ATF Universe
Part 4 - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Angel was watching the cherub fluttering by Larabee's side and wishing high and low every other minute that her own eyes would suddenly shape-shift into a flame-thrower and turn the revolting little creature into a pile of ashes, there, on the spot!The cherub was fluttering gaily, an indelible smile on her face that would only disappear when Angel would foil her pathetic little schemes, unbeknownst to her... Sickening little creature! So full of joy... and hope... and love! Yuck! Man, was she really trying to get the two guys together! With all her might!
The little weasel had even managed to penetrate Larabee's unconscious, cooking up erotic dreams, when not highly charged sexually scenes... Angel frowned: wasn't SHE, or at least one of her colleagues from down under, supposed to do this? After all, lust was THEIR trade, not the other side's!
The little weasel should have known better than try and push them together... but then, she had been trotting every single road of her neighborhood, back and forth, in every possible and imaginable way! Not only was she trying her best to sink her mission, but she was also using her own weapons against her... Larabee's dreams and thoughts were filled with nothing but naked patches of flesh; grazed, caressed, kissed, licked, clawed, embraced or grabbed... There was room for nothing but sighs and moans... There were no images but fire and passion... In a nutshell, there was nothing but lust! How dare she use her methods? Angel had never seen that before! How in the Hell could that little weasel use such an underhanded strategy? It was against all the rules of the war they'd been waging on both sides until now... War? No, it was in truth an ART that they had until now practiced with the utmost devotion! With an exasperated sigh, she waved towards the little angel, her eyes throwing daggers.
Thalia was happily bouncing around Chris, blowing in his ear the same old erotic thoughts, when she suddenly felt herself slide and ended up on her rear end on the boardwalk. She looked around disoriented, trying to understand how such a thing could have happened! It had never happened to her before; in fact, never ever since she had left her human body a long time ago! She stood up, looking around her in the crowd, trying to get an idea of how she could have slipped like that.
Meanwhile, Larabee was walking away, totally oblivious to what had interrupted his train of thoughts, but very thankful for the respite: the ache in his groin seemed to have lessened somewhat...
Angel smiled a very big toothy smile: was that what he truly wanted? That the fire in his croch be quieted? Well, he just had but ask!
"Mickey!" A concerned mother suddenly yelled at her toddler while the squirt was escaping and running away, his syrupy ice cone in hand. He turned around to his mother, happily laughing at her, enjoying his newfound freedom... and bumped into Larabee, up-ending his cone against the man. Breath stuck by the sudden cold, Larabee tried to hold his stomach in, at the same time easing most of the slush behind his belt, letting it slide straight towards the center pit of the fire he wished so much to extinguish but a few seconds ago!
"God damnit!" He breathed, stepping back.
Angel let an amused laugh out: boy, she really loved that swearword! And she loved even more the look on the angel's face right at that moment! A mix of horror at the swearword and despair about the fate that seemed to be hounding her charge...
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Thalia bent a little closer to Chris's face. He had finally managed to fall asleep and she certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to awaken another one of those dreams she was beginning to excel in.
Vin was but a few inches away from him and Chris could feel the heat emanating from the young athletic body, seeping through his clothes to reach and burn his skin... a delicious heat was spreading through his body, shooting up from his loins... a streak of fire was heightening his senses... his breathing quickened... Vin stepped closer still, lightly resting his shaking hand on his chest. Chris's breath froze, his penis in a hard and painful erection he had no power to prevent. Would this torture end someday soon? All this was nothing but another one of those torturing dreams, he just knew it. And he was nearing the end of his rope.
Thalia frowned and breathed in her charge's ear:
"If you want it to be just a dream, it's up to you, Cowboy..." Vin murmured, his lips slightly brushing against his face. Feeling his friend tense up and refusing to let go at his touch, Vin slowly opened his mouth and with the tip of his tongue, lightly drew the contours of Chris's mouth, vainly trying to open it.
