The early morning sun's light filtered through the blinds, shining directly upon Akali and successfully awakening her. She rose from her bed, still remembering the sensation that someone was watching her intently. Usually, she would've worried, but her stalker hadn't yet done anything to make his presence known; perhaps the stalker didn't know that Akali was aware of his existence. Until the creeper made his move, she would continue to enjoy her time with Zevach.
Oh no. It suddenly occurred to Akali that her rather short vacation was coming to an end. It had been weeks since she had last talked to Kennen or Shen. Perhaps she would give them a call later to see how they were faring.
Little did she know that they would come to her.
An erratic array of knocks disturbed Akali from her work with cleaning and tidying the house.
"Zevach! Would you open the door for me?!" she called out, and soon after, she heard the door swing open. Akali continued to finish up the bathroom until she realized that Zevach hadn't called her down yet. She tried her best not to shout his name with alarm as she raced out to the front door, only to wish she had stayed in the bathroom. Her face grew even paler as she saw both Shen and Kennen sitting on her couch silently across from Zevach, who immediately shot her a panicked look upon her entrance. Shen and Kennen also stared at Akali, then Zevach, then back at Akali with questioning looks.
Akali tried her best to mask her inward panic by plastering on a bright smile and tried to engage them in a friendly conversation. Ignoring Shen and his misguided distrust for Zevach, she spoke anyway.
"So," she began awkwardly, "what were you guys discussing before I interrupted?" She didn't need them to reply because the three steely glares she received told her everything.
"May I speak with you in private?" Shen's steely voice cut in.
Despite her inner instinct screaming for her to say no, she said, "Sure. Let's go to the kitchen." Akali prayed silently that Zevach would be fine alone with the little ball of energy that was Kennen.
"Is there something you'd like to discuss with me?" Akali said sweetly, memories of the disastrous phone call she had with Shen a week ago resurfacing.
"Is that the man you took under your wing?" His passive expression made it hard to judge whether he was still peeved by the whole "bring a bleeding stranger with amnesia home" situation, and needless to say, Akali barely managed to suppress the tremors that threatened to make their presences known.
"Yes?" she said in a questioning tone, averting her gaze to the pleasantly startling sight of Zevach tossing Kennen into the air in a playful manner.
"What do you think of him?" she asked hesitantly. Was he still under the unwarranted assumption that Zevach was treacherous and dangerous?
Shen's prolonged silence successfully answered her question and frightened the living hell out of Akali, but she kept her eyes firmly glued to the scene before her.
"I don't quite trust his character. The way he carries himself, the way he speaks… it all seems familiar, and in a very bad way," came his answer. "There is something about him I do not particularly trust."
"You don't trust many people, Shen," Akali remarked a bit roughly, though she didn't particularly care. "If you're going to tell me to ask him to leave, your efforts are futile. I'm not letting him leave until I know it's safe for him."
"How do you know he's the one that needs the protection?"
"Are you seriously still on this topic?" Akali scoffed with incredulity. "I thought the fact that I'm currently standing here was enough proof that I was safe, but there's just no convincing you, is there?"
Shen's chest heaved with a sigh before picking an appealing spot on the floor to look at. "After I spoke with Kennen regarding your… living arrangements, he forced open my eyes and showed me that ultimately it is not my decision whether or not your friend ends up on the street, no matter how much I want him out of your house. It is not my place to decide what is best for you, especially since you can defend yourself. I can't protect you or Kennen from everything, so there is no point in trying to."
Akali turned to face Shen with her jaw dropped to the floor. "Are you apologizing to me, Shen?" she jested lightheartedly. "The great Eye of Twilight is apologizing, as in admitting he was wrong?"
"You don't have to rub it in my face." Shen pursed his lips into a pout, but Akali laughed at his defeat before giving him a half-hearted hug.
"Thank you Shen," she said over his shoulder. "I know how hard it is for you to trust people, but thank you for trusting me. I don't blame you for overreacting over the phone because I admit it was a rash decision to bring him home, but I'm still alive, and so is he. He fits in quite well, if I do say so myself." To add a little emphasis she pointed her head towards Zevach and Kennen, both of whom were laughing so hard about something that they fell to the ground.
As Akali released him, she felt the daggers of Zevach's glare pierce into the back of her skull. Upon turning around, she stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry, to which Zevach playfully glared at her.
"So how long have you guys been together?" Shen asked, interrupting their antics.
A chain of dramatic coughs left Akali breathless before she could let out a whispering scream. "What?! Why would you-" She didn't have a chance to finish before Shen cut her off.
"I see the way you two look at each other, and I know for a fact that your relationship is anything but platonic. And from the guilty expression in your eyes, I can tell my guess is correct."
