A/N: So for those who don't know, if you're new around here, my very first KOF fic, featuring Adel and Whip, was written back in spring-summer of 2008. I was a younger and much less refined writer(not that I'm a pro now or anything, I just…refined a bit over the years.) It was also, essentially my first published fanfic. I had dabbled in fanfic before '08, but never actually published anything beyond posting things to a couple of forums or something. Etudé(then called Revolutionary Etudé, the revamped version becoming Etudé of Revolution R2) did relatively well for a new, sort of unsure writer, and I ended up capturing more people into the pairing(which I was turned onto because someone on DA had drawn the pair just standing next to each other.)
It sort of became "the thing I was originally known for." I dabbled in other stuff on and off over the years, but I never really stuck for more than a year or so at a time writing, it would seem. I wrote under different pseuds and that stuff is lost to time, but I had ended up coming back to these guys again come 2020, and realized how much I had missed them. I took a lot of pride in carefully crafting the relationship(and the general 'verse, which to be fair is heavily canonical stuff in terms of the game stories, with a few touches here and there, mostly based on filling in backstory that SNK has never written.) I took a massive measure of pride in just how many people I got on board with this, too! It makes me feel like I did something really right in terms of everything, and it means a ton. :D
Given it's now almost the 15th anniversary of writing them, I decided to do something around this time just to celebrate. It's mostly just a slice of life…with, ahh, other things, hehe.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! (Adults only, btw.)
Whip was panting, the early summer sun beating down on the field already at nine in the morning. Dressed in her comfortable brown trousers, boots, and a tight tank top-which was cropped at her abs and showing off her nicely toned body-she curled Voodoo around her hand, getting ready to continue her early training. She already felt the burn, given who her partner was.
Said partner-and now nearly three-years on lover, Adel-took a loose, relaxed pose across from her. Only wearing his cargos and boots, he was stripped to the waist, his pale skin likewise sweating. He pushed his thick, blond hair back for a moment before taking his stance again.
"Ready to keep going?" he grinned.
Taking a deep breath, she chuckled and nodded. "I think so."
She wondered how badly her body was going to ache after this. Training against a man who regularly took on three people was certainly something that could wear a single person out after even a short period of time.
She did, at least, plan on getting a massage out of this later.
Dashing at him, she went low, first trying to sweep him as he stepped out of the way, but she managed to lash Voodoo around his upper arm. She didn't quite get to pull him off-balance; he braced himself against the ground, digging his heavy heels into the dirt as he tried to reverse it, pulling her along instead.
She decided to surprise him by letting go of the whip, causing his arm to snap back; as she dashed at him to try for a body blow, he leapt, planting his boot into her stomach-holding back full force, of course, and flipping her over his head, causing her to land behind him.
"Oof!" she exclaimed as she landed, shaking her head.
Adel dashed over to her, looking down as he managed to get the whip off from around his arm; carefully handing it back to her as he looked over at her, he rubbed it, a red welt joining several others that he had collected during their training.
"Are you alright?" he asked, a smirk on his lips.
Looking up at him and faking a scowl for a moment, she softened almost immediately, knowing damn well he wasn't buying it, and slid a hand into his damp hair as he was crouched over her.
"I think so. You owe me a massage tonight, though." She kissed him once, tasting a bit of the salt on his lips that had gathered from the fact they were quite sweaty.
"I can do that." He sat, his arms-a tiny bit of blood showing from a few of the harder lashes-leaning on his legs as he exhaled, satisfied at the day's session.
She gently reached over to wipe a bit of it away, but he was unbothered. He had been through far, far worse, and they always took care in their sparring. Whip herself had gotten a few bruises, which was inevitable given how hard he could hit no matter how much he held back-but she always felt good afterward.
Settling next to him, she exhaled again, reaching around for the water bottle she kept around. It was nearly empty at that point, as they had been outside for some time.
"Any other plans today?" she said after a swallow. She was starting to envision the cool air conditioning of Adel's huge room in their future soon.
"Nothing. I've got no meetings. Took care of a bunch of business this past weekend when you guys are busy. I'm on a sort of mini-vacation," he chuckled. "Unless something comes up, of course."
"Let's hope it doesn't," she grinned, pushing back a bit of his hair, as she would. "But I think some air, and a shower, would be welcome soon."
He grinned. "I'll see that Gwan and Cinder are busy somewhere. I'm sure they can bother Henrik for a while."
"Oh, he'll be thrilled." She knew Henrik did like the family cats-the fully grown but still young Gwan and the newer cub Cinder-but they could be quite demanding when it came to food. "By the way, are the guys coming?"
"Duo Lon is going to stop by I think…next week? He'll probably be staying at the hotel, though. But he'll come here for a night or two, I'm sure."
