"Ari, are you in position?" Kele's gruff voice utters in my earpiece.
"I've got the building in my sights and my area is clear. No signs of anyone or anything except field mice." I say, hopping onto a stack of shipping crates. "Are you sure this is all necessary? All the locations we've hit so far have been empty."
With the help of Professor Nakida and Professor Statlender, SHIELD has been combing through the data they've found from the other areas we've hit.
They've had their hands full too, what with finding the families of the misplaced children—if they had any, that is. To those who didn't, Mr. Stark had teamed up with Rand Enterprises to start a program to help them. It was sweet when Danny brought it up, and it's been doing good for both companies. They've even convinced other big-time companies to chip in, too.
"Smoker's info had been good. He mentioned this warehouse was particularly heavily guarded—said that this was one of the major locations where they transported the kidnapped kids."
Well, that explains the storage units. I think bitterly, looking at the looming warehouse that sat near train tracks. The building had seen better days, which is why I think we have nothing to worry about. "Is that why it's just us two on this mission?"
He lets out a chuckle on his end. "What would you rather be with that Rand boy?"
My cheeks get hot as I stammer. "W-What? No!" Okay, that isn't a complete lie, but Mr. Osborn just got cured and Harry wanted us all to hang out and I wanted to touch base with him about it! "Where did that even come from?!"
"I wanted to see how bad you are at lying. Glad to see I'm right." I let out a groan, tugging my hood over my face even though I know he can't see me. "I can hear it in your voice. Don't think I didn't notice the change between you two after that trip from K'un-Lun."
"For the last time—nothing happened. Is now really the time to go through this? Again?" The first time was bad enough; he tried grilling me in front of Danny and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. If this is what I was missing not having a dad around, I'd rather do without the part where he bugs me about my love life.
I haven't brought up that I'll be going back with Danny after his year is up, and I'm sure as hell not gonna tell Kele any time soon. I'm just glad no one else asked about it. Ava and Sam took him going back pretty well and Luke already knew, but they want to make the most out of the time he has left.
"Alright, I'll lay off... for now. I'm on top of the roof, 'port here, and I'll fill you in on the game plan."
"Fine..." I grumble as I switch off the communicator. I rub my forehead, turning around to open up a shadow portal. I step through it, the darkness cool against my skin, and in an instant I'm beside him.
"Looks like that training's been paying off." He smirks as I send him a look.
"Thanks. Doctor Strange has been helping me, too." I say, walking over to stand beside him with a huff.
"Good, let's put that to the test." Damn it, I set myself up for that one. He nods over to the skylight, the room below completely blanketed by darkness. "Let's see you use the shadows to see what we're dealing with."
"You would turn this into a teaching experience..."
"Just catching up on lost time." He half shrugs, but I can tell he's trying not to laugh.
Clicking my tongue, I kneel, placing my open palm on the cool glass and close my eyes. I focus on the shadows inside the room, a map of the multi-level building slowly forming in my mind floor by floor.
"I don't see anything. Just a bunch of broken tables and shelves." I say as I continue to search.
"Hmm... from what we can tell they cleared out most of their facilities even before we found out about IVY... keep looking."
"Okay but—" I pause, furrowing my brow as I reach the final few levels. "wait, there's something on the last floor."
"What is it?"
"There's a whole other floor deep underground. It doesn't look like a basement though."
"That wasn't on the blueprint."
I snap my eyes open, "Wait, you have a blueprint?!" Then why the hell am I doing this for?!
"Okay, 'Port us through to the last floor and we'll check it out."
I stand up with a frown. "Changing the subject like the doesn't hear me..." I mutter as he fiddles with his SHIELD wrist communicator, but I can see that sly smile on his face as I open up a portal to the first floor. I stomp through as we appear on top of one of the many crisscrossing metal beams, wobbling and nearly losing my balance before Kele grabs the back of my hood.
"Careful there, I know you haven't been at Aigile for a while but watch your step."
