Chapter Seven: Though I Walk Through The Valley…

Commissioner Bronson was actually smiling. For once in the time I’d seen him, he was smiling, and it was one of the most unnerving, unnatural expressions I’d ever seen on a living thing, and I hate aye-ayes. Make no mistake; I believe I saw genuine joy when Meredith lead me into his office by the hand, closed the door just as I stepped inside, and immediately made me greatly desire the presence of an authoritative adult. Unfortunately for me, the guy in charge of the cops seemed to be getting his jollies out of watching his wife tenderize sausage, which I will neither pretend to understand nor lie and say I wasn’t a little turned on by it. However, guilt directed my blood flow directly back to my brain and I felt a little bit better about myself for feeling properly guilty. Instead of staying guilty, I snapped back into the reality of the situation, which was that my girlfriend’s Aunt was unbuttoning my pants in front of a guy who could easily cover up my death if he wanted to, and there was no point in threatening either of them. Meredith had made it clear that she could hum a spell in a series of trills so quickly that my pants would fall before I had a chance to take a step toward or away from her. As in she’d made me try to attack her several times while humiliating me in a new, more creative way every time.

The time for jokes and games was over. The time for child-at-heart molestation was now, and I was really hoping that now was going to end with my chastity somewhat intact. Meredith stopped stroking me and I breathed the softest sigh of relief I could. “Oh? Is my special, brave, courageous little stallion disappointed?” Mistress crooned eerily.

Lying seemed like the way to stay alive. “... A little.”

Bronson and I were having a staring contest and I was fearing for my anus until he said, “Do I have your permission, Dearest Beloved?”

I immediately lost, my eyes soaking behind their lids as panic hit the disco. I’d only tried putting something back there once and it had been enough to convince me to never try again, but I didn’t want to even think about the massive bastard that was Commissioner Bronson. “Fricking-fucking-bullshit-assfucking-”

Meredith Bronson, The Commissioner’s terrifying, inexplicably hot wife, turned to me and said, “Oh, that’s not up to me. Ask Daddy.”

I ‘bout pissed my britches.

I looked at her like she’d lost her damn mind, but then I remembered I’d never seen her with it. Then I looked at the Commissioner and his anxious, hopeful face. Then I fricked the pooch and saw the minute bulge in his trousers, looked back to Meredith, and got a kiss for my pain and suffering. The kiss tasted like nothing, reminded me of peener, and felt like walking through a briar-filled vineyard. Needless to say, I gave her a winsome smile and looked at the Commissioner like he wasn’t a guy who could blam-ski my cabbage without a second thought. With his bare hands. It took a lot to control both my bladder and quaking at the same time, so I piddled a little to straighten my legs and put on my most… Uh… I wore my ‘Farmer Method’ proudly, let’s say that.

“You, sir, haven’t exactly earned the privilege.” Shit, it was still awkward, no matter how commanding I tried to be.

Meredith laughed melodiously, which could have been a siren’s call for all I knew. I was still waiting for them to pull the wool away and start beating me for my arrogance, but then she spoke again. “Oh, make him work for it~ Is that what you’re doing to Shelly?” The Commissioner opened his mouth, making his wife shoot him and look that wet my pants a little further. “Something to say, piggy?”

He looked at me, biting his lower lip and tucking his chin to his chest. A fifty to sixty year-old man. A silver-haired, square-jawed, brick-chewing, piehole-punching, ‘I’m-not-killing-you-because-you-might-be-useful’ type bastard with hands the size of my face was giving me puppy-dog eyes for permission to speak. I really didn’t want to give it to him because I didn’t want to play along in the sick, easily misunderstandable situation… Frick, it wasn’t misunderstandable, it was outright fucked up, and I only got to the point I was because I had to do something really fricking creepy that I truly hated myself for, even if it was well received in the end. Nothing about the day was making me feel any less dirty, but for the time being I had to compartmentalize as the wise would and face the situation with as much B&B (Bullshit and Bravado) as I could.

“The fuck are you looking at me like that for, faggot?” I sneered, my head hurting with the sound of my own voice. “Get your eyes off me before I have your woman do my dirty work.” My gut tossed itself from the top of my ribcage, tying itself into a knot before it bottomed out. Meredith was watching me with sultry desire in her eyes, making my eyes brim. I rolled them to clear the evidence. “You want to speak, you lower yourself. No one speaks above me here.”

