Author's notes: So here we are… the end of season two. I am still considering whether or not to continue this series. Please follow/fav me to keep up with updates/new posts. And if you want season three, drop me a comment, won't you?
11. Lost & Found
"There are so many ways to be brave in this world. Sometimes bravery involves laying down your life for something bigger than yourself, or for someone else. Sometimes it involves giving up everything you have ever known, or everyone you have ever loved, for the sake of something greater." | Veronica Roth
She was gasping for air, tearing at the sheets and writhing on the bed for the umpteenth time that night. Not that she was complaining. Or maybe she was.
"How many times are you going to make love to me to avoid talking about it."
A sideways glance. A sigh. "Because this?" She motioned at their bodies, the bed, the sheets, and the four posts that stand by and watch it all. "This is where I want to be. I don't want to feel things I have no right in feeling."
"I'm no shrink but I have studied under Oprah and she would say that you have a right to those feelings."
"You're incorrigible." Lauren pulled the sheet up to her neck and sighed. "You left me, Bo. I held her until she was cold and then I had to call Lachlan and tell him about the Garuda." She held her hand up to her ear like a telephone. "Oh, by the way, could you send someone to remove Nadia's body from my loft. Yes, that's right, Bo stabbed her."
Bo grimaced and leaned up on an elbow. "Lauren, I am sorry. I couldn't cope with what I had done and I should have stayed."
Lauren nodded. "I know it wasn't fair to ask you to do that."
"You didn't. I mean, you did, but that's not why I did it." Bo sighed at the ceiling. "I was protecting you."
Lauren looked at her hands, fidgeting in their stillness. "Tell that to my guilt."
Bo turned her head and looked at Lauren. "I kinda just did." She smiled warmly and a heavy silence blanketed them. There was still so much to say and to tease apart but they had reached the saturation point.
"So how about that Garuda?" Lauren asked enthusiastically.
Bo laughed. "Nice one."
"Well, it's a valid question," she said seriously.
Bo sighed. "Lachlan says I'm the Champion, and I want to believe him…"
"What does Trick say?"
"He's with the Wolf Spirit. For the most part."
"Dyson?" Lauren asked, already knowing the answer.
Bo nodded. "I guess the Wolf Spirit doesn't say much so when she talks, it's kind of a big deal."
"I've never dealt with the Wolf Spirit, but I'd never bet against you." A soft smile touched the corners of her mouth and she covered Bo's forearm with her hand.
"Something awful is going to happen, Lauren, I can feel it in my bones. The Nain Rouge gave me in a vision and…" She shook her head. "It can't come true."
"The Nain Rouge? Bo, do you know what that means?"
"Yeah, another pain in my ass." Bo scooted closer to Lauren. "Anyways, I don't want to think about that anymore."
Lauren hummed as Bo kissed her neck. "Now who's avoiding?"
"Would you rather play checkers?" Her words whispered across her skin.
Lauren arched. "When you put it like that…"
Rolling on top of her, Bo luxuriated in the feel of their skin pressed together. She stilled, a look of concern spreading across her face. "You missed curfew."
Lauren's expression fell and she shook her head. "Lachlan's got more important things to worry about."
"You're sure?"
Lauren placed a palm against her cheek. "I'm where I'm supposed to be."
Bo kissed her with a conviction she had never felt compelled to express before. It was a scorching manifestation of lust and a love that still haunted her despite not being able to confess it. It was there every minute of every day, smoldering, just waiting to catch fire when she could be near Lauren again. And now that they were there in her bed, Bo's fire threatened to engulf them both.
Holding Lauren was like holding a rare Faberge egg. Fragile and beautiful, and full of mystery. And she was careful-so careful-when they were together. She didn't feed, though the instinct was always there, she couldn't bear the thought. Still, her eyes flickered electric blue as their bodies began to move against one another and she squashed every last bit of her instinct. Instead of chi sucking, there were everlasting kisses. Instead of the drain, she coveted her body, and made Lauren the focus.
She moved like silk flowing over sand, ever-changing. Hugging her contours, expertly stroking her with her hands, and kissing every inch of Lauren kept Bo focused. It was the longest they had ever stayed together, save the one time she spent the night at Lauren's. But this was…a marathon by every definition of the word.
Lauren came to her hours ago. They climbed the stairs together, and found comfort in the other's breathing as they lay together on Bo's bed. Now it was almost dawn and by all rights they both should have been spent but their revival was far from over.
