No Words
She was six years old and he was seven. She had just scraped her knee on a sharp rock near the Kalay lake shore. The crying was inevitable, and both of them knew that their parents would scold them later for going out by themselves; her father would yell at her and his mother would ground him as always. Then, later that night, they'd sneak out and do it all over again save for the scrape of the knee.
Karis sat on the sand, clutching her knee, rocking back and forth and trying not to cry though her eyes were already drenched. Matthew sat next to her, not entirely sure what he could do to calm his friend. But he remembered what his dad would do whenever his mom got hurt. He would put an arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his chest - or something like that, anyway. Parents were weird.
And besides, girls had cooties. He didn't want to get sick.
But the crying girl next to him was sobbing so hard now that it was hard to ignore, and he didn't want the neighbors, let alone his parents, to hear. Getting sick was better than getting in trouble.
"Matthew, it...it hurts," the young Jupiter Adept squeaked out, attempting to control her sobs once more, to no avail of course.
He glanced around himself quickly while biting his lip (he especially didn't want his friend Tyrell to see him do this) and once he saw nobody around them, he scooted closer to her, leaning down just enough so he was right near her ear.
"Shh. Karis, shh. We don't want to get caught." And with as little awkwardness and embarrassment that he could do it with, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into his chest.
No words were said as Karis's crying was quieted just a little and Matthew stared out into the lake, watching the reflection of the moon dance across the ripples. He guessed that they'd stay here like this for a while - or at least until they were caught - and he had to admit to himself, maybe getting girl cooties wasn't so bad.
...
She was fourteen years old and he was fifteen. She had just been dumped by her very first boyfriend after a month of dating. She was staying with Matthew and his dad because she wanted to see what all the fuss over the remains of Mt. Aleph was about, and back in Kalay she left the boy. He didn't want to be with her anymore because she would've been gone a lot and he couldn't deal with it.
The ponytailed girl wouldn't stop crying the entire night, and who could comfort her better than her best friend? Nobody, Matthew told himself.
So he stayed with her that night in the basement, listening to her stories about her teenage month-long relationship and its problems and why she was better off without him anyway but why it still hurts. And he was there for her no matter how much it hurt him to know that she still harbored feelings for another guy even when there was a boy who was perfectly capable of caring for her right there next to her. Maybe someday.
The next morning the two awoke to the sound of the spring birds chirping outside the window, which was cracked open just a tad so the chilly air crept in slowly, with the blonde's arms around the green-haired girl. Blushes were made, as well as an apology from the boy, but all was seemingly forgotten later in the day.
And she probably would have forgotten it had it not been for the oaf Tyrell making a fool out of himself once more as he asked Karis what she was going to do without "John-a-thon." The girl's eyes brimmed with tears and she ran inside the house, making her way to the downstairs room as quickly as she could. The blond Venus Adept followed after shortly.
No words were said as the crying and the sobbing slowly stopped and Karis soon fell asleep in Matthew's arms. He realized that almost nothing was better than this, the only thing that could be better being that she was happy.
...
She was sixteen years old and he was seventeen. She and her two guy friends, Matthew and Tyrell, were being pushed to recover a feather from the Mountain Roc to repair the soarwing.
He was standing on the bridge by himself, staring off into the distance, at Mt. Aleph those thousands of yards away, thinking about the relationship he and his father had. It wasn't like they were physically distanced like he and his mother were - it was all emotional space. All Isaac ever did was wander around the house thinking out loud and pacing, or travel out to Mt. Aleph to try and rediscover some strange phenomenon that he had already found. On a not-so-bad day, in Isaac's mind anyway, he would bring Matthew along with him on his two-day trip to the mountain.
He never wanted to go, and it certainly showed on his face when he was dragged around to the site, but if he wanted to spend any quality time with his father at all, he went.
The blonde sighed to himself, but apparently it was louder than he thought because his friends some feet away noticed it.
"Matthew, come on! You've been there for at least ten minutes already!" the redheaded Tyrell chided. His arms were crossed and he wore a pouty look. "Shouldn't we get going? I mean, really, just because your dad - "
"Tyrell!" Karis elbowed him in the ribs, which he rubbed at tenderly as she made her way over to the Venus Adept. She set her arms on the rope of the bridge and stared out.
"My father sent me here to live with you guys because he thought I needed to learn some responsibility." She paused for a second, turned to look at him, then resumed talking. "And he didn't want to deal with me, anyway. He said I was becoming just like my mother."
Matthew stayed silent, much like he had during the years spent living with his father on the Plateau. He was never one for more words than needed, but maybe if Karis was about to have another breakdown...
"I didn't come here because I was interested in Mt. Aleph." She was looking down now, past her feet, into the depth of the ground beneath them.
And then she remembered why she went over there to talk to him in the first place. "I know it's kind of hard to imagine it, but I know what you're going through right now. I mean, your father not being here and all."
She lightly put a hand over his, and then after a few seconds she let it act on its own, pressing against his. She felt something she couldn't really describe and for some odd reason her cheeks heated up.
