Note: I do not own The Host or any of these characters. And even more unfortunately Ian does not belong to me.
My eyes fluttered open to discover that it was not even dawn yet. A light blue glow filled the cave I shared with Ian. He lay beside me now, completely sprawled out all over the bed, while I was scrunched into a ball in a nook between his arm and torso. I was perfectly comfortable, basking in the warmth emanating off his body. My eyes wandered to his face, taking in every handsome, sculpted detail. An incoherent murmur escaped his slightly parted lips.
"What was that sweetie?" I whispered with a giggle.
"Kyle… stop… no…. I don't want any…not the broccoli!..." he muttered through his restless sleep, eventually trailing off until I couldn't make out anymore of what he was saying. I couldn't control myself now, my entire body was shaking with fits of laughter. A small V was beginning to form between Ian's eyebrows as his face frowned at whatever discomfort his dream was causing him. On seeing the rays of golden sunlight peaking through our cave and casting their bright shadows down the wall, I decided it was time to wake him up. I wrapped my pale, freckled arms around his neck, planting a soft kiss on his warm cheek.
"Wake up, sleepy head," I whispered affectionately and then nuzzled my face into his neck. A quiet sigh filled the room and I looked up to see his brilliant blue eyes smiling at me.
"Good morning my Wanderer," he said fondly, as his strong arms snaked around my tiny body, holding me close to him. My heart beat faster under the intensity of his gaze as he pulled me into a sweet, gentle kiss, his lips moving slowly against mine, and then eventually pulling back. I was grinning now.
"Hello there," he chuckled.
"Hi," I giggled in response. And then we were courteously interrupted by my growling stomach.
"Hungry?" he asked, amusement tinting his voice.
"Of course not, I'm fine," I quickly responded, "And you just woke up and don't need to move anywhere yet."
"Hah. Likely story. Let's get you some food." With that he sat up, pulling me with him, and then went to his feet, never setting me down so I was being carried like a baby.
"Hey!" I protested, "I can walk, you don't have to carry me."
"I know," he said with a laugh.
"Then why are you carrying me?" I scolded.
"Oh I have no idea." I recognized sarcasm. "Ever thought that maybe I enjoy holding the most important thing in my life close to me and never want to let go?"
I looked up, surprised at his sudden fervor, and a little scared he might be mad at me. But there was no hostility as he smiled at me, his sapphire eyes burning with tenderness.
"Oh... well…"I tried to recover, "If you like holding me, that's different, I want you to do whatever makes you happy." Ian simply laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Oh nothing, love. Just how a few seconds ago all you wanted was to be put down, but since I tell you that I enjoy holding you, all of a sudden it doesn't matter. What in the world did I ever do to deserve such a wonderfully selfless person like you? What you want matters too though, and you need to get over it." With that he set me on my feet, lightly kissed my forehead, and encircled his arm around my shoulders. "Now let's go eat."
"Okay, fine." I huffed, not wanting to argue with him about that this morning.
The second we reached the kitchen, a mass of skinny, gangly arms and legs attacked me. That boy was getting older and older every time I saw him.
"Wanda, Wanda, Wanda, guess what?" Jamie crowed excitedly.
"What's up Jamie?" I asked, laughing at his enthusiasm.
"Jared said I could come on the raid with you guys! It's going to be me, you, Mel, Jared, and Ian, of course, doesn't that sound great?" he piped. But I wasn't listening anymore.
"Jared said what?" I whipped around, scanning the room for two familiar figures. I spied them on the other side of the room. Jared watching me with a calculating look on his face, casually sitting and eating breakfast. Mel on the other hand was also watching me, an argument that wasn't directed at me clear on her face. Her body language said it all with her arms crossed sternly over her chest and a scowling expression. She wasn't game for this either. I stomped over to them, dragging Ian and Jamie along with me.
"What do you mean Jamie can come on the next raid with us?" I exclaimed and, without even giving him a chance to respond, continued to say, "We're going to be gone for a month, I don't want to be putting Jamie at that kind of risk. Because of recent issues we're going a lot farther away then normal for a raid and who knows what could happen? There is no reason to be putting Jamie into that kind of danger."
Jared stared at me carefully, a little surprised by my outburst. He looked unsure how to respond until he finally took a deep breath and spoke to both Mel and I.
"Look, I know both of you love Jamie very much and would never want anything to happen to him, but here is the honest truth: Jamie isn't a child anymore. And he has to start being treated like an adult eventually. Besides, I would much rather be able to teach him myself then one day Jamie goes out on a raid and has no idea what he is supposed to do. Then he could end up being caught and putting everyone into jeopardy. That's not what you guys want, is it?"
