I'M BACKKKKKKKKK!*dodges flying books*
Heh heh, hey there guys. Sorry for the horrendously long cropped up at home and stuff happened to give you this LONGGGGGG wait.
As you may or may not know, i started another series, this time in the infinite denseness fandom. Rest assured that this will still be my priority and i will not forget it. EVER!
And quickly before i forget, I apologize to Ban3 for forgetting to mention his awesome work the last chapter. I shall repent by thanking him twice for his hard work.
Thank you.
THANK YOU!
Now enjoy the show and if things crop up that made you wince, well, you know where to rip me a new one.
"Aye, that woman is stunning and a good target but she has those two attack dogs around her. She could likely castrate you with her bare words. Don't go for it."
-Transcript recorded between two employees, Traxus Office of Physics, regarding East Asia Branch Office of Physics Chief Presiding Director Nora Murray.
Vault
Control room
Vale stumbled clumsily as she exited the portal. While time was not an issue in the vault, the effect of hours of constant combat still took its toll. She was trembling, her body exhausted from the fights.
Yet, even as she stood, her muscles aching and wobbly, she could feel an exhilaration within her. Her body still ran on the last influx of adrenaline, an almost jittery excitement coursing through her. It was this feeling that kept her on her feet as she slowly made her way to the bedroom, her feet skittering on the vague floor.
Inside, she simply made her way to the bed and flopped on top of it, her clothing still damp with salt water. There, she simply stared at the ceiling, wondering about everything that had transpired.
"You all but own him."
She blinked as the words surfaced in her mind. She knew Nora truly felt that way, but...but...
But she realised that she was scared.
She knew of her limitations. Dutch wanted to keep her safe but she knew that one day, she would leave the vault to see the outside world. He said that to her and she trusted in his judgement.
She was afraid however, afraid that she could lose him before then. A lot could happen in a day and she could not shake the feeling that before long, Dutch would be in more danger than at any other time in the world. The thought of losing him, of his weave being completed...
She let out an involuntary sob. She still remembered the sacrifice Dutch had to make to get to her. She knew that if needed, he would do it all over again. The thought of it simply shook her.
"Please, Dako, be safe and come back." She whispered. She contemplated calling for him but perished the thought. She trusted him. He would return to her. With that, she drifted off to sleep, her mind too exhausted to come up with a dream. All the better though, her dreams, she felt, wouldn't be very pleasant.
As she slept, her hand crept over to the other side of the bed. It lay there, open, waiting...
Lonely.
Forest of magic
Blood coursed along the silvery blade as gravity pulled the red liquid down it's length, dripping as it flowed.
Short ragged gasps tore themselves free from her, from the Tengu Lord who stared at Dutch with uncomprehending eyes. Her eyes flitted to his face, then darted rapidly to her weapon, sunk deep into the tree behind him. They tracked the blade along its length, the sharp edge biting into his neck, the lightest of cuts on his skin.
Dutch stared into her eyes, the realization that he wasn't dead coursing through him. He had kept his eyes open, wanting to at least see into the eyes of his would be killer for one last time, but now, he simply stared into their currently foggy depths, peering into the woman before him.
He saw Tenma's eyes widen. The Karasu tengu stumbled back, releasing her hold on her weapon with trembling hands as she looked at the scene before her with fearful eyes.
"No...no...no...no..." She mumbled as her eyes started to fill with regret, her words catching in her throat as she sniffled. The sight of the powerful tengu in tears forced Dutch to raise his hands, his fingers stretched out to reach her.
"Ten..."
"Stop!" She screamed, backing away from him. Her whole body shook as she looked at him with horrified eyes as blood streamed down his neck, her weapon next to it a reminder.
'I did this.'
"I'm...I'm sorry." She whispered as she turned and ran. Away from him, away from her actions. Her silver mane whipped in the air as it disappeared into the dimness of the trees.
Dutch grunted as he felt the cut on his neck flare with pain. Stumbling away from the weapon imbedded in the tree, he gingerly placed his hand to feel the wound. Red stained his skin but it was light, not the fatal flow that would signify the piercing of an artery.
Still, he could feel the forest stir around him. Blood was in the air and no rain would ever deter youkai from the scent of human blood. He had to get out of the forest before the feral youkai found him.
Yet the pain of the cut reminded him of his tengu companion. He had to go after her, before she did something that both would regret. She was important to Gensokyian stability and he would be damned before he let something happen to her because of him.
In the darkened trees, he could hear the rumbling of a far off growl. Something had caught onto his scent.
He had to think and think fast.
Interestingly, it was her weapon that gave him her answer. He spied her scabbard in the ground and realized that she had run off without any weapon. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the katana and ripped it out of the tree, sheathing it in the scabbard that he picked up a few seconds later.
