The Fine Line of Heaven and Hell

A/N: Well, I finished the work I had to do, which is good. I finished the work that was due and turned it in, which is also good. What isn’t so great, is the fact that I didn’t get home until 7:21 PM. This means that I don’t have as much time to spend on this chapter as I had hoped, but I suppose I’ll take what I can get. ^.^ At the moment, I’m typing in between Pokemon battles. O.o Sadly enough, yes, I’m still playing the game. I bought a DS today, on my way home because my GBA was jacked by my brother when he came for a visit the other day. I almost didn’t get it, a whopping $130, but I decided that I play too much games to not get it. *sigh* I can’t say I’m suffering from buyer’s remorse, though. Looking at the game is a lot easier on the DS than it is the GBA. Now, don’t tell me you’ve never searched for that perfectly lit spot just to play Gameboy. Please don’t, because it will make me feel even more the Game Fanatic. ^.^

Well, I suppose my secret is out! I’m a game freak. The only games I hate are first person shooters with no story, and Grand Theft Auto. The reason behind that probably being that I can’t stand absurdly crude games. (Possibly a natural instinct when one has an innocent, sweet little sister.)

Okay, now that I have pried my fingers away, I will get to work.

Chapter 30- Worth
==============


Step, step, pause. Step, step, pause. Her mind was becoming so focused on something as simple as pacing in a mere….hour? Every couple steps it seemed, she had to look at the clock and see if anything had changed. Could it possibly be that bad? No one would even tell her what was going on. Jerrick lay on the other side of a fucking door and she couldn’t go through. She was treading in a hallway, for Heaven’s sake! Not even knowing where she was, Shuey was only told he was seriously injured, though that confused her a great deal as well. He was a demon; how could he get hurt so badly?

Step, step, pause. Two hours had gone by. Step, step, pause. Leon was shaking his head as he came from the room. That vein in her temple had long-since stopped pulsing at the fact that she was the only one who wasn’t allowed to enter. If it hadn’t been Jerrick, she would’ve left a long time ago. Frowning at the thought, she continued her attempt to carve a hole in the pristine marble floor. Her hand twitched to stab something, but sadly enough, she hadn’t been able to retrieve her dagger. She couldn’t even be sure what had happened, but at the moment, she could only sit around and be irritated with the fact that she could do nothing. In the end, she was completely useless.

Though she’d known this from the moment she stepped away from the run-down building that she’d lived in her entire life, she had hoped she wouldn’t be so helpless. That’s why she’d taken the dagger with her in the first place. The more she thought about it, the better she began to understand. The longer she stuck around, the more the people around her might realize how worthless she really was. She’d almost forgotten her place in the world. The prideful part of her wanted to stay until the end, to let them hate her in the end, if only to keep feeling as though she belonged, even if it was just for a short time. The selfish piece of her wished the people she had come to know would always think of her as something important, unique, and rare. Even if they thought she was a coward to run away, at least they would have fonder memories than if they were to discover her actual value.

Decision in mind, she settled down, even venturing to sit in a chair for a bit before standing by the window. Long spans of silence in between brief moments of conversation passed the time away. Breezes, birds and insects were there to keep her company, if it would satisfy her now, it wouldn’t be so bad later. The angel returned for some time, sitting beside her and speaking every now and then, but she wasn’t really listening. Was he saying something important? It seemed so surreal this way.

“Hey! Did you hear me?” Blinking, she turned to the man, surprised to see a small smile on his face. “You want to see him?” As if she had no control over herself, she was standing, her legs striding into the room without a word. The door shut behind her on its own accord; Leon was probably there, too. Jerrick sat up in a ridiculously lavish four-poster bed. Maroon sheets fell around his waist, the hint of his pants barely visible from the edge of the cloth.

Dual eyes bored holes into his soul, making Jerrick rather uncomfortable before her. “Shuey,” he murmured, surprised by the way her attention was solely centered on him. Even during their more intimate moments, she had some semblance of awareness to the surroundings. It was as if nothing else mattered but him at the moment, sending pleasing shivers down his spine. Even though his body still ached from the previous attack, he had been just as anxious to see her. “What happened?” There had to be a logical explanation to all of it. He wasn’t stupid; he knew the attack on a bond when he saw one. So did his family, which was why they had originally refused to even allow her into the house.

Upon seeing her unwavering, although impatient, determination to see him, they allowed her to come visit. There were dark circles marring the pale skin under her eyes; had she had any sleep at all? Pout lips began to open before closing once again. What did that mean? Had she really left him?

Nibbling on her lower lip, Shuey wondered what she should say. Of course she had to tell him what she remembered…. About Rivet and everything, but she wasn’t sure if she could. “….I’m sorry,” she muttered, nearly wincing as the demon’s face fell, his grey eyes darkening into a cold graphite. It……hurt. She’d never felt pain such as this one, and it bothered her. If he responded this way simply because of this, what would he say when he decided she was useless? She was about to turn and leave as quickly as her legs would take her when he decided to answer her apology.

