Chapter Eleven
Commander Dardenne was pissed; he had gotten a call from the director of the Academy, no less, on a Friday night when he should be enjoying a steak and his favorite girl. "Kriess, I don't care how many trainees you baste over in your off time, but if you step into House Imperate business, you are over the basting line! I'll deal with you tomorrow, I am so pissed right now! Trainee Farron, I expected better of you! Letting yourself get into a fight with a sergeant is insubordinate! Throw them both in the cube to cool off for a day!"
They were stripped then pushed into the cube, a large holding cell with no windows, no bed, no toilet, just 6 sides covered with cool impermeable metal, a single unbreakable light panel in the ceiling on an auto timer and a seven inch hole in the corner for the obvious. They stopped letting clothed prisoners in after one had strangled another with his shirt; plus the mental aspect of being naked was a good mental disciplinary tool for the commander – nothing like a little humility at your humanity to bring a body back to ground. The door sealed shut, and they were left alone with the enemy and their thoughts.
Noel slowly collapsed, panting against the floor, as the fight injuries started to take their toll on his body; he had to have pulled leg tendons, his nose was broken, an eyebrow was swelling from a split and the bite stung his thigh; his muscles trembled with exhaustion, but he tried to calm himself before trying any self healing. Magic was a tool to be used in the Corps, everyone had classes in the basics of self healing; but after this fight, his mind would not center and cease its internal strife. He heard Lightning breathing hard, almost gasping with each intake of breath and he was fiercely happy that she was hurting like he was; he was wondering : What in the hell was Farron doing to be in so deep already with the Imperate house and the Academy – maybe the jade called in a favor from a client? It would explain the necklace, too…but then, it was as if commander Dardenne spoke to her as if she were one of them, not a servant of the ruling class. What the hell is going on here now?...Oh Etro, that leg pin hurt! Where the baste did she learn that?
He felt his labored breathing ease, so he spoke the words of will and let the self healing spell go to work while he drifted off in a haze. He wryly smiled as he heard his enemy stifling painful moans as she dragged her body across the floor to the hole in the corner to retch, thinking: Yeah…suffer you bitching jade. I'll enjoy your tears some more later.
Noel's healing sleep was interrupted by a cough. Not a polite dainty ladylike sound to get his attention, but a deep rattle that bespoke deep pain and injury. The cough was followed by choking and more retching with a flat metallic smell; Noel's nostrils twitched in recognition at the scent of blood; Etro, she must be bleeding pretty heavily….good. Now you feel what I felt. Suffer, bitch. Suffer for your sister, too.
A dry husk of a voice was recitingEtro's script:"….Walker of the Realm Unseen, By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood. You died for me, the divine one born of light, you were crucified and made to walk the realm of the dead, and now let me die for you. A name in blood, a pact of truth. I shall rise your bond eternal and unyielding..."
The voice faltered after another fit of coughing, the voice now dropping to a ragged whisper: " Lady, forgive me. I never tried to reach your Eden; I felt you when I was with him…yet I never told him I loved him. My fault he got hurt. Forgive me for loving Serah too much. Teach her, since I failed to teach, I failed to be my mother…my father…for her. Thank you for Hope, tell the brother of my soul I will see him again, he saved me…forgive me all the things I have left undone …"
"I hope she leaves your soul to rot on the sands of time for the shite you and your sister put me through, you bitch."
She mumbled, panting the words out one at a time: "No…Noh..el. I. Can't. Heal. Please. Lemmedieinpeace. Or heal. Please."
"Lightning Claire Farron, go to the wall ask it for comfort. You'll get no healing from me. Go hang on Etro's cross for all I basting care."
He awoke some hours later, fairly refreshed; his leg was a bit sore, but it would go away by tomorrow. He was still hot over the fight and his thirst for hearing and seeing her pain was still present ; his anticipation soon turned to puzzlement as he did not hear the moans or tears he expected. It was ominously silent, so he opened his eyes & sat up to look around. She was in the corner still by the hole, but still…so still…he felt a slow fear crawl up his spine, knowing there was something far more wrong than just the aftermath of a brawl. He carefully approached and saw a figure so still, it looked as if she were…dead. He held a hand above her mouth and nose and felt the barest breath of air movement; she was still breathing, but shallowly.
