Chapter 23

Melyssa couldn't hold back and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close to her. His arms encircled her waist to pull her against him right off the chair and she went willingly. Her face buried in the side of his neck, breathing him in and his hands caressed her back up and down soothingly.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Crow." She murmured in his ear, knowing nobody could ever promise not to perish. They had a perilous journey ahead of them that would be full of twists and turns, especially since Ouroboros as at the head of their enemy. "Will you sleep with me tonight?" As soon as those words came out of her mouth, Melyssa pulled back from the hug with wide eyes. "I-I mean in the same room since there's multiple beds and I just don't wanna stay in there by myself tonight." Goddess, her cheeks were on fire and she could not look Crow in the eyes at the moment, those words coming out in a rush.

Wow… Crow was amused, he had been about to inform her that he was making a promise he could easily keep. He was starting to think he was invincible at this point. That was also his arrogance talking and sometimes, he had enough ego to go around and then some. However, she had just… sent his brain into a spiral of terrible, lewd thoughts.

"I'll sleep with you tonight." He had been doing so good with her, not cracking the jokes and the flirting.

Until now.

"Goddess, that's NOT what I meant!" Melyssa groaned, flustered and touched her cheeks with her hands, shaking her head. "It came out wrong."

He started laughing at her and she smacked his arm, beginning to chuckle with him. This also did her heart good because he hadn't been cracking jokes with her lately and the sound of his laughter was addicting. She missed it a lot. Technically, they HAD slept together once before, but…Melyssa knew he didn't have an innocent thought process with her mouth mistake.

"You can stop laughing at me at any time, roomie."

"Oh no, my soon to be lover," He teased, loving the way roses blossomed in her cheeks as she brought her palms right back over them, her mouth open. "I don't think I will." Though, he would be escorting her out of here before they got in trouble for being so loud in the medical room, even though Ash probably wasn't waking for anything anytime soon. "Come on." Smirking, he pulled her towards the door, lacing his fingers through hers. "Pick up your jaw, Melyssa… mmm, our luggage didn't survive the train, did it?"

Soon to be lover?! Melyssa was mortified and it showed plain as day on her face. She would not dignify him with a response, he was worse than Ash! "No, it didn't hence why I'm wearing the under clothes of the Imperial army right now. They should have given you some too. You didn't find any in the room you chose?" Melyssa questioned, letting him lead her wherever he wanted and tried to get her cheeks to stop burning. "And I'm not your soon to be lover, so get that out of your head now, Armbrust."

"Sorry, Lover, you're the one who put it there."

Crow was almost as bad as Ash, there was a reason people said the pair were very much alike… because they were. He just didn't usually go out of his way to be as vulgar as Ash, or heckle the women as much. He liked his good looks the way they were and not slapped across the wrong side of his face.

"Besides, you should be used to this, what with how much you and Carbide hang out." He said it nonchalantly, not phased in the least. "And they did, but I ignored it." He had showered however and dressed in the pants, not bothering with much else because most people had gone to bed and he was feeling rebellious after that hit on their lives.

"How many times do I have to say nothing is going on between me and Ash? We are just friends and since when is it a crime for a girl to hang out with a guy anyway? Aren't we supposed to be creating bonds with our classmates?"

Melyssa could tell deep down it bothered Crow, even if he was trying to hide it with humor. It probably didn't help she had gone to sit with Ash either. She also noticed Crow was shirtless, but had tried everything in her power to ignore the warmth spreading through her body, especially when she hugged him earlier.

"Ash does tease me, can't deny that. Didn't realize how much you two are alike until now."

"Then you're the only one and I've fooled you too well." Crow teased, running the pad of his thumb along his bottom lip. He was feeling rather amused now at her defense against her friendship with Ash. "I never said anything about you and Ash and anything going on between you, Melyssa." He informed her once she was done. "I said you should be used to the teasing since you hang out, anything else isn't my business, but thank you for telling me anyway." She was flustered way too easily.

"That's not…never mind."

Crow was messing with her on purpose and she was flustered from her mouth mistake earlier. He was just adding fuel to that particular blaze and she had to get over it. This was what she wanted, after all. She wanted the teasing to return, the impish gleam in his crimson eyes doing her heart good. It was a miracle he hadn't been injured during the crash, not one scratch on him. Maybe he was invincible or the Goddess was smiling down on him.

