BISHLOV NOTES:
[1] Arigatou, minna, for all of your reviews. I hope you didn't mind me sending out emails. I just wanted to show how much I deeply appreciate your comments and suggestions. To those who didn't receive one from me, I'm so sorry. The only reason is that you either didn't leave your address (for anonymous reviewers) or you had it hidden (for those with author accounts). Nevertheless, your reviews are equally valued.
[2] About the ANs placed within the story, many people thought I shouldn't place any so I edited the last chapter and removed them. Sorry about those. Force of habit. My CCS readers and I get a kick out of them so I thought you guys wouldn't mind too. My fault…should have realized that I'm catering to a different group of readers. I'll refrain from putting any in the next chapters.
[3] Due to the multitude of requests and pleas, there will be no hentai scenes in this fic. At least I'll try my best to keep them out. No promises though. It's hard to put a leash to my hentai mind. For those who are as hentai as I am, better luck next fic folks. The majority always wins.
[4] I know I am a bit greedy about the reviews but, again, it's out of force of habit. I love getting reviews even if they're flames (although those type of reviews are just pointed and laughed at). It's the only way I'll know if I'm getting better or worse. So please don't hold back on me nor get angry with me for being too greedy. Your reviews are the only things that push me to go on. They are my inspiration. Yech! Talk about sap. But I meant every word.
[5] Am I blabbering too much? Okay, I'll shut up in a second. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you (hopefully) enjoyed the previous one. Btw, TheArchimage, I'm a Filipino and those were tagalog words. All right then…ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU & JA NE!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Vandread or any of its characters. This plot is a product of my imagination. Any similarities to other fan fictions are unintentional.
PANIC ROOM
By bishounen lovah
Chapter 4: Turn up the heat
Jura, Barnette, Ezra and Paiwei were huddled close together, trying hard not to cry although their quivering mouths were giving away their emotional state. BC and Meia were standing a few feet away from the others, trying hard to act nonchalant.
But the truth was, Duero's confession had touched them all. He considers them as his friends even though they treated him with prejudice and, yes, sometimes with scorn. It was now that they realized how shamefully they acted, judging him before they could get to know him.
Among all of the men they interacted with, and by this time there had been a lot of them, the women could honestly say that Duero is the most decent of them all.
All of them sighed a dreamy sigh as they watched him pick Parfet up and gently place her on his lap. He hugged her closer to his body, his lips brushing against her mussed hair before propping his chin on her head. Even after the two fell into silence…after Parfet's profession of friendship to Duero, the five women and Paiwei watched on in silence with melancholy looks on their faces.
Though they would never admit it out loud, they were envious of the bespectacled woman. They had never seen such look of contentment on any woman before. Was it because of their physical closeness? Or was it because of their newly formed bond?
Whatever it was, it definitely has got something to do with that man.
"I never knew that men could be so…so…" Jura was the first to break the silence.
"Romantic," Barnette unconsciously replied with a sigh. When she realized that she had spoken aloud, she sat up straight and tried to recover her man-hater image. "What I meant was…"
"Ah, Barnette, I knew you had it in you," Jura teased. "So you think men are romantic, ne? I'm pretty sure Parfet wouldn't mind sharing Duero. I'd suggest Hibiki but he already has Dita and Meia after him. And I wouldn't try on hitting on Bart, you wouldn't want BC to get jealous."
"NANI!!!" Barnette, Meia and BC shouted in unison.
"I do not like men," the green haired Dread pilot managed to yell before the other two women. "They're disgusting little pigs. Besides, there's only one person I like and she's too much of an airhead to realize it."
"Oh, really? And who might that person be?"
Barnette, Meia, BC, Paiwei and even her frog puppet sweatdropped. Ezra was too preoccupied eating a hot fudge sundae (topped with tempura bits) to follow the argument.
"Never mind," Barnette sent the blond an irritated look before sighing an exasperated bubble.
"Ano," Paiwei spoke up after a while and pointed to the screen. "They haven't moved or talked for quite a while now."
"The room temperature had been subzero for some time now. Do you suppose they turned into a Popsicle already," Meia piped in.
"Mmm…Popsicles," said a certain bloated woman to herself.
"BC." A small holographic screen appeared beside the larger one. Everyone was surprised except for the silver haired woman.
"Hai, Okashira," BC acknowledged the boss.
"Yare yare," Barnette sweatdropped and turned to Jura. "What did you do? Post an advertisement on the mess hall's bulletin board? How the heck did she find us here?"
