Remnants of the Earth
TEINAR => Teinar => Topic started by: Anonymous on March 22, 2009, 11:29:54 am
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Tapping her heavy boot on the floor Makani sighed. Her foot was tapping sort of impatient and sort of to the music. She was sitting at one of the booths in Gravitation, cigarette smoke was curling around her head creating a fog around her slowly. Her chin was in her hands, her elbows on the table. She looked utterly an completely bored. It was early in the night, she could have been at catching up on sleep instead of waiting on Garrett.
Garrett seemed to always be late everywhere he had to go. She swore to some people it was because he slept all a lot, to others she said it was because he never replaced his clocks. Really? It was because he as stoned so much of the time that he liked to not observe time or what it meant. The guy was lucky he could nurture a plant like nobody's business or he would be out of business. Normally he didn't make Makani wait, she wondered what was keeping him.
She lifted her chin off of her hands and started to stir the straw around in her drink. Someone at the bar had sent it to her and she was in so foul a mood she didn't even investigate who it had been. Normally that would be at the top of her list right off, anyone who bought Maki the right drink normally got Maki attention. All she wanted tonight though was to fix this horrible moo she was in.
She needed her fix. It had been a less than brilliant work week. No race this week either. Molly had been sick. Poor thing, though Makani sort of hated her for making her loose her adrenaline jump for the week. No race meant she took some extra work hours, which meant a longer time serving people, bowing for them, getting what they wanted, getting weird looks, and she had to do most of it sober. Rupi had gotten a taste for Garrett's brand and now Makani could barely keep it in the house, always seemed to go up in smoke.
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Garrett walked into Gravitation, smiling at at few people he knew, his sunglasses still on his face even though the place was almost completely dark. He spotted Makani and slid into the booth across from her. The dealer gave his most award winning smile.
"Sorry to be late for our date, I sort of....lost track of time."
By 'lost track of time' he of course meant that he had been product testing and was to stoned to realize that he was supposed to be at the bar an hour ago. There was no race this week so he had been spending most of his time nurturing his children and trying to make some extra money in places he wouldn't normally sell. Which has gotten him into a pinch with the law and made for a pretty bad week. But now that he was in the precense of Miss Makani, his week was starting to get better.
"So how are you tonight, Miss?"
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Her bad mood started to float away as she saw Garrett walk into Gravitation. There was her boy, well one of them. She patted her phone waiting for him to get over to her. One surprising thing about Makani was how attached to her phone she was. It was her lifeline. It was all sorts of handy things like a calendar to make sure she didn't miss dates with her boys, or girls, and races. Her business meetings things like that. She was sure she would lose her mind without it.
She was about to suggest that Garrett get one, but when he got to the table he gave her that smile. The more that had reeled her in the first times she talked to him. It was a smile you could trust. Plus, he looked so damn blazed she just couldn't be mad, though it wouldn't stop her from pretending she was. When he was stoned he looked sleepy, and it was that sexy sort of sleepy, that warm sleepy look that just made you want to curl up with him.
"I'll be benevolent enough to forgive you." She straightened up leaning against the back of the booth, she slid her feet out of her slip on shoes and put her feet in his lap. It helped to have really long legs in so many situations. She held the cigarette between her fingers watching him closely, like she always did, searching for his reactions. She saw there was something under that sleepy sexy look.
"I'm much better now that my date is here. I was very worried you were actually going to stand me up Garrett." She pointed at him with the hand holding the cigarette. Her expression softened though. "How was your week?"
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Garrett's hands slid under the table and rested on Makani's bare ankles and he feigned shock.
" I could never ever stand up my Mechanical Goddess! Especially after she's had such a terrible week. I just had to dull my own pain from my week before I was fit to come see you."
He slid up against he booth, just enough to pull up his shirt and show her his chest. His skin was extremely scarred, the burns actually went over his shoulders and arms as well. And even they still hurt like they were brand new they looked like he had had them for years.
Garrett pulled his shirt back down and put his hands back on her ankles. The mage smiled lopsidedly at her and began to rub her ankles. He always liked touching her no matter where it was, and he always tried to touch her as little as possible. He really liked Makani, probably to much, but she wasn't the type to settle down and stay with him for any length of time and try to have something together.
But that didn't stop him from wanting to be friends with her, or be around her.
"As for the rest of my week I had time to cook up a little something that with definatly make your week much better, your Majesty."
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Mmmm.
The serpent didn't show it on her face but warmth crawled around her ankles where his hands touched them. She tried to keep her distance from Garrett, to try and not hurt him. Not eat him all up, but he made it so damn tempting with that puppy routine. It was almost impossible for her to ignore. Plus, Makani was never one to say no...to almost anything. She'd rather try everything once and see what disaster she could cause in the process. Garrett made it hard for her not to do those things.
A breath left her throat tightly when he lifted his shirt, and this time for a very different reason.
"Oh baby." She bit her lip imagining what the pain could have been like. She didn't know how he dealt with it or volunteered to do it. He was a much nicer person than she could ever pretend to be. She wanted to reach out to him but couldn't really reach him, and moving her feet in their current position would just cause problems for both of them.
"I suppose I can forgive you this one time...and because that feels really fucking good." Her head tilted back and she lifted the cigarette to her lips as her rubbed her ankles. Her feet always hurt from racing and being a waitress her ankles were always under constant work. She gave a sort of purring hissing noise as she let out some smoke. Then she perked up lifting her head to look at him.
"Oh really Garrett?" A raise of her brow. "Tell me more."
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Garrett gave a small as Makani looked at his scarred chest. Well at least she cared about him enough to feel bad for him. He squeezed her ankles lightly and leaned forward a bit, so he could talk a little quieter. The medic's sunglasses slid down his nose slightly, showing just the barest glance of purple eyes.
"All I can tell you is that I worked very hard for you on this batch. Other then that, I would have to kill you." He leaned back into the booth and smirked again. "And of course I can't really just give it to you here."
Garrett slid her feet from his lap and folded his hands as he set them on the table. He tilted his head slightly and smiled widely at Makani for a moment. That Mechanical Goddess of his. "In fact, I think it's so good, that we have to race for it. What do you say?"
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She leaned forward as she did a grin spreading across her face and her canines sticking out over her lip. When Garrett worked hard, he worked it. He had the mediocre shit when he had started like any other dealer you meet. The whole Behind the Kettle story they all tell. He had only gotten better with time and practice. Then from better...it had gotten pretty damn amazing. Makani was spoiled and she was way fucking aware of it.
And she loved it.
She met his purple eyes and slid back into the booth as he leaned away from her. Sometimes she wish she could stomach being a bit more normal. Wanting the husband and kids, slowing down to pace through life instead of racing through it. Maybe Garrett wouldn't be in such bad hands then. She could actually think about how he made her feel, if he made her feel at all. She wasn't even sure half the time anymore what was serious and what were her games.
Except, all that? It sounded like crossword puzzles, like suit and ties, like military, like every other god damn easy going person in the world. It sounded fucking boring. It sounded like she'd have to kill for amusement and if it came to that it might be someone she actually cared about. Which wouldn't do at all, she'd have to stay in her exciting life that moved quickly never slowing down. She liked it better that way.
"You," she pointed at him, just barely keeping the smile off of her face. "want to race with me?" She pointed at herself a little bit of laughter bubbling over. She knew he was trying to be competitive with her, he had no prayer. Still though something in her made her want to go. 'Oh you think so you little bitch?' Even though Garrett was the last person who deserved it. She put a hand over his and controlled her mouth.
"I'd love to Boss. Where's the finish line?"
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Garrett smirked widely at Makani as she tried, tried and failed horribly, to hide her giggle. He gave a lopsided grin.
"Girl, don't laugh at me. It's like you have no faith in my racing ability." His voice was playful, though it hurt his feelings just a bit that she didn't think he could beat her. Of course, there wasn't anyway he would win. Mak was born to race, Garrett was born to smoke. He knew it, she knew it, and everyone in the Motorail community knew it. But a little bit of faith wasn't much to ask for.
The mage leaned back in the booth, bringing his left hand to his chin as he looked off in faux-thought. Hell, she hadn't gotten her race fix for the week and if Garrett could give it to her, then damn it, he would. He just had to think of a way to make it a little more interesting for himself.
"I suppose the finish line could be your place, seeing as how mine looks like a bimb went off in it, and I couldn't possibly bring a lady of your caliber to such unworthy surroundings." He smirked again, loving that he could stroke her ego as well as give her a race.
