Nightswan

NaNo - Day 9

- Alessio -

When he woke the next morning, Alessio had to keep himself cemented in place for fear of waking Vasilisa. She was pressed up against his side, her head on his shoulder and her arm across his abdomen. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and brushed the hair from her face. He'd never before been this close to her, and he was unsure of when it would happen again. Especially not after what he was going to tell her today. The affection he hoped she'd developed for him over the past few months would disappear and instead be replaced by fear. Maybe judgment. Probably disdain. He didn't want the glitter he'd started seeing in her eyes to disappear.

Now that he'd settled into live with her, Alessio couldn't imagine his life without Vasilisa in it. Her innocence and purity were lights in an otherwise very dark world. In the Army, he fought for what he believed was right—for freedom, liberty, and the right to live without terror of terrorist attacks. He thought things would be different when he returned to the States, and they were...for a time. Then he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the Flight had taken over part of his life. But at least now that he was in control, he could decide what they did and didn't do. They didn't touch women without consent—he'd personally punished members that had. They no longer killed, and now they also no longer associated with Total Eclipse. Human life was not to be bartered or sold.

Vasilisa started moving against him, and Alessio loosened his grip on her in response. She didn't move away, though. Instead, her blue eyes fluttered open and focused on his face. A smile broke across her features, and Alessio suddenly felt like his heart had left his chest.

"Good morning," she said.

"Morning." He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her forward so he could kiss her forehead. He couldn't help it; she looked too perfect, but the faultlessness was fragile. He was about to shatter it into a thousand pieces, and the fragments would be possibly be too small for him to ever put them back together. "Did you sleep well?"

"I...I did," she said, starting to move away. "I'll get up and get you some breakfast."

"I hope you know you don't have to do that." Alessio frowned at her.

"I know. I want to." She smiled again.

"We should both go out there. I'm sure you have questions, and I promised you I'd answer them."

Her face moved from contentedness to sadness, and she suddenly looked away from him. "Yes."

They went to the kitchen, still in their wrinkled clothes from the day before. Alessio made her a cup of tea and a cup of coffee for himself. No words were spoken until he'd put a piece of toast with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top of it before her. She nibbled at it but made no significant progress. Her stomach was probably unsettled. Alessio prepared a piece of toast for himself and swallowed it in a few bites. The kitchen chair scraped against the hardwood floor as he moved it so he could sit down. He folded his hands in front of him, trying to tell his heartrate to calm down. Panicking about what she might ask never helped.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"My name is Alessio Milani. My parents were killed in a drunk driving accident when I was seven years old. The Andinos fostered me until the state found my aunt and uncle, who agreed to take custody. They sent me to military boarding school. I enlisted in the Army at eighteen. I deployed three times, earning the rank of Sergeant by the end of it. I led a fire team of four men; one of them died. That's why I left active duty. The only person I could talk to was Allen Mallory, my E6—er, my Staff Sergeant. He was the older brother figure I never had. He encouraged and guided me, and although he said he'd miss me, Mallory didn't blame me for wanting to leave. So I did.