VIII-A Window In Time [Alex]

[Gabriel Constant]

If there was any one being in the world who deserved a night of relaxation and pampering, it was Alexandria Rosalin Constant. The past several months had been challenging, starting with the sudden loss of their abilities, during which they had also cared for Alex's sister, who had lost her sight during that time. Things had become a bit less complicated after that, but raising a pair of twins at that age never quite seemed to get much easier, and Athena and Demeter especially - as smart and cunning as they were - seemed intent on testing their parents' limits. That should have been no surprise, though, given their parentage.

To her credit, the Babysitter seemed to have really gotten a handle on how to care for the babies. There was still the occasional incident, although those incidents tended to be quite strange and conceivably out of the norm for babies who had not even learned to walk yet, such as a small flood due to misuse of the washing machine. The girls were quite mischievous, and, even for all the trouble they caused, Gabriel would not have had it any other way.

The Babysitter had her other uses as well, but tonight, the Constants would not be making use of them. Gabriel had left her in charge of the house and the children, in keeping with her usual duties, which she was paid very well for. She had done this before; she had the entire mansion to herself, including most of the food and other amenities, and a room next to the girls' room, and, aside from the obvious things like not inviting other people over or engaging in harmful activity, her only objective was to keep the girls safe and out of trouble. That objective being more difficult than it sounded, she would be compensated even more generously if she managed to pull it off perfectly. Fortunately, the Babysitter seemed to really care for the little girls, and never minded the time spent with them.

That was good, since she would be spending the whole night with the little tricksters. Gabriel had plans for Alex that would probably keep them both busy until at least the next morning. They weren't necessarily those kinds of plans, though he certainly would not complain if they went in that direction. He just wanted her to have a nice evening, and mostly he wanted to be a part of that evening, to spend time with her, just being themselves, with no stress or pressure. But if she was in the mood for something else, that was okay too.

Pausing in the middle of their home, he smiled to himself for a moment. There had been a time very recently - perhaps as recently as two years earlier - when his own satisfaction would have been paramount. Now, it was still one of his primary motivations, but he also would do anything for Alex, and their children, and his best friend, and possibly a couple of other people. It was a surprising change, but a good one.

He stepped into the girls' room and kissed each one good night. "Both of you, get some sleep. Athena, you watch out for your sister, and don't get into any hijinks. Demeter, don't gnaw on the balustrade. Good night. I love you both."

Meeting the Babysitter in the living room, he gave her a quick summary of what to expect, just out of habit. Then he headed out to the beach, which was a very short walk from the house itself, and very much still part of the Constants' private property.

He had already set up most of what he needed. A blanket was spread out along the sand, facing the sun as it set over the water. Their dinner, most of which he had made himself, was set out along it. There was wine, of course, and also a bottle of champagne chilling upstairs in case Alex felt so inclined later. He took a picture of the scene with his cell phone and sent it to Alex, with no helpful explanation, knowing that she would catch on and come looking for him.

For now, he took a seat on the blanket and looked out over the water. Things had been relatively peaceful for a while. He didn't intend for that to be the case in the near future, and regardless of his intentions, he knew - as a precog always does - that it would not be the case anyway. But for now, for the moment, he just wanted to enjoy it, to have a briefly normal life with his family, and to have a quiet night with his wife.

[Alexandria Constant]

From the moment she could conceive of the idea of having her own children, it was never a thought that she fancied entirely. Could it have been possible to have her own family and settle down, surely it could have been. That was not the future though that Alexandria Hardt had foreseen for herself, though even what had been her own dreams still would be far from the norm now as much as they were then. There was no way the spunky rich kid with an attitude and anger streak really could have made their way into NASA and the space program. Despite her outward expression and behavior, inside of her was a scientist, a tinkerer, someone who desired to explore the unknown and all the furiosity and wonder if held.

Alexandria instead found discipline, though with the touch of exploration and wonder that she had longed for. Yet it came via the military service, and damn if she did not strive to be the very best pilot she could become. Perhaps she would have reached her dream though, to become an astronaut and work for NASA. Life though interfered and through a series of events she doubted even the most talented of precogs could have foreseen, she found and fell in love with Gabriel Constant.

And here she was resting after another day with their two young girls, her two young children. Twins seem to run in her genes, as it had been the case with her siblings, so it was the case with her own children. They were both beautiful and darling, despite what the Babysitter and Gabriel claimed that they were up to from time to time. A spunky combat pilot and a former conman were their parents, it was only natural to expect that even at a young age their was a cleverness and mischievous nature about them.

