Word Count: 1980
~Rosie
A knock on the door wakes me.
I barely have enough time to force my eyes open before Time glides into my room. He tugs the curtains open swiftly, allowing the light to stream right into my heavy eyes. It has to be some ungodly hour of the morning, considering how much my body protests. Plastering my sheets to my chest, I sit up, shielding my hands up against the light.
"I apologise about the rude awakening, however, we have places to be this morning," Time comments, standing at the foot of my bed, looking down at me impatiently. I grit my teeth, narrowing my eyes on him. Who knows what I could have been doing in here, and he just waltzed I'm in...
"Off to another questionable place in time?" I ask him. As much as I would like to see more of this place, I'm actually looking forward to getting out of here.
Time grins. "Not quite."
Thankfully, he steps out of the room long enough to allow me to get changed in privacy. When I emerge out into the living area, still groggy from my rude awakening, Time looks all ready to go. Yet something seems so slightly off about him that I can't quite put my finger on. The more I look at him, the more uneasy I feel.
"We're going outside," he announces, slipping a jacket over his shoulders. I flinch. As far as I was aware, there would never be a point where I would be allowed past that door.
"What happened to keeping a low profile?"
Time shrugs, before he stretches. "I've had the night to regain a lot of my power back from dragging us around throughout time, so now, I figured I would put a glamour upon myself, and take you out to brunch."
I can't help but eye him suspiciously. Brunch? It seems so civilised, I almost want to giggle. Having something as simple as brunch with a powerful immortal over a million years before my birthdate, seems like such an odd concept. Yet as I look at Time, he seems unfazed by his own idea. I suppose in the long life he's lived, he's come across stranger instances.
"What kind of glamour?" I ask him, looking him up and down. He's dressed quite handsome, and considering the fact that he's going to go outside with another appearance, he's dressed up for my sake.
And I can't help but smile at that.
"Not sure. A younger gentleman who people would naturally assume would be going out with such a beautiful woman," he comments, to which I roll my eyes.
His flattery is pointless on me, although I will admit, it does make my heart flutter.
"Fine. I will comply for this one day, and go out to brunch with you. However, I would like to make it clear that I'm only doing this because staying back here until you decide to leave, would be considerably boring," I announce, crossing my arms over my chest. Time only nods surely, clearly not convinced on my motive.
We leave the apartment together, walking side by side, but hopefully not coming across as a couple. I'm not sure what the public - who as we walk past down the street - see Time as, but no one gives us a second glance. It's refreshing, being amongst people, not having to worry about being seen by anyone. No one even seems to consider the fact that I might not look the same as this era of people.
I bet time travel isn't in their realm of knowledge.
"I've decided I quite like indulging in civil activities with my mate," Time comments, looking down at me with a slightly smile in my face.
"Stop saying we are mates. It doesn't change anything," I comment, nudging him. He chuckles. He might see it as a joke, but everytime he says it, it reminds me of why I'm here. I'm not here as a random girl he happened to meet. I'm here because I'm his mate and he's trying to protect me.
"What's so wrong with being known as my mate? I'm only a simple man with the same wishes as any," he comments. I can't help but roll my eyes. Time is fully aware that he isn't a normal guy. He doesn't get to go on dates without having to use magic to not get noticed. He doesn't get to have a mate without them questioning his moral campus.
No one is as old as him and gone through life without any issue at all.
Time decides on a small coffee shop with an intimate booth right at the back. No one even sends us a single glance, as we settle into our seats.
I ensure there's a small amount of space between him and I.
"This is nice you know," Time murmurs, rearing his arm over the top of the plush chair. "It's not what I has in mind when I thought of the down time I would spend with my mate in the first week we come about each other, but nevermind that. Any time with you is enjoyable."
His tone is teasing, as I glare up at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm saying that I'm very attracted to you, and if we hadn't stopped last night, I wouldn't have been opposed to what came next," He tells me. I blink a few times, letting that, and the fact that he seems completely serious, sink in. What could have come next, appears within my mind, and I quickly shake the thought away. Thinking about these thoughts makes the mate bond real.
"Charming," I mutter, as I pray my cheeks don't flush in response. If there was one thing I could change about Time right away, it would be his uncanny ability to put me into my own head about the simplest statements. I never really got embarrassed until I met him.
Time bites his lip, scanning my expression. I glance away.
