A/N: I try not to do overly long author's notes before a chapter anymore, pretty much because most readers want to get stuck in as soon as possible.
With that being said, I want to address a few points that have been raised.
Around the time of the main story, Anna has not seen her sister for six years. Three of those were spent on the Star, and the previous three were spent banging on her sister's door, trying to work out why she was being shut out all of a sudden, until she eventually gave up (which has already been stated in the chapter "Beautiful Deception"). In the main story Elsa has not been forgotten, she is more a memory of a past life that Anna cannot go back to, and she has made peace with that. This will be addressed in a flashback (you may now groan, lol) in a couple of chapters time.
For the record: there is no Jack x Astrid pairing in this. While I have stated that it is a crackship of mine, they will not be in a relationship at any point in the story nor a part of any love triangles. This is strictly a one-off situation, designed to provoke conflict further in the story. There will be Hiccstrid, and there will be Jelsa - which brings me to my next point…
This is a slow burn. While I realise and totally understand readers wishing to see their favourite characters together, I feel the need to point out that said characters have a lot of hate and negative feelings towards each other (with the exception of a balanced one or two), and they will have to get past those before any relationships can be formed – sibling, romantic or otherwise. This is a long story, longer than CttT.
I'd say more but I feel I've spoiled enough – oh, and reiterating the M rating for this chapter, and for those that don't want to read a particular part, stop at "Time: 00:30" so you can skip it if you should so desire – 'cause it's steamy.
With that in mind: as the Joker once said: "and here…we…go."
"Three Valkyries Walk Into a Bar: Part Two"
"Hey, you okay? You look a little zoned out there, was it something I said?" Astrid asked, a small frown dancing upon her strikingly pretty features as they danced in a slow circle during the song's slap bass and electric drum-filled interlude, Jack's hands resting on her hips while her arms remained linked around his neck.
It was true, the only thought in his entire mindscape consisted of two words upon discovering her occupation: well…fuck.
Of all the things he expected, guessed or briefly entertained might happen that night, dancing with a Valkyrie ranked around the 'least likely' section alongside extra-terrestrial first contact, Unity's spontaneous fall and Kristoff finally popping the question. Yet, there he was; a Ghost dancing a slow, oddly romantic dance in the arms of his mortal enemy, who only minutes before had been passionately capturing his lips – and if he possessed a semblance of cognitive thought, he would have remarked upon the acute changes to his sensory perceptions. Her brown knife-pleated skirt was no longer soft under his fingertips but abrasive; the music morphed into oppressive and murky from loud and flirtatious; and the woman before his eyes was still visually pleasing but now represented his potential demise.
His spacing out was caused by the conflict between two sides of him – the responsible, cautious side was commanding him to run; to make his excuses, grab Eugene and get the hell out of there, while the cocky, arrogant and moderately drunk side suggested that he stay and run the risk – none of the Valkyries knew of their true identities and, if the two men were exceedingly careful, they likely never would.
And if he was honest, he was getting a kick out of being right under her nose without her suspecting anything…and if he was really honest, her straightforward and assertive attitude along with her less-than-cryptic overtures towards continuing the night at her place, not to mention her rather attractive body hugging his was doing little to dampen his arousal.
Though his mischievous and devious side liked the idea of bedding a Valkyrie without her suspecting a thing, the fact that she was who she was went against everything he fought for and the idea of bedding her also made his skin crawl. It was a paradoxical situation.
"Hello? Anyone alive in there?"
She was beginning to sense that something was off, and he knew it. Furthermore, he was certain that she wasn't stupid in any way, shape or form and would quickly connect his sudden change of behaviour with the declaration of her career.
Worse still, he didn't know which Valkyrie she was; he could be dancing with Snow Queen, the very woman that slashed his back open – a thought that renewed the chill of fear trickling down his spine. So, in a moment of clarity afforded by the realisation that his discovery was at stake, he made his decision – think fast, act suave, and wing it.
Naturally, as soon as possible he would sneak into the men's bathroom to make a quick radio call to the Star for instructions – of course, if Astrid was the one called Snow Queen, going back to her place meant there was no way he could hide the healing scar on his back and he knew for a fact she would recognise it – exit Frost stage left, pursued by Valkyrie.
"Huh?" he blinked, "oh, sorry. I just can't believe I'm dancing with a bona fide Valkyrie."
"You had better not be mocking me, 'cause that sounded like you were." she growled as she narrowed her eyes with the beginnings of a scowl, and he even felt the jab of a finger in the back of his neck.
Smooth moves, Frost.
"Mocking you? Hell no. I did say I'm attracted to strong women, and you Valkyries are pretty badass…though I just decided I don't like the masks."
Astrid cocked her head to the side as the scowl fell from her features, but she kept her narrowed eyes firmly on his as she spoke, "Oh? And what makes you say that?"
"They hide how hot you are." he smirked, and ignored the repeated indignant curses of a voice in the recesses of his mind. Astrid's cheeks flushed a vibrant pink, visible even under the dim lights above the 'dance floor' as the suspicious glimmer in her eyes gave way to a playful smirk.
"You've got a silver tongue." she huskily said, arching her back a little to brush her abdomen against his.
"That's not all it's capable of." Jack half-smiled, hiding the smugness as much as he could when he saw her eyes widen a small margin, her lips part and practically heard the switch of her breathing from smooth to ragged. Despite the supposedly sobering revelation, the alcohol was having the effect of intensifying his bravado, and the swaying of her hips wasn't helping the distinct arousal.
"That's a mighty bold claim you have there, Chris. I gotta say, I wonder if you've got the skills to back it up…" she murmured challengingly, casting him a lidded gaze as she closed her lips to within an inch of his. Jack found himself acutely aware of the tightening of his chest – along with his pants – and decided that there was no way in hell he was going to let her dominate, not in this game of flirts and insinuations.
"Wouldn't you like to know." he retorted low and coy, intentionally keeping his lips just out of her reach.
"Oh, trust me. I would."
"I bet. I'm wondering if a Valkyrie's as good in bed as I hear they are in a fight…" he kept up the pressure, figuring that the combination of less-than-subtle innuendo and veiled taunts was the way to go – but Astrid was more than a match for that.
