Belated Birthday Present

A Chapter by Heromen Selena

     It ended before I was ready and I still hold myself close to him long afterwards. The sun has set and day turns into night. We gather up our leftover stuff from our little training session and head in for dinner. We put everything away and gather around the table to eat the meal Chester made. It's some sort of stew and it looks really good. James and Chester both make a mumbling sound with out touching there food yet. It must be some sort of grace the warriors do so I quickly say my thanks and start eating.
     All of us put our dishes in the sink right after we're done and head up to our rooms.Chester waves goodbye and heads off to his room while James just stands there beside me. I walk into my room not realizing that James is following me until I turn around to see who's foot steps where following me. I in-hail a quick breath of surprise and relax just as quickly to see that it is him.

     "Don't you have your own room to go to?" I ask him. I turn around and unpack my suit case on the bed.
     "Yeah. I'm in it. I promised you that I would stay with you always. No matter what. Do you remember what happened last time when I left you alone just for a second? It nearly got both of us killed." he puts his hands in his pocket while the memory comes to me.
     "Oh, I see. But there isn't room for you in here. There's only one bed and no couch." I take an arm full of my clothes and head into the bathroom to change. He doesn't say anything for a bit. I rustle through some stuff to see what I have for beauty products and make obnoxious noises.
     "I wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor. However, I don't think sharing a bed would do any harm." I stop moving immediately and the noise indicates my pause to him. I open the bathroom door slightly and peek my head threw.
     "What are you saying?" I say confused. He frowns a little and looks at the ground embarrassed.
     "I was just thinking that since we shared one at Lilly's that it wouldn't be an issue this time."
     "That's true but that was before we were-" I search for the right words. "you know, together." I say and intertwine my fingers to show 'together'.
     "Well, yeah, but I don't think that will change anything." he looks back in my eyes and I can't help but smile.
     "Ok, fine." I go back to taking inventory.

     I finish getting ready for bed and put a t-shirt and pj pants on. I untie my hair and let it fall freely down my back. My hair is thicker and stronger than a week ago. I look in the mirror. Satisfied with what I see I walk into the next room. Soft music is playing and James lays on the left side of the bed. He holds a small box in his hand and a red rose in the other. Thankfully he is wearing clothes so he isn't do this for a sexual reason.

     "What is all this?" I ask and jump on my side of the bed.
     "Since I missed your birthday I decided to get you a belated gift. The music and the rose is extra." he says and reaches over to place the rose in the vase next to me. His body stretches out and shows every muscle in his arm and back through his shirt. I feel weak in contrast. It makes me remember our fight this morning and how silly it would've been for him to be beaten by a girl like me who quit swim team in high school and who hasn't touched a weight in her life.
     "It's lovely. This is the best present I've ever gotten." I say and kiss his cheek.
     "But you haven't even seen what I got for you yet!" he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close.
     "That doesn't really matter. I have you. That's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
     "Well at least open your present. I promise you that you'll love it." he hands the box to me.

     I unwrap the red wrapping paper to find a black box. I take the top off and see a necklace in the middle of felt. It's the same symbol on my right hand and it's on a silver chain. I feel my palm getting warm, telling me that it was once mine.

     "Where did you get it?" I ask and take it out of the box.
     "I made it the same time I made you Foxlin. It's the same steel as her and same design." he takes it from me and fastens it around my neck. It hangs just right, not too low and not too high, and it gleams when the light hits it.
     "I love it. Thanks." I look up at him and give him another peck on the cheek before laying on my side of the bed.
     "What, that's it? I just gave you a perfect gift that you love and a kiss on the cheek is all I get?" he says exasperated.
     "Yep! Deal with it. When you give something to someone you're not suppose to expect anything back." I snuggle in deeper into the covers and I feel James doing the same.
     "Well, ok then." he claps his hands twice and the lights shut off.
     "Just go to sleep. You're going to need all your strength to beat me tomorrow." I say in a whisper.
     "Fat chance that will happen. I let you win. Don't expect the same thing tomorrow." he says back slowly and slurs some more words together that I can't understand.
     "Goodnight James." I say giving up on figure out what he's trying to say.
     "Goodnight Selena."

     Right after he says that he starts to snore slightly. I fall asleep shortly after when I realize how tired I am. My sleep is dreamless.

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