Chapter 29. Reaper route.
What they longed for a long time.
The next day, Mr. Haggard took Susanna to Hyde Park, exactly at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Early in the morning Susanna received a message from William informing her he arranged his schedule so he could leave early and met her there and inspect the place. She went out the car after seeing the reapers waiting for her in the main entrance, and then she told the driver that she would call him to pick her up.
She approached the man with the green and penetrating eyes who, unlike other days, seemed less formal. Perhaps because he was holding his jacket over his shoulder, letting see the vest that combined with his suit. She walked with security, although deep inside she was a little ashamed because of her behavior the day before.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"No. I got here a few minutes sooner to be here when you arrived" his face seemed serene but there was a spark of joy in his eyes.
"English punctuality" she smiled and looked around "so… where do we start?"
"Hyde Park is a large place. I suggest we start walking" but before he took the first step he accommodated his glasses and pointed with a serious tone "we are looking for some kind if underground entrance, so we need to be alert. It could be anywhere"
Indeed, the place was quite big and seemed very crowded, but he had a peculiar vibe that made Susanna forget about the people and focus on looking for a tunnel or secret entrance. The gardens had an intense green color and despite the hour, the weather was warm, ideal for a picnic next to one of the fountains or the small lake.
It was a beautiful place, full of stories and anecdotes, although she was sure it looked more mystic at night, but before she could imagine it, William took her out of her thoughts.
"Is this the first time you come here?" he barely looked at her, he was focused on the search but at the same time he was expectant towards the girl's attitude. He knew the incident of the day before would have made her put her guard up and he wasn't so sure about how he should behave or if it was adequate to bring up the topic.
"Yes…" she looked around and for an instant that seemed too short, she laid her eyes on the reaper "I always wanted to come here but I didn't have the time to do it. You know, because of all those things I… prefer not mentioning to not ruin the afternoon"
Yes, she was referring to her contract with Sebastian and the whole situation. Despite knowing she was there as one of the things they had to do to stop the fallen angel summoning, she preferred to ignore it and limit herself to look for a tunnel while enjoying William's company.
"I see" he made a pause and continued walking "this is a unique place in London. It's been here since 1637 and nowadays is famous, among other things, for Speaker's Corner, an area for open-air public speaking, debate and discussion. Speakers come here often"
"Really? Anyone can come here?"
"As long as the speech is not considered against the law" he adjusted his glasses "there are some talented speakers once in a while"
"Do you come here often?"
"No, I've only been here a couple times, but I've seen it in several cinematic records" Susanna couldn't hide her laugh after considering the many things William might have seen through those records.
"What's so funny?" he seemed confused.
"Nothing, it's just that… I find it rather interesting that you know so many things but you haven't actually witnessed them first hand. It's like you are telling the synopsis of a movie"
"That is a very peculiar way to describe it…" he arched an eyebrow, but he liked seeing her laughing.
They kept walking in the park, still not finding any underground entrance and little by little the park seemed more crowded. There was a lot of people walking around and heading towards a particular direction.
"What's over there?" she tried to see why they were gathering.
"Nothing special…" William looked around, trying to find something that could tell him what was that about "perhaps some kind of rally or… social movement"
"I think… it's nothing so serious" she looked at him with skepticism after reading an add "it looks like there will be a concert"
"Oh… I didn't remember such events were held here"
"No doubt about it… I've already noticed music isn't your strong point…" Susanna spoke with a serious tone and William looked at her very surprised, even a little offended, until she started to laugh and touched his arm in a casual way "I'm joking, Will! Don't take things so seriously… besides…" she read the add again "it's going to be a good concert, is Ed Sheeran!... and I think destiny wants us to listen to it" she winked "it starts in half an hour"
"Do you want to go?" his attitude changed and although he seemed solemn, there was a lot of kindness on his voice and empathy on his eyes.
"Why don't we continue with our job and then we listen to the concert somewhere nearby?"
"I'd like that" a tiny smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he continued walking with Susanna.
