The sky is low, rolling thunder looming about and rattling the windows.
"It must be the fury of the Gods," she calls out, arms wound protectively about her dampened body. This coaxes a smile from his set lips, and a brilliant red to dominate her freckled cheeks. May watches him vigilantly, ingesting the droplets on his lips and in his hair.
"Crazy Zeus - really, though.. I'm surprised she let us stay in town," he responds. His sweater, doused by the rain that pounded on the dinky, lunette window, hits the patterned carpet with a satisfying, soggy plop. Next comes his plain black tee, lifted above his head as he speaks, "My mom always seems to have a stick up her ass." He's left in khaki jeans, his top kicking into his wet sweater heap.
May doesn't remember those scars, which laden his chest, back, and shoulders. She holds a sharp breath in.
He has salvaged a backpack from the trunk of his car, replacement clothes dilligently folded at the underpinning. There is only one pair - he holds it out to her. "I think you should wear these.. It's easier for me to go around half naked, anyway."
She nods, her eyes flitting to meet the sun bleached, forget-me-not blue in his.
May loves him. She can't remember the last time they peeked into oblivion; the warmth of his lips are a passing thought now, maybe even a Wonderland. His voice draws her in, each wielding an axe that tears down the cage of her heart. Today, his presence is no longer a ghost - he terrifies her.
Danny gives her time, stepping out of his pants in the small bathroom. She stands on the other side of the wall, slithering out of her sopping, pink dress and into an oversized, white shirt. May does up six glossed buttons, then musters a few beckoning words and drops down onto her bed.
Did they stay under the same moon? What did it look like on his side of the sky?
May blinks back tiny, hydrous diamonds. She is tired of being weak. Her sight is set on the parading TV - she hears, but does not listen. Taunting thoughts have her consumed, their hands around her throat. She doesn't realize the dip of her mattress until he is looming over her, gifting a gentle bite to her throat. A harsh breath is drawn.
"What are you doing?" she asks. "We can't do this."
Danny draws back, his hands raised in surrender, but his eyes try to delve deeper. He's tired of missing her.
It hurts her, but she mustn't crumble. She will not let him unravel her only to be ripped away again, losing pieces of herself that whisk off with him.
He understands and returns back to bed, flicking the lights off as he slides beneath the sheets.
An hour has passed since his breathing gained weight, his inhales slow and his exhales deep. She lays awake, wide eyes trained on sky that lit every minute. All is devoured by silence, except for the lulling thunder and pattering rain. She feels sick, her stomach churning in anticipating. What is she waiting for? Lightning illuminates the room, hitting his resting face. NO, she can't take it anymore.
May creeps beside him, her movement subtle and timed. He doesn't lurch at the sigh of the old bed, so she settles into it gently. A thin finger is brought to his chin, raising it towards the moonlight. She moves through the night, bent to plant a gentle kiss on his still lips. As she sits straight again, his eyes flutter open, trying to meet hers in the dark space between the two.
"Hn.. What's... is everything okay?" he whispers, words slurred and groggy. Danny pulls himself up, hazy eyes aimed at her.
She tries to keep a hush, arms wrapped around raised legs and teeth bared deeply into her chapped lip. While he plagued her dreams, it was so easy for her to stay quiet. Her smile became a mask that grew hard to take off each night, her heart grew cold and numb. Now, he sits before her, his purity embodied in sharp blades that chip away at the ice in her heart. She can't be quiet anymore. Her body trembles fervently, then is joined by a stifled sob.
He is quick to spring from his sheets, his arms forming barriers to replace the ones he melted right as he beckoned. His hands, which were much more worn than hers, travel up and down her back, trying to cure her from vulnerability.
She is glad that they sit in the dark; the shine of her tears are hidden by night's veil, though he can still feel their attendance at the crook of his collar.
"It's okay, May.. I'm here. I won't let you go.."
"What if you aren't when I wake up? What if this is all a twisted dream?"
