Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Too Hot to Handle [Mature] [Complete]

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv shook her head as he stripped off his clothes in record time. "So impatient," she murmured mock-reprovingly, even as he stripped off her bra. She flinched as the bra dragged over her still-healing stitches, but it didn't stop the murmur of delight as he licked hungrily at her skin.

"You made me wait," he growled between strokes of his tongue. "Shoulda taken my first offer, darlin'."

"Yeah, right," she giggled, burying her fingers in his hair and cradling him to her body. "Then you would have been short two workers immediately."

"Worth it," he said, pausing to look up at her with those smoldering, dark eyes. His hands squeezed her hips lightly; he may or may not have been aware of the gentle downward pressure he was applying to her shorts. He didn't look long; he was quickly drawn back to her breasts, his eyes closing as he continued to taste her dark skin.

"Step back," she said after a moment. Her eyes were dark with excitement, but she still pushed him back gently. He did it with a grumble, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to figure out what she was up to. Stepping carefully, she turned her back to him, hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her shorts and underwear and began to slowly wiggle out of them. She wondered if he'd be able to let her finish; he'd shown remarkable self-control but she'd sorely tested his limits already.

[Forge]

Vinny stood there waiting, falling into the submissive role as he watched in eager anticpation at the slow reveal, drinking in every inch of her as the shorts dropped, doing his best not to tackle her when she bent over a little as the shorts got to her knees, revealing a nice heart-shaped ass. Elevated on the mattress, Liv had the position of command, and he waited for permission, his body tense.

She straightened and and carefully stepped out of the shorts, keeping a leg bent that made her ass sway like a naked hula dancer as she moved.

"You like?" she purred, looking back over her shoulder coyly.

"Oh yes darlin'" he nodded in approval, his eyes filled with smoldering lust, "Very nice, very nice indeed."

"Well?"

That was all the permission he needed as he stepped back to the bed, running his hands up the sides of her legs and then her torso, just grazing the tender sides of her breasts as he came around to go down her back and then gently squeeze her behind before leaning in to lay kisses over it.

"Think I like the taste of Spicy Granola."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Mm, you haven't even really gotten a taste of how spicy I can be," Liv grinned, slowly turning around. "You've just gotten the appetizer." His kisses continued as she rotated, until he was kissing soft curls.

"Fine," he muttered, "lemme get a good taste." His head dipped a bit further and his tongue flicked out. Liv gasped, her jaw dropping. She swallowed hard and grabbed his shoulders, leaning heavily on him. "Delicious," he muttered before probing deeper.

"I can't stand if you're going to keep doing that," Liv gasped, mangling her words a bit but managing to get her intent across.

Hours of construction work stood Vinny in good stead again as he paused long enough to pick her up and set her on the edge of the bed, gently tumbling her flat. Before she'd had more than a moment to adjust, he was leaning back down, his hands holding her thighs open as he pressed himself back to the interrupted task.

Liv gasped again, a tremble running through her body. This was a treat she rarely got from Bill, and the sudden, expected reaction of her current partner had floored her. The rarity of this gift meant that she was all-too-soon balling the sheets up in her fists, her body starting to move in tiny, restless shifts. "God," she whispered, her back arching and her toes curling. Her body went still for a moment, then she began to shake as she wordlessly shouted.

[Forge]

Mentally beaming with pride and smirking nonetheless, he sat back on his heels as she finished shivering in pleasure, gently stroking her with his hand.

"My, my, did we enjoy ourselves? Don't get called that much."

He crawled up between her legs, kissing and licking as he went until he was hovering over her face, poised to kiss her, he asked, "Ready for more darlin'?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Oh, yeah," Liv purred, lifting her head to kiss him. She lifted hands that were languid with the after-effects of bliss, running them over his back. He grumbled softly, but despite the slightly negative noises, his face was pure pride and pleasure. That expression faded slightly as she broke the kiss and murmured, "But not like this."

That dark, suspicious look was back in his eyes, but he brought his hands up to play with her breasts, his fingers focusing on her dark brown nipples. "You know another way to do this?" he asked.

"I want to be on top," she said, feeling him press against her. He was eager, but so was she.

He smirked, as if he'd guessed this was coming. "As the Liv wishes." He eased off of her and let her get up; then he flopped back onto the bed. She crawled after, straddling him, sliding their bodies together until they fit. He rested against her, but not in her yet, their proximity a tantalizing hint of what was to come.

Liv ran her hands down his chest, feeling his tension ratchet higher as she teased him with touches and promises of what was to come, but didn't actually sate his desires. She smiled coyly at him and wiggled her hips a bit, drawing a moan out him. "Is the bitch ready now?" she asked, angling her hips just so, ready for his affirmative.

