VEE

The guys may be keen to buy their own place, but with no furniture to fill the empty house, their keenness drops away at trips to the shops. Flat packed furniture leads to arguments. Drinking begins when assembly becomes as difficult as preventing an apocalypse. Anybody would think there’s another one on the way, judging by Ewan’s swearing and temper.

In the end, I put together the remaining items with Heath’s help. By that, I mean Heath helps by passing me screws.

Honestly, by the end of the third day, I’m ready for a glass of wine and chilling out with the guys.

By that, I meant in our new place, but the guys had more pressing matters to attend to. I rest back against the bench seat in the pub and sip my white wine. “Guys, three pubs in three days. This is getting too much.”

Heath knocks his bottle against my glass in celebration. “Cheers!”

Xander relaxes back, beer in hand. “I like this pub. I think this should be where we come.”

I thought choosing a house was bad enough but checking out every pub in the local area is tiring. I won’t be coming with them every night. I knew as soon as we walked in this place would suit them. The older décor and snug corners remind me of the pub we left behind in Grangeton. Ewan immediately locates a table in one corner, and we now sit with drinks as if this has been our local for years.

I can’t complain. I haven’t seen the four this relaxed for weeks. Joss told me how important a place away from home is to them. Joss and Heath want to spend time in the human world too, more so since our lives changed.

Joss sits beside me now, hand in mine. He absentmindedly rubs the back with his thumb, and I nudge him. He turns his infectious Joss smile to me. I glance at Xander and lower my voice.

“Have any angels contacted him yet? He seems cagey about something.”

Joss’s smile disappears. “No. And Xander’s has itchy fingers. He wants to start hunting the escaped portal dwellers.”

I sip my wine again. Some subjects aren’t dealt with but will need to be. The Horsemen attacked angels—possibly killed one. The portals are closed. Order is gone. Now what? The guys still have their powers, or we think they all do. Xander’s and Joss’s are easy to test out without killing. I still have them too. If I didn’t, would I be human again? Age? Absorbing their powers led to some interesting situations in the early days, but I’m bloody glad I have them. Otherwise, what would I be?

“Do you think the angels will do anything?’ I whisper.

“I think they’re worried that Order survives within us and killed their angels. Nobody knows apart from us what really happened because we’re the only ones who walked away that day. All the angels know is that the five of us had the power to take down a god stronger than theirs and survive.” He cocks a brow. “That would be enough for me to keep away from us.”

Confusion exists, and that’s behind our refusal to talk too. We have our lives back but may face more in the future.

“Don’t talk about this, Vee.” Joss hugs me around the shoulders and draws me close. “We’re alive. We’re together. We took on a god stronger than any other and won. Nobody wants to fuck with us now.”

He chuckles and I half-smile. Joss is partly right. There’s no greater threat to the world out there. “Even angels, I hope.”

“Especially angels. They have no control over us anymore.”

Ewan stands and grabs his jacket. “Coming, Vee?”

“Where?”

“Fresh air.”

Ewan shrugs on his jacket drawing attention from others in the pub, as we all did when we walked in. The closeness between us has deepened now the days running from and into danger have passed. The new house fills with a happier energy. The conflict has stopped. Joss tells me he thinks I’m part of that—their grounding force holding us together. Nothing changed. Nobody wanted to walk away after Chaos died. We’re one.

“You mean dragging me out for a ride on your bike?” I ask.

He grins, and his eyes shine from beneath his fringe. “You know you love it really.”

No, what I love is that Ewan wants to share what was once his solitary time with me. He enjoys us wrapped together losing ourselves as the world speeds by. Ewan is in control again, and he’s happy. I long for the spring when we can drive places together, and Ewan wants us to lose ourselves in something else. Something I’d never expect from Ewan—romantic dates.

“Don’t be long,” complains Joss. “We have movies to watch tonight.”

“Ones not interrupted by broken glass, I hope," jokes Heath.

Xander scowls at him. “Life is different now.” He stands. “Okay. Ewan. Drive straight back with Vee.”

“Oh hell, not a meeting,” Joss complains.

“No, not a meeting. Let’s spend time being what we always were. Us.”

I couldn’t be more surprised at Xander’s words. I smile at him. “I like that. Us.”

* * *

Why did I agree to ride back on Ewan’s bike? I’m bloody frozen by the time I arrive back at the house. “That’s it. Nothing else until Spring,” I tell him.

He laughs and sweeps me into his arms. “Sure.” I press my nose into his neck. “Vee! That’s cold.”

“That’s why you take me out on your bike in the middle of winter, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“Because you want to warm me up afterwards.” I smack his backside and walk away calling, “Maybe later.”

We gather in the new lounge room on the blue sofa I chose. The place is warmer and brighter than our old home and not just because the décor is. Heath and Xander banter in the kitchen as I snuggle between Ewan and Joss on the sofa.

Why would any of us want to walk away from the energy we give each other through our closeness? We have a life together. A relationship that will grow deeper as we learn more about who we are. That will keep us safe.

“So tomorrow—” I begin when Xander and Heath walk back into the room.

“No,” interrupts Heath. “No more shops.”

Joss chuckles and takes his beer from Xander.