“For leaving me, or hurting me?” he asked, sorrowful eyes widening the slightest bit when her head jerked up, russet strands swaying from her face as she stepped closer. She was upset? Why would she be upset when something like this was her own doing?

“Then why am I standing here?” she said shortly, making his eyebrows shoot up with the sudden confession-slash-question. She did give a point; she would be standing there if she had done that on purpose. So she was apologizing for accidentally hurting him? Just remembering the immense sea of sadness that had washed over him as each wound appeared on his body made him doubt the statement, but her lips pressing softly against his washed away all fear of losing her. A light blush stained her cheeks as she moved away, her back facing him before she said anything more. “I promised I would stay, didn’t I?”

With a heavy sigh, Jerrick leaned back in his bed, cushioning himself on pillows and resting his the back of his head. “I won’t ask then,” he offered, suppressing a smile when she glanced back at the words. Instead of going through the door as he expected, she turned to him and graced him with a rare, beautiful smile. Although it was a vision, something about it was sad, even if she was trying to hide it. Curbing his suspicions, he let her go, watching the graceful sway of her hips as she turned the corner.

It wasn’t until nightfall that she decided to leave the sanctuary of her provided room, the small nap she’d taken doing little to soothe her mind. She wanted to leave, it was for the best, but she couldn’t seem to force her legs to walk away. When she did finally exit her temporary den, she wound up in front of the very door she’d been pacing at the past two or three days. She peered inside, leaning against the doorframe and only allowing the door to open until the light touched the edge of the bed. Dark hair spread on his pillow just a bit, forming a dark halo around his pale face. She’d never noticed how long and feminine his eyelashes were until now. His lips were somewhat thin, slightly parted as he took in air during his slumber. Was it strange to enjoy seeing him this way?

Lithely built arms were bare, and most of his toned chest was covered by the blanket. Lost in her slight trance, Shuey didn’t hear the footsteps of another behind her. “Feeling guilty about something?” Came the husked voice of Leon, causing her to jerk in surprise at the sudden noise. Whipping around to face him, she noted the dark circles under his cerulean eyes and the weary expression he was wearing. What was wrong with him? “What?”

Shrugging, she relaxed back onto the doorway as her shoulders slumped. “Tired?” When the redhead nodded, her brow furrowed in confusion. Why didn’t he sleep? Before she’d even opened her mouth to speak, he was chuckling and holding a finger to his lips.

“’Sleep’ she says, to the angel in a house of demons,” he whispered with a grin, motioning her to shut the door and have a seat. “While Jerrick accepts me, his family still wants to kill me. If I’m not careful, one of them is bound to catch me off guard.” Thinking this over, she realized he had a very valid point. So why weren’t they after her? “You’re his mate, so they have to let you slide. It’s part of their Clan Pride.” She’d never heard that term before, but he didn’t seem prone to explaining. “To them, you can only be what you can prove you’re worth.”

There it was; someone had finally said it. Did that mean they would start questioning her value? Should she just get it over with now? “I’m not worth anything,” she murmured quietly, not quite realizing she had said it. A muscled arm wrapped around her shoulders, making her tense initially until she noticed he wasn’t going any further than that.

“I think you should let him decide that, don’t you? I think you’re worth more to him than you think you are.” With that, Leon stretched his arms up, narrowly missing the back of her head as he did so. “I think you’ll probably get more sleep next to Jerrick.” As though him saying that meant she agreed, he opened the door and vanished down the hallway. Gazing into the darkened room made her feel a bit sleepy, so she stood to go to her own room, only to walk through the door instead. There was enough room next to him, right? Somewhere in the back of her mind, her emotions mocked her as she lay down beside the dark-haired man. She thought she’d be able to leave?

That was the last thing that blew into her thoughts before she dozed off until morning.

There was something warm and soft curled up next to him, resting what he thought was this person’s head on his shoulder. When he finally got the energy to open his eyes, he was welcomed by Shuey’s sleeping form. Pout, pink lips were closed and kissable, dark lashes hovering over her pale cheeks. Russet strands fell from her face as she dreamt on, one hand resting ever-so-lightly on his chest. Running his fingers along those delicate digits, he realized just how scared he’d been when the bond had attacked him. Was it himself or the bond that had feared their parting?

Too groggy to consider it thoroughly, he settled for a better morning activity. Brushing her cheek lightly, he leaned in and pecked that delectable mouth lightly, not surprised when she began to awaken because of it. Slightly hazy, different colored eyes peered out at him from those inky lashes, a soft sigh emitting from her when he leaned in again. “Good morning,” he murmured, hand slipping down her lovely neck as his thumb brushed the scar along her jaw.

