A/N: As I've said in the other parts for this series, every BDSM relationship is different. Let's see how it goes with this one. I don't really have time to run through this again and give it a full edit, so please excuse any errors.

I'll be working on my novel for all of November, but I have enough written for all of my stories to post one chapter each week for the month.

His throat was dry. So, so dry. And the fact that he'd been blown halfway across Fiore from that asshole's spell going haywire really wasn't helping matters.

He was going to kill Jellal for this. Using magic while so drunk that he could hardly remember how to fucking breathe had been one of the dumbest ideas the guild leader had ever had.

But now, Cobra was stuck in a fucking desert, the middle of a desert, with a hole in his leg that wouldn't stop bleeding, a most definitely fractured wrist, maybe a cracked rib, no food or water, and what he could already tell were the beginnings of dehydration setting in. It had been three hours since he'd landed in a painful pile on the sand, and there wasn't a soul anywhere in a forty mile radius of him.

So, he'd done what every idiotic piece of shit in every single movie that ever got stranded in a desert did. He picked a random direction and started walking in the hopes of it leading him to civilization. Or water. Or a doctor. Even a damn animal he could kill and eat would be nice.

But his throat was just so dry. He wasn't even sweating anymore, and while most of him was thankful for that, a good portion of the Poison Slayer knew just what it meant.

"I'm… s-so gonna pass out… and die out here."

For once in his life, Cobra was glad that Cubellios was no longer with him. Because if she'd been out here and injured with him, then he would have had to watch her die. And then he would have cried while eating her for at least a little nourishment to keep him going.

Cobra stumbled and groaned as he hit the ground. A wild jolt of pain speared up his wrist and into his arm. The hole in his leg was still bleeding, even through the torn bit of his shirt that he'd wrapped around it to slow the flowing blood.

"Gonna… wither away," he rasped. He was just going to take a little breather for a minute, because Cobra was suddenly realizing that he was completely exhausted. "Vultures will… come and… p-pick my bones clean…"

Cobra's head lowered to the searing sand. His single indigo eye slid closed as the sun continued to beat down on his back.

"At least… I won't f-feel it… when they…"

Several minutes passed in silence while the cloaked figure standing just a few feet away watched Cobra lose consciousness. Hands lifted to the hood and pushed it back to reveal a pair of gleaming burnished orange eyes that watched the slow, shaky rise and fall of Cobra's chest.

"Poor thing," Flare whispered. She moved forward and carefully lifted the mysterious tanned man with her hair, then carried him back the way she'd come. Back to Sun Village.

Cobra came awake slowly, which upon later reflection was weird as hell for him, and his eye slid open to find everything was blurred. Distorted. The scents in the air were oddly earthy, more than he'd ever smelled at one time before. But the souls. Those had his skin crawling with awareness.

They were thunderous. Nearly roaring with their intensity. Each one rumbled in a low bass that wasn't anywhere close to being human, but they were too orderly to be animals. The scent of cinnamon and embers drifted through the air, cutting through everything else, and his gaze shifted to the side to find a blurry form moving closer to him from an even blurrier shadowy oval just beyond.

"You're awake," Flare smiled gently. "I was worried we didn't have what you would need in the village to tend to your wounds."

"Wh…" His throat scratched uncomfortably and he winced at the sharp pain in his wrist when he tried to move.

"You've been out for a few days though," Flare continued while grabbing a cup of water.

Cobra shivered as something soft and warm surrounded him, sifted through his hair against his scalp, and carefully lifted his exhausted body into a sitting position.

"Slow sips, okay?" she whispered while standing next to the futon on the floor. One section of her hair brought the cup to his lips, and she watched as they parted and accepted just the smallest bit of water. Then another sip.

She reached over to the nearby table and grabbed fresh gauze, then carefully pulled the blanket away from his injured leg while keeping his very bare privates covered. Flare removed the old bandages and set about cleaning the wound she'd had to cauterize with her hair, pausing only when Cobra's leg jumped away from the pain.

And Cobra, for his part, simply waited for his vision to clear after he'd finished the water. It didn't dawn on him until he could see the woman's face, that he couldn't hear a thing from her soul.

And that was just creepy. Much creepier than the nearly vacant eyes looking back at him. But now that his vision had cleared, he could see the simple room he was in. Bare walls, no decoration at all. And then he looked back at her, his brow furrowing when he saw her russet-colored hair hanging loose down the length of her torso.

Flare brushed a few strands of Cobra's sweaty hair back from his only working eye with her hair. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Cobra." He blinked in surprise while watching Flare's hair move around, some adjusting the blanket to cover his leg again, while other strands shifted against his back and arms and head. This was just wrong on so many levels. "Where am I?"

"Sun Village," she said. "We don't get many visitors here."

He sighed as her hair danced over his skin and carefully laid him back down on the futon. He wasn't going to admit to anyone that it felt absolutely heavenly as those soft strands brushed across his flesh. And he was more than enthralled by her hair folding itself back into twin braids that ran down her chest then curved behind her back.

"Is there… maybe someone I can get in touch with for you?" Flare asked. "Friends or family?"