Even as the growls grew in number and volume, Dutch took off after Tenma, following the signs of her passage deeper into the forest. Still gritting his teeth, he added his own voice to the sounds echoing through the forest.
"What sort of fighter leaves her weapon and runs off into the forest!"
Yukari watched the human make his way after the tengu woman, fighting his way though the undergrowth. A sly smile graced her lips as she contemplated the effects of the relationship between the two.
Frankly, it was a surprise. To believe that two very different beings could have such feelings for each other. It wasn't love, Yukari was sure through. Despite the mistakes some people made about their relationship, she herself was sure that what they had wasn't love.
Yukari giggled. If Tenma realized what she had for Dutch wasn't love but something a bit more juvenile, things would finally settle into their proper place. The vault entity owned him and no one else could take that away.
As she watched Dutch's journey through the forest, a rogue gap silently tore reality apart nearby. While it seemed nothing had come through the gap, the very existance of this oddity caused Yukari to narrow her eyes in suspicion.
It seemed that the Lunarians were accelerating their plans. Their hand had been played. It was time for her to show hers.
She sighed as her mind sailed back through a sea of memories. To think all of this had come about because of her efforts to keep Gensokyo stable in its infant years...
She returned to watching Dutch, her voice echoing throughout the realm of nothingness.
"It's time for you to come into play."
Forest of magic
Dutch snarled as he crashed through a dense wall of vines. Swinging the katana in his hand, he sliced through the stubborn plant growth, the weapon effortlessly cutting apart the obstacles.
He wondered how Tenma had made her way through the forest without disturbing much. Just when he would enter places where everything seemed to be untouched, there would always be a hint of her passage, a glossy black feather, a thread of silver or fabric, to guide his way.
Still, he worried that she would journey deeper and deeper into the forest to a point where he wouldn't be able to follow. Not to mention the rumbling of the clouds overhead that were increasing in number and the stirring of the forest around him. Already, he had had to scare off a group of feral youkai, appearing to be brothers of the mountain youkai, by firing off his grenade launcher.
No doubt they would be able to find their recently lost confidence soon enough. He needed to find Tenma as fast as possible and get out. Not that the forest was helping him at all.
As he fought his way through yet another wall of plants, the sound of sniffling caught his attention. Working faster, he cut his way to the source of the sound, his actions a frenzied blur.
"Tenma?"
The sound cut off. Carefully, Dutch inched his way to the source, sheathing the katana, the blade entering with a whisper of steel on leather. The ground cut off into a drop in front of him but rising from it, a single tree had found a way to clasp onto the very edge.
On top of a low lying tree branch, low enough for him to walk onto from where he was standing, sat Tenma. Her face had the sheen of tears hurriedly wiped, her eyes reddened with water shed moments before. She stared at him with fearful eyes, both for herself and him.
"What are you..." She whispered, her voice trailing off as her guilty heart drew up another wave of sorrow, cutting off her words with a choking sob..
Dutch smiled comfortingly. "You forgot your weapon." He said as he offered said item to her, his voice a calming tone.
Tenma took the weapon, struggling a smile. "Thank you." She answered, returning his smile with her own, forcing aside the emotion on her face.
The two lapsed into silence as the sound of thunder rumbled overhead again.
"What happened.." Dutch started.
"...was my fault." His opposite interrupted.
As he sighed, the wall holding back the tengu's emotions collapsed, allowing all of her feelings to gush out.
"When I fought, I - I was trying to kill you. Every single attack, every movement, all of it was to kill you." She whispered, shuddering at her words.
"I can't be close to you. What if I truly answered that urge? Oh gods..." She breathed out as she thought of her words. Her eyes closed as she hugged herself.
Dutch sighed again. Stepping onto the tree branch, the wood creaking lightly under the added weight, he moved quickly, before she could do anything, and walked up to her.
Taking her hand, he placed it slowly around his neck, the pressure drawing out another stream of blood that slowly flowed over her pale hands, staining the skin blood red.
Tenma looked on with surprise and then fear as she looked at his action. Unconsciously, her hand almost squeezed, but she stopped the movement, letting out quick gasps at what she had almost done again.
"See, I'm not dead. Sure, it hurt a tad, but I'm not dead." Dutch quipped cheerfully even though they both knew what had just happened. Taking her other hand, he placed it on his neck as well, both hands wrapped around it, a calm smile on his face.
Just the amount of trust that the man placed on her made her tears run again. He was willing to put his life on the line just to show her what he felt. She could feel it in her hands, the throb of his heartbeat through the blood vessels in his neck.
