Smoke and Mirrors
Prologue – Part 4
Maria sat under an oak tree that day, watching clouds drift by and reminiscing over the last few years. Her eyes drifted down from the sky for a few moments to land on the one that put her in these nostalgic moods whenever she looked at him, just in time to see Jun knock his sword from his hand and throw him to the ground for what seemed like the seventh time that day.
"Have you tasted enough dirt for today Adrian?" Jun asked as he casually sheathed his own sword and dusted his hands off.
Adrian rolled over on his back, groaning in the process. "Yes sir." Was his only reply. He looked over at Maria who had begun laughing at him. She couldn't help it, he looked so funny lying on the ground like that with his arms and legs spread apart. She had sympathy for the poor guy though. Hyne knows she ate her fair share of dirt at Jun's hands.
"Good. I've got a patient coming in for an appointment soon. You two take the rest of the day off." Jun said as he started heading back to his house.
"Yes sir." Adrian and Maria spoke in unison as Maria walked over to Adrian, who was sitting up and dusting his pants off, muttering something under his breath about a 'crazy old fart'. He looked over as Maria stood over him with a grin on her face.
"You've gotten a lot better you know."
Adrian quirked an eyebrow at her. "Is that so?"
"Yep. You only got thrown down seven times today. That's a record." She said matter-of-factly as she held out her hand to help him up.
Adrian gratefully accepted her hand and heaved himself up. Standing to his full height he looked over to Maria. "So, rest of the day off. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Maria said and took a moment to think. "I know, meet me down by the beach in thirty minutes, I'll bring lunch."
Adrian nodded and started off for Jun's house. "Jun and Adrian's house to be exact." Maria thought as she headed for her own house, looking out upon the fields and remembering the first few days that Adrian came into her life.
Maria had managed to coax Adrian into coming out of the back room after he woke up to eat at the table with her and Annet. The two stared wide-eyed at the little boy as he stuffed food into his mouth, acting as if he never ate anything before in his life. Annet had to wonder how long it had been since the boy had eaten a home cooked meal. The two managed to engage him in small conversation. It turns out Annet wasn't far off in her guess of the child's age; Adrian was only eight years old. She couldn't believe the boy was so young and living alone and homeless. He was younger than Maria even; Maria only being ten years old. She hadn't managed to get much more out of the boy though, he said nothing of his family or where he came from, only that he had gotten to Winhill by hiding on a cargo ship that traveled between the port on the Centra continent and the port near Winhill. The three had finished eating and were cleaning up when Richter came running through the door, fearing that he had missed dinner. The commotion scared Adrian so much that he dropped the plate he was holding and latched himself to Annet's side. She had to calm the frightened child down a second time that night.
Maria couldn't help but giggle at the memory. Richter looked so clueless that night as he scratched the back of his head, and Adrian looked so cute holding on to Annet as if his life depended on it. The poor boy was so skittish around them the first few days.
Adrian had lived with the Belmonts for the first couple of weeks, but it soon became apparent that the house was only big enough for three people. Richter brought this concern to Annet's attention, but she would have none of it. Annet had made it her mission to give the boy a home and to fatten him up. Jun suggested that they move the boy into his house, seeing as how he lived alone and had plenty of room. And so Adrian moved into Jun's house, but there were some conditions the boy had to meet.
"What's this?" Adrian asked, holding up what looked like a big stick that Jun had given him.
"It's called a boken." Jun replied as he and Maria walked into Jun's backyard to begin their day of training.
"What's it for?" Adrian asked, still holding it up.
"Its what martial arts students use to learn how to fight with swords."
Adrian looked at Jun and blinked for a few moments in confusion.
"Like I told you before my boy, I have room in my house for you to live, but I don't have room for dead weight. In addition to your chores I'll require you to train with me and Maria everyday."
Adrian looked even more confused now. "Tr-train?"
"Yes, I'm going to teach you how to use a sword." Jun looked down at Adrian, and a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "That is unless you're afraid of getting beat up by a girl." At this Jun motioned toward Maria, who was casually spinning her wooden daggers around in her hands with a smug look on her face.
Adrian looked back and forth between the two, and then narrowed his eyes at Jun. "I'm not afraid!" He said and held the stick out in front of him.
"Very well." Jun said as he walked off to the side. Turning around he looked between his two students.
"BEGIN!"
At this Maria charged at Adrian with daggers ready, spinning and slashing at Adrian. All Adrian could do was yelp and swing his stick around clumsily, trying and failing to block any of Maria's attacks.
Jun hummed a happy little tune to himself as he watched the scene play out in front of him. "Its as expected," he thought, "she's kicking the crap out of him. But the boy has to start learning somewhere." He started laughing at the sad sight in front of him as he yelled out to Adrian.
"Quit running and fight back, you Prissy-Pants!"
Maria was outright laughing now. Their sparing match had gone on for three more minutes and ended with her accidentally hitting Adrian in the nose. She had spent the next thirty minutes trying to apologize without laughing, while Adrian was giving her 'The Glare' along with 'The Silent Treatment' and holding a rag under his bleeding nose.
This went on for the next five years. It was during this time that Jun and Richter decided it was time to let Annet and Maria in on Adrian's 'secret'. Annet was shocked to say the least, not believing it much like Richter did until Jun had presented all of the evidence he had to back it up. Maria was pretty shocked too, but it didn't change her views of the enigmatic little boy in the least. Maria and Adrian had grown close in those five years. They trained together everyday, with Maria winning ninety-five percent of the sparing matches, and when they were not training they were playing games like children are supposed too. They were quite literally the only children in town, so whenever you found one, you usually found the other.
It was when Adrian was thirteen years old that Jun decided it was time to let Adrian in on his 'secret' and try to force his powers to surface. Maria remembered that day with vivid detail, and shuddered at the memory.
"So, you really think he's ready for this?" Richter asked Jun as they, along with Annet, sat in the Belmont's living room.
"Yes. He's at the age where he's about to go through that 'special time' in life. I'm sure you remember it. Hair started growing in weird places, voice started to change, girls have boobs now rather than cooties…"
Richter held up his hand and had a disgusted look on his face, "Please, spare me. I know what you're talking about."
Annet cleared her throat to get the two's attention. "Why do you think now is such a good time to do it?"
Jun sat his cup of tea down on the coffee table. "Well, with his body chemistry about to get screwy for the next few years, I think its safe to assume the power will get screwy too along with it. It will mature along with him, it could very well surface at 'inopportune' times without his control."
Annet nodded in understanding. "So, you want to force it out now so he can lean to control it."