Before she knew it, her pillow had moved out from under her, leaning closely over instead. Instead of whining impatiently, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his fervently. He returned the favor, a nip of her lower lip leaving her to part her mouth to allow him entrance. He delved into that sweet taste, shamelessly exploiting the time he had spare before they left. “Don’t leave me like that again,” he whispered with a nip to her ear, grinning at the shiver from his actions. One hand vanished under the thin blue tank-top she wore, running along the muscles still forming there. Each one quivered with each pass of his touch, his grin growing with each one.

Shuey still couldn’t believe she liked it. One would think that an incident like the previous one would cause her some sort of trauma, but when it came down to it, her body still reacted to her mate’s fingertips just as easily as it had before. Her lips parted in a gasp as his fingers unclasped the bra she wore with ease, brushing along a pert nipple as he pushed the offending article to the side. Her shirt had ridden up to her shoulders, so she let him pull it off when he began to tug at it insistently.

His teeth latched happily onto one of the soft mounds, lips grinning around his prize as Shuey let out a surprised moan. Finally, one pale hand found its way into his hair, pulling at the strands in just that perfect way as the other ran along his shoulders and down his back. Pink covered her cheeks as he sucked, his free hand moving to unbutton his third obstacle. He bit her rather hard, he knew because she bucked and jerked his hair a little. “Unnn..”

His hand disappeared into undone jeans, middle finger running along her clit and making her pant. “Promise me you won’t disappear again,” he said after he released one wounded, but already healing nipple. He didn’t receive an answer, but that was fine because he hadn’t expected one. Instead he let her take his own pants into her hands, permitting them to fall to his knees when she released them. To his surprise, that pale hand was gripping him, moving up and down his shaft with a natural skill he hadn’t suspected she would have. He kicked what he could of the lingering blue jeans away, crawling atop her and forcing that lithe hand to stop. Nipping her jaw as punishment, he pulled her hand away and ran his fingertips along one milky thigh.

Her leg moved at the contact, as if her body was saying she wanted it hard, rough, and with no nonsense. Her darkened eyes forbade him to toy with her, almost forcing his body to move on its own. Giving in to that lusty gaze, he spread her a bit further before positioning himself. “Do you promise?” he asked again as he thrust into that warm heat. Claws scraped along his shoulders as he began with a harsh pace, her face only wincing for a short time before the first real moan tumbled from her lips.

“Harder,” she said, her voice commanding his every move like a puppeteer. Claiming that lovely mouth he complied with no complaint, satisfied with the muffled sounds she made. For a quiet woman, she was pretty loud in bed. It didn’t take long with the furious pace and the squeezing of tight walls around him, his orgasm rushing through him nearly in sync with her own. As he relaxed his weight against her, she nuzzled his throat, nipping it from time to time as if he was something to be paid special attention to. She said something softly into his neck that made him widen his eyes in surprise before forcing an insane grin on his face for the rest of the day.

“We’ll have to get going soon,” he murmured in her ear, smiling when she made no offer to get moving. Instead of doing so himself, he pulled out and flopped down next to her, satisfied as she curled into him once again with no obvious intention to leave. As if telling him for certain that she would leave whenever she please, she buried her face into his throat, a small sigh coming from her as her body relaxed. Well, they would leave sooner or later, at least.


A/N: Well, it’s still a little short, but I suppose it’ll do. I think this one was a little…eh, cheesy maybe, which is really not my usual taste, but hey, whatever works. Sorry this one came on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, but apparently I had to turn in a project earlier than I thought I had to. O.o Well, enough of that, I’ll move on to what everyone looks forward to the most….The review replies. *chuckle*

Alicat: I’m not saying my parents are normal or anything, but yeah, she definitely got screwed over on the parent card.

Anon: That was very enthusiastic; thanks. ^.^ I don’t even like Pokemon all that much, but I can’t seem to stop playing, anyway. I think I’ll go get Pearl with my next paycheck. (A friend of mine already has Diamond, so I don’t want to get it as much.) The thing I don’t like about Sapphire (the one I’m playing now) is that all the old Pokemon aren’t on it. It makes me sad, because I like the old ones the best…The new ones are kinda…. Weird-looking. (This said about imaginary monsters who shoot weird shit from their bodies). Well, okay, I’m glad it was suspenseful, and don’t worry….The vagueness will fill out soon. I think I’m nearing the end of the story now. O.o It’s pretty surprising, if you ask me.

Luinil_Telcontar: Welcome back. I’m glad you’re still reading. Thanks (again) for reviewing. I like the mist, too. I can’t remember what made me come up with it, but I’m glad it’s there. O.o Even if she doesn’t use it much.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. Thanks, as usual, for reading everyone. ^.^