Tales from th lost city

[silvertongue217]

He followed her paying no mind to his teammates. Now that the adrenaline wasn’t flowing the fatigue of the day rushed forward to greet him along with the smell. Monsters even genetically created ones very rarely smelled good and he knew he needed one bad.

And her

Strange how even in battle his thoughts were on her, he could honestly say he never felt any thing like it. The pull and tug to be with her, the way his thoughts so often bounced back to her and not whatever he was doing, and the cravings! Oh the cravings were intense. For her flesh, body, mind, and heart.

Her heart

He knew right then and there as he followed her into the room that he loved her. Impossible as it may seem he was totally and completely in love with her and all on his own accord. There was no glamour nothing magical expect the hands of destiny it would seem. He opened his mouth thinking to tell her but thought better of it instead focusing on her as he watched her strip.

“I knew you were like me” He said shrugging his shoulders pulling his bloody shirt off “I knew you rarely liked to be bothered unless some thing major was happening I respected it at the time and still do so I made sure they didn’t bother you until it went above me so to speak”

He admired her form “I used to conduct surveillance on you” He said pulling his pants down and his boxers with them “when the MCP was first getting started me and my partner used o comment on you” He said smirking a little at her as he clambered in after her.

He stepped in groaning at relief as the hot water battered his tight muscles. He sighed and ducked his head under the water getting a nice running stream against his cheek before he wrapped his arms around her. He encircled her form behind rocking her against his chest for a few minutes before leaning in and planting small kisses on the back of her neck.

“I used to fantasize about you” He whispered teasingly into her ear “Of doing things like this to you” he said biting and nibbling on her ear lobe.

………………………

Jackie showered quickly to high strung to relax in the water. He thought about the events of the day ignoring Laz or trying to and instead focusing on Death. What had he meant? And what did he give him? He didn’t feel any different yet he did as if some thing was slightly out of place and if he gave it any mind it would disappear. Whatever it was no amount of thinking or mental tricks the college taught him seemed to penetrate it and so he gave up and instead looked at his deck.

He drew the first card his eyes widening in surprise. His summon of the reaper had changed looking more like the one he met then the one he used. Was this tied to it? He felt the urge to try it but a nagging buzz began to form in his brain a buzz that clearly said this card was to be used at a specific time.

“Bah Destiny” Jackie said sliding the cards back in just as his phone beeped

“Can we talk?”

It was Elaine and Jackie debated about ignoring it for a while before another message popped up.

“There’s been a theft at the college……. A theft that has your style”

Jackie shot his hand out grabbing the phone and narrowing his eyes. Some thing stolen at the college? Some thing stolen and made to look like he did it? Of course Elaine could vouch for him but who would use his tricks?

“What was stolen?” He texted back pursing his lip as he waited for the reply to come.

“The prototype gauntlet”

He jumped up grabbing his gauntlet and sliding it on he debated about getting the team on it before disregarding it. The team was relaxing after the job and besides there was only one person he really trusted on this.

Laz

“Laz!” Jackie said speaking out loud “I need to talk to you!” HE said forgetting that he hadn’t bothered to change yet

And he was still in a towl

 

[grdybiwife]

"You know I know all that already," Lem said with a breathy giggle at his nibbles and kisses. "I know everything there is to know about you now. All your deep dark secrets and little white lies you've told to keep those around you from digging too deep into your past. I know it all...and still you surprise me Edward Thornton. Well not you, exactly but how you make me feel...warm again," she whispered as she spun in his arms to face him. A soft kiss to his throat, then his chin, and finally his lips before she allowed herself give in to her longing for him.

And it wasn't just about his blood. It was his touch. The look in those icy eyes when he glanced her way. The oft modulated tone of his voice in her ear and the guttural grunts that escaped his mouth into hers as she sucked on his tongue, pressed her body to his. And his body, the feel of those chiseled muscles against her drove her wild with desire as he held her close, his hands groping her everything.

"I need you," Serkalem found herself admitting and wasn't nearly as shocked about it as she would have thought. In fact it felt freeing in a way to be so honest with him. it had been a long time since she allowed herself such luxury. Too long, she thought as she reached up to run her hands through his hair and looked up into his eyes. "It's true and if we weren't so concerned with duty I would not hesitate to steal you away and have my way with you. But I am willing to settle for right now, in this moment."

****************************************************​

Laz!

The sound of her name shocked her back to the present and Alazne fell unceremoniously to the floor from her meditative bubble. All the talk of the past had her in desperately grasping in an attempt to find her center, and here he was invading that too. She waited until her mood moved back to civility before she allowed herself move to his room above her. Her eyes closed on her place and opened to find him. In only a towel, and Laz quickly averted her eyes to keep from blushing. There was a time when the sight of him basically naked would have been an invitation but not anymore so she held herself in the space she filled just inside the door.

"What do you want, cause I know it's not to....reminisce," she said with a smirk, willing herself to aloofness as she lean against the wall. Then she was on his sofa, lounging with her feet up and hands behind her head. And her clothes were different. Gone were her fitted cargo pants and t-shirt, replaced by spandex shorts a shade or two darker than her skin and a white racerback tank top that did little to hide the fact that she had gone braless. "Make it quick Jackie Boy I was just about to settle down for a nap."

 

[silvertongue217]

Oh god

It was the way she said it her voice husky with need

It was how she said it while pressed against him running her hands through his hair in such a touching move that it made his heart throb in pleasure

It was the fact that here in this moment he just couldn’t contain it any longer

“I love you” Edward murmured before leaning down and placing a deep kiss on her lips “maybe it’s to soon to say but frankly I don’t give a damn I love you… Have since the moment I first saw you and even more now that we’ve been in battle together I’ll spend the rest of my life by your side if you allow me it’s what I want”

“It’s what I need”

And with that he kissed her again a deep passionate kiss, his large hands and nimble fingers danced across her back pressing her close to his body as he tried his best to show her just how much he needed her. He lifted her easily pressing her against the cool stonewall as the hot water cascaded down them. He arched his hips filling her in one smooth motion his cock plunging into her moist depths. He let out a low husky moan panting with pleasure as he pressed deeper inside of her filling her.

