( I'm having a little bit of writer's block! Most of that chapter got deleted somehow?! ;-; so now I'm trying to remember how it went. I like to do these little writing exercises and haven't done one in a while so here's an extra for you to enjoy! Chapter 55 should be finished tonight as well! ) 

- This scene takes place shortly after they decide to work things out-

Learning to be together again is difficult, we are no longer our same selves. 

Spending so much time on the road, we hadn't had much time to truly figure out how the other liked to live and surely we'd grown up in much different households. I was learning to do mundane things, such as dishes and laundry, but I wasn't exactly housewife material. Admittedly, while living on my own I had allowed my habits to slip into a state of leisure and casual dismissal of mess. 

While my warlord had blossomed into a cleaning fanatic, one that could no longer conquer countries so the war on hygiene and disorder had consumed his every moment at home. The spotlessness of the house was almost unnerving, making it uncomfortable to even breathe should I disturb the perfectly calculated atmosphere. 

I hadn't realized how loud my roommates had been, how loud I was, until I had returned to living with the practical wraith that was my fiance. So to say slipping back into familiarity after trust had been broken was difficult was an understatement. 

Sitting quietly on the couch, drawn up with a book that seemed to be in a foreign language, Verando was lost to me most evenings. He occupied himself on his own terms, not much for idle conversation. "What're you reading?" I ask curiously, leaning over the back of the couch. 

"I honestly couldn't tell you, it's in Russian. My Russian is... well.. rusty. But, Victor had been trying to teach me so..." Catching my puzzled expression he raises an eyebrow at my judgment. "What?"

I hadn't even noticed I was emoting what I was feeling. It seemed almost silly, to learn a language he would probably never use. "Don't you already speak five languages?"

After a moment, he allows the book to rest in his lap, thumb securely in its pages to hold his place. I hadn't yet pried him from the depths. "Fluent and casual speech are quite different. How is your English coming along? Perhaps you have more important matters than questioning what I deem important?" The dismissal is almost painful, my lips pull down into a frown. Allowing my shoulders to slump, I ponder what a pout would get me. Admittedly, it's out of my character, but it had worked in the past on my parents. 

Allowing myself to well up all of my princely demeanor, I sigh heavily and rest my elbow on the back of the couch to lean solemnly on my palm, keeping my eyes dropped to the plush cushions where I'd very much like to sit. Casually, I reach to drag my finger over the pillow. I feel the weight of his gaze on me and catch my lower lip in my teeth to prevent the smile from creeping onto my face. 

"What're you doing?" The tone is mildly concerned. 

Careful not to break character, I glance at him, peeking around my hand. "Nothing..." I add a secondary sigh only to chuckle at the dramatic eye roll I'm rewarded with. "I'm pouting. Is it working?"

"No." But this time he puts the book down on the end table, not daring to tag the page and mess up the crisp structure. "I'll remind you I was raised by a proper Spanish mother and she would have made us clean the entire house for such behavior. You're quite spoiled." My favorite look creeps into play, he's at least amused by my antics. I hop over the back of the couch to sit beside him, ignoring the grunt of disapproval as I sprawl in his lap much like his ridiculous feline. "Comfortable?"  

Nodding, I spy one of Marisol's magazines on the end table and remember the entire reason I came to bother him in the first place. "I have a request."

"Naturally." 

Not allowing him to offend me, I roll onto my stomach, locking him in with my elbows as I grab the remote. His hand casually rests on the small of my back, resigning himself to the entrapment. "In this time, they don't court or go for strolls.. they have dates. I think we should do what is customary for the time, we should have a date night."

I can tell he's not convinced so I select the menu button and sit up to rest on my knees. "I thought we were past the courting phase?"

Wrinkling my nose, I can't help but question if this is a waste of time. What if I'm more invested in this than he is? We are two totally different ages, at times it was painfully obvious to me that our needs could be quite different. "It's not about courting. It's not furthering an agreement like it is in our time. It's just... fun? It's supposed to be time together because we like each other. Or atleast-" His expression stops me, softening as he comes to join to me on the level that I'm occupying. I've finally succeeded in pulling him away from his reading and into my space. "You really immerse yourself in your books." As I reach to smooth his hair, he collects my hand in his to kiss my knuckles. 

"My mother worked painstakingly to teach me to read, I use it as often as I can. Now. Explain this to me."

I walk him through the steps, jumping up to collect the appropriate snacks only to be banished back to the couch for making a mess. I'm left to select a movie, enthralled with visions of the scenes I'd focused on to practice for this very moment. It'd be the perfect opportunity to reconnect, to spend some time together in a real way, to return to some sort of normalcy. 

