Ch. 80
Imported from SF2 with no description.
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
It was late into the night when we reached shore. I'd taken my time, on the way back. Rolled with the waves, gave my thoughts some time to settle down. We'd been trading jokes back and forth, but my heart wasn't in it, and after a while, he relented, awkward silence shared over the sound of the waves lapping against my shell. It wasn't fair. None of it was.
"I envy them." I admitted, as bitter a taste as it left in my mouth. "Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with remoraids or sharpedos, as long as they don't mess with me. But I envy people, and their pokemon. You, and yours. Being able to just... go where you want. Find a way. Make one. I've been in these waters my whole life." I sighed, and waved a flipper inland. "I've never been up there. I wouldn't be able to without trading away the water. Maybe for good. I don't ever want to be trapped in a pokeball. I don't want to be locked away for weeks, maybe months at a time before winding up in some cheap hotel pool out of pity."
"That's probably the worst part of it. I'm no more made to climb to the peak than you are to dive to the deep. These moments are all I get with anyone from the surface, unless I give up my whole life. So when someone like you comes along... what can I do? What am I supposed to?" I was sullen. I was sulky. I knew I was just being a bother, but I couldn't help it. I was so tired of pretending, anymore.
"You know..." He said, paused, thoughtful. "I bet we could get you to the peak of that mountain. If you really wanted to go. No, really. I ... I bet this can be done. No pokeball required." Oh how I admired his optimism. But he didn't have the tone of someone feeding me a line of bullshit.
"If you could show me the view from the top, without caging me?" I paused, and turned to face him. "I'd believe you could do anything." Maybe not anything, but damn near.
"It's a date, then. I have a few ideas already." He said with a laugh, and a tight hug. It was something I liked about him, already. Too many humans treated me like I was something fragile and delicate. Fawned incessantly over how I looked and treated me like I'd break if they breathed on me. When he hugged me, it was with what felt like all his heart.
"Oh, we're dating now?" I asked, trying to tease. I knew already that he was ... well. Pokemon don't usually make threats trying to keep a human safe. I could see that constellation, at least.
"Aren't we?" His response, and I didn't have an answer.
Trainer
I immediately felt guilty, when she fell silent. I'd expected some kind of quip, maybe something like 'you couldn't afford me' or 'I have standards', but when she fell silent and couldn't look my way, I felt like an asshole. Here I'd just promised her something she probably wanted her whole life, and I knew I'd just made her feel like there were worse conditions than a pokeball attached to it.
So I backtracked, deflected. "So, I think I can get you to the top of the mountain... down might be the bigger trick, honestly." I admitted, scratching my cheek. "Let's put off going for a dive, I have a few ideas, and I really want to focus on this." I couldn't help but grin at the ideas I already had. It was simple, and it was at least a little nuts. Even if I could get the things I needed, it wasn't going to be easy. "People are going to think we've gone crazy though." I shrugged, almost an admission that I had, reaching out to rap on her shell with my knuckles. "So don't be surprised when everyone gawks and has questions."
She laughed, and nudged me with her head. "So every day of my life since forever?" She teased, before resting her head heavily on my shoulder. "It's okay. It'll be okay." She murmured, before again nudging me, hard enough to push me back. "But thanks for worrying for me. Now you owe me a song! Go on!"
It was a difficult moment, being put on the spot like that. But I found my voice, sang an old blues song about watching a lover move on without you. The heartache of wanting to say anything, to pretend to be okay, and not having anything to say. I wanted her to know I'd heard her. That I understood, at least a little. That I was listening. That I cared to. So I sang.
I found myself singing another song after. One I hadn't thought of in years and years. It was a lullabye that my very first sensei had sung, when I was too excited to sleep before a tournament in the morning. That the world was a big place, wide open skies and a whole future if we were brave enough to take the first step. I was afraid I'd have forgotten the words, but as one verse moved to the next, I remembered every note. It was tough to finish the song, choked with emotion as I was. How long ago had it been she'd passed? My last memory of her was that song. She sang it for me one last time, and then the next week, I was putting flowers at her headstone.
When I fell silent, Alcyon pulled herself in close, up the loose, wet sand until she could crane her head around me, the closest thing, I realized, that a lapras could give to a hug. "Those were beautiful." She said, softly. "I don't have an excuse now, do I?" She asked, squeezing me tight between head and neck. "Fine, you win. But I need you to listen first."
