Hey, guys so before we start the chapter today I'd like to first say thank you. Thursday is a day of expressing what you're thankful for and I'd like to say that I am thankful for you all. NOW I'd also like to say that I do not agree with the historical beginnings of Thanksgiving. It's painted out to be a day where the indigenous and colonizers shared with one another and made the colonizers seem to be these gentle people. That being said, I'd love it if each of you guys could dedicate this Thursday to something that may benefit indigenous peoples or perhaps do some research to better educate yourself on indigenous people in America. Maybe donate if you can, to organizations such as NARF or Native Wellness Institute. Thank you and enjoy the story!

I flipped the steaks over and stirred the vegetables sizzling in the other pan. I lowered the heat on the stove and went to mash the boiled, peeled potatoes I had sitting in a bowl. A third pot on the stove contained warm heavy cream, crushed garlic, thyme, and butter. I slowly poured the mixture into the bowl of potatoes as I mashed them. I was concentrating on my cooking so even though I heard the quiet footsteps coming towards the kitchen and could sense Nickel standing at the doorway I didn’t say anything. Nickel walked up right behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“Can I help with anything?” he asked. It sounded like he just woke up. “I’m almost done, Kitten; but if you want to taste the masked potatoes just to make sure there isn’t anything they need then you can.” I felt him nod against my back. He was so cute when he was tired. “You carried me all the way here?” he asked in a small voice. “Yeah. I didn’t want to wake you.” He pulled away from me so I put the masher down and turned around. “Thank you,” was all he said sheepishly. I leaned against the counter and pulled him into my arms. “No problem at all.” I ran my hands through his hair. There were a few seconds of his body being stiff before he let himself relax against my chest.

“You know if you want to go back to sleep you can. I can save your food for tomorrow’s lunch. I’m sure the hospital food will be gross.” He shook his head once more and stood back after opening his eyes. “You sure there isn’t anything I can actually help with?” I was finished with everything, but I thought for a moment to see if there was something small he could do. “You can stir the vegetables while I finish with the potatoes.”

We separated from each other, but if we could’ve remained in the position we were in I would’ve liked that. I went back to mixing the rest of the cream to the potatoes while Nickel occasionally stirred the vegetables. When I finished, I gave him a taste. “How is it?” I questioned. “Really, really good,” he responded. “You could add a little more salt though.” I tasted them myself and agreed. “You’ll teach me to make this one day right?” I put in a dash more of salt and nodded my head. “Of course.”

“Are you hungry now or do you want to wait for a while? I’m not too hungry myself,” I asked. “We can wait,” he said. I placed a lid on everything and covered the potatoes with tin foil. Nickel went to go sit on the couch so I followed. “By the way, about earlier I didn’t mean to respond rudely when you said you wanted to travel with me,” he said. I sat next to him but kept a small space between us. “I didn’t think it was rude,” I looked at him but he seemed to be avoiding my gaze.

“I’m trying my best not to overwhelm you. At the same time, I hope we can get to a point where you don’t feel uncomfortable with me wanting to spoil you.” He looked confused. “I just don’t get why you’d want to do that.” I smiled at him. “Because I want you to be happy and I don’t want you having any regrets.”

“Seriously?” he asked, finally looking back at me. I paused for a second but realized that there was another reason. “Also because I’m selfish. I love it when I see you smile. Every time you look at me and you’re happy I get so overjoyed. I think I just want to see more of that.”

Nickel stared at me with eyes wide as saucers. His face flushed red. “Oh, um, I... ok.” I reached out to pet his head with a soft look in my eyes. “Good, and I’ll be sure to be aware of how you feel.” He nodded his head and I could see a small grin on his face. “I’ll write down a place I want to go and something I've always wanted to do but don’t expect it to be anything special.” 

“I won’t, I won’t,” I said, satisfied with how the conversation went. Then, I had a perfect idea. “How about we watch a movie together tonight?” He turned to look at me seemingly pondering for a second. “Ok.”

Nickel POV

Liam and I scrolled through the movie options for a while before settling on a horror film. I wasn’t too keen on horror but apparently Liam was. I found myself holding his bicep and squeezing it tightly every time there was a jumpscare or when I thought there would be one. Something ran behind the woman in the movie and I squeezed my eyes along with Liam’s arm when she was about to turn around. “Nothing’s there,” he whispered to me. I could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh. “I hate you,” I said, begrudgingly letting go of him. He gave me this weird sad look. “You didn’t have to let go,” he whined. “Tch, well then you shouldn’t have been laughing.”

“I didn’t laugh, Kitten.” I rolled my eyes. The movie was still playing as I turned around to look at the screen. A demon-like creature appeared causing me to jump and grab his arm again. “It’s not even that scary!” he said laughing. I held on tighter without responding. “Come on,” he cooed, trying to loosen the grip I held. “How bout we eat dinner and we can change the movie, ok?” he asked smiling.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “Pause,” he spoke loudly. The movie stopped immediately and I went to the kitchen. I reached to the cabinet to grab a plate but Liam held my hand to stop me. “Here’s a trick. When you’re eating on the couch and keeping food in your lap it’s easier to use a bowl so you can hold it better without making a mess.” I gave him a funny look as he grabbed a bowl instead. “What? It’s something my dad always did and I think it works.” He smiled and took out a cutting board and knife. Liam placed the steaks onto the cutting board and sliced them both carefully, the juices spilling out onto the board. I almost drooled at how good it looked.

I watched as he then scooped some mashed potatoes into our bowls along with the array of vegetables. He put the slices of steak on top of the potatoes then placed both in the microwave for a few seconds.

