A/N: Happy belated new year! I wanted to make this and the other Afterparty story(to be posted soon) as sort of 'quasi-sequels' to Company Party 3. I got a little slowed down, but hey, better late than never, as they say.
This one probably takes place right before Christmas, a day or two before Christmas eve, I'd imagine. It's just some good old fashioned naughty fun. Hope you enjoy! Oh yeah, adults only. This one gets very, very spicy.
(Despite the name, it's not a technical 'afterparty' like Mile High, but a fic that just happens to take place after the party.)
"Yikes. I don't think I've felt this cold in ages. And I'm in the military."
"Same here. Even Gwan didn't want to go outside, and he loves the snow."
The pair were heading in after an attempt to spar; while they managed to get a little bit in, the bitter cold-it was nearly twenty below-just got to be too much for them. While they'd both fought in the cold before, it was more out of necessity, and while they appreciated the practice, they had enough after some time.
Adel stopped by the kitchens of the Sky Noah to get some immediate hot coffee sent up as Whip went to the room itself, immediately starting to strip off her garments in the very nicely warmed area. He did the same as soon as he arrived, as the pair had put on about three sleek, insulated layers. The high-tech clothing fit well and was very easy to move around in, but still didn't quite stave off the worst of it, as the wind could take one's breath away rather quickly when it kicked up.
"Well that was fun while it lasted," he said, moving to take off his long-sleeved shirt before following with the thermal he had on underneath; he left the tight under-shirt on at the moment. He then moved to remove his heavy boots in the corner before sitting on the side of the bed.
Whip herself had managed to get down to her first, tight shirt layer, which Adel smiled at; it fit her well toned shape very, very nicely. Turning to see him smiling, she started to smirk herself, walking over to him and pushing back his hair.
"Warming up?" he asked her as he looked up.
"I'd say so," she said, nuzzling his hair a moment before kissing his head. Looking into his eyes-the usual soft expression in them, she caressed the side of his face. "How are you, by the way?"
He knew she was referring to the somewhat recent mission. She knew how much his old life would sometimes drag him down, and he'd sometimes get lost in his own thoughts, which would make his 'other side' start to feel somewhat bad. It was a constant mental wrestling match for him that could last a while, until he finally won over everything, quieting himself down until he ran into things that heavily stressed him again, forcing him to deal out more punishment.
"I'm alright," he said. "The holidays…they make me happy now," he said.
"Same," she agreed.
"What about you? You always ask how I'm doing," he said, rubbing her stomach under her shirt, feeling the firmness under his rough fingertips.
"Oh, you know I hold up," she said. "I've been fine. I haven't had any nightmares recently. Which is a relief."
He smiled softly at that, as their hands found each other. "Holidays here should be nice."
"Same plan as last time?"
"Oh, yeah," he grinned. Their plan last time entailed going out for a holiday dinner on Christmas eve…at an expensive pizza place.
"I hope that place doesn't go anywhere. I think it's going to be tradition."
"I hope so." He turned to look at the tree in his room. If there was one thing he did, it was put up a giant tree…and would then attempt to keep Gwan away from it. When he wasn't trying to attack the trees in the gathering room, Henrik's room, Rose's room, dining room, or any of the meeting rooms, that was. Adel himself didn't do anything to put those up-those were the rest of his household, since Rose liked them-but he had decided to put the one in his room this year. It was colored blue, which was one of his favorite colors, and gave the room a nice, calming feel.
Whip looked over at it, too. "Glad to see Gwan hadn't pulled this one down," she chuckled, almost knowing what he was thinking. "Yet."
"We're distracting him with a lot of food this time," he laughed. Sitting back, he slid his shirt off, causing Whip to almost immediately begin stroking his well-muscled form. He stretched, leading her to start rubbing his shoulders from the front, as his head hung forward.
"Hmm," she said as she rubbed.
"Yes?" he asked, his head then leaning back, a content smile on his face and his eyes closed.
"Think the sauna would warm us up?"
