Warning: This chapter contains sexual content.

L'cill heard the kitchen door open behind her as Ma'alefa'ak returned from his little trip into town without her. He said he needed to get something from the grocer. L'cill asked what he needed but he huffed at her when she asked. She didn't often let him leave unattended but she knew he needed some time away from her or he would probably go mad. "Hello Ma'al." She greeted.

Ma'alefa'ak saw her at the stove making some sort of green garlic sauce. He brought flour and a few other items they already had and dumped them on the counter. He seemed confused by his purchase.

L'cill watched him for a moment and he just stood there. "What is it?" She finally asked him when he wouldn't offer the information up.

"I asked Mica'kel to give me bread today. He just laughed at me, gave me a bag of flour and told me to go find a baker."

"Well, yes. Mica'kel doesn't make bread he just has the basics." L'cill knew Ma'alefa'ak never shopped for them so he wouldn't know any better. He had always just given her the money.

"Well, who did you get our bread from then?" Ma'alefa'ak wondered who the baker in town was.

"Oh, I make it myself." She informed him before apologizing. "I didn't know you wanted any. If you asked I could have made some."

He blinked at her. "All the bread before, you made it?"

"Well, yes." She wondered where else he thought it might have come from. There was practically no one in town and everyone just made what they needed.

"When did you do it?" How did she get the time to bake bread?

"When you locked yourself in your room to study."

Ma'alefa'ak watched as L'cill grabbed a zucchini from the basket and began slicing it oddly. He knew she was going to make it into "noodles" for a dish he rather liked of hers. "I see." There was something else he needed to speak with her about. When he had gone into Mica'kel's store he expected everything to be much more expensive but found out everything was a lot less than he thought it would be. He had calculated everything in the store that she purchased on a regular basis. He realized that he had been giving her an awful lot of money for his share of the groceries. He couldn't tell if she was making him buy nearly all the food or if she was pocketing the spare money she didn't use. She also stretched everything she could. Not that that particular trait wasn't a good thing, he just wondered about it. "L'cill, I need to talk to you."

"Yes?" She was still slicing, not knowing he was about to ask her something rather unpleasant.

"Why aren't you buying any of the food?" He watched her freeze and knew he had caught her.

"Oh, well." L'cill seemed nervous. She had obviously hoped he wouldn't notice. She wanted to start cutting again but her brain was too distracted.

"I asked you a question." He prompted when she didn't answer him.

L'cill turned towards him and opened her mouth to explain but her mouth kept snapping shut. She was so embarrassed.

He frowned. "L'cill, are you taking my money?"

"Well, not exactly." Her voice was flustered. "It's just my money isn't any good here."

At first he was angry at her when she wouldn't quite admit to what she was doing and now he was curious as to what she meant. "What are you talking about?"

"The money I get paid as your guard, it's from Mars. It's completely useless here." She couldn't even exchange it.

"I get paid." It was a pittance but it was something. "Why aren't they paying you with money you can use?"

"You work for the church here on Earth and they pay you." L'cill explained. "The church up on Mars is associated with them but they have nothing to do with your salary. The last priest worked for them too. He didn't have a guard so I guess my home office thought that they would accept my money." They obviously hadn't looked into it.

Ma'alefa'ak was confused. There were Manhunters down here on Earth as well. "Why doesn't the Manhunters station here on Earth pay you?"

"Because I'm not working for them." The Manhunters and the church were totally separate groups. The church was used to sending people down from Mars and knew about the money issues. They had no association with the Manhunters on Mars at all and the Manhunters had no association at all with the ones down on Earth. They had no need. Mars had never sent anyone down here before her.

"Well, why don't you work for them instead?" Ma'alefa'ak said reasonability.

"Because I'm working for the council on Mars. I would have to quit them and then I would have to relearn how they do things here." It would look odd to say the least. Considering her position she was worried they might revoke her citizenship.

"That's not a problem unless you are lazy." Ma'alefa'ak thought she was just trying to make up excuses.

This would be so much easier to explain if he would just connect with her mentally, but he had his walls up like a fortress. "It's not just that. They aren't going to pay me for doing the council's bidding. I would need to be a Manhunter in Z'onnZ'orr. They don't have a station here." They weren't going to pay her to watch Ma'alefa'ak all day. "I would have to leave you alone."