"You terrify me." She said, without letting me go. "I don't know if you're real or not. I don't know if you're just being nice because you want me for sex. If you're making all these promises because, hey, fuck it, you've never fucked a lapras before."
"It's okay, hey. I'm not stupid. You're surrounded by women, some of them threatened me not to hurt you. I'd have to be a slowpoke not to understand that. And it scares me because it means they care about you. It means you might not be full of crap." She murmured, squeezing me close. "You might not be full of crap, even if you're the kind of guy who's gonna fuck any girl who says yes."
"So please... please just tell me the truth."
"Because the last time I sang for someone... she broke my heart. The last time I sang, she took something from me I can't replace."
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
For the longest time he didn't say a word, just wrapped his arms around me. Held me tight and didn't let go. I was wondering if that was his answer or what, when he pulled away. I thought he was leaving, but he just reached up, pulled my head down. His forehead to mine. He was so small, I realized. For as big as he was, he was still just a human. Just a man.
He didn't have answers any better than I did. I realized that. He didn't make empty promises, didn't try and win me over. No. He just held me, held me until I cried.
He let me cry, let me pour my heart out. All my fears, all my loneliness. He took it all. That was his answer. So I cried. Bitterly. I hated being stuck between worlds, I'd confessed to him. I hated the way the gods had made me. Trapped me. Caged me in a way that was only second to that of a human device. I told him I hated what she'd done, and no I didn't want to talk about it. I just hated it, wasn't I allowed to just hate something? Wasn't I allowed to just fucking hate things? Oh, an Alolan lapras, oh she's so beautiful, oh she's so special, oh she's going to make so many bright memories for everyone else. Where the fuck were my bright memories? Where was my joy supposed to be?
In the end, maybe he just wanted to fuck me. Maybe he just wanted sex, like he got from the rest of them. But he still treated me better than any other human ever had. Even Akoni kept me at a distance, though he did treat me the same as the rest. He didn't, and couldn't know me the way this human did. That was the worst part, I thought. Even if he was just using me... I'd have let him. I'd have let him because I was afraid of being alone again. Afraid of never being known the way he already knew me.
So when I sang for him... that's what I told him. I sang for the loneliness in my heart. For the fear, and the doubt. For all the pain meeting him, and feeling like we would just be ripped apart again brought me. I sang for him...
Arceus, I sang for him until my voice echoed off the rocks and disappeared into the dark. Until I didn't have anything left in me to sing. I felt bitter, and sad, but I didn't feel alone.
I didn't feel alone, and I didn't wait for him to choose. I kissed him, and I pushed him down. I made him undress. Didn't give him a choice as my voice gave him a very different kind of show. I didn't care if he was using me. Not tonight. I'd give that to him, if only to see what he became after. If that's what it took to know the truth. It was just a snack, that's all. Just a little dessert and him getting to have his fun with my tongue and my breath and my voice.
But ... he stayed. After. The whole night with me. When I brought him back to his camp, he only waved to the absol, awake by the fire, and settled in on the sand next to me. He didn't leave me. Maybe he was afraid to. Maybe he felt guilty. The only thing I knew for sure was that he stayed. He chose to be with me, in wet sand, rather than by a warm fire with the others. I felt special. No. I felt heard. I didn't know how to respond to it, and if he really did bring me up the mountain tomorrow... then what?
Helena - Trainer's Absol
Tonight at least... tonight at least things were okay. Long anxious hours by the fireside dwindled to a kind of uneasy peace. I was grateful, maybe for the first time ever, really just grateful to Sybil having my back. To not being alone in the dark hours. We traded off the watch, her sleep, then mine. She was the only one I told, and she took it seriously, a kind of grim quiet between us.
I felt it, looming on the horizon. Anger and frustration and a feeling like being sick to one's stomach. Anxiety and fear and doubt. Resolve and raw seething hatred. Heartbreak and loneliness, and something so familiar to me I couldn't even give it words. Overwhelming, a kind of terror.
I felt it, and I didn't know what it was, and Sybil didn't have a problem with that. Believed me, took me seriously. It was enough that I felt something coming, that was all she needed to know, and she was right there. I still wasn't going to give her a free pass because master was a damned bleeding heart, but I felt like she wouldn't have accepted it even if she had one.
