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 Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:25 pm
"Death will do that," Michael agreed. Now he settled in and wrapped an arm around Lissie's back, guiding her to let him in. "I certainly didn't feel as if I'd been around a hundred years. Time has slowed since. It will be different, after the white light."
He sighed then and put an arm around Lissie to try and pull her to him.
"Me? Getting to know you. You're the best thing to happen to me."
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:51 pm
Lissie leaned against Michael, resting her head against his chest. “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, too,” she said. “I always knew I was dead,” she said, “but you came, and I started feeling alive again.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 5:55 pm
Michael kissed her hair.
"Yes, I did too. I just couldn't seem to escape the anger." His voice was softer now, gentle. It was a sweet, almost whispery tone. "I had forgotten what it was like to feel alive." He stroked her soft brown hair, admiring its length and sheen. People said he looked different, but he saw things differently too.
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:09 pm
After this, the warm feeling she couldn’t explain, she didn’t think she could forget. “I’d forgotten things. Tastes, smells, what it feels like to have something to look forward to.” She looked up at him and gently reached to stroke his cheek.
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:20 pm
Michael's smile broadened and he kissed Lissie's finger. He wished he might have taken his shirt off, have gotten more comfortable, have felt her cheek or her heartbeat against his skin. Skin-to-skin contact was not something he'd had in over a century now, and only recently could he feel flesh beneath his clothing.
"It will all come back, and we can rediscover them together."
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:40 pm
Rediscovering them together sounded perfect. She smiled at him and pressed her ear against his chest. Did he have a heartbeat?
“I’m glad I didn’t scare you away.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:02 pm
Michael tucked his chin against Lissie's head. He felt his heart beating when he focused, sure, but he knew that it was an illusion. Cut him open and who knew what you'd find? Certainly, though, it wouldn't be blood and organs, at lead not real ones. He had no idea if Lissie was feeling anything but, as it turned out, she was.
"It takes quite a bit to scare me," he said, toying with a lock of her long hair.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:44 pm
“I hear your heart,” she said, quietly. Was it an illusion? Had it always been there? Hearts stopped when you died—if that was there, what else was? Lissie couldn’t imagine.
That’s right. He’d probably dealt with it before, it was his job. “Your job would scare me,” she admitted.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:48 pm
Michael nodded. "I can feel it." Then he shrugged slightly. "It's only a job." He'd have liked to feel Lissie's heart, to lay his head on her chest and hear it so closely, as he hadn't in a century. Now was not the time, though. There was no need to rush. They had to do this right. 'Right' didn't necessarily mean 'to Victorian convention,' but right.
"You can sleep," he said then, softly, "I'll be here in the morning."
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 7:57 pm
Sleep? Could she sleep, even? Lissie didn’t move, she just closed her eyes. “I’ll try,” she said. She wasn’t sure she could. Pretending to be alive, that was easy. But...could she? “I love you, Michael.”
She didn’t need to breathe, but it regulated all the same as she fell asleep.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:11 pm
Michael smiled. "I love you too."
This had never happened to him before, this profession of love. Not once in life had he fallen asleep like this. Death, he supposed, really wasn't the end. Who knew what lay beyond the white light? Apparently you didn't have to cross to continue experiencing life.
He chose to not sleep, himself. At least not at first. He spent some time watching Lissie doze, watched her features relax and listened to her breathing even out. He touched her gently so as to not wake her, stroking her forehead and hair, and once her cheek. Eventually he settled down too and fell asleep with his head tilted against hers.
The alert of morning came without a wake-up call, and Michael was sure he could feel the warmth of the sun across them as he woke. He sighed and looked to Lissie, still perfect in slumber, and reached out to rub her shoulder.
"It's time to wake up."
They would be leaving soon, very soon. It was one of those things he knew but couldn't explain, which he had never questioned until after his whitelighting.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:22 pm
Lissie slowly woke, blinking and stretching just slightly. “Good morning, Michael,” she greeted, and rubbed an eye with a loose fist. Was it time to go, then?
She could feel the warmth of the sun on her. That was new—but welcome. She moved to kiss her cheek. “Are the boys awake?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:16 pm
Michael smiled and touched Lissie's cheek as she kissed his.
"They are. They're heading down for coffee. We should meet them soon." He'd have gotten out of bed in a rush on any other day, not wanting to inconvenience the others, but today he had something else keeping him behind.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:21 pm
Coffee, huh? Lissie conjured a breakfast in bed tray with a teapot, pancakes, a gravy boat filled with syrup and a cube of butter. This sat at the end of their bed. “Soon,” she agreed, capturing his lips this time.
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Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:28 pm
Michael was surprised by the kiss on the lips and his breath caught, something else he hadn't felt in quite a while. He swallowed when the kiss broke and eyed their bounty.
"Pancakes are different now too. I haven't had these since... Shrove Tuesday, 1843." He conjured some preserves for the two of them and sat up straight. "And nobody has made me breakfast in bed for even longer." He smiled to Lissie. Cooking or not, she had produced it!
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