Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter forty-four of "Dark Desire." This chapter has Tommy/Kim. His teaching her how to live off the land resumes in this one. It continues into the next one. Stay tuned for chapter forty-five.

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Chapter 44: Heating and Having Coconut

Clouds covered half the late afternoon sky above the hut. The sun came out from behind a large one. A rainbow lorikeet flew in and landed on the windowsill. It flapped its wings, airing them out. It folded them against its back. It looked inside, seeing Tommy and Kim sitting at the table as they waited for a coconut to finish heating in the pot. It could see his knife, a cleaver, three bowls, two leaves, and two spoons laying on the table.

Kim picked up the knife in which she looked it over. She exhaled as she touched the tip of the blade very carefully. She laid it down in front of their dishes. She propped her head up with her elbow. She put her hand on the table and started tapping it with her finger. Tommy shifted his attention toward her. He raised an eyebrow.

"You just had to start tapping your finger, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yep," she answered and clicked her tongue three times. "Are you going to try to stop me?"

"No. In fact, two can play at that game," Tommy announced in much eagerness. He laid his hand on the table and began tapping his finger on it. He got a mock-annoyed look from her. "What?"

"You shouldn't imitate what I do," Kim teased and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Too bad," Tommy said, turning his nose upward. "I am going to do it. You can't stop me."

"Yes, I can," Kim growled in much playfulness. "In fact, I will stop you right this instant!"

She moved her tapping finger across the table and up his arm. She went to the top of his head. She proceeded to tap it. He pushed her hand aside and brought his to her neck to tickle it. She laughed so loud that she scared the lorikeet off. She started coughing hard. He pulled his hand away with a little guilt. She managed to catch her breath.

"I am sorry, Kim. I didn't mean to make you cough," Tommy apologized with a nervous chuckle.

"It's okay," Kim assured in much gentleness. "At least I enjoy being tickled by you a lot."

"I enjoy being tickled by you just as much," Tommy said, tickling her chin and flicking her nose.

"Just don't become a tickle monster," Kim warned while shaking her finger.

He smiled. "I won't if you don't."

She chuckled to herself. "Sure."

The lovebirds shared a sweet kiss and rubbed noses. They looked toward the pot. Kim pulled her hair behind her neck before laying her hands on the table. Tommy stroked his chin.

"If we were back on Earth, we'd be heating that coconut in an oven," Kim said, motioning toward the pot.

"That is true," Tommy agreed. "It might take longer to heat the coconut in the pot, but I feel it makes it taste better."

"I see," Kim said with a slow nod. "Back on Earth, people would be telling us not to eat coconut because it is full of fat. They would demand we eat a low-fat diet."

"A low-fat diet is good for people who can't tolerate much fat, but it isn't the best thing for losing weight unless you add more protein to make up for the loss of fat," Tommy pointed out.

Kim suppressed a yawn. "On a world like Clovis, we really don't have a choice. We need food that will give us plenty of fat and calories. Coconut is the perfect food to give us both."

"We still have to be careful with how much coconut we consume," Tommy said in much seriousness.

"I know," Kim murmured and smiled. "I can't wait for you to show me how to prepare coconut."

"It is very easy," Tommy commented and grabbed the cleaver. He waved it from side to side three times. He planted the end of it into the table. "The most important tool you need is the cleaver. It will help you get the coconut open. You use the dull side of it to crack the coconut open. After that, you use the knife to get the meat out. You use it to get brown stuff off the meat. Then you eat it in a bowl or with other food."

"It is good to know that preparing it is easy," Kim said and tapped her hands on the table. "I could see Skull trying to open a coconut by hitting it on stuff."

"I could tell Skull didn't look very intelligent when I first met him and Bulk. Bulk seemed to be similar to him," Tommy admitted while laying the cleaver down.

"Those two fools have never been known for being smart. They have tried cheating on tests on several occasions, but the teachers always caught them and sent them to detention for it," Kim said, rolling her eyes.

Tommy gave a sharp nod. "They deserved to get detention. They should know that cheaters never win."

"For cheaters who manage to get through life, their cheating does eventually catch up to them," Kim replied and snorted.

"Yep," Tommy agreed. He clasped his hands together and twirled his thumbs around. "They deserve all the consequences that come their way."

"They may learn their lesson. They may not. Who knows?" Kim said, giving a shrug.

He blew softly. "Hmm."

Tommy and Kim heard rustling. They stood up and went to the window, finding a marsh deer nibbling on a bush's leaves near the tree. It scratched its back with its antlers. They couldn't help but laugh.

"Not once did I ever think I'd see deer on a beach," he said and rubbed his hands together.

"Me neither," she replied. "I guess that buck was tired of being in the forest and decided to come here."

"Most likely," Tommy agreed. "The only time I saw deer in Moore was when my parents and I went to the lake."

