5. Father of Darkness
Chapter five
Father of Darkness
Nicodemus
Odysseus was relaxing in our dorm when I made my way back home that night.
He had a sitcom playing on the television, but he was more occupied with his caramel popcorn than the show.
He picked his head up when he heard me rematerialize, his smile illuminating the room as I shook my limbs out and sighed to myself.
“Welcome back, love. I was wondering when you would be home.”
“What did I miss?” I prompted as I moved to collect some pajamas to change into.
He popped another candied kernel into his mouth, munching happily as he flicked through channels. “Nothing much, really. Everyone's taking the night to themselves for now.”
I opened the dorm door. “I see. I’m going to shower quickly, then we can catch up on that horror movie we started last night.”
“I’ll get more popcorn!” he adorably called, springing up to get the room together as I went towards the bathroom.
The hot water settled my nerves immensely as I washed away my sins from the day, letting it cascade over my face and head for as long as I could stand it.
I lathered the soap on thick to moisturize my skin, as it had become dry from running about the cold evening back on Earth.
I had to wipe the mirror with some paper towels since the steam had fogged it up, and when my face came into view, I frowned at how dejected and pale I looked in the reflection of the mirror.
I had deep bags circling my eyes, making me look like a corpse from the deep stress and lack of sleep.
Odysseus would absolutely say something to me, I was sure of it, but maybe I could get through the night unscathed if I played my cards right.
My tattoos perked up a bit when I rubbed lotion over them, and once I was satisfied with myself, I came back to the room and slid into bed.
Odysseus automatically pulled me into his arms and let his salt covered lips trail my cheeks before he reached my own, where a soft kiss silenced my worries further.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Is there anything I can do to ease your thoughts?” he murmured in between our gesture.
I let my tongue travel across his bottom lip, as he tasted like that sweet caramel popcorn, and I was enjoying the taste. “You could let me kiss you for a little longer?”
He chuckled sweetly and complied, and after five or so minutes of our passionate twining, he broke the kiss to slide his hand under my hair and tilt my face up. “I wanted to talk to you about something, now that we have a quiet night.”
“Sure?” I said, though I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t want to continue.
He let his fingers glide through my wet hair so he could lace them in the curls and twirl them around his hand. Lost in thought like this, his head fell onto the pillow, so our foreheads were pressed together. “When do you want to get married?” he finally asked.
I blinked in surprise before a grin filled my cheeks. “That’s a good question. Our marriage isn’t something I want to rush, as we have forever to do it, but I don’t want to wait forever, either...” I nibbled his ear to make him giggle. “When do you want to get married?”
“I was tossing that around for some time, wondering when the perfect time would be, but will there ever be a perfect time?” He pondered his own words for a moment before sighing.
“There’s so much chaos in our lives right now, and I know planning a wedding would only worsen that, but I honestly think I need something to look forward to, to live for, really.
I need that push to wake up now more than ever and knowing we were working towards a beautiful wedding would certainly push me to wake up every day. ”
“Love, if you think it’s time, I’m all for it.
I don’t want to rush the details, as I want it to be as perfect as possible, but I do understand what you mean.
I need something to break the weight of reality myself and marrying you would certainly remind me why I’m pushing so hard to be a God.
” I nuzzled our noses to make him smile. “What date should we pick?”
He played with my hair as he spoke, watching the curls spring back into place. “I was thinking sometime in the spring, so we can have cherry blossoms in full bloom...” he sang, walking his fingers up my arm to simulate the blossoms swaying in the wind.
“How could we go without our staple!” I chuckled.
“Exactly,” he laughed before hugging me closer, as if that were possible in this position. “What color suits would we wear? I think black and white are a little cliché considering our elements. I want something that pops... something bright and beautiful.”
“What if I wore pastel pink, and you wore pastel orange? Or yellow? Or, or...!” My excitement bubbled so high that I was bouncing under the covers. “We could have colors that matched the flowers, pink and peach and white, and have petals decorate the aisles...!”