"Put it this way, neither of us are going to be walking tomorrow." she purred, her lips uttering the words slowly enough for him to catch every single one.
In that moment, when the musical interlude ceased and reached the loud crescendo where the vocals singing of satisfaction, the pizzicato guitar, slap bass and electric drums all crashed into one gloriously sensual rhythm, Jack was the one to feel his breath becoming deep and laboured, and something took over his mind – the urge to dominate his enemy. Astrid took his flirts, matched them and sent them right back at him with interest, and if he wasn't going to take the edge with words, he would with his body.
Moving his hands from her hips to her shoulders, he elicited a gasp as he pushed her back with just enough strength to have her lightly impact the booth behind her, then drank in her surprised yet aroused expression as he surged forward to press his body against hers, and leaned in to hover his mouth a couple of inches from her exposed neck, noting with pride the barely perceptible gasp as his breath mingled with her sensitive skin while her hands rested themselves upon his chest.
"I take it…you're the one with the sword?" he murmured loud enough for her to hear.
"No way," she sneered, "swords are weak. Axes are more my thing…"
Surges of barely-controlled relief flooded Jack with every pulse of his admittedly thudding heartbeat, and for a brief moment he felt his entire body relax; Astrid was not Snow Queen and likely would not recognise the scar on his back – though she could have been made aware of it by the woman who caused it. However, that was a chance rather than a certainty.
Unfortunately for him, the momentary relaxation and distraction created by the tide of reassurance cost him his position, and in a spectacular reversal of assertiveness Astrid used her hands to push against his chest, forcing him to stagger backwards…and then, with a hungry glint in her eye, she grasped a handful of the startled man's tank top. Jack took a sharp breath as he felt himself be yanked forward like a rag doll; one second he was three feet away from her, the other he was pulled forward so their bodies pressed against one another, her left hand still gripping his top while her right entwined itself with the dyed hair on the back of his head, their lips remaining agonisingly close.
"Strange…" he murmured, as he rested his left hand on the nape of her neck and another on the base of her spine. Her mouth parted in expectation of another lustful kiss.
"What?" she asked – and he felt the tightening of her grip on his hair in addition to hearing a gasp as he dipped and held her horizontally a foot from the ground. Gazing into her widened and startled eyes, he relished the moment of being dominant once more.
"You're really bold and confident, and you know what you want. I pegged you to be the leader, the one with the sword in that Upper City poster…what with her being front and centre and all…" he taunted.
Her eyes darkened as the briefest of scowls flashed across her countenance, and he felt her centre of gravity shift towards her head as she pushed on the floor with her toes, forcing him to subconsciously pull her back upright lest they fall down in a crumpled heap. She promptly capitalised on the reflexive reaction by forcing him to stagger backwards with her left index finger, and as he let out an annoyed grunt from the impact of his butt against the bar servery, she gave him a wry smile and trapped him against it with her body.
"Does it make a difference if I'm not?" she intoned with a split-second eyebrow quirk, and kept it as Jack slipped his right hand between their brushing chests, laced their fingers together and spun her on the spot like the tango of old, quickly grasped her forearms and held them around her in a lusty yet imprisoning embrace. Smiling, she leaned her head back onto his left shoulder as their hips swayed together, and he knew she could feel his crotch by how her butt brushed against it.
Sensing his advantage, he released his right hand's grasp of her left forearm, twirled her around and quickly pinned both of her arms at the base of her spine as he pulled her against him. She could definitely feel him now, judging by the breathed moan that escaped the lips that brushed against his, and the slow, gentle and imperceptible grinding of her hips against him.
"No…" he murmured against her mouth – which smirked coyly as, for the third time that night, she reversed his domination by physically pushing against his restraining hands, twisted her own digits to gain purchase on his wrists, and forced them back to pin them against the bar servery on either side of him.
"Didn't think so…" she purred.
As the music entered its outro, where the pizzicato guitar, finger clicks and synthesised drum slowed down to a crawl, Astrid decided she had enough of aggressive musical foreplay, of seductive movements, teasing and just-out-of-reach lips. Releasing his wrists from their imprisonment, she moved her hands to either side of Jack's face and crashed her mouth against his, a light moan swallowed by him as their crotches heavily brushed each other…a movement aided when Jack feathered his fingers on her ass and held her against him. Their lips moved in synchronicity, no tenderness or emotional appreciation lay within the entwined kiss – merely lust, desire and a hedonistic hunger for pleasures of the flesh.
Jack felt his chest tighten as he became increasingly lost in the moment. It had been a while since he had female attention, and though there was clearly no attachment between the two of them beyond the obvious need for physical satisfaction, he could be forgiven for being human, for slowly forgetting that the woman pressing herself against him was a Valkyrie.
Blind and deaf to all else, it took the piercing sound of a sharp wolf whistle that cut through the ambient voices, electronic chirps of the dartboard and the heat clouding his abdomen and mind to bring him back to earth, and as he broke the kiss in a slightly bewildered manner, he shot a startled look at the instigator of his reality check – Eugene.
With his arms around Rapunzel's waist as hers linked themselves around his neck, the scout danced a slow and surprisingly romantic dance in the space earlier vacated by Jack and Astrid in their aggressive power play – and as his friend gave him a knowing smirk and a cocked eyebrow, the Ghost was brought back to the murky truth of the situation and what he needed to make sense of it: a guiding Star.
"Aww," Astrid cooed, her dilated gaze following his as she slid her hands down to his chest, "it's actually kinda sweet how into each other they are."
Jack's eyebrows dipped in the smallest of frowns when he noticed that Astrid was right – Eugene's eyes held a glimmer that he hadn't seen in a long time, and the smile that graced the scout's lips was genuine and appreciative – which meant he had no idea who he was dancing with.
"Yeah…sweet…hey, will you excuse me for a moment? I need to visit the bathroom…" he asked, returning his eyes to his dance partner as he removed his hands from her butt.
"That's totally fine, I kinda need a moment to cool off – I was holding myself back from jumping you right here. I'm aggressive and all, but I'm no exhibitionist."