Angel sighed impatiently and jumped off the window sill where she was observing the whole scene: the weasel was ridiculous! Angel bent closer to Chris's other side with an amused smile: how funny 'they' had sent a rookie to help those two mortals! Since she was not up to her expert level, the cherub couldn't even start to imagine she was there! She hardly held her laugh in check. 'Come on', she admonished herself, 'if I am to laugh, that would be odd in that dream!' She bent towards the sleeping man:
Chris jumped back, out of breath: all this was surreal and absurd! Still deeply suffering from his loss, he had seized Vin's outstretched hand. But Vin was but a friend! And these ideas running through his mind these last months were starting to take over on reality: it was nothing more than a virile friendship! How could he let his senses abuse him in such a way? That was ridiculous!
Thalia suddenly stood straight, frowning. Oh no! He wouldn't get away with it this time! She went back to bending over him:
"It ain't ridiculous, Chris... it IS real, this thing happening between us," Vin ushered in his rough Texan drawl, stepping up to him, almost pressing himself against Chris. "Why do you deny it?... Please, Chris, don't shut me out..."
Chris was looking at Vin, straight into his beautiful sky-blue eyes, trying to regain the little control he had and breathe again, while the fire running in his blood seemed to jump higher still and pound in his heart...
Angel lifted her eyes to the skies:
"Come on, Chris, let it go... Let US be..." Vin was murmuring, a slight smile on his lips. "It'll be fun, ya'll see... Why don't ya let it go? Why deny us this night? Why think? Tomorrow'll be another day and it'll be over. But we'll finally know what's between us and we'll be able to go back to work and not think about it anymore... Come on, Cowboy, let's get rid of this itch... PERMANENTLY... Come on, Chris, what's so wrong about one-night stands?
"What???" Thalia exclaimed in spite of herself before regaining her ground:
"Of course, fer me, it's much more than that," Vin suddenly added, as Chris was stepping back again.
Angel softly sniggered:
"Chris, please, don't step back... le'me touch ya, I know ya wan'it! It'd be so much more than a one-night stand, 'cause we know each other so well, we know what we really need... I wanna take ya into my mouth, Chris... I wanna lick ya all over... Isn't that what ya been dreamin' of all this time? Come on Chris? Why pass a good fuck, pard'?
Thalie paled when she saw Chris freeze and a veil of sadness cover his still sleepy face. Angel smiled when she saw the cherub loose all her countenance... Very good, the weasel was playing in her sandbox. Now her turn to go play in the cherub's sandbox, her turn to invade Larabee's dreams! And she went on, letting images flip through the mind of one Chris Larabee en route to Hell:
Two male bodies... touching... brushing... wrestling together in the abandonment of love-making... Hands clutching each other's body... Penis painfully erected, longing for release... A room, so hot it was a furnace... Everything around them was becoming red. They were sweating. They were tiring... It wasn't pleasant anymore... It was torture! He was hurting so much... He was in Hell! And then, as Chris was finally shouting his pain, red became ice blue, unbearable heat became piercing cold. He was now alone. He was cold. He was hurting. Not because of the physical pain that he had suffered through the dance of their bodies, through their carnal desire... He was hurting because of the loss of it, because of the void... of 'after'. What would be left after he had realized his dreams and let go? Nothing. Nothing but remorse to have squandered away this beautiful friendship they had been sharing until now and that would not survive the rising of the sun.
Angel's gaze rapidly searched the cherub and she had to bite her lips not to laugh out loud: the weasel was on the very edge of apoplexy at seeing Larabee's dream slip so far away from its intended conclusion! And she was still wondering how she could have lost control over it all...
'Yeah...' Angel thought, 'Life's a bitch, doll, and afterlife gets even worse, don't it?!!'
Chris suddenly sat up in bed, his heartbeat so hurried his heart felt like jumping out of his chest. His decision was made. Indulging in sex for the sake of sex was not worth losing Vin or the bond they shared. He just had to take a grip on himself. Regain control. He was sure he could do that, couldn't he? Had done it before. He just couldn't believe he'd been so close to do something so stupid!
His mind finally at peace, he laid back down on his side, closed his eyes and frowned: no dream would now trouble his sleep! He was done with all this stupid crap!