He nodded rapidly, looking to his wife. Meredith let go of me for the first time since she woke up to my lips on hers to close the blinds to ‘Alan’s’ office, apparently being the cue for him to come kneel in front of me. Meredith, in all her scarousing glory, came back to my side with a flourish, hanging off of me like a lovelorn schoolgirl. “Oh, yes, Ladron! Punish him for his insolence!”

I levelled a reproachful eye at her, well aware that she was the pivotal player in this game of sexual deviancy. “And yourself? What about the times you beat me?”

The hunger in her eyes made me shrivel in three places, and two of them were in the same sack. “Your humble paramour offers only herself as recompense. Do what you will.”

For my fleeting fantasies having come true, I couldn’t have been any less excited about it. “You realize I care more for Shelly than I ever will for you, correct?”

The heartbreak in her eyes… “Then I shall long for your commanding, ravishing touch shortly before I obliterate that pesky little obstacle from-”

…

I…

I’ve… Before Dorset, the only person I’d ever thrown a real punch at was Dustin, and that was because he seemed to be carrying on just fine after Casey died in our Goddamn bathtub. After Dorset, I’d thought I was going to go pacifist again, but I just snapped. In a brief moment of angry, ferocious hatred born from being forced into a life I no longer wanted any part of (Accessories notwithstanding), I smacked Meredith harder than I hit Dustin, and I couldn’t have stopped myself from doing it if I tried. For a moment my body didn’t feel as though it were my own, the eerie background music in my head crashing in a thunderous cacophony as Meredith’s head whipped one direction, then back to face me. Her pale face was already reddening where I’d struck her and I was nearly ill then and there, the thought of being violent for little more than my own lost temper irritating me and embarrassing me to a different degree than I’d ever felt before.

One could say that I was unused to answering to someone; Truly answering to another individual that had sway over my life had already spread the darkness in me that Gregorovich had spoken of, but I couldn’t lose my head. Meredith’s hand went to her cheek as I quickly lost the rest of my marbles. The fact that the people before me were practically worshipping my footprints when not even a full week ago, they’d been trying to either break me down or keep me chained up. The dichotomy raging in my head split me into pieces that I hurriedly put back together, clarity coming in the seconds I took to reanalyze the situation. Mistress was near tears with elation. Alan Bronson, the Commissioner, had his hands in a place I’d have rather them not have been, so while in my state of disarray, I…

I fell. I fell harder and further than I’d ever fallen, and it was only the beginning.

A part of me that knew what I was doing was a depraved and carnal act, but there was nothing stopping me from doing it. Whatever it was that Gregorovich had done to Meredith Bronson was sticking, and whatever he’d kindled in me was burning out of control. I was in my shoes, but I wasn’t the one walking. They were my hands, but it wasn’t me who pointed at Meredith and commanded her to make her husband cease his nonsense. It… It wasn’t me…

But at the same time, it felt good enough that it could have been.

The music mounted an offense against my shambling psyche, my cruel hands shoving Mistress toward her husband as she failed to adequately perform the task I’d set for her in time. Merry fell on him, her knee firmly in his stomach when she landed while Maxim’s… sleeve, admired her rear while she picked herself up. The sleeve revelled in watching Meredith soak up the abuse, rejoiced in the pain and humiliation on Commissioner Bronson’s face when it told him to strip naked. I actually found the size of his pecker hilarious since the guy was like, seven feet tall and every bit of three hundred pounds. His poor, poor vienna sausage... His plantain was probably the reason why his wife was on the search for a bull, and that, like everything else at the moment, pissed me off. If Alan was packing more meat and nuts than a squirrel, then his wife probably wouldn’t have been half the crazy bitch she was, which pretty much lead to the situation we had before us. I was already so far out of Ladron and into the sleeve that what I did couldn’t even touch my worst deeds.

