Blessed by Night

Malachi told himself several times that he didn't have to go.

After all, he was spding the weekd with his family and having a good time, and there was nothing that was more important than that.

But while Celeste's request may not have be important per se, it had it's own unique urgcy that could not be ignored.

Which was how Malachi ded up right outside of Melanie and Celeste's quarters without ev remembering exactly wh he got there.

He pressed the button for the doorbell and waited with sage-like patice for what felt like an eternity.

Evtually, a familiar woman with an ev more familiar chest oped the door.

As always, Celeste was incredibly beautiful, but Malachi wasn't really in the right frame of mind to appreciate something like that right now.

"O-Oh, umm.. you came right away?" For some reason, the mother of his ex was currtly boasting some really red cheeks.

Malachi followed her gaze down to his body and realized that he had come here without changing and only sporting his swim trunks from before.

"Sorry... I figured it'd be best if I didn't put this off anymore."

"R-Right... Should I close my bedroom door for the reunion?" she joked.

Malachi smiled uncomfortably and didn't commt.

Celeste let him inside of their quarters and he headed straight for Melanie's room in the back.

He knocked on the door twice, but received no answer.

But after what he'd done to her, he could sse that she was inside.

Announcing himself beforehand, he stepped inside and looked a warily.

At the same time, a door on the other side of the room oped up and a mass of steam poured out along with a young girl wrapped in a bath towel.

She didn't appear shocked by the fact that her ex was standing in her room, but she he was tak aback by his new look and the fact he was shirtless.

"They were all telling me that you looked differt.… but I had to admit that I was expecting to feel a bit more scared."

"Really? I think your reaction might be the best out of everyone's." Mal joked uncomfortably.

However, it was clear that Melanie had tak some pride in what he said and he realized he'd made a simple mistake.

"So, do you want to sit down?" she asked, a bit more cheerful than earlier.

Biting his lower lip, he sat on the edge of Melanie's bed with his back facing her.

He thought he would wait for her to get dressed before they continued talking, but she sat wrapped beside him in her same towel from before.

A familiar peach sct tickled his nostrils as he analyzed her from head to toe.

Just like the first day he saw her, she was a very pretty young woman.

Soft, pale skin that had rosy patches along her cheeks, short black hair that was currtly dripping water down her back, a cute yet mischievous looking face, and dull red eyes that were more insightful than intimidating.

She was practically the spitting image of her mother, just without the hanced charm of an older woman and a chest and backside that you could sit a cup on top of.

"So... you want to tell me exactly what you did to me first?" she asked, trying to make this as painless as possible for the both of them.

"O-Oh, right... Your injury in the field was so bad that I doubt you would have walked again if I didn't help you so I... made you like me. A N'Kai. Albeit a lowbreed."

"How'd you do that??"

"I fed you my body fluids."

"..."

"F-From my palm!"

"I told you that your hands were sweaty. Never saw anybody about that, huh?"

"I.. It's not...No, I didn't." Finally, Malachi's brain conked out and he just sort of gave up.

Melanie on the other hand giggled, almost like she already knew beforehand what reaction her words would bring.

If she was honest, she had already somewhat figured that he had done something strange to her.

Before, she had no powers other than the mark of cain she'd received from Malachi, but after waking up a week ago, her body was now stronger, lighter, faster, and she ev felt a tiny bit smarter too.

But there was just one point she was concerned about.

"..." Looking over her shoulder, she nearly broke her own neck trying to glance at her lower back.

"I didn't alter your getic code at all, so you're not going to sprout any tails." Mal revealed.

"M-Maybe I just wanted to know if my butt got bigger."

"It hasn't."

"...Does that mean you've be looking?"

"N-No, I just-"

"Because... I wouldn't mind if you did..." Melanie muttered with a red face.

Immediately, Mal felt his heart drop and he stood up from the bed.

"Look, Melanie. I'm not-"

His blood ran cold as he suddly felt a very familiar ssation plague him from behind.

Melanie's bare chest was pressed against him while she interlocked her arms a his waist, prevting him from taking ev another step forward.

"Mal... please just list to me. Will you do that...?"

"Yea, just... get dressed first, would you? I promise not to turn a, so..."

Despite Mal's one request, Melanie did not release him.

Instead, she became choked up and only clung to him tighter.

"I never... got the chance to be fully honest with you about everything. I know that I should have told you about my mom and her health problems before, but I just... didn't know how. You had ough things going on at home and I didn't want to add to it.

T-Th your boss just sort of found out because he saw me at the hospital one day and he s-showed me this wad of cash and told me that he'd give it to me if I just had dinner with him and-"

"Mel, stop."

Malachi's voice was uniquely uncompromising, and if Melanie was honest her heart broke just from hearing it.

"I don't really want to talk about this if I'm honest... I would rather we just kinda move on and act like things didn't happ. Just keep it simple, you know?"

"W-We can't do that, because I know that you're still upset with me! You have to give me some way to make it right! You can scream at me, curse me, or hit me, whatever! I just don't want you to hate me for-"

"Melanie, I'm not doing any of that. And I can promise that I don't hate you."

Melanie pressed her cheeks against Malachi's back, a heart full of despair in her chest.

"But you don't love me anymore either... do you?"

"...I'm sorry."

Malachi could have sworn that he heard the sound of Melanie's heart breaking into pieces.

Her grip on his midsection tighted, and she began to sob siltly down his back.

Malachi knew that he hadn't done anything wrong, but the way his heart was hurting it was almost like he was the villain here.

"Is it because I'm dirty now...?" She asked in a low voice.

Mal finally turned a and clasped Melanie's shoulders with both hands.

"Melanie... What happed to you has nothing to do with how I feel about you. And I can promise you that you are not dirty and there isn't a thing wrong with you."

"T-Th why..?"

"You lied to me. Whether you thought you were sheltering me or not doesn't matter. The most basic requiremt for a relationship is total honesty and you couldn't ev give me that.

I get that you wanted to help your mom, I really do. But instead of coming to me for help you wt behind my back to another man instead and let him sweet talk you.

And ev wh he hurt you... you still didn't come to me. You just kept letting him abuse you again and again without ever considering talking to me as a possible option.

Like you were afraid I would see you differt, or like I wouldn't give everything I had to protect you. Powers or no powers. You let him blindside and embarrass me, and scar you... instead of just telling me the truth."

Melanie shook her head in dial as the tears continued to run down her face and she became less and less stable with every word.

However, Malachi wasn't exactly in a better mtal state.

He had never spok to anyone, not ev Sei, about just how bad Melanie's actions had hurt him.

For the longest that was because he didn't see himself as someone worthy ough to complain.

After all, someone like him should have just be glad to have be with a pretty girl at least once in his life, no?

But as his self esteem grew, he realized just how wrong he was for his thinking.

And he subsequtly began to feel bit restful towards her.

However, all of that restmt was squashed the day he found her on the floor of Derek's apartmt, with her head cracked op and lying in a pool of her own blood.

But he couldn't just erase all of the hurt.

They couldn't be together again, but Malachi was still Malachi.

He wiped away the tears on Melanie's face only for them to return in full mere seconds later.

He gtly cupped her face in her hands the way he did wh they were together and there was much less of a height differce.

"But ev though we can't be in a relationship... you will always be my first love, and I am grateful for all of the memories we made. You will always be my frid."

Finally, Melanie's knees gave out from underneath her, and she collapsed on the floor weeping siltly.

Malachi picked up her towel and draped it across her shoulders before holding her as she cried.

Much of what she said was incohert, but there was one part he could make out.

"I'm sorry, Malachi... I'm so, so, sorry...!"