The face was white as her silver hair under the pale gold skin; she was only half healed, the bruises still purple, the wrist still swollen with a break, her mouth still smeared with the dried blood she had retched; his spirit sank as he realized she had been injured internally and had been bleeding from the inside during the fight and after. With a sick feeling in his stomach, he recalled the throw that sent her skidding into the arena wall; he remembered the kick to her kidneys and his calloused fists slamming into her ribs, then shaking her like a rag doll in fury. And she had not complained once or stopped the fight, she had let him take out his rage on her. What kind of a person would let him do that? Somebody that would do anything to get through to you, a voice whispered in him.
The gentle voice continued to prod at the edges of his awareness, more insistent, gathering strength with each word: What has she done to earn your wrath, shadow hunter? Do you not recall your prayer? Here, listen: … just basting love me tonight, so I don't pick up that blade & slice my throat open with it…
Abruptly his anger broke & he was deeply ashamed; she was badly injured because of him; so he carefully gathered her up, set her head on his lap and spoke the words of will in his head and let his hands stay on her forehead and heart as the healing began to pull the damages out of her body, knitting broken bones and bruised flesh; with each spot that healed, he became more and more ashamed until he cried out to Etro, a prayer he'd forgotten: "Etro, do as you will, but goddess hear me! She's hurt, all because of me – I don't know how to even begin to ask to be forgiven. Help me, help her. Please, goddess." The same whisper nudged in the back of his mind; a cool friendly voice, small and still answered: Anything is forgiven in the name of love. Remember this, though: You are made with chaos and light, what wins is the one you feed. Do you see which one you've been feeding? You should not refuse what I offer; after all, I sent you to her…twice. The small voice ended on a lightly amused note: Three times is a charm. The oracle is over, Noel Kriess.
Drained, he laid his head against the cool metal wall and drifted off again, softly stroking the silky hair tenderly. No, he wouldn't waste a chance again. He became alert once she stirred in his lap & puzzled, felt her face, then looked up through a tangle of hair and dirty face with the same crystal blue eyes he remembered. She didn't question why she was lying in the lap of a naked man staring at her with anxious ocean blue eyes, tears streaks visible through the dirt.
"I…I dreamed of Etro…how long have I been out?"
"A while…I think we've been in here about 8 hours now. Um. You were only half healed, so I finished. How's the gut now?"
She rolled herself off him slowly, felt cautiously and nodded her head. "Better." She took a breath and decided to just give it to him straight: "Look. Just listen before you shut me down and kick my ass again. I didn't know you were Corps until the orientation. I thought the class was big enough, the time had passed and I would just simply fly under the radar so to speak. I had no idea you still felt that angry, or I'd have simply gone to command and asked for an order of separation. "
She turned away and sat with her back to him for several minutes, then quietly spoke again:
"I guess you're wondering how the hell I ended up here in Corps. After you left, I realized what you said was true, horribly true: I had no skills, no inheritance, no breeding, no connections. So went to get myself some, so I'd be…useful…at least to someone, somewhere. You saw what I was…useless. I can see why you refused my offer. It was totally unrealistic of me to think you'd even consider me. But I'm not the same Lightning, Valkyrie of Valhalla you knew…or maybe, as Hope says, becoming more of the good bits of what I had to begin with. He found my family line, got me to re-apply to Corps, and was enough of a friend to network me into some connections. And so, here I am. - Just a trainee with some extra grooming for a career."
Noel digested this in silence; Lightning now observed him, noticing how the boyish hollows were now starting to fill out with lean muscle, veins cording the slim arms; his hair still flopped over one eye and waved like brown silk, but was spiked with dried sweat and dirt on the ends; she suddenly wanted to run her hand through it and lay her head on that strong shoulder, she was simply so tired; it must have been that fight, the tension of ducking and hiding at every turn over the last week. He sighed, then spoke in reply: "You…you didn't dream Etro. She was here. I had an oracle while I was trying to heal you – you were bleeding internally. I got reminded about something." He laughed shortly. "Third time's a charm."