"Exactly."
Richter sat back and started rubbing his chin. "Sounds like its going to be easier said than done."
Jun nodded. "Indeed. I have an idea of how to force it out. But it won't be fun, for him or for me."
Annet looked down, clasping her hands and sighing. "It doesn't sound like we have much of a choice… I just hope he can handle this…"
"I just hope he can forgive me for what I'm about to do." Jun thought to himself. "I just hope he and Maria can forgive me…"
Adrian stood in the room with Maria waiting for Jun to get there. They had to train inside today because it was raining outside. The room had all sorts of old oriental style weapons displayed on the wall, a punching bag was in one corner of the room, and one whole wall was lined with mirrors.
Jun finally walked in, a hint of a grim look on his face. Maria grabbed her daggers and stood up from where she was sitting on the floor against the wall.
"We're ready." Maria said while twirling a dagger around in her hand, testing it.
"We're going to try something different today." Jun said as he unsheathed his boken.
Adrian looked over to Jun. "Different?"
"Yes, different." Jun said as he finally turned around to look at Adrian. "You will spar against me today Adrian."
Adrian looked surprised for a moment. "Against you?"
"Yes. I wish to personally see how well your skills have improved."
Adrian took a deep breath. "Okay." He got into his stance as Jun got into his. Maria sat back down to watch the match, thinking to herself it was going to be a sadly short match.
Jun nodded and Adrian charged, raising the stick over his head and aiming to bring it down on Jun's head. Jun blocked, spun, and struck the boy in the side hard enough to knock him down. Adrian rolled and stood up, holding his side.
"You will find that I will not go easy on you." Jun said as he rose up into his stance once more. "Again."
Adrian charged again, aiming for a lower strike this time. Jun knocked it away and struck him in the other side, knocking him down again. Jun walked to the other side of the room, waiting for Adrian to get up. Once he did they both got back in their stance. "Again."
Maria watched this go on for a few minutes as Jun knocked Adrian to the floor time and time again. It seemed as though Jun was hitting him harder each time he knocked Adrian to the floor. Something didn't seem right, and she was starting to worry.
Jun continued batting away Adrian's attacks and knocking him down to the floor. After about the twentieth round of this Adrian was crouched down on one knee, holding his side in pain. Jun had managed to give the boy a few cuts that were bleeding now. He loomed over Adrian as the boy struggled to get up, a disgusted look on his face.
"This is it?" Jun asked as he looked down on him. "This is all you can do after five year? I've been wasting my time. You've learned nothing."
He could see Adrian was getting mad now. Adrian gritted his teeth and charged once more, aiming to run Jun through with his stick. Jun batted it away once more and punched him square in the chest this time, knocking the breath out of the boy and sending him a few feet through the air and onto the floor.
Maria was really starting to worry now as she watched Jun slowly circle Adrian, who was coughing, trying to catch his breath.
The look of disgust was back on Jun's face. "Pathetic…"
Adrian got back on his feet, the anger on his face clear now. Charging again he swung at Jun. Jun simply decided to block this time. Adrian swung as fast as he could, each strike failing to break through Jun's defense. Jun eventually got bored with this, and spinning with his stick held out, knocked the stick from Adrian's hands. Jun quickly grabbed the boy's hair and snatched him forward while sending a knee to his stomach, knocking the breath out of him again and sending him to his knees. Jun took a step back and studied the boy for a moment with disdain. "Very pathetic…" And with that did a spinning sidekick, hitting Adrian in the side of head and sending him flying across the room once more. Landing in a crumpled heap on the other side. Jun slowly walked over to him, shoving him with his foot back to the floor as Adrian tried to get up.
Jun could tell the boy was in a lot of pain right now, and there were tears streaking his face. "Going to cry? That's all you're good for it seems! All you've done since you got here is get your ass kicked on a daily basis by a little girl! I might as well stop wasting my time with you and just keep you around to clean the house, which I might add you do a piss poor job of. Come to think of it, you're good for absolutely NOTHING!" Adrian tried to get back up one more time, shaking with the effort, only to be shoved down again by Jun's foot. Jun noticed that the boy was trembling now.
Maria had simply had enough and marched across the room toward Jun, a look of venom in her eyes. "Just what the HELL do you think you're doing?"
Jun looked over, and with a powerful thrust, shoved Maria halfway across the room. "You stay out of this girl! This is between me and this pathetic waste of oxygen!"
Adrian, still trembling and gritting his teeth, looked up in time to see Maria slide across the floor. He gritted his teeth even harder and looked up at Jun with narrowed eyes. Jun notice the look of sheer rage in those eyes.
Thump-ThumpJun looked down at Adrian and rested his boken on his shoulder. "Looks like I knocked your little girlfriend down. What are you going to do about it boy?"
Thump-ThumpAdrian lowered his head as he started to tremble harder.
Thump-ThumpJun could sense it. The dark aura that he felt the first day he met the boy was resonating now.
Thump-Thump"Like I said, pathetic. You'll never amount to anything."
Thump-ThumpAdrian could feel it. The rush of blood his ears. The senses sharpening. The pain in his gums. The muscles tightening.
Thump-ThumpJun crouched down and spoke softly. "Richter should've left you in the woods to die that day…"
THUMP-THUMPBefore Jun knew what was happening he felt Adrian grab him by his ankle and sling him clear across the room hard into a wall. Jun coughed to catch his breath and looked over to Adrian, who was standing up slowly, fist clenched and trembling more than ever before. That's when he saw it, the eyes, red as blood as Adrian lifted his head and stared hard at Jun. Adrian threw his head back, opening his mouth and revealing fangs, and let out the most inhuman cry Jun had ever heard. It sent the worst chill ever up his spine.
Maria looked up too, and her eyes widened in horror. She would never forget the way he looked that day. Eyes so red they seemed to glow, fangs bear for all to see, and the look of pure rage on the boy's face. "Adrian…Is…Is that really you?" she asked herself. Before anyone knew what was happening Adrian was in mid-air, sailing straight towards Jun. Jun barely had enough time to roll out of the way. He looked up and immediately ducked a fist that was aimed for his head, resulting in Adrian's fist connecting with the brick wall behind Jun, and breaking through the wall. Jun used the time to get up as fast as he could, and Adrian, unfazed by sending his hand through the wall, was on the attack again. A flurry of attack almost faster than he could evade came at Jun. He could literally see shadows trailing each of Adrian's attack, as if someone had place a strobe light in the room. Finally Adrian leapt at Jun and grabbed the clothing around Jun's shoulders. Jun used the momentum from the leap and spun around, flinging Adrian across the room into the opposite wall. As Jun spun back around his eyes widened. Adrian had 'landed' on the wall, sticking to it as if he were a spider. Adrian looked up slowly from his position on the wall, eyeing Jun again with those blood red eyes, and let out a fearsome inhuman growl as he leapt from the wall toward Jun. Jun wasn't fast enough this time and was tackled. Rolling along the floor Adrian pinned Jun down and raised both fist in the air, letting out another inhuman howl and preparing to smash Jun's skull open.
