Chapter 26 - 3 Types Of People

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"Miles?" Axel's voice is barely above a whisper as he opens the door to the cabin. He half expects Miles not to answer, the two reasons being that Miles is either still unconscious, or just doesn't want to talk to him. But then Axel hears his voice, calling his name in an almost bashful tone.

"Axel?"

It's a force that brings Axel and Miles together. A magnetic pull just between the two of them. It's physics. It's gravity pulling everything to the centre of the Earth. It's their bodies moving on their own accord. The two of them meeting halfway because they're too impatient to wait for the other to reach them. It's a crash. A collision. Two parts finally becoming a whole again. It's love and all the pain that comes with it. It's finally knowing that your boyfriend is okay.

"You're okay! You're okay! Thank god, you're okay!" Axel exclaims, clinging onto Miles as if his life depends on it. As if holding onto Miles is the only thing he ever wants to do.

"Yes, Axel" Miles giggles, his cold body melts into his embrace "I'm okay."

Part of Miles doesn't want to pull back, doesn't want to let go. Miles wants to snuggle his face into the crook of Axel's neck forever, because that way he won't be able to see the scar. But Axel has missed Miles' eyes. And longs to gaze into them once again.

"Is something wrong?" Axel asks as she tries to pull away from Miles' vice grip on his torso, pleasantly surprised at Miles' newfound strength.

"No, nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" Miles' voice comes out muffled as he refuses to let go.

"Well you passed out for 3 days, and you've got an immunity to venom which means you can't heal properly. And we're on the brink of war, which is never good."

"Okay, so a lot of things are wrong."

"Yeah, and all of it's my fault." Axel says sadly. Miles looks Axel in his eyes, his voice stern. "Do not blame yourself for this, you hear me. None of this is your fault." But Axel doesn't have a chance to dwell on Miles' words because he's too distracted by the scar on his forehead.

"Miles." He says breathlessly, tracing his finger over the jagged line. He continues to inspect Miles' face. All the little scratches and cuts that had been there before have healed. But it's the scar on Miles' forehead that makes Axel's heart ache, because it's a sign that he couldn't protect him. That Miles got hurt.

"I'm so sorry about this." Axel whispers, his fingers are as gentle as feathers, light and soft. And so are his lips, as he places a kiss on the scar.

Miles smiles. "Don't be. It makes me feel more human. It's a remainder that we're not indestructible. We hurt and we heal."

"Have you been talking to Fraser?" Axel asks, which causes the both of them to laugh.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. She said something along those lines to me and Sydney before."

"She gave me loads of advice on, you know, everything."

"Is it easier talking to someone who gets it?" Axel asks.

"Yeah, it is. I feel less embarrassed, I guess. Like I'm not the only person who has messed up before. She's a good person, Axel. She has good intentions. You can trust her."

"She wants war, Miles. War."

"Yeah, and we're on the right side of it. This could change everything. How vampires are taught. How their treated. We have the chance to do something good."

"She wants me to teach them. I don't know if I can do that."

"Come on, you taught me and Syd how to drink from a fox."

"Well technically I only taught Sydney since you never bit it."

Miles rolls his eyes playfully. "Well I spoke to Fraser about it and she said that there are 3 types of people in the world: those who learn, those who teach and those who lead, and that we shouldn't get the last two mixed up. It's obvious that I'm a learner. And I think you already know which one you are."

"I don't know about this Miles." Axel sighs.

"You may not realise it, but you've already taught me so much. You've taught me how to be brave. You've taught me about love. And about hate. And how I've never actually hated you. You've taught me about sadness and loss and regret. You've taught me about patience. A lot about patience." Axel chuckles a little at that one. "And the very first thing you ever taught me was friendship."

Miles takes Axel's hand, something he has wanted to do since waking up, and squeezes it gently.

"This is what you do, Axel. You teach."

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