Just So You Know

[brian_campo]

Nimble fingers popped quarters into a payphone. The segmented cord creaked as Maddy propped the receiver against her cheek. She leaned as far into the stall as possible, plugging her open ear. The club was crowded and noisy; she could barely hear the dial tone or the voice on the other end, a distracted ‘hello?’

“Brian! It’s Maddy!” she shouted.

His eardrum vibrated under the sonic assault and he asked, “Yeah, where the fuck are you?”

“The Funhouse.” She touched a piece of chewed gum and recoiled, wiping her palm on her jeans.

Brian frowned. “Really? Why?” It didn’t seem like her kind of place; Maddy was into the kind of punk-rock dump where a girl could take off her top and nobody got arrested. “Is it dollar shots or something?”

“No, I’m meeting Melody. We just got off work. This is probably the only place on the planet where her vocal talents can be appreciated. Listen, I just saw Valerie. I thought you might wanna know. Didn't you say you tanked your phone message?” Maddy craned her neck and saw the blonde was still near the bar. The silence has stretched on too long, so she said, “Brian?”

He was pacing his cramped living room. There was a potato chip on the floor and he crushed it under his shoe by accident. Shit. “Did you talk to her?”

Maddy snorted. “No, she’d probably punch me.”

“What? Why?” Brian had that feeling he often got with Maddy, like there was an inside joke he was too dense to get.

“Nothing, never mind. Just come out, okay?” Maddy turned back into the pay phone, her fingers tracing the buttons. “You know you want to. So sack up.” Maybe it was concern for Brian making her push the issue, or maybe it was guilt: in her opinion, that relationship was a casualty of the domino effect. If she’d handled the conversation with Valerie better, then maybe the blonde wouldn’t have been so upset when she landed on Brian’s doorstep, and maybe Brian would’ve seen the situation more clearly.

“Yeah, okay.” He was already stalking the room in search of a clean shirt.

“Atta boy, little bro.” Maddy hung up. The quarter plunked into the depths and she squeezed into the crowd, hoping to find Melody before she got felt up by a body builder or propositioned by a sleazy investment banker.

Brian frowned and hung up. Little brother, another of those inside jokes he didn’t get. He tore through his apartment looking for keys, his wallet, a folded piece of paper, cursing under his breath when he tripped on an extension cord. He was out the door in three minutes.

[Thread]

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[valerie_vause]

Perhaps it was for the best that Valerie had no idea that Maddy had seen her, or called Brian. While she had headed into the club with good intentions of seeking out the undead she had soon succumbed to alcohol and her priorities had shifted considerably. Yes, she could still protect people, if she so desired. The thing was she didn’t particularly care as she bought another drink and finished it quickly just to turn her attention back to the dance floor.

The blonde didn’t particularly care that people were attempting to chat her up. In all honesty she didn’t realise that was their intentions, but what she did know was that she felt kind of fuzzy. And oddly thirsty. Maybe she should slow down with her consumption but why should she? It wasn’t like she was out of control and she had enough sense to brush off anyone that got to close.

With a heavy sigh she pushed through the crowd and found herself in the middle of the dance floor, moving in time with the music. If anyone joined her she didn’t mind, providing they weren’t feeling her up. The last guy that tried that ended up with broken fingers but the music was so loud nobody had heard his cries as he made his exit. Valerie tuned everyone else out and let the music move through her frame. Nothing else seemed to matter right then.

[brian_campo]

Outside Brian waited in line to pay the cover charge, feeling like a tool. He was out of place and out of his element, a long-haired guy standing next to corporate tourists in pastel blazers, two girls toddling drunkenly on toothpick heels, a married couple who looked as baffled as he did. Inside it would be better… the crush of people, the option to down shots and take the edge off. He realized he didn’t get out of enough. The Dive didn’t count.

Brian tried not to bounce as he waited for the doorman to stamp a girl’s hand under 21 – like the bartender would see the letters and turn down whatever tip she flashed. He handed the bouncer a five and ducked into the club. Colors spun from the ceiling lights; there were mirrors on the walls, meant to make the place look larger and he guessed they were the club’s namesake. He cut a path to the bar and asked for a jack and coke, which he downed so fast his teeth hurt, and then he got a second one.

Stairs descended into a pit that doubled as a dance floor. Brian found a spot on the handrail and looked over the crowd, trying to spot either Valerie or Maddy.

The third blonde head was hers. The slayer’s eyes were closed and the overhead lights turned the crown of her head pink. He felt emotion clutch his gut, turning it to lead. She used to be his girl. Brian squeezed the rail. Don’t freak out, do not freak out, he cajoled. He wiped a hand over his mouth and gulped his drink, but there was no place to set the empty glass. At that moment, he spotted Maddy on the opposite end of the dance floor. She jumped up and down to catch his eye and now she grabbed her crotch and jerked a thumb into the air, before turning around to grind on a guy in a skinny tie.

Weirdo.

Leave it to her to shake Brian out of his head.

He ate a piece of ice and found someplace to stash his empty glass. Brian pushed his hair back and shook out his fingers. In his head, this had all been different. As the first few notes of West End Girls played, he lowered his head and took the stairs into the pit, moving with a purpose past bare arms, twisting hips, elbows at eye level, a pretty girl who smiled at him. Brian tried to see past all those faces. Valerie appeared and disappeared like a buoy in a choppy ocean. One moment she was gone and the next, right in front of him, her back turned.

Brian claimed the space before another person could get in his way. He wanted to touch her but she wouldn’t know it was him. So he put his mouth to her ear and said, “Mind if I dance with you?”

[valerie_vause]

One of the benefits of The Fun House had to be the mirrors. Personally she could do without catching sight of herself when the crowd shifted but it gave her ample opportunity to scan the faces, see who didn’t reflect back. With all the lights and all the people it would be easy for a vampire to go unnoticed, providing they stayed far enough from the walls. Valerie had to hand it to the ones that dared frequent the club, they were ballsy at least. When you were immortal you could afford to take those sorts of risks.

