Chapter II- Fighting & Tomorrow

We sat down across from each other, and immediately I noticed something unusual.

"Uh, Natalie," I said, looking at the meatballs on the spaghetti, "what are those?"

She smiled slyly. "Meat cubes."

I stared up at her, then down at the meatballs-cubes- again. "Well- what are meat cubes?"

"Square meatballs, stupid," she said, chuckling. I tried to frown but couldn't. Natalie's smile widened as she chuckled more, noticing my difficulty. Finally, she went on, "I made 'em for dinner last month. My dad likes these big Italian meatballs he gets at the supermarket, but they keep rolling off the plate." She shrugged a little, spearing one with her fork. "I just squared off the edges, and there you go. Meat cubes."

I stared down at the plate- meat cubes they certainly were. Cut cleanly enough, in fact, if I hadn't known better I'd have thought they had come from the store that way.

We started eating, and I noticed right away that the food tasted as good as it looked. "Babe," I said, "I have not had spaghetti this good in months."

She looked at me curiously. "Who made it months ago?"

I just smiled at her. "You did." It was true, but I'd have probably said that anyway, just to flatter her. I'm just shameless about it.

She smiled, pleased. "Glad you like it."

Before long, though, I remembered something I'd needed to tell her. It was the reason I hadn't called her today- I was just so busy resting, and thinking about it. What I was gonna have to say, and trying like hell to figure out how I was supposed to say it. There wasn't any easy way, so once we'd finished our spaghetti- and having a wonderful time so far- and moved on to the salad, I just cleared my throat and told her the truth. It's like the old Agency motto goes: "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". Yeah, and do what else? I had no way of knowing. But I wasn't about to keep something from Natalie that she had every right to know.

"Oh, by the way," I began, trying to be offhand about it, "They're saying they might send me down to Pritchard Island this summer."

A fork clanged to the table. "What?"

I looked up after spearing a bit of my salad, and saw right away the startled look in her eyes. And not just startled; behind surprise I could see a growing spark of anger. Well, shit. This was off to a great start.

"I-They said they'd like me to be one of the camp counselors this summer," I said, maintaining the charade that the Pritchard Island Instruction Facility was in fact a boys' summer camp.

"For how long?" she demanded, and I could tell she wasn't gonna like the answer either way.

"In June," I said. "Late June."

"June?" she half-yelled, like that was the new name of the Devil. "The whole summer? Wh-you just got here, you've been gone all of Spring Break and all of this week!"

I set down the fork and held up my hands carefully. "I know," I said, keeping my voice down, but she cut me off, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. "No," she yelled, "You don't know! I-I'm tired of missing you, Cody! I'm tired of it!"

"Babe," I said, trying to keep my voice level, "Keep your voice down. We can't have-"

But she stood up, half-crying now. "I fell asleep in my cereal Monday morning, Cody! In my cereal! Because I was up all night, wondering if the next knock on the door I hear is my parents, telling me you broke your neck on a skiing slope or died in a f-fucking plane crash!"

I stared at her, anger, fear, and confusion rushing through me in equally intense waves. This wasn't going well. But what was I supposed to do? The Agency handed me my marching orders as I was getting ready to go home, and it's not like I can tell the Director no, can I? I got into this job for a simple reason. Namely, it pays well, it's gonna get me into college and I love it. I'm damn good at it too, and that helps.

"Wh-what am I supposed to do?" I asked. "They told me-"

"Yes!" she said, shaking tears off her cheeks. "They always have something to tell you! Well, I've got something to tell you too, Cody Banks! I-I'm not going to your funeral! I can't do that!"

I stood up, fighting back anger. "Look," I said, "you know I'm into skiing! You've always known that!"

She shook her head in furiously, as miserably sad as she was angry. "Cody," she said, keeping with the code even so, "You keep going down those slopes and one of these days I just know you're not coming back up."

"What?" I half-yelled, "You think I'm not careful? You think I wanna die in the Alps or something?"

"I think you love it too much to even see that!" she cried. "You love this sport of yours, Cody! And sometimes I think you love it more than me. You just keep going off on these trips! You keep pushing your luck and you only have so much of it left!"

