Episode 46: Nellie of Babylon (Zero)

Aadya had sat on the chair across from him for hours. Minute by minute, Zero wondered what it would take to wake her up.

She had plenty of children she could have spent her time with. She had a job, as queen, to manage.

Each minute passed by and he grew more curious about her fixation. Konrad wasn’t interested in the human. Meldrick was gone from her side; he hadn’t even stopped by to check on the situation. 

The dissolution of Meldrick and Aadya had led to a few challenges for Zero; Aadya was pregnant and it was going to be a difficult period for him to navigate with her. His primary job was to act as the royal family’s doctor, treating them and anyone in the kingdom that required treatment and was brought to him or he was told to visit. His secondary job revolved around the mental health of the royal line. Each facet of their lives had someone to manage it.

He considered offering to give her an ultrasound while they waited, to see how she managed the idea, but her behavior was enough to show him that she was fixated, looking for some sort of project to latch onto, something to anchor herself that was new and interesting.

He hoped she could find the fixation in things she already had, such as her own children, but most of them were so accustomed to the time she already allotted that the endless expanse of the morning would have felt like an intrusion into their schedules.

She was a good mother, overall. He was impressed with her constant calm state, which he attributed to a life of water. When she did go through emotional periods, it was clear to him what was contributing to the changes.

He glanced back to the girl on the bed. She was a lost cause at the moment. He could treat her with everything he had but it wouldn’t change the numerous complications she faced. At best, she would die without waking.

He would try for Aadya, because she needed to see him try and to see this through more than she needed the girl. It may have been nice for Aadya to add a an adopted child to her family in some ways – a child that was just hers – but he didn’t think it was the healthiest of options.

Still, he sat with her. It was his job to sit with her. He didn’t mind, though she was quiet company.

He worked on a few spells while they waited, for the inevitable moment when the girl faced her death and he had to treat the symptoms he could. He focused on the signs that he suspected could be obvious; her extensive head injuries made the likelihood of an aneurysm, stroke, or brain damage likely. He had administered an anti-clotting spell but they weren’t always effective, especially with her entire body in shock. If she had already had an aneurysm, the spell would have made the bleeding worse. There was no happy ending in the little girl’s fate, except to start over. Even he wasn’t sure about putting a young body through that sort of trauma. She had lost both her parents and been through a tremendous amount of pain.

He didn’t tell Aadya any of this, and he tried to act as confident as possible, for her sake. The separation from Meldrick was still fresh in her mind and he knew that even a few moments of distraction would help her long term, because she would have something new to occupy her mind long after its resolution.

They sat in silence a bit longer, until he started to see the girl’s body stir.

He stood and started to look her over and noting every sign of injury left on her body.

“It looks like she’s waking up,” he said after a moment. 

Aadya stood in an instant and held the girl’s hand. They waited until the girl decided it was time to open her eyes.

Her vision was intact, so she would be able to see that she was loved, even if by a stranger, in her last moments. 

“Mutter?” the girl asked.

Aadya shook her head.

Zero tried not to shake his; she didn’t know their language. He would have called Giana to aid, but given the situation with Meldrick he decided she wasn’t the best option. Her son, Niels, would know most of the languages she did. 

He sent an image of his office to Niels, with Aadya and the girl present so he wouldn’t be surprised when he entered the room.

He continued checking on the girl – he gave her some medication to reduce any pain she may be feeling and focused on ensuring she was comfortable and her body didn’t become overtaxed by anxiety. He wanted her to feel safe and relaxed.

Despite knowing she didn’t speak the same language, he felt obligated to ask her anyway, “How do you feel?”

She batted her eyes a few times and looked at him, “Papa?”

Her vision moved between them, and Aadya shook her head again. 

The girl relaxed, a combination of her lack of parents and the medication taking effect.

Aadya’s body was becoming more tense; he wished he had given her a drink laced with something to relax her, but Indigo was out at the moment and random drink breaks away from a dying patient would have alarmed Aadya more. Besides, she burned through everything too rapidly for it to make a notable difference.