The place where the concert would be held was, of course, discarded to look for secret entrances and, truth to be told, the park map didn't show any possibilities of having such access, especially because it was a green area and it was too crowded, so it was very unlikely that Demian Janssens-Guillot decided to use the park as an entrance for the tunnels.
They were both aware of that, but none of them said anything about it, hoping they could continue with their walk; something that, in other circumstances wouldn't be possible because they would have been interrupted or bothered, so they made the best of it, talking and enjoying their company.
He was fascinated with Susanna's anecdotes, telling him about her life before going to the UK, the impressions she had after that and how she used to spend her free time before all that happened. He had genuine curiosity to know more about her and kept asking about her home country, starting to imagine how things might have been if he had met her under different circumstances.
Slowly, the sun set and the place was less and less crowded; they were in back in their homes or in the concert. Whatever the reason, the atmosphere between Susanna and William changed and then the reaper said.
"Listen, Susanna… a few days ago I received your father's cinematic record. It was sent from your county's office and, being in charge of the investigation about the fallen angel, the final linkage and… you… I have to make a report about the materials related"
"Oh…" the girl's expression became serious, as if her feet were brought back to earth after being flying for a long while and the landing was abrupt.
"I…" he looked at the floor and then directly to the girl's eyes "archived it as soon as I had it in my hands. I didn't analyze it… I couldn't do it…."
It seemed as if he was about to say something, but the words were trapped on the back of his throat and she understood why. The way he was looking at her said it all and she was surprised, feeling a little sad, thinking it was her father's life story but then a spark of curiosity hit her: why would William do such omission? Still, most of all, she felt grateful with him.
Examining her father's cinematic record was part of his job and he didn't do it. She knew how diligent and strict the man was regarding his job, and yet he didn't do it. Why?
"Why didn't you do it?"
"I didn't consider it correct" his voice was dry "not when I'm aware you'd be part of it and that… there might be private situations you'd prefer I didn't see" he explained, intentionally avoiding how tempting it had been for him. Not because it was part of his job; he wanted to know more about her, about her past and how she became the woman she was now. What kind of childhood she had and most of all, the moments of joy in her life, but he preferred to listen to her voice telling him about it, just like she did minutes before.
There was silence for an instant and then she touched his shoulder, firmly and tenderly caressing it, then she looked at him with tears in her eyes, telling him much more than words could ever do.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me" he was speechless again.
There was silence again and they both kept walking. The lights in the park were already on and people talking could be heard in the distance, along with the water of the fountains. The absence of words, far from being uncomfortable, invited them to think about their situations. It was something completely new for him. He'd never felt the way he did when he was next to someone before, much less with a woman and suddenly he understood many images on the cinematic records he'd seen before; memories that shared the same feeling, regardless the century or the year. That longing to spend time with Susanna and the impulse to touch her… a desire he constantly supressed. He finally understood what being in love meant. And yet, he didn't know what to do about it.
It would have been easier in another time… perhaps one or two hundred years earlier. A polite note informing her about his intentions to court her would have been enough, or perhaps a series of casual meetings and previously planned walks in the park along with a chaperone… yes, that might have been easier for him, but it would have also taken from him the opportunity to get to know her in a deeper level or spend time alone with her, despite leaving him in a situation he was completely clueless. Any action he'd try to imitate from a cinematic records would be alien for him, it just wouldn't be him at all.
The reaper was unsure about what to do when Susanna interrupted him with a cheerful voice.
"The concert is about to start!" he pointed at the stage.
"You're right… why don't we sit down?" he looked at a metal bench a few meters away. She nodded and while they approached the bench a guitar was heard in the distance "the sound is great" said William a little surprised.
"I think we'll enjoy the concert even more from here" she smiled again.
None of them spoke for the next three songs. It was almost a perfect moment and words weren't needed while they enjoyed their mutual closeness. Besides, Ed Sheeran's music was slow and calm, ideal to relax and spend a while alone.
"I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday…" she broke the silence. It was something she needed to get out her system, but it didn't make it easier.
