I slowly edged up the fifth flight of stairs, Lyra supporting my back as I hoisted myself onward. My legs were still weak, but stronger than before. My ribs still felt smashed open, but mending. The stairs seemed to be going forever, and the lack of an elevator was perplexing.
"I think I'll be okay from here", I proclaimed, turning my head towards Lyra. She loosened her hands from my back, but they still remained in anticipation.
"You sure?", she asked, attentively. I nodded while pulling myself up another step. "Okay, nearly there anyway".
I climbed the last step with a low grunt, and was presented with a long, brightly lit corridor. Doorways lined the corridor's edges, with a red and black striped carpet running through the middle. The building looked nice, not upmarket but well kept. Lyra lead me along to a door midway along the corridor. She palnted her omnitool onto the holographic lock. It whirred momentarily before the door slid open, revealing a stylish apartment.
"Woah", I said, never setting foot in a place like this before. "This place yours?"
Lyra dumped her jacket on the counter, and opened the fridge. She pulled out a thing that looked like a cake and shoved it immediately in her mouth, jam oozing and dribbling from her chin.
"Huh?", she replied, muffled. "No, itsh a fend of minesh plashe".
She tossed me a cake and ate another herself. I took a bite but had no real appetite, putting it on a table next to the door. The apartment was small, but seemed very spacious. It was open plan with a gigantic window on one side, revealing a spectacular vista of the ward.
"What friend? Will they know we're here?", I asked.
"You know him. Bellamy", she replied, nonplussed by the association.
"Bellamy?!" I asked, incredulously. "Where is he? They're gonna come straight to us!"
"Hey, we're fine", Lyra said, trying to assure me. "We're only staying the night then we're getting a transport off the citadel".
"So where is he?", I asked, as I lowered myself on to the armrest of the couch.
"He probably got himself off the citadel, only smart thing to do when Aria's comin' down on you", she explained, rooting around in a cupboard.
"But Jeet had his ID", I argued. "He got our ship onto the citadel with it".
Lyra stood up, holding a bottle and two glasses. She walked over to the speaker system, and put on some downbeat electronic.
"Look", she said, walking over to join me. "Jeet, Bellamy and I all had a history, you probably know that by now, but Bellamy's a smart guy, he smelt a rat and bolted. We always said we wouldn't be heroes if Aria figured us out".
"But what if-", I said but stopped when I realised that my questions were futile. Lyra sat on the couch next to me. She patted the seat next to her, so I climbed of the armrest and limped over to her. She started pouring the wine, smiling as they filled. She handed me a glass, and picked up hers.
"Fuck, I need this", she proclaimed, staring at the glass. She was about to drink but stopped. She turned to me and raised her glass.
"To Aran", she said, looking at me expextantly.
"To Aran", I echoed, meeting her glass with mine, causing a resonant chime from the glasses. Lyra finished her glass in one go, releasing a satisfied sigh. She went to pour herself another, while I had only had a small sip. I put my glass down, with a burning question that couldn't be contained.
"Why are you doing this?", I asked, staring at her.
"What? We might be dead tomorrow, we need to live like it!", she exclaimed, raising her glass again, and drinking at least half of it in one.
"No, I meant, why are you helping me?"
"Because you're my little sweetie", she said, in a playful tone, squeezing my face with her hand. I smiled slightly, which she returned, releasing my face.
"You know what I mean, Lyra. We tried to rip you off. We were gonna leave you for Jeet", I said, slightly ashamed of the words.
"Listen", she said, leaning closer to me. "What's past is past, you didn't know me. Why would you care about me?". She finished her drink, tilting her head back.
"But I'd bet my left tit, that you wouldn't do it again", she said, eyeing me drunkenly. "We look out for each other now, we've been through a lot".
I looked down at my knees, taking in her words. She nudged my arm forcefully, causing me to return my attention back to her.
"Am I right?", she asked.
"Yeah", I replied, softly. "I'd be dead if it weren't for you".
"Well then", she said. "Drink up, you pussy".
I smiled, and proceeded to take a large gulp of my wine.