"Ohhh, Etro, I have no idea where to begin this conversation. So, what do I call you now? Claire? Lightning? That was some fight…I had no idea you had it in you, but then I should have known – I'd forgotten how you took out that one creep at Valhalla. You were...magnificent; you know, it sounds stupidly boyish, but I felt I was sent there just for you. I'll never forget that dive off the roof, how you just went with it and…I…we…hung in the goddess' hand, so to speak. Then I get to protect Serah & fell in love with an image, a dream. Well, that was chance number one blown. Chance number two? I had no idea how my words that morning would change your life; do you think just because I spoke in rage it was absolute truth? You think it made me happy?"
"Wasn't it? Didn't it? You got what you paid for that night & more: at least one of us was happy."
He spoke so softly and gently it caught her heart: "No, Claire. It does not."
" I…came back…that night. You were gone. You have no idea what you did to me. You were everything I needed, wanted. Serah was…nothing compared to you. Nothing has compared to you. So I spent the last year trying to put it behind me. I spent my life waiting, asking Etro for an answer, and she threw me into your path, and what do I do? I threw it away, because it didn't come to me the way I thought it should. Now here you are, thrown by Etro herself into my path again. "
"Now it's my time to lay it on the table…I'm not blowing my last chance. I have no idea of how I'm going to do this, but I'm not letting you leave or myself leave until this gets figured out, and what it means…to you, to me, to Etro. Consider that...please consider that."
They simply looked at each other, propped up by the smooth metal walls like cast aside rag dolls until Etro gently nudged; hands crept out and met, intertwining fingers. It wasn't the romantic moment the world thinks of, but it was enough for both of them. They had all the time in the world now to get it right. The hard part was over.
When they were let out of the cooling cube, everyone was astounded into silence as he carefully escorted her like she was royalty to the showers, protectively holding her under his arm; when she nearly passed out from weakness walking down the corridor, open mouths & raised eyebrows followed them as he carried her to the commander's office & kicked the door shut , for once unmindful of gossip.
"Kriess, do you have any idea of who you were beating crap out of in your personal vendetta? Your ex-girlfriend done you wrong, was she? A spy? You Etro-basting idiot, Trainee Farron is House Imperate, the real deal! She's no spy from PSICorp!"
"She told me. All of it. Discipline me as you see fit. But you need to do something before you kick me out of Corps. "
"Who says you're even worth kicking out of Corps? And what favor are you calling in now?" Dardenne mentally ran over the list of favors outstanding & decided he'd give in, but not before a good public noise was made for form's sake. He'd heard & just seen how Kriess had done a 180 in attitude and figured the pair had hashed out their past, just as the director had predicted would happen. He really liked Kriess, it was out of character to have broken rules like this, but seeing the beauty in front of him, he could see why a man could go a little crazy.
"You've got the authority to join us. So, join …us."
Dardenne swiveled to Trainee Farron:"You agree to this? You know your status has protocols, right? "
"Yes. We'll go through the formal process once we're in Academia. It is acceptable to the director. I doubt the House will disapprove with his backing."
"When? You want a ceremony?"
"Now. And no."
"Ahem. Stand. Join hands. According to the laws of Pulse & Guardian Corps I am herby investing myself with authority as officiating officer to join you in the goddess' sight as two with one heart, one mind. The names Noel Kriess and Claire Farron will be written in the book of Etro at the temple as joined for all to witness. If either have any objection or condition to voice, please state it now. I see. No conditions, you both agree? Please say I agree. Well. You are now joined. "
Dardenne pulled out a bottle from his drawer and nodded to the coffee cups, then poured a splash in each for a traditional toast.
" I confess, I don't understand the sudden turnaround in both your attitudes, but it does change the disciplinary action somewhat. Kriess, you must apologize to your class for setting a bad example & striking a trainee on personal grounds. Farron, you must also apologize to the class for setting a bad example as a member of the House Imperate and striking an officer. Oh, and you're both fined a week's pay. A bottle of desert rum to your commander will ease the paperwork fee as well."
