Son of Hades

Threats

THREATS

       IT was early in the morning when Xavier woke up for work. His alarm was loud, annoying and had no snooze button. Despite my vain attempts at pulling him back into bed, nothing worked. “I have to go,” he whispers sadly. “but I'll see you tonight after work.” he kisses my forehead before going to his closet to retrieve a uniform.

           Xavier will be on kitchen duty for the first half of the day, and near dinnertime he will begin serving Jasmine. I watch him dress, still naked under the warmth of his white blankets. I could already hear shuffling footsteps just outside the door, and a loud yawn. These walls are paper thin, and we're trying to keep our voices low. “do I get to enjoy your warm bed without you?”

            Xavier has already pulled on his white dress shirt, and I get out of bed to help him tie his black tie. He smiles down at me as my fingers fumble with it, and I resist the urge to unbutton his dress shirt. Xavier smells like me this morning, and I have his honey-blood scent all over me. For just a moment, I could imagine us as a regular couple stuck in some crappy apartment building. I want anything but our reality.

            “Don't stay too long, and make sure you don't get caught leaving. Please return Castiel's keycard.”

            I pout. “Do I have to?”

            “Yes,” Xavier says firmly. “You'll be safe today since Castiel usually doesn't get up until eleven, anyway.”

          “Did you mean what you said on the bridge last night?”

            Xavier's cheeks redden. “Every word of it,” he says. When there's a knock on his door, Xavier puts on his jacket and kisses me. “I love you.”

            “I love you too.”

              He gives me a quick kiss before he rushes out the door.

            I count the long minutes before the shuffling footsteps finally come to an end, tempted to cuddle up back in Xavier's bed just to feel close to him again. I get dressed, thinking about taking another trip to the bathhouse —

          Peeking out of Xavier's door, there was nobody in the corridor. I try to quietly inch his door shut behind me and tiptoe back in the direction where I came. It seems endless here, and I try not to panic as I hear another door shut farther down. I resist the urge to look over my shoulder.

          “Fun night huh, Caverly?”

           Fuck.

           I glance over my shoulder just to make sure that Angelique isn't brandishing or hiding a knife or any other weapon. She wasn't. Did she really think that she could talk to me anyway she feels like it? Think again. I turn to face her. “The best . . . thanks for asking.”

            “I thought I told you to stay away from Xavier.” When she reaches me, Angelique dares to get as close as she can. She's the reason that Xavier is dead.

              I narrow my eyes. “You don't get to make the rules around here,” I'm treading on dangerous ground. Egging her on is never a good idea. “I do. And it's too bad really, because Xavier can't get enough of me.”