"You're right, I should be used to the teasing, just not from you." She sat down on her bed, knowing neither of them were tired, even though they should have been dead to the world by now. "I found a deck of Blade cards here. Wanna play a few hands with me?"

Shrugging one shoulder, he tugged off the jacket he had pulled on, but never closed to sort of give himself some semblance of decency when he had gone down to the infirmary. "Sure."

He dropped the jacket on the extra bed, the one she hadn't obviously claimed and then tugged his pistols, which had been in the inner holsters of said jacket, out. After a moment of considering them, he lay them inside the nightstand drawer before dropping down on the bed with her, watching as she shuffled. He knew exhaustion would kick in soon enough, when they least expected it, because that was how things worked after a night like they had had.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly, eyes on the cards once Melyssa began shuffling. "And not just physically." He doubted a fishmonger's daughter had THIS kind of excitement in her average day to day.

"Scared. Uncertain. Relieved that we all somehow survived the attack." Melyssa stopped shuffling and began dealing the cards out, trying not to think about all the people who had lost their lives today. "I'm worried about Jurai. Whatever is going on there is linked to today's attack and…I have a feeling when we finally get there, it's going to be a horrible situation. Tornado." She picked one of his cards off, so he couldn't use it and he reciprocated with a Mirror, which reversed their cards. It was nice to be able to play cards with Crow again since they hadn't done it much lately in the dorm. "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"Relaxed actually." At her puzzled, raised eyebrow, Crow gave her a small smile before returning his attention to the game. "I know it sounds weird but there's something…. Cathartic about coming out a situation like that, mostly unscathed, but most importantly alive. It… I'm alive, I know I shouldn't be and I know there are people who died, but knowing that, it's relaxing as odd as it is." Of course, it also meant that there would be another incident since the job hadn't been finished, but surviving in a situation you weren't supposed to also was life affirming.

This man really had been through smoke and fire to be relaxed after what happened today. Melyssa didn't know how to feel or react to what he said, so she kept playing the game. He beat her, of course, and she handed the cards over to him, their fingers brushing together. Instant electricity. That warmth was back, stronger than ever, along with the pull and something suddenly dawned on Melyssa. She had never kissed a man before. She could have died without experiencing a simple pleasure like that! Jurai held a lot of mystery and danger – was she really prepared to leave without at least having her first kiss? And why was she thinking about this suddenly? Crow dealt the cards out for the second hand and Melyssa picked them up, trying to get her mind focused back on the game.

Crow knew the way he thought was confusing to people, but after the life he had led from 13 on up… anytime he came out of the flames relatively okay, he was relaxed once the battle adrenaline wore off because it meant he was alive for another day's fight. It was weird and he knew it. "You looked like you swallowed a lemon or something, the way your lips pursed." He informed her as he picked up his own hand, eyes narrowed in on her lips, watching as her tongue darted out to wet them.

"I do?" Melyssa hadn't realized what she was doing while deep in thought and tossed another card down, only for Crow to counter it. "You really like using Mirror, don't you?" His smirk told her the entire story as she sucked her lips on before chewing on her bottom one, trying to contemplate how to turn this game around. It definitely was strategic and she was improving, but he still had her number. "You keep staring at my lips now. What gives, Crow?" She demanded, after catching him a third time looking at them and touched them with her fingertips. "Are they really that fascinating to you?"

"Yeah, when you keep puckering, pursing and licking them, it really draws attention to them." He said in a matter of fact manner and without a hint of shame as he continued staring at her. Also, he had noticed her improvement with Blade so he had decided to introduce some new tactics. There were ways to influence the game that had absolutely nothing to do with the cards. And she did keep doing those things, which was damn distracting. "You have a perfect little cupid's bow mouth, Mel." He informed her, the corner of his lips curving upwards when her teal eyes met his. "What? It's a compliment."

"I have a what?" Melyssa blinked, once again touching her lips and tossed her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "Okay there, you can't see them now." She couldn't see the game they were playing either, so it wasn't exactly a win-win. Crow was laughing at her and it made her cheeks redden all over again. "Yeah, that's not going to work either."