Their public apologies were received with a few hoots and whistles and smattering of applause, as they all thought it was a hell of a fight, despite the personal disagreement. Claire didn't lack for partners during class and things seem to smooth over between her & the sergeant, though he growled a bit when someone got a little too forward with their attentions; they put it down to her potential status. Once off duty, he found himself knocking on her door and walking her to the hangar roof to sit and talk. The roof was his getaway, he had watched sunsets alone or with Dardenne, idly chatting about the day. He didn't know what he was going to say, but figured it might set the scene for making things easier between them. They quietly sat side by side kicking their feet off the edge and told their stories to each other in bits and pieces as nature went through its nightly show, the dust settling in successive veils of gold, then apricot, mandarin, darkening into tourmaline, then dusky blue grey as the sun set into the horizon.
Lightning was somehow comforted, it reminded her of Hope and found herself thinking he'd have felt comfortable sitting here too with Noel. She had studied his clean profile more than once in the fading light, and still found it just as beautiful as the first time she had seen it in the glowing lights of the Valhalla so long ago. They caught each other smiling at the other, then each looked down and laughed quietly before gaining the courage to take a hand; and so they sat on their wedding night, shyly holding hands like two people on a first date, getting to know the person they wanted most in their life. It was strange, but it suited both of them; they didn't feel any need to put on a huge display of passion; they both knew what they were capable of, and in time, it might happen again; but right now, just sitting next to each other after all the insanity in the last year was enough.
"So….how do you feel about meeting here off duty for a while? Like tomorrow?"
Lightning was puzzled why he didn't steer her to his bed, as it was their wedding night, in a way; she cleared her throat and asked: "Do you want it this …way? I liked tonight, yes, but I don't know what direction to take now; can you tell me what you…want?"
"I thought I made it clear: You, and no other." Seeing the guarded look on her face he softly continued: "It might take some time for me to figure this out – all I know right now is that I'm supposed to be with you, but why…how, and what form that takes is still, well, a mystery to me. "
Ever so slowly, he allowed himself to say it out loud: "By all means, sharing a bed even once more is always the hope of any blooded man…I'm no different; I just want you to come to me when you feel it's the right time and not a minute before."
His voice dropped to the nadir of his throat as he admitted: "There is a right time, a right place and a right person for all things; be patient and wait for all three; then you will see how much I love thee…"
Lightning looked at him with a respect in her eyes she had never expressed before, then ever so slowly, laid her head on his shoulder; her voice was so low he could barely hear it: "Noel Kriess, if there ever were a right time, it'd be tonight."
They both carefully, slowly walked back to his quarters with no outward sign of tenderness, but the unspoken thing between them vibrated with a singular intensity; they flowed through doorways and halls like water, but somehow a hyperawareness of each other always stayed present, even when in conversation with other people; he knew exactly where she was in the room without looking around; she felt the invisible pull when he ran a hand through his hair, or shook someone's hand in parting.
Finally, they were standing in a room alone, the door just having shut to his quarters; she felt hands pull her to him in the dimly lit space then reverently, soft lips pressed against her forehead after tenderly brushing the icy hair away. That first tender physical touch sent the invisible vibration pulsing from her forehead down to her toes; but she was so exhausted she could do no more than lay against the warm body as he gathered her to him, then knelt on the floor to lay her down on the cool bed after he'd divested them of their clothing. They didn't consummate their joining in the usual way, but simply laid there against each other with a secret smile reflected in each other's eyes, occasionally lifting a hand to trace a line of the body that fascinated them, or slowly intertwine more closely, until they were skin to skin as Etro blessed them with a deep slumber, filled with nothing but the sound of each other's hearts beating.
Three weeks later found them standing at the transport deck waiting to be assigned seats on the ship back to Academia. The vibration of the invisible tension was still between them, perhaps even more so for Lightning. Noel had shared his bed with her every night after, but simply had not initiated anything past the normal intimacies of a roommate, or the most tender kiss on a hand or forehead goodnight. Of course, he held her when they were sleeping, rarely wore any night clothing, engaged in any number of of light horseplaying games with her, so she knew all parts were in working order. It was starting to make her feel, if it could be said so, deprived. Occasionally the memory of their one and only night together would flare up in her memory and she'd be sitting there, eyes half closed, just wishing he'd reach out once more like that and hold her closer just one second more than what was necessary, or wrap his full lips around her finger and look at her with that innocently sexy look just once more. She certainly didn't want to make a demand for intimacy, when he was clearly not giving her any signs he wanted that same level of intimacy himself. She had heard his words about waiting for her to say to come to him when the time was right, but she herself was puzzled; she had been open in her embraces & acceptance of his physical presence, why didn't he just move forward and get down to it, like any other man?
