Big Bad Rogue

Pancakes

  Quietly lying in the dark, I was running my fingers through Aiden's hair as he was fast asleep in my arms. His pale hair seemed to glow in the moonlight coming through the cracks in the window, and it had gotten so long since it had last been cut. After I had offhandedly pointed it out, he decided to grow it back out, and it was already just past his shoulders now.

  Sighing through my nose as his soft hair fell through my fingers, I looked down at his sleeping face. His head was resting on my chest and bicep while his arms were wrapped around my waist. The man was even drooling on my shirt, but I didn't mind.

  He'd helped me so much, especially in the past few weeks, and yet he still found such comfort in my closeness. He wasn't resentful or angry, not even upset in the slightest with how I'd been lately. Despite what had happened before, it still took me a while to grieve and come to terms with Michael's death.

  I think part of why it hurt so much was due to the fact I had been the one to kill him and the shock of his betrayal not just once, but multiple times over. I even felt guilty over the fact that his fated, wherever she was out there, would never know her fated. But, then again, maybe it was for the best she would never have to deal with his obsessive behavior or find out what he'd done.

  I wasn't sure the guilt would ever go away, but I couldn't let it eat away at me either. Aiden had been there with me even through the worst of it, and I didn't have any clue how to express just how much I appreciated him for it. The more time I spent with him, the more I understood why we were fated.

  Brushing my knuckles over Aiden's cheek, I could feel the rough stubble along his jaw. Softly sighing through my nose again, I tried to push away all of the useless thoughts that were preventing me from getting any sleep.

~

  "Wakey, wakey!" Aiden called out, and I jolted up in bed with bleary eyes. Blinking away the sleep, my brows furrowed when I saw Aiden shutting the door behind him with his foot. He then walked my way while carrying what smelled like food and coffee.

  "What?" I muttered while rubbing my eyes.

  "What, what? Do you not want coffee?" He quirked up a brow, and I reached out for one of the cups in the holder he was carrying.

  "I meant, when and how did you go get breakfast?"

  "When you were sleeping like the dead. And as for how, I took your card and walked to the nearest place that sold breakfast."

  "....Seriously? On your own?" I looked at him with furrowed brows while popping the lid off the coffee to blow on it.

  "I'm not a pup, come on." He kicked off his shoes before carefully crawling onto the bed to not spill what else he was carrying.

  "No, I just meant 'cause you never do that. Hell, you even refuse to go in anywhere without me when we're in human territory."

  "How else was I supposed to surprise you with breakfast?" Aiden sat criss-cross and began to unload the food from the paper bag.

  "Yeah, but you had to deal with humans." I replied before taking a drink from the coffee. "You didn't growl or snap at anyone, did you?"

  "Excuse me, but I know how to behave. I don't see them as threats anymore."

  "You mean you're used to them now."

  "That's a nicer way to put it." Aiden popped open a container of hash browns as I opened the container he had sat in front of me. Confirming what I smelled, I saw a stack of thick pancakes with cream and chunks of fruit. "Here." He then dug out plastic silverware from the bag and handed it to me.