The two lovers lay facing each other in bed, still reeling. Arianne turned off the lamp, plunging them into darkness.
"That was amazing," said Harvey, propping himself up on his elbow. "God, I haven't been fucked like that in forever."
Arianne nodded. "Neither have I. It's been almost a year. I was feeling a little self-conscious, could you tell I was out of practice?" Her cheeks were flushed.
Less than a year? It must have been someone from the Valley, unless she met up with someone she knew from the city after she moved here. If it was someone from the Valley, it would have to have been a short-lived fling. The curiosity was tearing him up.
"Ha! Not at all, of course not. I could ask you the same question. It's not like I get around in this little town." It was easier to admit now that she had already brought it up, but he didn't dare tell how long it had been.
"Well you have nothing to worry about either, you were fantastic. How come you kept that big dick a secret from me all this time?" she asked, moving closer to him on the bed and sliding her arms around his chest. He could feel his face reddening as he broke out into a wide grin. He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he stayed quiet while she snickered at him.
"But really though, did you actually think I'd want to use a condom?" she asked. "Why do you think I got this IUD?"
He put his hands up, feigning defensiveness. "I was just being polite! I spent all day hoping you wouldn't ask, but then when you didn't I got worried that maybe you just forgot, so I-"
"Such a gentleman. I can't believe you were thinking about coming inside me while you were hanging out at the clinic with innocent, naive Maru. What would she say if she knew what a slut you are?" He grinned, enjoying her mockery. "At least I've got a little privacy for my fantasizing out here in the sticks."
"Oh, so you were fantasizing about me too?" he asked, slipping an arm around her. He placed his palm flat on her back and pulled her closer so that their chests were almost touching.
"Of course, how could I not after this morning?" she asked. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I thought you were about to fuck me on the exam table. Surely that would be a violation of some ethics code."
"I can't believe I got cockblocked by Maru. I strongly considered sending her home for the day."
"Well, it all worked out in the end." She kissed him, then pulled back, giggling.
"What's the matter?" he asked, concerned.
"Your mustache-it tickles! I'm not used to it yet."
"Well, you'll have to get used to it," he said. He nuzzled her with his face and tickled her sides until she shrieked.
An answering shriek sounded from the dark outside, and they both jumped, craning to see out the window. Harvey's heart was pounding. Arianne sighed, then stood and began to dress.
"You're not going out there, are you?" he asked, incredulous. She stood facing the window with her back to him.
"I'll be right back. I'm just going to go get Grover and bring him in. He's a tough pup, but I don't want him out there alone all night." Harvey got up, gathering his clothes and his courage.
"I'm coming with you."
Arianne snorted. "No, you're not. You're gonna stay put. This is only going to take me a minute or two, and it's too dangerous." Every instinct told him to nod and sit back down, stay safe in the bed while she ventured out into the night. She was strong, right? In the moonlight he could see the outlines of her muscles under her skin. She lived on this farm, she did this all the time, right?
Another shriek rang out through the still night, and he shook his head. He stepped into his boxer shorts and reached out toward her. She turned to him and he put his hands on her shoulders.
"If it's really so dangerous out there, I can't allow you to go alone. Safety in numbers, right?"
Arianne rolled her eyes, but she smiled and nodded at him.
"Alright, come on. If you really want to go, then let's get you armed."
He hurriedly dressed and followed her out of the room as she grabbed her purple sword and made for a chest in the living room. She was rummaging through it when he caught up to her.
He looked inside and saw an assortment of swords, knives, and hammers. His mouth went dry.
"Um. Arianne, I promise this is not me backing out. Can you tell me what exactly is out there?"
"Well, we've got bats, flying serpents, shadow brutes, golems, and slimes." He only knew what a few of these were, but the others sounded horrifying. She was so cavalier about it. "Oh! That reminds me. I should give you this." She opened a nearby drawer and rummaged around for a moment, then handed him an odd green ring. "Put this on. It'll keep at least the slimes from attacking you."
"You won't need it?" he asked, putting it on his pinky finger. Her hands were much smaller than his. He was grateful to have some form of protection, but he felt guilty taking it from her.
"No, I mostly use it when I go into my slime hutch and there are a bunch of them in a small space. I can absolutely handle a few stray ones in my yard." He nodded, feeling overwhelmed. Slime hutch? She farmed monsters? He watched as she dug through the chest, considering and discarding different weapons. He listened as she lectured him on what to expect.
"Now listen up. The main creatures to be wary of are the bats and serpents, because they move really fast. The shadow brutes are the scariest, but they're slow and you can get away from them easily. I don't really like to kill them if I can avoid it. Same with the golems. Here, take this and tell me what you think."