While he waited for Niels, he went to her toes to make sure she could still feel them. Not that it mattered, but if they revived her it would be useful to know what things he needed to make sure had been repaired by the revival.

“Does this tickle?” he said as he dragged his fingers back and forth across her toes.

She laughed, then her hands shot to her head, “Mein Kopf tut weh.”

Zero focused his attention on her head, where he suspected she was most injured.

Aadya did too, but she looked helpless for once. She would need someone to talk to her after this, but she was never open to him. He would send Indigo.

As he shined a light into her eyes, Niels opened the door.

Before Niels could say more than a word, Zero cut him off. “You know German right?”

Niels’ shoulders relaxed, though his body was more tense overall. He reacted well to pressure most of the time, and Zero was glad he had Niels in the office and not Giana.

“If you need me to,” Niels stated as he went over to the girl. “But don’t tell any Germans that. Danish pride.”

The girl looked at him, more interested and alert for the moment. She must have recognized some of things Niels was stating, even though he wasn’t using the native terms for each race.

Niels reached for her hand, then looked at her and smiled

He was a natural at this portion of the job; Zero suspected he picked it up when he learned showmanship, even though his care for others was authentic. The ability to understand exactly what someone needed wasn’t something that was rooted in desire to be there for them, but in experience.

His soup kitchens also taught him those skills. When the time came, he would fill more of Aadya’s caregiving role than Talise. Talise would be more of a replacement for Meldrick.

“I need to know what is still wrong,” he said for Aadya’s benefit. “And I want you to comfort her about the death of her parents.”

Niels looked at him, Aadya, then back to the girl, “Wo tut es weh?”

“Mein Kopf,” the girl replied. Shockingly.

“Her head hurts,” Niels reiterated. There was no way he knew that everyone in the room knew what mein Kopf meant at this point. 

“What do I tell her about her parents?’

Zero looked at Aadya; this was her moment to decide how the girl ended her life, and if she would be reborn. Her response would have a large impact on his next steps.

“They were in an accident im a car,” Aadya said, “but I’m going to care of her.”

Revival, then. He sent dragon messages to Spence, Spaden, Indigo, Konrad (more for Sam, but Konrad could find him) and Talise. 

Niels thought for a second then said, “Ihre Eltern starben bei einem Autounfall. Sie es Ihre neue Mama.”

“Mutter und Papa?” the girl said, her eyes spilling with tears and her hand guarding her head. 

Aadya ran her hand through the girl’s hair, “You are safe.” she said into her eyes. “What is your name?” Aadya put her hand to her chest. “I’m Aadya.” She then pointed to Niels and him, “Niels, Zero.”

Aadya didn’t need commonalities in language to communicate; it was one of her strengths. The girl understood.

“Cornelia. Nellie.”

“Hi, Nellie,” Aadya said. It was apparent that this was more than a project to Aadya; her attachment was as clear as to any of her own children. It shouldn’t have surprised Zero, but it did. Aadya had no memories of her firstborn children, in many ways they were adopted, yet she loved them just as strongly too. 

Nellie tried sitting up, “Hi.”

Niels focused on Aadya, “Did you tell Konrad she’s awake?”

Zero’s chest rumbled in a silent laugh; Niels was trying to figure out what Aadya would be doing with her life next. News had travelled among the highest ranking that Meldrick hadn’t spent his night with Aadya, after the meeting.

“I will,” Aadya stated, but her voice was devoid of attachment. With any luck, Konrad would spend a few moments in the hall lingering instead of coming in now. Zero suspected he was within a few paces of the door at that point.

Nellie said something that Neils didn’t catch, and then laughed. Then she tried to stand.

Niels caught her. 

Zero took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders; this was it. Revival would take more effort, but guiding her into a peaceful rest was important to him. 

He watched as her face muscles sagged and her entire body went limp.

“Get her back on the bed,” Zero instructed Niels.

Niels did, and Aadya reached for her hand.

“Nellie?” Zero said.

Konrad entered, “She’s awake?”