The Ikaris were back in Germany-they found it easy to station around here. For one, Heidern could keep closer tabs if a…certain someone decided to make his presence known, which he did not yet. Adel was perfectly ready for it, but he had not had to deal with it yet, which he wasn't sad about. Two, some of the fallout had happened around Europe, and Germany was a central area. And finally, it was a good middle ground between the Baltic and the Mediterranean, where Heidern had his fleet spaced out.
The fact there were a couple of US Military bases here was just a bonus.
So they often stayed between Köln or Frankfurt, the higher-ranking members like Heidern, Ralf and Clark, or ones close to the rest of the group like Whip, Leona, and a few others, often stayed in the hotel, though Heidern would sometimes stay at one of the bases, depending. Adel was able to get around with the Sky Noah to anywhere he needed, and would sometimes even provide some fast transportation to the guys if they needed to get to the fleet quickly, thanks to the giant airship's insane technology.
Other times, if Rose had business with some folks around a different part of Europe-in particular, the past few months she had been dating an Austrian lord, who was a nice enough fellow(and who Adel and Whip both joked about wondering if he knew what he was getting into). These times, Adel would just go to the hotel to stay.
Duo Lon liked to visit the Sky Noah itself now and again, though given he and Leona liked to have their privacy, they'd often stay together. He'd still usually come to stay a couple of nights, though.
"Oh, good. We need to go out again. I know he'll want to visit the record store." Whip leaned over onto Adel, relaxing, allowing her sore muscles to rest after being put through the wringer with practice. She felt like she could step up her training by running against him one on one, as worn out as she was after.
"You alright?" he said when she grunted.
"I think my ribs are bruised." She smiled, however, showing that she was just fine.
"Damn. Sorry if that last one was too hard." He looked sheepish; when he trained with people, he always tried to hold back somewhat. He allowed himself to be a bit rougher with Ralf(who welcomed it) and Duo Lon(who seemed to be nearly immune to anything he could dish out in terms of pain, only stopping when he felt like someone was going to break.) Even Shen he took it easy on, despite him being nearly as tough as Ralf, he wasn't sure what his upper limits were.
Whip looked up at him, playfully punching his shoulder.
"You know you don't need to apologize for that," she chuckled, bringing his head down for another kiss. "I spar with you so I can get my ass kicked."
"Is that the only reason?" he teased.
She ran a hand down his chest, tweaking one of his silver nipple rings. "The grabs might be another excuse."
"Really…" he said, sliding around and pinning her to the ground, one massive leg on either side of her.
"Oh… no," she said, rather sarcastically, grinning again. She turned back to look at the Sky Noah, before glancing up at him. "How private are we out here underneath this thing today?"
Adel laughed. "Unfortunately, not very. Engineers can come and go at a moment's notice." He leaned down to nip at her ear a few times, before kissing down her neck. "I'm pretty sure the shower is open, though," he whispered.
Whip loved Adel's shower; the bathroom was massive, and there was a tub on one side, and an enormous shower on the other, with benches to sit off to the side when one wanted to. There was even a sauna in there, though neither of them particularly needed that at the moment.
"Well, look at us. We're all sweaty. And I still want that massage-ahh!" She cut off, the big blond fellow nipping her shoulder as one of his hands found her toned abs, rubbing them.
"Guess we ought to get in there, then," he replied, his voice low. "Before we do something we shouldn't."
Bringing her hands up to his back, she ran them down it, grasping his rear for a moment and squeezing; it was firm and toned, given his incredible leg strength. Laughing as she nipped him back, she looked up.
"Alright. Let's get inside. The sooner, the better."
It didn't take them long to untangle; where this sudden burst of horniness had come from, they didn't know, but they knew it would be something they took care of soon, at least.
Moving inside, they were happy to see no one really spotted them at all, and they slid past any of the servants, giving them polite nods, before heading up the elevator to the 3rd floor. These held Adel's quarters, among other important rooms.
They noticed, waiting at the door, was a tray of snacks, some of which were on the self-warming trays. Looking at each other a moment, they grinned, sliding them inside and double-locking the doors; Adel's way of telling the servants that they were not to be disturbed, unless it was some emergency.
"Hmm. Before, or after?" he said.
Whip stretched out, rubbing her sore muscles again. "Hmm. About that massage…" she said, a small smile on her face.
"Think you can handle it first?" the blond asked, sticking his tongue out. He slid his boots off, setting them in the corner as Whip did the same with her sneakers.
"I guess we'll find out. Can you?"
He shrugged, pushing the soldier to the bed, letting her turn over as he helped her slide her tank top first up…and then just off. He was a clever fellow, and knew exactly where everything was going anyhow.
The soldier stretched out as his firm, slightly rough hands touched her shoulders, rubbing the toned muscles nicely, causing her to sigh.
"Mmm. You somehow seem to get better and better at this," she muttered.
"Practice, I guess," he replied, pausing to push some of his disheveled hair back before going back to his work. His hands went up and down her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing her neck in between the shoulder blades as he loosened her up. There were some mild scratches and a couple of very light bruises on her arms from their sparring, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. They knew exactly how hard they could hit. Occasionally something would get through, but they just took it as part of the game.