She found the oddest moments somehow erotic, like when he was lacing his leather bracelet up his arm, the veins clearly throbbing when she tied it off for him; his breath on the back of her neck late at night; she would press herself into him closer and nestle with a small movement of hips that never failed to bring a hand to her hip, even when in deep sleep. Night after night he would simply lie there, simply letting a hand graze her one or twice, quietly letting his eyes speak, or closing them pleasurably as he stretched luxuriously out on the carpet or bed while listening to music or rain falling.
Even the sight of him leaning up against the wall, waiting for her after duty, was a painfully exciting moment, the lean body flexing in the leather jeans she'd bought him. She gave the excuse he needed a pair to ride the 'cycle, leather held up better than anything else to road rash, but the truth was she thought if he wore something a little sensual, it might get him to think in a more intimate direction. They fit closely, but had far more flexibility than the standard material; they sat lower on his hips and when the rough brown was paired with a favorite t shirt and nomad's wrapped arm bracelet he looked sinfully handsome to her eyes.
She had tried to encourage a gentle session of foreplay when she helped put them on for the first time, subtly caressing his legs & waist as she reached around & slowly buttoned the waistband; the glance had been decidedly warmer than usual; but he'd done no more than accept the caresses.
Tonight they'd met other off duty Corps at a bar, and the number of flirting glances he received certainly surprised him. It was amateur night at Valhalla, and scads of scantily clad women and men tried their hand at dancing like the bar staff; some were hoping to get noticed by Lexis and get a job, others simply were exhibitionists, some did it for fun to say they had, and get the free drink Valhalla promised if they managed to get through an entire song and not get booted off the stage or fall off the poles. The ladies especially liked the men's part, it always brought in good business, and all the ladies in bar would cheer the ones brave enough to get up there and try their hand, then buy enormous amounts of intoxicants afterwards.
Several of the men in the Corps group decided to attract females or were already loose enough to not care what they did as long as it was a good idea at the time; Noel had never been in on a night like this, and it gave him ideas…in fact, a lot of ideas. He was aching inside for Lightning, she'd not come to him as he'd hoped, though there were moments where he felt she was starting to reach out. And now, she was looking at someone else; she had been surrounded by regulars who remembered her and were not shy about putting themselves forward as potential partner; some were not only complimenting her, but reaching out and touching her, elbowing Noel aside like he was still the guardian. He tolerated all this for about an hour, then slowly felt he was being left out, pushed away from her.
Emado, Teren, and Mikel were on the stage already, shaking their backsides, flexing muscles as they swung from the poles, grinning and eating up the attention, along with the other men who'd jumped up and were also spinning and contorting on the poles. One powerfully built specimen with a Corps tattoo on his lower back was practically having sex with the pole and the floor, humping and gyrating to the music; the attention he was given was intense, and it spurred Noel's idea to be morphed into concrete action.