Alexandria wouldn't have it any other way though, they were her girls and there was no force on this Earth that would ever not have her love them. They, along with Gabriel, her twin siblings, and a handful of friends were her world. While Hell might hath no fury like a woman scorned, but no place quite knew her fury should any of her loved ones ever come under threat or be harmed. There was a reason why there was a side to her that people that ever saw it and survived merely called it The Demoness.

That however was far away from her mind as she was brushing her hair out after having showered. Gabriel might have thought he was being clever in whatever he was up to this evening, in and out of rooms and the house as he was. Alex though, she had noticed, and she knew that her husband was up to something, though not necessarily anything bad or schemish like he normally was. Nope, his demeanor was all wrong for something of that nature, which lead Alex to believe he was doing something romantic, causing her to smile greatly as she finished doing up her hair and make up.

As she began to leave their room, Alexandria felt a little buzz in her pocket of her capris. She laughed as she saw the photo that Gabriel sent and headed out the direction she felt he was. No it was more than that though, she could almost see the residual heat signatures of steps leading out of the house and towards the beach against the wooden floor of their house. Yet it was blurry and could have really been anything, a trick of the light perhaps. In no time at all though, she was upon her husband who was looking rather handsome and maybe just a bit proud of himself.

"What's this? The most wanted man by several governments and various agencies just sitting idly on a beach all exposed. Someone must be very confident of not being caught." Alexandria teased as she came up next to him, draping her arms around his chest and leaning in to give him a kiss on his neck. "Or maybe he has one hell of a bodyguard." she whispered between another kiss before eventually sitting beside the man she loved.

[Gabriel Constant]

Every now and then, Gabriel considered the unusual paths he had taken to become what he was. Those paths remained unknown to Alexandria to some extent. Neither of them had been particularly concerned about the other's past; the present had been troublesome enough at first, and then the future had taken priority. Gabriel's past, however, seemed intent on reappearing and causing problems. His mother had been one example, she and her stupid letter. She had outplayed him that time; he had forgotten himself, and let emotions interfere with common sense. There were only a few people with whom he could do that and not fear being used.

Looking back, it was odd that he had been so averse to the very same things he how cherished. Falling in love, getting married, having children, even making true and lifelong friends - none of that had appealed to him, but it all came from the same root sentiment: the assumption that he was not capable of feeling attachment. That assumption had developed sometime during his teenage years, and had stuck with him right up until one moment in a Los Angeles restaurant.

That was all left behind now. That was gone, fallen away, not quite forgotten but no longer the driving force behind his actions and decisions. He had a future now. It was probably strange for a precog to think in those terms, and indeed, he had always had some sort of future, but this one was his, one he wanted, one he had made, one he would fight for. It made him that much more confident and determined, and that much more dangerous.

As Alex embraced him, Gabriel ran a hand through her hair, and smiled softly as she kissed him. "Most likely it is both," he said, leaning back slightly to look at her. She was always beautiful to him, but here in the light of the setting sun, she seemed to glow, in a healthy, happy way. He kissed her cheek lightly, his lips lingering for a while. She had a light, pleasant, familiar scent to her.

The meal had been set out carefully before them, but rather than dig into it immediately, he glanced out to the water for a moment, then back to Alex, a soft smile playing along his lips. He had been somewhat selfish - as he could often be - in setting up this dinner. There were already events in motion that would threaten their peace soon. None of it involved him directly just yet, but it would only be a short time before it would. Once it took hold, he would have to decide whether to take Alex along with him or order her to stay with their children and the Babysitter. Order; he was fairly certain it would come to that, if that was the decision he made. Alex would not want to let him go alone, whether it was safe or not. But then again, no one gave Alexandria Constant orders.

The selfishness itself was not completely bad. This was a moment he had wanted, a moment he would need. He wanted to take it with him, a memory he could cherish when the storm came, and a promise of what the future would hold for them. He would have to build that future. It would never have been easy, but now, at least, he had a personal reason - three reasons, in truth - to work for it.

He reached forward and brushed his fingers along her cheek, then gently through her hair. It was a strange sensation, being in love. Strange, though, in a very good way. "This man is supposedly very dangerous, as is his bodyguard," he said, his smile becoming a mischievous smirk. "But at the moment, all he wants to do is feed her strawberries."

Quite suddenly, he wrapped one arm around her to pull her into his lap, and then plucked a strawberry from a bowl on the blanket, which he then dangled above her lips. "I wonder what she thinks of that."

[Alexandria Constant]

To say that Alexandria was a coy, strange, and very odd person was to be putting it lightly. Alexandria was a woman who took no nonsense when the need called for seriousness but was also easy going enough to be playful. There was times all she wanted was for the world to be this idea she had in her mind, of a place fair and equal. Justice though... justice a thing that was not always fair or equal but it was quite deserved even if the means of that justice were overbearing.

