Copley got us first class all to ourselves for the flight back to France
We waited an extra day to make sure Booker was going to be well enough to make it onto the plane without anyone asking questions. Booker made it through without a hitch, after a new set of clothes that we threw on him to hide the sores and me being the official doctor to walk him into a good spot on the plane. I could tell whoever that Kozak woman was pumping into him, he was still trying to ride it out. In eluded a mild fever and fatigue, along with some dehydration and low energy. As soon as he was in the first-class cabin, which was all for us by the good grace of Copley and his connections, I plumped him in the chair that was near the back against the window, getting him settled and comfortable with a blanket and pillow. He gave me a sore look as I was fussing over him, but I knew he was mortal now, and his health was going to come first with me.
"I'm not a child, Eleanor," he reasoned, but I scoffed at him.
"You're my brother and I'm taking care of you for now on until you're healthy again. No exceptions," I reminded him as Andy was walking by us, sitting the row behind us and looking at Booker with almost an amused look.
"You should listen to her, Book," Andy reasoned with a shrug, "She does know how to kill you, you know,"
Booker dryly chuckled as I was checking his pulse with my watch, noticing that he was watching me. Once I knew his heart rate was good, I looked back at him and gave him a small smile.
"Would you like me to give you something to help you sleep?" I asked, and as soon as I could tell he was about to answer something, "And no, you're not getting alcohol,"
"You're killing me, Doc," he said, using that nickname as a joke.
"I'll be the judge of that," I commented.
"Well, if I'm in good hands, then I don't need anything," Booker reassured me as he sat back a bit more in his seat, "I'll be fine with the First Class accommodations,"
"Perfect," I replied in a smirk, turning on my heel and was about to walk away when I said to him over my shoulder, "I'll make sure the cabin staff know not to give you any alcohol on our flight."
Booker groaned as I walked over to where Oliver was, seeing him already in a seat. I finally got to sit down, sighing in relief as Oliver age me a loving look.
"How's he doing?" Oliver asked me as I was giving him a tired smile.
"He's bearable," I said, "Once we get him to the house we're gonna have to place him on house arrest to make sure he doesn't go anywhere until he's all healthy,"
"Sounds fair enough," Oliver said in agreement, thinking to himself as he then gave me a smirk, "I could take him," I knew he was being playful, but it made me reach over to hold our hands on the middle armrest and hold his hand soothingly.
"Oliver," I said his name calmly and within a hint of fondness, "As much as I care about you…I'll lovingly say this: he'll snap your head off if he could,"
"Will he?" Oliver asked, not even phased, having me lightly chuckle at him in how he was being a bit nonchalant about it, "I can tell you admire him,"
"We're French Allies," I admitted to him as he tilted his head a tie with a smirk, "We're always had a good comradely together for the longest time."
"Should I be worried about him then?" Oliver asked, almost like a joke as I rolled my eyes.
"Never," I said to him as I rubbed his arm that was against my own, "He's like a pestering little brother, but my pestering little brother,"
Oliver chuckled as the engines were starting up on the plane, having me look over at the others. Nile was already looking at her laptop, typing away at something there on the screen with some AirPods in and her zone. She was a bit better after talking to Andy about Booker and what was going to happen, and I could tell she was instantly going to be Booker's apprentice when it came to being the technology expert and forger on documents.
Booker would teach her when he was well enough, giving her all of his knowledge so that she could take care of us later on down the road. Nile was tough, I have to give her more credit than she deserved. Maybe it was that Marine mentality that was still engrained in her, or how she was fierce as a personality to begin with. Either way, we knew that Nile would carry on with Booker's work.
My eyes went over to Nicky and Joe. They were right behind Nile, both of them were sitting next to each other and talking in low voices with one another. Ever since the three of us had that emotional talk in the garden at the hotel, Joe and Nicky made it their mission to get back on the good graces of Booker. I knew it was a delicate situation, and both parties were needing to talk with each other and straighten things out. Booker, Nicky, and Joe knew that, so it was going to take some time.