The sleeve brought Alan back to his knees by having Meredith humm one of her favorite spells for him, a short growling melody that made his eyes roll up in the back of his head as he lost control of his bowels. When he picked himself up off the floor and back onto his knees, It looked at him in utter disgust. “You… You filthy fucking animal. If you’re gonna shit on the floor like a dog, I guess you can clean it up like one too, yeah?”

Sometimes I regret watching Salo. That moment was one of those times. Alan looked up at me and the sleeve, his little uncut pecker dribbling its gross little ooze, further enraging It. I felt our lip curl as we walked over to him to step on his gentleman’s sausage, earning myself a sickening moan and a mess on my shoe. I was so shocked that kicking him wasn’t something the sleeve was completely at fault for, his newly cracked (or broken) rib not helping the real me feel any less shitty. The sleeve turned away from Alan to see Meredith with her fingers interlaced with both of her index knuckles between her teeth. Her sinfully fulsome breasts heaving, her arms surrounding them, serving to only further accentuate the fact that the peaks of said breasts were poking through her blazier and blouse. Her blonde locks were perfectly highlighted and lowlighted with plenty of natural beauty within, but her piercing blue eyes saw deep into me and saw what I was. She knew what It wanted; All It had to do to get it was play along. I could do nothing to stop myself, and she would happily let me do as I pleased.

The sleeve glanced back at Alan, his hand in the air. We looked at him together and I swallowed my cries for help, Maxwell Gadai taking over and shunting me completely to the side in my own body. “The fuck do you want? Fuck- Lick the damn cum off my shoe before you say a damn thing to me, you fucking swine.”

He nodded rapidly and set to work, the words that had left my tongue leaving their mark. I knew that I was about to be traumatized again, but this time I was in control of my torture, I just couldn’t control me. I imagine that Hell is a lot like living your entire life over and over again, making worse and worse decisions as you go along, far passed the point where a slow death would be a pure-hearted token of mercy. There were better things I could have been doing with my day, but at the moment, when I should’ve been getting trained in magic, I was having some old guy’s cum licked off my shoe while his hot hotwife wife gazed on in total approval. There were things I would’ve preferred to be doing at the moment, like cutting myself (Which I’d never done previously), eating my weight in salt, boning Logan while getting boned by BB, and breaking up with Shelly. So many perfectly awful activities that I wouldn’t immediately hit the showers for.

It sickened me in a different way that I felt better when my shoe was as clean as it was going to get. “Alright, that’s good enough. Retards shouldn’t slobber over everything,” Maxwell spat hatefully. Alan nodded again, backing away on his hands and knees, looking up to me with his hand raised. “Oh- Whatever, what do you want?”

“M-May I-”

“Get rid of what you left on the damn floor already? Yeah, go ahead. Merry?” Maxwell turned away from Alan’s… I couldn’t even describe that expression if I wanted to, so frick that. He turned to Merry and saw that one of her fingers was bleeding, her legs firmly together.

“Y-Yes!?” she yelped suddenly, surprising Maxwell and I a bit. “I mean, yes Meister Gadai?”

She hurriedly licked the streak of red on her finger away while Maxwell glanced back at her husband, hesitant as he was to touch or otherwise dispose of his own waste. Maxwell pointed at him, my heart heavy and my lengthy prayer growing louder in my head. “Do you want him to clean his mess up? It’s only right that he should, yeah?”

Meredith’s hands trembled atop her chest as she gave me an unsettling smile. “Yes, that would be most appropriate. Don’t you say, piggy?”

Alan took a bite and I looked at Meredith, her jaw agape with pure, unadulterated glee in her expression. The part of me that was Ladron and not whatever Maxwell happened to be blacked out, so I don’t remember how I ended up sitting in the Commissioner’s chair while his wife unbuttoned her blouse, one at a time, each with the intent to reveal just the slightest bit more skin as she went. Four buttons down and her cleavage was fully exposed, the ghostly white flesh of her plush, pliable mounds making me ache in a way only a man can. She waited for Maxwell’s permission to finish by pulling her blouse from her tight, form-fitting skirt. He gave it to her and she stepped forward, stopping at his raised hand. I wanted to frick myself up in the worst of ways for treating a human being like that, for making someone bow to my will with no justification. It burned me up, but it wasn’t enough to shift control back to my hands.