"I'm going to feel some of his tomorrow." She moved slightly under his firm grasp, grunting lightly every now and then when his hands would hit a sore spot. He would notice this and lighten his touch, making sure that he gently worked out those. He could tell by her motion, and sounds, that she was enjoying it-as she always did.
"It's fine. I think the hot shower afterward is going to take care of things."
"I feel like I owe you one of these."
"I'm always open," he said in a low voice, pushing a bit of her windblown hair aside and kissing the side of her neck lightly, causing her to moan ever so slightly.
"I know," she said, her voice almost purring at this point given the lovely treatment. Any soreness she felt right now was purely of the good kind, and she knew things were about to get much better there.
Whip uttered another low sound as he pressed the palms of his hands in between her shoulder blades again, rubbing down her spine for a few moments, causing the tensed muscles to relax bit by bit. Adel was a big fellow, and immensely strong; he gave extremely capable massages as a result. He had to hold back, to be sure, given his slightly-powered blood-passed down from his old man-was capable of things fairly well beyond what a typical person could do.
There was something enticing about this to the soldier; as someone who liked excitement, she somehow enjoyed knowing that he was capable of breaking a person with his strength, yet she fully trusted him with anything.
Her moan grew louder when she felt him lean forward to kiss her neck again, this time more slowly, feeling his tongue tickle it for a moment.
"Let me know when you're ready for the shower," he said.
She turned toward him for a moment-it was a bit difficult due to her position-and grinned.
"I think I'm ready now. For the shower, that is."
He smirked. "Is that all?"
"Why don't you take me in there and see?" She ran her hands down his chest, tweaking one of his nipple rings, before rubbing against his defined abdomen…and then sliding a hand lower, causing him to almost purr.
Swiftly sliding out of the bed and into the large bathroom, Adel went and turned on the shower after flipping on the varied lights of the place, before turning them down just enough so they weren't too bright. The thick towels already set out all around, he finished getting undressed, which didn't take him long, as the pair had already taken off a lot of their clothing.
The shower steaming within a few moments and their clothes in a pile, the pair stepped in, sighing as the hot water hit their bodies, the afternoon's exercise sliding off of them.
The shower was rather awesome. It had three shower heads that ensured they'd always have water, no matter where they stood in it, and a specially made floor to prevent any sort of slippage. The door to the shower was on one end, and it was a few meters square, enabling them to move around freely in it. The entire bathroom was done in shades of blue and a light gray-cool colors that were quite relaxing.
Whip smiled to herself as she settled back, absently stroking Adel's firm back, remembering how much she was flabbergasted at the Sky Noah the first time she had come to the place with Heidern, that one fateful day when he had asked her to help him with the investigations.
While they were mostly staying in a big, high-end business hotel in Vienna at that point, due to the Bernsteins being there on business, they had stayed a couple of nights at the Sky Noah during an initial visit, with each of them getting a guest room. When Heidern had first told her about the place, she had been expecting something that would have guest quarters that may have been like a luxury cruise liner at best; large rooms, yes, but with the addendum of 'large rooms for an airship.' The thing itself, at four hundred meters long, several stories high and wider than the hotel that they were staying in, had awe-inspiring proportions even standing next to it.
She was snapped back from her memory as she felt Adel start to rub her shoulders again, adding a little bit of soap to them.
"Enjoying it?" he asked.
"Ohhh yeah. Somehow even more than before." She turned, smirking up at him as she pressed into him, feeling his skin against her back. She could already feel him hard as a rock below the waist; he had been turned on since they had gotten back to the room, and the massage he had given her didn't help matters.
Still, he planned on waiting. He wasn't going to start until she had been thoroughly pleasured first.
Leaning over to wipe away the soap-it was easy given the hot water beating on them, he leaned over to kiss her neck some more, before she turned, finally pressing into him chest to chest, looking up and kissing him deeply. Her hands went down his back, tracing over a few of the scars before reaching his firm rear, giving it a squeeze as his own hand slid down her side, his fingers stroking her toned muscle.
She had started to feel somewhat slick herself…only this, of course, was not water.
Exhaling deeply as she turned again to lean by the wall, Adel brought his slightly soapy hand up to rub her back down firmly, the hot water causing an intense amount of relaxation-but the big blond's touch simultaneously causing her to shiver.
Turning again as she felt him finish, the water rinsed the initial bits of soap off of them as she leaned in for another kiss; this one was firm and hungry, as her hands moved down his midsection again, and one of his own slid between her legs to tease her for just a moment.
"Mmmm," she muttered, shivering in his hands again.
Adel grinned evilly, pushing her to sit back on one of the benches in the shower, leaning against the wall. He knelt in front of her a moment, at first leaning down to tease her breasts. Her warm skin, as soon as it came into contact with the cooler metal of the tongue stud in his mouth, broke out into slight goosebumps, the nipple growing harder almost immediately, though she had already been fairly stiff at the moment due to everything as it was.