Akali dipped her head lowly, confirming his beliefs. "Am I going to get another earful of how dangerous it is interacting with strangers?"
Expecting the worst, she was surprised when Shen replied, "No. It's been the longest time since I last saw your face light up like this. For once, you're happy and I will not be the criminal who takes away your happiness."
Shen's eyes practically popped out of their sockets as he was pulled in for another constricting embrace.
"Perhaps now would be a good time for you to formally introduce us." Akali curtly nodded in agreement as she led Shen into the living room to finally socialize with 'the stranger.'
Last day, Akali thought sadly, rising from her bed. It was nine in the morning, contrary to her usual 'waking up' time at eight.
Akali made her way downstairs, expecting to find Zevach drooling over the Nutella jars, but to her surprise, there was no one in the house but her.
"Zevach?" she called out, only to receive no reply. Her mind imagined any and every horrible thing that could potentially happen to him, but her worries melted away when she entered the kitchen to see a little note on the table addressed to her on top of a box.
A little something to compensate for everything. Be ready by five. At the bottom right hand corner, Zevach's name was scribbled in cursive. Delicately, she put the note back on the table and excitedly opened the box. A beautiful sleek black dress welcomed Akali as she grabbed it and laid it against her frame. She didn't need to try it on to know that it fit perfectly, and she didn't question how he knew her exact size, but there was one thing she couldn't figure out.
Where'd he get the money?
Akali made a seemingly wise decision to not dwell on the thought and zipped back to her room to assemble the perfect outfit, even though she hadn't the faintest idea of where Zevach was taking her.
At five o'clock sharp, Zevach arrived at her doorstep, where Akali herself, adorned in beautiful jewelry and light make up, was waiting.
"Wow," was all she could say as she let the breathtaking and drop dead gorgeous sight of Zevach in a refined suit sink into her mind. Her mind in that exact moment could not form coherent sentences much less words, but fortunately Zevach was also preoccupied with ogling Akali in her new dress. Akali took this time to put on her down coat to combat the cold temperatures of the city.
"Have you any idea of how beautiful you look?" he finally said after four minutes of just staring at her, and swiftly offered his arm to her, which Akali gladly accepted.
"Unfortunately, I was unable to find any mode of transportation to get us to the place we're going tonight, but it is within walking distance," Zevach informed her as she locked the door. "Do you mind?"
In response to his question, she peeked out a foot from under her long dress to reveal her most comfortable pair of booties. "I believe I am set for tonight," she mused.
They leisurely walked arm-in-arm into the bustling down town area. The lights from the restaurants seemed to light up the wintery skies of gray, and Akali's eyes closed with contentment to cherish the moment.
It was after Zevach suddenly stopped that Akali opened her eyes, nearly jumping from surprise and mirth. "You made reservations for 'La Vie En Rose'?!" she nearly screamed, unable to contain her excitement. "You are the best person ever." Without thinking, she leaned onto the tips of her toes and gave Zevach a kiss on the lips to which Zevach gladly returned.
Like a proper gentleman, Zevach took her by the hand and led her into the elegant and very famous French restaurant, which just so happened to be Akali's favorite restaurant. A young waiter greeted them politely and showed them to their table right next to the window of the second floor, giving a panoramic sight of the bright city.
After they had decided upon their three course meal, Zevach was attacked by an onslaught of questions.
"How did you pay for my dress and all of this?! How did you know that this is my favorite restaurant?! How did you..." Akali interrogated him like he was a criminal, but Zevach found the situation amusing.
"Let's just say that I have many things I owe to your dear friends, Shen and Kennen," he explained. "I asked if they would be willing to help me with this entire endeavor to repay you, and thankfully they agreed. Without them, we would not be here tonight." Raising his glass filled modestly with red wine to the ceiling, he toasted, "To your friends who helped me make this night dedicated to you happen." Akali was at a loss of words, so she followed Zevach's actions, raising her own glass and gently tapping the rims together.
"I cannot thank you enough for doing this for me," Akali said, silently thanking Shen and Kennen for their major contribution. "This is a great way to spend my last day of staying home," she exclaimed, right before their dinners were served.
The meals that she ordered included spaghetti, shank bourguignon, pot-au-feu, and chocolate soufflés, and Akali could safely say that it was one of the best meals that she had enjoyed.
An unfamiliar sensation of true elation settled in Akali, and it had stayed for the entire duration of the meal. Were her prayers and wishes of happiness finally granted?
She would soon come to realize that this was just the calm before the storm.
Somehow, the pair had managed to walk home unscathed after two bottles of wine. The glowing radiance from a slightly drunk Akali burned brighter than any moon could, at least from the eyes of Zevach.
