Everything seemed very quiet in that moment as they stared at Genos’s body in quiet expectation, waiting for something to happen, though it never did. There were a few last, lingering twitches, but he did not get back up. There were no last words. He was simply gone. Melissa couldn’t even say he looked peaceful or that he looked like he was sleeping. His eyes were still open, staring sightlessly into the distance, and his neck was cocked at an unnatural angle. Of the myriad of ways that what remained of Genos could be described, ‘peaceful’ was not the first one Melissa would jump to.
“That was…abrupt,” Jasper remarked eventually, and his voice seemed far too loud as it broke the silence, like a gunshot on an otherwise peaceful night. He was right, but the observation still seemed a little out of place, as if it was too simple of a way to sum everything up when there was a dead body right there, and all of them were responsible for putting it there.
Even Melissa was partially responsible for putting it there, and it was a heavy thought that she was not looking forward to dwelling on to any extent.
“No complaints, though,” Melissa added just to try to further break the oppressive atmosphere, though she couldn’t deny that she felt a bit odd. Once again, she couldn’t help but to observe that there was a dead body on the ground only a few feet away from her. True, she hadn’t known him before that day, but even so, he had been a person. She couldn’t bring herself to regret his death after everything he had tried to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel good about it
either.
She brushed the thought aside, turning her attention instead to Sabine, who stared back at her
expectantly, waiting for her to say something.
“Can you deal with this…?” Melissa asked slowly, gesturing vaguely towards Genos’s body. She wasn’t sure how one would go about getting rid of a were-dragon’s body. If they could be burned when they were in human form, Melissa didn’t know. If the body would instead need to be
buried or sunken in a river, she was clueless about it. It seemed logical to simply ask another were-dragon, especially when there was one standing just a few feet away.
To her relief, Sabine dipped her head once in confirmation, and she leaned down, carefully picking the body up with her jaws closed around one upper arm. Using the claw of one wing, she picked her bag up from the ground and hooked the strap over one of her horns. Were it not for the body dangling limply from her jaws, she would have looked truly absurd, and even under the circumstances, she still managed to look a little comical.
She tipped her head in their direction once again before she turned and started loping into the woods. It was a few moments later before she rose into the air, her form shrinking and fading into the distance.
Finally, after another few moments of silence, Melissa decided slowly, “I think it’s about time to head home. Wouldn’t you say?”
Granted, figuring how to do that was easier said than done, all things considered. Jasper heaved a slow, exasperated sigh as Melissa looked at him expectantly. He dropped to a knee and made a gesture that seemed to translate to “well, come on,’’ and within a moment, he was carrying Melissa on his back once again.
With one hand on his shoulder, she pointed up the mountain. “I live not too far from here,” she explained, her other hand landing on his other shoulder so she could hang on. There wasn’t really any risk of Jasper dropping her or even getting tired from carrying her, but the fact remained that he was only barely taller than her, and he probably weighed less than her, and so carrying her was still more than a little awkward.
Mitch transformed once again, giving himself a shake once he was settled on all fours, and he loped into the trees. Jasper adjusted his hold on the backs of Melissa’s thighs, boosting her upwards slightly before he took off at a determined sprint up the mountain.
*
Mitch transformed in the yard and jogged his way inside to find clothing that wasn’t ripped to shreds and scattered all over the woods, though it wasn’t as if Melissa had any neighbors who were close enough to see him while he was naked. There were other houses on the mountain, true enough, but they were well and truly isolated either way.
Melissa waved goodbye to Jasper and watched him zip away down the driveway and to the road, before she stepped inside, meeting Mitch in the living room. He had yet to put on any clothing and seemed to have stalled out in the living room as he let the day’s events catch up with him. Melissa could understand the feeling.
It seemed so strange. After everything that had happened that afternoon, it felt so surreal to simply be standing in her house again, as if everything was normal.
