"The storm calls you as it calls me, does it not?" he held out his hand to her, half beckoning, half offering.
"Why lie?" he said. Emma remained where she was and Mark took a step towards her. Then Emma was on her feet and she was staring into Mark's eyes and for the first time rather than feeling as though the eyes of the hunt were unbalanced, Emma saw them as they truly were. Gold and blue, fire and ice, ying and yang.
"Mark you don't have to-" Emma began but he used his grip on her hand to yank her closer. There was so little space between them. Between their mouths. Mark had nice lips but his smile could be cruel in a way Julian's never would. Julian. God, why was she in such a position? Her only option to protect him was to hurt him. And this would destroy him. Centimeters away were Marks lips but Emma's mind was on the beach and Julian's studio. And then Marks lips were Julian's lips and they were against hers.
"Would you say the Institute is like Hogwarts?" Emma was lying on her back next to Mark on the roof of the Los Angeles Institute. Her golden hair was in two loose braids and she was in pajama pants and a tank top that said 'I BITE' across the stomach. Mark didn't understand her wardrobe or her question in the slightest.
"By the angel Emma, what on Earth are you talking about?"
"Hogwarts, as in Harry Potter."
"Who?"
"The boy who lived, the chosen one…." Emma was looking at Mark with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "You should at least watch the movies, Drew loves them."
"I'll add it to the list" Mark said and then he propped himself up on his elbows and turned toward Emma. She looked up at him. She was gorgeous as always and the fairies always had an appreciation for all things with beauty. But Emma was more than beauty. She had a wildness to her and Mark could imagine her riding with the wild hunt. She would become one with the sky and thrive in the chaos of every storm.
"What list?" It was Emma's turn to be confused.
"Nothing," Mark said and then he bent his head down and kissed her. It was a light kiss, a sweet nothing. Mark didn't mind this shrade with Emma. It took his mind off of Kiren and Cristina. Mark hadn't seen Kiren since their goodbye and Cristina was back together with Mr. Hot and Sexy, also known as 'Perfect Diego.'
"Do you really have a list?" Emma asked as she propped herself up on her elbows to be level with Mark.
"Does it matter?" It was a fairy way to answer a question but Mark couldn't help it. Although he no longer spoke as the fairies do he still had their vocabulary in the back of his mind, ever present just like Cristina.
"I suppose not." Emma sighed and dropped back onto her back. She was watching the sky and the trees as they swayed. Mark decided to drop back onto his back as well and they stayed there for some time in a comfortable silence.
"Thank-you," Emma said and although Mark knew the answer already he turned onto his side and asked her "What for?"
"Everything."
Julian stood staring at Emma. Emma chasing Octavian, Emma wielding Cortana, Emma descending the steps of the Institute in a flowing ivory dress, and Emma emerging from the ocean with her golden hair whipping around her like a halo. All of his paintings, drawings and sketches of Emma stared back at him. Then, he saw Emma in Mark's arms, Emma's hair tangled in Mark's fingers, Mark's face when he casually mentioned he had kissed Emma. That he thought they were falling in love. Emma's face when she told him he wasn't enough. That she didn't love him enough. He needed to get out of there. Out of his studio that was once his refuge and was now a reminder of why he was hurting. Not that he needed a reminder of why he woke up in a cold sweat and found himself standing in front of Emma's bedroom door at night staring at the door knob but never turning it. Julian couldn't paint or draw anything without Emma burning inside his eyelids.
"Julian?" It was Drew, having ventured near Julian's studio without him noticing. Quickly, he left his private part of his studio, the part that was Emma, and locked the door. He was just hiding the key when Drew stepped into Julian's main studio and noticed him.
"It's time for dinner. We've all been in the library all day and Tavvy just had a tantrum because Ty told him there are little bugs all over his body." That's why Drew was here. She was tattling.
"Okay." Julian said because that's what he was supposed to say. "Let's go make some dinner and then I'll go talk to Ty."
"Mark already told Ty off and then Ty started saying something about the rights of the accused and then he went and sat outside of Kit's door. He won't move." Through all of that, Drew didn't take a single breath which was quite a feat considering what a run-on sentence that was. Julian would have to talk to Diana about a grammar review sometime in the near future.
"Is there anything else I should know about?" Julian asked just to be safe.
"Christina started teaching Livvy Spanish." Drew said thoughtfully and then added, "Mark and Emma are on the roof again." Julian clenched his jaw and tightened his hand into a fist. Emma.