Tenma resisted the urge to plunge in, to rip the life out of the man in front of her. With a fearful sniffle, she looked into Dutch's eyes, pleading with him for some sort of guidance.
Search yourself. His eyes answered. Until then, my life is yours. Hold it for as long as you want.
Tenma took his advice, with a whimper, and looked inside herself, drawing strength from the throbbing in her hand, the urge to kill becoming easier to suppress the longer she held his neck.
As she looked inside, her search zoomed in on one part of her that was inside all youkai. Being the magically sensitive beings that they were, youkai used this sensitivity to learn about their counterparts. That was one of the main ways that Gensokyians distinguished each different form of youkai from the other. Despite their humanoid appearances, each species had their own 'taste' of magic and humans were no different.
While she knew this instinctively, a part of it made Tenma realize something, something that had developed from centuries of dealing with humans. Her body, casting aside all identity of the man before reacted according to what it could feel.
All because the person opposite her was human.
All of the times she had fought humans, it was to kill, to protect her people from their evil. Because of this experience, her body reacted to this new human with the exact same reaction.
Enemy. A true enemy, one whose life would be the only answer.
The urge to take his life was a bright flame but it was instinctive, not conscious. All because her body was acting accordingly to what it knew about humans.
Now armed with that knowledge, she allowed reality to reasert itself. Her breathing was as calm as the man whose life she still held in her hands as she looked at him with echoing feelings.
"You have your answer." Dutch nodded casually as he assessed their current situation.
"How did you guess?" She asked him.
Dutch gave her another smile. "I didn't. I just knew that I could trust you."
Tenma's breath caught in her throat. He bet his life on her. That was something that she couldn't believe in.
"Why? We are so different." She whispered. She would have continued except Dutch then silenced her with a bloodstained finger to her lips.
"What I see before me is a beautiful woman, proficient in the matters of war and peace. She is capable, caring and exemplary in what she does. What she is plays no part here." He answered.
Tenma blushed pink to his words. "You flattering human." She mumbled as the smell from his finger caught her attention. A smell that appealed to her nature.
"That what I truly..." Dutch trailed off as he felt Tenma's tongue wrap around the finger placed in her lips. His bloodstained finger.
He dumbly watched as she worked her tongue around his hand, the red appendage cleaning every drop of blood of it. The heart pounding sensual image made him redden as he watched her clear his hand, her tongue thoroughly wiping his hand clean of every last drop.
She finally let go of his hand, her breath washing over his fingers and started on her own, cleaning off his blood. Dutch, his mind still working sluggishly, then realized that she had already taken her hands off his neck. He continued to look at her, watching her clean her own hands of his blood, her tongue moving slowly and carefully like it was some sort of delicacy.
With her hands clean, Tenma smiled slyly at the reaction of the human before her. Her eyes gleamed, as if his blood had given her power. Leaning close, she whispered into his ear, her hot breath waking him from his stupor.
"Always remember, I am first and foremost a youkai." Came her answer to his flattery.
"I'll keep that in mind." Dutch finished.
Then a growl from the forest made them both look up. The sound of a group of creatures moving through the undergrowth reached their ears, the soft sound of the wood and the plants moving a clear indicator of this group's intentions.
"We have to leave. The forest youkai can smell my blood." Dutch said as he turned around, his hands moving to summon his weapons.
That was when Tenma seized his head and neck with her hands. While Dutch let out a gasp of surprise, she whispered playfully into his ear, the possessive undertone a clear presence in her voice.
"If they can smell your blood, let me clean it off." And then her tongue danced across the skin of his neck, wiping away all the accumulated sweat and blood. Dutch uncontrollably breathed out softly, the feeling of her wet tongue just too overwhelming for words.
In the forest facing them, the collective youkai growled, as they suddenly felt a massive burst of power spreading out from the source of the blood. It was a clear warning to the feral minds of the youkai, one that they all understood. A powerful youkai had claimed the source of the blood for her own. Approach any further at your own risk.
With a frustrated rumble, they all turned and disappeared. As feral as they were, they still answered to power.
Dutch shivered as he felt Tenma's tongue lightly slide over his cut. The sounds of the forest youkai had disappeared, a worrying thought to him. Silence could only mean one thing when being hunted.
"They have gone silent. I think we should leave before they find us." He said as Tenma detached her tongue from the side of his neck. She gave him a chuckle as her hands released him.
"Oh, they have been scared away. They felt my... power." She answered, , releasing a breathe of air that made him shiver like a leaf in a shrill breeze.
"Still, we should get back before..."
Pip pap! Came the sound of rain hitting the treetops. The roar of rain on leaves, rocks, everything quickly became a deafening thunder as the clouds overhead released their load in a powerful downpour, showering the lands with a massive deluge.