He'd made me promise not to tell him, and I felt like I needed to break that promise. I wanted to break that promise, but I needed to know more. Needed to sift through the feelings, try and make sense of it. I wasn't entirely sure it was about the lapras anymore, and that was the most unnerving part. There was a lot to unpack, and I had begun to doubt it had much to do with her.
I could have handled it, if it was about her. But it was monsters in the dark, all over again. Worse. This time, I had more than just myself to keep safe.
I loved him. I loved all of them. My family, my home. I'd keep them safe, if only I knew from what.
The hours seemed to creep on, but no matter how much time, or how much effort, I wasn't getting any closer to understanding. It was all muddied, confused. Vague and shifting notions of anger and hatred and hurt, and all the familiar ache and loneliness of it. I knew struggling was pointless, and I also couldn't help myself. I needed to protect him.
My head ached from trying to puzzle it out. But the answers were less forthcoming than the dawn. All I had was a resigned growl, as I watched him get up a loving nuzzle against his hip as I went to his side, his hands in my fur before he moved on, started his day. All I had was his kiss. His kiss... Arceus, his kiss. His fingertips slid through my fur, scratched against my sides, and I melted into him. I loved the way he kissed me, the way he let me taste his lips, his tongue. We weren't meant to, the differences in our bodies made it feel so wrong, so right, so amazing. He was shameless, greedy even, and the feelings of what he wanted to give me overwhelmed the feelings of anxiety I'd been holding in.
I had been holding in a lot... I was feeling better. A little. Maybe. I wanted more than that kiss, but I knew that was all we could have then and there. Fucker was holding out on me, and it was maddening!
Trainer
I left camp by myself in the early hours, no sense waking everyone else. Kissed Helena goodbye for the moment and as I walked down the darkened streets, I knew I was glowing. I'd come back with a little breakfast, and if I was lucky, maybe I'd have the means to give Alcyon a surprise. There was something magical about the morning, I felt. The day had started cooler, and quieter than I expected. The local pikipeks flitting about in the trees, people waking up to start their own mornings. I'd considered a jog, but I knew I'd get more than my fill by the end of the day, if things went right.
I had expected it to be more difficult. But the Alolans I talked to immediately burst into laughter, and a flurry of agreement and activity. One of them volunteered an old surf board, his machamp had cracked off the bottom fin and split the board itself a little at the back end on accident and repairing it just kept getting put on hold anyway. They'd long since replaced it so it didn't seem urgent. It was big enough, and if it could hold a machamp and two humans doing tricks in competition, it'd be fine for a lapras sitting still.
The wheels were scrounged from what seemed like everywhere. A lone roller skate. Castor wheels off of furniture that didn't exist anymore. An old oil stained creeper from a garage. It was all mismatched, but the parts were quickly cleaned up, sorted out and ready for work. A handyman had marked out the ideal spots, setting to task with a power drill and a bit of banter about the road. One of the local delivery workers had a bevy of old loading straps and things that weren't suitable for the work anymore, but should have been adequate for the plan I had in mind. Everyone just pulled together, did everything they could to make my idea a reality. I couldn't have thanked them enough, but the general consensus was my thanks would be keeping my word and getting her all the way to the top.
The only thing left was getting back to camp and putting the plan to work. Well; that and convincing Penance I hadn't lost my damn mind. She was going to hate me for it, I thought. But this ... strangely enough, felt too important to say no to. I'd beg if I had to. I had already prepared myself to do just that.
It was a longer walk back, with the weight of the immense surf board, and all the fittings slung over my shoulder. It only dawned on me half an hour later I could have pulled it, let it roll behind me. But as early as the hour still was, I supposed maybe the polite thing to do wasn't to make a lot of noise right then.
I'd stopped off for some snacks, breakfast would be out of boxes, but I didn't mind that so much. A fun treat before a daunting day. I hated to admit it, but I was probably going to have to message my parents about a loan. We hadn't been doing a whole lot of league-sanctioned activity lately, and I didn't have the lay of the land anywhere near well enough to live off of it like I was used to elsewhere.
I was grateful for the time to think. To realize how many mistakes I'd ended up making out of fear and panic. Getting away was a good instinct, but what then? I knew they'd find us. When, not if. Find Helena. Try to take her from me, kill me if I got in the way. Was I supposed to spend the rest of my life hiding in fear? No. We'd gone to ground, licked our wounds. I'd had time to pull myself together. Anything more would be a waste.
