For the Sake Of an Angel [Maurelle]

[Christian Moynahan]

Playa del Bogatell, Barcelona, Spain
20 August 2015
late morning

Here, at this time, the beach was quiet, and the weather cool. It was just the type of escape they both needed. More than seven months after the fact, at that. But at least they had gotten to it; that much made the wait worth it. So did the roll of the waves not far from them, and the feel of the sand, and the quiet awakening of the city behind them. Both California and Texas had beaches, but not quite like this one. Besides, those were a bit too close to home for a honeymoon.

Christian and Maurelle had married in a very small and private ceremony on 22 January of that year. Only a handful of friends and family had attended. This did have to do with publicity reasons but it was more so because Christian was a very private man. That being said, he made no effort to hide the marriage; at his various press conferences and appearances, if one paid attention and looked closely, the wedding band would be seen all too plainly.

By no means was it Lucius Kilvayne’s fault that he was injured to the point of coma in the Manhattan earthquake on 24 February. But once that happened, Christian committed to remaining in the States until Lucius improved, as surely Lucius would. The world would never be rid of a man like Lucius that easily. And so Christian split his time between Los Angeles and New York - and Texas - explaining away his New York trips as “strategy meetings.”

He could, however, blame Ira Reier for intruding upon the American technology industry at the least opportune time. The man could not have known it; only a few people, those who absolutely needed to be, had been made aware of Lucius’ condition. But now that Lucius was recovering and a respectable amount of time had passed, Christian had taken the first opportunity to whisk Maurelle away on their long-awaited honeymoon.

Being married… felt no different at all. Granted, theirs was an open marriage. One of somewhat unusual motives; Christian, being self-admittedly a selfish man, had wanted to build a more solid bond between himself and Maurelle, one that stood as a testament to something… being the pragmatist that he was. Needing the security that he did. Yet at the same, he understood why he could not just tie Maurelle down to himself. And so came about the open marriage.

Those were thoughts for other times. At the moment, he was lying on a towel at a Barcelona beach, next to his new-kinda-new wife, soaking in the sun. Well, as much as Christian did, anyway. It seemed that no amount of exposure to the sun could color his pale skin. But at least it served as energy for his body. That might be useful later.

“A nice start to the day, I think.” He had been gazing up at the sky, now he turned on his side to look at her to give her an appreciative once-over, with a little smirk on his lips. “And I like to see you dressed like that.”

[Maurelle Lacroix]

The sand fell beneath even her most gentle of strides while the sun illuminated all around them in this picturesque perfect morning. Maurelle had finally gotten some time away from the business of running an organization and being one of the people in power officially as well. She had thought that after what had happened with Lillith and achieving her goals that the transition into life afterwards would have been simple. However she was finding it difficult to find her place in the current dynamic now that she was among the powers that were.

Her ambition had been the main driving force in these past few years, the ambition to be the woman behind the curtain. To be the one pulling all the strings, to control the world in the palm of her hand. For the most part, she had achieved all that and more, being the head of the criminal underground for most of the southwest of the American nation and central America. The President and his allies relied upon her influence in the rest of the world and the way she could bring even the most stubborn and stonewalling of characters to heel.

Why then did she feel so restless and unfulfilled as of late? Even training, more like torturing to some, her little project of an asset had lost its flavor. Was she so singularly focused on that one ambition that once she had achieved it that life now had lost its meaning? There were still tasks to perform, the protection of Helena Rahal would be an everlasting endeavor, but that was something that was increasingly less of a priority or necessity. That woman had grown into her own powers, though the social climb and confidence still seemed to be a hazard. Yet those were not obstacles Maurelle could topple for her.

This belated honeymoon likely came at the most opportune of times, where she could rest her wary mind. She knew what had happened with Lucius Kilvayne, Christian seemed to forget or ignored the fact that her powers had now returned. While she had not seen the earthquake that had caused the coma that the President had been in, she had foreseen his awakening with that of his loved ones nearby. That date was soon to pass, a likely reason why Christian had finally agreed for them to take a proper honeymoon away from the hustle of their lives.

That hustle and her own personal objections to the wedding in the first place had seen it be a small affair. Maurelle had not wanted to commit to such a relationship, it was not a situation that sat well with her in the least. She cared for Christian and wanted to keep him closeby, to care for him, but she was not someone who could be controlled or tied down. They had come to the agreement of an open marriage, which calmed most of Maurelle's distrust of the establishment of marriage.

Now they were here in Barcelona and she was in a skimpy light pink string bikini. Soaking up the rays and forgetting the troubles that were annoying her back home, getting stares and whistles from more than just her husband. They would have to do more than just whistle to get attention though. "A nice start indeed but a great start would have seen neither of us out of bed right now."

[Christian Moynahan]

There were words left unsaid, words that took up more and more of Christian’s turbulent mind. Unspoken between him and Maurelle, who should have been the first person to hear them, as his lover and wife. Christian knew that, yet he kept his silence, even as he watched her there beside him. That was what marriage was, wasn’t it? The union of two minds and hearts as well as two bodies?

