So sorry for the late chapter all, I am trying to keep up with this. Thanks for all the reviews! I love reading everyone's theories. Enjoy all!
Kinnley woke the next morning with a pounding headache. He groaned as he rolled over on his back.
Britany was sprawled out on the sheets. Her hair was in her face and she was snoring lightly. But what startled him was that she was only in her undergarments.
He sat up quickly, which was a mistake as he was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. He tossed the blanket off and stumbled to the bathroom, foot catching on some black fabric on the floor. His hand grabbed the doorframe as he kept himself from falling.
Britany woke up with all the noise. She slid out of the bed and put on her robe, then she hurried over to the bathroom where he was.
The jackal had just flushed the toilet after emptying his stomach. He glanced up to see his girlfriend in the doorway. She had a sheer robe on, leaving nothing to his imagination.
He swallowed and looked away from her. He couldn't remember what happened last night, and he didn't like that. "Did we..." he trailed off.
Her hands rested on his shoulders as she knelt beside him. "No baby, we didn't. You just had a little too much to drink, that's all." She flashed him a grin.
"Did I hurt you?" His voice wavered as he noticed light bruises on her neck and stomach. There was a darker one on her collar bone, but she seemed ok.
"These?" She shook her head, "no. If anything I loved it. You just got in touch with your jackal roots a bit. It was quite the experience."
He was embarrassed that he'd been so rough with her, and that he couldn't remember it. He didn't remember anything past talking about going to investigate the bombs.
"Hey, it's ok." She softly kissed his cheek. "I'm not upset with you." She tried to soothe him.
"I know," he sighed, "I'm just more upset with myself."
She gave him a soft smile. "Here." She guided him to his feet, "why don't you take a shower, I think you'll feel better. Then we can go get some breakfast."
"Ok."
She placed one more kiss on the corner of his mouth after she turned the water on and adjusted the temperature. "I'm going to get dressed while you clean up." Then she slipped from the room to give him privacy.
Later on, they walked into the cafeteria hand in hand. Her head rested on his arm and a soft sigh escaped her.
He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her hip. She jumped when his fingers gently pinched the skin under her skirt. She swatted at him playfully, "you bad boy." A grin spread on her face though.
He grinned back, fingers trailing along her thigh, lingering softly on the bruise he'd left last night. "I'm really sorry about my behavior last night," he mumbled.
"Don't be." Her voice grew soft and sweet, "I enjoyed meeting your more primal side. I'd like to see it more often." Then she turned and opened the door to the cafeteria.
The couple found Ace sitting by himself. "Everything ok?" Kinnley asked as he sat down across from his brother. He'd noticed the look on his brother's face.
"Lilly hasn't responded to my texts this morning, and she didn't meet me to walk to breakfast either." Worry was evident in his voice.
"Did something happen?" Britany asked.
He squirmed uncomfortably in the seat. "I'm worried she's mad at me."
"What did you do Ace?" Kinnley grinned.
"I convinced her it was a good idea to go swimming," he muttered, "but let's just say it didn't end well."
The smile faded from Kinnley's face when he realized Ace wasn't just overreacting. "Maybe you should go check on her after breakfast," he suggested.
He nodded, seemingly feeling better about the whole thing.
"How's Fortune?" Kinnley asked.
Ace looked up from his omelette. "Mom was with him when I went to bed last night, she was still with him this morning. He was asleep still. I think she finally got him to eat something last night."
"Bout time she stepped up," Kinnley replied with his mouth full, "he hasn't been listening to us since he was assaulted." There was no resentment in his voice, just concern. "Do you know how much he ate?" He asked after swallowing.
"The plate was empty when I got back last night. I don't know how much was on it to begin with though."
Kinnley sighed, at least it was a start.
Infinite and Gaia walked up together, hands not quite touching. Ace grinned, "hello uncle." He looked sideways at the wolf, "Gaia."
She frowned, knowing what he was thinking. "I'm going to get something to eat," she said to Infinite, "want me to get yours?"
He gave her a small nod as he sat down across from Ace. Her hand hovered over his shoulder, then she changed her mind and pulled it back to her chest. Then she went to get plates.
Britany picked up her empty glass, "I'm going to get some more to drink." Kinnley nodded as she followed Gaia.
Before Britany could reach Gaia, Lance had caught up with her. She stood by the drinks, so she could listen to what was being said.
"Hi Lance," Gaia smiled.
He gave her a disapproving look, but Britany noticed the softness in his eyes. "Gaia," he said, "you need to be careful with him." He added while gesturing with his head towards Infinite.
A frown graced her features, "what do you mean by that?"
"He's dangerous. You know he can kill, he's done it before."
She rolled her eyes, "people change."
"You haven't seen it Gaia," he snapped, "you haven't seen him kill, you haven't seen the look in his eyes."
