Unexpected Affair
By: keep.your.groove.on.baby
Disclaimer: No again.
A/N: Hey…Hey! Hey! What's with the death threats? I thought you guys liked me! You don't threaten someone you like! Raar. Haha it's all good I, again, don't know what I'm doing with this story anymore. It just kind of took off on me and I'm chasing after it trying to anticipate which way it's gona go. Yea…Enjoy!
Chapter Five
Alright…maybe taking off into the woods barefoot wasn't such a great idea. Taking off into the woods barefoot, and naked with only a towel as cover…yea that was definitely a bad idea.
Noodle winced as she received what was probably the hundredth splinter since she burst through the trees after Mike…who was nowhere to be seen.
She stopped her tip toeing, leaning against a thick tree and tenderly lifting her right foot sideways to look at the damage on the soles of her feet. She gasped and moaned in pain at what she saw.
…her feet looked like albino hedgehogs…
Noodle looked around her to see if she could spot Mike, "MIKE!" she called out. Nothing. He was nowhere in sight and she couldn't even hear footsteps.
Sighing, the Axe Princess decided to take a moment to dig out the splinters that were protruding from the bottom of her feet. She pulled at the hem of her towel, making sure it fully covered her butt as she sat down with her back against the bark of the tree.
She began plucking out each individual splinter, a wince and a hushed "shit" following each pluck. She grimaced at the dirt that covered the bottom of her feet…she was going to have to shower again after this…
She finished with her right foot and slowly extended with relief next to her left leg before bring her left foot up to her lap to begin plucking the splinters out of that one.
Noodle plucked and winced and silently cursed until her left foot was splinter-free like her right. After stretching out both of her legs, Noodle thudded her head back against the bark of the tree she had her back to.
Mike was probably halfway to Essex at this point. When that poor creature got frightened his primary instinct was to run like mad…and if that didn't word, play dead.
Noodle jumped as an abrupt caw jolted through her nervous system. She looked around her and didn't see a thing that could have made the noise.
Then she cursed…and looked up to see that damn raven on a high branch right above her head.
"You son of a bitch…" she muttered aloud, glaring at the raven above her head.
"S'only doin' wot I told 'im to," said a familiar voice that Noodle wished she wasn't so familiar with anymore.
Noodle rolled her eyes and sighed, tired of running and tired of fighting. Tired of everything. She didn't want to be here anymore, she didn't want to put up with the inconvenience of hiding who she was from any stranger she met and she was tired of Gorillaz haunting her.
"And what, per say, was that Murdoc?" she asked, looking him in the eye exasperatedly. He stood a few feet away from her with her flip flops and an armful of folded clothes that he had retrieved after he remembered how she was dressed when she ran away from him.
Noodle answered before he could open his mouth, "Did you tell it to hunt me down so you could find me easily and fuck me four ways and then leave in your Winnebago back to Kong Studios all cheery and satisfied? Is that what you told him to do?" Noodle spat.
Murdoc remained expressionless, "Jus' told 'im to find yeh, love."
"Liar!" she hissed. Murdoc held his arms up with her clothes and shoes in hands in mock defense, "Awright love…I know why yeh might be thinkin' the wrong thing because of meh reputation—"
"R-reputation?" Noodle stammered, a perfectly shaped brow rising in question, "Murdoc, reputation talks about your characteristics and habits. You? And sex? That has nothing to do with reputation! That's just who you are! You've been like this since…since you were a kid probably! And you'll never change, damnit so don't give me any of this, "But baby I've changed for you," shit! I know you too well for that to work," she spat at him with a glare.
Then Murdoc did something very uncharacteristic for him, he sighed. Noodle's eyebrow quirked again as his head sagged and he shook his head.
"I wish 'ere was a way to change yo' mind, love," he said, taking a few steps towards her and handing her clothes to her.
She grabbed them from him with a sigh, "I doubt it Muds, I don't think you could change even if you—" Noodle frowned as she looked over the bassist from head to toe. He frowned back from being scrutinized.
