Miranda spoke with Heisenberg first, deciding that she wanted to speak to them privately. Soon he came outside with an unamused look on his face.
"My turn?" She asked. She so badly wanted to ask more, but she knew now wasn't the time.
"Yeah. I'll wait for you here," he grumbled, pulling out a cigar to light it. He seemed so, so tired. He didn't even try to bicker at the meeting, and she had fully expected that.
"Okay, I'll see you after," Circe said, heaved a sigh, then walked into the chapel for the second time that night.
It was colder now. The breeze nearly caused Circe to shiver, but she wouldn't allow herself to do so. She didn't want to make Miranda think she was afraid. Even if she was.
Miranda was standing in her usual spot, and when Circe walked in she raised her hands to her as she did during the meeting. A form of greeting.
"Zero, now one of my Ladies of the Village. We will have to come up with some insignia for you, something that represents who you are," she was speaking softly, taking a few places forward.
Circe walked closer still, stopping about arm's length from her. "Thank you. I am grateful for this opportunity, Mother Miranda," she forced herself to give a closed eye smile.
Miranda closed the distance between them, using both of her palms to caress either side of Circe's face. "You deserve it, my dear, especially after the good report I got from Heisenberg," she praised.
Circe didn't allow her features to change. Cynthia had given her psychology books some point ago, and she was glad she could put the information to good use.
Her hands were so cold, though… She could feel it under her skin…
Something felt wrong...
"I am happy to have pleased you," Circe murmured, sounding a lot more confident than she felt.
Miranda smiled. "You're such a sweet, obedient child," she cooed, pulling Circe in for a hug.
Circe didn't know how to react. It only lasted a moment before Miranda pulled away, keeping her hands on Circe's shoulders.
"Tell me. Heisenberg said you had gotten faster, stronger. Did he speak the truth?" Miranda asked.
Circe nodded. "He did. Would you like me to show you?"
Miranda's eyes lit up slightly. "Of course, Zero," she let go of Circe's shoulders now, flitting back with inhuman speed to give Circe space. "Go on then, child, I must leave very soon."
Circe gave another nod and decided quickly that she didn't want to show the guild extent of her abilities. She would only show enough to appease her.
Taking a short breath, Circe walked over to a pew, one that had not broken, and lifted it up with both hands. She could have easily lifted it with one.
Miranda clapped lightly. "Good, good. Anything else?"
Circe set the pew down. "Only one more thing," she then jumped up and down, not very high, two times before taking three laps around the pew she had just picked up. She only went fast enough to make an impression.
Another light clap from Miranda, though Circe could see that she was losing interest. Her mask was fading ever so slightly, letting the impatience feed through.
"Good, very well done, Zero," Miranda said, once again stepping towards Circe. "Very good. You do well to continue, yes?"
Circe met her halfway. "Of course, Mother Miranda."
Miranda gave a quick smile, patted Circe's cheek, and began walking away. "I will see you when I come back, child. Do well."
And with that, she was gone in a flurry of black feathers.
Circe let go of the air she had been holding, turning around instantly to head out the front of the chapel, happy to finally get out of the place.
She hoped it had been enough.
Heisenberg was pacing rapidly, his cigar nearly gone. The moment he noticed Circe exit the Chapel he stopped, taking quick steps toward her. He slowed down and stopped short, realizing he must have looked much too desperate. They still had to be careful.
Circe walked up to his side. "I'm ready to eat…" she said, then kept walking. She didn't want to make anything more obvious.
The walk to the factory was quick and quiet. Circe and Heisenberg kept the same pace, side by side. Actually, Circe had to slow down a few times because she was going too fast, but Heisenberg never complained.
All she could think about was how something had changed. She couldn't tell what. All she knew was it had something to do with Mother Miranda, and she hated not knowing anything else. She felt unprepared…
The encounter with Miranda wasn't even that bad, maybe she was just overreacting, but the feelings within her were threatening to explode if she didn't let them out. It reminded her of the bees she used to see before the weather got colder… A million bees right beneath her skin, ready to dig their way out….
Circe didn't even speak when they entered the front door to the factory, she just zipped down the hallways and to their room.
"Circe!" Heisenberg was calling from behind. She did not respond. "Circe, what happened?" Finally, he had caught up, closing the door behind him.
