Fallen from Grace

Chapter XIX

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Apollyon lay with his head on Eleanora's chest, his arms wrapped around her slim figure as they were loosely draped over his shoulders, both of them sleeping. Sighing in his sleep, Apollyon snuggled closer to her, tangling his legs with hers. Suddenly, his head jerked to the side a small grunt escaped his lips. He tightened his hold on Eleanora as he seemed to convulse in pain.

A scream tore through his lips as he rolled out of her hold, gasping in pain he grasped at the sheets as another scream tore through him, writhing in pain. Climbing on top of the bed, Eleanora straddled Apollyon's waist as she tried to pin him down.

"Apollyon!" She called out in urgent panic. "Apollyon! Wake up! Wake up! It's just a dream!"

Eleanora shook him awake as he gasped in horror, bolting upright. The sudden movement surprised her as she fell off him, tumbling onto the bed. Apollyon wheezed uncontrollably as his face was scrunched up in pain, his hands shaking.

"Shh..." Eleanora soothed as she kneeled in front of him. "It's alright, it was all a dream."

"Eleanora..." He gasped as he shut his eyes, and tried to calm down his breathing. "It burns..."

"What does?" She inquired softly as she stroked his cheek. "What burns?"

"M-my back." He gasped as he shook slightly.

"Okay, let me get some ice." She told him. "Just calm down, I'll be right back."

Getting off the bed, she made her way into her kitchen as she grabbed an ice pack from the freezer. Rushing back to her room, she made Apollyon remove his shirt as she settled down behind him. The stitches had healed, and now they were long pink scars remaining. Gently she placed the ice pack against his scalding back as he hissed at the sudden cold sensation.

"It was just a dream, Apollyon." She spoke softly while shifting the ice pack around his back.

"It felt so real! I swear he was right there!" Apollyon exclaimed. "It was so vivid."

"Was it Michael, again?" Eleanora asked gently.

"Yeah..." He nodded softly. "It started from the part where he cut my wings off."

Eleanora grimaced as this was becoming a day to day occurrence. The dreams of the time he lost his Grace, with Michael cutting off his wings. Sighing, she knelt down in front of him, and stroked his cheeks, brushing a few strands of hair out of his eyes.

"Let's get you to the shower, you're covered in sweat." Eleanora spoke as he stood to his towering height. "I'll make you a cup of tea."

"Okay." He nodded as he lent down and placed a kiss on her cheek, extremely close to her lips, much to her surprise. Straightening, he made his way over to the washroom as Eleanora stood stunned for a second, her heart hammering in her chest. Shaking her head she went into the kitchen and prepared a cup of tea for him, taking it back to the room with her.

The moment she had entered, he had exited the washroom in his sweatpants as he was towel drying his hair. She handed him the cup of tea, while taking the towel away from him. He took a sip of the tea as she placed the towel into the drier. They both sat silently on the bed as Eleanora traced random shapes onto his back with her fingertips.

Apollyon sighed softly at the touch as he finished the warm beverage. Turing around, he lay down on his stomach and looked towards Eleanora, who also got under the covers. She continued to stroke his back as he looked at her with soft, desire filled eyes, but there was fear lingering in them too. Slowly he closed them and moved closer to Eleanora as he allowed her touch to lull him back to sleep.

In the morning, Apollyon said that he wanted to do ice-skating. Eleanora has asked if he had done it before, but he informed that he had not. She still agreed, telling him that it had been ages since she last went ice skating so he shouldn't expect anything.

Apollyon was very excited to go as he wore clothes for the weather, urging Eleanora to hurry up. She laughed at his enthusiasm and told him that she was just about ready. They both made their way to the local ice skating rink at it was a little crowded today, considering the fact that it was a weekend in late November.

They both got their fitted skates and Apollyon was out on the ring in no time. He had a little trouble on getting on the ice, but once on, he was a pro at it. Skating came naturally to him as hey tested his speed and how fast he could go before spinning with joyous laughter. Eleanora laughed along with his eccentric expression while clinging onto the railing of the rink.

"Come on!" Apollyon urged as he skated towards her.