He opened his eyes, grinning. "Oh, yes. I was actually considering firing up that or the hot tub coming in." He stood, ruffling her hair a moment before going into his bathroom; he had his own personal sauna off to the side. The way the massive bathroom was set up was impressive; off to the right was the shower, tub, and the like, while off to the left was the door to the sauna. They had a bigger sauna in another room on the Sky Noah's 'recreation level', but Adel sort of wanted the private one this time.
Just in case.
He opened the door to the large room. Made of fine, lacquered and moisture-proof wood, it smelled very nice, and had a dim, relaxing feel. Firing up the stove-it was electric, as most of the time wood-burning saunas were used more in cabins or houses-he made sure everything was set to let it start to heat up. Given it was a state of the art job-the Bernsteins skimped on nothing in the Sky Noah-this would be heated up in no time, far faster than a typical one. The pair usually didn't take it as hot as they did in Northern Europe, but it would be a nice, steamy, relaxing time; afterward they would probably settle down with a couple of spiked drinks before whatever other pleasurable endeavors struck. As he fired everything up, he heard Whip fetch the coffee which had been brought up on the tray; they had included some shortbread cookies on the side as a bonus.
Shutting it behind him to keep all of the heat in, he began to sort out towels and everything before taking most of the rest of his clothing off, stripping to his underwear. Munching one cookie and washing it down with a single swig of hot coffee, he set his cup down and wandered by Whip, tossing his clothing-which he had slung over his shoulder-on the bed before stretching and looking out the window.
She smirked, coming up behind him to slide her arms around his waist for a moment. Pausing for a second, she disengaged, threw her own shirt off, and went back to press against him, so they were skin to skin.
He sighed at this, sliding his large hand over hers, giving them a squeeze.
"Mmm," he said, feeling her pressing against him. "Hopefully that sauna heats up fast."
She kissed between his shoulder blades a few times, staying silent. "Same here." She glanced over to the tray. "Will the coffee get cold?"
"Nah…" he muttered, trailing off. "It's insulated. Don't worry."
Her warm skin against his, mixed with the light kisses she gave him over his shoulders and down his spine, caused him to first shiver, and then almost already begin to wake up somewhere else. It did not take either one of them long to get the other aroused, though he wondered if they should wait to properly enjoy a cup of coffee, enjoy the sauna, and then indulge.
As her soft kisses continued, he sighed, turning around to face her, quickly sliding his head down to meet her in a full one. It stayed for quite awhile, even as he went to lean back against the wall; neither of them were wearing much in the way of clothing at the moment.
Tracing her lips down his neck, the soldier shivered, kissing under his jaw. She thought for a moment.
"How long is this thing going to take to heat up?"
"Long enough," he whispered back, his large hands running up and down her well-toned back as hers traced over his abdomen, exploring the muscle and scars as she would. He teased her with his piercing over her lips a moment before they met in another deep one, tongues meeting each other as she shivered at the feel again. She could feel him pressing against her midsection already.
As they slowly made their way to the bed, kissing hungrily the entire way, Whip's mind wandered back to their earliest days exploring their physical side. They were so curious and experimental; this, of course, led to them finding things they really, really enjoyed doing to one another-and having done.
Adel traced down, allowing the cool ball of the barbell to tease her skin; this always contrasted with the warmth of his mouth, giving her quite the sensation. He had gotten his tongue pierced the same day he had decided to get the nipple rings; both of them just to experiment, to try something new. He had only planned on getting the nipple rings, but upon finding out things he could do with the tongue stud, decided to try one as well. He thought it looked cool, anyway, on top of it being functional.
Exhaling deeply as he slowly circled her breast, having pushed up her shirt, she started fumbling her pants off herself. It was clear this one was going to be something a little faster; a little treat before they headed into the sauna. Her midsection was already slick, almost knowing that he would soon release her the way he so loved to do with his mouth.
He flickered the barbell against her side for a moment, teasing the sensitive skin.
Whip groaned, knowing at this point he was teasing her horribly.