"Hey, this whole shadow porting thing is still pretty new, okay?" I say as he chuckles and pats my shoulder.
"Alright, the area doesn't seem to rigged," he says scanning the area below. I activate my Eagle Vision too, the floor below dark. "Let's jump on down and see if we can find a way to that lower floor." He steps off the railing easily, using his shadow wings to glide down.
I summon my tails, jumping down after him and using them as a spring to help me land with my ankles intact. I may have a healing factor, but I'm not dealing with my bones cracking back into place in any of these creepy facilities. "What exactly are we looking for?"
"A huge lever? A big button labeled not to press?" He says, walking forward as I roll my eyes and follow. I see where I get my amazing sense of humor from. He holds a hand up, stopping me as he looks around in the middle of the room. "There's a thin line right here on the floor..." He kneels for a moment, tracing it with his fingers before standing and following it to the far wall. "Well, since this building is empty..." He reaches into the pocket attached to his leg, attaching something to the wall. Taking a closer look at them, I can see Maggie's handiwork.
"We're gonna blow it up?" I question, surprised.
"Yeah, why?"
"I dunno I thought we would be more discrete?"
"The explosions won't draw too much attention. Maggie designed them to connect like a net and it'll vaporize the wall. No mess, no fuss." He places the last one, taking out a small device. "We might want to stand back just in case."
He presses the button on it; the bombs blinking to life and interlocking bright blue beams before it cuts out a wide arch into the thick metal and then a small explosion rocks the floor.
"No mess, no fuss, huh?" I cough, waving away some dust that flies into the air.
"She wanted me to take a note of that..." He says wearily, taking careful steps to the newly formed hole. I follow behind him, staying on my guard as we're completely encased in darkness until Kele clicks on a flashlight, illuminating a metal staircase that leads further down below.
I shudder, feeling a familiar chill go down my spine and for a moment the area melts into the walls of the IVY hospital halls. I bite my lower lip as we descend, clenching my hands into fists to keep them from shaking.
It's all in my head. You scanned the building, it's totally empty.
My anxiety doesn't fade the further we go down, the walls feeling like they're constricting around me, and it takes every ounce of willpower I have to not turn and run. My tails wrap around my waist, almost reassuringly, and it helps when we reach the bottom.
My stomach drops as I take a step back and putting a hand on the back of my neck on instinct. The room is wide, filled with rows upon rows of broken cylindrical pods made of glass, and I hold back a whimper.
"T-These are—" my heart thuds hard against my chest, my blood pounding in my ears as my entire body shakes. The memories from the hospital flood into my mind full force, and I can feel tears prick the corners of my eyes.
Kele looks back to me, stepping into my field of vision to block the view of the room from me.
"We can leave. We don't have to look further tonight—we can let someone else handle this."
I can't speak, my throat tight and my mouth dry as I squeeze my eyes shut, but all I see are the walls that haunt my nightmares almost every night. He moves me but I shake my head, planting my feet firmly on the ground.
"I-I can do this." My voice is strained and tiny, echoing slightly as I take in deep breaths and letting them out slowly, just like I do whenever I have a nightmare. Kele says nothing, but his hands on my shoulders are comforting and are a reminder he's here—that I'm here. The shaking stops eventually, but the feel of this place is suffocating. The very air around it sucking away any confidence I spent building back up "I think I'm okay." I say, as he carefully releases me.
"Are you sure? There's no shame if you want to head back." I shake my head, loosening the tight grip I have on my arms.
"We have to keep looking. There might be more information here." I say, steeling myself. Despite the dread I feel in the pit of my stomach, I need to push through it.
He studies me for a moment, but I can tell he won't force me to leave. "If you're sure, but as soon as you feel you're having another attack just let me know and I'll get us out of here, okay?" He says softly, the worry clear in his voice, and I nod.
As we head through towards the back of the room, we come upon bashed in computer monitors all set up on one side of the wall with what looks like a surgical section. It's blocked off by curtains stained with something I, and I don't want to find out what. Kele shines his light over to the monitors, trying to find anything functional, but nothing seems to work.
