Entering Tyr's room, Macha remembered the few days they shared a bed. She had been sick and a misunderstanding had left her in his bed. She rarely entered his room now because Tyr usually stayed in the living room unless he went to sleep. Macha looked around. The black wallpaper made the night seem darker. The moonlight swept across Tyr's face, drawing Macha closer. A shallow crease between his brows made him look upset while he slept. Macha wondered if he frowned because of a nightmare or if he always looked troubled while dreaming. She had never studied his sleeping face before. Tyr's dark brown bangs swept across his face and Macha picked them up with her fingers. It relieved her that he came back safely from Tatuy.
Tyr awoke to a sound coming from the living room. He knew Macha had come home by the sound of her footsteps. The light tap of her feet across the floor was a melody ingrained in his memory. Tyr was glad she came back safely. The sound of her moving about in the apartment set his mind at ease. Tyr was going to go back to sleep when he felt her presence coming closer. He wondered what she was doing. The light touch of Macha moving his bangs out of his face and staring at him caused his heart to stop.
Having Macha so close made him unsure if he should say something. He thought about her every day, but they had been separated for so long. Unease stabbed at him, causing him to be unsure if Macha still liked him. Her nearness made him desire her. While he debated what to do, Macha's hair grazed his hand. She leaned closer and Tyr thought she would kiss him, but she stopped above his face. Suddenly, he felt her warmth disappear, and she left the room. A little while later he heard Macha's shower running.
The self-loathing caused Tyr to sit up in bed. He yanked his bangs in frustration. Although he wanted to pull Macha down into his warm sheets and show her how much he missed her, the anxiety always took hold of him. Tyr threw his pillow across the room. He was disgusted with himself. The Captain of the Obsidian Dragons fearing sex was laughable.
Tyr did not understand why he could not push Fenrir's words out of his mind. Despite the constant emotional abuse that Fenrir inflicted upon him over the years, Tyr still worried that her comment about him being bad in bed was true. This fear gripped him so hard that Tyr wanted to kiss Macha and make love to her, but every time he moved in to kiss her, he choked up. In his mind, he knew kissing would eventually lead to lovemaking, and he did not want to ruin their relationship.
Macha heard a loud thud come from Tyr's room. She worried that he might have fallen and hurt himself so she ran out of the shower and pulled her robe around her. "Tyr!" she called, dashing across the hall, into his room.
Tyr saw Macha standing in his doorway, her robe sticking to her wet skin. Drops of water kissed her skin and streaked down as she moved next to him.
When Macha entered the room, she found Tyr sitting up in his bed. He was not wearing a shirt and his bedsheets fell across his lap, revealing his hardened body. Tyr had a dark expression on his face that made him appear dangerous. "Are you all right? I heard a noise," Macha said in a low voice. She was worried about him, but she still felt attracted to his alluring figure on the bed.
Tyr stared at Macha as she moved beside him. He swallowed, "Yeah. It was nothing." The need to touch Macha caused him to pull her to the edge of the bed next to him. His thigh became wet with the water from her skin as it soaked through the sheet. Macha smelled like lavender and her smooth skin calmed him. "Come," he drew her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
Macha let Tyr pull her against him and she wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you," she whispered. The strong beat of Tyr's heart reverberated against her chest. It was so much faster and stronger than hers. Tyr deepen the hug and Macha became intoxicated with how good it felt to press up against him.
The moment Macha admitted she missed him, Tyr knew she still cared about him. This was the first time she ever revealed any feelings other than friendship to him. Tyr decided that if she was willing to do that for him, he had to conquer his demons for her. "Macha," Tyr spoke in a deep voice that trembled, "I want to kiss you."
Macha tried to suppress a smile. She had not expected Tyr to ask her for a kiss. "You don't have to ask..." she whispered. Although she was not sure if he asked or stated that he wanted a kiss, the words alone filled her with anticipation. She looked at his lips and lowered her lashes to look at his collarbone.
Tyr's strong hands wrapped around Macha's waist as he lifted her across him. The mattress dipped as he lowered her on the bed beside him. She heard the sheets rustle and his hand slipped under her robe to touch the curve of her hips. Macha gazed into Tyr's deep green eyes. The moonlight illuminated the room through the curtains, revealing the sexy and adorable appearance on his face. His hair mingled with hers across the bed and an electric magnetism drew him closer to her.
When Macha's lips parted, Tyr stared at them. Although he wanted her, he hesitated for a second. His heart pounded against his chest and he shifted his weight to one arm. The heat from his body flowed into her as their bodies pressed against the bed. Tyr tilted Macha's chin up and lowered his lips onto hers. Her lips were as soft as he remembered and he wished he had kissed her sooner. It had been months since they had shared the kiss in his office and he regretted all the time lost since then.
The look in Tyr's eyes had been so hungry, Macha thought he would devour her. It surprised her that he started off barely touching her lips. As he deepened the kiss, her body tingled and became hot. The kiss became rougher and Macha arched her back upwards. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her lips. His bare chest excited her and his warm hand caressed her in a way that made her want more.
