The Spark Ignites Pt. 05

I nodded, although why he was asking my name after hearing several people call me that, I don't know. He reached one arm out to me, and I took it in a firm grip. He shook it as he kept talking. Now there was no true malice in the air, thankfully, it was almost suffocating before.

"My designation is Mako, like the shark, it isn't my real name, but I technically can't give you that. I remember seeing you on the news a couple months ago, fighting that fiery demon who was with you when we showed up."

I groaned and dropped my head down. I would never be able to escape that mistake, then again, it brought my family back to me, so I can't truly say I regretted it. Mako let out a laugh, pulling his hand away and setting it on his thigh.

"I remember it well, that was the day my mom found out that I was having sex with my sister, along with two of her friends and another one we met a few months after that."

My head whipped up as I stared at him in disbelief. He just laughed again, and reached up to the side of his mask, running a couple fingers from the top to the bottom. There was a soft pop, then he pulled it off his face. Now that I was fully in control of my mind, I realized he only had a very passing resemblance to my father. His cheekbones were different, and his jawline was more squared, where my father's was oval shaped, but back in the moment, that one blue eye filled with anger and regret had overridden any kind of sense I had at the moment. His lips were quirked up in a slight grin as he continued his story.

"Yeah, she may not be by blood, but she is my sister, raised that way for twenty-five years. We look nothing alike, so we could really go out on a date and no stranger would ever pin it down. So we're more or less free to be a couple, but that's neither here nor there."

I shook my head, so many questions were buzzing around in there. The first one to finally extract itself from the muck was how they got to that point. How were they able to throw off societal standards and follow their hearts? I guess that was written on my face, as Mako responded to my question without me asking it.

"It was far simpler than you'd think, but more complex than you'd expect. I'll spare you the three hour long background story and tell you this, she and I were never the closest, but despite how often we picked on each other, it was always us against the world at the end of the day. She found out what I do for a living in probably the worst way possible, but we got closer after that."

He took a moment and reached for a pitcher of ice cold water that was on a table nearby. He poured himself a glass and drank about half of it before resuming.

"You would not believe how close you can get to someone when you realize that any day could be their last. Of course, I am by far too stubborn to die, so it's a moot point, but the sentiment was still there. Either way, there was just one morning, I was making some toast, and she came into the kitchen, grabbed me by the collar, told me she loved me, and kissed me so hard that my world spun. I'm sure you can figure out what happened after that, but I won't be giving up those details until the day I die. When we finished, I asked her the same question you've been asking. How could you just say fuck it and go for someone who society would demand you never love more than family, on top of having sex with both of her friends."

I was on the edge of my seat now, it was simple story telling, low on real details, but he had my undivided attention now. I wanted to know the secret, he had multiple women in his life on a permanent basis, not just flings with no strings, Alariel had confirmed it before, but his words solidified it. On top of all that, he was with his sister too. What was he told that allowed him to overcome his reservations?

"V, we live in a fucked up world that most people could never even hope to understand, right?"

I nodded, curious on how that related to his secret.

"Then fuck what the normal people think or say, they can't understand the world we live in, and they'll do their best to make it seem bad. We live a different life, one they could never comprehend. I walk the thin line between life and death, never truly embracing one side or the other. You have one of the most powerful flames in existence living in you, we aren't like normal people, we are beyond what their minds can work with, and thus, are also beyond their morals."

I sat back in my seat, taking in his words as my gaze went to the ceiling. That was actually a lot easier to understand than all of Alariel's psych major talk. I may not be a simple man, but I wholeheartedly subscribed to the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid. It hadn't failed me before, and in this case it still held water. He was right, I stood so far outside of what people would consider normal that they could never hope to understand what I considered routine. I still had one more question though. I looked at him, and he was slowly drinking the rest of his water, waiting for me to process his words.

"How did you get used to having multiple women all agreeing to share you?"

He choked on a drink, some coming from his nose as he did. The glass almost flew from his hand, but he kept a grip on it, if only barely. His other hand started beating on his chest for a couple seconds before he sucked in a breath. What came next was a rasping laugh broken up by short coughs that went on for almost thirty seconds. In that time, the imposing, dangerous and dark figure that he had cast when I first met him, and the volcano of rage and hate he had just been, were shattered like glass. He seemed incredibly human in that moment, and I needed that right now. If this man, who seemed like some average person when he wasn't fully geared up, could keep multiple women with him happy and content, well maybe there was hope for me to understand that power myself.

"Fuck. Brother, I still go to bed and wake up every day thanking whatever god out there allowed me to have them in my life, because I sure as hell have no idea how my dumb ass managed to catch their attention. I'm not sure I'll ever be used to it, but that makes each day new and exciting, because they give me so much to look forward to, and every single reason in the world to come back from every mission alive and well."

He pushed himself up, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen off one corner of the table. He jotted down something on it before handing it to me.

"Here, if you ever start needing someone to tell things to you in dumb, just ask, because it seems like miss shrink over there can't speak in KISS."

I nodded, taking the paper with his phone number on it and stuffing it in my pocket as I heard my doctor mumble something under her breath that I didn't catch. Mako moved to the door, opening it gently.

"Thanks, but where are you going?"

He grinned before placing the mask back on his face.

"Gotta go home, I have my sister, a sexy pair of sirens, and a crazy snake waiting for me, along with delivering a certain bitch to the big man himself, and I've got a few questions for him too..."

He shook his head, seemingly shaking off some dark thoughts.

"He decided that Lady Zarika deserves a more personal touch, plus Miss Berain needs to have a threat level designated to her, so we know how often to check in on her. If you ever find yourself without a person to drink with, hit me up, we can grab a couple."

With that, he was gone, out the door and on his way home. Back to his lovers, just as I should be, but first I had a lot to think about. Alariel got up as well, and squeezed my shoulder as she left too, obviously leaving me to puzzle things out on my own, something I felt like she was going to do as well. Both of us had plenty of things to think about after that brief meeting.