Of course, it didn’t feel like everything was normal. It didn’t feel like anything was normal in that moment, as if whoever was at the world’s helm had decided to pull hard to port without warning, leaving everyone staggering and stumbling and trying to find their footing once again.
Everything felt a bit fuzzy still. As if she didn’t fit right in her skin. She felt like she could run a marathon and wrestle a bear even larger than Mitch, and then still climb the rest of the way up the mountain to the very peak of it afterwards. Just judging by the way Mitch paced across the living room like some sort of caged animal and tapped his fingers against his thighs, Melissa was willing to bet he felt much the same way as she did.
With adrenaline buzzing beneath her skin like a live wire, she closed the distance between them. As she walked, she pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor, and her bra followed shortly after it. When she was standing scarcely a few inches from him, she stepped out of her shoes, kicking aside first one and then the other.
She reached for the waistband of her pants, but before her fingers could touch the button or the zipper, Mitch pushed her hands aside. He hooked two fingers of each hand beneath the waist band and tugged her closer, until there was hardly any space between them, and for a moment, he simply let his hands explore, fingertips sliding over smooth skin and cupping her breasts.
It seemed to take an eternity before he reached for her waistband once again, deftly popping the button and tugging the zipper down. He hooked his fingers under the waistband again, that time to tug downwards, drawing the fabric down her thighs to her knees, where it fell down to puddle around her feet until she stepped out and kicked the pants aside.
Mitch’s nudity meant it was already apparent that his cock was beginning to swell as his gaze roved over Melissa’s body. He pressed his hand to her already damp sex, stroking her through the fabric of her panties at first before he hooked one finger around the seat of them and pulled them downwards with a single swift motion. They too fell to the floor to be kicked aside, discarded with the rest of Melissa’s clothing.
That was exactly what they both wanted, though. It seemed ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
They didn’t make it to the bed that evening. It didn’t seem like there was much of a point, really. They were already in the living room, there was a perfectly serviceable couch just waiting for them, and it was only a few steps away, while the bed was considerably farther away and behind the bedroom door.
Mitch picked Melissa up around the middle, just long enough to move her over to the couch and lay her down on her back on the cushions. She scooted herself over as Mitch followed her down, his knees framing her legs. When she reached up and threaded her fingers into his hair, he leaned down easily as she tugged, until their lips met. It was not a slow or gentle kiss, as their tongues slid together, and Melissa’s grip on Mitch’s hair tightened. His hands tightened around her hips, pulling her flush against him until there was hardly even space to breathe between them.
They kissed as if they were trying to devour each other, until they had no choice but to break apart, chests heaving for breath for only a moment before they came together again with a click of teeth, until it seemed less like they were kissing and more like they were biting, and Mitch’s erection, red and leaking at the tip, was digging into Melissa’s side.
After that, neither of them had the patience to draw things out for much longer. They only had so long before the adrenaline crash hit and left them too exhausted to do anything, and that seemed like a waste of perfectly good energy.
Mitch’s hands slid from Melissa’s hips to the backs of her thighs, where his fingers curled around them. He urged her legs up and pushed them towards her chest, very nearly bending her in half. Her hands fisted against the couch cushions, nails scratching at the fabric as Mitch lined himself up with her entrance. He paused for only a second after that, glancing towards her face as he gauged her reaction, before he thrust forward. The head of his cock breached her, and she gasped in a breath as if she had spent her whole life suffocating, and in one quick motion, Mitch sheathed himself within her.
His hands shifted higher along her legs until they were wrapped around the backs of her knees, pressing them towards her shoulders. He drew out until only the head of his cock was still trapped within her slick heat, before he pressed back in with enough force that she began to slide along the cushions, and she had to cling onto the cushion beneath her to keep herself from being pushed into the arm of the couch.
Her spine flexed with each thrust, arching as he drew out and rounding as he thrust back in. Her head fell back, baring her throat, until the top of her head was pressed against the cushion. Mitch took advantage of the moment, bearing more weight down on her legs as he leaned down, trailing harsh, biting kisses along the length of her throat, until he sucked a bruise against one of her collarbones.