“She was,” Aadya replied.

Zero worked on her, administering comforting medications and things to prep her body for revival. When her heart had stopped and he had captured the leftover energy from her short life, he looked up at Aadya, “I can revive her if you want me to.”

Two decades before, he would have never imagined that he was willing to do revivals. The magic that made it possible, his once-dead son’s legacy, were things he only regretted not knowing about earlier in his life. It would have changed a lot of things for him, and shaped his life in a different way.

Aadya nodded.

“It’s less complicated if we don’t,” Konrad stated.

“Don’t?” Aadya asked, her body half turned toward Konrad an in aggressive way that made Niels step back. The posture was aggressive, but her tone was empty.

“This way Babylon never finds out that we interfered,” Konrad explained.

Aadya’s body shrunk into an accepting resignation, so he looked at Konrad, “What would you like with the remains?”

He suspected Aadya was drawing a correlation between her relationship with Konrad and Nellie, and he didn’t’ want to push a revival on her when she was searching for closure.

Konrad studied Aadya. She seemed closed and withdrawn, ready to leave the situation physically.

Konrad focused on Zero again, “I’ll take them to the same cliff. Perhaps elsewhere along that shoreline.”

“Of course,” Aadya stated. “That makes the most sense.” She tucked Nellie’s hair back again and adjusted her arm to align with her on the table. 

Her pools of blue met his eyes, “Thank you, Zero.”

Konrad refrained from reaching out to Aadya, but his body softened, “She would have died either way.”

“I understand,” Aadya stated. She moved away, toward the door. Niels watched her go, anxious. 

“Thank you for helping me try to save her. If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to tend to.”

Zero felt bad for Aadya; she had become trapped in a stressful position.

He also felt bad for Niels, who was trapped in the corner of the room between the awkward state of Aadya and Konrad.

Konrad, as he watched her retreat, looked annoyed.

“Alright,” Konrad said as he picked Nellie up.

Konrad left the room, the girl draped across his arms.

Zero waited a moment, and Niels swiveled from side to side in his chair. 

Zero turned to him, “What languages do you know, enough to be useful in this setting?” He asked.

It wasn’t common to need the skill, but Niels had handled the situation well.

“Most western European ones. Not Portuguese.”

He laughed, to break his own tension and because he couldn’t imagine Niels, as trained as he was, conversing with the only representation of Portuguese he had: a large man with thick dark hair, a penchant toward aggression, and an ego that refused to he compromised. 

“Why not?” He asked.

“They sound like they’re choking on their own tongues,” Niels replied.

“Have you learned any of the wiccan language?” he asked Niels, knowing that he hadn’t because he had never explained it as a language. For everyone Zero taught, he tried to find a way to relate it. Ultimately, Niels would get the heart of wiccan if he treated it as a language.

“You have a language?” Niels asked, surprised at the possibility and a bit interested. Zero wasn’t sure if his interest was in staying in the room or if he cared, but he was going to take the opportunity to plant the idea he had been working on: to merge the precision of Elesarian with the utility of plant magic. The marriage of the two was unheard of, but he had been experimenting with it. Spell creation was one of his favorite components of using wiccan magic; the magic wasn’t about following spells or recipes but about understanding the individual components and how they reacted with each other.

“Like Elesarian,” he replied, “but more dead and more powerful.”

Zero’s father had taught him the language, but the school system treated it like memorized formulas. He had taught his children the fundamentals and encouraged them to take classes with Aadya when they could. He had also encouraged Aadya to bond to Sam, since they shared a body and the impact of the bond wouldn’t affect her. Aadya’s skill with plants exceeded even his own at times.

He wasn’t sure if she had ever followed through on it; she had yet to express an interest in wiccan magic.

Niels’ eyes danced at the same possibility – more protection for his family, more skill, and something that others wouldn’t expect. Niels would know, even if he had done very little practice, that there were ways to encode spells with additional words to use them, so that you could get into secret locations or as a means of protecting more advanced magic in case it got into the wrong hands.

“Don’t tell Indigo that,” he replied.

