A/N I decided I'll put out a new chapter every couple days. I'm just too impatient to wait a week between chapters. Our characters get to know each other a little more and Aimee sees that there really is a certain amount of risk when you're a Gargoyle.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Instantly Broadway and Lexington began peppering him with questions. "What's her name? Did you save her? What's she like?"
Angela piped up with interest. "What does she look like?"
Brooklyn laughed, "Hold on, I'll just start at the beginning." By now the music had stopped and people were slowly filing out of the outdoor concert as the set crew now began cleaning the stage.
He cleared his voice, "First off, her name's Aimee with and I and two E's…" he took his time with the story. He had to laugh when he mentioned that Aimee had heterochromia in her eyes because Lex, the know-it-all he was proudly boasted that he had taught him that. "And…she wants to see me again. Isn't that amazing?" Brooklyn could still not believe it.
Angela felt a tiny bit bad at being the voice of reason here but she was her father's daughter. "Brooklyn, I hope you don't mind me saying this but be careful okay? I know you've been hurt in the past and I just don't want to see you go through that again."
Brooklyn whirled around at Angela, he felt a flash of anger that she'd go ahead and bring up his painful past with women but he quickly squashed the feeling down. "It-it's not like that. I didn't think we'd automatically become a couple or anything, I just wanna get to know her better that's all." He was rethinking everything now. What if Angela was right? He had been hurt many times in the past. Could this girl be for real?
Angela's gaze softened, "Do not get defensive my friend, I only have your best interests at heart." She reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you are a good judge of character. You are Father's second-in-command after all."
He placed his hand on hers briefly, giving her a small smile. "Thanks, Angela. I know I've made some mistakes in the past but my gut is telling me she's okay. I think I can trust her."
Broadway gave him a wide grin. "Well I think it's great, buddy!" He jumped up on the beam and yawned, patting his round belly. "Well I don't know about you but I could definitely go for some food." He turned to his love and smiled. "Coming Angela?"
His mate smiled, "Yes my love, If you're cooking I'm definitely there." Brooklyn turned to his brother Lexington stood and stretched his arms up high, pulling his webbed wings with him.
"I should be getting back too, I gotta upload these videos from the concert." He flashed a grin at Brooklyn. "You comin' man?"
"Yeah, and guys? Please don't mention this to Goliath just yet…I wanna be the one to tell him." He said.
Broadway glanced uneasily from Lex back to Angela. "You sure about that? You know how he gets if you keep stuff like this from him for too long."
Brooklyn nodded resolutely, "Don't worry, I just wanna meet her one more time, then I'll tell everyone, I promise."
He sighed in relief as clan-mates agreed to keep this among themselves. The four of them glided back to the castle. Even Brooklyn had to admit he was feeling pretty hungry now. The promise of Broadway's cooking was the excellent end to an already great night.
The following evening as soon as the sun went down Brooklyn was intent on finishing his patrol as fast as possible so he could go see Aimee. I swear to God, if something comes up…he thought as Goliath was giving out the orders.
"And…Brooklyn, Lexington you both can patrol the upper west side." Goliath finished.
Yes! That's where she lived, wait, Lex is coming? "Uh, Goliath, I don't mean to question your leadership but are you sure I gotta take Lex with me? I can handle myself out there."
Lexington smirked, feeling no offense since he knew what his brother was up to. He couldn't help but tease him a bit. "Aw, but we haven't spent any time together lately. Don't you want the company?" he said, using his most hurt tone.
"Your brother is right, Brooklyn, besides I believe you'll fare better together than alone." Goliath placed his hands on his second-in-command's shoulders. "May your patrol go smoothly." He said, and walked off leaving no room for argument.
As soon as he'd gone Brooklyn whipped towards his brother. "Lex! What was that?! You know I'm trying to get away to see Aimee later, I wasn't planning on having you tag along!"
