Simplicity, <3 Jay

[jayden tiberius fletcher]

He could feel her skin warm and a smile touched his lips as they kissed. Would it be wrong for him to assume she had missed this as much as he had? Reluctantly he allowed her to end the kiss, satisfying himself with the knowledge that it would not be the last kiss he shared with her. “I missed you as well.” He whispered. If only those sacred words had been whispered at the doorway at his arrival, the tense moments could have been surpassed and all forgiven. Those words healed the months of waiting, renewing him back to what he had been before her departure; at least for as long as he was in her presence. With gentle ease, he pulled her legs around his waist so his arms could slip around her in a complete embrace. He breathed in deeply and then sighed the breath out slowly as she nestled her head into his neck. How could he have forgotten how well she fit into his arms? His hands remained on her lower back as she pulled back to look at him. He smiled warmly at the blush creeping over her cheeks. Unable to resist, he allowed himself chase the blush with kisses. A soft chuckle escaped him, mimicking the King of the beast’s purr. “So what happens now?” He muttered against her skin, thoroughly lost in her presence.

[aaralyn lina young]

It was reminisce of their tangled limbs when Jay wrapped her legs about his waist, and caused her to sigh. His hands on her lower back warmed her and made her shiver. Or maybe it was the trail of kisses that he left on her exposed skin. Either way, Aaralyn simply felt happier with all those edgy and high-handed statements behind them. She couldn’t imagine having to keep such a distance between them, having to stay cool and collected as if she was speaking to a complete stranger. ”So what happens now?” The million dollar question. Aaralyn didn’t even pretend to have a plan. Her idea had only kept her in Brisbane for as short as possible. Her heart was torn instantly. What if Jay became a regular part of her and Rosaleen’s life? All those imaginings rushed back, poisoned her with their sweetness. But, her mind couldn’t forget the precarious time and place she now resided in. Brisbane would continually be a place of paranoia and horrible memories. Of a demon she had been, the men’s lives she had taken, and the scheming to gain her own ends. Aaralyn couldn’t forget Derek, and his twisted love, the way he brought her to both life and death, confusing the light and dark into an unidentifiable mess. She couldn’t forget Slim, and Mitsuke and the broken doll of a human she was before Rosaleen in this god forsaken town. The streets were swamped with her past. Riding to the beaches on Derek’s bike. Of a masked evening, the tattoos, the cigarettes and wasted love. Her body refused to lose the feel of a metal needle sliding into her veins, of the chain around her ankle in a dark room surrounded by her own hatred for life and wishing to be free. The life she had lived 7 months before still haunted her. The texture of a man’s intestines, his screams of death, the wild look upon his face when he recognized his monster, his victim. The noose she tied about his throat made of his own being. Brisbane was a place of tainted lives and destroyed hopes. It was no place for her fair daughter. The memories couldn’t be shared. She refused to raise the child in a city where she had stalked and killed. Where she was a fraction of the human she was now. How could she lead Rosa down a street where all she could remember was the blood on her hands. How might she explain her history in Brisbane? Honesty would ruin her. No. If Jay chose Brisbane, he was akin to Derek. Choosing a city, himself, over Rosaleen and herself. There was no possible way Rosaleen would be touched by the vile spirit that had infected her mother. Australia was too close to former monsters, live and proverbial, to be safe. ”It’s up to you what happens. I can’t stay in Brisbane forever. Rosaleen deserves better, and I won’t start this again to only break it apart.”

[jayden tiberius fletcher]