“I haven’t,” he said, his left leg crossed over the other. He had avoided talking to Indigo about it, though he wanted to someday. He wanted her to feel free to ignore wiccan magic if she wanted to. She didn’t have power over being in the wrong body and letting her have power over which magics she used was one way she could feel more comfortable in life.

“Aadya knows it, in part,” he admitted. “You’re familiar with word pieces: roots, suffixes, and the like?”

“Yes,” Niels replied.

“You should consider it, if you ever have a free decade. You know wiccan magic; it revolves around the names of plants, their colors, and the components of the plants. Imagine each word in a language, and piecing them together. If those words were pieces of plants, you could combine the power of their name to the power of the plant itself.”

Niels shifted in his chair, leaning across the exam table, “Would you teach me? It could be useful to know.”

It fed into his plans well; the ultimate combination of fairies and wiccans felt inevitable with Spence granting all wiccans the long life that most divided them. On the same grounds for longevity, it would come down the magic as the next component to combine. 

He wanted the power of founding it – to be the one who established how they moved forward. Four of his grandchildren were heirs to the Dragon throne; one was the crown heir. How he moved forward could shape Sylem and The Dells. With Niels on his side, the potential was limitless.

He also wanted Neils, when he was king, to like the Lavesque family. Spence was close to Talise and Niels, but the fact that Spence had been with Talise – married too – first could darken the relationship. He was hopeful, but he still wanted to position himself going forward. With Aadya and Meldrick divorced, he wasn’t sure how long they would continue to rule the throne.

“I would be happy to,” he replied. “Any time; my schedule is flexible and mostly open. I spend most of my free time working on the cars.”

Before Niels could reply, Indigo opened the door. She was concerned at first, but with no patient in the room she seemed to reconfigure what the message he had sent meant. She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame and a smile on her face, and waited.

“Cars?” Niels asked.

“You’re interest in cars?”

“I have an Alpine A110, if you know what that is.”

He didn’t think Niels knew how to drive, let alone had a car of his own. The Alpine A110 was a classic sports car from France. Zero had a weakness for classics, though he tended toward more modern engines. The group that made the engines for the Alpine came from a company founded by one of three brothers who originated in the textile industry, growing from their father’s business. He always suspected some of the detail work for the cars came from their background. 

It was an exciting turn of events; none of his children enjoyed working on cars with him. Talise had entertained him by learning a few things; she had expressed an interest in learning more about engines as well, but he hadn’t shared his passion of cars with anyone for awhile.

“I do,” he replied. He wanted to drive it, but that would have to come in time after building up more of a relationship with Niels. You didn’t just let anyone drive a car you loved.

“We can combine the two activities, if you want,” Zero suggested. Teaching Niels Wiccan magic while working on cars would satisfy him for a century or two, or more, he suspected.

“You build them?” Niels asked.

Indigo tried not to laugh; she did a good job acting stoic in the doorway while they slipped further into passion. He told Niels about his Echelon, and the Nobex sitting in the spare garage port in Sylem.

Niels told him he loved Empirions, from Sylem.

Zero decided to buy Niels an Empirion.

Indigo, eventually, disrupted them. The day could have slipped away if she hadn’t.

“She went home with Aadya already?” Indigo asked, hopeful.

He hated the truth, but he wouldn’t lie to her. Also, she would know either way. He just didn’t want to ruin her afternoon.

“She had a fatal clot in her brain, an aneurysm,” he explained. “They elected not to revive her.”

Indigo slipped her arm around him, and his body hummed with desire and love for her. 

“Aadya?” she asked.

He normally wouldn’t discuss this sort of thing with Niels in the room, but as the crown prince he deserved to know the state of things and he doubted Aadya had a clue what she was going to do.

“Konrad influenced the decision. You should spend some time with her; she’s been acting different for a few weeks.”

The pregnancy had Aadya in knots, it appeared. He hoped Indigo could calm her down.

Indigo was tense about it as well; their friendship needed something to bring it back together. Secluding herself would have no benefit for Aadya. 

