Author's note: Thanks to Avis Minter for another good brainstorming!
—--
Their lips burned from the permanent flame between them. Breathing heavily, both of them smiled as Lucas leaned his forehead on Grace's, breathing her sweet scent in.
She fought for breath, her palms resting on his chest, feeling his heart beat rapidly.
She smiled, love for this amazing man washing all over her.
He cupped her right cheek, giving her a short kiss.
"It's wonderful to see you smile again, my angel", as he said his special nickname for her, she gently touched the pendant, her eyes sparkling as her smile widened.
"You make me smile", she whispered as she placed a short, sweet kiss on his lips "You make me happy. Happier than I've ever been."
Lucas gently nuzzled his nose against hers, his palm still cupping her soft cheek.
"Always know how much I love you. When you need to lean on somebody, lean on me", he said warmly.
Grace smiled as she took his palms in her hands and brought him to the seat.
As they sat, she leaned her head on his shoulder. Lucas wrapped one arm around Grace's shoulders while the other held her fingers as they rested on his thigh.
They were both silent as they stared at the darkness that passed by the window.
"I can't wait to see Lillian", whispered Grace "I really miss her.".
Lucas nodded.
"I know what you mean. I also miss Gustave. He was always more like a brother to me than just a cousin. I love Jean and Pierre as well, but Gustave and I always had a special bond", said Lucas with a smile.
Grace looked up at him, mirroring his smile.
"Oh? Do tell, please", she said.
Lucas looked down at her and smiled.
"Aren't you sleepy?", he asked silently.
Grace snuggled into his side.
"No, not really", looking up at him, she asked "You?"
Lucas shook his head.
"I rarely can sleep when traveling", he kissed her soft hair "So, what should we do, Miss Owl?"
As Lucas stretched and yawned, Grace perked up.
"I know! Lets play 20 questions!", she smiled widely "What do you think?"
Lucas smirked.
"Alright", he moved his head from left to right shoulder, trying to chase the pain away.
Seeing his grimace, Grace knelt on the seat behind him and put her fingertips on his neck.
"Here, let me", she said as her hands slowly started to massage his neck, her fingertips gently pressing into his skin, hitting all the right spots.
Lucas closed his eyes and let out a breathy moan.
"Where did you learn to do that?", he whispered "Oh, Grace, that feels so good!"
Grace smiled.
"Is that your first question?"
Lucas smiled, his eyes still closed as he enjoyed her touch.
"Might as well be", he replied, letting out a sigh of relief as she worked out a knot on the left side of his neck.
She nodded as her fingers slowly massaged the places where his neck connected with his shoulders, eliciting another sigh from Lucas.
"I was 18 years old and heard about the free course for learning Thai massage. They also taught us Thai self-massage so you know how to help yourself if you got pain in your neck,
back, legs and arms and there is nobody there to give you a massage", she explained, focusing on a few hard knots she felt under her fingers.
Lucas let his head fall down with another breath of relief escaping him.
"Oh, you'll have to teach me that", he mumbled silently.
Grace smiled as she sneaked her arms down his chest from behind joining her palms there and placed her chin on his left shoulder.
Lucas slowly turned to his left to see what was she up to, only to see her cute little pout.
"You don't like my massage?", she asked, a flirtatious smile curling up her lips.
Lucas' eyes sparkled dangerously and he placed his fingers on her forearms, slowly caressing her soft skin with his fingertips, causing her to bit on her lower lip as she shivered deliciously at his touch.
"Oh, you know I do", he mumbled silently, his voice a bit hoarse "But, just in case when you're not around", his eyes darkened "Like at the business meetings."
Grace nodded.
"Ah, I see", she whispered, gently kissing his hairline as her hands went back to work their magic on his neck and shoulders "Consider it done", as she felt him relax under her touch, Grace smiled "My turn", she closed one eye as she thought about what should she ask him first while still massaging his shoulders and moving her fingers toward his upper back.
"Alright", she smiled "When and with whom did you have your first kiss?"
Lucas chuckled.
"You couldn't ask something more simple for the beginning?"
Grace giggled.
"We'll get to the regular stuff later", she felt his shoulders shake with laughter and she grinned, loving to hear that sound "Come on, fess up!"
