I should be asleep...but I wrote this instead because I love each and every one of you.
Brittney-xx: I hope you didn't get in trouble...but I'm glad you liked it.
chibichibi98: Aww thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
Earwen85: Yeah, I'd settle for both in a heartbeat. Things are gonna go to hell before that too. Because I'm evil.
Tiphanie: Don't worry. I haven't completely lost my evil touch. Not completely. There's still some left in me. The darkness is coming, just hold on.
jennyrenee: Aww I'll help you put yourself back together! But I'm glad you liked it!
Chiharu-angel: Aww thanks! This is by far the easiest story I've ever written, which makes it easy to update. But I'm glad you liked it!
Guest: I'm glad you're in love. I hope you continue to be!
Cassouminette: From my personal experience, the guy's I've been around loved when a girl tasted like something sweet. My ex loved when I tasted like strawberries. Which is partly why I don't touch them anymore...but that's beside the point. Just pretend you're watching a funny video. I laugh at stupid stuff in my head in front of strangers all the time. Sure they may think I'm crazy, but at least I'm having a good time.
Guest: I've got more coming!
Farbeyondthegrave: I've worked really hard to get their relationship started...and I'm going to break them because I'm evil. It won't be too romancy at this point.
inperfection: Hold on to the fluff while it lasts! Because things are gonna get serious again.
DaryDixon'sLover: Aww! I'm glad you liked it!
Enjoy!
James and I were curled up in bed in the sleeping bag, his arms around me, my back to his chest. He was still asleep, but I'd been up for a few minutes. I had to go to work today, but I was trying to make every minute with James last. My fingers were tracing a pattern on his arm, feeling the muscle under the skin, the prominent veins on the back of his hand. He shifted slightly, a sigh escaping him before he nuzzled deeper into the pillow. I sighed as well, knowing I needed to get up. I tried, but James just tightened his arms around me.
"James." I whined, trying to escape him, but he just held me tighter. "James, I need to go to work."
"Hmm...no."
"James." I whined, pushing one last time against his arm, but then gave up, huffing out a breath.
"Why do you work anyways? We'd be fine without it." He murmured.
"I do it because it's good for me to get out of the apartment every once in awhile."
"I'm not that horrible of company, am I?"
"Not most of the time..."
"What do you mean most of the time?" He asked teasingly, flipping me on my back. His fingers traced my cheek, as he looked me in the eyes. He was more relaxed than I'd seen him in a long time. "Have I ever told you that you're beautiful?"
"Every morning." I said, blushing a little.
"Well," He said, leaning down to peck my lips. "I don't think I do it enough." He kissed me again, his lips moving slowly against mine.
I would have loved to stay like that all day, but I had to get to work. I used the distraction to slip out from under him, heading to the bathroom, sticking my tongue out at him as he protested.
Work was uneventful as usual, giving me time to relax. Work out my worries and frustrations. And giving me a little time away from James. Sure, we were together now, and things were great, but I did need a little time to myself, and he was very good at smothering me when I was at home. I guess it had to do with the whole wanted-ex-assassin-who's-now-dating-someone complex. I was a liability. I was a weakness. Not that I hadn't been before, but now that we'd solidified things, that just made it all the more dangerous. For both of us.
So when I was grabbed walking home, it didn't really surprise me. I had gone to the market to get more fruit, knowing we were running low. I had decided to take a shortcut home, one that I didn't like, but I knew I was running behind and James got twitchy when that happened. So me, being dumb, took the dark, isolated alley, thinking I'd be safe. But I wasn't.
A hand shot out and grabbed me, panic filling me as my back hit the brick hard. My backpack fell from my hand, hitting the ground beside me, with my knife stuck in the front pocket. An arm barred across my chest, trapping me in. Foul breath hit me, and a face came into view in the low light hanging above the door to my left. I squirmed, trying to get away, but he was strong. Unusually strong.
He said something in Romanian, his accent was thick, and I only knew so much. I didn't know what to say, and he shoved me against the wall harder. He slapped me, my head snapping to the side, yelling at me again.