It's then when I hear a grating metal sound and for a second, I feel my heart stop. I barely have a moment to react as Kele dashes behind me, wings out, and I hear metal being torn apart.
I can hear something approaching from behind the curtain and I can feel the panic set in again as it tears apart the cloth. The body of a rusted metal Spider steps through, its beady green eyes lit up and flashing. More appear from above it, their bodies glinting from Kele's discarded flashlight as he engages with the ones by him.
I step back, my body numb as it staggers towards me. A pod tips over somewhere as more Spiders emerge, and one after the other. I nearly trip backwards, my back pressed against a broken pod and for one fleeting, terrifying second, I see myself trapped in them again. Helpless and alone.
Their rusted bodies swim before my eyes as my vision doubles and I can hear Kele calling out to me, but his voice is far away to me. The spiders crawl towards me, their bodies scraping against the floor and I shut my eyes tight, the fear washing over me, paralyzing and rooting me to the spot.
I try to move my body, to summon my tails, to do something, but I can't. My body won't stop shaking and all I can hear is the battle Kele is having across the room and my heart pounding loud in my ears. I can hear them get closer as one of them releases a piercing high pitch screech.
I pry my teary eyes open, and I see one looming over me with a sharp corroded leg raised high to cut me down. Flashes of these things tormenting me in that simulation fly by me in an instant. Of them dragging me away from the cell they trapped in us, of them capturing other kids. Then I remember Sarah's terrified face when I pushed her out of the way only to get captured myself,
And something snaps.
I feel a knot of fire burst in my chest and a sudden rush of strength flood through me as my tails lash out behind me. With a scream, I tear into the face of the one in front of me. Sparks of electricity light up the room with sporadic crackles of light before a section of its body leaks out that disgusting acid that melts the metal off its body.
I don't have any time to think as another one lunges at me, the other three following to attack me in a swarm, but I catch its leg with my gloved hands and slice through it with a tail, using its own leg to stab it into the ground as one tries to pin me with its body. I flip away as it lands in a puddle of acid, letting out another shriek as it corrodes and even melts through the floors.
Without thinking, I rush the one nearest to me, taking out my hidden blade for good measure before I'm grabbed by someone and 'ported to the farthest side of the room behind a large overturned desk. I thrash against Kele's hold. "Let me GO!"
I won't be afraid of these spiders anymore! I'll destroy them all! I'll-
An explosion rocks the area, Kele's hold tightening as he shields me from any debris that may have blown our way. My thrashing stops eventually, my body going limp and all the energy I had before replaced by a dull ache in my head. My breath comes out ragged and I grit my teeth so hard it hurts. I can vaguely feel Kele release me, silent as he holds up his communicator and the dull blue light of its screen casts a shadow around us.
"Fury, we weren't alone in this location. Those metal spiders were here waiting." I hear him say, his voice slightly strained. I tune out their conversation, my gaze focusing on the flickering shadows and my breathing as I try to even it out. It isn't until I feel his hand on my shoulder I realize I'm crying.
"What happened?" I ask, swallowing the lump in my throat.
"One of them was beginning to self-destruct." He answers. "I was trying to warn you, but—"
"I lost control..." I pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. It wasn't as bad as when I snapped and nearly killed Smoker, but... "I thought I was getting better..."
"Ari—"
"I nearly got myself blown up!" If this was any other mission or god forbid there were civilians around, who knows what could have happened.
"You pulled yourself out of it, if you didn't you would have—" He stops himself. "I know these missions take a toll on you, and I'm proud of you for pushing through this but don't push yourself too hard." I jump a little when he stands, reaching a hand out to help me out. "Let's get you out of here."
I nod, taking his hand, and he stays close to me as he opens up a portal. I go through it first, refusing to look back at the wreck behind us.
