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A Little Companion

Summary:

The long tale within a journal of a newfound young man who strolls the barren roads of the deceased world who wonders why all of a sudden nearly all of humanity died in a single morning with the immense desire of wanting to know what caused it. Follow along with his thought processes as he tries living in a world where his own species is far and wide between where loneliness slowly tears him up inside while wondering why he continues his existence... That is until he finds a little someone in his lonely world, of whom he instinctively wants to protect and grow close to, the same person that leads him down a path and a journey of a lifetime.

Act One: Chapters 1 - ??? | Very slow paced, slow build, teenage love, relationship building, and minor world building

Polishing in progress: 28/66 complete.

Notes:

This story is not a smut story. Yes, there is a considerable amount but most of it is skippable.

There will not be any deadlines for any chapter releases because that stresses me out. If it takes me a while to make a chapter then that's fine with me, I don't want to rush anything and make sure I publish content that I tried my hardest on and that I can be proud of. I suggest using the bookmark feature if you want.

As of 8/26/21 AO3 has changed the tagging system. So I will be putting the nixed tags here for anyone who wants more details of what this story contains here. Beware, spoilers.

Miscellaneous tags that were removed: World building, Period Blood, Dreams, Touch-Starved, Living Together, Literal Sleeping Together, Protectiveness, Light Obsession

Fluff tags that were removed: Teasing, Massaging, Spooning, Hugs, Flirting, Trust, Nuzzles, Holding Hands, Dancing, Tickle Kink, Sleepy Cuddles, Couch Cuddles, Morning Cuddles, Naked Cuddling, Cuddlefucking, Gentle Kissing, French Kissing, Shotgun Kissing, Eskimo Kisses, Sleepy Kisses, Forehead Kissing, Neck Kissing, Feeding Each Other, and Bathing Together

BDSM tags that were removed: Orgasm Denial, Ruined Orgasm, Orgasm Control, Edging, Lingerie, Light Choking, Light Dirty Talk, Sex Toys, Vibrators, Blindfolds, Ball Gags, Collars, Leashes, Handcuffs, Ear Muffs, Nipple Stimulators, Femdom (It's rare), Rough Sex (It's rare), Light Dirty Talk, Bondage, Cock Rings, Cock Cages, Butt Plugs, and Pegging

Other sexual tags that were removed: Mating, Sex, Gentle Sex, Vaginal Sex, Intercrucal Sex, Morning Sex, Oral Sex, Standing Sex, Desk Sex, Outdoor Sex, Unprotected Sex, Emotional Sex, Possessive Sex, Abdominal Bulge, Moaning, Dry Humping, Seduction, Pubic Hair, Blue Balls, Scrotum Holding, Cunnilingus, Multiple Sex Positions, Missionairy Position, Cowgirl Position, Partial 69 Position, Doggy Style, Lotus Position, Vaginal Fingering, Foreplay, Squirting, Light Panty Kink, Skirt Without Panties, Cum on Panties, Begging, Breast Massaging, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Wet Dreams, Hand Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, Blow Jobs, Cum Swallowing, Cum on Body, Cum Smearing, Masturbation, Mutual Masturbation, Sex Tapes, Scent Kink, Praise Kink, Vaginal Gaping, Face-Fucking, Face-Sitting, Simultaneous Orgasm, Multiple Orgasms, Overstimulation, Swaddling/Cockwarming, and Creampie... so many creampies.

Chapter 1: Chrysalis

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Loneliness. Loneliness has been all of what I've felt ever since I lost my family two years ago in the collapse of... everything. After the chaos, the initial shock, depression, and other emotions across those lines vanished, I've become dead inside and ponder why I continue to push forward with this life. It truly seems pointless.

I get up, I walk, I scavenge, I move on to the next location, I sleep, and I survive in the empty and decaying remains of what once was a booming society. Very rarely will I come across a small group of survivors of three or four but I refrain from making contact with them for fear I might have to fight for my life, something I've done before with a lone straggler who had completely lost their mind in the darkness of this world.

However, it's been well over a year since I've seen another human; the loneliness leaving a giant empty feeling in my chest. I want something warm to fill the void. A friendship, a family-like relationship... maybe something more with someone.

But I scoff at the idea because I don't think my mind will let that happen. As I've said, I don't make contact and flee as fast as possible when I see other people. My mind's in a constant state of limbo of self-causing depression, a cycle that'll seemingly never end.

Well, I thought that for a very long time... until a little someone stumbled upon me which changed the course of my life forever...


"Day eight-hundred fifteen..." I murmured under my breath as I wrote down those exact words in the journal I've kept with me ever since the ninth grade. It was something I wrote down in every once in while to feel just a little more sane, minus the daily count since that was... a daily thing, kinda self-explanatory there. I sighed as I looked at the page and glanced over the small numbers increasing one by one, the text nearly filling up the entire sheet.

"It's hard to believe it's been that long ever since the world ended... it's felt like an eternity." I thought as I closed the journal before putting it back in the backpack I carry around which holds all of what I own. I picked it up and set it on the floor as I laid myself down on the couch.

I had luckily stumbled upon a small log cabin somewhat deep in a forest as the night swiftly made its presence known. I had briefly searched every room in case there happened to be any residence inside the building, thankfully finding no one at all. Or at least no one alive that is. Unfortunately, there were skeletal remains in the only bedroom which is why I chose the couch to sleep on. I didn't particularly want to touch bones, I don't like the unsettling feeling of them.

I was thankful I had found it so I didn't have to sleep out in the open and on the cold ground. Though I should be used to that by now since that's been the place where I've slept the most. But never mind that, instead of thinking about that I relished in the relief of indoors, not being exposed to the harsh elements of nature.

As I laid there in the silence, I realized that I hadn't gotten quite to that point of exhaustion to fall unconscious, something I'm all to familiar with as insomnia is a close friend. After a quick sigh, I swiftly got back up to do a few things around the little cabin to help pass the time so weariness could creep into my system further. I started to look through rooms such as the kitchen and then the bathroom. I hadn't scavenged the place just yet, I planned to do that in the morning but plans change.

In the kitchen I found a few cans of miscellaneous foods which is really all that was left which could be consumed there since the rest of it had either expired or decayed. After making sure I had looked in the most obvious places there was to search, I trudged my way to pillage the bathroom. A few minutes later after searching through a couple cabinets, I found a bottle of antibiotic pills, a small and unopened bottle of peroxide, and a couple of other medical supplies that wouldn't hurt to have some more of.

As I took the remaining objects that I wanted from the medicine cabinet, I placed them down on the sink before looking into the mirror. Even though it was quite dark, I was still able to make out most details within it. I silently stared at the person who looked back at me. I didn't recognize them but they seemed so familiar. Native American tanned skin, no facial hair but thick black sideburns and even thicker hair. Brown eyes that had no light in them and a bright scar that trailed from the temple, down the cheek, and across the jaw. A result of a fight, a fight of which resulted in the first person I had killed...

Before I could get too lost in the dreadful image that was before me, I heard something slightly rattle a doorknob. Adrenaline instantly flooded my veins as I thought of many various situations of what could've made that sound. In a split second, after a dozen scenarios played out in my mind, I landed on the conclusion that another human had caused that sound.

My hand bolted to my hip where a nine-inch sharp and serrated dagger resided. But my hand grabbed only an empty holster as I had taken the knife out and set it on a coffee table shortly after I got comfortable within the cabin. My heart skipped a beat as I realized the mistake where the door to the building creaked open a moment afterward. Then the gentle sound of footsteps was heard, but only for a second.

After looking around the bathroom to find anything that could be considered a weapon, I came to the quick conclusion that there was no such thing in the room that I could defend myself with if whoever was then in the building with me was hostile and equipped.

Before I could continue pondering the subject, I heard whoever it was seemingly flop on the floor, the sound of footsteps ceasing as I heard the sound of a light sob replace it. If I were to describe the crying I'd've guessed it sounded like a woman in distress.

A couple minutes passed as I thought of the situation. "If things do indeed get rough and I have to fight, chances are I would overpower them... I don't want to kill again. But if I have to, I will. Hopefully I can dodge my way out of a conflict and flee from whoever this is as soon as possible."

After a few more silent seconds, I silently walked into the hallway that led to the living room. As I approached the corner of where the two parts of the house met, I slowed down and continued to listen to my new guest's quiet sobs. I halted my advance just before I walked into the room so I could peak over the corner to assess what this person was, what they might be capable of, and what they were equipped with.

I must reiterate, even though it was then well into the night, I could still manage to see through the dark and lay my eyes upon a tattered little girl who had her head on her knees blocking the door. The sight of her was... pitiful. I determined with ease that she'd be no threat to me but I didn't want a skirmish nonetheless. I thought of how to make contact even though I dreaded doing so, something I could only procrastinate for just another minute longer before finally breaking the ice that she had no clue was there.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to alarm you, but you're not alone here." I stated, staying behind the corner and embracing for the worst reaction of what could happen. I heard a type of squeak before a shuffle where her rate of breath spiked, the same breathing picking up a slight shutter.

"P-Please, don't hurt me!" She called out, choked up and frightened.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Hell, I'm afraid that you're gonna hurt me." I truthfully replied, clearing my throat as I hadn't spoken in a long while.

"I-I..." Is all she said before she became silent again.

"Now, I'm gonna walk into the room you're in so I can retrieve my belongings. Can I trust that you won't make any moves against me?" I asked as I peaked around the corner again, noting that she had stood up and clutched one of her arms close to her chest.

She didn't respond for a couple of silent seconds before stuttering a reply. "Y-Yes..."

Letting out a breath I had been holding, I slowly walked out from behind my cover, completely exposing my body to unknown circumstances. She gasped as she looked up at me, the girl getting a sense of how much bigger I was than her. She quietly whimpered, trying to keep herself under control. I slowly made my way over to the couch and equipped my backpack, grabbed my dagger, and swiftly concealed it where it belonged. I looked at the girl who was now sliding to the floor.

"Are you okay?" I don't know what made me ask or care but it just felt like I needed to know...

"I... no." She quietly answered after some hesitancy.

Wondering what I should do, I couldn't help myself but ask more questions. "What's wrong?"

"What's not wrong..." She replied, as she hit the ground "I'm only losing a little blood..."

Feelings that I haven't felt in ages started to emerge within my mind such as concern and curiosity. "...You're bleeding?" I asked, putting my bag back down on the coffee table that resided in front of the couch.

"Why's it matter, we all die in the end..." She glumly said before lifting up her hand that had stayed on her left arm which revealed a couple of deep gashes that would certainly result in an infection and perhaps death if not treated.

I don't know what it was but it felt like I needed to help her. It had always felt like I had to atone for the killing that I did in some way, never finding anything close as an opportunity to do so until that moment. I picked my bag up again and walked over to her which caused the girl to reactively scoot away from me in fear, though in the process she used her wounded arm which caused a shriek of pain to emit from her. I stopped my stride and said in a gentle tone, "Let me help you, you're hurt, and I can help you."

She looked back up at me, the little girl shaking from fear and pain with tears pooled in her eyes. "Why...? I'm a stranger... a no-good-s-stranger..." Her voice broke as a couple of fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

Seeing someone like that... that fragile, that broken, so small, and seemingly helpless... it made my heart sad. I wanted to help the girl in some way even though the other half of my mind wanted nothing to do with her.

"It's a personal reason. That, and I don't think I could forgive myself if I just let you die." I answered honestly before taking a few slow steps forward. When I was close enough, I got on one knee and set my bag down before unzipping one of the several compartments that contained my medical supplies. I looked at her still fearful eyes before trying to give a small smile to help ease the mood for her. "Will you allow me to help you?"

She stayed silent for another minute before she lifted her damaged arm up to watch some fresh blood drip down her forearm. "How are you going to fix this...?" She asked as I took out a couple materials for cleaning a wound

"Trust me, I have all the supplies with me in this bag." I said tapping the bag with my elbow. "I just need to get a good look at what I'm dealing with to determine what I need to help you."

She lightly gulped and let out a little sigh. "...I guess if you wanted to kill or hurt me, you'd've done it by now..." She quietly said before slowly extending her arm out towards me.

I experienced a genuine subtle smile for the first time in months while she did so. I repositioned myself to get a better angle to help her before dragging my bag over to my side. After unzipping another compartment, I grabbed out a little flashlight to help me see what exactly I was dealing with. When I switched the little device on, my little guest jumped at the surprise of an abrupt change in light.

"I'm going to put my hand on your arm now, okay?" I warned, her head lightly nodding which gave me the 'go ahead'. I gently put my right hand on the reddened stained limb as I directed the beam of light over her wound which allowed me to clearly see the large and deep cuts causing her to bleed. I could tell she had been bleeding for a while at that point. After examining the damage for about a minute, "What caused this and how long have you been bleeding?" I asked, astounded at what I was seeing.

"It was some type of animal... I don't know the name of it, I just know that it had the teeth to do something like this... and I can't recall how many hours ago it was. I know I couldn't fight even if I wanted to though..." Her voice became weak, her breathing slightly more shallow, possibly due to exhaustion catching up with her.

"Hm." I simply replied while setting the flashlight down to where it could be pointing straight up to illuminate the entire room. Even though it was still dim it was more than enough light for me to work with. After I determined what I would need to help her, I got took out a cloth, peroxide, bandages, and materials for stitching a wound up. I put the cloth on her wound and pressed it down to start stopping the bleeding. She jerked back and seethed in pain, something she'd have to go through quite a lot as this process played out. Being reminded by that, I took out my bottle of painkillers and opened it before taking two capsules out. "You're going to want to take these so it'll be less painful." I advised as I extended my arm holding the pills a tad toward her.

She eyed them before looking at the bottle they came from. After what I assume was her determining if they were indeed painkillers, she grabbed them and swallowed them with some difficulty. I handed her my canteen of water shortly after just to make the process easier for her. When I handed it to her, she timidly took it out of my hand. "Are you sure...?" She asked after unscrewing the lid. I nodded "How much can I have...?"

"As much as you need." That was all she needed to hear before she took several big swigs of the canteen, the girl drinking at least half of it before putting it down to her side.

At that point, I finally took the time to see what she looked like. Pale skin with long black hair that went down to her waist. She had... I'll admit, beautiful blue eyes, and her face was kind of... emaciated. The shape of her face was rounded, her lips being somewhat thin, and her nose was that of a button nose.

"When was the last time you ate?" I gently asked as I took note of how skinny she was.

"At least... three days, maybe..." She sighed and looked up at me with pleading eyes, eyes that begged for even more help.

"...I can give you some of my food." I offered with a light smile, wanting to talk to her more so we could pass the time for the pills to take at least some effect.

"I... no, I can't accept that, you're too nice." She said in disbelief.

"You're someone in need and someone I can help... It wouldn't be a big deal if I gave you some of my food, I'd rather it go to someone like you." I admitted. As much as I tried to be selfish... I couldn't help myself. It's not in my nature. I need to help people who are in her type of state, especially when I could easily do it.

She stayed silent after my response for a few seconds. "If- if you're sure..."

"I am." I assured. After a couple minutes of keeping the cloth on her arm, I started to think of what I could give her; an answer to that question swiftly being thought up. "Can you hold the cloth so I can go get you something?"

She looked at my hand that stayed on her arm before her hand swiftly replaced mine a couple seconds later. I stood up and headed into the kitchen to the pile of cans that I had recently made. I looked over the few cans that still had edible food and decided to take a can of tomato soup for her. I shook it up as I strolled back to her before getting on my knees and getting my can opener out.

"Are you okay with tomato soup?" I asked prematurely, just in case she was allergic to tomatoes or something like that.

"Yes, anything would be fine..." She clarified as I heard her stomach rumble.

After I got the can open and made sure it was fine to eat, I delicately handed it to her before taking the cloth on her arm back in my hand after putting my can opener back where it came from. "Take it slow." I advised as she looked at the soup I gave her. She licked the contents before slowly drinking it, her shaking picking up again while doing so. As she drank it, we started having a proper conversation for a bit to help pass the time.  "What's your name?"

"Uh... Stacy." She said with just a bit of uncertainty. "What about you?"

"Hunter, but my friends call me Hunter." I somewhat sarcastically answered.

"You have friends?" She asked, fear lining her tone.

"No, no, sorry to scare you. I'm just trying to have a little fun with my words since I haven't spoken to someone in... such a long time." The sadness regarding loneliness became prevalent in my mind after saying that as I wondered how I had stayed sane during it. But a new thought entered my head; this was the first time in ages that I had not felt lonely after the fall. But I couldn't stay with this person... or so a portion of my mind told me.

"So where are you from?" She timidly asked me after she completed half of her can of soup.

"Illinois, in a little place called Bloomington." I answered, seeing her very lightly smile for the first time. "I think the name's a little odd sounding as well." I said with a light chuckle. "What about you, where are you from?"

"Maryland. I can't really remember the name of the town I was born in." She admitted. "Not really something that I need to remember, y'know?"

I nodded to her sense of importance. "How old are you?" I asked after another couple minutes rolled by.

"I think I'm... fourteen or so? That sounds about right but it's not something I really care about to remember either."

I was a little bit shocked at the answer "I guess that kinda explains why you're so little... If you're not already done growing. Your mother could've been small..." I thought as I glanced over her form as she finished the can I gave her.

"How old are you, Mister Hunter?"

"I'm eighteen." I simply replied as a few more questions entered my mind. We continued talking for about half an hour, talking briefly about the day when nearly everyone perished, how long we've been alone, how lonely it was... During this, I discovered that she was as lonely as I was during this talk. She seemed quite relatable during this short conversation, something part of my mind latched onto. I discovered that she hadn't been hurt by anyone during the time of post-society, which is quite a blessing, and that she's been alone for a year and a half, surviving on her own, and having to grow up years before she had to. I reciprocated answering the same questions so we could have an even field regarding what each other knew about each other.

"Alright, I think it's time for me to finish what I've started..." I announced somewhat ominously before removing the cloth from her arm which had stopped most of the bleeding.

Her light smile vanished from her face before she sighed. "How much is this gonna hurt...?"

"Most likely a lot. But it would've been much worse without the pills I gave you... You're not gonna try to hurt me when I do this, are you?"

She sighed again. "I'll try not to..."

"If you need to scream, if it's that painful, you can. I seriously doubt that there's another person within fifty miles of us." I told her as I saturated peroxide into a clean part of the cloth. "You ready?" I asked as I prepared to clean her wound. She gulped and sighed again, nodded, and prepared for the worst.

The procedure took around ten minutes; her screams when stitching her skin closed were awful to hear, it made me feel extremely terrible for causing her harm. But unfortunately, it had to happen for her to get better.

When it was over, she was panting and trying to calm down from the pain as I wrapped her forearm in a thick and protective bandage. "...Are you okay?" I asked with concern.

"I- I will be... thanks to you..." She gave me solemn eyes before putting her now recovering arm close to her chest.

"It's the least I could do for what I've done..." I murmured.

"...What have you done?" She asked as I finished putting all my medical supplies away and tossing away the contaminated ones.

"That's a story for another time." I replied before getting a clean cloth out from my bag and pouring water from the canteen onto it to start clearing away the blood on my hands. After I did that, I gently took her hands so I could clean them off as well before wiping down her unwounded forearm to clean that as well.

"Another time?" She repeated, unsure of my wording as I cleaned our appendages.

"Tomorrow, perhaps." I simply yet vaguely replied. To be honest, I planned on ditching her as soon as possible but there was... something I couldn't quite put into words keeping me from already doing that. I still planned on ditching her, but it felt like something was shifting in my mind.

"Alright then..." She replied as I stood up and put my bag on the coffee table again.

"I'll let you sleep on the couch. I'll take the floor. I would've preferred you on a bed to sleep on but since there's a remnant of a person there, I'm afraid that's not an option." I matter of factly said before pulling out a thick blanket from my bag before thinking of who should get it; it wasn't a hard decision to make. I looked over my shoulder to see that she was still sat on the floor and struggling to keep her eyes open, the girl just a bit paler than what she had been thirty minutes ago.

"I feel like I'm taking so much..." She admitted as I walked back to her.

"Really, it's fine, I'm more than happy to be doing this." I said before extending one of my hands out to her. "Let me help you up so you can get to a better place to lie down."

She looked at the appendage for a few seconds before her right hand shakily took hold of mine. I helped her up a little too quickly since I hadn't expected her to be so light. "Sorry about that." I quickly said. After she said it was fine, I led her over to the couch and made sure she was comfortable. After that, I put the blanket over her, making sure it encompassed her entire body.

"Are you sure you're fine with all this...?" She hesitantly asked, an exhausted tone overruling any other in her voice.

"Sure am. I'd love to talk with you more but you should really get to sleep, you seem like you really need it. If there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask... that's all I can really ask for, is for you not to be afraid of me..." I kind of desperately asked. I don't understand what switched within me that past hour, but she had caused something to shift within me, it felt like something finally changed.

"I- I'll try not to be." She replied as she slowly closed her eyes. "Thank you, Hunter, for all of this... this is the nicest thing I've ever seen anyone do."

"...You're welcome, I could've never just left you the way you were. Now, goodnight." I said as I saw her look at me one more time before she slowly rolled over and presumably started to go to sleep. Then I made my way to the other side of the coffee table and sat myself on the floor before lying down on my back and looking at the ceiling, just thinking.

I thought for what seemed like an hour, pondering if I should abandon her, if I should leave, take everything and be out of her life forever, never to see her again... But I kept thinking of how... of how nice it was to have someone to finally talk to, to get to know, to not be by myself, and thinking about what the future would be like if I didn't ditch her.

After going back and forth in my mind several times, looking at the door, almost getting up and leaving several times, I finally decided on a conclusion. And that was to give it a shot to stick together.


After a dreamless sleep, I woke up around an hour after the sun had risen. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, yawned, stretched, and looked out of the nearest window. I looked down at the floor where the doorway was to discover dried up blood. My heartrate spiked and some adrenaline flooded my veins as all of the prior night's events ran through my mind in a second, instantly remembering what I had done.

I looked to my left to see a still sleeping Stacy there who hadn't moved an inch, though the blanket she had didn't really cover her well. Her skin was darker than what it had been last night so that was good to see. However, seeing the state of her attire wasn't that great since her clothes were dirty and tattered. If I had clothes that would fit her, I would've given them to her, but as it was I didn't. Perhaps I'd eventually find her some new clothes, who knows...

At the time, I didn't know if I'd stick with her. As it was, I didn't even know if she reciprocated the feeling of wanting to survive with each other. Before I asked her about it, since she was still sleeping of course, that gave me more time to think about grouping with her. Thinking more and more about it, it only gave me more reason to do so... I was so exhausted of being alone... But if she wanted to be alone, I wouldn't stop her and move on.

I stood up and stretched some more before going to the bathroom to retrieve the medical supplies so I could refill what I had used last night. After I did so, I quietly walked over to Stacy to check on her. Thankfully, she was still breathing but I also had to check her temperature as well to make sure she was okay.

I actually got quite worried when I was walking up to her. If she wasn't breathing, I would've been extremely saddened. But since that didn't happen, I started worrying about the next thing about her and that was what if her wound had gotten infected. But I didn't want to rudely wake her up so I decided to simply wait until she woke up which I'm not sure was the best thing to do. After I properly covered her back up with the blanket which had essentially fallen off of her during the night, I took my journal out and wrote in it for a while until she woke up.

Over half an hour passed before she grunted a bit and rolled over, something that made me close my journal and set it on the table before walking over to her. Stacy opened her eyes and squinted due to the light. "How are you feeling?" I asked with concern.

She looked confused as she turned her head left and right, the girl looking around just a tad before making eye contact with me for a couple moments, her eyes scanning my face now that she could properly see with sufficient lighting. "I..." She trailed off as she looked down to her arm staying silent for a few seconds. "My arm... hurts a lot." She told me as I looked at the bandages that needed to be replaced with new ones.

"I bet it does... I'll check on it in a bit if you'll allow me to." I looked back at her eyes and then to her forehead. "Do you mind if I press my hand on your forehead?" I asked. After she confirmed that she'd be fine with it, I pressed my hand on her cool skin to check if she had a fever or not. Concluding that she didn't have one, I turned to my bag and pulled out a fresh set of bandages. "Do you mind if I change your bandages for you?" I gently asked as I took a seat on the side of the couch where her legs resided.

She sat up and put her legs over the side taking a deep breath of air. "No, I don't mind..." She replied with a yawn. I scooted closer to her a bit and gently grabbed her damaged arm before slowly pulling it toward me at a proper working angle. I set the fresh bandages on my lap as I started undoing the old ones. It revealed a stitched, bruised, and dead-skinned area that looked terrible.

"Ew..." She commented as we both looked at the damage. I agreed but didn't comment out loud. Thankfully, seeing no worrying discoloration, inflammation, or swelling, it was safe to assume that it had not been infected.

After I informed her of the news, she released a breath of relief as I started to wrap her arm again in fresh bandages. It was obviously extremely sore and tender so I unfortunately hurt her whilst bandaging it up again but it could've been a hundred times worse.

When I was done with the bandages, I benevolently put her arm back down before giving her another painkiller to help soothe the pain in her arm. "I'm sorry that I hurt you last night, I wish there was another way to have helped you."

"It's fine... more than fine, actually. Thank you so much for doing everything you've done. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you..." She praised as we looked each other in the eyes.

"Don't worry about it, truly, I'm glad that I helped you." I replied before a silence emerged between us. It took a minute or two but we started talking about miscellaneous topics for the next twenty minutes, not anything important to note. That was until a question of importance sprouted up.

"So, when do you plan on leaving here?" Stacy asked with a subtle tilt of her head.

"Well, I would've left already if you weren't here." I pointed out, a couple silent seconds following the statement before I decided to just tell her what I was thinking about. "You've... you've made me realize something that I've always tried to smother from inside me." I admitted, thinking it was the best time to tell her what I wanted to do with her.

She tilted her head a tad bit more and asked, "What do you mean?"

I lightly sighed as I formulated a response before telling her. "I've... been so extremely lonely ever since society crumbled. And that's sort of been on my own terms due to being scared for my life, afraid of other people, and avoiding them at all costs due to that fear. I was gonna do that with you, leaving you in the middle of the night, but you... you changed how I view that fear. It was probably the helplessness that you showed, but... I forgot what talking to someone else was like. I forgot what it was like to smile and to be with another person. It's genuinely such a fantastic feeling, especially after so long of not even seeing another person." I stopped my small rant to catch a breath and to let her process what I've been saying. "And it's made me want... It makes me want to stay with you, to survive together, form a type of group maybe?"

When I finished my little monologue, we fell silent, the girl taking her time to digest my words. After a couple minutes of thinking, she lightly smiled and looked me in the eyes again. "I... would like that." She replied, a gigantic wave of relief washing over my mind. "I agree with what you said, I'm so tired of being alone... I barely even remember the last time I saw someone else."

I couldn't help but smile at her reply. I wanted to let a couple tears of joy out but I stopped myself from doing that. Instead, I talked to her about how she had survived. Her answer was essentially 'just barely', the girl usually not being able to find the right amount of nutrition, walking distances that take much longer than what they'd be for me considering her height, and generally being unable to do many miscellaneous other tasks. Because of that, I then and there decided that I would try to help her through anything that challenged her.

"So... what caused the scar on your face?" Stacy asked, eyeing the mark on said area.

I put my hand up to the side of my face to lightly caress the scar tissue "I always forget that I have this..." I thought about it for a few moments as I relived the moment. I wanted to deny her her request but for some reason I told her. "It was caused by someone who wanted to kill me, someone who was using a type of sickle. It was all serrated and it cut very deep. If they hit me not even an inch closer, I would've lost this eye. Maybe I would've died if that happened..."

"Did you do anything to them...? If you don't mind me asking." She continued to ask.

I put my hand back down. "They engaged me first for no particular reason. Perhaps they went insane, I don't know. But I was forced to defend myself. And that is all I will say about what I did. Maybe I'll give you more details in the future... maybe. But that's the end of that conversation." A silence fell upon us after I delivered that statement which made me realize I had just a bit of a harsh tone to my voice. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to speak like that. I've lost how to control my tone of voice after so long; I really didn't mean to sound like that. It's just that I don't like thinking about what I had to do."

"Oh... I didn't know, I'm sorry." Stacy timidly replied before she balled the blanket up and put it on her lap.

"Nothing's your fault, don't worry about it." I said in response with an assuring tone. I got up shortly afterward as we got ourselves situated to leave the cabin. After Stacy had ample time to properly wake up, she stood up with some difficulty before handing me the blanket which I gracefully took out of her hands.

She looked up at me with her bright blue eyes. "Thank you again... I probably would've died here if you weren't here..."

I took the time to notice just how small she was. I was at least an entire foot taller than her, probably around fifteen or so inches. It was, I'll admit, cute, but I quickly suppressed any desire to state that out loud as that would definitely be weird for her to hear.

I once again said it was no problem and packed the fabric back in my bag. "So, what're we gonna do? Do you have a place you call home or anything?" Stacy asked with a tilt of her head.

"No, I don't. I just move forward and move on to the next area scavenging anything I can find to stay alive."

"Do you want a home?" She asked, which made me freeze.

I didn't know the answer to that question. I didn't know if I could answer that question and to be honest, I didn't know a lot of other things about what I might or might not want. All that I've really wanted was to not be alone. And it seems that I might've found that. Other than that, I was completely lost.

"I don't know..." I answered before I explained my thought process which made her face adopt an expression of understanding. "I'll see what happens in the future though, if I make up my mind on something like that."

"...We have a lot in common." Stacy pointed out somberly. The conversation slowed down afterward where just a few questions were asked every now and then while we got ready to depart from the small structure.

Another half an hour passed before we finally got ourselves situated and ready to leave the cabin for the first time as a little duo. After we ate a couple more cans of food, we made our way out and started moving forward. And that's really it. That's all I've been doing to survive, move forward. There's no end goal in mind. Just move on to the next area I can scavenge and survive off of before moving on to the next area.

But I must say, in this setting, it's still really difficult to survive without being a 'survivalist'. But when you're built like me, it's much easier to survive in this barren world where you're able to traverse the land more easily. Though as every day passes, the more of the things that can be scavenged decay. A huge percentage has already decayed, who knew what another two or three years would do. Eventually I, no, we, were gonna have to figure something out. And perhaps I already knew how to. But people are needed for it and I wasn't sure whether or not we'll find people, let alone enact upon forming a big group... But that's something that would be determined when the time came... if the time came.

Notes:

If you've made it here you're at least somewhat interested in the story, I won't ask for much but to consider leaving a kudos, a subscription, and/or leaving a comment of constructive criticism or a comment of support. It really helps keep my motivation for continuing to write this story at a steady pace, all up to you if you wanna do any of those things. Thank you for taking the time to read all of this! <3

Chapter 2: Dilapidated

Chapter Text

The first day in the new chapter of my life was quite revolutionary, even though it should've been more normal than what it was. Stacy and I did what I usually do which was move forward and search any building that we strolled by. Since we were now a group of two, we had to get more supplies to keep us going. This was a challenge which would stay somewhat difficult until Stacy could carry her own assortment of supplies; that would only happen whenever we'd be able to find her one a bag. Though that didn't happen until about a week after of becoming a group, but I'll write that down later.

Time seemed to go by faster with her company since I was able to focus my mind on something fun and interesting after being deprived of something like it for so long, something that seemed relatively alien to me, that being talking to another person in this weird dynamic. I couldn't stop doing it for what felt like hours on end; I'm glad that she wanted to hear all of what I monologued about. Talking to Stacy, getting to know her as we moved forward, was quite a fun activity which easily melted away the minutes. I was starting to become glad that she stumbled upon me and that I hadn't abandoned her. Who knew what a mistake that would've been.

Anyways, on the eighth day after forming our little group, we stumbled upon a rather large three story house which was surrounded by a decently dense forest. The only reason we found it was because a long dirt path that had branched off led us to it; the path resembling more of nature the further we walked down it. Though just before it could disappear completely, it stopped at the figurative doorsteps of the building we were about to search.

I noticed that not too far away from us that there was a freshwater stream that we could use to refill our canteens and perhaps do something more personal; I liked to bathe myself and wash the clothes I wear every now and then, proper showers are severely missed. However, I wasn't sure how I'd do that without blatantly stating it which turned out to be much more different than how I would've expected it to go, but that's also something I'll write about later.

Before anything involving water occurred, after scouting the outside area for a few minutes we decided to search the building itself. I quickly established the plan to Stacy, the plan that I always utilize and the one she had quickly picked up on. What I always did when entering a building was that I first spearhead into the building with her staying behind me where we stay as silent as possible and then swiftly survey all the rooms of any given building; the goal of which being to make sure that the place is devoid of other people.

Walking up to the door, I equipped my dagger before carefully turned the doorknob, trying to be as quiet as the mechanism would allow me. The door emitted a faint creaking sound as I pushed it open which revealed a spacious although dusty living room filled with couches, chairs, a table, and a television. To the right side of the room, there laid a flight of stairs that headed up to the second floor.

At first glance, there were no signs of life which made me feel comfortable enough to slide into the house, making sure my little companion followed shortly in after me. I left the door open before walking over to the dining room while keeping my eyes peeled and keeping my other senses on alert. Once I entered the room, my eyes were quick to note that the remains of a skeleton sat in one of the chairs at the end of the decently sized dining table. Or at least that's what I assumed it was doing. Most of the bones had come unattached from the rest during its decay, it was quite a mess.

After assessing the remains of the carcass, I quickly determined that it was fairly certain that another person wasn't in the abode. "I think we're good here." I announced as I walked up to the skeleton. "If anyone was here, I'm sure they wouldn't keep this here." Hesitantly, I draped a finger across the back of the skull of the deceased that lay on the table, separated from the rest of the bones. "Not to mention that everything's extremely dusty and appears nothing here has been touched ever since The Drop happened." I wiped my finger off on my shirt. "Though you can never be too sure." I advised, keeping my dagger out.

She eyed the disassembled body for a few seconds before looking around the room which made her discover another room, the kitchen, which was connected via a wide doorway. "You call it The Drop?" She asked when she looked back at me.

"Don't know what else to call it." I shrugged. "Almost everyone died that day for seemingly no reason. They all just started dropping dead. And in hours, society was no more... I wonder what caused it."

"Don't we all- well, at least, the ones that remain..." She said in a somber tone. "But yeah, that makes sense. I didn't have a name for it, I just think of it as something that happened... a very terrible one." I lightly nodded as I watched a glum expression make its way onto her face. She sighed before making her way to the large and unexplored scullery.

The search of the upstairs was somewhat uneventful. While we were searching the four bedrooms on the second floor, I discovered that the third room we entered was for what I assumed to be for a girl around Stacy's age, not assumed strictly based on its lavender color since it contained an assortment of clothes that would fit her. I looked back at Stacy who had just entered the room which allowed me to note her tattered and worn out clothes once more. During that, I was stationed in front of a large closet that was practically filled to the brim with suitable attire for her to take. That's when a certain idea sprouted within my mind.

"Do you want new clothes?" I asked, looking back into the array of fabrics. She walked up to me and peered into the closet with an eyebrow raised.

After she understood what I was referring to, "...I don't know. It kinda seems just a bit weird to me." She answered as she extended her healthy arm toward one of the shirts. By the way, her other arm no longer had bandages on it since they weren't required anymore, though she had to be extremely mindful about it.

"Have you ever taken clothes from people who no longer use them?" I asked, a little surprised at her aversion to the idea.

"Well, no, it just seems kind of... gross. It's because other people wore them and, y'know, they're dead now. You know what I mean?" She replied while feeling the fabric of a shirt before putting her arm back to her side.

"Sort of, I felt that a little bit when I took the first batch of clothes that I scavenged. But you get used to it eventually, especially when you need new clothes..." I hinted, making her look down as an embarrassed blush made its way on her face which... was adorable. "You don't have to feel embarrassed about anything, I understand." I tried assuring her with a gentle smile, a question coming to mind. "Though if I may ask, when was the last time you changed clothes?"

Keeping the blush on her face, she looked back into the wardrobe. "I don't even remember... It's really gross, isn't it?"

"Maybe just a bit, but it's not really your fault. Though you have the chance to change that now." I replied, encouraging her to get a new set of clothes.

"I do want to say that I used to have a bag with a few other clothes, but I lost that a long time ago..." With her blush staying prevalent on her face, "I guess I do need new clothes." She pondered what she should do for the next few seconds before looking down at her clothes and sighing. "I'll look through them."

I nodded as I backed up. "I'll leave you to it then, I don't want you to not have privacy when changing." I said as I turned around and walked towards the door but was stopped when two arms wrapped around my abdomen. I would be lying if I said that didn't scare me but I quickly calmed down from the shock.

"Thank you for being so... nice." Stacy praised as she hugged me for a couple more seconds. I turned around after she let go of me which revealed that she was looking up at me with a shy smile.

I smiled back. "Well of course, I don't see how anyone couldn't be nice to you." I replied to the sweet little girl, watching her turn around to the wardrobe again. I watched her for another couple of seconds before walking out of the room and closing the door behind me.

With that done, I continued my search to the final room, the master bedroom, which had a depressing sight when I opened the door. When I saw it, the warm feeling in my chest that Stacy gave me vanished as I saw two remains of what appeared to be a child and a parent right next to each other at the far end of the wall.

Unfortunately, that wasn't an uncommon sight in the land of the perished. Seeing remnants of children and parents was almost everywhere you went in this dead world. The sights of such things have slowly killed most emotions inside me. I'm exhausted of constantly being surrounded by the reminder of death.

Before I left the room, trying to keep the deceased out of my vision, something caught my eye. In the corner of the room, by a bookshelf stocked with books, there laid a camouflaged and medium sized backpack. I strode over to it and hefted it up. I opened it to reveal a bunch of school textbooks and papers. I then walked to the queen sized bed, of which I dumped the contents out. Looking through the pile and the rest of the bag, I found no item of interest. Taking that as my cue to leave, I slung the backpack over my shoulder and left the room in hopes I would never return to it again.

Returning to the hallway, I walked over to the doorway of the room where Stacy was changing. I stood there, not really knowing what to do. Before I could come up with what my next move would be, I heard a grunt come from the room that somewhat alarmed me. She probably hurt her arm maybe?

I lightly knocked on the door. "Stacy, am I allowed to come in or are you still changing?"

There was silence for a few seconds until I heard a slightly muffled, "Um... No, I'm not done, what do you need?"

"I was just gonna say that I found something for you, something that will make life easier for the both of us. Since you're not done though, I'll just leave it out here for you until you get out." I explained before propping up the bag against the wall for her to see when she got out.

"O-Okay, I'll be out when I'm done with this." She replied. After I mentioning to her that I'll be in the kitchen to look more thoroughly there, I turned to make my way to that very destination. She was quick to confirm she understood what I meant. I thought she was acting a bit strange but since she was still changing I shrugged the thought off and proceeded back downstairs.

While rummaging through the kitchen with minimal luck, I found a large trapdoor on the floor at the back end of the house. Getting on one knee, I put my hand on the handle and yanked it up. It took a little effort but I was eventually able to pry the door open. It revealed a metal ladder into a dark abyss. I unslung my backpack to take out my flashlight before turning it on and pointing it down the cavity to reveal that it wasn't that deep. Moving the beam of light around allowed my eyes to be caught on the shelves stocked with all sorts of canned foods. Intrigued by the discovery, I properly positioned myself and climbed down the ladder.

When I reached the bottom, I whirled around and used the flashlight to look at just how big the cellar I was in actually was. And it turned out to be quite big; the cellar containing at least five months worth of food for a family of five.

After walking forward for a few seconds, I stopped and looked at one of the many cans of spinach and smiled; this was a scrumptious find. I took one of the cans and blew the dust off of it and headed back up the ladder, keeping the hatch opened. I then sat on one of the cushioned chairs at the dining table before looking at the brittle corpse in front of me. "Come here often?" I sarcastically asked as I got to work on accessing the desired sustenance. I eyed the thing that ignored me. "Fine, be that way." I said before taking the first bite of spinach, stronger than I remembered but not overwhelmingly so. It was a little sadistic to joke around like that but it's whatever, it's not like anyone's gonna judge me for it.

About ten minutes later, Stacy joined me in the dining room where she saw that I had almost finished eating what I had found. Before she could comment on the backpack that was held in her hand, she looked at me with curiosity. "Where did you find that?"

I looked to my left as she fully entered the room. I briefly admired the new clothes that she donned; she looked so much nicer with good quality clothes. She wore a plain black shirt that was about a size too big and some light blue jeans that fit her perfectly. I noticed that she had found a new pair of sneakers that were several times better than the rugged ones that she wore mere minutes ago. Overall, she'd certainly be feeling more comfortable in her fresh set of clothes.

Before I commented on her attire, I happily answered her question. "You're gonna be happy to hear this," I stated while she walked up to me as I took the last bite of food from the can. "there's a cellar that has food for us for months."

She looked to where I was pointing and saw the opened trapdoor. "...Really?" She asked to make sure, a hint of glee in her tone. After standing up, I led her to the hatch and showed her around the cellar, a type of awe glimmering within her eyes. "...What should we do with all this?" She asked as she grabbed one of the cans for herself.

"Well, it's too much to carry even a fraction of all of it that's for sure. And it'd suck to leave almost all of this behind." I said, thinking of what possibilities there were to solve this conundrum.

"...We could stay here for a while." Stacy pointed out as she looked up at me, the girl's eyes pleading somewhat.

"That we could..." I quietly agreed as I thought about it. I mean, what would we have to lose if we stayed here? Nothing, really. It wouldn't make that much sense if we just abandoned what has essentially been forked over to us. I thought about it for a couple more minutes before finally coming to a conclusion. "This is a nice place... Do you want to stay here?"

"Yes. At least for a few days, maybe more?" She answered.

I took that as confirmation for deciding to stay there for  at least a week. "Then yes, we'll stay here for a a few days, maybe more if you want to. It'll be nice not to move forward for a few days. God knows we need a break." She smiled as I heard her stomach rumble. "Let me go open that for you."

After we got back up to the dining table, I opened the can she had and politely handed it over to her. She gracefully took it back as I pointed her toward where a drawer filled with silverware was. "Should we move the bones somewhere else...?" She asked as she eyed the old remains of a stranger while she took her first bite of food from the can.

"I don't see why not." I replied, wasting no time in removing it by picking up the bones off the floor first. Eesh, I despised touching bones, but if we were gonna stay there I was gonna rid of them to make our stay there much more comfortable.

"Do you want me to help or anything?" She courteously asked.

"No, no, I can handle this. You eat and relax." I replied as I headed to the back door of the house. Viewing it from the backyard porch, the backyard of the house was expansive; overgrown grass that was waist high was all that was there, except a medium sized shack and a decently sized firepit in the center of the yard before the surrounding forest cut the grass field off. Using the creaky wooden stairs to get down into the yard, I quickly found an area by a bush where I could dispose of the bones. The dirt there was a bit depressed so the bones fit almost perfectly in there. Another five minutes passed before I was done relocating the body of calcium. It was a little unorthodox to dispose of the body like that, but I didn't know what else to do. I didn't have access to the proper tools to make a burial, though to be honest, I don't think I would've done so to the remains of someone I had never met before. I shrugged at my thoughts and returned back inside.

I went to the living room and took a seat on the couch that resided across from where the big flat screen television was. I quickly got back up because I had forgotten to take my backpack off; I had gotten quite used to having an extra fifteen pounds on my back constantly that I forget it's there sometimes. After I removed it and sat back down, I leaned back into the couch and put an arm on the armrest while eyeing the useless TV. "A shame I can't watch the news..." On second thought, I wouldn't want to watch that. The last time I watched that was when the world was ending. And the feeling of watching that was... gut wrenching.

But never mind that, it was time to just relax and take a break for a couple days. The last time I stayed somewhere for more than a few days was well over a year ago, I think I deserved the break after all this time.

While getting comfortable, I closed my eyes and couldn't help stop my mind from slipping into an unguided thought process, thinking about something that I didn't even realize was happening. The emptiness inside my chest was starting to be filled, not a lot, but I was beginning to feel... truly sane again. I couldn't help but look to my right to where the kitchen was, curious to see where Stacy was.

Then a thought occurred to me that I probably shouldn't have ever thought. It just hit me out of nowhere. "What if... what if I pursued something more with her?"

I shook my head at the thought, what a ludicrous thing to think. Not only would she probably never want something like that with me, but people will... But there would be no one to judge...

That thought made me think about how back then I would essentially be crucified for even thinking of something like that. But since there was no one to force their morals on anyone, nothing could really stop anything that involves her and I...

And from all the constant interaction we've had up to this point, she's shown that she's fairly mature and level headed. She had to grow up much faster than what she would've otherwise experienced due to our circumstances... She has many admirable aspects about her from learning how to survive, having the developed mindset to-.

Before I could think too much longer on that subject, Stacy broke my train of thought as she walked out into the living room and asked, "So, where do you want to sleep tonight?"

I looked around the room as I pondered her question swiftly coming to an answer. "I think out here will be fine for me. What about you?"

She raised an eyebrow as she took a seat at the other side of the couch. "Why out here and not in one of the bedrooms?"

I shrugged. "I kind of prefer living rooms to sleep in. Call me weird, but I was never really a big fan of sleeping in bedrooms. Something about rooms like this being big make me feel more comfortable."

She was still a bit confused but nodded nonetheless. "I think I'll sleep in the room where I got these clothes. There was a nice bed there that I think would be very comfortable to sleep in." She licked her lips and looked at my bag. "Do you mind if I drink from the canteen?"

I chuckled a small bit. 'You know you don't need to ask." She gave me a sheepish smile as she dug through my belongings to retrieve the flask of water. Her action reminded me, "I spotted a stream out nearby. I was gonna go check it out and gather some water. I'm sure there's some utensils somewhere here that we can use to boil it with." I looked under the TV that hung up on the wall which is when I noticed that there was a stone fireplace and a detachable metal rack of which things could rest upon as they cooked or boiled. "And definitely an area for us able to boil it."

She looked at the fireplace I was talking about as she drank before setting the canteen down on the coffee table. "Do you need my help with that?"

"Actually..." My thoughts skirmished with each other, trying to figure out how to word what I would say next. "I was actually gonna go bathe in it, I haven't done so in a while." I said, cutting straight to the point and being direct.

"Oh... That actually sounds nice." She commented, somewhat intrigued by what I said.

I stood up. "I think I'll go do that now; I've put it off for too long and I'm tired of feeling the muck on me." I then grabbed my bag and started making my way to the door.

"Can I go too?" She asked as I put my hand on the doorknob. The question made my heart skip a beat as I looked back at her with an eyebrow raised. It took her a second to realize what she said before stammering. "N-Not like that! Just like..." She trailed off, a blush enveloping her face, the girl not knowing what to say.

I couldn't help myself but just think at how adorable she was being. "I know, I know." I said, trying to come up with an idea. "We can take turns doing so, just y'know, no peeking and all that." After I said that I kind of internally scolded myself because I thought that was a dumb idea. I was surprised by what I heard afterward.

"That would be okay with me." She said as she walked up to me.

I pondered the idea for a few seconds. Would it be wrong? As long as I don't see anything, it shouldn't be a problem... right? Well it was happening either way since we both headed toward the stream that I had saw earlier.

When we got there, I noticed that it was clear and flowing at an acceptable rate. I set my bag down a few meters away from the stream and looked over to my little companion. "Do you want to go first?"

She eyed the water and walked up to it before dipping a hand in the natural elixir, the girl shivering a tad at that. "It's a... a bit cold." She pointed out with a chuckle. I had expected that since it was starting to turn over to autumn, corroborated by the leaves of the trees which were starting to redden. "But yeah, sure." She answered before her hands went down to the sides of her pants where she almost pulled them down in front of me.

"Woah!" I exclaimed in shock, blocking my eyes before swiftly turning around.

"Oh, uh... sorry about that. I wasn't going to... y'know what, never mind." She said sheepishly, the sound of her clothes being taken off followed shortly after. "Uh... I'll just set these here." Is all I heard when her clothes plopped down to my right side.

I couldn't help myself but look down to see them revealing the crumpled up clothes with something else that I hadn't seen her wear which was... bright blue panties that I instantly looked up from.

"Eee!" I heard her squeak as I assumed she started submerging herself in the cool water. The sound startled me just a bit but made me chuckle after I figured out what it was.

"How is it?" I asked as I heard her shivered breathing before sitting down and taking my journal out to write in.

"I-It's d-definitely cold!" She replied as the sound of splashing water became common. "But i-it's nice t-to have water over m-me."

"I know, right? After a while of being filthy, it feels great when you finally get washed off no matter the temperature." I said, trying to keep myself from looking down at the small pile of clothes... Which I did again. I didn't know if I should be mad at myself for doing it or if I was being a bad person for... having a couple thoughts emerging within my mind. But trying to keep my mind off of that and trying to keep things not awkward, I continued the conversation. "Give it about ten minutes or so, then it won't be nearly as cold as it is now."

We continued talking about miscellaneous subjects, mostly regarding water like the physics of it and how it got here, all while she washed herself in the stream for the next few minutes. But during that time, a thought occurred to me. "I only have one towel... that might be a small problem."

"I like how respectable you are." Stacy praised after a lull in the conversation. After I asked her what she meant, she explained her statement. "It's just you've always been so gentle and caring for how I am and my privacy and everything else. You're a pretty nice guy, I like that."

I don't know exactly what it was about those words but it made me feel warm on the inside. "I think it's just basic decency, y'know?"

"I guess so... But back before The Drop, everyone seemed to be so rude. I bet they'd be different if they knew what was gonna happen to them."

"Oh yeah, definitely, so many people back then were just assholes that had no regard for basic things like respect, kindness, consideration, stuff like that. It was a massive peeve of mind as it's not that hard to not be an arrogant jerk."

"Mhm!" She proudly agreed before another lull in the conversation appeared. Though after a few seconds of silence she announced, "Alright, I think it might be your turn to get in here."

Scrounging through my belongings, I plucked out a towel for her and waited for her to get out. After I heard her step out of the water, I put the towel behind my back and waited for her to wrap it around herself. After a couple minutes of drying herself off, I asked, "Am I allowed to turn around now?"

A few more seconds passed until she replied, "Now you can."

I slowly did so which revealed a clean Stacy that held the towel close to her body. I hadn't realized just how dirty she had been before due to being used to not being able to keep oneself clean given the circumstances. But she looked so much better. She took my spot and as I undressed she continued drying herself off. It didn't take her another couple minutes to once again dress herself.

I quickly washed myself off, not wanting to waste any time. I only felt a bit uncomfortable at the situation but every time I checked to make sure she was doing what was promised, she gained a little more of my trust. That might be what this is, a trust exercise. And I feel comfortable in saying that we passed it. It wasn't until halfway through I was done did she ask, "Am I being weird in any way?" I asked her to expand upon what she meant. "Y'know... how I'm here right now."

I thoroughly thought about what she said for a few moments. "Not particularly. Y'know, as long as you're fine with it, what's the problem?"

"Hm..." She thought for a few brief moments. "I just... it's a bit weird to say, I just don't really want to be alone, y'know what I'm saying?"

Empathy made itself present in my mind. "I know that all too well... Loneliness is a terrible feeling. Originally, I thought it wasn't gonna be that difficult but once you actually experience it, that thought changes extremely fast." Trying to lift the mood from how it dropped I quickly added, "So I understand why you don't want to be alone."

"...I'm glad I stumbled upon you." She replied which made my heart skip a beat. "Would it be weird if I wanted to hug you?" She asked a couple seconds later.

The... realization of how much I wanted to do that made itself known right there and then. "Would it be weird if I also wanted that? Of course not right now, that would be weird." I quickly tacked the second half on.

She giggled. "Nope, not at all." I could hear the smile on her face.

"Well, then can I pick you up on that offer when we get back to our new humble abode?" I asked, hoping she'd say yes.

"You wanna pick me up?"

I explained to her what the phrase meant. "However, can I pick you up if I hug you?"

"Hmm..." She thought as I finished cleaning myself. "Maybe later, but you can definitely hug me if you want." She answered.

"If that's what you want." I happily replied before telling her that I was getting out. I turned around to see her looking inside of my pack, presumably to find another towel. "I don't have another towel, if that's what you're looking for."

"Oh..." She said as she picked the one she used back up off the ground. "Do you want to use the one I did?"

"As long as you don't mind." She shrugged and passed to me the towel just like I did with her.

I grabbed it and felt how saturated it was before determining that it was fine for me to use. Though it did come across my mind as a bit odd to be doing something like that... But she thought it was fine so I didn't worry about it.

After drying myself off as best as I could and getting dressed, we headed back to the house where Stacy took my pack because she wanted to be generous... or something like that, I didn't quite hear what she said about it but I didn't push the matter. While walking back, I took note of the sky's dimming; it would be night soon.

When we got back into the living room, I eyed the fireplace since I wanted to use it that night. But before I could think too much of that, Stacy gently wrapped her arms around my abdomen with a joyful expression, with her eyes closed as her arms slowly tightened around me. Surprised by the sudden feeling of touch, I timidly returned the hug after a few seconds, my arms gingerly wrapping around her neck and pressing her against me a tad more.

My heart seemingly flickered as a great feeling of warmth entered my chest. I almost pouted at the feeling but I kept it under control. Unfortunately for me, the hug quickly ended after half a dozen seconds, much to my disappointment. But it's whatever, maybe I can hug her later if she wants...


It was then once again well into the night; another night of being unable to get to sleep. So as I laid down on the couch and trying to stay warm since it had gotten pretty frigid (I assumed a really cold jet stream was coming down from what used to be Canada) I just looked at the very dim ceiling while thinking of all types of random things. The house, the land, the food, plans for the future and... Stacy. She kept barging through my thought processes no matter what I tried doing to keep her out of my head. I kept shaking my head every time I thought about her only for it to go in vain as it failed to achieve its goal every time.

I wanted to hug her again. The feeling of doing so was so nice, it's hard to put it into words. I kept asking myself whether or not is it wrong that I wanted to do that?

"...I don't think it is. I wouldn't think it's wrong, y'know, as long as she gave me permission. Really, what'd be the problem in that?"

I sighed and turned over before closing my eyes to force myself into sleep. It was hard accepting what I thought; maybe I'll be comfortable with what I'm thinking in the future... but I'm not, not yet at least.

I unknowingly slipped into a sleep not too long after that but I wasn't asleep for long. I was woken up by the faint sound of chattering teeth. Rolling back over, I managed to see Stacy shivering in a blanket cocoon, the girl sitting on one of the couches perpendicular to the one I was laying down on.

I observed her as I became more aware, confusion leaving my mind as I assessed the situation. I wasn't sure what to do so I resorted to questions. "Stacy, are you alright?"

It appeared that I had scared her just a bit by the sudden sound that filled the silent room. She took a second to respond. "I-I'm just so c-cold." Her shivering picked up just a tad to express it. "I don't d-do well in cold w-weather..." She explained, pulling the blanket she was using closer to her body. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to wake you up."

I sat up as I felt a strong sense of sympathy for her little shivering form. The cold started to get to me as well, a chill running down my spine, but I wanted to help her in some way, more than I needed it, to help warm her up. I looked over to the fireplace, an idea coming to mind. "I assume you want my help with that. I can collect wood and make a fire for you."

She looked at the fireplace and then back at me. "N-No, I can't have you do that, especially in the middle of the night..."

"But you're freezing and I want to help you. What other option is there?" I gently asked as her begging eyes looked directly at mine.

"Can I..." She trailed off, looking away.

I waited a few seconds before pushing the question with an eyebrow raised. "Can you...?"

Suddenly, she got up and shakily made her way to me which made me wonder what exactly she was doing. "Can I... sit next to you real quick?"

I blinked. To be honest, I didn't know what I was expecting but I didn't expect a question like that. "Uh, yeah, sure." It didn't take her another second to plop herself right next to me. "So when are you-" I was cut off by her leaning onto my chest before her blanket came down where her arms then snaked their way around my abdomen shortly afterward. My heart skipped a beat at the touch and I couldn't help myself but softly smile as I looked down at how she clung onto me. She was really cute...

I also really liked the feeling of her hugging me.

"You're so warm..." She quietly commented, pressing into me some more.

"C-Can I hug you back?" I stuttered after a few seconds, scared of asking the question.

She giggled. "Of course, Hunter... I like w-when you hug me."

Her admission caused... a strange feeling in my stomach to occur, I can't quite describe what it was. But after acknowledging what she said, I benevolently wrapped my arms around her chest, being mindful of what a man shouldn't touch without permission, pulling her in just a tad.

She let out a breath of relief as we began sharing our body heat, the process effectively warming each other up. She still shivered against me but the shivers were slowly losing their power every minute that rolled by.

"Stacy?" I asked after she yawned.

"Hm?" She tiredly responded.

"Do you want me to take you back the bedroom you chose so you can go back to sleep?"

She looked up at me... "Kiss her!" One side of my mind said. "No, don't, it's way too early to make that call! Not to mention it's wrong and she wouldn't want that!" The other side scolded. "It's wrong because the society that doesn't exist anymore says so? As long as she's okay with it and knows what she's doing, what's the problem?"

My internal debate was interrupted by Stacy answering my question. "Can I... sleep here with you? I'll just get cold again and you're so warm..."

I thought about her desire for a small bit, having yet another a little skirmish within my thoughts. "...As long as you want to."

With those words of assurance, she put her head back on my chest and closed her eyes. We stayed in that position for what felt like ten minutes until exhaustion dictated what I did.

"...Can I hold you and lay down?" I felt her weakly nod on my chest which was my cue to slowly reposition myself and gently pull her over so we could both lie down. As I laid on my side, I pulled her closer by the abdomen to my chest to spoon her before properly throwing the blanket she was using over us to trap the heat. My arms persisted on holding her around the abdomen which felt quite nice.

I instinctively put my head over her shoulder before my nose lightly nuzzled into her neck. I thought I might've made her uncomfortable by doing that but the small giggle that emitted from her told me otherwise. After we stopped shifting around, we quickly went to sleep, though not without my mind questioning what I was doing.

"Is this wrong? I... It might not be but she's so young..." Right before I fell asleep I decided on something. "...As long as she's always fine and comfortable, then it should be fine..."

I didn't think about it too much longer as sleep swiftly embraced my consciousness before once again falling into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 3: Nascent

Chapter Text

When I woke up the morning after, I was shocked when I realized what, or more appropriately who, I was holding. I quickly calmed down after I remembered the previous night's events. I didn't want to wake her up so I decided just to lie there until she naturally woke up. It gave me more time to just think about things and to relish the feeling of holding her... but I could only think about subjects involving Stacy.

"Did I really want to kiss her last night...?" I thought, not knowing how to feel about my thoughts. "I mean it would be nice but..." I lightly huffed out a breath. "If... if I want to pursue something more with her... if she wants to... I'm going to wait a few weeks before then."

It was strange to me how I was thinking about something like that seemingly so quickly. Maybe it was just the long period of time of being alone that made me want something more serious due to how 'starved' the both of us have been regarding interaction. Additionally, I liked a lot of what Stacy is but like I thought yesterday, it's way too early to be thinking about something like that... Which is why I said a few weeks, then I'll draw a proper conclusion on what I think.

About another twenty minutes flashed by before she finally woke up and after a silent minute of her getting a grip on reality, she said a few words of appreciation. "Thanks for holding me last night... it was so, so cold."

I smiled at her quiet praise. "Well, I couldn't have just let you freeze, that would've been rude. I'm more than happy to help you however you need it."

Even though we were awake, I kept my arms around her abdomen since I wanted to continue feeling her pressed against me. You'd expect it to get a little awkward but... it seemed so natural with her. Before I could think about that for too much longer, she announced, "I feel like I'm taking you for granted."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that... you're always so nice and willing to help me when I need it. What exactly do I do in return?"

I instantly knew the answer to this question. "You do a whole hell of a lot in return." I stated, stoking her curiosity. "You're company. You're making me feel emotions I haven't felt in years, you're making it fun to be alive, you're making me feel sane again, and so much more... I should be the one thanking you."

She put one of her hands on an arm of mine as she processed what I said. "...That's also something you're helping me with. I'm glad I'm able to cause all those things for you as well."

It was safe to say that we were starting to become really happy together, or at the very least comfortable and content. After we had a quiet discussion regarding how glad we just so happened to meet in that cabin, we got up to do a few things around our new house; there were still a few things lurking at the back of my mind that I wanted to do.

After we ate a portion from the horde of food we've inherited, I searched around the house some more to look through places we didn't the day prior. The first finds of the day were in the upstairs bathroom where I found a large stack of hygienic supplies. An assortment of things like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, and shaving cream were discovered.

"Oh, hell yeah!" I exclaimed as I took a tiny portion of the supplies out from underneath the sink's large cabinet and put them on the porcelain. I then read the expiration dates on them to make sure the creams and what not could be used.

"Expires December fourth, 2027... Damn, what kind of preservatives are in these things?" I said as I set the can of cream down to read the other expiration dates. I found out that the highest one or the products was in the year 2028 so we didn't need to worry about those products going bad any time soon. "I wonder why they stocked up so much of everything here... I mean, I'm not complaining, this house is the greatest find I've ever had..." I murmured to myself before putting the toiletries back.

A couple hours later, I sat on the couch with three books in front of me which laid upon the coffee table. They were survival books, hundreds of pages long, detailing how to build and create various amounts of objects and items, how to's, and so much more regarding how to survive out in the wilderness. They were books I had always carried with me, books I'd read every now and then when I had nothing else to do. They've helped me gain a lot of knowledge, knowledge that has helped me live out in the wilderness for a few days whenever I was away from empty towns; though there was a lot of knowledge I hadn't put to the test.

I had been thinking of what I should do next with the books for a couple dozen minutes. It seemed to me that Stacy and I could start to manufacture something where we're currently staying... There was a lot of flat land, fresh water, and it was a strategical position. The cogs in my head were turning at a fast pace with many ideas sprouting up within my mind. I knew the gist of  how to make a simple farm and how to build primitive tools... I just never enacted upon it which is something that I could easily do now, considering I finally have all the time and resources to act upon it.

"What'ch'ya got here?" Stacy asked as she walked up behind me.

I thought for a few more seconds. "Hm... We can stay here probably indefinitely if we do the right things."

"Oh?" Stacy questioned as I rummaged through my backpack before taking out a few packages of seeds that I had kept for well over a year.

The packages contained several hundred seeds of lettuces, beans, and turnips upon other types of plants that we could grow and harvest to keep us going. I placed most of them on top of one of the closed books, leaning back with a package of lettuce seeds in my hand looking at it. "I think I'm capable of making us a sustainable source of fresh food." I simply stated.

"That would be fantastic!" Stacy exclaimed, barely managing to hop over the couch and land to my left. "When do you want to do that, how can I help?"

I chuckled at her excitement while subtly shaking my head. "Not any time soon, that's for sure." My answer deflated her enthusiasm a bit. "When spring rolls around, that's when we'll figure out how to build a sustainable farm. We don't want to start now and have the crops die when colder temperatures arrive."

She nodded at my response. "That makes sense. Do you think we have enough food here to make it to spring, whenever that is?"

"If we properly ration and eat just enough of the food we have we can easily get to summer, so yes."

"I'm used to not eating that much so this oughta be easy. Though spring is a long time from now. Do you know when that is exactly?" She asked after looking up at me.

"I should, after I do some quick math." I said before putting the packet of seeds on top of the rest as my other hand reached in my backpack again to take out my journal. I opened to the page of many numbers, starting my math there. "So if it's been eight-hundred twenty-four days since the catastrophe..."

It took me about fifteen minutes of drawing calendars and dates, Stacy's eyes glued to what I was doing during the duration, which after doing that it became easy to determine what the date was since the date in which The Drop happened has been engraved in my mind.

"So since it's in the middle of October, spring will start in... one-hundred fifty-two days... I'll be honest, that's a lot longer than what I thought it was going to be. But I think we'll be able to get there with relative ease." I looked over to Stacy who had an unreadable expression on her face.

"That's a long time... What if we run out of food here, will we have to move on?"

"We'll have to see what the future holds. Personally, I think we'll be able to make it to spring. If we start running low before that point though, I think I'll start hunting or something like that."

"...Hunting-Hunter... I like it." Stacy said, giggling afterward with her adorable little laugh. At her comment, I shook my head with a smile as she commented on something else. "I also like how you think, how good you see the future."

Finding her wording a little odd, I taught her the word optimism. "Though I'm really not that optimistic, I haven't been this positive in years."

"Hm... Would you teach me how to farm?" Stacy asked, changing the subject.

"I'll teach you whatever you want, as long as I know how to teach you." She did a little fist bump in the air. "Or you could just read the books..."

"Uh-uh, getting taught by you would be a much better use of my time... Plus gross, books, no."

I chuckled at her response, happy that she'd want to spend that time with me. "Not to mention that it'd probably be more effective with physical learning."

Speaking of spending time, she commented, "So how do you want to pass the time until then?"

"Hm..." I looked at her curious expression as she awaited a response. "Getting to know you more and vice versa."

The rest of the day shot by after that was said. I guess a whole day of chatting does that to your sense of time.

"And that's why I would probably never do marijuana again... at least not that much. I wouldn't want to feel like Satan was causing a fire inside of me again, that's for sure." I said, finishing a story to Stacy as we sat by the fireplace. It was full of wood with smaller sized logs leaning on each other which we had collected earlier that day along with plenty of large branches and the like which where piled off to the side of the fireplace to continuously feed the forever starving fire that would soon be lit.

"That sounded like a really eventful night..." She commented as I got on my knees to get an adequate working angle. Using a flint and steel, I shot sparks onto some paper we had found in one of the rooms earlier. It took a few minutes, but a little flame eventually caught, something I helped grow during its first vital few moments of life. It didn't take much longer for the fire to slowly spread to a few twigs and then later lighting some of the sticks alight until we had a healthy fire that kissed the logs which kept the air circulating.

We sat there in silence as we calmly watched the fire spread from about three or so feet away. The following few minutes were spent in silence as the warmth from the flames grew and radiated toward us.

"It's kinda beautiful to watch." Stacy finally commented before she scooting closer to me.

Which I then kind of stupidly (I guess?) and offhandedly had the audacity to mindlessly comment back, "Not as beautiful as you." It took me a moment to realize what I said, only realizing what my words when I saw the strong blush on Stacy's face. "Oh, um, I didn't mean to, uh..." Fuck.

Thinking I fucked up in some way, I tried to come up with an excuse in my panic. Though the panic subsided when I saw a small smile grow on Stacy's face. "You think I'm beautiful...?"

"I..." I did. I tried suppressing my thoughts regarding that, but they finally surfaced. I did think she was quite beautiful, because y'know, she is. But I tried to stay silent on it because I had thought it might've been wrong or creepy in a way to think that? But recently, I've been thinking of her in that way as I couldn't help myself. I was seemingly starting to forget the morals of the past (even though it would've at least legally been accepted where I lived) that no longer had any say in the world we both lived in. "Yes. I do..." Her smile strengthened as she looked me in the eyes. "very beautiful."

She seemed to be overwhelmed at my words, but she didn't clam up. "You're too nice..."

"It's only the truth." I pointed out.

She looked back at the fire and scooted right next to me before abruptly leaning onto my chest. "Thank you..."

I threw a blanket over us before my arms around wrapped around her and lightly put my chin on her head where I smelled a light natural scent she emitted, something I quite liked. I held her like that for a while we simply watched the fire burn, the both of us enjoying the gentle warmth that it gave off and putting some more fuel inside the flames whenever needed. Eventually, we went to sleep in the same position we did the night before, just on the floor, which wasn't uncomfortable as I thought it was gonna be since it had plush carpeting.


The next day was brief. Though I did find another pleasant surprise the house held near the middle of the day. Stacy had reminded me of the backyard and that there was a shack which we hadn't looked through. So being curious as to what was inside it, I led the way there. When I opened it, I smiled when I saw all the tools that I could possibly ever need. Or at least a large variety of them. Hanging up on the wall was an entire collection of saws, hammers, tongs, shovels, gardening hoes, a pickaxe, and so much more.

"...This is fantastic!" I exclaimed as I walked into the shack, making my way around a few boxes and toolboxes of varying sizes.

"I'm guessing you need some of these tools for our future plans?" Stacy assumed.

"Definitely, this is going to make everything so much easier." I assured, standing up on the tips of my toes and taking a hacksaw off the wall to review how sharp it was. After thinking of ways to use the tool in the future, I set it back on the wall and turned around to see a double handed axe. "Now this is definitely going to come in handy." I said as I picked it up with one hand to get a sense at how heavy it was.

After hefting it up and resting it on my shoulder, I took one last glance around the shed. "I'll look through here in case something else is valuable and we just don't see it at first glance. Until then, I never liked the smell of shacks or garages or anything across those lines. It's strange how that universal smell lingers."

She giggled at my antic before leading the way back to the house. Nothing else of importance happened that day other than me clearing out and removing the other two skeletal remains upstairs which took around twenty minutes. It only took that long because I used one of the shovels we had found to dig a hole at the side of the house to give the deceased a somewhat proper burial.

Whilst shoveling the displaced dirt back into the hole that was then filled with the dry bones of three long gone family members, I couldn't help but say a few words. "I know that you guys probably aren't hearing this... but Stacy and I are extremely grateful for everything we've found here. Thank you for what you left behind. I'm sorry that we couldn't give you a proper burial... I hope you're content with this."

After another minute, I poured the remaining dirt that needed to be moved on top of the shallow grave before flattening the mound of dirt it resulted in.


Time really started to speed up after the first couple days in our new home. "I can't stop thinking about how much I want to kiss and hug her." I wrote down as I started on a new page in my journal. Which it was true, the idea of doing those two things became more and more attractive as each day passed while I became more comfortable with the prospect of them.

Hugging her was slowly happening more and more often as every night I held her to keep her warm, where Stacy also wanted to hug me throughout the day... it was extremely nice.

When I wrote down the next number in the day list, I was baffled. "Has it really been two weeks since we found this place?"

"...Has it?" Stacy asked with the same amount of surprise, the girl putting a book down on her lap, one she had been reading for basically the entire day.

"Appears so... Time really flies when you're spending it with other people, huh?" I asked as she put a bookmark in her book and closed it.

"Yeah, it's crazy... Though sometimes it seems really slow when you got nothing to do." She pointed out as she placed the book on the coffee table and sat in the corner of the couch I was on.

"Yeah, exactly. Back before The Drop, there were so many things someone could do, so many places to go, able to go there in a reasonable time. Then there was the internet that made hours feel like minutes. Oh how I miss it." I reflected as I leaned back into the couch. "Though I was a massive slacker using it. But without it, I wouldn't know most of the knowledge I know. I even got those survival books by ordering them online."

"...Nerd~!" Stacy called out, giggling after doing so.

I chuckled. "Never mind the fact that you're liking books more and more," She sucked her teeth at that remark making me smirk before continuing what I was saying. "yes, I was a massive nerd... but be thankful I was. I got the books just in case I ever needed the knowledge because I had a lot of irrational fears back then."

"Hm, calling that a good thing might not be the best thing to say..." She said with her own little smirk.

"No, but it's definitely not a bad thing." I commented before closing my journal afterward.

"And I was just about to ask what you were writing about..."

Considering I went back to the page where it said I wanted to kiss her, I didn't think it would've been the best idea to tell her. "I was writing... none'ya'business!"

"Tsk, fine, keep your little secrets." Oh they're definitely little, that's for sure. After she said that the conversation lulled, well that was until she randomly said, "It's cold, hold me."

"...But it's not even that cold." I pointed out with an eyebrow raised.

"And...?" She said as she swiftly scooted closer to me.

I thought about her proposition for only a second. "Good point."

She giggled and latched on to my side before my arms hugged her back as she rested against me. I put my chin on her head and relished in the feeling of the hug, the touch continuing to fill a void inside of me, as if I was starting to become whole again... Really, I can't describe how nice hugging her feels, it's just so magnificent.

Though recently... I couldn't help myself from getting a bit... excited at her touch. I tried to keep myself under control but it was really difficult. I haven't really felt the desire to do anything... sexual in a long time. But I couldn't really help myself from beginning to feel that way.

I mean, she was here, I was smelling her scent, she was really beautiful and relatable in so many ways, she was so small. I... was no longer disappointed in myself for starting to develop these feelings, even the things that I started wanting to do with her.

"Are you okay? Your heart's beating really fast." Stacy pointed out as she shifted in my arms.

It took me a second to come up with a reply. "Yeah, I'm just really happy that you're here with me."

A couple minutes passed by as we enjoyed the embrace before she asked a really personal question right out of the blue. "...Have you ever had a girlfriend, Hunter?"

"Oh boy." The question made my heart skip a beat as I registered her words. I looked back on memories I haven't thought of in months. "Yes... once." I answered truthfully.

She stayed silent for a few moments. "...Am I allowed to ask about it?"

"...I wouldn't mind." I replied, appreciating the question for permission.

"What was it like?"

I let out a long sigh before thinking about all the aspects of the relationship. "It was... at the time, extremely nice. I was depressed for years before I met them... but they lit up my world when I met her. We knew each other for many months, knowing we had wanted a relationship for a couple months before we finally admitted we wanted to be with each other. And the day that happened is when we began the relationship." I paused to let her register what I was saying, thinking of what else to say. "We lived about forty miles away from each other so we only saw each other on weekends. But when we did see each other, we spent several hours together doing multiple things around the town and at each other's houses... it was so fun." Then came the bad part of the story. "But... then she mysteriously changed her mind, almost in an instant one day, half a year later... She dumped me for seemingly no reason and cut all contact with me. I never did find out why she did that or what I did wrong, but it left me broken, worse than how I was before I met her..." I lightly sighed looking back at all the painful memories. "The magnitude in which I loved her was immense... it took me months to forget about that, leaving me empty inside after the abandonment destroyed several aspects of my personality."

"...That doesn't make any sense, why would she leave? You seem like such a great person." Stacy quietly said after a long silence, hugging me a bit tighter.

I lightly chuckled, my self hatred silently dismissing that claim. "Yeah... I tried my hardest to be the best person I could muster all for it to be wasted."

She asked a few more questions like what was her name, what she was like, and a few other things along those lines. After I assured her that the love for my ex died long ago we went silent for seemingly a long time.

Then for what felt like for over the next hour, we talked about random things, mainly internet culture regarding social media strangely enough. She was rather fascinated at the concept, as if she had never been on the internet before. That was until "Have you ever thought of trying to be in a relationship again...?" Stacy timidly asked, making my heart skip a beat.

What are you trying to ask... "Well... originally, I only ever wanted to try a relationship once which might've been a naïve want. But I always only wanted that, thinking that it wasn't that hard to find the perfect one... But I was wrong on my judgement and I had a reality check. So... I'm not sure. I'm just kind of waiting on the right person, I guess."

We stayed silent after that for another few moments until Stacy scooted back a bit and looked up at me where her eyes were somewhat pleading while her face wore a light blush. "Have you found the right person yet...?"

My heart skipped another beat as some adrenaline entered my system. Looking down at her, it became so incredibly tempting to just say 'Yes' but I froze as I thought about it. I had always thought her over, thinking about several aspects of her, and if she was worth trying to be with... She was honest, trustworthy, considerate, nice. She's respectful, sympathetic, relatable, and mature... And she was also good at communication, compassionate, and really attractive... I definitely could see us be committed to each other...

She looked down from my eyes before her arms unwrapped from around me. I thought she was gonna apologize or something like that for asking that question. But the question she asked afterward was extremely surprising to say the least.

"What does kissing feel like...?" She asked as she looked back into my eyes.

If she doesn't want this and it fucks up our friendship... I will never forgive myself. "...Do you want to find out?" I asked, hinting at kissing her.

Her blush strengthened but maintained eye contact with me. "...Yes."

"Alright then..." I replied and waited a few more seconds before I gingerly put my hand on her shoulder and then swiftly got on my feet all while facing her. She shifted her position to properly sit on the sofa as I put my other hand on her other shoulder. She stayed silent and watched my every move, the girl seemingly mesmerized by what I was doing. I then tugged on her a tad which signaled for her to stand up. She got the memo and stood up before I lightly hugging her and taking a couple steps back.

One of my arms went around her neck and the hand on my other arm slowly made its way under her chin. "Is this okay?" I asked, concerned I was making her uncomfortable.

She lightly smiled, her blush staying strong. "Yes."

My hand firmly planted itself under her chin as I towered over her. I pointed her head up towards mine and with my heart racing, I asked, "Do you want me to kiss you?"

She took what felt like a minute to think about that, her arms wrapping around my torso as she drew a conclusion. "I've been wanting you to for the past couple of days... I've just been too afraid to ask. And I think you want to kiss me, too... I've seen the way you look at me."

I chuckled and admitted, "Nice detective skills, little lady... Are you sure you want me to kiss you?"

She got up on her tip-toes and nervously said, "One-hundred percent..." She giggled a little bit. "But I don't think I know how to. I guess I can find out, if you want to kiss me?"

"It's not difficult." I looked her in the eyes then down to her soft and plump lips. My heartrate picked up as I started closing the distance between our lips, time seemingly slowing down. I tilted my head a bit just before they contacted.

When our lips connected, it felt magical as an extremely pleasant feeling coursed through my veins. I forgot how nice and... how addictive the feeling was. I quickly repositioned my lips for the best angle to kiss her, the power of my kiss picking up as I felt her kiss back. I hugged her closer... I couldn't help myself by getting a little aroused at the intimate feeling... her lips were so soft. Unfortunately, the kiss ended after only a few short seconds. She got off her tip-toes before my hand on her chin went around her neck to complete the hug where the girl hugged me back as we both processed what had just happened.

"Wow..." Stacy quietly commented before her head rested on my chest. "That was much easier than I expected."

I laughed at that. "I thought the same originally." I let out a breath of relief as a thought made it's way into my mind. "To answer your question about if I've found the right person... I think I might have." She smiled brightly. "Do... This might be too early or something like that but I need to ask, do you want to be together, like in a relationship?"

She took a few seconds to think about it. "I... I would like that." She answered with a gleeful smile as she looked up at me.

I slowly brushed a hand through her hair and said, "I want to take things slow, at least as slow for it to feel as natural as possible. I don't want anything to feel forced or fake."

She nodded at that and agreed before glancing at my lips and looking back into my eyes. "That felt very nice... C-Can we do it again?" She asked a bit hesitantly.

I smiled at her question. "As long as you want to." With that, I slowly leaned in once more and planted my lips on hers again, savoring the feeling as much as possible before I separated from her again, kissing her for the exact same amount of time. "Thank you for accepting me..." I thanked as I held her tighter after a few seconds of silence.

She giggled lightly. "I don't know why I wouldn't."

Later that night as I was spooning her, laying down in the bed that she claimed, I was asking myself if I had made the right decision with her. Yes, I felt happy... but was it right? Was it too early? Is it the right call? All the signs were telling me that I had nothing to worry about but I couldn't get these questions out of my head.

"Stacy, do you think what we are is right?" I quietly asked after a few minutes of laying in bed, not being able to keep my thoughts contained inside of my mind any longer.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean... I don't know, it seems just a bit silly, but back when society was a thing, something like us, how old we are, would make me "public enemy number one" in a lot of places and people would shun me." I let out a bit of a frustrated breath. "It's just kind of left my mind worried, if that's the right word, about us even though I like what we are."

She turned over to face me. Even though the darkness made it difficult to see right in front of me, I could still make out her facial features. When she was done moving, she took the time to formulate a proper response. "I think... that those people don't have a say in what people do anymore. And since I know how to think about what I want and can make my own decisions, it shouldn't be anyone's business with who I want to be with."

I grinned at her response before pressing my forehead against hers. "That... got rid of that thought entirely." Now that my mind was soothed on that front, I decided to ask another pressing question. "Do you think we got together too quickly?"

"No." She swiftly replied. "Not at all. I think it was actually a bit slow. I mean, we spend almost every second with each other... and I think we're already really close."

I thought it over. "Good point... But I'm still gonna go slow, I think that's the right thing to do."

She giggled as one of her hands went to mine. "I'm glad I could help you relax..."

I took her hand in my own, relishing the feeling of how small and soft it was. She was so close that I was practically breathing what she exhaled, the distance being so small that I wanted to close it. "Can I kiss you again?"

We had already kissed eight times that day, the first four being almost back to back and the other half being sprinkled throughout the day. I always asked permission for me to do so since it felt criminal otherwise.

"Yes."

Chapter 4: Significance

Notes:

This is the shortest chapter in the story.

There will eventually be a lot of exploration and conflicts in this story, I have dozens of ideas that I haven't even began to implement yet. This will be a very, very long story so stay tuned, if you want.

Chapter Text

"Timber!" I called out as I watched the dead and severely weakened tree fall to the ground after axing its trunk. Speaking of which, I set the axe down so I could catch my breath for a few moments before I hefted it back up to start smashing and cutting the dry wood into smaller pieces to make hauling the lumber more efficient.

After cutting the trunk up into about a dozen segments, I swung the axe into the stump after determining that I had done enough for now. Right before I went to start hauling the first segment of logs over, I heard Stacy announce, "I finished setting up the fireplace, just like how you described."

I let go of the axe and turned around to reveal a small Stacy who stood right in front of me, the girl having their hands in the pockets of her new red sweatshirt that she had recently started sporting. She also had a hood over her head so looking down at her didn't yield any productive means of communication.

"You should know better than to sneak up on people. Especially those who are working with dangerous equipment..." I quietly lectured while a hand traveled towards her face before my fingertips planted themselves on her jawline.

I felt her the smile on her face and to make sure my fingertips were reliable, I started to tilt her head up to see that her beautiful smile; the same cutely smiling face that I was quickly falling deep in love with.

"Maybe not. But I trust that you would never hurt me, not even on accident." She replied, her smile turning into a type of smirk.

My other hand went to complete the hold on her face before taking her hoodie down and brushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "Well, I'm glad you trust me that much. I'll certainly try my best to never hurt you." I responded as I leaned down a decent bit.

She stood on her tiptoes while closing the distance between us even more before she replied. "Well of course, you've given me no reason to think you wouldn't."

I grinned before retracting my hands from her face before swiftly relocating them around her torso to pull her in for a hug; it was only a bit awkward for her since her hands were still in her sweatshirt pockets. She giggled as I lifted her up before her arms wrapped around my neck as we stood there in the tight embrace. I let a couple minutes roll by of us being within a calm silence where the two of us deeply enjoyed the addictive and extremely soothing feeling of being with one another.

"Do you think you could help me move some of the wood here?" I asked after gently I set her down.

She sarcastically sucked her teeth, looked away, and folded her arms. "After I just set up the fire pit for us? Gosh, you make me do so much work!" She giggled after ending the charade and looked back up to me. "Of course, just uh... you get the big pieces!"

Looking at her sheepish smile, I couldn't help myself but boop her on the nose which greatly surprised her, something that caused an unexpected shock to run through her body resulting in a jolt making her even more cute.

"Have I ever told you just how adorable you are?" I pointed out, her adorableness becoming too much for me to handle.

She lightly blushed with an equally light smile as she shook her head. "No... But you're free to go on about it. But I can't promise you that I'll agree."

I joined her in shaking my head. "Just know that you're the most adorable person I've ever met."

Her blush deepened as a sleeve tried hiding her face from me. "Stop~!"

"You know that only makes you more adorable, right?" I teased which made her giggle while another one of her sleeves attempted to hide her face further.

After letting her hide behind her arms for  half a minute, I lent down a tad before gently prying the barrier composed of appendages open. After a moment, I was then face to face with a smiling and blushing Stacy. I then held her hands before she immediately rubbed the tip of her nose against mine which made me chuckle. We stood like that for a few quiet seconds, our eyes staying locked with each other as we gazed into the soul of the other, the beautiful sight becoming something I truly became lost within.

"May I kiss you?" I finally asked, not being able to resist the desire any longer.

Even though it had been a week since our first kiss, I never stopped asking permission to kiss her because I didn't want to do it if she didn't want to. Furthermore, asking her just felt necessary to me. But anyways, she gave me her permission with a cute little hum of approval before I quickly closed the distance between our lips. I only kissed her for only a few seconds since I didn't want to overdo it.

"But yes, let's start moving the wood over to the pit." I said after the quick action of affection before picking up a couple logs in the following minute. I had some time to watch Stacy struggle to carry just one segment as we made our way over to the middle of the back yard.

When we go to our desired location, she set the lumber down to the side of the pit before taking a couple seconds to get a few deep breaths. "Did I set it up like how it should be?"

After setting my haul down on the grassless ground around the pit, I looked at what was inside the stone firepit. Leftover firewood, branches, and thin logs forming a type of teepee structure that stood upon some charcoal, all of it making it easier for the fire to light and then burn. It would also make it to where adding more wood and logs to the flames helluva lot more easier. After my observation, I commented with a smirk, "Yep, it's perfect... just like you."

"Don't make me hug you extra hard!" She threatened cutely.

"Well, now I'm gonna say stuff like that more often if that's what I'm gonna get in return." I playfully replied. She squinted her eyes at me but her smile never faltered. "I'm gonna go get a couple more logs."

"Want me to carry another one with you?"

I thought about it for only a second. "Nah, I don't think we'll need that many. Plus, you could barely carry just the other one, I'm sure your arms are all tired out..."

"Tsk." She playfully rolled her eyes. "If you say so, big guy."

"It's not that I'm big, it's that you're tiny." I teased with a grin. Though maybe it was a bit a both, I am quite taller than the average person. She puffed her cheeks and pretended to be angry at my remark. "Oh it's nothing bad. In fact, it's something that makes you extremely cute."

"Bah." She replied before crossing her arms only to unfold them and change her focus to the unlit fire pit. "I'll light the fire while you go do that then." She announced, getting on her knees and bending over the stone of the pit.

My eyes darted to her backside. Though I pried my eyes away from... the welcome sight, taking that as my cue to do my task. Afterward, I retrieved a couple more segments of wood before stacking them on top of the previous logs already by the firepit.

"Need my help there?" I asked the struggling Stacy who was still on her knees and tampering with the flint and steel.

"No, no, I got this." She replied as a spew of sparks was created and contacted the dried leaves in the center of the firepit. After watching a few more attempts at striking the flint and watching her... rump wiggle about, I got on my knees next to her just before she grunted in frustration.

I put my hand on her back and rubbed her there small bit which made her sit back on her knees before the girl looked up to me with an expression calling for my aid. "You're holding it a bit odd."

She looked down at the objects she was holding. "How come you didn't point that out earlier?"

"Because it's hard to explain how to properly use it with just words." I explained, gesturing her hands over to mine. "Here, you hold them like this..."

After a few minutes of teaching her how to use them as effectively as possible, she continued striking the fire which yielded much larger sparks. And after another thirty seconds, the dried leaves caught fire. We carefully helped the fire grow and spread to other leaves which then spread to twigs, though after the flames started to lick the thin logs, we both leaned back from the pit to get into more comfortable positions to sit side by side and enjoy the warmth of the fire. I put an arm around her shoulder after she leaned onto me before we watched the fire grow. Conversation felt like it wasn't needed as the feeling of holding each other overwhelmed the desire to disrupt the graceful peace of the near silence. Well, that was until we both actually wanted to talk about something five minutes later.

"I'm not excited for how cold it's going to get as winter gets closer..." Stacy worried as she shivered a bit; dusk causing the temperature to start dropping.

"Me too... Maybe traveling down south wouldn't be a bad idea eventually."

"But we have to like... walk a lot for that." Stacy replied with a cute little giggle.

"Good point, fuck walking like a thousand miles... Though I think I've already done that quite a few times."

Stacy looked up at me and put a finger on my lips. "Ssshhh, sh, we don't need to talk about that any longer..."

I raised an eyebrow while taking her hand in my own. "Wouldn't you want to go somewhere warmer? Y'know, considering how much you don't like the cold?" She blinked and looked at me with a blank face before her other hand went up to my face where the index finger pressed against the tip of my nose for just a second. "Are you ticklish, Stacy?" I asked when her cuteness started overwhelming my mind once more.

Her eyes went wide for a moment. "Uh... Nope, not one bit!"

"Hm..." I thought about the unsure tone of voice and the sheepish smile she was giving me. "Then what about all those times you giggled every time I accidentally touched your belly?"

"I've not a single clue just what you're talking about." She replied with a light blush.

I put my forehead on hers and looked her right in the eyes. "What's with all the lying tonight?" I playfully asked.

"Psh... I ain't lying..." She quietly replied as a hand gently made its way under her chin. After a few seconds, she kissed me. I was a little surprised but I kissed back, my sense of smell and taste working together reminding me how... good it was to kiss her.

When the kiss ended, she shivered once more which caused her body to press into me a bit more before the top of her head migrated under my chin. "Are you getting cold, Stacy?"

"Mmm, just a bit..."

I thought about what to do for a couple minutes, an idea sprouting in my mind shortly afterward. It took me a few more seconds to grow the courage to tell her my idea. "Do you want to move to a warmer spot?"

"Like, closer to the fire?" She asked, the girl looking up at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Not particularly..." Looking at her confused expression, I decided to explain to her what I meant, becoming just a tad nervous. "Can I... put you in between my legs so I could hold you in the best way possible?"

She looked down at my legs and back up to me. After she thought about it for a couple of seconds, "I don't see why not."

I lightly smiled before my hands migrated to her hips which made her smile and giggle. I lifted her up which surprised her, confirmed by a little adorable squeak emitting from her. I then placed her on the ground directly in front of me. "Is this alright?" I asked as my arms snaked around her midriff and pulled her into me, hugging her from behind.

"It is. This is actually very nice..." She replied before leaning back into me as I quietly sniffed her hair.

We stayed like that for a little while where we talked a bit every now and then as I held her. That was until I realized that she was completely vulnerable to being tickled and completely at my mercy... "So, Stacy, about that tickling thing I was talking about earlier..."

She lightly gulped as my hands lightly placed themselves on her belly. "...W-What about it?" She nervously responded.

"Well, it's just... I think tickling you would be fun..."

She let out a long breath putting a hand on my own. "...Okay... but when I tell you to stop, stop..."

My heart skipped a beat in excitement. "Of course, I would never do anything you wouldn't want." I assured before my fingers grabbed a portion of her belly and lightly prodded into her muscles which tickled her for only a brief moment. She jumped and pressed against my chest as she squeaked, something that made me chuckle. "You're so adorable..." I did the action again which resulted in almost the exact same reaction. I slowly started to tickle her belly for the next couple of minutes causing stifled giggles to escape from Stacy's mouth as her legs stretched out in response to the sensations where one of her hands covered her mouth. I couldn't stop myself from... getting hard from what I was doing to her. She was right between my legs as my fingers caused her to make adorable sounds, her body pressing into mine... I halted my 'assault' on her belly after another minute to let her calm down and catch her breath. "Do you want me to continue?" I whispered in her ear making her shiver a tad.

"...Yes..." She giggled lightly.

My right hand went lower, an idea coming to mind. But in a way, it was a risky idea. But I managed to get the courage to express it. "Can I put my hand under your shirt?" I timidly asked as my hand contacted the bottom seams of her shirt.

"Uh... yes."

I leaned over her shoulder and softly placed my left hand on her cheek. She looked to her right and looked me in the eyes. "You sound unsure..." I pointed out.

"I'm just.. a little nervous is all." She replied with another small giggle

I pulled her into me a tad closer. "If you're uncomfortable with anything I do, never be afraid of telling me to 'stop' or to say 'no'." I advised, wanting her to fully understand that sentiment since I felt I could never be too sure.

She put a hand on my forearm. "I know, Hunter... I love how mindful you are, it's very sweet." She lovingly rubbed the top of her head into my neck. "I'm only nervous because... well, no one has ever done a lot of what you've done to me before. That doesn't mean I don't want you to do what you want to do."

I put my chin on her head for only a few seconds before my head slid down the side of her face to rub my cheek against hers which is when the tips of my fingers breached into the space under her shirt. "Alright, Stacy, I understand... Tell me what you want me to do."

She tenderly giggled as my fingers thoroughly felt her lightly toned abdomen for the first time; my digits greatly enjoyed how soft her sensitive skin felt. "T-Tickle me..." She barely managed to ask through her little squirms.

I grinned at her request, my arousal being stoked at all her little mannerisms which was only intensified as I continued tickling her then completely vulnerable belly. Her laughs and giggles were so cute and adorable, everything about Stacy just... drove me wild and made me fall deeper in love with her. After a few minutes of tickling her, my other hand joined the other one under her shirt where my hands went to each of her sides before viscously tickling the areas which caused her to frantically laugh and gasp for air.

A few minutes later she said, "O-Okay! I c-can't-"

That was enough for me to cease my touches on her abdomen; my hands quickly retracted from inside her shirt. "Are you okay?"

She looked me in the eyes as she calmed down. I quickly noticed the tears that built up in her eyes, tears I assumed were there because of how much she was laughing, I just wanted to make sure.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Stacy replied with a smile, letting out a heavy breath.

I hugged her and pulled her into me again which unintentionally caused her to giggle due to how her freshly tickled skin had become hypersensitive to touch. I also dug my nose into the crook of her neck where I really wanted to kiss that area of hers so very much, but I restrained myself... We then stayed like that for a little while, our eyes closing in the serene setting, where I enjoyed holding the small and beautiful little person close...

The fire eventually started to dwindle lower and lower as the air around us got cooler and cooler. "I'm gonna put a couple of the logs in the fire." I quietly announced before slowly unwrapping my arms from her waist.

"And just leave me all by myself in the cold? Sheesh." She sarcastically replied, giggling afterward. "Want me to help you?"

I quickly scooted to her side as we looked each other in the eyes just before the tip of my nose touched hers. "No need." At this point, Stacy was just... I couldn't help myself but kiss her a couple times, the action becoming an irresistible necessity in that moment.

After I put more fuel into the flames, I returned back to having Stacy in between my legs and my arms wrapped around her abdomen with my nose digging itself back into her neck which caused her to smile.

"So how come you..." She trailed off.

"Hm?" I quietly hummed, curious as to what was going on in her mind.

"It's just..." She chuckled lightly. "I kind of want... can you put your hands back on my belly... like, under my shirt?" My heart skipped a beat as I grinned while a blush enveloped her face. "Only if you want to, of course..." She added.

I chuckled at her choice of words. "Only if you want me to." I clarified because truth be told, I really wanted to touch her belly again.

I slipped my hands under her shirt which caused her to vocalize a little yelp noise. Before I could ask if something was wrong, she announced. "Your hands are really cold."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"It's fine, Hunter." She replied as I used her soft belly to warm up my hands where she quietly chuckled every now and then while I lightly rubbed her abdomen.

My hands eventually stayed dormant on top of each other over her bellybutton with her hands placed on top of mine. My mind started wondering about touching more than just her belly. I started wondering about trailing my hands up her body and up her chest...

I looked down at her hands, of which I wanted to hold them in mine. They were so little and... yeah, I quickly took one of them in mine, specifically her left hand. I slowly rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb as my eyes trailed up her arm seeing the two large scabs on her forearm. Those would certainly become scars once all healed up. My fingers followed suit with my eyes, gently draping across the healing appendage.

"I'm so glad you found me in that cabin..." Stacy said with a somber smile.

"I'm glad I did too... and that I didn't ditch you in the middle of the night." I replied, holding her a tad tighter. "That'd've been the biggest mistake in my life and I would've never knew it."

After keeping my fingers on the scabs for a couple more minutes, my hand went back to hers to hold it for a little while longer. Though it rejoined my other hand under her shirt a decent bit later.

About ten minutes later, Stacy started a rather interesting conversation... "So do you want to... I don't know, maybe... put your hands higher?"

The tip of my nose was located on the back of her head and while taking a deep breath through my nose, I thought about what she said. That was until I just flat out asked, "Do you want me to touch your tits?"

She jumped a bit in my arms as a blush instantly erupted across her face. "I... y-yes..."

I chuckled. "You don't need to be embarrassed, Stacy... There's no need to be flustered."

She nervously chuckled. "I know, I know... it's just, y'know, it's all new to me." I lightly nodded as my hands under her shirt slowly traveled upwards. "I'll tell you if I want you to stop..." She clarified as my curious hands snaked their way up the sides of her body.

That was until they halted when they contacted the exciting mounds of flesh where she took a deep breath at the revelation. I told her to take a couple deep breaths if needed but a smile and a nod is what I got in return. After a couple of minutes of my hands being stationary, my right hand continued its prowl; scaling the small breast, almost teasingly so, before taking it in a handful.

"That feels... nice.'' Stacy commented before I slowly kneaded the B cup size breast. "Ooh..." She deeply relaxed into my touch, the girl timidly leaning into my hand as she shivered in excitement. After treating her breast to its first massage, she cooed when I gingerly squeezed her aroused nipple.

"Mmm..." She quietly moaned when my left hand mimicked what my right hand was doing.

To say I was aroused would've been an understatement since I could barely control myself. But I managed to stay calm as I thought about what she wanted, what would be best for her, and put her desires above mine. She looked down and closed her eyes, the girl relaxing into my touch and enjoying the sensation of pleasure that invaded her mind. The tip of my nose changed location again, back to her neck. ...I couldn't stop myself from placing my lips on her skin to start lightly kissing the area which she allowed.

"Hnng~." Stacy moaned again, the girl cutely spreading her legs open a tad as I continued kissing the side of her neck.

I started alternating between kissing her neck and her lips for the remaining amount of time of pleasuring her, wishing I could kiss her in both areas at once.

The massaging of her breasts and kissing neck and lips continued for a substantial amount of time, for at least ten minutes, where my hands continuously ecstatically pressing into her firm breasts; her quiet grunts of pleasure were so, so adorable...

Unfortunately, Stacy eventually announced, "O-Okay... I think that's enough for now."

I ceased my actions and removed my hands from under her shirt before slowly wrapping them around her abdomen once again. Curious as to what she was thinking, "...So, how was that?"

"That was... really, really nice." She replied before relaxing into my chest once more. "That felt good... Can you m-maybe... do that again sometime in the future?"

I chuckled. "Of course, I'd be more than willing to do that whenever you want."

We stayed put there, the both of us quietly watching the wood in the firepit burn and crumble, the material turning into charcoal and ash, with bursts of small talk piercing the silence every now and then. Weariness slowly crept into our minds as the world around us acclimated to its nightlife.

"Stacy?" I softly asked which yielded no reply. After a minute, I tenderly shook her a tad before realizing that she had fallen asleep in my arms. The flames were getting low and the bitter cold was truly starting to become a problem as the icy air froze the tips of my nose and ears. After sitting there for another five minutes, I finally decided to lean up and put an arm under Stacy's knees and around her shoulders to gently lift her up.

"Hunter...?" Stacy tiredly said.

"Sshh..." I hushed as I kicked out the fire before making my way inside our house. "I'm carrying you to bed..." I explained, only getting a quiet hum in response as she lightly tried hugging me.

I struggled with opening the door but when I did, I didn't waste any time with going upstairs into our bedroom which thankfully had the door already open. After taking our shoes off, I gently sat down on the side of the bed before looking down at the gorgeous sleeping face of the queen that had caused me so much happiness and made me feel so many things again in the short time we've been together for...

I leaned down and held her closer. I knew she was asleep but I still quietly spoke to her. "Thank you, Stacy..." I gingerly kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you..." Afterward, I properly laid her down and got in the bed with her, holding her like I usually do every night to preserve as much warmth as I could muster.

I kept my face in her hair since I found the feeling to be extremely enjoyable before letting sleep overcome me, my mind at peace in the benevolent feeling that Stacy filled my mind with which left me to wonder how that feeling will grow and evolve.

Chapter 5: Exploration

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Boop." Stacy said as she used her index finger to timidly press the tip of my nose where our unblinking eyes stayed locked with each other's.

We were sat on the attic floor within a space that wasn't composed of boxes where we were crisscrossed, facing each other, and holding a hand of the other as we deeply gazed into each other's irises.

"Your little tricks aren't gonna make me lose this contest, I'll have you know..." I clarified as I noticed her eyelids begin to quiver while tears threatened to roll down her cheeks, the girl severely struggling to keep them open.

"How are you- able to keep your eyes open for so long?" She asked as her strength began to crumble, her tone blatantly conveying the struggle she was experiencing.

I shrugged, unfazed. "During my time of being alone, I usually got bored so when I had nothing to do, I may or may not at some point have practiced to keep my eyes open for long periods of time."

She blinked and groaned before the girl quickly accepted her defeat in the contest which is when she rubbed her eyes and brushed away any unwanted tears. After she was done with that, she looked back into my eyes and stuck her tongue out at me. Not wasting the opportunity that was before me, my free hand darted toward her mouth to lightly pinch the slimy and soft piece of tissue which took Stacy by surprise.

"Hey! Le' go oth' ny tung'!"

I giggled as her tongue became difficult to hold, the slipperiness of it forcing me to let go.

"Now I know not to do that again..." She commented as she... I don't know how to describe it, re-salivated her tongue? "At least, not so close to you." She grinned.

I glanced at my lightly glistening fingers. "Wanna see something gross?"

She squinted her eyes a tad. "Depends on what it's going to be..."

I started moving my fingers toward my lips where she tilted her head a small bit in response, the girl clearly interested in what I was doing. A reddish tint donned on her cheeks when my fingers contacted my lips where my tongue quickly licked up the trace amount of saliva on my fingertips.

"That's only a little gross..." Stacy commented when I finished the act. "...but do you want more?"

Noting the subtly seductive tone and eyeing the smirk on her lips, I couldn't help but play along with her question. "Maybe I do... What do you have in mind?"

Her facial expression stayed persistent as she lifted her hand up, the appendage quickly adopting a 'come hither' gesture as she looked me in the eyes with a half-lidded gaze.

I leaned forward as best as I could've without straining anything before she did as well which is when her hand placed itself on the side of my neck. "So what are you-." She cut me off as she closed the remaining distance between our lips, taking me by surprise this time. I didn't waste any time with the opportunity she had given me by kissing her back while my right hand gingerly grabbed her side which made her giggle.

When the short kiss ended, we didn't separate that far from each other and our hands stayed in their positions. "Well, do you want more?" Stacy asked, quickly licking her lips.

I uncrossed my legs and got on my knees while trying my best to stay a height not far off from Stacy's. "Hell yes, I do." I answered in a sultry tone before immediately kissing her again as I straightened out my posture which caused me to tower over the little girl; my other hand then migrating onto her collarbone.

I loved feeling her smile on my lips as my tongue gingerly rubbed against her little teeth, something that always made a certain part of me rather excited.

When we broke the kiss again, we were breathing a little more rapidly and a tad more more audibly. Resting my forehead on hers, I wanted to ask her something. "Can I push you down?" She raised an eyebrow. "Like, so you can be lying on the floor."

"Oh~." She replied before quickly raising an eyebrow again. "Why?"

"You'll see..." I mysteriously replied as I gently applied pressure on her collarbone. It didn't take much longer for the girl to comply where she slowly laid down and got comfortable.

All the while I did this, our foreheads didn't stray too far apart meaning now that she was laying down, I had to migrate my knees which resulted in her thighs now being between them. Her face donned a heavy blush as she released a hefty breath from her lungs. During this all, her smile remained bright and lively.

"Is this okay?" I gently asked, quickly getting a hum of approval. With that being done, I kissed her again before both of my hands draped their way up to her neck which caused my arousal to spike.

I kissed her for a solid minute, then two in total, before my tongue snuck past her delectable lips and passing through the barrier of her teeth which allowed me to explore her oral cavity and rub against the roof of her mouth. Shortly thereafter, it wrestled with the native slimy defender in a heated dance of lust. Stacy quietly whimpered as I ravished her orally; the girl's whimpers fully arousing me. The battle raged on for another couple of minutes until a white peace was silently agreed upon.

She cutely looked up at me as her blush sustained its strength. She wore a smile that reflected my own which signified that all was well and good. "You're so... cute." I irresistibly commented as my right hand traveled to her collarbone, well, just under her collarbone. One of her hands on her belly placed itself on my hand and gently tugged it downward; it was her hint that she wanted me to touch a certain something of hers.

I quickly understood what she wanted and looked down at her chest where the clothes she was wearing blocked what wanted to be touched. "Do you want me to touch your tits, again? Needy girl..." I teased as my right hand abandoned Stacy's before travelling down her chest, then her belly, and then to the bottom of her shirt.

She took a deep breath and nodded as her hand returned back to her other one back on her belly. I jokingly tsked at her as my hand snaked its way under her shirt.

After she giggled, she smirked. "If you're gonna act like that, then maybe I won't let you touch me at all..."

"Now, now, I don't think that's what you want." I replied, trying to throw that idea away as I really liked massaging her firm breasts.

"That's what I thought." She replied before a whimper hitched in her throat as my fingers contacted one of her breasts.

This was about the fourth time I had touched her rack, but even then it still felt extremely sacred to do which'll most likely always be the case. The other times were by a fire, in the living room, or in the backyard; each time feeling extremely... intimate. I've been wanting to touch or do something more with her, but I felt like that was too quick so I restrained and contained myself to only touching areas that I've already touched.

As I started massaging her breasts in earnest by massaging one of them for half a minute and moving back onto the other one, I started kissing and making out with her again, the want to pleasure both of us heavily clouding my mind.

The adorable little whimpers she was producing drove me wild because of how adorable they were but I controlled myself so I could hear them clearly. Her little moans when I broke the kiss yielded the same reaction from me while I looked down and observed her enjoying my touches where her eyes were closed as she held her hands in little fists under her chin.

Her neck was exposed and right in the open which was something took advantage of the moment I saw it by peppering her neck with several kisses, the kisses of which being coupled with a minute amount of sucking which she leaned into.

A few minutes passed of me massaging her melons (I say that sarcastically because when thinking about it, any other synonym I think of sounds silly, heh. But seriously though, has anyone used the term melons before unironically?) before my knees started to hurt under the constant pressure I had put them under.

"Wanna swap positions?" I coined the idea of.

She processed the question for a couple of moments. "Yeah, sure..." She replied and started leaning up. It didn't take long for my hands to take a hold of her hips where a surprised gasp instantly followed suit. She looked me in the eyes as she leaned all the way up and with a subtle a smirk on my face, I cautiously swapped places with her.

A dark blush broke out across her face as she rested all her weight on my belly before my hands went under her shirt to gently grab her sides. Trying not to turn that into something much more intimate was exceptionally difficult since the feral part of my mind yelled at me to steer it that way. "Do you still want me to massage you?"

"Yes, for a little bit longer, if you wouldn't mind..."

I chuckled at her timidness as my hands traveled up north while I leaned up where my heart skipping a beat as I felt Stacy's bottom half faintly grind on me. My... testicles ached, begging for me to be stimulated for release but I suppressed the desire. I didn't comment on it as her blush sustained its strength before my hands reached their desired destination.

Stacy moved her hair behind her ears and herself before we started making out yet again where both of my hands massaged her; this lasted lasted another ten minutes or so all the while we enjoyed each other's presence and touch, the both of us seemingly getting lost in the pleasurable sensations. We were both so extremely touch-starved...

I swallowed hard, my mouth feeling as dry as a desert while I looked down at where her pelvic region was. I stared at how her legs straddled my hips, her inner thighs pressing against my sides, her most sacred area resting on the bottom portion of my belly. My penis twitched when I thought about how only our clothes were the only things that stopped me from pounding what I so desperately wanted to.

Even though I was extremely aroused and knew if this continued it probably would've been 'solved', I begrudgingly ended the session prematurely after she informed me that her breasts have had enough for now.

"There's always later..." I told a somewhat disappointed Stacy. Not sure what exactly she had in mind but I could take a couple of guesses.

She smiled the disappointment away however. "Indeed there is..."

After a final quick kiss, she got up off me which concluded the horny experience. The both of us then exited the attic shortly thereafter to continue the mostly spent day, though I couldn't stop the thoughts of... mating with her as I lustfully observed her throughout the day.


So time went on, the days flew by, and the days got ever so slightly colder and shorter while Stacy and I grew closer and closer. We had started mapping out the area around our new home to get a feeling of where the forest was, where the stream twisted and turned, where a few lakes are dotted about, where the roads and dirt paths lead to, where other abandoned homes were located, and whether or not we've searched them.

That happened to be what Stacy and I were doing one particular day; we were walking side by side on an unexplored dirt path and as we walked down it, we drew it down on a sheet of paper by using proper colors and close-enough proportions. Now, why did we want to put hours and hours into mapping a large area around us? Because we were bored. We were so bored. Since we no longer had to move every day and had nothing to really do until spring rolled around, this was the best idea we came up with to productively spend the time.

It's also nice knowing what we had around us and it was nice to do something productive together instead of staying cooped up in a house all day. It was about the eleventh day since we had started the map project; my pace always had to slowed down to match hers. Suddenly, Stacy asked, "So if there was a large group of people out there, would you want to join them?"

"Where did that come from?" I asked while eyeing my partner.

She shrugged. "It's something I've been thinking about recently. I would like to meet more people... but I've never even seen a group of people, at least, not after The Drop."

I put a hand on my chest and pretended to be hurt before pretending to be hurt. "Am I not enough?"

She shook her head with a slight smile. "That's not what I mean~."

I chuckled at her response before considering her question. "Well, to answer what you asked... I'm not sure." She perked up at that. "I have seen a couple of small groups before, but I evaded them before they saw me for so many reasons. But nowadays, I think I would at least try to talk to them."

"...Well, it's nice to hear there are at least some groups of people out there. I wonder why what killed everyone left the people it did..."

"I don't think we'll ever find the answer to that question, though I hope to be proven wrong... But yeah, even then, humans are extremely persistent creatures. I always believed that humans would only go extinct by merging with robots or naturally evolving out of existence. There are space-related cataclysmic events, but they're so extremely rare that they're sort of not worth mentioning." I theorized which paved the way to talk about robotics, evolution, and history.

"...How do you know all of this?" Stacy asked after what felt like an hour of the conversation. After I explained that the long-gone internet had helped me learn a plethora of subjects, she still wasn't satisfied with my answer. "That still doesn't explain how you can remember it all..." I shrugged.

Suddenly, I stopped walking and looked down at the map. I nodded, pleased with the progress we made that day before folding it up. "I think it's time to head back, we've probably been out here for much longer than we should've."

She agreed and turned around before we started to chug our way back. About five minutes later, I surprised her by picking her up like a bride. That caused her to squeak in surprise before the girl quickly looked at the perpetrator.

"I hope this is fine." I said as I started walking full speed, my pace being significantly faster.

She stayed silent for a couple of moments as she registered what had happened. "...Yeah, it is. This is actually quite nice." She put an arm around my neck while she looked at my eyes that stayed looking forward.

"You're really light, I could hold you for hours like this." I commented as I held her closer. She lightly giggled at my comment and hugged me tighter.

When we got back to base, the sun had almost set. "Well, it was a good thing you said it was time to go back... and for you to carry me back." Stacy pointed out as I set her down on the porch.

I was inclined to agree with her before I opened the door for her. "Ladies first." I said with a smirk. She playfully scoffed and entered the building with me following right afterward.

"I think I'll go to the bedroom right away, if you don't mind. I'm kinda tired." Stacy announced with a sheepish smile.

I jokingly raised an eyebrow. "You? Tired? After I carried you back all the way home?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds trying to think of a reply before she shrugged and replied with, "...I don't make the rules."

I shook my head with a smile. "Of course I don't mind. I'll be up there in about twenty minutes when I'm done with everything down here." She quickly hugged me and ran up the stairs. Afterward, I muttered with a chuckle, "'Tired', right."

I then made my way to the dining room and placed the freshly drawn map on the dining table which was swiftly joined by my backpack. "I'll piece it with the whole map tomorrow." I thought, perhaps starting to become the slacker I might naturally be.

"I was expecting to take much longer but I'm not complaining. Time to head to bed." I thought before throwing away the empty aluminum can in the bin from a distance, calling out "Kobe!" because why wouldn't I? The can flawlessly entered the bin and after a quick celebration, I headed upstairs.

When I got to our room's door, I thought I heard a faint grunt of pain come from Stacy, or something like that. With my concern alarmed, I put my hand on the doorknob and started opening the door, though that's when I heard some shuffling followed by a gasp come from Stacy.

"Stacy, are you alright?" When I walked into the room it was still bright enough to see things clearly. So when I saw a flushed Stacy who blatantly covered her lower half with the blanket, something became quite clear to me.

"I... nothing, nothing much." She replied with an odd smile, her blush seemingly getting darker.

Not buying it for a second, I quickly started to piece together the context clues which made my heart rate increase slightly.

I slipped my shoes of before striding my way to the bed so I could take a spot on the edge of where Stacy sat; her legs crossing as I did so. “Are you sure nothing’s up?” I asked, making my skepticism quite clear. After she responded with unsure silence, I continued. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" I asked while looking into her stunning eyes. She slowly nodded, her blush weakening. "So what's going on?" I gently asked, having an idea preemptively, not sure... if I should pursue what I might do in the near future.

"Uh..." She trailed off before looking around the room, the girl not knowing what to do which caused her breathing to pick up.

I put my legs on the bed and scooched over to the center of the bed where I had her lean on me to try to calm her down. "...You don't need to tell me but I can tell there's something really bothering you."

"I-I just don't know what to say... or how to say it..." She admitted before taking a deep breath.

I took a few seconds to come up with a reply. "Just take your time to think about it... I'm not rushing anything."

"...I think it's going to be really embarrassing to tell you and you're gonna find me weird or gross." She told me as she twiddled her fingers.

"Well, I can tell you now that you don't have to worry about something like that; nothing you'll do will ever be embarrassing to me, and I most definitely won't find you weird or gross. I mean, I'm weird and gross, how could I ever reasonably judge someone else, even if they were actually weird and gross?" I said in a cheery tone, making her giggle at my words.

"You're not gross... but definitely weird." She teased, making me roll my eyes with a smile. "But I trust you." She sighed a breath she had been holding, the getting ready to confirm my suspicions. "I-I have been doing things that... make me feel disgusted in myself." After I asked what she meant, she continued. "I... I touch myself... in between my legs and it makes me feel gross but I keep doing it b-because it feels... amazing? I-Is that wrong?" She finished with extreme difficulty, her blush reaching to the tips of her ears.

"Not exactly what I was thinking but close enough." "No, no, it's not wrong at all." I replied before mentally preparing myself to have a conversation about teaching her about several sexual points; points that I assumed she was ignorant of. That assumption certainly turned out to be true.

"O-Oh?"

"Almost everyone does that, whether they accept or deny it. It's a natural thing people do." I clarified as I felt her shift by my side.

"Even..." She huffed. "even when I think of... I think of you touching me instead of myself?"

I looked down where she looked right backup at me, her curious eyes glancing into my knowing ones. What she said made my heart skip a beat which had the side effect of beginning to make me aroused. I had messed with the idea of doing that to her in my head every now and then, each time doing so making me want to do it in actuality more and more.

"Yes. Even then." She stuttered out the word 'how'. "Because it's what people in a relationship do, instinctively."

"...Have you touched yourself while thinking of me?"

"...Yes, I have." I admitted which made her look away.

"H-How exactly is it normal?" She asked. Since it was quite the complicated question, I took a minute or so to think of a reply.

That's when I started teaching her everything I knew about instincts, attraction, hormones, pheromones, and sex. And thankfully, she knew the most basic forms of anatomy so I didn't have to explain from scratch, though she was missing a lot of pieces of knowledge that I filled in.

"Hm... I knew about some of that, but not all of it. A lot of it actually makes a lot of sense... Especially how it would all work." Then she once again looked back up at me. "How do you make the feeling go away...?"

"For the most part, when it's not a problem, you've just got to give in to the feeling and give it what it wants, and that's by doing what you were doing before I interrupted you. There's no real reason to try to fight it."

She took a rather shaky breath. "Can..." She swallowed hard. "do you want to help me with that?" Even though she was nervous and possibly quite embarrassed, she kept her confidence in asking the question.

I took a few seconds to consider her question before ultimately deciding, "If you want me to, I would have no problem with doing so." To say I wasn't excited would've been a big lie because the phallus between my legs was quickly growing. "But you have to be more than sure."

She took a couple minutes to consider my words. A few seconds later, she put a hand on my right shoulder as she finally made up her mind. "I... would like you t-to touch me... I'm just afraid that it will hurt."

I took a deep breath as a hand ran through her hair. "Anything I'll do to you tonight won't hurt, I'm going to put your desires above what I want."

"I believe you... S-So how do you want to do it?" She nervously asked as several ideas instantaneously came to mind.

"Do you mind if I move you into a better position?" After getting a positive reply, I delicately pulled the blanket off of her, laid it across my legs, picked her up by the waist, and gently sat her down between my legs where I kept my hands on her waist. When she leaned back onto me, I asked, "I'm gonna ask one more time so I know for sure, are you sure you want this?"

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, the girl taking an extra few seconds before looking straight up at me and confidently saying, "Yes, I want this... I-I want to know what it feels like being touched by you. I couldn't think of a better person to do that to me..."

After registering what she said, my right hand slowly went under her shirt and onto her belly which made her quietly giggle at my touch before she looked back down which is when I leaned over her shoulder. "Do you mind if I take your shirt off?" I asked as my arousal soared.

With a beautiful smile on her blushed face, she looked to her right where my head was just before she scooted back a bit so she could properly face me. "I don't mind..."

As I yanked her shirt up, she put her arms up so I could easily slip it off her. When it was off, I tossed it to the floor which revealed her topless form which my eyes scanned over; the girl acknowledging my gaze which caused her to swallow in excited nervousness. Her breasts were so... beautiful. It might seem like I use that word too often to describe her but I'm not sure what other word could accurately portray her.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked after viewing her breasts, though I was already starting to close the distance between our lips. She gave me her permission just before my lips locked with hers. After the first of many kisses during this experience, I placed my left hand on her thigh and my right hand back on her stomach; the same hand trailing up her body and onto one of her B cupped sized breasts which made her breath hitch in her throat. "Is all of this okay?"

"Yes... Hunter? You don't need to ask permission or ask me if I'm okay all the time. If you do something I don't like, I'll tell you." She gently said with a lovely little smile. I smiled back as I kissed her again but we kept the kiss lasting this time.

While kissing her, my right hand took in a handful of the respective breast before getting to work by massaging it lightly. A few moments later, my index finger and my thumb lightly pinched the perked nipple every few seconds which caused her to lightly grunt, though it was somewhat stifled due to our kiss. I had noticed something during it though; the grunt had sounded hesitant.

I broke the kiss again to tell her, "If you want to make any sounds during this, do it. You know you don't have to be afraid of anything; I want you to enjoy this as much as you can."

"Alright..." She complied with her usual happy smile.

After that, I latched my lips on hers again and continued to massage her breast. Little adorable grunts started escaping her vocal cords more frequently, ever one of her noises continuing to stoke my arousal further and further. My left hand finally decided to move to the button of her jeans. I quickly undid the button and slowly unzipped her pants, all of this resulting in Stacy's rate of breath to elevate by a significant margin.

"Can you help me take these off?" I asked, referring to her pants and panties just as I hooked both of my thumbs into the sides of her panties before delicately tugging them down slightly.

She took another deep breath before lifting up herself up a bit so I could easily slide the pieces of clothing from underneath her. When I did so, she quickly sat herself back down. After that, I didn't immediately start taking her pants off; I just needed them in that position so I could easily take them off a little later. As it was, they covered her most sacred area just as I started kissing her again where my left hand had started massaging the respective breast.

After a couple minutes of kissing her and hearing her grunt every so often, my tongue broke through her lips and rubbed against her teeth; the appendage wanting to be let in to explore the inside of her mouth and clash with her tongue. After half a minute of my tongue asking for permission, her mouth had finally opened which allowed my tongue to rub against hers where her tongue modestly fought back.

I felt her smile as she giggled just as my right arm wrapped around her abdomen to pull her close to me, though that caused my hips to lightly grind on where my cock rubbed against her back. I broke the kiss yet again and leaned back, making sure to keep her leaned back on me while my right hand placed itself on her belly again. She looked up at me with a nervous but gleeful smile as she relaxed on my chest; this allowed me to see that her eyes were dilated with lust and desire. My left hand stopped massaging her breast to migrate onto her vulnerable neck, something I then kissed the side of after shifting how I sat and pulling her up a bit.

"Mmm... y-you're good at this..." She commented as my right hand started to drape down her body.

"It all just comes naturally." I truthfully replied before kissing her neck in a different spot; trailing kisses up her neck and onto her jawline.

I stopped doing that when I finally decided to put my hands back on the sides of her pants to slowly pull them down. I looked over her shoulder and down her chest, my gaze observing her covered pelvic region so I could see what I started revealing...

As I slowly pulled them past her pubic area, where I saw a bush of hair reveal its existence, my arousal soared even more especially when the top of her aroused slit became exposed to the cool air around us. I swallowed hard as I saw her sexy yet innocent slit which caused me to pull her pants down much faster.

"Can you kick your pants off for me?" I asked; she did so right after she acknowledged what I said. After she did that, my right hand placed itself on her sensitive right-inner thigh where my hand timidly rubbed, something that caused her legs to minutely spread open, before my hand slowly draped its way to where her leg and pelvis meet.

"A-Am I gross looking?" She asked nervously, the girl keeping her legs closed for the most part while looking down at her groin.

As I spread my legs to give her more room to work with, I used my right hand to coax her into spreading her legs by gently applying pressure for them to spread open. After that, I thoroughly examined her slit for the first time. "Not at all, it's so... adorable." I replied which caused her to sign in relief before a small smile was adopted back on her lips.

My left hand then planted itself on her neck before gently making her tilt her head to expose her neck again, something I kissed some more while my right hand traveled below her bellybutton. As I kissed her neck, my left hand went back down to her breasts to massage one for about thirty seconds before moving on to the other one. While I was doing that, my right hand breezed through her pubic hair before my index and middle finger contacted her damp, warm, and glistening slit. My fingertips then prodded around, getting a feel and an understanding of that areas of hers, my fingers wanting to discover where a certain part of hers was. It took a minute of looking for it, but my search eventually yielded the result I wanted; her clit.

She lightly jumped and quietly moaned when I found it; my barrage on her neck ceasing just in case she said something across the lines of me wanting to stop. But no such thing occurred as she settled back down, all the while my fingers enjoyed pressing her slimy love-button. Before I started stimulating her clit in earnest, I slid my fingers down her slit where the moistened flesh tightly encompassed the tips of my digits.

"Mmm, th-that feels a-amazing..." Stacy commented as she gently squirmed against me. It didn't take much longer for the girl to put her right hand on the hand that was causing her the pleasant feeling.

"You're so fucking cute..." I said before kissing her neck, then her jaw, then her cheek, just as my left hand migrated to the side of her face. I did that so I could point her face toward mine so I could kiss her once again while my fingers slowly trailed up and down her unexplored crevasse; my hand on the side of her face quickly going back to her breasts.

As my tongue dominated her orally, my fingers started to become covered in the juices that she was secreting which told me that she wanted to me to please her tremendously. She moaned again as two of my fingers started to delve into her depths. It wasn't much at all, but it still caused her hand to lightly squeeze my exploring and curious appendage.

I cracked opened my eyes while in the kiss where I saw her closed eyes and a bright blush enveloping her face. "She's so beautiful..." I thought before my fingers pulled out of her wet cavity, but I continued to trail them up her slit before halting on her clit.

She grunted as the girl pressed against my chest where I started to gingerly gyrate my fingers on her clit. She broke the kiss, looked down, and kept her eyes closed as she started moaning and quietly whimpering in modest happiness.

I continued to dance my index and middle fingers on her clit, the pace of them steadily increasing which made the sounds of her sexy sounding moans incrementally grow louder; they were like music to my ears. Another sound that was like music to my ears was the very faint sound of a squelch as I rubbed her squishy clit, the feeling of wet she had gotten amplifying my attraction toward it.

Her breathing quickened up its pace as I stimulated her faster and faster. "H-Holy f-fuck-" She swore, her choice of words making smile.

I ground on her again as she squirmed even more before my left hand replaced my tiring one to continue pleasing her clit. After that, I brought my dampened fingertips to my nose to take a deep whiff of Stacy's lubricant; the feral smell fully arousing me as I enjoyed the strong and addictive scent of her juice. After pondering what I should do with the liquid on my fingers, I simply decided just to lick it off, which tasted utterly fantastic...

I continued massaging her breasts, kissing her neck, and rubbing her clit for the next ten minutes; Stacy's reality being rocked with an overloading sensation of mind-blowing pleasure she thought hadn't been possible. After a couple more minutes of stimulating her, suddenly out of nowhere she said, "S-Stop!" At that, I instantly halted my massaging, kissing, and rubbing.

"What's wrong? Did I do something you didn't like?" I asked, concern outlining my tone.

"N-No you were... that was so good, but this is where I stop because it starts feeling... really strange..."

I rested my hands on her belly as I thought about what she said. "Strange how?"

"Uh... it's hard to explain." She replied before her legs started to close. After I asked where she felt strange, she answered with, "Where you were touching, but not exactly..."

"Does it hurt?" I asked, getting a shaking head in response. "Do you still want me to touch you down there...?"

"I-I mean... yeah, but it's just such a strange feeling so I usually just stop..."

I put my right hand on her inner thigh and lightly kneaded it as I thought. She easily enjoyed my touch there for a few moments before I coined an explanation. "I think I know what's happening." After she expressed her curiosity, I continued my explanation. 'I think you just don't know what a climax is." Must've been hard for her to unknowingly denying herself...

"...A climax?"

"It's like..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words to describe it. "It's like the best part of doing this, the end of you wanting to be touched, most of the time at least. And it feels... It feels magnificent, one of the best things to be felt. But it could be very messy, it is in a lot of cases."

"How is it messy...?"

I chuckled a bit as I shifted how I sat, my back now being perfectly perpendicular from the floor. "When you climax... not sure if this is true for you, but usually a bunch of liquid seeps out of you."

I put my left hand on her other inner thigh to lightly knead that one as well. "...That sounds kinda gross."

"Maybe at first, but I'm sure you'll come to enjoy it... I know that it's delicious to drink." I whispered the second half in her ear which stoked the blush on her face.

"H-How would you be able to... to drink it?" She curiously asked as I gently placed my right hand back over her warm and puffed slit.

"I'd be using my mouth and my tongue instead of my fingers..."

"Th-that- wouldn't that be gross since it... Well, y-you know what comes out of there..." She pondered as I coaxed her legs back open.

"Nope, not at all. Though I could see how you could think that, at first. But trust me, it would feel fantastic." I explained, before my index finger subtly started rubbing her clit again. "Do you want me to continue touching you?"

"...Y-Yes. But what do I do when I start feeling strange again...?"

As my middle finger joined my index finger in rubbing her clit once more, the pace of gyrating slowly sped up where her gentle squirms against me resumed. I had her look up at me using my free hand and advised, "Just relax and enjoy the feeling of my touch as much as you can..." I trailed off before leaning down to kiss her as my fingers started giving her the blissful sensation she desired.

My hand on her neck once again went back down to her breasts and as the minutes rolled by her, breathing picked back up again, her squirming became more volatile, and the vibrations her moans were producing traveled down my throat as I felt her tongue against my own.

I decided to relocate my fingers back into the very entrance of her tight crevasse by snailing the fingers down to where I could insert them into her vagina. By gingerly applying pressure to spread her folds open, my digits gently submerged themselves into Stacy's unexplored cavern. She was so incredibly tight, warm, and soft that my fingers had a somewhat difficult time delving into her; her walls squeezing and almost trying to reject the exploring appendages as each joint entered Stacy. But her wetness started to make quite a difference as I delved into her.

The noises that she made started increased in frequency as she lightly pushed into me more and more. "Mmm... mmm~." My left hand ceased massaging her breasts before starting to stimulate her clit to give her as much pleasure as possible.

The fingers on my right hand finally bottomed out and not wasting any time, I started to slide them back out after briefly enjoying what it was like for my digits to be tightly encompassed within her groin. I slightly curled my fingers to gingerly claw Stacy's insides with my fingertips to make her enjoy my motioning fingers as much as she could. I only sped up the speed of my fingering and rubbing which drove Stacy wild over the next couple of minutes. She was so wet.

Suddenly, I felt Stacy's walls squeeze harder as the girl in my arms tried spreading her legs apart even further apart. "Mmhm, mmm- Ah!" Stacy moaned out after breaking the kiss where her hand on my own squeezed as she slightly spasmed which is when orgasmic liquid drained from her pussy in a little squirt. The resulting mess covered my hand and the blanket we were on; her cum saturating into the fabric.

After a few seconds of her riding out her orgasm, my fingers slowed down to a halt which left the girl panting. Not long after that, my fingers slowly retreated from her depths. My arms then wrapped around her chest to hug her, staying mindful of the juices that were on my hands. After she had calmed down about three or so minutes later, I broke the silence that fell upon us. "So, how was that?"

I secretly consumed the juices on my left hand as she tried formulating a response. Might be a little bit strange but eh. "Th-that was... that was amazing..." She replied as a hand trailed down her body and back onto one of her legs. "I f-feel so... so nice."

I would think, given how long you've been denying yourself for. "Do you want me to touch you some more?" I asked while looking her into the eyes.

"A-A bit, but later, maybe, if you want. I'm really tired..." She replied before closing her legs; the girl already fighting to keep her eyelids open. "Though I feel kind of bad..."

"Why's that?" I gently asked, kissing the tip of her nose which made her lightly smile.

"Because you made me feel so good and I didn't do anything in return..."

"You don't need to; letting me being able to do what I did to you pays for itself..." I honestly replied as I ran a dried hand through her hair.

"Are you sure...?"

I nodded.

"Hm..." She looked down at the blanket she made a mess on. "Uh... So do you want me to clean this blanket tomorrow?"

I chuckled and lifted her up a bit so I could roll the blanket up and toss it off to the side of the bed, which during so I noted that her liquids hadn't seeped through it and onto the sheets. "We'll figure that out tomorrow." I replied before a hand on her neck made her look up so I could kiss her again.

After a few long moments of holding the kiss, I ended it before admiring her smiling face with her eyes closed in my grasp. Unfortunately, I had to begrudgingly slip off the bed to go fetch a fresh blanket. While retrieving it, I couldn't help but keep sniffing the two fingers on the hand that had penetrated Stacy; the smell was just so sweet and addictive...

When I returned back, I saw that she had curled up into a ball in the center of the bed. I smiled at the adorable sight for a few seconds before laying next to her and throwing the blanket over us. That's when my arms briskly wrapped around the naked girl so I could cuddle her closely.

She turned over and hugged me back where her head went into the crook of my neck. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the feeling of someone else being there, someone who I would grow extremely close to, the feeling of becoming whole again becoming stronger every day, like she revived the dead inside me as she started becoming my second half...

"I love you..." Stacy whispered, making my heart flicker since that that was the first time she had said that to me.

"I love you too, Stacy..." I responded, a comfortable silence falling upon us as we let sleep overcome us.

Notes:

If you've made it here you're at least somewhat interested in the story, I won't ask for much but to consider leaving a kudos, a subscription, and/or leaving a comment of constructive criticism or a comment of support. It really helps keep my motivation for continuing to write this story at a steady pace. Thank you for taking the time to read this! <3

Chapter 6: A Symphony of Pleasure

Chapter Text

It was six in the morning when my blaring alarm rudely awoke me, something I considered ignoring in favour of sleep but I begrudgingly listened to its underlying meaning. After having enough time to wake up, I took my phone off of its charger and turned it on. Something immediately seemed off as I scrolled through the unusually large amount of notifications. I tapped the one that alarmed me the most; a series of texts sent by my brother in all capitals sent about thirty minutes ago.

Seven missed calls.

"DUDE WAKE UP"

"I FOUND CARTER DEAD IN MY LIVING ROOM"

"HE'S UNRESPONSIVE AND HAS NO HEARTBEAT"

"AND ALL EMERGENCY VEHICLES ARE BUSY"

As I slowly processed his messages, I got out of bed and onto my feet while my heart raced after properly realizing the gravity of the situation. I frantically texted back, "What??? What happened to him??? Are you sure he's dead???"

