Under The Tent Top (COMPLETED)

Nineteen

I chuckled through a soft smile. He smiled back, his eyes gentle and the space between us began to shrink. "Well," I teased. "Aren't you going to dance with your wife?"

With chuckles we stood up, and wrapped our arms around each other. He clumsily twirled me as we stepped lightly around the room and out the hall. I let out cackles after laughs to the point where my sides hurt and my eyes teared.

"You've laugh so much!" Marius snickered.

I stopped abruptly. "You're not laughing enough!" With a quick reach I tickled his sides. Marius let out a loud laugh only to stop and joking frown at me.

"You're getting it."

Between cackles and giggles I ran up the stairs of the house. Our voices echoed through the halls, the joy in me filled the air.

With each look I took behind me, I swiftly ran into different rooms. Finally, after gaining a few feet from him, I snuck into a closet.

No clothes were hooked on to the hangers anymore, the large space was empty. I did my best to tuck as close to the far wall as possible.

My laughter gave me away.

Marius softly opened the closet doors, a wide smile shined at me. "Got you!"

I screamed as he picked me up and tickled me for revenge.

"Okay," I raised my hands in the air. "I give up! I give up!"

He took a large sigh. "Thank goodness, I can't chase you anymore. You're too fast."

"So I win!"

He laughed as he walked around what I assumed was the master bedroom.
I nudged him as I fell into the large bed behind us. Marius soon followed.

We stayed lying in the soft bed for a few moments before I turned to my side towards him. "We'd come into this bed after dinner too, wouldn't we?"

Marius turned his head towards me. "I would."

With gentle movements I tucked my body under the covered, the large thick duvet felt warmer than the scratchy wool blankets of the trailer. I took a large happy sigh. "I'd stay here forever if I could."

Carefully, Marius crawled to the top of the bed.

"Come under," I invited. "You've got to see how warm this is."

Once he was under the covers I turned towards him, my hands tucked under the pillow I lay on. I watched as he gently reached over, his fingers trailing my shoulders where a hidden scar sat.

"I didn't notice this before." He whispered.

"I was with The White Top for eight months by then," I replied in a soft hesitant voice. "I had sang too loud at one show, and the next morning I lost my voice. When Samil found out he had came to the tent during rehearsals, yelled at me to sing. I could barely speak - he threw a near by prop at me - nicked me in the elbow. Must have been a knife."

As I spoke Marius never lifted his finger off the scar. He traced every inch of it as if memorizing the shape. "You did nothing wrong..."

"I guess," I muttered.

He stared into me. "Everything he's ever done to you, are things you never deserved."

I stared back at him. My eyes welling up in tears.

"Nalani," He whispered. "You know you're not his property, right? You don't need anyone telling you who or what you are."

I sniffled. "I know."

"So, what're you doing?"

For a few moments I lay in front of Marius in silence. "I have no where else to go. I know no one else."

Something in him must have shattered. His eyes softened, his lips pressed hard into a line and his hands reached for my face. His thumb tracing my cheek where the latest injury was.

"A fist." I whispered through tears before moving his hand to the back of my head.

A small permanent bump was hidden behind my dark locks. "A chair, after I smiled at a guest."

My neck, where no scars were present. "Phantom pains, from his hands..."

My wrists: small divots and bumps left behind by fingers and ropes.
The tops of my hips: finger nail shaped scars.
On the inside of my thighs: bruises from the other night.
My feet: from months with no shoes.

When I had finished mapping out the history on my past, Marius reached out for my hand.

He gracefully laced his fingers with mine and shuffled closer. His voice was gentle, "You're not alone - you've always had your friends. And now you have Rene, Lacey, and if you need - me."

I nodded at him, before instinctively tucking into his chest. His arms stayed just a few inches from me, to afraid to touch. "It's okay," I muttered into his shirt.

With a comfortable sigh, he wrapped his arms around me. His head pressed against mine.

When I pulled away to take a breath, I caught him looking down at me. He held his arms lightly yet steady against me. His face lowered. "Can I.." he trailed off.

I nodded in mutual understanding. I nodded in vulnerability but no fear.

With a slow steady movement he leaned his face closer to mine. His heart hammered against his chest and echoed through me. Then, he kissed me.

His lips firm and soft all at the same time. Pulling apart from mine for a few seconds, only to come back again. He was hesitant, yet certain. He didn't push, or shove. If anything, he was almost waiting. Waiting for my movements.

He kissed me tenderly as his hands lacing gently through my hair. He leaned only when I leaned, and he never rushed me.

I took a few breaths as he pulled away. He leaned up and onto his propped arm; his head above mine. I looked up at him. His face was flushed and his eyes remained soft.

For some reason, I understood him. And, it wasn't because I had gotten used to Samil's constant nightly requests. It wasn't because I had developed a skill in reading the eyes of men as they stared at me in a certain way.

I understood because: I wanted him too.

So, I reached my arm towards the hem of his shirt and slowly pulled it over his head. His chest lay bare against my hand, his breaths heavy. I kissed a trail down his neck as he untied the backing of my costume. And for the first time I didn't shiver in fear. For once, I let myself give in to the moment, because I knew I was safe to do so.

Marius smiled down at me as he watched my fingers trace his hips. I smiled back, just as I hooked my legs around his and flipped him over. With his back to the mattress, I finished removing my costume for him.

I sat over him, bare and alive. His hands stayed against my thighs. His eyes never leaving mine.

I leaned down and kissed him, then we gave ourselves to each other.