It was the lies the veiled that truth to the masses that made Alexandria this complex creature. For she still held the hold and some would even call it naivety of her idealistic world. The difference though was that Alexandria was not afraid to bloody her hands to change the lesser world to something quite more like her ideal world. Her form of justice was fair, so long as those she loved and cared for were left out of the way of harm.

If not or if ever in a dark state, there was The Demoness, a creature who was much like Alexandria. Yet the Demoness never saw the shades of gray that Alexandria could, for her there was simply the wicked and the good. It was the Demoness job to weed out the the wicked to allow the good to flourish if they stood in her way. Luckily for the both of them, the time that Gabriel had seen that destructive and dark side of her, her temperament had at least seen Gabriel as the ally instead of part of the wicked that she purged for the world that day.

That was almost a lifetime ago though, before she had her two beautiful girls and this perfect paradise of solitude. Here there was nothing but the serenity that she saw in her perfect ideal of a world. Deliriously in love with Gabriel, tenderly caring after the two angels she had brought into the world. In this place that they had created Alexandria was completely free of all the burdens that she carried before, even if a part of her still longed to be out there fighting the good fight to change the world for the better.

"Then all the world should give a shutter, for ego matched with skill is a deadly combination. Perhaps it ought be best for them to abandon all hope of ever catching the elusive shadow." Alexandria teased as Gabriel sat back and just sort of stared at her. Alex always wondered what it was Gabriel was seeing when he did that, was he admiring her beauty, her skill, or in one of those visions of his?

It matter not though as she was greeted quickly by a soft touch against her cheek. It was such an affectionate gesture, if unfamiliar to the man that was her husband, for as much of his past he had allowed her and she wanted to know. In addition, his disease had made him wary at times to be intimate and affectionate, though with recent developments in that area, she had less to worry about with that. "I love it when you do that." She cooed at him.

Alexandria was laughing as Gabriel spoke of how dangerous they were but how all he wanted to do was feed her strawberries. She let him catch her and pull her into his and giggles almost like a school girl when she dangled the delightful fruit above her lips. "She would say that teasing such a dangerous woman is probably not the wisest move. She would say that the woman does what she wants and merely allows others the idea that they are capable of doing things to her. She'd advise this dangerous man to delight her with such a scrumptious fruit post haste."

[Gabriel Constant]

The decision he had to make was not an easy one. He had consulted his visions, had thought long and hard about the implications, about their children. He had considered his own motives as well, as much as he had thought about practicality, about the dynamics of the ensemble and the others that had been gathered, and how well they would get along. That was a major consideration for him, taking into account the fate that had befallen GEIST and its many reasons.

The bottom line, however, Gabriel decided, was that he needed her. He needed her more than he had ever needed anyone else - more than Amaia, or his former family, or - to a lesser extent - even Lucius. The last was moot; that man was involved in this project anyway. As was Gabe's assistant, though, as before, in an oblique, "need-to-know" way, as she herself preferred it. It was just a matter of bringing Alex into the fold.

At the very least, Alex deserved to know what Gabriel was planning. She would likely have her own opinion from there. There were others involved that she did not like, including Daniel. But then again, perhaps she would be glad he would be nowhere near their children. The Babysitter would be more than capable of taking care of Alex and Demeter. He would never be gone for long, and while he was, the Babysitter would be employed to live-in at Hamiyah, with the sole purpose of keeping the girls out of trouble. Though that was easy to say. The girls could be such sweet terrors.

He was staring at her, taking in the moment, admiring the way she looked in the light, but also her strength, her intelligence, her skill. The fact that she was one of a very, very few people who could pull off killing him should probably have been a point against her, but instead it drew him to her. Not anything so macabre as a wish for death - more an acknowledgement of a worthy opponent, and a sort of thrill, in a way, in knowing she might always be a step ahead of him. She was a challenge and a bit of a puzzle, more interesting than any logic game he could have devised, and for that and many other reasons, his love for her had grown profoundly, exceptionally deep.

"When I do this?" He gave her a sly smile as he drew his fingers along her jaw, his hand remaining steady as he did. He would never find the words to thank Lucius and Adele for their assistance. They had saved his life and given back to him one of the things he cherished most - control over himself.

He had been dangling the strawberry over her mouth; now he pressed his free hand against the ground to keep his balance as he leaned closer to her, nearly leaning into her, his body gently pushing hers back to lie against the beach towel. Only then did he bring the strawberry close enough to her mouth for her to take a bite. The rest of the dinner he had prepared would be a little more difficult to finger-feed, he thought with a silent chuckle to himself. "And are you delighted?" he asked, his voice low, his gaze both playful and earnest.

The pressing topic at the forefront of his mind had not left him; he just wanted this time, to savor this moment, before they had to talk about anything serious. There could be some time before he got the chance again. Yet he knew he could not fool her, and would not be surprised if she saw it in his eyes before the night was through.