"...that." Dutch finished as water fell through the leaves onto their heads. Tenma smiled as she stretched her wings, the gloomy black feathers blending perfectly with the dimness, and brought one of them over Dutch's head.
He blinked at the sudden cover as Tenma smiled. "Let's head back." She agreed as they both stepped off the tree branch.
As they trudged through the forest, Dutch glanced at his companion. The woman had a gleam in her eyes that wasn't there before, an almost bright glow that managed to highlight her beauty in the contrast. Quickly looking away before she could catch him staring, he concentrated on the task of making their way back, the treacherous path through the forest helped him to keep his attention focused.
Orphanage of lost dreams
A young woman stood patiently outside the entrance to the orphanage, her blonde tresses dry even as she leaned against the wet wall. A parasol prevented the rain from touching her, although with her all-powerful nature, it was unnecessary had she wished it.
Dutch and Tenma emerged from the forest together. Tenma was drenched, a result of the rain, yet they both clung onto each other as they made their way out.
At the sight of the woman though, they both tensed up. The source of their alarm simply smiled knowingly as she regarded the both of them.
"Oh don't worry. I won't tell anyone. It's too good to interrupt~" Yukari sang as she stood up. Her purple-white dress gently swished in the wind, itself also seemingly immune to the water pelting down around them.
"Why are you here?" Tenma growled as her hand inched toward her weapon.
Yukari adopted a strangely serious smile as she pulled a small cylindrical object from a gap.
"He would know." She said as she threw the object casually to Dutch. The human plucked the weapon from mid air and examined the object, his expression darkening the longer he looked at it.
"It's still warm. You found this here, in Gensokyo?" He questioned Yukari as he moved the weapon around to examine it better.
"Of course. Do you know what this is?" The youkai sage shot back.
"Korean K167 20mm high explosive air burst grenade casing. Judging from the configuration on its casing, I say this was fired from a Daewoo K11 Dual caliber air burst weapon, also Korean. A 20mm multi shot grenade launcher system coupled with a 5.56mm automatic rifle, with an electronic firing control unit to ensure that the grenade does maximum damage when detonated. This shouldn't be here." He announced.
Yukari nodded. "Any deduction you can make from this?"
"Substantial force, numbers unknown but possessing some sort of supply system, meaning at the very least a small man organization. A trained force, since it takes training to use this weapon. Extremely dangerous and versatile, even a squad size force equipped with this can do a lot of damage against most targets, no matter where they are. They must have some sort of powerful magic on their side, since to acquire this would need some very advanced power to get this across the great barrier. Lunarian backers perhaps?" He asked as he gave her an inquiring look.
Yukari smiled at all of his deductions. "And motivated to subvert Gensokyo."
"I see. I assume that with this, I have an assignment of sorts?" Dutch asked as he set the grenade in his pocket.
Yukari chuckled. "Think of it as more of way to make your journey a bit more exciting."
"With the downside of this land plunged into chaos if I fail? Seems more stressful than exciting. Do you have a lighter I can borrow?" He asked as he phased out his diamond knife.
Yukari gapped in the requested object and threw it to Duch. The human again snatched it out of the air and lit it, pressing it against the base of the blade. Somehow, like magic, the steel coating of the blade seemed to fade away, revealing the black diamond underneath. The colored carbon seemed to erase light, an impossible darkness that didn't just exist, it consumed, like a blade shaped black hole in his hands. He phased away the weapon and passed the lighter back to Yukari.
"Neat trick." Yukari noted as she returned the lighter to where it had come from.
"Practicality. Why not simply call out the incident solvers to address this issue?" He questioned.
"Too dangerous. These opponents are not the kind to be courteous. By the time a challenge was issued, they would have already fired. Gensokyian balance cannot be wasted on such a simple meager opponent. I need this done quietly. Any chaos would be to our opponent's gain."
"So you're sending the one person you know who has experience in this sort of thing. Your newly appointed expendable troubleshooter, as I shall assume. All completely without any prior warning what so ever." He described.
"Ah but would you say no even if I told you earlier?" Yukari smiled.
Dutch grinned. "Maybe, just to spite you."
She laughed. "Dont worry, you are simply just one in a series of aces in the hole. You are just the best shot right now."
The darkness of their surroundings seemed to suddenly press in on them as her smile turned dark. "Head to the human village. A clear and physical threat approaches it. Find that threat and eliminate it." She drawled grimly before disappearing into a gap.
Dutch and Tenma were left alone in the pouring rain, two figures in the darkness that seemingly receded once the gap youkai had departed from their vicinity.
"You can leave, you know?" He said.