Returning with the popcorn, Verando sits beside me with a huff. "Why do you eat this? It smells horrid."

"It's what the article says to do," I tell him, taking a bite and shrugging at his discrimination. "It's good." The salty, buttery taste is fine for my less sensitive palate. "Let's watch 'Night Terror.'"

Snagging the remote, he scans the title quickly only to cock an eyebrow in my direction. "This says it's scary. I don't watch much telly, are you going to be able to handle this? It's not a documentary, is it?"

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes dramatically. "Verando. I've traveled through time, I've fought countless foes, I've died and come back. I think anything these people can concoct will fall short in comparison. This is what I want to do to reconnect, I want to spend time together with just us."  The way he watches me is as if he's weighing the pros and cons of denying me. Finally, he nods and slides back against the couch. 

I squirm to get comfortable, sprawled into his lap as I lay on my back and pull his arm around me. It feels almost awkward to be so close to him, making my stomach flip and twist at the thought. There was no time for this in the beginning of our relationship, we only had our passionate moments to discover each other and then it was off to do our jobs. It was only here, at the end of the world, that we could truly find each other. 

The movie begins slow, dark, and mysterious with ominous music. I chew popcorn, checking off my mental list of what the article required. Artifice, sensing the impending task, turned the lights down to near darkness so that the screen was the only light in the darkroom. Coupled with the darkness of the scenes, it was quite eerie, not aided by the cat who decided to creep around on the edges of the light. 

I'd been doing fine until the monster of the movie, something we only captured small glimpses of, began hunting the young couple. As the scenes progressed, my heart pounded mercilessly in my chest. This was nothing like real life, this was so much worse, it might as well have been following the two most unlucky individuals to have existed. "These people are such rookies..." He grumbles, bringing me out of my terror and back to reality. "Who goes into the woods, unarmed?"

As the rumbling beast surfaces, I snag his hand and cover my eyes, sinking closer to his body. "What does the creature look like?"

The screams of the terrified couple echo off the walls. "Mmm.... it almost reminds me of a troll if the troll were melted. Poorly done, if you ask me."

Cracking his fingers, I peek at the screen, disgusted by the blood spattering from the young woman. His hand feels smooth against my face, the calluses of a life of working had dispersed with our new professions. "Why is there so much blood?" I grimace. 

"It's not very realistic at all. She's been bleeding for miles, one would think that someone would fashion a bandage or attempt to close the wound. Perhaps use their cell phones... the future is wasted on these amateurs." His musings bring me from the brink of losing it. I'd been close to calling it quits, the movie proving too much from my already dampened mental state, but hearing him dissect it somehow made it more bearable. 

I'd been prepared to be disappointed, he didn't hold me the way the article had said or jump when I did, we didn't share a moment of exhilarating fear.

Instead, he protected me the way he always did. He held me firmly, coaxing me out with well-placed assessments of the ridiculous film. As the movie comes to an end, with a single survivor walking off into the sunset, my fingers trace lightly over the back of his hand as I study his even pulse. For the life of me, I can't remember what I'd been trying to prove to myself. The distance between us before this moment almost appeared fabricated, for there was no hint of awkwardness in the air now. 

Artifice allows the light to slowly grow into a warm backdrop for an interesting evening. "I'm sorry darling, I'm not sure if that had gone how you'd imagined. I hope I didn't ruin it for you?" 

Sliding up his body, I collect his face in my hands and kiss him, dragging my fingers through the stubble I'd often dreamt of in our time apart. While the journey had been different, the ending remained the same. We always succeeded in finding each other. "It went exactly how I'd hoped. I love you even more now than I did before, and I'm sorry, this whole thing was silly."

Catching my lips with his own, he pulls me into his lap in a quick motion that leaves us both desperate for friction. "I'd say it was quite informative. I got to see a whole side of you I didn't know existed. You're quite... dare I say adorable.. when you're frightened. I don't often get to see your vulnerable side." His nose rubs gently against mine, an affectionate nuzzle I'd grown to adore. 

Back to reality, the suggestion causes me to bristle and I frown at him only to melt against his lips once more. "I wasn't frightened." I challenge, "I was worried it might end poorly for that couple." Sliding my hands down his neck, they stop on his shoulders to support myself as he pulls me impossibly closer.

"Mmm, my arm says different." I steal a glimpse of the red lines from my nails biting in his skin as I used him to hide from the on-screen film. Flushing, I can only think to hide against his neck and sigh at myself in embarrassment, an emotion that doesn't often find me. Caught, I wait for the onslaught of teasing. His lips near my ear, warming my skin with his breath and causing my hair to stand on end. "I much prefer your nails down my back, if I was to have a preference."