[Forge]

Vinny looked up her, eager to finally get to the main course. He ran his hands along her sides and squeezed her breasts, gently pinching the stiff nipples.

"The bitch is fuckin' ready I'd say." he answered with a smile glancing down his body.

Liv slowly, ever so agonizingly slowly, came down on him until he was completely inside her. A long satisfying moan escaped from Vinny as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, resisting the urge take over thrusting. She started a slow, teasing pace, her own moans of pleasure mingling with his own as he grabbed her ass, pulling her hips down to ensure maximum penetration as she leaned over him, bracing herself on his muscular chest.

As the pleasure mounted, the pace quickened until it seemed that her body couldn't keep up with how fast she wanted to go. Noting the disjoint in the rhythm, Vinny bent his knees, lifting her up enough that she wasn't pinning him.

Using this new found space to his advantage, he took over thrusting and quickened the pace, causing louder moans from her and sending his own control to the breaking point.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv was having a lot of fun. Sex with Bill was fun, but it was also well-known, predictable, a dance to which she already knew all the steps. Plus, this guy was built better, which made for an entirely different sensation all ways around. And knowing that he didn't care whether she had fun meant that she could focus on whether she was having fun. He was taking care of himself; she could take care of herself. It was oddly liberating.

As he took over the tempo - apparently, he was a bad submissive - Liv countered by shifting her hips slightly so that his raging tempo was creating a nice rhythm over a certain spot. Vinny's eyes nearly crossed as she shifted and then tightened around him. His fingers clenched around her hips, forcing her down harder on him. Liv cried out at the near-bruising pressure, even as what was left of her fingernails created crescent moons in his pectorals.

Her pleasure-racked cry did it; Vinny slammed into her one last time, holding her tight as he finally had his release. Liv shuddered as his climax came, shivering as he held her as tightly as he could. His body slowly relaxed and his painful grip became soft, almost tender. Liv's fingernails slowly removed themselves from Vinny's skin. She gave another moan and slumped forward, resting on his chest. Content and sated, for the moment, Vinny slid his hands up her sides, resting them in the hollow of her back.

And now, she thought drowsily, is when I find out if he's nice to the girls he fucks or if I'm now no longer worth his time. The latter thought should have bothered her. It probably would, later, if it came to pass. But right now, it was hard to be bothered by it, when her body was tingling so pleasantly.

[Forge]

"...was fuckin' awesome darlin'." Vinny mumbled through the hormone influenced drowziness.

His hands ran lightly up and down her back as she rested and he caught his breath.

"Wonder what woulda happened if I had the damn kiwi..."

Vinny was content to lay there and hold her, he was so exhausted, he probably couldn't have rolled over at that moment if he wanted to.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv relaxed a bit more, content to know that she wouldn't be chased off immediately. For a while, the two were silent, just enjoying the slowly dissipating hormones. Finally, Liv grunted, "Cold."

Vinny jerked back awake, grumbling a little. He was warm enough, covered by Liv as he was. Reluctantly, he rose long enough to peel back the covers they had rutted on before climbing back into bed with her. With her head on his shoulder and one arm curled around her, they slipped back into sleep.

When Vinny woke up in the morning, she was still there, her warm breath rolling over his shoulder in an even, steady rhythm.

[Forge]

Mark that one off the Small World list, Vin.

He was pleasantly surprised to find her still here, or maybe his internal clock woke him up earlier than her normal time. Whatever the reason, he needed to get up, his bladder was screaming at him, his muscles were dying to stretch and a glance at the clock confirmed that it was indeed time to get ready.

The work he had left last night needed done this morning before work could start, let alone the normal morning retinue of planning.

Carefully pulling back the sheets on his side and slipping out of bed, he walked to the bathroom, limping on a strained calf muscle and scratching his ass as he went. The sound of the pipes banging were soon followed by the rush of water running in the shower.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

The cypress tree bent down, bowing to her as she walked, its leaves brushing her naked skin. She smiled graciously, feeling the verdant life around her. The grass caressed her, rubbing soft blades over her feet and ankles. Birds sang in the trees, and wildlife darted around wildly, just out of sight but not sound.

She was one with the Earth; all living creatures walked in harmony with her. Flowers grew in her hair, twinning in her braids. Butterflies kissed the sweat from her skin, their wings beating an erotic tempo on her body. The sunlight dappled through the trees, warming her skin, a counterpoint to the cool breeze.

She was alive like never before, walking naked in Paradise.

Liv mumbled and stirred a little as the bed moved. Her dream faded slowly, warmth and bliss turning into sleep-stiffness. Usually, she was up before Bill, on those times she slept over. Her hand moved in fits and starts across the bed, looking for the warm body she knew should be there. When her fingers curled over the edge of the mattress, Liv figured out she was alone. Groggily, she lifted her head, looking for Bill.

