On my knees

The difference between the two of them, was that he would actually give up if she truly didn’t want him to go. He could be quite stubborn, but quickly changed his mind if he noticed it bothered the people he loved. He would rather try and convince her than do it against her will. Of course he would be sad about it, but he would never get angry at her. She was only trying to protect him and he didn’t see it as an annoyance. It was because she loved him and that fact by itself would always make him happy, no matter the circumstances.

Though she eventually agreed. He noticed how it was hard for her to do so. She probably wasn’t convinced, yet she would allow him to go. Not without warning him to be careful first though. A faint smile graced his lips. ”I will”, He replied. ”I’ll be back before you notice I’m gone”, He promised her. She still seemed worried though. By now, he could clearly pick up the signs. ”What’s wrong?” He therefore asked, wondering if it would be something he could try to fix this time or not.

Now he actually had permission kind of, he decided that tomorrow would be the best day to go. For nothing in the world would he leave her here alone today. It was such an important day for her, and he wanted to be there to support her if she needed him to. Surely she would go in Commander-mode again, but he hoped his presence in the room would give her a sense of safety. Another reason was that he wanted to make sure no one would actually try and challenge her again. She might be somewhat healed now, but that didn’t mean she could go out and fight another battle. She would have to take it easy, as she had promised.

When she said she would try not to worry, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. Before he could reply to that though, he noticed how she was not exactly keeping her promise. She looked like she was worrying about something already. So he asked her what it was. “It’s nothing,” She promised him. He slightly frowned, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he did what he would always do. Try and cheer her up. ”So”, He started off. ”Think you can fix me a shirt? Or do I go out wearing one of your pelts like a cape?” He joked. What a fashion statement that would be.

Her words made him happy. So happy he could die, if he actually was alive. His heart would probably skip some beats right now. The warmth was spreading through his chest again. Would he ever get enough of this feeling? Spoiler: no. Suddenly he felt the urge to kiss her, which he naturally complied to. He gently cupped her face with one hand before gently kissing her. Short but sweet, full of love for her. ”I love you too, Lexa”, He whispered after he had pulled away and laid his head back on the pillow.

For some reason he was blessed with the skill to turn a heavy conversation back to a more light-hearted subject without making things awkward. A simple joke or comment mostly did the trick. Which was nice, because he wasn’t one to give great advice anyway. Though he would always try to say something useful, if he had the possibility. Sometimes it was as easy as giving the other person a different perspective. This time though, she didn’t want to talk about it. So he respected that, wouldn’t push the matter. If she wanted to share her thoughts, he trusted she would do so spontaneously.

So a random comment it was. “I’ll have West find you something once I’ve gathered the courage to get out this bed,” She replied with a faint smile. Now at least her mind was distracted again. ”Good luck, it’s actually a nice bed, to be honest”, He replied, an amused tone in his voice. ”I changed my mind, you can go talk to your people by yourself, I’m going to stay here”, He continued with a grin, after which he theatrically grabbed one of the furs and buried himself under it, as if he would actually go to sleep.

Now more than ever did he miss being human. Spending all day in bed, taking naps or just reading a book. At that time nothing had been complicated. He didn’t have any worries back then. Perhaps because he was so isolated from the outside world. Edmund’s mansion was his safe haven. It could get lonely but aside from that he had everything he needed. Though finally being free had had his benefits as well. He wouldn’t have met Lexa if he had stayed there, for example. He wouldn’t have found his brother. The saddest part was that he wouldn’t even know what he was missing.

Because even though it was way more complicated now, it was worth it. Every second she was out there, he would worry. But he wouldn’t want it any other way anymore. He loved her and she loved him, and that was the only thing that mattered. There was no logic behind it, and he wouldn’t even try to figure it out. Loving someone was done with the heart, not the mind. And his heart wanted her. Not just the woman laying next to him right now, but also the woman that would sit on the throne and speak to her people later on.

That’s why a protesting grumble sounded when she said she would go out there by herself. The vampire pulled down the pelt a bit, so he could peek at her and fix her with his gaze. ”I’m not that easy to get rid of”, He said, after which he also pushed himself up. ”Besides, I got to make sure you keep your promise and stay on that throne all day”, He continued, a half smirk around his lips. If she thought she could sneak away while he wasn’t paying attention, she would have to change that quickly enough.

