Tatsumaki held her phone closer to her ear as she turned the television on. Scrolling through the channels as she spoke, she searched amongst the movies on the guide.
"How close are you to home Secter?" she asked.
"Pretty close," said Secter on the other end of the phone. "Just going to get something to eat real quick, then I'm heading straight home."
"Well hurry," said Tatsumaki. "I want you here."
"I'm coming, don't worry."
"How was…your talk, by the way?"
"It was interesting," said Secter. Something crinkled in the background wherever Secter was, and Tatsumaki strained to hear it. "He was…a lot more open about the experiences he had than I was, that's for sure."
"How did he seem to you?" asked Tatsumaki.
"Still egotistical, kind of on a…different world, so to speak," said Secter. "But there's good in him. He feels bad about what he did to Fubuki, and he seems to be warming up to humankind in general. Might take a bit more pushing though."
"Huh," said Tatsumaki. "And he didn't try to hurt you."
"No," said Secter. "I don't think he would unless I tried to hurt him anyways."
"Gotcha."
"And how was your day?"
"It was alright. Had some interesting little experiences, but otherwise I'm ok." Tatsumaki picked up a book that was laying next to her on the couch, and she flipped through the pages of people in various compromising positions.
"Experiences?" asked Secter.
"Eh, nothing much to talk about," said Tatsumaki. "Wait until you get home."
"I'm like, within view of the house right now."
"Well get in!" said Tatsumaki. "And come cuddle, I want to watch a movie."
"That sounds great."
"See you soon Secter."
"See you."
Moments later, Secter burst in through the door, a sandwich wrapped in white paper in one hand and another hand behind his back.
Tatsumaki flung the book she was reading under the couch and smiled at him as he closed the door and walked over.
"So," said Secter. "I got some food, and you know what else I got?"
"What?" asked Tatsumaki.
He took his hand out from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of flowers, various bulbs of purple all sticking out from a plastic holder.
"Your favorite flowers," said Secter. "Uh…violets?"
"Violets aren't my favorite," said Tatsumaki. "But you're close."
"Shit," said Secter. "What are they then?"
"I do like purple lilies. But normally I don't pay too much attention."
"Oh. Eh, just thought it would be nice."
"It is nice. It's very you."
"Me?"
"Yes. You're adorable, and kinda cheesy, and I love you."
Secter's cheeks flushed red as he lowered the violets.
"I love you too," he said. "With all of my heart."
"Sit," said Tatsumaki. She patted the spot right next to her.
"Just a sec," said Secter. "Gotta put all this up."
"Put the flowers on the kitchen table," said Tatsumaki. "I want to see them after I wake up."
"Ok," said Secter. He raced to the kitchen and set the sandwich into the refrigerator before finding the largest cup he could, filling it with water, and setting the violets inside. Scrunching his face at the now tilting violets, Secter shrugged and ran back to the couch. Collapsing down at Tatsumaki's side, he leaned his head on her shoulder while she wrapped her arms around him.
"What do you want to watch?" she asked.
"Eh, whatever sounds good," said Secter. "No preference."
"Alright, I'll find something."
As Tatsumaki flipped through the channels, Secter eyed her up and down, watching her breathe through her black dress.
"Hey Tatsu…" he said.
"Yeah?" asked Tatsumaki.
"Have I ever told you how sexy you look in that dress?"
"No…no I don't think so."
"Well you look damned good in it," said Secter. "It's pretty close fitting at times."
"I mean yeah," said Tatsumaki. "But you're right, I do look good in it. Especially when I do this-"
Tatsumaki stretched her arms up, her body outlined against her dress as she did so. Secter straightened as her stomach and the outlines of her breasts came into better view, and Tatsumaki smirked at him in response.
"You like this, don't you?" she asked.
"Yes I do," said Secter. "Christ, love it when you do that."
"You just like to see me," said Tatsumaki. "If it were up to you, you'd have me go around naked everywhere."
Secter laughed.
"I don't know about that, but I definitely really like seeing you be confident in yourself," said Secter. "And I really like seeing you in general, clothes or no clothes."
Smiling, Tatsumaki leaned in close to Secter's face, her breath spreading hot across his lips.
"And I like seeing you too," said Tatsumaki. "Would really like to see more of you, honestly. I want this relationship to go as far as possible."
Is…is she making a metaphor? thought Secter. No…
Tatsumaki kissed him, with Secter slowly pulling her in closer. They made out while the remote settled on the channel it had been highlighting. A movie began to play in the background while Secter and Tatsumaki kissed, the two of them separating as the main title was displayed on the screen in large letters.
