Solace Ch.25

— Mark Grayson —

“[I’d die for you…you know that right?]” A gruff masculine voice said as he wrapped his arms around the woman he had spent the entire movie trying to kill.

“[But I never asked for you to! More than anything, I want you to live with me, both of us together!]” The woman shouted back in outrage and sadness; her hand reached out and caressed his face.

“[...Life is cruel; we don’t always get what we want.]” He whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Mark glanced around to see that almost every woman in the theater was holding their breath, waiting for what would happen next.

“Do it.” Beth whispered out beside him, her eyes were glazed over as she was lost in the movie, and her hand tightened around Mark’s.

“[...I know, but I will.]” The woman leaned forward and placed her lips against the man’s for a moment, and gasps escaped everyone; even Mark found himself gasping.

The small peck wasn’t all the romance they’d see. The man quickly grabbed the woman’s hip and pulled her in for a much longer and more intimate exchange, his hands groping and touching her while her hands came down to his crotch.

“[Together until the end?]” She asked as they took a moment to catch their breath.

“[Together until the end.]” He whispered in agreement, and their passionate kissing quickly took a more…sexual turn before the scene cut out.

“That…was incredible.” Beth wiped her unshed tears away.

“It was.” Mark nodded, half lying. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy the movie; he did like the action scenes, but the romance lovey-dovey stuff, while very entertaining, wasn’t really his ideal genre.

And the movie wasn’t even over yet.

“I’m glad you like it. I know you’re more into comic books, heroes, and all that stuff.” Beth giggled as her hand tightened, her fingers intertwined with Mark’s.

“Yeah, I like those kinds of things, but a change in perspective is always good.”

“Mmm.” She nodded before turning her attention back to the movie.

Beth was utterly lost in the plot, but Mark couldn’t bring himself to fall into it as deeply as she had, and that was because he was distracted.

The woman of blonde hair and blue eyes, a body that any woman would kill for and any man craves to have, and a personality that leaves him feeling all fluttery inside.

That’s what Bethany is, the woman of his dreams and the woman he’s loved for years.

He can’t watch the movie because he’s too focused on watching her.

Mark eyed her while she was lost in the movie. She was his now, just like he had wanted for years, but even though she was his, he didn’t feel as though they had truly grown much closer since they started dating yesterday.

It wasn’t that surprising, but after waiting for years to sit beside her like this as her boyfriend, Mark wanted more.

He wasn’t expecting to have her in his bed tonight or anything like that, but he wanted to touch her when he wanted; he wanted to hold her, to…kiss her.

But his nerves fought against him; they betrayed what he wanted and settled for what he had.

Mark glanced to his left to see Darius sitting beside him, looking completely uninterested in the movie.

Mark’s lips twitched upward at the sight. At least he wasn’t the only one that wasn’t too interested in the movie.

Mark leaned forward to look past his oldest friend and at Darius’ date, who, like his own date, was left engrossed in the movie.

The son of Omni-Man nudged Darius, getting his attention.

“Are you following this?” Mark asked curiously.

“I’m gonna be honest with you.” Darius blinked slowly before letting out a yawn. “I don’t even know the main characters' names.”

Mark nodded in understanding, he wasn’t surprised that his friend was out of tune with the movie, action romances have never really been his thing, at least not overly sexual and unfunny movies like that.

“They seem to be enjoying it though.” Darius added, his voice kept low to avoid their dates from hearing them.

“Yeah, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Sure.” Darius nodded before letting out another yawn and leaning back in his chair.

Mark eyed his friend for a few moments before shrugging. It was only a matter of time before the guy fell back asleep.

— Darius Johnson (Later) —

“Dar…”

“Darius.”

“Darius!”

My eyes fluttered open and immediately clenched shut at the sight of so much light.

We’re supposed to be in a movie theater, who the fuck turned on the lights?!

“Darius, the movie’s over, it’s time to go.” Eve informed me. She was standing just in front of me with her hands on her hips.

Uh oh, was it hard to wake me up? Usually I’m a rather light sleeper, but there’s something about a movie theater that makes it the ideal place for a good long nap.

“I’m up, sorry about that, Eve.” I let out a yawn as I stood up and stretched my body out, feeling a few pops from tense places.

“It’s fine, I don’t think Beth or I expected either of you to stay awake past the first hour.” Eve waved me off with a shake of her head.

“Did Mark fall asleep too?”

“Like five minutes after you, yeah.” She smiled slyly as a chuckle escaped me.

“I expected as much.”

Eve turned away from me and started walking down the steps, so I followed her. We took the turn away from the screen and made our way out of the theater.

“Where are they?” I questioned with a frown as we walked through the hallway and toward the large hall where all the snacks and food was.

“They went on ahead.” Eve said quietly, which made me pause.

“Wasn’t she on your ride?” I raised a brow.

“I told her I’d have my mom pick me up.” She explained with ease.

“And that’s not true, is it?” I nudged her, and she shook her head.

“Beth is very…impatient, and she wanted her alone time with Mark, so I thought this was for the best. Plus it’s not like this is the first time we’ve hung out alone together or anything like that.”