"God damnit!" Thalia suddenly swore, making Angel double over in guffaws, before she disappeared in a puff. It was clear to her that nothing would come out of Chris that night! She might as well try and see what Vin was up to...
Now alone, Angel was finally able to let out her laugh. "Yeah, girlie, you're no match for me... Maybe in a few centuries!" Then, bending over the sleeping man: "Sweet dreams now, Chris Larabee... And it's not your God you have to thank for THAT!"
Hearing a discreet cough, she stepped back and turned, danger written all over her face... but her smile found its way back on her face when she recognized Darrel: "So, what's up, hunk?"
The young man smiled back: "Well, on my way back to you, I have noticed some very interesting bushes that I'd love to explore with you..."
"Oh my, Darry... I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait for my current assignment to be over! We both know it... Humans are the ones supposed to be tortured with unquenchable desires, aren't they? So why are we torturing each other this way?"
Darrel burst out laughing: "Sorry, I forgot! I should have started by that first: I have been sent to tell you that in fact, the happy Christmas Story ending isn't only for humans! The Counsel has decided that, for now, you have done enough damage to those two, and you are to be promoted instructor! Effective... Immediately!!!"
Angel became wide-eyed: now? Just like that? She was finally getting rid of that crazy assignment? It was that simple? Aaaah, to finally share her experiences with rookies! Let the good times roll! Of course, she would certainly miss field work, but on the other hand, she would be able to take any break at her own discretion! Being an instructor didn't demand that much attention and she wouldn't have to concentrate on her task as much as she had had to until now... A wide predatory smile creased her features, showing off her beautiful white teeth, and her gaze was becoming as hot as the fires of Hell itself while travelling down the relaxed curves of Darrel's body. He was waiting, silently, heart pounding in his chest, while the words he had just delivered were finding their way in her overworked brain.
"So?" He finally asked, not able to bear her silence any longer.
"So..." She breathed in a throaty enchanting voice, "Where are those bushes you told me about... Feel like celebrating my new promotion and indulging in some crazed passionate sex! I've had enough of those lusty visions these past few days - even though they were merely created by that little weasel from up above! - to find myself in need of some release of my own..."
The same smile flourished on the young man's name: "At your service..."
And they disappeared from Larabee's bedroom in a dazzling red smoky cloud.
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Part 5 - A Twist of Fate
Vin woke up, head pounding, feeling like a whole troop of woodpeckers had taken residence in his skull... boy, what a night that must have been... And suddenly, he froze. This wasn't his bedroom... in fact, this wasn't any bedroom he knew! Cautiously turning his head to the right, he made out a mop of strawberry curls. His breath caught. My God, what had he done? He had to get out of here..."Hey, good morning to you too..." The sleepy voice interrupted his tiptoeing to get out of bed. Then he felt the bed move behind him... the woman was getting up! 'cause of course, it had to be a woman!!!
"Bathroom is the door on the right. I'll be in the kitchen, fixing breakfast..." She said quietly, exiting the bedroom and leaving him with thoughts and fears swirling in his mind... He was gonna throw up! What in the Hell had he gone and done, now???
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"I think we have to talk before you go and do something stupid..."
The voice stopped him dead in his tracks. He had hoped he would manage to tiptoe his way out of her place, not really ready to deal with the mistakes he certainly must have made the former night... but no such luck!
With a weary sigh, he quietly walked into the kitchen, looking at the woman behind the counter... a stranger... he couldn't remember where they had met... small, curved, red curly hair... totally not his kind of woman, even when he was still interested in them... Then she turned to him and he was stunned with the happy beaming smile and the twinkling brown eyes...
"Here, why don't you take this..."
It took him a few seconds to look down in her hand where the aspirin lay. Her face was just so... content! Plain happy, she was... Once again, the fear that he might have made a dreadful mistake assaulted him, and his breath caught.
"What do you remember of last night?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Not much... went out to a bar, then another... then nothing..."
He tried to clear his throat and finally get around to ask THE question... "Did we... hmm... did we...." He sighed again. He just couldn't bring himself to saying the words that would turn his whole world upside down.