I'd come back to camp with a clear head, and despite the burden, my shoulders felt light. I could breathe. I could see. I could see how beautiful it was to come home to them. How beautiful the day was going to be. Exhausting. But beautiful. Penance had met me at the road, come running up to me to welcome me back.
When Penance saw the bizarre contraption I was carrying, she laughed, and asked me if I was thinking about doing what she thought I was thinking about doing. I was surprised she already knew the plan, but she just laughed at me again, a playful thump of her tail at my hip as she walked beside me. "She's been staring at the mountain all morning. I'm not an idiot. It's fine. You need this, right? But you're going to carry me back down. No way I'm gonna be up for that walk after."
"Carry you? Can't I use the surf board? Arceus, you know how much you weigh, Penance?" I teased, with her giving me a playful shove, her eyes rolling at the absurdity of it all. I was grateful for her. For how easily she accepted what would be the hardest thing we'd ever done together. Roles reversed, I'd have probably complained. I'd have done it. But I don't think I could have not complained.
Claire - Trainer's Delphox
I could feel his mood as he came back. His thoughts were fleeting things at the distance we were. He wasn't trying to project them, so it wasn't easy to snatch them out of the air. But his mood was light, relaxed in a way it hadn't been since we arrived. Since he'd turned his tablet back on. Somehow in the middle of all of it, he'd found his footing again.
Penance had waited by the road, run up to him as he crested the hill. The two shared an animated conversation, a little good natured rough housing, and he almost dropped the plank of wood he was carrying. The plank of wood... that I didn't know why he had.
But when Alcyon saw it, the lapras just burst into laughter.
Arceus, what trouble are you getting us into now, you gorgeous lunatic?
Tempest shrugged, gave my butt a squeeze and her thoughts met mine with a hunger and passion that still made me blush. She'd been insatiable lately, every wicked fantasy, every little desire. Our thoughts mingled even when our bodies were busy. Had been pleasantly distracted at every free moment. He had plans for the day, and judging by his step, they were big ones.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be fine." She said, nipping at my fingers as my hand absently brushed against her cheek. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm going to need you to take care of me tonight. You'll be a good girl, won't you? Be a good girl and let me ride your face." She whispered, words meant just for me, leaving me blushing, embarrassed, and aching to do exactly that. Anything she wanted.
Our plans were smaller, and probably more fun. It was a shame he was so busy anymore, he was missing out. We'd need to do something about that, Tempest and I. Maybe arrange a few nights where he could give each of us the attention we really needed. Arceus, but Tempest and I were both staring at his ass. We both needed the same thing; to choke ourselves on that fat human cock!
It was hard to shake that thought, and Tempest had picked up on it, was practically drooling over the idea. Her attempts at dominance drifting off to a quiet hunger for what we were both thinking of. Her thoughts only reinforced mine, and it was with some struggle I managed to pull away. Time to help with breakfast! I was glad he was happy. That was the important thing.
But the three of us definitely needed to do a little catching up!
Belle - Trainer's Lucario
I realized, as he was putting it together, laying out his plan; I understood now just who he really was. Who it was I had been so afraid of. Suddenly I didn't feel so frightened of him, or of loving him. This was a man who was about to try and pull a fucking lapras up a mountainside... because she was afraid of a pokeball. For no other reason than that she still had dreams, just like any other pokemon in the world did. It would have been easy to ignore, in that human way. Smile, and make the right sympathetic noises then do exactly nothing about it. It would have been nothing to make promises that humans could so easily break. He didn't do either. He got an idea that would have answered both her needs and her fears, and he ran with it.
That Penance was running alongside him only proved me right. When they got started, it was with him inspecting every little detail as Penance got them moving. Making sure the wheels were steady, the platform big enough to not hurt Alcyon. Making sure she was as comfortable as she could be, despite the unusual method he'd come up with to attempt it.
And he didn't leave Penance to do all the work, he kept a hand on the strap, at all times, and leaned into it, pulling from behind her. While carrying his bulky bag, and keeping conversation with everyone. He did everything he could to keep the mood light, despite how absolutely grueling the day was about to be.
He believed in it, in them, in himself, in all of us that much.