She released her hands, only to trail a finger down his chest, and bit her lip as she cast him a lidded, coy gaze.
"But don't take too long; I don't wanna be here a minute longer than I have to, if you catch my drift."
Jack forced a half smile as he nodded his thanks, and slid himself from his position of entrapment to make his way towards the men's bathroom nestled at the end of a dimly-lit, black-painted corridor…and he was halfway there when his fingers instinctively scratched at his right ear, and his heart dropped – his earpiece wasn't there.
"Shit…" he hissed at himself, as the memories barraged his mind of where he left it – forgotten on the bathroom sink at their apartment, cast aside when he took a shower a few hours earlier. Stuck in the paralysing anxiety derived from the knowledge that he had no way of contacting home, his breathing stalled as he wondered how the hell he was going to get his bearings…and then an idea blinked on in his mind like a lightbulb.
Eugene might still be wearing his.
Turning on the balls of his feet, he marched towards the couple swaying slowly on the dancefloor, Rapunzel's hands on Eugene's shoulders while their lips were pressed tenderly together, possessing none of the ferocity that assaulted Jack's. He briefly hated having to break up the entwined couple…but chalked it up to necessity when he rapped Eugene's left upper arm.
"Dude, we need to talk." he hissed, low enough for only the scout to hear.
"Can it wait? Kind of having a moment." Eugene pointedly whispered back, his eyes not leaving Rapunzel's…whose smile fell as she wondered what the fuss was about.
"It kind of concerns your moment. Bro-talk?" Jack persisted through gritted teeth, and he involuntarily caught the eye of Astrid sat in the booth by Merida, clutching her drink as she regarded him curiously. Eugene sighed, then released his hands from Rapunzel's waist to gently grasp her right hand, murmuring as he placed a delicate kiss upon her knuckle – "to be continued, my lady. Don't go anywhere."
Jack strode off under the watchful gaze of Astrid, and waited in the bathroom corridor far enough that the Valkyries' view of him was obscured by its corner. Eugene appeared seconds later with a weary scowl upon his countenance, and his eyes shone with an irritated glare.
"What's your problem, bro?" he snapped.
"Say what?" Jack frowned as he folded his arms defensively.
"I saw you and Astrid; you two were all over each other to the point that I didn't freaking know if you were on first, second or third base – hell, a combination of all three – but the minute I get cosy with Rapunzel, you're like 'dude, we need to talk'! The hell, man? It isn't enough for you to get lucky, but you gotta block me too?" Eugene growled harshly, and for a few seconds Jack was completely speechless.
"What…I…you…" he stammered, completely bowled over by the deep irritation in his friend's voice, "that's…not what I'm doing, Eugene! She-"
"-is an attractive, funny, gutsy young woman who has made it very clear she likes me in that way…and newsflash, I like her too, so yeah! I'm going for it, and as soon as I get back to her we're picking up where we left off, so tell me what you want so you can leave us to it!" Eugene mercilessly cut him off.
Jack's eyes darkened as the muscles tensed in his jaw, and for a brief second he was tempted to punch Eugene in the head for being so blinkered. The two men stood facing each other with veiled fire in their eyes, and Jack suspected that the only way he could make his friend aware of Rapunzel's potential career is if he yelled – thus drawing their attention.
"Your earpiece." he said low as he held out a hand. Eugene blinked in surprise.
"Wait, you interrupted me so you could call home base? Figures. Here," he snapped as he pulled the small device from the pocket of his pants and slammed it into Jack's palm, "knock yourself out."
He stalked off without another word, and Jack was left with a feeling of deep incredulity amidst the merry haze of alcohol. He turned and walked towards the men's bathroom, casting one last look at his friend's retreating back, and he shook his head as his eyes flicked down to the earpiece in his hand – and his nose immediately wrinkled in disgust.
"Ugh…you could've cleaned it first." he muttered as he wiped the device on his trousers before sliding it into his right ear, his left hand reaching out to push the bathroom door open.
The badly tiled walls, ceiling and faux linoleum floor was decorated in an what-was-once-white colour, with four sinks to the right, four cubicles to the left and two urinals nestled next to the closest cubicle. Jack was immediately struck with the alternating thoughts that, for one, though the bathroom was relatively clean it was evident that decorating it was low on the list of the bar staff's priorities, and it was mercifully empty – which would allow him to contact the Star in peace.
"Frost to base, come in." he said low as he entered the furthest empty cubicle, and blinked in surprise when Anna's answer came almost immediately.
"Hey! I thought your next check-in was tomorrow?" she said brightly.
"Let's just say I've got some news. Harvester or Snow White with you, or do you need to call them?" he asked, figuring that if they weren't there he wouldn't be able to wait the ten or fifteen minutes it might take for them to arrive in the briefing room.
"No, they're right here! Say hi, guys!" she called, and Jack was treated to a tired "hi…" from Kristoff and a polite "hello, Frost" from Neve.
"Why are you all there, something wrong?" Jack frowned.
"Actually, everything is alright…because, well, we've got some news too. Pitch and Night Fury went to that old facility a couple of days ago, 'cause we've decided to initiate Sanctuary." Kristoff spoke instead.
Jack's jaw dropped – he never thought it was possible, but there it was. Kristoff had offhandedly mentioned the plan to him a long time ago, figuring that it was a good idea for the second in command to know. The idea that his kind would soon be permanently moving home and gutting the Star in the process…it left an alternating sensation of optimistic pride and nauseous foreboding.
"Have you already found a place?"
"Maybe! Exciting, isn't it! Anyway, that's not the only good news…Kristoff proposed!" Anna squealed.
Jack took a sharp breath with the revelation, and wondered if Unity's instant fall and extra-terrestrial contact wasn't so farfetched in light of Anna's news, "What?! When did he do that?!"
"A day ago, but they will tell you another time, Frost," Neve interceded with a polite yet pointed tone, which Jack was thankful for as he realised he was wasting time, "tell us, what news do you have?"
"Right," Jack sighed, and flopped back against the toilet's cistern, "there's a couple of things, actually. First off, Flynn and I are in a bar, and we made contact with the Butler a few hours ago."