It took a second to remember to not look for him, and another long moment to remember why. Sorrow visited her - for two seconds. It was immediately followed by a rush of anger at Bill, and she got out of bed, groaning at the soreness in her body. It wasn't where she would have expected; she was stiff and a little sore all over. "Damn," she mumbled, heading across the room. She got the warm beer from last night and finished the foul brew off, trusting that it would eventually loosen her muscles. Remembering that warm water helped with soreness, she headed toward the sound of running water.

Vinny was a sight for early morning encounters. Liv leaned against the doorway, watching him for a moment. His well-muscled body channeled the water down his form in interesting ways. It really was a shame that he was a surly asshole. Then she decided she'd gawked enough. Smiling, she walked forward and started to climb in, remarking, "You know, we're in a desert here, and I have to shower too. Might as well save some water." She smiled at him as she joined him in the stream of water, her body inches away from his.

[Forge]

Vinny opened his eyes, surprised, when he heard her stepping into the tub.

"Morning darlin', come on in, the water's warm." He was obviously happy to see her, in more ways that one.

She's fuckin' sober and still here? Maybe the shit ain't done? How much fuckin' revenge on Fuzz does she want?

He leaned in to kiss her as wrapped his arms around her. "Last night was the fuckin' shit."

Better not be like the bitch Aussie and ask for light duty.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Last night was fun," Liv agreed easily, hugging him and returning the kiss. Having never done this before, she'd didn't know the rules that Vinny was playing by. To her, this morning-after ritual was natural, even expected. She didn't realize she was supposed to gather her clothes, slink out into the early morning and pretend this didn't happen. "Even if you did fuckin' wreck me, which is not cool considering I have to work today. Which brings me to two questions."

He tensed as his eyes narrowed at her. Liv felt her smile falter a little as she wondered what had happened to him to make him so cynical, so ready to be suspicious of her. "I just... you're not gonna treat me like shit now, are you? Like you did with Clarissa? And," she added with a bit of a smirk, "more important, do you have any painkillers? I wasn't kidding about the wrecking part."

[Forge]

His body relaxed as she asked her questions and he lifted an arm, reaching behind her to a small shelf where the soap was sitting and he grabbed a small brown plastic bottle.

"Eat these like candy, and like candy, they are fuckin' easy to get here, if you scare the right people." He unscrewed the top while he used his body to block the water and dropped a couple pills into her open hand. They had seen a running shower before, as the outside coating was a little gummy, but otherwise fine. "They're T3's...you can still function on 'em." He added at her questioning look.

He replaced the bottle, and came back with a bar of soap, rubbing some onto his head as he started to wash his hair. "Not gonna treat you like shit, less you fuckin' deserve it, that bitch tried to use me..." He paused while he leaned back and rinsed his hair, then gave her an offering look and gesture to allow her the water.

She gladly accepted, the warmth doing much to ease her aching body, though the shower head was a little higher than she would have liked, its position just so, that it angled right at the back of her head.

"...don't play that fuckin' game." He finished, starting to rub his body down. "Don't have any white knight fantasies of runnin' off into the sunset with you, not stupid. But you are gorgeous, with a fuckin' spicy attitude...can't let that go to waste."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"'Go to waste'?" she asked, arching her eyebrow at him. "Am I an non-renewable resource then? Something you must use before it is gone?" She popped the pills, then tipped her head under the water to get enough liquid to get them down.

Taking the soap from him, she said, "I don't have any intention of continuing this after I leave here. I have college and a degree, and you're going to stay here and scream and boss people around." She paused in her self-sudsings-up and shot him a speculative yet concerned glance. "That is what this is, right? You didn't think there was... more? Right?" She was pretty sure he meant that, but she had to be sure. She would need to start breaking off now, if that was the case.

As she waited for his answers, she soaped herself up and rinsed, then handed him back the soap and offered her back for him to wash.

[Forge]

"Just answered your own fuckin' question darlin', by you leavin', means you are non-renewable." he said matter-of-factly as he took the soap and moved in close behind her.

All I do...move from shit-hole to shit-hole, building boxes. Not really fuckin' mate material.

Noting the proximity of her ass as he glanced down, he couldn't help but get aroused again. "So whatever could, or couldn't happen is a moot point. However, doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves until then." he said gently squeezing her hips and pulling her against him.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Well, that answers my next question - whether you wanted me to come back tonight. So now all I wanna know is, are ya gonna wash my back like I asked, or fuck me?" Liv asked, grinning over her shoulder and showing that she didn't really mind the latter.

"I can do both," Vinny said, leaning forward to kiss her shoulder. "I'm a talented guy." Grinning, he positioned her body and spent a bit of time showing her how talented.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

They walked back to the site together, though it was early enough that it was still dark. Neither was really looking forward to the work day; there were other things that could be happening, and the hours stretched long before them. Still, they both knew they had obligations to meet. While he went to the tent to finish what was left from last night, Liv went to her trailer and changed into her day's work clothes. She had enough time to grab a quick nap, so she set her alarm and went to sleep.

