Lionel was the one who pulled away first giving me room to move away from the fridge. "I'm sorry but I don't know why I did that," Lionel told me and I blinked at him, fiddling with my hair. "I mean I do but I shouldn't have done that with a human." He quickly explained, heading for the wall, and before my eyes, he disappeared.
Which left me shaking my head, unable to figure out why he'd run away like that. A full day passed at work and I noticed that Lionel didn't make an appearance. Even as I walked home, shouldering my backpack I tried not to look around too much. I returned home to find the apartment empty and I sighed, locking the door behind me though when I walked over to drop my bag on the couch someone stepped through the wall and I yelped as Lionel appeared in front of me causing me to drop my backpack.
"Please don't sneak up on me, Lionel." I breathed, my heart beating wildly and Lionel nodded slowly. "Now what exactly are you doing here? I thought after last night you didn't want to see me again." I told him once I calmed down and Lionel sighed, hovering close to me as I leaned over to grab my bag.
"I came here to apologize about last night," Lionel said, watching as I leaned on one of the couch's armrests. "Yes well….I need to explain something important to you."
"It must have been very important to almost drop me like that," I grumbled and Lionel sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "Well maybe not drop me but it was still upsetting."
"I'm sorry about that, Lisa but it's very important I explained myself," Lionel answered, hovering just off the floor as I waited for him to speak. "The thing is we're forbidden to have a relationship. It's because I'm a Shame Wizard and you're human."
"Uh-huh. You know if you didn't want to be with me you could have come up with something better than that, Lionel." I answered, settling myself onto the couch before I crossed my arms. When he blinked at me I rolled my eyes at him. "Obviously I'm human and you're...well not but that's still a lousy excuse."
"But it's the truth, Lisa." Lionel insisted, hovering close to me and I sighed raising my head once he set a hand down on my shoulder. "Look I shouldn't be telling you this but the world I live in and the one you do are two completely different things." He immediately wished he hadn't spoken when I raised myself up by my elbows staring at him in silence.
"So you're saying that you come from another world?" I asked him and when Lionel nodded I grinned, climbing from the couch before I grasped his arm. "Come on then we're going on a trip." I barely made it toward the wall where Lionel had slipped through before he pulled me back and I blinked as he quickly shook his head.
"Oh no there's no way I'm bringing you back to my world, Lisa. If anyone caught you I could lose my job." Lionel protested, managing to free his arm from my grip and I narrowed my eyes turning my back on him. As he stared at my retreating back Lionel could hear me muttering under my breath and he frowned at me. "Yes well, I think those words are uncalled for, Lisa. Besides, that's not even physically possible….maybe the last one though." He muttered arms crossed as he watched me disappear through the open door. After a brief pause, he sighed, following at a careful distance as I headed towards my bedroom too angry to notice that Lionel hovering behind me.
Just as I reached my door I let out a breath reaching for the doorknob only to freeze slowly turning around to find the shame wizard looking at me with two wide eyes. Once I managed to clear my throat Lionel fiddled with one of the sleeves on his cloak not meeting my eyes now as I tapped my foot, my eyes narrowed in his direction. "Now you're stalking me? Don't you have any shame?" I snapped at him, Lionel chuckling softly which made me even more frustrated at the shame wizard. Ignoring him I pulled the door open, slamming the door in Lionel's face before he could follow me inside my bedroom. Lionel just stared at the closed door, giving it a slow smile and I jumped darting back towards my bed as the shame wizard slipped through the door.
"That scared the crap out of me, Lionel!" I shouted at him, glaring at him as he grinned back at me enjoying his win. "That was not funny," I grumbled, eyes widening as he darted towards me causing me to back completely into the bed. Tripping over my own feet I landed on my bed and Lionel sniggered, hovering over me as I lay slightly winded on my mattress.
"Actually that was pretty amusing, Lisa," Lionel growled at me, the sound making his throat vibrate as he grinned at me. "Still we can't be anything more than friends. Otherwise, it wouldn't end well for us." He added and I raised my eyebrow at him getting a faint smile in response.
"I'm sure there's more but I won't push you. How about we just relax on the couch and watch a movie?" I suggested, still very curious as to what consequences would result from forming a closer relationship with the shame wizard. Lionel agreed to that suggestion a little faster than I thought he would but as we sat on the couch in the living room I decided that maybe I shouldn't press the issue.
What I didn't know as I walked over to the television set, DVD in hand was that Lionel had his attention focused on my backside a faint smile on his lips right until I straightened. Once I returned to my seat he turned his attention back to the DVD player not even making eye contact with me which left me curious. Though once I saw how red his cheeks were I began to suspect something was off.