He is speechless, a like burden place at the pit of his heart. Danny is afraid that his words will toy with her, but knows his actions can only mean one thing. His mouth finds hers quickly, each hungry kiss erasing a part of the world that kept them apart.
They move harmoniously, lips connected as he leans back to allow her a mount in his lap. His strong arms bind her, his hot mouth slipping from hers and landing at her jawline. Danny plants delicate kisses, faint enough to be whispers. His fingers graze her the waistband of her underwear, his desire shifting into necessity.
He breaks away abruptly, forehead tapping into hers with pants in between each word, "May.. We can't. You said-"
"-I take it back." She's desperate, her voice threaded with deprivation. "I need you."
Their noses bump before his hands travel to her ribs, fumbling to undo each opal button. He helps her shrug the shirt off, seizing it once her shoulders are free and tossing it beside the two. Kissing becomes sporadic, tiny pecks left where the sun had already kissed her. Hot breath presses against her neck, shaky hands working at the gate of her bra.
May is left in nothing but her unadorned blue underwear. She sinks into his touch, her fingers tight in his whipped hair. She wriggles against his chiseled chest, straddled over his hips; tender tears well up, but refuse to fall. His taste is a different type of heaven - mint gum and stale cigarettes. The daughter of the sea is guided by his hands, which cupped her chest, laying back as he commands.
He hovers over her, arms supposed his weight as his parted lips travel his body. Kisses are scattered, a few left at her breasts as he passed by. Eternity is finally coming to a close; he no longer feels the agony of his personal limbo, where his time was spent sorting memories into piles of fact and fiction. He aches for only her now, craving all he had missed in his time with the Gods. Danny stops at her hips, the warmth of his breath sending shivers up her spine.
Her fingers are tangled in his hair, her heartbeat loud enough to drown out the thunder behind them. May forces him back to the surface, his body held over hers, their eyes meeting in the dark.
He knows what she wants - no, needs - all of his weight shifted to one side, his spare hand grazing the warmth between her legs. He is kind, kissing her temples and whispering sweet nothings. "I won't hurt you," he promises over and over again. The undergarment is sliding down her leg, tossed off as they slid over her feet. She is utterly naked, susceptible to whatever his will would impose on her. His fingers roam her core, her back arching at each pump.
She musters up enough courage to let go of the bedsheets and rip at the band of his boxers, hoping her gesture is simple enough to read while she's left breathless. He complies, letting his breath tickle her ears before he wills himself out of the trance she's put him in. He is hasty in pulling down his briefs and tossing them aside with the rest of their clothes.
The first thrust is almost hesitant, his fingers timidly entwining with hers after his full length pushes through. The second budge is quicker, more passionate, and less rehearsed.
She sobs his name, hips raised and head in the clouds.
The moderate pace is kept for awhile, his thrusts long and slow. His mouth hangs open, clumsy moans edging out of his lips with each pump of his hips. Her legs hook around his waist, fingers digging into his scarred back. It becomes harder and harder for him to keep up, his drives accelerated and ragged. His groans become more apparent, tuning in with her quickened breathing and louder cries.
The Earth stutters on its very axis, their bodies dissolving into one another. His hands pin her wrists - faster, faster.. - his jaw cantily hung, nodding along with each jerk. His words slurred, husking a mixture of curse words and her sweet name.
Wet heat engulfs her. She isn't like him - the bottom of a bottle has never been her beacon - but she knows that it's dupe warmth could never live up to the spark he starts in her heart. Her release times with his, the two crying out together, then growing quiet together. The rain is heard again, being the only thing they hear other than each other's jagged pants.
He leaves one last kiss on her sweat streaked forehead before rolling onto the bed beside her, settling an arm over her waist. He brings the blankets to her shoulder, closing his eyes and counting imaginary stars while he tries to catch his breath again.
It is said and done, and he still is there. He hasn't faded away, his breath still crushed against her breath at every exhale. With tears in her eyes, May smiles.
The last thing Danny hears is the rustle of Poseidon's daughter, turning to tuck her head beneath his chin. The rain still falls.