"Don't want to hurry," he muttered.
"Urgh," she muttered, a smile on her face. Her midsection was about as slick as it could be, and she knew he would want to start to eat her sooner than later…though he could, at times, hang back just long enough to drive her up a wall, as he seemed to be doing now.
Her low moans turned into a squeal when he nipped at her breast lightly, smirking at her before kissing down her well-toned abs, his hands sliding up and down her side.
"Too hard?" he asked.
"N…no," she managed to get out, as he kissed below her navel. She started to tangle her hands in his wet hair. "Just keep going," she said, her voice steadier…and with a touch of authority.
Liking this turn of events, Adel decided to tease her a little bit more when he heard her tone, knowing that he could have her climbing the wall first, at least for a few short moments before he could no longer resist. While he could hold back for a while, once his head was between her legs and he was nipping her thigh, it was usually only a matter of time before he would start to do what he really wanted.
"Heh. I like this," he said, nipping her thigh again, knowing how badly he was teasing her.
" Mmm," she muttered, before suddenly feeling his tongue lick at her midsection once. This caused her to squeal.
"Hmm?" he said, glancing up at her before going back to her middle, the water pounding on the two of them. He could still taste her, though, as she was slick with her own fluids, and very much so; not wanting to waste anything, he pressed well into her, his arms snaking around her legs as her hands buried into his wet hair.
Whip leaned her head against the wall, a leg sliding up on his shoulder as she pushed her hips toward his working mouth, his tongue snaking around all of her most sensitive parts, doing all of the things she liked. He had gotten incredibly good at pleasuring her over the time, him immediately having taken a liking to this the first time he tried it and then making a habit of doing it whenever he got the chance when they were intimate. His tongue piercing rubbed against her warm skin, that cool sensation once again driving her just a bit wild. She had always loved the feeling it gave; the first time he had used it on her the temperature difference hit her in such a way that she had remembered the bed being more than slightly…messy after they were finished.
Not that Adel cared; right now, in the shower, there was nothing holding him back. Feeling like seeing if he could get her to climb the walls just a little bit before bringing her over, he drew back, sucking briefly at her clit before leaning back just far enough to tickle her with the tip of his tongue for a few moments, the soldier, through her moans and heavy breathing, trying to pull him back toward her midsection, the warm water running off of her.
"Damnit," she muttered, a smirk on her lips as she looked down.
Peering up at her, he decided to nip her thigh before delving back in, this time twisting his tongue up inside of her, giving her the pleasure that he had grown very fond of.
As she moaned louder, feeling the twisting appendage sliding deeper inside, she tugged him a moment while panting. He looked up, still working.
"Wall," whispered breathlessly.
Pausing a moment, she managed to stand and slide against the wall, slightly away from the water, though still warmed by the steam. Adel quickly got back into position, opening her legs and sliding his tongue back between them, pushing forward to lightly suck at her.
Whip muttered, the change of position feeling nice. He was able to pull back for more teasing, swirling his tongue around, causing her legs to shake.
Thirsty to taste her, he leaned in to suck harder at her clit, rolling his tongue over it as he pressed deeper, her slick fluids getting on his mouth and chin. He licked it off, his position keeping the water from washing it away.
It didn't take him much longer; he felt her tighten her hands in his hair, panting softly as she leaned her head down over him, holding him there.
"Almost," she panted.
Teasing her a little more with some thigh-bites, he came back to suck at her, feeling her tense and moan low in her throat as she came. He didn't move for several moments, swallowing all that came out; letting his tongue continue to work around her heavily, he made sure that she was well-satisfied-and finished, before he started to pull away. He spared her midsection a few kisses, the warm water running off of his shoulders as he leaned his head against her firm stomach.
She pulled his hair back slightly so he looked up at her. He smirked.
"Mmm. You always deliver," he said, licking his lips.
"I'd say that's your fault," she said, still panting. Standing sometimes gave the orgasms a greater feeling for her; she wasn't sure why. She shivered when he kissed her again; he seemed to be testing her, so to speak, if he could wrench one more orgasm out of her as she stood. Knowing she was sensitive, he gently worked her with his mouth and tongue to see how she felt.
It turned out, after a few moments of his tongue gently stroking her again, sliding up inside as he sucked at her heated midsection, the answer was yes. Before she came the second time, he had started to slide one of his fingers up inside of her rear, causing a light squeal to utter from her lips. His tongue flicked lightly over her clit for some time again before he drew it back into his mouth, pressing into her again.
It didn't take much longer for more fluids to greet him as he drank, almost greedily, before finally pulling away and helping to support her as the pleasant aftershocks had passed her by. He rubbed his hands over her toned rear and kissed a few more times between her legs before standing, nuzzling her stomach a moment.
"Are you okay now?" he asked with a smirk.
