Moy Mell 48

She lay in her bathtub with an arm across her eyes, exhausted from the stress of the day before. It had been her hope that she could relax here, in the warm, scented water and the dim lighting that normally worked. This early morning, however, nothing could calm her. Elly sighed and dragged herself to her feet, dripping, and reached half-heartedly for a towel.

Going through her morning routine didn't help, either, but at least she was ready when the chime to her suite sounded.

"Hey." She joined him in the hall, smoothing the wrinkles in her jeans with both hands. "You knew I'd be up, huh?"

He nodded, rubbing at his neck. Aizawa wore a simple bandage on his cheek, but other than that, there were no marks on him from the fight that she could see. He was wearing casual clothing like her: a black t-shirt and soft, worn-in dark jeans, and his hair was tied back in a loose ponytail.

"Did you get some sleep?"

"A little." She shrugged. "Not much."

"Sanji's already up. Do you want to wait in the living room while he fixes breakfast?"

She made some sort of unenthusiastic noise and followed him to the elevator. When the doors slid shut he reached out and took her hand in his.

"Huh?" Her ears perked towards him.

"I took the entire day off so I could focus on you," he told her quietly, watching her closely. "You're free the whole day, too. I worked with everyone to reschedule a few things."

"Oh." She blinked, then smiled weakly, realizing for the first time he didn't have his weapon immediately on him. "That was kind of you... and everyone that helped."

The doors opened and he led her to the couch in the living room. "Here. Sit, and I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay." She rolled her neck back, rubbing at it briefly.

The moment he walked into the kitchen he saw the cook standing in front of the open fridge, staring blankly at the contents. The blond man shut the door quickly and gestured.

"What happened?!" Sanji hissed, his eyes wild. "The texts got out, sure, we know what you said officially, but..?"

Aizawa thought for a moment, looking up and scratching his chin. "His bottled emotions got the better of him. He ended up grabbing and screaming at her about it."

He winced hard, one hand hitting the side of his face with an audible slap. "Shit. I knew it."

"Could you maybe, I don't know, cook her favorites today?"

"Hell yes I can." His manner became instantly businesslike and he swiftly unhooked a pink apron from its peg near his door. "I have everything ready for occasions like this. You go take care of her; I'll take care of the food."

"Right."

He turned to leave and Sanji added in a very serious tone, "You'd better go all out, Aizawa. This... well, I think she was in love with him. Before. This has got to sting more than she's letting on."

The dark haired man nodded.

Far away, Zoro was sitting on his bed in his new cool, rock-walled room in one of the the weyrs. He hadn't asked for a specific area, yet Chris had been sure to place him at the top. He didn't have any duties for a day so he could get accustomed to his new surroundings and yet all he could think about was his utter failure. He wasn't sure he could rise out of this. Not only had he waited too long, he had put his hands on her - making him the most despicable person in the compound right now.

And he'd lost her anyway.

He brought out his phone and read the email that Aizawa had sent to the staff explaining his demotion and the event. He had been kinder than expected, but Zoro guessed folks would know something bigger happened than he was letting on. All he could do was work well and hard ... and hope for redemption.

When Aizawa came back to the couch he saw Elly trying rather unsuccessfully to hide the fact that she had been crying. He sat close and reached out to comfort her.

"It's over, Ches," he told her quietly, turning her palm over in his hands. He bent and kissed her wrist lightly, causing her to gasp at the ticklish brush of his lips. "You did what you had to do and so did I."

"But - but I feel ..."

He drew her hand closer and placed it over his heart. "Guilty, betrayed, and confused? I would assume a lot more, as well. Those are all negative emotions, and can only hurt you if you let them."

She gulped and blinked back tears. "Maybe I should have known. I never thought he would get violent. That's scary." She rubbed her arms furtively, trying not to mention the multiple thoughts in her head. Some would upset him, yet she knew she had made the right decision about the matter. Zoro had to leave her; but this man, her boyfriend, was staying. She held berself and shivered.

He was instantly concerned, craning his neck to look at her arms. "Are you still in pain? That's unusual, isn't it?"

She shook her head. "It's not that kind."

"Ah."

"What about you?"