He continued from there, his pace slowing slightly as his grip on her legs eased, and he kissed his way down her chest, though each thrust felt deeper and firmer as if in tradeoff. His lips found one nipple, and he circled the tip of his tongue around it until it hardened, and he closed his lips around it, teasing it with his tongue and teeth, until Melissa was whimpering quietly beneath him. She gasped in a breath when he shifted his attention to the neglected nipple, dragging his tongue over it before he closed his lips around it.
There was no warning when Melissa came, as nothing tumbling past her lips resembled words at that point. She tossed her head to the side, and every muscle tensed, until she swore her back might snap and her nails might puncture right through the couch cushion. Mitch kept thrusting throughout her orgasm, drawing it out as much as he could, and then longer still. After all, he had yet to come himself.
Slowly, Melissa went lax beneath him, panting slowly as he kept pounding into her. It didn’t take long, though, before she felt that familiar heat building in her core once again, and she sighed out a quiet moan. Taking it as encouragement, Mitch sped up again.
Her second orgasm was quicker than the first, abrupt and brief, though it left her shivering in its wake. And still, Mitch was thrusting, though at last his rhythm was beginning to falter slightly.
Even so, he kept going, just long enough for Melissa to feel her body begin to respond yet again. When Mitch finally came, with a low groan like he was being kicked in the chest, Melissa was hovering so close to that peak for a third time, and she let out a quiet, disappointed whimper as Mitch leaned back, his softening cock slipping free.
There was no reason to be disappointed, though. Mitch leaned down, folding one forearm along the backs of her legs to keep holding them up and out of the way, and his other hand reached for her chest. He traced his fingers around her nipples in slow, teasing circles, first one and then the other, pinching and twisting one sharply before switching to give the other one attention, until finally he began to run his fingers down her stomach.
His hand slowed as it came to her clit, red and warm and wet, and he rubbed at her clit with short, firm motions, before he massaged it lightly between his fingers. And finally, he pressed a finger to her entrance, circling the tip of just one finger around it at first, before adding a second and then a third, before at last he pushed three fingers into her. The motions of his hand were slow and searching at first, until Melissa threw back her head with a noise that was closer to a sob than a gasp as he found just the right angle to thrust his fingers at, and he grinned at her in much the same way as a bear might smile at its prey.
Melissa gasped and moaned with each motion of his hand, each noise getting louder until she was practically sobbing with each thrust. It didn’t take long before she came for a third time, and Mitch kept thrusting his fingers into her throughout her entire orgasm, teasing more and more out of her until finally she went limp on the couch, and his hand stilled. Slowly, he drew his fingers out of her.
Melissa felt as if she had been squeezed out of a soda bottle after that. Everything felt distant and fuzzy, as if the air was bubbling over her skin. Her chest heaved as she gulped in each breath. Mitch said something as he let go of her legs, letting them fall limply to the couch, but the words danced out of reach. She was pretty sure he was asking if she was alright, and she nodded unsteadily as she offered a hazy, “Uh huh.”
His hands slid along her sides for a moment, until he slid one arm beneath her shoulders and the other beneath her legs, and with hardly any effort at all, he picked her up as he stood, cradling her to his chest as if she weighed nothing.
He was carrying her towards the bedroom. That much was pretty apparent. Shortly after that, though, Melissa stopped paying attention as her eyes slowly drifted shut, and she was well and truly asleep before they even made it into the bedroom.
Between three orgasms and her adrenaline high wearing off, Melissa was well and truly spent. She slept calmly all through the night, immovable. It was a deep and dreamless sleep—some of the best sleep she’d had in weeks—and she only barely woke up in time to leave for work in the morning.
Mitch laughed at her as she rushed frantically out the door. But it was a good morning, all things considered. Peaceful. As if everything on the mountain could tell that it was safer, even if it had so narrowly avoided being turned to ashes.