"Apollyon! No!" Eleanora exclaimed in a shrill voice. "No!"

Apollyon ignored her protests and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her away from the railing as she tried to cling onto it. She shrieked in fright as she clung onto his arms.

"Don't you dare-" She started before it morphed into a scream as he started to spin her around. Her scream morphed into hysterical laughter as he settled her down on the ice, both of them laughing and clutching their stomachs. Apollyon crouched down beside Eleanora who was kneeling on the ice, still laughing.

"How are you so good at this?" Eleanora asked once her laughter died down.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I guess I have natural talent."

Eleanora laughed at him and stretched out her hands in his direction. Pulling her back to his feet, he helped her in ice skating, holding onto her waist, until she got the hang of it. They both skated around, laughing and tripping, as well as spinning in circles. They skated along with a few kids, playing tag as they both often ended up getting caught.

The crowd started to thin out slowly, as now Apollyon and Eleanora were left along with a few other people. Apollyon stood still, trying to regain his breathing as Eleanora approached him, shrieking when she couldn't come to a stop. She crashed straight into Apollyon, sending them falling to the ground as she landed on top of him, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"Oh, my God!" She exclaimed while looking down at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." He nodded with a winded expression as Eleanora couldn't help but chuckle. Her chuckles soon morphed into laughter as Apollyon found it contagious, laughing along with her.

They both lay on the ice, with Eleanora on top of Apollyon, laughing their heads of like little children. Slowly, their laughter died down as Apollyon gazed into her eyes longingly. Noticing the heated look, Eleanora's laughter died down as she couldn't tear her gaze away from him.

She didn't realize it until later that he had leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers. It was for the briefest second, and he was probably testing it out first, but she didn't let him pull away as she pressed her lips to his. Her heart soared as she felt him smile against her lips.

**

Apollyon awoke with an eccentric feeling. Getting out of his bed he couldn't believe that his day was off to a good start. No nightmares, and it was a miracle. Recalling the memory of the cold ice against his back, with Eleanora's weight on top of him, he tenderly touched his lips as his smile grew. He kissed her, and she kissed back. Finally.

Grinning to himself, he cleaned his apartment and made himself something to eat as he finally decided to come out to Eleanora about his feelings for her. Quickly finishing his food, he got dressed in dark jeans with a light gray sweater beneath a fluffy black winter jacket. Looking at his unruly hair in the mirror, he grabbed the comb and brushed them back, settling them for the first time in his human experience.

Making his way out the apartment, he skipped down the stairs, cheerily greeting Mrs. Scott and making his way out. He decided to walk as he needed time to decide on what he wanted to do for her.

After walking for about an hour, he finally settled with the classical flower bouquet. Stopping at a florist shop, he got a beautiful Daphne bouquet before making his way back. He stopped at a store to buy chocolates and the resumed his smile filled journey back home.

Grinning to himself, he walked up the stairs and made his way to her apartment door, holding the bouquet and chocolates behind his back as a surprise. Using a hand to knock on the door, he bounced on his toes as he waited for her to attend to it. Apollyon couldn't stop smiling, he was simply too overjoyed.

He heard the locks turns as his heart rate picked up. The door swung open to show Eleanora wearing a long black shirt, which clearly didn't belong to her, and looked absolutely disheveled. Assuming her appearance to be a result of her waking up, he ignored it, as well as the surprised look on her face.

He opened his mouth to greet her when a voice rung out from inside the apartment. A voice that had Apollyon's words freeze in his throat and his joyous mood shattered into a million pieces.

"Hey, babe? Whose at the door?" The masculine voice called out before Elliot came into view. Wearing his jeans loosely around his hips, and no shirt with his hair messed up. Elliot smirked smugly back at him.

Apollyon looked from Eleanora's pained and shameful expression to Elliot's smug smile as a tightness coiled in his chest and a lump grew in his throat. Backing away, he noticed Eleanora look at him with regret as she seemed to want to say something.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He spoke steely. "I was not aware that you were having 'guests' over."

He turned on his heel, ensuring to keep the bouquet out of view before sprinting his way up the stairs, his departure being followed by the banging of the door.

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