Garrett ran his hand over his bright blonde hair, trying to make the mess a bit more orderly, but it didn't work. He tilted his head at Makani and leaned closer again.
"By the way, what do I get when I win?"
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Like her place would be much better?!
Rupi was in it...a lot and therefore just about every room except the garage was disorderly. Makani just couldn't spare the time to clean. At least that's what she told herself. She was always too busy doing things far more entertaining that dusting and vacuuming. WAY more interesting. She couldn't even remember where the vacuum was in there house. She tried to think it out for a moment but found she was fighting a losing battle. She did have more room than him though.
She simply arched a brow as he asked her what he would win. A slow, slow smirk appeared on her face. She couldn't help but tease him, couldn't help but flirt. It was the automatic reaction right out of the gun. How could she resist it? Her hand slunk across the table and stopped before it got to him. Sliding like a snake. Her eyes were heavy lidded as she looked at him.
"Well we'll have to see how lucky you get." She stood up stretching one hip going higher than the other and some of her stomach showing. She hissed in pleasure and then situated her shirt, slowly. She looked down at him and started to turn on her heel. "One....two....three ..." She took off out the door in the blink of an eye. She grinned back over her shoulder when she got to the bike waiting for a little while to see if he would catch up.
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Mmmmm, Maki belly. Garrett stared openly as Makani streched seductivly in front of him. Damn woman, she always had to be the biggest tease in the world. Sometimes Garrett was sure she wanted to punish him, though he wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such a severe punishment.
Her skin was, in his humble opinion, one of her best features. The pale against the ocasional green tint made her look like her skin was actually glowing. So flawless. So touchable.
So....gone.
He had blinked and the Motorail Princess had vanished. Damn it, like she needed a head start. Hell, HE could have gotten the head start and it still wouldn't make a difference. Did she really have to add insult to injury?
"You cheating snake-woman!" Garrett slid out of the booth, but didn't bother to race out the door. If she really wanted to start without him, there was no reason to hurry.
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Makani sighed angrily as she waited for him. He was supposed to be chasing her. How frustrating. She leaned against Serpentine carefully pretending to clean her nails as she waited. After a couple seconds she grew tired of that as well. What a party pooper Garrett was. She pouted slightly as she waited for him. She could have smoked a whole other cigarette by now. Speaking of...
She took out a cigarette, lit it and started smoking. She smiled to herself as she waited for him. It felt nice to spend time with Garrett. He really was one of her favorite people. She inhaled slowly and tried to hold onto the happy feeling but naturally it went into more questions about how she couldn't be with him. She inhaled again then exhaled slowly. She needed to numb again and soon. Waiting for him was having her mind take darker turns.
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Garrett strolled out a minute or two later, smirking at Makani. "Still here, cheater-pants? I figured you would have ducked out already..." He could tell just by the way she was standing that she was aggrivated.
Uh-oh, pick-me-up time.
The Mage was starting to feel this injurys again and sighed a little as he rubbed the wounds on his stomach. He tilted his head deeply at her, he pushed his sunglasses up on his forehead. Purple eyes looked her over and Garrett took a step forward, Makani was one of the few people he didn't mind showing his eyes to.
"Hey Mak, before we go....I gotta ask you something..." He grinned again and moved closer to her, closing the distance between them, reaching his hand up to touch her cheek. He tried his best to come off in control, but underneath the calm, Garrett's stomach was jumping. It happened every time he touched her.
He took a deep breath and moved even closer to her, his other hand snaking around her back to rub the base of Makani's spine. Garrett pushed his body up against her, and licked his bottom lip. Their faces were only an inch apart and his hand moved to cup the side of her face.
"I gotta ask...."
A huge smile broke across Garrett's face as he pulled away from Mak, the hand on the side of her face producing a joint out of thin air. "What the hell is this doing behind your ear?" He chuckled a little as he placed it between her lips, then moved back to lean against his bike, Violet.
Tease me will you...take that.
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Makani was about to unleash a bit of verbal tearing down for being so slow. However, Garrett got this look to him, his body language. That wasn't quite...normal for Garrett. She saw the cockyness of it and smiled to herself.
"Cheater me? I don't think that..." Then he was all up on her. His hand on her cheek and the other on her back. Warmth hit her hard. Makani's body always seemed to be ready to take off, to fly, just a touch was all it took, sometimes a whisper and she was ready to go. His body was against hers, his hand moving on her back. Which felt divine. She would have to get a back rub tonight after some smoke. That sounded...perfect.
"Ask me...what?" She grinned as she answered quietly. Then his hand went up to her hair and he pulled a joint out behind her ear. He pulled away from her and she felt disappointed. Not disappointed about the weed, but about the teasing. She thought it was more than just teasing. He put himself in a rather dangerous position. She smiled and put the joint into the cigarette pack in her pocket.
"We'll smoke it when we get there and you..." She trailed off walking over to him and placed a hand on his chest. She leaned in her hair brushing against his face as she moved to his ear.
"...Are in so much trouble darling. You won't even know where you've gotten to." She grinned her canines showing as she walked back over to Serpentine and climbed on. She did it rather slow and then stretched her arms up above her. The back of her shirt raised up to reveal a quick glimpse of skin and tattoo ink. Then she looked over her shoulder, blew him a kiss and kicked Serpentine into life.
Damn, a motorcycle between the legs feels good. Though I plan on something better later.
Garrett should have known better than to tempt her. She loved a challenge.
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Her hand on his chest hurt, if she had pressed any harder he probably would have cried out, but for Makani, Garrett didn't really care if she shoved her fingers in his eyes he liked her touching him so much.
God he shouldn't have teased her, usually he could keep his hands to himself. He had to, for his own sanity. He might not be able to be with Makani, but he could go crazy if he didn't at least have her in his life somehow. He has seen all the guys she had flirted with, the ones she kept for a few nights and then chucked out. In his humble opinion none of them were actually good enough for her anyway. They wanted her because she was beautiful, or an amazing racer, or just to say they had her. Sometimes Garrett wasn't really sure if some of them had a choice.
Maki usually took what she wanted and had a way of making you seem like you did too. If he thought about it to hard, he was pretty sure he loved her....which was why he liked to be completely blazed out of his mind when he was around her. Every once in a while when she thought he wasn't paying attention, he could swear she was looking at him like she wanted something more, the wheels grinding against each other in her brain even though she tried to stop them. But then she would catch his eye and the look would be gone. As much as he wanted to, Garrett couldn't let her get that close to his heart and know it.
'You won't even know where you've gotten to.'
For the love of God, that had not been a threat he needed. He cursed under his breath but smirked at Makani. "Oh I'm sure I would once I got there." The mage pushed his sunglasses back over his eyes and started Violet. "Alright my love, first one to the garage...."
He didn't finish his sentence as he took off down the road, Violet roaring while his coat flew out behind him. Oh, he knew she would catch up to him in no time, there was no way he would win, but at least he could pretend for about ten seconds like he had a chance.
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She took a leisurely pace for a little while. She saw Garrett take off into the distance. The bike just felt so good underneath her, the wind in her hair. It was nice to be with someone she really knew. She didn't get much time with people sometimes. It was easier that way. She licked her lips and pushed the pedal down and zipped off around a corner taking a shortcut.
She leaned into the turn then righted herself zipping around some other vehicles. She turned down an alley spotting Garrett still a little bit ahead of her. Makani licked her lips again looking at him. She was thinking about letting him win. He had asked what he would get if he won, and thinking about what she could give him made her warm all over. She turned onto another street.
The snake decided she would let him win. She took the cycle down a speed and cut across a couple alleys to a scenic route. Makani was trying to remember whether or not Fi was supposed to be in tonight. If she was it wasn't like she'd join the party, she'd probably hide in her room. She pushed the bike a little harder for a second trying to leave the thoughts of Fi behind her. Once they got to the apartment those thoughts could fly away.
Makani arrived at the garage a few minutes after Garrett did. She clicked the button on her keys and the door went up. She shut off Serpentine feeling the rumble of the bike fade away. She slid off the bike and walked it passed Garrett to the garage.
"It looks like you get a surprise." She smirked at him over her shoulder, licking her teeth for a moment.
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Garrett had zipped all the way to the garage, expecting to see Makani sitting on the workbench, already lighting up the joint that he had slipped her earlier. But when he got there the place was empty.
