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Micha’s fingers itched to comb through the unruly strands. It was as if Eldon woke up from his slumber and went about his day just the way he was.So beautiful.
“If it’s something I can help you with—”
“You can’t,” Micha rushed out and regretted it instantly. Hurt flashed on the vampire’s face, and an ache blossomed in the middle of Micha’s chest.
“Oh.”
Micha reached out instantly, grabbing Eldon’s wrist. The thought of the vampire walking away from him had panic clogging his throat.
Eldon glanced down at his hand.
“Micha, are you sure you’re okay?” Eldon sounded truly concerned. “I know you said I can’t help you, but if you’d tell—”
Micha shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. I needed to talk to Arden about changing up my wardrobe,” Micha lied. His fingers tightened around Eldon’s wrist before he forced himself to let the vampire go. Micha took a step back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry; it’s not that big a deal.” Micha stared at the chain-link earring in Eldon’s ear, unable to meet the vampire’s gray eyes.
The silence was stifling and Micha was seconds from exploding. Maybe he should say something. Anything. The air was filled with tension that he couldn't combat.
Something moved in Micha’s peripheral, and with his nerves already frayed, he flinched hard. He brought his wings around him, protecting himself from whatever danger lurked in the shadows.Maybe he wasn’t over his earlier episode after all.Seconds ticked by, and no harm came to him. Micha slowly lowered his arms, unfurled his wings, and opened his eyes.
He was met with a soft, gray gaze that seemed to hold all the warmth in the world that Micha had been denied.
“Micha.”
His name was nothing more than a whisper, but it nearly broke him all the same. Didn’t they see it? That Micha was nothing more than a shattered vase taped together and expected to continue to hold the water in it?
“Can I hug you?”
The question wasn’t what Micha expected, and he had no way to stop the flow of tears that broke free. Stupid, so damn stupid. He nodded, unable to deny himself this.
Eldon pulled him close, and Micha gave in. Why was he like this? He could feel more cracks forming, ones he’d have to repair later, but the day he’d have to leave them all behind, Micha was certain there would be no fixing him. He’d be shattered completely.
But he’d be free.
“About time I head in,”Gamble groaned as he rolled over. The roof of the building four over from PGD wasn’t nearly as clean and he thought he’d tidied up all the loose nails and broken glass lying around but his sore back said differently.
Ever since Gamble was a child, he’d learned to sleep anywhere and on anything but the cushion of being in a home first with the mafia and now with the host bar obviously spoiled him. His fifteen year old self would punch him for how weak he’d become, but there was no going back only forward.
Another six days passed and he was still going undetected. He'd be down to get fired except Mario made it perfectly clear he needed to stay employed if he ever had any hope of going back to the family. The rule was that he had to try. He was pretty sure getting fired this quick wasn’t going to cut it.
It helped that every morning at closing time Gamble snuck off to hide out until he was certain the big man wasn’t going to come looking for him. He changed the times, sometimes coming in earlier, other times not going in until near midday. But now that he had a bed to sleep in again, it was harder to hold out. Gamble could only think about slipping into Micha's room every second he had to sit outside.
The Nephilim never turned him away and in fact it was almost as if he waited up for Gamble. He was never asleep no matter what time Gamble slipped in. He also hadn't told anyone so even if Arden was on the hosts’ floor he’d do the usual and look in Gamble’s room. Which he hadn’t been to in days and if he was honest with himself he didn’t care for. Micha’s room was better.
Micha's space beat sleeping outside but also Gamble liked holding the Nephilim. He was tall but still fit into Gamble's arms with ease. And when he looked at Gamble with those big pink colored eyes the man melted.
It was as if Micha expected Gamble to be some kind of hero. And who in their right mind would ever want to be a hero? And yet the idea of protecting Micha came naturally to Gamble.
But could he really ever be the good guy?
Gamble checked the staircase as he always did. Not a single person in sight. He blew out a breath and slipped in making his way to the host’s floor. The image of Micha’s bed and those impossibly soft feathers brushing against him as he slept had Gamble picking up the pace.
There was a fresh pair of clothes waiting for him and after a quick shower he’d finally get to crash to the bed. Gamble opened the door and checked around again and grinned. He was in the clear, another day in the bag. He made the trek to Micha’s room confidently now, a swagger in his step.
"So this is where you've been hiding out.”
An undignified yelp came out of Gamble as he whirled around on his heels and gripped his shirt at the sight of Eldon. "Shit."
His magic was easy to grasp, always just under the surface. For a witch who didn't have a familiar, he had a surprising amount of control over his power. He’d been told that many times he should tie himself to someone to improve, but that didn’t matter to him. Gamble hadn’t been formally taught so why would he follow their stupid customs of getting a familiar? The idea of trusting another person to share his power and life span with seemed like a commitment Gamble would never be ready to make.
