Through Space and Time

Seventeen

It didn't matter how many times Raegan read the ancient text, the words didn't change. They still said and meant the same thing...even if it did feel impossible.

"I don't get it, Miguel," she shook her head confused. "This can't be right. There is no way humans can be in charge of anything. We wrecked our own world, we shouldn't be able to look after ourselves..."

"But we can learn," Miguel insisted, much more taken in by the prophecy than Raegan was. "We have learned. The people left behind now aren't the ones who started the war."

"Okay, fine." She rolled her eyes. "Say we have learned our lesson, then fine. But what about everything else."

"Everything else?"

"Think of all we've seen on this journey. All the magic, the beasts, the danger...we're the weak ones. No one would ever want to listen to us, no matter what's written, so we don't stand a chance."

Miguel enjoyed the fire in every single word exploding out of Raegan's mouth like bullets. He didn't agree with her, but that wasn't the point.

"This isn't really something we need to worry about right now anyway," he deflected, trying to cool her down. "We just need to worry about getting back to Earth..."

"We can't ignore things like this. We can't leave it for other people to deal with. That's one of the main human faults and it hasn't ever worked out well before. Thing of global warming. Everyone decided to leave it for future generations to deal with, so no one did anything."

"It didn't end the world though."

"No." She shot Miguel an ice-cold look. "But only because we blew the planet up first."

"But that's all here in the prophecy book, so I guess it was meant to happen."

"Now we're believing in fate rather than fact?" Raegan threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Because fate takes the blame off the old rules of Earth."

"So, what you're trying to say is we need to be careful with our new rulers? Especially if we're going to rule everything?"

"I don't know what I'm trying to say..."

"No," Miguel interrupted with a playful smile on his lips. "If we don't want to do nothing, then we should decide. And I decide that you should rule."

Raegan was silent for a beat too long before the temper erupted from her like a volcano. "Are you kidding me, Miguel? What on earth are you talking about? That's just..."

He silenced her rant in the only was he could think of. By spontaneously cupping her cheek in his hand and pressing his lips to hers. Raegan's body tingled from head to toe as their lips moved in unison, the passion overcoming the pair of them. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, a little moan rumbling in her throat as they kissed.

"Raegan?" Miguel murmured as his lips moved down towards her throat.

"Hmm?" Her eyes slid closed. She lost herself in the sensations.

"I love you."

"What?" She snapped back, pushing him off her. "What did you just say?"

She held her hands out in front of her, panting raggedly. Her eyes searched Miguel to try and figure out what the hell he was talking about. He couldn't just drop the L bomb like that, as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole damn world.

"I love you." He shrugged and grinned. "I thought you knew that already."

"I didn't know that. I didn't..."

But she trailed off as she found something intense in Miguel's eyes. She did know. If she was honest with herself, then she'd known for a very long time. It was just hard to accept because catching feelings put them in danger. Real danger.

Then again, was this life worth anything if they didn't have love?

"I...I..." Nope, it was even harder to say herself than hear. "I love you too..."

"I knew it."

Miguel scooped her up in his arms, kissing her hard. The intense butterflies exploded inside of her as she suddenly realized that everything was different now. This wasn't just a kiss, it was leading somewhere...and she wanted it to.

For the first time in her life, she was allowing herself to be vulnerable, and it actually felt good...

***

"What now?" Miguel murmured as he stroked Raegan's still naked back.

"Between me and you?" she laughed. "Because I don't know if we're in the position to do anything other than take it one day at a time."

"Oh no, I know that. Of course." But he kissed on the top of the head, smiling to himself knowingly. Raegan was the one for him. It would just take her a little longer to accept it. "I meant with us. With the prophecy. With all of it."

Not so long ago, Raegan was all consumed with annoyance and fear about that, and while those emotions remained, they were less frantic. What she had here in this room was far more important. She'd let someone in, and it actually felt good. She needed to cling to that sensation for as long as she could.

"We make it home." She tilted her head up to kiss Miguel, loving how natural it felt to do so already. "We make it back to Earth and we rule."

"You're going to rule?"

"Shut up, you." She slapped Miguel playfully. "Not me, but someone."

"So, you're accepting the prophecy now?"

"I don t know. But I can't ignore it either. If it is the case then we need to consider it, don't we? Or we're just as bad as every other human who didn't plan for the future."

"You know what, Raegan?" Miguel hugged her much closer to him. "That's the proudest I think I've ever been of you."

She basked in those words, loving the way they felt...but she wasn't going to show him that. She wasn't prepared to be that vulnerable.

"Give it a rest, Miguel. Come on, let's get dressed. We have work to do."