Leave Me Lonely - A Donald Pierce/X-Men Story

Nine

Zoe woke up in a blissful daze. The past few days had been a whirlwind of romance and she dreaded the day it was going to come to an end. Which would be three days to be exact. Pierce would disappear from her life as quickly as he came. It was foolish to think they'd be anything more than what they are now, which wasn't much of anything. 

To him, so she thought, Zoe was just another girl. Another girl to add to the notches on his bed post as he traveled state to state, country to country, for work. Zoe couldn't have been anymore wrong. Never before had Pierce been sidelined from doing his job, especially not for a girl. A mutant girl to be exact. 

She laid awake, wrapped in Pierce's tight embrace, replaying every moment they shared these past few days. It was such a immature, teenager type thing to do. Zoe felt entirely silly and just completely ridiculous. How could she become to attached to a man she hardly knew?

Soft lips on her bare shoulder pulled her from her thoughts, starling her just a bit. His grip tightened on her middle, holding her closer to his body, if even possible. Zoe wanted to wake up every morning in this man's arms. Never in her life had she felt so relaxed and comfortable in the presence of another. At least not in this intimate form. Pierce moved one of his hands and interlaced his fingers with her hand which land beside her face. 

Moving ever so slightly, Pierce brought his lips right beside Zoe's ear, and whispered delicately, "I love you." His word rang out smooth and sweet, just loud enough for her to hear. Her heart nearly burst in her chest at the three little words. 

I love you. I love you. I love you.

It replayed in her mind over and over again. Not believing this was real, that she had to be sleeping still. Pierce wasn't real. This past week wasn't real. It was all too good to not be a dream. Zoe declared long ago that she didn't deserve a decent life. She didn't deserve a man to love her, a place to call home, a family of her own. Mutants didn't deserve those things. They're monsters. But then Pierce came along, proving her wrong. She deserved someone to love. She craved it. 

"Leave with me." Pierce continued. This nearly stopped Zoe's heart all together. Leave with him?

She turned slowly in his arms to face him. He had to be joking. This was a sick, cruel joke. A game. There's no way Donald Pierce could be real. "What?" She replied, thinking she had heard him wrong.

"Come with me...to Mexico." He was serious. "I can't leave here without you."

Zoe contemplated his words, searching every inch of his face for a hint of a lie. His eyes held nothing but the genuine truth. Pierce wanted Zoe to leave her life in Washington D.C. behind, to start a new one with him in Mexico City. It was a big leap, but she'd be a fool to turn his sudden offer away. Zoe never wanted this to end. 

"Really?" She beamed up at him.

"Yes. Really." His cybernetic hand reached up and brushed back the strand of blonde hair that fell onto her face. "I don't think I can go back without you." Zoe didn't flinch when his hand touched the tenderness of her cheek. It was a reaction Pierce wasn't used to. Every other woman he had been with since losing his hand, not that there was many, was disgusted at his touch. Zoe embraced it, never showing an ounce of distaste. He knew why she didn't judge him, but it was never going to be brought up. 

"Well, you don't have to." Zoe smiled. "I can't imagine going about my life here without you." She confessed, not worried about showing her emotions and how she truly felt. For once, someone felt the exact same. 

Pierce smiled. The small trace of gold in his mouth glistened as the morning sun came flooding through the curtains. A part of him felt entirely crazy for feeling the way he did, but looking at her, he knew that's just what being madly in love felt like. Zoe crept up and locked her lips onto his. The kiss lasted shorted than he wanted. She pulled away and removed the covers, sitting up on the bed. "Where you going?" He asked, joining her in the upright position.