[Alexandria Constant]

There was something very different about Gabriel tonight, Alexandria could see it plain as day across his face and body language. There was something on his mind... there was always things on Gabriel's mind though, such was his position. Gabriel was an important man even if you washed him off of his less than legal or immoral activities. Head of a multinational organization and much to her chagrin, recently acquired Ark Industries. It was the latter that always left a bitter taste in Alexandria's mouth, though not for the same reasons that many others had for the company.

Ark had been responsible for the greatest accident, or tragedy depending upon you source, in all of human history. Millions dead, more wounded, and the world shook to its very core at the revelation of its next step in human evolution. They had gone through the paces within the legal system and went through a few changes at the top of the ladder because of it. Yet it was not this that had so enraged Alexandria at the company, it was what they did later.

For reasons that still made absolutely no sense morally or logically to Alexandria, Ark then decided to play God. They aided and abetted in the slaughter of Specials across the country during what was originally peaceful protests against the tyranny of the Registration Strike Force and the governments ludicrous laws. Using their technology to play God and revoking Specials of their powers in areas across the country, countless Specials were killed, maimed, or otherwise made a casualty because of Ark and their designs.

Despite the revelation later that Ark was in league with Gabriel and the group he had assembled to fulfill his wishes, Alexandria could never come to like the company. The less Gabriel talked about Ark, the better it would be for their relationship, both personal and professional. Alexandria knew it was only a matter of time before Gabriel once more was involved in something, though to what end and scope Alexandria did not dare to guess. Alexandria would be a part of it, to some extent as well, that she knew. If not for Gabriel or the designs of his, then for the children that they had brought into the world.

Athena and Demeter were the lights of her life and they deserved a world without the sickness that the current one suffered from. Inequality, injustice, and things so wrong with the world that it made Alexandria tremble with disdain just thinking about them. Her daughters, though tricksters at times, were sweet and wonderful beings and they did not need to see the world so tainted and twisted. The world needed to be changed, even if it meant purging it completely of all of that was rotten.

At the moment though, that was the furthest thoughts from her mind, instead it was the strawberry that Gabriel was teasing her with, even as he stroked her chin. She allowed him to slide her from her sitting position into the laying one before wrapping her mouth around the fruit and taking a bite from it. "Delighted? Maybe or maybe I feel like I am being teased just a bit." Alexandria said with a bit of a wink. "Though if I am, it is not so bad at all."

[Gabriel Constant]

He wanted to forget about what needed to be said tonight. He wanted to have a good night with his wife, in quiet enjoyment of the brief peace the world had lulled into. "The calm before the storm," the saying went, but his half-brother Marshall would have phrased it differently; there was an eerie calm before any storm, and then a tense one just within it. Tense because one had already experienced the first half of the storm, and was just biding time until the rest loosed itself.

That was where the world stood now, Gabriel felt. Not at the head of the storm, but within it. Within the quiet, breezy, blue-skied eye of the storm. It was calm and it was peaceful and it was misleading and Gabriel wanted to believe its lies, even though he knew better, even for one night. Just one night with the love of his life, emulating the world they would make in hopefully a short time. Real peace, real order, and real control.

"It may be that you are. I tend to tease." He smiled gently and laid down to wrap an arm around her. He was not truly hungry, but he did need to eat dinner as he had not had much to eat all day. It was better than the stress-eating he had done when they were pregnant, in its own way. He kissed her ear gently, nestled his head against hers.

It was perfectly possible that she might have picked up on his thoughts already. They had an odd sort of connection. They could read each other, feel the other's emotions in a way. Perhaps she was only waiting for him to explain his thoughts. Or perhaps he was simply paranoid. But the conversation had to be had today. He had to know where she stood before he and he others could proceed.

Her disposition toward Ark was something of a disappointment to him. Had Ark done awful things in the past? Absolutely. Neither he nor Lucius had ever denied that. And Gabriel understood anyone who felt anger regarding those actions; he did as well. And he understood why those who did not know him or Lucius personally might still be wary. Respect was won over time. And they were not entirely wrong; Gabriel did not intend to make the company pull a full one-eighty. They would stop certain practices, though, and work toward the grater good he and his associates and friends envisioned.

But Alex knew him. She knew Lucy as well. Why would she not believe that the two of them could clean Ark up? Did she think he and Lucy would start firing drones on Specials as their predecessors had? She could not possibly believe that. He had tried to explain it to her numerous times, but it just never seemed to get through to her. And perhaps if they discussed it privately, it would hurt less; but she aired her distaste for her husband's own company in open venues like chat rooms, among others who were part of the buying public. It was a terrible look, and he and Lucy both knew it. He knew Lucius was even more displeased by that than Gabriel was, and that was saying something.