"STOP IT!"
Adrian's fists stopped mere inches from Jun's head, blood red eyes widening. Jun looked into those eyes for a moment, looking to see if he could read any emotions flashing across those kind of eyes, and he did. Realization and recognition flashed in the blood red pools. Adrian looked over to where the shout had come from and saw Maria sitting on her knees, fist clenched against her chest, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Adrian looked back down, his fists still hovered over Jun's head, and he slowly unclenched them, staring at his open palms as his hands began to tremble. Then he looked up toward the mirrored wall, and he saw himself. He saw the same reflection he saw in the lake's surface that morning. The memories of the night before with the women being burned at the steak came rushing back. The vision of the woman in the center, the one smiling at him, the one that plagued his dreams so often came back.
Everything was quiet for a few seconds. No one so much as breathed, fearing what the break in the silence would bring. And then…
CRASHThe sound of breaking glass filled the room. Neither Maria nor Jun saw Adrian move from his spot on top of Jun all the way to the other side of the room where he smashed one of the mirrors, Adrian kept shattering each mirror as he worked his way down the wall; growling, howling, and shouting incoherent words as he went. Jun knew that enough was enough. Standing he waved his hand toward Adrian, a light emanating from it.
"Sleep!"
The spell hit Adrian just as he broke the last mirror, and he staggered backwards. Turning around, he looked at Maria and Jun, and fell over. Maria rushed over to him, cradling his head in her lap as Jun made his way over and kneeled down next to them. Adrian was still awake, trying to fight off the spell. He shifted his eyes at Jun, still red and now crying.
"Why…?" A rough voice that sounded vaguely like Adrian's escaped his lips. He stared right into Jun's eyes. "Why…why…did you bring it back?"
"Bring what back Adrian?"
Adrian closed his eyes and his mouth opened in a short sob, revealing fangs. "Why…did you bring this back."
"I brought nothing back my son. It was always inside of you. I just forced it to come out."
"No…it was just a dream…it didn't exist…it was dead…why did you bring it back?"
"I had to bring it back. It is real Adrian. This power you have is real. I had to force it out of you so you would realize the it was there."
"Why…?"
"You have to lean to control it Adrian. I had to force it out so you could do that. If you don't learn to control this then it could come up on its own without your control and you could end up hurting yourself or someone else."
"No…I don't want this…don't want to learn…don't want…"
"I'm sorry Adrian. It was for your own good."
"Don't…want…it…Why…why…couldn't you…let me…be…normal?"
The sleep spell finally took hold, and Adrian passed out. Maria still cradled his head, not saying a word as she stroked his hair. Her own tears trickling down her face. Jun leaned forward and picked the boy up, carrying him to his room.
Jun had called Richter and Annet, and they were waiting outside of Adrian's room with Maria when Jun came out. Maria looked over to him as he came out, and walked up to him, staring him straight in the eyes. Jun knew what was coming, but did nothing to stop it. This one he deserved.CRACK
Jun was on the floor, holding his jaw in pain as Maria loomed over him, right fist clenched.
"Maria!" Annet shouted, running over to Jun to help him up.
"You bastard! You FUCKING OLD BASTARD!" Maria shouted, pointing a trembling finger at Jun.
"That's enough Maria." Richter said as he leaned against the wall, eyes closed.
"I'm sorry. I wish there were another way to have done this." was all Jun could say.
"SORRY? SORRY DOESN'T BEGIN TO CUT IT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!"
"Maria…" Annet spoke softly as she helped Jun up. "Jun is right. We tried to think of another way. We really did…"
"We?" Maria asked as she started hard at Annet, then sent her glare over to Richter. "You two knew about this. Didn't you?"
Richter stood from the wall, uncrossing his arms and opening his eyes. "Yeah, we knew…"
A look of utter disbelief shown on Maria's face. "I…I can't believe…"
Jun spoke again, still rubbing his jaw. "I am truly sorry Maria, but you knew this had to be done. He was bound to learn of this power inside of him sooner or later. Better to do it now so he can cope with it and learn to control it."
"That's bullshit!"
"Maria, please…" Annet pleaded.
"You know what, fine, I'm done arguing with you three. You did what you set out to do. Mission accomplished. I hope you're all happy." Maria stormed passed the three and headed for Adrian's room.
"Maria, come on…" Richter reached out and grabbed Maria's shoulder, only to have her shrug him off, and turned to address the three one last time.
"Hyne help me. If any of you ever hurt him like this again, I swear…" she trailed off. Her mind was far too clouded with rage to come up with any coherent threats at the moment.
Jun looked at her for a few seconds, a grin slowly coming up on his face.
"What the fuck are you smiling about?"
"You're quite protective of him, aren't you?" Jun asked, the grin never leaving his face.
"Why shouldn't I be?" Maria turned around and opened the door to Adrian's room. "He's the only friend I've got."
Maria sat on the bed Adrian was sleeping on. One of her hands was holding one of his, and her other hand was combing though his hair. She'd been keeping silent vigil over him for the last few hours. Every once in a while he would move around, mumbling something under his breath, and she would shush him, quietly whispering to him that everything was alright. It seemed to work as the boy would calm down and continued sleeping peacefully. She had lost track of time, content with just sitting there with him as he slept. Finally, the twitching of his fingers in her hand told her he was waking up. Adrian slowly opened his eyes, blinking to try to make them focus. She mentally noted that they had returned to their normal color. Finally he looked to her, and she smiled back.
"Hey." She said, continuing to brush his hair back.
He looked at her for a few seconds, then turned his whole body away from her, closing his eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"…You shouldn't be here."
"Why?"
"Because…"
"Because why?"
"Because…" Adrian took a deep, shuddering breath. "…you could get hurt."
"Why would I get hurt?"
"Because of me…"
"You're not going to hurt me."
"You don't know that…" Adrian stared at the wall, refusing to look at Maria. "Monsters hurt people Maria…That's what monsters do."
"You're not a monster."
Adrian sat up, turning away from Maria and sitting on the other side of the bed.