"It's in the past, there's no point on dueling on it" his eyes kept looking at the pond in front of them and she felt grateful he did, because she was still ashamed for her reaction, but when she noticed his attitude she decided to talk about something more cheerful.
"Which reminds me… yesterday's pigeon behaved rather odd" she casually said and William looked at her as if he'd just remembered something.
"So you noticed…" his tone was serious "that pigeon is… a very particular case" she looked at him expectantly "we reapers have offices around the world. Each one with its own departments and personnel, but sometimes there are transfers. That pigeon was sent from our office in Madrid. It was named Chema back in Spain" Susanna was very surprised and raised her eyebrows "yes, it is not something that occurs often, but that's what happened in this case. It just came in a couple months ago and with a very particular behavior…"
"What do you mean?" suddenly the reaper got tense and looked away, as if it was something he wasn't too comfortable to say.
"Chema thinks it's a duck…" there was silence for an instant and then Susanna laughed very loud "I'm being completely serious" he looked at her as if he was offended.
"I just can't!" she kept laughing and the tension abandoned William's body, as he barely smiled. He liked seeing her laughing like that, so natural… so her… he found it refreshing and pleasant.
About an hour and a half later the music stopped. The concert was great. The singer was excellent and everything was even better with their mutual company, and then Susanna said.
"Say…" there was a mischievous loo in her eyes "all those gifts I've absorbed, along with my family's, made me develop certain abilities" William listened carefully "for example clairvoyance and…"
"Susanna…"he adjusted his glasses solemnly and said "I shall remind you those gifts are passed through generations but they cannot be used by female members of…"
"I bet I can read your hand"
"I beg your pardon?" he was taken aback.
"I do, I can read your hand" and then she took his left hand; she needed an excuse to hold his hand "well... I can't do this with your glove on the way" she complained and then he took it off "alright, it has to be the left hand because it shows your present and your future. This line in here talks about your life…"
She pointed at the center of his palm, feeling the back of his hand with her own. His temperature was lower than hers and by then, Susanna was already conscious of it, but the first contact always surprised her. As for him, he enjoyed feeling her warm skin touching his, and despite the years and centuries of practice, he made a huge effort to keep a neutral expression, without showing emotions, but it was hard because Susanna's finger tickled his palm.
"You have a very long life line" all of a sudden she looked at him with worry, noticing that meant he still had many years to reach redemption so she omitted the implications of her comment "this life line is connected with the one of the mind. As expected, it's quite pronounced. That means you are very thoughtful and you put logic before anything else… well, I could have told you that even without reading your hand" she joked "and this line in here is the line of love… let's see if there is something for you in the near future…"
William had all his attention on her, almost fascinated while she explained, enjoying every change in her expression and how her eyes illuminated when she looked at him. It was a new sensation for him and he didn't know what to do with it, but he was delighted with it. When Susanna was done, he remained quiet for a while and then, their eyes met and became too intense. He didn't know how to react so he babbled a little.
"I… I… I've been studying and researching about… spells and invocations. Looking for clues or something that could be helpful to stop the Linkage and… I found something in one of the cinematic records I researched"
"What did you find?" she was very interested on what he was saying.
"To be honest, nothing too useful, but…" he lowered his gaze for an instant and then looked at her again with enthusiasm to share certain thing he did find "would you believe me if I told you I can show you a tiny fragment of the past?"
"The past?" she was surprised and many ideas crossed her mind "like a movie?"
"Not exactly" his gesture became serious "I can't show you a cinematic record" then the adjusted his glasses "that would be against the rules, and not only that… there's a penalty for such misbehavior, not to mention the countless piles of paperwork and…" suddenly he noticed he was missing the point "well… I can show you a memory"
"Of yours?" he nodded while looking at her with a very particular expression in his eyes, something she could only describe as hope "Will… I'd love that!" she smiled. She was aware of what it meant.
Susanna knew he didn't remember much about his mortal life. Perhaps he'd chosen to forget, or it might have been part of becoming a reaper, so she though the few memories that were left must be incredibly valuable, and the fact that he decided to share such thing with her moved her greatly.
