

Flora would very much like the ground to open up and swallow her whole at this point. Just, burry her underground. She had talked to him in her sleep? Oh, what horrible things had she said to him? Her cheeks flared up a little, licking her lips feeling rather bashful all of a sudden. “I talked to you in my sleep?” she mumbled, biting down on her lip while she made a small awkward smile. She still couldn’t imagine what she had told him, she didn’t even know that she talked in her sleep. Or had that been the day where she had fallen asleep in the kitchen? She couldn’t remember, she really had to be better at sleeping. In her bed, not anywhere else. Oh that, that also did it. Her own thoughts digging deeper making the light pink her cheeks flare up a little more.

He leaned a little back yet still managed to have her full attention without question, as his fingers travelled over her jawline, the fairy listened feeling like how she forgot to breath for a second. Not that it stopped her lips from forming into that sweet almost angelic smile. Mariella's seafoam green eyes stayed at his, as she licked her lips a little bit and exhaled softly with a small nod. "I know," she almost breathed out. There had been a change since she had gotten to know Leon, which was something she couldn't really describe, but it was a sense of inner peace that just had tamed so much of the chaos that she hadn't even realized she had till it suddenly had gone more quiet. She hadn't been as easily overwhelmed, he had brought her peace without perhaps even realizing. "I only want you too," she spoke a little lower still astounded sometimes how they had come to find each other, and just how grateful she was to have him in her life. "And you know, I'm fully committed to you too, because I love you," she added with a softer voice. Now, those little words were not words she threw around, she knew she had said them to Nathaniel, but it was a long time ago by now. And honestly she had never thought she would say them to anyone again, and yet here she was.  

He watched her cheeks blush, which only made him smile a little bit brighter. Well, Elias did recall many of the small little things she did and had done in the time he had known her. Because he noticed more than people sometimes might even realize. "Well, it was after our triple espresso experiment after we sat up reading for almost two days with only a few powernaps - sleep talking was highly excused," he pointed out. Well, it was the only way he had gotten to spent just a few hours more with her alongside his duties. "But hey," he mused a little letting his hands cup her cheeks again and placed a quick soft kiss on her lips again, "it's completely alright, okay?"

Now the smile that formed on his lips, didn’t truly convey how happy he felt when she told him, that she only wanted him too. But he had never been over ecstatic, always been the quiet and brooding kid. So, to say that he smiled, and laugh was coming a long way, from when he had been a little kid, it was true. But nonetheless he had found himself more prone to smiling and laughing when in the company with Mariella, and also after he had gotten to know her.
Now the next words that she said, it surprised him. Because he knew it was love, what he felt for her. And it made him very happy to hear them. What made him sad, was the fact that he couldn’t say it back. Not in a sense because he didn’t feel the same, it was something was blocking in his brain. Not letting him do it. Because he had loved before, and of course people he knew had gotten hurt because of love. His brother had been one of them, and he had too found a way to cope because of it. He had just not allowed anyone to stay long enough. Leon had just not sought it out. Not in the way he had done with Mariella.
He was scared, he wasn’t too afraid to admit that for himself. He was, very scared. A smaller smile was on his lips as he let out a soft exhale. “I want to say the same too you, because I do” he nodded a little pressing his brows together. “But I need more time” he whispered, licking his lips as the smile disappeared. “I, there is a lot of stories in my past, and you know by now that we have this curse over us that make us come back after we have died – some of my deaths has evolved around the people I’ve fallen in love from” he cleared his throat, wanting to explain himself. Understanding why it might hurt that he couldn’t say it back.

Flora was completely melted in front of him. Not in the physical state, but the metaphorical. How such a bad day had turned out to be the first day, of her entirely new life. How he had opened her eyes to so many things, and already given her so many gifts. He had pulled her out of her shell and made her see that her life once lead had been without any colour.
“Well, that’s just how we roll?” she said with a soft smile, standing there looking at him after he had kissed her. “One more” she chuckled and pushed herself up on her toes to press her lips against his.

Her expression didn't change, as he replied to her. It wasn't like she needed him to throw back the words to her as he spoke them, she knew that sort of thing took time. What she didn't know was the layers he was hiding. Her hands found his cheeks, "hey, things like that take time, it's okay, there is no rush," she spoke rather calmly. For her the truth had always been the most important matter, and she would rather him being honest about this entire thing than telling her off with a white lie in the sense of comforting her. "And I'm truly sorry for whatever you have had to endure in the past, and you don't have to tell me any of it, but know you can if you ever want or need to, okay?" she let her thumbs caress his skin softly giving him an assuring smile and exhaled a little bit. Maybe it came with being an empath, she didn't doubt for a single moment what they had. "You can always tell me the truth," she slowly removed her hands from his cheeks and instead grabbed one of his hands giving it a soft squeeze.