Currently though, her eyes were closed, but her senses were wide open. The blonde could feel the collective heat surround her and she allowed it to cushion her like a blanket. Like sunshine on her skin. It let her pretend that everything was right in the world. That things were okay, for a little while, at least. It didn’t matter if she belonged, all that mattered was the distraction, to feel less. Valerie had been distracting herself quite a lot lately. For the most part it worked. Until it didn’t. All it took was a certain phrase, a brief glimpse of someone tall with unruly dark hair, a scent as a body brushed against hers. Then reality flooded back and she had to leave. Patrol. Live to find another distraction.

Words in her ear brought that same crash of reality, a familiar voice, but it couldn’t be. Valerie forced herself to smile, made herself respond flippantly as she started to turn. “Sure but the last guy who touched me walked away with broken fing-” Brian. “Uhh.” Right there. Valerie’s mind short circuited. Had she drank too much? Was he a hallucination or had she passed out in the bathroom and this was a fevered dream? No, she’d never been that drunk before. And she could smell him, oh... That clean kind of musk that clung to his skin under the deodorant and soaps. The kind that was purely him and fogged her mind like a bathroom window after a long hot shower.

Valerie’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened as it hit her. He’s really here. The beating of her heart escalated to an erratic thump as she swallowed thickly and remembered to breathe. “Yes.” She said, the word tumbling from her lips as if it couldn’t escape fast enough, then just as quickly, “No.” A shake of her head was given as she bit her lip and fought to make sense. “I mean yes you can dance with me. No I don’t mind.” Oh god, could she be any less eloquent?

Nervously the blonde ran her hands down her shirt, glad that she’d unbuttoned it because suddenly she felt entirely too warm. At least she had on a tank top underneath, so she wasn’t flashing anybody. It would have been excruciating if she’d looked trashy. What would he even think? What did he think right now? Why did she care? Valerie had made a point of avoiding The Dive, though she missed it more than she imagined she would. It was Brian’s space and she hadn’t wanted to insert herself into his territory. No sense in making it awkward for him, for herself, when she didn’t want to cause him any more pain. Showing up there would just feel like she was flaunting herself and she refused to be perceived as childish or petty.

She wanted to ask why he was here, it didn’t seem like the kind of place he’d pick out. Unless he’s here with someone. Foolishly the blonde found herself looking around then caught herself and took a deep, not entirely soothing, breath. Even if he was it was none of her business. Valerie fought the irrational urge to reach out and touch him, to drag her nails down his skin, to bite and mark and lay claim as if he were a possession and not a person. The feral part of her brain, the hunter within, demanded one thing. Mine. Valerie shook her head as if to clear it and yet couldn’t take her eyes off of him. She stood still as everyone around her moved with ease and wondered if time had slowed down.

[brian_campo]

His mouth hitched at the corner in a lopsided smile. She suddenly looked just as awkward as he felt. Maybe she was letting him dance just to be nice, or to avoid causing a scene, but he didn’t care. It was a risk he would take, even if she broke his fingers and he couldn’t play for a month. You took chances or you went home empty-handed.

“Okay.” He risked putting one hand on her shoulder -- so far so good -- and the other circled her lower back, which would send a signal to anybody near them. She was with him, at least for a song. He brought her closer. She smelled pretty, like a bouquet of feminine scents, and a little like alcohol. There was a shine on the middle of her lip, recently wet. He tried not to stare at it. “C’mere.” The closer he got, the more her head fit into that spot under his chin. Brian started to dance. He didn’t do that in public a lot, but he could move. Being a musician meant he had rhythm, enough not to embarrass himself, anyway.

He was painfully aware of the running time of that song: just under four minutes. It was on constant rotation in the record shop. Four minutes. Four minutes to start fixing things, if it was possible. He guessed the argument that split them up lasted about four minutes. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, he thought. Just try to lay the groundwork. But it was tough. He wasn’t in the practice of being around Valerie and keeping his hands to himself, or his mouth. The soft curve of her earlobe was near his mouth; that was just how they lined up. He bumped it by accident and it felt hot because he’d just given himself brain freeze with that drink and chewed that piece of ice.

[valerie_vause]

Two words. Two simple, uncomplicated, words and she found herself pressing against his chest as if he’d just read her a book of poetry that laid his soul bare. Valerie couldn’t stop the way she breathed deeply against his shirt, inhaling him like oxygen. This was ridiculous. It was just a dance. He probably saw her alone and decided to take pity. So why did her heart feel like it was attempting to break out of her ribcage? Could he feel it hammer against his chest like she were some sort of caged wild animal? The arm around her back stole her attention, the song no longer registered because she pressed her cheek against his chest and listened only to the sounds his body made. Soothing sounds that coaxed her eyes to close, until she’d blocked out the rest of the world.

Valerie’s hands found purchase on his hips tentatively. Finger tips followed the waistband of his pants slowly, around to the back, where they stilled. Save her middle fingers, that toyed with the belt loops. It felt inevitable as they hooked around the sliver of material. An anchor to keep her flush against him as they moved together. A wall of warm solid muscle. Whether his chilled lips meant to find her ear or not they caused a reaction she couldn’t suppress. The shiver tore through her small frame and evoked a quiet whimper to escape her parted lips. The way she pulled him closer in that moment had been unintentional, yet she couldn’t bring herself to loosen her grip once she realised that she clutched him closer.

If this was just a dance then she would take it. She would burn it to memory and replay it over and over again later. The way he felt, the way he smelled, the way he held her as if she belonged to him, the way everything felt right again. Maybe Valerie wanted to be claimed as much as she had wanted to claim him. To be taken, to relent in his arms and succumb to the pull that urged her to get as close as physically possible to him as if he might just turn to dust in her hands otherwise. Maybe she had lost her mind. That could explain the way she rubbed her cheek against his shirt like a feline leaving behind it’s scent. The texture was soft, smooth, against her heated skin and she sighed. If she had lost her mind, she decided it wasn’t so bad. She could live like this. Life made sense again.

[brian_campo]

Jesus, her hands on his waistband. Brian’s eyes widened and he glanced at the ceiling, an exasperated gesture. He was way too reactive. He wasn’t sure if Valerie knew what that was like, and he found himself wishing his t-shirt was shorter, that she might accidentally touch his back. The devil was in the details with her; a thumb that once stroked his palm, evoking an embarrassing telekinetic reaction, and now an index finger gently tugging, the jeans lifting off his skinny hips for a second. He thought about the first time he took off his shirt in front of her. They were on the couch and she traced a tattoo and…

Dude, cut it out, you’re going to humiliate yourself.

