THE HANGING GARDENS

  NORTH FORKS FOREST

  As Bel pushed aside the foliage that blocked her sight of Xavier, she couldn’t help but gasp at the beauty introduced to her eyes – it was a pce unlike what she had seen before.

  Flowers twirled around vines that hung from tall trees.

  Wooden walls painted with brilliant dye were sparsely built.

  Cleared and fttened Earth could be seen in patches – clearly unfinished.

  But one area, in particur, was finished – blue and gold beads carefully pstered in small holes.

  Thousands created a picture as unmistakable as time, itself – a picture of nine extraordinary beings, and Bel could vaguely guess which was Xavier, even with the feature vague.

  “It’s beautiful,” She muttered.

  “My best-kept secret,” Xavier replied, guiding her along by the hand. “And—” He gestured.

  A wide river just over the ridge added perfection to the entire scene. The water sparkled as if something from myth, and it was so clear that Bel could see all the way to the bottom.

  “It’s deeper than it looks,” Xavier interrupted any thoughts of swimming. “I clean it often that’s why it looks so impressive, but make no mistake, it’s a river more dangerous than any.”

  “Seems calm enough,” Bel commented.

  “That’s why I am warning you,” Xavier emphasized. “This ledge is where the river runs strongest from the mountain’s slope, so unless you can swim better than me, I wouldn’t advise trying to swim across. More than likely, you’ll be pulled into one of the many hidden covers below, and slowly starve to death.”

  “And you made this?” Bel spun on her heel, bancing unstably. “All of this? How long did it take you?”

  “I made the wooden walls, and fttened certain areas on the ground to pce my paintings, but the natural ambience – the hanging flowers, the unique flora, and fauna. All of that was already here,” Xavier expined, pointing to squirrels nibbling on their nuts with small cats zily accompanying them. “You know how certain areas have isoted gravitational fields?”

  Bel shook her head reluctantly, not wanting to appear less smart than Xavier, but when she didn’t understand, she thought it was best not to pretend to understand.

  “So… some parts of the world have different gravity. You know this, right?”

  Bel nodded. “Like the magnetic hill in Leh,” She commented.

  “See, you do understand,” Xavier excimed.

  “Mom always talks about going there,” She voiced.

  “Wouldn’t advise it, but –” Xavier continued his expnation. “This area is pretty much the same, which allows for the pnts to grow in strange ways – hence, hanging flowers that can be lifted by thin vines. The smaller creatures came because they are sensitive enough to know this is the best hiding space.”

  Bel walked around, touching flowers and stones as she did.

  “And how come nobody has noticed this pce before?” Bel inquired. “I mean, with an attraction like this – wouldn’t Forks get a boost to the economy from tourism?”

  “Well, that’s a complicated answer,” Xavier scratched his head as he trailed behind Bel, ensuring she wouldn’t suddenly fall. “Space has no up or down – there is no need to, so a lot of what humans interpret as direction comes from gravity. Gravity tends to shift ever-so-slightly in this area, so most people avoid the area on a subconscious level, or simply get confused when they come nearby.”

  “But I felt no changes…” Bel frowned.

  “Because you came with me via the only path that doesn’t feel weird,” Xavier lied since he was maniputing the surrounding gravitons from concentrating on Bel. “If you try to come here by yourself, it would take days for you to find this pce – well if you didn’t know it was here, and who goes somewhere and spends days without knowing what they’re looking for?”

  “Thank you,” Bel muttered, squeezing Xavier’s guiding hand.

  Xavier frowned and withdrew his hand from Bel’s grasp, thinking that bringing her to this romantic location may have been counter-productive.

  “I know,” Bel muttered, feeling the loss in her hand. “You brought me here to show trust and how much you care for me, but not in the ways I want you to.”

  “More or less,” Xavier admitted. “But I don’t think you understand – this pce is called The Hanging Gardens. What I am sharing with you is a part of my history. This trust is something that will weigh on your shoulders for as long as you know me – as all important things should.”

  Bel broke into a chuckle.

  “What?” Xavier was confused.

  “It’s just – I think I learned something more important about you,” Bel seemed smug. “When you really mean something, and really want to say something – you talk in a sort of Old English, and your American accent slips and becomes something else… something kind of Scottish.”