After sending the message, I looked through more of my notifications where I quickly came to a dead halt at the next notification that piqued my interest. It was a voice message from one of my friends overseas of which I instantly started listening to.

"My mother is dead... Fuck this fucking world... I know you tried so hard... to… t-to prevent me from doing what I'm about to do... But I just can't... do this anymore..." As his voice broke, my heart dropped. "Thank you... for being such a good friend for the couple of years it lasted, Hunter... I… I-I’ve always secretly wanted more between us, because of just everything you did, but that was foolish considering our circumstances..." A light sob broke through his voice as he continued talking, a hand going to my mouth as tears brimmed my eyes. "I'm sorry for everything... I'm sorry for being selfish... Hopefully, in whatever afterlife there might be, we'll meet each other again... Until then, goodbye... Please have a good life."

I stood there in silence while looking down at my phone before a tear splashed on the screen when seeing that the message had been sent a couple hours ago. I swiftly texted back a few messages, hoping that he didn't do what I think he did. But until a reply would come through, I would have to anxiously wait.

Speeding through a few more notifications as I walked out into the living room, I read a few more messages from a couple other friends; a lot of them telling me about a few family and celebrity deaths and whether or not I've seen the news.

"Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, Justin Bieber, Bill Gates, Dwayne Johnson...?" I murmured in disbelief as I read the messages with a higher dose of adrenaline running through my veins as I continued reading a long list of names. I quickly got the remote to the TV and turned it on before quickly changing it to one of the news networks.

"-orts that the Prime Ministers of Australia and Italy have been found dead, this adds to the long list of notable people that have died this morning." A news anchor announced with visible worry in her eyes.

The news station had the large and bold words of "National Emergency" on the headline as several other anchors looked visibly distressed while some scurried about in the background as the lady continued listing off names of who had been found dead.

A subtle hint of a perplexed expression appeared on her face. "This follows shortly after getting reports that the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Energy have also been found dead. At the reports of a significant number of pilots dying mid-flight, the FAA has ordered that all planes be grounded and-.” She cut herself off and remained silent for a brief couple of seconds. “This just in, we're getting reports that all contact and communication from everywhere outside of North America have all but failed in the past thirty minutes."

"What the fuck is going on!?" I yelled as I felt my phone vibrate, signifying a new notification. I instantly took my phone out. quickly seeing that it was from my brother.

"DUDE YES, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I'M HEADING OVER TO THE PARENTS HOUSE NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING"

I took a deep breath as I read the message and listened to another news anchor talking about what else was going on in the world.

And in a distressed tone, "Again, we'll reiterate that people are dying mysteriously while driving, walking, talking, and pretty much every other ordinary task. There seems to be nothing that these people have in common as it's affecting all children, young adults, senior citizens, and even infants of all walks of life."

"Is there really no correlation for the cause of the deaths? For something this big, there has to be something that has to explain it!" Another anxious news anchor asked their colleague

"We... don't know. We don't know if it's a type of organized terrorist attack or if it's a disease... And we don't know who it's affected and who it's going to affect." A few minutes later after seeing how the economy was tanking, how the amount of vehicular accidents was at an all time high, and a couple clips of people dropping dead played, the news anchor put a hand in his hair as he let out a deep breath; the man all of a sudden looking extremely confused. "It might just... uh... wow, what's the..." His head suddenly hit his desk as his body became limp and lifeless.

The camera panned out as the other news anchor and a couple other behind the scenes workers swiftly got to their feet and ran up to their colleague in a panic, one of their hands going on his chest and leaning him back on his chair as another hand went to his pulse. Afterward, a look of shock donned on the news anchor's face before she quickly signaled for the camera to pan away which is when the screen was cut to another news anchor who gawked at the scene in the distance. He briefly stumbled on his words before keeping his composure and talking about some other breaking news about the crisis, but you could tell they were all near their breaking point.

"What the actual fuck!" I said to myself as I looked toward my parents room door. I didn't think about it for long before I hurried over to the doorknob and swiftly entered their room. After hesitating for a second, I turned on the light and announced, "Mom, Dad! Uh, wake up! There's something really bad going on right now!"

"Huh?" My father drearily replied after a few seconds of silence, severe confusion lining his tone. "What are you talking about?"

"There's... People are dying for seemingly no reason, globally, on a massive scale." I replied, desperately trying not to stutter my words.

"...What do you mean?" My mother asked as she sighed, the woman slowly sitting up and putting her legs over the side of the bed.

My father let out a frustrated sigh as he gently placed a hand on the side of his face as he quietly murmured, "I have to get to work in a couple of hours..."

"Dad... I think that's the least of your concerns right now..." I then explained to them what I had seen on the news for a few minutes, all the statistics, the havoc, the ongoing massacre, and even the death of my brother's roommate.

At this point, my mother was on her feet and my father was sitting up, the shock of the news making sure they were wide awake. "This better not be some sort of prank." My mother said as she walked past me and headed toward the living room. I assured her that it wasn't as I walked behind her; my eyes glancing back at the television as the President approached a podium in the White House briefing room.

As the President started speaking, one of my mother's hands covered her mouth as a long list of notable names slid across the bottom of the screen, all major figureheads who had been found dead, my mother realizing that every haunting word I said was true.

An hour later, my mother was frantically trying to call a lot of her friends and family, most either not picking up or the calls being dropped.

We sat in silence at the dining room table as my parents watched the news while I tried texting some of my friends. We all jumped in fright when we heard a loud crash from outside, the adrenaline rush making me bounce onto my feet and dash over to the front of our house so I could peer out of the window to see what happened.

"Holy shit..." I said as my eyes shot open in surprise. I saw the remnants of a white SUV which had crashed into my parents car, totaling both of them.

I bolted to the front door as I quickly explained to my parents what had occurred. Shortly after that, I walked into the humid summer morning's air with my parents following behind me where we observed the aftermath of the carnage that had just taken place. After my father told my mother to call the police, and after hesitating for a second as I scanned the wreckage, I followed my father where we briskly jogged toward the flipped SUV several meters away. When I got there, I hesitated once more, never having been in any sort of situation like this and scared of seeing what’d be revealed. When I got over that, I swiftly got on my knees to see the state of the driver.

It was a gruesome sight to say the least. The driver was all cut up from shattered windows, the man already having bruises forming across his face, a concussion, one of his eyes was bleeding profusely, and blood was seeping from his mouth. I had never seen such a morbid sight like it in person and had never seen a corpse. I was pretty sickened and jarred but I pushed through it.

My father and I worked together to try getting the door open or trying to get a response from him, but we got nothing, and we couldn't get the door open since it had jammed. A few of our neighbours helplessly watched as we desperately tried and failed to get the car open. My mother soon told us that help wasn't available. It wasn't until my father struggled to check the man's pulse through the shattered window to reveal that he was already a carcass. That’s when we gave up on trying to help him as it was already too late; we knew there was nothing we could really do.

After that, I stayed outside for a little while just sitting on the porch stairs as I blankly looked at the wreck as my parents did something inside that they didn't tell me. But I didn't care at the time, I was just... in shock about everything going on. A few minutes later as I slowly processed the new and unsettling feeling of seeing a tattered corpse, I saw one of my front yard neighbours collapse on her porch where her husband frantically went to her side to try to help her, only for it to go in vain as she had mysteriously been killed invisible force. I watched him try to revive her, heard what he was saying, heard the panic, the fear, and the pain all for about two minutes before I couldn't watch him swiftly devolve any longer.

Another hour swiftly passed of the world seemingly coming to an end. I was standing in the center of the living room once again, just reading the articles of recently deceased celebrities, the term 'The Great Dying' already being used to describe this day. The news however had stopped coming in as the news stations either stopped or somehow failed, rendering the device useless. "I think it's The Rapture..." My father announced after a long silence, probably drawing to that conclusion after telling him what I observed not too long ago.

He was always a somewhat religious man so every now and then he talked to me about religious topics. I was never really a believer... but it would kind of make sense if it was.

My mother who was on the couch replied with, "You're probably right…” She repeated herself, overwhelmed by what was happening. “It's just so hard to comprehend that this is actually happening..." She finished her thought as my father sat next to her to comfort her.

A terrifying thought occurred to me. "Austin should've been here by now..." I pointed out in a solemn tone as I texted him a few worried messages.

"Hunter... come here..." My mother said with a slight frown as she patted the free space next to her.

After I was done with my phone, I slipped it back in my pocket and walked over to the spot she wanted me to take. "...Do you think he's dead...?" I asked as I looked toward my parents' somber expressions.

A tear rolled down my mother's cheek as she glumly nodded. "But I don't think we'll be separated from him for that long."

It was then that I finally hugged my parents and silently let my tears roll down my cheeks after a few seconds. "I love you, Mom and Dad..." I praised in a quivering voice. "Thank you for being extraordinarily good parents..."

They hugged me back. "It was our job, something we have always enjoyed... We should be thanking you for being such a good and smart child..." My Mom replied as my crying picked up a tad.

"We're so proud of you. We know you would've done so many, many great things had we been able to live full lives..." My father added as he let a tear slide down his face, this first time I had seen that from him.

"Hunter... Hunter... Hunter!"

"Hunter!" Stacy called out which finally plucked me out from my... I guess you could call it a type of night terror.

"H-Huh?" I groggily said before feeling the coolness on my tear stained cheeks and saw that it was just before the beginning of morning.

Even though it was the early morning, with the help of the sun just under the horizon through the windows, I was able to make out that Stacy was on her knees and to the right of me where the girl looked down at me as her hands stayed on my chest, the hands that had rocked me awake.

"You were crying and talking in your sleep..." Stacy pointed out as she put a blanket around her shoulders to conceal her naked form. "And you hugged me awake..."

"Oh... I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" I asked, worried I had squeezed her or something across those lines before internally scolding myself after I swiftly scanned over her naked and brittle form. It was probably irrational, but I feared being seen like I was some sort of spying stalker when it came to gazing at her.

"No, but it was enough to wake me up. And it's fine. …What were you dreaming about?"

I let out a slow breath as I thought about the nightmare, pondering if I should tell her or not. After a dozen or so seconds, I reasoned I should due to how we amicably told each other the stuff that bothered us, so I sat up and with glassy eyes, I put my head in my hands. "It... it was about the day The Drop happened... when it all went down, a couple hours before my parents died..."

"Oh..." Stacy said, her face adopting a poignant expression as I looked her in the eyes. "I've never had a dream that intense before."

This was a segue for us to start talking about the details of the day The Drop happened which we did in the following minutes. Being able to tell Stacy what I felt along with her listening to every word felt so nice... We rarely talked about that day because it was... super excruciating to think about. Remembering the emotion that filled our minds as we watched the world around us collapse along with losing our loved ones was so traumatic. But at that moment the mood was different and the two of us finally felt like opening up to each other about what panned out that horrible day. I told her about my bleak dream and everything that went down in it, it was almost an exact rerun of what actually went down.

"What happened after that...?" Stacy curiously asked. "You don't need to answer that, of course..."

I thought about it for a few long seconds before deciding that this was the best time to have a chat regarding this topic. "My parents and I hugged for a long time as we shared a heartfelt conversation with each other... My father was the first one to go..." I fought back the tears as I remembered the horrific event. "He was in his bedroom getting... I can't remember what it was exactly, but my mother and I noticed that he was taking a long time to come back." I put a hand on the side of my face. "I went in to check on him- he was on the floor..." I released a deep breath. She gave me a look of sympathy as she lightly draped her fingers on my arm. "I was devastated. My mother tried to keep her composure but failed... and when she collapsed only twenty minutes later..." I let a few seconds of silence pass before taking a deep breath in, trying my best to placate my nerves. "I never cried so hard in my life before; it felt like my chest was empty and my face hurt so bad from crying, like the worst migraine possible..."

"What did you do after that...?"

"I stayed there, not knowing what to do, preparing to die just like how they did... but that never happened, obviously. On the third day after they perished, after having delayed it since I didn't want to do it, I dug them a shallow grave in the backyard, trying my best to make it proper... The image of the both of them lying side by side in the dirt has forever been burned into my mind." I sighed. "But the most eerie thing was... was the silence. I lived in a noisy city... it was just... silent."

Stacy hugged me from the side as she intently listened, the sweethearted girl trying her best to show that she cared deeply for me. "I moved on from my home after another week, after I had grieved quite a lot over my lost family and friends. That's when I started to walk the barren streets, just waiting for my demise like how seemingly everyone else had met theirs. I walked them for years, alone, wondering why I should continue doing anything... until I met a lovely little someone that made me so happy." I said that last part while looking down at the angel in my arms who met my gaze with an adorable shy smile.

"I'm glad I can make you happy... Thanks for telling me your story." I clinked her nose with mine and eskimo kissed her which made her quietly giggle. "I guess it's time for me to share mine since you did... This was a long time ago so I've probably forgotten a lot of things, I haven't really thought about this in a long time..." After I said it was fine and assured her that she didn't need to tell me, she continued anyway. "I was woken up for school, got ready and all that, and waited for my bus. My house, which was really kind of a shack, wasn't connected to anything like the internet; we didn't even have a TV so I didn't figure anything out for a while. My bus never arrived, so I went back home to tell my parents..."

She seized up a tad so my hand slowly brushed through her hair to try calming her down. "You don't need to continue, I won't force you to tell me anything you don't want."

"I-It's fine, Hunter... it's just... I don't know how to feel about it..." I asked her what she meant. "I didn't really want to talk about my parents since they used to... hit me... a lot. And thinking about it makes me… scared.” She shivered. “They didn't care for me... I always barely had anything to eat and my clothes were always in poor shape… Some days, they’d forget to feed me, we never had much, and even got m-mad when I ate some of their food when I was super hungry… I don't like thinking about them..." Stacy finished her explanation which made my heart ache for her as a vindictive feeling emerged within me. I had no clue that she had been violently abused.

I lightly frowned before leaning toward to wrap my arms around her, though the blanket prevented me from properly hugging her. At this point, she was directly in front of me, sitting a couple feet away, so hugging her was difficult given our positions, though I speared through the obstacle after I slid her toward me. She tried hugging back which finally made the blanket a genuine problem. She scoffed a bit before she leaned back to drop the blanket around her waist. She then leaned in to hug me with a small smile, a rueful smile of my own emerging as a result.

"Your parents were wicked and did something terrible and unforgivable... I love you, Stacy."

She scooted forward a little more which caused a certain area of hers to get rather close to something that may or may not have been slowly growing. Scrapping that thought, since it wasn’t a suitable time for that, I put my chin on her head as we hugged tighter for a few minutes where we enjoyed the feeling of each other's embrace, gratified that we had found each other.

Thankfully, she was comfortable enough to continue venting to me. "I've never really had close friends... I'm always frightened of doing something that's not normal, or if I'm not communicating the right way, or anything like that... I was never allowed friends and so many more things. Hunter, you... you're the only person that has shown that you... care and love me this much... in my entire life..." She took a few seconds to continue her tale, her tone of voice telling me that she was fighting back tears. "I didn't know what was going on and was freaking out about how I found my parents dead in the house... My neighbours, who lived a little bit away, let me in their house after I told them everything. They were the ones who tried explaining to me what was happening, though I barely understood it at the time... And I was the same as you, Hunter, waiting for my turn to go as everyone around me died... Then I just went house to house, trying to find someone, eventually finding you after all that time..."

I couldn't help myself but subtly cry while holding her tighter... "I love you, Stacy..." I quietly repeated after a few seconds.

She looked up at me as a few of her own tears rolled down her cheeks. "I love you too, Hunter..."

I hugged her once more and silently mourned with her for a couple more minutes, the first time I had genuinely cried in many, many months. Being able to be consoled, to hold someone small close, someone who I cared immensely for and vice versa felt so... phenomenal. It allowed us to comfortably slip and delve into the emotions that we had previously suppressed and had had no one to share our pain with. We could now properly cope from the ghosts and phantoms of our harrowing past which meant that we could begin correctly healing from that diabolical day. We no longer had to sulk alone in a reclusive life of gloom nor handle our feelings of sorrow, dread, remorse, or distraught alone. We both finally had someone to share condolences with and someone to help us move on from dwelling on the past.

When my tears had dried up, I wiped the stains off my cheeks and rested my forehead on hers before I wiped the tears off her face as well. After that, I gingerly cupped the side of her face. "Can I kiss you?" I quietly asked.

She smiled and lightly chuckled. "You know you don't need to ask, Hunter... I like it when you kiss me. I don't see how I ever couldn't."

I gently kissed her and held it for a little while before breaking it, only to kiss her again for a few more moments. This repeated a few more times which caused Stacy to giggle as it happened. We then hugged for what felt like half an hour afterward; the peace between the two of us being something quite addictive. During that time she would gently nuzzle me, I'd kiss the top of her head, and we'd exchange a few words of intimacy every now and then. That was until a silence emerged between us. The emotional episode we shared marked the first of many to come, and though the one we had just had might seem to have been rather short, it meant a lot to us. The silence just acted as an adjournment so we could move onto the next thing after our sadness had subsided.

"Are you cold?" I asked after a few minutes of being in the silent embrace, the frigid air prompting me to ask her that.

"Mmm, just a bit..."

"...Do you want me to get your clothes for you?" To clarify, this was a couple days after I had first touched her down below. She had no clothes on again because, well, she wanted me to touch her again. As long as she was auctioning an idea like that off, I’d buy it no matter how exorbitant the price might be.

She looked up at me as she grabbed one of my hands. She then escorted it to her neck, something I took a gentle hold which minutely constricted her airway in a subtle choke; something she leaned into. "Do you want me to put my clothes on?"

“I…” Not expecting that reply or the sudden swivel in our attitudes, I stammered a bit. Of course, I was quite a fan of seeing her like that... She was so dinky, petite, and her posture was so neatly adorable. A blush slowly appeared on her face as she observed my eyes glance over her femininely cut body. After which, I forced my eyes to gaze back into hers.

"Sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable." I said, scorning myself and assuming the worst while my hand tried retracting from her neck.

"You aren’t making me uncomfortable." She replied with an assuring smile as her hand reverted back on top of my own, keeping it there on her neck. "I... I really like how you look at me..." The sexual tension between us was quite distinguishable and had been so prominently volatile; one might correctly predict where the gusts and currents of it were headed.

I then slowly looked back down at her thin frame as she removed the cottony blanket from around her waist and criss-crossed legs where the dainty girl salaciously revealed her puffing little slit; the epitome of eye candy causing me to hear the bells and jingles of happiness.

"Feel free to look at me all you want..." Even though it was dim, the sun was starting to properly illuminate the room. Thus, the nightly shadows weakened which let me start accurately seeing the provocative details and salient curves that she was merchandising to me. And since I had her permission, I no longer had the petrifying fear of being seen as perverted so I permitted myself to relax in her naked presence which further helped the thawing of our attitudes. "Can you... can you put your other hand on my leg?" She asked somewhat cryptically since there was a hint of hesitancy within her voice while her blush reinforced in strength.

"Are you sure you want me to? You don't sound too sure..." I pointed out with askance as I lifted my free hand while maintaining eye contact with her. The last thing I wanted her to do was coerce herself into something she didn’t actually want.

"Yes, I'm sure, I just... I guess I'm scared to ask because I don't know what you want or how you would react." She explained as her hand on mine started ushering it towards her chest.

"I guess that makes sense." I thought as a few exciting thoughts started to churn within my mind. "I'd be fine with just about anything you'd ask... Don't be afraid to do so." I gently assured as my left hand landed on her inner thigh. She lightly grunted at that before looking at where I had placed my hand where I started to slowly massage the sensitive skin. Even though it was subjective, I was detecting a strong underlying feeling tugging at us which endlessly continued coaxing and swaying us into exercising a certain calling, something seemingly making us communicate telepathically as the cogs in our heads turned. "What do you want me to do?"

She took a deep breath as she thought about it which gave our minds more time to plot things out. After a few moments of my gentle massaging, she asked, "I want you to... c-can you show me your... your penis?" Her blush extended to the tips of her ears but she kept her confidence and sustained the eye contact.

Confounded, it took me a couple seconds to properly acknowledge her question while I felt a very light blush appear on my face. "Uh, a-are you sure, Stacy?" I wasn't afraid of doing what she wanted nor opposed to the idea, I was just somewhat nervous.

"Yes... I've been wanting to see it for a few days now. I felt it yesterday when you were touching me and the day before that. And I've also felt it press against me in the middle of the night a few times.” Damn morning wood. “I really, really want to see it..."

I continued rubbing her thigh before looking down at her exposed slit again which further extrapolated my arousal at the saucy sight. The idea of her seeing my penis and the connotations it had behind it caused me to become quite lenient regarding what we were feeling.

I shifted where I sat to readjust my phallus so it’d stop being bent at an uncomfortable angle before my hand on her chest navigated to her other inner thigh to massage that one as well. My hands then moved up to the very top of her inner thighs which caused an adorable whimper to escape her lips. I smiled at the feeble sound before my right hand draped to her belly and then down onto her vulva which caused her eyes to close and for her to face down. My index and middle fingers then slowly glided across the entirety of her slit a few times before lightly dipping into her lower lips. Doing that revealed to me just how drenched she had gotten.

I leaned forward and pecked the tip of her nose as my fingers very, very slowly rubbed her slit while quiet grunts emitted from her lips. Deciding that I had had enough of skulking around the issue, I ended the charade of not asking a question that had been relentlessly gnawing at us. So using a hushed tone, "Do you want us to have sex, Stacy...?"

She opened her eyes and looked right into mine where I saw that her beautiful sky blue irises were once again dilated with lust and desire. She gulped hard as my fingers started stimulating her clit a tad faster, the girl then starting to cutely twiddle her fingers as she thought. Almost reticent, it took her a few more seconds to confess, "...Y-Yes... Yes, I do."

In a blur, those words instantly sabotaged any sense of abstinence I might’ve had since an instinctual siren beeped and honked at me causing a verdict regarding me getting prepared to be finalized. And since there were no innuendos to decipher regarding what she wanted, I didn’t need to waste time and idle needlessly. Like a flash, I got off the bed before quickly turning towards the confused Stacy. "Come here." I crisply solicited while signaling her over with a hand gesture to lure her toward me.

She was stumped for a brief moment before flocking to the place I wanted her to go; her legs hanging off the side of the bed as a result. Since I towered over her, my left hand migrated back to her neck to tilt her head up so I could lean down and deeply kiss her. After kissing her for several long moments, my left hand went up to the side of her head to brush a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Are you sure you want to have sex with me...? It's probably going to hurt at first." I asked, not looking forward to causing her pain and wanting to guarantee that her consent wasn’t dubious.

She took a minute to reply after I told her to think with the right mind, not the mind that wanted her to be pleased. "Yes, Hunter... one hundred percent. You..." She looked away for a brief second before looking back up to me where her irises expressed that she desired me to be her chief, her champion, and her hero. "You've made me feel so special, you've made me feel loved, and you're the nicest and most caring person I've ever met… I just want to do something with you that will make you feel great, as much as you make me feel."

"You don't need to do it for that reason though. You already make me feel great, by just being with you, you make me so happy." I swiftly replied, still trying my best to weed out certain desires that might’ve gotten me in trouble.

She lightly giggled. "I know, Hunter... But this is something I think we both want. At least from how you've described it, sex sounds like... like it would be very fun and nice." She spread her legs open a tad after saying that which caused my eyes to dart down to browse the glistening crevasse that hungered for my insertion.

Such a flaunty move was a spell that anyone like me would’ve fallen under; it was equivalent to receiving a ticket that’d let me enact upon the most desired physical thing that my mind craved. Her action was everything my mind needed to know that a certain woman in season had elected me to be their mate. It was a proposition that made the fence I was on irrelevant since it was a bargain I could never decline. Thinking somewhat cynically, if there had been a chance for this being a certain type of trap with the punishment being eventual banishment, I was willing to sacrifice everything for it since the reward far outweighed any risks.

And she was correct, I had been wanting to fuck her for at least a week at that point, I had just been strangling the desire since I was afraid I'd make her uncomfortable and fuck things up between us. But as it was, after having charmed her, she wanted to do it as much as I did... And try as I might, I couldn't stop myself from pouncing on her idea since I wanted to plow her beckoning little slit and court her so very much.

"I know you want to put it in my pussy so, so much and I know it would make you feel so good. I want to feel it inside me too, I think it would be cute and... very romantic to 'share' our private parts. Especially when we could so easily do that…” She softly chuckled. “I've thought about having it inside here a few times. Y'know, how I have a hole that you can be inside, like it's supposed to be for you…"

That was the final straw that made my restraint snap like a twig before I went on the prowl regarding what our bodies wanted. I then took a deep breath before engaging in our desire by kissing her again for another minute which is when the fever to fuck her was truly sparked. During the kiss, my mind swiftly sketched up a plan on just how I was going to do the bidding of our desires. When the kiss ended, I ducked down and kissed the side of her neck before trailing those kisses down to her collar bone.

"W-What are you doing...?" She curiously asked as my hands planted themselves on her inner thighs to lightly knead them.

"I want to kiss a lot of you." I replied before I snatched a pillow for padding so I could get on my knees and put my hands back on her inner thighs. After that, my lips started to kiss the top of her sternum. "Is that alright?"

"Yes... I'll tell you to stop if I want you to." Taking that as my go ahead, my trail of kisses continued onto her left breast where my lips trailed down to the perked nipple which made her quietly yelp after I had firmly latched onto her. "Oh~!" She howled when I started to lovingly suck the nipple where my heart thumped at the feeling of her soft teat. I wanted my own clothes to be stripped off at that point quite badly...

She put her hands on my dome as my tongue swirled around the sensitive nipple. During this, one of my hands migrated onto the tit to massage it while I sucked just to give her another feeling of being desired. After pleasing the nipple for thirty seconds, I moved onto the other one which yielded me the same reaction. I continued alternating from one pink nipple to the other every twenty or so seconds until they were thoroughly pleased and somewhat engourged.

This… might be a strange thing to say, but I sort of wished that she was lactating so I could be nursed by her. The thought of a flavourful part of her like that being within me while she'd enjoy herself was a thought that seemed rather sweet to me.

Anyways, once her nipples had been adroitly sucked, my hand returned back down to an inner thigh while I kissed her rack for a few more moments before I isolated my focus back to kissing her sternum and then sundering south to her ticklish belly where the kissing caused her to cutely giggle.

When I passed below her belly button, her breathing became slightly more rapid. I then deeply kissed her left inner thigh where Stacy's legs instinctively spread open to try to give me full access, a luxury my mind was scrambling to appreciate. I guess you could've called me a beta tester before then… That made me cringe, I regret writing it.

I switched from one inner thigh to teasingly kiss the other a few times before my lips departed from her. That’s when I gently pushed her to flatly lay down where the girl used a pillow to prop her head up. At that, she took a calming breath as she completely exposed her everything to me. That caused me to laser-focus on the dripping slit that craved my touch. I swallowed once again as I ogled her horny cunt where my starry and glinted eyes got a very thorough look at the mythical-like sight which made the confinement in my pants hurt even more. It seemed too good to be true, like this was some sort of scam, sham, or hallucination. But considering just how real it was, my disbelief was able to be suspended.

"I've inherited every single bit of this sexy girl all to myself..." That’s when I noticed she had a small mole near her clit on her labia. It's not important and not like I find freckles ugly or anything, it’s just that I’ve vividly not forgotten a single detail of her pussy.

My right hand which was massaging an inner thigh glossed over to her labia where I positioned my thumb and index finger on a lip each before I spread the lips open just a tad. She quietly grunted when I did so where I then swallowed hard in anticipation as I saw her gorgeous pink insides. I made sure to see and appreciate every last intricate detail while my mind stirred about how lovely and pleasant it would be for my cock to be snuggly within her. While doing so, I noticed she had a hymen... though it was really small which I assumed was the remnant of whenever she had broken it; something that isn't limited to sex.

After another hard swallow fifteen seconds later, I took some time to admire her other hole, that one being a few times tighter than the other one while having a critical lack of lubrication; so it was off the table. But I had no intention of going down that route anyways, mainly due to her precious cunt being a thousand multiples more entertaining. But still, it was nice to investigate that really cute avenue. I then glanced at her perfectly cushioned buttocks which is when I wanted to touch one.

After a few more moments of gently keeping her labia spread open, my hand there slid to an inner thigh, behind the leg, and up to a buttock so I could gingerly grasp it. I loved the feeling of how firm yet soft it was which is why my fingers couldn't help but cautiously prod into her skin and massage that area of hers as well. She adored my gentle and light touches, the same touches that were carving and chiseling out her truest desires.

As I did this, I continued looking at what she exhibited to me which I can confidently say was the greatest piece of art I have ever laid my eyes upon. So after getting an astonishing view of her majestic holes, I figured I had teased her long enough. With that, the tip of my nose began making the voyage towards its desired destination, my tongue curious and giddy to find out what the raw taste of Stacy's forbidden juice was like.

When my nose contacted her recently shaved pubic area, (she had used some of the bathroom supplies after I told her what it was all used for earlier that day,) I reminded Stacy to take a deep breath. She followed my advice which caused the girl to pacify her nerves and lower her rate of breath.

"Alright you can... you can go ahead." Stacy informed after several long seconds while she put her hands on her belly.

My hands grabbed the backs of her thighs to hold her in place as I gingerly licked my lips. I then took a deep breath through my nose and smelled no foul stench but instead the delicious musky scent of a turned on Stacy, causing my arousal to go vertical. Just before anything else, I softly nipped and kissed her labia while sniffing her scent, each breath sending a tingle throughout my glans. After that, I didn't waste any more time before the tip of my tongue contacted her swollen clit which elicited an extremely cute squeak to emit from her. Before I could ask if I could keep going, she commented, "Th-that definitely... feels different... but good different." I could hear the shy smile on her lips.

And then I realized that just like her scent, her taste wasn't rancid nor putrid, but quite the opposite. With a pleased grin, I licked my tongue upward which caused me to lap up some of her lubricant. Receiving the slightly acidic taste of Stacy squarely from the chaste source made me realize just how utterly fantastic it was that I was able to do that to her. I felt even more comfortable when a hand of hers gently grasped the side of my head, the girl wanting to make sure that I stayed focused on her clit. My happiness due to how the seductive girl was letting me do that to her, let alone even seeing her nude, was off the charts.

"Oooh- mmm..." She moaned as I licked downward, further than where I began, wanting to get as much of her tangy lubricant on my tongue as I could. There was a reason why one could refer to a pussy as a honeypot, because that’s just how delicious she was tasting to me.

She arched her back by just a bit as the speed in which I licked slowly increased. My tongue then stuck out further so I could rub her clit with a coarser patch of my tongue which caused her thighs to start closing around my head while she subtly squirmed. As her hips cutely wiggled, a gradient of adorable noises poured out of her vocal cords, the sounds telling me that she wanted more stimulation and immensely enjoyed what I was doing to her. There was no doubt that I was sufficiently buttering her up for what laid ahead of us.

All of that resulted in me getting so preposterously hard for her while my appetite for mating her only grew. I'll admit that the miracle that was having her most sensitive cluster of nerves sliding on my tongue was making my cock so, so jealous; the appendage still a victim of touch deprivation. The moans that she sang almost seemed like they were mocking and insulting my neglected glans since she was getting to have fun and I wasn’t.

"S-So- mmm- fucking good-!" Stacy stuttered as the tip of my tongue delved into her unexplored and tight depths, my welcome siege on the area persisting for the next few minutes. During so, sipping and slurping her most pleasure inducing bit of flesh caused her to spontaneously moan whenever I applied a firm sucking pressure to it. It was adorable and fairly amusing since it was like playing a sophisticated instrument; the rhythmic melody she produced certainly rivaling some of the best music out there, that's for sure.

As I continued doing this, it was becoming like... a delicious beverage and feast, her sex like a gourmet palette that I’d want to more than occasionally partake in for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But my sore testicles ached in impatience, the appendages begging me to zoom it up so I could finally mate with her. It didn't help with the fact that I hadn't had a good orgasm in several months...

I suddenly halted my slithering tongue to deeply kiss her clit a few times, to lovingly munch on and gobble up more of the elixir she produced before moving on. It was appropriate to call it that since it truly did feel like a potion healing certain shards of my psyche. Afterward, Stacy then took a few deep breaths to compose herself as my lips pulled away from the extravagant snack. Her legs around my head then loosened which is when I stood back up. "W-Why did you stop?" She desperately asked with a cute little huff.

My hands relocated to her hips as I gazed down upon the semi-heaving Stacy. She had her legs spread open, her hands in fists under her chin, her signature blush encompassing her face, her pleading eyes gazing into mine, and in the perfect height and position for me to breed her just like that. I took a small step forward to close the distance between our pelvises before my hands on her hips then pressed her groin into the bulge on my pants which caused my heart to skip a beat at what was gonna happen in the direct future. My right hand trailed over her belly and then down to toy with her clit where I responded whilst slightly leaned over, "So I can fuck you and make you feel even better..."

She whimpered at my husky tone. "Well come on then... show me it..." I eyed her smirk, a bit baffled at her witty remark and her sassy tone but began to comply nonetheless.

Just a moment later, I peeled my shirt off and tossed it behind me where I then watched Stacy’s eyes scan what was unveiled. It wasn't the first time she saw me shirtless but she still enjoyed what she saw. I wasn't buff, burly, beefy, or even really all that fit; you could barely see the outline of my abs since I wasn't the athletic type to begin with, not to mention I was also fairly underweight, though not scrawny. And I certainly wasn’t a mustache-having, bearded, grizzled older man either. Furthermore, I was thankful I didn’t have any blemishes or pimples upon my skin.

She swallowed hard again as she watched me unbutton and unzip my jeans. Not wanting to stall anymore, I pushed the remaining fabrics I was wearing below my hips which finally let my penis spring into the freeing air, the appendage finally emancipated from its fabric prison.

"It's..." Stacy trailed off as the girl leaned up as she analyzed the foreign appendage. I kicked my pants off before kicking the pillow on the floor off to the side, all while feeling somewhat jittery as she looked at it. "It's so... big. I-I think I'm too s-small." She genuinely sounded concerned. "How is that ever going to fit?" She asked, almost in a pout.

"I mean, I guess seven and a half inches is somewhat menacing to her." I thought before a hand went under her chin to make her look into my eyes. "If I go slow and at the pace you want so you can be comfortable, we'll be able to make it work. Remember what I told you about how your vagina can stretch? You aren't too small, alright?" I calmly explained before seeing the trouble in her eyes somewhat dissipate before vanishing entirely.

"...Alright, Hunter." She said as my hand returned to my side before she looked back down at the member that hovered over her pussy.

That's when the nervous atmosphere within my mind quickly diminished and was completely replaced with adoring how her intrigued eyes scanned over my cock. I saw her finally give it a thorough look after her shock had subsided; her gaze then slowly looking down my shaft to my scrotum. Since we were then completely uncensored from each other, I minutely pivoted my position to let her have the best angle to look at it, more than willing to advertise what I wanted her to get acquainted with. She kept glancing from my scrotum to my glans which was poking out of my foreskin; and I must say that being uncircumcised is a great thing, it makes sex so much more stimulating for both parties.

As I felt a subtle trembling of excitement reverberating throughout my core due to how my sex-life was finally coming out of hibernation, my phallus felt as if it got even harder while she ogled it which caused the desire to put it in her to seemingly transcend this dimension. I can't quite describe just how hard I was at that moment... Her gaze was just so innocent, curious, and expressing an instinctual longing for it to be hers and only hers indefinitely, a silent demand that I was all too willing to obey.

"Can I touch it...?" She asked as she looked back up at me while she properly sat up, my dick then nearly jabbing her lower belly in the process. I grinned devilishly at how the tune of her voice conveyed how much she wanted to do what she had asked so I swiftly nodded and gave her the authority to do so. Her right hand then bravely headed toward it before her fingers timidly contacted the midsection of it a couple moments later.

I took a deep breath in anticipation as those fingers wrapped around the minimally veiny appendage while a small smile appeared on her reddened face. "It's so warm... and stiff." She commented with a quiet laugh as her grasp tightened just a tad. "Wow... It's so much more different than I thought it would be. It's so cool to finally see it... I wasn't expecting it to be on your body like this." She quietly said as her other hand timorously headed to the base of my cock. Her fingers then wrapped around it as her other hand slowly slid up my shaft to my glans which made me groan, causing the girl to apprehensively cease her movement as the light grip she had on it became even lighter. "D-Did I hurt you?"

I chuckled at her adorable question, something that made my heart flutter. "No, no, your hands are just... so soft. I'm a little impatient, but I can wait a little longer."

With her nerves settled, her grasp returned just like how it was before that little incident. Though a few moments later, her hand at the base of my shaft slid under it where her fingertips draped to my scrotum which caused the girl's smile to strengthen a tad when she politely touched a testicle. "These are your testicles, right? Which makes the sperm and are very sensitive?" She asked after looking up at me where her index and middle fingers continued to stay lightly pressed against them. I nodded at the curious girl who was pleased with being correct.

"You can take a hold of them if you want, just be sure to be gentle." She nodded at the recommendation and looked back down before doing so. Since I have decently sized testicles along with her hand being relatively small, she had nearly an entire handful of scrotum. My soul loved it so much how she was holding the most vulnerable part of me, at her complete mercy. As she delicately fondled them, her hand was warming them up which was another welcome sensation. My penis then suddenly twitched as I let a very quiet groan out at her loving touch.

I steadily let a breath go as she continued intently observing my shaft while the palm of her hand continued having a diligent cradle of both of my testicles where her other hand elegantly felt the tip of my penis. Her fingers on my cock's tip were over my foreskin which delicately prodded into my glans which let the skin there minutely motion as her fingers did so. As a side note, another reason I was glad I was uncircumcised is because circumcision was an archaic, fossilized, primitive, and outdated tradition which had negligible effects with the only notable one being hygiene which has an easy solution. And that solution is to be, y'know, hygienic. Hopefully it's a custom of the past... I’ll move on before I ramble on about it.

A few moments later, her fingers directly touched my glans so she could know what the tissue felt like, the same tissue yearning for magnitudes more stimulation. This was something I once again grunted in pleasure at which was coupled with another twitch of my shaft. She lightly giggled at that, the girl enjoying how she was making me feel but also liking how my dick twitched within her hand. Her fingers continued to lightly drape across my penis until I briefly coached her regarding how to rub me properly.

"It’s so happy..." She quietly pointed out.

It was monumentally nice to see her fledgling mind break free and flee from the chains and barriers that had interfered with her ability to learn about this characteristic of life. I was incredibly grateful that Stacy had put her faith in me to be the one to volunteer and pave the way on teaching her about the wonders of intercourse. My rattling excitement to chaperone and educate her as my little student easily resonated well with her since she desired to experiment with me, to cultivate a new understanding of what a relationship can be. And since I wasn’t being patronizing or being the slightest bit condescending, this consequently made her a speedy learner regarding the dynamic that we were in; the dynamic of me kindly fostering and nurturing her into something so brilliantly pleasant. I hoped that this first lesson would be the grassroots to a hobby that would stem out to even greener pastures which would bar the feeling of mundaneness of life to emerge again.

After she had her fill with touching my scrotum, that hand returned to the base of my cock so both of her hands could slowly give me an amateurish hand job, something she steadily figured out how to do. She was seemingly mesmerized by it as she heard my quiet grunts at the feeling of her touch. It wasn't that great which was no anomaly but even then, that touch alone felt magical.

She closely watched how the skin on my shaft moved as she slowly stroked me. "It's so... cute and cool." She commented. Though my mind barely addressed it since finally receiving touch in that area after being starved for so long was indescribably nice; I could barely wait any longer for it to be encompassed by her vagina. But even though the familiar prick of pain of being in a long sexual drought was felt in my genitals, I was disciplined enough to be patient since I had a lurking suspicion that this sequence of events could only lead to one outcome. "I'm so happy that I get to see and touch it. It's just so... I can't even describe how much I like what's happening."

After yet another minute, the hand that had touched my testicles unwrapped from around my shaft so she could scratch a cheek. She noticed a certain whiff of something with her hand before she timidly put it up to her nose which caused the girl to take a sharp and surprised breath in before properly registering what she had sniffed. It only took another second for her to put her fingertips up to her nostrils where she took in a slow and deep breath while she closed her eyes so she could enjoy the pungent musk that my penis had spread onto her hand to the fullest extent, the aroma of the opposite sex turning her on even more. I loved it so, so much how she was smelling my odor and greatly enjoying it; I thought it was a good thing that I hadn't bathed or used any soaps for a couple of days since it caused my scents to be quite strong in a very positive way.

She smelled her hand for many long moments as her other hand slowed down to a halt. She then put her hand down and looked back at my shaft. Her eyes glanced down in between her legs and back to my penis before she licked her lips. "When do you w-want to... to put it in me...?"

"When do you want me to?"

She took a deep breath before slowly letting it go. "Now..."

Almost robotically, I put my right hand back on her neck and leaned forward. I puckered up and kissed her as my left hand gently separated her hand from my phallus before my hand gingerly pushed her to lay down; breaking the kiss when it became somewhat difficult to hold. After that, I closed the distance between our pelvises again which caused Stacy to squeal when the base of my cock pressed against her clit.

This marked the initiation of jointly embarking on a campaign of pleasure; the feeling of our genitals contacting each other making me quietly gasp since the nostalgia of something warm and wet intimately touching my shaft upended my train of thought which dredged up memories of just how fantastic sex is, something I had become numb to, almost hollow, since a mental crater had formed around it long ago. And while it may not have been wise to do this without any form of contraceptive, any genius was void after experiencing a rush of what the sensations were like which caused my mind to briefly mill around just before I focused on the touch of her love-button. It was so warm and slimy, something unlike anything my mind had ever simulated... And that’s when I estimated that I was only going to last just a few minutes inside of her, if that.

Even though it's a cliche and/or a stereotype, it’s true; men are notoriously known for being the first to cum. Additionally, I didn’t have the mental callouses required to last the preferred amount of time so I hoped all that foreplay was gonna pay off. Thankfully, I knew I was gonna have a thorn in my side the entire time of being inside her, known as delaying my orgasm, since it was the key for lasting which was… an intimidating thought due to how difficult the protocol was gonna be.

Regardless, it was hard to ignore an underlying feeling of consternation regarding how I could lose control of myself and cum at any moment while being within her. And so before I penetrated her, I slowly maneuvered my hips back and forth to grind on her clit where her natural lubricant spread onto the underside of my cock so it’d be easier for me to administer myself into her when the time came. In response, she spread her legs apart as effectively as she could while she mentally buckled, belted, and strapped herself up for what was ahead of her.

She groaned in delight as I maintained the grinding while I looked down at her which was difficult to properly compute; I was so grateful that she was actually going to let me have sex with her. I ground on her clit for only a minute longer before I determined that it was finally time to start penetrating her, something that was influenced by the impatient feeling within my glans.

"Tell me when to push forward." I advised before dragging her closer to me and then putting my left hand on her respective hip while my right hand guided my phallus down to her inviting slit. My heart skipped a beat when my glans contacted her cunt, excitement prancing around my mind becoming extremely difficult to contain due to finally experiencing what skin-to-skin sex felt like. At the stark feeling of it, it became clear that this was magnitudes better than the times I've had before due to historically having worn a condom back then…

Don’t write about my grudge against condoms.

For around twenty seconds, I clumsily slid the tip of my cock between her lower lips since trying to lodge the head of my shaft inside the desired orifice turned out to be more difficult than I remembered. Stacy eventually noticed that I was struggling which is when she gave me an empathetic smile. Then with alacrity, one of her hands went down to grab my cock to help me unearth the correct location for my glans to be inserted into. Just a couple moments later, I was inside her which instantly reminded me how warm it was to be inside someone along with realizing just how tight she really was. My almost unhinged excitement continued to be difficult to encapsulate since these exotic sensations were begging me to waltz right into the shagging. As she breathed somewhat heavily, her hands were once again in fists under her chin as she looked me in the eyes while my right hand went on her bare hip which completed my tenacious hold on her.

"How much is this going to hurt...?" She asked after she got somewhat used to my tip being inside of her, the maiden ceremony of her getting mated just about to commence.

At her question, I decided not to sugarcoat it; a mantra that was always better than the alternative of lying. "Probably a lot at first. But it will get better, much better, as long as you want us to do this."

She slowly took in a lungful of air before she finally commanded, "I trust you... You can push forward."

Keeping in mind that I had to keep a doctrine of patience, I obeyed her words by very slowly pressing my hips forward where my penis had a tough time pushing through how tight she was. The feeling of spreading her unmapped vagina open and acquiring her virginity is a memory that’ll never decay since it was so... mesmerizingly shocking in the best imaginable way. The feeling then surpassed anything I have ever imagined when my foreskin was pulled back by her walls which left my glans totally exposed to the highly concentrated essence of adulthood. It was so breathtakingly surreal, it truly mirrored the redeeming feeling of a chronic itch just out of reach finally being scratched. This inadvertently made her sex immediately manipulate my mind in the shape of getting my glans hooked on the union of our groins greeting each other. In just a moment's notice, I was deeply addicted to this drug-like feeling and knew that withdrawal effects would swiftly be crafted up if my dick didn't get its thirst quenched.

Through the lust of beginning to deflower Stacy, I continued keeping her well-being a top priority for obvious reasons; the main ones consisting of me having basic manners and caring more for her feelings than my own since I’d feel like I’d be harassing or violating her otherwise. That, and I understood the privilege I was given to be able to have sex with her, so I treated her as the fragile and frail girl that she is. I will never stoop so low as to deliberately hurt her; the mere psychotic thought truly makes me sick and nauseated.

So when I noticed that she had quickly adopted a grimace on her face and then heard her quietly hiss to express it, "Do you want me to stop?" I chivalrously asked in a caring tone, deeply concerned for her. I despised how it hurt her and hated that this is the way it has to be... But unfortunately, it was inevitably gonna happen, the best I could do was not botch the operation.

She somewhat reluctantly replied, "N-No... k-keep going..."

As I perniciously continued the main prong in my well-meaning offense of love-making, my grip on her hips affirmed my dominance over her by keeping her lower half still for my entry; her hips having been minutely recoiling in response to the stinging pain being caused within her groin to try to prevent it from happening. But since I was doing what her juvenile mind wanted, even though her instincts were causing her to make those twitches, I pressed her hips down to continue strategically making my way into her. She made no move to block any of my actions so I had good reason to believe that her submissive mind adored finally letting a strong, large, and friendly man insert themselves into her supreme heat.

While the tentacles and tendrils of lust wormed deeper into my mind, I managed to get an inch in, then another, and then one more before she finally piped up, "Alright, a-alright, stop..." I instantly complied.

"Do you want me to pull out?" She shook her head in response. I then grunted as I felt her vaginal muscles slightly shift, the tightness of her seemingly trying to pull in my shaft but I resisted any urge to thrust since that would've been appallingly idiotic to do. Though at the same time, my inner-self was very loudly rejoicing since I was finally inside an unprotected girl. The feral part of my mind then began to cook up the idea of perhaps... making her a 'mobile sperm bank', so to say. But I swatted away the temptation… though I let the idea bake and stew within me. This was the main culprit as to why two sides of my divided mind would haggle, wrangle, and quarrel with each other throughout this odyssey.

"How much more d-do you have to put in?" She asked with her eyes still clamped shut.

"I'm about half way in... How badly does it hurt?" I innocuously asked with extreme care as I twitched within her.

She opened her ocean blue eyes and gave me a shy smile while her face still expressed a decent amount of pain. "It... it hurts a b-bit... but I can handle i-it..."

At the sound of a subtle snivel, I knew she was lying about the severity of the pain, but she wanted to push through the agony like a trooper. Slyly, my right hand ditched her hip and trekked down to her clit to lovingly fiddle with it by using a thumb in a circular motion, to help her feel something nice through the pain. "Does this make it better?"

She closed her eyes again before moaning quietly which caused an expression of both pain and pleasure to appear on her face. "Y-Yes, definitely..." A couple minutes passed of me rubbing her clit while her squishy insides got slightly used to having a large foreign item obstructing them.

As we waited, I looked over her aesthetically pleasing body where I got lost in thought about how we were together. It made me feel slightly… melancholic at how it seemed like I didn’t deserve this. But I forced myself to accept it, a feeling of sanguine being felt instead, which is when I eventually felt the need to say, "You're so incredibly beautiful…"

She bashfully grinned at my compliment. "Thank you… You too." The amount of self-esteem her response gave me was probably more than it should've been. Though it didn't take her much longer to say through stifled moans, "Okay... y-you can push forward some more..."

I insidiously pushed my hips forward where, with the help of her lubricant, I was able to slide another two inches deeper into her. I grunted in delight at how she squeezed my shaft which made me want to demolish my morals and ruthlessly rut her little pussy. But I combated the desire, tried to mentally reduce what my glans was feeling, and halted my advance when she told me to stop again. I took a deep breath to calm myself and swallowed hard as I glued my gaze onto her expression for a few moments, ready to accept a veto of our act if she changed her mind. Of course, that was no easy feat since my mind was experiencing a version of strife by having an internal conflict regarding trying to mute the sensations my glans was feeling, but I still knew there wasn't an excuse to ignore how she was feeling.

A few moments later, I was still rubbing her clit but I ceased doing that so I could look down and see how much more I had to push into her. My dick then twitched in anticipation as I saw how spread open her pussy was, her flesh tightly clinging around my girth, the sight being extremely attractive. Though… I saw a mildly grotesque sight of some blood which was a little gross, but it was expected since a little nastiness like that is impossible to avoid during something like this.

I asked her how she was doing as I resumed rubbing her clit, every bit of information needing to be logged within my mind, where I quickly got a positive reply in response and waited another couple of minutes before she gave me permission to move forward again. And when I did, I pushed another two inches into her before the mushroom tip of my cock hit an impassable barrier which was signified by a sudden halt of submerging into her along with an electrifying jolt of pleasure that shot directly through my spine.

"Her womb..." I thought, the discovery being something that was sizzling hot to me. Even though half an inch was still out in the open, I knew marching forward was no longer feasible. "Alright, I'm all the way in." I announced which caused Stacy to release a deep breath in relief. A part of me wanted to congratulate her in a way for being able to do it, but I left it be.

"Finally..." She replied before she placed her hands on her belly. She then tried to get a closer look to see what the penetration looked like, though she winced when trying to lean up.

"Wait a couple more minutes..." I advised.

In response, Stacy gave me her trademarked adorable shy smile as she laid back down so she could more easily get tailored to the phallus inside her. Though just a few moments later, her spread legs started to timidly close so I took it upon myself to glide my left hand down to one of her inner thighs to rigidly clench it and press the leg down. That move conveyed to her that I then belonged in between her legs and that her cunt was to stay the host for my cock’s visit deep inside her. I coupled this with gingerly massaging her inner thigh which caused her to grin at my touch and listen to my silent order of keeping herself spread for me.

“I wonder when was the last time this dilapidated place saw some action… On second thought, I don’t want to think about that.”

As I examined her figure, my bustling mind careened to assemble a broad array of kinky figmentations; most were short lived but a couple that had manifested within my mind were rather palpable. In the avalanche of these branching thoughts, one included the rather tame fantasy of Stacy wearing a pair of lacey stockings and a collar which thrilled my mind at the prospect of perhaps one day witnessing that visual. Another thought that forked off from another was confiscating a pair of her panties so I could smell her fragrance anytime I wanted to, along with calling her my little slut. Nothing malicious of course, it’s just something that can really rile a couple up. The final idea that had been coined was dolling her up in lingerie and a bit of little bondage by using some rope to tie her arms up to restrain, maybe even gag her, something certainly in the domain of possibility…

Anyways, my handle on her allowed her to melt in my grasp which caused her body to relax and acclimate to us becoming one much more efficiently. This could’ve been made a little more enjoyable if she had left some fuzz on her pussy rather than being completely bald; the sight of a tuft of unkempt hair there displaying her readiness which I found quite attractive. I’d even prefer her being trimmed and well groomed than having nothing at all…

Not being fussy, since I knew it was only a matter of time before she had some fluff there, it was still incredibly nice just to be stationary with my cock sheathed within her; the feeling etching and clawing itself into my long-term memory. But as the feeling brewed within my mind, I wanted much, much more of her, but I was thankfully patient enough to wait until she was ready for that. Albeit, it was obscenely difficult to not start pulling my hips back since my glans was vehemently shouting at me to do that... The demand for sinking my teeth in pleasure was so immense; so much so that I recognized just how tremendous the crippling deficit of pleasure I had had was. And since I was no longer bricked in by the misery of seclusion, I sought to rectify the vendetta I had against my debt of pleasure in the form of using all funds available to farm as much sex as I could.

"Wow... A penis is inside me..." She quietly said as she continued adapting to my entry. "It still hurts a bit b-but this feeling," She was having a little difficulty thinking about what she wanted to say through what her mind was experiencing, the girl tripping over her words. "this feeling, to be f-filled and have you inside me, something, mmm, that makes you feel nice, is super... rewarding, in a way. It feels unreal..." After her comment, she gathered up her focus to more easily let her sex get more used to my entry. Until suddenly, "I- mmm, I'm gonna c-cum-." She announced as the rubbing of her clit started pushing her to the brink of orgasm.

I just continued rubbing her clit as Stacy's adorable moans filled my ears. A few seconds later, I felt her vaginal liquids squirt and seep onto my dick which lubricated it even further as a small orgasmic stain formed on our sheets. The twitches of her love-tunnel during an orgasm were quite enjoyable and fascinating to feel. Along with that, the finesse of her poise and her body's reaction to the eruption of pleasure she felt in between her legs was stunning to lay my eyes upon; this orgasm of hers evidently being fairly strong due to the presence of my cock within her. After her first climax ended around ten seconds later, I stopped rubbing her clit which let that hand go back to her hip so I could return my sturdy grasp on her. "H-Holy fuck that w-was great."

"I'm gonna start pulling back out..." I informed after she consolidated her focus. She swallowed hard and nodded which was my cue for my hips to steadily start retreating back; the enchanting feeling of her tight walls squeezing and hugging my shaft making me quietly grunt in pleasure. "Did that hurt any?" She shook her head before my hips then started slowly moving forward at a leisure pace. When I was halfway back in, I asked her the same question again.

"J-Just a bit... but not as b-bad as it was... I'm very s-sensitive..." She pointed out as I kept my sluggish pace of moving forward and pulling back out again when I bumped her womb again.

For each genteel thrust, I made sure that my glans would contact her cervix before being pulled back to the very entrance of her pussy, all so my cock could fully appreciate every nook, cranny, and crevice of her vagina to the fullest extent. Each of these thrusts helped cull the envy I felt within my glans, a relaxing feeling I intended to help myself to. And because of that, her fourteen year old stuffed yet famished cock-craving cunt was finally receiving its long awaited meal, a grand buffet of erect meat, where her pussy was hellbent on confirming the ownership of my penis which I was blessed with lending her.

"F-Fucking- this feels s-so good." She purred as I continued my tedious thrusts which had found quite a soothing pattern.

Every thrust truly felt as if I was no longer... suffocating, like I was consistently taking a greatly refreshing breath just before passing out. Furthermore, my position and how her anatomy was cobbled together made it to where I was rubbing her g-spot with each inward and outward thrust; I was so happy about that since it'd make sex so much enjoyable for her and make it a breeze for me to get her to orgasm. Though because it had been so long since I had last had someone to thrust into, I had to relearn how not to lurch while doing so.

"Y-Yes..." I agreed before looking down at where the penetration was happening which caused me to trill a quiet grunt at how it felt to be graced at the prospect of mating her. One of the comforting feelings about sex that I had forgotten about is how the base of my shaft also gets squeezed, a feeling that doesn't get replicated when masturbating… I digress. That's when I spotted the captivating sight of a small abdominal bulge that my penis was causing, though I then gazed back at her face so I could stay vigilant of her expression so I would know to stop if something she didn't like occurred. "Tell me when to speed up..."

I continued to enact upon a tender pace of thrusting which during so, I identified the feeling of my scrotum gently smacking against her perineum each time I contacted her gateway to impregnation, something that I indescribably adored. It felt as if my testicles were pestering me to cum, hounding me to inseminate her, and badgering me to spray my load as deeply as I could into her while a subtle dull ache within each at-full-capacity testicle tinkered with the idea of how much I could give to her womb. As a deterrent, my obnoxious inner-voice chanted, "No, don't cum inside, don't cum, please her instead... Don't cum, don't cum... We don't want a baby..."

In a somewhat convoluted way to say it, it was like I had began a type of analogous marathon where a long and twisting road laid ahead of me, an asphalt trail that I was sprinting down while trying not to finish and receive my trophy too soon since the way to truly win this genre of cardio was focused on ending at the right time, not the fastest time. My tactic to winning was to keep the idea that the cruise was the enjoyable part, not the destination, as every extra second I got to be inside her pussy was another win for me. Even though the dominos were falling quickly and the trend had begun to steer into the wrong direction of finishing, I rallied my mind just to flirt with the desire to mix our cultures and our ethnicities as a type of bluff to myself; no more than that.

I glanced down at where we connected where I deeply appreciated the contrast of our skin tones. I'm not sure if it's a creepy or an uncouth thing to say, but I loved having an elegant, little, petite, and gorgeous white woman below me happily taking my large and light brown cock into her beautiful pink depths while a little abdominal bulge bottomed out just under her belly button. This sight was coupled with witnessing the explicit view of her lower lips tightly hugging my shaft as if dear life depended on it. The effort of her grip caused her flesh to appear to have some sort of minute suction on my cock which made it to where her inner labia rose and depressed with each of my thrusts by little over a centimeter. It was so lewdly hot… and that’s when I knew that I had gained a severe Stacy fetish.

As I softly fucked her, I finally let out a warranted moan which... sounded defeated. That was because it had clicked in my mind in understanding how fortunate I was for my dick to be engulfed by her overwhelmingly amazing vagina; aided by the perception of pleasure thoroughly permeating throughout my body. Because of this, I distinctly felt the remainder of the vacuum within my chest unequivocally dwindle into disintegration as I smiled in gratitude. Almost a weep, another strident moan using the same tone subconsciously slipped out of me as I continued pulling out of her slick vagina before yet another one was happily emitted when my glans kissed her cervix again. It was so damn nice to have our own quaint mansion where we could have sex without having any paranoid feeling that we might get intruded on or be intercepted by some overprotective parent. Furthermore, we didn’t have to be covert, sneaky, or stealthy about it; we no longer had to collude to fuck which meant fucking her no longer harboured the disturbing risk of perhaps being evicted, accused, scrutinized, exiled, slandered, being snitched on, or being the cause of some illogical upheaval…

My slow thrusts slowed to a crawl when I felt her softly place one of her hands on my side before she draped it up to my chest where it made its way to my neck. I looked down a tad to properly meet her gaze where I saw the little girl sporting an expression of pure happiness as the corners of her lips minutely quivered; a result of her being thoroughly swooned. While she glanced down at where we connected every few seconds, she asked, "H-How much are you enjoying th-this?"

At her gentle tone, a quiet pout of mine was unintentionally vocalized; my sounds thankfully not needing to be camouflaged when in her presence. I swallowed and put the hand that was on her hip over her hand on my neck while a response formulated within the foggy jungle of lust  that was my crowded mind. "I... This is the best f-feeling anyone's ever allowed me to feel... Thank you... Thank you so, so much..." That wasn't hyperbole and I'm not exaggerating when I say that there just aren't words in my vocabulary, perhaps even this language, to describe the fondness that I, we, were experiencing. We had finally been rescued and cured from our ancient curse of loneliness, which had long since poisoned us, in the form of our antidote being the essential fusing of our beings. It was the best medicine and greatest remedy that one could ever get prescribed...

Her buoyant smile and the tiny crinkles of her eyes it caused were so lovely. I could tell that her being able to please someone lit up her world, completed her in a way, made her realize she had more value than any amount of jewels or gems, and loved being able to make me feel and enjoy her deepest and most sacred part of her person; a special vault that in her mind was reserved exclusively for what she saw as the best person she could ever allow within it.

"This is so amazing, like our private parts are kissing- your penis is so happy… S-Stay inside me, please don't take it out, and feel my vagina f-for as long as you want, okay? You've waited long enough… especially after making s-sure that I've been pleased." She eloquently said before eskimo kissing me.

My cock just celebrated at her words with a signified twitch as I slowly pulled my hips back again while an overflowing feeling of gratitude appeared in my throat. Along with that, I pressed my lips against hers to express a fraction of my gratefulness which allowed a passionate kiss to be shared between us for a solid minute. The augmentation of doing so, pressing my lips against hers with my cock within her, allowed me to rave in the emotional glitter and confetti that rained down within my mind. I was starting to get a proper understanding of just how high our libidos were…

Trying not to say anything cheap or cheesy I said, "Thank you... But if I somehow g-get to the point of you wanting me to take it out, tell me and I will. I don't want to do something that you don't want me to."

In response, she simply continued giving me her loving look for a few moments. "Sure... But for now, what I said is true... Make us feel nice for as long as possible."

"I'll try my best. I hope I won't d-disappoint you." I replied, trying not to fumble my words and worried that I was gonna blunder, cause a debacle, and make this become a disaster in the form of cumming too early. It was so, so tempting. But I knew my ego would’ve been crushed, crunched, and mangled if I left her disappointed.

"I know you'll try... And H-Hunter? If you finish before I do, I understand... I understand that y-you find me really attractive, how your penis is finally being touched after so long, and how much you want to cum... So don't worry about it, I won't be disappointed, okay?"

Her words were extremely reassuring and stomped out the stress I was experiencing which ironically and quite conveniently boosted my confidence which immensely helped repel my orgasm. Furthermore, a small lump emerged within my throat. "I-I love you." I emphatically said with a pitch that was impossible to curb due to the strong surge of emotion that had washed over me.

"Aw... I love you too." She lovingly mimicked.

After we exchanged those sappy words, my slow thrusting was galvanized to continue at the same steady pace since I still had to ease her into it. Though just before I continued, I led the hand on my neck down by grabbing her wrist and firmly pinning it against the side of her head.

A bit of a tangent; having the philosophy and virtues of patience and treating her like an equal had always been mentally set in stone because it's not in my element to not be that way. Hoisting a red flag and being a toxic, rude, bully has never been in my nature; anything resembling it is bullshit which I am extremely allergic to. Getting even a hypothetical glimpse of her being criminally assaulted causes me to fume and metaphorically foam at the mouth. I wager that if any evil brute ever puts their greasy paws on Stacy that the best case scenario for them coming out of it is fragmented with a bunch of stitches and fractures. I wouldn't maul them for valor or a medal; I'd do it in part for vengeance but to also set a shining example of what would happen to someone if they break what should be a natural mandatory rule.

Anyways, this is about the time that a sort of grilling roast was starting to concoct in my rusted lower half. Since my hips hadn’t motioned like that in quite a while, my decrepit thrust muscles had gotten slothful and had atrophied. Because of that, I had to salvage whatever was left of them to make this work out. The only thing I could do from that point on was hope that the challenge of endurance and stamina wouldn’t jeopardize my performance all that much.

Even though my thrusts were quite lethargic, the way our genitals rubbed and squeezed in one another was certainly making huge strides towards getting me to orgasm; it's wild how such a simple movement can cause so much fun... But still, I refrained from blowing it so I wouldn’t be disappointed in myself, but goddamn her pussy sure was trying its best to mug me for all of the semen I had. And even though she had made her feelings crystal clear to me regarding premature ejaculation, those feelings would still apply to me.

It was immensely annoying how I can't enjoy myself too much unless I only want it to last like thirty seconds. It was exceptionally difficult not to simply expedite the process by thrusting hard and fast to cum as soon as possible since that's what the feeling in my glans, testicles, and even my lower belly were constantly screaming at me to do. It continued to take a monstrous amount of grit to implement an attitude that of burying the call for orgasm which was quite the burden. I was only able to persevere since I doubled down on a certain noble idea which was allocating the main asset within my mental arsenal to the very front of my mind; that was the idea of trying to execute the act for Stacy's pleasure, not mine.

Because as far as I could tell, her class was royalty and she held the high position of being in the throne of a monarch. And it was as if she granted me, who was relatively in the league of savagery, the badge of honour by letting me brazenly channel my audacious attempts to give her an heir. I would've been the biggest dunce on this planet had I declined her offer. As it was, I was free to roam her garden of Eden; an asylum of unquantifiable quality which I had a monopoly over. This conjured up my intuition of greed which sent a shiver down my spine at the future potential of harnessing however much pleasure was ripe for the taking.

My hand on her wrist then slid upward so I could clasp our hands together. Holding her small, soft hand like that and feeling her timidly squeeze mine every few moments was one of the purest ways of telling me how much she wanted more of me. As collateral, I coupled this with once again kneading the small mounds on her chest which relaxed her even further. With a quickly gained prowess, I simply kissed her as I continued these two actions of true love before I returned to holding her hips.

But after three lovely minutes of the gentle pace more, she finally hinted for me to crank it up a bit. "S-So… Ah- mmm, h-how much f-faster do you want to g-go?" As she asked that she lustfully looked me in the eyes where her face no longer expressed pain or discomfort but only a strong blush with the telltale signs of a woman being finely fucked. Her g-spot being able to effectively receive stimulation and for that to proliferate throughout her body was a gift completed with bows and ribbons on top to the both of us.

"Come here." I commanded before my right hand flitted to Stacy's side to lean her up. She quickly got the memo, the girl indifferent to being bossed around, before I craned down to meet her halfway where my forehead rested on hers. This caused the girl's arms to wrap around my neck so leaning up could be easier for her. That allowed for her natural scent which originated from her armpits to effectively waft into the air, something I enjoyed since she didn’t have an acrid reek.

We intently looked each other in the eyes while I slowly thrusted into her for a few moments before placing my left hand on her side to support her some more as my right hand went on her throat, our hold on each other becoming stronger than timber and as rigid as steel, where I inhaled what she exhaled as she quietly moaned at all of my actions.

"I want to fuck you so much faster..." I established whilst I modified the pace of my thrusts to pick up marginally. Since I had rearranged my hands, this consequently made it to where I was no longer pressing one of her legs down so her blooming mind, which had been imprinted by lust and corrupted by my cock, understood it as an indicator to wrap her legs around my pelvis, something that seemed like the popped cherry on top.

As I got used to her calves and heels holding me, she whimpered in anticipation at what I said before she swallowed hard where the girl placed a hand on my side. Her hand then had a subtle grasp on me which was ever so slightly trying to make me thrust more rapidly. "P-Please... please fuck me f-faster." Right after her vulgar plea, the legs straddled around me gingerly squeezed me to get me to do as she asked.

Her little beg combined with her moans drove my wild side crazy which was the point in which the gloves truly came off. The potency of every ridge and surface of her canal of pleasure hijacked and wired my mental faculties to such a degree that I would’ve paid any steep costs to keep the pleasure chugging along. I would’ve even done things like mortally wounding anyone that possibly could've subtracted anything away from this experience or do any task that Stacy could have ever requested, all so I could continue sliding within her. As long as my glans got to be nestled within her cunt, I was her pawn and my will was entirely bent to hers.

Really, she was oblivious to the leverage she had vested in between her legs and how much she was subconsciously exerting it over me. She seriously could've bribed me into anything if she simply spread her legs for me. With just the salary of sensuality, I would've belligerently fought for and defended her, sword and shield, as her warrior-like gladiator to brutally vanquish any hostile enemy or any nefarious threat, danger, or hazard, and be all to willing to suffer the inevitable injuries until absolute victory, all pledged under her name. Can you really blame me? I'm not going to pretend that she couldn't not have subjugated me by simply revoking my access to her and holding the prize of sex above me. It’s not my fault that I was a slave to pleasure at this point and that she wielded such a power. But luckily for me, she’s a very compassionate and charitable person so I had nothing to fret about…

We both breathed heavily as my hips began fucking her more thoroughly since her desire was something I would've never rejected. Her grasp around my neck tightened and she looked down at where I penetrated her which provoked a whine to escape from her lips as she watched me bang her slit which turned me on even more. I wanted to make sure that she knew that I could please her and make her sex feel appreciated in hopes that she'd let me have sex with her more in the future. I was on trial to show her this, to impress her, to start building a more intimate reputation, and to ensure that I had the opportunity to fuck her some more later as that'd make life so, so much more enjoyable; to further construct our compatibility, for intimacy, for pleasure, for love, and for our morphing and ever mutating relationship to thrive.

The chilly temperature of our frosty chamber, though somewhat freezing, felt as if it had been gradually warming up as we fornicated. My scrotum was also starting to feel a somewhat sticky dampness each time they contacted her perineum and anus since her aroused secretions had smeared there after I got into the groove of a faster pace of thrusting. The splendid feeling of having her liquid splotched on my sack only invigorated me to continue my actions along with giving me more confidence that what I was doing was more than adequate to make her feel nice and something that further verified that she wanted, loved, and enjoyed us mating.

“I-Is this the best- mmm~, your cock can d-do, big guy?” She grumbled a sarcastic mutter.

The girl being able to lob in a snippet of banter while getting railed, quite the aberration considering the situation, was quite humourous and showed me how strong that principle of hers was which was something that commended a salute. And to jazz it up, I decided to play along by pretending to scowl and seethe at her words as I decreased the pace of my thrusting.

And that’s when she playfully glared at me with a sneering smile which was somewhat crooked before she pretended to bare a pair of non-existent fangs; she knew exactly what she was doing. I rummaged through my mind to come up with a response; lagging behind since I had to sift through a heap of scribbles and squiggles that infected my mind due to being caught up in all of the pleasure.

“I sincerely doubt that you mean that since your m-moans betray you which say you can barely handle me.” I snarkily said with a wink as my thrusts came to a halt.

“Oh? And here you are about to c-cum…” She pompously replied in retaliation, parroting the tone I used.

Even though my bloated focus was diluted from the amount of lustful traffic running amok in my sex-polluted mind, I was able to playfully growl before suddenly thrusting hard into her which caused her to yelp a moan, something that made my mind go bonkers. I haughtily remarked trying to spin the sentiment around, “You’re the one that’s gonna be cumming over and over again…”

With a sardonic smirk, “Prove it.”

In response to her brattiness and after a playful snarl of mine, my thrusts resumed in a livid-like manner on a quest to loot, plunder, and pillage all of the pleasure I could from her cunt. Not long after the raid began, I registered the feeling of precum being clogged within my shaft; the congestion temporarily containing the substance within it. All the while, my cock continued its pleasurable ransack of Stacy where my contaminated mind continued bickering with itself.

"Don't cum... You better not fucking bust in her... But holy fuck, it would feel so nice to let my hives of sperm swarm her... Fuck, I wish I could so damn much, it would be one of the best things ever." Refusing my orgasm was a Herculean effort which summoned a feeling of torment to linger within my chest and throat, something that slowly but surely snowballed; an escalating force which required a bountiful amount of my energy to be zapped up to keep it delayed. Even though it might just be a placebo, it felt like I needed to bite and chomp down on something; a sort of hack to help me out with not cumming too soon.

"Th-this is fucking amazing! Keep g-going in and out!" She hysterically pleaded, succumbing to the naughtiness that she had fully embraced as my bravado of thrusts continued pelting her. I wished that I had had a camera to film a few clips of her throughout this all to look back on later.

While she was immersed on watching herself get fucked, I watched not just her facial expression but also kept glancing down at her distracting bosom; her breasts had such a gentle and cute bounce to them with each of my thrusts. It was stunning to look at and something I had a hard time yanking my gaze off of. Another thing that was hard to keep my eyes off of was the penetration itself and how my cock zealously plunged in and out of her sex, a sight that exacerbated my struggle to not prematurely climax. It was truly incomprehensible to me… it’s impossible to express on paper. The sight, feeling, and most importantly, all of the meanings behind it were purely sublime. Along with this, every time each thrust slammed into her, the skin of her back legs would jiggle somewhat since the girl was squishy enough for such a phenomenal detail to occur. I juggled my focus across these things for a couple dozen seconds before my focus was quarantined back to her face. If only I could've splintered my attention to watch everything all at once...

I then kissed her while I screwed her once again. It was rather taxing to keep the kiss lasting but with the help of my right hand going to the back of her head along with her arm around my neck tightening a tad, it gave the kiss the stability it needed. She didn't protest at all as her diverse whimpers turned into adorable hums while I started using Stacy's pussy in earnest; every aspect of nailing her little slit causing me to delve deeper and deeper into a rogue state. With no doubt being cast, this was the hardest my cracking willpower had ever been tested in the form of desperately trying to prevail by not prematurely climaxing from the heavenly sensations she was giving me. It certainly was taking its toll on me as I felt myself tumbling into a downward spiral while I scraped the bottom of the barrel for determination. "Don't cum... It would be so nice..."

And really, it was as if a cosmic deity had sent down their best engineered design; an enshrined goddess of elation whose destiny luckily mended with my fate. This would concisely explain the unwavering assumption that my glans had passed through a portal into a realm of benevolence. Cut us a little slack and give us some credit, after all of the hoops we had to jump through to get to this point, we deserved to spoil the other by bingeing each other's lips and genitals while letting the globe around us vaporize into obscurity. The only thing that mattered to us was what our erogenous zones were interpreting, it really wasn’t any more complicated than that.

It might seem like I'm idolizing Stacy and putting her on a pedestal by showering and applauding her with praise, but she really was my greatest nugget of happiness, a gleaming ray of hope, and the beacon that lit up my world in the darkness of it all. We were entitled to a spa-like vacation of pleasure, to together hoard an incredible amount of sexual experiences, and to upgrade and expand our desire for each other however we saw fit. Spiritually, we were exploring each other's personal biomes, showing each other every valley and field, every boulder and pebble, and showing every orchard and every fruit within them, all to market ourselves to sign an unwritten contract which would tie our lives together and make our personal space the same habitat that we'd be sharing from that point on.

Though at this point, the physical attrition within my pelvis had gotten to the point of being painful and was something that I tried to ignore even though it was bogging me down. But drowning the frying pain out with the sex only temporarily assisted my tribulation so I eventually needed to take a break for my muscles to relax; the trudge was nothing to sneeze at since it was quite frankly a workout. My erratic thrusts came to a screeching halt which disrupted virtually all of the pleasure we were feeling. My ambiguous action caused Stacy to end the kiss a moment later which caused me to open my eyes where I saw her timidly meet my gaze, the girl clamming up somewhat.

"I-Is something wrong?" Her arm around my neck felt as if it got a tad bit lighter while her hand on my side reasserted its grasp on me, her face suddenly looking subtly… pallid.

"No, no... Well, just a little bit. My hips are just a little tired." I said with a nervous chuckle, a bit embarrassed at my condition. "I don't do this regularly, obviously, so my muscles just need to take a small break."

"Oh... I understand. How long?"

It was awfully sweet to hear how she humbly pardoned my inability to continue non-stop and that she understood the hiccup in my performance. "I'm not sure... It won't be all that long."

"It's okay." She softly replied before we silently gazed into each other’s eyes as a lull emerged, though no such thing as awkwardness was present; it was just the two of us intimately holding each other and letting the other know how comfortable we were to be linked to the other.

After loitering within her for a bit I said, "Though maybe we should stop soon..."

Her expression became somewhat poignant at that. "But... but I w-want to keep making you feel awesome. You don't want to be inside me anymore?"

"That's not what I'm saying, no, not at all... I can't express how much I like what we're doing right now. It's just... I'm not sure if you want to keep risking it."

As I saw a subtle twinkle within her eyes, she took a few moments to say, "I do only if you do..."

Convinced, I subtly swallowed. "Then we'll continue." At that, her delighted expression returned.

Eventually, I leaned back a bit so I could properly admire her lower half where I kept one of my hands at the back of her head and my other hand on her hips; the hips that I surveyed. I know it varied from person to person, but her hips weren’t narrow at all. Instead, that feature of hers was quite wide for her stature and deserved to be complimented by calling them staggeringly beautiful. My somewhat jumbled mind documented it just in case a pregnancy began from our act and judged how her labour would go. At this point, I was still intelligent enough to plan on lamely using the pullout method but I was aware that something could still very well throw a wrench in that plan…

If all else failed, we'd have quite a dilemma on our hands. Though it didn't matter to me then since a giant chunk of my muddled mind was extremely murky with pleasure as I approached the shores to climax. So I shrugged off any worry and thought about how it most likely wouldn’t be a fiasco if she birthed my child since it seemed that she was all tooled up and kitted out, so to say… I didn’t want to jinx it, but the thought kept buzzing around my cluttered mind; the mind that increasingly wanted me not to dodge but to instead veer into this bullet.

As I thought about that, the hand on her hip skimmed over to her navel. She cutely snorted a giggle as I slithered it over the bulge my cock was creating; my hand greatly relishing in the feeling of the minute protrusion on her soft belly. I then pressed it down and quietly grunted at the tenuous feeling, the friction causing my dick to twitch and loosen up the precum within me.

While we entered the latter half of savouring each other, I continued gingerly probing her lower belly to further interact with the main highlight; visual validation of how deep I was burrowed inside her vagina. Her body being bereft of pudge certainly helped outline it.

And so I did that for a couple of minutes before my hand returned to her hip so I could continue looking over her hips. After my observation, she suddenly lent up a bit to start gingerly eskimo kissing me. I reciprocated the nuzzle for a few moments before pressing my lips against hers so we could pass the time more enjoyably. Though as I held her hip and the back of her head, a small pinch of the precum within my penis trickled out of me and into her. My glans was about an inch away from her cervix so this event put a boatload of merit into muzzling the rational part of my mind, something that caused it to abdicate some of its responsibilities. This... was an official turning point as my previously disguised masculine desires started revealing themselves from behind the curtains that I had forced them to hide behind.

I say that because my glans was incentivized to frivolously head toward her cervix, similar to how a magnet is attracted to metal. It didn't matter if a small sample of my precum contacted her cervix, my gullible mind claimed. It was only precum, it moronically assured. What's the worst that could happen, it arrogantly asked.

After another few moments of letting my cock marinate within her, my thrusts started up again and I broke the kiss to lustfully say, "I want to fuckin' wear your little pussy out..." I left her just enough time to grin at my ambitious desire before kissing her again where my tongue breached into her mouth to ravish her orally as well. Flicking and twirling our tongues together in those moments had a much stronger impact on my mind than other previous kisses just like it; it was so lovely.

In a strange way to put it, having no fanciful scripts, books, or scrolls on how we should’ve enjoyed ourselves and instead opting to go off the cuff might’ve been a little ill-advised since what we were doing seemed scattered and certainly disorganized. But not being boxed in by the pages of a scheme allowed us to see how we treated each other on the spot, didn’t set bizarre expectations, and let us do whatever we wanted… Within reason, of course.

A minute into my continuation of humping her, we stopped kissing which let Stacy lean back a tad before she put a hand up to her nose so she could smell the lingering scent of my dick on her fingertips. Seeing her do that along with the increased pace of thrusting made the perceived amount of pleasure that was piling up much, much greater. As the next five minutes passed, the crescendo of pleasure reached a critical point which caused my attitude to swerve into caution; thus, I was inclined to completely pull my cock out of her since my orgasm was swiftly about to detonate. This caused my phallus to then hover over her cunt and throb in objection, the appendage duped by having my orgasm denied.

"W-Why did you take it out?" She bleated and stopped smelling her fingertips, her grumpy tone causing my confidence to subtly shrivel up.

Before I said anything, I fought off the irritating urge that bugged me to drizzle my semen over her as I teetered over a razor slim edge to orgasm. Then somewhat despondently, "I want this to last a little longer… If I continue, I’m going to cum and this’ll pretty much come to an end. Stopping lets me delay it so we can have sex some more." The amount of primal thoughts she had conceded to had briefly put her in a state of befuddlement, though that cleared up shortly after my response. “I-I’m sorry if I’m upsetting you.” I added on with a drooped tone, afraid I seemed like some joke due to having agitation with lasting.

After a few moments, the bubbly girl gave me an assuring smile through her gentle panting. “Aw, Hunter, you don’t need to apologize, I’m not mad… I understand that it’s different for you. From what you’ve t-told me, most boys can only cum once. It makes sense why.” The cadence of her voice while showing me clemency effectively conveyed that she accepted everything within the bundled up package that I am as a person, both pros and cons.

“It’s so difficult not to cum…” I quietly replied with candor as both of my hands grabbed her flanks before looking down at my cock. It was essentially glimmering in her secretions while my glans was completely exposed which revealed how… flared it was.

It was bitterly angry that it had gotten so close to orgasm just for it to be stolen from its grasp and robbed of the opportunity to cum in her due to me temporarily benching it. It was throwing a temper tantrum by making me feel its wrath, powered by the resentment of my actions; it felt so cheated which left no chance to mollify it. Thankfully, we were off the clock and only limited by personal limits which let us fuck each other until whenever we deemed we were finished.

“How much do you want to cum?” Stacy murmured as she frequently glanced from my eyes to my dick.

“I… I-I want to…” I was wrestling with my stubborn mind which was shrieking at me to mention cumming inside her. “I want to be inside your vagina as much as I can.” I vaguely replied. My evasion of the question should’ve been a clue to myself that my mind had been excavating a trench inside a chasm surrounded by a moat, of which I was subconsciously putting myself into.

In retrospect, it’s obvious that I was losing the brawl of self control, but it was making me aloof to critical thinking, something that continued flying under the radar which allowed that ability to be mowed down entirely - thus, rendering my ability to purge certain thoughts defunct.

She softly smiled at my words and embraced me a little tighter before her legs gingerly pulled my hips down which caused the base of my shaft to rest on the hood of her clit. Even though my brain was fizzled within a forest of lust while trying to wind back the progress of my orgasm, I knew I could make her enjoy herself in the meantime by gingerly rocking my hips for her. When my scrotum was resting against her vulva, the warmth radiating from her crotch was registered as a promise that I’d ultimately get to cum as long as I completed pleasing her.

Her hand on my side held me a little tighter as we looked each other in the eyes, our faces unchanging other than a blink every few moments, the girl still having a bright shade of pink donned on her cheeks while still wearing her lovely smile. "How the hell is this real life?" Even if after a century, it's still gonna be hard to believe that I actually got to fuck someone as attractive as her.

She then quietly giggled when I rubbed my nose against hers and giggled once again when I started nibbling it, an act that showed just how chummy we had gotten with each other and that this all wasn’t just a fling for selfish pleasure.

A minute later, my cock twitched which caused a sizable drop of precum to ooze out of me and spatter just under her belly button where she quietly gasped. The nibbling then ended since she looked down at where she felt it land on her before looking back into my eyes with a blend of intrigue, mirth, and curiosity which is when she naively whispered, “Did you cum?”

I chuckled at the silly question, my cackle puzzling her. “No, no, that’s just precum.” While I continued slowly grinding our sexes together, I cleverly lectured her why it exists and its main properties though I left out a lot of the nuances. Her mind was like a sponge regarding how she was so effortlessly able to soak up information. “When I have an actual orgasm, it’s much bigger than just a drop… Are you fine with it being on you?”

She gingerly nodded as she placed the hand on my side on her stomach. “Yes, it’s s-so warm and, oh~, messy in the best way possible.” She looked back down at her midriff. “Can I… touch it?”

I mischievously smirked. At this rung of the ladder in our act, denying any of her requests was impossible due to how I had vandalized and completely mutilated my own sense of self control. I needed to shovel as much enjoyment into my system as possible… “As long as you want to.”

She then timidly lifted her right hand which made a beeline toward the nectar-like substance. When the fingertips of her index and middle finger contacted the transparent liquid, she briefly giggled. Since I was focused on what her hand was doing, I was only able to see her smile through my peripherals as she started to slowly smudge the precum across her skin. The arousal that flowed within my veins blitzed to every extremity as I watched her fingers dirty themselves in my secretions.

I glanced at her blushing face which revealed that she had been observing my gaze; she further knew what she was doing in the form of doing a filthy act to keep my desire for her indefinitely continuous. In response, I softly grabbed her hand that was being messy and made sure she continued gingerly playing in the seminal fluid. Though it didn’t take long for an idea within my mind to hatch from its shell; the idea for the liquid to be slathered somewhere else.

“Can I… put some of it on your neck?”

“Yes.” She whispered.

After a few more moments of keeping her hand on her belly, I steadily migrated it up her chest where her fingers grazed the side of one of her breasts which smeared some of the residue there which I was just peachy with. This evoked an enormous portion of my mind to gain the desire to hose her in a fountain of my semen. The desire to coat her in it only continued to pick up steam when her hand contacted her neck.

“Hold your neck.” I quietly advised as I grabbed her hips, something she quickly obliged to. I didn’t need to say anything else since her fingers started gingerly scrubbing my precum on the left side of her neck and even part of her mandible in trace amounts. It wasn’t anything major, but it was still blistering hot to know that it was happening.

A few more moments of that occurred before her fingers went up to her lips where her shy tongue decided to taste the insignificant amount remaining on her fingers. She was certainly doing everything to bolden the wild part of my mind. “...I didn’t really taste anything. Though, I guess i-it was a tiny bit salty?”

“Sometimes it doesn’t have a taste.” I wanted to say more, like her tasting actual semen or asking if she wanted to be caked in it, but I just wanted to move onto the next thing.

Though that thought was thwarted when her hand returned to grab my side where I noticed that her fingertips didn’t have any liquid on them so I theorized it had all sufficiently evaporated; rinsed of any noticeable amount.

I was still lent down and loomed over her as she had her legs around my hips with one of her arms wrapped around my neck. It didn’t take long for the hand that had just grabbed me to start sliding down my side and to my outer thigh, the hand having to go over her leg.

I gingerly revolved my nose against hers as she felt that part of my body. Though it didn’t take her long to migrate her hand once more to an area I wasn’t expecting her to be keenly interested in; one of my buttocks. Since I didn’t foresee that happening, it subtly startled me and made me flinch which caused Stacy to blanch and nearly pull her hand away from that district.

“A-Am I doing something weird?”

Flustered, I was quick to correct her assumption. “No, no, I just wasn’t expecting that. You’re fine.”

With her worries pulverized, she grasped that part of me while maintaining eye contact. I assumed she just wanted to touch nearly every part of me, to let me know that I was hers alone and that she was enjoying the sensations, feelings, and everything in between whilst doing it. While she felt up that part of me, I once again pressed my lips against hers as my gentle grinding of her clit continued.

Though after another minute, she stopped kissing me and pushed her nose into the side of my neck. I didn’t expect her to start kissing me there but it was a welcome surprise. Her barrage of kisses then travelled up to my jawline before she kissed back down my neck and to the top of my chest, the both of us having to maneuver somewhat to make it work but only just a bit. All the while she kissed me, she quietly grunted at how her clit was feeling.

She kissed the top of my chest, a clavicle, and then my sternum before my phallus had finally calmed down enough to continue. So I leaned her back again and pressed my lips against hers as I pulled my hips back and aimed my cock down to impale her once more; I can’t tell you how much I love hogging her lips, it’s so nice. Anyways, as my glans contacted her slit again and while the kiss persisted, I felt her smile strengthen as her hand on my ass returned to my side just as her legs started to preemptively shepherd my hips down so our sex could continue as soon as possible. At that, I was able to deftly cram it back into her to resume spelunking in the caves, or just the one little cave in this instance, where my hips automatically started to accelerate the pace of thrusting which eliminated the dour feeling within my glans. The riot that my glans had been making me feel was rescinded and had been replaced with an even better perception of Stacy’s physical love.

Exasperated, I stopped a couple minutes later since the lousy muscles in my hips needed some more time to rest, which I hoped would be the last time I'd need to do that. But thankfully, Stacy correctly interpreted my actions and gave me an assuring smile after our lips separated again. "It's okay, Hunter..." She then nuzzled me before looking down at our genitals, the sight helping her ruminate about what she wanted to say next. "Maybe... Hey, I've been kind of lazy about this. What if... y-y'know, instead of you, I move?"

For some reason, there was a feeling in my chest that was... not quite a defensive feeling, but it was kind of similar to it. "Darling, you don't need to do that."

"But I want to, to make us feel nice while you rest."

Her response conveyed a strong sense of care which I simpered at which caused the feeling within my chest to be replaced with a warm feeling of how much I love her. "How do you want to do that?"

She looked up at me, "I, uh, don't know but... I think I can figure it out." Then at her own volition, her hand on my side skittishly slid over my belly and down to my cock which twitched when her thumb, index finger, and middle finger wrapped around the lubricated base. "Just... relax, okay?"

Her blushed face coupled with her being ignorant regarding what to do yet having a strong desire to improvise, for her to take the lead in a small way, and for her to show me that she can please me was... indescribably adorable. It became even more adorable when she started to timidly rock herself, though she was rather inept at doing it which was no fault of her own. It was a small movement, a movement that let her cunt rub across my dick by around an inch, and a movement she was struggling to make since it was somewhat of an awkward position for her to be doing that. But she continued to do it, to make me feel loved, to alleviate me from some of the pressure of pleasing her, and to make me moan which made her giggle in happiness.

Even though her paltry movement stayed timid, my grunting and moaning continued as we both continued expressing our happiness to each other. Since I wasn't the one conducting the movement, I couldn't predict how she'd move which allowed it to be much more pleasurable than it should've been. While it may not have been the best part of fucking her, it was certainly close to it.

After a minute or two, she had scooted back by a couple inches as a side effect of the girl languidly rocking herself. This allowed her to fully grasp the base of my shaft which is when she started to gently lift and lower the rod within her as she rocked; another means for my glans to rub against her vagina which continued goading me to cum. I then simply rested my forehead against hers as she reaffirmed her arm around my neck while my gratitude for the existence of women culminated in me blurting out, "My cock loves your little pussy so fucking much."

She chuckled at the brusque statement. “I'm so, so happy it does... My pussy likes your penis back." After she said that, her hand on my cock slid lower so she could once again take a hold of my scrotum, a tight enough hold that I thought she was just about to ransom them. "It really likes these too..." Once that was said, she stopped rocking herself and kept a hold of my gonads... I wanted release so, so fucking much at this point. Suddenly, she smirked and pulled her hand away from my cock, the same hand that had gotten a fair bit of her lubricant on it. Before I knew it, she had placed that hand on my chest which I looked down at. "I think it's fair for my liquid to get on you, y'know, since you put yours on me..."

Her words gospel to me so I nodded while her hand spread her lubricant across my pec, as if it were a canvas. Once she wrapped her arm around my neck again, I felt I was able to continue genuinely mating with her which is when my glans made its way to her cervix again. Like a machine after some downtime, I was back in business by having a fervent thrusting into her vagina. Though this time, something fishy was going on within my mind; that something was how she had hypnotized me into a certain trance due to her sex having sewed the idea of me not stepping on any sort of brakes until after I reached my ‘destination’.

My unravelling rationality was tarnishing into debris which left room for a much more deviant, contrarian, and paradoxical idea, one that I had forced myself to trash and brand as junk, to take hold of my mind; the appealing thought, like how a rumour spreads, going viral in my mind. As it circulated within me, my mind became fickle before it gave me its last nag, "Don't... Don't cum... Don't... But... But I want to… I should…"

I would've liked to have fucked her in another position by flipping her over, putting her ass in the air, and doing her doggy style. Though that’d just be the first one; since sex is so versatile, I’d want to try just about a half dozen more positions with her. But despite having obtained unrestricted reign, this was still her introduction to sex which meant that that tantalizing thought had to be shelved for later since I couldn't shove that onto her during this. Conventionally, a noob’s and even a rookie’s only position to sex, specifically for a woman, is best when it's missionary. Not that it's a sour thing, I find that position to be quite lovely and intimate. I'd just have to wait to spice things up with her, though that won't be needed for a while.

At this point, the fashion of my thrusts was sailing passively and coasting freely which caused us to go into a state of completely pandering to what we were feeling. While she exposed it to me, I kissed the side of her neck that she hadn’t smudged my precum on and listened closely to Stacy's bodacious moans.

"Mmm- fucking- Fuck!" She yelled as I continued drilling her as her legs around my hips tried to pull me in closer while she continued babbling incoherent sentences, the girl trying to express how much bliss she was experiencing to me. In fact, the grip of her hands had gotten so tight that I was sure her knuckles were albino white. Eventually, I was able to make out, "Your penis is so fucking amazing!"

Throughout this all, I had been making her my cock's little sleeve while unintentionally sculpting her mind to worship my dick; my good little girl folding to what her clit was telling her in the form of her giving me complete custody of her in this stage of fierce animalistic ardor. I had lost track of time before the pace of my thrusts suddenly faltered when I felt myself yet again approaching a tipping point and knew that a certain type of faucet bursting was imminent. The previously pristine mental armour that I had forged and equipped had been dented which compromised the integrity of it; the following corrosion and erosion making it entirely irrelevant.

I ceased kissing her neck, leaned back a bit, and made eye contact with the panting and half-lidded Stacy whose tongue was somewhat lolled out. "How much longer do you want to have sex with me?"

"I... mmm, just a few more minutes. Are y-you disappointed that I w-want to stop soon?" She answered with a sheepish smile, struggling through heavy breaths.

"No... not at all." I replied before kissing her again as I tweaked the pace of my thrusts to throttle back up. A hand of mine from one of her hips then migrated up to her neck; a nimble move that told her to stay static, submissive, continue masterfully relaxing into my thrusts, and that she was all mine to breed which was something she enthusiastically accepted. Feeling her swallow just made my dick happier due to having complete and utter control over her person which contributed to the echoes of ferality travelling throughout my body. That was the final ingredient to converge which then fully extrapolated my popular desire to smuggle something white into Stacy.

Thus, my crumpling rationality had finally been toppled as our rushing hormones trumped everything else, something that let my chaotic mind become infested with a cascade of famous yet beast-like thoughts. "But I need to, I need to cum inside her, I need to so fucking badly! Her vagina's trying its hardest to make me cough it up and make me hydrate her thirsty womb! I don't want to deprive it of that and needlessly waste my semen again; doing that would be the bane of my existence! Why else would she give me the option to not pull out? Why else would she not even mention anything about me not cumming in her? Why else would we have unprotected sex? Why else would she give me all of these signs that tell me she wants me to cum in her? We've already been going at it for this long, why not just go all the way?"

After such a spiel, my mind was no longer in a state of limbo nor unsure which direction to go within the vast and seemingly perilous labyrinth of lust. Because of that, my rambunctious thrusts had ramped back up and plateaued in speed. Since there was no dam holding anything back within my mind, I was then consumed in the haze of lust and was wonderfully plagued by the feeling of Stacy's squishy walls begging me to donate everything I had into her dazzling cunt - this caused me to capitulate to rabid thought. I had finally lost the long, difficult, and exhausting uphill mental battle of will since the need to breed trounced everything else.

"She clearly wants me to cum inside her and I’m no coward- I’m not a pansy! Just look at how much she's enjoying my cock, why would I prevent something so intimate from happening? I've always wanted to feel what it'd be like to cum inside such a smoking hot Queen, it would be so fucking epic!"

It had been a prolonged internal skirmish of immense instinct clashing with responsibility and scuffling with rationality, ending in what was within my scrotum successfully taking control of my clouded mind to then dictate what I was going to accomplish. Along with that, it was the thing that fueled me to enact upon a rash decision of listening to these thoughts since the tide of interest had fully turned; something that had solidified and couldn't be budged in the slightest. My mind then solely magnified and honed in on what had ballooned to become the most colossal desire that I have ever craved or sought by leaps and bounds, something that comparatively dwarfed all others combined. And that desire was the overhauled agenda to fuck Stacy until I came deep inside her womb, to permanently claim her as mine, and due to having mentally forfeited, I put a bounty on impregnating her so she would carry my child. The trajectory and the momentum this all had behind it made it an unstoppable force; the inertia immune to any sort of nominal external power.

A heavenly couple of minutes were slashed, sliced, and chopped away as the intense feeling of fucking Stacy started becoming too much for me to tolerate. The size of my cock, the depth of her lavish pussy, how its immaculate tight and moist corridor of flesh perfectly rubbed and squeezed, how it was so well lubricated and magnificently warm… Our anatomies were ideal for us to be mating, to please each other, and to essentially be welded as one. This all caused me to feel an emotion that merely suggested I fuck Stacy until well after dawn and then some more at dusk in a repetitive cycle; to give her several batches of my semen to guarantee that she'd be knocked up, even if my cock would get chafed in the process.

I then took a stern hold of her hips to lock her into place as she started arching her back, the girl vivaciously submitting herself to me as we continued climbing this mountain of pleasure together. No longer internally sparring with myself, I was roughly fucking her little needy pussy like this was the only chance I'd ever have to be mingled with her and let my animalistic mind do what it wanted to achieve. This was causing an alluring squelching and slapping sound from our flourishing groins to be emitted. Not long after that, Stacy abruptly broke the kiss to continue jovially moaning which instructed me to continue while we made eye contact. For the remaining duration of that eye contact, we intently peered into each other’s souls, squinting somewhat, something I felt demonstrated the lack of discrepancy between our desires for me to pump my baby batter into her oven.

I desperately moaned once more as I approached the verge to climax which caused my testicles to ache a final time, the reservoir of semen ratifying a sense of not pulling out where a strong feeling of devotion to set that precedent appeared between my legs. This caused my balance to start becoming wobbly and quite unreliable which made me feel the need to crouch or even squat in a way to prevent a cramp. So without warning, I resourcefully hopped on the mattress with her and sat on my knees with her pelvis in between my knees. It was as if I had properly gotten onto a saddle since that position felt much more natural and comfortable. After hunkering down, I only had one last hurdle to clear; coordinating myself, almost as if I was in a huddle. Once my posture showed no signs of discord, my eager thrusts hurried to continue galloping into her pussy.

In the commotion of it all, I was too far gone in instinct and too absorbed by the utopia that is her flawless vagina. If I had pulled out, it would've tainted the moment from being the greatest intimate experience I've ever had; I was obligated to keep it in her until the very end and I needed to douse her cunt with what had been building up within me, it was non-negotiable. The girl's legs persisted in staying firmly wrapped around me to make sure that I continued delivering what she desired, that mannerism telling me I was very welcomed and appreciated along with it telling me that she was comfortable and exuberant to let me do whatever I wished with her. At this, there was not the slightest notion nor inkling that I would've evacuated my penis out from the refuge of her cunt, so the shrewish affirmation of her legs justified my actions within my drone-like mind.

An elaborate way to put it was that I had bottled up my fairly combustible lust and kept it caged for weeks while trying to mediate it or convert it into something else. But no matter what I did, it festered and boiled, so much so that it had chipped its canister. By the time I let just a flake out of its jail, it had been so compressed and compacted that it ignited into a small ember which flamed into a flurry of fire before torching into a blaze; its inferno burning hotter than convecting, gurgling magma. Anything in the brunt of its wake would be toasted and charred by being dunked in several fluctuating waves of ashes and soot in the form of me directly climaxing on it.

Right after my rigorous migration, my arms wrapped around her chest to hold her close just before her arms and legs reciprocated the tightening of our embrace. After this, our bodies were pressing into the other as comfortably as we could which was yet another extremely nice feeling that pummeled my mind, this precise orientation then silently informing her to stay in that complete and total obedient state for my pleasure. After registering the trotting-like creak of the furniture we were on with each of my indiscriminate thrusts, I put my chin on her shoulder while I held her which caused my lips to be in the close proximity of her ear. That's when I let my unfiltered sounds of enjoyment funnel into her ear since I was sure she'd like the sound of me enjoying her.

"I-I love this- why didn't we do this earlier?" I chimed into her ear since I thought I needed to use words to articulate my feelings to her even though words will never be enough for just how immensely strong my emotions were. It took her a few moments but she was eventually able to imply that she agreed with me.

I then relented the embrace just a tad to take in the pinnacle of imagery that ricocheted around my clobbered mind; it was the final punch to reason. It only took a few more seconds of hearing her adorable moans and the quiet clap of our genitals loving on one another, seeing her cute and flushed facial expression conveying a longing for me to conquer her, seeing her sexy body and the abdominal bulge of my phallus within her, noticing our contrasting skin tones and the adorable small bounce of her luscious tits, seeing her legs wrapped around me helping me stay inside the hospitality of her vagina, smelling her natural perfume, observing what I was pounding alongside feeling all the sensations that came with it, remembering that I was the one to help cause the little girl to feel such a stellar feeling, was about to intimately make her mine, knowing she wanted what was happening and the possibility of diving into a career of parenthood with her, and remembering... that I truly love Stacy for everything she is did I finally let my guard down, stopped mitigating any sort of feeling my dick was experiencing, and allowed my body to enjoy the last few moments of mating as much as possible.

I then retightened the embrace, locked my lips with hers once more, congregated my focus on the touch, and kissed her as passionately as I could just as I placed my right hand on the back of her head and scrunched some of her hair to make sure her velvety lips stayed pressed against mine through to the end; the dual action of kissing and cumming too great to miss out on. At the same time, my penis got as hard as humanly possible and grew another centimeter or two to give a certain syrupy substance awaiting deployment the best chance to infiltrate the tubes that highly anticipated its extremely desired arrival. That happened just three seconds before I bolted past a certain threshold which made this behemoth of an undertaking impossible to abort. When I blasted my first gush into her womb moments later, each shot lasted just under a second which caused me to hectically ram my hips into hers each time I launched a hefty strand of semen deeply into her womanhood and onto her cervix that jauntily harvested my seed as quickly as possible, something that commenced a certain race of billions. The feeling of her pulpy, plump, and delicious lips pressing against mine made the experience all the better.

One. Two.

Like a thunderous boom, soaring to the peak of orgasm ambushed and completely decimated my mind as I deeply, deeply relaxed into the novelty of this rumbling ejaculation. It was as if I was short circuiting which caused me to seal my eyes shut as they went unfocused, caused my toes to curl as tightly as they could, and made my hold around her arched back strengthen; the grip on her then becoming the tightest it could comfortably be. The hyper-abundance of touch whipped up a great weakness within the entirety of my legs after plummeting off the cliff to orgasm in the best way possible; even the muscles in my core flexed in response to the explosion that she helped activate. Yet even though the bottom half of me felt flimsy, I pushed on and continued to frantically thrust into her so I could scarf down as much pleasure as possible. Each microsecond of this experience fed what my mind craved but it wasn't enough for it; it always wanted to devour more pleasure and capture more happiness.

During this, to please the both of us even more, the girl had been modestly fidgeting her hips which were in perfect synchronization with my thrusts. Even though the movement was small, it made a world of difference during these world-shattering few moments. This was amplified even more since her dank pouch of pleasure had started convulsing in an orgasm of her own right before mine triggered off; her pussy's twitches making the synchronization a magnitude better. The satisfaction of being able to make a saint like her cum greatly calmed my heart since she was completely comfortable with me and unitarily trusted me to do that to her. And though it went unseen, my face expressed the amount of pleasure that was being minted; the epicenter of pleasure spiking through my glans causing the insanely strong sensation to hastily ripple throughout my entire body on a rehabilitating scale I can't properly describe.

I couldn't help but roar quite audibly in pure ecstasy with each heavenly missile of semen shooting into her while the girl moaned with each sporadic spasm of her vagina during the muffled kiss, though the vibrations from her boisterous moans simultaneously travelled down my throat. Part of the reason for my moans was to express how extraordinarily exalted I was to finally be filling a pussy like Stacy's up with everything I had to give with something it so desperately wanted... Something I also couldn't help but do was rub the tip of my tongue along her teeth to taste her as we enjoyed each other to our greatest extent.

If this web of perception was transcribed in the form of a bomb, the shrapnel from it would’ve been more fatal than any grenade, cleave more efficiently than any knife, puncture deeper than any arrow, collide harder than any asteroid, and humiliate any other form of lethality once compared to it. I know that seems ridiculous to say but it feels like an accurate comparison to me.

Three. Four.

"Yes! Yes! Holy fuck! This is the greatest feeling ever!" My instincts said as the network of nerves on my glans continued getting swamped by a near infinite galore of pleasure. The shaft itself loved how the very entrance of her hot pocket clung and wrapped around it where the skin there squeezed in just a way to help divert my robust semen before the walls of her vagina further squeezed the entirety of my shaft to make sure she was siphoning everything it could get from me. I could only imagine how much she was enjoying the feeling of my penis excitedly pulsating within her as she felt a warm river of a soupy liquid frolic into her before it began its tour beyond her cervix.

"I'm so lucky! I'm so fucking lucky! You're mine, mine! Your umbrella of beauty, your excellence, your everything is all mine! Forever! Be completely filled to the brim!" The possessive part of my mind decreed in a frenzy as my physical vibe and secure hold of her conveyed to the absent audience, as if there was some sort of competition over Stacy's offering to father her children, that nothing was gonna hinder my adamant thrusts. At least not without grave consequences since I had become apathetic to anything else other than the coitus that blinded me in the blackout of my rationality, pioneered by the incalculable amount of pleasure I was guzzling down and the primal calling to paint the receptive interior of her a nice ivory color. I'm so happy that she's the only woman I've came in and that I've been the only one to do so to her; I intend to keep it that way eternally.

As this unfurled, the sex in this moment was so, so feral. Pure instinctual impulse on overdrive was dictating what we were doing and thinking; we were just along for the ride. The both of us really only had one thing catapulted to the front of our minds which was the incessant want, the titanic desire, and the intrinsic need that filled every fiber, gram, and cell of our bodies which was the stipulation to mix and pass our traits to the next generation, to fertilize one of her eggs, to spawn a child; a hybrid of ourselves representing our truly beneficial and harmonic symbiosis, to continue the existence of our species, to increase our population to prevent extinction, to not disappoint our ancestors, and to have so, so many litters of kids together to build up our own little village so they can grow up with the protection, friendship, and guidance of their other siblings to then recolonize what was once ours while assuring that mine and Stacy’s bloodline proliferates across the entire genepool. Our minds were successfully persuading us to surrender to pleasure and reflex, that this was a prophecy meant to take place, that it not coming to fruition would've been detrimentally tragic, that this wasn't simply random chance, and that we were meant to conceive in this moment like the entire universe specifically caused everything to align for this exact instance.

"Please get pregnant! Please have fraternal twins! Please!"

This mania was coupled with the immeasurable desire and sense of purpose to invest my time into becoming the most caring and loving father, to raise children with the woman I would treat like a winged angel throughout the decades of our lives. I truly wanted to be staunchly committed to her and our future children and stay involved acting as their pillar of support until my days expired. Each time my glans lovingly contacted her womb, my instincts were overjoyed at just how legit this lofty aspiration was; the contact between those two things being just a little more magnificent than the rest.

Even though this stampede of thoughts trampled my sense of reason, the thoughts having been manufactured in the deep depths of a scorching hot furnace of pure volcanic passion and crucible of lust, they didn’t feel fraudulent. This wasn’t a lie, fake, or a mirage; it was sterile from any sense of contradiction or deception. And even though Stacy and I have known each other for just a little while and everything I've said might seem like some sort of delusional drivel... but it truly feels like she's perfect for me. She's just... something I don't want to lose, something I feel the need to pamper, and something I don't want to live without ever again. I want her to become my greatest companion and ally. I want her to become my other half and my bastion of hope. I want her to be my one, only, and true love indefinitely. I want her to be the one I can always rely on and call for help on and vice versa. I want her to be the bearer of my children. And I want her to be the one to receive all of the love I‘d ever be able to corral up. Nothing would be able to skew this sentiment of mine nor put a wedge between us, no matter how negatively construed someone else might make it out to be.

Five. Six...

My prostate was harshly ejecting my exhilarated semen into her so aggressively, the mechanism giving each thread of semen overachieving velocity and range, that it hurt in a small way. Furthermore, I could feel that my testicles were as retracted into me as they could be while they unleashed every single last bit of sperm that was within them… and unleashed did I ever. Over the past few months, any futile attempt at touching myself to orgasm either failed due to the lack of enjoying it or failed in the way of it being extremely unsatisfying which resulted in me being pissed due to how little I was actually able to enjoy in the moments of those really lackluster orgasms. So for the most part, I just stopped jerking off, and the times I did whack off in recent times, I didn't reach the point to climax which equated to a long streak of frustration and subliminal crabbiness. That means the amount I was pent up by, after having had a girl tamper with my body's chemistry into wanting to mate via pheromones and then having to wait after kissing, touching, seeing, and pleasing such a scalding hot girl… Well, the amount I was pent up by was immeasurable.

The position I was in also happened to be the optimal angle for my testicles to be drained since the angle let each healthy dose of sperm not fight but to instead work with gravity to achieve their goal. It was so dignifying to collaborate with each other to make the other feel jubilation, to act as one, and for me to happily give and for her to vibrantly take all of my accumulated semen in the most docile way possible. I can't get over how nice it was to be in between her legs, the same legs that motivated me to fill her up where her pussy milked me to the best of its ability.

My cum, similar to being the fee for renting her slit, had also added another feeling while I was depositing it into her which was the substance pooling at the top of her vagina. By the end of this absurdly spectacular orgasm, the warm liquid masked and smothered the first half of my shaft due to the excessive amount having nowhere else to go. It was calming in a way just to know how much I was expelling into her unparalleled glory. Furthermore, as I hemorrhaged semen, a kingly feeling of emptiness quickly appeared within my groin where my mind loved how the part of me that desperately, desperately coveted to be inside a woman was now swimming deep inside and in transit where it declared it belonged. I only felt more satisfied due to remembering just how angelic, beautiful, sweet, caring, lovely, empathetic, and adorably quirky the woman I was mating with was. There was no chance that anyone better than her existed, they only paled in comparison to her in every category, she's the comrade that’s everything I ever wanted and ever needed; I'll never even think of doing anything even remotely close to intimate with anyone else, I’ll forever be loyal to her, my love and attention all belong to her!

Another vital feeling that I relished in was that there were no repercussions, taboos, or any other pair of eyes that would disapprove of us in any capacity. Well, there was the one implication of maybe having a child but other than that, we were independent from money, finances, expenses, law, legality, school, tradition, being chastised, shunned, other people's opinions, or anything else of the like. We were free and unshackled to just enjoy each other's presence, love, bodies, and everything else on a whim however we wanted and were able to do so as often as we pleased. And I intended to utilize that, to take advantage of and exploit that opportunity for as long as possible, only being confined by the limits that Stacy wants to set because her enjoyment was all that mattered. It was so, so liberating to ejaculate inside her with no trace of worry within the mind which left my stream of consciousness to solely focus on finishing the act, something that shook me to the core like a 10.0 earthquake. And because of that, my unsplit focus leaned into the orgasmic feeling so dramatically that it caused me to salivate and drool where a few drops of it slobbered down Stacy's cheeks.

Seven... Eight...

The best words I can use to describe how the myriad of sensations felt with each rocketing torpedo of semen spewing into her is... blissful, exquisite, euphoria. It felt like my soul had been elevated and enlightened to the highest possible ranking level, as if a thick mist that had been hammered into my mind finally dissolved which allowed me to become generally more aware. Dare I claim it was literal paradise due to the extreme amount of happiness that had shrouded me during those few seconds where her insides had wrung me for all I was worth during our flailing thrasher of passion. I hadn't had an orgasm even close to that scale in... since ever, let alone even a decent one. What I had just experienced was the holy grail of legendary orgasms, something that might never be eclipsed for the rest of my life.

How did I survive without this? It felt unfathomably marvellous to completely dump my load into something that actually wanted it... Cumming deep inside a seemingly perfect vagina in every single metric, attached to a person reflecting those definitions, was a million times better than anything my imagination could've ever drafted up. It made this entire excursion so amazingly jarring that the bulk of the pedantic details of it weren't really able to be forgotten.

After my eighth and final spurt into her, my moderately paced thrusts continued for around four seconds until her final orgasm ended; the cue for my turbulent thrusts to quickly slow to a halt and for my posture to sag. My hips had weathered the storm and were no longer being inflicted by physical straining; the first step for that area of mine to bolster up to become resilient to future rumpings. Anyways, the surplus of sensitivity in those last thrusts after my orgasm ceased... sheesh, it felt like I was gonna faint and slip into a pleasure induced coma due to how divine they felt. To finally rest and relax after finalizing our ritual and dance of love felt extremely rewarding, especially after taking a triumphant deep breath in and then slowly letting it go, all while keeping our lips pressed against each other's. The breath also helped me deal with the somewhat dazed and dizzy feeling she had left me with, an experience that would take a little while to digest, as the girl below me experienced a decent bit of my weight shift onto her after I cancelled my thrusting. She didn't argue at all since she enjoyed how it kept her in place and made sure she'd stay in that submissive position for me to stay deeply ported within her.

In those last few moments of mating, our stifled grunts and moans of pleasure while kissing was... the rawest sound of pure enjoyment I've ever heard. Our self control during it had been destroyed, obliterated, and annihilated; the only thing even remotely in our control was making sure our pelvises were still motioning to maximize the onslaught of pleasure. Our bevy of moans by the tail end of our orgasms became exhausted due to how long we had been telling each other how much we loved what was happening through them. There was no other way we could express our satisfaction due to every other part of our bodies being occupied with something else to increase, feed, amplify, and give in to our indulgence of each other.

As the dust from our fun was settling, my cock continued to happily twitch inside her, the appendage awestruck and somewhat paralyzed at how its new friend had played with it while staying pressed against her semen-flooded cervix. During that time, I floated back down from heaven as my instincts faded while my testicles descended where the jaded, pleased, and empty organs rested on her perineum and anus, a trace amount of her delectable vaginal secretions still present, the position forcing them to be there.

I knew the girl also loved feeling them be there due to how she kept me in place by keeping her legs tightly wrapped around my pelvis; it must've felt just as nice for her as it was for me. She also kept me there due to just how much she wanted us to stay connected and to be one for as long as possible while we enjoyed tightly embracing and kissing one another. We were trying to express so, so much how much we appreciated each other through it, something I subtly shuddered in delight at. Though our physical touches weren't even close to being able to accurately tell the other just how much we were thankful for everything we had just done to each other. Regardless of it being impossible, we still tried to tell each other our happiness through our actions since there was no other way to show each other our gratitude. It just went to show that there was absolutely not an ounce of shame or guilt between us regarding how we had let ourselves become puppets to our instincts and allowed our strings to be pulled in such a way so I could cum inside her. The lack of my mind lashing out and going on a tirade regarding my irresponsibility only allowed us to continue what we were doing.

We broke the kiss a minute later where the both of us then courteously kept our foreheads resting against each other's while we avidly looked into each other's eyes. While we continued ruggedly panting, my phallus inside her slowly became flaccid since the desire of bagging her had been fulfilled. The satisfaction of knowing that she then housed and was germinating my seed within her for the coming days, a deed we could never undo, eradicated most feelings of horniness as I sobered up from lust. The ambience of staying inside her premium heat as deeply as I could after our orgasms while holding her close was probably the most tranquil, cozy, and serene moments I've lived through, as if we were in the direct center of a heavenly meadow, the solace of the moment made even better whenever our lips pressed against the other's. I had gotten completely lost within a vast sea of pleasure during those fifteen or so seconds of orgasm and last few thrusts, yet during and after them, I had an extremely fortified feeling of belonging there, to stay fully inside her, like I was meant to be there after all this time, and exclusively the only one meant to be parked inside her. And so I lounged there for as long as I could while wolfing down every last riveting smell, taste, sight, sound, and feeling.

"It's so... it's so w-warm... inside me..." She hoarsely commented after a couple dozen quiet seconds through slightly wheezing breaths before I delicately placed my left hand on her cheek as our embrace relented a tad. I tenderly kissed her again for thirty seconds before I kept my forehead on hers some more as we continued looking into each other's soul.

“Am I finally in the stud club?” I thought, quietly chuckling at how ridiculous that thought was before even more ludicrous thoughts popped up. “Even if I was only allowed to cum in her once annually, I would be much more compelled to live.” Hilarious, I know. Though… I had a strong premonition that there was actually some truth to that. But it wasn’t just because of the sex of course, it was all of what Stacy is.

In our locked position, as if I had a knot that needed time to shrink, I bluntly kept my glans pressed against her cervix as my mind dared me to keep the puddle of semen plugged within her for as long as possible to increase the chance of her getting pregnant. The added warmth and slipperiness of my semen only enticed me to stay there which added a little more intimacy into our renovated love affair; any amount of worry that I might’ve persisting to stay cloaked.

Every second I stayed inside her increased that chance which rubbed my core the right way; something that caused a small hit of adrenaline to barge into my system due to increasing the likelihood of us procreating. It was so... reckless and had such high stakes but I loved it, I loved picturing a fetus growing inside her, and loved how it might result in a creation that would forever knit our lives together. The ability she has to produce another human within something like a biological factory, similar to a superpower, will always astound me and deserves an immeasurable amount of respect.

Furthermore, I loved how I could stay inside her as long as she allowed me with nothing to worry about… Besides having children, obviously. Without any context, it might have been stupid to have done what I did but there was no going back so I let my warped mind, something that had been riddled by lust, increase the chance of her getting pregnant because of how nice it felt in the moment. Overall, my nerves were experiencing an anxious feeling but... I oddly leaned into it.

My mind, even if being dumb, peculiar, or spiteful, gave the middle finger to the country that had been extinguished. Its grasp on us, which would've tried to make us conform to its expectations, no longer existed which allowed us to do something it prohibited. The mere thought of a defiant and youthful couple of teenagers being in that exact environment, with me being scandalously inside her vagina after having skillfully climaxed within it, would've ruffled up a plethora of people’s feathers who'd be needlessly outraged; to which I say fuck them. I think the polar opposite and militantly promote and endorse couples like us, partners who are genuine in their love, making babies. It should be a standard thing, especially in modern times considering our small numbers, since it's typical that people like us fuck. I will assert that a baby of ours wouldn't be a blight on anything, contrary to how it would've been treated had that abysmal society still existed. I think it's even more justified when I mention, again, how her body's ready to grow my child, if she so wants...

With my anecdotal research, data, and evidence, I’m optimistic when I claim that she’s blatantly met the criteria and meets every catalyst to become a very loving, sweet, kind, and caring mother. I trust her, I wouldn't have cum inside her if I didn't have faith that she was eligible for the role. Because even though my choices were… limited, I was still able to be frugal when accounting for a mate. So petty spectators and onlookers should simply stay in their lane, be neutral, and leave us alone on our island of love instead of clamouring for us to be ostracized, penalized, arrested, or socially crucified. Those revolting groups of barbaric parasites full of venom preaching their disgusting, draconian, and arbitrary beliefs who threw crusades against and needlessly persecuted harmless lovers was one of my biggest peeves with society.

The final thing about the deleted civilization I’ll rant about is that the lack thereof allowed couples like us to risk her getting pregnant without external ramifications, if we just didn't straight up want children to begin with; a gamble I've made clear that I'm willing to roll the dice on. Of course, if it ends up that we did conceive a child during this lovely morning, then we’ll be alert about it and if something atrocious happens then we'll tackle any conundrum head on. But as it was, the world was our oyster, she was my pearl, and I was sure that we'd prosper and that we’d make happy, talented, and amazing children...

Anyways, her legs shuffled a bit to keep me anchored there as one of her arms around my neck unwrapped from around it. I kept an arm tightly wrapped around her torso with a hand over her shoulder blade as my other hand gingerly combed through her hair where she delicately placed a hand on the side of my face. I lightly nudged the tip of my nose against hers once more as I noticed the very calm and pleased smiles that we both wore while our rates of breath stayed slightly elevated.

After another twenty seconds, my stupor waned and I was barely able to pronounce what I wanted to whisper without butchering the meaning behind it. "Th-thank you so, s-so much for letting me kiss, touch, and have s-sex with you... That was... the greatest thing I’ve ever done..."

She gingerly eskimo kissed me back, her voice still having a subtle rasp to it, "Thank y-you too... I agree..."

With her concurrence, we continued lovingly gazing into each other's eyes; the both of us genuinely feeling as if we had been polished and waxed off as a result of what we had done. "Are you satisfied?" I quietly inquired.

She meekly nodded which confirmed that my pride was left unscathed. "So, so much... What about you?"

The mutual care we expressed for each other's well-being and enjoyment was very endearing and something I hope would’ve been contagious enough to inspire others to copy and imitate it. As our joy radiated to and from each other, I nodded while enjoying the sight of my hand softly resting on the side of her happy face before delicately holding her neck. "Yes... The most I've ever been in my life." She shared the same sentiment before I kissed her for a few moments to prove it. "I love you."

Her smile stayed strong. "I love you too..."

We silently continued cuddling in that position as our noses timidly rubbed against the other. Though as the seconds passed us by, my cock didn’t get that much softer; it stayed half erect. Because of the sense that my battery was recharged and I sought out a bonus, I started to minutely thrust in by an inch or so, something that caused her to giggle.

It appeared that my refractory period had become remarkably short which was certainly perpetuated by how well she had treated me. Since it seemed like my pleasure-seeking desires had been replenished, I held back a few of my grunts as I resumed a soft sliding within her which caused me to wonder how much more pleasure I could leech off from her and get away with. I then internally cheered for an encore so I could clone what I had felt during my orgasm. Being inside her was something that would never get boring, never get stale, never get bland, or ever become a chore.

She coyly moaned at my actions, shortly followed by a duplicate moan. Though my actions only persisted for less than a couple minutes since my mind realized that I had been experiencing a fleeting illusion which revealed that my refractory period hadn’t actually been that short. Consequently, my cock wasn’t getting any harder but quite the opposite. So when that mental apparition was over, I quit swinging my hips once again.

“I thought you were gonna want to cum again…” She commented with a chuckle.

“I sort of did but I changed my mind. I’m fine. Though… would it be a bad thing if I did?” I asked as my hand on her back slid down to her sacrum.

“No, not really… Even though I kind of want to stop having sex, I want you to feel nice. That’s why I wasn’t stopping you.”

My heart fluttered at how much she cared for me and how the existence of a never rotting fidelity had been woven into us. It made me want to brag about how I can label her as my girlfriend, gossip that I can see her naked, gloat that I was able to have sex, taunt that I could creampie her, boast about how lovely our relationship is, and parade her around as the lovely, little girl that she is.

I asked if she wanted me to take it out but in response she shook her head and clarified that she just wanted me to not thrust. That’s when I lifted her lower back toward my groin. This helped keep my cock stay inside her but also let the straggling sperms within her to trickle toward her cervix, to assure that her womb was filled with as much volume of my presence as possible. That move helped keep the smile on her lips.

She then whispered, "So y-you got all your cum out, right?"

I quietly chuckled at her adorable question and nodded. "Though it's not really something I tried to do, it just happens... especially with someone as sexy as you."

She bashfully grinned. "I'm so glad you got it all out..."

"She's perfect."

She then happily sighed. "I-It's so nice for you just to be on top of me, inside me, and keeping me down as we closely hug and kiss." She quietly giggled. "It's c-cool to feel how your penis softened in me. I love how warm and filled it is inside me too, it feels so great and super lovely and romantic…" All of her words correctly pressed every button that wanted to be pushed.

The hand on her neck then draped down her neck, down her chest, down her side, and then to her thigh before traversing back up her silky smooth skin to where it had begun, something that repeated several times. As our lust smoldered and our bodies simmered down, I slowly did this while we experienced literal zen as we held each other close. During so, I felt within me and saw it within her bleary aquamarine eyes that our remaining energy was wilting and withering away, but we continued loving on each other since that was the most imperative thing we could’ve been doing at that moment.

We were no longer alone in the desolate post-apocalyptic world of true anarchy and the feeling of being vexed and sullen could now be replaced by positive emotions with the help of the other. Our gruelling trepidation regarding the possibility of forever being in solitary no longer existed and we no longer suffered from insomnia as the comfort we brought each other overwhelmed it. Truly, the sinister and tyrannical feeling of hurt that oppressed our emotional states caused by the ghastly calamity that ended society no longer had to be felt now that we were together… We were at peace.

I spared some glances down at her attractive, flawless, mated body every now and then just to see the state of it. Her body was slightly oily and had collected a few beads of sweat, likewise with me, but I could very clearly come to the conclusion that she was happy and mellowed out which reflected my state of mind. I can’t emphasize enough just how glamorous it was to look down at her lower belly and imagine what the splattered in white interior of her looked like, especially what swished beyond her glazed cervix.

The possessive part of my mind rejoiced in having thoroughly and effectively marked her as my territory which was an undisputed fact she relished in as well. I closely inspected her belly, hips, legs, breasts, arms, neck, and still reddened face where the same part of my mind thought, "The perfect body and individual to grow my children..." My mind almost used the word vessel, incubator, or specimen but I didn't want to dehumanize her since that would've been extremely fuckin’ disrespectful.

Anyways, my heart skipped a beat in ecstasy every time I remembered the gravity of the situation and how it was authentic. I was so lucky to have been in my figurative shoes and to be in between her encouraging legs; luckier than winning the lottery and then winning every game in a casino. It wasn't wrong to participate in having sex with her; despite what some prudes would say, it was all consensual and her matured body and her mind influenced me to sexually domesticate her from her words, looks, actions, instincts, and pheromones. There was nothing negative about this, every single thing about what we did was meant to happen, there’s no amount of skepticism in my mind about that.

As my hand draped up and down her body, I peppered her face with small and affectionate kisses. I kissed the tip and then the bridge of her nose, forehead, temples, cheeks, and just under her bottom lip. She lovingly beamed at the pecks across her face as her hand on my back retained a light grasp on me, a simple code that told me to continue everything I was doing as her other hand stayed on the side of my face. My hand draping over her slipped to the back of her head once more as my arm around her body slowly relented its clutch. As I set down her lower back, I noticed her glances toward our groins which I thought were adorable. I was so happy she was content with us being in those exact circumstances.

And being purely honest, my cock never wanted to be outside of her vagina ever again. It had found its safe haven, its sanctuary of delight, a niche it had thought it would never find. So it rebelled and criticized the abstract concept of essentially abandoning Stacy's pussy and the disbanding of fornicating quite radically. That caused me to nearly orphan the idea, my mind almost erasing it entirely. The issue was quite precarious and couldn't really be reconciled which translated to me having to override what my dick was telling me by rendering the debate obsolete since being tethered to Stacy was not an option.

So when time was up, the next unscheduled event was slowly starting to pull my limp cock out from inside her, ending our adventure. It was quite a travesty when I deserted her glorious heat but I forced myself to get over it since we had to separate at some point despite what we wanted. I wasn't alone with being somewhat bummed since when I started doing that, the girl voiced an adorable little, "Aw..."

With that, her pink insides finally had the time to start recuperating from its first extensive pounding, the first of countless many to come. Furthermore, it was starting to recover from the dire yet impeccable strive it had put into making sure what was inside her had an incredible time of ecstasy while trying its hardest to hopefully bait and wheedle it into irresistibly cumming deep into her divine cunt to then extract every bit of me that our bodies wanted to trade... That worked all too well; her slit had a casual aptitude that left me quite flummoxed. I probably didn't have to write that down but I love reminding myself about what had happened between us, the different ways to describe it just helps me reminisce about it.

Soon after I departed from her, a decent bit of my seed started leaking out of her snatch and onto her anus before dripping off onto the floor. When I was properly off of her, the both of us scurried to see what the aftermath of our debauchery looked like. It was quickly revealed that she was somewhat gaped as a surprising amount of my very thick semen leaked out of her. "Is... will it close?"

I chuckled at her question and answered it before answering a few other questions relating to my semen within her. After that, the lust within my mind became scarcely sparse while the rationale that had been ripped to shreds returned. But impregnating her wasn't a worry of mine, at least it wasn't then, neither was it a concern of hers since that'd've foiled the attitude; we simply just wanted to enjoy the feeling of being incredibly sexually satiated with each other. And after everything we had been through, this inflated mood was something the both of us needed on a scale that I can't describe. Nothing was going to ruin us just happily basking in the afterglow together after finally getting our fix of pleasure.

I put my hands on her inner thighs before gently pressing them down so her legs stayed spread; the girl's legs like that being such an adorable sight to bestow but even more so as she sprawled herself out. After a quiet whistle expressing my liking of the sight, my gaze scoured her groin to watch my cum drip out of her nirvana-inducing slit, just silently obsessing over the image of her having been completely filled and dominated by me.

As my mind preened, I made sure I had the best possible look for my vision to patrol her vulva so I'd never forget the enthralling sight by practically engraving a perfect photograph of it into the archives of my memory. Her pussy with the addition of my custard-like graffiti was certainly the best way to decorate it. The feral part of my mind hoped so much that seeing her like this wasn’t seldom, that she'd get pregnant, and that cumming inside her would become a common theme; but I quashed that part of my mind.

A silent minute of reviewing her thoroughly bred groin passed where the girl had been all too willing to display herself to me while wearing a gentle smile. One of my index fingers then headed toward her slit to scoop up a small amount of my semen to then smear across an inner thigh of hers. It wasn't much but it helped appease the part of my mind that wanted my cum over her. She simply smiled at that, the girl indifferent to my action. After that, my hand, minus my index finger, slowly caressed one of her shins, though I tapped with my index finger to jot down a bit of semen where I did the same thing with her achilles tendon before I sheepishly asked, "Would you want to do that again with me every now and then...?" She properly sat up after hearing my question.

"Definitely. That felt so fucking amazing." I chuckled again at her description, happy that she felt the way she did, but even more so at how I had accomplished my target of showing her a really good time and proving that I could please her. Being able to borrow each other for orgasms without being a bother or a nuisance was something I was certainly interested in attending whenever I could.

After briefly kissing her where I lathered the rest of the semen on my index finger on the center of her back, I scoped out the mess we had made. That’s when I finally scampered off to fetch us a towel from the nearby closet so I could use it as a napkin to clean it all up. Though during so, I noticed my walk had a minute waddle to it; a result of coming down from all of the excitement that the thing which dangled between my legs had experienced.

When I scuttled back to Stacy and after the excess had dribbled out of her, I quickly cleaned up all the semen that was on and around her groin. After that, I used a different part of the towel to clean myself off and then the floor. While not the most sanitizing way to handle it, it’s all I could do. I then hurled the soiled towel to the corner of the room to worry about later since the only thing I was worried about then was laying down next to Stacy and falling back into a slumber since fatigue swiftly started to invade my mind. We had woken up a couple hours earlier than we should’ve so a nap was definitely something that was appropriate.

Stacy was already lying back down in the middle of the bed and waiting for me to join her which I swiftly did and held her little, adorable, soft, and sexy naked form close to me where we looked each other in the eyes. While she reciprocated the embrace and gingerly groped my rear again, our legs slightly intertwined with each other's. It was an instinctual act after having formed an ironclad bond together, one that would never crumble into a powdery rubble, and symbolized that we wanted, cherished, and deeply cared for each other. But the biggest thing we were telling each other is that we now belonged to the other and wanted our lives to be just like our tangled legs, the difference here being that unlike our legs, it'd be more permanent than any sort of tattoo, mark, or scar; the math simply added up to that after our revolutionary journey which was rife with love and care.

We deeply looked into each other's pupils while we enjoyed the unique feeling of our naked bodies platonically pressing against each other while one of my hands was delicately placed on the side of her lightly smiling face as a couple fingers played with some of her hair. Eventually, we quietly discussed the synopsis of what we liked and didn't like about our intimate act which is when she revealed her only dislike about the experience. "I really didn't like it at first, it really hurt and felt pretty weird. But, wow... It got so~ good after you started moving in and out of me. I loved it so, so much how your penis rubbed me and was so, so deep in me, it felt so nice. It was so warm and made me feel... 'filled' and just all around felt great. It's amazing how my pussy was able to put it all in... I really hope it doesn't hurt again whenever we do this again, that wouldn't be fun at all. And I thought your penis was so cute. Especially when you were hugging me really close when it was twitching and making me feel even warmer and even more good inside... that was so adorable."

I liked listening to her say that since it assured me that she wanted every single thing I thought she did. I also strangely enjoyed how she described my genitals as cute for some reason. Anyways, after her take, I reiterated most of my points that I've written down thus far in a much more summarized way. She intently listened to my words and kept a small smile on her lips, the girl clearly enjoying how much she was able to make me feel.

