Okay, so I intended on making this a fluffy chapter packed full of Fordia. And, I did! Then, I got this idea, and this chapter ended up becoming darker and more foreboding toward the end. Except for the parts with Starclops being...Starclops.


Chapter Fifteen: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Things have calmed down since Laurel's death, but that doesn't mean everything's normal. Or, as normal as things can get around here.

I wish I knew how to help Larman. Naturally, he's been far from himself since his sister's passing. Maybe it's my Protector instincts talking, but Larman's been rather distant and, dare I say, reminiscent of that old movie, The Stepford Wives. You know, in the sense that his supposed happiness is totally fake. But, I suppose there's really nothing anyone can do but be supportive.

And, honestly, Laurel - or anyone, really - dying kind of reminds me of just how short life is. The idea that one day your body could just...stop is a scary thought. Not to mention that not everyone dies of old age. Some pass on long before. Reminds me of my older brother, Sherman. He was enlisted in the United States Army and was killed in the Vietnam War. He was only thirty-five years of age. Kind of makes you realize just how precious life is and how you shouldn't waste

A moan drew Ford's attention away from his journal. He turned his chair away from his desk and found his wife standing at her easel, a brush in hand, painting a new project that he couldn't quite make out at the moment. Nothing unusual there. Then he noticed with alarm that her brush was shaking, and her free hand was clinging to the easel, as if she was trying to steady herself. She swayed on her feet, and Ford was immediately at her side. He caught her from behind just as she collapsed.

"Nadia, what's wrong?" Ford asked, putting one hand over her heart to be certain it was beating. It was. Too fast. "Are-Are you ill? Should I get you to Mighty Med?"

Nadia moaned softly. "No, I…"

Her dark gray skin was a few shades too light, he realized. "You look pale. Do you need some water? Some food? Anything?"

"B-Blood…"

Oh, that's what was wrong. Ford sighed. "Nadia, you told me you fed last week."

While mutants, like Nadia, were a class all their own, the ones who weren't born to other mutants took on some of the traits of their parents' species. Nadia was born to two vampires. While she didn't need nearly as much blood for survival, Ford calculated that she was okay if she drank some - "feeding," she called it - at least once a month. And, apparently she hadn't.

As he led her to their bedroom (relieved that their daughter was at school and didn't have to see her mother like this), Ford gently reprimanded, "Why do you keep doing this? You know you're allowed to feed off me when you need to."

Nadia glanced up at him, looking a lot like a child who'd just been caught stealing from a cookie jar. Her violet eyes lacked their usual brightness. How long had she gone without blood? "I just don't like asking. Most people freak out when you ask to...you know."

Suddenly a little hurt, Ford opened the door to their room and led her inside, kicking the door shut behind him. "I don't freak out." Not anymore, at least. When Tad had first informed him about her feedings, he was horrified. What human wouldn't be? He'd questioned her on the subject, and she'd begrudgingly confirmed it, so naturally he was rather frightened. Of course, that had been mere days after meeting her, so he'd had yet to decide if he could truly trust her or not.

Then, he'd seen the look on her face when he'd (not entirely) jokingly requested that she not drain him completely. She'd been so shocked and hurt that she'd kept at least three feet away from him for the rest of the day. Curse his social awkwardness, because he hadn't even noticed until Starclops had slapped him in the face and told (read: screamed at) him about how sensitive she was. He and Nadia had managed to talk it out, but she'd still spent the next day distant from him. The sheer guilt had been enough to make him want to curl up in a hole. So, when he'd seen that she needed it, he hesitantly let her drink from him. It had pinched a little, but then he merely felt oddly sleepy.

That was the last time she'd had to feed off of Tad and Starclops. And, according to Nadia, their blood tasted like cough syrup.

Ford carefully sat her on the bed and sat beside her. He pulled his shirt collar to the side. "Go on."

Nadia still seemed anxious. Which was bad, because she also looked ready to faint again. "Are you sure?"

Ford couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Must we always do this?"

"I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Nadia rubbed her arm and avoided his gaze. "And, I don't want to drink too much…"

"I trust you."

Nadia smiled and muttered, "I'm worried you might regret that." The smile and playful tone didn't reach her eyes, but she shifted to sit behind him. She placed her hand over the one he was still using to hold back his collar. "Ready?"

Ford tilted his neck, further exposing his flesh. "Go ahead."

He held back a flinch as he felt her teeth sink into his neck, then his body relaxed as the familiar numbness eliminated the pain. The feeling of being drained was difficult to explain in words. He felt her breathe in through her mouth as she sucked in the liquid then exhale through her nose, only to start the cycle again. Her tongue swept back and forth on his neck as she tasted him. Ford shivered with pleasure. Feeding had always seemed so intimate to him. Every time, it stirred something primal in him. His internal reaction had frightened him at first. Now, he didn't give half a damn if she drained him completely. He would have been perfectly fine dying drunk on his own lust. Or, maybe that was the blood loss talking. It was hard to tell.