She woke up when it went off, finding that she'd stiffened up a bit again. Mumbling about being beaten with sticks - though her little smile said she wasn't just complaining - she grabbed her gear and headed out to face the brutal morning sun. What she didn't expect to have to face was Collin. "Hey," she said, nodding at him as he looked up at her door.

"Have fun last night?" he spat.

The smile left Liv's face. "What?" she asked, despite knowing what he was pissed about. But she was starting to get angry, and that meant she didn't want to make it easy on him.

"Hoping for some light duty? Or just unable to hold it together without a cock to wrap yourself around? Empty bed syndrome, or just an empty heart?" he sneered.

"Fuck off, Collin," she snapped and jumped down her stairs, avoiding having to move close to him. "I don't owe you shit."

"You're just like Clarissa, only you played the game better," Collin growled.

She threw her hard hat at him, a completely instinctive reaction as he smashed a button that Liv hadn't even suspected was there. He dodged it, then looked back at her, glaring. "That was no game," she said, even as she knew that wasn't completely true. It just wasn't true the way that Collin meant it.

"True love then?" he asked, his face twisted into an ugly grimace.

"None of your business. That's all it is to you," she said coldly, marching past him to grab her helmet.

"I guess I owe Bill an apology. You weren't too good for him," he said and walked away.

Liv didn't try to stop him. Nothing she could do at this point was going to help. All she wanted to do now was get through the day and get back to Vinny's place, were at least the reaming wasn't verbal.

[Forge]

The day went fairly uneventfully, at least from Vinny's perspective. The sun was hot, the workers ornery, the volunteers useless.

"Jesus Fucking Christ!" Vinny yelled towards the end of the shift at the brick layers, gesturing at a partially erected wall. "Look at this shit!" He went over to the wall, picking at the obvious over hang that had developed.

The last five minutes of the work day seemed to drag on forever as Vinny reamed them in Arabic. It was partially deserved, more than 3 hours of work had been wasted, not to mention the waste in supplies, the demo that would be needed, and the wall cleaned up before work could start again.

By the time he let them go, they were all cursing Vinny under their breath, but not anymore than usual. He watched the site's personnel leave, scowling around a cigar as he went for a demo hammer.

"Fuckin' ass-tards, can't do a fuckin' damned thing right, bloody shitheads." he said to himself as he swung at the wall.

"Are you going to bang that wall all night?" Liv said with a smile, walking around to the side, "Or are you gonna come use your hammer on me?"

Vinny stopped mid-second stroke and let the hammer thunk into the cinderblock as he turned to her with raised eyebrows, "You what?" he said, talking around the cigar.

She walked up to him, and put her finger on his chest, drawing it down slowly, "I said, are you gonna stand there all night holding your tool...or are you gonna fuck me?" she whispered, pushing him with her finger as she looked up into his eyes expectantly.

"Well, given those fuckin' choices, the latter does seem the most obvious, however..." he replied, drawing it out playfully.

"Your choice, I can always find some other dick to...suck." she said as she slowly turned to walk away, giving him a long knowing look.

"Now hold on darlin'," he said quickly, darting to catch her shoulder and starting to walk with her. "Didn't say I'd fuckin' picked did I?"

He got a wry grin in return as they made a brief stop at her 'Hell-in-a-Can' for an overnight bag before walking on to his place.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

The 'quick' shower before dinner wasn't that quick, nor did a lot of cleaning happen compared to the amount of time spent under the water. Neither one of them complained regardless, especially not Vinny when he ended up leaning against the wall while Liv made good on her earlier hint. Preparing and eating the dinner was much faster, and cleaning the dishes afterward was done in record time. Liv wouldn't even be able to recall what they had had for dinner later.

The fun and games continued after dinner, but unlike last night, the earlier session in the shower had taken the edge off. Both them moved more languidly, their movements slower and more drawn out. There was no bruising, no digging fingernails, but there was a lot of gasps, many moans and more than a few shivers of delight. They finally shivered to a stop, tense muscles turning liquid, Vinny locking his arms so that he didn't fall on top of her.

Liv relaxed, her legs unlocking from around him. After a moment, he managed to move the side, collapsing onto the bed with a huff of pleased exhaustion. Liv curled up against his side and let her eyes drift shut. After a moment, she murmured, "Hey, what was bothering you yesterday anyway? Before you think I'm getting all touchy-feely, let me say that I'm just curious and nothing else. Besides, that's what got me here last night, I'd like to know what to blame later." She gave him a slow wink.