"I'm... I'm happy to have made you feel all of that. I can't describe how happy that makes me." She said as she retained her adorable smile. "I'm so happy that... that you find me p-pretty enough and like me enough to have done that with me."

I kissed the tip of her nose. "It's so hard to describe how amazing you are, Stacy. You're everything and then some, don't even worry about that."

She booped her nose with mine, the girl at a loss for words, that simple act of affection being the only thing she could think to do within her tiring mind but it told me everything she wanted to convey. That's when I quietly started to tell her about most of my desires with her, minus the children part, where the girl intently listened as she very subtly nuzzled her nose on mine.

"I... I feel the same. You've… you’ve been the best person to me in my entire life... I want to reciprocate?" She asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, wondering if that was the right word which I nodded at. "I reciprocate all those feelings... I love you and only want to love you more and more and be with you, forever."

After she said that, she rested her head so we could look each other in the eyes as we became quite drowsy, the both of us softly expressing how happy we were with reciprocating all of those emotions. I can't get across how ecstatic it makes me that she... appears to be a perfect fit. It… made me make what I feel is a calibrated decision of eventually giving her an opulent ring, marrying her, and making her my spouse so I can call her my wife. Seeing the image of her being a bride, wearing an ornate dress making use of many frills, all while holding a bouquet of tulips and daisies was something that I’d certainly add to my bucket list.

A minute of silence passed before she cutely yawned and added on, "Thank you for being so gentle and caring in those first few minutes... You're so nice."

"I couldn't have not done that, I would've hurt you in a lot of ways if I didn’t. And I vow that I'll never hurt you nor ever bail on you; you’re too special to not want." I replied before she inched toward me and kissed me where the girl retained a strong smile of pure happiness.

When it ended, the both of us just gazed into each other's soul once more with smiles on our lips. I then thought about the prestigious legacy that our experience would leave on our minds… It was something I’d be forever stoked about for obvious reasons. I thought about that until our next and final words for the morning were spoken.

"I love you..." I said after a long silence before kissing her one final time.

After a couple of minutes into the kiss, I started pulling back to end it. Though before I could do that, a hand of hers suddenly went up to the side of my face to keep me there while she gingerly pushed her head forward to assert that she wanted the kiss to continue. And so we did for a few more minutes; making out is something I would never pass up on no matter how common it is between us. I could kiss her addictive lips for hours if given the chance.

"I love you too..." She replied after ending the kiss before closing her eyes, my eyes closing moments after hers.

Even though our typical sleeping position was me closely spooning her, it was too much of a hassle for us to rotate ourselves so we decided just to doze off like how we already were. I then held her as closely as I comfortably could to my chest before I threw a blanket over the two of us. After a few seconds of snuggling, I pulled her down by a few inches to dig my nose into her hair to enjoy the subtle scent she gave off before her hips scooted forward a tad while our intertwined legs subtly gripped each other a small bit tighter. This caused the top of her thigh to lightly press into my groin, likewise with her vulva gingerly pressing against my upper thigh.

Nothing was said about it since we knew we didn't need to express what we felt so she simply did a quick, cute, and little nuzzle on my chest as I slowly lost my grip of consciousness while being in the most comfortable, satisfied, pleased, and peaceful state that I had ever been in. And that was all thanks to the flawless girl that I was lovingly holding, something I had genuinely scored big on and was fortunate enough to receive the richest treasure trove I could’ve ever wanted; her love.

And as I was drifting back into a dreamscape, I thought about what had conspired between us. I felt like it was orchestrated accordingly, felt like everything happened without a hitch, as if it were some sort of clean sweep, and even thought that it wasn't too early to do something like that... Except for maybe the ending of our act which might've been an error on my behalf. But it was so incredibly phenomenal which makes my hubris and my bias think it was the right thing to do even if it might've been a stupid thing to do. But I forced myself to forget about that for the meantime.

I sighed in delight with a gleeful smile plastered on my face as I fell asleep with the love of my life in my arms; someone who I’ll give an oath to which is to always happily serve the duty of sheltering her, coddling her, loving her, providing for her, respecting her, and so much more, forever…

Chapter 7: Relaxation

Chapter Text

The moment Stacy awoke, I gingerly placed a hand on the side of her face which caused her to gently smile. After a few more minutes of silence, I asked, "Do you regret what we did last night?"

"Nope... no, not at all. Last night was really, really sweet." She replied before softly pressing the tip of her nose against mine.

At that, I let out a breath of relief since I had been worried about the many possibilities that she could've said instead. But as it was, I smiled and lightly kissed her which caused her smile to strengthen. "If you did, I would've never forgiven myself..." I admitted after the kiss while keeping the tip of my nose pressed against hers.

"How come?" She asked with a subtle blush.

"Because I never want to do something you wouldn't want to do, or make you feel uncomfortable, or do something that you'll regret." I immediately replied, that type of response having been buzzing around my mind ever since I woke up.

She happily grinned at my words before scooting closer to me by just a tad. "Thank you for being so nice, Hunter..."

"Thank you for being you." I replied before gingerly kissing her again before I remembered a certain something, something that I brought up right after the kiss ended. "I'm sorry I hurt you last night, Stacy... I wish I could’ve done something else to make it easier for you, I feel so guilty about it, please forgive me."

For a brief moment, she looked confused before understanding what I meant which caused her blush to darken a tad. "Hunter, it’s alright, really. I wanted to do that last night... Sure, it hurt a little at first but it felt so~ good after that, it was totally worth it and something you shouldn’t feel bad about." I still had a subtle expression conveying a miniscule hint of uncertainty. "I forgive you, if that makes you feel any better. But I don't think I need to say that since I don’t blame you for anything." Even though she was correct, after she said that I felt much better and the true meaning of her previous statements became clear to me.

For around half an hour, we laid there in the embrace where we enjoyed each other's company and touch as we chatted about what we wanted to do that day.

"I think we should probably start exploring south since there's still a lot in that direction we haven't discovered yet. We’ve spent a lot of our time going west anyways, I think it’s time to change it up a little."

After thinking about it, she agreed before we devised a plan for the day. "When do you want to go and do that?"

"When do you want to do that?" I repeated before an expression of thought appeared on her face.

"Hmm... I'm not sure, I kind of like laying here with you... naked."

"I really like doing that with you..." I replied before putting a hand on her side to tease her which caused the gentle blush on her face to deepen in response. "But I think, if you want to, we'll do something fun later tonight; we don't have time to waste when it comes to exploring."

She sarcastically sighed. "That sounds fine. I think it would be a good idea for me to take a small break from that stuff anyways since… it feels just a tiny bit strange down there."

I chuckled. "Yeah, you kind of have been a little needy the past couple of days..." I teased before her eyes rolled in response. "It's not like it's a bad thing, I find it quite..." I pressed my nose against hers. "attractive." Oh, how I loved making her blush.

When I hopped out of bed to get dressed, she shyly smirked. "It's definitely a lot smaller when you don't want to put it in me..."

I chuckled at her observation. “It might not stay like that if we keep stalling…”

It didn't take her much longer to get up and join me in donning a fresh set of clothes after that comment, though she lagged behind since she was silently calling for a lazy day.

During that, I brazenly watched Stacy dress herself since I no longer needed to hide the way I looked at her which minutely aroused me but I suppressed it and saved it for later.

"Uh-uh-uh, we have some discovering to do! Why wouldn't you want to do that?" I said after she tried to strike an offer involving us staying home.

After she put a shirt on, she turned around and hugged me. "Didn't I already tell you?" She giggled.

It was my turn to roll my eyes before kissing the tip of her nose, though I surprised her by picking her up like a bride which is when I started walking toward the door.

"Fine~" Stacy conceded as I left the bedroom and down the stairs. I set her down in the dining room, equipped my backpack which was ten pounds lighter since I no longer had to constantly carry everything I owned, and tossed Stacy's backpack over to her with no prior warning. She barely caught it in time before she slipped it on just as I walked past her.

"You're not gonna carry me some more?" Stacy asked, almost pouting. I looked back at her, pondering if I should humour her wishes.

"So, do you want down now?" I asked the girl that resided in my arms. What? I can't resist the adorableness of Stacy; she melts my heart just thinking of her.

"Hmm... Maybe in a few minutes!" She said with a smirk.

"But you said that an hour ago!" I pointed out with a smile.

It's not like I cared either way. Like I've said before, she was so light I could carry her for hours. As it was, I had been walking down a dirt path for nearly the entire walk, the path of which was quite uneventful.

"And~?" She replied as she placed a hand on the side of my face while her other arm stayed around my neck.

"You make a compelling argument." I replied as I lightly shook my head while keeping my gaze forward, though Stacy's devious smile made it difficult for me to do so.

Quickly changing the subject, she asked, "What was your longest kiss?" Gotta say, the question was right out of the blue.

"Hm, probably around five minutes… Why do you ask?"

"Do you want to kiss longer than five minutes?"

I looked her in the eyes and squinted. "Maybe I do, what about you?" She didn't wait any longer to kiss me.

We both kissed each other for quite a while, nearly fifteen minutes actually, up until I broke it when I discovered an abandoned town in the distance. We had been on an asphalt road for a few minutes after having forked off to an established route. The sight of the town in the distance was rather obstructed since tall trees crowding the side of the road were effective in blocking the view.

"That was very nice..." Stacy commented before my little angel pressed her forehead in the crook of my neck while sporting a bright smile.

"Yes, it was." I agreed before holding her closer. "Maybe we can do it again later. In the meantime, how many of these buildings do you want to search?"

"Hm?" With her interest piqued, she lifted her head back up and faced the direction toward the houses, the girl then glancing at a green sign that welcomed any traveler to the town. Pleasantly surprised, she asked, "We live this close to a town?"

"Appears so..." I simply replied. Curious as to what we might find within it, my pace quickened to close the distance between us and the town. "Alright, now do you want down?" I asked while looking down at the girl who eskimo kissed me immediately afterward with a giggle.

"For now, I guess." She answered. While shaking my head with a grin at her playful tone, I finally put her down which finally gave my arms a much needed break.

Side by side, we entered the town and at a leisurely pace walked down its barren streets that were littered with parked cars, abandoned long ago. "It sucks how we can't drive any of these." I commented as I draped my hand across a red SUV.

"I'm sure we can find the keys somewhere." Stacy coined the idea of, oblivious to the underlying requirement of gasoline.

"No, no, even then, all the gasoline on Earth has expired, at least the industrial stuff." I corrected as the both of us hopped onto a sidewalk that had seen better days.

"Oh... Do you think we'll ever be able to drive a car eventually?" She asked. Her question caused me to think of several ways that could ever be possible again, something that seemed far out of reach at first thought.

"There's might be a decent chance in a few years, though it depends on a lot of things, things that are unpredictable.'' I effectively hooked her attention on the subject as I shared my thoughts with her. "Before The Drop happened, electric vehicles were quickly starting to replace cars that ran on gasoline. If society had continued, the electric vehicle would've completely replaced it in four or five more years. At least, regarding new car sales that was.'' We began to stroll up on the first house nearest to you when entering the town. "If we can find an electric car, solar panels, and a charger, then we definitely could." I thought I was done with my explanation but one more thought occurred to me. "Or we can grow corn, turn that into biofuel, and use it in any of these cars; but that’s so much harder than the former.''

"How do you turn corn into fuel? That sounds really weird."

I'm not gonna bore myself with writing out the gist of dry-milling corn. By the end of my summarized explanation, we were finally on the doorstep to the first building we were gonna plunder; it wasn't gonna take long at all to skim through.

I'll cut to the chase since there wasn't that much in the house, just a few cans of food, a couple books Stacy thought would be interesting to have, and a...

"Holy shit." I said after I opened a drawer within the bed of the master bedroom.

"What is it, Hunter?' Stacy asked from within the hallway before the girl made her way into the room a few moments later.

"I found a sweet ass magnum." I replied while taking the rather heavy handgun from the drawer before quickly pocketing the six other rounds that had laid next to it. After closing the drawer, I sat on the side of the bed before opening the chamber to see how many rounds it had in it. "It’s a fifty cal, I'm pretty sure."

Stacy eyed it with curiosity. "Have you ever shot a gun before?"

"Once, and it knocked me on my ass." I chuckled, my words causing her to grin. "However, if I shot this it’d most likely fly right out of my grasp; the kick on this would be insane." I unloaded the rounds, unslung my pack, and stuffed the weapon into it. "Definitely something I’d only use for emergencies."

"What do you think an emergency would be? Like being attacked by a bear or something?"

"Heh, maybe not quite something like that since that’s a really rare encounter - and I don’t even know if a shot or two would be able to take a bear down. Instead, I’d use it for something like hearing some strange noises inside the house during the middle of the night or if we're out scavenging and we hear or see someone, stuff like that."

She slowly nodded. "Do you think we're gonna have to do that someday?"

I pondered the possibility. "It's hard to say. Knowing how little people are left, it's very unlikely." I noticed her lips take a dip, a light frown appearing for only a second after my words. I slang my bag back on and exited the room with her. But before any other conversation could be had, I surprise attacked her with a playful assault of tickling her sides.

She quickly collapsed to the floor in a fit of giggles where my fingers relentlessly tickled her into oblivion. I stopped after three or so minutes, my hands migrating to either side of her chest on the floor which supported me off the ground as I gazed down upon her.

"This seems familiar..." Stacy commented while she placed her right hand on my shoulder.

"Indeed it does." I said before kissing the tip of her nose. I gently put the back of my left hand on the respective cheek and slowly draped it over her face which caused her to smile brightly at the loving touch; her skin being slightly warmer than usual due to the blush that had appeared across it. My hand trailed southward which made the breath hitch in her throat just as it slid over her clothed chest. I kissed her to take her mind off of my hand as it continued lowering down her slim body, halting on one of her sides. She wasn't expecting me to continue tickling her there, that's for sure.

"We're in Ohio?" I asked while looking at the maps we had found in the sixth house for that scavenging trip. "Huh, I never would've guessed. Whelp Stacy, time to say goodbye to the house." After chuckling, I shifted my attention over to the second map which detailed the town we were in.

"Wait, what?" Stacy asked as she continued looking through the kitchen drawers.

I was looking at the maps on the dining room table which happened to be within the kitchen so that was pretty nifty. "We're in Ohio. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna be living in Ohio; my parents ain't raise no bitch." I jokingly replied.

She looked at me with a confused smile on her face. "Why don't you like Ohio?"

I put my hands together and pretended to take a calming breath. "C'mere, Stacy, beautiful, my love." She kept the confused smile on her face as she complied. I then put my hands on her shoulders. "Absolutely nothing, but I mean... c'mon, it's Ohio, do I really need to explain any further?."

"Pfft, you're being weird." She replied with a giggle before I let go of her. "Are we actually gonna leave our house though?"

"No, no, probably. I was just messing with you. The joke is that Ohio, when it was a thing, was the butt of the joke to a lot of things for practically no reason." I explained to the oblivious Stacy. After that, she continued searching through the kitchen and I studied the maps some more, specifically the one of the town we were in. I figured out where the commercial areas were located and where the overall residential areas were after reading it for a few minutes. I folded it up and pocketed it before I helped Stacy search the rest of the cabinets, though the search yielded nothing of value. It happens sometimes. "How many more buildings do you want to search?"

She shrugged before leaning on the bare countertop. "How much more time do you think we have?"

"We could probably spend another three hours here but we don't have to; we've already found enough food for today and it's not like anyone else is gonna be here any time soon." At least, I'd bet all of what I own on it.

"Hmm… I think we should search one more." She declared before the both of us swiftly left the house and headed towards the next one.

Nearing the end of the uneventful plunder, she stood still while looking at a wall decorated with dozens of pictures, pictures of a happy family of who presumably lived within the residence before The Drop.

Quietly, she stated, "Sometimes, I still wonder if it’s okay to just take stuff that used to belong to other people."

"I'm sure they'd understand it." I replied before making my way behind her where my arms delicately wrapped around her abdomen just as I rested my chin on her head. I joined her in looking at the pictures, a sense of loss toward a family we didn’t know subtly being shared between us. "I know if I was dead, I wouldn't care if someone took what I had - as long as they're a good person."

She thought about what I said as she timidly leaned back into me. She lightly shook her head for a second. "I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

"And that's fine, that just tells me how good of a person you are." I pointed out. She stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing and turning around to hug me.

"Do you think things will ever return to normal?"

I hugged her back though our backpacks were making it somewhat difficult. "Back to how society used to be?" I asked which got a nod from her in response while her forehead rubbed on my chest. "I think so, at least eventually, because knowing humans, we're pretty persistent on not dying... But it’ll take a very, very long time before that happens."

"I hope we get to see it..."

"I do too, Stacy." I softly replied. We stayed hugging each other for a few minutes in which a somber silence fell upon us. We didn't search that house for much longer before making our way back home with ease.

"Carry me?" Stacy asked with a hint of hope in her tone as she looked up at me when the both of us started walking back down the road from where we came from.

I patted the top of her head. "I think you can do the walk. You don't want to be getting lazy now, do you?"

She continued facing me but her pupils looked at the ground. "Well-."

"Good!" I happily cut her off which caused her to lightly puff her cheeks.

Half way back to base when the conversation lulled, I unslung my backpack and unzipped the main compartment. Successfully grabbing the attention of Stacy, she tilted her head and asked, "What'ch'ya doin' there?"

I pulled out a large bottle of hard apple cider, the girl giving it a curious glance. "Just checking up on the one thing I took from that last house."

"Where'd you get it from there? Surely I would've seen it before you did!"

"In the only drawer you couldn't reach, the one where I said I found nothing." I said with a smirk which caused her to tsk before asking what the beverage was, explaining that it was delicious and alcoholic..

"You drink alcohol?" She asked, seemingly shocked at the discovery.

"I drank a small bit every now and then when my mother allowed it, it's pretty alright. Do you want to drink some of it with me?"

The thought of her possibly being pregnant crossed my mind, but it was something I didn’t put much focus on. It was a topic that we still hadn’t had a proper conversation on and something I wanted to wait to have until it felt right to talk about it all. Additionally, even if she had gotten pregnant, her drinking so early in the pregnancy wouldn’t affect the outcome; most women who drink don’t find out they’re pregnant until several days or even weeks later.

She thought about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, sure, I don't see why not, it sounds cool. Do you want to drink it now?"

"No, not yet, I want to enjoy it together in the comfort of our house."

So that's exactly what we did when the two of us got back to the house; the walk back home being pretty unproductive coupled with a silence following us all the way back until we reached the front door.

"If you say ladies first I'm gonna.... well, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'll do something!" Stacy cutely 'threatened' with a grin she tried preventing.

"Noted. Beautiful people first it is then." I replied before opening the door for her. She gave me a conceited facial expression for a split second before stepping back to allow me entry first. "I'll carry you in if I have to-"

"Deal."

Okay, I walked right into that one, I should've seen that coming. In response, I playfully scoffed as I grabbed and slipped her backpack off her before lobbing it onto the unsuspecting couch. A moment later, I scooped her up off her feet which made her giggle before she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I carried her into the dining room and sat her down on one of the chairs to the dining table before slipping my backpack off and placing it in the middle of the table; I didn't waste any time retrieving the bottle of cider within it. I then put it in front of her before heading toward the kitchen to get a coupe of wine glasses. When walking back to the table, I saw Stacy struggling to open the bottle since she was trying to open it like a soda bottle.

I chuckled at the struggle she was needlessly putting herself in before taking a seat next to her and appropriately placing the wine glasses in front of us. "Look, you open it like this." I said before gingerly taking the bottle from her hands and putting the cap against the table. I then slammed a hand on top of it which forced the cap to come off.

"Show off." She jokingly said as I poured a small amount into her glass. "Is that all you're gonna give me?" She asked after picking the glass up and bringing it toward her face, pretending she could barely see what was within it, before I poured a decent bit into my glass.

"Well, do you know if you like it?" I asked as I set the bottle down before picking up my glass and turning to face her.

"Good point..." She said. It didn’t take much longer for my glass to clink against hers which was followed by me taking a sip of it.

It had been a while since I drank anything like it so my taste buds greatly enjoyed the sweet and slightly carbonated taste, though it was much stronger than I remembered which took me by surprise. After savouring the liquid for a few long moments, I swallowed it before looking at Stacy who sniffed the inside of her glass before finally taking a sip. Her eyes shot open in shock where she coughed a bit before managing to drink it.

"That's definitely something I haven't tasted before..." She commented before smacking her lips a couple times as she thoroughly tasted the remnants of the concoction.

"Do you like it?" I asked before quickly drinking the rest in my glass. I then picked the bottle back up to put a real amount of it in my glass.

"I definitely wouldn't complain if I had more..." She replied with a shy smile before holding her glass out toward me. I decided to give her the same amount I gave myself.

Forty five minutes later, we were starting to feel the effects of the liquor. Only moderately though;our moods were definitely elevated as we told each other stories, laughed, and even chased each other around the house for a bit while throwing pillows at each other. We were having a great time; I hadn't felt so relaxed in a casual sense in such a long time, not ever since before The Drop... It was so nice.

"I love you so, so, so, so much, Hunter..." Stacy informed me with a bright smile.

We both sat on one of the living room couches where her eyes were closed while she rested her head on my chest as I held her close.

For the sixth time that same hour, I said with a smile while looking down at her, "I love you so much too, Stacy."

She was drunk, nearly to a level that resembled being plastered which could possibly be blamed on how we drank half of the cider. I wasn't expecting her to be such a lightweight... which I kind of should've expected considering her little amount of mass. I also wasn't aware of how concentrated the cider was, so my bad.

"How are you doing?" I asked with mild concern, hoping she wasn't too far gone into being drunk. Speaking for myself, I was a little bit tipsy so I was much more capable at doing just about anything.

"I feel great." She replied, though her speech was slurred a tad. Right after that, she suddenly moved where her head looked up to make eye contact with me. Her face was pretty flushed as she licked her lips and continued what she was saying. "I know how to feel even better..."

The girl then straddled my lap where she nearly fell off the couch from how discombobulated her sudden movements made her. Because of that, my hands swiftly took a hold of her hips so she wouldn't take a dive into the ground which had the unintended side effect of making me press her down on my groin.

Her arms wrapped around my neck before she tried kissing me. "Stacy- Stacy, I don't think I'm gonna take advantage of you when you're like this." I announced as she continued trying to kiss me.

She pouted before grinding her hips on my crotch. "But I want it so bad."

"I think that might just be the alcohol talking." I replied with a giggle, something that made her pout again. I then put a hand on the side of her face where a shred of hope appeared in her dilated eyes. "I think it might be time for you to go to sleep…"

"But I w'emember you said we could have fun later tonigh'..." She pointed out with a little hiccup at the end of her statement.

The tone of her voice and the face she was giving me almost made me give in to her desires but I resisted the urge to accept her offer by stressing my original point. But before I did that, I leaned in and kissed her for a couple seconds, ending it before it got too intense. "Like I said, I'm not gonna take advantage of you when you're drunk..."

She huffed in disappointment. "Fine~" A few moments later, I picked her up off my lap and set her back down by my side. "But I don't want to go to bed yet..." I asked her why not. "I ain't tired..." She most definitely was quite tired as proven by the yawn she emitted not ten seconds later. "Can you at least kiss me...?" She asked while looking up at me with pleading eyes. I simpered and couldn’t resist compromising on making out with her for a bit. Though that didn't last too long. "I'm gonna... put my head down for just a few seconds..." She announced after breaking the kiss, the girl swiftly enacting upon her words and laying her head on my chest, scooting closer to me. I let her lay there in silence for a few minutes, simply trying to let her fall asleep in that position.

Right before I asked her if she wanted to go to sleep, I heard her lightly snore, the adorableness of it melting my heart. "I'll take that as a yes..." I quietly whispered as I played with a few strands of her long and delicate hair. I was quite tired myself so I closed my eyes while leaning into her touch, thinking I was just gonna rest my eyes for a minute since I was planning on carrying her to bed. But that didn't happen because I unknowingly slipped into a much needed sleep.

"I really need to piss." I thought as I laid there next to a sleeping beauty on the couch, vehemently not wanting to wake her up. Thus, I endured the pain in my bladder to let her further enjoy the realm of dreams. As I laid there, I intently admired her beautiful form, something that eventually caused me to quietly pout. "She's so adorable and beautiful..." Eventually, I couldn't help but place a hand on the side of her face as I continued watching her sleep.

I always found it a bit strange that I always woke up around ten to fifteen minutes earlier than her but it always gave me the time to be grateful that I had her in my life while I stared at her peaceful image. Writing it down, it sounds a bit creepy to say that I like watching her heavenly sleeping body sleep, but it's true and I can’t stop myself from doing it when it’s that easy.

"Mmm..." Stacy grunted while her eyes flickered open. But they stayed closed after she gave up in response to finding out what the first immediate symptoms are of a hangover. She could only hold me tighter as she gained an understanding of her situation. "My head hurts..."

"I told you what you would be feeling right now if you continued drinking..." I quietly replied; an adorable little pout is what I got in response. "Do you want me to go fetch you some water? It would help relieve what you're feeling right now." I said equally as quietly, not wanting her head to hurt anymore than what it already was.

She weakly nodded which was my cue to untangle myself from her before heading toward the kitchen, though I briefly went outside to fulfill what my bladder demanded. When walking back to her with a flask full of water, I saw that she was resting her head on a supportive hand and sitting properly on the couch.

"I don't want to drink alcohol again... it's so bright in here..." She said as I handed her the canteen before drinking nearly half the refreshing and life-giving liquid in just a few moments.

"Yeah, the morning after the first time drinking makes you think that but you'll probably want to try it again eventually, considering you know how much you can have now... Though you can't have much at all." I pointed out with a light chuckle before she placed the flask on the coffee table. Before I could say anything else, she hugged me from the side.

"Maybe... I did feel good at the time..." I slowly nodded as I started playing with her hair. A couple minutes rolled by before she asked, "Did I... try to, uh, have sex with you last night...?" In response, I explained what she did the night prior. She released a deep breath after I told her. "Thanks for doing that. Sorry I was like that, I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's fine, Stacy." I replied in a reassuring tone. "It's not like it bothered me any, I probably would've done it if you weren't drunk..." I saw the tips of her ears adopt a reddish tint before feeling her swallow hard. A minute later, I asked, "So I assume you don't want to go exploring today?"

She looked up to me while a subtle blush remained on her cheeks. "No, not really... my head still hurts pretty badly..."

"Then a lazy day it is." I announced before kissing the tip of her nose. I had time to see that she had a gentle smile before she once again laid her head back down on my chest.

"Can we just... hug all day?" She coined the idea of.

I put my nose in her hair as I thought of a response. "That sounds epic... I don't see why not."

A couple hours later, we were laying on the floor and facing the unlit fireplace with my arms tightly wrapped around her abdomen.

"I wonder what I would've worked as..." Stacy pondered, reviving conversation between us.

"What did you want to do when you had the chance?" I asked, rather curious to what she had to say.

"I'm not sure. Back then, I never thought that far ahead... Though I was really interested in music." She replied which piqued my interest.

"What kind of instrument were you interested in?"

"Mainly the piano and flute..."

"Maybe I can find you one of those in the future and give it to you." I said before she rolled over to face me.

"That would be really cool.” Her smile took a quick dip. “...But I wouldn't know how to play it."

"You could always make your own teachings up, as long as it sounds good, what's the problem?" I replied, making her giggle.

"True, true…” She pressed the tip of her nose against mine. “What did you want to be when society was a thing?"

Her question prompted me to sigh as I thought back to those troubling times, times in which I was always worried about the future. "I was never sure if I'm being honest. Back then, I wanted to go into something English related but lost the want to do that. And then I lost the want to do anything school related. Believe it or not, I sucked hard at school."

"What?" Stacy said, her tone rife with surprise. "How's that possible? You seem like you know so much!"

"Because I think the school system was really stupid." I replied while thinking up some of the old arguments I've made against school in the past. "It constantly taught you stuff you didn't need, didn't teach the things you actually needed to be taught, caused depression and anxiety for so many other people, and the way they graded and tested you was bullshit upon other things like that. Really, some of those 'straight A' students were some of the dumbest fuckers you could ever meet." I put my left hand on the side of her face which helped calm me down. "But to finish answering your question, I kind of wanted to be a construction leader or something involving renewable energy... Though I lacked a lot of willpower; I don't know if I would've ever achieved anything like that." I pressed my nose against hers. "But enough of thinking about that, I'd rather think about you..." I quietly said, feeling her smile before closing the distance between our lips. (Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

We kissed for a minute where once it broke, our lips stayed close as we continued looking each other in the eyes; the kiss conveying to the both of us what kind of desires had just been sparked between us. I then kissed her again for the same amount of time which is when my arousal truly picked up. After that kiss ended, I kissed her for yet another couple of minutes which is when she started to move. In response, my right hand slowly slipped under her shirt and up her side while my other hand trailed down to her outer thigh.

As she slowly got up on her knees, I leaned up with her so our kiss wouldn't break, but she intentionally broke it and kept our foreheads pressed together. With an elevated rate of breath, she quietly asked, "D-Do you want to... to do it right here?" The light blush she had previously worn visibly darkened while I fully understood the tone of hope in her voice.

"Do you want to have sex here?" I asked, utilizing the same volume in tone.

She cutely nodded. "Yes..." The confirmation fully aroused me. "Can I be like... like how I was last night when I wanted to do it...?"

Her shyness and timidness were so incredibly adorable; I couldn't help but happily smile at her, whose blush was continuing to slowly spread across her cheeks. "You mean on top of me?" She nodded again. My hand on her thigh lightly massaged it as my other arm wrapped around her abdomen. "Yes, I would like that..." I answered, kissing her yet again.

While in the kiss and after leaning up completely, I gently tugged her over to me which caused her to take a couple steps using her knees so she could straddle my thighs where she rested all of her weight on my lap, something I barely noticed.

My hand on her thigh slipped under her shirt just as my other hand did so, the both of them then working together to take it off her. I then grabbed her hips to drag her closer to me which pressed her pelvis into my groin, that act yielding a small whimper from her before my tongue invaded her unsuspecting mouth. My right hand trailed up her belly and up to her chest to start massaging her breasts like I usually do; the massaging and kissing persisted for about five minutes before I finally decided to move on from that by gently pushing her away and breaking the kiss which ceased the massaging of her breasts.

I then placed my right hand on the button of her jeans which briefly lingered there, teasing her just a small bit, before unbuttoning them which caused her to take a deep breath. "I'll take them off for you..." She then scooted back and stood up, her beautiful figure shyly unzipping her pants, a sight I intently watched. Though I stood up with her when she started pushing them down and couldn’t stop my hands from replacing hers on her hips so I could pull them under her hips. It only took another moment for the fabric to lose its grip on her body and become limp before falling to the floor. She kicked them off which only left her blue panties keeping me from the something I so desperately wanted to see.

But before I could take them off for her, her arms went under my shirt, the girl trying to take it off me. But because I was nearly a foot and a half taller than her, she wasn't able to do it. I chuckled as I looked down at her before taking it off, something that made her blushed face once again scan what was unveiled. After she had an eyeful, she looked down toward my groin. But before she could do anything else, I put my hands on her hips where my fingers inserted themselves into her panties where I then slowly dragged them under her hips so they could fall just like her pants did. She breathed heavily as I did so, my forehead being placed on hers as I kissed her addictive, soft, and plush lips. Once her panties repeated the same fate her pants did, Stacy stepped out of them. She broke the kiss and took a step toward me as her hands reached out to start to undo my jeans.

I gingerly put my left hand under her chin to point her head up for her to meet my gaze, my nose then pressing against hers which caused her hands to stop their advance on my jeans as my other hand went on her hip. The hand on her hip trailed below her belly button and delved lower and onto her clit, something my fingers immediately started to slowly rub, my fingers swiftly feeling Stacy's nearly excessive lubricant secreting out of her swollen slit. "Taking it slow is the best way to enjoy this, there's no need to go fast..." I whispered seductively where her little and adorable grunts began as I continued stimulating her clit. She barely heard me through the sheer amount of primal urge but nodded and understood what I said.

My hand on her chin went around the back of her head before I kissed her again just as the space between our bodies closed even more while I continued rubbing her to get her wetter for the action to come, her moans being slightly stifled by the kiss, a sound I started growing addicted to. A couple minutes later, she broke the kiss, hugged me, rested against me, and relaxed into the fingers that were rubbing her clit, the girl tightly closing her eyes and subtly nuzzling me as I pleased her, the girl continuing to cutely and quietly grunt every now and then.

After another five minutes of this, I ceased the steady stimulation before I grabbed her hips and picked her up, something that caused her to instinctively wrap her arms around my neck, where I tried pressing her pussy right under my belly button. "Wrap your legs around me..." I advised in a hushed tone, something she complied to without another word, the blushed girl lost in my eyes. Her slit was so warm pressed against my skin, the thought of her secreting her juices onto me driving me wild, the need to mate with her quickly becoming the only thing in my mind that I desired.

My left arm took all her weight as my other arm went down to the button of my jeans so I could undo them and take my remaining clothes off where my penis contacted her perineum and a little beyond that. When my pants fell all the way around my ankles, I kicked them off just as Stacy did.

She looked down, the girl trying to see my intrigued cock but I interrupted her search by walking over to one of the couches and sitting down with her on my lap. She quickly repositioned herself so her legs could straddle my thighs which made her stand on her knees which caused my penis to lay on my abdomen.

I grabbed her hips as she looked down at it while my eyes observed and scanned the just as immeasurably sexy girl I mated a couple days prior. She was red in the face, her breathing decently elevated, eyes dilated, the girl completely comfortable with showing and giving her everything to me, and her tightness was desperately asking for my cock's attention and touch.

She did that adorable thing where her fists went under her chin, though I wasn't able to admire her for long when I saw her swallow hard and ask, "I-Is it going to hurt l-like last time?"

"Probably not, but it might... Again I remind you, you don't need to do this." I answered in a loving tone.

She took a deep breath then shook her head. "I want this... I've d-done it before and it was worth it..." With that being said, I gently pulled Stacy down where her slit contacted my dick, all of her weight causing the shaft to be surrounded by her labia, causing the both of us to grunt in pleasure. Because it was inside her the way it was, I didn't actually truly penetrate her but that wasn't a problem, I always wanted to try intercrural sex if only for a bit.

Before I got lost in the pleasant feeling, my right hand went back down to rubbing her slimy love-button which caused her to look down and close her eyes where the girl once again deeply relaxed into the sensation of my touch. My other hand went back on the side of her face making her smile. I leaned up so I could continue kissing her again, though at that moment my testicles ached in anticipation.

A couple minutes passed of me doing these two actions where her moans picked up as she started to lightly grind on me, her vaginal lips timidly rubbing me which made me quietly moan in pleasure.

Stacy broke the kiss to express to me how she was feeling. "S-So- fucking good." Her grinding picked up a tad as I watched her facial expression for a minute, though she looked down at our genitals. It took another couple of steamy minutes of this where I then felt and saw Stacy cum on my shaft. "F-Fucking- mmmhm~!" The liquids thoroughly lubricated me as I felt the small amount of succulent juice drip down my inner thighs.

I took a deep breath as my hands returned to her hips, and after she consolidated her focus, I announced, "I'm gonna put it in you now, okay?"

She nodded with a shy smile before my hands slid her forward, the girl sliding up my cock, where my left hand was then able to direct it inside her lower lips. I successfully lodged my glans inside her tight entrance after a dozen seconds of a subtle struggle before my hands returned back to her hips to lift her up. She grunted as I held her at a bit of an awkward angle, the staying suspended above me by a bit, the tip of my penis delving deeper into her as I slowly lowered her down.

She swallowed hard before her legs abruptly moved as she placed her feet on either side of my thighs which caused her to be in somewhat of a squat position. "I-Is this better?" She asked with a smile, the girl being interrupted by a moan as the first inch of my dick sank into her, her hands placing themselves on my forearms.

"Yes... you look so sexy..." I replied, a sudden subtle grimace appearing on Stacy's face as I continued lowering her, though I ceased doing so when I saw the grimace, concerned for her well-being. "Am I hurting you?"

"A t-tiny bit... but I can keep going." She replied before lowering herself on her own and letting gravity pull her down on my shaft. She looked down at our connecting genitalia to watch my phallus slowly delve further into her tight and slick depths. She was as tight as she was previously but she seemed to not be in pain- or at least, not even close as to how much pain she was in our first time.

"Just remember to tell me to stop anything that might make you uncomfortable..." I reminded, where I got a shy smile and a nod in response.

The following minute saw my shaft delve half way into her, spreading and stretching her not-so-anymore-innocent vagina open, Stacy stopping her descent down for thirty seconds to get used to my presence again before continuing to lower herself. "I-It's so g-good..." She couldn't help but moan which made my penis twitch inside her, her slippery cunt engulfing more than three quarters of it.

Her hands on my forearms trailed up them, her hands then residing on top of my hands that were holding her hips. She looked me in the eyes as she put her fingers in between my hands on her sides which ultimately led to the two of us holding hands as she finished her descent, the tip of my penis contacting her womb. Her knees were then planted on either side of my thighs as I felt a few subtle shifts within Stacy, her vaginal and abdominal muscles acclimating to my entry. She shifted in my lap, lightly grinding, quiet moans escaping her lips as she fought to maintain eye contact.

The both of us heavily breathed as we looked deeply within each other's irises, the both of us leaning forward shortly afterward to kiss for a couple of solid minutes as I enjoyed the feeling of being inside Stacy, the girl becoming fully ready for me to pound her little slit...

When we broke the kiss I looked down to where we connected once more, the sight of her pussy stretching around my girth being one that thoroughly mesmerized me. My right hand broke free from her grasp so I could place it on her chest to massage one of her breasts for a couple of minutes before draping it downward, my thumb pressing onto her clit, a slow rub shortly beginning afterward. This caused Stacy to do her signature actions of looking down and closing her eyes, her hips slowly grinding on my phallus, our foreheads pressing against each other's.

"I want to cum deep inside her again..." I thought as I got lost in a lustful train of thought as I admired every little aspect about Stacy. The slow grinding and rubbing continued for several minutes, at least ten rife with gentle moans from the both of us, as I peppered many kisses across her face which maintained the amazing smile on her lips. The silence between us was so peaceful, the both of us doing nothing but focusing on and intensely leaning into what our erogenous zones were feeling, the amount of gratefulness we shared between us being infinite in scale. Eventually, I asked, "Can I... can I fuck you?"

She shakily took a deep breath. "Y-Yes, please-."

That's all I needed to hear before my hands trailed to her hips again and stood up which caused her arms to tightly wrap around my neck again just as her legs strongly wrapped around my pelvis. The both of us looked deeply into each other's eyes. She was relatively light and the embrace she had on me put a lot of her weight onto my legs so my abs and arms were having a pretty good time holding her during this. "I'm going to start slow... and by the end of it, I'm going to be fucking you so very hard in a few minutes, is that okay?" I told her as I slowly slid my shaft out, desperately trying not to already fuck her silly, trying my best to resist the feral urge to have already been doing so.

She desperately nodded after gulping. "Yes, yes- please fuck me, Hunter, fuck me really hard-."

After hearing her begs, I didn't delay anything any longer. With the help of my hands on her hips, I cut her off with a sudden and hard thrust, my penis railing her all the way back to her cervix causing a grunt to escape from her lips. Her strong natural scent filled my nose as I finally started thrusting, though slowly. She then put her hands on both sides of my face to kiss me as my thrusting slowly sped up. The kiss only lasted a couple minutes however since she broke it when my penis rubbed against her sensitive insides at a quickened pace, the amazing girl then subtly throwing her head back to essentially sing her beautiful moans as her arms went back around my neck.

"You're so beautiful..." I said with a tone saturated and dripping with lust, her moans and facial expression only telling me to speed my thrusts up. Seizing the opportunity, I kissed her exposed neck a couple of times, the desire too strong to ignore. After my humping reached a top speed, a quiet but audible wet smack started emitting from her dripping pussy, the sound making Stacy look down to where I was pounding her though she had difficulty doing that while trying to coherently do anything through the overload of pleasure she was feeling.

"F-F-Fuck- it's s-so good-!" She moaned and pouted at the same time as she continued watching me fuck her, her arms tightening around my neck as her legs squeezed around me, Stacy's pussy discharging another round of her delectable and warm lady-fluid.

I'll comment now, fucking her like that was actually getting somewhat difficult. My abs were pretty lackluster so it was quite the workout for me, but the instinct to mate and make her mine overruled any other thought of discomfort in that situation.

She put her head under my chin and heavily breathed as she tried hugging me tighter, my climax finally starting to rear its head after another couple of minutes of relentlessly using Stacy's inviting and starving love tunnel. "I-I'm gonna cum inside you..." I announced through suppressed grunts and moans, the instinctive need to do so blocking any thought of rationality yet again.

"Yes- please- I-I want to feel it inside m-me!" She begged, nearly yelling, the top of her head being pushed into my neck.

A few seconds later, it all finally became too much for me to handle so without thinking too much more about it and allowing nothing but the feeling of her pussy overcome me, I finally blew my load inside her and once again shot a generous amount of my jizz into her accepting womb. Stacy moan-pouted as I thrusted each time a wave of what she craved entered her pussy, my own grunts escaping my mouth as each shot caused me to reel in the divinity of orgasming for just a few moments. My cock continued to twitch inside her as I quickly calmed down from the act of pleasantly unloading my seed into something so amazing once more. It wasn't as divine as the first orgasm, I'm not sure if there's gonna be any beating that, but it was still absolutely phenomenal. I only shot five wads into her that time, probably because that first time I had as much as I could save stored up, I'm not sure.

I took a much needed deep breath before slowly releasing it a few moments after my climax ceased. One of my arms then went around her torso so I could hug her completely. After sniffing her hair for a few more seconds, I took a couple steps back and sat down on the couch with Stacy remaining on my lap, her legs replicating where they used to be before I fucked her whilst standing up, her knees staying straddled on my thighs. We looked each other in the eyes as my phallus became flaccid within her once again, a decent bit of my spunk already dripping out of her and onto me. It was just a bit gross but it's whatever.

"It feels s-so amazing inside me..." Stacy commented, the pacing of her breathing still pretty elevated. "It's so warm..." She looked in between her legs, seeing that my dick was still ported inside of her. "When are you gonna take it out...?"

"In a minute..." I replied before kissing her yet again for a decent amount of time where I then wrapped my arms around her. We rested our foreheads together and deeply looked each other in the eyes after the kiss where we basked in the afterglow of being tremendously fulfilled. "You're a little bit sweaty..." I pointed out.

"That was so good..." She simply replied.

I chuckled at how she only described it with the word 'good', it was pretty cute how she was too overwhelmed to say anything else to explain it. I leaned back from her and quietly sighed when I looked down at where we connected since I knew there'd be a slimy mess when I pulled out of her heavenly heat. At least, a bigger mess, because as my phallus shrunk, more and more semen leaked out of her. So I did the only thing I could think of. Which was to use a foot to scoop up my shirt off the floor to then use it to clean the mess up.

"Clothes wash." I stated with a chuckle. After Stacy and I agreed to separate from each other, a miniature cascade of our fluids leaked out of her and onto my abdomen. It took a few minutes to clean up and by the end of it, my shirt was pretty saturated with our orgasmic fluids. "I'm just gonna set this outside..." I announced to Stacy who laid on the couch who patiently waited for me to be done. She giggled as I walked to the door where I quickly tossed the shirt somewhere on the front porch before walking back to her. I sat down and hugged her from the side, the girl quickly hugging back, her face smiling brightly, the girl once again resting her head on my chest.

"This is so nice..." She said with a delighted sigh after a silence fell upon us.

I only hugged her in agreement before laying down and tightly spooning her shortly afterward where I then put my nose in the crook of her neck. "Is the alcohol still causing you any pain?"

"I still have a headache... it's not too bad, but other than that, no."

After I received the answer, I held her tighter and deeply relaxed into the comfort of holding her, the act being one of the most enjoyable things in my life.

It makes me so grateful to have found her, I was so happy with her every second, primarily because my chest was filled with an angelic warmth every time I remembered that I have her... I had no clue how much comfort she was going to bring me through the difficult and stressful times that were growing closer every day...

(Sex scene over)

Chapter 8: Tranquility

Chapter Text

An hour later, I couldn't stop myself from getting a little anxious as I thought about what I've done with Stacy.

"What if I impregnated her...?" I thought as I looked down at the girl who was elegantly sleeping in my arms with a little happy smile on her lips; she had fallen back asleep shortly after we got comfortable laying on the couch.

Even though the display was quite calming, I worried. "What if she is...? Would we be able to support it?" I continued pondering the endless possibilities. "Well, these days we would just have to feed and dress a baby..." That thought reminded me of how hard it was raising a child back when society was a thing was. I mean, giving birth in a hospital would have cost you over ten grand alone which was absurd - though what else would you have expected from America?

I sighed, closed my eyes, and put my chin on her head. "You've only got yourself to blame here, Hunter, you're the one that decides to blow his load inside her like an idiot..."

"This is something I've gotta talk to her about..." I quietly muttered to myself before ceasing most of the thoughts swirling around my mind and amplifying the remaining thoughts that I left, of which were all relating to the comforts of intimately holding Stacy.

Then... something happened in my mind. It felt like my vision had zoomed out for a split second but since my eyes were closed, I didn't know for sure. Nothing would've prepared me for the sight I saw when I opened my eyes just a moment later. Well, it wasn't particularly a sight since I was in a void of some type, and I mean that literally since darkness stretched as far as I could see.

I shifted my eyes and tried looking for anything around me before coming to the swift conclusion that there was just... nothing. Nothing at all.

"Uh..." I speechlessly said with confused fear as I tried to come up with an explanation of what was going on. "I must've fallen asleep..." I coined the idea of just before clapping my hands to test my senses. "This is definitely the most realistic dream I've had..." I commented after I clapped, the clap feeling as if I wasn't dreaming due to how realistic it felt.

All of a sudden, the color of the void slowly started shifting to a light blue, the sound of an abrupt shuffle coming from behind me. Curious as to what it was, I turned around to see the dim silhouette of... someone sitting on a chair facing away from me.

I stood up and took a cautious step toward the unknown figure but their right hand lifted up in a way that told me to cease moving forward. I stopped my advance but before I could say anything, it spoke.

"This conversation won't last long, Hunter, and you'll barely remember it. What I'm going to tell you will eventually feel like déjà vu, but slightly different." It said with a feminine tone. "You'll find our conversation in your journal a little down the line, on a page that will manifest itself when it is deemed safe enough to put it there, for reasons I won't delve into. You'll think of it as something you wrote when drunk, writing the page off as strange but ultimately meaningless for a period of time." I raised my eyebrow at her words. "I sense your curiosity but I will keep this vague, only to tell you what I've put you here for."

"You put me here?" Deciding to play along with the dream.

She ignored my question and continued her spiel. “In the labyrinth of winding roads, where asphalt veins weave tales of forgotten lives, wander through the remnants of a once-thriving population center. Let your heart guide you to the spot that beckons, a place irresistible, a siren's call, a magnetic pull that draws you in, urging you to explore the secrets it conceals.” The bluish void started to fade as my senses began losing their grip on rationality as the figure started to dissipate. "Dwell there, lose yourself in its embrace, and extend the hand of reason to those whom you’ll encounter."

"Them? Who's them?" I asked just as the figure vanished before my legs gave out as they became too tired to support my body.

"We'll talk again eventually, Hunter. Until then, think about what you truly desire..." The voice whispered right next to my ear.

My eyelids grew unbearably heavy, weighed down by exhaustion - I surrendered within seconds, closing my eyes before instinctively attempting to drift into sleep. Despite my efforts to respond to the voice, my body was overwhelmed by weakness and weariness, rendering me unable to speak. I then sensed a subtle click in my head, as if something had been implanted within it. But I didn’t fully comprehend it since unconsciousness quickly claimed me, leaving me too exhausted to think or move, my entire being completely incapacitated.

"Hunter?" Stacy's voice cut through the haze, successfully pulling me out from my dreamless slumber. It took a few moments for my surroundings to properly register before I tightened an embrace around Stacy which elicited a soft giggle from her. "What were you dreaming about?"

"...I was dreaming?" I questioned, attempting but failing to recall anything that might qualify as a dream.

She nodded. "It definitely sounded like it. You were humming kind of, it sounded like you were gonna talk in your sleep or something like that. I would've let you sleep a little longer, but it seemed like a nightmare."

"Huh." I replied as most dreariness swiftly left my mind. "I don't think I had a dream." I pointed out before I smirked. "Though I know I've had one come true..." She lightly blushed as a smile appeared on her lips before we pressed noses together. A couple seconds later, we kissed for a few seconds because why not? Kissing's extremely nice. "When did you wake up?" I asked after the small show of affection ended.

She gave me a perplexed expression. "This morning?"

"Weren't you sleeping before I dozed off?" She kept an eyebrow raised before gently shaking her head. Then it was my turn to adopt the confused facial expression. "Huh... I swear I held you for a bit as you slept before I fell asleep..."

She touched the tip of my nose with her index finger. "Maybe that's what you dreamt of because you definitely fell asleep like a minute after we laid down."

I thought about what she said for a good long minute. "...I mean it's possible, but... I don't know, it's a little strange." She shrugged before the both of us moved on from it, though I did store it in the back of my mind to ponder about later. "So when do you want to get up?"

"...In a few."

Nearly an hour later of chatting, laughing, and teasing each other later, the conversation took a turn toward a pressing matter.

"When do you want to get dressed?" I asked, prompted by having felt her lightly shiver every now and then.

"Soon... It's just so nice laying down together like this." She replied which I nodded in agreement to. She sighed shortly afterward before looking away from my gaze. I noticed the subtle tone of... well, I wasn't sure what it was but I asked her if she was alright. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... I've just been thinking about..." A light blush appeared on her face before she looked back at me. "...how you cum in me."

I looked deeply into her eyes and delicately placed a hand on the side of her face. "I've been wanting to talk to you about that since it’s an important subject we should’ve discussed after our first time having sex. It's something that might've been a mistake, perhaps a dangerous mistake..."

"Because that's how people get pregnant?" She asked, the girl getting a timid nod confirming her statement. She looked away for a few seconds once more and eventually looked back in my eyes yet again, the girl wearing somewhat of an unreadable expression. "Well... I don't know if I'm able to get pregnant anyways."

I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

She sighed again, her arms encircling my neck in a tight embrace. "I remember..." Another sigh escaped her lips, indicating her struggle to find the right words. "My mother always said terrible things to me, bad words about how I shouldn't have been born, calling me a c-curse disguised as a blessing... There was something about her being... I can't remember the word, but it meant she was never meant to have children."

"Infertility...?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think that was it." She replied as her hug loosened before making eye contact with me again.

The revelation stirred a whirlwind of emotions within me. Conflicting feelings and thoughts tumbled through my mind in a matter of moments - sadness, curiosity, and a cascade of uncertain possibilities. "So that means... you might be infertile? Or have an incredibly rare chance of getting pregnant... maybe..." I uttered, my tone tinged with an odd mixture of concern and contemplation.

"Is something wrong with me...?" She asked in a hushed tone, a slight evident in her voice.

"No, no, Stacy, nothing's wrong with you," I replied in a reassuring tone, my arm around her tightening in a comforting gesture. My hand gently caressed her face before trailing upward to play with her hair. "You're perfect just the way you are..." After a minute of this soothing touch, I began to sit up. Stacy followed suit, and we settled more comfortably on the couch. "It just makes me think about a lot of things," I finally added after our movements had ceased, my thoughts still swirling with the weight of the revelation.

"What does it make you think about?" she asked, her tone recovering as she looked up at me.

"It makes me think about... if I ever want children," I answered, my words laced with deep thought as I gently rubbed my nose against hers which yielded a grin from her. Despite the initial shock, I continued to mull over the news she had shared, slowly digesting the information and thinking up what we should do. There was always the chance that she might actually be fertile, but finding out the definitive answer seemed nearly impossible unless the obvious happened.

"Would you... would you want to have a baby with me...?" She asked after a few seconds of silence, her innocent gaze full of a subtle wonder.

I was entirely unprepared for that question which caused my fingers twirling her hair to gradually come to a halt. "I..." I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts. "...think it's too early to decide on something like that," I finally concluded. "We probably should've talked about this all before the first time we had sex... oh well, can’t change the past."

"Yeah, you're right... Though what if I did get... pregnant?" She had said the word like it was a word that might get her into some type of trouble.

I then took a deep breath and thought about the possibilities, knowing we had to have this conversation just in case. "Well, it would make life much more interesting, that's for sure." Her facial expression told me she wanted to hear more than that. "If you would want to keep it, then we would, but I'd be worried." At the raise of one of her eyebrows, I explained. "The thing I'd be most worried about is delivering the baby. I know the gist of how to do it since I studied that whole process before but so many things could go wrong during that - even while the baby forms within you things could go wrong..."

She smirked a tad as she commented. "Of course you'd know how to do that..." Her smirk dropped just as fast as it emerged. "How could things go wrong?"

"That's a complicated question..." I trailed off while thinking of the most possible complications that could arise. "There's a whole bunch of developmental catastrophes a baby could go through while in utero, stuff that could make it deformed, have a terrible life, or not even have a life after being born. And before hospitals and modern medicine, a mother dying while giving childbirth was a common risk that women had to face..." She looked at me with sadness in her eyes, picking up on the worry written all over my face. Unaware that my emotions had surfaced before I noticed her reaction, I continued to speak, my voice laced with fear and apprehension. "If that were to happen to you... I-I'd lose myself..." I hugged her tightly and put my nose in the crook of her neck. "I can't even bear the thought of losing you..."

"That won't happen..." She softly replied as she hugged me back, the sweethearted girl trying her best to lift my mood up. Our discussion on the topic came to a halt after that, although I realized I probably should've asked more questions and explained some more things. Especially drafting up a preemptive plan just in case I had impregnated her - but our worry trumped that thought for the time being..

The remainder of that day was rather uneventful, filled with moments of us affectionately expressing our love for each other. In fact, the next few days followed a similar pattern of warmth and intimacy between us.

"So, I think we should check out these houses in this area," I said, trailing in behind Stacy as we reentered our home. I pointed at a section on the map, a fresh residential zone, a decent distance away from the area we had been looting. "It's a bit further out, but exploring a new area might be exciting," I added, lowering the large map so Stacy could see the location I was suggesting. "What do you think?"

She shrugged, casually slipping off her backpack, which contained a fair amount of the materials we had scavenged that day. "Whatever you think is good," she replied nonchalantly.

I fell into a brief silence before folding the map back up, walking alongside her into the dining room. "How come you always go along with what I say?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, you always seem to know what to do and where to go, so I don't think I need to say anything about what you wanna do." She replied as we both plopped our bags on the empty dining room table before she quickly got to work on unloading the miscellaneous objects within it. "And I trust whatever you say we should do." She added on with a content smile. When she walked away to put a couple boxes of pasta in one of the kitchen drawers, I took the map of the town back out and properly laid it out; I had an idea for Stacy. "It's getting so cold." She said while wrapping her arms around herself as she returned to stand next to me.

I hugged her tightly, prompting her to rest her head on my chest. Her arms slipped into my open sweatshirt, returning the embrace. "Yeah, it is getting pretty chilly. We had a really warm autumn... I think it's well into November now, so the cold's catching up to us, making up for lost time.” At another one of her shivers, I said, “I'll go fetch us some more wood so we can have a fire tonight, how does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect, a cozy fire sounds wonderful right now - do you want me to help?" She asked as she rubbed her head on my chest.

"Sure, if you want to. In the meantime, how about you choose where we go next?" I suggested, nodding toward the map, implying her to look down at it.

"Hmm... why do you want me to choose?" she asked, her eyes scanning the map.

"I just want you to make more decisions. I don't want to control everything we do; it just feels a bit off to me. It's hard to explain," I replied, my voice carrying a hint of uncertainty, followed by a nervous chuckle.

"Hmm..." She hummed, taking a step away from me to get a closer look at the map. "What's this area?" she asked, pointing to a spot somewhat close to the zone we had been scavenging. I quickly answered her question, but my response didn't seem to pique her interest, so she continued scanning the map. "What about this area?" she proposed after a minute of thoughtful silence. Her finger had landed upon a large commercial zone, filled with what I assumed were shops and perhaps a mall, where the heart of American capitalism had once thrived.

"Yeah, we could definitely do that," I agreed, my eyes scanning the area she pointed to on the map. "That's actually something I've been putting off. There's a plethora of things we could find there; it should be fun."

"Then I can't wait to go there!" She replied, her eyes lighting up with excitement before she hugged me once again. Though a shiver ran through her, prompting her to change the subject. "...But I'd rather be next to a fire for now."

It took nearly two hours to chop down another tree, cutting it into segments, and then splitting the logs into pieces suitable for the fireplace. By the time we finished the chore, I was sweaty and tired. The sun had almost completely set, the night's darkness swiftly overtaking the fading sky.

After returning the chopping equipment to its proper place in the shed, I joined Stacy in carrying a substantial load of firewood into the living room. We left some of the wood outside since we heard the rumble of thunder just as the wind started picking up quite substantially. It didn't take long for near-freezing rain to start sprinkling down on us which was our cue to make a dash for the indoors, seeking shelter from the wet onslaught.

"This is probably the last rain we're gonna get for the year until spring comes back around," I commented as Stacy and I placed the firewood we were carrying onto a pile of neatly stacked pieces of lumber situated a good distance away from the fireplace on the left.

"I like the rain. At least, when I’m inside. Listening to it is very calming... Snow's beautiful but... y'know, it's cold."

"I agree, though it's not as beautiful as you..." I commented when my gaze met hers, something that made her blush and smile. She hugged me right after that which caused my arms to wrap around her neck and pull her close to me just as the sound of rain hitting the roof and windows greatly strengthened.

"...Your smell is strong." Her comment caught me off guard for a moment before I realized what she meant.

"Is it bad...?"

"No, it's not. I actually like it a lot..." She replied as she cutely looked up at me.

"I'm gonna go make a fire..." I announced a few moments later where my hand gently caressed the side of her smiling face as I leaned down to briefly kiss her just before enacting upon my words.After arranging the firewood properly, Stacy decided to start lighting it for me, my little lady feeling the need to do so.

As she fanned the flames, helping the fire spread to some more flammable materials, I retrieved the flint and steel and put it on the coffee table. After turning around, I couldn't help myself but watch her rump subtly wiggle as she did so - getting slightly aroused at the pleasant sight. I quietly walked up behind her as she continued stoking the fire before she sat on her knees when the fire no longer needed her help where she stayed focused on watching it slowly spread. She scooted back by a meter or so which prompted me to take a couple steps back and get on my knees. This caused Stacy to take a curious look behind her.

I kissed her when she saw me where my arms wrapped around her belly a few seconds later as our kiss quickly intensified. I pressed my groin against her back as my hug tightened, though she abruptly pulled away from the kiss. She had a slight expression of being unsure which instantly caused me to purge my strengthening lustful desires.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" I asked with a very concerned tone, afraid that I had made her feel uncomfortable or pressured.

"No, no... it's just... I'm not really in the mood for doing it, y'know?" She hesitantly explained, her blush slowly losing its grip on her face.

The lustful part of my mind was slightly disappointed at her explanation but the rational part fully understood her and respected her wishes. "Right, sorry for doing that." I apologized, my arms around her belly wrapping around her neck instead.

"It's fine, Hunter..." She assured me before putting a hand on one of my arms. "I'm glad you find me, y’know, pretty enough to want to do that to me in the first place."

I put my nose in her hair and took a deep breath through my nose as I processed what she said. "I mean, you are extremely gorgeous in many ways; there's no way I couldn't find you attractive..." I replied which made her blush harder and smile stronger, a face I couldn't resist kissing once more. When kissing her, I had a really difficult time trying to cull the desire to rail her. "I'm gonna go get us a blanket or two."

While fulfilling that task, I attempted to control my desires, only partially succeeding. Upon returning to Stacy's side, I threw a blanket over her, the girl now sitting with her legs crossed, trying to bask in the fire's heat in a more comfortable position. "Thank you," she softly praised as I settled down next to her. Together, we bundled up, seeking to preserve more warmth as the night grew colder around us.

A couple minutes of silence passed as a thought steadily plagued my mind, something that resembled a type of regret. "...I'm sorry for being so sexual." I randomly announced, looking away from the girl that leaned on my chest.

"What?" She gently replied as she looked up at my averted gaze.

"I feel like I want to... to touch you and fuck you too often." I admitted which took a decent amount of pressure off my mind. The statement was true since I had been thinking of doing those acts more often to the point of having to repress them quite a bit due to those thoughts being a little more numerous than they probably should be.

"Hunter, it's okay, really..." She replied as her arms around me tightened a tad. "Is it because we haven't done it in a few days...?"

Well, that was true; Stacy and I had only had sex three times up to that point, the last time being around three days before then. The desire to release what I had stored for her became exponentially greater every day that I don’t get to be within her. I looked down at her and admitted, "Yeah, that's probably it... Typically, I would want sex every two days if I could."

"That's..." She blushed while processing the information. "Should I want it every two days...?"

"Nope, it's all up to you how often you want to do it." I swiftly replied, trying to squash any feeling she might be thinking of that’d make her feel that she needed to change for my desires. I seriously did not want to make her do things she wouldn't necessarily like; that’s a great evil in my eyes.

"Hm..." She hummed, slipping into a quiet thought process. Her contemplation was interrupted by a moderately loud rumble of thunder which caused her to jump slightly. She hugged me a bit tighter, seeking comfort in the midst of the sudden noise.

"Are you afraid of thunder?" I asked with a hint of concern, lowering my chin onto her head to offer reassurance.

"Just the loud ones," she replied with an anxious giggle before a silence settled between us. "It also makes me remember... what it was like being all alone," she eventually added.

"Why's that?" I softly asked.

“Back then, a storm would be so scary because of how rainy and windy they get; the thunder just made it so much worse because of how loud it can be and how it sometimes shakes everything. That was always so, so scary…" She quietly explained. "I had no one to make me feel... safe through it. I hate that feeling..."

Her voice broke right at the end which caused my heart to ache for her. I steadily rocked her in my arms as one of my hands slowly brushed through her hair while I embraced her tighter. "I'm here, Stacy, and always will be..." I quietly cooed, trying to make her feel safe and loved.

She calmly sighed while resting into my embrace. "Do you promise...?"

Without a second thought, I said, "Yes, Stacy, I promise. I promise that I'll always be here for you, that I'll never hurt you, that I'll always love you, and protect you as best as I can... forever." The air around us felt much warmer after that exchange, my chest finally feeling whole as the two of us listened to the storm in our calming embrace. The thunder persisted a couple of hours, each rumble shaking her to her core, but I continued comforting her, my patience unwavering; the girl clearly having a deep mental scar which was something I felt the responsibility to help her heal from.

Stacy shivered as a light breeze passed us by, the morning sun only having had an hour to warm the day up with the little that it could; winter was finally rearing its ugly head. "Are you alright, Stace?" The shortened name call naturally rolled off my tongue, I didn't even realize what I was gonna say until after the fact.

The girl walking next to me looked toward me and squinted her eyes a tad as a playful smile formed on her lips. "Just a bit cold, Hunt." She replied with a cute little giggle causing me to jokingly roll my eyes.

"Yeah, it is getting pretty cold..." I commented as I glanced at our surroundings. The rain from the storm the night before had frozen, the temperature finally dropping below the freezing point, the rather delayed winter finally arriving. It was safe to assume that the coming couple of months weren't gonna be that much fun, an easy call I was able to make since I’ve lived through a couple of winters on my own already. "Do you not like me calling you Stace?"

"It's a cool nickname, wouldn't you agree, Hunt?" She jokingly glared at me, trying to give me an attitude. The rest of the walk to the town had no more conversation, it was just the two of us making silly faces at each other until she made the mistake of sticking her tongue out at me. She realized her mistake too late though since my fingers darted toward the slippery appendage where I then laughed a bit at her struggle.

I wasn't able to hold it for long since the slipperiness of it made it impossible to have a good grip on it. Anyways, I was gonna let go after a few seconds because, "Alright, we're here." I announced as we continued our stroll into the abandoned community, guided by the map to the town that I had memorized to near perfection.

"I need to learn my lesson..." Stacy said to herself, changing the subject right after. "Okay... which way do we go exactly?"

I lightly chuckled. "It's a bit up ahead. We go straight for a couple dozen blocks before we take a left."

"Let's get to it then." She replied before our pace steadily increased. It took a little while for any conversation to pick back up but when it did, she pondered a topic that I've also thought about a few times prior. "How come we don't live here?"

"I mean, we could, it's just that the house we're in has all our stuff and our food. Moving that hoard over would take ages, y'know?" I explained my thought process, the girl then slowly nodding as she picked up what I was laying down. "Plus, I personally like living in the woods. There's a type of comfort in it that I can't quite explain. I was gonna say because it's far away from people... but that's always the case anywhere we go."

"Yeah, that makes sense... Do you think we'll ever live in a town?"

I thought about the question for a few moments, just imagining the two of us in a little village living together... I really, really wanted something like that. And to admit to something like that feels rather strange when I think about it. My mind's also been thinking quite a lot about something like that recently, at times being difficult not to think about when not focused on something else. "Y'know, Stacy, I hope so... I think it would be really nice."

"Well, then I hope so too!" She agreed which ended that little discussion.

Though I continued thinking about it as the two of us trudged forward. "...I really want to... build something, to do something with my life that will cause... I don't know, a bastion of hope in this barren world perhaps?" I suppressed a snicker at myself, thinking it to be impossible because what a behemoth of a task that would be.

Stacy's hand suddenly reached out for mine which pulled me out of the thought process just before I lost myself within it, something I often did these days. I was a little surprised at first but then I held her warm hand back, something we kind of rarely did, only when I was doing something a little more... intimate to her did I hold her hands. Perhaps we should do the little act of affection more often, I wasn't sure...

"Your hands are always so cold." She plainly commented as I directed her down a turn, veering off onto a sidewalk that ran alongside the main highway of the town which once served as the main artery of the town that gave it life back when society thrived.

"Or your hands are always warm." I proposed the idea of.

"Malarkey!"

"I should've never taught you that word..." I jokingly scolded myself with a grin before hearing her cute giggles fill the air shortly afterward.

"Do you have anything in here that's not like, y'know, expired?" The little customer asked as she looked at one of the gas station's shelves, the merchandise stocked upon it being either decayed or too old for consumption.

"Unfortunately, no. I apologize about that ma'am. Come back about two years ago, maybe then we'll have something you'll be interested in." I respectfully answered before the girl scoffed and snatched a pack of gum off the shelf and took a bottle of water from a mini fridge before making her way up to the counter.

"I already found something I'm interested in..." She replied with a slight smile, the woman lightly blushing for some reason as she set her desired goods on the countertop. "How much will it be?"

I smirked as I leaned over. "For you, my dear, just a single kiss is all it will cost you..."

She smiled and blushed harder before looking away from my gaze as a finger twirled within her hair. "I don't know if I'm able to pay for this..."

"Well, then I'm afraid we're gonna have to put these things back..." I detailed. "Unless..." She looked back at me before she abruptly pushed herself on her tiptoes, our foreheads then gently contacting each other. She lightly put a hand on the side of my face and gingerly kissed me but just for a single second. "Hm... I'm not sure if that'll do it..." I announced, the girl rolling her eyes, though her lovely smile still showed strong.

"You're very... unprofessional." She pointed out.

"Well, if you want to go to the back with me, I can show you that I’m a professional at a lot of exotic things, if you know what I mean..." I informed with a wink which stoked her blush even further.

"Tempting, but I'll pass... for now." She replied with a smirk which excited me for what might happen later that day.

But all charades must come to an end. "What are we doing, Stacy?" I asked with a laugh and quickly leaned back up to my full height.

"I don't even know." She giggled as she took the things she brought over to the counter back in her hands. "Do you think these are safe to chew and drink?"

"The gum's probably safe but the water's not though, the plastic’s probably ruined it." I simply answered.

She shrugged and tossed the bottle of water behind her before she opened the pack of gum and started chewing on one of the industrially mass produced pieces of rubber. We didn't stay in that gas station much longer after that before the both of us headed back outside and on the sidewalk to delve deeper into the commercial zone, the gas station having marked the beginning of it.

"There's a lot of restaurants here." Stacy pointed out as we looked down the zone, which her observation was correct.

"Yes, indeed there are; America loved to eat, that's for sure." I commented, Stacy wanting to know more of what I meant. "America was one of the most obese nations on the planet, among other things, because food was extremely unregulated, mainly in the form of how much sugar was in everything. It was a pretty big problem that probably never would've been solved, at least, not if America existed. That nation put the dollar above everything and most of the problems it wasn’t solving were what was making it the most money. Above caring about the planet, above caring about its people... it would've collapsed in my lifetime without The Drop, I'm sure of that, because it was slowly killing itself with that mindset. It was mainly due to the politicians being lobbied, also known as legal bribery." After my tirade, she asked me to clarify the meaning of a few words, and I gladly offered explanations, enriching her vocabulary and helping her better understand the nuances of my words. "I think I'm done talking about the nation that no longer exists, for now."

"What's that over there?" Stacy asked a couple of minutes later, my little lady pointing at a strip mall that was placed diagonally from a fairly large actual mall. I explained to her what it was while the both of us made a beeline towards it to explore it; the pavement of the massive parking lot dramatically quickened up our pace.

However, most of the stores inside of it weren't really worth looking through. There was a retail store, a bookstore, a pizza place, and one of those game stores. What did get my attention was the mall beside it. For some reason, I was thinking of what all it could have inside of it quite thoroughly and that intrigued me.

"I think we should skip this and go to the other building over there, I think it'd be much more worth it than searching through these places." I explained after I answered her question, my reasoning causing Stacy to look between the two.

"You don't want to look through at least one of these?" Stacy asked as she looked up at me.

I don't know what it was about that mall but it felt like something... tugged me towards it. I don't really know how to explain it, that's the best explanation I could come up with, but I really wanted to look around inside of it. "Well, we will eventually. I just think it'd be more fun looking through the big one first."

"Hm..." She pondered as she looked at the mall. "Alright then, we'll get these tomorrow, if you want."

"Fine by me." I somewhat cheerily replied as the two of us walked toward the main entrance to the unexplored structure. "This is strange to say but haven't we done this before?" I asked, a sense of familiarity brushing across my train of thought as we approached the array of glass doors. She looked up at me and squinted her eyes, stopped, and gestured for me to lean down to her. I did so which is when her index finger briefly touched the tip of my nose before she continued her walk toward our desired destination. "I'll take that as a maybe then."

After about five minutes of trying to pry the mall doors open, she coined the idea of, "Let's just break them."

"That's a good idea." I praised while quickly rubbing the top of her head before looking around for something I could use to smash the glass. Thankfully, there was a fairly large rock a couple dozen feet away from the entrance within the parking lot. Hefting it up and returning back to the entrance, I prepared to toss it into the glass. "Stand back." I warned, the girl then taking a couple steps back which allowed me to commence the breaking and entering. The sound of the glass breaking was much louder than expected so it spooked me a bit but I played it off by jumping back from the cascade of glass shards that crumbled to the ground. Once the glass had settled, a feasible way to enter the building emerged.

"Well that was loud." Stacy plainly commented.

"Let us venture onwards, m'lady." I said with a butchered British accent while gesturing the girl forwards.

"Okay, weirdo." She teased me with a grin before crunching the shards of glass she walked on while entering the wide hallway of the abandoned mall.

"Calling me something that I know I am doesn't affect me any, I'll have you know." I replied as I followed her in.

We walked forward and slowly advanced further into the structure where I quickly noticed that most of the shops branching off the sides of the main hallway were dim and dark, most not having any windows. Thankfully, the hallway had windows on the ceiling which trailed down the center which let an adequate amount of light in. "I remember what the feeling was like when walking through a mall before The Drop happened... it was so lively, so fun..." I quietly commentated as I felt the rather still air around us, the silence in such a building being unnatural. I gently shook my head as we continued leisurely walking forward together and reading the signs and logos of each store we walked by. "It's so... cold and dead now. You'd think a person would get used to that by now, eh?"

"I wouldn't really know... Before The Drop happened, I... had no idea what that would feel like. And I suppose I never will." She somewhat glumly replied before she halted her stride forward due to her eyes being glued to one of the names of the stores.

I walked up behind her to gently hug her and put my head over her shoulder. "I love you, Stacy..." I reminded as my nose rubbed on her cheek causing her to smile.

"I guess it doesn't really matter if I don't know what that feeling's like. At least I've felt lively with you..." She commented as she gingerly leaned into me. "I love you too, Hunter... What was this store for?" She asked after a minute of comfortable silence, the girl nodding her head toward the shop she was previously staring at.

I read the logo and instantly knew what its purpose was. "This was a bookstore back when it was operational. Though it's more comic based."

"Do you want to look through it?" She asked as we separated from our embrace.

I looked at it and pondered if it was worth it. I looked down the hallway of the mall and noted that we were only five stores down of the dozens that laid ahead of us. I looked back at the comic book store, viewing all the untouched novels and stories. Doing so was only a tad difficult since it was quite dim inside of it, but by this point our eyes were adjusting to the darkness. "I kind of want to look through most of these stores if I'm being honest."

"But you didn't want to look through the other stores outside?" She asked, a bit confused at my thinking. I just shrugged, getting a playful scoff in response.

"Well, it's not gonna search itself, shall we have a bit of fun?" I asked as I unslung my backpack to quickly equip a flashlight. I put the bag back around my shoulders and advanced into the depths of one of the mall's compartments, my little companion walking with me by my side.

Thirty minutes later, I was struggling to see through the dark while I tried reading one of the comics as I heard Stacy from across the store lightly giggling. That was just before the sound of an abrupt cascade of books hitting the ground was heard. "Oops." Is all she had to say for herself.

"Are you alright over there?" I asked with a grin as I saw the light of the flashlight she was holding approach where I was standing.

"Mhm, just fine!" She replied as she walked up to me whilst I continued reading what I was holding now that I had the sufficient light to do so.

I decided to keep the comic book before closing it right before turning to Stacy - only to be surprised that she was struggling to hold around eighteen comics. "You know, we can always come back later for more, right?" I informed, chuckling afterward.

"Or we could take them all and save us the time...?" She bargained with a smirk.

"There's no way you'd be able to read even a quarter of those by this time next week." I shot down her offer, making Stacy look at the haul she was holding.

"You're right..." She admitted. We then took another five minutes or so inside the store where she left most of the comics behind near the entrance, the girl only taking a couple of them in the end. I asked her what kind of comics she took. "I always wanted to read one of these superhero comics."

"I always thought those were a bit overrated..." I voiced my opinion, getting a shrug in reply. "Fair." She swiftly slipped the books in her backpack but before I could do that with mine she asked me what it was about. "Oh, it's nothing, just a hentai manga, which I'm quite surprised I found here." I shamelessly answered. At the look of her curious expression, I remembered that she'd be ignorant about something like that. I adopted a somewhat evil grin and asked, "Wanna see? It's easier for you to look at than for me to say what it is."

She shrugged and agreed. I quickly opened the comic, landed on a saucy page, and turned the book around for Stacy to see. She scanned the page for a couple of seconds. "What am I-." She cut herself off, a blush appearing on her face making me lightly chuckle. "That's uh... interesting... I didn't know they made books like this..."

"Do you want to read it later?" I asked as Stacy pried her eyes away from the page to make eye contact with me.

"Maybe... But I think I might wanna do something else instead..." She trailed off, her lightly blushed face smirking.

I closed the book before a hand of mine slipped it into a compartment in my pack, all the while I asked, "Oh? Tell me more..."

She gestured with a finger for me to lean down once again. I instantly complied as I tried to prevent any strong desires from controlling what I'd do. Doing so was made significantly harder when she kissed me, but before it could get too steamy she broke it off, the girl's rate of breath having slightly elevated. "If you keep this up I'm not gonna want to wait to get home to do it..."

I smirked as a hand placed itself on the side of her face. "That just gives me more of a reason to do things like this..."

"Like what?" She had just enough time to ask before I kissed her again, my tongue swiftly invading her mouth. My other hand placed itself on her side where I slowly draped it over her covered belly, her breath hitching in her throat when my hand slipped under her shirt.

"It's a shame I think we should be looking through more stores than continuing to do this..." I teased, my hand then swiftly exiting her shirt as I leaned back up.

She pouted. "You can't... I'm so... I really want to do it now!"

I booped the tip of her nose. "We'll do it later, I promise."

She pouted again and crossed her arms. "Fine~"

"I can't wait to pound that attitude out of you, you horny, delicious, little girl." I ferally thought as I rubbed the top of her head before Stacy took a couple of steps back and stuck her tongue out at me. "So you've finally learned..." I pointed out, the both of us giggling right afterward, the two of us returning back into the hallway.

"There's a lot of clothes here." She commented as she gazed into a few of the dark rooms.

"Wanna look through some of it?"

"Not at the moment, no." She said as something caught my eye, something that made me a bit excited.

"Are you still interested in music?" I asked after I placed my hands on her shoulders from behind her to stop her in her tracks. She looked towards the store I was referring to.

She thought about my question for a minute or two. "Yes, I am actually... That reminds me, sometimes I think it's too quiet in the house. Would you be annoyed if I learned how to play something?"

"Of course not, Stace. I sometimes think that as well. I think it would be nice to hear you play something." I happily replied before gently encouraging her to move forward so we could begin our hunt for an instrument that’d suit her desires. Though just before we did, she gave me a playful glare after I used that nickname once more but she didn't bring it up and let it go.

A few minutes later, she was already eyeing an assortment of flutes and clarinets while I was looking at another wall decorated with all sorts of guitars.

"I bet I would absolutely shred at the guitar." I commented, looking at a double headed bright red guitar. "But on second thought, I think ukulele is more my style."

"Definitely." Stacy agreed with a giggle. "Can you get that one for me?" She pointed towards a clarinet that was out of her reach. I complied and quickly got it for her before handing her the instrument, the girl then looking at it with a type of awe. There was a small piece of paper attached to the wooden tube which were instructions on how to use all the little metal pieces that come with a clarinet. "Should I play it here or wait until we get home?"

I shrugged. "Up to you."

"I think I'll wait." She smiled before putting it in her bag which allowed us to move along from the music shop immediately after.

A couple of minutes later, we strolled up upon an intersection in the hallway, each corner having their own specified store that was out in the open. A few tables and chairs were stationed in the middle of the intersection, the area being a type of chill zone. None of the stores caught my eye. Well, all except one. "Have you ever wanted any jewelry?" I asked, a yelp of surprise escaping Stacy's lips as I swept her off her feet and walked towards the abandoned jewelry store. When I entered the spacious store, I set her back down in front of one of the glass showcases, the case showing off necklaces of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other beautiful gems of the like.

"What was the point of carrying me?" Stacy asked as she gazed into the glass box.

"I wanted to." I simply stated before hearing a 'psh' in response.

"But no, not really. I've never thought about getting anything like these..." She answered my question as one of her hands draped on the glass while she strolled over to the other segments of jewelry. I searched with her, a certain greed coming to mind as I saw the vast amount of the precious gems. "This one's very pretty..." She voiced her opinion a minute later, halting her stroll as she looked at a golden necklace bearing a large cut and clean, bright and blue sapphire surrounded by other smaller necklaces bearing other various types of gems.

"Do you want to take it?"

"...Yes." She replied after thinking about it for a few seconds.

I unslung my backpack and took the unloaded fifty caliber magnum out and held it by the barrel. Stacy stood back as I used the handle of the gun to smash the top of the glass, a single point of the stock being more than enough pressure to shatter the glass. I put the barrel of the gun in my pocket before taking the expensive necklace off its pedestal while being mindful of the glass. When I successfully retrieved the necklace, I turned to my girl who was eyeing the beautiful gem.

"Come here, let me put it on you." I gently suggested, the girl easily complying with my words as she took a couple steps forward. I then lightly put a hand on her shoulder to turn her around where my hand went back to the necklace to undo the hook mechanism before putting the necklace in front of her. I swiftly put it around her neck then hugged her from behind for a minute before turning her back around and to see how well she sported the accessory.

She looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, the stone amplifying their beauty, something I quickly lost myself in as we looked into each other's gaze. I gently placed the back of my right hand on her respective cheek, my other hand planting itself on her hip. "You're so... stunningly gorgeous."

She lightly blushed as her eyes averted my gaze, an adorable shy smile appearing on her lips. I pulled her toward me a tad, her arms wrapping around my abdomen as her head laid on my chest. "Thank you... you're so nice..."

I returned her hug, the tip of my nose going in her hair. "I'm only telling you what's extremely obvious..." The hug lasted for a couple of minutes before we continued strolling the glass cases, nothing else catching our eyes... Well, not any of the jewelry that is, if you know what I'm saying.

We ended up spending much more time in that mall than originally intended since we spent large amounts of time surfing through each store, looking at clothes, pocketing a few doodads and wishing we had electricity to power all the gaming stations and other related electrical gadgets we found. The hallway of the mall started dimming since the sun was hanging ever lower within the sky as the day neared the end of its life.

"You mean to tell me that anyone on the entire planet could talk to each other at any time they wanted? And play games with each other and all that?" Stacy asked, mesmerized at the thought of how advanced human civilization had gotten, the two of us walking out of a game store.

I nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome, it was hard not to take it for granted but almost everyone who had it did just that. It's crazy how fast it all happened though... But I won't bore you with the history of how people advanced our technology."

"But I like it when you tell me stuff like that. It's very... impressive how you know so many things."

I thought about what she said for a couple of silent seconds. "...I like how you like to listen to me." I admitted, the two of us slowly halting our pace yet again before looking each other in the eyes. "Back before The Drop, not many people liked to listen to how I could talk about-"

"How's this for the night?"

The voice was so faint that I barely managed to hear it, the source of the abrupt sound coming from the direction behind me, presumably where Stacy and I entered the mall. Stacy didn't hear it but I didn't give her enough time to be confused at why I cut myself off. Instead, I experienced a rush of adrenaline, covered her mouth with a hand, and swiftly retreated the both of us into the nearest store to us, the store being one filled with aisles of numerous types of clothing.

"Hunter-"

"Sshh!" I cut her off as I forced us to delve deeper into the clothes store, all the way to the back of it, hunkering down behind the shelves of the last aisle. "I heard a voice." I whispered. "We aren't alone here anymore."

Chapter 9: Contiguity

Chapter Text

Stacy had an unreadable expression donned on her face after she understood my words but I didn't waste any time in getting ready for the worst case scenario. With a subtle shake of anxiety, I unslung my bag and swiftly took out the magnum again before I slipped six rounds of lethal bullets into the chamber.

"Shouldn't we try t-to talk to them?" Stacy asked in a whisper as she eyed the large handgun while I closed the magnum's cartridge.

I looked her in the eyes, the eyes that appeared to be on the brink of tears. I softly put a hand on the side of her face and said, "I'm not sure, Stacy... We don't know if they're gonna want to hurt us, we don't know how many there are, we don't know a lot..."

She placed her hand on mine as she thought about what I said. "But what if they're good people?"

I pondered her question for a long minute, thinking of dozens of scenarios, primarily pessimistic ones. "What if we take that chance and they hurt you?"

"We have a gun." She pointed out before expanding upon her explanation. "I think if we try talking to them and telling them that we're good people but worried about who they are, we might be able to talk to them." Her words made me think some more about the precarious situation but before I could reply she added on, "I really want to meet others, Hunter... Don't you?"

"I..." Her question made me think back to the times I had to kill, those memories still haunting me every now and then, so much so that my mind wanted to avoid any chances where it might have to happen again. "I've had to... I've met people before, but... it didn't go well, at all. It made me never want to try to talk to anyone, to avoid doing what I had to do."

"But you met me..." She pointed out. "What was different with me?"

Almost overwhelmed with what I wanted to say, "You needed help, you were hurt and small, I couldn't just abandon you."

"How do you know they also don't need help?"

She got me there, but I was still extremely weary about it all. I sighed after a couple of silent seconds. "If you really want to take the risk, how do you suppose we talk to them at first?"

"Well, we should sneak around and see how many there are and what they're equipped with." She recited the small plan I had taught her about just in case this exact situation were to ever occur.

"Glad you remembered." The adrenaline that was pumping through my system had made me forget what to do, my instincts forcing me to focus on getting us, primarily her, out of the possibility of harm's way. We then stood back up before my hand on her face went around her neck to pull her into a hug. Afterward, I whispered in her ear, "If we decide to talk to them and they decide to hurt you, I will kill them all."

When we separated she simply replied with, "I hope that doesn't happen then... I trust that you'll keep me safe. And I'll try to keep you safe as well."

"I will always try my hardest to do so... I couldn't ever not." With a cute smile in response, I changed the subject. "Now, walk very, very quietly and keep your voice at this level, alright?" She nodded. "Stay behind me." After receiving another nod of understanding, I turned around and put the magnum in my other hand before I started timidly walking forward by taking a left into the store’s hallway. Racks and aisles of clothes on either side of us slowly passed us by as the both of us approached the entrance of the shop.

"It's definitely roomy here, that's for sure." We heard an unknown voice comment which made my heart skip a beat. The voice was still rather quiet since the people were still a ways away down the hall, though the sound of a few sets of soft footsteps approached ever closer to us.

When I reached the open and wide doorway of the shop. I got up close to the side of it. It took me a few seconds to gather the courage to not want to stall anymore and overcome my anxiety so I could then peer over the side of the entryway. What I saw next made me quietly gasp which made my eyes quickly scan what was within the hallway even faster. Almost as fast as I peered out, I retreated my head back into the store to avoid being spotted.

"What? What did you see?" Stacy whispered, alarm lining her tone as I pushed us back into the side of the store by just a couple of meters.

I turned to her. "There's like six people headed this way." My tone had a hint of rushed worry. "From what I could make out, they're not holding any weapons. I couldn't make out if anything else was on them or not." The sounds of their footsteps gradually got louder, a thought occurring to me. "I think they're just gonna walk past us. We can slip out from behind them and leave if they do."

She thought about what I said, an internal debate raging on in her mind. "We'll probably never see them again, though..."

"That might be a good thing." I said, a confused expression appearing on her face. "I mean, if we were to talk to them and do what you want, what's the end goal? Would we do what I did with you and join them or would they join us? Or would anything like that even happen? Each decision would be difficult to make, we'd either have to leave most of our food behind or it would probably run out quickly with so many other people eating from it..."

"Aren't there ways to make that not happen though?"

I lightly sighed as I thought about it. "...Probably, yeah. There's a few things I could think of that might work... I'm not sure if I want to roll the dice-."

"Need any clothes, Ashton?" We heard a honeyed feminine voice ask while the group walked past the store we were in which caused Stacy and I to push ourselves against the front wall to stay out of the line of sight.

"Was about to ask you the same thing since you've been wearing that shirt for God knows how long." A man replied with a chuckle as their footsteps passed us by.

"I think I'll look through that one first." Another woman commented. "It's been a long time since I was in one of these." We waited a few more seconds before their footsteps started becoming quieter.

"Don't hate me for too long for this, Stacy." I said whilst slightly shaking my head before putting the barrel of the magnum in my pocket as an idea came to mind.

"Hate you for wha-." I cut her off by sweeping her off her feet before waiting a few more seconds for the group to stray away a little farther to limit the chance of them hearing me move.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't take the chance of you getting hurt. Stay silent." I replied before beginning to walk towards the entrance of the store and walking out when I felt safe enough to do so.

Only to stop dead in my tracks when I entered the hallway since I immediately spotted five more people walking towards us, those people having been trailing the other half of their group.

The funny thing is that they also stopped dead in their tracks where one of them gasped at the sudden surprise of me showing myself, all of them ceasing any quiet conversation they were having as all their eyes locked onto Stacy and I. It stayed silent for what felt like an eternity but it was probably only a couple seconds in actuality. What I know is that it was enough time for me to glance over them all and for me to determine that they were all relatively harmless, if they were alone that is.

I chuckled, attempting to play it cool, before gently lowering Stacy to her feet. Stepping forward, I positioned myself slightly in front of her, subtly urging her to stay behind me, out of harm's way. "Hello there strangers, we don't mean any harm." I informed in the friendliest tone I could muster.

The five of them looked at each other, unsure what they should do, before the tallest one, which compared to me was more than half a foot shorter, nervously replied, "Uh... We also don't mean to cause you any harm as well, I guess."

"Huh. It's been a long time since I felt this kind of awkwardness." I commented before a sudden voice from behind me split my attention in two.

"Please, please don't hurt my kids..." A motherly tone begged from a dozen meters away from me.

I looked behind me for a second to determine how much danger Stacy and I were in. I noticed the group that had passed us were slowly walking towards us, grouped together, ready to attack if needed. The woman who was in the middle of them was looking down to where my magnum was, which is when I realized that my hand was somewhat foolishly resting on it. I raised my hand off of it as I tried thinking of an explanation to try to deescalate the quickly rising tensions between us.

"Let's all calm down, no one here wants to hurt anyone here..." Stacy said before I could voice an explanation.

"Your friend right there having his hand on a gun tells me otherwise." I heard one of the men from behind me point out.

"I will admit that it looked bad, but you have to understand why I'm cautious about now being lodged between eleven complete strangers." I answered for myself before turning my head around again to see that the first half of the group had halted any advance forward, the people being planted around ten meters away from our position.

"Sir, I can speak for us all when we say we want no trouble here. We're just looking for a place to call it a night, we apologize if we've intruded into your home." The woman with a motherly tone explained, her arm making a sudden movement making me flinch a tad. She raised her other arm in a way that told me she meant no ill intent before her arms then worked together to take her backpack off. "I'm going to put my belongings down on the floor so I can't easily access them, and so is the rest of my group," She swiftly eyed them all as if she spoke to them telepathically. "in hopes that you will do the same. We truly have no intention to harm you or your little girl."

"I swear, if you think I'm her father..." I thought as the woman, who I assumed to be the squad leader, placed her pack on the ground before the others around her cautiously followed her lead.

"Hunter, put the gun on the ground..." Stacy whispered to me. I looked down at her for a second before my eyes glanced at the second half of the group right after.

"Please be right about this, Stacy..." I whispered back before my hand softly contacted the magnum. The people in front of me suddenly prepared for any sudden movements I might've made but I put my other hand up to gesture that I also meant no ill intent, just as their leader did. After pulling the handgun out, I twirled it around in a position where I couldn't use it properly before kneeling and setting it on the ground where I then slid it to the side and away from me by a good bit. I stood back up while the thickness of the air from how much tension had formed felt significantly thinner.

"I'll say it again; we don't want to hurt anyone... We just want to talk." Stacy repeated herself when facing in the direction of their leader. Their leader looked to her right and whispered something to one of her squad mates before glancing to the two others by her left afterward.

"Talk about what exactly?" One of the girls from the second half of the group asked.

Stacy took the lead in the conversation. "Well, me and Hunter haven't seen another person in a long time and we kind of just want that to change, you know what I'm saying?"

"I mean, you're the one that wants to do that..." I quietly whispered, Stacy quickly shushing me right after.

"Hm." The leader hummed. "What do you mean ‘change’?"

"I mean we're tired of being... alone. It's so dead everywhere, y'know? We kind of just wanted to talk to you guys about a lot of random things, if that makes sense." Stacy explained, getting a slow nod in response from the leader.

She looked at the second half of the group but glanced back at us to ask a quick question. "Is there anyone else here with you two?"

"No, it's just us." I answered, feeling just a bit unsafe after revealing that information.

"May we put our equipment back on? You have my word that we have no weapons more powerful than the one you have."

Stacy and I looked at each other as the feeling of a certain type of stress built inside of me. "I guess we're actually doing this..." I thought as I conceded to Stacy's ideas of human interaction. "I guess if we want to trust each other, it has to start somewhere. So yes, you can. Though I will warn y'all that if you hurt Stacy in any way, it’ll be your biggest mistake."

"We understand, we've all already lost so much, I wouldn't wish upon anyone to lose anymore than what we all already have." She made a hand gesture to them all, signifying them to equip all their backpacks. "Kai, Willow, Nova, Roman, and Trinity, you can turn around and start looking through any of the stores that catch your attention." She ordered the second half of their group before looking to her left afterward "Kostas, Jordan, and Charlotte, you do the same but in this direction." She commanded, pointing behind her. "We'll all meet back up at the intersection, see you all then." They all looked at each other for a moment longer before they all complied with their orders.

I took a deep breath before shakily releasing it as the adrenaline still rapidly pumped through me, my instincts ready to protect Stacy from any and all danger that still might've happen to her at all costs. I turned around to face the leader of the group before lightly wrapping my arms around Stacy's neck who now stood in front of me, the leader lightly smiling at the sight.

"May we walk towards you a bit more so we can talk at a reasonable distance?" She politely asked.

I nodded. "Yes ma'am. All that I ask is that you don't make any sudden movements because I'll be honest, I am extremely on edge about y'all. It should make sense why I don't trust you."

She looked to the two other people at her right. "You heard him."

"We'll respect your wishes, Hunter." A brown haired white guy informed as the group walked forward towards us which caused my embrace of Stacy to slightly tighten.

They halted their advance when they were about a meter away, the details of the people becoming quite clear to me, but before I could get a good look at them, the leader-lady extended an arm out. It took a couple of seconds before my arm hesitantly reached out to shake it. "My name's Olivia, this is Ashton, and over there is Audrey." The other two both made a friendly gesture of introduction when their name was announced.

"I'm Hunter, as you probably already know." I replied before Olivia looked down at Stacy, the woman also wanting to shake her hand.

My embrace broke as Stacy went to excitedly shake it. "And my name's Stacy! It's... nice to meet new people out here."

"We agree. It's just always so nerve wracking doing so. You never know what's gonna happen when you do." Ashton said in a soft-spoken tone.

I took the time to scan the appearances of the three. I plainly described Ashton so I'll do so again but in more detail. His hair was brown but bordering black, it was curly and looked very soft. He was around six inches shorter than me while the two women were three inches shorter than him. Olivia had black and braided hair, a rounded face, her skin a light brown, and her eyes gave off a friendly energy, however an underlying sense of readiness laid behind it. Audrey was a redhead with freckles across her face, her red hair in a ponytail, her skin pale, and her posture relaxed in an inviting way.

"So, how long have y'all been on the road for?" I asked, moving the conversation along.

"Uh~, it's been, like, a month or something since we last actually stopped and chilled, I guess." Audrey answered, her tone of voice reminding me of a stoner.

"Yeah, we had to move on from our previous place once we picked it dry." Ashton added on which got my attention.

"What about you two? How long have you been here for?" Olivia asked. The question made me extremely wary, unsure if we should tell them any details of where we live. But Stacy was quicker to the punch than I was.

"We don't live in this town actually, we live about an hour away. We just come here to scavenge anything we can, it helps pass the time."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a camp or anything of the like?"

"More like a home." Stacy replied. "We have a lot of plans for it when spring comes around."

Audrey emitted a little gasp as her eyes slightly opened up a tad in a surprised way. "Yo~, may I ask what the plans are?"

Stacy looked up at me, her eyes asking for permission. I lightly sighed, not really liking the idea of telling these people anything more than we needed to, but I begrudgingly allowed her to do so. "We have a lot of seeds back at our place so me and Hunter plan on planting and growing them so we can have food for the future."

Audrey adopted a pleasant smile. "Dude, if you need a hand with that when you start, just holler. I'd totally be down to help out.""

"Are you familiar with farming things like corn and lettuce?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

Audrey nodded. "I was raised on a farm and had to help my parents with it every day. I know how to grow a whole lot of crops. Crops like potatoes, tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, radishes, marijuana, and a couple dozen more." She said that last specific crop quietly.

"Do you think we'll be able to let Audrey help you with that when the time comes?" Olivia pondered after she thought about the information for a short while, a type of hope lining her tone. "We've been meaning to settle down somewhere but we just haven't found the right area yet, it's much more difficult than we originally thought. There've been so many places we had to pass up due to inadequate circumstances."

"Are we able to sit and talk about this?" I asked, now intrigued by their words. The three strangers agreed to the suggestion. After I cautiously picked my magnum back up. I unloaded five of the six rounds and put it back in my pocket. I made sure to show them what I was doing (besides keeping that one bullet in, just in case, don’t blame me for now making myself completely vulnerable) which made them calm down before all five of us headed toward the intersection of the mall.

"I think we should join them, Hunter..." Stacy whispered the idea as we approached the intersection.

I thought about her suggestion for a couple of seconds. I mean, we were already that far, would it hurt to go all the way? "I think it's too early to ask or consider anything like that for now. But maybe I might suggest it to them by the time we go home, whenever that is, maybe." I whispered back. When we got to the intersection, I asked a certain something to test someone's knowledge. "Alright Audrey, how would you go about growing corn?" After I asked that, we all started taking a seat at the biggest table that was stationed there with Stacy and I on one side while the others were on the other side, Olivia stationed in between the two.

"So, first things first, the soil's gotta be all soft and pretty warm, you know? At least sixty degrees. Soaking the seeds in water for a few hours before you plant 'em, is like a game-changer for germination, seriously. Then, you gotta plant 'em about an inch under the soil, give 'em some space, like, six inches apart, and water 'em once a week or so. Oh, and corn's basically a sunshine junkie, it needs, like, eight to ten hours of sunlight every day, or you're gonna get a weak yield. But hey, why you askin', dude?"

I nodded at her knowledge, not a single stutter or pause. They were the real deal, at least Audrey was. "I ask because I wanted to test what you know, to see if you actually did know how to grow crops." At the look of her somewhat confused face, I added on to my explanation. "I don't want to give out the location of where I live to someone I don't know based on lies, if Stacy and I do that in the first place."

"That makes sense, I understand why you're skeptical." Olivia announced. "However, you never answered my question about whether or not you'd be interested in letting Audrey here help you with growing the crops you want. When do you two think it'd be time for that?"

I lightly sighed before a hand brushed through my hair as I thought about it. "That's a while from now, well over a hundred days... Do you think you'll still be here when spring arrives?"

"It's hard to say and it depends on a lot of things... We've made a few plans to stay here for a couple of weeks at least. What makes you two able to stay in one place for so long?"

"We have a lot of food stored up in the basement of our house, it makes it to where we don't have to worry about getting food, at least not for a long time." Stacy answered, Ashton's ears perking up at that.

"Do you guys hunt or fish for it?" He asked, getting a shaking head in response from Stacy. "Huh. Scavengers?" I nodded my head at his guess. "Do you plan on hunting any?"

"Actually, yes, but a couple months down the line." I answered, a thought reminding me of the stream we lived right next to. "We also live near a stream and it's fairly large. I've seen a lot of fish swim through it when getting water from there. Fish like catfish, salmon, and a couple other types, they're pretty abundant."

Olivia thought about what I said while she rubbed her chin for a couple seconds. "Willow's our fisher, she's pretty great at it, though since we haven't really settled down permanently, she hasn't had the chance to exercise that skill to her greatest extent."

"Whoa, speak of the Devil." Audrey said before gesturing someone over to sit with us as she looked at something behind me. I turned around to see who I assumed was Willow who was with someone else, the two strangers then walking up to the table with their backpacks in their hands before they set them on the floor. Moments later, they took a couple of spots next to their native group.

"Hello! I'm Willow, and this is Kai, we really wanted to talk to you two." She said in a somewhat excited tone, patting Kai on the head when he was mentioned.

"Well, that's what you wanted to do. I'm just here to prevent you from pestering them to oblivion." Kai said with a smirk, causing Willow to scoff.

"Your hair is obnoxiously blonde." I commented which caused Kai to snicker, making Audrey laugh, and Stacy to quietly gasp.

"And you're obnoxiously... obnoxious!" She replied, failing to come up with a proper response.

"Ow, my feelings." I said in a deadpan tone. I took it upon myself to observe what the two of them looked like. Willow has a diamond shaped face, a person of the white skin color, and her hair was in a ponytail. Kai had short, bright, and brown hair along with being on the tanner side of the spectrum while having a rectangular shaped face. After I quickly scanned the two, it didn't take us long to explain to Willow what we had spoken about regarding her, more specifically if she was interested in fishing in a stream.

"Oh, definitely! I could definitely make a lot of fish traps scattered around it, make wooden spears to catch other fish for a more hands on approach, stuff like that." She explained, the tone of voice clearly conveying to us that she was seemingly passionate about the skill.

"I can't help but think about how there's six more of you who haven't joined this conversation yet. How do you feed yourselves if y'all haven't hunkered down somewhere yet?"

"Sometimes it gets scary." Olivia beat anyone else to the answer. "We'll get low on food sometimes, not being able to find anything that hasn't decayed or having bad luck with hunting. It's a persistent problem; we really want to make it to where it doesn't happen again through just about any means. It's really difficult trying to handle the stress of it sometimes..."

I slowly nodded. "Do you hunt?"

"Me? No. I protect my people, I treat most of them like my children, and I heal them when they injure themselves or just need something checked out. I always hope they don’t injure themselves too severely or they get some disease that I won’t be able to treat given that I don’t have access to an operational hospital."

"You're a doctor?" I inferred, my eyebrows lifting up at the context clues.

She nodded. "Studied most things in medicine for nearly ten years, yes I am indeed." At my surprised look, she continued. "I can treat most physical and internal injuries if given the proper tools. Unfortunately, these days if it's something too serious, I might not have the equipment to do so but I would try my best to heal them, no matter how hopeless it might seem. The world of modern medicine is dearly missed."

"Hopefully we'll one day have it again." I quietly commented, Olivia nodding in agreement. I was still taken aback by how there was a doctor in front of me, if what she said was true of course. I wasn't quite sure how to test her on her claimed knowledge and I wasn't really wanting to injure myself to find out due to how that may or may not be true.

"Are any of them your children?" Stacy asked, a solemn expression appearing on Olivia's face.

"Unfortunately, no. But like I said, I treat them like it." With Stacy satisfied at the answer, I couldn't help but notice Kai seemingly itching to say something.

"What is it boy? You're squirming like you're about to piss yourself." I pointed out, causing Olivia to chuckle.

"You asked Olivia if she was a hunter. I just wanted to say that I'm the one that leads a few of us on hunts to get rabbits, squirrels, and other animals like that." Kai announced, making a few gears in my head turn as a few plans started to draw themselves in my mind.

"Do you hunt deer?"

"As long as I have at least another person with me to haul it back. Finding trails and following them are an expertise of mine, though sometimes I'll be on a trail for a few hours every now and then. Sometimes they're not even successful and the day is wasted following a cold trail." His hands went under the table and headed towards his backpack. "Can I show you what I use to hunt with? It's a crossbow, it has an amazing range on it."

Willow scoffed at his words. "You always have to show new people your crossbow, don't you?" Kai shrugged as I gave him the go ahead.

"It's a Horton Scout. Sometimes it's a bit of a pain to reload, but when you're on the receiving end of its shot, it'd barely notice that it hit something." He explained while turning it around a bit as Stacy and I looked at its details.

"Think I'd be able to shoot it someday?" I asked which made his eyes light up at my interest, though it died down and was replaced with a look of a type of surprise.

"Have you already decided to stick with us?"

"No, no, not yet at least..." I sighed and looked down, the stress of making that decision weighing on my mind, though Stacy placing her hand on mine helped ease the stress a bit.

"What's the matter?" Olivia asked. "Do we trouble you?"

"Well, yes, but it’s not specifically because of you guys. I've just had a couple of really bad experiences with people after society ended and it's made me extremely apprehensive about meeting new people, let alone trusting them." I explained as my other hand rubbed the top of Stacy's.

"Ah... Hunter, I get what you mean. We've had to deal with a couple of crazies ourselves, one time almost resulting in losing Kai right here." Ashton replied. "I know it probably doesn't mean much to hear from me since you don't know me, but we're good people. As long as you treat us right, we'll treat you right. If we weren't like that, then our group wouldn't even exist."

"I wanted to ask you actually, how long have you guys been a group for?" Stacy asked before leaning on me.

"That's a difficult question to answer." Olivia replied with a chuckle. "At first, we were all of course separated from each other. Kostas was the first person I met after society collapsed, it was about a month after it had happened. Then we met Kai and Willow half a year later. We then met Ashton, Charlotte, and Roman separately but in the span of three months. Finally, we all met Audrey, Nova, Trinity, and Jordan who were a group separate from ours but then we merged around seven months ago. Though then we met Hunter and Stacy, who still to this day, we have no clue if they're part of our group or not."

I chuckled at the ending, a bit too hard if I might add, but it's whatever. "Would y'all really want another two people in your group?"

"I mean, considering we're, like, rare human beings these days, we should totally stick together whenever we can, you know? Personally, it's like we're obligated to band up and, like, watch each other's backs, dude." Audrey answered, Ashton and Willow nodding in agreement.

"Most of us have different views on it, but they end up resulting in allowing anyone reasonable joining our squad." Kai added.

I... don't know if it was foolishness that I was experiencing, but their words felt... true. Something about the situation told me that I could trust them... but my skeptical side still needed more time and action of goodwill to determine the outcome of the situation. "I need more time to think about it." I admitted.

Olivia nodded. "And that's completely understandable. We're going to be here for a few days at least. If you make a decision in that time, we'll be here so you'll know where to find us."

"You sound like you want us to be headed out." I pointed out with a chuckle.

"No, no, I'm just saying that so you know. May I ask a personal question, however?" I nodded. "What's the relationship between you two?"

"We're a very serious romantic couple, why?" Stacy answered for me, the girl having used a tone that sounded... possessive. I liked the tone, it was something I hadn't heard from her until that point.

Olivia raised both of her eyebrows, a bit surprised at Stacy's answer, the woman putting her hands up slightly in a defensive gesture. "I was just curious, you have my word that the question was only to know what you two are, nothing else."

"I'm so tempted to make a 'don't fight over me, there's enough to go around' joke but I'll pass." I thought. Then another thought occurred to me. "What if... what if they're gonna disapprove about our age difference...?" I didn't think of it for long, that thought slipping into the back of my mind to worry about later. "So what's your skill set, Ashton? Y'all seem to be special at something." I asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from anything that might revolve around relationships or ages.

"Ah... Well, nothing that useful I suppose. I was a miner back before The Great Dying. I'd mine anything from coal, iron, copper, gems, and even gold. I was also starting to delve into metallurgy, but school was out of session before I could learn it, if you know what I'm saying."

"I think that's a useful skill, definitely for something in the future, for sure." I replied, trying to lift his hopes up a bit.

"Just gotta wait till that future's built, eh?"

"Optimism will take you a long way." Said the most pessimistic bastard in the room.

"True that, Hunter." Kai replied, finally putting his crossbow back under the table. "Say, do you two have something you're special at?"

"Eh, not really. I know a lot of random things about a lot of different categories, though that’s pretty much the basic understanding of those subjects. Most are not really useful but they're there." I answered before looking down at Stacy who seemed a bit nervous.

"...Is it bad that I don't have... an 'expertise' on anything?" She quietly asked, the girl almost sounding depressed.

"No, not at all. Did you even have the chance to study anything before the world ended?" Willow asked. "How old are you anyways?" She added on, making my heart skip a beat.

"It's either do or die now... but I'm probably gonna die." I thought as Stacy formulated a response.

"I'm fourteen, so yeah... You're I guess you’re right that I didn't get the chance." The reveal was just a little nerve wracking since a couple of them pivoted their gaze at me, presumably forming incorrect assumptions and opinions about a few things.

"So, how old are you then, Hunter?" Ashton asked afterward.

I stayed silent for a couple of seconds as I processed his words, his group awaiting my response. "I'm eighteen. Now before y'all shun me-."

"None of us will shun you." Olivia cut me off before I could continue a helpless explanation. "A few of us might find it disturbing, but if Stacy is sexually aware and if she knows what she wants, there's nothing biologically wrong with you two." I sighed in relief at that, quite surprised that I was defended like that, though Stacy deeply blushed at her words. "We'll move on from this topic to discuss something else."

"Yes, I agree." I quickly hopped onto the avoidance of that discussion since why would I ever want to focus on that topic? "So when are Stacy and I gonna meet the rest of your crew?"

"I guess we should call it a night soon... It's getting quite dark in here." Olivia murmured to herself before turning to Kai and Willow. "Can you two split up and come back with the others for me?" They nodded and went to do her bidding before turning back to me.

"So how old are y'all? Since we've told you our ages, I think asking that is only fair." I asked..

"I'm thirty-four. Audrey's twenty-two and Ashton's twenty-four." The supposed doctor replied. I'll cut to the chase and just dot all their ages out. Willow, Kai, and Nova are all seventeen, Roman's fifteen, Trinity's nineteen, Charlotte's eighteen, Jordan's twenty-five, and Kostas is twenty-eight.

By the time our small talk about that topic was finished, Ashton and Audrey called it a night before finding one of the store's to sleep in. It was easy for me to tell that they were a couple. "Damn heteros... wait-" I jokingly thought before the others I hadn't met yet approached the table. I watched them all take a seat one by one, Kai and Willow also fucking off for the night.

"I'm Roman." The Latino introduced himself as he reached across the table to shake mine and Stacy's hand. He had short black hair, hazel eyes, and a square face.

"You got a strong handshake there, Roman." I simply commented as the next one introduced themselves.

"I'm Nova, it's nice to meet new people." Her voice was very soft like silk, her skin was white, and her hair was that of a brunette.

I'll skip the pleasantries and describe them all since I scanned their appearance for each one that introduced themselves. Trinity was a black woman, her curly hair in pigtails, with a gravelly voice that was hard to misunderstand. Charlotte was an excitable girl, her long and straight hair having a type of purple hue to it, her voice being a bit raspy. Kostas was Eastern European, his accent taking me by surprise when I first heard it. His voice was deep, the hat he wore blocking any hairstyle that might've been there. And finally, there was Jordan who was another black person though he was very short; the small afro he sported was fascinating to look at but I didn't comment on it. Olivia relayed a lot of information to them so we could skip having to repeat ourselves in the middle of the conversation as I would find that very annoying.

"So what did you do before The Drop happened?" I asked Kostas after the recap, finally getting some new conversation rolling.

"I was a blacksmith. I made tools, smelted and mixed metals, stuff like that." He simply answered with a shrug.

"Hm... It sort of feels like I’ve been handed the best set of cards with these people, if what they're saying is true." I thought as I saw the synergy power these people could have if they properly worked and coordinated together. "That's a very useful skill to know, in my opinion." The gears that were turning in my head only sped up after I asked Charlotte what her skillset was.

"My friends would call me 'Taylor' since I was able to make them clothes perfectly tailored to fit them which I’d make out of leather, wool, cotton, and even reeds and grass. Though I don't think that's that useful in a world where you can find all the clothes you need in a mall like this..."

"When the moths eat all the clothes, people would like someone who can make them proper clothing." I hinted at as I started to think that this was all too good to be true.

"I'm a damn craftswoman." Trinity answered my question. "I can make all sorts of things with the right fuckin' ingredients. Chairs, tables, desks, crates, boxes even, and a whole load of other shit. I miss building things, it always calmed me when I was stressed. But it was quite a time consuming hobby, it was annoying as fuck when I'd mess something up."

"Tell them about what you can do, Jordan." Charlotte said to the man which took him by surprise just a bit.

"I cook things. And when I say I cook things, I mean I cook things good." He said after a couple seconds of silence. "I was always number one in my classes and I was even starting to open my own restaurant. I wonder how successful I would've been if it wasn't for that fateful day..."

Nova and Roman spoke lightly of themselves. Nova simply called herself a forager, the girl able to gather wild foods in forests ranging from mushrooms to berries. And Roman called himself a woodcutter, the boy able to properly cut down trees and make things such as firewood. All good things and things that could actually be very, very fantastic if all put together accordingly.

"I'm surprised you guys haven't called a place home yet. To me, I'd think you can do just about anything." I admitted, a masterful plan being devised in my mind.

"Like I've said before Hunter, we haven't really found anywhere we can do that at. I don't know if we're looking in the wrong places or if it's just bad luck, but once we find a spot that we can rely on, we'll try to figure things out from there." Olivia said.

"What kind of place are you looking for?"

She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, the place you live at, from how you've described it, sounds... just about right if I'm being honest."

"Are you wanting to check the place out?" Stacy asked, somewhat excited.

"If you two wouldn't mind, we would." Olivia confirmed, making my heart drop a tad. "Would you allow us to?"

I looked down at Stacy's eyes, the same eyes that were looking up at me before I said. "That's something Stacy and I are gonna have to talk about. Privately. So unfortunately, we're not gonna be able to give you an answer tonight, though we might tomorrow."

Olivia nodded. "I understand, it's a big decision to let a few strangers scope out where you live. When you decide what you want to do, we'll be here, we won't stray far for a couple of days."

I nodded at that before Stacy yawned which reminded me of how long we had been talking for.

"I agree, Stacy, it is pretty late." Nova said before standing up and taking a step back. "It's been really nice meeting you two, we'll talk tomorrow if you come back, I suppose."

I lightly waved. "I suppose Stacy and I should be going as well, it's extremely late and the quicker we get home, the quicker we make any decisions about y'all moving forward."

"We hope we have the chance to see if it's what we're looking for," Olivia said, rising to her feet as Stacy and I did. She then extended her hand once more as good etiquette. "We'll be ready to defend ourselves if it turns out there's more of you, just so you know." The tone she used was matter of fact, no hint of threat lining her tone, so I wasn't alarmed at it.

"I understand. You can't get too comfortable with new people, I completely get that. Better to be safe than sorry." I replied when the handshake ended. "We'll be here at around noon tomorrow. I look forward to talking to you all again."

They all said their own little goodbyes before Stacy and I turned around and began heading toward the exit. There was a fairly long walk ahead of us so to speed it up, I swept Stacy off her feet and quickened my pace up dramatically so we could get home and go to bed... though perhaps do something else before that.

"That could've gone wrong in so many ways." I said when we were out of the mall.

"I'm glad it didn't, it was so sweet to see new people... Do you want to invite them to our house?"

"Can we save this conversation for later, please? I want to take my mind off of it for a bit, it's been a long day."

"Sure thing, Hunter." She sweetly replied before hugging me in response.

Even though I said that, the ideas for assigning the people in that group jobs couldn't stop running through my mind; the potential for so many positive things resulting in that became evidently clear the more I thought of it. This was a great opportunity that landed at my feet and something that could possibly evolve into something great. It just depended on trust and coordination...

Chapter 10: Intrigue

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The walk back home was mostly quiet while a light breeze made the cold night even colder. But that didn't take my hungering mind off of the girl that rested in my arms. During the walk back, a large amount of primal urges started to flow through my mind as I smelled her natural scent, something that caused thoughts of pleasuring her to fill my mind which aroused me even further. And by the time we got home, my mind was too clouded by lustful desires to think about anything else.

Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

I gingerly set her on the couch before taking our bags and tossing them to the side. Right after that, I sat next to her before I softly placed my hand on the side of her face as I kissed her scrumptious lips, the kiss quickly intensifying when I placed my other hand on her inner thigh. "So what were you saying earlier? Y’know, what you said in the mall?" I asked after I separated from the kiss, not straying far from her lips.

"I-I said a lot of things in the mall..."

I kissed her again, kissing her deeply in a way that conveyed to her about some of the lust that was rolling through my mind, my tongue invading her mouth for a couple minutes before I leaned back and saw her lightly blushed face. "You know what I'm talking about..." I said as I delicately placed a hand on her side.

"...Th-that I really wanted to do it." She stuttered while my hand that was planted on her inner thigh started massaging it through her jeans.

"And do you know what I really want to do?"

"W-What?" She asked, her blush becoming a much darker tint that swiftly spread across her adorable face.

I leaned forward to whisper seductively into her ear; "I really want to fuck you... so hard." Stacy swallowed hard at my words where her legs slowly began to spread open. "As long as you want me to, of course..." I trailed off as my hand trailed up her leg and to the button of her jeans which made her whimper in anticipation.

My fingers stayed there as her breathing elevated, my fingers patiently waiting for her permission. "Y-Yes, Hunter, I want it so bad." She begged before I unbuttoned her pants and unzipped them shortly afterward.

"Come here..." I suggested just before my hands took a hold of her hips and gingerly tugged her to stand up. She did so, my hands then leading her to stand in between my legs. My hands then pulled her pants and her panties down, slowly revealing her lower lips that were antsy for the sensation of being touched. The sight made me as hard as a rock, especially when Stacy stepped out of her jeans which left her completely bottomless. My hands then went back on her hips so I could slowly drape them up and down her sides and thighs where she grew impatient and hornier, the girl pouting since I was taking so long to touch her pussy. "Cutely pouting will only make me delay ravishing you even more, darling..." I warned as I eyed her beautiful bottomless form.

"What d-do you want me to do?" She asked as she looked me in the eyes, an idea coming to mind.

I gingerly pushed her back a bit and sat on my knees on the carpeted floor. Then I turned so the couch was to my right all the while keeping Stacy in front of me. "Put your left leg up on the couch..." I commanded.

She was hesitant at first but complied to my suggestion after a touch of encouragement and a few seconds of thought. I leaned my head toward her then pussy, her groin having been completely exposed due to her legs now being completely parted, the girl taking a shaky breath as my mouth neared closer to her nearly dripping crevasse.

She squeaked when the tip of my tongue contacted her clit, her quiet moans beginning to emit from her lips shortly after I slowly began rubbing her precious and highly sensitive love-button. That was just before my hands were placed on her hips as the strength of my licks picked up.

The smell and taste of her little nether region were so strong and delicious that I couldn't stop delving my tongue deeper and deeper inside her, the angle making it difficult for me to stick my tongue in her any deeper but I continued to try my hardest to do so. So after a few minutes of lovingly tasting her and savouring it, I gently made Stacy walk to my left which caused her leg to be placed back on the floor. My hands then gingerly pushed her down for her to get on her back.

A few seconds after she was properly laid on the floor, I pulled my tongue away from her to look at the girl whose legs were completely spread open as she breathed heavily, her face being a bright red, and her fists were once again under her chin. My right hand trailed down to her inner thigh to massage it as I commented, "You're so fucking adorable. And so delicious." After that, I leaned back down and kissed one of her inner thighs in a few spots before I continued tasting her appetizing lady-liquid; my tongue delving as deep inside her as I possibly could before essentially thrashing it around to make her feel as good as I could muster. It seemed to work, or at least, that's what her moans were telling me.

I tasted her lower region for several more minutes, Stacy's hands having lightly placed themselves to the back of my head as she subtly twitched her hips, the girl trying to receive more pleasure than what I was already giving her.

"S-So- good-!" She moaned her classic words of approval just as a small cascade of musky female cum began drenching my tongue and chin a few seconds later. I leaned up a minute after she came while I savoured the remnants of the taste of her as I looked down at her, one of the girl's hands traveling down to toy with her own clit, already desiring more of my touch.

"Was what I did not enough?" I asked with a smile, having already come up with another idea to please her, this time involving my own pleasure.

"N-No, that was g-great, I just... want more." She answered, my hands that stayed on her hips then trailing up where they started taking her shirt off.

"I'll give you more..." I lustfully replied she became almost fully nude, leaving her new sapphire necklace on her. I then massaged her tits for a couple of minutes before moving on to what I wanted to do next. "I really want to put it in you..." I eagerly pointed out while massaging her.

"R-Right now?"

"In a better position." At the raise of one of her eyebrows, I leaned her up and slowly turned her around. "Get on your knees..." I whispered to the girl who quickly complied with my seductive words. I took the time after she did so to strip out of my clothes before getting back on my knees behind her and kissing her neck while my arms wrapped around her abdomen. My phallus rubbed against her lower back as I slowly ground on her which caused her to lightly tremble in anticipation against my body.

I did that for a couple of minutes before separating my lips from her neck after I couldn't tease myself anymore. My left hand then draped down her side to her back and over a buttock before going to her inner thigh where I took a light grasp of her inner thigh. After enjoying my light grasp there, I then lifted her up a tiny bit after hiking that leg up and to the side after which had the desired effect of giving me room to put my cock under her pelvis. I did just that, my erection instantly pressing against the damp seams of her extremely aroused slit where I wasted no time in rubbing my penis between the wet and inviting lips of her moist cunt for a few seconds.

She heavily breathed as I enjoyed the teasing feeling of my cock between her begging lower lips, her body leaning into me some more as I sucked on several spots on her neck.

"P-Please f-fuck me, Hunter." Stacy begged after another minute of my slow and teasing rubbing, the liquid she was secreting lightly coating the appendage that wanted to delve deep inside her tight and squishy depths.

I couldn't wait any longer after hearing her beg which caused my right hand to snake around her hip to help the tip of my phallus insert itself inside her pussy, grunting in delight after I did so. I immediately started to timidly thrust deeper into her, easily able to do that since she was then used to having sex with me. When I bottomed out, I stopped for only a few seconds to let Stacy prepare herself as the arm holding her leg up migrated. I then held her leg up using the inside part of my elbow as I placed my hand under her belly button.

All the while I did that, my right hand traveled to Stacy's left cheek before directing her face to look behind her so I could kiss her. A minute later, I started sliding my penis out of her after having thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being stationary deep within her vagina once more, her moans once again struggling to escape from our kiss. My hand under her belly button lowered down to her clit so my middle and index finger could lovingly rub it as I thrusted into her at a sedate pace, something that caused Stacy to go wild as my right hand snailed down to massage a tit.

My thrusting started to quickly build up speed a few minutes later since I wasn't able to take the sedate pace anymore as I really wanted to pound her little slit hard and to keep my silent promise that I had told her earlier in the mall. The sound of wet smacking when I thrusted in and out of her at maximum speed was always so delightful to me, the sound signifying that I was doing a great job fucking her.

I continued kissing, rubbing, massaging, and pounding her for several minutes which resulted in me getting utterly lost in the insanely magnificent feeling of mating with the little girl and loving the fact that I was causing her to be a moaning mess.

I felt her abdominal and vaginal muscles shift and squeeze my shaft as she broke the kiss. "F-Fuck!" She exclaimed as she came again as I simply continued the rest of my actions, not all that close to blowing my load.

I fucked her in that position for another two or three minutes before my thrusting steadily started to slow down as another want started to strongly appear in my mind. "C-Can I fuck you in a different position?" I whispered to the gasping Stacy, my rubbing on her clit and my massaging ceasing.

She nodded. "Y-Yes... I wouldn't be against getting m-more..."

I smirked at her words before kissing her cheek while I set her leg down. My hands then draped up her body and onto her shoulders which is when I pulled my penis out before scooting back a bit and gingerly pushing her down. I explained to her what I wanted her to do, to put her ass up high, place the side of her face on the ground, and put both of her hands on either side of her head.

After she did that, she was in the most inviting position that I had seen her in. The sight of her exposed and beautiful behind wanting to be used drove me absolutely wild before I closed the distance between us by taking a couple steps forward using my knees, her legs then positioned in between them. I then directed the tip of my phallus back into Stacy's somewhat gaping vaginal lips before slowly sliding it all the way back to her cervix.

"Mmm- th-this position is fucking f-fantastic." She commented when I put my hands on her hips to stable myself as I steadily continued to rail her.

I leaned over her to whisper in her ear as my thrusts continued to steadily pleasure her. "Any position where I get to fuck your tight little slit is fantastic..." I voiced my opinion, my thrusts swiftly picking speed back up, any response Stacy might've said getting lost in the moans of pleasure she started emitting shortly afterward.

Another heaven-like five minutes passed of drilling her needy snatch, my right hand returning back to rubbing her clit causing her to cum for a third time. At this point, she couldn't get a word out, her quiet moans and grunts stopping her from doing so, her mind being rocked with the bliss of being dominated and pounded by me. After another couple of minutes, I finally felt myself nearing my climax as I watched her facial expressions. I leaned over her as my thrusts slowed down a tad so I could enjoy being inside her for a few moments longer before the act ended.

My hand rubbing her clit ceased doing so before traveling up to my nose so I could smell her sexually aroused scent one final time before putting one hand on one of her hips and grabbing the back of her head and pressing her head down. After taking a firm grasp on her, I started using her for my own selfish pleasure, losing myself in the splendid sensation and focusing on the goal of cumming deep inside her. Which is what I did nearly a minute later where I once again thrusted each time I shot a strand of my seed into her, my tip contacting her cervix during each shot. I blissfully shot six times, making her happily squeak each time I did so. My thrusting ceased after virtually all my semen had made its way into her before I looked down at the girl who was extremely satisfied with how I treated her.

She was panting, her face was blushed, her eyes were closed, and wore a happy smile. Her fists were still on either side of her head but not for long since the girl gingerly unclenched them as she lightly wiggled her hips.

I stayed inside her like I usually do while my phallus slowly became flaccid. I sighed as my hands gripped her hips before rubbing around her lower back, the sight of being ported inside her with her face on the floor... it nearly drove me to want to fuck her again but I knew I couldn't. "I love cumming inside you..." I quietly said, thinking it was too quiet for her to hear. Writing it down, it seems a bit odd to say that... What I meant was that the act of doing so was so significant to me, the act signifying many things. Like love, trust, companionship, commitment... numerous other things like that.

"Me too... it feels so nice..."

Her response was nearly as quiet as I was which made me grin at the response. I happily sighed once more before deeply breathing which was greatly needed, most lustful thoughts leaving my mind as I looked down at Stacy who still had her ass high up in the air. I chuckled at her. "Are you tired?"

"Mmm, yeah... but you can stay in me for a little while longer..." She informed me with another little wiggle of her hips. So I did, only for another minute though since my cock was mostly back to its flaccid state. When I slowly pulled out of her, nearly no amount of semen dripped out of her. I figured that would change once she moved her position.

My hands on her hips started to softly push her on her side and onto her back which then caused the white fluid inside of her to begin slowly leaking out of her. Stacy put her hands on her belly where she lightly smiled, her eyes staying closed as I intently watched my seed exit her. I looked down at the carpet where my semen was landing which is when I noticed a large spot on the carpet that was drenched in both of our sexual fluids. After cleaning up our mess and after my seed ceased its exodus of Stacy's insides, I carried her up to bed, the girl already fast asleep from our productive day.

(Sex scene over)


As I held and spooned her close while trying to fall asleep, my mind went back to the group of people that we had met. Several plans and ideas forged themselves before I fell asleep and despite being nervous, I couldn't deny that I was somewhat excited at what might happen in the future.


The next day, I woke up early in the morning and it didn't take long for a small adrenaline rush to hit me. The memories of what had happened the day prior in the mall swiftly reminded me that Stacy and I had to talk about what we would do with that group of people we encountered. I stayed in our bed for a few minutes longer to enjoy holding the girl close to me a little more before I decided to get up and quickly dress myself to then speedily go down into the dining room, the desire to draw out some probable plans being a strong want in my mind.

I took out the numerous maps that Stacy and I had drawn and placed the sheets of paper down accordingly on the dining table, making it to where the house was surrounded by the trails, roads, and streams we had mapped out, something that helped spur several ideas whilst looking down at our strategic position.

I took out a fresh sheet of paper and started using a pen to write down on it, writing out the names of all the people in Olivia's group coupled with what they claimed their skill set was. I spent the next twenty minutes planning out fishing locations along the stream, areas in the forest where to hunt and gather wild foods, and trees near the house to be chopped down and turned into firewood while also making available land to grow crops on simultaneously.

I took a deep breath when looking at the maps after the modifications before lightly nodding at the plans. Seeing where I marked out where we would grow crops, which took up quite a large area, many trees would have to be cut down to make way for it all. But that was a good thing in my eyes. "This... could probably actually work." I murmured, a feeling of hope and optimism appearing in my mind, something I hadn't felt in a very long time.

When two arms suddenly wrapped around my abdomen I was only a little surprised which caused me to jump just a bit. "What might work?" A curious Stacy asked as I set down the pen I was marking things down with.

I put a hand on hers as I thought of a response. "I'm planning out a few things, going off of what Olivia's group said they can do. I think we might be able to sustain ourselves here. But it’s an extremely risky bet..."

Stacy broke the embrace and walked up beside me to view what I came up with, the girl's eyes then quickly sifting through the nodes and zones that I planned out. "It looks good to me. But I wouldn't really know what wouldn’t be good."

I lightly rubbed the top of her head for a couple of seconds. "The only thing I'm worried about is if they're lying to us, if they're like bandits or something... It just seems too good to be true, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it... But how can we make sure if they're bad people? It seemed they were nice and honest..." She commented before taking a seat at the table.

I joined her in sitting down as we further discussed the topic. "There's not really any proper way to find out if they're bad before we take the risk, not fully at least. We'd just have to trust what they're saying and if it turns out they are in fact good people, they'll never do anything that'll make us regret inviting them over. However, if they are bad people... I don't know what they'd do, they could rob us, kill us in our sleep even, maybe even something worse. It's a risk and I'm not sure how much I want to take it..."

"You can always carry the gun around with you just in case... Using the locks on the doors would probably make it to where they wouldn't be able to kill us in our sleep." Stacy counter argued, causing me to calmly sigh.

"They did seem like reasonable people." I pointed out. "None of them ever stuttered or paused when explaining anything to us and their stories were always straight forward, I didn't find any errors within them. They're either impeccable liars or telling us the truth." I concluded before looking back at the maps.

Stacy and I continued talking about it for half an hour, coming up with pessimistic and optimistic outcomes of inviting them over, weighing the pros and cons, all while Stacy added her own plans to the map with a bit of my help.

"Would we even be able to build places like that?" Stacy asked as she looked at the simple sketches of new buildings around our home.

"I think we'll be able to make mortar, use it on smashed rocks as the base, and carve logs into something we can build with… or something similar like that. It's all definitely possible." I explained as I imagined a smeltery and a blacksmith, the thought being quite exciting. "I wonder if they'll be interested in all these plans..."

"So you'll allow them to come over?" Stacy asked, excitement in her voice. I guess she was naturally a social butterfly if she was this happy at the thought... Though I guess most sane people would be like that for obvious reasons.

I lightly sighed and delicately put a hand on the top of her head before finally conceding to the idea of merging with Olivia's group, or at least giving them a chance at our place. "Yes. Though I'm going to keep a very close eye on them, I will keep my gun on me, and there will be rules for them to follow. If they gain our trust over the course of a few weeks, I'll ease my mind on them and eventually not keep the gun on me."

Stacy happily and quickly clapped her hands before getting on her feet and tugging my shirt, something that prompted me to stand up, the girl then pulling me toward the door, excited to go tell the people the breaking news on our decision.

"Wait, noon's still a couple hours from now-."

She didn't want to wait that much longer as shown by her pretty much forcing me to leave our place a couple hours earlier than intended, the both of us then making our way back to the mall ten minutes after we agreed upon our risky plan. When we got to the town in just under an hour, I started forming rules in my mind about what Olivia's group would have to follow to stay with us, making them with the help of some of Stacy's input. The rules weren't gonna be too strict, but it'd get my point across about how trust needs to be built up over the course of their residence.

"I think the worst thing might be not being able to do things to you anywhere we want, if you know what I mean." I couldn't help but comment as we turned to the left and started walking the commercial zone highway, the mall entering our sights.

She blushed at my comment and looked away for a couple of seconds before looking back up to me with a smirk. "I mean, we can... But I don't think they'd want to see that."

The little giggle she made after that remark made me slowly shake my head. "I'm sure you'd be too shy to do anything like that anyways."

"Definitely. Though for some strange reason, I have a feeling you wouldn't be..."

"Yep, you're right, I wouldn't be shy to do something like that." My response made her blush harder but before she replied, I added on, "No, not shy, the thing stopping me from ever doing something like that is that I don't want anyone else ever seeing your... let's call it your true natural beauty, if you're picking up what I'm laying down." The wink at the end of my statement made her face flushed for the rest of the way to our destination.

When we approached the entrance of the mall, we swiftly closed the distance between us and the shattered glass door. I took my hand off the magnum that resided in my pocket as I spearheaded into the building first. "I really need a holster for this thing..." I thought as I waited for Stacy to stand beside me.

Way down the hallway of the mall, I saw a couple of people from Olivia's group at the intersection. They were sitting down at one of the tables and facing away from us while doing something I couldn't quite make out. I didn't think much of it as I began a stroll towards the two, which while doing so my heartrate picked up a bit since I got a tad nervous about bringing these folks back home with us.

I heard a shuffle from behind us, instantly alerting my senses. Swiftly, I turned around, only to find Olivia emerging from the bookstore that Stacy and I had explored the day before. "Oh, it is you two!" She said in a surprised tone. "Half of us weren't expecting you to come back, we thought we had probably made you two too scared to return, even though we tried our best to be friendly."

"What happened to 'being prepared if there were more of us'?" I asked as I turned my body to properly face her, Stacy following suit.

"...We weren't expecting you to come here so soon, you said noon, right? That's still at least another hour from now." She pointed out. "But seeing as it's still only you two, you're most likely telling us the truth regarding you two being the only two here."

"We wanted to come here early, me and Hunter made our decision about you guys earlier this morning and we decided to not put it off any longer than we need to."

"Well, that last bit is what you decided to do..." I quietly replied to the girl who either didn't hear me or ignored me. "But yes, we have made our decision. Do you want me to tell you now, away from your group?"

"Where is your group anyways?" Stacy asked looking back at the intersection of the mall.

"They're looking through most of the stores here to try to find anything useful. We should all be returning back to the intersection in the next half an hour or so to review anything we might've found." Olivia replied, the woman then daintily walking passed us and gesturing us to walk with her as we began walking towards the area she was referring to. "I suppose you can tell me your decision now, though my instincts tell me it's gonna be something that comes with some conditions." She speculated as we approached the seating area where Nova and Charlotte were revealed to be the two people I had first seen who were playing a game of UNO.

"Your instincts are reliable." I complimented as Olivia took a seat at a separate table before gesturing for us to take a seat in front of her. I took a seat and glanced at Stacy doing the same thing. I looked back at Olivia but before I could begin the conversation of telling her about the decision we made, she beat me to the punch of continuing any type of conversation.

"Wait... I changed my mind. I think it would be best to wait until most, if not all of my crew, to meet back up here to hear what we're gonna talk about, as it's going to be a group decision for us to make by the end of it anyways."

I nodded at her statement and released a quiet sigh, the wait for the rest of her gang beginning. It took about five minutes for Kai and Willow to join us in the area while the rest of them trickled in over the next thirty minutes and joined us at the table. Or at least half of them, the other half either decided to stand or join Nova and Charlotte at their table.

"I haven't seen this many people in so long..." Stacy commented in awe. I felt the same way but decided against expressing any feeling of how... strange it made me feel.

They discussed what they found with for a few minutes but I tuned it out since I wasn't particularly interested in what they claimed. It took a dozen or so minutes but the discussion abruptly turned towards the matter at hand. "Alrighty then Hunter and Stacy, what did you decide for us about us checking out your place? As I commented earlier, I had a feeling there'd be a lot of conditions of which you practically confirmed; does that mean you chose to give us a chance to scope the place out?" Olivia speculated as a response quickly formed in my mind.

"You're correct, we have decided to invite you over to our home. But there will be a few rules that your group has to follow in order for y'all to stay there." I said in a firm tone, Olivia nodding at my words as I glanced at a few of the other members, most of them tuning into what I was saying.

"Of course, Hunter, your property, your rules."

"First and foremost, I need to ask, are y'all really wanting to stay at mine and Stacy's home? Stay as in reside there indefinitely?"

"yeah, we talked it out, man." Audrey answered, waiting for just a moment to continue. "If it's what we think we're looking for, we're totally down. As long as it's cool with you two, of course."

I nodded at her response. "It would be. As long as everyone pulls their weight." My response received a general consensus of agreement. "Now onto the rules. Since we're still pretty much strangers at this point, I hope y'all can understand why I'm gonna do the following. I'll be keeping my magnum on me for the foreseeable future. Now, I hope that I'll never have to whip it out, but it will help ease my mind about how Stacy and I are inviting eleven strangers into our home."

"Yep, that's understandable. You're making a move anyone would be hesitant to make, I think we can all understand that." Ashton replied, a couple of their members agreeing with his words.

"Kai, I don't want that crossbow of yours in my house for obvious reasons. The closest it will get inside is if it's on the porch, alright?" I stated as I looked at the culprit.

"Yes sir." He respectfully replied.

"The room Stacy and I sleep in is to never be intruded by any of you without permission, for again, obvious reasons." Stacy lightly blushed at the rule though I didn't let them ponder it for long. "Later down the line, if you guys have any plans you want to do, like build something, search somewhere, stuff like that, I would like to hear them first. Stacy and I have already made several plans of what to do with our property involving y'all, I’d like you to look over them and see if you're interested in them or not after you decide to accept our conditions, if you do so."

"How big is the house you sleep in?" Kostas asked, which brought up a pressing question.

I quickly thought it over. "It's quite big, I'm tempted to call it a mansion of some sort. There are four bedrooms on the second floor while only having one bedroom on the first floor. So you're gonna have to decide who gets what room to sleep in. There's a living room, a dining room, a kitchen of course, and an attic, of which are all fairly large. Then there's a medium sized basement that I don't want any of you entering, capiche?"

"So how long do you think you would need to know us before you no longer walk around with a magnum at your side?" Nova asked with a hint of anxiousness in her voice.

"That, I can't particularly answer. It will probably take at least a couple of weeks."

"Anything else you want to pester them about, Hunter?" Stacy asked with a little chuckle.

"If any of you look at Stacy in a or even think about her in a sexual way, I'll rip your eyes out." I thought, deciding against voicing it out. "Nope, nothing else of real importance anyways. Besides the obvious like treating us with respect. Other than that, those are the conditions. I've laid them all out and now it's time for you to decide as a group on how to move forward, or so Olivia's told me."

"You're correct and I'd like to be doing that as soon as possible. I think it would be best if we were to discuss it without you two right in front of us." Olivia replied.

"Right. Stacy, do you want to wander off to that comic store to get a few more things?" I asked, looking down at the girl.

She smiled at the suggestion. "Yes, I do actually want to do that." And so we did where we darted off to the aforementioned store. Within it, Stacy took the books she had picked out yesterday and crammed them inside her backpack to take them all in one trip, the girl making sure they wouldn't bend and what not.

"I'm getting a little nervous about this all, Stacy." I admitted a few minutes after entering the shop, the feeling of anxiety slowly strengthening in my chest. I definitely did not miss that feeling, that's for sure.

She suddenly hugged me which caused my arms to instinctively wrap around her neck, the touch calming my nerves a tad. "I have a good feeling about this, Hunter... I don't know if it means much to you, but I'm very optimistic about what's gonna happen."

Her words caused something to... I'm not sure, but it kind of felt like something clicked inside my mind, her words surprisingly extinguishing most of the nervousness I had felt, though there was still a trace amount lingering behind. I put a hand under her chin and gently pointed her head up toward mine to look her in the eyes. "Everything you say means a lot to me... I trust your feeling, we just need to figure out if it's true now." She smiled and lightly blushed, my hand then trailing onto her cheek with my other hand mirroring it as I leaned down a bit to kiss her.

The kiss stayed tender and lasted for a comfortable ten minutes where all my worries melted away as I felt her soft lips, the same lips that I felt brightly smile. When we finally broke the kiss, I couldn't help but quietly comment, "You're so adorable..." The girl's blush darkened slightly as I gingerly kissed her again. Unfortunately, we didn't kiss for much longer since Olivia's group had other plans.

"Damn, are you gonna kiss her all day? C'mon guys, at least get fuckin' a room!" I heard Trinity's voice call out making me abruptly end the lovely kiss Stacy and I were in.

I looked to my left to see Trinity residing in the entrance of the store. I met her gaze and noted her smirk which is when I saw Stacy's blush redden even more in my peripheral vision. "I might, haven't made a decision just yet. And our room is so far away, I kind of wouldn't want to wait that long to do something more... intense."

Trinity was a bit surprised at my remark but she quickly rolled with it. "Unfortunately for you, I have to make you cut that shit out since Olivia wants to talk to you."

I looked down at the tomato faced girl in my arms. "I'm afraid we'll have to put this off for later, my dear..." I whispered in her ear before our embrace concluded, the two of us then following Trinity back to her group where I saw that the rest of them were doing their own little tasks. I noticed that Olivia was off to the side a dozen or so meters away from the rest.

We separated from Trinity and made our way next to the doctor who didn't face us but instead continued looking at her group playing card games, talking, searching through what they found in the mall, and other miscellaneous tasks. "What exactly do you two have planned for us?" She asked, taking a few more seconds to turn to us. "You said you had plans for us, if we were interested. What did you mean by that?"

I glanced at Stacy for a brief second. "Stacy and I planned out some good places along the stream to fish by."

"And areas of where to hunt and grow food, stuff like that." Stacy said, finishing my sentence, one of Olivia's hands then slowly running through her braided hair.

"I'm taking a huge risk with this..." She commented which piqued my curiosity.

"What do you mean? It seems Stacy and I are making an even bigger risk letting y'all come back with us." I replied with a small chuckle.

"I understand, it's just that my group's tried settling down before and it didn't work out." I asked her to expand upon what she meant. "We simply ran out of food and couldn't get a sustainable income of it. I'm not sure if it was the region we were in or if it was the wrong time of year, something like that, but we had to continue walking from town to town in order to sustain ourselves." She looked me deeply in the eyes as she continued. "I'm tired of living this way, always stressing about the next location, stressing about the future... If I lose any of these kids under my leadership... I don't know what I'd do with myself."

I gently put a hand on her shoulder as a subtle tone of sorrow appeared in her eyes. "I don't know what you've been through and I don't know how it must feel, but I'm confident that things are about to change for you and your group, all for the better."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked before glancing back at her people.

"We kind of have to, don't we?" I replied with a few proper reasons formulating in my mind. "I think the region that Stacy and I live in might be able to sustain all of us, it's just being able to harvest all that it offers which is the something I'm most worried about... Really, that place seems so... lively." My hand slipped off her shoulder as a glint of hope briefly appeared in her eyes. "That's if y'all decided to at least scope the place out, that is."

"We did." Olivia quickly replied. "A few of us are a bit hesitant about it but to a few of us, including me, it sounds... promising, to put it simply."

"When do you guys want to head over there?" Stacy asked which caused Olivia to take a slow and deep breath as she thought about the question.

"I reckon in about ten minutes, if that would be fine with you two?"

I shrugged, my little girl not saying anything in response. "Sure, just tell us when to head out, we'll be waiting over there." I informed while pointing in the direction of the exit. She nodded and strolled off to her group to tell them the news before Stacy and I swiftly made it to the spot before waiting for our departure.

"I still have a good feeling about this, Hunter." Stacy said as she lightly hugged me. I slipped my arms around her neck as I watched Olivia's group quickly pack up their stuff, just thinking about what might occur in the next couple of weeks.

I watched them for a silent minute as I tried to determine what my mind was telling me about the situation. "...I do too, Stacy."

While on the way back home, Stacy and I were mingling with our new guests by talking with them about many miscellaneous subjects. Though I was more interested in what they were able to do, the utilitarian aspect of my personality making itself known. "So, what exactly do you search for in the woods?" I asked Nova who apparently was good at gathering wild foods.

"All sorts of things..." She trailed off as she formulated a response. "All types of berries, mushrooms, roots, and any fruits or vegetables I might find like grapes or onions, stuff like that. The winter is usually the worst time to do it for several reasons, one is because it's cold of course, it sucks being out in the cold for long periods of time. And another reason is because it's winter and everything's pretty much dead. There are a few things I could find, but they’re small in number."

"How much food do you usually find when out and about?"

"It depends on a lot of things... If it's spring, I have a lot of time, only focused on doing it, and if I'm in a forest with a good amount of wildlife, I could definitely fill up a few baskets each day. Though that's if I'm getting really lucky... I haven't been able to do that ever since the world ended, not full scale at least..." She trailed off again, her voice having a hint of despair lining her tone.

"Where did you learn this skill? I don't know if it was the area I lived in, but I don't think there were any classes on scavenging wild foods back when classes were still a thing." I asked with a gentle tone.

"My mother taught me... We used to go camping a lot each spring and summer. She taught me many things during those times. The thing I found the most fun was collecting food from a forest... I always liked gathering, I'm not sure why I did, it just seemed fun, in a way... Do you think it's a useful thing to know?" She asked before looking toward me.

I turned my head to meet her gaze, giving her a light smile, the girl seemingly looking for approval. "I think so, yes." She lightly smiled back at that. "Would you mind me 'exploiting' that skill later down the line?"

She chuckled at my question before nodding shortly afterward who then turned her gaze away from me. "It would be nice to only focus on doing that for a while, hopefully I can find some of the foods that I greatly miss."

"If it works out between us all, you'll definitely get your chance."

I really wanted to talk to more of them about various things, things like how they learned their skill, if they had anything planned, stuff like that. But I decided against it, thinking I'd save most of the conversations for later. As it was, I opted to just answer some of the questions they asked along the way to our destination. The near constant conversing made the trip flash by, the caravan approaching our house twenty minutes after that conversation with Nova.

"There's the stream over there; from what I know it goes on for a few miles. Stacy and I followed it for nearly an entire day once with no end in sight." I announced as I pointed toward the body of water, the stream nearly hidden because of all of the bushes and trees in the way.

As we got closer, Kostas, Jordan, Ashton, and Roman split off in a group to start surveying our property, the stream, some of the forest, and everything in between. It'd take them a while to do so as what they wanted to examine is quite a large area and I wondered what they were looking for exactly, but I didn’t bring it up.

"Hey, so you guys mentioned having a map you, like, doodled 'cause of boredom?" Audrey asked as we approached the entrance, my heart rate elevating just a tad as I confirmed her suspicion. "Can I look over it when we get inside? I want to see what you have planned."

"Likewise here." Willow announced as I put my hand on the doorknob of the mansion before turning back to look at Kai.

"What'd I say about that crossbow, boy?" I said, trying to hide a smirk. It was quite funny that I made him squirm a bit in a panic every time I called him that, it certainly helped lighten the mood. Stacy giggled at the boy who had freaked out just a tad.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that, Hunter." He replied before swiftly unslinging his backpack where he then took the weapon out and leaned it against the wall about a meter or so away from the door.

I nodded and entered the building. I continued to walk towards the dining room where all of the maps were still laid out, all while the new guests looked around the place to try getting a feel of the atmosphere within the building. "The maps are over here, Audrey."

Trinity and Charlotte headed up the stairs almost immediately. "Don't go in the first room on the right, that's mine and Stacy's room. The other rooms are the ones up for grabs." After getting a couple words of understanding, Kai and Willow migrated up there as well after examining the living room, the four of them on a mission to look for a room to call their pad. "Guess Willow had other plans."

"...Are Charlotte and Trinity a romantic couple?" Stacy asked, quite confused at the idea.

Olivia nodded. "Indeed they are. Personally, I was a bit surprised at first when I figured that out, but I was happy for them shortly afterward. They're quite the power couple, I must say."

"...Huh." Stacy simply replied.

After the small tidbit, Stacy, Audrey, Olivia, and Nova followed me into the dining room. The women, with the exception of my little lady, meticulously examined the maps. During this, Stacy and I pointed out what meant what, where certain buildings were, where exactly the forested areas were, and other miscellaneous markings that the maps had.

"These are much better drawn than what I was expecting... who drew them?" Nova asked as Audrey looked over the areas marked out for growing crops.

"It was a mix between me and Hunter. I drew all the trees and trails and half the buildings while Hunter got the rest." Stacy answered as the other three women thought deeply while looking at the sheets of paper.

"Wait, so the whole backyard, and even more, is gonna be where we drop all those seeds?" Audrey quickly asked another question. "Dude, how many seeds you got, like, stashed away anyways?"

Not quite sure if I like another woman talking about my seeds. "I have a few thousand. The most common type of seeds I have is lettuce, corn, beans, and potatoes. I have a bunch of other types of seeds but those are the main ones and the ones I think we should focus on the most."

"I agree, those are some of the easiest crops to grow and store and they yield a substantial amount of food." The redhead responded while shifting her gaze toward my own. "May I see the seeds?"

"At least ask me out to dinner first" I jokingly thought before granting her her request. "They're in my room so I'll head up and get them."

"Hey, mind if I tag along with you?" Audrey asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not."

"Can you send Kai and Willow down while you're at it? I want to go over this with them." Olivia asked as we exited the dining room, their leader getting a quick response of compliance afterward.

The rest of that day was rather unproductive, I will say. Well, that might be an oversimplification. It was full of my guests exploring the house, the land around it, claiming rooms, and making their own little edits on the maps. By the end of the day, the maps had plans that were set in stone which had been drawn on them, a couple of those plans set to begin the day after. I liked it so much how they were cool with the idea, the group wanting to do some work, see if this is an area worth staying at, and begin sharpening up the skills they haven't been able to enact upon in a while. At least the ones that could enact upon a skill would.

As night fell upon the now group of thirteen people, most of us resided in the living room just conversing and playing a few card games. It felt... so fucking nice and maybe a little too natural. I had forgotten what it was like to have fun with a group of people. The feeling in my chest was telling me that I could trust this lot of people. But there were still a few thoughts that my mind was telling me, thoughts that told me to be extremely on edge, and thoughts that claimed I had jumped into it all too quickly. It was a bit stressful to have the opposing feelings trying to dictate what I did so I tried ignoring it all to instead try having fun in the moment.

"So, are you guys wanting to stay here? For good?" Stacy asked when the conversation lulled.

It took a couple seconds for one of them to reply, Audrey being the quickest one of the bunch to reply.  "From what I saw, the soil here is, like, insanely fertile. It's the kind of dirt that, in my humble opinion, we definitely shouldn't overlook."

"Plus, the river's really close by so transporting water to the crop fields wouldn't be that much of a hassle." Willow added on, another thought coming to her. "Not to mention that the river is nearly chalk full of aquatic life. I saw some salmon, catfish, bass. and a couple other types of fish in just the couple of hours I was there, I wasn't expecting to see how many that stream has in it."

"We're in a thick lively forest too." Kai added his two cents. "I haven't thoroughly walked around in it just yet, I will tomorrow, but from what I've already seen, I think that I'll be able to hunt quite efficiently in this area."

I nodded at his words. "Willow, do you plan on fishing any tomorrow?"

"Yes, actually. Well, maybe. I need to make a couple of spears and then I need to make some fish traps later down the line, if that'd be okay with you."

"Of course it would, that sounds fantastic. The faster you do that, the happier I'll be." I replied with a hint of excitement.

"So, I think to answer your question, it's a resounding yes?" Olivia asked, most of her group residing in the living room positively answering her question.

I looked at Roman, about to start a conversation with him, but I stopped myself before I did, deciding to put it off until tomorrow. "It's... nice to hear that from y'all." I admitted whilst looking back at a few of them. "All that I ask is for y'all to pull your weight, follow the rules, and be respectable so we can all be good friends. I think that would be best for all of us."

When Stacy and I headed to bed ten minutes later, I locked the door as I still had my suspicions and probably would for a little while, the trust needing to be built up with them all. And at that moment, I truly had no clue how long that would take. I even put an empty can at the door after locking it. The reason being just in case that if someone opens it while Stacy and I are asleep, the noise'll wake us up. "Them getting food production rolling would help out a ton on the trust front..." I thought before joining Stacy in bed, the thought making me look forward to the day after to find out what needed to be done.

"I think we made the right decision..." Stacy whispered as she hugged me tightly.

"I think tomorrow will either make me agree or disagree with you on that. But for now, I'm still skeptical." I replied after booping her on the nose.

"I think keeping the gun on the bed is just a bit too much..."

"Nah, I don't think so. I think protecting you however I can from any possible danger isn't ever too much."

She smiled brightly and hugged me a bit tighter after I said that, her head going under my chin immediately afterward. "I love you, Hunter..."

I held the precious girl closer and closed my tired eyes before deeply relaxing into the feeling of having someone I loved dearly there. "I love you too, Stacy..."

Notes:

To help remember the characters I'm gonna put a list here describing them all

Fisher | White, Female, Willow, 17 years old. Willow having a diamond-shaped face, and her hair, blonde, being in a ponytail, her voice being just a bit haughty, brown eyes. 5 feet 4 inches tall

Hunter | White, Male, Kai, 17 years old. Kai has short, bright, and brown hair, being on the tanner side of the spectrum having a rectangular-shaped face, brown eyes. 5 feet 7 inches tall

Farmer | White, Female, Audrey, 22 years old. Audrey is a redhead, freckles donning her face, her red hair in a ponytail, amber eyes, with her skin extremely pale. 5 feet 5 inches tall, diamond-shaped face

Gatherer | White, Female, Nova, 17 years old. Her voice is very soft like silk, her hair was that of a brunette, and has green eyes with a few freckles across her face, 5 feet 9 inches tall.

Woodcutter | Latino, Male, Roman, 15 years old. Has short black hair, hazel eyes, and a square face, 5 feet 7 inches tall.

Doctor | Mixed, Female, Olivia, 34 years old. Olivia has black and braided hair, a rounded face, hazel eyes, 5 feet 6 inches tall

Craftsman | Black, Female, Trinity, 19 years old. Her curly black hair is in pigtails, a voice that was a bit rough, brown eyes, 5 feet 4 inches tall.

Tailor | White, Female, Charlotte, 18 years old. Charlotte is somewhat of a timid girl, her long and straight hair having a type of purple hue, her voice being a bit raspy, blue eyes, 5 feet 6 inches tall

Miner | White, Male, Ashton, 24 years old, his hair is brown but bordering black and was curly. 5 feet 9 inches tall. Square face, brown eyes.

Blacksmith | White, Male, Kostas, 28 years old. Kostas is Eastern European with a thick accent, his voice being quite deep, he typically wears a plain blue cap but when he doesn't he has some long black hair that needs trimmed, brown eyes, 6 feet 0 inches tall.

Chef | Black, Male, Jordan, 25 years old. His voice reminded me of Kevin Hart peculiarly, has an afro, hazel eyes, 5 feet 3 inches tall.

Chapter 11: Production

Chapter Text

Upon waking up in the early morning after the day we had invited eleven strangers to our home, my heart rate spiked suddenly, my senses becoming alert within a matter of moments. It didn't help any when I realized Stacy wasn't in my arms, or even in our bed for that matter, causing me to bolt straight up. Though I quickly calmed down when I saw her sitting in a chair to the desk that was stationed in our room.

She jumped a bit when she heard me quickly shuffle, the girl then turning her head toward to meet my gaze. She smiled and looked back down to the something she was writing on. "Good morning, Hunter." She sweetly said which broke the silence in the room.

After I yawned and stretched, I put my legs over the side of the bed as I mentally prepared myself to get ready for the day ahead. "Good morning, my love." I replied after putting the magnum in my pocket before getting on my feet and walking over to her.

"I always found it strange how your voice is a bit deeper when you've just woken up." She commented when I reached her side where I immediately looked down at what she was drawing.

I was pleasantly surprised at the something she had drawn. It was a mountainous landscape during a sunset which was scattered with trees where a river ran through the center of the page, everything being shaded to near perfection. I stayed silent for a few seconds as I speechlessly admired her work. "Wow. This is really well drawn, Stacy... I didn't know you were this good at drawing, it’s amazing."

Her lightly smiling face adopted a subtle blush as a couple of her fingers twirled within her hair. "I feel a bit bad about that...'' I asked her what she meant. "Just that you didn't know. I haven't drawn anything like this in a long time, I almost forgot that I even could. Drawing on the maps reminded me that I could and that made me want to draw something, anything really, that I could think of."

"You don't need to feel bad for that, dear." I assured with a smile. "I knew the sketches you made on the maps were quite good and that’s made me want to see you draw something like this for a little bit, I just never got around to asking you about it. Where did you learn to draw like this?"

She slowly let out a breath as she thought about my question. "Back before The Drop I... I was always bored out of my mind. My house never had anything to do and my parents would never do anything with me, so... I just drew... a lot."

I frowned a bit at her explanation before my hands lightly placed themselves on her shoulders. I slowly turned her around in the swivel chair so she could face me, though I let her put down the pencil she was using before I did so. My hands relocated themselves to be placed softly on her cheeks, Stacy then getting the idea of standing up and hugging me.

My right arm went around her neck as my other hand stayed on her cheek as she looked up at me. "I'm so sorry you had terrible parents, Stacy..." I sympathetically said, not knowing what else to say. She looked away after I said so, a saddened expression appearing on her face. "They shouldn't have taken someone as angelic as you for granted..."

My words made her smile a tad but she still averted my gaze. "It's fine, Hunter..."

I gently made her look back up to me with the hand on her chin before leaning down so I could press my forehead against hers. "It's not. But there's nothing we can do about it. Though I can do something about the now and the future/ Stacy, I promise I'll never take you for granted... I'll always try my best to make you happy."

She smiled brighter at my words as her hug tightened. "Thank you... I love you, Hunter."

"I love you too." I instantly replied before finally closing the distance between our lips so I could softly and lovingly kiss her. I did that for several minutes as I relaxed into the feeling of smooching her soft lips. "I could kiss you for hours..."

She lightly giggled. "I would like that."

After another ten minutes, I broke it once more since my thoughts couldn't contain themselves any longer. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I was thinking of checking out what our guests are planning on doing today as... y'know, I'm still a bit worried about sustaining ourselves and whether or not they're actually gonna be doing what they've assigned themselves to do."

"Of course, Hunter, I understand. But we'll continue this later, alright?"

I chuckled at her words. "Yes we will..." I kissed her quickly one more time before parting my way with her. That’s when a little anxiety appeared in my system as I opened our bedroom door and swiftly barreled down to the living room.

The first thing I noticed was that Nova and Jordan were asleep on each of the couches. "Guess they weren't able to pick out a room..." I murmured to myself as I strolled into the dining room to see Charlotte and Roman sitting at the dining room table talking about something I wasn't quite interested in.

"Good morning, Hunter. How are you doing?" Roman cheerily asked which caught my attention instantly.

"Doin' just fine. Curious about a couple things as a matter of fact. Do you know where the rest of your group is?"

He thought about it for a quick second. "I think Kai and Willow went out exploring some of the forest. Audrey and Ashton are doing something in the backyard."

"Olivia's in the kitchen and the others haven't gotten up yet, but I’m sure they will soon." Charlotte added with a shrug.

"Do you two plan on doing anything today?"

Charlotte shrugged again but Roman had something to say. "Do you have any tools I could use to start chopping down some of the trees? I figure I might as well make myself useful on day one to get a good impression."

I smiled at his words, already liking his work ethic. "Yes, actually. I was gonna bring that up to you yesterday but it slipped my mind. When do you want to go ahead and do that?"

"As soon as possible. What kind of tools do you have?"

After I guided him to the shed and to the assortment of tools he could choose from, he equipped one of the axes and started to eye which trees to target first. Before I let him go, I told him a few words of advice. "If you cause a tree to fall on my house, it's your ass." There were only a few trees where that could happen so it most likely wouldn't happen. Still, I wanted to make sure.

He chuckled. "Trust me, Hunter. I know what I'm doing... for the most part."

I let that last bit slide before moving onto a question. "How come you proclaim yourself to be a woodcutter?"

"I worked with my dad in a type of logging job. I learned how to cut trees efficiently and in many ways. I always found that an axe was the most unbearable way of doing it. But it's not like there's any other way these days."

I nodded at the tidbit of information. "Well, Roman, I think I might join you later after I talk with a few more people. There's an extra axe somewhere in here and I'm sure you'll need the help." After telling him where he should put the lumber, I ceased the conversation.

I stayed at the entrance of the shed as he parted ways with me, the boy strolling by Audrey who was walking up to the doorway of the shack. "Hey, do you mind if I, uh, take a peek inside this shed?" I quickly allowed her entry. “I was kinda curious about what's in here. Would've snooped around earlier, but I didn't wanna step on any toes, you know what I mean?"

"Thanks for respecting my property." I replied, a little trust being gained from that as Audrey checked out the array of tools strung up upon the wall.

"...Yo~, this is like everything I need for whatever type of crop I’d want to grow." She plainly stated as she eyed a couple of different tools that could be used for tilling. "I'm sure by the time spring's here,we're gonna hafta, like, manually and painfully rip out all that sod, man, so we can plant our seeds. It's gonna be a long-ass process, but like, no other choice, y’know?"

"Sounds like you've got a lot of things planned already." I commented with a chuckle.

"Sure do, man. Though I'm gonna need a lot of help cultivating the ground when the time comes."

"I'm sure we'll be able to rally the forces and focus on doing that when you'll need it."

"I hope so. But for now, we gotta, like, focus on other stuff, you know? Like fishing or hunting. I was actually waiting for Willow to get back so I could, you know, chat with her about it. But, typical, she's out with Kai doing... whatever it is they do when they're goofing off." Audrey said as she turned away from the tools and walked towards the entrance of the shack.

"This happens often?"

She nodded as she leaned on the doorway. "Mhm, tell me about it. Sometimes I get this, like, gnawing fear for them, you know? I don't want them pulling any... dumb shit, to put it mildly."

Avoiding that topic, I changed it. "I'm also waiting for Willow to talk about her fishing techniques and all that fun stuff. I'm really wanting to get an income of some fresh food here, that'd be really nice to get established."

She sighed in delight at the thought. "I know, right? I've been so sick and tired of eating what we scrounge up when on the road, man... Just want a real, hot meal for once."

"I agree completely. The life I used to live before settling down here was so... boring and repetitive. I'm glad Stacy and I found this place."

"It's really kinda nice, gotta admit. I mean, it's pretty darn serene out here, right smack in the middle of this forest.”

We continued our small talk for a little while, the two of us wanting Willow and Kai to hurry back as soon as possible so we could get our fishing business going. Since Audrey's plans had to wait until spring to start, she wanted to make herself useful some other way and that was by fishing with Willow. I was happy either way, the more people that were allocated to gathering or catching food the better. But we had to actually commence the operation first.

"Hey, you cool if I blaze up around here?" Audrey asked, piquing my interest.

"Smoke what exactly?" I asked as she took out something that looked like a blunt out of her pocket. The answer to that question was obvious in retrospect.

"Just a bit of weed, man." She plainly answered before looking in my direction for her request to be confirmed or denied.

"No, I don't mind. I’m curious; how much of that do you have?" I asked, surprised she had anything of the sort.

She chuckled a small bit. "Why, you want some?"

"Well, maybe eventually." I admitted. "But not now, or anytime soon, I wouldn't want to take any from your stash anyways, I’m sure you sparingly use it."

She took out a nearly empty lighter and lit the blunt before quickly starting to smoke it. She inhaled deeply and slowly let it go, only coughing a small bit. "I don't have a whole lot left, man, to be honest. I used to have a stash, but I've been conserving and rationing it as best as I could... it's almost gone now, unfortunately. I was planning to grow some once we start planting what we've agreed on. Do you think it's cool if I grow weed here?"

I smirked. "Sure, sure, as long as I get a cut of it."

"You're the boss, man."

I was surprised at how easy it was to seal that deal and I'll be honest, I didn't even know if I actually wanted any. I'd like to try it again at some point in my life but... I don't know, I'm not gonna think about it until the time rolls around.

Audrey and I migrated to the porch of the house to continue waiting for the two love birds to come back. While we did that, we watched Roman in the distance chopping at a tree, the third one of the day which was crazy fast progress. I assumed he was piling them up so he could cut them into smaller pieces later. Thirty minutes swiftly passed by before the couple Audrey and I were waiting for had finally returned.

"Productive day, Kai?" Audrey called out as we both eyed the five or so rabbits strung together that the person in question was wielding.

"Hell yeah a productive day!" He replied before quickening his pace toward us. "I was only out for like three or so hours and got enough meat for today. I saw around a dozen more but I'm fairly rusty with my bow so I couldn't get as many as I could." As he finished his statement, he walked up onto the porch as Willow lagged behind, the boy halting a couple feet in front of us. "If the wildlife is this plentiful year-round, then we should be able to get a great income of game each day. I just need to sharpen my skills up."

"Maybe I've been worried over nothing..." I thought, quickly throwing the thought away. I didn't want to jinx anything or relax too much regarding the problem of food. "That sounds amazing, I truly hope that's the case, it sure looks promising. Do you plan on going back out tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I was planning on going back out in a bit. The only reason I came back is because, well, Willow wanted to."

"Well, that's even better." I happily replied before facing Willow who had stationed herself next to Kai. "Are you planning on fishing at all today?" She nodded. "Mind if Audrey and I tag along when you get around to doing that?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. Got nothing else to do?" She inferred.

"That, and I'm just antsy to be getting something done, y'know?" Audrey replied, making Willow nod again with a light smile.

"Can I put these somewhere in the kitchen?" Kai asked while lifting the deceased rabbits higher which caused me to take a step back from the gruesome sight.

"Sure thing, just don't make a mess or anything with them." I advised, Kai nodding in response. "I figure Jordan's gonna be the one to cook them up?"

"Yes sir. I could skin them, but I'm not as good as Jordan since he can get all the little bones that I can never seem to find. I'm sure he could also scale the fish Willow and whoever else will catch whenever that’s needed to be done."

"Gnarly man, I'll leave you to it then." With that being said he walked inside after almost taking the crossbow in with him. I turned back to Willow to see a strange expression on her face. "What?"

"...Gnarly?" She said the word with a type of disgust though she giggled afterward. I just shrugged, though I suppose Audrey’s vocabulary was already starting to rub off on me.

With that exchange being said and done, Willow went inside to do something she didn't clarify. I followed her in to do a couple of my own tasks, though I got sidetracked by a group of three preparing to do something that I wanted to know about. Why? Because I'm naturally nosy. But I'm not nosy-nosy, I just wanted to know what was going down.

"We're headed back to that damn town to scavenge and look through it some more." Trinity answered my question as her two other squadmates equipped their empty backpacks. "Kostas and Ashton decided they wanted a third fuckin’ person to join them so I figured why the fuck not not. We'll be gone for a few hours most likely, not sure though since they haven't given me a time reference for some damn reason."

"I'll give y'all a map of the town so you know where you're at and know what Stacy and I have already searched." After handing them the map and telling them not to get lost, they were off. Shortly afterward, I headed to the kitchen to see Jordan surveying the medium sized rabbits that were in the sink.

"Hey Hunter, do you guys have any knives, cutting boards, pots, stuff like that?"

I showed him what each cabinet bestowed, the man taking his required tools before getting to work on skinning the rabbits. I left him to it before Willow got my attention when she headed toward the front door. She told me she was ready to get to doing her assigned job, the girl taking Audrey and I toward the stream... which now that I think of it, it's like a river but a small one. Though I'm not sure what the difference between the two are if I'm being honest.

When we got there, Willow informed us to search for a good area to set up shop, more specifically an area that wasn't too deep or shallow. When we did about a couple dozen minutes later, I asked, "What's your most preferred way of fishing?"

"Spear fishing. Though I haven't gotten around to making any of those yet. I figured I'd get around to it when I couldn't stall anymore... So now's the time." She giggled at the end of her statement. "Mind helping me look for a few solid branches to make spears out of?"

Audrey and I easily complied to aiding her with her request, the three of us then scouting thoroughly, on the lookout for something spear worthy. Eventually, we found a few large and straight branches around fifteen minutes later. Willow carried them back with a little difficulty but she insisted that she be the one to carry the wooden limbs.

"Could you find me a couple of medium sized and sharp rocks as I start making these?"

I'll quickly sum up the remainder of the spear making session; after handing Willow what she required, she smoothed out and skinned the branches, sharpened a small rock intended to be the head of the spear, lodged it into a flat end of the handle, and used some of the branches' string like skin to tie it around the head to make sure that the rock stayed within the branch. She repeated this a couple more times and then bam, all three of us had enabling spears.

"You made those very quickly, good job." I complimented as Willow stepped into the river.

"Really? If I’m being honest, it kind of felt really slow. I'm sure I could make them at least twice as fast if I truly warm back up to it since I hadn’t made a spear in quite a long time. I'm really out of practice."

"That seems to be a common theme with y'all, being out of practice. Though I understand why that is, it’s pretty self explanatory." I commented after taking my shoes off before entering the river with Willow. I suppressed any sound that wanted to escape my lips when I felt the freezing water encompass my legs. "How do you usually fish?"

Willow quickly taught Audrey and I the optimal stance she prowls with, and that was by holding the spear out waist high whilst slowly taking steps forward and keeping her eyes locked looking into the clear water, looking for any movement within the flowing liquid.

We steadily trudged through the slowly moving river water for several minutes, the hun being fairly quiet and unproductive. As I was inspecting the spear I was holding, not paying attention, Willow suddenly thrusted her spear in the water which caused me to look where she was aiming. It was very quick but I managed to make out a decently sized catfish that she had missed by a hair, the fish then darting away from danger.

But unfortunately for the fish, it had to worry about two other humans down the stream it had to evade. Now, since Willow was about three or so meters in front of us, Audrey and I had time to prepare to strike it. When it swiftly approached me, I barely had enough time to aim and attack, missing it by a much larger margin than Willow did. However, Audrey got a lucky shot on the body of the fish which instantly killed the thing before she lifted the soon-to-be meal out of the water.

"If only we had a bucket to toss this in." Audrey commented after she and Willow quickly celebrated.

"I think there's a couple in the shed, do you want me to get us one?"

"It'd make things a whole lot simpler, you know. So, if you don't mind..."

I went off to do what was suggested, returning back to them about ten minutes later, coming back to see that Willow had another fish on her spear. I stayed with the two for another half an hour, the bucket holding four catfish and one salmon by the end of it. "This seems almost too easy... it seems a bit... fishy." I thought after making my departure and leaving the spear on the porch. "We definitely have enough food for today and tomorrow on what we've gathered for today alone... I'm not complaining, I just hope it'll be like this most days."

As the day progressed, the feeling inside my chest got lighter, the underlying feeling of worry slowly dissipating. Though I recognized that the feeling of security was likely a fleeting illusion.

"I think you might’ve been right, Hunter..." Olivia said, breaking a long silence.

I had been in the dining room and looking over the maps on the table, trying to come up with new possible ideas while thinking of a few unlikely scenarios that might occur in the future. "Right about what exactly?" I asked as I faced her just as she walked into the dining room from the living room.

"Back in that mall, you said things were gonna change for the better. I didn't really believe you at the time, just because it’s hard seeing a brighter side to things, but it seems to be true. At least for now. It really depends on what happens in the next few weeks but for now things seem... quite promising." She finished her statement as she stationed herself a couple feet to my right.

"For now, yes. But I'm not gonna relax any time soon; I can't let my guard down at a time like this."

She nodded. "Wise words that I completely agree with... I just can't help but be excited about the possibility of staying put indefinitely. I wonder what's different about this place than the other locations we previously tried settling down at."

I thought about it for a couple of seconds. "Maybe nature just needed a little more time to heal itself from humans' previous ownership, or something like that. We definitely treated the Earth like shit a few years ago. Remember how that pandemic taught us how fast animals and all that replenish and return to their natural habitats? And that was nothing compared to what happened to humans a few years later."

"That's definitely a good theory..." She replied as she took a seat at the table. "Another thought that's been on my mind is that I want to be a little more useful."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not like... a labourer. That’s primarily because I have spinal arthritis. Back when I could easily get medication for it just a few years ago, it was obviously much better. But now that I don’t have any help like that, it really limits a whole lot I can do, it's pretty severe."

The information rolled around my mind as I tried coming up with a solution of some type. "Are you still able to perform doctorly acts without being in pain?"

She lightly chuckled at my wording. "Most procedures, yes. However, I don't have any tools to do your most basic procedures. Not to mention, my people don't get injured that often. Though I've been wanting to check up on them to see if anything's out of the ordinary."

I sat down with her as I continued thinking. "I'm gonna need to talk to Trinity when she gets back. They have a map of the town; we should go over it to see if we can spot any clinics or hospitals.At least, would you think pillaging through a hospital would help you with that tooling problem?"

My suggestion lit her eyes up. "I hadn't even thought of that! Now that we're held up somewhere, I can finally set my focus on these things!"

"I take it as a yes then." I said with a chuckle. "Wanna set up a time when you want to do that right now? And perhaps figure out who you want to go with you?"

For the next few minutes, the both of us schemed of how we were gonna accomplish this newly formed goal. Olivia decided to take me, Stacy, Kostas, and Charlotte to the excursion which would happen the next day since there was no real point in putting it off. All that Olivia had to do then was propose the idea to the selected candidates and find out where a medical site was located. Thankfully, we didn't need to tell Stacy about it since she had joined us at the table in the middle of our planning session.

"What exactly do you need anyways?" Stacy asked, continuing the conversation.

"Some basic tools like a stethoscope, reflex hammer, otoscope, penlights, a BP cuff, thermometers, all sorts of dental tools, and many more of the like. I'm not sure if it's possible to get some of the more advanced tools like a heart rate monitor since, y'know, it needs electricity and that doesn't really exist anymore, at least not in the usable sense."

"I think this confirms that she's actually a doctor." I thought. "Maybe you'll be able to use some of those more advanced tools again someday if we figure something out here. It might be something we ultimately focus on, who knows."

"The future definitely seems intriguing with that type of attitude..."

The three of us continued talking about it for a few more minutes where Olivia expressed that she had the desire to put all of us through many exams to see if we're all healthy and what not. I appreciated the type of worry she conveyed when talking about it, it told me she deeply cared about people's well-being. After she departed from us, I stood up and faced Stacy who looked up at me. My hands went down to hers so I could hold them causing a gentle smile to appear on her lips as I gingerly tugged her off the chair and onto her feet.

Before I leaned down, I continued gently tugging her, the girl rolling along with whatever I was doing. That was until I softly put her in a corner before my body lightly pressed up against hers which caused her rate of breath to elevate a bit. I placed the back of my left hand on her respective cheek as I continued holding one of her hands before leaning down so the tip of my nose could press against hers.

"I've barely seen you all day..." I whispered as I slowly rubbed her nose with mine.

With a subtle giggle, she delicately rubbed her nose against mine and gently squeezed my hand before whispering back, "Same here... What have you been up to for today?"

I briefly summarized all of what had conspired that day, the girl showing intrigued interest during so. "I've been craving a little something the past couple of hours... or more specifically, a little someone."

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She lightly blushed. "Oh? what exactly have you been craving?"

"Your lips..." I immediately replied before gingerly placing my lips on hers. The kiss stayed gentle, though Stacy shyly broke it a minute later. "Is something wrong?" I took a small step back after assuming it might've been me cornering her to feel hesitant.

"No, no, it's just... I don't want anyone to see, I guess."

"We're just kissing..." I said as the hand on her face slipped down to my side. "Unless you wanna do something more?" I implied as I placed my hand on her side which caused a breath to hitch in her throat and her blush to darken.

"I... I just don't want anyone to see anything like that, it’s weird." She shyly giggled.

I chuckled. "I get it, I'll stop if you want."

"Well, I don't want you to stop... Let's just maybe go somewhere else?"

"You don't have to tell me twice..." I stopped cornering her and put my hands back at my sides before luring her all the way up to our room. After I locked the door, I put my hands back on her hips and gently pushed her into a corner again. "Cornering you like this kind of really turns me on... You're so adorable." After pointing that out, I lustfully kissed her, the kiss swiftly strengthening as my heart rate increased. One of my hands went under her shirt while my other hand snaked down to her ass and took a firm handful of one of her buttocks. Right after that, her arms went around my neck after I leaned down a bit, a large amount of my self control then quickly being lost. "Have I ever told you just how sexy you are?"

She giggled as my hand under her shirt slowly rubbed her belly, the little girl looking down as one of her hands placed itself on my stroking hand. "A couple of times..."

"It just somehow seems you get more beautiful every second I'm with you... Can I take your clothes off?" The question caused me to start genuinely getting aroused.

She shyly nodded as her rate of breath elevated to her usual heightened rate, my hands then retreating back to her hips so I could take her shirt off. I eyed her breasts and gently caressed them for a few seconds before going to the button and zipper of her jeans afterward. I kneeled before sitting on my knees which is when I hooked my digits inside the sides of her panties where I then slowly pulled both fabrics down. I instantly noticed that her panties stuck to her lubricated slit for a couple of seconds before they unattached from it, which revealed her gorgeous little snatch. When I pulled them down to her ankles, I made her lift a leg up then her other one before sliding the attire behind me before standing back up.

I put my hands back on her hips and looked her right in the eyes where her beautiful dilated pupils stayed locked with mine as my hands migrated up her smooth skin. "What do you want me to do to you...?"

It took her a few seconds to respond; I assumed that there was a large amount of lustful desires and instincts clouding her thought processes. "I-I want you to t-touch my clit and k-kiss me... please..."

I smirked at her desires before my right hand trailed down her belly, my fingers then contacting her fuzzy labia (due to her not having shaved for a little over a week) for a brief second before halting on one of her inner thighs which caused her to whimper. "You drive me absolutely wild..." I commented as I smelled her hair, the scent making me lightly shiver as I slowly let my breath go. I massaged her inner thigh for a couple of minutes before trailing my hand back up and stopping when it reached her clit, something that made her squeak.

"F-Fuck... mmm~..." She moaned when my fingers steadily started stimulating her swollen love button as I watched her face express what she felt. As I rubbed her a bit faster, my other hand went under her chin to make her slowly look up at me. Though she didn't open her eyes since she continued relaxing into my touch; I just watched her facial expression, feeling her slimy clit, and hearing her adorable little grunts and moans of pleasure for the next few minutes.

I then put my hand on her neck before passionately kissing her for a minute, my tongue invading her mouth for a few brief seconds. After that, I then watched her expression for a minute before repeating these two actions a few times. Eventually, she put her arms back around my chest as her legs slowly lost their strength. When her facial expression started becoming more volatile and her hips started to grind a little, I gently asked, "Are you about to cum?"

She nodded. "Y-Yes-"

She moaned loudly after saying that, though I pulled my hand away from her pussy which made her pout and open her eyes. Before she could say anything, I kissed her for a few seconds only to break it, kneel, and sit on my knees once more before putting my hands on her hips as my nose went up to her clit to inhale deeply, the thick and musky scent stoking any arousal that I might've not already had.

I kissed her lower belly a few times which made her quietly giggle before kissing her inner thighs. Finally, my tongue lovingly tasted and rubbed her clit for half a minute before I stopped again to take my shirt off which was followed by me continuing the action for a few more moments. Before she came, I denied her once more, my hands going on her inner thighs to lightly knead them. "I want you to sit on my face..."

"W-What does that m-mean?"

I let go of her hips and laid down on my back before a hand gestured her over. "Come over here."

She walked over to my side before a hand took a gentle hold of one of her ankles before directing her to put a foot on either side of my abdomen. After she did that, I told her to get on her knees, which is when my hands returned back to her hips while she grinded, her action smearing some of her lubricant on me. I let her fidget her hips on me for a few moments before she asked, "D-Do you want me to... to p-put it on your mouth now?"

I leaned up and kissed her deeply. "You're a very good girl for figuring it out." I leaned back down. "Yes, rest your delicious little pussy on my lips."

If she could blush any harder, she would've, but as it was, her darkest blush was already achieved. She swallowed hard as she did what we both wanted, her knees then migrating to either side of my head. I put my hands back on her hips as she lowered herself, my head leaning up so I could lick her clit and kiss it a few times, something that caused her to squeak a bit each time I did so. After that, I finally started to work toward causing her to cum where the girl let her weight press down on my head. As the minutes rolled by, her moans got louder and her hips ground on my face, my tongue delving deeper into her succulent depths, the taste and scent of her pussy turning my feral side on. I hoped that no one was hearing us but in the end, I didn't really care.

She ground faster as one of her hands went over her mouth to limit how loud she was moaning, the little girl cursing adorable swears just trying to convey how she felt. When a small cascade of her pungent and addictive cum squirted out of her, she lightly dampened the lower half of my face, her delicious lady-liquid dripping down my cheeks and chin. I continued gently licking and sucking her inflamed lower lips, my tongue slowly enjoying the licking of her entire labia as she calmed down from the orgasm.

When I was done doing that, I abruptly lifted her up which caused a surprised squeak to emit from her voice. I quickly hefted her back on my belly, the girl then shyly smiling down at me as one of my hands strayed off her hips to head to her clit so I could delicately rub it. "Do you want me to fuck you?"

She closed her eyes and kept a light smile as I continued slowly rubbing her clit before the girl gently nodded a few seconds later. Without wasting any time, I leaned up and wrapped an arm around her abdomen to hold her close as my other hand finally unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans before sliding the remaining clothes that I was wearing off.

I kissed her deeply while my hands went back over her hips before lifting her up a tad as my phallus brushed her perineum and rested on my abdomen. I then set the precious little girl down on it where her lower lips quickly encompassed my girth before I broke the kiss again, though I kept my forehead on hers before lustfully whispering, "I want you to ride me..."

She swallowed hard. "H-How do I d-do that?"

I let her grind on my dick for a couple dozen seconds before lifting her up to insert the tip of my shaft into her inviting slit which made her grunt in delight at my entry, the girl quite eager to let gravity pull her down as she watched it delve into her, the feeling of stretching her tight, lubricated, and warm walls nearly overloading me with sensation. When my phallus contacted her cervix, I slowly sighed in satisfaction as I thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of how squishy, tight, and fantastic her insides were for, all while loving how I was as deep inside her as I could ever be. After that, I started to gently lift her up my length after half a minute or so.

"Now you just get on your knees and slowly lift your ass up and down..." I advised, the girl then properly yet slowly getting on her knees.

She breathed heavily and grunted before she put her hands on my shoulders so the girl could more easily grind on me where my hands on her hips helped her pelvis move up and down. It took her a few minutes for her to properly motion herself - how to correctly use her knees and thighs in this instance - the girl being able to swiftly learn how to lift and lower her hips through rapid trial and error. I wanted her to slide all the way up each time but since she was so little, she was only able to go up half of my length before sliding back down. I didn't complain as it still felt wonderful. She seemingly agreed since as this continued, her grunts started to pick back up.

We both stared at where we connected for a few moments, the sight quite enthralling, lust filling my mind and veins which caused the grip of my hands to strengthen on her hips so she could fuck me even faster. After another minute, I kissed her deeply once more while we got lost in the feeling of pleasing each other. One of my hands left her hips and snaked around her abdomen so I could hold her close, the moment quite an intimate one which I enjoyed to the fullest extent. Eventually, my other hand also left her hips and toward her breasts to instead massage them for a few minutes.

I broke the long lasting kiss and rested my forehead on hers so the two of us could look deeply in each other's eyes while my hands went back to her hips once more which had the result of Stacy's bouncing speeding up. "I love f-fucking you..." I lustfully whispered as the thought of my phallus being deep inside her suddenly drove me wild. It’s rather strange how remembering that certain obvious things that are happening when fucking do that to me…

"I-I- m-me too-." She struggled to reply as I rested my chin on one of her shoulders before closing my eyes where I relaxed into the sensations she was giving me; I couldn't help but quietly grunt in gratitude. My left hand then snaked down to gently massage her clit a minute later so I could make her enjoy the act even more, something that I’d always want to maximize as much I can. "S-So... so f-fucking good."

Another couple of minutes rolled by before I suddenly felt her abdominal and vaginal muscles shift while she moaned and slightly quickened up her riding, my head then lifting off her shoulder to gently kiss her as she came again, a decent bit more of her lady-fluid dripping down my cock before spilling down my inner thighs.

After her orgasm ended, she sat all the way back down and ceased her movements, the girl breaking the kiss a dozen seconds later as she looked down with her eyes closed. She stayed like that for a minute or so where my hand rubbing her clit returned back on one of her hips. "C-Can I fuck you some more?"

She lightly grinned and looked back up at me after a couple of silent seconds. "H-How much more?"

"Just a few more minutes..." I replied, knowing that I couldn't last that much longer.

She slowly nodded. "O-Of course, Hunter... Do y-you want me to continue... riding you?"

My hands on her hips lifted her up a tad. "No... Can I put you in a different position?" She gently nodded with a cute little smile. I quickly swapped our positions so she'd be the one laying down where I sat on my knees. Dring so, her legs wrapped around my thighs which locked me into place within her, my dick staying ported inside her through the entire migration.

I slowly started to thrust in and out of her, her legs tightening around me in response, her grunts and moans picking back up as I watched her face express her feelings to me. She looked down at where I penetrated her and watched the ever changing yet small abdominal bulge that my penis caused.

One of my hands left her hips to rub her clit yet again for a minute, which then migrated upward so I could briefly massage her tits before I lost myself in the need to pound her needy slit. I took a firm hold of her wrists and held her hands down into the floor above her head before I started thrusting significantly harder into her, the much faster pace causing her to moan much more audibly but I didn't care. I felt her arms try to escape my grasp which turned me on even more; I was sure she was fine with it because she would've told me to stop otherwise. Though because her hands were restrained, she wasn't able to cover her mouth which just amplified how much her moans were escaping her. I watched her tits bounce a few times as my pelvis slammed into hers before once again watching her expression for a few moments.

After five minutes of pleasing the both of us, I took my cock out of her a few seconds before I climaxed, wanting the act to last a few minutes longer before ending it. Though it always sucked denying myself the release. I let go of her wrists to gently caress her skin as my phallus calmed down before I inserted my penis back inside her a couple of minutes later.

My hands placed themselves on her inner thighs and massaged them for a few seconds before relocating to the backside of her knees before my hands pressed her legs down, something that made them unwrap from around me. After that, I pressed them down even more so her legs could be as spread open as they could comfortably be. I looked down to her spread legs and her stretched pussy that tightly encompassed my shaft, the sight causing me to continue my thrusts, the speed of them quickly increasing, her breasts once again gently bouncing with each hard thrust.

I wanted to cum deep inside her womb at that point, the panting girl rubbing her clit as she massaged one of her breasts, her eyes staying closed as she exposed her vulnerable neck to me all the while her beautiful moans continued escaping her vocal cords. I let another couple minutes of pounding her slit pass before I leaned down to kiss her once more as I felt myself near my climax again. I continued fucking her for another minute where I felt her cum on my shaft again as I let the feelings of railing her, pressing her legs open, kissing her lips, and hearing her grunts overcome my senses. It only took another thirty seconds for me to go over the edge, her vaginal walls once again milking my shaft as my seed harshly planted itself inside the womb that hungered to be bred and filled to the brim with my semen.

A few seconds after that and as my spurts ceased shooting into her, I continued to kiss her, my hands on her legs slowly leaving them and relocating to be softly placed on her cheeks. When over two minutes passed, I finally broke it and rested my forehead on hers as we kept our eyes closed, the both of us panting. "I love you..." I quietly whispered after a minute of recuperation.

She gently wrapped her arms around my neck as she slowly processed my words. "I love you too..."

I gingerly kissed her again as we calmed down from the act, my cock continuing to soften inside her bred cunt, our breathing slowly returning back to their normal rates. After she leaned up, I wrapped an arm around her where my other hand on the floor supported us off the floor, the both of us tightly hugging each other as her legs wrapped around my pelvis to keep me inside her. We stayed kissing and in that embrace for several long minutes, the silent peace, loving embrace, and passionate kiss being extremely enjoyable...

(Sex scene over)

When the group of three that were out scavenging returned back to base, I retrieved the map from them and went to find Olivia. I wasn't particularly interested in what they might've found whilst out, I simply assumed it was more of the usual. While Olivia and I were surveying the map, Kostas and Charlotte joined us where the two of them showed interest in joining us for our upcoming scavenging mission.

On the map, we managed to make out a few clinics but when we spotted a fairly large hospital, we all decided to allocate our time to that building since we figured it'd have all of what Olivia was looking for.

"When do y'all wanna do this?" I asked.

"At crack of dawn?" Kostas suggested, though Charlotte shook her head a tad after processing his words.

"How about a couple hours after that? I'm sure we won't use up all the daylight while inside that hospital. Plus, I want to sleep in a little bit more tonight." Charlotte counter offered which caused Kostas to shrug in response.

"It's your call, Olivia." I announced. Right before she replied, Jordan called out that what he was cooking was finished. The four of us waited at the dining table for the other's to get their portion of what he had made, giving Olivia the time to decide.

"Yeah, I'll go with Charlotte's suggestion, if that'd be fine with you."

"Sounds like a plan." I happily said before tapping the table a few times and then standing up to walk into the living room. I quickly approached Jordan who was by the recently used fireplace which had a large pot hovered over the top of the smoldering ashes that had helped him cook. The pot was filled with a type of rabbit stew he had crafted up; it was something that looked quite scrumptious even though there were few ingredients he was able to use.

I quickly got a bowl full of the stew and decided to consume it in the living room where most of the group decided to hunker down during the meal. I took a seat on one of the couches that was completely free of people while the want to assess the situation grew within me. Before I did that, I watched Stacy get a serving before gesturing her over to me when she looked for a spot to rest.

I let a few minutes of eating roll by, and I'll say that the stew Jordan made was quite delicious primarily due to how it was a type of meal I hadn't had in such a long time, before I broke the silence. "So, how did today go? Y'know, with all the fishing and what not."

Kai was the first to speak up. "Everything went fantastic, all things told. I was able to get ten rabbits which is already enough to make more stew tomorrow."

I nodded at his statement but before I could say anything else, Willow spoke up. "And Audrey and I got nearly an entire bucket full of a few types of fish, we were planning on cooking those tomorrow."

"Might wanna slow it down a bit." I advised with a chuckle. "We don't want anything to rot before we can eat it, right?" The thought made me think of the refrigerator in the kitchen. It obviously didn't work but I remembered talking to Olivia about maybe focusing on getting electricity some time in the future. If we did that, then we'd have something that could prolong the life of the excess of what these people would hunt and fish.

"I'm not able to do anything with the skins of the rabbits just yet since I don't have any equipment for me to be able to, though the town over yonder might have a store or two I could look through to help me with that." Charlotte said as she stacked her empty bowl on a tower of used dishes on the coffee table.

"Maybe we can go to one of those stores when we go to the hospital?" Stacy offered which got the curiosity of the people who were unaware of the plan that we had constructed for the day after. We quickly summarized it to them and moved on to the next topic.

"I cut down about two dozen trees out there. Now I just need to cut the trunks up into smaller segments. I was gonna ask for some help but it seems you're gonna be busy tomorrow." Roman said as the coffee table was cleared before Charlotte took out a pack of cards after taking a spot on the floor right next to it.

"Perhaps the day after tomorrow I'll help you. I'm sure Ashton or... Trinity here can help you before then." I replied where Trinity gave me an unsure look in response.

"Sure thing, Hunter." Ashton said before Trinity could voice her disapproval. After that, my focus turned to what Charlotte was doing since she was on the move.

"Well Hunter, we all want to get to know you and Stacy some more as... Well, truth be told, we don't know a whole lot about you two. We've been wanting to play a little game with you since yesterday, but we didn't know when the best time for that would be. I figured now's time for it; do you two wanna play?" Charlotte explained as she thoroughly shuffled the deck of cards up.

"What's the game, exactly?" Stacy wondered as Charlotte stopped shuffling the cards.

After Stacy and I had polished off our food, Roman, Ashton, Kai, Willow, and Trinity gathered around the table, and we all took our places on the floor, forming a circle.

"It's a bit like War." Trinity started explaining before Charlotte continued the explanation.

"Only a bit. It's where whoever has the highest valued card gets to ask whoever a question. But since we all wanna get to know you two, we’re as in Olivia's group, are all gonna ask you questions and vice versa." She started handing out cards to the participants. "Sound fun?"

"Seems just a bit unfair..." I commented as I looked down at Stacy. "Sure, I'll play, as long as you do, Stacy." She smiled and shrugged as we got our cards handed to us. Charlotte counted down quickly as we all flipped our cards around which quickly revealed that Trinity had the highest valued card with an ace of hearts.

Trinity thought about it for a few seconds before her face lit up as she thought of a question to ask. "Where did you two meet?"

The game continued not in our favour, our guests asking us questions that spanned from how long we've known each other for, aspects of our lives before The Drop happened, hobbies we might've had, what it was like when we became a couple, and a whole plethora of other tame questions.

"How tall are you exactly, Hunter?" Roman asked when it was revealed that it was his turn to ask something.

I took a second to think about it. "Last time I checked, I was six feet and five inches tall. I've probably not gotten any taller ever since the last time I checked, I'd be somewhat surprised if I did."

"Damn, didn't think you were that tall." Willow commented as she scanned my appearance where Stacy saw her gaze which prompted her to lightly press into my chest, something that conveyed that she’s a possessive person. I liked how she did that, I thought it was extremely adorable.

"You're very intimidating looking, Hunter, I'll admit." Ashton commented after a couple of silent seconds. At my curious look, he continued. "You're much taller than any of us for starters. Hell, Kostas even looks small compared to you, and with that scar you have, well, you look like a person not to even begin to screw with." He chuckled. "Back in the mall, I wanted to get as far away from you just from that vibe, though I'm glad that wasn't the case."

"Also, when you made it clear to us about how protective of Stacy you are, it kind of rustled up some feathers... Especially due to the tone of voice you used, that honestly pretty fuckin’ terrifying." Trinity added on.

"Yeah, I can see why you thought that now that I think about it..." I trailed off for a couple of seconds. "Looks can be deceiving. Just don't hurt Stacy or piss me off and you won't have to see what I'm like when mad." I finished off with a wink to keep the mood elevated.


"So right after he takes a hold of me he stabs my side with, I don't even know, I think it was a dagger? Anyways, then Kostas comes up behind him while Ashton's distracting him and he tears the guy off my back." Kai told the story of how he was almost killed while showing us the gruesome scar on his side. "Granted, that probably made it worse, but Kostas still saved my life from that too-far-gone guy who lost his marbles. And for that, I'm forever indebted to him."

"It was a team effort." Ashton added with a nod.

"What did you guys do to that guy?" Stacy asked, not wanting to be left on a cliffhanger.

"Kostas... well, let's just say don't ever threaten one of Kostas' friends. My attacker didn't even have enough time to realize he was no longer holding me before he bit the dust." Kai replied before putting his shirt down to conceal the scar tissue.

"That sounds like something I'd do..." I murmured quietly which caught the attention of Roman.

"Did you do the same to someone?" He pondered as our cards were reshuffled.

"...I don't like talking about it." I simply replied while a couple of my fingers trailed down the scar on my face. A couple of them eyed the scar, knowing better than to pester me about it. The card game shortly wrapped up after that final riveting tale, mainly due to the day coming to an end as a collective weariness settled upon us. "I'd like to thank y'all for everything you did today regarding fishing, hunting, and all that other stuff; I feel good about where we're going with this all. If we keep up the good work, we're all gonna become really good friends." I finished my little monologue of praise which got agreements and all around optimistic words in return.

I stayed in the living room for a few more minutes after Stacy headed up to bed so I could conversate with Olivia some more about the plan the following day. I ultimately retreated upstairs to my bedroom after wishing the people that were still awake a good night.

When I walked in my room, I wasn't really expecting her to be completely naked on the bed waiting for me to join her. Well, she still wore her sapphire necklace, but that didn't really make her not naked.

She was a bit blushed as she waited for me. "Didn't we already do this earlier today?" I teased as I walked up to her.

"Yes, but... I just kind of wanted to sleep naked... is that fine?" She sheepishly and cutely asked.

I lightly chuckled and leaned down so I could kiss her briefly. "Of course... You can be naked all you want with me." She timidly giggled as a hand placed itself on her belly. I quickly undressed myself, but not with the intent to have sex or anything like that, I just wanted to feel her bare skin pressing against my own as we tightly held each other asleep, the feeling being heavenly. There wasn't much conversation after that, just a few words being exchanged about how we felt good about the future and that we were warming up to Olivia's group.

"Goodnight Stacy, I love you." I whispered after the conversation ceased before kissing her cheek afterward and holding her closer by just a tad.

"I love you too..."

Chapter 12: The Medical Pillage

Chapter Text

The morning came quickly and with it, so did the preparation of our little excursion to the hospital. After situating clothing, waking the others up, and equipping things such as empty backpacks and maps, we were off to our destination. Though not without telling the other members to continue what tasks they were doing the previous day, implying that they help with whatever they can if they had nothing else to do.

On our way to the town, Olivia told us some of her personal anecdotes of horror stories from the ER. Some tales were gruesome and hopeless, though there were a couple of positive stories sprinkled in with them. Some of the stories she told in fine detail while others not so much. Some anecdotes included amputations, hemorrhaging, collapsed lungs, broken bones, and a whole lot of other gruesome injuries that would make any squeamish person pale.

When we turned off into a street that none of us had been down before, we noted that the hospital we didn't yet see was dead ahead of us. As we delved into the uncharted part of the town, something caught my eyes on the glinting rooftop of a house.

"If we ever want to start focusing on producing electricity, we can start by using solar panels." I said while pointing at the solar roof, the possibility, now that I had time to think about it, was more than plausible. But the solar panels I pointed at were part of the roof itself so those weren't realistically scavengable. "Hell, if we can find a solar farm, couldn't we snatch a few of them and hook them up to our place and what not?"

"That's a great idea. Kostas, don't you know how to wire things like that?" Charlotte asked.

"Eh… Maybe. I think if I got lots of stuff, wires and practice, and time, I could try to make something happen."

"I could probably help you with that too; I know the basics of how to properly string solar panel arrays. It’d probably take a few days to figure everything out, but we'd eventually get it down."

"Have you done so before?"

I shook my head. "Nah, but back before The Drop, I was very interested in renewable energy. I pretty much know the gist of how it can all be hooked up and what not. It’d certainly take a couple of tries but trial and error usually results in the right answers being discovered."

Olivia replied, "It sounds like we should put it on the to-do list. Though I have no clue when we should get around to even start thinking about doing something like that."

"Probably when we have nothing of dire importance to do, depends on how fast we can move our feet." I simply replied, the conversation swiftly dwindling afterward. It was sort of nice to be talking about stuff like this even if it might’ve been way too early to be thinking so big. Knowing that they sounded like they wanted to achieve something like that was a huge tell to me that they were genuine with wanting to settle down. I could only wonder what it'd evolve into.

A couple dozen minutes later as we strolled down the abandoned highway, the hospital finally entered our sights. "How long do you think it's gonna take to get all of what you need, Olivia?" Stacy asked as our small group trekked our way toward the entrance of the fairly huge structure.

Olivia thought about the question for only a couple of seconds. "Well, we’ll probably at least be here for a couple of hours, but it really depends on if we can divide and conquer effectively." As we approached the already shattered glass doors to the medical facility, Olivia started telling us about many of the tools and instruments she was looking out for. "Hopefully one day I’ll have my own little hospital departments. Like cardiology, radiology, rheumatology,, and maybe even a maternity ward, amongst other things..." That last one made me glance down at Stacy where I thought of possibilities that might not even be feasible considering her genetics.

Upon entering the building, we were instantly met with the sight of a few skeletal remains strewn across the expansive waiting room, which stretched at least three dozen meters wide. I then immediately noticed two hallways branching off on either side of the room, the curving hallways delving much deeper into the unexplored hospital.

"When they tell you it takes forever to wait for a doctor and they actually meant it." Kostas cracked a joke which actually made me silently giggle at the morbid reality of it.

Charlotte lightly scoffed and Olivia practically ignored the dark joke before quickly moving on from it.

"Well that's gonna be useful." The doctor pointed out as she spotted a map of the hospital’s layout near the far end of the room, the map of which being behind the built-in desks where a receptionist would've greeted you a couple of years ago.

Kostas stayed behind while the rest of us walked up to it and surveyed the large sheet of paper that illustrated how much bigger the building was than we originally thought. Thankfully, it told us which rooms did what according to their intended purpose, the hospital seemingly having a dedicated department for all things medical, even dentistry which was surprising.

"We're definitely gonna split up for this, aren't we?" Stacy inferred as Olivia started taking the map off the wall with little difficulty.

"I think it would be best for now." Olivia confirmed with a small nod as she continued looking the map over. "Charlotte, would you like to go with me to a few of the wards?"

The woman in question shrugged her shoulders. "Sure thing. I reckon those are where you're gonna find a decent bit of the 'checking up' tools?"

Olivia nodded at her statement before turning to me and Stacy before lowering the map for us to see. "Can you three go down this segment and take anything you think would be useful? Also, it'd be sweet if you can go down even further, into the dentistry area here, while Charlotte and I go to the pharmacy and the areas around it. I'm sure most of the medicines there are expired but it's still worth looking through." Before she finished her statement, she continued. "And keep on going if you'd like. All I ask is that you don't spend any more time here than you need to when looking through this place."

I stared at the map for a few long seconds, trying to memorize the path she was pointing out as fast as I could. I slowly nodded after doing so. "Anything you want us to look out for in particular?"

That question preceded Olivia practically spitting out a hefty list of small tools and throwaway items like gloves, masks, tongue depressors, stuff like that. "Chances are that you'll come across some tools that me and Charlotte will have already found, but having spares is always a good thing. And if you miss a few tools for certain dental procedures, it's not gonna be the end of the world, I can always come back another day."

"I hope we won't disappoint." Stacy simply replied before Olivia folded the map up after asking if it'd be fine if she took it.

"Not gonna take a look through the dentistry yourself?" I asked as we walked out of the receptionist cubicle.

"This hospital's gonna take hours to look through given how large it really is. I'll probably pass by it, but the dividing and conquering is gonna be key for today." As the two prepared to leave us and split off she added on, "If we don't meet back up somewhere deeper inside the hospital, we'll meet back up here at the end of our searches. Does that sound good?"

"Yes ma'am." And with that, they were off. That was our cue to head down the hallway to the right from where we had entered the hospital. Kostas overheard our conversation so we thankfully didn't have to explain anything to him; we simply just got on with our search by walking down the mostly barren hallway.

As we did that, we couldn't help but notice the decent amount of human remains that littered the walkway; the hallway resembling a hurried mess with papers strewn about with an occasional intravenous pole, crutches, wheelchairs, and other miscellaneous objects you'd find in a hospital of disarray.

"I guess when shit was going down, the staff at the time didn't know what to do..." I speculated, using the context clues.

"I think it probably was the worst place to be when the world ended. Imagine all the people they were trying to save... I wonder if anyone found out what happened to everyone that day." Kostas quietly thought out loud as we approached the first room we would plunder.

With ease, we swiftly got to searching for any medical supplies that Olivia was looking for. Which somewhat surprisingly, we found a generous amount of equipment that we were on the hunt for. As I looked through the cabinets in the check-up room, I had Stacy by my side so I could easily bag everything I got my hands on while Kostas did the same, but just by himself on the other side of the room.

As I bagged a couple boxes of varying sizes of gloves, I decided to spark up a real conversation by asking Kostas a few questions. "So where are you from, Kostas?"

When he heard the question, he halted his search within the cabinets as he processed my question. "Bulgaria. Varna." He simply replied, though there was a strange tone to his voice that I couldn't quite make out. Before I could ask him something else, he said. "You?"

Swiftly, I grabbed a handful of tongue depressors, responding to his question with ease before Stacy had the chance to chime in with her own answer. This way, we could all start on an equal footing, each armed with our respective knowledge of each other. As I thought about my next query, I looked in the last cabinet on my side of the room which revealed a BP cuff and a thermometer.

At that moment, Stacy and I found ourselves in a peculiar situation with Kostas. We barely knew him, and he remained a mystery to us. Figuring out the right approach to socializing with him proved challenging, primarily because we were employing a similar process with the other members of his group though it didn’t seem as effective with the others. That’s because Kostas didn't strike us as much of a talker, thus adding an extra layer of complexity to the situation. After thoroughly examining the initial room and asking Kostas some casual and harmless questions during it, we ventured into a more serious interrogation once we moved on from the first sack.

"May I ask why you came to America?" I curiously asked.

As we entered the second room of the day, he thought over the question, the man seeming unsure or reluctant as to what to say. “I came to visit a friend I met online years ago. When I had enough money, I came here and had an amazing time. I wasn't supposed to stay long. I was supposed to go back to Varna a couple weeks after I arrived here... but it was scheduled to happen the week after The Drop happened." My eyebrows subtly raised in surprise at his story as I heard a quiet and quick gasp from Stacy. I didn't really know what to say. I didn't really want to point out how bad the timing was since I assumed he already knew that. Before Stacy and I could reply with anything, he added on, "I never really... I don't know how to feel about it."

As I looted the room for a few more single-use items, Stacy continued the conversation by simply saying, "How come?"

I got just a tad worried at how bluntly she asked the question but he answered it anyway. "I... Because I don't know if any of my family is alive."

"Damn... it's easy to understand why. The curiosity would tear me up inside, knowing that there's a possibility of someone from your family being back in Bulgaria." I commented as I sympathized with him with a gentle tone.

He lightly chuckled at himself. "Right... Sometimes I think about that every now and then. But I usually just shrug it off... The chances of someone from my family being alive are almost zero. Everyone in our group, as far as I know, have no family left."

"Family's what you make it." I simply responded.

"Maybe The Drop was different in... Bulgaria?" Stacy speculated as the room's desired contents slimmed down to none.

"Maybe... But I don't have faith in that idea." Kostas shrugged the optimistic thought away. Before I could preach a little optimism, he forwarded the discussion. "I do agree that family is where you make it... originally it was hard to do."

"With Olivia?" I pondered, having remembered that those two were the first to find each other, at least from Olivia's perspective.

He slowly nodded. "It took me a long time to think of her as a family member. And even longer to think of her as..."

"...As?" I softly asked after he trailed off, my curiosity spiking.

He shook his head for a moment. "Doesn't matter."

With that part of the conversation being a dead end, we focused our sights back on the mission at hand by thoroughly raiding the next three compartments with ease. By our fifth room, we had gotten an abundance of single-use items and had found an otoscope, a penlight, and one of those reflex hammers. As we entered the hallway from our fifth room, we decided it was time to carry on to the dentistry.

"I wonder what all Charlotte and Oliva's gotten that we haven’t yet." I pondered as I eyed another wheelchair with the remnants of the long gone user. "Think we should take one of these back? And a couple crutches maybe?"

"That'd be a pain to carry all the way back..." Stacy replied as we continued our march down to our destination.

"We'd change hands." I simply replied as we made a left to reveal a wall of glass with similarly glass doors which was presumably locked. The large arrow that was part of the wall pointing in that direction made it clear that it was where we were supposed to go since it had the big word of 'Dentistry' plastered on it. "Who wants to be the one to break the glass?" I asked, wanting to waste no time in advancing our scavenge.

"Shouldn't we at least try to open it first?" Kostas asked as he went up to one of the door handles. It didn't take him long to find out that my assumption of the doors being locked was true. "Alright then..."

"Most doors are always locked but I still check to see if they aren't. But in buildings like these, they're pretty much guaranteed to be locked so I automatically think that's the case. Plus, it's kind of fun breaking glass in my opinion."

"How do you suppose we break it?"

I'm going to skip over that part because it took much longer to find a feasible object capable of shattering the glass than expected. When we finally entered the dental facility, we split up to find what Olivia told us to look out for. Stacy and I didn't split up immediately while Kostas presumably searched through several drawers in a perpendicular part of the room out of our sights.

"I don't think I was ever in one of these before..." Stacy said aloud as she draped a hand on one of the... dentistry bed things that I don't know the name of, of which I'm just going to refer to as a dental bed, one of several in an array.

"A hospital?" I asked after a couple of silent seconds, not quite sure how to respond.

"That, and a dentist." She plainly replied which made me curious about a few things.

"Have you ever had any problems with your teeth?" After a little shake of her head, I decided to say what should've been the case. "Usually, you'd need to go to a dentist every six months or so to always make sure your teeth and what not are in good condition."

"I don't think my parents cared about that." She stated, the response softly pulling my heartstrings. "My parents weren't even the ones to give me a toothbrush and toothpaste."

As I processed the information, she hoisted herself on the dental bed, of which I then walked in front of her who looked up at me. "Who did?"

She looked away for a quick second before looking back up at me. "It was one of my teachers who... was pretty much the only person who did anything for me at that time."

Not wanting to cross any lines to prevent making her feel uncomfortable about talking about her past, I kept my voice light and caring. "Did you tell them how your parents treated you?"

She stayed silent for a small bit before slowly shaking her head. "I never did... At the time, I was being bullied and what they said and did made me never tell them anything..." I gently put a hand on the side of her face which made her lightly smile through the painful memories. "I think my teacher knew though, somehow. She always kept me in her classroom a few minutes after the day ended and gave me things she knew I needed... She was a very nice person, I don't know why I never said anything now that I look back at it..."

"It takes a lot to speak out... Bullies can also cause people to stay silent even more, depending on what they say, so I'm sure that also made you stay quiet." I reasoned, trying to make her not feel a type of guilt about her past. I slowly snaked my hands around her neck and hugged her which caused her arms to go around my waist which completed the loving embrace. "May I ask what the bullies did to you?"

"...Can we talk about it later?" She quietly answered as she gingerly rubbed her forehead on my chest.

"Yes, of course. After all, you don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to." I assured as I felt her arms tighten around me after saying that.

"I love you so much, Hunter..."

We silently hugged for a couple of minutes before I took a small step back so I could lean down and lightly kiss her, a hand placing itself on her chin to direct her head upward to make the process easier. After holding the delicate kiss for a couple dozen seconds, it ended before my forehead rested on hers afterward. "I love you so much too."

Another half a minute passed before I got back to business. I turned around and looked through the counter-like table stationed a couple feet away from the bed. The top drawer had several dental tools like the reflecting one to look behind your teeth, the fuckin' annoying one they used to scrape your teeth with... which looked like a lot of the tools there, they all looked similar, and they all hurt my teeth just looking at them. I was sure they all had their own independent use but I didn't know what they were since, y'know, I'm not a dentist.

The second and final drawer had the materials used to fill in cavities with the tools that go along with it. A high powered flashlight, something that looked like a small polisher, and a couple other tools that I didn't know the name of.

"Would you want Olivia to inspect your teeth when you have the chance?" I asked after taking the tools and materials before facing toward her afterward.

She took a couple long seconds to think about the question before properly laying on the dental bed. She eyed the mechanical limb that used to give dentists the ample light needed to know what the hell they were doing when working within a mouth. "Would you?"

"Yes, I would. Though I want to be the last person she does all her medical-bizz on." At the look of her curious expression, I added an explanation. "To be quite honest with you, I still have a little doubt that Olivia is what she claims to be."

"Right, because you haven't seen her do anything that a doctor could?" She inferred, the statement being confirmed with a nod.

"But my doubts of her are dropping fast... y'know, considering that we're in this hospital gathering all the tools she's gone into fine detail with." After I argued against my own beliefs, I took a step back up to her and continued the conversation like that. A dozen or so minutes later, I looked in the direction where Kostas was, the man still out of sight doing whatever he was doing. With that in mind, I looked back down to the girl and set my hand on her belly.

She brightly smiled as the little lady almost failed to contain a giggle at my touch. With that small move being done, the conversation continued being unimportant enough to not write down for a couple more minutes before she said something I wasn't quite sure how to react to.

She was looking down at my hand when she said, "Olivia's group, they... they’ve asked me a lot about me and you."

I tilted my head a bit, unsure where the conversation was going. "Oh? Like what, if I may ask."

"Stuff like... If you hurt me or make me do things that I don't want to do." I noticed that her voice was a tad bit quieter than usual while revealing this news to me.

I thought about her response for a few silent moments and slowly processed the reasoning behind why those questions would be asked. I came to the quick conclusion that they'd ask her these things because they probably didn't trust me with a girl like her offhandedly. To be fair, they’re understandable questions to ask, to try to get a grip of how I treat her and what kind of person I am without me interfering with her response. Only because I could very easily do whatever I want to do to Stacy with little resistance, no doubt about that. "Hm." Is all I managed to reply with, no tone of emotion, just one that confirmed to her that I registered what she said.

"Do they also ask you about me and you?" She asked, the girl receiving a gentle shake of my head.. "Huh... I wonder why."

I gave her a rundown of the thought process I had had, a question coming to mind after I finished. "How did you answer their questions?"

"By talking." She looked up at me and gave me an adorable smirk where I just shook my head with a small grin. But before I could clarify what I meant, she happened to be quicker than me. "But for real, I said that you're the nicest person I've ever met and that you're so kind and gentle and that I love you so much for so many reasons."

My fingers on her belly gave her a sudden and small prod to tickle her a small bit which resulted in her cutely giggling. That was just before I bent down to peck the tip of her nose. "Thanks for giving me a good image." I said before briefly kissing her forehead and then leaning back up to my usual height.

"I'm just telling them the truth."

I put a hand on her cheek. "Just know that you're also the kindest and sweetest person I've ever met and that I love you so incredibly much..." A light blush appeared on her face before she suddenly sat back up and hugged me tightly again.

It's a little strange how true those words felt. I say that because we’ve only known each other for a couple of months but even though that’s the case, it truly has felt like many months despite that. I guess it has to do with how much time we spend together each day and how much we talk to each other during them. And then add in how often we express our gratitude to each other... I'm confident that these words are true and then some.

But anyways, after that little exchange, we picked our feet back up and regrouped with Kostas who had a set of tools of his own that he had scavenged. He had a lot of what I had found but he found a drill, some type of anesthesia, and a couple working flashlights, something that would sure help Olivia do dental work on whoever asked for it.

When we left the dentistry, of which I had discovered that it used to be an independent structure but it was just that it merged into the hospital at some point, we continued delving deeper into the dark depths of the unexplored hospital. At this point, we had already spent well over an hour inside the building, likely almost two. The rest of the hospital trip isn't really that important so I'll only write down the last part of it that really stands out from the rest.

After rummaging around the radiology unit of the hospital, knowing we couldn't use those types of machines any time soon, we hiked over to the large cafeteria in the center of the hospital. When we got there, we saw that Charlotte and Olivia happened to be passing through as well so we quickly flagged them over to review what we had all found. We then huddled around one of the circular cafeteria tables which is where we held the discussion. After my group told them about the loot we had acquired, it was their turn to do the same.

Olivia took the lead in answering. "We managed to find a good bit of painkillers, anesthesias, antibiotics, and other miscellaneous types of related medicine. With time, they'll definitely run out but not any time soon, though the ones we have are the ones we get; the rest of the medicine here isn't able to be used due to them being expired."

"Is it possible to make our own medicines?" Kostas asked.

"If we put in enough time and effort for it, yes. But unfortunately, they're definitely not gonna be nearly as good as the stuff we found. For that to happen you need a society with a large supply chain network that spans the globe."

"Better than nothing." I commented before thinking back to the possible processes we could use to make our own medicine. But I wasn't able to think about it too long since Olivia continued listing off what they had found.

"I found several surgery tools; tweezers, saws, scalpels, scissors, stuff like that. We got things to clean out infections, stitching tools and materials, materials to make casts, we found syringes, many types of tubes, goggles, measuring tape, a weighing scale, and a transfusion kit... I might be missing a couple of things. But as it is, this has been more successful than I originally thought it was gonna be." She smiled brightly when listing the tools off. The tone of her voice finally flipped my mind to trust her about being a doctor. There was no way someone could act this genuinely happy and keep an act like this up for so long. "Oh, we also found a portable defibrillator. It has a couple dozen shocks stored within it but recharging it will be a problem if that's ever needed... Hopefully we'll have electricity by that point?"

I smiled at her optimism, the future seeming brighter, curious as to what it bestows... But I knew we wouldn't get there by wondering about it so I put my attention back on the discussion at hand. "We'll cross that bridge when we arrive at it. Until then, what else do you need from here?"

She thought about it for a few seconds before her shoulders lightly shrugged. "Not much really. Unless you want to search somewhere that I might be overlooking?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not really. Though I am curious, do you think we should take an IV pole, crutches, and maybe a wheelchair?"

"Right, yeah, I was gonna ask one of you to carry an intravenous pole back with you. Didn't think about the other two though, so thanks for reminding me of that. Especially the wheelchair for just in case someone breaks a foot or messes their leg up somehow."

As we made our exit towards the entrance of the building, Kostas and I found and carried what was mentioned. It wasn't that difficult to hold a couple crutches and a folded up wheelchair... Well it was just a bit, not because it was heavy or anything like that, just that it was awkward as hell to do so. I didn't like the angles I had to hold the objects at is basically what I’m trying to say.

About halfway through the town as we walked back to base, I suddenly realized Olivia was struggling a decent bit with the nearly full and large backpack on her she was carrying. So like any good willed person, I asked her if she was alright.

"Uh... It's just that... my back's starting to hurt really badly." She answered while twiddling her fingers, her forehead slightly damp with sweat. Impressive that it was considering the cold temperature but that's besides the point.

"Would it help if I carried your backpack for you?" I offered as I sidestepped to Charlotte and immediately started handing her the objects I was carrying. She quickly got the memo and took them out of my hands. When I returned back to Olivia's side, she didn't look too sure about what I was doing. "What's the matter?"

"...Are you sure you want to? You're already carrying one of your own."

I gave her a friendly smile and nodded. "I wouldn't mind at all since it'd be helping you. I'm sure my slight discomfort would be worth it if it helps you not feel pain, or at least ease it."

It took around another ten seconds before she succumbed to my idea. She let a heavy breath out before she slipped her arms out from her backpack where my generous hands then took it from her grasp. I wasn't quite ready for how heavy it was, but I powered through it by holding the bag like a very large baby.

"Thank you, Hunter."

A few minutes later, Olivia pointed out that we were strolling up to a pharmacy. When we were a couple dozen meters away from the building, we discussed if we wanted to briefly look around inside of it to see if there was anything we might want or need.

"Wouldn't hurt to look around, right?" Charlotte asked, the girl only getting silence in response.

I took it upon myself to answer first. "I agree, might as well look through here during the same trip to save some time."

When Charlotte and I got to the door of the dinky building, she immediately opened the unlocked door before the both of us swiftly delved inside so we could get the job done as soon as possible. I left Olivia's bag with the other three on the ground, the other three opting to stay outside and wait until we were done since they didn't feel like they were necessary to help us out. Charlotte and I were indifferent about their choices. Though Olivia said that she'd join us in a few minutes since she wanted to sit and rest her back for the pain in said area to settle down somewhat.

As Charlotte and I split up, we kept our eyes peeled for anything that could be useful, though we kept up a conversation since that was an easy task to do in the building. Only speaking a little louder than normal, I asked, "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really, just wanted to see if there's anything that we would probably use in the future here."

As I looked through the very many bottles of various pills in the aisle I was within, I swiftly scanned for their use as described on their labels. As I did so, I continued the conversation. "Makes sense. Hey, didn't you want to get some clothes-making stuff today?"

As I took a few bottles of different types of not expired medicines, she took a couple moments to reply. "Well, yes, I did want to do that yesterday. But since our pockets are already filled to the brim with what we found in the hospital, I decided to delay that until some other day in the future."

"Makes sense." I simply responded as I moved onto the next aisle. Before I let the conversation dwindle and die, I asked her some questions about her past. "What made you interested in making clothes?"

"Hm... It was always a fascinating thing to me, even as a small child. To be honest, I'm not quite sure where it came from, but it was always a hobby of mine as a teenager. I'd make my friends in school socks, coats, skirts, and hats out of a plethora of types of yarn, cotton, and wool. It was a great way to spend an afternoon."

"What were the customer reviews like?" I asked with a smirk.

She chuckled lightly. "Fantastic, of course, since it was made by me."

"I like the confidence."

"But really though, for the most part they all enjoyed the clothes I made. They liked the materials, how soft they were, and enjoyed the fact that a friend made it for them... Good times..."

A couple minutes later, the both of us ended up in the same aisle, the feminine aisle. I didn't really want to look through it at the same time but there was something I was quite interested in getting, something that would soothe my nerves about something I've been thinking of for a decent bit.

"Think you could make gloves, shoes, and shirts eventually?" I asked to keep our minds away from feeling any type of embarrassment, if that feeling were to arise to begin with.

"Shoes would probably be the hardest to make but yeah, I could see myself making all those things eventually, just as long as I'm given the right equipment and materials... Though I remind myself; is it really that necessary? I mean, like I said, we can go to just about any house and find what clothes we need."

"You'd be surprised at how hard it is to find clothes and shoes that fit you. Also like I said, the clothes will only last so many more years before they decay. Could be another two, another five, maybe ten, but they'll run out. Getting you to start from scratch seems like a much better investment to make sure that problem never emerges to begin with."

She stayed quiet for a minute before she slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right... I miss making clothes for friends. The feeling of receiving their gratitude was always so nice. Though I'm wondering how I'm gonna get the materials to make clothes."

"We'll figure it out when we get to it." I simply replied as I made my way down to the end of the aisle, passing her in the process. When I reached my destination, the thing I was looking for swiftly caught the attention of my eyes. I grabbed one of the boxes and slowly read all the writing that was printed on it.

"...Think she's pregnant?"

I looked to my right to see Charlotte eyeing the box that held a pregnancy test within it. I looked back down at the box and unslung my heavy backpack once again. "I'm not sure... I'm not sure about a lot of things when it comes to the possibility of that." I said as I put the box in my bag before taking a few more after the first one.

"I..." She trailed off suspiciously. Before I could pester her what was on her mind she said, "I should keep my mouth shut."

I raised an eyebrow at her words for a brief moment. "Say whatever you're gonna say."

She stayed quiet for what felt like a minute, an internal struggle of thought skirmishing within her mind for a decent bit before she finally said, "...I think that it's wrong that you and Stacy are a couple."

I silently zipped my backpack back up and slowly slung it back over my shoulders as I processed her words. "And why do you think that?" I asked after a few moments of silence, knowing what she might've said preemptively. But I stayed calm since I knew this conversation could get nasty if not tread lightly.

"Because she's fourteen, Hunter, it's pretty self-explanatory."

I took a long and deep breath as I prepared to defend myself from her reasoning. "That's not really a solid reason." I started off after facing toward Charlotte who started to show a defensive posture. "I'd like to have a calm and civil discussion about this; I'm simply defending myself in hopes to slightly change your mind about your beliefs. And I'm going to preface it by saying that I've never once exploited Stacy in any way and that I've been the most gentle person I could possibly be to her during the time in which we’ve known each other."

Her posture slowly settled back down before she released a heavy breath. "...Go on."

"First of all, saying her age as an irrefutable trump card is an argument that needs more context than just that, it's nearly the equivalent of saying nothing. She is young, yes, trust me, I had difficulty at first accepting that. But the thing is, is that she's not a small, immature, child." She raised a brow at that. "She's a developed and sexually aware teenager who knows what she wants. It's always been her telling me what to do to her since I've intended to never cross a line she doesn't want me to. Neither have I pressured her in the slightest into anything. Again, she knows what she wants."

My words rolled around her mind for a few seconds as she formulated a response. "She's still a minor and most likely naive to what she should be doing. She most likely doesn't know anatomy, biology, how the body changes, and how careful you need to be when you have sex."

"I'll get to that first point after I address the second." I took a deep breath as I quickly mentally wrote up and busted some counterarguments out. "I'm not a stupid person, Charlotte, first and foremost." Before she could say anything, I put a hand up to stop whatever she was gonna say. "Before anything such as intercourse happened between Stacy and I, I taught her a lot of things about the things you said she might not know about. I taught her a lot of her own anatomy, how things work within her, and what the purpose of sex is and how babies are made, the whole sha-bang."

"How'd you manage to teach her about all those things?"

"She's a very good listener so the first time I started teaching her about what I knew, she listened very closely to what I had to say."

"And you just knew everything about it? Are you sure you told her everything she needs to know?"

"Yes, I've got a large part of human anatomy memorized, enough to know the essentials. I probably missed a few things, but I got the main points across, the points that any educated person should know to make smarter decisions."

"Hm..." She trailed off where she waited for me to continue.

"And your first point, about how she's a minor. That point is a bit obsolete these days since there's no authority to back that up anymore; the only thing backing it up these days is individual belief which, like anything personal, varies widely. It also didn't hold up that well a few years ago as a matter of fact. In most of Europe and the United States, the age of consent was sixteen and even fourteen in countries like Germany and Italy amongst others since Romeo and Juliet laws were in place, of which Stacy and I fall under."

"...It just doesn't sit well with me." Charlotte said, sounding just a bit defeated before taking a few more seconds to add on to her response. "You can't particularly prove what you're saying regarding the countries, but I've got a good bullshit detector and I'm not detecting any from you, so you're probably telling me the truth I’d wager."

"It's fine that it doesn't sit well with you. All that I ask is for you to try to not look at me in a disgusted way or something like that and take my points into consideration." Right before I stopped to let her talk I added on, "And also, it's not like I'm thirty years old or she's ten. If it was like that, then I'd be all for me getting ousted or something like that. But as it is, Stacy and I are in the same age group and are deeply in love with each other... You have no idea how much I love her and how grateful I am to have found her."

Her expression changed to a solemn one as she registered the tone of my voice regarding how I spoke about Stacy. "...You're telling me the truth about her. There's no way you can fake the energy you're giving off unless you're a master at being deceiving." She took a couple of seconds to think about what I said prior. "I'll take it into consideration. This obviously isn't gonna be an overnight thing even if I change my outlook. You've made a lot of really compelling points, but some things probably won't convince me otherwise. You're a really good debater Hunter, I'll give you that."

I smirked as a joke came to mind instantly. "What can I say Charlotte, I used to be called the master-bater a couple years ago." She lightly facepalmed and gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the scavenge due to that pun. It was worth it. At least the issue that was brought up was somewhat resolved in a calm and civil manner.

It didn't take us much longer to search through that place after Olivia started helping us. After another half an hour in that building, we finally decided that our excursion was over, marked by Olivia declaring that we had enough tools and medicines to set up a rudimentary clinic. The walk back home was relatively quiet, though Olivia was quite vocal regarding how excited she was to properly do what she did once before. It was great to see that type of enthusiasm in someone again. My suspicions of her were completely liquidated during the retreat back to base.

Simply put, it was a very productive day and a mission success.

Chapter 13: Checkups and Tests

Chapter Text

When we got back to our mansion, Olivia asked us to leave our bags in her room so she could sort through all the equipment, the same woman then getting to work on making her room a makeshift clinic. I made sure to take the pregnancy tests out of my bag before I left it with her, I didn't really need her knowing what I was planning. But if one of the tests turns out positive, she'll be the first person I talk to. Having a doctor with us... has really helped ease my mind about a lot of things.

The gang was hard at work in our absence by hunting, fishing, and chopping some more wood upon other tasks. They were certainly pulling their weight which made me cheerful throughout the remainder of the day. Though not much more happened that day, I just helped Trinity and Roman chop down a couple dozen more trees by getting rid of a few stumps of already fallen trees. As the sun set, marking the day's end, the three of us split up and called it a night. I took that as my cue to find Stacy since I wanted to spend the rest of the night with her.

I found her sitting alone on one of the stools by the dining room table, the girl looking at the map intently. Being stealthy and sneaky, I quietly made my way behind her before scooping her out of the chair which caused her to cutely squeak in shock while I swiftly held her like a bride.

It took her a few seconds to realize what had happened and when she did, she put an arm around my neck before nuzzling my neck. "You scared me." She plainly pointed out as she kept her nose buried in the crook of my neck.

I held her tighter, kissed her forehead, then gently put the tip of my nose in her hair. "I'm sorry that I scared you, I just couldn't resist picking you up like that."

She lightly chuckled. "It's fine, if getting a little scared means you're gonna hold me, then it's worth it... being held by you is so nice."

"Holding you feels amazing as well, so it's a win-win."

"Did you need anything or do you just want to hold me?" She asked before she stammered a bit. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that, I was just wondering."

I lightly laughed at her slightly panicked tone. "I know, Stacy. Jeez, you're so frickin' adorable." My compliment caused her to lightly blush. Before I let her say anything in response, I answered her question. "There's something I need to talk to you about real quick, it will help ease my mind about what I've been thinking about recently."

She looked up at me and cutely tilted her head. "What do you want to talk about?"

I looked to my right where I quickly saw Audrey and Trinity approaching the dining room. I looked back down at her and waited for them to pass by me. "Let's go to our room to talk about it, it's something others don't need to know about." I whispered, Stacy going along with what I was saying.

At a calm pace, I carried her up to the desired room. When we got to our place, I gently set her down on the side of our bed before placing my left hand on the side of her softly smiling face. "What do you want to talk about, Hunter?" She asked in a gentle tone as she put a hand on mine.

I lightly sighed as I formulated what I was gonna say. "I've been a little worried about how you might be pregnant."

"Oh... Well... I don't really know what to say." She nervously chuckled. "I mean, like I said, I don't know if it's even possible for me to do that..."

"I think if you're able to be pregnant then you definitely are by now, since we're kind of... irresponsible when we have sex." A little bit of fear appeared in her eyes when I said that. "I have a way to figure out if you are or not." She still looked a little scared so I sat down next to her and gingerly wrapped my arms around her neck to hold her close as I rested my chin on top of her head. She wrapped her arms around me and pushed her body lightly into mine while I continued talking about the subject. "If it does turn out that you're pregnant, I'll be here for you... I already am regardless and always will be, I want you to know that."

She looked up so she could nuzzle my neck with her nose. "I know you will be, Hunter... I'm just a little scared of the idea and what would happen and all that..."

I looked down to gingerly rest my forehead on hers. Being honest with her, I told her, "I'd be scared too about a few things... But I think we'd be able to do it. I don't know what the future has in store for us, but it seems like it's only uphill from here."

We stayed in the embrace for a silent minute before Stacy broke the silence by quietly asking, "So... how can you figure out if I'm pregnant or not?"

I silently held her for another thirty seconds before gently getting on my feet and making my way toward the desk that she liked to draw on. I opened one of the drawers and yoinked out one of the pregnancy test boxes before proceeding to return back to her side. I only wrapped just one arm around her this time, around her torso, to make this whole process much easier.

She looked down at the box as I opened it with a hand before taking the stick in my grasp. "This is a test that will tell you if you are or not. Simply put, all that you have to do is piss on this bit here and it'll tell you in a few minutes. It'll show a bar or two. One bar means you're not pregnant and two means you are."

"Hm..." Stacy hummed before gingerly taking the stick out of my hand so she could inspect it closer. "How does that work? Like, why do I need to pee on it?"

"There's a hormone that your body starts making when you get pregnant, I can't remember the name of it though. But the device detects it." I simply answered.

"Oh... When should I do it?" She asked before looking back up to me with a curious gaze.

I softly put my free hand on her cheek as I answered. "Tonight, tomorrow, a couple days from now. Whenever you feel like it, just within a week or two."

I put my hand down as she gazed back down at the device, the girl then setting it on her lap after a minute of silence before softly sighing. "I love you, Hunter... You're the best thing that's ever happened to me..."

Her words took me by surprise, the precious girl surprising me even more by once again hugging me tightly. I put a hand on the back of her head and into her hair to slowly brush through it. I rested my chin on her head once more before simply thinking about what she said, her words rolling around my mind. I couldn't help but smile at the feeling of commitment and having the pleasant feeling of someone I love so much so close to me.

"I love you so much too, Stacy..." As I trailed off, I briefly thought about the most cherished things that have been throughout my entire life. Excluding direct family, I said, "And you're the best thing that's ever happened to me as well..."

A silent minute flashed by before she slowly looked up at me with a tear rolling down one of her cheeks. A tear not of sadness, but of happiness, indicated by the bright smile on her lips. My free hand went up to her cheek so I could wipe the tear off with a thumb. After I did that, she surprised me once more by closing the distance between our lips.

I lightly kissed back, the act persisting for several long minutes, the world feeling as if we were the only things that mattered and nothing else did. It was a moment of pure serenity, the both of us only needing each other. But unfortunately, such moments have to end. After the sweet and tender moment, Stacy's attention moved back to the pregnancy test.

"I think I'll do this in a couple days, if that's fine with you."

After she said that, I gently took the pregnancy test out of her hand and put it back in its box. "Of course, it's up to you." I then stayed in the embrace for another minute before I finally got back up and made a beeline to the desk so I could put the box back in the drawer with the rest. "When you do it though, can I be there when you do it?"

"Uh... sure, but... won't it be gross?"

"Not really." I replied with a shrug. With that being said and as the young night aged, we made our way out of our room around half an hour or so later, wondering if Jordan had made any type of stew or anything else. Though we were figuratively intercepted almost immediately since something instantly caught my attention.

Olivia's door was wide open so I was able to note that her room had swiftly transformed into a makeshift clinic. The same doctor was stationed next to the bed that was now in the middle of her room and pressed up against the wall, the woman looking down at a few tools of equipment that laid upon it. She heard us leave our room so she turned our way and made eye contact with me, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"How's it going, doc?" I asked just as Stacy entered the hallway with me who silently jumped in on the conversation.

"It's all going swimmingly. Thankfully, there've been no big concerns with anyone I've checked up on so far. Though turning my room into the clinic is a bit of a problem..."

Stacy went into the room after Olivia trailed off, the girl immediately spotting a measuring tape made of a cloth-like material screwed into the wall near the left side of the room.

"Gotta make do with what you got, I guess." I thought as she walked up to the measuring tape. I walked up to her and lightly pressed her onto the wall which finally yielded a proper reading on how tall she is. "Five feet, one inch tall... adorable..."

As Stacy lightly blushed at my words, Olivia walked up to us so she could also read the result that the tape told her. "Do you two want me to check up on you guys?"

"Well we're already here... I wouldn't mind. What about you, Stacy?"

The girl in question shrugged her shoulders, which was Olivia's cue to make her way back to the bed to don the stethoscope and to relocate the other tools to the top of a decently sized nightstand. She then grabbed a clipboard with what I assumed was all the medical information about each of us. After she was done with that, she returned to us and took the lead in telling Stacy what to do.

"Step on the scale right there, please." Olivia asked as she pointed at the floor where such a device laid, the thing located a couple feet away from where Stacy was standing.

I took a couple steps back to let Olivia do her thing, retreating all the way back to the doorway so I could just watch the whole process. I figured I was able to since we were a couple and she seemed fine with me being right there.

"Ninety-four pounds..." Olivia read aloud that the scale displayed before quickly writing it on the clipboard. "Are you experiencing any type of pain at the moment or periodically?" She asked as Stacy got off the scale, the girl shaking her head in response. Olivia then led her to the bed to start the many tests and examinations that were standard in a general check up. As Stacy sat on the side of the bed and Olivia retrieved the BP cuff, she continued asking her some questions. "Do you have any medical or surgery history?"

Stacy lightly shook her head. "Nope."

"Any allergies?" She asked, getting the same answer before wrapping the cuff around one of Stacy's arms. "Are there any medical problems that run in your family?"

"Not that I know of..." She replied as Olivia started pumping the cuff.

"I don't reckon you're a smoker or drink any alcohol."

"Well, me and Hunter did drink a lot of cider once."

Olivia stayed silent after receiving that information. I didn't quite like the atmosphere that I felt, but I think that was just my mind playing with me since Olivia said, "A little alcohol isn't bad for you. Even if you are quite a bit underage for it. Who am I kidding, the drinking age in America was ridiculously high. Sure, you shouldn't drink all that much due to how you're developing, but to be arrested and charged for it? That always seemed so dumb to me."

I lightly scoffed. "Tell me about it; you were able to legally kill and die in war in a country wrongfully invaded before being able to legally drink or smoke. Absolutely absurd."

Before I could get too political, Olivia asked Stacy another question. "Are you sexually active?"

Stacy blushed at the question, the girl hesitating a small bit before quietly answering. "Yes..."

Surprisingly, I didn't sense any type of negativity after Stacy delivered the information.

The conversation temporarily ceased before Olivia moved onto checking her blood pressure, rate of breath, temperature, using the stethoscope to hear any abnormalities with her heart or lungs. After that she used a tongue depressor to check her teeth, gums, and tonsils, she swiftly moved on to check the dilation of her eyes, looking inside her ears, and using the reflex hammer.

When Olivia laid Stacy down to do a quick abdominal exam, Stacy couldn't stop giggling at how Olivia pushed her belly around while searching for any types of abnormalities. It was cute to see. but something within me didn't like how someone else was touching her like that, a type of jealousy perhaps. Which is a little stupid to be honest since this was professional, which is the something I had to remind myself of. After that, Oliviabriefly glanced at me before looking back down at Stacy. Without missing a beat, Olivia announced, "For what I need to do next, you need to take your pants off."

Stacy's lightly tinted face darkened at the news. "What for?" I asked for Stacy.

"I need to do a lower extremities exam. The clothes would get in the way of that." She matter of factly answered.

"All up to you, Stace." I said afterward. Stacy then looked at me for a few moments before taking a slow and deep breath then standing up which is when she begrudgingly started taking her jeans off."Didn't take Olivia to be the type for a threesome but I guess- Keep it professional, Hunter!"

"I'd have you in a gown to make you more comfortable, but those slipped my mind while in the hospital, I'm sorry about that." Olivia solemnly apologized as Stacy sat back up on the bed.

Stacy gave her a shy smile. "I-It's fine Olivia, as long as you don't ask me to take my shirt off..."

What proceeded were a bunch of extremity and skin exams, Olivia thoroughly feeling her arms and legs to feel for any cysts and check her pulses. Afterward, she moved her limbs in many ways for... well to be quite honest, I don't know why. Then she did a couple of strength resistance tests on her lower extremities.

"We're just about done here." Olivia announced as she started feeling for abnormalities in Stacy's arms. "Without electricity, I'm not able to do any laboratory tests like urinalysis or a blood test to find out if there are any underlying problems... x-rays are also a thing of the far future."

"All things we can strive towards." I said as Olivia finished messing about with Stacy's arms.

"I like your outlook on the future, Hunter." Olivia said as she put her attention back on Stacy. "You can put your pants back on." She advised. Stacy was quick to do so and while she was doing that, Olivia lightly sighed. "Well, there are a couple things I can still check out, but I require your consent to do it."

"What is it?" Stacy innocently asked after her pants were properly back on her.

"A breast and a pelvic exam."

Stacy blushed and quickly replied. "No thanks."

Olivia gave an understanding nod. "With that being said and done, I didn't detect anything out of the ordinary with you. Other than that you're somewhat underweight, you seem to be a completely healthy girl. Though since I wasn't able to check your breasts or pelvic region, those are still an unknown to me so nothing can be certain."

"Maybe I can do it for you?" I coined the idea of. It was adorable how blushed Stacy could get, I must say.

"...I'm just gonna keep it real with you; I know that you two have sex so I'm sure you've already seen much more than what I ever could've." Olivia said as she turned to me. "Truth be told, it doesn't really bother me all that much. Have you seen any abnormalities with her skin, felt any lumps in her breasts, or seen or felt anything abnormal with her vulva, labia, cliterous, and vagina?"

As I processed her question, Stacy tried hiding behind one of her hands from reality, the color of her face almost resembling a tomato. As I looked back toward Olivia, I desperately fought my mind to not to say any sex jokes, the want to do so was extraordinary, but I didn't for Stacy's sake. "Nope, I'm sure if there was, I would've felt some abnormal lumps by now. And as far as I know, everything looks right." I stopped my sentence there but still thought, "And I know everything feels right, giggity."

"Then I guess your examination is done, Stacy." Olivia announced as she wrote a few more things down on the clipboard. "Now it's your turn Hunter."

The process took around a little over twenty minutes, where Olivia once again wrote everything down while it happened like a proper professional. When it came to the genitalia part, I also denied it. I'm unsure if that's the smartest decision, but I don't like the idea of someone else looking at my parts. Olivia then told Stacy what to look out for whenever, y'know, fornication happens. Which was a little strange to watch and hear that conversation; Stacy felt that way even more so. Anyways, nothing of significance happened other than one small abnormality.

As Olivia used the stethoscope to listen to my heart, she adopted a facial expression of suddenly focusing on something that required intent focus. "Hm... Are you aware that you have a heart murmur?"

"Really?" I asked, shocked at the news since I was sure I would've known that by now. She confirmed my remark of disbelief before writing it down on her clipboard.

"It's minor and pretty faint. It most likely won't cause you any problems, but I'll check on it every once and a while to make sure it doesn't develop into something dangerous. I’d’ve scheduled an EKG for you, but since we’re bound by mechanical tools instead of electric ones, we’re gonna have to do this the old fashioned way."

With that being said and done, no other significant thing occurred during the exam. It was good to know that I was in good shape, at least in the sense of nothing directly threatening happening to or inside my person. I was a little underweight though, being almost six feet, five inches tall and weighing only a hundred fifty-two pounds.

As Olivia took the stethoscope off and put it on the nightstand, I asked, "May I ask about when you're gonna use all the dental equipment?"

"I was thinking about doing that in a couple days after I've done all the physical checkups on everyone. I think that'd be the best course of action since dental examinations can take much longer."

"Makes sense." I simply replied before ending that conversation since it didn't need to continue any longer.

When Stacy and I were done with our examinations, I scooped her up and made our way back down to mingle with our new friends where we played some more card games together, discussed the near future, and once again shared a hot meal together.

It was a fun night.


A couple days later, I found myself chopping some logs into smaller and smaller segments for future fire use. As the middle of the day passed, I decided to take a quick ten minute break, my arms feeling like wet spaghetti since I was fairly weak due to my arms not having to do such a large amount of physical labour for such a long period of time in the past couple of years.

As I sat on a fallen tree, I faced the mansion as I let the frigid breeze cool my body down. As I did that, I spotted a red sweatshirt wearing little girl approach me with her hands in her pockets. I softly smiled as she made her way over to me, though it took a bit of a hit when I noticed a visible shiver rattle throughout her body.

Before I could get up to hug her, she sprinted quickly for a couple seconds and landed by my side, the girl swiftly cuddling up next to me. I lightly chuckled and hugged her back, her head resting on my chest like usual. "What brings you out here, little miss?"

"I-I missed you." She cheekily replied with a quiver in her voice while she slowly rubbed her head against my chest.

I lightly chuckled again. "I've only been out here for a couple hours... You don't have separation anxiety, do you?"

"Well, I just love being with you." She cutely replied to the small tease. Before I could reply, she continued. "But that's not the only reason I came out here for."

"Oh? Need me to do something?"

"No, no... It's just that I think I'm gonna do the pregnancy test thing really soon."

My heart skipped a beat, a little anxiety entering my system due to that whole situation. "Oh. Alright. Are you gonna do it now?"

"Well, I was gonna ask when you were done cutting wood to then go and do it then."

I took a slow and deep breath while a hand brushed through her hair before slowly letting the breath go to calm my nerves. I waited a few more silent seconds before I spoke my mind. "I think you should do it now, it seems a bit more important than what I'm doing currently. I can just get back to work after we're done with that. Plus, it'll be a good break from doing work."

It was Stacy's turn to let out a heavy breath before hugging me a bit tighter. "I kind of hope that I'm right about not being able to get pregnant... I think I'm too small for a baby to be in me."

"You'd be surprised at how awesome the female body is and what it does during pregnancy. You might experience a couple of small problems along the way, but you aren't too small, your body would find a way to make it work." I replied with a calming tone in hopes to soothe her nerves.

She stayed quiet as she processed what I said before sighing once more. "Let's get this over with..."

"Want me to get the test for you?" I asked as we stood up before the girl looked back at me which is when she pulled one of the sticks out of her sweatshirt’s pocket. "Point taken."

"Where should I do it?"

"A little ways down the stream, wherever you feel most comfortable." I advised right before she reluctantly turned around and began making her way towards the stream after saying so. I walked by her side while we made our way down the stream, walking for about ten minutes or so to make sure we were far enough away so no one else would see us.

"Alright, I think this is far enough..." She announced as she halted her advance. She then turned to me, as if asking me what she should do.

Waiting a couple of seconds for her to do anything I asked, "Want me to do anything for you?"

"Well, not really... Can you just look away when I pee on it?" She asked with a light blush.

I nodded. "Will do, Stace. I don't have a piss fetish so you don't need to worry about that."

A minor look of disgust appeared on her face when I said that. "People... like that?"

"People like a lot of things, Stacy... it's better to look the other direction when you discover something that shocks you." I shivered in disgust as I thought back to the days of the internet but not because of the piss fetish thing. I was thinking about much worse kinks. There are some kinks that need to be shamed in my view, fight me. "Sometimes I'm glad the internet doesn't exist anymore..."

With that being said, she took a couple steps toward the stream before she started taking her jeans following after slipping off her shoes. I couldn't help but jokingly catcall by whistling, something that caused her blush to dim. "I thought you said you weren't gonna look!" She said as she looked back at me, her jeans still firmly on her body.

I giggled as I turned around and stuffed my hands into my pockets. "I'm not looking anymore, my love."

She briefly huffed at me before continuing to take her pants off and then presumably plopping them off to the side. I assumed she squatted and did what she had to do, the process taking around thirty seconds. "It's cold as fuck out here..." She quietly complained as she stayed still for a few more seconds.

"Can I turn around now?" I asked, secretly wanting to see her naked form.

"...Sure." She said as she stood back up and headed to put her clothes back on, not without me being the perv I am by quickly glancing at her uncovered lower half. She watched me stare at her exposed nether region which made her slightly grin. After she put her clothes back on, she walked up to me and offered the stick to me, the side of the test’s result facing toward the ground. "What do you want me to do with this?"

I softly took it out of her hands as I thought about her question. A few seconds later, I thought of an idea as I put the test back down before slipping it into her sweatshirt pocket. I put a hand on the side of her face while my other hand went on her hip. "Let's read it when we get back to our room."

"Okay, sure..." She trailed off before surprising me with a hug. I hugged back but it didn't last long since she turned around in my arms, one of her hands gingerly going on mine.

I chuckled as she leaned back into me. I rested my chin on her head and asked, "What are you doing, little lady?"

"Can... can you touch me?" She asked as she led my hand over her belly, the sweatshirt being in the way of letting me feel her skin.

"Yes." I replied before my hand slipped under her shirt and sweatshirt, my hand then slowly trailing up her body. "Though you kind of just pissed, so I'm not too sure if I should do it right now..."

"I quickly washed myself."

With that being said, I moved onto what else I was thinking. "Are you sure you want me to do it out here though? It's quite cold..." I placed my other hand on the side of her face so I could snake it under her chin before gently making her blushed face look me right in the eyes.

"...Carry me somewhere else?"

I immediately scooped her up and walked at a brisk pace back to our room, not being subtle in the slightest because I didn't really care to hide anything. It's not like I said anything, I just carried her up to the room and let the witnesses think whatever came to their mind without any other input.

The next fifteen or so minutes were filled with a bunch of kissing, me rubbing her clit, her soft pleasurable grunts, and tit massaging since I wanted to make her feel as fantastic as possible.

The now naked girl leaned back onto my chest as my arms tightly stayed wrapped around her torso where I held her close, the two of us encompassed by a thick blanket that effectively trapped our body heat. I continued lightly kissing the sides of her face and pecking the tips of her ears as I slowly breathed through my nose while it was in her hair.

I was kind of really hard and wanted to lovingly fuck her, but I suppressed the desire as best as I could... which I wasn't really able to do since the thing I desired was right in between my legs. But I swallowed hard and tried focusing on something else.

"When do you want to look at the test results?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing... maybe after a few more kisses?"

With that suggestion up in the air, I kissed her for only a couple more minutes which only delayed the inevitable. After that little show of affection ended, she sighed and scooted forward, my arms around her retreating onto my lap, the blanket around us unraveling as she stood up to retrieve her sweatshirt. As she did so, I couldn't stop looking at her fun bits, the urge to ravage her once again being stoked in mind.

I scooted to the side of the bed and waited for her to return to my side, Stacy then putting the sweatshirt on her lap when she did so. She stuffed one of her hands into the pocket to take the pregnancy test out. She kept the result side facing toward the ground, my heartrate picking back up as my focus turned to the reality of what was soon to be revealed.

She leaned onto me once again as an arm wrapped around her while she put the test in her lap. "Flip it over whenever you want..." I softly advised which caused her to take a steady breath in and out.

We waited in silence for another minute before she put a hand back on the stick which is when she slowly started to flip it over. We both intently looked at it, our nerves extremely on edge, time seemingly slowing down. But at the same time it was quick, the test completely flipping over to reveal the result.

One bar.

Negative.

Stacy let a heavy breath go, the both of us relieved at the result. She giggled lightly in relief as one of her hands slowly slid down her face.

Before I could let the relief settle into our minds, I advised that she'd still need to do another one. "It's possible it could be wrong due to a lot of things. Could be that you've taken it too early, it's a busted test, or that your body isn't currently producing enough hormones for it to detect."

She looked up at me with a smug smirk. "I will just for you, but I don't think I need to."

Looking back on this now... I don't know if the possibility of her not being able to have children is particularly a good thing. I mean, what are we gonna do once we want to have children? Well, that's an if because at the moment, I don't want children... But minds change about that subject as you get older. Anyways, I got slightly off topic.

"Don't jinx us, Stacy..." I begged, the girl kissing me in response which put me back into a feral way of thinking. When that long and tender kiss ended, I sighed, tired of fighting what I desired. Looking deeply into her eyes after the kiss ended, I lightly placed one of my hands on her neck as my hand slipped under her sweatshirt and onto her inner thigh before asking "Can I fuck you, please? I want you so bad..."

She lightly giggled before eskimo kissing me as one of her hands went to the bulge on my pants. "I think it's funny how you say that when we're scared of me getting pregnant..."

Her remark made me stand up and station myself between her legs. I put a hand on her chest to softly push her down on her back before tossing her sweatshirt aside to reveal her groin whose legs were already spread open. "Well, at the moment... I really want to get you pregnant with my child."

She quietly whimpered but kept a smile which gave me silent consent. What followed was ten minutes of us slowly and intimately fornicating with each other, kissing nearly the entire duration as I lost myself in the feeling of Stacy's moist tunnel, the girl silently begging me to impregnate her.

Another fifteen minutes later as the both of us were laying down, facing each other, and holding each other close after the steamy act, we laughed at ourselves for being... just a little bit dumb to put it lightly. "I think it's funny how you cum in me every time we have sex... I mean, we don't want me getting pregnant, but we always have sex in like… the most risky way."

"Yeah..." I agreed, before resting a hand on the side of her face. "Do you want me to stop doing that?"

"Hm... I don't want you to stop doing that. It feels so fantastic in so many ways. Do you think you should stop?"

"A large part of me says I should but... It's just... I can't control myself when I'm having sex with you. All that goes on in my mind is wanting to make you feel good and to have a baby with you... which is strange since now I hope that that's not gonna happen... It's crazy how instincts work." Or maybe I'm just a weak person when it comes to self-control and the mind-blowing pleasure of cumming inside a girl.

She lightly chuckled as she slowly nuzzled the tip of her nose on mine. "Yeah... everything seems crazy when you think about it."

"Isn't that the truth - just like when I think about how crazy in love I am with you."

She lightly blushed and smiled brightly at my words before one of her hands softly landed on the side of my face. My hand on her cheek draped down her body, down her back, and onto her ass, of which I lightly grasped causing her blush to brighten a tad. She briefly kissed me for a couple of seconds, the girl scooting herself much closer to me and wrapped her arms around me, somewhat of a challenge for her since we were laying down but she managed to do it. "I love you so much..."

Not long after that, we cleaned and dressed ourselves before getting on with our day; Stacy telling me she'd do another pregnancy test in a week. The worry of her being pregnant died down quite substantially, but it still lingered... Really, I'm an idiot for cumming in her so often, but I can't help myself... It's a shitty excuse, but that's all I got. And if it does turn out that I'm gonna be a father, then I'll accept the consequences and strive to be the best father I could be and continue to uphold being the best person I can be to Stacy, forever...

For everything that's happened in my life that's led me to this point, I can honestly say that things are... they're better. Worse in a few aspects, obviously, but also better in many others. That’s all because I was truly happy and optimistic for the future, for the first time in my life, looking forward to what lies ahead of me with growing ambitions and plenty of long-term goals.

Chapter 14: Hunting and a Battle for Warmth

Chapter Text

The freezing and bitter air from the brunt of winter relentlessly tried to invade my body to the core. But to no avail since I powered through it and didn't let it dissuade me from my mission; the mission of finding, shooting, and bringing back a buck for my family to eat and live another day.

Unfortunately, such animals have to meet an early and grisly fate; I'm not proud of slaughtering such beautiful creatures. But for some reason, I gained these things called consciousness and instincts long ago, something that makes me put my well-being above all other species and makes me strive to stay alive. And that's by consuming the flesh of other creatures I track, find, kill, and cook. Life, on planet Earth at least, is brutal since one needs to consume other living things to sustain oneself. Not to mention that it's all sort of cannibalism since we all originate from the same common ancestor long ago... So it's all technically incest too.

Alright, I'll stop with the lame ass poetry-like speech or whatever that is.

I was deep in the forest with Kai, the both of us at each other's side while he led us deeper into the woods, the both of us hot on a deer's fresh tracks. We were on a mission to, like I said, bring some fresh food back for my friends, who I now consider family, so we could eat for the day. And when I say family, I mean family as in cousin status, not sibling status just yet; a decent amount of time still needs to go by before that point.

It's been about three months since I last wrote anything in this journal. Well, a thorough update to life at least. I've written bits and bobs here and there, but nothing major. And in that time, not really much has happened if I'm being honest. All that's happened is that it's gotten much colder since we’re in the middle of February, Stacy and I have gotten much closer to our friends, many sexy and cuddle times with Stacy have been shared, and the same girl still isn't pregnant.

It's a type of 'miracle' how that is, using that word lightly of course. I guess Stacy was correct on her not being able to conceive since we're still just as irresponsible when it comes to sex. Though at this point, there's not much responsibility to it since there's not really all that many consequences to it, especially if she’s infertile since the only consequence there is having fun. The only consequences there are, if she does get pregnant, is receiving a child which, in my opinion, would be an overall good thing... There's a lot of arguments to be said on both sides, mainly the one that she might be too young to have a baby and her going through the possible complications that might arise due to creating them. But that's really about it. We don't need to worry about what the society of the past once put young couples through nor deal with the concept of money.

Anyways, our food situation has gotten a little worse as winter continues to deep freeze us. Fish, rabbits, and other little woodland creatures are much more scarce these days, but things should only be going uphill from here due to the coldest days of winter nearing the end of their tyranny. Some days, we're unable to find enough fresh food which is just a tad worrying. But the stash that Stacy and I originally inherited in the mansion’s cellar helps us out on those off days; our group makes sure to ration out what we need for each day when that happens to make it last as long as possible.

We're being smart about it which has made me not worry a whole lot about the food situation. I have faith that come spring and summer, by next winter we're not gonna have any worries about food at all... at least, that's the plan.

That's the synopsis of what's been going on. Like I said, it's not much in total, the reason for why more hasn’t been done points back to it being winter. Fuck winter. I'm not going to be doing shit out in the bitter cold unless I absolutely need to, like hunting or fishing. Other than that, all our other plans were put on hold until the weather got warmer which should take around another month or so. Once that happens, we're gonna be doing a lot of work; it's gonna be fun as I'm quite antsy to start making progress on what we want to do. But we'll have to wait until that day arrives.

But yes, Kai and I were out in the forest, the both of us staying low and close to each other as we followed the hoofprints inlaid into the freshly fallen snow. We had been tracking that deer for what felt like almost three hours; the deer running off whenever it heard one of us make a slight noise. It was irritating since my face was pretty much frozen at that point, especially my nose and ears.

As the first half of the day passed us by, the hope for actually tagging the deer and eventually capturing it slowly dwindled every minute. But half an hour or so after those thoughts started entering my mind, Kai slightly put a hand up in a way that told me to stop my movements. I obeyed the gesture as Kai lifted his crossbow up and aimed at the deer that had to have been around sixty meters away from where we were stationed.

"Think you can get it?" I quietly whispered as Kai stabilized his aim.

"It'd be one of my longest shots if I can... Your call here, Hunter."

I looked at the deer through the thick forest, the back half of the deer being exposed through all the lumber, but just barely. "How confident are you that you'll hit it?"

He thought about it for around ten seconds. "Forty percent sure that I'll hit it."

I lightly sighed. "Well, we've been out here for this long. I really just want to get this over with..." I knew I didn't have much time to think about it since the deer could scamper off at any second. I went with what my gut told me and that was, 'Shoot it so I can get the fuck back home and warm up via cuddles from the most adorable girl ever'. I waited only a couple more seconds before I gave him an answer. "Do it."

He looked down through the sights and breathed in slowly as he placed his index finger on the trigger. He held his breath as he applied pressure to it.

Suddenly, the bolt shot out in an instant, travelling at ultra-lethal speeds. It all happened so fast that I barely had enough time to register that the bolt had successfully pierced the deer's spine, the arrow almost missing the animal.

Kai silently celebrated the shot before slinging the crossbow around his shoulders while we both stood up. The deer tried to run but half of it was paralyzed, rendering the action useless. As we swiftly approached the fallen creature, I couldn't help but feel bad for it. But this is the circle of life, all that I can do is accept the morbid reality of it. I handed Kai my dagger so he could mercy kill it where he used it to stab the dying animal's head, putting it to permanent rest before taking the bolt out of its back afterwards.

"This one's fairly large... It's gonna be a huge pain in the ass to carry back." Kai commented as he got kneeled and reached down to the deer’s midsection and tried lifting up a bit to get a feel of how heavy it was. He was somewhat successful in picking it up, the side of the deer he was lifting up getting a few inches off the ground before he set it back down. "Yep, this is a two man job."

The meaning behind his statement nixed the original plan of swapping it between us. Kai had a strategy to cut and bend the limbs of a deer in such a way to make it significantly easier to carry, the deer's limbs in the shape of straps so you could carry it like a backpack, which is a very morbid sight to bestow. But since that deer was too heavy for that strategy, Kai and I had to both take a side of it and slowly make our way all the way back home. It was not fun. At all. We had to take many breaks to let our muscles rest and catch our breath during the few mile trip back.

On our second to last break, Kai decided to break the relative silence. "Do you ever feel like we're not really doing enough?"

I leaned against a tree as I heard his question, my rate of breath slightly heavier than normal. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's just... that it seems like I've not really done that much in a long while."

"We're doing something right now though, right? Something that I want to get done as fast as possible since this is difficult as fuck." I replied, hinting at wanting to return home A-S-A-P.

He chuckled at my response while he sat on the ground next to the cooling body of venison before putting a hand on the side of its ribcage. "What I mean is... I just feel like I haven't done as much as I can."

"What do you mean?" I repeated the same question.

"I feel like I can do better with hunting in general. Every time we go a day without everyone being able to eat, going off of what we're able to find, it feels like I'm a bit to blame since I'm the one in charge of all the hunting." He replied as he took his hand off the carcass.

I took a few seconds to come up with something to respond with. "I know you're doing your best, Kai. Sometimes you're gone for several hours just to bring back a few scraps for us. I mean, look what we're doing now. That tells me you're a good person that cares immensely about your friends. As long as you're doing your best, nothing's your fault. And, at the moment at least, we can go a day or two without hunting or fishing every so often just fine, we have that stashas our backup for our off days."

"Hm..." He hummed as he processed my words.

"Don't set a bar that's too high to achieve. That only causes unneeded stress, unhappiness, and other shit like that. At the moment, we're fine. Winter's almost over and with it, I'm sure all the animals you'll want to hunt will return well before we starve."

"Those are certainly ways to look at it..." He trailed off. Before I could comment he stood back up. "And things I'll try to listen to."

I took a couple steps toward him and stationed myself at the other end of the deer. "Shall we continue?"

"Not gonna get home if we don't..."

The rest of the trek back was filled with more struggle and pain. When we returned to our destination, Kai and I dropped the body on the porch when we stumbled up onto it, the both of us quite knackered out. I sat on the steps to the porch and looked at my bloodied hands before Kai sat next to me as he truly began to rest from the successful hunting trip. "I'm gonna go wash my hands." I announced a minute later before standing up and walking off toward the stream.

After thoroughly washing my hands off with the freezing water, my hands essentially felt like they were ice cubes. I wiped the water off on my sweatshirt and then stuffed them in my pockets before briskly walking into the house. Though not without noticing that Jordan was already inspecting the deer on the porch. I didn't pay it any mind because I was tired of freezing so it was a relief when I walked into the warm living room, a fire already burning in the fireplace.

But between me and the burning flames sat a couple of girls chatting about something I didn't really care about. "Mind if I take a spot next to y'all?"

My question instantly halted their conversation. "Oh shit, sure thing, Hunter. How was the trip?" Trinity replied before scooting a couple feet closer to Charlotte

"Absolutely terrible." I answered as I sat down before putting my hands closer to the fire. "But thankfully, it was successful." I looked down to my side to see what my hip was touching, instantly spotting a ukulele as the perpetrator. "Whose is this?" I asked as I picked it up.

"Fuck, that's mine, sorry." Trinity answered as she took it from my hands. It was then I realized that Charlotte also had her own instrument, a pair of bongos. Before I could ask what they were doing, Charlotte was quicker to ask another question.

"How successful was it?"

"We managed to kill a large deer. It was a type of torture hauling it back. I reckon Jordan's skinning it on the porch as we speak."

"Thank you for doing all that work; just looking at you, I can tell that it wasn't any fun."

I lightly shrugged. "I would say it was no problem but it was," I said with a chuckle. "but it needed to be done, so I don't mind. You're welcome; be sure to thank Kai too since it was a two man effort." After their quick nods to that statement, I directed my attention to the instruments that were in their laps. "What have you two been up to recently? By the looks of it, you two look like you're about to start jamming out."

Trinity lightly chuckled as she slowly started strumming the ukulele. "We're gonna practice a song that we've been writing, we're just waiting on Stacy to get her ass back down here with her clarinet."

"Hopefully I can listen in while you guys do that?"

"Sure thing, just don't expect it to be that good." Charlotte answered as she looked behind me toward the staircase. "Speak of the devil, here she comes."

"Giggity."

Right after I thought that, I heard a quiet gasp followed by a pair of footsteps rush down the stairs and dart behind me. Suddenly, a clarinet dropped to my side before a pair of arms wrapped around my neck immediately afterward. I smiled and put a hand on the arms around my neck as I rested my head against Stacy's lower belly.

The other two women glanced at our display and lightly smiled for a few moments before they continued their quiet talk. Stacy ended the hug after a minute before swiftly plopping herself to my side and leaning onto me as she picked up her clarinet. She went on to ask me essentially the same things Charlotte and Trinity questioned, of which I gave very similar answers to.

As Charlotte and Trinity focused on their own conversation, I wrapped my arms around Stacy, my hands reaching for hers. "Can you sit in between my legs?" I quietly asked, the girl easily complying to my desire as she scooted and relocated where she sat. She set her clarinet on her lap as I held her hands, her small and warm hands warming my frigid ones up. I then leaned down a tad so I could also rub a cheek on one of hers, my ears rubbing on her temple or cheek every few seconds causing her to lightly giggle and smile.

The next ten minutes or so, Stacy's warmth helped thaw my hands, ears, cheeks, and nose as I slowly rubbed my skin over hers. When I was done, I kissed her temple then slowly trailed soft kisses down onto her cheek. "Thanks for warming me up." I quietly whispered.

She looked up at me and slowly nuzzled her nose into my neck as she whispered back. "Of course, Hunter, any time... Thank you for going out hunting."

"It's the job of a man to provide for his woman." I simply replied as her nuzzling continued.

"I love you..."

Her nuzzling ceased so I put my chin on her shoulder and wrapped my arms around her abdomen so I could hold her tighter before closing my eyes as I listened to the ambience of the room. I would gently nuzzle her every now and then just because I wanted to express my love for her in a small way. We stayed like that for several minutes before Trinity couldn't not comment about Stacy and I any longer.

"You two are gonna melt my fuckin’ heart if you keep it up. And considering I'm next to a damn fire, that'd be pretty fuckin’ impressive."

Her comment pulled me out of being lost in the strong feeling of lovingly holding Stacy. I lifted my head off her shoulder and looked at Trinity with a smirk. "I know, we're probably the best couple on the planet."

Charlotte sarcastically chuckled at my remark as she grabbed Trinity's hand. "I'm sorry, but that title goes to us. You're a close second though, I'll admit that."

I rolled my eyes with a smile as I nuzzled the top of Stacy's head. "You can believe that if you want... just know you're wrong," I said with a wink.

"Let's agree to disagree." She simply replied.