The boss laughed at their surprised looks before proceeding to answer the pilot's question. "Nirvana is my ship. There is nothing that I don't know about it, especially when there's an unauthorized experiment going on."
"Ayah! I knew I forgot something!"
Everybody collectively sweatdropped at Jura again, including Ezra and the boss.
"Baka," Barnette muttered.
"BC," the boss spoke a second later. "This experiment is taking too long."
"What do you have in mind, Okashira?"
"Start the temperature change again. Raise the thermostat. Slowly though. I don't want my best engineer and doctor to get sick."
"Duero is the only doctor in this ship." Barnette refused to accept the boss' compliment for the man.
"All the more reason why you should be more careful," the old woman replied before signing off.
"Ezra, you heard the boss. Raise the temperature a centigrade higher every 1.5 minute."
~Scene Change~
Duero had to try his best to not give in to his shivers. He needs to be stronger not only for his sake but also for Parfet's. Her small frame was slightly shaking from the cold even though he knew she was trying not to. She kept on snuggling closer to him as both of their body temperature drop. Her head was now burrowed deeply in the coat they were sharing with only the crown of her head visible.
Darn those women, he cursed silently yet again. I should have kicked the door down earlier when I still had my strength.
Yeah right! As if you could do it, a voice inside his head retorted back. You would have just ended up locked in this room with a broken foot. What good would that do for Parfet.
Something caught his attention. He heard Parfet give out another sigh, only this time it sounded different from the others.
"Parfet," he shook her shoulder lightly then harder the second time. "Parfet!"
He reached inside the coat and tipped her face to his. What he saw shocked him. Her ashen face was all scrunched up due to the pain of breathing cold air. Her eyes, now without the glasses, were tightly closed. But it was her lips that got his attention.
Her soft red lips were now compressed tightly, the skin chapping and were starting to turn into a startling shade of blue.
"Parfet! Wake up!" This time he lightly slapped her cheeks to give some color to them. She briefly opened her eyes and looked blindingly at Duero's face. She sighed yet again, blowing a white mist of cold air on his face.
You have to do something, he told himself. Her lips, now slightly parted, still held that frightening bluish tinge. Without any hesitation, he pressed his lips on hers and willed what was left of his body heat to transfer to her.
A part of his brain told him that it was a silly thing to do. That no such heat transfusion is possible. But his heart joined forces with the rest of his mind. It may not be the most logical thing to do but it was the only thing he could do right now.
His right hand that's hidden in the coat left its place from her waist and buried itself in her hair. He held her head in place as he coated her lips with a thin layer of his warm saliva. He massaged her lips through nibbling in order to facilitate blood flow.
It wasn't long before he felt her mouth move beneath his. It was fast turning into a full-blown kiss. His hand buried itself deeper in her hair while his other arm gripped her closer to him. Her hands, on the other hand, were clutching on his shirt and shoulder, needing more of his warmth…craving more of his kiss.
Parfet's lips parted some more in invitation and Duero accepted by slipping his tongue inside. Both of them have never done this before but for some reason they knew what to do. Instinct was teaching them how to move their lips against each other, what position their head should be to gain better access of each other's mouths, and how to flicker their tongues to give their partner great pleasure.
By the time they separated for some air, both were considerably warm from the excessive amount of blood their fast beating hearts were pumping to all parts of their bodies. They blushed furiously even as they looked deep into each other's eyes, although Duero's was more concealed due to his bronze skin tone.
"Daijoubu?"
Her eyes were drawn to the sudden movements of his lips. She was tempted to raise her hand and touch his hard yet gentle lips but of course was too shy to give in. Instead she rested her head on his chest again and closed her eyes to replay what had happened in her still fuzzy mind.
She felt his lips brush against her forehead after which he gently pressed his cheek on her forehead where he had placed the chaste kiss.
"Aishiteru, Parfet."
To be continued…
BISHLOV: *evil grin* interesting cliffhanger, ne? I know I said that this story will be five chapters long but since this part turned out longer than expected, I have to cut it at that and continue in the next chapter. So instead of five I'm aiming for six chapters. Hope you don't mind.
COMING NEXT IN 'PANIC ROOM'
Parfet's response to Duero's confession.
Heat wave!
Discarded clothes.
Tumbling boxes.
Unveiling of age-old secrets and mysteries.
More evil grins from me.