“Yes. We have one thing left to buy now,” I announce and gesture at the bare walls.

“Pictures?” asks Joss.

“Nope. Christmas decorations.”

They stare at me as if I suggested hanging photos of demons on the walls.

“Christmas?” asks Ewan. He shifts in his seat as if needing to see if I’m serious.

“Yes!” exclaims Heath. “Good plan. Every year I ask if we can ‘do’ Christmas and only Joss ever agrees.”

“I have no desire to copy stupid human traditions,” says Ewan.

Heath sits opposite me on the coffee table. I thank him and kiss him briefly on the mouth. He rubs the back of my cheek with a smile.

Xander sits next to Heath. “I agree with Ewan, sorry.”

“The problem is, Xander, now you’re free you’re more human than you were.” His brow tugs at my words. “Oh, come on. We barely speak about how things have changed but look at us. Buying a house, arguing about furniture. The human world is permanently your world now. Let’s be part of it.”

Heath smiles. “Agreed.”

“We still have our powers,” Xander reminds us and swigs his beer. “I think we still have a duty to keep things safe and under control.”

My heart warms at his commitment to fulfilling his old role. But then I guess he’s never known any different.

“Yes, I agree,” I reply.

“But I’m not doing Christmas.” Xander’s firm. “No angels in my house—or celebrating their world.”

And there we have it. The crux of the issue. “Actually, Christmas is originally a Pagan tradition,” puts in Joss. “Christianity stole it.”

“Stole it,” snorts Heath. “I think the retail sector stole it.”

I don’t know why the conversation upsets me this much, but tears spring to my eyes. Heath promised we’d spend time doing ‘normal’ human things, me reconnecting and him taking the steps he wants into the world.

Why isn’t he supporting me more? The situation brings me back to the first time Xander pushed his point of view onto everybody, the day he came back and began this whole situation with his words I wasn’t even human.

I stand. “I don’t care. I’ve always had a Christmas. I’m not negotiating with you about this.”

Aware I’m behaving like a petulant child, I stomp out of the room and into the kitchen, glass in hand. I sit on the new chairs in the room that smells of fresh paint. The unmarked table is already cluttered with plates and bottles. I grit my teeth. Life with four guys could be a challenge, however much they love and protect me.

Especially stubborn ones.

This is important. The more I do ordinary, normal things the further I retreat from the horror of the day I fought both Order and Chaos. Sometimes the trauma breaks through over stupid things like this.

Muffled voices come from the lounge—Heath’s raised. I mean it. I’ll drape Xander in bloody tinsel. The thought brings a small smile to my face, and I stand to pour another glass of wine.

The door opens and closes quietly, and Xander stands in the doorway with two empty bottles in his hands. Chewing his lip, he walks to the fridge and opens the door, without a word. I bristle.

“This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?” Xander closes the fridge again. “This Christmas thing.”

“Yes. It does.”

He sets the bottles on the table and smooths hair from my face, tucking a strand behind my ear. His soft lips meet mine, briefly, before he pulls back and rests his forehead on mine. “Maybe we can get a few decorations.”

“A tree?”

He frowns. “A tree? We have plenty in the garden.”

I shake my head. “You’re clueless.”

“So you're saying I need to have more clue about this world now?”

“Have you really hidden and focused on being a Horseman so much that you never paid attention to anything you didn’t need to?”

His eyes search my face before he rests his fingers on my lips. “Yep. But I never knew if I would stay here or not.”

“I’m going to change your view of the world.” I catch his fingers and kiss them. “One day at a time.”

“You already did, the moment you stepped in.”

He wraps one arm around my waist and draws me close. Despite the argument, he’s a calmer Xander. A man who’s learned negotiation is better than conflict—as long as we allow him to think he’s in charge.

Xander kisses me softly, his mouth moving against mine in a slow kiss. His grip around my waist tightens. I push his chest and pull away. “You don’t have to fight with me to end things in a kiss anymore, Xander.”

He rubs his nose against mine. “I know. And I also know there’s no point fighting you.”

“Correct.” We share a smile, both aware our shared War will always underpin our relationship.

I run my fingers along his lower back. “Do you think we’ll hang around here now or will you want to travel around hunting monsters?”

Xander frowns at me. “Stay here as much as possible.”

My heart beats faster. If I’ve won about Christmas, I may as well push my luck. “Then I want to bring my cat to the house.”

Xander’s shocked silence amuses me.

And I’m only half-joking.

He gives a wry smile. “Let’s start with Christmas, huh?”

I follow him back into the lounge and stand in the doorway. My heart is full as I watch my four guys arguing over which movie to watch and passing beers around. They spent years without me, but I’m going to spend the rest of my time with them.

The Four Horsemen told me I was their Fifth. The guys fought to find me and we fought to be together. We were created and joined for a ruthless purpose, but our five hearts and souls had other ideas. The men who were prepared to die for me tell me I'm the centre of their world, but they’re my whole world. They’re the place we created that nobody can break apart.

Many thought Chaos and Order were the greatest forces in the universe. They wanted the power destroyed at any cost. We proved them wrong. The greatest power, the one that blew apart everything, is love. And that will never die.

* * *

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