She didn't say anything, she just sat on the couch. She needed to gather herself. It felt like she wasted too much energy on pretending to be someone she wasn't. Like she was no longer about to be confident in herself.
"Circe, sweetheart, darling, babe," he was in front of her now, on his knees. "You're fuckin' scarin' me, love. I need you to say something, anything," he had taken his glasses off, eyes pleading.
Why was she freaking out so much? Once again she reminded herself nothing had exactly gone wrong at the meeting. Then why did she feel so bad right now?
Heisenberg caressed her face with his palms, forcing her to look at him. "Come on, you can't go mute on me again," he was so worried.
She hated that she was the cause of it.
"I…" she managed, realizing she had a lump in the back of her throat. When had that gotten there?
"There ya go, buttercup!" Heisenberg stroked her cheek.
Talking felt like such a chore. "I don't know…" she closed her eyes. "I don't know…why I feel so bad right now."
And then the tears came.
"Oh, okay, alright," he got on the couch next to her, then scooped her up into his lap. "What happened? Was it that bitch Miranda?"
She didn't know what to say, so she sobbed lightly.
"Okay, it's okay, it's okay," he was rubbing circles into her back now. "Just let it all out, go on. I'm here," he said, his voice gravely and soothing.
Circe listened, letting go of the barrier that was holding back the rest of the emotions she had bottled up.
She supposed she had just tried to be much stronger than she felt for too long. At least, that is all she could rationalize. She didn't want to think at this moment. She only wanted to cry.
Heisenberg held her close, humming soothing sounds to her. He would kiss the top of her head, brush her hair with his fingers. He must have had a handkerchief in his jacket because he would wipe away her tears every now and again.
She could feel the tops of her cheek going raw. She must have been crying for a while.
Suddenly, she felt empty. No more tears dropped, and she had nearly reclaimed full control of her breathing.
"I've got you," Heisenberg squeezed her to him.
Circe smiled weakly, raising her heavy lids to peer up at him. "I know."
He smiled back, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb. "You don't have to be afraid, Circe," he was speaking so softly.
"But it feels like I should be very afraid," she spoke barely above a whisper.
Heisenberg gazed into her tired eyes for a moment. He was more tender than he had ever been before, and her heart was melting.
Was this love? Had she fallen in love? Was that why she was able to simply let go completely in his arms, even finding solace in his embrace? She couldn't tell.
"Hey," she lifted a hand to touch his face. "I'll be okay."
He laughed then, a small rumble in his chest. "'Course you will, buttercup,'' he leaned down to give her a kiss on the mouth. "You have nothin' to be scared of, ya know. However, you do need to eat and drink something," he said, giving her thigh a few hefty pats. "You're probably dehydrated or somethin'," he lifted her up as he stood, making his way towards the kitchen.
Circe sighed happily, allowing herself to be carried. Her arms clung around his neck, and she nuzzled her nose into his neck.
Heisenberg sat her down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table and ruffled her hair. "I'm going to make us something quick, then we can finally go to sleep for the night."
The promise of sleep made Circe smile. He smiled back, grabbing hold of her chin to give her a quick kiss on her lips before pulling away.
Circe wanted to pout, but he was right. They needed to eat.
He made them some sandwiches and opened a bag of chips for them to eat. He also made sure Circe drank plenty of water before he let her get up. He had a glass of whisky for himself.
When they were done, Circe went to the bathroom to freshen up, and get into some pajamas. She felt even more empty when she was away from him. She wondered if he felt the same.
Once she was done brushing her teeth, she walked into Heisenberg's room to find him already half-naked and in bed. He had gotten comfortable sleeping in only a pair of shorts around her.
She didn't mind. Actually, she enjoyed it. It made her feel like she was closer to him. His muscles were thick and soft, and the hair on his chest was nice to play with when they cuddled.
Heisenberg looked up from a clipboard of notes when she entered the room, giving her a wide smile. He set the clipboard on his nightstand, then pulled up the covers next to him for Circe to climb under. "Come here, you gorgeous thing," he said.
Circe didn't even try to hide the blush that rose to her cheeks. She listened to him immediately, getting comfortably under the covers as he tucked them around her.
His arms were around her instantly, pulling her in. "I wanna be as close to you as possible," he said in her ear, causing goosebumps to form on the back of Circe's neck.
One of his hands trailed from around her shoulder and down over her waist.
