Replacements
After getting back to the Domicile, Alec and Ginnie parted ways temporarily to stow gear and wash up. Alec also had ulterior motives, but expected that they would be well received. Wandering through the motor pool, he noted that Mathias and Shay were talking with Carol at the far end of the hall. Waving in their general direction, he continued on his way to his floor.
Arriving in his suite, he headed into his main room to the recently created "Securities Wall". Stowing his gear in their appropriate receptacles, he headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Savoring the hot water running over his form, he felt for any incidental damage. Sometimes when travelling tension wires he'd store charge for awhile, but he didn't seem to be doing so this evening. He'd probably discharged it when arriving at the van and taking off his gear, so it couldn't have been too bad if he'd not noticed. Rubbing some soap lightly over his body, he pondered the way Ginnie's meetings would go after this job. Would his antics complicate matters? Did they help in the long run? Would she be safe there?
Chuckling, Alec realized how stupid he was being. Of course she'd be okay. She'd been okay on her own for almost 300 years. There was next to nothing he could have done to protect her, really, and she certainly didn't need it. Rinsing off, he slopped a tiny amount of shampoo into his hair to get the neoprene smell out - the oil smell never seemed to really leave, but it was good that smell did...he didn't find it terribly pleasant. Rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, Alec switched off the hot water and let the cold water shock him back into full awareness. Feeling his skin tighten over his frame, Alec smiled. Most folks hated that cold water rush...he rather enjoyed it. It felt like a concrete definition of boundaries to him.
Shutting off the water, he toweled off and headed to his closet. Having had a long night, he decided to go casual. Slipping into black silk boxers, well worn black denim, a white tank top and a black short sleeve button up, he opted to forego shoes and socks and stepped into a pair of black leather sandals. He very rarely wore them due to the noise they made, but since he wouldn't be leaving the Domicile tonight, they were unnecessary.
Grabbing an empty duffel, he filled it with the lingerie, a pleasantlt sweet white zinfandel, clean white socks, a change of boxers and his backup toothbrush, just in case. Realizing he hadn't brushed his teeth since he fed, he went back into the bathroom and brushed up. It wouldn't do to be kissing his love with Old Man Breath. It just isn't done.
Chuckling, he double checked the bag, grabbed the vase, rose and headed out, making sure his door was secure behind him. Walking to Ginnie's room, he encountered no one, which wasn't unusual. Smiling as the intercom popped the latch and her voice said, Come on in, love.
Stepping into her home, Alec extended his senses. She was just out of the shower, still toweled up - the moisture in the air let him know that she'd showered with the doors open. He'd almost always showered with the door closed. Wondering what that said about his personality, he moved to the couch, put his sandals where his shoes had been the night before, put down his duffle after removing the wine and headed to the kitchen. Placing the vase and rose onto the counter, he then selected the two most appropriate glasses from Ginnie's cupboard and placed them, flanking the vase. Decanting the zinfandel to the proper half line, Alec smiled. Hopefully she was afan of the sweet wines as well, as this was a particularly enjoyable one from the Napa Valley.
Running his fingers through his hair, he leaned against the counter. Listening, it sounded like Ginnie was dressed. It would only be a moment.
When he joined her back on the bed, using his thrust to push her up onto the pillows, she helped as best she could, by pushing against the sheets with her heels.
His renewed closeness, brought that sweet sweet pressure that told her, very soon she would be lost in oblivious light, spiraling toward joyous non-existence, lost in his embrace. Her body ached for it and her hips pressed more urgently to his. Her lips formed words, but she was not sure if he heard her plea.
"Faster, Alec, please...oh gods"
Cradling her face against his, he shared his breath with her, increasing his rate to match hers. It was clear that she would be outpacing him this time - even if he were to push his senses into full gear, Alec felt that he might not be able to catch up. Smiling as he increased his pace until she was making the gorgeous sound of her pleasure, he maintained there - anything more, he felt, might actually reduce the pleasure for her, and tonight was the night of her gifting, after all.
Gasping happily as her contractions began, Alec watched her face, holding the pace until she had finished riding her wave.
All too soon, the light began to fade and she could open her eyes and smile up at him. His thrusts and the look upon his face started that lovely pressure to building again. She moaned softly and whispered to him again.
"I need you, Alec, come and give me what I need."
I'm sorry...I just can't imagine ever getting used to this feeling, this connection. People can be so blase about sex, but it seems so...right. So magical.
Slowing to almost a stop, Alec heard his love moan lightly beneath him.
I need you, Alec, come and give me what I need.
