Chapter 21

'Alone at last.' Maya had been screaming internally for Gaige to finally go into Caine's bunk. She was standing at the door for what felt like years! (Haha get it?)

Maya waited but a moment before going to the upper deck of the ship to find Krieg. He had wandered off some time ago, grumbling about "tiny cages". His rather obvious claustrophobia must be getting to him. But that wasn't the reason why Maya wanted to talk to him. No, she had an agenda to hash out with him. Tension had to be cleared from the air for her sake.

Pushing the old, rusty hatch open, Maya was blasted with the cold wind of Pandora's arctic ocean. Thankfully, she still had the coat Krieg scrounged up for her. 'Jeez that was only yesterday, and it feels so long ago.' Maya found Krieg at the ship edge, staring out to the frigid waters as she rolled her recent memories around.

"Hey...Krieg." As soon as Maya began to speak, she felt her confidence suddenly drop like a stone into her stomach. What was she, twelve? Here she was; a grown, badass woman; unable to express her feelings with being nervous.

Thankfully, Krieg broke the choking air by turning his attention her. "Pretty Blue." Was all he had to say to make Maya feel a little more swagger return to her. She took a moment to find her words.

"So..." She spoke slowly and deliberately, "About the kiss...and well everything else between us." Maya couldn't bear to make eye contact with that statement, but she needed to get this off her chest, before it consumed her.

'Oh shit, we're really talking about this?!' Krieg's sane half began to panic at the thought of this impending social awkwardness. Krieg physically twitched in his hands, his palms becoming sweaty, knees weak, and his arms suddenly felt heavy (xD) as he tensely stared at his welcoming goddess. She seemed to be waiting for a response, or was she in social shock too?

'Uuuuh, quick just say something stupid like you always do! That'll get us out of this!' Krieg's inner self, ever the "reasonable" one tried to steer that awkward explosion away from them.

"MEAT YUMMY FOR PRETTY BLUE GODDESS!" Unfortunately, crazy Krieg had other plans.

"Goddess?" Maya was now even more off guard than she thought possible! Killing bad guys like it's going out of style? That's easy. Lovey-dovey emotions? Not so much. "I uh, heh, let's not get carried away Krieg." Maya backed up just a half step, her face beginning to flush.

'Yeah moron! Let's not freak her the fuck out! And what the hell does "Yummy for Maya" mean?!' Sane Krieg was having no luck reaching his other half right now. They were doomed to flounder through this like a school boy getting his first kiss.

"I'm going to take that as just more of your psycho jargon." Maya didn't really believe that but she HAD to change this god forsaken subject somehow!

'Say "Yes, you are correct Maya. I am just a stupid moron."'

"TESTICULAR CHIMICHANGAS!"

'Goddamnit!' Fortunately, for sane Krieg's own sanity, that last outburst made Maya snort back laughter. 'Wow, this siren really is something else.' Sane Krieg could not how...well this was going.

"You always know what to say, don't you Krieg?" Maya continued as she recomposed herself from a good giggle. But then the awkward silence came again. "So...um...anyway...I uuuh...Damn this went a lot better in my head." Maya still couldn't find the right way to say what she wanted to express to Krieg. There was definitely something going on between them. But were they moving too fast? They barely know each other! But Part of Maya also thought they were not moving at all.

"UUUUUGH! This back and forth is MADNESS, Krieg!" Maya threw her hands up in frustration, turning away to bring her gloved hand to the bridge of her nose. A sad attempt to combat the emotional headache she was dealing with.

'Let me take the wheel! I got this one!' Sane Krieg had the perfect vision of grabbing Maya by her free arm, gently of course. Then he would spin her around and pull her close to stare deep into her beautiful silver eyes. No words would be needed. Only the raw, physical emotion between them.

But as Krieg reached out, his hand landed on her shoulder instead. And came out of his mouth was, "Mamboing mambas." It was gruff and husky as usual, making it sound like more gibberish again...or a sexual innuendo.

Maya flinched a little at his touch. But as Krieg freaked out in his head, Maya removed the hand from her brow to place it upon his. After a moment, Maya turned back to her psycho, taking his much larger hand in both of hers. She held it gingerly at waist level, staring at their touching hands as she pondered what to say.

"Look," Maya now had the clarity of mind she needed in this moment, and she looked to make that oh so important eye contact as she continued. "I know you like me Krieg...And I think I like you too. But this is just strange and new and..." Maya began to lose that clarity, her confidence slipping away as she mulled over the absurdity of having a relationship with a literal psychopath.

"Crazy." Krieg finished Maya's sentence. And at the same time, he cleared her mind. This WAS crazy! She had feelings for a murderous crazy man. She was a killer herself. She was on the craziest planet in the galaxy! Before that, she spent her entire life in a crazy, fascist monastery. Maybe Maya was crazy herself. And thought just brought everything into perspective. Crazy is fine. Crazy is good. Crazy...feels great.

SLAM!

"GRRRRRRRR! I CAN'T BELIEVE HIM! WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME FOR LIKING HIM? WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?!" Gaige could be heard ranting to herself from below deck before she even came up top. Maya and Krieg both jumped out of their reverie for each other as she slammed a door shut with what sounded like enough force to break it!

As Gaige threw open the top hatch and stomped onto the top deck, Maya peeled away from Krieg in white hot embarrassment. But Giage didn't even notice the two as she moved to the opposite side, slamming her fists into the deck hull (leaving a dent in the banister with her robotic hand) as she screamed her bitter rage out to the ocean.

'Well there goes that moment.' Sane Krieg seethed to himself as Maya immediately jogged over to Gaige's aid.

"MMMMM burrito squeezerrrrrr." Crazy Krieg grumbled to himself as the chicks before dicks initiative kicked into his goddess and she completely forgot about him.

'For once we can agree...that was quite the cock block.'

Guess who's back?

Back again.

Befuddler's back

Stay Frosty friends

Yea, I suck for leaving you chums again

Yes I'm back cuz I'm hyped for Borderlands 3

I want Muscle Mama Amara to crush me between her thighs.

Sorry, not sorry