The Savior

Chapter 7

Mikal's POV

I woke up to the feel of hands shaking me. "It's me," Ace said. "You were having a nightmare." I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. "Yeah, I get those often." It didn't help that the usual source of my nightmares was under this very roof, however this one was caused by more recent events.

"How are you doing," he asked me. I shook my head, "Careful Ace, you're making it seem like you care." I couldn't keep the Venom from my voice as I said it. "Mikal," he said but I cut him off. "I'm fine. You shouldn't be worrying anyways, you said it yourself, you have no time or want for things like caring for others." I fell in love with Ace two years after I began apprenticing under him. I never told him, but he knew and he told me it was foolish to have these feelings. I've done everything to try and get rid of these feelings, but nothing worked. I dove myself into my work, I had sex with many men and women, some I dated but broke off with because they weren't him.

I got up to wash off the sweat from my nightmare. As I was heading towards the bathroom, he grabbed my wrist. I turned to face him. I went to say something but my words died on my tongue when I saw the pain in his eyes. He stood, pulling me towards him slowly, testing the waters. I let him. I let him cup the side of my face with his other hand. I let him kiss me, and I kissed him back.

For years he rejected me. For years he pushed me away. And now he's kissing me. I have wanted to kiss him for so long, and when I finally give up, and stopped wishing, he gives me what I want. Before he could deepen the kiss I stepped back with a shake of my head. "I'm not doing this," I said, my voice sounding emotionless. I wanted it to sound cold, filled with the anger I felt, but I couldn't bring those emotions forth. I could only speak the words. When I went towards my bathroom once more, he let me go this time.

I stood under the spray hands braced against the wall as it hit my back. What made him change? Was it because of the hell I went through? Did he feel sorry for me? Was he wanting to use me as his own sense of therapy? I was so lost in my thoughts, that I hadn't realized the water was cold until someone put their hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw it was Ace. He reached over and turned off the water and handed me a towel. "I changed your sheets for you," he said, not looking me in the eye. "Why," I asked him. "Because they were soaked in sweat," was his reply. "You know damn well, that's not what I'm asking," I said to him, my voice staying low. I had too many emotions welling up in me right now. I didn't know what I wanted to feel. "You've kept me at bay for years, tossed aside my feelings. So why now," I asked him. My eyes were burning, tears threatening to spill. "Do you feel sorry for me after all the shit that's happened? Are you wanting to use me to help yourself after what's happened?"

"I love you," he said so low I almost didn't hear him. "You what," I asked him. "Why now all of a sudden?" "Its not sudden. I have for a while," he confessed. "I was in denial for the longest time. Look at me Mikal, you know what I am. I was cursed to scare everyone who ever sees my second form. I was convinced you would be like all others because I had never met someone who wasn't scared. I knew that if I truly scared you, it would kill me inside. Then I finally got the balls to test it after I found out Stormy wasn't scared of Alister. When you weren't scared, it made me happy, but then I was hit with the realization that you were mortal and would one day die, leaving me behind, so I didn't want to let my feelings for you grow more than they already did, but they grew anyways. Then Stormy had that dream of us being captured. I tried to do what I could, hoping that I would find something that would trigger a reality where you were safe, and not being tortured with the rest of us, but nothing worked. Then I was forced to watch everything Lucifer did to you, and I felt useless. I failed you. Then we were attacked by Rowanoff and I wasn't able to get to you. If I had gone with Stormy to save you, I knew I would have been nothing but a burden because he would have had that strange affect on me again. Plus I knew if there was anyone I could trust with your life, it's her." He then cupped my face, "I have hidden my feelings, and I've hurt you time and time again. When you were sleeping around, it killed me. I wanted to kill everyone who got to enjoy you, but I didn't because it was the least I deserved after the pain I put you through. This anger you feel, I know I deserve that too and I accept it. I will not hide my feelings from you any longer. What you choose to do with your feelings towards me, I will accept."  He then placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before leaving the room.

I didn't know what to say. Done with my emotions for one night, I dried off and went back to bed.

When I woke up the next morning I dressed and went down for breakfast. Stormy was holding Maya who looked miserable. "Everything okay," I asked her. "She and Alex are running fevers," Stormy said with a yawn. "Drac says it's because their magic levels are growing, which causes them to get fevers and not feel good." Stormy adjusted Maya who whined, her grip on Stormy's shirt tightening out of fear Stormy was going to put her down.

It was still mindblowing that she was pregnant when shit went down and none of us knew it. I didn't blame her for taking so long to rescue us. Those two years spent in hell were worth it because her and the kids were safe here at home. Had I known she was pregnant, I would have told her to let me die on the other side so that way she didn't risk turning her babies into orphans. I will still be forever grateful she risked her life for me though.

When Ace came in, we shared brief eye contact before I went to grab myself a bottle of water. I didn't want to deal with him and these mixed feelings. I wanted to put the world right for my niece and my nephew so they can know what it's like living in a peaceful place. I will deal with him later. If we survive this.