Gargoyles- The Heart of Everything

by Sunmoonlight

Brooklyn has been living in a very lonely world and yearns to find love of his own. However, his life gets turned upside down when he meets the beautiful, young Human woman named Rose. Rose lives in a very similar world; one full of darkness, loneliness, and is haunted by one dark secret. Will they find the love and strength in each other to rise above the darkness?

32. Chapter 32- One Step Closer

**Back to back chapters! Wahoo! This one is actually kind of a 'part two' to chapter 31. But I had to break them up because it would have been impossibly long and awful to read. :D I hope you all enjoy this chapter- things are in full swing now. Thanks for your reviews and for keeping up with my story!**

~Chapter Thirty-Two~

One Step Closer

Rose couldn't believe that she was with Brooklyn once again, after many agonizing nights of being forced apart. He had surprised her with a romantic evening, starting with a motorcycle ride towards a candle-lit dinner in a nearby area of Central Park. When they reached their destination, Rose killed the engine as Brooklyn balanced the bike and kicked the stand down. He stood up, took his helmet and sunglasses off; as Rose did the same, and walked hand-in-claw through a small garden.

Rose gasped in awe as they walked through a grove of trees which made her feel like they were in a Winter Wonderland. Brooklyn kept gazing over at her, smiling brightly, as she was obviously happy with his date thus far. They walked past a small grove of snowy bushes and into a landing where he had set up a table for two, with candles burning all around them. Rose stopped walking, gasped, and placed her hand over her mouth. Brooklyn had brought the flower bouquet out from the motorcycle and placed it in the center of the table.

"Ta-da." He announced, holding his claws out at their romantic dinner spot. Rose was at a loss of words and stayed still, smiling at him. Brooklyn had set the small table for them both, two chairs, and already had a warm dinner sitting on two plates. Brooklyn was grinning brightly, had his claws on her chair and then offered his claw out to her.

"Oh my goodness, Brooklyn." Rose gasped, looking around happily. "You've set this all up for me?"

"Of course," Brooklyn laughed, still holding his claw out to her. "I wanted tonight to be special, because you are everything to me and deserve to be taken care of."

Rose grinned back at him, stepped forward and immediately took his claw in her hand. He gently guided her towards the chair, helped her sit down, and pushed her chair towards the table. He pulled out a sparkling cider drink and filled her champagne glass up halfway. Rose wanted to burst out laughing because of how sweet and cute he was. He sat down across from her, poured his own drink and then set the large glass bottle down by the flowers in the middle of the table.

He picked up his drink and held it up, "A toast to us."

Rose laughed slightly, picked up her cider and held it up as well.

"A toast to us, I love you."

"I love you more." He grinned mischievously, clinking his glass gently against hers, before drinking it down. She laughed out loud for a few seconds, shook her head at him, before she drank hers down as well. As Brooklyn refilled their drinks, she glanced down at the food in front of her and was immediately impressed. In front of them was a pot roast, with vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

"This smells so good." Rose complimented, sniffing the food, which suddenly made her mouth water. She hadn't eaten much while she was stuck in the Labyrinth; and didn't realize how hungry she was until there was a warm meal in front of her. "Did you make this?"

"Yeah," he responded happily. "I hope you like it!"

Rose immediately took a modest bite of the roast, vegetables and potatoes and felt herself floating almost.

"Oh my goodness… " She closed her eyes and moaned happily. "I had no idea that you were such a good cook. This reminds me of the meals my Grandmother used to cook for us- there's nothing better than a homemade pot roast."

Brooklyn took a few bites of his own food, and smiled gleefully.

"Thank you. To be honest with you, I actually had a lot of help from Broadway and... a recipe book; but I am proud of how it turned out. I don't cook as much as Broadway does, but I do enjoy it, especially if I cook for you. It's amazing how many different things I want to try because I wish to please you."

"Oh yeah? What kind of things are you wanting to try now?" She asked him in between bites. Brooklyn was chewing his food, thinking deeply for a minute before he answered.

"Well," he started to say. "Cooking for one example; providing for you financially is actually another."

"Really?" She asked him in awe of his answer.

"Yeah, really." He answered, cutting up more of his pot roast. " You see… money is foreign for my kind, but I understand that this world requires some form of exchange for shelter, food and clothing. Due to that inevitable fact, and the fact that I love you, it's making me want to be the best mate that I can be, and a better Gargoyle. I've never been pushed so much in my entire life to help provide a good life for you."

"Oh… honey, I don't want you to feel pushed… or pressured ever…" Rose started to say, reaching out to touch his claws.

"No, no. You've misunderstood me, my love." He interrupted, smiling at her, but still taking her hand from across the table. "It's a good thing. Since Goliath made me Second-In-Command to him- I've had to step up in my leadership and responsibilities. I feel like I've been growing in skills, maturity, and leadership. But ever since I've met you I feel that I've grown exponentially. You see, male Gargoyles need companionship to help us grow, mentally and emotionally. That's why Gargoyles mate for life- we aren't meant to be alone; it isn't good for our development. Once Gargoyles are older, like Hudson, they don't have to have a mate to feel fulfilled. He feels happy just by being with his Clan, and though he had his mate for a long time before she passed on, he hasn't wanted to re-mate with any other. We believe in a… 'once in a lifetime' type of love."

Rose smiled over at him, interested in the Gargoyle ways. She was loving that he was speaking so openly with her about how he felt he was growing in maturity; mentally and emotionally, since he's met her. She continued to eat silently, listening to him, before she thought of something.

"What about Goliath and Elisa?" She asked him. "I thought Goliath's first mate was Angela's mother… uh… Demona is it? If Gargoyles mate for life- then- how is it that Demona and Goliath aren't together, making things work out? I mean I know they had a big falling out- but do Gargoyles also believe in divorce?"

"Yeah, for the most part." He answered her, eating some more of his food, and still keeping hold of her hand. "Demona was and still is a special case, however. I know that Goliath still cares deeply for her and for her well-being; but ever since the Massacre at Castle Wyvern; Demona has been twisted and corrupted past the point of no return. Goliath realistically lost his mate more than once. He thought she was destroyed with the rest of the Clan, before we were sent into our thousand year sleep, and then lost her again when she betrayed him- back when Xanatos hatched his evil plans and schemes against us. Demona has been an enemy of all of us ever then. Goliath and the rest of us strongly believe in our moral code; which is we protect all innocent lives. Demona does not believe in that anymore; she wishes to destroy all of Humanity- which isn't what we believe in."

Rose thought for a long moment before she asked him.

"Well… doesn't she have a slight point?" She asked him quietly, while still eating slowly. " I mean, look how terribly you and the Clan have been treated in the past and even now in the present? You were all betrayed by the Vikings, then were placed into a magic sleep spell by a wizard out of blind vengeance, and then have been faced with evil Humans, criminals, and schemes ever since then. I mean… since I have lived with one of the worst Humans on the face of this planet; I can see how her heart has turned to stone. It's easy to let that hatred, rage, and hurt overtake ones soul… making it turn black and empty."

Brooklyn had raised his glass of sparkling cider up to drink, but stopped as he was taking in her words. He slowly lowered his glass and kept his gaze upon her face; looking at her with great intensity and slight worry.

"Back when she was trying to trick me, yes; I believed her. But I don't anymore." He started to explain slowly. "Demona has been living a half-truth when it comes to Humanity. She has lost her very purpose as a Gargoyle; and no longer protects. I don't doubt that she has seen the worst of Humanity throughout her cursed immortal life- however; she chooses to only see the hatred, bigotry, and evil doings in Humanity. I have learned that there is good and evil in all of us; it's what we choose to focus on and live in is what's truly important." He stopped talking for a moment, before continuing, "Besides… I know there is good and light in Humans because I have you in my life now. You are truly the one who is making me to be a better Gargoyle, and even though you have also seen the worst in Humanity; I can see that you have refused to let that darkness curse your heart and soul, and I greatly admire you for that."

Rose was staring at her love from across the table and wanted to believe what he was saying to her. He didn't realize how insecure she felt- nor did he realize how lost she felt sometimes. Thanks to Kevin and his abuse; she had been in 'survival' mode for so long- it was tough for her to be vulnerable once again, especially with her heart and emotions. She had allowed Brooklyn into her life, with remarkable ease, but now that they were talking about more serious things, she suddenly didn't know how to react to his words. She wanted to believe him, but part of her didn't.

There was still a darkness inside of her that threatened to take her once she was vulnerable once again. Perhaps, Emily was right. She couldn't keep internalizing her true feelings and would eventually, probably sooner than later, seek out help for what she had been forced to endure with Kevin.

"Brooklyn… " She started to say to him, unsure how to say what was on her mind. She sighed looked deeply into his eyes from across the table.

"I… I'm not exactly who you think I am. I am not that strong, nor am I that full of light. The more I've been away from Kevin, the more unsure I feel about myself. You are definitely helping me work through my insecurities, which I am thankful for. But… I just… I don't want you to be disappointed in me if I don't live up to your expectations."

Brooklyn looked confused for a moment before asking her, "What expectations? I don't expect anything from you more than what you already give me. Rose, you actually reach far past my expectations. You're more than what I could have ever hoped or wished for."

"I'm sorry…" she chuckled, slightly. " I just don't feel all that amazing. I am moved by your words, and I thank you regardless. But I'm having my own insecurities come out now that I'm away from Kevin. And… while I'm apologizing, I'm sorry for bringing him up on our romantic night out. I'm sorry, I told you I didn't want to even bring him up; and then I naturally brought him up… "

"You don't need to apologize for anything, Rose." Brooklyn said seriously, looking at her with a slightly concerned. They were silent for a moment before Brooklyn squeezed her hand across the table.

"You do know that you can confide in me about anything, right?" He asked her, running one talon gently over her skin. "I want you to vent, talk or confide in me about whatever you need. I understand we are having a romantic night out, but if you need to discuss Kevin and get some things off your chest; then I would rather discuss it; rather than let you continue to hold that burden on your heart, soul and shoulders. I want you to talk to me about things on your own time and in your own way. I just want you to be happy and at peace with yourself and your life."

Rose smiled up at him and took his claw in her hand.

"Thank you." She whispered up at him. She thought hard for a moment and then said reluctantly, "I don't want this evening to be about Kevin… but… I also can't ignore him either. I feel like he's in every single crack in my life. If we discuss more serious things for the next few minutes- get on the same page with each other- then I feel we can move forward. I don't want to talk about him; but I also need to have some closure."

"I understand." Brooklyn said quietly. "So… tell me this, since we are talking about more serious things. Why don't you believe when I compliment and tell you how amazing you are to me?"

Rose sighed, thought for a few moments and then answered him quietly.

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that Kevin has beaten me down for so long that I don't see myself like you do. But I am trying to work on it. You and I are building each other up with trust, love, commitment, support and friendship; but that's something I'm not used to yet. I have had to build so many walls up against Kevin, it is a scary thing for me to be so vulnerable to you. It's not because of you, nor am I scared to be with you, but it's just… I've been abused for so long that it's going to take some time for me to get past this insecurity. I'm also worried that you'll become impatient with me, and become tired of my… baggage I guess I should say. Sometimes, I feel unworthy of you, and your pure love. I'm afraid that you'll realize that I'm a mistake and leave me."