Ah...mon coeur...as you wish...but let me savor you...
Positively glowing down on her from above, Alec increased his pace slightly, before slowing to a veritable crawl. Matching his pace with his breathing, he inhaled deeply as he pressed hard against her, exhaling completely as he withdrew. Running his hands through her hair, he breathed
You are so lovely...I am truly blessed.
Looking into her eyes, he saw his reflection...looking deep into her eyes, he saw himself as well. Pleased at the residency he's acquired, his breath rate increased some. It made no sense how quickly and deeply they were falling for each other - it truly was a wonder to behold, to participate in.
Her hips moved with his gentle rhythm, and she moaned softly when he began to move faster.
"If God blesses the damned, Alec, then yes we are well and truly blessed."
She ran her splayed hands up and down his back, in time to his movement with in her. She was not sure she believe that God cared about the fate of their race, but then again who else would have give her such a gift?
The damned? The damned...are those that...he has chosen...to be our food...surely not us...to whom he has...given gifts...and a longer...opportunity...to savor his...Creation?
Gasping a bit at the slow building of internal pressure, his smile widened. How strange to be discussing aspects of theology while...flushing a bit, he ended the line of thought, choosing instead to savor the activity than think about it. Closing his eyes, he focused, at a more human level, upon the pressures and scents of their coupling. It was somewhat like having something mild after something spicy - the burn still lingers a bit, altering the flavor of the second dish, but both are excellent in different circumstances. As much as he enjoyed the spice, that did not mean he should forsake milder sensations.
Kissing her softly, he increased the pace slightly in response to the pleasant ache growing low within him. Trailing his fangs along her upper lip, he hoped that she wouldn't mind a little nip later...though an entirely vampiric gesture, Alec felt that the taste of her blood SHOULD be linked entirely to his pleasure. How could it not be natural, if what she said earlier about sex being easy to come by was true? And how could that sharing of the essences of their lives not be yet another gift?
He'd have to remember to see if there were volumes of philosophy from their species hidden away anywhere...pouring over those would be time well spent.
Almost as well spent as time with his shining star, glowing softly below him again. Judging from the mounting pressure within him, Alec felt it was time for sunrise. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he pivoted Ginnie back on top of him, sighing happily at the increased pressure.
She closed her eyes, and leaned down to press her body to his. Her lips found his neck and she nibbled lightly. She had the urge to bite and taste him again, but she again did not want it to be a part of each joining with him. Instead she let her mind drift to the lovely pressure that was continuing to build, and they way she could feel every line and vein of him with in her. The way his hair smelled of oils and soap, and the fresh earthy scent that seemed to just crawl in there and refresh her.
Her climax was just as slow and lazy as their pace. It floated up through her and left her weak and breathless. She moved to press her lips to his to share this lovely lazy light with her lover.
Holding her close, kissing her softly, he realized that he'd not bitten her in his languid enjoyment of the moment. Laughing softly, he thought "Best laid plans of mice and men and all that, I suppose...so, I guess this is how the food does it. Glad I didn't take that away from them." Smiling up at her, Alec rolled them back over and caressed her cheek, now smiling down on her.
Ah...blessed indeed.
Kissing Ginnie lightly, he parted their bodies and lay beside her. Running a hand through her hair, he simply stared, a loving smile lingering on his face. He could sit like this for hours, happily. So much for the stir crazy part of his personality...banished by beauty, completely unmourned.
She kissed him softly, and moved slowly from the bed, her head still light from their passion. Ginnie went to the bathroom and took a crimson kimono style robe from the back of the door and wrapped her still glowing body in it.
She crossed back to the bed, and leaned over to kiss him again. "Time to get some work done, slick. You get some rest, I'm going to be a long while yet."
She pulled her hair from the robe, nearly covering the large black dragon with still damp curls. She flipped on the dining area light and instructed her computer to turn on. She then made her way to the kitchen to make some coffee and find her container of biscotti.
Time to get some work done, slick. You get some rest, I'm going to be a long while yet.
Ah, you don't have to tell me twice. Between plenty of reading, public humiliation in a lingerie shop, planning the largest dog orgy in North American history, committing shocking new crime, shooting a short documentary and then the lovely things that you do to me, I'm pretty tuckered out. Down South we NEVER shot documentaries on days we were publicly humiliated...it just simply wasn't done.
Spreading himself out over as much of the bed as possible, he grinned sleepily. He wondered if he'd be comfortable in such a large bed by himself. "Sigh...time to acquire ANOTHER new skill. Work work work."