"Very," she said. She had been hornier than she had realized coming into the shower; the initial soaping up hadn't done anything to help that fact. Sighing as he stood the rest of the way, he leaned against her, pressing her into the wall, something extremely hard pressing into her stomach, pretty much ready for her now.
She wouldn't let him get away that fast, however. Rubbing his wet chest a moment as she decided to tease him, she grabbed a tiny bit of the soap and started to rub up his chest and shoulders some herself; letting the hot water flow over him, she leaned up to kiss him as she rubbed.
As she let the light suds rinse away, she kissed his neck…and then down his now-rinsed chest, pausing at one of his nipple rings to tease it with her tongue.
"Mm," he muttered, running his hands down her back again as she slid down lower. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back against the blue ceramic wall.
He grit his teeth and groaned when he felt her take him deeply into her mouth, before pulling back and slowly running her tongue around his head as she sucked at it gently a few moments, preparing him for more.
Adel let his head hang forward for a moment as he felt her start to suck him deeply, her hand running all around his rear as she continued, enjoying feeling him shiver against her hand. She gave his rear a squeeze, tickling underneath his shafter with her tongue a bit as her hand went to fondle beneath him.
His low moans turned into a surprised gasp as his eyes opened at the feeling of her sliding a finger into him. Grinning and looking up, she continued to tease and pleasure him, hoping he could hold off for a bit and making sure she didn't go too far.
Adel grit his teeth, smiling slightly at the feeling that he had from both sides. He couldn't help himself from gasping rather loudly when she would hit a particularly sensitive spot inside of him with her slim finger; when she'd take him deep at the same time it almost caused the blood to rush into his ears. Rubbing the back of her head as she worked, he focused on keeping himself held back so he could enter her soon.
Pulling back a little after a few more moments, she took the head into her mouth again, sucking lightly at it, letting her tongue flicker over it as she curled her finger; when she felt him shudder somewhat, he started to shake her. Looking up as she took him deeply in again for a few moments, she decided to slow down and stop. Tasting the beginnings of the familiar, salty liquid, she knew he was about at his limit.
Feeling like he was about to come at any moment, he grit his teeth in pleasure as she pulled her finger out, kissing his stomach as she grinned.
"You look ready," she said quietly, her hand reaching over to stroke him a few times, though very gently; she did want him to have a chance to enter her before he went all the way. She could tell by the pleasured look on his face that he was close, but holding back nicely.
"Yeah," he said with a smile, pulling her up, lifting her with his arms as she slid down on top of him, her legs sliding around his waist as she felt him deep inside. She slid her hands down his well-muscled back like she always would, digging in her nails ever so slightly, causing him to moan low in his throat-almost growling, and slide down to nip at her shoulder. He did it gently, not wanting to leave too many bite-marks out where the folks at work might raise questions. Whip being in a relationship was of absolutely no issue, of course, but Adel didn't like to leave marks on her when she had busier work around the others.
She usually egged him on, anyway, though, given she wore her longer sleeves and often were covered.
As they were in position, Adel started to slide in and out of her, bracing himself by the wall as the pair's heavy breathing was punctuated by the sounds of the shower hitting the ground.
Whip threw her head back, causing Adel to lean forward into her neck and kiss it several times again; he ran his tongue over it, letting the barbell tickle her cool skin. Nipping lightly, he went back as she leaned against his shoulder, adding a few of her own kisses and speeding up some. She could feel him shivering and knew he wasn't going to need much longer.
His low moans picked up as she matched her thrusts, getting faster and faster until he let out a grunt; she felt him let go, a now-familiar warmth coming from him as he went faster. She clamped down on him slightly, helping him along as he let another shaking moan out from his lips as he finished, the shiver of the rather nice orgasm running through his body. He eventually slowed down as he felt himself finish.
Pressing into her as they stood there-still shivering inside of her as she slowly released him-he exhaled deeply, the sound of the shower in his ears along with his lover's breaths. Lifting up his head, he looked at her; his large hand came up to push some of her wet hair back.
"Feeling good?" he asked, still inside of her.
"Yeah," she said, leaning in to kiss him; she had his lower lip in her mouth a moment before breaking. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Having dried off and slid into some very light clothing-Adel only in a pair of his cargos, Whip in a pair of rather short shorts and another one of her short tank tops, the two were now lounging lazily on his couch with an array of snacks from the cart spread out on the coffee table in front of him.
If one were to walk in, anyone with half a brain could tell what had likely just went on due to the expressions on the couple's faces.
Grabbing one of the chocolate-filled croissants and putting it on a plate, she leaned against him, her cup of coffee on the desk. Adel had pulled it closer to make it easier to reach everything. The cats were still out and about, so they weren't going to try to steal anything from the lower table. As far as he knew, Henrik had let them run around in the gymnasium with their 'toys.'
"I'll never forget waking up here the first night in that guest suite," she said. "And finding the entire breakfast tray waiting outside. I had no idea what was happening."