Elias chuckled a little, still surprising and scaring himself by the fact that was letting someone else in. In this way. Because he didn't let people in, he hadn't for a long time. "That is just how we roll," he mused a little softly. "Okay," he added when she asked for one more kiss and pushed herself up to press her lips against his. This time he kissed her back a bit more passionate than the other kisses pulling her even closer to him, even if it almost weren't possible to keep her any closer.

He turned her eyes to her, as her hands found his cheeks and more or less forced him to direct his face in the directions that she wanted him to be in. Blinking a little he listened to her voice and what it told him. That it was okay to take time, and there wasn’t any rush. That she was sorry for the things that he had to endure and that he could tell her about it if she wanted it. He nodded a little, giving her a slight smile when Mariella added that he could always tell her the truth. Now he knew that which was why he had explained. He could easily just had said that he couldn’t say it back and let that be it. But he had never been that person. You either committed with all your scars and put everything in a relationship or you didn’t do it at all. Which was where he had his brother was so different. He needed the connection. It didn’t matter who they were. Status, sex nor how they looked. He squeezed her hand back, letting out a small exhale. Closing his eyes for a moment. Pulling her hand towards his lips and planted a soft kiss against it.

When he pulled her closer, her arms snaked around his neck. Mostly because she felt it too, the need of being closer. Maybe it had been the scare earlier, or maybe it was just because she wanted too. She really couldn’t pinpoint where the pull was coming from. But whatever it was, she could only do it with physical behaviour, by pulling him towards her. Almost inviting him to pick her up, to minimise the distances between them if he needed too.

She took a smaller breath in, as he closed his eyes for a moment and pulled her hand towards his lips, letting his lips brush over it, making her exhale softly. Mariella leaned her head a little closer to him, just leaning her head against his shoulder and took a deeper breath in, closing her own eyes for a moment. Just really taking the day in as well. Then taking his other hand in hers, letting her fingers entangle with his, "you are stuck with me, no take backs," she whispered a little bit, letting her thumb track over his hand. Well, she meant what she had said, she was committed to him, and she would stay, as long as he wanted her, she would stay, Mariella never did anything half heartedly, especially not when she knew that she loved someone.

Elias felt her arms snake around his neck, closing the space between them a little more as he leaned deeper into the kiss. He was a man of great passion, a lot more love to give than he usually did share with others, but finally it felt like he could at least give a little bit more than he usually did. Just a little bit more at least, yet also finding himself to just calm a little bit down and don't let it all out, he wanted to lift her up, put her on the counter and let his hands trace all over her body, feel the soft skin underneath his fingers, just hold her close. Let her know he was all hers. Yet, he stopped for a moment, knowing he didn't need to rush anything, not completely at least. "As much as I really want to keep doing this, we should perhaps see what Leon and Mariella are up to, or try to find my father, inform him about Adonis whereabouts," he mumbled a little against Flora's lips, trying to at least be responsible, but it was hard with the temptress standing right in front of him.

He knew that they needed to tell his father of this, his aunt as well, for that matter. But right now, he thought it would be alright if they just sat for a moment. Breathing it all in, and just existed. It was something he hadn’t allowed himself the privilege of for a very long time. If anything, he knew that no one would really blame them especially not after what had happened at the marked. For that, they deserved a moment of peace. Because they both knew it wouldn’t stay like that for very long. He let his thumb glide over the other side of her hand, closing his eyes again. “It’s good I never really do anything halfway then” he hummed, turning his head and gave her a gentle kiss against her hair. “Let’s just, sit for a moment” he added, and leaned a little back. So, they could both just take a well deserve break.

She was swept of her feet. He had come into her life and kick her legs underneath her. She had no idea it would be possible to love someone so quickly after having her heart broken. Which reminded her that she should contact Charles, at least just to check if he was alright. But she was sure that he needed time as well. She inhaled when he let her go, giving him a soft smile nodding. Looking down to where they had disappeared. “Maybe give them a moment or too, then the world can restart and everything will be sorted” she said with a soft smile, leaning up placing a soft kiss against his lips before letting him go completely.

It lasted a good half hour before everyone had been informed about the new findings and they had started investigating. As Flora had expected, there wouldn’t be much time other than trying to find Adonis and find something that would be able to give him his heart back.

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Out