*
Life seemed strangely calm after that. To Mitch, at least. He had gotten rather accustomed to searching for the things that went bump in the night, following the trails they left, and dealing with the damage they left behind. It all seemed a bit too quiet with the threat gone. To him, at
any rate. He was fairly sure life simply continued as it always did for everyone else. And he was glad for that, at any rate.
Their little corner of the mountains had always been quiet. People moved there because it was quiet. Everyone else deserved the life they actually wanted, and he knew that once he adapted to not needing to be a super hero anymore, he would be thrilled that the status quo had reasserted itself.
Well, almost. Not everything was back to the way it had always been.
The closet in Melissa’s bedroom was bigger than one person would ever be able to use without being completely obsessed with clothing, and that was something Melissa would likely never be; she was most comfortable in jeans and t-shirts and only seemed to own three outfits for formal occasions. Mitch knew this because his clothing was also in that closet. It hadn’t even come over in shifts; he simply packed it all into a suitcase one afternoon just a few nights after they dealt with Genos and showed up at Melissa’s house with it. They had discussed him moving in, after all. It was just the logical extension of those conversations.
Melissa seemed…not thrilled, because it seemed like she rarely got that excited about things, but she seemed pleased all the same. Mitch was willing to take it as a victory. Besides, her house
really was nicer than his. Larger. Roomier. Better equipped. In possession of a better view. It would be crazy for them to both live at Mitch’s house when Melissa’s was an option, and he could admit that readily enough after the initial ruffling of his pride.
He kept his house, though. He wasn’t expecting any trouble on the horizon—not from Melissa, at any rate, though he supposed it could come from somewhere else—but selling it felt a lot like getting complacent. And if nothing else, keeping it meant he had a place to keep all of the things that were infrequently used but important nonetheless.
Life carried on, and Mitch was content. That, above all else, was a new feeling. It nagged at him at first—he was too used to living like he might need to throw everything away in an instant—until he finally let himself realize that it was a good feeling. He liked falling asleep beside Melissa. He liked waking up in their shared bed (though rarely was he permitted to wake up
beside her, as she seemed to be allergic to the notion of sleeping in if she wasn’t absolutely
exhausted).
He liked being able to eat breakfast on the balcony, looking out over the woods as he drank his coffee. He liked being able to watch the sunset each night and have a clear, uninterrupted view of the stars, undisturbed by the light pollution in town. He was even willing to bet that Melissa liked it all, too.
She didn’t say as much. Neither of them were great at simply stating their feelings if it didn’t feel like there was a pressing need. But there were little things that gave her away. The way Mitch’s favorites were always stocked in the kitchen regardless of whether or not he mentioned it. The way things would be quietly rearranged to add knick-knacks that were important to him to the fold. The way she would occasionally fall asleep on his lap on the couch as the television played in the background.
True enough, neither of them gushed about how happy they were, but it was clear enough to see either way. They didn’t need to gush, and that mutual understanding on its own was a comfort.
Even so, Mitch couldn’t help but to notice that Melissa seemed distracted. Not in any sort of
detrimental way—it didn’t seem like there was something wrong so much as it just seemed like she was mentally chewing something over rather extensively—but he noticed all the same.
Maybe he was supposed to ask about it. But if there was some sort of guidebook he was
supposed to be following, he hadn’t been allowed to read it. To him, though, it seemed better
to simply wait until she brought it up to him.
(Besides, when Melissa had something on her mind, there was really no telling what it might be, so Mitch figured no one would blame him for being just a little bit wary.)
It didn’t take too long. Only a few weeks after they dealt with Genos, as they stood on the
balcony and watched the sun sink below the trees, Melissa mused quietly, “You know, I think that dragon guy sort of had a point.”
“Genos?” Mitch asked, just for something to say to show that he was listening. There weren’t
exactly many other candidates. “Seriously?”
