Songs listened to : Sparks, and Breath In Breathe Out by Hilary Duff

*Chapter 111*

Zed sneakily peered into the bedroom, where Tessa patiently worked away. He slumped his shoulders in hard confusion and found her in the exact same position he just had seen her in. He gazed at her long and hard, without her knowing; she sat faced parallel to the head and end board, though her line of sight was in the opposite direction of Zed, so she couldn't even see him in her peripheral. Her nose was still dug deep into her work, which was the hologram of Zed's brain coding. After nearly a minute of standing and staring at Tessa, to see if anything else would happen, Zed slunk away from the door again, though before he could turn around and be duped one more time, he whirled around and jumped back to the doorway right in time to see Tessa's attention to the opening of the room, her hand alive with her code, and the flooring splayed with her mischievous circuits. Zed smiled a wide grin and largely pointed at her.

"Aha!" Zed sharply yelled, which caused Tessa to jump in girly surprise, she easily tucked her fist to her chest in embarrassment as a wide smile sprawled her face. She giggled and gave Zed the most sheepish grin she could muster. Zed quickly budged into the room and was prepared to taunt her to no end, "I thought I was going crazy!"

"Maybe you are!" Tessa laughed as she held Zed's hologram closer to her body, as if to recoil into herself and avoid any retaliation he might throw at her.

"It's all your fault," Zed snapped with a wide, daring smile that was just the beginning of him wanting to show his true, secretive, extroverted side once and for all, "I'm tired of this!"

"Tired of what?" Tessa argued, she could tell the two were practically on the brink of exploding, though she largely swiped his hologram away, for safety, as she could notice Zed quickly approaching the bed. Tessa clumsily stood on her knees, as if she was prepared to bolt, though somehow, she secretly wanted to remain still, as if she was hoping he'd just attack her point blank, and she'd let it happen.

"You teasing me," Zed urged, once and for all, he drew his taut fingers out in front of him as his masculine, strong body sauntered closer; his voice was laced in playful desperation, "I'm practically looking for ANY form of distractions, to keep from throwing myself on you!"

"Really now!" Tessa laughed loudly as she remained standing on her knees, on the bed; Zed largely looked over her figure, which was dressed in similar clothes to what he was wearing.

"And you ACT surprised, you're fooling no one!" Zed began to yell, though Tessa knew he wasn't actually angry; she softly crossed her arms, cocked an eyebrow and was quite pleased with the show unfolding before her. She was excited to finally get a show to this desperate side of the eternally patient Dead Zed; or so she thought. Zed largely gestured his arms as he approached the foot of the bed, though his powerful hands gripped the thick, white frame as he urgently peered up at Tessa; his electric blue eyes honed to hers in the utmost, desirable annoyance, "You have the gall to prod at my weakness, when I've been an EXPERT at controlling myself through our whole relationship, this entire, sticky situation."

"Your weakness?" Tessa wondered loudly with great cheek, she side-eyed down at her boyfriend as he finally remained still at the foot of the bed, "It wouldn't happen to be code-swapping, would it?"

"It goes much deeper than that," Zed argued loudly as he shook his head and looked away, though he finally pierced his frustrated gaze up to his Queen, "Anyone can have sex, what I want is different..."

"Then tell me," Tessa loudly demanded.

"What I want is YOU!" Zed hollered as he shook the end of the bed frame in his powerful grip. He groaned a hard, deep growl and shook his head. He took a few brooding, frustrated steps away from the bed, circled once, and quickly came back. He gestured his hands, as if he was about ready to jump, though he kept his passionate, though endlessly frustrated gaze to Tessa, "You're making this...This... Concentration, 'be a gentleman', thing, extremely hard."

"Amidst other things?" Tessa quipped as she glanced down Zed's body, though she quickly brought her charming eye contact back to his; he nearly seethed.

"Should I just leave?" Zed wondered angrily, though Tessa knew he wasn't mad in the conventional way, nor was it even close to being directed at her.

"Yeah! Maybe you should," Tessa hollered, though she flinched once Zed finally approached the bed, once and for all.

Tessa softened her spine, though she remained frozen as Zed gently climbed over the short, end board of the bed. With perfect form, purely run on instinct, he moved onto the bed and crawled closer to her. Once he was quickly within reach of her, he stood on his knees, outreached his hands and softly slid them from her lower hips and to the dip of her waist in an expert sweep of confidence. Tessa lightly loosened her crossed arms as the two held curious, though nervous eye contact. Tessa raised her eyebrows in hard surprise as Zed's powerful hands brought her shirt along with his nearly sweaty grip. As if rehearsed, he swiped Tessa's small shirt off of her body and threw it away. Tessa nearly gaped in cold surprise, though the feel of his powerful arms and hands, that came around her bare back, made her head swim in delirious delight.

Before Tessa could even begin to think about uttering words, about what, she wasn't even certain, Zed warmly pushed his lips to hers and cupped her body into his. The two melted into each other, though she suddenly could feel him push into her, more than what her wobbly stance, on the bed, could support. The two pulled apart in a whirl of hot exhales as Tessa's knees buckled further, and Zed clung his whole existence to hers. He easily laid her back, though it was clear he was holding back his passionate force, so not to startle her, though he had to wonder, in the back of his mind, if loving force was something she would enjoy. Without any form of discussion, nor hesitation, Tessa's legs slowly slid around Zed's, and as if given the most important invitation of his whole entire life, he sunk his hips into her body and hungrily tasted her neck and throat.

Tessa gasped a small breath and shut her eyes tight as she could feel Zed's weight push into her. She firmly tucked her palm to the back of Zed's head and felt his soft hair, the strange alignment of the buzzed, blue hairs on his scalp, as opposed to the sudden longer hairs of his mo-hawk. Tessa gripped her other hand to Zed's strong upper arm and dared to squeeze his solid, tense muscles, as if to potentially inquire if he could give any more power than what he was giving; she figured goading him further wasn't something she should delve into. She, of all people, knew not to let looks deceive her. She felt a crazy amount of goosebumps plague her arms and chest as his hot, gaping kisses skillfully moved down her neck and to her prominent collar bone. She felt a dizzy spell drape over her as the two stirred in writhing, seething, passionate pain, as if waiting any longer was bound to end the entirety of Sugar Rush.

Zed's powerful hands slid down the skin on Tessa's side, all the way to her hips. He exhaled a shiver of a breath on her hot skin and felt his eyes flutter a little, as if he was certain, after all of this, he'd have to realign his whole existence back to the arcade. He furrowed his eyebrows in impending pain and wondered if following through with their detrimental swap wouldn't actually be so bad. He knew their desires were to the moon and beyond, though now that he was sat in this delicious situation, he was almost certain stopping was impossible. He nervously fumbled for the clasp of Tessa's bra, underneath her, though he dared to trail his kisses farther down her chest. He raised his eyebrows in delirious anguish as Tessa's existence uttered a small noise, as if to beg for more and more. Zed finally shut his eyes tight and tested the waters; in a slow draw of power, he pushed his hips harder into hers, enough for an impending recoil.

Zed felt every single hair, on the back of his neck, stand painfully on end as his name fell from her mouth, a shaky utter of a plea, as if to thank and scold him all in one moan of a word. The fact that she had let him take her down was enough for him to feel confident that he was totally wanted, wholly and desperately. He shut his eyes tight and felt a wash of scared delight come over him as Tessa's legs began to wrap around his upper thighs, as if to politely beg him to stay. Zed tensed his lower spine and dug into her one more time, though he began to feel angry at all the clothing between them. Zed trailed his warm, eager kisses to just above her chest and felt a wave of something different fall over him as a bashful, seductive giggle escaped her figure, as if she knew they were both doomed, though was kindly reminding him to just shut up and enjoy the ride to hell.

Zed continued to fumble with the clasp on Tessa's pretty black bra, though he began to feel the frustration billow to something beyond sexual; he exhaled a small growl of a noise and shoved all of his worries to the back of his mind. He was successful for a few, long seconds as his light gape of an inhale met the skin on the top of Tessa's breast, his powerful hands slid down her sides and held her small rib cage. He trailed his tender kisses on her half exposed breast and, before his hand could reach around and attempt to free her of more clothing, he suddenly shoved his palms to the bed to Tessa's sides and pushed his upper body up. Through a loud grunt of frustration, now aimed at himself, he shut his eyes tight, shook his head and let his heavy skull hang just over Tessa's chest. Tessa jolted and held her firm hands to Zed's upper arms. She opened her eyes to clarity, once and for all, though the two remained in painful, still wait as they loudly panted.

"I can't, I can't!" Zed urged loudly down to Tessa's collar bones, his eyes were angrily shut tight. He shook his head and loudly swallowed through steady, excited panting out his nose.

His strong chest rose and fell, though Tessa's eyes darted about his masculine figure and noticed his neck, as well as the prominent veins that bulged on his throat, were faintly sprawled with his anticipating blue circuits. Tessa un-boggled her vision and finally let all of the clarity, in the game, flood her wiggly thoughts. She gave Zed a concerned look and, once and for all, realized that this struggle went far beyond attempting to control themselves. She felt guilt flood her system, though she lovingly squeezed Zed's arms and tried to catch her breath.

"I-I'm sorry, babe," Tessa uttered nervously as the two remained frozen.

"It's not your fault, I know I said it was your fault, but it's not," Zed rushed in a deep whine as he scrunched his face in impending pain. He heaved a hard sigh and continued on through a loud whisper, "It's no one's fault..."

Zed finally unglued himself from Tessa and softly sat up on his knees. Tessa propped herself up on her elbows and peered to him in growing curiosity. After a few minutes of him angrily gazing down at his hands, she sat up once and for all and sat with her legs criss-crossed before him. She lovingly reached for his hand and held it. She was happily relieved to feel him grip her skin, as if she was the last thing holding him to Arcade. She raised her eyebrows slowly and, with new found respect for his ultimate show of self control, she gave him a more than thankful smile, though in doing so, she looked down and began to mentally scold herself.

