Smoke and Mirrors : Royal Angels I

Speaking of truth

~Daniel~

"You ever realise that bagels are just donuts that did a semester abroad?"

I smiled, propping my feet up near the fire. Adriana snuggled in closer to me, pulling harder at the threadbare blanket over her shoulder.

"So we're assuming even donuts aren't spared from the horrors of high school?" I asked her, as she nibbled on her bagel.

"Of course not." She said, matter-of-factly. "The ones with a higher GPA go to Yale and become name partners at a firm."

I arched a brow, trying to be serious. "Name one firm run by a donut."

She didn't hesitate.

"Krispy Kreme."

I kissed the powdered sugar off the corner of her lips, wondering how the hell I'd ended up with this chick.

We didn't have much in the way of entertainment, besides cuddling like a couple of Care Bears. I had a good excuse : the apartment was cozy, and it was raining outside.

God bless Mother Nature.

"Is Paris your home city?" Adriana asked me now, looking at the distorted view of the Eiffel Tower outside the window. "Because it's beautiful."

"No." I answered her. "I used to stay in a little village near the coast with my mom and my brother."

My childhood had been about as simple and straight forward as the plot line of The Matrix.

And I certainly wasn't about to discuss my pill popping backstory with a woman who probably had tea with Oprah at some point.

"Was it a nice place?" She asked, her hand subconsciously cupping her lower abdomen. She hesitated. "Because I'd have loved to grow up in a small town away from the city."

I put my hand over hers. "Then that's where she's going to grow up."

"She?" Adriana grinned. "Why not a boy?"

"I don't mind." I shrugged. "But you better get ready to deal with the kid from Home Alone if he takes after his father."

She laughed. "I bet you were adorable."

"I was an ässhole." I said, meaning it. "My mom was probably Mother freaking Teresa for not throwing me out of the house for the stunts I pulled."

She smiled. "What was her name?"

"My mom?" I looked at her curiously. "Leandra Claire."

"Then if it's a girl, that's her name." She said, softly. "Deal?"

I kissed her because in that moment I could see the rest of my life before my eyes. I could see waking up to the beautiful woman everyday, tying the shoe laces for my kid and fücking up my daughter's braids or teaching my son how to shave.

And I realised with a tinge of sadness for my best friend that I'd finally gotten my happily ever after.

I finally understood what Xavier had always wanted, at the cost of him losing it forever.