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“You were lost in thought,” she murmurs, her eyes closing for a moment. She never sleeps when she’s here. I’m not even sure she could if she tried.
“I was thinking about how I’ve had no luck so far, trying to figure out what’s going on with you. I should be doing more. You’re the woman I love. I should be spending every waking minute trying to fix this.”
Green-tinted eyes stare up at me. “You are already spending more minutes awake every day than you should. How much sleep are you getting? How few hours, because of me?”
“I’m fine.”
“Zak.”
“Rose.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. “I know you worry about me,” I tell her quietly, running my fingers through her long hair, marvelling at the fact that I can, “but I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself.”
Her lips twist up into a smirk. “Iknowyou’re a big boy.”
I snort, then lean in to plant a kiss on her bare shoulder. Her clothing never reappears once she takes it all off, but it always resets back to the same outfit when she returns the next evening. It’s one of the many bizarre things going on, but in my experience, when magic is involved things often make very little sense.
“I just hate that I’m inconveniencing you in any way.”
“Rose, babe, you have to stop with that kind of talk. When I say I love you, I mean it. I just had the most mind-blowing sex with you. You make me happy. You are the best part of every day. You willneverbe a burden, ever.”
She rolls in my arms, until her face is buried against my chest. “I want to be able to help,” she says. “And I hate not having answers.”
We lieout under the full moon on one of the blankets that I've begun to keep here at Rose’s house, with another two draped over us, keeping us — or at least me — cocooned away from the midwinter cold.
“I know it’s silly,” Rose says for the fifth time tonight. “But I just really want to hear them sing.”
“It’s not silly at all.”
She’d confessed late last night, as she was beginning to fade away, that she missed being able to hear the dawn chorus of birds. I’d warned her that it would likely sound a lot more quiet here in the city these days — I’m pretty sure bird populations are down compared to 1915 — but I understand why it’s important to her. She used to wake early and help her mother with morning chores, the birds keeping them company as the sun rose.
“I’ll feel bad if it doesn’t work anyway, and I could have been riding your cock all along.”
I shake my head. We have a working theory that engaging in sexual activity reduces the length of time that Rose stays here every night. It’s an odd thing to think, but it’s based on our observations, and my guess is it's something to do with expending energy. So tonight we're both fully clothed, trying to help Rose make it to sunrise. I want her to hear that birdsong. I want her to see the sky grow lighter as dawn approaches.
“You’re doing so well,”I tell her after checking my phone for the millionth time. “This is the longest that you've hung around here for, so you're officially a record breaker tonight. We're going to smash your personal best.”
“You're going to be so tired today.”
“Yeah, well, lucky I missed out on that gig for the floor cleaner commercial, so I don't have anywhere to be. I’ll just sleep in until three in the afternoon, then I won't have to wait long to see you again. It all works out in the end.”
“Mmmhm.” She nuzzles against my shoulder, sounding unimpressed. “Thank you for this.”
The full moondisappeared sometime ago behind trees and neighbouring buildings, and now the stars begin to wink out one by one. “I can feel me starting to go,” she whispers, sounding tired. “Everything starts to feel further away.”
“Hey, no. We're almost there. Come on, you can stay. Stay here with me, just for a little longer. I know you can do it. What can I do to entice you to stay?”
“I don’t need enticing,” she says with a small smile. “I want to stay in your arms forever, you know that. It’s such a strange feeling, being dragged under.”
“Under?”
Her eyes close, and she’s definitely a little paler than before. “Mmm. That’s what it feels like. Like it’sunder. Maybe that’s where I am. In Hell.”
“There’s no such thing,” I growl. “And you wouldn’t be there anyway. Look at me.”
Her eyes crack open as I sit up, pulling off my shirt. “What are you doing?” she laughs. “It’s cold out here! I can see your goose pimples!”
“Shh, I’m trying to be sexy. I’m trying to distract you. Doesn’t the sight of these abs make you want to stay?”