"I almost killed him…"
"But you didn't."
"Only because you stopped me…"
Maria sighed. "I'll say it again Adrian, you're not a monster."
"Then what am I…?"
Maria scooted closer to him, but Adrian still refused to look at her, he refused to look at anything but the floor.
"Well, let's see what you are…" Maria took a few seconds to think. "First, and most obvious, you're a boy. Oops. I mean 'young man'."
Adrian said nothing, continuing to stare at the floor.
" You're shy, bashful, and pretty damn stubborn. Which is what you're being right now. What else…Oh. You're cute when you get mad. You've got such an adorable pout."
Adrian was still silent, lowering his head and closing his eyes. Maria moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You're the guy whose butt I get to kick everyday in sparing practice."
Maria rested her chin on his other shoulder, speaking softly into his ear.
"You're the brave little apple thief that saved me from a monster."
Maria finally circled her arms around him from behind, hugging him tight as she nuzzled his neck.
"Finally, and most important,…you're my best friend Adrian, and I love you." And with that she kissed him on the cheek and began lightly rocking back and forth with him. She could hear him sniffle and feel him tremble a little.
"None of that matters…Someone will hurt you because of what I am…Just like they did her…"
"Her who?"
"…mom."
Maria was silent for a few moments, her hands rubbing his arms.
"You keep having nightmares about your mom don't you? Do you want to tell me what happened?"
Adrian took a few shuddering breaths, trying to compose himself.
"The village…where I was born. The people there, they…they executed her…"
Maria's eyes shot open. "Executed? Why?"
"It was during the sorceress war. The people there were afraid. They were afraid that there might be more sorceresses out there. So…So they hunted them. Anyone they suspected of being a sorceress they would execute."
Maria was silent, still holding Adrian from behind.
"Mom…she was a scientist. She knew how to make all kinds of potions. Her potions could heal anything. Whenever someone would get sick, they'd come to see mom and she'd make them better. The people there…they suspected her of being a sorceress because of this. They thought she was using magic. So they…they…"
"What did they do Adrian?"
"They burned her at the stake…" Adrian was crying now, and so was Maria.
"They burned her at the stake…And I saw it Maria. I saw the whole thing. They held me back and I watched her burn."
"Oh, Adrian…"
"She didn't cry. She didn't even scream. She just looked at me and smiled the entire time. I tried to run to her, tried to save her. But everyone kept me back. That's…That's when…"
"What? What happened?"
"…that's when the monster in me came out."
Maria moved to Adrian's side so she could see his face.
"I don't remember anything that happened. All I remember was waking up next to a lake the next day. I looked into the lake…and saw it."
"Saw what?"
"The monster…"
Adrian was biting hard on his lower lip, trying hard not to let the torrent of emotions begging to get out overwhelm him.
"They killed her because she made medicine. But now…now I think they killed her because of me. Because she had a son that was a monster… If people knew that your best friend is a monster…they might kill you too."
Maria grabbed Adrian and hugged him as hard as she could. Adrian couldn't hold out any longer and began sobbing hard into her shoulder. Maria started rocking him back and forth, running fingers through his hair.
"Don't…Don't you dare say that. What they did to your mother was not your fault. Do you hear me?"
Adrian said nothing, but he finally started hugging her back, and held on to her as tight as he could.
A few feet away, the door to Adrian's room closed. On the other side of the door stood Jun, who turned and quietly walked away. Making his way out the front door, he looked up into the starlit sky, drawing his coat around him to keep out the chill air, and spoke into the night air.
"Hyne. What kind of world have you created? What kind of damned world have you create that could let this child suffer so?"
Adrian stayed in his room for a few days after that, and Maria stayed there with him, making sure no one disturbed him; telling the others that he would come out when he was good and ready. It took him a while, but with Maria's help Adrian soon learned to accept this new aspect of himself. This event had made them grow closer than ever before. If they were inseparable before, they were attached at the hip now.
Soon Adrian sought Jun's help in learning how to control the power. Jun concluded that the power was based on his emotions, seeing as it only surfaced when Adrian got truly angry. So In order to control it, he had to control his emotion; and so Jun begun a long series of meditation exercises with Adrian, along with his daily training. It took weeks, months, and even a couple of years, but eventually Adrian was able to call upon it when he wanted. Soon after this Jun started training Adrian to incorporate this power in with his physical training. Jun had to admit, even with over fifty years of experience on his side, that when Adrian finally got the hang of using this power he found it hard to keep up with the boy. Richter had seen it in action as well, and had compared Adrian to the super-heroes you find in comic books. Truly, the boy would leap into the air, really high into the air, and contort himself into all kinds of twists and spins. Pretty soon, much to Adrian's chagrin, Richter would start humming the Spider-Man theme song every time he saw the boy.
Pretty soon Adrian reached that point in life where he needed 'The Talk'. Jun brought up this issue with Richter and Annet, and Richter immediately volunteered, reasoning that the dirty old man would corrupt the poor boy. Annet had a simpler solution and bought Adrian a book. Maria remembered that book, and nodded her head slowly at the memory.
They were walking down the beach that day, Maria stalking down the sand with Adrian following behind her and keeping a safe distance. Something seemed to be bugging the girl.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Why?" Maria asked, keeping her eyes locked straight ahead.
"You just seem…moody today."
"I'm not."
"Could've fooled me…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Maria said as she spun around and sent Adrian a glare.
"Umm, nothing. You've just been quiet and frowning all day is all…"
"I had a bad morning, alright? Richter flushed the toilet while I was in the shower, Annet burned my pancakes, and I tripped and fell down the front steps. I think I have a right to be a little moody."
"Oh…okay."
They continued walking, and Maria heard Adrian 'hmm'-ing to himself. "What?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing really. Its just that I'm starting to see a pattern here."
"A pattern in what?"
"Your mood. It seems you get like this on the same time every month…"
Maria spun around to Adrian again with a horrified look on her face. Adrian took a step back, holding his hands up.
"WHAT?"
"Umm…I mean…this book Annet gave me…" Adrian pulled the book out of the bag he was carrying, showing it to Maria. "It..its got a lot of information in it. It goes into detail about the female body and all…you know…menstrual cycles and stuff. I..I just think it pretty interesting."
Maria stood there with the blankest expression on her face as Adrian babbled on.