*****************
"The information we've gained from Kele and Ari's missions has helped us nail down nearly all of IVY's other branches." Director Fury states, a holographic image of the globe popping up in the middle of the long table we all sit at.
The team, Kele, and I all sit in the briefing room going over the data we've collected since I was rescued. It's come a long way, but I can't wrap my head around all of it. It's been two days since the incident at the warehouse upstate, and the pounding in my head hasn't gone away since.
"These areas marked show the facilities we've infiltrated so far. We've nearly gotten every single area, though our work is far from over." Kele says next as the hologram lights up with blips of light as it rotates. We all watch in silent horror as each one pops up—decades of kidnappings and experimentation's hiding right under our noses.
"Those bastards..." I hear Luke growl, a heavy fist slamming onto the table as Fury's one eye narrows into a glare as he looks on at the map. I look away, my headache growing worse at the glaring red lights. A warm hand wraps around mine and I glance over to Danny who shoots me a tiny reassuring smile. I give it a little squeeze as Kele continues.
"Some areas have been empty, unfortunately Ari and I had an encounter with those Spiders waiting for any intruders." An image of those metallic demons pops up beside the globe and I repress a shudder, Danny's warmth helping me stay grounded. "They've continued to self-destruct when defeated, activating some kind of acid that destroys any remains."
"Why don't we just capture one? Then we can examine them all we want!" Sam says, leaning an arm on the table.
"We can't do that either." Peter says, touching the screen and sliding a video feed of one in action. It shows SHIELD agents trying to corner one in an alleyway, its head convulsing as they close in on it, guns ready. Its eyes flash that poison green color before the feed cuts off by an explosion. "Whenever we've tried to capture one, it still happens. They seem to have some intelligence, like they're aware. If it's AI, it's way more sophisticated than anything I've seen."
"So we're back to square one." Sam sighs, rubbing his face with his hands as he leans back into his seat.
"Getting this far is something, right? We may not know who the benefactor is, but we've been able to help a lot of the kids that were taken." I say as the room falls into a sullen silence.
"I'd still feel better if we put the psycho behind this away for good." Luke says crossing his large arms. I smile a little, happy to know I'm not alone.
"Director, can I put something on the screen?" Ava asks as he nods, typing away at her laptop. She's been glued to it lately, so I'm curious to know what she's been up to. "I've been working on trying to figure out how all these areas are connected. They seem random on the surface level, but I think I may have figured something out." Her fingers move nimbly over her keys before an exact copy of the globe that's on the screen appears. "We've tried marking the areas, checking their radius, but we've come up with nothing and that got me thinking..." The lines between each point connect in smooth round lines, similar to an airline map. "It looks like a random assortment of connections, right?"
"What's your point?" Sam pipes up from his laid-back position. Ava shoots him a sharp look.
"I noticed something when I would shift the lines, and this happened." She taps on a key, the lines on the hologram curving and shifting inward as a strange spiral symbol forms over the whole of the U.S. "This is the HH Hospital, with one of the largest spirals right above it."
"The smaller areas connecting right back to it..." Luke trails off, eyes wide. "Do you think this can give us any leads?"
"With HH at the focal point, each spiral is perfectly spaced out between each other! Ava, you could be on to something!" Pete says.
"Exactly and cross checking them with the other area's world-wide—" She taps a few more things into her laptop. The globe flattens out, and the pattern spreads, only this time creating a mesmerizing ten-point symbol made of spirals.
This image... The pounding in my head magnifies, and I put a hand to my temple. Why does it look so familiar?
Fury stares stonily over the map as the spirals continue to grow even further past the lines of the map, leaning one hand on the table as his one visible eye darts to each larger spiral point. "Good job, Ava. We've had our best people pouring over those for weeks without so much as a dent. I don't know what it is this group is planning, but we will find out. You're all dismissed."
I take a second to realize the others are already moving, Peter following Ava out the door and chatting adamantly while Sam and Luke trail behind them. Danny's hand is still around mine as I stand, shaking my head a bit as the image of the map seems to burn a bright pink. I look over to Kele, who's staring up at the map with an unreadable expression. I want to ask him what he thinks of all this, but Fury gets to him first.