"Goddamn tease," she muttered.
"Just making you want it."
"You know I always want it."
"Mm. I love when you say that," he muttered.
She squirmed under his touch, his hot breath on her stomach as he kissed her abs again, going slowly enough to start her trying to thrust her hips at him, almost wishing for a bit of release. She wasn't sure why now she got so damn hot-besides the fact he knew how to turn her on, this was sudden, even for her-but all Whip knew was that she was, and that she wanted it badly.
"Mmm…" she said, running her hands through his thick, soft hair.
"I'm getting there…" he whispered, kissing under her navel. He did like to take his time…but at this point, he knew by the way she was looking at him that she wanted him to get her off, and now. It wasn't like he could resist anymore; smelling her all too familiar clean, feminine scent made him simply want to delve in…so he did.
Adel started by nuzzling down and lightly poking his tongue inside of her, just to get it covered in her sweet taste. He swallowed, and then began to drag his tongue slowly up and down her folds. He had a method of making sure the cool barbell would occasionally hit her, causing the sensation to drive her mad.
Her firm legs slid around his neck as he knelt in front of her on the bed. She sat up on her elbows to watch him, gasping at his actions before grasping his soft, blonde hair, her lids growing heavy with pleasure.
He knew Whip's body extremely well at this point. As he knelt, he allowed one hand to trace over her firm, defined abdomen as he always liked to do as his other gripped her thigh. Pressing his mouth close, his long and dexterous tongue slid all over her, tickling the opening for a moment, making sure to tease her clit with the barbell, causing her to almost cry out.
His breathing grew heavier as her moans drove him on, his own trousers getting rather uncomfortable already. Adel himself moaned; this only made Whip thrust her hips toward him more and more. It turned her on to no end knowing how much he enjoyed pleasuring her.
Within a few more minutes-he teased her a little more, occasionally drawing back to lightly flick the tip of his tongue over her clit-he felt her grow even more slick. His mouth and chin were already soaked as he began to suck harder at the sensitive, hard organ, lightly rolling the barbell against it, until he heard her moan loudly in release. Feeling her slick fluids now run freely from her into his mouth, where he began to almost greedily swallow with one large hand squeezing her rear, he moaned low again in approval.
"Yes," she whispered, thrusting until she felt herself shiver in completion as he gently teased her, only pulling away when he could get no more and he felt her squirm in sensitivity.
The soldier just pulled him up when he was done, grinning and running her hands down his face as he licked his lips. She giggled, raising her eyebrows.
"You never fail to please me."
"I never will," he grinned, as she pulled her down to kiss him deeply. Before he had gotten up, he had freed himself from his trousers, and she could now feel him brushing against her, ready. He didn't need much of anything right now; he could feel, especially with the way he could taste her still, that he would be done rather quickly.
Of course, he planned on a much longer session after, as well. He just considered this a bit of a quickie to warm them up before the sauna and a nice, refreshing shower.
Sliding her arms around his neck-firmly stroking his large muscles, her fingers lightly brushing between his smooth skin and some of the scars he had-she met him as he slid inside. Ever since they had started barebacking, it had been even more wonderful for the both of them; they felt even closer than before during it all.
Exhaling, she met him in a kiss as he began to thrust; she was more than ready for him after his initial oral pleasure. Thrusting along with him, he went faster and faster, clearly wanting to come sooner than later, given just how horny he was from this all.
He knew they had all afternoon to do more, anyway.
Pressing his forehead to hers as he continued, he repositioned slightly as he pushed her back a little more on the bed as he knelt on either side of her. Thrusting faster and faster, he could feel her clamping around him, causing him to moan low in pleasure, tracing his mouth down to nibble lightly at her neck as he sped up.
A few more thrusts, and Whip could feel him start to shiver; several more and he moaned louder, very low, as she felt him finally orgasm. As his body trembled in pleasure, she felt the warmth enter her as she wrapped her legs up around him, nudging her face toward his to meet him in a deep kiss.