Brooklyn sat and listened as Rose poured her heart and fears out to him; and didn't realize how many complex layers of walls she had to build up against Kevin's abuse. It made his anger against Kevin more raw and untamed, but he also felt hurt that she felt these feelings of insecurity, fear and unworthiness. He also couldn't believe that she said that she didn't feel worthy of his love; which was an incredibly ridiculous thing to think in his mind. He took a deep breath and couldn't believe how deep this conversation had become; however, he understood her fears, as he has had his own fears and insecurities.

"Rose," Brooklyn said quietly. " I am here to tell you that you're fears and insecurities are just that, fears and lies. I completely understand where you're coming from though. I have my own insecurities about myself and relationships. Hell, I have had extremely rotten luck when it came to trying to find my own mate. I had been rejected time after time, and it has taken a toll on me, for sure." He paused for a moment, looking down the vegetables on his plate and pushed a few of them around.

"At one point, I also felt unworthy of love and thought that there was something wrong with me. But then you showed up in my life; and I was proven wrong. I, too, sometimes feel unworthy of this love in which we share; and the power of our connection. However, I am humbled by it and am not planning on wasting another second fighting against it. I have found the most beautiful soulmate, and I will give you my 1000% effort in keeping you protected, secure, and happy. That- I promise you."

He stopped talking suddenly as he saw that Rose's eyes were filled with tears, and sorrow was apparent on her face. He put his drink down, stood, and slowly walked over to her. When he came over to her, he slowly lifted his claw up to her, beckoning her to grasp it. Rose watched his face and was instantly reminded of the first night they actually spoke to each other at the Brooklyn Bridge, when he held his claw out to her to save her life.

"Do you remember the first night we met at the Brooklyn Bridge?" He asked her gently.

Rose instantly smiled up at him, with tear-filled eyes and whispered, "Absolutely… you saved my life. It was also the first time, in a long time, I felt that I was going to be alright."

"Do you still trust me?" He asked her in a voice just above a whisper.

Instantly, Rose put down her napkin, turned her body to face him and raised her hand up to his outstretched claw. Their electrified connection started to tingle in their fingertips and seemed to draw their hands together. Rose slowly slid her soft into his claw, and kept caressing his skin, as he pulled her to her feet and towards him. She slid both hands up his arms and rested them on his chest. Rose gazed deeply into his beautiful dark eyes and kept her lips inches from his.

"With my life." She breathed.

"And I trust you with mine." He whispered, running his claws up her back, through her long and thick red hair, until he cupped her face tenderly.

"Rose, I know you are afraid of losing me, but you have nothing to worry about. I will always love you and I will always take care of you. I will never leave you alone, no matter what it takes; I will protect you. I know you are afraid right now, and that's okay. I understand what it's like to be afraid..."

He paused for a moment, gazing into her eyes and then whispered, "But… since we are bearing our souls to each other; I… I'm afraid of losing you, too. Every night that passes and Kevin is still alive and out there somewhere searching for you and wanting to kill you. It makes me physically ill and terrifies me more than anything. A week ago- my life nearly ended- as I watched Kevin shoot you twice, and again as I watched as you fall off the bridge, and nearly lost you when I saved you from the water. Since then, I have been feeling like a complete failure since I have not been able to find and stop him yet. I've never felt this helpless before in my entire life."

Rose blinked a few times, and suddenly looked up into his face, searching his suddenly pain-filled eyes with hers. She did not want Brooklyn to feel responsible for Kevin's actions. Before she could console him, he continued to speak in a miserable tone.

"As a Gargoyle, I've always been sure that I could protect and help those who are in need of my help. Now that I have you; you who is the love of my life and soon-to-be mate, I feel like I haven't been able to fully protect you and it's… the worst feeling in this entire world."

He paused, held onto her bare shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes with a deep hurt. Rose's eyes were wide and in shock as he bore his feelings to her. She opened her mouth to insist that he was wrong- he was not a failure to her, however; before she could say anything to him. he suddenly dropped down to one knee, held onto her hands, and pressed his forehead into her abdomen.

"Please forgive me, Rose. I have failed you by not finding Kevin and protecting you from his evil intentions. I have been so angry with him and with myself- I wanted this night to be a night where we can forget about him, but you're right. It's near impossible to push away the fear of what he's going to do; and for me, I cannot ignore the fear of losing you and my failures to stop him. I beg for your forgiveness, it is because I haven't been able to locate Kevin that you are still hurting, and It's been the most frustrating feeling. I watch you suffer, day in and day out, and I'm unable to protect you from that pain… I'm… I'm so sorry, Rose. I will continue to atone for this madness as long as I live, I promise you that."

Rose shook her head as he was saying this and instantly fell to her knees in front of him, grabbed his face in her hands, and forced him to look up into her eyes. Reluctantly he did so with tear-filled eyes.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Brooklyn." Rose urged him firmly. "Do not do this to yourself. It is Kevin's choices, making it is all his fault."

Brooklyn stayed silent, gazing into her eyes with a great deal of misery, as Rose continued to firmly, but lovingly speak to him.

"And my love, you do protect me. I have had to protect myself and my heart for a long time; and now; with you by my side, I finally do not have to. Which is such a relief. As long as I have you by my side and have your love; I am happy. I am not afraid; although there is much to fear right now. I do not fault you for not finding Kevin, I feel terribly guilty that you have been sacrificing much of your time and nights in trying to find him for me…"

"Don't." Brooklyn interjected, just as seriously. "I have gladly done it to protect you; and to rid him for our lives forever."

"How could I ever fault you for doing that, then?" Rose came back and asked him, gently caressing his beak. "You're sacrificing so much for me… I do not think you as a failure. That's the furthest thing from the truth. I love you more than anything in this entire world; I cherish and am unbelievably in love with you… which... also terrifies me.

"Why?" He asked her, with sincere eyes. Rose lowered her gaze and focused on her hands in his claws, tears forming in her eyes once again; the grief threatening to push through her dam of walls.

"Because… I have lost everyone I have ever loved or cared about. I am terrified of losing you too. I know you say that you love me… but will this stress with Kevin eventually break you? Will you ever get to the point where you cannot handle it anymore? So much so, that you'll leave me, rightfully, to rid yourself of this stress forever?"

Brooklyn stayed silent and watched Rose's face with shock as he took in her words. He gently cupped her face in his claws, bringing her eyes to up his and whispered, with assurety.

"Never. I would never do such a thing to you; I love you, Rose. I don't care about the stress, I'm not focused on that. I only care about how this affects you. It's how you're being affected is what is hard for me to bear. We haven't had much stability in our relationship yet, and that makes it difficult; for any relationship to survive. We also have your ex-abusive husband hunting you, the Clan, and all the ones we love. There is extreme stress going on in your life; and I understand that you may feel broken, unworthy of anyone's love and commitment; because you never had that with Kevin. However… " he paused and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him.

"You're not with Kevin anymore, you're with me. And I will never let you feel those feelings anymore. Rose… I understand that you've been hurt, torn apart, controlled, betrayed, beaten upon and have had months of fears and insecurities crammed into your soul, but I'm here to tell you that I see you. When I look at you, I see a breathtakingly beautiful young woman who has been through Hell and back. However; you have taken that fire and heat and have turned it into goodness. Much like a diamond is put through the refiner's fire; it's still a diamond. These trials have refined you into the brightest light, and now that I am here, I will make sure you don't have to continue through that fire anymore. I promise to treasure you, support your past, and encourage you to move forward and live in the present; and to also have hope for the future. I know you may feel worried or scared now… but I give you this vow right here, right now… of my everlasting love for you."

He clasped her hands in his claws and gently pressed them to his lips.

"I vow to you that I will never leave you alone. You will always have me to support, love, and cherish you. I vow to be patient with you, though it'll be more you being patient with me, I'm sure. Rose Connelly; you're the love of my life. My soulmate. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

As he was giving her his heartfelt speech, Rose was trying very hard to hold in her tears of grief. She was embarrassed that these feelings were coming up on their romantic night out; however, how he was treating her made her feel definitely more safe and secure in how she was feeling, which made her dam of emotions and held in fears bust forth. She nodded her head at his words, placed a hand over her mouth, and finally let her tears spilled out of her eyes.

He knelt closer to her, gently taking her face into his claws, and helped wipe her tears away. He was gazing upon her with such love, that her embarrassment for crying was suddenly erased; and she felt more connected and in love with him.

He gently kissed her on her forehead, before he finished speaking, whispering, "I vow to spend the rest of my life to show you and remind you that you are priceless, worthy and deserving of true love. You deserve to be taken care of for the rest of your life, to not have to worry about being insecure and unsafe, and you deserve to have someone love you unconditionally. I know that I'm not perfect, but I promise you that I will always try to show you how much I love you. Please, be patient with me. I'm can be an idiot at times; and I'm working on it; but ... still please don't give up on me."

Rose laughed slightly through her tears, and gazed lovingly into his dark-brown eyes. They were full of so much light, love, sincerity and passion, that it seemed to melt her heart and insecurities away. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt that she did deserve to be taken care of like he was doing, and that she deserved to be happy. Rose sniffed her tears away, gently grabbed onto her necklace which was hanging around her neck and showed Brooklyn the pendant in which he gave her, smiling gently at him.

"Brooklyn, you are the best thing that has ever been mine." Rose whispered. "I'm sorry I'm so guarded sometimes… but you have my promise and vow to always love you. You have my commitment, love, friendship, loyalty and patience. I will never leave you alone because I have fallen, completely and irrevocably in love with you." She paused, as he was grinning blissfully at her, and continued, "Thank you for listening to me; thank you for being so patient with me, and allowing me to have a dark moment of breaking down on our beautifully romantic date. Thank you for loving me the way you do… I am in love with you, Brooklyn."

When she finished saying these words, Brooklyn stood up from kneeling down, brought her into a standing position with him, and instantly wrapped her up in his strong arms.

"I am in love you with you too, my sweet love." Brooklyn breathed against her lips.

Rose naturally pushed her hands and arms through his enclosed wings, around his chest, to find hold herself against his skin, like she tried to do the first night in the Labyrinth. Feeling this, he quickly let go of her- shed his jacket- opened his wings with a great 'WHOOSH' of air; and cocooned her against him with his wings.

Their lips immediately found each other as they kissed passionately. Tonight had turned out to be a night of vows to each other- and it felt very natural to Rose as well as Brooklyn. Though they still weren't officially mated to each other- their commitment was true and unbreakable to each other. He understood her fears, insecurities, and she understood his. Together they were going to love each other, and work together on making each other feel safe, secure, supported and cherished always.

As they continued to kiss, Rose had wrapped her arms around his waist, caressing his muscular abdomen with her hands, as his claws were exploring up the back of her shirt, touching and stroking her skin, while his other claw was holding the back of her head, securing their lips together. She pulled away for a moment before she smiled up at him, laughing slightly.

