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Wayhaven was in silence. The streets empty, the neighbors sleeping. It was four in the morning and the birds weren’t awake yet.
In Alice’s bedroom, she dreamed peacefully, her face buried in Mason’s chest, a cocoon of warmth created by his arms, one under her head, the other lazily resting over her waist. Their naked legs were tangled under the sheets. His breath made some of her curls sway, just in front of his mouth, an inch away to tickle his nose.
She smiled softly in her sleep. She was at the beach, and Unit Bravo was there too. The day was bright and warm and Mason was smiling. Felix’s laughter filled the air and Nate and Adam were bantering. They didn’t have a care in the world of her dreams.
Mason’s fingers twitched against her skin. A low whimper, a frown disturbing his sleeping face. A word uttered in the darkness.
“Alice…”
She stirred in his arms, not quite waking up, but part of her brain acknowledging his distress. She hummed and wrapped her arm tighter around his back, her other hand curled in front of her lips.
“D-don't…”
The nightmare was getting worse. It had been a while since he had felt that level of fear. Sometimes he had dreamed about Murphy. About how he bit her, how he cradled her in his arms when she lost consciousness.
But not tonight.
In his nightmare, he watched as Alice wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her frame tightly. It was as if she was trying not to break into pieces at his feet. He had said something, maybe done something, that was causing her to retreat from him. Silent tears fell down her cheeks.
He was used by now to the way she looked at him (not that it stopped his heart from jumping when he caught certain glances). Sometimes playful, sometimes mischievous, sometimes lustful… but always warm. Always affectionate… loving.
But there was none of that spark in her eyes now. They were dull, blank, as if she didn’t recognize him anymore. His heart stuttered inside his chest and he reached for her, but her eyes widened and she took a step back, his fingers grasping on air. He could see her knuckles turning white at how tightly she was hugging herself.
“Don’t touch me.” Her voice, which he expected to be sharp as a blade, was broken and ragged, and she fell to her knees. “I can’t believe…”
Mason took a step towards her, but no matter how much he tried to advance, she was not closer.
“Alice… Don't…”
She sobbed and looked at him accusingly.
“Are you happy now?” She wailed loudly.
“Mason…”
He frantically searched around him, not quite placing where the other voice was coming from. But the kneeling Alice snarled at him.
“Is this what you wanted?”
Her arms opened to show him what he had done.
“Mason!”
He woke up with a start, forest green eyes staring at him worriedly, her hands pressed against both sides of his face.
“Alice? You… you were…”
His senses were dampened by both her presence and his adrenaline, the beating of his heart panicked and out of control, and hers quite accelerated as well, in what he could recognize as concern. He realized he was squeezing her in his arms, maybe too tight, but she didn’t seem to mind, too occupied with examining his expression.
“I’m here.” She muttered, bumping her forehead against his. His eyes fluttered closed and he took a deep breath, letting her scent overwhelm his senses and cloud his brain.
He kissed her. Hard.
She grunted and let him pour his anxiety on her lips, swallowing his nightmare obediently, not recoiling or retreating like she had done on his dream.
And suddenly he was out of her reach. Alice blinked in confusion and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, his back glistening with sweat in the dim light of the moon that poured through the window.
“Mason?”
“It’s too fucking hot in here.”
He was suffocating.
She got up and padded quickly to the window, opening it and letting the cool air of the night invade the bedroom, shivering slightly when it hit her.
When she turned around he had a cigarette between his lips, the hand with the lighter trembling ever so slightly. She could have missed it if she didn’t know him so well.
A minute went by in silence, only disturbed by him puffing out smoke. She was standing in front of him, fearing he would get away from her if she reached out, but dying to get close to him and comfort him, to discover what was disturbing him.
She couldn’t hold back anymore and reached out to his face, but as she feared, he got up before she could touch him.
“Where are my clothes?” He asked, putting the cigarette out in the ashtray on the nightstand. He was in his boxers, looking around the bedroom.
“Um, in the living room.”
His eyes found hers for a moment, and something flashed there, but she couldn’t quite place it. The memories of the night before, how they shedded each other’s clothes as if they couldn’t stand a single second without being skin to skin? Or had it something to do with that nightmare, the one that had him whimpering her name?
“Right.” He nodded, looking away from her and walking towards the living room.
Something was wrong.
Without thinking, she darted to the door and blocked his path, arms extended at her sides. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“What are you doing?” There was genuine confusion in his voice.
“You’re not leaving like this.”
He scoffed. “You know you can’t stop me if I want to go.”
Oh, how true were those words. Her heart jumped at the multiple implications that statement had, and Mason arched a brow at her.
“I know.” She finally said, hands resting on each side of the threshold, slowly sliding down until they were limp at her sides. She met his eyes. “But I’m asking you to stay.”
The vampire stared at her for several seconds - he could leave, get dressed and get out of there, but he knew it would hurt her if he did so, he could see it in her eyes - and he sighed.
“I gotta get out of here, sweetheart.” He spoke, voice softer, the nickname almost a plea. She gave him a determined nod.
“Then let’s get dressed.”
Ten minutes later, they were driving through the streets of Wayhaven in silence. Mason had his eyes closed, as if he was enjoying every minute of peace the nighttime was bringing him. The detective stole glances at him, her concern still clawing at her stomach, but she pushed it away for his sake. She knew better than to push Mason to speak when he didn’t want to.
When she turned off the engine, he opened his eyes. They had entered the forest and followed a dirt track deeper into the trees, until they couldn’t keep going forwards. He looked around, at the forest illuminated by the moonlight and threw a long smirk to her.
