OOM: Post Mirror Rescue

[aeons_crackshot]

There is no housekeeping like Loompa housekeeping. Everything that Alice may have touched, other than the weapons, has been replaced or thoroughly cleaned.

Annabelle and Connor have made their way up to the room, bypassing the chaos of the Bar below. Eventually, they'll have to find out what Alice got up to and fix any problems, but not tonight.

Comments

[leadinghome]

No, tonight Connor will hold to Annabelle, glad she is back, and safe.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle has been holding it together fairly well, but she can't repress her emotions forever.

Once they're inside their room and the door is locked, Annabelle pulls the same trick Connor did all those months ago.

She shivers a little, and an empath would pick up the tidal wave of NEED from Annabelle that strikes with all the intensity of a drowning man gasping for air.

The mirror consumes everything it touches, feeds on life itself. The Milliways dead don't exactly have a lot of that to spare. She wants to loose herself in him for a while, to ease the ache of all the places in her soul chilled by her stay in the Mirror.

She needs to feel what he feels for her, feel his mind touch hers, bask in his very aliveness like a cat in a sunny spot. Needs to feed her physical senses by hearing his heartbeat, seeing his eyes, tasting his kisses, breathing in the scent of his skin, feeling his body so close to hers and under her hands....

[leadinghome]

And like it happened before, it will be a long, long time before anything seems to have importance again.

Comforting and spoiling his girlfriend is all that matters, until the deep need is sated and Annabelle feels like herself again.

[aeons_crackshot]

It's a long time later and they are curled up together, skin to skin, in bed. Annabelle is feeling like herself again, albeit a rather exhausted and worn out version of herself.

"I'm glad you figured things out so quickly," she confesses. "Even though having to be rescued in the first place is damn embarrassing."

Heroines do the rescuing, they don't get rescued!

[leadinghome]

"It was not hard finding out something was wrong... could never mistake her for you." Skin to skin, that is very good.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Really? She looked like she'd gotten my physical form down pat, the crazy bitch," Annabelle adds. "You could tell even when you weren't trying to 'look'?"

She understands intellectually that Connor's additional senses are as much a part of him as his eyesight, but it's still tricky for her to really comprehend that sometimes.

[leadinghome]

"Yes. Annabelle, she was nothing like you, her presence was sickening... that evil, crazy thing." Connor shakes head. "And only got worse when she tried to pretend she was you."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle shivers. "I can imagine, I think," she replies. "It would be awful if someone like that was pretending to be you."

Annabelle would snuggle closer to Connor, but that isn't actually physically possible.

[leadinghome]

"I never imagined I would feel it necessary to mind-control someone like I did with her..." Connor rests forehead to Annabelle's.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I'm sorry you had to do that," Annabelle replies quietly, holding him close in an attempt at comfort. She knows how he feels about controlling people like that.

"I'm not surprised she was unwilling to cooperate, mind you."

[leadinghome]

"She would have killed us all, given half a chance." Connor never met someone so... evil.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods. "Which is why you had to do what you did."

"It wasn't the Mirror that made her like that, was it?" she asks, even though she's fairly sure of the answer.

[leadinghome]

"No. She was always wrong. Twisted, and cruel, and..." He shakes head. "She was already broken, mad and bloodthirsty before the Mirror."

Connor sighs, and buries face to Annabelle's neck, breathing in her scent and basking on her presence. Enough talking about Alice.

[aeons_crackshot]

Quite enough talk about Alice. It's good to be able to comfort him instead of being the one who's comforted, for once.

"I missed you," she says, kissing his neck. Just in case he missed this fact, somehow.

[leadinghome]

"I missed you." Now he can really start to relax, having Annabelle close.

[aeons_crackshot]

She feels much the same. Annabelle sighs contentedly and gives him a small smile, "I'll have to take you with me the next time I go off somewhere."

[leadinghome]

"I think that's a good plan." Connor strokes her hair. "We should have brought food and drink up."

You know, so they would not need to leave the room for a while.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle leans into his touch. "That would have been a good idea," she admits with a grin. "Thankfully, I think this place has room service."

[leadinghome]

"I guess we will have to find out, right? But how we order?" Connor did not see a phone or intercom of any kind around.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I don't know," Annabelle replies with a frown. "I think it might have been on the back of the menu, which is....somewhere."

"I didn't look at it closely, and it's been a while since I've seen it." She could go look, but that would involve moving.

[leadinghome]

Moving, now? Blasphemy!

"I love you, Annabelle."

[aeons_crackshot]

She's been guilty of that on occasion.

"I love you, Connor," she replies with a bright smile.

[leadinghome]

"We should make a picnic, again. Enjoy the weather while it's nice outside." Spontaneous idea is spontaneous.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That would be nice," she replies with a smile. "Same spot as last time?" she asks, teasing.

[leadinghome]

"I was thinking the far side of the beach... nice and quiet."

[aeons_crackshot]

"I like the sound of that," she replies with a chuckle. She can feel the utter exhaustion creeping up on her, but she doesn't want to sleep.

She knows she'll have nightmares, bad ones. She has every other time she's gone through major trauma.

[leadinghome]

No, she will have not. "You need to sleep." Connor can feel her exhaustion. "I am here. I will be here." And will keep her dreams safe.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I might put you in a headlock, or worse," she points out with a rueful smile.

"It's dredged up Siberia too, damn it all."

[leadinghome]

His reply? Maybe a good one, a long, tender kiss. "I know you won't."

[aeons_crackshot]

Kissing is good. "I'm glad one of us is confident," she replies with a small smile.

[leadinghome]

"I am." Connor strokes her cheek. "I will even sing you a lullaby if you want."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Really?" Annabelle asks, chuckling a little. "I didn't know you could sing."

[leadinghome]

"I don't think I can... not really. But for you, I'm willing to give it a try."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle smiles at that and kisses him again. "You're terribly selfless, you know."

"I think I'll be alright without one, so long as I don't get too entangled in the nightmares."

[leadinghome]

He nods, cuddling Annabelle and kissing her cheek. "Sleep. I will be here." She can lay her head on Connor's chest, and listen to his heartbeat.

What better lullaby?

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle does exactly that, and falls asleep almost immediately.

There are a few rough moments when the nightmares try to drag her under, but Connor is there to shoo them away. Things are finally as they should be once more.