"Wot?"
"Your skin," she muttered, glancing over him again, "it's not green again."
He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking the dirt with the toe of his boot, something else that was very un-Murdoc.
"'aven't been smokin' o' drinkin' a lot," he admitted, his head concentrated on his boots.
The eyebrow went higher, "Oh really?" she questioned, "And why is that?"
He leaned his head back to stare at the sky, "Fo' starters…ol' Muds o'er 'ere don' get 'nother body fo' 'nother…fifteen years…" he said after a minute of calculating the math in his head.
"Huh?" Noodle questioned, "You'll be sixty!"
"I 'ave a twenty year ol' body," he said nonchalantly.
"Oh…" she said, getting a headache from arching her eyebrow so much, but none of this was making sense. Murdoc cutting back on smoking and drinking? Ever since she'd first met him he always had a cigarette and a beer in each hand.
He sighed again and she frowned, not used to hearing such a noise come from the Satanist, "An' also...I…I knew I'd need a leg to stand on if I wanted to bring yeh back…"
"Bring me back?" she asked, frowning.
He nodded, squatting down and sitting next to her, his back against the tree trunk and his face towards the sky. He smiled at his bird perched on a branch above him, preening himself.
Noodle leaned away upon seeing him smile. This was getting too weird for her. He was smiling, sighing, and fidgeting. The Japanese guitarist frowned even though he couldn't see her, he must be putting on an act, not once in her entire life at Kong had she ever see Murdoc smile sincerely or sigh and fidget.
"The boys miss yeh and so do I," he said, glancing sideways at her before resuming his gaze at the morning sky, "Jus' ain't the same wit'out yeh around."
Noodle looked away sighing, putting her clothes in her lap and crossing her ankles, Noodle mimicked Murdoc and leaned her head back against the bark…shutting her eyes in thought.
Suddenly she jumped, her eyes popping open when she remembered why she was in the woods in the first place, "Shit, I need to find Mike!"
Without opening his eyes, Murdoc whistled sharply, resulting in a loud squawk and a flap of wings to come from above them as the raven flew off further into the woods.
"Where's he going?" Noodle asked, watching the black, retreating shadow until it was no longer in sight.
"Find yo' monkey," he said.
Noodle was about to question how the bird would know what she had said…but she'd had enough of this weird freaky shit that Murdoc had brought on.
She sighed again, "Look, Murdoc. I know you understand why I think you haven't changed your sexual ways…and that you and…the guys miss me, but I just can't forgive them for what they did to me," she said. She turned her head to look at him only to find him already staring at her.
"What?" she asked.
"Yeh act like they signed yo' death sentence," he said.
"They did," she said in a mundane tone.
"Are yeh dead?" he asked.
Noodle thudded her head back against the tree with a roll of her eyes from frustration, "That's not the point, Murdoc. I didn't want the El Mañana video to happen and you three let it happen. Do you have any idea what I had to go through down in the basement? Next to that hell hole? And besides! You thought it would be a grand idea to do this to me!" she exclaimed, raking her nails over the scar out of anger, red abrasions appearing almost instantly.
Murdoc winced in pain after she scratched her scar, clenching his teeth. This caused the eyebrow to arch…again. Murdoc sat with his head against the bark; his eyes squeezed shut as if he was in pain.
Noodle placed her fingers on the black scar, watching Murdoc flinch again before shuddering.
"Murdoc…?"
Murdoc sighed, "I did 'at…so I could stay close to yeh…so I could watch o'er yeh."
Now it was starting to make sense, "You knew I was leaving," she said.
He nodded, "Who the 'ell wouldn't?"
Noodle leaned her head back, she just couldn't believe it. Somehow…Murdoc had known. He had known what was going to happen to her and knew she was going to leave eventually, even if he sped up that part of the process.
Noodle slowly reached over and grabbed the bassist's large hand, gently entwining her fingers with his.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He shook his head, looking away, "I jus' wish I could make yeh believe 'at I 'aven't 'ad sex since yeh left."