Chucking her cards at him when he continued laughing at her, Melyssa went to stand up and he stopped her, pulling her right back down to sprawl on top of him. Shifting, Melyssa wound up straddling his lap on the bed and their eyes were locked, teal and crimson swirling together. Her hands were on his bare shoulders, feeling his muscles rippling beneath her touch and her heart was pounding in her ears. He leaned forward, their lips almost touching and Melyssa couldn't hold back the confession bubbling on her tongue.

"I…I've never…" He was making it very hard for her to focus let alone talk and her pink tongue slid out to wet her dry lips again. "I'veneverkissedsomeonebefore." It was all said in a rush of mumbled words, really hoping she hadn't just misread the moment.

Even Crow had to stop and blink, his lips still dangerously close to brushing hers as he took a minute to separate out her jumbled rush of what he initially thought was gibberish. "Never?" He echoed finally once he had realized what she said, his red eyes widening when she nodded to confirm, her cheeks a brilliant shade of red. "Time to fix that, it's a crime somewhere, a woman as beautiful as you having never been kissed." He informed her before sealing his lips to hers.

If he got slapped, he would have deserved it and he knew it, but the temptation had been too great. Her lips were soft and pliant beneath his, and he was cautious not to introduce tongue because then he'd really get slapped. Goddess, she'd probably nail him anyway. At first, she tensed because she hadn't been expecting Crow to actually kiss her. It wasn't rushed or hard either, it was gentle and felt really good. That spark she felt just brushing their fingers together had ignited into something more, the fire between them obvious.

Slowly, Crow pulled back to break the kiss and Melyssa kissed him again, this time taking the plunge. Kissing felt amazing and the fact it was Crow, her childhood best friend and favorite person in the world, made it that much better. The taste of him incredible, indescribable and made her heart thunder against her chest harder. Her hands had moved from his shoulders to wrap her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened and she gasped as soon as his tongue touched hers for the first time. That gasp was followed quickly by a moan as her fingers buried in his hair, both getting lost in each other.

Melyssa tasted divine and it really was a shame that she hadn't been kissed before now though at the same time, Crow was immensely pleased that HE was her first kiss. It made something in him purr, almost in victory. For someone who hadn't any experience in kissing, she was damn good at it, she was eager and unafraid, which did delightful things to his body. It had been a long time since someone had gotten his attention like this or at least it felt like a long time. His hands dropped to her hips, positioning her tightly against him, pretty sure she could feel the erection he was sporting brushing against her. Suddenly, Melyssa was tossed off Crow to plant on the bed with him bolting off it, cursing violently. She had no idea what just happened and stared up at him with wide teal eyes and swollen lips, her body trembling.

Did she do something wrong?

Was she not a good kisser?

"Crow…"

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Crow had been so engrossed in the moment and then her confession had made him act without thinking. She was UNDERAGE and he was kissing her! What in Aidios' name was wrong with him?! They were in the same class, but she was a first year and he was a second year because of his stupidity and moronic choices in life. That still did not excuse the fact he was an ADULT and she wasn't.

"Crow…"

Just the sound of her confused voice made something lurch painfully in his chest and he couldn't turn to face her, slowly shaking his head. "This is wrong, Melyssa. It's a mistake." His voice was gruff, harsh and low, his teeth gritting together. "I'm sorry, I need some air."

Before she could stop him, he left the room and all she could do was stare at the now closed door, rejection and sadness overwhelming her. What had made him go from kissing the daylights out of her to…rejecting her? Unbeknownst to Crow, it was after midnight on Saturday and it was officially her birthday…her 18th birthday. And it was turning out to be the worst birthday of her life with the attack and now the rejection from Crow, the man who had stolen her heart and her first kiss.

What in the Goddess' name was WRONG with him? Crow kept raking his hands through his hair, not caring who or what was out here with him. Logically, the watch was out here and if they were doing their jobs, they weren't paying him any attention. She was a minor… by law anyway. He was taking advantage of whatever emotions she harbored from their childhood, or nostalgia, or whatever and she had no idea what she was doing, but he did. After a few minutes, it belatedly occurred to him that he had probably left her a hot mess, confused beyond belief and he groaned, knowing he couldn't go fix it.

Not right now.