Heeeey people! Chapter 3 is up - finallyyyy! Thanks a million to those who reviewed Chapter 2! As always, I really appreciate your comments and suggestions - keep 'em coming ! Sooooo here's the chapter you've all been waiting for - it's M rated! So please don't read if you're turned off by awesome birthday parties, excessive drinking, swearing, fighting or sexual references! I'm thinking this chapter is the best outta the three (especially the parts involving Reyn), but also the longest! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. So without further adieu - heeeeere's Chapter 3!
The Best Gifts Are Left For Last - Chapter 3
She saw them. They were standing in the middle of an alleyway, the afternoon sun forever casting a blind eye towards their secrecy as they hid within the shade between two buildings. Melia could see Vanea laughing, as she gently placed her arms around Dunban's neck, her eyes matching his as he looked down at her. Melia wanted to call out to them to make her presence known, but for some strange reason, she could not. Vanea pushed him gently until his back hit the adjacent wall. Pressing up on him, she spoke, but Melia could not hear what exactly she had said to him. Whatever she had said made Dunban smile. Vanea pressed up against him even further. Her lips hovered under his. At this, Melia turned, not wanting to watch the scene proceed. As water flows endlessly around every stone, so too did a mixture of anger and jealousy consume her soul, supressing every fibre of her being. She continued to walk away, the scene fading to white…..
Opening her eyes, she immediately felt cold. Shivers racked her spine and she clutched at her arms, trying to retain warmth. She'd been here before, with Shulk and the others. Snow hit her from all directions like piercing thorns, the sky endlessly dark, amassing with storm clouds. She was stuck in the middle of a blizzard. Melia tried to recall where she was as she made her way through the storm, her steps creating deep holes within the snow beneath her feet. Mount Valak. Finally, she remembered the name of the place. Why was she here?
"Melia, hurry!"
It was Shulk's voice no doubt, and it echoed around the swirling air as she pushed her way through the snow. She needed to get to the top of a distant slope. She didn't know why, but she needed to be there. Gazing upwards, she could see the outline of a dark building. Leading up the slope was a trail of dark liquid, splattered on top of the snow. Gazing further, her eyes widened at the sight of what the liquid truly was. It was blood...
Melia sat up immediately, awoken by the dream and frantically gazing around within the darkness of her bedroom. Her breathing was abnormal, and she felt sweat on her forehead. "What in Alcamoth was I just dreaming about?" she thought warily, her head pounding slightly. All of this was so strange. The first bit about Dunban and Vanea - it wasn't too hard to guess why she'd been dreaming about the two of them. But Mount Valak... and blood? Melia shook her head. Dreams were not real, they were not meant to be interpreted - at least, that was her logic behind it all. Putting all these thoughts aside, she decided to try to get back to sleep. It was only then that she realized that Dunban, of all people, was sleeping next to her. Propping herself up on one elbow, she gazed at him silently in the dark.
His features were undisturbed, his breathing rhythmical. Melia reached a cautious hand towards his face, where she gently touched his cheek with delicate fingers. The night before, Dunban had offered to take the couch on the lower level of the house, but she had persisted that they could share the bed that they both currently occupied. And so they'd ended up there - but nothing had happened between them. Too tired to think anymore, Melia flopped back onto the bed, carefully trying to keep to her own side as she drifted off to sleep once again.
But as morning came, her efforts proved useless as Dunban awoke to find Melia's head nestled on top of his chest. Smiling with amusement he gently sat up, trying not to wake her - once he'd gotten out of bed, found her a real pillow and fixed the bed sheets around her carefully. As he got ready to leave for work in town, he gazed at her silently, her figure bathed gently within the morning light that entered from the bedroom window. He was about to exit the house when Fiora caught him, his hand on the doorknob.
"Morning Dunban!" Fiora said brightly, looking up from the kitchen table, a cup of steaming coffee between her hands. "You're up early today, where are you off to? More work in town?"
Dunban put a finger to his lips, indicating Fiora had been pretty loud when she'd spoken. "Shh. Melia's upstairs, try not to wake her. Yes, I'll be in town for the majority of the week, I've got a business meeting to attend to this morning."
Fiora looked at Dunban, a little puzzled. "Melia's asleep? I didn't see her come in last night, I thought maybe she'd slept over at Shulk's place or something."
Dunban shook his head. "We both came back to the house together, it was rather late - you were probably sleeping."
At this statement, Fiora's puzzled look turned into a slight smirk. "I see. So did you both just happen to meet last night coincidentally?" She was playing dumb for now, but if her assumption about them meeting at the lake was true…
"I ended work early to meet with you all at the lake but by the time I had gotten there, I suspected all of you would be gone. Melia, however, was there alone. We spent some time there before heading back." Dunban ended his statement there, not elaborating further. He could see his sister's eyes gleaming mischievously at him, and he knew what she must have assumed.