Say. What.
"M…Murdoc," she stammered, "it's been five years…th…there's no way…not you," she shook her head.
"Damn dullard's 'een gettin' more ass 'an meh in the past couple o' years," he said with a scowl.
"2D?"
He nodded.
Suddenly a plan popped into her head. If he could control himself for five years with women throwing themselves at him…than maybe…
She bit her lip, her brow scrunching at the plan muddling through her mind. It was rather evil and she wasn't sure if—
Wait a second.
Wasn't this evil itself? The bassist from Gorillaz that worshipped Satan and made weekly ritual sacrifices in the landfill? Noodle smirked mentally; he could handle a little torment, especially after what he and the rest of her former band had done to her. She deserved a moment of positively evil naughtiness on occasion, right? Right.
Noodle let go of his hand and stood carefully, holding her clothes against her thighs. She took four steps away and turned around, facing a very confused Satanist.
She gave him an evil smirk, watching his eyes as they locked onto her fingers clutching her towel. With a quick jerk, the towel came undone and fell to the forest floor.
Murdoc swallowed the lump in his throat, looking her over slowly, "Woman…wot're yeh doin'…"
Noodle shrugged and shook out the t-shirt he had brought her, "You've already seen me naked, remember? Watching me shower not even thirty minutes ago?"
He didn't answer, just watched her go through the clothes in her hands with a scowl.
"Damnit, Muds, you didn't get any underwear," she sighed. She held the shirt up in front of her and looked at him questioningly.
"Is this yours?"
He nodded and she rolled her eyes, sniffing it and then putting it on once she was satisfied that it was clean. She felt her neck tingle slightly upon sniffing his shirt and she avoided eye contact with him in case he felt her slight arousal from the scent of his shirt. She was supposed to be taking a stand and it wasn't working as well as she wanted it to.
She slid on her own blue jeans, carefully buttoning and zippering them since she was forced to go commando. After straightening herself out and sliding on her flip flops she looked at the Satanist.
Her eyes bulged out of their sockets and her jaw nearly hit the floor at the pitiful sight that sat before her.
Murdoc had the heel of his hands shoved into his eyes, a painful grimace etched onto his face. He look…tortured. Noodle bit her lip starting to feel guilty about testing him. Maybe he really was sincere about missing her and abstaining for five years. Then again maybe he wasn't. Stick to your guns girl.
At this point Noodle still had no idea what to think of the entire situation. Could she trust him? After all, this was the leader of Gorillaz, her guitar mentor since she'd hopped out of the FedEx crate, but he'd been the way he was…is…for a long time.
Noodle quietly walked over to him until she was standing over him, her feet on either side of his legs. She saw him visibly stiffen; however, he still didn't look at her. Slowly Noodle crouched down to sit on his thighs, his leg muscles stiffening even more at the touch, earning a hushed gasp from the bassist and Noodle could have sworn she sensed a slight tingle for the first time in her neck…and it wasn't from her.
Licking her lips, she reached her hands out and gently grabbed his wrists, pulling his hands away, and forcing him to look at her. He looked pathetic, definitely not the Murdoc she remembered.
"You do mean it," she whispered with a pout.
"Why the 'ell else would I be like 'is?" he said with an angry scowl.
She shook her head, a single tear rolling down her cheek, "I don't like this Murdoc. You may have changed what you used to do on a daily basis, but your personality has changed too, and I don't like it."
He frowned, "Yeh wan' the ol' Muds back?"
She nodded, "Without the sex and alcohol and cigarette abuse," she whispered sheepishly, glancing around guiltily.
He nodded and then scowled, his brow knitting together and his teeth clenched angrily. He grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to come nose to nose to him. Noodle's eyes widened and she gasped from the force, her neck tingling fanatically.
"Good," he growled, an evil look in his eyes, "because yo' are gona get it for makin' meh come out 'ere to get yeh, woman."