"If it'll make you feel better, we didn't fly to Vegas and we didn't get married!" She laughed. Then finally relenting and deciding to put him out of his misery, she started to explain. "I'm a nurse, you see. Was driving home last night after my shift, I happen to be in this part of town where nobody should be out at night..." She threw with a meaningful glance, "and I almost drove over a wounded man who happened to stumble right under my wheels! Well, at least, I thought you were wounded... there was blood all over your shirt... but then, when I got close, I 'noticed' you must have had brought down the whole beer industry! I got you into my car and wanted to drive you home, but you fell right asleep... and I couldn't get to your wallet, 'cause your jeans too tight... so I brought you home... Don't you worry, nothing happened you should be ashamed of, you were too far gone for that... in fact, you kept rambling about a 'frustrating mule's ass named Chrish'," She laughed, imitating his drunk sounding accent. "So, since you wouldn't go back to sleep and wouldn't let me rest, I stayed up with you and listened to you and your musings..."
As he was listening to her, Vin was becoming redder and redder.
"I'm sorry... I didn't..."
"Hey, don't you worry! 'Twas no problem at all... in fact, it's quite funny to see that you men have as much trouble getting into a relationship as we do... and hearing you rambling about that 'mule's ass' being scared of commitments, that was a riot!" She laughed harder... and he just couldn't resist her mirth and twinkling brown eyes...
"Say, if you don't mind my asking... why do you think he is so dead set against a relationship with you?" She put in, once their laughter died down...
"Well... he was married once... 'bout four year ago... lost his family in a bombing... it was meant for him, so I guess he feels kind of guilty to be alive... and he went through hell trying to survive, so I think he's scared to love again... also, we work together..." Vin knew he was rambling, but looking into the kind eyes of the woman, he was feeling like he could tell her everything and he would be understood and accepted.
"I guess him being your boss doesn't make it any easier..." She mused, looking at him thoughtfully.
"Nope, sure doesn't..." He sighed. "I'm even startin' to think about askin' for a transfer... it's getting' harder each day to face him and knowin'..." He stopped finding it hard to put into words the whirlwind of emotions that were assailing him. "I'd loose my best friend... but, I don't know what else to do..."
"Well, if I may..." She interrupted his dark thoughts. Then, as he nodded, "From what I gathered, you just both danced around the issue, but neither of you have ever made any move, right?" She stated, then went on as he agreed, "Then before you go and ask for a transfer, how about making a move on him, just to be sure? I mean, get into his office, lock the door and don't listen to him, just kiss the hell out of him!" As he opened wide interested eyes, she went on, "The only things that could happen would be: one he socks you one good and fires you or ask for your transfer, but from what you said, I strongly doubt that. Two, he goes with the flow and the two of you end up kissing the hell of each other, but I also doubt that, or he would already have acted way before now. And three, he doesn't sock you, but answers your kiss without much conviction... which to me would be the most likely reaction, since from what you told me, he looks more like he's fighting against himself than against you or the idea of the two of you together! So, what have you got to loose, Vin? You'll finally be able to have an answer and face the truth... That ought to be better than the pain you're in right now!"
Vin was looking at her, thinking it all through... knowing somewhere deep inside that she was right. Not knowing if they really had a chance was killing him. If he knew, he could deal with it, whatever the result of his actions... He smiled at her, finally at peace now that a decision had been taken and a course of action had been decided.
"Hey, want a cup of coffee before you go..." She smiled back.
"Thanks but no... I'll just drive by his favorite place and bring him one back... that'll give me the excuse to get into his office," He drawled. "Thanks..."
"No problem... Hey, when you get out of here, take a right and at the corner you'll find a cab... there's always one at this time of day... And Vin, good luck!"
He was about to exit her place when he hesitated and finally turned back. "I didn't quite catch your name," He asked shyly.
"My friends call me Thalia," She smiled, eyes twinkling.
"Bye Thalia..." And he nodded and stepped out, walking away with a determined step.
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Chris got out of his car, thinking back to the quiet nights he had had lately... That had not really helped him make up his mind about Vin. He frowned at his indecisiveness... Four nights ago, he had decided he would not get involved with Vin other than being a good friend. The night before, he had even tried to go out with a woman, if not just to prove to himself that he liked women... That had been a total waste of his time. And right in the middle of the dinner, it had suddenly struck him that she was a brunette, with curly hair and blue eyes... but there was something missing in those eyes... he just couldn't see himself, not like in Vin's... and little by little, the date had turned out to be a date out of Hell for him, since every single gesture, every single word, every single expression on her face would just remind him who he wasn't with... 'And now what?' He had wondered...
He was torn out of his musings by that drawl he knew so well.
"Hi Chris..."
He looked up and saw that there were just the two of them in the elevator... once in a lifetime, he thought, trying to come out with a witty repartee... but words failed him. And then, to his surprise, Vin pushed the stop button and turn to him.
"What..." He hardly had the time to utter, before he was roughly seized and a warm mouth covered his in a fevered kiss he felt all the way down to his toes. And then, he stopped thinking and started feeling... the warmth creeping inside him... the fire of the body pressed against his... the hands caressing his chest, worming their way down his sides... then slowly, oh so slowly, inching their way to his buttocks, before seizing them in a hard grip, grinding his hips against his partner's, gyrating oh so tantalizingly against his own erection...
He was lost in an ocean of sensations, each one telescoping each other... he had forgotten how to breathe, had forgotten how to think... he was heading down the road to sensatory overload... and he was loving every second of it!
And then the lips left his... and the sense of bereft that overcame him was so strong he felt like crying... He wasn't ready to give that up, yet. But the chime of the elevator as it retraced its course and finally opened onto their floor, stopped him from protesting... 'As if I could have found words for that', he thought. And then, another groan escaped him as he saw that for once, all the rest of the team was on time! 'God, this is gonna be one hell of a day!' He mused. 'Yeah, one hell of a day...' He reckoned as he saw the secretly satisfied smile on Vin's lips...
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Vin stopped his jeep and looked around, surprised. He had come by Thalia's place to talk to her... Somewhere, he felt like he needed to let her know that her idea had worked, that in fact, it had worked so well, that Chris had invited him over for Christmas, to try and get a feel for the new depth in their relationship...
But all Vin could see were the remnants of a building. Once again, he checked the name of the street and the number.
"Mister, you looking for something?" A voice intruded.
"Yeah... thought there was a buildin' here," he indicated the vacant place on the other side of the street.
"Oh yeah, there was... a long time ago, like five years," the man laughed. "A tragedy too... there was this nurse we all loved... used to care for people in the street, every time a kid got a scratch or someone wasn't feeling well, she'd lend a hand... too bad what happened, though..."
"What happened?" Vin asked, in a faraway voice.
"Well, one night 'bout five years ago, she came back from a late shift at Mercy General... got into her place... and it all blew out! The blast took out the whole wing where her place used to be... Miracle too! She was the only casualty in the building... but then the whole thing burned down anyway... there could have been dozens of dead, but she was the only one... a great loss to the community, I tell you, and a damned shame too! She had such a heart of gold..."
"What she looked like?" Vin asked, dreading the answer.
"Well, she was one small woman, red curly hair... always a mess, but she wouldn't cut it... beautiful brown eyes... always looked like she was planning a con or something else... but for fun, mind you! There wasn't a bad bone in her... a real angel, I tell you... that's what we used to call her, 'The Angel of Mercy'... and every time she would hear it, she would blush! Yeah, a real loss..." The man was looking at where the building should have been, sadly shaking his head. "But then, I guess someone asked for a miracle, 'cause you see, we're having one! They cleaned the rubble away last week. They say the city is gonna built a center here... part of it day-care center, the other youth center... they've already thought of the names too!" The man chuckled. "The day-care's gonna be named 'Lil' Angels' and the Youth Center 'Lil' Devils'... quite fit, ain't it?" And the man walked away, laughing at the irony of it all.... Leaving a bemused Vin on the sidewalk, wondering if...
"Maybe the Gods were with me..." He murmured...
The End???
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