Fortify My Heart 2 (Bast/Athena)

[Bastian O'Brien]

"No regrets?" he asked, reaching down for her hands. He hoped she didn't have any, especially the memory replacement now complete. He brought her hands up and kissed her knuckles, noticing how delicate they were. He watched as his large callused hands overtook hers as he clasped them gently, intertwining their fingers together.

[Athena Graves]

"Not even one," she answered, rubbing the side of one of his hands with her thumb. Athena took a long, deep breath through her nose. "So, we're together again. What now?" she asked, not really sure what came next. Of course, she was only assuming they were reconciled. Would he want to make it a little more official and ask her to step back into relationship territory, or was it just understood that they were a couple again? Or had they not officially broken up in the first place? When she had said to keep things platonic, that was breaking up, wasn't it? Or was it not? She really didn't get any of the various steps and stages of beginning and ending relationships. For all she knew, they had been a couple the entire time.

[Bastian O'Brien]

"Now we can do whatever we like," he said, a smile lighting up his face. He was still caressing her back. "What do you want to do with me?" he asked, curious about her answer. They could make out like teenagers some more, they could have sex again, they could just lay in bed and talk, or count his scars. He was open to anything she wished to do.

[Athena Graves]

Athena blinked a few times and quirked a brow. "Don't give an indecisive person infinite possibilities," she poked her bottom lip out a bit. "It's like you want me to self-destruct. Either you decide, or narrow it down to two choices."

She wasn't good at making decisions if she had too many options, except when it came to dueling. Split-second decisions were mandatory, but she could choose then because she was under pressure.

[Bastian O'Brien]

"Alright, do you want to make out like randy teenagers and possibly have sex, or do you want to lay in bed cuddled up talking?" he said, narrowing it down to two very different things. He was open to either of them. He looked into her dark eyes awaiting her answer.

[Athena Graves]

Well, she didn't really see why cuddling couldn't lead to making out which could lead to sex. "How about we start with cuddling?" Athena chose, nearly adding 'and see if anything comes up', but didn't want to be crude. Not that he didn't already know she wasn't very ladylike.

[Bastian O'Brien]

"Alright," he said. "Perhaps we should get into something more comfortable, that way we don't have to get up later?" He carefully slid her from his lap to the bed and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a simple white t-shirt and tossed it in her direction before beginning to unbuckle his pants and push them down to reveal a pair of black boxer briefs. He bent down to pull off each leg, giving her a good view of his behind. This wasn't intentional, but the opportunity was there.

He then went into a different drawer and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and slipped into them. He was clearly going to keep his shirt off for this cuddle session, but he didn't think she'd mind. He had a few scars on his back as well. He rooted around for a pair of smaller athletic shorts for her to wear and pulled them out before turning back toward her with a smile on his face.

[Athena Graves]

Athena watched him for a moment before removing her bra and slipping his shirt over her head. She was poking her arms through the sleeves when he turned around. "This is fine, I don't need shorts," she said, standing and dropping her pants to the floor. His shirt only barely covered her panties. After kicking her pants over toward her shoes, blouse, and bra, she crawled on all fours to the head of the bed, revealing a sliver of her pink cotton panties.

Soon, though, she was burrowing down under the blanket. His blanket. Athena inhaled deeply through her nostrils. It smelled like him. She sighed happily, waiting for him to join her.

[Bastian O'Brien]

When he saw her in just the t-shirt, he dropped the pair of shorts on the floor and his mouth dropped open. He thought she looked like the sexiest woman alive and all she was wearing was a t-shirt. His eyes followed her as she crawled up onto his bed and then beneath his covers. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, though it didn't help the one in his pants.

He picked up the shorts he had dug out and shoved them back into the drawer and made his way over to the bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in. He adjusted his pillows so that he was sitting up a bit, his legs beneath the covers. "Do you have any idea how badly I want to make love with you right now?" he asked in a quiet voice. "You look so sexy that I...it's been one of my fantasies since I was younger to see you in just a t-shirt."

[Athena Graves]

"Is that so?" Athena's blush belied her smirk. She turned onto her side and propped her head up on a loose fist with her elbow resting on the pillows. In the process, she shifted the blanket down to her waist. "But we haven't cuddled, yet," she said coyly, drawing figure eights and curly q's with a finger, starting at his chest and working her way down to his navel. To move much further, she'd have to put her hand under the blanket. That was something she hadn't quite the nerve to do just yet.

[Bastian O'Brien]

"Yes," he said, though he stuttered a bit on the s, drawing it out as she circled her way down his chest. "Tell me one of your fantasies," he said instead, moving one of his arms so that it lay loosely across her pillow as if inviting her closer. He looked down and noticed that the blanket was only waist high on her and he swallowed hard again. That damned lump just wouldn't seem to go away!

[Athena Graves]

Athena screwed up her lips, thinking. She didn't really have any sexual fantasies. Was that strange? "I... The things I fantasized about you were... well, of the fiery, bloody doom sort. But this," she indicated his bare torso, biting her bottom lip. "Is better than any sexy fantasy I'd have been able to imagine."

[Bastian O'Brien]

"Yeah I think we can skip the fiery, bloody doom," he said with a chuckle, feeling the lump in the back of his throat ease a little bit. His muscles were twitching wherever her fingertip traveled. He leaned over and kissed her gently as she bit her lip. "And it's all yours," he whispered against her lips before pulling away, trying to think if he had any other sexual fantasies. He was sure there were a few in there that had helped him get through the years of loneliness.

[Athena Graves]

She chuckled, too, happily accepting and reciprocating his kiss. "Mmhmm," Athena inched a little closer to him, her fingers exploring his lower abdomen just under the hem of the blanket. "What really gets you all hot and bothered?" she asked, glancing up at his face. "Other than realizing the fantasy of seeing me in a tee."

She would've said 'nothing but a tee', but she was still wearing panties. Athena inched closer, still, slipping one of her legs over one of his, knee slightly bent.

[Bastian O'Brien]

"You do," he answered. "Even when you are spittin' mad, you turn me on." He had to think for a few moments, "Maybe you on top?" he said questioningly. "I don't know what to say other than you get me hot and bothered and it's hard to think coherently when I'm around you."

There it was, the truth lay bare. She was his ultimate fantasy, no matter the mood she was in.