"I don't really have either," he said softly. Which was true. His guild mates were neither his friends, nor his family. Midnight and the others were closer to him than most, but he still didn't trust any of them. Not like they trusted one another.

"You're a mage though," she said. "Maybe I can call your guild?"

"How do you know that?"

Flare gave him another gentle smile. "You woke up a couple hours ago, spitting poison everywhere. Then you passed out again."

"I…" Cobra frowned as he stared at her, straining his magic to hear even the smallest whisper in her soul. Maybe she was a doll or something though. Some puppeteer mage pulling invisible strings somewhere could be controlling her.

"You should get some more rest," Flare whispered. "If you think of someone to call, let me know. I can get in touch with a, um… friend of mine. She'll pass the message along for me."

Cobra nodded and watched her stand and walk toward the archway leading from the room. She didn't see his eye raking over the dangerous curves of her body. And just before Flare left the room, she glanced back at the Poison Slayer with another small smile.

'What a sexy little thing, he is… Cobra… I might have to call Blondie and see if she's ever heard of him.'

He was left speechless at the single thought from the redhead. The only part of her soul he'd been able to hear. And just like a lightning strike, her soul disappeared in a flash.

"Rest well, Cobra," she said. "My name is Flare, by the way."

With that, she was gone. And Cobra was left staring at the doorway with no clue how to get into her head and find out just what the hell was going on with that blocking shit she'd done.

"Oh, don't drink that," Flare said as she rushed into the room. "It's…"

Cobra glared at the woman out of the corner of his eye when she tried to take the bottle from him, chugging the rest before he finally handed it to her.

"... Peroxide," Flare muttered, staring at the little brown bottle.

"I know how to read."

"You…" Flare tossed the bottle on the floor and fell to her knees beside Cobra while reaching for his mouth. "You're gonna get sick!"

The Poison Slayer growled low in his throat while swatting her hands away, then roared in pain when his wrist, wrapped in a simple splint, banged against the ground. "Motherfucker!"

"Cobra, you're gonna get sick from drinking that!" Flare shouted.

His jaws snapped at her wildly as he held his injured arm to his chest, and he watched in horror as her hair unbraided itself and wrapped tightly around his body to keep him from hitting her.

"Here, I'll help, okay?" Flare said. She forced his jaw open and got ready to shove her fingers down his throat, then her eyes went wide as a thick plume of crimson gas leaked from between his lips. Without another thought, she backed away. Her hair still held him in place on the futon even as the gas dissipated.

"I'm a Poison Dragon Slayer, you fucking moron," Cobra snarled.

"I'm not the idiot who nearly died in a fucking desert!" she snapped. "Don't call me stupid!"

"Fuck off," he said while shaking free of her hair and rolling onto his side. Cobra hissed in pain and looked down at the splint on his wrist to make sure it was still in place. Everything was solid. Except for the broken bullshit under his damn skin.

"Hey, are you okay?" Flare asked gently. 'Wow, that's a lot of scars on his back…'

"Peachy motherfucking keen over here," he shot back over his shoulder. "Leave me alone."

"You hurt yourself…"

"No, Jellal's drunken bullshit spell hurt me. I'm just trying to…" His words cut off on a strangled whimper as the throbbing in his wrist increased. "Fuck…"

"Just trying to fuck?" Flare giggled, shuffling closer. "That's a weird thing to say in your condition." Cobra tensed when she was finally next to him again. "Can I see? I might be able to help."

"Go die in a fucking fire," he ground out.

"Can't," she said while rolling him onto his back again. She unwrapped the bindings around the splint she'd made and gingerly brushed her fingers over the swollen joint. "The Eternal Flame gave me a gift, and now fire doesn't hurt me."

"Well poison doesn't hurt me," he said. "It'll actually help me heal faster." He hissed and pulled his hand from her when she pushed on the joint a little too hard.

"Let me see," Flare whispered. Her hair unbound itself and carefully pulled Cobra's deeply tanned arm closer. Instead of fighting her, the limp appendage came easily, and her hair warmed only slightly while winding around it. "I'm not a doctor, or anything close, so I hope I'm not making it worse."

"Better than nothing at all," he shrugged.

"How's your leg?"

"Hurts like a bitch."

"And your ribs?"

Cobra shrugged again. "Not so bad."

"And your stupid face?" Flare giggled when he growled at her, flicking a section of her hair across his nose. "Blondie was right. You're fun to tease."

"Who the hell are you talking about?"

"Come on, Blondie! Are you really gonna let me hurt that little girl?" Flare cackled while hovering over the beaten and bloody Celestial mage in the Grand Magic Games arena. Her hair shifted in a Raven Tail emblem and the strands ignited with a brilliantly burning fire. "What to mark first…"

"Oh," Cobra muttered. "Lucy."

Flare nodded with a small frown. "How did you…"

"Doesn't matter," he sighed. "So you're part of the gang, I guess."

"Gang?"

"Yep. People who tried to kill her then turned all buddy-buddy with the crazy wench."

Flare's frown deepened and her grip on Cobra's wrist nearly tightened before she remembered that it was broken. "Don't talk about her that way."

"Very protective," he chuckled. Cobra's eye flashed with wicked excitement. "Should I let Laxus know someone's wanting to horn in on his wonder-snatch?"