We could hear the pilot speaking over the airplane speakers that we were about to take off, Joe getting up from his seat and walking over to where Booker was. I was watching with my eyes intently as Booker saw Joe coming, almost confused as to why he wasn't sitting with Nicky.
But Joe plopped down in the seat next to Booker and got the seat belt on, talking to Booker in a hushed tone as he was leaning back in his chair and kicked his feet out in front of him. Booker was then smiling, still wrapped in the blanket, and talking back with him in a low chuckle. It made me immediately look over at Nicky, motioning him to come over and sit across from us. Hw walked over with a small smile on his face as he sat down and got his seatbelt on, having me give him an intense look as he was just smiling at me.
"What's Joe doing over there?" I asked, not in a threatening way but wonder.
"Joe wanted to have some time with Booker on the flight and reconnect," Nicky admitted, having me look over behind me at the both of them as I heard Joe chuckle about something and Booker grinning like he said a dirty joke to him.
"He knows that they have a long way to go to get back to where they were," Nicky explained some more as the plane was moving to get ready for take-off, "We all have a long ways to go, but Joe needs to more than any of us I think,"
"I think so too," I agreed, leaning back a bit and feeling a bit better than Joe and Booker were trying to get back on good graces with each other and be on mutual ground. I have Nicky a calm smile, "How are you doing?"
"I'm alright," he replied, "Booker and I already had a good talked before we hopped on the plane. Booker and I will be okay for now," I could tell Nicky was going to be fine with all of this. He was calmer in situations like this, being our peacemaker in times of chaos. But I knew this was affecting him too, how he felt with Booker and how he was trying to repair it just like how Joe was. Joe was playful with Booker, whereas Nicky was more leveled. So I knew that kind of repair was going to go at its own pace.
Oliver squeezed my hand in his, having me looked back at him as he was giving me a loving look. But once I looked back at Nicky, I saw he was thinking about something. It was almost intriguing to have me raise an eyebrow at him.
"What?" I asked Nicky, seeing that he was giving me one of those coy looks.
"I was thinking that we all should go to Nassau when things settle down," Nicky explained, having em grin widely at him. I forgot we had that talk, it was right before we found Oliver and brought him into our world and in our group. It was such a good idea, and of course, things went left when we were trying not just to get liver aquatinted in our world but to deal with Kozak as well. It felt like so long ago when we talked about agreed to go.
"Booker needs it," Nicky said to me as I was grinning widely at him and agreeing with him already, "You said so yourself we need to have him relax and rest." I could see where Nicky was coming from now, and it meant a bit more now since he wanted Booker to go to Nassau to find peace and rest. Nassau, at least to me, was a special place for Joe, Nicky, and I since we spent 5 good years there together. No harm or bitterness came to us when we were there together amongst the waves and the beaches.
"That's a perfect idea," I said to him in a grin, already picturing it in my head as I saw Oliver looking over at me and then Nicky.
"You're been to Nassau?" he asked me, having me then give Nicky a quick look before I looked back at him.
"Some time ago, but we lived there for about 5 years," I explained, "It's one of our favorite places and we have a small house on the beach."
"The house won't hold all of us," Nicky said to me, "It barely had the three of us when we were there. We'll have to rent a house close by ours."
"Like a good ol' family vacation," I said in a joking tone, though it was so tempting to think about all of us there in the sun, being able to swim in the ocean and dig our toes in the pristine white sands. Maybe this was exactly what we needed, what Booker needed. He was worn out from the inside and out, and maybe this was the perfect place to take him and have him feel a sense of paradise and joy.
"We'll take Booker, as soon as he's all healthy and ready," Nicky explained before he looked over at Oliver, "You ever been to the Caribbean?"
"Never," Oliver replied. I grinned widely at him and I could see the underline excitement there in his eyes. It was so tempting to just look over at Nicky, but I could already see out of the corner of his eyes how he was watching the both of us.
