Chapter LXIII: Simple and Clean
Hello again, fans of Darkness Falls! We're glad to see you again. The delay, again, is Peach's fault, thanks to the demands and stresses of real life, including a procedure that required her being sedated. Today, we bring you a special announcement! After two years of a wonderful partnership, we say good-bye to 15animefreak15. Ani has earned an all-expenses-paid vacation to Axis Powers Hetalia Island! We hope you check out her fics in that fandom, if you're interested. Peach would like to thank Agent of the Divine One for his help in trying to co-author, and would like to introduce all of you to Lobo Argost, the new co-author, who's been a fan of this story since the beginning of the series! Give him a round of applause, folks!
And so we come to the next chapter! Last time, the gang enjoyed various stages of recovery and Jaden and Alexis started having some fun in the woods. Will they be stopped in time? Stay tuned!
Disclaimer: Please see the previous chapters. And if it's owned by any company, a rock star, or any other entity, there's a very high probability we don't own it. Everyone got that? Good!
Warning: Disturbing imagery and intimate situations, including an off-color joke. Also, it is a bit dialogue-heavy in some places.
And then, he felt something land on his head. But just as things might have more out of hand than they were, Jaden felt something land on his head and peck at him. "What the-?" he yelped.
And then, to make matters worse... "I'm gonna get you, you danged bird!" a familiar voice shouted as the sound of underbrush crashing apart came closer to the couple.
The tiny, black and white-feathered woodpecker that had borrowed Jaden's mussed hair for a perch didn't seem fazed by the exclamation as it continued to peck at his skull. However, at the last second, it flew off and a net that had obviously been for it fell instead over the Slifer's head. Instinctively, Alexis screamed and was torn from her haze as she grabbed the nearest object— a small rock— and chucked it at their attacker.
"Gotcha!" Tyson Hassleberry shouted. And then he felt the rock hit and looked toward the direction it had come from. "Sam Hill! Wait... Sarge?"
"Uh... Hi, Tyson," Jaden said, blushing fire red as he realized he and Alexis had been caught in a very compromising position.
Tyson realized it too. "Uh..."
Alexis, realizing it was Tyson, was a similar shade of beet red. "Tyson... what in the name of Cyber Blader are you doing?" she finally exclaimed, for lack of anything better to say.
"Uh... tryin' to capture... that... woodpecker... Sorry!" Tyson quickly removed the net from Jaden, and ran off, his own tan visage crimson.
Jaden was still beet red from the encounter and the subsequent interruption. "Oh, man..."
"That was embarrassing," Alexis groaned, covering her face with a hand. Of all the ways to be walked in on…
"Uh... yeah..." They got up, getting what clothes they'd removed back on. And insanely, Jaden started to giggle. It might've been the stress of the moment, but he'd found something terribly funny about what had just happened.
Alexis blinked in surprise and frowned at Jaden. "What?"
"Woodpecker," he giggled. It was one of the rare times he actually understood a double entendre.
At first, she was still confused, but finally the joke hit her and she rolled her eyes. "Nice, Jaden," she muttered, lightly bopping her fiancé on the head. Of all the times for him to figure something like this out…
"Sorry, Lex," he apologized, grinning sheepishly. "Man... If he hadn't interrupted us..."
She sighed. "Yeah, I know... that was getting pretty close..."
He blushed a little as they started back on their walk. "It's just... it's hard to keep waiting..."
She nodded, taking his hand. "It is... But it won't be too much longer, Jay."
"Yeah..." As they walked together, however, both had to admit to themselves that they might not be able to hold out anymore.
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As Jaden and Alexis enjoyed their walk, Annie sat up in her bed in the infirmary. One hand reached up to brush her bangs out of her face, while the other hand plucked aimlessly at the nubs on the blanket. She drew her lower lip under her front teeth, nibbling gently. Her blue eyes narrowed as she glanced down at the nubs, brows furrowing.
"Something wrong, Annie?" Syrus asked from his seat next to the bed, concern reflected on his face and in his eyes.
She didn't hear him at first. She kept picking at the blanket. It took him saying her name a couple of times more before she responded. "Huh? Oh, what, honey?"
"Is something wrong?" he asked again, putting a hand on hers, his face still wrought with concern.
"No, I'm fine," she answered with a smile. But there was something in her expression that belied it.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his cyan eyebrows rising past his bangs.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, a slight edge in her voice.
"I'm just worried about you. You're tense," he said, squeezing her hand a bit.
Annie's eyes flashed like a bolt of lightning. "I'm all right, okay?" she snapped abruptly. "You can stop worrying!"
He flinched; she'd never once snapped at him. "Annie, you've never snapped at me."
