"Oh really?" I countered. "Fine. I'm leav-"
He muttered a curse and tugged me just slightly - enough for our lips to meet as he kissed me long and hard. Our eyes were still boring into one another’s while our lips moved and pressed firmly in the soothing kiss.
I don't know why it ignited a mix of emotions, feelings of relief, hope, and acceptance fluttering through my core as we deepened the kiss while our eyes came to a close. The strongest emotion was this nostalgia of the past that molded us into the dark shadows we were now.
The past was still haunting us in this spectrum of life, and yet I was grateful to discover and accept the best of both worlds. There was this lingering thought that always made me realize that without Jaxsin, Jax would still move forward, just like without this dark side of myself, I'd be who I was before the grand discovery.
It was something that should have been easily acceptable in my mind, but with the months of accepting these dark parts of ourselves and how that acceptance morphed us into stronger, mature, and determined individuals, it felt like none of us could see our worlds without the other.
The darkness and the light. The past and the present. Our futures would mold together into one, and that combined force was what the Shadow Kingdom feared the most. There would always be the aspects of power, magic, and knowledge, but when you accepted the frail darkness within yourself, you grew in all aspects, and that growth was the hardest to tamper with.
You could kick, shove, shoot, and bury its awakening, but the pain would only be the fuel it needed to prosper, to be accepted, and to help one realize that they were worthy of all aspects of themselves.
We broke the kiss to press our foreheads together, the two of us still with our eyes closed as we simply took deep breaths.
"Death was scary," I finally voiced, knowing we needed to confront it here and now.
"Dying with you was better than dying without you," Jaxsin whispered as I opened my eyes to see his sad ones. It was the first time in what felt like forever that he didn't wear a mask of anger.
That he allowed his true emotions to rise to the surface and be seen.
"I never want us to experience that again," I voiced.
He nodded and inched closer to place a gentle kiss on the top of my nose. "Just a semester left. Then...we'll have a moment to live before we start whatever is ahead of us."
"You think so?" I questioned with a slight smirk. "What if we're all separated?"
"Where you go, I go."
"What if I want to go to school again?
"Then we go to school."
"What about if I want to travel?"
"Then we travel."
I huffed and gave him a look.
"What?"
"You can't follow me everywhere."
"Why not?"
"It's not how life works," I muttered.
"Really?" He surprised me with a slight grin as he brushed his lips along mine. "We met during a time of despair. Unwanted. Despised by our lovers. Left to be nothing but trash on the side of the road. We were brought together on a mission to implement change, and it was during the time we spent together that we began to blossom."
I met his eyes as he continued to recall the circumstances of our last life. "Our love wasn't out of pity or hate. We weren't jealous of each other's success, and we strived to do all the things we feared doing alone. You were my other half, and even in the toughest times that made my heart quiver in fear, I knew I'd be okay with you by my side. No matter what obstacles came our way."
He cupped my cheek with his hand and pressed another kiss to my parted lips. "If you want to see the realms of this world, I'll be right next to you. If you want to study more to discover what you want to achieve in this world, then I'll be there to hold your books and gain knowledge with you. Nothing will tear us apart, Marianna. Even death couldn't."
I stared into his eyes and saw the truth and confidence within the spheres of black. His words were more valuable than he realized because I was hearing it from him, this side that never liked to express his emotions or thoughts.
"Then...together no matter what?" I sought his confirmation as if it meant the world to me.
"Together no matter what," he vowed and even offered me his pinky.
"No one pinky swears anymore," I dryly stated.
He blinked and gave me his graceful scowl. "I still do, so fuck it."
"Can't fuck a pinky." I winked, which made him growl in annoyance and left me quietly giggling before I lifted my pinky and wrapped it around his.
"Pinky swear. You're stuck with me."
"Not a problem with me," he concluded, though he looked tired. "Jax is about to wake up."
"Meaning you just want to nap," I concluded.
"Hmph."
I kissed him one last time, leaving him a bit surprised with the amount of affection I was giving him.
"Don't get used to the love," I prompted. "Next time I'm teasing your ass."
"Bit..." he began but huffed. "Whatever."
"Aww, you're getting better," I purred and gave him a quick smooch. "Love you, Jaxsin."
He paused in his departure as his eyes met mine once more - as if seeking confirmation that my words weren't simply said to tease him. He blushed just slightly as he whispered, "I'll always love you, Marianna."
He was gone then, just as Marianna pulled back to give me full control again. It took Jax a solid minute to be present before he yawned.
He then realized I was awake as he stared at me for five long seconds before his eyes widened. "Holy shit. You're awake."
"Hello, sleepyhead," I greeted.
"MewMew!" Elsa was back and attempting to squeeze between our faces.
"Ah." I moved back to avoid Elsa's tail as she moved onto Jax's head and curled up to sit on his head like some sort of cushion. Jax's displeased pout was far too cute to ignore as I began to laugh.
"Aww. You look so annoyed yet cute."
"Luna used to do this," he whined. "She'd be up there for hours."
"Welp. You're stuck now," I concluded.
"Boo," he complained. "Luna."
"Meow."
I looked over to see Luna hop onto the hospital bed. She stretched and looked up to where Elsa was sitting. "Meow?"
Elsa lifted her head up to see Luna, and just like that, she was down and chasing Luna off the bed to play around.
That made us smile before I rested my head on Jax's chest once more.
"Are you feeling okay?" Jax genuinely asked with a pinch of worry in that sleepy, deep voice of his.
"Ya," I replied. "Just want a moment to listen to your heartbeat."
He didn't say anything against it as his fingers began to run through my hair at a slow pace, promoting my need to just relax for a solid moment.
What an odd way to end our vacation, but I guess we should have been grateful to be alive and not what was previously destined for us.
"How did we survive all of that?" I finally asked.
Jax continued to stroke through my hair as he answered, "Connor explained that he'd somehow unlocked one of his demigod gifts."