Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (anime)
Date Finished:
Classification: Alternate Universe, Romance, Angst
Pairing: Seiya/Yaten, Taiki/Ami, Mamoru/Usagi, Haruka/Michiru  
Rating: NC-17

The Long Road
By Elsewhere
elsewherecw@shaw.ca

All other information in Part One.

Part Seven: Figured You Out

*****
When am I gonna learn?
Why? ‘Cause I’m tired of hating
When will it be your turn?
Why? ‘Cause I’m tired of waiting
No I don’t
*****

She walked into the club shortly before his break---just waltzed in as though nothing was wrong, and when he looked at her, she just nodded at him, the barest acknowledgment. At first, when his break came around, he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He was feeling so upset and angry right at that moment---playing still wasn’t doing anything to calm him---that he didn’t know what he might say or do…he didn’t know what to say anyway.

But she beckoned him over with a wave of her hand---he caught the motion out of the corner of his eye---so he felt obligated to go over to her. She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"It’s your break, isn’t it? Are you busy, or do you have time for a drink?" she asked, her tone the same as ever…no guilt, nothing. He couldn’t help but stare at her with a bit of disbelief.

She stared back at him for a moment, the expression on her face instantly changing.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, the tone of her voice softening with surprise. "What’s wrong?"

He tried to swallow past the dry lump in his throat and sat down across from her, avoiding her eyes.

"Nothing…I guess," he said gruffly, and he glanced up just in time to see her blink.

"Well, that was certainly convincing," she said sarcastically. "Care to try again?"

"Well, I just mean…I guess there’s nothing wrong…I must have made a mistake," he said, frowning down at the tabletop as he spoke. "I guess I shouldn’t have expected so much. I didn’t even think I was expecting that much…"

She waved a hand in front of her eyes as though testing to make sure she was seeing straight.

"Excuse me, but would you mind saying something coherent?" she said, starting to sound annoyed. "If you don’t start making sense…"

Her voice trailed off warningly.

"No, I mean…I just thought it meant *something*, at least, these last couple of nights," he said, his voice getting quiet as he tried not to let his emotions show. He didn’t actually want her to know how much it meant to him. "I mean, the way you went on about it…saying you cared about me or whatever. But I suppose I should have known it was just a casual thing…knowing you didn’t mean for it to happen and all."

"Seiya, I repeat: what the hell are you talking about?" she said, this time through gritted teeth.

He glanced up at her, scowling, a little pissed that she didn’t take his meaning.

"Look, I saw you with that guy, all right?" he said, a little louder than he intended, and he missed the blank look of incomprehension on her face as he glanced around, making sure no one was looking at them. "I saw you with him! That’s what I’m talking about. I’m just saying…I don’t know, I assumed that you wouldn’t be with another man like that. I thought…fuck. I don’t know what I thought."

He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated and unable to articulate his feelings.

She sat there for a moment in silence before she finally seemed to regain her wits.

"All right…I admit, that one threw me for a loop," she said, sounding a bit out of sorts. "Exactly what man are we talking about?"

"Oh come on, Yaten…that guy, earlier! At the park! Are you playing dumb?"

"Taiki? You saw me with Taiki?" she said, truly sounding a bit dumb as she said it, seemingly confirming it more to herself than to him.

"How the hell am I supposed to know his name? Some pretty boy with long hair," he said, folding his arms and frowning a bit petulantly.

"And…what’s the problem?" she said, which finally caused his eyes to snap up to look at her. She looked genuinely confused, and he glared at her.

She stared at him for a moment, and then she suddenly seemed to do a double take.

"Wait a minute…you think I’m sleeping with Taiki? And you’re jealous because you think I’m two-timing you?" she said, slowly piecing it together as she pointed a slender finger towards him. When she saw the way his glare remained unwavering, she slowly started to smile, and then to chuckle.

"What’s so funny? It’s true, isn’t it? I saw you!" he said, now looking confused as he watched her try to get her giggles under control.

"If I *am* sleeping with Taiki, it’s news to me," she informed him with a grin. "And it would *certainly* be news to Ami-chan."

