ACE

Chapter 84: Dancing To Your Heartbeat

Playlist for this Chapter: Symphony by Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night once again, covered in sweat with my heart beating fast and tears streaming down my face.

I looked beside me and saw Nico sleeping peacefully, his face looking so calm and serene.

His features had softened now and the moonlight falling onto his bare back made him look ethereal and so beautiful.

I'm so lucky to have him.

I brought my hand up and ran my fingers through his soft hair and placed a kiss on his forehead, slowly lifting his arm off from on top of me before getting out of bed.

I put on Nico's dress shirt that was lying on the floor, courtesy of me tearing it off of him a few hours ago.

Whoops.

With one more look at him, I make my way out of the room and downstairs towards the kitchen, passing by a snoring guard.

He'd be dead if Nico saw him like this.

The faint light coming from outside showed me my way as I tiptoed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. I took out a water bottle and poured myself a glass as I sat next to the kitchen island, downing it in one go.

Automatically, my thoughts went to what had woken me up in the first place—another nightmare. Except this one seemed to heighten my fears to a new level.

But this one wasn't about me at all. 

It concerned Nico, and as much as I hated it, I knew this was his life and there was nothing I could do about it.

Another gunshot is heard in the dark sky and I watch as it whizzes past me, as if in slow motion and hits him, piercing his heart.

His pristine white shirt turns crimson, and he looks at me with those glossy eyes as he falls to the ground.

My screams echo in the dark night as I run towards him and hold his hands, trying to get him to wake up, but he doesn't.

He struggles to speak, but I can see the words he wants to say in his eyes.

"I love you."

And I watch as the life drains out of him, until there's nothing left of either of us.

I snap open my eyes to get rid of the horrible nightmare, the same one that has been playing on repeat for a good few days now, and it doesn't seem to stop as tears threaten to spill from my eyes.

Why won't it stop?

Only when warmth surrounds me and two arms wrap around myself do I find myself breathing normally once again. I close my eyes, letting the the tears fall out and I draw in a shaky breath.

He's here, and he's alright.

"What's wrong, my love?" He whispers softly but I shake my head, his eyes watching the tears spill onto him as a small, strangled sob escapes my lips.

He turns me around swiftly, gazing worriedly into my eyes to find the answer to my misery, except, there isn't any.

"Nico, I— You—" I whisper but then break off as he holds me closer, his dark blue eyes filled with so much love and concern it makes me break.

I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest, crying my heart out while he rubs my back, not pressuring me to talk, just silently being there for me.

"It's alright, my love, everything's fine. I'm right here." He whispers and kisses my temple as he places me on the kitchen counter and kisses my tears away.

"Promise me you wont ever leave me." I whisper when he smiles and takes my hands into his own, kissing them softly.

"I promise, I'll always be with you and I'll never leave you." He reassures me as I sniffle.

"Now you tell me what happened, si?" He asks softly and I nod as he squeezes my hand slightly, waiting for me to speak patiently.

"I— I had a nightmare." I start hesitantly when he tenses, his brows furrowing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He cups my cheek and I find myself leaning into his touch, breathing in deep.

"It was about you." I tell him gathering up all my courage when he frowns.

"What about me?" He asks and I bite my lip.

"You— someone shot you and the bullet hit your chest and I— I couldn't save you." I whisper so quietly he wouldn't have heard me if not for the complete silence, but he did.

I heard his deep sigh as he stood straighter and framed my face gently with his hands and stroked my cheeks, kissing my forehead.

"I'm not leaving you, my love. Nothing is going to happen to me. I'm right here, see?" He said and I nodded, although we both knew it was a comforting lie.

His life was in danger all the time but the fact that he was here right now was good enough for me at the moment.

His arms went around me as he pulled me in his embrace, running his hands through my hair as my hands went around his neck once again.

"I love you." He whispers and I smile faintly.

"And I love you." I whisper back as he pulls away with a small smile and looks around us before grinning softly, he holds his hand out to me.

"Dance with me?" He asks when I frown.

"Here? Right now?" I ask in confusion when he takes my hand anyway and pulls me into him. starting to sway slowly as our fingers intertwine.

"Right here, right now. I'm with the woman I love, what more could I possibly need?" He asks when I laugh quietly and press myself closer to him.

"Music." I say when he begins to hum something, making me laugh even more as I join in with him, our voices merging, his deep and mine softer, blending together in perfect harmony to make the most beautiful melody.

I gaze into those beautiful blue eyes that changed my life forever before placing my head on his chest. I hear his steady heartbeat and both of us move to the rhythm, dancing in the moonlight streaming in through the windows.

I listen to his heartbeat as it increases its pace and I raise my head to look into his eyes, our breathing getting heavier as my breath caches in my throat and I struggle to say something, drowning in him completely.

"You're beautiful." He whispers and leans down, our lips a breath apart, nuzzling his nose to mine gently as I smile before he presses our lips together.

He kisses me slowly, as if he's conveying all his feelings through the kiss, our lips moving with each other as one.

When we pull apart I look into his eyes, so full of love and when he whispers those two words, I feel like everything falls into place.

"Marry me."