"This movie's ok," said Tatsumaki, her face still inches away from Secter's. "Want to watch?"
"Sure," said Secter. "You want anything to eat?"
"I might have some popcorn in there," said Tatsumaki. "I think I grabbed some at the store today."
"I'll go and check."
Secter went over to the kitchen and retrieved a bag of popcorn from one of the top cupboards. Minutes later he had an entire bowl filled with fluffy yellow clouds of a snack, and he brought it back over to where Tatsumaki was sitting. Setting it on the table, the two of them ate together as the movie went on.
An hour later, the bowl was down to only a few pieces of popcorn. On screen, one of the characters had just taken off all his clothing while another watched. After a few seconds, the two characters came together and began to caress and moan to one another as they collapsed onto a bed.
Christ this movie is dull, thought Secter. His eyelids were like anchors over his eyes.
Tatsumaki watched the scene with skepticism, crossing her arms.
"That's not how it really is," she said. "Right? I mean…they need a towel and everything. They're going to make a mess."
Secter laughed, finding the energy to blast himself out of his fatigue.
"Yeah, I mean maybe," said Secter. "It is a movie after all."
"Mmhmm," said Tatsumaki.
As the scene went on, with one of the characters clambering on top of the other and beginning to thrust, Tatsumaki found herself frowning. She looked over at Secter, whose eyes were glazed over.
"Did you…expect it to be like it is in this scene?" asked Tatsumaki. "Since I…you know, didn't do anything?"
"Hmm?" asked Secter, blinking at her sleepily. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I didn't do anything. You just…kinda went down on me, and made me feel good."
"I still enjoyed myself."
"I mean…I guess, but mainly only because I was enjoying myself."
"Sex is supposed to be fun for both parties."
"Yeah, but I want you to feel good too."
"Ah," said Secter. "Gotcha. Well…you know, if we end up doing something again, and you're comfortable, maybe you can try something out on me-"
"I am comfortable," said Tatsumaki. "One hundred percent. I want to do this, I even-" She reached down beneath the couch to retrieve the book she had hidden there, and showed it to Secter, who raised an eyebrow at the cover.
"I even got this," said Tatsumaki. "To, you know, help us out. Well, help me out I guess. You seem to know this stuff better than me."
"Not all that well," said Secter. "But wow Tatsu…you actually bought a sex position book?"
A thin film of red blossomed in Tatsumaki's cheeks.
"I…I wanted to learn some more," she said. "And you know, see what I could do. What we could do."
"That's…actually really thoughtful of you," said Secter. "Although I can't imagine what it must've felt like for you to actually go and get that."
"I was a bit embarrassed," said Tatsumaki. "But it'll be worth it."
"I think so too."
"Well…what are we waiting for then?"
Secter's eyes widened, his heart starting to pound.
"You want to go now?" asked Secter. "You're ready for this sort of thing?"
"Well, we can take it a bit slower, but yes," said Tatsumaki. "I really, really, want to make you feel good."
Secter laughed.
"Well alright then," he said. "Let's get out of here."
Tatsumaki grinned as she got up, turning the television off with the nearby remote. Tossing the device to the couch, she dashed off to the bedroom, Secter close behind her.
She's actually excited for it too, he thought. Wow Tatsu, you really do want to be that close huh.
The two of them entered the bedroom and Tatsumaki closed the door behind them. She tore her dress off over her head, tossing it over to the side of the bed near the nightstand. Secter sat on the end of the bed, pulling his shirt and pants off. When they were both in their underwear, Tatsumaki walked over to Secter and helped him out of his briefs. Secter did the same with her bra and panties, and they jumped into bed together, pulling the blanket around them.
"Man, what a day," said Secter. "Talked to Sycamore, learned all kinds of stuff and even said some things I don't think I even say to you, then I come home and here you are wanting to make love to me."
"Wait," said Tatsumaki. "Things you don't even say to me? Like what?"
"Oh," said Secter. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Just…mentioned that sometimes I still think I don't deserve you."
"What?" asked Tatsumaki. Her mouth hung open as she looked at him.
"I mean, I do like myself by now, and I do…think I deserve happiness, but-"
"But what?" asked Tatsumaki. "Secter, but what?"
"I…I don't know," said Secter. "You're too good for me, Tatsu."
"No," said Tatsumaki. "No, no. We deserve each other. You deserve happiness." She embraced Secter and pulled him into her, both of them growing warm in each other's body heat.
