"Get up, I want you ready for a run. We need to build your stamina, and then work on your punches some more." He said, shaking the ankle of a sleeping Sara who groaned and looked out the window at the dark world outside. Her legs were tangled in sheets and blankets from all her thrashing about, and he began to wonder if she had nightmares that were violent. She flopped back down, a whine coming from her and she pulled the quilt over her head.
"Noooo... the sun is not even up, I don't want to." She moaned, trying to bury her head under one of the many pillows she slept on. He crossed his arms, and grabbed the quilt and yanked it off of her. She screamed as he lifted her off the bed, carrying her to the closet, and sat her on the floor. She danced around on her bare feet, her eyes wide and she glared at him as she jumped toward the rug. "At least put me on the rug, the hardwood floors are freezing!"
"We run first to warm ourselves up, and then we practice defense. I don't want you hurt again." He scolded, and she rolled her eyes like a petulant child. She yawned, and looked at the time, her eyes going wide and she shook her head.
"Ugh! Fiiinneee! Let me get a shower, and I will make breakfast." She said, and he stopped her. He laughed a bit, and she hung her head as she went to her closet and started getting dressed in a pair of leggings and a loose shirt that came to her thighs. She emerged, putting on her athletic shoes, and she tied her hair up in a loose bun. "You are such a jerk, I was having a really good dream where I was the meat in the sandwich made up of Legolas and Aragorn. It was really getting good too."
"I will let you return to your erotic dream after breakfast. Program the tablet so I don't die, and meet me in the Den. I am going to teach you how to stretch your muscles." He said, and smirked as she glared back at him. He left, walking down the stairs in the Nike shoes she had bought him, and began stretching his back muscles, and heard her clomp down the steps after him.
"Ready?" He asked her, and gestured for her to strech her muscles. She groaned, yawning as she raised her arms above her head and stood on her toes.
"No. It is four in the morning, and I am awake. I'm really far from fucking ready." She replied, but mimicked what he was doing.
"Hate me later, you need this training. You will learn to love it soon enough." He replied, and she gave him the finger. He snorted in amusement, and gave her a glare back. His feelings were not hurt in the slightest, but he was going to make her do extra exercises for the insulting gesture.
--
"I c... can't go any further." She moaned, trying to keep up with him as he jogged down the county highway. She ached up to her thighs, and her lungs burned with battery acid in them. She gasped for air, and she was pretty sure even her fingertips were sweating. He pushed her on, and she groaned as the gravel covered dirt crunched under her feet. She hated it, every minute, and she wanted to thow in the towel already.
"We have barely gone a quarter mile, you can go further." He said, and she moaned, coming to a stop. She gasped for air, her lungs filling as she coughed and tried to keep her heart from bursting. He paused, and she rested her hands on her knees as she bent forward. "Stopping is not an option right now, keep going."
"My side hurts... it really does." She said, and he waited. She got mad then, pissed that he expected her to go further, as she turned around and started to walk back. She was still basically a human, and he was still a God. If he wanted her to get into shape, it would be on her terms. She was doing her best, and apparently it was not good enough for him.
"You are walking the wrong way." He said, and she waved her hand over her shoulder. She shook her head, holding her side and she felt like she was going to vomit. He turned her around, by her shoulders suddenly and she pushed him back.
"I can't go any further! Why aren't you listening to me? I'm in pain!" She shouted at him, and he crossed his arms as her legs started to wobble as she made them move back to her house. "You are going to kill me, is that what you want?"
"I want you alive, and healthier than you are now. It is physically exhausting to be in a fight and defending yourself, your stamina is shit at best, so you need to build it up. So run!" He barked at her, and she gritted her teeth and turned and started running with him. She made it another quarter mile before her legs started wobbling again, and she felt her empty stomach cramp up. She cried out, doubling over and she almost fell when the cramp wrapped around her stomach and into her back. He stopped, holding her upright, and rubbing her shoulders through her shirt.
"Hurts..." She moaned, and he massaged her belly with one hand as her muscles relaxed and the pain faded.