Adrian was backing away a little now, holding the book in front of him like a shield. "Umm…I-Its not like I blame you or anything…All that stuff happening in my body at once…I'd get pretty moody too…heh-heheheh………"
Adrian would swear until the day he died that he saw steam coming out of Maria's ears. The book soon found itself sailing through the air by Maria's hand and making a satisfying splash in the ocean. Adrian had fell on the ground, and was slowly crawling his way backwards, fearing that his life would come to a slow and painful end as Maria slowly stalked toward him with fists clenched and a deranged look in her eyes.
"YOU…YOU…ERGH…ARRRGGGHHHH!" Maria found herself on top of Adrian with her hands around his throat. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU TILL YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Can't…can't…breath…Maria…ack!"
Maria massaged her temple at that memory, she'd never been so embarrassed before in her life. They had gone back to Maria's house because Annet invited Adrian over for dinner. Adrian was quiet the whole way back, figuring it would be better to keep his mouth shut and only speak when he was spoken too. Maria didn't feel bad about the incident until Annet asked Adrian where those red marks on his neck came from. She didn't realize she strangled him that hard, so she apologized. She didn't apologize about the book though, she felt quit justified in getting rid of that cursed thing.
The days went on pretty much the same. The two hung out together, continued training together with Jun, and Maria kept winning ninety-five percent of those matches. The girl towered over the boy in height, she being a healthy 5'8" and Adrian being a scrawny 5'3". The others were starting to wonder if the boy would ever grow up because he hadn't grown an inch since the day he got there, and Maria was leaving him in the dust. That was until Adrian was about fourteen and a half years old, and hit what seemed like the largest growth spurt on human record. After all was said and done Adrian towered over Maria at 6'3".
Maria noticed quite a few other changes in him. Annet noticed as well and teased Maria relentlessly about it, telling Maria that the boy had grown into a rather handsome young man. Maria wouldn't deny it though, because he had. Jun's training had chiseled his body; making it fit, lean, and muscular. This in turn started turning the tables in the sparing matches, and Adrian's days of reckoning had finally come, but that wasn't the biggest surprise for Maria. She hadn't known the full extent of all that changed until they were training on one very hot day. Adrian had opted to take his shirt off because of the heat, and she practically chocked on the water she was drinking. "Abs, biceps, and a very broad chest. Since when did he have those?" Unfortunately this had her distracted all day long, making her lose pretty much all of the matches. More unfortunate was that Jun had noticed Maria's reaction, and wasted no time in joining in with Annet to tease her about it.
Two could play that game though. She upgraded her normal training outfit, which consisted of a normal t-shirt and baggy shorts, to something that showed a little more curves and cleavage than necessary. It had the desired effect though, and she tried to look as innocent as possible as she watched Adrian's eyes widen and face turn pink. Jun had to throw in his two cents of course, and yelled something at Adrian about 'watching out for those nose bleeds'.
She had tried, but she couldn't resist the urge after that to flirt with and tease Adrian whenever possible. He would get so flustered and it always made her laugh. But things were changing between then, and she could tell it. She would often find herself staring at him and admiring, only to quickly look away before he caught her. She knew he did it too because she caught him a few times, but she never said anything about it. They started having what you would call 'awkward moments', and she sighed as she remembered the most recent one.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Adrian asked as he stood on the very safe ground, watching Maria climb a very unsafe looking tree.
Maria looked down from the branch she was balancing herself on. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?"
Adrian rolled his eyes. "Oh, I don't know. The fact that you could fall and break your neck at any moment."
"Oh, quit being such a baby, it's perfectly safe. And besides, the view from up here is great."
"If you say so…"
"I do. Now shut up and let me concentrate."
Adrian did as she told him, and contented himself with looking out over the sea at the sunset, until he heard a loud snap and a screaming Maria. No time was wasted, Jun had done well in training him. Every part of his dark power kicked in all at once, and before he knew it he caught Maria in mid-air, twisting around so he would take the fall, and landed hard on his back with Maria on top of him.
"Are you alright?"
Maria was disoriented. One second she was climbing a tree, the next she was lying on top of Adrian, staring into those blood red eyes. "Wha-what happened? Why are you in 'Vampire Mode'?"
Those blood red eyes narrowed, and a sarcastic tone accompanied the strange rough sound his voice took on when in 'Vampire Mode'. "You almost fell and broke your neck.
Maria blinked for a few seconds. "Well, guess it was a good thing you were here, huh?"
Maria watched as the red seeped out of his eyes, returning to their normal color and going back into 'Human Mode'. Adrian laid his head back, letting out a breath. "Yeah, guess it was."
"Thanks. You alright?"
"Yeah."
Maria took a few moments to get her bearings and finally noticed the position they were in. She looked up to Adrian, who seemed to realize the position they were in as well. She stared into those eyes, absorbing every detail about them. They started as blue on the outside and faded into green toward the pupil, with little lines of golden brown running through them. They looked almost like the marbles that kids play with. "So, these are what hazel eyes look like…" she thought to herself as other parts of her body was absorbing other types of information; the feel of his arms holding her, the way his body felt pressed beneath her, his warm breath tickling their face. Hyne, their faces were so close together…
Adrian was doing much of the same information gathering; her crystal blue eyes, the scent of her perfume, the way she felt in his arms, her hands on his chest, she was so…soft. Her breath was warm on his face. He took a moment to look down at her lips, small…pink lips… Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear Jun screaming at him, telling him to do something, anything but just lay there and stare at her like a dumbass.
Adrian finally broke the silence with a hushed voice. "Guess…we should head back."
Maria blinked, coming out of her trance. "Yeah…don't want to tempt fate twice in one day."
Neither of them moved for a few moments.
"I…sorta can't get up."
Maria blinked, then blushed. "Oh…sorry." She said as she got up off of him.
"No problem." Adrian got up and dusted himself off.
The two walked back home, completely silent.
Maria sat on the edge of her bed, staring off into space as she recalled the memory. She wondered if Adrian felt what she did that day, or if he felt anything at all. She always worked herself up with worry thinking like this, but she couldn't help it any longer. She had tried not to, but she found herself becoming more and more attracted to Adrian every day, and sometimes she would catch herself 'entertaining' thoughts about him. She fell backwards on her bed and started thinking out loud.
"I wonder…does he feel the same way? What if he doesn't think of me that way at all? We grew up together…he probably just thinks of me as a big sister. I'm seventeen, he's fifteen…Two years older than him, that's not a bad thing, right? …I'll be an adult two years while he isn't…that would be illegal in some places…ARGH."
Maria had decided that enough was enough. Something needed to be done, she needed to know now, she needed to take the initiative, because she felt that if she didn't she would most likely tackle and molest the poor guy. She walked over to her dresser, thinking out loud some more.