Before anyone noticed, he hopped on the stage himself & gave at test swing from the pole left open in the back on the end; it held his weight, and he started to move; he was able to spin quickly with a snap that got attention, then rocked his hips to the slow throbbing beat while holding the pole over his head for balance; a vocal track overlaid the music, an oddly sexy echo of his own dilemma: …What' s it gonna be, babe? Him or me?... He took a page from Lightning's book of performance and kept his moves a bit slower, deliberate; he felt a warm glow of excitement when he heard the gasps as he sank down in a sensually arching backbend, his shoulder pushed into the pole for balance; he stopped when his torso was level and pushed his hips in the strong undulations of nomad tribal dance for a few seconds before sinking all the way down to the ground. …Don't my body please you right?...By the time he'd got himself back on his feet, quite a crowd of ladies were staring at him & screaming encouragement; he glanced over at Lightning, and she was stock still, her eyes widened and her lips were moving in the silent words he knew so well:"…Oh my basting Etro.." He shook his hair out of his eyes, his face somehow lit with a wicked amusement; she was reminded of the innocent demon who looked up at her so long ago silently begging her to come to him. Now that he had her attention, he slowly pulled his shirt off one-handed to expose the bronzed sculpted torso, then casually whipped it around the pole & spun with a snap again presenting himself as her helpless slave, hands tied to the pole, and sank down again, rocking his hips to the beat, then worked his way back up; …you know I'll plead until the morning light…he finished with a move he'd remembered Lightning doing; he shimmed up a couple of hand over hands, then took the pole in a strong grasp held him off the pole as he spun around in slow motion; his legs were slightly spread, but not split out like a wafter as he arched his back and tilted his face up to the ceiling; it was more meant to show off the muscles of his back and the lean perfection of his build; he then spiraled his way down to the floor with a casual leg hooked around the pole , looking for her face every time he turned and holding his hand out to her, as if he were begging her to just come with him, leading her to him, only him. The music crescendoed with the screaming vocals …Don't my lovin' please you right, all night? So tell me baby, who's it gonna be? It is him or is it me? 'Cause I want YOU! YES I DO! Tell me whatcha want! It's gotta be me!... The sexy demon who went by the name of Noel Kriess now dropped to his knees, and unabashedly moved everything he had in a totally indecent expression of sensual intoxicationuntil the music ended, then laid there, panting on the floor, looking straight at her.
She was completely stunned and seemed to become nothing but all eyes; it hit her, and hit her hard that he was the most incredible man of her acquaintance…no one she'd ever known had ever displayed such a depth of passion with such a clean uncluttered directness; in fact, she couldn't see anyone else in her life that could compare to him as a man, except for Hope, and Hope was her own blood. She felt the invisible tension wire always in the undercurrent of her mind snap up to the conscious & pull roughly at her psyche.
Of course ,a few intoxicated guests were more than willing to offer themselves and he was rather impolitely pawed as he put his shirt back on; he was about to simply exit to the back, where he knew he could make his way through the small maze of hallways backstage and get back to the bar floor, but he heard one girl yelp in pain as hair was grabbed and her hands with their new manicure fell off his ab muscles; he looked up to see Lightning looking disgustedly at the creature who was currently being held by the nose; she sweetly smiled and said: "Corps takes care of its own, girl. Drift." "I was here first, you basting jade!" "Nope. He came with me, and he's leaving with…me. Get it? We're joined, you little skank. "
She protectively put an arm around him, gave him a sidelong glance before pulling him closer, which certainly made a few of the ladies groan in disappointment. "That was some show, Noel. What did I miss in that resume of yours? Ever work as Noel the Nomad in some desert cantina? " She grinned and bumped his hip as they pushed their way back through the crowd to the table , where the waitress was waiting with the free drinks for the boys. Noel wished she'd have just stopped in the crowd for a second; he wanted to tell her he wanted her, but instead sighed as if disappointed, which Lightning caught, and her heart sank a bit, thinking he'd have rather been with someone else. …Maybe if I get him alone and just kiss him, he'll open up?
They clinked glasses, then paid their bar tab, and arm in arm, made their way to the exit. Lightning wickedly let a hand slide down from a hip, briefly resting it on a well-muscled backside & looked back at the waitress & winked as they left, bringing a complicit grin to the merry face that had ogled him shamelessly during the evening. At least someone understood.
When they were clear of the entrance and walking down the alley to the next block over, she boldly pulled him to her, and leisurely took possession of his mouth in a soft but clearly sensual kiss; almost shocked she felt his body tremble with a suppressed emotion before returning the kiss, also leisurely, an almost precise imitation of hers. He simply waited after that, holding her in his arms, not quite letting her go, a delicate shiver of emotion, almost like eagerness setting his body lightly trembling against hers again. However, he made no further move, and now really saddened and disappointed, she slid out of his careful embrace and began to walk on.
Suddenly she stopped and turned around and started to walk back to Valhalla. "Noel…go on and go home. I think I'll stay out a while longer, ok?"