Because she was really close and her hair was soft on his jaw, but the thing was, you didn’t pull away from what felt amazing, not when you were operating more with your body than your brain. You might hear tires squealing in your head, a feverish pumping of the car brakes, but still you’d find yourself doing something stupid, like sticking your hand in her back pocket.

Which was what Brian did next. He had taken that folded square of paper from his own pocket and jammed into hers, but he left his fingers there. That way, if she kneed him in the balls, she’d still find it later.

What was he doing, again? What was the goal here, to grope her on the dance floor? To lead her away and talk? No, forget that, talking got him mixed up. He always said the wrong thing. Or the right thing, but badly. He was a nice guy with the verbal ticks of an asshole. Brian did not want to be an asshole tonight. He needed to put it all on the table, to let her know how he felt and what he thought and, more importantly, he needed to avert disaster.

How, how, how? He was shit at this. How did he get her in the first place?

Right. It was Valerie that made the move; she knocked on the door, grabbed his t-shirt and kissed him. Maybe he should be more like that. More like how he used to behave back stage when he saw a lone girl lingering. Back when he didn’t think so much. He just… just…

Opened his mouth and breathed into her ear. Kissed it. Not friendly, not anything that might get mistaken for plain old affectionate. No, he was coming on to her. He raised his voice over the music. “This was what I meant.”

[valerie_vause]

An involuntary clench of her fingers brought short nails precariously close to nipping at skin through the fabric of his shirt when Valerie felt Brian’s hand descend into her back pocket. Fluid almost, the way it sunk inside without any form of restraint. The breath in her throat stuck. His hand, much larger than hers, seemed to fill the space fully and she could feel the heat radiating from his palm. She never did get to feel the roughness of his skin against the smoothness of hers, and right then it was all she could seem to think of. How it would feel if he grasped her like that without the barrier of clothes between them. Millimeters of fabric that might as well have been miles. Perhaps that was why she felt her hips shift. Backwards by no more than an inch, but into his hand, while she kept her torso firmly against his. Unwilling to create distance for even a second. Not if this dance was all she was getting.

Would he regret this later? Would she? No. Not a chance. The thought was so clear, so rational that Valerie gasped. Buried her face against his chest and tried to hold onto reality before the butterflies in her stomach turned into baby pterodactyls and left her a jittering mess. She wanted to touch him back, to feel him beneath her finger tips, against her tongue. Yet there was fear. What if she was simply reading the signals wrong? What if this was just how people danced together and it meant nothing more, nothing less?

Brian’s hot breath against her ear immediately sent warmth to pool in the pit of her stomach, and if Valerie were being blunt, a little further down than that too. She meant to bite her lip and yet ended up mouthing gently at his chest, teeth barely grazing but lips softly pressing against his shirt. When his mouth found her ear she felt the moan in her throat more than she actually heard it, stifled as it was against him. The sensations were almost paradoxical, Valerie simultaneously felt weak and yet the most alive she’d felt in months. How could he do that by doing barely anything at all? How was it possible that her blood could boil from his attention like she’d sprinted across the whole dessert?

Valerie could barely contain her own actions but when he spoke… Oh, it did things to her.

Things that she couldn’t quite explain and really didn’t want too. Instead she went with the urges. Allowed herself the low growl of desire that rumbled within her chest even as her breath hitched. Let her fingers hook inside his waistband to map the slight curve and dip of his spine and back gently, only to pull him closer with a firm insistence. Tipped her head back just enough to blink up at him and ask carefully, “Are you sure?” Before temptation took hold and she turned her face into his arm. The blonde nuzzled at the exposed muscle thanks to his t-shirt, and delivered a wet, open mouthed kiss against it because she craved to taste the salty tang of his skin. Maybe she should have asked, but by the time filtered into her mind her tongue was already languidly exploring the flesh she’d captured between her lips.

This could be a huge mistake. It could be the emotional equivalent of an all out apocalypse. It could tear them apart worse than a demon attack. It could be a lot of things, but Valerie was tired of worrying about the potential for it all to explode in their faces. She wanted to believe instead.

Valerie chose to trust that it wouldn’t.

[brian_campo]

He laughed under his breath. Was he sure? Did kids eat cake? Was he supposed to think anything else when she licked his bicep? He cradled her head in his large, open palm, and yeah it made it harder to think because Brian’s imagination roamed like a kite on a very loose string, swooping and diving and soon he had to shut his eyes to stay decent in public.

“I’m sure.”

Brian wasn’t an idiot. He knew it would be hard, trying to understand Valerie as she searched for herself. Even now, he wasn’t 100% sure what she needed or intended to do; she’d been crying when she tried to explain it, apologizing even as she defended herself. Still, it was easier than being without her. He might have to adjust his expectations, but he could do it. He would. After all, he wasn’t traditional. What had Valerie done when he admitted to being a raging drug user? Taken a pill right out of his pocket and gone along for the ride. She tried.

He leaned down to talk into her ear. “But no secrets. You tell me what you need. We do this together.”

Brian thought if they crashed and burned, at least he wouldn’t regret it. He’d know he tried.

The song faded into another. New Order. He didn’t let go, four minutes be damned. “I promise I’ll slow down on the L word,” he said over the music, trying to make a joke at himself. His stomach surged and flopped. “That’s all I’m slowing down, though.” His hand pulled her up, easing Valerie’s heels an inch off the floor. Because he needed her. He had woken up too many nights with visions of that rooftop dancing in his head like fucking sugar plums.

[valerie_vause]

The sound of his voice brought Valerie back, and she broke away from his arm with a chaste kiss to the skin she’d just adorned with attention. Green eyes searched his gaze for a good few seconds, checking, making sure that what he said he truly meant. She’d been honest that day, confused considerably about a lot, but honest with him that he was the only man she wanted. The only one that made her feel like running off into the sunset with him even though she knew deep down that she couldn’t. The chance to be something together, the potential to be bound by vows and simple circles of metal. The car, the kids, the house. If she shut her eyes she could picture it, like a mirage on the horizon, promising what her destiny couldn’t possibly fulfill.