"You are not breathing right, that is why you are cramping in your stomach so badly." He said, and she groaned as her knees turned to jelly, and could barely support her. "Gasping for air is not getting you enough oxygen to your blood and feeding your muscles. You need to force yourself to take slow breaths, otherwise your muscles tense and fight you. We will finish our run by going back, and I want you to practice breathing."
"Can't we walk back? I really can't do this running." She whined, and the look in his eyes almost made her cry. She pushed him back, and she let out a sob. "I didn't do anything to you! Why do you fucking hate me?"
"I don't hate you Sara, that is why I am teaching you all of this. I care about you enough to teach you everything you need to defend yourself, to make you stronger." He said, and she sniffed as she stood along the road and hugged herself. He held her shoulders in his hands, and she stared at him, her eyes wide as he took in a breath. "I want you to always be safe, I want my friends safe."
"Okay. But can we please walk back?" She asked him, and he laughed at her and nodded. He put a hand in the small of her back, and they began walking together.
"When we get back, I want to go over blocks with you anyways. I believe that will be easy for you, given your worn out state. Then we will have you practice more punches." He said, and they walked along the road. She practiced the breathing, as he told her to do, and she looked at him as they walked back.
"Yay." She said, no enthusiasm in her voice. She wanted to curl up and go back to sleep, not be sparring at whatever ungodly hour it was. The sky was turning gray above them, taking on that cold light that said the sun would be rising soon, and she started to wonder about Loki. He was pushing her too hard, and she couldn't do everything women from his world could probably do. They were probably much stronger, more agile, and way more beautiful than her.
"That did not sound very enthusiastic." He quipped, and they kept a steady pace as they both walked. She shrugged, and she ignored him. Depression was sinking in at the idea of him teaching this stuff to a beautiful Asgardian woman, and she kicked a rock. He couldn't be interested in her like that, he was probably keeping her alive to keep himself breathing. "Something on your mind Sara? Your silence is becoming a bit heavy."
"Trying not to die over here, nothing else." She lied, not wanting to let him know about her real feelings. "Mark said we could use the Gym. Maybe we could go there tomorrow, they have mats and stuff for safety, so we don't get hurt. And equipment that we can use." She said, and he took a waterbottle out of his pocket and drank from it. He handed it to her, giving her a sip of it, and he pushed it back to her.
"Drink it all, you need to get the acid out of your muscles through urination. You will get a horrific cramp if you don't drink enough." He replied, and she drank the entire bottle. He took the empty container, and crushed it in his hand before shoving it back into his pocket to toss when he got back.
"Why do you care about us?" She asked him, and he snorted at her question and grinned as she walked along him.
"Because you accepted me." He replied, and she almost stopped walking at his words. It hit her then, he cared because they were friends, and that was all he ever wanted in his life.
Acceptance.
--
Sara lay on the mat the next day, streching her muscles in the 24 Hour Fitness as Mark crossed his arms and watched. He handed her some weights, and taught her some lunges that she could do, and then some light exercises that she could do.
"Come on Bugs, give us another lunge. Breathe in, and then out when you come back to rest. Then I want to see you raise your arms straight out, and exhale when you lower them. You can do it, I taught Amy these same moves." Mark urged, and she did three more before she started to wobble. They made it a third of a mile that morning on their run, and she was still achy from the two days before. She gritted her teeth, and Loki gave her a smile of approval as Mark showed her how to record her progress.
"I have an appointment coming in, but you can use the mats and pads all you want to practice moves. Just be careful not to hurt Bugs." He said, and a couple of men that looked like they were MMA wannabes started warming up. They looked at her in her leggings and baby doll styled shirt that said "Cute but Evil" on it, and she got nervous as Loki began wrapping her hands in tape so she would not hurt the knuckles too much.
"Ignore them, focus on me, and remember what I have taught you." He said, and he picked up the pads for his hands, and began by holding them up. He gestured with one, and she nodded as she got into her stance. "Left, then two rights, and two lefts."