"What's so funny?" He asked her breathlessly.

"We've recited vows to each other on the night we were supposed to have been married and mated." Rose stated, looking into his eyes. "Does this mean that we are mates now? Or at least in your culture?"

Brooklyn smiled lovingly down at her and then explained, laughing slightly.

"Back in the ancient days- yes- we would have been. Mating Ceremonies weren't as much as a thing, until we saw Human weddings. Though we never cared for exchanging of tolkens, we enjoyed the sanctity and celebration of marriage, It was something we also believed in. Now, it's important to have a ceremony for the whole Clan to witness our union and vows. So no, we aren't; officially. However; it feels like we already are mates. You have felt like my mate since the moment I laid eyes on you."

He then paused, looked deeply into her eyes and then lowered his lips to her neck; instantly making Rose feel like she could fall into her own mating desires at any second.

"Which is why not making love to you, and consummating our love finally, is becoming so increasingly difficult to control. I have told you how much I love you- now it's only natural for me to want to show you and communicate my love and commitment to you by being fully one with you." He muttered against her skin, kissing her skin deeply.

Rose closed her eyes at his kiss and wrapped both arms around his neck, holding the back of his head; keeping him there. She ran her fingers through his long hair and breathed in his beautiful scent. She didn't know how best to describe it; but he smelled of pine scented stone. They had never voiced, so casually, their desires to make love to each other- but each night they spent together, the closer they seemed to get.

Though she had general fears about getting hurt again and being left alone, she desired greatly to show Brooklyn how much she loved him as well; and the only way they could now was to communicate that through physical love. Their connections had been connecting them since the moment they met; and she could only imagine how strong and powerful they would be when they physically become one through making love. She blinked a few times, felt the electricity shoot her and him, and suddenly felt emotional once again, but this time not by fear or insecurities.

"Brooklyn…" Rose breathed, closing her eyes. "... I want to make love to you."

Brooklyn froze and was searching her hazel eyes with his own. His heart was pounding suddenly very fast and he felt his claws going numb slightly. Rose was unbelievably beautiful to him tonight; and there was nothing he wished more than to make love to her as well, but he had vowed to her and to himself to hold off until they were married and official mates. He caressed her face gently, and with great feeling, kissed her lips. Her desire for him was making it unbelievably difficult for him to stay strong and not strip her down right there.

"Oh Rose." Brooklyn whispered in a moan, pulling away from her lips. "What I wouldn't give to do that right now…"

Rose smiled slightly, teasingly up at him before she challenged him.

"You said there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for me? Making love to you is now becoming a physical need. Don't you want to sometimes say, 'Screw it' to tradition and just take full advantage of our short time together?"

Brooklyn stared down at her as though he was seriously considering her words. She had a point; he lived off the notion that they should take advantage of their time together; since it was now so fleeting. However; his sense of duty and who he was as a Gargoyle was everything to him.

He kept his long wings around Rose, grasped onto her body with his strong arms, and gently tackled her to the snowy ground, his body looming over hers. Rose was slightly startled by this; but didn't fight him. He seemed to be thoroughly convinced by her words, from her point of view, and they were moments away from finally becoming one.

Rose's heart started to pound out of control as Brooklyn slowly lowered his face to hers, kissing her softly and almost teasingly. Her breathing suddenly came to her a bit erratically; and she tried to kiss him harder, but he was in control of this moment. Trying to take control back; she wrapped her legs around his waist, arms around his neck and tried to pull her body to his, but with his strength, he still kept her away from him.

Growing a bit frustrated, Rose pulled her face away from his, and glared at him.

He was smiling teasingly down at her and said, "There's nothing I want more than these few things. Your safety, your love, you as my mate… and to make love to you. Everything else is secondary in my life. It… it is unbearably difficult to hold off on not claiming your body with mine, but... I have to be honest with you… and I can't believe I'm saying this right now… "

"Say what?" She asked him breathlessly, fearful of what he was about to tell her.

"It wouldn't feel right if we consummate our love with Kevin still haunting us; and with us not being officially mates yet. I'm sorry- "

When he said those words, she let go of him and fell the few inches remaining to lie her head on the snowy ground, which she was surprised she never hit. His claws were holding the back of her head, so that she wouldn't have rest on the cold ground.

She blinked a few times, still feeling frustrated, and was actually feeling slightly hurt. However; she swallowed that pain up, and thought it through. As she did so, he made complete sense. Making love was important for both of them, and it was sacred to them. She didn't want Kevin's presence anywhere near her new life with Brooklyn. So she took a deep breath, and then gazed up into his eyes.

"Why do you tease me so?" She grumbled teasingly.

"Because you tease me all the time, I'm just giving back what you put me through." Brooklyn grinned mischievously back at her. "Besides; when we do get married, I plan on finding a really nice spot for us to be together. Though this garden is beautiful and romantic; it's not where I want you and I to be."

Rose smiled, forgiving his teasings, and gently kissed him once again.

"Okay, fine. You win... this time." She whispered.

Brooklyn smiled brightly down at her, and did not pull himself from her, as he suddenly began to passionately claim her mouth with his. She slid her tongue into his mouth; which he immediately responded to, and wrapped his strong arms around her body.

Rose moved her legs back up to cling onto the sides of his hips; and to her delight, he lowered his pelvis to hers- slowly rubbing himself over her one time- giving them both a quick feel of the sensation they both craved so intensely. Rose gave a small gasp in pleasure, and he seemed to stop breathing all together, as a sudden sharp and electrified sensation shot through their bodies; starting to ignite the flame of passion within them both.

He quickly pulled up; and knelt over her. Rose glanced up at him and could see the silent struggle and battle within himself to take her as his right then; so she decided to make it easier on him. She slowly moved herself from being under him and gave him a simple; yet gentle kiss on his lips.

"It's okay, we'll wait.." She whispered to him, taking his claw and then standing both of them up. "You're stronger than I am in that regard. I'm sorry… I haven't been touched, without feeling good about myself, and I have ever been made love to. I feel so desperate to feel that love from you. But, I will wait until the time is right."

Brooklyn grinned at her and whispered, "Thank you, my love. The wait will be worth it. Trust me; we'll have to take at least one month away from the Clan. I have a feeling we're going to be unbearable to be around."

Rose laughed out loud, and kept hold of Brooklyn, hiding her face slightly from him as she began to blush furiously. He started to laugh with her, as she asked lightly, "You think we'll be that bad?"

"I know it." Brooklyn breathed against her lips, kissing her soundly for a few minutes, before he pulled away from her. He paused, as she was smiling lovingly up at him.

"Have I convinced you enough to trust that I will never leave you alone and will always love and be patient with you?" He asked her softly. "Through darkness and light; through sickness and health; I'll always be by your side."

"Yes. I trust you and believe you." Rose answered softly. "I'm sorry I made such a fuss tonight and that I did doubt you for a moment- I should have had more faith in you. That's my issue though and not yours. I'm going to work on it. You and our love is beyond worth it."

"Thank you," Brooklyn smiled down at her, holding her tenderly against him, gently running his talons through her long red hair. "You're right; our love is beyond worth it. You are worth it."

They stayed in each other's arms before Brooklyn opened his wings, and looked around the garden with slight humor.

"Let's finish our, now cold dinner, and head towards our next destination. We've most likely missed games with the couples, but that's okay. I'd much rather spend all my time with you than with them." He said, kissing her gently on her cheek. "However, it is growing closer to midnight, we don't wanna miss our next activity."

Rose smiled apologetically up at him, as it was her fault that they were going to be finishing their dinner cold. She was glad that they brought up their feelings and fears, because confiding in each other had only helped them grow closer to each other. Though they were of a different species; she was thankful that communication didn't seem to be a huge issue in their relationship, as it seemed to be in most Human relationships and marriages.

For the next few minutes, they finished their dinner quickly, engaging each other in teasing and casual conversations, including what she had been doing in the Labyrinth and how the night went with Emily. Brooklyn pushed his empty plate away and was smiling across the table from her; listening to what she was telling him.

"I'm so proud of you Rose." Brooklyn told her in awe, as she finished telling him about her day. "You say you aren't a light or any of the amazing things in which I describe you, but you are. I am inspired that you have taken a depressing and difficult day and served those in need around you. When I came to the Labyrinth to tell Talon that I was going to take you out, he also told me all you did for everyone. You are inspiring and I have never felt more proud of you."

Rose smiled up at him and then laughed at him.

"Thank you, but really it was memory of my pop who helped humble me. The Homeless are grateful for the Labyrinth, whereas I was complaining about. I have a free roof over my head. Those people are jobless, when I was also complaining about my job. I learned something really important tonight; while I was having a 'woe is me' moment, and I realized that I am incredibly fortunate. I have you, I have the Clan, I have Emily, the Mutates, Xanatos, the Castle, a job, and I'm alive." She paused, shaking her head slightly as though she couldn't believe she didn't see all those blessings as such earlier. Brooklyn gazed over at her in awe.

"I'm honestly glad that I had the experience in which I had today. My Pop often taught me that service and charity was the sure way to happiness, and in those moments, serving those people; I felt truly happy. I grew up striving to be more kind and open to helping others in need, and as I thought of my Grandfather; I also thought of you and felt your love. In my darkest moments, I felt your love, and it helped me remember that I'm not alone."

"You're Grandfather would be very proud of you, as I am." Brooklyn said, grabbing her hand across the small table once again. "I'm very happy that you've had such a good day. I'm relieved that you felt my love while you were alone, as I am always thinking of you; and love you more than anything. I'm also happy that Xanatos brought Emily to see you, that must have been a great gift. When I heard you and her laughing; it brought me great relief and delight to know that you were having a good night."

"You heard her and I laughing?" Rose asked him, holding his claw tightly. "You were outside my door?"

"I came to the Labyrinth to knock on your door and surprise you by taking you out on this date, then I heard that Emily was with you. So I waited patiently for you two to finish."

"I am surprised you didn't break down the door to come to me." Rose laughing, teasing him.

"Funnily enough; that did go through my mind." Brooklyn laughed. "It was agonizing to stop myself from not bursting through your door and kissing you senseless on your bed, but I decided it was best to not include Emily in our passionate make-out sessions."

Rose burst out laughing.

"It's probably a good thing you didn't. Emily would have probably be scarred for life as she thinks a 'mating ceremony' is some animalistic ritual in which we all mate in front of each other."

Brooklyn was taking his last swig of sparkling juice when it nearly burst out of his mouth. Rose watched him, laughing hysterically, as he struggled to choke it down. When he finally swallowed it, he coughed hard for a few moments, and then immediately burst out laughing. Both of them laughed hysterically for a few minutes, before Brooklyn asked her, breathlessly.

"She said that? Does she really think that's what a Mating Ceremony is?"

"Not anymore." Rose laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. "I had to give her a few moments of grief from that, but I explained what it was to her. She was very relieved that we didn't all strip down naked and go nuts on each other."

