Aqua
Words: 3316 Member: Mark Genre: Suggestive, Angst, Fluff, Alternative Universe Warning(s): Suggestive actions, language, talks of death/death
Part 4 of Atrocitas
New Orleans, Louisiana
To any other person, getting chased down the street wouldn’t seem all that weird. New Orleans was a weird city itself with all the hoodoo and voodoo in its history. It was a city rife with magic and an underground haven for those that were magic personified. So, when a handsome man is being chased down Decatur most people wouldn’t give it a second thought unless they were a curious tourist. They wouldn’t pay attention to the man’s ragged clothes or the black outfits of the pursuers. They wouldn’t see the brand on the young man’s arm, nor the weapons discretely strapped to the pursuant bodies.
However, these were things that you were constantly on the lookout for.
The man literally crashed into you, causing your purse to fall off your shoulder in his haste. If it wasn’t for the small glance at his arm you would have told him off. You didn’t even get the opportunity to open your mouth before he was scrambling away as if a fire was lit under his feet. His pursuants were hot on his trail and you immediately knew who they were as they passed you.
Hunters.
The word was a dark snarl in the back of your mind and your flight instincts kicked in quickly. Quickly grabbing your fallen purse, you fled across the street dodging cars all along the way. Running into the Quarter was difficult with the sheer number of visitors, but you eventually made your way to Chartres street where you had a little more room. Heading east, you ran as fast as you could to reach the safe house. Time and speed were on your side as you sprinted the blocks it took for you to get to safety. There was no way a hunter could find your hideaway in plain view, and you had to get there before they realized who you were.
A block and a half away, the antique buildings became familiar the further you got from Jackson Square. You were seconds away from safety when the man and his pursuers came bounding down a side street. They didn’t notice you, but you surely noticed them as they continued the chase. You stopped quickly, skidding to a halt on the corner as they ran past you. You could see the door that would envelop you in safety and calm just beyond the edge of the block, but something in the back of your mind nagged at you.
Something kept telling you that you needed to help him, and for some reason this voice was louder than the rational side that told you to take yourself the couple of feet to the safe house. Rolling your eyes, you decided that this one time would be your good deed and then you’d continue your quest of self-preservation.
Standing under a balcony, you leaned against a pole and took a deep breath. To anyone else you’d just look exhausted, but in reality you were concentrating. Feeling the wind pick up around you, you pushed the air down the street until you felt the gusts come into contact with the three people as if your own fingertips were touching them. A whisper escaped your lips as you commanded the wind to lift the two hunters high into the air until they suffocated, while also commanding it to bring the strange man towards you.
The wind obliged quickly like an eager pet, sighing your praises and thanking you for utilizing it. You couldn’t help but feel a fire of attachment for the obedient element, but you didn’t have time to properly thank it as it got to work. You heard the screams of the hunters clearly, but they faded away quickly as they were brought higher and higher into the atmosphere by invisible bonds. Their screams were soon drowned out with curses and screams from the man, demanding to be put down.
The wind dropped him off obediently right in front of you but kept a strong grip on his flailing body. Invisible bonds kept the handsome man from moving as his feet touched the ground, and boy, did he look pissed. The snarl on his mouth was menacing, but you’d seen worse.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked, struggling against the tight, unseen hands that kept his arms from moving.
Pushing off the pole, you stood toe to toe with him. Neither his height nor his good-looks intimidated you and you weren’t all too happy with his attitude. “I’m the person that just saved your ass,” you hissed back at him, “A thank you would be appreciated.”
“I’ll thank you when you tell your element to let go of me,” he said continuing to struggle against the wind locking him in place. Narrowing your eyes you contemplated not letting him go and leaving him on the corner frozen in place. The idea was tempting, but your curiosity got the better of you. Waving your hand, you allowed the wind to release him but not before putting a little kick in it. The wind shoved him in the chest, causing him to fall flat on his butt.
“Some elemental you are,” you said giggling as he glared at you from the ground. “Didn’t your mother teach you not to insult another’s elements?”
“Didn’t your mother teach you to mind your own business?” He snarled from the ground as he pushed himself up. Dusting the dirt off the back of his pants, the guy looked at you with a mix of anger and curiosity and you were sure that your face matched his. “What’s your name?”
“You first.” He looked more annoyed at your deflection, but he gave up easily much to your surprise.
“Mark,” he said, extending his hand out for you to shake.
“Mark,” you murmured, taking the hand in greeting and giving him your name. “What’s your element? Assuming you are one considering how the local hunter brigade was chasing you?”
He smirked proudly and let go of your hand to puff out his chest proudly. “I’m a water elemental.” The pride and arrogance dripped off his tongue as if telling you his powers was the most special thing in the world. However, you couldn’t help the cackling laugh that spilled out of you. Doubling over, you clutched your stomach as you laughed and deflated Mark’s ego in one swoop.