Melissa hummed a low note in confirmation. “Yep,” she replied, popping the P as she said it. She folded her arms on the balcony’s railing and leaned on them, looking down at the ground below for a moment before slowly looking back to the sky again. “I mean, think about it. Actual
dragons are extinct. Were-animals and vampires seem to be the most common inhuman creatures, but they still aren’t what I would call common. I bet, in some places, it’s possible to live an entire life without ever even running in any of them, even unknowingly. And how much of that is because of humans?”
Mitch shrugged one shoulder and nodded once, conceding the point. He leaned back against the side of the house, against the corner of the door, leaning his weight on his shoulder and folding his arms over his chest. “Fair enough,” he agreed slowly. “What are you getting at?”
“What if we could fix the relationship between humans and inhuman creatures?” she asked, turning her head just enough to look at him over her shoulder. “I mean, I know we can’t do it on our own. It’ll take a ton of people and probably generations. But we can at least try to get things started.”
Mitch’s eyebrows rose slowly. “You do know that would require that any inhuman creatures announce that they’re inhuman, right?” he pointed out. “I mean, we tend to hide for a reason.”
Melissa rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the trees in front of her. The barest hints of autumn were beginning to creep in, just a few leaves at a time. “I get that,” she returned dryly. “So, we find willing help to get things started. Inhuman creatures who have humans that can vouch for them. You said it yourself; most of your coworkers know about you.
You have an entire crowd of people to back you up if someone wants to think you’re a monster. And we could see if Sabine is willing to help, too. I mean, temperament-wise, she’s pretty harmless. She can turn into a dragon, but she doesn’t want to hurt a fly. And we could ask Jasper.” She glanced over her shoulder again as Mitch opened his mouth to object, cutting him off as she added, “Yes, he can be a shit head, but he can also fake politeness when he needs to, and he looks completely harmless. He’s never going to grow out of his awkward puberty stage and we can use that to our advantage.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this,” Mitch mused, pushing himself away from the wall to instead join her in leaning against the railing.
She shrugged one shoulder. “I guess so,” she agreed mildly. “I mean, it just makes sense to me. You’re all endangered. If no one tries to fix anything, then you might all disappear entirely. I don’t want to let that happen, if I can do anything about it.” She leaned sideways just enough to press her shoulder against his arm. “So, what do you say?” she asked. “Are you going to help me?” She bumped her shoulder against him. “I mean, I can’t really do this without you. It would just look like I’m an uppity human trying to drag all the inhuman creatures into the spotlight without their say so.”
Slowly, Mitch sighed and bumped her with his shoulder. “Yeah, alright,” he agreed. “I’ll help as best as I can.”
Melissa beamed up at him, and when she leaned up onto her toes, he leaned down at the same time, and their lips met in the middle, easy and comfortable and slow.
Mitch wasn’t sure how well her idea would work, but if anyone could brute force it into working, he was pretty sure it was Melissa.
*
Bringing their loose plan up to Sabine first seemed like the best idea. Melissa called her up, and for the first time in their brief acquaintance, they met her at a bar instead of in the middle of the woods or a field, and there was no risk of any of them needing to suddenly take their clothing off. She wore her usual jacket and had her messenger bag with her just in case, but Mitch was willing to bet that their inclusion was simply habit.
They chatted good-naturedly at first, about anything and everything that came to mind, until their second drinks were sitting in front of them and Sabine leaned on an elbow on the table, propping her chin up in her hand, and asked expectantly, “So, what’s this little get together about?”
Of course, she would get right to the point. Mitch was pretty sure Melissa was allergic to making friends with anyone inclined to beat around the bush.
He stayed quiet and Melissa explained what she had explained to him just a couple nights ago. It wasn’t his idea, after all, and he had no doubts that even with his help, Melissa would still be at the forefront of everything they did.
Afterwards, Sabine looked thoughtful, idly stirring the tip of one finger in circles in her drink. “You know it could be dangerous,” she pointed out eventually. “I mean, you’d need to find a ton of inhuman creatures just willing to go along with your idea before you could ever actually put it into motion, and that’s assuming none of the inhuman creatures try to get rid of you for wanting to out them.”