"I think you'll like it," I said to Oliver, "It brought us nothing but happiness when we were there, and that's where we met Andy for the first time." Nicky was still staring at the both of us, being silent throughout our talk together.
"It sounds lovely," Oliver agreed, having me grin at him as I saw the interior lights go down in the cabin of the plane. We both were settling into a comfortable silence amongst the both of us, having me look in front of us at Nicky as Oliver was taking out his own set of headphones to put in. He was resting his head back against the seat and looking away from both Nicky and me, which left me to Nicky.
"What?" I asked Nicky, seeing him motion with his head down to my hand that was intertwined with Oliver's hand. I looked too and then I shot a look at Nicky quickly, sensing what he was thinking about. There was an intimate look on his face in how he was analyzing us from his chair. Thank God Oliver was already listening to his music as I then smiled at Nicky.
I should glare at him, I should be and at him for somewhat teasing under the radar with me since I knew Nicky far too well. But now that things were changing and things were shifting into a direction that we needed, I didn't mind it too much at all. Andy, Nicky, Joe, and Nile saw what I had with Oliver, and of course, I would be the last one to realize it. In the end, I was embracing it and going along for the ride because of what I wanted with Oliver. I felt so bad that it took me this long to finally let it click in my head.
"Nothing," he replied softly with a small shake of his head and his soft smile on his face. He clicked his boots with my shoes, silently telling me that all was well. I grinned back at him, already dreading with the fact that I was going to talk to the others about what was going on with Oliver and I. As awkward as it was going to be since we were pretty much going to be stuck together for some time, I was felt like I was going to be just fine with that talk.
But for now, we were all at peace.
It was raining at the house that day when we arrived, the cooling scent of the rain came through the house as we were all getting settled into a routine there at the Manor. I was glad to be home once more, within the familiar walls that protected me while I was alone. But now it was filled with my family, which made me feel a lot better.
Copley informed us a day after we moved into the house that all the files on not just myself, but Joe, Nicky, and Booker from Kozak were destroyed in the fire we made when we escaped. It was a much-needed sigh of relief hearing that, Coley doing a double and triple check with some of his friends to make sure it wasn't floating around anywhere on the internet and out in the world.
Once we got the green light we were in the clear, we all breathed out and knew that there weren't going to be any more surprises for us to endure. Even though I knew it was all not my fault that I was the main target, it was still in the back of my mind. The two hard drives that we swiped were placed in the basement with my other weapons, locked away in my safe that I had down there.
We never looked at them again.
Booker was moved into the master bedroom with Andy, which was perfect since she could help take care of him with his recovery. He was gaining some of his weight back with the hearty meals that both Nicky and I would tag teamed on and made together. Booker was grateful, the first few nights staying confined to his bed and eating like a king amongst the comforter and pillows. We would eat with him, hearing him praise both Nicky and me on our cooking then telling us how he was barely living on frozen meals and pre-made packages from the grocery store.
Nicky and Joe gave Oliver their room since they figured he earned his keep with us in the group with what happened in Denver. They both were willing to use my now pull out couch that I had in the living room and tucked in the small study area. Oliver tried to perusal them that he was fine with the pull-out couch, but they weren't giving in with them. I could tell they were trying not only to get on the good graces of Booker and find that friendship again, but they also were building a friendship with Oliver.
As soon as Booker was well enough to be coming around the house, we would all eat together in the dining room in the evenings, a warm comradely was coming back for all of us. Booker was almost feeling uncomfortable in how he was trying to get back into a groove with us. We were helping him though, seeing him tell Oliver stories and past missions that he was involved in. They were wild stories, almost comical since he was talking about he would be a sticky situation and he would talk himself out of it.
Those nights were always filled with laughter, even from Joe who was snickering from a particular recon mission that involved Booker being in disguise as a bartender at an exclusive nightclub out in Amsterdam and was hit on by a couple of alluring escorts, both male and female. He almost blew his cover when he spilled the drinks. It was a great story to hear and see how Booker was looking content in telling not just Oliver but Nile as well.