Maxwell knew what I wanted and didn’t want. He used that to make things worse by getting… interactive. He rose and approached Meredith who pushed her chest out proudly, shaking like a leaf in anticipation as he closed in on her. Upon closer inspection, I saw the sweat upon her brow, a slight sheen to her gooseflesh-covered skin. As we came to a stop mere inches away from her, Maxwell ran a finger down the length of her breast, the tender globe sinking beneath our finger as it pressed and slid down, hooking in her stylish, frankly overdone lace brazier. Maxwell raised a brow at her, sniffing the air. Her arousal was evident to a nose paying the right amount of attention, and we were searching for the scent already. The lines between Maxwell and I came blurred and refocused, making sure that I knew without a doubt that I was cheating on my best friend and girlfriend. I was trading love for lust without the ability to tear my eyes away from the trainwreck.

It was… it was barbaric. I understood why Gregorovich was considered the most evil bastard on the planet. If he was anything like what I was seeing myself become, then he deserved a painful, slow, agonizing death. If he was willing to put a person through what he was currently putting me through, then rape, murder, and torture were all definitely in the wheelhouse because I was about to unwillingly do the no-no cha-cha, I was still pretty sure I killed Dorset, and being a passenger in my own body was torture. All three of those things slapped me in the crotch and made me doubt my luck and sanity, thinking it was all a dream.

Nothing changed the fact that I locked lips with Meredith, the taboo of being with my woman’s seductress of an Aunt tingling deep inside. Meredith’s lace pressed against my chest, her softness clouding my mind and weakening my will to get through the endeavor. I felt myself unbutton and unzip her skirt, taking a step back to watch it fall to reveal a soaked pair of decorated satin panties. Three sets of lips moistened at the same time, though I didn’t feel like licking Meredith’s alternate lips and there was something else on my mind. As with before, my focus was on her rear as she undid my pants for me, the rod of the damned poking her in a warm, sodden place. My mind melted into the moment, as degrading as it seemed to me at the moment. In the silver that lines the clouds there was the fact that Meredith put some models to shame. The thunder overhead sang songs of the fact that she was batshit insane and could snap out of whatever trance she was in whenever, wherever.

“Master…” Meredith murmured.

Her voice irked me, as pleasant as it was to hear at that point. “What?”

“Take me.” She swooned.

I pulled her upright and slapped her. “Don’t be weird about it.” A casual yank with strength I knew I didn’t have broke the hooks of Merry’s brazier.

She gasped in pain before loosing a lasciviouslacsivious croon, her hands trailingtrailign yup her stomach befoire coming to cup her weighty breasts, her pale pinbk areolas surrounding somewhat large, incredibly erect nipples, b oth of which begged for attention.. “Mmm~ Of course, Master. I should mind my tongue, maybe… put it to better use?”

I looked down at the damp tip of my member and back at her, brow raised. MyY boxers fell on their own as far as I knew and MeEredith followed them soon after, gasping and making a noise of delighted approval as she committed adultery right in front of her husband. She locked eyes with me, making sure that I knew of her enjoyment. The pleasure she took in her duty would’ve been arousing if not for the simple fact that she was crazy, Shelly’s Aunt, and had previously whacked me like a stubborn mole. It certainly didn’t stop her from swallowing my rod in one go, nor did it stop her from outclassing every other blowjob I’ve had in my life from the get-go, though the list wasn’t long for competition.

The next phase of Operation: Fucking Russians was for me to ram my thing into the back of Meredith’s throat and leaving it there, her eyes wide and her mouth a little full. When I pulled out, she was sure to SUCC, and what a SUCC it was. I nearly lost the load then and there, but her plump, kissable lips popped off of the tip before the pleasure became too great. I didn’t need to throw her onto Alan’s desk, but did nonetheless and inwardly winced as she ran into the hardwood. The abuse didn’t stop there, much to my dismay. I wished that I could just sleep while whatever was happening was going on, but I had to watch. I had to see myself smack MeEredith’s rear so hard I felt it on impact, my hand stinging as it stopped on her bottom. I hissed and she moaned, shuffling her feet as she bent over the desk, lust and greed in her gaze. She wanted another, so I gave it to her. A glance at Commissioner poo-mouth saw that he was clawing at his legs while I struck his wife’s ass time and time again, her moans turninggn into husky pleading for real release.