"I'm fine without you." He told her. "You can go live with your uncle."

L'cill knew her uncle would be pleased if she gave up and became a Manhunter here. She would have to live with him and do all the cooking and cleaning for him instead. He mentioned it in a letter even. "I can't do that Ma'alefa'ak."

"Why not?"

"Because." He didn't seem to understand. If she wasn't here with him she couldn't do her job. This was her first big assignment! She couldn't fail at this. She wished she could make him understand but she didn't know if he would ever get it or want to for that matter. Rather than try to explain it to him further she decided to apologize. "But that's beside the point. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was doing. I should have said something."

"You should be sorry." He felt she should have explained herself a long time ago without him having to find out like this.

"My uncle knows about it. He's been giving me a little money." It wasn't enough to live on but he figured Ma'alefa'ak was taking care of most of it since she was cooking. "I'll just buy what I can with it."

There was a solution. "Maybe I can help you budget. What is he giving you?" He didn't think she spent his money willy-nilly but maybe he could help.

"A coin a week."

"A gold one?" That wasn't really a lot but she may be able to manage it if she ate very cheaply.

"No, a silver one."

Dear God! He stared at her. "So what? You are just going to eat oatmeal forever?"

"If I must." She nodded.

"L'cill, that is just idiotic." She was going to die!

"I'm just doing my job." L'cill said stubbornly. "I know you think I should just jump ship so I can be more comfortable, but I'm doing my duty and you aren't going to talk me out of it."

"Fine." Obviously she was going to stay here with him no matter what he said. Now that he thought about it, was their situation really that bad? Sure they had practically no money to spare but did he have time to make bread? Did he want to eat raw food or oatmeal everyday? Because that's pretty much what he would be doing. The church kept him busy day and night and when he wasn't doing that he was trying to work on his academics so he wouldn't be so far behind when he returned to Mars. He started to think about it. If she made the bread then what else did she do? What about everything else in the kitchen? He started realizing there were a lot of canned things in the house. He went to the cupboard and looked inside. There were pickles, jellies and all sorts of different things. He grabbed a jar and showed it to her. "Where did you get these?"

"Oh, I did all that." She looked at the jar of jam in his hand. "I thought I might stock some up for the winter." There wasn't much stored though. They could hardly afford it. "Do you like it?"

"How do you know how to do all these things?" He knew she lived in the city on Mars just like him. As far as he knew L'cill never complained about the lack of conveniences or had a problem making any of these things. She never asked any of the women about how to can that's for sure.

"I used to live here a long time ago on Earth. My mother did all of the cooking and canning and showed me how. We did it out of necessity." L'cill wondered where he was going with this. Maybe he wanted her to teach him so he could do it himself now. Obviously he didn't want her to do it so he wouldn't feel like he had to pay for her food. "I'll help you if you would like to learn how to cook things from scratch."

L'cill really was in a different league altogether. Here she was offering to help him learn how to cook his own things when all she would probably be able to afford on her own was porridge. She didn't even ask him for anything in return. He laughed at their situation. What was he to do? He couldn't let her starve to death just because her employer hadn't thought ahead. Besides, he had no patience for cooking things from scratch and it cut into his studies and duties to the church. Besides, while he needed to save for an emergency it's not like he planned to live here forever. He didn't need to save so much. "Let's just stop being stupid."

Ma'alefa'ak had been so aggravated at her she wasn't sure what he was going to say. She thought maybe he was going to kick her out now for lying. "What do you mean?"

"I'll just buy the food for us. If you cook it we'll be square."

She felt so relieved. "Really? You don't mind?"

He sighed at her irritably. "Yes."

L'cill laughed. He hated when she asked him questions like that. He didn't like repeating himself. "Okay. I'll take it."

He should have added that she needed to take him out at least once when they got back to Mars. She would no doubt have plenty of money saved when they returned if she didn't use any here. "I hope you know you are getting the good end of this deal." He didn't believe it for a second though. He couldn't fathom making his own bread.

She scoffed at him. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Let's try to make a garden as well to stock up." It would be even more work for the two of them but they needed to think of saving money somehow. They weren't going to make it otherwise.

