The Second Half of the Battle
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Chapter 4
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Princess Nuala had not been completely sure what to expect of her new lover, the enigmatic fishman that had come seeking her father's map on the same day she herself had sought it out. Fate had to be in play, for it had dropped into her hands but moments before Abraham had appeared asking for it. Surely they were meant to meet over this common goal. And the attraction between them had appeared at first touch, when she had probed him for the truth, only for him to reveal that he had reciprocated.
These were all good signs, which had led to her surprising willingness to help him through the pollen sickness. Surely he was of strong enough will to tough it out, but solving the problem as the red demon and the dark-haired woman did was more enjoyable.
And Abraham did seem to be enjoying it, having given in to awoken desires. He arched above her again now, grunting softly and thrusting into her. The rapid fluttering of his gills signaled that he was once again close to another climax, his third. Perhaps this would be the one to exhaust him.
She had felt the worry within him—the worry that he would not be able to restrain himself, and he certainly hadn't once she had brought him to her loaned bedroom. There had not been any shyness or scholarly reservedness after that point. Instead he had seized her and devoured every dish proffered.
"Nuala," he breathed. "Nuala...I love you."
A smile touched her lips. It had been centuries since anyone had whispered her name that way. "Abraham, I love you too," she whispered back.
A few more thrusts and he was over the edge, his throat tight and wheezing, his gills splayed wide and red against the light glowing over the door, his webbed hands clutching painfully hard around her shoulders.
And then he collapsed atop her, his lithe body trembling and soft moans of satisfaction creeping from his throat. When he regained his senses he kissed her shoulder and relinquished the stranglehold of his hands. "Nuala, I love you," he declared again with a clearer voice, his gills settling back against his neck.
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Nuala woke and stretched, and then remembered where she was. She reached out with her hands, but found herself alone. "Abraham?"
There was no answer.
She sat up and looked about. Then grabbing the dressing gown hanging on the back of the bathroom door, she covered herself and stepped into the library. The tranquil blue glow of the aquarium drew her onward and she soon found him, lying asleep on the floor of the tank, his head pillowed by a slender arm.
Nuala crept to the window closest to the fishman and knelt beside it, staring in at him. Her hand went to the glass, and she saw him flash before her eyes, the scene at the map seller's shop at the troll market, her thin knife pressed to his throat, his black gloved hand pressed to hers, his goggled eyes awash with water.
She sighed, but did not reach out for fear of waking him. He must have been completely exhausted by the surrender to the forest elemental's magic.
A few hours later she woke again as Abe returned to her side, the cool skin of his chest pressing against her back as a dampened arm wrapped around her waist. She put her hand atop his as it curled over her stomach. "Abraham," she whispered for the thousandth time that night. Who cared what he thought of his own name. She loved it.
"Princess," he purred back.
"Don't call me that now. We've become too close for you to call me that." She turned over to face him and her lips found his.
Abe kissed back willingly, even lingering and nuzzling against her cheek. "Nuala..." he breathed.
"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Has the pollen worn off yet?"
The hand on her bare skin tensed. "I think so... Yes...about that. I'm feeling a bit embarrassed. Though I'm sure the others will be too." He chuckled awkwardly.
"Don't be. It's not like I didn't know what was going to happen. It was inevitable after the demon defeated the forest elemental in battle." She kissed him again and trailed her fingers over his jawline, tracing his chin and the edges of his gills.
"You've seen it before? What the pollen does?"
"Twice."
"Have you...helped...before?" Suddenly Abe wished that he hadn't opened his mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that," he apologized quickly.
"No offense taken, but how are you feeling? You didn't answer."
Abe relaxed and sighed. "Worn. I usually am after a mission, but...that one took a lot out of me."
"I think I took a lot out of you," she countered.
His gills flattened tightly for a moment. "I hope you'll forgive me. I wasn't exactly myself."
"And you are now?"
"I can't say I am exactly myself. I'm usually not lying in bed with a beautiful woman."
The princess smiled and brought her hands up to embrace him. He truly was magnificent, his skin a delightful palette of color and pattern so unlike her own. His eyes, when the light caught them, called to mind the depths of a mineral spring. And beneath was a magnificent mind, one that even now was reaching out to her, curling psychically against hers. But instead of pushing back, she stood at the threshold and beckoned him across the lintel. "Abraham? Would you...? Would you consider more than just this night's pleasure?"
