PP F9: Slippery Slopes

[Mari 1]

Mari made a sound toward his expression, as he quoted a saying, his amber eyes darting away from her. Mari could see that he was slowly building back up the walls, becoming the aloof Alkor rather than an affectionate Thom. "Heh..."  She didn't mind, a part of her wanted him, in the sense that she wanted to curl up against him, to fall asleep against the soft rise and falls of his chest, to drift off to sleep listening to the sound of his beating heart. 

"Thom..." Mari began, wanting to offer him a proper thanks, before he donned the mask that was 'Alkor' again. "I don't need no $5 words." She uttered softly, bringing her hands up to cup his cheeks, to have her thumbs gently caress his skin. She turned his face toward hers. He felt hot, flustered - and Mari assumed she must have looked similar to how he felt.  She offered him a reassuring smile as he corrected her - stating that this was entirely new for him too. "I noticed. I'm not blind." She teased. "I don't need any $5 words, I don't even need a gentle touch or an intimate kiss. All I need is to know that you, Thom, are alive." 

Mari lowered her gaze, her chest was in knots. She wanted to stay with him - she wanted this moment to trickle on longer; just one more embrace, one more quip, a joke, a gentle squeeze of the hand...something, anything. But Mari was afraid, worried that any further actions would just cause Thom to place his walls up again, and become Alkor. Not that Mari would mind, she adored Thom for who he was, both himself and for the facet known as Alkor. The next words came as a small mumble. "Anything else is just a bonus in my eyes. You've helped me far more than you realize today." 

[Guest]

She held his face in a way no one had before.

His eyes came alive with fear, uncertainty, and embarrassment. Alkor melted into her hands and tried to speak, but no sound came from his dried throat. He swallowed, hard, but nothing seemed to respond. She uttered defiantly that she needed nothing from him than to know he was alive. Alkor had never felt anything like that moment. No one had ever said anything quite so caring to him, even in the world beyond Aincrad.

"I... I'm alive," he managed. "I think I'm alive." He wanted to voice his disbelief, but the moment was far too precious. This felt like heaven, with Mari an angel. That would have sounded stupid aloud. "And you're alive. That's what I wanted all along."

He fought to look away, but she denied him the ability. Without the coldness of Alkor, Thom had no power to slip free of her hold on his heart. Everything he let now was real, and he could not cower behind that facade anymore. "I... wanted the kisses. The words belonged to you, but no one had ever said them. And... I suppose..."

He met her eyes shakily. "I'm yours, too."

As quickly as the boldness came upon him, it went winging away. "I've... always run away," he said quietly. "It's so easy to look heroic when you never face anything truly terrifying. I'm afraid of my feelings," Alkor admitted. "I always have been."

The point was, Alkor had not been the only one helping. "I... ah... maybe I shouldn't say it. I don't want to sound stupid."

[Mari 1]

Mari loosened her grip on his cheeks as his eyes widened in a sort of uneasiness. She didn't want to push things with him. She didn't want to upset Alkor or have him become the hardened persona of Alkor; she liked Thom. Thom, the man fighting to see his grandmother -the man who loved the colours of the dark night sky, and of a setting sun. Mari let her hands drop to his lap. Picking up his hands in her own and giving them a tight squeeze.

"You look alive to me." She whispered affectionately, "If you aren't - then you've done a good job at fooling me." Alkor stated in a small, nervous voice that he was happy that she was alive too. Mari took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly as she leaned forward - pressing her forehead to his. Mari had to think to herself, how was she given this chance? To meet someone so important? Her fingers entwined in his and her chest heaved, so much so that it hurt. 

"This nightmare has already ended for me, for when I awakened I realized...I'm no longer alone I'm here by your side. Protecting you. Protecting Thom. You don't have to run away any more." She whispered, not sure if her words made much sense. Mari closed her eyes, now rubbing his hands with her thumbs. He said he wanted the kisses, no, her kisses - and it made the strange feeling in Mari's chest churn and ignite into a heated sensation that tingled throughout her body. Creating waves and ripples of a warmth Mari had longed for, a warmth she never knew existed till now. 

"It's...because I care for you so much, I think....that I become hurt and confused - that's...scary, emotions are scary, but that's ok..." Mari shifted her head so their cheeks touched, she nuzzled into his face.  "Because I believe in you, it's why I can push forward and look toward tomorrow. It doesn't matter if we have stupid words or actions. Because we have that tomorrow."

[Guest]

"I..." he began, but stopped short when a yawn stole across his features. His hand flew up to block his mouth, and he stared at her, embarrassed. "I think I'm still tired," he mumbled between his fingers. His gaze swept over the ground, then back up to Mari.

"I'm not very good about this stuff," he admitted at last. "But, I know the way I feel. I care about you." He gulped down on his dried up throat. "I care for you, too." Alkor took Mari's hand and held it gently in his own.

"There's so much in this world that makes us forget who we are, and who we were. Some things, though, are worth fighting to remember. I don't have many of them, so, you've given me another." He pulled her close to his chest. "Something to keep going for. God only knows, I might wake up from this and grandmom... oh, god, grandmom..."

Alkor choked suddenly on his words and bit back a sob. "No, I can't think about that. I can't." His eyes fluttered shut. "Just... Amari, you might be all I have in this world or the other. I don't know for sure, but I'd be glad if you wanted to stay friends."

Alkor leaned his head into her chest. "I... sleepy..." he snored obscenely once, which revealed how tired he truly was. "Mmm... Mari... thanks..."

[Mari 1]

Mari gave a soft laugh, her fingers tangling into Alkors as she pulled his hand away from his mouth. She felt a wave of relief followed by an immeasurable warmth flood up from within her when Alkor admitted awkwardly that he had cared for her too. Who would have known? He placed his other hand over hers and squeezed it affectionately. "I guess Life, as hair brained as his scheme was...saw something we didn't eh..?" 

Alkor said sweet words of his own as he pulled her into an embrace, Mari lifted her hands to wrap loosely around his shoulders; nestling her head into his chest. HIs thoughts seemed to drift to a darker area, and his body heaved with a sob. "I don't want to be friends." Mari muttered, "I want more; whatever that is." She admitted. Knowing it was selfish to directly say such a thing. Mari wasn't sure if he had caught her words as he gave a snore before whispering thanks to her. Mari let his head droop back down into her lap. All the while gently caressing his head- fingers tangling into chestnut locks, grazing his cheeks. 

Mari slowly hummed a soft lullaby to him as he slept, pausing to talk to the sleeping man. "I came here today, not sure what to expect, but honestly..." Mari leant down to plant a kiss on his forehead as she carefully shuffled out from underneath him, being sure not to wake the man. "I couldn't be happier with the result." Mari wanted to leave him be now; she had her own things to take care of, and did not want to overstay her welcome. 

Mari pulled out a single flower from her inventory; left over from one of her treks on the 2nd floor and placed it beside Alkor for him to find when he woke up. Something to show him it wasn't just a dream, and that she did care for him. Mari stood up, almost wishing she didn't have to go as she left the cave with a depe breath and a smile on her face. 

Today, was a new day.

[Mari 1]

COMPLETE

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