Hero and Elaine walked around the apartment one last time, making sure everything she owned was either packed or already gone. They’d found a few small things but nothing in particular she really wanted to keep. She either tossed it or offered it to Hero, one of which was an old string bracelet with an anime charm on it. He gladly accepted it, acting like it would be the last thing she would ever give him before she disappeared forever.
“It’s not going to be the same without you here,” Hero said as they sat on the couch drinking coffee. “We’ve been roommates for years, what am I going to do without you?”
“I’m sure you’ll survive,” she said. “There’s no harm in taking a chance at being by yourself for a while. You may even discover who you really are without anyone else around to feed off of.”
“You think I’ve been feeding off you?”
Elaine giggled. “Of course not. You know what I mean, idiot. Plus, let’s face it, you won’t be alone all that often anyway since you and Hawk spend so much time together. When was the last time you actually spent a night alone?”
“The last few nights, actually,” Hero said. “He’s out of town but he should be back either tonight or tomorrow.”
“Where’d he go?”
“He got a lead on that angel Alerik told us about, Ciel.”
“I thought Alerik said to stay away from him? That he was way bad news?”
“Yeah, he did. I guess he just wants more information in case he comes back. If he gets a better idea of who he is, he might be able to find a way to destroy him if he tries anything else.”
Elaine sighed. “This is still all so weird,” she said. “Demons and angels and true soulmates and things like that. It’s all things from stories you read when you’re a kid, a fantasy. Yet, here we are living it.”
“It took me a minute to adjust to it, too,” Hero said. “I think it was made easier because of the link I have with Hawk. Once I could get my head around that, everything else just sort of started to make sense. Even when he told me he was a demon, it didn’t even bother me. I know it should have but it didn’t.”
“That’s because your souls were created for each other. That’s what you said, right?”
“Something like that, yeah,” Hero nodded.
“But he’s a demon, you’re a human. How did that happen?”
“No idea. Thing of it is, his soul is human. He doesn’t look much different than the way he appears to everyone else, just his hair is lighter and his eyes are blue. We’ve asked Toji about it but he doesn’t have any answers.”
“Do you think he knows but just won’t say anything?”
“Possibly. Hawk thinks so, anyway. Toji never lies to him, but he does omit information if he feels it’s something Hawk doesn’t need to know at that point. Maybe this is one of those things.” Hero shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“What about Charlotte?”
Hero snorted. “Good luck getting any information out of her.”
“That’s fair,” Elaine chuckled. She leaned her head against the side of the couch and gave him a sad smile. “You’re going to outlive all of us, aren’t you?”
Hero nodded. “Your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren…countless generations, as a matter of fact. Worried I’ll forget you when you’re gone?”
“Not really,” she said. “I think I’m more worried about the day when I’ll never see you again. We’ve been friends forever, it’ll be so strange to lose you. Plus, I’ll get old and ugly and you’ll stay young and beautiful forever.”
Hero laughed. “You could never be ugly, El.” He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to his side. “And I’m never going to stop loving you, no matter how long I live or where we go.”
“Your life spans match,” she said almost absently. “What does that even mean? He’s immortal, right?”
Hero hesitated. “Sort of.”
She looked up at him.
“He can heal from any injury, including something that’s nearly fatal. But, unlike before, he can die. So can I. That part hasn’t changed for me. The only thing that has is when.”
“I hope it’s a very, very long time from now. You deserve all the happiness in the universe, Hero Grace, and to experience everything life has to offer you. Both of you.”
“Don’t count yourself out on that one, either,” he said with a light squeeze. “You and Jordan are going to be parents, and great ones at that. You deserve that level of happiness and the joy that life gives you.”
“You’re the absolute best,” she said, her arm wrapped around his middle. “You two better stick around for as long as you can.”
He kissed the top of her head and smiled. “Hawk promises we will.”
She giggled. “Good.”
-*-
“Move in with me.”
Hero’s eyes opened, not daring to breathe. Hawk curled around him, hugging him closer, his body warm against Hero’s naked skin. They were lying in bed, finally having slept after a full night of catching up after Hawk’s return home. Hero wasn’t even fully awake yet and Hawk was springing this on him. It wasn’t often they could catch each other off guard, but when they could, it was pretty startling, and somewhat amusing.
“You’re here all the time, anyway,” Hawk said, his breath warm against the back of Hero’s neck. “Just make it permanent.”
Hero couldn’t speak. It wasn’t like living together wasn’t ever going to happen, especially since they were destined to spend the rest of eternity together. He just didn’t expect Hawk to bring it up so soon. They had only been together a little over a month, even though their bond had been established long before then. Of course, their relationship wasn’t normal by human standards, so really this request could have been made at any time.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, even before Elaine and Jordan decided to move in together,” Hawk said. “Maybe it was out of selfishness at the beginning, but I just wanted to keep you with me all the time. Now, it’s more that I can’t stand being apart from you. The last few days were really difficult, almost as bad as when you were visiting your parents, and we weren’t even together then.”
“We may as well have been,” Hero pointed out. “We’ve been together in one way or another since the very beginning.”
“Plus, with us still not working after our store got destroyed, I know you’ve been worried about upcoming rent payments, even though I offered to cover it.”
“I should be able to cover my own bills without having to rely on your near endless supply of cash. I like being financially independent and having my own money.”
“That won’t change if you’re here, I promise. I’m just saying you don’t have to stress out so much about finding a job right now, that’s all.”
“That’s not exactly the best argument to make a case with.”
“How about, because I love you and want you around all the time?”
Hero slowly turned in his arms, gazing into his eyes, searching his face.
“I don’t have any other good reason to ask than that, other than I can’t get enough of your body.” Hawk said, his hand sliding down Hero’s already sore and bitten body. “Move in with me, Hero.”
“As long as you’re aware I’m not that great a cook.”
Hawk grinned, his fingers beginning to explore Hero’s most sensitive areas. “That’s fine, I don’t eat much, anyway.”
Hero put his hand on Hawk’s cheek. “Alright,” he said, his body heating up all over again. “I’ll move in.” He pulled Hawk’s head down and kissed him fiercely as Hawk positioned himself over him, lifting Hero’s leg to his side. “But for the love of everything,” he gasped as Hawk slowly entered him. “Give me a break every once in a while, would you?”
Hawk moved gently within him. “Why do you think I’m not going so hard? I need you to save some energy for packing later.”
Hero moaned as Hawk bit at his neck, setting his skin on fire, his hand sliding into Hero’s. “I doubt that will be a problem,” his breath quickening, his words catching. Hawk stopped his mouth with a fierce kiss.
Hawk did have to admit Hero had a point. Since the last time Hero had drank from him, his energy and stamina had increased significantly. The only reason they had been able to go so long the night before, and could even continue now, was for that very reason. The only thing he had to worry about now was if they would ever leave this bed again.
-*-
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