HESITATE
jonas brothers
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↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
It was a dying Saturday evening.
The sun's top had sunken down low, kissing the pastel sky golden with fading embers of dusk. The moon lay waiting patiently, distant and crescent, radiant with a sort of pearly smile, adorning what was left of the day. There was a soothing melody somewhere in the clouds, tinted pink, singing the tune of a lullaby so beautifully.
Nothing could make it more perfect than it already was.
Nestled in each other's arms were Nyx and Azriel, laying on the latter's bed in absolute calm.
The room was dark, lights kept turned off, with only the glow of the ceiling constellations illuminating it weakly.
Nyx sat with her back supported by the headboard. Her fiery eyes were roaming over the lines, and pictures of the book held in her fingers delicately.
It was the one that Azriel had gotten for her, a vintage mythology book, the kind that she had been taking a lot of interest in for a few months now.
It had surprised her, the fact that he had found one of these since it was nearly impossible to find such old books that were now lost and forgotten.
The boy had searched for it from his heart, not once revealing how he had managed to find it, only asking her to take it without a single question.
Besides, he loved that his girl was a bookworm at heart.
Speaking of Azriel, he was presently resting on his bed, or at least half of him was.
He lay between Nyx's parted legs, replacing his mattress with her, face nuzzled in the crook of her neck, arms engulfing the girl to keep her close, elemental eyes curtained and relaxed.
Nyx's free hand was playing with his hair, running through the velvety raven waves in a slow and gentle lull, traveling down to his naked back and drawing circles on his toned shoulder blades, pampering the boy lovingly.
She felt a tingle whenever he stroked the exposed skin of her hips to return the affection.
Azriel wasn't fully asleep, he would hum in response whenever Nyx quietly mumbled about whatever mythical creature or story she found fascinating.
The ding of an alarm alerted them, announcing that their time together was up.
After dismissing the alarm on her phone, Nyx shut the book in her hands and placed it aside, skimming her fingertips over Azriel's brows.
"We gotta go," she spoke softly, knowing that he was awake.
Azriel's hair tickled her skin when he pulled away from her neck, lazily rubbing his eyes with his bare hand.
It was a relieving sight to see not a single scratch on his knuckles.
His hands weren't dressed in bandages anymore, they had been free of bruises for a few months now, his skin wasn't broken and wounded like it always used to be before.
The boy had allowed himself to heal, he'd found a reason to fight, he'd picked up the sword and braved all that he once feared.
The raven monster was no more.
He was just a boy not misguided or lost anymore.
He had found his world, he had found himself.
Without sitting up straight, Azriel craned his neck closer to Nyx, her doing the same, and they let their flushed lips meet in a slow and tender lock.
The girl sunk further down into the mattress, allowing him to be on top, holding his cheek with one of her hands while the other ran down his chest, latching on to the chain hanging around his neck.
Azriel's fingertips were skimming back and forth around the bare skin of her waist, touching her like she was a delicate fire.
When they pulled away, Nyx gave the boy an adorable toothy grin, one that he had become entirely fond of.
They both looked down at her hand that was resting on his bare chest, the ring on her finger gleaming like the chain around his neck. They'd both gotten each other these as a kind of present, their zodiac constellations engraved onto each of the two items perfectly.
The pair had always been in love with stars, now these very stars reminded them of what they had, of who they had.
Azriel sneaked a quick kiss by brushing his lips against Nyx's cheek-apple, making her smile wider.
He then got off his bed and pulled her up too, moving over to grab his shirt from the bean bag before sliding it back on, buttoning it up and habitually leaving the top button open.
Nyx watched with a distracted smile as Azriel helped her put on one of his sweatshirts, slipping it on top of her sleeveless turtleneck.
"Just in case it's cold out there," he told her.
The corners of his lips lifted when he drank in how beautiful she looked, especially with his favorite smile radiant on her face.
"Thank you," Nyx appreciated, feeling his scent embrace her.
The pair then left his room, taking a few steps down the long hall.
"Roar, come on, we have to leave!" Azriel called out to his little sister.
Aurora responded to her brother's call by pulling open the door to her room, walking out freshly showered and dressed. The girl smiled widely at Nyx and looped an arm around hers.
The trio then proceeded downstairs where they found Fiona and Howard.
"Off to the game?" Howard asked, smiling warmly at the kids.
"Yeah, we'll see you at the diner later?" Azriel answered with a question.
His parents nodded, confirming that they'd be there as decided.
"Alright," Fiona smiled at them, pulling them in for a motherly hug each, "You all be careful and have fun. Wish Warren luck from our side."
Nyx smiled into the embrace when she felt the woman rub her back comfortingly, "Bye, momma Fee."
Howard gave the girls a side hug, patting their backs lightly. He then looked at his son and nodded, "Be safe. Tell Warren to have a good game."
Azriel, Aurora, and Nyx then got into the boy's Chevy, buckling up before leaving for Auradon High to support their friend on his day.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
Auradon High had won the basketball game, a very important one to say the least.
The whole of grade eleven and twelve had come to watch, cheering for their team and boosting morale.
Layla Dean had also been expressing her support rather softly from a corner she felt most comfortable, sending Nyx a nod of acknowledgement when the girls had locked gazes.
Coach Webber had inspired them to win by threatening to eliminate the small bit of junk from their diet, even briefly mentioning something about increasing the kilometer limit of their runs. Nevertheless, even with his colorful and strange ways of encouraging his team to always aim for the best, his training and the boys' collective effort had earned them a deserved win.
Presently, Warren, Aurora, Nyx, and Azriel sat in GrubHub, celebrating the golden boy's win together.
One booth down from the quartet were Nova, Fiona, and Howard, having arrived at the same time as their kids to also congratulate the boy and for all of them to have dinner together at the town's favourite hangout.
The Hecks had gladly allowed for the diner to lock up an hour early at around nine in the night, meaning that it was otherwise empty.
Isaiah and Louise had changed out of their chef's uniforms after making dinner for everyone, and Nyx had helped Jane wait on them despite everyone's protests.
There was a spectrum of dishes yummy and garnished, every one of them being Isaiah's recipes, and Louise even had made everyone her special blueberry milkshake. It was safe to say that the pair had received countless praises for their work.
There was so much laughter and so many smiles, new friends had been made, relations had been strengthened, everything felt so right.
Nyx looked around at her favorite faces, seeing not a single frown but only happiness all around.
A grateful smile remained on her face as she cherished the company of all the people she loved, people who loved her just as much, in the same room.
This was going to be her favorite memory.
The girl who started with nothing now had everything she'd ever wanted. It was a lot more than what she had asked for.
Her family was right here, her friends were right here, and when she looked at Azriel to see him smiling down at her, their hands tightly wrapped in each other's, moving closer to rest their foreheads together, Nyx realized that her world was whole.
The nyctophile had won.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
nyctophilia : concluded.