"That means you lost the argument."

Then Charlotte proceeded to stick her tongue out at me.

"You're lucky that you aren't me." Stacy commented with a small giggle.

A confused smile appeared on Charlotte's face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"When I do that to Hunter, he grabs my tongue."

"Ew, gross, you have no idea where that man's hands have been."

"...I have a couple ideas of where they might've been, if you know what I'm saying." Stacy replied with another little giggle.

...Yeah, I've slowly been corrupting her sense of humour; Stacy was getting quite used to making sex jokes and innuendos. Which isn't a bad thing in my opinion, I find it quite attractive sometimes.

"And I know where they might be headed if you wanna continue to act naughty..." I seductively whispered in her ear causing her to blush.

"And now you’ve completely fuckin’ ruined the cuteness energy that you guys were giving off." Trinity pointed out with a slow shaking of her head.

"Actually, you should see how cute she is when I'm fu-" I wasn't able to finish my thought since Stacy quickly turned around, got on her knees, and put a hand over my mouth which silenced me. I just smirked and looked her in the eyes as my eyebrows quickly moved up and down.

Her blush darkened which caused Charlotte to quietly laugh, the woman failing to contain it within her. When Stacy removed her hand over my mouth, she reluctantly asked, "When you're what, Hunter?"

The question caused Trinity's eyes to slant a bit as Stacy lightly sighed before giving me a pleading look. I softly chuckled and delicately put my hands on either side of Stacy's neck as I answered. "Sorry to disappoint you Charlotte, but that's classified information; I don't want anyone to know what goes on in mine and Stacy's... private life. I only led you on because it's super fun teasing Stacy... I mean just look at how red she gets! It's adorable!"

Stacy crossed her arms in mild anger, the girl hmphing at me as the other two women giggled at her. "That all makes sense... Plus, I really want to know what goes on between you two when... that's happening anyways. Sometimes you two don't even try to keep it a secret when that's going on which I think you two should probably do something about."

"Oh well." I said with a smirk as Stacy's mild anger was replaced with embarrassment since she was the one that made all the noise Charlotte was referring to. After a silent minute, she turned back around and sat back down in between my legs before looking away from Trinity and Charlotte in, what I assumed was, shame. I leaned down so I could nuzzle her cheek with the tip of my nose. "I love you, Stacy."

She quietly sighed before a little smile appeared on her lips as she nuzzled back. "I love you too... even if you do embarrass me all the time."

A hand on her side lightly tickled her for a brief second which caused her to squirm just a tad. "It's not all the time, but still, it's what I do... and you know you love it. I know I do since you're so friggen' adorable when embarrassed." I will of course stop when she tells me to. It's not like I'm a dick and want to ruin her trust or traumatize her in any way.

She turned her head to look me in the eyes with an unamused expression on her face. I eskimo kissed her for a few seconds before actually softly kissing her, her unamused expression being replaced by a neutral one as she enjoyed the kiss, only for a couple of seconds though.

When it ended, Stacy looked back at the fire, the girl still unable to meet the gaze of her girl-friends. They noticed her actions and whispered something to each other which surprise-surprise, I wasn't able to make out.

"Stace?" Trinity asked, the girl in question barely budging for a few seconds before giving in and looking Trinity in the eyes with a light blush still on her cheeks. "We're all just having fun and fuckin’ around, we apologize if we've upset you in any way."

Stacy lightly sighed again before scooting back a little so she could be a little closer to me. "It's not that I'm upset, it's that I'm just..." She looked away from Trinity's gaze and started twiddling her fingers as she tried to come up with a proper response. "I don't know, embarrassed about... people knowing that me and Hunter have sex, I guess."

"Ouch, ashamed of me or something?" I teased once more with a smirk.

"That's not what I mean!" She pouted, huffing afterward. "You know I love you so, so much and I'll never be ashamed of you or anything like that about you, never-ever... It's just- don't you guys think it's gross? Isn’t it weird that people do that?"

The question was directed towards the other couple who quickly thought it over. Trinity shrugged and replied first. "No, not at all. Well, maybe at first due to... we'll not get into that fuckin’ topic, but it isn't anymore, not really. It's a completely natural thing and practically all couples do it."

"Yeah-yeah, and most people want to do it too, even when they're not in a relationship with someone." Charlotte continued Trinity's sentence.

"...Hunter's told me things like that, I just... it's just strange to me, y'know?" Stacy meekly replied.

Charlotte giggled at the response. "Yeah, it is pretty weird when you think about it hard enough. Well, that goes with anything really. Things just are the way they are and they're only awkward if you make them awkward. So it's always best to be open about these things and be respectful about it all... relatively, at least, there are limits to these things."

"I agree; that's what my parents taught me." I commented. "Thankfully, they were open about it regarding constructive and genuine discussions about it because looking at something so natural in a taboo way is what held a lot of society back from being more advanced."

"Yeah; I fuckin’ hope that if society eventually restarts, we'll learn from the our past and not repeat the many mistakes that our society made. Let's be honest; humans kinda did need a hard reset given how much shit they were doing to themselves and everything else." Trinity spoke her mind as she tossed some more wood into the fire.

"Once again, I agree. We were so technologically advanced yet so socially and mentally primitive at the same time which is a pretty bad combination. The social aspect needs to develop with the technological aspect of a society while mitigating the negatives that come with the natural mindset that we’re naturally wired to have. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a bunch of blind hate which can quickly build up via global and instantaneous connection which almost always leads to violence in the end..."

With all that being said, the conversation tapered off after they agreed. Stacy started fidgeting with her clarinet after a silent couple of minutes. "So, wanna move on to actually practicing the song?" She asked after she properly picked her instrument up.

Charlotte giggled and nodded at her question before properly putting the pair of bongos in her lap as Trinity got ready to play her ukulele. With all that being done and set up, they waited for Charlotte to begin the song, the silence lasting a few more seconds before she started to slowly play her instrument.

It lasted for around four minutes, the song being slow paced and quite lovely. Stacy's clarinet was just a tad louder than it probably should've been, but I didn't let that distract me from the lyrics that Charlotte beautifully sang. The song itself was somewhat depressing to begin with since Charlotte sang about the decaying remnants of the world that we used to live in and how there's been so much emotional, and for some of us, physical suffering caused by the event.

But it slowly turned into a positive vibe at the end, the ending message of the song being that we all had each other in this cold world. The lyrics reminded us that we can help ourselves through our past traumas and look forward to the future, a bright future that’s only limited by our willpower.

Charlotte's singing was beautiful and Trinity's hand at the ukulele was phenomenal, but the trilling of Stacy's clarinet is what I enjoyed the most; the mesmerizing sound of her skill causing that warm tingly feeling to flow through my mind. When it ended, I was slightly disappointed because I wanted to hear more but I knew that everything had to have an end at some point so I accepted the reality of the situation.

"That was... extremely beautiful." I commented, breaking the silence that fell upon us. "Everything about it was hands down outstanding. How long have you guys been practicing this song for?"

My compliments caused Charlotte and Stacy to lightly blush giving Trinity the time to answer my question. "Probably a little over three weeks."

"Huh... I wonder how I haven't heard it before." I replied. To be honest, I haven't heard Stacy play the clarinet all that much, only a few times have I heard her practice in earnest. The first couple of times were expectantly bad since, y'know, she never played one before then. But she quickly taught herself how to play it, almost to the point of being an expert a couple months after picking it up. It seemed every time I listened to her play the instrument, she got a whole magnitude better at doing so. I'm pretty sure she’d practice for around two hours a day out in the backyard with the other two girls, though it wasn’t something she’d do every day, maybe once every three days or so.

"Typically, we don't do it inside, but we decided to say screw it since it's... substantially a little more freezing today." Charlotte replied as she set aside her bongos before getting up to fetch some more wood to burn.

"And to think I spent however many hours out there..." I quietly trailed off, causing Stacy to scoot back into me.

When she set aside her clarinet, she grabbed my hands and set them on her belly, the girl then looking up at me with an adorable small grin. I nuzzled her forehead as I firmly wrapped my arms around her to hug her tightly again, the girl giggling quietly. "Again... Thank you for hunting... I feel like I need to do something in return." She softly whispered.

"Your praise alone is all you need to do." I whispered back as I peppered her forehead with a few light kisses.

"Hm..." She hummed, remaining unconvinced as she took my kisses.

"Trust me, Stace, your words, let alone the sight of you, fills me with joy."

She blushed as her smile strengthened, the back of her head slowly rubbing on my chest as she gingerly trailed a couple fingers across one of my forearms. "Likely story since that's also true for me... But I still wanna do something for you."

"Oh? Like what?"

She scooted to the left by a couple of inches before gesturing with a finger for me to lean my head down a bit. When I did what she desired, she kissed me, the girl using a hand to hide our lips from anyone who might've watched us kiss. Though that seemed to only bring us unwanted attention.

"You know, covering up what you're doing with a simple fuckin’ hand doesn't make us not know that you're kissing, right?" Trinity asked, the woman getting silence in return as we kept our eyes closed and continued softly kissing, something that was slowly strengthening.

Right before Stacy broke the kiss to respond, I held her tighter and softly placed a hand on her cheek which kept her in the kiss; I was enjoying it too much. She lightly giggled again at my actions and easily complied to keeping her lips locked with mine. She quietly grunted when my tongue slipped into her mouth. That little grunt, along with all the sensations the kiss was giving me, finally started to truly excite me.

"I don't think they care, Trin." Charlotte replied with a chuckle. "You two better cool it or take it somewhere else, I don't particularly want to see you guys... continue that."

Another thirty seconds passed before I finally pulled away from Stacy's lips to look her deeply in the eyes while Charlotte's words slowly caught up to me. When I fully processed her words, I jokingly said, "Or else what? This is my house after all..."

However, what wasn't a joke is how my hand on her belly slipped under Stacy's shirt, both actions causing her to brightly blush and breathe just a little faster. She wasn't able to say anything before Trinity spoke up. "The fuck? Excuse me mister, but this is our house. And to answer the 'or else what'... simply put it, you bet your ass that you don't wanna test Charlotte when it comes to making her angry."

I gazed at the other two women as I tried coming up with a response. "Whatever, you communist." I sarcastically replied, getting Trinity to roll her eyes at me. "But for real, you guys don't have to worry about us, if I continued doing anything like what you're thinking, I'm pretty sure Stacy would pass out from embarrassment before anything like that happened, isn't that right, Stace?" I asked as I looked down at the flushed girl.

"...Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that to be honest." Charlotte agreed as she looked at Stacy as well.

"Yes... So can you please move your hand out from under my shirt?" She meekly and near silently replied which caused me to look down at my trespassing appendage.

In response, my fingertips slowly pressed into her sensitive belly which caused her to lightly squirm and stifle a giggle. "But then how am I supposed to tickle you?" I asked in a cheery tone.

Her eyes shot open before she steadily shook her head. "Hunter, please not here, not in front of other people..."

I lightly chuckled and listened to her request before using my now freed up hand to grab one of hers. "As you wish, Stacy; I don't wanna do anything that you don't want me to." She let out a breath of relief while she accepted my hand holding hers. Though a few minutes after that, a trace amount of guilt entered my mind as I thought about the last thirty minutes. I couldn't help but apologize to her by leaning down a tad and quietly whispering, "I'm sorry for embarrassing you so often today."

She lightly chuckled and gently nuzzled my neck in response. "You don't need to apologize, Hunter, I know you like teasing and playing games with me and that's fine. Even though it might be just a little too much sometimes, I’ll be alright. I just need to embarrass you in some way in return, I guess."

I put a hand under her chin so we could look each other in the eyes. "I'll stop teasing you for today then, I'm sure you've had enough torment for today." As I gingerly rubbed the tip of my nose on hers, I added on, "I look forward to you trying to embarrass me in some way."

Another giggle escaped her lips. "Didn't think you'd want me to, but alright, I'll try I guess, but no promises I’ll do anything." With that being said, we softly kissed again, but it stayed light and ended only a few seconds later.

"By the way you two, just for the record, I'd never do anything more than kiss Stacy out in the open." I announced to the other couple beside us.

"Duly noted." Trinity simply replied, though Charlotte had more to say.

"That better be the truth... I wouldn't let that slide in any way, shape, or form. Your guys' kissing has almost passed that line, for your information!" The mixture between sass and sarcasm in her tone was quite a strange mixture so I didn't take her words to heart.

In fact, I just shrugged my shoulders and surprised Stacy with another kiss, making sure it was a bit more sloppy to irk Charlotte because I thought that'd be funny. Though she was saved from actually seeing our lips since Stacy always made sure to hide our lips from the sights of others. I always thought that was quite adorable.

Half an hour or so blitzed by where not much more conversation was had since I just wanted to relax by holding Stacy closely. However, when Ashton decided to huddle with us around the fire, some new conversation was sparked.

"The w-wind's starting to pick up out there and it's starting to snow... Fuck, it's so cold." He announced with a strong shiver.

"Now I feel extra lucky that Kai shot that deer when I told him to..." I quietly said to myself, thankful that we skipped out on suffering through the shift in weather.

"Where's Audrey?" Trinity asked, moving the conversation along.

"Uh... upstairs. She's... not doing alright." He said with a suspicious tone.

"What's the matter?" Stacy softly asked.

"She's um... well, I don't know if I should say if she hasn't already told you."

Thinking about his wording I slowly pieced it together. "...Is she going through a menstrual cycle?"

With a slow nod, he confirmed my words. "...That, and she's also out of weed, something that helps her cope with it."

I let out a slow sigh with the expression of 'Good luck with that'. Before we could continue that topic, Kai and Jordan entered the house with the former holding a tarp containing nearly all the edible parts of the deer we had slaughtered. "Fast work guys." I complimented before Kai took the meat into the kitchen for further processing.

"Eh, we didn't get everything we could from it. We rushed it since the temperature is dropping and the wind's picking up." Jordan replied as I eyed his bloodied hands.

"Don't spread too much of that blood across the house or I'll make you lick up whatever mess you make because of it." I playfully threatened.

After I said that, he looked at his hands to quickly examine how much of the crimson liquid had caked his hands, the man sighing instantly afterward. "I reckon I can use some of our water to get it off me, right?"

I slowly shook my head. "That water's strictly for drinking. Go use the stream like I did. It should only take you a couple minutes and you probably won't get frostbitten."

"Not sure how much I wanna take that bet..."

"Oh well." I cheerily replied right before Jordan conceded to my suggestion.

Though when he turned back to the door, he looked at the doorknob then back to me. "Can one of you open the door for me?"

I swiftly got up to do as he asked, the both of us getting hit by a rush of frigid air. It didn't take us long to confirm Ashton’s previous words regarding weather conditions; snow was indeed falling from the sky. And they were some humongous flakes.

"I really hope this isn't gonna turn into a blizzard..." I quietly muttered as I realized I shouldn't keep the door open for much longer. "Well go on, shoo."

He rolled his eyes at my remark before walking back outside. Though he didn't depart silently. "Now that you hoped that aloud... it's gonna be a blizzard, no doubt."

With that being heard, I closed the door and returned back to holding Stacy. It didn't take long to find out that Jordan was right. Thirty minutes later, the wind was howling and the visibility of the outside dropped and dropped as the snow got heavier and more violent. More wood was put in the fireplace to try and keep the room warm but the bitterness of the storm penetrated the insulation of the mansion.

The other rooms in the house were pretty much the same temperature as the outside which had the side effect of forcing everyone into the living room. By that time, Stacy and I had moved to one of the couches to let someone else be near the fire since the both of us didn’t want to be greedy.

"S-So... let's talk about our plans for the summer." Nova suggested with a shiver, huddled alone on one of the other couches.

It took a couple seconds for someone to reply. "By then, we'll have the ground all worked up and the crops growing strong." Audrey replied with a blank tone, the woman keeping her head in her hands

"How long until spring anyways?" Nova asked, taking that as my cue to jump in on the conversation.

"Thirty days."

"And you know this... how?" Ashton simply asked as he sat next to Audrey while slowly rubbing her back to comfort her.

I briefly explained to them how I had been keeping count of the days ever since the first week after The Drop occurred. "How have I never told you guys about this?"

Ashton shrugged. "You never talk about what's in your journal, you keep it a secret. It really makes me wonder what's in there..."

The way he trailed off told me he wanted me to talk about it. Though I wasn’t able to deny his hopes before Stacy spoke up. "Don't even waste your time trying to get him to talk about it. He barely even talks to me about it, let alone other people."

"Ooo, what could you be hiding in it?" Nova teased, though there was a hint of genuine curiosity underlining her tone.

"Just a few secrets that I, and I'm pretty sure Stacy as well, wouldn't want others to know about. It'd be a dick move to push me into saying what I write down in it or for anyone to steal and read it." I'd be really pissed if anyone ever read my journal without my permission... Not sure why I'm writing that down since no one is ever gonna read this... Right?

Anyways, what I said caused Stacy to lightly blush though no one seemingly acknowledged the slightly flustered girl; that was for the best.

"No worries, Hunter, we won't read your diary." Ashton said with a smirk, trying to irk me with that word.

I lightly chuckled. "You can call it that, I don't care, it doesn't bother me any."

The banter persisted for only a couple of minutes longer before it ceased in favour of the topic changing back to the weather, you know, classic white people things. I'm not sure why I say that though since not just white people were talking and I’m also not white... oh well.

"When does it usually start warming up?" Ashton asked anyone who'd be able to answer.

"Since we're in southern Ohio... maybe around right when spring begins?" I answered before getting a disappointed sigh from the asker.

"Can't come soon enough, can it?"

"Nope. And like my father used to say, once the warm weather's here, it'll flash before our eyes then we're back in the slog of winter."

"Meh, time is linear for me." Nova replied with a shrug.

"Depends on the person, really. For me, all the day's are meshed together so it seems time's flashing by. Though recently, it's slowed down since we all met."

"Does that include me?" Stacy asked in a whisper as she looked up at me.

"Well, with you, it seems time speeds up because of how much I enjoy spending it with you." I whispered back, causing her to simper and hug me tighter.

The wind and snow only continued to get worse as the hours passed while we all slowly got more and more submerged in the blizzard. We were able to tell that was happening since the wind howled louder and blew harder which had the side effect of causing the mansion to emit some creepy sounds every now and then. Eventually, I went up to mine and Stacy's room, the day's exhausting work catching up to me, weariness settling into my mind as I winded down due to having cuddled for a decent amount of time. Stacy stayed behind to continue conversation with the others, the girl reassuring me that she'd meet me up there in a bit.

As I walked up the stairs to the second floor, I lightly shivered due to the living room's warmth slowly transitioning into the uncomfortable icy air that we were fending off. When I made it to the door to my room, I swiftly opened it and allowed myself in, which reminded me of how dark it was.

"Electricity should be the first thing we should focus on when it's no longer freezing outside..." I muttered to myself as my vision slightly adjusted to the absence of light.

I didn't instantly retreat into my bed but I eyed it with a certain appetite as the want to sleep strongly entered my mind. But I didn't succumb to the idea since I instead made my way over to the desk that Stacy had claimed as her own. When I sat down in the chair, I reached over to one of the flashlights that we kept in one of the desk's compartments so I could properly see what the hell I was doing. When I turned it on, I leaned it on the side of the compartment and directed it toward the ceiling so it could illuminate the entire room.

With that being done, I looked at the many sheets of paper that laid upon the desk, the papers revealing themselves to be the result of several works of Stacy's that sort of made me jealous of her expertise in drawing. A decent bit of them were random doodles with another handful of them being detailed images of mountainous landscapes, or plains, and even some houses with each one having their own little happy family doing various types of outdoor activities.

She used a lot of art supplies to draw them with. Paints, graphite, charcoal, chalk, just to name a few. She's able to get these things because when we go out scavenging, she keeps her eyes open for such materials and the like. Though as of late, we've both stopped scavenging and plan on continuing to pick it back up after winter passes us by.

Recently, she's been drawing objects and people inside the mansion to test her skills, and she's knocked it out of the park. Originally, she was having a difficult time doing so, which was to be expected, but as the natural she is, she quickly refined her abilities over the course of a month and a half. Now she was able to draw some pretty extremely impressive images. It's appalling how speechlessly amazing she is at anything art related.

One of them was of Audrey and Ashton cuddling on one of the couches, another was of Jordan skinning some rabbits, and another was of me writing in my journal.

"Your drawings represent yourself, Stacy... incredibly and flawlessly beautiful..."

After I whispered the quiet compliment that would go unnoticed, the last drawing reminded me that I hadn't written in my journal for a few days. Well, besides marking the days off of course. But even then, I didn't really write in it all that much, not as much as I used to anyways. All of those thoughts made me fetch my journal from beneath the bed before bringing it back to the desk so I could write a few things inside it.

Though something extremely strange occurred when I lost myself within its pages a few minutes later. I thought I had heard some type of... whimper or growl or hum, I'm not quite sure what the sound was. But I knew I heard it which resulted in the sound instantly getting my attention so I looked toward the still open doorway.

At this point, everything was fuzzy as the world around me started to feel less and less real. It doesn't make that much sense, but I don't really know how to explain what I was experiencing. When I heard the same sound again, I got on my feet and headed toward the door, stepping out into the hallway to investigate where the source might be.

Though... there was nothing in the hallway. And when I say nothing, I mean nothing. Instead of a hallway, there was just an empty black void. The sight frightened me but I didn't have time to react to it before I felt a couple of hands gingerly place themselves on the sides of my head, the touch freezing the joints in my neck thus making it impossible for me to look back, that feeling quickly spreading to the rest of my body.

"There's no need to be scared, Hunter..." The voice wasn't reassuring at all, even though it was a soft tone. Nonetheless, it continued to speak to me. "I'm not here for long, I just need to quickly remind you to think about what you truly desire." The feminine voice said as their hands slowly draped across my head, the appendages shortly disembarking said area afterward.

"What I truly desire...? A long, happy life with Stacy..." I thought, the feeling of freight leaving my headspace as the feeling of comfort replaced it as I thought about my girl.

"Forever protecting and providing for her in every way she needs is a fantastic goal... But is that all you really want, Hunter?" It asked as the world became even more fuzzy.

"Well, there are other things I think about every now and then... I just question how realistic they are..."

"As you think about the future, many deep desires have already been sparked within your mind. Now, those aspirations just need to be amplified and built upon. Embrace these aspirations, for they hold the key to your growth and fulfillment. Nurture them with determination and hard work, allowing them to flourish into tangible achievements. With persistence and focus, you can transform these desires into the reality you envision. Believe in your potential, and the journey toward your dreams will become a path illuminated by your unwavering determination."

"Aspirations? Such as...?"

"Consider this, Hunter. It's a question that only you can truly answer. In fact, it's the most rewarding path to take. All I can do is urge you to trust your instincts and emphasize how anything can become possible when you exert enough effort. Absolutely anything."

With that being said, it put its hands back on my head as the fuzziness became overwhelming, most feelings that I should've felt, the feeling of being creeped out primarily, not registering in my mind.

"Follow the compass of your soul, Hunter. Trust what feels undeniably right within you. Don't ignore those aspirations you've set aside; bring them back to the forefront of your mind and act upon them.”

Right after they said those words, I had the strong desire to talk to Olivia about our future while I simultaneously felt a weak wave of energy of some sort brush through my mind. It was a peculiar feeling, words lacking the means to properly describe what it was like.

"But as it is now, our time is up." Their hands started to gently shake my head as I started to faintly hear another woman's voice inaudibly saying something to me. "We'll reconnect at some point down the line, someday. Until then, ponder upon all that we've discussed, letting these thoughts guide your journey. Stray true to yourself and take care.”

The gentle shaking incrementally got more intense but not uncomfortably so. Everything started to fade out and recede, darkness encompassing me as the other voice started becoming more clear, coming to the quick conclusion that it was from Stacy.

My head shot off my journal which is when a large amount of adrenaline invaded my system as I sharply gasped. Stacy's hands darted off my head as she jumped back with a gasp of her own. I let a heavy breath go and blinked most of the confusion away as I looked down at my journal before piecing together what had happened.

As I did that, Stacy lightly nervously giggled at the situation, most likely to cull the shock that I had unintentionally caused her. "How come you're not in the bed?" She coyly and quietly asked as she took a couple small steps toward me.

After sitting silently for another couple seconds, I ran a hand through my hair as I closed my journal and leaned back into the chair where I let another heavy breath go. "I... I think I passed out while writing in my journal. I guess." I replied before a yawn escaped me as dreariness replaced the diminishing adrenaline in my veins. After a few moments of silence, I quietly said, "I had the strangest dream..."

"Oh? What was it about?"

I gave her a quick rundown of the dream that I was quickly starting to forget. But telling her what had happened in it helped out a ton for remembering it later. "Definitely one of the more realistic dreams I've had." I finished as I rubbed some of the exhaustion out of my eyes.

"That's a... very interesting dream. Do you think it means anything?"

I thought about her question for a few seconds, not really sure what to say. "I was never really a believer in dreams having meaning, but this one might leave a strange impression on me… It’s very strange, I think I’ll think of it more in the morning, maybe." Silence once again fell upon us so I figured to move the conversation along by returning back to a subject regarding sleep. "But to add on why I wasn't in bed, I kind of don't like going to sleep without holding you so I was waiting for you."

Along with her coy tone, her smile was coy as well, the sight melting my heart as I remembered how lucky I was to even be able to say things like that to her. She walked in front of me as our eyes stayed locked with each other's before one of the girl's hands placed itself on mine as she glanced down at my lap. "It's really cold in here... would it be fine with you if I sat down here?"

"Yes." I immediately replied, a soft blush enveloping her face as she did what she asked. I firmly placed my hands on her hips and held her close to my chest where her bottom gingerly wiggled into my groin just as I I nuzzled her cheek. I kissed her cheek and the side of her neck afterward which caused her to giggle, all of this resulting in me getting slightly aroused. But since I was exhausted, I wasn't particularly in the mood to mate.

After I told her that, she let a slightly saddened sigh release from her lungs. "Well, this was kind of something I was doing just so I could ask you something..."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Ask me something?"

"...I was gonna get you to want to fuck me but I wouldn't let you do that until you gave me permission to read your journal..." She skittishly replied.

I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. "What if I said 'no' to you reading it?"

"...I probably would've still let you fuck me." She answered with a giggle. "Actually, I definitely would've since... I kinda put myself in that mood."

A hand slipped under her shirt and prodded into her side, causing her to gasp before my fingers slowly rubbing her sensitive skin which made her start giggling sporadically. "Well, that's your fault since using sex as blackmail like that isn't very nice..." I said in a tone that was somewhat firm but still lighthearted.

My fingers continued dancing into her skin for the next minute where her laughter, smooth skin, and her squirming into me caused me to get much harder for her. "I-I know! I wasn't actually gonna g-go through with it!"

My fingers suddenly halted their welcome 'assault' to let her breath and calm down since she was getting rather loud. "I know. I'm sure you'd never be able to resist my touch or my words..." I whispered in her ear causing her to lightly gulp.

She nervously chuckled. "Uh, yeah, sure mister, says the one that practically begs to see me naked every other day..."

"Hey, you can't really blame me for that since you're the most attractive person I've ever met. And it's not like you ever say no..."

"Well, most of the time at least, I'll admit that. But I thought you said you were too tired to want to have sex with me?"

"Oh, I am. Doesn't mean I don't get to tease you before going to sleep." I said with a cocky tone as I quickly nipped her neck.

"The thing I'm sitting on tells me that you wanna do it though..." She pointed out with another wiggle of her hips.

With another yawn and as I fought the tiredness within me even harder, I took a couple seconds to reply. "Maybe in the morning, if you want?"

"Yes." She simply replied before that lustful conversation ended, my arousal following suit afterward.

Though we had one more conversation before we went to bed. "You know... if you wanna read what's in my journal, you can just ask. I'm surprised that you haven't asked up to this point."

She twiddled her fingers a bit as she looked at the book I was referring to. "Well, it's just that you've always been so secretive about it... I figured you just didn't want anyone to look in it, ever, and I wanted to respect that."

"So how come you were gonna blackmail me with sex about it then?" I asked with a small chuckle.

"You know I wasn't actually gonna go through with it... But anyways, it's because earlier down in the living room, we were talking about it and lately, I've been really curious as to what's inside it. Well, I have been for a long time, just not as much as I am now."

"I guess that all makes sense..."

"So... can I read it?" She asked as her hands slowly reached out for the journal.

Before her hands contacted it, I stood up and held her bridal style causing her to squeak in surprise. "You can, though tomorrow. But you have to promise a couple of things." I announced as I set her on a platform to a bay window before walking back to the desk to retrieve the flashlight that was still on to turn it off.

When I returned back to the window, I got on the platform and faced toward the outside. Stacy quickly positioned herself to my side, the girl leaning on me shortly afterward. We both looked outside to enjoy the view of the falling snow. Even though it was a cloudy night, the full moon illuminated the skies above, our vision adjusting to the dark which caused the white particles to be able to be seen. "And what's that?"

I wondered why it took her so long to ask that but I brushed it off. "Don't tell anyone what's inside it. And please don't make fun of me for anything you find in it."

"Of course, Hunter, I promise not to do that..." She replied as she looked up at me. "I'd never tell anyone anything you wouldn't want me to... but I might make fun of you, maybe just a little."

After her little giggle, I slowly shook my head with a smile before surprising her with a kiss that stayed light for several seconds. When it ended, I lightly put a hand on her chin to make sure our eyes stayed locked with each other's. "You're the only person I trust to read through it." I quietly pointed out.

She hugged me and scooted closer, her head then resting on my chest once more before my chin rested on the top of her head in return while my arms wrapped around her. "Thank you for trusting me so much..."

I lightly chuckled once more as I couldn't help but start drifting to sleep even though I was sat up. "After everything, Stace, allowing you to read it is practically nothing. You know that I put all of my trust in you, and then some..."

She lightly giggled. "Maybe I should've asked sooner then."

I simply shrugged in response before the day's events came to an abrupt end. As the day faded away, I found myself uncertain about how eager I was for her reactions to the stories of my life. After all, my journal contained my most intimate emotions, thoughts, and fantasies; it was a reservoir of my deepest vulnerabilities... Still, I trusted her with my entire being.

Chapter 15: Wonder and Snow

Notes:

I'm changing my upload date to Saturday and to once a week for a few chapters since I've currently been going through a massive frenzy in writing. If you've gotten this far in the story I deeply appreciate that I'm able to make something you're interested in. Stay tuned if you so choose because even though I have 60k unpublished words this story has still practically begun and I'm not rushing anything, that's why this story is somewhat slow paced and is going to persist in being slow paced throughout the buildups and the conflicts that I have planned.

Chapter Text

The night’s freeze wasn't forgiving and hadn't been for a couple months at that point due to the cold seeping into our room. Reactively, Stacy and I bundled tight and held each other as close as possible to create and preserve as much heat as we could. In the middle of the night, we migrated to the bed to bundle up more effectively which resulted in us sleeping a few more degrees warmer which was quite nice. But I still woke up many times during the course of the night due to my nose, cheeks, and ears somewhat aching in pain from how frigid they were. Thankfully, my girl let me slowly rub my skin against hers so I wouldn't get frost bitten, though I felt somewhat bad for waking her up a couple of times in the middle of night when doing so. This happened all often since the winter was relentless.

After originally expressing that I felt bad for waking her up, with a drowsy smile, she assured me that what I was doing was fine, but I still felt a small pang of guilt whenever I interrupted her sleep. Though when she nuzzled me back, my heart fluttered at the adorable gesture.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

By the early morning, I finally had enough sleep to get me through the day. But the first thing I saw in the morning was not expected to say the least.

I opened my eyes to see a shirtless Stacy lightly biting her lower lip who was looking me right in the eyes. It didn't take me long to notice that she had a light blush donned on her cheeks as well as how the girl's rate of breath was slightly elevated.

"Well good morning, Stace..." I said after registering what was in front of me while placing a on the side of her face, her cheek then nuzzling the palm of my hand. She lightly swallowed with a shiver as my hand trailed down to the sapphire that she always wore, to allow some more time to pass so I could wake up some more. I lightly chuckled. "Is everything alright? How come your shirt's off? Aren't you cold?"

"I-I need your cum inside me... please..." She said, her blush darkening after saying what was on her mind.

Just a little surprised by her words, I lightly chuckled once more before the tip of my nose slowly rubbed against hers. "That's not particularly an answer to what I asked, silly girl."

A light tremble travelled down her body as she had some difficulty thinking back to what I asked, her mind being hijacked by the strong instinctive need to fornicate. "I j-just really, really want you to fuck me. I have since last night... I'm a little cold but I can deal with it, I want to take the rest of my clothes off anyways..."

My hand left her necklace as I leaned up before throwing the blanket off me. "Alright, give me a few minutes to wake up some more; you know I don't like having sex immediately after I wake up."

She smirked and giggled happily. "Okay!" After that adorable cheer, one of her hands went down to the button and then the zipper of her jeans to quickly undo them. "Wanna undress me?" She asked with a small swallow, the button already undone by her intrigued hands.

I stood up and faced her before gesturing with a finger for her to scoot forward to me, the girl instantly complying to my gesture. I delicately put my hands on her cheeks and deeply kissed her where the two of us sustained the kiss for several long minutes which helped me wake me up even more, the kiss quickly stoking my arousal, of which quickly spread to the rest of my body, my phallus swiftly becoming eager to please the girl that begged for my insemination.

When the kiss ended, I delicately pressed her down so she'd properly lay down before practically ripping her pants off her, not wasting any time on taking her panties off which revealed the damp and engorged folds of her horny cunt.

She spread her legs open when I placed my hands on her hips and dragged her closer to my pelvis, something that caused her to heavily breathe. "C-Can we j-just get right to you doing me? I don't care if I get to cum or how long it lasts, I just need your cum in me." She clarified in a desperate tone.

I chuckled once again as I placed my right hand on her respective inner thigh and placed my left hand on the respective breast, both hands then gingerly massaging said areas, causing her to lightly whimper. "Calm down horny girl, I wouldn't enjoy this if you didn't, there'd be no fun in that."

With that being said, I massaged her for a couple minutes longer before the need to fuck her awaiting little slit quickly enveloped all of my mind. Before I enacted upon the desire though, I quickly got on my knees and gently rubbed her clit with the tip of my nose before taking a long and slow breath through it so I could thoroughly enjoy the addictive scent that her aroused slit emitted. After that, I very slowly let it go and subtly trembled at how feral the smell was which made me rock hard for her.

Before I got back up on my feet, I decided to take one long lick inside her slit by traveling my tongue up to her clit and rigorously enjoying the raw taste of her cunt, the girl instinctively wrapping her legs around my head.

After I enjoyed briefly smelling and tasting her, I quickly got back on my feet before swiftly taking my clothes off which is when I rested my the base of my shaft on her clit. After that, I started slowly rubbing it back and forth on her sensitive button, causing her to close her eyes and quietly moan. I watched her express to me what she was feeling for a few seconds, the sight turning me on even more as I looked down at her groin.

"It's so adorable how you spread your legs open like this for me..." I lustfully said as I placed my hands on both of her inner thighs to press her legs down to spread her legs open some more. "How you're like an animal in heat, begging me to rut you, more than willing to accept my seed deep inside your womb..."

With those words being said, my right hand helped direct the head of my cock inside her naturally well-lubricated lower lips, pleasurable grunts then escaping her vocal cords as I slowly pushed it deeper into her, all the way back to her cervix.

As I slowly pulled out of her, a hand positioned itself above where the action was happening so a thumb could lovingly rub her clit as another hand kept one of her legs down to keep her legs spread open, the sight of her spread open legs, doing so for me... It's one of the hottest sights to see.

"You're getting a little fuzzy down here again..." I pointed out with a small giggle. But the girl I was talking to was too lost in pleasure to properly process what I said. "Aw... You're so adorable." I couldn't help but say as my thrusting picked up.

"P-Please- Fuck me faster-!"

And so I did for the next fifteen minutes, all the while watching her facial expression, hearing her grunts and moans, and glancing at her groin every now and then as she started begging for me to cum inside her. I made her cum twice before I let myself eject my semen in her.

But before I did so, I abruptly wrapped my arms around her abdomen and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around my pelvis and her arms instinctively snaked their way around my neck as my thrusting sped up to a rapid pace. She quietly and quickly repeated the word 'yes' several times in bliss which was so incredibly adorable to me.

Suddenly, something really peculiar happened and I instantly noticed it which forced me to rip my focus away from railing Stacy. My ears instinctively twitched, in a direction that was behind me, in hopes to hear what my underlying instincts seemingly thought was behind me. I stared at the direction I thought the disruption was coming from which revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Stacy nuzzled my neck after a few seconds, the girl silently asking me to speed back up.

"I-Is something w-wrong?" She asked as my vision honed in on nothing for a brief second in hopes to try to see anything that might be wrong.

"No, no... I just thought I heard something from behind me." I admitted before looking back at her with a soft expression. I brushed the feeling off after a couple of seconds and wrote it off as nothing, mainly because I wanted to focus back on having sex with my lady.

With that being done, I continued my thrusting into Stacy for the next couple of minutes, the end darting to the present. Right before I came, I set her back down on our bed, kept my hands on her hips, and kissed her. And when I finally went over the edge, the girl gleefully squeaked and smiled as she felt my cum enter her womb.

After ejaculating inside her, she broke the kiss so I leaned back up just a tad. In return, she also leaned up a small bit and wrapped her arms around my neck again, the girl pressing her forehead into my neck. She slowly nuzzled me there for a few seconds as I recovered from the climax, a rewarding sigh escaping my lips as her pleasant odor reached my nose.

I repositioned my hands to her jaw and partially on her neck before leaning back a tad so I could look down at her, my gorgeous Queen wearing a bright and pleased smile as we deeply looked each other in the eyes. I gently pressed my nose on hers and slowly rubbed them together. After a few seconds, she gingerly pressed her lips against mine and closed her eyes.

After a couple minutes of another tender kiss, she slowly pulled away and returned back to laying down. One of my hands then retreated back to one of her inner thighs while I placed my other hand on her belly. She released a lengthy sigh in delight as she relaxed further before unwrapping her legs from around me. "I love being filled by you..."

I let another heavy breath go as the afterglow of fucking her entered my mind. I kept the girl's legs spread open as I kept my penis inside her, my hand going to hold one of hers while we calmed down from the act.

With a fair amount of lust still clouding my mind, I gently massaged her inner thigh and lustfully said, "And I love how you take it like the good little girl you are..." Her blush strengthened just a tad but retained her smile as I turned my attention back to her groin, the hand on her inner thigh trailing above her clit. I didn't rub her or anything, just stationed my hand there as a silence settled upon us which left me to think about something for a couple of minutes before I decided to continue the conversation by bringing it up. "...I was gonna say that you ‘belong’ to me right before I came but I decided against it since I'm not sure how you'd feel if I said that."

She lightly giggled as she held my hand with both of hers. "Hunter, I wouldn't mind if you said that... because it's true. I'm never going to have sex if it isn't with you." She giggled once more. "I think we talked about something like this once before. Really, if I didn't belong to you, we wouldn't even kiss, silly."

I leaned down to kiss her again but only for a few brief moments. "Then you belong to me, forever."

"As you are forever mine..."

"I love you so fucking much, Stacy."

"I love you so much too, Hunter." She expressed with a little quiver of her voice along with another gentle nuzzle.

Another intimate kissing session ensued, the both of us trying to express the love we have for each other through the simple act of affection. I leaned back up after it ended and saw that she was still wearing a cute and goofy smile of pure happiness that made my heart flutter at the sight of perfection. At least, as close to it as someone can get since y'know, no one's perfect, but that's besides the point.

"...So, I'm getting 'fuzzy', huh?" She asked with another little giggle which broke the comfortable silence and moved the conversation along. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Nah, nah... sometimes I like a bit of fuzz down here." I said as a hand draped across her groin, the hair that was about a tad shorter than a centimeter rubbing against my skin which actually felt quite nice. "It reminds me how much of a woman you are... so it actually kind of turns me on."

"So why should I continue shaving there?" She asked with a smirk.

"Too much hair here, it isn't that attractive. Though, of course, it's up to you if you wanna continue doing it, I'm sure you already know that."

She chuckled. "Yeah, you've told me that before... But I agree, I never really liked having a bush anyways, at least I think that's what you called it. I don't know why you touched me that first time since... since y'know, I never shaved before that point."

I shrugged. "I didn't mind, it's not like I don't find it unattractive... it's just that I find you like this more attractive. Though truth be told you're amazingly attractive no matter what. And who knows, maybe my tastes will change eventually."

A shy smile appeared on her face as my hand left hers before finally pulling my shrunken phallus out of her a few seconds later, the girl keeping her legs spread open. As a trickle of my semen started seeping out of her, I couldn't help but just watch and stare at her leaking slit, the mesmerizing sight instinctively forcing my eyes to continue looking at her exposed and slightly gaped vaginal lips. I mainly stared for the sole reason that I had claimed her as mine yet again, something that I can't express how much I love doing.

She coyly giggled and grinned as she took note of my stare, a hand on her belly draping down to her nether region before she used her index and middle finger to spread her labia open just a tad which let me see more of her than I was expecting originally. "How long are you gonna be staring for?"

"As long as you feel comfortable..."

I only did for a couple minutes longer before sitting on the side of the bed next to her, the girl then closing her legs before sitting up and hugging me. Of course, I hugged back, the both of us staying in the embrace for several long minutes.

"We're gonna have to clean the sheets since you're leaking onto them..." I whispered, causing her to look down at the stained sheets.

"Fuck." She simply replied, causing me to chuckle. "Let's deal with it later, maybe..."

"Definitely"

With that being said, she rested her head on my chest, though I put a hand on her chin to make her look up at me where the girl still happily smiled. I adored her expression for only a couple of seconds before kissing her, the both of us getting lost in each other's lips for many, many long minutes once again. What? We love kissing.

(Sex scene over)

Around thirty minutes swiftly passed by before we finally decided to break the embrace and clean ourselves up which allowed us to don a fresh set of clothes. After she was done doing that, she made her way over to the desk before taking a seat and taking a hold of my journal where the girl then placed it down on her lap and silently looked down at it.

I walked up behind her and waited for her to do something with it. When she didn't do anything for a few long seconds, I gingerly put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What's the matter, Stace?"

"...Am I gonna read something that I won’t like in here?"

My hand draped up into her hair so my fingers could slowly brush through her long and soft locks as she looked me in the eyes. "I'm not sure, maybe. It depends on what I've told you before and what you'd find disturbing regarding my past."

"...How much of your past don't I know?"

I lightly shrugged as she looked back down at the journal, the girl then opening the cover to reveal the first page. "I'm not too sure, really... I mean, I try to be as open with you as I can through typical conversation, though it's possible you'll read things you've never asked about or I've never talked about."

"Hm..." She hummed as she eyed the doodles on the first page. "That’s mainly because I just don't know what questions to ask about the stuff I don’t know about."

"Which is fine. I'm sure you're gonna have a few ideas of what to ask as you read through this. And I'll try to answer them as best as I can."

Which is a bit strange to say, in my opinion. Even though we've spent so much time together, we still ask each other questions that should've been asked long before that point. I usually just shrug that thought off, it's not like we're gonna know everything about each other even if we spend an even more generous amount of time with each other.

I think it's also partially like this since Stacy has, for a lack of better words, mediocre social skills. I don't notice it too much when it's just her and I, but when I watch or listen to her talking with the others, she's rough around the edges when it comes to some aspects of communicating. It's not her fault of course, it's her parents since they forbade her from letting her have friends, which had the side effect of causing her to be an artificial recluse.

I'm gonna reiterate here; before I met her, I was a bit of a recluse as well so I understood where she came from. Though she was forced to be one even though she’s naturally a social person, she just doesn’t know how to execute it properly whereas I do. So that's why we were able to meld together so easily, since we were able to open each other up socially so well.

Ever since Olivia's group joined us, she's been so happy with all the activities, conversations, ork, and everything in between. Which in return made me happy to see her like that, the girl often telling me about how she felt, how much I made her happy, feeling like she needed to love on me more since she claimed 'without you I never would've met these people' who have indeed become close friends.

Y'know, which is most likely true given the circumstances. And it's not like I'm gonna deny extra hugs, cuddles, and kisses from a very happy girl as that would be rude. But I didn't take full responsibility for it because it's not like I meant for things to play out this way. Hell, I think she's the very reason why I even conceded to the idea of opening up to strangers to begin with... no, she's definitely the reason for that.

But one more thing I will say about how she communicates is that I always make sure to point out how to better her skills and to teach her how to be more articulate while also reminding her to communicate to us if anything's wrong or off. And more specifically in our private life, to tell me if she's uncomfortable or if I'm doing something wrong just as I will with her. It's been a steady ride with only a couple of minor incidents since we aren't perfect, though I always make sure to apologize to her before making it up to her whenever those small inconveniences arise because I'm never going to intend to make her uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form.

"I feel a bit selfish..." She replied as she blankly stared at my journal.

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm essentially gonna read all your secrets basically for free."

I shrugged once again. "It's not like I have anything to hide from you. Sure, some things might be embarrassing for you to find out, but it's not gonna hurt me once you figure out some of the dumb things I've done."

"I kinda feel like you should tell me yourself instead of me reading it."

"Hm..." As I continued slowly brushing her hair, an idea came to mind. "Maybe I can be by your side as you read it so you'll be able to ask me anything that comes to your mind while you do so."

"As long as you're comfortable telling me." She coyly replied before I scooped her out of the chair, causing her hands to dart to my personal notebook to make sure it wouldn't slide off her.

"I'm not gonna be a hundred percent comfortable telling you everything since there are a lot of embarrassing moments I've written down over the course of that journal’s life... But I'm not gonna care either way once you learn of them since I trust and love you so much." I simply stated before gently rubbing the tip of my nose on her forehead, causing her to cutely giggle.

As she looked up so she could rub her nose against mine, I carried her over to the window bay before gently setting her down on it. Stacy faced toward the outside as I took a spot next to her. She leaned back on me as we looked out into the freshly snowed upon forest, several inches of the fluffy substance now covering the ground as far the eye could see.

"Plus, you should already know em' by now... It's time to rip this band-aid off and tell you some of the things I've kept hidden from you just because the experiences are cringe worthy. Really, all that I'm hoping for is us to laugh together at my past self and nothing worse."

"I wish I could tell you some embarrassing stories too, but I don’t think I really have any." She replied as she reopened my journal.

"There wouldn’t be any need for it anyways, my dear; I already don't need to hear stories of you from the past to make it to where I get to embarrass you." I said with a chuckle before nipping the tip of her ear while she sarcastically sighed.

"Alright, alright, since you're so generous..."

And so I let her start exploring the journal at her own pace. She softly read aloud as I read along with her, the first pages of my journal talking about some of my high school life. Not that it was much to begin with since I dreaded those experiences and waking up every day to go to that place. Though it did get a tad awkward for me when she read about how I lusted over a couple of the people I once was in school with.

"That's so unlike you... at least, from what I've seen." Stacy commented on my past self's fantasies.

"Really now?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well, I mean, like how you thought about that with random strangers."

I gently shrugged. "Back then, I was still a virgin and really wanted someone to be in a relationship with to do the things I was talking about here. And a lot of teenage boys are hoes, simply put it." I chuckled a bit as she paid close attention to what I was saying. "I remember somewhat hating myself for thinking like that. I always thought having sex with someone you didn't know was kinda disturbing, in my view; though I don't really care if others do that. Anyways, I'm glad I kept that belief in my mind and never made any dumb decisions based on those intrusive thoughts... Though you'll come to find that I was dumb in a lot of other ways." I finished explaining with another chuckle.

"..Was?" She teased with a little giggle.

I lightly shook my head with a smile. "I'm only dumb in one aspect these days and that's being dumbly in love with you; though that's not really dumb, is it?" I'm not sure if that was a good flirt but I think it was alright.

Anyways, after she cutely blushed at my remark, she continued reading what my high school life was like for the next twenty or so minutes. As she was reading about how one time I completely bombed at a presentation, I couldn't help but silently cringe at the embarrassing moment, how I was stiff as a board, stuttering, monotone voiced, the whole kit.

"You're too hard on yourself, Hunter." Stacy pointed out as she read past the experience.

"Hey, you weren't there when it happened... I'm sure you would've snickered at me too."

"Eh... I think I'd be too busy thinking about wanting to be hugged by you." She said with a little chuckle as she lightly pressed herself into me. "Also, I think I'd be the same, having to talk in front of people... Especially if it was about something even close to talking about anything sexual as you did here..."

"Oh yeah, you'd definitely pass out in this biology class." She briefly raspberried the air after I said that. "But in conclusion, this group project was terrible and I might be hard on myself. I can't really help it though. However, I usually think about how 'no one remembers it' to make me feel better... But then it reminds me how they're all too dead to think about... anything."

The mood took a massive hit after I said that, the girl then blankly looking down at my journal. I slowly sighed and gingerly took it out of her lap before closing it and setting it aside.

Right before I could say that she should take a hiatus from reading my journal she said, "...I wish I was able to go to high school."

I gently rested my cheek on the top of her head and slowly nuzzled her. "Trust me when I say that there's a bit of luck regarding how you never had to experience such a treacherous place."

She lightly giggled. "I know, I know, you tell me about all the bad things about it a lot and it sounds terrible, but... were there no good things about it at all?"

I thought about her question for a couple of minutes. "It kind of depends on the person, really. If you're fine with being a mindless droid to society, then you'd most likely be able to 'enjoy' the torture. If you're like me and saw through the bullshit, then you dreaded just about everything about it. There's a lot of ways to look at it, but my explanations aren't gonna be positive about it. But I'll admit, it probably wasn't a good thing to do at the time, I just couldn't help myself." Right before I finished the response, a final thought about the subject swiftly entered my mind. "The only positive thing I can really think about involving high school is the friends I made there... Oh, how I miss them."

She leaned into me just a tad more before delicately nuzzling me once again, the girl trying her best to comfort me as she tried to keep my mind off of the depressing reality.

I hugged her back and gently sighed. "I'm sorry, I bring up things like that way too often... It really ruins the mood."

"It's alright, Hunter, it kind of has to be like that since the past... Well, y'know, no one that we know of before The Drop happened is alive..."

As she said that, something caught my attention as I was gazing out the window. Or I should say a couple people since I saw Nova and Roman strolling through the deep snow. They were just in front of where the trees began to populate the ground which was around thirty or so meters away from us.

"Yeah, but... I don't know, I just shouldn't bring it up every time." I replied before a silence emerged between us. "I wonder what they're doing out there..." I quietly questioned which caused Stacy to take her head off my chest to peer toward the direction I stared at.

"...Well, wanna go ask 'em?" She questioned, my arms holding her just a tad tighter.

"And go out in the cold when I could cuddle with you and stay warm instead?" I replied, a smirk briefly appearing on her lips before vanishing just as quickly.

"I think it's time to go out and do something, we've been cooped up in our room all day."

"What's wrong with staying put and cuddling? Do you not enjoy it anymore?" I playfully asked with a hurt voice.

She looked up to me and quickly pressed the tip of my nose with her index finger. "It's only one of the best things I can do. But I just wanna get up and do a couple things for now. We've been really close since, well, before we went to sleep last night, how much longer do you really wanna deal with me?" She finished with a small giggle.

I quickly kissed her lips for a couple of seconds. "You say it like that's a problem when in reality it's a dream, a very lucky one at that, and that goes to even being able to hold you... I said I'll never take you for granted and I plan to always uphold that. So to answer your question, I could cuddle with you for as long as you want me to... Though I really should be getting around to fishing or hunting for today."

She had a light blush along with her meek grin. "Sometimes I feel like I got way too lucky finding you..."

With one more nuzzle and peck on her forehead, I quietly replied. "Me too..."

Shortly after that, we separated and got on our feet before splitting off to do whatever it was that needed to get done for that day. Or so I thought. After putting on my shoes, slipping a jacket on, and slipping on some gloves, I made my way out into the outside, not having much conversation with the occupants inside.

"I hope this shit melts fast..." I muttered to myself as I began trudging my way through the thick snow towards the typical fishing spot, not wanting to hunt for that day. When I got there, I saw that no one else was fishing. I was just a little disappointed since I hoped to at least see Willow there, but I swiftly stifled that feeling.

Now, we typically keep our spears and buckets next to a few certain trees so we always know where the tools are located... But since there was around eight inches of snow, I was certain that they were knocked over during the storm and now buried within the snow.

I lightly sighed, not willing to waste however much time it would've taken to survey the ground and move snow out of the way just to maybe find what I was looking for. I figured we could probably take a couple days off of fishing and hunting since we hadn't done so in a couple weeks. With that decision determined within my mind, I turned back around and trudged my way back to the front porch. When it was in sight, I was able to make out that three figures were stationed on the porch and most likely talking to each other. Kai, Willow, and Stacy turned out to be the ones.

"Havin' fun in the snow?" Willow asked with a grin making me stutter a step.

"No, not particularly to be honest. In fact, I'm back because I don't feel like dealing with this shit while fishing." I replied as I made my way onto the porch that was thankfully barren of snow.

"It's not that bad..." Kai said, causing me to quickly glare at him in a friendly way.

"Going hunting today?" I asked in an upbeat tone.

"...No, fuck this shit." He admitted after a twinge of hesitation followed by a little chuckle.

"Exactly." I finished making my point before directing my gaze down to meet Stacy's. "So, what're y'all doing out here? If I knew better, I'd've stayed inside where it's nice and warm." If you know what I mean.

"Just came back from a little excursion into the forest. We decided to come back and wait until it warms up a little, though we then decided that fighting the snow is just too much work." Kai simply answered.

"We were just about to head inside until Stacy stopped us from doing that." Willow briefly added on.

"Oh really? And what have you been pestering them about, little miss?" I asked in a playful tone before taking a step towards her which caused her to shyly grin at me.

"I was-."

"Hey, Hunter! Think fast!" Roman called out from behind me.

I did not have enough time to think fast. I easily and quickly came to that conclusion since a large snowball splattered across my back.

"You little motherfucker-!" I called out as I spun myself around, hearing Roman's maniacal giggles from around the house, the boy thinking that this was just a simple hit and run. I was able to get a glimpse of Nova right before she disappeared behind the side of the house with him. "You have no idea what you just started..." I muttered to myself.

"Need any help in getting some revenge?" Kai asked, a smirk appearing on my lips from his words.

"Well, if it wouldn't be any trouble..." I asked as I peered over my shoulder.

"Not at all."

"Not gonna ask for my help?" Willow inquired, her tone carrying a playful hint of mock offense.

I quietly stared at her for a couple of seconds. "Not to sound rude or anything, Willow, but... I mean, you're you, so..."

She tsked and crossed her arms. "What is that supposed to mean? Is it because I'm a woman?"

"How the hell did you come to that conclusion." I thought but lightly grinned afterward, wanting to figuratively play with fire. "...Yeah, exactly Willow!"

My response elicited yet another tsk from her before one of Willow's hands darted down to grab Stacy's. "C'mon Stacy, we need to show this disrespectful brute how he's severely underestimating the power of femininity!"

"Wha-." Stacy confusedly asked before Willow tugged her down the stairs into the field of snow.

"C'mon, Willow! Don't be such an SJW!" I said with a grin still on my face. Though she didn't reply to me. Instead, she leaned down to whisper something into Stacy's ear. My grin took a small hit after Stacy started lightly giggling. "What are you-?" I asked but was cut off by Kai talking over me.

"Guess you're gonna have to learn not to tease Willow the hard way, Hunter..."

I once again looked behind me and slightly squinted my eyes at him before I saw one of his hands lift up then point behind me. Knowing I messed up by letting the two girls out of my sight, I accepted my fate and braced for impact as I looked back at them, a couple snowballs then splattering onto my chest.

"You're gonna regret that!" I playfully called out to the two that ran around the house, presumably to group up with the other two vandals, as Stacy cutely giggled while they left my sight.

"Wanna give them a head start?" Kai asked as he walked up beside me.

"At least a couple of minutes, they'll need it." I replied with a strengthening smirk. "Only since Stacy didn't seem to be able to easily traverse through the snow."

"And tracking them will be quite easy..." Kai added on with a sinister snicker.

So that's what we did where we allowed a silence to settle between us for a couple of minutes before we agreed to begin our prowl. When we got around the house, we spotted my attackers beginning to delve into the forest around forty meters away, the two girls beginning to walk past the tree line.

"It seems a couple of minutes wasn't that much time to give them." Kai pointed out as Stacy looked back at us which immediately made the both of them pick their pace up. They were swiftly blocked from our sight as the girls delved deeper into the forest which had the effect of the trees obscuring their whereabouts.

"Oh well." I replied with a smirk. "I wonder where Roman and Nova went..."

A few seconds after I pondered that, we heard a couple of screams from the forest. Just a bit alarmed, Kai and I reached the tree line a minute later, which resulted in Stacy and Willow reentering our sights.

They were about twenty or so meters away and taking cover behind a couple of trees. It didn't take me much longer to find out what they screamed at since Nova and Roman were on the offensive, the two trying to splatter them with their handmade ammunition, though their battle wasn't going to be easy.

Kai and I got low and branched off to the right, the both of us keeping a safe distance from the two groups as they traded shots with each other. As that was going on, Kai and I started creeping up on their flanks, taking our own cover behind a couple of trees when we were about fifteen meters away from them. My teammate was three or so meters to my left so when I whispered, I had to talk just a tad louder than I felt comfortable with.

"You two shouldn't be attacking us! We're on your side!" Willow called out, causing me to peek around my cover where I swiftly saw Roman run behind another tree before taking another potshot at Willow. "Hah! Missed me-." She was cut off by Nova nailing her on the shoulder.

"We're our own side!" Nova replied as she retreated back and dodged a retaliatory snowball that Willow threw at her.

"Alright, so here's what we're gonna do." I 'whispered' to Kai with somewhat of a nerdy accent. "We're gonna wait until one side attacks the other as we slowly move in. Then as they're distracted with each other, we're gonna swoop in and take the 'kills'. Any questions?"

"Yeah, one actually. Is Roman gonna join us in this attack?"

Looking confused for a second, I turned to my left, instantly seeing Roman sneaking up on our flank. Though he quickly found out that he was compromised so he took a badly aimed shot at us which ended up hitting Kai on his shin before he swiftly retreated back towards Nova.

I finally took it upon myself to craft a respectable snowball just as Kai did the same before the both of us immediately started advancing towards the small battlefield ahead of us. I managed to make out that Nova and Roman were pushed back by a sudden surprise attack from Stacy and Willow, their opponents retreating farther back into the forest.

"Which one do you wanna go after?" I asked Kai as we heard the fighting factions react to the potshots they were throwing at each other.

"Since we're closer to Willow and Stacy, let's go after them. I'll go after Willow since she's my girlfriend; seems fair to apply that logic with you and Stacy as well." He reasoned as we saw Stacy and Willow successfully repel their opponents to the west, Nova and Roman running back towards the mansion with their tails between their legs.

"Fair. Though we have to do that now, I don't think they're gonna stay put for too long." I replied, Kai giving me an understanding nod. And with that, we quietly sprinted up behind our assailants.

Willow was first to realize she was being pursued since Kai attacked first, the girl looking behind her just in time to see the offensive, the woman deftly dodging the projectile. She quickly ran off in a random direction, the two then swiftly going to the back of my mind as I focused on the prey I was going after.

Now as Kai was going after Willow, who was stationed a few meters away from Stacy by the way, Stacy was a bit slow to realize that she was being attacked. But when she saw that Willow was being pursued, she darted off in the opposite direction. That had the unwanted side effect of me chasing after her which exposed my location.

After a minute or so of chasing her, I say that lightly since she was kind of slow when compared to me, she looked behind her to see if she was safe. She made a surprised squeak-like sound when she realized I was going after her which caused her to put in some more effort to travel faster. Though that didn't really help her and the ground between us continued to get smaller and smaller as the seconds passed by.

We then made it to a small clearing in the forest which is when she realized she was no match for my speed. That’s the exact moment she quickly manufactured a snowball and readied it to throw at me which caused me to halt dead in my tracks. She giggled in a demeaning way, the silly little girl thinking she had the high ground on me. Her smile melted away when I revealed I had been holding a snowball behind my back.

So she resorted to words as her primary defense. "We can just... y'know, act like this didn't happen and walk away."

"Hm..." I hummed, pretending to consider her offer as I glanced at the snowball I wielded. "I dunno, you kind of did attack me first... seems fair to have a little payback, y'know?" At that, she lightly gulped in playful-fear.

I took a step forward which caused her to overreact when she took a step back to compensate for my advance forward, the girl tripping and falling to the ground which made her lose her grip on her snowball, the little girl being encompassed in the snow. She then put her hands up, clearly displaying that she surrendered. And in one last hope to solve this problem through words, she said, "You don't wanna do this..."

"Eh, I kinda like getting white stuff on you, to be honest."

She only had time to softly blush at my perverted response before I closed the distance between us. I then landed on my knees in front of her and looked down at the defenseless girl. She hid her face behind her arms and braced for impact as I lifted my arm up high before throwing the snowball down on her.

It contacted her collarbone, most of the snow splashing off her coat and some spattering on her neck.

She put her arms down after the attack was over, my Queen giving me a frowning face as she looked up at me. "Now my neck's cold and wet..." Her pout made me lightly chuckle before walking on my knees to get closer to her. It was difficult with the snow of course, but I managed.

I leaned down and pressed my nose against hers, the glove on my right hand being slipped off by my other hand so I could place the warm appendage on the area on her neck that was affected by my attack. I wiped most of the snow off her neck before I took it upon myself to lick the rest of the snow off her neck, something that caused her to quietly whimper and spread her legs a tad.

I chuckled at her actions before leaning back up and looking down at her submissive state, the sight turning me on just a bit. "Is your neck still cold?" I asked as a hand of hers slowly smeared the trace amount of my saliva across her neck until it evaporated. She slowly shook her head and closed her legs. "I like how submissive you are..." I couldn't help but say.

A light blush reappeared on her face when I placed a hand on her knee before trailing it down to her inner thigh once again which caused her to spread her legs back open a tad. "A-Are... do you want to fuck me again?"

I massaged her thigh to tease her for a bit before shaking my head. "Not again today, I just like teasing you."

She quickly raspberried the air in response before my arms suddenly wrapped around her chest and leaned her up into a hug. She instinctively snaked her arms around my neck as we rested our foreheads on each other's just before softly kissing for a few seconds.

"So, wanna help me get revenge on Roman?" I asked my Queen.

"It's the least I could do to… ‘repay’ you." She replied with a small giggle.

We didn't get up for a few minutes since the both of us enjoyed the tight embrace as we warmed each other's ears, cheeks, and noses through the power of nuzzling.

"Hey, you two lovebirds over there! We've agreed to an armistice!" Kai called out from behind me.

I begrudgingly stopped nuzzling and looked behind me to see that Kai was standing next to Roman, Nova, and Willow; all four of them having several spots of the remnants of snowballs that were exchanged between each other.

"What's an armistice?" Stacy asked in a whisper.

I looked back down at her and swiftly answered her question, Stacy looking a bit disappointed at the meaning. Afterwards, I helped her up, but leaned down to whisper in her ear. "They agreed to an armistice... We didn't..."

She gave me an intrigued look. "What are you planning?"

"We surprise attack Roman since he's the only one I have bad blood with... I'm sparing Willow because we can't get both at once. Roman needs the payback though, he's the one that started this all." After my response, she giggled evilly before we regrouped with our comrades, all in hopes to warm back up after our quick conflict.

Roman wasn't expecting the onslaught of snow he received a minute later, the others being neutral about the situation. Which was funny, a type of betrayal as they just watched. It was all in good fun.

Chapter 16: Secrets and Stories

Notes:

Currently writing Chapter 30 so I'm pretty far ahead of my schedule. For the next few weeks I'm gonna be uploading a chapter every Wednesday and Saturday. I'll leave a note whenever I stop that and return back to uploading once a week.

Chapter Text

As the day progressed, we all collectively agreed upon taking a couple of days off; a much needed break ensuing after our decision. We'd be using the supply of food down in the cellar for the next two days of course, which thankfully was still quite full. I'd estimate that there's still around seventy percent of the original stash remaining. I was really proud of how well we kept up with the income and demand of food, especially since the task of getting food during the winter was much more difficult than how it was just a few months ago but still, we kept up with most of our demand.

To be honest, I probably haven't been this optimistic in... ever. Really, it feels wonderful to live like this... Y'know, despite the crippling loss of all of my previous loved ones. Of course, that's still gonna haunt me until the day I die, but hey, I don’t let it control me since I have to look at the brighter side of things, all so I won’t fall into a deep depression that would probably lead me to kill myself. I almost did a couple of times before I met Stacy, I'll admit that... I'm so glad I didn't end it all.

Thankfully, there's quite a bit to look at regarding the bright side nowadays. I've made new friends who are slowly becoming family, I'm not shackled as I previously was during the time of the now absent society, I'm not a soulless machine stuck to the unfair system of capitalism struggling with debts and stresses, and I have the most beautiful, kind, and caring little sweetheart I could've ever asked for...

And yes, there's a lot of cons that will plague us for a long while. Like running out of soap, creams, toothpastes, not having electricity, and other commodities like that. I have no clue how we'd be able to manufacture our own eventually, perhaps we'll go scavenge a couple books on the subject regarding the hygienic stuff? Anyways, that's not all of it; of course, there's also the having to go out and fish and hunt, struggling in the act of manually retrieving our food. But this way of life... it's much more natural and has made me feel so good as of late.

We're not eating mass-produced meat and other foods that awful companies used to make through the terrible treatment of animals and artificial means. We're going out there, doing what our bodies once did back in the hunter-gatherer stage of humanity, and getting our food through respectable means. Since it's still winter, there's not that much to gather out there so we're all patiently waiting for wild foods to grow. I think that's enough with this tangent now, I’ve run out of things to say about this all.

I was in the dining room with Kostas and Olivia, the three of us sitting at the dining table playing a game of blackjack. There weren't many items of value we could bet with so we decided that whoever won a round was able to pour some alcohol into their glass.

Now, these days, alcohol isn't that much of a rare commodity since we've managed to discover a couple of liquor stores in the nearby town. Only a couple though, it seems that that town wasn't that big of a fan when it came to alcohol, but that's besides the point. We only take a couple bottles whenever one of us swings by one of them as there's not many of us that drink it to begin with. We don't hoard it because we treat it as a treat by only drinking some every now and then and none of us are alcoholics... though I’ve been getting a bit suspicious of Kostas lately.

Anyways, I was sucking ass at blackjack and having some shit luck while Olivia and Kostas got a few good swigs of the delicious rum on the line whereas I was only able to get a couple in before our game abruptly and unknowingly ended by the one and only Charlotte joining us at the table.

"Salutations my jaunty friend, what's crackalackin'?" I asked as I passed the cards in my hand toward Kostas.

"Why do you gotta use so many weird words?" She commented with a grin before I gave her a shrug. "Anyways, I'm here to see if I can join you guys in a game, if it wouldn't be a bother."

"The prize for winning is a good drink of rum, are you up for it?" Kostas quickly explained before getting a shake from Charlotte's head in response.

"Hm... how long have you guys been playing this for?"

"Half an hour, I'd say." Olivia replied. "I think I'm done playing this for now boys, I don't wanna get past being tipsy. Even though we're not doing much for today, it's never a good idea to get drunk in the middle of the day." Kostas and I gave her a nod before Kostas returned the cards back to their pack while Charlotte continued silently pondering, though she didn’t stay quiet for long.

"Do you guys still wanna play a game?" She asked when Kostas finished handling the cards.

Olivia and Kostas shrugged in a way that gave the impression of 'depends on what you're gonna suggest'. I then said, "Yeah, sure, what do you have in mind?"

Charlotte smirked and glanced between the three of us. "Have you ever played 'never have I ever'?"

Kostas seemed confused at the name, though Olivia knew what Charlotte was talking about. "I haven't played that in several years, I almost forget how to play."

I replied by saying, "I haven’t actually.. I think I was always too scared to. That, and how easy it is to lie in the game so I never trusted the other participants."

"I think we're all close friends at this point to where we wouldn't lie to each other... Probably. So, wanna try it out?" Charlotte counter-argued.

"Wait, what is this game?" Kostas asked.

"Alright Kostas, I'ma learn you how to play 'never have I ever’.'"

"You mean 'teach'?" Olivia asked with a small chuckle.

"Nope, I won’t conform to whatever the fuck you fancy Englishmen wanna say." I replied with a grin. After that small exchange, I started explaining the simple rules of the game. By the end of it, Kostas looked quite unsure about it after he was 'learned'.

"I guess that would be a fun game to try... Do you have to say why your finger goes down?"

"No, that's not needed, though someone might pester you to explain." Charlotte answered. "So, wanna try it out?"

"With only four people? I dunno, seems just a tad too small of a group to effectively do it." I replied before Charlotte looked at the doorway, her expression suddenly lighting up.

"Hey Jordan, we're about to play a little game though we're a... how do I put this, a group that's neither too small or big, but it'd be more fun if we had that one extra person. Would you like to join us?"

He considered it for a couple of seconds before he lightly shrugged followed by him shimmying his way over to us and taking a seat next to Charlotte while she put her hand up.

"What game are we playing?" He asked, getting the answer immediately. "On second thought, I gotta-.."

Charlotte cut him off which made him halt his movements to escape from us. "Aw c'mon, you already agreed and you're already here, the least you could do is go through with it!"

Jordan sat back down, slightly defeated, and complied to her plea before the rest of us lifted a hand up which caused the game to commence as we quickly established who'd announce the first statement. We all swiftly agreed to Charlotte doing so, the girl then going into deep thought for a couple of seconds before her face lit up.

"Never have I ever taken psychedelics."

Jordan and I didn't put down a finger but our other two friends did so without any hesitation.

"That's just a tad surprising to see from Olivia, of all people..." Jordan commented with a smirk. "What kind did you two do?"

"LSD... never again." Kostas simply replied, the man clearly holding back from expressing his fear of the experience he had..

"Shrooms. I used to do them every now and then a few times a year. Thankfully, my profession didn't randomly screen me for drug use, though I played it safe and only did it on vacations and extended holidays."

"How illegal were they back then?" Charlotte asked as I lined up my own question.

"Oh, they were extremely illegal. I could've had my life ruined if anyone had figured out I partook in them. Which was extremely unfair. Sure, if you often did shrooms back then then it'd be a little concerning, but if you did them like how I did then, there shouldn't have been a problem. I mainly did it just to deviate as foolish as that may seem." She finished with a small chuckle.

"What were the trips like?" I asked.

"I never really was able to describe them with words... This is a cop-out answer, but it's the best I got, you've gotta experience it to understand." She simply answered with a little shrug. Leaving me only a little dissatisfied, she asked, "Any more questions?" When she got silence in response, we continued the game. And as it was her turn to utter a statement, she said, "Never have I ever... had a threesome."

"Ooo, we're already getting to the juicy ones already." I said as we all looked to see who might've put a finger down.

We all noticed that Jordan was struggling to put one of his fingers down which piqued our interest.

"Having trouble over there?" Kostas teased with a chuckle.

"A bit actually... Does it count when the person had DID?"

"What's DID?" Charlotte asked, Olivia quick to answer her question.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder... And to answer Jordan's question, yes, I would count it as a threesome. They're different people after all, right?" Olivia coyly replied with a soft smirk.

Conceding, he put a finger down.

"So... were they someone you knew?" Charlotte asked.

Jordan took a steady breath as he prepared to answer her question."Yeah... I rarely discuss this, as you all probably know, given that this is one of the few times I'm bringing it up. They were a friend I had for a couple of years, a few years ago. I thought, even though there were multiple people involved in her mind, we could make a romantic relationship work. To cut a long story short, we realized we were better off as friends, despite wanting to be together."

"I always found people with DID to be extremely fascinating and beautiful in a way." I commented, causing Jordan to chuckle lightly.

"This person was especially beautiful."

Moving on from that, it was Kostas' turn to say something. "Never have I ever... Uh, wished I had kids?"

Charlotte and I lowered our first fingers simultaneously, just before Olivia's second finger dropped. Kostas wore a proud expression, having realized the significant impact he had made by taking out a considerable number of ‘lives’."

"Really? You two have never wished that?" Charlotte asked, astonished at the revelation.

Jordan nodded as Kostas took the reins. breaking down his reasoning. "Babies... they're kind of loud, kind of gross, and kind of annoying. Back then, they costed a lot of money I didn't have and now... Well, these days I don't have a possibility making a child."

"Pretty much what he said." Jordan simply commented with a shrug.

"I mean, there's adoption which is what I was thinking..." Charlotte counter-argued.

Olivia's gaze flicked toward me and before a debate could ensue, she asked me, "You want a child, Hunter?"

I shook my head. "He said wished, not wish, meaning past tense."

"True..."

"Though to give more information than what you were expecting, I don't want children any time soon. I fear that so many things would go wrong, y’know, considering a lot of modern medicine and machinery are currently out of our reach... Plus, I don't know how good of a father I'd be."

"To be honest, I think you'd be a fantastic father." Olivia admitted with an assuring smile. "I mean, the way you treat Stacy, I think you'd make any girl jealous of her because of... well, pretty much everything you do to show her that you care for her."

"Yeah, you two are almost inseparable some days... And I'll admit that I'm slightly envious of how many times you two cuddle; Trinity isn't as big of a cuddler as you two are."

Their words made me feel a bit strange but it wasn't a negative feeling.

"Back to my point, if you two keep a bond this strong and eventually have children, with a little parenting advice from someone who’s been a parent before, you'd be a great father. A healthy relationship with your significant other reflects a healthy relationship with your offspring."

At that, I could only say, "I have faith that mine and Stacy's bond won't falter... but only grow stronger."

Olivia gave me a quick nod. "Keep that mindset. Though if you ever hurt Stacy..."

"I don't even think about thinking about it, ma'am." I replied, easing her mind.

There was always something I've wanted to ask Olivia and it involved children. I knew she was an ex-mother, but I had no clue about anything regarding them, her parenting skills, and advice. I've been too hesitant to ask about it since I know that it's probably the most sore spot of hers that could be pressed. Previously, Ashton and Audrey told me that it's still too early to bring it up to her; they tried asking about it before, the conversation ending before it began. Though her hint of asking someone who’s been a parent before might be a sign of her opening up a tad...

I decided against bringing it during the game, maybe sometime further down the line where it's appropriate. As it was, our game continued by it becoming my turn to say a statement. "Never have I ever been caught masturbating." And just like that, I took out four fingers across the board.

"Oh, really now?" Jordan asked, the people around the table expressing that they didn't believe me.

I simply shrugged. "You guys just gotta be more sneaky. From previous experiences when not getting caught doing the act, I still lived with my parents. Just had to do all the basic shit; turn the lights off, turn a fan on if you had it, lock the door, all that good stuff.... Though I'll admit that I was almost caught several times during the days of my youth."

Olivia playfully scoffed. "Just wait until you hit your thirties and you start developing back issues, then tell me about how these days aren't currently your youth."

Without much more being said, Jordan's turn was up. "This is probably cheating in a way, but never have I ever caught sexual feelings for a male."

Olivia scoffed and went down to only holding two fingers up. "I'm almost out here you guys!"

"Maybe you should... I dunno, uh, not apply to our statements." Charlotte jokingly replied.

I rolled my eyes and put a finger down which got surprised looks from around the table. "What? I'm a bisexual... have I never told any of you guys that?"

"No!" Charlotte said excitedly, though she realized how unhinged she was acting before quickly calming herself down and clearing her throat for a brief second. "I mean, uh, no."

I chuckled. "Jeez, what makes you so excited about me liking cock? Seems kinda weird, Charlotte..."

She was typically impervious to my teasing, but this time, a faint blush graced her cheeks, revealing that my remark had struck a certain chord. "It's just that... well, you're the only other LGBTQ member in our group besides me and Trinity."

"Huh. Well that's cool, I guess." I simply replied.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?" She insisted on asking.

"...No, actually. Though I once was really close to having one... but I think his parents were extremely homophobic so it never happened since they made him feel too scared to be himself."

Jordan slowly shook his head in anger. "It's disgusting how common that was in an 'advanced' society."

"Agreed. It's also disgusting how a parent would control their child like that. So many of those homophobic parents disowned their children simply because they were who they were. A lot of them were religious zealots... I'll never understand it; yeah, I'm sure your God would've approved of you completely abandoning the child that He supposedly made, the same child He supposedly made gay since supposedly He made them just how He wanted. Imbeciles.''

"Yep, most of the world's hate once could’ve been traced back to religion... Hypocrisy, sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, war, lies, indoctrination, willful ignorance, and intolerance. By the way, are any of you religious?" I asked, a quick consensus being drawn that we were all Agnostic, Atheistic, or a mix of both. To me, that was kind of expected since why would anyone believe in an all-loving God after The Drop anyways?

"I don't think any of us are religious, none show it at least." Kostas admitted.

"Only one way to find out, and I'm not gonna go around asking each other's religious affiliation; it's not particularly a fun subject." I replied. "So let's get off this topic since I'm sure it'd just be one magnificent circle jerk of tearing apart the asshole that was organized religion."

"...You have such a way with words." Olivia commented, making the others giggle and chuckle.

With that being said, the first round was officially over, the order of our turns returning back to Charlotte who said, "Never have I ever had a pregnancy scare."

"Well that's just a given, now isn't it?" Jordan asked as he put a finger down before Kostas joined him while I thought about Charlotte’s words.

Expectantly, Charlotte looked at me. "I'm thinking about it." I replied before shrugging and putting a finger down after a few more seconds. "I don't know if I'd consider it a 'scare', more so a 'pregnancy worry'."

As I finished saying that, the beautiful Stacy walked into the dining room who saw all of us holding up our fingers.

"...Do I wanna know what you weirdos are doing?"

"We're just playing a little game, my dear." I replied before she shook her head with a light smile where the girl then continued her stride into the kitchen.

"Was the so-called pregnancy 'worry' with her? Or are you thinking about a different one?" Charlotte whispered, though it wasn't that quiet. Her asking such a question would’ve been quite the probe into my personal life but since this was part of the game, I rolled along with it.

"Yes, it was with her..." I plainly whispered back. "But now I know it'd take a small miracle for her to get pregnant." After I said that, I realized I probably fucked up so I swiftly wished I could take it back. But since this was real life, I had to deal with whatever consequences my actions resulted in.

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked, the question being thought up across them all.

"...I don't think that's something for me to disclose."

Before they could pester me some more about the information that I wouldn't give, Stacy walked back into the dining room while holding a cup of water and taking a sip from it as we all silently stared at her. When she was done taking a sip, she scratched the back of her head while an embarrassed though soft blush appeared on her cheeks.

"What'd I do? Is there something on me?" She asked before using her free hand to stretch out her plain shirt to see if there was any type of stain on her.

"...Yeah, I guess that was kind of weird. Sorry, Stace." Charlotte apologized as we all looked back at each other. I guess she then felt obligated to explain to Stacy that we were in the middle of playing a certain game.

After we established that it was Olivia's turn, Stacy walked up to us and took the spare seat to my left, all while my Queen’s attention staying glued to our hands. "So how do you play this exactly?"

"...Alright Stace, I'ma learn you how to play this game called 'never have I ever'..."

After I swiftly accomplished that, she seemed rather interested in the game. "...Would it be possible for me to join in?"

"Unfortunately no, you'd have an unfair advantage by starting fresh with having all of your fingers readily available to be dropped." Charlotte answered, Stacy looking a tad disappointed after hearing that. "You're free to listen in though, we've all revealed some pretty good secrets so far. Here’s to hoping that we’ll uncover some more..."

With Stacy's interest piqued, she tuned in on the game as we picked up where we left off.

"Alright, hm..." Olivia started off as she glanced between all of our fingers. "Never have I ever... made the first move in a relationship." She smirked as she watched all of us but me drop a finger, something that caused her to stare at my unmoving hand. When she realized that I would be unaffected by her turn, she met my gaze with a perplexed expression. "You've never...?"

"Nope, I always felt like I'd've been risking too much along with being afraid that I'd creep them out or make them uncomfortable... It probably prevented a lot of relationships, but that doesn't matter because look where I am now." I finished with a glance towards my little angel.

"Still..." Olivia continued as she switched her gaze down to Stacy. "Kostas and Jordan making the first move, sure that's believable, Charlotte doing the same? That's a given, she's really confident regarding romance. But I wouldn't have expected in any scenario where Stacy makes the first move..." As she trailed off, Stacy shyly tried to hide behind her hands, the extra looks she was receiving just making it worse. "Only because of how coy she is, as we can clearly see."

"Well, it's a tad complicated. Basically, she just asked me to kiss her so I did. It's kind of up for interpretation, but I perceive it as her making the first move." I explained as I took note of our finger-lives. "The end of the game is nearing..."

I didn't like the look Kostas was giving me, a sort of evil appearing on his face. "Never have I ever been in a relationship with someone who's smaller than five feet and two inches."

I gave him a defeated look while he got a bit of laughter from around the table. "Dude... way to single me out." I pointed out as I went down to only holding two fingers up. "Alright then, just wait, if you wanna play dirty, I'm gonna get a triple 'kill’ on ye'..."

As it was, Olivia, Kostas, and Jordan all had one finger up. Now all I had to do was try to say something that'd knock all three of them out...

After a few seconds of deep thought, I finally announced, "Never have I ever been turned down, also known as 'getting friend-zoned'."

"Kopele..." Kostas trailed off as he ran out of fingers to hold up.

As his last finger came crashing down, I saw Jordan's final one fall as well, which was just before Olivia reluctantly put her hand down as her time in the game came to an end.

"Wasn't expecting this game to be that quick... Oh well, that was pretty fun, all things told." Olivia commented as she relaxed back into her chair.

"Yeah, same. Though we still got two players left, maybe we can hear some more before the game ends?" Jordan pondered which stoked Olivia's attention for the rest of the game.

It was then that I realized that Charlotte hadn't put a finger down at my last statement, the woman wearing a similar grin on her face that Kostas had given me. "What're you thinkin', Charlotte?" I unnervingly asked.

"Never have I ever been in a relationship with someone younger than fifteen."

Then and only then did I realize that there was no winning for me. She had the turn advantage meaning Charlotte always would have one more life than me if we played dirty. With that realization coming to mind, I put my hand down before doing a small bow in a mocking way while I conceded. "I have been defeated by the oh so powerful Charlotte, I concede the game to you, your majesty."

"Well, I guess not then..." Jordan quietly commented as Charlotte playfully scoffed at my surrender.

"Why'd you give up?" Stacy innocently asked, unaware of cheap-shots in a one versus one situation in the game of 'never have I ever'. I explained to her how I had no chance of winning and didn't want to waste my time with a pointless game and needlessly spill some secrets.

When all was said and done, Jordan got back up to continue whatever he was getting to before Charlotte had stopped him from his business.

"That was definitely... an interesting game, that's for sure." Kostas plainly admitted.

"Yeah... I definitely learned a lot about you guys. Though I don't know how I'd feel about playing again since I'd be risking more secrets that I certainly want to keep hidden." I continued the conversation.

"Dang, I missed most of the game... Are you able to tell me what happened in it?" Stacy asked, cutely looking up at me with pleading eyes.

I lightly placed a hand on the top of her head and slowly brushed my fingers through her soft hair. "I think you'll read about it later when I get around to writing it down."

Hey look, I'm writing it right now!

Said Hunter as he wrote his experiences down in his journal... Okay, this got meta... and now you're just talking to yourself while referring to yourself in the third person.

Anyways, as Stacy and I started our own conversation, the other three started their own independent one. Stacy, by the way, accepted reading about it later in the future. Which made her think back to how I was allowing her to read my journal. She scooted her chair closer to mine and gestured me to lean down so she could whisper in my ear. "So... when can I continue reading your journal?"

"Anytime you want, babe." I whispered back.

"...Ew, don't call me that." She whispered, giggling at the silly word.

"Alright, sweetie." I replied, quickly pecking her forehead.

"No PDA!" Charlotte jokingly called out.

"Fuck off, you're literally jealous!" I called back and gave her the middle finger, all in good fun.

Stacy rolled her eyes at the both of us before quietly saying, "I want to cuddle as I read..."

My other hand joined the one that was brushing through her hair after I heard that, the offer of cuddling instantly winning over my mind. The tip of my nose pressed against her forehead so I could lightly nuzzle her which caused her to quietly giggle once more. "I wanna cuddle too."

"Let's go then."

I don't think the other three realized we snuck off to our room all while the want to hold my girl close overruled any thought of delaying that by any second. When we got to our room, she made her way to her desk before picking my journal up from it and turning back to me, the girl silently asking for more of my approval to continue reading it.

"You're so goddamn cute!" I thought, containing it inside my mind as I walked up to her. "What's the matter, Stace?"

"It's just uh... Y'know, it still feels a bit wrong reading it."

I lightly chuckled and leaned down to press my nose into her hair. "Again I'll reiterate, I'm a hundred percent fine with you reading it. Now, where do you wanna read it?"

She thought about my question for a couple of brief seconds as she looked around the room where her eyes ultimately landed on where we cuddled previously, on the window bay.

"I like cuddling there... It's not as saggy as the bed is." She announced as she pointed toward it before one of my hands took her pointing appendage and led her toward the desired area.

I helped her get on it before she scooted forward to make room for me to get behind her. While she was doing that, I took one of our blankets off our bed and got on the bay with her. I then wrapped my arms around her abdomen and pulled her close to my chest, the girl then in between my legs as I put a blanket over us. Instantly, it felt ten degrees warmer, a welcome contrast to the chilly air outside of the blanket.

I nuzzled my cheek on hers where she slowly nuzzled back as she relaxed more in my arms, the both of us staying like that for a couple of minutes before she stopped and turned her attention to my journal. She opened it and quickly found where she left off, the girl then starting to quietly read.

I decided to close my eyes and rest my chin on her head where I was hearing the gentle smile on her lips through the slight shift in her tone that it caused. I cleared most things out of my mind, only leaving the thoughts of holding Stacy and how much I love her left, all while hearing her soft and beautiful voice. I think I might've been deeply addicted to snuggles by now... Is that a bad thing though?

So that's what I did for ten minutes; snuggling and cuddling, enjoying holding her tightly, and feeding the desire of touching her. That was until she ripped me out of my trance-like state.

"Who's... Paris?" She asked, my heart skipping a beat at the name. I lifted my head off hers so I could look down at the page she was reading. And sure enough, she was on the page that I had secretly been dreading.

I twiddled a couple of fingers for just a brief moment before I stopped myself from doing that so I could figure out the answer to her inevitable question. "She's uh... You know how I almost never really talk about my ex...?"

She slowly nodded, the girl quickly figuring out what I was trying to say. "...Paris is your ex?" She asked as she looked up at me, the girl being met with a confirming nod.

"I have talked very little about her with you since... since y'know, she's my ex and what not. And also because I wanna forget that I ever knew her." I said, my hands on her belly lightly massaging her. "I feel like I should apologize to you, about how I've stayed silent about it for so long."

"It's okay, Hunter... I understand why you haven't brought it up, it's not like I'm trying to make you tell me the things you don't wanna talk about." She replied, a sudden look of thought appearing on her face. "Didn't you say her name was June though? A couple months ago you talked about her for a little bit and you said that was her name."

"...I gotta apologize again, my love." I announced with a kiss on her head. "I may have... said a couple of little white lies regarding her since I thought it was best to... I dunno, I just didn't want you knowin' about her since she’s irrelevant.'' With the confused look she gave me, I added on, "I've always wanted you to know that I never think about her or anything like that simply because you are everything I could've ever asked for in someone... Unlike her, you truly are my other half."

She happily smiled at my words before trying to lean up to nuzzle me. I leaned down a bit to help her, the both of us then nuzzling each other for a few seconds before kissing lightly. When she broke it, she didn't stray far and whispered, "What's a little white lie?"

"A small and harmless lie that doesn't really matter." I simply answered.

With her curiosity satisfied, her attention returned back to the pages in her lap. "...Am I gonna read some stuff about you and Paris... kissing and stuff?"

"Right, I kinda forgot that I'm a weirdo and write stuff like that down." I thought as I looked down at the page, the page summarizing how I met a girl named Paris who instantly caught my eye. "Uh... Yeah. I've debated myself on whether or not to tear those pages out and completely destroy them. I'm not sure how to feel about them which has resulted in me making sure to never read them again, that's why a few pages are stapled together."

She let out a breath of relief. "Good, I don't... really wanna know what you two did."

"Nothing at all? I'm in a vulnerable state of mind right now, where I'm completely open to you asking any questions about her..."

She looked down while one of her hands went to her neck which started lightly scratching said area. "...Well, there is one thing I've wanted to know for a long time."

"Oh?" After saying that, her hand went back down to her other one where she cutely twiddled her fingers, the girl clearly nervous. "It's alright, Stace, you can ask me anything." I reassured, helping my point out with another comforting nuzzle on top of her head.

"Did... did you have sex with your ex?"

"That's not what I was expecting but okay." I thought as the gravity of the question hit me. "Yes, I did."

She deflated just a tad as well which was a bit worrisome. "Oh..." She simply said before she let out a little disappointed sigh.

"I mean, we were together for a decent amount of time, so it was inevitable." I quietly added on.

"How many times?"

"How many times did I have sex with her?" I asked. With a little nod i response, I answered, "Not that many times. Can't remember how many times it was exactly, but it was probably a little more than ten. She wasn't as... active as I wanted, which was fine given how everything turned out. It also didn't help that we only saw each other on weekends... and that her parents were strict."

"...Have you had sex with anyone else?"

I shook my head. "Besides you, no. Thankfully, I was a quick learner when it came to the act, though truth be told, it was much easier than I thought it’d be." She sighed again before blankly looking down at my journal once more. "What's the matter, my love?"

"I... Is it dumb that I'm sad that I wasn't... y'know, your first for... y'know, kissing and having sex... and all that stuff...?" She struggled to say, fighting off the urge to trail off.

"No, not at all... And trust me, I wish you were, but there's nothing I can do about my past mistakes. But I’ll point out that you were the first for me regarding sex without any kind of protection, meaning actual skin-to-skin contact during it along with me actually cumming inside a woman."

"I trust you... I just thought that, y'know, isn't it gross?" She shyly asked.

"Is what gross?"

"That... y'know, you kissed someone else and put your penis in someone else before. And now you put it in me..." She explained, a blush erupting across her face.

"I mean... yeah, I guess I can see how you could think that's gross. I'm not sure what else to say, if I'm being honest."

"Was she... better in any way?" She asked so quietly that I almost didn't hear her, like she was deathly afraid of what the answer was going to be.

"No," I responded immediately, watching as she curled up a bit, her hands covering her eyes. A quiet sniffle escaped her nose a few seconds later. My heart ached for her, prompting my arms to gently tighten around her, pulling her closer. I leaned down slightly, nuzzling the side of her face in an attempt to offer comfort. "No, no, not at all..."

I started gently rocking just a tad to try to help calm her down. I wasn't quite sure why she was as upset as she was, but it's not like I'm not gonna blame her for it or not help her soothe her emotions. You feel what you feel and the best way to deal with it, in this scenario, is through communication and affection. She was a quiet crier, her only audible sound being the soft, occasional sniffles that escaped her lips every few seconds.

After just a couple of minutes, the tears gradually ceased flowing from her eyes. She wiped them away and stared in a random direction, causing me to stop nuzzling her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice somewhat husky with emotion.

"Nothing to apologize for..." I replied, assuring her with a gentle squeeze. "You feel the way you do and there's nothing wrong with that."

"I just feel like I'm being dumb about it."

"Well, know that your feelings aren't dumb to me and never will be." I said as Stacy looked back at my journal. She closed it a few seconds later and leaned back into me. "And just so you know, you're better in every way." I said before kissing her forehead again. "You're so much better that you make her look... you make her seem like nothing. Seriously, Stacy, you're the embodiment of absolute flawlessness in my eyes..."

Of course, no one is completely flawless, I just can't help myself but trick myself into genuinely believing my own words about her. How can I not?

She looked up at me with an adorable look. "I... I love you so much."

"I love you too, Stacy... More than I could ever express." I replied before leaning down again so I could eskimo kiss her and kiss her plush lips a few seconds later.

The affectionate act stayed light, though she started to mobilize and ended the kiss prematurely while she set my journal to the side of us. After a few more minutes of her recuperating from her little meltdown, she got on her knees and faced me. Her arms snaked around my neck while we kissed which made me softly place my hands on her neck.

"Am I a better kisser?" She coyly asked when she ended our kiss again.

"Yep. Like I said, you’re a much, much better everything." I answered just before going in to kiss her neck, causing her to quietly whimper. But before it could get intense, I stopped by sliding my arms around her chest and pulling her in for a hug, the girl's arms staying around my neck. She stayed there just sitting on her knees for a few minutes so the both of us could enjoy the tight and loving embrace.

"I'm so happy that I got bit by that wild animal… I would've never found you if I didn't." Stacy gleefully whispered, causing me to chuckle morbidly at her words.

"Me too... Well, not that you got hurt, it sucks how you had to go through that." I said, only freaking out a tad since I thought that might've been a terrible thing to agree to without proper context.

She lightly giggled and hugged me a tad tighter. "I know Hunter... I have one more question." With the change of subject, she took a tight hold of my attention. "Are you sure I'm 'much, much better'...? Like, are you sure there's nothing I can't do better?"

I leaned back a tad so her timid eyes could meet mine while I gently pressed my nose against hers. "A hundred percent, Stace. You being you is way more than enough..."

With that, she kissed me one final time, the moment lingering for a minute or two. When she pulled away, she got up from her knees and settled back on her behind, but this time, she positioned herself differently. Her left side faced towards my stomach, allowing her to lean against me where she gently rubbed her head against my chest. It was utterly adorable.

I wrapped the blanket around both of us again, ensuring it covered everything below her neck before pulling her into another tight embrace. A gentle expression of joy graced her face, a beautiful smile playing on her lips, though her lovely eyes remained closed as she relaxed into our snuggle. Finally, when I rested my chin on the top of her head, a comfortable silence settled between us, although not before a few more words were exchanged.

"I love you..." I whispered, Stacy echoing the same words immediately afterwards.

And so we stayed like that for... a long time, definitely well over an hour in total. But it didn't feel like that in the slightest. I'll never get bored or anything relating to that feeling; I could snuggle with this little girl for hours on end... Granted, there's more productive and social things I could be doing with that time, but if given the opportunity, I'll always take it in a heartbeat. Perhaps putting that many snuggles in the snuggle economy would collapse the value of a snuggle? Nah, that's a preposterous way of thinking.

About ten minutes into the snuggle, she fell asleep in my arms, her resting form retaining a small smile. I couldn't stop admiring her and appreciating every little detail of her, something that caused my heart to skip a beat every time I remembered just how lucky I was to have found her.

"I haven't been so deep in love like this before... Am I being clingy?" I thought. Really, even though I had spent many more months in a relationship with my ex when it happened, I hadn't felt a fraction of the depth of love that I now felt for Stacy. I suppose it's true that time isn't a good measurement when it comes to matters of the heart.

Now the question to my thought; I truly don't know if I'm being clingy or not. Doesn't clingy only apply when it's a negative aspect about a relationship? At least, that's how I perceive it as. So... I'm just gonna assume that I'm not clingy, even if I almost constantly want to snuggle with Stacy...

While she slept peacefully, I stole a glance at my journal, wondering how much more new information she would discover within its pages. Since I had stapled a large portion of my life shut, since that’s when I was with my ex where I focused quite a lot on her during that period of my life, she's close to when I started writing in it after The Drop happened.

Though there wasn't much content after that point since my life was a bunch of rinsing and repeating before I met her. So she'd quickly get to when we met, eventually making a full circle. Well, not quite, she'll be done reading it before she reads about herself reading about herself reading about...

Anyways, that thought... it made me remember something, something that suddenly hit me, a type of realization coming over my mind. And I was pretty sure I wrote it down. It involved the first night I met Stacy.

That thought was like an itch that needed to be scratched where it rolled around my mind for several minutes. In hopes I wouldn’t wake her up, I stayed still for a bit longer because I wanted to make sure Stacy was in a deeper stage of sleep before moving any part of my body. When it was high-time, I gently slid my arms off her. Thankfully, she stayed put since she was leaning into me at the perfect angle for her not to move as I did what I was doing.

With my hands free, my right hand took my journal and brought it closer, both of my hands working together to get to the page I wanted to reread. It didn't take me long to find the words I was looking for

"I discovered that she hadn't been hurt by anyone during the time of post-society, which is quite a blessing, and that she's been alone for a year and a half."

"A year and a half..." I quietly muttered, my 'itch' being 'scratched'.

I had never asked her what she meant by that, testimony alluding to having been with someone before me after The Drop had happened. She's never said anything about it, but I can apply the same logic that I use when I don't talk about some of my past... I felt somewhat dumb for never having asked her about that subject. At that moment, I decided I'd ask her later that day, pondering who else she must've grouped with and where they might've gone.

Before I set my journal down, I scanned through the pages to gloss over the events of my life that had conspired over the past four months.

"When the hell'd I write this?" I quietly asked myself, discovering a page... that I didn't remember writing.

Basically it described me... going into a void and talking with someone I couldn't see. Like that one dream I had a few days ago. Though it was really strange since these were two pages, front and back, that I skipped somehow.

"You'll think of it as something you wrote when drunk."

Thinking back, I realized I had been quite intoxicated a couple of times in the weeks following the pages I distinctly remembered writing before that one... The mysterious page looks like it has my handwriting, if only a tad worse. So it makes sense that that'd be the case… Why am I humouring myself like this? Of course I wrote it in drunken stupor. I sure am good at mind-fucking myself when I'm drunk, now I just wish I remembered writing it.

Brushing the page off, I set my journal back down before delicately wrapping my arms around Stacy once more where I then got lost in the feeling of having such an elegant being sleeping on me.

Without her being conscious to hear it and after a kiss on her forehead, I quietly whispered, "I love you..."

Chapter 17: Plans and Nuzzles

Chapter Text

But really though, there's not much one can do these days. You can't go out for a drive, you can't travel to awesome places, you can't go bowling, you can't go to a fancy restaurant, and so much more. Sure, we play a bunch of games like some card games, board games, and other obscure games that I don't wanna write about, along with chatting and working together. Still, there's not much in terms of leisure in this world. There's only so much talking you can do and so many secrets to reveal before they run out.

Then there's doing cutesy stuff with your significant other which is what I decide to spend a lot of my time doing. Though as I do that, I'm left to just think about things since the majority of time doing cutesy stuff happens in silence. And that's what I was doing while I cuddled with Stacy, just thinking and looking out the window towards the forest we had all gotten to know quite well.

I slowly and gently brushed a hand through her soft hair as I thought about a plethora of different subjects. The weather, my friends, my hobbies, my past, the future, and a few lewd thoughts about Stacy. Though there was one thought that kept popping up in my mind, a rather pessimistic one at that.

"...What's the point of all of this?"

I didn't mean it in a depressed way, but I just couldn't shake the question out of my mind. Life at the moment is a lot of the same the more I think about it. Maybe it’s because winter has made it that way, but even when it's over, we'll make and craft a few things during the summer but then that'll become the new norm that we’ll repeat every day. I guess this same line of thought could've been applied pre-Drop as well.

I quietly sighed before looking down at my greatest source of happiness while the 'life' question started getting on my nerves. In that moment, I appeased myself and somewhat answered the question by coming to this conclusion; life is mysterious in several ways. Why it exists, if it really does exist in the way we think it does, if we might be a simulation or something like that, why we live it, and the question of where do we go when we die will probably always remain a mystery that we'll never be able to answer. So to not stay in place and try to answer the unsolvable, we should just try to better our lives, make life easier for each other, understand and listen to one another, have fun, and love.

Life is too short to waste to worry about endless possibilities. The only thing we should be focusing on is doing the things that’ll cause the things that we desire to eventually happen. A hundred years might seem like a long time at first glance, but that's nothing when compared to the grand scheme of things. And time seems like it only goes faster as you grow older.

But then there's the question of 'what do you desire', that question having been unanswered for nearly my entire life. I mean, I know what I desire in my social life, just not what I want that's bigger than that.

There's what I desire in the short-term; things that could be considered somewhat little. And those things are to cultivate a farm and install some solar panels so we can have the luxury of electricity once again. I've missed having lights, a stove, a fridge, and a computer. I think it’s safe to say that that last one will most likely never enter my life again - that's probably for the best. But the other things are doable.

I really needed to get more hobbies too. At that thought, I quickly came up with the idea of asking a few others what they do in their free time. I figured I'd probably ask Kai, Charlotte, or Olivia but I didn't do that right away since a sleepy Stacy forced me to stay put. I didn't feel like waking her up since that'd be rude. At least, I would let her take a nap for an hour or two since her little meltdown had zapped up a lot of her energy. And so after almost two hours in total, I gently started rocking the sleeping beauty in hopes to nicely wake her up.

"Stacy... Stacy, it's time to get up..." I quietly cooed, the girl only shifting her head a bit in response.

"Mmm... let's just go back to sleep..." Stacy sleepily replied, most likely unaware of what she said.

I lightly chuckled. "No can do, my love. If I let you sleep any longer, you're gonna be awake at night and asleep during the day..."

After my quiet explanation, she lightly huffed before nuzzling my chest for a couple of seconds followed by her seemingly trying to get back to sleep once she stopped moving yet again.

I rolled my eyes with a grin while I leaned down to peck at the tip of her ear before moving down to kiss her temple and cheek. My hand on her belly and the one on her side lightly prodded into her skin, causing her to squirm, my attack of kisses strengthening which caused her to actually become fully conscious once she started giggling at my touch.

"Okay, fine~." She conceded before I ceased my playful attacks where her hands went up to her eyes to rub some of the weariness away. "...I didn't say to stop kissing me though." She added on with a coy grin after she put her hands back down.

I playfully rolled my eyes once again before continuing to kiss her forehead for a few seconds followed by kissing one of her cheeks.

After a minute or two, she announced, "I had a really weird dream..."

"Oh?" I asked between kisses.

She quietly giggled as she started explaining. "We were in this village and there were so many people there. We had our house on top of a hill where we could see it all, and the whole place was really colorful..."

"That sounds lovely, Stace... Though that isn't that weird." I replied before completely halting my kissing while I realized that the thought of living in something like she described was something that sounded... much nicer than usual.

She lightly chuckled. "I haven't gotten to that part yet." With that being said, I let her continue. "We were on our porch and hugging, you had really big wings by the way, and I was holding a baby really closely." After she said that, she scooted closer to me and nuzzled my chest as she continued. "Kai was behind us and he had a really big dog for some reason, talking about how much he misses Willow, and we were looking at like five or six other children in our front yard."

"Yeah, that's definitely a weird dream, though most dreams are. Heh, I hope those kids weren't all mine or else that Hunter has a lot of stress ahead of him, though I guess him having wings is a good tradeoff..." I joked with a chuckle. "I don't think I could handle three children let alone two... One might be doable though, eventually."

"...But I'm not able to make a baby." She said with what seemed like a hint a certain type of sadness.

"Well, we don't really know that for sure. It could be something that has an easy fix or something else like that. I mean, you said your mother had the same problem, right?" I felt somewhat bad using the words 'fix' and 'problem', but I wasn't quite sure how to phrase it at that moment. She nodded to my question regardless. "So it's definitely possible for what happened to your mother to happen to you, y’know, how she got pregnant with you when she supposedly wasn’t able to... Let's just hope that it isn't any time soon, even though I like playing with the fire."

She looked up at me with a happy little smile. "So you would like to make a baby with me?"

I softly put a hand on her cheek and lightly pecked her lips before finally coming to an official conclusion regarding that question, though only after a few more moments of thorough thought. "Yes, I would. But like I said, eventually. Preferably like... ten or so years from now. If it happens sooner than that, I'll accept the reality and be happy about it anyways, but... yeah, preferably ten or so years."

"Yes, I agree..." She replied, the both of us hugging after that decision was clarified between each other. I often avoided that subject which probably wasn't a smart thing to do, but now that it was settled between us, we understood what each other wanted. And... it felt so nice to agree to something like that. I smiled brightly, happy that I was holding an adorable angel that agreed with my wishes.

I nuzzled the top of her head as I thought about her dream. It sounded so... sweet. The thought of that happening, besides the weird dream shit, being a happy little family in a village... It was like something clicked in my mind, that dream idea seemingly answering the 'what do I desire' question which... I'm not sure if my mind's drawing some wrong conclusion based on the need to do so. But I do genuinely want that.

Eventually, I couldn't keep that thought inside my head. "I really, really want that to be us some day in the future, in a happy little village... I want to... is it dumb to say I want to try to make that for us? For you?"

She shook her head and looked up to me. "No, not at all... It's something I've wanted since... well, since after The Drop happened if I'm being honest. Do you know how we could make that happen?"

I wasn't sure how to answer her question. There'd be a lot of things that everyone would have to do for it to happen. There'd be a lot of things we'd have to make from scratch and learn how to do. I've thought about this idea every now and then, I just never wrote any of it down... I thought it was about high-time to make a proper to-do list that’s extensive and shared across everyone in our group.

"Not really, Stace. But I have a few ideas on how to try. I just haven't really realized how much I want that future until just now, how you described it… it made me realize how sweet it'd be."

She smiled cutely at my words. "I'm gonna help you with it all as much as I can. When do we start working for it?"

So that's what my long-term goal is, huh? Literally building my future with my significant other... It's definitely not gonna be easy, but as long as I have her by my side, I think I could achieve anything.

"When it warms up a decent bit." I replied. "First, I need to write down all the thoughts I've had during the last few months about this topic and then figure things out from there."

"Like what?"

"Things like how to make certain materials, foods, structures, stuff like that." I answered. With newfound excitement about the future, I embraced her a tad tighter before the both of us went silent for a few brief moments. Though I abruptly changed the topic. "What was our baby like?" I asked, wanting to know more about the dream she had.

"It was so small and so, so cute... Even though we just talked about when we want a baby, the feeling I had in that dream... it makes me want to have one now."

I booped her on the nose. "The baby sounds just like you, small and cute..." She playfully rolled her eyes. "It's probably just a bit of some motherly hormones and instincts traveling through your body, it's more than natural. Sometimes I get some fatherly instincts randomly but I try to distract myself from it."

"Hm... bodies are weird." She commented, causing me to lightly chuckle.

"True that. And the more you learn about them... the more you don't want one." I replied with another chuckle.

"What do you mean?"

"Ignorance is bliss, my dear..." I replied, wanting to keep Stacy unaware of just how gross a body can truly be. She got the hint and didn't press her curiosity.

After another five minutes of snuggling, I finally took the blanket off us, most of the heat we had accumulated during the snuggle session instantly vanishing. After I got up, I stretched a bit before observing Stacy, who was being particularly dramatic in her stretching routine. She let out audible grunts and extended her limbs as far as possible, clearly trying to exaggerate her movements to the fullest extent. I just shook my head with a soft smile and kissed her one more time before going back downstairs and leaving Stacy to her devices.

I quickly shimmied my way down into the dining room where I noticed that Nova was at the table chatting with Olivia. I didn't listen or jump into their conversation since I figured it wasn't any of my business, so I went into the kitchen to look through one of the cabinets. When I got to where I wanted, I opened the drawer containing a bunch of spare sheets of paper and a few writing utensils. I then returned to the dining table with a couple of fresh sheets and a writing stick before starting to jot down a proper to-do list.

"What're yah writin' there, Hunter?" Nova inquired a couple of minutes later, her head slightly tilted as she peered at the to-do list.

"I had a really enlightening conversation with someone regarding the future and what to do about it. So to answer your question, little Nova, I'm making a to-do list about what we should do once winter fucks off, which should be right around the corner." I answered as I finished writing the first objective down.

"I'm not little!" She defended herself.

I just shrugged. "Well, you're little to me. And Olivia, and Roman, and everyone else." I finished with a snicker.

"I mean, he's got a point..." Olivia commented while Nova scooted her chair closer to me to read what I was writing down.

"You wanna get solar panels first? Shouldn't we try to plant some crops as soon as possible?" Nova pondered as I wrote down 'Solar panels, battery pack, hook everything up'.

"Not particularly. When it gets into the forties or fifties of degrees, or four to ten degrees if you use the superior system, which I'm hoping will be in around three or so weeks from now, the ground'll still be pretty frozen. So we're probably gonna do that in a month and a half." I explained, getting an understanding nod afterwards. "In the meantime, we can map out more of our area, figure out jow to build a small forge for Kostas, hook up some advanced medical equipment for Olivia, and so much more."

As I wrote that down, I added on things like 'get tailoring equipment for Charlotte' and 'pillage a library for knowledge'.

"You've definitely thought long and hard about this." Nova pointed out as she continued watching me write.

"Why do we need to pillage a library?" Olivia asked, her keen interest evident in her expression, showing just how invested she was in what I was saying.

"There are some things that we don't know how to make and certain activities and occupations that none of us would know how to do. I'm fairly certain none of us know how to make soaps, creams, and pastes. That's something I've wanted to get going eventually, I like my hygiene." I replied as I wrote those substances down before starting to write other things down like building materials.

Building materials such as concrete, bricks, steel, glass, nails, and wooden planks. Sure, some of this stuff was going to be extremely difficult to get or make, but progress has to start from scratch for it to get going. I explained that thought to them when they asked about the steel and concrete while the frenzy of writing down what we should strive for continued.

I dotted down 'figure out how to make cotton, wool, silk, leather' for the clothing section for this future I was imagining. I continued further by detailing that we should figure out how to make sugar, honey, bread, milk, butter, and cheese for the possibility of the domestication of farm animals in the future. I added on the questions of how to make medicines, sanitizers, anesthesia, and even random things like paints, inks, and paper. One last thing I wrote was 'possible construction of housing, storage, silos, and a windmill', which would be a group effort for that to happen if and when we got around to doing it.

When I was done with the writing frenzy, they reviewed it, Olivia being the first to break the silence. "This is... quite ambitious, to say the least. But I like and approve of it."

"Sounds like a lot of chores with too few people." Nova critiqued before sliding the sheet back to me.

"It is a lot, I admit, but it's not like we have to work on all of these things every day. We'd just focus on what needed done when it needs to be, right?" I replied, Nova taking my words into consideration.

"And this is why I assume you think we’ll need to go to a library, to find out how to do all those things you listed?" Olivia inferred before getting a confirming nod in response. She lightly sighed as we made eye contact, a sudden familiar feeling invading my system. I'm not sure what it was... but I remember that I had been wanting to talk to her about our future, ever since I had that strange dream that originally gave me this feeling.

"Yep, precisely." I said afterward while lining up a line of reasoning. "There's a lot of things that have expired by now and are unable to be used. The stuff that isn't expired, if we so choose to scavenge however much there is, would eventually run out. At least, we'd have to keep going farther and farther distances to retrieve more. I figure it's best to just start from scratch, to be independent from scavenging as soon as possible."

"Yeah, that does sound like a nice future." Nova agreed. "It'll take a little while to warm up outside and like you said, you want to start this when that happens, right?" I nodded. "What do we do until then?"

I lightly tapped my hands on the table for a couple of seconds before quickly coming to an adequate solution. "Just continue doing what we've been doing, really. Hunting, fishing, slacking off when able, stuff like that. Then we're gonna kick it into high gear once spring kicks winter's ass."

"Sounds like a solid plan." Nova simply replied as I remembered something that I had thought about when I was snuggling with a sleeping Stacy.

"This reminds me, I wanted to ask a few of you; what do you spend your spare time on?"

They briefly looked at each other for a quick second before they silently agreed upon Nova being the first one to answer. "Well, I enjoy reading, writing, messing with Roman, and chatting. Besides that, I like to just... think. Is that weird?"

I chuckled. "Nope, I spend a lot of my time doing the same, that's how I managed to write all this stuff down so quickly. So, you write?" She nodded, getting a little timid at the subject. "What do you write about?"

She took a couple of silent seconds to answer. "Just some random little stories. Sometimes I write sad stories, romantic ones, happy ones, and even gory ones."

"I wish I had that talent, to be able to get lost in your own fictional world that you’re practically the god of. The only thing I write about is my own life, which is pretty weird to admit to others, but it's something I've done for years."

"How come you do it?" Olivia asked with genuine curiosity.

"You know how we forget a lot of things?" I asked, both of them nodding. "Writing the most-most important things that happen in your life gives you the illusion that life lasts just a little longer since writing whatever I write down prevents me from forgetting it... At least, until I read it again. It also helps me remember better even though a lot of what I write down is paraphrased. But it's close enough."

"That's a deeper answer than what I was expecting." Olivia simply responded.

"So you might write down what we're saying in your journal later?" Nova pondered with an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe."

Hey, would you look at that.

Anyways, Nova backtracked in the conversation a bit. "I don't know if I'd call my writing 'talented'..."

"So what would you call it?" I asked, getting a little interested in maybe checking out her works.

She lightly shrugged. "I'm not sure, not a lot of people read what I write." After I asked her why not, she continued. "Because I'm kind of scared of what other people would say, I don't take criticism that well. Probably because I've had bad experiences with other people before, so it kind of made me close up on sharing my writing to others."

"Ah, I see... Yeah, a lot of people were insensitive back then. A lot of people would just insult others if they didn’t like what the other made, the same exact people not giving any advice on how to improve your skill." She slowly nodded at that. "If you ever feel up to it, I'd love to read your stories. I'd never go out of my way to insult you in any way, but only seek to help, if you even need it."

"I'll... think about it." She replied with a shy smile.

After that exchange ended, I turned my attention towards Olivia who quickly remembered the question that had started that conversation. "Oh yeah, I do a lot of what Nova does, minus the writing bit. I used to do pottery and ceramics before The Drop happened every now and then. It was always so calming and I always loved the end products... unless I messed them up somehow, which happened a decent bit."

I swiftly registered the simple statement. "Not much to do these days it seems, only since we're so limited in what's accessible to us. Maybe over the course of the spring and summer, we can bring back some of our ex-hobbies? Small-scale of course, no need to go big."

Olivia chuckled. "Are you bored, Hunter?"

I shrugged. "Meh, just a bit. For a lot of winter, I've lived a sedentary lifestyle, besides fishing and hunting. I just want to try out some other things recently, y’know, spice things up a little."

"Makes sense. But like you said before, we're really limited in what we're able to do... I hope that we can bring back some hobbies, I really like that suggestion, I’d like to help you achieve that somehow."

"Maybe you can make me a ceramic or something pottery related sometime in the future?" I coined the idea of.

"If I ever get the right equipment and materials, sure thing. Though it might take me a couple of times to get back into the rhythm of it. But before that, I'd like to get some more advanced medical equipment up and running."

"Of course, stuff like that should be our main priority before focusing on leisure." I replied as I finished the to-do list. I read over it one more time, satisfied with what was in what order. "Think this is what we should follow? Turn our attention to the next item of interest and just go down the list?" They quickly glanced over it.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Nova simply answered.

"I'd like the medical part to be pushed up a bit but other than that, it's all good." Olivia voiced her opinion. "You should leave it out for others to look at, to see what they think."

"Was just about to ask if I should do that. You wanna tell the rest or leave it up to me?"

She looked away for a split second before returning the eye contact; I could tell something was on her mind. I was about to ask her if anything was wrong, but she spoke up before I could ask. "Sure, I'll tell whoever I come across about it. After all, it's a great idea. We should've started planning something like it a while ago."

I nodded as I stood up. "I guess I'll do the same so we can spread the info around faster. I'll get to doing that with the others in the living room since I've got nothing else to do."

And so I did that, but only to the others in the living room since I didn't feel like going to each bedroom and asking for their opinion on something they'd discover just a few hours from then. The people I told the plan to suggested minor changes to the lineup, the general consensus being that it was an ambitious plan, but they were willing to strive toward it. Their words sowed a sort of feeling that maybe just maybe, this plan wasn't all that unrealistic.

After I was done with that, I went back upstairs since I had been curious to see what Stacy was up to. But right before I put my hand on the doorknob, I heard Olivia's voice call for me. "Hunter, wait." I instantly turned around to see her get past the last step of the staircase. During this, I noticed that she was struggling to suppress a wince; stairs were quite the enemy for her spine.

"What's up?" I asked while Olivia walked up to me so we could talk at a reasonable distance.

"I know this is rather abrupt, but I've just gotta get it off my chest, I've put this talk off for long enough as it is. I... I've been thinking about something, something that’s somewhat big, for a long while now and I think it's time I finally tell you about it." She somewhat ominously stated.

"I have too, but you sound- Is it regarding someone's health?" I hesitantly asked as I thought about the possibility of Olivia having discovered a terminal illness within one of us.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." She replied, instantly easing my suspicions. "We're all in great shape as far as I can tell, but I can't be a hundred percent sure until I get some more advanced equipment... Anyways, I'm gonna bring up... leadership."

"Huh. Alright, what's going on? Need some advice on something?"

She slowly shook her head as she leaned on the wall. "No, nothing like that as well. I've just been thinking about a lot of things regarding my status as a leader." I tilted my head a bit, showing her I was giving her my full attention. "I think I should officially hand over the leadership of the group to you."

It was like something hit me in the face, only lightly though, a bit of shock making me jerk my head back a tad. The first question I could think of to ask at this revelation was, "...Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Many reasons."

"...Go on."

She quietly sighed while she collected her thoughts. "I don't think I was ever meant to lead, Hunter. It's... way too stressful for me. Well, it hasn't been as of late, but that's because of another reason I'll get to after this one. The decisions I've made have always been a bit lacking, I've never really been able to think ahead because I get too focused on the present, and being responsible for what everyone complies to do because they trust you as their leader has always been a huge weight on my shoulders."

"Does it make you unhappy?"

"In a way, yes. Sure, I'm happy that I was able to build this group up to the size that it currently is, but I've always been the one to be led instead of to lead. Well, besides when it comes to leading medically, obviously. But anything after that... it's not for me."

I was still processing the shocking news, the proposal to lead our group being something I thought would never happen. Hell, I didn't even know if I wanted that position at that moment. Though it wasn't a definite no. "So let me ask you, why do you think I should be the leader? I'm only eighteen, it'd feel a bit weird being the boss of someone like you."

She lightly chuckled. "Your age doesn't matter when it comes to something like leadership, not really. It's only dependent on the skills and the mindset one has. I've seen how you handle decisions, how you're able to look ahead as I witnessed just a few minutes ago, and it's not like you 'boss' anyone around. You simply ask others to do your bidding, and since you've always been someone respectable, they feel obliged to listen to you. Sure, they do the same thing for me, but this just makes handing over leadership easier. One other thing is how I'm disabled in a way, with my spine. Sometimes the pain clouds my mind too much, quite too often actually, for me to be an optimal leader... And obviously, you don't have any conditions like what I do, so that automatically gives you an edge over me."

I listened to her words, silently pondering and theorizing. "You really think I'd be a good leader?"

She slowly nodded. "You've been able to keep us afloat, even through the brunt of winter. Like I was saying before, about how the leadership hasn't been that stressful recently, it's only because you've pretty much... you've pretty much already replaced me as the leader. I just want to make it official."

After she said that, I thought back over the past couple of months. And I guess it was true, I had been taking charge in what we were all doing as of late...

"Would they be alright with me taking charge?"

"A couple would probably protest silently, just a bit, but that's it. The other's would probably be accepting of the change... I truly think this is the way to go."

We silently stood there for a few seconds while I internally debated whether or not I should accept the proposal for becoming the new leader. "I... I've got to think about it for a bit."

She lightly chuckled. "Of course, Hunter. If you come to a decision any time soon, just come and find me and we'll talk about it some more." She stopped leaning on the wall and started heading back down the stairs. But before she started walking down them, she looked behind her so she could say one final thing to me. "You're an ambitious optimist who’s full of energy. I believe you can do what you want us to do, to get to that future we all want, with your leadership."

With that being said, we nodded at each other while her words circulated around my mind as I played with the idea of actually being the man in charge.

I lightly sighed before putting the dilemma in the back of my mind while I entered my room where I saw Stacy drawing something at her desk. She looked behind her to see who it was, a soft smile appearing on her lips as she returned her attention back to her drawing. I walked up to her and peered over her shoulder, seeing a first person point of view drawing which was of her holding a baby that was tightly wrapped up in a cloth. I assumed I was seeing her arms holding the infant too, though there was a strange feathery appendage holding the baby with her.

"I still get so amazed at how... beautifully you can draw." I commented, mesmerized at her skills once again, while she continued detailing little creases in the baby's cloth. She lightly blushed at my compliment as I soaked up more of the details in the image. "I wish there was another chair here so I could sit next to you and watch you draw."

She halted her drawing and looked up at me with a devious grin before setting the pencil down.

"What're you thinking, my dear?" I asked before Stacy scooted the chair back and stood up in response.

"I can sit on your lap and draw..." With that being said, I took a seat where she then lightly set herself on my lap as I scooted the chair forward. I snaked my arms around her abdomen and rested my chin on her shoulder before looking down at the drawing. She resumed the masterpiece, my eyes following the pencil for the next half an hour or so.

"So why're there feathers supporting its head?" I asked when she set the pencil down for the final time. And yes, we did just silently be with each other as she drew for half an hour. Thankfully, we were well past the stage of silence not being awkward.

"Those are your wings." She simply replied. "Maybe my dream was just telling me that you're my angel?"

I nuzzled the side of her face. "You're my angel... Though I guess I could be your guardian angel."

"You guess?"

"You're right, I am your guardian angel." I corrected myself as I kissed her cheek, the adorable girl giggling. "I'll always try my best to protect you from all forms of harm or evil..."

"I know you will... And I'll try my best to show you that I love you so, so much for everything you do for me."

"This is enough for me, truly... just holding you, knowing that you're here..." I replied, hugging her a tad tighter. She subtly pouted. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing, I just... I just love you so much, words can't explain just how much I do."

I simpered at her words before closing my eyes and nuzzling her cheek with mine, the girl reciprocating the nuzzle. A minute later, I lightly kissed her lips, the affectionate act staying soft and lasting for a few solid minutes. When it ended, I once again said I loved her.

"I love you too."

Those four words will never get old and their meaning will never get watered down no matter how many times I hear her say them. They'll always make my heart skip a beat and make my stomach feel like it summersaults inside me. And I loved every aspect of how it made me feel.

After that, the day continued as a lazy day. We went down to mingle with our other group members where a day filled with games, laughs, stories, and other fun stuff like that were shared between each other. When the day was coming to an end and winding down, Stacy and I were staying up a little later than usual, the both of us sitting by the fireplace with a respectable fire burning. She was in between my legs since that was her preferred way of sitting with me and it wasn't like I was gonna deny her sitting there.

We were snuggling as we watched the wood burn, the both of us being the only two people awake in the dark living room. There were a couple of other people, but the other two there were Jordan and Nova who were asleep on separate couches, meaning Stacy and I had to talk through whispering. It didn't bother me any and I didn't wanna be a dick and make it hard for someone to sleep.

Though we didn't talk all that much since we silently enjoyed each other's company and held each other's hands, the night grew older and older as the minutes passed us by. Until I once again remembered something that I wanted to talk about with Stacy.

"Hey, Stace?" I quietly whispered.

"Hm?" She hummed which told me I had successfully grabbed her attention.

"Earlier today, I thought of something I completely forgot about, it involves you. And it happened all the way back when we first met." I said, getting a tad nervous by bringing the subject up.

"Oh? What is it?"

I lightly sighed before I continued. "When we first met, you said you were alone for a year and a half... I never asked who you were with before me after The Drop happened."

"Oh..." She trailed off. I could tell her mood had taken a big hit through the tone of her voice.

"Did... do you not want me to bring it up?" I asked in the gentlest tone I could muster, feeling like I was walking on thin ice.

"I... just haven't thought about her in a very long time."

"Her?" I thought, her words confirming that she was indeed grouped up with at least one other person before we met. "May I ask about who they were?"

She hesitated for just a second before sighing. "They were the only other person I saw after The Drop happened, before I met you..." Before I could ask for more information, she continued. "Her name was Sadie. We found each other in some random town. Well, she found me since I was walking in the middle of the highway. She was friendly to me... I didn't know how to react to that, to how good she treated me, treated me like a friend... I had barely ever experienced something like that before..." She suddenly froze up.

I gently nuzzled the crown of her head, offering comfort, and avoiding pressing her to revisit a clearly sensitive area in her life. "You don't have to continue if you want, Stacy…”

"It's... it's not really that bad... it's just... it's made me have a fear of being abandoned..."

I don't know if 'alarmed' was the right word to describe how I felt, but I definitely felt a jolt of something like it. "What? Why's that?"

"...After over a month of travelling together, I-I woke up one day, expecting to continue travelling with her, and she was... gone. I looked around for so many hours and was freaking out that I was alone again..." I heard her sniffle.

"Damn, what's with me making her cry today? I'm so fuckin' rude!" I quickly thought as I retightened my embrace. "Stacy, I'm so sorry how that happened to you..." I didn't really know what to say at that moment.

She suddenly got on her knees and turned around, the girl properly sitting on her knees and wrapping her arms around my torso, the saddened girl trying to get as close to me as possible. She quietly cried on me as a hand gingerly brushed through her hair. "B-Being alone for s-so long was so scary..." She quietly said in a quivering voice.

I let her cry out the tears she had in store for the next five or so minutes, the girl taking a few deep breaths when she was done. I kissed her forehead as she sadly looked up to me just a tad, Stacy's cheeks dampened with fresh tears.

"I k-know I don't need to ask this... but can you please say you'll never ever abandon me?"

My heart ached at the tone in her beg which caused one of my hands to be placed on a cheek of hers where a thumb then wiped the tears off her skin. "Like many promises I’ve made, kept, and going to keep, I'll add on one more; I promise to never abandon you. I love you more than anything, ever. It'd be a type of torture for both of us to be separated."

With that being said, she put her head back on my chest before we tightened our loving embrace. "I trust you..."

We stayed in that trusting embrace for what felt like half an hour before I heard a quiet yawn escape her lips, the same moment I noticed that the fire was almost out of things for it to continue burning. "Wanna go to bed?" I quietly asked, the girl then gently nodding her head in response.

After extinguishing the fire, I gently picked her up like a bride and took her upstairs to our room, the girl once again exhausted from melting down. I felt somewhat bad for indirectly causing her to cry so much that day, but at least I comforted her through it.

While spooning her, I thought of all the events that occurred that day which caused the leadership decision to suddenly go back to the forefront of my mind, remembering I still had to give Olivia an answer on it. I spent the next thirty or so minutes thinking about the pros and cons of officially becoming the new leader.

The pros? I would get the authority to direct what we did (as long as it's in reason), I’d have the people to do my bidding, and I'd be entrusted with various leadership responsibilities that ensure a stable group.

The only cons I could think of is the stress that could come with being a leader, possibly being responsible for any deaths that might occur by my orders whether that be direct or indirect, and all the responsibilities that come with being one including making sure conflicts are sorted and needs are met.

Though I think I'd take the responsibilities with pride; to protect the people I lead from any and all danger, to make decisions and make plans about what we should do, and make sure my people build themselves a good life... What could possibly go wrong if I say yes?

Chapter 18: Comforting and Transferals

Chapter Text

I got up a little later than I typically do where I admired the sleeping girl in my arms for only a few minutes before slipping out of bed and changing clothes. I tossed my dirty clothes in the clothes hamper that only had about two other sets of my clothes in it; we didn't often change clothes these days, not wanting to be bothered by washing clothes in freezing water. Expanding upon that somewhat, these days, washing our entire bodies was a no-go which was kinda really gross, but it is what it is. To be somewhat fair, we wash the parts that need to be washed when we need to, we're not completely gross.

After that was done, the drawing that Stacy had drawn the day prior caught my eye. It was so beautiful, referring to the picture itself and the idea of holding a baby with Stacy. I stopped looking at it when some of my fatherly instincts started kicking in. I wanted to suppress those feelings for as long as I could before we were ready to figure out how to conceive a child... It's strange how I'm actually willing to have a child some time down the line, I once thought I’d never want to do that.

Anyways, the events of yesterday caught up with me as my attention shifted, particularly focusing on Olivia's offer for me to lead the group. After a few more minutes of internal debate, I ultimately made the decision to accept the role. All that was left was to discuss it with Olivia and inform the rest of the group about the news.

I really hoped that they'd accept and even prefer Olivia stepping down for me to step up, I really believed I could lead us in a way that just might eventually make us become a beacon of hope in this land of sorrow. But for that to start rolling, I had to crush the few nerves I was developing and actually talk to the doctor about it. So that's what I went to do after thinking about a few future possibilities for ten minutes or so.

When I knocked on Olivia's door, I got no answer for a minute. Thinking she might've not heard me, I knocked again, louder that time. When no answer greeted me, I figured she must’ve downstairs. That’s exactly where I found her, in the living room, talking with Nova once again. Nova gave me a small wave which caused Olivia to turn to me to see who had come down the stairs, the woman giving me a small nod as a greeting.

I decided to let their conversation play out until there was a lull in it which is when I jumped. "I'm ready to give you my answer." I quietly told Olivia but just loud enough for Nova to hear. I instantly noticed that Nova had a look of wanting to be nosy, the girl struggling to not ask what I was talking about.

"So you have. Let's talk about it in the dining room, I don't think anyone's in there." Olivia quietly replied, the both of us then standing up to make our way towards the desired destination. Nova took the hint that what we wanted to discuss was supposed to only be between us so she stayed in the living room.

Though before I could walk too far, I was halted by Stacy who surprised me with a hug from behind. "Well hello there, little miss..." I said, gesturing for Olivia to continue making her way to the dining room, Olivia immediately complying to the gesture.

"Why do you call me that?" She asked with a little giggle before her arms unwrapped from around me.

I turned around and looked down at her. "Because that's exactly what you are." I answered with a small boop on her nose, causing the girl to roll her eyes before she started making her way towards the kitchen. "What're yah doin'?" I asked as I followed behind her.

"Just gettin' a little water."

"Oh. Well, Olivia and I are gonna be talking about something important for a bit."

She turned to me and gave me a curious look. "...Am I allowed to listen?"

Unlike Nova, Stacy didn't make any effort in not trying to be nosy. I lightly shrugged. "I don't think it'd matter either way. It's just something that's gotta be hush-hush for a little bit, something that needs to be spread slowly... like you." I dirtily added and whispered that last bit on, something that stoked a small blush on her face.

She glossed over the tease. "Sure, I'll keep it a secret, whatever it is." I'm sure Nova was beyond curious at that point, but I didn't pay her any mind.

When the both of us got to the dining room, Stacy went to retrieve her cup of water as I took a seat next to Olivia and faced her to make it more formal. "Is it alright if Stacy listens in?" I asked.

"Only her, though if anyone else comes in while we’re talking, then it's whatever." She answered while Stacy took a seat on the other side of the table. With all that being said and done, Olivia tilted her head a tad and asked, "So, what'd you decide?"

I lightly sighed as I got ready to adopt my new responsibilities. Right before I gave her an answer, I hesitated. "Wait, maybe I should talk about it with Stacy first, real quick."

Stacy tilted her head at that but didn't say anything. "I figured you already did that." Olivia said with a chuckle.

"I kind of forgot to bring it up to her yesterday, I was distracted with a lot of other things."

"What is it?" Stacy innocently asked.

I got up and walked over to the other side of the table so I could quietly discuss the topic with her. When I got to the seat next to her, I didn't delay telling her the information. "Olivia wants to abdicate and make me the leader of the group instead/"

"...What does abdicate mean?"

"Surrender power of what you control, essentially."

She quietly gasped before a small smile appeared on her lips. "You'll be the leader? You better say yes!" She somewhat exclaimed, the girl only being a couple of decibels louder than I would've preferred. Olivia didn't seem bothered by it since she only chuckled at Stacy’s outburst. I then explained to Stacy all the things I would have to do as the leader which she understood. She further supported the idea which is what I needed to hear to become fully confident in making the choice I was about to decide. With those bits of information exchanged, I walked back over to station myself next to Olivia once more, but Stacy quietly gasped again. "Can I draw you two? To capture the moment?"

