She tilted her head, looking at Duke. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I... What... I mean... what?"

She didn't blink, didn't look disgusted or upset as she declared, "You're in love with him."

His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

She laughed. Laughed! The vibrations cut through his shock, causing him to harden more against her. He was blushing, he was sure of it. He blamed the Barn.

Duke Crocker did not blush.

"Yes. Yeah. I am. But he hasn't loved me back in a very, very long time."

She pulled his face up, holding it there so he couldn't look away. "You're an idiot."

Then she kissed him, kissed him knowing who he was and the things he'd done, and his chest ached with the force of the emotion.

He was fierce and proud, but most of it was bravado, armor that he'd adopted to hide his pain. Constant rejection, the utter lack of parental love all left him starving for affection and acceptance; yet she was here, offering more than he could ever ask for. Lifetimes, centuries of love all bottled up that she poured on him like rain; like she was baptizing him.

He kissed her back, unable to keep the tears at bay. The black poured out of his eyes, drizzle becoming a torrent, and he gasped and sobbed into her mouth, crying harder than he could ever remember, even as a child.

She still had one hand pressed to his face, but she brought the other up around his neck, holding him closer and rubbing against him a little as she rocked in his lap. She shivered and shook as his tears filled her and she felt dangerous- desperate and overfull and needy all at once.

"Let it out, Duke. Let all of it out. Make love to me."

He was lost and out of control. It felt like all the hate and fear and bad memories were exiting him in the black stream.

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you, I can't..."

"Then hurt me, Duke. I'm not afraid. I like it rough and I need you too."

He groaned, deep and primal, and Audrey was unbuttoning her shirt, undoing his fly and he was fumbling with her skirt.

Audrey stood and he groaned at the loss of contact, but she was pulling off her boots, wiggling out of the skirt. She had only her bra and panties. She grabbed his hand, pulling him up so she could pull his shoes and jeans off.

When he was nude (she had just known he went commando. It was nice to be right.) she brought his hands to her hips, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Duke?"

"Yeah?" he whispered, tears still flowing from his eyes.

"I want you, please. We need this. We deserve this. I love you. Please, trust me to control you, because you can't control yourself right now."

He shuddered, letting her pull him down on a blanket she'd spread on the floor.

His hands were clumsy on her bra, and he accidentally tore it in his haste. Audrey giggled a little, until his mouth came down around her right nipple, sucking and nibbling. The air left her in a rush, and she arched her back, pushing against his mouth as her hands tangled in his hair.

"Duke, please. Please, I need you."

He pulled back to tug her panties down and then his hand was on her, rubbing and dipping inside her, trying to be sure she was ready, that he wouldn't hurt her.

She was.

Fighting for control, he pushed into her slowly. Her back arched and she panted, acclimating to his size. She took a deep breath and nodded, opening her body and her heart to him.

He tried to pace himself, to hold back, be gentle. She must have sensed his fear, because she said, "Duke, I'm stronger than I look. Harder. Don't hold back."

He growled, need overcoming fear. He pushed into her hard and deep, shuddering as the heat of her surrounded him. She wrapped him tight in her arms, legs locked around his hips as she met him thrust for thrust.

As they fell into a rhythm, she became more vocal, leaving long scratches on his back, digging her nails into his ass as she tried to pull him closer.

Each tear made her shake harder, and she squeezed around him, tensing, muscles and tendons taut with acute strain.

"Duke, harder. Now!"

He complied, thrusting so her whole body moved. Demanding, almost violent in his need. It was perfect, and she screamed when she climaxed, biting his right shoulder hard enough to draw blood.

She wasn't coming down, Duke wouldn't let her, he was hitting all the right spots and every time she thought she'd calm down he moved, pulling her higher.

She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. It was all too much. She screamed his name with the last of her breath, scratching his back and biting his shoulder again, tasting magic in his blood.

The pain pushed him over the edge, and he felt like every bit of fear and anger was pouring out of him as his vision went black, more of the tears blinding him.

It took him a minute to realize that Audrey was shaking, hard.

"Audrey, did I hurt you? God, I'm-"

"N-n-no." She stuttered, not releasing him. "N-not hurt. The Aether. I have to g-get it out. I can wait a m-m-minute."

He dropped his forehead against hers and kissed her sweetly as he gently pulled out.

He lay next to her on the floor, tears gone.

Audrey curled up against him, shivering. She rested her head on his chest and rubbed her fingers together, ball after ball dropping onto the blanket next to him. Hundreds, maybe thousands.