“You brought me to a make out spot?”
She snorted a laugh, surprised, but happy to see some of his snark was back.
“It kinda is a make out spot, but I thought you’d appreciate the silence.”
Mason nodded, but still said. “Let’s go to the backseat?”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Really? You had me in a bed and now you wanna hook up in a tiny car?”
She expected a smirk and a reply that could make her blush, but the intensity of his gaze caught her off guard. “Backseat. Come on.”
She nodded, swallowing hard, and exited the car to slide into the backseat at the same time he did. He did not grab her and pulled her on top of him, he did not devour her mouth with a kiss.
His arms wrapped around her. One around her shoulders, the other around her waist, bringing her closer until her legs rested on his lap. With her head against his chest, the surprised detective could hear the hammering of his heart, sounding as if he had just run a marathon.
He closed his eyes. Took a deep breath. He let himself get carried away until everything he could feel was her – on his skin, her warmth. Her scent blocking every other smell and almost coating his tongue. Her gentle breathing and that heartbeat he had come to love know, the only sound he could hear. And he relaxed when her arms sneaked their way around his frame, rubbing soothing circles on his back.
This is stupid. It was just a dream.
He thought about pulling away. But she hummed in satisfaction and nuzzled his neck with her nose, and he held her tighter.
A few minutes passed in silence, until their heartbeats and breathings synchronized.
“You can ask.” His husky voice broke the peace and she sighed softly.
“Are you okay?” That was her main worry. She didn’t have to know what had happened if he was alright now.
“Yeah.” I am now. His breath hit her forehead when he spoke, and she couldn’t help but notice how good it felt to be wrapped in each other like this. It felt so intimate, in a new way she was utterly enjoying.
“Does it happen often?”
“Not really.”
“You wanna tell me what it was about?”
He took a deep breath. “I had done something to you.” He confessed, voice almost a whisper, and she fought the urge to look up at him. She feared the spell would break if they made eye contact. “I hurt you. You were crying and - and you had a hole in your chest. In your heart.” Her eyebrows shot up and she couldn’t help but look up at him, noses brushing and eyes meeting.
“That sounds messed up.”
He nodded slowly, grey eyes lost. He was staring at her but she wondered what he was seeing. “I couldn’t get to you. You didn’t want me near you.”
I had lost you.
Alice was becoming a master in reading between the lines with Mason. But she didn’t have to think much about what his nightmare and his words meant, and she could have melted in his arms at the implications of it.
“I’m never going to leave you. I promise.”
His breath hitched in his throat, pulling back slightly to search her face for any hints of lies. But she never lied, he knew that already. She wore her heart on her sleeve, something that made him roll his eyes when they met, now something he cherished and respected deeply.
“You can’t promise that.”
To his surprise, a soft smile grazed her full lips. She raised a hand, fingertips traveling through his features - tracing his eyebrows, his cheekbones, the contour of his lips, finally settling under his chin, grasping it with her thumb and her forefinger.
“I can promise you I won’t leave if you don’t want me to.”
The silence suddenly felt dense, tension crackling between them.
So many things unspoken.
And if I never want you to leave?
Then I will be with you forever.
Their breathings were heavier, and they couldn’t tell who had moved first but they were lost in a deep kiss before they realized.
Could it be true? Could the woman in his arms remain there for eternity?
Was this real? Did he want her by his side so much?
Lips parting, tongues and teeth and whimpers, their kisses went on for several minutes, none of them willing to stop, but not trying to take it further either. They had time for that.
She broke the kiss and gasped for air, her whole body thrumming to a song only he knew how to play. He was nearly panting, letting her catch her breath, kissing down her neck and up again, his fingers grasping her tight enough to bruise - a reminder that she was here, she was his, she didn’t want to leave.
“Do you really promise?”
God, the sound of his voice against her skin had her nerves alight, husky and low and deep as it was, making her shiver. But the smile on her face was amused, noticing he wanted a confirmation, knowing they were exchanging feelings more than words.
They were so clueless, yet they always found a way to understand each other.
When she didn’t reply, he looked up at her grin and saw her hand between them, her little finger out, ready to make a promise.
“Pinky promise?” She chanted happily, and he couldn’t help but snort a laugh.
“How are you so fucking ridiculous?” But he was laughing, and it was beautiful, so her smile widened.
“Don’t leave me hanging, sunshine.”
He bit her pinky and she squealed before he silenced her with another kiss, a soft one this time, gentle. It was curious how they were unaware of the fact that in that moment, they both shared the same thought.
How did I get so lucky?
“Ready to go?” She muttered against his lips, and he nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Satisfaction ran through his veins at the utter delight in her soft features, he called her apartment home - it wasn’t so long ago that she would always wake up to a lonely bed. Foreheads bumping together for a moment, she sighed happily before they went back to the front seats.
She sang along to the radio on the way back and he observed her, curiosity mixing with fondness and disbelief.
The sun was starting to rise, but they still could steal a couple of hours of sleep.
They undressed and she didn’t miss the way he watched her, a smirk on his lips. “We didn’t take advantage of the make out spot.”
“First a nap.” She chuckled, sliding into the bed sheets with him following close. “Then I’m all yours.”
He hummed his approval as she settled in his arms, his body covering hers in a tight embrace.
“Sounds good. Really good.”
They drifted off when the first birds started to sing, knowing they would wake up tangled together. Knowing they had time to get lost in each other.
All the time in the world.