His room's double doors slammed closed, and we were already half-naked. I took a moment to admire his strong body and the dark stubble covering his chest.

Noah lured me towards a bathroom with an equally stunning view of The City. He gently kissed my shoulders, as hot water rained onto our aroused bodies.

As I looked out over the city lights, Noah clasped one hand over my mouth and grabbed my dick with the other. He taunted me for a couple of strokes and my body begged to have him inside me.

We quickly dried ourselves off with white fluffy towels before moving to the lavish bedroom and its emperor-sized bed.

His earlier bravado withered away under my expert touch. After some light foreplay, I was the one in charge as I rode on top of him, driving us toward the peak of our mutual pleasure.

Once the lust had been sated a quiet peace took its place. I lay next to him and joked, "I'm assuming that 'beautiful' and 'smart' no longer apply now that you've had your way with me?"

Noah leaned on an elbow and asked, "Do you really have such a low opinion of yourself?"

"Do you want the long or the short answer?" I said laughing, even though it wasn't actually funny at all.

"The happy couple isn't leaving until after breakfast, so you have plenty of time," he said, perfectly serious.

Was he really going to listen? Where to begin?

"In order for Carter to be the perfect son the universe demanded balance."

Noah furrowed his brow but let me continue uninterrupted.

"He did well in school, studied Law, and ended up finding the girl of his dreams."

"This is not what I asked..."

"Shhh, I'm getting there," I said, pressing a finger to his lips.

"I'm the yin to his yang. Crippled by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I'm constantly sabotaged by my own thoughts."

Noah's eyes went wide for a second before a look of comprehension flooded his pretty face.

"Did I make you doubt the first time we were up here?"

How did he know? Nobody ever knew, they just thought that I was being difficult. I nodded a "yes" before continuing.

"One day, I discovered the bliss of opioid painkillers, leftovers from my ex-boyfriend's knee surgery."

"I can understand why you would want to drown out dark thoughts, but those drugs can... create monsters of their own," he said. It was the most sophisticated and empathetic thing anyone had ever said to me.

"Yes, they can," I breathed.

"Are you still using?" he asked, sounding concerned rather than judgemental.

"I'm clean," I said. "By circumstance rather than choice."

"Will you tell me?" he asked, seeking out my hand with his.

"My addiction and certain other factors slowly eroded my mind to the point where I couldn't handle being alive anymore," I said, trying to keep it clinical.

I was convinced that he knew what I was trying to say, yet he didn't resort to pity or a useless anecdote of a friend that had been in a supposedly similar although incomparable situation.

"Perfection is not an expression of what has been given to us but rather a measure of our ability to conquer our own demons."

I blinked at him in astonishment before saying, "Is that another quote from your show?"

"So, you finally figured that out?" he said with a warm smile.

"Can I kiss you again?" I asked, sidestepping my embarrassment.

"Hmmm," he said, pretending to think about it.

The heat in our bodies was back and we clearly weren't done with one another. We gave in to desire once again, yet round two felt more urgent. It was as if we were afraid that time was running out.

The room and its bed had become a refuge, a space outside the trappings of reality. Here we were both free and comfortable in the nakedness of the flesh as well as the mind.

For some reason, we understood each other on a level that was infinitesimally unique. In a very short time, Noah had become a tiny piece of meaning in a once-empty existence. I wasn't ready to lose him if we were pulled out of this temporary escape.

I held him tight and managed to fall asleep in his arms. It was a deep, peaceful sleep the likes of which I hadn't experienced for a very, very long time.

I woke up to find Noah staring at his laptop.

"Are you Ok?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. In the end, the alcohol had done a number on me.

"More than OK!" he said. "I wrote the opening scene for a brand-new show concept."

"What?!"

"I know!" he said, enthusiastically. "It's a rough draft but would you like to read it?"

"Fuck yes!" I said. "But isn't it confidential?"

"You don't like fantasy so I'm not that worried," he said playfully. "Besides, you were its muse."

"Will you read it to me?" I asked.

He didn't need to be asked twice and read slowly, enunciating every word.

"Protect the mage at all costs!" screamed King Nilus over the deafening clatter of steel on steel.

His army was surrounded on all sides by Jelkari soldiers drenched in blood and now their only way out was via BrightJump.

A company of three mages in a royal infantry battalion would be considered more than sufficient by any military strategist, yet two of them already lay dead in the mud.

Necromancers had joined the enemy war effort and Nilus was now fighting the emperor's men, as well as the reanimated corpses of his own dead.

The last remaining mage commenced the cast, his eyes glowing gold with BrightLight. The King's forces started to disappear off the battlefield one by one.

"Too... many," the mage said, gritting his teeth.

Nilus already knew that a single mage could not possibly rescue them all. He would most assuredly never get a chance to say goodbye to his Queen.

"Do what you can," the Sovereign of Meraquelle said, overcome by the calm of inevitability.

"Power, more power," the mage hissed, his eyes burning with the source of Magic.

Soldiers vanished faster and faster, but it still wasn't quick enough to pull all of them out of the merciless onslaught. Tears streamed down the mage's face, as he seemingly realized how the day would end.

"It's alright," Nilus told the young man. "You've saved countless lives already."

The mage turned to look at his King, the BrightLight suddenly gone. He had clearly reached his limit.

"I will save them all!" he whispered, before slowly levitating three hands above the blood-soaked grass.

The ominous shade of BlackLight surrounded the mage seconds before the entire army was simultaneously teleported away.

"Close your eyes," the mage's voice resonated inside the King's mind. Linus knew that there was no more going back, so he did as he was told.

The force of the detonation slammed him against a wall. His body slid to the ground like a straw doll, yet he still lived.

When he finally regained his senses, he blinked in shock. As far as he could see, all had turned to BlackGlass; plants, trees, and soldiers alike. Even the birds had fallen out of the sky.

There, in the midst of the obsidian graveyard, stood a boy, not a day older than the King's only son. Linus could not begin to fathom where the child had come from, but he instinctually felt the need to protect him.

The little one looked up at him with golden eyes, the like he had never seen before. Linus was convinced that the child was a miracle bestowed by his own true god and named the boy...

Rinaryal; "Gift of the Maker".

"...And?" Noah asked, reaching the end of the draft.

"What do you mean 'and'?! Where is the rest?!" I demanded.

"It's just a concept," he said with a shrug.

"And you came up with all of that whilst I had a quick nap?" I asked incredulously.

"Nap?" he asked. "It's almost nine am."

"Fuuuuck!" I yelled. "I promised to drive Carter and Natalia to the airport in fifteen minutes!"

"Relax," Noah said, "I've made alternative arrangements for the happy couple. You even have time for breakfast." 

***

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