"What is it?" Duke murmured.

She was still shaking as she answered him, still letting the balls pile up. "It's Aether. A gift from the universe. It can do anything. As for these, they're all the Aether collected from your family. Each of these represents a Trouble ended by a Crocker."

Duke looked sick. "All of these?"

"It's amazing you were able to function with so much backed up. When we go back, I'll fix your Trouble. I can't do it here."

"Fix it how?"

"So you can take Troubles without taking lives, and can release it again. Too much Aether in one person is like poison. It would have killed a lesser man."

Her shudders stopped, and she rested her hand on his chest, exhausted.

"You can do that?"

She hummed a lazy assent.

"How can you do all of this suddenly?"

"You. You came in here and tried bringing the memories back. You forced the universe to bend to your will. Because I'm whole in this place, I could remember everything. It's not even trying to block me now. It must be because Howard is dead. If that's true... we won't be here 27 years. In fact, I doubt we can stay here for more than a few Void-days."

"What are Void-days? It sounds like a holiday."

"Mmm. It's a measurement of time. Time passes very differently here than in Haven."

"So how old are you?"

"You're not supposed to ask a lady her age."

"You're a lot of things, beautiful, but I'm personally acquainted now. You're no 'lady'. You're a dirty, dirty girl."

She laughed loudly, her voice echoing around the bar.

"In your years... about 1,300. In Void-Years, I'm about 23."

"I'm a cradle robber."

"So am I."

"Good point. We're going back to Haven?" Duke asked.

"Yes. I wasn't supposed to be taken again. I wonder what went wrong. But, like I said, our people don't care about individual lives. If Two and Three are gone, something is very wrong."

She fell silent, thinking. She took one of the orbs, held it to her lips, crushed it and blew, and it danced away again.

"What'd you do?"

"Sent for help. Gotta find the way home."

"I suppose it would be optimistic to ask if we could use the door." He was trailing his hand along her spine. It was a little distracting, honestly, and she darted her tongue out, licking his nipple in retaliation.

He groaned. There was something in the throaty rumble that made her shiver. Suddenly, she wasn't so lethargic.

"Funny thing about Void-Time, you recover very quickly in the Barn."

"I just realized that myself." Duke gestured down his body, where he was already stiffening.

Audrey smiled, biting her lip. She licked his nipple again, raising herself up to get a better angle she wrapped her lips around the little nub, sucking. She could swear he was purring. Eyes on his face, she sucked it between her teeth, biting gently.

His eyes rolled back, and she laughed like Lexie.

"Do I amuse you?" He asked, scandalized.

"Endlessly."

"Oh, I'll show you amusing."

He stood, completely at ease with his nudity. He held a hand out to Audrey-Lexie-Mara and she took it, jumping up quickly, just as comfortable as him. They were Adam and Eve in their own little Garden of Eden. He laughed aloud and when he voiced his thought to her, she corrected him.

"Duke and Mara in the Oatley Tap Room of the Void."

He laughed again, pulling her to the bar. "Have you ever done body shots, Mara-Audrey? Maraudrey. Marauder. Ha."

She rolled her eyes, pulling her hair tie out and shaking her hair out. "Lexie has."

"Not with me. C'mere." He grabbed her around the waist, laying her out along the bar.

"That is, without doubt, the most beautiful bar I have ever laid eyes on."

She laughed, crossing her arms under her head and stretching her toes. "I heard something about body shots?" Unless you're not thirsty anymore."

"I'm a little hungry." He ran his hands up her body from her feet, over her legs and hips, skimming across the soft hidden curls and up to her navel, which he traced circles around. "I have wanted to lick this since the moment I really saw you. Well, I wanted to when I was undressing you after I got you out of the water, but I am a gentleman."

"You're no gentleman. You're a dirty, dirty boy." She replied dryly.

"God I missed you."

"We were apart for what, five minutes?"

"I was afraid I wouldn't get to you. Then you didn't remember me. I was happy to be with Lexie, but I still missed you. And when we get home..." He looked crestfallen.

She sat up on the bar, pulling Duke close between her legs so she could wrap her arms around him. She held him close, wrapping her body around him in a silent promise of forever.

He clutched her to him, a regular, clear tear tracking down his face.

"You listen to me, Duke Crocker. We're going home, and I'm not letting you go again. Not ever again. We're going to fix Nathan-" her eyes went unfocused and her nose wrinkled, her mouth pursed in a disapproving frown, "He's being an idiot. And he stinks."