He slowed down when he felt himself finish, the kiss breaking as he moved his lips down to kiss her chin and neck a few moments, staying inside of her for a little more time. Despite this being a bit of a quickie, they were both already a little sweaty, already with satisfied looks on their faces.
"Mmm," she said, kissing him again.
"I think the sauna's hot now," he said, a smirk on his face.
"Guess we can go finish heating up?" she grinned.
Pulling out-knowing that he could rejuvenate some for another round in a little while-he held his hand out, pulling her close as the two finished shedding their clothing. They embraced a few moments as they headed into the showers to rinse off before heading into the sauna proper.
They took little time, only giving a basic rinse in the nice, hot water; they would shower properly afterward. The sauna itself had a shower included in the room before it-this was separate from Adel's own bath and shower, which was on the other side of the bathroom when one would walk in.
Whip at first found it amusing that his own huge, private bathroom had two showers, but at the same time, she wasn't surprised. She remembered the first time he had given her a tour of the place; she saw the huge bathroom and was impressed. Then he took her through one door, and she got to see the large shower and tub, in its own room.
If that wasn't enough, he had then shown her where they are now; the shower and dressing room, right next to the sauna itself, behind a frosted glass door.
Adel finished rinsing himself well with the shower, stretching out as Whip followed suit, both of them feeling fairly well relieved from their little session. Making their way into the hot room, they climbed up near the top as the controlled room kept it hot, though not overly so.
Throwing a little water toward the stones-most of it was more automated, though they could speed things along a little-he sat next to his lover, the two of them on the dark blue towels that he had in his bathroom. He sighed deeply, leaning against the wall.
"Here we go," he said.
"I don't think we use this thing often enough," she replied, stretching her lean, toned form out.
"Not nearly enough."
Smiling, she leaned next to him, letting the day's activities sweat out of her. She felt his arm slide around her slowly; she decided to just lean against him, growing even more comfortable.
As his large, rough hand traced over her skin after some time, she found herself having to shift once. Despite having just gotten some excellent relief, she…felt things again.
Perhaps it was just the general vibe of the place.
He felt her shiver and glanced down; pushing back some of her hair as she leaned against him, he smirked.
"Is it too cold in here?"
"Why?"
"I felt you shiver."
"Oh. No…it feels great. Perfect." She turned back around, touching his face.
He pushed back some of her wet hair as he turned to face her, as well. "Hmm," he said, leaning in to kiss her a few times.
"What are you thinking?" she grinned.
"I'm thinking there's a towel right here…" he said, pushing her onto her back, "And that I'm still thirsty."
"O… Oh…" she said, leaning back, a little surprised…but pleased.
Leaning down in the hot, yet intimate room, Adel started to plant kisses on her nether lips again. It didn't matter that he just got finished, anytime was a good time for him to deliver pleasure to her.
The soft, almost maddening kisses turned into his skilled tongue making his way around her all over again as she let out a quivering moan, her hands fingering his wet hair. Her sensitivity from the first time was gone, which had now been taken once again over by desire. It felt even better, in fact, as it could after an orgasm and a small break.
Pushing close to tease her with the barbell some-the cooler metal was a particularly nice contrast to the heat of the sauna-he moaned himself, breathing heavily as he continued.
His mouth filling once again with her familiar, lovely taste, he leaned forward, looking to get her off before they got a little too hot. One could get overheated if this sort of thing went on too long.
"Gods," she whispered, one leg going on his shoulder as she thrust her hips toward him faster, his skilled tongue matching her. He lashed it all over her once again soaked center, swirling it a little more around her clit as he sucked, faster and faster, knowing he was going to reap his reward again soon.
She came even harder that time as he continued, not letting up; moaning loudly, she did not care if anyone would have heard, not that anyone could. He swallowed his prize again, letting her fluids run down his throat, holding her there for a few extra moments. Kissing her thighs several times before her center once more, Adel leaned back against the wall of the sauna, licking his lips and exhaling.
Whip had to catch her breath, her lithe and sinewy body stretching out a moment as she sat up, looking at him.