"I'm going to the beach, so I might as well take a swim. And if I'm going to swim, I might as well take a bathing suit along." She pulled out a drawer, and searched through it, finally pulling out a rather small piece of fabric and grinning. "And if I'm going to take a bathing suit, I might as well take the skimpiest on I've got. This should get Mr. Adrian Tepes' attention."
Putting on the suit she studied herself in the mirror and posed, thinking to herself with a smile, "I hope he doesn't forget how to breathe."
She put on her normal clothes over the suit, grabbed the towels and the basket full of sandwiches and drinks, and made her way to the beach.
Adrian was in the shower, thinking, as he often did in the shower. The shower was a nice place to think about things. The water helped you clear your mind, and it was private, so no one could disturb you. Well, they could, but most people were smart enough not to look in the shower when they could hear it running. But that's beside the point.
In this shower thinking session there was only one thing on his mind, a certain blonde haired girl. He sighed as he turned the water off and got out to dry himself off. Wiping away the mirror he stared at himself and started thinking out loud.
"I wonder…does she feel the same way? She probably doesn't even think of me that way… I'm just a kid to her…nothing more than a little brother. Sure, she flirts and teases, but…is it just teasing? That day she fell out of the tree and I caught her… Hyne, she felt so good… She probably thinks I'm some kind of pervert now after that. Richter's right, maybe I've hung around Jun too long. Starting to act like him… I could literally hear him cheering me on…" Adrian closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, staring into the blood red eyes that looked back at him in the mirror. "Besides, who'd want to be with some vampire freak…URGH."
Adrian walked out into his room and went to his dresser looking for something to wear, heaving out a long-suffering sigh.
"Might as well not hope for something that's never going to happen…"
Finally dressed, he made his way out the front door, meeting Jun along the way.
"Where you off too?" Jun asked.
"Maria, picnic, beach."
"Hmm, sounds fun. Might get to see her in a skimpy bathing suit." Jun said with a sly grin.
"I wish…." Adrian said under his breath, not loud enough for Jun to hear.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Later."
Jun stood at the door as he watched Adrian walk down the road and slowly nodded his head.
"You'd think those two would just go ahead and do something. I mean, they're pretty much the only two youngins' around here. Unless they want to go and marry someone that's thirty years older than them, there's not many more options around here."
Jun walked toward the clinic part of the house, waiting for his appointment to show up.
"I swear, those two are more stubborn than a ranch full of mules…"
Maria was in the middle of setting out the food when she noticed Adrian walking up. Something was different about him.
"You tied your hair back."
Adrian reached behind him and held up the ponytail. "Yeah, never tried it before. You like?"
"Yeah." She said. "I like it a lot…"
Adrian joined her, and they were soon eating, engaging in idle conversation about everyday life. They continued talking about anything they could think of afterwards while laying back and watching the sky. Maria decided it was time to take that swim, and looked over at Adrian.
"Hey, you bring a swim suit?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "You know very well why not."
Maria blinked for a couple of seconds, and then rolled her eyes. "Oh Hyne. You're not still hung up on that little incident are you?"
Adrian closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yes, I'm still 'hung up on that little incident'."
"Geez, you're such a big baby."
A nine-year-old Adrian stood on the little rocky cliff that Maria was using to dive into the lake below, looking down into the water below and swallowing hard.
"Come on already." Maria said from behind, getting impatient.
"C-can't I just get in from the shore?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"W-well…I-its just that…"
"Come on, trust me. This will be fun. You're not afraid are you?"
"No! I-I just…"
"Well, if you're not afraid, then in you go!" And with that Maria shoved Adrian from the cliff and into the water below. She stood on the edge to see him when he came up. She stood there waiting…and waiting……and waiting………
"He should've come up by now…"
Maria dove in, and a few moments later pulled a coughing and gasping Adrian from the water.
Maria could feel the glare she was getting from Adrian.
"I said I was sorry."
Adrian 'hmph-ed' and looked away.
"How was I supposed to know you didn't know how to swim?"
Adrian looked back, eyes still narrowed. "You could've asked before you pushed me off that cliff."
"You could've told me before I pushed you off the cliff."
Adrian looked away again. "I was embarrassed, okay? And I really didn't want to give you something else to tease me about."
"I wouldn't have teased you. I could've taught you. I can teach you now."
"No thanks."
"Why not?" Maria started whining.
"Because, Like I said, I didn't bring a swim suit. And besides…"
"Besides?"
"Besides…I'm…afraid of the water now…"
Maria stared at him for a few seconds, and then fell backwards, laughing out loud. Adrian looked around, glaring at her and gritting his teeth.
"What's so damn funny?" he snapped.
Maria couldn't answer from laughing so hard, so Adrian let out a growl and looked away, deciding to ignore her for the rest of the day if he had too. Maria spent a couple of more minutes rolling around and giggling until she got it out of her system. She crawled over to Adrian, still snickering.
"I'm sorry."
"…"
"Adrian?"
"…"
"Oh, come on. Don't be like that."
"…"
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to laugh like that."
"…"
"Come on, look at me. Please?"
"…"
Maria sighed. "Fine, be that way. You sit here and brood all you want. I'm going for a swim."
"…"
Maria got up and purposely stood in his line of sight. "Ignore me will he? Let's see him ignore this." Maria started taking her shirt off, making sure to take her time doing it. Adrian's eye drew themselves over to her, taking in the view. Creamy, porcelain skin… Flat stomach… Perfect, full, round breasts… She started taking her shorts off then, and Adrian's eyes widened. "Oh Hyne…A thong… She's wearing a hynedamed thong…" Maria kicked the shorts to the side and stretched her body, making sure to give him a good view. She looked over at him, getting his attention, and winked. "Gotcha." She thought to herself as turned and walked toward the ocean, putting a sway in her hips.
Adrian watched her walk away and noticed that sway in her hips. "A perfect hourglass shaped figure…argh!" Adrian lay back on the ground and threw his arm over his face, covering his eyes.
"Why does she do this to me? First the teasing, then the flirting. Does she know what she's doing to me? Does she want to drive me insane? I can't take much more of this."
Adrian lay there, loosing track of time, letting his mind wonder. He kept replaying Maria's little 'show' through his head, remembering every detail of her body. "Hyne, I've got to do something. What do I do? I'm gonna go crazy…" More time passed, and Adrian felt someone sit next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't uncover his eyes though, he knew it was Maria, and he would have to deal with seeing her in that little white bikini if he uncovered his eyes.