"That will be fun." L'cill seemed all for it. "I used to have a small one when I lived with my mother and uncle. We kept them in boxes." They had to since they lived in the city. They would probably have to do it here too because of the flooding.

There was a lot more to her than he realized. "Maybe you aren't a lazy fool after all."

She glared at him. "Gee, thanks."

L'cill found herself alone at the lake. She needed to bathe before she had to go back home and take Ma'alefa'ak to the church. The water was rather chilly this early in the morning but she didn't mind it too much. After all, no matter how cold it got on Earth it would never rival the arctic conditions on Mars at night. The cool water did make her long for a hot bath though. She missed the large tub back in her apartment on Mars.

After she finished washing herself she mentally prepared herself to go back home. She cared about Ma'alefa'ak but he was a bit much to live with at times. When he wasn't being a total grump he would sometimes whisper lewd things to her just to see her reaction. Mostly she ignored him or answered him back in a way that shut him down. After months of rebuking him he had all but stopped but he still had his moments.

Unfortunately those words always hung around in her head afterwards. She kept telling herself they shouldn't excite her at all. Most of the things he said sounded awful or degrading. Maybe it was how he said the words that caught her attention or maybe it was just that he was paying her any attention at all. She suddenly felt so bothered just thinking about it.

L'cill wondered if he would miss her if she stayed a while longer. This was one of her rare opportunities when she was completely alone. What the hell? He would probably be happy if she didn't show up and bother him before church. She settled against one of the boulders that had fallen in the lake and slid her hand below the surface of the water.

L'cill tried picturing one of his odd scenarios as she slid her fingers slid up and down over herself. Then she thought of a few of her own. Maybe it was the cold water but it took her so long to get worked up. She imagined it might be because she wished it was his hand touching her instead. She rested her head against the rock behind her and let out a soft moan. Okay, now she was getting into it.

She let out a half sob when she felt it nearing. Oh Gods, everything he said about her, it was all true. She did want him. She had wanted him for a long time even though she had never admitted it to anyone. She wasn't sure why. He wasn't nice to her. He definitely didn't show any sexual interest in her other than to mock her. If he knew the things she did thinking about him she would never hear the end of it. It was so close… she felt her body tightening up like a bow.

L'cill felt her elbow bump against something soft and definitely not rock like. Her eyes snapped open to look at what it might be.

She gasped when she saw Ma'alefa'ak sitting next to her as if he had been there the whole time. She wanted to freeze up, to stop and hide but her fingers were still working over her clitoris. Oh god why couldn't she stop?

"What are you doing L'cill?" He was in front of her now, gripping at the rock she was resting against. If she had any hope that the water masked what she was doing she knew it was dashed by his proximity to her. He must feel her hand moving. She knew she could feel his stiffening member pressed into her stomach.

His voice sounded odd to her but she was so focused on him being there she could hardly pay it any attention. She wanted to say that she wasn't doing anything but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. He seemed to understand in any case.

"Oh, I think you are doing something. Come here." His mouth moved but nothing was coming out. Despite not actually hearing his words she somehow knew what he was saying. He grabbed her by the hair and twisted her head so he could kiss her deeply.

Her mind went blank and white hot heat shot through her. "Mm." He withdrew from her several times to whisper words of encouragement before kissing her again. When he spoke to her she finally knew this wasn't really happening. Not even if he spoke with her in her mind would his voice be so silent. It appeared that she was dreaming. She could have almost died from the relief she felt.

The dream was so vivid though, so hyper real and she could feel his fingers in her hair and the soft touch of his lips against hers. Her free arm automatically wrapped around his shoulder to balance herself. She felt his hand against hers below the water. Rather than stop and let him take over she just kept caressing herself.

"My beautiful L'cill." He spoke against her lips even as his fingers worked over the lips of her womanhood. "You are so wet for me already."

He slid a finger into her and she felt a low moan bubble in the back of her throat. "Oh." He was able to push and pull his finger out of her slick body with ease. All the while he kissed her over and over. He was being so gentle and sweet. Long aching moments went by and just when she felt like she could come he withdrew his finger. She let out a sound of disappointment. Why was he teasing her?