"Oh that cheating little..." He couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice as he climbed off Violet and parked her over on one side of the garage. She probably let him win to see what he had wanted for a prize. Well, bad luck for her. He wasn't going to ask for it. He reached smacked the side of Violet, a hiss of air snaking out as a compartment opened. A coolent system that kept his more precious cargo safe from the heat of the bike. He actually installed that little addition himself, and he was very proud of it.
Reaching in, Garret pulled out a little plastic container along with a small baggy. The baggy contained his new strand of 'Kettle', as Mak so affectionatly called it. Bright blue was mixed in with the dark green. Oh she was gonna love it. Hell he hadn't even really tested it yet.
The mage looked at his timepiece. She should have been here five minutes ago, Mak obviously had no faith in his ability to race. A smirk crawled across his face as he set down the plastic container and the Kettle and slid up onto the workbench. He hissed in pain, lifting his shirt to run his hand over his burned chest. Normally he wouldn't start with out her, but Garrett lifted a joint from his pocket and to his lips. He lighted it and inhaled just as Makani waltzed in.
"I get my surprise after you get your miss."
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The way Garrett was leaning back on the work bench made her hiss. She parked Serpentine and tried to talk herself into telling him to leave. She wasn't this kind of girl. Well, not to him anyway. She kept her hormones in check when she was around him, as much as she could. It had become more difficult recently. The way he looked at her, the way he instantly understood her even when she tried to prevent it. He and Fi were the only people who could hurt her, they just knew her mind so damn well.
Makani took a deep breath and walked back over to him. She slid her jacket off from around her shoulders laying it on the work bench next to him and then placing a hand on either side of his legs.
She had just said she wouldn't do this hadn't she? She sighed and let a hand touch his knee as she leaned in to smell the scent of the joint. She couldn't help but notice Garrett's smell in the process.
"And what is that?" It didn't smell like it normally did. It smelled...richer, more earthy but a little bit fruity. Her made her nose burn with the scent and she loved that. She moved back from Garrett and grinned.
"Let's go to the smoke room then?" She wanted to get him in a comfortable place. One where they could relax. Listen to some jazzy music. Though she may never admit it Makani found jazz music unspeakably sexy. Teinar had a lot of jazzy music. There was a lot of pain in this place. Some of it was just too damn good. She patted his knee very gently. She didn't want to hurt him.
Wait...Maki darlin' think this over. You get him in that room and you're gonna tear him to pieces. It's just the mood you're in.
The devil in Makani didn't want to listen, so she didn't. She could handle being alone with him smoking some new brand of tasty. She'd be fine, and so would he.
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Garrett's hand and shirt dropped as Makani walked over to him. He gulped a little as she moved, maybe it wasn't such a good idea for them to do this right now at least not witheout someone else around.
The mage shook his head. No, they had gotten high together plenty of times over the years and he had been able to control himself. Tonight wouldn't be any different no matter what sort of evil tricks she had up her sleeves.
Then she was so close, inhaling the smell of the weed and making that noise, that happy little noise she made....damn that noise. Her hand touched his knee and Garrett's back and body went stiff, along with other parts of himself. The joint was hanging out of his lips and he swallowed again before reganing his composure. He tilted his head at her and moved his hand to take the joint out of his mouth.
"It's something new, something I make especially for you." He slid off the workbench with a little groan and handed her the plastic container. "To the smoke room it is!"
With that he dashed off out of the garage and into the house ahead of her before he could do anything else to get himself into more trouble.
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Makani leaned forward when he said he'd made it just for her. Garrett knew how to sweep her off of her feet for sure. If she was going to settle down...
Whoa, whoa, whoa...
Did Makani's brain just think those two words? She shook the feeling out of her head that she was thinking like that. It would make her run scared as fast as she could away from him. It was just a slip up right? She watched him run off and up the stairs and she doubted it for a minute. Today was going to be dangerous. She kinda felt like she was alright with that.
She followed him up the stairs and through the kitchen then she backed up and grabbed some rum. The stronger stuff, two shot glasses and a thing of soda. Tonight was gonna be good. She followed into the smoke room at the end of the hallway. It had big floor to ceiling windows with big black drapes in front of them. The light was already flipped on...well lights. There were ropes of light around the corners of the ceiling and the floor and some surrounding the windows.
There was a black wooden table in the middle of the room and it had a small cabinet underneath it filled with all sorts of tools. Then the stereo. It had huge speakers and a large screen attached to it. It was a touch screen that she could navigate around the music collection with. It also had a visualizer that moved with the music. There were spots for incense around the room.
In short? A stoner Makani's paradise.
There were some bean bags around the table plus a few chairs and couches in the room too. All insanely comfy. She sat down the drink ingredients on the table and wandered over to the stereo clicking around with her fingers.
"Garrett, you run away from a girl she might think you don't like her."
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Garrett was sitting on the floor in front of the table, already emptying his pockets of weed and other various items. He opened the little baggy and spread the Kettle around the table a little, breaking it into tiny smokeable bits.
It smelled fantastic and (even though it was probably the joint he had smoke earlier saying this) it looked very pretty with the blue in it. He wanted them to start out sort of slow, so the mage took a cigarette paper and began rolling a few joints. Thankfully he had brought enough to knock out a Grimhorn, which should do nicely for the two of them.
Makani appeared and in her hand was rum, which was nice. Garrett smiled at her as she sashayed in. The girl did know how to have a good time, it was one of the things he loved about her.
Garrett rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head. He needed to get blazed again, and fast, lest he said something that would make her run out of his life. He took a hit off the joint he already had going, it was just some of his normal stuff and he relaxed as he exhaled. The fuzzy feeling around his sense was slowly returning...perhaps a bit to slowly.
"Garrett, you run away from a girl she might think you don't like her."
The mage laughed a little as he licked the ends of the joints. "Hey now, if I didn't like you would I be giving you this stuff for free? I think I spoil you actually." He smirked, stood and walked over to her, lighting the joint and inhaling as he did so.
He walked up to the side of Makani, reaching out with one hand to move her face towards his. Garrett leaned in, putting his lips on hers and exhaling. His entire body tingled when his lips touched hers, his stomach flipped and his mind exploded a little. Just like it did everytime they did this....every...dam n...time.
He had to be a masochist to be around her all the time and feel this way. But what else was he going to do? He couldn't imagine being without her. After a moment, Garrett pulled away, a smile on his face.
"I think I should start charging you."
-
She was lining up a playlist and taking her sweet time doing it. She wanted the perfect jazz set for tonight. It had been a long time since they did this. It seemed they were always busy these days. She had some really sweet stuff lined up on the stereo when he said something about spoiling her.
"Oh, but you love to spoil me right?" She grinned to herself and hit play on the stereo. She had been preparing to turn around when she felt a hand touch her face and move her. It caught off guard. The next thing that happened caught her even more off guard. Garrett's lips were on hers. She felt him start to exhale and opened her mouth sucking in the smoke automatically. She was glad she didn't have to say anything. Her hands touched his shoulder and arm for a minute then he pulled away.
They'd shotgunned before but why did this time feel different? Why did her body get warm all over. She felt like she might have blushed. It had been awhile sure but still. He had never attacked her like that though. She liked it. A lot. She held onto the smoke and turned to look at him with a slight glare. Her lips felt tingly as she let the smoke blow past them into the air.
"If you started charging what you just did would make you a prostitute." She grinned and pinched his side. She licked her lips and sighed.
"Yummy." The music got a little louder as her hand clicked up the volume. The sounds of jazz floated through the room.
-
Garrett let out a laugh and swatted her hand when she pinched him. "Hey now, none of that or you get nothing my dear. And I mean no more drugs or crazy awesome sex. Prostitute or not." He wiggled his eyebrows teasingly and handed her the joint.
He was trying very hard not to think about his lips on hers, and how warm he felt. Garrett could swear he was the slightest bit of a blush on Makani's cheeks but he wrote if off because of the Kettle.
He nodded at the music and headed back over to the table, sitting down in front of it again. "You and your jazz music. I just don't get it." Sure he liked jazz well enough, but it just reminded him of how crappy this place was sometimes. Of course being with Makani always lessened the terribleness.
He patted the couch behind him. "Come on Maki-Doodles. We have a LOT more to get through." Garrett lit a joint and inhaled. "Besides, you gotta eat your cake." He gestured to the plastic container he had given her in the garage.
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Makani felt the tingle start to cover her body. She pressed the screen to bring up the visualization and the colors and patterns swirled together to the music. She crossed the room and sat down on one of the cushions in front of the table and poured some soda in one of the glasses. Jazz made her feel better, or it just made her feel like she wasn't alone. That could have been more accurate.
