Axton groaned sleepily as he woke up slowly. Pandoran light streamed in the window as small flitters tweeted outside. Axton looked outside, wondering what the day held.
Pandora was a far different place than it was when he had first arrived three years ago. Jack was dead, and Hyperion had left the system in disarray. The bandit population was beginning to go down, and the majority of the seriously dangerous creatures were dead. While still dangerous and mostly lawless, the Crimson Raiders were doing the best they could without Roland to settle and tame the Pandoran wilderness, and their efforts were not in vain.
Most of the Raiders looked to Axton as a leader, after the other three senior Vault Hunters had departed the system. "Need to get back out there." was all Mordicai said when Axton questioned their decision. Former Staff Sergeant Axton was certainly no stranger to command, but having a squad and having a small army under your command were two slightly different things. It was hard going, and they all had their fair share of mishaps, but they were getting through it, and growing all the while. He'd never give up. Never as long as he had…
She shifted next to him, letting out a cute yawn that made him want to scoop her into his arms and cuddle her all day. He looked over at the woman he loved laying next to him, her cyborg arm wrapped around his belly. Several months back, they had painted the arm to make it flesh-toned, as opposed to the cold gunmetal it had been before. Her flesh arm pressed against his shoulder blade, pushing lightly. She was wearing one of his old Dahl Military undershirts, the small woman practically swimming in the tan fabric. Her hair was down, and it was fanned out around her, the spiky red locks creating a beautiful backdrop for the rest of her face. Her features still had the roundness of youth yet the fullness of a woman. Her sparkling green eyes were sqeezed tightly shut, a habit of sleep that Axton adored. A very light smattering of freckles dotted the brige of her nose, continuing to just below her eyes. Axton hadn't noticed her freckles until almost a year after he had met her, just because of the blood, grime, and dust that often consumed the both of them.
He remembered back to when they first met, just a week after Axton had first come to Pandora. The train was supposed to be taking him to Sanctuary, at least close enough to jump off and have a three-day ruckmarch back, something the Commando could do in his sleep. The train hadn't made it halfway before Axton was attacked by loaders. While fleeing into another train car to escape, he had discovered it was loaded with enough explosives to level a city block. Looking at the timer, he saw a red digitized 30, and it was counting down steadily. He turned and ran as fast as he could the other way, barreling past the loaders. He kicked in the door to the next car, seeing it to be empty, and ran through it. He knew that there had to be less than ten seconds left as he shoulder charged the door and fell into the next car. Glancing around, he saw her. She was sitting on a crate looking at him in surprise, her hair in pigtails and her attire that of a rebellious teenager. He immediately tackled her, yelling "Get down!" as he did.
The train exploded a moment later, and the two were thrown from the wreckage a good distance. Axton woke up first, and immediately staggered to his feet, bleeding from multiple wounds in various places, including a few cracked ribs and several second-degree burns on his back, and what felt like a dislocated leg. He took one step before collapsing back into the snowbank, grunting in pain as he sat up. He wouldn't even have been conscious if it weren't for his Dahl cybernetic upgrades, which were pumping his bloodstream full of morphine to try and compensate for the massive trauma his body had experienced. He screamed at the sky as he popped his leg back into place, and attempted to stand again. He realized he could walk, although he wasn't going to be running a marathon in his current condition. His mind was laser-focused on one thing only, however. He immediately switched on his shoulder-mounted camera, changed the settings for infrared, and synced the camera's view to his own by pressing his small rank chevron above his eye. The camera was heavily damaged, he realized. His vision appeared to have a large crack down the center, with several smaller cracks creeping like spiderwebs.
Thankfully, the camera's IR still worked. He found a faint heat signature about thirty feet away, and he immediately rushed to the position, switching the camera off and allowing his natural vision to take back over. She was laying in a small skid bank of snow, and his HUD told him that she was losing heat fast, but her injuries were far less severe than his. Her current attire, however, did little to contain heat, and Axton knew she wouldn't make it much longer if he didn't do something. He threw his pack to the ground, rifling through it. Most of his weapon SDUs were gone, as well as his shield. He still had some for spare jackets, as well as food and water. He digistructed two jackets, letting the charred, scorched jacket fall off his shoulders and into the snow. He put the jacket on the young woman before replacing his own. He replaced his pack, picking up the girl. She was light, and he carried her gently, being very conscious of her wounds, slightly less so of his. He hadn't noticed the metal arm the first time he saw her, and it wrapped itself around his shoulders as if it had a mind of its own. It made supporting her very easy.