“Sweetheart,” you said in between bouts of laughter, “This is New Orleans. We have so many water elementals your head will spin. Calm down with the macho act.” Every word was punctuated by a chuckle that made Mark’s face and body fall quickly. He looked defeated, almost pouty like he was about to break down. His mood was as changing as his element—going from arrogant one moment to timid the next. It sobered you up swiftly as you looked at the crestfallen look on his face, instant regret taking you over as sympathy panged your heart. “C’mon,” you told him straightening up quickly with a small smile, “let’s get you to the safe house so you can meet the others.” Walking around him, you listened for the sound of following footsteps as you walked towards the beckoning door. You couldn’t help the wide grin that etched over your face when you heard him trailing behind you.
-x-
“You can’t be serious!” you yelled, looking at the kindly old man with fire in your eyes. You’d normally treat him with unyielding respect, but he had crossed the line this time. “I’m a Guardian, not a fucking babysitter!”
Mark sat next to you with an equally shocked expression. His attention kept flitting between you and the old man across the desk, wondering if you should be talking to a Majai like that.
Timothy, the old man across from you and Mark, was a master of two elements. Long ago he mastered both wind and water, earning the title of Majai and the immediate respect of all Elementals on the Earth. He was the protector of New Orleans and all the Elementals who lived there. Mark felt infinitely small in his presence, and the moment he met the older man Mark felt a need to bow to him.
You, however, were causing Mark’s anxiety to flare up as you continued to yell at the man to whom you owed your life.
“My job is to protect the Elementals here in the city, not to babysit one lost one.” The anger was rolling off you in waves, causing Mark to shift uncomfortably. “Besides! He already got himself in trouble with the local hunters! How the fuck am I-”
Timothy didn’t say anything, but a gust of wind hit you squarely in the chest mid-rant causing you to fall back into your chair with a surprised huff. The old man looked amused, almost child-like, at the shocked look on your face. “Are you done?” he laughed deeply. Taking your silence as an affirmation, Timothy looked at Mark. “You will need to lay low for a couple of days to make sure the Hunters don’t tail you here. Understood?”
Mark was completely dumbfounded, still in awe at your blatant disrespect of his elder, but he remotely nodded his head. At this point, he just wanted to get out of the office.
“Good,” Timothy said clapping his hands together and turning to acknowledge you. “Find him a spare bedroom, get him cleaned up, and then show him around please.”
“Fine,” you huffed, quickly scrambling out of your chair and towards the door. You didn’t hear Mark behind you, and turning you saw him still planted in his chair with a confused expression on his face. All it took was a quick yank of his ear and he was quickly following behind you with a chorus of whines spilling from his lips.
-x-
Sweat was dripping down your brow and you let out a soft whine at the pressure in your stomach.
“Do you tap out?” Mark said above you as he straddled your waist. He was drenched from the humid air and felt even hotter with your body so close to his. He had you pinned after tripping you with some well-placed water on the ground that sent you stumbling. It seemed like he had the upper-hand for a moment or two, but then your bruised lip split into a devious grin. Mark couldn’t even recoil from shock as a gust of wind slammed into his ribs, making him feel like a soccer player just used his torso as practice. He fell off of you with a loud cry, sprawling into the grass.
The giggle that escaped your lips was triumphant and you sat up quickly with a cheeky wink to the angry elemental next to you. “Are you getting sick of being knocked on your ass yet?”
Mark sat up with a groan, clutching his ribs and no doubt a bruised ego. His shoulders brushed yours, and the summer humidity almost began to suffocate you at his close proximity. “You didn’t knock me on my ass, I just can’t see an invisible element.” Every word came with a pout and for a second you thought it was endearing.
Just a second though.
“You need to learn how to train with and against all the elements, Mark,” you scolded, “If you don’t learn how to work with other Elementals we will all be extinct someday.”
“I know I know,” Mark groaned, laying back on the grass and looking up at the sky with a wistful look on his face. The moment was peaceful and for once he felt at ease. There were virtually no clouds in the blue sky and the grass felt surprisingly soft against his back. He wished that he could feel like this all the time rather than constantly in a state of anger or worry. Lately Mark had been letting the stress of the unknown weigh upon his mind. He was scared for his brothers and angry at the ones who ripped them apart. He was strongest when he was in their presence, and right now he felt weak and helpless.
You watched his face go from one of serenity into the beginning stages of anger. You’d been observing him lately and you could tell that his conscious was taking him into dark places. “Hey,” you said, gently tapping his temple to pull him from his reverie, “I can see you moving at a million miles a minute. Wanna talk about it?”
He didn’t say anything as the moments ticked by. Mark’s silence felt like a rejection that oddly stung. You didn’t expect it to lay heavily in your chest, but it did nonetheless. Trying to hold onto your pride, you began to stand up from the soft grass. You didn’t go far however as Mark’s hand came to latch around your wrist. Halting at his pull, you looked at him with surprise and curiosity.