"I enjoyed this evening with you, Zevach," her words becoming increasingly hard to understand after another as she tripped into her house.
"I did too." Zevach stripped off his winter jacket, helping a now violently hiccupping Akali with her own.
Both expected the inevitable silence (despite her hiccups) as they stumbled to her couch.
Akali gathered the parts of her mind that weren't drunk from the very strong wine to drawl out, "Thank you again."
It then occurred to Akali how strikingly attractive and sexy Zevach looked, with his slightly tinted cheeks, messy hair, and partly unbuttoned tux. In fact, if a month ago someone had told her that a mighty fine man with exhilarating red eyes would be sitting next to her on her couch, she'd have laughed and dismissed the notion.
The wine, which she decided was most definitely to blame for her following actions, made reality seem unreal, like she was dreaming. It was the fact that Akali had thought that she was in a dream that prompted her to state her exact thought, causing Zevach's cheeks to flush an even darker shade of red.
"You look very sexy." Words spilled out of Akali's mouth uncontrollably, but in her drunken state, she did not care that she was making a complete fool of herself. Akali observed the way Zevach's eyes screwed shut, before low feral groans ripped through his throat.
"You have no idea, do you?" The slight tilt in her head answered his question.
He flexed his pointer toward her, signaling Akali to come close enough so that he could speak in her ear.
"Do you know how long I've wished to just kiss you and never let you go? To just spend one day looking into your beautiful eyes and ignoring everything else in the world? To both physically and mentally show you that I love everything about you?"
Why couldn't she breathe?
"Each time I have these thoughts, I've had to restrain myself from actually taking action because I know you are not ready. It's only been a month, and I know it's unfair to expect you to be ready."
Oh yeah, because what was probably the most gorgeous man she had seen in her life had just admitted that he wanted to have sex with her. Akali blessed her sobering mind for choosing to sit on the couch because after that confession, Akali couldn't even sit up straight.
"What if..." Her voice trailed off shyly, her own mind not believing what she was going to say next. Zevach's eyebrows tilted up, encouraging her to finish her sentence.
"What if I am ready?" she stated boldly, willing her cheeks to not turn into a tomato red.
Zevach scoffed. "Then you are incredibly foolish to sleep with a man you only just met a month ago."
Her lips shaped into a disappointed frown because she knew he was right. She had just met the guy a few weeks ago for Heaven's sake! How could she even propose such an absurd idea?!
Her lips answered for her. "I don't care." The alcohol in her system had long since left due to the intensity of the moment, so Akali knew this was not drunken babble.
"What?" Zevach said disbelievingly.
"Even though we've only just met each other and have barely kissed, I feel like I know you," Akali confessed, "and it's very hard to explain, but this feels right."
An incredulous pair of eyes stared at her, like she was crazy, so she clambered off of the couch to escape the embarrassment.
"Never mind," Akali blurted out, turning her back to Zevach to escape the premises. "Sorry, I'm extremely- eek!" She let out a startled scream as she was pulled back onto Zevach's lap to face him. Something hard poked at her bottom, and her years as a nurse informed her what it was. The lust in his blood-red eyes made Akali gulp silently.
"If you do this, there's no going back." His message and need for her was clear in his stony voice.
"Am I stupid to say that I trust you?"
"Yes," he answered before crashing his lips against her own.
"He is ready."
Akali could barely breathe as all of Zevach overwhelmed her senses: the taste of the wine they had earlier, the touch of his fingers on her hips, the sounds of his animalistic growls. Akali didn't even notice that Zevach had brought them to her room because she was so busy with kissing every scar on his chiseled body. She loved his passion as he aggressively kissed her, and she didn't think she'd ever stop loving him as their tongues wrestled for dominance. Zevach continued to shed her dress off, followed by her under garments as he greedily nipped, sucked, and probed every crevice of her body like a man starved.
She remembered every detail of that night, like the ecstasy she experienced when his tongue slithered along her region, or the sharp but fleeting pain she felt as he entered her. She even laughed as she saw the shock on Zevach's face when he realized that she had given him her virginity. And after all the pain and pleasure she felt that Zevach caused had passed, Akali laid on her bed with Zevach's strong arms draped protectively over her naked form.
It was wise that she cherished every minute of her great time with Zevach, because the very next morning after that night of ardor, hell broke loose.
Ta-da! I've been writing consistently for at least two hours a day (though my chapters are still very short but I'm still working to improve on the length), just brainstorming what to write and how to write the new chapters. The chapters from here on out are going to be very eventful. ;) Honestly, I'm quite eager to write the new chapters, especially since there is an upcoming break from school (thank god).
Long A/N aside, hope you guys liked reading this chapter. Reviews are greatly appreciated. :)
Have a great sunshiny day! c;