Nadia raised her head from his neck, and he stifled a yawn. Feeding always made him tired. He theorized that it was self-preservation. It was a scientific fact that the human body recovered quicker during slumber, so it made sense that his brain would send the rest of his body a signal that he was tired. Perhaps his body used his nap to regenerate blood cells and return his blood circulation to normal.

But, Ford didn't ponder that theory for long, because when Nadia gently lowered his head on to his pillow and softly kissed his lips, everything even remotely factual fled from his mind.

Looking fully recovered, Nadia took off his glasses and said, "Go to sleep, Ford. I love you."

"Mm. Y'too," Ford slurred before letting the darkness take him.


Nadia reluctantly left Stanford to his nap and quietly closed the door behind her. She licked her lips, her entire being boiling with desire. Feeding was a necessity for her, but it didn't feel nearly as intoxicating as it did when she drank from her husband. She wondered if it was as intimate for him as it was for her.

Her musings were interrupted when Starclops flew up to her and-

Was the high making Nadia see things, or was this seriously happening?

"Hey, could you gimme a hand, girl? I accidentally got this donut stuck in my eyeball." Starclops pulled on said donut. When it (somehow…) remained stuck, she shrugged. "I guess this is my life now."

Nadia just stared at her. "Um...I'm not… What?"

Starclops yanked again, and the partially eaten chocolate donut came out with a cartoonish pop. She sighed in relief. "Much better." She sat it on her top-point and commented, "You are looking much better as well. You finally get some blood in your system?"

Nadia nodded. "Yeah. Ford's taking a nap right now."

"Cool. It really makes me happy to know you've found someone else who accepts your ShimmerFlame." Nadia tensed. Starclops blinked in realization. "Er, you did tell him, right?" No answer. "Nadia?"

Nadia sighed and leaned her back against the door, a familiar dread sapping away her euphoria. "I know he wouldn't care, Starclops. I just…"

"I get it, girl," Starclops assured, her eye softening. "But, you realize he's going to find out soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, your daughter's a mutant too, you know. All mutants share the ShimmerFlame." Despite already knowing that, Nadia felt herself pale. "Violet might only have her Future Sight now, but sooner or later she's gonna have the ShimmerFlame just like every other mutant. And, if I know Ford as well as I think I do, he's going to ask some questions. Questions that you'll have to answer, whether you want to or not."

Rubbing both her arms and staring at her bare feet, Nadia nodded sadly. "I know. I'll tell him."

"Soon?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

Nadia rubbed her forehead in frustration. Not frustration toward the star-shaped demoness, but frustration toward herself and how scared she was. She knew that Ford wouldn't care about her powers. How understanding he was when she confessed to killing her own parents proved that. But, at the same time, he wasn't aware of just how lethal she could become if she gave into the temptation to use the ShimmerFlame. It had been years since she'd even allowed an ember of it to free itself from her skin. On worse days, she could feel the madness threatening her. She didn't know what would be worse: going mad quickly from using the ShimmerFlame or going mad slowly from not using it. Just last week, she had been out in the woods, helping Ford with his research, when she had seen blood pool at her feet, golden flames erupting from it and swallowing her up as she screamed. She shivered as she remembered the pain as she was burned alive…

Only for her husband to shake her harshly by her shoulders, snapping her out of the hallucination. Poor, innocent Stanford had been convinced that it was the work of the Mismagius (a Pokemon said to cause hallucinations) that they had been searching for. Nadia had went along with it, terrified of telling him the truth.

"Nadia?" Starclops concerned voice brought her back to reality. The demoness cupped Nadia's cheek in her tiny cheek. "Honey?" Nadia's chest tightened. Starclops only used such tender terms when she was really worried. "Hun, are you alright?"

"Yeah." Nadia nodded, and Starclops took her hand away. "Yeah, sorry. Just-Just thinking."

Starclops didn't push her for more. "So, will you tell him?"

"Yes," Nadia said, even though the thought almost made her miss the hallucinations.

"Good." Starclops picked the donut up off her top-point and offered it to her. "Have a donut. It'll make you feel better."

Nadia smiled and shook her head. "You know I don't like chocolate."

Starclops smacked her top-point. "Blarg! I'll never understand that about you. Chocolate is the greatest thing in the multiverse!" On that note, she morphed her eye into a mouth and shoved the donut in it. "Ow! Ow!" Only for the donut to get stuck again. "Ah, come on! I just wanna eat it!"

Nadia couldn't help laughing. Starclops was only person she knew who could go from serious to silly in under three seconds.

"GSRH RH SLD BLFI UZNROB DROO XLNV GL RGH VMW...YB URIV." - GSV HVXIVG YB I.O. HGRMV


I know what you're thinking: "Why a donut?" To which, I say, "Why not a donut?"

But, seriously, you should pay attention to that code (atbash, just to remind you). It's from an awesome story by an equally awesome author. Loved him when I was a kid, still love him to this day. Review!