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Plates were cleaned and a cast iron pan was seasoned and hung above the wood powered stove, leaving the couple to sit silently on Max’s small yet comfortable loveseat. Sig and Sauer had laid down in the late night on Max’s bed and were quickly asleep from the excitement of meeting Eli. The tv above his wood burning heater played a show neither of them cared about as they primarily focused on each other with Max working some stress out of her exposed shoulders. The fire caused their shadows to dance across the back wall as she leaned back into his ministrations. “You’re really good at this. If you ever stop being a pilot you could always become a massage therapist.”

Max rolled his eyes as he manipulated the cables of muscles that made up her shoulders causing her to moan lightly and her head to hang loosely. “If that happened I’d probably just fall back to being an electrician.” She leaned back into him, letting her spine meet his clothed chest. “Getting comfortable?”

Looking back over her shoulder her crimson eye met his before she leaned back a little further to have her thin scaled lips meet his. She pulled back for just a moment to say only one sentence. “It’s colder here than my place, keep me warm?”

With a nod their lips met again with one of Max’s hands coming to cradle her cheek with his other hand sliding down her body until it reached her trim hip. “Of course Eli. It’s the least I could do.” She spun in place using her strong tail to flip herself onto her stomach and press her chest into his. Her upturned snout tickled his cheek as he tilted his head to accommodate her differently shaped head.

His hand rose to the side of her rib cage feeling the intricate landscape of smooth scales under his calloused hands. Their cool surface felt like river stones in early spring under his hands, sapping away his body heat as she held her body as close as possible to his. “I like this.” In between pecs across his lips, she spoke. Her voice a hushed whisper letting her breath dance across his skin and short stubble. “Max I-”

Her voice caught in her throat as his hand reached just under her armpit with his thumb caressing the side of her breast. Her eyes went wide before they slammed shut in an instant and threw her head back. Her jaw flapped open and fell to the side playing dead. Max just stayed still while she stayed limp with her black tongue hanging limply from her jaw. Max was confused as he held her close and this time not worried about his own knees. Instead every ounce of his attention was focused on the woman still currently in his arms. She was breathing and he could still feel her heart beating rapidly against his chest, so the worry of a medical fault was quickly washed away. After another few moments of Max staying silent while holding his scaly partner, he noticed one of her eyes cracked open and was staring at him with a sliver of deep red. “Are you alright Eli?”

Snapping shut again, she resumed playing dead in his arms as he chuckled into the air between them. He let her get as comfortable as she needed for her to stop playing dead in his arms. The blush that could be seen across her inner neck flushed her scales from their natural light gray shifted to a dark pink before she spoke with a slight lisp due to her tongue still hanging out. “Not falling for it huh?”

Max just laughed lightly as he hugged her close, not noticing her hands flying up to cover her face in embarrassment. “Is everything alright? I didn't expect that kind of reaction from us just being so close.” Diving back into his shoulder Eli peppers his neck with light kisses and flicks of her tongue.

“I get…nervous. I want to tell you but-” Max interrupts her musings by planting a light kiss on her scaled lips. Her body relaxed again into his body as they simply began to enjoy each other’s company.

His hand came back up to hold her cheek in a loving manner as his blue eyes stared into her ruby pools. “You don't have to, I think one of us breaking down tonight is enough.” With her head falling back into the nape of his shoulder Max planted one final kiss on the top of her scaled head. “Let's just enjoy the rest of tonight. No pressure at all.”

With that Max pulled a thick blanket resting across the back of the loveseat over their forms and turned off the Tv. The sound of the crackling fire provided a natural song that soon whisked them off to sleep. With their shadows still dancing in a loving slow dance.

-

Max woke up before Eli did. The sun still hadn’t crept over the horizon to herald in the new day. The fire was low and the temperature inside his small home had noticeably dropped a few degrees. Eli had latched onto him since the temperature changed trying to keep as warm as possible. A smile crept onto his face as he looked down to her snuggling his neck and it broke his heart that he’d have to leave her. With the turn of a dial on the corner of the blanket a small light sprang to life as the heated blanket began to offset the chilled air of the room.