Jay could feel her uncertainty and was troubled by it. The smile began to fade from his lips as the fantasy of their kiss crashed into the reality of their lives. A kiss was divine but it could not last forever and as such could not rule their lives. Reality would always close in on them again as their lips broke contact. Lost in the kiss, the answer seemed simple. Their lives would mesh flawless with their individual demons lurking within the safety of another world. He had no foolish pretense about revealing his dangerous secrets to her, nor did he expect to receive hers. Instead, he wished only to be the fantasy people they were when lost in a kiss. A home, a child, a family dog, with two loving parents. It was a dream that might have been possible before the fall. He had witnessed the ugly truth of the fall. The happy image of the perfect home was shattered when the loving parents realized their hidden identities stood on opposite forces. When sibling squabbles came to a deadly end under the influences of the opposing sides. It was a bleak reality that would always lurk suspiciously under their perfect exterior. The city was tearing itself apart under the guise of freedom. He sighed softly as Aaralyn spoke. It was selfish of him, but he wished she could stay forever. “Would you stay if Brisbane became sane again?” He tried to keep his tone flat, not wanting to sound like a pleading child. All logic told him he should have offered her his help in returning to the security of Ireland. There was no better way to protect her from the evils of Brisbane then sending her away from the madness. Yet he could not bear the thought of sending her away again to lose himself to the unhappiness of his private war. He had become ruthless in her absence, employing every imaginable method of obtaining his goals. With her departure, his humanity had fled and only with their kiss had it felt it return. It was inexplicable about badly he needed her to stay. “What if I made Brisbane safe again?” It was as close as he could come to revealing his secret self to her. He longed to reveal every shadow of himself to her but loathed the danger such knowledge would bring to her. In this war of secrecy, ignorance became a safety net. The simple answer would have to follow Aaralyn and Rosa when they left, but he could not force himself to abandon the city. He still held out hope that the city could be renewed and that his family would be safe again. After all, family did not just abandon each other in difficult times.

[aaralyn lina young]

“Would you stay if Brisbane became sane again?” Aaralyn closed her eyes and rested her face against his shoulder. It wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. Her secret heart was stung by that foolish what-if. The mother sighed, trying to clear her head, to gather her thoughts. Brisbane sane? It wasn’t going to happen. In fact, if she was going to reclaim her old post, it was her mission to keep the people still living in this decimated war zone free from the heavy hand of a greedy government. Which in turn, meant that the city would always be chaotic and schizophrenic, murderous and vile. Her whole plan was to make enough money so Rosaleen and herself might leave, and live comfortably. There was no way Jay would know about her role in the AE. Was she still the Secondary? Her mind wondered if Derek was still bitterly walking through his city, trying to save it with some crazy scandal. Tightening her fingers, her grip bringing her back to Jay, she refused to think about holding a gun once more. She didn’t want to revert to the vixen that tortured, the woman who flawlessly shot down her targets. The rush was tantalizing, truly. But how might she come home, washing off the blood of her victims, to pick up Rosa and play mother? Then Jay’s voice brought her soundly back to reality with his next question. It sparked her interest, and frightened her. “What if I made Brisbane safe again?” There was no time for hesitation or pondering, said her instincts. Ignorance was her card. So, raising her head with a sincere look of confusion, Aaralyn felt her brows draw together. ”What?” Her mind jumped frantically. How could he say something like that, or try to promise her such a resolution? She calculated everything she knew about him in about 2 seconds. Derek knew Jay. They were tied together somehow. The Masquerade had made that clear to her. Was he involved in the AE? Confusion was easily read on her freckled face. ”How could you promise me that?” She shook her head slightly, as if she was trying to work out such a possibility. Even if Brisbane was safe, it would haunt her now. All her demons still lived on, in her memories. Although she was free of them, her past was still hers, and every now and again, it pained her. ”I don’t think I could, Jay, even if Brisbane was miraculously safe. My past is just too vivid here.”

[jayden tiberius fletcher]

He held her tighter when her head found his shoulder. Even as she rest against him, he buried his face into her hair, inhaling her scent. Her familiar scent now mingled with the scent of the child she cared for, but the change was only more endearing for him. It was soothing to know that at least for the moment he had her in his arms. The embrace ended too soon as she responded to his question. He gave her a gentle smile to mask the quick succession of thoughts that stole through his mind. Did she suspect him? He quieted the paranoia soon, hating that he would question her. “Just a wishful promise, love…” He said in a low tone to calm her confusion. …though I will still protect you both with my life. He finished the thought in his mind, not wanting another argument between them. He had the means to protect them now. At least the past seven months had been good for acquiring those assets. He had the contacts to hide them away from the cruel sight of the city of they desired it, and the bullets to defend them from an attack. The cold press of metal against his lower back constantly reminded him of his new power and status. The once foreign gun had now become his constant companion. To defy the gods of this city was to test the very strings of fate. There was no longer a moment in his day and night where the uncaring protection of metal was not within his grasp. Casting aside such thoughts, his fingertips trailed the features of her face, memorizing her face by touch and sight. Confliction showed in his eyes and he sighed softly. Brisbane had become his affair in Aaralyn’s absence and it pained him to think of tearing himself from the city without finishing his work. There were people here he could help, but he could not help them while his heart remained fastened to Aaralyn. Aaralyn and Rosa, or his family and Brisbane? It was a choice he would have to make one day, but for now he pushed the thought from his mind. He could not predict his future, only hope that he would not be a fool when the decision came. His pulse quickened into a furious tempo at the thought of losing either of his loves. Desperate for the peace of their fantasy, he placed his lips to hers selfishly. Only when the tempo of his heart raced because of the kiss, did he finally tear his lips from her. Still breathless, he whispered worried words. “You won’t depart again without giving me the chance to accompany you, would you?”