Back in the dining area she pulled out pencils, charcoals, sketch paper, graph paper and a ruler. She then spent over three hours working on designs for the lab. It was sometimes a tedious precess getting proportions right on the graph paper to match the lovely pencil and coal sketch she had made. She managed to finish off two full concepts complete with written descriptions when a huge yawn cracked her jaw. She looked up at the time and was startled to find it was so late in the day. 'So much for the lab. I'll go after my meeting with D'Antoni.'
She left the sketches and took her cup and plate to the kitchen to rinse and put in the dishwasher. She flipped off lights as she went. In the bedroom she found Alec spread out in the middle of her bed. Laughing softly she let the robe fall to the floor and crawled up onto the matress.
With a bit of poking and light tickling she got him scooted over and on his side. She curled in so her back was to him and then tugged up the blanket with her mind and settled in for a few hours sleep, trusting her alarm to wake her, just as it did every night.
T'was your skull, boy, but you done got better. But you left too much innit - your new one, next t'emphy, it be.
Laughing, she walked across the water and onto a small island, vanishing between the trees. Looking at his skull, Alec pulled up his tuxedo shirt and reached into his completely open stomach, pulling out a woman's hand, covered in his blood. Collapsing it into a fist, he used it to knock on the top of the skull. Small candlelights lit within the open sockets. Dropping the hand to the closed half of his coffin lid, he took the skull back up, which promptly began laughing at him with his own voice.
Idiot, don't you remember ANYTHING? I can't believe you went and forgot it all. No wonder you've been flailing about uselessly these last few years. You are NOTHING without me.
Putting the skull down, the hand tipped it on its side and it began again.
Better hope that blood drinker girlfriend of yours doesn't find out your truths...she might not wait until you betray her to blow us back together or into ittle widdy bits. You'll never escape your past, no matter how you try, no matter where you run. You might have walled me off, but I'll always be with you. I made you.
Horrified, Alec tosses his skull into the murk beside him. The hand skitters off the lid of the coffin on its own, reaching after the skull in the dark waters. Lightly bumping an object, he looks up. It is a beam at one of the piers in the Nachton shipping district. Climbing out of his coffin, he reaches the top of the pier. Ellis and Simon are there, waiting for him. Silently, Simon hands Ellis a set of manacles that match his own. She clamps them on him, chuckling quietly. Carol appears beside him in a nurse's outfit, and takes a syringe of his blood. She and Ellis walk off.
Alone with Simon, Alec looks at him. Simon winks at him, his chains falling to the ground.
We build our own prisons, we are liberated in our own time.
Turning to mist, Simon vanishes. Hearing an explosion in the distance, Alec turns and finds that he is chained to the wall at the ball, wearing a tuxedo. Nova, Jan, Amberelle, Aishe, Mathias, Carol and Shay are there, all pointing and laughing. Confused, Alec tries to speak, but has no mouth. Tugging at his chains, he rattles ineffectually. Ginnie walks through the crowd, up to him. She kisses his forehead and rips the chains from the wall. Smiling, she starts dancing in circles with him, the rattle a terrible cacophony. At the end of the dance, she bows to him. As he turns to walk away, he feels a tug, and turns back around. Both looking down in horror, they realize that they are chained together.
Reaching into his stomach, Alec pulls out some lockpicks. Ginnie smacks them out of his hands. Frowning, he tries again. This time, she kisses him full on the lips and he drops them. Shaking his head, he hears Simon laughing, standing beside Ellis, all of his chains leading to her hand. Looking back to Ginnie, he sees her kissing his stomach - the gaping hole is gone, and his belly is sealed, but he can't get to his picks. Clawing at his stomach, Alec tries to find one of the picks, but Ginnie grabs his cheeks, and stares into his eyes. More chains wrap around them as she moves to kiss him.
When he opens his eyes from the kiss, he is dressed as Simon, she as Ellis. She turns to him, holding his skull, which is laughing at him in his own voice. From nearby, a deep red skull sits on its side. Simon's voice tells him
Your story can be different. You can have both.
An aging Italian man, smiling, walks up to him and hands him a clock. Chuckling, he upends his teacup on Alec's skull, which howls in rage and melts, as does DiSalvo.
Winding the clock backwards, Alec finds himself asleep in bed, Ginnie curled next to him, just as they are tonight. Pulling back the covers, he looks down on their naked bodies, only one chain present. The chain looks like it is made of light, and flows from his torso to her breast. The creole woman screams in horror and jumps from the closet, trying to snatch at the chain. Rising as one, Alec and Ginnie pull firearms and gun her down. Laying back down, they do not see the candle flames of a skull's eyes beneath the bed. His voice comes out
I will always be here.