“I just miss them,” he whispered barely loud enough for you to hear. You didn’t have to ask him who ‘them’ was as you heard him murmuring their names in his sleep. Each name would roll off his tongue with a choked gasp and a plead to come back. It made you both happy and sad—happy that despite how annoying Mark was he had a family who loved him, and sad because you couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain he was going through at all the uncertainty surrounding them.
“You don’t know where they are do you?” The question was dumb, but you didn’t really know how to comfort him in a situation like this. It was hard to comprehend losing your entire world in one dark moment.
Mark shook his head, tears beginning to gather in the corner of his eyes. “No, but one day I’m going to go and find them. Bring everyone back together as the oldest.” Hearing his desire to leave sent another sting that sat heavily in your chest. You wanted him to find his family and be happy, so why did the idea of him leaving make you feel awful? It felt almost as if a knife was being pushed slowly into your chest, breaking away at the muscles and bones that protected your insides.
But you needed to stay strong, not only for Mark but for the entire Elemental population in New Orleans. You had to support him no matter what his goals were no matter how badly they seemed to make your chest ache.
You smiled sadly down at the boy next to you, brushing away a stray tear that ventured down his face. “You’ll be fine Mark,” you whispered with a prayer in your heart that he would succeed.
-x-
It started with a kiss. Like a dose of morphine sat on your lips Mark was hooked the moment his skin touched yours. A hand rested heavily on your hip as his mouth claimed yours passionately underneath the pulsating lights. It was a dangerous game he was playing, letting the shadows and lights swim over your needy bodies while the bass from the speakers drowned out all reason and common sense.
You knew that a hunter could be lurking in any shadowed corner waiting to pounce, But, fuck, you didn’t care when his tongue tentatively reached out to touch yours. He pulled you deeper into his embrace, and he couldn’t resist curling his lips when your small hands slid up his chest appreciatively. They came to hook around his neck, playing with the grown-out hair at the nape of his neck. You kept telling him that he needed a trim but, at this moment, you were so thankful he never listened to you.
Similarly, he didn’t listen to your reservations when he insisted on dragging you out to a club on Bourbon Street to quote-on-quote ‘get the stick out of your ass.’ Ever since that day in the training field you had been slowly working to distance yourself from Mark. You resolved that the ache you felt in your chest at his affirmation to find his brothers was completely inappropriate. Any and all feelings you had growing for him needed to be quashed immediately.
That’s what you told yourself but Mark was like a bug. He kept buzzing around in your peripheral vision making sure you always knew he was there. You hated the fact that you liked his efforts to constantly be around you—even though 9 out of 10 times he was being an annoying brat—but you couldn’t find the fight in you to resist him. You were angrier at yourself for feeling this way, especially when his deep brown eyes met yours and you melted.
You were defenseless as his strong arms looped around your waist to pull you flush against him. Feeling his need press into your hips, you experimentally rocked against him which caused him to release your mouth with a dark hiss. His eyes were swimming—either from the lust or alcohol you couldn’t tell—but you knew you were in deep.
You were in trouble.
He was able to sense your reservations around him after that day in the field, and he made sure he worked his hardest to keep you within reach. The panic that overtook him when you began to cancel training sessions and outings with him made his heart race, and that’s when he knew he had fallen head over heels for you. His mind kept telling him that he had to choose his brothers, but his heart was screaming out for you. The internal war kept splitting him in half but seeing you under the dark party lights in the dingy club made his mind shut up for once.
He was terrified of leaving you, but he needed to taste your lips just one time before he did.
He was in trouble.
He felt like a joyride to heaven against you: from his large hands to his swollen lips everything had you submitting and crying out for the feel of him. Greedy and reckless, you pulled his head back down to meet yours. The kiss resumed and you rocked against his hips once more to get a rise out of him.
And a rise you did receive as his hand reached down to grab a handful of your ass, causing you to squeak against his lips. The air around you two was getting hotter with each passing second your lips were connected, and you knew without a doubt that your relationship had changed with him. He was no longer your annoying charge. Rather you were wholly his, and he would scream from the rooftops that he was wholly yours: mind, body, and soul.
“Wherever you go,” you said as you pulled away from a kiss. His mouth chased you, but you held him back with a finger to his lips. “I’m coming with you. If you want to leave to find your brothers, then go ahead. But I will be right next to you.” Your confession stirred something deep within Mark. He felt weightless, almost breathless as he looked down at you in his arms. The room was silenced and the bodies melted away, leaving just you and him standing interlocked in the middle of the dancefloor.
“Fuck,” Mark hissed deeply, staring at you with bottomless eyes that held the moon, stars, and galaxies in them. “I love you.”
Those three words floored you, nearly striking you dumb and immobile if it weren’t for Mark’s mouth latching back onto yours. He poured all his pent-up emotions into that kiss, trying to show you how deeply he felt and how far he would go for you. As your fingers curled into his hair and you kissed him back, you poured your own promise into the kiss.
Promises that you would venture from there together until the very end.
A/N: Here is Mark’s version! I’ve had this version written for A LONG time. It was the part before this that stumped me. I hope you enjoyed this!