"Alright. Close your eyes" William's voice was calm "take a deep breath" he instructed her and waited for her to be relax, and then he put his left hand on Susanna's forehead.
For a brief instant she felt the touch of his cold skin, but before she could react she felt dizzy, as if there was a swirl around her and the sensation of falling into the abyss invaded her. She'd felt that before when Sebastian showed her the Serafer family's past. She remembered the overanxiety she felt but William's voice calmed her immediately.
"Don't be afraid. What you are feeling right now is your mind traveling to another dimension. The dizziness is your conscience leaving your physical body, but worry not, I won't let anything happen to you. You and I are still sitting in Hyde Park, it's just your mind going somewhere else.
"…I understand… I've been here before" she explained.
"Oh…" there was some disappointment on his voice and he imagined the circumstances where she could have done that, but he stopped such thought immediately. What he was about to do required a lot of concentration "just relax, the sensation will go away soon and then you'll see what I want to show you"
Susanna was surrounded by a deep darkness where she couldn't even see her own body, but she felt safe and accompanied. William didn't seem to be inside her mind, like Sebastian did, but at the same time it could limit them a little because only he could communicate verbally.
The discomfort sensation went away pretty fast and then she saw what seemed to be a dry tree. Slowly, the image became clearer and more trees appeared on the horizon. The sky was cloudy and there seemed to be ice on the sides of the road she saw down her feet. There weren't houses nearby but when she looked to the right she could see a small river. Everything seemed so clear she could even distinguish the thin ice forming on the water.
She walked along the road and looked at the sky and then she felt her left hand was holding what appeared to be a suitcase. Susanna wanted to knows what it was but her head didn't seem to respond to her orders and then she felt a soft full on her right arm. She turned to see what it was and saw a pretty girl, no more than sixteen years old, wearing a yellow dress and a green cape that covered from the cold weather. Shen she felt her a smile forming in her face and realized she was seeing all from William's perspective.
The young girl's brown hair was covered by the cape she wore but a few bangs could be seen; they framed the freckles in her face. Her light blue eyes seemed upset, but her expression told differently, and then she spoke.
"Hurry up, William! I want to be home before the sun sets and it gets colder… I know you have a weird fixation with staying outside in the cold for a long time, but I don't, so you better take me home as fast as you can"
"What's the Hurry, Natalie? Are you expecting someone?" Susanna felt another smile appearing on her lips… William's lips.
"Don't be silly, it's just that I don't like this time of the year. It's too cold and it will snow soon" the girl looked at the sky and then at the ice in the river.
"But winter is a beautiful season. Besides… this could be the last one we spend together" he felt a lump in his throat he didn't show it.
"What do you mean?" the girl's expression showed how surprised she was to hear such comment.
"Well, it's to be expected. Next year you'll turn seventeen and it's the ideal age for a girl like you to get married. Besides, during the past two weeks Edward Denton asked be about you at least four times, not to mention the often visits of the Linnington boy.
"Do you think our father will consent so easily?"
"He might do it, once he notices the way you look at Edward…." He smiled again and noticed the blush on the girl's cheeks.
"Stop teasing me, or I'll tell mom"
"I'm sorry, little sister, but I won't stop until you tell me what has winter done to you so you hate it so much. It's a beautiful season and…"
"Cold!"
"Indeed, but it could be nice despite all this cold. You only have to look at it in a different way. How about some music?"
"Music? What are you talking about?" the girl seemed confused and he moved away a few steps to get closer to a fence on the side of the road. Then he put down the suitcase. It was a violin case.
William opened it and took the instrument and the arch, noticing the way she looked at him, still confused. Then he looked around and pointed at the sky, where a grey cloud approached them, bringing a snow storm.