Brooklyn clasped his claw over his mouth and continued to laugh, never leaving her gaze. She grinned, loving his laugh, and allowed him a few moments to calm down. He took a few breaths, still struggling to stop laughing when he finally managed to speak again.

"I would have kept it up, if I were you." He laughed.

"Oh, I did." Rose grinned, chuckling at herself. "But, she truly looked horrified, so I stopped."

He laughed some more, shaking his head.

"That's so freaking awesome and hilarious. I can't believe she actually thought that… tell her that we aren't that kind of an animal."

"What animal has an insane and grossly sadistic mating ritual?" She asked him, truly wanting to know if he knew of any.

"Not any that I know of." He laughed again, finding that idea still hilarious to him. She smiled and laughed at him, also recalling her conversation with Emily, shook her head, as their laughing calmed down and they sat in silence for a short minute.

"Well," Brooklyn said, continuing with their conversation. "What else did you two discuss?"

"Oh just… random things." Rose replied lightly. "Her pregnancy, a bit of Kevin again, and you of course… and then asked about when we were actually thinking about getting married."

"What did you tell her?" He asked her, placing his claws under his chin.

"That it was supposed to be tonight, but now we have no idea."

Rose's smile suddenly fell suddenly, as she recalled that moment of her conversation with Emily, and suddenly dreaded what he heard. False hope.

"I'm sorry, Rose." Brooklyn said quietly. "I wanted to be married to you tonight more than anything tonight as well."
"Oh, I know." Rose said, smiling at him, pushing her empty plate away from her. "But, um… she was trying to make me feel better by talking about taking me to try on wedding dresses."

At this, Brooklyn's eyes widened and his eye bones raised up.

"That's a great idea!" He exclaimed in excitement. "You should go with her and try some on. I know how important a wedding dress is to the bride. That might give you something to look forward when I'm not gracing you with my presence."

Rose grinned at him, as he chuckled at himself, but then her smile slowly faded.

"Oh… yeah… that. Well... um… Emily and I were looking at wedding dresses online, and we were talking about going on Saturday, but um. It wouldn't work out, which sucks, because I really was looking forward to doing something like that.".

Brooklyn's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her smile fade and suddenly felt confused.

"Was?" Brooklyn asked her. "Surely you aren't still excited for that? It's normal to wear ceremonial clothing to a Mating Ceremony; just like my armor. It's a huge deal to wear a wedding dress for you females, especially on your wedding day."

"It is a pretty big deal." Rose explained, not wanting to bring up Kevin again, but was realizing that it was coming, regardless."I want to find a wedding dress for our special night, but then I realized that I couldn't go."

Brooklyn blinked a few times and asked, shocked.

"Why not? Why can't you go?"

"Why not?" Rose repeated, questioning him now. "Honey; I can't leave the Labyrinth. We're back to discussing Kevin now, which I wanted to avoid. But, he's definitely been keeping a sharp hawk's eye on Emily and her whereabouts, and because of that, I'm actually quite nervous that she did come tonight. I couldn't possibly risk Emily's life, your guys' efforts and nightly sacrificing in trying to find him, and risk my life once again to go wedding dress shopping."

Brooklyn still didn't say anything as she continued a bit louder and more dramatic.

"According to Kevin; I am his property, his punching bag, his wife- or so he calls me; and sex slave. I guarantee you when he finds out about us taking that next step in our life, he'll step up his killing game for sure. He'll chop me up, burn my remains, clone me so he could torture and rape me once again, and then slowly and finally kill me a second time, leaving me for dead somewhere."

When she looked up at him, after a few minutes of silence, she noticed that Brooklyn was taking deep breaths in an attempt to try to calm himself down; but was looking beside himself with anger and hurt, regardless. His claws were balled up into fists and he looked as though he was about to either burst out crying or upturn their table and take after Kevin in a murderous rage.

She instantly felt awful for speaking to him in such a blunt and dark manner, and didn't mean to disclose her deepest and darkest secret to him. She closed her eyes, wishing she hadn't said anything to him, and knew that she was now in a world of regret as Brooklyn was now going to find out the truth about her relationship with Kevin. It was not just physical abuse… not even close. She had been having nightmares about her death the last few nights; and it was fresh on her mind. Since he hadn't been there to sleep next to her, she hadn't slept well. Little did she know that her death was in his nightmares as well; and was a traumatic and sensitive subject for him.

Rose took a deep breath, exhaled it out, and quickly stood up from her seat. She walked over to him, sat gently down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry." Rose whispered, kissing him on his lips for a few seconds before letting up. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said those things, I've been having nightmares lately; and haven't been sleeping."

"I have been having similar nightmares too…" He breathed numbly, not looking at her. It was as if she had described his same nightmares to him; and he was now reliving the horrible images once again.

"You have?" She asked him, shocked.

"Yes." He said, turning his face to look at her. "It makes sense with us being connected, for us to see the same thing, especially if we are in turmoil."

Rose closed her eyes and rested her head against his forehead.

"I'm so sorry for what you've seen, my love. You shouldn't have to live through the hell in which I have had to endure…" She told him, closing her eyes, forcing the familiar tears away.

He gently cupped her face in his claws and forced her to look into his eyes.

"Tell me the truth, Rose." He said firmly, his face full of seriousness, his breathing was struggling to stay calm. "You say he made you a 'sex slave'... did he… did he ever hurt you in that way? I know he physically hurt you, by hitting you- but did he really…?"

Rose stayed silent and slowly looked up into his eyes, tears filling her. After a few seconds of her deliberating what to tell him, she finally exhaled and looked away from him.

"Yes." Rose whispered in great uncertainty, terrified of his reaction. "Yes, he did."

Brooklyn also froze, forcing his claws to rest upon the table, and not touching her as she sat on his lap. She could feel him shaking in rage, as his rage-filled eyes looked out at the garden's ledge, his jaw and sharp teeth setting firm in his strong mouth.

"How often…?" He asked her, his voice dangerous. Rose suddenly felt very afraid of his reaction, and knew that he would be angry if she did not answer him.

"Brooklyn…" She started to say, standing up from his lap suddenly, and holding herself. "It doesn't matter anymore…"

"HOW OFTEN?" He yelled, standing up now, sending his chair falling to the ground behind him. She could feel his anger from behind her; and though it was not directed at her, it still unnerved her. Her lips trembled as she told him the honest truth; as Emily had advised her to do. He didn't need every detail; but this part of his abuse, Brooklyn didn't seem to know about.

Reluctantly, she turned back to face him; and finally answered him, with tears falling down her face.

"Every day… multiple times a day." She whispered, afraid of him for the first time, afraid of his reaction. She watched his eyes widened and it was as if her answer was settling into his heart at a tremendously slow rate. He took a few staggering steps back from her and grasped onto the table in front of him, as if he were about to pass out.

"Brooklyn…!" She said worriedly, stepping forward, but he was breathing deeply, still processing what she told him.

"I'm sorry!" She said anxiously, placing her hands upon his arms. "I'm so sorry. That is my burden to carry; not yours…"

"He did that to you…?!" Brooklyn suddenly roared out, disrupting the calm night air with his screams of rage and torment, his eyes glowing bright white. He suddenly turned to her, his eyes still bright white; but she could see more anguish than rage towards her."And you never told me…?! We both have discussed mating with each other? Especially when I have laid down next to you, or on top of you…. when we've kissed… you never…"

"I never told you, because I don't feel like you were taking advantage of me or trying to hurt me." Rose urged him, taking his beak in her hands, to force him to look at her; trying to calm him down. "Brooklyn, you love me, and I love you. It is much different with you, than it was with him. I never felt anything with Kevin… please try to understand…"

"He…" Brooklyn gasped out, as if the very thought of him doing that to her was causing him physical anguish.

"I told you I was broken." Rose cried out, tears streaming down her face. "This is what I was afraid of… I'm afraid of losing you. That my baggage will be too much for you… Brooklyn, please..."

Brooklyn suddenly turned away from her, grasped his talons through the table, slashing them straight through the wood like paper, and sent the table flying through the air with a roar of absolute rage. Rose jumped back in shock and fear at his reaction, and watched as the table shattered into a thousand little pieces, against a nearby bridge, and couldn't believe this moment. Their night was seemingly ruined, and it was all thanks to Kevin and her not being strong enough to fight him off her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, hating herself.

"Brooklyn…" she whispered, not looking at him. "I am so sorry… I do understand if you must leave me. I… I don't expect you to stick around. I truly don't. Just know that I will always love you, no matter what. I am so sorry. Every crack of my life is filled with his evil, and I'm sorry for bringing him up again."

Brooklyn's eyes stopped glowing and before she realized it, he stepped up to her and wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her against him tenderly. This moment was vastly different than the rage in which she saw just moments ago; but as he held her, she could feel him trembling out of control; as if he was freezing cold. Relieved beyond measure, she cried earnestly; holding him back tightly, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry," he breathed in her hair, crying now, hot tears running down his eyes. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that… I just… oh, my sweet love…" He paused and held her tighter in his arms. His heart was pounding frantically in his chest; and she could almost feel his anguish as she held him. "My angel… how could he do that to you?! I don't understand…"

She pulled away from him slightly, sobbing and asked, "So, you're not going to leave me?"

"Never." He said, with great strength and sincerity, tears still falling down his face. "Never, my love. I love you. You're everything to me… I just feel ashamed of myself for pressuring you to mate with me. I can't believe…"

"Brooklyn, no. Don't think like that." She urged, taking his face in her hands. "I promise you that I would have told you if you did anything to make me feel uncomfortable, but you never have. For the first time, I feel loved when I'm with you. I feel cherished. I'm more than an object to have sex with; I'm the woman you love. I understand the difference between abuse and true love and I have always held onto that hope that it still existed in this world, somewhere. When we finally get married; I am not afraid or timid to make love with you. It's what I want… because it's with you, and is another way to communicate our love for each other. That much I understand, so please… don't hold back your feelings for me. Trust me on this okay? Please?"

"Okay," Brooklyn said, holding her close. "As long as you're sure, and promise to communicate with me if I push you too far?"

"I promise." She whispered, smiling up at him, feeling relieved. "And I'm okay. You know what I've gone through now, but also know that I am healing. I love you, and have never felt happier than when I am with you."

"And I, with you." He replied, holding her closely against his body, his tears drying up from his eyes. Relieved, she rested her head against his chest and relished in this moment with him. He swayed her gently back and forth, holding onto her, and letting her calm down; and him, his wrath for Kevin. He gently held onto the back of her head with his claws and looked past her head, hating Kevin still.

"Rose?" he finally asked, softly.

"Yes?" She replied, lifting her head up to look into his face.

"I am sorry for my reaction, just now. I… I hope I didn't scare you."

"No," she replied, smiling up at him. "I knew you would be angry and though it was amazing how much strength you truly have, I trusted that you weren't going to hurt me." She said.

"And I would never," he replied sincerely. "However… we do need to now discuss what's going to happen from this moment forward."

With anxiety pulling at her heart, she stepped backwards slightly in his arms so she could get an even better look into his deep eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked him nervously.