Lexington laughed, "I know, I couldn't resist, hey, how about this, we finish patrol and I'll leave you alone okay?" When Brooklyn still looked un-amused he added, "What? Were you planning on just shirking your entire patrol tonight to be with…Aimee…?" he said lilting his voice to a high note as he said her name and blinking his eyes in a loving manner at Brooklyn.
He couldn't help but laugh at his younger brother's ridiculous display. "Please Lex, cut it out, and no, I wasn't gonna skip my patrol."
"Let's go then. Besides, you don't wanna get caught up in a tough scrape and get all banged up before going to meet your girlfriend." Lexington said, emphasizing that last word.
Brooklyn gave an exasperated sigh realizing his brother was right. "Alright already, let's go. Hopefully the city is quiet tonight." The two of them leapt from their castle perch and set out into the city.
The previous night…
"Wait, Aimee, you're talking too fast, did you just say you were almost raped?!" Becky was fully awake now and trying to follow her friend's recollection of what conspired just hours ago.
Aimee took a deep breath and began again. "Yes Bex, but that's not the important part…I actually met one of them!"
She heard her friend interject with "How is almost being raped NOT the important part?!"
"Because…they're real Becky…Gargoyles. They actually exist." She smiled wistfully waiting for the reply.
A pregnant pause later, "Are you sure? He could've been some crazy person in a suit and mask."
"Oh he was real alright…I touched him, I shook his hand. He carried me up a building!" She exclaimed hoping her friend would believe her.
Another pause, "Wait, he carried you up a building? What the hell for? Was he about to fly you off to his den or something?"
Aimee laughed out loud at that. "Bex they're not animals, he's as intelligent as you or me, no he offered to take me home, also it's not flying. They don't fly, they glide on air currents."
"You're telling the truth aren't you." Her friend sounded both amazed and horrified. "Are you okay?! Did he do anything to you? How could you know he wouldn't just kidnap you or something?"
"Whoa…Bex calm down, I'm fine, he was a perfect gentleman, I could tell he wasn't gonna try anything. He saved my life and he sure scared the hell out of the bastard who tried to rape me." She finished.
"That's so amazing Aimee, I guess those eye-witness reports were correct. Wow…I'm still not sure I believe you, you know." Aimee raised an eyebrow and laughed again.
"I promise I'm telling the truth. That's not all…please don't freak out but I asked him to come back tomorrow night…" she sucked in a breath.
She barely had to hold the phone away from her ear as her friend yelped. "WHAT?! Seriously?! Are you sure that's wise? What if…he…" she trailed off not knowing what else to add.
"…Rapes me? Come on, Becky, I doubt he would've gone to the trouble of saving me just to do that. Besides I feel like I can trust him, I can't explain it, but we connected somehow. When I looked into his eyes I could see that he was a good person. He looked so human, and I have SO many more questions to ask him!"
Now Becky felt couldn't just squash all her friend's excitement even though this whole thing was crazy. "Okay, okay I get it, just…I hope you know what you're doing girl. Be safe okay? And take a picture next time!"
"A picture…right. If he's cool with it, for sure, and I will be careful Becky, you trust me right?"
"I trust YOU. I don't know if I trust the 7 foot tall Gargoyle guy that saved your life." She huffed.
Aimee chuckled at that. "Thanks for worrying about me, I'll call as soon as we're done, might be kinda late though, there's a reason you never see these guys during the day."
"Oh my God, it's almost 2am, you know I have an early class tomorrow right?" he friend groaned. "I'm gonna head to bed, but I don't care how late it is tomorrow, you call me as soon as you finish meeting with him."
"Promise I will, Night Bex."
"Night." Aimee clicked off her phone. She had no idea how she was going to sleep tonight after all the excitement earlier. Finishing her bedtime routine she snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes. Somehow sleep found her and she dreamed of gliding through the air on a summer's evening with Brooklyn.
Unfortunately for Brooklyn, tonight was NOT going smoothly. He was glad Lexington had decided to come with him. The pair of them had stopped two robberies, three car-jackings and one thief who thought it was a good idea to steal a little old lady's purse. She had definitely run away screaming after Lex tried to give it back to her. He shrugged it off quickly. It was getting to be the time for them to call off the patrol and Lex was about to fly back to the castle to connect with his online friends.
