Beauty and His Beast [MxM] (UNEDITED)
Chapter 25

Ares POV

"We have to go back. I know you really want to leave, but right now, going back is best." He said and for some reason, I wasn't afraid.

I had no idea why, but when he looked at me like that, all traces of fear I previously had, had vanished and I somehow knew that I that everything would be okay.

I nodded and heard him sigh as he untangled his hands from around my waist and stood up. I looked up at his towering figure and his extending hand. I took his hand in mine as he pulled me up to my feet.

"You were going the wrong way." He uttered with a smirk on his face as he turned and walked through the forest, making me raise my eyebrow in confusion as I followed him.

"What do you mean? I was following the North Star. It leads to my Kingdom doesn't it?" I asked as I struggled to keep up with his big strides that left him at least a few feet in front of me.

"Sure it does" he answered and I could just hear the humor in his voice as he walked.

"Then what's so funny?" I asked back and jogged ahead, walking at his side.

I looked at him as he turned his head towards me and smirked before he shook his head and laughed which only confused me even further.

"That isn't the North Star Ares. That's the Fate star." He replied and chuckled while I widened my eyes at the embarrassing situation when something made me narrow my eyes and look up at the sky, towards the bright star.

"Fate Star? I've never heard of that Star before" I replied as I walked next to him.

"Most of people believe it's just a myth from the old folks. That it doesn't exactly exist." He answered as he walked on.

"And you do? Believe in it I mean?" I asked as I watched him shrug.

"I didn't have a reason to before now." He answered, making me feel that feeling of speechlessness as my face heated up once again.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, occasionally stealing glimpses of each other along the way, most of wherein I would feel so embarrassed that he caught me and would just look right ahead and before I knew it, we had reached the side of the wall.

The very wall I had walked out of and thought I had finally got my freedom back, and yet now, with this knew found feeling I had within me, looking back at the very wall, I didn't feel as though I was going to be imprisoned once again. Oddly enough, I felt..

At home.

I couldn't understand the shift and change in the feelings I was had within in minutes, and I didn't have time to ponder over it when I heard his voice, breaking my train of thought.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked.

I turned and looked at him. Lacing my fingers through his and smiled at him. I saw him look down at our joined hands before he looked back at me.

"I will be this time." I answered and squeezed his hand slightly before I walked through the crack in the wall and found my way to his room, or should I say..

Our room.

I sat down on the bed while he piled the bricks up and closed the wall before he turned towards me and scratched the back of his head, making me smile at his awkward pose when I fully noticed his injuries now that we were in light. The gash on his forehead was pretty bad and it looked as though it was taking its own time to heal.

I frowned as I stood up from the bed and walked towards him. I placed my hand on the side of his face and ran my thumb across his cheek.

"You're hurt. Let me see." I said in a whisper.

He looked back at me, about to argue that he wasn't when I glared at him slightly making him sigh as he dropped his hands and began to unbutton his upper garment and dropped it to the ground before he made his way to the bed and sat down, making me gasp slightly as his body and it wasn't the fact that he was the epitome of everything male, but rather that..

His entire body was filled with scars.

Scars that completely filled every inch of his toned torso and ran down his muscled abs. Some deep enough to make me shudder at the pain he had to endure to receive them, while others looked as though he had done them himself.

I walked towards him and stood behind him. I gently placed my hands on the lighter scars and felt my heart throb at the pain he was going through in enough to do that do himself.

I ran my hands down his back before I lowered my head and placed a kiss against his shoulder blade, seeing goosebumps spread across his skin.

I got up and fetched a bowl of water and a cloth. I sat down behind him and crossed my legs as I ran the cloth against his back, cleaning up all traces of his blood.

All the while, he hadn't said anything and neither did I, because honestly I didn't know what to say. I had never been in this situation before wherein I had to comfort someone else.

Once I was done washing off his back, I stood up and walked towards the front, where I saw him lowering his head. I bent down on my knees in front of him and watched as he looked at the ground.

I slowly ran the cloth against his chest, and down his stomach, and not even once had he looked at me, almost as if he was afraid to, or rather..

Afraid of what he would see.

I placed the cloth back into the bowl of water that was once clear, now crimson red stained with his blood, and placed my index finger beneath his chin, lifting it up so he could look at me.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his, running my fingers through his soft black hair, and this time I used his reluctance to my advantage and took over the kiss as I pried his mouth open and slipped my tongue into his mouth. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I stood up and climbed on to his lap, moving my mouth against his.

I felt him slowly wrap his muscled arms around my waist and press his body against mine, returning my kiss which made me smile against mouth.

"I'm sorry." I uttered against his mouth when I broke away.

He tilted his head, his expression asking me what for, and yet he hadn't said anything, almost as if he didn't even trust his own voice.

I ran my fingers down his torso and over his multiple scars, feeling it beneath my fingers made it all the more real and for a split second, I felt his pain.

So severe that I felt it in my own core. I felt the loneliness and despair he had been living. The pain and hurt he had felt over the years , the numerous times he had cried himself to sleep asking himself why, and that alone left me dumbfounded.

How I could feel what he felt even if it was for a split second, left me completely speechless. And I wrapped my arms around him, hugging his body against mine, my face buried in his shoulder as I whispered.

"I'm sorry no one showed you what love was"