"It's probably for the better that we just-"

"Wait?" Zed interrupted as his sharp gaze rose from the dead and pierced hers with desperation, "We've waited for so long, it's clear we want this."

"Trust me, I want this too," Tessa urged sadly, "Do... Do you think there'd be any harm in transferring that additive data to my coding? It wouldn't effect Sugar Rush poorly, would it?"

"I don't think so," Zed said confidently, though he looked away in a fit of defeat, "We've come this far, but there is something inside of me that just... Can't wait. It's almost painful, and I don't know what it is... It goes far beyond just a simple, sexual urge."

Tessa worriedly gazed to him and patiently let him breathe, she tenderly stroked her thumb over the top of his hand and hung on every single last word he uttered. His brilliant eyes finally hooked to hers, again.

"There's nothing I can do to make this waiting come to and end," Zed said through a tired chuckle, "But, I'm not going to allow whatever is hindering my memory to be transferred to you."

"There has to be something we can do," Tessa wondered softly, "I don't want you to go crazy, here... Besides the usual amount of crazy this is driving us."

"I would continue to wait forever, for you," Zed stated confidently as he tilted his head down and gave her a piece of his loving soul, "I don't care how painful it is... You always told me I would protect Sugar Rush, in loo of you not totally wanting to... I always said I'd never let anything bad happen to you... I am the King, after all. A King protects his Queen, and his kingdom, no matter the cost."

Tessa raised her eyebrows in surprise and suddenly felt beat by her own game, though she knew she should consider herself lucky. With a smile that ironically moved across her cheeks, she looked down and to the side. She knew all of their waiting would pay off, someday soon, though she was glad to have such a dedicated partner; someone to keep her grounded, even through this difficult time. She finally gave her grateful gaze to his and squeezed his hand.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, Zed," Tessa's voice was deep and soft. She furrowed her eyebrows in incredulous delight, "I hardly deserve you."

"Tessa," Zed started to kindly argue.

"I mean it," Tessa interrupted, "Without your expert self control, I-I... I wouldn't have stopped you, Zed."

Zed raised his eyebrows softly and now almost felt annoyed that he had honed his self control mastery. He hooked his whole attention to Tessa; he knew exactly how she felt, just purely through her body language and sexual banter, over the course of their relationship, though hearing her raw words come to life was like receiving the best news he could hear.

"You practically let the whole game know that you want me," Tessa scoffed a small laugh and looked down to her lap, though her eyes glued to his, once more, "I want you too, Zed. Like you wouldn't believe."

"I can begin to believe," Zed cocked an eyebrow and idly looked away, in playful annoyance, though the two shared a small laugh and regained total clarity.

"We can hold out a few more days, right?" Tessa squinted curiously and shook her head lovingly towards him, "What's a few more days of torture? At least we have each other."

"Fine, under one condition," Zed mumbled as he finally relaxed and leaned closer to her. He sunk a few kisses into her cheek and trailed to her neck, though he hovered by her ear and was delighted to feel her arms and hands come around his neck, yet again. He continued on, in a whisper, "You let ME do the teasing from here on out."

"Why, because you're like a house of cards in the middle of a tornado?" Tessa giggled and scrunched her shoulders in bashful glee as Zed firmly kissed her skin.

"Yes, dammit, I'm tired of your goo-goo eyes," Zed muttered into her skin with a soft laugh, though Tessa softly gasped an inhale and gripped his shoulders.

"I think I have an idea," Tessa urged quietly, "Maybe we can sort of... Temporarily cheat the system."

"What's on your mind?" Zed wondered kindly as he relaxed away from Tessa and sat criss-cross before her, mocking her positioning. The two continued to hold each other's hands.

"Isn't there one minor first step, before opposed code couples can swap codes, that we have to do?" Tessa wondered, "Something about putting each other's source codes into place, before the swap is even possible?"

"Yeah, that is the first step," Zed agreed softly as he lulled his head in a gentle nod, though he furrowed his eyebrows and peered at Tessa curiously, "You want to do that now?"

"Well, yeah!" Tessa softly chimed as she shrugged her shoulders, "I mean... Why not? We'll be able to claim that we have a little piece of each other in ourselves, and when the time actually comes to properly swap codes, we won't have to worry about leaving the bed to find a code room. We'll already be prepared."

"Hmm," Zed fingered his lip and looked away, "I never thought about it like that. It makes sense though."

"Whatdoyah say?" Tessa gave him a kind smile, "You wanna?"

"Of course," Zed scoffed with a bashful smile, "We were going to do that eventually, anyways, right?"

"It'll tide us over," Tessa grunted as she lugged herself up and off the bed; Zed followed her idea as the two got to their feet, once and for all.

"Good," Zed chuckled as the two slid their hands into each other's; they head for the gaping bedroom door, so to continue their business in better lighting, "We need a proverbial pause button, right about now."