Judging by the hushed voices and stern faces, it's not something I want to interrupt.
"Ari? Are you alright?" Danny asks me. I nod as he leads me to the halls, the lights being especially brighter to me.
"Y-Yeah, just a bit of a headache." I mutter, rubbing my temples. This headache's been killing me ever since that night and painkillers only lasted a couple of hours for me now. It doesn't help that every time I blink, I see that symbol now.
"Still? Do you want to head to the Med Bay?" He asks worriedly, moving his hand to the small of my back.
"It got worse after I saw those spirals."
"Do you want me to help?" I quirk a brow up at him as he smiles.
"How's that?"
"Meet me in my room in fifteen minutes, then you'll know." He winks and I realize we're already in front of my room. Usually I would bug him about surprises, but right now a nice hot shower sounds amazing.
"Sounds good." I say as he leans in and gives me a quick peck on the cheek before he strides away. I smile a little, heading into my room and taking the time alone to think back to what Ava found out.
Why does that symbol seem so familiar? It's like I have this nagging feeling in the back of my mind gnawing at my brain. Maybe this is why I have this damned headache.
I grab a pair of PJ's before heading into the bathroom that connects to my quarters. It isn't anything too fancy; the room made up of simple white tiled walls, a sink, a toilet and a standup shower I can barely spread my arms apart in.
After a quick wash, I feel a little better as I change and head over to Danny's room, drying off my hair with a towel. An upside to having short hair is that it dries so much faster.
The walk there is quiet, the only think keeping me company is the faint humming sound of the Tri-Carrier I've gotten so used to.
I find my way to Danny's room without getting lost, knocking a few times, and rub my forehead. The door slides open and the sweet smell of myrrh greets me along with Danny dressed in a comfortable pair of grey sweats and a faded red shirt.
"Hey, come on in." he says, stepping aside so I can enter. I notice that he dimmed the lights as I take in his room. It's a lot homier than mine is, and I can see where his money goes. There are little knickknacks here and there from Little China, and scrolls hung from the walls with characters written on them in careful strokes. Candles are lit all around the place, with the incense burning on a desk near his bed.
Usually these things would make my head hurt even more, but Danny's were pleasant and not as strong as the ones they sell in the dollar stores.
"I just realized I've never been in here before," I say, looking back at him as he shuts his door. "Did you do the scrolls yourself?"
"Yeah, mystic Kung-Fu wasn't the only thing I learned in K'un-Lun." He winks, taking my hand and leading me to sit down on a very cushy floor pillow with him taking the floor in front of me. "Does your head still hurt?"
"Yeah," I sigh, glad for the low lights. "I feel like I've seen that spiral symbol before, but I don't know why." Could it have been from my time when I was captured by them? It isn't impossible. Who knows what they could have done to me?
Danny takes both of my hands, giving them a light squeeze. "No need to force yourself, for now let's do something about that headache." He says, moving a little closer and placing his hands on the sides of my face.
"Hmm, doesn't this seem familiar?" I laugh, leaning into his touch.
"Harry's party..." He smiles lopsidedly, and my heat beats a little harder at the sight of it. His hands glow, the golden light illuminating his handsome features. "That was the first time I noticed how pretty your eyes are."
A giggle escapes me, and I feel like an idiot on how easily he can make me blush. "I like yours a lot more. They're a nice shade of green." I say, letting out a soft sigh as the pain is ebbed away by his chi. "My eyes are just an ordinary brown..."
"And they're beautiful. They light up when you're excited about something, the way they dance when the light hits them just right." His voice is low and captivating, and I can't tear my eyes away from his.
"You know, if this hero thing didn't work out, you could have been an awesome poet." I say lowly as the glow of his chi dims and I feel all my stress and pain fade away. "Or, maybe a physical therapist." I joke, placing my hand over his.