Once Lionel left that night I headed to bed but I soon discovered that getting to sleep wouldn't happen right away for me. "Damn why'd he have to make out with me? I like him but he clearly wants to just stay friends?" I grumbled to myself, not sure how to spend time with him being just friends after our make-out session. "I mean he had me pinned against the fridge, which is very uncomfortable by the way, and now he's not interested?"
Tossing and turning I didn't know that somewhere else Lionel was having similar thoughts. Sitting at his desk he tried to concentrate on his work but each time he did his mind kept wandering back to his brief encounter with Lisa. When Connie walked past his office she saw Lionel with a faint smile on his lips and she frowned, pulling Maury into view.
"Connie, what the fuck?" Maury asked and Connie grinned, pointing at Lionel who chuckled to himself typing away at his keyboard. "What's he grinning about?" He said, generally interested at seeing the shame wizard looking pleased.
"He's been grinning like that for the last few days." Connie pointed out, keeping her voice low as she and Maury stared at Lionel who seemed oblivious. "You don't think he's crushing on someone do you?"
"Lionel? Who would be interested in him?" Maury asked getting a nudge from Connie who rolled her eyes at her fellow hormone monster. "What?"
"It must be someone who likes him back. Maybe we can do some snooping and find out." Connie suggested and Maury grinned, giving her a nod before he knocked on the open door. "Maury?!"
"But it's easier to just ask, Connie," Maury answered as Lionel jumped in his seat, turning around to find Connie and Maury staring at him in silence.
"Yes, can I help you?" Lionel asked once the surprise wore off, his eyebrows narrowed at the pair of hormone monsters who were whispering amongst themselves. "If you've come to tease me…" He trailed off when both monsters quickly darted into his workstation closing the door behind them and leaving him staring at them.
"Is it true?" Connie asked and when Lionel fixed her with a blank stare Maury snorted giving her a nudge. "You've got a crush on someone don't you?"
"Who told you….I mean I don't know what you're talking about." Lionel stammered, turning back to his work until Connie giggled looking over at Maury who sighed.
"Come on, we're all friends here. You can tell us." Maury added, looking at Lionel who covered his face with one hand. "Is it…?" As he started to name just about every monster in their office Connie noticed Lionel lowering his head covering his face with both hands now.
"No...it's someone you do know but….I can't get into it right now. But I think they like me back." Lionel knew that blurting out his crush's name would be disastrous in front of Connie and Maury. Especially if they found out he was crushing on a human. "Look can we just drop it okay? I have a lot of work to be done right now." He finally sighed, turning back to his computer in an effort to ignore the hormone monsters standing right behind him.
"Aww come on, tell us who it is. We promise not to tell anyone especially not your crush." Maury said and Connie snorted at him, watching as Lionel pressed random keys.
"I never promised that, Maury. Anyway, it's kind of sweet that they like you back the same way. Saves you the trouble of finding out I guess." Connie answered and Lionel sighed, wondering why he'd made everything harder on himself by being honest.
I knew I should have just lied.
If I had known that Lionel really did have a little crush on me despite wanting to just stay friends I would have been flattered. When I woke up the next morning after a few hours of sleep I felt better but as I headed for the bathroom I found I couldn't take my mind off the way Lionel held me, kissing me as he pinned me back against the fridge.
I'd barely stepped under the shower, hot water cascading down my naked body, when I thought I heard chuckling. Peeking out of the curtain revealed nothing so I shrugged, returning to the shower but as I tilted my head back I could have sworn I felt someone's presence beside my own.
"I can't believe that Maury and Connie wouldn't leave me alone. I didn't get any work done and now they know I'm in love with…" He trailed off with a grimace, a grin slowly forming once he felt someone's thoughts. "Maybe a little shame will get my mind away from Lisa." He chuckled, leaving his office before he vanished through a portal. Once he reappeared in the human world he smiled to himself, heading directly for the human whose inner thoughts he could read.
"I mean I like him and all but there's nothing going on between us," I muttered to myself, unaware that someone was listening intently a few feet away. "But he was so gentle with me and that dream I had just….wow. Never had someone touched me like that before." I mumbled, thinking back to the dream again as my fingers wandered.
"Someone's getting very hot and bothered I see." A familiar voice chuckled and I jerked back as someone pulled the curtain back. The second Lionel laid eyes on me, naked and dripping wet he froze unable to stop his eyes from wandering before I yanked the curtain away from his fingers pulling it back enough to cover me. "Lisa, I...I didn't know that it was you." Lionel stammered, watching as I panted heavily staring at him wide-eyed as the shame wizard tried to think of an excuse.
"Would that have stopped you from shaming me?" I demanded, still shocked that he'd just barged into the bathroom like that while I was taking a shower. When he didn't respond still giving me a deer-in-the-headlights look I blinked at him, watching as he hovered just off the tiled floor.