He shrugged at her gentle, worried touch of the band aid on his cheek. "It just itches."

"Good." She flopped onto her back on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm so tired of crying, Shota."

The furniture creaked and rocked as Aizawa crawled over to kneel on top of her. He was careful not to make a lot of bodily contact but placed his forehead on hers in that endearing way he had.

He held her gaze, smiling the tiniest bit. "You've cried enough over other people."

Elly's tail fur fluffed out. "We've only been together for a couple months. And while I'm certain how I feel, that's frightening, too. I mean, it's barely amy time at all, right?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you asking me?"

"Oh... I don't know." She placed her hands over her face, groaning. "I don't know anything anymore."

"You can be too frightened, wait until you're not, or forge ahead anyway. These are your choices, and, while they may be difficult, I can't - I won't -- make them for you." He lowered his head, but with his hair in a ponytail there weren't any dark tresses hanging down for him to hide in. "The outcome is too important." He backed away slowly.

"Bella said something similar to me a few weeks ago." Elly noticed the blush burning on his cheeks despite his neutral tone and immediately hugged him, pulling him close again. Her reaction to his slight discomfort was so strong she knew her decision had been made. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.

His body suddenly and startlingly relaxed, all at once. She hadn't been expecting this and wasn't sure what was happening until he blew a great breath of air out in a massive sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure you would say it," he confessed. "To hear those words..."

"Did your voice just crack?"

He cleared his throat, scowling. "No."

"That's okay. It was really sweet. I'm - it was hard to admit it, but I do. I'm just so afraid. I don't want to lose you," she sighed tearily. "I lose everyone. I'm a demon and if life has taught me anything it's that I'm not allowed to receive love." Elly's eyes were huge and shining with tears. One fang was caught in her lower lip and he felt her entire body trembling so hard she almost fell off the couch despite him being there. The blush on her cheeks turned a bright, rosy color.

"Ches!" He snapped sharply, cutting her off mid-tirade. She swallowed back her babbling and found she couldn't look away from Aizawa's gray eyes. They held her in place as he cupped a hand on the back of her neck. He kissed her so tenderly that she gasped, and he wrapped his arms around her to hold her comfortingly tight.

"Tilt your head, my queen," he murmured softly.

She did without thought and cried out as she felt his teeth on her neck. "Shota!"

"Yes?"

"You know what I am!"

"Yes," he said quietly. "You're a scared little kitten and you need my help. There are no demons here."

Elly closed her eyes and felt the hard press of teeth, the scratchy stubble on his lower face as he nibbled. He didn't bear strongly down and she knew what he was waiting for.

"Please," she husked in a trembling little voice. "Do it."

His teeth sank into her neck immediately.

"Marking" was, at least for her, a misleading term. It meant she would change her scent to indicate she was with someone; his actions would not actually leave a physical impression. He knew this and didn't bite down hard, just waited for her hormones to begin registering the action.

"Oh, Sh - Shota, that feels so good," she breathed in such a massive gasp of relief that he smiled.

"Want more?"

"M - more?" Elly sounded astonished. She hadn't considered anything past accepting in the first place. Her heart began to pound so hard she thought it might escape her chest. "Yes! The other side. Do the other side!"

He kissed her softly on the indicated part of her neck. "Shh. I'll take care of you."

"Oh, Shota!"

Many kisses later they were both breathing hard and staring somewhat sheepishly into each other's eyes.

"I - I really want you right now," she gasped. Her striped tail thrashed madly about on the couch and floor.

"I have to admit, I'm highly aroused." He pulled away a little and stroked her hair back from her cheeks. "But jumping immediately to sex may not be the best idea."

"I don't want to wait until my heat. It won't be ..." She trailed off, frowning a little. "It will be too fast, too impersonal."

"I completely understand wanting to make love before your heat. I don't know what that will be like, but from what we've talked about it sounds rather ... frantic." She nodded, and he took her hand in his. "Listen. Give it the rest of the day. If you still want me to share your bed when the stars come out," he kissed her palm, curling her fingers over as if she could hold it tight, "I will be more than happy to oblige."

"Oh." Her ears lay askew on either side if her head as she thought about this. "Yes... yes, I think that will be just fine."

They smiled at each other.