"So you did decide to come yesterday! I still don't believe you though, perhaps I should ask Melia if you're telling the truth." Fiora chuckled, her eyes full of anticipation. "So what did you two end up doing? It must have been quite a while if you both came back here after I fell asleep."
Dunban didn't intend on it, but at this question images of Melia wet and half-naked from the previous night shot through his mind - and he felt himself blush slightly. Quickly, he forced himself to remain calm.
"Not too much, we talked for the majority of the night." He answered her as calmly as he could. Picking up his belongings, he added, "I should probably get going Fiora, before I'm late. I'll probably be back later tonight, so there's no need to wait up."
"Alright, alright." Fiora grinned, still with the same mischievous look. "See you later!" she called, as Dunban raised a hand to her and closed the door, leaving.
As she watched Dunban make his way towards town from the windows, Fiora smiled to herself. "Maybe Dunban does feel something towards Melia!" she thought, knowing that Dunban had blushed previously. "I wonder what he and Melia were up to last night…" At that moment, Fiora came to a compromise. "So what I assumed before might be true about the two of them, I've gotta investigate this further! Wait till Shulk hears about this!"
Days continued to pass, like scattered leaves strewn by the wind. So too did Melia's thoughts continue to wander between the many situations she now faced. In the morning, she would awake to find Fiora alone in the house - Dunban leaving early for work, and arriving back at the house when she usually was asleep. However, it wasn't only Dunban who'd taken up work - Melia too, had started to work temporarily with Sharla at the nearby infirmary, voluntarily dedicating her efforts to helping the sick and injured of the Colony. Her magic proved invaluable to the patients there, and currently, she was teaching the other doctors there how to heal through her magic capabilities. She was only getting started but there was no doubt that her efforts were being received rather well. It wasn't only that, but Melia found that the work took her mind off of her thoughts regarding Dunban, her mood lighter and more optimistic. Even so, she would still contemplate on the time that they had spent together, and often, she hoped that another situation would arise where they could be together again.
It was a late afternoon after work when Melia found out the news. Shulk and the others had planned to gather for some sort of "meeting", and she'd found the group of them chatting rather excitedly once she'd reached Outlook Park.
"Melia! Glad you could make it!" Shulk enthused, once she'd reached the group of them. Scanning all of the faces in front of her, Melia found that Dunban's was missing (to her disappointment) but instead of keeping the observation to herself, she decided to approach it without drawing suspicion. "Yes, I just finished work. Am I the last person here?" At her question, she noticed Fiora gaze at her slightly.
"Hmm, looks like everyone's here...hold on, where's Dunban?" Reyn inquired, looking around." Better yet, what's he been up to these days? Never see him around much." Melia felt grateful that someone else finally noticed as well.
"He's been working." Sharla intervened. "He came by the infirmary a couple of days ago, seems he's been in town all week. I'm assuming that he's not joining us?" She looked at Fiora with crossed arms. Fiora nodded.
"Yeah, Dunban won't be coming - but for good reason!" Fiora stated with a huge grin. "That's sort of the reason this meeting's been called - it's Dunban's 31st birthday in a few days, but I wanted to plan something for him beforehand with all of you, just to keep it a surprise!"
Reyn chuckled. "You serious? Dunban's birthday? Never would have guessed. What were you thinking of doing for him?"
"I haven't come up with anything to be honest, I was hoping that you guys might have some ideas." Fiora answered him, with a hopeful tone.
As the others discussed possible suggestions for the birthday, the main thought Melia had on her mind was what exactly she could give to Dunban as a possible gift. She knew that he'd appreciate something sophisticated, yet something that he could put to good use. Her thoughts were interrupted by Shulk, who proposed a rather interesting idea.
"What if we rented out the local tavern for the night, invited Dunban's co-workers and friends from town and surprise him there? Since Dunban's been working all week, I'd doubt he'd pass up the chance for a drink." Shulk's suggestion seemed to be a good one as everyone agreed.
"This is gonna be awesome! Can't say that I've ever seen Dunban completed wasted, although there has been a couple of times…" Reyn smirked at Shulk, who laughed at Reyn's remark. Dunban wasn't a heavy drinker, but on occasion, the two had witnessed his drinking habits a few times.
"Reyn, I don't want you or Shulk to pull what you guys did last time, you got him to drink so much that I found him asleep on our front porch the next morning!" Fiora looked at them with concern. "Seriously guys, you're a horrible influence on him!"
"Don't worry about us Fiora, we're hardly any influence at all!" Shulk said, trying to keep a straight face after Fiora's story.
Reyn added quickly "Oi, we weren't responsible for that last time! That was entirely Dickson's doing, him and Dunban used to drink all the time back then!" Both of them knew that Fiora was a little overprotective of Dunban when it came to drinking, or anything for that matter ever since his accident had occurred.