It started with a kiss and the flame begin anew. A candle always burned for Bo, but tonight the whole house was on fire and it threatened to burn to the ground. Her aura was white hot and they rolled around beneath the sheets-an expression of joy and persevering love even if it still remained hidden. They made love again and again and each time it was a celebration tinged with fear that it would never happen again.
Bo would be charging into battle soon and the end of the Fae was on the line. Nothing would be the same soon, she was sure of it.
When morning dawned upon the clubhouse and the pinks and purples of dawn spread across the walls, they finally slept. But sleep was short-lived as they both had responsibilities. Bo slipped away first, slipping into a kimono after her shower and wandering back into her bedroom to get dressed. She couldn't decide what to wear because her gaze kept falling on Lauren, asleep in her bed. Lauren always slept with her pillow in a ferocious grapple and today was no different. She was holding on for dear life and a wave of sadness washed over Bo as she turned away, taking her clothes into the other room. On any other day she would find Lauren's pillow grip precious but today, knowing what she knew, it was heartbreaking.
They were in this together. It's wasn't just some platitude, she had meant it. Lauren wasn't alone in this-not anymore. When she had dressed and her makeup and hair were just so, she walked into her bedroom once again. Lauren had moved sides of the bed and she was now squeezing Bo's pillow. She sat on the side of the bed and lifted a tendril of Lauren's hair from her face. Slowly, she came back to consciousness.
She inhaled and buried her face in the pillow momentarily. She smiled. "Hey."
"Hey." Bo smiled back and reached out to caress her bare shoulder. "I have to go, but stay as long as you want."
"What time is it?"
"Almost eleven. Kenzi and I are heading to the Dal to meet up with everybody. Big Garuda hunt."
"I should get back." She started to sit up.
Bo sat on the edge of the bed. "You need to go, Lauren. Rent a car and get as far away from here as you can. The Garuda is coming and I have no idea how this is going to turn out."
She shook her head. "I can't."
"The Fae have done nothing for you. You deserve to be free."
She rushed back to the compound, gathering her courage as the cab sped toward her destination. She was leaving. She showered, changed and packed a bag. She could no longer be a slave. It was time to leave. There was only one person she'd dare to find her and that was Bo. What possessed Lauren to answer her texts when Lachlan messaged her was sheer curiosity. She went to the throne room prepared for anything but milking a thousand-year-old Naga's venom still fell into the exceptional circumstances portion of her job.
She was going to run and leave all it behind but now she had the Naga venom and the weight of the world fell squarely on her shoulders, too. There was work to be done and Lauren could never leave the lab with things left unfinished. She would do this for the Fae, for Bo and Trick and the others. She would do this for herself because character is defined by situations just like the one she found herself in.
What followed was a hellish thirty-six hours. Lachlan was dead. Lauren barely slept save for nodding off at her microscope or computer keyboard. She worked tirelessly trying to save Lachlan's venom but she was losing more and more of the sample as time wore on.
"Breathless."
"Completely."
Looking back, having an epiphany when Bo Dennis was about to kiss her was more frustrating than much of her adult life but it had led her to saving a viable sample of the Naga venom. Her greatest obstacle wasn't stabilizing the venom, it was putting the ache she felt for Bo aside long enough to think about stabilizing the venom. She was omnipresent in her thoughts and mixing her with science was a cocktail for disaster. But Lauren had it under control. She had solved the riddle of the venom and now Bo was there to take it to the next stage. Lachlan had said she would have an important part to play she just never figured it would be post-mortem.
Bo was standing in front of her looking like a perfect beauty in black. Her confidence was growing, Lauren could feel her strength even as she stood apart from her.
"Then be what we need…a leader."
Bo recognized the desire in her touch…her expression…and the want for more time was overwhelming. If she could just have an uninterrupted hour with Lauren where the Garuda and the end of Fae were banned subjects of conversation. Hell, in a perfect world there would be no need for talking at all.
"Lauren…"
She shook her head. "I know." There was no time. She turned back to her desk. "I've been thinking about your problem with the Garuda…"
"Flaming eagle fire extinguisher?" Bo said, her humor still in full effect.
"Nothing so flashy, I'm afraid. I was thinking about your blood."
"Lauren…"
"What I propose is injecting a small amount of your blood into each Fae to bind them to you and force their loyalty."
"Lauren, I know. That's why I'm here." Bo regarded her seriously. "Can you do this for me?"