"Phew, that last one was pretty close." Lex said and yawned. "I'm gonna head back now okay?"
Brooklyn nodded. "Thanks for your help tonight, you and Goliath were right, I did need some help."
Lex gave his brother a sly look. "I guess you're off to see your girlfriend now?" he said, waggling his eye-ridges.
He scoffed, "She's not my girlfriend Lex, she's barely even a friend yet, I wanna get to know her better."
"She's pretty though, right?" His question caught Brooklyn off-guard for a second. Was she? He remembered her eyes, they were definitely pretty…the rest of her…he'd need to get another good look at her he thought.
"She's…got nice eyes." He said finally.
Lexington chuckled lightly. "Okay, I'll leave you alone now, stay safe man."
"Thanks, you too." He watched as his younger brother turned back toward Castle Wyvern and sighed in relief. "Finally.." he was pretty proud of himself, not a scratch on him. He was about to head in the direction of Aimee's residence when he heard another scream for help. "Seriously?! Come on!" He huffed angrily and headed in the direction of the scream on the streets below.
Four large men had cornered a slightly smaller man. They four appeared to be from a local gangs which meant guns, drugs and knives were most likely involved. He'd have to be careful. As he got closer he could hear some of the dialogue.
"Pay up you piece of shit before we start making you regret you ever borrowed money from us." One of the thugs said brandishing his handgun.
"Please! You'll get your money, I promise! My mom's sick, I needed it for her meds!" the young man cried, cowering below the four of them.
"Oh please, spare me the sob story, your deadline has passed so pay up…or else…" he started to cock the handgun and hold it up to the man's face.
"Stop, please! I'm all she has…" He shut his eyes in terror.
Brooklyn had heard enough, using the element of surprise he jumped down from his hiding spot above, eyes blazing and startled them all, the gunman pressed down on the trigger but ended up shooting the concrete.
In the confusion the young man was released and used the opportunity to escape. "What the hell was that?!" one of the thugs cried.
The leader saw the shining white eyes in the darkness and glared. "One of those creatures the Quarrymen are always tryin' to warn us about! Get 'im!"
At once the other three pulled out various weapons and guns and began advancing on the shadowed figure. Brooklyn could see that they weren't going to back down. He cracked his knuckles and said, "If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they're gonna get…"
One of the men lunged with a knife barely nicking Brooklyn's right bicep. Quick as a flash he grabbed the man's arm and wrenched the weapon from his hand, it clattered harmlessly to the ground, winding back he punched the man in the face effectively knocking him out. "Anyone else? Let's make this fast, I'm late.." he growled.
The other two advanced, one with a gun and the other with another knife. With a roar they both attacked, the gun was cocked and nearly fired but Brooklyn was faster, he dodged the knife and grabbed the gun before he could get a shot off. He crumpled the gun in his hand and kicked the man back, while the other tried to come up behind him he used his strong tail to sweep his feet out from him causing him to fall hard, dropping his knife. All three men were groaning in pain.
Their leader, stunned held his gun out with a shaky hand. "Stay back freak!"
Brooklyn chuckled darkly. "Whatcha gonna do…you can't even shoot straight." He scrambled on the side of the wall and made a dive-bomb for the man.
Panicked now, the man released the trigger letting off a shot with a bang but Brooklyn quickly immobilized him again crushing the gun as if it were made of tinfoil. He just barely noticed a dull ache in his left bicep. With one final punch he knocked the man out and pulled all four of them into a circle wrapping some spare cable around them. He quickly called it in and climbed the heck out of there.
On the rooftop once more he was finally on his way to see Aimee. He hoped he wasn't too late.
Aimee was sitting on her balcony, it was quite late now, nearing midnight. She yawned, it had been a long day for her, classes and then assignments that needed finishing. Still she couldn't sleep until she saw him. Around her all was quiet. Most windows were dark and the curtains pulled.