"Wasn't expecting that," she said, somewhat breathlessly.
"Like I said, I guess I was still thirsty," he said with an evil grin on his face.
"If I wasn't worried about overheating, I'd sit on you right now," she replied bluntly. She too had an evil smirk.
"I guess we better finish up here, then," he said, leaning forward to capture her in a kiss.
The two got a very nice amount of alone time-their sex life was extremely well taken care of-but they unfortunately didn't get as much lengthy alone time as they would have liked.
They seemed to be making up for that today, given they were free for all of it.
Letting the kiss linger for a few moments as she ran her hand through his hair, he threw a little more water onto the stones, allowing the heat to finish doing its job. Whip, having just been brought to orgasm twice in a rather short amount of time, leaned over, rubbing her neck with her hand as she shivered once again, despite the heat.
"I'm probably ready soon," he said. "I don't usually sit in here too long. Just enough to loosen up."
"Same here," she said, leaning against him again for a moment, seeing how his own midsection had indeed started to twitch already. She chuckled to herself about just how horny the both of them were today. They usually had very good self control…but it was all out the window now.
Standing after a few more moments-and one more rather deep kiss-the two hit the showers, washing up fully at this time. The two stood close, and she enjoyed the nice smell of the shampoo and conditioner he would use. He, too, enjoyed the smell of her soap; a familiar and clean scent. Neither overdid anything like perfume and cologne-they both just preferred to smell clean and natural most of the time.
Drying off briefly with towels, the two simply wandered out completely naked. Pausing to take a large drink of ice water from the pitcher on the table-Whip followed suit as the two of them had sweated it out fairly nicely in the sauna-he sighed once before turning to face her.
Before he knew it, she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and meeting him in a firm kiss. She grasped the sides of his face, feeling his freshly shaved face. He would sometimes, particularly in the winter or if on vacation, let some of his scruff grow. While he never grew much in the way of a mustache, he could get chin scruff, as well as some on the sides of his face. He would usually end up shaving it-often himself, with a straight razor. He liked the closeness of the shave.
Whip joked a few times when he'd let himself go that he gave her rugburn on her thighs.
Running her hands through his damp hair as she stayed hanging there, she gave him a little squeeze with her legs after the kiss broke. Sliding her arms around his muscular neck, she pressed her forehead to his as he stood there. Both of their breathing had once again grown heavier; she had no idea what had gotten into her today, but she felt like she could go yet again.
Judging by the way he was twitching against her at his midsection, so could he.
In the middle of the kisses, Adel chuckled, looking at her.
"I think…" he said, kissing her a few more times as he made his way over to the bed to sit on it as she straddled his bare waist, "I can tell we haven't had a long session in awhile." He kissed her some more as his strong hand slid down to grab her firm rear end, giving it a squeeze.
"Yeah," Whip replied, rather breathlessly, before going back to it as he edged his way onto the bed again. "Too long. Been too busy."
"Guess we just make our day off count, then," he said, kissing her again as she started to slide up him.
"I know something we hadn't done in awhile," she whispered, turning around on him, clearly instigating a sixty-nine.
As he immediately started to kiss and nibble at her thighs again, his hands gripping her rear, rubbing it, he never even got much of a chance to answer as he let out a low moan.
She had basically taken it upon herself to practically deep-throat him right then and there as a bit of a surprise.
"Goddamn," he muttered, adding more kisses to her thighs before he allowed his tongue to once again plunge into her, indulging in giving her the intimate, sensual kisses down there that he knew she loved. It was almost hard to concentrate, given what she was actually doing to him.
Down at her end, Whip was busily trying to focus on her own fun, taking him deep, teasing him with her tongue, and using her one hand to reach under and give him some extra fondling, all of which caused him to make small noises of pleasure. One hand rubbed his huge thigh, her slightly rough fingers massaging it as she continued.