"Okay." She said, and she punched at the pads, protecting her chest with the hand not in use as he had taught her. He lowered one pad, and she brought her knee up into it, and he then raised it so she could punch it again. The two men stopped and laughed at her, Loki whistling through his teeth at her to keep her attention on him.
"Again. This time, work on not hesitating. Don't think it through, just act, you will not have that much time in any situation." He said, and he raised the pads again. She punched at them, and he grinned at her as she backed him up. He did not stop moving them this time, instead he positioned them at random to keep her moving. He went in for a grab, and she blocked it as he taught her. She swung her body around, catching him behind the knee with her heel and taking him off balance. He went over backwards, falling to the mat and she smiled as she caught her breath. He grinned at her, getting back up, and she started again, her body being worked in ways she did not feel possible as she felt alive. Sara stopped after ten minutes, and he gave her a nod of approval and let her rest. Mark returned, bringing them water, and she drank some.
"Dude Bros! You gonna work out, or are you gonna stare? That is against gym policy also, to film a woman without permission! Turn the phones off, or get out." Mark said, and she turned and saw one holding up his phone and looking guilty. He turned it off, and put it away, winking at her and Loki glared.
"I was just impressed, she looked like she was going to kill him for a minute. She got alot of spark for a tiny thing, she training?" The guy in the Ed Hardy shirt said as he stripped it off, Sara tried to look away as his muscles moved under his tattooed torso, but she was transfixed on the image. He and his friend started to throw moves at eachother, and Mark shook his head.
"In a way." Loki said, being curt and narrowing his eyes at them. He began to ignore them, and he looked back at Sara. Her eyes on the two men, and how they moved.
"Thanks T.D. Major small dick energy." She muttered as he laughed a bit, Mark shook his head and she pulled at her bra under her shirt and he rolled his eyes.
"You need a sports bra girlie. You are going to be uncomfortable if you work out in a regular bra, proper equipment is necessary and all." He said, and she turned pink at his guidance. "Get a couple at Walmart, they are not that expensive, and one girl trainer said they really help with back and shoulder pain while she teaches aerobics here."
"Okay." She said, and drank the water. Mark gave her a side hug and gestured to Loki.
"Go beat him up, I gotta see this." He said, and she giggled a bit as Loki set his bottle aside. She began with blocks, and then moved onto punches. She missed the pad with her knee once, and caught him in the inner thigh, and he collapsed to the floor and groaned. Her mouth opened in horror, and he groaned as the two dude bros walked over.
"Did I?" She asked, and gestured toward Mark's crotch with her hand. He shook his head, and he stood up slowly.
"No, but you found another nerve bundle in an opponent that will drop them in pain." He said, and massaged his thigh and turned his back to her to check it as he pulled the waistband of his gray sweatpants out. "I am going to have a bruise. Well done."
"I'm so sorry." She said, and Mark snickered at her. Loki shook his head, and drank some more water, and gestured to Mark.
"Dont be, show me the sensitive nerve bundles to strike on an opponent while I collect myself." She pointed to the sides of Mark's neck near his collar, and then to the points at the sides of his knees. She had to think a moment, and she pointed to his solar plexus, and then his groin, and his inner thighs. Loki nodded, and crossed his arms. "Good, where would you strike if you wanted to shatter a kneecap on an opponent if you wanted to get away?"
"Here." She pointed to the point just above his knee, and then she lifted his arm and pushed up on the elbow slightly. "To dislocate his arm at the elbow, I hold his arm like this and slam my weight into the joint." She said and Loki gave her a smile. The two men stopped, and one came over.
"Can I show you a move? I guess this is self defense Bro?" Loki looked at Sara, and he waved his friend over and they showed her a way to block a kick, he grabbed his friends leg before it hit his hip, and he pushed against the man's neck and the other man fell. "If his head hits the ground, it will put his lights out so you can get away. I got a Sister that was raped, I am teaching her how to defend herself too. You are really short, but as long as you shove the head, the body will follow."