"Look," she folded her arms across her chest, "I think you're still holding a grudge. I'm not saying he hasn't done bad things, but he's trying to get better, he really is. Let it go Lance."
He grabbed her arm as she started to turn away. "He doesn't care about you." His voice had grown desperate, and Britany noticed. "Not like I do," he added in a whisper.
Gaia jerked her arm out of his hand, "you don't know anything." Her gold eyes glared into his, "so don't think you can tell me how to live, or who to love."
"So you love him?" He scoffed.
"I always have."
"Fine." His voice wasn't harsh, just firm and final. "When all this blows up in your face, don't say I didn't warn you." He set down his plate, losing his appetite, and left the cafeteria.
"You ok?" Britany asked hesitantly.
Gaia wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand, "I'm fine."
"Was he being a jerk to you?" She didn't want the wolf to know that she'd heard.
She laughed a little, "to put it mildly."
"I don't know all the details, but you and Infinite seem to care about each other." The chipmunk set a hand on Gaia's shoulder, "he seems a little reserved but I've noticed the looks he gives you."
"Yeah. He's just still attached to the woman he lost years ago. It's hard to compete with someone like her."
"But you don't have to compete, she's gone."
"I know, but he still loves her."
A sad smile rested on her face, "he's never going to stop loving her, and it's not fair for you to expect him to. He can love you too though, if you're willing to understand."
"I just wish he would let me help, that he would trust me."
"I'm sure he trusts you more than he used to. It'll just take time."
Gaia smiled, "thanks."
When the two women got back to the table, the boys stopped talking. Kinnley's face was flushed, and Ace was grinning, while Infinite was just shaking his head.
"What have you three been talking about?" Britany asked as she sat down next to her man.
Ace's eyes flicked to the bruise on her collar bone. "I was just asking Kinnley how the night was for you two."
She laughed and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "Did you tell him we had a great night?" She nudged Kinnley playfully.
His face burned a deeper red. It wasn't any of Ace's business what they did.
Ace laughed.
"We kept it in proper boundaries," Britany assured the others, mostly to appease Kinnley. He got embarrassed so easily.
"We're glad you're happy together," said Infinite quietly.
They smiled and took each other's hands.
After breakfast, Ace went to check on Lilly. He knocked on the door to her room.
Her mother opened it. "Hi," he said sheepishly.
She raised a brow, "Yes?"
"Is Lilly ok?" He asked. He kept his head down and glanced up at her.
The brown vixen's gaze softened when she saw his body language. She knew jackals could be assertive, but also submissive. Ace was being very submissive right now, he was obviously worried he'd upset her. And Lilly. "She's sick today," she said gently, "I'll see if she's up for visitors."
She closed the door and went to check. "Lilly?" She asked gently.
Lilly moaned softly and turned over in the bed.
Her hands gently rested on her daughter and pulled the blankets back. "Lilly," she said again, "Ace is here to see you."
Lilly gasped, "tell him to go away." She closed her eyes and buried her face in the pillow.
"Why? What's wrong sweetie?"
"I don't want him to see me like this." She sniffled.
"Honey, you know that he loves you, and he understands." She gently rubbed her back.
"I know," a few tears rolled down her face. "I just don't want him to see how broken I am." Her hair was a mess, she ached horribly, she just felt so weak and exhausted. Of course being in the rain hadn't helped.
"Ok. I'll tell him." She tucked her in and went to talk to Ace.
Ace looked up when the door opened again. He had a hopeful look on his face, "can I see her for a minute?"
"No. She wants to be alone today."
"Oh. Well, will you tell her I love her, and I hope she feels better soon?" She nodded and he took her hand, "I'm sorry."
The brown vixen smiled, "You're a good boy Ace, I'm glad my daughter has you in her life."
"Thank you for letting me be a part of it." Then he went off down the hall.
Keelie was still holding Fortune as he slept. It had gotten late, but he obviously needed rest. She knew how it felt to be plagued by nightmares at night because of what happened. She still had them herself sometimes.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was Gadget. She picked the device up off the table. He was checking on Fortune.
She unlocked the screen and sent a message back, "he's still asleep. Ate dinner pretty well last night."
"Good. I hate that he's struggling so much."
"You know this will affect him for the rest of his life."
"I know." Little dots popped up on the screen, indicating he was typing. "I love you," said the next message.
Her heart swelled, "I love you too."
"See you tonight?"
She chuckled to herself. Even through text she could tell how eager he was. "Of course," she replied, "tonight I'm all yours."
Sometime after lunch, Kinnley met Britany at her room. He was somewhat annoyed that she had insisted on going to change clothes first, and that it had taken her so long.