"It's not like that…"

Cobra's sharp reply stuck in his throat as he took in Flare's downcast eyes. Every time she was like this, her soul went quiet.

"She forgave me for being stupid. For listening to Ivan because I didn't know any better. I tried to kill that little girl, but Blondie still forgave me. And… I was even able to help her after the Games when those dragons showed up."

"You were there too?"

Flare's eyes widened and cut over to the smirking mage on the futon. "Were you?"

"They let me out of prison just to fight a dragon. I didn't even get the chance to kill the stupid thing before everything disappeared."

"Prison?" she asked. "What for?"

"For trying to destroy the world," he chuckled. "Twice."

"Who stopped you?"

"Lucy and her asshole friends, of course. Fucking Fairy Tail, always wriggling out of the woodwork to fuck up a perfectly good evil scheme."

"They're kinda like that, huh?" Flare giggled.

"Sort of. Not all bad though, I guess." Fairy Tail definitely wasn't all bad. Kinana was there, after all. The two spent several minutes in silence, and he looked down once he felt Flare's hair unwinding from around his wrist. It still hurt more than anything, but she'd at least taken the worst of the pain away. "Thanks," he said while she replaced the splint.

Flare nodded. "Blondie also told me that she was getting in touch with your guild. They'll be coming to get you. I already let everyone in the village know they were coming, so you won't have to worry about your friends being killed."

"They're not my friends."

Flare's gaze settled on his scowling lips. "That must be really lonely," she whispered. "I didn't have any friends until I met Blondie."

"Yeah, well…"

She stood and started walking toward the door again. "I'll go and find something to poison you with."

Cobra had to hide the sudden spike of arousal that flared in his veins when she looked at him over her shoulder with her lips curving into the most sadistic grin he'd seen in years. "Can't wait to see what you come up with," he chuckled.

"Bye, Cobra."

"Yeah. See ya, Gingerbread."

Flare let out a secret smile once she was out the door, a bright blush lighting up her cheeks. She was completely unaware that the man in the room was able to very clearly hear her internal squeal of, 'Gingerbread… That's so cute!'

Flare bit her lip while draping Cobra's arm over her shoulders. She'd done her best to cauterize the wound in his leg, and while she was happy that he was apparently incapable of getting an infection due to the Dragon Slayer lacrima in his chest, she was still worried about him. He said it was just that he hadn't been walking very much, and his muscles were tense and underused.

She was sure it was something else entirely. But Flare wasn't going to say anything about it. She would just keep it to herself.

"So, the others said they saw your guild through the trees on the edge of the forest an hour ago," Flare whispered. "They should be here soon."

Cobra nodded and shifted his still splinted wrist where it sat in the sling Flare had made for him. It was just a slip of fabric knotted on top of his shoulder, but he at least appreciated the effort. He definitely appreciated the fact that she'd stitched up the holes in his clothing. He couldn't even tell where there had been rips in the fabric anymore.

"I feel kinda bad that you were cooped up in my room this whole time," she said.

Cobra paused in his step to stare at her. "Your… room?"

She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yeah. All the other rooms are a little big so my family will fit. I figured you'd be more comfortable if you weren't always surrounded with all the men."

While that made sense, Cobra had yet to see a single person in this whole village. Even as they walked out of the small building that held only a bedroom and bathroom, there was no one else around. The buildings were enormous though. Far larger than any building really needed to be in a small place like this.

He could hear dozens of souls nearby though. Somewhere close. Maybe in the buildings. They sounded so strange, he was curious to see just who would have a soul like that.

And then he caught the familiar cadences of his guildmates' souls. Midnight's dreary violins and Angel's chirping piccolos. Jellal's grinding stone as he smothered himself in guilt. Racer's buzzing and Richard's strumming harps. And fucking Meredy with her bubblegum techno bullshit. Then one other soul that he really just couldn't place. Familiar, but he wasn't too worried about it.

It almost made him want to rip his arm off and beat them all to death so he wouldn't have to hear that shit anymore.

"Where is everyone?" Cobra asked softly.

"Well your guild-"

"I mean your… family." It was almost physically painful to say that word. He wasn't really sure why, but maybe it had something to do with his incessant nightmares about watching his mother get killed by a guard in the Tower. Maybe.

"Oh," Flare muttered. "They, um… They were worried you'd be scared of them. I kind of asked them to stay inside while you left."

And while Cobra wanted nothing more than to sate his curiosity about the owners of those souls he kept hearing, he wasn't looking to get attached to this woman. Meeting her family was a bit sudden. Besides, all she'd done was bandage him up, and make sure he was alright, and keep an eye on him, and made sure he was comfortable. Saved his fucking life.

Nothing major, really.

"Cobra!"

He rolled his eye at the shrill screech coming from Meredy as she dashed ahead of the group to meet up with him sooner. He really couldn't stand the way she thought of him as an older brother. Clingy little monster, she was.

"Stop shouting!" he snarled.

"You're yelling too," Meredy laughed. She lunged as soon as the Poison Slayer was close enough, ready to hug him even though she knew he hated being touched.

And it would have happened if it hadn't been for the sudden wall of hair that wrapped around her and started tightening until the Maguilty mage was gasping for air.