"Who’s Ami-chan?" he asked, an expression of total befuddlement on his face now.

"Taiki’s wife!" she exclaimed, slapping a hand down on the table as she laughed out loud, then once again tried to bring herself under control while he frowned at her.

"Then what…I mean, I saw you with him…he was holding you…"

"Sure he was holding me. He’s my best friend; it’s allowed," she said, sounding very amused. Then he watched as the smile slowly faded from her face. "I…needed the support tonight, Seiya. I needed a hug. Everybody does sometimes, don’t they? Taiki’s there for me when I need that. But he certainly doesn’t provide me with…anything else."

She chuckled again, reaching out to stir her drink as she eyed him, still amused.

"Honestly Seiya…already pressing for monogamy? Next thing you know we’ll already be divorced and arguing over who gets the kids next weekend," she teased, and he felt himself blush deeply.

"M…marriage? N…no, I…" he stuttered, and she snickered.

"Never mind," she said, waving a hand. "But seriously Seiya, I don’t think this is something you need to worry about. After all, you’re the only one…"

She trailed off then, her eyes widening slightly before she closed her mouth abruptly, her lips tightening as though she was trying to seal them closed.

"What?" he asked, instantly curious.

"Nothing…I shouldn’t have said anything," she said quickly, shaking her head.

He frowned.

"Let me decide that this once," he said sternly, and she looked at him, surprised. "What were you going to say?"

She looked at him for a moment indecisively before she took a breath and let it out slowly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.

"I was just saying that you’re the only one I’ve ever been with, so…I don’t think fidelity is something you should concern yourself with," she said, and then she nervously brushed her hair back behind her ears. "I only thought of it because…well, I’m not an active person at all, sexually. So I was amused that you thought I was…"

He stared at her for a few minutes, not really comprehending, until it finally sank in.

"The only one you’ve ever…wait a second," he said, his eyes widening slightly as he leaned forward. "What do you mean, the only one you’ve ever *been* with? Do you mean that…that I was your first…!?"

She smiled, amused by his reaction, and nodded.

"I don’t get out much," she said tonelessly, and then she laughed at the way he paled, staring at her. "You see, I shouldn’t have said anything…Seiya, it’s not a big deal."

"But it *is*!" he hissed towards her, feeling like he’d been punched in the stomach. "I mean…it’s supposed to be!"

"Why? What could knowing before have possibly changed?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Well, I could have…you know…it’s just…" he trailed off, blushing slightly.

"You did nothing wrong," she said, reaching out to touch his hand. "If it means something to you in terms of manly pride, then go ahead, enjoy that if you like. But other than that, I don’t consider it of any consequence."

He stared at her uncomfortably for a few seconds more before her cheeky grin started to get to him and he had to look at the table instead.

"I’m…surprised," he said finally, still blushing a bit. "Why did you…I mean, why…me?"

"Why not?" she answered simply, and he listened to the soothing sound of the ice cubes clinking in her glass. "I wanted to. It’s usually that simple, I believe."

"But I…"

"Never mind all of that," she said, sounding a bit tired.

He fell silent for a moment, but then he felt the need to speak again.

"But…you could have had anyone else. Someone better for you. Someone like that guy earlier, who could be there for you, instead of you being the one to pick up the pieces."

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Because…you’re so beautiful," he said, his tone that of stating the totally obvious. He glanced up just in time to see her smile warmly.

"Beauty isn’t everything. What makes you think *I* would want anyone else?" she said, and it was just so harsh and honest that he couldn’t say anything for a couple of minutes after that.

"I just had different ideas about you, as usual," he said finally, his voice falling away to a whisper.

"Any particular reason?" she asked, sounding amused.

"Well…for one, you’re the one who had all the…" he trailed off, not really wanting to say it out loud in public.

"All the…?" she repeated questioningly, but then she caught his eyes and saw the way he blushed and she seemed to understand abruptly. "Oh, the condoms?"

He winced at the way her voice seemed to ring louder than usual in the space surrounding them.

"I don’t usually carry those," she said with a dismissive shrug of one shoulder. "Ami-chan---that’s Taiki’s wife I told you about earlier---gave me those a couple of weeks ago. She said I might be needing them sometime soon."

