You've waited a long time for this. I'm pretty sure it's still PG-13, too.

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She shifted her head on his shoulder until she was grinning up at him.

"And what sort of better things might those be?" he asked archly, grinning back at her.

"You could be my butterfly." Her eyes glinted in the darkness.

"Yours?"

"Well… yes. I don't feel like sharing right now."

"I feel much the same."

"You want to be my butterfly?" she asked with bright eagerness, lifting her head slightly from his shoulder.

"I don't feel like sharing."

"Ah," she said, dropping her head back down.

"What else do you want me to be?"

"Hmm. Let me think. You could be my… headache. No, wait, you already have given me enough of those."

"Don't ruin the mood by getting serious," he teased.

"Ooh, sorry. You could be my breakfast."

"What?"

"Yummy enough to eat in the morning."

"Oh. That isn't a bad thing."

"So you'll be my breakfast?"

"Hmm. I'll have to think about that. What happens after you eat me?"

"You're awfully big. I think you'll be more than one meal."

"But what happens when I'm all gone?"

"You worry about that? I think I'll savor you for a very long time."

"I'm savorable?"

"Oh, absolutely. Every drop."

"Then I guess I could be persuaded to be your breakfast."

"Really?" She grinned, then placed a quick kiss on his nose. "I'll start in the morning."

He looked overhead, checking the position of the moons.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he looked into the sky.

"Seeing how long it is until midnight."

"How long?"

"Too long. Hours yet."

"Well, then, maybe you can be a midnight snack, too."

"You want to eat me more than once? I won't last as long."

"Depends on how big a bite I take."

"Savorable?"

"Very."

She snuggled closer, draping her arm around his waist. Daring much, she let her hand fall on his thigh. Her heart beat faster when he let it stay.

Knives felt the fluttering of her pulse, and found his beating faster as well. Surely, he wasn't reading too much into that conversation. The innuendo was barely masked. And her flushed face and rushed heartbeat meant that she must be feeling something as well. He lowered his head and kissed her lightly on her forehead.

She looked up at him, her eyes glittering as they reflected the moons above. A small smile flitted across her mouth, almost faster than he could catch, but it stayed warmly in her eyes as she looked up at him. She lifted her head from his shoulder, then tentatively kissed him.

He smiled against her lips, pleased that she was as nervous as he was, then began kissing her back. His right hand crept down and grabbed hers, entwining their fingers. She squeezed his hand as the kiss deepened, then suddenly let go. Surprised, he drew back from the kiss a little, and she used the opportunity to move from sitting beside him to sitting astride his lap.

She looked into his slightly startled eyes, making sure that this was alright. His pleased grin told her everything she needed to know, and she leaned against him and began to kiss him again. Her hands slid over his shoulders, fingers finding the breadth of him and returning to the nape of his neck. His hands encircled her waist, drawing her a little closer before moving up her back.

She began to unbutton his shirt, one slow button at a time. When she was half done, she placed her hand over his heart and felt the fast beat beneath her fingers. She broke off the kiss on his mouth, then began to slowly move down his body: his chin, his jaw, his neck, his collarbone, then finally, moving her hand, over his heart. After the last kiss she scooted off his lap a bit and placed her head over his heart, listening to the beat.

Knives smiled tightly as she moved on his lap, then dared the edges of her shirt. His hands crept up her sides, slowly moving upwards. She shuddered, his hands ticklish. They reached her bra and stopped.

So did she. Shaking her head, she sat back, pushing his hands down. Her eyes were troubled as they met his, and he wondered what was wrong.

"Knives, what do you think of this?"

"Huh?" What did he think? Wasn't it obvious?

"I mean, you and your views on humans are well known. Are you going to wake up tomorrow and hate yourself? Hate me for touching you? What comes next, Knives?"

He wondered why she needed to know this now. Couldn't they get to next before worrying about it?

"What?"

"Are you ready to accept the consequences of having sex?"

"Babies? I don't think we need to worry about that."

"I don't mean babies. I mean, what are you going to do tomorrow, if we continue?"

"Do?" He was still a little unclear about the problem. "I know what I want to do."

"Tomorrow, Knives. Is this a one night sort of thing?"

"Does it have to be?" he asked plaintively.

"Do you want to be banging a vermin?" she asked baldly, realizing that talking around the problem wasn't working.

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh. I want you to know what you're doing before you start this. Either you want," she didn't say love, although she desperately wanted to, "me enough to be good with this now, and tomorrow, and all the tomorrows that come after, or we're stopping now."

"Stopping?" he repeated.

"I'm not going to go any farther without some idea of what's coming next."

He blinked, finally understanding what she was saying. Irritated, he pushed at her, and she sadly moved off his lap. "Tomorrow." He paused. "I suppose you have my thanks, vermin. I wouldn't want to do something so disgusting as what we almost did. You're right. It's bestiality. Disgusting." He stood up, then strode out towards the desert, entirely frustrated. Why did she have to bring this up now?

Couldn't she have waited just a little longer?

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A/N: Go here. Pwease? http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CymberleahsFics/