Reviews :
Jay Sketchin : *pterodactyl screeching ensues*
Song Listened To :
Walk Me Home by P!nk
Love Me Or Leave Me Alone by Beachwood
*Chapter 108*
"Have you been practicing your powers since the last time you tried?" Berri chimed nonchalantly, she aimlessly twirled in Turbo's much larger, cozy, swivel office chair. Turbo stood a few feet off with his nose buried in a few open-aired displays of holograms, a mess of Berri's inner workings, small patches that were tenderly sapped with deleter's relatively harmless coding.
"No," Turbo muttered, though he cocked an eyebrow and was able to sneak a small peak at Berri out of the corner of his eye, she slowly continued to swirl herself in circles in his lovely desk chair, her cute legs and knees were tucked tight to her upper body as she continued to twirl. Turbo blurt a silent chuckle and shook his head in raw endearment, a new brand of adoration he had for her now that he had successfully had a taste of her. He lulled his eyes closed and tried his hardest not to drop everything he was doing, rush her, and sweep her back into his arms for another round, "... Twenty bucks you end up barfing everywhere, due to all that twirling you're doing, there, babe."
"You'd clean it up, sweetheart," Berri blurt in return, she was able to shoot Turbo a blushing grin before his large chair turned its back on him, as well as the back of Berri's head; Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and tried so hard not to smile.
"That's a two person task, dear," Turbo muttered as Berri slowly swung back around, though she tucked her hands under her chin and gave Turbo a playful look of exaggerated glee.
"My question still stands," Berri mumbled as she quickly dropped the act and now showed a bit more genuine, innocent annoyance.
"I answered you," Turbo blurt with a laugh, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows and looked off in contemplation.
"Oh, oops," Berri muttered to herself, though she shook her head and softly stood, albeit in a wobbly, dizzy fashion, "Well, we should practice some more. Don't you think? We've done enough work on this deleter stuff... And, to be honest, my coding is starting to itch with all that poking around you're doing."
"I'm so close, Bear," Turbo eased earnestly as he lofted his lovely golden gaze to hers, he shook his head and long-blinked in tender urgency, "I mean really, I just... Need to find a way to get this coding copied, and pasted in it's own, designated entity."
"You mean like... Create another deleter?" Berri worried as she eased into Turbo's more serious air, he shrugged and peered into his work in almost dire frustration.
"No, not duplicating it as a whole, just... Using its coding against itself," Turbo shrugged, "Taking the source of its coding and applying it to the radius of a building or establishment... It's essentially what I did with your coding, here. I applied it to YOUR coding, so every single pixel of your coding is protected from being deleted by these creatures."
"So, pretend a single location is like one BEING," Berri gestured with her hands and peered up into Turbo's eyes, he bobbed a nod of encouragement.
"Exactly," Turbo pressed warmly.
Turbo softly continued on with the details of his chore, everything Berri quietly listened to, though as she stood a mere foot from Turbo's warm gravity, her eyes glossed his chest and arms in a soft show of neediness. She furrowed her eyebrows and was successful in catching eyes with Turbo every time he brought his eye contact to hers, but outside of his deep, lovely voice sapping her eardrums in reverberating goodness, she felt a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. A weird, wistful urge to sigh a million times, as if swooning was now a character trait of hers. Berri furrowed her eyebrows in mild confusion at herself, a weird sensation of learning something new, an achievement of knowledge about herself that had her reeling. She understood that she had feelings for Gunner, though as she was plagued with a whole swathe of guilt, she felt something far deeper for Turbo. A different, hotter, stranger desire, here; something far more tangible, something that went far beyond just a good time out in public, awesome photoshoots and incredible, once in a lifetime experiences on a stage in front of thousands. Something she began to feel the urge to desperately try to ignore even further than what she already was, an ironic bout of beginning to understand just what love felt like, and wanting to run as far away from it as she quite possibly could for fear of potentially getting hurt.
"I mean, don't you think?" Turbo wondered firmly with a serious look in his eye; Berri flinched and immediately felt thwarted and discovered. Turbo slowly cocked an eyebrow and gave her a cheeky, authoritative look, "... You weren't listening to a thing I said, were you."
"I-I'm sorry, Bo, I just..." Berri staggered, she held the sides of her head and dared to take a small few steps away from him. Stationed in the upper level of his loft, the ceiling was entirely glass, the sky above began to glint through sunshine as the morning storm had come and gone. She heaved a shaky breath, looked off and hugged her arms to her chest. Although she was thrilled Turbo caught on to her busied thoughts, she almost felt deeper regret the second he pressed closer to her and eased into her gravity for comfort. He tilted his head to peer into her eyes, though she almost guiltily looked up at him as she revealed the shivering worries of her heart, "... A-Am I a cheater?"
Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in raw confusion, though as the notion finally wormed its way into his brain, he softened, sagged his shoulders, heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked down to the soft carpet underneath their bare feet. He dared to allow a small smile sprawl his face, though he gave Berri an apologetic, cheeky look and, much to her dismay, he bobbed a cute nod and shrugged, as if he was potentially delighted to reveal this information to her.
"...Hate to break it to you, but, yeah," Turbo huffed a small, bashful chuckle as Berri's look of guilt only worsened, "Y'cheated."
"I-It's not like I..." Berri started her sentence in confidence, but softly trailed to guilty silence that Turbo was quick to boyishly retort to.
"You're in a relationship with another guy, and we both made out with each other secrecy," Turbo blurt a shaky, bashful chuckle as Berri nervously beamed a smile to the ground that she couldn't contain. He shrugged, once more and bobbed a nod of cute earnest, "Yep. That's cheating. Though, I will own the fact that I started it."
"So it's not cheating, then," Berri pointed softly and looked hopeful, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a beaming smile of protest.
"You came back for seconds and thirds, Bear," Turbo defended with a wide smile of understanding, causing Berri's face to turn beet red as she looked away in shy annoyance, "It's cheating."
"...This sucks," Berri grumbled in guilty defeat as she crossed her arms, though she gave Turbo a hopeful frown as he shrugged and put his hands up.
"Hey, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," Turbo's voice pitched to cute delight, he gave Berri an endearing smile of humility and nodded, "I guess you could say... You're the cheater and I'm the enabler."
"A WONDERFUL mix, really," Berri muttered as she rolled her eyes and aimlessly began to stroll away, though Turbo remained still and allowed herself to distance the two.
With soft, gentle glowing eyes that honed tight to the beauty he could now barely call his, he narrowed his gaze in sweetness and was thrilled to catch eyes with her. Berri's vivid blue eyes twinkled in softness, she looked as if she was at war with herself. How desperately she wanted to throw her plans with Gunner to the wind and fall into Turbo's arms forever, though in doing so could lead to potential hurt inside impending stubbornness, on both Turbo's and Berri's end. She frowned and heaved a shaky sigh, though Turbo took hard note that she curiously kept glancing at his mouth. Turbo narrowed his gaze a little more and allowed his voice to coat her above a deep whisper, as if even the walls couldn't keep a secret.
"...You know you can have your cake and eat it too," Turbo advised tenderly, bad advice, though he felt -bravery soak him. Although he wanted Berri for himself, he wondered if he could sneakily enable her to this secret slice of romance, his heart began to thud with the raw fact that Berri kept her mouth shut in contemplation and let him carry on, "When... Things get rough, and... You're maybe not getting enough of what you need-"
"I-I don't want to hurt you," Berri whispered as she lulled her eyes shut in now soaked, impending regret. She finally peeled her eyes open and urgently peered up to Turbo as she, too, carried on in the softest secrecy, "I don't want to hurt us..."
"It's not hurting us, if anything, it would hurt Gunner, but... I'll always be here to ease your worries," Turbo politely stated, and although they were valid and rational, Turbo wondered if he could just gloss her with further easiness, he allowed himself to be selfish. He knew they desperately needed each other, they both had exactly what the other needed, he was aware he'd stop at nothing to worm his way deeper into her heart and hopefully come out of the other side with the entirety of it in his palms, "... I-I can fill the gaps."
Berri exhaled a trembling breath and nervously peered her almost accepting eye contact into his, likely foolish advice that Turbo made so structurally sound, she was well aware they both were buying into a future world of hurt, though how badly she was excited to get swept into this secret bound of romance with someone she had desperately tried to keep at bay for as long as she could. She nearly peaked a nervous smile and now wondered what she could even call Turbo; derogatory titles quickly rushed her thoughts, and without really thinking, she eased a notion of shaky nervousness.
"Friends with benefits?" Berri staggered quietly, though Turbo blurt a tender, shaky laugh and long-blinked in delirious disbelief, as if he was floored to also have his cake and eat it too, though he was well aware he desperately wanted something deeper, with Berri.
"... A terrible idea," Turbo guffawed in a whisper as he wrinkled his nose, shook his head and sent her a promising, sweet, cheeky smile of boyish delight, "...Y-You down?"
"I... Could be," Berri further staggered in disbelief towards herself, though she blurt an equally as trembling laugh as Turbo's smile broadened in now poised curiosity. Berri largely shrugged and gestured out to him, "What! I-I don't know how to do any of this, I clearly am the worst girlfriend on the face of this Earth. I-I can't... Do this to Gunner."
"You already have," Turbo's dark voice glossed in the farthest reaches of depth that his vocal chords could afford, he seemed delighted, though he was well aware this was entirely her choice; he knew he was in the wrong for enabling, though he cocked an eyebrow and was certain he'd take whatever he could get, here, "You come to me, you're upset, you're not getting enough, well... Love."
Berri heaved a trembling breath, twiddled her fingers and looked down to her feet in now overwhelming shyness, she tried to force a smile away, how sweet and enticing Turbo's proposition sounded, she scoured every angle of this predicament. She knew absolutely no one would find out about it, how easy it'd be to just teleport to the house of Arcade's hugest recluse, an easy, once in a life time chance of legitimately having her cake and eating it too, she shook her head and finally gave Turbo nervous eye contact.
"You go out and kill those stages and get all those exciting things out of your system, and then..." Turbo shrugged, how greatly he understood Berri's positioning, though he sighed his conclusion and knew he has mellowed out, how prepared he was to catch Berri in her eventual slow down, as well, "And... When Sugar Rush calls you home, you can escape here. I'll take care of you."
"Turbo, this is going to hurt us, in the end," Berri's voice wavered into nervous softness, though Turbo shut his eyes softly and shook his head.
"I'm not thinking about the end," Turbo rushed, he took a small step closer to Berri, tilted his head, kept his promising, golden eye contact tight to hers and gave her a smile in loving conclusion, "I'm thinking about the here and now..."
Berri raised her eyebrows and immediately felt thwarted. The guitar pick around her neck practically began to burn a glowing hole in her skin, and as she could feel her heart begin to thud in her chest, she felt her face heat up at the raw fact that she was caught glancing her eyes to Turbo's lips in impending need, yet again.
"I promised so many important people above me that I'd take care of you," Turbo's deep voice concluded to her, though he cocked an eyebrow and blurt a gentle chuckle in her direction, "I'd say... You're in need of some tender loving care. That's something I can happily give."
"You're rationalizing me wronging my boyfriend?" Berri mumbled in cheeky dismay, though Turbo largely shrugged and blurt a soft laugh.
"I don't know, you want to call said boyfriend and tell him that you've been checking Turbo out for the entirety of this whole day, and now you can't keep your eyes off of his mouth?" Turbo smoothly laid into Berri's heart with a wide smile and a narrowed gaze of boyish delight, though Berri raised her eyebrows in thwarted surprise and froze as he continued on, "I'll rationalize whatever I have to. I've wanted to kiss you for weeks now, and you're going to give me a shred of that allowance? Bet your ass I'll rationalize the crap out of it."
"You've wanted to kiss me for weeks now?" Berri wondered in tender, sweet surprise, though Turbo looked off and sagged his shoulders in defeat.
"Days, weeks, dare I say months," Turbo blurt in bashful irritation as he gestured to his chest, "I'm feeling brave lately, okay? I'm... Attracted to you... And I like you. Of COURSE I want to kiss you."
"Then do it," Berri snapped as she tried to force away a smile, though she flinched in surprise as Turbo floored it through the green lights she could potentially threaten to turn yellow, ones that were previously a very angry red.
With a tender scoop, Turbo warmly cupped Berri's jaws in his hands, eased into her gravity, hovered over her like a ghost to steal her soul, and in one single action, he lovingly swept her into a wonderful, romantic kiss. Berri raised her eyebrows in riled surprise and now felt thwarted by her own self, the terrible advice she allowed the two to play into, she was well aware she was only going to make her life a living hell as she eagerly grappled the chest of Turbo's shirt. No amount of willpower or rational thinking could stop her from taking in a deep breath through her nose and inhaling the intoxicating, human scent that Turbo had, the one she had done everything to sap her existence with, and as she could feel Turbo tilt his head and attempt to deepen their kiss, Berri fell victim to his ploy, a delightfully innocent game she prayed remained leveled and sound, like Turbo promised. With the feel of Turbo's parted lips that sunk into hers, the ease of his hot breath on her cheeks, the way her arms draped about his neck, she felt her heart begin to thud right out of her chest the second Turbo's grippy, masculine hands began to politely ease to her hips and lower back.
With every single circuit and nerve ending that began to wiggle and swim in raw delight, Turbo felt his heart nearly stop dead as a delightful hum of a moan trailed from the back of Berri's throat, their tilted kiss deepened amidst the tender push and pull of their skulls, the desperation they both felt to just drown in each other's never-ending vats of love they had for each other. Although self respecting and understanding of boundaries, Turbo made the largest exception he could for Berri's sake, the chance to be her Knight in shining armor at the foresight of trouble, for her and Gunner, on the horizon, his heart raced with nervous, trembling ideas inside their now secret romance. He furrowed his eyebrows in painful, desirable delight as he lovingly cupped the side and back of Berri's head amidst their slow whirlwind of passion, though, without fail, the universe began to send the most obnoxious, tinker of a tune out into the air, ultimately jarring the two from their frenzy of heat. The two sharply halted their kiss, panted on each other's lips, hovered in the stick of their mouths and just barely peered to each other through the narrow of mild confusion.
"... Who the hell is calling me," Berri mumbled in a whisper of whole entire annoyance, though Turbo raised his eyebrows in discombobulated bewilderment as they gently eased from each other. As Berri pulled her phone from her back pocket, she immediately felt karma come nipping at her heels; the caller ID of Gunner's sweet face displayed to the little, generic tune she had set, and with whole despair, she peered up to Turbo in terror and shook her head, "I-It's Gunner..."
"Pick up," Turbo staggered as he gestured down to her phone, although his eyes were a peachy blushed glow, Berri was shocked to see a tint of blush cling tight to his cheeks and the bridge of his grey nose. He tried to get words out as they cheekily and desperately tried to yank themselves back to the planet, "It's fine, Bear, pick up."
"Hey," Berri pressed tenderly, she desperately tried to act nonchalant, she lulled her eyes closed as she turned on her heel and tried her hardest to compose herself.
"Hey babe, is everything okay?" Gunner wondered softly, his voice was laced in goodness, Berri peered down to Turbo's carpet in now dire regret and felt her heart surge in whole confusion. As if she now had a taste of two different kinds of loves, she felt a very real strike of realization hit her, head on. She felt her skin go cold, her heart began to race, and it was in the gentle toss of her eyes over her shoulder, her piercing blue eyes nervously stabbed into Turbo's still glowing, peachy gaze, as if he knew, for certain he had to have known. Berri exhaled a trembling breath and felt entirely discovered, in this raw instance of wearing her heart on her sleeve. She gently shook her head in mild terror as Gunner's tender tone pressed on, "Nearly half of your family wasn't at Academy today... I-I mean, I had Wren to hang out with, and he told me everything that was going on, but I just... Wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh, I'm great," Berri huffed in a shaky breath as she peered to Turbo, the longer she was in his gravity, the harder she felt it; a raw feeling she had never felt before, and although it began to prickle her skin previously, with their kiss on his rooftop, she felt as if the news finally hit her brain in an entire tidal wave of realization. Turbo cocked an eyebrow and peered to her in concerned understanding, though he finally heaved a tender chuckle, shook his head, looked down to his feet and raised his eyebrows, as if to warn Berri that this intoxicating bout of romance that had dipped their toes in was probably the strongest, most delicious poison on the face of this Arcade. Berri bashfully tucked her hair behind her ear and now felt weird talking to Gunner, she pressed on nonetheless, "I-I'm... Just with Turbo for the day, we made a lot of headway on... O-on... The deleter... Thing."
"... The deleter protection?" Gunner pressed in now almost irritated concern, he huffed a chuckle and seemed confused as to why Berri was out of sorts, "Is everything okay? You're with this Turbo fella a lot, lately, Bear."
"Yeah, he's... Just helping me, I mean, the deleter code is in my own coding," Berri rushed, she rubbed her forehead and tried to come out of the small bout of making out her and Turbo were equally as spontaneously thrusted into, and then jarred out of, "I-It's all benign, but... I-I mean, we have it... Under control."
Berri bit her lip and now fully understood that this weird bout of cheating, she had gotten herself into, was entirely out of her realm. How terrible she was at lying, she wondered why the hell she even began to get into this situation, though with the way Turbo's eyes remained honed to her, and the phone in her hand, she felt her hands tremble in defeat, simply as if Turbo had won this whole battle without really even trying to his fullest extent. She pulled her phone away from her head and hovered her finger over the mute button, for her's and Gunner's phone call; how badly she wanted to shakily blurt her now raw and barely exposed, deep feelings for Turbo, though she immediately hesitated the second Gunner carried on. Turbo gave her a curious look, as if to ask just what she was going to say, though Berri rolled her eyes, flagged her hand and lulled her eyes closed in whole annoyance at herself.
"... You sound very weird, right now, Bear, what's going on?" Gunner asked nervously, "A-are you with Turbo right now?"
"Yeah, he's here," Berri prod innocently, though Turbo sharply raised his eyebrows and began to feel impending anger, for the whole situation with Gunner, flood his veins; he prayed to User that the scary sight of his crimson gaze and narrowed pupils wouldn't make itself present.
"I... O-Okay, Bear," Gunner scoffed in a shaky show of anxiety, "I'm not on speaker, am I?"
"No, you're not," Berri hushed as she turned heel, once more, and had her back to Turbo. She scrunched her eyes tight and wondered how she could get off the phone with Gunner without making him more suspicious.
"I don't know how I feel about you being alone with him, Bear, that's Arcade's scariest, most threatening bad guy... Er, was, I guess," Gunner pressed in nervous authority, "I'm grateful for his help, but there's just been... A lot of that name present, lately. You wore his hoodie to school, he calls and texts you constantly."
"He's not going to hurt me," Berri defended gently, though it was here that she could feel Turbo's gaze burn a hole in the back of her head.
Turbo furrowed his eyebrows in now raw hatred and clenched his fists. He could see the bridge of his nose began to threaten said crimson glow, and as anger began to sap him, the room grew dark and narrowed due to his now tightening, square pupils. Slits that only made his creepy gaze that much scarier, and as his vision doubled in sharpness and only honed in on Berri, he shut his eyes in whole discombobulation, shook his head, held his hands to his face and scolded himself for letting his emotions almost get carried away. He scoffed a silent breath of calm to himself and begged himself to ease up, though his ears so eagerly eavesdropped on Berri's not-so-private conversation.
"If you're absolutely sure, Bear, I mean... It's you I trust, not him," Gunner stated darkly, though Berri furrowed her eyebrows in sharp irritation.
"You don't have to trust him if you don't want to, Gunner, but I do, and my mother and father do, he's at my father's right hand," Berri voice was sharp and quick, though she tried to ease up, "There's really nothing to worry about, he's happy to help us, but... If you alienate him and make him feel unwelcomed, that could easily change. Are you wanting those concerts to happen, Gun?"
"I am, Bear, I'm sorry, just... I'm just getting a little uncomfortable with you being alone with him," Gunner's voice eased to softness, as if he could tell this was going to escalate to a fight; Berri softened as well, due to this, and sagged her shoulders in mild defeat, "I trust you... I just hope you're making headway. I missed you today."
"I missed you too," Berri eased, she tried not to allow her voice to sound too empty. She furrowed her brow, rubbed her forehead and scrunched her eyes tight with an impending headache, "Wh-what are you up to, then?"
"Well... I actually called you to say that our press meeting today was cancelled, anyways," Gunner stated in a gentle tone, Berri sagged and was relieved their conversation was on the up and up.
"Oh, okay, yeah... I was gunna say, I felt bad for dipping on it, but," Berri brushed her fingers through her bangs and lulled her arm to her side, "So, just lazy day at home, then?"
"Yeah, did you want to come over once you're done with Turbo, then?" Gunner pressed, though Berri shut her eyes tight, once more, and figured lofting bad news as lightly as she could was best.
"No, this is an all day thing, but I can keep in contact with you," Berri stated lightly, though she felt her heart stop at the silence on the other end.
"...Alright, that's fine, Bear," Gunner said in a dull tone, though he sighed and seemed mildly irritated, "Sama texted me... I-I guess she has some things she needs to talk to me about. If you do find you're able to break away from the deleter protection, or get done with it sooner than later, I'll be available after six, tonight."
"... Wait a second, so you get upset at me for being alone with Turbo, but then turn around and are going to go hang out with your ex girlfriend?" Berri stabbed in rising authority; Turbo raised his eyebrows in poised surprise and was thrilled to be in on this dramatic conversation.
"That's not even fair, Berri, I'm going to a public setting with Sama, your situation is entirely different," Gunner firmly defended, though Berri rolled her eyes and remained with her back to Turbo.
"Whatever... Tell Sama I say hi," Berri stabbed in quip of dainty, quick-witted sass she was blessed to have gotten from Tessa, she shook her head and peered her glassy eyes out to Orion City in dread, "Let me know how that goes."
"Berri," Gunner demanded in irritation, Berri heaved a hot sigh and shook her head.
"No, it's fine, Gun, really," Berri chirped sarcastically, and although Turbo could tell she was being entirely sarcastic, Gunner couldn't properly read her tone and took it only as mild irritation, "I hope Sama tells you all the things you want to hear, there, bub."
"Berri, seriously," Gunner presed more firmly, though he cut himself off and scoffed in annoyance, "Y'know what, it's fine, Bear... I'll just... See you tomorrow, then."
"Okay," Berri shrugged, though she felt her face wash pale the second she could hear the phone quietly disconnect, the sound of Gunner hanging up on her.
Berri sagged her shoulders and allowed her hand and arm to lull to her side. She eased her phone into her back pocket and heaved a shaky breath out to the second story of Turbo's lovely, glass-ceilinged loft. She eased her eyes shut and could only simply feel Turbo approach her from behind. It was here did she understand just what Turbo was doing, here. He could see her's and Gunner's relationship beginning to bow and bend at the seams, a gentle show of stuffing coming loose from the cushion, she looked off and hugged her arms about herself, knowing full well she maybe didn't deserve love in this instance. Said raw instance of cheating on her own boyfriend and growing accusatory of everyone else's every single move.
"You know he's lying to get under your skin," Turbo's lovely, familiar voice eased into her ears, it was something she now needed beyond a simple craving. Like a dark ghost, still hovered tight to her skin in readiness, Berri felt her fall begin to turn into a plummet into a black void. Berri lulled her eyes closed in dread and felt a shiver go up her spine the second Turbo's voice now hovered about a foot back from the back of her right shoulder and ear, "Take it from me... I have experience, here."
Berri softly turned around to face Turbo, they hung in each other's now closer, more desired gravity, and although Berri's glassy eyes proved that she was well aware she had wronged Gunner, here, she looked as if her heart was hardening. She looked off in raw confusion and shrugged a little, though she shook her head and peered up into Turbo's eyes, which were strangely a kiss of gentle orange, outside of the typical, dewy peachy look he had not two minutes prior; this gloss looked a touch angrier.
"Because you're cheating on him, you're quick to assume he's doing the same," Turbo eased, Berri took note that his hands were trembling, either from the leftover dregs of their small make-out session, or impending anger he was due to concealing; Berri couldn't figure it out, "Libby and I had this issue. I would do and say the stupidest shit to make her jealous, and it worked."
"You weren't cheating on her, though," Berri defended in nervous defeat, though Turbo shrugged.
"We were young and stupid," Turbo smiled, the golden glow in his eyes finally came back, "We always fought... We had a very... Tumultuous relationship."
"Well, you certainly seem to be a changed man, now," Berri grumbled as she bashfully looked down and shook her head, "You wouldn't do any of that stuff now, would you..."
"No, I'm... Too tired for that," Turbo sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, though he was thrilled the two finally fell into full smiles and soft laughter, at his notions, "I've been through a LOT, my babe... I know what I want, I know how to act in order to make things run smoothly. I used to play games. You can ask Libby... I used to be an asshole all the time."
"As opposed to just sometimes, now?" Berri teased, she gave him a loving smile and narrowed her gaze, though it was here did Turbo take note of her now angry stress marks, silver marks that coat her temples in flared neediness, and although Turbo blurt a small laugh at her teasing statement, he sagged his shoulders and felt a little bit more comfortable hanging in Berri's gravity.
"Times were different, I've grown," Turbo's voice crackled to a depth of near whispering sweetness, he gingerly cupped the side of Berri's head and allowed his thumb to tenderly stroke the burning, angry stress marks on her temple, "After thirty years of solitude... Of feeling entirely outcast, there's... Very few things that will humble you to that extent of it. You eventually come to understand what's important, in life."
"What do you think is important in life?" Berri questioned tenderly, she easily leaned into his hot touch, she lulled her eyes closed and silently promised him, here, that she could lay in it all day.
"Well, originally, to be alone, to just take care of myself," Turbo huffed a soft laugh, though he narrowed his gaze and breathed a shaky breath of raw, exposed nervousness. His hands began to tremble in soft newness, and as they gently met eyes, he peaked a bashful smile and eased her a shy, whisper of a conclusion, for her heart and her's only, "... Then I met you."
Berri felt her heart stop, the way the two caught eyes, she held her breath and felt as if the plentiful affection, that Gunner had for her, couldn't hardly hold a candle to the golden glow of well-aged, experienced sap of romance that Turbo was quite ready to deploy all over her shivering soul. Although she felt as if she was making the stupidest decision of her whole life, she simultaneously felt as if it was the best thing she could've done. She sagged, shut her eyes tight and felt impending tears sting her eyes. How badly Berri wanted to overflow Turbo with every single last worry inside of her, though it'd lead to impending, serious conversation, about the potential of furthering romantic relations and other desirable notions, she felt her head swim in whole confusion; she knew they weren't ready for such things.
"I'm not here to get in the way," Turbo barely whispered, he smiled into her eyes and shook his head, "You say the word and I'll stop all of this. This whole thing is in your control."
"Turbo, I-I know I said we have to do this stuff alone," Berri complained, tears finally cascaded down her blushing cheeks, "I know I keep telling you to overcome your fear of going out in public alone, work on your powers alone... Why am I doing that to you? You've been alone for the majority of your whole life, and now that there's... There's... Something special, here, I-I... I just up and..."
"Your logic is sound, Bear," Turbo blurt a tender chuckle and hovered tight to her for comfort, he wiped away her tears and fixed her bangs, very little things that immediately proved to Berri that he was potentially fantastic boyfriend material. She lulled her eyes closed and kicked herself for this very sticky situation, though she held on to Turbo's words like her life depended on it, "You don't want to use each other as crutches... But, I got you. And you got me too... This is easy."
"I-It'd be easier if..." Berri trailed off and dared not to state the obvious, she shut her eyes tight and was well aware that anything further said would likely start a fight with Turbo, and he knew it.
"Don't... Just..." Turbo huffed quietly as he shook his head, though Berri rolled her eyes and covered her face in sorrow.
"I need you... I can't pretend that I don't, anymore," Berri huffed in a shaky, whimpering whisper. She peered up to Turbo through glassy eyes and shook her head, "Please, just... Take this away from me, don't let me have it."
"Your phone?" Turbo pressed curiously as he cautiously took it from her grip, firmly handed to him, Berri furiously nodded.
"I don't want to be tempted to text Gunner or anything, I'll just... Talk to him tomorrow, I don't care," Berri staggered, though it was clear she cared.
"I mean, I don't want to be tempted to text him, either," Turbo blurt a soft laugh as he securely tucked her phone in his pant's pocket; he grinned at his success in getting a small smile out of Berri, no matter how forced back it was, "I'd give him a piece of my mind, I'd have choice words."
"It'd be cooler if you said it to his face, Bo, man I wish," Berri muttered in defeat, knowing full well that'd never happen in a million years, though Turbo looked off in mild, secretive contemplation and held his breath.
"Don't wish for that," Turbo mumbled darkly, though Berri raised her eyebrows and peered into Turbo's eyes in nervous, almost anticipatory curiosity as Turbo's sleek, deep voice gave her a grim conclusion, "You wouldn't recognize me."