His eyes snapping open, Alec suddenly sits up in bed, gasping, his body coated in a thin, cool sweat. "What the fuck was THAT all about?" Shaking a bit, he walked into the kitchen and pops open the freezer, pulling out Ginnie's vodka. Grabbing a random glass from her cupboard, he pours a liberal amount mostly into the glass and pounds it down, the burn helping to bring him back to reality. Pouring a small amount more, he seals the bottle and puts it away.
Sipping lightly, standing naked in her kitchen, Alec ponders the dream. He hadn't quite realized how much he idolized Simon, how much what Ellis did to him terrified him. Finishing the glass, he puts it down on the counter and walks into the living room. Standing completely still, he wonders how he can ensure that the current state of affairs persists. Things are well in this time...things are right. He just needs to make sure that nothing taints the one current chain...that no new ones form that cannot be broken.
He hoped that would be as easy as it sounds.
tzzzt
tzzzt
Ginnie stirred to the sound of her alarm, and reached over to mash the off button. She smiled softly and gave a little moan of pleasure at the warmth of her bed. When she realized it only contained her. She twisted in the bed to look out the door to see Alec standing in the middle of her living room, naked and a bit confused looking.
She pushed the covers back and walks out to meet him, wrapping her arms around his waist she lays her head on his shoulder and presses a kiss lightly to his neck.
"Everything ok?"
Hell...I don't know. I don't typically have dreams that I remember, but I just had a nightmare...or...not a nightmare so much as a warn...ah crap. It was just a dream. It was just a dream.
Shivering a bit, he tightened her arms around him, staring at the wall again. How long had he been standing here?
"I can listen if you want, but it has been my experience that dreams loose something in the telling. I am sure, love that you will figure out what the fates are trying to tell you through such strong portent." She tried really hard not to giggle at herself, but was having a very difficult go of it. A couple of titters escaped her and she buried her face in his neck to hide them.
Just promise to never treat me like Ellis treats Simon, okay? That was the only part that really made sense to me. There was a woman and I was talking to my skull and then I was in Nachton again and the dance and there were these chains and this clock and then we killed that woman and the chain was light and then...
Turning around in her arms, Alec looked sadly into her eyes.
Just don't make me your slave, okay?
Hugging her hard, he laughed a bit uncomfortably.
I'm sorry...I'm just not used to dreams is all. And as good an idea as it seemed at the time, the vodka was probably a bad idea. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that vodka isn't considered breakfast material...shoulda listened.
She moved away from him, taking his hand and leading him to the couch. She gently pushed him on to the thick cushion and kissed him lightly.
"Do not throw up on my couch, I just had it cleaned." With a smile and a wink she went into the kitchen. Bustling happily she filled ans started her coffee maker, and popped two pieces of thick sliced potato bread into the toaster. She pulled out the nice little tray she had for such occasion as wanting to eat in bed, and put sugar cream, butter and jam on it. When the toast popped up merrily she put it on a plate and put in two more slices.
She took out her thermal carafe and put it by the coffee maker. The second set of toast popped up and the coffee finished percolating at the same time. She stuck the bread on a plate and poured the coffee into the carafe. She put it all on the tray and hummed her way back into the living room.
"This should help. My mother used to say that coffee cured everything. Or was that tea?" Shrugging she set the tray down on the coffee table and sat next to Alec.
I wonder what my mother was like...or if I was grown in a tube like on that documentary I saw.
Shrugging, he crunched away at his first bit of toast.
What was she like, your mother? Was she tall and beautiful and kind like you, or was that your dad?
"Oh I'm sort of a combination of my parents and of living for as long as I have. My mum was short and thick about the middle, and had the face of an angle. She was a kind woman. Stern to us kids when we would run through the manor, but she loved us all and swatted the Lord's children as much as she did me.
My Da was tall as an oak tree and walked like a willow tree sways. He was a very dignified man, but in the light of the evening fire would dandle me on his knee and tell me stories of knights and great men that went to battle for Mother Scotland, of women who lost their loves and of men who would climb mountains to rescue their lady. He was a great man my Da."
She cleared her throat, and took a sip of her coffee, sometimes she still missed her parents, but only when she spoke of them. She missed Regonald more than she did her parents, but the ache of him was lessoning as her love for Alec grew. She hoped he did not hate her for it, but she would never know.
It sounds like fun...being a kid, I mean. What was it like?