I shrugged a little, smirking as I tried to levitate the situation. "I make my own luck, babe," I said, but the angry sound I heard from hear said it had backfired badly.

"My name's Natalie!" she yelled. "Not babe!"

For a few moments we just stared at each other, me wide-eyed and she tearful, clenching and unclenching the trembling fists at her side. "Get out." She said suddenly, and I gasped out a startled, "Uh?"

"Get out!" she shouted, and I took a step backwards and tripped over my own feet, landing hard and wincing as my sore muscles and a couple of bruises reacted painfully. I forced myself back to my feet and turned to leave. "Screw this," I muttered. "Fine, fine." I couldn't seem to think of anything to say. My throat was tight, and my eyes weren't exactly dry either. "Fine," I said again, and turned to leave. "Sorry I ruined your evening."

"You get back here!" she snapped suddenly, and I halted, more startled than ever before. "You come back here!" Natalie demanded, sounding royally pissed. "Cody Banks, don't you walk away from me!"

I turned around, startled. "But- you just told me to-"

She strode quickly up to me, furiously blinking tears out of her eyes. "You arrogant jerk of a stupid, useless, bullheaded ass of a teenager!" she said, then clasped my face in both hands and kissed me. Everything in me- all the anger, all the hurt and shock- vanished instantly. I was in complete turmoil now, my emotions an absolute mess- but I had no doubt this was the best kiss I'd ever known in my life. She was sobbing as she kissed me, and I could feel her chest hitching.

How long we held that kiss, I don't know. We could have stood there on the stone patio for an hour. I stopped being angry with Natalie, though. I quit that right away. And before very long I was angry at somebody else- at myself, for doing this to her. It was my fault, every bit of it. I'd just never really sat down to notice it before. The worried look on her face every time I told her I had another 'ski trip' to take, the fear that was in her eyes when I came by the pool and she saw my latest set of bruises. I have a tendency to pick those up in my travels, and she's one of the only people who knows they're not from the accidents of an enthusiastic if clumsy skier. I stood there on the porch, tears starting to escape from my eyes too, closing my eyes against it and not having much luck.

Finally, we separated, and I embraced her, holding her head to my chest. "I'm so sorry," I said quietly. Neither of us spoke for perhaps a minute.

"Cody," she said quietly, "I'm not worried you're gonna want to be careless or stupid. I'm worried you're gonna be too damn brave not to be."

I laughed a little. "I'm good at that," I said, then sobered. I had to make this right somehow. I just had to. "Look," I said, "Natalie. Maybe I can get some new orders, be transferred to-"

"Stop." She looked up at me, a stern look on her face and a finger held to my lips. "Don't you dare quit because of me, Cody. You do what you need to. But you tell them I can't do this forever. I'm losing sleep for you, Cody, and I don't want to lose anything more."

I held her close again, speaking quietly in her ear. "Natalie," I said, having to force the words out as tears fought their way up. "I'm always gonna come back. Always. If I don't it'll be because I died trying to get back to you. And even then I'll be by your bed every night as a friggin' ghost."

I started to cry, shutting my eyes against it as I held Natalie close to me, vowing I'd never, ever let her go. Not as long as she still wanted me. "I don't do this for me, Natalie," I said, choking the words out. "I do it for my family. I do it for you."

For perhaps a full minute we held each other, crying softly and not speaking. Then she said quietly, "I know, Cody."

Then Natalie looked up at me. "I love you, you know. Why do you think I put up with you?"

"Because I'm brave," I said with a shrug. It wasn't false modesty. It was true. How many times do you have to almost get killed before you can safely lie in your bed in the dead of night and say, "I'm a hero"? And that's all I'm able to do, I realise. There's nothing else I can do, except talking to Natalie and sometimes my brother. Nobody else knows, and nobody else can. Just her, just Alex, and just me. I've done things nobody my age has done in 40 years- grown men with that many years of experience in the Agency have told me that. I'm a goddamned hero. Too bad they'll never know my name.