Tenma looked at him, surprised.
"If you follow me, the journey will become far more dangerous than it has been. You will be facing enemies that can take you on, with weapons that outclass even my own. Given such a fight ahead, do you think you should follow me?" Dutch finished.
Tenma simply gripped his hand hard. "Remember what I said yesterday? We're partners. Wherever you go, I'll be right beside you."
Dutch chuckled. "Fine, then let's get out of the rain."
Vault
The light died as Dutch sauntered off the platform. He sniffed the air and frowned in the slightest of manners. A rather distinctive smell of the sea, a gentle whiff of salt in the air that spoke of someone who had been there.
Guessing the source of the smell, he made his way to the bedroom, the scent getting stronger the closer he got to it.
Inside, when he opened the door, lay Vale, sleeping. The smell of the sea was definitely emanating from her but just how she had got it was a mystery. In fact, Dutch felt, it gave her a an air of innocence, like a child that was tired after a long day at the beach. Just the thought of it made him clench his fist in remorse.
He knew that she could never attain that because of him.
As if responding to his negative thoughts, Vale shifted uneasily in bed, whimpering in a dreamy fear, one of her slender hands crossed over to the other side where it lay open, waiting to be held.
Dutch sighed as he answered the silent plea. Getting into the bed, he moved so that he did not sit on her hand while he lay down, he then gently took her hand in his.
Immediately Vale pulled it back to her, like a fisherman reeling in a catch. She clasped his hand with both of hers while her entire body literally curled around it, protectively holding it close. Her uneasy face transformed into a content one, as she held the hand of her soulmate.
Dutch sighed. This girl would never cease to amaze him. Feeling a bit experimental, he closed his eyes as he delved into their mind link, trying to find, if any, of Vale's emotions while she slept.
Instead, when he probed the mind link, he was assailed by such a powerful feeling of fatigue that he found himself falling asleep almost immediately. Seeing no harm in taking a rest, he gave himself tothe feeling, his body unconsciously moulding itself to the girl next to him, his arm draped over her sleeping body, wings and all.
Their breaths mingled as they both slept, two halves of the same soul joined together.
Vale awoke.
Her eyes still closed, she felt him. His hand in hers, an arm draped over her protectively.
She opened her eyes as a smile spread slowly across her dainty countenance, gazing across at the most important thing in her existence, she drank in the peaceful expression on his face. With a ruffle of fabric, she brought her hand up to his face, brushing her skin against his.
"You came back." She whispered as her hand cupped his cheek. Slowly, she brought her lips to him, gently kissing him with all the love she could muster and more.
Seemingly responding to her, Dutch moved, pulling her on top in his sleep. Vale yelped softly in surprise as they changed position, their hands still joined together.
Giggling lightly at the unconscious movement, Vale smiled at the young man under her. Her humor died as she spotted the cut along the side of his neck, the red a stark contrast against his skin.
'Why Dako? Why must you be in danger?' She cried in her mind. Her eyes teared up as she regarded her soulmate's situation with great sadness.
A droplet slowly made its way down her cheek before falling, gravity doing its job.
Dutch woke to the feeling of water dripping on him.
He opened his eyes to find his love over him, her radiant sky blue eyes dimmed with sadness. He could follow her tears as they traced the contours of her face, their watery content glinting in the light. Even just from that, he could clearly see that she was barely holding her emotions in.
'What's wrong?' He asked her.
Vale choked back a sob at his question. She simply leaned down and kissed him, unleashing a floodgate of emotions onto him, through her actions and over their mind link.
'Take me. Take all of me.' She cried as she let him into her mouth and her mind, free to do as he pleased with her.
As Dutch returned her physical actions, he drowned in the mental. Her emotions filled every corner of his mind, each of them experienced by him as he felt it all. Her needs, her wants, her fears...
Her love.
He savored all of her feelings as he realized just how much she needed him and in turn, how much he needed her. She would lay bare all of her thoughts to him. How much, he wondered, was he willing to do so?
Never the same, he realized. He was far too secretive, holding too many secrets to be willing to open his mind to hers. For that, he despised himself.
While their minds were preoccupied with each other, their bodies seemingly moulded themselves together. Their mouths were a frenzy of movement, their moans muffled through the battle of their tongues. Their hands unconsciously explored, feeling every inch of their bodies.
In a lovely haze, Vale unbuttoned Dutch's shirt, her hands echoing his own as they unthinkingly undressed the other, their hands drawing from the other experiences to find the right spots. Their clothing came off in rapid successions, mouths always joined together.
Soon, they were down to their undergarments and they had no inclination to stop. Vale's hands roamed his body, feeling the steely muscles underneath his skin while her lover's hands busied themselves with her top. As he unhooked the clasp of her bra, he managed to stab his finger with a hook.
