Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 29

Clare and Max walked through one of the hotels gardens, large hedges hiding them away from the world.  She was resting her head on his shoulder, enjoying the cool breeze that seemed to gently glide past them. 

Neither one of them mentioned the concert, nor more specifically, the way it had abruptly ended.  At that moment it was the furthest thing from Clare’s mind. At that moment she was just focused on the moment.  It was one of those rare, perfectly romantic moments.  Her life had been void of those moments for far too long. 

“You glad we came?” Max wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer.  She nuzzled against his warmth. 

“Yes.” She breathed in, enjoying the mix of the fragment flowers of the garden with Max’s faded cologne. 

“You missing your office?  Worried you might be missing an apocalypse?” He laughed, his hand gentle rubbing her shoulder.

“Please, don’t say the A word.” Clare shivered.  “Don’t even think about it.  Don’t put that out there.” 

“Superstitious?”

“In my line of work?  It’s a job requirement.”

They both laughed. 

“I do not want to back to that house tomorrow.” He slowed down, and Clare matched his pace. 

“That bad?”

“Not really.  I mean, not when you look at it.” She felt him shiver. “There was just this feeling around it.  I can’t describe it. It was just this… aura.” 

“That describes it pretty well.” Clare pulled away, stopping. 

Max stopped, turning towards her.  Their eyes met. 

“If you don’t want to go back, then don’t go back.” Clare crossed her arms, trying to ward off some of the chill.  “It’s your show.  If it gives you a bad feeling, then stay away from it.” 

“Still got a job to do.” He shrugged. 

“Do you know how many times I’ve said that?” She looked away, scanning the bushes.  “Do you know how many times I’ve used that excuse to throw myself into life threatening situations?  The job, that job, got one of my friends killed.” 

“I don’t think my job will get me killed.” 

“It almost did last time.” It felt to Clare like the air around them was getting colder. “You and I, we may be at different ends of the spectrum, but at the end of the day we both deal with the same shit.” 

“What are you saying?” He took a step towards her. 

“I’m saying, be careful.  I’m saying I don’t want to lose you.”  She bit her lip.  “I’m saying I like having you in my life, and I want it to stay that way.”  

The mood was ruined, and it was her fault.  She couldn’t shut off that warrior mind of hers for two seconds.  How did Kurt and Bobby do it?  How did they keep the job out of their bedrooms, out of every moment of their lives? 

Clare had been fighting for so long.  She could remember her training as a child.  Other kids went on vacations to Disneyland.  She got a half-day at Fantasy Land and a lecture on how to rip out a demon’s heart with an ice cream scoop. 

Max had started to bring something into her life she had never experienced.  He made life feel normal.  He made her feel like a woman, not just a warrior.  With him she felt… she felt happy. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Max getting down on one knee, his hand slipping into his pocket and pulling out a small, satin box. 

“What are you…” Clare’s eyes went wide, and her mouth went dry. 

“Clare, will you marry me?” He opened the small box and revealed a diamond ring. 

“Yes.”

Did she just say yes?  Yes, yes she did.  She had just accepted a marriage proposal, and she… she was excited?

He gently took her hand in his, slipping the ring out of the box, and onto the ring finger of her left hand.  He stood up, and she pulled him close, kissing him.  She could feel hot tears of joy pouring down her cheeks. 

This was actually happening. 

“Max.” A woman’s voice floated through the air.  It sounded familiar.  “How could you?”

“Max, who the hell is that?” Clare pulled away, glancing around. 

“Liz?”

“Who is Liz?” The joy of the moment was starting to slip away. 

“My producer.” Max turned, his eyes searching for the source of the voice. “My scary, heartless producer.”

“Heartless?” Liz’s voice danced through the night air again.  “I loved you, but you never… you never noticed.”

Something felt off.  Clare stepped in front Max and started towards the sound of the voice.  “Stay close, but stay behind me.” 

“Your evil sense is tingling?” He pressed close to her. 

“Majorly.” Clare started forward, towards the sound of the voice.