"Yes, it will be very cold, the streets will be all covered in snow and this road we are walking will disappear, making it impossible for the horses to pass by. We will probably spend the whole season locked up inside the house, next to the fireplace drinking tea or some beverages with liquor to keep us warm. The whole family will be reunited while the rivers slowly freeze. The trees will be the only witnesses and the snow will change the landscape for a couple months. It's just as if all the action takes place outside the house and we could only see it from our windows"
"Unless you want to freeze" she smiled and got a little closer "why did you take out your violin?"
"I want you to imagine all I've just said while I play something"
The girl nodded and William fixed his dark velvet cloak to play the instrument, his dark blue jacket was now showing. It was just like Susanna had seen on 18th century movies, but before she could think about the year whey were in, she got distracted with the movement he made to take off his leather gloves, showing his naked hands… the same hand she had seen only a few time before.
Susanna was almost hypnotized by the precise movements he made when he was about to play the violin.
William's gaze was set on the strings and with an agile movement his right arm started to move the arch to play the first notes. At first it was a soft sound, repetitive and a little monotone, but then the intensity increased and she recognized the melody: it was Vivaldi's winter, played with great ability by the young man, whose only feature she could see were his arms and hands.
Sharing his memory, she felt an intense cold on his skin, as well as the strings under his fingertips, accelerating the rhythm on the exact moment to play the melody. His heart beat fast and when he looked at his little sister, she had her eyes closed, trying to imagine the landscape he just described.
When the music accelerated again, he closed his own eyes for a brief moment, imagining the water stopping its course to become ice and then he opened his eyes again to look around: the first snow flakes were falling and the road slowly became white. Another smile appeared in his lips and when he played the last couple notes he felt the air leaving his lungs, as if he'd just reached the song's climax and the vibrato made him feel overwhelmed.
William blinked a couple times to set his gaze on his sister and then everything became blurry. When Susanna opened her eyes she found herself in Hyde Park, with the reaper's green eyes looking at her, expectantly waiting for her reaction.
She seemed a little lost at first, as well as dizzy, so William covered her with his jacket and after a moment she seemed to be better, back to reality. They both looked at each other for a moment, until Susanna spoke.
"That was… extraordinary" she didn't know what else to say. It seemed to be a very important memory for him, and sharing it with her made William's actions even more special "I didn't know you could play the violin"
"I don't know how to do it anymore" he looked down and his shoulders got a little tense "but apparently I was pretty good on my past life. I only have a few memories of my life as human" his voice was nostalgic, but his face remained neutral.
"Thank you" she smiled and felt the impulse to take his hand, but she didn't. Perhaps because she was afraid of his reaction or because she was embarrassed, so she limited to look at him with tenderness "I really enjoyed the experience. Besides, Vivaldi's winter is one of my favorites"
"I know…" he shyly smiled and then looked at the night sky, hoping to see the stars above them.
Minutes later, Susanna called Mr. Haggard so he could pick her up and go back home, but not before talking with William about having a meeting the next day to make the plan and stop Demian.
The three reapers met with Susanna and Sebastian the next day and from the moment they put a foot inside the house they noticed a strange vibe between the girl and her butler. She was ignoring him as much as she could while he tried to get her attention. None of them said anything about it, although William new very well why she behaved like that.
Once they were in the studio, Ronald unrolled the city map and put in on the desk. The underground tunnels were previously marked by the reaper, who was anxiously waiting for his boss to start explaining, but William seemed to be having a conversation with Susanna. It wasn't until Sebastian discreetly cleared his throat that they focused on the meeting.
"Will, could you please tell us what you found?" Susanna asked.
"According to our observations, it looks like the Stamford Bridge basement is connected to the Subway. Ronald confirmed it yesterday" he looked at the blond lad next to him, letting him know it was his turn to speak.
"A few weeks ago some maintenance works were done in the basement and quite conveniently the auxiliary irrigation system was connected to a pipe right next to the subway. That means there is a tunnel that goes right below the stadium and which could be used to get there. That can't be coincidence" then he pointed at the map "the ritual to bring the fallen angel has to be done near the stadium because it is its primary energy source"
"Are you saying they'll use the subway to get there?" Sebastian asked to confirm his suspicious.