He staggered through the snow, eventually reaching a ramshackle house that he pounded on the door. When no one answered, he gave the door a good kick. It flew open, and Axton staggered in, seeing it was a small cabin made mostly of recycled sheet metal and wood. He did his best to ignore the blood splattered all over the wall, and laid the girl on the couch in the corner. He shut the door, and took inventory of their surroundings. The cabin was small but quite nicely furnished with the couch, a fireplace, and a table with chairs by a small cookstove. His eyes went back to the fireplace. He immediately moved to it and attempted to start a fire. After about five minutes of rubbing two of the logs together, he noticed the matches on the floor beside him. He cursed his stupidity and glanced behind him at the girl, thanking whatever power that she didn't see that. As he got the fire roaring, he checked her temp again. She was getting warmer.
He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed into a chair. She was going to be okay. He had no clue why he even cared. It was just a teenager. Maybe that's why he cared. Despite all his flaws, he may just have a soft spot for children. As he looked at her again though, he realized how beautiful she was. She would be a gorgeous woman when she grew up.
If she grows up. The small voice in the back of his mind niggled.
"Shut up." Axton grumbled, irritated that his subconcious had to butt in.
Deny it all you want. You know what this planet does to people like her. It let out a small giggle.
"I'm not going to let that happen." Axton said resoulutely. He stood up, moving to the girls side. He hesitated for a moment, then he brushed his fingers over her cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Axton brushed his fingers against Gaige's cheek. It'd been three years since that night in the cabin, and he was still wholly dedicated to that promise. She squirmed in her sleep at his touch, a wan smile creeping over her face. A face that was full of life and love, that Axton could stare at for days and never get bored. He didn't know what had come over him the night he saved Gaige's life. He had never been thinking about sex, or how awesome she would think he was. Love had never crossed his mind. He saw something beautiful and wanted to protect it, that was all. Love had blossomed between the two on its own. Axton had immediately assumed the role of older brother for her, and she thought of him in much the same light. At least, he thought so. Then there was the night two years ago.
It had been a long day, and Gaige was tired. After they got back to Sanctuary from their last outing, Ax had gone straight to the bar, telling her to go home and rest up.
They shared a small apartment by the Crimson Raiders HQ, so Gaige had gone straight there. The two-story residence was not small, but it certainly wasn't a mansion. It had a small kitchenette and living room on the first floor, with a utility room with a washer and dryer. The bathroom was on the second floor, at the end of the hall next to Gaige's room. The stairs were located next to Axton's room, and he and Gaige shared a wall. The wall opposite had no doors, as it was part of another apartment. She had gone straight to her room, pausing only to grab a sleeve of crackers and some water, and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a nightshirt with a stenciled cartoon skull on it. She laid down, and tried to go to sleep, but it didn't work. She was far too giddy about Ax's proposal to stay inside and relax all day tomorrow. She idly wondered if tomorrow was going to be the day she finally got the nerve to kiss him.
She'd been feeling that way about him for almost a month, and she'd never be able to look him in the eye again if he said no or acted disgusted.
She suddenly facepalmed. That was why she couldn't sleep! She'd forgotten to take her hair down! Chuckling at her own stupidity, she got up, shutting her door behind her as she moved to the bathroom next door. She smiled at herself in the mirror. Tomorrow was going to be the day. She took her hair out of her usual pigtails, letting her shoulder-length red mane be free.
Just then, she heard the door open and shut below her, and she smiled brighter. Ax was home, and she was just about to open the door to go say goodnight when he heard a second voice from below. She recognized the low, seductive voice of that man-eating whore anywhere, and it made Gaige's blood boil. Mad Moxxi was putting the moves on her Ax, the man she loved and wanted to love her.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to cry.