Teinar wasn't an easy place to live in sometimes. You were always reminded of the limits and the danger. Makani had finally got her life set the way she wanted it. She partied and she had fun. Sometimes she could forget about the struggle here if only for a little while. She could forget about her waitress job and all the military people who came through the restaurant. When she was with Garrett sometimes she could even ignore the constant dirt smell.
She poured herself a shot a shot and knocked it back. She was starting to think whiskey might have been a better choice tonight but Garrett liked rum. She was fine sacrificing for him sometimes.
"Well, the people would certainly pay for you. I mean, look how pretty you are." Then he said something magical. Something about...cake?
"There's cake?" Her eyes got wide and she grabbed the container and popped the lid off of it. "What kind is it?"
-
He ran his hand through his blonde hair and put on his important voice. "Yes yes, I do try so hard to please the people."
Garrett to a big hit off the joint and exhaled, starting to feel a tingling feeling crawl up his spine. He was pretty sure it was the drugs and not Makani, even though she probably had a little to do with it.
He smiled widely when she popped open the container, the mage blew out a hit of smoke and motioned to the cake. "Come on Mak, what kind do you think it is?" Garrett stood up and slid a chair next to her. "It's red velvet....with some special chocolate icing."
Garrett took another hit, the tingling feeling spreading further. Oh this batch was good, he felt like he was being pleasently tickled all over. The whites of his eyes were already turning a little red and he couldn't stop smiling. Though the latter part was probably because Makani seemed so happy. "Happy birthday."
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Makani chuckled at him then got quiet when he told her about the cake. Then he said Happy Birthday. The serpent froze halfway through dunking her finger in the cake icing. It dawned on her...it was that time of the year. She shook her head half disbelieving that she hadn't realized, but really she didn't keep track of any dates that weren't races. He remembered when she didn't?
Makani felt sort of warm, and she knew it wasn't the drugs. She felt all fuzzy. That might have been the drugs. She stood up and put the one finger in her mouth and sucked it clean then moved to hug Garrett tightly.
"You know, I...didn't realize it was my birthday." She felt like kissing him, like not letting go. This was weird for her.
-
Purple eyes light up and Garrett let out a little sigh as she hugged him. It hurt but who the Hell cared? This was exactly the reaction he was hoping for.
"I figured you didn't remember." He hugged her back, tightly, around the waist. "Hell, what did you think the special Kettle was for? It took a months to get it good enough for your birthday." Garrett chuckled and bit his bottom lip, should he kiss her? The drugs had taken enough of a toll on his system that his feelings overruled his brain and the mage kissed Makani on the cheek.
He patted her lightly on the back, and moved to break the hug. "As much as I enjoy hugging you dear, I'm starting to feel some pain here..."
-
She hissed happily when he said it took months. His lips brushed her cheek and she stopped making noise. Another kiss? She wanted to grab him and kiss him hard. Then she heard him say she was starting to hurt him.
"Oh god," She released him. "I'm sorry, I forget sometimes. I obviously have a bad memory here." She sighed and couldn't stop smiling at him. She sighed and sat back down looking at the cake. She loved him, really she did. Sometimes she couldn't believe how lucky she was to have him in her life. There were occasions like this one that she wished it was more. That he was getting as much out of it as she was. She kept staring at it then suddenly realized she didn't have a fork and hopped up.
"I'll be right back I need a fork and another plate. You are[/i] eating some of this cake." She snickered to herself. Maybe he could have his cake and eat it too. She walked out to the kitchen and grabbed the forks and a plate for him. She stopped looking at the two forks. Could she really tie herself down with someone? With Garrett? She thought that with him it might not even feel like getting tied down. She shook the thoughts from her head and walked back to the smoke room.
-
"Hey, I'm gonna argue about eating cake." He held up his hands in defense. Purple eyes watched her leave the room and Garrett stood, running his hand over his face. Oh what in God's name was he doing?
He liked making Makani happy, in truth it was one of the few things that made him happy. But that was the second time tonight he had kissed her and before tonight he could count on one finger how many times that had happened.
Actually the more he thought about it the more he couldn't help but smile a little. The tingling feeling was getting a little more intense and Garrett eyed the Kettle suspiciously.
To fuck with it, it was Mak's birthday and he wasn't going to do anything to ruin her night. With that though in mind he poured a shot of rum and kicked it back before sitting back down on the floor.
-
Makani stopped as she reached the door frame and looked at him for a minute before walking again.
"I found the stuff." She said eying the little puddle at the bottom of his shot glass as she sat down next to him.
"I see you had your first shot of the night." She smirked as she grabbed her fork and dug into her pieces of cake. She took a large chunk out of it in her fork and smiled wide before shoving it in her face. Her eyes went wide as she chewed. She looked at Garrett giving him a thumbs up as she chewed. She felt particularly spoiled tonight. She put a hand on one of his knees and squeezed gently as she swallowed.
"This. Is. Amazing Garrett." She was impressed with his skills. It tasted like Heaven, or how she imagined heaven would taste if it existed. She did a little dance and made Mmmm noises and rubbed his thigh before bringing her hand back swallowing some soda to wash the cake down with.
"Now you can have some." She cut a piece off for him and held it up to his mouth on the fork.
-
Garrett smiled a little, trying to fight the urge to jump Makani while she rubbed his thigh. "I'm glad you like it so much."
He watched her eat the cake and took a final hit off the joint, stubbing the very end of it out in an ashtray. He started to roll another one, still trying to get his mind straight, when she held the fork out for him.
Garrett leaned forward, taking the bite and made a happy noise in the back of his throat. He chewed for a minute before he swallowed. "That is good isn't it? That's it...I must be fantastic." He smirked and handed her the freshly rolled joint. "And you Missy, need to take your medication."
-
Makani liked that happy noise. Yes she did. Maybe she could help him make it later. She smiled and cut off some of the cake for him and put it on the plate setting it off to the side from where he was rolling the joint. She poured two more shots while he did that. They were going to be all sorts of mixed up. She was waaaay fine with that. She poured some soda in a glass for him. She knew he didn't always use a chaser but in case.
"Of course you're fantastic." She rolled her eyes. "Dumbass." She slid the joint out of his fingers and grabbed her lighter. She placed the joint between her lips and flicked the lighter to life. She breathed in deep the end of the joint catching. She held it in for a little bit then let out the cloud of smoke.
"So this is the new one yes?"
-
"Aw, now you hurt my manly feelings...all one of them." He slid the plate over to himself and cut it with the fork and took another bite of the cake. He nodded as he chewed. "Yup, that's the new one."
Garrett took a shot and chased it with the soda, washing the cake down. He was starting to feel really good, just enjoying Makani's company without thinking to much thinking involved.
"I was thinking about getting you an actual present, but then you'd just think I was really spoiling you and then you'd expect it all the time. All my girlfriends would get jealous of you and beat me up, it just wouldn't be pretty."
He flashed a white smile at her and rolled another joint, and took a big hit off of it. "So what do you think so far?"
-
"All your girlfriends?!" She put a hand to her chest and gasped like she was offended. "I'll have to beat all of them up just on principle." She leaned took in another hit and leaned forward pouring two shots again while she held in some smoke. She looked at Garrett out of the corner of her eye contemplating returning the shot gun. She decided to wait and simply blew it in his direction.
She was starting to feel the tingle all over. This new stuff was spectacular. She put her hand on his knee again not really thinking the action through. She couldn't be bothered to be concerned with things like that right now. It was just good to be able to touch him. She knocked back the shot and followed it with soda. The rum tasted fantastic with the weed.
"It's amazing. It feels so good." She leaned back against the couch behind them and leaned half on him. He was so warm. She started to feel all her muscles relax. Her whole body felt good. It was like she had just had amazing sex, a full body massage and some good kettle. She took another hit of it sucking it into her lungs and holding it then blowing it out pursing her lips.
"You're a gardening god, Garrett."
-
Garrett moved his arm to around Makani's shoulders and took another hit. He could barely feel the wounds on his chest anymore, and for the first time in weeks he was actually feeling really good. About himself, about his pain and about Mak.
"I am, aren't I? You know," He turned slightly to look at her. "I didn't even try this batch out before I brought it over. I was actually kinda worried." He took another hit. "I see now that I was completely wrong."
His whole body was buzzing and Garrett leaned his head back as he laid against the couch and Makani. It felt fantastic just having her here, having her so close. Usually they both tried so hard not to actually touch each other, alway being close emotionally and mentally but never physically. The stray though flew into his mind about how silly that seemed right now, everything was fine and there was nothing to be worried about.