"It feels like you are ready for me to fuck you." Ma'alefa'ak chuckled when she jumped at his words. He flipped her around until she was facing the rock she had been resting on. She could feel his warm body pressed up behind her. Her fingers were still working over her when she felt him positioning himself at her entrance. He kissed along her shoulder until he came to the crook of her neck.

L'cill wanted to ask him to wait but he was already pushing into her. Her protest turned into a moan as he slipped back and forth into her slowly. When he came to her virgin barrier he didn't slow down but pulled back and broke through. He bit down on her neck almost at the same time he pierced her. Her eyes went wide at the unexpected discomfort and she whimpered. Both of her hands were now gripping the rock in front of her as he slid into her inch by inch.

Ma'alefa'ak released her neck and licked the blood dotting it. "You are so sweet L'cill." A tremor raced through him as her felt her tight wet heat grip him. "It looks like I am your first." Since she seemed unable to continue touching herself he moved his hand around. When he found her center he worked his fingers over it as he began thrusting shallowly. He would go slower to make sure she enjoyed herself. Now he regretted not letting her come before he took her. It might have made things easier on her.

L'cill let out a sob. It hurt at first, but as her body stretched and made room for him she began to feel the pleasure building. Oh gods, his rough fingers felt so good rubbing her clitoris. She clawed at the craggy surface of the boulder as her orgasm got closer and closer. "Ah, oh please."

Ma'alefa'ak was pleased when she began moaning and was determined to make her come. His fingers worried over her relentlessly. "Ah, L'cill." He felt it when it began, how her body quivered and began sucking him in as she came around him.

"Ah! Ahh!" Her body arched and shook as she cried out. She felt him move deeper within her as she came.

Ma'alefa'ak almost came as well but L'cill practically wilted against the rock after her tremors ended. He gave her a few moments to recuperate but after that his hand that had been between her legs was now pulling her back against him.

"Oh." She felt him thrusting into her again.

"I'm still here." Ma'alefa'ak reminded. He hadn't come yet and he was going to rectify that now.

He withdrew from her after a few more thrusts and she wondered if he had come as well. He turned her around so he could kiss her. She felt his hand winding around her curls. So even in her dreams it looked like he enjoyed pulling her hair. In her waking hours he tugged her hair as well, albeit more briefly when he was teasing her or when he was trying to get her attention when she zoned out. Right now he had it wrapped around his fist and was content to walk her around by it. He led her to the shore and onto the grass.

"Get on your knees." There was no request in his voice, just a firm command.

L'cill appreciated the warning because he was starting to push her down. Instead of fighting it she just did what he said and kneeled in front of him. He was naked still and his manhood was at eye level.

When she looked up at his face questioningly he grinned at her. "Take it in."

"W-what?" For the first time she felt she was able to respond the way she normally would.

"S-suck my dick." He mocked her stutter.

L'cill didn't know why she was going along with his demands unquestioningly. This was her dream after all. Still, this wasn't real and what would it hurt. Didn't she want to do this? Didn't she want to watch him squirm for her? He had made her feel wonderful after all, so she could at least return the favor. She gripped him with one hand and took him into her mouth. His hand was on the back of her head, still buried in her hair and guiding her back and forth.

"Touch yourself." His voice was somewhat strained as he spoke to her.

L'cill reached her freehand between her legs and touched herself like she had before. This was such an odd dream. Normally she had more control over what happened but it seemed like she was more or less a passenger in this one.

Despite the odd sensation of having his penis slide in and out of her mouth, it was pleasant in a way. He made sounds of appreciation and his hand that wasn't holding her hair was touching her face gently. Just when she was really starting to get into pleasing him, it came to an abrupt end. Without much of warning other than his moans she felt him filling her mouth with his cum.

"Drink it." He said tightly.

L'cill swallowed as much as she could as it came out in spurts in her mouth, but it still got away from her and some came out of the corner of her mouth. She wanted to rub her face clean but he got there first.

"You are such a good girl L'cill." He released her hair and pushed her onto her back. "I'll let you come before I fuck you again."

L'cill felt so shy now that she was out of the water and he could see all of her. She wanted to cover herself but even now she went compliantly along with whatever he wished.