Flare's eyes were alight with anger while she glared at the pinkette. "He's hurt. Don't go jumping all over him like some hormonal spider monkey." Meredy's eyes started tearing up while she struggled to breathe, and Flare only dropped her after she was sure the message was clear. Another few seconds later.

Jellal froze as the group came to a stop in front of Cobra, his eyes wide as they stared at the woman who Lucy had told him would be meeting with them. Flare Corona. The name had sounded familiar before, but now that he saw her, he remembered just who the redhead was. The lunatic who had nearly killed Lucy in the Games a year prior.

And then there was Cobra, willingly letting another human being hold him up. That was just… odd.

"Fuck you, Tramp Stamp," Cobra sneered.

Jellal sighed and shook his head. "Nice seeing you too, Cobra," he muttered. "Flare, I hope it will be alright for us to camp for the night in your village's forest. It was a long journey, so we'll need to rest before heading out again."

"Oh, um… I-I guess that's alright," she said softly.

A smaller cloaked figure shuffled out from behind Jellal and pushed back the hood, revealing a head of blonde hair and bright honey eyes. "Just alright?" Lucy giggled.

"Blondie!" Flare gasped. She completely forgot about the Poison Slayer leaning on her for support and dashed forward, tackling the Celestial mage to the ground.

"F-Flare, stop that!" Lucy screeched, trying to push the Hair mage away from nuzzling her breasts.

Cobra sent Midnight a grateful nod when the Reflector mage caught him before he could fall. The fact that he was even awake in the first place was just weird. Ever since getting another damn flying carpet to ride around on, Midnight had taken full advantage of sleeping on the thing while they moved from one place to another.

Midnight shifted to the side and helped Cobra take a seat next to him. "Leg's messed up, I heard," he yawned.

"Wrist, too," Cobra said. "I'll be fine in a bit."

"You wanna stay?" Flare asked. "R-Really?"

"Sure," Lucy laughed. "That's why I came out here. I figured it was time I popped by for a visit anyway, and Jellal had no idea how to get here. It was easier to just come along than try to give him directions."

"Because your penmanship is atrocious," Cobra snorted.

"Have fun jerking it with your broken wrist, Cobra," Lucy shot back with a sweet smile.

He rolled his eye, mentally slaughtering everyone around him. Repeatedly.

Cobra didn't even make a peep when Flare invited everyone in Crime Sorciere to lodge in the village. He was too busy trying to figure out why the redhead was by his side during each of those imagined torture sessions, laughing while ripping his guildmates to shreds.

"S-So, giants exist," Angel said while staring up at the towering men with huge grins as they walked around the village.

"Yep," Flare nodded. "They're going to be setting up a party tonight for you guys."

"Because they're happy to see more of your friends coming around," Lucy grinned, looping an arm around Flare's.

"Oh, but… we're not… um…"

Cobra frowned at the quick glance the redhead sent his way. Just what the hell was that for? Still, he wasn't going to dwell on it. The sooner the night was done, the sooner he could get out of this village stuck in the mountains, in the middle of a fucking desert. And once he was out of there, he wouldn't have to think about the woman whose vacant eyes and disarming smile kept catching his eye every time he turned around.

He wouldn't be trying to figure out why her soul only showed up when she got a damn personality that wasn't just the timid mouse he was constantly seeing.

Thankfully, the night came and went. So did way too much food for even a hoard of Dragon Slayers to eat. And more ale than was really healthy. Then there were all the poisonous plants that he'd been told Flare had gone out to pick just for him to eat. Others that she'd put in jars that would last for at least a week without going bad and withering, for him to take on his trip away from the village.

Somewhere along the way, somehow (he still wasn't sure to this day), he'd found Flare sitting in her room away from the happiness and laughter of her family and Crime Sorciere. Cobra had simply wanted to get away from all the noise, and the only place he was really familiar with was the room he'd stayed in over the time he'd been there.

What he hadn't expected was to find the Hair mage silently crying in the far corner, curled up in a ball. She didn't try to wipe her tears away. She didn't even react when the door opened. Her always vacant eyes were exactly the same as usual, just a little more puffy.

Cobra wanted more than fucking anything to just turn around and leave her to the tears, but he really needed to take a seat and it was way too loud out there with the thundering laughter of giants filling the air.

Instead, he quietly closed the door behind him and walked further into the room. His idiotic feet decided that he was going to sit next to Flare.

"So, your family's an interesting bunch," he said while staring down at the splint around his wrist. "Didn't peg you for a giant, though."

Flare didn't respond. There were no whispers from her soul or anything else. Just more of the steady streams of salty sadness dripping down her cheeks.

Cobra really wasn't one for small talk, though. He didn't try to make people feel better or get to the bottom of their problems. That was more Lucy's thing. Only problem was, the blonde was off in some other part of the village, drunk as a skunk, and having some seriously freaky lacrima sex-talk with the overgrown outlet that was her boyfriend.

"Mm, that's a good boy, Laxus. Touch yourself just like that for Mistress…"

Really, Cobra wanted no part in interrupting that. Or hearing it in the first place. If Laxus and Lucy were into that sort of thing, then good on them for finding each other. He sure as hell wasn't going to let any woman tie his ass down and beat him to tears. He'd had enough of that bullshit when he was a kid, and there was no way he'd get his rocks off while it happened.