They were grown-ups and were quite in control, right? Suuure they were.
-
"You shouldn't doubt yourself." She snuggled closer to him as his arm slid around her. She felt warm all over and tingly don't forget tingly. She was close to finishing the joint and she was feeling amazing already. If she did more she might get a little...impulsive. She stared at the joint for a moment then at Garrett and took another long hit of the joint burning it aways down. The stuff tasted fantastic too. She made a purring noise and let the smoke out of her lungs.
"It's perfect. What are you gonna call it?" She asked looking at him. Her body felt the tingle down to her toes. This was a good birthday. Really good. She thought about the bet earlier suddenly. He, even though she had cheated, was the winner. She owed him a reward for the bet and for this fantastic birthday. She could have tried to sex him right off. She wasn't quite gone enough to think that was a good idea yet. Well, to be honest it sounded like a great idea but it was dangerous. They always kept the line so defined.
"Oh, and I owe you for winning the race." She was turned slightly to look at him her fee hand still on his leg.
"What does Garrett want? Hmmm?"
-
He smiled and when she mentioned the race. Garrett plastered a look of faux surprise on his face. "What does Garrett want, hmmm? Well, seeing that you cheated I'm not sure I actually did win anything."
Well he did actually have an idea about what he wanted but it wasn't something he was gonna ask for. The mage took another hit off his joint, finished it and relaxed a little more.
"Well," He smirked at her and took another shot with his free hand. "You could pour me another one of those..."
-
"Oh no. You still won. You didn't say:' Makani don't cheat so I win and you give me something awesome and or sexy.' " She said the last part with her best stoned Garrett impression as she poured him another shot like he asked and then poured her own. She picked both of them up and turned sitting up slightly so she was facing him completely. She handed the glass over to him with the joint in her mouth which she took out once he took the glass.
"Thanks for the birthday hon." She held her glass up in the air towards him.
"A toast?" She grinned and took a hit holding it then blowing it out away from his face, though he was probably too stoned to notice.
"To Garrett. The one who keeps me livin'." Makani was gone enough not to really think about the weight the statement had, or what it really meant to her.
-
He laughed at her impression, it was actually pretty good. Garrett took the glass from her hand and nodded. "A toast." Then she said it...
"To Garrett. The one who keeps me livin'."
The mage's smile faultered for a split second, but he shook it off. This Kettle was fantastic and his brain was slowly getting further and further away. He clinked his shotglass against hers and smirked again.
"To Makani, the one who keeps me smiling." He took his shot and knocked it down with some soda. Garrett moved forward and began rolling some more joints. "I'm actually glad you forgot your own birthday. Otherwise there would have been a giant party and everyone would have seen me beat you here."
-
He had moved his arm and she didn't feel quite as warm. She moved a little bit closer to him and it felt better. She slid a cigarette out of her pack and lit it. It felt so good to smoke...to do anything really. She loved that she made him smile. She was feeling all warm and fuzzy again. She needed to get hold of herself, too bad she couldn't find the handle.
She let her one hand lay on his back while she smoked with the other. This was odd, she didn't really snuggle...not since Rupi had left. She realized she hadn't been content since Rupi left either. She had felt like a time bomb, she had to keep pushing of the explosion off sadness. With Garrett around she could barely understand what sad was. She leaned slightly ashing her cigarette and her hand moved across his back.
"Oh my ego would have been so wounded. Imagine the rumors. 'Medic beats Number One racer'." She moved her other hands across the air in front of them as she spoke.
-
Garrett snorted a little with laughter as he licked the ends of the freshly rolled joints. "Yeah that and 'Teinar Goverment Passes Bill To Add Windows'."
He felt her hand on his back and almost purred. Yes, he didn't feel his scars anymore really but who wouldn't enjoy a nice backrub from a pretty girl? Normally he wouldn't have even entertained the thought of asking, but right now high and a little drunk, Garrett couldn't help himself.
"Hey Mak....would you...?" He pressed his back into her hand a little and smirked.
-
"Windows! I get it." She snickered then pulled another drag out of her cigarette. Then she felt his voice rumble through his back. She felt warm all over. Then he asked her to...rub his back and pushed into her hand more.
Oh this was gonna be good.
She grinned and put out her cigarette. She was fine with wasting a cigarette for this moment. Garrett hardly ever let her touch him. She had to sneak it. She knocked back another shot and then moved to sit on the couch one of her legs on each side of him. She smirked to herself knowing that he couldn't see her. She suddenly stopped and just stared at the back of him.
She'd never been able to touch him for prolonger amounts of times. She never really gave a guy a back rub either it was too close. She smiled instead of responding like she usually would and poured another shot knocking it back then following it with soda. She put her hands on him feeling very loose and relaxed. She couldn't get over how warm he was under her hands. She moved her hands over his back and squeezed every now and then. Her hands felt even more tingly now.
This was some good kettle like really good.
Makani leaned forward slightly her whole body tuned in to how he moved. God, he made her so...yeah.
-
Garrett let out a contented sigh, he was alway hurting somehow and didn't usually let people get close to him long enough to help him out. Usually, Makani was at the top of the list, but right now he felt so good it didn't even matter. In fact, with the Kettle, rum AND Makani this had to be one of the best damn nights he'd had in awhile.
He leaned back into her hands for a moment, then closed his eyes and leaned back as far as he could against her and the couch. He'd never gotten this much attention from her, and it was mostly his own fear that kept her so far away.
A part of his brain was screaming at him, but the rest of his body didn't seem to want to listen. He felt great, and she felt great touching him. "Hey Mak, you're really good at this you know?"
-
He leaned against her more and more and she felt a need starting to bubble. He smelled and felt so good. Her hands moved on their own running over him. It was hard for her not to keep moving them to other places. She got brave as he leaded more against her and slid a hand under his shirt feeling the warmth of his skin against hers and continuing to run his back. She was starting to want him really bad. This was starting to get dangerous and she really couldn't bring herself to be afraid of it.
She leaned forward to thank him. She could have snarked at him about how people had told her that or that the ladies sure liked it. It's what she normally would have said, carefully reminding each other of the boundaries that existed because she couldn't behave. Because he was afraid. She let out a short breath and instead just said.
"Thanks Garrett."
-
"Mhm...welcome." Was all he managed to say, eyes still closed, with a half grin on his face.
His muscles were starting to un-knot and his brain shut down almost totally.He didn't seem to notice that he was actually starting to blush a little. All he wanted to do right now was feel, not think, not worry, not be scared, just feel her hands on his skin and let her work away all his tension.
She must have read his mind because Garrett felt Makani's hands slid under his shirt. His skin broke out into goosebumps, her hands were a little colder than a human's would be, but it felt fan-freaking-tastic. He bit his bottom lip and a shiver ran over him. He leaned his head to the side a little as she spoke and Garrett opened his eyes.
Normally he would have moved away from her gaze, if only to put a preacious few inches between them but he didn't. He looked at her face, she really was beautiful. The mage wanted to tell her but couldn't really think enough to say anything. It seemed to be a recurring theme when they were together.
-
Makani was caught in looking at him for a minute before he hands moved over a stray scar. Her breath caught in her throat for a second and she pulled one of her hands back.
"I'm sorry..." She lifted his shirt to look at the scar and felt her stomach sink slightly. She thought scars were sexy, no doubt about that but it made her sad that Garrett was all scarred up so much of the time. He was such a strong person to heal people like that. She shook the feeling loose and slid down off of the couch next to him. Still touching his back with one of her hands.
"Let's smoke another one of these boy."
-
He hissed in pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier. Garrett shook his head and gave a small smile to Makani. "Don't worry about it, doll. It doesn't hurt so much now."
Garrett felt a little disappointed when she pulled away but he could guess why. Being in pain and scarred up all the time kept a lot of people away from him, but Mak didn't seem to mind. Most of the time she even seemed to forget totally that he was screwed up and Garrett was very happy about it most of the time.
When people found out about how he was able to heal people, they treated him differently, like he was a fragile thing that was going to be broken. He was just thankful that she had never seen him when he was really fucked up.
He was still leaning into her one hand a little and gave a huge grin when she brought up the joint. "Damn skippy, let's do it." He let out a little laugh. "Smoke I mean."
-
Makani grinned when he called her doll. Another thing she would never admit about Garrett was that she liked it when he gave her little pet names like that. She sighed and leaned forward grabbing the lighter and lighting up the joint. She took a slow drag on it and smiled. It was just so good. This whole night was good. She couldn't believe they'd always been scared of situations like this! Everything was going perfectly well.