"I'll go back with you. I'm not tired, Light. You want to go someplace with more action? "
"You might say that, yeah. I do. " she stopped and sighed. "Look, Noel, I don't think you should come with me. Just- …just go home."
"Hey, what? Why? What are you going to do alone?" Noel's heart plummeted; he was being written off. He thought he'd won her…but he'd still failed. Baby, who's it gonna be? 'Cause it's not me! "Don't tell me you're going in there to strip again! You're..you're going back there for another man, aren't you! Why? Why, for Etro's sake?"
Lightning sighed herself, and looked at her reluctant partner, her own measured calm tones cracking with pent up frustration: "Look, I just don't think this is going to work for us. I've done everything to let you know I'd like to get closer, but you…it's like you don't want to go past 'go' with me, you know? All I'm getting is signals…hell, what I am talking about? That's just it – I'm not getting any signals that tell me you want to be closer! And then you get up and pull that act of being the hottest man in the bar looking for some tail in the room, like you had a holo sign over your head saying 'girls, I'm available, the line starts here!'"
Noel laughed at that last sentence; he suddenly realized she'd been just as overly polite in her own customs as he had been; now, he decided to just spill it out, no matter how stupid or naïve he might look:
"Light, I did it for you. I wanted you to notice me…want me. Want me enough to get closer. Want me so much you'd rip my clothes off and make love to me all night long. I didn't know what else to do!"
"I…Lightning…you were the first. I never was with a woman before you. " He raised his head and gave her a straight look and shrugged. " Yes. I waited. I was a virgin, for lack of a better word. Shocking? Yep. I see it on your face. What did you expect? I am Nomad. It's part of the culture. You wait for the right moment, the right person, not the moment right-now, or the right-now person. I was waiting for Serah…but then…I gave it to you. It was the right moment; you are the right person."
"The truth is, I don't know how it should go. That night, I just…went on faith. Instinct. Imagination. Imitation. I have no idea if I can give you the same experience, or even please you again. Tonight…I just wanted to make it clear I wanted you…really wanted you. I was hoping you could lead on this one."
Suddenly he was assaulted by a feminine form & his arms were filled with the warm living flesh of a woman who was grabbing his face & lightly, wildly, feverently, adoringly, covering it with kisses; Nearly rapturous at finally bringing down the barriers between them, he laughed as he shook his face clear, looking at her in amazement. She tilted her head, then told him: "I'll tell you the secret of how it goes: There are no rules in love."
Then leaning forward, she ever so delicately whispered in his ear: "Now, take a bite of me, lover…show me your teeth..I dare you."
Then Noel was on her, insanely pulling her into him and lifting her up as he fell back into the brick wall ; no more careful caresses here , but raw scorching passion that lit them both on fire within moments of the contact; somehow her skirt was hiked up around her waist by the time the first kiss was finished and his buckle was dangling open with the leathers sitting far lower on his hips when he came up gasping for air after the second kiss, which could have been considered a mouth rape, had it not been for the fact that one cannot rape the willing; impatient, she tore her own scrap of underwear off as he reached down behind her knees and lifted as she hung onto him; she welcomed the first eager thrust into her, her legs decadently spread wide as he leaned back farther against the wall and let his strong body express exactly how much he wanted, he desired, he loved her, and how little he gave a damn about what anyone thought in this wild moment of ecstasy; a totally irrational moment of romance passed between them as they both felt the thump of the music coming from the wall and shyly smiled at each other when they both started to move in time with the heavy beat and throb of the bass and drums; then suddenly it felt familiar, perfectly natural; he felt his body carry him along the new currents of pleasure, and somehow excited as hell, delighted, and tender all at once, he gave her everything of himself, just another lover caught in the act on a Saturday night, and perhaps, had anyone noticed, just another line of scandalous gossip to be read at the city's leisure in the morning light: Lady E'Claire Farron Kriess and her Sergeant Noel Kriess caught making violent love outside the bar where they met.
And of course Etro laughed at the sight of two of her most beautiful children offering up their love as worship to her in the stunningly passionate , touching, enthusiastic, yet slightly inept display that humanity is wont to.