Pausing for a moment as she pulled back to swirl and flicker her tongue around the tip and suck lightly at the head, she heard him let out a shaking moan as he ended up thrusting his own hips toward her. Panting and looking at the ceiling, his leg shook as she kept at him, sucking him a little harder as one of her free hands continued fondling him.
And then, she slid the hand further back, her finger sliding inside of him and starting to curl, hitting other areas.
She had to smile to herself when she heard him almost yelp in pleasure, stopping what he was doing as his own hips bucked gently toward her. One huge leg shifted up, almost giving her a little more access as she continued her doubled up bit of pleasure. One hand continued massaging his thigh as she would sometimes trace low as she would go between taking him deep and teasing the head, the salty liquid rather prominent. Her slim finger was able to press inside in such a way that he ended up quite a bit more vocal than usual.
The big blonde threw back his head as he tried to get himself together to focus on giving her yet another orgasm, but he was in another world at the moment. He faintly remembered the year before-it was around the holiday that she had tried this on him the first time, much to his surprised pleasure.
Managing to get himself together, he decided to tease her a little in his own way; after swirling his tongue around her opening again, collecting more of her taste on it, he brought it back, teasing her rear himself for a bit ever so lightly.
This caused Whip to suddenly gasp, pressing a little harder into him.
The two now went back and forth in throes of pleasure during the rather intense sixty-nine they had fallen into. Whip was trying to somewhat focus again; his actions had started to distract her a little. She kept her finger inside of him, though, curling it again, hearing him almost growl in his throat when she did so.
Sucking him deeply some more, she started to slow down, letting him concentrate some on his own fun. Moaning rather loudly when she felt him tease her center some more before teasing her rear some more with his tongue, she started to press toward him a little harder, guiding him to get her off again. She could feel herself almost there, and when he would flicker over her extremely quickly, it nearly drove her mad.
Adel knew exactly what she was asking for, and as she slowly kept him going down on her end-he was trying to hold back, waiting to go inside of her again-he pushed his face into her, opening his mouth wide and allowing his tongue to lash around her quickly, pressing it hard, lapping around everything that was there. He was fairly thoroughly soaked, which only turned him on even more.
Whip felt him finally once again sucking her, all while thrusting his tongue deeply in, able to get in even deeper thanks to his position.
Between his own actions and teasing her with the barbell which he had gotten so good at, she finally came one more time with a quivering moan, almost spent from everything they had been doing for the past near hour.
Despite twice before, he had gotten her so horny that she managed to come even harder the last time, much to both of their pleasures.
He drank her in one more time, even more content than he was the first time they had gone at it today. Slurping up everything he could, licking his lips off afterward before finally throwing his head back on the pillow when he was sure she was finished. He sighed, shivering due to the situation between his own legs at the moment.
Finally pulling out of him and letting him go, she kissed him one more time, the salty taste very prominent now. Spinning around, she could see how wet he was still…and she found this incredibly hot, given it showed just how much he loved doing what he did.
She mused to herself how they would likely need a shower again immediately afterward.
Wasting no time, she positioned down on top of him, planning on riding him this time. The look of her lovely body on top of him right now caused Adel to get a rather wide grin on his face, his hands sliding immediately over to her toned sides, rubbing them as she settled fully down on top of him.
One again, barebacking felt so good to both of them.
Whip grinned almost evilly, leaning over him to kiss him deeply as she started to drive down on top of him, at first slowly…before building up more. She loved to feel him inside of her, but knew that he was close to being in pain right now.
Adel was in heaven once again; they both were. Kissing her once before meeting her thrusts, their hands sliding all over each other, his small moans in turn made her bounce a bit faster. Still tasting her on him after the previous intense session, it was all he could do to hold back some more. He had gotten far better control as their relationship went on…but there was only so much he could take.
Still, he held on, allowing Whip to continue bearing down on top of him, speeding up a little more as they finally embraced. He matched her thrusts; they were now wrapped around each other as he moved more and more toward his climax.