No words were said then, and when she looked at him she swore she saw a stray tear slide off of his face and fall into the seemingly-abyss that was the plateau.
...
She was twenty-two years old and he was twenty-three. She was clothed chest to toe in a brilliant white wedding gown, a see-through white veil covering her face as she walked down the aisle with her father - whom she had made up with several years prior.
He was clothed in a jet black tuxedo with a white undershirt and rose pinned on, and his eyes lit up as they followed the gorgeous girl with the green hair making her way up the aisle. He flashed a huge grin and clenched his hands more together as her footsteps grew closer and closer, and it took every ounce of his energy to not grab her right then and there and kiss her. Karis's father would probably object too, so there was that as well.
As they approached the alter, Karis turned to her father, Ivan, and kissed his cheek tenderly, and he unhooked his arm from hers. When he walked away, everybody could tell that he had started to cry. Everyone in front of them sat at the same time, and Matthew took Karis's hands as she swung around to stand in front of him, staring into his eyes as her own shined with happiness.
The tradition was read by the book by the priest, the vows were said by the young lovers, and all the while their family and friends stared in awe at how in love they seemed to be.
When it came time to exchange rings, Matthew fumbled with his fingers, seemingly unable to hold his hand steady enough to slip the jewelry on Karis's dainty finger. She of course had no problem - her name reflected grace, after all. He finally got together his bearings, though, and managed to slide it over her finger.
"I, Matthew, wed thee with this ring. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health." And with his eyes he told her he loved her, and she responded with the biggest smile she had ever given him.
The time seemed to drag on and on and finally the priest announced, "You may now kiss the bride."
And that's just what Matthew did.
...
Later that night, they returned to the inn they rented out for the next night or three, and both were so wrapped up in one another that neither of them noticed when they hit the bed, let alone when they collapsed onto it.
Karis climbed on top of him while kissing him with so much passion and lust that he couldn't help but let out a groan as the bottom half of his body involuntarily bucked up.
She giggled down at him. "Well, I can tell you're excited," she teased. Her hands fumbled with the hooks on his belt, and once that was off they tugged at the zipper to his pants. She pushed herself back down onto him as her hands went to work teasing him outside of his boxers, kissing his mouth forcefully. She pulled away momentarily, though, and Matthew took the opportunity to speak.
"I don't think I'm the only one that's excited." And he let out another groan as Karis touched one of his sweet spots. Then he realized that this was totally unfair. He used a little force to flip themselves over, his dress pants sliding down a little in the process, and made it so that he was on top of her now, kissing at the corners of her mouth. She gasped sharply and pulled her hands away from him as one of his hands found its way underneath her dress. It crawled up her smooth leg and stopped at her pantyline, the fingers threading through the fabric.
"Matthew..." she trailed, lost in a daze from his touch. She tangled her fingers into his hair and pushed herself up closer to him, not really knowing why. Matthew took more advantage of her daze to lower her panties away from her person, sliding them down her legs very slowly, as if to tease her as she had done to him. He heard another gasp escape from her lips and he kissed her fiercely, but she pulled away quickly.
"I want you," she whispered, gazing into his eyes. "Take me now, Matthew."
Matthew complied - how could he honestly resist her pleading? - and began to strip off the rest of his clothes. Then he proceeded to unzip her dress. He wasn't sure of how fast or slow to go, and when Karis's hand rested on his erect member he abruptly stopped, shocks and tingles being sent throughout his entire body.
"Karis..." he groaned, too in-lust to be confused. The bride was in the process of moving her hands up and down along his shaft, listening to his heavy breaths and grunts. She felt a little experimental and flipped themselves over so that she was on top, and she slid down so she was directly in front of his member. She stuck out her tongue and touched the head, jerking back a little when she heard Matthew gasp sharply. Then she realized it was fine and went back to work, running her tongue up and down the shaft, her hands trailing behind, slowly closing her mouth over it.
After a few minutes of this torment, Matthew felt a familiar buildup of fluid that he wouldn't be able to control. "Karis... I'm gonna..."
And that was all the warning she had before her mouth was filled with his seed. She swallowed it happily and looked up at the Venus Adept, whose eyes were still glazed over.
"Th-that was amazing," he managed to say. He looked down at Karis as a devious smirk spread across his face.
Karis smiled, but she didn't quite know what he had in mind next.
Her dress still hung halfway on her body and Matthew was quick to jump on that as Karis climbed on top of him. He unzipped the dress the rest of the way and slid it down very quickly, being sure to squeeze her exposed bottom as the fabric left it. She gasped and closed her eyes, now being fully nude in front of him for the first time.
Matthew didn't seem to mind much. He played the flipping game again and surprised Karis when he latched onto one of her nipples, sucking like a babe. She moaned out his name as he continued, the pleasure sending her over the edge.
Moments passed and one of Matthew's hands found its way to where her pantyline would've been. His hand ran along the smooth mound at first, and she gasped, and then it slid down to right in front of her slit where it played with her juices. His lips were still attached to her breasts but when her gasps became sharper he pulled away and moved them down to her entrance where his hand was. He moved her lips out of the way so he could see the bud, and then he experimentally licked it with the tip of his tongue. Karis shuddered and moaned in response, and Matthew thought he was doing something right.