“I love you” He moaned huskily moving in and out “God do I love you”

………………………………

She appeared on his couch and it was only when she was here that Jackie realized he hadn’t dressed yet. He realized that at the same time he took stock of her outfit. He didn’t know if she was purposefully trying to entice him or if she was just trying to get comfy but his cock began to throb slightly at the sight. How was it that she still got that reaction out of him? Even after all this time he still thought about her still imaged what would have happened if he hadn’t asked her to……

He sighed running a hand through his hair and making it stick up in odd places “first off I wanted to say thank you for watching my back” He said walking over to the closet and opening it hiding himself from view.

“Also I have a favor” He said pulling on a pair of black jeans and a black tank top. He pulled his signature leather jacket on and resisted the urge to check himself out in the mirror as he draped it over his shoulders like a cape.

“There was a theft at the college” He said coming out and looking at her trying to stop the sexy smirk from crossing onto his face “One that…. Well looks like I did it what was stolen was the prototype of baby the one we forged together” He said walking over to her and kneeling in front of her.

“I need your help on this one” He said reaching out and touching her hands “I don’t want to get the others involved in this it’s personal and you’re the only one I trust to deal with the college will you help me? Please”

 

[grdybiwife]

It had been near a century since she'd heard those words, maybe more but still Serkalem tried her best to ignore it. To pretend that she misheard Edward but then he said it again, and she tried to believe that it was just a knee jerk reaction to his entrance. She had been around long enough to know that men say the damnedest things when encased in the warmth women held between their thighs. But the third time, well there was no mistaking that and Lem took his words for truth. All of them, but still she couldn't bring herself to return them.

And not because she didn't feel the same. Of course it took her a bit longer to realize it but she knew it. The heartache from her past kept her from uttering those three simple words that once strung together meant so much to so many. She'd told her Russian before he abandoned her only to torment the soldier who she had now grown so close. If he only knew they the ripple he had created...But she wasn't supposed to be thinking about him while Edward worked so hard to bring her pleasure, so Lem turned her mind off and simply felt.

Her legs wrapped around him tight as her long nails clawed his back. Her hips rolling up and back, meeting his slow deep thrusts. "Edward...I...You make me feel so good...I never thought I would ever...I feel...Its just..." Try as she might, Lem couldn't make those three simple words and she feared he might withdraw if she didn't reciprocate. She moaned deeply, her body trembling as she clung to him. She ran her tongue along his ear and said, "I want the same but there's so much you don't know about me...so much you need to know..."It was the hunger that cut her off this time but she didn't hold back knowing how much he enjoyed being the source of her nourishment and Lem gave into that need fully. She groaned at that first taste, took her time savoring his flavor until she was sated enough to cum. Edward's throat in her maw muffled the sounds of his names as Lem writhed through her climax.

****************************************************​

Laz was taken aback by his gratitude, she hadn't expected it so soon given how bitter he had been. Then he mentioned the favor and she pulled her hand away from his. "You gotta be fuckin kidding me," she said as she sat up and pushed him away. "What happened? Your precious little Elaine gave you a heads up...see I told you she could get back on her own."

And like that she was gone, back in her own room. Well almost, she ended up in the hall just outside and smashed into the solid wall that was Donovan Vanderhugh's chest. But even he could see that she was in no mood for his flirting, but that didn't mean he wouldn't tease.

"Missed the mark did you?" He said with a smirk and stepped back away from her door. And to his surprise the scowl that had been on her face turned to a small smile as she looked up at him.

"My bad. Things get screwy when I'm pissed."

"Yeah I know a little bit about that..."

"Oh yeah about that," she said before she pushed her door open and dipped into her room. "I'm sorry for the whole tongue swallowing thing..."

"Ehh don't worry about it. I've been through worse."

"So I've seen...I could show you," she offered and Don held up his hand.

"It's been offered and I still haven't taken anybody up on it. I'm starting to think I'm not that interested. I figure we all landed in this shit hole for a reason and who am I to question it," he said with a shrug and Laz laughed a little as he walked off down the stairs.

Alone in her room, Laz mulled over what Jackie had asked of her. More importantly that he said he trusted it her. He wasn't lying about that, she would have seen write through it and for that alone she was second guessing her denying him.

"Try again...but this time do me a favor leave the academy out of it." She knew he heard her, the question was whether or not he would play along.

 

[silvertongue217]

“It’s okay”

He said those words and more importantly he meant them. He didn’t need her to say it and it didn’t change how he felt. He supposed most men would have felt rejected or hurt by it but Edward wasn’t like most men. He didn’t need to hear it back he said what he felt and he felt it in that moment and more importantly he KNEW her. He knew her well enough to know that she might not be capable of saying it right there and then in that moment. He was obsessed with her simple as that longed for her and whether or not she felt the same way wouldn’t have changed that for him.

Her teeth sunk into his neck causing him to thrash and moan. The rush and heady feeling took over his mind and he repeated the words okay over and over again as he continued thrusting into her. He felt through the haze her spasming and climaxing and suddenly he was right there loudly moaning as his cock began to twitch rapidly with every thrust.

“Oh god!” He groaned in pure pleasure thrusting in deep his cock giving one last twitch before exploding inside of her. He felt his balls draining and continued letting the water cascade over them both as he thrust into her and rode out his orgasm.

“You don’t have to say it back” He finally said pulling out huffing in pleasure “I’m still going to tell you it though” He said leaning in and kissing her before moving back “I love you” He said reaching over and beginning to wash her off knowing she would return the favor.

……………..

He watched dumb founded as she left. Confusion turned to anger quickly and he sprang up narrowing his eyes as he grabbed his gauntlet. Who did she think she was?! He was sincere and she just blew him off! Why wouldn’t she care the project was THEIR baby a combination of their relationship and their combined magical skills. Hell he was just as mad at the college as any one else but it was still their work.

“Well to hell with it then” Jackie said going downstairs “I’ll do this my self” He said texting Elaine and telling her he was on his way.

Ten minutes later

He walked across the grounds mulling over how best to respond to her. He ignored the bright eyed sorcerers in their robes and instead gazed at the tall looming citadel that had served as a great source of joy and sadness in his life.

“Which part?” He finally asked deciding to play along “The part where I told you thank you? Or the part where I said I trusted you both were true whatever may have happened to us you and I have a very long and colorful history you’ve never stopped being my best friend”

He let her ponder that and walked in ignoring the magical gargoyles who stood guard over the library. The library was the same as it always had been flying books moving left and right and students rushing. He still found it strange that all this chaos was going down in dead silence with a elderly librarian who would teleport you into the noisiest places possible if she found you breaking that rule.

Of course he and Laz often broke that rule

“There you are!”

Elaine was coming towards him in her usual head sorceress robes the one meant to make every one ogle. He knew it bothered her that he didn’t notice or stare at her like the other men so he put on his most polite smile and raised an eyebrow.

“Elaine” He said “Glad to see you got out of the nest”

Her smile darkened her eyes narrowing to points “Yes well you don’t have to take so much pleasure in it!” She said shaking her head “What happened to us?”

“You betrayed me lied to me and caused my expulsion” He reminded her ticking them off one by one “There isn’t any thing more to say to that let me see the crime scene”

Elaine starred at him for a long time in what looked like sadness before she sighed. H didn’t say any thing but instead beckoned him lading him down the hallways to the magical artifacts section.

 

[Othermoose]

After what felt like an hour of tossing and turning on his bed Quinn gave up on trying to sleep. He looked around his room a moment wondering what he should do. He still wasn't hungry, so he decided to head over to the firing range. He changed into his rat form and silently navigated the hallways until he arrived at the thankfully empty firing range. He changed back to human form before he set up several targets and pulled a desert eagle from the armory wall adjacent to the range. He decided to forgo safety glasses and ear protection, instead just beginning to fire away at the various targets he'd set up.

After going through ten clips of ammo, and countless targets, Quinn was happy to see his marksmanship had improved, if only slightly. He decided to work with a larger gun, and switched the pistol for a mp5. Quinn began to fire on the targets, his attention completely focused on his task.

 

[grdybiwife]

Lem smiled at that, as Edward worked a thick lather of soap over her skin. "Perhaps that file of mine is more detailed than I had thought," she purred under his attention. When he was done with her Lem look up the soap, paying close attention to his pecks, abs, and granite back. Her fingers trailed over all his scars, attaching each to the memory that he'd given her. Most were from his time in confinement and she knew that at some point she would have to tell him of their common enemy but now was not the time. At the moment she was content to just be with him, pretending that there was nothing else but them. No MPC. No fog. No monsters. No zealots. Just a man and a woman, two kindred spirits united by skill and lust. And blood.

"Now about that report," she said with a smirk once they were both thoroughly clean. "I'll not have you shirk duty on account of me Handler. Besides I've seen how she spoken to you in the past...she would not survive it if it happened again," Lem promised as she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, pulling Edward along with her. With a smirk she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight around his middle and slowly lifted them off the ground. Just enough so that she could spin them dry before she grabbed two towels to wrap around him, then herself.

"Come now Handler," she said as she lead him back into her room, her nose wrinkled at the smell of their discarded clothes. "We've things to do."

Lem sat down at her desk, grabbed her bag, and pulled out her polish and whetstone. She shift her eyes at Edward and smiled. "The faster we get done the faster we can get back to pretending there is nothing else."

****************************************************​

...you’ve never stopped being my best friend

Laz knew that wasn't exactly true but the fact that he said it meant enough for her to change her clothes and follow his energy to the academy. She watched from a distance as Jackie made his way across campus and met up with that conniving bitch she hated so much. At first she thought herself a fool for believing him and started to turn back, but then she listened to their conversation.

“Elaine, Glad to see you got out of the nest”

“Yes well you don’t have to take so much pleasure in it! What happened to us?”

“You betrayed me lied to me and caused my expulsion. There isn’t any thing more to say to that let me see the crime scene”


Laz couldn't hold her grin at the way Elaine looked at him, utterly defeated, and that alone had her following along behind them. She didn't make her presence known until they reached the big heavy doors to the hall of relics and moved to stand beside Jackie, and nudged him with her elbow.

"Ohh the trouble we caused here, makes me feel almost nostalgic," she said with a wink at Elaine. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"I forgive you and it seems you've forgiven me so let's start over...or at least try. I think this will work better if we go off a clean slate." That was just for Jackie, even though it would probably drive Elaine nuts to know that they were back in cahoots but it wasn't about her. Laz just wanted her friend back.

****************************************************​

Nicky woke up alone and still fully dressed, barely remembering getting into bed. The only reason she knew who it belonged to was from the smell. Don had a very distinct aroma, not that it was unpleasant but it was only his and the familiarity of it soothed her. It reminded her of her Dad, the fireman, manly and comforting all at once and she smiled as she nuzzled her face in the pillows. Smiled wider when she sat up and realized her headache was gone.

Then she remembered Quinn, and the look on his face when she left him. She didn't mean to hurt his feelings but she just wasn't interested in being bombarded with the voiced anymore. Here though, they were few and far between. There were Edward's ghosts and the team, but those she could block for the most part. Well except Laz, Nicky heard all the muddled thoughts of the confused traveler's daughter, but even that was quiet. When she got up, Nicky didn't feel the need to don her headphones, instead just went down to find some company.

She found Don first, sitting at the bar with a bottle of whiskey and a glass, reading a book. A cigarette burned between his fingers, so intent he didn't look up when she came down. Nicky let him be, she'd never known him to be so calm and she guessed that came from his new sense of belonging. She did peek into his thoughts to see what he was reading and smiled when she heard his voice reading about half-breeds.

"You could have just asked," he said without looking up, but there was a smirk on his lips as he spoke it so Nicky knew he wasn't pissed about her intrusion.

"I didn't want to bother you," she said and he snorted.

"Oh is that right? Well how about you go down and bother the little dude whose heart you broke not to long ago," he said with a smirk and Nicky's eyes got wide. "Yup, he was devastated."

"He was not!"

"Yeah okay maneater," Don said with a smirk and turned his attention back to his book and Nicky left him to go find Quinn.

It didn't take her long, she could hear the bullets as soon as she got into the elevator and followed the sound down to the firing range where she found him letting of round after round from something bigger than he needed.

"I still don't want to go out but maybe you could show me around here," she said with a hand on his shoulder so she didn't have to yell.

 

[silvertongue217]

“If you say so” Edward said rolling his eyes and watching as she took out her whetstone. He thought about making a teasing comment about her picking him up and spinning them dry but instead shot her a charming smile before sitting down at his desk. He frowned and rubbed his temples staring at the computer for several moments, he usually got paper work done first because he often found it difficult to concentrate on the details after he relaxed and showered. It was even worse with Lem in such proximity he could feel her even without looking back and a part of him just wanted to turn and tumble into bed with her.

“Remember when being a warrior was easy?” He asked lightly beginning to type on the holoboard “When it was more or less take on a mission complete it and be done with it this damn council is so worried about red tape that we have to explain every thing we are doing even though we are supposed to be above this kind of stuff” He said scowling as he typed a few more lines.

It was true the council was already arguing about their results with grand central station destroyed it would no doubt be even worse. The pressure on them was intense for results but he was okay bearing the brunt of it.

Even if it meant a metric fuck ton of paper work

…………………………..

Elaine visibly tightened glaring at Laz with burning eyes before putting on her best tight lipped smile “I don’t know what your talking about” She said simply before turning her attention to Jackie “Why did you bring her? I thought we were-“

“What?” Jackie said raising an eyebrow and stepping to stand by Laz’s side “investigate this together? In case you forgot Lax helped me invent this….. and I trust her more than the people at this academy including you” He said shortly.

Elaine flinched visibly stunned and hurt “Very well if you will follow me” She said turning on her heels and moving quickly.

“Maybe that was a little harsh” Jackie said frowning before turning his attention to Laz “Thank you for coming and yes I would like that”

He blushed at her words “I was just thinking about when we came in about the trouble we used to get into in the halls I wonder if that place we liked to….. go to is still hidden” He said looking up fondly at the large book cases.

 

[Othermoose]

Quinn jumped when he felt Nicky's hand on his shoulder. His flinch caused the machine gun to spray bullets into the ceiling for a moment before Quinn got the weapon under control again. "Fuck Nicky! Don't sneak up on my like that, I almost shot myself!" Quinn said carefully returning the large weapon to its rack. Quinn turned back to Nicky and gave her a smile to show he wasn't nearly as upset about her startling him as he was asking. "So what do you want to see? You've been to the bar, but we could go there and get snacks. Or we could go to the garage and look at all of the fancy cars they've built. Did I tell you about my badass motorcycle? It's got machine guns built in! There's also the lab where they build weird science-y type things. And the armory, but they don't like it when I go in there. Steal one grenade and..."

Quinn stopped his rant realizing he hadn't given Nicky a chance to say anything. "So what do you think? Any of those sound cool?" Quinn asked trying not to stare at Nicky.

 

[grdybiwife]

"The difference between monarchy and democracy is bureaucracy," Lem said with a smirk as she worked the stains off each blade. Her eyes trained on the glint of steel before her but she could not ignore Edward's presence even if he were silent. "I'm glad my time in service was done before all of this who did what nonsense. This was how debriefing went in my day....'Are they die'...'Yes, sir'...'All of them?'...'Yes, sir'...'Well alright then, back to camp'...simple as that," she said and brushed her hands together. "Wars were not won behind desk then but alas this a different time. You would have done well where I come from, though I'm not sure of how well that light skin would hold up under the desert sun."

Lem glanced over at him then, hard at work. Shoulders hunched, his still wet hair falling over his face. It occurred to her that perhaps they should have dressed before they got started with the more mundane tasks of this business they'd found themselves in, then cursed herself for pushing them towards separation. With a huff and a little flourish, Lem began the precious act of sharpening her Khukuri blades.

*******************************************************​

"Oh I took care of that a long time ago," Laz said, doing nothing to hide the blush that came to her cheeks at Jackie's mention of their secret place. Her eyes sparkled a little as she remembered one of the first times they stumbled into it, and the kiss that followed. It wasn't the first one but that didn't make it any less memorable. "After we fell out and you got the boot I decided that if I couldn't have fun in this shit hole, no one could."

As they walked, Laz found herself drifting into step with Jackie. Her hands tucked snugly in her jacket pockets, occasionally her elbow brushed his arm and the contact sent a static charge through her. What was once between them didn't end with that argument, at least for her anyway. But now she knew it was true for him too.

'Twice you've come into my world, stirring things up,' she thought to herself as she took a sidelong glance at Jackie. 'Seems like fate to me.'

**********************************************************​

Nicky giggled at Quinn's misfires and would have apologized if he didn't immediately hit her with his barrage of questions. When he was done, she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Dude you really need to learn to take a deep breath every 10 words or so," she said then slipped her arm around his neck, not thinking of how Quinn might take the contact. Nicky just wanted him to calm down and know that she wasn't brushing him off earlier. "Yeah that bike sounds cool but my board is all I need. How about this? This place seems pretty boring in the decor department. I got my bag of tricks upstairs in Don's room. What's say me and you make it funky around here? That Edward guy seems pretty cool, besides he's a little busy with Lem...probably won't even notice," she said, starting a bit of a rant of her own as she led Quinn back towards the elevator.

"Soooo...like what have you been up to. I haven't seen you since...well I bet you remember it better that I do."

 

[silvertongue217]

“You seem a bit perturbed dear” Edward said shaking his head and finishing the last few sentences in his report “Is there some thing the matter?” He said leaning back hitting send on the holo keyboard and watching as the report was uploaded to the MCP database. He knew that The White Wolf would be interested in reading it but he had no intention of discussing it with her tonight.

“I suppose your right” He said shaking his head and smiling “It was like that in the prison no one to report to just the fight survival things were more simplistic” He said coming and sitting by her reaching out and touching her cheek softly with the flat palm of his hand.

“So is some thing wrong?” He asked looking at her curiously “your not angry about the while I love you thing are you?” He asked looking at her closely.

………………

He followed in step with her allowing their elbows to brush and caress one another. Her touch was familiar to him and even though he wasn’t sure comforting. He suddenly felt the urge to take her hand in his to walk together in the halls like they had so many times before. If it wasn’t for the fact that her hands were in her jacket pocket he probably would have.

But he wasn’t sure

“Well here we are” he murmured touching the heavy oak doors imbued with magical runes “I haven’t been in here since they put our invention up”

He pushed the doors open revealing a massive inner chamber that housed stands as far as the eye could see. Massive structures rose out of the shadows sharing space with smaller ones. The torches sprang into life the minute they walked in bathing the room with magical blue fire.

“there” Jackie said pointing at the cut through window “Seems like our thief came in there”

 

[Othermoose]

Quinn's brain shut off when Nicky wrapped her arm around his neck. She was so close, so warm and perfect and real, just the simple contact sent shivers through his entire body. Her words sounded far away as she guided him out of the firing range. His mind kicked back in gear when she asked him what he'd been up to. "Let's not drag up those memories. To this day I can't look at a bridge without shuddering." Quinn said, thinking back to how Nicky had saved him from being troll food. "But I've been good, I guess. Doing odd jobs, stealing shiny things. And other stuff too." Quinn said as he slowly slide his arm around Nicky's waist and pulled her a little closer to his side. "I actually made some real money a few moths ago. This dude Zanor asked my to swipe this weird spiky ball from some other dude's house. I don't know why he wanted it, but he paid me ten grand with no questions asked. That's the most I've made from a score. Ever." Quinn said with pride in his voice. He hoped his story would distract Nicky from the fact that his arm was around her waist and their sides were pressed together. "Please don't make me let go." Quinn silently pleaded. Then he realized who he was with and changed his thoughts, hopefully before Nicky could read them.

 

[grdybiwife]

"Angry," Lem asked with a chuckle as she turned her face in his hand to kiss his palm before she slipped her hand in his. "If I were angry Handler you wouldn't have to ask and it could never be about that...ever. To be honest I don't think I could be angry with you. If I didn't show you the garrote when we first met then I doubt you'll ever see it after all we've shared."

'He's shared because you haven't shared anything.' It was just a thought but it was enough to get her to her feet, pacing as she flipped one of the throwing knives between her fingers. Now was the time, before things got too far along and it was too late.

"Something happens between a human and a vampire when they've been as intimate as we have," she began without looking at him. She couldn't for fear of his reaction. Lem knew she should have told him before but it all happened so fast and she got lost in the moment. In the pleasure he gave. "Making love is one thing, sharing your life's essence with me is another but when you put the two together...it creates a bond stronger than could be had if we were both the same. When I said that I am yours and you are mine, that was not just idle talk. I could feed from others but no one would satisfy me the way that you do and I would tear the head off of anything that even looks your way for nourishment," she said, her voice dropping to a growl as she showed her teeth at the thought of someone else tasting what was hers.

"I was in your place before I was turned and I vowed that I would never put a human in the same predicament, yet here I am. I should have told you Edward, when I saw it in your blood but you have a way of making me forget myself," she said with a slight smile, then took a long deep breath before she got to the point of her diatribe. "My maker had similar sentiments of me but he didn't share that with me until I was already this. I hadn't thought of him for decades, until the other night when I saw his face in your blood. Nikolai Koshka, though he might have gone by something different when he tormented you but his face was still the same."

*****************************************************​

"Yeah and there wasn't anything magic about it. And I think you should be insulted by that one implying it looked like you did it," Laz said with a nod at Elaine. "You would never be so sloppy. And whoever took it doesn't know it's useless without me. I deactivated it...and a few other things in here," she admitted as she moved to the window and put her hand on it. "We need Nicky. There's residue but it's too blurry for me to understand. But we have to be sneaky about it. I don't want them fucking with her like they did us," Laz told Jackie as she stepped away from the window and moved around the room.

"I assume nobody saw anything if you called him," she said to Elaine, and without venom. Laz surprised herself with that, and her next question. "Or were you giving him a heads up cause his name's being tossed around?"

****************************************************​

"What did I tell you about stealing Quinn," Nicky said with a smirk as she messed his hair. She heard his plea and didn't push him away. "That almost got you choked out here didn't it and isn't that why the trolls tried to get you," she said with a giggle as she pulled him along through the bar where Don still sat pouring over his book. She started to say something to him but he held up his hand and Nicky moved along to the stairs that lead up to his room to retrieve her bag.

"So tell me are your walls the same boring white as the rest of this place," she said, pulling away from him only to pull off her hoody and put her bag on her back. "I'd like to start with someone who will appreciate my work. I'd do Don's but he hates the fumes...yeah the guy who goes through two packs of smokes a day can still smell my spray."