"What did he have for you?"
"Unity stopped the construction of New Fransokyo and they've been redirecting the materials to somewhere in either southern Utah or Arizona. Unidium plating, workers, even the unidium drive…it's all being moved someplace where there's no record of a city being built. I gotta say – it's giving me a bad feeling."
"You and me both," Kristoff's grim tones resonated through the earpiece this time, "whatever it is they're doing that needs that much power isn't good. What's your next move?"
"Flynn and I are gonna have a look, and I'll let you guys know if we find anything interesting."
"Copy. What's the other thing?" Kristoff asked, as he audibly slurped from an unknown drink.
"Well," Jack began awkwardly, "there're these three women…and two of them seem to be pretty interested in Flynn and me…"
At that point he wished he hadn't opened his mouth as Anna launched into a bright and energetic volley of rapid fire questions and advice.
"Frost, you suave dog! How do they look? Are they cute? Tell me about the one who likes you, is she a match for the great Frost? What base are you on? You should get her Uni-Com number. Go on a date or something. As your best friend and personal relationship advisor, I strongly encourage you to-"
"She's a Valkyrie. They all are."
"-make an ice knife and shank the bitch in the back." Anna finished in a perfect non sequitur without missing a beat.
"She also made it pretty clear she wants to sleep with me-"
"WHAT?!" came a three-strong chorus this time, the male voice broken by the sound of choking.
"…at least, I hope that's all she wants. She is kinda…forward." he winced, his wrists involuntarily recalling the strength of her grip, and then an audible yelp resonated from the earpiece loud enough for Jack's head to instinctively jerk away from it.
"How the-ow! Why are you slapping my arm, Streak?!" he heard his leader yelp, and the surprisingly amusing hiss of Anna in response.
"You said they'd be fine unless they met a Valkyrie in a bar! Do you even know what the phrase 'famous last words' means?!"
"How the hell did I know that would actually happen?" Kristoff whined, uttering another yelp when Anna slapped his arm again. Jack wondered why the reaction to a Valkyrie wanting to sleep with him was far more intense than the clandestine redirection of city-grade materials to a secret location.
"Hey," he hissed irritably, "can we get back to the whole Valkyrie-wants-my-bodything?"
"Frost," Neve's voice rang out, soft yet commanding, "is there an emotional attachment between the two of you, or is this a no-strings one night stand?"
"Um…the second one. I get the feeling I'm just a way for her to blow off some steam. Why?"
There was a period of silence for a few seconds, and Jack was starting to become suspicious – a feeling that only intensified when Anna next spoke.
"Just one second, Frost. Snow White and Harvester are actually discussing this." she said in a tone of forced politeness.
"Well, tell them to get a move on, would ya? Pretty sure I've been here a while, and I don't think she's the type who makes distinctions between men's and women's bathrooms." Jack hissed through gritted teeth as he leaned forward and poked his head out of the cubicle, checking to see if the room was still empty – mercifully for him, it was.
"We're back. Is she Snow Queen-ow! Quit it, Streak!"
"No, I think she's the one called Viking. The third one has a thing for archery, so I'm guessing that's…Dorkeye, I think? Which means the one that Flynn is all over is Goldilocks – and no, he doesn't know."
"Good," Kristoff spoke quietly, as though he was figuring something out in his head, "Snow Queen might not recognise you, but Flynn wasn't wearing a mask that night so she'd have made him instantly. Which makes this a little easier – we think you should sleep with Viking."
"Wait, what?" Jack gaped, and flopped back onto the toilet in total surprise.
"Think about it. Your whole mission is to gather information by any means necessary, right? This counts as a means." Kristoff said pointedly.
"Don't forget that – by the way, let the record show that I think this is a stupid idea, and is the reason women will inherit the earth – you'll get a good time out of it, too." Anna added.
"Well…yeah, but…I'm sorry, I wanna go back to the part where you're actively encouraging me to fuck a Valkyrie, 'cause that's unbelievable." hissed Jack, bewildered by what he was hearing.
"What's wrong with the idea?"
"We're supposed to be the good guys, for a start!" Jack gaped, his incredulity deepening.
"Who said we're the good guys?" the squad leader pointed out, and for a moment Jack was rendered utterly speechless. It wasn't long ago in the grand scheme of things that the Ghosts were embroiled in battle against the ferocious Valkyries…and now Kristoff and Neve were sanctioning having sex with one of them.
"Frost," Neve added, and the young Ghost felt increasingly cornered, "we are all fighting for our survival, and we believe that if sleeping with this woman puts you in a position where you can gain information, then so be it. However, it's your choice."
"And let's face it," Kristoff continued, "I'm pretty sure you were open to the idea before you found out who she was, anyway. No-strings fun with an assertive woman? The stuff of most single men's dreams…ow! I did say 'single'!"
"Look, Frost…" Anna began, and Jack could practically feel the glare of death she gave to her fiancée, "are you okay with this? I mean…what about your scar, and your powers?"
"Guys! Gimme a minute, okay?" he snapped, and the other end of the line instantly fell silent.
Jack exhaled deeply through his nose as his brows furrowed into a deep frown – the alcohol-induced merriness and – if he was honest – horniness was still coursing through his body, and the fact that Kristoff and Neve were actually both suggesting sex for the chance of information was starting to overwhelm him – not to mention the fact that a rather heavy set of knocks on the bathroom door was a rather telling reminder that his time was running out.
He would effectively be using Astrid for information – and part of him was uncomfortable with the idea. The rest of him pointed out that she was a Valkyrie; a Ghost's natural enemy and the reason they had been operationally crippled. Astrid was the woman directly responsible for making Kozmotis' chest look like he had been through a blender, and he knew for a fact that if she was ever to learn of his real identity, only one of them would still be breathing when morning came. Not to mention the fact that she had no real intention of pursuing anything beyond a night of sexual release.
History was full of instances where spies slept with the enemy – hell, one of his favourite movies when the Star's movie night came around every Saturday – using the ancient disc reader and various 'DVDs' they had acquired over the many years of service – involved a spy from England that regularly bedded women on the opposing side.