Yes, it conflicted with other desires, but they were fleeting and he was a constant. They were the equivalent of dining at a new restaurant with a questionable menu while he was the five star chef constantly offering her palate refreshing surprises. She could live without one of them, just not him. It terrified her to know she’d run off with Brian if he asked, but she was young and he made her feel alive. He made the impossible feel possible, and maybe it made her a little emotionally erratic and overwhelmed but wasn’t that the point? Didn’t love make you crazy? And wasn’t she, even just a little bit, just that? Emotions may never make much sense to the blonde but her instinct had never let her down.

Instinct compelled her to listen to his words as if he were on his death bed. She absorbed them with an almost sobering clarity and nodded in return. Valerie couldn’t promise forever's. She couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t panic. That her emotions might fluctuate and she’d flounder, but she could promise him honesty. “No secrets.” She repeated with determination. “I can do that. We can do that.” Because if he was willing to accept her, all of her, dark and light, serious and flaky, then he deserved nothing less. “I’m not always going to know what I need, but I will always be honest with you. No hiding, not from you.” And she meant it with every fiber of her being.

Valerie felt her heart swell as her insides threatened to turn to mush. The L word had caused immense panic, and it probably would again, but the fact that Brian made an effort to tone it down only made her feel more for him. Strange as it might sound the blonde only feared it because it was like a reflection, and she wasn’t ready to embrace it, because to embrace it would be to ultimately deny the fantasy of what they could be when she had to settle for what they weren’t. The fuzzy warm feelings shifted to a more moderate blaze with his next words, and the way he pulled her up onto her tiptoes left her feeling as light as a feather.

Whether it was inappropriate or not for a dance-floor, Valerie bounced on her toes and shifted her hands up to his shoulders to wrap her legs around his waist. Everyone else be damned, she wanted to be face to face with him, feel his breath mingle with hers as she looked into his eyes. “Is that so?” She asked over the music, lips just shy of grazing his as her hips shifted slightly against him so that she could cross her ankles. The tips of her fingers wove into the short hairs at the base of his neck and she scratched her nails lightly against the skin.

[brian_campo]

A grunt escaped him as she climbed on, a sound that had nothing to do with her weight. Brian really didn’t care who stared. His hands were all over her. “I’d say it’s a promise but it’s more like fair warning,” he said, having to shout over the noise of the crowd when the disc jockey remixed the song. It was too dark in the club to see the color of her eyes, but he was close enough to see the patterns of her irises.

“I want to kiss you really bad.” Brian shook his head. “So I’m going to.” He leaned in and captured her mouth, and his hands squeezed her tighter. The taste of her made his mouth water and he found himself leaning back so that her weight was pressing down on him. He hadn’t quite processed yet that this was happening; maybe it was the jack and coke mellowing him out, or the sneaking suspicion he was asleep and dreaming all this up, but he wanted that weight. It felt incredible. It made it real.

For the first time in forever, he felt right with the world. Someone jostled them and he took a step to the side, but he didn’t lose his grip on her. They were the one motionless part of a very crowded and fluid room, standing as still as a sentry.

[valerie_vause]

“Warning duly noted.” Came the soft reply she said into his ear before Valerie shifted to look at him again. Her graze traced his features. The dark lines of his eyebrows, the bridge of his nose, the shape of his lips as he spoke. There was something quite enticing in how confident he sounded. The way he stated his intentions and then claimed her lips before she could say anything. The soft moan it elicited gave more encouragement than any words she had to offer anyway. Brian’s lips tasted faintly sweet from the soda in his drinks, his hands felt glorious as they gripped her tighter. With the noise level so high inside the club she felt no shame at the sounds he inspired from her throat. The fact that he leaned back only gave her an excuse and really, with the way she let him deepen the kiss it would have been some sort of miracle if she had stayed still.

Valerie’s body undulated against him, locked around Brian as she was it caused a delicious friction that felt equally enough and not enough at once. If she were thinking straight she might have reconsidered capturing his tongue between her lips to suck lightly on but she was lost in the moment. Brian filled her senses and she couldn’t help but indulge in him. Restless hands trailed along his strong shoulders, squeezed at his biceps, and splayed against his shoulder blades.

Lungs screamed for oxygen and the blonde pulled back just enough to gulp at air and then dove straight back in to resume the kiss. Eyes closed and hips rocking, it was as if they weren’t even surrounded by people. They could have been standing in a park underneath the stars instead of strobe-lights. She tried to pour everything she felt into it. Every apology, her wildest dreams, everything she couldn’t properly say yet so desperately felt for him.

[brian_campo]

He backed up even farther, people exclaiming, ‘hey!’ and getting out of their way, until his boot heel struck the concrete wall surrounding the dance floor. Brian hiked her up higher on his waist. He made a strained noise. Yeah, all that wiggling around she was doing meant he was indecent now. It was a good thing Valerie’s legs were wrapped so tight; the source of his condition was also hiding it.

“You are,” he swallowed and shook his head, smoothing a piece of hair away from her face. “Killing me.” He laughed a little. Relief was setting in. He felt stupidly giddy, and really, really turned on. “You keep moving like that and I’m gonna have a problem.”

Was it hot in there? He felt his t-shirt sticking to his skin.

What was the right course of action here? Set her down and be a gentleman, buy her another drink? Drag her into a dark corner? The back seat of his car? He couldn’t imagine a possibility that involved chaste activity but he could get his shit together if he needed to. Be an upright guy.

"What do you want to do?"

[valerie_vause]

Absently one hand released Brian’s shoulder to wave away the complaints as he wove them blindly, and backwards, off the dance floor. He was a man of many talents. Yes, he really was. For she’d seen quite a few people land on their bum trying the exact same thing, minus a person in their arms. Valerie hummed her approval against his lips and when they parted to breathe, she took a moment to nuzzle against his jaw. Why did he smell better when he got all sweaty like that? It really went against everything she’d been taught about hygiene.

“Oh?” The question and quirk of eyebrow that accompanied it could only be described as cheeky. Especially when she shifted against him far more deliberately to feel for herself exactly what he meant. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

Valerie gave in and grinned, because damn it, just being in his arms again felt like stepping into a cleansing rain. The bad things washed away. She felt whole again, as if his absence had robbed her of some crucial part of herself. Not a limb, exactly, so much as a piece of something that she couldn’t quite place but knew she needed all the same.

