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Alternate (Ira's) Title: Haunted

'Bad Girlfriend' is performed by Theory of a Deadman while 'Haunted' is performed by Disturbed

Gar gave a sigh as he flopped onto the couch, circling Blackfire's shoulders with one arm and letting his head fall back while he reported, "Well, I called in a few favors and Alexei is going to be treated by Dr. Mid-Nite."

"He's an actual doctor? Like a medical doctor?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. Kind of throws you for a twist, doesn't it?"

"So what about Alya? Is she all right?" he pressed and Gar nodded in response.

"Yeah, yeah. She's fine. Unfortunately for you, lover boy, she refuses to leave her brother's side. I'm not sure how long that's going to take," he explained.

"I figured," he grumbled and then twisted about in the couch, grinding into the cushions. Gar glanced towards him, arching a brow at the younger boy.

"What's up with you?"

"It's, uh i-it's nothing," he claimed, convincing Gar of nothing who regarded him oddly and sniffed the air before nodding in understanding.

"Oooh, so that's what she wanted the powder for."

Eddie's head snapped to Gar and he demanded, "Who? What powder?"

He gave an uneasy laugh, "Well, Rose came by a few days ago, trying to steal some itching powder and I caught her while I was . . . grabbing a few things. She actually tried using some manners then, and I was so stunned that I let her take it."

"Wait . . . she . . . she dumped that stuff in my underwear drawer!" he snarled, leaping to his feet as the flicker of flames curled from his mouth. "That, that . . . arrghhh!"

Bounding over the couch, he stormed from the room, intent upon vengeance while he now scratched at the irritation without any subterfuge. Gar watched him leave with a chuckle, "It's good to see the kids getting along so well. Now, my midnight glory, what's got your absolutely delectable little panties in a twist? Oooh, I need to get you some edible panties! Back on course, don't deny it; I can see that there's something bothering you."

The woman suddenly turned over, straddling his hips and grabbing his collar to pull him into a deep kiss, surprising him, but he didn't waste any time adapting to the situation. His one arm circled about the small of her back while the other toyed with her obsidian locks. Her assault upon his lips was fervent as she sucked and bit at them while her hands slipped under his shirt to press against his skin and brand him with her prints. She departed from his lips to place hungry kisses along his chin, trailing down his neck and pausing to feel the pulse of his jugular. Placing her teeth there for a second, she scraped along the vein and then gave a quick lick before trailing down further but the heady effect of her kisses was starting to wear off and Gar shifted his hand through her hair to catch her head and cease any further progress. With a reluctant groan, he leaned his head back against the coach and began to trace up and down her spine, gently with his claws, drawing a shiver from her. Suddenly, she seemed very small as she lay atop him, her fingers curled against his firm chest and lacking their scalding heat as she pressed the side of her face just beneath his collarbone. For a moment, they laid there in silence with Gar cradling her and stroking as her lids grew heavy and she almost seemed to turn her gaze inward.

With a soft sigh, the shape shifter broke the silence to ask again, "What is it that's bothering you, midnight sun?"

"Just . . . old ghosts," she murmured. Her fingers began to move, flexing open to draw small circles on his chest, but it was strangely innocent, lacking the typical lasciviousness of such actions. After a moment, she continued, "You may find this hard to believe, but there was a time when my sister and I were close. Practically inseparable. Then, the Citadel came and . . . well, you know the story."

"Would it help you out if you told it?"

"No. That is unnecessary," she dismissed the idea but her face softened again as she explained, "Seeing those two, seeing how they cared for each other . . . it awakened memories that I had thought buried."

He pressed his face against her hair, taking in the scent of her shampoo as he considered her words before positing, "So why don't you reach out to Star?"

She scoffed, "To use one of your quaint Earth colloquialisms, that bridge has been burnt. Cinders floating in the river."

Again, he fell silent and considered her words before cocking his head and pondering, "Yeah, but . . . isn't that the whole great thing about flight? Plus it makes the whole reaching for the stars so much easier."

Rolling her head to stare up at him, she gave a small chuckle, "You are a curious man, Garfield Logan. You say some bizarrely intelligent things for the sort that plays the fool."