The vampire was completely unaware of her identity crisis. If he had known it would cause her to struggle so much, he would have left her alone a long time ago. By coming here he put her in a tough situation. Basically by existing he made it harder for her to stay focused on her tasks. Though it was simply too late to go back now. He would never be able to pretend like all of this had never happened. He knew that walking away was not an option anymore. At this point he was fully committed to her. Of course he had other business to take care of. Soon he would have to leave, to fix his thirst. Somewhere in the near future he would also have to return to Kaz.

Today he would support her. And she better not question it, as he wasn’t planning on leaving her a second time. He had made that mistake once, and never again. ”Good. When you’re done you can get back to resting then”, He replied, again trying to convince her to take it easy today. Honestly though, he didn’t expect her to. Mort sighed softly while putting his hand on her lower back for a second. ”Please just don’t get hurt again”, He whispered. He knew that it would eventually happen again, but please. Not today.

Now he was reminded of it again, the memories of the battle she had fought yesterday were flashing before his eyes. Rapidly but also blurry, as he hadn’t been paying attention all throughout the fight. It felt like he was there again. Even the scent of blood was almost too real. It hurt his throat a bit, but he could still control it. The moment when the spear had sliced her side was not even the worst part. It was what had happened after the fight. Not being allowed near her right away, when she was obviously in pain. She tried not to show it, but he was a vampire. There was very little she could hide from him. Next, how he had to carry her to the doctor, because she was too weak to walk on her own.

The bright red blade scorching the wounds.

“I promise I’ll be careful,” She said, pulling him out of his own mind before it got any worse. The reason why was completely different from his. His priority was with her, hers was with her people. Again. He kept his comment to himself though. This was one of those things he had to deal with. It was what he signed up for by wanting to date the Commander, wasn’t it? ”We all need you”, He replied with a faint smile. Before he could say anything else, he picked up the sound of a heartbeat and footsteps, though the person stopped in the throne room. ”There we go again”, He said, softly sighing. He nodded towards the door. ”Another visitor.” At least not a Guardian this time..

Some day he would have to leave Vanaheim again. Struggling with his bloodlust already, he knew that day would come sooner than he would want it to come. He honestly couldn’t tell what was worse. Being here when she got hurt, or not being here. Because he suspected that stuff like this wouldn’t just stop happening when he was gone. Would he one day come back to the Heart, only to find out she had died and been replaced with the next Commander in line? It scared him, way more than he would like to admit. He loved her, and even though she promised to be careful, she couldn’t control every little aspect of life. If another warrior decided to challenge her and her reign, she would have to fight once more, as it was simply her duty. Dying for her cause, in the end. And perhaps he wouldn’t even be there to see it happen.

When he heard the heartbeat, he tried to stop worrying about things he couldn’t control either. Like the reaction of the man that would enter the room in a couple of seconds. It was clear Lexa already knew who to expect, and in a way he did too. Who else would come to her room this early? It had to be someone she trusted. Someone like.. West. The older warrior opened the door and entered, while trying really hard to keep his focus on the Commander and not on the semi-nude vampire sitting next to her on the bed.

Suddenly the vampire knew exactly how she must have been feeling when the doctor had treated her. He felt extremely vulnerable and honestly just wanted to disappear into the pile of fur that was covering her bed. West was trying not to look at him, though he could see his gaze wander off from time to time. He subconsciously crossed his arms in front of his stomach, as if that would help. It made him feel a bit less exposed though. It was something. As soon as Lexa started speaking, the man turned his attention back to her. Luckily. He wasn’t quite sure if he would make a comment on the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt or not, and he wanted to avoid any awkward conversation.

Because of course the man had to know. Drawing his conclusions from the way they had acted towards each other, and how he was now sitting on the bed with her. So far for keeping it low key. When Lexa was done speaking, he quietly scraped his throat. The man turned his head towards him, a questioning expression in his eyes. ”And could you perhaps, maybe, if it’s not too much, f-fix me a shirt?” He asked, knowing damn well that if he still had a heartbeat his face would have turned red like a tomato now.