Normally, she would've been stricken at doing such a thing, but right now, Anne Charlotte Hanson was a creature of rage. "Look, just back off, okay? And just go for a bit!"
"Annie! This isn't like you!" he countered, shocked at her unusual behavior.
"JUST BACK OFF!" she shouted. For some reason, she hated looking at him.
"NO! THIS ISN'T LIKE YOU! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!" he shouted back, feeling like a dagger had pierced his heart and someone was twisting it.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she shrieked.
"NO! WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER! YOUR PROBLEMS ARE MINE AS WELL! JUST LIKE MY PROBLEMS ARE YOURS!" he yelled, standing so suddenly that his chair fell over.
"GET OUT!" she yelled back, grabbing up a book and throwing it at him. It was a thick paperback and would have hurt had it struck. As it was, it whistled past him, missing his head by about four inches. But instead of running from the room, he moved to the side of the bed calmly.
"Annie, let me help you. Tell me what's wrong," he murmured, pulling her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her arms and torso.
He had been wise to pinion her arms or he would've gotten slapped. "Let me go!" she cried again.
"Just tell me what's wrong," he requested again, tightening his hold a bit. "I want to help you."
His arms, once barely strong enough to hold her, now could keep her from hurting him. "Just..." Tears spilled down her soft face, and sobs began to wrack her body.
Fonda, hearing the commotion, raced down from her office alcove. "Syrus? What in the world is going on?" she queried.
"I think getting possessed is still affecting her," he said in the same soft voice, not letting his love go.
Fonda sat down on the bed with them, eyebrows drawing together. "What happened?" Syrus told her what had occurred. "Annie... why did you throw something at him?"
"I... I don't know..." Another tear ran down her left cheek across the scar left by Mary.
"Annie, please tell us what's wrong," Syrus begged his betrothed. She couldn't say a word, keening and wailing alternately. The only thing he could do was hold her, rubbing her back, making soothing noises. She finally lapsed into silence, crying silently against his shoulder.
Fonda murmured, "Just keep holding her... She'll talk when she's able to."
Annie cried silently for fifteen minutes. When she finished, she looked at her beloved with watery red-rimmed eyes. "Honey, I'm so sorry... I was so mean..."
"It's okay," he said softly. "I'm sorry too."
"Sy... I tried to hit you," she whimpered. An intense feeling of loathing welled up within her. How could I do that to him? That's spousal abuse! her mind screamed at her.
Somehow, he guessed what she was thinking, "Technically we're not spouses yet."
"But... it's still domestic violence... How could I do that to you?" Her heart ached with hurt and disgust at herself. "It was right she possessed me... She picked me because she sensed I was capable of this…"
"No, Annie. Alien Mother is gone. You just happened to pick up the card. She didn't choose you."
"It's my fault..." Her voice, so angry at one point, was dull again.
"No, it's not," he asserted. "How were we to know that Alien Mother would possess you?"
"Sh-she took control... I couldn't stop her..."
"You tried, didn't you?"
"I did... but I couldn't..."
"Annie," Fonda broke in, "this wasn't your fault, sweetheart... We're going to remind you of that until you believe it..."
When Annie was calm enough, Fonda suggested that Syrus take his fiancée back to their room. They left quickly and when in the room, the girl took a shower and then put on her nightgown. "I just want to rest for a while," Annie explained as she stood in the sitting room.
"Okay," he said, smiling at her before giving her a gentle kiss. "Call if you need me." He sat back down on the leather couch and read a book he'd started last week. After a while, Syrus put his book down and went to check on Annie. Quietly entering the bedroom, he approached the bedside. She lay on her right side, curled up, and apparently didn't sense his presence. He gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake or talk in her sleep. He smiled and softly kissed her forehead before returning to the sitting room.
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Meanwhile, Jaden and Alexis continued their walk around the island. "This is much nicer than a run at six AM," he said, smiling in relief.
"That sounds like something Chumley would say," she answered with a slight chuckle.
The young man grinned back. "Yeah... Well you haven't been on Tyson's training runs..."
"As much energy as you have, if you don't look forward to them, then I certainly don't," she said cheerfully, stretching. "It's such a nice day. And it's really warm."
"Yeah... Hey, Lex?"
"Yeah, Jay?"
"You know... we never really had a rematch," he stated casually.
She thought for a moment. "No, we didn't. You want one?"
"If you're game," he answered, grinning at her.
She grinned back at him in challenge. "Let's duel."
He nodded, pulling out his deck. Yubel, you ready for this? He sensed his spirit guardian and friend beside him.
Yes, let's go, Yubel responded, eager for just a fun duel.
Alexis drew her deck, sensing the familiar presence of Cyber Angel Benten beside her. 'Mistress, are you ready?" the warrior angel asked the former Obelisk Queen.