"With Kevin." Brooklyn replied darkly and bluntly. "The plan with him was always to capture him, give him over to the Police, and kill him if we rendered it absolutely necessary during the heat of a battle."

"Okay?" Rose asked him, still unsure of what he was about to say.

"Well, I'm changing the plan a bit." Brooklyn said maliciously, holding her tightly in his arms. His eyes darkened slightly as his face twisted up into a dark glare. "I'm going to kill him for doing that to you, for doing everything hurtful to you. He's going to pay for what he's done."

"Brooklyn, no." Rose told him seriously. "You're not a killer… and I won't let you become one on my behalf."

"That doesn't make me a killer, Rose." He argued back heatedly. "That makes me a decent being who won't allow my love's abuser to live to hurt you or anyone else like that ever again. And… I wasn't asking for your permission. I'm telling you what's going to happen, so you knew and were aware."

Rose stepped back slightly, and shook her head at him slightly.

"You're scaring me, Brooklyn…"

"I'm not going to allow him to live, Rose." He whispered, stepping forward after her. "What would you have me do to Kevin, after knowing what I now know? Hmm? When you told me that he laid his hands upon you, to hurt you, that was enough for me; but I was willing to let it slide and give him to the proper authorities… but now? He committed the grossest, most awful of sins against you… against any being; female or male, and you're telling me that he still deserves mercy?"

"Kevin is a killer," Rose said softly to him. "Not you. Please, Brooklyn…"

"Please tell me you're joking?!" Brooklyn nearly yelled. "DO NOT ask that of me, NO! He deserves to DIE for what he did to you! End of discussion."

Rose looked up into Brooklyn's wide eyes; with an unsure expression, but refused to back down her gaze. Electricity flowed through her and him, and she was able to feel his absolute true love for her; and though he was beyond tired of Kevin, he was doing this out of love for her. He was willing to kill him, in order to protect her and anyone else from his gross crimes. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to fully trust him, and let this test in their relationship pass. After a moment of deliberating, she opened her eyes to find that he was staring her down with great intensity waiting for her to fight back with him, but she wasn't going to fight with him. Instead, she forced herself to remain calm and peaceful.

"Okay," Rose said gently, folding her arms across her chest. "Fine, Brooklyn. You… you do what you feel is best and what is right. If you feel that killing Kevin is the right choice, then I will stand by your side. I have no love for Kevin, and he does deserve his fate, but it needs to be justice; not out of vengeance. I trust you, and I love you. Because of this, I will stand by your side; as you've been standing next to mine; regardless of how broken I am and regardless of my… past."

"You're not broken." He said, turning to her; his expression softening. "You're beautiful and perfect just the way you are. Your… whatever you called your past… baggage... is not too much or too heavy for me to handle. I will always love and be here for you."

"As I will always be here for you… " she answered, looking him deeply in his eyes, stepping closer to him. She took his beak in her hands and caressed it gently with her hands, gazing up at him, lovingly.

"When we first met; I felt that I could trust you because of the look in your eyes, even though I had just seen you take on a dangerous gunman with your bare claws." She explained to him. "It was a terrifying situation; but I knew you wouldn't hurt me for the world… and now, even though what you say is scary; I can see that you are doing it out of love and protection for me. So, though I don't necessarily agree with killing him, I know he deserves whatever fate comes his way. Whatever you decide to do in that moment, when you meet him again; I trust you to do the right thing. For the both of us."

Brooklyn was quiet for a few minutes, staring intently into her eyes, reading her every expression and drinking it in. Suddenly, he leaned his face closer to hers and gently pressed his lips against hers, kissing her sweetly. Instantly, she responded and held onto him tightly, loving every feeling he was making her feel.

He pulled away after a brief kiss, and whispered, "Thank you, my love. I…must admit, I am shocked by your answer. I fully expected you to fight me more on the issue."

"Why would I?" She asked him, smiling gently. "You're a good and honorable being; a Gargoyle. The love of my life… I'm choosing to trust you and to fully believe in our love. There's been enough fighting for tonight, with too many ups and downs. Can we please just… try to forget what I said, and try to enjoy the rest of our night together? Please? There is nothing more to honestly tell about my past with Kevin. You know it all now. No more surprises... I only want to feel your love from this moment on. I don't want to recall the horrors I've had to endure; I just want you. You make me feel loved, beautiful, worthy and safe…"

Brooklyn held onto her tightly, closing his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I will never forget; but I will allow you to distract me. You're right, tonight is supposed to be about us. We've had a beautiful dinner… in which… I overturned in my rage. Sorry about that…" He said sheepishly and looked past her now, realizing the disaster in which he created on their date, in shame. She smiled up at him, reached out, and held onto his face with her hands.

"Hey… don't worry about it. I was done eating anyway, and I'm ready to move on with our date, if you are." She said softly. He smiled down at her, and gently moved some hair away from her face with his talon, caressing it down her skin. She closed her eyes, and naturally moved her lips closer to his.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked her, coming closer and closer to her lips.

"I want you to please kiss me, like you normally do." She whispered, her lips inches from his. "Mean it and never stop to worry about me and my consent. I love you and want you; please don't be awkward about being physical with me."

"You promise to tell me…" he started to say, but she placed a finger over his lips.

"Yes," she breathed. "I promise. But, I can tell you right now that I will never feel uncomfortable with you. That being said, I want you to kiss me, Brooklyn…"

He continued to stare down at her, with their lips inches from each other. They could both feel the tingling sensations, building up in their hands, limbs and cores; igniting the flames in which they both carried for each other, driving them both crazy with desire.

It didn't matter to Brooklyn that she had been with another man before; but she also had been hurt before, in ways that were incomprehensible to him. He never wanted to aggravate or trigger any negative feelings from those experiences for her.

But now, as she was inches from his lips, trusting him completely, he knew that she would be okay in his care. He wouldn't hurt her further, as he loved her too much to ever harm her. If she felt ready to marry him, and even told him tonight that she was ready to make love with him, then he would continue to treat her as he did before. With respect, love, and show his passionate love for her.

As if a magnet was suddenly activated, his lips found hers with an incredible amount of power and passion. Her mouth naturally opened and invited his tongue into hers; in which he willingly obliged, and kissed her long and passionately. His claws and arms wrapped around her, and as their bodies were pressed against each other through their deep connection.

With each wave of electricity, he could feel her feelings and could also hear her thoughts. To his joy, he felt that she loved him and wanted him to be hers forever. She wasn't haunted anymore by Kevin; other than the fact that he was somewhere out there, still hunting her. But, her dark history with Kevin was being healed and replaced with good memories by him and his love for her. He pulled back from her lips slightly, and smiled happily at her and felt great relief suddenly.

Her hazel eyes opened up and gazed dreamily up into his, and she smiled back at him, knowing that he read her mind and felt her true feelings for him. She nuzzled her face against his beak and let his lips trace along her skin; igniting more electricity between them.

"I love you," she breathed, as she let him kiss her gently. "More than anything…"

"Not as much as I love you." He breathed back, kissing her mouth fully now, running his claws up her shirt again, feeling her skin against his claws.

"I know," she finally relented. "I'm beginning to see that… I guess I need to step up my game."

He smiled against her lips and kept kissing her with great feeling, holding her tightly against him, as he kissed her deeply. Their breathing became more and more shallow; as they deepened their kissing strides; allowing each other to feel every inch of each other. Brooklyn held onto the back of her head, and loved the taste of her. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, he pulled away, breathing deeply and gently skimmed his talons down her face.

"You're beautifully perfect the way you are." He breathed. "You love me exactly how I need you to do so."

He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, holding her close to him for a few seconds more. She felt like she could easily fall asleep in his lovingly hold, when he suddenly whispered, "We've got to go. It's almost midnight."

"Okay," Rose whispered back.

Brooklyn looked over at the mess he made, while still holding onto her, and looked as if he was disappointed in himself, but she turned his face to hers once again.

"Don't worry about it." She whispered, smiling at him. "Tonight as been beautiful… and… enlightening. We've grown as a couple; making it through the hard times and continuing on loving each other."

"I love how you can always look on the positive side of things." He said softly, moving more hair out of her face, as a slight winter wind was blowing all the sudden.

"I try to make the best out of life." She answered him. "And right now, my life is perfect."

He kissed her gently on the forehead; and then grabbed her hands with his talons.

"So is mine." He said, kissing her hand. "So, let's ring in this new year with each other. Make this the beginning of a new adventure, together."

"Attah boy." She grinned, letting him guide her back to his motorcycle. "I like that plan."

He smiled at her, as he helped her get back into her jacket. Then he wrapped his long wings back around his chest, allowing her to help him into his leather jacket.

She loved it when he wore his biker getup; and felt even more attracted to him, if that was possible. He was always half-naked around her, but it was strange when he wore more clothing, that he was even more desirable to her. She bit her lips slightly; as he put his helmet and aviators on.

"Wanna drive again?" He asked her, handing over her helmet.

"Sure." She said, putting on her helmet, and then straddled the seat. "Where are we going?"

"We'll drop the bike over to Xanatos' garage; and then I'll glide us to our next destination from there." He answered her, getting on behind her. He instantly wrapped his strong around her waist and held her tightly against him. She closed her eyes at his touch; and leaned into him. He leaned his lips instantly over her neck; and Rose seemed to melt into his grip. He held her tightly against him, and moaned slightly at the feel of her against him. He cleared his throat slightly and took a deep breath.

"Oh… uh… second thought. How about I drive?" He asked her. "I can reach the pedals and handlebars easily with you still in front."

"Sure thing." She answered, still keeping her eyes closed.

He scooted closer to her, moving her so that she was almost sitting on his lap; and took charge of the bike. He turned on the engine; roaring it to life, and immediately send the bike roaring through the night. Brooklyn rested his face on her shoulder; as she held onto his upper thighs to keep her steady on the bike. The winter wind seemed to cut through her clothes, but as she was against him, all she could feel was his warm body against hers. She closed her eyes while he drove them through out the night, and relished in this moment. More than once, she felt Brooklyn lips gently caress on her neck, before he was nuzzled his face against hers, resting on her shoulder, holding her waist tightly with one arm, while he drove with his free claw.

"What about the mess we left?" Rose suddenly yelled in his ear, so he could hear her.

"Eh, don't worry about it." He yelled back. "I'll come back and clean it up later."

She smiled at him, as he continued to drive through the night and was excited for their next destination. She also was incredibly relieved that tonight hadn't been ruined by her past, and that Brooklyn loved her enough to see past her scars; and love her for who she was, not for what happened to her. His love and acceptance for who she was, made her fall in love with him, all over again; with a more passionate fire of love.

Something she could barely contain.

---

They drove quickly through the night; and Rose leaned her head back against his collarbone, absolutely loving the fact that they were together and that she was outside in the fresh air. Nothing was more enjoyable to her than being with him; especially on his motorcycle. They drove in relative silence to the garage, under Xanatos' building, and began to converse with each other again now that they could hear each other over the roar of the engine.