On the first night at the Manor, Oliver walked with me up to the second floor before he was going to split off and go to his room. The others were already in bed, leaving Oliver and me to talk a bit more in the kitchen. One we both knew it was time to go to bed, Oliver wanted to walk with me. I was grateful that he was willing to go slow for the sake of me coming back to normal. It made me wonder how long I was going to let him wait for me, which then made me feel a bit bad about it since I didn't want to have the assumption that I was stringing him along. But Oliver never saw any of it, he was a gentleman with me.
"Your home is lovely," He said to me as we were standing together on the landing at the house, giving me a shy smile as I did the same
"Thank you," I replied, "I worked hard on this place to make it the way it is."
"If you need any help with that," Oliver said to me with a shrug, "I can definitely do that for you if you'd like."
"Yes," I said in a breath, seeing him grin widely at me, "I would love that. I can do it with you."
"It would be my pleasure to do it for you," Oliver reassured me. I sighed, knowing that it wasn't going to budge with him as I reached over to hold our hands together. It was another silent kiss that we shared, and although it was such a simple gesture, I felt it through me. Of course, there were other ways that people showed love to one another. I've seen them all in my travels, and a handful from Joe and Nicky alone. They didn't just kiss, they spoke with kind words, they protected one another in a fight, they laughed at each other's joke. And most to all, their physical affection with one another with a simple handhold or a gentle nudge of the shoulder.
Was this going to be the same thing?
"Goodnight, Eleanor," He said to me in such a loving tone that I wanted to melt. I squeezed our joined hands together, almost kissing him in return with my fingers and my palm against his palm. I was grateful for what we had now, and I never knew what was going to come next with the both of us since nothing was hindering us or distracting us. Now we could move forward, even at a snail's pace, together.
"Goodnight, Oliver,"
Our Goodnight routine went on for the next two weeks.
Booker was back to normal with his mortal health. The sores all went away with the antibiotics and cream that I swiped or him, and with his weight going back to where it was before, Booker was practically good as new. I could see how the energy he had before all of this happened to us was back in him, watching football on the big screen with Joe in the living room on some days, and the others days he would sit with Nile and go over how to forge documents and make papers out of thin air. Nile was irking in everything he was teaching her, even having her make some passports and drivers licenses as a test run.
Oliver was keeping busy around the house, almost adapting to Joe's nature in wanting up to fix up the house wherever needed. He was pretty handy, I had to admit to that when he would fix the roof from rain damage or even help out with the plumbing. Even when I told him I could hope him if he needed it. But every time I tried to help he would turn me down and have me not lift a finger.
"You know he's trying to woo you, right?" Andy said to me under her breath as we were all sitting together, weapons sprawled out on the coffee table as we were all cleaning and fixing the guns that we had. Joe was sitting with us, Booker and Nile were sitting near us and doing some more foreign practice with us. Nicky and Oliver went on a run into town, claiming that they found a motorcycle that Oliver wanted to buy. Of course, we were all surprised he wanted a motorcycle, but he knew how to ride one and it would give him something to do. Booker even suggested to help him with any repair and show him a few tricks since he too knew how to ride.
"Trying to woo me?" I asked, almost sarcastically as I eyed her with a low look, "You sound a bit dated, Andy," Andy just shrugged, knowing that she was true.
"He's trying to court you?" Joe asked in a suggestion, pausing to think about what he just said, then he shook his head, "No, that's worse."
"He's trying to impress you," Nile piped up from her spot next to Booker at the smaller table, her eyes still trained on the laptop screen. I gave her a raised eyebrow, though Booker looked at me for Nile and he shrugged.
"Leave me out of it," he said as he went back to working with Nile. Andy chuckled as I looked back at her.
"We're already on the same page with what we want," I reassured Andy and Joe at the couches and with my gun in my hands and cloth that I was using to clean it, "He agreed to go at my pace until I was….comfortable in being with him like that,"
"A glacier pace," Andy muttered under her breath as I was about to yell at her before Booker cleared his throat.