"Thank you. Can I try that with you?" She asked, and he gave her a grin. She got into her stance, and his friend stood behind her to help her keep his balance. He kicked up, and Sara grabbed the leg and held it against her hip and shoved him backwards by the throat. He fell backwards, and the man gave her a high five. She laughed and jumped up and down in excitement. " I did it!"
"Yeah, and if you aim for the adams apple, you can collapse the throat. You don't have to be strong, just a little smart on your feet for that move." He said and offered her a high five. She gave it to him, and she giggled as Mark gave her a hug. She looked over at Loki, and she saw something on his face that looked like he was a bit jealous of the two men. She blinked at him, and his face became a calm mask as he walked over to her.
"I think we have done enough today, why don't we rest and get you those undergarments that Mark suggested?" He said, and she nodded. He became a bit dominant over her, and somewhat protective as he walked her through a cool down of sorts, and Mark gave her a hug before they left.
"Tomorrow I am free, if you want me to show her some strength training." He said, and Loki gave him a quick nod as they began to leave the building. They walked to her car with him, and she smiled as he looked at her from the corner of his eye. She was feeling a bit stronger, and she wanted to make him proud of her.
--
The cramp in her leg hit the next day and dropped her before she knew what was happening. She lay on the mat, her chest heaving and her teeth gritted to keep from screaming as Mark ran over. She was wearing the midriff baring sports top, and the leggings she bought as she gripped her leg.
"Cramp?" Mark asked, and Loki pressed his fingers into the protesting thigh. She nodded, and almost screamed as the muscle tightened harder and felt like it was going to tear. Loki took her shoe off, pointing her foot toward the wall like a ballerina going en point and he bent her knee up to her chest. He held it there, and pushed her leg to the side at the hip as he straddled her other leg.
"You are not drinking enough water throughout the day, this is why you are cramping now. You are streching, but you are not flushing the acid from your body and it is building up." Loki said, and continued to strech her leg by rolling it in the hip socket and applying pressure to her thigh. She became painfully aware that he was between her legs, and she almost squeaked as his hand traveled higher on her thigh, closer to her crotch. "Breathe, slowly, and allow me to move this leg. We have to work this cramp out."
"Okay." She managed to say, and she realized there was nothing sexual about the way he was touching her. He was guiding her leg into different positions, each of them relaxing the muscle as Mark moved the other leg. "This would be a turn on if it did not hurt so damn much."
"Irish would take out my knees if I tried anything." Mark joked, making her laugh and Loki snorted a slight laugh as he lay her leg against the mat and took over streching the other one.
"I believe we have done enough today, you will be drinking a pitcher of water when we get back to the house. The weights alone were enough, and I think a light day of training is in order." Loki said, and his hand ghosted over her buttcheek and she squeaked at the contact. "Did that hurt?"
"A little." She lied, and hid her embarassment as he gently moved her leg to strech it out. He chuckled and used a fist to give some gentle palpation to her thigh muscle.
"Consider it payback for the knee to my thigh, I still have a bruise there. You are going to relax in a hot bath when we get back and drink that water." He said, leaving no room for argument. The sound of a hot bath and a book sounded amazing to her anyways, so she nodded as he let her lay back on the mat.
"We are going to Mt. St. Helen's tomorrow too, maybe you could let her have a day of rest so she is not all worn out on the way there." Mark suggested, and he looked at her. She sat up, and almost began to plead with him when he smiled a bit and nodded.
"You have been trying very hard at all of this, we can rest a bit tomorrow. I imagine there will be a good amount of exercise for all of us anyways." He agreed, and she almost cheered at the idea of being able to rest her weary bones after this week. His next words shocked her to her core, and she almost cheered at them. "The day after, we will just have our run, amd then we will have a rest so you can recover then too."
"Haleujah." She said, and she heard him laugh as he helped her stand up. Mark was right about the bra, and it made all of their exercises alot easier on her back and shoulders to have proper support. Loki held up a finger at her, and she almost jumped.
