𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬¹ ✓

Twenty-Five

Protection {noun} - the action of protecting, or state of being protected.

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𝓐𝓻𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓐𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸 sat in their room with their uncle Tony, waiting patiently for their parents to arrive. Ares pulled on Tony's sleeve to get his attention away from the bedroom door.

He'd been anxiously staring at it for the past hour since Theo brought them in.

"Mommy and daddy okay?" He asked, scared of what their uncle Noah could do to them. Noah didn't harm them, but how he looked at them said it all. He looked at them with so much hatred; he wasn't the same uncle Noah as before. He was a completely different man.

The Noah they knew was a kind man that would go out of his way to make sure they felt safe and comfortable. Not the man that took them away from their parents and outright threatened their lives.

Not the man who told them their parents were the reason they would die.

Tony nodded, a forced smile stretching across his face. "They're okay. Your parents are super strong. Nothing can hurt them." He tried to reassure him but at some point, he didn't know whether he was reassuring them or himself.

A few minutes later, Olivia and Marcus barge into the room freshly out of the shower. Tony let out a sigh, at least they had the decency to wash all the blood off themselves before coming to see the boys.

Apollo and Ares quickly jumped out of their beds, throwing themselves into their parent's open arms as they cried.

"Are you boys okay?" Marcus asked frantically as he looked them over, looking for any signs of harm. Apollo shook his head as he buried his face in the crook of his father's neck. "Are you sure cause if he did I swear-" Olivia couldn't finish her threat before Tony gave her a pointed look.

"We're just glad you're both okay." She said, defeated as she held Ares closer. "Are you two okay? Did you, you know?" Tony asked without saying it full out so as to not scare the kids. Marcus nodded, "Yeah, he won't bother our family ever again." He said as he kissed the side of Olivia's head.

Tony nodded, realizing that they needed some family time alone after what happened. He walked down the stairs towards where Peter was sitting. some people still walking around the estate as they packed up their things to leave.

Tony let himself fall onto the couch next to Peter.

"How are they?" He asked almost immediately. Tony let out a breath, "I don't think they'll be letting the boys out of their sight for a while. I mean, Marcus killed his own brother tonight." Peter ran a hand over his face. "In this lifestyle, it's hard to trust anyone I got lucky with Olivia. Even the slightest of hatred and she would've killed me years ago." He confessed.

He knew he got lucky with Olivia. Had Lorenzo taken any other child, everything would be different. It wasn't news that Peter and Olivia weren't blood-related to Lorenzo. The man was just smart enough to take kids that had similar features to his.

"I never thought Noah would be capable of something like this. He used to love those kids, you know." Tony still had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea of his ex-best friend being both evil and dead now.

"Yeah." A moment of silence passed before Tony spoke again. "Do you think Olivia and Marcus are gonna be okay?" He asked Peter, referring to their marriage.

When he told Olivia all those things on the plane, he was hoping and praying that he would be wrong. But, of course, he was right.

Peter shrugged, "I don't know. His leaving is one thing but lying to her about who his family was is another thing. Olivia loves Marcus but this was one hell of a lie." Tony let his head fall back, making himself look up at the tall ceiling. "I hope they'll be okay." He said mostly to himself but Peter thought the same.

He just wanted his sister and best friend to be happy.

***

Olivia and Marcus sat on opposite ends of the bed, facing away from each other. 

Apollo and Ares had fallen asleep, leaving them the rest of the night to talk about what had happened.

"Il mio sogno," Marcus spoke silently as he stood up, walking over to her. He gently grabbed her face, making her look up at him. Her eyes held unshed tears that made his heart clench.

"I shouldn't have to ask you this again, Marcus." She sighed, trying to look back at the floor but he wouldn't let her. Olivia always had a habit of avoiding the issue until it consumed her.

"Why? If you love me, then why lie about it all?" She asked, finally giving him what he wanted and looking him dead in the eyes. He hated the sadness he brought upon her. "I was protecting you-us. If I had told you before I left, you would've stormed back to your father to fight against mine. You would've died, Olivia, and I couldn't bare with the idea of it." He repeated the words Peter had told her earlier.

She stayed silent for a second before standing up, walking away from his touch as she faced the window. The moon illuminated the tears that fell. Making her eyes seem brown than the regular black they usually looked.

"Did you love me, mon amour? Do you love me?" It was the only question that really mattered to her. His answer would answer every other question she had. 

Her use of that nickname sparked something in him. 

Marcus walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She was pressed flush against him as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck. "I always have and I always will. This might've started as a plan from my father to infiltrate the Lenoir empire but I fell in love with you, Olivia. I betrayed my family--I killed my brother--for love." Olivia took in his words. She wanted so badly to believe him but he had lied about so much.

She turned around, still in his arms. Her hands were on his chest as she looked up at him. The moonlight made his eyes look so green, they mesmerized her. Marcus lifted his right hand, tucking her dark hair behind her ear before gently holding the side of her face. His thumb lightly caressed her cheekbone.

"I love you so much, Marcus." She started, her brown eyes not leaving his green ones. "I love you too, so much more than words can explain." A single tear fell down her face. "But, how do I know you aren't holding anything else from me? How can I be so sure that you aren't still lying to me?" Her voice was just above a whisper.

Marcus leaned down, kissing away the stray tear. "I'm done lying. Holding my past away from you was the second hardest thing I ever had to do." He confessed. "What's the first?" She asked him out of curiosity but she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Leaving my family. You, Apollo, and Ares. It was single-handedly the hardest thing I ever had to do." Olivia leaned into his touch. "Then don't leave again." She spoke before leaning up and connecting her lips with his.

He reciprocated quickly, his hands traveling down her back before staying on her lower back. Her arms slung over his shoulders as her fingers tangled themselves in his hair. The kiss wasn't desperate and lustful. It was soft and filled with longing.

Tears fell from Marcus's eyes as he held his wife close.

He was terrified that she was going to ask for a divorce, that she was going to kick him out and keep the boys away from him. Olivia might've been a ruthless leader but she wasn't a terrible person. She would never keep their sons from him.

Heavy breathing filled the silent dark room. Olivia was pressed against Marcus as much as humanly possible. Her dark hair served as a curtain between them.

"Promise me something." She spoke. He hummed, "What is it?" She let out a breath, "Don't lie to me again. I love you, Marcus but if you lie again I can't guarantee that I'll forgive you again." Marcus kissed her forehead, his lips lingering before pulling away to look into her waiting eyes.

Only very few had the privilege of seeing her face show any other emotion aside from boredom or anger.

"I promise."