[Forge]

Vinny slowly opened his eyes and turned his head over to her, "Got an odd fuckin' way of gettin' answers darlin'." he murmured.

He took a deep breath as he thought about what he was going to say, the tumble of emotions that were undealt with and would probably stay that way, playing across his face.

"My brother." he started, letting out the air in his lungs, "Found 'em in LA fuckin' hookin', he was arrested, but they let 'em go for some goddamn reason. Ran off 'bout five years ago."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv closed her eyes, a reflex action to the carefully controlled pain in his voice. She curled a little closer to him, her mind automatically putting herself in his shoes, seeing Wakiki out on the streets, selling himself for money. "Yeah," she said softly as she met his eyes, "that'd tear me up, too."

She had a sudden sense of a life lived completely differently than her own, of a darker, less pleasant place. She'd felt that before; Bill had carried the pain of a shattered home with him, but the emotions on Vinny's face hinted at a different, deeper kind of pain. Bill's she'd understood. Her own distant associations with the pain of divorce had left an impression on her. But that had all been second-hand, tales that her mother had told her of her father's divorce from his first wife. It had given her a certain empathy with Bill.

She had no such foundation with Vinny. The gulf of how different they were was laid bare, and Liv was really glad she'd wasn't trying to build a relationship with him. Still, she cared enough that she didn't want to leave him wandering in the pain in his heart and head. Eyes soft with compassion, she kissed him and wondered if he'd push her away or take the offered distraction.

[Forge]

He returned the kiss half-heartedly, his mind in another place as his eyes returned to gazing at the ceiling. Not realizing what she was trying to do. "Haven't seen him since Dad died...Mom shot him."

His face was oddly blank, revealing no emotion as said it, almost like he was just talking to himself.

She's leaving, can't scare her away like the others.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv had considered herself somewhat worldly. She was able to travel alone in foreign lands without fear; she'd walked with lions in Kenya - or so she still believed - and she was metropolitan enough to thrive in the urban jungle. And none of this had prepared her for dealing with something like this.

What do you say to someone who just told you that his mother killed his father? Liv had no idea, and so she spoke from her heart. Her hands stroked him softly, like a trainer soothing a nervous horse, as she murmured, "You could find him, if you wanted. Help him."

To her, there was no question that he could. Life hadn't shown her how to be helpless yet.

[Forge]

Vinny snorted as he returned to himself, his face grimacing into outright disbelief. He rolled over onto his side and rested his head in his hand, propping himself up. "Already fuckin' tried, he don't want to be found."

Not that he had tried hard, unable to deal with his own issues, young Vincent had quickly gotten himself a job via an old friend of his father's and before his mother could even scratch her first hash mark in the cheap concrete of her cell, he was flying off to South America.

Using his other arm, he caressed her body lightly with his fingers, watching his hand lazily drift down her form. "Ain't nothin' I can do to help him anyway. We both fuckin' ran, I just ran farther."

He stopped and looked at her, his eyes darting small movements as he examined the exotic beauty of her face. "I mean, who the fuck am I to tell him to stop?" he asked rhetorically in exasperation. "Can't fuckin' stay in one place long enough to shit, let alone solve my damn idiot brother's problems."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I didn't say stop him," Liv said softly, shifting so she was facing him. "You can't make him do anything. But you could be there... if he needs you."

He didn't look happy, and Liv shrugged her free shoulder. "I'm not you, your brother isn't like mine... but if something bad happened to Wakiki, I'd storm the gates of Hell for him. He's my big brother." Her fingers brushed over his arm, as she tried to picture living such a fractured, lonely life. She couldn't imagine anything so bad it'd tear her away from her family. Of course, her mother would never, could never kill her father.

"You might be moving around a lot, but you could still do things to help," Liv said. "I'm not telling you to do it... just that it's not a reason you can't. Not a good one, anyway."

[Forge]

"Yeah." This wasn't anything he hadn't debated with himself before, hearing it from someone else didn't make it any different. This was just some curious college tart looking for a cool room and a warm bed, her counsel, however concerned and genuine it may be, didn't mean shit to him. He wasn't particularly looking for advice on the issue. What is it that women always feel the need to give advice and try to fix problems? Why can't they just shut up and fuckin' listen?

"I'll deal." He had clearly closed off emotionally and seemed resigned to whatever the world decided to do with the situation.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Well, that was a 'shut the fuck up about it' if she'd ever heard one. Mentally, Liv considered pushing, but just as Vinny could do little to make his brother accept his help, Liv could do little to make Vinny listen to her. So all she said was, "Ok," her tone light and clearly letting it go. When it was clear that she really was letting the subject drop, that she wasn't playing some twisted female game, Vinny let himself relax and drift off.

For Liv, sleep was a little harder to come by. She was a sucker for hurt people, and Vinny's pain had touched her. Every empathic part of her screamed to do something; with effort, she shoved them all down. It wasn't her business. Vinny had made that clear.