Ma'alefa'ak must have seen her feelings on her face rather than her body language. "Don't be embarrassed." He soothed her when he pushed her legs apart. "You are beautiful." He hooked her knee over his shoulder and ran his nails down her soft thigh.

Now she knew it was definitely a dream, he was never that reassuring. He slid his middle finger inside her. She tried to stifle it but a moan slipped through her lips. "Don't hold back. I want to hear you." He drew his tongue over her slowly and purposefully. Her hips began rocking against his mouth almost mechanically. Her hands found the back of his head and held him much like he had her when she was took him into her mouth.

Ma'alefa'ak laughed at her. L'cill seemed even more excited than when he entered her. "Does this feel better than my dick?" He ran his tongue along her until he found her clit. He jabbed at it and he felt her body shudder. "It's okay to be honest." He stopped for a moment, seemingly waiting for her answer.

"I- oh!" She couldn't even answer him. He didn't really want her to talk anyway as he consumed her. He just wanted her to come for him. He wanted to hear how pleased she was with him. L'cill grew quiet as it built up again.

Ma'alefa'ak enjoyed how L'cill bottled it all up and let a moan escaped her every so often. Then as the pleasure tore through her it all came rushing out. He felt her thighs wrapping around his head as she moaned through her orgasm.

L'cill's body went slack against the ground. She watched him sit up and felt embarrassed once more. She had been so wet he needed to wipe his mouth and chin. While he didn't seem bothered she still covered her face with her trembling hands as he moved over her.

"It's a little late to hide don't you think?" Ma'alefa'ak took her hands and weaved his fingers through hers. He pressed them on either side of her head. He lowered himself down and kissed her.

L'cill tasted herself on his tongue when he darted it inside her mouth. "Mm!" Her eyes went wide as he pushed all the way into her in one stroke. It definitely felt better this time and he went even deeper than before. He had gotten her body so worked up making her come that it accepted him eagerly. She thought she might be able to come again if he slowed down thrusts but this time was definitely for him. She didn't mind when it felt so good.

He pumped his hips into hers. He wasn't sure if she was going to like him being so rough at first but she was really getting into it. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he felt her lifting her hips to meet his. "I'm going to come."

She forgot for a moment this wasn't real. "Please, you can't."

"I can't what?" He hadn't stopped moving in her but she had distracted him enough to not be able to come right away.

What was that again? "It's not safe."

That would be something L'cill worried about. "What? Are you going to explode if I fuck you too hard?" He purposely misunderstood her.

He was being so awful. Now that she seemed to have control of her hands she tried pushing on him so she could look at his face. He seemed to be stuck fast to her. "Please Ma'al, you know what I mean." Pushing on his neck only seemed to excite him and in turn only made him thrust into her harder and faster. It felt so good. Did she really want him to stop and pull out before the end?

"It's only a dream L'cill." He soothed. "Try to have fun and not worry so much."

"W-what?" This was the first time he said anything about it being a dream. It made her wonder if maybe she had somehow found her way into his dreams. And then she didn't think about anything at all. She had already come multiple times and even though he was going fast she felt him strike somewhere deep and it felt so good she could hardly ponder this dream any further. "Oh, darling."

He almost missed a beat when she uttered her term of endearment for him. "Call me that again."

"Darling?" She could feel his warm thoughts as she spoke. It was sweet in a way that he liked that so much. This couldn't be his dream. He hated being called that. She called him darling over and over and he punctuated each time with a she told him she loved him like she had wanted to for so long. He claimed her mouth and began pumping into her once more and she pushed her hips to meet his. They moved frantically together. "Ah!"

"Are you coming again L'ci?"

She felt his mind merging with hers when he kissed her. He was pushing through her defenses and joining with her. He was going to overtake her body and mind. "Oh, god!" She raked her nails down his back when she came.

L'cill woke up practically drenched in sweat. She covered her face. Oh, dear gods what a dream that was! Why did she even have to wake up? It was still so dark outside, but how was she going to get to sleep after that?

She was so filled with nervous energy that she hopped out of bed right away. She half expected to not be able to walk when she stood up, but her legs worked just fine. But of course they would be okay, it wasn't like any of that even happened! That was such an odd dream. She would have never come up with any of that herself. Even though she seemed well aware of what was going on he still seemed to have all the control. He told her himself in that dream that it was just in her head.