"Part of my charm," he grinned down at her. She returned the smile before pushing herself up to renew her assault upon his lips, which he responded to eagerly, his fingers seizing upon her once again. Her body heat soared, searing to the touch, but Gar was practically hungry for it, searching for more of the heated flesh without hesitation. In this round, he took charge, sending his tongue flickering across her lips until they permitted him access. Their tongues tangled and his hands skimmed down to cup her taut end, pressing her even closer to him as he massaged her round bottom. Although she moaned appreciatively at his ministrations, she began to pull her lips away from his but he refused to release her, catching her plump bottom lip only for it to slip from his teeth as she rolled her head back to shake out her hair and groaned.

"Oh, I can't do this."

"What?" he smirked, "Kiss me?"

"Quite the dangerous preoccupation. It makes the world fade. Your pillow must have been a very good practice partner," she mused as she looped her arms about his neck and stared into his eyes as he pouted at her.

"Ow. Low blow."

She chuckled again, somewhat sadly, "You're too much. Too kind to me."

"Hardly," he argued as he returned her gaze, his smile soft though tinged with sadness as he asked, "Do you want to stop this?"

"Hmm," she hummed, placing her head against his chest once again. "No. No, I don't want to be rid of you just yet. The amusement and pleasure you provide is well worth putting up with the drivel for."

"Beautiful, you are the mistress of backhanded compliments."

Nodding, she let her eyes close shut and listened to the rhythmic pounding of his heart, letting it lull her towards sleep, but she managed, "Gar, I'm starting to think that I might really . . . like you."

"Black-"

He was interrupted by a slender finger pressing to his lips and she snuggled deeper into his body, curling up as she grumbled, "Enough. Sleep now. Mad, passionate sex upon waking."

"No arguments here," he agreed as she drifted into the sea of unconsciousness. She was calm, strangely peaceful in her slumber and he found that it brought him a strange pleasure, watching her sleep. He combed his fingers through her hair and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead and then settled back on the couch with a sigh. Simply sitting there for a moment, he let his head roll to the side and regarded the game controller on the couch. Regarding it silently, his eyes flickered to the projector to which his game console was still wired and then back to the controller. Pinned by his paramour, he reached for the controller, making soft grunting sounds as he tried to grab it without waking her. His attempt only resulted in her turning slightly, pinning his arm down and ensuring that he couldn't shift it to make a grab for the device. Taking in a deep breath, he made another grab for it but his attempt fell more than a foot short and he let his arm drop with a huff.

"Crud."

Upon the roof, Rose gave the final puffs of her cigarette, one arm wrapped around her knees as she studied the repetitive to and fro of the waves. She watched as they crashed into the shore and then rolled under the next one, tumbling back into the sea and beginning the process anew. Her introspection was interrupted by the door slamming open and she looked over to see Eddie emerging from the doorway, his shorts traded for a pair of baggy swim trunks. A grin flitted across her face and she took another drag from her cigarette.

"I guess the jig is up, huh? Let me guess – green genes ratted me out."

"Itching powder?! Seriously?" he yelled as he advanced upon her. "You dumped a bottle of itching powder into my boxer drawer."

She looked affronted as she gave a pretty pout, "Who, lil' old me? That's just silly."

His tail whipped about wildly as he seethed, "I've ruined three shorts because of you. And in case you didn't know, it isn't exactly cheap to get shorts with a built-in hole for my tail!"

"Well, then maybe you should keep better track of it. Maybe – I don't know – don't let it go slipping up girl's shirts and such? That might stave off any future . . . incidents," she mused, pantomiming possession of the high moral ground as Eddie's yellowed eyes narrowed.

"Itching powder!" he roared again. "In my boxers!"

His exclamation crumbled her façade and she burst out into raucous laughter, dropping her cigarette as she was overtaken by mirth. She clutched at her sides and let herself fall onto her back, looking up through the joyful tears that were starting to form in her eye at the sour faced teenager. As she began to run short of breath, her laughter dwindled away and she gave a few more chuckles at him before giving a contented sigh.

"All right. You and I are square. Unless you want to do something stupid again," she decided.