"For Queen and country…" he murmured to himself.
"Huh?" Anna's confused reply swam into his ears.
"Okay," he declared quietly, "I'm gonna do it. Snow White is right; I could learn a lot, but she'll get suspicious if I ask too many questions so I'm gonna search her apartment in the morning. Harvester…yeah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find her hot. I'm up for some one night action. Streak…don't worry. I have a feeling she doesn't see eye-to-eye with Snow Queen so I don't think she knows about my scar…and my powers only freak out when I get too anxious. I've had too much booze to be anxious. I got this. Just…don't tell Pitch."
The knocking at the door was more forceful – and Jack knew his time was up.
"Wish me luck. For England, James…"
"What the…who is-"
He didn't hear the rest of Anna's bewildered reply as in one movement he rose from the toilet seat, dove his fingers into his right ear to remove the earpiece, immediately shoved it into the pocket of his pants and strode over to the sink opposite the cubicle – and just managed to turn on the cold faucet with a wave of his hand over the sensor and splash some water over his face and arms when Astrid burst into the bathroom and fixed him with a decidedly irate glare. For the first few seconds, Jack turned to blankly stare at her as he nursed the fleeting worry that she had somehow discovered his identity, and as always he subsequently endeavoured to hide it behind a wall of wit.
"Uh…the urinal-looking things on the wall means-" he deadpanned, but the words froze in his throat when Astrid marched towards him and punched him in the right shoulder.
"Hey!" he yelped, fiercely suppressing the second-nature reaction to retaliate in kind, "what was that for?"
"That was for making me wait longer than I wanted to!" she growled, and then completely dropped her incensed scowl as she took two handfuls of his tank top, yanked him forward and crashed her lips against his with a loud moan.
"And that was for making me wait. I don't wait for things, it makes me…impatient." she breathed in the brief few seconds of freedom before capturing his lips once more.
Bewildered by the complete switch in behaviour, Jack's hands hung uselessly at his side for a few seconds before his brain re-engaged, and he roughly spread them over both cheeks of her rear – a gesture she reciprocated by abruptly leaping at him and wrapping her legs around his hips, not once breaking the kiss. Jack was so taken aback that it was all he could do to quickly lift her onto the edge of the sink lest they collapse onto the linoleum floor, and he immediately broke the kiss to chide her for it.
"The hell, Astrid?" he gasped breathlessly, shooting her a glare that she immediately returned with a playful smirk.
"I was just testing your reflexes, and you passed. By the way, heads up!" she taunted as she released his tank top, and used her hands to push against the sink. With barely a moment to react, Jack sharply stumbled backwards with Astrid still wrapped around him, their combined momentum driving them into the empty cubicle behind them. Grunting in pain at the impact, Jack fell back against the unused toilet while Astrid remained astride him, her arms wrapped around his neck while her hips ground themselves against him.
"You're really…you planning on doing it here?" he winced against her mouth, noting that the area under his scar was still sensitive.
"No way, I'm just getting back in the mood. You're still coming back to my apartment." she purred seductively into his lips.
"…then what are we waiting for?" he smirked, causing her to giggle softly and bite her lip. Without another word she dismounted him, grabbed his wrist and yanked him upright, and then practically dragged him out of the cubicle and through the bathroom door. It was then that he noticed the absence of two people on the dancefloor, and it sent a trickle of worry in amongst the heat in his gut.
"Hey, where'd…Zach go?" he frowned as he scanned the gathering crowd by the dartboard.
"Rapunzel took him home. Why? You miss your buddy already?" Astrid asked as they reached the bar servery, her free hand diving down her top and into her bra to retrieve a fully loaded credit chip.
"Hell no," he said quickly, "I just feel sorry for Merida. You're taking me home; Zach went with Rapunzel…Red's all alone here."
"Pfft," Astrid scoffed as she handed over the chip to a male bar staff member, who looked a mite uncomfortable at the prospect of taking something that had been warmed up by her right breast, "she's beating all those guys at darts, and taking their credits for it. For Merida, that's a good night."
Jack craned his head in an attempt to see over the crowd of people, and chuckled as he heard a dozen-strong groan erupt through the air amidst a loud call of "hard luck, laddie! Next!"
"Has anyone ever beaten her?" he asked curiously.
"Your buddy came close – which pissed her off, by the way – but other than him? Nope. She's the best there is at anything that involves throwing or shooting things." she explained as the staff member tossed the chip back like it was too hot, shooting him a glare in response. Jack took care to make a mental note in his addled mind – where possible, engage Merida in close combat A.S.A.P so she can't get a bead on you.
"Okay, I paid both of our tabs so we've got no reason to stick around. You ready?"
Jack cast a sidelong, coy look with a quirked eyebrow to finish, and with a confident curl of the left side of his lips…
"Are you?" he said playfully.
Astrid tossed him a taunting smirk before yelling to her squad-mate that she was leaving, a call that was returned with a cheerful "go on with ye, lassie! Don't ye break 'im too much, ye hear?"
Jack wasn't precisely certain he liked the sound of that.
Time: 00:30
The journey to Astrid's apartment took roughly forty five minutes, similar to the last instance that Jack travelled to the Upper City, but that wasn't to say it was uneventful – and it felt a lot quicker.
For a start, any periods of time where they were not hurriedly walking was spent with their mouths bruising each other like neither of them had eaten in weeks, and he honestly lost count of how many moans escaped her throat only for them to be swallowed by his. In one instance, they were so involved in kissing each other in the support column's elevator that neither of them noticed they reached the Upper City ten minutes prior, and it took the rather pointed clearing of his throat from one of the two elevator checkpoint guards to bring the two horny people back to reality.
Getting through the checkpoint was interesting in and of itself, too.
As an inhabitant of the elite level, Astrid enjoyed a certain leeway when it came to the enforced curfew upon both levels – All inhabitants must be in their homes by midnight; anyone breaking the curfew will be arrested and imprisoned for four days without trial – but for a dweller in the Lower City, the enforcement was far stricter. The sheer number of times where Astrid was forced to use her Valkyrie identification card to get street guards and patrol units to back off approached the realm of ridiculous prior to their ascent, and the process was repeated as soon as Jack's fake I.D. was scanned by the Upper City guards. She could pass through, but he would be arrested, charged with disturbing the peace and attempting to enter the Upper City outside of allowed hours.
