that was love and its an ache i still remember... He smirked at her comment as to his age and shrugged simply forearms extending out as he implied lightly, ”See? There is so much you still don’t know about me.” It was true, there was still so much she did not know, yet on the flip side, there was no one in Prince who knew him as well as she. Well, aside from his own brother of course… Even then Cronus only knew his history. The brothers had grown apart, Cronus jaded by his past and now twisted beyond all recognition. Danny, however, had suffered roughly also, maybe the effects of the past manifested in him through his role within the Rajput. Neither brother was entirely on the right side of the road. It was often the Rajput leader pondered handing the brethren over to his brother to control. It was a whimsical thought, for commonsense knew that should he make such a decision, it would be condemning Prince. He could not deny, however, that his brother was more suited to the mobster role. Jared, or Cronus as so many called him, was a figure already firmly entrenched within the belly of Prince’s underworld. Ophelia’s chirpy voice roused him from his thoughts and his smile was warm, yet clearly it still lingered within thoughts of his wayward brother. ”Me either. I think it’s the one thing that’s really allowing us a chance here.” His smile grew as their conversation drifted on to better, more light hearted topics and in particular, fond memories of their shared past. He frowned, You mean the morning we spent sitting on cardboard boxes moaning about the fact that I forgot to get the milk to go with the cereal?” The playful smile that broke across his face could do little to keep up his little ruse. Indeed that had been their very first morning, but then the house had been empty. They had no bed instead borrowing an air mattress leant by one of Danny’s friends. The first removal lorry had come with their stuff late the previous evening, yet the bed frame, chairs and tables were all to come later that day and so they had sat, exhausted from the night before, with Ophelia casting disapproving glances his way. Yes, he would never forget the milk for the cereal again and a long day of unpacking was ahead of them. He had dutifully worked to assemble their new bed and later made it up to Ophelia by ensuring their new bed was thoroughly broken in. It had been the morning after that night that Ophelia recalled and Danny knew it. Their very first morning had been a non-starter. Entertaining in hindsight, their small, light hearted spat over milk had hardly been worth the time of day. He smiled as he recalled that morning. Everything was laid out, Ophelia had gone and done a shop herself, not trusting him to forget something yet again, it would be something she would duly note in years to come. He still could not go the store without forgetting something. ”I remember but I hope you are referring more specifically to the morning after and not my skill at making eggs and bacon. Answer well and you may get some French toast thrown in there next time too.” Whilst Ophelia was the queen of the kitchen, Danny still entertained the idea that he retained the title of King at breakfast. His hands smoothed over the shoulders and slender arms, calloused palms snagging on the delicate material of her cardigan. It seemed that he was one to fall into old habits, his inability to refrain from touching her still as strong now as it had been then. Whilst he seemed to fall victim to old ways and emotions, so Ophelia, resplendent in her new role as a stronger woman lured a lascivious smile from him. ”Mmm, very much both.” He leant down in search of a kiss as he spoke, pausing as if in askance, not entirely trusting her to refute him given their topic of conversation. ”Its not often someone denies or orders me nowadays. I find it particularly alluring and refreshing.” His voice is low, laden with a dangerous seduction for he did not need the sly lift of her eyebrow to drive his mind to where hers resided. She did not leave him there though and allow him a moment to gather himself and steer away from the tantalizing, if a little frustrating, topic of their lack of sex life. Instead she continued on shooting down their need to be formal, breaking down the carefully constructed walls they had built to ensure they remained religious in their avoidance of any sexual encounter. Yet whilst he had removed small bricks, she now brought the wall down entirely. ”Jesus.” was his only utterance, his black eyes wide as he seemed entranced by the seductive flicker of the flames forging her body. His exclamation could have been mistaken for fear and in some ways it was, yet only fear for his lack of self-control and surprise at her bold suggestion. After a moment he seemed to gather himself, shrugging almost nonchalantly as he added words far more weighty, “I can work with that, but don’t be disheartened when our first time together again isn’t in a romantic ice hotel.” Lingering beneath his light words was a question, were they really going to throw caution to the wind and just run with everything they had been playfully implying up to this point? Their conversation turned again, ”The North Pole is romantic, particularly a stay in an ice hotel.” His smile was warmer now, lacking the lustfulness that had been present only moments before. ”No, you never thanked me. I think you were too busy swearing to slap me if I ever did something like that again.” He added dryly his eyebrows raised in implication of how he found her new found strength alluring. He chuckled at her reference to her rebellious sister and he moved towards her, arms framing her on either side as they rested on the work surface. ”How exactly would you like to be reminded of that? I have cable ties at the HQ if you would like them?” His chuckle is devious as he leans in, inhaling the stronger echo at her neck of the scent that lingered on her wrists. You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness Like resignation to the end, always the end image from Deviant Art