"...That's actually very thoughtful." I commented as Olivia shrugged, which was Stacy's cue to get up to retrieve a few art supplies. Five minutes later, she began recording the event, the girl pointing out that we could start discussing things, just don't get up until she's done. After she scooted a chair over in a position where she could draw us at a good angle, she began the piece.

"Alright, now we can get to what you've decided... So, what do you say?"

I readied myself to adopt the responsibilities again, not sighing this time since I was then truly confident. "I accept the transfer of power of being the leader of our group, to relieve you of the duty that was somewhat forced upon you, and to help guide us to a great and positive future."

"Don't have to sound so political about it, but I do respect how seriously you've already taken it." Olivia replied with a giggle. "So, I guess, congratulations, you're our new leader now. There's not much I have to say due to me having explained much of my thoughts yesterday."

"It feels... a bit unfinished. End it with a handshake?" I suggested before extending my hand toward her. She playfully rolled her eyes and took my hand, the both of us shaking on it. And just like that, I officially became the new leader of the group. Even though it was nothing actually official in the traditional sense, it still felt like it spiritually, which is a tad strange to write down, but it's the truth. "Did you feel how that leadership power traveled from you to me?"

"You're being ridiculous." Olivia commented with another chuckle.

It didn't take very long for the first of my new subjects to figure out what had happened since Nova entered the dining room a few minutes after the exchange. "What's going on here?" She asked.

"Do you wanna tell her or vice versa?" I asked

"Sure, I'll tell her."

Simply put, she described what we had just done and the reasons why she abdicated her position. Nova looked a little shocked at first, but slowly started understanding why Olivia did so as she registered each reason after the other.

"Can you two, like, shake hands without the shake?" Stacy asked, getting a couple of confused looks. "So I can draw that down on the picture? Hands are really hard to draw." With the explanation making sense, Olivia and I did what she asked before only somewhat awkwardly holding her hand for a couple of minutes. Though talking made it less awkward by a decent margin. It was a long couple of minutes before Stacy said she had memorized it and had finished drawing the outlines well enough for her to draw it properly without needing to look at it.

"Not an actual picture taken by a camera? Wait, why are you drawing this anyways?" Nova asked as she watched Stacy draw me and Olivia.

"Nope, we've never gotten around to getting a camera just yet since we have no energy, though I'm a little interested in photography." Stacy answered as she multitasked. "And I'm drawing it because Hunter's told me all about the importance of preserving history. You can thank him for converting me into a nerd just like he is."

I rolled my eyes as the other two girls laughed at what she said. "Well, she's right, preserving history is important, even if it's something small like what we just did. Who knows, maybe we'll be taught in the history books someday way, way down the line."

"You're way too optimistic..." Nova said with a grin.

I just shrugged. "Gotta be these days, right? No fun in being sad all the time, might as well strive towards the impossible."

Olivia slowly nodded. "Yeah, you're gonna be a great leader, I'm sure I've placed my faith in someone who'll guide us to a greater tomorrow, one that I couldn't have achieved."

Before I could say some brighter words in response, Nova beat me to it. "It's not like you were a bad leader or anything like that. As far as I'm concerned, you're an outstanding one, mainly because you were able to have done that for so long. Even though the stress and what not caught up to you, you're an amazing example that I hope those history books Hunter mentioned will have a whole chapter dedicated to."

Olivia smiled at her words. "Thank you, Nova. I tried my hardest to make sure we stayed alive. Now that it seems like I've achieved that simple goal, a new era feels like it has begun, a prosperous one at that."

"And you told me not to sound political." I teased with a giggle. She shrugged as a question came to mind. "So how did you become the leader anyways?"

"I asked myself that so many times as we travelled." Olivia said with a chuckle. "To be honest, I have no clue. I guess it just fell into place as our group grew in number. Originally, Kostas and I were just a team of two, but as more people joined us, they naturally looked up to me. And I felt obligated to be what directed them, feeling a tad natural at the time."

"It was mainly just because the rest of us didn't know what the hell we were doing and we thought you were the best one to be qualified for the job..." Nova piped up, causing Olivia to chuckle once again.

"I had a feeling it was something like that. I like the blind belief you guys had in me, but it was just that, blind belief. I was never really sure what we should do, where to go, or how to prepare for possible attackers, or anything like that. There was a more than real possibility for us to have gone down the wrong path to our demise..."

Well, that was only a bit dark, so I decided to forward the discussion. "Well, that didn't happen. All things told with what you had, you made the most out of it."

And so we continued talking about little things like that while Stacy drew us. It took around another thirty minutes for Stacy to get the major details down before the same girl said we could get up since she was able to do the smaller details naturally. Though we stayed put, not needing to do anything else at that moment.

When she was done almost an hour later, she carefully looked over it as she internally judged her work. She smiled down at it after determining that it was done, which is when she picked the art sheet up and turned it around for the others to view.

"Astonishing. Simply astonishing." Olivia commented, the awe evident in her tone.

Nova asked how she was so good at art, which is when Stacy gave an abridged version of how she drew a fuck ton before The Drop. She then set the sheet back down on her lap and took one of the pencils in her hand. "I don't typically do this, but I think it'd be cool to date this."

"Good idea." I praised. "Does anyone know what the date is?" When no one gave me an answer, I quickly retrieved my journal before swiftly returning it to them so I could give the desired information to Stacy. "It's February twenty-second, twenty-twenty-seven."

"Well, I'm glad to know I recently turned eighteen." Nova commented, piquing my interest.

"Oh? When was your birthday?"

"My birthday's on February thirteenth, so it passed a couple of weeks ago."

"Happy belated birthday then." Olivia said before my attention suddenly turned to upcoming birthdays.

"Stace, you said your birthday's on... April tenth?" I asked, feeling a bit dumb since I didn't know her birthday immediately.

"Um... Yeah, I think so." She skittishly answered.

"Almost forget your birthday there, Stace?" Nova asked with a small giggle, though it caused Stacy to look away a bit in what appeared to be shame. "Oh, I'm sorry Stacy, I didn't mean to make fun of you."

"No, it's not that, it's just... I think April tenth is my birthday, it sounds right, but... I'm not a hundred percent sure about it."

I could tell they were both confused at how that could be. It dawned on me that Stacy had only told me about how abusive her parents were to her. Before I could change the subject, Nova pressed forward with another question. "Did you just forget since you had to focus on other things after The Drop? But surely you'd remember the celebrations you had, right?"

"I..." Stacy trailed off, the girl clamming up while her posture sagged a bit, the girl looking like she was on the verge of tears. Before I could let Nova ask anymore questions, I stood up and went to Stacy's side before putting an arm around her. She hugged back, but only for a second, before she quietly said, "Can we go somewhere else..."

I complied with her wish before she stood up and led the way forward while she weakly held onto her new art piece. I lagged behind her by staying back by our two confused friends.

"...What'd I say that was wrong?" Nova whispered with concern.

"I... I'll tell you about it later." I replied as I looked at the staircase in the living room, seeing my girl walk up them. Of course, I lied a bit there, I wasn't exactly sure if I'd tell her about it, I just said that to appease her for the meantime. As I walked out of the dining room to catch back up to Stacy, I heard whispering between Olivia and Nova, not being able to make out what they said. I assumed it was about the situation that just conspired.

When I followed Stacy up the stairs, she retreated into our bedroom, the girl making her way towards the desk to softly place the sheet of paper she was carrying on top of the baby picture. She turned around to me but looked away. "I'm... sorry for that."

I walked up to her and softly wrapped my arms around her where she instinctively put her head on my chest. "You don't need to be sorry for anything, Stacy..." I quietly cooed before hearing a sniffle emit from her saddened form. "May I ask what's got you down?'

She took a few seconds to weakly nod. "It's just... I-I really don't like birthdays."

I tilted my head a tad, unaware why. I figured that this had to have been much worse than just not celebrating your birthday, I was sure that her parents didn't care about making their daughter happy on those supposed-to-be special days. "How come, my love?"

"They... on my birthday, their a-abuse was so much w-worse than usual."

A type of rage entered my system, some dots being connected as she cried a little harder on me. "...They hurt you because it was your anniversary of being alive..."

I felt her weakly nod. I contained my rage even though I wanted to take vengeance for Stacy for all the abuse her parents had put her through, but I knew that was impossible. "That's... that's why I-I don't like thinking about birthdays... they remind me of..." She choked up.

"Sh~, you don't have to continue..." I cooed once more, her tears flowing freely. I gently rocked her for a moment before guiding her towards our bed, where we could sit down together.

I rested my chin on the top of her head to comfort her as best as I could, wanting her to feel loved in the moment of strife. She cried for another few minutes before she ran out of tears to cry, though she continued to quietly sniffle while I kept swaying her just a tad.

"I'm sorry..."

"What for, my love? You've got nothing at all to apologize for." I reassured as a hand slowly brushed through her hair.

"Well... it just feels like I've been crying to you so much and I think that might be a little annoying..."

"The only thing unusual about it is how you've become so emotional recently, but that's not a problem, of course." I thought, keeping it to myself before I lightly shook my head. "Nope, it isn't annoying at all... I'm more than happy to help you when you need to cry, that's one of the things I need to do to show you that I love you... and since I do, it's no bother at all."

She silently hugged me while the girl processed my words, causing a fresh wave of reserve tears to fall down her face. I kissed her forehead when the tears slowed down once more, a thought coming to mind.

"Can I promise you something?" I asked before feeling a slow nod on my chest once more. "I promise that when it's your birthday, I'll do something for you that'll be really fun and nice, to replace the bad memories with good ones, how does that sound?"

She leaned back a bit and looked up at me with a slightly quivering smile. "That would... I would like that, if it wouldn't be a bother..." After I said it wouldn't be, because I'd do anything for her, she said, "I love you." with a single tear of joy dripping down onto her already stained cheeks.

Both of my hands cupped her cheeks so I could wipe the tears off her face before resting my forehead on hers where we eskimo kissed each other.

"Thank you for everything..." She whispered, her words making me feel warm inside.

"Thank you for everything as well..." I said, lightly kissing her afterwards. The amount of happiness she gave me was... so, so much. It felt like all this happiness we shared together added on twenty years to our lives each. Which I wish was hundreds or even thousands of years instead... I never wanna lose this Queen or vice versa...

So as the day progressed, the news about Olivia abdicating slowly spread. Most of the group accepted the change and some were even excited about it, the most excited ones surprisingly being Ashton and Audrey. Though there was one who wasn't too sure about the change and that was Kostas. Sure, he wasn't completely against the idea, he just didn't like the uncertainty of the change all that much.

Later that night, I expressed to them how happy I was to officially be the one in charge and was excited to steer us into the vision I had for our place. That guided the conversation toward expanding upon the to-do list of what to build and make in the next year or two. I was already planning long-term, I wasn't messing around with this opportunity. A few shared the same sentiment, though a couple thought I should slow my roll just a bit. Which maybe I will, but I need to achieve what I've essentially promised Stacy, and that was to build up a little village.

Of course, I didn't know a lot of the steps needed for us to take to get there or even if I'd get to those steps to begin with. But I expressed how I was determined to build something in this world. I felt extremely optimistic while talking to them all about my ideas, wanting to create this future as soon as possible... Maybe I should take a quick breath and make sure things will go accordingly at a reasonable pace. After all, what I have planned and practically promised will most likely take much longer than what I'm expecting... Yeah, that seems like that wise thing to do.

Later that night, the mystery of Stacy's sudden heightened emotional state was solved.

Stacy and I were on the one of the couches and listening in on a discussion about something random, something about some Greek mythology Ashton was spewing about that I wasn't all that interested in, but it made for an alright story. Stacy had been shifting and turning for a while and in the middle of it, she quietly told me that she wanted some water so I let her up and expected her to be back a few minutes later.

It was about ten minutes after she left that I started wondering what was taking so long for her to come back. After another five minutes, I knew something was really wrong. I excused myself from the conversation and walked into the dim kitchen where shock quickly rushed through my mind when I saw that Stacy was curled on the floor with a full cup of water next to her.

I rushed next to her and got on my knees. "Stacy? What's wrong?" I asked, concern dripping off my tone as she looked up to me, pain evident in her eyes.

"I-I... my belly h-hurts really, really badly." She explained as I leaned her up to sit up properly.

"Where exactly?" I asked with care.

"Here..." She said, rubbing her lower belly. "It hurts so, so much..."

It suddenly dawned on me what was happening. In that moment, something else also dawned on me, making me feel foolish for only just realizing that she had never once had a period the entire time we knew each other. "...Has this happened before?" I asked, wanting to know if it was her first one; I’d be appalled if it was, but I had to make sure.

"...Yeah, it's happened before a few times." She answered, quietly grunting as I assumed some type of pain tremor passed through her body.

"When was the last time?"

"...Like a couple months before we met."

"Are you able to tell me the previous times before that?"

She looked confused at my line of questioning but she went ahead and answered. "...I think only a couple weeks before that one. It was so long ago."

"Irregular periods then." I came to the conclusion of, and it made a lot of sense considering I hadn’t seen her go through one. "How bad is the pain? On a one to ten scale?"

She winced again after I asked. "...Compared to other things I’ve gone through, a seven or an eight... It's really bad." She answered with a pained pout, my heart aching for her.

A thought occurred to me, and it involved blood, where I assumed she was probably leaking that substance, thus the girl was unknowingly making a mess of her clothes. I'm sure what she was experiencing was already hard enough to go and I didn't want it to be any worse for her, so I explained to her what I thought was going on so I could help her get on the path to recovery as soon as possible.

"Why are p-periods so painful? I h-hate them so fucking much!"

I hugged her, trying to comfort the girl in distress. "I'll explain later." I'm surprised I never got into the period talk with her yet have explained every aspect about sex. "For now, we need to go to the upstairs bathroom." She looked extremely confused after I said that. "You might be soaking your panties with blood at the moment..."

"Oh... I forgot that happens when this happens..." With her now understanding why I wanted her to go upstairs, she got up, took her cup of water, and slowly made her way upstairs. The pain she was experiencing evidently rendered her nearly immobile, which was precisely why I was going to help her through all of this.

While making our way to the stairs, I told a small white lie to the others in the living room; they didn't need to know what I was about to do. Hell, I didn't particularly want to do what I was about to do, but I had to, I had to help Stacy get through this as best as I could. I'd be an asshole otherwise.

When we got upstairs, I opened the bathroom door for her, leaving it open, before heading into our room to get a few things. Namely a flashlight since it was dark, a couple of small washcloths, a fresh pair of panties, and a bottle of painkillers which was all I needed before returning back to the bathroom. I then closed its door and turned the flashlight on before directing it toward the ceiling to illuminate the bathroom.

Stacy was sitting on the toilet, the lid to it being closed, the girl shyly holding her hands together and pressing them into her chest. When I walked up to her, I set the items I was holding on the sinkt, Stacy then looking up at me with alarmed eyes.

I softly placed a hand on her cheek before traveling it up to her hair to then brushing through it. I got on one knee and took one of her hands to try to calm her down. "Everything's alright Stacy, I'm here for you..."

"It's just... it's gonna be really, really gross, I saw, there's so much blood." She said with a shaky breath.

"Yeah, it's gonna be somewhat gross... but that's fine."

"But... won't you find me gross?"

I lightly shook my head. "No, not at all. Every woman goes through this, it's natural... Remember how I said 'the more you learn about your body, the more you don't want one?’ earlier?" She nodded. "This is one of those things that sort of applies to that... but it's alright, you are what you are and we can't change that… But even if we could change you, I would never do it, you’re perfect the way you are. I might find the blood a little gross, but never you."

She looked a tad bit better after that, my words successful in calming her about the topic. I held her hand and slowly brushed her hair for a couple minutes longer before I lightly sighed and ceased those actions so my right hand could then go to the button of her jeans.

"Am I free to help clean you up?" She lightly nodded, a small nervous shake rattling through her body. I wished I was taking her pants off in better circumstances, but I culled all and any thoughts of lust, not even having to try when I saw that her panties were soaking up a large amount of menstrual blood. I lightly sighed as I slipped her pants off for her and tossed them aside. I looked toward the sink to grab the cup of water and set it on the floor at my side before I took a hold of one of the washcloths and dipped a side of it into the cup.

Somewhat reluctantly, I gingerly grabbed her panties and started slipping them off where she lifted her body up a tad to help me with the process... I don't really wanna write down how much blood I had to wipe off her, all I’ll say is that the girl was made temporarily cleaned of the substance a couple of minutes later.

When that was done, I helped her put on the fresh pair of panties, helping her adjust the spare cloth in her panties so it'd soak up the blood to come. I know I probably didn't have to help her like that, but I felt like I had to, to make it as easy for her as possible. Unfortunately, the cloth had to do for now since pads and the like just slipped our minds during previous scavenges. I started to think about how to solve this problem but put it off for later and focused on the task at hand.

The cup of water remained uncontaminated so I handed it to her, the girl gracefully taking it. "You should take a couple of painkillers there on the counter... I'd hand them to you, but I need to use the water after you're done with it to wash my hands off." As it was, there was a bit of blood on them, only disturbing me a tiny bit.

Anyways, she quickly popped a couple capsules into her mouth and took a couple large swigs of water before handing the cup back to me. I couldn't get the blood off me any faster by using the basin of the sink to do so. As I was doing that, she put her pants on and hugged me from the side as I finished washing my hands.

"Thank you... for helping me..."

I returned the hug and dug my nose into her hair. "Of course, Stacy... I'll help you through this as much as possible."

She didn't want to go back downstairs; the cramps she was feeling were so intense that she simply wanted to sleep. So I climbed into bed with her, holding her close to make her feel safe, comforted, and loved through the pain. Every time she whined or whimpered, my heart ached, wishing I could make it better for her, even though I had already done everything I could think of.

Half an hour later, "I-It hurts s-so bad-." She said as she cried into my chest while a hand brushed through her hair as I steadily rocked her. I lightly sighed, despising how I just... could only hold her as she cried in pain. After another half an hour filled with her whimpering in distress, tears no longer streaming out of her face, the pain subsided enough for her to drift to sleep.

The pain she was experiencing due to her period was excessive, almost unbearable given the intensity of her tears. During this, I assumed the magnitude of pain was just a side effect of her unusual reproductive system being the way it is.

I quietly sighed while I played with some of her hair with my eyes closed as I focused on the sound of her quiet breathing, a sound that I loved hearing. As I started thinking about a plethora of random things, I unknowingly slipped into a deep sleep, a dream playing out before I woke up again.

In the dream, I found myself submerged in a lake teeming with millions of words, the letters and phrases drifting freely around me as I slowly sank into the depths. Suddenly, I was transported to a dark forest, clutching a remarkably ornate dagger adorned with runic symbols on its blade. How I arrived there remained a mystery, but an innate instinct led me to hunt for food. It was only a few seconds into my prowl that I entered a clearing within the forest where just a moment later, something landed a couple of meters in front of me, something... feline-like.

I instantly pounced, my blade coming down to stab the creature in its back, but it deftly dodged my blow. The mysterious creature remained unknown, shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to identify. However, just before I woke up, it swiftly turned around and lunged at me, something beak-like thrusting at one of my eyes where just before it made contact with me, I jolted awake.

Morning had arrived again; the sun hung just above the horizon, suggesting it was still before eight o'clock. As I became more aware with each passing second, I glanced down at the sleeping girl beside me. She looked so peaceful in that moment. I hoped fervently that the pain of her period would ease, not just a little, but significantly. My angel didn't deserve to endure such agony; she had done nothing wrong, ever.

I can confidently say that since she really is an angel, a sweetheart, and just an all around happy and bubbly little girl who doesn't do anything wrong. The pain she was going through was just... so undeserved. She's already been through enough pain in her life, so much more than what someone her age should experience, or anyone for that matter.

Her periods were significantly more intense than my ex's. My ex had light periods that caused her little to no pain, and she managed them with ease. I wasn't really prepared to handle what's essentially a blood shower that Stacy’s periods are, though I think I was good at improvising quickly in that rather difficult situation.

Since it was still a bit early in the morning, I went back to sleep, but only for a couple of hours before movement from Stacy woke me back up.

"How're you doin', Stace?" I quietly asked after a silent minute, the girl grunting a bit as she leaned up off my chest.

"...A little better. Can I take a couple more painkillers?"

"Sure thing." I replied before slipping out of bed to retrieve the bottle of painkillers from the bathroom. Though before I left, I asked if she wanted any water, the girl then quickly realizing just how thirsty she was. So I got a large cup of water for her too. When I got back, I handed her the desired items along with another spare cloth so she could switch the other one in her panties out.

"Thank you so much..." She praised me before getting up, stretching, and then changing the cloth out without any of my help while she stood by the laundry hamper.

"It's the least I can do, Stace. Whatever you need, I'm here for you and always will be."

After I said that, she took the bloodied cloth by one of its corners. "...Gross!"

I quietly agreed while she put the stained cloth in the hamper before she placed the fresh one in her panties, the girl quickly pulling her clothes back up once she dealt with that. She then walked up to me and hugged me, my angel nuzzling my chest as she quietly sighed.

"Do you know how long this is gonna last...?" She asked when her nuzzling ceased, the girl looking up at me with scared eyes, looking for some type of hope through my words.

"Typically, it lasts for around two to seven days, some can even be longer..." I answered, her expression changing to a conflicted one.

"I really, really hope that it ends tomorrow..."

"Me too, Stace." I agreed with a kiss on her forehead afterward.

A quiet minute slipped by before she coyly asked, "...So, you said you'll do whatever I need?" Her tone instantly gave me the impression that she was prepared to exploit my words to her advantage.

"Yep, whatever you need, I'm here."

"I need you to snuggle me on the window bay for a long time..."

If she was going to exploit my words like that, I was completely fine with it. Without hesitation, I fetched a couple of pillows and a blanket, determined to make our new favorite snuggling spot even more comfortable before swiftly getting to work on fulfilling my snuggle quota for the day. As we talked about miscellaneous things for the next thirty minutes, we nuzzled each other, kissed each other, and in my case, slowly trailed my fingers up and down her skin.

(Small sex scene ahead, and no, it's not penetrative. "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip) After a few minutes of silence while my caressing continued, a light blush appeared on her face. "...So, does me having a period mean we can't have sex until it's over?"

Well that was right out of the blue. "Uh... I mean, a bit? We can still have sex, but it'd be kinda bloody... and I don't have a blood kink."

She sighed in disappointment. "You're right, I wouldn't want to have sex if there was blood too... This sucks."

"Are you getting horny?"

"A bit, but I don't wanna do it if it's gonna get blood everywhere."

After she said that, a hand slipped under her shirt where my fingers lightly pressed into her soft belly which caused her to quietly gasp. "We don't need to have sex, I can just touch you down there, if you want…"

She swallowed hard, the need for an orgasm ramping up in her mind. "...Would you want to? You might get some blood on you."

"Maybe a little, but I wouldn't mind if it made you feel better." With that being said, I unbuttoned her jeans. My right hand returned back under her shirt before traveling downward to breach inside her panties. I minded the cloth, only moving it out of the way from her clit so I could rub it. I wasn't planning on fingering her since just her clit could suffice in this situation.

As I very slowly started rubbing her love button, she lightly shivered and whimpered in pleasure which caused me to harden for her. "What do you need me to do, Stace?" I teasingly asked while my other hand darted under her shirt and to one of her tits, the same hand gingerly massaging it and squeezing the nipple every few seconds.

"I need you t-to make me cum with your fingers... please- and kiss me."

I gently smiled. "Of course, my dear." I kissed her temple as my fingers started rubbing her faster, my lips then trailing down her cheek and to her lips where they stayed planted. We kissed for several long minutes on end as she continued whimpering at my touch. Those whimpers only were amplified when my hand on her chest swapped between her breasts.

My fingers sped up to a moderate pace and stayed like that since her quiet moans and grunts told me that it was more than enough while her hips instinctively grinding every now and then into them. I found it adorable how her legs slowly spread open wider and wider as the minutes rolled by until she couldn't anymore, the girl more than wanting to have been naked with me pounding her. She came about ten minutes later then again after another five minutes which dampened the cloth in a small but decent bit of orgasmic fluid; it didn’t take much longer for my fingers to slow down to a halt as she fully relaxed into me after the intimate act ended. When our kiss ended, she lightly sighed with a smile. (Sex scene over)

"You're making this so much easier to get through..." She pointed out as I used the cloth to dry my hand of any liquid before properly adjusting the cloth back over her lower lips to resume its job. Though I figured she’d swap it out relatively soon.

"That's my job, Stacy..." I said as I nuzzled the crook of her neck. She took my hand and held it, my grasp returning hers.

She lightly giggled, but not at my nuzzles. "It's... so crazy how we're so in love with each other."

"Not to me, I instantly knew you were an angel and something to be cherished the day I met you."

She giggled once more. "I was so scared of you at first..." She admitted. "You were so big back then, I thought you were gonna hurt me... It's crazy to me how views just change over time and how relationships form..."

"Was big?" I asked with a smile.

"You know what I mean." She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"But yeah, I agree... I think anything's crazy if you think about it long enough like writing and language for example. Essentially what humans did was make scribbles, gave those scribbles names and sounds, put those scribbles together to make words, gave those definitions, and here we are, using the words to talk about things like talking about how we're talking about things..."

"Dang, you really are just a big nerd, aren't you?" She asked, causing me to playfully roll my eyes. "Ugh, now talking is weird."

"You get used to it." I replied with a shrug. "Just like how you get used to a big ugly scar on my face."

"Hunter, it isn't ugly..." She asserted, turning toward me. Her hand left mine where she then softly placed her hand on the scar I was referring to before her fingers slowly trailed down it. "No, it's just... Well, it's just you. I've never seen you without it, so as far as I know, nothing's wrong with having it here..."

I took her hand in mine and lightly pressed the small appendage into my face. "...I'm just lucky that it's not a horrid looking scar. I'm glad that it's just a big white streak-bump other than what it could've been..."

She glanced at my scar again, the girl suddenly getting timid. "...You said a sickle caused this?"

Anticipating the direction of the conversation, I hesitated, not yet prepared to address a specific question. "Yep, a nasty looking one too. In the heat of the moment, adrenaline dulled the pain. But once the danger passed, and I started losing blood, each passing minute made the pain sharper and sharper. It turned out to be the most excruciating injury I've ever endured.”

Our hands slid off my face before migrating to her lap where she then leaned into my chest once again. "How'd you fix yourself?"

"Quickly. Thankfully, I was near a house that had a bathroom with a mirror. I had to stitch a lot of my face closed... Having a lot of the skin on my face and head loose was... a very jarring and disturbing feeling."

She shivered in disgust as she tried imagining what that felt like. Though no matter how much she tried to imagine it, she wouldn't be able to feel it. It's something one has to experience to understand.

"I lost so much blood that day. I was weak for the next three days after that, staying put in that house. Thankfully, I had stored up enough water and food in my backpack for me to stay put including enough medical supplies for me to properly treat the wound. If it got infected... Well, I would've died that week."

"...I've always been too scared to ask about this, but may I ask... what exactly caused the wound? Like the whole story?"

A type of flashback briefly entered my mind, a small bit of adrenaline releasing into my system as I relived the moment. "You already know that someone tried to kill me..."

"Were they just someone crazy...?"

"...Something like that. Even though I was defending myself... I still feel bad about it. The feeling of... taking a human life is different from killing other animals."

"I wouldn't know..."

With that topic being finished, we settled back into a silent snuggle. Unfortunately, her cramps started to pick back up again as the minutes rolled by.

"If you need to cry, don't hold any tears back..." I advised when she started quietly whimpering in pain.

She sadly nodded; a few tears rolling down her cheeks a few minutes later. I lightly sighed and put my nose in her hair before kissing her forehead.

"It'll be over before you know it..."

Chapter 19: Starting The Plan

Chapter Text

Winter had finally come to a close and the most beautiful season had begun. Beautiful in the sense that life restarts itself for it to die to... to restart itself. Man, life really is kinda repetitive with seemingly no reason when you think about it. Seriously, what's the point of that dandelion growing? Or that tree to grow its leaves? Sure, it's because other animals depend on them, but why do they care? Or something like that.

Anyways, the snow and ice were no more, those terrible substances having been melted and gone for a couple of weeks. Thank fuck too, ain't no one gonna miss that shit, winter is brutal enough without having electricity to power any sort of heaters or furnaces. I can't stress enough how much I hate winter, though that’s mainly on the back of us not being more advanced. How proto-humans survived the season just goes to show you how much stronger we used to be... unless they were miserable, which maybe they were, who knows.

But even though winter's wrapping up, it's not been that much warmer as of late. Yet still, finally getting above the freezing point was amazing in comparison since my ears, nose, and cheeks no longer ached in the middle of the night due to frigid temperatures. Nonetheless, it was still cool, around eight or so degrees during the day, so snuggling tightly during the night was needed. But snuggling was mandatory regardless, so I guess that's a moot point.

A couple days before the first day of spring, I made the executive decision to begin 'The Three Year Plan', which was to start following the to-do list one by one until we cross everything out. I wasn't sure if it was gonna take three years or anything like that, I just thought that it needed a proper and official name for people to refer to it as, and it sounded cool to me so that's what I called it.

And refer to it as 'The Three Year Plan' they did; the group’s been excited to start getting to work on our objectives after it was perfectly changed and amended to appease everyone accordingly. By that, I mean move some of the objectives up the list and lower the priority of others, all while adding suggestions that'd be worthwhile to invest in for the future. When it was all agreed upon, I took a fresh sheet of Stacy's bigger paper that she uses for her larger drawings and made a proper outline of what we had planned. I also used one of the corners to standardize who gets what task and what they should focus on after they complete a quota for whatever task they complete.

Being that well organized and prepared for our future felt pretty nice and my group had faith that we could do it, though it was hard to persuade a few of them at first. And that was sort of understandable because at face value, it seemed fairly far-fetched. But with my charisma and my radiating personality, I was able to get them to believe in it, even if the faith was fragile. And don't take my word for how I described myself because I never originally called myself those things; Stacy told me that a few days ago and I simply applied her observation to myself.

The final weeks of winter sped past us, aided by our routine of repeating the same activities day in and day out, all in the anticipation of the approaching warmth. But just because some things are repetitive doesn't mean they aren't fun and worthwhile. Hunting, fishing, chatting, playing some small games, snuggling, and more intimate things with Stacy was a good lifestyle to have for a while. But it's not satisfying, in the sense of the bigger scheme of things at least. Because even though I loved doing all those things, something within me yearned to have something greater.

So when the first day of spring finally arrived, I was up early in the morning and ready to start getting to work on our first plan of many. Now what exactly was that plan? Find a solar farm.

"So, the plan is to head to this side of the city and then split off towards the west, while another group heads north from that point. We'll reconvene back here after three hours if we don't find anything." I once again explained the day's plan to the small group that I was taking out which consisted of Ashton, Trinity, and Kostas. As they looked down at the map, I was pointing out where we’d be headed by using the map that laid on the dining table.

"Three hours one way and three hours back?" Ashton asked for clarification.

I nodded. "We gotta discover what's out there as soon as possible, that’s what I prefer to happen at least. Thankfully, Nova, Willow, and Kai have mapped out some areas of interest which unfortunately didn't unveil what we're looking for, but at least we won't waste our time there."

Trinity lightly sighed. "We got a long fuckin’ day ahead of us... If we do find an array today, how are we gonna transport the motherfuckers? How heavy are solar panels anyways?"

That was the biggest conundrum of the operation, that being finding a way to transport an optimal amount of panels to jump start the use of electricity. It was my turn to lightly sigh. "It'll be difficult to figure out; there are a few ideas I'm thinking of, but it's gonna require a large amount of physical labour... Maybe, we'll brainstorm ideas after we discover a farm."

"Also known as not that fun of a time, that labour part of course." Ashton said with a small grin. "What's one of the ideas you have in mind?"

I quickly thought about any reasonable possibility to transport such heavy loads. "Well, since we don't have horses, or farms to feed horses, no cars or usable gasoline, and no electricity to charge an electric vehicle... Well, what seems most plausible is finding some type of electric car, transporting a solar panel, maybe a couple, and bootleg it into hooking the energy they generate up to the car to charge it for a day or two, drive it to a solar array, charge it from there, then start making trips of transporting panels from there to here."

"...That's a really good idea. But that depends if we can find one of those. How many electric cars were in America before The Drop?" Kostas asked as the other two agreed with my plan.

"Their numbers were growing exponentially, with around two million new vehicles hitting the roads the same year America perished. I've encountered quite a few of them in my travels, so I'm confident it won't be too hard to find one if we keep our eyes peeled. There's one specific model I prefer, significantly superior to any other in every aspect by a mile."

He nodded at that before Trinity spoke up to ask a question. "What do we do if we find these bitches early in the day?"

It took me a moment to understand that she was referring to the solar panels. "Then I'll be really happy. If it happens, just head back to the spot we’ll agree upon as the rendezvous point, then wait for the rest of us to regroup."

"Don't bring anything back with us?"

I shook my head. "Nope, just inspect the place thoroughly. We don't need you guys to exert your energy like that, it'll be a group effort to move a couple of panels however we choose to move them."

"Yes sir."

When all that was situated, we started to load our backpacks with what we'd need for that day. Stuff like water, a little food, a weapon if that need ever arises, and mapping materials. The last thing we thought about was getting a couple of wind-up watches for each group to easily be able to tell when our three hours were up. After that, we settled on who'd group with who.

"Ashton, wanna group with me?" I asked, the man in question simply shrugging his shoulders. "Cool, that means you two are gonna be each other's mates for the afternoon."

Kostas looked a tad flustered. "Mates?"

I chuckled. "Another word for friend, Kostas. Although Americans didn't really use it; for some reason, I use a lot of British slang and pronunciation.” After that tidbit of information, we double checked if we had everything we needed for the trip before making our way towards the exit of the house.

Right before I was the last one to leave, a little someone ran up behind me and wrapped her arms around my torso which caused me to cease my advance forward. However, she had some difficulty because of the backpack I was wearing which obstructed her from giving me a complete hug. After stopping, I did the usual gesture for the others to go on without me, the group of three knowing that I'd catch up quickly after staying behind for just a minute or two.

I turned around and hugged my girl back where the girl warmly nuzzled my chest. "You better not get hurt while out there." She said before looking up at me.

I cupped one of her cheeks, leaned down, and eskimo kissed her. "I'll try not to, my love. I'll also try to get home as quickly so we can snuggle as soon as possible."

She gingerly rubbed her nose against mine with a gentle giggle. "I'll miss you until then."

"I'll miss you too." I replied before softly placing my lips on hers. That kiss probably lasted a couple more minutes longer than it should've, but I thought that was fair since I thought I was gonna be away from her for around ten hours or so. "I love you, see you when I get back."

After she reciprocated my words, I turned around and exited the house before jogging a bit to catch up with the others who had already walked fifty meters down the main path of the mansion. When I got there, we really started picking up some speed, none of us wanting to waste any time so we could cover as much ground as possible.

"It's a shame we don't have anything like walkie-talkies, that would make missions like these so much fuckin’ easier." Trinity wished, that idea not being new to me.

"I've thought about it before, but I've never gone out scavenging for them. I remember I was gonna write them down somewhere on the plan, but I was distracted by something then I kinda forgot." I said with a chuckle at the end.

"Maybe we should swing by a market or two as we pass through the town? To kill two birds with one stone?" Ashton suggested before quickly thinking about it.

"I’m not sure if any batteries are still able to work, the shelf life has most likely passed. But if we're gonna get a couple of them, we're gonna get the good kind, not the ones that are, y'know, shitty and are staticky at semi-medium ranges. And if I remember correctly, certain ones can recharge by using a port which goes back to our lack of electricity problem."

"Good point. Man, I really hope we can get some electricity up and running within the next few weeks; it's gonna solve so many problems."

I nodded with a pleased smile. "Agreed. Although figuring out how to wire and connect everything might be a challenge... Hopefully, Kostas can take the lead on that part of the project,"

"I'll do my best to figure out the wiring, but no guarantees I can do it." Kostas simply replied.

"I know you will.” Before I let the conversation move on from that, I had been meaning to ask something relatively important regarding this topic. “How much did you deal with wiring before The Drop?"

"Little. I might be able to do it with a lot of time and help from a few assistants with extra wire."

"Granted, at least when the time comes. What kind of wires are you looking for?"

He took a few silent seconds to ponder that question. "Using a size twelve AWG wire is a good starting place. Most things should work with that, I think."

"Now we just need to figure out where to find them..."

A couple of hours later, we reached the divergence point. The four of us gathered around a corner house, taking out our mapping materials. Kostas and Trinity continued walking straight, while Ashton and I turned left, the both of us not stationed far from the open road.

And so, we were off in hopes to come across a solar farm. My hopes weren't that high to be honest, only because it was the first day back going on long trips. The constant walking with plenty of silent periods in between the small talk made our excursion feel like a blitz. Though I must say, walking the barren streets reminded me of the two years I spent alone... It kind of filled me with dread. Was this a minor form of PTSD?

We walked for about an hour, surrounded by neglected crop fields and passing by abandoned cars every now and then. Ashton must have sensed my inner dread because he broke the silence that had settled between us for a while. "You doing alright over there? You've been staring blankly at that map for a while now."

As I looked up and at the ever growing green and cracking asphalt due to nature retaking what humans had taken it, I lightly sighed at his question. "Yeah, just remembering what my life was like from before I met Stacy."

He gave me a slow and understanding nod. "The loneliness?" I gave him my own confirming nod, "Yeah... I feel yah. That type of loneliness was wished for by so many people before The Drop, I even wished it myself a couple of times."

"I think we all did when we were tired of people's shit." I spoke honestly, Ashton barking a laugh at the reality of the words.

"Yeah, some people were so full of it..."

"I'm glad that none of us are like that and that we all work together in a happy friend group. I just hope it stays that way."

"It's debatable if you're like that or not..." He said sarcastically which I playfully rolled my eyes at in response. "But yeah, I hope that too. I hope some stupid drama doesn't appear and ruin some relationships, that'd be annoying to deal with."

"I doubt it'll happen..." And now I just jinxed us.

"Also, I get what's going through your mind, what with being reminded of a lonely lifestyle, since I was a loner too before Olivia's-." He stopped himself, the man looking confused at what to say before suddenly looking at me. "Do I call it Olivia's group or your group if I'm talking about the past?"

I chuckled at his question, the question stumping me. "Eh, just say our group." Way to be a communist, Hunter.

"Good idea." He complimented and returned to telling his story, "Yeah, I was a loner too before I met our group. I had met a few people before, but only one at a time. And by a few, I mean three. They never wanted to stick together, I never knew why and it was quite disappointing when it happened. It sure was strange how it happened three times before I met a bigger group that finally accepted me."

"I wonder if you'll ever see em' again." I pondered as Ashton lightly smiled at the possibility.

"I kinda hope so, show them that they can stay put at our place, make more friends and in turn more family. They were nice people, I think they were just scared of strangers, too timid to take the risk with randos. I don't blame them." He said with a shrug.

"So what does that tell me? Y'know, with bringing eleven strangers into my house a few months ago?" I asked with a smirk.

"That you're bold, faithful, a risk taker, and someone who can see a much bigger picture than the average person." He plainly listed. I wasn't exactly expecting a response like that so I was a little taken back. "All good traits to have as a leader and those are just some of the few I see in you."

I... lightly blushed at his compliment as I shyly smiled and looked away to make sure he didn't see that I was flattered. I was never used to receiving compliments from others, other than people telling me that I was smart before The Drop but that was about it, and even then I denied their claims since I was going through a self-hatred phase back then. Of course, I got used to Stacy's compliments since we tell each other them all the time, but outside my relationship, it was rare, even rarer for one to be as strong as Ashton's.

"I mainly did it because... I just had this feeling in my core that there was something about you all, something that would turn out to be a great thing. That's the best way I can explain why I did it." I explained, keeping my gaze averted from Ashton.

He chuckled. "I remember thinking, 'this guy obviously has a trap set up' while you showed us the way to the house, thinking there's no way that someone would just take us to where they sleep... I was pleasantly surprised when there wasn't anything like that." He looked toward me. "You even took the right precautionary steps to make sure we weren't the bad guys... Do you see something over there or something?"

"Oh, uh, no." I said, begrudgingly looking ahead of myself.

"...Are you blushing, Hunter?" He asked with a tone that sounded like he was about to laugh.

"...No, I easily sunburn." I sarcastically lied, the other guy snorting a laugh.

"Then I feel bad for you, summer's gonna kill yah once it gets here... Do you not get complimented often?" He asked before a light sigh escaped my lips followed by telling him what I've already written down regarding my history of compliments. "Oh, alright. I'll tell the others to compliment you more then, it seems I found the key to finally causing you to blush."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It only works when I know it's genuine."

"Damn, I was really looking forward to seeing a giant like you blush shy some more."

"Weirdo." I said while shaking my head with a friendly grin.

"Guilty as charged, which means you're definitely guilty of the same crime."

After the spout of playful banter ended, another silence fell between us and I was left to my thoughts. I looked at my watch and noticed that another twenty minutes had flashed by before I asked him an important question involving his past.

"So, how'd you and Audrey happen?"

"Quickly." He swiftly replied with no hesitation. "It only took a week after she joined our group before she 'pounced' on me."

"Huh. Wasn't expecting her to be the one to pounce first, that's kinda shocking."

He barked another laugh. "I'm glad that even though it was really quick, we've worked out just fine... It only happened as fast as it did because she 'supposedly' saw the looks I was giving her and she had been pretty horny, so that really played a key role during it."

TMI, I guess. "You dirty dog." I giggled, making him lightly scoff at me.

"Like you didn't do the exact same with Stacy when you two were completely alone."

"I actually didn't." I said with a shrug. "At least, not that fast. It took me like over two weeks before I started taking little peeks at her, I even felt kinda weird about it since I didn't wanna creep her out if she saw me doing it... But it was all futile since she also claimed she saw the looks I gave her. Guess us guys suck at hiding our stares." I ended my statement with a chuckle.

"A saint compared to me..." He playfully commented. "Started out with small peeks, huh? Those peeks certainly couldn't have gotten much littler than Stacy though, that's for sure."

My eyes angrily darted at him as a sudden feel of rage entered my system. He adopted a defensive look before I realized what I was doing and that I had assumed completely the wrong things. That's when I quickly started to cull my anger, not knowing what came over me.

"I didn't mean it like that, Hunter. I'm sorry for phrasing it that way." He said with an honest voice which made me feel terrible for how my mind had been so reactive.

"I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't jump to instantaneous conclusions like that." I said in an apologetic tone.

"No, it's alright, I get it. I'd most likely do something similar if I got the wrong impression too. For what it’s worth, it's really respectable how protective you are of Stacy. Is it weird to say it's cute in a way?"

"It's what I feel naturally compelled to do, I can't not protect her, it's against all my instincts to do anything but. And to answer your question, yes, it is just a tad strange..."

"Anything but, eh? I hope you're not smothering that girl."

I shrugged. "If I was, she'd tell me. I made sure to let her know that she could tell me anything she didn't like so we could fix it and get past it as soon as possible."

He nodded slowly. "You two have built a very stable foundation for your relationship, with so many clarified attributes one needs to have and uphold for it to work... I have to admit, Hunter, I'm envious of how strong your relationship seems to be."

"Couldn't have described it better myself.” I suddenly thought that it was peculiar that he had used the word envious. “What's going on? Are you and Audrey going through a rough patch at the moment?"

He looked pensive for a second before sighing. "It's guy time, alright?" I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he meant. "Meaning I'm about to tell you some shit that stays between you and me, no one else."

"Alright... I promise to keep whatever you're gonna tell me a secret."

"She wants to have a child." He blatantly admitted.

I nearly skipped a step at how plainly he rammed that information into me, no lube or anything. "...Why?"

He sighed once again. "She's always wanted to be a mother. And I don't even know if I should explain why she wants to be a mother so badly, especially as of late..." Without me even saying anything, he continued. "Okay, I'll tell you, but Audrey will rip me a new one if she ever finds out I told you this." With my interest thoroughly held by the balls and my ears gaped open, he figuratively poured the juicy information into my eardrums. "Before The Drop... she was about two months pregnant. On the day of society's death, she had a miscarriage. She thinks whatever caused almost everyone to die killed the fetus instead of her, effectively skipping her turn from whatever decided who should die that day."

"I..." I didn't know how to feel about that information. Truly, I was at a loss for words.

"She's..." He deeply sighed. "I feel bad for telling all these secrets, but I need some advice and you seem to know how to have a very healthy relationship. Audrey's secretly severely depressed and it's been worse ever since she ran out of weed, it's how she coped through the loss of her baby and family upon other things. She tries to feel lucky, tries to look on the brighter side, but the darker and brighter sides are effectively the same. The darker side? She could've died instead of the fetus killing the fetus in the process. The brighter side is that her baby died so she could live, live in a world of loss... That's the brighter side and she feels terrible when trying to look at life through that way."

I slowly sighed as a hand slowly brushed through my hair. "That... is a lot to take in. Why does she want to be a mother now though?"

"It's all good if you need some time to think about everything I've said, I understand. But to answer your question, it's because she thinks that if we have a baby now, it might make her feel better about the baby she lost."

"That's a huge bet to take on a might." I simply commented. "And it's a huge bet to do that now regardless of emotional state. Maybe in five or so years, she’ll be better off having a baby then since I'm sure we'll be able to have our own small infrastructure up and running by then to handle offspring."

"And that's where the conundrum comes in. She's just so caught up in her emotional grief that she understands what I'm saying, but she just doesn't care that much."

I chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I'm gonna need a few days to process this talk. I'll try to help you get through this because this sounds like a little too much for one man to handle, and that’s exemplified by how you’re coming to me of all people for advice."

"Don't undersell yourself; you've given me the impression that you know how to handle a relationship, and by the looks and sounds of it, you’re basically an expert. But yeah, it's causing me a lot of stress... I'm not ready to be a father and I'm not sure if I even wanna be one." He said with a heavy sigh.

"At the moment, I can only think to say 'give her more cuddles, nuzzles, kisses, more of your attention, and time' but that's without delving that deeply into the emotional scars she clearly has."

"...I mean, that's not too bad of advice really. I have been a little scared to do stuff like that since she clams up often. So much so that I can't get through to her and I don't know what to do."

"Hm... If it were Stacy in this situation, I'd constantly remind her how much I love her, how much I need her, and tell her why I feel that way, just gently trying to get her to open back up through the means I just suggested. I wouldn't give up, I wouldn't even think about it." I honestly spoke from the heart.

He let out a slow breath. "Yeah, I've done wrong regarding that; I've walked away to give her the space she needs to recuperate... That might be a bad move. I'll try what you'd do and see if it'll work at all."

"I wish you the best of luck, I hope it doesn't break you two apart."

He lightly smiled, a large portion of the glum atmosphere starting to fade. "Thank you for being a true friend, Hunter. I wish the best for you and Stacy as well, but in my opinion, you two are basically glue together and don't even need my wishes."

"They're appreciated anyways." I said with a happy nod toward him.

Once again, silence fell upon us for another twenty minutes before we strolled past a house near the road, Ashton suddenly making excited sounds.

"What do yah see boy?" I asked in a mocking tone which caused his face to flatten for a second before he pointed toward the porch to the house.

I looked in that direction where I quickly spotted the objects that had caught his attention. "There's like five bikes over there! Wanna check em' out to see if they're rideable? It'd make us cover a lot more ground if they're in good condition."

"I don't see why not." I answered before I bagged the mapping supplies. The two of us then jogged to the porch, where Ashton knelt down on a knee to carefully inspect the condition of the bikes that were chained to the fencepost. "Finally we've found some of these. It’s about time too, it’s like bikes were banned in the town before The Drop or something; it’s ridiculous how we haven’t found any there."

Receiving only a simple shrug in response, I walked up to the house's large front window and peered inside. I covered the sides of my vision with my hands to block out the glare, trying to properly assess if there was anything of value at first glance.

"A little rusted, and the tires need to be pumped, but that's all that appears to be needed to make these bikes mobile," Ashton announced, his diagnosis making me smile lightly.

"Now, where to find a pump?"

Ashton walked over to the far side of the porch before peeking over and looking toward the backside of the house. "Typically, people would store stuff like that in their garage so we might as well look there. Now how to get in, I wonder..."

He suddenly heard a large pane of glass shatter, the man turning around in a split second where he saw me place down a tire iron I had found by the bikes. "This looks like a perfectly safe entrance."

"You scared the fuck out of me!" He pointed as he placed a hand on his racing heart.

"I know, it was funny." I said with the smile of a jackass. After he gave me a funny look, I stepped over the window sill and entered the dusty house where I saw used cans of food, empty soda cans, and empty water bottles scattered throughout the building. "It appears someone's been here before... maybe a few more than one." I quietly said my observation.

As Ashton entered the house, he asked. "Think it's worth looking through?"

"Negative, let's just see if there's a pump in the garage."

"Yes sir." He simply responded before the both of us advanced to find the entrance to the garage.

"No fucking way!" I said in a tone of complete disbelief when we entered the garage.

"What, what is it?" Ashton asked as I excitedly walked up to the car in the garage where I couldn’t help myself but drape one of my hands across the fender.

"This is the model I was fucking talking about earlier!" I exclaimed as his face adopted his own version of disbelief.

"Quit bullshitting..." He said, which was fair. I liked fuckin' around with him but he knew I couldn't fake the enthusiasm I was giving off.

"I'm not bullshitting!" I exclaimed once more as I got to the front of the car, extremely curious to see what was under the frunk. Of course, there wasn’t an engine or parts I could see since it was a compartment for cargo, but I’d still be able to tell certain things by looking it over. So it didn’t take me long to quickly inspect it, ecstatic about what I laid my eyes upon. "It's an older version of the model by a year or so, but this car is still extremely good." I revealed as Ashton walked up beside me, the man taking a glance into the empty frunk.

"How can you tell?"

"In the model that was starting to get released before The Drop happened, they didn't have this part near the fender, the headlights were slightly modified, this thing was smaller, and many other things, though it’s mostly within the car and under its skin, so to say... Maybe we'll find the last version someday, but this is amazing! ...It’s just kinda sad that these models didn’t get to see their full potential of being upgraded and optimized."

"What's the range on it?" Ashton asked as he started looking around the garage for the desired pump. Though I didn't help him look since I was too distracted by inspecting other areas of the vehicle, trying to see if there was any damage to it. As far as I could tell, it was in pristine condition. As my eyes continued scanning over it, it truly didn't seem real to find two modes of transportation in the same building; It made me wonder if this was a simulation of some sort... That's crazy talk.

"This was a more affordable model when it was released, meaning the most expensive part of the car, the battery, was lowered in amount to make it cheaper. Though batteries were getting extremely cheap due to predictable cost curve declines." I shivered in delight as I thought about the battery technology the car utilized. "It’s around three hundred miles in one charge, taking around eight minutes to charge, if you had used one of the superchargers when those were operational."

"Damn, three hundred? And that's lowering the amount of batteries? How does that make any sense?"

"Oh yeah, the batteries in this thing are unreal - they were way, way ahead of the game when it came to... well, anything, including literally everything else in this vehicle. It was projected that those batteries would become so much cheaper than traditional batteries even though they're much better in every way. They were almost there too, but then The Drop happened."

"Hm. A shame we didn't get to see it play out."

I lightly sighed. "Yeah, it would've been amazing..." When I stopped inspecting the exterior, I was at the trunk by the car’s charging port. On the wall, there was a gizmo that would be hooked up to the grid which is where the car got the electricity from. So it was great to see that charging the car would be much easier than I originally thought. “I wonder why this house doesn’t have solar panels. I guess they could only afford the car.”

"Found a pump, it's kind of buried though." He called out from the other side of the large garage. I was still too focused on the car before I heard an avalanche of boxes crash to the ground.

I sprung to my feet before seeing him still take a couple steps back while he chuckled. "You alright?"

"Yep, everything's good, just made a little mess."

"Clearly." I replied with a friendly roll of my eyes before kneeling back down to feel the tire pressure of the vehicle.

"You gonna make out with it yet? I promise I won't tell Stacy." He teased with a giggle.

"Nah, I'll pass on that." I said as I got back up on my feet after feeling that the tires would have to be pumped too. "Even though it's a really beautiful piece of tech, Stacy's the only thing I'll kiss; sorry to get your hopes up Ashton about me possibly kissing you eventually." I said with a wink.

"Aw c'mon, not even one?" He surprisingly asked, the want to blush creeping up on my face but I culled that feeling; I was strong enough to repel Ashton's remark!

"...Nah, I was gonna make you beg, but I'd feel uncomfortable if I did." I pointed out which caused Ashton to let a breath he had been holding go.

"Good riddance, I was scared that that might happen..."

When we returned to the porch, I used the tire iron to smash the lock that was keeping the bikes chained to the fence. Ashton then grabbed a couple of the bikes and leaned them against the wall before kneeling down and uncapping both of the tires on one of the bikes, preparing them to be filled with air.

"Can you hand me the pump please?" He politely asked as he pointed to my right where it was stationed.

"Sure thing." I replied before swiftly handing it to him. It took him about five minutes to pump up the both of them and make sure that the tires were nice and stiff.

"That should do'er. Time to get back on the road?" He offered as I adjusted the seat on the bike that I had chosen. It was just a simple black one while Ashton took the orange one.

"Yeah, sure... Just gotta re-learn how to ride a bike real quick." I said as he walked his bike down the porch stairs with me following shortly afterward. I didn't waste any time mounting the bike where I almost lost my balance and ate shit in the first minute. "Yep, forgot about the whole balance thing..."

"This feels natural." Ashton said as he started flawlessly going around in large circles in the road, "When was the last time you rode a bike, Hunter?"

"Hell, I don't know... Maybe five years ago? Something like that." I answered as I started using the pedals before shakily starting to inch forward at a snail's pace. "Just give me a few minutes to... to learn how to do this again."

And so he patiently waited for the next five or so minutes as I started picking up some more speed and became more confident. "There you go, you got it. Now, let's make up some ground."

"I just realized I'm not gonna be able to move and draw on the map." I announced as I looked down at the watch as the two of us started to pick up some speed.

"Oh well, we've been going straight for a while. It should be fine until we turn off somewhere, and when that happens, then we can just stop for a bit and let you update the map."

"Sounds like a plan."

As we started coasting down the road at a swift pace, at least when compared to walking, I started to get hungry, not for food, but to snuggle with Stacy. I tried keeping my mind off the want, but I failed quite easily since there was a prolonged silence between Ashton and I. The thought of feeling her smooth skin pressing against mine was just so nice... Man, I really am addicted to snuggling, aren't I?

"It's been almost three hours, we should start heading back in a few minutes." I announced which Ashton easily digested. And when we turned finally around and started our way back to the convergence point, we started pondering if Kostas and Trinity were successful in the ulterior goal of the day.

"They probably got nothing important." Ashton commented a few minutes after we started retreating back.

"Nothing at all?" I asked, getting a cocky and confident 'yep' in response. "Wanna bet?" I asked. No rhyme or reason to it, just wanted to take something from him if I were to make the right call.

"Hm... define what's 'important' first."

"Thing of interest, essentially, something that'd turn heads." I simply explained.

"Hmm..." He trailed off, thinking about it longer, a struggle within his mind clearly playing out. "What do you wanna bet?"

"If you win, you get all my alcohol for a month. And if I win, I get all your alcohol for a month."

"Damn, that is really tempting..."

"Alright fine, I'll water it down some, all the scotch for a month."

Reluctantly, he agreed.

When we got to the divergent point, we noticed that we were an entire hour early, almost two actually, and we didn't know what to do to pass the time.

"We can play truth or-."

"Fuck off." I immediately replied. He chuckled at that before I stood up from the steps of the corner house before walking up to its porch and taking my backpack off where I then sat down on a porch swing. I took out a fresh sheet of paper to start doodling for a while.

"Seriously? You doodle maps and graphs? You really are such a friggin' nerd, I thought Stacy was just saying that to tease you." Ashton said as he looked down at the paper, seeing the great Human Empire fight for their lives against the undead hordes of mind controlled zombies by their king. Map-wise of course; I wasn't an artist like Stacy. But hey, maybe I could ask her to draw some mystical stuff like that? That'd be so amazing to see.

I tugged the piece of paper away in hopes to make his eyes unable to read or see it. "Yeah, it's what I like to do, okay?"

I accidentally sounded really rude there. "Shit Hunter, I'm sorry… again. I didn't mean to offend, I think it's actually really cool that you do that."

I sighed. "It's fine, I didn't mean to sound pissy like that, I just... I was made fun of in school for being the 'quiet kid' and drawing stuff like this, they said it was weird and other stuff like that."

"Oh. Now I'm really sorry... What was there to make fun of? That you like mapmaking? That's a pretty good North America right there. In fact, I'd be a little envious of someone who could visualize a map of that scale like that." He said with the snap of his fingers.

"It's all good, you didn't know."

With that being said, he turned back around as I focused back on continuing the plot of this fictional world.

"Ah, here they come. They're quite early comin' back." Ashton announced, those words causing me to pack up the materials I was using, "Why are they running though?" When he asked that, a little figurative exclamation point appeared above my head. "...And where's Kostas?" After he asked that, we heard the faint voice of Trinity yelling something at us which caused the exclamation point to grow ten times in size.

"Hunter! Ashton! We need your-your help, there's- someone that attacked us!"

Her voice was still rather faint since she was quite far away still, though at her words, a large amount of adrenaline harshly invaded my system which caused me to instantly slip my backpack on, sprint to the bike, and haul ass on it. Ashton was slower to do so but he followed my lead as we tried closing the distance between us and Trinity ASAP. As we got closer to her, it became clearer by the second that her clothes were stained in red, her shirt obviously not being in that condition from before we left the divergence point.

"What happened!?" I called when she was about twenty meters away where she collapsed onto the ground, the woman panting, sweating profusely, out of breath, and exhausted.

"K-Kostas- attacked- stranger-." She said, her words rushed and breathless as I closed the final few meters between us. I stopped in front of her, kicking the kickstand out of the bike so it wouldn't fall, then dismounted to stand by her side, concern etched on my face.

"What, what about him, is he alright?" I quickly asked, suppressing the thought of him being dead. But it was hard because... where was he?

"Yes- well- he's hurt- but he's fine, at least- not dead." She continued heavily panting as Ashton rolled up behind me, her words significantly calming me down, though I was still quite alarmed.

"Then what's going on? Why is there so much blood on you?" I swiftly asked, trying to receive the information as fast as possible.

Her rate of breath was slowing down but it was still quite fast. "There was a house... on the side of the road and... and we thought about looking through it quickly... only on the trip back though... there was someone fuckin’ in there. When Kostas and that person saw each other... they just fuckin’ froze, like... like they were waiting to see if one or the other was gonna attack. And I guess any small... any small fuckin’ movement they made made them overreact and it caused a fuckin’ fight."

"A misunderstanding, maybe?" I thought when Trinity reinvigorated her energy.

"Kostas got a couple slices on his arm but he- he was able to subdue the person and knock them out."

I looked to Ashton, then to his back tire. "Your bike has pegs." I looked down to Trinity. "Trinity, get on his pegs and tell us where to go." I got up and remounted my ‘new’ bike.

She weakly nodded before tiredly getting to her feet as she mounted the pegs. "Straight". She directed, the directions instantly registering in my head, taking off to try getting up to speed as fast as I could.

Trinity didn't like riding the pegs and to be fair, I didn't either, but this situation was dire which meant Ashton had to build speed up slowly so as to not throw her off since she was already weak and not used to standing on pegs. But thankfully in this situation, she was a quick learner.

"Why'd Kostas stay back there anyways?" I asked, yelling back as we sped to our unknown destination.

"He didn't want to kill anyone if he didn't have to, so he stayed back with them to make sure their injuries wouldn't kill them!"

"I mean, I guess that makes sense... Is he strong enough to be severely injured and hold someone down though? I'm not sure how I feel about this." I thought, saving small talk for later.

We twisted and turned down a few curving and branching roads until we blitzed up to a medium-sized house off the side of the road. Trinity had pointed it out ahead of time, so I quickly slipped off the bike, not caring where it went, and ran up the stairs to the front entrance.

"Kostas!" I blindly yelled out, quickly scanning the large living, not caring about the little details as I briskly walked forward into a kitchen.

"Over here!" I heard him somewhat weakly call out.

I walked back out of the kitchen and took a right into a hallway that had a few doorways, none of them being opened. I jogged down the hallway and took the only direction available, another right. There greeted me with an open door at the end of the corridor, revealing a bathroom with a mess of blood splotched about. There was blood on the sink, blood on the floor, in the tub even, where Kostas sat on the toilet while pressing a large bloody cloth on his forearm, and what surprised me the most was... another person, awake and well aware of what was going on, their back leaning against the tub as they held a cloth of their own to their side.

The unknown woman gave me somewhat of a petrified look as I slowly approached them.

"...Hi."

Chapter 20: A Misunderstanding

Chapter Text

Kostas looked paler than usual, but not as pale as the woman did. Well, she was an all around mess, her long black hair was covering some of her face, her clothes were saturated with blood, and her face had a couple of fresh scratches on it that I assumed were made from the scuffle that she and Kostas had. It was then that I realized the race of the woman, the woman being an East Asian.

"...What the hell happened here?" I asked in somewhat of a harsh tone which caused the woman to flinch just a tad at the sudden boom of my voice.

"Etsu, meet Hunter, the leader I was telling you about." Kostas said as he looked before slowly looking toward me. "Hunter, Etsu." He... I guess formally introduced me to her. "I like her, she's got a warrior's spirit."

I had a very confused look plastered on my face as I unslung my backpack. "...Alright then. Do you guys need stitched up?"

After I asked that, Kostas lifted his cloth up which revealed two horrible looking, deep, leaking, inflamed, cuts nearly pulsing from pain. "Just a bit." He said with a laugh, powering through the pain. "The pain's starting to really kick in now."

"Is Kostas alright!?" I heard Ashton ask while he hurried through the house as he tried to find where we were.

"Takin' it like a champ!" I called out as I began taking out some medical supplies. I took out some peroxide, cotton balls, stitching materials and equipment, and some painkillers. "You're gonna wanna take these for the long run." I advised as I took a couple of capsules out and handed them to him. As Ashton and Trinity made their way from around the corner, he denied them.

"Please, focus on her first, I cut her in a much worse area." Kostas asked as he pointed down to Etsu who looked up with fear still evident in her eyes.

"Holy shit..." Ashton quietly said as they stayed back.

It was then that I realized the small puddle of blood that was forming around her, primarily due to the cloth not doing much to keep the blood in. How didn't I notice it before!? Suddenly, my caring instincts kicked in. I didn't even know this woman, the only thing being is that she hurt a friend, yet I cared about her.

"You're... h-huge." She pointed out as I finally noticed the small accent she had. It wasn't a thick accent, but it was still noticeable.

"We'll focus on that later- why aren't you laying on your back?" I asked, the woman looking down to her side as she continued leaking life giving fluid.

"I... didn't quite think a-about it. I was too c-caught up in... the shock of this all." She weakly replied before I spun around.

"Find me a bedroom to lay her in, take the blankets and pillows off, and make sure I have enough room to help her," I commanded, my two uninjured group members quickly complying with my demand. I turned back around and got on one knee, feeling some blood soak into my pants. Etsu flinched slightly as I did so. "May I please lift the cloth up a bit so I know what I'm about to deal with?" I gently asked, my voice calm and reassuring.

She stayed still for a couple of seconds before she shakily nodded her head. My hand then gently took the cloth out of her hand before starting to slowly ltake it away from her, something that revealed a large and deep gash on her side. She suddenly hissed and reeled in pain before I set the cloth back down to try to stop her from losing as much blood as possible.

"Etsu, this is going to suck more than all the I've imagined myself sucking other people combined. I just need you to trust that I'm going to stitch your side up so you won't bleed out and die, alright?" Why I chose to use that analogy, I don't fuckin' know. It’s just what came to mind in this stressful situation while also forgetting that she didn't even know who I was.

"This room's ready!" I heard Trinity call out.

"Alright, I'm gonna lift up and carry you over there, is that okay?"

She gave me a scared nod. Not quite the warrior type that Kostas claimed... Though I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and just say she was broken at that point. Between being in pain, bleeding out, and now in a house with four strangers in the world of loss, I'm sure that’d wear down a lot on the mental state of... well, pretty much anyone, I'd say.

Anyways, that's besides the point. After I received her permission to lift her up, I gently wrapped my arm around the back of her torso and under her knees. She let out a small squeak of pain as her weight made itself known a couple of seconds later. She wasn't overweight by any means; she appeared to have a completely normal body weight. It was just that I was still quite weak. However, I had been gaining some muscle mass over the past couple of months, almost ten pounds, as a matter of fact.

But even then, it was a struggle to lift someone who I had guessed weighed around a hundred and fifty pounds over the distance of around ten meters into the room that Trinity called me over to.

"Tear those curtains down." I asked, Ashton instantly doing so which let the sun's light in which had the effect of making me able to actually see what I was doing as I gently placed Etsu on the barren bed. "Trinity, retrieve all the stuff I need to stitch Etsu up with." Trinity darted to the bathroom before swiftly running back and setting the supplies in a spot I could easily reach over to.

"Have you… y’know, done this before?" Etsu asked with a stutter as I peeled the cloth off which properly revealed to me just how gnarled her wound really was.

"A couple of times, yes. And one of them, funnily enough, was also helping a scared and hurt girl, though their injury wasn't... as bad at this." I answered as I soaked a cotton ball with peroxide.

"What about the o-other time?"

"Woman, you are dying! Now shouldn't be the time to play twenty questions!" I wanted to say but answered her question anyway. "My own face. Now, are you gonna attack me once I try helping you?" She gave me an unsure look. When she was still thinking about it, I needed a quick answer A-S-A-P,, so I decided for her. "Ashton, Trinity, hold her arms and legs down so she won't hit me." I ordered which made her look surprised as my cronies swiftly held her limbs down.

"Wait-." She said as she tried escaping their grasp.

"Woman, I am trying to save your life. It's either this or you die here within the hour." I interrupted her plea. Now, I didn't know that was true, I just needed her to shut up and stop moving so there wouldn't be a possibility of it coming true. Her struggles stopped after my words, for the most part at least.

I ripped her tattered shirt off, the woman gulping hard and looking away. Thankfully, she had a bra on for all of our sakes. After she gulped, I glanced at Ashton's and Trinity's eyes for a brief second. I sighed. "This is not how I wanted to spend my first day of spring, what an eventful damn day..." I muttered as I applied the soaked cotton ball around the major wound but not into the wound itself. That alone started causing her to kick and scream.

She passed out halfway through the operation. It alarmed me, but after making sure she was still alive and just passed out due to the pain, I continued with ease to stitch her side up. Truth be told, it was better that way.

"Ashton, get me some clean towels and Trinity, check on Kostas." I commanded halfway through the stitching, their hands no longer being needed to hold anything down. Of course, my little scouts did as they were told. To be honest... it felt... a little natural to command them around. Is that bad to say? As long as they were fine with doing what was told, then it was all good. I don't know, I don't mean it in a demeaning way it just... was cool to be able to think quickly in a tense situation.

"Here you are." Ashton said as he placed a couple of clean towels by my other medical supplies.

As I finished the last few stitches on her side, I quietly sighed. "I never would've expected to be doing this at eighteen. I'm glad I let Olivia teach me how to improve my stitching skills…"

After mumbling about a whole other set of random things and when I was done stitching, I used the towels to swiftly dry my hands off. I inspected my work before giving it a nod of approval. "Olivia could've made it better, but there was no way for her to do it..." I told myself as I looked at the stitches for a few more seconds. The incision was at least four inches long. Thankfully, the knife that Kostas used mostly sliced her instead of stabbed, though it still delved into her pretty deeply. Regardless, the bleeding stopped for the most part.

I took the medical supplies in my arms and made my way into the bathroom. "Keep a close eye on Etsu, make sure she doesn't stop breathing or her heart stops beating, yell for me if that happens." I said to Trinity.

As I set the medical supplies on the sink, Kostas chuckled which kind of pissed me off I'll admit. But then I shrugged it off, maybe it was just a nervous laugh people do in tense situations, I don't know.

"Lay your left arm across the sink." I told Kostas, the man complying with ease. I removed the cloth from his arm and saw that most of the bleeding had stopped, but stitches would have to be implemented for it to heal properly. "Wanna bite down on anything or...?"

He sighed but shook his head. "Let's just get this over with."

To help pass the time, I started asking him some questions. "So, how the hell did this happen?" I asked, wanting to know more details about the quickened story that Trinity had told me.

He grit his teeth as he contained a yell. "Can we do the questions later!?" Fair enough. When the procedure was over about fifteen minutes later, I cleaned the wound again and wrapped his arm tightly in a bandage made of cloth. "How... the fuck did you stitch your own face shut?"

I lightly sighed as I wiped some more blood off my hands in a ruined towel. When I was done with it, my hands were still tinted pink. I kept my feeling of being disturbed suppressed. "I knew I'd've died if I didn't." I simply answered as Kostas held his arm close to his chest. "Purely relied on instinct of course." He didn't seem that satisfied but whatever. "Now, what the hell happened here?"

It was his turn to take a heavy sigh. It took him a few minutes of calming down before he started answering my question. "Trinity and I decided to look through here to see if there was anything worth it. This is the only building on our trip that could possibly have some things that would be nice to have. As we were... looking through the kitchen, we thought we heard something move in that hallway. We were scared, we thought it might've been an animal but... not a human. I took out my knife and went down the hallway and kept Trinity behind me. Then we heard a footstep in one of the rooms." He stopped to chuckle. "I opened the door and there she was, not even a meter away, with a knife of her own. We looked at each other for a couple of... still seconds before I thought I saw her jump at me."

"And then you guys proceeded to fight, yeah?" I asked him, Kostas giving me a confirming nod.

"I don't think it lasted even ten seconds. The both of us got our stabs in before I ran, picked her up, and slammed her into a wall... If you go in that room, you'll see the imprint on the drywall. It knocked her out for a while."

"I'm confused... How did you go from nearly killing each other to sitting here in the bathroom all buddy-buddy?"

"Easy. I picked her up and put her in the tub and then I helped the bleeding slow down. After the fight, I realized that she had a look of fear on her face... I felt bad, she attacked because she felt like she needed to." So I guess that forgives her actions... "When she woke back up, she was extremely scared, though I calmed her down after a couple of minutes. It was then we finally started to talk and we told each other why we attacked each other. She had her weapon out because she heard people in the place she was in and she attacked me because she thought she saw me move, a bigger man holding a knife who trapped her in a room."

"...Yeah, so a misunderstanding. Damn. What an unfortunate series of events..."

"It's gonna get dark in a couple of hours... When do you think we should get on out of here?" Kostas asked as I took a water bottle out from my backpack, opened it, and dumped some of the liquid on my hands over the basin of the sink so I could get the bloody residue off my hands while I thought about his question. My mind was going a mile a minute it felt like, just trying to think of any scenario to get home that night. I concluded that it wasn't gonna happen, not all of us at least.

"We're gonna have a little meeting!" I called out to the others in Etsu's room. "C'mon." I said to Kostas after I dried my hands off yet again, the sorry man for himself following my footsteps.

"What's the plan?" Ashton asked while he was in a corner, just sitting on top of all the pillows and blankets they had thrown off earlier.

I quickly drew the conclusions of what I was thinking. "First and foremost, what should we do with this woman?" The silence that greeted me afterward wasn't that welcome, but I understood it. "Yeah, same... We have no clue what this woman's capable of, what her intentions might be, or if she's even a loner."

"I don't think she'd try anything, not to harm us at least." Kostas spoke up.

"Why do you say that?"

"Like I said, it was the fear in her eyes. She only attacked because she thought she needed to."

I slowly walked up to the side of the bed and stared closely at her chest to watch her shallow breaths rise up and down. "...I'm just not sure." I admitted, the situation putting a stop to my quick thinking.

"I think we owe her at least a few days of food, a drink, and a fuckin’ apology." Trinity threw her opinion in which took a vote up to two to zero with two undecided.

Ashton sighed. "New group member?" He implied, part of my mind liked that idea, though a large cautionary part didn't like it at all.

I lightly shook my head. "I just don't know, what if she's with others? She might be a bandit or something like that."

"We thought the same with you and look how you turned out." Kostas rebutted with a chuckle.

"You're right but... one of these times, accepting a new member might backfire and get some of us hurt, or even killed. And that's the last thing I want."

"We need more people, right? For our future plans?" Ashton asked, raising a pretty solid point. "I've had a couple of ideas to try to find more people, I was gonna talk to you about them later when it was appropriate, which it’s still not appropriate so I’ll bring it up later. Anyways, accepting her is one more step closer to what you want. To what we all want."

I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "We need to talk to her some more, to try to get a grip on her personality, to see if we can tell if she's lying about the things we'll ask her about, to find out what kind of person she is, and so much more. A part of me likes the idea of inviting her to our home. But it's our one and only home. If it gets compromised by, let's say, a bigger group, who's to say there won't be blood somewhere in that equation?"

"Who's to say there will be blood?" Trinity asked. "I've personally never seen anyone be a fuckin’ deranged animal, not without a reason. I don't think there really are people out there existing just to fuckin’ hurt others. There might be a group of two or up to three, maybe four, who just want to fuck shit up. But bandits, in the long term, wouldn't win against us and I'm pretty sure they'd know that."

I stopped running a hand through my hair. "Probably... We really need to get armed with some good weapons at home, to avoid this problem in the future. I think if we were all armed with at least a handgun, I'd feel safe to bring her back with us. But as it is... I mean, if she is naturally a looter or something across those lines, maybe she'd find it in her heart not to harm or steal from us after a little while being there."

"Is this s-seriously your leader?" Etsu quietly croaked with a chuckle, the woman wincing in pain as her abdomen twitched.

"How are you feeling?" I asked in a toned down voice.

"Like I got stabbed, slammed into a wall, and stitched back up... Weak and t-tired." She answered with a cough. "But no one… y’know, no one has a-answered my question."

"Yes, I'm their leader. There's no shame in looking thoroughly at a situation just trying to find how things can go wrong about a decision you're unsure about."

"Fair." She simply replied. "Want me to be truth- I mean, honest s-so I can gain your trust?"

"...I'd love that but I'm not sure if it'll be that easy."

She chuckled, wincing in pain again. "Stop making me laugh, please." I put both of my hands up in a defensive manner. "You guys are good people, I can tell... Since you f-fixed me up from the dumb mistake that... Kotta and I made, I know you… y’know, aren't gonna kill or hurt, at least, not t-try to hurt me."

"Kostas." The man himself corrected, Etsu not really registering it.

"There's a gun in a bag in the kitchen by the tub- I mean, sink. I'm saying that in hopes f-for... you to trust me, by revealing where my deadliest weapon i-is."

I glanced at Ashton. "Ashton, get your ass up and check it out please, thanks babe." The mood all of a sudden felt much lighter, though it took a hit when Etsu started grunting in pain, clenching her hands, and stretching her legs a bit in reaction to pain. "What's the matter, Etsu?" I asked with concern.

"Random pain-." She answered as she calmed down from the pain-quake.

"Trinity, can you go into the bathroom and get the bottle of painkillers?" I asked, the girl nodding and swiftly retrieving the bottle and handing it to me. "Here, take some of these." I advised as I handed the maximum dose she could have, Etsu swiftly took them and swallowed them immediately.

"Yeah, it checks out." I heard Ashton say as he came in with a backpack while holding a gun in his free hand. He held it by the barrel so he had no chance of accidentally shooting it, which was the right way to go. I walked up to him and extended an arm out toward the weapon where he gracefully handed me it.

I slowly inspected the handgun for a minute or two before turning around to see Etsu who was nervously looking at me. I quickly slipped the clip out of the gun and cocked the top of it back which ejected the bullet that was already in the chamber. But I wasn't able to catch it in time before it fell out of my reach where the bullet clinged to the ground and rolled for a couple of seconds. "I was planning to look cool. Ah well, the Beretta is a basic choice but it gets the job done."

I could see the nervousness in Etsu's eyes slowly die down before I retrieved the lost bullet shortly afterward.

"Is it too early to say she has my trust already?" Trinity asked with a small grin.

"I'd say just a tad. But I will say that this wins a lot of me over. However, it might just be a show to get our trust by exploiting the goodness of our hearts..." I somewhat jokingly said, though the more I thought about it, the more possible it seemed to be. Or maybe I just might be paranoid.

"You're paranoid." Ashton predictably said.

"Uh... Hunter? Even if I wanted to, I'm in no way… y’know, capable of hurting a-any of you for a good couple of weeks at least. I'm sure I'm not even able to walk right now if just l-laying down hurts this much." She explained, almost forgetting my name. Which was true, there was no way she was walking that day, the pain would've been too much for her to handle.

I took a much needed deep breath and glanced at my subjects. "Alright, time to figure out who's going home to tell home base what's conspired today and who's staying here for the night to make sure Etsu doesn't, y'know, die overnight. Man, we haven't even told each other what we've found today yet."

"Does this count as 'something important' for our bet, Hunter?" Ashton asked with some hope in his voice.

I pointed at him. "It sure does buddy." I heard him quietly pout as I put my arm back down. "Anyways, back to the matter at hand. Kostas and Ashton, return back home, use the bikes, tell them the news... Do you think you'll be able to ride a bike with your mangled arm, Kostas?"

He briefly looked down at his injured arm. "...Probably."

"You don't wanna go back and tell everyone yourself?" Ashton curiously asked.

"No, I wanna get to know our new friend over here a little better, for certain future decisions."

"Fair enough. When do you want us to head out?"

"As soon as possible. So get goin'." I said as I gestured my hand in a 'shoo' type of way.

"Any special messages for anyone?" He asked as Kostas left the room.

"N-" I cut myself off, the image of a disappointed Stacy appearing in my mind. "Yes, actually. Tell Stacy that I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight and that I hope she understands. And tell her I'll pay her back."

"Yes sir." He left with a nod, my attention turning back to Etsu who suddenly looked a little worried.

"So... wanna talk?" I asked as I walked toward the corner with all of the blankets and pillows. "Want a pillow?"

"...Sure." She replied before I brought a couple of pillows and blankets over to her. She winced when she put the pillow under her head as I took a spot on the floor.

"Not exactly optimal, the height in which we're gonna talk in, but it'll suffice. So, how're you doing?" I asked in a friendly tone, the mood lightening as I tried giving off friendly energy.

She took a couple of silent seconds to respond. "Honestly? Could be better. But… y’know, I could be w-worse."

"Yeah, you could be dead." I pointed out as I glanced at her wound. "Do you want me to wrap a bandage around your abdomen? I've got enough of it to spare."

"If you wouldn't mind..." She replied, prompting me to get up and retrieve the bandage materials from the bathroom.

"So, why were you in this fuckin’ house when we were here?" I heard Trinity ask as I took the bandages out of my backpack before quickly returning to the makeshift recovery room.

"I, uh… was just staying here for a couple of d-days... Can you hand me my bag after you're done with this, please?" Etsu asked when I got back to the side of her bed before leaning her up, the woman once again wincing quite substantially in pain.

"Yeah, sure... but why?" I asked as I started wrapping a bandage around her midriff, somewhat suspicious of her.

"I want to get a shirt on and I'm thirsty." She plainly answered which seemed obvious in hindsight. When I was done, I leaned her back down and retrieved her desired object before swiftly making my way back to my patient.

I handed her the bag where she swiftly opened it followed by a hand rummaging around struggling to find the needed objects. A thought occurred to me as she did so. "So, why weren't you wearing it when Trinity and Kostas were looking through the place?"

After I asked, she took out a shirt and a water bottle, the woman leaning up on her own which caused her more pain than what she would've experienced if I had helped her. After she donned the new plain shirt, she took a few seconds to down as much water as she could before throwing it aside.

"Last night, I left it in the living- I mean, kitchen because I w-was tired of wearing it. And I thought I didn't need to keep it on me while inside this house… I guess I learned my lesson." She subtly scolded herself. "I was asleep when she and Kostas entered the house, the two instantly awoke me... I was a little… y’know, delirious so I was c-clumsy and loud which is how I a-assume they figured out there was someone in the building with them."

"Would you have used the gun on us if you were wearing your backpack?" Trinity simply asked.

"...I would've taken it out for sure. I might've shot once or t-twice, maybe Kostas' leg if I c-could or just the wall, but I don't know." She answered honestly, gaining a couple of points for me.

"I appreciate the honesty." I told her before taking note of how tired her face looked. At least she was a little darker than before, but she was still really pale. "And on behalf of Kostas and the rest of our group, I'm sorry that this happened to you."

She giggled very lightly but stopped doing so quickly. "It's... It's understandable. I would've said it's fine b-but... this sucks. It was a dumb mistake decided by, y’know, instincts."

After her answer, I quietly sighed as I slowly ran a hand through my hair once again. "I'm gonna need a haircut eventually... I'm just glad that my hair grows very slowly." I thought, feeling the hair that had to have been around five or so inches long. Though it was compact so it didn't look as long as it really was. I lightly shook my head to get my train of thought off that topic since it wasn’t relevant. I then took a spot on the ground since I wanted to know Etsu a little better before most likely reluctantly inviting her over to our pad. I think her bravely handing over her pistol was a great first move but I'm not gonna take that as a guarantee for her not having darker intentions.

"How old are you?" I asked her, wanting to start some normal conversation.

"Probably twenty-six by now. You?"

Etsu was quite surprised when I revealed my age to her, the woman having expected me to be much older if I was the leader of a group. Which was a fair assumption, I'd assume it as well. After her initial shock, she started asking me about how I was the group leader and why the others obeyed the words I told them to do. I told her a shortened version of how I built up friendships and slowly took the lead before it was handed over to me.

After around twenty minutes of conversation, she became so tired that she excused herself to sleep. That marked the beginning of Trinity and me keeping a close eye on her, making sure she didn't stop breathing. I wasn't too sure if I could help her in a situation like, if the worst occurred, but I would definitely try my best to keep her alive.

Around twenty minutes passed of her sleeping before the silence was broken. "How long are we gonna stay here in this shithole?" Trinity quietly asked as she sat down on the floor half a meter away from me.

"At least through the night. We'll see if she can walk tomorrow, but I highly doubt that."

"Do you think we should take her ass back to base?"

I lightly sighed at her question. "I think that we need to talk to the others about it. Make it a vote, like y'all did with Stacy and I, something like that."

"Wouldn't that require for all of us to discuss it as a group, meaning we'd all either have to fuckin’ come here or leave her alone?"

"Not particularly... When Ashton comes back, I'll leave you two here and I’ll go back to discuss with the others about what the dilemma is. That’s if you'd be alright with that."

"Yeah, it'd be alright. Even though I didn't bring enough food for staying out for a couple of days, I can ration this shit out until I get back home."

With that topic being discussed and clarified, we fell silent, though only for a few minutes before I went to get my backpack, finally bringing it into the room. I just took out some paper and started writing a plethora of random things on it. Like questions to ask Etsu, some small doodles, what I'll do to Stacy when I get back, stuff like that.

As the sun set and I grew more weary, I started growing... sad. I must've been expressing it too since Trinity spoke up about it.

"Are you alright, Hunter?"

I set the pencil down as I looked out the window where I saw the darkening sky begin to be speckled with stars, serving as a window toward the vast void of galactic space. "I just... I haven't slept without holding Stacy in months. I got so used to it that it's now how I naturally sleep. That feeling completes me, it’s one of the nicest feelings to feel..."

I looked back at Trinity who was slowly nodding at my words. "Shit, I get what you mean... While I'm not getting sad that Charlotte isn't here right now, I'd definitely prefer it."

"...Am I being clingy with Stacy?" I asked, wanting a third opinion.

She was a little shocked at my question. Which is understandable, I think it'd be a tad strange if someone asked me that, the question being one you have to answer as if you were walking on eggshells. At least, that's how I view it. "Hm... I mean, you two are almost constantly together just fuckin’ hugging, cuddling, and shit like that, right?" I nodded. "As long as it doesn't get in the way of anything and both of you enjoy how you’re almost constantly with each other, then being 'clingy' isn't a bad thing, even if you are."

Which is exactly what I thought, though hearing her say it culled any feeling of uncertainty, well, most of it since I should hear from others, probably. Hearing someone answer with a mostly unbiased opinion outside of my relationship was pretty nice since I was never really the one to trust my bias without getting some sort of approval through the eyes of many different people. But since people these days were so limited in number, just one was enough to be able to sway my mind into trusting my bias almost entirely.

When it was well into the night and Trinity had fallen asleep, I rested against one of the corners in the room, just trying to fall asleep without my small, warm, and adorable Stacy. It was extremely difficult. It didn't help that there was a person who might suddenly die in the middle of the night too so I never got more than thirty minutes of sleep before I woke up. I checked Etsu's breathing every time I awoke just to make sure she wasn't dead before going back to the corner to sleep for another thirty minutes. It was a shitty night.

I awoke for a final time when I heard the front door to the house open where I realized that the sun had risen and it was now early in the morning. I got up and stretched before walking up to Etsu to once again check on her breathing. Surprisingly, she was still asleep which was a tad alarming, but it was kind of understandable since she had lost a lot of blood so she'd definitely feel more weak and tired than usual. It'd take a few weeks for her to replenish all the blood that she had lost, which made me think; maybe we can keep her in one of the rooms in our house as she recovers? Maybe build up a positive relationship during that? It was definitely plausible.

Anyways, one of the people who entered the house was expectantly Ashton, though what wasn't expected was that Kai also walked into the room. When they did, Trinity woke up and jumped a tad since she didn't expect to wake up with our friends in the room due to how it was quite early in the morning. But I like to think the more likely reason she jumped is because she saw Kai's terrifying face.

"What's up?" I simply asked them as I walked up to them.

Ashton gave me the rundown. "I told them all what happened with Kostas' help. They were shocked and worried but we were able to get across that it was all a misunderstanding. Olivia wants to see her and Stacy was really disappointed when I told her you weren't coming home last night, though she did understand."

"Olivia wants to see her? Where is she?" I asked, taking another step forward, trying to see in the hallway to find her.

"Still at home. She set her room in a way for her to be put there with ease... Though there's a couple problems with getting Etsu to the base." He answered.

I looked back toward Etsu, the woman still in a deep sleep. "...Like carrying her that entire distance back." I muttered. "And also, y'know, taking her there to begin with."

"That's why I'm here, to help carry her back, though I'll need your help doing it." Kai announced as he walked up to the slumbering lady. "Shouldn't be as bad as a buck..."

I deeply sighed before making an executive decision about our new friend. And that was to roll the dice and make a leap of faith. "I'll try to help you as best as I can but... it's gonna be really difficult." I said as I walked to the opposite side of the bed where Kai was. "Trinity, forget about what we discussed last night, take her bag back home, and put it in Olivia's room." I ordered as I hefted Etsu's bag up and handed it to Trinity.

"You're alright with taking Etsu back?" Trinity asked, a little shocked at my executive commands.

"Not a hundred percent. But I've got a good internal detector when it comes to people and I haven't detected anything from Etsu thus far... Though I'm definitely gonna interrogate her later about many things while at our place." I said as I looked down at Etsu. "Let's not waste anymore time. You and Ashton, return back, tell them we're gonna carry her, and make sure Olivia has everything prepared for Etsu’s arrival."

They nodded before Trinity equipped her backpack and carried the other one out which reminded me to do the same with my backpack.

When I returned to Etsu's side, I hesitantly put a hand on her chest before lightly shaking her. I don't know what it was about the situation that caused a spike of stress to pierce me, but it did. Maybe I was afraid of her not waking up or attacking us again. Those thoughts were ejected from my mind when she woke up with a harsh jolt. She looked at me with a hint of fear in her eyes, her eyes glancing at Kai which caused even more fear to be expressed.

"Good morning, I'm Kai." He gently introduced himself with a small wave.

She quietly said something in a foreign language. "Is that Vietnamese?" I asked, Etsu looking slightly surprised at my guess. She asked me something in the language, but even though I didn't understand a word of it, I understood what she was asking. "No, I don't speak Vietnamese, just took a good guess."

After that was established, we explained to her that we were gonna take her to a doctor where she'd get some better treatment. As good as it can get at least in a world with no infrastructure. Etsu didn't look like she liked that idea due to all three of us knowing that she was gonna experience a great amount of pain due to how Kai and I planned on swapping her between us, having a few miles of ground to walk before we reached our base.

When we picked her up, we realized just how sensitive her wound was due to how the woman tried suppressing her screams while her abdomen curled as a result of lifting her up like a bride. "Lift her shirt up a bit... Do it, trust me." I asked Kai who was a little shocked at my order before his hands nervously did so. The wound was extremely bruised which sort of explained why she had felt the magnitude of pain she had just felt. I lightly shook my head. "Let's get this done and over with as soon as possible… And let’s try to be as careful with her so we don’t rip her stitch open."

About halfway back, I announced how far away we were, Etsu hopelessly groaning, the woman having let out a few tears of pain. I felt really bad for her through the entire trip, Kai and I truly despised how we indirectly tortured her. By the time we got home, we were both sweaty despite the cool air and our arms were exhausted while we panted. And when I say 'we', I mean just me. I really have to work out more and gain some respectable muscle mass. At least I was able to push myself as much as I could where I was successful in doing so.

Anyway, Kai was the one to bring her into the house while I opened the door for him before following him up the stairs and into Olivia's room who was patiently waiting for us. Get it? Because... Yeah, that's fucked up.

When Olivia saw us, she sprung to her feet and directed Kai to gently set her on the bed where Olivia started to check her vitals and listen to how strong her heartbeat was. I stayed in the doorway as I watched her work, Kai then slowly backing up and asking for me to move out of the way to let him out.

"Etsu, this is Olivia, the doctor. She's gonna see what she can do about this situation... and probably administer some strong painkillers." I explained to Etsu who nervously watched Olivia do her thing. When Olivia was done, she walked to her desk and quickly grabbed a tube, something that looked like an IV bag, and a syringe.

"I'm going to administer some morphine," Olivia stated before hooking everything up properly. She quickly cleaned a spot on Etsu's arm with an alcohol swab she pulled out of her pocket before injecting her with the substance using an IV bag-like contraption. It wasn't quite like the morphine we all knew; it was a different type that I had forgotten the name of. Nonetheless, it worked just as effectively, and Etsu's pain subsided within a few minutes.

I continued to watch as I waited for Olivia to call on me, just in case she needed help for something, before she lifted Etsu's shirt up, undid the bandage, and started pressing around her abdomen. She was listening in certain areas with a stethoscope, trying to see if there was any internal bleeding. "A little loose and sloppy, but it's a good stitch job for an amateur..." Olivia quietly said after she inspected Etsu's fresh stitch. I thought that it was a little strange that she had given her the morphine before even inspecting the wound for herself. Guess she trusted my stitching more than I thought she would.

After ten minutes or so, Olivia took the stethoscope out of her ears. “Any news, doc?” I asked, hoping for the best.

"As far as I'm able to tell, you're all good internally... But this injury is gonna take a few days to heal at the very least." Etsu stayed silent after Olivia's diagnosis. "The best way for that to happen is to stay put and to try to sleep as much as you can."

"...I don't have much food in my b-bag. How am I supposed to get more when it… y’know, when it runs out?" Etsu asked as Olivia retightened the bandages around her belly.

"You won't have to." I answered for Olivia. "You're now a guest in our home because of the fault of one of our members. We owe it to you to help you until you're fully healed, at the very least."

"...It doesn't feel right." She replied as Olivia pulled her shirt down to cover up her belly.

"You're simply gonna have to deal with it." I plainly said with a shrug. "You're in no condition to move as carrying you over here has shown us. We don't mind giving some food to you, a person who's deeply in need of help. We're good on the food situation and it'll most likely get even better as it warms up." Etsu looked somewhat defeated. "Really, I mean it. Hell, after what we did to you, this is the least we can do. I feel like we have to atone for what we did which only started with getting you to a doctor and receiving those painkillers."

She sighed as she accepted the reality that she was thrust into. "What are you p-planning to do with me?"

"I plan to get to know you a bit better. I'm gonna offer you something in a couple of days, depending on a lot of things we're gonna talk about." I walked up to her and looked down before changing the subject. "This will be your only warning," I said in a firm but gentle tone and continued with it. "and I will make it as clear as I can humanly make it. If you inflict harm on someone, threaten anything, or steal from us, it will be the last mistake you make." She lightly gulped in fear as she nodded, the woman understanding my words. Then just like that, my tone returned to normal. "Now, I'd like to talk with you more, but I've got something to do. Don't make me regret taking you here."

With that being said, I turned around and headed toward the hallway, though I stopped in the doorway as a thought occurred to me. "If you need any help any time soon, I'll be in my room, though you should get Charlotte or Trinity to help you with Etsu since I think they'd be the best pick in this scenario."

With a nod from Olivia, I left the room before making my way to my bedroom. I smiled when I found a still sleeping Stacy all alone on our bed. I quietly unslung my backpack and set it on the floor before slipping my shoes off and proceeded to dash to our bed. I noticed that she was naked, her exposed top half not being covered by the blanket.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

Thankfully, she was rolled onto her side which caused a feeling of to start filling my mind before I began getting aroused. I stripped out of my clothes and gently slipped under her blanket before scooting close to her where my arms wrapped around her torso which allowed me to gently pull against my chest. I then put my nose in the crook of her neck as the feeling of snuggling invaded my mind just as my phallus brushed up against the back of her legs.

At my actions, she stirred awake while I softly kissed her neck, a blush immediately emerging on her cheeks as she realized what was happening. She slightly turned to me where a soft smile then appeared on her lips when we made eye contact.

"Good morning, my love..." I greeted as I felt her legs subtly separate which allowed my fully erect cock to be in between her inner thighs.

"I missed you..." She said with a raspy voice while her legs delicately closed which minutely squeezed my shaft, any sort of weariness within her mind quickly escaping her mind over the next few moments.

"I missed you too. It was so difficult sleeping without holding you." I said while eskimo kissing her.

"Yeah, it was hard for me to go to sleep without being held by you." She replied while she put a hand between her legs, her soft fingers gingerly wrapping around the head of my shaft which made me quietly grunt. "You said we were gonna snuggle yesterday, but you didn't come back..."

As her fingers slowly stimulated me, my sense of lust started to heavily cloud my mind. I took a deep breath and slowly let it go. "I know, I know, and I'm sorry, something came up... But I'll make it up to you today, if you want."

She lightly gulped in anticipation while one of my hands on her abdomen draped up her skin to start to lovingly massage a tit of hers which delicately pinched the perked nipple every now and then. "Yes, I'd like that..."

With that being said, I softly kissed her, the kiss swiftly picking up in intensity as I thrusted into her hand. After I did that, we stayed in the kiss for a couple of minutes which lasted as long as it did for the primary reason of letting her wake up even further. After those minutes were up, she led my tip up into her moist heat, the girl nearly dripping with desire while silently begging for me to pound the horniness out of her, something I was all too willing to comply with.

Though she was a tease. She didn't insert me into her hot hole for a couple of more minutes since she had some fun by slowly sliding my glans up and down between her labia which only caused herself to get even more impatient and wet at the delayed stimuli.

When she finally inserted the tip into her tight and slick cunt, I slowly pushed myself into her. She broke the kiss to say, "F-Fuck the fuck out of m-me."

Her words exhilarated me, my heart skipping a beat at how much I wanted to pound her little slit in that moment, the little girl whimpering her moans as my phallus slowly began rubbing her sensitive insides. I kissed her again when my glans reached her cervix, my hips naturally starting to pull back out of her before slamming back into her heat, a sultry moan of mine and a husky whimper from her struggling to escape from our kiss.

I briskly pulled back out and even though my eyes were closed, it felt like my vision unfocused, the feeling of her fleshy tunnel squeezing and hugging my shaft telling me that she wanted my semen inside her womb immediately turned my feral side, but not quite all the way.

That was until I slammed back into her which I lost the last of my self control, needing to hear her moans, needing to pound her slit, and needing to empty myself inside her. Thus, I started pounding her in earnest, our long kiss breaking before she freely let her moans out as the girl laid her head down while I continued giving her the blissful feeling she greatly desired. Her moans were stifled by the girl having a hand over her mouth since she didn't want anyone to know what we were doing all while I relentlessly made her my little sex toy.

I stopped massaging her tit so that hand could drape down her chest, down her belly, all the way down to her clit for me to rub which amplified how much she enjoyed what I was doing to her. I also tightly wrapped my other arm around her chest and put my nose back in the crook of her neck so I could only focus on penetrating and rubbing her. In response, she lightly curled and pressed her body into mine as she took what I was giving her, like the good little girl she is.

I kissed her neck before I stopped and positioned my mouth near her ear so I could whisper, "Cum for me, Stace, cum like a good girl, a good girl who can’t live without me drilling her little pussy..." After another minute of enjoying the sex and rubbing her clit, I felt her slightly convulse in my arms, her whimpering having a slight stutter to it as she came. "You're such a good girl, Stacy... You're so adorable." I whispered before kissing her just under her ear right while I continued the intimate act.

Five heavenly minutes rolled by before I neared my edge; I knew Stacy wouldn't care if I told her I was gonna cum or not due to how me cumming inside her was the norm regarding us having sex. Though the lust in my mind prompted me to whisper some more in her ear. "I'm about to cum deep in your naughty, delicious, perfect slit and I'm gonna fill you up to the brim, how does that sound?"

The only thing I got in response were her pleading moans and whimpers.

"That's what I thought..." After I said that ,I kissed her neck and focused solely on her heavenly tunnel which quickly threw me over the edge as I thought about how much she enjoyed my railing, how intimate the act was, feeling her cum again right before I climaxed, and how much I loved her before I let loose and painted her vagina with four days worth of seven large spurts of my seed.

When I abruptly stopped my thrusting a few moments later, I relaxed and properly laid down since I had been using an elbow to lift us up a tad during the mating. That's when I pulled her close to me before I put my chin on her shoulder. When I pulled her close and tightened my embrace around her, I made sure that my penis would stay in her, even if it was softening. We quietly panted as we recovered from our fun while my eyelids grew heavy since the shitty sleep from last night quickly caught up to me.

"I love you, Stacy..." I whispered as I nuzzled her neck, almost falling unconscious right then and there.

"I love you too, Hunter..." She quietly replied.

It only took a few more moments for me to fall asleep with a gleeful grin on my face while Stacy gave me an immense feeling of satisfaction, amplified by still being inside her sacred tunnel which gave me an extremely intimate feeling of carnal love as I passed out.

(Sex scene over)

Chapter 21: Unspecified Antics

Chapter Text

Eventually, shuffling from Stacy woke me up since the girl had rolled over to look me in the eyes. Since I assumed we were still gonna sleep, my arms tightened around her and pulled her in closer to me before I closed my eyes. I heard her cutely giggle before she placed a hand on the side of my face. "I think it's time for you to wake up..."

I sighed, knowing she was right. I begrudgingly opened my eyes once more though it was worth it since I saw my beautiful Queen. Though the feeling of weariness inside my mind that tried forcing me back into slumber persisted. "How long was I out for?" I asked as I rubbed my nose against hers.

"Around a couple of hours."

"Damn - I needed that so much. It was so hard sleeping without you last night, making me wake up so many times during the night, that I just got tired so fast when I held you.”

She chuckled. "It's fine, being held by you is what I wanted anyways... I really didn't like sleeping alone."

I kissed her after she said that, where the kiss surprisingly strengthened quite quickly. "We should probably get out of bed..." (Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

I noticed that she had a blush on her face but also had a mischievous smile. When I noted her smirk, she swiftly got on her knees and threw the blanket off of us before putting it to the side. She then gingerly pushed me to lay on my back before the girl took a few steps with her knees where she then straddled my abdomen, her knees on either side of my hips, my hands instinctively grabbing her hips.

"Or... we can have sex again." She said while she rested all of her weight down on my belly, the girl then slowly rocking her hips on me where her clit timidly rubbed against my belly, giving her minute amounts of pleasure which caused some of her lubricant to smear across that spot on my lower belly.

I was already getting hard before she said that, but since she was on top of me and implied she wanted to mate, I was fully erect in no time. "Really? We've never done it twice this fast before."

Even though her face was flushed, the girl clearly shy from what she was about to say, she kept her confidence and explained, "You said you'll pay me back for not seeing me all day yesterday... So c'mon, fuck me some more, I know you want to feel my pussy again."

I leaned up and deeply kissed her. "I like how naughty you're being... Since you’ve persuaded me so nicely, sure, I'll fuck you until you're tired of cumming."

I lifted her up a tad and slid her back before one of her hands darted down to my phallus so she could direct it inside her. When she lodged it inside her slit, I let gravity do most of the work, where my cock became once again tightly encompassed by her succulent lower lips.

She closed her eyes and looked down before she started grinding her hips when my glans had contacted her womb, small whimpers escaping her lips not long after which caused my cock to excitedly twitch inside her. I helped her motion faster by lifting her up and down as she ground on me, the adorable girl quickly losing herself as she got lost in pleasure.

Now, since I had already ejected a massive load into her earlier, I knew I could last a lot longer, the need to cum not being that strong in my mind while the need to make her feel fantastic filled it instead. As she rode my dick, I enjoyed her beautiful facial expressions for a little while and more intently than what I usually do. Though the girl surprisingly came just five minutes after she started riding me.

I scooted to the bed with her remaining in my lap before suddenly standing up which caused her to instinctively wrap her legs around my pelvis and her arms around my neck. I held her hips before I started pounding her at a much faster and harder rate, the girl pressing the top of her head into my chin while her moans exceeded quiet levels, but I didn't care.

She came a second and a third time during those ten minutes of pounding, the girl already panting from my use of her little pussy. When I wanted to fuck her in another position, I quickly turned around and plopped her on the bed. I put my hands on her inner thighs and pressed her legs down, her legs now as spread open as they could be.

I directed the tip of my penis back into her slightly gaped crevasse before instantly starting to pound her some more while my fingers on her sensitive inner thighs lovingly massaged them. Three or so minutes of this persisted until she came again - I fucked her like that for another five before pulling out; this was a lightning round of pleasure where.

Before I continued further, I asked, just to make sure, "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Y-Yes- Holy fuck this is s-so good."

With that being said, I continued my spree of fucking her in different positions. "Roll over." I commanded before the girl who looked up at me with a sultry smile before shakily complying. Even though she was somewhat overwhelmed from all of the touch I was giving her, she had a bright smile on her face which assured me that she was greatly enjoying what I was doing to her.

Anyways, when she rolled over, I helped her put her ass high in the air where my cock once again easily slipped into her tight and squishy depths while my hands kept a tight grip on her hips so she'd stay put and take the thrusts I wanted to give to her.

"S-So good, so g-good-!" She kept repeating as I sped the pace of my thrusts up to maximum speed.

I leaned over her while my hands migrated to her tits where I pinched her nipples as a wet smacking sound emitted from our connecting genitalia. "How much more do you want, hm? Another thirty minutes maybe?"

Of course, she was too far gone in euphoria to coherently respond which just made me chuckle as I persisted with relentlessly pounding her which caused her to cum two more times.

I put my hands back on her hips after thoroughly pleasing her nipples to continue keeping the girl in a tight grip while I helped her move her body up and down on my cock, the thrusting becoming extra hard at the synchronized movement. She was almost screaming into the mattress as she came for… like a sixth or seventh time at that point.

The amount of lust in my mind was immense, the sight, the feeling, her wild moans… I couldn’t help but lustfully whisper in her ear, “I’m so glad that you’re such a submissive little girl, always willing to get fucked, always willing to accept my seed and let me empty myself inside of you, how you let me hold you in place so you can’t move, and how you enjoy every aspect of this… You really are such a good girl…”

With that being said, I waited to make her cum one final time before I deemed that we had spent enough time doing the act.

"Alright, I think you've had enough..." I said as my climax quickly reared its head.

My orgasm wasn't that big as only two decently sized spurts were released into her womb, where two hard thrusts into her signified my end. Afterwards, I kept her hips in my hands while slowly rubbing her skin as we panted. Though it was mainly her panting since I wasn't the one who had just got thoroughly fucked.

I pulled out of her a minute later before sitting on the side of the bed where she kept her ass in the air. I chuckled. "You alright, Stace?" She weakly nodded while the girl kept her eyes closed with a quivering smile plastered on her lips. "Well, that's good... That was pretty fun, but I only did it because you were needy. I’m fine with that of course, but I prefer... more slow and intimate sex."

"Y-Yeah... I-I would keep what w-we just did to every once and a while, maybe..."

"Whenever you're still horny after we just have sex, then maybe... But that's rare since I usually treat you well enough for you to be satisfied by the end of it." She just nodded before one of my hands went on her back as I got closer to her, my head going down to hers. "I gotta go, I need to review the trip from yesterday. Come on down when you've recuperated."

She nodded once more before I kissed her for a minute. Afterward, I got up and quickly dressed myself. When I was done with that, I saw that she still hadn't moved. I walked up behind her and gently toyed with her clit for a couple of seconds which made her squeak. I just chuckled and made my way out of the room. I locked the door to make sure that it’d stay closed to prevent any chance of anyone walking in and seeing her in such an exposed position. (Sex scene over)

Since my mind was clear from sexual thought and well rested after that nap, I was fairly energized to review what Kostas and Trinity had found, if anything, besides Etsu. Though before I did that, I decided to check on the new guest herself, curious to see if anything had conspired while away.

I lightly knocked on the door before being greeted by Olivia who let me in. I instantly saw that Etsu was asleep so that culled the possibility of me talking to her at that moment.

"How's it all going?"

Olivia's face was very subtly tinted a tad - I could barely see it but it was there. I was about to ask her if anything was wrong, but she spoke up before I could ask about it. "I know it's your room and that's the place for it to happen... But Stacy's really loud. It's a good thing the walls in this house are thick or it'd be worse but... every now and then, I can hear you two, just barely, and it's something I really don't wanna hear."

"Ah, I apologize about that. We were-."

"I don't want to know." She cut me off. "Just... please, be more mindful."

I respectfully nodded. I didn't quite like having to tone it down, but I respected people's wants when it came around to something like that... Hell, I don't even want anyone else to hear Stacy's moans, but it's too late for that now. As long as no one sees her like that, it’ll be fine… "Noted, I'll talk to her about it. Anyways, how's everything with Etsu?"

Finally getting into a professional discussion, she gave me the rundown."Her heartbeat is weak, she's lost a lot of blood. Her vitals are a bit lowered, but she should make a full recovery in a couple weeks. She'll be bedridden for at least three or so days, maybe a little more."

I looked at Etsu while she was giving me the information as a question arose within my mind. "What do you think about her?"

"She's... definitely different from the rest."

"What do you mean? It's not because she's Asian, is it?"

She rolled her eyes while I cracked a smirk. "No, it's because her emotional state fluctuates a lot." At the rise of an eyebrow, she explained, "She goes from being scared, to talkative, to being unsocial, upon other things at the drop of a hat... I'm thinking she might have cyclothymia."

"What is that, exactly?"

"Essentially what I just described. It'slike being bipolar, but not as extreme. She also has trouble speaking clearly and effectively; she stutters, trails off, and says the wrong words sometimes. She said it’s something she’s struggled with her whole life and has tried to address but just can’t get control of it. But other than that, she's fun to talk with, though I had to make her go to sleep when she persisted in talking when she was struggling to stay awake."

"...I need to see her when she's like that. Kostas described her as a warrior type and you've described her as talkative. I've only seen her as scared and not that social."

"Well, she is kind of scared of you."

"What? Why? I've been trying to be as friendly as possible to her."

"She told me it's because you're 'massive', in her words, which is kind of a given, and that kind of scares her. It also doesn't help that you caused her to pass out when you were stitching her up."

"I mean, I guess that makes sense... Though shouldn't she be thankful that I helped her not die?"

Olivia lightly sighed at my question. "It's... complicated, this situation. Sure, you did indeed save her life. But you caused her to go through so much pain which knocked her out, it won't be easy for her to get over that. And then there was that thinly veiled threat you gave her..."

"Once again, that makes sense..." I repeated as I brushed a hand through my hair. "But I had to make the 'don't fuck around' bit extremely clear to her. Maybe I'll get her a good drink later when it's supper time, though I'll have to ask her if she drinks alcohol and what her favorite type of beverage is first."

"She wanted to know more about this place, but I thought I shouldn't say anything without your permission." She stated as she returned to her desk and took a seat, presumably resting her spine.

"You thought correctly." I said with a nod. "We shouldn't tell her that much about this place, not yet at least. "We might have to take a vote about her sometime today, after we discuss what we should do with her and how to proceed.”

"Well, she has my vote. She's given me no reason to be suspicious of her, she's been a nice and sweet person to me so far."

"My jury's still out on her since I don't know what to think yet. But your words do give her some welly." With that being said, our conversation ended due to having the information I wanted being retrieved. "Alright, well I'm gonna get outta your hair, I've got some stuff to do."

After a little 'see you later', I left the makeshift clinic and migrated down the stairs where I quickly noticed that Kostas was the center of attention while he showed his arm to a squeamish Willow, his freshly made stitches in full view for all to see. Jordan, Audrey, Nova, and Roman were also there where they all asked questions relating to what had happened with Kostas answering them like it had happened a few months ago.

"In a bit, I’m gonna need to talk with you and the others about what all we found during our trip." I told him while I walked by the group where Willow commented how it was rude how I just interrupted the conversation. In return, I gave her the finger and smirked which caused the girl to make offended noises in response. Jeez, I loved pissing Willow off, it was fun, simply because it was way too easy.

"We didn't find much out there besides Etsu." He simply responded, the man hoping to avoid a briefing about the scavenging trip.

As I walked into the dining room, I called out, "Doesn't matter, Ashton and I found a couple items of interest while searching that I wanna tell you about." I barely heard Kostas grumble something about something but he understood my words. When I was done talking to him, I took the time to register that Ashton was staring at The Three Year Plan while thinking deeply. "How's it goin', Ash?" My greeting successfully pried his attention from the sheet of paper that was held against the fridge by a few magnets.

"It’s... going. Been thinking about what you told me, all the advice you gave me regarding Audrey... Do you have any more?" He was quieter than usual, probably to make sure no one else heard that second part.

I shook my head. "I haven't had the time to thoroughly think about it yet. I’ve been dealing with the Etsu situation."

"Ah, that's alright. If you ever do think of anything that might help, I'm desperate to hear it." I could tell by the tone of voice that that was true.

"Will do man. For now, we need to brief the others on what we found."

He lightly sighed after I brought that up. "I'm gonna miss my scotch while it's gone..."

I chuckled at that. "Shouldn't have agreed to the bet then."

"Yeah, hindsight, I know."

"If you need a drink of it though, I'll let it slide. Maybe." I clarified before moving onto another subject. "Now, where's Trinity?"

"I think I saw her go into the basement-." He was cut off by the sound of the cellar hatch opening.

I went to check it out while Ashton stayed behind in the dining room. I made my way to the desired location before seeing Trinity make her way out of the cellar, the woman somewhat surprised to see me. Then Charlotte came out of the cellar as well, which I wasn’t expecting. As they closed the hatch, I jokingly said, “You two better not have snuck a couple more cans of food more than what’s needed for today.”

“Do you really think we’re capable of being pricks like that?” Trinity replied before glancing at Charlotte. “Although I can’t vouch for Charlotte completely about if she didn’t steal some shit while down there.” She chuckled. “Do you want me to strip her down to make sure she’s not hiding anything?”

I wanted to play along but knew better not to. “I’m not quite sure Charlotte would like that, she’d probably prefer for us to move on from this topic.”

"Yes, let's." Charlotte agreed which put an end to that subject.

"C'mon Trinity, we're gonna talk about yesterday's trip, minus the Etsu part." I announced before turning around and strolling back into the dining room where I saw that Ashton and Kostas had already taken their spots at the table. Happy that they were all already there, I took the chair at the head of the table. Trinity and Charlotte joined us immediately after I took my spot which is when I got the conversation rolling. "Alright, besides Etsu, did you guys come across anything else of interest?"

Kostas shook his head. "No, just a lot of road. I told you we didn’t find anything"

"Well, at least we now know what that route has in store for us."

"Let me fetch the shitty map we drew for it." Trinity said but Charlotte stopped her and offered to get it for her. After Trinity and I told her where both of our maps were, she was off.

"As we're waiting for Charlotte to return, Ashton and I'll talk about what we found. So as you know, we found some bikes which’ll make covering some more ground faster which will be pretty nice. The only downside to them is that you can't map and ride at the same time unless you have an incredible skill. Though I think only stopping to map something down when you make a turn or stop somewhere is feasible, so it’s not that much of a handicap."

"They’re the first actual working bikes that any of us has found too. A lot of the bikes we've come across either had missing parts or were just in too poor condition. Where we found those bikes, well, there were three more of them that seemed usable so we can probably go back there with a group of three or four to get the rest." Ashton coined the idea of, an idea that I liked.

"That's a pretty good find. Anything else?" Trinity asked, which caused me toI remember the vehicle just waiting to be revived.

"If you think that's a good find, then this is gonna blow your mind." I replied, successfully taking a firm hold of their attention. As Charlotte made her way back with the maps, I explained, "Remember how we had discussed the possibility of getting an electric car and how we only just needed to find one?"

Without Kostas correctly understanding what I was leading onto, he was reminded by my words to bring something up about his own trip that he had left out. "Oh, actually, speaking of cars, we did find a couple of those electric cars while out. Well, I think they were, I saw no… what is it called? exhaust pipe? We forgot to say that since yesterday was... eventful."

"Do you know what models they were?" I asked, my interest thoroughly piqued. With a shake of his head, I asked what brands they were, which he was able to describe. "Well, those models were... quite lackluster back then. But some time in the future, we might as well get those too. For now, we’ve found one of the best models that was ever produced. It's not the exact model I was looking for, but it's close enough. And as soon as we find a power source to charge it, that'll become our main priority."

I proceeded to list off the specifications of the vehicle, although I refrained from delving into too much detail about how it achieved them. They seemed impressed with what I claimed, but I couldn't help myself from diving into the advanced features of the vehicle.

"Nerd!" I heard a little girl jokingly call out, the other's getting a little laugh out of it.

"I don't mind it, it's actually quite fuckin’ interesting... Though I do have a question, how many of us would even know how to fuckin’ drive it?" Trinity asked while Stacy took the spot to my right. Ashton was the only one that confidently raised his hand up.

"I had just begun learning to drive right before The Drop. I was a fast learner, but I most likely forgot pretty much everything there was to it. However, I do wonder if the self-driving aspect of the vehicle still works." I pondered as Stacy's hand slid across the table towards mine, our hands quickly holding the others, which caused us to then put them under the table so no one would see that happening.

Ashton chuckled a small bit. "I almost forgot that certain companies were pushing toward that. Personally, I never would've trusted a car driving itself."

"I mean, I get that at first, but it was proven to already be twenty times safer than human drivers. It was just about to be released full scale before everything ended... In my opinion, it would've been awesome to see."

"Still, a change like that would've been scary." Kostas spoke up. "It looked like almost every job was about to be replaced by a robot, at least, that's what it felt like."

"I actually agree with that." I said. "It did seem like we were on the cusp for a population collapse, even before The Drop happened, yet people didn't understand it and feared the exact opposite instead; overpopulation."

"Overpopulation wasn't gonna be a problem?" Charlotte asked, surprised at my words.

"...I'll talk about the four stages of population growth later, but it's besides the point. For now, we need to discuss our next trip and where to search next. Charlotte, can you pass me the maps?" I asked, the girl swiftly sliding them over to me which unfortunately made me stop holding Stacy's hand.

I stood up and veered off to the left, walking up to the many sheets of paper that were pinned to the wall which showed us what we had all mapped out so far, the house being the epicenter of 'The Map Project'. Some were more artistic than others, some weren't. Some proportions might've been off as well, but the trails and roads were thankfully all lined up so it didn't really matter.

As I looked down at Trinity's and Kostas' map, there were a lot of roads and trails marked off by a question mark so they'd be explored at a later date. As I pinned the fresh maps up, the group at the table had been discussing who should be the next 'runners'.

"What do you think, Hunter?" Trinity asked while Stacy subtly gave me a begging expression, something that went away when her hand returned to mine after I sat back down next to her.

"Well, do any of you wanna go out again tomorrow? Or even today if you think y'all can do it?" I asked, getting a shaking head from Ashton and a small chuckle from Kostas.

"I'm gonna take at least a couple days off so I don't rip my arm open."

I gave him a nod. "Understandable. What about you, Trinity?"

"I wouldn't mind. I feel like my lazy ass hasn’t done much lately, so mapping and searching some shit feels like It'd be a good way to spend my time, to do something worthwhile."

"But I'm coming with you when you go out again." Charlotte clarified.

Trinity giggled in response and booped the tip of Charlotte's nose. "Sure, but we're gonna need our asses to focus on the mission at hand."

Charlotte rolled her eyes and before they could continue their banter, I changed the topic. "Alright, that's one team established for tomorrow. Now we need another one, at least preferably, figured out A-S-A-P. I'd like to find a source of power as quickly as possible without halting our food production." I was about to suggest that maybe I should go again, but Stacy suggested something before I could say anything else.

"Maybe send Roman and Nova out? They do seem to like each other, maybe sending them out to do a job together will be a good combination."

I couldn't deny her adorable look even if it was a bad idea, which it probably wasn't. As it was, that suggestion was better than what I was gonna say, so I took it and ran with it. "Good idea Stace, now I just need to tell them that they've been assigned to do a task."

"They're in the living room right now, so when do you wanna tell them?" Charlotte asked which preceded with me calling their names out, the desired couple entering the dining room just a few seconds later.

I gave them a quick rundown of what we had just discussed where the two didn’t appear to be bothered by it which just made everything easier. After they agreed, I told them to collaborate with the other team, to plan out where they'd go and where they'd search. I was sure they didn't need my help with that.

Though right before they started planning, I stopped them to bring up the Etsu situation. "As you all probably know, we got a new guest in our home. I'm gonna set up a time for us to vote on what we should do about her since a possible admission into the group should always be a group decision."

"How long from now?" Stacy simply asked.

"Four days I'll say. That'll give us enough time for Etsu to heal a decent bit and for us to get a good grip on what kind of person she is. Spread the word for me babes, thanks." With that being said, I adjourned the meeting which was followed by the scheduled runners swiftly getting to work on where they'd search next for our greatly desired future power source.

When I got up and left the dining room into the living room, Stacy followed me out. I suddenly turned and stopped her dead in her tracks. I took a step closer to her which eliminated the space between our bodies where I then softly put my hands on her jawline before directing her head to look up toward me.

I leaned down so I could rub my nose softly on hers. "What're you doin', little lady?"

"...I just wanna snuggle again since we didn't do that at all yesterday." She meekly replied with a cute smile.

"Of course, wanna go do that now?" I asked, the girl nodding her head in response.

I then led her over to one of the couches where the both of us plopped down on it and tightly hugged each other where my chin rested on the top of her head as she nuzzled my neck. We stayed on the couch for an hour or so, just nuzzling, kissing, and hugging each other. At some point, I delicately held the sapphire she always wore... I didn't mention it a lot, but she never took it off. That made sense to me since it now had a lot of sentimental meaning to her. The snuggle session was really sweet, but such things have to end eventually. as much as we don't want them to.

"But why can't we just stay here a little longer?" Stacy quietly pouted as she looked up at me with pleading eyes.

I lightly chuckled and eskimo kissed her once more. "Because I wanna do a little work right now, preferably fishing. I'd love to continue just holding you, but unfortunately, we have to work."

I didn't have to tell her that, she already knew full well the reasons I was getting up, but she insisted on playing ignorant about it which I thought was cute. She lightly huffed, defeated by my reasoning. "Alright... but let's fish together?"

"I don't see why I'd say no. After all, I still sort of owe you my time, yeah?"

"Not really owe... I'd just like to spend the day with you."

With that being said, we got up, put our shoes and sweatshirts on, and made our way out and to the stream. We wasted no time in picking up a couple of spears and getting into the stream, the water still nearly freezing cold. It'd still take another month or so for the water to warm up which sucked quite a bit; I was really wanting to bathe and actually enjoy it. The few times I bathed my entire body, well, it felt like I was close to getting hypothermia so I decided to wait until it got even warmer out.

However, we didn't take the temperature we were fishing in for granted, not too much at least. Compared to what it was a month ago, it was a massive heat wave, especially when I think about how we didn’t have our faces feel as if they became symbiotic with ice.But even though it was significantly warmer than it was back in January, it was far from preferable. It sucks how I'll probably be complaining about the heat once summer's in full swing; it’s immeasurably annoying how humans are so picky with the temperature.

Around ten minutes after we started fishing, an interesting conversation finally began. "Hey Hunter? I've been... wanting to ask you something, but..." She trailed off.

I turned my head toward her, noticing that half of the girl was submerged, the water just above her hips. Thankfully, the current wasn’t that fast, though she still had a little difficulty walking through the water. "But what, my love?"

"It's just... I dunno, I'm scared to ask it, I guess."

I gave her a soft look. "You know you don't have to be scared about anything when it comes to me, right?"

She nodded. "I know, I know, it's just I can't help myself but be, y'know?" I gave her an understanding nod, the girl sighing afterward. "I just wanted to ask, and I’ve thought about this for a little while, how come you never really talk about your family? You barely even wrote anything about them down in your journal..."

"Ah..." I said, not sure how to go about answering her question. I quickly decided to go about it bluntly. "Well, I almost never wrote about them because I remember thinking that if anyone found my journal back then, they'd probably read it. I was a little paranoid back then which really influenced what I wrote down; I didn't want them to read about how I viewed them and all that, especially after certain arguments or some of my intrusive thoughts. Though there were some experiences that I should’ve written down regardless."

She hummed. "I guess that makes sense... What'd you wanna write down?"

I hesitated, but only for a second. "Little but fun experiences I’d like to cherish, things I should want to never forget.” I shifted the conversation to answer her original question. “Stace, I don't really talk about them because... because I think it'd make you sad."

"...Because they're... y’know, not here anymore?"

I lightly shook my head with a small sigh. "No, no... It's because you only had your terrible parents as a family with no other siblings or anyone like that." I turned to look at her, the girl suddenly much closer to me. I took a couple of steps closer, the girl then being just a couple of feet away before I continued my explanation. "I feel like it'd... like you'd feel some sort of sadness if you heard how good of a family mine was compared to what you had."

"Oh..." She sadly said. "I sometimes think about what it would've been like if I had a brother or sister sometimes... I just want to know what it's like, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it... And with the experience of once having siblings, at least the one, I can kind of see what it's like for you, but only a little. I can't really describe what having a sibling was like since it was all I ever knew growing up, I was my parent's second and last child."

"I guess that makes sense, yeah. I also wanted to ask, was… Austin a good brother?" She asked, almost forgetting the name of my deceased sibling.

I hadn't heard his name in so long, I hadn't even muttered his name since... since he died. So it kind of made me experience a small jolt of surprise, that name feeling unreal because of how long it had been since he had perished. And knowing I'd go the rest of my life without him... it hurt on a scale that'd never heal.

You never really get over loss, not really. That's the biggest thing I have learned in this world, having learnt it through one of the hardest ways to learn it. No, you just make room for more loss that’ll inevitably come. I'm never going to understand it, how could you? I could only try to look at the future with an optimistic mind and force myself to forget that all things come to an end.

These thoughts rushed in my head in just a couple of seconds while I looked at Stacy's curious eyes, the girl innocently asking a question she didn't know would cause me to feel the way I did. Of course, it wasn't her fault since I never really spoke of my deceased family. So fighting back a couple of tears that wanted to pry their way out of my skull, I figured that then was the time to talk about it, but only with the person I love and trust the most.

"He was a fantastic brother, Stacy..." I answered in a gentle tone as I dug up some reasons to back my claim up. "He'd give me nuggets of wisdom whenever he fucked up, take me out with friends whenever an event was planned which were always so much fun, teach me some things I'd ask about, we'd go to certain locations abroad, and was just all around the greatest best friend I had ever had..." I chuckled. “And don’t get the wrong idea, you’re not in the same category as best friend, you’re something else, something much more.”

All of a sudden, Stacy's spear shot into the water, the girl lifting it up to reveal she had speared a sizable piece of carp. I complimented her catch while she scraped it off into the bucket I was carrying, that fish having a hard time completely dying. Sheesh, life's so dark.

"Did any bad things happen between you and Austin?" She confidently asked, the girl knowing I was then susceptible to answering any question she wanted to ask regarding the topic.

I lightly chuckled. "Oh yeah. He was a big bully when we were little kids, like how most siblings are when you've got parents that somewhat spoil you. Then we fought a couple of times as young teenagers over some stupid shit that I can't even remember... When we grew out of it, he apologized for everything one night. It wasn't like we hated each other before that point, we were already so much closer than we had been at that point, he just had a guilt trip."

"I wish I coulda met him..." She stated, getting another small chuckle from me.

"I do too, Stace... Although, he probably wouldn't have approved of our relationship, like at all."

She tilted her head at that. "Why not?"

"Our age gap. While it wasn't illegal in a lot of places in the nation we once lived in, it was strongly looked down upon... He was one of the people that looked down upon something like us. So I'm sure you're plenty disappointed in me, Austin! And if you are, deal with it!" I called out to nothing, in hopes that if there's some type of afterlife, he could hear me. She lightly giggled at my antics. I then cockily claimed, "Yeah, we used to 'argue', more so debate, about that topic. Of course, I always won..."

"I'm sure..." She somewhat sarcastically replied. "How much older was he than you?"

"Almost four years older... though he lacked in height." I said with a giggle. "He was always jealous of how tall I was, though being this tall was just a bit of a curse. But these days, it's not as much of a curse as it used to be"

She tilted her head once more. "Why's that? I quite like how tall you are..."

The small blush that appeared on her face was adorable but I looked past it. "Some doorways were small, I'd hit my head while exiting any bus, people'd look at me in public because I lived in a short town, it'd be a big talking point, and I didn't have legroom in almost any vehicle. Minor things, but they add up and those were just at the top of my head."

"Oh, yeah I can see why it'd be annoying... How much shorter was Austin compared to you?"

"Around seven inches, just like my father, and my mother was even shorter. It was a little crazy being as tall as I was in a short family, relatively speaking. My mother claimed I got it from her grandpa who was six foot eight. Now that's just too tall, especially for the time period he lived in."

"A recessive gene, right?" She asked, getting a nod from me, the girl happy that she remembered that portion of genetic scrambling. "What about your grandparents?"

"I wasn't that close to them, not really. My father's parents both died in a car crash when I was really young, so I don’t even remember anything about them. The other half of my grandparents moved to Europe, so I only saw them around three times a year. So I was never close to them, unfortunately."

"Oh... I wonder who my grandparents were." She pondered which made my heart slightly ache for her.

"Your parents sound like they were... hopeless runaways. Given everything you’ve told me about them, they probably left their lives behind and started anew. I'm so sorry you never got to meet any other family, cousins, uncles, aunts, and everything in between..."

"It's... it's alright, Hunter." She said in a tone that didn't convince me that it was alright.

I halted my slow advance forward which in turn made her also stop her steady march forward. I turned to her where she looked away, emotional pain clearly visible on her face; she was terrible at hiding her feelings. "You don't need to hide your feelings, Stacy..." I reminded, the girl then letting a couple of tears fall from her eyes.

The scars of her emotional pain and abuse were deep, down to the core of her precious soul. It'd take years of me trying to make her feel loved, wanted, and respected for her to not feel shattered over it. And I was fine with that, I'd help heal her for as long as she needed me to, I felt obligated to.

Thankfully, we were at a lower part of the stream so I was able to put the bucket and spear down without them flowing away. I took a step toward her, closing the distance between our bodies, where Stacy then dropped the spear before she hugged me back which is when she started to silently cry into my chest. I rested my chin on her head where I let a couple of my own tears slip, joining her in expressing how I shared certain aspects of emotional pain with her, the act feeling natural.

A few minutes later, she looked up at me with glinty eyes. I put a thumb on one of her cheeks so I could wipe a few salty tears off her face, the girl lightly swallowing. "Hunter, can you... can you promise me something?"

"Yes, of course, what is it?" I gently asked with care, the girl looking away for just a second before making eye contact with me again.

"In the future... can we try to make our children's lives super, super happy?"

"If you're ever gonna be able to get pregnant..." I thought, knowing better to keep that to myself. (I'm relieved that Stacy's not reading this anymore... at least, not now anyways. Though perhaps she will in the future.) "Of course, I promise that when we have a child, I'll make sure we make them have the best life we could ever be able to give them..."

With a little nuzzle of our noses, she quietly giggled. "I love you so much..." After another minute of recuperation, she suddenly asked, "Do you only want one child?"

Well that was a sharp turn in conversation. "At least one, yes, I do. But as you know, not any time soon. More than one? It's too early to decide on that, there'd be a lot of things to think through, especially regarding you because of how women's bodies grow a baby; it takes a lot for a woman to go through."

"It's so weird when you think about it..."

"Mhm, especially when I remind you that everyone was once a microscopic egg and a sperm at the same time... and then we were little fetuses that look like aliens made out of gummy candy."

She shivered lightly. "Eugh, I don't like thinking about that."

I chuckled. "You get used to it, it is the beauty of life after all, the point in which it repeats itself."

"One more question about a baby, if you don't mind?" I was a little scared of what she might ask, but I nodded regardless. "Would you want it to be a boy or a girl?"

"Hm... Maybe a boy, but I'd be fine with what it'd be either way. I'd just have to make sure if they’re a girl, then I'll try to keep her as innocent for as long as can reasonably be. Otherwise it'd be creepy." That’s mainly because a father shouldn't keep an eye on his daughter's virginity, treat it as something they can control, and give permission to someone else so they can 'take' it. I hope purity culture is forever dead. It was disturbing and harmful.

"That seems a little unfair because, y'know, us..."

"We'll continue this topic if and whenever it comes back around."

"Deal."

And so we fished for another couple of hours where the both of us caught around six decently sized fish in total. Not bad, but we'd need more for that day. I hoped that Kai, Jordan, and whoever else had gone out hunting was gonna come back with a big load. But if they didn't, that'd've been fine since we still have our back up food reserves. That ultimately reminded me of our new guest, Etsu.

"Wanna go meet Etsu?" I asked Stacy when we had gotten back inside the mansion.

She looked up at me. "She's not gonna attack me, is she?"

I lightly chuckled. "No, no... But if she tried, I'd end her before she even got close to you." She giggled at the dark reality of my statement before she led the way upstairs while I closely followed behind her.

"What's she like?" Stacy whispered as we stood in front of the door to Olivia's room.

"Skittish. At least for me, Olivia said she's scared of me."

Stacy looked puzzled at that. "What? Why? You're like the nicest person ever!" I chuckled at her claim and relayed the reasons Olivia had told me. "Oh... Well, you did something like that for me and look how we turned out."

"Good point. I just need to talk with her a little more and do some things to change her mind." I coined the idea of which caused her eyes to slant a bit, though her smile didn't falter in the slightest.

"She better not take any 'us' time away from me..." She said before I placed one of my hands on her jawline.

"Of course not, I'd never spend 'us' time on something else like that." I replied. After a soft kiss, I knocked on the door. "Taking any visitors at the moment?"

Olivia wasted no time in opening the door. "We are actually." She took a step back to allow Stacy and I access into the room. When we entered, we figured out what she meant since we saw that Etsu, Charlotte, Trinity, and Audrey were all playing a game of UNO together.

Etsu seemed to be having a lot of fun with the game since a bright smile was on her lips as she placed her second to last card down. However, the smile instantly vanished when she laid her eyes on me. But then she looked down at Stacy which caused a fraction of her smile to come back.

"Oh! Who's th-that?" She excitedly asked while pointing at Stacy for the other's to look at.

"My name's Stacy. I wanted to come meet you, but I see that you're busy." She answered for herself, implying that it probably wasn't a good time to be talking to her.