She was about to head back inside when she saw a shadow streak through the sky. Could it be…? It drew closer and her face split apart in a huge grin. She started waving.
Brooklyn also had a smile on his face when he could see her waving to him from her balcony. Finally close enough he touched down beside her. "Sorry I'm late…busy night." He said smiling sheepishly.
He hoped he didn't look too banged up he hadn't given himself a change to check himself over. He was about to say something else when he heard her emit a sharp gasp.
"Oh my God, are you bleeding?!" He met her shocked gaze and looked about himself.
"Am I?" He raised his left arm and saw a stream of blood pouring from a shallow wound on his bicep. "Aw crap, I guess I wasn't as fast as I thought."
Aimee rushed over to check his arm. "Jesus, Brooklyn. What happened?"
"I just jumped a couple guys about five minutes ago, got a little too cocky I guess." His gaze softened when he noticed her concern for him. "It's nothin' I'm fine, I don't even feel it."
She rolled her eyes and opened her sliding door with a jerk, "Come on," she said, "let's get you cleaned up." without waiting for him to follow she rushed into her bathroom and grabbed bandages and disinfectant, plus a tube of antibacterial cream. When she returned he was standing awkwardly in her living room.
"I'm fine, really, you don't need to go to all this trouble, it'll be completely gone by tomorrow night." He said again, the bleeding had nearly stopped but he noticed that his arm was starting to throb.
"Oh stop it with the tough guy act, sit here." She said, pulling a computer chair up to the edge of her bed. He fell into the chair with a huff. "Now let me see." He extended his arm to her and winced slightly as she surveyed the damage. She had taken basic first aid not too long ago. It was required for her volunteer position. It was a clean slice right across the left bicep. It didn't look too deep, no stitches she thought.
She used a wet wash cloth to clean the dried blood and dipped a cotton ball into the disinfectant. "This will sting." She warned.
Brooklyn braced himself determined to appear unbothered but he couldn't prevent the sharp intake of breath once he felt the cotton ball touch the wound. "Er…you weren't kidding."
She looked apologetic, "Sorry…I know you're like a superhero but it's better to be safe than sorry." Quick as she could she finished cleaning and placed a large bandage over the wound securing it with medical tape. "There, done." She leaned back to admire her handiwork.
Brooklyn flexed his arm slightly and grinned. "Looks good, thanks for that. I guess I couldn't really continue bleeding all over everything." He said raising an eye ridge in amusement.
Aimee laughed. "I'd have made you clean it up. How about that?" she said matching his expression by raising her own eyebrow.
Moving to stand, she beckoned him to follow her over to the small couch in front of a TV. "Uh…would you like to sit down? We could talk for a while, I have so many questions I'd like you ask you." She shifted slightly.
Seeing her trying not to appear nervous only made her that much more endearing to him. "Sure, I get to ask you some questions too though." He said flopping down on one side of the couch.
Carefully sitting down beside him she said. "Okay, we can take turns, but I get to go first since I patched you up, okay?"
"Fair enough. Shoot." He said, angling his body towards hers and waiting with anticipation for her first question.
She thought for a moment. "How…did you come to be here?"
With a whistle of air he let out a breath before answering. "That's a very long story but I'll try to give you the short version. Basically…a thousand years ago…" he went into the whole curse and rising above the clouds and living initially in the castle, Xanatos' betrayal and eventual redemption, ending with them moving back into the castle.
Aimee listened with rapt attention. She was about to ask another question when he stopped her with a tut. "Ah, ah, it's my turn. How did YOU come to be here?"
She snorted, "It's not as interesting as your story, that's for sure." I grew up in Brooklyn, my mom died when I was 16, my dad is great but he works so much. He's the CEO of Stone Industries. I barely see him but he's paying my way through university hence-" she gestured around herself. "The private room." I'm attending Columbia University and majoring in history. I hope to teach one day."
Brooklyn was impressed he was about to ask. 'What type of history?' when he felt her press a finger to his lips; a quick tingle shot down all the way to his stomach at her touch.