An odd idea popped into her mind just then. If she hasn't controlled it, then maybe he had? Did she enter his mind without meaning to or had something else happened? He hadn't invaded her dreams had he? Did he do it on purpose? Suddenly she felt suspicious.

L'cill left her room and she went up to his door and pressed her ear against it. She could hear his gentle snoring on the other side. Still curious, she opened his door quietly and crept inside. He was on his side on his bed, facing the window and away from her. She came around quietly and looked at him. He blocked her mind so well even in his sleep! She couldn't hear a thing from his mind, even the gentle hum she normally heard from everyone else. It was kind of hurtful in a way. He was the only one in her house or that she even really knew around here and he blocked her out like some sort of enemy or parasite. It made her feel so lonely. But that was neither here nor there. His breathing seemed even. So she supposed he wasn't sneaking into her head on purpose after all.

He took in a sharp breath like he was about to wake up and suddenly she felt afraid. She didn't want to explain what she was doing looming over him as he slept. Now who was acting like a horrid pervert? She nearly made it to the door when she heard him.

"L'cill." His voice boomed in the otherwise silent house.

L'cill turned, expecting to see him in bed still and maybe sitting up at most. Instead he had managed to get out of bed without making a sound. She practically jumped at how close he was to her.

"What are you doing in my room?" It was pitch black outside and his clock said it was three am. She never woke up that early as long as he knew her.

"I just came in to check on you."

He could smell the sweet scent of her pheromones filling the room and it made his head swim. Being a Martian he had all sorts of heightened senses and smell was one of them. The strong scent of iron filled the air on Mars and their sense of smell had to be good to smell anything else over it. He always found that particular trait annoying. He didn't want to know every time a female was receptive. Generally it was only a minor bother if he even noticed it but when it came to L'cill it drove him nearly mad.

It didn't help that he had dreamed about her not even a moment ago. L'cill was giving him that same wide eyed look when he came upon her at the lake. Ma'alefa'ak hated that his dream had ended so abruptly and just near the end when it had gotten good. Even in his dreams, the thought of connecting with her mind had frightened him. He had no idea that pushing her out of his head there would make the dream just vanish. L'cill was gone and he was alone in the darkness once more. After having touched her just a moment before he had felt so lonely. Then he smelled her delicious scent and he woke up and found her right there in his room. He wondered what it meant.

L'cill backed up into the door and it shut behind her with a click. "Sorry." She jumped again when he put his hands on either side of her head. "What are you doing?" His red eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room and seemed to be boring holes into her.

She was wondering what he was going to do? What indeed? "Why would you need to check on me?"

"Oh well," L'cill laughed nervously. "I thought I heard something."

"Did you?" It was fun watching her try to lie to him. She was terrible at it. "What did it sound like?"

"A thump?"

He wanted to laugh at her reply. Her answer sounded more like a question to him. "A thump you say? You don't sound so sure."

"Yes, it must have been a thump." She tried to make her voice sound confident.

"Are you sure it was a thump? Are you sure it wasn't nothing? Are you sure you didn't just want to come see me?" Her pink glowing eyes seemed to get bigger with every question he asked.

"What do you mean?" She squeaked. He was looking her right in the eye as he traced the neckline of her nightgown with his finger.

"Did you want me to take care of you?" Ma'alefa'ak was pleased to note that she shuddered when he touched her, and once again it wasn't from fear.

"What do you mean?" She repeated stupidly. What was wrong with her brain? It's like it shorted out wherever he was near.

"I think you know what I mean."

They were almost nose to nose. She half wondered if he was going to kiss her. "N-no."

That was disappointing, but expected. He leaned in close and spoke into her ear. "Then get out while you still can."

"O-okay." She stuttered.

Ma'alefa'ak enjoyed watching as she tried to find the handle on his door. He helped her, grabbing it himself. He didn't bother moving out of the way so she would have to brush against him on the way out. She practically ran down the hallway to get away from him. Gods, what an annoying woman. He opened his window to get her scent out and only hoped he go could back to sleep before he had to wake up and get ready for the day.