“I love that idea!” He kissed me feverishly. “How would we change our names? I was thinking about hyphenating them, so my father is happy that I'm still partially a Levasseur.”
“Nicodemus Crawford-Levasseur... I think it has a beautiful ring to it...” I pressed my nose to his neck and breathed in his mint-scented body wash. “Where should we go on our honeymoon? Somewhere we’ve both always wanted to see?”
“I’d prefer to be near the beach. As much as I don’t like to show skin, I like to sit under the sun and swim in the water that’s been warmed by it. Plus, I’d love to see you in a cute little swimsuit,” he teased with a bite to my bottom lip.
“That does sound nice...” I mumbled sleepily into his skin.
He chuckled and pulled the blanket over us fully, tugging my legs over so he could wrap his around both of mine.
I felt so comfortable, so loved in that intimate space that I couldn't help but succumb to my lack of sleep.
“Sleep well, my love... the world will be waiting for us in the morning, so take all the time you need to catch up to it,” he breathed, setting his lips on my forehead before snuggling into my hair.
The commotion erupting in the training arena from my Elementals could be heard clear across the campus.
Everyone was sporting their new badges to indicate if they were a Hunter or a Reaper, a privilege they had waited years to be bestowed.
It signified that they were truly high-classed Death Elementals, and all their hard work was finally starting to pay off.
I moved through the crowd and started separating them into two groups.
“Alright everyone, let’s have our Reapers on this side, and our Hunters on this side!
There we go...! Calvin, you’re a Reaper, silly!
Awesome, we’re good to go! Reminder to all: Reapers will have practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Hunters will have practice Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
I will let you know if we have collaboration classes, but for now, enjoy the rest of your day, and I will see our Reapers bright and early tomorrow morning! ”
“Bye, Mr. Crawford!” Elektra called over her shoulder as she bounced down the sidewalk.
“Mr. Crawford is my father! Please, call me Nicodemus.” I waved gently to my Elementals, who dissipated down the path towards their dorms to decompress after training today.
I set my hands on my hips and turned to Dad and Endymion, who wore proud smiles for me.
“Well, things should be nice and organized around here now. It’ll be way more fun to train them based on their status, instead of teaching them to do things they aren’t able to do. ”
“That’s the downside to Death Elementals.
Until they are categorized, training can be difficult since they can’t hunt and reap at the same time.
They’ll appreciate working under their assigned roles, as they’ll have things to strive for now, and are working within their needs.
” Dad clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Want to have lunch with me back at McBride? I wanted to check in with you if you have the time?”
“Sounds great. I would kill for some food right now,” I said before nodding to Endymion and following Dad down the path towards his on-campus home.
Endymion waved to us gently before dissipating himself; I was glad to be rid of him momentarily.
He wasn’t inherently giving us a hard time, but his presence made me uneasy still, like I was under the scrutiny of the entire world when he was around.
I suppose, in some ways, it was like being watched by the world, as he had helped create it after all.
When we entered the mansion, Dad went right for the kitchen and started pulling a variety of sandwich ingredients from the fridge.
He stacked mayonnaise, mustard, cold cuts, and cheeses in his arms, a bag of kaiser rolls hanging from his mouth as he wrestled to get the ingredients on the table.
I found plates and glasses in the cabinet before pouring some soda for us, and an extra glass of water for Dad.
He was trying to be better about drinking water and staying away from caffeine, and as much as he hated water, I was glad to see him putting some effort into his health.
He eyed the coffee pot hungrily despite having soda on the table, but behaved and didn’t pour another cup, even dumping the remainder of his morning thermos in the sink.
We busied ourselves with making a couple sandwiches each before he twisted the bread bag shut and stuffed the edge of one into his mouth.
“The good thing about living with Blaine is there’s always fresh cold cuts in the fridge.
Dude's a total meat head, literally and figuratively,” Dad laughed with his mouth full.
I rolled my eyes at his comment. “I will never understand how Odysseus turned out the way he did, being raised by Blaine. He and his father are totally opposites in every way.”