He chuckled at that as he ran a hand through her damp hair, grabbing his coffee cup to take a large sip. "I had told Henrik to make sure the guests were well taken care of. At the time, I didn't know what you guys liked, so I just had the kitchens send you a bunch."
"And then, there was Gwan," she said. "He was so small then."
"We had just gotten him," he grinned. "Right from the sanctuary. He was still drinking milk."
"Awww," she said. "Cinder's still small, at least…but he's growing."
"They grow fairly fast, but they stay pretty cub-like for a while, at least."
Smiling at the memories, she repositioned, finding herself enjoying going back to those early times. She pushed aside some of his hair, running a hand over one of the scars on his chest.
"I was glad when you decided to ask me on the date back then," he said suddenly. "I was trying to figure out how to ask, but you managed to first."
Her look softening, she ran a hand under his chin. He was clean-shaven as he almost always was. Occasionally if they were somewhere on vacation he'd let some fuzz grow, but he wasn't particularly hirsute. "I liked how easily comfortable I got with you."
"Same. Trust me." He leaned down to kiss her forehead before going back to the tray on the table, this time pulling off a crepe. It was filled with blueberry, though he was fairly easily able to eat it lying down. These had come pre-rolled and not covered in cream, making them easier to grab. Sometimes they came unrolled and warm, with a supply of toppings, so that they could build their own.
Whip grinned at how quickly he was able to eat the thing. "How many is that?"
"Ten? I lost track."
"I still, after all this time, don't know where it all goes." She sat up finally, deciding to fix herself a larger plate. She had nibbled on some fare after the shower, but had been a bit too exhausted between the training and the sex.
Sitting up as well, he reached for a few more treats to stack his plate with. "You know, being almost summer…we really ought to try to plan that trip again to Shanghai."
"Yes," she said. "I'll talk to Heidern and see when he can give me off. I guess you can take off whenever?"
"Yeah, I can hand over most of the lords and ladies stuff to Rose. You know how she prefers that, anyway. I might need to take care of some business elsewhere, but most of that I can do on the road, anyway."
"I figured. I get plenty of vacation time with the unit, but if there's an important mission, I usually try not to stick the rest with everything. But things should be alright, unless some disaster, like an interdimensional space flea, pops up again."
"We can talk to Duo Lon when he visits next week, then," he said, grabbing a chocolate-filled crepe and sliding the thing into his mouth, choosing to eat half at a go as to better savor it this time. "Mmmm. These were some of my favorites growing up."
"I'll always love the honey," she said. "It was one of the first sweets I ate after…everything. To me, it tastes like when I got my new life."
Adel gently rubbed the soldier's back at that. "I remember when you told me that."
"I know. You always made sure I had it afterward." She reached over to smooth down his soft hair. "I still will never forget when we went out to an official dinner together. Before we even kissed. I was surprised you wanted to get pizza. Then...I understood."
"Mmm. Pizza," he said, licking his lips.
"Did your cooks ever figure out how to do one that's not too…uhh…" Whip trailed off, smirking.
"Snooty?" he filled in with a laugh. "Yes! I just told them to keep it simple. I might not know how to cook well, but I was able to let them know."
"How's that going, by the way?" She had been showing Adel some things. Being raised how he was, the young man had never really learned to cook for himself. He simply never had to. She had found out one day where they had been at a suite in the US. They were there on business, and the suite had its own kitchen. She had suggested cooking something since the room service was backed up; when she came in, he had managed to turn the eggs rubbery by having the stove on blasting, and having failed to put oil on the pan as well.
After he had confessed to never really having cooked much of anything except for reheating hot drinks or mixing a few alcoholic beverages, Whip, who knew how to at least prepare simple meals to make the drudgery of rations more bearable, started showing him the ropes. Adel was a highly intelligent fellow, and picked up quickly.
"Much better," he said. "It's been sort of fun learning, even. Fighting, I got. Cooking…took me a bit."
"There's a reason people go to school to become master chefs."
"Yeah, all those guys are. It's just funny how they seem to default to overblown versions of things."
"Force of habit, I'd imagine," she said. She ate another crepe, washing it down with some of the coffee, before pulling the tray of muffins over.
"Managed to make some pretty decent pancakes the other day," he grinned. "Went to the kitchens early. They were kinda tough, but they worked."
"You'll have to make them for me, then," she grinned. "I'll be the judge."
Finishing a few more bites, Adel settled back on the big, plush couch, enjoying the perfectly temperature-controlled room. He pushed back a bit of his wet hair, checking the blue-numbered digital clock on his nightstand; it was still only in the late morning, as they had gotten an early start.
Whip devoured the rest of her honey crepe before looking over at the young man for a moment as he closed his eyes; not sleeping, but simply relaxing. A smile spread on her face as she touched his arm, settling a bit closer to him again as she watched him rest.
The soldier was never a sappy type; neither was he, and this suited them both just fine. It was something she had noticed about him immediately after the first date they had gone on. But she still would sometimes think from time to time how much happier she was after everything.