Maria looked down at Adrian and felt bad. He looked pretty upset. "I must annoy the hell out of him with all of my teasing and flirting, but I don't know how else to get his attention… Maybe if I just talked to him…" She squeezed his shoulder.
"Hey, you alright?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm sorry. I really am."
Adrian let out a sigh. "Don't worry about it."
"Well, at least he's talking to me again." She thought. The distant rumble of thunder could be heard, and Maria looked up into the sky.
"Looks like its gonna rain soon."
Adrian uncovered his eyes and let his arm fall to the side, looking straight into the sky. "Yeah, looks like it…"
Maria looked down at him, staring at him for a few moments. "This is it girl. Now or never. Put up or shut up. Time to make your move."
"You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I like you're hair tied back."
"Why not?"
Maria began pulling the band that held his hair back out, letting it flow over the towel that he was laying on.
"Because then I couldn't run my fingers through it…"
Adrian finally moved his eyes over to Maria as she ran her fingers through his hair, letting them relish in the soft, silky feel. He noticed how her hair hung limp from her swim, still dripping water. He noticed the way her skin glistened with the moister from the ocean. He noticed how her face was now inches from his, and his eyes locked with hers.
"M-Maria…?"
Maria said nothing and closed the gap between their faces, closing her eyes and meeting his lips with hers. She took his bottom lip in between hers and massaged it, letting her tongue run across it. Then she took both of his lips in between hers, suckling lightly and letting her tongue run in between them.
Adrian lay there motionless with eyes wide, and couldn't respond at all from the shock from what was happening. His mind was in chaos, thoughts forming and crashing into other thoughts as he just lay there, not even able to make a sound.
Maria stopped kissing him after a few moments and looked into his eyes, trying to find some sort of reaction, trying to read his feelings. All she found was confusion and shock. She looked away and closed her eyes.
"I……I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" She couldn't finish her sentence, so she did the only thing she could do. She got up and ran away, in tears.
Adrian continued to lie there; the shock from what just happened had lessened enough to where his mind could form coherent thoughts. "Wha-What the hell just happened? She kissed me…then she ran away. Was she crying?" Adrian finally found the strength to get up. "I've got to find her." And so he took off trying to catch Maria.
Maria ran down the path that connected Winhill to the beach, tears steaming down her face as her mind screamed at her. "You're a fool. You're a damned fool. What in the hell did you think you were doing?"
She continued running as fast as she could, eyes clouded by her tears. Not watching where she was going she tripped a fell. She lay there on the ground, sobbing out loud now, as the rumble of thunder was heard again and the rain started to fall.
"Great, this is just great. The perfect end to the perfect day."
She slowly picked herself up and continued running. The rain fell harder now, and she found shelter from it under a tree off the side of the path. She leaned against the tree with her arms and buried her face in them, continuing to cry as her mind scolded her.
"You made a fool of yourself. You went too fast, too early. He hates you now you damn fool girl."
"Maria!"
Adrian finally caught up to her and stopped a few feet away, bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up when she didn't respond. She was still facing the tree, face buried in arms, and the sound of soft sobs coming from her. "So, she was crying."
Adrian walked up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Maria."
Maria shook him off, and started walking down the path again. "Leave me alone Adrian."
Adrian began following her. "I don't understand. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. Go away."
"Nothing's wrong? You kiss me, then you run away crying? I hardly think nothing's wrong."
Maria turned around, facing Adrian for the first time. Long white hair wet from the down pour clung to his face, eyes still shown through though, filled with confusion.
"I'm sorry. Okay?"
"Sorry about what?"
Maria looked down, refusing to look at him. Adrian walked up to her, but she backed away from him.
"Maria…talk to me. Please."
"You don't understand Adrian."
"Understand what?"
"My feelings… I can't deal with this anymore"
"What feelings?"
Maria looked up, anger and frustration started seeping out.
"My feelings for you! Okay? I have feelings for you! I'm around you everyday, every night! But I can't do anything about it! Do you know what if feels like wanting something, having it there right in front of you, and not being able do a damn thing about it? That's what I can't deal with anymore Adrian! That's what you don't understand!"
Adrian was silent, standing in the rain and not moving, staring at Maria. "I don't understand? Hah!" Adrian began laughing to himself, and Maria's head shot up, shooting him a glare.
"What's so damn funny?"
Adrian shook his head, chuckling lightly to himself. "If you only knew…"
It was Maria's turn to look confused. "Only knew what?"
"Being around you everyday, every night. Having what you want standing right there in front of you and not being able to do anything about it. I understand that all too well Maria. I live through that torture everyday."
Maria's eyes widened. "Wha-?"
Adrian walked up to her, eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. It was his turn to release some anger and frustration.
"Torture. That's what I go through everyday Maria. You told me I don't understand, when the truth is you're the one that doesn't understand."
Maria was confused again, and Adrian went on.
"I spend everyday with the object of my affection, and everyday she tortures me. She talks all sweet to me, sends me suggestive smiles, lightly rubs by me when passing in the hall, flirts, and when she's got my hopes up she plays it off as simple teasing and laughs at me. Do you have any idea what that feels like Maria? Do you have any idea what you do to me?"
Maria's eyes were wide again. "Adrian…I…"
Adrian wasn't finished though. "But it's all in good fun, isn't it? I'm nothing more than a little kid to you, only good for teasing and getting a few laughs out of. But more than that, I'm just a little kid that happens to be some vampire freak of nature. No one would want to be with someone like that."
"Tha-that's not true!"
Adrian let his power surface to prove his point, eyes, fangs, and all; and began shouting. "THEN TELL ME MARIA! WHO? WHO THE HELL WOULD WANT TO BE WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS?"
"I WOULD!"
They were both silent, nothing but the sound of the rain hitting the ground could be heard. Adrian uttered one simple word.
"Liar."
Adrian walked past Maria, heading back for Winhill until Maria grabbed his arm and turned him around.
"I'm not lying! I teased and flirted everyday! I tortured you everyday! But it's the only thing I knew to do! It's the only way I could get your attention!"
"There are plenty of other ways to get my attention."
"I know that! I know that now! And I'm sorry, but I can't take back the past!"
"Then what Maria? Where does that leave us?"
Maria looked down, taking deep breaths and trying gather up her courage.
"I'm falling for you Adrian. My brave little apple thief has grown into a handsome young man and, hynedamnit, I'm falling in love with him. I can't help how I feel anymore. This is how I feel. This is what I want. I want you Adrian. I…I want to be with you…"
Adrian watched as Maria buried her face in her hands and her body started shaking with the sobs coming from her mouth. He let the power go away, making his eyes and teeth return to normal, and walked up to Maria, holding her tight and running his fingers through her wet hair. He spoke softly into her ear.