"Deer can be found in the forest and fields of Angel Grove Park," Kim commented matter-of-factly. "You have to be very quiet because they are very observant and will bolt at the slightest noise."

"I see," Tommy said while furrowing his brow. "Did you and your friends see deer often?"

"Sometimes. We did everything in our power to be quiet every time we saw them," Kim responded.

"Good for you," Tommy commented and kissed her temple. He rubbed it in a gentle manner. "Did you, Jason, Trini, Zack, and Billy scare any deer at one time or another?"

"Once or twice," Kim said and snapped her fingers. She laid her hand on the table and proceeded to tap her fingers. "Either Billy or Zack stepped on a twig and alerted the deer."

"Oh," Tommy whispered and pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "At least you can see deer whenever you want now."

"Deer are such cool animals. The bucks are so magnificent with their antlers," Kim said, sweetness showing in her voice.

"Do you think I'd look good with antlers?" Tommy asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I think you would," Kim answered honestly. She slipped a lock of hair behind her ear before clearing her throat. "Just don't be surprised if someone shoots at you."

He grabbed his chest as if he had been shot there. He groaned in pain as he stumbled backward. He fell on his back and twitched twice before losing consciousness. She approached him while taking a deep breath. She looked at him closely, screaming in surprise when he sprung back to life. He grabbed her and pulled her on top of him. She smacked him on the chest before gritting her teeth.

"You need to stop being so mean, Tommy!" she yelled in mock anger.

"You can try, but it is no use. I love being mean," he teased and shook his head rapidly.

Kim giggled and flicked his chin twice. "Then I will make you pay for being mean."

Tommy huffed. "How?"

She grabbed his cheeks and planted a hard kiss to his lips. She pulled back, giving him a sly smile. He tried to hold back a chuckle, but he couldn't help himself. He ran his hand over her hair twice.

"That is a good way of making me pay for being mean," Tommy teased and kissed the tip of his girlfriend's nose.

"Great," Kim said, happiness beaming from her face. She tried to kiss him again, but he stopped her by putting her hand on her chest. "What gives?"

"I would love for you to kiss me again, but I need to get that coconut," Tommy said regretfully.

"Okay," Kim said, nodding at him. She stood up and grabbed his hand. She pulled him to his feet. She curled her hands into fists. "Get that coconut cracking! Let's go! Let's go!"

"Okay!" Tommy yelled while holding up his hands. "I am going! I am going!"

Tommy headed over to the table, grabbing the leaves. He approached the pot and picked up the coconut. He set it in the first bowl before laying them aside. He picked up the cleaver as Kim came to his side. He held the coconut and hit it hard with the dull side three times. He put the cleaver aside. He opened the coconut, laying the halves down.

"It is pretty cool to see the inside of a coconut," Kim said, her face full of amazement.

"It sure is," Tommy commented as he grabbed the knife. He took hold of the first half and poked it. He managed to get the meat out. He repeated his actions with the second half. He put both halves on the table. He looked both pieces of meat over. "Talk about having a lot of brown."

"You said it," Kim said in thoughtfulness. "You wish you didn't have to deal with that."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed with a frown. "Unfortunately, we have to."

"The bright side is that it is easy to peel the brown part off a coconut," Kim pointed out matter-of-factly.

"That it is," Tommy said, smiling. "Here I go."

He grabbed the first half and peeled all of the brown off the meat. He repeated his actions with the second half. He pulled the second and third bowls over. He cut both halves into small pieces. He placed equal amounts in each bowl.

"You ready to try the coconut?" Tommy asked.

"You bet I am!" Kim said very eagerly.

He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Great."

Tommy laid the knife down. He and Kim grabbed their spoons and scooped some coconut on them. They placed them in their mouths. They chewed at a steady pace. They swallowed with quiet gulps. She nodded in approval before smiling.

"That coconut tasted really good," Kim commented in much warmth.

"Yep," Tommy agreed.

"Could I prepare the next coconut?" Kim asked hopefully.

"Sure," Tommy said while nodding fast. "Just be careful with the knife. I don't want you to injure yourself with it." He swallowed hard.

"I will be careful. I promise," Kim assured and bit her lip. She tried to suppress a yawn, but she couldn't help herself. "Some people actually do knife-throwing challenges. They have volunteers stand against walls. They throw knives at them. They are very careful not to hit them." She became a little tense. "I don't think I could handle something like that."

"I don't think I could either. I would be too nervous with the possibility of the knives striking me," Tommy muttered, shuddering badly.

"Yeah," Kim said while scratching her chin with the straight edge of her spoon. "Enough about knives. Let's eat some more coconut."

"I like that idea very much," Tommy said with much pride. "Here we go."

Tommy and Kim sat down and scooped coconut on their spoons. They put them in their mouths. They proceeded to chew. Neither of them noticed the deer walking away.