My Future

Christmas Memories

December 25, 2006

Christmas was so different this year, in so many ways. I wasn't jet lagged for one. The second was Draken. I woke that morning to the smell of his famous waffles drifting in from the kitchen. This was the fifth morning in a row I woke up to him cooking the two of us breakfast. I shuffled into the kitchen and pecked him on the cheek. "Careful darling. You keep this up and I might just get spoiled." I poured me a cup of coffee and walked over to the counter next to him. "How can you stand that stuff Adriana? It's disgusting." I hummed as I took a sip from the cup. "No way! This, my love, is the nectar of the Gods." He just shook his head and flipped another pancake. "How many are you gonna...DAMN IT! I totally forgot! The guys are coming over for breakfast. I'm a mess." Draken ruffled my hair before adding another one to the platter. "You look fine babe. Trust me. Do you care to set the table?"

I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out all the plates and forks. "Of course I don't care." I carried them over to the table and sat them down. Draken brought the plate of waffles in and sat it in the middle along with the syrup and butter. The doorbell rang and I quickly dismissed myself to change out of my pjs. Once I was done I walked back into the kitchen and sat with the others. We all talked and smiled with each other but deep down we knew something just didn't feel right. Mikey... he wasn't here. This time last year I was on a plane and they were fighting against the Black Dragons. I couldn't help but stare at Draken. I admired him so much. He had helped me so much when Mikey left. And he's helped these guys too. He was their big brother.

Later on that day after everyone left I told Draken I was gonna go for a walk. He offered to come with me but I told him I just needed to clear my head for a bit. That wasn't a lie but I had a destination in mind. The cemetery. I was gonna go visit Emma. I walked past all the graves and wondered if their families had come to see them. I stopped in my tracks a bit in front of the Sano family grave. Mikey was here. I turned on my feet to leave when his voice stopped me. "You came to see Emma, didn't you? Ari?" I turned back and my gaze met his and his last words replayed in my mind. He surely wouldn't try anything here would he. I looked closer at his expression and saw his eyes were red and puffy. 'He's been crying.' I put my hands to my side and nodded.

I walked to his side and laid the freshly picked flowers I had brought in front of her grave. Mikey admired them softly. "They're beautiful. She would love them." I stood there in silence unsure of what to say. I turned to walk away but stopped just a short distance from him. "Your right. I have them too. The dark urges. I have for years. And it's gotten worse ever since I killed James. I still have the scars from that night. The words he engraved into my skin are still fresh almost as if they were done yesterday. I can still feel it. My hand on the trigger. When I killed him I thought I was losing my mind, Mikey. I didn't feel a damn thing. If anything watching him die made me ecstatic. And that is not something I'm proud of. I hope you find whatever it is your looking for, but know this. We can't fight darkness with darkness. We have to find compassion, and embrace darkness inside of us in order to understand it, and ultimately transcend it."

I turned my head and saw a shocked expression on his face. I smiled softly before walking out of the cemetery. I couldn't help to recall the many phone calls I had with Draken after I left. One in particular stood out to me.

-Flashback May 10, 2006-

I sat in the cafe, latte in hand, waiting for my phone to ring. My ringtone went off and I quickly answered. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRAKEN!!!" Everyone in the cafe looked at me weirdly and I silently apologized. "Thanks, Adriana. I can't believe you remembered." I nearly spat out my drink. "Of course I remembered, you goof. Why wouldn't I?" I heard silence on the other end. "Draken? Are you okay?" He finally spoke and when he did there was a slight catch in his voice. "Yeah, I'm good. How are you? Are you on summer break yet?" I couldn't help but be concerned, but I pushed it aside. "I should be asking you that, silly. But I'm doing well. Today was the last day of the year. Finally! But seriously, how are you?" He chuckled slightly on the other end. "I'm alright, just missing you like crazy." Heat rose to my face. "Draken..." He must have caught what he said. "I mean we all do!" My chest started to tighten and I couldn't quite figure out why. "Seriously though Adriana. Things aren't right here without you. Come home. Please." His voice sounded almost pleading, as if some sort of hidden emotion was there.