With her husbands eyes glued to us, I cupped her damp, sticky sex before pulling the cloth aside so I could prepare myself for the worst to come. I wasn’t ready... Her walls weren’t naturally tight like Shelly’s, but she could control her muscles in a way that only an experienced woman would know how. Each inch I pushed into her was an other year off my life, another scar on my heart to bear in silence, because who could I tell? I was stuck with my experience without kin to comfort me, and as I kinda raped myself, I wondered what had ever made me try Vaux Faker bullshit in the first place. Meredith’s bomb-ass pussy made me doubt the validity of my life and self-worth, and finishing? Well, between her constant quaking on my rod and getting off, I don’t think anything could have made the experience more horrifying.

I… I’d never finished inside a woman before. Not raw. I’d… I’d hoped the first time wpould be with someone I planned on actually making love to, but what I did to and with Meredith… Well, the smells in the room sure didn’t remind me of anything I loved, and the filth on my soul just ached, a constant throbbing that made sure I knew just how soiled my body was. I was thankful for the fact that I’d lasted less than half an hour, but the show was only over in part. Meredith let my length shrink out of her, pulsating her walls with a pitiful expression as she looked back at me, possibly trying to entice me for another round. If it had been up to me, I wouldn’t have done it, but the person controlling my body wanted poon and didn’t care that I just wanted to go home and cry a little. A lot, actually. A lottle.

After another round of coitus that I didn’t want, I was allowed to dress myself, taking care to watch the disgusting display of Meredith spreading some intercourse-mayonnaise on some crackers for Alan to eat. I left with my back straight and my head held high, stepping out of the office with fond farewells for Meredith. I didn’t have anything to say to the guy who would lick up anything I told him to, but I did get the hell out of dodge in a timely manner. When I stepped out of the station and into my car, auto-pilot turned off the second the device rang in my pocket. Tears streamed down my face as I answered the phone, the voice on the other end of the line belonging to a man I would happily kill.

“So, how was that?” Gregorovich asked lightly.

“... Why…?”

“To prove my point. Take what I give, or accept the gift with a twist. Stand with me, or stand against me.”

“Gina wasn’t that far gone, was she?”

“Not by far. She was quite the normal, musically gifted girl before I laid hands on her. No, I did not do it purposefully such as you have forced me to do, but my power did drive her mad.”

“How does it serve you to make me want to die?”

“Do you?”

“... Yes.”

Maxim fell silent. “... Then perhaps you are not as strong as I hoped.”

“I’ve never wanted many fantasies to come to light, Gregorovich. There are things that I will do and lines I refuse to cross. You’ve pushed me over so many, so fast.”

The amusement in his voice made me seethe. “And? You will do… what, exactly?”

“... There are people you don’t make enemies of, Gregoro-shit. I think I’m one of them.”

“How scary. I am quaking in my seal-skin boots, warm as they are.”

I nodded along. “Be seeing you.”

“Hmm?”

The phone allowed me to hang up for once, my resolve firm and my loins aching. Vindication was high on my list of priorities, but for the time being, a hot shower and a hug were more along the lines of things in my grasp. The House was empty when I got there, so I took a nice, long shower that lasted until it became a bath. I sat in my lukewarm man-soup for hours on end, hidden by a shower curtain and my own unbreakable silence. ItT took Rodney sweeping the curtain aside after he got home for me toi realize that I was sore and pruned beyond raisins, but even then I still felt soiled to the core. Beyond a reasonable doubt, I needed a nap and a drink, so I dried off, ignored Rodney when he tried to ask what was wrong, and then went up to my room and found my ‘Call-Before-Use’ kit. The reason I was supposed to call someone before I used it was because the last time I got incredibly depressed and decided to drink about it, I slept for three days straight in a drunken, Xanax fueled coma.

Three bars down, followed by a couple swigs of my favorite maple bourbon, and I was smiling, lying eagle-spread on my floor. My bones felt good and I wasn’t particularly worried about anything, so when Logan stepped over me, I just kept on smiling. “Hey there, bud. You alright?”