She let the smoke out of her mouth slowly and then took another hit and handed it off to Garrett. She let that smoke slide out of her mouth a few seconds later.
"I know I said it already, but this is perfect."
-
Garrett took a drag and, after a moment, he smiled letting the smoke roll out of his mouth. His whole body was buzzing, his pain so far away it was fantastic. He nodded as he handed the joint back to her and slid down against the couch until his head was hitting the coushins.
He looked at Makani out of the corner of his eye and smirked again. "Yeah, it is pretty perfect isn't it?" Garrett knew she was talking about the weed but as his purple eyes were looking over her, he was talking about something else entirely. Usually he could keep himself in check extremely well but this stuff with the rum and having Makani's hand on him, his mouth filter was pretty much turned off.
Garrett laughed and laid his hands carefully on his stomach. "Maybe I need to turn down the buzz factor a little, I can't feel my legs." His phone vibrated in his pocket, but Garrett ignored it. He didn't care if the Council had caught on fire, he wasn't going anywhere.
-
She took the joint from him when his head hit the cushions and she took her first hit and held it in while she looked at him. She saw him looking at her. His eyes were all over her. She was close enough she could feel the vibration of his phone and it traveled through her legs. It felt amazing alongside the tingle of the high. Her whole body had goosebumps. She shivered still holding in the smoke.
Her center felt warm, hell all of her dead. Garrett still felt warmer she moved her hand off of his back and moved it to his thigh as she looked towards the visualization with the music. It gave the room a sort of strobe effect as the light and dark colors mixed together. She let out her smoke in it's direction and the smoke caught the colors in it. She almost purred. Everything just felt so damn good. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this good.
She lifted the joint to her lips and took a long hit then looked back towards Garrett. He almost looked like he was glowing in this light. She knocked the end of the cherry off into the ash tray and then half turned towards him then moved quickly sliding into his lap a leg on either side of his own and she pressed her lips against him exhaling into his mouth. One of her hands crawled up into his hair and the other was behind him on the couch.
-
Garrett tensed a little when Makani put her hand on his thigh and his mind nearly exploded when she moved to sit in his lap. Automatically his hands went to her hips and he breathed in deeply. Well if this was payback for earlier, it was payback and change.
His hands gripped tighter onto her his as Makani's hand found it's way into his hair. The mage didn't even think about it as he crushed his lips into hers and sat up with his back against the couch.
The tingle from the Kettle was nothing compared to the new sensations that ran over his entire body. His fingers dug into his skin and Garrett's head was swimming, the weight of her on him was beyond amazing. He had wanted her just where she was for so long and she felt so perfect....why hadn't they done this before?
Suddenly Garrett's senses snapped back on, his high overrun by the adrenaline. He pulled his lips away from hers with a groan and exhaled the smoke he still held in his lungs. He shut his eyes tightly digging his fingers into her hips and shook his head before he opened them and looked back at her.
"Mak, what are you doing?"
He didn't want to sound like he wasn't enjoying himself...intensely, actually, but he couldn't do this, couldn't risk losing her forever over one night of drug induced night.
-
Makani felt him grab onto her and her whole body vibrated. This felt so right, so perfect. She felt dizzy and hot as their lips moved against each others. It was hard to think they'd ever had a boundary for that one moment. That they had ever danced around each other. The passion in that moment blew it away.
Then he pulled away.
She looked down, afraid to look at him. She felt the cold on her lips as he blew the smoke away. She moved her hand down to his neck.
"Garrett." She met his eyes for a moment before moved to talk into his ear. "I want you." Her voice was low and gravely in his ear. She slid her hand down his neck. It felt so good to have his hands on her. Vibrations moved out from where he touched her.
-
Oh the Gods were cruel, cruel beings Who only delighted in making mortal's lives a living Hell.
"Garrett. I want you."
His stomach flipped and his entire body tensed when she whispered into his ear. He felt hot everywhere and he laid his forehead on her shoulder for a minute. He could see her pulse pumping through her neck as he turned a little to look at her.
Garrett bit his lip again and kissed her base of her neck, feeling her blood pumping under her skin and his lips. His hands moved from her hips and up her back, one resting on her spine under her shirt, the other resting on the other side of her neck. Without thinking, the magics inside his body escaped from his fingertips and a few tiny sparks of purple light sunk into her skin.
His brain started screaming at him.
Stop, for the love of the Gods stop right now. What are you doing?
The Mage couldn't even really feel the drugs and alcohol anymore and he quickly tore his lips from Makani's skin. He had to get out, now , before he did something incredibly stupid. He moved her from his lap onto the floor and stood as smoothly as he could, which wasn't to well actually.
"I can't, I'm sorry. I...I have to go..."
He didn't bother to grab anything except his jacket and headed out of the smoke room. Garrett walked down the stair as fast as he could without falling and into the garage. He ran his hands over his face as he approched his bike, letting out a heavy sigh. He climbed onto the bike and started it, shaking his head and putting his white sunglasses on then backed out of the garage.
-
For a minute everything was perfect. His lips touched her neck and his hands crept up her back and her back arched to push against him her fingers digging into him. He felt amazing. As his hands moved up her back she felt sparks, she could guess it was his magic. It felt like the feeling in the drug but straight. Her whole body shivered against him and she tilted her head back and a small sounds escaped her mouth.
Then suddenly the touching stopped. She felt him set her on the floor and her eyes opened and looked at him. She was standing up unsteadily. He was...leaving? She shook her head to clear her mind and felt anger rejection and pain. She bit her lips hard almost piercing it trying to wake up a little bit. Trying to sober up to stop him from going anywhere. She got halfway up off the ground.
"Garret...but you can't..." But he was already gone. She thought about chasing after him but her stomach was sinking and reality was coming back into focus. She scooted herself back over to the table and stared at the rum. This was not a night for rum anymore. She stood up shakily and moved to the kitchen and sat the bottle of rum down and grabbed some whiskey. She uncapped the bottle dropping the lid on the floor and it rolled around. She waved her hand in it's direction and went back to the smoke room unsteadily. She turned and locked the door before sitting back down on the couch.
She drank straight out of the bottle without chasing it and then slid to the floor and lit the joint again. She swore she could almost taste Garrett on the joint and shook her head breathing it in. She slid her phone out of her pocket clicking through the contacts. Who could she trust to ask no questions? Who could she trust to just let let her ride and forget the pain that was trying to root itself in her body? She took another swig as she sent out a text message and then took a deep hit from the joint and pulled in the smoke.
It was easier to live life in a cloud of smoke. She should have remembered that before making a move. Everything had felt like it was going in the right direction then it pulled to the dreaded painful stop. She should have known better than to be alone with him for any amount of time. She felt ugly and unwanted. She felt stupid for thinking that the whole thing would have been alright. She should have applied the fact that she knew well. Friends weren't to be played with. She should have known better.
She knocked back more of the whiskey as her phone buzzed on the table lighting up. Her eyes moved down to look at it and her gut hurt. She reached out still holding the whiskey bottle in one hand as the world started to spin. She picked the phone up and looked at the text message and tried to read it for a few minutes before tossing the phone across the room. She heard it crash into the wall but it was muted by the smoke. She smoked the joint down to an ember then dropped it in the ash tray.
Grabbing her cigarettes she lit one and growled as she did so. She reached back behind her sliding one of the cushions off the couch and putting it next to her to lean on. It smelled like Garrett and she inhaled harder on the cigarette like it could block out all the things she never wanted to see or feel. It did a pretty good job. Her mind felt lost, everything was spinning. She could still feel where she was though and that would do no good. She didn't want to be able to smell Garrett still there, or the tickle of his magic up her back.
She leaned a little more to the left and grabbed the whiskey swallowing more of it straight. She stared at the cup of soda for chasing it and slowly tried to grab it. She got a hold of it and sipped some of it. She could barely taste it. She leaned back against the couch and smoked the cigarette down to the butt. Makani knew there was no exact science anymore to getting her pass out drunk. It used to be way easier.
She smoked several more cigarettes, one more joint and took several shots before she couldn't make the room stand still and she laid down on the pillow next to her. She squeezed her eyes closed trying to steady the room but found that only made it worse. Her eyes flew open and she swore she could see Garrett. Her hand started to move out towards him then it dropped onto the pillow as dizzyness turned into black.
