Ocean Gate

Chapter 8

"Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up!"

Mark groaned, swatting at whoever was jumping on his bed.

"Come on Mark, we're going into town today, remember?" Ruvaen whined, dropping to the bed. "Please get up? I really wanna go!"

"I hate mornings." Mark growled, forcing himself out of bed. The little demon cheered and jumped off the bed, tacking the brunet with a tight hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Mark sat up as soon as Ruvaen let go, trying to process his scrambled thoughts. /Now I remember, we were talking about it last night./ He stretched. "Okay, I'm up, tell Gemedet I'll be ready in twenty minutes, okay?" Ruvaen nodded ad bounded out of the room.

After a quick shower and Taylor fussing over his hair, the group was ready for a day in St. Michael's.

Mark was surprised at how human Gemedet managed to make Ruvaen look. He still had the markings and cat-like ears, but the markings could easily be mistaken for tattoos and the ears could be covered by a hat. Elara explained that Eric had left early for his job, and would meet them for lunch at the Town Dock.

"Wow! Look at that!" Ruvaen exclaimed, pointing to a garden store. The object of his interest rested on the wall beside the door. "Mark, can we get some? Please? They'd look really neat in the garden!"

"Ru, I don't even know what they are."

The demon grabbed his arm and dragged him over, pointing to the various pegs tipped with butterflies, dragonflies and crystalline marbles. Mark sighed. "If you insist... But only one of each." He consented, handing some money to Ruvaen, who cheered and rushed inside to pay for his treasure.

"Hey Mark, we're going down the street for some ice cream." Gemedet told him. "Meet us there when Ruvaen's done." The brunet nodded, watching as they walked down the street. Ruvaen emerged soon after the group left, and they hurried to catch up.

They wandered around town, looking at the houses and gardens, until about a quarter till non when they started to head for the restaurant. Just as he promised, Eric was already there and had even reserved some seats outside, where they could watch the boats in the dock.

"They have beautiful weather here." Tini commented from her perch on Ruvaen's shoulder. He held up a small bit of cracker and crab cake for her, which she ate happily. Walter nodded his agreement. "Uncle Warren couldn't have chosen a better spot to build his home; the weather's not the only thing that's beautiful here."

"Can we go on that cruises while we're here today? Pretty please?" Ruvaen begged, and the others agreed. "Sounds like a wonderful idea! We'll go as soon as we're done with lunch." Walter said, and they hurried to finish.

While they waited for the boat to return from its current tour, Mark and Taylor decided to look around in the nearby gift shop. "Hey Mark, look at this." Taylor beckoned with amusement in his voice, and held up a crab key chain. "They have some pretty goofy stuff in here."

Mark jumped in surprise when Alex draped his arms over the two men and leaned between them. "Anything interesting over here?"

"Not really." The brunet replied, placing a hand on his chest as he tried to calm himself. "Is your main goal in life to give people heart attacks?"

The half-breed grinned. "No, not at all. Actually, I just wanted an outside opinion." He held up a silver chain with a tiny dragonfly pendant. "Think Elara would like this?"

Taylor grinned. "Why, do you like her?" Alex looked flustered. "No! I just felt sorry for her cause she got her heart broke last night! Sheesh, don't you people ever pay attention?" Mark laughed at his antics. /Denial!/ he thought, but instead replied "Alex chill, he's just teasing you. She'll love it, okay?" Alex clapped his shoulder in thanks and left to pay for the item. "By the way," he called back, "the boat's comin' in now."

The trio walked outside and joined the other six. Alex handed the small bag to Elara, urging her to open it. When she finally did, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you Alex, that was so thoughtful of you!" she exclaimed. Then the boat finally docked and they got on board.

They returned late that night. Gemedet was the only one who wasn't tired, and he held a sleeping Eric in his arms. The boy looked like an angel to him, with cinnamon hair that was so light it was almost blond and eyes the color of honey. And now, after spending the entire afternoon outside, he even had a light tan. Yes, he was definitely an angel; an angel waiting to be loved.

The god walked up to his room, carefully laying the boy in his bed. "Sweet dreams Eric." He whispered, placing a kiss on the boy's forehead and lying down beside him. Eric snuggled closer, muttering Gemedet's name with a small smile.

Honey-colored eyes opened to the sound of birds chirping and the sight of a certain god lying fast asleep next to the owner of said eyes.

Eric blinked in confusion. How on Earth did he end up in Gemedet's room? He then remembered he fell asleep in his arms and blushed. Just as he moved to crawl off the bed, a pair of arms tightened around his waist. "Huh?"