“Am now,” I answered pleasantly.

“Heard ya… um… I heard that you might’ve boinked the teacher.”

“Oh, Meredith is Shelly’s Aunt.”

“I know…” Logan’s concern was evident.

“You were sooo right about Greg.”

“You… Did he take you over?” He knelt next to me, laying a hand on my shoulder.

I closed my eyes, hoping to slip away into unconsciousness so I wouldn’t have to talk about it. When I opened them, Logan was still looking at me, but there was more than just pity on his face. “I’m a puppet~”

“No, Ladron, you’re… you’re so much more than that. More than Gregorovich’s dog, my friend, so much more than what you think you are right now…”

“Nothing multiplied by zero is still worthless,” I barked out a laugh.

He flicked my n0ose and I giggled. “Shit, you’re high as a damn kite, aren’t you?”

“Bingo-bango-bongo I don’t wanna leave the congo~”

“Right. You know Shelly’s going to be pissed when I tell her.”

The joy in the moment died. “Yeah, sure. Let me borrow your gun before you do.”

“... Maybe she doesn’t need to know.”

“Can I still practice skeet shooting with your mini-pistol?”

“No, and if you keep talking like that, then we’re gonna go get you some help that might actually do you some good.”

“Why aren’t we doing that now?”

“Shelly. Meredith is ruthless.”

“I think Merry will fall in line as long as I play the role she wants me to,” I replied solemnly, high, drunk, and sad. “I just wish I hadn’t listened to Bryce.”

“Which one?”

“Gay furry.”

“Ah, Dean Hartley’s pet queer,” Logan snorted.

“That’s kinda racist.”

“It would be homophobic, and I’ve never met a gay man that’s actually down for a scrap.”

“That’s because winning a fight with you just means they beat up somebody’s grandpa.”

“Shut up, Ladron.”

“I was doing that before you invited yourself in.”

“... You’re not gonna wanna hear what I have to say to that, so-”

“Spit it out or no balls.”

“Alright then. Get over it, kid. Worse things have happened to better people-”

“And a lot of those people are dead now, and that’s just another thing they have over me right now. Shut the fuck up.”

“... Yeah, I figured that was something likie what you were going to say. Just… Just let me say one more thing Ladron.”’

“Go for it,” I sighed, not interested at all.

“Shelly… Michelle… She’s a special girl, Ladron.”

“... I know.”

“Intuitive too.”

“Definitely.”

“... She’s gonna find out what’s wrong eventually. You know you’ll spill the details.”

I rolled over onto my side, facing away from him. Having decided not to answer, Logan apparently had nothing to say to my response, or lack thereof. I had no problem with ignoring my issues for the time being, the soothing melody of Cosmo Sheldrake’s Wriggle (The Mr. Jukes Remix, of course) thrumming its beat into my bones and my heart. The scars were already forming over the wounds that had been laid into the tender tissue, but they still ached with the ferocity of something I’d never felt before, a level of defilement I’d thought was only capable after being desecrated by multiple people at once.

Someone laid down behind me and spooned me while I was on the floor, but I didn’t look back at who it was. They eventually got up, came back with a mug of soup and a blanket, then draped the blanket over my shoulder. Shelly began singing me a heart-wrenching tune in a language I didn’t think she would care to know, namely Vietnamese. I’d thought she was Japanese from the shape of her eyes, but that’s what I get for not recognizing Asian facial features. ItT was a lovely song that didn’t do anything for me as far as the soup went, but it did get me to sequester myself away in my lovely, gracious, perfect best friend’s arms. Her comfort was exactly what I needed to clear the first step on the way to not hating myself for what happened, the staircase high and daunting.

Shelly’s warmth, not necessarily physically, but spiritually, was something otherworldly. I’d known friendly people, and I’d had girlfriends that were decently faithful, but no one matched up to my current one, and that’s all I cared about at the moment; keeping Shelly in my life. I knew that it probably wouldn’t be long before she started asking questions, but I didn’t want to answer them, nor did I want to even think about the events of the day. All I truly desired was a nap with Shelly, and she let me have it for a couple of hours before she woke me up.