Her new life with the Ikaris had been incredibly fulfilling. She had made friends and companions, whom she had grown closer with over the years. They had all more than forgiven her for going AWOL on them-it had taken Leona slightly longer to completely trust her again even after her quick forgiveness(which she understood, given how that unit had meant everything to her for a long time). Heidern had gotten her off the hook, and Ralf and Clark had understood why she left so abruptly. She had just ended up taking over on a lot of missions after the tournament before, when they had discovered the Sky Noah, and put on the mission, where she had gotten to know Adel.
There had been something about finding someone she could genuinely talk to, who had things in common, besides their differences. The pair had their own sorts of family drama, and at times felt a bit 'separated' from everything. They both had siblings that they had cared for, even if both could be a pain in the ass(K's constant standoffishness and stubbornness was hard to break through and Rose-when she was of her own mind-was a stubborn, arrogant snob), that they could confide in one another with. The two siblings had gotten much better as time passed, but at the time, it was somewhat trying.
And then it came to the point where the two could 'escape' with one another, in a sense. It was clear that the pair had longed for someone unconnected to their situations to be able to talk to and confide in…all while still having things in common, and things they could share with one another.
Looking down at her coffee as her lover lay back with his eyes closed still, she wondered what made her start to think back to this; perhaps it was the time of year. Not that she minded, of course.
As she absently stroked his firm stomach, she could remember the first time she had some coffee with him in the morning. Iit was before they had even dated, but after they had a chat for a while, and then ended up drinking an old bottle of wine a bit too quickly. The two were somewhat awkward, but they had gently prodded one another to open up some, with Whip having started it, which was unlike her. There was just…a feeling there.
"Everything okay?" she heard a voice say, snapping her back to the present. Adel had opened his eyes and slid a rough hand over hers.
"Yeah. Just remembering again," she said. "To the first date itself. How…gentlemanly you were. You were afraid to touch me, almost."
He laughed at this, sitting up enough for her to lay down, her head on his lap. His hand went into her soft hair. "You didn't try to like, grope me or anything weird like that, either," he said.
"Oh gods, no. I mean… now," she said, reaching around to rub his thigh playfully, "Of course. But then? We didn't know too well yet."
"Yeah. A couple of those old dates I tried to go on. That didn't last. Usually I just went on them at the behest of Henrik or Rose, you know, lord is supposed to have someone, I guess. I never even had any interest at all, even if they tried to come onto me. I found it sort of…weird if they got too forward."
"I mean…it's easy to understand why. You were always…just…not like that, you had told me. Not with people you didn't know."
"I know. I needed to feel something toward someone. I had no interest in anything like that, at all, even just physically, without feeling something. I know that now." He reached his other hand down, rubbing her stomach as he liked to do, letting his rough fingers trace over her abs. "Glad I did with you."
"Same. I was basically the same."
Adel pulled the soldier up, letting her sit on his lap, one leg on either side of his waist. She slid her hands up into his hair, pushing it back a moment as she pressed her forehead to his, sliding her hands down his back.
"Almost three years now? In a few months?" he asked her.
"Something like that."
"Think we can get a few more out?"
"I certainly hope so." She leaned forward, kissing him deeply. He returned it, the two not breaking apart for several moments.
When they did, he looked up at her again as she sat on him, pushing some of her hair back with one of his fingers. "We talked about traveling around that one night, I remember."
"Yes," she said. "I plan on doing that. One day. When we're ready."
"I don't like to plan ahead too much," he said. "Life…has taught me that. But…it'll happen."
"Yeah."
After a couple more moments, Adel laughed. "Good lord. I haven't been that…sentimental in awhile."
"Don't worry about that," she said. "Being able to talk about…anything at all, whenever, is one of the things that I've loved."
"Same…I guess we're still catching up?"
"In a way, yeah. We have some years to make up for, I guess." She repositioned next to him, looking out the window. "Any plans for tonight?"
"Want to just go out and around somewhere?" he asked. "I don't think we've drank at a bar in a long time."
"Hell, you're right," the soldier replied, leaning back against the soft couch again. "We should rectify that. When it gets dark, at least."
"Yeah, let's save the day drinking for the upcoming summer party." He sat up, leaning over the table. "Say, when is that? And do we know where, yet?"
"Oh! Yeah!" Whip exclaimed. "I completely forgot to tell you. It's in late June, and it's being held in the US this time. West coast. At a big, open, city park of all things. There are hotels nearby where we'll stay and the boardwalk isn't too far away."
"Shit, that sounds great," Adel said. "A little different this year. I haven't been on the West Coast for some time now."
"Yeah, I've seen the park! It's huge. Lots of room. Heidern and the guys were looking into options, and they noticed this summer is a little busy, and there's some work to be done around there. So they just decided that it'd be better to all go there. Everyone can just get back easily to one of the hotels. Some luxury too, of course."
"I'll get us a suite," he grinned. "Can't wait. I guess the guys are planning the punch."