When he felt her start to kiss and nip at his neck, it was too much; he finally came with a low moan, thrusting harder into her as she squeezed him, causing the pleasure to shoot through his body in intense waves. They were once again sweaty, but they didn't care; the shower would be waiting for them afterward.
Right now, they were having a very nice, long bonding session.
A few more thrusts, and he finally finished. He was shivering from the sheer pleasure, both of them panting heavily as Whip collapsed on him, the two entwining around one another. He still had not pulled out, and she made no rush to do so. She enjoyed the feel of him still inside of her; messy or no, she loved him, and the feeling was mutual.
"Damn," Adel finally said as he caught his breath, leaning back against the pillow. "Guess we'll need another shower." He chuckled. "And get the sheets changed I think."
Whip simply laughed softly, touching his chin. "Worth it." She leaned in to kiss him. "I don't want to move yet, though."
"You don't have to," he replied, meeting her in another kiss. "You never have to."
They indeed did not move for a rather long time.
Heading downstairs to go check a few things, Whip noticed the door to one of the big dinner rooms open. She hadn't checked all of the Sky Noah's decorations yet, and they certainly spared no expense. Feeling incredibly satisfied from the multiple rounds of everything that had gone on upstairs that afternoon, she was also starting to get hungry, so she had started to move downstairs while Adel was stretching some on the bar in the bedroom. They had laid together for some time, chatting quietly after their long session.
And if she was getting hungry, she knew Adel, who was a bottomless pit when it came to food, was probably absolutely ravenous.
She randomly decided to peek into the room, given she wasn't in much of a hurry, and noticed Rose there, seemingly getting ready for another function. She could tell by her general appearance that she was quite 'there' today, not having any sort of muddled pulling on her brain. The dining area seemed nicely set up-fine china and crystal everywhere, very nice lighting, and probably one of the largest Christmas trees she had seen indoors.
She could see it was all Gwan could do to not pounce on this thing, though he seemed willing to listen to one of his masters here. Mostly he seemed to prowl around Rose, trying to convince her to drop a snack, though there wasn't much food set out yet.
Turning, the young woman in the red dress saw the soldier, giving her a small smile. "Hello," she said.
Waving, she walked in, going to pet the oversized cub when he prowled over to her. Rose smiled at this as he licked her hand. "Hey," she said, eyeing the tree. "Getting ready?"
"Yes, I have to entertain a few guests tomorrow. Noble family from Austria. Long-time acquaintances with the Bernsteins." She laughed. "Adel was never particularly a big fan of them, though he tolerates them for my sake."
Whip had to laugh at that. The two were comfortable talking to one another; they had been for a long time. They were far, far too different to really become close, though were definitely cordial with one another these days, even mostly friendly. "He's like that," she said. "He's rather patient."
"I get it," she said. "I do finally get it. He's always been my brother. I've always looked up to him. But I know that he…didn't have the same relationship with Father that I did," she said, adjusting a wine glass absently. "It was probably the cause of most of our arguments."
The young woman listened, almost surprised to hear her say something like that to her, especially so suddenly. "He told me about the time in South Town," she said.
Rose laughed. "Oh, when I provoked a bunch of older gang members and then hid behind him?"
"That was it."
"They were surprised a fourteen year old could beat so many of them," the blonde said, chuckling. Looking over at the tree, she smiled sort of distantly at it. "He was never left wanting for anything at all around this time of year," she said, "But…it was always different for him."
"I…got that impression." Whip had seen the picture of the two of them growing up; the one she remembered the most was a grinning Adel-perhaps ten-holding her effortlessly on his shoulders. Even young, he was strong. She knew in that picture, his hands had not yet been stained. As they grew up, and the secretaries ended up getting to Rose somewhat, the two started having their more major differences, but even before that, she knew they were treated differently.
"I remember asking Father once why things seemed different. He never told me." She looked at the tree, before shaking her head. "I'm sorry. A few things had me thinking, that's all."
"No need to be," Whip replied with a small smile. "While I can't…speak from experience, I heard this time of year can bring back memories."