 

[silvertongue217]

He watched her talk thinking nothing of her sudden nerves. Whatever it was they could handle it whatever came there way. Her words about their unique bond and what it meant to her caused him to blush faintly. He wanted to remind her that he didn’t need her to say it back that he understood but her next words obliterated that from his mind.

Nikolai Koshka

His face rose to the front the taunting face that had filled the void in his life for so many years before she came into the picture. Even though it had ben a while since he though of him the memories of what h did came crashing back as did the deep burning anger. To any one who didn’t really know Edward it wouldn’t seem like it bothered him that much but for those that did know him the tight shoulders the slight nose flair and the twitching fingers all said one thing.

Whoever this was Edward hated him

“The Russian” He finally said saying it with such hate “I had heard he might have had some connection to you but….. I never knew”

He got off the bed quickly looking at her for several long seconds “You’ve seen his face in my blood? Have you seen what happened” He asked pulling off his shirt to reveal his scarred body.

“All these scars have a story and they both begin and end with the Russian the first supernatural foe I ever faced he wanted m for his army I saw what he was doing to the others and fought for those who were merely a food source to him we clashed so many times I lost count but back then I was running mostly on adrenaline once I got out I swore to track him down and drive a stake through his heart the obsession is one of the things that broke my family apart” He said glancing down at his body for several long seconds.

“He is here you know?” He finally said looking up “In New York I tracked him before you he was my obsession the object of my pursuit”

……………………………

“Not necessarily” Jackie said bending and studying the cut hole
“I didn’t use magical object this would have been some thing I would have done” He said ignoring the two of them bickering.

“If you remember I did get caught trying to steal here” He reminded her smiling with a wink before turning to Elaine “though she raises a good point is my name being tossed around? Are the inquisitors after me?”

Elaine chewed her lip looking at him with concern “There waiting but yes they are getting ready to bring you in for questioning I’m sorry I am delaying them as best I can”

“Well then we better figure out who did it then” Jackie said glancing at Laz trying not to show his fear “we don’t need to involve Nicky not yet at least” He said moving over to the stand where his glove was.

“They must not know it is deactivated” Jackie murmured looking at the runes and magical protection “they must have had a charm or some thing unless they used paint to temporarily disrupt the magic…. Laz you sensing any thing on your end?”

 

[grdybiwife]

"I'm well aware," Lem said as she went to her closet to put her blades away and grab fresh clothes. Nothing special, her usual fitted pants and t-shirt but Lem took her time getting dressed. She was over the shock of what had developed between them so quickly, but now came the hard part. The part she usually avoided when dealing with her past partners. But Edward wasn't like the others. They fit together in a way Serkalem never imagined, and she liked it. She went to him finally, her hands running along his chest, fingers playing at the raised flesh of his scars.

"Yes I know how you got these and I know you've been keeping tabs on him...as he has me," she said as she found Edward's hand and laced her fingers with his. "He's become something different than when were together. We all take to the hunger differently and it seems he has let it consume him. I'm glad I didn't follow him, there's no telling what I would have become...And who knows, you might not have been able to drag me into this little unit," she added with a smirk as she leaned into kiss his jaw. "I'm yours Edward and you needn't worry about anything coming between us. But now that we have found each other, he will come. Of that I am certain."

*******************************************************​

"Not paint," she said, as she ran her fingers along the grooves in the wood that would have kept the artifact of their creation safe. "It's not that simple," Laz mumbled as her eyes began to flutter and then glow as the wood raised beneath her fingertip. "It's dead inside. Paint wouldn't do that, nor would it disrupt the runes. This is old school shit Jackie...stuff my Dad taught me and nobody at this school has the capacity to understand. And that's not me being an asshole," she said with a glance at Elaine. "Whoever did this knew what they were doing. No simple incantation would break this up. And I'm starting to think the haze I'm seeing in the glass is apart of it. Somebody who could shift time and space...And no it wasn't me."

Alazne stood up then and moved in a blink to the glass to press her hands against it. The tattoos that ran up her arms shimmered and seemed to move as she took long slow breaths. Then she was outside, hovering as she waved Jackie over. "This was a distraction," she said before she appeared back in the room and crashed into Jackie, their bodies pressed together a moment before she stepped away. The air around them popped and crackled as they separated and her eyes flashed back to normal.

"Jackie Boy I'm afraid you've been set up...again," she said with a pointed glance at Elaine. "And as much as I hate to admit it, it wasn't her."

 

[Othermoose]

"You know what? I have noticed a very disturbing lack of color in my room." Quinn said leading Nicky through the hallways to his room. He opened the door and let Nicky in before plopping onto his bed. "Welcome to casa... Casa... Casa something Quinn." He laughed as he watched Nicky pull out several spray-paint cans. "You remember my favorite color, right?" Quinn asked nodding to the open closet full of various blue items of clothing.

 

[grdybiwife]

"Ummm green right? Or was it yellow," Nicky teased as she pulled off her hoodie and dug into her bag for her mask. "You should put something over your bed," She said as she kicked off her shoes and hopped up on the bed to stand next to Quinn. Nicky pulled her mask on so it dangled around her neck and flopped down to sit in with her legs folded beside him. She stared at him a moment, allowing herself to feel him, and it made her blush.

Don was right, but Nicky sort of had an idea of Quinn's crush when they hung in the same crowd. But that was before she got a handle on the voices in her head so she could never be certain if the whispers she heard were real or not. Now though, with just the two of them sitting alone in silence, she couldn't deny it.

Nicky grabbed her sketch book and pencils, a small smile on lips as she started scribbled. "So aside from guns, stealing shiny things, and peanut butter, what else are you into," She asked him without looking up.