The night started to fly by. As we lost our inhibitions, we danced and laughed and told stories of home, of my brother. She seemed enthralled by my recollections, listening intently. When we danced, we did so like nothing else mattered, although admittedly I couldn't do anything to extreme. She was amazing, when she was next to me, I felt as if I could do anything. She was strong, funny and amazingly beautiful, and I knew she cared about me. We danced closer and closer as the night progressed, her hand sitting on my shoulder, mine on her waist. her leg flicking up my leg as she moved sensually.
Her eyes were fixed on mine, passion burned inside. She moved closer to me, her arms wrapped softly around my neck, as she gazed up at me. My hands instinctively moved squeeze her waist firmly, as we swayed with the tempo. Her hips pressed into my groin, and she smiled seductively. She moved side to side slowly, still holding my gaze. She licked her rich, blue lips in anticipation, still keeping a playful smirk. Almost without knowing, my head moved to hers. Our lips met in a moment of unparalleled ecstasy. She raised herself on her tip toes to meet the embrace, which felt eternal. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. Her hand held my face, stroking my cheek. Her face was glowing with the same blue aura I had seen before, but it was different, much more subdued as it danced over her form.
I lifted her higher through the pain, causing her to wrap her legs around my hips. She moaned slightly at the sudden change of altitude and bucked her hips into mine. She tilted her head back, panting, allowing me to passionately kiss her neck. She voiced her pleasure with a purring sigh. She looked upon me once again, unspeaking. Her green eyes burning into mine, she smiled slightly before saying, "You and me, yeah? Whatever happens". I held her stare before nodding. I kissed her deeply once again and carried her to the couch. I set her down roughly. She sprawled on the couch as she watched remove my shirt. Her eyes lit up, even though my physique was far from athletic. "Hmm, I suppose you'll do", she said, eyeing me up and down. She pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her full breasts contained by a black bra. As I moved over to her, my eyes studying her perfect physique, I noticed the bruises and scratches dotted across her skin.
"Those bastards", I said, stopping where I stood and tracing my hand over her marks. She grabbed my wrist. "Hey", she said, softly. I looked up to see her wholly focused on me. "They're dead". She released my wrist and leant into the sofa, her body language open.
"Come here", she said, softly.
I gently lowered myself onto her, kissing her neck and the top of her chest. She clutched at my back, her fingers massaging my flesh. Her hands moved down my back, encouraging me to press into her. She gasped at the touch and opened her eyes, which were now black voids. I worked on unclipping her bra, which came easier than expected, popping open and dropping down her shoulders. She wriggled it off her arms and tossed it carelessly. Her breats were stunning, bountiful with beautifully pert nipples. She grasped at my hair, pulling at it gently. Her hands were all over me, but eventually found their way to my belt, which she quickly set to work on undoing. She tugged at it untill it released, and started easing my trousers off. I helped her by shaking them onto the floor, smiling widely at her. I moved back into the kiss but was met with a finger over my lips.
She eased out from underneath me and stood up, her beautiful form silhouetted by the window. She peeled her trousers down, which hugged her legs tightly. Once they had joined the other clothes on the floor, she leaned into my ear as I lay on the couch.
"Be a darlin' and bring another bottle to the bedroom", she whispered, her hot breath caressing my ear. Her lips flickered a kiss below my ear. She walked sexily across the room as I watched her from the couch. Her perfect ass swayed as she walked, only covered by her small black panties. As she opened the door to the bedroom, she took one last seductive look at me, before disappearing through the door. I immediately rose and grabbed the glasses, before running to the kitchen and pulling another bottle of wine from the cupboard. I practically skipped toward the bedroom, completely forgetting my injury. I opened the door with my elbow, and backed into the room. The light was dim, but not dark enough that I couldn't see. I could see Lyra stood infront of an open wardrobe, studying it.
"Hey", I said as I approached. "Glass of wine for the la-". That's when I saw it. A body, a man suspended in the cupboard, hanging. His face was purple, veins bulging in his neck. His eyes were slightly protruding from their sockets, but were completely rolled back. He was unclothed, apart from women's underwear. His body and his face was completely covered in writing, the same sentence all over him as he slowly revolved.
'ONE RULE'