She handed him a short, sturdy looking sword with an oddly shaped blade and a hilt guard. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt and hefted it, testing the weight in his hands. It was heavier than it looked, but not too heavy for him to wield.
"Take a few swings with it. Make sure it feels good." He stepped back and swung the blade, getting used to the weight and balance. "It's a cutlass. Hopefully you won't have to use it, but if anything gets too close, don't hesitate." He nodded, holding the cutlass by his side. It felt odd to be holding a weapon. He was used to tools of healing, not harm.
"What type of sword is yours?" he asked, pointing. It was unlike anything he had ever seen.
"Oh, this is the galaxy sword. It's the only one like it," she said, holding it up for him to look at. "It's made of iridium, I think. I got it in the desert."
"You just found it out there?"
"Um, sort of? I'll tell you the story another time, it's kind of strange. We should be heading out anyway. Are you sure you still want to come? I won't judge you if you back out."
Harvey shook his head, adamant.
"Alright. Stay close to me, and keep a look out. I'll watch ahead and you watch behind, let me know immediately if you see something, okay?"
"Okay. I'm ready."
Arianne nodded, and they went out the door and into the night.
Before Harvey even had a chance to look around, a massive green creature flew through the air straight at them. Arianne stood directly in front of him and smashed into it with her sword. It was knocked back, but flew at her again only to be cut down. It fell dead at her feet. He stared at the corpse in shock, looking at the teeth. He'd seen their bites on Arianne's skin. This time she had taken it down with ease, but that must have come after much experience.
"Serpent," she said. "See how fast they are?" She didn't wait for a response, but walked straight into the field of corn in front of them, whistling for her dog. He followed closely. They walked on through other crops as she called out for Grover, not bothering to be quiet. He was looking over his shoulder when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark mass emerge from the ground. It stood a full head taller than him, and was cloaked in shadow. He could hardly make out its form, but it was vaguely human-shaped.
"Arianne, there's a thing behind us," he said, trying not to sound panicked. She whipped around, staring into the darkness.
"That's a shadow brute," she said. "We can just stay out of his range. Keep an eye on him and I'll take care of him if he gets too close, but I don't want to waste time fighting him if I can avoid it." They walked on at a quicker pace. The shadow brute followed, but as Arianne said, couldn't catch up to them. Harvey felt panic rising in his chest. Just knowing that the creature was behind them filled him with dread.
Suddenly something hit Harvey in the shoulder. He shot straight into the air and screamed, slashing at it with his cutlass. He felt the blade connect with something small that bounced off like a baseball, but then flew right back at him again. This time he was a little more ready and swung at it as it came at him, but he missed. Arianne pushed him behind her and smacked it with the flat of her blade, killing it instantly. At that moment, a small shape sped across the ground straight for him. He readied his sword again, but stayed it when he realized it was Grover. Arianne dropped to her knees to pet him and clip on his leash.
"Here, hold his leash and I'll fight anything else that comes along. Keep him close. We'll go around and give that shadow brute a wide berth." He nodded and wrapped the leash around his hand a few times so that Grover had to walk right next to him. The dog sniffed at the dead bat, looking as if he wanted to pick it up and carry it back with him, but they hurried back toward the house. Every time Harvey looked over his shoulder there were more shadow brutes following them, but they kept up a pace that left them a safe distance away. Arianne killed a few more bats and a purple slime along the way, and soon they were back to the farmhouse, safely inside.
"Is it always like that out there?" he asked, still shaking slightly. He was having second thoughts about his mental picture of serene farm life. The shadow brutes clustered outside the door, staring in through the windows. He shuddered, staring at them through the glass. It seemed awfully weak protection against the shadowy creatures.
"Yeah, ever since I moved here. It's been one of the bigger challenges. I've had to do a lot of adapting. When I first got here, all I had was a rusty old sword that Marlon gave me. I could barely protect myself, which is why I ended up at your office so much." They put away their weapons, unclipped Grover's leash, and he gave back the odd green ring. He couldn't take his eyes off the windows. The shadow brutes were beginning to disperse, but a few still loomed.
"Do you want me to take you back to town before I put everything up? I can if you'd like," she offered. He stared at her, incredulous.
"And fight your way out through those guys?" he asked, pointing at the creatures outside the window. "No thanks. I'd much rather stay here, safe and sound indoors. Wait, they can't get in, right?" The thought that they could just punch through the window had suddenly occurred to him. Arianne was already shaking her head.