"So…"

"Leave," Flare whispered. Her gaze didn't shift from the floor. "Just go, okay?"

'Shouldn't have let myself get used to anyone being around… Family is all I need anyway… The rest of the world is terrifying…'

"What do you mean?"

"I mean leave."

"No," Cobra frowned. "What do you mean by 'anyone being around'?"

Flare sighed and shook her head. "Blondie said you could hear thoughts," she muttered. "You never said anything I was thinking about though, so I had a hard time believing it."

"I can't hear your soul most times," he finally admitted. And Cobra really hated that fact. There was never a time where his magic had failed him, but it always just came up short where the redhead was concerned.

"Well, it's nothing to worry about," she said. "Just go and enjoy the party."

"Can't. It's too loud and my ears need a break."

"Then I'll go." Flare stood and started to walk away, then smacked away the hand that reached for her without looking back. 'Let me leave. I can't have him see me cry like this.'

Cobra glared at her back while reaching for her again. And when Flare's hair rippled out of her braids and moved to stop him, he grabbed the strands and pulled her down to the ground. "I don't take kindly to people walking away from me," he whispered.

"Don't pull my hair," Flare snapped.

"Then don't ignore me."

"It's better if I do."

"Why?"

"I can't say."

"Sure you can.

"No, I really can't…"

"Gingerbread, just-"

"Because I don't want you to leave!" Flare finally shouted. Cobra just barely heard her words over the rounds of cheers from the giants. He had no idea why they were cheering, his whole body going painfully rigid as he stared into her bright, coppery eyes.

"You…"

His grip on her hair loosened and he fell back against the wall he hadn't realized he'd shifted away from in the first place.

"I don't want you to go," Flare whispered while glaring at the Poison Slayer over her shoulder. "I had so much fun with you, even though you're a dick wrapped in barbed wire and shoved up my ass sometimes. You were nice to me…"

"I'm not nice to anyone…"

"You talk to me like I'm not crazy or stupid."

"I talk to everyone like they're stupid," Cobra said. "And no one's got a lock on crazy like I do."

"But it's not a good idea for me to think you'll stick around," Flare sniffled. "A-And I always think people are more than they are. You can't hear my soul, so maybe I just don't have one. It's blank, right? Empty, just like me, right?"

'Please don't leave, Cobra…'

"Gingerbread," he sighed. "It's not empty."

"See? You gave me a nickname," she cried. "I've never had one before. N-No one's ever…"

'Nobody ever cared enough to do that. He's so nice to me…'

"And-"

Cobra leaned forward and sifted his fingers through her hair, bringing the redhead's parted lips against his in a flash. "Shut up," he growled when Flare squeaked and tried to pull away. "Just shut the fuck up and kiss me, Gingerbread."

The fact that she simply melted into him was more than satisfying. The timid little mouse he'd seen more days than not was gone. A fiery, ravenous tongue speared between Cobra's lips as Flare crawled into his lap. He could taste her desire as it burned across his taste buds.

Soft curves glided under the tips of his questing fingers, and Cobra groaned when he felt just how high the slit in her dress really ran. He didn't need to ask if she wanted his hands moving over her. Flare's thighs spreading wider over him, how her breasts pushed further into his chest and her fingers sifted through his hair, let him know that he was doing everything she wanted. And then some.

"C-Cobra…"

He drew back from her lips with a wicked grin, nipping at the swollen bits of flesh and pulling a quivering moan from the woman in his lap. "If you've got time to talk, then you've got time to get my clothes off."

He really should have been ready for her hair to fan out around them. Strands darted between their bodies as he forced their lips together again, pulling at the fastenings on his shirt and pants faster than he could have managed even without a broken wrist.

'Don't leave me, Cobra…'

His shirt was pulled open and pushed down his arms along with his jacket. Cobra groaned as her fingers danced over his skin. Each quick brush brought him closer to laying the redhaired beauty out on her back. He wanted her, and Cobra wasn't going to deny himself any longer.

The perfect mix of crazy and silly and shy. Just the kind of woman to get his blood boiling from anger while making him hard enough to fuck a whole pile of diamonds into submission. He'd been hoping to get out of the village before he simply lost control and took Flare, bent her over a table and had his way with her while she cried out his name in ecstasy.

But he was still there, and she was just so desperate for him. Desperate to feel some sort of connection to another person.

His hand lifted from beneath her dress, from the supple swell of her perfectly rounded ass, to pull at the tie holding it all together just behind her neck. Twin crimson strings fell down onto his shoulders, and he drew back just enough to nearly rip the fabric while sending his lips on a quick, breathless path down to one pale pink bud.

"O-Oh, Cobra!"

His teeth scraped roughly over her, and he gave the writhing sex kitten a harsh nip. "I said, get my clothes off," he growled against her. "I want you."

"A-And what if I-I don't?"

"Then you wouldn't be drenching my pants with your snatch," he rasped. "Come on…" His tongue circled her puckering nipple in faster circles that he could hear were sending Flare into a breathless fog. His injured wrist lifted into her line of sight when Flare's head tipped back. "I'm hurt, Gingerbread. I can't fuck you if I can't get my pants off."