It became a way of shaming him in public, and he didn't understand why she would do that.

They would not discuss Ark tonight, however. In truth, Gabe had grown tired of trying to talk about Ark with Alex. He was certain he could persuade a brick wall about his intentions sooner than he could persuade Alex. It wounded him to the core. It felt like distrust and dislike, and it sowed a sour seed between them. He thought sometimes about selling his share in the company and just leaving, because of her… but he had that future to think about, his daughters' future, and it required that he remain in place at least for now. As in a game of chess, one did not move a game piece without full motive.

Still, something had to be said tonight. Perhaps just the beginnings of a discussion. A light suggestion, to be pursued later. There was no reason for it to interrupt their night together. Then they could discuss it more later the next day, or some other time very soon. He chose that course. A third option, but with unknown outcomes.

"The world will need you again, Alex," he murmured softly into her hear. "So will your daughters. So will I." He reached across her for two small sandwiches, not quite finger sandwiches, but small enough. One he gave to her, the other was for himself. Somehow he felt nervous. "We will have to choose a side again. I've chosen mine. I won't ask you to choose the same. But I will ask you - and not right now, but soon - to choose one. I'll have to know where you stand."

[Alexandria Constant]

Gabriel was nervous, Alexandria could tell, even as he tried to sweet talk her and spend the night pleasantly. Perhaps that was what was different about her husband tonight, though why he was nervous was something of a mystery. It was a pleasant evening and anything that should have given either of them pause were hundreds or thousands of miles away. Were concerns of Gabriel that powerful that they were never truly that far out of mind?

"Well fair enough, I certainly tease as well." Alexandria gave him a mischievous smile, both to tease, and to maybe bring his mind off whatever was making him nervous. It was also true, Alexandria relentlessly teased and tormented her husband at times. She would say that it never truly hurt him, but there was a few instances were it did, though that was far before they had become a partnership. Back then he was just a fling, a chance to let off some steam in the down time, and only maybe becoming something of a real relationship.

Now though, she teased, but it was all in good fun, never anything that would do any serious harm except maybe make him blush. Except when it came to Ark, then that was not teasing at all, but expression of her own fierce spirit. Gabriel tried time and time again to convince her that they could change Ark. Alexandria desired to believe him, but she knew far too well how hard it was for a tiger to change its stripes.

What was she if not that same tiger trying to change from what it once was, with people already having a perception of her. They ran a parallel path, her and that company that she so despised. Unlike Ark, Alexandria was not trying to pull a public perception move from evil to good, she was going from the standard good to the chaos and order that Gabriel had planned. Despite trying to, in her heart and spirit, Alexandria knew that she had changed very little. She was fighting the fight for what she considered the common good and the tyranny of the world.

If she failed at changing with a will that was as strong and stubborn as hers, then how was Ark truly expected to change? Many of the same people that were part of their past horrors were still part of the organization and openly admitted they would pursue goals even if it meant the detriment of humanity. Alex was working towards the betterment of humanity, of the world that they lived in, and she was supposed to abide by those sort of people? Even if it was Gabriel and Lucius in charge, there were certain lines that could not be crossed, and their employees seemed intent on crossing them.

Alexandria was not about to tell either man how to run the company, it was not her place to. Gabriel might have believed it to be, even inviting her to board meetings, but Alexandria knew better. She held no controlling stake and felt such a passionate dislike for the company, that any advice or judgements she had would be painted red in her bias. The most recent spat about Ark certainly was the most tense and she knew that Gabriel was unhappy about it. It made her feel guilty but he expected her to see things from his perspective while disregarding her own.

At the very least though, she could keep her disdain and arguments about the company private. It was not conceding defeat or abandoning her position, but she figured it would go at least a little way towards making Gabriel feel better about the situation. It was not good for public image to air ones dirty laundry.

Gabriel however caught her from her thoughts as his voice whispered to her. It was words she had dreaded yet very much come to expect during this time of peace. Gabriel might have thought he was drawing a line in the sand, seeing only two options for the scenario, but Alexandria knew there was three. While he thought there was only two sides to this conflict, either his or opposing him, Alexandria could have easily stepped aside and been nothing but an observer of whatever there was to come.

Yet that was something Alexandria was not going to do, not when she knew the stakes of the conflicts resolution. It sort of vexed her that in order to do a major good she likely would have to do some ill. It was not something she was unfamiliar in doing, she had been the one to fly the airplane that allowed Gabriel and his associate to destroy Phoenix. It lingered on her conscious though and perhaps that was a good thing, it meant that she was indeed still human.