Secter smiled as tears started to roll down from his eyes.
"I know," he said. "I know."
"You deserve everything," said Tatsumaki. "I want you to be so happy, you deserve it. You do, you really do." Tatsumaki felt something wet fall onto her cheek and she looked up to see one of Secter's tears fall onto her face. Her heart twisting in agony, she began to cry too, soft and silent.
"It's ok Tatsu, it really is," said Secter. "I promise you I love myself, I promise-"
"Then say you deserve it," said Tatsumaki. "That you deserve happiness, and you deserve me. Because I don't want anyone else, and I know we deserve each other."
"I don't want anyone else either," said Secter. "And I do…I do believe it."
"Please Secter. Say it. I can't let you feel down on yourself, not after all that has happened. I can't let you think that way again."
"I deserve you," said Secter. He smiled as he spoke, and he wiped away at the tears that flowed from his eyes, leaving a shiny smear over his face. "I deserve happiness."
"I want you to believe that," said Tatsumaki. "If you ever got as depressed as you were when we were first talking…I would want you to tell me, I would do anything to help you through it and to keep it from happening ever again. I love you far too much to see you hurt like that, I want you to be as happy as you can be, all the time. Whatever I can do."
Secter sniffed, pulling Tatsumaki's head into his neck.
"Thank you Tatsu, you're…" he said. "You're…everything to me. I want this relationship to last a long time, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
Tatsumaki let out a squeal of joy. She lifted her head from her neck to look up at him, a smile on her face despite the flowing tears.
"Me too," she said. "Forever, for as long as I live."
Secter's heart turned into a fireball as he kissed Tatsumaki, his chest warming up into a blazing furnace. Tatsumaki took harsh breaths in between their kissing, her body shaking every time they pulled away for a second or two. Slowly she started to kiss lower, starting with Secter's chin, then heading down to his neck, the center of his chest, then his stomach. Secter watched with incredulity as she went.
"Tatsu," he said. "Are you-"
His question was cut short by Tatsumaki sinking into the covers, only the top of her head visible underneath the cave of fabric. Secter gasped as she kissed lower and lower, until he felt her start to rub him from below.
"Ah," said Secter. "Fuck, Tatsu…"
Tatsumaki rubbed faster. Within seconds, Secter felt her mouth between his legs.
Holy shit, he thought. This is really happening, this is really happening, fuck!
"Oh God," said Secter, shivering all the while struggling to keep still. "Tatsu, keep doing just that."
She began to massage him in rhythm, causing Secter to twitch and moan. He could feel himself ready to burst, with Tatsumaki refusing to let up.
"Fuck," he said. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Tatsu!"
He doubled over, wrapping his body over Tatsumaki's head. Undeterred, Tatsumaki clung to his lower half, her hands finding their way to the back of Secter's waist. Secter gasped, little chuckles escaping his throat in between all of his moans and shortages of breath.
"Hah," he said. "Hah. Fucking hell Tatsu, I did not expect you would do that."
Tatsumaki pulled away from him, sliding her arms back to her sides. She emerged from the blanket, wiping her mouth as she went along. As her face came back into view, Secter watched as her throat muscles convulsed, as if she were swallowing something down. Secter let out a tiny gasp at the sight.
"Well," said Tatsumaki. She smirked at him, her eyes seductive and heavy. "You made a bit of a mess down there, but I think I got most of it."
"Hah," said Secter. His breathing was labored and he looked at Tatsumaki as if she had just come first in a marathon. "You…holy shit…that was good Tatsu."
"You like it?" asked Tatsumaki. "I wasn't sure I could do it, but the book gave me some pointers. And the taste isn't that bad."
"Ok," said Secter, his voice growing thin.
"So I did good?" asked Tatsumaki. "You felt good?"
"I did," said Secter. "But…but Tatsu, this doesn't have to be a give and take."
"I mean, I didn't really do anything last time to you, but I also wanted you to feel nice."
"It's…it's fine to do this," said Secter. "I'm just saying that you don't have to feel that just because I did something for you, means you have to do something for me."
"I know, I know," said Tatsumaki. "Even still, I felt a little bad. You did great last time, and taught me some stuff, and made me feel so confident in myself, and so loved…"
"That's what I really wanted," said Secter. "Although what you just did was fucking fantastic."
"Thanks," said Tatsumaki.
"Christ," said Secter. He twitched again.
"You ok?" asked Tatsumaki.
