Bound to Earth

32: It's A Kid

I'd finished a call with Diane, checking up on my businesses, when my doorbell rang. It was way too early for Mirai to be home from school, and I'd given her the key to my house a week ago while we were shopping.

My body was sluggish, the 11 year old taking more of a toll on me than I could've thought. I was waking up early, making sure she was ready for school, trying to get all my work done while she was gone, having food ready when she got home, homework, and more homework, and then self-defense practice.

She had so much energy, I considered investing in vitamins. However the cost I'd have of eating vitamins or drinking any coffee made me cringe. I wasn't looking to going back to a regular shitting schedule. An occasional glass of alcohol seemed to be enough to get me through.

Still, I walked down and opened the door when the sugary scent hit me.

Standing in all his glory, Alistar held out a small bouquet of mixed flowers. His eyes caught on mine, staring in awe. His hair was neatly pulled back and his face, freshly shaven. "Hi."

He took me so off guard, I responded in Japanese. "Hi."

He swallowed, reaching for me but stopping short. "Can I come in?"

I didn't bother to answer. He was here and that was all that mattered. My eyes watered and my hands shook as I reached for him. Everything hurt in the best ways possible. All my fears, dissipating.

He wrapped me in his arms, pressing his lips to mine. He took a deep inhale of my scent, pulling back but keeping me in his arms. "I missed you." He squeezed until I couldn't breathe, my ribs still aching. "You've lost weight."

I whipped at my watery eyes. "I missed you too."

"Rune is pissed at you." He finally pulled away, handing me the flowers.

"Where is he, and the others?" I stepped back and walked into my kitchen, grabbing a vase and filling it with water.

"They had to take a rental." He sat at the table, looking around. "Is this your house?"

"Yes. It was originally my adoptive parents, and one of the first pieces of land I bought." I put the vase of flowers on the table. "You left them behind?"

"I bought some flowers and teleported here as soon as we got off the plane." He grabbed my wrist, pulling me in his lap.

He must've taken his time with choosing the flowers since I could hear tires screech to a halt outside, and footsteps pound up to my door. It was so sweet.

They didn't even bother knocking, Malachi bursting through the front door, furious. "You have some nerve. Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you, how many of your hotels we stopped at?"

My bottom lip wobbled as I laughed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't make her cry. I thought we all agreed we wouldn't come in here and make her panic." Valentino stepped up to me, pulling me into his arms. He looked as if he hadn't fed in months. 

His nose dipped down to mine, his lips stopping short. "May I?"

I nodded, unable to speak from the amount of emotion bursting from me.

His lips met mine, commanding all my attention. His hand burrowed into my hair to pull me closer as his tongue dipped in my mouth. Each stroke of his tongue mended the aching in my heart until my toes curled.

Malachi cleared his throat, forcing me to pull away from Valentino. "You're not supposed to be spoiling her right now, but kicking her ass."

Valentino's face had already started to regain color, and his body was more relaxed. "Give her a break."