The flare of pain managed to break the lust-induced haze on Dutch's mind, allowing to bring him back to the present. Realizing what was going on, he pulled away from her, stopping before anything happened.
Vale cried out reluctantly as her love drew away from her, confused and hurt at his sudden rejection. Her heart burned with pain as her emotions wrecked themselves from the sudden rejection.
The pain of her heart crossed over to him, telling him what he had just committed. But Dutch suppressed the urge to return to her, lest he lost himself again.
"Why?" Vale asked painfully as she cried.
Dutch turned back once he was sure that he could keep his control, his heart too hurting from what had happened.
"I can't. I won't. Not until I know that we won't regret it later." He answered.
Vale pulled him close. "Why Dako! You have me, all of me!" She cried.
"I won't! We are going too fast Vale! We have only been soul-linked for less than a day! A day!" Dutch returned just as vehemently.
Silence descended on them, only broken by Vale's renewed sobs.
"I don't want us to do something that we both might regret. I want to spend more time with you but I don't want that dimension to our relationship yet. Please, just trust me on this. I beg you." Dutch pleaded as he held her close, his eyes watering in tandem to hers.
Vale cried as she held him back. "I don't know what to do!" She sobbed. "You keep going out there and getting into danger and there is nothing I can do! I'm scared Dako! I'm so scared..."
"I - I..." Dutch faltered as he tried to answer her... He couldn't.
"Promise me Dutch! Promise me that you will always come back, no matter what happens! Please..." She begged as she rose to face him, her eyes pleading for his answer.
"I - I promise. Always." Dutch answered as they cried together. Vale drew him into another kiss, one that he gladly returned, as the two lovers came together in a joining of souls, their minds drowning into the presence of each other.
Later
Dutch broke away from Vale's lips, panting for air as she lay on top... Again and pouted at him in response to the breakaway before settling on him. Her wings draped over the both of them, protectively keeping them warm as they indulged in each other.
"How long has it been?" He asked as he idly played with a lock of her hair. Vale simply clung onto him, her eyes filled with that spark again, that spark of possessiveness that seemed to characterize his relationship with his closest Gensokyian companions.
"Longer..." She murmured as she shifted on top of him. Dutch breathed pleasantly as their bare skin brushed against each other, their bodies intertwined with nothing between them.
"Come on, there are things to do, we can't stay here forever." He said as he moved to dislodge her. Vale stubbornly held on, unwilling to let go as she grumbled and batted away his hand, her grip tightening on him.
Sighing, Dutch brought their lips together, where she eagerly responded, mewling as he filled her mouth with his taste. When they broke away, she pouted as she realized that he had used the kiss as a distraction to untangle their bodies.
"Seriously, I have things to do. And you need a bath." He noted as he finally noticed how potently the smell of the sea emanated from her body.
Vale sat on the bed and blushed deeply as she thought of a request. "Only if you join me." She mumbled, her eyes shifty.
Dutch chuckled. "You really are persistent aren't you?" He laughed as he bent down to pick her up. In one fluid motion, he lifted her like a princess and stood up.
Vale yelped at the sudden change, her blush intensifying the further he carried her. Her carrier snickered at her embarrassed reaction as she had to resolve herself to clinging to him. Her rosy blush spread rapidly from her face to cover her entire body.
He carried her across the room into the bathroom, where somehow a very large bath had already filled itself with hot water. Steam rose off the surface of the easily pool-sized reservoir, snaking up from the edges of a long case of steps which descended gently into the water, an indication of just how big and deep the bath was.
"I wonder what people would think if they saw us right now, probably that you are a spoilt girl." Dutch noted as he carried her right up to the water's edge.
"And that you are a pervert." Vale mumbled as she glanced at the water. Her experience with Nora made her tense up a bit, especially since she was about to enter another body of water.
Dutch chuckled softly before unceremoniously dumping her into the bath, then, to rub salt in her wounds, he jumped in, cannonballing into the water next to her. He laughed as he rose out of the water, his height helping him to stand in the now, choppy pool.
Vale sputtered as she burst out of the water, spitting the liquid from her mouth like some sort of water feature. She gritted her teeth in anger as she regarded her laughing soulmate, his loud guffaws filling the air.
"The expression on your face..." He managed to force out before losing himself again. Vale splashed water at him in revenge, the liquid doing nothing to quell his laughter as he kept on going.
With a furious snarl, she launched herself at him, knocking the both of them under the water surface. While the liquid churned in the wake of her action, Vale forced herself onto Dutch, her tongue pillaging his mouth with a vengeful energy. Her victim fought back but he was too slow to react and his efforts were overpowered by the fiery maiden, leaving him helpless to her assault.