  Xavier frowned since this wasn’t exactly the information he wanted out in the world – it was not a characteristic of Xavier, but a characteristic of Ikaris, The Eternal.

  “Don’t worry,” Bel gestured to the Hanging Gardens, the paintings made from marble and pstered into the ground and the river that seemed deceptively calm. “I will keep all these secrets.”

  “Thank you,” Xavier had no choice but to bet on Bel’s ability to keep secrets she didn’t even know she had glimpsed.

  The duo patrolled the Hanging Gardens several times, taking slower steps as they did. Each time Bel would discover a new detail, and Xavier saw the world through the eyes of someone normal – as he once was.

  It brought new ideas to The Eternal’s mind.

  Some three months ago, he awakened as an Eternal and lost the innocence that came with an ordinary existence, but now that Bel was near, Xavier felt that he could appreciate all that he had gained.

  Super strength…

  Longevity bordering on Immortality…

  Super durability…

  Cosmic energy manipution that could be manifested as beams from his eyes, and a limited, but painful, form of teleportation…

  Graviton manipution which resulted in the ability to fly, levitate small objects, or telekinetically pull things within a certain distance towards himself…

  After a casual conversation and a tour, the duo sat to admire the sparkling river as night descended. At some point, when Bel was not looking, Xavier levitated to the tallest tree, picking a few fruits that would become their snacks.

  The stars became brighter as time passed.

  “It’s getting te. Charlie will be worried,” Bel rose from her seat, wiped the purple berry juice that stained the sides of her mouth, and dusted her bottom free of leaves. “We should get going. But you don’t have to worry – just sitting here in silence made me understand. You really love Ange, don’t you?”

  “I do… but I have trouble with commitment,” Xavier admitted. “As a friend, I hope you can help me with that even when I try not to give you much choice.”

  “Don’t worry,” Bel smiled in a semi-proud, semi-shy manner. “Next time you try to kiss me, I will punch you in the throat.”

  “Bet on it?” Xavier extended a hand.

  “Bet on it…” Bel replied, grasping Xavier’s outstretched hands.

  ???

  CHARLIE’S HOUSE

  NIGHT TIME

  Bel pulled the truck into the parking space.

  Charlie came outside as soon as he heard the car, concern apparent on his ageing face.

  “You have a good father,” Xavier commented.

  “I know,” Bel replied.

  The duo slipped out of the truck before making their way to Charlie as if awaiting judgment.

  “I made her upset, and I just took her somewhere to get her head to—”

  Contrary to the slight scolding Bel thought she would get, Charlie simply took two steps forward and embraced his daughter in a tight hug.

  Xavier used the opportunity to try and sneak away.

  “You stay where you are,” Charlie grumbled, releasing Bel to lock gazes with Xavier.

  “You, father and daughter, can continue bonding,” Xavier took careful steps backwards. “It is important to a family – please, don’t mind me…”

  “Bel, why don’t you head inside?” Charlie suggested. “I need to have a talk with Xavier. This is something that men need to discuss.”

  Bel took Charlie’s advice and reached the door, pausing only briefly to say something. “Do me a favour and make the conversation as long and painful as possible – he made me cry today.”

  Xavier’s face paled a bit – as brave as he was with new powers, it was beyond him to upset the daughter of a father as dedicated as Charlie Swan.

  Bel disappeared inside, and Charlie and Xavier sunk into silence.

  “She exited the school at midday. Nobody knew where she was,” Charlie expined. “Jessie called me and said she was with you, so I calmed down a bit, but still…”

  “You couldn’t know if she was truly safe,” Xavier finished the thought Charlie wouldn’t dare to. “I understand – knowing what you know about me, it is only a natural reaction.”

  “I am sorry to say this, son,” Charlie took a deep breath. “I need you to spend a little less time with Bel.”

  Xavier shook his head. “I have known Bel for three days – we haven’t spent any time together so far. But, I am dating Ange so I can tell you she will be around every time I hang with Bel from now on.”

  “I appreciate it,” Charlie extended a hand.

  Xavier shook Charlie’s hand without a change in his expression; though, he was feeling disappointed in Charlie – someone he had come to look up to.