The question caught her off guard. In the sense that she immediately had an answer. Should she say it or should she scrap it for something else? They hadn’t exactly said they were back together but she’d meant it that way. Valerie decided that he must have too, or they wouldn’t be so overjoyed. They could have another drink but she didn’t want to dull her senses any further. If anything, she wanted to heighten his, and so she took a deep breath, smoothed her hands up his neck and lightly brushed her fingers through his hair.

When her eyes met his she leaned in as if to kiss him then stopped to breathe one word against his mouth. “You.”

[brian_campo]

Brian shook his head, a look of disbelief, a disarmed smile. “You have no idea what that just did to me,” he said, his voice dropping a register. His palm went to her cheek, the flesh soft and warm, yielding to his touch. He tugged at her lower lip with his thumb and when he spoke again, his eyebrows had drawn together. “Or what I want to do to you. I’ve had time to think about it.”

He had plans, elaborate imaginings that woke him up aching and frustrated and full of thoughts of Valerie, her beautiful green eyes and that full mouth, the way she sounded when he touched her, how she’d sound if he was inside of her.

Jesus.

Brian had the absurd notion that life wasn’t this good; he’d get hit by a bus on the way to his car, or someone would drop a piano on his head. Maybe he’d have a freak heart attack. He felt like he needed to ask her for clarification: You serious? Right now? Whatever she wanted, however much, he was in. He wasn’t going to let an opportunity to lock this down pass him by.

[valerie_vause]

“All good things, I hope.” Valerie offered a crooked smile in return but the nervousness she felt flutter within her stomach could rival the way her heart did the same. Without thought she leaned into his touch. Turned just enough to brush a kiss to his palm yet kept her eyes on him. Brian’s next words sent a shiver straight through the blonde. Oh, now that couldn’t be fair, surely. Green eyes searched his as much as they could in the darkened club, and she leaned in to find his ear. “Tell me which fantasy your mind is stuck on the most right now.”

It wasn’t a question, not quite a demand, but she nipped at his ear lobe as if to punctuate it before pulling back to gaze at him. Valerie wanted to know everything, but she’d settle for being told one tonight. The one that spoke the loudest to him. These things were important, he was important, and she wanted to make that clear. Possibly in a naughty kind of way, depending on what he said. Sex and all it had to offer in between was something she could explore with him, and that? Was rather exciting for her to realise.

Okay, so maybe she’d continued to think about such things involving Brian when they had parted ways but now that they weren’t separate the opportunities became real again. Tangible even. And to know that he had been thinking of her in the same way? Cold showers can’t help me now. “I’ve heard that the best part of fighting is making up after it. We should test that theory. Just not…” Valerie looked around then, frowning at the club as if it were suddenly an inconvenience, “Uhm, well, here.” she said with a bit of a laugh.

Then an idea struck and her eyes widened briefly. “We’re in Vegas.” She announced, as if she only just realised that. “There are hotels everywhere.” And for once, she could walk into any of them and afford whatever room she wanted. “Ooo…” Valerie’s mind went to tangled sheets and strawberries. Room Service.

[brian_campo]

Hotels. Yeah, Vegas was definitely known for those, and it wasn’t the week of a major holiday so they ought to be able to find a room. The Funhouse was within spitting distance of a major resort, which was the appeal of the whole idea. Nearness. He could afford it; he hadn’t spent much cash in the last month. He didn’t exactly have a raucous social life.

“Not here, huh?” He made a tsking sound with his tongue even though he wholeheartedly agreed. But pick one of his fantasies and tell her about it? Brian’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline. He could populate an entire rack of videotapes in an adult film store, just off the greatest hits of his imagination. “How about a preview?” he asked, and he slowly let go of her body to set her down, coaxing her legs off his hips. After doing so, he put his hands on her hips and pivoted them, trading places so that his back was to the dance floor. He moved in closer, crowding her space, his breath spilling down her throat. “See, I learned a new trick... You just have to trust me.”

Trust me, trust me, because I’d never ever hurt you.

There. It was the slightest touch, his palm going to her abdomen and giving it a gentle nudge, and suddenly Valerie was floating, well, suspended to be more accurate, her feet several inches off the floor, her spine, arms, legs, all in solid contact with the wall.

Brian had learned to move humans.

He was looking directly into her eyes, an inch away and no more. His palm barely grazed her shirt.

How long could he hold her there? Not very. Valerie was a slayer; she had genuine power whereas he had parlor tricks. She had authority over her body, which was not to be controlled. A few seconds and she could peel herself away from that wall and have him at her mercy. But all he needed was this one moment, an opportunity to show her the closest thing to bondage as a Slayer could experience, because there weren't any chains that could hold her. “Except if this were the real thing? I’d be on my knees,” he said, and it was the realest confession he could say. “Because it’s not control over you that I want. When it comes to you, I’ve never been in control. You own me.”

He eased his hand away and just thought, please Valerie, don't punch me.

[valerie_vause]

The disapproving noise Brian made actually caused Valerie to laugh. “Oh, well if you want an audience…” She trailed off, hands going to the hem of her tank top that she had no intention of lifting. It reminded her of his little game of chicken in Tracks. When she’d gotten to glimpse his boxers along with his chest. “What kind of preview?” The question was asked lightly, as if she could pretend she wasn’t nearly as curious as she suddenly felt. With his help, she carefully settled her feet back on the ground and tipped her head back to look up at him expectantly.

A soft, startled, noise left her throat when he spun them around and she leaned back against the wall with a bemused expression. “Well you can’t unbutton my shirt, I already beat you to it.” He really did bring out the playful side of her nature. When was the last time she actually bantered like this? It felt like years. She giggled at the touch to her stomach but the sound died in her throat when she gasped. Wide eyed she glanced at the ground and watched as she raised up, the wall behind her smooth as she slid against it, and then she was looking in his eyes, jaw slack. For a moment she didn’t move, wasn’t actually sure she could, and if she were able would it make it harder for him to keep her suspended?