She paused thoughtfully.

"Now that I think about it, I wonder if she just wanted me to have them to be on the safe side, or if she had something specific in mind…" she mused, a small smile coming to her lips before she shook her head. "Oh well, it doesn’t matter."

She smiled at him and he stared at her in silence, contemplating everywhere the conversation had led them so far. He felt a little lost at this point, but that was nothing new.

"Isn’t it time for your second set?" she asked after a moment, her smile a little coy.

He glanced at the clock and gulped; it was past time for his second set.

"Um…I’ll see you later," he said quickly before he made his way back to the piano. She smiled and waved, then occupied herself with her drink.

Needless to say, he had a lot to think about while he was back at the piano.

*****

When he was finished for the night, he approached her, this time a bit sheepishly. It was beginning to occur to him that he had been doing a pretty good job of screwing up their ‘relationship’, for lack of a better term, in every possible way. Accusing her of being an ax murderer was bad enough, but then to go and accuse her of being a cheater right afterwards was probably a little unfair.

She just gave him a tired little smile as she ran a hand through her hair, somehow managing not to mess it up.

"*Now* how would you like to go and get something to eat?" she suggested. "I’m hungry, for some reason. How about we get a hamburger?"

He blinked at her.

"Okay, but…I don’t know, I guess I figured they weren’t really your thing after all," he said, and he watched as she smirked.

"They’re not," she said, and then she shrugged. "But you love hamburgers…they’re your favorite, aren’t they? Come on…my treat."

He felt that little thump of surprise he was starting to get used to when she said that, but he didn’t know what to say, so he just said: "Sure." And they started towards the nearest McDonald’s.

It was a short walk, during which he watched her as closely as he could, memorizing the way her shoulders shook slightly with cold as she pressed her hands together and puffed on them; the way she walked, with such a purposeful stride, even though her exhaustion was evident in the line of her back.

She ended up just ordering some fries after all, avoiding the bigger, greasier things, but she bought him a combo and they sat down in a back corner, as though she wanted to be alone with him. Which was fine with him---he had things he wanted to say.

"Sorry about earlier," he said, eyes on his food as he unwrapped his first Big Mac. "I guess I’m…"

"Paranoid?" she provided as she chewed idly on a fry, and he winced a bit before he had to give in and nod.

"Yeah. I know I am. Too much."

"Mm," she murmured her agreement, which didn’t make him terribly happy, but it was the truth and it had to be accepted.

"You know…sometimes you say things that are so true…that really make it seem as though you do know a lot about me," he said, glancing at her. She returned his gaze evenly, and he swallowed. "Like when you said I loved burgers…they *are* my favorite. I don’t know how you could know something like that."

She took a sip of her Sprite and then set the cup down, seemingly ready to answer him, but he cut her off.

"Could you…tell me more? Maybe if I ask you some questions and you answer them? It helps me to feel like you’re genuine, when I hear you say those things," he said, and he watched as an expression of discomfort washed over her face before it was replaced by the usual mask.

"Seiya…I think you’re being a little naïve," she said, as though she was admitting something unpleasant. "Things like your favorite foods…those are little data tidbits that could easily be found in the fanclub information for your former band. They can’t qualify as any sort of ‘proof’, if that’s what you’re seeking."

He hadn’t quite thought of that; in fact, he’d never really thought about what sort of information about him might be available to fans of that band he’d supposedly once been a part of.

"Well, okay…but still, it seems like more than that…I think," he said, a bit more uncertainly. His tone became a bit pleading. "Just…will you just humor me? For a while."

Her expression seemed almost as uncertain as he felt.

"…Besides, Seiya, what if your tastes have changed in the last year? Then I’ll get the answers wrong, and you’ll say, ‘Ha! See, you don’t know me as well as you think.’ Which I admit. I have some catching up to do," she said quietly, her eyes softening.

He kept looking at her until she finally sighed and leaned back in her chair, propping her legs up on the free chair next to his as though she was settling in for a long stay.

"Go ahead," she said, the reluctance in her tone obvious.