"Best not get in the middle of that one, kid," he advised her as Andy cleared her throat.
"As much as a gentleman that he is for not pushing it too far with you….I still think he's attempting to show that what he wants to do," Andy said in a way that made sense. I nodded in agreement, placing my gun back on the table and getting another gun to clean as Joe was giving me an awkward look now.
"Are you okay with what he's doing for you and to you?" he asked, not wanting to sound too overprotective about it since he could see my resistance on the subject.
"I'm fine with him and with it," I said in a huff, "it's just the fact that this is brand new for me. No one has ever made me feel like this before and wanted to be with me like that before….but I want it to happen with Oliver. More than anything,"
Joe grinned at me, seeing that I was telling the truth and how I was sounding so light about it. Of course, I wanted this with Oliver. I wanted it more than anything since now I knew what he was thinking and where his mind was when it came to us. I felt safe with him, I felt alive with him, and there was nothing I wanted more to just kiss him.
"You look like a lovesick puppy," Nile said, not in amusement but in a comment that seemed a bit light and kind at the same time. The others were looking at her now in confusion as she was leaning back and staring at me intensely. Her arms were folded in front of her and a smirk on her lips, "You might as well kiss the guy and get it over with since the tension is so thick in the air."
"We already kissed," I replied, now the others were looking at me in shock as I instantly regretted saying it out loud. Nile sat up so straight in her chair I thought she was going to fall out. Joe almost dropped his gun in his hand as Booker groaned, hiding his head in his hands because of the subject.
"YOU WHAT?!" Both Joe and Nile said at the same time. Andy was silent, though I knew she was a bit shocked and giving me a small smile. Booker, on the other hand, was the only one who said nothing. Nile looked over at Book with an accused look on her face. In return, Booker rolled his eyes.
"I already knew because I saw it," he muttered, now Nile was getting him a death glare and then smacking him in the arm.
"And you didn't tell me, why?" She asked him.
"Because it's none of my business," Booker replied to her, Andy was now clearing her throat to get everyone to look at her.
"It's none of our business," Andy corrected Booker's statement before she looked at me with her kind eyes, "As excited as we are that things are going well for the both of you…we'll give you some space and let you go at your own pace."
In comparison to what we talked about at the Villa on the coast of France, this seemed a bit better. I wasn't paranoid, nor was I in denial. I was content, and the others knew it too since they saw how relaxed I was sitting on the couch with a gun in my hand. I had to crack a smile as I was gesturing to the scene in front of me.
"It's kind of funny that we're talking about this with at least 30 guns between us. I'm nearly 600 years old," I said in a sarcastic chuckle. I couldn't help but laugh about it since in any other situation it would be crazy. But it took a moment or so before I heard some laughter behind me at the table. Joe, Andy, and I looked over to see it was coming from Booker, who was closing his eyes in a small chuckle. Nile was looking at him like he was crazy, but then I heard Joe laughing too. I looked back at Joe now, seeing him grin at me with a cackle of a laugh on his lips.
The sound of a car and a motorcycle came into the room, which was the signal for all of us to get up and go over to the front of the house. Andy went outside first and we all followed suit, seeing the rental car that we got following a motorcycle. Nicky was driving the car and Oliver was on the motorcycle.
It was such a sight to see.
Oliver was grinned from ear to ear, wearing a helmet and turning the engine off. We all swarmed him and looked at his new ride while he used the kickstand and stood by it with pride. It was a decent looking ride, needing some work for sure but nothing that I knew Oliver couldn't handle.
"What do you think?" he asked all of us, Andy grinned as she walked around the motorcycle with her arms crossed and analyzing the cycle. Nicky was already walking over to Joe, who was looking at the motorcycle as well with a hint of interest in his eyes. Booker gave a low whistle, almost looking at the motorcycle in jealousy.
"Nice find, Oliver," he said in a hum of adoration.
"Where did you find it, anyway?" Nile asked.
