New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Flying back towards his home, Alex felt glad that he had put his foot in the door with the woman. Elise might be a bit of a brute, but he didn't mind.

People like her were simpler to deal with, in his opinion.

No double-dealing or scheming in the shadows.

"I just hope she doesn't take too long to make her decision. From how she talked about it, the situation is almost assuredly already past the stage where the gang kept quiet…" he mumbled, as he flew south.

Alexander quickly reached his home, flying high enough that people would think he was a bird from the ground unless they were looking out through binoculars. Once there, he landed on his balcony with finesse and elegance.

He had been practicing his landings since he had a tendency to crash and not land. Before he hurt himself, it was better to learn to land decently.

Alex instantly knew Kary was in a bad mood as he pulled the patio door open. She was sitting on the sofa, leering at the closed TV, and was in complete silence.

That was until she heard him open the damned sliding door.

"How could you leave me alone with that jerk?" she growled.

Alex sighed, knowing this was going to happen.

"I'm not a planner, Kary. You know that. I didn't want to get in your way and say stupid things. That would have only delayed the planning. Instead, I went and did a few things that needed to be done," Alex tried explaining.

"Like recruiting people for Jack?" Kary asked, glaring at him.

Alex froze. He gulped audibly, looking at her with a pale face.

"What? Why would you think I would—"

"Oh, drop the act!" she shouted, jumping up.

"After David left, I called him, wondering where you had gone, and he told me you had just brought someone in. Why did you go off to do something so stupid on your own again? Have you learned nothing?

"What if you crossed paths with someone stronger than you? What then? You would have been half dead, and gone for another month, to god knows where, doing god knows what?!" she screamed, her eyes tearing up.

Alex had thought she was over that, but it seemed he was wrong.

"Kary… I…"

"No! I'm tired of you bolting off every time, leaving me behind. I thought we were a pair! A team! Why do you keep going out on your own?!" she shouted, walking toward him angrily.

She stopped in front of him and punched his chest repeatedly, releasing all her anger at once.

Alex didn't try stopping him, accepting the strikes like he deserved them. He waited until the hits slowed down, almost stopping to wrap his arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I swear I'm not doing this to leave you behind. I'm just worried you'll get hurt…" Alex whispered in her ear as he held her tight.

"Do you think I'm that weak? That I can't take care of myself?" she asked, sobbing.

"Far from it… You are the strongest person I know. Capable of so much. But that doesn't stop me from being scared I might lose you, Kary."

Kary punched him in the ribs.

"What about me? What about my worries? Don't you care about those? I haven't been gone for a month without news of my safety. Not even a sign to tell me you were still alive. That was you. Why don't you understand that?" she asked, pulling away from his chest.

Alex looked her in the eyes, feeling his heart pinch.

"I know… I understand how you feel. Kary, I just want you to know it won't happen again. And I only want to make sure it doesn't happen to you, either. Because I'm not strong like you," he muttered, pulling her back into his embrace.

"If you disappeared like that, I would sunder mountains and split oceans to find you. I'm not sure I would spare anyone I might think responsible for your disappearance… You are much stronger than me, mentally. I would never hold a month without breaking…"

Kary cried in his arms for a few minutes, holding him tightly.

"What makes you think I didn't break?" she eventually managed to ask.

Alex pulled her away, looking at her in the eyes again.

"Because here you are, standing in my arms. You may be crying, and you may be worried sick. But you stand strong, and you stand proud. I don't think I would if you went missing. Stand strong like this. I think the world would tremble if it happened to you…"

Kary couldn't quite understand what he meant, but she understood the feeling he was conveying.

After a while, she stopped sobbing and just stood there, holding on to him and taking in his presence.

"Can you promise me that you won't leave me behind again? I don't care if it's just to go talk to someone… Bring me along. I don't want you to disappear on me again…" she uttered, her face shoved in his chest.

Alex kissed the top of her head, soothingly sliding his hand on her back.

"Okay. I promise I won't leave you behind ever again. Everywhere I go, you go. Even if it's just to take a leak. You can hold it for me," Alex said, adding a joke to calm her.

Kary snort-laughed, punching him in the ribs, as she answered, "Dumbass."

He picked her up like a princess and headed toward the sofa. Alex had no intention of watching anything, but lying on the couch like this might help them calm down.

After petting her hair and her back for almost an hour, Kary eventually calmed down, and lay there, just breathing, her eyes closed. Alex would nearly think she was sleeping if she hadn't been scratching his chest softly with her nails.

*Browriagruoh*

Looking at her, Alex burst into laughter, as he understood what that noise was.

"Was that your stomach?! Ahahahaha! Did you not eat while I was gone?!" he exclaimed, as she became beet red.

"I was not hungry!" Kary defended herself, trying to break away from him to go hide.

But Alex held her tight.

"Ahahaha! Oh, that was epic! It sounded like a whale was dying in your stomach! Ahahaha!" he laughed.

She kept giving him punches, trying to break free, but he held on, laughing his ass off.

"Alright, alright!" Alex exclaimed, trying to get her to stop punching him.

"I'll make you something to eat; stop trying to beat me up, ahahaha!" he exclaimed, as he rose from the sofa, carrying her with him.

"Alright, what do we feed a starving fire slug?!" he laughed, shoving her over his shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not a slug!" she cried out, getting manhandled.

"Yes, yes! I know, you fiery sloth!" Alex mocked, slapping her ass right next to his head.

She started punching his back in indignance, but still laughed.

"What do you want? I'll make you anything I can, my sexy firebird," Alex said, dropping her ass on the counter.

Kary looked at him, biting her lip.

"If I weren't actually starving, I might eat you right up," she taunted.

"Yeah, yeah, but I meant food. What do you want to eat?" he asked mockingly.

"Hmm," Kary hummed, putting her finger to her lip, falling into thought.

He looked at her, as she pursed her lips, and looked up, trying to find what she craved for, and thought about laying her flat out right there.

But he kept his impulses in check, as feeding her should come first.

He could be a slave to his urges once she wasn't starving, he thought, grinning to himself.

"I would like some crepes, with fruit, and whipped cream, and maybe a side of potatoes?" she asked, almost in a question.

Alex made a military salute, smiling at her.

"Yes, Ma'am! I'm on it!" he clamoured, eliciting a laugh from her.

He started pulling pans, ingredients, and utensils, and quickly enough, the kitchen became a cooking war zone.

Shit flew everywhere, even hitting Kary, making her a mess for simply being too close, and Alex laughed to himself as he made a mess. It was all a show, in the hopes of getting her in a good mood again.

And it worked.

By the time he was done cooking her a hefty brunch, flour, milk, and whatnot were almost everywhere in his massive kitchen—some places he didn't even know how he got stuff on…

But Kary giggled as she dove into the food, thinking about all his antics. Her bad mood was gone, nowhere to be seen.

This put him in a good mood as well, and he finally relaxed after having a shitty morning.

From an attempted live burial to a kidnapping attempt, all the way to getting defeated in sword combat, he'd had one of those days today.

And it was only a little past noon…

'Oh well. There isn't much left to do today. I guess I'll just relax,'