"You ask me to make a choice when you already know the answer dear. We may have our disagreements at times but our paths have not splintered away into opposition." She reached out and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I know my place, I am the blade that you wield."

[Gabriel Constant]

As the walls come down and as I look into your eyes
My fear begins to fade, recalling all of the times
I have died, and will die
It's all right
I don't mind
-Tool, "H."

What a balancing act his life had become - his extended family on the one hand, and the rest of the world on the other. His wife and the children they had brought into the world together, his best friend and that family, his birth father's family, and of course his in-laws and their family, most of whom he had yet to meet but still tried his best to look after. All of those people were ones he chose to care for, not out of obligation, but because he loved them. Love. It was a concept he had had only a vague and poorly executed experience with - a maternal love - until Alex had shown him how profound it could be, and that, even on a level that deep, it was something he could feel, and offer to others.

The world was another matter. He had never cared for it very much. His past stood as a testament to that. But whatever he felt for the people around him, those who barely knew who he was, if at all, and had no concern for him one way for the other, he knew he could not set them aside and also help those that he loved. If he wanted to improve their world, he had to improve all of it. He couldn't build a city in the sky and move them all there like in the movies, even though between Lucius and Ark, he probably had the resources to actually pull something like that off. But it wasn't quite that simple. Such matters never were.

The simple truth of it was that there was a small percent of people who had everything they needed to nudge the world in the right direction. He had ways of putting those people in the right places to manage that. Chess again; but he hadn't forgotten what he had learned from his experiences leading GEIST. He remembered their successes and their mistakes, and why he had chosen to disband the group. He hadn't done so because he was finished; not quite. He had done so because he had miscalculated and dropped his pieces into the wrong places. The pieces had not necessarily been wrong; not all of them. But the way things had gone, he had realized he was playing a losing game. There had been nothing to gain in continuing after that.

So he'd started over. That was what he had to tell Alex. The pieces were different this time, and the strategy very different. The aim was not quite the same either. Close enough that he had kept some things the same. A bit of borrowing, in a way, but 'any good idea is worth stealing,' as the saying went. He was certain that he could count on Lucius, for example, especially since he planned to help Lucius capture the place of command over the world he wanted. Gabriel had no interest in that. Once he had finished his role in reworking the world, he planned to simply retire. There was no such such thing as a quiet life for him, though, and he knew that; he just did not expect to remain in the spotlight for too long. He'd continue his development work, perhaps, or serve as an adviser to Lucius if the man chose that. He had no designs on any sort of rulership. That was his best friend's niche.

He wanted to count on Alex as well. He suspected he felt similarly regarding the world versus those they cared for. The question had more to do with Gabriel's methods. Not everything he had planned was innocent. Far from it, in fact. While none of it involved ending the lives of thousands upon thousands as he had before, he did intend to use, manipulate, and mislead. He already had one of those pieces in place, a tool he would use to bend the government to his will. It had been a brilliant move, a good one to serve as a sendoff to GEIST, and it was still proving of use to him. But he was not entirely sure Alex would approve of it, if he chose to ever tell her about it at all.

His hands weren't clean. She knew that about him. But his willingness to blood them again for the sake of his loved ones, and by proxy the world, might have been a bit too much. He felt some remorse for what he had done to Phoenix, but at the same time, it had been a necessary measure at the time, and he stood to continue to benefit it in the future. A 'necessary evil,' he had heard it phrased once. That had been a reference to war. GEIST had aimed to wage a very open war. What Gabriel had in mind was much more subtle. That was a point in his favor, he supposed.

Her words and her touch were comforting. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly. I am the blade that you wield. He started to say something, but there weren't any words to express the thoughts that ran through his mind, even though those thoughts formed words too; he just found them inadequate. So he kissed her instead, slowly and deeply, nudging the food aside just enough to pull her even closer. After breaking the kiss gently, lingering for a long moment, he gazed at her for a long moment.

The truth, the thoughts that just wouldn't quite form, was that he needed her. He needed her not only as a wife and the mother of their children; any man could say that of his mate. He needed her as an archer needs his quiver, and as a carpenter needs his hammer; as a musician needs his instrument, as an assassin needs his gun. And it ran even deeper than that; he needed her to exist. He couldn't imagine a life without her, and he didn't want to imagine one. This world they were saving, he was saving it for her, and for their daughters. It was too late for him, and perhaps for Alex as well, to shake the jaded and bleak outlook they held on the world and the passage of time, but it could be different for Athena and Demeter. They could grow up in a world without fear and judgment and division.

He brushed his lips over hers again, kissing her lower lip gently. "I couldn't have asked for a better weapon." Leaning over her now, he ran a hand through her hair. "I fall more in love with you with every moment that passes. Thank you, Alex."