"Oh, it's alright, they said… uh, they said they were about to leave, at least Trinity and Charlotte s-said that." Etsu replied as she placed her final card, the game ending with collective defeated grunts from the others.

"Yeah, our asses were gonna get going after that last game, so it's time for us to fuck off." Trinity said as she got up, Charlotte following suit.

"Ah alright, perfect then. Are you two gonna go runnin'?" I asked while walking toward Etsu as Stacy stuck by my side.

"Biking actually - they'll be much quicker than walking. We won't stay out for nearly as long as we did yesterday, it's mainly just to get the feel for biking again." Charlotte answered.

"Gotcha." I simply replied before the couple quickly made their way to the exit. "How's everything going, Etsu?" I gently asked.

She hesitated for a couple of seconds before she got the courage to answer me. "It's... going really well, a-actually. My side is still really tender but... it's so nice talking with and meeting other people. It's been... I don't even know how long it's been since I last t-talked with anyone."

"I know that vibe, man. Takes a couple of days to get back into the groove." Audrey replied before looking toward Stacy and I afterward. "Hey, want in on a game or two with us?"

"Yeah, sure!" Stacy happily replied before the both of us replaced the spots that Charlotte and Trinity once occupied.

"I reckon Charlotte was the one that proposed the idea of playing a few games with Etsu?" I asked with a small smirk, getting a positive answer from Audrey. "Charlotte and her games..."

"Yeah, man, that's what makes her special." Audrey said with a shrug. "She's stoked to get back into tailoring, though. Once she's back on her feet, she's gonna be all about making clothes again."

"That's great news, it's always best when people are looking forward to their jobs." I said as Audrey started shuffling the deck of cards thoroughly.

"So what do you d-do, Stacy?" Etsu asked, taking the girl in question by surprise.

"I, uh, just do a bunch of random things really, nothing real special."

"Now that's a lie." I immediately replied. "Sure, you do some random stuff, but it's all useful. Even when it's not particularly ‘useful’, it's quite special, like your artistic abilities. They're simply flawless and definitely really special." Stacy blushed with a coy smile at my words.

"Y-You're an artist?" Etsu asked with glee. Finally, a show of emotion that wasn't timid or scared.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Stacy shyly answered.

"What can you… y’know, what can you draw?" Etsu asked as Audrey started passing out cards.

"People in real life and what they're doing, dreams, landscapes, stuff like that."

"Wow. So you're able to write- I mean, draw anything and it'd look amazing?" She asked, Stacy nodding at her question. "Ooo, can you d-draw me?" She asked as we all picked our cards up and the game began.

I’ll comment now; her speech impediment was quite noticeable now that she wasn’t dying and in pain. It wasn’t annoying, but it was somewhat distracting.

"Uh, sure. When do you want me to do that?" Stacy asked as she placed a card on the growing pile of used cards on Etsu's bed.

"Hm... Would it be, uh, weird to ask y-you to draw me sleeping?"

"Maybe a little, but I can do it." Stacy answered which caused Etsu to get giddy at the idea. It was like I wasn't even there, at least the fear of me that she had once had.

"Etsu, do you drink alcohol of any kind?" I asked, changing the subject. She answered with a positive reply. "What kind?"

"Any. Well, b-besides wine. That was always the nastiest thing." She responded, gagging a bit as she thought about it.

With her in a happy mood, I was finally able to get answers from her easily. "I want to make it up to you, Etsu. To help make the memories of you passing out from pain and then all the pain of getting you here become an almost forgotten memory of the past. To start, I'm gonna bring you a few good drinks. Do you want anything else to make you... not scared of me?"

"Hm... Maybe a few hot m-meals a-and a new shirt to replace the one Char- I mean, Kostas destroyed. That's all I can think of… for now."

I nodded, pleased with her simple demands. "If you think of anything else, just ask. It's the least we owe you."

"Anything? A phone, h-headphones, hot and running water, a f-few pizzas, and working lights. That'd be cool t-to have."

I chuckled at her nearly impossible demands, besides the demand of working lights. "I mean things we can actually do."

"Well, there's maybe one thing y-you can do to make it up to me..." I did not like her seductive tone at all. "And that's maybe, y'know, showing me a good time?" If Stacy's glare could kill, it'd've killed Etsu in milliseconds

"Uh, you see, about that, I'm kind of in a relationship that’s been my greatest source of happiness, ever, and it’s something I wouldn't ever want to ruin, so I'll easily pass on that." I was quite surprised she propositioned that since she was seemingly so scared of me the day prior.

"Oh. Who's the lucky g-girl?" She strangely asked.

“Way to assume my sexuality.” I jokingly thought before answering her question. "Her.” I said, my eyes pointing her in the direction of the lucky girl.

Etsu brightly blushed when she saw Stacy's glare. "O-Oh, sorry, I didn't know. You t-two just... didn't seem that… y’know, compatible."

"What is that supposed to mean." Stacy asked with subtle anger, her question sounding like a statement.

"It's just... he's so much b-bigger than you, the possibility of you two being together n-never entered my mind... Again, I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was… uh, thinking when I said that, t-truly."

"See? Height as a talking point already..." I pointed out to Stacy who lightly sighed.

"I... forgive you. Just don't say or think anything like that again, not involving Hunter at least." Stacy demanded, Etsu's head nodding immediately at the tone of her voice.

I leaned down to Stacy's ear and quietly whispered, "Stop, you're kind of turning me on with that tone..."

We continued the game after that conundrum was solved and pretty much instantly forgotten, though Stacy's blush stayed light throughout the game. The last major talking point during the game was when I asked her what she did before The Drop.

"I had just b-become an engineer." She answered as our game ended with Stacy being the victor.

That answer harshly piqued my attention, an engineer!? "What field of engineering?"

"Material engineering and civil engineering. They were q-quite uh… they were quite intensive to learn about but in a world with no supply lines, no cities to m-maintain, no running society... Well, it's just taking up space in my brain that just stays there without… y’know, being used.”

At that, a large amount of excitement silently danced around my chest. We had to keep her. She had to stay with us; her knowledge could seriously come in handy way down the line.

"Make sure it stays in that head of yours, I think it'll be quite useful some day." I advised which elicited a small snort from her.

"I doubt it, not in our lifetime at least. It's gonna take years- decades for stuff like that to become n-needed again, if humans s-survive this low point... This might even be our ending- I mean, our extinction event, who knows."

"I say nonsense, I'm sure you'll use those skills much sooner than you think."

"Oh? How can you b-be so sure?"

"I have a good feeling when it comes to the future... Can't explain why at the moment, but I promise you that I will later."

"Hm... Alright, I'll remember that."

And so that was mine and Stacy's first true impression of Etsu; we didn't stay there for much longer following another round of the card game. It was actually much better than what I was expecting, minus the proposition she made. Other than that, she was fun to talk to, appeared to have no ulterior motive, and had some skills that I'd like to make a bet and invest in, damn the consequences... I'm not too sure if it's the right decision though. Can never be too sure, is what my mind is telling me. Gotta prove she is what she says anyways, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do that. I guess I’ll find out relatively soon.

Chapter 22: Solar Reclamation

Chapter Text

Three days later, I found myself looking down at a sheet of paper that I had been drawing on. Fictional map making was the genre since I wasn’t an artist like my beautiful Stacy. It was something I liked doing to pass the time. What was I waiting for? For the runners to get home and report what they had found for that day, if anything at all. Well, they weren't really runners anymore since we now had a small fleet of bikes which has made travelling longer distances so much easier and faster.

I glanced to my left at the wall of maps that the group had been drawing which were getting to the point in which they almost reached the ceiling and the floor. We'd have to start redrawing the maps on a smaller scale so we could optimize how much space we'd take up from the wall. I found it amazing that that was about to become a necessity. Having our surroundings mapped out sat well within my chest.

As I was finishing a German conquest of Europe in the late 40's, Stacy silently entered the dining room. I was too focused on mapmaking to be aware of her presence, so she successfully snuck up behind me. She wrapped her arms around me which shocked me just a tad, the girl ripping me out of my focus from the world that was now under Nazi control. I felt terrible for the hundreds of millions that would die horribly in that world.

Since I was on a stool, there was no back part for her chest to be blocked so she comfortably leaned into my back. I set my pencil down and lightly leaned into her before spinning the stool around a few moments later. I put my hands on the smiling girl's jawline and lightly kissed her, getting a giggle out of her a couple seconds later.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked after the kiss.

"Just passin' the time by drawing a bit." I answered, the girl wanting to see what I had drawn.

She tilted her head when she saw it. "What is Greater German... R-ay-i-ch?"

I lightly chuckled before I taught her the correct pronunciation of the word 'Reich'. "It was one of the most evil regimes in human history that sought to kill hundreds of millions of people and replace them with their own ethnic nationality through invasion and extermination."

"That's... terrible!" She said, speechless at the idea. "Did they lose?"

"Holy fuck, how have I never talked about the second world war with her?" I thought, smiling at the ignorance of the little girl.

"Thankfully, yes. They fell too short, had too little resources and manpower, made too many wrong calls, and had some incompetent leaders that led to the collapse of the Reich. It didn't help that the entire world went to war with them when they had only a few friends on their side. I just drew a scenario in which they miraculously won."

"Huh... Well good, they don't sound like nice people." She drew to the conclusion of.

I chuckled once more at the innocence of her mind. Maybe I shouldn't talk to her about the horrors that nation brought upon others during that time period… "One of the worst, yes. Anyways, what brings you to me, my love?"

"...Snuggle?" She meekly asked which instantly won me over.

"How could I ever say no to my lovely little Queen?" I replied, the girl lightly giggling in joy after I called her that.

Though when we made it to our bedroom, I was seized by Olivia who called out for me, the woman having been able to see me since she had her door swung open. "Hey, Hunter!"

I stopped in my tracks and took a couple steps back before stepping into the doorway to see the doctor get up from her chair. "What's up?"

"I think it's time to try to get Etsu up and onto her feet without any aid. Of course, I'm gonna need a big strong man such as yourself to help supervise her with me, just in case she collapses." She gave me a very slight look that resembled a pleading expression.

I glanced down at Stacy who was at my side, the girl looking toward Etsu who was patiently waiting for my response. "...Is Kai not able to do it instead?" I asked, hoping to skip the job to snuggle with my Stacy instead.

"Nope, unfortunately for you, he's out doing Kai things in the forest, and Kostas can't help in this situation because of his arm. Which leaves you the only big guy I have available." She replied, her logic defeating any possible responses I could’ve said to try to get out of this situation.

I swallowed any desire to express how I felt inconvenienced before agreeing to help supervise Etsu. Typically, I'd be more than willing to help Etsu out, but this was getting in the way of snuggle time which I didn't like at all.

"Alright, let's get you up, Etsu." Olivia announced as she walked toward her bed. She extended a hand out which Etsu gracefully took before leaning up, the woman slightly wincing as she put her legs over the side of the bed.

When I got to Olivia's side, I took a step back as Etsu started slipping off the bed. When her feet contacted the floor, she wasted no time in getting herself up, Etsu putting a hand over her side as she winced harder.

"How bad's the pain?" Olivia asked as she took a couple of steps back.

"It's... it's definitely b-better than last time... Probably a six out of ten. I just wouldn't want to walk around like this a-any time soon, maybe a couple of more week- I mean, days?"

"You haven't started walking yet, you're just standing at the moment." I pointed out which caused Etsu to lightly sigh before she took a step forward. I was extremely cautious and alarmed just in case I had to catch her if she suddenly lost her strength to stand.

She took a couple of slow steps before stopping a bit to take a long, slow, and shaky breath. After a few more moments, she took another two. "It's a s-seven when I walk... I wish my, y’know, pain tolerance wasn't so low."

"I think anyone would be the same if they got cut like that, I know I would" I honestly replied.

Etsu chuckled at the situation. "I think it's dumb- it’s stupid how the body keeps r-reminding you that you've got an injury... Like, we already know, it's f-fixed and healing, stop telling me that I'm hurt!"

"Yeah, I thought about that too. Olivia, why do our bodies continue to tell us pain when we clearly already know that it's gonna be fine?"

She shrugged. "It's just the way our bodies work. It knows that it's not in a normal state and tells the brain that something isn't right. I wish it worked both ways, something like you're saying, for the brain to tell the body, 'hey, I know, please stop telling me that something's wrong, it's getting annoying'."

We chuckled at that before Etsu walked back to the bed. "I feel lazy and annoying, I've only, y’know, b-been someone who lays down to you guys so far."

"Please don't feel that way, we understand why you're only lying down at the moment, it's out of your control." Olivia replied, Etsu begrudgingly having to accept her words. "Let's do a few more minutes of walking to start getting your body back into the swing of things.”

After about ten minutes of Etsu's slow walking, and many close calls with her collapsing, she returned to lay on the bed, the short therapy session ending just after. "Well, I'm glad I didn't have to catch you, you'll be better in no time."

"Thanks for the optimistic w-words... I'm starting to see why y-you're their leader." She replied as Stacy lightly tugged my shirt from behind.

"Thanks, I guess. Well, there's something I gotta do, I'll see you two later." I said where I then turned around and started following Stacy out.

"Don't be too loud this time now or else." Olivia somewhat jokingly warned, quiet enough for Etsu not to hear it, but loud enough for Stacy to process it.

Stacy was brightly blushing by the time we entered our room. "I regret having sex twice that day." She announced when we got settled down onto our cuddle spot.

"Next time that happens, I'll make sure you don't get too loud because I know I didn't regret it." I replied before licking the tip of one of her ears, causing her blush to dim even more.

"...Yeah, I regret being loud, not having sex twice, I mean."

"It's all good, you were just enjoying it, which is what matters." With that being said, we went silent and snuggled into our cuddle, the both of us tightly holding each other and getting as comfortable as we could get.

Ten minutes later, I had softly placed my hands on both of her breasts, the girl more than willing to let me touch her however I wanted. Thirty seconds later, we heard a small ruckus waltzing up the stairs. I was a bit alarmed at the noise, but continued softly applying more pressure onto Stacy's chest, the act not being quite as good as usual since there was a shirt in the way, but it was getting me hard regardless, my mind getting excited at how the simple act of touching might evolve... But before things could progress, I heard a loud knocking on the door. I sighed in frustration over being cockblocked by who unknowingly interrupted something that could’ve turned into something magical.

I opened the door to reveal Audrey which made me cull any type of anger, I didn't wanna be mad at her. Though she still saw that I was in some type of negative mood. "Hey, everything cool?"

"Yeah, everything's good. What brings you here? Wait, you guys are back." I replied, quickly realizing that the runners had returned from their search for that day. "You're here rather early."

"Yeah, man. For a reason." She said as a smile appeared on her lips. With my interest piqued I asked her to go on. "Got some stuff we gotta fill you in on."

I had a feeling that it was important, but damn, the instinctive need to have sex was blocking a lot of my rational thinking at that point. "Uh, can it be like... in around ten minutes?"

"Yeah, sure thing." She simply replied before she walked off, the need to ask more about it being present within my mind, but not as much as it should’ve been. Regardless, I let her go and turned back to Stacy who was patiently waiting for me to return to her.

"The runners are back and they need to brief me on something." I explained, that explanation causing disappointment to swiftly make its way onto Stacy's face. "But we can have a fast quickie, if you want."

She lightly sighed. "No, I don't like quickies. I like having sex for longer than five minutes and not feeling like I'm being rushed so I can actually enjoy it."

"Yeah, I agree..." I sighed as well before trying to clear my mind of lust to save it for later. "I suppose I'll go see what they need to tell me so we can continue this as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll wait for you." She replied before giving her a kiss that lasted for a solid minute. Afterward, I went downstairs to see what was so important.

When I got to the living room, the two groups of runners were giving off giddy energy, the energy making me realize the gravity of the situation. "...Did you guys find a solar farm?"

"Yes!" Ashton excitedly answered, his excitement effectively spreading to me, but I kept myself under control.

"Where is it? How big is it? What kind of solar panels are they?" I listed off my questions, the prospect of finally getting some electricity running in our house finally appearing on the horizon.

"Here." Charlotte lifted a fresh map that she and Trinity had drawn. I walked up to her and took it out of her hands.

My eyes quickly scanned the route they had taken where I quickly noted that the solar farm was located north-west of the town. "This is... fantastic!" I exclaimed. "We'll all go there tomorrow to scope out the place and start thinking about how to dismantle them and transport them; let's not waste any time with this, we've gotta enact upon our plans A-S-A-P." I always felt powerful making executive decisions like that... I'll try not to let it get to my head. I then handed the map back to Charlotte who put it in her backpack. "You guys have done some amazing work, I appreciate y'all working and looking so hard the past few days. Now, onto my questions, please?"

"The place is really fuckin’ big, there had to have been thousands of panels there. Thankfully, they're on a concrete platform so no plants and shit like that have been growing on them, but they definitely need to be cleaned." Trinity answered one of the pressing questions.

"And they were the, uh, y'know, the type that you'd imagine, all big and on top of a metal stand." Charlotte gracefully answered the other question.

I couldn't help but smile brightly at this revelation. "This is so... awesome! I'm so excited that we were able to find these quite quickly with the help of the bikes... And maybe because solar was also exponentially growing in scale before The Drop, but that's besides the point. Now we just need to get rolling on the implementation part of this project."

"I can't help but wonder, how the heck are we gonna haul those panels such a crazy distance? I know you said something about that a few days ago, but it just doesn’t seem all that doable. I also imagine they've gotta be hella heavy." Audrey replied, her point resonating with the rest.

"I've had a couple thoughts about that as of late actually, a change in the strategy I wanna utilize. Ashton, do you think those bikes can have a wagon hooked up to them of some sort?"

"...I suppose we could, in your words, 'bootleg' hooking up one with some type of chain to the back of it. Though we don't have either of those things just laying around."

"It's certainly worth trying it, yeah? Tomorrow, as we pass through the town, let's look through a couple of markets to try and find those things. I’m sure we’ll be able to find what we need eventually."

"How come we didn't think of this sooner?" Charlotte asked.

"We didn't have the possibility of it happening before we got the bikes. Sure, we probably would've thought about it once we found the farm regardless, but it is what it is. So yeah, that's the game plan for tomorrow. Any questions?" With that being said, no one asked anything so I took that as my cue to leave.

Even though I should've been more excited at the discovery, my mind was still somewhat clouded with lust and desire. It's kind of ridiculous how much the thought of mating with Stacy captivated my attention. So when I got to my room to instantly see a naked Stacy already thoroughly wet with her legs spread open for me, her exposed sex being the first thing I saw when I walked in the room, I immediately got hard for her.

I locked the door behind me and stripped out of my clothes while I walked up to her, completely naked by the time I was in between her legs. As I pressed the base of my cock on her clit and put my hands on her hips, I asked, "What if it wasn't me that walked in to see you like that?"

"...You'd have to rip someone's eyes out?" She guessed, her blushed face having a timid smile while she lightly grunted at my slow rubbing.

I leaned down and deeply kissed her for a minute. "Yes, I would."


The next morning, I woke up well rested with a clear mind free of lust. I instantly remembered what I had been told regarding the solar panels from the day prior where excitement invaded my system which eliminated all feelings of weariness since the need to get some work done harshly entered my mind. Though I kept myself contained since I knew it was still ass o'clock in the morning since the sun had only just risen, signifying a new day.

So I decided to hold my angel for a couple dozen minutes while giving her light kisses on her forehead, cheeks, and the tip of her nose. She didn't wake up, but she instinctively smiled in her sleep at my little show of affection. The look of her sleeping with a gentle expression of happiness on her face was so extremely beautiful. I just observed her flawless form, mesmerized at what I was holding in the bare flesh.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes upon..." I whispered even though she wasn't awake to hear it. Even though she was, she knew I thought that of her since I made sure to tell her at least once a day. She'd always lightly blush at the compliment, something I hope that never stopped since it’s so adorable to see her like that. And I just couldn't help but remind her every day because in my mind and in my experience, she truly is the most beautiful person I had ever met, both inside and out. There aren't any biases skewing that statement, it's just a fact.

So after I was done gawking at her beauty, I slipped out of bed, got dressed, and made my way to the dining room. Thankfully, Ashton was already awake and sitting at one of the chairs by the dining table, the both of us saying little greetings for the morning. I joined him at the table before a conversation quickly picked up between us while we waited for the rest of our group to wake up.

"We should add 'grow coffee' on the Three Year Plan. I miss not being exhausted every morning." He suggested, the idea being one that I actually quite liked.

"Gonna need some coffee seeds... or however you grow coffee, I dunno. But sure, that's a splendid idea, I'll actually jot it down somewhere on the 'figure out how to make this type of food' section." I said before getting up to do just that.

"For your information a coffee bean is a seed... Yeah, at this point, I know how most mass-grown crops are planted and taken care of and what not. Perks of having a farmer's daughter as your significant other."

As I wrote down 'coffee' on the semi-short list of desired foods, I lightly chuckled at his statement. "She's gonna come in handy, on a scale that'll be hard to measure... Just need it to warm up a little more, then we can start cultivating the land in the back yard and start planting some seeds."

"It's gonna be fun to watch it all progress... Not gonna be fun putting in all the work though."

"As it typically is..." I agreed with a low sigh, not looking forward to hours upon hours of just cultivating... When I sat back down at the table I said, "If we all work together on it, we'll get it done in... a little bit of time. Just have to keep our eyes on the prize."

"That's the plan. You better make it an executive order as well and make it to where everyone’s focused on it." He advised with a chuckle.

"I will take it into consideration." I simply replied before seeing Trinity walk into the dining room with Charlotte, who had a serious case of bed-head. "Howdy my fellow gaybies."

"Don't call us that." Charlotte groggily said which made me slightly chuckle.

"Y'all ready for the fun to be had today?" I cheerily asked, trying to get us upbeat about the job ahead of us. As they took a seat, I didn't really get an answer, just a shrug and an 'eh'. Fair, since it was early in the morning, but it definitely didn't reflect how I felt about the situation.

Trinity started to fix Charlotte's hair with a comb while she talked about something with Ashton that I wasn't interested in, so I tuned it out. I started fantasizing about having electricity in our house and what I'd do if we were successful in implementing it all. It's gonna be a bitch to figure out how to hook it all up properly, but we'll get there, I'm sure of it. What could stop us?

That day was scheduled for the hunting shift to be off, though fishing was still a go, only because we needed Kai to help us move some panels whenever we got around to doing so. It'd all be a group effort and everyone that was going was specifically nominated since we were the strongest of the group. Besides Kostas, but since he was still recovering from his injuries, he obviously couldn't come with us.

So when Kai finally got his ass downstairs, all five of us that were going were awake and were essentially ready to hit the road.

"Let's not beat around the bush here; the sooner we get to those panels, the sooner we can transport them, the sooner we can have working lights and all the good stuff." I said around five minutes after we had all collected around the dining table, everyone easily agreeing to my words.

We swiftly got everything ready while the most important map of the was handed to Charlotte so she could effectively direct us to the farm. And just before we left, I went upstairs so I could give Stacy a kiss before I was off. I was not expecting for her to be checking herself out in the bathroom when I went upstairs.

I giggled at the sight. "Y'know, people would typically shut the bathroom door so no one could see what they were doing inside of one."

She lightly blushed but rolled her eyes. "I wasn't gonna stay in here long, you just happened to see me in here, I was just about to go back to our room, actually."

"No need for excuses, I understand why you're thoroughly looking at yourself in the mirror. If I was a fraction as beautiful as you, I'd do the same."

Her blush dimmed as she adopted a coy smile at my compliment. "Really, I just wanted to start a new drawing..."

"Oh? What about?" I asked as she walked back into our room.

"...Is it weird that I wanna draw me and you kissing?" She asked with a nervous giggle.

I lightly shook my head. "No, I don't think so... What am I gonna be kissing of yours?" I asked while she sat down at her desk before taking out a blank sheet of paper.

Her blush retained its strength at my hidden suggestion. "Just on the lips with you holding me, in a forest of super beautiful and bright crystals... I had a dream about that, it looked beautiful and I wanna draw it." She looked back at me. "Can I sit on your lap as you watch me draw it...?"

That suggestion physically hurt. "Agh, I'm sorry Stace, I'd love to do that... But I've gotta transport some solar panels and a couple of other things today."

"Oh, that's alright, I forgot about that. Maybe the next drawing?" She offered, thankfully not saddened that I was forced to deny her tempting offer.

I walked up to her and leaned down to nuzzle her cheek with my own. "Definitely the next drawing. Watching you draw is as mesmerizing to me as it is just looking at you." I loved making her blush. "I came up here to give you a hug and a kiss, I'm gonna be gone for a while..."

She stood up, turned around, and tightly hugged me for a minute before the both of us kissed for a couple more on top of that. We rested our foreheads against each other's as we very slowly rubbed each other's noses together.

"Alright, I've gotta go, I can't wait to see what your drawing's gonna look like when I get home."

With one more little kiss, we both said the classic words of saying that we loved each other. Satisfied with the small fill of addictive affection, I made my way down the stairs and outside to see that my crew were already on their bikes, my squad having been waiting for me to come out.

"'Let's not beat around the bush' he says while being the last one out..." Charlotte playfully mocked which made the others giggle and chuckle.

As I got on my bike, I defended myself. "Look, when you've got an irresistible, beautiful, flawless, future wife who wants kisses, I'm gonna give her kisses."

When we got moving, Charlotte 'awed' at my words. "All those compliments and calling her 'future wife'? It's almost enough to make my heart melt..."

"Hunter, stop being so open about your relationship, we don't want Charlotte to die any time soon." Kai advised as we started picking up speed.

"Hey, I can't help myself. Maybe I can spoil the cuteness energy by saying how sexy-"

"STOP!" A couple of them said, making me chuckle.

"You guys are the best." I simply replied.

We went down the main path to the mansion yada yada, I don't wanna write about the path we take to the town, I've done that enough at this point. When we got to the town, we swiftly made it to the commercial area of the town where we stopped at one of the large supermarkets in hopes to find some rope and at least a couple of wagons to hook up to our bikes.

"Flashlights out." I said as we entered the dim market, our flashlights being sub-optimal regarding fending off the unforgiving darkness but they'd do the job. "While we're here, we can start taking some small electric devices since, y'know, powering them is now basically around the corner."

After I said that, a certain type of realization hit them, a decent bit of the small pleasures of yesterday's world now in reach. I wasted no time in searching through the market, just looking for anything that could be considered a good gift. Though that's not what I focused on instantly. I went to the aisles where a handful of toolboxes were where there were several boxes containing some tools I thought we were gonna need.

I checked through a few of them, one catching my eye, a big flat black one that had many types and sizes of screwdrivers, socket wrenches, wrenches, hex keys, and many other miscellaneous tools that I wouldn't need for this job, but they'd probably be used in the future. Back at the house, there were some toolboxes, but they were lackluster and old, so I thought getting a completely 'new' one was the way to go.

After that, I was in an aisle that was pretty far removed from the others. I scanned through the shelves, a few good electronic gizmos catching my eyes. Such as a few dozen rechargeable batteries, a DVD player with a few songs to go along with it, and a decently sized camera that had a very high quality lens for taking pictures and videos. When I saw the camera, I gently took it off the shelf and slowly inspected it.

"Stacy's gonna love it..." I quietly murmured to myself as I imagined the girl being ecstatic at having a camera she could easily take pictures with.

"You really, really love her, don't you?" I heard Kai ask which spooked me just a bit, though I kept my eyes focused on the camera.

I chuckled. "Understatement of the century. I'm just getting a few things for her birthday in advance since it's right around the corner. I need to go to another couple of stores though, I got some more gifts planned. I was gonna tell you about it so I could get some help, gotta keep it a secret of course, it's gonna be a surprise for her."

I then finally took the time to look at my left while directing my flashlight toward the darkness where I saw... no one, just an empty aisle.

"Kai?" I asked before nonchalantly bagging the camera and walking out of the aisle into the main hallway, looking around for the boy to see where he had gone. "Kai?" I asked again, louder that time.

"Yeah? What's up?" He asked, ten aisles over to my right. I casually made my way over to Kai who was looking through a few shelves with Ashton.

"How'd you do that?" I asked, impressed at his deft skills of silently sprinting that fast.

"...How'd I do what?" He asked, a genuine confused expression on his face.

"...You said that I really loved Stacy and then quickly but silently ran away." I slowly said, pointing in the area I was at.

"Uh, no, I didn't?" He replied, his words said in a way like he was trying to answer a question he didn't know the answer to.

"Are you sure?" I asked with a tilt of my head. It was either he had some really good acting skills or I was going insane.

"I'm fairly certain." He simply replied.

"Yeah, Kai's been with me the whole time. Is everything alright?" Ashton said as he gave me a subtly concerned look. I was a bit spooked, but I thought nothing of it, must've been my mind playing some tricks on me. It still unsettled me, but I tried suppressing that fear since it seemed completely irrational.

Anyways, the three of us started looking for what we actually went there for; some rope and a couple of wagons. Thankfully, rope was quite easy to find which got me thinking of how ropes are made.

"I think Audrey knows how to do that, but I'm not too sure. I'll ask her about it when we get back home." Ashton replied after I expressed my curiosity. Rope would definitely be a good thing to start making on our own.

Twenty minutes later in the far back of the market where lawnmowers, weed whackers, chainsaws, and other outdoor equipment of the like is stored, we found three larger sized wagons in the corner of the store.

"I think we need one of the girls to tell us if these are big enough." Kai announced as I looked at the power tools for gardening.

"'Not it' to call out their name" I instantly said as I put the toolbox I had been carrying in the wagon while Ashton followed suit with saying 'not it'. Kai sighed and yelled out for their names, getting a faint response in return before Kai started directing them toward where we were.

"Look at all these electric power tools!" I exclaimed as I eyed an electric chainsaw. "We're gonna have to come back here at a later date to pick some of these up."

A few minutes later, the girls reached where we found the wagons, Kai quickly asking if they were big enough.

"Hm... I think about just. Say, if we get more of that rope, we can stack a lot of them on top of each other so we can carry like fifteen with each wagon." Charlotte smartly suggested.

"I love it!" I replied before sending Ashton to get more rope. "Let's bring these puppies out then." Thankfully, they were quiet wagons even though they were heavy duty ones, wide and long, quite big. They'd definitely get the job done. "Does everyone have what they want from this place?" I asked as I looked back at my crew who all quickly confirmed they were done.

But I could've sworn that I had seen... a very faint figure swoosh behind an aisle. I mentally said 'fuck that' and got the hell out of dodge. I don't believe in ghosts or demons or any of that shit, but I wasn't wanting to be proven right or wrong, that's for damn sure. The only thing I was sure about was that it must've been my mind playing tricks on me some more...

When we were back in the sun's beautiful bright rays, the paranoia I had been getting while searching through the market quickly vanished. "Alright, let's try to figure out how to hook these bastards up." I announced before Kai and Ashton swiftly got to work on that.

"Wait, I don't even think we need the rope, at least not for hooking anything up with each other." Kai announced as he went to his bike and fiddled with the seat for a couple of minutes before he popped it off. He then took the handle of the wagon and put the cylindrical part where the seat used to be in the handle. He put the seat back on and tested it out.

"Good thinking Kai!" I complimented while Trinity started doing the same with her bike. "How's it feel? You doin' alright?" I asked the boy while he slowly test drove the bike with the new addition.

"It's definitely different, but it's easier than I thought it would've been. Thankfully the wagon turns as well as the bike, so there's minimal delay between the two."

I excitedly clapped my hands while Trinity finished adding the wagon to her bike. "We're still gonna need the rope to wrap around the panels when we have them. Just set it all in Trinity's wagon and let's get this show on the road once more."

Just two minutes later, we were on our way to the solar farm, starting off by taking a few repetitive routes that I’ve become familiar with. Though we eventually reached a point which was uncharted territory in my perspective when we made it onto one of the routes to the no longer operational interstate highway system. The roads had seen better days. I mean, you could still drive on them, but nature wasn't fucking around with taking its land back. A bunch of grass, moss, and other stuff like that was already spreading over the crackling asphalt. But even then, it'd take another few years to make them too dangerous to drive on.

"It's crazy how one day these roads'll no longer be here." I couldn't help but comment. "So many billions of hours building, maintaining, and driving on these roads will just eventually vanish."

"Yeah, I agree... Unfortunately, that's what all that life seems to be, build stuff up so it can come down." Trinity somewhat depressingly said.

"I feel yah, I think about that all the time." Ashton replied while I felt the need to explain to them my newfound virtue in life. The one about not focusing on the unsolvable and striving towards what you want.

Charlotte sighed at my virtue. "I mean, it's a good way to look at life... It's just hard not looking at the end, y'know? It’s probably so hard not looking at endings so often ever since The Drop happened, but still... Life just doesn't make any sense and it sucks how a lot of our questions about it will most likely forever remain unanswered."

I lightly sighed but agreed with her statement. "You just gotta deal with it and accept the fact that we just don't know shit and probably never will. It took me a long time to accept it and I don't like accepting it. But there's nothing you can do besides focus on the stuff you do know about."

"Is that why we're focusing on all of this?" Kai asked, quickly getting a nod from me.

"Like I said, life's too short to spend your time doing things that don’t contribute to your life. You might as well try to enjoy it while we have it, right? For the billions of people that had it taken away too early from them." They all sadly agreed to that, the idea of living for the billions that unfortunately perished being forged.

A small silence emerged between us before it was broken by Trinity speaking up again. "We really are extremely lucky survivors from The Drop, whatever fuckin’ caused that to happen... It feels strange as shit being... what's left , y'know?"

"I've never really thought about it like that..." Kai quietly said, his perspective slightly changing on the topic.

I think it's funny how your perspective on something you've known for years can change with just a few words, long after you've already formed your own opinions that you think probably wouldn’t change.

"I hope someday we'll know what caused it..." I said, getting agreements across the board. "But let's focus on the present for now." I said as we started talking about what we'd be doing with electricity once we figured it out.

And it was the little things. Like using a fridge, a microwave, a hairdryer, listening to some music, air conditioner, heaters... stuff that just made life so much easier. We relished in the idea of us being able to use such devices in the near future while we got closer to the solar farm. It only took us another thirty minutes before I could see it in the distance.

"There she is..." I quietly said as I looked at the arrays of panels. And Trinity was right, there had to have been thousands of those panels collecting electricity. I just wondered where it was going, if anywhere at all.

When we strolled up on the farm, there was no fence that stopped us from walking up to the panels. So we parked our bikes a few meters away from the cement foundation that the panels stood upon before swiftly making our way onto the platform to check the panels out.

They were a bit low, the lowest point of the panel able to touch my nipple if I let it, which made it much easier to inspect the panels. I started getting excited, but I calmed myself and focused on what I needed to do or what I needed to know. I thoroughly inspected the back of the panels as the others looked around, waiting for my command. I wasn't that familiar with this type of solar panel, but it seemed easy enough to understand.

The entire panel had a main wire running down its back, connecting to the central wire that linked all the other panels and transferred the energy they produced. I traced the wire until it joined an even larger cable, which I followed down the hallway of panels until it reached a massive battery pack a few dozen meters away. When I spotted the logo plastered on one of its corners, a smile spread across my face.

"We'll come back for a couple of you in a couple of weeks." I told the battery pack as I draped a hand across it before turning back a few seconds later to continue inspecting the solar panels.

Inspecting the panel closest to our bikes, I started fidgeting with the wires to figure out how to unattach it. That was actually somewhat easy, just had to twist the wires around a tad where they connected for a bit before they came undone.. Now we just had to unscrew the panels that were screwed into the metal frame they were within.

"I'll undo the wires. Charlotte and Trinity, you get on the panels and unscrew where they've been screwed into, check the toolbox for the required tools. And Kai and Ashton, you've got the job of putting the panels in the wagons." I ordered as I started unhooking all of the wires, my subjects quickly getting to work on their orders.

Unscrewing the panels was actually a much harder job than I thought at first since it wasn't an easily undone mechanism; I suppose that first one was somewhat loose. The girls had to stand on one of the wagons to give them that extra bit of height to reach the top screws so that unfortunately slowed down the process. Though it was a bit funny hearing them struggle.

I had gotten done unhooking the wires for twenty solar panels well before the girls were done unscrewing half of the panels, so the boys and I just started talking about random shit after they were done hauling a few of the panels over and neatly stacking it in the unoccupied wagon. I thought that then was a good time to talk about the birthday celebration I was planning for Stacy.

"You guys promise to keep this a secret? I mean, you only gotta keep it a secret from one person, and that's Stacy." I began the topic after there was a lull in the conversation.

"Ooo, keeping secrets from Stacy? What could you possibly be planning?" Kai teased which made my eyes roll with a small smile.

"I'm planning a birthday celebration and I want it to be big."

"Isn't her birthday still like twenty days from now? By the way, I must say, you drawing those calendars has really been a big help regarding birthdays, so thanks for that." Ashton spieled on about.

"Yep, well not twenty, it's eighteen days from now. But I wanna make sure that I get everything right and prepared well before then. I promised her to make her super happy on her birthday for a couple reasons I can't get into." I vaguely said which caused Kai's head to tilt slightly. "So are you down to help me?"

"Depends on what you need us to do." Kai said, the boy suspicious of my words.

"Nothing too big. I just need someone to light off some fireworks when the time comes." I said with a shrug getting both of their attention.

"Hell yeah, I'd be down." Ashton enthusiastically agreed before Kai started claiming the role.

I chuckled at both of them. "Calm down guys, I already checked the firework store a few days ago. There's way more than enough fireworks to go around so you both can light off plenty of fireworks come the day of Stacy's anniversary of birth."

"You just gotta be weird, don't you?" Ashton asked with a giggle before quickly moving on from that antic. "How many are you planning on us setting off?"

"At least ten minutes worth of a good firework show to conserve the limited amount of fireworks I found. Sure, there's a lot of fireworks in the store I found, but fireworks run out really fast and I wanna save them for future occasions."

"For every birthday?" Kai asked but I shook my head. "Wait, why does Stacy get special fireworks but the others don't?"

I lightly sighed. "I knew you'd ask that... Alright, I'm gonna be vague because I know Stacy doesn't want me to tell this to others, but you're forcing my hand here..." With their attention solely focused on me, I continued. "She... Her parents abused her. Badly." Ashton somewhat jolted back at that but I didn't leave them time to respond. "Long story short, on her birthdays... it was bad, worse, the abuse… It’s made her despise birthdays. I'm gonna try to make her think about birthdays in a better light, through making her have a really fun day, and the fireworks are a part of that."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Charlotte said as she and Trinity walked up to us. "Not the abuse part though..."

"Look guys, promise me you won't speak of her abuse at all until she's comfortable with coming out with it. I feel bad about telling a secret of hers, but I needed to get these two dimwits to help me out."

Charlotte giggled at my playful insult, the four of them then promising me that they'd keep their mouths shut, all of them understanding the deep emotional scars Stacy has regarding her childhood.

"I've already retrieved a couple of gifts I'm gonna give her on her birthday, but I still need to get a few more things for her, and that's what I'll be doing after we bring these panels back; we'll focus on the car a bit later. If you wanna give her anything on her birthday then go ahead, it'd be deeply appreciated, but only do that after I'm done with her. Until then, I'm not gonna be able to get those gifts I need to get unless we get rolling. So c'mon boys, let's load up these panels and call it a day."

And so we got to work on moving the panels in a collective effort, the panels being much heavier than I thought they'd be. Or maybe I was just weak. Probably a bit of both.

After we loaded up ten panels on one of the wagons, Charlotte tied them down with the rope we had brought with us. Thankfully, I could set the toolbox down on the panels since they were protected with some sturdy glass over their solar cells. After we loaded up the second wagon, both of them only taking about twenty minutes to load, Trinity tied them down before our group started to make our way back a few minutes later.

When we got back to base, around seventy-five percent of the day had gone by, so we were pretty tired of biking, especially Kai and Trinity since they were the ones who hauled the panels back. They're strong troopers, for sure. We simply left the wagons out by the porch since we thought figuring out what to do next with the panels was tomorrow's job, which it was.

My tired subjects instantly went to their significant others while I went up to my room where I slipped my shoes off and set my backpack down. Though I remembered the couple of gifts that I had taken for Stacy. Picking my backpack back up, I then checked the hallway for any sign of my beautiful Queen. When I saw no sign of her, I headed to Olivia's door.

She opened it moments after my gentle knock, the doctor smiling at me as she let me in. "Welcome back, Hunter. How'd the trip go?"

"Spectacular!" I exclaimed, causing Olivia to put a finger up to her lips while she pointed towards the sleeping Etsu. "Oh, sorry... It went great, we have twenty solar panels out by the porch."

Olivia smiled brightly at the news. "This is... fantastic. I'd've said that louder if Etsu was awake." She said, causing me to giggle. "So, what brings you here?"

After she asked, I lifted my backpack up a bit. "I need to hide some objects in here, may I use your closet to do so?"

"Uh, sure... Why though?" She asked as I strolled up to her closet before swiftly taking out the camera, the DVD player, the songs, and the batteries where I then put it at the back of her closet.

"Birthday presents for Stacy." I answered as I stood back up and slung my backpack around my shoulder. "I wanna keep them a surprise."

She gave me a motherly look, like how a mother would look at their child when they know they found their true love.

"Aw, you're so thoughtful." She commented as she closed the closet door for me. "I'll make sure she doesn't look in my closet... I would be really confused if she did anyways."

I chuckled again. "Thank you Olivia." I praised before suddenly looking left to right, as if Stacy had a chance of seeing or hearing us talk. I told her about the fireworks show I had planned and when it'd take place; Olivia agreed that it was a good idea.

"Tomorrow, can you help me supervise Etsu for a bit so she can try walking around again? I think she's almost to the point where the pain is subsiding enough for her to start walking around. She might be able to do that as soon as tomorrow."

I nodded. "Of course, I'd like to see our new friend up and about. She really seems to enjoy her autonomy."

"I'm sure we all would remember how much we enjoy our autonomy if we were put in her shoes..."

"True." I simply replied.

"The vote for her admission is tomorrow, isn't it?" She asked as she looked at the sleeping woman.

"Indeed. I think it'll be an easy landslide for her to stay... I know I don't want to let go of an engineer of her capability."

She looked up at me with a smile. "Future plans?"

With a nod, "Future plans."

With all that being discussed, I made my way out of her room and back into mine where Stacy was sitting by the desk while she drew something. I set my bag down which caused her to look behind her, my sweetheart giving me an adorable smile as she turned her chair to properly face me. "I saw the panels, they look so cool."

"That's because they are." I replied while I walked up to her. "With them, we're gonna be able to do so many things in the future."

She got out of the chair and took a step toward me before her arms wrapped around my abdomen which caused me to hug her back. "All because of you..."

I put my hands on her jawline. "Not just because of me... You've gotta give yourself credit too, silly girl."

She looked puzzled as I rubbed my nose against hers. "How do I get credit for it? I didn’t do anything."

"Because you're the one that makes me do this... You give me the happiness, the ambition, and the strength to move forward with what I want to accomplish. And for your information, I wanna accomplish it with you, I don't think there'd be a point if you weren't by my side while I do it."

She lightly blushed and looked away, her eyes getting teary-eyed but she still wore a smile. She looked back up at me. "I'm... I'm so happy that I make you feel that way..."

"You couldn't not make me feel that way." I replied before lightly kissing her, the kiss staying innocent and love filled. "Now, what about that drawing that I wanted to see when I got back?"

She wiped a tear off her cheek and lit up at my question, the girl then stepped out of the way to the chair and directed for me to sit on it. I gracefully did so before the girl hopped on my lap before I turned us to the desk.

"I was just signing and naming it when you walked in. I call it 'Crystalized Passion'." She said as she turned the work over and revealed the... 'beautiful' did not give this work of art, the masterpiece, justice as it was too weak of a word to describe it.

"Stacy... This is... I am speechless." I said as she blushed and played with a bit of her hair.

The image was of me holding her like a bride as I deeply kissed her, surrounded by glowing, gleaming, cut, and beautiful crystal trees that were made out of diamond, rubies, emeralds, and other gems of the like. I had my angelic wings in this image that she liked so much, my huge wings spread out, like I was protecting her from something around us that we couldn't see.

"I spent like seven hours making it... is it alright?" She shyly said.

"Alright? Stacy, this is a masterpiece. Stacy, I can't express how much you're... just... a prodigy at art. This is... just so amazing." I explained, trying not to get too excited as I spoke, calming down at the end of unloading what I thought.

"Thank you..." She simply replied with a pleased smile.

"Thank you for making such beautiful pieces. We should start putting these on the walls so people can start seeing them, you can have your own art display! How does that sound?" I asked as I pulled her closer to my chest so we could make eye contact.

"That would be quite nice, for the others to see what I draw, since they’re just hidden away in my desk’s drawers."

I nuzzled her nose and pecked the tip of it. "Then that's what we'll do. Wanna put them in the hallway?"

She smiled happily. "If it wouldn't be a bother."

"Of course not, Stacy."

And so we went to do that. Stacy collected all of her drawings while I got some pins so I could put them up in the hallway. After twenty minutes of asking her where she wanted them, her beautiful art pieces decorated the previously barren hallway which finally gave our house some colorful life.

"Did you show Etsu this one?" I asked as I looked at the one where she was sleeping soundly.

She nodded. "She loved it. I'm surprised you didn't hear her freaking out about it."

"I was probably out fishing or something like that..." I said as I stopped to admire 'Crystalized Passion' some more. It was truly breathtaking.

Stacy was so talented, it was almost unreal. As I hugged her, I admired her work as I wondered about what would someday cover these walls, what else she'd draw, and how colorful our home would become if she continued posting her work for all to see. Only time would find out, I just hoped that her work continued reflecting her soul... Stunningly beautiful.

Chapter 23: The Pre-Preparations

Chapter Text

There was a lot to do as of late. Had to talk to a few people, figure out how to move forward with the solar panels, had to go out to get more of the gifts I was planning to give Stacy for her birthday, and the Etsu situation all while making sure I kept my Queen happy. It was definitely much more eventful than the prior couple of months which I welcomed since I quite liked the change of pace. So with that mindset, I didn't waste that much time after I woke up. I probably shouldn't have slept in for a couple hours later than usual though, I will admit that. Ah well, spooning Stacy is always a phenomenal way to spend time regardless of what I have to do.

Waking up a bit later meant I didn't have to wait for most people to wake up since the entire crew was already out and about and getting around to doing their tasks. While downstairs, I remembered that Olivia wanted me to supervise Etsu to see if she was able to walk, so I headed back up there where I was happy to see that both of the women were wide awake.

After Olivia let me in the room, I gave them little greetings for the morning before conversation began. "How's it going, Etsu? Feel like you’re able to walk today?" I gently asked as I walked up to the side of the bed.

"I feel... much better in c-comparison to what I was feeling a few days ago. And y-yes, I do feel like walking today, I'm tired of staying put, I f-find that it's quite boring." She cheerily replied as she leaned up, not wincing this time. Progress.

"Want me to help you up?" Olivia generously offered, though Etsu shook her head.

"I think I might be fine to move on my own now... It's crazy how long this injury has kept me down." She said as she scooted onto the side of the bed.

"Well, I'm here just in case you need it, we don't need you falling down on us." I announced while she got on her feet before she took a deep breath. That was a great sign, mainly because she wasn't wincing, though she was probably experiencing some amount of pain due to the unusual rate of breathing that she now experienced.

"Any pain?" Olivia asked as Etsu started taking a couple of steps.

She lightly nodded. "Yes, but it's about a four out of t-ten n-now. Much better than it was yesterday... It's definitely, y’know, bearable... May I ask a-a question?" She asked as she looked at me with a tilt of her head.

"Sure thing."

"Am I allowed to walk around a bit through this house? I'm tired of being in this room and I wanna see what else there is here..."

I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I did, but I figured that we needed to start trusting each other or we never would. I gave her a firm nod. "We're on the upstairs floor though, you'll probably need some help if you wanna go downstairs."

She happily sighed at my words before wasting no time making her way to the door. She was slow and very timid, but that was expected, I was just worried that she might fall and collapse so I stayed near her so that wouldn't happen. We walked into the hallway where Etsu's eyes instantly noticed the works of art that had recently been put up. It didn't take her long to start admiring the pieces, the woman then slowly walking down the hall while she scanned Stacy's masterpieces.

"These are so b-beautiful..." She commented as she stopped at the baby picture that Stacy had drawn. "She's so, y’know, young to be this good at drawing, isn't she?"

"Not necessarily, but a part of me wants to agree to a certain extent. You just need to have the eye for this stuff and the practice for it with a hint of being a natural." I replied with a shrug as she fell silent.

But not for long though. As she stared at the drawing, she asked, "What do you have, y’know, planned for me?" She shifted her gaze toward me. "A few days ago, you said to k-keep my engineering skills in my head, said you couldn't tell m-me then why I should... Are you able to tell me now?"

Considering the circumstances, I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell her a few things regarding future plans. "I plan and hope to have you here, just in case we need someone that has your profession in order for us to achieve something." I simply answered, though she wasn't that satisfied with the answer.

"...I don't understand, how is engineering gonna, y’know, c-come in handy any time soon?"

I took a small step toward her while looking at the baby picture. "You see this, here?" I asked, pointing a finger at the image. Etsu slowly nodded, not sure where I was going with that. "It captures the infancy of a new human life, recently brought into an expansive world filled to the brim with endless possibilities... It's the point in which life truly begins despite everything and everyone wrangling with the great mystery of existence regarding how we’re able to do anything to begin with. I'll cut to my point; this image... is of Stacy and I holding a baby of ours together."

As I looked back at her, she looked rather shocked. "You have a b-baby?"

I shook my head with a chuckle. "No, not yet at least."

"I d-don't see how… y’know, me being an engineer has anything to do with y-you having children..." She replied, clearly lost, which was fair since I didn't tell her my ulterior point.

"It has to do with the future, possibly years from now. I want a child some time in my life, preferably a long time from now. The only reason I prefer that it be a long time from now is because I don't want one in the current world. The world's empty, bare, lonely, and cold while our species is far and wide between. The place you're in is the beginning of the end to that depressing norm, or at least, that's what I'm trying to make it."

Her face started expressing that she was starting to understand all of my previous points, my meanings converging in her head.

"A small but very important part of making a bright, stable, and friendly comfortable future for the offspring that we might have someday may very well rest in your hands... That's what I'm planning for you, to help guide this place with your fields of expertise, when the need arises."

She looked shocked at my words, though she contained the feeling, the woman looking back at the art piece instead. "I..." She trailed off.

"It's up to you whether or not you wanna accept my offer. I can't make you choose anything, I can just tell you that I really hope that you'll stay with us, become a member and one of our friends, and grow with us while we move into the future. Heh, who knows, maybe some sort of God sent you here for a reason."

After those encouraging words, she gazed back at me, more shock present on her face. "You really are i-inviting me to your g-group, aren't you?"

I nodded with a soft smile. "You've given me no reason to send you on your way, and even if I had to, it'd be difficult."

She giggled. "Are you only giving- I mean, offering me this just b-because I'm an engineer?"

"The 'part of the future rests in your hands' part depends on you being an engineer, but not the invitation to our group itself. That would've happened regardless because it’s difficult to pass anyone up, considering the inherent feeling to group up with others. So, what do you say? Wanna hop aboard our crew?"

She delicately started walking down the hallway to see other works of Stacy’s before stopping at the one where Olivia gave me the leadership of the group. "I haven't b-been with a group in so long..."

"You've been in a group before?" I asked, the information taking a harsh grip on my attention.

"Well, not like with a group, but not really, I just tagged along with one for a couple of weeks, like f-four people..."

"Why'd you leave?" I asked, a certain type of worry of her possibly abandoning us forming within my mind.

"They, uh, s-simply didn't have any reason for me to stay. We were, y’know, stragglers and walking the streets like s-so many others do."

"You didn't like them as friends?" I asked, getting a small shake of her head. "Why not?"

"They w-were kind of racist, if you can b-believe it." She said as she continued thoroughly looking at the moment I became the group’s leader.

I sighed at her explanation. "That's sad. That's extremely sad. Even after The Drop, some of the people left still have room in their mind to be racist? You have my word Etsu, that racism or any other type of discrimination is not tolerated here; we will not breed willful ignorance. We will learn from society's mistakes."

She gave me a smile. "I can clearly s-see why you're their leader now and why Olivia gave it to y-you. The way you, y’know, look at things is pure and optimistic, yet you aren't naive, as you clearly expressed t-to me with that threat you gave me a few days ago. You- you know what you're doing." She looked back at the drawing. "This was a good moment to… capture."

Letting a few silent seconds pass by, I then repeated a question to her. "So, what'll it be, Etsu? Are you in or out of our group?"

"I-I've thought about this possibility, of staying with all of you... I thought it wasn't gonna happen, that y-you'd send me on my way once I fully healed." She looked back at me with a hint of joy. "Yes, I'd like to be part of this group, to try to help you g-get to that future you want to, y’know, achieve."

I happily nodded at her words. "I'm pleased to hear it. I'll brief you on the few rules we have after we take the vote."

"Vote?"

"For your admission into our group. Don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll be a landslide for you to stay."

With that being discussed, I helped her down the stairs after asking the doctor to follow me. Once down there, our guest walked around the living room at her leisure, the woman scanning the room with a subtle hint of wonder. Thankfully, almost everyone was awake and in the living room or dining room, though Kai and Willow were on the porch. I told everyone to meet in the dining room, they knew it was time to make the vote.

After quickly retrieving Stacy and Trinity from the upstairs and leaving Etsu in the living room, we began our discussion regarding our vote about the approval of Etsu's membership.

"This kind of reminds me of the United States."

"Literally how?" Willow asked, the others being confused as to why I said that.

"Because there's thirteen of us adding a new 'colony' into the 'union'. She’s basically Vermont." They didn't really like that joke but fuck em'! No, don't butt-fuck em', c'mon.

Anyways, it took us around ten minutes to discuss most points about Etsu, my main point being that she's an engineer. Other points were established as well such as we outnumber her by quite a bit, she's a nice person, and has a lot of potential for many things. The final vote was nine to four; those who voted against her simply thought we should wait a little longer to accept her into the group. Regardless, our official vote meant that Etsu was accepted as our fourteenth member which was followed by half of us going into the living room to tell her the news. Before I did that, I told the ones who voted against her admission into the crew that they were allowed to be suspicious of her and keep an eye on her, and if anything seems off, they can report it to me.

"Welcome aboard!" Kai cheerily said after I told her the news.

"I don't know what t-to say other than... thanks for giving me the opportunity. I'll try not to, y’know, blow it." She replied with a bright smile.

"It'd be difficult to do that if you genuinely don't wanna screw things up, all that you have to do is follow our basic rules which are pretty much just common sense.. They’re the usual; don't steal anything, destroy our property, harm or kill anyone, don’t be a sexist-racist-homophobic prick, don't do anything someone wouldn't like. By the way, ‘lll say that you aren't gonna get your Beretta back any time soon, I hope you understand."

She gave me a small nod. "Of course, I'm new and y-you need time to pass to feel comfortable about that, I get it. When do you, y-y’know, think I'll get it back?"

I glanced at our other members. "Not sure yet, still need to flesh that part out. I'd say in a month or two, around there. Until then, let's focus on today's tasks."

Everyone got the hint and started dispersing which left Etsu confused as to what she was supposed to do. "Tasks?"

"Fish, hunt, and in Nova's case with the help of a friend, gather food; they’re essentially our daily chores." I answered before I turned around and headed back toward the dining room while Etsu followed by my side.

"...What should I do?" She shyly asked, probably feeling like she needed to do something since she was now part of the gang.

"You? Nothing. Not for another couple of days at least, you're still pretty immobile." I answered, which caused her to sigh.

"I guess that's t-true. At least, y’know, I'm out of a bed and can move again. I was getting tired of b-being in that room despite Olivia trying her best with everything while I-I was there. Being mobile to do my… y’know, my bodily functions on my own is a great f-freedom to have back." She said with a subtle shiver. I knew better than to ask about it.

As we entered the dining room, I gave the other half of the group a hint to get some tasks done which was followed by them starting to get to work. It wasn't like I ordered anything or said anything in a commanding tone, just a tone that told them it was more of a suggestion than a command. I never really felt like 'commanding' them around when I didn't need to, so I didn't. Kostas was the only one left at the dining table when the rest cleared out, where Etsu gave him scared but sorry eyes.

"Just the man I was looking for." I announced while I walked up to him before taking a seat at the head of the table. "How's the arm doin'?"

He glanced down at it, his arm wrapped in fresh bandages, the man shrugging. Right after Etsu took a seat, he said, "Doesn't really hurt that much anymore... Well, it does when I start lifting heavy things up, it just doesn't hurt much when it is still.."

"Well, that's good to hear. It'll heal up in no time, then you can lie to your kids about how you got a scar on your arm." I said with a grin though he scoffed at my suggestion.

“You don't know the man you're talking to, the man that never wants children."

"Never say never, big boy." I said with a wink, causing him to shake his head.

"I'm s-sorry that I s-sliced your arm..." Etsu skittishly apologized while she stared at Kostas' bandaged forearm.

He lightly laughed. "It's alright Etsu, all is forgiven. It was all a mistake, that is all it was. I should be the one saying sorry, I hurt you in a worse way."

"It's... alright as well. I'll, y’know, recover in a couple weeks or s-so. I'm just glad I c-can move around again."

"I'm glad you two are able to understand each other and communicate that it was all a mistake. This'll all be a fond memory in a few years time, I'm sure." I optimistically said.

"I'm not quite sure if fond is the right word to use, but I get it, and it probably will be something like that." Kostas replied, Etsu giggling a tad.

"Which reminds me to ask y-you; how exactly are all of you, y’know, planning this future that I'm gonna need to b-be a part of? I was g-gonna ask that earlier in the hallway, but it slipped my mind." And just like that, her skittishness vanished.

"Fair, I was telling you a lot of information so I see why you forgot. But yes, that's a good question." I said before I stood up and walked to the fridge where I retrieved the sheet of paper detailing The Three Year Plan and brought it back to the table. "This is our outline for the future. At least for the next three years. We'll probably add more onto it as more ideas sprout up regarding what we want and need as we develop this place, but this is it so far."

I took the time to glance at the estimated date in which it will all be completed. The date that was listed was April 30th, 2030. Goddamn... where has the time gone? Anyways, Etsu thoroughly scanned it while I went to get a pencil. When I came back, I crossed out 'collect solar panels'.

"I can't help b-but notice the lack of, y’know, lighting. A-Are you sure y-you got those solar panels?" Etsu asked with a chuckle.

"We got them just yesterday actually. I was gonna talk with Kostas about what our next course of action is regarding trying to figure out how to hook them up to our pad." I explained as I looked at Kostas' gaze.

"Oh! When do y-you think you'll g-get them up and operational?" She asked, a large amount of excitement in her tone.

"Well, like I said, I need to talk to Kostas to figure that out." I replied with a chuckle where the woman then internally facepalmed at herself.

"I saw them outside. What are your plans for them right now? You got any?" Kostas asked, finally getting that crucial topic rolling.

"A few actually, but I'm gonna need some help. The solar farm we scavenged them from thankfully has a few large battery packs right by it, but they're huge and won't fit in the wagons even if we tried. It'd probably be a five man job to get it loose from where one of them is standing and move it elsewhere."

"So we use the car you found to move it?"

"Bingo. However, it's gonna be difficult plugging its charger up to some solar panels. When it gets about twenty or so miles of charge, we'll drive it to the solar array, charge it from there for a while, take a few more solar panels and a battery pack, then take it back to base. Or something like that."

Kostas nodded at my plan. "Seems definitely possible. Any more ideas?"

"The battery pack is gonna need something solid and durable to stand on; it can't just stand on the dirt, that's no good. It's difficult thinking of what to set it on, we really don’t want any problems to arise due to a faulty platform."

"Would c-concrete suffice in being a solid platform for it?" Etsu confidently suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be great. I just don't know how to make it. It's on the list here, but it's gonna be a while until we get around to it... Unless you have other plans?"

"I-I guess y-you could say that. I know how to make concrete, but it'll b-be difficult without... y'know, global supply chains."

I looked at her and gently held out a hand, where she didn’t really know what to do before she gently rested my hand in hers where my grasp on hers tightened a tad while I intently looked her in the eyes. "Tell me everything about making concrete and I'll make sure it happens eventually."

She giggled as I let her hand go. "Are you sure? It'd be a-a very difficult task to do. Shouldn't you. y’know, try looking for some concrete to use i-instead of making it from scratch?"

"I guess so. I'm just willing to start from scratch to be independent from scavenging. Though for this, I guess we can go find some bags of the stuff in the town. But I still want you to tell me how to make concrete, for future use."

She nodded. "Want me to tell you now or...?"

"I'll get you a couple sheets of paper to write down on." I replied, wasting no time in doing that. When I returned to my seat, I handed her the sheet and a pencil where she instantly started writing down the materials and processes we'd need to do to make the material. It looked quite complicated, so it definitely was something for much farther in the future. Nonetheless, I was excited that we had someone who knew how to make the material, the possibility of creating it in the future now essentially a guarantee. When she was done writing the process down, we quickly read over it.

"It seems Ashton has a possible job in the future..." Kostas commented with a chuckle.

"Ashton is the s-strange one with the curly hair, right?" Etsu asked, making me bark a laugh.

"Oh yeah, he's definitely the strange one..." I answered with a grin. "He used to be a miner before The Drop, I'm sure he's familiar with these materials and how to get them. I'll have to ask him about it."

Etsu looked shocked at my words. "That's... surprising. He’ll, y’know, come quite in handy if you want this accomplished."

"Indeed he will. Hell, everyone's skills here will come in handy down the line."

"Does everyone h-have their own skill?" She inferred before swiftly getting a nod from me. "Ooo, like what?"

"Well, you already know who the doctor is and now the miner..." I said as I began listing off the skills that my people have. By the end of it, Etsu was quite fascinated by what we were capable of. "It's kind of crazy how they all know what they do - it's like the world lined them up to meet each other because they have so much possible synergy power they could tap into, if orchestrated the right way."

"...And your skill is being the o-orchestrator?" Etsu correctly inferred though I never thought of it like that.

"Yeah, I guess so. Though I'm not sure how much I feel about it being my defining skill."

"It's working, right?" Kostas asked with a slight tilt of his head. "At first I thought it wasn't a good idea for you to be the new leader, I really did not like the change... But I'm glad that happened. You've been able to push us in a direction that we weren't able to see. And how you can think in fast situations like when we met Etsu is definitely something good to have, a skill that not many are able to do."

Even though that was all true, I was still kind of processing that I was leading these people. It didn't really feel like it, but when I thought long enough about it, the gravity of it kicked in. "I appreciate the words. I'll continue to do my best. And that continues with these questions; when are we gonna charge the car, take a battery pack, get some concrete,, and hook our house up to some electricity?"

"The day's still very young. Why not get to work on some of it today?" Kostas suggested.

I grinned at his words. "I like your work ethic. But are you able to do anything with your arm like that?"

As I looked at it, he answered. "I can't lift heavy things, but I could definitely do some wiring if I had the materials."

"Wanna head out and go find some wires in the town? I'll call on Ashton and Roman to come along with us just in case we need to move anything heavy, y'know, we're gonna be taking some solar panels to the vehicle we found." I explained, getting an understanding nod from Kostas. "Let's get ready then." While doing that, Etsu asked me what she should do. "If you know how to make any other complicated materials other than concrete, feel free to write it all down. That'd help a lot with future projects down the line."

With that being said, I quickly found the two boys I wanted to be a part of the mission, both of them easily agreeing to my suggestion after briefing them on what the objectives were. Ten minutes before we headed out, I went to go give Stacy a kiss or two before I left, though when I got to the door to our room, I heard her softly playing the clarinet. What she was playing was so slow, soft, and beautiful. I made my way in while trying to be as quiet as I could, but she had some wicked good ears. The girl stopped her mesmerizing tune and got out of her chair, leaving the instrument on her desk.

"I'm about to head out, there's a few things I need to do with some others to get the electricity project up and going." I announced while she walked up to me before the both of us hugged each other when we were close enough.

She lightly sighed and nuzzled my chest. "Again? But you were gone for so long yesterday..."

I looked down at her, her eyes looking up at me and pleading with me to stay, the tone of voice on the verge of begging. I slid my hands up to her jawline and pecked the tip of her nose.

"Yeah, again. I'm sorry, my love, but it has to happen so we can power our lights, charge certain devices, and so much more which’ll make our lives so much easier. And it might be like that for the next couple of days regarding me being gone and what not."

She lightly sighed once more. "I know, it's fine... I just wish that we could hug and stuff right now."

I chuckled. "We will when I get back, I promise. How about you play me a song of yours when I get back? You rarely play it in front of me; I'd love to hear how skilled you are at it now when you’re on your lonesome. It's been a while."

She smiled at my suggestion. "Sure, that sounds cool. I have to say that I don't play that much in front of you because I'm trying to make it sound better for you to hear, I don't want it to sound bad for you."

I slowly eskimo kissed her as I chuckled again. "From what I heard, it's already beautiful. I can't wait to hear it when I get back." We deeply kissed for a minute before hugging for the same amount of time. "Alright, my love, it's time for me to head out, I'll see you when I get back, I love you." After she reciprocated the words and gave me another soft kiss, I was off to get back as soon as possible.

Once my crew were out in the front yard, we unloaded the solar panels from one wagon, put the toolbox in it, and kept three panels in the other wagon. We did all that so we could efficiently take it all to where Ashton and I had found the car, the mission at hand.Wanting to deal with the other solar panels later, we simply put the other solar panels on the porch. After that, we headed toward the town to look for some concrete and some wires.

When we entered the town, we wasted no time trying to find what we were there for. We went to the supermarket where we had found the wagons before searching for around half an hour which resulted in us finding a pile of concrete bags deep in the store. Even though there wasn't that much, it was still relatively a lot, like fifty or so decently sized bags just ripe for the taking. We knew they were gonna be heavy, so Ashton drove his bike into the store, its wagon having been made empty, which allowed us to swiftly start transporting a few bags of concrete.

"It says here to wear rubber gloves and wear goggles when mixing." Roman announced after we set the seventh and last bag of concrete down. We didn't know how much we were gonna need so I just said 'go big or go home'.

"Right, I forgot that you had to do that. I'll go look for a few pairs of thick rubber gloves and a couple pairs of goggles while y'all look for some wires that'll be compatible for the panels and what not." I commanded before I split off from my group who went off to do just that.

As I branched off and looked through several aisles in the dark market, a feeling of paranoia started to slowly build up within my mind. I don't know what it was about that store but it was spooky. Luckily, I was able to swiftly find what I was looking for before essentially sprinting back to my group, not wanting to be consumed by the demons that probably inhabited the store. Thankfully, they had found the wires we needed and quite a bit of them too. Kostas was thoughtful by getting some electrical tape if he needs to cut some wires to properly bootleg the charger. We put everything we had got in the wagon and made our way out back into the outdoors.

"Does anyone else get creeped out in there?" Roman asked after we started biking the streets once more.

"Hell yes I do, I’m so glad I’m not the only one. Though it only happens when I'm alone. I dunno what it is about that place." I replied, the other members not expressing any feeling of being creeped out.

"It just felt like someone was watching me... smiling at me even." He said as he shook his head lightly, presumably to shake the feeling out of his mind. Now knowing that someone else felt the same way, I felt a little better about myself, now feeling that being paranoid about that place wasn’t me being completely irrational. Eh, maybe it was, but at least I wasn't the only one with that fear.

Not long after we left the market, I decided to announce a personal side mission. "I'm gonna go to the mall real quick, there's something I need to get."

"Sure thing, it's not like it's late or anything." Ashton replied before we took a little detour to the place where we all met.

When we got to the entrance of the mall, I asked if any of them wanted to go in. It turned out that Roman was the only one that wanted to check some things out. I guessed he just wanted to spend his time doing something more productive, like searching for anything that caught his eye. I didn't mess around though, I was there for a very good reason.

I briskly made my way to the intersection of the mall before quickly making my way to where the jewelry section was. It seemed like not a single soul had been there to scope out the store’s wares ever since Stacy and I found her necklace. What I was doing was only a bit ironic since I was there for the exact same reason, to get something else shiny and beautiful for Stacy.

I looked through the glass cabinets. scanning over many types of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. None of them caught my eye. When I got to the ring section, sure, they were beautiful, but none of them spoke to me. It wasn't until I got behind the cabinets and started looking through some secret compartments did I find something that truly spoke to me.

I gently took the ring out that was... perfect in every way. The size had to be right; I knew how thick her fingers were, as weird as that is to write down. The ring itself had a very immaculate and shiny sapphire surrounded by dozens and dozens of much smaller diamonds, the middle of the ring completely encrusted with more of the beautiful stones with gold holding it all together.

I continued to stare at it while I silently determined if that was the one. After spiritually knowing there wasn't a better choice, I carefully put it in my backpack and smiled at how she might react to what the significance of the ring will be once I give it to her. I'm not intending for it to be a marriage ring, but a promise ring. When I give it to her, I'll say... I'll write that down at another time. Anyways, I think it was too early for that, to get married. Well, maybe, I love her to the point that I'd be fine with getting married to her, but I just wanna wait a couple or so years before doing that, it feels right that way. Could we even technically get married in this world though? That's a topic for later.

When I was done looking for the perfect ring, I was done with the mall. Thankfully, Roman was done with the place too which I was able to tell by how he was looking at me from the middle of the hallway. I’ll be honest, that spooked me a tad. "...Why are you just staring at me?"

He shook his head briefly. "Whoops, sorry, I was just thinking about... relationships."

"...Because I was holding a ring?"

"Well, yeah, I know you're planning a couple of big things for Stacy for her birthday so you must be getting that for a reason. Are you gonna propose to her or something?" He bluntly asked.

I laughed while I walked past him, the boy following me as we started walking toward the exit. "You should know that not everyone would be fine with you asking them such questions. But no, not yet."

"Hm, alright... How do you go about confessing to someone? You seem to know how to do that." He asked which made me remember that Nova and Roman still weren't in a relationship.

I stopped my stride, which in turn, halted his. "You planning to confess to Nova?" I asked, causing him to blush.

"How did you..."

"Dude, it's the most obvious thing, probably ever. I, and everyone else, is surprised that you two still aren't bumping uglies yet." I said, the boy unfamiliar with my slang. I decided not to define what it meant. "Point is, I think you two are both equally afraid of confessing to each other. I suppose you guys just need a little nudge."

"What do you mean?"

"You guys need someone to tell you to rip the band-aid off so you two can pursue what you both secretly want. You've got this, it's gonna be extremely easy for you."

"How do you know though?" He asked before I quietly chuckled.

"Wow, you really are extremely oblivious, huh?" With the unamused expression he gave me, I decided to conclude the conversation with a few more words of advice. "Just trust me, everyone knows that you two are bound to happen, we just don't know when. The worst that could happen is she says no and you guys continue your friendship, regardless of what happens. You got this. And no, don't even try to ask me to ask her anything, this is a job for you two and you two only."

With that little guy-talk said and done, he reluctantly trusted my words. I hoped it'd do him and Nova some good, I had faith that it would. When we exited the mall, we started picking up speed again before I announced another little detour.

"Uh, sure... What are you doing anyways?" Kostas asked while I led the way.

"I'm just getting some gifts for Stacy's birthday. You guys better keep that a secret." I answered, the crew swiftly understanding... for the most part.

"Why do you gotta get them while out on a mission though? Doesn’t it kind of get in the way" Roman innocently asked.

"Silly Roman, I can't just go out by myself without arousing some type of suspicion from Stacy. She's a smart girl and would ask questions that I'd be forced to answer. I don't lie to her." At least, I haven't in a very long time and I plan to keep that streak going. There might be a few little white lies every now and then, but nothing major. "With the cover of our mission, she has zero reasons to ask certain questions."

"Oh, smart." He simply replied.

Five minutes later, I pulled up to my destination.

"Seriously, Hunter? You're gonna get something from here?" Kostas asked as I walked up to the nearly hidden shop, something by design.

"Yeah. What's wrong about it?" I asked with a smirk. "You guys can come in and get anything you want, I won't judge."

"I think I'll just look around." Ashton said as he got off his bike.

"What is this store? I've never seen one of them." Roman once again innocently asked.

"A sex shop." I nonchalantly answered, making the shy boy blush, causing me to chuckle. "Ashton and I won't be long~." I said as I followed him in. "I said it in a way that made it sound like we’re gonna have sex." I plainly said, causing him to giggle.

"Why are you so... weird, Hunter?" He asked while I started looking at the stock in the store, most things not catching my eye.

"Because it's funny." I simply answered with a shrug. With the conversation adopting a lull, I continued glancing over the toys, only wanting a couple of things.

"Look at this thing, Hunter!" Ashton called out as he lifted a box that contained a twelve inch, girthy, pink dildo.

"Goddamn Ashton, I didn't know you liked taking things like that up the ass." I replied with a smirk, twisting the meaning of his words, causing him to roll his eyes.

With that being done, I started thoroughly looking for the items I was actually interested in. That meant I skipped anything that was deliberately meant for hurting someone. I never understood how you could hit the person you're having sex with… well, to be more inclusive, I never got how you could hit the person you love, period. But I did like the idea of gently restraining her, nothing too-too serious though.

I looted a ball gag and a pair of plush handcuffs that'd certainly be effective in restraining the movement of her arms and speech. I imagined how she'd struggle to get out of them while I held her down and fucked her. Because of that, I tried finding the items I wanted much faster since I didn’t want Ashton to see that I was hot and bothered by my own thoughts.

Though my thoughts just continued to get me harder while I took a choker and a leash, I could easily imagine her being my submissive little pet. I wasn’t sure if she’d be alright with any of the stuff I was gonna give her, but it was worth taking the chance.

I packed a soft blindfold and after ten minutes of trying to find it, I found the perfect clitoral vibrator which was also part dildo, one that'd be five inches inside her with a part protruding out that'd be pressing into her clit which would suck it at the same time, all while the entire thing would viciously vibrate. I imagined her being completely restrained while the vibrator did its job. I would of course turn it on and go do a few tasks which would leave her to the vibrators wrath for hours...

But that was just the fantasy part of my mind talking, there's no way I'd leave her for hours like that, even if she consented since it might be too dangerous for her little body to handle. Though if she did consent to it, I'd blindfold her and pretend to leave the room before watching her squirm for a while since I think it'd be really fun to see… and now the fantasy part of my mind is talking again.

Anyways, after I found the last desired object in that store, which was a couple of manual nipple stimulators, we were back on the bikes and finally on our way towards the vehicle that I had dreamed about having before The Drop occurred. "Alright, we're about thirty minutes behind; let's get this show on the road so we can figure out how to charge that car."

Kostas laughed while we started picking up some speed. “We are only falling behind since you and Ashton decided to play swords in the sex shop."

"Unfortunately, for Ashton, it's more like daggers." I replied, shooting Kostas a wink.

"...Wait-." Ashton said, getting the joke, but I cut him off by talking about the firework show I was planning.

"When should I go collect the fireworks? And how should I get some cover for going out to get them? And where should I store all the fireworks once I get them?"

"One question at a time, jeez." Ashton said with a giggle. "Maybe get them after we're done setting up the electricity?"

I sighed in slight anxiety. "We only have seventeen days until her birthday. Do you think we'll get everything set up before then?"

"We'll try our best." Kostas replied, giving me a respectful nod. I really hoped so...

When we got to the house that contained the vehicle, Ashton and I wasted no time returning to the garage before we manually opened the garage door.

"Hello gorgeous." I greeted the vehicle, causing Ashton to roll his eyes at me.

"I'll tell Stacy you said that." He 'threatened' while he crouched down and took hold of the garage door.

"Doesn't worry me any, not really. She knows that she's flawlessly beautiful, so she won't get jealous of something else being called gorgeous since she makes gorgeous look ugly."

He playfully scoffed. "Fair, I suppose." And with that little episode of banter ending, we pried the garage door open while Kostas drove his bike up the driveway which effectively hauled all the wiring and tools he’d need to figure this bitch out.

"Alright Kostas, you take the lead." I said, giving him temporary control of that excursion.

He got off his bike and tapped the kickstand out before picking up the toolbox which allowed him to approach the electric car’s charger. He took hold of the charging nozzle and quickly inspected it before putting it back in the box. He then proceeded to examine the rest of the little charging interface before he got on his knees. His hand reached for the wire emerging from the bottom of it, the wire disappearing into the house after a couple more feet of wire.

"Lay the solar panels on the road and hook them up. Then run a wire from them to me.” The wiresmith said while he opened the toolbox.

The road was indeed a great spot for them to be placed since it was flat with no trees or any other building being able to block the sun's rays to power the panels. With that order being given, Roman, Ashton and I did as he said. We managed to prop them up against some boxes that we had found in the garage, angling the panels at about forty-five degrees toward the sun. This setup would enable them to receive an optimal amount of power throughout the day, it’d be much more than they would have generated otherwise. It took us about twenty minutes to figure out how to hook up all the wires correctly and lay them out. We then took the main wire to Kostas, who graciously accepted it. By that point, he had already cut some wires and was busy fiddling with them, forcing them to be compatible with one another.

"Everything about wiring is coming back to mind as I do this. It has been so long, I didn’t really believe in myself, but it's easier than I remember." Five minutes later, he taped the connecting wires together. "That should do it."

I walked up to the charging nozzle where I wasted no time by turning to the car's charging port and pressing it open, though I had a difficult time doing so. The worst part about an electric vehicle is that it had to have electricity for everything it did while all the commands were transitioning to apps on smartphones. There were still manual ways to do things, but it just took a lot longer without an app or a fob. Which reminded me...

"Alright, it's time to look for the 'keys' to this thing..." I sighed. I don't even wanna write down how long it took to find the car’s fob. After a decent chunk of the day was used up, we found it in the deceased owner's bedroom on a rack with coats. "I seriously doubt this is gonna work."

Beep

"Well, I'll be damned." I said, eating my own words while I looked down at the fob and I quietly asked myself, "What kinda batteries does this thing have? Though I suppose it’s only been a couple of years, it probably has another two years or so left of life left…"

"So it's all working? This setup?" Ashton asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"It's on, isn't it?" I asked with an excited smile before opening the driver side door and took a seat where I swiftly noticed that the brightness of the central command screen was at zero percent. I then saw that the entirety of the car was one percent charged, the bare minimum it could be turned on at, before turning it off so I could let it charge as fast as possible. I couldn't hold back my excitement any longer by happily tapping on the steering wheel to the car and emitting some celebratory cheers. Could you really blame me?

"How long are we gonna stay here?" Ashton asked after I was done celebrating.

"Honestly, we should probably head back now and let it charge overnight." They gave me a look which made me realize my wording. "You know what I mean. Anyways, we can go a little farther and collect another ten panels if y'all'd be up for it." I suggested, the thought almost slipping my mind.

"What'd hurt in getting some more?" Ashton asked which made me smile.

"Exactly."

And so we did that, leaving the car unattended. We thought the chance of someone else coming across it was extraordinarily low, because it was. But just in case something like that occurred, I kept the fob on me. So even if someone came across it, they wouldn't be able to steal it. Though it’d be really dumb to do that to begin with since it’d eventually run out of charge without a group like ours backing it up.

"So, I’ve been thinking, what are the panels at home gonna stand on?" Ashton asked, which raised a very good point. "We can't bring these metal stands back, they're part of the platform.”

We were at the solar farm, eagerly working on unscrewing the panels and anticipating bringing more power sources back home. "I was thinking of getting Trinity to do some woodworking for them, making a wooden frame at an angle for optimal power generation and to keep them off the ground."

"That sounds good. I could help her gather all the wood she needs. As long as I have a couple more people to help me with that." Roman said as he came back from unhooking all the wires to the panels.

"I thought she was a lesbian." I shook my head at myself - that wood joke was quite a stretch. "That'd be great. I just need to ask and tell her about it; I'm sure she'll be stoked."

It took us around another twenty minutes to unscrew and haul everything over to the wagon. When the solar panels were tightly tied down, we started making our way back to base. When we swung by the car, I went to check how much it had charged. Four percent. Not bad at all things told. I was hoping for it to be at least at twenty percent the next day so we could take it for a drive. But that was tomorrow's plans.

Not much happened between there and the time it took for us to get home. When we did, we unloaded the concrete bags and panels on the porch with Kai and Jordan's help. When I looked at the two big stacks of solar panels we had at our disposal, I fantasized about the solar array we were crawling towards, the thought almost turning me on - figuratively of course.

"Good work team, we'll work toward our goal some more tomorrow." I announced, giving them all a pleased smile. At that point it was getting late as the sun started setting.

"We're getting so close to so many things. Thank you, Hunter, for getting us to this point." Ashton spoke for them.

I just timidly shook my head and brushed it off. "It's all you guys doing most of the labour, so I should be thanking y’all instead, you’re the ones that are making this happen."

"Hm, I'll compromise and say it's a mutual thing."

With that being said, I hefted my backpack and headed inside with the hopes to hide the gifts I had retrieved into Olivia's closet. Though I was instantly stopped when the same girl hugged me, my queen taking the time to nuzzle her cheek on my chest. I smiled while I put the bag on the floor before hugging her back and nuzzling the top of her head with a cheek. "Hello, little lady..." I couldn't help but say.

"You smell so good..." She whispered, smelling the strong scent I gave off.

I mean, it wasn't good for me, but I understood her since I quite enjoyed the scent she wafted when she was sweaty... Damn, pheromones are weird. "I think we should continue doing cutesy stuff elsewhere..." I whispered which made her giggle.

"Alright, let's go." She cheerily said before she grabbed my backpack and started making her way toward the stairs.

Realizing she was holding my backpack, my heart skipped a beat, maybe two. I really didn't want her to find anything out, so thinking quickly, I walked up behind her, put my hands on her hips to stop her from walking, and kissed her neck. What? It was the only thing I could think of to do without arousing suspicion!

"H-Hunter, not in public, please..." She whispered while she glanced around to see if anyone saw us, which I don't think anyone did but that was beside the point.

As she was distracted, I took my pack out of her hand and silently put it around my shoulder. "Oh? Are you saying you want more?" I asked, whispering in her ear. She lightly gulped. "Well, I did wanna hear you play some music when I got home... So how about we make music, hm?"

She started making her way up the stairs with a flushed face. I lightly chuckled, knowing that I had turned her lustful side on. It felt great knowing I did while I followed her up the stairs, the girl walking into our room, though I didn't. "I need to talk to Olivia real quick, for like five minutes, maybe less."

"What for?" She whispered, her tone of voice resembling how she’d act if we were in her parent’s house and I was her boyfriend trying to secretly fuck her.

"I'll tell you later, I promise." Which I would, come her birthday. I wasn't technically lying so I kept my streak of telling her the truth. She wasn't that satisfied with my answer, but let me go, not without begging me not to take too long.

I knocked on Olivia's door where she quickly opened it. She instantly looked at my bag and smiled at me, which is when I noticed how tired she looked. Then she quietly whispered, "Did you get her more gifts?"

"Sure did. Can I hide them with the others?" I asked before she took a step back to allow me entry.

"Of course. What'd you get her this time?"

I looked back and grinned evilly for just a second. "Trust me Olivia, you don't wanna know." She trusted my words and let me swiftly hide the sex toys with the other things that I had already put in there. I topped it off with the ring, the ring that would become our promise ring... My heart fluttered at the thought. I wanted the moment I gave it to her to be perfect. I wondered when I should think of what I’d say while giving it to her, but maybe not since I’m good at doing something like that off the cuff. With that all being done, I closed the closet door and made my way out of Olivia's room before apologizing for waking her up.

"I wasn't asleep, just tired. I also don't mind it, if it means you get to make her birthday even better." After she said that, I wasted no time in returning to my room after we exchanged our 'see you laters'.

I saw my girl sitting on the side of the bed, just patiently waiting for my return, the girl obviously in a state of wanting to be submissive to me. At least, that's what her slightly spread open legs and blushed face told me. I walked up to her and put my hands on her jawline where I tilted her head up towards mine before deeply kissing her for a couple of minutes while I got hard for her. Our session wasn't anything unique. It was the usual; take her clothes off, tease her clit a bit, and breed her for fifteen to twenty minutes.

As I spooned her, I nuzzled her neck, the girl exhausted from my relentless use of her groin. "I've gotta go do a few more things for tonight..." I quietly whispered.

"Hold me for a few more minutes?" She asked, the tone being something I couldn't deny. Thankfully, she was tired at that point, so when I got up, she was basically asleep.

After quickly getting dressed, I made my way down the stairs and into the dining room where I saw a couple of people I needed to talk to. Though I couldn’t get right to it since they were having their own conversation while all having a drink of whatever alcohol they preferred.

"Got room for another?" I asked the group which consisted of Etsu, Trinity, and Charlotte.

Charlotte asked, setting up a cup for me as she prepared to pour in my choice of liquid.

Seated at the head of the table, I opted for cider. Charlotte graciously handed me the cup, and I expressed my gratitude before she returned to her conversation with the other two girls. It was during this exchange that I realized how hungry I was. Scanning the room for what Jordan had prepared for dinner, I found a well-prepared venison stew. I grabbed a serving and quickly dug in, even though it had cooled a bit since I was late for dinner. When their conversation prompted my participation, I readily joined in.

"We figured you'd be asleep by now since all the others that were out runnin' today are." Charlotte said, surprised at how energetic I seemed to be.

But I wasn't, I was just hiding it. As it was, weariness was quickly creeping up my mind, but I fended it off. "About to go to bed actually, I just wanted to talk about a couple things with y'all since I'm gonna be gone tomorrow as well." At that, they asked me what I was gonna do followed by what the group of runners did that day. I very swiftly gave her the rundown.

"So what's up?" Charlotte asked..

"Nothing to tell you besides keep being you." I said with a chuckle. "But for you, Trinity, I want you to start figuring out how to make some frames for the panels outside."

"...What the fuck do you mean?" She asked which prompted me to ask Charlotte to bring me a sheet of paper and a pencil which she deftly did so.

I quickly drew a shoddy looking frame where a solar panel could reside within. "I want our solar panels to rest on this, to stay off the ground, made out of wood. That’s why I'm calling on our woodworker for this job. It's gonna be something quite imperative to generating electricity."

Trinity took the sheet out of my hands and looked at it intently for a couple of minutes before folding it up who then put it into a pocket. "I'm gonna need some shit to get started like a few tools... and some time. It's been a helluva long time since the last time I crafted anything."

"Granted." I simply said, causing her to smile. "I want you to focus solely on this. Collaborate with Roman through this project on every front, he already knows the gist of it." With a nod from her, I turned my attention to Etsu. "How many materials did you come up with while I was away?"

"Oh! I f-forgot, let me get them." She said before cautiously walking off into the living room. She returned a couple of minutes later where she excitedly gave me six sheets of paper.

There were more things on those sheets than I was expecting. Materials such as adhesives, chemicals, alloys, gasses, plastics, mortar, ceramics, and other things like that. A lot of them were far from our grasp, some of the processes requiring supply chains and a vast amount of people to get them rolling, but with time, we'll get to that point... I hope at least.

I thanked her for taking the time to write all of it out where she claimed that it was the least she could do. After downing the remainder of my drink, I wished them all a good night before making my way back up to bed. I stripped out of my clothes and got up close to Stacy, spooning her once again while I thought about what had all been accomplished that day, greatly looking forward to accomplishing more in the next.

Chapter 24: Working For It

Chapter Text

Waking up at my usual time was always nice since I was always able to admire the girl thoroughly, the same girl I was neck deep in love with. I've written that down so many times in this journal, but it was so true. Words are never gonna be able to convey just how much I love Stacy and how much she makes me happy. Even though she makes me excited for the future, well, the future just remains so uncertain. Life could be so cruel, cold, and mean. I mean, The Drop is a prime example of that. But if I lost her, I'd simply lose myself.

Moving on from that and focusing on the recent past, this particular morning was going off to a slow start. As I was holding my angel, I was thinking about how I could make her birthday even better. I wish I was able to take her to some fancy restaurant with some really good food, or a movie theatre, or some other area of leisure like that, but all of those things are long gone. And as it was, we weren't that capable of making delicious foods of the past. Sure, what Jordan made was good, but it wasn't truly delicious. Of course, it’s no fault of his own but with the limited supplies he has, it equates to good in the best case scenario. Regardless, he tries his best and I appreciate that.

I thought of going out and finding a ton more art supplies since she had been running low on certain things. A lot of her pencils were running out of graphite, she was running out of charcoal, she was running out of paint. Sure, she'd looked for art supplies when she needed to, I just thought it'd be nice to take that minor burden off her shoulders serving as another show of affection, to show her that I care about her hobbies.

When she woke up, she instantly smiled while we deeply looked each other in the eyes for a minute or so. "Good morning, lass. Dream of anything special?"

She shook her head. "Just a bunch of random things that I'm already forgetting."

"Ah well, I'm sure that beautiful mind of yours will continue to give you splendid ideas for you to draw out."

She smiled brighter. "Thank you for calling me beautiful so many times..."

I eskimo kissed her. "Of course, my dear... I don't think I couldn't tell you, that'd be blasphemy." After a small giggle, she lightly kissed me, but looked a little sad afterward. "What's the matter, Stace?" I asked with concern.

She took a couple of silent seconds to respond. "I remembered that you're gonna be gone again for a long time." I softly put a hand on the side of her face while she continued to talk. "I know you're doing it for a reason... But I don't like not seeing you for so long."

I kissed her to lighten her mood up a bit. "I promise you that after we're done moving all the solar panels, batteries, the car, and its charger, that we'll spend so much time together that you'll want to be apart from me."

She lightly smiled at my promise. "I doubt that. I'd never want that as long as you're you..."

"Same here, Stace." I said, kissing her again afterward.

"Getting electricity is gonna be so cool." Stacy said after the kiss ended.

"It will indeed. I can't wait to move on to the other things we need to get done, it’s gonna be so much work but fun at the same time."

"...They're not gonna take you away from me for as long as the electricity is, are they?" She asked in a tone that sounded slightly petrified.

"Probably not. Not for a while at least." I simply answered before a comforting silence fell between us. I let around five minutes pass of us enjoying each other's skin press against the other before work was calling my name. "I think it's time for me to get up, Stace..."

She quietly pouted. "How long are you gonna be gone for?"

I quickly calculated the distances in my mind. "Maybe five or six hours this time, not as long as the other two days."

"That's still pretty long..." She said before I tried to cheer her up with another kiss.

"I'll try to spend as much time with you as I can when I get back, alright?" I said where the girl quickly accepted my offer. We laid there for another five minutes before I actually got up for the day where the both of us got dressed, I put on my shoes, slung on my backpack, and headed down to the dining room. Thankfully, my crew was already assembling for the day. They consisted of Kai, Ashton, and Audrey, those same people quickly greeting Stacy and I.

"Once we get this whole electricity thing sorted, we gotta dive straight into prepping the ground for those crops we've got planned. Some can go in earlier than others, you know." Audrey said, breaking the silence and got some conversation rolling.

"Good idea, I agree. We might take a little break if any of us need it, but I share that idea of moving our feet as fast as we can. We've gotta push ourselves, even if we’d prefer to slow down." I replied before I tilted my head to ask about what crops she was thinking of planting.

"Primarily corn, lettuce, beans, and potatoes. Oh, and a bunch of spices for Jordan. The dude's been itching for some fresh spice to jazz up the food."

I smiled at that list while I envisioned many large crop fields growing food that would eventually be consumed by us. It'll be very sweet growing some fresh plant-based food in the sense of getting certain nutrients we aren’t currently consuming, it'll definitely make me feel better all around on top of what I'm already feeling. "Sounds like a plan then. When do y'all wanna head out?"

"Whenever you want." Ashton said, the others having already been prepared to go out and finish our mission. So with that being said, I ordered my group forward, though I stayed back for a minute so I could give Stacy a medium-lasting ‘see you later’ kiss. I refused to call them goodbye kisses.

As I was walking toward the exit, Trinity had just come down the stairs and stopped me to ask a couple of questions. "Hey Hunter, I was thinking for a long ass time last night about the woodwork you assigned me to. While doing that shit, it dawned on me that it'll be very difficult to do with the tools we have. Basically what I'm trying to get across is I need a very long fuckin’ hacksaw. Do you think you'll be able to get me one of those motherfuckers while you guys are out?"

"How big are we talking about?"

"At least three feet."

"That's a long saw... I'll keep my eyes peeled for it when I'm looking for other stuff, no promises though."

"That's alright. And if you don't find one of those bitches, I'm still gonna be able to do what you want me to, it'll just be a pain in the ass without it." She explained which concluded the small conversation.

When that was done, I hopped on a bike before swiftly making our way to the awaiting vehicle. But during our venture, I told them that on the trip back I needed to get some art supplies for Stacy and look a bit for the saw that I was just told about. They all easily understood the need for that.

Ashton chuckled. "You're gonna bury that little girl in stuff by the time her birthday rolls around. How much more do you plan on finding for her?"

"Not that much more actually, I'm pretty sure the art supplies are gonna be the last of it. Then we just gotta get the fireworks, set up a place for them, and then wait for the tenth to roll around." I explained.

"I aspire to do something the same for Audrey when the time comes around to it." Ashton replied which prompted Audrey to speak up.

"I don't reckon there's any need for that, at least, not as over-the-top as what Hunter's doing for Stacy. But you know Hunter, he's, uh, well, he's just being his usual self." Audrey said, getting all of us to chuckle at how true the statement was.

"Oh thank goodness, I had no clue how to outcompete what Hunter's doing." He admitted, making Audrey giggle.

I nodded. "That's fair. I don't even know how to outcompete myself, at least, not with what we have available."

"I'm pretty sure what you're doing is more than enough for her. It's seriously sweet, the way you're looking out for her, really respectable, dude." Audrey simply replied. "Is this firework gig open to everyone?"

"Of course, though I wanna be alone with Stacy when it's happening. You're free to tell the others who’re unaware that a show’s gonna happen, but tell them a day prior. Just make sure you stay hush-hush about everything from Stacy." I simply said, not wanting to preemptively explain how that’d be when I’d give her the ring.

"No worries, man. Wouldn't wanna mess this up for you." Audrey said with a nod.

I wondered if she knew that my efforts were aimed at helping Stacy view birthdays in a more positive light, perhaps Ashton had told her. If not, she probably just thought I was doing it because of how much I love Stacy, which is in part true, so it was a fair thing to think that. I also wondered when Stacy would be alright with telling the others about her abuse... I feel bad that I told four of them without her permission, I sort of feel like I betrayed her a bit, but dammit, my hands were tied in that situation. I hope she'll forgive me when she finds out and isn't upset about it.

Anyways, after the talk about those future plans, there were no major talking points to be had so we made it to the car in an hour without much else happening. When we got there, it was like nothing had been there which... y'know, was expected. I hopped off my bike and walked up to the car while Ashton followed me. I felt up my pockets, frantically trying to search for the fob.

"...I forgot the keys."

"Oh my f-." He said with great disappointment but I couldn't hold in my laughter at how I had properly fooled him before pulling out the fob. I should've let it sink in longer. "You're an asshole, you know that right?"

"Well you're a bigger one!" I said back, causing Ashton to roll his eyes before I unlocked the car.

I took a seat behind the steering wheel and checked the percentage. Nineteen percent in total, meaning it had a little over sixty miles of range, more than enough to drive to the solar farm and back home.

"Alright, let's load up the solar panels in the trunk and take the charger with us." I ordered before all of us quickly got to work on that.

As we were unhooking the wires, the question of 'who's gonna drive the car' came up.

"Well, I definitely don't trust myself to drive." Kai said while I helped him put the first of three panels in the trunk, the panels just barely fitting in.

With me and Audrey essentially saying the same thing, Ashton spoke up and took the responsibility of being the one to drive the car. After five minutes, we had finished loading the panels into the trunk and proceeded to remove the charger from the wall. It was tightly secured with numerous screws, requiring some effort to detach it. I'd have to get Trinity to make a wooden replacement for it so it’d have a new home, but I'd deal with that later. Ashton put his bike in the trunk as well, the trunk still having some room to put a decent amount of stuff in it; it was a beefy car.

I handed him the fob but delicately grabbed his hand when he took hold of it. "This car has an incredibly fast acceleration. If you crash this car, we'll be set back by a mile, so take it slow and don't rush anything." I firmly warned before letting his hand go.

The three of us hopped back on our bikes and patiently waited for Ashton to pull out, giggity, trying to recall the car's layout and adjust to its differences from the ones he was accustomed to driving. A couple minutes later, the car jolted backward which instantly made him realize how sensitive the acceleration was. He rolled his windows down to say, "You really weren't kidding about the acceleration!"

"Yep, and I wasn't kidding about the stakes of how much you'd set us back if you crash it!" I exclaimed, Ashton giving me a thumbs up before he carefully started reversing the car through the driveway and onto the street, which hadn't seen a functional car in over two years "Audrey, tell me how confident you are in Ashton that he won't crash the car..."

"Uh, let's see... I'd say like, ninety-five percent... Okay, maybe like, ninety-two percent... Well, at least a solid eighty-six-."

"Stop, we're not playing limbo, I don't wanna see how low you can go." They both chuckled at that while we started following Ashton who accelerated to the point of how fast our bikes could go at half speed.

Thankfully, it was a smooth ride all the way to the solar farm- well, almost, it seemed Ashton freaked out a bit every time he would go over a decently sized pothole, but other than that, it was alright. When we got to the farm, we parked our vehicles near the battery pack so it wouldn't be difficult carrying any dismantled parts into the car.

"This bitch is heavy." I announced while I picked up the toolbox and made my way toward the battery storage unit. "We're gonna have to dismantle its insides and separately haul them to make it lighter.”

"How heavy is it?" Kai asked, thinking it was lighter than what it looked like.

"Just one of these? Easily over a thousand pounds." I nonchalantly answered before I looked at the bottom of the packs, seeing that some fairly large bolts held the pack to the concrete.

"Goddamn, I didn't know batteries were that heavy." Ashton commented while I took a wrench of appropriate size out and got to work on loosening the bolts.

"Live and learn. These are the smaller versions by the way, the bigger ones were several times longer than this." I said while struggling to loosen the first bolt before it started gave way. As it was, the pack we were taking was almost two meters tall, it was a little taller than me for reference, and was about eighty centimeters in width. When I took out the first bolt of four, I turned to Ashton and told him to figure out how to put the back seats of the car down so we could easily fit the fat ass box inside it.

After undoing the second bolt, Ashton was done doing what I asked. "Open the pack and start unhooking the wires from the battery cells. Once you’re done with that, put them in either of the wagons, and be careful." I asked, the three of them obliging shortly afterward.

"Holy fuck, these are a lot heavier than I thought!" Kai said while he took the first of fifteen layers of cells out of the pack and onto a wagon. Each wagon was able to hold five before it became too heavy to add any more, so the car needed to take the remainder of them which is when they started putting them in its trunk.

By the time they were done doing that, the last bolt had come undone. I put the bolts in one of the wagons to use later, for whenever we properly relocate it at our place. After that, all we needed to do was move the shell of the pack into the car. The shell itself was a tad heavy, but much lighter than expected, it just needed three people to lift it since it was awkward as hell to handle. And it was just able to get in the car, I don't think it spared two centimeters. In fact, it was such a tight fit that the pack almost obstructed the way for the door to close, but as it was, it was securely in the car.

"I think that's about it. I'd say we should probably get more panels, but we're out of room for this trip."

"How many more do you wanna take from here?" Kai asked, the boy building up a sweat.

"A hundred in total at least." I said with a shrug. "Trinity's gonna need to do a lot of woodworking for all the panels we're gonna collect, that’s for sure. I’d rather have plenty of spares and a number far exceeding what we need to make sure we won’t run into any problems for a long while." After that was established, I adjourned our time at the solar farm, shifting our focus to delivering the pack and the car itself. Perhaps we'd even call it a day early, giving me the chance to hold my Stacy close much sooner than I had anticipated.

But before that, Ashton gave me a hardcore case of anxiety while we followed him back home. I was afraid he'd run into one of the already crashed or deserted cars on the roads, though even if something like that happened, the car’s design prioritized safety above all else, so he’d be fine in a crash. But thankfully, he took that job very seriously. It probably took us a little longer to return home than if we had just rode the bikes, but the car was a huge leap forward in our capabilities since we were now able to carry vastly heavier and larger loads of stuff. Additionally, it took us much longer to return home because I swiftly scoured a few stores since I was trying to find the art supplies that Stacy needed a refill on. When I had a decent bit of charcoal, many types of pencils, and a few types of paint along with some chalk, we called it a day on scavenging things. I unfortunately didn't find the saw that Trinity asked for though so that was disappointing.

When we got home, Ashton honked the horn, signifying our return which drew a few people out to see what the hell had made that noise. He turned off the car and stepped out, while the rest of us parked our bikes in their designated spots. The items in the wagons were swiftly unloaded onto the porch, ready to be sorted and put to use.

The other bystanders looked at the car in disbelief, awe, or a bit of both like Etsu’s reaction. That was understandable, I'm sure they never expected to see a working car again... That just reminded me, it's gonna suck when a part of that car breaks or needs to be replaced. That's my future self's problem... I feel bad for him.

Anyways, we emptied the trunk of its battery cells and placed them on the porch with the others, though the shell of the pack remained tomorrow's work by staying in the car. I asked them to set up the same three that were used before so that car would charge whenever the sun's high enough. As it was, we were located in a forest, somewhat of a thick one at that. Sure, we had cut down around a couple hundred trees by that point which had been used primarily for fuel, but it was still somewhat of a place prone to shadows. A lot of trees still needed to come down to make room for future farms and more solar panels. We'd get to chopping them down eventually.

I decided to make 'cut down hundreds of trees' one of the future tasks we should focus on, probably sooner rather than later. It'd give us building supplies and fuel which were both pretty valuable materials. But I must say, cutting down trees was the easy part. Getting rid of the stump was the hard part. Getting rid of stumps was fucking irritating.

As I finished jotting down the objective, Stacy surprised me by skillfully positioning herself in front of me and enveloping me in a warm hug. Her bright eyes gazed up at me, melting my heart in an instant.

"I missed you." She claimed while her hug tightened.

I tightly hugged her back. "I missed you too, it's so hard not thinking about you while out there."

We stayed silent in that embrace while she rested her head on my chest.

"Can we snuggle?" She coyly asked with a little nuzzle on me.

"Of course, my love... Though I need to talk to Trinity to see what she's been up to. I assigned her to do some woodwork and I wanna see how it's coming along."

"Alright, just don't take too long if you can..."

I kissed her forehead with a small chuckle. "I wouldn't delay snuggling with you for a second if I didn't have to."

With that being said, she hugged me for a few seconds longer before breaking off from me to go do Stacy things. Me, on the other hand, went to go find Trinity. It took me a few minutes of asking around before I got an answer that said she was out working with Roman to do what it was I assigned her to do. I was pleased to hear that but right before I went outside to search for her, I went to find Olivia who was conveniently walking down the stairs.

I made sure that Stacy wasn't anywhere in the room with us while I walked up to her before unslinging the backpack that I hadn’t taken off. "Hey, Olivia, am I free to drop off some more stuff for Stacy in your closet?" I whispered.

She quietly chuckled. "How much more stuff are you gonna put in there? It's gonna be completely full by the time her birthday rolls around."

"I think this is the last of it, then I'll be out of your hair." I simply responded.

She nodded. "Of course, I just wonder how you're gonna give it to all of her."

"Throughout the day," I replied with a shrug, our brief conversation concluding as I made my way to her room to conceal Stacy's gifts. As I stored all of the art supplies in the closet, my eyes kept drifting to the ring. Impatience crept in; her birthday was still a couple of weeks away. I shook off the feeling, reminding myself that I needed to prioritize getting the electricity up and running before then, ensuring all the devices I planned to gift her could be charged.

I wasn't ready to see my girl in the hallway who was struggling to put up a new work of art on the wall. She looked at me and smiled as she gave up doing it herself, knowing I'd do it for her since I had entered her presence. "Hunter, can you...?" She asked while she timidly extended the sheet of paper and a few pins toward me.

I chuckled. "Sure thing, sweetheart."

I walked up to her, gently taking them from her hands before examining the drawing closely. The scene depicted was as if one stood between two cliffs adorned with various flora, with a waterfall cascading down between them, forming a small river at the base of the intricate cliffs. The artwork was completed with a full moon hanging in the clear, starry night sky. Impressed, I pinned it on the wall, where it joined the other flawless works of art adorning the space.

"Calling your work beautiful isn't giving it enough credit." I commented, causing her to coyly smile and lightly blush.

She hugged me, causing me to look down at her. "Is it snuggle time?"

I internally sighed, not wanting to say 'no' to her, but I still needed to see what Trinity had been up to. "I'm sorry to say, but not yet, I still need to see what Trinity's been up to. After that, I promise I'll hug you for a super long time."

"Okay, I'll be waiting in our spot."

I'm glad she wasn't disappointed, but I didn't want to make her wait any longer than she already has so I swiftly made it outside to where Trinity was. Instantly, I saw that she was on her knees and hacking some logs into segments. Next to her was a huge pile of cut logs ready to be made into planks. I assumed that those were the materials she was prepping to be further processed into more sophisticated products of her craft. She confirmed my assumption.

After I told her I wasn't able to find the saw she was looking for, she shrugged. "Shit. Well, that's alright, I'll look for one with Charlotte tomorrow. I did the measurements for what the frames for the solar panels are gonna be. Is laying them at a forty-five degree angle good?"

"Yep, that's perfect actually. When do you think you'll start crafting them?" I asked before we heard Roman yell 'timber', the sound of a tree slamming to ground following shortly afterward.

"As soon as I get that damn saw. It's gonna be a two person job to do this shit, so Roman's gonna help me with that as well. Woodworking and woodcutting go hand in hand."

I smiled at that, the first true synergy energy being tapped into by our woodworkers. "I'm glad to hear that. No pressure, but I want twenty frames done in two weeks. Is that too much?"

She gave me a low whistle. "At first, that might be way too fuckin’ much. I really need to get back into the swing of things before I can give a good answer though, it's been over two years since I've last crafted anything. So when I get the fuckin’ tools, I might be able to make two that first day. But I'm sure I'm gonna mess up a fuck ton while doing that. I don't know though, we'll see. Though if I’m being slow as shit at first, I'm definitely gonna be able to ramp up how much I make a day, so getting twenty in two weeks is definitely possible. Not a damn guarantee though."

"I hope you do, some of my plans rely on getting this up and running before the tenth."

"What's the tenth? Oh fuck, yeah. Well, I didn't know that some of your plans relied on this, so I'll pick my feet and get my ass moving as much as I can."

I gave her a thankful nod. "Don't stress or strain yourself; the last thing we need is for you to accidentally cut yourself while doing this."

"Noted." She simply replied.

"Also, I have one more request for your woodworking skills, for now at least." I announced, Trinity showing she was open to new requests. "When we take the battery pack out of the car tomorrow, I want you to do measurements on its base so you can build a wooden foundation for concrete to go. That'll make the battery storage unit be stable where it stands. And trust me, we need something like that so we’ll constantly have a source of electricity. As you know, sometimes it’s cloudy out and night follows the day."

"Yep, sounds easy enough."

After that, I had retrieved the information I wanted, so I parted ways with her and started heading back. I walked by my room’s window and sure enough, I could see my girl. We made eye contact before timidly waving to each other, though I froze when I saw... something behind her. It was... a humanoid figure looming over her shoulder. I couldn't make out the face of it, it was too blurry.

But when I blinked, it was gone. My elevated heartbeat slowed while I figured that it was just a trick of the mind, but it didn't sit well with me. I swear that I had seen a real... something behind her. My mind needs to stop playing tricks on itself, it's getting spooky.

Anyways, when I returned to my room, I wasted no time in holding and snuggling my girl as tightly as I comfortably could, the both of us greatly enjoying the touch. I softly nuzzled her neck while we settled and relaxed into the snuggle before she asked me how my day was.

"Fantastic now that I'm snuggling with my heavenly Queen." I simply answered, the girl then asking what I had accomplished that day. I swiftly gave her the rundown. "Tomorrow, a lot of work's still gonna need to be done, but I'm not leaving. I'm gonna stay here so we can figure out how to get some power up and running."

"Good. Then we can be with each other for a while..."

I kissed her neck, causing her to giggle. "Maybe when you absolutely need my hugs, but I think I'm gonna be working with them for a little while so we can enjoy electricity again A-S-A-P. I'm doing this for you."

She softly smiled at that. "I appreciate that so much, how much you're working so hard for me. I just kind of feel like I'm not really working, y'know?"

"Is that why you wanna snuggle with me so much?"

"A bit. I also do it because I just love your arms around me."

I kissed her neck again which stoked a little blush on her cheeks. "I don't mind if you work just a fraction as much as I do. Really, fishing is enough work for you, I don't think your little body can handle much." She quickly rasperried the air as a rebuttal. "You know it's true... Anyways, males are much stronger than women, so we're supposed to get the tough and intensive jobs." Which is true, I don't like saying it, but it is. Of course, there are outliers like Trinity who's a very strong woman who shouldn’t be underappreciated, but she’s part of the exception.

"That seems a bit unfair…”.

"Just a bit. But it's so worth it when I remember that after all that work, I get to come home and hold someone like you…”

She looked up at me with gleaming eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that I got so lost in every time I looked in them.

"Thank you for working so hard for me..." She quietly praised.

I couldn't help but kiss her for a minute or so. "Thank you for being my greatest source of happiness..." I replied while I eskimo kissed her.

"You too..." She simply replied, tears of glee threatening to spill down her cheeks.

The rest of that day was uneventful. Well, it was eventful, just not interesting enough to write down since there were just a bunch of cuddles, kisses, talking about the future, waiting for tomorrow's work, and thinking. During one of my thinking sessions, I remembered that I hadn't really thought about how Ashton's struggling with his relationship. Not sure if 'struggling' is the correct word, but it sort of fits since he was asking for advice.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about how difficult it'd be to deal with that situation. If Audrey can't be appeased with delaying her having a child for a few years, then I don't know how it'd really be possible to get through to her. So the next morning, that's what I asked Ashton about.

Ashton and I were both alone in the kitchen when I asked him about it. "How're you and Audrey doing? Did what I say have any effect?"

The deep sigh he gave me didn't give me a positive vibe. "I've tried, and I’m still trying, to comfort her as best as I can. It's... having some effect, but just barely. Her mind's really set on having a child."

"...Why don't you appease her on that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Promise her to have a child with her down the line, when you two both feel comfortable doing so."

He sighed once more. "I'm just not sure... Raising a child is very difficult and takes so much energy and time. To be honest, I'm scared of what kind of father I'd be like. Afraid of failure."

"Ashton, I think these days, it'd be extremely hard to fail as a father. Really, all that you'd need to do is provide and care for your offspring which is in some ways easier and in some ways harder - but overall, it’s easier. And sure, it would be difficult and does take a lot of energy at times. Whenever I have to go through something energy intensive, I just remember what the future's probably gonna look like."

"...I'll have to think long and hard about that one to reevaluate what I want for my future. It's a good idea, but it just has a lot of uncertainties attached to it."

"As most things are." I said which effectively finished that conversation. I genuinely hoped my words would help his situation out since strains in a relationship are the worst to deal with. During that discussion, it gave me a fun thought, a possible future of our children playing together and watching them grow... It was a happy thought.

A little later, Trinity and Charlotte wasted no time in going to find an adequate saw for Trinity’s future woodwork. Additionally, Kostas tagged along with them to get more wire for more solar panels which was a good move. I didn't trust anyone to drive the car, it’d take a while to get to that point, so I denied them access to it which slightly disappointed them, but hey, more exercise is good for the body.

For a couple hours, I spent my time with Roman by cutting down some trees, more so stripping bark off of fallen trees which was satisfying as hell, before moving on to fishing with Stacy and Willow for an hour. When the bikers came back, they had found what they sought to get, though they had gotten a little more. They came back with a wheelbarrow. I was a bit stumped at that.

"For mixing the concrete later." Kostas simply replied.

"Oh, right. Mixing the concrete should be the first thing we should do after the battery pack's foundation mold is complete." I said, Trinity picking up on my suggestion, understanding my hint of how the mold should be her first product

The hacksaw she had scavenged was fairly long, just over a meter, and it indeed needed two people for it to work, indicated by the handles on either side of it. She and Charlotte made their way back to the wood pile with it while I grouped up with Ashton and Kai to haul the battery storage unit out of the car and onto the porch. It was a decent challenge, but we managed with just a few struggles. Not long after we did, Trinity approached us with a measuring tape before recording its dimensions.

"I'll make it a few inches wider in length and width for it to have its bolts pierce deeper into the fuckin’ concrete." Trinity explained while she wrote down the result of the measurements on a paper of other measurements.

That reminded me that the bolts were gonna be a problem for a little while. The pack would have to stand 'loose' for at least a couple of days. That’s because I needed a drill to charge so I’d be able to insert the bolts into the concrete, so hopefully it'd be fine until then. After she was done with measuring the pack, she retreated back to the pile of freshly skinned logs. I followed her back to see how she would progress.

The saw that she had recently gotten was resting against the stockpile of wood alongside a dozen or so boxes of nails next to it. I easily assumed they were for when she'd put the planks together. She confirmed my assumption after I asked her what she was doing.

"I need to dig a fuckin’ hole for this cutting process. It'll need to be six feet deep and three feet wide. This'll make the cutting process so much fuckin’ easier because if I put two logs across the hole, stand on that, and rest another log perpendicular and top of them, someone from below can help me do my job faster."

"Sounds good. Do you need any help with that?" I offered where she swiftly nodded in response.

For over an hour, we diligently used shovels to relocate dirt, break through roots, and ensure the proportions were right for Trinity's upcoming work. Despite the physical exertion, I found myself surprisingly enjoying the labor, even if it left me sweaty and dirty. I wasn't accustomed to this level of activity, but the satisfaction of the progress outweighed the discomfort of being greasy.

While we worked, Roman continued to call out "timber" and knocked down a couple of dozen trees. He returned, also sweaty, having cut down many trees that day. But he also came back with a broken axe. "The head of the axe finally gave way. Now we're down to one axe."

"We have a blacksmith... Granted, he isn't in the best of conditions at the moment and he has no forge, but with your guys' help, I think he'll have one next month. At least, maybe, who knows. Once that happens, we can replace that axe with a fresh one." I said, realizing how useful Kostas' synergy power would be in providing fresh tools to the other workers, enabling them to maintain the execution of their skills.

"Jeez, I can't wait to see that shit." Trinity replied. "I'm guessing he'll need a fuck ton of planks for me provide so that forge can be built?"

I nodded. "And a lot of concrete for the floor. I'm sure he wouldn't want a wooden, flammable floor in a forge. You'd mainly be responsible for the walls."

She giddily giggled at the thought. "I'm so fuckin’ happy that my woodworking skills are gonna come in handy like that."

"Don't leave me out of the credit." Roman pleaded with a grin.

"Of course not, Roman. Your work's greatly appreciated and is gonna help us achieve these things. Without the income of lumber, these future plans don’t happen." I replied.

"All that I'm hoping for is to one day stop using tools like axes. I miss tools like chainsaws." He said which surprised me, though his words also reminded me of the electric chainsaws I had seen in the market.

"Weren't you like thirteen before The Drop?" I asked, the boy nodding to my question. "How were you able to use a chainsaw that young?"

"I was a very disciplined kid back then. I had a very strong trusting relationship with my father." He replied, sounding a bit sad at the end which was understandable.

"That's amazing." I said before telling him about the chainsaws. He looked pretty stoked at the idea, but I stopped him from getting too excited. "Before we do that, we gotta get to work on making some planks for this mold we’re trying to make."

Roman looked visibly tired at that point, his exertion of strength to cut down trees clearly taking a toll on his energy. "I think I'm gonna take a break for a little while from chopping if that'd be alright. I'm pretty thirsty at the moment."

"Of course, you deserve the break. You do too, Trinity. Just get back when you feel like you're able, we don't need to slack off or needlessly delay anything."

"Alright, I'll get Charlotte when I get back so we can finish digging this hole and get some damn planks going." Trinity replied which caused me to smile at the progress soon to take place.

Since it was still early in the day, I went in the house with them and quickly found Stacy in the kitchen. The girl didn't have enough time to register my arrival before I hugged her and picked her up where she made a really adorable surprised squeak. Then I kissed her which is when the dazed girl instinctively kissed back while she realized what was happening, the girl quietly giggling when she successfully put everything together.

"Why don't you kiss me like that?" Willow asked Kai.

I wasn't even aware that they were there when I had entered the room since I was too focused on wanting Stacy's lips on mine, so I didn't even process my surroundings which had the unwanted side effect of the kiss lasting much shorter than it should've. After it ended, Stacy wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my pelvis, the act making it significantly easier to hold her.

"Mainly because I'm not as bold as Hunter. Uh, you two probably shouldn't do that out here." Kai advised while Stacy tried to hide her face in my neck.

"Probably not, but I like holding my Queen like this while in a hug. I should do it more often."

"He even calls her 'Queen'..." Willow quietly said, causing me to laugh at her jealous tone.

"You better step your game up, Kai. Sounds like Willow's pretty jealous, probably looks like it too." I advised, not having turned around to see them. It didn't take them long to leave the kitchen after that which left Stacy and I alone.

She continued nuzzling my neck which was sweet. "How's everything going? You're pretty sweaty."

"Oh right, sorry, I forgot about that. Everything's going splendidly. I think in a week, maybe two, we'll have working lights and I'm just super excited. To preemptively celebrate, I decided to kiss you."

She lightly chuckled. "I don't mind the sweat... And I'm getting excited for it too. Wanna kiss me some more to celebrate again?"

"Do you have to ask?" I said before setting her down and intimately kissing her for a few minutes where my tongue happily rubbed against hers halfway through it.

Another hour later, Trinity and Charlotte began cutting their first log in half. I was there for it since I wanted to watch what the process was like and the girls were fine with me viewing them do the work. Charlotte was the one stationed in the ground while Trinity was located on top which gave me a decent amount of anxiety since she was standing on the logs to be in her position. However, it was quickly made clear to me that she had some impeccable balance while she claimed she had done this sort of stuff all the time back before The Drop.

Charlotte had some trouble at first since the girl wasn’t used to such labour intensive woodwork, but she wanted to learn to help her girlfriend. Trinity was a bit irritated at first, but she calmed herself down, apologized, and wore a new attitude of positivity regarding trying to teach Charlotte how to properly synchronize so they could effectively work together.

Not gonna lie, it was kind of beautiful; the reinvigorated sense of communication and patience Trinity conveyed while Charlotte learned was something that was quite sweet. Whenever they sawed up to the point of one of the logs that the log they were cutting rested upon, Trinity had to hop off and use some tong looking tool to heave and scoot the wood they were cutting forward and onto the grass by a decent margin. After that, she got back on the log that was being processed before the two continued. Repeat that process one more time and they successfully cut it clean in half.

"This gives me anxiety." I couldn't help but say. "I don't want you getting hurt; all that I ask is for you to be as careful as you can be."

"Will do, Hunter." Trinity simply replied.

"And if she does, I'll make sure she gets to Olivia as soon as possible."

I was so thankful we had a doctor for just in case shit hit the fan. Though as of late, she hasn't felt that useful. A lot of the tasks were physical labour and her spine prevented her from doing that. I tell her it's all good and that, being a doctor, she shouldn't have to strain herself like that and that staying on standby for possible injuries is more help than we can measure. It’s a fairly weak appeasement and barely works, to the point that some days it isn’t enough. But it is what it is.

They went on to cut the halves in half before further chopping those in half again. At that point, Trinity was standing on the support logs. At the end of it, there were eight very long planks of wood of differing widths since logs are, y’know, curved. They set them aside to continue making plenty of more planks after Trinity claimed she'd get around to making the appropriate sized planks needed for the battery pack once they were done cutting the logs up. We were gonna need to build her a proper woodshop eventually, but we had to focus on the electricity first. It was like the first domino to fall in a huge chain of dominos, or so I hoped.

I returned back inside to let them get on with their sawing, I really hoped nothing would go wrong while I let them be, and took a seat on one of the couches before closing my eyes to rest for a small bit. My muscles, especially my leg muscles, were starting to hurt after all the abuse I had put them through during the past few days. It was probably a good thing since I was getting stronger, but goddamn, I hate how it has to be so painful.

"What's up, Hunter?" I heard Ashton greet while he took a seat with Audrey on the other couch.

"Just wrestling with all the labour that's catching up to a weak man like me." I replied while the couple snuggled close together. I guessed that my advice was starting to work for the two. I rarely saw them snuggle, so it was a welcome sight.

"Yeah, you are fairly weak for your size..." Ashton said with a grin which just made me shrug.

"Doesn't bother me any. At least I'm getting stronger at the moment, that's all that matters at the moment."

"True. Can I change the subject?" He abruptly said before I easily went along with his question. "I haven't opened my mouth about this because I wanted to wait for things to start rolling. Now that things seem to be doing that, I figure now’s a good time to talk about it. It involves finding people, new people out in the world."

My ears perked up at that. "You had my attention, now you have my interest. What are you thinking about?"

"I've thoroughly thought about this for a while and there's a lot of things that are possible with it. First I’ll say that this crew was founded because lone stragglers kept grouping up together, randomly, right?" He said, waiting for me to nod. "So I was thinking, what if we made a lot of signs by the roads and trails saying, this is off the top of my head, 'a growing and friendly community needs your hands to help get us to a bright future', then direct them where to find us. I'm not sure how much of a good idea it is, but it's something."

I thought about his idea for a silent minute. It wasn't a terrible idea by any means since we had indeed all found each other randomly by walking the streets. By putting signs on critical points in a plethora of different routes, we'd possibly be inviting a large number of strangers into our group.

"It's an alright idea, I just have a lot of concerns with it." I replied, the man quickly expressing that he wanted me to vent to him about it. "First thing's first, the food situation. Running out of food has been a quiet worry of mine. We probably went through a third of our reserves during the winter even while we were hunting and fishing. Sure, it's warming up again so we're gonna have some more ways of getting food in the coming weeks, but it's still a worry of mine and would be even more so in the dynamic of having a growing population here."

"Between the farms and getting the electricity sorted, that worry might just cancel itself out, you know?" Audrey spoke up as her passion for farming made itself clear. "I'm gearing up to grow a ton of food this year, now that I've got the chance. Found a store on one of our earlier scavenge runs with a bunch of different seeds which’ll help expand the amount of crops we’d be able to grow. Only thing we need now is enough hands to get it all planted."

"How much do you plan on growing?"

"Enough to keep, like, thirty folks fed and rolling through to the next summer." She easily answered.

"Thirty people? Are you sure we're gonna have enough people to support the growth of the crops? Enough room to store it all?"

"It's probably gonna drain a ton of our energy to keep it going, but you know what, it's definitely doable, man." She said with a nod. "We can clear out the shed, shift all the tools up to the attic, restock the cellar, hell, maybe even build a spare shack or something if we need to. Who knows. By then, building stuff like that might be a piece of cake."

I thoroughly thought about her words. They had a lot of merit to them, but it was still a bet regarding what our capabilities will be in the mid-term future.

"Let's say we're able to grow that much food. There's still the problem with strangers being strangers along with the problem of running out of room for these people to stay."

"And those are some pretty big problems, I'll admit that." Ashton admitted. "If Trinity’s as good as she says she is when it comes to woodwork and we can get the proper tools, building log cabins will most likely be within our reach in a few months, maybe sooner. Of course, that also if Trinity can teach some people how to become proficient in the art of building things out of wood. With all that being said, we can plan out where to put things like whenever you want. Now the stranger problem... is a problem. But it can be solved by showing them that we're friendly and can provide for their basic needs, but we can also show them that we're strong and don't mess about."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It worked with Etsu, didn't it?" He asked with a smile.

"It did, yes. But that's the only example we have at the moment. Who's to say someone, or a group of two or more, won't be the same?"

He lightly sighed. "This is the difficult part. It's more than possible that someone comes along and, to put it lightly, causes some damage. But here's what I think; people these days are so spread out that if we set up these signs and people see them, it'd be extremely rare for two groups to appear at our doorstep at the same time. My thought process is that we'll be able to convert the strangers to friends before the next set of strangers arrive. Then we just repeat that process."

I leaned further back into the couch and thought about it. It was a solid plan with solid reasons, all while admitting where the one major fault is. "We're not gonna grow that much if we stay put and accept people in only when we happen to run into people due to how the rate in which that happens is incredibly low..." I quietly said, sighing afterward. "I got one question; how are we gonna show strength?"

"Guns. We used to be in a nation that had more guns than people. I think it's about time we arm ourselves, just in case."

"Now you're speaking my language. As you can tell, I put the protection of you guys first before anything. I feel like I've kind of failed by delaying the group picking up arms since we should've done so a while ago." I admitted, Ashton shaking his head a tad at that.

"You haven't failed by any means. Hell, us talking this thoroughly about this subject proves otherwise. Guns are scary and can possibly cause more harm than good. But if we want to attract more people, we're gonna have to attract more preemptive protection measures."

“I agree completely. Have you found any gun stores in the town or anything of the like?"

"We haven't actually. Though we did find a police station. We didn't go in to scope it out because we weren't prepared to take any guns or anything else like that. We also had to ask you about it before we brought some weapons back."

"Your desire to pillage a place like that has been granted. But I'm coming with y'all when you loot the place."

"Sure thing."

"One more question if you will. I don't really like the idea of those signs you're thinking of directly leading strangers to our place... There should be a scapegoat meeting place." I coined the idea of. "This place will eventually have walkie talkies, so whoever gets to that third party location would be able to contact us even though we’d be located elsewhere. That place should also have fresh food and some water to let them know that we're self-sufficient and friendly."

"That's a solid plan. Any idea where we should set up this meeting spot?" Audrey asked.

"That's to be determined since this idea is still in the concept phase and I'm not sure about it in the slightest, not yet at least. But it has a lot of potential to be something great. Ashton, I gotta thank you for bringing this up, something like this just slipped my mind." I'm not perfect at planning everything for the future, sometimes I need someone's help, alright?

Anyways, that conversation didn't last much longer and it left my mind curious and interested about it. It compelled me to write a lot of what we had talked about on The Plan so we could flesh the idea out and implement it at a later date.

"Keep up the ambition and vision, as long as you want it, you'll get it." Olivia said from behind me while I amended the plan.

"That's the plan. And I have faith that we'll get there." I replied after I stopped writing on the sheet of paper.

"...Uh, yeah, that is the plan. And we know, you go on about faith all the time." Willow said with a quiet giggle. I turned around to see that she was the only one sitting at the table while she ate some leftover stew.

"I was talking to Olivia. Where'd she go?" I asked while I looked into the living room which turned out to be devoid of Olivia, like she hadn't even been there.

'...Are you alright, Hunter?" She asked, a look of concerned confusion appearing across her face.

"...Yeah, I'm alright." I replied before walking out into the living room once again.

Am I going crazy? I keep hearing voices and seeing things that vanish or aren't actually there... What is going on with my head? Am I becoming schizophrenic? There'd be no way to find out... Not for a long time at least.

Later that day and after I appeased Stacy with snuggling, I went to go check on how Charlotte and Trinity were doing with their progress in woodworking. Once there, it was easy to find out that they were being rather swift with it. At least, as swift as they could reasonably go.

"How many breaks have you taken?" I asked the two sweaty girls.

"About three. We're not gonna be slacking around. It feels great working this fuckin’ hard!" Trinity replied.

"That's what she said... I'm just here to help her out."

I walked up to the pile of wooden planks that were still really long. There easily had to have been fifty of them. "You guys deserve a vacation. Once again, everything y'all're doing is deeply appreciated."

"We're not gonna go on a damn vacation until our goals are met. Though this next one’s gonna be our last log for the day. I know Charlotte's arms are gonna be hurting in the fuckin’ morning, so I'm gonna need someone to replace her for this job tomorrow." Trinity explained as they cut the last bit of log.

"I can probably still do this tomorrow!" Charlotte tried to defend herself.

Trinity chuckled. "You say that now. You definitely won't be saying that shit when you wake up."

"Roman?" I pondered.

"Roman." Trinity confirmed.

"When are you gonna cut these into smaller and more usable pieces?" I asked as I tapped the pile of planks with a foot.

"The day after tomorrow. I wanna make sure I have more than enough wood to take from when I'm gonna be building frames for everything that needs it." She answered while she helped Charlotte out of the hole. The poor girl had so much sawdust on her.

"Sounds epic. I can't wait to see the product of your work, it's gonna be utterly amazing."

"It'll be here in no time. At least, that's what the fuck I'm planning." She cheerily said.

"I wish you luck on your mission. You two deserve a break. Go get some water, food, clean yourselves off if you want, all that good stuff. And once again, I appreciate your work."

As it was, the sun was getting low in the sky and the day's ending was drawing near. So what better way to end the day off with some games with the group while having a few drinks of alcohol with my lovely girl at my side?

Chapter 25: Armoured Invitation

Chapter Text

The next day was a lazy day for a few of us. That included me, Ashton, Charlotte, Audrey, and Kai. Trinity was invited to it, but she opted out since she wanted to get to woodworking as soon as possible. I admired the want to do hard work since mindsets like that are what's gonna propel us forward toward our ulterior goals. But since it was a lazy day, not much happened. Y’know, besides the usual like snuggling with Stacy, a few people went out fishing, a few rabbits were picked off, and Trinity and Roman cut a decent amount of wood for planks.

Truth be told, I kinda needed that lazy day to let my muscles relax since they had been hurting a decent bit. With the help of Stacy's magnificent hands, she pressed her digits into the muscles that were tight and hurting the most. It had the side effect of causing my sore muscles to feel as if they healed faster from the pleasant stimulation.

The day after the lazy day, I was back to being fully operational and full of energy to get some stuff done, mainly setting up the battery pack and seeing if any frames for the panels would be produced.

I was in the dining room simply staring at the calendar after crossing out yesterday’s date. Thirteen more days until Stacy's birthday. I was getting excited to do everything I had planned, but I put it in the back of my mind so I could focus on the present.

So much to do! We had to set up all the electricity stuff, begin making some farms, arm ourselves, and start making some signs to begin attracting some new people to a third party location.

I had thoroughly thought of that last one the day prior. And after thinking about it for a long while, I believed it to be the way forward. We needed more manpower to man more things, to create and build more structures, to assign them to do tasks such as fishing and hunting, and to eventually get to that self-sufficient village that I had essentially promised Stacy.

When Trinity waltzed down the stairs, I asked her what her plans were for that day. "Make a damn mold for the battery pack and start working on some fuckin’ frames for the panels."

"Excellent. Find me when you get done with the mold so we can start setting it up." I advised, Trinity nodding at that before she got ready for the day's work. Fifteen minutes later, Ashton was up and at 'em so I wasted no time flagging him down. "Wanna work on what our signs are gonna tell random stragglers?"

He looked a bit shocked at my question before rubbing some of the weariness out of his eyes so he could fully process it. "Uh, yeah, sure. Can I have a few minutes though?" He asked, getting a nod from me.

A few minutes later at the dining table, we got some paper and pencils out to start drafting up some ideas, though just before we got to brainstorming, Etsu had joined us since we wanted to hear what a stranger would want to hear. While she wasn’t a complete stranger, she was still fairly unknown to us and she still had a lot of progress to make on getting used to being part of our group.

"First and foremost, let's figure out what these signs are gonna be made of. Any ideas?" I asked, not sure how to start the project.

"Hm... Maybe a-a wooden sign? Show them, y’know, we have the ability t-to craft stuff with wood?" Etsu replied.

After closely examining her question, I said, "I'm not sure if they'll think that we made the wood ourselves, they might just think we scavenged it and cobbled it together. Though a wooden sign would probably be sturdy enough to last a couple of years."