He considered for a moment, trying not to feel too relieved or excited as he chewed thoughtfully.

"All right…well, how about the obvious…you know my age and my birthday?"

"July 30th, 1980…which makes you 20," she said, stirring the ice in her drink noisily, her eyes on her hands.

"Okay…um…where did I go to high school?"

"Juuban Koukou, for a time," she said, hesitating slightly, which made him lift his head.

"For a time…?"

"You didn’t finish high school…you didn’t even finish 1st year," she said simply, eyes still down-turned. "You might say you dropped out. Band-related stuff."

"Oh," he said, a little surprised to hear this. He knew he wasn’t highly educated, but he hadn’t even thought about whether he was a high school graduate or not.

"Um…so, what’s my favorite color?" he asked, already wondering what kinds of questions to ask. He felt like he had so much he wanted to know…he just didn’t know what it was, exactly.

"Red," she said, finally glancing up at him with a somewhat quirky smile. "Because you look so good in it."

This remark was accompanied by a wink.

"Although you also like blue," she remarked, and he blinked at her, amazed for the first time.

"Are you telling me that would be in that fanclub stuff?"

"Absolutely," she said with a nod. "At least, as I recall…it’s been some time since I’ve seen any of it. I take it those are still your color preferences…?"

He nodded.

"I see," she said with a slight smile.

"What about…um…how I take my…coffee?" He struggled to come up with a new question.

"The last I knew, you didn’t really like coffee, but if pressed to drink it you’d do so black…you didn’t like any ‘wimpy stuff’ like cream or sugar," she said, rolling her eyes a bit before she started slowly nibbling on another fry.

He felt like he’d been hit in the stomach.

"I’m sure your taste in that has probably changed though," she remarked without looking up.

"No…no, that’s exactly it," he whispered, and she glanced up, surprised to see how pale he’d turned.

"Seiya, it’s only coffee," she remarked after a moment, the fry held in midair halfway towards her mouth.

He felt a little too shaky just then to keep holding his second burger, so he decided to work on his drink instead.

"Um…can I ask you some questions instead?" he asked quietly.

"You’ve been the one asking the questions all along, Seiya," she deadpanned, and he shook his head.

"No, I mean…questions about you, instead."

"Fine…whether I’ll answer is a different question," she said, lifting an eyebrow, and he nodded, then was silent for a few seconds before he decided to just dive in.

"So…how old are you?"

"A rude first question to a lady," she remarked, and she laughed at the seemingly stricken expression he gave her. "I’m your elder by a few months…February 8th, 1980."

He nodded; that was interesting to know.

"And did we go to the same high school…?"

"Yes. We dropped out at the same time too," she said, her eyes wrinkling a bit as she smiled.

"I see," he said, frowning a bit as he tried to place that somewhere where it made sense and failed.

"Did you want to know my favorite color? I don’t drink coffee," she told him with a wry smile, and he felt a bit wilted.

"I’m sorry…I guess I am asking stupid questions," he said, dropping his eyes to the tabletop.

"No…not at all," she said, rubbing her forehead. "I’m sorry, Seiya…I’m tired. Go ahead…ask whatever you want. I know you want to know things."

"How long…have we known each other?" he asked, trying to convey a different question with his tone, but obviously failing when all she replied was:

"Since we were very young…possibly babies. It’s hard to remember that far back, and a lot has happened since then."

"Oh," he said, and then he focused on eating for a while; he couldn’t think of anything else to ask just then that he thought she would answer.

When he was finished he gathered up the trash and took it over to the bin, aware of the way she trailed after him, close enough that he was aware of her but far away enough that she wasn’t in his space making him uncomfortable.

She offered to pay for a cab too, as long as he’d let her come with him to his apartment, and he honestly couldn’t say no---although he did feel a little bad about how much money she was spending on him by that point. He stared out the window of the taxi, trying to think up new questions…all those things he’d always wondered about himself, or things he’d never thought of, or things he’d tried to forget he’d ever cared about.

"What kind of kid was I?" he murmured, aware that his voice almost melted into the static of the cab’s dying radio. His face was almost pressed to the glass of the back seat as he stared at the world outside, for some reason hesitant to look at her face.