"No, they can't get in. And I could take them, easy. Might get a few scrapes, but it's nothing I can't handle." He glanced back out the window, but regardless of the monsters, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay here in Arianne's arms all night.
"No, I'd rather stay if you don't mind." He couldn't stomach the thought of going back out there. She smiled, relieved.
"Great! Would you like to join me for a bath?"
They soaked together in her massive spa tub, rinsing off the dirt and sweat from their late night chase. Harvey sank into the water, letting the heat ease the tension from his bones. Steam filled the room and fogged the mirror.
"When I first moved here, I was terrified to go out on the farm at night," she said, breaking the silence. "I used to make sure to get everything done before dark so that I just wouldn't have to deal with the monsters. One night, I was out foraging in the woods to the south and got lost, and it was dark by the time I made my way back. I tried to get through the farm, but I didn't even have a weapon with me. I made it to the pond and had to turn back. I made it back out into the woods, but I was pretty beat up. Leah invited me in and let me stay the night at her place." Harvey tried to keep his face neutral as things fell into place mentally. So Leah had been the short-lived fling.
"It's awkward telling you about this, but I figured you should know since she's one of your patients. I don't want to keep anything from you," she said. She nervously met his eyes and looked away quickly.
Arianne sank deeper into the water, submerging her mouth and blowing out bubbles, then leaning back so that only her face was above the water line. "Well, one thing led to another, and you know how it goes. I got stuck out there a few more times and things progressed. She told me she wanted something real. I cared about her." Harvey nodded sympathetically. He felt awkward listening to her talk about her past sex life, but she was mercifully sparing with the details. "Well, come to find out, she was completely hung up on her ex the whole time, and was fucking her on and off while we were together. Never said a thing to me about it. I found out by walking in on her on the phone. I never would have known." Her eyes were closed.
"That was also the reason why I had that STD panel done. About a month or so after it ended, I suddenly realized that since she had been cheating on me, I should probably get tested. It was so embarrassing. I thought for sure you'd never be interested in me after that." He shifted in the water, unsure of what to say.
"I'm... sorry that happened. It's terrible. No one should have to go through that," he said, moving closer to her in the oversized tub. He put an arm around her tentatively. She sat up, water dripping from her short hair, and let him hold her. "And you should know that it didn't at all lower my opinion of you. Honestly, it alerted me to the fact that you're a person that takes their health seriously. I think that's very respectable." She smiled.
"Thank you! And it's okay. I'm fine now, but it was a huge setback for me, you know? Just moved into this new town, a big scary farm to take care of and just when I think I've found someone that I can rely on, they pull something like that. It really shook me up." He nodded.
"I can understand. I've been cheated on before too. It really throws off your sense of reality when someone you trust betrays you," he said. He moved in front of her in the water, making direct eye contact. Without his glasses, the outline of her face was a little fuzzy, but at this distance he could still see her just fine. "I want you to know that I would never do something like that to you." Arianne smiled, then leaned in and kissed him, pulling him onto her lap.
"I would fuck you again, but honestly I'm just too exhausted," she said, smiling apologetically.
"No, no! That is fine with me. I've had more than my fair share of excitement for the day." The warm water had leached heat into his bones, and he was overwhelmed with fatigue. The fear had taken almost all of his remaining energy. They dragged themselves out of the tub, dried off, and fell into bed.
He rolled onto his back and pulled her close, their legs interlocking. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness completely, and he could see the curve of her face in the moonlight filtering in through the window, her dark hair still damp. "You know, I've lived here for a few years now, but I feel like I didn't really start putting down roots until you came along," he said. He felt jittery exposing his feelings to her, but he knew that if he waited too long he would lose his nerve. She leaned in, resting her face on his chest. Her eyes were closed and he could feel her eyelashes on his skin. Her wet hair was cold against his shoulder, but he didn't mind.
"I care about you. You've done something to me." He was struggling for words. She smirked at him, reaching up to trace his mustache with her fingers. She was certainly doing something to him now. Her fingers brushed against his lips, and he opened his mouth without thinking, letting her fingers slip between them. As exhausted as he was, his body responded to the intimacy. He couldn't keep his mind clear around her.
"You know," she said, his mouth still occupied, "I love your mustache." She retracted her hand and licked her fingers. He took a shaky breath and sat up on his elbows, rolling over to face her.
"I can't keep my mind off of you."
"We'll have to do this again sometime soon," she said, mumbling. Arianne's eyes were closed, and he was having a hard time fighting off sleep as well. He wrapped his arms around her and let his breathing slow down in time with hers, drifting off to sleep.