“I could bombard Aadya with distraction,” Indigo suggested. She nudged him toward a chair and he sat; her hands found his neck and began kneading at the tension he held there.

He had lost a patient, despite her condition, and it was still difficult to work through.

“Before she has a meltdown,” he suggested. “Konrad has retired from that role, it appears. And Mel… Has his interest.”

Niels, who was about to leave, stood straight and still, his back to them.

“The meeting was a disaster,” Indigo added.

Zero stood, before Niels could turn back around, and grabbed some cleaning spray. He started to work on the table. 

It wasn’t just where someone had died, it was where he saw new life growing and healed lived. He didn’t want it tainted with the idea of death. 

“I already know he slept with my mom last night,” Niels declared. He turned around to look at them as Zero pulled a fresh sheet onto the bed. He tossed the old sheet. 

Zero looked at him, “I’ll be advising Aadya to remain queen, even if Meldrick steps away from the role. I think she needs her kingdom; it’s like a child and Nellie has created a greater void.

Niels nodded, and Zero could feel a hint of the tension he had been carrying lift off of him. He wasn’t ready to be king; capable but not ready.

“He won’t quit,” Niels hypothesized.

“How is your mom, then? And how are you and Talise?” Zero asked.

“My mom is…” Niels took a deep breath, and more than the wiccan talk or the cars stuff, this is why Niels was still in the room. He was too tense around Aadya, silent, and he would have to overcome the awkward feelings he had with his mom dating Meldrick.

“Talise and I are waiting. He won’t quit but she might and then he’ll have to.”

“Aadya doesn’t quit,” he said, contemplating Nellie and what had transpired in that room a few moments prior. “If she threatens to, it’s a bluff. She may not realize it is – she tends to pull bluffs on herself, unfortunately.”

He tried to think of how the Nellie situation would resolve, because her withdrawn state wasn’t the end of things for her and even Zero wasn’t sure what she would do with the body gone. 

Konrad, he hoped, was aware. Not that he was ever oblvious, but this was something close to him. He occasionally failed to see as well what was transpiring with those close to his heart.

This was Niels’ time though.

“Indigo and I are here, anytime either of you need to talk or get away.”

It was all he could offer, without being too pushy.

He decided a change of subject would help Niels relax, since they would be spending time together regardless of counseling needs. Cars were their own therapy to the right person.

“I’m upgrading my machine here, if you want to surprise Talise.”

He had been wanting to get a machine that could show more detailed images and use time – 4D as they were called. Talise and Niels had six kids, but none were shared genetically. This had to be a special pregnancy for Niels; it would further open the lines of communication as well and he could look in on his own son within Indigo’s belly whenever he wanted.

Whenever she allowed, more so, he thought with a smirk. 

He had one more thing to offer, something he was intending to give to Aadya as well. He went over to a cupboard and found a CD of soothing music. It was full of classics from several realms compiled onto one CD and laced with magic to help soothe and relax whoever listened, as well as provide focus and a clear mind. It would help Talise with an emotions she experienced being pregnant and facing the possibility of a sudden ascension trial.

‘Tell Talise music should be played next to her belly for the babies,” Zero said. Some realms liked to have babies listen to music and it was an easy way to get Talise to do what he wanted. “It’s good for them. Doctor’s orders.”

Talise was too stubborn to listen to it for herself. 

“Thanks,” Niels said as he took the disk. “I’ll be around if you need anything.”

“Cars and magic, tomorrow at ten?” Zero suggested.

“Sure,” Niels said, and he left the room.

Zero lifted Indigo onto the table, “Niels is going to learn wiccan magic. He has an interest in language and I’m stealing him from you,” he teased.

He wasn’t going to tell her, but the line was worth it.

She ran her hands down his chest, “We’ll have to share him; he isn’t up to par yet.”

Zero kissed her as he dipped her onto the fresh table.

“How are you,” she asked, her hands a little nervous as they ran across his skin.