The soft moan caused Tyr to break away from the kiss. His fears clawed at his back, but he did not want Macha to assume she did something wrong. Tyr stole a few more light kisses from her lips before he helped her sit up. His body wanted to do more, but he was not mentally prepared for now. Stroking Macha's cheek, he nodded to her room, "Go finish your shower. You had a long day."
Macha's lips still were tender from his kisses, but she understood he did not want to go any further. She nodded her head and scooted off the bed. The kiss was so thorough that she could not stop smiling. Before she got off, she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Goodnight."
When Macha left, Tyr got out of bed and picked his pillow up off the ground. He deconstructed the kiss while laying in bed. He felt positive she liked it. After concluding that it was successful, he proceeded to think about it for what it was, a kiss. Tyr turned on his side and smiled. Parts of his sheet were wet from the water that had been on Macha's skin. He reached out a hand to touch the places she had been. She left the faint fragrance of lavender in his bed.
****
Tyr and Macha were eating lunch. It was a few days before his birthday and Hrod sent him a letter. His mother wanted him to come home for his birthday. Tyr stared at the letter, he had planned to spend the day with Macha, maybe take her to a hot spring a few miles out of Marseille. He decided that since Macha did not have a birthday in his world, he would just celebrate it on the same day as he did.
Macha leaned over, "What did your mother want? Is everything all right?" She knew Hrod rarely wrote to her children. Their relationship did not seem close, so she found it reasonable to assume Hrod needed to talk to Tyr about something.
A small snort came from Tyr, followed by him throwing the letter in the trash. Without batting an eye, he said, "It's nothing important." He picked up a piece of bread and spread the jam on it. Wanting to turn his attention to something more important he asked, "What do you want for your birthday?" He changed the topic because he did not want to bother with his mother's request.
Macha took the letter out of the trash and read the beautifully written words. Hrod's handwriting looked like a piece of artwork. Her brows furrowed, "Why do you say it's nothing? She wants you to visit for your birthday." She did not like that Tyr treated his mother with so much animosity. They were not close, but that was still no reason to ignore her.
If he did what his mother requested, he would not be able to do what he was planning. Tyr took the paper from Macha's hand and threw it back into the trash bin. In an assertive voice, he explained, "It is nothing. I don't feel like going." He noted Macha seemed displeased with his response, so he tried to explain further, "I wanted to go with you on a small trip. If we go to visit my mother, then we won't be able to go on the trip."
Tyr had mentioned nothing about a trip to her before, so this news caught Macha off guard. "Oh," she wanted to go on a trip with him but realized he rarely saw his mother. Almost a year passed since the two talked and it did not seem right. Macha hesitated, she was unsure if she wanted to meddle with his family business, but in the end, she decided she should do something. If he did not see his mother because of their vacation, she could not have fun. "I would love to go on a trip with you, but I also think it would be better for you to spend your birthday with your family. I know Luna will probably be going home."
That had not been the response Tyr expected. Fenrir had always told him to ignore his mother, especially if it was to go on a small vacation. He stopped eating, "You don't want to go?" her reaction confused him. Tyr was not sure if Macha played mind games with him. Fenrir would often say she wanted one thing when she wanted the other.
Macha shook her head furiously. Tyr misunderstood so she quickly explained, "No, it's not that I don't want to go, I just feel it would be better to spend your birthday with your family." She tried to smooth things over, "If possible, I would like to go to your family home. I miss training by the lake with you. It looked so pretty there."
"Are you sure? I was planning on taking us to a hot spring." Tyr was confident that the hot spring would be a winning idea. Many women enjoyed going because it supposedly contained many nutrients for their skin. He did not think anything was wrong with Macha's skin, but he knew women could be vain.
Macha really wanted to go to a hot spring. The thought of one made her remember her trips to Japan. She enjoyed visiting Hakone for day trips, just to relax in the hot waters. "I love hot springs, but I feel they're better suited for a winter trip. In summer, watching fireflies or visiting the beach would be better."
Tyr sighed. Macha sounded like she enjoyed the lake at his family estate. He remembered how beautiful she looked with the lights of the surrounding fireflies. "Fine, we can go to see the lake, but I don't want to stay more than a couple days. After that, why don't we go to Jimbaran for a few days."
Macha had never heard of Jimbaran before. "Where or what is Jimbaran?" The name sounded cute and made her excited to go. It invoked the imagines of fruits and something bouncy.
These sorts of questions were common for Tyr to explain to Macha. He did not mind and enjoyed imparting his knowledge to her. "Jimbaran is a beach resort. They have wards like the ones Marseille has to keep demons and dangerous creatures out." It was one of the places Krystof raved about as a top romantic getaway.
The possibility of being by a beach again made Macha happy. Despite Marseille being a city next to an ocean, they had a pier instead of sandy beaches. Unable to hide her excitement, she cheered, "That sounds great!" After blurting out her opinion, she realized she was going on a trip with Tyr. It would differ from their usual day-to-day interactions and that made her nervous. Macha noticed the past few days since her return, Tyr had been more affectionate. He would often hold her or kiss her neck. A few times while they were in the office he would pull her close and kiss her on the lips, which made getting back to work difficult.
Author mini note:
I really feel for men who were/are in abusive relationships. The media doesn't focus on men in particular. Either way, please don't treat a man or woman poorly when they love you. Words can cut more than a knife sometimes.