Her arms were still wrapped around me as I laid between her legs, resting my back against her body. She hummed to me as I woke, a gentle song with no discernible words. “Ladron? Butter Bear?”

I snuggled her harder. “Shelly…”

“Logan said you had a rough morning…”

“... I met your Aunt.”

“Wait, Yo-Yo, Merry, or Hoover?”

“Merry.”

“... Yeah, I’m not seeing why you had a bad day. Merry’s awesome.”

“She’s kinkier than an old water hose.”

“... Did you fuck my Aunt?”

“Not really,” I whispered.

“Ladron, what happened?” Shelly asked, her voice dipping. I couldn’t help but tremble against her, making her hold me tighter. “Baby, Sweetie, it’s okay. Nothing’s gonna happen to you now, you’re okay, okay?”

“... I don’t what to do, Shelly… Bronson was there and…”

“... So you… Oh.”

I clutched her arms and shook harder against my will, my control slipping quickly. “I’m… I’m sorry, I… I couldn’t… I couldn’t…”

“Baby, it’s okay,” Shelly soothed, murmuringmurming in my ear. “It’s all gonna be alright, okay? No one’s going to do that to you ever again, and I’ll be damn sure of it,” she finished with venom., :

“... You can’t do anything, Shelly,” I sobbed, the dam finally breaking. “I can’t do anything…”

She didn’t have anything to say to that, so she just held me a little closer and let me bury my face in her chest for a few minutes. Long enough for me to lose it a couple more times after barely getting a grip. It took a full hour for my eyes to fully dry, but even then I was exbhausted and the same song that had been playing on repeat was still going. I pulled my phone out and paused it, pulling myself away from Shelly so I could get up and offer her a hand. She took it but did most of the work herself, pulling me in for a hug when she came to her feet. I needed that hug, and I needed the kiss that followed, as little as I wanted Shelly to come into contact with my dirty, unclean self. ItT was one thing to have her touch me over the long sleeves and legs of my clothes, but to feel her lips where Meredith’s had been but a few hours ago made my heart ache with the weight of everything that was going on. After we broke apart, Shelly held me for awhile longer until she invited me into her room for the night.

Marissa was nowhere to be seen, but it was a good time for her to be gone anyway. I didn’t want to deal with her duplicity, and Shelly’s personality shone through best during one-on-one time, which was something I was immensely fond of. We just laid in her bed for a long while, but then she asked if I wanted there to be music. I asked her to play something for me. It’s rare that I ask someone to play something other than a song I already know, but I was as eager as I could get at the moment to hear Shelly sing an original song. Something I’d never heard before sounded like the cure to what ailed me, so I relaxed to her dulcet tones and harmonies until I fell asleep in her bed.

I dreamt of a world of just Shelly and I with two dogs and two cats. The dogs were a Tibetan Mastiff, my favorite breed, and a Scottish Wolfhound, which was Shelly’s personal favorite. The cats would have to be a Ragdoll-mix (for me) and something cuddly since Shelly only liked cats that cuddled or played a lot. My dreams carried me through years of happiness and joy; everything from farming my own land to entertaining my wife and kids with my music was involved, and nothing had ever felt so sweet that to make my own instrument with Shelly’s hands guiding my own as we waited for our next child. Douglerina, the Wolfhound, would sing along whenever I played the odd instrument we’d made and dance around as our daughter would, having learned some doggy moves of her own from the tot. Jay, my Mastiff, would be the ultimate guard-dog and loving, loyal guardian to the family. The sweetness of my dreams came with triumph and the occasional small let down that barely affected my overall elation, but the pitfalls were necessary to keep the dream on the track it was riding down. Nothing had been so epically romantic as the time I spent with Shelly in my mind, the whole endeavor coming with but one small caveat:

It wasn’t real.

I woke up to Shelly’s admittedly not-horrible morning breath in my face with no recollection of how I got into her bed, why I was there, or what time I would get out of my comfy, super-relaxed state. I cuddled up to Shelly for a little while longer, my worries and fears forgotten for the time being. She sleepily nuzzled my chest as I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, so I stayed in bed and made sure that I soaked up as much of Shelly’s love and affection as I could, careful not to wake her up with my occasional bladder-related squirming. Once the dire urge to wee had passed, I was able to enjoy the moment far more and took the time to stroke Michelle’s smooth, silvery hair. The purple dye was fading out of it bit by bit, but the silver was staying strong, her roots barely showing any signs of going back to black. I took a deep breath, doing my best to memorize Shells’ scent, making sure that I knew what home really smelled like. It reminded me of tea and spices, maybe chai or macca. Her perfume was somewhat floral, but definitely herby and soft, nearly imperceivable aroma.