"Yeah, I think-"
"Oh! You're still going a bit, aren't you?"
"A bit."
"I can get that."
"Tatsu, you don't have to-"
It was too late. Tatsumaki already disappeared under the covers, and was on him in seconds. Secter gasped as his body got ready for another round. A few minutes later the same thing happened, and Tatsumaki started to emerge from under the blanket. Only this time, Secter felt a fire in his brain, the only thing he wanted was the woman in front of him.
"Tatsu," said Secter. "I want you more than anything right now."
Tatsumaki emerged from the blankets, pulling herself close to him.
"I want you too," she said. Feeling him press up against her, she let out a sigh and started to shake. Then her eyes widened. "But wait, Secter wait! You don't even have a condom on!"
"Oh," said Secter. "Do you have any?"
"I got some at the store, one second!" said Tatsumaki. She leapt out of bed, leaving a quivering Secter alone and with a disheveled blanket around him. He could hear the sink run in the bathroom as Tatsumaki washed her mouth out, and the creaking of a cupboard opening signaling her search for what she was looking for. Seconds later she was back, a condom in one hand and a bottle in the other.
"I think I know how to do this," said Tatsumaki. "Just…hold on, stay like you are."
Secter laughed.
"You're hovering over me and are naked Tatsu," said Secter. "I wouldn't worry about it going away."
Tatsumaki flashed a devious smile at him and pulled the condom out from its packaging. Frowning at the object, she tried wringing it out in an attempt to get it to unroll. Secter chuckled and reached down to help her, the two of them unrolling it over him until it was fully on. Tatsumaki nodded and opened the bottle, squirting some of the substance over her hands and massaging it onto Secter.
"Good…good choice," he sputtered. "Will…probably be good for…first time…"
"Good," said Tatsumaki. "Do you…want to be on the bottom or the top?"
"Either is fine," said Secter. "Don't care. Just want this."
Tatsumaki shivered and tossed the bottle to the ground. Clambering over on top of him, she hyperventilated as she hovered her waist over his.
"We're…really doing this," said Tatsumaki.
"If…if…you want," said Secter. "Fuck, I can barely…talk."
"You're so excited," said Tatsumaki. "You want me so bad."
"I really do."
"I want you too," she said. "Oh God, I don't know if I'll last that long."
"It's fine," said Secter. "It's fine. It's your first time, enjoy it and don't worry."
"And it's with you," said Tatsumaki. "It's with you. I love you."
"I love you too."
Tatsumaki shuddered down onto Secter, gasping at the halfway point. Groaning, she forced herself all the way down, Secter starting to get up in worry but laid back down as Tatsumaki gently pushed on his chest with her hand.
"I'm ok," she said. "I'm ok."
"Ok," said Secter. "You can…go for it."
Tatsumaki nodded, her entire body quivering nonstop. Slowly she raised herself up and then back down, moving in rhythm to Secter's breathing.
"Bit…faster," said Secter, struggling to speak above his repeated gasps.
"Ok," said Tatsumaki. She lowered herself down between his legs then raised herself up quicker than before, repeating the process again and again as Secter twisted his torso beneath her. Tatsumaki could feel him inside of her, and she moaned as she moved. Her heart was hammering away at her ribcage, and part of her almost felt like passing out. But she kept going, every downwards movement sending shivers up her body.
"Faster," said Secter.
"Yes," said Tatsumaki. "Fuck, fuck…"
Her pace quickened, her waist slamming into Secter's as she moved.
"Is that…too much," she breathed.
"Just don't hit as hard," said Secter. "It's good. You?"
"Great," said Tatsumaki. "Going to…explode any second."
"Hah," said Secter, more of an exhale than a word.
Tatsumaki groaned as she moved quicker and quicker, Secter reaching up and pulling her face into his as her body convulsed. They kissed as Tatsumaki's legs started to quiver, and she nearly fell over backwards if it weren't for Secter pulling her forward.
"Fuck!" she yelled. "I can't…I can't! Fuck!"
Secter shuddered as they kissed again, and he reeled backwards as Tatsumaki fell down in one last thrust.
"Holy shit," he groaned. "Agh, Christ Tatsu…holy shit…"
"I…I'm sorry," said Tatsumaki. "I don't know…if I can keep going, my heart, and my body…"
"It's ok…" said Secter. "Pretty sure…I just had an orgasm there."
"Me too," said Tatsumaki. "Me too."
