The sunlight blinds Mallory and forces her to wake up. She felt a little heart attack as soon as she opens her eyes. Axel is peacefully sleeping next to her, Mallory starts to blush at how close their bodies are.
"I won't let you cry alone tonight." Those words echo in her head as she studies his face.
He looks much more handsome when his unguarded but the dark circle and lines under his eyes worry Mallory a little. After all he does look like his stressed out most of the time. She continued to watch him sleep, she traced his jawline and then something suddenly hits her. 'Oh, shit! I'm being creepy right now.' She thought as she carefully gets out of the bed so she doesn't wake him up. She tiptoes out of the room to make something nice. She hums happily as she place a plate of scrambled eggs on the kitchen island.
"What's this all about?" The sudden voice makes her jump a little. Mallory fidget nervously as he curiously eyes the food. "More eggs?"
"Maybe you should buy more foods for the fridge, then." He chuckles low, his curious gaze shifting to her.
"Is there any reason why you're suddenly doing this?"
"Well… I-It's actually a thankful breakfast." She said shyly, looking down at the floor.
Axel picks up a fork to take a bite of the scrambled eggs. Mallory fidget even more trying to hold her breathe for any response. "This is great. Thank you so much." His appreciative smile sends some butterflies in her stomach. "I think we should dig in before it gets cold."
"Right, thank you for the food."
"I should be the one thanking you instead." He smiles make her blush again. They fall into an awkward silence, focusing on the food. Axel dispels the awkwardness by turning on the TV in the kitchen.
The morning news is on and both of their eyes are glued to the TV right away when they heard its news coverage about drugs. "What the…" Mallory couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the same man who framed her up and made her lose her job.
"It is believed that illegal activities occurred in his residence but an investigation is still ongoing." The reported said, showing at the man's residence.
"Isn't it the man we met yesterday? Do you know anything about this?"
"N-Not at all." She said in disbelief.
"This is great news, isn't it?" Mallory look behind to see a familiar warm smile from the Grimm Reaper.
As much as she wants to apologize, she couldn't do Axel thinking that she's crazy. "So did you still regret what happened yesterday?" Mallory quickly shake her head.
"Mallory I'm really glad you're alright now." He caresses her cheek gently with a kind smile. She feels heavy with guilt after what happened last night but she can't voice her thoughts so she only nods earnestly at his words. The Reaper wipes a stray of tear away from her eyes. "It's okay, Mallory. I'm not mad at you."
'But you should be!' She wants to yell and literally punch herself right now.
"I'll check up on you later, okay? Take care." The Reaper disappears again as she grip tightly to her dress.
'I need to apologize to him next time.'
"Hey, are you okay?" Axel's voice brings her back to reality.
'I really need to stop crying. I need to be strong!'
"Of course."
"He was a jerk colleague, wasn't he?"
"I don't think 'jerk' is enough to emphasize how horrible he was." He gives her a hopeful smile to cheer her up. She smile back, taking a deep breathe.
"Well, I guess this is it."
"What do you mean?" Axel asks.
"You already fulfilled my wish so there's nothing else I can ask from you."
"Wait, you can't just leave like that!" Mallory looks at him in confusion.
"Urm… Yes, I can. Look I'm not even an invited guest here."
"Where are you even going? Didn't you tell me you have nowhere else to stay?"
"I'm a big girl, Axel. I think I could figure this out on my own."
"Do you even have enough money to rent a place?"
"Like I said, I'll figure it on my own. Don't worry I won't tell the media anything."
'It's not like they are going to believe me in the first place anyway.' She thought.
"I'm so thankful for the beautiful clothes you gave me yesterday and for giving me a place to stay… urm… even though I actually blackmail you just to stay here. Thank you for making me felt like I'm home again." Mallory stands to go pack up her stuff but Axel stands in the way.
"I'm not letting you leave."
"I'm serious, Axel." She looks up at him, challengingly.
He returns her fierce gaze. "I'm serious too. I want you to stay, Mallory."
"Why are you so suddenly pushing me to stay? From the moment we met, I've done nothing but threaten you." She yells, rubbing her temples. "You're supposed to hate me, Axel. So you should be happy that I'm leaving!" Her voice gets louder and louder as they spill out.
He closes the distance between them. "But I don't!" Mallory is stunned into silence when she hears him raise his voice for the first time. Axel immediately clears his throat awkwardly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice."
They take a silent moment processing what just happened. "Look, my conscience can't leave you out there homeless."
"But it doesn't feel right." She whispers but Axel heard her.
"Then this time I'm officially inviting you."
"And why is that? We barely even know each other?"
"We slept together---"
"Don't even think about finishing that sentencing! If people hear this, they could get the wrong idea." She said immediately cutting his sentence.
"Sorry." He said, shyly. "Mallory you're welcome to stay here as long as you need." Mallory study his expression suspiciously, crossing her arms.
"Are there any other ulterior motive why you are letting me stay?" She clears her throat, trying to put a brave face. "Like making me do something crazy as payback?"
"I haven't decided yet." Axel laughs giving her a playful look. "So what do you say, Mallory?" He holds out his hand for a handshake.
She looks at it for a few seconds and then shakes it firmly. "Okay, fine. But only for one hundred days like we promised before."