"There was an auto shop near the edge of town that had it out for display," Oliver explained. Andy, after circling the motorcycle, walked over to Oliver with a look of appreciation for what he did.
"Looks good," Andy said to him, seeing his grin go a bit bigger since it came from Andy. Both Booker and Joe were walking over to check it out themselves as Oliver was going over to me, giving me almost a look of wonder.
"What do you think?" He asked me, having me grin at him as both Joe and Booker were talking technical terms with each other over the mechanics of the motorcycle. It was kind of nice when he wanted my own opinion on the matter and what I thought.
"I like it," I said to him, "Did you have to haggle for it?"
"Actually, Oliver did well with the guy down there at the shop," Nicky piped in while he was standing with Nile, having me look at him in shock as he grinned, almost like a proud dad, "The man tried to bump up the price on Oliver, and I was about to intervene but Oliver held his ground. I think he's done it before," We all looked at Oliver with grins as Joe wrapped an arm around Nicky.
"Look at you go," Nile said to Oliver in a grin, playfully slapping his shoulder, "Never thought you had it in you,"
"Thank you?" Oliver thanked her, though it was almost a question before Joe spoke up.
"This is a nice ride," Joe said to Oliver, "A 1949 Vincent Black Shadow. It's not in bad condition, whoever had it before took good care of it,"
"Yeah I figured I can fix it up and make it better," Oliver said, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I used to ride back in the day, learned from my dad and I figured it would give me something to do and keep me busy,"
"Must be fun to ride," I commented, not realizing it as Oliver was now looking at me almost in shock.
"You've never ridden one?" He asked, having me shake my head. I could still hear Booker and Joe talking about the parts of the motorcycle that should be tweaked and fixed.
"Nope," I said in a shrug.
"Want me to teach you?" he asked, his voice sounding so sincere about it. I grinned widely, already picturing it in my head. We haven't even gone on our date yet, which was fine with me since I was still wanting to go nice and slow with him. But it was nice that I was willing to make this work with him. Even Nile, from behind Oliver, gave me a grin and winked at me as I looked from her briefly and over to Oliver.
"I would love that,"
Oliver worked for countless hours on the motorcycle, Joe and Booker were helping him from time to time when he was stuck on a particular part that was giving him trouble. However, Oliver resorted to fixing it up in the small shed that was near the side of the manor because of the content rain we were getting, but he didn't mind. He was too engrossed with his work at times we had to get him out of the shed to have some dinner or get some sleep.
We were staying busy most of the time since the rain made us stay inside. Nile was getting a knack for her new trade thanks to Booker and his teachings with her. It was good to see both of them interact together and working together on the laptop, and it made me happy to see Booker being this genuine self again. He even tried to stray away from drinking, and thanks to Andy and her assistance, he wasn't resorting to the bottle as much as he did in the past. Of course, he would be haunted at times, but not as much as before.
Booker was at peace again.
Ever since the others found out about that Oliver and I kissed, they didn't say anything to me about it anymore since they were letting whatever was going on with Oliver and I ride out on its own. The only one that didn't know about it was Nicky, and Joe swore that he wouldn't say a single word. I feared for his reaction since he saw me as a younger sister. Nicky and Joe were protective of me, and rightfully so because of how it was always the three of us together. Nicky, however, could be deadly if he wanted to.
But of course, it made me think about it all the more. Every night hone Oliver would walk me to his bedroom, squeezing my hand goodnight and having me feel a bit breathless everything. Hearing him laugh from seeing something particularly funny on the TV while watching some sports with Joe and Booker, it made me grin. He would talk with Andy about certain types of recon missions and scenarios that we might encounter in the future. Thankfully, Andy was more than willing to listen and talk with him with all that he brought to her, and he was looking to her with admiration and appreciation. Nicky and I were still teaching him French and Italian, and he was picking up both languages quite well even with the stumbling here and there with certain phrases or words.