She didn't pry again.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next few days slid by too quickly as the two established their new routine. It isolated Liv from the other volunteers, but given Collin's shitty jibes and Clarissa's growing anger, she didn't feel particularly troubled by that. Oddly, Vinny was turning out to be better companionship than they. Only John remained polite in his quiet, non-assuming manner.

Truthfully, the volunteers should have been grateful to her. The regular sex and companionship had softened the super's normal raging fury to a roaring fury on the site, much like Granite is softer than Sarsen. The workers put two and two together and were quietly thankful. She was still a wanton Western whore, but at least it was working in their favor this time.

Liv noticed the change in him, mostly because there was a slightly more noticeable change when they were alone. To call the new attitude 'civil' would have been pushing the truth, but there was a lessening of the pure bravado and antagonism that usually marked the young man. And as it eased in him, it lessened in answer; they still butted heads and threw up challenges to one another, but there was less intensity to them. The confrontations were almost comfortable - and they were always fun.

She almost didn't make it to the party on their last night. Her mind was on the coming evening, mulling over it with a bittersweet expectation. It wasn't going to be special, or at least she'd make no attempt for it to be special. Making a big deal out of it implied that there was more to this than sex. Liv kept that up for a bit before finally admitting to herself what she'd been avoiding thinking about: she'd let him a little too far. Not much, not enough to ruin her plans or what she intended to do tomorrow - namely, board a plane and fly home - but enough that she was a little bummed by the thought of leaving.

"Liv?" John's soft voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" she asked, realizing she'd just been crouching next to the water pump, her hand on the handle, staring off into space. Oops. "Need some water?"

"No," he said softly, "I was wondering if anyone's told you about the party."

"Party?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He smiled, sadly. "I thought not," he sighed. "Abbas is giving a last night party. As you worked here as hard as anyone..." He let the thought trail off.

"I should get to come to the party, even though no one wants me there?" she verified, feeling the slightly bitter smile tug at her mouth.

"I have no issues with you," John said, shrugging, "and think that the others would not if they would just stop and see what is true instead of putting their own vision of what is occurring on events."

"Thanks, John." Liv meant it too. It was the nicest sentiment anyone had expressed to her since she'd first slept with Vinny. "I'll be there."

He smiled, though he didn't look completely sure that her being there was a good thing. "Then I'll see you then," he said, before walking off.

Liv found Vinny and told him about the change of plans. She had only meant to inform him of her attendance, but to her surprise, he said, "Sure, I'm game. Abbas should have more beer there, too."

She almost asked him if that was a good idea, then remembered John's words. Sure, she hadn't handled things with Collin well, but his reaction to her having sex with Vinny was pretty telling about what his intentions had been. And Clarissa was just jealous that somehow, Liv kept getting invited back to Vinny's bed while she got left in the cold. She'd probably never figure out that it was her own actions that caused that situation. It wasn't cool to miss a party just to avoid them. So her only remark to Vinny was, "Sounds cool, then. Meet you there?"

After work, she grabbed a shower in her own place and dressed there. Since she had a bit of time, she made sure she was packed for the return trip tomorrow, leaving out a set of clothes to wear tomorrow. On a sudden impulse, she dug out the bikini top she'd been saving for her stay-over in London on the way home, and wore that as a top. A pair of cut-off jean shorts completed her lazy summer look, and then she went out to join the party.

[Forge]

Just as Liv was exiting her tuna can, Vinny came walking up, the familiar tang of cigar smoke preceding him. The cooler in his hands had the familiar slosh of half-melted ice and cans. He was dressed down as casual as any other day, if less dirty, wearing light khaki cargo pants and a sheer white button up that was left open, revealing his nicely tanned chest and rigid abs.

"Hear you guys were gonna get drunk...figured you could use some more beer." He said, setting the chest down.

Collin quickly spun at him, breaking away from his conversation with John, "Who the fuck invited ya, ya ass." he spat.

The additional glare from Clarissa rounded out the initial welcome, but Vinny just ignored them as he got a smile of greeting from Liv. He had never planned on it, but this last week had been the best in his miserable life, one he never wanted to forget and was sorry to let go. He knew she didn't return his burgeoning feelings and had done well to keep them hidden. It wouldn't be fair to send her packing feeling guilty after they had such a great time together. Vinny was resolute in his determination to keep this last day civil and normal, at least with her, the drama with the ass-tards was just icing on his already large cake.

"Hey Granola." He said playfully, wrapping an arm around Liv and leaning down to give her a smooch. The insult was completely gone out the name, having more turned into a sign that he was feeling feisty.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

As John waved at him, Liv turned the one-armed hug into a full embrace, putting both arms around his neck. Her kiss was warm and giving, and while it could have been an attempt to rub their status in the face of the disapproving, it was really just a simple greeting for him. As she stepped back, she laced her fingers through his and said, "Just in time. Food's ready."