Naturally, this did not sit well with her – "See this card? This is a Valkyrie identification card. I am Valkyrie Second Astrid Hofferson, do you know what that means? It means I outrank your sorry, flatfooted ass…"
Some of the language that his 'date' used bordered on the viciously offensive, so under the guise of not wanting to be near her if she exploded, Jack winced and backed away out of earshot while she chewed out the poor man, and wisely used the time to make a surreptitious call to Eugene's wrist communicator in the hope of warning him about precisely who was taking him home.
Unfortunately, his response came in five words – STOP TRYING TO COCKBLOCK ME – and an apologetic automated message from the scout's communicator telling him that it had been turned off. Eugene clearly had no intention of listening to what Jack had to say, and in the face of such blinkered ignorance the Ghost could only hope and pray that his friend didn't let anything slip.
Not ten seconds after the attempted warning, however, Astrid concluded the comprehensive verbal beat-down she administered to the bewildered sentinel, grabbed Jack's left wrist and dragged him away while making sure to mention that she subsequently had some stress to relieve, thereby leaving the Ghost with the impression that he was in for an excellent – and more than likely sore – night.
So, forty five minutes after leaving the bar, where liaisons were initiated, truths unearthed and decisions made, Jack found himself pressed against the wall next to Astrid's apartment door, her hands gripping his face while his laced themselves under her rich red top, their lips moving together in hungry synchronicity, tongues engaged in a game of violent tag as moans escaped one throat and were swallowed by the other. She was pressed so hard against him that he could feel her strapless bra under her top, and he knew she could feel the bulge in his pants – especially as her hips were involuntarily grinding against it.
She was self-assured, no doubt about that. Throughout the night she made no secret of her goal to take him home and fuck him senseless thereby satisfying her own desire to get laid, and in the morning promptly leave for whatever it was she wanted to do. Even his attempts to dominate during the dance shortly after finding out about her true career were met with equal force – he would wrap his arms to coyly restrain her, and she would promptly wriggle free, push him away and then yank him back by his tank top…a game of power in which neither side won.
Briefly, she released her strong hold of his head to delve her left hand into her bra, pulled the key-card out from its hiding place and, with her eyes closed in passionate enjoyment, she blindly waved it in front of the sensor to her left, and after a few unsuccessful swipes and more than a few annoyed growls, the black box finally beeped to grant them access. Jack was promptly yanked away from the wall and practically dragged into the apartment, and he took the time to take a few gulps of air before she slammed the door closed behind him with a well-aimed kick and promptly bruised their lips together once more. He felt her step forward to pin him against the door, but he wasn't about to have that.
As her foot left the ground, he pivoted on the balls of his right foot and made her take his place instead. An angry yet pleasured moan escaped her lips at the sudden reversal of power, and to emphasise the point he gripped her wrists and held them against the plastic of the door. Unexpectedly she did not resist it, and he capitalised on that by pulling away from that hungry mouth to drive his lips against her neck. There was no tenderness, no soft touch in his ministrations; just pure hunger and passion – a mirror of her fierceness.
"Oh, fuck…I swear to anything…ahhhh…if you stop, I will hurt you…" she growled – actually growled – at the forceful kisses and occasional nibbles, and he felt her shudder under him as he pressed his crotch against hers, with each moan being fuel for him to change direction and position…and before long, the space between her right ear and collarbone was covered in angry marks.
Given the aggressive playfulness between them, the need to be on top as it were, Jack wondered as to in what condition he would find himself in the morning.
However, the successful break for freedom by Astrid's hands destroyed that thought as, once she escaped from his grip, she entwined her fingers with the bottom hem of his tank top and yanked it upwards, a rough movement that interrupted his devouring of her neck and elicited a slight pain from his nose. In revenge – in a weird way, that was how he saw it – he did the same with hers, forcing her hands which had since been busying themselves with attempting to remove his pants to briefly pause, instead taking advantage of the arching of her back towards his chest to skilfully unclasp her bra, releasing her breasts as the gateway garment along with the identification card and credit chip clattered to the floor, forgotten.
Jack felt them return to the task of freeing his erection from his pants – but in a need to deprive her of getting what she wanted, he crouched a little while tracing forceful kisses down her neck towards her right nipple, and moved his other hand to the growing wetness between her legs in order to massage and rub her clitoris through the soft material of her leggings. Judging by the sharp moan that rang out throughout the darkened room, Jack smirked to himself with the knowledge that she actually went commando.
"Fuck, your….aaah….fingers are goddamn magic…I hope your cock is…shit, that's good…as well…" she breathed, one hand gripping his hair to hold him against her chest while the other massaged her left breast to stop it feeling jealous.
As one hand cupped her ample right breast while his lips suckled themselves around the nipple, his tongue flicked rapidly in every conceivable direction across the hardened bud, and as he felt the needing bucks of her crotch against his digit's aggressive manipulation of her clit, he took a perverse pleasure that he as a Ghost was the one dominating a Valkyrie – that is, until she let loose a frustrated growl, roughly pulled him up to slam him against the door, dropped to her knees at the same time as she yanked down his pants, and without waiting a single second slipped his hardened erection through her soft lips and into her mouth.
"Fucking hell…" he gasped as he damn near collapsed to the floor.
With her right fingers curled around the base of his dick while her left hand reached up to stroke and nearly scratch his toned abs, he felt his legs weaken as her head bobbed up and down, her tongue swirling against the tip as she pulled back and caressing his length as she moved forward, releasing moans and vibrations from her throat as well as jerking her fingers to heighten the sensation. Had he possessed a semblance of cognitive thought, he would have remarked upon the irony; for the Valkyrie being on her knees sucking him off, she essentially had him wrapped around her finger – more accurately, her right fingers and mouth – simply because his entire body turned to jelly with the acute pleasure. In a feeble attempt to feel in control, he swallowed a lump in his throat, placed a hand on the back of her head and weakly forced the issue, and her response was to take him so deep that he touched the back of her throat.