[center:wl606ae3]____________Two Weeks Later______________[/center:wl606ae3]
These two weeks had been the hardest in Makani's life. She hadn't talked to Garrett for two weeks. The first week had been filled with her fiendishly selling dope and other substances to replace her phone. When she had thrown it across the room she'd cracked it. She had been terrified he had been trying to get a hold of her. Though after the first couple days she had her phone she knew better. He wasn't saying shit.
After the first week she had started to text him. She felt like one of those terrible clingy people she always had to peel off. She felt like she never though she could. She just wanted to know that everything was going to be alright between them. She had thought long and hard about Garrett after that night. She hadn't smoke or drank this whole second week, or had sex.
She was pale, pissed off, depressed and shaky. She just wanted to know everything would be alright. She sort of wanted to say that she couldn't live without him, but he never answered her text messages. She felt like shit. She was getting a dose of her own medicine and she didn't even get to sleep with him. Everything felt wrong. She was sitting on Serpentine and smoking trying to decide whether she should go and see him. That was crazy right?
She felt crazy.
So she went.
-
Garrett stood in his small bathroom in just his boxers, staring at his scarred face in the mirror. The entire left side of his body was burnt, his hair had just grown back but his skin was still sickeningly white and angry red. He turned his head and cursed, angry at himself for so many reasons.
His phone sat on the edge of the sink and he glared at it before opening the medicine cabinet and pulled out a jar of medicine. He screwed off the top, dipped his fingers into the cream and began to rub it into the open wounds and red skin.
It had been two weeks since he had seen Makani, not from her lack of trying though. It was strange her texting him so much, she never really text him unless she needed drugs or someone to hang with but he assumed that she was trying so hard to get to him because she was pissed about what had happened.
But he couldn't let her see him, not like this.
He had been replaying the night over and over again in his memory. He had barely gotten home and as soon as he did, his brain had overloaded and he passed out. The next day he decided maybe there should be a little space between them for a few days.
Garrett had tried his best to go about his normal business, selling drugs. He had stopped by Frank's garage. The guy always had someone new in the garage, fixing cars or bike. The problem Garrett had with him was that usually they were so baked they had no idea what they were doing. He had just finished dealing with Frank when it happened.
Some stupid newbie was playing with a bike and had crossed the wrong two wires. Before anyone knew what was happening the bike had fallen over on top of the boy and he was screaming while the fire climbed over his skin.
Garrett growled at himself as he moved to rub what he could onto the burns on his back, if he had to pick what he hated to heal from the most, it had to be burns. They always healed so slowly and hurt the most. His phone vibrated again and he picked it up with his good hand.
Makani.
Gods he missed her. He couldn't get the taste of her out of his mouth or her smell out of his mind. Having been without her the past couple of weeks hurt more than the burns that covered half of his body. He sat the phone back down and finished applying the medication before putting it away, grabbing the phone and heading to his bedroom.
Carefully he laid down on the bed, groaning as the covers touched his skin. He had tried not to think about her but it was completly impossible. He couldn't text her because the conversation they needed to have was not going to work over the phone. And he knew if he told her how badly he was beaten up she would come rushing over to take care of him and he'd be damned before she saw him this bad off.
They would just have to wait a few more days, at least until his skin had healed. Then....then they could talk.
-
Oh, screw this.
She waited for what she thought was a fairly decent amount of time before she decided to go. She flicked her still burning cigarette into the dirt around her before she took off. She should have known that she had fucked everything up. Somehow she had thought it should have been alright. Now she couldn't stop thinking about him. She couldn't let him go. She should have been able to let him go and let him go about his life so she didn't hurt him anymore but she couldn't.
Makani kicked Serpentine into life and took off towards Garrett's apartment. It was all that mattered to her right now. Even though she felt sick as hell and craving a fix she needed Garret more. She rushed through the streets barely thinking about the authorities that might catch her. She tucked Serpentine into a shadow after sliding off the bike and went to the front door and slipped inside.
She walked to his door from memory. Every step felt like it was dangerous, that maybe she should turn around, but she couldn't lose him she just couldn't allow that to happen. When she arrived at his door she stood there for awhile feeling out of it and tugging at the bag across her front and back. She wanted a cigarette but she knew he was more important.
She lifted her hand up and knocked at his door, half scared of what might be answering it.
-
Garrett groaned a little when he heard the knock.
Who the Fuck is that?
He had been ignoring everyone, and no one really knew where he lived. Still in his boxers, the mage grabbed the cover off the bed and gently set it around his shoulders. He made his way to the door slowly, every step hurting a little.
Carefully, Garrett looked through the peephole and his heart nearly jumpped out of his chest. His blood was banging in his ears and he let out a sigh. It was Makani. What was she doing here? Like he didn't know the answer. His hand touched the doorknob and then shook his head.
No, he couldn't let her come in.
"Mak, please go away. I can't see you right now..." It hurt to even think the words, hurt even more to actually say them. He swallowed hard, and his voice cracked a little. "Please..."
-
Oh hell no!
There was no way he was going to turn her away when she came all the way over here. She understood the instinct but that was just rude. Plus, she needed to talk to him. There was no getting around it.
"Garrett we need to talk about what happened. I'm not gonna lose you over confusion...or sexual tension or whatever." She sounded pissed. In all actuality she was being more vulnerable than she'd ever been before.
-
The mage smirked a little at her tone. He should have known she wouldn't take no for an answer. His smirk faded quickly though, she wasn't going to leave. It was almost like his worst nightmare for her to see him like this, but it seemed he didn't have a choice.
Garrett let out a deep sigh and muttered under his breath, probably loud enough for Makani to hear though. "Alright, don't say I didn't try to warn you, doll."
He shut his eyes tightly for a second and pulled the cover as tight as he could around his body before he opened the door. He looked at the floor and swallowed hard before speaking, "What's up Mak?"
-
Her breath caught in her throat when he opened the door. He was all curled up in a cover. She could guess what that meant. Maybe that's why he hadn't been talking to her he was always sort of proud around her. She had nothing but respect for him though. He was strong and he had saved her on occasion. She couldn't forget something like that.
"Oh, baby." She lifted a hand to touch him but was scared to put it anywhere.
"I thought you were hiding because of..." She trailed off. She guessed that he knew what she was referencing to.
-
He tilted his head into the apartment and carefully shut the door, the cover sliding a bit to show his scarred stomach. Garrett sighed. "I kinda was..."
He shied away from her a bit when she moved to touch him, but she had already pulled her hand back. Desperatly he wanted to cover his face, have her look anywhere but him, but he knew she would keep staring.
Garrett slowly walked over to the couch and hissed a little as he sat down. He tried his best to keep the left side of his body under the cover, and tried not to stare at her. Just having her in the room made him want to scream. He had always wanted to grab her, to kiss her, to hold her. But now he had gotten a taste and he wanted her even more.
"Sorry I didn't answer..I was gonna wait until...." He didn't even think about it as he motioned with his burnt arm, then hissed. "...Damn it."
-
She followed him and sat down next to him not touching him. She wanted to touch him but kept her hand to herself. It was hard, but with Garrett she could keep things in order. She found it was a lot easier when she wasn't fucked up in some way. She wanted to light a cigarette, but she didn't she kept the cigarette in her bag in the box. She put a hand on his knee, carefully, she was barely touching him.
"What happened Garrett? Are you gonna be alright?"
-
Garrett nodded, letting out a breath as pain shot up his back from where he was touching the couch. He tried to keep himself covered but he was starting to burn up even more.
"I'll be fine." He tried not to look at her or let her see his burns. "Some idiot kid at Frank's blew up a bike. I was there, I helped him out." Garrett looked up at the ceiling and shut his eyes for a moment. "I think he didn't make it anyway."
Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Garrett let out a sigh. "Sorry I didn't answer your messages."
-
Makani swallowed looking at him. She wanted to hug him but couldn't. She wanted to kiss him but couldn't. She wanted to punch him for making her feel like shit. She wanted to wring his neck for running out of the house and driving home drunk. There seemed to be a very, very long list of things she couldn't do. Makani hated not being able to follow her instincts. Not that this was new to her at least when it came to Garrett. She sighed and shook her head.
"I'm gonna kill that kid." She hissed out. Then she realized what he said. That the kid might not have made it.
"I...uh...sorry." She was bouncing her knee, it seemed to be a new habit when she had lost some of the other. She thought he might notice how bad she looked but he hadn't said anything. The only thing she'd been doing is smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. She was shaky from all the stimulants and no downers. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled her other one back from him. She had managed to get dressed, well using the term loosely. She had pulled on the outfit from hanging out with the girls a couple days ago. It still looked okay but it was a wrinkled version of it's former glory.