Her eyes focused on Duke again. "We're going to fix him and he can love us both."

"Audrey, he doesn't see me like that anymore."

She barked a laugh, squeezing Duke harder. "Are you blind or being deliberately obtuse? I have seen the way you look at each other. Half the time I feel like I should cite you for public indecency. You two eye-fuck so often I'm worried one of you will get pregnant."

Duke gasped a laugh. "Damn! You kiss your bartender with that mouth?" He joked, half trying to distract her.

"I'm the bartender in here. But I kiss my boyfriend with this mouth. If... if you want to be my boyfriend?"

She looked honestly concerned. How could she not know how completely he belonged to her?

"Are you blind? I've been in love with you since I met you. Hell, I think I loved you when you were Lucy, and I was a kid then."

Audrey thought for a moment. "Like I said, I honestly think that Two had to be your mother. You do look like her. It's possible that your spirit recognized mine- the same way I could feel the other guardians. You... you could just be recognizing our sameness, and mistaking the connection for affection?"

Duke pulled back a little, a faint smile playing on his lips. He curved his hand to fit her face, waiting for her to meet his eyes. She finally looked at him. "I think it's adorable that you feel insecure sometimes too."

"I'm not insecure. I just... I've been a hidden part of your life forever. I don't want you to have to love me. It should be your choice."

"My god, you really are so young. Audrey. We never choose who we love. The universe chooses for us. But I do know the difference between dependence, affection and love. I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I am in love with you. Completely. And if I loved you before I was born, so what? You had a baby with Nathan before he was even born. Doesn't make the love less real."

She stared into his eyes for another long moment. "Do you really mean that?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"That's the second time you've asked me that today." She teased.

"And has the answer changed?"

They didn't need more words. Her arms were still up around his neck, her knees on either side of him. She yanked him to her mouth, kissing him hard, not trying to be careful. She nibbled his lips and tongue, his groans going straight to her core, igniting a roaring fire inside her. She brought her legs up, locking her ankles behind him, pulling him toward her insistently. She could feel him, hard against her opening and she tried to push him forward with her heels. He refused to move, smiling against her lips as she made a disgruntled noise.

"I want to take my time with you. I'm going to show you that I love you, because words... words get in the way."

Audrey was burning, but she found herself replying dreamily, "All sound and fury, representing nothing."

Duke nodded, his hands gripping her waist. He brought his mouth to her neck, kissing his way down her sternum, pausing to suck on each breast. Audrey's head fell back as she gave in, letting him lead her.

He wasn't asking for much, just some control. She could give him that.

She could learn to accept love, not just give it. She owed him that much.

Duke continued to worship her with his hands and mouth. He traced the birthmark on her hip, counted all five tiny fingers. He ran his hands down her legs, moving to kneel before her.

Staring up at her, he pushed her thighs farther apart. She scooted forward, so she was sitting on the edge of the bar, her eyes never leaving his. He smiled, and it was like seeing the sun. He was so beautiful it hurt her.

He kissed the inside of her thigh and the soft curls, and then his mouth was on her and he was pulling her legs over his shoulders.

She panted softly, hands tangling in his hair. Oh, he knew what he was doing. She was already sweating, shaking and she couldn't stop the noises coming from her throat. She grabbed his hands, frantic to hold something. She squeezed his fingers, pulling against him as her muscles wound tight.

He pushed his tongue into her, rubbing his face against her and she wailed, calling his name, shouting it to the universe. Duke continued to lick her and she couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He wanted to show his love? She'd gotten lost inside it.

Finally, just as her vision was spotty from lack of air, her body relaxed, melting her bones, and she sagged a little. Duke kissed her thigh again and stood, an arm around her for support as he wiped his face with a wet bar towel. Dropping the towel, he stood before her again and she leaned into him, her arms coming around his neck.

He kissed her, whispering, "Is this okay?"

She nodded, lost for words, and he entered her, holding her in his arms. They were a perfect set; lock and key, between them lay all the secrets of the universe.

But that didn't matter because he was making that sound again, that rumbling groan that was getting louder and her body answered him, picking up speed quickly. She was making him feel like that. He was making those sounds because of her. The feeling was heady and powerful. Audrey brought her mouth to his, kissing him with all the love she had. She wanted him to feel her love too.

He moved a little, and she was gasping, body out of her control. She held on tight, and this time he came with her, uttering a hoarse cry against her lips as she sucked in air.

They were both shaky, supporting each other on the way back to the blanket where they curled up, clinging to each other.