She groaned as she pulled herself off of him, slowly lifting her lower half until she was hovering over Secter's legs. Shuddering, she laid down on top of him, the both of them breathing as if they had just finished a swim of over a hundred miles. Tatsumaki started to giggle as Secter calmed down, and he raised a hand over her head.
"Hmm?" she asked.
"High five," he said.
"What?" she asked. "Why?"
"For you know, our first time."
"Oh my God," said Tatsumaki. "You are the biggest dork I know."
"Ah come on," said Secter. "Why not?"
Shaking her head, Tatsumaki raised her hand and slapped his palm, entwining her fingers with his and bringing both their hands down to the small of her back.
"You…see?" asked Secter. "Communication is key there. And…I think we both enjoyed it."
"I know I did," said Tatsumaki. "I just wanted to go for longer."
"Trust me that takes practice," said Secter. "Usually a lot."
"Oh."
"It's fine though, you did great. No one got hurt, we both got off, we both had a great time, we both feel amazing."
"I feel…like the luckiest person in the world right now," said Tatsumaki.
"Me too," said Secter. "Christ, I'm glad we did this Tatsu."
"Same," said Tatsumaki. "It's kind of messy, but I kind of love it."
"Well that's good," said Secter. "Because I can definitely see more of this in the future if you're up to it…"
"Without a fucking doubt."
Secter chuckled, still barely able to speak or make sounds without his breathing interrupting him.
"Shit," said Tatsumaki. "There was one thing."
"What's that?" asked Secter.
"We forgot the towel."
"Goddamnit."
. . .
A cavalcade of shuffling sounded off from all corners of the massive room, creatures of many shapes and sizes filling various balconies that surrounded the hall with the back of the room shrouded in darkness. They all sat in a circle around a podium the size of a small house, each one nervously glancing at each other and chattering away about what was going to happen next. The muttering and uncomfortable shuffling went on for a while until a giant creature rose from the shadows to stand at the podium. All eyes were now trained on the soon-to-be speaker, its head larger than most of the individual spectators. Cracks adorned the giant monster's stone body, its face hidden by a grinning metal mask with sparkling blue eyes. It laid down one of its six spiked arms down on the steel podium, waiting for the whispering of all the watching monsters to end.
"As the most powerful and senior level dragon threat," said the speaker. "I, Voracidus, have called a meeting of all monsters we could find to discuss this new…hero."
"He looked like a monster!" cried a wormlike being with a mouth full of square teeth. "And yet he kills and traps us left and right!"
"We can't stop him!" yelled another monster. "He's invincible!"
"Calm yourselves," said Voracidus, waving one of his arms into the air. It shivered as it moved, bits of stone held in place all along his arms through blue psychic energy. "We have to formulate a plan. It's true that this Sycamore being has destroyed many of our strongest comrades, but we can still defeat him-"
"There is no hope!" screamed the worm. "Monsterkind is finished!"
"Silence!" yelled Voracidus. He slammed a fist down onto the podium, shattering the top most part into silver splinters. "If we panic and fall apart, we will stand no chance! We must organize an attack on this Sycamore, destroy him in one fell swoop!"
"He doesn't even need the help of other heroes!" shouted another monster, a floating cube dripping with lava and a tiny mouth adorning its molten face. "He goes after us on his own!"
I have never seen monsterkind so frightened, thought Voracidus. Is this Sycamore really going to be the end of us?
"Everyone calm down," said Voracidus. "How…how many dragon level threats do we have today?"
"You're the only one," said the worm. "Hell…you might be the only one left."
"That's…that's impossible," said Voracidus. "How long has Sycamore been here, a week? Surely he couldn't have destroyed that many dragons in that amount of time?"
"We have some demon level threats here," said the cube. "But not many."
"Very well, it'll have to do," said Voracidus. "I shall gather a party of the strongest monsters, and hunt down this Sycamore. Then, we shall go into hiding until we can recover."
"And what if you fail?" asked the worm. "What then?"
Mutterings amongst the monsters. Fear permeated the room.
"I will not fail," said Voracidus. "For all of monsterkind-"
"We don't even understand this Sycamore!" shouted the cube. "We don't understand him, he is beyond us."
"Would you quit whining?!" said Voracidus. "We might not understand him, but if we just keep a level head-"
Voracidus cut himself off when he noticed that all of the monsters in the room were staring behind him. He frowned from behind his metal mask at the looks of pure terror he saw before he started to turn around.