"I need to go to the bathroom. Why don't you order something for me," I say over the murmur or the cafe, sliding out of the booth. Time nods. He isn't concerned about me escaping. Where would I go?
Instead of going to the bathroom, I bypass it, and take an emergency exit out to the back. I'm not sure why I need some space for a moment, but I do. It isn't particularly easy to have Time breathing down my neck when I still don't know anything about him. Especially when he's suggestion having sex when I can barely glance at him without feeling frightened, right at the pit of my stomach. Even if it is subtle.
Who wouldn't be scared of an immortal? As charming as they might come across...
"Tough day?" Some asks from beside me.
Does everyone in this era have strange accents? I'm already dumbfounded by how little the world has changed - in fact it's almost deteriorated - between now and when I were born. Regardless, the man beside me, which his longish hair and rusty coloured beard, is giving me attention for some reason. I just look outwardly irked.
"Something like that," I mutter, leaning back against the brick wall. I'm not really in the mood to explain my existential crisis with a random stranger at the back of a cafe. Especially when he is inhaling something foul smelling beside me.
"You from around here?" He asks.
I grit my teeth. "I'm leaving shortly."
"That's a shame. This place is turning out to be great. But call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don't think the leader and creator of this city cares all that much for our wellbeing. I've been hearing whispers from people that his brother is planning to take it all over. Oh well. That's drama we aren't involved in, right?" He rants.
Great. A guy who's into politics. Even better. That is until it suddenly dawns on me that the leader of this place is Time, and his brother is Thought...
I turn toward the guy who previously I had no interest in. "Tell me more about Time. And Thought. What do you know about them?"
"I mean, I don't personally know the guys, being immortals and all, but I do know that they don't get along very well. I never see Time make appearances all that much. Who knows what he's doing behind closed doors," the guy says with a chuckle.
I know exactly what he was doing.
When I don't reply, the guy drops whatever he was smoking, stands on it, before giving me his full attention. "Interesting talk. Want to go inside and talk about this tough day you've been having?"
Just as I was about to turn him kindly down, the back door opens, and naturally, Time steps out, all easy confidence and sly smile. He's been listening, with whatever magic he has up his sleeve. Of course, he has to come out here to ruin any normal conversation I could have with a normal person. Even if the conversation revolved around him and his brother. Maybe we were close to stumbling upon something he doesn't want me to know.
"There you are babe. I thought you were going to the bathroom," he drawls, grinning at me lazily.
I wince, as he drapes his arm over my shoulder. The guy in front of me doesn't look uncomfortable at all. He looks at Time with no recognition. The glamour clearly is doing it's trick, otherwise this man would surely be freaking out that his prized leader is standing in front of him. I'm unsure of whether I'm grateful for Time's appearance or not.
"Was trying to escape you," I mutter under my breath.
"It was good to...talk," the guy comments, after realising I never told him my name. Time should be proud of me, for not sharing my name with any of these people from the past. However, the moment the man turns and walks back inside the cafe, Time glances down at me, his happy expression vanishing.
Shrugging his arm off my shoulders, I avoid any proximity to him. "Did you really have to come out here and do that?"
"You shouldn't be talking to anyone who you don't need to. He's going to remember you, I'm sure. Now, you're stuck in the memory of someone who you would have never normally met. That's not normal, okay?" Time scolds, making me flinch. My throat goes try, and guilt consumes me. I know he's right, and he has every right to be angry at me, but he's the one who brought me here against my will in the first place.
Folding my arms over my chest, I grit my teeth. "And that's the only reason?"
Time bites the edge of his lip, looking down at me, those golden eyes swirling with contempt. He just think I am beyond foolish right now. I've never felt more worthless, despite not truly being at fault.
"No, that's not it. I'm jealous, and I'll admit, you talking might be just fine, but if he happened to say anything flirtatious to you, I would have killed him," Time admits, before opening the cafe door and disappearing inside.
I stand there, in the middle of the alleyway, staring at where Time had previously stood, absorbing his words. It dawns on me, that perhaps that was the first flicker of his dark side that I've seen.
And quite frankly, I want to see more.
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Hey guys! If you're enjoying the story, you can head over to Radish and read Time ahead of Wattpad!
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Hey guys! I've released Thought's own story on Radish, which is available now! I want to see by the end, which of the brothers your prefer
Instagram: Sophie_Midika
~Midika ðð¼