But she does. And Alex does. And that's got to count for something.

And I know.

That counts for even more.

Then I shrugged, taking another risk- I just can't help myself sometimes- and smiled a little, finally blinking my eyes clear again. "I got a great ass, too," I said slyly, and she laughed even though she probably didn't want to.

"Okay," she said, laughing a little. "And because you've got a great ass."

"See?" I said, kissing her on the top of her head. "Told you I was worth it."

"Yeah," she said, "You're a real prize peach." It was one of her oddest and most treasured expressions. I have no idea what that means- the whole prize peach thing, since I didn't even know they judged peaches in contests- but I guess it means something nice. If a girl like Natalie wants to call me a prize peach when acknowledging the aesthetic value of my ass, that's fine by me. I got no complaints, no, sir.

She looked up at me slowly, her own eyes dried a little. Her hands set against the neck of my polo and started unbuttoning it at the second and third buttons.

"You know, Cody," she said, her voice low, "My next door neighbors are out this weekend. Both of 'em. We really do have the whole place to ourselves." She glanced at one of the deck chairs by the pool. "You still want that massage?"

"The escort service told you I charge extra for foreplay, right?" I joked, and she laughed, recovering herself again- and getting something extra, too. Normally I was the bold one.

"I'll get that Hawaiian oil you like," she said with a smile, separating from me and heading inside.

"What about the salad?" I asked, as if that was the most important thing on my mind.

She smiled as she glanced back at me. "It can wait. Can't it?"

Yeah, I think it can.

Just a minute or two later she's back outside, smiling shyly- almost in apology. The problems that brought up that fight we just had aren't gone- but I think she's heard the assurance she needs to. I think she just needed to hear it one more time- from me.

She takes my hand and guides me over to the deck chair, gently pushing me down on it. "Come on," she says with a smile. "Lie down, get comfortable." I do, stripping off my shirt without her asking me. The wooden deck chair can be laid out flat, allowing me to lie down and stretch out. Like I figured, Natalie sucks in a breath when she sees my latest set of bruises. She doesn't say anything, though- for one thing, I think she's too busy admiring my biceps, my shoulders, my six-pack abs- you take your pick. I lay down on the chair, front down, thinking that she's probably also thinking that we're both lucky bruises are all I got this time. I know because I'm thinking that, too.

Just like she said, Natalie takes out this can of oil- rubbing oil, something- that she got imported from Hawaii. I'm not sure what it is, and honestly I don't really care. All I know is that when she rubs me down with that stuff, I feel like a million dollars. I wouldn't care if you told me it was extract of goat piss. I'd let Natalie massage me with it all the same.

She begins like she always does, at the shoulders- strong and muscular, they don't give up their tension and soreness easily, but Natalie finds a way, gentle but firm as always. Her hands caress my arms, my neck, my back, my side and ribs- I just sigh now and then, not saying anything but loving her more than anyone or anything else in the world, and thinking that I've never felt so relaxed. I spoke just once, saying, "I love you, babe," and she just laughed a little, as if I was silly for saying it. "I know," she says, and I know she does.

But after a few minutes, I started thinking that maybe I should, you know, make a move. I mean, a beautiful girl is massaging my back as the sun goes down by her half-a-million-dollar pool. What better time is there? So I say it again. "I love you, babe," and this time it's different. I take my hand in hers as she runs a hand down my right arm, and I turn to look up at her. She doesn't say anything, but she looks back at me. I can see she's nervous. This is all new for her, every bit of it. It is for me, too, but I can't admit that. Even with something like this, I have to be confident. Strong. For the both of us.

I said it again, "I love you," and leaned up to kiss her, taking her in my arms. She utters a small, low moan and kisses me back. Our mouths opened, and we began to kiss freely. I ran my hands along her waist, loving how soft and gentle she is. Her hands continued to massage me, running over my shoulders and back. I sat up and she sat beside me, the two of us pressed close together as we kissed. "I missed you, Cody," she breathes in my ear. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," I said, my hands caressing her thighs now. I slipped one hand between her legs, not inside but just smoothly rubbing the outside of her jeans there. Natalie gasped, jumping a little, but she didn't complain. I slipped my hands under her tank top, daringly beginning to slide it up her back. She smiled and did it for me, slipping it over her shoulders and tossing it aside.