Lucas let out a breath
"Oh, dear. It was a girl named Joanna, back when we lived in Vancouver. I was 14, she was 13", Lucas started to laugh "We didn't even like each other that way! She carried a torch for a boy named Gus and I was head over heels for a girl named Maria. Both Joanna and I didn't want to
look like fools in front of them so we made a deal to learn how to kiss with each other. But, we couldn't make it right no matter how hard we tried!", his laughter grew stronger as he managed to say "Our noses bumped so hard that we both jumped away from each other!", by now Grace collapsed on his shoulder giggling like there is no tomorrow "When we finally managed to kiss, we were both disgusted! She said I am an idiot, I called her a moron and we never spoke again!"
Grace laughed hard as Lucas wiped his own tears of laughter and looked at her.
"Now, tell me about yours", he said, a smile never leaving his lips.
Grace shook her head, grinning.
"Oh, mine was way more successful than yours! We got to it straight away, no nose bumping", she giggled "It was a boy named Waylon. We were at the orphanage together. I was six, he was seven. He kissed me and I slapped him!", at those words Lucas burst into laughter so hard that he doubled over, keeping her forearms on his chest as she leaned against his back, laughing her heart out!
Lucas wiped his tears of laughter as he leaned back into his seat and Grace continued her massage, waiting for his next question.
"Okay, lets see…hmmm", Lucas slightly squeezed his eyes, thinking about the next question "What is your favorite activity to do on a rainy day?"
Hiding a smile, Lucas stole a peek at Grace's smiling face, as the rain pounded against the train window.
Grace wiggled her eyebrows.
"On a rainy day…", she smiled flirtatiously "Or on a rainy evening?"
His eyes darkened.
"You choose", he whispered.
Grace closed one eye.
"You mean in general or on this particular evening?", at his pointed look, she pretended to be annoyed "What?! You have to be more precise if you want the right answer!"
Lucas inched closer to her face.
"Alright", he whispered "THIS evening."
Grace's fingers sneaked into his hair making him close his eyes, letting out a sigh.
"Well, I could always show you. They say that picture speaks a thousand words", and with those words, she leaned down and kissed him.
All the time her hands were tirelessly working their magic on his upper back, shoulders and neck. Lucas sighed into their kiss as she destroyed another hard knot in his shoulder and Grace dived in, deepening the kiss.
Lucas groaned, his hands blindly reaching for her and pulling her on his lap, kissing her passionately.
They both gasped as their bodies collided and broke the kiss, trying not to cross the line.
She breathed heavily, willing herself to get back to her seat, but couldn't.
And he wasn't willing to let her go either.
Grace leaned her forehead on Lucas' and breathing the same air as he did, she whispered, gently massaging his hairline:
"Favourite drink?"
Lucas closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.
"Chateau Lafite Rothschild", he whispered and she smiled, remembering very well that they drank that wine on their first date.
She roamed her fingers in his hair and he opened his eyes, looking at her with so much love, passion and desire that she couldn't help not to bite her lower lip.
Lucas moved close to her and kissing her left eye, he asked silently:
"And yours?"
His gaze was stirring fire deep inside her and she let out a shaky breath.
"Usually, I'd agree with you, but you know, I am quite fond of someone's hot chocolate", she grinned as his lips gave her a sweet, lazy kiss.
Lucas smiled as he felt her smile against his lips. He looked up at her eyes.
"First thing you were ever scared of?", he asked.
Grace shivered at the mere thought.
"Spiders. Yuck!", she replied, her fingers pulling at the last remaining knots in his upper back and she asked "And you?"
"My great-grandmother Claudette", Lucas deadpanned, causing Grace to gasp, then burst to laugh alongside him!
"Lucas!", she playfully hit him, giggling.
He grinned at the sweet sound of her laugh.
He will never get tired of it.
"It's true!", he said through laughter "She always wore black, had her hair up in a bun and her face was full of wrinkles. I thought she was a witch!", he laughed, sending Grace into hysterics.
Lucas wrapped his arms around her waist allowing her to fall on his shoulder as she laughed her heart out.
He laughed alongside her.
"Oh, my God!", gasped Grace as she pulled away, wiping tears of laughter.
Lucas grinned.
"Your turn", he winked at her.