She smiled at him, "ready to go?" She'd changed into black pants and a teal tunic top. Her brown shoulder bag was slung over her shoulder, holding a couple water bottles and some snacks.
"Couldn't you have just been ready this morning?" He asked. "Then we could've left right after breakfast."
Britany frowned, "Sorry for wanting to look nice for you after last night." She huffed.
"You know that doesn't matter to me," he replied.
"But it does to me Kinnley," she snapped. Then she started walking down the hall towards the exit.
He hurried after her. "You're not an accessory you know," he said after a moment, "you're my equal."
"I know that. I've never felt like an accessory or a trophy, I just want to be yours, and I want others to know I'm yours too."
"Still," he muttered, "I sometimes wish you wouldn't show off your body so much."
She stopped walking and turned around to face him, "why? Because you're insecure in yours?" Her voice came out in a snap.
Kinnley visibly flinched and pulled his ears back.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." She turned on her heel and stalked off.
Lilly was nibbling lightly on a sandwich. Her mother was sitting in a chair with a book. She had already finished her lunch.
After a minute, there was a knock on the door. Lilly and her mother looked at each other, then the brown vixen got up to answer it.
Ace was standing there with a bunch of flowers in his hand. "I know you said she wasn't up for visitors, but I got her something. Would you give it to her for me?"
A smile. "Of course I will."
He handed her the flowers, and an envelope, "thank you." Then he left.
She closed the door and turned to give them to Lilly. "How sweet for Ace to bring you flowers." She handed her the yellow daffodils and went to get a vase for them.
Lilly smiled and sniffed them, happy he remembered yellow was her favorite color.
Her mother came back and they put them in the vase. "He also wanted me to give this to you," she added while handing her the envelope.
After reading it she smiled and held it to her chest, "he wrote me a song."
"That is so sweet," her mother smiled. "You have a good man."
Kinnley and Britany trekked through the wilderness out to Eggman's base. There was a lot of sand and rocks the farther out they went.
Britany was behind Kinnley, and he was out of breath. The chipmunk swore as her foot caught on a rock and tore her shoe.
Kinnley glanced over his shoulder, but didn't say anything.
She was starting to get annoyed. She wished he would carry her, but she knew he couldn't. Her mind wandered to her boyfriend in high school, before the war. He'd been strong, and muscular. He would've been able to carry her.
Stopping, she pulled her hair up in a tight bun, securing it with an elastic from around her wrist. "Who's dumb idea was it to come out here anyway?" She snapped.
He stopped walking and glared at her, "you didn't have to come you know."
"Of course I did, I have to make sure you don't get killed out here. If you weren't in such bad shape this would be a whole lot easier." She purposely bumped his shoulder with hers as she shoved past him.
"Would you lay off?" He growled.
"No, I'm not going to lay off." She put her hands on her hips as she turned to face him, "I want you to know that this nonsensical notion of yours is not going to end well. You're going to pass out out her because you don't take care of yourself."
"What makes you think you know everything? You can't tell me what to do."
"Because I'm your girlfriend!" She yelled. "I don't want to lose you!"
"Really?" He scoffed. "Cause the way you're acting makes me think otherwise."
She bit her lip to keep from saying something really ugly. "Forget it Kinnley. Let's just go and get this over with."
Britany wiped the tears off her face as they kept walking. She was angry with him for what he'd said earlier, so she'd attacked what he was insecure about. She had to admit it was pretty low, but she wasn't about to take it back until he did.
They finally made it to the top of the hill. Eggman's base was below them. Kinnley sighed, there was at least a thousand feet drop from the rocky cliff side.
"How the heck are we supposed to get down there?" Britany griped. The rough winds blew some of her hair loose around her face. "Cause I don't want to find out what a drop like that is like."
Kinnley rolled his eyes and started picking his way along the cliff, looking for a way down.
She followed behind him, still grumbling. A sharp burst of wind almost knocked her over, and she would've toppled down the rocks if Kinnley hadn't grabbed her arm. She jerked her arm out of his hand, huffing. "I can handle myself," she snapped.
He rolled his eyes and they kept going.
When they reached the end of the cliff they could see a long ways. A small village was visible in the distance. "Looks like a jackal community," Britany remarked, remembering her textbook from school.
Kinnley's ear twitched when he heard an unusual sound. He looked up to see a bomb coming from the villain's base. He grabbed Britany's arm, "run."
She gasped as he gave her a push forward, but her legs were still slow to move. She stumbled on a rock as she tried to hurry back down the way they came.
Kinnley's hands gave her another push, "go! Britany move!" He didn't dare look behind them, but he knew it was close.
A scream caught in her throat as the sound of an explosion reached her ears and she was thrown forward. She rolled down the slope, rocks digging into her body as she tumbled. She finally stopped tumbling, and everything went black.