Hearing someone walk in, the two turned, noticing Adelheid there, smiling softly. He had come down to see something Henrik had called him about, and overheard, deciding to poke his head in.
"Hi, Brother," Rose said, bowing her head. "I hope I'm not keeping her."
"Not at all," he said, a soft smile on his face. "The tree looks nice."
"The servants took two tries to get it this way, but they finally did."
"Are the Hubers coming?"
"Yes."
He made a face. "I'll put up with them, as I always do."
"Thank you. You know how much that means to me."
Whip laughed at this, knowing that look on her lover's face.
"I know. They're your favorite Christmas guests. Don't expect me to buy them anything, though."
Rose laughed heartily at that. Adel smiled, happy that whatever had been tugging at her mind seemed to be leaving her be around this time of year; he only hoped it stayed that way, as the group was still no closer to finding them.
For now, things seemed okay, so they wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Anyway, I need to make a few phone calls," Rose said, walking by to give her brother a hug, as he returned it. Looking at Whip for a moment, she offered out a hand; after taking it, she gave her a hesitant hug, as well. Whip, being a bit stunned for a moment, returned it.
It was short, but it made Adelheid smile warmly.
"Enjoy your night," she said afterward.
"We will. Feeling alright, by the way?" Whip asked.
"Yes," she said, smiling. "By the way," she added, "Ask them about the hot chocolate. They started preparing the spiked kind."
Adel grinned. "Oh, finally. I was wondering when they were going to start to make it."
Leaving, she gave a curtsey before heading out, leaving the two in the big, lavish room-decorated mostly in red, green, and gold, looking around. As they both wore clothes that one might wear after two hours of sex and a sauna, they felt dreadfully underdressed for even standing there.
Coming up next to him, Whip grasped his hand tightly. He looked down at her, smiling gently.
"It was cool to talk again," she said. "I didn't expect a hug."
"I was glad to see it."
"We're very different, but…I'm glad that we have an understanding."
"So am I. And…well, it's the same with us. We're siblings, and we've always cared about each other, but we've always been different growing up," he said. "You know a lot of the stories. It…it means a lot. I don't think I can tell you that enough."
She slid her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "You do. You do everything enough," she said.
"Yeah, I know I can be hardheaded and kinda…impulsive," he said sheepishly.
"None of us are perfect. Even if you scare me sometimes when you go into battle. Not because of losing control, of course."
"Thanks for forcing me to wear armor," he smirked.
"You better continue." He had gone to fight Furze on the spot, and she scolded him after the fact, knowing he went there virtually unarmored.
"Yes, dear."
She laughed warmly at this. Whip positively radiated afterglow at the moment; they both did; but there was a different sort of warmth there, too. "Let's get to the kitchen, get some of this fabled boozy hot chocolate and get back to your room. I think I just want to relax."
"Same. We'll go take care of dinner later."
Walking off-their hands with their fingers interlocked-they continued on with their evening, looking forward to the holidays again, something they hadn't truly done until last year for the first time.
A/N: Just pure smutty fluff. Or fluffy smut. Whichever way you wanna roll. I like seeing how far they've come in the past year and some change, and indeed, they've come a long way. Ups and downs, ins and outs, having to deal with one another's rough, darker pasts but always coming out of it stronger. Holiday fics for me are times to write pure enjoyable stuff, so I did that.
Rose I always saw as not really completely evil, as most know. Right now, she's going through the Botan attempts of mind control. Otherwise, while she takes somewhat after their father-you can tell from the stories it's not *all* there. While if you were to see her dealing with the other nobles she'd be as snobby as anything, and she's even vicious to her opponents, letting Adelheid know exactly what they do…she's warmed up to Seirah, who she knows loves Adelheid dearly, and vice versa. Even if they differ enough that they'll never really be besties or anything, having them at least at this point means a lot to Adel.
Anyway, Happy Holidays everyone! Any readers sticking with me, thank you, I hope to continue to make these characters grow in other ways for the future to come! (And actually grow more. This was some good ol' fashioned getting it on.)