Grace smiled.
"Alright. What's your favorite book?", she asked.
Lucas took a deep breath in, squeezing his eyes thoughtfully.
"Oh, that's a hard one. Hmmmm… I'll go with Dangerous Liaisons", he replied, his lips curling up into a devilish grin.
Grace smirked.
"Oh, that's an interesting choice!", she caressed the back of his head as she brushed her lips against his "I can tell that you've read it quite some times", she whispered, earning herself a smouldering gaze from his dark orbs and a quick caress of his tongue on her upper lip that made her moan.
Lucas took a chance and plunged in deeply, his tongue caressing the warmth of her sweet mouth, making her moan in pleasure and tug at his hair.
Lucas pulled away, breathing heavily, feeling like his heart would jump out of his chest.
"Are we done with regular questions?", he asked silently, his voice dropping an octave lower.
Grace gasped for air, feeling her head spin.
"But, I just wanted to ask you what kind of music do you like", she quipped, smiling as he shook his head and hid his face into her hair.
"What are you doing to me, Grace", he mumbled silently as he tried to calm his breathing down. As he finally felt his heartbeat slow down a bit, he looked up at her shining eyes, taking in her dilated pupils and swollen rosy lips "I'd go with jazz. Got a jazz bug bit me when we lived in New Orleans", he gave her a soft smile "And you?
Grace smiled.
"I like jazz too. And the theater music, of course. Nutcracker took my breath away", she smiled.
Lucas gently put a strand of her hair behind her ear and then looked at her.
"Wait… you didn't tell me what's your favorite book?", he said and watched as her smile disappeared and she looked down.
And as the pendant from her necklace shone against the dim light in the compartment, she plucked up the courage from it not to fall apart as she silently:
"Anne of Green Gables."
Lucas felt his heart break for this amazing woman whom he loved with every part of his heart.
Grace shrugged.
"I always found comfort in it. Anne had it even harder than me. And she was adopted at the end so it gave me hope", she sniffed "And she had red hair. Just like my sister."
Lucas wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
"And she was a fighter. She never gave up. And she had spunk and spirit", he cupped her cheeks, making her look up at him "Like someone else I know."
She gave him a small smile, her fingertips holding onto the pendant.
No breaking down. Just a few tears.
And it was enough for now.
It was enough for the new beginning.
—--
No mountains too high for you to climb
All you have to do is have some climbing faith, oh, yeah.
No rivers too wide for you to make it across
All you have to do is believe it when you pray.
And then you will see the morning will come
And everyday will be bright as the sun
All of your fears - cast them on me
I just want you to see...
I'll be your cloud up in the sky
I'll be your shoulder when you cry
I'll hear your voices when you call me
I am your angel
And when all hope is gone, I'm here
No matter how far you are, I'm near
It makes no difference who you are
I am your angel
I'm your angel.
I saw your teardrops, and I heard you cry
All you need is time
Seek me and you shall find
You have everything, and you're still lonely
It don't have to be this way
Let me show you a better day.
And then you will see the morning will come
And all of your days will be bright as the sun
So, all of your fears - just cast them on me
How can I make you see?
I'll be your cloud up in the sky
I'll be your shoulder when you cry
I'll hear your voices when you call me
I am your angel.
And when all hope is gone, I'm here
No matter how far you are, I'm near
It makes no difference who you are
I am your angel
I'm your angel.
And when it's time to face the storm
I'll be right by your side
Grace will keep us safe and warm
And I know we will survive.
And when it seems as if your end is drawing near
Don't you dare give up the fight
Just put your trust beyond the skies
I'll be your cloud up in the sky
I'll be your shoulder when you cry
I'll hear your voices when you call me
I am your angel
And when all hope is gone, I'm here
No matter how far you are, I'm near
It makes no difference who you are
I am your angel
I'm your angel.
I'll be your cloud up in the sky
I'll be your shoulder when you cry
I'll hear your voices when you call me
I am your angel
And when all hope is gone, I'm here
No matter how far you are, I'm near
It makes no difference who you are
I am your angel
I'm your angel.
I'll be your cloud up in the sky
I'll be your shoulder when you cry
I'll hear your voices when you call me
I'm your angel.
(Celine Dion and R. Kelly - "I am your angel)