"We don't really know the details about the ritual or how long does it take to perform it, but the day when it'll be performed will be the matchday so we need to be ready to attack and ruin his plans" Grell smiled with PICARDÍA-. He was ready to crash Demian's plans.
"What we need are two access and exit routes" William looked at the girl "yesterday, Susanna and I went to Hyde Park, looking for possible entrances, but… we couldn't find anything. The same thing happened in the school. No traces of any underground entrances, which leaves us with less options"
"I suggest we use these two routes" Ronald pointed at the map with his index finger and traced the tunnels he marked "there's an entrance in the subway and another one in Brompton cemetery. They both have an intersection with the tunnel that leads to the stadium"
"I see… and how big are those tunnels?" the girl crossed her arms, very focused looking at the reaper.
"They're quite wide. Three or four people can easily walk there and those pipes need maintenance once every few months. They need machinery for that, so they're big enough for a truck to pass through.
"Ronald's right and that's is enough reason to assume the ritual will take place there. I suggest we use both tunnels to enter" William explained with a serious expression "we should split in three parties. One that goes through the subway, another through the cemetery and another in the stadium. That way we would have presence in all the important spots, and that man will not scape"
"Sounds good. I volunteer to go to the stadium and…" she started to speak but William and Sebastian's alarmed voices interrupted her.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Absolutely not!..." both of them looked at each other for a second and then William explained "in case we cannot stop the ritual, everyone in that stadium could die and their souls will be used as sacrifices" then he looked at her in the eyes like never before; with a cold authority that served him as a mask for his mortification after considering she could die "I can't let you throw your life away. You are too important for…" he looked away to hide what he was trying very hard not to say "… to stop the Linkage and we can't take any risks"
"Will…" Susanna didn't know what to say. She was shocked for what she just heard.
"That's true, Milady. I cannot let you risk your life like that either" the demon seemed more serious than ever.
"So… you're letting me out of this?"
"No…" William sighed "it is necessary that you come with us. Only you can stop this whole thing, so I only ask you not to go to the stadium"
"…I understand" she felt guilty for an instant. She felt bad because she couldn't do anything else, aware that a human couldn't stand a chance against a fallen angel.
"I suggest that Ronald goes to the stadium. He's already been there and knows the exact place of the tunnel"
"Well then… Sebastian, take care of the tickets for the game" the butler nodded "now we just need to split and make a plan" Susanna sat in the desk's chair and a gloomy look appeared in her face.
The finished tracing the plan two hours later, more or less. They discussed different ways of stopping the ritual and when the meeting was over they all had an idea of how to solve the whole thing and what would be their roles.
The day before the match, and the supposed summoning of the fallen angel, Susanna was walking in the garden. She decided to spend the day calm, without any worries, since it might be her last chance to do it. She avoided thinking about the contract she had with the demon and that it was about to finish and distracted herself with anything around her.
She wasn't mad at Sebastian anymore, but she was still keeping her distance and most of all, she tried to avoid any talk about the contract, so she ordered him to prepare her favorite food and a few cocktails for the afternoon and then sent him to do some AstraZeneca's paperwork; after all, she needed to leave everything ready for her successor in case she was gone.
She spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful garden and the image of the colorful flowers in it and once the sun set, she walked nearby the pond, thoughtful. The moon was dazzling and shiny, inviting her to remain calm as she looked at it. There was something mystic on the way it looked that night, gray and attractive in Susanna's eyes, and then she suddenly felt a familiar presence close and she turned, very surprised to see the man standing in the other side of the pond.
"William, I didn't expect to see you here today"
"Good evening, Susanna…" the formality of his voice created the impression of him being distant while he adjusted his spectacles "the higher ups decided I shouldn't do overtime today, considering our activities for tomorrow… so they didn't care if the piles of paperwork are still accumulating and they sent me home" he said with antipathy and then he walked towards her "but before going home, I wanted to see how you were"
"Thanks" she smiled as she stood next to him in the middle of the little bridge that crossed the pond. She knew the reaper was exaggeratedly diligent, but this time his displease wasn't due to his work; doing his job kept him distracted from the threat they faced and it was also a shield to hide from his worries and anxiety.