She wanted to run downstairs as fast as her young legs would carry her and tell that pump, that disgusting nympho to get away from Ax.
She stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to do anything but listen to the conversation moving up the stairs.
"But what about Gaige, Sugar?" The pet name made Gaige clench her fist in silent anger.
"Don't worry about her, Mox. I'm sure she's already asleep." Ax's name for her made Gaige back away, until her back was pressed against the cold tile of the shower. This wasn't the first time this had happened, was it?
"Just go in there and get ready for me, I'll check on her." Moxxi growled something in response, and there was a fleshy smack, presumably Ax smacking her rump. The thought made Gaige queasy. Then she heard Ax knock on her closed bedroom door. "Gaige, you alive in there?" She remained silent in the bathroom. Then, as his voice receded slightly, "Told you Mox. She's out like a light the second she hits the bed."
Then the noises started. Gaige immediately felt the need to vomit and did so as quietly as she could, although with the amount of noise they were making, she felt like she could have shot herself in the face with Axton's Nukem and they wouldn't have noticed. As she stood up shakily, she glanced in the mirror and noticed that she was crying. Two long tracks cut through the day's dust and grime on her face like knives. She curled up into a fetal ball on the floor of the bathroom and cried herself to sleep.
She awoke to Ax yelling her name. She looked up and saw him standing over her in a white wifebeater and shorts. He immediately was on his knees, helping her sit up. "Holy shit Gaige, what happened?" She shot a glance into his room through the open door, and saw no trace of Moxxi. "Gaige. Can you hear me, what the hell happned to you?"
"Uh, it was…uh, really bad cramps. Yeah, my menstrual cramps were hurting a lot last night after we, uh, after we got home." She lied, knowing that saying anything about her period would cause Ax to immediately disengage from conversation. "Oh...okaaay then." Ax rubbed the back of his head. "Are you okay now?" "Yeah, I'm fine." She lied, looking down at the ground. She couldn't let him see the tears in her eyes.
After she had gotten her face washed off, flushed the toilet, and Ax had gone downstairs, she closed the bathroom door. She looked around guiltily, despite no one being around to see what she was about to do. She stripped naked in front of the mirror and looked at herself, inspecting her body for anything Ax might find appealing. She was disappointed. Her hair was spiky and far too red. She didn't think her face was particularly alluring, either. Her breasts were small, barely a B cup, and while her stomach was tight and firm, her rear was small as well. She sighed. She only had one thing to offer Ax, and she was sure he would just take it and run, if the encounter with Moxxi was anything to go by. She was a pitiful excuse for a woman next to Moxxi. As she put her clothes back on, she got a feeling of longing. Longing for Axton, longing to be wanted. She walked down the stairs, sitting on the couch.
"You hungry?" She hadn't noticed Ax behind the counter, pouring a bowl of cereal for himself. She shook her head quietly. She decided to stop using his nickname, it felt dirty. He put it away, moving to sit beside her. She scooted to the far side of the couch, away from him. He looked confused for a moment, then plunked down, grabbing his ECHO and switching his favorite radio station on, where a live reading of some short story was being played. It was a horror story, and Gaige could only take so much before she broke down again. Axton looked up from slurping the remaining milk from the bowl, muting the radio. Setting the bowl down and placing his ECHO back on the floor, he slid over to her side, where he gently put a hand to her shoulder. "Gaige?" She didn't respond, only ensnared him in a tight embrace that he returned, cradling her head in one of his hands, the other rubbing her back.
"L-last night" She blubbered into his shoulder. Axton felt his face grow hot instantly. "I-I was in the bathroom last night, p-putting my hair down…" Her breath hitched, and Axton pulled her into his lap, with her still clinging to him like a baby monkey to its mother. "And I-I heard everything. I-I'm so s-sorry Ax, for everything." He shushed her. "There's no need to apologize, Gaige. I'm the one who should be sorry. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, I need to be more careful around you. Gaige, listen to me. You're literally the only person that sees this side of me, I'm not comfortable like this around other people." She managed a small smile. "So under all that 'glory and badassitude' stuff, you're really just a big softie." He frowned for a moment, then chuckled. "Only for you, Gaige." She grew quiet. "Do you really mean that?" She asked, wiping the tears from her face with her human hand. Axton nodded. "Yes Gaige, I really mean it."