At the mention of Dickson's name, Shulk gazed downwards. Dunban had been friends with Dickson and Mumkhar for so long. Both of them should have been back at the Colony, celebrating Dunban's birthday as the three of them always had in the past. "To have your closest friends deceive you...and to have to fight against them…" Shulk thought, putting himself in Dunban's shoes. He then remembered when Fiora had been subjected to battle the group of them at Galahad Fortress, under Egil's control. That had been, without doubt, one of the hardest decisions he had made in his life - trying to fight the girl that he had been closest to for most of his life. He knew that Dunban's case when fighting both Dickson and Mumkhar had probably felt similar.
Fiora looked skeptical. "Alright. Still, I'll be checking up on all of you tomorrow. If Dunban's overly drunk, I'll hold you two responsible!" Both Reyn and Shulk exchanged disapproved glances at this statement." I'm hoping Dunban will agree to come to the tavern tomorrow, otherwise, that might ruin things." Fiora added, looking at Shulk.
"That won't be a problem, Reyn and I can visit Dunban just before he finishes work, I'm sure we can convince him." Shulk addressed Fiora, smiling.
"Alright, its settled then. Shulk and I will convince Dunban to come tomorrow night, and we'll meet all of you there. Sounds like a decent plan!" Reyn said enthusiastically. The others nodded.
"Okay! Melia and Sharla, would you mind helping me decorate the tavern tomorrow?" Fiora asked." I'll have to let them know what's going on, but I'm sure they'll be willing to cooperate, especially since most of the people that work there have known Dunban for years."
"Not a problem, I am more than willing to help - although Sharla and I are working tomorrow." Melia said with a smile. Sharla nodded stating, "We shall try to make it as soon as we can."
"Thanks everyone, I'm sure Dunban will appreciate it all!" Fiora said, glowing.
After a bit of discussion, everyone but Fiora and Shulk decided to part, as they had other business to attend to elsewhere. As Sharla and Reyn were about to leave together, Reyn fell back with Shulk, waiting until he was out of hearing distance of everyone else, especially Fiora. "Yeah...tomorrow, we're getting Dunban sloshed out of his fucking mind!" Reyn said, and Shulk laughed, nodding his head as a sign of approval. Reyn waved a hand as he then left the group, running to catch up with Sharla who hadn't bothered waiting.
"I should probably leave as well, it is getting late." Melia stated. "I will make sure to meet you tomorrow at the tavern Fiora, as promised!" Fiora smiled warmly, stating "Great! I'll see you back at the house later, Shulk and I might stay here for a while."
Melia nodded with a smile as she turned her back to the couple and headed back to Fiora's place, the sun fading and casting long shadows across the grounds.
The next morning seemed to progress infinitely faster than Melia had anticipated. Originally she had planned to leave work early, go downtown and buy Dunban a gift, return back to Fiora's to get ready for the night, and then finally meet Fiora and Sharla at the tavern. Her whole plan however, was interrupted when the infirmary received notice that a large group of workers had been injured due to a recent cave in during the construction of a new mine. Due to this emergency, Melia and Sharla were forced to stay and help the injured workers, leaving them no time off at all. Leaving work later than usual, Melia hurried back to Fiora's to get ready for the birthday. Surprisingly, Fiora was waiting for her as she entered the house.
"Melia! There you are, I thought we could get ready together and then head over to the tavern!" Fiora said as the two of them headed to the second floor of the house, where she began to tell Melia that she'd already rented out the tavern for the night. Fiora let Melia use the shower first before using it herself. As Melia started to get ready, she noticed that she had not packed any semi-formal clothes with her. Deciding to wear her normal attire, she was about to make the thought a reality when Fiora stopped her.
"Melia, you're more than welcome to borrow something of mine to wear tonight - where's the harm in a little change?" Fiora asked, smiling at her. Melia smiled back. That was one of the traits that she admired about Fiora - she was always daring and eager to be different. As the leader of Alcamoth, perhaps these were traits that were to be avoided, but secretly, Melia had always aspired to be this way.
"I am alright Fiora, I'm sure I've got something extra that I can-" she was interrupted by Fiora, who shook her head, knowing Melia was about to protest.
"Don't be silly, I'm sure I can find you something!" Fiora began to hunt through her clothes again until something caught her eye. "Perfect! This will look great on you - try it on!" She was holding a beautiful turquoise halter dress. Because it didn't look too formal, Melia decided to give it a chance and it fit quite well. The dress was short, but that didn't seem to be too much of a problem - the evening was warm. Fiora decided on a white, strapless dress. The two spent about half an hour doing their hair and makeup, Melia trying to take her time with it. It was for Dunban's birthday after all and for him, she wanted to look her best. Fiora noticed that Melia was putting in much effort as well, and decided to put her theories to the test.
"So, Dunban was telling me about how you two met at the lake the other day, and I wasn't sure whether to believe him - he always skips out on things like that for work." Fiora's comment seemed genuine enough, but Melia thought it was a bit odd that Fiora had brought up the subject.