Before she could bite back a remark he pressed his lips against her in a bruising kiss, Noodle's eyes widening in shock. With a force that she had never encountered before, Murdoc forced her mouth open with his and plunged his tongue into her mouth, roughly dominating hers with a powerful massage.
Noodle recovered from the shock and strengthened her new resolve, fighting back with her tongue and pushing Murdoc back against the trunk of the tree. She had the urge to reach up and grab her own neck in an attempt to soothe the throbbing that was radiating from the scar. It was almost unbearable.
She grinded her hips down greedily against the bassist's groin, earning a wicked growl into her mouth from said person. He snorted and she could feel his hands go in between their stomachs to fumble with the button of her pants. She scowled, grasping his lower lip gently in between her teeth.
"No' 'ere you fool," she said with his lip in her mouth. He frowned again and lifted his knees against her back so he could heel his boots into the ground to stand with her in his lap. He grabbed the back of her thighs to keep her legs wrapped against him, his lips still firmly pressed against hers.
He began walking toward the edge of the forest where both of them had come from when Noodle broke away from him, leaning over his shoulder with her arm outstretched, "My towel!"
He growled, jerking her back to face him, "I'll buy yeh ano'er one la'er, damnit now shu' up an' quit wigglin'!"
Noodle growled back, only to be silenced with another dominating kiss. He walked the entire way through the forest back out to the beach with Noodle's arms and legs wrapped tightly around his body. He passed her mini cooper which caused Noodle to break the kiss again and raise an eyebrow in question.
"'at thing's to damn small an' I'm burnin' it when 'e're done," he said.
Noodle gasped, "But I like that car! That's been my home for the past five fucking years!"
He squeezed the back of her thighs, his brow scrunching in annoyance, "Then I'll buy yeh ano'er car! Damn…"
Noodle smiled, placing a gentle peck on his lips, "Ten minutes and you're already planning to buy me things. I like you."
He smirked, "Yeh damn well better woman."
She smiled wider back at him before looking around questioningly, "So where are we going?"
"My place."
Noodle scrunched her brow in confusion, "Your place? But…"
Just then it hit her and she spun her head around to see the Winnebago only a few feet away in all its…glory.
"I am not getting in that thing!" she hissed, squirming to get out of his grip.
"Oh yes yeh are woman!" he growled with a smart smack on her bottom.
Kicking the doorknob so it turned, the door flung open and the two entered awkwardly into the close space. Noodle held her breath and squeezed her eyes, remembering what a sty the Satanist lived in.
"Don't be stupid, woman," he said letting go of her legs, his hands sliding up her butt to hold her around her waist.
Noodle peeked open an eye and exhaled sharply, both of her eyes widening.
It was clean.
Well, she reasoned, as clean as a tiny bachelor pad could get when one put forth a small amount of effort. It didn't smell rancid like she remembered it from a long time ago, but instead smelled fresh and it was somewhat neat and clean. He led her back to the bed after shutting the door, and she noticed that all of his crude posters were gone as well.
"Who are you and what have you done with Murdoc Nicalls?" she muttered, looking around.
He snorted, "S'yo fault. If yeh 'adn't left I'd still be a dirty ol' man with a young, useless body."
Noodle chuckled, "Your welcome."
He brought her closer to him, his fingers kneading the small of her back. His eyes bore into hers, their noses almost touching.
She swallowed hard, "It's…still hard to believe, Muds. That you've changed."
He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and sighing for a moment before letting it fall forward again, their noses touching this time.
"'ell, yeh prolly won't believe 'is either, but…yeh 'ere my firs' kiss…"
Both of her eyebrows almost reached her hairline. Her eyes widened in shock as he gazed back at her, a slight…was he blushing?
"No fucking way," she whispered.
He shrugged and sat down on the edge of his bed, his hands still around her waist. He looked up into her eyes again, "I've never shown wot yeh might call "affection," love. Nothin' 'at someone could mistake fo' love. Only cold, 'eartless sex. So i's understandable 'at I'd avoid…kissing."