"Consider more? This would go beyond... beyond pollen treatment?"
"We were brought together in such strange and terrible circumstances, as if we were meant to be companions in some greater plan. Would you consider staying together? As friends and lovers and emotional intimates?"
He raised himself upon his elbows. "You're everything I could ever want in a companion, if that's what you're offering me now, if you're willing to be a companion to what you see." His fingers fluttered over his gills. "I can't imagine I'm what you would consider 'your type'." His tone slipped toward self-deprecation.
Nuala smiled and drew him close, the golden light of her being enveloping the blue. "There's so much more to you, Abraham, than what you look like. I've needed someone like you for a long time."
"Someone like me?" he questioned.
"Someone to love me for who I am."
"Who wouldn't...? Ah, never mind." He paused, not wanting to disturb the intense bliss they were feeling with deliberative conversation. She was right. Being her certainly couldn't be easy, and loving her couldn't be easy either. "Princess... If you wish it, I'll be here for you."
Again she whispered his name, emphasizing it with a sensuously slow blink of her eyes and punctuating it with a kiss.
Gathering up handfuls of her flaxen hair he kissed it. His sensitive hands stroked over her features, pressing them indelibly into memory. He gazed into her golden eyes—eyes that had seen far too much sorrow. He cupped her breasts into his hands and kissed them lovingly. He murmured Keats and Byron and Shelley into her ears. His memories of the night encouraged and emboldened him, for the pollen had stripped away his inhibitions and heightened his need, leaving them both with every stone turned. Nothing he did would startle or shock her now. It had all happened in three rounds the night before and it seemed as if a fourth might be on the way.
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"Hallooooo! Prinzess!" came Johann's voice as he pushed the door open. "Goot morning!"
Johann froze, staring at the pair in the bed staring back at him, who were staring back looking rather guilty.
"I trust you had a goot night's zleep, Prinzess." he chuckled. "Und you too," he said, nodding to Abe.
"Ah, yes. Thank you," she said, her pale cheeks darkening.
"Hmmm...Golt und blue look goot togehzer. Ah, but I digress. Dere is a meeting of eferyone in haff an hour. I am zent to let you know zince you haf not appeared."
"Yes, thank you," she said shyly.
"At your zervice," Johann said with a little bow. "Haf an hour, please."
Abe moaned as Krauss left. He'd forgotten to lock the door when he'd returned from his tank. Not that locked doors meant much to Johann; but still, it might have spared them some embarrassment. "Well, I guess we're a couple now. Within five minutes I suppose everyone in the BPRD will know about us."
"He'd tell?"
"I'm not sure. He's new here and I don't really know him yet. I'm not going to assume he won't."
"Would that be bad? I don't know how things are around here." She clutched at the covers.
Abe paused. "You know, it's not that bad. I'm just not used to being thought of as being in a relationship. Or even of being interested in a romantic relationship." And then he stopped and blinked at her. "If...if you'll still have me. I know we said a lot of very personal things to each other through the night. I don't want us to live in regret of any promises made. And while maybe I was a bit overwhelmed and a bit incapacitated, every word I said was spoken from my heart with complete honesty."
She seized his hand. "I don't want to leave you, Abraham. I want you. I need you... someone like you who cares about me beyond...beyond a... Someone who loves me in spite of everything—my title, the precariousness of my situation, my species."
"You really would have me then?"
She wrapped her arms around him and held him closely. "I found feelings for you the first time we touched."
The eyes like mineral springs blinked, and he leaned in to kiss her once more. "It's mutual."
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At the meeting things were on the awkward side as expected. There was a lot of eye-contact not being made. Most everyone looked guilty or embarrassed to some degree. And Red would have been rather sheepish around Blue, were it not for the fact that he was desperate to ask if what Johann had reported was true. Thankfully Red for once had the tact to ask when Nuala was off talking with Manning afterwards.
Liz had her own congratulations. "Just be careful. I didn't think anything would happen to me, but turns out I was wrong," she said quietly, a hand slipping furtively over her stomach. Her secret was still hers and Abe's alone. And she slipped away before Abe could respond.
Abe glanced over at the princess and as much of a smile that could manifest on his stiff lips did so. Perhaps things had started out in a very strange manner for them, but he wouldn't exchange it for all the pretty words and perfect courtship rituals in the world.
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The End
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Hellboy and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of artist Mike Mignola. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.
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