Then why couldn’t he be honest with her?

That was not to say the fault was hers; quite the opposite. For those missing words had not found a voice with Gabriel either, or even Drew, who was not quite his confidant but still a good friend. Alain, a mostly impartial party and a very candid one at that, could also have been an option. He had not tried talking to Lucius about it; the man had just come out of a coma, and for all his best friend’s swagger and bravado, he would not have seen fit to pile his own problems on the man that way.

Indeed, the closest he had come to having the necessary conversation had been with Dakari, of all people, and that had been by accident; he had not noticed the relevance of their chat until weeks later. As it turned out, he and Dakari had something unexpected in common: they were both asexuals involved in committed relationships with sexual partners. And it seemed Lucius had been at least as unexpected for Dakari as Maurelle had been for him.

But a striking difference had begun to clarify things the more Dakari spoke. It must have been the March or April just past; he had brought her lunch while she sat at Lucius’ bedside one day out of the many that had passed. Something about her sorrow had made the typically taciturn lawyer more open about her feelings. It was a phenomenon Christian was sure he would never witness again.

They had started out talking about Lucius; they had ended up on marriage. But what Dakari had described was very different from what Christian had found himself in. Lucius and Dakari matched. More than that; they fit, right down to their uncannily complementary abilities. Christian’s relationship with Maurelle was built on the fact that they did not quite fit, not fully; there was a factor of unyielding independence that both attracted and distanced them. That trait was one of the ones Christian admired the most in Maurelle - possibly because it made her feel unattainable even in marriage.

From there had come the suggestion of an open marriage. Christian was coming to recognize the extent of his possessiveness, and that if he wanted to “keep” Maurelle, he had to give her the space and freedom she needed. Truly pinning her down would only have made her unhappy. And… given the choice between his happiness and hers, he would always choose hers.

And that brought bare the discrepancy. For in their open marriage, both he and Maurelle were free to pursue other options; but he biologically did not feel a need for physical intimacy, or even attraction to others. Maurelle was a fluke, the only exception. He doubted there was anyone else who could even begin to draw his attention, especially not now that he had experienced real love with Maurelle. Even a one-night stand with anyone else, even the most beautiful woman in the world, held no appeal.

So he was already dreading the day when Maurelle would find something else to entertain her, to give her the things Christian was accustomed to giving her.

But, well, he had put himself in that position when he’d decided that the open marriage was the best way to go, to please both of them. Even if it meant an unequal shift in the dynamics of their relationship. In the end, it would be worth it. For her sake.

The whistles directed at Maurelle almost earned a death glare from Christian, but he resisted the temptation. He could not be the jealous husband. Then again, he was the jealous husband, but there was really no need to make that obvious. So he contented himself with the little silent reminder that he was really the only thing keeping their suntans from becoming barbecues at the moment. Maurelle herself paid them no mind. He tucked the thought away.

“I haven’t figured out how to customize the sunrise and sunset yet. Something about gravity and planetary rotation. I’ll need more time in the lab before I can make an app for it.” He shot her a sly look, hoping to get at least a smile in return. Something had been bothering her for a while now, something beyond the honeymoon and beyond the politics back home. Whatever it was, he wanted to make it better. Even if it was him.

He took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her knuckles, while his cerulean eyes remained trained on her. “Are you happy, Maurelle?”

[Maurelle Lacroix]

She let out a small laugh as Christian tried to joke with her, to moderate success. The laboratory was far more Christian's home than any actual home would be, that was the way he was. Perhaps he failed to realize just how much time he actually spent in one lab or another, experimenting on this or tweaking that. There was still time for the two of them, as much as her own work would allow her to have. Both of them were powerful people who seemed quite reluctant to delegate tasks that they wanted to see done in the most perfect of ways.

The wealth of joy from him doting on her, a soft kiss of her hand, was whisked away quite quickly. Her dark brown eyes turned poignant as he asked her if she was happy, as she knew if she tried to lie that he likely would have seen past it. The question then was how much of what was troubling her should she let on? What was out of sight and out of mind was supposed to not cause any trouble, yet here they were with trouble underfoot. It was not between them but how could she explain it so that Christian would not take it that way?

"I am happier now, here, than I have been for some time now." She said softly, her eyes turning more somber now and staring out over the crystal crashing waves of the beach. That was the truth, she was more than pleased to leave what had been bothering her and have this belated honeymoon. What was she supposed to tell Christian though, that she had everything that she had wanted and yet she felt no satisfaction in having achieved it? What would that do to him and their relationship?

There was something else though, something that she was keeping as close to her vest as possible. However now it seemed like it would serve at least as a distraction from her other concerns. It would be something tangible that Christian might even be able to assist with, though as a mere distraction it would work well enough alone. "We all saw Lillith and her associates fall in the battle to the prelude of the usurping. I thought then that things would return to normal and for awhile they did, whatever normal is for people like you and I."