"A full pitcher of water, and then a cup every hour after." He ordered, and she gave him a salute as Mark laughed. They picked up their things, and they walked to the doors to leave and Mark shouted after her.
"Take his advice Bugs. You will feel way better tomorrow because of it." He shouted, and she waved to her friend. She put her hoodie on, and they walked to the car. On the way, he took her hand and she let him hold it. As they both walked.
It felt nice, and his hand was really warm in hers.
--
She climbed out of the bath again, needing to pee and she decided that she had soaked long enough. She kept her promise to drink the pitcher of water, and had half of it down while she relaxed in the tub. She was tired and she wanted a nap, the steamy romance novel resting on the sink as she let her body relax as she sat on the toilet. She cleaned herself up, and padded through her room and put on the pretty panties and bra set. Looking in the mirror she admired the way the pale blue lace and satin looked on her, blushing as she noticed that her legs were becoming more shapely, and so was her butt.
Her entire body was changing for that matter, she was building some muscle, even if it had only been a few days. She didn't want to look overly muscular, but she liked the way her butt and thighs looked as she turned in the mirror to admire them again. She then realized how sexy she was, and blushed as she sipped the water from her glass. It was not just the undergarments, it was all of her. She looked more confident, more sure of herself as she stood there.
He mother's voice echoed through her head as she stared at herself: "The most attractive thing a woman can wear is her confidence Matroska, keep your head high and men will throw themselves at your feet."
Her real Mother told her that, and she practiced and lifted her chin as she looked at herself in the mirror. She held her hands the way her mother did, and she lifted her chin and took on a look of pride.
"I will never let the little things bother me." She said in perfect Ukrainian, and folded her hands the way her Mother did. She could see Katarina looking back at her, and she recognized her mother in her eyes. There was nothing of Darla or her father there, just her Mother. She wanted her mother to be proud of her, and Sara heard a tap at her balcony window then. It was a Dragonfly, and it was buzzing around the colorful glass as it landed against a piece of the clear pane.
"Mama?" She asked, her voice a whisper and she blinked back tears. "I am going to make you proud of me. I am going to make you smile on me from Heaven."
She stood up, thinking about everything, and she relaxed back on her bed. She was not afraid of what she was about to do, it was an act of defiance and she grinned as she looked in the mirror at herself. She began to think about how those men at the gym looked without their shirts on, and the way Loki touched her as he helped her strech out her muscle cramps. The way he moved her into position when she was not in the right stance, and how his hands moved over her bare midriff earlier that day. It was a soft touch, his fingers ghosting over her abdomen, and the shiver it sent up her spine. She grinned, and put her trembling hand between her legs, and touched herself.
"Fuck you Darla. I am Katarina's daughter, and we are women who are confident." She said, and she began to arouse herself. He bit her lip, giving herself pleasure and she opened her legs a bit wider. Her body was on fire, and she needed this so bad. She was not a whore, this was natural, she was a virgin still, and what she was doing felt nice.
Her mind drifted, and she imagined men touching her, kissing her bare skin as they caressed her. She gasped, her eyes pinching shut as she rocked her hips and bit back a moan. It wasn't just any man though, it was him. Loki. His skin against hers, his lips making her gasp. It was not her hand, it was his, and she couldn't hold back the orgasam she was on the verge of. She had herself worked up, and she was going to explode into a thousand shards.
"Fuck." She whimpered, and her hand rubbed herself through her panties as she lay back on the bed and bit back a sigh. She wanted him to hold her again, like he did that night in the barn, to tell her she was special. She wanted him to kiss her, even just once. She was falling hard for him, and she had to deny herself. It was so confusing, and her body shivered as she imagined him, his arms around her, his lips on her, his body against hers.
She was so damn close, and she hoped Darla could see her. That bitch, she was in charge of herself now, and her skin flushed as she cried out as she fell over the edge and let herself go. She lay against the quilt, catching her breath and panted as she stared at her mural.