"It was awful timing since all of you decided to leave and he showed up a bit later, but he did keep his promise." Melia stated, looking at Fiora. "He was worried that you would be angry with him if he hadn't."
Fiora laughed. "Ohh Dunban! Honestly, he may be one of the higher-ranked soldiers of our Colony, but deep down he's a big softy. He always has been!" At this, Melia laughed too. She'd never pictured Dunban in such a way...but then again, when he'd been with her on the beach that one time…
Fiora noticed Melia sort of staring into space. "You okay Melia?" she asked, with a tone of concern.
Melia snapped back to attention. "Sorry! I am fine!" she said, shaking off her previous thoughts. Suddenly, she had a question. She'd always been wondering about this particular topic, and perhaps now was the time to ask - Fiora of all people, would be the most ideal. "Fiora...I apologize if I seem straightforward, but what exactly happened to Dunban's right arm?"
Fiora didn't seem to take offense at this question, but her smile faded a little. "It was a year ago. Dunban had been asked to help during the Battle of Sword Valley, when Mechonis and Bionis were still at war with one another. At the time, he was the only person to had ever tried to use the Monado. He was so reckless back then…" Fiora trailed off sounding a bit agitated, but then continued on slowly.
"Dunban's arm is the way it is because he used the Monado frequently when in battle. For some reason, the Monado started to act up, and paralyzed his arm. I'll never forget that day, when Shulk and I found him on that stretcher...and when we were told he wouldn't be able to wield the Monado anymore...he was so...frustrated. I mean, with himself." Fiora said, looking up at her sadly. Melia knew she'd asked the wrong question in that moment.
"I'm sorry, Fiora." Melia apologized as sincerely as she could. Fiora shook her head. "It's alright, I'm sure you've been wondering for a while - I know I would if I hadn't known. Dunban's just as good as using his left arm as he could have with his right, but if he gets anywhere near the Monado again...it could be fatal. I'm just glad things didn't get worse. After all, he's the only brother I've got." Fiora smiled as she said this, gazing at Melia.
"Honestly, that's why I'm glad we planned something for him tonight. He needs a break - he's always working non-stop, and when he's not doing that, he's fighting. It's always one or the other! He needs to settle down and do something else with his life! What do you think?" Fiora asked, waiting to see how Melia would react to this question.
"That would not be a problem if Dunban agreed to date me!" Melia thought. Realizing she was spacing out again, she quickly looked up at Fiora.
"Dunban probably has his own plans, he seems rather independent. If I'm not mistaken...I do not think Dunban will ever give up his present routine of things, from what I have observed, it seems he cannot live without it."
Melia hadn't realized it, but she'd almost sounded disdainful. She then suddenly remembered the party. "Should we not be heading off to the tavern to put up the decorations?"
Fiora smirked. Never had she heard Melia give such a deep remark about anyone, let alone in such a strange tone. Plus, the question about his arm? "Yup, there's definitely something going on between them. Tonight might be the night to see if things go any further!" she thought mischievously.
"Actually, all we have to do is head over there - the decorations are already up! Some of the employees at the tavern were more than willing to do the job! Plus I heard about you and Sharla having to work late, so I thought I'd save you the extra work." Fiora said. "Come on, we should get going - I need to make sure all of the guests have arrived!"
Melia nodded. Together, the girls left the house a couple of minutes later, making their way towards the tavern. As they walked, Melia couldn't help but wonder what the night would have in store. Suddenly, in that moment, terror struck her and she felt the energy drain out from her like a plug draining water. She'd forgotten to get Dunban a gift…
It wasn't a surprise to Shulk or Reyn when Dunban agreed to go with them to the tavern that night. In fact, he almost seemed sort of grateful that the two had asked. There was no doubt that Dunban looked somewhat tired, tired enough to have forgotten about his own upcoming birthday. Everything seemed to be falling into place almost too well. Shulk was glad that Dunban hadn't questioned them at all about it.
"So Dunban, you seem out of it! How was work today?" Shulk asked, trying to keep up conversation until they reached the tavern.
"Quite long." Dunban admitted, as they made there way across the paved streets of the Colony, street lamps glowing amidst the darkness of the night. "I had a meeting, but it took a hell of a lot longer than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, it's over."
They were almost there. From the sounds of it, the tavern was somewhat rowdy, making things not too suspicious. Suddenly Dunban came up with a question, at long last. "Shulk, did you and Reyn invite anyone else here tonight?"
Shulk didn't respond, as all of them entered the tavern. The place was full to the brim with guests who had been waiting, and they all shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY!" in unison at the top of their lungs as the three men entered the bar.
Dunban stood a little stunned at this, very surprised. "Nevermind." He said with a smile, as Reyn slapped him on the back and Shulk laughed.
It was about two and a half hours in before all hell broke loose between the comrades. Dunban, Reyn and Shulk had all participated in drinking consecutive shots of 12 year old aged rum and were all completely trashed - Dunban taking it better than the two of them. The girls on the other hand, weren't doing so well themselves. Fiora had drank a couple beers, and hadn't planned on drinking for the rest of the night until Sharla and Melia had gotten her to take tequila shots with them. Out of the three, Sharla was handling herself quite well, and Fiora and Melia were on the verge of being drunk.
Reyn, Shulk and Dunban were all sitting by the bar, Reyn with his eye fixed on Sharla for the majority of the night, who was making conversation with another guest.
"Shulk, man, she's been talking to that guy the whole fucking night! She won't even let me near her!" He said, rather angrily. Reyn and Sharla had gone out on a few dates, although they weren't exactly official yet, Reyn basically assumed that he and Sharla were in a relationship. Also, Reyn had a habit of swearing when he was drunk - but Shulk was used to this.
"Reyn, honestly, its okay!" Shulk said, laughing drunkenly. "Just go over there, I'll come with you!" Reyn didn't need to be told twice. Getting up, he knocked a few bar stools over as he made his way over to them, pushing past a few guests, Shulk right behind him.
"Sharla, you're looking sexy tonight." Reyn said it flat out, not even caring about the man currently next to her. Sharla gave him an exasperated look, knowing fully that he was completely drunk. "Thank you Reyn, but I'm in the middle of something right now. Don't be so rude!"
"Hey! I'm bein' honest!" Reyn said this a sympathetically as he could. "Even Shulk agrees with me...right Shulk? Shulk!?" Reyn gazed wildly around for Shulk, who had disappeared magically from beside him. If he'd looked around further, he would have noticed Fiora gone as well. "Anyway, why don't you introduce me to this "friend" of yours?"
Sharla gave a displeased look, knowing where this was headed. "This is Gareth." The man named Gareth(who also looked somewhat drunk) extended a hand to Reyn, who shook it rather unwillingly.
"Gareth?" Reyn said, raising an eyebrow at Sharla. "How do you two know each other?"
There was somewhat menace in his voice, and Sharla didn't like where this was going. "We met in town quite recently, he's a medical aid at work." Sharla answered him.
"Ohhh so you're working with Sharla too? Must be great getting to spend all that time with her there, and now you plan on forcing her to make conversation with you for the entire night? Fucking brilliant!" Reyn said, enthusiastically unimpressed.
"Reyn!" Sharla said, looking at him sternly. Gareth however, didn't seem to take this comment lightly at all. "Dude, it's none of your fucking business!" At this, Sharla slapped her hand to her forehead. This was not going well. At all.
"None of my business? In every right its my business, you fucking idiot!" Reyn yelled, violently pushing a chair over. There were so many people in the bar, the music was loud, and there was so much noise that the two were barely heard between it all.
"Man, let's go. Let's go right now!" Gareth yelled, and Reyn happily obliged, and the two started to fight.
"Reyn, stop it!" Sharla tried to yell over the noise, but it proved to be futile as quite a large group of people around them started chanting "fight!" continuously. This continued on for about a couple of minutes until Reyn emerged victorious, Gareth unconscious on the floor, and the crowd cheering loudly.
"Oh my God, Reyn, what did you do to him!?" Sharla looked at Gareth very worriedly as a couple of people in the bar seemed to removing the unconscious man from the floor.
"Nothing to worry about, he got what he deserved." Reyn said with a genuinely drunk smile, rolled his right arm back a couple of times.
Sharla rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I got you outta that shitty conversation, where's the thanks?" Reyn inquired.
"Thanks?! You should be grateful that security hasn't shown up yet, or better yet, that the bouncer hasn't kicked you out!" Sharla said, seething.
Reyn smirked. "I am the bouncer, but hey, thanks for noticing."The sad part about that statement was that it was actually true, Reyn had been hired for the job that night after a few previous inquires.
Sharla sighed, shaking her head.
In the meanwhile, Fiora and Shulk had managed to find each other through the rabble of guests and were currently sitting with Melia at one of the side tables. Melia, much like Reyn with Sharla, had been watching Dunban the entire night. He was wearing casual clothes - a loose black dress shirt, his signature silver chain, and darkwash jeans. Currently, he was talking to a crowd of war comrades from the Defense Force, and she looked on with interest.
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. Where was Vanea? Had she been invited? Dismissing the question, she returned back to Shulk and Fiora, both of them slightly arguing or flirting, she couldn't tell which.
"Fiora are you drunk? I don't think I've ever see you like this before!" Shulk asked Fiora gently, gazing at her with amusement. Melia had to admit that Shulk, after all he'd been drinking, was handling himself rather well.
Fiora however, was completely wasted. "Shulk, I'm not drunk! What are you talkinggg about?!" Fiora said between high pitched giggles. Reyn joined them a few seconds later.
"Yo Shulk, you missed it, Sharla and I - Fiora, bloody hell, why do you looked stoned?" Reyn stared at Fiora, who was laughing for no reason, practically falling into Shulk's lap with half closed eyes. "Is she drunk?" Reyn asked, looking to Shulk and Melia for an answer, and when they both nodded, Reyn laughed loudly. "Wow, this is like the first time I've ever seen you completely wasted Fiora! How does it feel?"
Fiora finally noticed that the question was addressed to her, speaking really loudly. "It feels bloody brilliant, thank you very much! What about you Shulk, why are you not drunk? Go over there with Dunban and get more shots!" Her words were slightly slurred.
"No, I think I've had enough for now." Shulk said, not wanting to leave Fiora alone in case she did something incredibly stupid. Fiora made her familiar pouty face. "Shulkkk come onnn, you have to!" Shulk chuckled, and shook his head again.
"Well, if you won't drink more, then I'm forcing you to come dance with me!" Fiora threatened, and Shulk looked terrified at this. Reyn crossed his arms, smirking at Shulk. Shulk knew that if he drank anymore, he'd be completely drunk too. He had made it a compromise to be responsible for Fiora for the night, and he didn't want to put that on Dunban since it was his birthday celebration. He tried to think of a way out of the situation, since he really didn't feel like dancing, nor was he actually good at it. Not in his opinion anyway."Fiora, what if we-"
Fiora was already out of her seat. "Shulkk, come onnn!" Shooting a rather helpless look at Reyn and Melia, Shulk allowed himself to be dragged away onto the dance floor, both eventually lost to the naked eye through the sea of people that currently swarmed the space. Melia was about to go join them when she noticed Dunban - with Vanea. "Damn, so Fiora did invite her!" She thought, rather unhappily. At that moment, Sharla joined the table, a beer in hand.
"Sharla, missed you babe!" Reyn said, wrapping an arm around her. Sharla shook her head, and pushed his hand away gently and sat next to Melia.
"Melia, what are you looking at?" she inquired, once she noticed Melia's attention was off somewhere else. Reyn also tried to focus on what she was looking at.
"Are you creeping on Dunban?" Reyn said jokingly, not even sure if that was who she was looking at. Sharla smiled a little at this comment. Melia and Sharla usually conversed at work, and Sharla had assumed something was going on between the two as Melia often spoke highly of him, without fully realizing. Melia looked up at Reyn.
"No, I was not "creeping" on Dunban! Why would I do such a thing?" Melia crossed her arms defiantly(flailing a bit in the process) at the fact that she had been "caught" staring at Dunban. Reyn laughed at her response.
Sharla got up. "Why don't we go over and talk to him for a bit, Melia?"
Melia liked where this was going. "Why not?" she said, trying to stand, and nearly falling over in the process. Reyn helped her up and Sharla led the way as the two of the headed over to where Dunban was sitting.
"Dunban! Happy Birthday!"Sharla said once she'd reached the table, extending her arms for a hug. Dunban chuckled and embraced her. "Thank you Sharla, its great to see you."
Dunban turned to look at who else had joined them, and felt himself slightly go rigid. Melia was standing in front of him, and the only way he thought to describe her in that moment was 'sexy'. Her hair was pin straight, she was wearing a slightly revealing dress, and she looked different when wearing makeup. The moment they locked eyes, Melia wasn't exactly sure what he was thinking. His eyes were the darkest shade of blue she'd ever seen them. Or maybe it was the drinks she'd had that seemed to make it that way.
"Happy Birthday, Dunban!" Melia spoke as she too, embraced him. Dunban reciprocated. "Thank you Melia." he said with a smile, their eyes still on one anothers. Sharla and Vanea exchanged hugs too - from the looks of things, Vanea didn't seem too drunk, but she had had a couple of drinks for sure.
The four conversed, Melia caught Dunban glancing over at her a few times. Most of the time, she pretended not to notice. It was a while before Dunban excused himself and left to go somewhere. The three girls were left, still chatting. It hadn't been more than five minutes when Melia caught Sharla looking at her, nudging her head slightly to the left, to the direction in which Dunban had left.
Suddenly, Melia understood what Sharla was implying. Grateful, she too, excused herself and left the bar.
Melia stumbled out of the entrance to the tavern. Relishing the night air she felt better, knowing that she was no longer stuck within the claustrophobic room she had just occupied.
Turning around, she noticed someone else was outside, casually leaning against the side wall of the tavern. It was Dunban, and it looked like he was smoking. Melia felt a pounding in her head. She didn't know whether to approach him or not. She knew she'd been drinking, and didn't exactly want to make a fool out of herself, especially not in front of Dunban. What would he think of her if she did?
Melia then closed her eyes. "Why am I so worried about what he'll think of me? He's probably as drunk as I am anyway." She thought. Without a second thought, she walked over to where he was standing, trying to keep her balance.