When they rose to the surface again, the two were now holding onto each other, their battle for supremacy now a simple exchange of equals, slowly caressing each others' tongue with their own, savoring the feeling of each other, their fingers intertwined.
They panted as they broke apart, refilling their burning lungs with oxygen. Their foreheads pressed against each other as they savored the moment.
"Why does everything end with a kiss?" Dutch casually enquired as he broke away, making his way to the waters' edge where bottles of different cleaning materials stood. He selected one with a vanilla scent, figuring that it would go well with Vale.
"Because I love you." Vale answered as she treaded water, the feeling of the water's warmth penetrating into her bones. She shivered in delight as the wear on her body seemingly evaporated like a puddle on a hot day.
"There are a lot of other ways that you could actually show love you know? Like going on a trip together...how stupid of me." Her love cursed as he remembered their situation. He clenched his fist again at his own forgetfulness, an inward anger in his eyes.
"Dako! No! Stop it!" Vale commanded as she flooded their link with her own anger.
He seemingly ignored her as he stood there in the water, his guilt weighing down on him like Atlas and the world. "If I could free you right now, release you from here, I would. But I can't and it feels worse, knowing that you are here because I am here. Damn it hurts..." He whispered, frustration infused in his words.
"Dutch!" Vale shouted as she rammed into him, pushing both of them onto the water edge, his back bumping against the wall.
Fighting down her tears, she took his hand and placed it over her beating heart, the throbbing strong with her emotions.
"Do you feel that Dutch? That's yours. That's all yours." Vale cried out, pleading for him to understand the truth.
Dutch cried too, the tears following the contour of his face before merging with the water. "It shouldn't be like this! You shouldn't be made to be here! For any reason, especially me!"
Vale pressed her lips against his, conveying her desire for him to listen to her and to settle down. He obeyed her, letting his emotion die down to an insignificant ember. They broke apart, both still weeping silently.
Vale pressed her hand over his. "You made me. You saved me. You taught me how to live. If I had to choose, Dutch, I would gladly stay here, because all I truly want is to be with you. I can't live without you. I just can't." She whispered.
Dutch wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer as he could as he let his vision defocus. "I know, I love you." He simply said as he wept.
She echoed his movements, wrapping hers around him as well. "I love you too." She echoed, letting her body rest against him.
"I'm sorry."
Those words came out of Vale's mouth as she watched Dutch clothe himself. The entity floated at the pool's edge, half in half out of the water, her hands holding onto the side for support, her face a mask of shame, eyes downcast.
Dutch turned around quickly, his fingers in mid button. He opened his mouth to speak but was beaten by the guilty entity.
"I really was scared that you would be gone forever. I thought that if we could do...t-that before you were taken away from me, at least we would have sealed our relationship. I'm sorry Dako, I really am." Vale apologized.
Dutch smiled at her antics. "But you learnt something in return didn't you? That's what matters."
Vale looked at in him in surprise as Dutch walked up to her. He placed his hand on her head and ruffled it, the wet hair becoming a mess in his hands.
"Besides, most of it is my fault. Now before you deny it..." He said as she opened his mouth in protest. "...I should have been more considerate. You're still learning, so you are forgivable but I should have known better. I should have slowed us down, not let things escalate to the point that we were doing things like a couple in heat. For that, I have only myself to blame."
Vale looked at him unsurely. "What can I do? All I have ever done to you is kiss you."
Dutch chuckled. "But you did a great many things before this. The steak for one. Bringing me tea for another. All those small actions must mean something, shouldn't they?"
His hand moved to her chin, where he tilted her face to look at him, his eyes filled with an epiphany that he just realized. "I guess we both forgot the things that really matter and only thought of the physical side. The both of us have done some daft things, so I think it's time for us to return to a better time, don't you think?"
Vale looked at him questionably. "What do you mean?"
"Why don't we start over? A renewed relationship." Dutch proposed.
His love considered the idea carefully. "I think..." She started, smiling serenely, "...I would like that very much."
He moved in for a kiss, one that she returned gladly. This time, it lacked all of the energy, the lust that both had for each other. Instead, it was slow and peaceful, filled with a loving quality. As it should have been.
They broke apart with a smile on their lips. Dutch handed her the bottle of vanilla shampoo and moved to leave the room. He stopped at the door, turning back to give her a final loving grin before closing the door.
Later
Vale came out later, her hair still lightly glinting from the water in it. She walked with a slight limping gait, her face scrunched up in a barely discernable grimace as she tried not to aggravate the injury.