"I supposed you'd feel somehow uneasy"
"Just a little" she smiled to herself, comforted because she knew she wasn't the only one feeling it "but this is something I have to do and it's not time to doubt. Besides, I have to honor my part of the deal" William became immediately tense and his gesture became bitter, showing his disapproval. That was the last thing he wanted to think about in that moment and then he started to feel fatigued.
"I would like to avoid anything related to that… abomination" he said that last thing with disgust.
"You're right, I wouldn't want you to leave the stress of your work only to start thinking about… displeasing stuff" she seemed to be having fun with the reaper's reactions, who was unconsciously easy to read.
"I would appreciate it" he relaxed a little as he leaned forward on the bridge handrail, wearing a meditative expression. He wondered what kind of ritual they would witness the next day, knowing the difficulties wouldn't be few and everyone's life would be endangered.
"Come on, William, you ought to relax a little. You are no longer in the office and the night is quite pretty. Ignore the pending work for a moment, along with everything that could go wrong tomorrow. After all, if you go back to the office they'll send you home again. Tomorrow is an important day, but we are living in this moment" they both looked at the sky but he remained as serious as always. His mind was processing too many things at the same time and Susanna sighed, trying to appear annoyed "I guess I'll have to think about something that loosens you…" she said with a playful smile he didn't see because he was observing the moon reflex in the water, trying to empty his head from the tornado of thoughts in his mind.
He was aware of hos decisive the next day could be, not only for them, but for the rest of the universe as well… even if they ignored it. The plan was already been reviewed many times, but he couldn't help but thinking about all the things that could go wrong and the consequences it might bring.
Not to mention his worried about Susanna's future and the continuous impulse of being close to her. Meanwhile, the girl got slowly closer to him with the firm intention of giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek, but after feeling her closeness, William turned to look at her and she ended up kissing the corner of his mouth.
She blushed immediately and her eyes wide opened. William's pupils dilated on his green eyes but he didn't move an inch. He looked at her closely, studying her face like he'd never done it before, keeping his almost overwhelming seriousness. Meanwhile, Susanna expected him to move away or at least a reproach, but none of that happened and her surprise was even bigger when she notices the reaper's eyes seemed brighter than usual when they looked at her lips. She traced his face with her gaze, wondering what would happen next and couldn't help but thinking he seemed more relaxed. His mind was now somewhere else.
At least she achieved her goal, but now he was getting closer, without taking his eyes off her lips; he hadn't done it even for an instant and the endless thoughts that bothered him slowly vanished with every passing instant his eyes looked at her… that her lips convinced him of doing what he was about to do. The reaper's soft breathing tickled her cheeks and she smiled when she felt it. Then she closed her eyes and waited for William to close the distance between them, barely touching her lips, as if he was asking for permission and after a tortuous instant that Susanna felt like an eternity, he kissed her.
It was a slow kiss, without any hurries, but deep. Susanna's heart accelerated as she kept kissing him and her right hand wandered around his chest. He managed to take off one of his black gloves and softly caressed her face. Then, little by little he moved away, with a tiny smile drawn on his lips and his gesture became softer.
"I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but…. I just couldn't find the right moment"
"Better late than never… besides, you finally look relaxed"
"You think so? I still feel a little tense" and then he kissed her again.
And so almost two hours passed between discreet kissed and brief caresses, forgetting about what would happen the next day. Some very deserved vacations in the middle of the storm that was coming, but they both enjoyed the moment, feeling more alive than ever, finally doing what they longed for a long time.
Author's notes.
Hi guys…
Finally, something happened between Will and Susanna! Sorry it took so long, but I needed to build tension and keep things interesting. Also, I think it was good for the character development. I hope you liked it as much as I do. This chapter was a little light… a preparation for what's coming next… muahaha!
So, read you next time!