Circe couldn't hold back the shiver. Was he trying to make her flustered? She looked up at him through her lashes, a nervous smile on her face. "I wanna be close to you, too," she murmured, putting a hand on his cheek.
There was a light in his eyes, one she had seen before. Sometimes she would catch him staring at her while she was stretching or training. He would have this look in his eye before turning away quickly.
She glanced at his lips. Was she ready? It wouldn't help to try. She could stop him at any moment.
She could just let go… She could make herself let go… Forget all about her past and her future. Simply let the present take over.
Something on her face must have changed by the time she looked back up into his eyes, because something had changed with him, too, and in a blink of an eye his lips were on hers.
Circe let out a noise of surprise, succumbing to the kiss entirely. His mouth was hot and his breath smelled of whiskey and tobacco. It wasn't overpowering, no, it was perfect.
Heisenberg took the back of her neck in one hand, and his other hand gripped her hip, pulling it roughly towards his.
Circe let out a small whimper, and Heisenberg started to pull away, probably to make sure he hadn't hurt her in some way. But it wasn't a sound of discomfort, and she didn't let him get a word out before she was upon him once more, pushing herself flush against him.
Heisenberg groaned in her mouth, a sound she hadn't heard him make before. She wanted more.
She wanted to take control.
Before he could attempt to make another move, Circe pushed on his shoulder so he was lying on his back. "Oh-"
Circe climbed on top, straddling him.
His eyes were heavy-lidded, hungry. "Holy fu-"
She took his mouth with hers, shutting him up instantly. His hands took hold of her shoulders like he wanted to lift her up, but she didn't allow that, at least, not yet. She took his wrists in either hand and held them on either side of his head.
Though she was faster and stronger, she didn't use her abilities fully. Only enough to hold him back.
He growled then, making another shiver go down her spine. She broke the kiss to trail her lips down his jaw, nipping him with her canines a few times as she went along.
"Oh, you're gonna get it," he whispered huskily.
Circe hadn't been sure that what she was doing was actually doing something to him, she had only been mirroring some things Heisenberg had done to her. Things she had been much too shy to do before.
But she began to feel something growing beneath her, something hard and thi-
Heisenberg took it to his advantage of her focusing too much on what she was doing by breaking his wrists free to grab hold of her so that he could grind his hips into hers.
This was definitely something he had not done before, and Circe nearly buckled into him from surprise. He did it again, hitting her in just the right spot.
"Told ya," he muttered in a raspy voice.
These sensations were completely new to her, but she wanted more. She wanted more. So the next time he ground his hips into hers upwards, she ground down, causing the best friction.
Circe bent over once more, pressing her mouth to his in a hard kiss. "Is that all I'm gonna get?" She teased breathlessly.
Heisenberg let out a throaty growl. "You have no idea," then he took her shoulders and flipped her so she was on her back, one of his hands wrapping around her throat. "-how much trouble you're in." His voice was a low rumble in her ear.
Circe opened her mouth to reply, but she wasn't quick enough this time. His mouth was on her, tongue darting around with hers. She moaned, letting go once more. She was too distracted by the now ridged length pressed between her legs.
The hand he didn't have on her throat began traveling down over her waist and hip, latching onto her thigh to hold it up, grinding himself into her once again, but this time he kept going with a slow rhythm.
Circe started whimpering in his mouth, and she supposed he liked it,m because the louder she got, the harder it was for him to breathe.
He abruptly leaned up, attempting to catch his breath. "Holy fuck, Circe, I don't think you know what you're doing to me," he sounded starved, almost pained.
She knew now was the time if she wanted to stop. She knew that if she didn't want to continue, she should tell him now.
He must have seen some sort of conflict reflecting in her eyes, because he stopped everything, taking his hand from her throat to press his palm to her cheek. "You okay?" he asked.
Circe thought about it for a moment. She wasn't ready for this to stop, not yet. She still wanted more. She wanted to feel him, she wanted his hands all over her. She wanted everything he could give her…
She reached up, taking his face in her hands. "Take me…" she whispered. "Take me, I want you."
He hesitated, a bit of concern in his eyes. "You sure?"
Circe nodded, trying to pull herself up to kiss him again. "Yes," he was still holding her back gently. "Please, I want you," she was practically begging now. "Karl, please… Please let me have you-"
"Jesus fuck, Circe-" was the only thing he was able to say before he let his force go, letting Circe rise up to crush her lips to his.