Tears filled her eyes, and she tried her best not to cry. She was wishing for something that could never happen, and it was ripping her apart. Why was this denied her? Why the fuck did some other person get to say what she deserved? She wanted life, and everything that came with it, she wanted to feel someone love her without fear, and she wanted to love them the same way back.
She pressed her fists against her eyes then, trying not to cry as she lay on her bed at the thought of Loki making love to her. It couldn't happen, it would be wrong, but he was so close to her. He cared about her, and she cared about him.
In the end, she was in charge of him, and it couldn't happen. She was going to have to just accept it, and let them remain friends. In the end, she was going to have to accept that they could never be more.
She reached for the glass if water, drinking it all and filled it again to drain that glass again. She took something back from Darla, and she became one step closer to being fully free as she pulled her sweater over her head, and slipped her jeans up her legs. She blushed a bit, and became mortified at the though of Loki hearing her masturbate. She said a silent prayer that he was downstairs, and sighed in relief as she looked out the window and saw him stacking firewood as he split more of it.
She went onto her balcony, and shouted at him. He looked around, and he found where she was and shook his head in confusion.
"What did you say?" He shouted back at her, and she laughed and held up the nearly empty pitcher for his approval.
"I said, that I would help you, but I am peeing way too much!" She shouted back and he laughed and waved to her as he set up another piece of wood to split in his gloved hands.
"I needed to burn off this energy anyways, it is no issue! Well done with the water." He shouted back, and split the log in front of him with one stroke of the axe. Her heart jumped watching him, and he looked up at her again from where he was working. "Remember to have another cup of fluids every hour for the rest of the day, you cramped up because you neglected to stay hydrated!"
"You got it, slave driver!" She shouted back down, picking up her book as he bent over for another log and set it neatly on the block and raised the axe over his head. He split that one in one swing, and he split the two halves into smaller pieces and began stacking the wood onto the pile for the coming Winter months. It was early September, but it was starting to get cold early this year. That told her that it was going to be a long winter, and possibly a hard one.
At least she was not going to freeze her ass off in the basement this year, and she smiled to herself at that knowledge. It was going to be another Fuck You to Darla's ghost, and she was going to spend it snuggled under the blankets of the room her Father once occupied.
"I am my Mother's daughter." She muttered in Ukrainian, and walked down the stairs and sat in her comfy chair to read an incredibly erotic part of her book. She smiled to herself, and sipped another glass of water as she read on in the novel. The Victorian Lady that haunted the house, catching her attention as her shadow moved out of the corner of her eye. She grinned, and shrugged as she read the part in her book and curled her toes at the graphic love scene.
--‐--
Loki loosened his shoulders, after his session of splitting the logs near the woodpile as he walked up the steps toward the house. He stretched them, liking the activity for some odd reason, and opened the door and looked for Sara. He did not see her on the couch in the den, nor did he find her in her room. He walked to the library, and saw her asleep in her large, overstuffed chair with her legs curled under her, and he book in her lap. She had her cheek rested against a cushion, and she looked achingly beautiful and peaceful. He walked over, using his index and middle fingers to move some of her ebony hair back from her face, and her nose twitched at the ghosting of the strands over it.
"Sara." He said softly, giving her a gentle shake on her shoulder, and she lifter her head softly and gave a hum as her vulnerability showed upon her waking. He wanted to hold her to him then, lift her off the chair and keep her in his arms. She blinked, and put her marker in her book and set it aside as she looked around.
"I fell asleep... I should make some dinner or get it started at least." She mumbled, and he couldn't help but laugh at her confusion. He picked up her glass of water and gave it to her, watching as she drank from it as she held it in both hands. "How long was I out for?"
"Only an hour, I stopped after burning off excess energy." He confessed, her eyes blinking as she rubbed her face a bit and he had to hide that they was she looked in that moment aroused him. He sat down, and she yawned as she streched her back and he became nervous to move and embarass himself.
"I may just make us some soup and sandwiches tonight, a light dinner. I guess we have a few hours before that though, it is only two." She replied, and she leaned back in her chair and looked at him. She looked different, a bit more confident, bolder even, like she had taken back some part of herself and he hoped it stayed with her as she looked at him.