"It's ok hon." She pulled a hand back.
"You don't have to stay covered in front of me if it hurts. I always think you're..." She trailed off feeling awkward. She didn't know what to say. She didn't do this. She did need a cigarette. She lit one and took a deep breath in. The joint mocked her from the pack. She hadn't smoked it. She'd saved it. She wasn't sure why. She looked up at Garrett and pointed the case towards him.
"I have one joint left from the other day." She sighed feeling bad about selling the stuff off. She'd have to owe him. He would understand.
"I kinda had to sell the rest..." She slid her phone out of her pocket and held it up showing it to him. Her heart beat hard.
"I broke the other one." She looked at him. It was hard, not because he was all burned. That wasn't Garrett, that was the magic he had. He had tried to save someone from the brink of death. Makani's eyes started to water slightly and she pushed the tears away with her free hand setting the pack back down on her knee. She wasn't crying out of pity. She just couldn't bare to see him this way. Couldn't all those stupid bastards take care of themselves. He was the last person who deserved this. Hell, she'd rather it happened to her, at least she had caused enough pain to get it.
"Do you...want me to do anything for you?"
-
Garrett turned his face a little more, actually laying eyes on Makani for a length of time since she walked into the apartment. He gave a sad smile and reached out with his good hand, his thumb wiping under her eye.
"Yeah, you can not cry."
He moved his hand away and set it on her knee that was bouncing. For a long time he just looked at her, not saying anything. He wasn't really sure what he would say anyway, but he just wanted to look at her, soak in every line and curve of her face.
She looked so different, her hair was flat, her skin was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. He'd never expect she would let her emotions show so much on her body, but there it was, sitting in front of him.
She held open the cigarette pack and he shook his head. "Don't be sorry, it's yours to do whatever you like with it. I can't have any right now anyway." He looked at her new phone and tilted his head just slightly (it hurt to much to move it a lot) and his brow furrowed at the look on her face. She looked so guilty, lost even, she looked just how he felt.
Garrett squeezed her knee and pulled the cover a little tighter around his left side before speaking again. "How did you break the other one, doll?" He was trying to avoid the conversation for as long as possible, not really sure what to say. He hadn't been prepared to have it this soon.
He was trying
-
She watched his hand move towards her and wipe her eye. She could barely believe she was crying, but there it was and he had seen it. She didn't know why it hurt to talk so much about this. They were friends and had been forever. They'd always tried to keep their distance, but she wasn't sure she could anymore. She watched his hand lower and sit on her knee and it stopped bouncing. He felt warm, like he had before. She got a flash of the way he felt when she climbed on him and she shook her head.
"Thanks." She pushed her hair back again, feeling so self conscious. She was always aware of herself but never nervous like this. She was always so positive things would go her way and this time she didn't even know what to say. She looked away from him sliding the phone back in her pocket.
"I kinda...threw it against a wall." She sighed and pulled on the cigarette. She felt empty and filled with fear at the same time. She wasn't sure how that worked exactly. She also never thought she'd be here at Garrett's showing more of her hand to him than she ever had. All her cards were about to go on the table. She let out the smoke then bit her lip hard.
"It was after you left." She didn't need to explain when. The statement just hung in the air.
-
Garrett sighed and moved his hand off her knee, pulling the cover back up over his shoulder.
"Shit..."
He laid his head back against the couch and looked at the ceiling for a second. He really wasn't sure where he wanted to go with this, what he wanted to say, how he wanted to say it. Or if he could even get the words out the right way, so she wouldn't get the wrong idea and get pissed.
The mage sat up, whincing as he did, let the cover drop from his shoulders and turned to face Makani. He put his good and on her knee and grabbed the hand that wasn't holding a cigarette with his burnt hand. He sat like that for a moment, locking eyes with her.
"Makani....I can't lose you..." He squeezed her hand, his skin feeling like it was going to crack. "...I can't do it. I didn't mean to upset you, but...I'd rather have you around and not be able to touch you. I can't touch you once and not want more..."
-
Her heart jumped into her throat when he looked at the ceiling. She felt stupid, silly, scared and excited all at the same time. She kept trying to talk herself out of it. How could they work? She was such a massive fuck up. He saw it too. She knew he did. She stared and couldn't look away when he met her eyes. He was everything she wanted, but everything she was scared to have. She could only think of it one way.
When she was a little kid, back when her parents still half took care of her. She could remember her mom taking her to the market. It was a rag tag bunch of booths. People selling things to try and get by. There was one person who sold pottery. Makani loved the blown glass that created designs on the tables when the fake light cut through them. She always wanted to touch them. Her mother would say:
"Makani, don't touch that you'll break it."
Garret was one of those vases. So beautiful and perfect right where they were. They were perfect before she touched them and broke the glass and cut herself too. Her mother would always slap her hand down when she started to reach. Makani always swore she would be careful, but even that young she had a tendency to break things. She swallowed and stubbed out the half finished cigarette.
He started talking and she could barely breathe. She wasn't sure what she wanted him to say. She carefully placed a hand over his good one and listened. She felt her eyes prickling again and she wasn't sure why. Her guard was down and it hurt, not physically, but she was suddenly remembering why she never did this. The whole feelings thing. It was hard, and it tore her up inside from lack of practice.
She should say that it's fine. That it would be better if they were just friends. That she could just let him go back to being her friend, not touching her. They could still be close, she hadn't wrecked it all by kissing him. That she hadn't shifted the balance way off when she kissed him and nothing was the way it was supposed to be anymore. It was all new and painful. She looked everywhere but him before she spoke. Then she followed her instincts and just opened her mouth.
"Garrett..." Just making her mouth say his name made her hurt. She knew what she was going to say next. The wall was going to come down...and it had always been there.
"...I don't know if I can let it go." She coughed and looked away staring at the smoke rising out of the ash tray over the cigarette.
"This week...was Hell for me. I don't mean hard. I mean literally felt like that Hell everyone talks about." She looked at him for a brief moment before flicking her eyes back to the ashtray.
"I could barely eat, I couldn't even drink...or...fuck." She sighed rubbing the back of her head.
"In fact I didn't even want to. If I didn't know you were still there...it didn't mean anything. None of it did."
-
He watched her squirm in front of him, Garrett had never seen Makani so nervous. Hell he'd never seen her so upset or anything besides that cool, confident, sexy woman that flounced around the bars and parties.
His eyes went a little wide when she started to speak, kind of taken aback by what she was saying. He'd actually reached her, granted he had to reached through her chest and pull out her heart but she was actually opening up to him about something really important. As upset as she was he couldn't help but think she'd never been more beautiful or perfect than she was right now.
Garrett's heart was pounding in his chest, his blood ringing in his ears. She'd been as torn up at he had been for the last two weeks, she hadn't done anything. Hell she hadn't even had sex! In all the time Garrett had known her, she had never lacked for company. Then she said she didn't even want to and he gave a sad little smirk and kissed her hand gently.
"The entire male population of Teinar is dying of envy right now, sweetheart."
Purple eyes looked down at his hands in Makani's and Garrett spoke softly.
"Mak, you don't have to let go...I don't want you to..."
He looked up and motioned to his scarred form. "You're the only reason I can get though shit like this, I barely made it till today without you around."
-
She had been been blocking herself off from his response until he kissed her hands. When his lips touched her skin she felt a charge and started to pay attention. She gave a small smile at first then as he continued talking she felt all...fluttery. It was weird. She had always had whatever she lusted after except Garret and Fi. Those two were the exception to the rule. Fi...had sort of faded into the background recently and there was Garrett. Where he had always been right next to her. This time it was different though.
She squeezed his hand carefully when he said she didn't have to let go. She had never been worried about approval, but she had been scared shitless worrying about how to talk to him. How to tell him she'd barely survived. It meant the world that he still wanted her. He had seen the best of her, some of the worst, and the most emotional. He still wanted her broken self. She felt like crying and laughing but couldn't decide which.
"I know what you mean. It's been..." she trailed off and then simply motioned to herself. "...well you can tell what it's been." She put her other hand on his and tried to think of something else to say. A million things had ran through her head before and now? Nothing.
"We're a beat up pair." She snickered quietly shaking her head. Then a small smirk hit her lips.
"And hey! Don't underestimate me. Some of the female population is too." She grinned and stuck her tongue out at him. Some of her energy was starting to come back. She had her Garrett again.