Nope, she had him hook, line and sinker.
"If you…keep…doing that, Astrid…shit, so good…I'm going to come…"
From that, she had two options. She could either release him from the fuzzy storm of pleasure threatening to overwhelm his body, thereby giving him the illusion that he persuaded the headstrong Valkyrie had to cool off a little, or she could carry on and let him explode. Unfortunately for him…or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, she elected for the latter. He felt the suction increase as the bobbing of her head became even more urging, and when he reached the point of no return with a low, long curse and the tensing of his entire body, he let himself loose inside her hot, moist and waiting mouth – and in a moment of surprise that peaked through the orgasm ripping its way through him, he felt her throat begin to swallow every single drop of fluid.
Less than five minutes through the door and she already made him come. It wasn't exactly the way he thought it would go – but the night was still young. He figured he could always make up for his weakness later on.
Releasing his cock from her lips with a pop, she smirked up at him while her hand slowly jerked his length to ensure its continual hardness, causing a constant hitching of breath as her fingertips stroked the incredibly sensitive tip.
"Oh look, you came already, and I'm not even getting started." she teased coyly.
"Well…I did warn you…" he panted.
"Yup, and I ignored it. So here's what you're going to do: you're going to do the same for me until you're ready to go again – and you'd better last longer next time. Got it?"
Her exposed breasts jiggled as, without giving him the courtesy of a response, she shot to her feet and made her way to what he assumed to be the bedroom at the far left of the living room, her hands sliding the skirt from her hips as she walked. Jack stared after her with an open mouth as his mind attempted to work – he thought perhaps he could regain domination by rather than making her come quick, he could drag it out as long as possible. Perhaps she wouldn't realise his intention and smack him for his impertinence…or perhaps she would let him operate under the illusion that he was the one in control of her orgasm, much like she was for his.
As he pushed himself from the doorway and staggered towards the room she disappeared through…he wondered if he even cared.
As he passed butt naked through the doorway into her bedroom, he barely took notice of how messy the floor was with clothes strewn everywhere, posters of the holographic multi-instrumentalist Unitas adorning the opposite wall, and the moonlight streaming through the open blinds of her window. He was, however, more concerned with how Astrid was bending over to remove her leggings, giving him an unobstructed view of her well-toned ass and how it was gloriously illuminated by the moon's glow, like a sexually hungry siren calling him to his doom – and as she straightened up, stepped out of her leggings and cast him a seductive smirk over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of several scars on her back, and took a little dark pleasure in the knowledge that it was probably his kind that caused those injuries.
Silently she stepped over to her bed, climbed upon the undoubtedly soft mattress and rested her head against the pillows…and as a final tease or insult, curled her fingers at him in a way that screamed 'come on then'. With a growl he strode forward, mounted the bed and began the process of driving her insane.
As his crotch hovered teasingly above hers, his lips added more red marks to her neck as he kissed, sucked and bit into her skin, tracing a long and inelegant line down her chest towards her navel. She arched her back with a breathless moan of pleasure, offering her breasts to him which he gladly took in both hands, moving his mouth to roughly suck and nibble at her left nipple while his fingers teased her right. He felt her hands entwine themselves in his brown hair and tighten to the point that it hurt his scalp…but in a weird way, the pain was a turn on, telling him that he was doing his job right. She expected him to go straight for her clit, but he was going to make her wait.
"I think…oh, that's good…it's time you put your tongue to good use, huh?" she gasped, moans slipping out at every opportunity. Jack merely smirked and shook his head, a silent way to say 'not yet'.
His lips relinquished her nipple and continued the journey down the softness of her breast and along her abdomen, little licks punctuating the kisses as he did so. Stopping at her hip bone, he administered hungry and slightly painful bites into her skin, something she evidently enjoyed by the increasingly tight grip on his hair and the way her hips arched up towards him. Of course, the frustrated growl that slipped out was a clear indication that she was losing her patience, especially when it was combined with a harsh slap of his head and a hissed command to 'get on with it!' – so…in an effort to avoid further violence, he moved his mouth along her crotch and settled just above her clitoris, the sensitive bud ready and waiting for him.
"Seriously, I'm done with the teasing…so get on with it or I swear I'm gonna ride your face." the tormented Valkyrie hissed, and with a smirk that hid his pleasure at her frustration, he obliged.
She let loose one of the loudest moans of the night so far as his lips encircled her clitoris, and more followed when he started to suck and flick his tongue over the sensitive point. She bucked her hips against his face whilst simultaneously holding his head where it was, and he soon learned to quickly take oxygen through his nose wherever possible as it wasn't likely she was going to let his mouth move away any time soon.
"Uhhh! I was right…that tongue is…fuck…magic…" she panted, her back involuntarily arching from the bed while her free hand massaged and caressed her left breast, "I wanna see if your fingers are too. Do it! Make me…aaaah…with your fingers!"
So he did. Pressing his left middle and index fingers together, he teased the tips along her soaking folds, each second eliciting further sounds of carnal pleasure from the Valkyrie at his so-called mercy, and once they were at the very entrance he slowly but surely slid his fingers inside her, the movement wholly aided by the fact that she was so ridiculously wet. She released a loud yelp and several curse words under the pleasure that was undoubtedly radiating through her writhing body, and Jack's ears drank in every one. He began to slide his digits in and out, curling them up inside to touch her G-spot when he felt like it, and when it was combined with the oral manipulation of her clitoris it took very little time for her to begin screaming his fake name to the walls, her crotch shuddering involuntarily against his mouth and fingers as the orgasm ripped its way through her entire body.
"Well that was…embarrassing…" she said with total lack of breath, "I thought…I'd last…longer than that…fuck me…that was amazing…"
Jack lifted his head just enough for her eyes to meet his, and with the intent of seeing her reaction, he slid his fingers from inside her and raised them to his mouth, sucking off every single drop of the bitter but addictive liquid.
"…and that was fucking hot. So hot, that you'd better be hard right now, because I'm gonna fuck you so hard you won't know what day it is." she growled with a tone of horny determination.