"Yup. Let's do it," the former Queen of Obelisk Blue answered as she readied her duel disk.
The two combatants with their respective duel spirit allies quickly shuffled their decks and drew. "Okay, so who goes first?" Jaden asked.
Alexis smirked, "It's polite to let a lady go first."
"Yeah, I know. But you are a liberated woman, you know..."
"I'll still go first," Alexis said, drawing and looking at her hand. "I summon Cyber Tutu (1000/800) in attack mode," she said as the tutu wearing skater appeared. "I'll place one card face-down, and end my turn."
Jaden thought quickly. Hmmm... Cyber Tutu with a facedown... And Cyber Tutu has a special ability for me to worry about. So what to do... Got it! "Okay, Lex, I start with Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode and I play the spell card, 'Burst Impact,' which... Well, you remember what it does, right?"
"Yeah, it destroys all other monsters, and we both get hit for 300 points of damage for each of our own monsters," Alexis said as Tutu was destroyed and her life points fell to 3700.
"And since Burstinatrix is the only monster on my side, I don't take any damage. Sorry, Lex," he mock-apologized.
"It's only 300 points, Jay," Alexis stated, glad to be able to duel without her or someone else's life being on the line.
"Well, still... Anyway, I lay one card facedown and that'll do it for me! Your turn," he said, feeling the warmth radiate through him. No dueling for high stakes... No duel spirits angry at me... Sorry, Yubel, he sent to his spirit friend, worried she'd be offended.
It's okay, Jaden, Yubel sent back, chuckling, knowing her friend's feelings for her didn't include a grudge.
"I draw. And I activate Machine Angel Ritual! Now I sacrifice Cyber Angel Idaten to ritual summon Cyber Angel Benten (1800/1500) in attack mode," Alexis called out as the fan wielding warrior appeared, striking a pose.
"Nice card," he stated calmly. He was ready for this.
"Cyber Angel Benten, take out his Burstinatrix!" the young woman commanded, Benten moving in for the kill.
Jaden might've looked worried. However, he didn't. In fact, he smirked. "Walked right into it, Lex! You triggered my trap, A Hero Emerges! Pick a card, any card!" he offered, holding up the three cards in his hand.
Alexis thought for a moment, making her selection. "The middle card."
The grin remained on the young man's face and broadened. "Come on out, Neos (2500/2100)!"
The huge leader of the Neo-Spacian monsters emerged on Jaden's side of the field. Before he could add his commentary about Neos' job in the Dominion of the Beasts, the hero held up one admonishing finger. "Not. One. Word, Jaden. I am not going to put up with this for the rest of our lives." In fact, if one looked closely, one might see an anger mark on Neos' head. The young man distinctly heard snickers from his deck, his fiancée's deck and... his fiancée?
Alexis fortunately managed to stop it after a moment. "I'm sorry, Jay, but it's just so funny."
"I wasn't going to say it!" he complained.
"Anyway, Benten can continue her attack," Alexis stated as Benten destroyed Burstinitrix. There was an explosion of pixels and Jaden's life points dropped to 3400. "Your turn," his opponent added with a deceptively sweet smile.
'She's got a trap... I have to do something here,' he thought. "I draw," he stated. 'YES!' "I play the spell card, Pot of Greed so I can draw two more cards!" A rather ugly-looking stein appeared on the field and exploded while the young man made his selection.
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The couple dueled for another four turns and then Jaden grinned sheepishly as his life points dropped to zero. "That's game... You got me..."
"Yeah, I did," she said, walking over as if to shake his hand, but going for a hug instead.
He tried swinging her into his arms, but it didn't work. "Uh... maybe you should lift me?" he suggested, sweat-dropping.
"We don't need to do that," she said, pressing her lips to his, lifting him in her rather strong arms.
He blushed a little bit, but grinned as well. "I'm glad you're stronger than me."
"You'll have to get stronger though. I'd like you to be able to lift me," she said, setting him down.
"Yeah... Well, remember when we were weightlifting in the Obelisk gym and you had to get that barbell off me?"
"That was funny," she snickered at the memory. He had tried to lift something way too heavy in the gym around Thanksgiving.
"Maybe it's good that way. I like you being stronger than me... And you do keep me from doing stupid stuff," he reminded her as they fixed their duel disks.
"Yeah, I do," she said confidently. "What would you do without me?"
"Probably go off on a journey somewhere, not knowing where I'm going," he joked. "So... what do we do tonight?"
"Anything you want to do?" she asked as they resumed their stroll.
They were walking above the beach where they could see Atticus out on the waves with Chazz, Aster, Jesse, Jim, Adrian, Echo and Sid. "I'm not sure what I want to do... Maybe we could just chill tonight," he answered.