[aaralyn lina young]

Aaralyn slumped against Jay as his lips met hers. All her worries and suspicions stemming from his previous statements dissolved into nothingness. She hadn’t realized how long the months had been since she had felt someone’s loving touch. His fingers, his ardor only burned hers brighter, and the woman gripped Jay closer still. Seven months of cold hotel rooms, uncertainty, had chilled her to the soothing presence of a lover, a friend. She had bore all her worries and fears for Rosaleen by herself, with no help of vent, of a willing shoulder. And now that he was here in front of her, warm and persuasive, there was no denying the instant loneliness that had taunted her. Such time apart forced her to recognize how fragile she was. Some nights her grief had nearly cut her in half. She was compelled to acknowledge her need for him. For a soul to hold onto and rely on. She was so amazingly tired of being alone and jaded. Would it be so bad for Rosaleen in Brisbane? After all, Aaralyn did have the protection of the AE hopefully, and the benefit of her alias. Was it wrong for her to postpone another goodbye, so she might gather more precious, tender moments to keep her through the long, cold nights? To possibly persuade Jay to come with her? Her heart tried to defy such manipulation, but somehow it fell far short. When Jay finally ended the heated embrace, she was completely out of breath, and her hands were on either side of his face. Her cerulean eyes were a mixture of emotions. Longing and desire, confusion and fear, and a intriguing sadness. “You won’t depart again without giving me the chance to accompany you, would you?” How could she leave, now that the realization of what she’d be abandoning was so vividly placed in her sights? Aaralyn brushed at Jay’s hair absently, trying to clear away the tightness in her throat. She shook her head for him. Jayden or Rosaleen. Did it really have to be one or the other? Her heart was crumbling along it’s fault lines, aching at her choice. She refused to make such a call at such a moment. Their reunion of sorts should be bittersweet. It ought to be filled with hasty kisses and awkward hugs, a reaffirmation of the precariousness of two lovers meeting for a rendezvous. Just how he responded to Rosa’s presence indicated how correct this was. Aaralyn slowly slid off the countertop, not meeting Jay’s gaze as she began to arbitrarily put things away. She had to blink back a painful future, regain her calm. She cleared her throat and turned around once she felt secure. ”Of course I won’t leave without telling you. Not again.” But silently added, Only if I have to… She gather her hair to one side, wrapping the long strands together, keeping her hands busy. Where did they go from here? Did Jay wish to pursue this further? Aaralyn prayed so. She smiled a close-lipped smile, and took a deep breath. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the open window, only to bounce off the countertops. ”So where do we go from here, Jayden? Do we continue on, even though I’m going to leave eventually?” Aaralyn asked with a whisper, but what she was really asking was if it was worth risking her heart again. If this was worth the aching she’d feel once he left them both for Brisbane.

[jayden tiberius fletcher]

He had no choice but to let her go when she slid from the counter. Taking a half step back, he released her from their intimate embrace. Was this to be their future? A constant dance of intimateness and distance? He sighed at the premonition, hating the thought. Seven was no longer lucky. His pained gaze watched her turn around with a composed expression. It tortured him that he could not find the same composure as her, so instead he searched the room with his eyes, distracting himself from allowing her to see his tortured heart. “We continue like before. But with perhaps a touch more responsibility now that there is a little one to care for.” A touch of humor tried to liven his bleak expression. She would leave one day, he was certain of that. It was not fair of him to plead with her to stay; no matter how badly he desired her. A mother’s intuition was stronger then any man’s, and he could not hope to argue with that. Even if Rosa were not here, he could not ask her to linger in the ghosts of her old memories. He had to resign himself to the knowledge that she would leave. But at least he would appreciate every remaining moment with her. Going to her, he cupped her face gently in his hands. He longed to kiss her again but held back. He would wait for a kiss from her, however long it took. His future rested with her now.