"What can I say? I have a great muse." He leans in, pressing his lips gently against mine, and I can't help but smile into it.
"Careful Rand, or I might think you're trying to seduce me," I say with a sigh as he leaves a trail of feather light kisses down my neck.
"Me? I would never do something so sneaky..." His hands trail slowly down my arms, down to my waist as his thumb rubs tiny circles on the sliver of skin just above the hemline of my pants. I tilt my head back, letting out a tiny whimper as he nibbles on a sensitive area. He leans the both of us back and I let him, pulling his face up as my back hits the soft circular rug beneath us and pressing my lips to his in a heated kiss.
His hand slides slowly under my shirt, calloused fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake and I arch my back for him when he gives my breast a light squeeze. I run my fingers through his hair, loving the feel of his body above mine, and I lose myself in him. He's told me before he doesn't use any special soap or shampoo, but the smell of it mixed with his scent is so intoxicating I can feel my head spinning.
I moan as he dips his fingers under my bra, teasing me as his other hand slides my shirt up. He pulls away slowly, licking his lips, face flushed as he takes in my semi-exposed chest.
I'm really glad I bought a few new bras.
He trails a slow finger down the valley of my breasts, making me shiver. "You're so beautiful..." He whispers as he continues lower, and I've never wanted to take my shirt off so badly in my damn life.
He stops when his hands brush against the scar near my navel and a frown tugs at his lips and I can read the look on his face as clear as day. "It wasn't your fault," I say, reaching a hand up to brush his cheek.
"If I were stronger, I could have broken the glass..." His voice is so small, his jaw clenching, and my heart breaks at the pained look in his eyes. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him against me as I rest his forehead against mine.
"You are strong, Danny. You still broke through it to save me." I run my fingers through his soft hair. "Even when I lost control, you didn't treat me any differently." I still think back to that girl I saw in the mirror the day I woke up after I was rescued, black sclera and blood splattered on her face. I haven't been able to connect with Mesqa since that day in Doctor Strange's, and sometimes I think I just imagined the whole thing.
He lifts his head up, brows furrowed. "I would never do that to you... when I saw you standing there, you looked so scared," his fingers lace with mine and I look back down to him and smile as he places a gentle kiss on my knuckles. "I promise I won't ever let that happen to you, no matter what. Not as long as I'm alive." He says with a sureness in his voice I can't help but feel safe.
"My knight in shining armor." I laugh, earning a smile from him as he moves up and seals his promise with a kiss.
"I love you," he murmurs against my lips and I can't help but still get butterflies whenever he tells me.
"I—" a sharp pain in my right temple cuts me off and for a second my vision goes white.
"Ari?"
I can hear Danny's voice trying to call out to me, but I can't let out so much as a pained whimper, pressing my hands to my eyes. I can see that strange image again behind my eyelids, and I can feel his weight lift from me as I curl into a ball.
The spirals glow white hot, and I feel like my dinner's about to come up at the paralyzing pain. It's like twenty jack hammers are going off inside my brain, and with every wave of light, my eyeballs want to pop out of their sockets.
The white blends into different colors and I'm bombarded by all kinds of images of people and a thickly wooded area before it settles on an Asian boy a little younger than me. His image is fuzzy, almost like static and he's moving his lips to say something but I can't hear him. The pain—the voices—are too intense.
I vaguely feel Danny sitting me up and resting my back against something and the pain almost instantly disappears as a soothing energy flows around me and the boy's image clears. I can finally think. "Who..." I croak out and the boy's dark round eyes focus on me. There's a flash of recognition in my mind as I lower my hands and I can still see him.
"Y-You can hear me?" He takes in a shaky breath, running a hand through his thick hair. "I can't do this for long s-so I have to be quick—listen, you may not know me but I'm—"
"Michael Hoy." I say, my eyes burning as tears fall from the sides of my eyes. "You're the boy my mom saved." I can't forget his face even if I tried. He may look older, but I can still see the traces of the boy from the newspaper's articles.