"Good morning." Came Gemedet's smooth voice. Eric paused his struggles. "Good morning."

"Sleep well?" the god purred, sitting up and stretching. Eric found himself staring at the smooth cinnamon skin. The sheets shifted lower as he stretched out his legs, giving the boy a full view of his entire torso. Eric blushed and looked away, not having to look to know that Gemedet had no clothes on.

"Someone's shy." Gemedet commented, pulling the boy close again. His blush deepened and he scrambled to get away, but the raven-haired god wouldn't let go. "Why does it bother you, my angel?" he asked, surprising the youth into submission. "You're safe around me. I won't force you into anything you're not ready for."

Eric relaxed and leaned against him. "Sorry... You just startled me, that's all." He looked up at Gemedet. "Why do you do this?"

"Why? Because I care about you, Eric." He held the youth close, burying his face in the cinnamon-colored hair. "Because I love you."

Eric didn't think his blush could get any worse.

"Wakey wakey! It's time to get up!"

Mark growled. This time there were two people jumping on his bed. One was Ruvaen; he could tell that much by the child-like giggling. But the other... He quickly rolled onto his side, knocking the other intruder to the floor. "And here I thought you knew better." He said, leaning over the edge with a triumphant grin. Alex glared at him. "What's wrong with having a little fun? And no more knocking me on my ass!"

The little demon giggled from his perch on the bed, and Mark soon joined in the mirth. "Sorry, I'm just not a morning person." He explained, helping Alex back to his feet. The half-breed grinned. "It's my job to annoy as many people as I can today." He replied, grabbing a pogo stick from under the bed and bouncing out of the room, singing at the top of his lungs.

"Hold it now and watch the hoodwink as I make you stop, think. You'll think you're looking at Aquaman. I summon fish to the dish, although I like the Chalet Swiss. I like the sushi cause it's never touched a frying pan. Hot like wasabe when I bust rhymes, big like Leann Rimes because I'm all about value. Bert Kaempferts got the mad hits, you try to match wits, you try to hold me but I bust through. Gonna make a break and take a fake. I'd like a stinkin, achin shake. I like vanilla; it's the finest of the flavors. Gotta see the show, cause then you'll know the vertigo is gonna grow cause its so dangerous, you'll have to sign a waiver..."

"Alex has issues." The brunet decided.

"Yup."

Mark pulled himself out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants, deciding to go find Taylor. He wasn't surprised when his ebony-haired friend wasn't in his room, so he went downstairs. "Taylor?"

"I'm in the parlor, Mark." He followed the direction the voice came from and entered the said room. "Good morning. Since you're up so early, I assume you slept well?"

Mark laughed. "Well enough... For having a hyperactive demon and an insane half-breed jumping on my bed."

"Speak of the devil." Taylor muttered, and they both watched as Alex bounced by, still singing. "Anyway... Did you want something?"

"Yeah, I wanted to find you." Taylor smiled as Mark pulled him into an embrace, and placed a kiss on the tanned skin. "And why would you want to do something like that?"

"Because I love you."

"I love you too, Mark. Mm, you're warm."

Mark laughed. "Yeah, and hungry too."

Taylor grabbed his arm and pulled him to the kitchen. "Well why didn't you say so, you nut? Now sit down." He pushed his tall friend into a chair and started making pancakes. The brunet picked up the saltshaker and played with it, spilling some of the tiny crystals onto the bar.

Mark jumped when a plate was set before him. "Tay, you messed up my salt picture!" he whined, earning a chuckle from his short friend. "Bored, Mark?"

"Always. Now gimme some syrup!" He drowned his pancakes in the sweet substance, then swiped the remaining drops off the bottle and stuck his finger in his mouth. "Mm... I love syrup."

Taylor pouted. "I thought you love me..." he joked.

"I do! But I love syrup too." Taylor couldn't resist the pout Mark gave him, and ended up sitting beside him to share a kiss and the pancakes.

The End!

A/N yup, the end... Sorry, but that was as far as I could get it... Actually, I consider myself lucky that it even got finished at all, I usually never get this far. So what did you think? And yes, I changed the name of the story, I thought it sounded kinda dumb...

St. Michael's and the Town Dock are actual places I have been to, and love VERY VERY much, and they belong to the state/owner, so... Yeah, and stuff. They're not mine.

Based off something I did ;... Yeah, I'm pretty weird when I'm bored... And I don't own that song. I don't own a lot of stuff... But I do own this story! is very proud of herself

Anyway, I know this was supposed to be really funny and all, so I'm gonna have an extra . It's in no way related to this story and has actually happened in real life; I would know, I was a witness lol. I have some very strange friends... O.o