Normal, an all encompassing word for all sorts of situations and a word that held no actual value on its own. There was no normal, there was only the routine or lack therof of anything that was out of the ordinary. Normal was nothing, normal was boring, but normal was the watchword that allowed her the easiest of transitions. "I've not been able to use my powers for awhile now, though not as if they were being blocked. Whenever I try to, I seem to get "lost" and each time is more difficult than the last. The last time I tried, I barely was able to return to our time."

It was as good as a smokescreen as she could create, painted in the truth. Maybe Christian would see it for what it was, maybe the thought of her winding up in a coma because of her ability would concern him. Better that than trying to explain away the uneasy feeling of her malcontent state and lack of satisfaction with her current situation in life.

[Christian Moynahan]

There would be no fooling Christian. He was more perceptive than even he liked to let on, and when he had opened his heart as much as he had for Maurelle, he had to keep his senses alert, awake to any hint of being… hurt. And there was something she was not saying; he could tell. But when she told him that she was happy, she was honest. What was it, then?

She spoke of Lilith and the battle. Well…. The more people who know a secret, the less of a secret it is. And not knowing kept her safe. Yet if it was that which was troubling her, he would have to compromise. But then, as she went into detail, that did not seem to be the problem.

Her powers were failing her. Was that it? Christian’s instincts told him that no, it wasn’t. That was a problem that had a solution. Those did not cause Maurelle to react in… this way. To be detached and distant. That happened when she did not know what to do.

But he would not press her on it. Not yet. Not when it was clearly making her uncomfortable. This was their getaway, their escape from the world, and they were going to spend it that way. Perhaps she would come around in time. They had enough of that, at least.

He placed a hand on her cheek and looked at her. The expression on his face said I know you better than that, Maurelle. But what he said was, “I’ll ask Gabriel if he’s having any trouble with his precognition. Until then…..” Even he was seldom presumptuous enough to ask Maurelle not to do something, but this was important. “Until we figure out what the matter is, please don’t use it.”

That was probably asking much. It was almost akin to asking Christian not to use his greatest ability. Not his psionic energy - his mind. Still, he could not lose her. Not so soon. Not now. He opened his hand and held it over her body briefly, drawing forth a bit of her natural energy. A shot of paresthesia hit his arm, and he shook it out, but otherwise ignored it. “Your energy reads as normal,” he mused. “I don’t think it’s you.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “Whatever it is” - his tone suggested that he was not simply talking about her precognition - “we’ll get through it together, Maurelle.”

[Maurelle Lacroix]

The smokescreen was working, at least to a point, though she did not take kindly at all to the idea of being told not to do something. Her natural reaction to such directives in the past was to naturally go and do whatever it was that she was forbidden from doing. She liked to believe she was in control of her own destiny and that no one could control her, it sparked her rebellion. However she knew that in this case that Christian was right, that to use her powers now when they seemed to be giving her peril would be unwise.

"Fine, fine, no peeking into the future and playing with time and space until it is all stitched up and whole once more. Whatever will I do with myself in the mean time, maybe cause some avid chaos with my employees, that's always fun." Her sarcastic humor hid her worry but it would do. There was nothing that she could do this moment to fix whatever was broken with her powers and the fact that her energies were reading normal was not comforting at all. Did this mean that she was being negated, like Lillith had done before?

It was kind and telling that he gave her assurance that they would get through the problem together but it would not settle her concern. The weight of concern was great and if she was not careful, she would be crushed beneath it, regardless of what assistance was to come. For a woman who was so intent on being a force of control, she seemed to find herself with too many concerns and worrying too much. However she was not some cliche movie villain, if she was a villain at all, and that perhaps was what was her weakness.

Too many threads, that was what it was that no doubt bothered her, that she had weaved too many threads. How many connections had she made on a business and personal level on her rise to success, how involved did she get in everything? She knew the status of all those who worked close to her, how they and their families were doing if they had them. Yet such was how it needed to be, it was how she had built her success, meticulous as it had been. However it perhaps had become too much or had it all been too easy?

"I have no doubt that time will reveal the answers." All the answers to all the questions and quandaries she had. Would it be beneficial to them both, she was not sure, but time gave perspective and gave chance to situations to resolve themselves.

[Christian Moynahan]

At least she agreed not to use her ability for now. He would hold her to that, until it was safe. Christian did not like telling her what to do, for she was a free spirit, and he knew it. It was enough, more than enough, that she had agreed to marry him, albeit not exclusively; but she was who she was and he accepted her as such. Loved her as such.

He sometimes thought back on the events that had brought them together - the drug experiments, the dinners, the less savory things such as the famine meeting and the riots. Through it all, she had stuck by the short-sighted fool. It was only natural that he would stand by her now. Even if she was not telling the entire truth.

She made a slight joke about keeping herself amused, to which Christian made a smile. It was difficult when he was that concerned about her well-being, but it was also best not to worry her. Or to show too much concern. That could sometimes be off-putting.

Besides, this was their honeymoon. There was little either of them could do about the problem now; and indeed, why should they? The point was to enjoy themselves, and each other, not to linger on mysterious problems. That was for another time, in their typical world.

“I’m sure time will. It always does.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly. “For now, we have a beach. Everything else can hold a while.”

-fin thread-