He continued pleasuring her with his tongue and stuck one of his fingers inside, hearing her moan louder. As he licked and moved faster, she moaned louder, and soon he entered another finger. She gasped again and moaned his name.
After a while, her resistance started to build up and she called out for him. "Matthew, I'm...I'm - "
And she was silenced by his kiss as he moved his mouth away from her area and towards her mouth. She could taste herself on his lips, but it wasn't unpleasant. She wasn't really thinking about that anyway, as she climaxed right as he kissed her, her moans being suppressed by his mouth. Matthew took his fingers out and pulled away from her, licking them clean. Too bad she wasn't watching though, her eyes still closed.
"Matthew... I can't take this anymore," she choked out. She kissed his mouth again, hard and more fierce this time, and when she pulled away, her words made his member instantly hard, as if it wasn't before.
"I love you. No more teasing, just take me." And she kissed him again.
He seemed to understand what she meant and pulled away ever-so-slightly so that he could position himself at her entrance. He looked at her with his loving gaze and asked with his eyes if she really wanted to do this. Hers answered yes, and so he pushed himself into her, both grunting, as far as he could until he was met with resistance.
"Just do it," she whispered, bracing herself.
Matthew did, and when it snapped Karis cried out but he silenced her with another of his kisses. Soon he was moving smoothly and both were receiving pleasure.
No words were said as their two rhythms became one during the late night, the troubles of the world forgotten if only for that moment.
...
He was thirty-two years old. He was seated at the bedside, one hand in hers, the other on his blond head trying to mask his tear-filled face. Her limpless form lay on the hospital bed, her final moments already spent with him. The hardest part was already over.
She was always so innovative, he reminisced. Karis would always come up with new inventions - she had tried to fix the soarwing herself multiple times during the journey - and sometimes they would work.
But other times they wouldn't.
It was a sort of freak accident, he remembered. She had just built a carrier that was powered by wind. It was just like the soarwing, except it didn't need such a large feather like that of a Mountain Roc, just some simple pigeon's feathers would do. She was demonstrating how it worked to Matthew, as if he could use it anyway. The only time he would ever use it was with her when she could propel themselves around.
They were back at the plateau, celebrating the birth of their new baby girl, Hama (by request of Ivan), and there was a gathering at Isaac's cabin; Isaac, Jenna, Tyrell, Garet, Ivan, and the happy couple with their baby were all present. Karis was about to show Matthew how it worked and attracted the attention of the others. So she stepped out onto the ledge that, with one wrong step, would send someone tumbling into the canyon below, took a deep breath, and jumped as far out as she could. Then she pulled a string on the carrier that was supposed to activate the feathers, allowing her to blow wind up to them and control her movements.
But nothing happened.
So she tried to yank the string again, but it was stuck. By now she was already losing air time and gaining velocity as she began to plummet to the ground below. Everybody grew panicked and Matthew handed Hama to Isaac, and he and Ivan sprinted to the ledge and began shouting. Ivan attempted to use gusts of wind to bring her back, but she was already too far down.
"KARIS!" he screamed at her.
But it was too late.
When Matthew and Ivan reached the bottom of the plateau, Matthew's still-developing life-sensing Venus powers told him there was nothing there besides himself and his father-in-law.
Karis's seemingly-lifeless body lay at the bottom of the cliff, face-down in the ground. She wasn't moving.
Matthew tried to block out the rest after that, and he definitely didn't want to recall anything else as he sat by the hospital bed, wishing the Mercury Adepts who worked there could do more for his beautiful wife.
He wasn't the only one in the room, though. On the other side of the bed sat Ivan, holding baby Hama in one arm and his lap as his other held Karis's other hand. there was nothing to say - absolutely no words could reflect how either male was feeling at that moment.
One of the Mercury nurses stepped into the room.
"Visiting hours are over," she said in the smallest voice possible. A game of rock-paper-scissors decided that she was the one to break the news. She left the room.
The time wasn't enough for Matthew, but he reasoned with himself that he had spent eight hours alone in a room with his not-alive wife and Ivan. Hama went in and out between caretakers because she was either fussy, tired, or hungry.
As much as it killed him to leave, Karis was Ivan's daughter. Family always trumps over spouses.
Matthew kissed Karis's hand for the last time, then her forehead, then her cold lips. He walked over to Ivan and took Hama from him - luckily she was sleeping.
"You know how much I loved her," he said to his father-in-law, staring straight into his eyes. Ivan nodded back.
No other words were said as the young man exited the room with his two-year-old daughter, leaving Ivan behind with his dead daughter.
A/N: MY FIRST LEMON. Totally not awkward saying that after I almost cried writing this ending. So, uh, this has been in my documents for less than a month, but I spent a little bit of every day writing parts of the lemon. And lemme just say that it's really weird writing your first lemon, because you really don't know how your readers will like it.
But...yeah. I hope you guys liked this. I really hope the lemon part wasn't that badly done or anything. I think it was needed to provoke the emotion I wanted in the end.
~CGA