Hey guys, sorry this is a shorter chapter, i promise ch13 has some good stuff. I'm going to be busy this week with moving out of my place and my bday being on thursday (woot 24!), but I also took off of work on thursday, so if yall are lucky you may get a double update! :D Thank you guys for being so freaking cool and awesome at reviewing. Love you all! xoxo
The next day Gabriella slept in while Michael rose early, watching her sleep for a moment before heading out to take an inventory of their food and water. A short time later he had tallied all of their supplies up and had come to the realization that they only had about 2 weeks of supplies. They could always head further down into civilization and scavenge for more, but he was worried Gabriel would attack.
He strode out onto the patio and took off to scout the area, his mind flashing back to this morning when he had woken with Gabriella in his arms, her long smooth limbs wrapped around his. He shook the images of her out of his head and focused on the task at hand.
Gabriella woke around 9:30am, stretching under the covers; her head nestled against Michael's pillow. She smiled as she breathed in his scent, clean, and fresh like mint. She felt so safe with him, and was so lucky to have a friend like him. She wondered what the next few weeks and months of this search would hold for her and Michael, and then realized that she could very well be away from Vega for longer than a few months, depending on what they found here.
She realized that she hadn't been thinking of Ben that often, and felt guilty, she wished there was a way to talk to him. She missed him, but she needed to focus on the mission that she and Michael were on if they were going to survive. Gabriella got up out of bed and walked into the kitchen, pouring herself a bowl of dry cereal.
She grabbed a book from the library and tried to work on translation, but couldn't focus. Tossing the book onto the couch she stood and wandered through the house, unable to find Michael.
Sighing in disappointment she went back to her room and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, deciding that training with the sword as Michael had shown her would be a good way to spend her time. She grabbed the sword from the bag of weapons in the kitchen and headed out to the patio, reveling in the sunshine.
She moved with ease and grace, going from one pattern to another as Michael had shown her. She was working up a sweat when the breeze blew, cooling her off. She eventually decided to switch from right hand to her left, trying to strengthen both sides of her body equally.
After nearly an hour she took a break, checking her watch, surprised that it was now nearly noon and Michael still wasn't back. She took a sip of her water and picked the sword up in her left hand, continuing to practice. A short time later she heard the beating of wings behind her and spun, expecting Michael. She froze when she saw the smirking face of Gabriel, standing in front of her.
She was admittedly stunned to see Gabriel so soon after they had chased him off, but she stood her ground and kept her sword in her hand. She pointed it at him and smiled pleasantly, "What can I do for you Gabriel?"
Gabriel bowed his head graciously and smiled back at her, his all teeth and no heart. "I wanted to let you and my brother know that although I hadn't heard of the specific prophecy that you and he are hunting, I had heard something similar from my followers. They had whispered for years of someone meant to save Heaven. I always wrote it off as idle talk from the unfaithful, those who just wanted to go home more than anything else. Now that the chosen one has provided us with evidence however, I am willing to lend the stories more credence." He fell silent and stared at her, allowing her time to think about what he had said.
Gabriella stared at him, unwilling to believe that he could be genuine in his offer to help. Out of nowhere Michael dropped between them, swords raised. "If you have harmed her Gabriel, I will end you" he spoke in a low, even tone laced with anger.
Gabriel laughed and launched himself into the air, holding his hands up in a surrendering position, "Calm brother. I have done nothing to harm your pet…yet." Grinning, he turned and flew away.
Michael turned to Gabriella, "Please go back inside."
Gabriella stared at him in disbelief. "You can't honestly be upset with me?!" she uttered, dumbfounded.
Michael was admittedly more upset with Gabriel and himself for leaving her alone, but he was still irrationally angry at her. "Please, just go inside where it is safer."
Gabriella's eyes narrowed, "No."
Michael's head whipped to her, lines of tension all over his face. "I thought he was here to kill you. I am angry that I left you here against an opponent that you cannot defeat." He sighed when he saw intense anger flash on her face.
"Oh, so now I'm helpless against your brother?" she asked, her voice quiet, but filled with anger. Michael sighed, knowing he had said the wrong thing.
He shook his head, "That's not what I meant. I know you aren't helpless. But Gabriel and I are ancient, and have a millennia's worth of fighting experience that would be nearly impossible for you to overcome."
Gabriella stared him down for another moment and then sighed, knowing he was right. "I'm sorry I worried you, but I was just practicing and he showed up."
Michael nodded, "I know, I just want you to be safe. Will you please practice inside if I'm not here to practice with you?"
It chaffed on Gabriella to accept his terms, but knew they came from a place of concern, and not a desire to smother her, so she nodded her assent. "Would you like to join me for some practice then?" she asked. Michael was nodding before he had thought his actions through.
They squared off and began moving through the patterns that Michael had shown her. Gabriella tried to watch his abdomen for signs he was going to move, but Michael was too good for that. More often than not she ended up on her ass with his swords at her throat. Eventually Michael called their training to a halt so he could focus on the translations some more, and as he pointed out, there was a large storm rolling in.
Gabriella went to her room and washed off in the tub quickly, using little water. She grabbed the Harry Potter book from beside her bed and lay down to read, the hours passing quickly. Eventually, when her stomach's rumbling became too insistent to ignore she looked at her watch, 6:30pm?! The time just slipped by here.
She rose from bed and went to heat up some soup for her and Michael. She sniffed the soup, and decided that it was still good, just needed to be reheated. As she waited for the soup to reheat, she looked out the kitchen window and noticed for the first time that it was nearly pitch black out. The thunder rumbled so loud and hard that she felt it in the counter under her legs.
The crack of lighting seemed so close and bright that it frightened Gabriella. She quickly spooned some soup into bowls and nearly ran into the library, handing Michael his soup before sitting in the armchair across from him. He looked up at her and realized that she looked frightened.
He frowned, "Are you alright?"
Gabriella nodded her face tight. "I'm just not used to storms like this" she muttered. She flinched as a crack of thunder seemed to shake the room.
Michael smiled at her gently, "It will pass eventually, and trust me, I have seen far worse than this." Gabriella gave him a weak smile as another far louder crack of thunder rumbled through the house.
Michael stood and picked up two of the books, "Come on, it helps if you can watch it." Gabriella gave him a disbelieving look, but stood and followed him to the living room where they settled onto the couch with the books and the gas lamp. He handed her one book with an encouraging look and settled in to continue working on his translation. Gabriella ate her soup slowly while she became engrossed in the translation, eventually flinching less at the sound of the thunder.
It was hours later as the rain lashed against the windows that Michael realized that Gabriella had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He looked at the watch on her wrist and was surprised to see it was after midnight. He set down his own book and took the other book out of Gabriella's hands, setting it on the coffee table. He scooped her up in his arms and walked her back to her room, resting her on her bed.
He stripped off his jacket and tshirt, kicking off his boots before lying down in bed beside her. She rolled to face him snoring softly. Michael smiled gently at her, pushing stray hairs off of her face. He loved to watch her sleep. When she was awake she was fierce, animated, funny, but asleep, she was vulnerable, soft, and more frequently, in his arms. Michael leaned in and brushed a kiss across her forehead.
When she moved into his arms, he smiled; it was him she was curled up with, not that overly large Ben. He knew that he didn't deserve her, and that he was deluding himself into believing this could be real, but it was such a pleasant delusion. He would never be able to give her the things that all human women craved, children. He sighed deeply, watching Gabriella sleep, and wondered if he would ever be anything more than a friend to her.