***
"Hey," I said to Aranu's back a few minutes later. At the water's edge, he tensed but didn't turn around.
"Okay." I nodded even though he wasn't looking at me. "I know you don't want me here." I forced myself to continue when it was tempting to take the easy way out and turn around, go back the way I came.
"I know that at the moment I'm not your favorite person. Hell, you probably hate me and I guess I don't blame you." Much. "But there's something you should know about earlier, what I said?" I took a deep breath, feeling like it was me who stood at the edge of the falls.
"I didn't mean it," I said. "Any of it. Well, except for the part about wanting you to leave. I meant that. But not because of all the reasons I gave you at the time. So, the thing is, I?I love you." I paused and sighed when he kept his back to me. "I haven't loved Mike Roberts in a very long time, if I ever really did. I don't know." I frowned, folding my arms over my chest and pacing idly up and down, staring at the bright silvery moon overhead. "I haven't had time to sort all of that out. He was a good friend once and maybe he will be again, someday. But he doesn't hold a candle to you," I finished, coming to a stop at the edge of path, where I'd started. It was hopeless but at least I could leave here with the knowledge that I'd tried.
"Okay. So, I just came here to tell you that. I'll go now," I murmured, turning and making my way down the path. At the end of the day, Aranu may hate me, but I'd done what was necessarily back in that clearing. What I'd had to do in order to survive and make sure everyone else did, too. My lips curved wryly. Somehow it always came, full circle, back to that. Wasn't that the life I'd signed up for?
I was about a quarter mile away from my cabin when I heard leaves rustling behind me.
"Aries. Wait."
I froze and slowly turned around. "Aranu."
His eyes held mine and for once today he wasn't aloof or cold.
He continued his steady progress, not stopping until the toes of his boots nudged mine on the path.
"I never wanted to hurt you," I said, staring up at him. In the next instant he'd snatched me against him. The leather-covered elastic band was pulled from my hair until the black locks tumbled free down my back. His hand palmed the back of my head and his lips rubbed over mine.
"I know that. All of it," he said when he finally lifted his mouth from mine. "I knew it then, that you didn't mean any of the stuff you said earlier." He took a deep breath and pressed his cheek against my hair. "I was never angry with you. I was mad at myself for being so weak. I could have blown the whole thing and got us killed today, Ari. I'm so sorry."
His arms tightened and I reached up to stroke his hair. "But you didn't." It was all I could think to say.
"I know that you can handle yourself, Ari. But if I lost you?" He shook his head and let me go. "I can't even say it. I can't-"
I threw myself at him, locking my arms around his neck and holding tight. "Then don't," I whispered, pressing my lips to his neck, tasting the salt of skin and feeling the shiver go through his tall frame.
"I love you so much, Ari. Since we were kids. It's always been you for me," he said, pulling back and smiling down at me. His thumb smoothed over my brow.
"And it's always been you," I murmured back. "You've always been there for me, ready to catch me, ready to avenge me." I shook my head, my lips curving against his chest as I let myself rest there for a moment. His chin pressed against the top of my head and he wrapped both arms around me.
"It's going to be you and me. Forever."
"I like the sound of that." I grinned without opening my eyes and we stayed just like that for long, precious minutes.
"So," he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "where are you headed?"
"Anywhere you want to go." I shrugged.
"Plans for tonight?" he asked as we started walking together toward my cabin.
"I was going to grab some clothes from the cabin and head to the big house to get drunk with Claire."
His hard face broke into a smile and he shook his head. "I think we can do better than that."
"Yeah? Well, what did you have in mind?"
"Bathing in the hot springs near the beach. Sleeping under the stars," he said, his serious, dusky eyes telling me there wouldn't be much actual sleeping happening tonight.
"You're on. It's a date. I'll-what the hell?" I came to an abrupt halt as we entered the clearing. Beside me, Aranu cursed.
"My cabin?what happened to my cabin?" I demanded, staring at the pile of rubble on the other side of the plain wood fence.
"Well," Aranu stroked a hand over his chin and studied the broken mess, "if I had to venture a guess, I'd go with bomb."
"They blew up my cabin. The damn coatyl blew up my house," I uttered in disbelief. "Look at it, Aranu. It's completely ruined! Damn it!"
We crossed the fence and walked a slow circle around the wreckage. Glass crunched under our feet and slowly my blood began to cool.
"It's not that big a deal." I sighed, shaking my head. "I was just shocked."
"We'll build a new one," he promised.
"We will?" I glanced at Aranu and smiled. He caught my stare and smiled back.
"If you want to."
"Oh, I do."
He grinned and swung me around in a circle, kissing me, and I couldn't help thinking how appropriate it was, to love one another, surrounded by bright moonlight and the broken pieces that would soon become new. He set me on my feet and a glimmer of white, near the top of the rubble, caught my eye.
"Hey, what's that?"
"I don't know." He picked his way over the splintered wood and glass and plucked a piece of paper off the pile. "It's a note," he said, climbing down and handing it to me.
I took it and scanned it, then smothered a giggle.
"Well, what's it say?"
"Here." I handed the paper back. "It's from the security company. I forgot I told them to come out and install a new system." I gave up and began to laugh. "The day I met you in town. I had the dead coatyl in that sack when I went to see about the security system. I take it they weren't amused when they came out."
On the paper, two words had been hand-lettered in bold print: I QUIT
Aranu read the note and his eyes flashed to mine. The paper fluttered to the ground as he threw his head back and laughed.
And seeing him like that, with me, felt like the sun coming out in the middle of the darkest night. Full circle.
The End
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