"Hello again." Melia addressed him rather softly, but seductively. Dunban after noticing her, took a small drag from his cigarette before addressing her.
"Hello, Melia. Have you come to join me for a smoke?" he asked with a smile, jokingly.
"No, not at all!" Melia made a face at his statement.
Dunban chuckled. "That's good, I wouldn't have approved if you had said "yes."" He said this as he put out his cigarette, dropping it to the ground.
"Why would you disapprove when you're the one smoking yourself? Hypocrite much?" Melia taunted, surprising herself with the fact that she'd just retaliated at Dunban, of all people.
Dunban seemed a little surprised by this as well. " I only smoke occasionally, not on a regular basis." he stated, rather calmly.
"Hmm, I see." Melia said, not really understanding at all. Everything was sort of going through one ear and out the other at this time. She was starting to feel the effects of her most recent shots starting to kick in. She could feel the silence between the two of them, but it wasn't an awkward feeling. It was pleasant to her and she liked having Dunban near her, alone. It was almost a feeling like no one could touch her if she was with him, as if she was always protected by his presence.
It had started to rain. Not heavily, but Melia was starting to get wet. She gazed up at the sky, wishing for it to stop but the rain carried on, not hearing her internal plea. She thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't exactly gotten Dunban anything for his birthday.
"I couldn't think of what to get you. I mean, as a gift." She surprised herself with this statement, rain pattering softly against the ground.
Dunban looked up. "Your presence alone is a gift to me." he said quietly after a moment, gazing at her softly. Melia looked at him, trying to process whether what he had just said was true, or if she'd been hallucinating it.
Then she had an idea. It was an impulsive idea..completely out of character for her, but in the moment - it felt right.
"My presence alone is hardly good enough!" she stated flatly, and as she did, she walked towards him, pushing him back against the side wall of the tavern, her lips colliding with his.
Dunban felt her move insistently against him, pressing him further into the wall of the alleyway. Gripping her, he returned the kiss, a little reluctantly. Her lips moved over his effortlessly, and she tasted like a mixture of tequila and grenadine. He felt her trace his bottom lip with her tongue and he groaned slightly. Her hands moved, trapped within his wet hair and he pulled her into him, feeling the need to kiss her a little more aggressively.
One of her hands travelled downwards to where his jeans had become taut. When she pressed her palm against him he groaned again, a bit louder this time. Suddenly, he broke off the kiss, turning away.
"Melia...I can't do this." He was breathing hard, his voice thick. She loved it when his voice sounded that way. She had also known that we would push her away- he always did.
"Dunban, answer me honestly - do you want this?" Melia asked him, the confidence and slight authority in her voice rising.
Dunban shook his head. "Melia, I can't take advantage of you. You shouldn't-"
Melia silenced him, her lips over his yet again. Dunban wanted to make it clear that what he was saying was the truth, but then he felt something. The feeling of her here was the same as it had once been - on the beach, when they had both had sex together for the first time. Dunban tried to push these thoughts aside. His mind was begging him to be cautious, but Dunban let his instinct take over. He knew it wasn't because of what he had been drinking. He knew in reality, that he wanted Melia. That was the truth.
The rain started to pour more insistently as Melia continued to kiss him, her hands now wrapped around his neck. Dunban responded to her as he gripped her thigh, bringing her to closer quarters. Using his left hand, he angled her face towards his so he could have more of her. He trailed her lips with his tongue, seeking entry and she gave it to him quite willingly. As their tongues dueled, Melia could feel Dunban becoming increasingly aggressive. It was as if he'd changed into some carnivorous animal who hadn't been satisfied with its prey for a very long time. His kisses were intoxicating to her and this made her feel more drunk than ever. Once again, she tried to process the reality she was living, for the fact that Dunban had reciprocated towards her in this moment had always seemed like an impossible scenario.
The rain began to get extremely heavy, thunder rumbling in the distance. Melia could feel her dress plastered to her body - her hair was soaked and rain fell in fast rivulets down her face, her lips full and wet. She broke the kiss, gazing at Dunban warily. His hair was wet, and droplets fell from his eyelashes and down his face, dripping off his chin. His eyes were the darkest shade of blue she'd seen to date - his stare brought shivers to her spine. She'd never seen Dunban this intense before - she felt frightened, but she liked the feeling. As they began to kiss again, Melia ran her hand across his chest, noticing that his shirt was also sticking to his body. She began to undo it, and got about halfway before she felt his hand on her wrist.
"Not here." Dunban said, his voice thick. Melia nodded. Quickly, she grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the entrance of the tavern and to the second floor, where there were spare bedrooms.