With a small sigh, he settled in beside her again, an arm wrapped around her. "We're starting again. I have to, for our daughters. The world can't go on like this. I've seen its futures on this path. We're going to keep that from happening." He spoke softly, but there was a measure of emotion in his voice. "There are some things I'll have to do that you won't agree with. I want to be sure you know that before that time comes." He took a breath. "There's a fair chance it won't work. We may fail. We may… make things worse." That was a possibility he had seen but did not like to dwell on. "But it's much more likely that even if we don't completely succeed, we'll at least leave a positive imprint on the world. Maybe enough for Athena and Demeter. It's not only a project, but my life's work." He paused for a moment. "Tonight isn't the time for details. Tonight… I'd rather focus on this moment. It will be the last we have for a long time." With a wry smile, he kissed her cheek. "We'll be too busy saving the world."

[Alexandria Constant]

Alexandria had that tingling, tender feeling that was so elusive but left her in an afterglow of warmth whenever she it. Alex knew what it was but choose to leave the words unspoken, for the human language was so inadequate at describing it. The words even used to try and give this feeling meaning were so overused and overdone that sometimes they lost their effect when spoken. It was nothing like how she felt as Alexandria let Gabriel pull her closer into him and plant his lips upon her skin. The word love simply could not describe the bond that the two of them shared, their connection was far deeper than simply love.

That was why Alexandria allowed Gabriel to make use of her gifts the way that she did, despite whatever moral qualms she may have had. Alexandria trusted in Gabriel, even without the visions he had shared with her of the many different futures they had seen. Despite the troubled past he may have had, despite the troubles that he certainly made for himself, there was honor within him. Not to the world, not to any sort of law or moral code, but to those who he cared about, to those who mattered in his life. It was selfish of course, that sort of sensibility always is, but it was something that Alexadria respected, that could erase many evils from her eyes.

They were two sides of the same coin in a way, he was what she could be in a darker light, if she had not found ways to temper part of her personality. Perhaps with a different upbringing Alexandria could have turned out exactly like Gabriel had rather than just mirror images of one another. Not that she had a perfect upbringing, she had often longed for more of her childhood than what she was given. Nothing in the material way, she had all that she ever desired when it came to material goods, what she had desired was more time, more emotional experiences with her parents. Perhaps that was why she was such a rebel.

Gabriel acknowledged her as a weapon, she was more than that, but it was what she was the best at that was still available to her. Whatever lofty goals in the pursuit of science and exploration she may have had as a child were just dreams of a past life now. Although she still conducted experiments, much to the dismay of Gabriel when they went awry, she would never get to explore space. She would never breach through the breath of the cosmos, be a guest in the large, vacant halls of the gods. That was the dream stolen from her all those years ago, the dream of a little girl with her first chemistry set.

Could she abandon being a weapon in the wars that were, that were still to come? For her daughters, she could put down her arms if it was required of her. Watch as the world burned around her, being torn asunder and the remains of it fall from the shattered sky as ash. It would not be easy, especially as her own spirit would want to stoke the fires as the false kings burned. She could do it though if that was what was needed of her, to make sure that her daughters were alright, that they would live on to see a better world.

Gabriel was right though, the world needed her to be the weapon that she had be trained into, that she had honed her skills into becoming. With Gabriel to guide her strikes, the right victims would fall and the collateral damage would be minimal. A world would indeed burn but it would not simply become ash, it would rise like the phoenix from the flames into something majestic, something legendary. How long that world would endure beyond their own pursuits would be something that only the future could tell. If humanity could find itself, if the successors of their tasks were capable then an enduring world better than the one they were breathed into would continue.

First they had to succeed, which was not a guarantee, there would be those who would resist whatever their plans were. Even as capable a weapon as Alexandria was, she knew that enough resistors and even she could be overpowered. A single blade can not withstand the blunt force of an army.

"We will save the world." But who will save us? She wondered, would they need saving in the end? Nothing was certain, all was possible from this moment. But now... now was not the time to think about saving the world anymore. She was here in the arms of her lover on their private paradise, their sweet children safe and sound in the house that they built. If all went to hell, they would still have this place, still have their children, nothing, not even the combined nations of the world could spoil this place for her.

"I think a heroine deserve a few more kisses."

[Gabriel Constant]

Somehow, Gabriel always managed to be surprised by what he felt for Alex. "Love" had long since ceased to describe what they shared. That was certainly a simple way to put it, an easy response to give outsiders when they asked, but other than that, when it was just the two of them, that word had more or less fallen out of use. It was something felt rather than spoken, something for which no language in the world had words. And it - whatever one chose to call it - grew deeper every day, in every moment that he spent with her, and in every moment that they were apart.

