Title from "Quartz" by TV on the Radio
Chapter title from "Beautiful Crime" by Tamer

A series based on tumblr kiss prompts

Kiss Prompt: A kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished

February 2022

Luke's least favorite apocalypses (because he's at that point in his existence where he has preferences for this kind of thing) are the ones where he and Julie need to be in different places during the final fight. Maybe it's better, because he sometimes gets distracted whenever she's in danger. But they also work really well together in the field, and he feels like she's safer when he's around. (He refuses to think about when that hasn't been true.)

And honestly, he's more distracted by that constant worry in his gut when he's away from her. The terrified what ifs that absorb what Alex describes as his "already limited brain power."

So when his part in the battle against Apocalypse Attempt #13 is finally over, he's covered in wounds largely because of how little attention he's been paying to his safety. Not fatal wounds—cosmetic ones that will heal within minutes. But enough to hurt and bleed.

Doesn't matter though. He immediately poofs to the site of the main battle.

He's injured enough that his Julie locating skills aren't at their best. He knows this. This has happened before. But it's still hard not to panic when he appears at an abandoned pile of rubble that used to be a mall... and finds no sign of his Slayer.

"Jules?" he calls frantically. "Julie?"

He hears the sounds of nearby punching, and rushes toward them. "Jules?"

But it's Reggie, fighting off a vampire. Holding his own pretty well in spite of his lack of powers.

Luke would step in, but he knows how important it is to Reggie to contribute. To prove that mortal humans can help out in the fight against evil just as well as the supernatural ones. So since Reggie's handling himself well, Luke lets him be.

Spinning in place to try to find his Slayer, Luke screams out with a voice rapidly shifting in hysteria. "Jules? Jules?"

And finally, from across the expanse, near what used to be a record store, Julie staggers into view. "Luke?" she calls back, voice weak. But as soon as her eyes land on him, she starts sprinting toward him.

He rushes to her, but he doesn't have her Slayer strength and she reaches him first.

Before he can even ask if she's okay, she launches herself into his arms, capturing his mouth in an instant as her legs wrap around his waist. Her mouth against his is fierce and desperate, and he can taste the salt of her sweat and tears on his lips. He captures her bottom lip and sucks at it, needing to feel the warmth of her living, breathing skin in his mouth to assure himself that she's okay, that she's alive, that they've survived. Gripping her in his arms so tightly that the kiss is almost uncomfortable, slotting them together like frantic puzzle pieces as she clings their faces together.

He's not sure how long it is before she finally unlatches their lips with a gasp. "Sorry, need to breathe."

"Puny mortal." It's meant to be a joke, but his voice trembles too hard with relief.

Unlocking her legs from behind his back, she slips down to stand in front of him. "I'm okay," she assures him before he can even ask.

"Me too." Illogical as it is, he knows that she always worries when she sees him like this. Apparently it's hard to see the love of your life covered in wounds, even if they're purely cosmetic. He takes her hands in his and pulls them toward his mouth. Inbetween pressing kisses into the knuckles of her right hand, he asks, "Everyone okay on your end?"

"Yeah. Yours?"

"Yeah." He kisses the ring on her left hand. "Mayor's dead?"

"Into bits."

"That's my girl."

She grins and leans in to kiss him again—

"GUYS," Reggie yells. "A LITTLE HELP PLEASE?"