Her grip loosened but didn’t fully relent as the rest of her began to warm. Her tail wrapped around his right leg loosened as well and slowly began to slide in between them as she began to warm further. A moment later her grip loosened enough for Max to slip out from her form and replace himself with the pillow he kept warm. “Sleep well sweetheart. I’ll have a good breakfast ready for you.” With that he moved over to the wood heater and shoved several more logs in than normal to ensure his lover would stay warm in his absence.

With the fire set, his winter clothes on and one last look at her sleeping form, he silently slipped outside to begin the necessary work for his homestead.

-

The early morning sun broke through the trees and into the window of the small home tucked onto the side of a small mountain. A stream feeding into a ram pump babbled with the sound of tapping from the pump as it fed into a small water tower. Eli flinched away from the harsh light that heralded the late morning assaulting her eyes. Rolling away, she attempted to remain in the warm throes of unconsciousness. Her tongue flicked from her mouth involuntarily and immediately the smell of breakfast being cooked assaulted her senses.

Immediately, she turned towards the sounds of a crackling fire and sizzling bacon coming from the other side of the room. With great effort, she wretched herself to look over the back of the love seat while using her upturned snout to burrow over the soft cushions. “Max? Are you making breakfast?”

“Ah, good morning! I was wondering when you were going to get up!” Eli’s eyes snapped open and focused on the bare skin of Max’s back. His muscles flexed under his taut flesh as he manipulated the food cooking on the stovetop. “I've already got you a mug of decaf brewed, should be just the right temp about now.

Eli was stuck staring at his semi nude form along with the new series of puncture wounds that remained sealed over the past two days. Her neck flushed while looking at the man in front of her, sculpted from years of heavy labor and homesteading work was a feast for her eyes. “I um…thank you.”

Turning from the stove, Max grabbed a white mug gently before walking over to the wide eyed hognose peering over his loveseat. “Nice and warm for you.” His straight white teeth flashed towards her in a warm smile, sending a shiver up from the tip of her tail to the base of her skull. She didn’t want to speak as she carefully took the mug from him. Her eyes taking in every contour of flesh and muscle, and not noticing his eyebrow raising. With a teasing glint in his eye, Max let his hand linger in her as he handed the mug over. “You know my eyes are up here.”

Blinking, she tried to shake herself from being so flustered. Attempting to regain some footing she fired back with her own remark. “Well it’s not like you haven’t gotten a good look at me.” This was short lived however.

“I didn’t think that was a bad thing. Especially when everything you’ve got is…what's the word I’m looking for? Ah yes, ‘hypnotizing’.” Eli was a mix of muttering and stutters as she tried to regain her composure before she was silenced by a light kiss that she melted into. “Besides, I didn’t say you couldn’t look or touch.” The sly smile across his face as he pulled her free hand to his chest, letting her thin fingers slide through his short chest hair.

Eli’s cold hand sapped the warmth from Max’s bare skin as she marveled at the difference in texture between his skin and chest hair. “It’s so different from my scales.” Max let her continue for a few moments before holding her hand still to get her attention.

“Breakfast is going to get cold if you stay too distracted.” Blinking a few times her attention comes back to his blue eyes before widening in shock.

“Oh! Right!” Taking a sip from the white mug she carefully moves off of the loveseat that she found much less comfortable without her partner. “What did mister chef cook up?”

Tossing a clean shirt over his body, he moved back to the kitchen where he removed the bacon from the oven. “Nothing too fancy, and before you say it. Yes, this is so I don't get too hot while cooking and the oven is so I won't have to worry about bacon grease.” A couple pieces of bacon were tossed to his dogs that were currently drooling over his floor as Max moved through his small kitchen.

Eli just rolled her eyes before she looked at the still steaming spread in front of the couple. Sunny side up eggs, thick slabs of french toast and hashbrowns with bell peppers mixed in. Soon after Max handled the hot pan, the thick cut bacon soon joined the spread. Looking back to her partner with wide eyes she leveled a question at him. “Is this because I’m here?”

Max simply shrugged as he pulled his singular good chair out for her. “The french toast, yes. Everything else is pretty standard for me. Just in smaller sizes.” Her tongue flicked uncontrollably as she took in the smells and savored the meal as best she could before doing the same to the mug in her hands.

Placing a kiss on her cheek forcing a wider smile to her lips he soon took his own seat across from her. “Do you have any plans for today?” Eli questioned over the edge of the mug in front of her scaled lips. “Well besides running your home at least twenty degrees hotter than normal before driving me home.”