"I told you," he huffed as he sat beside her prone form. "I couldn't help it."

"Oh, I believe that," she acknowledged as she stretched, arching her back and attracting the intense scrutiny of Eddie's stare. Rolling up, she wrapped her arms around her knees and met his guilty gaze, "But you liked it way too much. I just couldn't let that go. Speaking of which, I should probably warn Gar to check the room before he and his lady friend – a term that I use generously in her case – start doing anything naughty. They might have an audience."

His gaze hardened again and he snapped, "I would never-"

Arching an eyebrow, she gave a half smirk that made his words falter, and he opened and closed his mouth several times before turning his head away and grumbling, "Not my fault they aren't private about it. Besides, I was in the kitchen first. Then they came tumbling in and took the chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and cherries before I could even add them to the sundae."

"Yum," Rose purred, turning back to her contemplation of the waves. Her companion fell silent, following her stare as he set his chin on his forearms, his elbows resting atop his knees. The agitated motion of his tail had calmed and only the barbed tip ticked from side to side as though measuring the passing seconds. Golden sunlight set the waters ablaze with colors, like a sea of jeweled flames that lapped at the ivory shore. Clouds drifted lazily through the cerulean sky, casting occasional shadows, but largely content to let the sun put on its spectacle. It was idyllic, peaceful, and free of any criminal activities that demanded their attention as it had been for the past several weeks. Dealing with the siblings had been the greatest excitement and drama they'd been thrown into, and Rose pondered this as she subtly considered the pensive boy at her side. With an internal groan, she forced herself to ask, "Hey, you doing all right?"

"That question's been going around a lot these last few days. What's up with that?"

"Well, your girlfriend did just ditch you so that she could look after her bro," she shrugged to which he scoffed.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Whatever. I saw the way she was checking you out."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

She gave a snort of disbelief, "You're kidding me. There's no way you couldn't have noticed. You're just looking for me to stroke your ego."

"Noticed what?"

Eyeing him for a second, she began to giggle, "Oh, no way. If you didn't see it, there's no way I'm letting the cat out of that bag."

"Rose!" he pleaded with mounting desperation.

"Nuh-uh. These luscious lips are sealed. Sorry, Eddie," she smirked, anything but.

"Then I'll wrestle it out of you," he threatened, shifting towards her.

"Yeah, cause that's worked out so well for you in the past," she teased.

"I'm properly motivated this time."

Even as he sprang at her, she was skipping out of his reach, twirling away and dancing towards the edge of the base as she laughed, "I think you need to catch me before that happens."

She hopped onto the smooth, slanted portion of the base's structure, racing down it as Eddie scrambled to his feet. Charging the edge, he gave only the slightest hesitation before leaping into the air, spreading his jacket to catch the wind and glide down to the beach that Rose was streaking across. He alighted several feet before, keeping his arms out to capture her, but she didn't break stride as she approached him. Then she was sliding under his broad stance and back on her feet before he could turn. As he whirled about, he was met by a piece of dark cloth that wrapped about his head and blinded him, tangling in his horns as he struggled to remove it. Finally managing to remove the blind, he snarled at the strange purple cloth and then lifted his head to his fleeing quarry, abruptly realizing what Rose had thrown at him.

His eyes locked onto her evenly tanned back, interrupted only by the horizontal black strap of her bra and the occasional old scar. The sight dazzled him and he gave a loud gulp before shaking his head clear of the temptations and charging after her once again. Lowering his gaze to avoid further distractions a level view provided, he focused upon her feet and grinned victoriously when he saw her gait slowing. Then her snug jeans dropped to around her ankles and she hopped out of them before swooping down to pluck them from the ground. He didn't have any time to falter before she launched the denim article as a makeshift bola, binding his legs together and bringing him crashing to the ground. Blinking his eyes open, he caught a glimpse of a sight that made lying on his stomach very uncomfortable, the rounded bottom caressed by black silk as she cut into the rolling waves that eagerly swallowed her.