"Oh, of course. Gods know what they're gonna give us. And what they'll serve it in."
"Kiddie Pool? Sink?"
"Maybe they'll lug the bathtub there again." At the last party, the punch was served in a large, brand-new bathtub bought specifically for that purpose.
Adel laughed again. "I guess the place is rented?"
"Yeah, there's going to be ropes or something put around," she said. "Not like anyone would bother us anyway even if they did sneak in and grab a rib or something."
"I'm sure Shen would defend the food," the big blond chuckled. "I don't think I've walked on a boardwalk in…years. Maybe even decades."
"You're two and a half decades old. Not even."
"Exactly."
She smiled down at him again. "Just don't go anywhere without me. I mean, anywhere big. Besides us having our own lives."
"I know what you mean. I won't." He reached up, his hand touching her face. It was the scarred hand that he had used to catch the blade that someone had snuck up on her with during their first major battle where they had fought side by side. She leaned into it, leaning over to kiss it.
"You're still helping me find what I'm looking for."
He knew she spoke of her family, who may or may not be out there. "Always. Why wouldn't I? You're helping me not look for mine," he snorted, a touch of gallows humor to his voice.
She smirked at this, remembering how when she had gotten the news that…there was no news, that she was somewhat dejected. He, as always, picked her up and made sure she was alright, just like he had done when he had rushed to the hotel room one night, way back, after one of her nightmares.
"Okay," she said, leaning in again before sparing him one more kiss. "This…I usually…"
"Yeah, it's okay. We're allowed to get emotional now and then. It happens."
"Even to us." She looked over at the door. "The cats probably want in soon, anyway." Turning, she snatched another crepe from the pan; they had kept them under the specially warmed tray. She shifted off of Adel's lap so he could pour the coffee.
"Better eat anything you want now," he smirked, grabbing another plate. "I have a feeling Henrik didn't give them as much as they wanted." He stood, putting his cup down for a moment as he moved across his large room to crack his door open; he didn't bother throwing on more clothing at the moment. Coming to sit back down, he leaned heavily back against the couch.
Turning toward him again, she leaned on one of her toned arms, looking at him for a few moments before speaking.
"Would you go through all the bad things again, if it meant ending up in the same place? Or if you had a choice, would you pick something good if you'd have ended up somewhere different?"
Smiling at her softly, he pulled her over again.
"I'd keep what I went through."
"Same," the soldier answered. "Even…knowing everything. I know I'm my own person now."
Shifting positions, they curled up quietly at this for a few moments, Adel's hand finding its way into her drying hair.
It didn't take long for Adel to feel something furry on his leg.
"Here to ruin the moment, eh?" Adel reached over to rub Gwan's head as Whip untangled herself from her lover to slide over, rubbing both sides of his head before booping his nose. She then leaned back over to kiss Adel, knowing how it'd make the big cat jealous. Sure enough, he slid over, trying to get into position near them.
"Can't let us have any time, can you?" Whip asked, knowing how they had left the door open. She took one of the snacks off the tray and fed it to him; he took it gently off her hand as always before lying in front of the couch, satisfied. The big cat knew they teased him; he started to rumble when he felt the two of them petting him. "I remember when you were tiny," she added.
"When should we get ready?" Adel asked as Whip got comfortable half on top of him again.
"I dunno. Those bars are open til way late. It's still early."
"Yeah. Don't have to move yet," he said, sliding a hand over her rear for a moment to squeeze it. "Not until you want."
"Mmm. We have all day." She looked up at him again before closing her eyes, once again simply enjoying the moment, which they had both learned to do over the past couple of years.
A/N: Well, I managed to get some heartfelt stuff in here, I think! This went on a little longer than I had planned, but it turned from wholesome smut into character centric stuff. I realized I hadn't written these two in some months that wasn't a holiday-centric fic(xmas, birthday or whatnot), save for Rumble, so I thought something was due, particularly more stuff that took place in the XV timeline.
It may have gotten a bit 'chatty' and meandering as my things do-but I guess they like to talk a lot together? Also this is like, sappier than they usually are. Way so. You know these two. But sometimes you need to like, reminisce a bit, I think. Sometimes, it's how the stories go.
I am aware I use a ton of wall sex in my fics. It's a signature. I had to for this one. ;p
As usual this one follows some of my headcanons(with these characters, SNK left a lot of room open.) While Gwan is canon, Cinder is sort of an 'OC Panther Cub' since I wanted to give them another smol to have pouncing around. Since this touches on a lot of other stories, you can check out other things if you're curious on what else I do with these guys, if this is your first piece!
Anyway, as I said, these two mean a lot to me, so I felt like I had to give them a little sort of "Real Life Anniversary" story, so to speak. Hope you enjoyed it even with all the dialogue, and that I'll probably be back over the summer with The Official, Annual Summer Party that was hinted at! And of course, hopefully lots more in the future.
'Til next time!