Flare's soft laugh became another sharp cry of pained pleasure as he bit into her breast again. She'd never known a man to be so vicious while still causing her core to clench with anticipation. But she wanted it, even if she had to keep reminding herself that this wasn't going to happen again. And that he wasn't going to stick around just because she didn't want him to leave.

If anything, Flare could at least have a damn good memory of the time she'd happened to save the Poison Slayer's life.

Her hair wrapped around his splinted wrist and she carefully pulled Cobra down on top of her, keeping his injury away from the floor. The sudden chill from the floor was burned away as his lips peppered her heaving chest with surprisingly tender kisses. No man had ever been like this with her. It was either one way or the other. Dominating and bordering on cruel, or moving slowly and treating her like glass.

But Cobra wasn't like that. His free hand plucked and pulled at her nipple along with that devilish mouth of his. He switched between harsh bites and soothing, gentle kisses.

"Pants," Cobra moaned against her sweat-slicked chest.

"R-Right…" Flare sent her hair down to finish removing his pants, then lifted her hips to pull her dress down the rest of the way. She didn't wear panties, so that was at least one thing she didn't have to worry about getting off.

And she knew, based on the fact that she'd had to undress and bathe him once before, Cobra didn't wear underwear.

It just meant she was that much closer to having him filling her. 'Sweet Flame, I need it…' Seconds after that thought filtered through her already scattered brain, Flare cried out as his full length ground against her already dripping center.

Her fingers sifted through his hair to pull him closer, and then she felt his ears. Without a thought on just what he might do, Flare gently pinched the pointed tips, rolling them between her fingers.

She'd never expected a loud moan to come barreling past his lips. Or for Cobra to surge forward and seat himself deeply within her.

"Touch my ears," he panted over Flare's quivering mewls. "And I won't be gentle… Fuck, that's good…" His head lifted to look down into her widened eyes, finding them no longer vacant but alive. Burning. He couldn't tell what he liked better though.

The way her core clenched around him. Her hands in his hair and touching his ears. This look in her eyes that spoke of a hidden succubus waiting to suck out his fucking soul.

He withdrew and pushed back in slowly. So slowly he could feel Flare's body trembling as she reached her limit on patience. But he wanted her to be patient. Because Cobra was fucking her the way he wanted. Oh, she was going to be crying out his name, there was no doubt about that for the Poison Slayer. He was just going to make sure it happened on his own terms.

"C-Cobra, please," Flare whimpered.

"Please what?" he groaned, pressing his lips to hers briefly with a small smirk. "What does little Gingerbread want?"

"Don't tease me." She shivered as his gleaming indigo eye glared down at her. It sent a shot of liquid fire right to her sex just as his hips snapped forward once again.

And then he just didn't move. He stayed nestled deep within her, filling her to the point of being nearly uncomfortable. She knew he could see her desperation. Didn't he understand? She wanted him to move, to do something that would help her ease the ache between her legs.

But if he wasn't going to do anything, then Flare just had to do it herself. Her hips shifted, and it seemed like that was just what the Poison Slayer was waiting for. Flare's cry of pain as his fingers pinched her nipple harder than before, was muffled as his lips covered hers. All at once her body was overwhelmed with sensation. Cobra moved within her at a suddenly relentless pace.

Cobra groaned as her legs locked around his pistoning hips and pinched even harder.

"C-Cobra, no," Flare whimpered. "St-Stop… hurting m-me…"

'Don't stop! Feels so good!'

He grinned down at the tears dotting her long lashes. "Stop, huh?" he growled. He let go of her nipple, sucking in a shaky breath as Flare cried out again when he pulled out completely. His cock ached to be back inside of her. She was too warm, too inviting. This was a torture for himself, but he wanted something from the Hair mage, and he knew that there was only one way he could get it.

He wanted her begging for every dark, delicious thing he could do to her body. And if the pain in his damn wrist wasn't already trying to kill his hard on, he would have been much more mobile in bringing her to the brink of insanity.

Flare's eyes went wide as she felt his flared head trailing so dangerously close to her entrance, sliding over her slit, circling her sensitive bundle. Just when she thought he would show mercy and take her again, just as he would barely dip into her weeping sex, Cobra pulled back. She could feel his steady breaths heating her lips. And that damn smug smirk was sitting on his thin lips.

It was driving her insane.

"Cobra, pl - Ah!" Her head tipped back as he filled her in one quick snap of his hips.

"You were saying?" he whispered.

But Flare couldn't find the words anymore. As the first of her tears broke past her lashes, she wanted to hate him for making her like this.

"So grumpy," he growled against her lips.

"You were the one itching to get inside me," she spat bitterly. "So do something about it instead of just being a manipulative asshole!"

"But you like it," he rasped as his hips rolled. "I can hear your soul, beautiful."

Flare's reply was cut off as his hand slid gently up her body until those long, tanned fingers dipped between the loose strands of her hair. No one ever touched her hair, but Cobra had done it several times already.

"I'll be nice though," Cobra chuckled. His lips ghosted across her cheek and his tongue glided over the shell of her ear.

