Aurelian Ace

Aurelian Ace - 19.01.2013 - Non betaed, no proofreading. All mistakes are mine.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aurelian often wondered how his life got to that point. He was a calm man, he delighted in peace. He prefered to spend his days smoking and listening to music.

But things didn't work that way for him, they weren't that simple. He loved Miniplanes. Loved them to bits. He started flying miniplanes at a young age; with them he found out the taste for adrenaline and adventure. With them he flew into the most dangerous places of the world, he did things people would doubt, maneuvers that would get another pilot killed... And that earned his nickname. The Heartstopper.

It got downhill from there. His name didn't help either. When people met Aurelian Ace, they expected a flamboyant, exuberant character. When he got old enough to understand deception, he decided to give people what they wanted. The Heartstopper with dangerous, dark eyes, the Casanova, the man who had everything. Even if he saw himself just as a tired man with a horrible mustache and curly long hair, a pot belly and the thinnest legs in this side of the Atlantic.

But he didn't have everything.

He didn't own his own heart, for starters.

The Miniplane came down, in a cloud of smoke, flames visible on it's tail and one of the wings, dangerously close to the cockpit. Aurelian held his breath and watched as the miniplane landed expertly. He wouldn't expect less from one of his pilots, and especially that pilot.

As soon as it stopped, people ran to it, with extinguishers, as the pilot jumped from the miniplane to the ground.

And that was the moment when the Heartstopper's heart stopped.

The screen of mist and the smoke opened as Diamond walked, slowly uncovering her body. Aurelian placed his hands on his back, one hand holding the other, as if the sole gesture could stop him from touching her. She kept walking in his direction, pulling her glasses and the improvised mask off. She was smiling.

Aurelian did his best to look stern, but his eyes showed how fond he was of the woman... He was glad people didn't know him well enough to see.

Diamond Hearts. The one woman who stole his. The beautiful, reckless, fearless, fierce, independent pilot who destroyed one of his beloved miniplanes every time she went for a delivery. The woman who took the most dangerous jobs offered by the company and, hell if he would admit it out loud, helped to build the company's reputation.

She opened a giant smile as she stepped in front of him. He was always amazed at how short she was and he made an effort not to smile. Diamond shoved one hand carelessly into her pocket and pushed the retrieved envelope against his chest with some strength.

"Your answer." Diamond stepped back, winked and walked away, her hips swaying, promising all kinds of pleasure to any man who dared to get close enough to her fire. "I'll be in the bar. Call me if you have another delivery in a war zone."

He kept looking at the plane; with the corner of his eye he saw her turning to watch him and, for a moment, he saw the same longing in her eyes. Aurelian knew she wanted him just as much he wanted her, but as much as he wanted to spank her, to love her, to lose himself in her body and her personality, he knew he couldn't stop her. Aurelian didn't want the dread and the dispair every time she climbed on a miniplane, the suffering it would come if he gave in to her love, the anger whenever he watched her take unecessary risks. At the same time, he wouldn't dare stop her from flying, from being herself. He couldn't. It would destroy her, and he loved Diamond too much to do it. Well, she would cut his balls off if he tried anyway.

So he stayed quiet. Stern. Distant. Cold. Disapproving of her antics.

Maybe she would stop someday. Maybe she would calm down, stop taking unecessary risks with her life. Maybe she would show him why the guys in the clubhouse called her Club and Spades then.

He could only wait.