"I was just….I didn't….think that….." Lionel stammered, trying to focus on the floor or the walls. Anything but the fact that his human crush was standing inches from him, wrapped only in a flimsy shower curtain and dripping wet from the shower that was still running. Before my eyes, I saw his face flush and I froze, unable to focus on anything but his eyes as he stared back at me.
My face flushed I stepped closer enough to see Lionel with a faint smirk on his lips. "So...why are you here right now?" I asked Lionel who stepped closer until we were almost touching.
"I sensed someone's shame and it led me straight to you, Lisa," Lionel answered, chuckling as I lowered my head looking down at the floor until he lightly touched my cheeks with his long fingers. "Oh no, you're not getting away that easily. You were thinking about your crush, weren't you? Getting all hot and bothered and about to touch yourself until I showed up weren't you?" He whispered, giving me a bigger smirk when I froze unable to stop myself from shivering.
"I wasn't going to….I've never even…." I tried to lie but he just smiled, draping his arm around my shoulders which caused me to release my grip on the curtain leaving me fully naked in front of the shame wizard who continued teasing me as he tried to hide his own growing attraction to me.
"I'm sure you have, Miss May. In fact, I know you were having some very intense dreams about your crush. Isn't that right?" Lionel continued, liking the way I ducked fully back into the shower unable to meet his gaze as his eyes swept my body. "Such exquisite dreams. Did it feel good having your own shame wizard touching you?" He teased, trying to focus his attention on me as I bit my lip not knowing that he was teasing me in an effort to hide his own growing attraction.
"If you can read my mind you'd know that wouldn't you, Lionel?" I managed to growl at him and he grinned at me, shifting closer when I backed away. Once I bumped into the cold tilted wall I realized that I couldn't move, eyes bright and unblinking as he crossed the distance between us. The moment he lowered himself onto the floor inches from me he reached over, turning off the shower so that the hot water no longer kept me warm.
Before I could touch the taps in an effort to turn the water back on he shook his head and I blinked at him, wondering if I could reach one of the dry towels resting on the towel rack. Seeing my eyes travel to them Lionel laughed, blocking my path and I bumped right into him nearly sending us both to the floor. "Careful there, my dear. Can't have you hurting yourself before I have a chance to delve into that little dream you had about me." Lionel said, keeping me steady though once I noticed that he still had a firm grip on me I tilted my head slightly.
"Everyone has dreams like that from time to time so why should I feel any shame? Or are you less interested in making me feel bad and more interested to know just what we were doing together?" I finally answered, already aware that his eyes weren't just focused on my face. "Like how we were making out and you took off my shirt, your long fingers working on my bra?"
"Lisa, what are you doing?" Lionel asked, going silent as I smirked at him. "Is this some sort of game you're playing?" He asked me, genuinely confused as I grasped his hands and when I placed them on my bare breasts he froze shocked as I continued to watch for any reaction.
"Or how about the fact that you managed to work my jeans off, your fingers moving inside me?" I continued, trying not to focus on how my breathing had quickened and the fact that Lionel hadn't even moved an inch since I started talking about my dream. "Stroking me gently at first and then hard and fast as I lay under your body because that's exactly what you wanted to know, isn't it? How about when you started to undress and we nearly….made love? That you started to undress and we were just about to..." I teased him, blinking when he suddenly kissed me hard. The moment his tongue touched mine I melted in his arms, his hand cupped the back of my head as the other gripped my bare back. We broke apart breathing heavily and as I tried to focus on something I caught the way Lionel's eyes were staring into mine, his face flushed a pale pink.
"Lisa, forgive me but I don't know where that came from." Lionel panted, fully aware that he'd just broken one of the most important rules; getting involved with a human. "I shouldn't have come here."
"Lionel, stay. It's okay." I whispered, shocked at my own attraction to him and he sighed offering me a weak smile. "I mean I know how much trouble you could get into by being with me but you're the first man who wants to be with me and I don't want to lose that. I won't tell anyone about us."
"I'm sorry, Lisa but I can't be seen with you. If anyone finds out…." He trailed off, kissing my forehead as he hovered off the floor. "We can't be seen together. Not like this." Just as he started to head for the wall near the bathroom door I darted forward almost slipping on the wet tiles as I reached for his arm. I grasped the sleeve of his cloak just as he started to slip through the wall and he sighed, gently tugging himself free before he gave me a slightly embarrassed smile. "I can't."
Once he vanished I didn't even notice that tears were leaking down my cheeks. When I began to shiver I headed back towards the shower hoping that he wouldn't keep his promise and leave me alone.