"I'm sorry...I-I don't know-"
He shoved me harder against the wall, my head snapping back, hitting the brick. I saw stars for a moment, barely registering the punch to my stomach, making me double over. He threw me to the ground, my arms and knees getting scraped up as I tried to catch my fall. The man's foot came down on my back, pushing me to the alley. I heard his belt click and panic filled me. I screamed, trying to get away, but he grabbed a fistful of my hair, slamming my head into the ground. My vision went blurry, dots dancing in front of my eyes. I felt his hands on me, tears filling my vision as my head was pounding. I could feel something pooling under my head, something wet and warm. I tried to fight him off as he yanked my pants down, but I was too weak. I felt nauseous, sick to my stomach. I couldn't focus on anything, my breathing nothing more than shallow gasps as I hyperventilated. I could feel his hands, dirty and rough on me. Touching me.
But then they were gone. I heard a yell, and a thud, then a voice, seething with anger speaking in Romanian. I turned, pushing myself up weakly, my arms shaking at the effort. My vision swam, my head feeling like it was disconnected from my body as I stared down the alley, watching James pummel the man's face in. The man wasn't fighting, wasn't even moving. He wasn't trying to stop James.
I got up to my knees, pulling my pants back up as I tried to move towards them, but I couldn't hold myself up. "James!" I called, my voice nothing more than a squeak. I coughed, tasting blood. "James. Stop."
He paused, mid punch, seeming to come back to himself. The man wasn't moving, his face nothing more than a bloody pulp. But he was breathing. Weak, rattling breaths. There was blood on his metal hand as he turned to me, his eyes full of hatred and anger. It was the first accident we'd had. The first time he'd hurt anyone in Romania and I could see it in his eyes. The guilt that flashed, the anger, the pain.
He didn't say anything as he bent down, picking up my backpack before slinging it over his shoulder. He picked me up next, cradling me to his chest as he walked the short ways back to the apartment. I was still in shock, not quite registering the pain I was in. I must have done something to anger god. Something to make whoever was up there hate me. Maybe I was too curious. Maybe it was a sign that I had fucked up and deserved everything I was getting. I leaned my head on James' shoulder and cried silent tears all the way up to the apartment. James sat me down on the couch, making sure I was steady before going to the kitchen, flipping on the light. It burned my eyes, making me whimper and close them, trying to block out the ugly florescent. I heard him moving around, doing something, but my head was pounding too much to open my eyes again.
Something cold touched my cheek, something frozen. James moved my hand so it was holding whatever it was there. Frozen vegetables. I heard him open the first aid kit, paper rustling around before I yelped as an antiseptic wipe touched my head. James shushed me, holding me still with his flesh hand on my shoulder as he dabbed at my skin. His hand moved up to the back of my head until he found a sore spot.
"Damn it." He breathed, dropping his hand to grab something from the first aid kit. "You must love getting hurt Olive." He said, holding something against the back of my head.
"Well..." I wheezed out. It hurt to breathe, my stomach clenching painfully with every inhale and exhale. "It's certainly become a normal thing for me."
I could picture him shaking his head at me. "I don't think you need stitches." I felt him wrapping something around my head...probably to hold the bandages in place. "But we'll see later how it looks. You'll be sore for awhile." He seemed to notice my difficulty breathing. "What's wrong?"
"Hurts..." I whimpered.
"What hurts. You gotta talk to me, baby doll." I lifted my shirt, pointing to my stomach. "Jesus." He breathed and I heard him shift. "Don't move." He said before getting up.
"Yeah. Like I'm gonna go run a marathon before you get back." I snarked, but my tone was flat. Realization hit me of what had just almost happened. What James had saved me from a second time. He'd tried so hard to avoid something like this, and my careless mistake had caused him to break his promise. I jumped when I felt him near me again, pressing something freezing cold to my stomach. I gasped, trying to move away, but the couch would only let me go so far.
"Here." He said, tugging my shirt back down before pressing the ice to it again, taking my other hand to hold it there.
"How did you know I was there?" I asked, trying to ignore the tear falling down my cheek. "How did you find me?"
"I went out looking for you. You were late getting back, and I got worried. Checked the bookstore, and the market before I thought of the alley."
"How do you know about the alley?"
"I've followed you."
"What, you just straight up stalked me before?"
"You're very oblivious sometimes." He said as he put away the first aid kit.
"Well, I'm glad you found me." I said quietly.
"Are you okay?" I heard him kneel in front of me.
"Yeah. I just need some sleep."
"Sorry, doll. You've got a concussion. No sleeping for you tonight." I heard him shift, and papers rustle. "You're sure you're okay?"
"Yeah..." I said, adjusting myself on the couch slightly.
But I wasn't. I was far from it.