After a few more minutes of cuddling, I felt and heard Shelly’s breathing shift in pitch, her hand rubbing my back as she woke up. “Mmm~ Hello handsome.”

“Hey beautiful,” I murmured back. “Did you dream of me?”

“May-be,” she giggled drowsily. “Maybe I just felt that while I was asleep.”

“What?” I asked, completely confused.

Shelly wiggled a little and I realizedrelaized what she was talking about. “Hmm?”

“O-Oh, I-”

“I’m just glad he still likes me.” Shelly grabbed my butt for a second and patted it. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t be up for a little reminder of who loves you, would you?”

“Does it involve kissing?”

“Among other things, yeah.”

“... Shells, it’s not really a good time for that…”

She kissed me and stopped me from making things even more awkward. “Then I’ll just wait until you’re ready again. I’ll always be here for you, La-La, even if you don’t want everything I have to offer.”

I kissed her in return for her kind words, making sure that what I couldn’t say could be felt throughhtrough the exchange. “Michelle…?”

“Real name, bad sign.” She hissed.

“... I love you.”

“... Good sign. Really fucking good sign.” She said blankly.

“You don’t have to-”

“I feel the same way, Ladron, but I have bad luck with that word…”

“... Is breá liom tú.”

“Was that French?”

“Irish.”

“I forgot your dad liked Guinness.”

“Because he doesn’t?”

“Damn, that was racist.”

“Eeyup,” I chuckled. “You’d think I could hold my liquor, but my Dad and I never have been able to outdrink Dustin.”:

Shelly laughed a little as well. “It’s funny to think that I could probably drink you under the table.”

I smiled at her, the chemistry between us causing a chemical reaction involving tons and tons of oxytocin. “It’s funny to think that I kinda want what you wanted earlier.”

She raised a brow and gave me a pointed look. “You act like I wouldn’t be down to skip school and find random places to do it all day.”

“... Would you be?”

“Yes.” Shelly licked her lips. “I’ve always wanted a guy adventurous enough to do that kind of thing with me!”

“... Can I go talk to Bryce Ulbrich real quick though?”

She rolled over, checked her phone, then looked at her somewhat-lightened window. “... We slept for like, two hours.”

“I’m feeling better.”

“You sure seem like it. Why dpo you want to go see Furrsona Ranger Pink?”

“Don't worry about it until I get arrested. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Shelly laughed until she suddenly quit. “Wait, are you seriously gonna go beat up one of your best friends?”

“Nope.”

“Ah, good, I thought-”

“Imma fuck ‘im up. Beat up be damned.” I rolled out of bed and stood to stretch.

Shelly hissed. “See, as hot as it is to see you actually upset for once, I really don’t want you to get arrested-”

“I’m an honorary cop. I can do just about whatever the fuck I want right now, and what I want to do is send a message.”

“Ladron, babe, seriously. You’re just mad-” I turned and looked at her, the gentle smile on my face cutting her off. “... I can’t stop you, but I can say that I really don't’ want you to kick Bryce’s ass.”

“What’s in it for me if I don't?”

“Snuggle-fucks all day?”

“I dictate where we go, you find places to do it.”

She blinked and smiled. “Really?”

“Yep. If it’s gonna upset you, then I don't feel like doing it.”

“... Wow… Ladron, I... “

“What?”

Shelly looked at me with something in her eyes that I’d been waiting for since I’d been born. I’d just never known what it was; what it had been all along that that I’d longed for. “... I love you too.”

“So does that mean we can have a quickie?”

“Save the quickies for when we’re about to get caught,” She purred.

I looked down then looked back at Shelly, both my main head and second head fully convinced that there was no better place to be at the moment than right where I was, how I got there be damned. “Sounds good to me.”