"That sounds good," she said, looking out at the waves and guys. Atticus was, of course, out-surfing everyone. Even Aster Phoenix found himself outmatched by her older brother. In fact, there was a splash and the silver-blonde duelist came up. "Want to change into swimsuits and join them?"
Jaden's mind shifted to the image of her in her favorite two-piece pink swimsuit and the feeling of earlier came back. "That... probably... is a good idea," he answered, a bead of sweat dripping from his brow.
The bead of sweat didn't miss her gaze. "Let's go."
They quickly headed back to their room in Slifer and started to change. As he pulled off his clothes and moved to his swimsuit, though, he turned back to see her. The sunlight filtered through the blinds, accentuating her every curve and making her blonde hair glow. The vision she presented made his throat tight.
"Stop it! You're making me blush," she said, her face turning a shade of crimson as she caught his gaze. Oddly, the look he was giving her was… intoxicating.
"S-sorry, Lex... It's just... You're... wow... right now," he stammered, his whole being sending him signals. Apparently, her body and mind were doing the same thing and she walked toward him. She took charge as they kissed slowly, hungrily yet tenderly. Though it had the fire of their time in the woods, this session had another inexplicable quality. Whatever it was, it was irresistible. They fell backward onto the bed they had shared for over half a year without succumbing to temptation. He was beneath her as they fell.
She was firmly taking charge of him and he was content to allow her. She had never been one to be passive in their make-out sessions, and now... His mind flashed to what they were doing, or about to do. He managed to meet her eyes, even in the romantic warmth. Are you sure? he asked with his eyes.
She met his eyes, resolve, certainty, and all the love she felt for him reflected in them. Yes. And so they continued on... When it was over, she lay next to him, warm and glistening with light sweat.
"Lex," he murmured, lips against her forehead. "That was... Wow... We actually... You're not upset we didn't wait... Are you?"
She lifted her head to look at him. "No, the truth is, I don't think I could fight it anymore."
"Yeah, me too... Did... Did I hurt you?" he asked, concerned. He knew it hadn't lasted enough, but hopefully that would come with time and patience.
"It hurt a little at first, but then it was okay," she reassured him.
"I didn't make you feel good, though... Not enough..." He felt her arms around him tighten a little at that. "I know I didn't..."
"Jaden, we knew it wouldn't be perfect the first time. But I was with you," she reminded him, hoping to dispel his doubts.
"Next time, I'll try to make it better... Should... Should we get a shower?" he asked, noting his own sweaty body.
"Yeah, then we can go to the beach. Think the others are still there?" she wondered.
He glanced over at their digital clock. "It's only been... 25 minutes... Yeah, probably..."
"Let's shower, then," she said, getting up to head to the bathroom.
They got their robes on and headed to the Slifer showers since there were no other boys in the dorm. "We could save water and take a shower at the same time," he suggested, just thinking of conserving water.
"We've already been intimate; I don't think showering together will have much effect anymore," she joked, wondering if he was already feeling feisty again.
He flushed. "Uh... not that... We could save time and water and get a shower together."
"I know," she answered, eyes gleaming. 'He's cute when he's embarrassed,' she thought to herself.
They showered without succumbing to temptation again, and quickly ran down to the beach. "Hey," the former Slifer greeted his brothers-in-law and the rest of the group.
"Hey, Slacker," Chazz called back.
"Hey, mates," Jim said, tipping his hat while Shirley growled her greeting.
"So are we surfing?" Jaden asked after the greetings were through.
"You bet! The waves are perfect!" Atticus said, grinning.
The gang ran out on the water together, but Chazz could tell something had changed between his friend and his sister. After the surfing was over, the group of boys and the single girl headed back to their dorms, the couple walking hand in hand. "Bro?" Chazz asked his brother quietly as they walked alone.
"What is it, Chazz?" Atticus asked, just as quietly.
"They're acting different..."
"Who, Jay and Lex?"
"Yeah," the youngest Rhodes answered.
"What do you think is up?" the elder brother asked.
"I don't know... They just... They're acting different..."
"I hope they're not fighting."
"It's not that," the younger boy stated, brows knitting together. "It's something... good, I think..."
Atticus thought for a moment, then blushed. Chazz looked up and might've asked what had happened, but something told him not to ask. Both continued their walk up to the dorms, lost in thought. Chazz ran his hand through his hair, cheeks crimson with what he figured had happened. The elder Rhodes brother, for his part, wondered what might happen next. What'll happen when they have kids? his mind screamed at him. Whatever happened next, though, he knew he would protect his family, present and future.
Jaden and Alexis have been intimate, the first couple to succumb to the temptation. What will the future bring for them? What about the rest of the gang? Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please read and review!