"C-Cobra…"

"Touch me with this," he whispered, his fingers brushing through the fiery strands again. "Everywhere. If you want me to play nice, you'll have to make me."

"M-My hair?" Flare gasped at the low groan that spilled from the Poison Slayer. Slowly, her hair lifted from the floor and started wrapping itself around his body. Calves, thighs, arms, throat, chest. More sections brushed lightly over his back, slithered between his shoulder blades.

And with each timid pass of the ruby locks over his flesh, Flare felt more than heard the bone-shaking moans that escaped Cobra as he set into a steady rhythm.

"Sh-Shit," Cobra hissed. He didn't mind it one bit that he was being tied up like this. He wanted Flare's hair surrounding him. Touching him. Everywhere, all at once. "F-Fuck… Rub it harder, Gingerbread."

Flare lifted his head so she could look into his eye clouded with lust, a deep hazy indigo. "No more teasing me," she whispered.

"N-No more teasing," Cobra nodded.

"Stay with me tonight."

Cobra wanted to say no, but then he felt her hair tightening around his limbs, how it warmed just a little. The gentle flush across her cheeks drew him closer before her hands did, until he was tenderly pressing his lips to hers.

"Stay tonight," Flare whispered. "Please, Cobra."

And somewhere in his lust-hazed mind, he knew it was a bad idea. But he couldn't tell her no. So he simply nodded again. "I'll stay," he whispered breathlessly. His eye rolled back as Flare pulled on the tips of his ears, sending hot white streaks of pleasure rocketing through him.

"Oh god… Cobra!"

"What'd I tell you about my fucking ears?" he growled. His hips were moving before he even knew what was happening. The violent slapping of skin and sudden splashes of colors dancing in Flare's soul were making him blind to everything else around them.

And all he could feel was her hair. Stroking him, tightening around his body. Her fingers clutching to his back as she screamed his name. Then her arms winding around his neck as she was lifted into his lap. Another tug on his ears. Her voice crackling on moans and pleas for more, and her breasts bouncing wildly.

Her breathing changed, and his eye finally came into focus only to see thick plumes of crimson gas in the air around them.

Cobra's eye widened in horror as Flare pushed him down onto the ground and started to move even faster. "W-Wait!"

"Cobra," Flare moaned. Her head tipped back and her eyes slid closed to simply bask in the perfection that she'd been gifted with. She sucked in a deep breath, completely unaware of the noxious gas filling her lungs. And all at once, the redhead felt like she couldn't breathe. As though someone had turned on a heater and placed it right against her flesh.

A harsh sweat broke out across her skin, but her hair tightened on Cobra's body when he tried to push her off of him.

'Feels so good… Tastes… Oh god, what's happening to me? I want more…'

Flare's eyes slid open, half-lidded and pooling with desire, to find the source of her sudden spike in arousal drifting from between Cobra's lips. She shot down and slammed her lips over his, harshly nipping at him. When he didn't try to kiss her back, she started playing dirty. Her hips rolled faster and her fingers brushed over his ears.

Still, he didn't kiss her. She couldn't tell that he was freaked the hell out by her eating his poison and not just dropping dead right there. That she'd willingly taken more of it into herself.

The coil wound tighter within Flare, her mind awash in pleasure. Her lips trailed over to the golden hoop piercing his ear and she let out a low, guttural moan while sucking it into her mouth.

Cobra cried out in surprise as his hips surged in response. His one weakness. His fucking ears. And she'd figured out way too quickly that she could bend him to her every whim if those were being teased. His uninjured arm moved with her hair still wrapped around it to wind across her back. "F-Fuck, don't stop!"

He didn't care that she was pouring sweat, or that he could feel his own pooling between his back and the floor. Teeth bared, Cobra poured every last bit of power he had into sending the redhead spiralling into bliss.

Her moans drifted right into his ear, vibrating the tender flesh and pulling each and every muscle in his body taut with need.

Another large cloud of poison escaped Cobra's lips, unnoticed. And finally, when he was sure he couldn't hold back any longer, Cobra did the only thing that came to mind to throw her over the edge with him.

Flare screamed her lover's name as his teeth sunk into her shoulder, piercing the skin and sending her soaring high into the clouds just as searing heat spilled into her sex. She couldn't take anything else. Not the fire roaring through her veins or the weightlessness left in the wake of an earth-shattering climax.

Quivering moans left her, and she whimpered when his jaw finally unlocked from her shoulder.

Cobra fought to catch his breath while gently sucking on the bleeding wound he'd given the woman in his arms. It really didn't help when her hair finally loosened and started gently trailing over his skin. Everywhere. It was fucking heaven feeling each strand on him like this.

Still, he couldn't get enough of touching her. Smelling that cinnamon-ember scent that clung to her skin. His poison in the air had disappeared, but some of it was still latched onto her. God, he hated to admit that he was enjoying that addition to the fiery vixen. "Damn," he rasped.

Flare hummed and slowly lifted her hips while pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. She licked at Cobra's lips and gave him a quick kiss before moving lower. His chin, throat, every inch of his chest that she hadn't gotten a chance to really admire with more than just her fingers.