Ma'alefa'ak had managed to get some more sleep, but it looked like L'cill hadn't. He wasn't sure what she had been doing but he was certain that she must have used every dish in the house cooking. "Did you go back to sleep?" He already knew the answer. She looked exhausted and the day hadn't even begun yet.

"No."

"What were you doing?" Even though food smells filled the air her scent was still assaulting him. He opened the kitchen door to let some fresh air in and hopefully clear his head. Even with as tired as she looked, she was still so beautiful to him. That dream was still so vivid in his mind but it was just that, a dream. Only there would she ever be his. It made the situation all the more frustrating.

"Making food to put away." She probably canned too much actually. They would probably have to open a few of the jars before the end of the week. She hoped he liked pickles because she must have made four kinds.

"Did you even try to go back to sleep?" He put some coffee on, maybe that would keep her standing most of the day.

"Not really." She finally plopped down at the table, only realizing now she hadn't even made breakfast. After all that cooking too! Ugh, she really was an idiot.

"Why not?"

"I was too nervous to." She said before thinking.

"And why is that?" Ma'alefa'ak wondered why she would have been afraid to fall asleep. "And don't tell me it was because you heard a noise."

L'cill couldn't tell him the real reason. "I just couldn't sleep."

Ma'alefa'ak shook his head. She was so stubborn. "Fine, don't tell me." Although now that he thought of it he should get a little teasing in before the day started. "You were probably too excited from sneaking into my bedroom anyway."

"I didn't sneak!" She defended.

"Whatever you need to say to make yourself feel better, darling."

L'cill almost did a double take when he used that term of endearment. That's what she called him in her dream… but she was sure it was just a coincidence. "I didn't sneak into your room. I was just checking on you."

"Is that what it is? Well then, I hope you don't mind if I break into your room in the middle of the night and check on you or whatever it is you were doing to get yourself off."

Oh my goodness! She just went into his room. It's not like she jumped onto him while he was sleeping! "I didn't get off!"

"Don't sound so angry at me about that. I offered to help after all."

L'cill took in a deep breath. What was she doing? All she was doing was encouraging his bad behavior reacting the way she was. "Ma'al."

L'cill's voice was so sweet and that only meant one thing. She was going to say something he wasn't going to like. He was ready for her to break whatever spell she had over him. "What is it?"

"What would your mother say if she heard you talking this way?"

Ma'alefa'ak chuckled. She knew exactly what to say to him to bring him down. He absolutely hated that woman and L'cill knew it. He might not be able to completely ignore all the hormones floating around but that definitely helped. "Fine, fine L'cill. You were "checking" on me." He emphasized the word she used. "Next time you do it though, try knocking first."

L'cill had meant to catch him unawares or she would have done just that. Not that she could admit to it. "I'll do that." She jumped up to make breakfast. If she sat down too long she would surely fall asleep.

"What's for breakfast?" He asked, getting them coffee.

"Eggy bread I think." He seemed to like that a lot and it was easy make. At least she had left the skillet unscathed. "Unless you want something else."

"Sounds good to me."

Author's Notes: I am horribly embarrassed of my last chapter! I read it and realized something must have happened and an old draft was posted! I must have not saved or something must have happened when I upgraded my computer but none of my changes happened. There were repeated words and the transition from scenes was so jarring I almost was sick. I'm so sorry that happened. That'll teach me to read my chapter yet again before I post. I had to go in and write the corrections AGAIN since they weren't saved and it has been reloaded and updated. So there is more content on the last chapter. *face palm*

Anyway, like all of my stories I must ruin them with raunchy bits. Ma'alefa'ak of course is not J'onn so I don't really feel like I can write love scenes all flowery like I do with him. Although the scenes I write for J'onn don't sound all that flowery either. I do like writing scenes like this with Ma'alefa'ak probably more than I do J'onn's. I feel like I can actually write some kinky things without having to worry how bad it may look.

This chapter was added on much later. I had written about twenty chapters before I realized I never explained why she might be cooking for him or why he might let her take care of all the house work. I thought it might also be a good idea to force him to do something nice even if it is for selfish reasons.

I also wanted to transition them into a relationship a little more smoothly (if you can call this smooth). When I was reading my story their relationship was rather abrupt so I've been adding bits here and there to help out.