 

[Othermoose]

"There's other stuff besides shiny things, guns, and peanut butter?" Quinn asked in mock confusion. He tried to hide the fact that her closeness was making him nervous, but if he could judge from her blush, Nicky might be feeling something similar. "Hmmmm. If the holy trinity isn't good enough for you, how about a mermaid. I've always liked mermaids, even before the fog." Quinn said before hesitantly standing up. He didn't want to get up, but Nicky was right about him needing to cover his bed. He went into the closet and grabbed a spare set of sheets. He layed the sheets on the floor, and on his bed by the wall Nicky was going to paint before sitting back down next to her, a little bit closer than before.

 

[grdybiwife]

"Mermaids huh?" Nicky asked with a giggle as she did a rough sketch of a pin up style mermaid lounging seductively on a rock. It was nothing special until she got to the face. That's when things got a little weird.

Nicky tucked the pencil behind her ear and glanced at Quinn when she was done, slipped the pad in her lap. "How's that," she asked as she stood up, hoping he didn't notice that the mermaid looked an awful lot like her if her hair wasn't chopped off and dyed shocking yellow. With her red roots growing it was starting to look like fire the way she styled it. Even Don had commented that it looked pretty awesome, that alone had her contemplating keeping it.

"Like Ariel but hotter...and with bigger tits. I'll do the tail blue and some starfish," she said with a smirk, using her hands to illustrate what she meant on her own breast.

The sketch done, Nicky needed to get in her zone. She grabbed her hoodie and fished out her lighter and half a joint. As she took a few tokes, Nicky stared at the wall visualizing the piece before she started. After shuffling through her playlists, she found something flowy to listen to before she pulled her mask up and got to work.

 

[silvertongue217]

“It wasn’t about hunger with him when I dealt with him” Edward murmured his eyes becoming distance as he played with his fingers seemingly lost in another lace and time. A place that gave him a harder rougher edge.

“It was about evolution” He continued still playing with her fingers “about having his own personal army you could tell he was mad, mad some one with his abilities and mind set had to stay hidden from the outside world he made sure every one in the prison knew what he was and what he promised them all it took was three days of pain in exchange for immortality it appealed to many bastards in the prison”

“You’re right though” He said leaning in toughing their foreheads together “he will come eventually once he see’s us together we will face him again together and when we do well he wont be able to stop us” He murmured before giving her a deep kiss.

“I am yours as well” He whispered against her lips pulling her close his hands gripping her back as he brought her to bed “always my love” he murmured his tongue sliding into her mouth as they tumbled into the bed together.

………………..

“That’s what I have been trying to tell you” Elaine said smugly turning to Jackie as if wanting his approval or smile.

“Thank you for calling us here Elaine” Jackie said refusing to meet her eyes and leaning down next to Laz trying to reist the urge to take her hand in his. “Who would be using old school magic to pull of a heist?” He murmured touching the runes with the tip of his hands.

“None of this is making any sense” Jackie said getting up and scratching his chin “could some one turn the device back on? Some one with the kind of magical know how to do this?” He said raising his eyebrow and gesturing at the runes.

“And what did you mean this was a distraction?”

 

[grdybiwife]

Even through the plumes of cigarette smoke he created around his head Don could still smell the paint fumes. He smiled knowing that was a sign that Nicky had settled in enough to be normal and that meant that he could finally relax.

And think. Unfortunately though now he had a multitude of very serious questions for which he needed answers. He'd always thought that once he found out what he really was that his life would be less befuddled but the knowledge only served to make things worse. Now that that mystery had been solved the bigger mystery of who he was before the fog made it's way to the forefront of his mind. He downed the last of the fifth whiskey he started when they first got back, stamped out the cigarette he was smoking. He fingered the tags on his chest with one hand while the other found the lips on his neck. And the wedding band with DNV+MEV. The first were his, that he knew even if he had no idea what the N stood for but the other was a mystery that he'd stop trying to solve. At least until now and the only people he knew who could help him were either indisposed or MIA so he grabbed the book and went up to his room to wait. It had been five years, what was a few more hours.

**********************************************************​

Lem wasn't so certain about how they would fare against Nikolai. Edward was still human after all and no matter how good he was with that shotgun, she wasn't so sure how well he'd stand up to something as experienced as a 200 year old vampire. But of course those thoughts didn't stand a chance when he pushed his tongue into her mouth and pulled her effortlessly into bed. And his pledge of forever had her knees weak.

She clung to him, her legs intertwined with his. Hands tangled in his hair as Edward ravaged her with his mouth. Lem marveled at how this mere mortal could reduce her to the dreamy eyed girl she had been with a simple touch. The girl she thought died in desert tent in her homeland. For the first time in her life, Serkalem was glad to have been mistaken.

"So do you plan to keep me trapped in here all day," she said between kiss, as her hands found their way up the back of his t-shirt. "Not that I would mind. I'm just curious."

'I love you too.'

**********************************************************​

"The glass not the theft itself," Laz clarified, trying her best to keep the color from rising in her cheeks from Jackie being so close. And wanting to touch her. She could feel it, his urges to take her hand, just like when they first met. Only now those tinglings in her palm didn't cloud her ability to think clearly. But still she had to fight the urge to oblige him. Not in front of her. "They got in the same way I did...he...tall...cloaked...angry," she said as she ran her hand along the wood.

"He touched this. Killed the wood to disrupt the runes. Whatever he did to block his presence wasn't permanent. I can't see but I feel him...his residue. His rage. At the sharing of the arts with humans. There was a code. We weren't to fraternize." Laz stopped then and stood, startled that she used "we" in reference to sorcerers. "Of course that doesn't apply to beings like my father, well because nothing really applies to them. But he's not that...close but not yet. Either way he's isn't a fan of this academy or you, the human boy who's figured out in a few years how to manipulate the arts that take most decades. He means you harm Jackie Boy, you and the academy, and he plans to make it last. I don't think he considered the possibility of me being involved...given our history. I'm your ace in the hole Jackie and I only know one person who might be able to steer us in the right direction. Whether or not he's willing is something else."