It was this image that greeted Dutch as he turned away from the interface. His smile gave way to a worried gasp as he moved to help her, the vault entity's quick protests turning into a silent blush as he carried her to the seat, kneeling down to check her wound.
As he looked at the dressing of the wound, he frowned. It was familiar, enough so that he could remember the many times the same dressing had been applied to him. Stowing the thought and hiding it away from the mind link, he created another chair for himself but stopped himself, feeling a bit mischievous.
He took Vale's hand and kissed it, constantly staring into her sky-blue eyes while she blushed madly at the scene before her.
"My Lady, may I request your permission to seat myself?" He asked, still kneeling before her.
Automatically, he felt her react to the scene through the mind link. If anything, the loud thump of her heartbeat through the link was a good indicator of her reaction. Or he could draw the same conclusion from her still madly blushing face.
"O-of course you may, but you will have to brush my hair." Vale stuttered, embarrassed yet thrilled at the performance.
Dutch pressed his lips against her hand again. "Of course, my Lady."
As he took his seat, Vale presented her back to him, her sterling blue hair flowing down to her crystalline wings, folded in to help him in his task, and further, reaching down her back. As a brush appeared in his hands, Dutch realized he had no idea what to do.
Help came over the mind link, as Vale gave him the appropriate actions to follow. With her guidance, he started to brush her hair, the strands complying with his movements easily.
As they sat there, both indulged in their roles. Vale let out a relaxed sigh every time she felt the brush move. Dutch on the other hand simply felt the hair in his hands, the strands silky smooth to the touch. The pleasant aroma of vanilla drifted from them, one that suited Vale, and he brought them to his nose, sniffing them and drawing another blush from her.
As he worked the brush, he noticed that Vale shivered ever so slightly every time the bristles touched the base of her wings, where they met her back. Curiously, he brushed along the base and was rewarded with a squeak of surprise from the girl.
'Stop that! I'm sensitive there...' Vale mumbled in the link.
Dutch smiled wolfishly as he ran a finger down the base of the wing. He was rewarded by a moan as Vale shuddered to the sensation, her back arched to his touch. Grinning, he massaged the base with his fingertips and was rewarded with a succession of gasps, the accompanying feeling flooding their mind link. Vale's wings stretched out to their full glory involuntarily, her body reacting to the feeling.
'D-Dako, p-ple-please...' Vale moaned over their link as he worked in the base of her other wings as well, drawing moans with renewed vigor from the girl as her body shut down from the sensuous assault.
Finally Dutch stopped his attack. As Vale panted from the exertion, her soulmate hugged her, pulling her into him.
'You were so cute.' He whispered. The image of her, with her back arched and wings stretched out, was so vulnerablely adorable Dutch had had to resist the urge to break what he had said just earlier with everything he could muster.
Vale pouted. 'You said you'll brush.' She grumbled as she leaned back against him.
He laughed. 'Fine fine.' He said before he returned to brushing her hair, his past efforts ruined by his actions.
The longer it took, the more Dutch's mind drifted. Somehow, his mind became affixed on the concept of aging. Would Vale stay the same, while he aged? He wondered. His musings granted him an image in his head, of an older Vale.
Her older image seemed around his age. She was taller, to the point where their lips could meet if she tiptoed and pulled his head down simultaneously. Her looks developed too, the lovely face of which his heart belonged with an adult undertone to it, a wonderful image of a girl coming of age. Her body grew too and Dutch diverted his attention away from it, focusing on other parts. Her wings grew to majestic proportions, the crystalline white feathers gaining a hint of blue that gave her an ethereal quality.
To complete the image, she was clad in a pearl dress, with the addition of an azure capelet that gave her a light gracefulness, even through her image was still. Her legs were covered by a sterling blue skirt and her feet had a pair of rugged boots that completed the image.
On a whim, Dutch swapped all of her clothing in his head to a wedding gown, the white gown suiting Vale so well it took his breath away. It truly was a beautiful image, the white gown blending in together with her in a way that he couldn't describe.
An angelic laugh brought his attention away from his daydreams. Vale laughed again as she looked happily at Dutch. He realized belatedly that his actions had stopped, his mind too taken by Vale's older image that he had stopped moving.
'It's not complete.' Vale spoke to him in his mind as she smiled at him. As Dutch looked back at her in confusion, a new image flashed into his mind over their link.
It was the same image of Older Vale in the wedding dress. The only change there, was that now Dutch stood beside her, clad in a wedding suit, her arm in his.
'Now that is complete.' She announced. 'And that is what I like.'
Dutch chuckled. "Oh you." He whispered, the only spoken words of their exchange.
Vale simply giggled before leaning in for a slow deep kiss, one which both took their time to indulge in.