“I’m disappointed I lost a patient,” he said as he ran his hand up her stomach. He shut the door then pulled the ultrasound machine over to her. “But, with her injuries she shouldn’t have even made it through my door. I can live with it.”

He slipped the vial of energy out of his chest pocket and set inside a cabinet only Spence, Spaden, Konrad, and himself could access.

“It’s too bad, even so,” Indigo said. She stared at the ceiling.

Zero turned the machine on and kissed her lips as he slid his hand up her shirt, moving it out of the way. He let his hand trail further than he needed to, then caressed her near the top of her ribcase before withdrawing. His hand reached for the gel, his lips still on hers. He kissed her until the distinct sound of their son’s heart filled the room; the first time they’d heard it.

He withdrew himself from her further, so they could look at the screen together.

“Were you aware Niels had a knack for language? He knows several.”

He could see her debating thoughts, the way she often did when she was torn between two options that would dictate some portion of their future.

Half her mouth smiled, while the rest resisted the temptation to he amused by her own gorgeous mind that was still, years later, enrapturing.

“I doubt he’s as skilled with his tongue as you are,” she managed to say beyond the huffs of laughter desiring to escape.

He laughed and set the probe aside and picked her up. 

“I love having you here, not having to come home to find you, on a bad day at work,” Zero said.

He carried her toward their room.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she replied.

“I meant,” he said as tossed her shoes aside and lowered her to the bed, “We should move our house into the hospital.”

“Portal?” she joked.

“I have a better project for you,” he said as he shut the doors to their room. He walked toward her, “How would my little dove like to make up new Elesarian words; to create a new level of magic no one else knows.”

Her body moved with her breath as she propped herself into her elbows, “That could be fun. Make our family safer.”

“We could win the war,” he said as he kissed her.

He collapsed beside her, and she turned to kiss him, pushing him further until she was on top. 

There were very few times when he felt like he wanted to be intimate after work; most often he wanted a little bit of space to process things and to separate himself from the day. Having Indigo right there, right after the loss of the patient, had been unique and new. 

All he wanted was her. All he wanted was to forget plots and plans and to be empty in her arms.

She kissed him, breathless, her smooth skin stretching beneath his fingertips. He focused on her, and what she would need. 

Then he focused on the silence between them; the time he had beside her without either speaking their mind.

She broke the silence.

“What are you going to do about Zach?” she asked.

It wasn’t often that he thought of Naomi, except that Indy’s identity was interwoven with Naomi’s. Whatever spell that had done had combined the two into something irresistible and special. 

Before that, she was Naomi. Naomi the woman who bore him a son with cancer; a disease that ran in her family. 

Her brother, Scott, was always looking for ways to keep his body in the best shape possible. He rejected sugars and processed food and ate over half of his meals raw.

Zach had died from the cancer, and Zero hadn’t known about the ability to capture the energy of a life as you saved it. It was a spell he had learned about in the hospital, from a neurotic woman who refused to give her name or didn’t know it at all. She had begged him to save the chance she died, in case she needed it later.

She had vanished just as soon as she had appeared; she hadn’t even been sick. She was suffering from a splinter.

He hoped wherever she was she had help. 

Zach had been resurrected by Sam, a man that was in love with Naomi. Someone had lost their life so his son could have his, and he wasn’t mad about it knowing who his son was now. The life – unfathomably given – he hoped did not suffer. 

Zach hated them, because of their name and their social status and the Caelum’s influence. The Caelum spread that they didn’t care; even Spence felt like there was a disregard for the wellbeing of society. 

While they hadn’t done enough, the ultimate issue was that Xander didn’t have resources. Money wasn’t coming into the country and he was constantly combating inflation issues.

If he had the option, he would have diverted his resources from the war with the Caelum and protecting their borders to improving society.

Spence was going to do so, it seemed. He wondered how Spence intended to pull it off, but there seemed to be some budget available.

Spence – Sam’s son. 

A trade, it seemed, had taken place. He had raised Spence and Spaden, though both had gotten to know Sam over the past few years. Spence seemed to have a deeper connection fueled by Talise and her deep rooted desire to know her own dad, even though she loved Meldrick.