"What?" asked Voracidus. "What is it-"
Behind him, the darkened shadows from whence he had rose were twisting and swirling, black bars of shadow twirling together like the gnarled bark of a tree made from the night sky itself. Looking up, Voracidus caught sight of a massive glowing grin and two yellow eyes, gleaming with joy.
"I am beyond you," said Sycamore as he towered over the stone monster. "That's a good way to put it, actually."
Voracidus flipped back over to the crowd of screaming monsters.
"Everyone, attack-" he began.
Sycamore lunged straight through Voracidus, his face plunging through the back of the stone monster's head. Sycamore's grin glowed through the spot where Voracidus's metal smile was as Voracidus's head melted away. His face completely replacing Voracidus's, Sycamore lifted the monster with his head alone, until he grabbed Voracidus's limp body with both hands and ripped it in two. Shards of stone and strings of red gore flung themselves free from the wreck that was once a monster, and all the spectators shouted and groaned as they got up and started to run towards the nearest exit.
"No, I don't think so," said Sycamore, as his body began to envelop the room with waves of darkness. "It's time to say goodbye."
Soon there was nothing left of the meeting hall other than a flickering pool of black, all of the monsters surrounded and enveloped within. No screams could be heard from the choking darkness, no final looks of terror visible from inside Sycamore's form. Despite this, Sycamore grinned anyway.
. . .
Rays of light peaked out from the nearby window, reflecting off of Tatsumaki's hair onto the ceiling above. She lay flat on top of Secter, her eyes creeping open just as Secter started to move. He kept his arms wrapped around her back, the two of them still naked from last night. Smiling at Secter as he woke, Tatsumaki stretched upwards to reveal more of her torso directly in front of his face. Secter chuckled as she moved.
"Look at you go Tatsu," said Secter. "You're so confident now, I absolutely love it."
"I know," said Tatsumaki. "I like how I look. And I know you do too." She laid back down on top of Secter, letting out a soft sigh as she pressed herself against him.
"I gotta say," said Secter. "I was not expecting you to do what you did last night."
"Hmm?" asked Tatsumaki.
"Well, you know," said Secter. "You uh…swallowed."
"Oh," said Tatsumaki. She turned her head up so that her chin rested on Secter's collarbone. "Well…it's what you did with me, right?"
"I mean, yeah," said Secter.
"I figured you'd like it," said Tatsumaki. "Since I liked it too. When you did it to me anyways."
"That's good," said Secter. "But even still, wow Tatsu. You uh, really had me going there."
"I know," said Tatsumaki. She slid her body up against his until her face was level with Secter's. Hovering over him, she smiled. "I could tell you were really enjoying yourself."
"And you were too?"
"Well duh," said Tatsumaki. "Come on Secter, you're supposed to be the expert at this. I kinda learned a bit from you after all."
Secter laughed.
"I told you I'm not an expert," he said. "Even I make mistakes."
"Yeah, that's true," said Tatsumaki. "But whatever. We'll just need more practice then."
"You were so excited that time," said Secter. "Nowhere near as nervous as the first."
"Well, I had some experience by then I guess you could say. And I knew you loved me, and I wanted you to feel loved, and I just…ugh I don't even know how to describe it. I just felt every part of my being going towards you, felt nothing but passion and love towards you and I wanted you to feel that, for you to feel me loving you instead of just me saying it."
Secter slid one arm up from Tatsumaki's back to the rear of her head and pulled her in close to his face. Tatsumaki leaned down and kissed Secter, her lips meeting his. Secter sat upright as they kissed, neither one of them willing to let go. They eventually separated, with Tatsumaki's breathing turning into heavy exhales and Secter's body starting to quiver.
"I love you so much Tatsu," said Secter, his eyes watering. "More…more than I can describe. I want you to be happy forever, I want you to be with me forever, anything and everything I can do to make you feel loved I want to do."
"Secter…" said Tatsumaki. She blinked as tears began to form under her eyes as well. Like Secter's they were followed by a smile. "Let's stay together, always."
"Always."
Tatsumaki leaned back into him, readying herself for another kissing session.
"You want to go again?" she asked. "Because I'm ready to go right now."
Secter rubbed Tatsumaki's back, a devious smile on his face.
"Oh absolutely," said Secter. "By the way, and I forgot to mention this last night, but if you want, we can do it without a condom."
"What?" asked Tatsumaki, confusion spreading across her face.
"I can use my powers to make myself temporarily infertile," said Secter, shrugging. "Just a thought."