When he parked the bike, safely inside the garage, they stepped off and Rose watched Brooklyn remove his leather jacket, helmet and aviator sunglasses. Rose took a deep breath as she watched every muscle move in his abdomen, chest and arms as he shed the jacket. He lifted his arms up; allowing his long wings to set themselves free and rest naturally behind him on his back, and felt her desire for him increase ten-fold. When he set the clothing under the bike seat, he slowly looked up at her and smiled gently.

"What are you looking at, my love?"

"You." She replied, almost breathlessly. "You're one sexy-beast."

He snorted in laughter and stepped closer to her, his eyes blazing with passion.

"Yeah?" He asked her, moving his talons to gently take off her helmet. She smiled at him, when he took it off her head, and she shook her long hair out; letting it fall all around her face.

This time, it was his turn to admire her beauty, and it seemed to take his breath away. He put the helmet to the side, gently cupped her face in his claws, and straddled the bike right in front of her. Rose naturally slid into him, easing her pelvis to sit over his, and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest into his. As he stared at her, his face was dead serious.

"I'm nowhere near as sexy or as beautiful as you are." He whispered, holding her tightly against him.

She closed her eyes, moaning slightly, and kissed him deeply, pressing herself deeper onto him, wanting and needing to feel closer to him. To her delight, he responded as such, and massaged his claws over her back, along her legs and pressing her backside into his pelvis, kissing her soundly and deeply. She giggled at him, pulled back, and then gazed deeply into his eyes.

"I thought you said we should hurry from this point forward?" She teased him, holding onto him tighter.

"That I did." He said, standing up suddenly, keeping her straddled against him. "Let's get going my love"

He walked them out of the garage, closing the side doors behind them, and Brooklyn immediately took to climbing up the side of the building. Rose instantly clung tighter to him, holding onto him with her arms and legs, as gravity pulled on them the higher up they got. Cold, winter air blew her long red hair around her face, but she didn't dare move her arms to adjust it, as she didn't want to fall. Brooklyn was a quick climber and used his leg and arm muscles beautifully. As he climbed in silence, she knew he would need to get pretty far up in order to get enough wind current to fly them towards their next destination. She decided to bring up a conversation to help ease away the hurtful and hard conversation in which they had earlier.

"So, " she said to him, ignoring the fact they were high above the ground now. "Aren't you going to say that you're proud of me?"

"I always am, my love. But be more specific please? What for?" He asked lightly, still slamming his talons into the side of the concrete with general ease.

"I thought you would be happy that I didn't take any unnecessary risks tonight or tomorrow? Aren't you proud of me that I didn't go outside with Emily and get my wedding dress? I wasn't going to be reckless. Thus any potential disaster has been avoided..."

Brooklyn exhaled deeply, snorting with laughter as he continued to climb, with her straddled to his front.

"Yes. I am happy that you are safe; I'm always happy and thankful for that. I just wish that you didn't have to sacrifice what you want to do to stay hidden from.. him. You should be able to go out with your best friend and prepare some things for our wedding night without worrying about if your crazy, abusive ex-husband is going to find and kill you.

"Ohhh, come on now." She replied sarcastically, keeping her tone light and teasing. "Where's your sense of fun? What's life without a little drama, a little bit of danger? It makes it interesting, keeps us on our toes, ya know?"

Brooklyn's eyes bore into hers, as he immediately showed his reaction to her dry-sarcastic humor. She thought that she had perhaps pushed her luck too soon with him; but was surprised when he suddenly teased, dryly, still climbing the building.

"I think our Gargoyle-Human relationship is enough to keep things interesting, don't you think? Surely, we don't need to throw a psychotic serial killer into the mix?"

"Darn it." Rose replied with a sigh, almost as sarcastically. "I was hoping to keep that danger alive… Oh well, what about Gargoyle hunters, then? They sounds like fun."

"Denied." Brooklyn bantered immediately back at her, beginning to smile slightly.

"No Gargoyle hunters?" Rose asked him, with a fake sense of disappointment. "What? Well what the heck do you wanna do to keep our lives on the brink of mortal danger?"

"I've always wanted a fire-breathing dragon," Brooklyn responded, playing her game. "They are hot-tempered, untamed, and… ya know… eat anything they wish, once they burn you to a crispy critter."

Rose nodded seriously at him, keeping up the facade of teasing, and said; "Hmm… that sounds promising. Where could we find one?"

"Well," Brooklyn said, smiling brightly at her now, with loving eyes. "We would have to go into the third world of Avalon- where all the wizards, elves and other magical/mythological creatures live; there might be some around there."

"Okay." Rose smiled back at him. "I've always wanted to be a fire-breathing dragon owner- perhaps he could burn Kevin to death for us. That would be so helpful."

Brooklyn started laughing now and said, "I would be a very proud daddy."

Rose grinned at him, laughing too, and rested her forehead against his shoulder, holding on tightly to him. At this point, Brooklyn had managed to climb half-way up the Eyrie building, and they were up high enough to get a decent amount of wind currents to glide. Brooklyn stopped climbing, spread his long wings out, and then jumped off the side, instantly catching the cold current with his wings. Within the same motion, he grabbed onto her, and moved her body over so that she was in the bridal carry; within his arms. He held her tenderly against him, as they flew, and she smiled up at him; her long hair blowing around her face.

"What should we name our fire-breathing dragon?" Rose asked him quietly. "Our dragon has to have a name."

Brooklyn thought for a moment, and stayed quiet for a few moments, so much so; Rose thought that he was done playing around with her. However; after a few minutes he finally replied.

"How about Nashville? To kind of go along with my name, being from a City? You and I both love music; and Nashville, Tennessee is what is called the, 'Music Capital of the World,' or so I've read in a couple of magazines and books." He paused, and then gazed down into her bright eyes and smiled lovingly down at her. "What do you think of that?"

As Brooklyn said that out loud; they both felt the familiar shot of energy flow through them- connecting them even more. For some reason, Rose felt a sense of familiarity- though she didn't know what was so familiar about that name. Brooklyn seemed to feel the same thing as her as they searched each other's eyes. Rose gently brought her hand up to his face and trailed it thoughtfully and lovingly.

"I love it." Rose whispered seriously, searching his eyes meaningfully. "I don't know why… but that name sounds so… familiar to me."

"Yeah, me too." Brooklyn answered her. "As we are making up a fake-name for our fake- dragon, it just came super natural to me."

Rose blinked a few times and smiled mischievously up at him again; the moment lost.

"Hey now! This is not going to be a fake dragon. We're going to make it happen. You said whatever I want, you'll give me." She teased. "I love the name Nashville for it, if it's a male. We could nickname it Gnash; if we wanted."

Brooklyn stayed quiet, as though he was thinking deeply about something. Seeing this, she continued to speak, knowing he would share what he was thinking with her, when he was ready. She was going to push him or try to read his mind.

"What about if it's a female dragon?" She asked him, casually. " What name should we name it?"

Brooklyn rolled his eyes at her, but kept his playful smile on his face.

"Whatever you want, I suppose. This is your fake-real-fake dragon baby; child... pet thing." He said sarcastically. "You can name it if it's a female."

Rose grinned up at him, laughing slightly, and then thought for a moment about girl names she liked. It had to be something fitting for a dragon; something tough and firy almost. However; another electrified sensation shot through both of them and one name came clear to her mind. Rose blinked, gazed up into Brooklyn's eyes with sudden questioning as this name floated naturally into her mind, as the name Nashville did into his.

"Destiny." Rose said quietly. "Like our love and connection."

Brooklyn stayed quiet, as Rose thought hard about what she was feeling all the sudden. For some reason, she had a fleeting thought about the images of children, herself and Brooklyn had once seen; and she felt for sure, those children in those visions were Nashville or Destiny.

She took a deep breath, blinked the images away, and ignored it for the moment. She didn't know why she felt such a connection to those names, all the sudden, but it unnerved her slightly. She blinked a few times, cleared her throat and decided to keep distracting Brooklyn and herself with their 'fake' dragon baby...pet.. Thing.

They kept gliding through the winter air; and Rose noticed that Brooklyn was guiding them towards downtown Manhattan, near Times Square, and instantly she knew what they were wanting to do. They wanted to be apart of the New Year, traditional, 'ball' dropping ceremony and be a part of the hype. She smiled at herself, wanting to keep talking to him.

"Well, until we can go to Avalon to pick up our new deadly child to keep up our dangerous life. Until then, maybe you and I can join a gang. Get in with a motorcycle gang, perhaps. You had good luck with one once." Rose teased, hardly able to get through it without laughing. She looked up at Brooklyn with wide eyes, laughing as he laughed. He seemed floored that she was teasing about his bad night, a few years back.

"What is wrong with you?" Brooklyn laughed. "Are you trying to push my buttons? Get a reaction from me?"

"Absolutely not." Rose grinned devilishly at him, tossing her long hair off from her shoulders as it blew in the wind, throwing him a sexy look. "I have other ways of getting a reaction from you."

Brooklyn raised his eyebrows at her and started laughing once again.

"Hmm…" He mused, holding her close to him now. "Please do demonstrate."

She grinned mischievously at him, and then teased. "Sorry, but I will not demonstrate anything, hundreds of feet in the air."

He smiled down at her, holding her close, and then answered her. "I would never drop you. That's actually how most Gargoyles begin their mating, is in the air."

Rose stared into his eyes and half-expected him to start laughing; however, when he didn't, she gasped in shock.

"You're not kidding are you?" She gaped at him.

"Nope." He grinned down at her. "Call it a foreplay thing, if you wish. But we are more than capable of it up in the air; before things settle down to the ground."

"Yes… where all things should occur." Rose said, still shocked to learn that piece of information from him. He laughed at her and kissed her forehead.

"Don't worry, my love." He said softly. "I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable, remember?"

"Good." She said, holding onto him tighter. "Because that would actually be something I would freak out about."

"What?" He asked. "Beginning mating foreplay in the air?"

"Yup." She responded. "Though I feel safe with you; that's a little above my comfort level."

"I thought you wanted to live in the danger zone?" He teased her, grinning. "You wanna own a fire-breathing dragon, but don't want to participate in something completely natural for a Gargoyle?"

Rose stayed quiet for once, as he caught her off guard. She kept quiet for a few seconds, deliberating his argument, and then finally looked up into his face.

"Okay." She replied gently. "I'll try it with you."

"What?" He asked her, completely taken back, looking down at her face with shock. "R-really? Babe, I was totally kidding; I know how much you hate heights…"

"But it's a part of who you are as a Gargoyle." Rose said quietly and sincerely. "When we get married, we will be uniting both of our worlds together. Our habits, our cultural differences… and… because I love and trust you; who's to say that I can't try to compromise with you? As you have with me?"

Now it was his turn to stay quiet; as they glided above the beautiful City. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words, before he finally whispered, "You're amazing… you do realize this, right? I never would have mentioned this to you; but I can't believe you'd be willing to try that with me."

"Of course." She replied, smiling up at him. "You're my fiance; and soon to be husband and mate. It's what we do for the ones we love."

Smiling down at her; he pressed his lips against her forehead, and sighed a hot breath against her skin.

