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Chapter Twenty-One - Be Mine

Once he entered the Ark the Musician used it to return to the Earl's manor despite the fact that he didn't really want to go there. In truth he wanted nothing more than to retreat to his secret room in order to lick his wounds but it would look suspicious if he didn't return to the manor. And after what had just occurred he couldn't afford for anything else to make him look suspicious at this point. Too many things had already cast a shadow on his motives and he didn't want to add to the list.

"I can't believe that I allowed that to happen," Nicholas thought to himself as he reached out and pulled open the door of his room. Stepping inside he practically slammed the door before stalking over to the bed. His stupidity and the resulting incident had served to put him in a decidedly foul mood and he wasn't really doing anything to hide this fact. "I could have gotten her killed…"

Lyssa's sweet face suddenly appeared in his mind and the young Noah reached up, placing a gloved hand over his face as he shook his head. This kept happening... regardless of what he started out focusing on his thoughts inevitably shifted to Lyssa. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep her out of his mind… she had changed him, for better or worse. He was no longer the same person that he had been before meeting her although the voice of the inner Noah still screamed out in his mind.

"Destroy the girl and the Innocence!"

But Nicholas knew the simple truth of the matter; no matter what the voice of the inner Noah demanded of him there was absolutely no way that he could ever bring harm to Lyssa. At least not intentionally. Unfortunately it was a fact that he could bring her harm through his actions alone and this reality caused a shiver to run down his spine.

"I love her," the young Noah whispered, a soft look coming to light up his normally steely gray eyes. He was struck by a realization at this point and he knew what must be done. "And I have to protect her."

With this thought in mind Nicholas got to his feet, leaving his room and quietly making his way out of the manor once more. This visit had been brief but none of the others had seen him so hopefully no one would bring up questions later.

"I can't believe that the Exorcists actually gained the upper hand against Nicky-pet," Road mused as she idly tossed candles at a target she had set up several yards away. A target that strongly resembled the red haired Exorcist that her brother had been assigned to get rid of. After the Musician's departure the young Noah girl had felt the need to release some pent up frustrations. "The Musician dominated most of that fight so what exactly happened?"

Things had taken a turn for the worst when that red headed imbecile had decided to tackle Nicholas but even then he shouldn't have had any problems getting to his feet and pummeling the guy. But the Musician had hesitated when those two female Exorcists had arrived, which was the reason why Road had felt the need to interfere.

"Why did he hesitate?" Road asked herself as one of her candles pierced the dummy of Cross in the eye. Since this was her realm the target dummy that she had created was remarkably life like, as was evident by the fake blood that spurted from it's eye as it was punctured. A sadistic smile spread across her face as she witnessed this but even that couldn't distract her from these disturbing thoughts.

"I just don't get it…"

After leaving the manor Nicholas used Timcanpy to quickly locate the small inn where the group of Exorcists were staying. They had retreated some distance from the scene of their staged battle, a fact for which Nicholas was grateful. It meant that the chances that he would be caught by one of his siblings was low but more importantly it meant that Lyssa's safety was less of a concern.

Reliable as always Timcanpy led the Musician right up to the door of the room that he assumed must be Lyssa's. For once the young Noah didn't care if Cross caught the two of them together since, if all worked out as he hoped it would, it would no longer be a necessity to keep their relationship a secret. Reaching out he lightly knocked on the door of her room with a gloved hand, his other running through his hair in a nervous gesture.

For which he inwardly cursed himself.

A few minutes passed and then the door was pulled open. "Yes, what is…" Lyssa's voice trailed off as she realized exactly who it was that had been knocking on her door. She had been expecting Maria, since she'd known from the knock that it wasn't Master Cross, but of course the Noah who stood before her was the absolute last person whom she had expected to see. Reaching out she seized him by the arm, pulling him into the room before quickly closing the door. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I apologize," Nicholas said, inclining his head to her ever so slightly, his gray eyes shining as he gazed at the girl. She was dressed in a ruffled blouse and loose trousers, her Exorcist coat hanging on the back of a nearby chair. "But I just wanted to make certain that you were alright."