When they were finished, I was handed my warmed bowl and fork. We both went back to sit on the couch. Liam found a different, more comedic, movie to watch. “How’s the food?” he asked a few minutes into the movie. “Really good,” I responded. “And the bowl didn’t change the taste, did it?” he asked playfully leaning in. I gave a slight giggle. “No, no it didn’t,” I grinned. His expression was soft as he looked at me fondly. “You’re really beautiful when you laugh like that.” I was taken aback by the sudden compliment. “Thanks,” I said sheepishly. I realized he was still looking at me so I turned to him. “Watch the movie,” I said, still smiling.

When we were finished Liam went to wash the bowls, insisting that I continue the movie. He came back just in time for the funniest part to which we both broke out in laughter.

The film finished in another hour and both of us went to head to get ready for bed. “Get some rest tonight for tomorrow, you’ve had a long day.”

“I know, I will.” “Also, make sure not to eat or drink anything from now until after the surgery. Thought I should mention that since sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night.” Liam said as we went up the stairs. I walked behind him nodding my head. “Ok.”

Liam twisted the knob to his door, before turning around to lean on the doorway facing me. “Are you going to sleep with me tonight?” I hadn't realized I was following him to his room. “No!” I said rather quickly. “I just wasn't paying attention when we were walking, that's it.”

“You sure you don't want to stay? Because you seemed really scared during that first movie. I wouldn’t want you having nightmares,” he teased. I rolled my eyes at him. “Whatever. Good night,” I said as I turned to leave. “Good night, Kitten.” I walked down the hallway to my room feeling the tips of my ears going red just from that. 

After getting ready for bed, I turned on the lamp and curled up in the cool sheets. I opened up the romance novel I was reading and realized I had begun to enjoy it. It was really cheesy but I found it to be comedic instead of cringy. When my eyes became droopy, I shut off the lamp and layed down to fall asleep.

I must’ve been asleep for only two hours or so before waking up. The clock read 3:30 a.m. “Great,” I thought to myself. I slept longer than I thought but it was going to be difficult going back to sleep as my mind started racing.

There were only 4 more hours before Liam would come to get me up. Or perhaps he’d let me sleep in if we weren’t going running. We most likely weren’t since I wouldn’t be able to eat or drink afterward. Still, he seemed like the type to get to places early. I realized I didn’t even know when we were leaving or what time I was supposed to go into surgery. I also realized I didn’t know how long the surgery would take. Then there was the recovery period. Sure I healed faster but not by a lot from a non-hybrid. The estimated time could be extended if something went wrong. Shit, I hoped nothing would go wrong. 

A knock came to the door when I realized I’d been in my thoughts for a good 10 minutes. It startled me at first, but it was just Liam’s scent beyond the door. “Can I come in?” he said.

“Yes,” I said. He walked in, closing the door behind him. “Are you ok?” I nodded. “Be honest with me, what’s wrong.” He came to sit on the edge of the bed. His chest was bare and I thanked the gods that he was at least wearing jogging pants. Still I was glad he came. The strong scent of mint calmed me. “Can’t sleep, I just started to worry a lot.”

“I could smell it from down the hall, I thought maybe you did end up having a nightmare.” I knew he was trying to joke with the last part but the fact that I woke him up from the scent of my stress was embarrassing. I think he could tell as well. “Do you want me to stay in here with you?”

I was about to respond no but surprised myself when a, “Yes,” came out instead. Liam moved in bed next to me. He reached to pull me into his arms but I swatted him away. “Put on a shirt and don’t try to cuddle with me…please,” I added the last part since what I said came out rather harshly. Liam seemed understanding though and went to find a shirt. He came back and resumed his position next to me, not making a move to touch me. We were faced towards one another. Liam’s right arm was under the pillow while his left was bent in front of him, resting on the bed. His facial expression was relaxed, different from his constantly smiling face. His eyes were closed and I watched him. He appeared so peaceful and despite only seeing him upset a few times, it was different from how he normally was.

He opened his eyes. I didn’t avert mine or even make an attempt to move. His arm reached out once more, slower, almost as though he was intimidated. He cupped my face with his hand. “Go to sleep,” he said. His thumb gently rubbed over my right eye. I closed the other one as well, trying to fall asleep. “Focus on your breathing,” Liam said, his voice low and tired. I almost forgot that he was probably fast asleep before my stress and unnerving scent awoke him. “M’ gonna be right here the whole time.”

I opened my eyes seeing that his were nearly closed, but he continued moving his thumb across my cheek. I let my lids shut once more. “What do I smell like?” he asked. Hybrids couldn’t smell their own pheromones, so it wasn’t too odd of a question. “Sometimes it’s a mixture of pine, mint, lavender, and flowers that I don’t know the of names. It’s weird,” I whispered, “Because sometimes it’s not even a scent I can describe correctly.”

“How so?” “Right now… it’s mint, maybe eucalyptus and... warmth.” There was a moment where all I heard was him slightly moving closer. He must have grown tired of extending his arm as far as he had been. When he moved closer, however, I noticed the distance between us and I had the urge to close it. “I’m glad it’s relaxing then.”

“Were you focusing on making it relaxing?” “Yes.” “And what about me?” I asked. “A few minutes ago it smelled of gasoline, that’s why I woke up.” A pang of guilt hit me. “Sorry,” I whispered, wanting to hide in the sheets. “It’s ok. Your normal scent is cherry and vanilla. It’s never too strong. Even when you were upset with me it was 'bout the same,” he mumbled. 

“K.” After that it was silent. I could only hear the sound of his breathing. His hand also went still. I waited a few more moments before whispering. “Liam,” I barely said. No response and no movement, only steady breathing. I sighed, closing my eyes once more and trying to fall asleep with the heat of his hand against my face. 

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