If he'd asked, I'd have tied myself off to it to pull.
And I realized... if he'd asked, there was a lot more I'd do because it was him asking. I was still afraid of those things. But I wasn't afraid of him. What I was afraid of... it was a long list, and he'd just taken himself off of it. Of all the things I was still afraid of, the only thing I had for him was love. I loved this man. I loved how sincere he was. I loved his aura, and I loved how his aura changed theirs.
No wonder Helena trusted her instincts with him right away... the lucky bitch. But I'd be talking to her later, I needed another chance, and she was just the one to help me get it. Besides, I wanted to spend a little time with her, too. Talk, like we used to, when it was just her and I. Talk. Right. And nothing else. And I used to say she was a liar.
Penance - Trainer's Arcanine
Hadn't I been saying I wanted to do more training? Pulling a sled up a mountain with Alcyon on it wasn't what I had in mind, but it was exactly what I needed, apparently. It wasn't so hard at first, he'd brought thick nylon loading straps, and made me a full body harness, The random wheels he'd managed to get his hands on were good on the road, and he had enough of them she didn't bump or jostle too much. But she was as heavy as the field bales we had on the farm. Getting her moving was rough, and the mountain seemed to stretch upward forever.
But I was strong. I'd show him. I'd show everyone how hard I'd been working. My paws dug into it, and she rolled. People stared, laughed, took pictures, but we moved. I walked, we walked. We all made that climb. In the steep parts, he'd taken hold of the harness he'd made, tethered off around the cart he'd made out of the surf board. He didn't make me do it alone. His steps and mine hauling her up, more and more of the world spreading out below us.
By the time we'd made it halfway, people had mostly stopped gawking. The ones we passed greeted us, took pictures, but cheered. Cheered for me, for all of us.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, and Alcyon kept an animated conversation with Cocoa. The two talked about everything, it felt like. Above us, a few pikipeks circled and flitted about, curious banter about what we were up to. Mira had perched atop Alcyon's shell, and beckoned them down with her ribbons. Content to chatter with them in her easygoing way. It didn't make the sled any heavier, not really, but I still faked exasperation at her, which got a laugh out of Alcyon.
Cocoa walked beside me, and set the pace for us. As hard as she'd been working to stand beside us, today was as much a test for her as it ever would have been for me, lapras and all. We kept up a conversation, and it was nice to while away the hours trading stories from the farm, and the odd joke here and there. Jokes that Alcyon was quick to get in on. The three of us managed to pull our trainer into it, and had more than once struggled for breath for all the laughter we shared.
Still, good humor or not, the road was long, winding, steep, even so. We weren't even halfway up and I was exhausted. I was so tired. But there he was, right there with me, pulling every bit as hard. I could smell the sweat dripping off of him. He'd moved in behind me, lashed himself to the cart, and handed off his backpack to Tempest. The scent of him was driving me crazy, and I knew he could see it, from where he was. I hoped he felt the same. I hoped he could smell me and that it made him want to tire me out in other ways. Or maybe he could just lay back and let me. Let me savor him, satisfy him, make him forget about all his aches at the end of the day.
But we still had a mountain to climb, first. The air had begun to take a chill, and it was the most welcome thing in the world to me. It felt like I could finally take a full breath.
Reinvigorated, I braced myself, took a deep breath and took some of the strain off of my master, my lover, my best friend. We'd begun to move a little faster, somehow I felt unstoppable. He had my back down there... up here? I'd have his.
We were going to get to the peak, and that was that.
Alcyon - Lapras of Alola
I had no idea the world could look so small. I was seeing what the wingulls did. No. More. They were below us. I could see their backs, as they circled lazily on the wind. White wings spread wide to hold them above the world, so easy, so carefree. I envied their freedom all my life... except for today. Except for right now. They could envy me, instead.
The people below us were tiny. specks of movement on their own way up or down the mountain. I could see the horizon stretched out, so far away it could have been forever. I could see the whole damn island. I could see the whole damn world, it felt like.
Penance was exhausted. So was he. They'd given everything to get me to the top. To give me something I'd dreamed of every day since I was little. Something I'd hated myself for wanting, most years. I knew there was an observatory, but I didn't know what an observatory was. I guessed I still didn't, as I stared up at the human contrivances. It looked like a malformed camera box. A huge lens pointing up at the sky. They were looking at something out there. Observing, I began to understand.