"If that's what you truly want, then that's what you'll get."
Maria buried her face into the crook of his neck and wrapped her arms around him tight, letting out all of her pent up emotions as Adrian continued running fingers through her hair. He made soft shushing noises in her ear and rubbed the lower part of her back with his other hand. He spoke softly to her again.
"It seems like I've been falling for you forever. I lay awake every night wondering what it would be like to hold you like this. I think about you every minute of every day. I was afraid to make a move though; afraid it would hurt our friendship. You're my only friend Maria, my best friend. I would die without you. That's why. That's why I didn't do anything." Adrian kissed the side of her head. "But I can't help how I feel anymore either. I want you Maria. I want to be with you…"
Maria lifted her head from his shoulder, looking at him with eyes red from tears. Adrian looked into her eyes, moving his hand from her hair to caress her face, wiping away tears with his thumb. He moved his head forward slowly, and their lips met again. Using his tongue he softly caressed her lips, and then lightly pressed it against her teeth, silently asking for permission. She opened her mouth, deepening the kiss, and moaned lightly as his tongue explored her mouth, running across the top of it and meeting her tongue. Adrian's mind was in chaos again, but a good kind of chaos. Both of his arms now wrapped around her, holder her body tight against his. Maria's arms found their way around the back of his neck, trying to hold on as her knees threatened to give out from the intensity of the kiss. They stayed there for what seemed like ages, both exploring and savoring the sweet taste of each other, both experiencing new feelings and new sensations for the first time.
They broke the kiss slowly with eyes still closed, resting they're foreheads against each other, each trying to catch their breath. Adrian noticed that her body didn't feel as warm as he had expected it to feel. He opened his eyes and noticed her shivering. "Of course." He thought. "She's standing out in the middle of this rain storm in nothing but a swim suit. Come to think of it, I'm getting cold too." He kissed her on the forehead once and kept his voice at a whisper.
"Come on, let's get you back before you freeze to death."
Maria opened her eyes and realized for the first time that she was cold, very cold. She nodded silently to Adrian's suggestion, and they both made they're way back home.
They both made it in just as the proverbial bottom fell out of the sky. Neither had seen it rain this hard before, nor had they seen the winds blow this hard before. Both were dripping wet, and Maria was shivering so hard she could hardly move.
Adrian sat her down in front of the fireplace, lit it, and went into the back room to find a towel and blanket.
"I'm gonna call Jun and let him know where I'm at." He said as he wrapped Maria in the blanket. She looked over, still shivering hard.
"O-o-k-kay."
Adrian made his way to the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and dialed the number.
"Hello?"
"Jun, its Adrian."
"Adrian! Where the hell are you boy? It's a mini-hurricane outside."
"They're called tropical storms. Anyway, Maria and me got caught in it and ran to her place. That's where I'm at now."
"I see. Well, no sense in trying to make it back in this. You might as well wait it out there. From what the news report says that'll be sometime tomorrow, and its gonna get worse before that."
"Right. I'll see you later then. Bye."
"Oh! Adrian!"
"Yeah?"
Adrian could literally hear him smile and cringed when he let out a singsong voice.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Adrian let out an exasperated sigh "Do you ever get your mind out of the gutter?"
Adrian held the phone away from him as Jun let out a hearty laugh.
"You know what I mean boy. Good night."
"Good night."
Jun hung up the phone and took his hat and raincoat off, tossing them in the laundry room where they made a small puddle on the floor. He was going to beach to warn the two about the storm when he got caught in the storm himself out in the field. That's when he saw them; standing out in the middle of the field in the worst storm he'd seen in years, sucking face like there was no tomorrow.
He walked into his kitchen to make a pot of coffee with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face.
Adrian had the same idea, and walked out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee in his hands, giving one to Maria as he sat down beside her. She nodded her thanks and sipped at the warm liquid.
"You alright?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah, I'm a little warmer now."
Adrian nodded as he looked back into the fire, and then he noticed something.
"Where are Richter and Annet?"
"Richter had some business in Deling. I convinced Annet to go with him and spend a few days. They hardly ever get any time to themselves, and I kinda wanted them out of my hair for a little while. I love them and all, but it's nice to have the place to yourself sometimes, you know?"
Adrian nodded. He liked the old fart, but he cherished the days he would spend away on business, leaving Adrian to himself.
Maria looked over and noticed Adrian was still in his soaking wet clothes, and he was shivering pretty bad himself.
"You should get out of those clothes or you're going to catch a cold."
Adrian looked over and blinked for a moment. "I…don't have any spare clothes here."
"That's okay. You can get under the blanket with me." Maria smiled a little and blushed. "Besides, they say body heat is the best cure of hypothermia."
Adrian was turning red now too, but he slowly nodded and got up to undress. Maria watched as he kicked his shoes off and took his shirt off. She couldn't help but stare at his body. When he took his pants off she smiled to herself. "Hmm, a boxers man."
Adrian got under the blanket with her and she snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder as he rested his head on top of hers. The held each other and gazed into the fire, neither uttering a single word.
Maria thought about all that had just happened. It felt so good to finally get everything out. And knowing that he felt the same way about her made her feel like she was floating on air. She drew closer to him, nuzzling his neck, and let out a content sigh as his arms drew tighter around her.
Her mind played though all of her memories like they had earlier that day. All of the good and bad times they shared. All of their little misadventures together as children. Each and every event drew them closer and closer as bonds were tested and strengthened. The next words that came out of her mouth felt so natural that she didn't realize she said it until a few moments afterwards.
"I love you."
Adrian looked down, seeing her smile and a dreamy look in her eyes. He closed his eyes and drew his mouth close to her ear.
"I love you too."
She drew him into another deep kiss as her hands started exploring his body. Fingertips lightly traced over muscles, making them quiver in reflex. His hands explored too, tracing up her side, eliciting a moan of pleasure out of her. She fell backwards to the floor, bringing him down with her. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes.
"Then prove it."
A hint of confusion drew across his face. "Huh?"
She continued to look into his eyes as she ran fingers through his hair.
"Prove it. Make love to me…"
He stared into her eyes, losing himself in them, and drew in for another long kiss.
On that night, as the rain pored and the winds blew outside, two souls connected in the ultimate expression of love. The only sounds in the room were the soft moans of pleasure and the lazy crackling of the fire.