Lauren cocked her head. "Of course." She smiled. "Sit, please."
Bo removed her jacket and sat in Lauren's chair. She snapped into a pair of gloves thoughtfully and tied Bo's arm off. She swabbed her skin with alcohol and tossed the swab in the trash. Her thin fingers picked up a syringe and expertly inserted the needle into her arm. She drew a number of vials, estimating how much they would need on the fly before bandaging Bo up. "Lauren, thank you."
"You don't need to thank me," she said quietly.
Bo stood and stepped into Lauren's space. "You don't owe me anything."
"I was going to leave," she blurted.
Bo brushed the hair from Lauren's temple. "Why'd you stay?"
Lauren smiled. "I don't know."
"You're a terrible liar," Bo whispered against her lips.
Unable to resist, Lauren captured Bo's lips with her own in a tender kiss. Pulling away slowly, Lauren's eyes opened to find Bo's gaze pinning her in place.
"Are you sure you're ready for the battle ahead?"
"Of course," she lied again.
Bo smiled and shook her finger. "Gotta work on that," she said as she turned away. "I'll call you."
They had fought and they had won. It was a war not without causalities but the Garuda had been defeated and they had survived. The celebration at the Dal was in full swing and her drink was only half-done when Bo went to put on her red leather jacket to find Kenzi. Something caught her attention in the mirror and she peered into the it and the blue shimmer in her eyes. Had the Darkness come to stay? Bo felt the power coursing through her veins and right to her core. Her desire was overwhelming.
"Bo is everything all right?" She approached the succubus from behind, finding her hunched in front of a full length mirror.
Bo blinked and her eyes returned to brown before turning around. "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked at the bag in Lauren's hand. "Hey, where are you going?"
"It's late…"
"Newsflash: Without an Ash there is no one to care about your comings and goings."
Lauren smiled awkwardly. "I'm tired. It's been a busy couple of days."
Bo's coy expression didn't fool anyone, but still she wore it convincingly with Lauren. "Yeah, I guess it was. Look, let me take you back to the compound."
"I thought it might be nice if I went home with you…"
Bo opened her mouth but nothing came out. She smiled. "Sure." She pulled her keys out of her pocket and waited for Lauren to walk ahead of her.
At the car, their eyes met, each daring the other to make the first move. It was a quiet ride back to the clubhouse, but the tension was unbearable. Bo's mouth watered at the thought of a weekend unfettered by the Garuda or Lachlan and most importantly the end of the world.
She stepped out of the Camaro onto the gravel of the driveway and rounded the front of the car. Bo walked ahead of her up the stairs and into the mud room. Before she could open the door to the inner sanctum, Lauren grabbed Bo's hand and halted her forward progress. "I'm intruding on your space aren't I?"
A small laugh came from Bo as she turned, pausing to look at her hand in Lauren's. "Never." She shook her head and pushed through the front door. Lauren followed her into the living room and dropped onto the sofa as Bo continued into the kitchen, tossing her keys onto the island and peering into the refrigerator. "You want a beer?"
"Sure," she called from the sofa.
One at a time, Bo put the beer bottle's cap against her counter and popped it off with her fist. Taking a long drag of her beer, Bo shrugged off her red leather jacket and walked toward the sofa. Lauren received her with her eyes as she approached, the tilt of her hips enticing her.
Bo passed Lauren a bottle and sat beside her-closer than friends might sit-and took another swig of her beer. "I'll admit I was a little surprised when you said you wanted to stay over."
Lauren turned to face Bo more directly. "Are you really?"
"I just thought-"
"I'd want to spend the night after we saved the Fae by myself in my cell like a good little Human?"
Bo laughed, setting her beer aside as she leaned into Lauren's space. "Kenzi won't be home for awhile."
"You left her there," Lauren realized. "Isn't she going to be mad?"
"She'll understand and Hale will drive her home. She'll be fine." Bo smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly.
Their chemistry experiment was about to blow the walls off the lab and burn it to the ground. The way Bo looked at her was magical and yet carnal. It was inescapable. Even as tired as Lauren was and knowing what sex with Bo would take, she still wanted to give her everything. She stood, casting a powerful glance back at Bo before she set her beer down on the table in front of them and walked away. She crossed the clubhouse and climbed the stairs, and when she got to the bedroom, she could feel and hear Bo behind her and she began to undress. She unbuttoned her blouse slowly and as she let it fall open, Bo approached silently, gently pushing the shirt from her shoulders to the floor. Lauren stripped her jeans off her hips and stepped out of them. Bo turned Lauren to face her and unbuckled her thigh holster as she kissed Lauren, whose arms snaked around Bo's neck. It was a reunion, however short-lived their separation was. But now they were there, together and alone. As Lauren fumbled with Bo's bra, their mouths met again, this time frenzied and eager. Bo pushed her onto her back on the bed and crawled over her.