This was an oasis, a window in time. They had braved the first wave of danger and destruction, but more, much more, still awaited them. He had seen many variations of the future, disparate options that varied widely among them, but that shared one common theme: trouble. Things falling apart. He wanted to protect his family from it, but, at the same time, he knew he would be at the center of it, both by happenstance and by choice. In a way, he wanted it - he wanted to be part of that force that would shape the world. He had a plan forming in his mind already, as he always did. He knew what he wanted to happen, how he wanted to bring about, and what the fruits of that labor would taste like.

He had his weapon with him, not the guns and knives that were stored safely away in their home - their daughters, mischievous as they were, would never wander into that area, because it was impossible for them to find, specifically designed that way by Gabriel - but the most lethal of his arsenal, the most deadly, the most reliable. Oh, he knew how much more she was than that, but it was a fitting description for how he would need her in this future - at least part of it. He also needed her to be his rock, his anchor, his point of reference to keep him from moving too fast or too far. She was his mind and conscience, and he knew she would never fear to tell him when he was following a fever dream and when he was doing the right thing by the world.

The right thing. That was so often precipitated by doing the wrong thing. Many of his actions would be considered in that light, of being wrong. Not through him; he had no plans of showing his role in things until it became necessary. He had others who would not mind taking that spotlight. He did not particularly like the fame or infamy that came with being visible, and that sort of approach would hurt his end goal - to change the world for the better by exposing its worst, and, when that was done, to raise his daughters in that better world, quietly unless, as adults, they chose to enter into their heritage as Constants, and as their godfather's protégées. It was Lucius who would shoulder the burden of leadership; Gabriel would help propel his best friend to those heights, then retire to raise his daughters and his former work, and to his wife's arms, to support her in whatever she might choose to pursue.

They would save the world, indeed - a world that was beginning to recognize that it needed saving. It would reach for any savior it could, something to keep it from tearing itself apart. And - despite the harm the world had dealt them personally - Gabriel and his extended family would be there to patch it together. Unfortunately for Gabriel, that meant keeping some information from certain others with whom he would much rather have shared it with. But this would be a delicate game, one to be played with the utmost care. The world did not need to suffer any more damage.

He was not ready to show his hand yet, aside from to Alex. For everything she would be to him, she would need to know everything, the best and the worst of it. She was strong, however. She would bear it as well as he was. If not, he would be her rock and her anchor, her point of reference in case she needed to remember their start and their goal.

He smiled and drew closer to her. "I think a heroine deserves more than kisses," he said, but leaned in to take her lips in a deep, passionate kiss, and another, and another. He had more for her than that, but that was for later. "I think a heroine deserves the dinner I made for her, and the bottles of champagne that are chilling upstairs. And a night alone with her husband, to let things unfold as they will." He let his lips rest against her cheek. This was probably where most men would say "I love you," he thought, but the feeling there, that more-than-love, that deeper-than-love, spoke for itself, if not in the way that he held her close, then in the way that he took her hand and twined their fingers together, or in the way that he rested quietly against her, and said nothing at all.

[Alexandria Constant]

A sly grin spread across her lips as he drew her even closer into him and teased at her saying she deserved more than kisses. Oh there was many things in this life that she wanted or deserved, things the world withheld from her when it could. Those barriers though, they were being torn down one by one and perhaps one day she would see to it that she was given what she deserved. Until then, she would take what she could and what she had, which now consisted of her husband turning back into a lighter, more playful, and romantic side.

She embraced his first kiss and then the other two with as much passion as she could muster and still keep in control of herself. There was no doubt that both of them would wake up sandy but that was for later, Gabriel had prepared a meal for her after all. Her little addiction could be put off later even as she wrapped her arms tightly around her husband, it was not the one in control of her. She was and she hoped to always be the one who controlled herself, that her children would never need to see that other side of her.

Her grin reappeared after Gabriel pulled back from their embrace and with those words. They were of the same mind, it was a bit eerie how they so often were thinking along the same lines, how they had each come to anticipate the other. There were still times were they would surprise or even frustrate the other with their behaviors or attitudes, but more often than that they were aligned. Two bodies but one mind and one soul, two halves reunited if you believed some of the old Greek and Indo-European myths.

She nibbled at his neck playfully and let out a soft, content sigh as he intertwined their fingers together. The silence was as serene as it could be and she understood the words that were left unspoken verbally but were spoken with his little actions. It was a word or set of words others would have spoken in their place but neither of them needed to do so, they both felt something more than those words could provide.

His, their night, she corrected in her mind, was going to be full of twists, turns, and passion. Another night she may have even teased at him of what she had planned to do to and with him through their evening, but not now. Instead she let the shine of her eyes and that look of their bond speak all the words she had and did not need to say. He knew her, through and through.

FIN