So many questions ran through her head. The fact that she had been rendered useless one of them. Valerie could break doors like toothpicks. She could bend metal like q-tips. Hurl boulders like they were snowballs and here she was, incapable to escape because nothing but his mind held her in place. Fear might nave been a natural reaction yet all she felt was thrilled. So much for making sandwiches. This is amazing! Testing the waters she moved her hands to her hips and flashed him a wicked smirk. “Do any of your fantasies involve me in a cape wearing a mask because between you, me and the wall? I could be into that now.”

Valerie’s mouth went dry when he painted a mental image. Quite honestly she was glad to be floating, because it made her knees weak and saved her the embarrassment of trying to stand. “You… Oh...” It should have been illegal, the way he could say something so raunchy and then something so completely sweet and honest that did funny things to her insides. The next sound the blonde made was positively feral and if they weren’t surrounded by people she might have just lunged at him. Gradually she lowered back to the floor and it took her a few seconds to collect herself, one hand splayed across his chest, fingers flexing against his shirt restlessly.

“There are so many things I want to say to that and later I will but honestly the only one running through my head is…” Valerie gripped his shirt in her fist to use as leverage and went up on her tiptoes to meet his gaze. “If ever there was an incentive to learn control over your power, the endless positions it opens up should be it. Everyone can make love in an airplane bathroom, how many do you think have ever managed it against a ceiling?”

Then she kissed him, a quick, chaste one that ended with a nip to his lower lip. Valerie took his hand and entwined their fingers. “Did I mention I’ve got more money than I can ever spend now? Time to find a hotel.” And with that, she tugged his arm gently and guided them towards the exit.

[brian_campo]

Ceiling sex. That hadn’t occurred to him and now he wondered why the hell not. She was right. It was a good incentive and he wasn’t thinking big enough. And even if his fantasies of her involved short skirts and tall boots rather than a cape and mask, he didn’t hate the mental adjustment. Maybe she’d get into one of those tight, slick-looking cat suits with a zipper down the front. Zippers drove him insane.

The money thing threw him off. Inheritance? Patent on one of her ingenious makeshift weapons? Bewildered, he let her lead him off the dance floor and towards a door. “I’ll take your word for it,” he said.

Outside the air was cooler, drier. A crowd of people waited to gain entrance to the club, and they surged forward when they saw the pair of them leave. A security guy gave Brian a subtle head’s up, as if congratulating him on the quick work of finding a hot girl. Brian mostly ignored it – a mental note of ‘dickhead’ as he kept walking, the sidewalk clearing up as they gained ground on the nearest hotel. Two fast drinks on an empty stomach had loosened him up, made his arms and legs feel lighter, even if he wasn’t drunk. He felt elated and also nervous as shit, which was a strange combination. He put it down to the fact that this was Valerie. Valerie. An hour ago he was racking his brain, trying to figure out when to drop in on her and exactly how sober he’d need to be, and now their fingers were intertwined. His mouth tasted like her. The tip of his nose smelled like her perfume.

As they passed into a lobby, he moved into place behind her, wrapping his possessive palms over her belly button, burrowing his face into the crook of her neck. He nibbled on it. Mumbled in her ear, “I can’t wait to get you alone,” before looking up with more clarity in his eyes as a receptionist approached.

They had to be used to this kind of thing, the 'give me a key and make it fast' sentiment.

[valerie_vause]

The second she stepped inside the hotel lobby Valerie felt different. Exhilarated yet anxious, as if she were at the top of a roller-coaster, mere moments from plummeting. She didn’t want to escape the ride but there was a terrifying second where she wondered if she’d enjoy it as much as she had thought she would. Then Brian’s hands were around her waist like the safety bar. Lips on her neck tingled like the wind caressing her skin and his whispered words made her stomach flip like the cart had just begun it’s speedy descent. She had the ridiculous urge to throw her hands in the air. Scream if you want to go faster. The breath in her lungs was released slowly as she leaned back against him. One small hand splayed across his in consent, her thumb lightly tracing patterns of nothing, while her other hand slipped into her pocket to retrieve her wallet.

Valerie smiled at the woman behind the desk, exchanged pleasantries, and ignored her knowing look by wiping away her smirk as she slid her bank card across with a happy little, “We want a room with a wonderful view of the city.” The blonde might not look like she had any sort of wealth but even she knew those sort of rooms came with a hefty fee. Then she paused, glanced up at Brian with a cheeky smile and bit her lip. “Better make it two nights.” She said to the receptionist, yet kept his gaze. When the key card and her bank card were slid across the counter she slipped one back into it’s place in her wallet and the other into Brian’s hand with a soft murmur of, “Let’s go find our room.”

She might have danced towards the elevator had she not preferred to keep his arms around her. The blonde had had enough space between them to last a lifetime, she didn’t want anymore. Not even for a few minutes. Though she did manage to keep her hands mostly to herself as other people walked in and out on various floors, and then they reached theirs. Valerie slipped her hand back into Brian’s and waited until he had the door open before practically running inside to spin around, taking it all in. “Holy crap!” She exclaimed, mouth open, “This room is huge!” And damn, it was decadent. Art hung on the walls, the bed had been dipped in luxury and the bathroom was the size of her dorm room. Valerie took it all in as she ran from place to place like an excited puppy allowed in a park for the first time. There was a table and chairs with what she assumed was an ice bucket containing a bottle of complimentary champagne and it made her laugh, there was an actual couch in front of a television that she was sure they had no use for and a fridge probably stocked with things that cost a fortune but all of that paled in comparison to the floor to ceiling windows that took up an entire wall.

“Brian...” His name was a breathy sigh as she held her hand out to him, “Look.” She whispered, drawing them close enough to press her hand against the cool glass. Vegas was alive before them. The streets filled with cars that looked small enough to be toys, the sky line stretched for miles and the stars… They were so close to stars that Valerie felt like she twinkled.

The only thing missing, she realised belatedly, was a camera.

“When you hold me…” Finger tips traced the cool glass as Valerie tried to burn the image into her mind. “This is how you make me feel.” On top of the world. Untouchable. Free. She turned then to gaze up at him. Valerie’s hands gently found his waist to clutch while her finger tips hooked around his waistband to tug him closer. "Tell me what you're thinking?" She requested softly, as if knowing his thoughts were the oxygen her blood needed.

[brian_campo]

The view was incredible. He’d seen the city from lots of windows and rooftops, but none like this. The sky was midnight blue, and they were above most of the neon lights so he could see a patchwork quilt of stars between clouds. Overlaid on it was Valerie’s reflection. His, too. She turned around and he dragged his eyes away. She was an even better sight.