"I'm fine," Lyssa said, gazing around as though expecting for someone else to join them at any moment. "But neither of us is going to be able to say that if Master Cross finds you here."

Nicholas scoffed, not even seeming remotely concerned about the possible threat that she spoke of. "I'm not frightened of Marian… and you shouldn't be either." His eyes flashed golden at this point. "If he ever lays so much as a finger on you I'll rip him apart."

Reaching out Lyssa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Alright Nicky, calm down. There won't be any reason for you to tear anyone apart."

Her gentle touch seemed to bring Nicholas back to himself and his eyes reverted to their normal shade of cool gray. The right corner of his mouth twitched up into a smirk as he once again ran a hand through his mahogany colored hair. "I apologize. I guess I got a little carried away… but I meant every word that I said."

Lyssa offered him a smile. "That's nice Nicky… so did you just come by to make sure that I'm alright or was there something else on your mind?"

"Um actually there was something else that I wanted to ask you…" Nicholas hesitated at this point, moving his hands nervously as he spoke. He was completely irritated by this but couldn't seem to force himself to calm enough to stop.

"What is it?" Lyssa questioned curiously, rather enjoying watching the nervous way that he was behaving. She was so accustomed to seeing him completely in control of his emotions that seeing this side of him somehow served to make him appear more… human. Proved that he wasn't the emotionless person that he pretended to be. A soft smile spread across her face as she waited for him to continue.

"Well it's just… I wanted to tell you…" A slight blush rose to color the Noah's face and he once again hesitated, running a hand through his hair as though compelled to do so by some other worldly force. This was a quirk that he'd had for as long as he could remember and yet it still annoyed him to no end.

"Come on Nicky," Lyssa coaxed, reaching out and taking his hand before he once again had the chance to move it to his hair again. He was going to have it standing on end if he continued on in this manner. "You can do it, I know you can."

"I want to protect you," Nicholas murmured, his voice much softer than normal but also slightly deeper. He gazed down into her doe eyes and seemed to find a measure of confidence. "And I…" Swallowing around the lump that had seemed to develop in his throat the young man managed to choke out the last two words. "…love you."

Lyssa's eyes widened as she heard these words whispered from the lips of the young Noah. Reaching out she seized his other hand, holding both of them within her own as she gazed into his gray eyes. They were the exact color of the sky before a thunderstorm and she knew, without a doubt, that he was capable of just as much destruction as said storm. But she also knew that there was a gentle side to him that was rarely seen but precious none the less. Smiling, in this moment she knew that she mirrored his feelings. And the young girl had a much easier time saying it. "I love you too Nicky… very much."

Nicholas' heart actually skipped a beat as he gently pulled her into his embrace. He hadn't even dared to hope for such a thing and yet she had told him that she shared his feelings. His angel had granted him a love that he didn't deserve but none the less desired. Leaning forward he touched his lips gently to hers, savoring the feelings as she returned his gentle kiss. Pulling away and seeing the light of happiness that was shining in her eyes Nicholas suddenly sank to one knee in front of her. Still holding her hands within his own he spoke, "I have no ring to offer you at present but I have to ask… Lyssa, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

This was insane. In truth they barely knew one another and yet Nicholas couldn't resist asking her this question and now he waited for her response with baited breath. Would she accept his proposal or would she do the sensible thing and tell him to get lost?

"Nicholas…"

His heart leapt into his throat as she spoke, afraid that she was going to refuse. Taking a deep breath he gazed up at her angelic face, praying for the first time in countless years, how many exactly he couldn't be sure. He knew that he would never be the same if she refused but all he could do was wait for her to finish.

"I would be honored to be your wife."

A smile appeared across his face as he leapt to his feet and seized her around the waist, twirling her around happily. His pulse was still racing and he couldn't believe his good fortune. The young man knew that he had done absolutely nothing to deserve her love but was grateful for it none the less. For the first time in a long time things actually seemed to be going right for him and Nicholas could only marvel at this fact.

"I swear I'll never give you cause to regret this decision…" he whispered sincerely before leaning forward and kissing her passionately.

A/N - End of another chapter and there was fluff! Not a lot but hey better than none. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please be kind enough to leave a review as you leave.