"The kind of kid that’s always in trouble," she answered, sounding amused. "Scraped knees, broken bones…all the usual stupidities."

That sounded plausible enough.

"Do I have any parents?" seemed like the next natural question.

"No." This time the answer was short, and somewhat curt.

"…Any family at all?" he asked.

"No," she said, and then she cleared her throat. "Just us…your friends. We’re your family."

"Oh," he said, and then he was quiet until they got back to his apartment. All the way up the stairs he was silent, trailing behind her as she walked ahead of him, confident in her destination. In the back of his mind he briefly wondered if soon she might demand a spare key.

Inside his apartment, she took off her coat and shoes, put them away on her own, and then waited patiently as he closed and locked the door.

"You want some tea or anything?" he asked her automatically as he moved into the living room, still aware of her just barely outside his little bubble.

"No, I’m fine," she answered before she took a seat on the couch. He sat down next to her, and they stayed that way, just sitting there in total silence for a few minutes. He was still trying to think of something good to ask…something really important, something that would mean a lot. It just wasn’t coming to him.

His breath shuddered in and out of him on reflex when she leaned up against his side, pressing her body close to him, and nuzzled her face close to his neck. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin, and he almost shivered.

"Wh…what…" he started to say, but she made a shushing noise.

"I just want to hold you; I want you to hold me," she murmured, eyes closed as she leaned against his shoulder. She sounded tired. "That’s fine, isn’t it? These are things that lovers do."

That made him blink, turning to glance at her in shock.

"Are we…lovers?" he asked her, stumbling a bit on the word.

"I think so," she said, snuggling a little closer, and he gulped.

"But…what about everything you said before…?" he whispered.

That finally made her open her eyes. She slowly sat up, a soft sigh escaping her small, pouty mouth before she turned to face him. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she looked at him, the usual somewhat stony expression on her face.

"Well…my friend Taiki gave me some good advice about that, tonight," she said, and he knew he must have looked surprised, because she smiled slightly, looking a bit amused. "He’s really talented at putting things in perspective."

"So…what’d he say?" he asked, feeling a little funny about the idea of another guy giving her advice about their sex life.

"Well…I told him about how I was angry with myself because I felt like I was being selfish; that I had thought more of my own feelings and desires than what was best for you," she said thoughtfully, resting her chin on her knees as she spoke, her eyes firmly holding his gaze. "He told me that perhaps I should stop worrying so much about what has happened or what could happen, and focus more on what *is* happening. And he said that, maybe this is something that had to happen for one reason or another, and of course if I believe it’s going to fail…then it’s going to fail. He said I should try to have a more positive outlook…and reminded me that any relationship will have as much success as the effort the people involved are willing to put into it."

She’d pretty much lost him through most of that. He only vaguely understood her point, really, but at least he felt he caught the gist of it, which was that this guy Taiki had told her to give him, Seiya, more of a chance. He liked that. And besides, she seemed really happy about it…by the time she was finished speaking, her bright green eyes were sparkling and she was smiling warmly, looking at him expectantly.

He smiled back at her, a bit awkwardly.

"I think I like this Taiki guy," he said, and she chuckled, only to be cut off as he leaned forward, cupping her face gently in his hands, and captured her mouth. The kiss was long but really soft, and she still tasted kind of sweet from the Sprite. He stroked his tongue along hers, at first searchingly, almost questioningly, testing to see how much her body agreed with her seeming change of heart. When she responded, her tongue tangling with his, the kiss became heated, and as it usually happened, he seemed to lose a few seconds of his precious present memory, because he wasn’t sure when they went from sitting up to him pressing her down against the couch with her hands clasped in his curls while their kiss continued.

When he finally broke away, he felt like he had no blood left in his upper body at all, and the way she was panting beneath him, he wondered if she was actually hyperventilating. He asked her if she was okay, but she just leaned up and started nipping at his Adam’s apple, tiny little teasing bites that made him wince and shiver as he ran his hands along his arms, unable to decide quite what he wanted to do next. There was so much of her he still wanted to explore…so many places he wanted to touch and test, to see how she would react.