"Why?" she whispered.
"Despite 'ow I am, love, I avoided mixing up my emotions so e'rythin' wouldn't seem the same. I didn't wan' to mistake sex fo' love o' vice versa."
Noodle nodded thoughtfully, taking a step forward in between his legs. She leaned her head down so her cheek was against the top of his head.
"So what does that mean?" she asked in a hushed voice, "Did you save your first kiss for me because you love me?"
He shrugged,' "Not really sure. I don't know wot love is…ne'er 'ad someone express it to me o' me to 'em."
Noodle closed her eyes, tears forming and threatening to fall, "That's horrible," she whispered.
He sighed, "Don't get yo'self all worked up o'er nothin' love. S'no big deal."
She frowned and lifted her head so she could look him in the eye, "And why is that? Why do you feel that you are so undeserving?"
He shrugged, "Neva done anythin' 'at would make meh someone worth lovin'," he grabbed her face, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.
Noodle sniffed, "You're doing something right now," she whispered and he raised an eyebrow questioningly, "You're giving a damn about me…and that's something nobody has done in a long time."
He dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her into his lap, her cheek against his head again and his arms around her body.
He sighed, hugging her body closer to him, "'ere's a difference b'tween givin' a damn an' lovin' someone, love."
"Maybe you love me," she whispered.
He shook his head, "Wouldn't make a difference, love, yeh don't love meh back."
She leaned her head away to look at him, "I figured you of all people would know that I do."
His eyes widened, "What?"
She pointed to her neck and his eyes met her fingers where the black teeth marks that he'd left were.
"I figured you could feel my love for you through this…" Noodle said.
He shook his head slowly, his eyes still wide, "I…I wasn't sure…I didn't know."
Noodle wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his head to her chest and combing her fingers through his black hair.
"Let me show you," she whispered, "let me show you what it's like to be loved."
Nearly eight hours later, Murdoc was slowly roused from his deep slumber by a light tap on his door and an obnoxious caw from outside. His senses slowly came back to him and he realized that his arms were around a small body pressed firmly against his.
He smiled, almost in disbelief, "She stayed…" he whispered softly so as not to wake her.
He also slowly realized that both were still dress…leading him to the conclusion that other than a few heated kisses, nothing else had happened.
Another tap on the door, this time a little louder than the last and Noodle stirred from her sleep, her body curling tightly against his, "Someone s'at the door…" she mumbled with a sniff.
He kissed her temple and maneuvered himself over her sleeping body onto the floor, his bare feet padding lightly against the floor as he walked towards the door. He opened the door wide and stood back as Cortez flew inside with another obnoxious caw.
"Shush yo' bloody bird!" he hissed, jerking his head towards the sleeping guitarist. He turned his head around to close the door, but stopped when he saw a shivering Mike standing in front of the door, the poor creature twiddling his thumbs nervously.
Murdoc took a step back away from the door, extending his arm inside, "She's in the back."
With speed he didn't know the monkey possessed, Mike bolted into the Winnebago, straight into Noodle. Noodle awoke with a shout as Mike nuzzled against her body affectionately.
Noodle laughed, "Well, next time don't runaway like that!" she said, hugging him lovingly. Murdoc smirked from where he stood when something caught his door out the open Winnebago door. It was Noodle's mini cooper, parked only a few feet away with the hatch still open and all of her things still packed inside.
"'ey, love, I'm gona get all yo' stuff and pack it in 'ere," he said still staring at the car.
Noodle looked up with a smile from where she was on Murdoc's bed cross legged, hugging Mike. She raised her brow skeptically, "Why? What for?"
He frowned, "I told yeh I was gona burn it after…after we talked. Yeh don't wan' me to burn yo' stuff wit' it do yeh?" he asked.
Noodle shook her head with a smile, "Ok, well come here first."
"Why?" he asked with a glare.