  ‘I am not his family, after all.’ The Eternal muttered internally.

  “Need a ride home?” Charlie questioned, gesturing to his parked police car.

  “I'd rather run home,” Xavier replied jokingly. “I spent enough time sleeping at the station.”

  Xavier bid Charlie a final goodbye, and simirly waved to the silhouette hiding in the shadow of Bel’s room – the girl hadn’t taken her eyes off of him since she entered the house.

  Bel ducked away from her window.

  Xavier spun and departed Charlie’s home, disappearing around the corner. When The Eternal was sure that there was no one watching, obvious from the ck of heartbeats in earshot, he took the skies.

  Within a couple of seconds, Xavier disappeared into the clouds of Forks, and if there was one thing Forks had plenty of, it was low-hanging clouds.

  WHOOOOOSH

  ----------------

  Xavier fell from twenty feet above his home’s balcony, expelling a pulse of gravitons at the st second, cushioning his nding.

  THUD

  The Eternal closed his eyes to concentrate on his ears, picking up Ange’s scent and heartbeat, accompanied by an array of delicious smells in the kitchen.

  Xavier smiled and entered his bedroom from the balcony, disappearing into the shower for a couple of minutes before making his way downstairs in his birthday suit.

  Ange’s shorts swayed with her hips as Xavier’s music boomed in the background – her top consisted of a sports bra covered up to a single button by one of Xavier’s long-sleeved shirts.

  A spatu was held in one hand, aiding her as she flipped the steak frying in the pan on the stove.

  Xavier was careful not to make any noise as he moved behind Ange, not that she would have heard him with the music pying in the background.

  Ange felt hands circle her waist…

  “GOSH!” She jumped.

  Thankfully, Xavier’s grip around Ange was always tight enough to prevent the girl from moving too much and releasing the spatu that would have spilt boiling oil onto both of them.

  “That’s why you shouldn’t py music too loud,” Xavier whispered.

  Ange’s tense body rexed in his embrace as she craned her head back, finding a snug pce between The Eternal’s neck and chin.

  “It doesn’t count if you’re the only one capable of sneaking into your own home,” Ange groaned.

  Slowly, Xavier used his strength to grind Ange’s body against his own, and of course, she indulged in the feeling as well.

  “Are you naked, right now?” Ange asked incredulously. “Please don’t tell me you came to dinner naked?”

  “Fine, I didn’t come to dinner naked,” Xavier replied, but his rod touching Ange’s lower leg told her something very different.

  Ange snaked her hand down, grabbing the head that had filled her so many times before. Even now, she could feel the void inside her moist vagina yearning for another bout with Xavier’s beast.

  “No…” Ange groaned sexually. “I am cooking – we have to eat before anything else.”

  Xavier nibbled on Ange’s neck, dedicating all the pent-up frustration from not being able to sleep with Bel at The Hanging Gardens.

  “I can combine dinner and you,” Xavier replied, guiding Ange’s hand toward the boiling oil that was cooking the two pieces of steak.

  “My hands are gonna be burnt,” Ange moaned half-heartedly.

  “Trust me,” Xavier groaned back.

  The duo ground against each other – their bodies becoming heated as their heartbeats synched, mouths sucked deep breaths, and genitals enfmed.

  With Xavier’s guidance, Ange slipped her hand into the boiling frying pan, extracting the two steaks with a yer of Cosmic Energy protecting her.

  “See…” Xavier mumbled. “Now, time to eat.”

  GASP

  Ange felt the world blur as Xavier lifted her and spun her body onto the living room table; then, he pced the freshly cooked pieces of steak onto her body.

  One on her chest, and the next piece between her legs.

  “This is what dinner should be like in this house,” Xavier ordered.

  He kissed up from Ange’s stomach up to her breast, stored the steak in his mouth, and made his way to her lips where they nibbled on the piece of steak between their indulging lips.

  Ange could feel that she had been filled, both nutritionally and spiritually.

  When Xavier finally traced his tongue back to her stomach and to the steak between her legs, Ange went wild with bliss.

  ARGH

  UGH

  FUCK

  As the duo made love, nothing else mattered in the world.