I loved going into town with him when it was just the both of us, getting supplies and food for the house and needing to get out of the house for a few hours. It was lawny an adventure with Oliver, which either having me laugh my head off with him or admire him all the more. Maybe both. One of the times we were in town, Oliver found himself in the middle of a football match with a bunch of the local children in a small grassy field.
I was sitting on the sideline with the little ones that were too small to play, all of us were laughing in how Oliver was attempting to dribble the ball around with his feet and the boys trying to tackle him in laughter. He was a natural with children, and of course, that small demon of thoughts came back to me as Oliver was on the ground and the children were trying to tickle him and get the ball away. The sad thought that I wouldn't have children on my own made me sad…but it wasn't too bad. Not anymore.
All of these things were coming to unfold in front of me about have me see the layers of Oliver. He was kind to those he met, he was determined to take on any challenge in front of him and wouldn't back down. He was inquisitive about everything around him and was open-minded in everything he was learning. His heart was golden, his mind was sharp, and I could tell that snail pace that I was desperately trying to follow through with him was becoming more of a burden than a blessing. So, at one moment in time, I knew I was doing to do something desperate.
I was going to be reckless, but I didn't care. I waited for centuries for something like this.
By the third week at the Manor, it was another rainy day and I was walking out in my rain jacket and boots to check up on Oliver. He was constantly putting in hours on his new motorcycle and was trying to get it good and ready for riding as soon as the weather was on his side. Even when he was in the shed and he was finding something to do, I almost felt like a pull towards him, a small pull that was barely there in my lower stomach that was making me feel better when he was close by.
When I poked my head in, I saw Oliver hunched over his motorcycle, getting a new part ready. He was wearing a thin shirt and fitted jeans with boots, grim and grease were evident on his fingers and arms as he was working away and lost in his own world. I stopped briefly, watching him and how his eyebrows were knitting together and his eyes were looking so hard at his new possession in front of him. This was making it worse for me since I could see the rippling of his muscles under his shirt and how his jaw would clench when he was thinking of something extra hard. I was second-guessing this, maybe third guessing it since all I wanted or do was kiss him.
Should I?
Finally, I knock on the barn door to get his attention, seeing him look over and grin at me.
"Hey!" He said, wiping off the grease from his hands as I walked into the barn and looked at his work on the motorcycle. It looked so much better than what it looked like before when he brought it to the manor for the first time.
"How's it going in here?" I asked him, seeing him rest his hands on his hips as he was analyzing his vehicle there with a small smile on his face.
"She's coming along." He replied, sounding proud of it as I chuckled.
"She?" I had to ask, seeing him nod his head.
"It's an unwritten rule: all vehicles are women," he said in a shrug, "At last that's what my dad told me." We both chuckled since I clearly never got the auto shop language. He walked over to the counter and grabbed a spare towel, trying to wipe off the grease and sweat from his fingers as much as he could.
"Everything okay?" he asked me, seeing that I was still near his motorcycle and not moving, "I'm not missing anything important inside with the others, am I?" I might have looked shocked for a moment, but I quickly snapped out of it and blinked a rapidly.
"No, everything's fine," I said in a nod, "I just…I wanted to talk to you about something."
Oliver eyed me, almost being suspicious about it as I heard thunder coming in the air far off in the distance and the rain hitting the barn roof even harder. He walked over and leaned against the motorcycle with his arms crossed in front of himself.
"What's going on?" he asked, now sounding a bit concerned since I must have looked odd to him, or the I was going to die him some bad news. I was trying to find the proper words, or at least, trying to find a way to tell him what I was feeling and what I ultimately wanted to do.
"Okay," I said in a breath, standing in front of him and giving him a small smile, "There's been something that I wanted to tell you for a while, but I had to figure out how to say it first," I paused, seeing that he was still following me and I gave him a quick smile, "First, I've never had these kinds of feelings for someone else in my entire life, all 600 years of it. it scared me at first, even when we were just dreaming of each other, I was scared because I didn't know how I was going to handle it,"
Oliver was quiet the whole time, his face never changed as I took another breath.