She just sat in his lap for a moment looking thoughtful. Then she launched herself at him. Her lips interlocked with his in a sloppy, inexperienced way. Axton let out a muffled noise that was a cross between a shout of surprise and her name. He was startled at first, but then realized why she was so destraught over last night and why she was apologizing. She was in love with him. He couldn't say exactly the same, but damn if he hadn't been noticing how cute she was lately. It made him feel incredibly guilty, or at least, it had. She broke the kiss, and his eyes fell upon Gaige, her spiky hair down and her green eyes shining in the sunlight from the window. Just then, he noticed something he had never seen before. Gaige had several dozen small feckles adorning her pale cheeks and nose. She looked at him longingly, and this time, it was him that made the first move. His coarse lips met her soft, inexperienced ones, slowly teaching her without words how to kiss. Gaige's mind was racing. This was even better than she had dreamed. His mouth tasted a bit like sour milk, but aside from that, everything was perfect. The way his strong arms held her firmly, but with just enough pressure to not feel demanding, but rather protecting. He smelled faintly of sweat but mostly of that cheap cologne he used that Gaige loved the smell of. His unshaved stubble grated against her chin, and she resisted the primal urge to moan as he turned her towards him so that she was straddling him.
She broke away again. "I love you Axton." She breathed breathlessly, barely above a whisper.
He answered truthfully, with no hesitation. "I love you too,Gaige."
She had just laid on top of him then, and the two had stayed like that all day, kissing and talking about how they felt. It wasn't until six months later that Gaige gave herself to Axton for the first time and made him promise her never to go to another woman. He had promised, and he had meant that promise, because Gaige was his world and she had given him her first everything.
Axton was snapped out of his reminiscing when those sparkling emerald eyes opened and focused on him. No matter how many times he saw them, they never failed to capture him completely. Despite her apparant self-image issues, he thought she was truly one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. While Moxxi was undeniably voluptuous, Gaige was more fit, with a tight frame and firm breasts and a firmer behind. Now 21, Gaige had blossomed into a gorgeous woman just as Axton had predicted. Axton, now 30, was the happiest man on Pandora.
Gaige kissed him good morning and his heart melted. Her hair was messy and her breath was stale, but she nibbled his bottom lip and Axton immediately straddled her. She giggled in the girly way he loved, and he took her shirt off impatiently. The soft fabric fell to the floor to reveal Gaige's braless body, her panties decorated with small Vault symbols. Axton wore black boxers, and her smaller hips were immediately grinding against his. He grinned and began to play with her breasts. She gasped his name, her painted cyborg arm immidiately going for the headboard of the bed, the flesh one burying itself in his hair. He teased her left nipple to firmness with his mouth, sucking, swirling his tounge around, and even a tiny bit of biting, before he released it with a loud *pop* and she cried out in pleasure. As he moved to work on her right, she ground her hips against his leg, her hot womanhood rubbing against his thigh. As she rythmmicly ground against him, he could feel the damp spot on her panties growing. As his mouth worked on her right bud, her mouth fell open in a feeling of pure escatcy. In her tired state, Ax's touch was overwhelming. She pulled him close to her, kissing him ferociously. His fingers ghosted across the moist fabric, feeling the small knob of flesh and giving it a small pinch. Gaige almost screamed into his mouth, and Axton chuckled. He loved seeing her like this. His finger hooked into her panties and pulled them down to her knees. Gaige's lower half let out an involuntary shiver as the cool morning air hit the moist folds of her senstitive womanhood. Axton's mouth worked down her body, from her throat to her collar to her belly to her navel. Once he reached her glistening slit, he gave her lips an experimental lick, eliciting a sharp hiss of breath from the redheaded woman. "Please don't tease me Ax, I need this." Without further hesitation, he plunged his tongue into her. She let out a small cry, and her thighs involuntaraly wrapped around his head. Axton flicked her clit with his tongue, and her breathing hitched, her fingers digging into Axton's hair. His stubble scratched her thighs and intensified the feeling of pleasure that threatened to boil over. Axton pushed his way back up to her, kissing her deeply. Meanwhile, his large finger slipped inside her, and she groaned. She kissed him harder as he advanced deeper inside of her, her walls involuntarily clenching as her orgasm swept over her. She screamed his name and buried her face into his shoulder, chanting that she loved him like a prayer.