The thin trail of maroon hairs leading down from his navel. She hadn't realized it before, but the Poison Dragon Slayer was cut like a god. And she'd been lucky enough to have his body against hers. His thin, lickable hips - and, oh did she lick them now that she had the chance - between her legs. Her hair moved of its own accord to brush across the hair on his legs, fiery red against deep crimson.

Cobra just couldn't find it in himself to stop her from doing whatever she pleased with him right then. And he was definitely rewarded when her gaze lifted just as her soft lips surrounded his softened member. His limbs just felt too heavy to do a damn thing aside from pulling a lock of her hair between his fingers.

Flare smiled while sucking the evidence of their joining from Cobra, a soft flush lighting her cheeks. The way his lips curled into a lazy grin had her happy as a clam. No one ever really gave her that look before. Not even after a romp in the sack.

Cobra chuckled when the redhaired beauty kissed her way back up to his lips. And even though he could taste his release, he just didn't care all that much as her tongue curled around his.

"You'll really stay tonight?" Flare whispered.

"I said I would." Cobra brushed his nose against hers as she glanced away bashfully. "I'm a man of my word, Gingerbread."

"Even though you're an ex-criminal?"

"I killed people," he smirked. "Never lied about it." The fact that she let out a quiet laugh instead of really reacting to the admission that he'd been a murderer was a bit of a surprise. Most people tended to give a fair number of shits about things like that.

"Did you want to go back out there?" she whispered.

Cobra shook his head and wound an arm about her waist. "It's too loud out there. And I'm feeling relatively lazy right about now."

"You're an odd duck," Flare giggled.

"Probably. But I have a feeling you are too."

"I guess," she smiled. She looked into his eye as he pulled her in for another slow, gentle kiss. Flare really didn't think she'd ever be able to wrap her head around the man whose arms were holding her just a little tighter than before. Even as they moved to the futon that both had completely forgotten was there, not bothering to get dressed again, she just couldn't understand Cobra. But really, she figured it was for the best if she didn't try to understand him. He would be gone soon, anyway.

"Goodnight, Cobra," she yawned.

"Mm, don't braid your hair again."

Flare frowned and lifted her head from his chest. "What?"

"I like your hair," he smirked. "So let it free tonight."

She blushed again and laid her head back down, then loosened her hair from the single braid she always put it in before going to sleep. The strands fanned out across the bedding and both of their bodies, and Flare smiled when she heard Cobra let out a contented sigh as his fingers sifted through it.

Her eyes closed as his lips puckered on her scalp.

"Sweet dreams, Gingerbread," Cobra whispered.

"Flare? Hey, are you in here?"

Lucy rounded the corner and made her way through the open doorway that she knew led to Flare's home in Sun Village. Her eyes widened when she saw the Hair mage curled up on her futon with only a blanket covering her naked body, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks as she stared at nothing.

"Flare, what's wrong?"

She said nothing as Lucy rushed across the room and brushed her hair from her eyes.

"Flare… what's the matter?" Lucy asked gently.

But what could she say? That she'd woken up that morning just before sun came up, like always, and found herself alone? That she'd wanted to watch the sun rising with Cobra before he left with his guild? But he wasn't there.

The place he'd slept was cold, as though he'd waited for her to fall asleep, then left.

And maybe that was the case. Maybe he'd watched her lose consciousness and then had slipped out of her grasp to get dressed. He'd left before she could even tell him goodbye. Without a single word.

Without just one more kiss, even though she was sure he was never going to think of her again now that he was gone. And while it made sense for him to just cut ties with her like this, to make it easier than an awkward hug and her watching him walk away, it didn't hurt any less. Her chest felt like it had been stepped on by a giant. Not even her hair could warm the chill that had crept into her bones without him there. Each breath felt like a painful reminder of the loneliness that she was sure was her lot in life.

Large brown eyes filled her vision as Lucy laid down next to her on the floor. And Flare was sure, as a crackling sob broke past her lips once Lucy's slender arms wrapped around her, that even the blonde could hear her heart breaking.

She wasn't supposed to care about Cobra. The Poison Slayer wasn't supposed to mean anything to her. This wasn't supposed to hurt.

"Aw, Flare… It's okay," Lucy whispered.

"H-He left… He didn't… even s-say goodbye…"

Lucy's eyes closed as she held the Hair mage closer, simply letting her tears soak into the fabric of her shirt. "Flare…"

"Wh-Why does everyone leave m-me?"

"I won't leave-"

"You will," she sobbed. "You h-have to go back home, and…"

"But we'll still be friends," Lucy said gently. "And you're always welcome to come visit. And I'll try to visit you more often, too."

It just wasn't the same, but Flare at least appreciated the effort the blonde was making. At least this one thing wasn't different. No matter how scary the world had been, she still had the friend she'd made in Lucy.

Still… Flare wished the arms around her were darker, stronger. She wished that it wasn't the Celestial mage lying next to her, but Cobra.

She knew that was never going to happen again, so Flare just let herself do what felt right. She cried until her throat was raw and her eyes were nearly closed from how puffy they were. And maybe, when she was done crying, Flare wouldn't care about the Poison Slayer being gone.

She wasn't too optimistic about that, though.