"But that changed as I got to know you, all of you. I've seen what your heart is like, and I wasn't as scared anymore. Yes, I told you that I wanted to move nice and slow with this because this was new for me and I had to deal with my past and current trauma….but what if I don't want to go as slow anymore?"
Oliver was knitting his eyebrows together, almost like he wasn't understanding what I was saying. he shifted in his spot against the motorcycle, tilted his head at me slightly in confusion.
"Did I do something?" He asked, sounding a bit afraid.
"Yes," I replied, now his eyebrows going up as I shook my head at him, "Not like that. Not at all, in fact, you were the opposite. You've been kind to me, attentive, and such a gentleman. It was me that maybe want to drag this long, but I don't want to do that anymore."
"Eleanor, what are you saying?" he asked, not catching on. I took in one last breath, my hands going to my sides and my fingers flexing. This was now or never, at least in my mind. In a barn, pouring rain with another class of thunder coming closer to us, and I was really going to do this now. I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Pardonne-moi," I said to myself before I felt myself moving towards Oliver. Placing my hands on his shoulders and standing dangerously close to him, I kissed him.
It was a bit awkward since he was lower than me and I was leaning over him in the kiss, but I didn't care. Just like before, everything in my head was blacked out and swiped clean as I closed my eyes for the briefest of moments. I wanted to feel it, in my core, on how my heart was bursting and exploding into a thousand pieces of gems and diamonds as his lips were against my own. I never wanted to be reckless, it was dangerous as an Immortal to be reckless. But from what I was going through the past couple of months, all that was unfolding in front of me, I felt like this was the only way that I could ultimately get those expressions out and pour them into Oliver and how I felt for him.
I loved him. I knew I did before I realized it.
I pulled away from him, giving me a bit of space from him as I opened my eyes and looked at him. He looked stunned with his eyes closed, almost like I slapped him and was frozen against the motorcycle. His breath was labored, and his eyes opened to look right at me. Those piercing eyes that I saw for the first time here at this very Manor, the ones that made me feel grounded and protected. They were looking at me with a hint of fascination. But he wasn't moving or saying anything. I was about to crumble, thinking that I made the worst choice since he wasn't expecting it.
"I'm—" I was about to apologize, but he stood up completely on his feet and stared down at me. Something shifted in his eyes as I felt both of his hands cradling my face and leaning into to kiss me sweetly. I sighed against his lips, my eyes closing and my hands holding his sides to be grounded in something. He pressed that long kiss against my lips, this kiss seemed like it was deeper and more meaningful than the ones we had before that was of concern and a rush of emotion because of the danger not too far away. This was slow, this was loving and possessive.
This kiss was pure.
I could feel some of his fingers in my hair as he pressed another longing kiss against my lips before either of us could do anything. The way he held me, how our bodies were close enough to feel the other inhale and exhale, and the kiss alone, it was enough for me to understand that we both wanted this more than we were admitting to. My fingers were winding in his shirt, making sure he wasn't going to go anywhere as I pressed one more kiss against his lips before both needed air in our lungs. it pained that I needed to breathe, but once we pulled away from each other, I opened my eyes and looked up at him.
His lips looked red, his breath was deep and his eyes were pouring into my own as his hands were still on my neck, afraid to let me go. So was what it was like to have someone so close to your heart and not willing to move away. All of those insecurities I had about myself were no longer existing to me as I gulped and he grinned at me.
"I've been wanting to kiss you like that for the longest time," I said to him in a whisper, seeing him lick his lips out of instinct as he searched my eyes with his.
"For how long,?" he asked, sounding out of breath as I grinned. How long was I waiting for this? For someone to steal my heart and make it better? Was it longer than I thought? Something that was festering within me for centuries that wanted to come out and be free. All it took was one person and how he saw my raw self, now my heart was pouring out before I could stop it. I didn't want to stop it.
"Long enough," I replied, leaning up to kiss him again, feeling him wrap one arm around my waist and another hand cradle my neck as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
I was now free.