"I like that idea." He said, and gave her a genuine smile. "I could help you, if you wish. You already do a great deal for me, it is only fair that I repay the favor."
"You don't have to." She replied, and he raised his hand to stop her argument. She smiled back at him, and nodded in agreement. He knew that he had his way, and she drank more of the water in her glass. "You are right about the water, I do feel less sore. I will admit to that."
"I usually am right, you look like you are gaining some confidence as well." He said, and she smiled and laughed a bit. He wondered if she would reject the compliment, and she smiled back at him as she streched her legs out in front of her and she looked a bit nervous, as if she were debating asking him something. He let it go, and she hissed in pain as she grabbed her leg and held it.
"Shit!" She groaned, and he was up in an instant. He began helping her strech her muscles again, and pointed her toes to relieve the tension in her calf.
"Deep breath, in and out." He said, remaining calm as she nodded at him. He moved her leg, streching it and he watched her face as he moved her hips so she would not have to get out of the chair. She did not shy away from his hands on her hips, instead allowed him to position her and he pushed her leg back toward the back of the chair and rotated it slowly to work the cramp out. "You need more water, keep drinking it and this will not happen again. Take in a deep breath."
"Okay." She said and he put her foot into the middle of his chest and he leaned over her and felt the tense muscle relax with his hands. She endured it, and he smiled down at her as she looked up at him. Her eyes went wide, and her foot remained planted against him and she blushed. She stared up at him, and her eyes trailed down and to his horror, there was a definite swelling in his trousers that he was mortified by.
"Damn." He groaned, backing up and giving her space. He turned his back, forgetting about streching her leg and she shifted. He looked over his shoulder, and she fidgeted with her hands a bit.
"Loki, we can't be a thing. We could both get into trouble, and you could end up in prison or something." She said, and he let out a cleansing breath as his tension relaxed. He nodded, and he willed his body to stop reacting to her. He turned, and faced her and she looked nervous. "I mean, I'm really flattered. But, we honestly can't be more than friends. I hope that is cool with you."
"I understand, and appreciate your honesty Sara. I did not mean to do that to seduce you, I was just trying to help you. Men have inconvenient moments at times, especially when faced with an attractive person in front of them." He said, and she laughed a bit. He extended his hand, and she shook it, her smile kind as she looked at him.
"Must suck to be a man then, and be really akward." She laughed, and he joined her. He couldn't help it, it was a pleasant sound and he shook his head at her attempt to make him feel at ease after his humiliation.
She was just so damned perfect, far too perfect.
"It can truly be awful, not as horrid as being a woman though. I don't know how any of you put up with men at times." He shrugged, and realized he had never been so free with his words before. She did not judge him though, and she crossed her arms and smiled back at him.
"It is a Felony to kill men, and it frustrates the hell out of us. That is why we cry when we get really angry, Prison Orange is not our color." She said, and he laughed at her joke. He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and nodded as she laughed back. He had not laughed as much as he had before meeting this group of beings, never felt as free to be himself, and it was refreshing how much he was enjoying it.
"I will remember that." He said, and rubbed his face as she picked up her book and held it. "Thank you."
"For what?" She asked him, confusion on her face and he crossed his arms again and smiled back at her. He had never really expressed himself in the past, but now he felt he had to do it, he had to get this out before he locked himself away again.
"For your acceptance of me, and everything you have done. You have a kind heart Sara, and that is rare, especially after the cruelty you have experienced." He said, and instantly regretted his words. He debated taking them back, but she simply smiled and walked forward and gave him a hug. He did not go stiff at the embrace this time, and returned it as she gave him a pat on his back.
"We all care about you Spooky, and we like the real you. Don't hide it anymore, please?" She asked, and he smiled and blinked back tears as he fought the urge to squeeze her tighter. She laughed against her chest, and the sound almost broke him as he gave her a slight squeeze.
"I promise you, I will work to not hide myself anymore." He replied, and he knew she was smiling as he hugged her back.