Nora

My mother stared at me a long time, as if she were in a catatonic state. Patch didn't move, I didn't move, and she didn't. Everything was especially still.

"Do you love her?" She finally said, turning to Patch. "Do you really love my daughter?" There was something weary about the way she looked at him. And I supposed, I too, would be weary. I'd only just explained to her that Patch was a fallen angel, I was a Nephilim, she had sex with Hank who also happened to be Nephilim and Patch and I were on the run from some really mean and nasty Nephilim who hated Patch and my relationship. She also had just found out that the two of us were sworn together my an oath spoken under heaven –which might as well have been our marriage certificate and also meant that I'd probably not be having a wedding any time soon since our vows had already been said.

She was taking it all in –unreasonably well.

There had been no shouting, no swearing, and my mother hadn't tried to pull a gun on Patch, yet –which seemed like a promising start.

Patch slid his fingers through mine and looked my mother straight in the eye. "Very much, Blythe. I love your daughter more than anything in this world."

Despite the fact that my mother was there, I snuggle closer to him on the couch and rested my head on his shoulder.

Angel, He said to me, through my thoughts. Are you sure about this?

Yes, I replied without any hesitation.

I was sure.

More sure about this than anything else I had ever done in my whole life. I wanted to run away with him and be young and alive and beautiful until our whole world ended. I wanted to know what it was like to have forever and not fear it.

Mom sighed slightly and I realized how much it must hurt her to let me go away and for her to say this as she said, "Make sure you pack your things. Bring anything you need with you."

I felt the burn of regret under my skin and realized for the first time that this was sort of like her blessing. I was going to go away and I didn't know when I'd see her again.

My eyes met Patch's and I knew that he understood what I was going through.

Patch slid his fingers through mine and followed me up the stairs.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" And by way of answer, I slid my arms around his neck and kissed him urgently on the mouth.

"Love you."

I wrapped my arms around my mother and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, mom." A tear slid down my cheek and with a hurried fervor, I brushed it aside. That was maybe one of the hardest things I had ever done, I realized, as I walked away and drove away into the sunset with Patch.

Patch's kisses melted me in places I didn't know existed and he made the world disappear around us.

It was just the two of us in the small motel and I let him hold me in his arms.

I pressed my face into his solid chest and breathed in the scent of him. Leather. Spice. And…ahh…mint. He warm and real and a solid assurance to be held in his arms.

I'd never known a feeling like this before. That feeling when he was silent and could have been sleeping but he was really just holding to me and listening to my breaths go in and out and my heart beat. The feeling I had now, warmed me and filled me with that love I had for him. I loved every second of this.

I slid my fingers over his chest and felt him shivering with pleasure beneath me. His skin was warm and it made me feel at home.

Patch is my home.

Wherever he is, I belong.

"Mmm…" he said, pressing his face into my neck and his breath tickled my skin.

Patch is my forever now.

"I love you," I whispered against his skin and pressed my lips against his rock hard abs. I slowly moved my lips up his chest and neck and he captured strands of my hair in his fingers.

He slid his fingers through my hair and kissed me urgently, as if I were the oasis in a desert.

And when he pulled back, I felt him look down at me in his arms. I looked back at him, staring into his dark eyes. "If I kiss you, every day, every single second from now and forever, it would never be enough." The words made me melt on the inside. "I don't know what I would have done if Dante had taken you from me."

A sob of anguish caught in my throat. "I…when your feather burned, I never thought I'd see you again. I thought it was all over. I'd never felt more scared or alone in my life. I can't live without you, Patch. I need you. You're my forever."

He made a quiet sound and it resonated all of the emotions I felt right now and it made tears fall soundlessly from my cheeks.

His hands shook where they held me and he used his thumb to wipe away my tears. "I need you too, Angel. And you're my forever."

I kissed him.

Our kiss was something that was bittersweet and longing and delicious. His lips blocked out the rest of the world and his fingers in my hair only made me want him more. But I didn't need to just want him anymore, I had him.

Right here.

When I woke up, Patch's arms were around me and when I moved, his arms only tightened around my waist. It made me feel warm and slippery inside and I curled up beside him.

I just lay there in his arms for the hours that passed, watching him sleep.

"You're staring at me," he said, his eyes weren't even open.

I smiled lightly. "Why? Are you complaining?"

His arms tightened around me. "Never, Angel. Never."

I left small, feather light kisses up his shoulder.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of bed today?" He asked while kissing me.

"No."