The reason behind his explanation was inarguably solid. So why didn't I feel any better about this situation? I caught eyes with Mel, and almost as clearly as when she was actually in my head, she answered my question: I was still not sure of this because in my eyes Jamie was always going to be a child. It didn't matter that he was taller then me or didn't share any DNA with my host body, nonetheless my species. He was always going to be my Jamie. Our Jamie. Mel and I were sharing thoughts again.
With a dramatic sigh Mel flopped down on the bench next to Jared as if to surrender. I realized that if she couldn't find any chinks in this argument, I should just give up now. I huffed in defeat as Jamie grinned smugly at Mel and I. Jared smirked at the boy's expression, which only seemed to agitate Mel. I sat down across from them.
I suddenly realized that Ian had disappeared which was extremely out of character. I frantically glanced around the kitchen, looking for that ever so familiar, hulking form. A detached arm appeared from nowhere, setting a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I jumped in surprise, letting a squeak of fear escape me, and almost fell off the bench. Steady arms caught me right before I hit the floor. I looked up to see Ian with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry Wanda, didn't mean to scare you. I just want you to eat something," he quickly apologized, setting me upright, and brushing the puffs of golden hair out of my face. Jared was trying his best to conceal his laughter, as was Jamie, and even Mel was smirking now. I rolled my eyes and dug my spoon into the mushy substance. Would I ever fully understand humans?
The day of work was uneventful. After breakfast, Jamie headed off to class, and Mel, Jared, and Ian headed to the fields for the day. I remained in the kitchen with Trudy, cleaning up breakfast and kneading bread. I was grateful for the excuse to escape the kitchen and bring water out to everyone in the fields. The heavy backpack filled with water bottles was almost too much for me to carry, and I had to stop several times along the way to set it down and catch my breath. My lack of physical strength never ceased to frustrate me. After what seemed like forever, I dragged the heavy bag into the field. Ian spotted me immediately and came to my side, taking away the bag without asking, and slipping his free hand into mine.
"I had it fine all by myself," I immediately argued, not liking the fact that Ian had to exert himself even more to make up for my deficiency when he had been working all morning.
"What if I want to be chivalrous to you for once?" He countered with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes, but continued to walk with him to the far side of the field where Jared, Mel, Kyle, and Sunny were waiting. Ian set down the bag and passed out the water. He tried to hand one to me, but I wouldn't take it.
"Na-uh. You guys have been doing all the actual work. I don't need the water." I said stubbornly. Mel snorted a laugh and almost choked on her own water.
"Wanda, why do you even bother? You know that if Ian wants you to drink it, which is what is good for you so you don't get dehydrated so I agree with him, you're going to do it anyway just to make him happy." She said matter-a-factly.
"Well if it would make you happy, Ian.." I mumbled, pressing the bottle to my lips and drinking down the water, but feeling guilty regardless. Ian bent over and kissed me on the top of the head.
"Thank you, love," he whispered into my ear. I blushed automatically.
And then Kyle, being his typical mature self started chanting, "Ian and Wanda sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S— Oww! Ian! What was that for?" I couldn't help laughing as Ian chucked a water bottle right at Kyle's head. It bounced off almost comically. If I hadn't known how resilient Kyle was, I might have worried about him being hurt, but it was Kyle. Which translated to he needed that sometimes, as much as that contradicted every fiber of my being which stood against violence. Everyone was laughing except Sunny who was worriedly petting his head and asking Kyle if he was okay, and this for some reason made the whole scene that much funnier.
All of a sudden Ian jerked his hand out of mine. I stared at him, confused, and about to ask him if he was okay, but I was surprisingly met with a giant grin.
"Ian…?" I inquired.
"I'll be back," was all he said before he jolted out of the room and down tunnel. What was that? I looked around to gauge people's reactions, but was again surprised at their knowing smirks. It hit me that at this moment they knew exactly what was going on, and I was completely in the dark. Even Sunny had a devious smile on her typically sweet face.
"Don't worry about it Wanda," Mel chortled, "We're not going to tell you so just get over it cause you'll find out soon enough anyway." I shook my head in defeat and picked up the bag to head back to the kitchen as everyone else headed back to work. Humans make no sense.
A/N: So yes, this is the first chapter. I already have a lot of this story planned out, but I would still love to hear what you think. Thanks so much for reading :) I rated it T simply for caution in case something major changes when I'm writing it, but for the most part this story will stay at a K+ level.