Mitch had already informed her of all of that. He needn’t have bothered, though. Melissa had already thought through most of the potential dangers. But her own safety and even her life meant surprisingly little when she wanted to do the right thing. And even if he wouldn’t be around to see the pay off—even if none of them would be around to see the eventual pay off—he couldn’t deny that her idea felt like the right thing to do.
“I know,” Melissa replied. “I still feel like it needs to be done, though.”
Sabine lapsed into silence again, before she picked up her drink and threw it back in one swift motion, draining it and setting the empty glass down on the table with a heavy thump. “Well,” she offered, sounding decisive, “I guess you can count on me.” She grinned, toothy and cheerful. “I’m always up for a challenge, and I know I’ve got a few friends who wouldn’t mind being able to show themselves in the light of day.”
Melissa grinned up at her, even as she asked cautiously, “You’re sure? You said it yourself; it might be dangerous. I don’t think the danger stops applying to you just because you aren’t
human.”
Sabine snorted out a laugh and waved it off. “Please. If I had a problem with danger and lost causes, I would have flown away the instant I first saw you.”
It was certainly shaping up to be interesting already, Mitch mused to himself as he drained his drink.
*
They didn’t call ahead to schedule anything with Jasper. He had never given them any sort of contact information, assuming he had any. Instead they simply showed up at the brewery, late at night when the moon was high in the sky. They didn’t need to wait long before he joined them outside, scowling petulantly, as if someone had hustled him out the door despite him probably complaining.
“What are you doing here?” Despite his pouting, he seemed less like he was annoyed and more like he was bemused.
“We have a favor to ask,” Melissa replied carefully.
Mitch coughed behind one hand, halfheartedly attempting to hide a laugh at the look of narrow-eyed skepticism that Jasper leveled on them both.
“Do I need to help kill anyone else?” he asked slowly, folding his arms over his chest and shifting his weight to one side.
“Hopefully not,” Mitch returned dryly.
Jasper’s eyebrows rose expectantly. “Well, what is it, then?” he asked, and the words were just shy of being a demand.
Once again, Melissa explained her idea, outlining how Jasper could help them get the ball rolling on (figuratively) letting inhuman creatures take their place in the light of day. He listened carefully, surprisingly patient considering what Mitch knew of him.
Afterwards, when Melissa’s words trailed into silence, there was no reply at first. Jasper simply stared off into the middle distance, his expression unreadable. Mitch felt a strange urge to ask him if he was alright, but he got the impression the concern wouldn’t be appreciated coming from him.
Eventually, Jasper mused quietly, “You know, when I was first turned, I never got to tell my
family. I had to just disappear right afterwards. Never even got to see if they tried to look for me, or if they just accepted that I was gone.” He huffed out a breath caught somewhere between a sigh and a melancholic laugh. “It would have been too dangerous. That was what the guy who turned me said, at any rate. There was no way to know how they would react, so it would be safer for everyone if I just vanished.”
He lapsed into silence again, but only for a moment that time, before he smiled slowly and looked at Melissa. “Yeah, alright,” he agreed, nodding once. “What I went through sucked. If I can do something to keep it from happening to someone else, even if it’ll take a while, then you can count me in.”
Melissa let out a delighted whoop and Jasper squawked like a startled chicken as she abruptly hauled him into a hug. Jasper struggled halfheartedly, though it was obvious he wasn’t putting any real effort into it or he would have been able to escape with ease.
Shaking his head slightly, Mitch watched their brief celebration.
He was happy, though. True enough, being content was a good feeling, but he was always ready for another adventure. He was always ready to be doing something, and if he got to keep Melissa at his side at the same time, then that was all the better.
Life was going to be interesting for a very long time, he suspected. But he was perfectly alright with that.
* *
Hey sexy. Thanks for reading, you are the best!
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