"The stars." I murmured, realizing at last. "Can we please stay? I want to see the stars from here. The sunset. All of it. I'm sorry. It's more than we'd agreed, but... please?"
His response was to hug me. He was crying. They were crying. He didn't say a word, just nodded, a smile on his face I'd never seen on another human before. He was smiling, and he was crying, and I knew it was happiness, I knew it was happiness for me, and I'd never felt anyone be happy for me before.
We weren't really supposed to be setting up camp in front of the observatory, the man in the white coat chided as he came out to see what the fuss was. But when it was explained to him, he laughed, and suggested we come into the observatory at night, so I could see the stars the way they did.
I would, because I was curious... but what I really wanted to see... I think was a lot closer than that.
I found myself lost in every little thing. The wind was so much stronger up here. Cold and biting. Even the deep water north of us hadn't seemed quite as cold as that wind. Penance was a welcome break from the wind, the arcanine curling up at my side, her heat becoming mine. Thick fur sheltering me before I could even voice a complaint.
I took in the way the flowers and grasses grew, the way the trees had all actually bent mostly one direction on one side of the island. I took in the way the little houses ... were little, for one thing. Seemed to all crowd together here and there. Humans loved being close together. It was strange, and funny, and kind of cute.
As time went on, the sun began to sink toward the horizon. We'd had food, in the mean time. I didn't remember what. Didn't care. The whole world glowed gold, the wind picked up in the evening. The clouds stretching from the horizon were shades of pink, and yellow.
He was beautiful.
I blushed, knew I'd blushed as I saw him, leaning against the railing, taking it all in for himself. It was the delphox laughing that broke the spell, a gentle chuckle, and the feeling of her touch, warm, soft, knowing. Her eyes never left him, but I felt like she'd seen right through me, regardless. The brush of her hand, and of her laughter was clear, it was a welcome, an invitation. To everything I was still hesitating about.
She was right. It was scary, but she was right. I needed... I needed the closure of loving him. Of being allowed to love him, to be loved by him the way I knew he would, if I let him. I needed him to know I felt something real. Something honest, and amazing. Something I'd never felt before. It wasn't about being on top of the mountain, as magical as that was. It was that they all cared enough about me that there wasn't any doubt they'd get me here.
I wanted the closure of loving him, even if all we had was a few days, maybe a few weeks, to go our separate ways. To love him, and be loved by him, and know how it felt.
Helena - Trainer's Absol
Getting the fuck off of that beach had helped. My headache had dulled, and whatever it was that I was worried about, it wasn't happening yet. Sybil and I had "gone for a walk" earlier, but the truth was, we'd checked the area. A view for miles, and the only way up, really, was the road we took. Someone would have to be daft to try anything here, especially in the dark.
I'd been worried before that maybe our pursuers had caught up to us, but somehow that fear didn't ... feel right. Didn't fit right. I was almost afraid to hope. But I got the feeling whatever we were in for was at least not a violent fight. Still very clearly a fight. Like a swarm of angry beedrill, pricking at me in the worst of ways.
Even though I couldn't quite relax and enjoy the view like they were... there was something special about being able to sit on the sidelines, and watch that lapras fall in love with the world around her. To see the world from a place she'd only dreamed of.
I envied those feelings, but I was also ... falling in love all over again. When she looked at him in the light of the golden hour, I looked that way too, instinct maybe. There he was, leaning on the rail, hands braced against it, strong muscle, the way it corded in his back. And suddenly I couldn't feel that fear anymore. The anticipation, the prick of anger and hurt from something that had yet to happen. All I could feel was my heart pounding, my claws raking quietly against the pavement.
We'd fight it together, whatever the fight actually was... and how could I lose, standing at his side? He quieted all of the frustrating feelings. Drowned out all the noise and the pain of it. He made things quiet, and I was falling in love all over again for it.
It would be agony, having to be patient and knowing it was Alcyon he was going to have his eyes on next. I knew how she was looking at him. What she was planning. It would be agony, being able to feel so much of his pleasure but not taste it for myself. I hated having to be patient, but I loved him, and I knew it was going to happen. From the very start. All I had to do was give her a nudge of truth... and keep my word and not tell him a damn thing.
I love you, master... you'd better treat her right.
You'd better treat us all right.