Michael's face falls, and he looks away for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. "I can never thank her enough. She saved my life a-and I wasn't able to do even that." He shakes his head, getting back to what he wants to say. "I can help you find them—the people who supported HH and take them down, but I need SHIELD's help! I can't keep living like this—I don't want my family to be in danger again!"
I take in a breath, my hand shaky as I place it over Danny's near my temple. "How can we trust you? You were captured by them once." Whatever way he's using to communicate to me, it's making my brain feel like it wants to implode.
"I-I know I'm not giving you much to trust me, but I've seen what it is they want to do—it's why they wanted my powers." He recoils in pain, clutching the side of his head, and he gets fuzzy. "P-please, Ari, you're the only one I can tell this to! Tomorrow night you have to bring the others—CAST—you can't let them take—" his image snaps away so suddenly I'm left reeling as Danny's room comes into focus and I see his worried face hovering above me. His brows are knit together and there's a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
"Ari?" He sounds a bit winded, but I nod and sit up from my position on his lap, regretting it as my head spins. "What happened? You were staring up into the ceiling and talking to someone—should we take you to the medical bay?"
"I-I'm fine. Confused, but fine." And drained. Whatever energy Danny helped me recover was just shoved out of the Tri-carrier window. "You didn't see anything?" He shakes his head, no. "The boy that my mom pushed out of the way from that car... he says that the people that supported IVY are after him..." I explain what Michael told me, still out of it as I wrap my arms around myself absentmindedly. "Should we let Fury know? H-He might be right and—"
He places his hands on mine, calming me down. "We can tell him tomorrow, for now, let's get you to bed. You look pale and it looks like you can pass out any second."
"Yeah... you're right." I just notice my shirt is still pushed up slightly and I feel a blush creep up my cheeks as I push it back down, glancing over to Danny to see him rub the back of his neck, embarrassed. I move to stand, pausing a bit, and I fiddle with my fingers. "Um can I... sleep here? With you? I-If it's too weird, I understand. I just don't want to be alone and—" Danny steps close, wrapping his arms loosely around my waist and he presses his warm lips to my forehead.
"I don't mind one bit," he says with a soft smile, "though I have to warn you; I'm a bit of a blanket hog."
"I already know," I laugh tiredly, tilting my head up to look at him. "You kept yanking the sheets off me back in K'un-Lun."
"In my defense, I get cold easily when I sleep." I roll my eyes at his lame excuse, remembering how tightly he held on to me.
"So, you were leeching off my body heat, huh?" He gives me a toothy grin, sliding his arm under my knees and I let out a squeal. He sets me down on the bed, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'll get the candles, you just make yourself comfortable, 'kay?" He says, brushing my bangs from my eyes.
I nod, letting out a tiny yawn. "Okay... thank you for this, really. I don't know what could have happened if I was alone during all that." I say gesturing to my head.
"I promised to protect you, right? 'When one makes a promise, one has to keep it.'"
"I'll hold you to that..." I yawn again, feeling my eyes droop as I curl up onto my side. I watch him blow out each candle, too tired to think of anything else. His footsteps are quiet and his movements are fluid, like's he's done this dozens of times. Eventually the room is dark, and I feel the bed dip slightly.
"I know we don't have much time alone together..." He whispers, and I feel the sheets shift as he covers us. The familiar feel of his arms embracing me as I snuggle into them like it's second nature. "But I'm happy for moments like this." He murmurs, his fingers threading through my hair, and I let out a quiet sigh. "Night, Ari."
"G'night... Dan..." I drift off before I can finish, hearing him chuckle before I fall asleep.
**********************
Author's note:
Hey guys! I'm not dead! *throws confetti*
First of all, I want of thank all of you guys for sticking with this story. I know the update schedule is sporadic, but with work and health stuff going on on my end, it really makes those days better hearing from you all. ^^
I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP! Hopefully work will slow down so I can finally pick up where I left off.
See you all then!
—The eternally thankful Hattress.