Her bra was black. Deep, jet black, just like I imagined it, and those breasts- they were perfect. Her upper body was a gift from the gods. I pulled her down to me, daring now to kiss her chest. She gasped again as I kissed her, but her hands clutched tighter as she hugged my back. I could tell how excited she was; her breath seemed to be coming only in gasps now, and both of us seemed to have forgotten how to talk. We were using another language now. She leaned down in my ear, whispering, "Unhook it," inviting me to do something I've longed to do for months. We've messed around a few times- enough that I had to change my pants when I got home one Friday- but never gone as far as this. My heart was racing, the adrenaline pounding- I never knew it could be this exciting. I obliged Natalie, reaching behind her back- and taking care to caress the smooth, warm surface of it all the way to her bra strap. My hands worked at it but I fumble nervously for a few moments, and we both laughed awkwardly. I got it, and the bra fell away. She sat straddling my lap now, and I lay back on the sun chair. Just… taking it all in. I gazed up at her, openly admiring her naked torso. I couldn't even think of what to say.

"Beautiful," I breathed finally, and she smiled. Before that she'd been gazing down at me- almost nervously, like she was waiting, hoping, for my approval.

She smiled a different way after a moment, and I realised then that I had probably the biggest boner I'd ever had in my life. Sitting where she was, Natalie could not have possibly failed to notice the effect she was having on my body. I started to sweat a little. I'd never been so turned on in my life. Natalie began to move her hips a little, swirling them around right above my groin. Ecstasy shot through me, and I gripped her firmly at her bare shoulders. "Argh," I groaned, and for a moment that was all I could say. The intensity of the moment faded just a little, and I said, "Careful, babe."

We started to make out again, and this time I was kissing her chest, my lips and tongue massaging her soft, perfect, well-formed breasts. My tongue danced circles around her nipple as I kissed her left breast, and from the way she gasped and giggled I could tell it was just about killing her. She started to move her hips again- she might not have even realised she was doing it- and again ecstasy shot through me. I couldn't risk letting her excite me like that- not this fast. I gently sat up, lifting her and turning around, setting her down so she now sat on the sun chair, lying on her back. "You can't do that," I breathed with a smile. "If you do we won't get anywhere."

"What's your mission, then?" she asked, smiling at me in a way I just loved. I leaned down and kissed her. "Tonight's about you, babe," I breathed. "Whatever you like."

She just leaned up and kissed me, her breasts brushing my chest. I leaned down and kissed them, my tongue again dancing a circle around her nipples- "Cody!"

I stopped, surprised. She just smiled and kissed me again- my tickling her like that had just been driving her nuts. Like I knew it would. I pushed her down on her back, trailing a line of kisses from her neck, all the way down her belly and to the top of her jeans. I looked up at her for approval; I didn't want to do anything she didn't want me to. But Natalie just nodded to me, so I proceeded, unbuttoning her jeans, sliding them down her hips and over her knees, then past her feet, leaving them among the other discarded clothes steadily piling up beside the chair. Her thong was black too, and I looked at her again before receiving another nod, prompting me to slide that down her waist too.

She was beautiful everywhere, just like I figured. I leaned down and my tongue entered her, dancing around and caressing her there; she tasted good. I don't know how else to describe it. She just plain tasted good. I kept this up for quite a while, and eventually her gasps reached such a pitch I stopped and looked up at her.

Suddenly she sat up, taking hold of me and switching places with me, sitting me down and pressing me down on my back again. My penis was hard iron, pressing against my jeans; she unbuttoned them and tossed aside my belt without asking my permission- I didn't care- and I raised my ass off the chair a bit so she could slide my pants and boxer-briefs down. My hardened member bounced to freedom, and her eyes widened a little as she gazed down at it. I bit my lip, unsure of what she thought. Was I too big?