 

[Othermoose]

"Wow. Staring at the wall is going to be a lot more fun now." Quinn joked as he looked at the mermaid that Nicky had sketched. As Quinn studied the drawing more closely the mermaid began to look sort of familiar. "Change the hair... And move the nose a bit... Did she draw herself for me?" Quinn wondered as he returned the notepad to Nicky. "She looks really ho... Beautiful." Quinn said not entirely talking about the mermaid. He watched in silence as Nicky put on her mask and began to work on his wall. Quinn got an unobstructed view of Nicky as her body moved to the music. She was in the zone, completely focused on her art work, and gorgeous.

Normally in this position, Quinn's attention would be totally focused on a woman's ass. And maybe her legs too, but right now he was focused on Nicky. All of her. He took in every curve, every expression, trying to burn this moment in his brain forever. Part of him wanted Nicky to see what he was thinking. To feel what he was feeling, but at the same time he was terrified. Terrified that she'd be scared off by his desire, or even worse, she'd laugh at him. He was afraid she'd reject him, treat him as the dumb kid he used to be, or even abandon their friendship all together. But Quinn was a risk taker. He made no attempt to hide or change his thoughts. He did nothing to announce them either. If Nicky saw what Quinn was thinking it would be because she reached out to him.

"I want you to see. See how I feel. See how beautiful you are to me." Quinn thought, his chest tight with nervousness and desire. "Look. Just for a moment. Please feel this too. I need you to feel this." Quinn silently begged as Nicky continued to paint the wall.

 

[grdybiwife]

"I want you to see. See how I feel. See how beautiful you are to me....Look. Just for a moment. Please feel this too. I need you to feel this."

Even if he didn't ask, Nicky would have felt Quinn's ardor for her. It was a constant thing whenever they shared space and it hit her like a ton of bricks it was so intense. It wasn't the first time she'd felt a boys attraction to her but it was the first time it wasn't solely based on the way she looked and that had her porcelain skin blushed so deep that the freckles on her cheeks and chest disappeared.

Sweat ran down her back, making her tank top stick a little as she swept a can of iridescent cerulean back and forth to outline the tail. Nicky ignored his request to change the hair and went about blocking out the spacing for it with ruby, deciding halfway through that she would use gold to highlight in places.

"You don't have to be so forceful you know," she said without turning around. "There's a difference between a hug and being bombarded. I feel you Q. Always have but I figured it was a puppy love crush. That feels like ages ago, doesn't it? We're both so different now...grown up and what you feel for me isn't a fairy tale. It's real. I know it, from the moment you first saw me again I knew it. And when I saw you I didn't see that squirrely eyed kid I knew before...I don't know you anymore Quinn and to be honest you never really knew me. Sure we hung out with the same people but not really together, you were just a kid then...I guess what I'm trying to say is we need to start fresh. Forget about who we knew before and make friends as we are now."

And all the while she spoke, Nicky painted. The crashing waves. The algae covered boulder that her mermaid lounged on. The tail flecked with silver and way, the fin tip upward as the humanoid top half of the mermaid rested with one elbow on the rock, her chin in her hand. The other tangled a lock of her ruby hair around an outstretched index finger. The look in her eye was playful but the smirk on her full ruddy lips gave her an almost seductive look. As usual, Nicky found a place to conceal her tag. If you looked closely the ridge of her fin spelled out GHOST vertically. She stepped back and pulled her mask off.

"So, what do you think?"

 

[Othermoose]

Quinn felt her mind touch his. He listened to her thoughts, and he was happy to see she saw his feelings as more than just a passing crush. He wanted to say something clever or romantic, but the first thought that popped into his head was: "I wanted to something a bit more subtle than all that, but I don't know any pickup lines." He thought. "Wait. I mean..." Quinn thought frantically for something good to say before finally pulling his mind away from Nicky's.

"I'm just going to talk. Thinking isn't my strong suit." Quinn joked aloud while trying to subtly suppress his desire for Nicky that apparently radiated off of him. "I guess... No! Shut up brain!" He thought trying to clear his nervous mind.

"I guess you're right." He said after a moment of wrangling his thoughts. "We have both changed a lot. We need to re-meet. Make sure we're actually friends because we like each other versus because we used to be friends." Quinn said as Nicky put the finishing touches on the wall.

"What do you think?" She asked him.

"Well, I don't think I've ever been more excited to watch paint dry." Quinn joked as he studied the painting on his wall. "It's really good. Like the kind of thing they'd put in museums. And I think you could make art pretty even if it didn't have boobs." Quinn joked.

He looked Nicky in the eye as she stepped away from the wall. After a moment of nervous silence Quinn finally spoke. "So what now?" He asked, trying not to think about how much he liked Nicky's eyes.

 

[grdybiwife]

Nicky found herself blushing at he looked at her. Quinn listened, dialing back the intensity of his want but he couldn't push down to nothing and Nicky more appreciated the smolder. She shrugged her shoulders at his question, unsure if he meant at this moment or in general. Either way she had no idea what the next step would be.

This was all new to her. For the first time since the fog she felt safe. Really safe, even if she wasn't sure how long she would be allowed to stay. Nicky had already decided that she would do whatever it took to make herself useful until she was asked to leave.

"I don't know about you but I'm starving...and so are you...and Don," she added with a smirk as she pulled off her mask and shoved it into her bag. "I wonder if there's room for me here. I doubt Don will want me to go back to my apartment when he's all the way across town, but I don't just want to assume you know, since the boss is tangled up with his girlfriend...and God knows I don't want to interrupt that asking about a room," Nicky rambled as she packed up her paint and helped Quinn take up the sheets he used to protect his stuff. "But still, we should eat. I could make us something."