"I love you…"

"I love you, too." She replied, kissing him gently on his cheek. They continued to glide through the night air, and were beginning a descent towards Times Square, like Rose had guessed.

"Times Square?" She asked him, grinning up at him.

"What gave it away?" He teased her as they got closer and closer to the skyscrapers. She hadn't flown with Brooklyn for quite some time, and the exhilaration was something she absolutely loved and missed. There was just something about gliding above New York City with her lover Gargoyle which made her extremely happy.

She couldn't believe that she didn't care for New York when she first moved here; and now there wasn't any other place to her that felt like home. Brooklyn held onto her tightly as they flew above the busy streets below. New Year's was one of the busier Holidays for New York City and thousands of people stayed up to go to Times Square, as well as the National News Crews, Celebrities, and other guests. Rose could see a nice spot on top of Times Square building, where the other Gargoyle couples were lounging. They had brought a few chairs, snacks, had glow in the dark jewelry around their wrists, necks and ankles.

Rose grinned brightly at the couples as Brooklyn landed softly on top of the building. The moment he placed her on her feet, Angela, Akira, Broadway and Lexington all came rushing towards her. Angela and Akira reached her first, squealing happily and wrapped each other in one giant hug, laughing.

"Rose!" Angela and Akira both cried out, holding onto her tightly.

"Hi, you guys!" Rose said smiling brightly.

"Rose!" Lexington yelled out excitedly rushing forward to also hold onto her; while Broadway came over and wrapped his large and strong arms around the entire ball of Gargoyles with Rose stuck in the middle. Everyone cried out, as Broadway squished everyone together and lifted them all a few inches off the concrete floor.

"Broadway, you're squishing us!" Rose gasped from inside the circle. Instantly, he let everyone go; and all the couples backed away to give her space. Rose held onto her chest and took a deep breath, but smiled at everyone.

"I've missed you guys so much!" Rose exclaimed, as Brooklyn stepped forward and placed his claws on her shoulders.

"We've missed you too!" Akira said happily, taking her hands in her small claws. "The Castle hasn't been the same without you there with us. How have you been?"

"I'm good, I had a rough couple of days, but things are finally starting to look up." She responded, looking at all of their smiling faces and then lovingly up to Brooklyn, who smiled down at her. After one loving look at each other; Rose turned her attention back to the couples and then asked, "How have you guys been?"

"We're good!" Lexington answered. "Same old same old around our parts of town. We've been searching almost every night for Kevin, though- sorry to say that hasn't been quite as successful as we'd hope, but we're still trying."

Rose smiled at him, hating that his name was brought up again. Brooklyn even froze slightly behind her; as it was still a tender topic. Shaking it off, she stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder, smiling brightly at him.

"You guys are doing great; I'm so thankful for you all and what you've been sacrificing."

Angela suddenly stepped forward and pulled her into a large hug once again, one of which Rose returned. Rose could feel her strong stomach protruding slightly; which made Rose pull back and look down. Rose's eyes widened happily as Angela smiled happily at her. Angela was already beginning to show a slight bump on her abdomen; and had changed into a one-piece outfit once again to help her keep her changing body modest.

"Rose," Angela said softly. "I wanted to apologize again for how I treated you before you left. I'm so thankful you are alright and that you are my sister."

Rose smiled brightly back at her and said, "Thank you, Angela. You've already apologized to me though- and I have forgiven you. But… that's old news! Girl- you're already showing? How is that possible?"

"Gargoyles only are pregnant with the eggs for six-months, before we deliver them." Angela explained to her smiling, as Broadway came up and placed his claws on her shoulders. "The eggs then harden and continue to develop for another six-months after delivery. So, over one year's time, the eggs hatch and we'll have a hatchling here soon."

Rose smiled at the two of them and said, "I'm so happy for you both, truly. This is such a wonderful addition to the Clan."

Angela placed her arm over Rose's shoulders and guided her over to the edge of the tall Times Square building in which they were standing on, and said, "Thank you. We are very excited as well. But, we are so happy that you could make it tonight! How was your guys' romantic date?"

Again, Brooklyn looked as if he was about to tell them the truth, that it went well in the beginning but then sort of fell apart at the end. However; Rose answered her, so Brooklyn didn't have to.

"It was wonderful!" She responded sincerely. "The food was delicious! My compliments to the head chef… It was a very romantic and lovely dinner."

She grinned over at Broadway and winked at him.

"No problem!" Broadway said, smiling brightly at her. "Brooklyn won't ever tell you this, but I've taught him almost everything he'll ever know!"

Instantly, Brooklyn reacted and scoffed at him.

"Yeah, right." He teased. "It's more like the other way around. But you keep telling yourself that, if you need."

Rose laughed at their usual light teasings with each other, and let Angela and Akira take her over to their comfortable set up, where they had glow jewelry ready for her and Brooklyn to put on. The argument between the two males stopped, when Lexington excitedly, exclaimed, "It's almost time!"

Akira walked over to Rose and placed a few glow-in-the dark plastic jewelry on her wrists and over her neck, to wear as a necklace, and overlooked the party below. Brooklyn put his own glow-in-the dark jewelry on and then came to sit by her. Everyone talked and caught up for a good couple of minutes before they were down to thirty seconds on the countdown clock for the 1997 New Year to begin.

"Look!" Lexington shouted out, pointing as the ceremonial ball was preparing to drop and open up. Neon lights were going crazy; lighting up the area around them, as if they had suddenly stepped inside an active clubhouse. "It's starting!"

Everyone gathered around and watched in awe, gasping as they were getting ready to ring in the New Year. Rose had never felt more exhilarated than she did right now, with her standing up on the rooftop of the Times Square building, being right above the action, to the people's roars of excitement. She laughed out loud and turned toward Brooklyn who was laughing and smiling just as much. There was a large digital clock, being screened up on a nearby skyscraper, so they could watch and count down with the world clock.

Rose could hear an announcer from down below yell, "Allll right, New York City! The Countdown is on! 10-9…"

"8-7-6" Angela and Broadway yelled out together, as Akira and Lexington yelled, "5-4-3.."

"2-1…" Brooklyn yelled; and everyone, all together screamed, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Rose laughed out loud, whooping and hollering, as the large ball dropped it's paper continents out on the streets below; at the same time fireworks blasted through the streets; igniting the sky all around them with large flashes and thunderous booms. Rose couldn't believe the celebration chaos all over them; and turned just in time to see that all the Gargoyle couples were kissing each other. Before she could turn herself to face her love, Brooklyn suddenly grabbed onto her arms, and turned her to gently face him.

As the fireworks were going off, he wrapped his wings around her, cupped her face in his claws and pressed his lips passionately against hers. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck; kissing him as the New Year began.

If Rose could have placed some romantic ethereal music behind their scene, it would have been a movie-making perfection, as her and Brooklyn kissed. There was so much noise, light and chaos going on around them; but the moment their lips touched, it all faded into the background. All she could feel, hear and see was just herself and Brooklyn. Their connections flowed warmly through them both; and for some reason, this kiss seemed to be much different than all the others. It was slower, not as rushed, but it was intensely deep. Everytime their lips moved against each other, Brooklyn would pull away ever so slightly; just to claim her lips again.

Their heartbeats connected and synchronized with each other, as their chests were pressed securely together. Since they were in his wings, Brooklyn gently moved his claws from holding the back of her head, down to her legs; where he effortlessly picked her up, so that her legs could straddle his waist.

She instantly wrapped her legs around him, as he held onto her backside, and ran her hands over his face, as she continued to kiss him. They continued to kiss passionately for what felt like an eternity; before they both broke apart, and as suddenly as they did that; and opened their eyes, the explosion of lights and firework's booms were still erupting all around them.

Rose gazed down into Brooklyn's dark eyes and could see and feel his love for her; as he could feel and see hers for him. A soft, but icy wind flew past them just then, moving some of Rose's long hair across her face and into Brooklyn's. He released her legs allowing her slide sensually down his body to touch the ground with her feet once again, their eyes never leaving each other's gazes. Brooklyn smiled at her, raised one claw to her face and gently moved her long blowing hair away from her face.

"Happy New Year, my angel." He whispered, despite the thunderous booms of the fireworks around them.

"Happy New Year, my love." Rose replied, holding Brooklyn's face in her hands.

Brooklyn smiled back down at her, gazing at her exactly how she loved for him to do so; as if she was the only woman he had ever laid eyes on and was madly in love with. He held onto her body and brought his lips back down to hers, kissing her deeply, sensually and with great meaning. He caressed her skin as he did so, on her back, and then on her face. His right claw lightly skimmed over her face, and rested just under her jaw and held onto the sides of her neck; as he continued to kiss her.

Rose slid her hands across his muscular and rock-hard abdomen, loving the feeling of his muscles under her hands. She kept moving her hands to his back, and slid them up towards his shoulders, where she then pressed herself against his body. Time seemed to be standing still as they continued to kiss deeply and sensationally, until Lexington suddenly said, "Um… are you guys ever going to stop?"

Rose smiled against Brooklyn's lips, and started to chuckle. She had completely forgotten that the others were there; as that was one of the best kisses in which she and Brooklyn had ever had before. She didn't know what was so different about it, but she hoped that she felt those amazing sensations every time after this embrace.

Brooklyn opened his eyes and was peering down into her eyes, and seemed to be thinking the same thing she was. When he pulled his face away from hers, and faced his brothers; he still kept Rose tightly held against him.

Broadway and Lexington were looking at them with wide-eyes; as the girls were trying hard not to laugh. Rose bit her lip and hid her face from them, as she started to blush and laugh at the same time.

"You guys need to get yourself a room." Broadway suddenly said, putting his arms around Angela's protruding waist, holding onto her. "I mean, we've all been there, but dang- your guys' mating pheromones are all over the place here."

Rose gaped open her mouth and looked over at Broadway now, completely shocked. She gasped out a laugh; as Brooklyn kept his glaring eyes upon his brother and then snapped slightly, "Thanks for that."

"Just pointing out the obvious." Broadway said lightly shrugging. "You guys have been making out for at least five-minutes."

Rose didn't realize they had been kissing for that long, and luckily they hadn't been making out, just kissing deeply. Rose smiled shyly at everyone and then laughed.

"Um…sorry guys. Happy New Year, everyone."

"Happy New Year, Rose and Brooklyn." Broadway, Angela, Akira, and Lexington all said back to her.

With that, everyone walked over to the blankets they had laid out on the cement ground; since the fireworks were blasting right on top of them. Rose turned to Brooklyn, who held out his claw to her, beckoning her forward to him. With a small smile, she stepped forward, took it and let him lead her over to her spot on the blankets to watch the show of fireworks right above them.

He tenderly scooped her up into his wings, laid down on his back, and let her snuggle up against his body for warmth. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and listened to the soft beating of his heart. All of the couples ooh-ed and awed at the firework show right above them; but Rose turned her face upward to look at Brooklyn's face.