Her nails dug into the scarred flesh of his back as he positioned his member outside of her entrance, preparing himself to enter her. Her mechanical arm grasped at the sheets, knowing that it could harm Ax if it grabbed at him. Then, with one fluid motion, Axton thust himself into her, and reality shattered into a million tiny fragments. The burning in her navel hurt, but it felt like the best pain in the world. She finally returned to the real world, after what felt like an eternity, but was only a few moments. Then he started moving. Her mouth moved without her permission, making senseless vows and declarations of love. His member felt hot and solid inside of her, and she moaned as he found her special spot, then lost it again. His fingers moved to her breasts, teasing her nipples. Her hand moved from his back to her own clit, swirling her fingers in erratic motions that caused her heat to increase several degrees as her second orgasm grew closer and closer. The loud smacks of their thighs grew wetter as he grew soaked with her orgasm. She could feel her second about to spill over, when Axton suddenly plunged himself into her to the hilt. Her orgasm hit prematurely, squeezing Axton's length with the force of a vice. She heard him grunt "Good god, you're so fucking tight." All she could do was groan.
Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed her rear. She let out a squeal of surprise as he flipped the two over while she was still riding out her orgasm. Once she had regained control, she pressed her slight body against Axton's muscular frame. They met in a gentle kiss, Gaige smiling as she began moving again, a small squish marking Axton's member sliding back inside of her. She sat on her hands and knees, kissing Axton as her hips moved back and forth on her lovers hard manhood. As she picked up speed, she leaned back on her knees and grasped at her own breasts with her right hand, the cold metal of her left hand teasing her clit as she rode Axton. He grunted and grabbed her hips, feeling his own orgasm approching.
As she rode him to her third orgasm, he grunted her name, before she felt the burning sensation of Axton's love grenade exploding inside of her womb. That had never happened before. It was a moment before the realization hit her.
Ax just came inside me.
The thought was so hot, so overwhelmingly dirty, that it caused her to orgasm a third and final time, before she finally collapsed on top of him. The two lay there, a hot sweaty pile of boneless nudity, for some time. The flitters outside eventually returned from Gaige's loud screams, singing their songs for their tired audience. Gaige eventually shifted, Axton slipping out of her as she did so.
She moved up to cuddle with him, and he returned her embrace, the two gazing into each others eyes. Gaige bit her lip, something Axton immediately took note. "What's the matter sweetie?" He asked her. She shook her head. "I'm worried." He glanced down at her abdomen, then back up to her eyes. She nodded in understandment. He placed one of his hands on her stomach. "Don't worry." He winked at her. "I have a plan."
Money can do a lot of things. It has the power to start wars, as well as end them. It also has the power to destroy lives…
As well as create them.
Eden 5 was a beautiful planet. It was home to some of the most beautiful artificial forests in the six galaxies, full of green and life. A second Terra, the inhabitants had taken special care not to repeat the mistakes that had annihilated their mother planet. In time, Eden 5 had become a more perfect Terra. It was a planet that had never known war, famine, or mass disease.
Naturally, however, a perfect Terra had a less-than-perfect price tag associated with living there. Fortunately, the former leader of the Crimson Raiders had access to the majority of Hyperion's funds, raided from supply trains and even Helios One itself. He had taken just enough to get the Eden 5 security force to look the other way, as well as buy a sizable house and amenities, with some spare change. The rest had been given to the Raiders to fund the war effort.
Eden 5 was known for its beautiful flower gardens, and was one of the only places in the known universe where roses still grew.
One such rose was currently residing behind the ear of the newlywed with red hair, and another in the lapel of the ex-Dahl soldier. The two witnesses, the formers mother and father, sat with tears in their eyes as the couple read their vows to one another.
What they didn't know, however, was that the bride was actually into her first trimester.