Abbas was shaking his head at Vinny, but the conservative man didn't say anything immediately. As the volunteers sat down to eat, he asked Vinny in Arabic, "Should I stay? Will you need... backup?" He'd almost said restraint, but Vinny shook his head.

"Won't be necessary," he told the liaison. "Shouldn't have an issue." Not that he couldn't take care of any issues.

Things started so well. John ended up serving as an odd bridge; of the five people here, two were angry at the other two. He was the only neutral party, and so he found himself talking a lot more than normal as he served as an interface.

The food was consumed, then beer was imbibed, then more beer. Collin in particular was kicking them back, his expression sullen. His gaze fell on Liv and Vinny occasionally, and his expression darkened every time. Finally, his voice slurring, he spoke up. "So, Liv, when's ma' turn?"

Clarissa chuckled nastily as Liv set her jaw and tried to assume that he didn't mean what she thought he meant. "I have no idea what you mean," she said, her voice tense.

"Well, ya hav' hit Clarissa, Bill an' Vinny-boy - there's only have John an' me left ta fuck, an' it's the last night," he said, smirking darkly. "Better ge' ta it."

[Forge]

Vinny's face scrunched in anger as soon as the drunk Irishman started talking. His temper was flaring at the need to defend his woman and there was no holding it back.

Faster than anyone could react in their hazy, alcohol-induced state, Vinny was up and slugging Freckles in the face, knocking him clean off the bench with a sickening crack.

"Fuckin' ass-tard, shut yer shithole." he said, standing dominately over the collapsed, and nearly unconscious Collin.

"Oh my gawd!" Clarissa shrieked as she bent down to the prostrate volunteer. "You broke his jaw!"

John quickly stood up, but just slowly shook his head as he quietly observed, figuring it best to keep silent.

Abbas jumped to see if the boy was alright, rattling in Arabic, "Idiot, what have you done!"

"He's fuckin' fine, didn't hit 'em that hard, he's just a sissy th'can't hold his liquor." He answered in English as he turned back to the table, shaking and examining his hand.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv's first impulse was to check on Collin, but Clarissa and Abbas were already tending to him. So she went to Vinny, reaching for his hand. "Are you okay?" she asked, her eyes holding a mixture of concern and anger, both directed at him.

"I didn't hit him that hard," Vinny repeated. He was just a bit sore.

"I can't believe you did that," Liv said, frowning. "Violence-" She forced herself to stop; cradling his hand gently, she simply added, "It's not important." Not tonight, it definitely wasn't important. Any other night, she might have torn him a new asshole, but not on their last night together. It shouldn't have meant anything to her - he shouldn't have meant anything to her, but he did. You didn't have sex with someone and spend so much time with them without developing some feelings.

Abbas was getting Collin to his feet, probably to take him into Abdali to the clinic. Liv really hoped Vinny hadn't broken his jaw. It'd probably cause no end of trouble for both men. "C'mon," she said softly, "I think the party is over. Let's get back to your place."

[Forge]

"Alright." Vinny said, letting himself be led away and back towards what he had started to think of 'their' place.

It was a quiet walk back as Liv fumed and Vin tried to figure out why she was mad. He had done the right thing and defended her, he had protected what he felt was his, why the fuck would she be mad? She should be happy that he was willing to put himself in danger for her, to commit to violence in her name...why didn't she see that?

He opened the door for her and she walked into the nice, cool, house. The sweat from the evening heat immediately caused goosebumps as it chilled, that at least for the moment, was welcome.

"So...why the fuck'r ya mad at me?" he said flexing his hand one last time before letting it drop as he moved towards the fridge and more alcohol.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

She'd let it go, as best as she could, which for Liv, wasn't well. So when he asked his question, she opened her mouth, then stopped herself, because she felt the anger surging. It took two tries before she managed, "You hit Collin. You didn't have to do that. You could have ignored him. You could have yelled at him, like I was getting ready to do. Instead, you hurt him, all because he was drunk and shooting off his mouth. He was doing that because I'd hurt him. I'm not saying I deserved that, because I didn't. But he spoke from pain, and all you did was hurt him in yet another way."

Talking calmly was helping her keep her temper; it always had. So she was able to sit down at the table and speak rationally instead of starting to scream again. "It didn't solve anything. It just caused more pain, and might have gotten you in trouble."

[Forge]

"Won't get me fuckin' nothin'," he defended, sitting down next to her, "You guys leave tomorrow, worst fuckin' case, your charity doesn't send anymore help."