Max rubbed the back of his neck as she called him out. “I may have put a few more logs onto the fire to raise the temp a bit, and yes, I will be driving you home. As for other plans, I’m probably just going to hit a few chores, check the property and probably make a list to prepare for a week from now.”

Eli stopped enjoying the sweet smell of the coffee in her hands as the grim reality of their current set back in. Several questions ran through her head in the small rustic and sparse home. ‘Why? Why did it come to this? Why of all people did it have to be Trevor? Why did she have to suggest that cafe?’ “This is all my fault… If I didn't bring you to that cafe we wouldn’t-”

“Oh stop it. How could you put this on yourself?” Max wasn’t even looking at her as he ate with one hand and wrote with his other. “You only chose a place for breakfast and as far as I’m concerned I’m the one that kicked this all downhill.” His eyes rose to meet hers. “So I’ll be the one to fix it. You really don’t need to worry about it.”

Her face shifted from worry to confusion as she moved to shovel an entire egg into her maw. After a quick swallow she set her fork down and sipped her coffee before leveling the obvious question to him. “Why wouldn’t I worry? I’m still going to help with what's coming.”

Max’s jaw clenched as he stopped writing and set the pen down. His messy handwriting stopped mid sentence letting the silence sit in the air while his two dogs tried to comfort him. “Eli, I don’t think you fully understand what was being insinuated yesterday.” With her eyebrow raised she shoveled a large portion of the hashbrowns into her maw before swallowing letting Max continue. “With his resources and influence he’ll be storming my property. If I can’t get the police to handle the situation, it’ll probably turn into a firefight. I can’t risk you getting tangled up in what I do. I will protect you with every ounce of my being, but I can't do that if you’re getting shot at.”

Eli shivered as his statement set in. “Then what would I do? Just sit back as someone I care about gets killed?” Max opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Eli slammed her fist down on the table causing the silverware to clatter loudly. “No! I’m not going to let you try and handle this yourself. You’d be killed before the fight even really started. I just want you to let me help, I don't understand how that's a-”

“Because I don't want to lose you like I lost John!” The moment he said it he regretted it. A portion of his past was now brought to the forefront where Eli had already connected the dots of Max’s history.

“Max…” Her voice died in her throat as her partner kept his eyes averted from her. The pain was evident on his form from his slumped shoulders and shaking body. “I…I know it hurts but You won't lose me. Not if you lead me.” Her hand reached out and gripped his hand in hers. “I want you to teach me, to lead me. Can you do that for me?”

The couple sat in silence as Max stewed in her words. Weighing the positives and negatives between the different actions they could take together. Or alone. “On one condition.” Eli’s eyes lit up in a way that said, ‘Anything!’ “If I feel you’ll get hurt in any stretch of the imagination, you bunker down at your home. I will work to mitigate any risk that might occur, but I can’t promise total security. Do you agree?”

Eli tapped her chin as her tongue flicked out continuously to savor the still steaming meal. She came to her conclusion that seemed to be the only natural one. “I’m going to help. If there’s anything you need me to do just let me know.” Eli Swallowed another massive helping of food before inquiring about something he said. “What do you mean by mitigation?”

A warm smile crossed his lips as he continued to write down his now extensive list. “Well I doubt they’ll bring anything super heavy, so first it’ll be denial of movement for them or what's known as counter mobility. Caltrops, pit traps, light mines, other major obstacles…that sort of thing.” His hand slid down to a further point on the list to where a new section was started. “Then we get into active protection which falls under survivability. That I’ll keep as a surprise.”

With a raised eyebrow The hognose woman looks at the list of supplies that Max had written down. “Rebar, steel plates, oil, coarse sand, mouse traps, pipes… Max what is all of this for?”

Closing his notebook he began eating his meal with her in earnest. “That, my sweetheart, is where the lessons come in.”

Eli dropped her fork immediately as the cute pet name finally registered to her and covered her face in embarrassment. “You can’t just do that to me!”

“What are you talking about?” Max’s eyebrow raised as he took a healthy bite of french toast. After he swallowed he didn’t let up on embarrassing her a little further. “I called you sweetheart this morning while you were still sleeping. You even smiled as I kissed your forehead.” Eli kicked her feet while Sig tried to calm her down with gentle nuzzles and licks as Max simply laughed with his embarrassed lover.