I eyed her for a moment as we walked out of the theater before turning my attention to the dark sky.

It was chilly I suppose, and my clothes were light for the weather, but the cold just doesn’t affect me the same as it once did before awakening my powers.

We walked in the parking lot for a while before I shrugged and slowly began to float up.

“Darius?”

“Well, we’re not gonna walk home, are we?” I asked with a smirk.

She looked at me with widened eyes for a moment before smiling and creating thrusters in her hands and feet that brought her up to my height.

“Shall we?” I offered my hand to her, and she nodded.

“Let’s do it!”

— Samantha Eve Wilkins —

The night had gone well, better than Eve could have hoped for.

A wide, pleased smile came to her lips as she felt the wind brush against her face. Her green eyes set on the boy pulling her along.

Perhaps the word boy was out of date now, huh?

Darius has grown so much over the years, and she has too.

A soft blush and feeling of doubt resurfaced as she looked at the back of his head.

The night wasn’t yet over. There was a reason she wanted this date after all. She wanted much more than to just spend time with her friends, she wanted to tell him the truth, about how she feels.

“Wanna land there?” Darius pointed at a nearby tower, taking her out of her internal dilemma.

“Huh? Y-Yeah sure.” She answered hesitantly, and they began flying toward the roof of the tower.

Upon touching down, Darius stretched his body out, and again Eve was reminded by just how much he’s grown.

Whereas when they first met, she was only a couple of inches shorter than him, now she was half a foot away from his height of 6’2.

“The city always looks great from above.” Darius observed, looking down over the edge of the tower and down to the bright city of Chicago.

“Yeah, we’re lucky.” Eve agreed.

“How so?” He looked at her with quiet stoicism.

Eve rubbed her arm and eyed the bright lights of the city she has been protecting for nearly half a decade.

“We get to see this view whenever we want, all we have to do is will ourselves here.” She explained with a small smile.

Eve had spent her younger years regretting ever having powers and had sworn not to reveal them to anyone, yet here she was realizing just how stupid she had been back then. So stupid that it had taken others to help her see how amazing her powers can be, how amazing she can be.

“I’m lucky.” She breathed out softly.

Darius eyed her for a moment before turning his attention back to the city.

They both stood there for a while, Darius looking off at the distance, and Eve lost in her thoughts.

This was the best chance she’d get, wasn’t it?

The mood was perfect, the lights added a layer of romantic atmosphere that couldn’t be ignored.

So all she had to do was say it. All she had to do was tell him how she felt.

“Eve.”

“Darius…”

They both paused upon speaking at the same time, Eve was quick to shy away, waving her hands in front of him.

“You go first!” She urged him, and he nodded with a frown.

He rubbed the back of his head nervously, then placed his hands in his pockets. Eve’s eyes widened at the sight. She knew Darius enough to know when he was feeling nervous.

“I’m not gonna beat around the bush any longer.” He turned so he was facing her, and her heartbeat sped up as heat began to rise to her cheeks. “I like you, Eve.”

Her entire world came to a standstill. Her heart skipped a beat before it sped up to the point it felt as if it would beat out of her chest. Her entire face grew red, and she wanted to look away to save herself from any embarrassment-

Yet she couldn’t.

She was left completely mesmerized by his face. His dead serious expression told her everything she needed to know. He knew what he wanted and meant what he said.

“I-I see…” She breathed out and took in her first inhale since he had let her know how he felt.

“I’m sorry to dump this on you now.” He pursed his lips, and she quickly shook her head.

“No, don’t be sorry!” Eve shouted and took a step forward before slipping back into reality.

Her blush rekindled with a new fire, and she tore her eyes from Darius’ face to look at the rooftop beneath them.

She watched as Darius took a couple steps forward and stopped just in front of her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and another just beneath her chin and used it to tilt her head up so she was looking at him.

As she looked back into his brown eyes, she could see a faint, almost unnoticeable darkening of his cheeks.

“I’ve felt like this for a while, and I know you have too.” He took a breath, but never tore his eyes from hers. “That’s why I’m sorry, I’m sorry for not having the balls to tell you until now.”

Her green eyes widened in understanding. He had known, of course he had.

Yet he had waited until tonight because he had been afraid of taking their friendship to the next level?

Eve pushed the tips of her toes into the ground, raising herself up until her face was mere centimeters from Darius’, and then she did what she had been waiting years to do.

She pressed her soft pink lips against his in a chaste kiss before pulling away.

“Don’t be sorry.” She told him as she gently caressed his cheek. “It’s a big step, I understand that.”

“Yeah…” A whisper escaped him as he brought the hand that was on her shoulder down to her waist. Even as he did, she didn’t take her eyes away from his. “But I’m ready to take that step now.”

A pleased smile came to Eve as she leaned in again to place a longer yet equally as soft kiss on Darius’ lips.

Her boyfriend’s lips.

— Chapter End —

Beta Readers:

Author’s Note: Writing any type of love/confession scene always makes me cringe, but I had to do this sooner or later, just glad I banged it out.

Beta readers: @Dragonboy1