"Just cause! Now come here," she said with a bright smile that the Satanist couldn't resist. He kept up the façade that he had and padded back towards her. Mike scurried out of the way past Murdoc towards the from of the Winnebago and Noodle smiled bigger, grabbing Murdoc by the waist and sitting him down next to her.
She squeezed his arm, "How do you feel?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Normal."
Noodle rolled her eyes, "Now I know that's not true. Did you feel any different when you woke up?"
He humored her and thought about how he had felt then and how he was feeling now. He cocked his head to the side to prove he was thinking and said, "I felt…'appy...I think…when I woke up. It kind o' pleased meh to see that we 'adn't 'ad sex yet an' 'at we jus' slept together."
Noodle nodded and smiled, "And…? Anything else?"
He thought for a minute, "I keep gettin' 'is weird feelin' in meh gut whene'er I look at yeh."
Noodle's grin grew even wider, "Those are called butterflies and that means you're excited to see me," she said with a laugh.
He frowned at the new, unfamiliar feeling that had abruptly acquainted itself with him without warning. Could he really be square with these kinds of emotions? One look at her smile reassured him of that and he smirked back at her.
Winking, Noodle leaned in close to his ear, "I love you," she whispered.
Murdoc's eyes bulged and his body stiffened. He had heard those three little words many times in his life…but never had they been directed at him. Ever. His entire body shuddered as Noodle kissed his ear and leaned back, smiling at him.
He glanced at her, "'ow…'ow do yeh know? 'ow can yeh tell?" he asked.
Noodle smiled, "Well, I had to think about it to convince myself. I didn't want to believe it when you first showed up. But I started to realize that you would take care of me for the rest of my life, that you really, honestly did care about me…and I knew, even though you didn't, that you loved me. You came all this way just to bring me back, Murdoc. Only someone who loved me and cared enough about me would do something like that. And I liked who you had become over the years. So, in conclusion, I realized that I loved you."
He grabbed her up in his arms, putting her in his lap again and rocking with her back and forth. His face was buried in her neck so he could hide the look of pure disbelief on his face. He frowned slightly, squeezing his eyes shut and holding her tighter. He wasn't used to these kinds of emotions. Could he really be capable of giving someone this kind of emotion and affection?
Well shit, why the hell not?
He removed his face from her neck and looked her dead in the eyes, taking a deep breath.
"I…I love…yeh," he stammered. Noodle gasped silently, her mouth opening in surprise and her eyes shining wide with delight.
"I love yeh, Noodle," he said, hardening his resolve.
Noodle bit her lip to keep from smiling so wide, "I love you too, Murdoc."
He grinned still in a daze from the flood of emotions that rushed into his brain and…his heart.
"I'm…I'm gona go…burn yo' car," he said bemused.
Noodle laughed, "Ok."
"I love yeh."
"I love you, too."
"Wana help me unpack yo' car?"
"Sure."
"I love yeh."
Noodle smiled and leaned in to kiss the bassist. He kissed her back with more passion than he'd ever given any other woman before. He combed his thick fingers through her hair, sighing contently into the kiss.
Noodle broke away, leaning her forehead against his and looking into his brown eyes, "Are you okay with this? I know this is a lot for you to take in all at once," she whispered gently.
He nodded, "I was ready for 'is I think. I love yeh."
Noodle laughed, "I can tell, and I love you too."
He pulled her against him in the first, loving embrace of his life and held her for a long time, "I've ne'er been 'appier before, e'er. An' 'at's unusual fo' a Satanist."
Noodle smiled into his shoulder, "I'm glad you're happy Murdoc. I'm happy too…for the first time…in a long time."
"Let's go unpack yo' car so I can burn 'at fucker."
"Ok."
"I love yeh."
"I love you, too."
A/N: Oh NO! I am not done people! Not done! I have one more thing in store for you! Stay tuned! And by the way…some of you need to update your stories LIKE CRAZY! Stop reading this…and go update yours. I mean it! Stop reading DAMN YOU!