Natalie ducked down and kissed me on the head- down there- and next thing I knew, the rest of me was in her mouth. She was warm and wet, and I could feel every movement of her tongue on me. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I lay back on the sun chair, staring up at the evening sky; this was gonna kill me. God, did this feel good. I lay on my back, ecstasy shooting through me, while Natalie's head bobbed up and down over my groin. She briefly withdrew to spit on my head, licking me there, her tongue dancing a pattern around the top. Oh, God, I was not gonna be able to stand that for long, especially now one of her hands was starting to play with my balls. Yet somehow I did- I don't know how long I lay there like that, but finally I sat up, moving my groin back and just out of the reach of that wonderful tongue of hers. I kissed her. "You really are amazing," I said, and I meant it. "You know that?"

"You've got a great ass," she said, grinning.

"Not as good as yours," I returned, and she smiled wider.

I sat up, rolling her over on her back. God, was I hard. She could see it, too. I saw her eyes glance down there, and I breathed, "Ready, babe?"

"If you are," she said.

I reached a hand down between her legs, and she shuddered when I began to play with her down there. She was warm, moist- wet, even. "Yeah," I nodded with a smile. "You're ready."

Taking hold of my member- which I can say without false modesty is just one more place I've gotten lucky in life- I moved closer to her, our groins almost touching. I rubbed myself up and down against her, my hand guiding the tip- just the head- in a slow, up-and-down pattern until she was begging me to stop.

"Cody," she breathed, "Just stop it. I need you."

To be honest I had no idea what I was doing. How was I actually supposed to- you know- go in? I took myself in one hand, having no clue where I was supposed to enter Natalie. But my member seemed to know. I put a hand on her thigh and dove right in. I slid forward slowly, into her, and I closed my eyes, moaning softly as the feeling hit me. She was warm, and wet, her inside softly and closely hugging my member. She clutched my back as I hovered over her, her eyes closed. I slid further in and she moaned. After a few moments I realised I'd forgotten the damn condom- then I realised it didn't matter. I was already in- and this was about Natalie. I think she'd have said something if that really mattered.

I slid myself further in, my groin brushing her legs and pushing them apart. They were smooth and lightly tanned; her whole body was the colour of cream. I started drawing myself back, then forward again, and she moaned softly as I began the movements slowly, getting her used to the feel of me. Then I moved forward and back again, slowly but steadily picking up speed. My hands found both her breasts and squeezed them. They were soft and beautiful, and God-damn did she feel good. I soon realised I needed to squeeze something tighter, so I moved my hands to the sides of the sun chair. I closed my eyes, moaning softly as she did. She felt good. She felt so good. We moaned together as my hips pistoned back and forth, and we both moaned slightly when I slipped halfway out and had to push back in. I resumed the pace, my speed growing steadily faster. I never imagined I could hump so quickly or so hard. I could hear her bottom slapping against my hips. Suddenly I could feel a great feeling- the best I'd ever had in my life- building from down in my balls, leading fast into my member. Realising what was happening- for once those stupid Sex Ed. Classes were useful- I pulled out just in time, and we both held our breath as I came. I gasped, my jaw clenching and unclenching reflexively. The ecstasy was almost more than I thought I'd ever be able to take. Then I was done, my balls throbbing and my whole body aching in ecstasy. I felt wet and slick.

"I love you," I breathed, and I had never meant it so much.

She lay there with her legs apart, sighing as I looked down and admired her- and she looked up and admired me. "I love you," she answered, and we kissed again, repeating the phrase over and over. Upstairs in her bedroom just a few minutes later, we went for a second round, experiencing our first-ever and second on the same night. When we finished we kissed again, and Natalie- tired out as much as me by tonight- lay her head on my chest. I put my arms around her and kissed her bare shoulders, saying that phrase again- "I love you"- as Natalie fell asleep in my arms.

Told you the fanfic was gonna be M-rated. This is the first-ever M-rated fanfic for this film, so I'd greatly appreciate feedback and reviews, positive or negative. Feedback is useful so long as you say something more articulate than "Well, that sucked". But if that's what you got to say, than say it. Don't be a phony.