The moon was their only source of light as they entered an empty room, Dunban returning to kissing Melia feverishly. Melia responded with much enthusiasm, taking in his aggressiveness as her hands found their way under his shirt. She could feel his abdominals, solid against her palms, and she lifted his shirt further trying to rid him of it. Dunban helped her, breaking the kiss and swiftly pulling his shirt off, letting her run her cold fingers across his well-defined chest. Melia too, copied his actions as she undid her dress, letting it fall to the floor. At this, Dunban picked her up and carried her over to the nearby bed quickly, placing his body over hers. She could feel warmth radiating off of his body, seeping through her. He avoided putting all of his weight on her as he began to kiss her again, his hand finding the clasp of her bra and later, massaging her breasts. Melia moaned involuntarily, her back arching towards him - signalling she wanted more. Dunban obliged as he kissed down her throat, to her chest, then to her nipples, which he sucked on gently. Melia gasped at his actions, as this was a sensitive spot of her. Dunban continued to then massage her nipples with his thumb, and returned back up to kissing her neck.
Pulling away from Dunban, she sat up. He came up to meet her and she straddled him, sitting in his lap. She began to kiss him, and while his attention was divided, her hand travelled downwards yet again and she pressed her palm against his groin, cupping him. This elicited a groan from Dunban, and at this sound, Melia smiled. To tease him further, she began to undo his belt, and throwing it aside, unzipped his jeans. Dunban knew what she was about to do but before he could stop her, her hand had found its way into his boxers. Dunban cried out, an infernal growl escaped his lips as he felt her hand on him, massaging gently. He felt her other hand on the back of his jeans, trying to rid him of them. Dunban smirked inwardly underneath her lips and in one blindingly fast motion he had her pinned to the bed, her arms held above her head with his good arm.
At this action, Melia was stunned. She'd never seen Dunban this way before - it was as if he was an entirely different person and it was a side he did not normally display to others. He came down on her, and the aggression began to build again, Melia knowing that he might leave bruises, but this did not faze her. She felt his fingers creep cautiously beneath her silk panties and he pulled them off of her. Melia, feeling fully exposed felt slightly embarrassed and Dunban noticed this as he looked up, into her eyes. Trying to keep himself under control, he kissed her to calm her, gently brushing a hand across her stomach. His hand began to travel downwards and one digit inserted itself within her.
Melia felt him inside her, a moan escaping her lips. She felt him over her again, his lips on hers as if trying to take in her pain and pleasure. A second finger found her and she gasped louder, her frame arching further towards him. When a third finger found her, all coherent thought left her and she couldn't help but moan wantonly with abandon.
Dunban knew she was more than wet, but the sounds that she was making were about to send him over the edge, the area between his pants thoroughly hard. He let her go, and as he did, he saw her gaze at him, her eyes half closed and lips slightly parted. He smiled, gently bending over her to kiss her again.
Melia came into focus, noticing Dunban's jeans were overly tight. Sitting up, she helped him get rid of them, as well as his boxers. She gazed at him, fully naked, and blushed. It had been a while, but Dunban still looked ridiculously fit to her. Although he was in his early 30's, he kept himself in excellent physical shape. It was yet another thing she respected Dunban for - his health and training were both important aspects of his life. Her thoughts were interrupted when he kissed her again, and she responded. The two carried on for some time until Melia needed him within her, and she could no longer wait.
Dunban searched her eyes, but already he had his answer when she nodded at him wordlessly. Working her up again, Dunban pressed his forehead gently to hers as he slid inside her, trying to be as gentle as possible. Melia cried out his name as he did this, her eyes unseeing. Dunban heard this and it tore at him from the inside - he kissed her, trying to take in her pain as his own. After a moment, Melia seemed to have recovered, and she moved rhythmically with him as he slid himself in further. Her hands found his back and pressed insistently into it, her nails digging into his flesh wildly. Her final cries mingled with the continuing storm that raged outside, the two of them moving together in unison until Dunban drew back and pulled out of her, with a cry of his own - as they both reached climax.
The two were sweating profusely and breathing hard afterwards as Dunban turned to her, gathering her in his arms. Melia rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes with satisfaction. "Are you alright?" Dunban asked her. Melia smiled, remembering he had said the same thing to her after the first time they'd had sex.
"I am fine, Dunban." she said, gazing up at him. There was still concern flooding his eyes as he held her, and to relieve him of it, she reached up to give him a quick kiss.
"Happy Birthday." she whispered quietly, and Dunban smiled, pulling her closer.
Author's Note: The night I finished writing this, I got serious back pain - just cause I ended up staying up all night and writing, hunched over my computer. Nevertheless, Chapter 3 is complete! I'm thinking about incorporating more Shulk/Fiora and Reyn/Sharla into this story, just to make it a tad more interesting. Sooooo Melia and Dunban finally got together! :P But given the circumstances, what will happen from here on out?
I've got an interesting plot mapped out for this story - and further on into the chapters, things will get more serious between most of the characters(in relationships as well as the story itself.) Still, I'm open to all suggestions or comments, so review away! :D
Hope you guys liked this chapter, chapter 4 will be on its way - hopefully soon!