It could actually be a whole lot worse and he knew it. Collin could press charges or sue, his company could fire him for the bad publicity. Even the locals could technically get in an uproar if they wanted, a lot depended on how badly he was hurt, but none of this was crossing Vinny's alcohol impaired mind.

"Fuckin' dick deserved it, maybe next time, the little shit'll rub his jaw and remember the consequences of spoutin' filth at beauty." he explained, rotating the open brew in his hands on the table. His gaze seemed fixed on the can and his posture was slouched, both indicators that he felt at least some remorse, but probably more that he had ticked off Liv than hit Collin.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv could have argued; she could have taken the cues from those bowed shoulders and pounded on him until he at least stopped openly defending his actions. But she didn't want to remember their last night like that; she didn't want to defeat him.

So she did the one thing she'd thought she'd never do: she ignored her pacifist values.

"Okay, so it was kinda cool to have someone defend me," she admitted softly. When he looked at her in surprise, she said, "I've never had that happen before." She put a hand on his arm, feeling the corded muscles relax at her change in stance. "I've always taken care of myself, usually by being a smart ass. It's different when someone else does it for you."

[Forge]

"Yeah," he agreed, though not with much conviction, since he couldn't relate. Since she stopped grilling him, he relaxed, no longer feeling the need to defend himself so strongly.

"Sorry I clocked him, shoulda gave you the chance to rip him a new one first." he continued, turning to finally make eye contact.

Her eyes are so fuckin' beautiful. Wish she would stay.

"But let's not let a little fuckin' Irish ruin our evenin'." Vinny said, getting louder and slamming the table with both hands as he stood up. "We're already half way through a game of strip fuckin' poker, I say we finish it."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Liv laughed at his proclamation. "I can only lose five hands," she chuckled, "and that's only if my sandals count one each." She stood up and leaned against him, his arms sliding around her bare torso as she slipped her hands under his open shirt. "I'm almost naked already," she added at a near purr.

"I know," he replied before kissing her softly. Liv returned the kiss with her own tenderness, her hands slipping up under his shirt and slipping it off his shoulders. He dropped his arms long enough to let her push it off of him, then went back to holding her close.

Liv stepped back after a moment; after a week, he no longer got that hard, speculative look in his eye when she did things like this. "Sit down," she said, waving to a chair. As he did, she said, "Wish we had some music. Before you judge, just remember, I don't have a beat."

With a grin, she began to dance to music only she could hear, coming to him with gyrating hips. She slid onto his lap, straddling his legs, still moving and wiggling on him. Her hands clasped his head and pulled his face to her cleavage, murmuring with pleasure when he took the invitation and began to kiss and lick her skin.

[Forge]

The evening was particularly satisfying with energy running high on the eve of departure, their pleasures running long into the night as Vinny nor Oliva really wanted this time to end. And they may have acted on it if they could have stopped and realized what was happening. Against all logical thinking, they were falling for each other.

Cuddled up together in the wee hours of the night, or the early morning, depending on your perspective, they basked in the glow of each other, pleasantly content and happy.

Vinny had been debating to ask this question for a couple days now, but was scared of the answer, and as he lay there, watching Olivia doze in and out, attempting to fight off sleep as he himself was, he finally worked up the courage.

"Darlin'." he asked softly, pausing to make sure she was awake.

"Hmm?" Liv replied, her face buried amongst the blankets on his chest.

"What would you say if I asked you to stay?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

The soft question chased sleep away, or maybe it was just the way her heart missed a beat. She froze for a moment, her heart torn. She tried to imagine staying here - and was left with the question, Stay doing what? Working for him? Being his girlfriend? Would she give up her degree for him, her dreams for the future?

She'd chosen journalism. It was what she wanted to do; to find stories and pass them on to people. She couldn't do it if she stayed here. All she could do is help out on the site; there were no colleges, no universities, and while his next stop might have both, what about the one after? And what about her family? Would she have to plan a sixteen hour plus trip every time she wanted to see them?

Her heart, still sore from the pain of Bill, ached again as she asked, "What would you say if I asked you to leave?"

[Forge]

During his days of pondering, he had thought about her asking that and what his response would be. He didn't like the thought of being tied down, of giving up his globe-trotting, but at the same time, having a solid, dependable place to stay, not to mention a hot girlfriend, was enticing.

It was a fair question to ask him, he was afterall asking her to give up her potential life to stay here, but he had nothing. Leaving Northrup-Grumman lost him nothing but his fat salary. Did he really care about her that much to spin his world upside down? To go back to the states and resign himself to building boxes his whole life? He thought he did.

He definitely thought the gain was worth the risk, he was from Vegas afterall...shouldn't gambling be in his blood?

The son of a dead pit-boss and incarcerated former stage dancer eased himself up into a sitting position, his back against the wall as he lifted Liv's head up to look at her.

"What would you say if I said yes?"