Embrace It

I don't know which of us begins the kiss, but I do know that I have no intention of breaking it. Even when I sit up, I keep kissing her. When I stand, I keep kissing her. When I pick her up into my arms and carry her to my bed, I keep my lips locked to hers. I feel Azure's arms wrap around me, drawing me closer to her, as if trying to meld our bodies into one. We each grab whatever breaths we can take, neither of us wanting to be separated from the other for any longer than we have to.

Every touch from her is a comfort, every inch of skin her hands travel across feels like scars healing over. She's purifying to me, like she lights up the dark in my heart. "Master, wait." She suddenly says, breaking our kiss. I feel a sense of loss on my kiss-swollen lips. "I can't do this right now, it'd feel wrong. "You're in a bad place, and I don't want to just be an outlet." She confesses, her eyes turning a pale grey.

There's a part of me that wants to throw platitudes at her and carry on, because she's not an outlet to me, but that doesn't mean I don't want her comfort right now. Still, I realise I'm being selfish. She's not as used to **** as me, she probably isn't in a place for sex either. "Then we won't do it. Come here." I assure her, pulling her into a hug as we lie down, resting her head on my chest.

"Thank you, Master." She sighs contentedly. "Hearing your heartbeat makes me feel so much better." She adds with a smile. I can't help staring at that smile, it draws me in. I find myself falling, deeper, deeper, deeper... I can't tell if she fell asleep listening to my heartbeat first or if that smile sang me a silent lullaby, but I know that soon we both sleep without moving another inch.

*

"Wakey, wakey, Master! I made breakfast!" I hear Azure call to me. I open my eyes to realise it's morning, and I'm alone in bed... But not alone at home. "Come on, lazy bones, this one's gonna be my best creation yet, I just know it!" She states confidently, shaking me awake.

I groggily sit up. "Okay, okay, I'm up." I argue, sliding over to the side of my bed and planting my feet on the floor. I realise I'm still in my underwear, not exactly a problem, but I can't recall the last time I ate a meal in my underwear. I stand and walk around the divider to the sofas, where Azure has laid out a full spread on the table, eggs, bacon, sausages, everything. I try not to think about how much I've spent on groceries since she moved in and insisted on making breakfast each morning. Temporarily moved in. Temporarily.

I sit down and begin to tuck into the mountain of food. "You got a message, by the way, I heard your bangle chirp." She informs me. Bangle notifications are only audible to the wearer, how did she... Right, super AI, almost forgot. I check my wrist, and sure enough, I have a new voicemail. I flick my wrist to play it while I continue eating.

"Tera, this is the Chief. I heard about your CI. I know you must be taking it hard. I've got Frazier working on a cause of ****, in the meantime, I'm mandating some time off. You've been working flat out, and this is as good an excuse as any. Before you try to argue, it's already processed. See you in a week."

My cutlery clashes with my plate. That fucker, using this as an excuse to get rid of me for a week? I'm about to call him back when I'm interrupted by Azure's voice. "A whole week just for me and Master? Yay!" She squeaks excitedly. Apparently she's not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not that I ever thought she would be. I hold back on my response, maybe I could use some time off. "What should we do with all that time, Master? Maybe go to the beach? A hot spring? A ski lodge?" She asks excitedly.

"You've really got to stop reading my old manga." I tell her, dismissing her stereotypical suggestions. "Besides, this is Neonfall, we don't have the weather for any of those." I point out. It's true, we don't even get snow here thanks to some pricks a hundred years ago doing nothing to stop the climate going to shit.

Azure puts a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I guess we could just have crazy animalistic sex for a week straight." She ponders, causing me to **** on a mushroom for a moment before I pour tea down my gullet. "But I don't think either of us has that much stamina... Maybe we could recruit some people from the bar so we can swap out?" She continues to think aloud, as if the logistics are a serious concern.

"How would that work? You get jealous whenever Lux flirts with me. I couldn't even pull the other night because you crashed it. I doubt you'd manage a night of fucking other people." I argue. Though, now I think about it, she was all in for Donna and Maddie, kinda hypocritical in hindsight. Azure scoffs as if she's offended by my observations.

"I don't appreciate 'that woman' sniffing around because she wants more than just sex from you." Azure responds, her eyes turning a bright green. I'm not so sure she's right about that, Lux doesn't seem like the committing sort. "And I didn't interrupt because I was jealous, I did it because I was bored and you weren't including me. You didn't even like her that much anyway." She states matter-of-factly. Okay, I wasn't exactly into... Was it Ginny? Either way, she's not wrong.

I finish my food and set my cutlery down on the plate. "So, you're saying that you'd be absolutely fine with me sleeping with other women, as long as you get a turn?" I ask incredulously, not entirely believing Azure could go through with such a thing. If I could do it isn't in question, the idea of Azure sandwiched between Donna and Maddie shoots through my head, and I'm all for it.

"I guess..." Azure shrugs. Not exactly a reassuring answer. "As long as they recognise that I'm your one and only." She decides more confidently. Hang on, I never said that. Did I miss the part where we signed a marriage certificate? Azure's eyes suddenly go wide, and she points down to my crotch. "Not that we're going to be doing anything like that soon, by the looks of things."

I look down at my knickers and spot the brown-red dots that I've known well since I started puberty. Shit. I rush to the bathroom to grab a digitamp. Well, that settles it, I'm not arguing to go back to work during this. Azure makes me jump by rushing into the bathroom and grabbing her own sanitary product with an awkward smile. That seems insanely unlikely.

Okay, I guess we're not doing anything for a few days.