Well…for a guy like him, there was no time like the present.

She let out a little yip, sounding surprised and maybe even a bit annoyed, when he dove down and, shifting her shirt upwards, nipped at the exposed curve of her waist, his teeth sinking lightly into the skin.

"Hey!" she began, a hand tightening in his hair as though she was about to forcibly drag him away, but then he started to gently lick and suck at the soft skin along the curve between the top of her hip and the base of her ribs. At first she seemed frozen, her breath caught in her throat as she lay utterly still, her hand still tangled tensely in his hair. The other hand was against his arm, restlessly fiddling with the fabric of his shirt.

When he reached the top of her hip and started to kiss his way around her hipbone, using his fingers to push back the waistline of her jeans to give him greater access to bare skin, she finally let out her breath in a loud burst and then…she started to laugh. Little bursts of giggles poured out of her mouth in starts and stops and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

"Sei…Seiya! Tha…that ti…" she tried to gasp out, but he was kind of lost in his task at the time, and although he was aware of her strange reaction, he didn’t pay quite enough attention to her movements. He wasn’t prepared when she suddenly brought around both hands and slammed them against his chest, pushing him away.

"Seiya!" she burst out between giggles, and he blinked at her in shock, watching as she leaned back, forcing herself to take several deep breaths and get her mad laughter under control. She leveled an irritated gaze at him. "Seiya…that was totally unfair. My hips are my weakest point."

"They are?" he said, tilting his head, curious.

"Yes. I’m more ticklish there than anywhere else on my body," she said, and then she reached up to run her hands through her hair, as though composing herself. "So…remember that, okay?"

"Okay…go easy on the hips. I think I’ve got it," he said, offering her a grin before he leaned forward. "So…where were we…?"

She met his eyes, a certain curiosity in her own gaze, as though she wondered what he was trying to accomplish by this exploration of her body. This time he decided to take a slightly more direct approach, and before he went any farther, he slid his hands under her shirt and started to lift it. She shot him a look that made him cringe a bit---it seemed like a cross between warning and that curiosity---but she lifted her arms to help him, and he slid off her shirt and tossed it away. She lowered her arms, and he ran his hands along them, watching as she shivered at the feather light touch of his fingertips along her skin.

His hands fell on her shoulders and he exerted a slight pressure, adding a motion of his chin to indicate that he wanted her to turn around. She glanced at him again, this time questioningly, but nonetheless did as he had silently requested without protest. When she was facing away from him, he placed his hands on her shoulders again, keeping them there almost as though he intended to lend her some kind of security---not that he had much security to lend. For a moment or so he just sat there and admired her back, or more specifically her skin. She had beautiful, milky-pale skin, as soft as silk to the touch, and that clean, intoxicating wildflower scent that filled his senses when he was this close to her was enough to drive him crazy.

He decided to let his mouth and nose do the thinking for him, as he had done a few minutes before. Before he had time to process thought, he was nuzzled up against her back, between her shoulder blades, his hands now toying lightly with the straps of her bra as he took a deep breath, savoring the scent of her. But scent was only one sense, and he wanted to be filled with her, with every sensation she had to offer. Taste came next, and again she let out a quiet gasp of surprise when she felt him nibbling gently along her shoulder blade, his motions still exploratory as he moved along each centimetre at a maddeningly slow pace, learning her body one step at a time. She tasted just as wild and soft and intoxicating as she smelled, and he couldn’t help the places his mouth took him. His tongue and teeth and lips acted on their own, exploring the expanse of her back, uncaring of the marks they left behind.

He only stopped when he had reached the small of her back and his neck was starting to hurt from the way he was contorting his body to reach that position, and that was when he realized that her hands were clasping his against her shoulders, and she was breathing hard and fast, her head lifted and eyes closed. She was lost in the sensations, just as he had been lost in learning her. She looked…beautiful. So incredibly beautiful like that, desperately close to orgasm…and he knew that he had done that to her.