"That…is interesting," said Tatsumaki. "It would be kinda…closer too, I guess. No plastic in between us, just you and me."
"Plastic?" asked Secter. He raised an eyebrow, before a light went off in his head and he chuckled. "Latex, Tatsu. They're made of latex."
"Oh whatever," said Tatsumaki as she crossed her arms. "You know what I mean, I'm not that knowledgeable about all this."
Secter chuckled, his voice soft.
"Even still," he said. "It's an option. Might still want to use the stuff you bought, might feel a bit different."
"I bet it'll be better," said Tatsumaki. "You stay there, I'll be back in a se-"
Tatsumaki's phone buzzed on her nightstand, causing the two tennis balls atop the table to shake. Looking over at her phone, Tatsumaki scrunched her face in confusion.
"Who's calling me?" she asked. She clambered off of Secter, who watched her as she went, from her long pale legs all the way up to her hunched shoulders. Picking up her phone, she glanced over at Secter, and giggled as she caught him checking her out. Smiling to herself, she answered the phone as she turned away from Secter, who smiled as well.
"Oh, the HA?" asked Tatsumaki. "Ugh, fine. One second Secter, this might be something important."
"By all means," he said, yawning at the end of his sentence.
Tapping on her phone, Tatsumaki brought it up to her ear to listen. Secter laid on his side on the bed, eying Tatsumaki's backside up and down. Tatsumaki kept the phone close to her head and said her greeting. She turned around, smiling when she saw Secter still looking at her. Then her smile turned to a frown and she started to clench her phone. Secter lifted himself up, worried about Tatsumaki's newfound expression.
"What?" asked Tatsumaki. "What the hell do you mean?" Her knuckles turning white from her grasp on her phone, she sat back down on the bed next to Secter.
"That's bullshit," she said. "It was just two buildings! I…ugh."
"Tatsu?" asked Secter. "Everything alright?"
"Fine, fine," said Tatsumaki. "Whatever. This organization is broken anyways." She hung up, tossing her phone back onto the nightstand. It clattered to a stop right next to her display case.
"What's wrong?" asked Secter. He pushed himself next to Tatsumaki and embraced her from the backside, his hands wrapping around her stomach. Tatsumaki turned around in her seat and sunk down onto the bed so that she was laying down next to Secter again.
"Fucking HA," said Tatsumaki. "Apparently because I had that little incident with Sycamore, they want to cut my pay. And apparently, one of the officials even went so far as to try to make me a threat!"
"What the fuck?" asked Secter. "It was two buildings!"
"I know right?" asked Tatsumaki. "The whole thing is just…stupid."
"I knew that organization was broken," said Secter. "But a pay cut, eh?"
"We'll be fine, I have plenty of money."
"No it's not that…" said Secter. "Sycamore! I'll bet Sycamore influenced this!"
"Huh?"
"He's putting heroes out of work with all the monsters he's getting rid of, and that can mean less funding for the HA. Crap, that was one thing I wanted to talk to him about but I think I forgot."
"Ugh, you still want to talk to him huh."
"It'd be a good idea," said Secter. "Least I hope. And obviously you can come with if you want."
"Maybe later," said Tatsumaki. "Don't really want to do that now."
"Well yeah, not right now…"
"And I kinda want to meet up with my sis again first," said Tatsumaki. "Then we'll see about Sycamore."
"Sounds good," said Secter.
Tatsumaki sidled up into Secter and embraced him, rubbing her hands up and down his back. Secter smiled and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.
"So," said Tatsumaki. "Where did we leave off earlier?"
. . .
Sycamore strode forth from the hole in the ground that once housed the monster's meeting place. His grin was as wide as ever as he spotted the sun rising up from the bottom of the horizon and he sighed, satisfied.
"Phase two goes ahead as planned," he said.
Up ahead, he caught sight of a humanoid ant creature scurrying away from the hole he had emerged from, its many legs twitching as it rushed in the opposite direction of Sycamore. Sycamore teleported in front of the monster, smirking as it came to a screeching halt in front of him. Reaching into his suit jacket, Sycamore rummaged around for a second before snarling.
Right, he thought. Secter still has it. You're in the wrong here Secter, like usual.
Sighing, he pointed a finger gun down at the ant-creature and pressed his thumb down onto the side of his hand as if it were the hammer.
"Bang," said Sycamore.
At the sound of his voice, the ant-creature exploded, sending chunks of slimy carapace and a couple of mandibles flying out from where the monster once lay. Sycamore shook his head at the gory mess that he made before turning around and heading back into the nearest city.