-Flashback End-

Little did I know there was. For the both of us. When I arrived back at the house he was standing outside waiting for me. "Hey. I was just fixing to call you. Mitsuya invited us to dinner with his family." I nearly beamed. "What time?" He looked at his phone before replying. "We still got a couple hours." I nodded my head. "Alright. I'm gonna go get cleaned up." I quickly kissed him on the cheek before walking into the house. I walked into my room and pulled off all my clothes. Just in my bra and panties I walked over to the closet and examined myself in the mirror there. I touched my the angered scar on my leg. It still hurt at times. A stray tear made its way down my face followed by another and another. I would wipe one away and one more would take its place.

"Hey Adriana, would you..." I looked up and saw Draken standing in the doorway of the reflection. I quickly wiped away my tears and turned to him. "What is it sweetie?" A look of concern flashed across his face as he made his way over to me. He swiftly pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. He held me there for a moment before pulling back. Cupping my face in his hands , he kissed me softly. "I love you Adriana. Not a single one of these words describe you. What you went through, I know you'll never forget. But know that these words aren't who you are." He then smiled softly. "Not in the slightest." I raised up on my tip toes and kissed him. My arms snaked around his neck and my fingers began fiddling with his hair tie.

He ran his hands up and down my waist then down to my bottom. He pulled me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. "Draken, Mitsuya's dinner." He smiled before carrying me to the bed. "We've got plenty of time." He sat down with me still in his lap and peppered my neck with kisses. I felt him grow hard underneath me. I slowly ground my hips against his. He moaned and sucked on my neck harshly. I threw my head back as he sucked on my sweet spot. His hands ran up and down my back, stopped at my bra. He quickly unsnapped it and pulled it off of me. He took both breasts in his hands and massaged them. With my arms still around his neck he flipped us and laid me on the bed. He kissed me softly as his hands roamed my body. He then kissed each scar replacing the words that were there. "Kind, beautiful, smart, strong, amazing, compassionate. That's what makes you who you are. Not all this." Tears flowed down my face and he brought his lips back to mine. His hand drifted down and began to massage my inner thigh. I moaned into the kiss and tugged at his shirt. He sat up and pulled it off, tossing it somewhere in the floor. He hooked his fingers on the sides of my panties and tugged them over my hips. He tossed them aside and kissed my stomach before kissing lower down onto my thigh. "Draken? What are you...? Ahhh!" His tongue flicked out to lick my clit.

I moaned loudly and bucked my hips upward. Using his arms he firmly held me in place while he sucked on my clit. I grabbed the sheets in my hands and moaned again from pleasure. His grip lessened slightly when he moved one hand to insert a finger in my wet heat. "Fuck, Draken. I'm gonna cum!" He inserted another finger and curled them inside me. "Draken!!" My body went rigid as I reached my high. A violent orgasm rocked my body. Draken kissed me and I could taste myself on his lips. I could feel my body tingle again. I grabbed his shoulders and quickly flipped him on his back. He laughed and caressed my face. "A little aggressive aren't we?" I peppered kisses all the way down to his pants and looked up at him with hooded eyes. "Shut up silly." He grinned and I quickly removed his pants and boxers. I kissed him as I slowly lowered myself onto his hardened member.

Moans filled the room as my hips swayed against him. He felt like ecstasy inside me and I felt another climax slowly creeping in. He wrapped his arms around my shoulder and pulled me to his chest. Without warning he slammed into me. I buried my face in his neck as he thrusted into me rapidly. "You feel so good Adriana. I'm gonna..." He quickly pulled out of me as he reached his high. I laid my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I sighed as he stroked my hair. "I love you so much Addie." I slowly raised my head up and smiled at him softly. I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him gently. "I love you too Draken. And...Addie?" I couldn't believe my eyes as I seen him blush. He turned his head away from me. "Sorry. It kinda slipped." I chuckled and kissed his chest before getting up off the bed. "Don't be. I love it. Now come on. We gotta get cleaned up if we stand a chance at making it to Mitsuya's" I walked into the bathroom with Draken not too far behind.