She gasped again, a harsh sound into the silence that had fallen over his apartment, when he pressed up against her back, pulling her sharply back against him. She moaned when his hands moved down her stomach and worked at the button and zipper of her jeans, finally getting them undone. She whispered something incoherent when he pushed her jeans down her hips a bit and then dove his hand down into her panties. And when his fingers brushed through the moist hair at the junction of her thighs and finally reached their destination, she cried out, a soft, desperate sound, and pressed herself back against him hard. She said something to him then, something that he’d never thought it would be so beautiful to hear anyone say. Without pretense; without formality; without being demanding, she pressed her head back against his shoulder and whimpered, "Please…"

He penetrated her with two fingers, and she let out a long groan before grinding down hard against his hand, whispering something else he couldn’t understand as her hands clutched onto his arm. He flexed his fingers a bit, stretching her, testing the limits, and then started to pump his hand in and out. His thumb shifted around a bit, finally finding her clitoris and then settling into a rhythm, rubbing against the little nub of flesh while his fingers thrust in and out of her body. She shuddered and rocked against him, the delicious little noises that were spilling out of her mouth driving him to total distraction. He knew she must be able to feel the extent of his arousal; his erection was against the small of her back, trapped and painful. But this was about her.

Somewhere really close to the edge, she started to cry out---nothing that made any sense; just loud, hoarse cries, a kind of tension release, or perhaps a way of begging to some higher power for release. The sound was like nothing he’d ever heard before, and he couldn’t take it anymore…he felt like he was going to scream too. He lowered his head and sank his teeth into her neck, and just as she did she finally let out her longest, roughest scream and rocked back against him really hard. He slowed his pace and then finally stopped when he felt her slowing, and listened to her breathing change, realizing that she had reached climax. He lifted his head and opened his eyes, not surprised to find them glazed over, but he could see well enough to tell that he had given her a rather nice love bite. He winced at that, wondering what she would do.

"Ow," she said breathlessly after taking a moment to compose herself, and she lifted a hand to rub at the red mark on her neck. She turned to lift an eyebrow at him, and he gave her a sheepish smile, trying to look innocent. "Do you have to take your oral fixation out on me, Seiya?"

He was about to apologize, but then she sighed and turned around, a little bit shakily.

"Not that I mind much, mind you…" she said, giving him a quick smile before she snuggled up close to his chest. "Thank you."

Before he could respond, his breath was taken away as he felt her working at the fastenings of his pants and then pushing them down his hips. She worked her way past his boxers and had her hand wrapped around his erection before he was quite sure what was happening. He gulped and leaned forward, his forehead against hers, and listened to the warm sound of her chuckle.

"I can’t let you feel left out," she explained, her voice surprisingly gentle, but he couldn’t respond---the capacity for language had already left him as her skilled hand did its job, fingers alternately running lightly along the length of him before teasing around the tip and closing warmly around the base to start a long, painfully slow pump that exerted just the right amount of pressure against his skin.

He grabbed her and gripped her tightly against him, holding her against his chest and shuddering through the process as she rubbed and pumped and coaxed at him until it was inevitable. He heard the raw cry he let out against her ear when he came, and he was shocked at himself, at his capacity for such incredible depth of emotion. She held him gently, her free hand cradling the back of his neck, as he shuddered his way through the intensity of the orgasm. He was left shaking in its wake, and only somehow wanting her more. To that end he pulled her even closer, trying to hold her as much against him as possible, and buried his face in her neck. She pulled her hand out of his pants and placed it somewhat hesitantly against her thigh, evidently realizing that their clothes were already a mess from the various fluids they’d both produced, so it wouldn’t matter if she messed her jeans up a little more. Her other hand stroked through his hair reassuringly, holding him against her neck.

They stayed like that for a long time, until he started to notice how slowly he was breathing and realized that, if things stayed like this, he might actually be able to sleep.

"Come on…" she murmured in his ear, rubbing his back gently. "Let’s get cleaned up a bit and get to bed."

He didn’t have any reason to argue with that, so he didn’t. When she untangled herself from him and got up to head to the bathroom, he followed her like some kind of obedient puppy, and he actually really didn’t mind that image too much…for now.

*****

END PART SEVEN