“I’m thinking…” he hesitated. He wanted to get the words right, not just blurt out things that might ruin the moment, but he craved honesty, too. “I’m nervous as hell,” he said and laughed at himself. But his eyes were wide and dark when he looked at her and even though he was tense, he looked happy. The room was great. She was gorgeous. Brian ran the backs of his fingers down her temple and cheek. “We can do or not do anything you want. It’s okay with me. I’m just stoked that you’re here.”

Of course he wanted all of it. All of her. Yeah he was a guy, but he was also a person who had a load of emotions he could never figure out how to expend, and he wanted to show her what he thought of her. How much he wanted her. But if that wasn’t in the cards right now, he’d be okay with it. His hormones would deal.

He leaned in and briefly kissed her. Breathed against her mouth, “Hang on,” and went to pull the dripping bottle of champagne out of the bucket. They could both use something to take the edge off. Brian unwound the metal bindings and popped the cork. When the fizz died down, he poured then both a glass and handed one to Valerie. “Okay, to…” he searched her face.

[valerie_vause]

Valerie joined in with the nervous laughter and it felt like a weight had been lifted. A weight she hadn’t even really been aware of until it vanished from the pit of her stomach. The gentle reassurance made her heart flutter and though being around Brian made her feel out of control, his words managed to make her gain some all at the same time. “I am too.” She confessed, then cast her eyes towards the ceiling as her shoulders moved along imperceptibly. When she breathed it was gentle. Valerie’s eyes found his again and she couldn’t stop her smile. She couldn’t deny the desire she held for him, in some ways she’d even made peace with it, because it felt so indelible. To resist would lead to madness, she was sure of it.

“I wanted a room like this because…” She paused, frowned slightly and used her fingers to tug him closer. “I don’t need opulence, I never have, but I wanted our first time together to be magical, so we can look back and just remember that we had this, the view, the space, the stars… Untainted by anything else.” She paused, swallowed thickly, and added with a cautious smile. “By anyone else.” Though she knew Brian had obviously had lovers before she had no way to know if any had been in his bed, and she certainly didn’t want to think of it while in it herself. This was common ground, a place to carve memories with each other that would never be smudged. It felt so very important to Valerie, to have something that would stay intact, no matter what. Only for them. “Something just for us.”

The feel of his lips quelled her anxiety and she blinked slowly as he dashed off. It took Valerie a moment to find her legs and she followed him with a grin and accepted the glass feeling ridiculously lucky. Like she’d just won the lottery. Maybe I have, he’s one in a billion. When she raised her glass to toast with him and Brian faltered, she raised her eyebrows and supplied warmly, “New experiences together? And to re-living the ones we like with each other.” Whether it be playing darts, rolling down a hill or simply watching a movie. Valerie didn‘t care as long as it was with him.

She waited a second then took a sip, a surprised little noise escaped her frame and she smiled. “Well that tastes nice…” Valerie captured her lower lip and let her teeth drag across it as she looked up at Brian through her lashes. The glass got placed on the table as she slid her palm up his chest and twisted the material around her fingers to pull him closer. “Just not as nice as you.” She murmured against his lips, then captured them completely.

[brian_campo]

Just for them.

He wanted to tell her he’d never brought a girl to his apartment, but the implication – that he had screwed around at parties, and, worse, in public – wasn’t one that looked favorably on him, so he let it go. Besides, it was a long time ago. He gulped his entire glass of champagne and felt the bubbles do a pleasant burn down his throat. He tried not to stare at her teeth. Then she kissed him. Blindly he felt for the table because he didn’t want to have to stop and clean up broken glass. The flutes clinked together and he thought, close enough. As soon as his hands were empty, they were on Valerie.

Keeping his mouth on hers, he reached into the open sides of her button-down blouse and plucked at the tighter shirt underneath. Brian lifted it up. When his hands touched her bare abdomen and ribcage, they were surer. Valerie was petite but curvy, round in the best places. His thumb fit into her navel. “You’re soft,” he said. He breathed harder against her and opened his mouth to taste her tongue. The sound of their kiss was like music to his ears.

He knew this was the last piece of rational thought. In a minute they’d get swept up in racing pulses and short, hot breaths. The uncertainty would be over. He peeled her blouse away from her shoulders and dropped it on the floor. Slowly he ran his fingertips down the backs of her arms. Any part of the body could be sensual, if it was unaccustomed to touch.

"I've been picturing what you look like for a long time," he murmured, skimming back up to her shoulders.

[valerie_vause]

Valerie hummed against Brian’s lips as he spoke and felt herself smile into the kiss. His hands on her body felt right, natural, and she knew without a doubt that she didn’t want the sensation to stop. Once her shirt met its demise on the floor she felt vaguely empowered. This was really happening. The blonde caught the hem of his shirt and pushed it upward as if trying to free him from restraints. “You’re hard.” She whispered back, the tip of her tongue flicked against his lips as her hands splayed against his warm chest, short nails lightly scraped against his skin, and then she almost inhaled her saliva. “I-I mean your body. Muscles!” Valerie felt her skin warm with a mixture of embarrassment and arousal as she buried her face against his clavicle.

It wouldn’t take much effort, any effort actually, to rip Brian’s shirt right off him but they had to leave the room eventually and so clothes had to be painstakingly peeled away. Like wrapping paper. The thought brought another grin to Valerie’s lips and they paused against his collarbone with a lingering kiss. “Well, I hope I live up to your imagination.” She said lightly, nerves fluttering within her stomach as she forced herself to take a step back. When she met his gaze her hands went to the bottom of her tank top and she very slowly removed it to toss aside without any care as to where it landed.

Despite all the space around them the air felt thick as her fingers trailed down her abdomen. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm her pulse. “I think about that night…” Valerie didn’t have to specify as she worked the button of her jeans free. “About you, when I’m alone…” She tugged the zipper down then parted the fabric so that her thumbs could hook inside the denim. Belatedly she wished she’d worn something else, something sexy, but her simple white bra and matching panties would have to do unless she ran into the bathroom to shed them in shame. She kicked off her boots and shimmed the restricting fabric down her thighs until she stood only in her underwear, her eyes locked on him.