He was also gazing down at her, as though the only thing he wanted to look at was her. She smiled lovingly up at him as he grinned and slowly brought his lips down to hers. Their kiss didn't have the same intensity as the one during midnight; but it was still amazing to them both. Rose's lips were soft against Brooklyn's and they kissed tenderly and slowly, reveling in the moment they had with each other.

"I love you so much." Brooklyn whispered against her lips, lightly stroking her back, arms and face with his claws.

Rose smiled against his lips and hummed her response as if she didn't want him to stop. He chuckled against her lips and then began their same slow, passionate, deep kissing; but only for a few moments.

When he stopped, he took a deep breath, and turned his face upwards to look at the firework show right on top of them, pulling Rose next to his body; holding her tenderly. She ran her fingers up and down his abdomen, watching the fireworks as well. She glanced up at Brooklyn, as he looked down upon her face.

"We are one step closer to being together forever." Rose whispered to smiled lovingly at her, kissed her forehead and then whispered.

"Yes. One step closer, my love."

---

Across town, in a more industrial part of Manhattan, Kevin sat outside by Castaway's boats at the docks; watching the Manhattan skyline blow up with fireworks. He stood with his arms across his chest, feeling dead inside; with nothing but the fire of vengeance and hatred in his heart. It was now a new year; and more than ever he actually missed Rose and wanted her back in his life, which angered him more. He was now starting a new year without her in his life; and he had to wait until more merchandise was delivered to Castaway before they were planning to attack Xanatos' building, specifically the Castle.

The more he thought about his wife; the more he felt himself going more insane and mad with grief and hatred. The icy water was splashing Castaway's boats quietly as he eyed the tall Eyrie Building without blinking. He couldn't stop thinking about Rose and what she was doing up in that Castle, and how lucky she had gotten. She escaped him the night of his business gala three months ago; and apparently had gotten into contact with the billionaire and the Gargoyle monsters, who were now vigilantly protecting her- and the red-one, Brooklyn; was in a romantic relationship with her.

He set his strong jaw firmly and narrowed his eyes at the thought of that. It was too strange to him, too evil, too much of a betrayal. His wife couldn't be so stupid to leave him for a winged- monster. Her betrayal of him had awakened the demons within his life, he was nothing but an empty shell now. Though he desired to kill her; he only wanted her back in his arms at this particular moment, then he would see what would happen once he got his strong hands around her smooth and beautiful neck.

He was alone, standing outside, staring at the Eyrie Building when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him. He blinked a few times and turned his eyes to look at the approaching figure from his peripheral view. Castaway walked up to Kevin and stood next to him, also crossing his arms across his chest and stayed silent for a few moments before saying, "I've got some good news for you."

"What is it?" Kevin asked him, still not breaking his gaze from the Castle.

"Our machinery is going to arrive one week earlier than we were originally thinking… I would say by the end of this week; we will have all the weapons we need, and then we can infiltrate the Castle, seize Xanatos' defenses and eliminate the Gargoyles and your wife once and for all."

Kevin blinked again and finally broke his gaze away from the Castle, to look into Castaway's face. The Quarrymen's leader was dressed in his usual business suit; and his blonde hair and thin mustache looked to be a silver-color in the darkness.

Kevin smiled darkly at him, and then growled, "Excellent."

"The plan is put into place; everyone knows where they will be stationed, and what is going to happen." Castaway explained smoothly. "We are going to first seize the Castle down during the daytime; get Xanatos out of the way, and then we will cuff up the Gargoyles. You've convinced me to keep them alive until they shed their stone skin- I want them to see how much trouble they are in- and then, I want to pick them off one-by-one, leaving Goliath for last. He is their leader and thus gets to suffer the most."

"I don't care what you do to the other monsters, just leave the red-one to me. That's the one who has taken a liking for my wife; and for that he will pay; and suffer under my hands. I want him to watch me kill her slowly. I want him to suffer as much as I am right now." Kevin said in a soft and deadly voice.

Castaway chuckled slightly and then said, "Fine. The red-one is all yours; and we will be behind to support you in killing him. If what you say is true; then that is a great evil in which needs to be wiped off the face of this Earth."

When Kevin did not respond to him, Castaway nodded and turned away from him, walking away. Terry and Bones; who he had assigned to work with Kevin were standing at the doors of the dock house,and were watching Castaway speak to Kevin, or who they called, "The Psycho." When Castaway was out of Kevin's ear shot, he stopped and leaned into Bones and Terry and whispered, "When we eliminate the Gargoyles and our work is done… I want you both to kill him; he is much too unstable to keep alive; and knows too much about us."

Bones and Terry looked at each other, and then Terry responded with a smile, "You've got it boss. Your wish is our command."

"Good." Castaway smiled evilly at them, and laughing lightly. "It's going to be a great year, I can just feel it."

He turned to walk away from the two men when one of his spy henchmen came walking up to him, with a dark smile on his face. The man, by the name of Marcus, walked towards Castaway holding what looked like photographs in his gloved hands. Marcus was Hispanic and had a long goatee on his face.

"Ah, Marcus." Castaway greeted him. "What do you have for me?"

"Even better news, I'm happy to report." He said in his broken English. "Myself, and the other scouts have been out following the whereabouts of all the Gargoyles, as you've instructed us… and we found have interesting evidence to share with you and with Mr. Morrison."

With the sound of his name, Kevin turned away from staring up at the Castle and glared at the Quarrymen spy. Out of the men he's met, he appreciated the man's keen mind, spy tactics, and blood-lust. He stepped towards him, as Castaway raised his eyebrows.

"Interesting, how?" Castaway asked him curiously.

"See for yourself." Marcus said, handing Castaway the photographs in his hand. Kevin looked over Castaway's shoulder; and something was instantly sparked to life inside of him. The photographs were photos of the red-Gargoyle, Brooklyn, gliding to and from a building, in which Kevin had never seen before.

"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" Kevin asked the spy slowly. "This is the red-Gargoyle that is most protective over my wife… what's this got to do with anything? Gargoyles are always flying around this City at night."

Marcus smiled darkly at Kevin, stepped forward and then explained, "We've been watching the Castle still- and all the Gargoyles are either leaving from there or returning back… but there hasn't been a sign of your wife in weeks."

Kevin's eyes narrowed at Marcus and felt himself coming to life again.

"Go on…" He drawled at Marcus.

"The red-Gargoyle has been travelling to this building, once at the beginning of the night; and once tonight. We were interested by it; so we investigated. This building used to belong to Cyberbiotics- a Robotics Company- and was their underground research facility. Now it is swarming with Homeless people, and seems to be a 'safe have' of some sorts. We've seen a few come in and out of it. More interesting fact about it though, is that it is heavily guarded, with iron bars and two sets of codes."

"Get to the point, Marcus." Castaway said patiently, but with an air of danger.

"Ever since Mr. Morrison's attack on the Castle; we've seen more security measures placed upon the Eyrie Building and uptop the Castle… so we've had a thought." Marcus explained, finally getting to the point with a dark smile. "We've seen… other Gargoyles- ones we've never seen before- come out of there as well. I have strong reason to believe that there are more Gargoyles here in Manhattan than that of Goliath's Clan…and that they live down in that research facility."

"Interesting…" Castaway said, thinking deeply.

"So?" Kevin snapped. "What the hell do we care about them?"

"We've seen the red one glide in and out of that place, which gives me suspicions that they have placed your wife down there, to be protected in another heavily guarded place." Marcus explained, grinning nastily at him. Castaway blinked a few times, while Kevin looked down at the pictures again, the spy's words sinking slowly into his soul like hot tar.

"So…" He whispered more to himself than to anyone else. "You're saying the red-Gargoyle has moved Rose from the Castle… to protect her from me?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Marcus said, smiling evilly. "And I think they did it the night Bones and Terry was taken down by the red-one."

When Kevin stared up at him with empty eyes, as Marcus turned his attention to Castaway and continued, "Sir. I believe we should split this attack up. I have physically seen Gargoyles, not of Goliath's Clan down there. I suggest that we take our weapons and attack both places at once. If we do not; I believe that the Clan down in the research lab, will surely come to Goliath's aid and we very well may get outnumbered quickly."

"A whole new Clan?" Castaway mused to himself, holding his chin with his hands. "Impossible. There is only one Female that I've seen in Goliath's Clan, and she's never been pregnant; and hasn't always been a part of his Clan… so how could these monsters reproduce that quickly?"

"I do not think they are reproductions of Goliath's Clan." Marcus said. "They are all adult Gargoyles and look to be more feline-based, much different than the Gargoyles' physical traits. One has a body of a Panther- and I think he's the leader of this new Clan."

"Very well, Marcus." Castaway said darkly. "If there are more Gargoyles, than what we've seen in Goliath's Clan, then our way forward is clear. We must exterminate all of them, at the same time. You're right- we will split our forces up. One will attack the research facility; while we attack the Castle, all before sunset."

"I'll take the research facility." Kevin suddenly said, crumbling up the photo of Brooklyn up into his fists. "If my wife is there, I will deal with those monsters for you and then will kidnap my wife… I will then rendezvous with you at the Castle. I will exterminate my wife in front of the Gargoyles… and you may have all of them for yourself, Castaway. But the red-one is mine."

Castaway smiled evilly at Kevin and then at Marcus, "Sounds like a plan to me. Our new weapons will be here soon, so during this time, we shall make preparations and then we will strike them all down and will finally kill them all… Marcus... " He turned to Marcus now and smiled at him. "Good work, I'm pleased with this information. I have one more assignment for you, and this will also prove useful for Kevin."

"Anything you need, I'll do sir..." Marcus said, standing at attention.

"Pose as a homeless man," Castaway told him, placing his hands upon his shoulders. "On the night before our attack, enter the research facility; scope every entrance, exit, loopholes… everything we may need for our strategic strike."

"It shall be done, sir." He smiled up at Castaway with dark eyes.

"Marcus," Kevin said suddenly, stepping closer to him. "While you are there, locate my wife… and make sure she is there. Talk to her, befriend her if you can, and then place this somewhere on her body. That way I can have my eyes on her at all times."

He placed a small GPS device in Marcus' hand, which looked a lot like a small battery head. Marcus looked down at it and then smiled up at Kevin.

"Easy enough." Marcus said, grasping the device in his fists.

"Very good," Kevin smiled evilly at him. "We are now one step closer to victory; and my vengeance."

"Our vengeance." Castaway corrected him, grinning maliciously. "This victory will be a glorious one, ridding ourselves of the Gargoyle's filth…"

He paused and then looked from Marcus, Kevin, to Bones and Terry.

"Alright," Castaway said more business-like. "Enough chat. We all have work to do, let's get going. Happy New Year everyone… I have a feeling it's going to be a good one."

He walked away, placing a hand on Marcus' shoulder as Kevin slowly turned back to face the Manhattan skyline. Marcus, the spy, had brought a new fire into his soul- a sense of hope. It made perfect sense that the Gargoyles would hide her from him, but like he always promised her, he would always find her.

"Ho-oh," He mused to himself, grinning evilly. "I know where you are, Rose. And I'm coming' for ya baby… I'm coming… "