"Shh, my turn remember?" She was pleasantly surprised to find he did have actual lips, they were softer than she thought they would be, she quickly dropped her hand slightly embarrassed. "I uh…what do you do during the day? Sleep?"
Collecting himself he contemplated telling her the truth and said. "In a manner of speaking yeah, we do sleep all day from sunup to sundown. Any superficial wounds we sustain, like this one, will be completely gone when we wake up."
"Wow, sounds like some sleep." She grinned. "I am such a light sleeper, I hate it. Do you sleep in beds like humans?"
He chucked, ignoring the fact she asked yet another question, " It's the best kinda sleep there is, and no, no beds we sleep like a rock…like an actual rock as in my kind and I actually turn to stone during the day perched on the edge of the castle. It's actually a very vulnerable time for us. Any gargoyle could be easily destroyed in their stone sleep."
Aimee gasped slightly. "You wouldn't…be saying this unless it actually happened, would you…" she looked somewhat horrified.
He faced away from her for a moment. "Unfortunately yes…we have been betrayed by humans in the past. Humans we were sworn to protect. Originally we thought only few of us survived." He paused and then looked at her. "But, we eventually discovered that the eggs had been saved. That's how Angela, my brother's mate ended up joining our clan. We also have human friends now, heck our leader is very involved with our oldest and closest human friend. Despite everything, we still follow our values. Gargoyles protect." He shocked her by taking her hand. "That's a promise."
She blushed, taking a moment to feel his hand within hers. Although it was only three fingers and a thumb she could feel that under those long claws he had actually fingertips and, she guessed, fingerprints. "Your hands really are something else." She said turning it over so she could gaze at his palm. Realizing she was probably making him uncomfortable she dropped his hand and cleared her throat. "Uh, you gave me a freebie back there. You got another question for me?"
He tried to ignore how nice it felt to feel her hand in his. "Uh yeah, what type of history are you majoring in?"
"Anything from our ancient world. So including the time you lived." She smiled, "It's like you walked right out of a history book." She said still amazed they were actually talking.
Brooklyn gave her a thoughtful grin, "I never thought of it that way but you're right, I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have about when I lived in Scotland."
Aimee was about to answer when a huge yawn threatened to split her face in two. "Ugh I guess it's getting pretty late for me. Can we do a rain check on that?" She stood up and stretched her body.
Brooklyn stood as well. "Yeah, uh of course, tomorrow again?" he asked hopefully.
"Tomorrow, same time, same place." She smiled shyly at him. "Could I have a hug? Do Gargoyles hug?"
He chuckled lightly and approached her holding out his arms. "Yeah, we hug, we do a lot of the same things humans do."
Feeling shy once more she stepped into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck lightly pressing her body to his firm torso. She felt his strong arms encircle her waist and she took a moment to breathe in his scent. It was nice, masculine and fresh like the smell of the earth. It felt really good being in his arms, they'd have to do this again.
Brooklyn was internally cheering, this beautiful girl had willingly allowed him to be this close. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. He reluctantly released her and took another moment to study her face, she had a light dusting of freckles along her nose, and once more he felt as if he could drown in each of her coloured eyes. He'd have to remember to tell Lexington that she was indeed, very pretty.
Aimee could feel a tingling in her stomach when he looked at her with his intense gaze. It was a bit overwhelming. Feeling suddenly nervous she took a small step back and sucked in a breath. "Well I guess this is goodbye for now, or should I say, good night." She said giving him a wink.
He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh yeah, right, Good night Aimee." He went to leave by her sliding door. "Sleep well."
With a final wave, she watched him jump into the air, gliding away and she let herself fall back into her bed with a deep sigh. This was almost too much, she was about to go to sleep herself when she remembered her promise to call Becky. She groaned as she looked at her clock. 2am again…Becky's gonna kill me she thought.
A/N Aww...I love scenes where the guy/girl patches the other one up. Please review and let me know what you thought.