Back to Zach. 

He had trouble focusing because it brought back so many memories. He had lost patients but he had never felt like a failure. He felt like a failure when he faced Zach the other day. A parent’s job was to keep their child safe. He had learned how too late, and it was too little. He was mad at himself – Zach being mad was as obvious as the sun rising each day.

Zach wouldn’t be safe soon. 

“I’m going to give him three days to think about things,” he told Indy. “Then I’m going to find him and be a little more forceful. I’ve warded him for the time being. Caz made him a new identity as a cover, even he won’t know what it is.”

“How does that work?” she asked.

He wished he had a clear explanation for the series of loopholes in magic they had layered through the system. It was one of the most complex series of spells he had ever done. He had included his father, his brothers, and some leftover hair he had found that belonged to Zach before he had died, tucked into a box in the garage.

“I warded a rewire within the system,” he said. “If you type in Rhyss Hartmaan or Zach Lavesque you get nothing and deceased, unless you ask the right person to type it in with a middle name – Zach or Rhyss.”

She shifted toward him, so she could see his face, “And you want him home?”

“I want him safe. Clovercrest isn’t safe and some woman is screwing with Xander. His girlfriend is missing. I don’t trust that on his own he will survive much longer now that we know he exists.”

Xander’s issue far exceeded anything he knew how to deal with. The woman was able to get around any ward, no matter the complexity. She would be a threat to Zach if she wanted to be. The new spell language with Indigo was essential.

“Do you want me to try?”  she asked.

His Indy wanted to try, to be a mother to a son she wasn’t familiar with. 

It meant a lot to him, because the attempt would include her being softer and she was more of a tough love mom, outside of her soup and therapy art sessions.

“If you are willing,” he replied. 

It meant the world to him. More than he could explain it was growing into a desire he couldn’t shake. 

“You aren’t Lavesque born or wiccan born,” he reminded her. Zach hated his family’s power and she didn’t represent it in any capacity, except by marriage.

He didn’t represent it in any capacity, except by birth.

He had given Zach all of Sam’s assets so that he would have something, instead of giving him his own. He thought it would be better received. 

“I’m a negotiator and he’s my son too,” she added. The way her voice softened when she said my son send a warmth through Zero. 

“You’re an amazing negotiator,” he complimented. He wasn’t sure if he was just intoxicated by her proximity, as always, or if his emotional state was fueling it despite the contrast in feelings, but he loved her. Infinitely. With Meldrick and Aadya’s divorce he had hoped things wouldn’t change between them – overcompensating to prevent an issue or distance in case there was worry. Neither had happened. Indigo was his steady life partner, stable and loving and his. He was hers even more; she may have been an amazing negotiator but all she had to do in his presence was look at him and he knew she would get what she wanted.

It was rooted in her being so reasonable, but he would have tried no matter what she asked. That had changed most notably since she was just Naomi. Naomi asked for too much of the wrong thing. Indigo… she was a treasure to never let go of.

“He bought a house that needs help,” Zero said, with Aadya on his mind.

“He bought a house? What’s wrong with Sam’s mansion?”

It was a mansion, for one.

“It isn’t a small, condemned, blue beach house.”

He turned to kiss her, and so they would be facing each other, their bodies flush against each other.

“Prestige won’t impress him. But I know someone in need of a project and someone in need of swaying. Do you think the two could merge?”

She grinned, and another wave of affection coursed through him. She loved having her own brilliant ideas, but they were a team and she also loved being a team.

“That’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

He was perfect with her. The idea that anyone was perfect was impossible, except through their environment and the lens looking. Still, she was right, together they were perfect for each other and she made ten thousand years sound short.

“As are you,” he said, his lips pressed softly against the space between her eyebrows, the glabella if he were to be unromantic. He rolled her back against the bed, to tease her before leaving for the living room to throw on a new movie she had not yet seen, about a book she had read twice, to be lazy for the afternoon and wrapped in her love. 

Whatever came next, they would be unmovable.

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