“How do I compare so far?” The tone was light, meant as a teasing quip, but the way she chewed on her lower lip said she felt self conscious. Whether due to the scars that littered her body or the fact that she was barely clothed in front of him was hard to say.

[brian_campo]

It might have come out wrong, but Valerie’s description made him break into a grin, partly because she frantically corrected herself, and partly because she wasn’t wrong. It was a miracle his arms and legs were getting any blood flow at all, especially after the ‘when I’m alone’ comment. Man, to be a fly on the wall…

Brian pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped it next to her clothes. His hair got into his eyes. He pushed it out of the way to look at her standing there. If a girl was beautiful, and if he was seriously into her, it didn’t matter what she wore. Valerie was the prettiest he’d ever been with. “I could stare at you for days.” He let her feel the weight of his heavy-lidded look.

He wanted to pull her close, but he stopped to unbuckle his belt and jeans. Brian bent down to pull off his doc martens and step out of the clothes. He didn’t have body shame; he was a self-conscious wreck about a million other things, but not that. He was long and lean, muscled from lifting heavy equipment and having the kind of frenetic energy that made him move all the time. He made his skin match his thoughts in pictures and words, and the more it did, the more at home in it he felt.

Brian moved into her space. His hands were loose on her back as they stood toe-to-toe and he closed his eyes and breathed out. The fabric of her bra tickled his chest. A few achingly long seconds passed and then he slowly got down on his knees on front of her, stroking her lower back and hips. On the way down, his mouth lit on the dip between her breasts, a scar on her stomach, the hollow inside her hip bone.

He looked up as he moved his hands inside the back of her panties. Was it just his imagination or was her ass meant to fit in his hands? He was momentarily distracted by it, but the whole reason he’d gotten on his knees was to press a kiss to the sweetly curved inside of her thigh. As soon as she’d taken off her pants, he knew he was going down. He used his teeth once, carefully, nipping at the soft skin.

“I think about this.”

He shifted and let her feel the bridge of his nose and the heat of his mouth through her underwear.

[valerie_vause]

If she were honest with herself, Valerie would admit that once his shirt came off her eyes devoured the scene before her. And she was, which explained why her jaw dropped as her gaze took Brian in. Skin stretched across muscles and displayed tattoo’s that she’d never tire of looking at. Whether he knew it or not she considered the sight the eighth wonder of the world. He was, and forever would be, everything that meant anything to her. Heaven help her, because she really couldn’t help herself right then. A shaky breath was exhaled as she gazed at him, and it took more strength than she would ever admit to look into his eyes.

“I know the feeling.” Mumbled the blonde, absently brushing her fingers through her hair as she resisted the urge to fan herself. God, but if he wasn’t like a Greek statue carved from marble. Hunger took over as Valerie watched avidly as his fingers worked his belt and she felt her pulse quicken when his pants dropped around his ankles. The restraint she exercised in letting him undress was almost more than she could bare but she managed none the less. Barely, really, if her clenched hands were anything to go by.

Valerie would have sworn she felt electricity pass through her body when his toes brushed against hers but her breath caught in her throat when he sank to his knees and she whimpered before she could stop herself. The soft, warm, sensation of his lips against her hip only caused them to jut forward an inch or two without her consent and she realised slowly that her mouth was hanging open. Despite her short size she felt so incredibly tall with Brian on his knees before her, and the way his hands played across her skin made her knees weak. How could he make her feel so strong and yet so boneless all at once?

The blood in her veins could have been lava and Valerie wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Then he did something she’d fantasised about for so long that an actual, guttural moan, escaped her parted lips. Brian’s hands molded to the soft flesh of her rear and the blonde’s eyes fluttered shut for a few seconds as she basked in the feel of him. It was the kiss to her inner thigh that forced them open again and she gazed down at him longingly. The confession caught her by surprise but before she could form words she felt his nose press against her in such a way that she trembled. The breath in her lungs caught and her hands involuntarily reached out to grip his shoulders for balance. The noise she made didn’t even sound human.

“You...” She began, breathless as her fingers kneaded the flesh beneath them in a restless massage. “Have no idea what that just did to me,” Then again, maybe he did, considering his face was so close to her intimate areas. Arousal coursed through her body and seemed to settle between her legs. Wet, warm, and pulsing. Valerie clenched her teeth to keep her hips from moving. Every cell in her body screamed for her to rock against him but she managed to behave herself long enough to run her fingers through his hair. “You want to know what I think about?”

The words were whispered softly as she watched him. Half of her wanted to stay silent but the other half urged her to talk. She wanted to tantalize him as much as he did her. Okay, sure, it could be wildly embarrassing but she had to trust herself in the moment and so with a deep, slow, breath she went with it. “I think about what it’ll feel like to have you inside me. How I’ll stretch and grip you… The only man to become a part of me... Because I want to be able to feel exactly where you’ve been the next day…” And oh, how she meant every word.

[brian_campo]

He breathed out roughly. Her words drove him crazy. He actually felt high, dizzy and winded and unable to channel a clear thought. Man, he loved the way she looked, her unique scent. It made him hard to the point of physical pain. Brian’s fingers squeezed and pulled her nearer to his face. The bridge of his nose chaffed at her through the fabric, causing a pleasant friction.

It was almost impossible to believe Valerie hadn’t slept with another guy. He didn’t doubt her word, but how could she walk through the world looking like that and no guy had gotten close enough, even if he had to lie and cheat to do it? The knowledge that he’d be first was a lot of responsibility -- Jesus, don’t fuck this up for her -- but it was incredible, too, because she had picked him, out of all the men she could have. Better men. Smarter men.

He wanted to say something, tell her how bad he wanted to bury himself inside her, and that he wanted her legs wrapped so tight he couldn’t breathe, that he wouldn’t stop until her knees gave out, but his brain was on vacation. Instead, he managed, “I want to taste you,” and with two fingers, he moved the fabric of her panties aside, just enough room for his mouth to latch onto her. Brian kissed the delicate folds of her body, seeking the place where her nerves were at their most sensitive. He groaned, God, the heat, the velvet feel of her… One of his hands eased between her thighs. He curled his fingers up to stroke inside of her body, gently stretching.

[brian_campo]

* Fade to Black *