This was about the time Lauren had to admit she was in over her head with the most powerful succubus she had ever known. Jesus. How was this her life now? She was living in an Alice in Wonderland existence, faced with new Fae all the time and the isolation that comes from being a nomad in an otherworld. She had found Bo much like Alice had found the Cheshire Cat-by blindly bumping into her as she navigated and now she was reluctant to move on to the next town. If only one thing was going her way and she was still bound in servitude to the Light, then she wanted to be near Bo.
She pulled Bo down to her lips and stole a kiss as Bo reached around to unfasten her bra. She grunted and it sparked something deep inside of Lauren as she flipped Bo onto her back.
Bo threw her head back and laughed so joyfully that Lauren couldn't help but to join her. Unable to resist her, Lauren kissed Bo again. "Doctor…" Lauren squared up against Bo and ground down against her. She bit her lip and arched her back, and Lauren didn't think she had seem something so wanton and beautiful in all her years. Her eyes flashed blue. "I want you."
A smile and suddenly there was a fount of energy for her to tap into. Her hips moved between Bo's legs once again eliciting another moan. She felt all-powerful pressing herself against Bo, only the fabric of their panties separating them, but oh, the friction they created. Their mouths met once again and she rocked against Bo, her heat spreading between them.
She used her body and the friction between them to stir Bo into a frenzy. She held Lauren's hips as they undulated against her. It was a study in love and worship. Her body moved with such care and acumen that Bo had little reserves to defend against the attention. The rocking of her hips became more and more insistent and Bo's frustration was beginning to show. She tore at the sheets and her hips began their own revolutions against Lauren. The delightful rasping of fabric on skin tempted her.
Faster and faster, her hips worked against Bo's, their kisses as deep and intense as ever and Lauren had lost herself. Hips bucked against one another, breathing came heavily between wet kisses and Bo's grip on her ass was legendary.
Lauren began to lose it first-her hips losing step and jerking haphazardly as pure bliss befell her. As Lauren's forehead fell upon Bo's shoulder her hips responded to Lauren's erratic thrusts and soon she was enjoying Lauren's gift. She tensed and moaned Lauren's name and nothing could ever have sound better than she did in that moment.
She relaxed into Bo as their breathing slowed before rolling away. Squeezing her pillow, Lauren smiled into it and stared across the space between them. Bo rolled onto her side, a sly smile creeping across her face.
"You've been holding out on me," Bo's voice was raw and thick with sex.
Lauren chuckled. "Or maybe I was waiting to surprise you."
"Well, it worked." Bo sighed happily. Her hand reached out and touched Lauren's arm. "You look tired."
"It's been a long week."
"That might be the understatement of the Faepocalypse."
"Thanks for letting me crash the after-party." She grinned.
Bo's cat-like stretch inched her closer to Lauren. "It wouldn't have been much of an after-party without you."
"You could have gone home with anyone," she smiled and looked away.
"I came home with you." Bo kissed her shoulder.
Every word that she knew was on the tip of her tongue but nothing came. Instead, she stared into Bo's eyes and tried to find the bottom to the seemingly bottomless well of her feelings. Her brown eyes were full of an emotion they were both still to scared to say but her dogmatic stare was returned ten-fold. They were in this together, a Human and a Succubus, lost and found.
Sliding into Bo's embrace, Lauren let go of every awful thing the Fae had done to her because they had brought her to Bo. And this was where she was meant to be-in the arms of a succubus, head on her chest, surrounded by her things, Lauren breathed her in, hoping to keep a part with her forever. Bo pulled the duvet up and around them and she was instantly warm. It was as close to heaven as Lauren could ever claim she'd come. Bo held her, soothed her, enveloped her. She felt safe and cherished all at once. "Bo?"
"Hm?" Bo's hand played in her hair.
The arm around Bo's waist tightened. "I love being here with you." Together.
In the dusky light of her bedroom, Bo smiled at the ceiling. "Me too."
END SEASON 2