Swinging his legs about and sitting up, he struggled with the entrapment about his legs and then tore off his jacket and shirt before racing into the sea after Rose. Their entrance had stirred up the sand and mud, turning the water dark and he charged in until it was up to his waist, scouring for her when there was a sudden cascade of an errant wave against his back. As deceptively powerful arms clamped about his neck and legs clamped about his own, he had the brief thought that the role of hunter and prey had been reversed just before she jerked back and dragged him under the dark waters. He twisted, attempting to break from her hold, but she clenched her fingers even tighter, doggedly refusing to let go. They sank to the thick sea floor, and his fingers sank into the mud before he shoved against it, launching himself out of the water and into the air. His passenger gave a shriek and a laugh, losing the grip secured by her legs but keeping her arms about his neck though she ended up turning so that they were face to face now.

Splashing back into the waves, Eddie established his stance before Rose could and swept her feet out from under her so that she couldn't capture him again. She laughed, "I'm sorry, are you trying to wrestle me into admitting something or sweep me off my feet?"

"Both'll get me the answer, won't they?"

"Look who's getting all cheeky. I'm going to have to teach you the errors of arrogance now," she scolded and released her hold, slipping from his grasp back into the water. He grabbed after her as she darted away, gliding through the water and his fingers like she belonged there. There was a sharp tug on his ankles and he fell once again into the waters where Rose darted about him, her fingers dancing across his abs and the ghosting touch of her bared skin to his own. Unable to see, he grabbed for her but merely brushed against wet silk that sent her skittering away from him. Erupting from the water, he glanced about for her and began a cautious retreat towards the shore where it grew shallow to remove her distinct advantage. He caught a glimpse of the arm that crept towards his leg and his own arm lunged forward like a snake to seize her wrist and drag her from the water.

Before she could escape again, his other arm was around her waist and the powerful muscles in his legs coiled before launching him into the air and back onto the beach, his prize ensnared. Landing upon his feet, he then rolled onto the ground, pinning the one-eyed girl beneath him. She laughed and brought up her arm in an attempt to retaliate, but he caught that with the hand he had already used to secure her other and pressed it back down into the sand. He leaned close and demanded, "All right, now tell me. Alya liked me or something, didn't she?"

"I'm sorry, but do you think you've won?" she laughed.

"I've got you pinned," he pointed out.

She nodded and said, "Mmm. That's true. Okay, then . . ."

Her slender fingers wrapped about his wrist and she suddenly buck her hips up as she pulled on his arm, launching him over her head and onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. Keeping a hold on him, she flipped through the air to land upon his stomach, forcing out the breath he had just taken. She positioned herself atop his chest, pushing her knees into his armpits to limit the motions of his arms and grinning victoriously.

"There. Problem solved."

The comment went without retort as he took to admiring her assets that black silk, now sodden, clung to with enticing detail as though they had been painted on. He tried to think pure thoughts as he felt the warming flesh of her thighs press against him, completely unaware of the study he was receiving. Rose admitted internally, and occasionally externally, that one of her favorite part of being a super hero – or villain – was the fact that people involved in it kept themselves in marvelous states of physical fitness. She managed to resist the urged to stroke the muscle of his chest, the inviting ruby flesh that glistened with sea water and was speckled with sand. Her tongue flickered across her lips and she continued her admiration of his supple form, the frame that had been built and strengthened up the regular training he was put through. Biting her bottom lip, she slid her hips down his belly and lowered her head, creating a curtain of hair about them as he stared up into her eye, his mouth slightly agape.

"You want a secret, Eddie?" she whispered, the heat of her breath nothing compared to the rising temperature of the body beneath her. Her tongue flickered over her lips again and she leaned further in to murmur, "Then I'll give you a secret."

Ira was saying we didn't get enough reviews and we shouldn't put anything out until we got more (bit of an ass). While we were all arguing, another of our pals (Lux) went and and pretty much authored this chapter entirely. Hope you all enjoyed. There's going to be two-three more chapters, as well as a return to business as usual, and then the story arc begins. We're excited.

I Be Sporks: You're not the only one to call them 'A-squared.' And we're going to assume that what you were accusing dear Alya of was addressed, albeit sparingly, in this chapter.

Please, review! We don't care too much about what you have to say. Just as long as it's something. And thanks to those who have reviewed. Keep it up!