I wonder where the hell Secter put my gun, he thought. I'll bet…I'll bet that he lives with Tatsumaki, and probably hid it there, but I have no clue where her house is. I could use far-sight, but Secter would see me and nullify me for sure. Nope, looks like I'll have to fucking walk or something.
And walk he did, for hours on end. He passed crowds of people, many of whom waved to him or even cheered his name as he walked by. At first Sycamore gave the passersby shocked looks, but with time he started to wave back, smirking and grinning at all of his fans. Soon he was striding down the street, every step making him look larger than life. The few heroes that he passed by gave him irritated looks, but as usual, he paid them no mind.
The sun rose higher in the sky, and stores and shops began to open for business. Sycamore grumbled as he walked, still unsure of where Secter lived.
I'm like a damned celebrity now, thought Sycamore. Kinda nice, actually. Still, now that I've done my part, now I play a bit of the waiting game. Shouldn't have to wait too long though…
He kept his head down as he walked, heading up a street on a hill to a more isolated neighborhood up ahead. Keeping his gaze to the ground, he bolted upright when he heard a voice drifting down from the top of the hill.
"And maybe get some dinner," said Tatsumaki, walking alongside Secter down the street. "I know a good place."
"Man it's been a while since we've been on a date or something like that," said Secter. "I'd love to go out with you though."
"Then we could go home, maybe light some candles…"
"Now you're talking."
Sycamore narrowed his eyes at the incoming voices and dove over a nearby fence as Secter and Tatsumaki came into view. He watched them walk by through a gap in the fence, frowning as the two of them smiled and laughed as they went along. As they vanished from sight, Sycamore leapt back over the fence and ran up the hill.
What luck! he thought. Perhaps they live around here somewhere… I know that Secter probably isn't a threat to me, but honestly I would like that gun back…especially if any other Soulless ever end up finding this place, I wouldn't stay and fight unless I had to or could get the jump on them, but it's nice to have the gun just in case anyways…
A session of window-peering ensued, with Sycamore glancing all around to make sure that no one was watching or that Secter or Tatsumaki had decided to come back. There were few homes in the area to check, many of which had lights on. When he made it to a house that was illuminated on the inside only by sunlight, he ran around to the back of the home and leapt over the backyard fence. Rushing over to the sliding glass door that led into the back of the house, Sycamore ripped it open and stepped inside.
"Alright," he muttered. "Where did you put my gun, you son of a bitch?"
He strode past the television, his eyes narrowed.
Maybe the bedroom? he thought.
Stalking over to the hall near the bedroom, Sycamore stopped dead short of the open door at the end of the hall. His face contorted into a mix of shock and confusion.
What on earth is that smell? he thought. Oh. Ohhhhhhh. I need to get the fuck out of here.
Swiveling away from the bedroom, his eyes remained wide as he returned to the kitchen and living room areas.
Nope, not checking in there, thought Sycamore. But that man…he actually got that close to a human? I mean, I guess he is human as well, but Volunteers and Soulless don't do that, they don't get so close, they don't normally-
He paused as he neared a closet door.
Well, I guess he is different, thought Sycamore. A world apart, even though we were in the same place. A lucky man, lucky indeed…no wonder he holds such different views. How lucky was he, to avoid staying in that place after the war…things only got worse then.
Sycamore opened the closet door and was greeted with the sight of hanging and folded clothes, neatly stacked into piles all arranged on various wooden shelves. Sycamore spotted an array of black dresses stacked under a messier arrangement of t-shirts and jeans clumped together on the shelf above. Narrowing his eyes, Sycamore searched through the clothing and snarled as he found no sign of his weapon. Delving deeper into the closet, he gasped when he saw a series of yellow lights emanating from a pile of unfolded laundry. He snatched the pistol out from the clothes, his mouth opening in a devilish expression of joy.
Had this bastard since the beginning of the war, he thought. Carried me through some rough times…ideally I won't need it here, but it's good to have just in case.
Sycamore eyed the side of the pistol, looking over a switch that showed in bold letters the words "stun" and "kill."
Forgot it could even do that, extremely rare model, back for the old mp days, he thought. Ah, but now I have it. Good to have it just in case, good to be safe, always good to have a backup plan and to be safe…
Sycamore retreated from the closet and shut the door. Running back out through the door he came in, he shut the glass door and hopped back over the fence. He stuffed his gun back into his suit jacket and left the house behind, satisfied that his future could be more certain.