"Why don't you find out?" he muttered challengingly while he rose to his knees and, with his legs either side of her body, shuffled up towards her head with his dick aimed proudly at her face. She wiggled her eyebrows a single time as a lop-sided smirk appeared on her lips, and craning her head up she encircled those same lips around his tip while wrapping her left hand around his length, applying a ridiculously strong level of suction that almost set him off again.
"Yep," she murmured huskily, "I'd say he's ready. You'd better have some energy left, 'cause you're gonna need it."
Jack was about to fire off a coy remark when she shuffled up the bed, placed her hands on his shoulders and swiftly pushed him over, leaving him surprised and on his back while she sat astride him. Her ponytail braid dangled down the left side of her face while she smirked victoriously at him, an expression that disappeared when she drove her lips to capture his in a hungry embrace…and with moans and growls that passed each other through the linked mouths, she grasped his length and lowered herself down onto him.
"Fuck…" she breathed as her lungs stalled with pleasure, "it's bigger than I thought…"
"You can…ah, back out if you want…I might call you a…coward though…"
"Fuck you and…your taut little ass. I'm on top, so what I say goes…and I say I'm gonna ride you for all you're worth." she hissed against his lips, the dirty talk sending the heat in his stomach to unthinkable levels and making his encompassed dick all the harder.
"Then put your credits where that amazing mouth is and hop to it, soldier." he growled.
Grinning, she met his challenge and began to buck her hips against him; slowly at first while she enjoyed the sensation of her abdomen, chest and sensitive breasts against him, and devoured his lips with voracious movements of hers, occasionally eliciting a hiss of pain whenever she teasingly bit his lower lip as a surge of pleasure shot through her. Forcing the issue, he roughly rubbed his hands down her body which shuddered in enjoyment, spread themselves on both cheeks of her ass and gripped them hard, throwing in a sharp spank every now and then – something she evidently enjoyed, as the sound of skin slapping skin caused a pleasured yelp and the digging of her nails in his chest.
Needing to feel more of him inside her, she rose upright and dragged her nails down his pecs, prompting another sharp slap of her ass, another yelp of enjoyment and a harder buck against him. He felt her core contract against his dick, a movement of unbelievable tightness that made it even more difficult to keep from letting himself go, and in a desperate move to distract his mind he administered one last spank and swiftly rubbed his hands around her abdomen, driving them up and grasping her breasts with rough need and lustful desire.
Judging by the closed eyes, breathless moans and harder bucking of her hips, she seemed to relish that – but what she enjoyed more was grabbing his wrists, diving forward and pinning them against the mattress, effectively rendering him powerless against her. He tried to resist, to overpower the restraint but it was no use, with practically her entire body weight pressing down on his arms and no leverage to speak of…he was beaten.
And he liked it.
"Uh…Astrid? I…I think…fuck, that's hot…I'm about to…" he grunted, each word a herculean effort as his brain was forced to make the choice between simple speech and slowing his arrival to Ejaculation Station.
"Oh no…no you don't…I'm coming first, you hear me? You don't…aaah, so good…get to come before I do…" she hissed.
Astrid's riding of him took on a frantic level as her moans became louder and louder and her hips jerked back and forth like a woman possessed, to the point that the bed banged heavily against the wall like a percussive beat to her growing yells of pleasure, and with a final scream of his fake name, she gave herself over to a potent orgasm that cascaded through her entire being, leaving no part of her body untouched by its electric storm of euphoria.
As her core gripped his length with the involuntary contraction and drew him further inside, he was left with no choice but to let himself go too with a growl of her name, releasing all he had into the searing wet heat inside her – something that evidently heightened the experience judging by the shudder that coursed through her sweating body and a renewed series of delighted moans.
In a moment of clarity, he did what he never thought he would do and mentally gave thanks to Unity's regime – specifically, mandatory contraception before government-approved marriage.
She collapsed on top of him, her breasts pressing into his chest and her nose nestled just by his, their lips just brushing against each other as hot breaths mingled in the expanse between, the desire for oxygen overriding the craving to kiss…but she did allow herself to giggle victoriously.
"Well…that was…definitely something." she eventually murmured into his mouth, letting his body support her full weight – but oddly, not letting him slip out from inside her.
"Oh yeah…you really know what you want…" he breathed.
"Damn right, and I want more."
"You…want more?"
"Hell yeah. Here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna get us some drinks, let you recover for a little while, and then we're gonna do it again. I've got a few more positions I wanna try before I let you get some sleep. Capisce?" she grinned, letting loose a satisfied giggle.
Jack sensed that any argument he had against her commands would be futile, so with an alternatingly fearful mind and an aroused-everything-else, he nodded against her – before quickly stealing a kiss.
The rest of the night went much the same way. Screams were released, moans escaped, limbs and hands remained tangled for hours with only short breaks in between, and it wasn't until dawn broke in the Upper City and cast the room of sexual conquest in an amber glow, with her naked, smooth and heavily sweating body draped across his that he was finally able to rest, his bruised and spent body relishing every second that he was not being fucked for all he was worth.
He had a sneaking suspicion that when he woke up in a few hours, he would hate himself for giving in to the primal urges and sleeping with his natural enemy even if it was sanctioned…but at that moment, with the morning sunrise caressing his skin as he slipped into a deep slumber, he felt at peace with being used.
The reason for his pragmatic attitude was the knowledge that even though he would catch hell from Kozmotis if he ever learned of that night; he knew that if Astrid's colleagues and commanding officer ever found out she slept with Jack Frost – her punishment would be beyond compare.
So maybe he didn't really lose after all.
A/N:
So there we go.
I asked my other half, and also a friend for advice as to whether I should post this chapter or not given the attitudes to pairings nowadays, and was met with two opinions both stating that if it is part of the plot or creates conflict later on in the story (which it definitely does), then it should be in there. Hence, it is.
Like I said, while I enjoy the exploration of their two personalities, specifically what happens when two stubborn and headstrong characters hook up, they aren't going to be a pairing in this.
Either way, I'm ready for the firing squad now. Fire at will.
For the Ghosts,
Furiyan