"I don't suppose we'd be carving the words in the wood; that'd probably be too hard to read. I was gonna suggest graphite, but that probably wouldn't last long through wind and rain." Ashton said, though it spurred an within my mind.

"Charcoal would probably work for a couple months. We'd just have to periodically check in on it to see if it's still readable."

"We should make it bright and c-colorful!" Etsu happily suggested, causing my head to tilt. "To c-catch the travelers attention! We were all travelers once, how much did we p-pay attention to signs that weren't colorful?"

"That's... actually a great idea." I replied where she took the compliment with pride. "I think I’ll get Stacy to come up with a design, one that a person couldn’t possibly ignore. Alright, onto the fun bit. What are we gonna say?" I looked to Ashton then back to Etsu.

Suddenly, Ashton said, "Etsu, what would you wanna hear if you didn't already know about us?".

"Well, y’know, a lot o-of things... How much do you want me to s-say?"

"Keep it short and direct, but don't make it too hard to believe." I simply replied before she went into deep thought.

"I-I think I'd want to hear something sort of… y’know, inspirational, something like... 'Attention all remaining humans of Earth, the future… rests in your hands. Our species is so f-far spread out and so few in numbers that a large group, us, is starting… to pick back up the pieces so we won't perish into the dark, but we need y-your help to do that. Extinction… is not what we know, and for that not to happen we n-need your help, your hands, and your friendship'... That's what I'd want t-to hear, not sure about other people though."

I slowly nodded at those words before I slid a sheet of paper and a pencil to her. "Write that down, that's a fantastic starting point. We'll probably change a few things here and there, but something like that is the message I want to get across to the lonely souls that still aimlessly walk the streets."

"When should we get around to making these signs?" Ashton asked which raised a very good question.

"Not for a little while. Our woodworkers already have their hands full with a long queue of wooden objects they need to make. Probably a week, maybe two, perhaps even longer." I answered, not wanting to put too much stress on Trinity and Roman.

"Good, that gives us time to arm ourselves. When do you wanna get around to doing that? Each day that passes without these signs up is another day that goes by with us possibly missing a new friend."

"I actually think today would be good to do that." I replied, causing Ashton to smile. "But we’ll do that after we lay some concrete down for the battery pack. We're getting close to having electricity."

After a shared feeling of enthusiasm, we went on to start doing some of our daily tasks. I did my usual, fish for an hour or so with Stacy and Willow, though I had to wait for them to get up and get ready to join me.

"Isn't it weird that we kill these things and eat them?" Stacy asked while we trudged through the water. "I mean, it just seems... y'know, a little rude. We wouldn't want that to happen to us, right?"

"You get used to it." Willow simply replied with a shrug. "Animals are animals, not really able to think like we do. I think that makes it a little better to deal with."

"You gotta realize how fucked up it is that we think that though." I said with a chuckle. "It’s fucked up how we deem that killing animals is justified simply because they aren't able to talk. And sure, they aren't, which I suppose makes it a little easier to kill and consume them. But imagine if... imagine if extraterrestrial aliens came here and thought the same for us."

"...Maybe they already did something like that." Stacy ominously replied.

"I... kinda doubt it. But there's no way to know about that. It'd definitely explain what happened, but it just sounds ridiculous." I replied, that possibility being more possible than I felt comfortable with.

"Almost as ridiculous as almost everyone dying one morning. It's always ridiculous until it happens." Willow replied.

"...Yeah, like you being part of an intellectual conversation." I teased, causing her to growl at me. Stacy giggled after Willow splashed some water on me. "Typically, it'd be the opposite way around, the guy making the girl wet-."

She was surprisingly a fast runner when it came to running through water. I probably made her angrier by laughing at the situation. But when she was done trying to spear me, we continued fishing for another half an hour. That was until Trinity began calling out my name near the stream.

"I think she's done with her first craft." I quietly announced. It didn't take us long to get out of the stream, dry ourselves off, reequip our shoes, and split apart. At least, that's what Willow did since me and my queen went to go meet up with the craftswoman to see if my assumption was correct.

When we saw her, she jogged up to us, quickly closing the distance between us. "I've finished the mold. Took me little while to get the feel of it back down and fucked up a couple planks on accident, but once I got it going, it was a piece of fuckin’ cake. Woodworking naturally came back into my mind, like I didn't take a long ass break for two years."

I grinned at the news along with her passion for woodworking. "That's fantastic to hear. Let's go review what the end product looks like, I’m sure you did well crafting it."

Once we got to her station, I smiled when I saw it, it looked pretty professional for what it was. There were no seams or cracks which meant virtually no concrete would seep out of it. It was a few inches tall, which wasn’t surprising considering she had said she’d overcompensate the size of it, so we'd need an entire bag of concrete to fill it up, maybe even a bag and a half.

"I'm pleased, Trinity." I said before I knelt down by the wooden mold. It was quite heavy, but not ridiculously so, I'd just need someone to help me carry it to its designated area. And where was that? At the front of the house, next to the stairs of the porch. It'd be near the mansion’s electrical wires, those same wires having been connected to the grid that had stopped working long ago. I figured it'd be easy to connect those wires to the battery pack when it's up and operational, something substantiated by Kostas who had figured out where the optimal location was to put the battery pack.

I wasted no time in moving the frame, so just before I went to go get someone to help me other than Trinity, I said to the woman, "I want you to immediately start focusing on the frames for panels, I'll deal with the mold."

"Yes sir." She respectfully replied before instantly getting to work on her next task.

"Do you need any help?" Stacy offered.

"Yes, that'd be great." Trinity replied.

I guessed that Charlotte was still recovering and Roman was taking a break.

I looked down at my girl before I sauntered off. "Are you sure Stacy? It might be a little dangerous for you" I didn't want to be that guy, but I also didn't want her to cut herself or anything like that.

"I'll stop if I'm not having fun." She simply replied, her words slightly appeasing my mind.

"...Please be careful, my love." I pleaded before leaning down to kiss her forehead and the tip of her nose.

After we nuzzled, I was off to go fetch me a helper. It took around five minutes of searching before I nominated Jordan to be the one to help move the mold to the desired spot. The spot had already had a hole excavated which would allow the mold to snugly fit into the ground, the dirt naturally being tough which would prevent the battery pack from sinking. After we relocated the mold to its destination, I made my way up to the porch and took a bag of concrete and hefted it into the wheelbarrow before taking it down into the yard so the concrete dust wouldn't dirty the porch.

I swiftly skimmed through the instructions printed on the bag. I needed some gloves, a pair of goggles, a decent bit of water, and a shovel. In just fifteen minutes, I gathered the required items. Though I also retrieved a large measuring cup since I needed to meticulously measure the precise amount of water to mix with the powder. Little did I realize the critical role water played; even a slight excess could significantly compromise the concrete's strength. While I understood that excess water could weaken it, I was unaware of the extreme sensitivity of its integrity to the water-to-powder ratio.

Anyways, after I was done getting all of that, Ashton came outside to see that I was just about to knife open the bag.

"Need any help with that?" He generously asked.

"Nope, I got this all under control... Well, until I start pouring it into the mold. Just stand back." I advised, the man adhering to my words before I sliced the bad open.

A bunch of dust flew out of the wheelbarrow while I poured it. Should've expected it, but I didn't know how much there'd be; you live and learn. After that, I made a depression in the middle of the powder and wasted no time pouring in the required amount of water needed to get that bitch rolling. When that was done, I spent the next ten minutes thoroughly mixing it with the shovel until I deemed it good enough to pour into the mold.

After taking the gloves and goggles off, Ashton helped me direct the heavy ass wheelbarrow to the mold, the pouring commencing when he said it was all good. The mold worked almost perfectly. I say almost since there was a little seam which allowed minute amounts of concrete to flow through it which was a problem that needed fixing.

So after a couple of minutes of worrying and wondering how to plug it, I came up with the idea to clog it up with mud. Which sounded dumb in my mind, but it was just quick thinking. But when I did it, it actually worked. I love that feeling you get when the dumbest solution ends up working. The mold was around three or four centimeters taller than it should've been since I ran out of concrete to fill it with, but that was alright, there’s not too much missing so I just accepted it. It's not like I was gonna waste most of an entire bag to fill the remainder that was objectively negligible.

"So, now that that's drying, when should we go out and look for some weapons?" He asked.

"Who do you want to tag along with us?"

"I know Audrey wants to come along and I think Nova does too. Not sure about the others though."

"To be honest, I don't think it really matters. We're just gonna go in and take what we think is gonna protect us. I'm sure there's not gonna be much of a selection in a police station."

"True. Before we go, let's get some tools so we can break in with relative ease." He smartly suggested.

With that being said, I asked him to flag down Nova and Audrey while I went to go get the tools. I was sure we were gonna have to destroy some locks, so I went to the shed to retrieve the only pickaxe that was inside it. I didn't really know what else to grab and didn't think much of it, so I shrugged and made my way back to the front porch where I saw that the team was already assembled.

"I think we should use the car again." Audrey announced.

I looked at the vehicle that was still charging. "All of us getting in it is a bit risky..." I said, scared of a crash.

"I'll go slowly. I won't go above twenty miles an hour." Ashton claimed, trying to win me over.

I lightly sighed. "You aren't gonna get better at driving if you don't do it at all, yeah?" With my mind being decided, Ashton took the pickaxe from my hands while I went to retrieve the fob from my room. I opened the trunk and unlocked the doors for them when I returned to the porch.

"I call shotgun." I happily announced, causing the girls to roll their eyes at me while Nova took the charger out of the car. "We're probably gonna be gone for an hour or two. I'll be right back, I need to do something real quick."

I made my way to Trinity and Stacy where I swiftly saw that they had established a rhythm of cutting the larger planks into smaller sections.After Trinity cut the planks in half, Stacy would cut the smaller planks into even smaller segments before tossing them into a stockpile. I could easily tell that Trinity was getting really close to assembling the first solar frame.

"How's it going girls?" I asked, prying their attention from the work.

"As you can see, we've already cut a shit load of boards fit for the frames. I might be able to make these much fuckin’ faster than what I was originally thinking. No promises though." Trinity replied while measuring where to cut the next plank before Stacy tossed one of the smaller planks onto the stockpile.

"I'm pleased to hear it. I'll be stepping out briefly; there's a crucial mission I need to attend to. I'll provide you all with the details once I return.""

At that, Stacy instantly stopped sawing and turned her head to me. "How long are you gonna be gone for?" I gave her the estimated mission time. "Oh, alright." She simply replied while walking up to me before giving me a strong hug.

I hugged her back and nuzzled the top of her head. "Wish me luck, Ashton's gonna be driving us around for a bit."

She looked up to me, a little scared that I said that. "...Please don't get hurt. I kinda don't want you to go now."

I rested my forehead against hers. "I'll make sure he goes relatively slow. there won't be a chance for us to get badly injured."

"...Promise?"

"I promise." I said while I eskimo kissed her before she softly kissed me.

"Don't get hurt..." She repeated herself. I loved the concern she had, I thought it was adorable and made me feel even more loved and cared for.

After another little kiss, we parted ways where she swiftly got back to helping Trinity process the wood/ When I got back to the car, I saw that Audrey had taken the seat I had called. While I got in the seat behind her, I spoke out against her. "Way to have no honor, Audrey!"

"Thanks, I guess." She said with a chuckle while I handed Ashton the fob. It didn't take him long to start it before he started to slowly drive down the pathway of the mansion.

"What percentage is the car at?" I asked to get some conversation rolling, trying to keep my anxiety down since I hadn't been in a car for so long; I had forgotten how rough it could be.

"We're sitting on like, forty-one percent, dude. That's, like, a ton of miles its racked up, pretty frickin' amazing if you ask me." Audrey answered while Ashton continued applying more force to the pedal.

We gradually accelerated to the limit of twenty miles an hour. The reasons being are obvious; it’s because it had been a long time since Ashton had properly driven anywhere, let alone not being familiar with this type of car. And since the roads were badly weathered, some mayhem could be caused if you drove over a part that was especially bad. To top it all off, there were a countless amount of abandoned cars that a driver has to avoid.

I gazed out the window to watch the scenery pass by where I ended up enjoying the speed since it ended up being rather peaceful, not worried about being badly injured in a fatal accident since the more I thought about it, the more improbable it became. When he asked to bump the speed up by five miles an hour ten minutes later, I allowed it, but that was it, I wanted to play it safe.

But goddamn, I must say, having a car is extremely nice. We were going much faster than the bikes and we weren't breaking a sweat. It even had a working HVAC system which was thrilling in a sense. Now, all we need are heaters and air conditioners for the house when the time comes.

All was going well and smoothly until Ashton suddenly slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a deer. This caused my heart to drop to my ass at the feeling of losing all of our momentum. Honestly, it felt like I lost ten years of life with the amount of stress I experienced in those couple of seconds.

"Damn deer, even after all this time, they still decide to cross the road when the only operational car on this entire fucking continent is functional and driving." Ashton said, anger evident in his voice.

Oh jeez, he's a road rager.

"Well, to be fair to the deer, they had a decent bit of time to unlearn what cars are. Maybe it was a young one and didn't know any better?" Nova said before Ashton shrugged off his anger before he accelerated the car back up to speed.

"Well, fuck that deer, nearly gave me a damn heart attack over here." I said, still trying to get a hold of my breathing while I kept a hand on my chest which allowed me to feel my swiftly beating heart.

"Dude, it was a genius move to set that speed limit so low, seriously. We might've totally slammed into that deer if you hadn't done that." Audrey pointed out before Ashton sighed.

"Yeah, she's right. As much as I wanna speed up to the forties and fifties, shit like that just made itself so clearly known to not go faster than twenty-five. Great call, Hunter."

Honestly, that made me feel good about myself even though putting their safety above everything else is what I cared the most about regardless of what they thought about me. Hell, the mission we were on was because I wanted to protect them from potentially dangerous future plans. And it kinda sucked that as we progressed, the more danger there was that could possibly happen to my people. I just hoped that it didn't happen any time soon - hoping something like that since I knew it was inevitable that someday, someone would be greatly injured, maybe even die in an accident or something...

I took my mind off of that, I didn't want to think about it. I knew I'd have to think about what we'd do when one of us dies eventually... I just didn't want to do it any time soon. I put it off for later, to think about in the future. I wasn't looking forward to even thinking about it, who knew what I'd be like when it actually does happen...

Anyways, I shrugged the thought off before going back to looking out the window while we got closer and closer to our destination. By the way, the roads sounded absolutely terrible. Which, y'know, is because they were. It was a bit annoying to hear, but I eventually tuned it out. I thought about how much longer the roads would last and whether we'd make our own roads in the future. That'd be awesome, but it was way down the line... I hope I get to see that day.

Thankfully, no more deer or any other woodland creatures decided to play chicken for the rest of the way to the police station, which was located close in the middle to the town. Which made sense, they needed to get to any of the edges of town as soon as possible, but that's besides the point.

When we got there, Ashton made his way to the trunk before picking the pickaxe up and hefting it. "It's been a while since I held one of these..."

I suddenly felt a bit dumb since I hadn’t had a certain conversation with him before. "I never really asked you, what was your position in the mining industry?"

"I usually led expeditions, founded mines and quarries, commanded what workers should do, all that good stuff." While he spoke, we turned around and began walking up to the police station's glass doors. "It was somewhat of a stressful job. I'd sometimes manually mine things to blow off some steam which felt a little more natural to me even though it was very labour intensive. Though I only had the position for a year and a half before The Drop happened."

When we got to the doors, he tried opening it, the doors predictably not budging. We gave each other an understanding look before the girls and I stepped back which allowed Ashton to heft the pickaxe up who then professionally smashed the glass, taking the handle with it.

"That's a mighty swing you got there." I complimented while our group invaded the station.

"Well, this is a sad sight..." Nova said as we saw a few skeletal remains of what we assumed to be police officers.

A couple of their skulls had bullet holes in them. Suicide maybe? There were also several bullet holes in the walls, some piercing through to the outside world. I assumed that's how bugs found their way into the building, where moths and other insects then feasted on the clothes of these unfortunate individuals, their badges still lying beside their remains.

"Uh, pretty sure the pickaxe was all we needed to bust in here..." Audrey announced while she knelt down to one of the remnants of a police officer where she then picked up a hoop of keys.

"We don't know that yet, I'll hold onto the pickaxe just in case. Now we just need to find the lockers, where they kept their guns. At least, that's where I'm assuming they’d be."

As they dispersed to go find out where that was, I took a couple sets of handcuffs. I was thinking we'd use them in the future just in case any straggler decides to cause harm against my people. My plan was to subdue them, lock them in a room, then figure out what to do with them with the group. But that was all hypothetical, I hoped that'd never happen, but I had doubts. The only way to find out was to move forward with our plans.

There were about three handguns in the lobby with leather holsters as well. I took them and unloaded their clips before checking how many rounds they had. One was full while the other two were missing a couple. A shootout maybe? But why? Maybe the end of the world was just too much for them to handle...

I was happy yet scared regarding how easy it was to arm ourselves. Why had it taken so long for us to do it? And how many other people out there have their own firearm, ready to kill when they want or need? The biggest worry I have is a scenario in which misunderstanding occurs or if the stranger wielding a gun is a skittish person and they preemptively shoot because they feel threatened. We needed to come up with a way to make sure something like that wouldn't happen regarding future meetings with strangers. I put a pin in that to bring up with Ashton later before focusing on the task at hand.

So after bagging three handguns, after around fifteen minutes had passed, Nova called out to us due to how she found the armory. At least, that’s what she assumed since the door lacked any window to peer through.

None of the keys worked, so Ashton hefted the pickaxe once again, striking the doorknob forcefully. It took a couple of hits for it to come off completely. I pulled out a flashlight, illuminating the pitch-black room, revealing dozens of guns – handguns, three shotguns, and a couple of automatic assault rifles – along with numerous boxes of ammunition.

"Well damn, this seems too easy." I said while I walked into the room.

"Don't jinx us, Hunter..." Nova pleaded before she unslung her backpack while she walked up to a rack holding a couple types of pistols. The girl then quickly bagged several handguns, as if she was robbing a vault full of money.

"How many do we really need?" I inquired while the other two joined Nova in looting the armory where Ashton darted for some holsters.

"Not a whole bunch, honestly. But like, what's the harm in having a few extras, you know?" Audrey asked as she started taking a few handguns of her own.

"We're gonna have to make sure these weapons are somewhere secure and hidden, just in case." I advised while I started bagging dozens of boxes of bullets. A few minutes later, I decided that we should just clean the place out. "As long as we keep these weapons hidden when not in use, I'll be fine with keeping them all. I can't stress having them hidden hard enough."

"Yes sir. Though may I ask why?" Ashton somewhat hesitantly asked.

"If we ever get infiltrated or have a Quisling in our house, I don't want our weapons out in the open to be used against us." I explained, Ashton being unfamiliar with the term 'Quisling'. "Basically just a traitorous new guy, probably not the best way to use the word, but I think it fits."

We made a couple trips to clear everything out from the station; the car’s trunk being filled with plenty of ammunition and deadly weapons by the time we were done. Another big part as to why I wanted to take everything was to prevent anyone else from arming themselves by just walking into the station, y’know, if they weren't already armed. The chances of someone doing that were probably quite low regardless, but I felt obligated to take it all. Nothing stopped us from doing it while it also gave us more tools to defend ourselves from possible future 'criminals'.

When we had cleared the armory of guns, I was about to leave, but something in the corner of the dark room appeared as if something subtly shifted. I instantly moved the flashlight in that corner to reveal nothing. Well, no creature or anything. However, I spotted three black bulletproof vests slumped in the corner.

I wasted no time in retrieving them. They were much heavier than what I was expecting, but I should've expected that. The vests gave me a strong sense of safety when it came to contacting strangers in the future. Whenever we got around to meeting our first straggler after implementing the plan we were scheming, we'd wear these and keep a side arm hidden on us, just in case. And we’d most likely do that every other time after that since not doing so would be an unnecessary risk.

After putting the vests in the trunk, we didn't stay there for much longer before heading back home. It was a quick little side mission that had a huge positive effect on our future, done just like that. If only our other future missions were just as simple... eh, complications are what make life interesting, right? Anyways, as we were going back, I expressed to Ashton how I thought we should deal with future stragglers where he agreed that it was a solid idea and had nothing to add to it. We just had to make sure that everyone knew about it whenever we'd tell the rest about the sign project.

As we safely made our way back home, we discussed where we should put the extra weapons. "Maybe deep in one of our closets? That’d seem pretty difficult for a new guy to get to." Nova suggested, which wasn't a terrible idea.

"I was thinking more about the cellar. It's pretty impossible to get in there without making a lot of noise. Maybe we should standardize the times we open the cellar after we put the guns there?" Ashton counter-suggested.

"Hm... the cellar idea speaks louder to me, but we'd need some sort of lock for standardized timing to take place. We’d also need a working clock to know when to open it." I simply replied.

"Hey, dude, Ashton and I can totally go hunt down those things today, if you're cool with it." Audrey suggested, but I shook my head.

"Do that on another future mission; we just left the town and I don't want y'all going back today for only a couple of items. I wanna conserve the miles on this thing as much as I can, to delay parts needing to be repaired or replaced for as long as possible."

"Oh right, I forgot that that'll be a problem down the line... Damn, that's gonna suck once it happens." Ashton said, sounding disappointed at the reality of the situation which was quite understandable. "It's a good thing that this vehicle has less than ten-thousand miles on it, so we got maybe a hundred-thousand before problems start arising. And I've heard you go on about how it has hundreds of less moving parts than your traditional vehicle. The regenerative braking is also really cool."

"I wonder what the rest are gonna think once they see we brought back enough weapons for us all to have three sidearms..." I pondered while I imagined Stacy holding one of the guns. Her poor little hands and arms most likely wouldn't be able to handle the kick of a handgun.

"I'm thinking it's gonna be a whole lot of mixed emotions... You just gotta explain to them why we got them and how we're gonna handle them." Nova answered my wonderous question.

"We'll see. We'll also have to figure out who even gets a weapon. I figure members with their own room can easily hide a couple somewhere within their rooms just in case anything ever happens in the middle of the night." At that point, I was just thinking out loud, trying to look at the situation from a few more perspectives than my own.

Ashton certainly helped spur a few thoughts. "I think we can just ask around, explain everything, then grant them a weapon. Seems easy enough to me."

"Sounds simple; we just need to get across how important it'll be to keep them hidden." I replied which effectively ended that conversation.

We made our way back to the house in no time and wasted no time in telling our other members about what we had gone out to do. Kai and Willow were on the porch when we returned so I figured they should be the first ones I should speak to about the guns. When I got out of the car, I flagged them over to me while I made it to the trunk before opening it as the couple made their way to my side.

After they realized they were looking at an arsenal of firearms, I began my first of many times explaining why we scavenged the weapons and what we'd do with them. "They’re purely for defense purposes whenever we start seeking out more people." And then I had to explain that project as well...I had so much explaining to do.. "Think you both can handle a gun?"

"I used to hunt with one all the time before The Drop, though I’m not sure about Willow." Kai answered while he glanced at his significant other.

"I've never shot one before... How hard could it be?" She naively asked, her tone full of confidence.

"Well, since you're a virgin when it comes to shooting a gun and you've got no clue about how to do it, it'd probably fly right out of your hand on your first shot... We might have to make some sort of shooting range to teach the unfamiliar; we have more than enough ammo here to last us a long time."

"Does that mean I can use one of these to hunt?" Kai asked while he reached out for one, but one of my hands swatted his mitts away.

"Are you struggling with the crossbows?" I asked, the boy shaking his head. "Then no. It's an unnecessary noise risk and somewhat of a waste of ammo since you already have a way that works just fine."

In my opinion, target practice wasn't a waste since it'd be teaching us how to defend ourselves. But the noise would be a problem. Perhaps we'd make a future shooting range elsewhere? But maybe not since we'd still be able to protect ourselves if a stranger hears the gunshots and decides to investigate... It was to be decided later. But the ammo situation might become a problem down the line. Maybe I could ask Kostas if he could make some bullets? Fat chance of him actually knowing how to do so... how are bullets made anyways? Damn, we really need to loot a library to answer so many of our 'how to make' questions.

By the end of all my explanations, I made it clear to them how they had to be responsible to own one of the guns. Once that was said, I gave them both an unloaded handgun after making sure the safety was on where the both of them got a feel for the weapon. After they did that, they fucked off to go to their room to find a good hiding place for the weapons. After that, Audrey and Ashton took a couple of guns as well. I already knew they understood everything, so it wasn't a worry of mine. After Nova took one of her own, I closed the trunk to go see how Trinity was doing.

She was still working hard by hammering some long nails into some planks so they could be forced to stay together. When I spotted a frame for a panel that had already been manufactured, I walked up to it, which is when Trinity realized I had come back, so she briefly stopped her work to inform me about a few things.

"Stacy went to start another one of her cool ass drawings half an hour ago, if that's what you're looking for."

"Well, that's one of the reasons I’m here, but the main reason is I'm just here to check on a couple things."

"Oh, well, as you can see, that's the first frame I successfully made. What do you think? Pretty bitchin’, huh?" She asked as I gingerly draped a few of my digits over the surprisingly smooth wood. Still coarse, but much smoother than what I thought they'd be.

"Much better than I expected. You're a natural at this. If I could promote you in some way, I would." I answered honestly after I turned to her.

"Thank you." She said with a nod. "I missed doing this shit. I'll finish this frame and build another then take a break for a while, if that's alright."

"Of course, Trinity. After working so hard the past couple of days, you deserve it." I replied while I continued inspecting the frame. I noticed where the panels would be screwed into, ensuring that they'd be securely in the frame, which just assured me that we were getting that much closer to having an effective means of electricity generation.

"I should be able to pump out most of the frames in just a few days, as long as I get the help I need. I’ll try to work overtime since I know how damn important this is to all of us."

"Once again, I’m extremely pleased with all of this. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know." I replied before swiftly changing the subject. "I need to have a small talk with you and Charlotte about something that I just got back from, it's a little serious, but I think you both can handle it."

"...We're not in trouble, are we?" She suspiciously asked.

"...No? Wait, should you two be in trouble?"

"...Sure, I'll find her ass and tell her you wanna see us. When and where do you wanna talk about whatever it is?"

"As soon as possible, by the car. It shouldn't be too long of a conversation."

"Alright, I’ll go fetch her after I finish hammering this shit together.”

I gave her a nod and made my way back to the car where I saw that Etsu was closely examining it. I snuck up behind her while she intently peered inside the vehicle, the woman oblivious to her surroundings. I made my way right by her side before nonchalantly saying, "Nice piece of tech, isn't it?"

She just about jumped out of her skin, the woman yelping just a bit before she took a few steps away from the car. "Uh- Yeah! I was just t-trying to, y’know, see what the inside looked like. I heard s-so many good things about these cars before The Drop happened, but n-never really looked into it that much."

"Ah, I see. For your information, all that stuff you heard is most likely true. I've enjoyed everything about it so far and Ashton's told me it handles phenomenally." I replied. We talked about the vehicle’s capabilities for the next five minutes before Trinity and Charlotte shimmied their way up to us.

"So what's going on?" Charlotte asked before I glanced at Etsu. Should I give weapons to them in front of her?

"We're getting armed for future plans." I replied where I then began the second iteration of explaining and answering questions about the guns and my plans of attracting more people.

"This is a big step forward... We'll be sure to hide these as well as we can when we have to." Charlotte somewhat hesitantly replied.

"W-When do I get my gun back...?" Etsu skittishly asked, which was a given since I was talking about and giving guns to two of our other members, why wouldn’t she ask that?

"A few weeks, Etsu. You're still fairly new here, I hope you can understand."

"I do... I just, y’know, wonder how I'm gonna p-prove myself to all of you faster."

"At the moment, I'd say with some hard work, but you're still recovering from that slice on your belly. After you're feeling alright and it doesn't get in the way of anything, doing some daily tasks, tagging along for scavenging trips, other stuff like that, then you'll quickly build your way up the ranks. I hope to see it as soon as possible."

As I closed the trunk of the car once the lesbians were done picking out their guns, Etsu nodded at my words. "I'll try to do that when I c-can."

After Trinity and Charlotte walked off to return to their duties, I mentally counted up everyone in the group to see how many more people I needed to give weapons to. Roman, Olivia, Jordan, and Kostas. I left Stacy out since I knew she most likely wouldn't be able to handle the power of a gun. Maybe I would relent in the future, but I wasn't going to anytime soon. But I wasn't gonna control her. If she wanted a gun, I'd be fine with her doing that, I'd just be somewhat worried - I couldn't not be.

I decided to tell Olivia about the weapons next, which I found in the living room while she was talking with Jordan about something I don't care about. When their conversation lulled, I jumped into it and steered it toward the proposition of them gaining the right to bear arms.

After I was done explaining everything to them, Olivia shook her head. "I'm gonna refuse the offer. I'm a doctor, I fix people's injuries, not cause them. It would be against my moral code to cause anyone harm, the only exception being if I have to, to ultimately fix an injury."

"Not even if you have to?" I asked, Olivia nodding at the question.

"I can't make that type of call even if I had to, yes. It was something I was most scared about being a leader... It almost got Kai killed. But even after that, I still wouldn't be able to shoot someone." She honestly answered.

"These guns are only for when we run out of options, I hope we'll never have to use them on anyone. Hope is the key word; it's more than possible we use these weapons in the future, sooner rather than later. It's respectable that you can't bring harm upon others, I just ask that if shit ever hits the fan, that you try your best to get with someone who has a weapon to protect you."

"If that ever does happen, I'll try, but I’d hope that non-lethal means can be utilized before a firearm." She simply replied.

"Now, what about you, Jordan?" I asked as I turned my gaze to meet his.

"I'd like to have one, but to be honest, I don't trust myself with it since I'm somewhat of a clumsy person with a dash of being forgetful. Throw in a gun and I'm sure there'd be some terrible accident down the line."

"I like the honesty, Jordan. If you ever change your mind, just ask. The more hands that are able to defend themselves with something like a gun, the more comfortable I am with the idea of setting up signs to capture as many people as we can get our hands on."

"About that, how are we gonna sustain more people as time goes on? As it is, we don't have much room in this house for even just the fourteen of us. Shouldn't we vote on something like this before it happens?" Olivia asked, unaware of the ideas that were already forged earlier that day. Because of that, I told her about how much food was being planned to be grown and the prospect of possibly building cabins which was met with reasonable skepticism.

After that, I made my way into the kitchen to retrieve a couple sheets of paper to write it all down to help effectively explain to the others why this plan was happening and how we'd prepare for it. In the middle of writing it all down, my Queen joined me at the table, the girl then asking what I was doing. At her question, I told her about the guns, the signs, and the future plans for expanding the amount of living space.

"I think you were right about me not getting a gun." She said with a giggle. "I wouldn't like the loud sounds they make anyways... I don't like sounds like that." That explanation kind of alarmed me. Fireworks were loud... Maybe she'd be alright with them? Only time would tell.

"And just know that I'd make sure to protect you at all costs if we were put in any danger." I nonchalantly replied which made her coyly grin.

"I know you would. But what if you aren't here if something bad happens?" She pondered with a tilt of her head.

"Honestly, I’m not too sure... If that ever happens, try to get to someone who can protect you. I really hope that never happens." I said, imagining an awful situation where she gets hurt by someone. I stopped my imagination when my thoughts continued to delve into darker situations. "Anyways, what do you think about building cabins when we run out of space here in the mansion?"

"I think it's an awesome idea! Having more buildings here would be so cool, like we'd be starting a town." She said with a bright smile before a curious expression appeared on her face. "Isn't that gonna be hard though?"

I nodded. "It's gonna take a lot of hard work, labour, trial and error, and time. But if we put enough effort into it, we'll manage." Another thing to get a book on, 'how to build cabins'.

"I'm just a little surprised that you're doing this..." She said when I finished writing everything down.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because, y’know, you're pretty strict when it comes to new people. Is it the guns that made you change your mind?"

I scooted my chair over to hers. "That's a part of it, yes. The other part is that it’s making it possible for us to live in that village that you dreamt of. I'm doing it for you. Without seeking out more people, it'd never happen." She grinned while she looked up at me. "You've helped me understand what I want; what I want is that future. And as long as you're by my side, I'm going to try my hardest to make that dream a reality."

She hugged me after I said that where the girl's head softly nuzzled my chest. "I feel like I should thank you for everything you're doing..."

A hand went to her jawline so I could make her look up at me again. "I feel like I should thank you as well... You're the one that's giving me the drive to do this, the one that gives my life purpose."

It didn't take much longer for us to kiss each other, the both of us happy about all the feelings that we reciprocated for each other and being each other's cause for them. After the intimate kissing session, I couldn't help myself but focus on how to move forward with these plans. But in order for that to happen, a vote on them would have to take place.

"If only we had walkie-talkies... I think that'll be one of the first things we’ll get when we have electricity. Though there's already so many things to do, so many things to get when that happens." I pointed out to the little girl who soaked up every word.

"We'll get there. It's not like we have little time to do it all."

"You're correct. I just wanna get it done as soon as possible." I replied with a kiss on her forehead. "Do you want me to stay hugging you, or should I go do a few things to get this rolling?"

"Hm... Can I sit on your lap and draw after you're done with everything?"

"Yes, absolutely." I immediately said, her offer impossible to reject, before she let me go so I could get back to work.

So after that, I started announcing to the others that we're gonna be voting on something rather important for the future of our community while also advising that they pass it on to spread the news, to meet in the dining room within the hour. It spread quickly and in no time, everyone was waiting for me to brief them all on why I had gathered them up again.

I sat at the head of the table while I spoke to them. "One of the things that needs to happen for us to continue down the path of our three year plan is for us to expand. Expand in the sense of member count and the space we occupy. With the help of Ashton and Etsu, we started the first draft of how to contact stragglers. It’ll be done with signs that catch the eyes of anyone who walks by them which’ll have an inspirational message calling for their help. Additionally, it’ll also direct them to an area where both parties will meet up. Of course, it’ll be away from this place, and the area they’ll go to will also have a radio, one they’d use to contact us, the receiving radio being somewhere around here."

"Hm. And I guess we started preparing for that? I don't know why there would suddenly be a lot of guns at this place if not." Kostas inferred before I nodded at him.

"Correct. Though a few of you don't know about those just yet,I'll talk to you with those unaware about getting one of them after this vote. Anyways, yes, the reason we're arming ourselves is to protect ourselves from people who might wanna cause us some harm. The weapons would only be used when all other options have been exhausted, but it’s always possible that they should be used as the first means of defense in many cases, does that all make sense?" At that, a few of them nodded at my reasoning.

"Now, when you say 'expand the space we occupy', what do you mean by that?" Charlotte asked, the question greatly resonating with the rest.

"By constructing cabins. It'll be a tough effort sicne we’ll need to collect the wood, make the materials needed, build the foundations, and plenty of other things that go into doing something like that. But it's definitely within our grasp. As it is, this house is running out of space. We could probably have another couple of people join us just fine, but after that, it’ll start getting quite crowded here."

"So more fuckin’ work on my queue?" Trinity asked, getting a confirming nod from me.

"You and Roman could boss around some newcomers as they come along to help us construct things like that. Of course, they’d need training on how to do something like that, but I think it’s doable - you trained Charlotte quite swiftly even though her body wasn’t used to working that hard before. So if you’d be up for it, I'd like to give you the permission to take charge of an operation like that so y'all could be more efficient."

"That'd definitely be helpful. Building something like a cabin would be really difficult. Does anyone here even know how to do that?" Roman asked abroad.

"I... know a bit. But I'm missing a fuck ton of information on how to properly pull that shit off." Trinity answered, bringing up another idea of mine.

"And that's where looting a library comes into play. On top of possibly getting the needed information you need for construction, we'd also extract a lot of other knowledge, like answering a lot of our 'how to' questions alongside retrieving other miscellaneous knowledge that'd come in handy in the future."

"Alright, this all sounds good so far. Though what about feeding us all as more would join us?" Kai asked, prompting Audrey to speak up.

She explained how many crops she'd grow over the course of this year, getting the same questions I asked about how we'd be able to sustain growing it all. Yeah, man, it's gonna be some heavy lifting, no doubt. The future? Not gonna be all rainbows and sunshine for a while. But you know, Hunter's idea of callin' the shots with the newbies here, I'm kinda vibin' with that. So, uh, can I get the nod to do the same with those future farms down the road? Just, you know, curious about that.”

"You have my approval, yes. I just don't want these people to be overworked, or else we might scare them away." I advised, which was a sentiment that was easily understood, "And as our use of electricity increases, once we’d need it, we'll transport more and more of the solar farm to us. I'm sure that farm isn't gonna run out of panels or battery packs for a few years even if we doubled in size every three months."

"This... is definitely a risky plan." Kostas said, sounding quite unsure about the whole idea.

"It is, which why I'm starting to talk about it, arm the group, and make this a group decision. Every move forward we make, to progress, is going to be risky. I worry about that more than any of you. But without taking risks and making ambitious decisions, we don't move forward, we don't progress, and we all don't get to that life that we want."

With all that being said, the voting commenced. I reluctantly allowed Etsu to vote even though she was still such a new member into the group. After another ten minutes of clarifying some points to a couple of them, the end result ended up being ten to four, for enacting the plan. The way we voted was to pass around a sheet of paper and write our name under the 'yes' or 'no' category.

"For those who voted 'no', feel free to come up to me and ask me some questions about the ordeal and how I can help make it to where y'all would feel safer about the idea. As it is, this plan has been ratified. Now, if only I had some sort of gavel to hit on the table to make it feel more official..." I wasted no time in discussing another topic about our decision. "Now that that's been decided, we need to discuss a crucial aspect about it; how much time should be required to pass before we give people membership and all the rights that come with it?"

"What rights?" Olivia asked.

"The right to vote in group decisions and bear arms within our community. Should there be a small ceremony for when they become a member? And as we grow bigger into a small hamlet, should we give our place a name?"

Olivia quietly chuckled. "This is a lot to decide all at once, I must say. To answer your first question, going off of what feels natural, I think fifty days would be enough time to make sure that whoever we invite over isn't gonna try to kill us once we give them a weapon."

"Yeah, it’s a lot to talk about, but I figure that we should get these questions up in the air and answered since we're all here already; it's a bit of a hassle to get us all in the same room. But yes, fifty days is a good starting point. Does anyone want to make a counter suggestion?"

At that, Jordan threw his hat into the ring. "I think an entire month would be more than enough, but Olivia's suggestion wouldn’t be a terrible thing to abide by if there was no other choice."

The group was sort of split on the two opinions which prompted me to make the executive decision to force them to compromise. "Forty days will be the grace period for membership." It was a solid amount of time, one that wasn't too short or long.

"D-Does that mean I just g-got my vote, y’know, revoked?" Etsu asked, not that happy about the decision.

"Hm. I think not; you'll be the one exception to this rule since it was made after you became a member." I replied, overriding the newly forged decision. "Alright, let's move onto figuring out what to name our home since I think we need to refer to this place as something other than 'the house' or 'the mansion' since I intend for this to be the Town Hall for a certain amount of time."

After I flipped the sheet of paper we had used to cast our votes, Stacy asked, "Certain amount of time? Do you plan on building something else to be a Town Hall or something?"

"That's a discussion for much, much later, my dear." I replied while I wrote down 'name suggestions' and underlined it. "I'm gonna leave this sheet here so y'all can write down some name suggestions for this place. After a day or so, we can then decide which name we want to officially call it through the process of elimination. And when I say ‘this place’, I mean as a whole, which includes this house, the crop fields we'll make, the cabins that'll be erected, the whole sha-bang."

"What about that ceremony thing you mentioned?" Nova asked though I shook my head.

"Oh right, we kind of skipped over that. Uh, I think I’ll put a pin in it for now. There's a couple things I need to think about before discussing it with y’all since I’ve only put in about two minutes of thought for it." I simply answered, the girl nodding in response. "With that being said, I think we've discussed everything that needed to be talked about as a group." After that, I adjourned the meeting before we dispersed, though I kept Roman and Kostas at the table to discuss another topic with them. As I saw Olivia and Willow take turns writing a couple of name suggestions, I mentioned the guns to them.

"Yes, I was gonna talk to you about that anyways. Where did you get them?"

I quickly answered his question before saying, "Are you two down to get one?"

"To be honest? No. I kinda feel like I don't need one. It'd also be a pain to carry around all day just on the off chance I need it." Roman simply answered.

Kostas then said, "I'd like one. As long as there's a… what is it called in English? One of the things that you use to store the gun on your side. As long as I have that, I want one. That'll be my hiding spot."

"Awesome, let's go get you armed." I offered before I led the way to the car. It didn't take him long to pick out a gun and equip a holster, the man wasting no time in inserting the weapon into the leather. "Just be careful." I couldn't help but say.

He chuckled at my words. "This isn't my first gun, Hunter. I used to shoot some guns all the time back in Bulgaria. I know how to handle a gun."

With him being the last of our members who wanted to pick up a weapon, I closed the trunk and made my way into the house, knowing I'd deal with transporting the weapons into the cellar at a later time. Once I had entered the mansion, I spotted Stacy who was sitting on the couch silently staring at the unlit fireplace. I quietly made my way behind her before putting my hands on her shoulders, causing the girl to jump at the sudden touch.

"What're yah doin', my dear?" I asked while I leaned down.

She shyly smiled before I kissed her cheek. "Just thinking about what we all talked about earlier."

"Any bad thoughts about it?"

"No, not really. Just a little nervous about it. I don't want anyone new to hurt you because of all this stuff, I'm just a little afraid of that."

"Wanna go in our room and talk about it?" I offered, something she quickly went along with. I followed her up the stairs to the desired location before the girl excitedly sat me down in the chair she likes to draw in. "But yes, I'm a little afraid of that as well. But like I said, we have to take risks to progress."

She made her way between my knees before resting her forehead against mine, causing my hands to instinctively take a gentle hold of her hips. "I trust that you know what you're doing, just... try your best not to get hurt, okay?"

The amount of care in her tone was immense, it was so sweet how much she cared for my safety. I slowly eskimo kissed her while I replied. "I will, I promise. Now, are you gonna draw anything?"

She smiled before she leaned back and hopped onto my lap which is when she asked me to turn us to the desk. She took out a piece that she had recently started on, the outlines to a creature with the beginnings of some flora being evident.

"What is it, Stace?" I asked before she picked up a pencil.

She lightly giggled. "I don't wanna tell you, just watch." I couldn't argue with that so I simply started to watch her hands glide across the sheet, her hands well trained in the act of drawing. Though as she drew and as the minutes rolled by, her hips fidgeted and twitched every now and then, the girl on my lap unknowingly starting to turn something on within me.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

A few minutes passed before I rested my chin on her shoulder. A couple minutes more passed before I put my nose in the crook of her neck. After yet another one, I started to lightly kiss her vulnerable neck. Her drawing then began slowing down while I delicately put my hands back on her hips, a small blush appearing on her cheeks as she started feeling a large and hard bulge beneath her. Her rate of breath subtly heightened while my grip on her hips strengthened, my kissing on her neck getting more intense.

At that point, her legs steadily started to spread open, the girl then putting her pencil down before she lifted her head up to expose more of her neck to me. I quickly accepted her offer to kiss a more sensitive part of her delicate neck, the girl lightly moaning at my light sucking. I softly thrusted into her while she put her hands on the ones that were on her hips. Though my hands then snuck under her shirt so I could trail them upwards, taking her shirt off in the process. She easily let me do that before I firmly placed both of my hands on her small breasts, the girl starting to quietly grunt in pleasure as gingerly massaged her tits.

"How much do you want me to rut you right now, Stacy?" I lustfully whispered into her ear before going back to kissing her neck.

"I-I... A lot..." She admitted.

I felt her tits up for a couple of minutes before a hand traveled down to the button of her jeans where I wasted no time in undoing them. She helped me slide her jeans off before I took my shirt off as well, the girl then leaning back so her skin could press against mine.

My arms went around her abdomen so I could lift her up and slide the lower portion of my clothing down. Once that was accomplished, my phallus pressed up against her slit, though her panties remained in the way of them contacting. I pressed her down into my lap, causing the girl to wiggle her hips, though that piece of cloth she still wore prevented us from truly enjoying the moment.

After that, a hand went over her belly and into her panties where my hand skipped over her clit so I could place the palm of my hand over the entirety of her pussy, her wet slit leaking trace amounts of horny lubricant onto my hand. My hand stayed there for a bit, slowly gyrating, causing her to whimper.

'Hunter, please..." She begged as she looked up at me with pleading eyes.

I rested my forehead on hers while she gently tried grinding on my hand to give her that sensation she was starving for. "I love your begs and whimpers... They're so goddamn cute. Maybe I'll delay it some more so I can hear some more? of them"

She whimpered again, the sound like music to my ears, making my cock twitch in impatience. "Hunter... Please, I want you to fuck me so bad... Please, take my panties off and fuck me so hard, make me cum, make me moan, please... please..."

After that beg, I deeply kissed her while my hands darted to either side of her panties so I could slip them off her, the girl helping me through the process by sliding them down her legs and onto the floor. When the shaft of my cock contacted her damp folds, she wasted no time in ending the kiss and grabbing my dick before lifting herself up.

I held onto her hips while I watched her direct my penis inside her hole, the girl eager to let herself slowly slide down my shaft, moaning and grunting as she slid all the way down. During so, I was once again overwhelmed with happiness that she wanted and accepted all of my loads that I desperately needed to give her.

When my glans contacted her cervix, my arms wrapped around her abdomen once more, Stacy eagerly and slowly gyrating her hips, the adorable girl trying to cause us to feel the pleasure that we desired. Though that wasn't going to cut it, it was way too gentle of a movement to make any progress on getting the other to cum. But it’s something we enjoyed for a couple long minutes. That was until I kissed her while my hands on her hips gingerly lifted her up my length before dropping her. causing my shaft to quickly slide within her, causing her to moan into the kiss. I slowly repeated that process a few times, driving her crazy as the slow in and out movement wasn't fast enough for her liking.

"L-Let me go, put me on the floor." She suddenly said. I thought I had done something wrong so I instantly complied with her words. Though she moved all of her art supplies out of the way and used her desk to sit on where she then spread her legs for me, allowing me to see her forever amazing everything. "Fuck m-me, fuck me so h-hard here."

I stood up, pushing the chair back in the process, before walking between her legs and resting my forehead on hers. "Fucking you on a desk? With pleasure..." I replied as I rubbed the base of my shaft against her clit, the girl's hands going on my cheeks so she could kiss me. After a minute, I directed my cock between her labia and wasted no time in slowly starting to thrust in and out of her.

The desk was kind of creaky while our movements sped up, but I didn't care. The only thing I cared about was making the delicious little girl cum and moan. I was thankful that the feeling of pounding her hadn't changed in the slightest since I began fucking her. Her moist tunnel was as tight as it originally was and felt just as fantastic; why wouldn’t it? The only difference now was how she had perfected her posture to effectively be my submissive little girl, to take my thrusting as easily as possible, and accept my semen deep inside her womb.

My arms wrapped around her torso to hold her in place while I lost myself in the act, where her head went over my shoulder as I relentlessly made her mine. After wrapping her legs around my pelvis to make sure my cock had no chance of leaving her heat, the girl just stayed put while moaning in my ear as she deeply relaxed into my pounding.

"You're such a good girl for keeping your legs open for me, letting me use your naughty pussy, and letting me cum in you; such a good girl…" The lustful part of my mind said while I only focused on the lovely sensations that began overwhelming me.

I made her strongly cum six or so minutes later, the girl squirting while I didn't relent, where she dug her face into my neck as my orgasm swiftly approached. She leaned back and watched where we connected, the girl highly interested in watching herself get thoroughly fucked. I simply continued for another couple of minutes before blowing it where the girl wrapped her arms around my abdomen while we enjoyed the end of the intimate act.

We didn't say a word for a long time while the both of us quietly panted. She had her eyes closed as she pressed her head on my chest while I rested my chin on top of her head, my eyes closed as well. The afterglow, like usual, was nice and made even nicer with the scent she gave off.

I suddenly lifted her off the desk, keeping myself inside her, and carried her over to the bed before sitting down as she stayed in my lap, all while we stayed tightly hugging each other. We then looked each other deeply in the eyes before I deeply kissed her for a couple of minutes. While persisting to stay in the hug, she rested her head on my chest once more while I played with a few strands of her hair. Though surprisingly, she started to lightly grind, the semi-softened phallus within her feeling overly sensitive to the movement.

"Did I cum too early for you?" I asked with mild concern.

"No... That one orgasm you gave me was so strong, I didn't need another one." She lightly giggled. "I just wanted to see what you'd do if I started moving my hips with you still inside me."

I chuckled. "Well, it's very sensitive... I just don't wanna pull out yet."

"How come you like staying in me after we're done?" She innocently asked.

"It feels really nice, it’d be lame to pull out right after finishing... I quite like having you around my cock, feeling all of my semen that's now inside you."

She giggled once more. "Me too..."

With that being said, I kissed her deeply one more time and laid down while she chose to stay on top of me before she continued lightly gyrating her hips on me. Shockingly, the sight and feeling of her started to get me hard once again. With her hands on my belly, we deeply looked at each other in the eyes while she felt me getting harder inside her, her efforts slowly picking up which in turn made me even harder.

It was... a weird feeling, fucking her with my semen inside of her. Even though I had felt some of the semen travel down and out of her, there was still a generous amount inside of her.

"...Wanna go again?" She coyly asked.

"If you continue moving your hips like that, yes." I answered, the girl's grinding not faltering in the slightest. After a minute, I got the message. I put my hands back on her hips to help her start lifting herself up and down on my shaft. "That one orgasm was enough, she said..." I playfully mocked with a chuckle.

"I-It's not my fault that I love fucking you..."

"It's the other way around, my dear - you love when you get fucked. And I love that too, you're just so irresistible, how could I not fuck you?”

Ten more minutes passed of us rumpin’ again which set a record for us between breaks of having sex. She came two more times before I let myself go again. Though there was barely anything that came out that second time, which was a little unsatisfying - I like unleashing a lot of spunk into her, it's the most satisfying part of fucking her. But after that, I stayed within her for another five minutes before we agreed to separate, the girl laying by my side afterward.

We cuddled closely while the both of us got tired from our act. We didn't stay awake for that much longer since the need to nap with each other overruled any other thought. And so we did. It was nice.

(Sex scene over)

Chapter 26: Magical Mishaps

Notes:

Been a little while, sorry about that! I was away for over two weeks and then I forgot to upload a few days ago and almost forgot to as well today. So it's back, and the uploading once a week comes back with it. Need to give myself some more time to further plan some things out and think about how to execute this story at a rate in which I deem fit.

Chapter Text

The next day saw even more progress regarding electricity. By the morning, the cement in the wooden mold where the battery pack would be located was dry, hard, and ready to have the pack on top of it. So a couple hours after I woke up, Ashton and Kai helped me relocate the pack from the porch to the mold. The three of us made sure it was as close in the middle as we could get it which took longer than it should’ve.

"How are you gonna put the bolts in?" Kai asked after I opened the empty shell.

"Not going to, not yet at least." I answered before my gaze turned to the layers of battery cells that we had also put on the porch. "Let's put the cells in, it’ll weigh it down at the moment. I'm sure it can easily go a few days without being bolted to the ground. After all, we need the electricity first so we can charge up a drill to put the bolts in. It's a little risky, but it needs to be done."

With that being said, we started putting the hefty battery cells back into the storage unit, allowing the unit to return back to its normal weight. After I hooked all the cells back up to their proper wiring, I closed it and took a couple steps back.

"We're almost there. Just a couple more steps and a couple days worth of time before we should be able to turn some lights on." I announced before my focus turned to see how Trinity was doing.

I left Kai and Ashton to sort out their own plans and made my way to Trinity's woodworking area. It was clear that we needed to establish a proper woodshop for her, Roman, and anyone else willing to assist them. However, I knew that this project would have to wait its turn in the pipeline; it was something for the future, not an immediate concern. Anyways, once I got there, I was pleased to see that there were six frames for solar panels off to the side, ready to have panels mounted into them.

"How's everything going?" I called out to Trinity, who was diligently hammering away, making swift work on crafting frames for additional panels.

"Somewhat quickly. You said you needed twenty of these fuckers in two weeks? I think in two weeks, I’ll be able to make at least fifty, maybe more. Depends on how fast we can make the planks needed for them. Roman’s supplied more than enough wood for most of what’s needed already"

"Where is that boy anyways?" I asked, wanting to reassign where he’d focus on collecting wood from.

She pointed off in a direction behind her. "That way somewhere."

"Alright, I'll leave you to it." I simply replied before walking off to find the woodcutter.

There were a bunch of ugly stumps that'd have to be removed soon. And removing stumps sucked, I’ve probably gone on about this before. But it’s just such a difficult task to do, which is mainly because the root system of the fallen tree has to have at least a year to biodegrade. But that was besides the task at hand, we’d focus on stump removal later. It took me about five minutes to locate Roman since the boy was further back into the forest than he needed to be.

"Hey Roman, I need you to focus your energy elsewhere." I called out, causing the boy to halt his swings on an innocent tree.

"Oh yeah? Where?" He asked while he rested the axe on his shoulder.

"The front yard. I want more trees shaved off in that area, to make sure the solar panels we're gonna set up have as much sunlight as they can get throughout the day."

"Makes sense. I'll head there in a bit."

When I returned back to Trinity, I was reminded that I needed to ask her to make a couple things. "Hey, Trinity, I don't mean to bother any, but the car's charger needs a place to call home. I was wondering if you'd be down to make it one."

"You're no bother. I’d actually accept all the shit you need me to do; I'm so fuckin’ happy to be back in the crafting business. I'll make another four frames before moving onto that. It shouldn’t take me more than six or so hours."

"Oh, is that so? Well, I need you to start another project that might be quite stressful for you." I said, the woman keeping her ears open while she continued to work. "The signs to attract more people are gonna be made out of wood. We figured it should be wood since it's sturdy enough to last for a couple of years and you can make them with relative ease, am I correct?"

"Depends. How many of the fuckers do you want me to make?"

The question stumped me. We hadn't planned out which roads and routes to put the signs yet. "To be honest, I have no clue. At least ten, but probably much more. I think I'll get around to providing you an accurate number later today."

"How big do you think you’ll want these signs to be? The biggest pain in the ass to make is creating boards since I'd have to nail so many planks together.” "I don't suppose a little under a meter in width and height would be too big, would it?"

"Hm... It'd take a while to produce each one, but that's definitely possible. It's just gonna take a long fuckin’ time to get to making any of them because of all the shit that’s on my queue." She said, looking a little overwhelmed.

"Don't stress yourself out, it's not like you're being timed, it’s just preferable to get them as soon as possible. But like I said, don't stress yourself out, that's the last thing we want."

"I’ll keep that in mind while I try to produce everything as soon as possible. Thankfully, I’ve been getting a shit ton of help from Charlotte, Audrey, and Ashton with sawing so much of this fuckin’ wood. Though as I do this shit, I just gotta have the time to take a damn break when I need it.”

"And you have it. As long as everything goes accordingly in a timely fashion, I'll be happy." I replied before swiftly changing the topic to the panels. "I think it's time to place these frames where they ought to be before slapping some panels on them. I'll go get Kai and Kostas to help me with that, it's time to start taking this step."

"Good luck with that; I'll be here making more of them throughout the day." With that being said, I went to go find the aforementioned men.

"Think you can figure out the wiring on this thing?" I asked Kostas, while we made our way to the battery pack.

"Most likely. Give me a few minutes." He said before he retrieved a toolbox and a decent bit of wires that he had previously scavenged while out and about.

"Take all the time you need. While you do that, Kai and I will go ahead and put some frames in place. Let's go." I announced before I made my way toward where the frames were being stockpiled.

Doing this turned out to be a small workout since they were a bit heavier than what I was expecting. We made sure to place the frames neatly and as efficiently as we could, side by side, to pack in as many as we could to maximize the use of our territory, even if we didn't absolutely need to - I simply wanted it to look nice like that. We put them about twenty meters in front of the house and a few meters away from the trail, the frames facing the correct direction that was required; south.

Thankfully, I had found a compass in the house a couple months ago so it was easy to figure out which direction was which. Additionally, ‘south’ is the direction you’re facing when exiting the house. That just made it easier for the panels to face the sun since they wouldn’t be getting blocked by the shadow of the house.

At this point, Roman was obeying my words by starting to chop down some trees near the front of the house. They weren't that close, so they wouldn't be blocking the panels from seeing the sun all that much, just during the first and last couple hours of the day. Still, getting rid of them would have some long term positive effects, so I wanted to knock them down as soon as possible.

The ground we were placing the frames on lacked any grass since Audrey and a couple others had taken the time to remove the grass the day prior, something that significantly made the process easier. Furthermore, the ground was flattened so there weren't any depressions or little hills in the dirt - the spot was perfect to be where the frames would call their home. When we were done relocating the frames, we went to check on how Kostas was doing.

"I think everything is connected here. Now we just need to connect the panels into this wire." He said as he pointed to a fairly thick wire which connected into the back of the pack.

It was a fairy long wire as well, easily able to reach the solar panels and well beyond that. When we unraveled it to the frames, we returned back to the porch, pulled a wagon up, and started carrying solar panels into it. We took six since, y’know, there were only six frames at the time. Once we snatched a box of nails from Trinity’s workstation, we took Kostas’ toolbox and made our way to mount the panels onto the frames.

"This is a bitch." Kai complained as we struggled screwing the panels onto the frame. Screwing things into solid wood is so much harder than it seems, especially without a drill.

"So is life, am I right?"

Anyways, it took us about an hour to mount six panels, allowing our array to finally see the light of day. Get it? Because they're solar panels? What the fuck am I even saying?

I'm not even gonna write down how tedious it was to link up and wire the solar panels correctly. There were a bunch of miscellaneous parts and gizmos that needed to go in intricate places, but by the end of it, they were officially hooked up to the battery pack.

I walked up to the pack with Kai and put a hand on it. "One more step..."

He looked where I was looking, and that was to where the house used to be connected to the grid. "When do we figure that out?"

I took my hand off the battery pack. "Later. For now, let's let Trinity make more frames, let this charge up, and figure out how to hook it up when we get more solar panels up and running."

Nothing of other significance happened that day, not really. Well, besides one thing, though I'll write down the summary of what happened the rest of that day first. First of all, the usual happened regarding fishing and hunting which is all fine and dandy - it’s always sweet to know that we’ve met our quota for the day. Secondly, Trinity and Roman continued doing their woodwork where another four frames were produced which allowed Trinity to start working on a craft to give the car’s charger to be mounted on. Lastly, the only other thing to put in the summary worth writing is that Kostas was starting to figure out how to connect the house to the battery. Now, onto the thing that I'll write to end off this day.

I was in the dining room and writing on a sheet of paper, where on that paper, I was detailing what we should scavenge and look out for during the next trip in which we look through the town. I wrote down 'clocks, alarm clocks, power tools, locks, books' and other stuff of the like. It was just a list of general things we had been talking about getting as of late.

That was until a set of arms gingerly wrapped around me before someone's head rested on my back where they nuzzled me. I let them nuzzle me for a minute before they slowly stopped the act. When they were done, I set the pencil down and spun around which revealed a beautiful and lovely little girl who coyly smiled at me. I wasted no time in embracing her where she swiftly hugged back before we lovingly nuzzled each other's cheeks.

We did the affectionate act for around five or so really warm minutes before our nuzzling came to a halt followed by the both of us deeply relaxing into the hug. I let a couple more silent minutes pass of enjoying the embrace before I spoke up. "Hello beautiful, how's everything going?"

She lightly giggled, flattered at what I had called her. "Everything's going just awesome. I just wanted to come down and hug you for a bit, it's been a while..."

"It's only been like an hour though." I said with a chuckle.

"Like I said, it's been a while." She replied with a little nuzzle into my neck.

I chuckled once again. I loved how much she wanted to hug, kiss, and snuggle so much. It's something that I always wanted to give to someone - an excessive amount of little affectionate actions - and I never had anybody who'd accept it before her, not even my ex. So her being receptive to all the love I wanted to give her... It calmed my heart on an immeasurable scale. But even then, all the acts I could do with her wouldn't be enough to show her how much I love her, even throwing in words wasn’t gonna be enough. It sucks how that is, but it is what it is, though that's not gonna stop me. I'll stick to the simple and frequent acts to try and convey what I feel for her as long as I can.

"Need anything else or just wanna hug? I don't mind either way, hugging you is the best feeling ever." Not to mention, I was incredibly addicted to them... The feeling of having someone of her size being the person I wanted to spend my life with is something I’m so insanely in love with. Her size just makes everything so much more adorable.

"It is the best feeling ever, I love it so much... But I kind of need your help with something, I'm kind of too short..."

I leaned back so I could make eye contact with her. "What is it?"

"Putting another drawing on the wall."

I eskimo kissed her before softly kissing her for a few seconds. "Sure thing, lead the way." And so she did, the both of us then swiftly making it to her desk where she handed me her latest work of art.

When I looked down at it, I couldn't help but feel like I had seen it before. It reminded me of one of my dreams that I had had, the one about attacking a feline-like creature in a forest. The art itself was beautiful and well made; it contained a creature surrounded by bioluminescent flora in the middle of the night. The creature looked like a hippogriff, so it wasn't exactly like the creature I had seen in my dream, though... it was eerily similar.

"Where'd you come up with the idea of this one?" I asked after I pinned it on the wall next to my favorite one, Crystalized Passion.

As she hugged me from the side, she answered my query. "I had a dream about it - the creature was so fascinated by me. I don't know what the creature is, but I thought it was beautiful and I really wanted to draw it."

"...Huh. I had a similar dream." I replied, the girl looking up at me with wonder. I explained the dream to her, telling her the one main difference between the animals. "This is a hippogriff while I think mine was a griffin. They're mythical flying creatures, made by civilizations thousands of years ago. They sure had an imagination, huh?"

"That's weird... I had no clue what a, uh, a hippogriff was before now. What's a griffin?" After answering her question, she suggested, "Maybe I can try to draw one?"

"Maybe, but you probably wouldn't capture the details the right way since you've never seen one before."

"I drew a hippogriff without ever seeing one, right?"

"I suppose that's a good point. What do you think you'll draw it doing?"

"Hm... I'll have to think about it, but I think it'll be my next drawing."

I put a hand on her jawline. "I'd love to see what your beautiful mind creates when you're done with it..."

With that being said, there wasn't anything else worthy of writing down for that day. I only wrote this down because I thought it was eerie how similar that drawing was to the dream I had... I'm just being paranoid, the drawing was perfect regardless. Hopefully her works will go for millions of dollars in the currencies of tomorrow.


When the next morning arrived, I was looking at all the maps on the wall where I scanned the trails, roads, and routes just trying to determine where good choke points were, the same points where our planned greeting signs would be located. We needed to search in farther places, mapping the land out while riding in the car maybe, to see what else was out there. As it was, we only knew where a couple of major highways were, one of the routes to the interstate highway system, and a few lines of train tracks. There were definitely several good candidates for a sign to stand, but they were limited at the moment.

We could also put a couple signs in the town. Beyond that, going off of what we know now, we'd be wasting the signs since we could certainly place them at better locations. All that we need to do now is discover more and better places regarding where to set even more signs... I wonder how many people we're gonna miss out on before then. That might be a thought that keeps me awake at night. Anyways, at that point, I had determined how many signs we needed - eight for now. Once I double checked, I went outside to relay the information to Trinity.

"Well, that's better than ten. You said you're gonna try to find more fuckin’ spots to put signs by using the car?" She asked while she finished another frame for a solar panel.

"Yeah, I don't know when though. We're going out and scavenging today; we have a decent list of items we're gonna look out for. While we’re talking about that, I might as well ask, do you need us to find you anything while we're out?"

"Hm... Are you going to that damn library today?" She asked, getting a nod. "At the moment, I can only think of getting a book or something to help us build cabins when we get around to that shit. I have a good idea on how to do it already, I just wanna freshen up my fuckin’ memory if possible."

"That’s already on the list along with several other books of great importance. Hopefully we can find what you're looking for." I replied before she made her way over to where she cut the logs.

"When are you guys leavin'?"

"About an hour from now. It's still pretty early."

"Alright, cool. Are you able to help me cut some logs in half?"

I didn't deny her plea for help so I aided her until I decided it was time to go. Though I didn’t depart without her claiming she'd have a charging port finished by the time I returned. When I retreated back inside, I swiftly located the people I wanted to take on the scavenging trip with me and that was Ashton, Kostas, and Olivia. I picked these three since all three of them knew what to look for in a library when it came to getting the required books that we need to progress forward.

Of course, I kissed Stacy a few times before I left since I couldn't not do that or else it wouldn't feel right. This is just how it's gonna be whenever one of us leaves, it's a really sweet gesture.

When we got in the car, Olivia was pretty anxious about it.

"Let's just hope a deer doesn't run across the road and you have to slam the brakes, for Olivia's sake." I said with a chuckle.

"Don't say stuff like that..." The woman begged which caused me to stifle a chuckle.

As we started coasting down the usual path, Ashton couldn't help but say, "I'm getting better at driving again, it's been coming back to me more and more every time I drive this thing. Do you think I can go up to thirty miles an hour?"

Thankfully, I was in the front seat this time, so I was able to read the speedometer on the electrical interface where I had been making sure the vehicle stayed at a low twenty-five miles an hour. I thought about his suggestion for a couple of minutes, unsure if I should allow it. "Maybe a couple more times of driving, I wanna limit the possibility of accidents as much as I can."

"Fair. It doesn't help my case with how many abandoned cars there are on the streets. They get quite in the way and are really annoying, but there's nothing we can do about them. It'd take a long time and a lot of energy to move 'em, it's best to just leave them where they are."

"I agree.” Not letting the conversation die, I brought up a thought that I had been thinking of throughout the past couple of days. “Hey, do you think you can teach me to drive relatively soon? I wanna be able to drive so we can have two confident drivers at our... ‘disposal’ sounds wrong, but you know what I mean."

"What's the matter with the idea of me driving? Surely I can drive as well." Olivia said with a subtle smirk.

"Well, you never really brought it up, so it just slipped my mind... Though are you sure you can drive? You seem pretty anxious when it comes to vehicles." I said with a teasing tone.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Only when I'm not the one driving. Other than that, I'm a pretty strict driver when it comes to the safety of everyone in the vehicle."

"Well, that's good to hear. Maybe next time we need to use the car, I'll let you take it out for a spin." I said to appease Olivia.

"To answer your question Hunter, sure, I'll teach yah. Though there's not much to learn these days since you don't need to follow any road laws." Ashton replied, which made me start imagining how it’d feel to finally freely drive.

I thought that'd never happen considering the circumstances. I missed out on so much life had to offer before The Drop. But... is that a bad thing? Society had so many cataclysmic catastrophes lining up to all go off at once. Pollution, shortages of food and water, lack of housing, disease, war, climate change, the uncertainty of artificial intelligence and robotics, and in my personal case, the collapse of the United States was most likely gonna happen in a few years anyways, for dozens of reasons that I'm not gonna get into, but it was mainly due to political polarization and the information wars.

So that leaves me to think about The Drop in a way that I didn't feel comfortable with. The Drop caused a clean slate for humanity, removed most of us which removed all of the problems that we were causing, then the ones remaining can pick things back up and learn from our mistakes... And to be honest, I’ve started to believe that that's what I'm supposed to do with my life. But before I let myself get too far ahead of myself, I focused on the mission at hand.

When we got to our first stop of the day, we stopped at the creepy ass market to get a plethora of devices. When we got out of the car, I looked at it with disdain. I don't know what it was about that place, but I hated the feelings it gave me, like something entered my mind and played tricks with it. Or maybe I'm going crazy, which, to be honest, is more likely.

"Divide and conquer looking for the stuff on the list?" Kostas asked while we walked into the mall before we whipped our flashlights out.

Y'know, I’m surprised that the batteries in them still worked after this many years. Some batteries were just built to last and you gotta hand them credit where it's due.

"That's definitely the most efficient way. I just, hm, I'm gonna admit that I don't like being alone in this place. It creeps me the hell out." I admitted, which took a lot of strength to do.

"I can stick with you, I don't mind. I'm not too sure what we're getting here anyways." Olivia offered while she took a shopping cart and started leading the way.

"Alright, cool. You two can go find some locks, clocks, and some other stuff that I'm forgetting, Olivia and I'll go to the power tools." I softly explained to the other two who wasted no time in obeying my words.

As Olivia and I split off, I looked at the stock on the shelves before Olivia chuckled a minute or so later. "Of all places, this one scares you, huh?"

I playfully rolled my eyes. "What? Am I not allowed to have some fears? I only fear this place because..." I heavily sighed, the mood taking a dip. "Olivia, I think I might be going crazy."

I decided not to hold this information back from the doctor any longer. It was a bit overdue anyways, I probably should've told her about the strange experiences I had been having recently much sooner. She lifted an eyebrow at my words. "What do you mean?"

I started to explain to her how I was seemingly hearing voices that weren't there, sensing things behind me that didn't exist, seeing shadows that'd disappear. "I'm kind of afraid that it might be a mental disease and if it'll get worse... It's been happening more frequently as of late and I wouldn't know what to do if it continues to get worse. What do you think it could be?"

She thought about the question for a silent minute, probably digging through names and symptoms of mental diseases. "It could be a plethora of things if you actually have a disease. Delirium, schizophrenia, dementia, paranoia. If it is one of these things, it's very minor at the moment, but if they continue to get worse, then talk to me again. This is a small red flag, but you shouldn't be too worried about it, not yet at least."

I brushed a hand through my hair. "I really hope not... I think the worst thing to happen to someone is when something goes wrong in the head, the processor of your reality."

"I agree. There were so many people before The Drop that undermined how important mental health was, some people even refused to accept the fact that mental diseases exist. Those people disgusted me. I almost got fired on several occasions for losing my cool when parents mistreated their children simply because they refused the fact that things like tourettes, OCD, eating disorders, and even things like anxiety or depression exist."

"Almost fired? You should've been promoted for having that strong of a passion, not lose the thing that enables it." I said which got Olivia a little uppity.

"Exactly! I used to think that all the time, but I was forced to have my mouth closed about the subject or out I go." She surprisingly chuckled. "That's why I did things like shrooms, to break the rules that shouldn't be there." She sighed in anger at the past. "Imbeciles. A lot of the ways of the past were simply backwards, primitive, and quite frankly, stupid. I'm sure you were aware of the high costs of healthcare in the States?"

I nodded, wanting to skip over that subject. "You have my word that if we get to a point where we have our own clinic, maybe something bigger, that if something like that ever arises, you can yell at the people who refuse to accept medical facts to your heart’s content."

She smiled at that idea. "I'll remember that for the future."

When we got to the power tool aisle, I wasted no time in putting a couple of electric chainsaws in the bottom of the shopping cart. I found a circular saw, a sander, a nail gun, and a couple of drills that would come in handy. There were some lawnmowers as well, but they were kinda too big to put on the cart. I decided to come back for them later.

After getting an assortment of the power tools that we'd eventually charge up and use, we started heading back to regroup with the other two. There wasn't that much else we needed from the market other than what Kostas and Ashton were getting, so the stop at the market was fairly quick. Though before we left, I had one more discussion with Olivia while I pushed the cart.

"You're doing a fantastic job, Hunter." She said which prompted me to raise an eyebrow. "Leading our group, giving them hope, telling them to pick their feet up in a friendly way, all while making sure we're safe from could-be danger... It's amazing to see your plans come to fruition and I look forward to seeing more of them as they're forged, enacted upon, and finished."

"I'm just doing what I think is right. All I can do is hope that what we’re doing is the right way to do this all, it’s really just me guessing with some help from all of you. For all we know, we could be on the wrong path even."

“Even if that’s true, which I doubt it is, we’re still achieving things that seemed to be impossible just a few weeks ago. Even if it’s the wrong path, we’re doing infinitely better than what we would’ve been had we not done anything at all.”

When we got back to the other two, they put their desired items in the cart before we all made our way back outside. I felt something from behind me while we left the building, but I refused to look. It was just my mind playing tricks on me once again, probably. Anyways, we unloaded everything from the cart and into the trunk where our group then wasted no time in getting back into the car before heading out to the library, the library that was discovered by a previous scavenging group two or so weeks ago.

It was located within one of the edges to the town, the number of buildings being pretty sparse out there, though it looked like there were plans to rapidly expand the town before The Drop happened. The library was fairly large and had a big concrete staircase with pillars to signify that it was important, y'know, that classic library look. When we walked into it, I realized just how many books we'd have to sift through, the first floor was chalk-full of bookcases. There was also a second floor full of shelves which I was able to spot since there was a large circular cutout in the middle of the library’s main room which allowed us to peer up at it.

"Alright, let's once again divide and conquer." I said before we split off, but not too far so we could continue to talk to each other with slightly raised voices.

I went out of my way to look for books containing information about anything related to construction while Olivia looked for medical ones. Even though she knew a lot, she didn't know everything. And unfortunately, making medicine from scratch was one of those things her knowledge lacked since she was simply given medicine back before The Drop. Knowing how to make certain types of medicines would certainly be a great thing to have on standby.

Ashton was getting books on how to make a plethora of different foods. Stuff like cheese, bread, honey, pasteurizing milk, sugar, and butter. All ingredients and foods that I dearly missed, a feeling that was shared equally between everyone. Sure, Audrey knew how to grow the plants that would lead up to some of those things, besides the stuff where we'd need livestock, but she didn't know how to process them into fine food. Hopefully that'll change soon.

Kostas was able to find a couple books on how to make a few types of soaps, creams, and pastes which would come quite in handy in the future. However, it’d be difficult to get those things rolling since we needed to extract a few types of oils from plants, something those books went into great detail about, though not all recipes entailed something like that. What I just described was just how to make soap, not the other two things that I desired to have in our lives, those had completely different processes.

About thirty minutes of our delicate search passed before I went upstairs to start checking what it had in stock. Alone. When I found a book on animals, I was a little thrilled. I briefly read some of it, the book going into detail on how to take care, house, feed, and reap the rewards of what the animals produced after you nurture them. Animals like chickens, cows, and sheep. Nothing about taming anything though. There was stuff like how to raise pigs then how to slaughter them. But I knew I couldn't bring myself to do that. Saying that is a little strange considering that I hunt from time to time. I just think I'd grow too attached to them and couldn't let them be killed for consumption.

They'd also just be a drain on resources. A big problem with the ways of our previous society was putting so many crops and land into an industry that was a net negative. Humans at one point grew enough food to feed eleven billion people, but all eight billion of us couldn't eat like it. A large part to blame for that was the wastefulness of western society and the terrible, terrible meat industry. I'm not even gonna delve into how inhumane that industry was. I know for a fact that if we ever get meat rolling at scale, I would not tolerate the treatment of animals in such a way. Even though meat is a good source of nutrition, we don't really need all that much. Harvesting some crops will make our diets so much healthier - we’re basically just carnivores at this point with a few greens thrown in.

One more thing I'll say about meats like beef or pork is that it'd just be a luxury item, something to have on special occasions. But for now, we'd have to work to catch some livestock and domesticate them. Which isn't impossible, I've seen all sorts of animals run amok during my time walking the streets, just waiting for humans to subjugate their species once more... Man, that's really fucked up, isn't it?

Anyways, as I was getting excited about one day growing wool, eating eggs, having milk, and every other dairy product that cattle provide, my eyes landed on a very strange book. I was in the middle of an aisle while my other crewmates were still on the first floor looking for the books that they desired. But the book I was looking at... gave off some weird energy.

It was a thick, coverless, dark blue book that looked ancient. I walked up to it and put my hands on the book where the object felt slightly cold which subtly shocked me. I then struggled to get it free from being wedged in between the other books before all hell broke loose. That description is only applicable to me since before I knew it, the next thing I knew was that the damn shelf somehow tipped over and crushed my ass.

"Get to the other side, Ashton! Lift when I say go." I heard Kostas say as I drifted back to consciousness before going out again.

While I was out, I somehow saw a cute and peaceful scene of Stacy playing with a little piglet where she was absolutely ecstatic that she was holding such an adorable little thing. It was kinda like inception since she was also an adorable little thing. Anyways, that ended quickly before I found myself resting against one of the shelves with a light being flashed in my eyes.

"Yeah, he's definitely got a concussion, it’s certainly worse than mild. It's either a grade two or grade three concussion; I seriously hope it isn't the latter." Olivia said with worry in her tone.

"Stop shining that thing in my eye, I'm alright." I said before I tried to stand up, only to fail miserably.

"Hunter, stop, stay still." Olivia said, which caused me to deeply sigh before a hand of mine went to the side of my forehead where I felt a huge bump, though a shock of pain shot down my spine the instant I did that which quickly taught me not to touch it again. After that, a couple minutes passed while Olivia continued checking on my responses and general welfare.

"Well, just fucking great, now I have some dumbass bump on my head." I complained while I looked at the shelf that had fallen on me. "Where's that book? I wanna keep what caused this since I’ll be damned if I suffer without gaining something out of it."

"It's, uh, right there. You wouldn't let go of it." Ashton said while he pointed to my right, the book having been set right next to me.

"I'll read it later, keep it as a memory of this, maybe." I said with a chuckle as I looked back at them.

"How the hell did it drop on you?" Kostas asked.

My response was slow while I tried hiding the pain that my head was experiencing. "To be honest, I have no clue. I just took a hold of this book and then the shelf wanted to kill me for some reason."

"Well, it was a decent assassination attempt." Olivia pointed out as I felt a little trickle of blood slowly roll down the side of my temple.

I laughed at that. "Imagine dying by a bookshelf! Goddamn, I know that when I die, it's gonna be something so stupid like this. At least it won't be sad when you hear the cause of my death, right?"

"...I mean, that's one way to look at it." Ashton replied, sighing afterward. "I think we should return home so Hunter can start recovering from this, we shouldn’t waste any time."

"Hey, Olivia, can concussions change the way you think and all that?" I asked, fearing that my perspective or actions would change. The possibility of that scared me to my core, it’s a horror I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

"...It's possible. But we won't know until some time passes and you heal from this. C'mon, are you able to get up and walk so we can return back home?"

"That depends, really. Did you guys get all the books you wanted? That's the most important thing to do right now." I said while Olivia started helping me up. She was also gracious enough to hand me the blue book.

"With all due respect, I strongly disagree with that. Your well-being's much more important than some paper we can always come back. Though to answer your question, unless something is slipping our minds, we got everything we came here for." Ashton answered while I started slowly walking toward the stairs.

"Hm... You better not be lying to me, boy." I said as it became just a little bit harder to think while I started making my way down the stairs.

Once settled in the car, I started getting pissed at myself while I looked at that thick blue book on my lap, just staring at it angrily, trying to figure out how getting crushed had happened while the pain in my head worsened.

As we started retreating back home, Olivia decided to make some small talk after she applied a small bandage on my head to stop any bleeding. "Well, it's a good thing you're not bleeding all that much, just a small bit. How much does it hurt right now?"

I took a few seconds of trying to calm myself down before saying anything. "A five out of ten I'd say. It hurts, but it's surprisingly not as bad as I would've thought."

"That's good to hear. You might be able to heal pretty quickly if you just sleep it off for the next few days, as long as it’s not as severe as it looks." She said, causing me to sigh.

"Goddammit. I don't wanna sleep all that much, I wanna get shit done." I said, causing Ashton to chuckle.

"That's an aspect we all like about you, antsy to get stuff done, it's admirable."

"Eh. A lot of it is simply telling people what to do, coming up with general plans, going on a few scavenging trips like this sometimes, and doing a little hard work every now and then."

"You have a very bad habit of underselling yourself, for your information." He simply replied. "I'm sure Stacy doesn't like when you do that in front of her."

Stacy. Her name reminded me of something, the frustration it caused severely pissing me off. "Fuck! I'm probably gonna have this bump by the time it's her birthday, I knew something was gonna go wrong before that point."

"Not necessarily... How many days away is her birthday?" Olivia asked.

"Twelve."

"The average time for healing from a concussion is around ten days. So you might just have some small remnant by then. If not, it'll most likely still be somewhat noticeable, but it won’t be huge or anything like that." She optimistically explained.

I lightly sighed. "I hope you're right... I wonder how Stacy's gonna react when she sees this." A few minutes later, I opened the book to see what it was about. "And this damn book isn't even in English. Fucking great."

When we got home, it didn't take long for Stacy to figure out that something had gone south while out. After Olivia helped me up to my room, got me to my bed, and told me about what not to do when someone has a concussion, she left to go tell her what had happened. Five minutes after Olivia left, Stacy came into our room with a look of pure concern, the girl looking like she was on the verge of tears.

She was twiddling a couple of her fingers while she walked up to me, an apologetic look donning her face as she looked at my new injury. "Are... Are you alright?" She asked while she got on the bed with me before she sat on her knees. I leaned up with a little difficulty, the concussion spiking in pain when I did so which Stacy picked up on, something that caused a tear to roll down her cheek.

"Yeah, well, not exactly. It hurts, but it's not too bad..." I explained before Stacy gently wrapped her arms around my torso where she then rested her head on my chest. It didn't take much longer for her to start quietly sniffling which is when I realized that she had started crying.

In a strange way, I found it adorable, and it made me feel deeply cared for. She was crying because I got injured. It really wasn't as serious as it might have appeared, but it was incredibly touching to have her shed tears for me, even if it wasn't necessary.

"Stacy, I'm fine, everything's okay... I'll be all healed up in a few days and it'll be like it never happened." I explained, gently cooing to the girl who nuzzled me as she quietly cried.

"I-I feel like it's my fault..." She admitted after another minute of crying, her words making me extremely confused.

"What? How?"

"B-Because I didn't tell you to stay safe and don't get hurt..." She explained, her tears starting to subside while she looked up at me.

I put a hand on her jawline, trying to comfort her through the placement of my hand. "It's not your fault, my dear, nothing is... It was just an accident which would've happened to anyone, it just happened to be me. Please, I beg you, don't blame yourself for this because it truly isn't your fault."

She still looked fairly sad after I said that, but she slowly nodded, understanding my words. "I... I love you."

"I love you too, Stacy..." I said, softly kissing her afterward.

It didn't take me long to drift off into slumber while holding her, and I didn't complain too much since Olivia had advised me to rest more to recover from the injury. But still, there was so much I didn't like about doing that since I wanted to go out and work. Damn, now I know how Etsu felt when she was down for the count. However, during my slumber, my dreams were much more active and intense. I suppose the concussion had made them more immersive than what they were previously.

The first dream was pretty surreal.

I was driving the car while Stacy was sitting in the passenger seat as we drove through traffic. We were definitely much older and in an operational society, one that was just as busy as before The Drop happened. I glanced over to her who was peering out the window, which is when I saw that she was obviously at least seven months or so pregnant. My little lady appeared to be almost unable to fit a baby inside of her. When we stopped at a traffic light, I gingerly put a hand on her belly where I felt the baby inside of her lightly kick about. My heart skipped a beat in ecstasy at how close we were to seeing our child.

"Just a few more weeks until she's out... I'm sure you can wait just a little longer, Hunter." Stacy said with a giggle before she placed a hand on my own, the both of us feeling the baby move that we would happily raise together.

"I know, I know, I'm just getting excited. She's gonna be so beautiful and talented, just like her mother is." I replied as I continued driving.

"We're gonna have more after this one, right?" She asked with a small blush and a bright smile before I took my hand off her belly so I could more easily handle the vehicle.

"Still too early to say, Stace. I know that your art career is starting to take off, but I wanna wait a little longer, to make sure we'll have the funds to support a bigger family."

"That's assuming you don't climb the ranks of your career. The election is just one more month away before we get to see if you win... And you'll win, no doubt in my mind." She confidently replied.

"Hopefully. Then maybe I can run for governor in a few years and then maybe president, I dunno. But that probably won't happen..."

A hand of hers gingerly took one of mine off the wheel to softly hold it, the small gesture warming my heart. "I believe you can do all of the things you truly believe in and want. You always have, that's what I love the most about you."

And suddenly, just like that, I awoke in the middle of the night while holding Stacy close to my chest. That dream... it felt like I was there. Like... like that was my life. It was the most realistic dream I had ever had. I didn't know how to feel about it while I looked at the sleeping girl in my arms. That feeling I had gotten when I put a hand on her belly, about to become a father, was so prevalent in my mind. I loved the feeling... But I had to cull it, hold it off, and figure out how to do what my mind wanted later in the future when it was time for something like that.

As it was, I held Stacy just a tad tighter and snuggled into her a bit more, trying to lure myself back to sleep. But my mind wouldn't allow it since I stayed up just thinking about random things. I couldn't wait until her birthday arrived, to do everything I had planned for her, make her have an awesome day... I really hoped that the concussion would be gone or be fairly unnoticeable by then. It was then only eleven days away - I could only imagine what her reaction would be when I give her the ring...

I was in a vast graveyard with headstones as far as the eyes could see. The tombstones were all tightly compacted together to the point that you couldn’t tell where one ended and another one began. I was not in a body of my own, the body being one of a quadruped, the feeling being rather jarring. I then noticed that my front limbs were one of yellow talons, eagle-looking at first, though halfway up my arms did they turn into a more meaty limb covered with dark brown fur. I knew something was off, but as I looked at my hind legs and saw that they were feline-like, I couldn't put my finger on it.

After checking myself out, I thoroughly looked at some of the gravestones and tried to read what they said, but they weren't in a language of my own. It was peaceful and quiet, the air representing the ground below it, still and dead. That was until a misty, black, and shadowy figure fell from the sky which landed on a few of the graves, completely shattering them, before a pair of crimson and glowing eyes opened near the blob;s center, the dreadful orbs gazing right into my soul.

I took a step back, and then another, but I tripped on one of the gravestones which is when the shadow darted toward me with the evilest intentions.

"Rotunda!" I screamed, which triggered an event that caused my person to be enveloped in a bright blue before I appeared in another room, one that was wooden and had a fair amount of flora scattered about, where a couple of griffins looked at me with puzzled expressions.

"What happened, Attis? Did the observation go wrong? What'd you see?" The gray one asked, the voice making it clear to me that it was a male.

"I... Who?" I stammered, utterly bewildered by everything around me.

They briefly glanced at each other, like they didn't know what I was saying.

"Attis? What's that language you're speaking?" The golden female said while slowly approaching me.

"The language you're speaking? We’re speaking the same language." I said, but they still looked like they didn't understand a word I was saying.

"...It might be the language of the dead."

I woke up with a jolt where I instantly noticed that the sun had risen, marking the beginning of a new day. I then looked for Stacy who had left at some point during the morning. Around minutes later, right before I got up to look for her, the door opened and before the girl sauntered her way in.

"Hunter? You should lay down, you don't wanna aggravate the concussion." She advised, carrying a plate with a generous portion of cooked fish.

It was then that I realized that I was starving as I hadn’t eaten for many, many hours. I forced the weariness out of my mind while she gingery handed me the plate before I leaned back onto the headboard of the bed. "Thank you, Stacy..." I praised before I started to consume the meat, being more delicious than usual, only due to how hungry I was.

As I ate, she hopped back onto the bed before scooting to my side and wrapping her arms around my torso. "You were pretty mumbly last night..." She pointed out.

After I swallowed a bite, I replied, "Oh? I don't typically do that... Though I did have some pretty weird dreams last night, that's for sure."

That prompted her to ask about them where I told her about the second one. I didn't think I needed to stoke her desire to become a mother by detailing the first dream. Like I've said many times before, I wanna hold that off until we're truly ready to bring a child of our own into this world… But every time I think or say that, I always wonder if it's even possible.

"Another dream about griffins? Now I have to try and draw one." She said with a little giggle before I finished my serving of bass. Not the greatest fish to eat, but when you're fairly hungry, you'll think anything like it is worthy to go down your gullet.

"I can't wait to see what you produce." I said with a kiss on her forehead. "Should I go take this down or...?"

She snatched the plate out of my hands and made her way out of bed. "I'll take care of it, I'm gonna be your caretaker for the day."

"Would you really wanna waste your day like that?" I asked as she put a finger on my lips to shoosh me.

"I'm not gonna waste my day, silly. I'll be helping you, right? That's definitely not a waste." She replied which made my heart flutter at how she’d be willing to sacrifice her day for me. She's such a fucking sweetheart, I can't get over it.

After that, she didn't take long to leave the room to clean the dish for me. When she got back, she returned to my side to snuggle with me. I kissed her forehead a few times to give her a little show of affection and to convey a small amount of how much I cared for her. "So, you're just gonna snuggle with me all day?"

She nodded. "Until you feel better, I'm staying right here, mister." I smiled at her playfully pretentious tone. "Though... can I draw here?"

I kissed her forehead once more. "You don't need to ask, silly girl. I'd love to watch you draw. Especially since you're forcing me to stay put."

She booped my nose before she got off the bed again. "Doctor's orders."

"Hey, I'm the leader of this group, I can veto that decision!" I playfully called out as she retrieved a clipboard and some art supplies.

"Oh yeah!? Well, uh, I don't even know what that means!" She cutely and playfully yelled back causing me to chuckle at her.

She wasted no time in returning to my side where one of my arms went around her torso before my chin rested on the top of her head because why wouldn't I do that? Though after a few minutes of silence, I lifted my head off her to see that she was blankly looking at the fresh sheet of paper. "Something wrong, darling?"

"No, no... I'm just thinking how to go about this..." She replied before she picked up a pencil and got ready to draw. Her hand stayed there for another couple of minutes before her artistic magical abilities began to be tapped into, an outline of a creature being forged in fifteen minutes.

At that point, I could already tell that it was gonna be a griffon high in the sky, way above the clouds, the griffin being the only thing in that sky besides some clouds. As she started detailing the hind legs of the creature, I nipped the tip of her ear, getting no reaction from it. I nipped it again before she put her pencil down and deeply kissed me for a solid minute.

"That's not the reaction I was expecting." I said to the blushed girl.

"That's just to appease you for now..." She said while she continued drawing.

"Appease? You said you're staying here until I feel better, right?" I asked, the girl nodding her head at that. "Well, I know how to feel great, if you're picking up what I'm laying down..."

After another nip of her ear, she swallowed hard, a silent debate raging on in her mind. "Hunter, we can't have sex, not today at least. It might be too dangerous for you."

I internally screamed, not at her but just the situation overall, now having even more of a reason to be angry at whatever the fuck happened in that fucking library. I lightly sighed before culling the lust that was slowly building within my mind. "Alright, alright... Tomorrow then?"

"We'll see..." She answered before she focused back onto the drawing.

Chapter 27: Electrical Aid

Chapter Text

The next three days were, as expected, slow and lazy, but at least I had an extremely adorable and lovely Stacy to help me through it. Though after three days of healing, my injury had calmed down by quite a substantial margin which I was quite thankful for. I'd probably still have some sort of bump for the foreseeable future, but at least it wasn't gonna be as huge as it was the day after I got the injury. I also stopped having dreams that felt like they were reality which I was somewhat thankful for. Having dreams that strong was fairly jarring and I wasn't really a fan of them to be honest, though they were quite interesting to experience.

Anyways, after three days of having Stacy as my caring, sexy, little nurse, I was finally free to roam the house on my own, though I wasn't allowed to do labour intensive tasks and I had to sleep more than usual. Which... y'know, was fine primarily since I snuggled with Stacy a little more, I just wasn't used to such a sedentary lifestyle after so long. Sure, before The Drop happened, I wasn't really active besides all the walking. But now that I am quite active, I want to stay that way since being active makes me feel quite good.

When I originally said to Olivia that I could veto her orders, she gave me a look that a mother would give when a child of hers tells them they're not gonna listen. Which would sometimes work on a child, usually not their older children, and definitely not people who aren’t their children at all to begin with. But somehow, that look worked on me. I don't know how she did it, she must have some excellent experience when it comes to disobedient people. Eh, that's probably a given. That reminds me, I still need to ask her about her children...

Moving on from that. It was eight days until Stacy's birthday where I had the immeasurable desire to preemptively celebrate the event, but I contained it within myself. The electricity still needed to be connected to the house which was right around the corner since Kostas was focused on figuring out how to properly hook everything up. I thought he might’ve been having some trouble with it, but I didn't ask him, I was focused on a couple of other things at the time.

Other things like seeing how many frames Trinity had made for solar panels. And to answer that question, there were as many frames as there were panels we had collected. That means we had all thirty of our panels up and running, charging the battery pack that'd soon power the mansion. I wondered if we needed more... I mean, even if we didn't, we'd go get seventy more just to have a big and round number to satisfy our electrical demand for a long while.

Trinity had also made a charging post for the car's charger. The wooden craft stuck into the ground right by the end of where the car usually parks. Even though we lived in a large house, it lacked a garage which sucked, but it is what it is. As it was, where the car was charging was fine and dandy and the car still had three solar panels dedicated to charging it.

Though it was gone when I looked for it. I assumed that some goofy dipshit took it out for a spin to retrieve a few things out on a scavenging hunt. I waited for about thirty minutes, just standing on the porch while lightly leaning on the balustrade, wanting to see if my assumption was correct. It was proven right when the car pulled up, and Ashton emerged from the driver's seat.

"Good to see you out and about, Hunter!" He called out while Audrey got out of the passenger seat.

"Good to be out as well. I was getting tired of staying in my room for most of the day. Thankfully, Olivia finally said it’d be fine for me to walk around at my own leisure. With that, now I can get on all of your cases so we can get some electricity up and running." I replied as I watched Audrey make her way to the trunk and open it before taking several empty flower pots out. "What're all those for?"

They just kept taking more and more pots out. There was a shit ton by their feet by the time they were done taking them all out. “Some of it's for growing that sweet coffee buzz, ya know? But most of them are for that righteous green, you feel me?" Audrey announced while she continued unloading the trunk which piqued my interest.

"Can't grow them out in a field?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

Audrey shook her head while she began transporting some of the plastic pots to the porch. "Nah, man, the deal with growing coffee is way more intricate than other types of crops, especially considering it's a tropical plant, you know? And as you can see, we're far from being in any kinda tropical vibe up here."

"Ah, I see. I assume you're gonna plant them in a controlled environment of some kind? If so, when and where exactly?"

Audrey lightly sighed. “Without a proper greenhouse, we're kinda stuck with a small-scale deal for both crops, even though I’d like it to be more, you feel me? I'll only be using around forty of these pots, maybe a tad more. Then we gotta ration that stuff real thin to make it stretch until the next batch is all good to go, you know?"

"Yeah, that does suck a fair amount that it’s gotta be like that at first... Do you even know how to make a greenhouse?"

She forged a response while she transported more pots over. "Starting from scratch?Not happening any time soon. But hey, if we stumble upon any, we could probably break 'em down. Just gonna be a whole bunch of trips, unless we snag a trailer for the car, you know?"

"That's a splendid idea, Audrey." I complimented, quite liking that suggestion. Now we just had to find a trailer so we could carry even heavier and bigger loads of stuff. I moved the conversation forward by asking, "How long does coffee and marijuana take to grow?"

"There's a teensy problem with growin’ coffee..." I didn't like the tone of her voice. “Here's the deal with coffee - it's gonna take, like, three whole years for the plant to start kickin' out its first batch. Sucks, I know, but the sooner we get it goin', the sooner we'll be sippin' on that java goodness."

"That's... a long time." I said speechlessly. Three years? Who knew what this place would be like in three years time!

“Weed's a bit faster, around four months or so, but still kinda longer than I'd prefer. Gonna toss a decent bit in the pots since I got the seeds for it. Plus, growing the coffee might not work out, you know? It's a bit dicey here, gotta admit."

"Well that's good to hear. Are you still down to smoke with each other when the time comes?" I somewhat skittishly asked.

"Yeah, man, totally. I mean, it's not gonna take a whole lot for us to get baked when the time comes. It's gonna be a blast."

"Looking forward to it." I said with a smirk. I still wasn't sure if I should smoke it since the last time I did it, I acted... extremely weird. But it was probably just too high of a dose considering I hadn’t built up much tolerance to it. Olivia also said that smoking it was fine, so what'd be the worst that could happen?

I didn't stick on the porch that much longer since I wanted to see what the others were up to. Trinity was still taking a break from woodworking which was fine, though we'd need frame production to continue and the making of signs to begin so we’d be able to proceed with our plans.

The sign plan had also been a little more fleshed out during the past couple of days since some of what Etsu suggested was tweaked and changed to make the message more believable and captivating. All that we had to do now was for Stacy to come up with an elegant design to attract the eye of the stranger. So that's what I went to do, to find her and tell her that it was time to do a small but worthwhile job.

Thankfully, she was in the dining room and sitting at the table where Kostas also resided, which was fantastic since I needed to talk to both of them. I took a seat next to Stacy while she enjoyed her breakfast consisting of salmon. It would've been strange a few years ago, but there's not much choice when it comes to our meals these days, and it'll be like that for a few more months until the variety of food expands greatly through the advent of agriculture. Kostas greeted me, almost saying the exact same thing as Ashton did regarding me being out and about.

"Here's the deal, since I was bedridden for a couple days, I wanna catch up on the time I lost. Kostas, when do you think you can connect the house to the battery pack?" I said, skipping the bullshit and just getting straight to work.

"I am soon to get Roman so he can cut the electricity pole down so we can cut the wires where they fall. Then just connect that to the battery. Then I'm gonna make sure the wire's in a safe spot so no one will get injured or a fire won't break out. If all goes well, then that should allow us to turn the lights on." He answered which got me excited at the very near future - everything was finally starting to line up.

"I'm gonna be there to watch the process, if you don't mind." I said, Kostas simply nodding before I looked down at my Queen. "Now for you, little miss, I need you to do a little art project for me."

As she swallowed the last bit of her breakfast, she innocently looked up at me. "Is it gonna be another griffin?"

I shook my head. "Nope, it's gonna be something completely different. I'll be a quick second."

She looked confused while I got up to retrieve a sheet of paper and a pencil. When I returned to her side, I moved her dirty plate out of the way and set the two objects in front of her.

"Pretend this piece of paper is a fairly big wooden board. I'm giving you the job to come up with something for the signs that we're gonna make. I want you to come up with an interesting design for it, to attract the eye of people that'll pass by it, in a way so no one'll pass by it without knowing that they missed an opportunity. Make it as flashy as you can." I explained as she gingerly took the pencil in her grasp.

"...When do you want a design done?" She asked as she intently looked at the blank sheet of paper.

"You have a lot of time, like a week or two probably. Though I doubt you'll need that much time since this beautiful mind is able to do so much so quickly." I complimented with a couple soft pats on top of her head.

She lightly giggled before going into a deep thought. "Catch the eye of people that walk by it, huh...?"

"Yep. And make sure you keep the design to something that we have the materials to make it with. They're gonna be relatively large so we don't wanna run out whatever it is you think'll be used to paint the design on the signs."

"Okay, give me a couple hours." She happily said before taking the sheet of paper and making her way up to our room, the area where her creative mind freely flowed the best.

Thirty minutes passed before Kostas decided it was time to start figuring out how to finalize connecting our pad to the battery pack. He did this by swiftly collecting Roman and heading out to the electricity pole that had stopped working long ago. Roman took a little more than five minutes to chop at the pole in a way where it started collapsing under its own weight, in a way that made sure no damage to our property would occur, the pole slamming to the ground decades after being erected.

Kostas wasted no time in cutting the wires to the house at an appropriate length, the man then taking the wires to the battery pack and getting to work on forcing the two objects to be connected. After turning the unit off, it took him ten minutes to decide whether or not to cut a certain wire on the back of the battery pack, the possibility of destroying the pack more likely than he felt comfortable with. But he took a leap of faith and did so before spreading apart the stringy fiber-like bits in the wires and twisting the two wires to be compatible with each other.

I never mentioned that the battery pack had a bar on it which displayed how full of energy it was. It was quite small, on the top left on the front of the pack. When Kostas did this, it was around eleven percent full, so any flow of electricity should probably be instantaneous. But don't take my word for it, I have no clue what I'm talking about.

He wasn't able to sod the wires together because of the lack of tools and, surprise-surprise, electricity. So he was forced to use the only option which was to tape them together with a generous amount of electrical tape to make sure everything would go swimmingly. After that, he backed away from it and quickly looked it over.

"That... should be it... You wanna be the one to turn it on?" He said as I kept my excitement under control

I walked up to the battery pack and looked at the switch to turn it back on, my heart skipping a beat while my hand approached it. "I wonder how many lights have been left on after all these years and how surprised the others are gonna be... Well, it's time to receive an answer to those short lived questions."

And with that being said, I flipped the switch on which instantly caused the electricity within the batteries to dart through the wires, into the house, and into the sockets and switches of the house that hadn't received any amount of voltage since a few days after The Drop occurred. I then closed the door to the battery pack and stepped back before smiling brightly when I saw that a light was on through one of the windows.

"Son of a bitch Kostas, we actually did it!" I couldn't help but exclaim before waltzing inside to see how the others were reacting.

Y'know, it's a strange feeling to see artificial lights on after such a long time. It was almost magical seeing a couple lamps in the living room and the kitchen light on before seeing a light in the upstairs hallway brightening the area up. I heard a few cheers around the house as the group started realizing how much we had progressed in our plan. It might've been the hardest step to the plan, the one that officially started the rest and got the ball rolling, primarily due to how we needed electricity to help us out with so much.

And we really did need electricity to help us, mainly because we didn't have enough people to do shit otherwise. That is unless we wanted to stay as hunters and gatherers. I dunno about you, but I really didn't want to keep my life like that, so the plan we had was the way to go.

I chuckled at the cheers. I watched Etsu take a look in the empty but now working fridge, Jordan looking at the thermostat, and Nova checking out one of the lamps in the living room. It was sort of like we were rediscovering what we once took for granted so long ago. Well, it felt longer than two years since we had our way of life revoked and were thrust into a much harder way of life, one we weren’t accustomed to. Hell, these past four months have felt like ten to be honest, it's peculiar.

I made my way up the stairs so I could see what Stacy was doing When I got into our room, I saw my girl intently staring at the ceiling fan that had suddenly started spinning, a bit of dust brushing off its blades as a result.

"...Is that supposed to be happening?" She asked, confused as to what was going on.

I made my way to the strings to the ceiling fan and pulled on one of them, causing the light to turn on which finally gave our room some good lighting. "It is indeed." I cheerily replied before Stacy excitedly got on her feet.

She quickly ran up to me and hugged me. "I thought it was a ghost or something." She admitted, giggling afterward before looking up at the light.

I chuckled at her words as I also looked up at the light. "That's a fair assumption since you didn't know when exactly this was gonna happen today... I didn't neither, but did you not hear the cheers of the others when the lights got switched on?"

She gently shook her head. "I was too focused on what you needed me to do... It's so cool having lights again."

I nodded before we stopped looking toward the light and instead gazed at each other. "It's amazing... We've gotten so much further than I originally thought we would, and really, this is just the beginning to making that village you want."

As I put the back of my hand on one of her cheeks, she lightly blushed and brightly smiled, the adorable sight making my heart flutter. "I love you so much for doing everything like this for me..."

I leaned down so I could eskimo kiss her. "Of course, my dear, I have to do everything to make you happy, I couldn't not do that. I have to spoil my Queen, don't I?"

"I mean, you don't have to..." She shyly replied before getting a gentle kiss in response.

"Yes, I do... Anyways, the stuff you want would help make life easier for all of us since we gotta do so many things that'll just make life so much more enjoyable... It already is with you, I'd just like to even make it more enjoyable." I explained before lightly kissing her again. Afterwards, she tightly hugged me for a little while before I moved onto a new topic. "How's the design coming along?"

"Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed before breaking the hug and returning to her desk by taking a seat and turning to her work. "You said to make it to where it'd catch the eye, so I was thinking something like a colorful explosion."

I walked up behind her and looked down at her draft where I saw a bunch of colors over one another in an exploding shape with a blank square in the middle, signifying where our message would go. That description is terrible for it, but I don't know how else to describe it, it was pretty abstract. "Do you think you'll be able to make it on all the signs we're gonna make? It looks pretty difficult and it might not last too long out there through the rain and other types of weathering."

"I think so, yeah. It'd probably take me a couple of hours for each sign though... And rain would be a problem, yeah." She said as she looked down at the sheet of paper, her enthusiasm toning down after I said that.

"Hey, it's alright, we'd just need to check on them every two months or so. Then you could fix them up if they need it."

"Hm... But wouldn't that cost a lot of paint and stuff? And we'd eventually run out of it, right?" She asked as she looked up at me.

I wanted to tell her that no, it wouldn't. That’s because back in the library, I had found a book on how to make a plethora of art supplies for the future for whenever she runs out. But I couldn't tell her then, it'd be one of her gifts for her birthday. "We'll figure it out later when it comes around, I'm sure we'll have a solution to that by then. There’s no need to worry about it." It wasn't really a lie, so I was fine with saying that.

"Alright, I trust you." She said before turning her gaze back down to the paper.

"When do you think you'll be done?"

"Give me another thirty minutes or so then it'll be done." She answered while she got back to planning it out.

I walked up behind her and gingerly put my hands on her shoulders before trailing them up onto her neck and onto her jawline where I then softly applied some pressure so she'd look up at me with an adorable smile. I kissed her forehead a couple of times and then the tip of her nose before I departed from her.

"Come find me when you're done, I'll be doing a few things around the house, especially now that we got electricity."

With a little 'see you later', I was back in the hallway where I saw that Olivia's door was wide open. I figured she went to roam around the house to explore and find out what she's now able to do with the electricity. I also assumed I didn't need to ask her to go to her closet and start sorting out all the electronics reserved for Stacy. After closing the door, I made my way to the devices and took a battery charger and several rechargeable batteries just waiting to be juiced up. I wasted no time in plugging the charger into the wall and inserting the batteries into it, all so every device I’d give her would be ready to operate the day of her birthday. The little charging station was kind of right out in the open, but the chances of Stacy looking at them and asking what they were about were minimal, so I didn't worry about it.

When I made my way back into the hallway, I heard one of the air vents on the floor kick on. I went there to see what kind of air was coming out of it, quickly registering that it was cool at first before slowly heating it up to a nice warm temperature. I quickly deduced that it’d make our house a few degrees warmer than what it was so that was extremely nice.

I went downstairs to see a few of the others practically frolicking through the house, my people quite ecstatic that we had accomplished our first major goal in The Plan. It was quite understandable and I shared their enthusiasm, though I didn't want to let it get to our heads. So I wasted no time in going into the kitchen, taking the sheet of paper detailing our plan off the fridge, going to the dining table, and crossing a few things off.

I eyed what was next - 'cultivate the ground'. I lightly smiled, but I knew that it was gonna be such a tiring task... I knew the fields that Audrey wanted to make were gonna be quite large which was fine, it just required significantly more work to make them... and then sustaining them. I really hoped we'd find more people and therefore more workers. That's one of the key components to what we're making; the number of labourers needed to get such tasks done quickly and effectively.

After I was done crossing those goals off, I went to find Trinity to tell her about the power tools that she could charge up and later use. When I found her, she was on the porch with Charlotte kissing her deeply, which surprised me a tad, only because I didn't see it often. I suppressed the urge to jokingly catcall, and instead of looking at the gays, I gazed at the solar array that we'd most likely need to expand in the future. When they were done with the act of affection, they closely held each other and whispered something that I was respectful enough not to eavesdrop into.

After another minute, they split up where Charlotte retreated inside which just left Trinity and I alone on the porch. When Charlotte was gone, I turned my gaze to Trinity who was slightly smiling.

"Way to be a damn clam jammer, prick." She said, causing me to chuckle while she walked up to me and put her hands in her pockets. "Need anything or are you just doing... whatever?"

"Just a little something actually. Now that we have electricity, you can charge up the power tools I got for making yours and Roman's jobs much easier." With her being reminded of the tools, she lit up and got excited to get her hands on such powerful tools once again. "I just beg you, when you start using them, please be extremely careful with them. The last thing I want is for a hand of one of yours getting cut off, or worse."

She lightly chuckled at my worry. "I'll definitely pound that message into Roman's head, he's the one you gotta worry about, my ass is just fine. When do you think we should get around to using them?"

"As soon as possible. There's still a lot of things you need to make, the most important of which being more frames for more panels. I'm sure these panels aren't currently enough for the electricity demands that we're gonna have, so I'm gonna set up a scavenging party to retrieve a ton more."

"How many of these bitches do you want us to fuckin’ have?"

"At least a hundred in total." I simply answered as she whistled lowly.

"A lot of fuckin’ work... But it should be much easier when we get the tools charged. The sooner that happens, the sooner we can have those hundred panels you want in our front yard."

With that being said, she left me on the porch so she could start finding outlets to charge the tools on standby. I liked that quite a lot, the woman wasn't slacking around which was very respectable. I quietly stayed on the porch for half an hour while the group explored the appliances that now worked, waiting for the excitement to slowly start wearing off before I headed back inside.

Before I could go upstairs, Jordan stopped me. "Hey, Hunter, do you know when the next scavenging trip is?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not yet. I still need to plan it out with a couple others, we'll get around to that later today. Do you want us to get anything for you while we’re out?"

"I’d actually like to go when that happens, I think it'd be quicker to get what I'm looking for."

I shrugged. "Sure, although what exactly are you looking for?"

"Just a few appliances for the kitchen. A lot of the stuff in this place is subpar and I'd like to replace most of it, including getting an electric oven and maybe getting a large freezer."

"Hm, I'm not sure if that's possible, mainly because we need a trailer for the car to carry such heavy loads like that. So it actually might be possible, y’know, only after we get something to accommodate for such a task. All that we need to do is locate a trailer which shouldn't be too terribly hard to find... Maybe." I replied, Jordan nodding after my assessment.

With that being discussed, we then had a side mission for next time we went out, adding to our list of quests to get done. But I didn't complain at all since getting a decently sized trailer would be a massive boost to what the car can already carry. The car was built to be able to pull something like a trailer behind it with a large load since that was just one of its many capabilities. It would enable us to transport huge and heavy loads we wouldn't have otherwise been able to carry, it was something that’d enable so many other opportunities and would make scavenging so much more efficient. I smiled at the idea as I went upstairs to see how the progress of Stacy’s draft was going.

When she revealed that she was done, not much had really changed. She just polished the details and gave it the touch it needed to really pop out to catch the eye of anyone that'd pass by it. I walked up to her and gently took the sheet out of her hands so I could thoroughly admire the design. After I did that, I set it down on her desk and put my hands on her hips to stand her up. Once that was done, I surprised her by lifting her up which surprised her.

After she wrapped her legs around my pelvis, I tightly held her around her abdomen and kissed one of her cheeks. "It's perfect, Stacy. With this, hopefully we'll get a slow income of some new friends... At least, that's what I'm hoping for. I'm just a little scared we're gonna invite a monster to our place..." I lightly sighed as she nuzzled my neck. "A monster that might... hurt you, maybe something worse."

"I'll try to help myself first, but if I can't, you'll protect me if that ever happens... I know you'll never let that happen and that you'll deal with the bully before they do anything too bad."

After her adorable words, I held her just a tad tighter and put my nose in her hair before taking a slow breath so I could smell her relaxing natural scent. "I'll definitely try my hardest, for as long as I can..." After I said that, we lovingly kissed for... a very long time. It was around fifteen minutes of the both of us softly kissing each other while getting lost in the feeling of each other's lips, the both of us basking in the fact that we love each other on a scale we'll never be able to express to each other... My soul's never been this calm before and the feeling inside my chest only gets better as the days roll by, all thanks to my little sweetheart... I love her so much.

Much later in that day, I was with Ashton and Audrey, the three of us planning out the next scavenging trip. I had a list of the things we'd look out for, 'more solar panels' being the first thing having been written down. I wrote down 'trailer' afterwards, probably should've written it down first considering how important it is.

"To haul the seventy other panels you want to set up here, right?" Audrey asked with a tilt of her head.

I nodded. "But also for more heavy equipment when we get around to it. Stuff like even heavier and bigger power tools, the kitchen appliances that Jordan asked me for, that greenhouse idea we talked about earlier, and just all around bigger and heavier loads for future missions."

"It'd definitely come quite in handy. Now we just need to locate a good trailer for it..." Ashton commented. "Wait, are you able to go out on a scavenging mission with your head still somewhat injured?"

"Well, I feel like going. Not sure if Olivia would be alright with that, but I can sneak away, right?" I said with a small grin.

"It probably wouldn't be the best idea to go out without asking her about it, hearing what she thinks you should do wouldn’t bring any harm."

I lightly sighed. "I know, I know, I just wanna go out on these missions so I can help accomplish what needs to get done. I think it's also just fun to watch it happen and know that progress is being made."

Audrey lightly giggled. "You're still not sure if it's cool for you to bounce, gotta run it by Olivia first, yeah?"

Without wasting time, I called Jordan over so they could continue talking about the future mission before I headed up to the doctor just as their conversation got rolling. When I got there, I politely knocked on the door like I usually do and waited the normal amount of time before Olivia let me in.

"Question about the concussion, or something else?" She asked, confirming her suspicion. "Is it hurting any?"

I shook my head. "Only when anything presses on it. I'm here to ask if it'd be fine for me to go out on a scavenging trip. I don't think it'd get in the way of anything."

"Hm... sit on the bed real quick." She ordered where I quickly obeyed her words. She walked up to me and took a closer look at my injury before flashing a light into my eyes. "I'd still wait another day or two before going out. But it's good to see how fast you're healing from this, you're definitely a quick healer."

I lightly sighed while she returned to her desk, the woman then writing something on a sheet of paper. "Well, at least it's not taking that long to get over this, even if I prefer it to be quicker."

"Don't we all?" She said before she turned to me in her chair. "I'm changing the subject. When do you think we could go out and retrieve a certain amount of things from the hospital? Now that we have these lights up and running, I'm now able to get a few tools and instruments I wasn't able to use previously."

I thought about the question for a silent minute. "I think after the next mission we're planning. We're gonna get a trailer for the car first which means we can probably get more stuff you haven't thought of yet. So you have a couple days to think about some more stuff to get."

She smiled brighter at my words. "That's fantastic news! Now I can think about a few instruments I thought we'd get at a much further future date..."

When she turned back to vigorously start jotting some desired items of interest down, I went to check on how charged Stacy's batteries were. Or at least a few of them, there were quite a lot to charge. The ones I had put in there earlier were full of electricity, so I took them out and put some other dead ones in. Olivia was done writing on the sheet of paper by the time I was done.

"Here, this is the list of things I wanna implement into this place... Though it's going to get just a little crowded. I've been thinking about that idea you told me about, back in the market, about my own clinic. How possible do you think that is right now?"

"In the near future? Not likely since we gotta start cultivating some ground and planting some crops. And we also gotta figure out how to build such things to begin with. I'm assuming it's gonna take a substantial amount of trial and error to perfect how we build things, at least as much as we can, to try to make our buildings durable and as high quality as possible."

She slowly nodded. "Makes sense. Guess I'm just gonna be stuck with a bunch of miscellaneous tools and instruments scattered around my room for a bit, huh?"

"Unfortunately so. But when we start putting some effort into expanding the space we occupy, you'll be one of the first people to lead the effort in building some type of clinic once we figure everything out. Sound good?"

"Sounds amazing, actually."

I chuckled at her words before departing from her room where I returned back down to the discussion regarding the next scavenging trip, so I could help plan it further. It only took us about ten minutes longer before the small group decided to do it in two days' time. I wasn't quite sure about the decision since I wanted things to get done faster, but I cooled my jets. It gave me more time to heal and gave the others a little time to take a break and start enjoying our newfound electrical abilities.

A couple hours later, I was in bed and tightly holding Stacy as we tried going to sleep, the both of us laying side by side and facing each other. Though I couldn't stop giving her little kisses of happiness, ecstatic about what all we had accomplished so far and what we were going to accomplish in the near future. She happily accepted my barrage of kisses across her face, the girl coyly giggling as I did so.

(Small sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

I lightly slid my hands over her hips and then suddenly laid on my back so I could heft her over me. She almost leaned up, but I prevented that from happening by keeping the girl laying on my body after wrapping my arms around her torso. I registered how much I liked all of her weight spread across me while one of her legs went across my pelvis so my hips would be in between her legs.

As I played with some of her hair, she quietly laid there as her hands lightly grasped my shoulders while her cheek nuzzled the top of my chest. A few minutes later, my hands slid down to take a hold of her hips just as she started grinding her clothed groin on my own, the movement quickly making me hard. She looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, the girl silently asking me to take her clothes off. I put a hand on her cheek while my other one went inside the side of her pants, the girl allowing me to do whatever I wanted with her.

It took her a couple minutes to slide out of her clothes, leaving her bottomless, the girl sliding back a decent bit so she could slide my jeans down a few inches, though she had to sit up a bit so her intrigued hands could easily take out my fully erect phallus to then rub my glans between her horny slit.

When she inserted it inside her, she gently pressed all of her weight down so she could comfortably lay back down on me once more, the girl quietly grunting while my twitching cock plunged into her tight depths before contacting her cervix. As we laid there for a couple of still minutes, my arms wrapped around her again, the both of us deeply relaxing into the touch of our fully aroused genitals making the other feel complete. That was until she slowly started grinding her hips which began giving the both of us a minute amount of pleasure.

We did this for five minutes, no words being said, just Stacy's quiet little grunts as she slowly rode my phallus. During this, my hands migrated to her hips once more so I could gently lift her up and down my shaft where I made sure she'd stay laying down while doing it.

Even though the movements were slow when compared to our previous times, they felt phenomenal. Stacy kept her eyes closed while she tightly held the fabric on both of my shoulders, the girl letting quiet moans slip out of her mouth as she relaxed into the loving act, the girl whispering a very quiet ‘I love you’ every now and then. Eventually, a hand left one of her hips so I could slip it between us to then slowly rub her clit which caused the girl to relax even more into the action and moan just a little louder. Though she was still quiet, the act was quite different from our other times, feeling more intimate than usual.

She experienced a trembling orgasm a few minutes later before my seed excitedly released deep inside her the following minute. Stacy then halted any grinding while she fully relaxed on me, something that was followed by my arms returning back around her. It didn't take us much longer to go to sleep just like that, our fornicating having zapped the rest of the little energy we had left for that day. It was nice being within her relaxing pussy as I drifted off, I’d certainly have to try doing it some more. (Sex scene over)

I heard a crash and felt a huge jolt of heat flash through my body. Nothing happened for what felt like an entire minute before something else finally happened.

"Do you think he'll live?" I heard a worried and unknown masculine voice ask before I felt something gently prod my chest.

I couldn't see anything, it was just pure black. It was like I was awake and asleep at the same time.

"It's hard to say... He's very badly damaged." Another unknown but feminine voice replied as I felt something... strangely phase through my left eye. The second unknown voice sighed. "He's still alive, but he's weak... If we don't do anything drastic, he'll slip into a coma and… die."

"H-How do you suppose we fix him?"

As they spoke, a very gentle rumbling was being felt while the sound of a few roars and screams emitted from afar.

The feminine voice sighed again, I could feel her thoughts and ideas rushing through her head, the energy of stress being prevalent, nearly overwhelming. "Send me the body over there! He's gonna hate this, but it has to happen. I hope he'll understand..."

I once again woke up from the land of dreams, though I swiftly realized that it was the middle of the night. It didn’t take me long to notice that Stacy was still on top of me, sound asleep, the girl's bottomless half pressing against my groin which was damp with what I assumed to be the semen that had dripped out of her after my softened cock had slipped out of her.

I lightly sighed and held her just a tad tighter to try and fall asleep again. I wondered why my dreams were so vivid, so real... Did the concussion allow me to have stronger dreams? Because it's kinda cool, not gonna lie. It's just really jarring every time I wake up

I opened my eyes when I felt something like a hand place itself on my forehead, though it was extremely light and I almost didn't notice it. What I saw next was... It was just... I struggle to put it into words.

Someone sat cross-legged on our bed, facing the wall, making it impossible for me to get a clear look at their face in the dimly lit room. They appeared faded and see-through, their hand on my forehead moving gently as one finger rose to their lips in a 'shoosh' gesture.

I was frozen, scared of what I was seeing. Who was that? Was it a ghost? Was it the thing I had seen by Stacy a few days ago? What did it want? As several more questions ran through my head, it suddenly became the morning and a wide awake Stacy was shaking me, as if she had been trying to wake me up for a couple minutes.

When I was aware of what was happening, I registered that she had a somewhat worried look on her face, the girl's shaking of my shoulders halting while I looked around. "Did you see that?" I deliriously asked, the girl looking really confused at my question.

She slowly shook her head. "You were having a dream... it seemed pretty bad, so I woke you up, it took a lot of shaking..."

Realizing what had happened, I rubbed my eyes as I became more aware and awake. After rubbing my eyes, I put my hands on her bare hips and leaned up before resting my forehead on hers where we both closed our eyes. "I'm alright, everything's fine... I just had a really strange dream..." I explained, trying not to let the feeling of her slit pressing against the skin on my belly get to me.

"It must've been really strange then, huh?" (Yes, another one. Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

I lightly kissed her lips and wrapped my arms around her around her abdomen before holding her closer to me so we could have an intimate kissing and hugging session. That’s literally the best way to wake up since it always evaporates any sort of weariness in my mind. Doing this only got me a little hard mainly because she was still bottomless and her knees on either side of my hips… and how her slit was fairly close to the something that started wanting to be put inside her once more.

When she felt my cock brush up against her groin, she broke the kiss and looked away. "I'm... not really in the mood to have sex at the moment..."

I nuzzled her cheek. "That's alright, I'm just enjoying the kiss a lot... I'll calm myself down afterwards. Can we continue kissing?"

She nodded with a coy smile before she continued the kissing for several long minutes. Eventually, I couldn't help but grind a little bit when the tip of my shaft contacted her folds, the want to fuck her quickly growing in my mind.

She lightly giggled, breaking the kiss again. "Now what did we just agree to?"

"I'm sorry, you're just so... sexy." I said, the girl rubbing her lower lips across my glans for ten or so seconds, stoking my lust by a large amount. Just as I closed my eyes and leaned into the feeling of having my glans between her labia, she got off me before getting dressed, leaving me really hard for her which caused the want to pound her silly to cloud my mind. "You tease!"

She got back on the bed and sat at my side before the girl leaned against my chest where I put an arm around her. Then one of her hands gingerly draped down to my shaft. When her fingers contacted my tip, I lightly grunted, her fingers then slowly wrapping around my glans before she started delicately fidgeting her hand up and down.

She hadn't really given me a handjob before since we always opted to just have sex, but she knew what to do given how she had done something similar to it a few times before. She slowly moved her hand down by three or so inches before her soft hand rubbed back up to my tip. I put my nose in her hair as her hand moved down again, a slow and predictable cycle starting from there.

As her stroking incrementally sped up, I couldn't help but thrust while she gave me what I desired... but not entirely. "I definitely prefer your little pussy over your hand..." I whispered, causing her to blush, her legs spreading open a tad. "And I think you're starting to want that as well..."

After I said that, the arm around her shoulders slipped under her shirt and up to one of her tits where a slow massage began after I delicately took the small mound of flesh in my hand. My other hand directed her to look up at me so I could softly kiss her scrumptious lips, her hand on my shaft slightly picking up some more speed at that.

My hand left her jaw to travel down her shirt and into her pants, my fingers then prodding her clit so I could start rubbing it, the both of us having sex through our hands. It was a bit strange to pleasure each other with our hands instead of just having sex... but it was an alright experience. And we stayed like that for the entirety of this experience, our strokes on each other staying at a moderate pace as we deeply kissed.

She came first, the girl making a tiny mess in her panties while she continued thoroughly rubbing my phallus. I made her cum one more time before taking my hand out of her pants to lick and taste her delicious lubricant off my fingers before relaxing into her stroking.

A couple minutes later, I finally blew, a trace amount of liquid leaking from my tip since I didn't really have any ammo to shoot.

"Well, that was kinda weird." I said after her hand left my cock.

She giggled. "Yeah, just a bit... Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course."

"Can I... You know how sometimes you lick me down here?" She asked, pointing toward her groin. I slowly nodded. "Well… can I lick you here next time you wanna fuck me?" She asked, pointing to my softening cock.

Yeah, like I said, we always opted for having sex instead of things like blowjobs and handjobs. I'm surprised it took her this long to ask to give me one though, but ah well, it’s not like I expected her to do something like that for me.

"Uh, yeah, sure. You just probably aren't gonna like it."

"We'll see..." She said as she kissed me once again.

(Sex scene over)

When that was over, we cleaned ourselves of any amount of sexual fluid and got on with our day, a day that really had nothing special to it. I fished a bit, Stacy unveiled her design for the signs, Audrey thought of some planting equipment we should fetch while out scavenging, and Trinity and Roman started using some of the power tools we got. With the help of four or five others, Trinity was able to make ten frames for more panels by the end of the day. It was all going well and I couldn't wait to get back out there, all so I could eventually cross off what we have on our scavenging list.

Chapter 28: Small Steps, Big Impacts

Notes:

Just keep in mind that this is still the beginning of this story and that there's so much more to come ;)

Chapter Text

The next day, my head was almost completely healed, only a small knot remained where the epicenter of my injury occurred which would probably take another week to vanish entirely. Thankfully, the injury was rather tame compared to what it could've been, but I'm still pissed that a damn shelf somehow fell on me... And it pisses me off more when I think about it because... how did that happen?

Anyways, since my head was almost completely healed, Olivia said it should be fine for me to go out and about, just don't be a dumbass and get something peculiar like a shelf to fall on me somehow. Of course, I'm paraphrasing, Olivia's a sweetheart and wouldn't curse all willy-nilly like that... Probably.

Before I went downstairs to get the day's work rolling, I sat in Stacy's chair with the big, blue, and mysterious book on my lap. I opened it again and looked at the words to try to see if I had ever seen a language like it. I flipped through the pages, frantically trying to see if there'd be any English words in it by some miracle. After a couple of minutes of sifting through the pages, I came to the conclusion that the entire thing was in a language that I had never seen before.

"Why would a library keep this book where it was?" I quietly said to myself. There was no point for that book to have been where I found it, unless someone before The Drop had put it there just to be a dick. It just didn't make any sense to me. And there wasn't really any way to translate the book without someone already knowing what the language is or if we just happen to find a book about an English to whatever language the book is in. So it's definitely possible that the book is told in a dead language, considering how few people are left.

Damn, now that I think about it, so many languages died when The Drop happened. I'm sure a bunch of religions, cultures, and traditions did as well. Although in my opinion, in some cases, that’s a positive. Some stuff like that under the guise of ‘culture’ or whatever held society back and forced us to stay primitive in some regards. Of course, not all of it was like that, but I think unification of these things would be a huge positive for humanity. Though some diversity should be preserved, I don’t want things to get too boring.

Thirty minutes later, I was down in the kitchen with the day's party of scavengers which consisted of Jordan and Ashton. For the amount of work that we were hoping to get done, we were just a tad understaffed, but I thought we would manage. The goal for the trip was to get a trailer for the car, which by the way is like an SUV (not sure why I never mentioned that), get more than double how many panels we had up and running, and maybe get what Jordan desired regarding kitchen utilities.

Able to cook without having it be over a fire would be so convenient and make everything regarding cooking so much easier. Not to mention the little things like microwaves, toasters, and air fryers which would enable more ways of cooking things for whenever our variety of food starts massively expanding. I quite liked Jordan's suggestion, so I hoped we could get what he wanted, mainly just to get it out of the way.

As I was sitting at the table with the others, I looked at the clock that was ticking the seconds away. It was ten in the morning which made me openly ask, "Who determined the time?"

Ashton shrugged at my question while he looked at the clock as well. "We kinda just guessed a time that felt right to us and then averaged our feelings out before landing on what’s probably the right time, give or take ten minutes."

"Fair. Who determined the time previously anyways?"

"...That's a strange question" Jordan pointed out which made Ashton chuckle.

"Hunter's a strange man, how do you not know this by now?"

I rolled my eyes at them. "What? It's a good question. Who decided that the early hours of the day are around six in the morning and not five o'clock in the afternoon? Though I guess their five o'clock in the afternoon would be their six in the morning and they wouldn't think much of it, huh?"

"And it comes full circle." Ashton pointed out as I took a look at the cellar hatch that had recently gained a hefty lock and chain to make sure it wouldn't be compromised and raided by any future newcomers.

Looking at it made me feel safer about our future due to how our weapons and food vault was now nice and secure from anyone who'd try to steal our own weapons who they’d maybe use against us. "Where's the key to the cellar?"

"Somewhere in mine and Audrey's room, figured it'd be alright there." Ashton answered correctly, though I wanted to know where exactly, just in case. He whispered it to me, the hiding spot actually being quite clever, the key being inside the frame to one of the stilts to their bed. Who'd look there?

Fifteen minutes later, we got ready to head out for the day, the three of us wanting to leave early so we could get back as soon as possible. We also took a couple charged up drills so we could dismantle the panels faster. When the other two got in the car, I went to find a little someone. When I found her, I saw Trinity teaching Stacy how to smooth off a surface of a plank with a sander, the tool being quite vicious doing its job. I wasn't sure if Stacy's little hands could use such a tool, I was afraid that it'd somehow get out of control and rub against a hand of hers and tear some of her skin off.

"I was just seeing how Trinity makes stuff, it's pretty cool to see how it's done. I'd be too scared to use the tools anyways." She asserted when she walked up to me, allowing Trinity to continue making frames for our unutilized panels as we heard a relatively quiet chainsaw tear away at a tree in the distance.

"And I'd definitely be too scared to see you use it, I don't want you getting hurt..." I said as we hugged each other. "I'm gonna be gone for a little while. We're getting a few things that'll make our future a little better and easier."

With that being said, she hugged me a tad tighter and lovingly nuzzled my chest. When she looked up at me, she said, "Okay... Don't get hurt, okay?"

I smiled at her words before eskimo kissing her. "I'll try my best not to, my love."

After an affectionate kiss, I departed from her and made my way to the car so we could get the day's mission over and done with. And really, it was a lot of the same like other missions. Drive to the town, stroll around for a while, and spot what we were looking for. Though it took well over three hours to find a trailer that’d work, an hour or so after we spotted a trailer that wasn't compatible.

The sizable trailer was quite large and had some miscellaneous items on it such as rotting wooden planks, deflated tires, and a few types of buckets that weren't of any use for us. This utility trailer was also connected to a car that had crashed into another, the scene being a grisly one since the car it had crashed into crumpled and flipped to its side. We determined it happened accidentally since we found skeletal remains in the driver's seat.

"I wonder how many people died, who would've lived, if whoever killed them indirectly by dying at the wheel didn’t hit them... If that question makes any sense." Ashton said, having a difficult time wording that question.

I hopped on the trailer and started throwing shit off of it since we didn't need any of it. "I'd say slim to none. The chances of that happening were probably so low that it just didn't happen. I've never thought about what the percentile might be for how many humans died the day society ended, but I know it's high." I somewhat answered as the two started helping me empty the trailer.

"Honestly, I think it's a ninety-nine point nine nine percent, maybe, that all humans died that day... Considering how many I've seen in the last almost three years." Ashton put his two cents in, the percentile probably being very close to actuality.

"How many people do you think are left on Earth?" Jordan asked, which stoked a sad thought.

I sighed at the question. "Probably... On the entire Earth? Five hundred thousand, max."

"That's really low... but that's still a lot, relatively." Jordan replied.

"It's also optimistic, really. Humans have had lower numbers before, ten to thirty thousand from a super volcanic eruption tens of thousand." I said, thinking back to the times I'd randomly look up information just to know.

"Hm... what's the lowest number of people there could be, y'know, for genetics to be diverse enough?" Ashton inquired as the task of emptying the trailer was nearly complete.

"Effectively? I would say around a thousand, with the gender ratio being equal, though I’m not certain. If the ones that remain can move in tribes like how we did hundreds of thousands of years ago, our species will live on... Hard to say it will though."

"So what you're saying is we really need to find as many people as we can to make sure our species continues?" Jordan pondered before I gave him a nod.

"Yep. Although that’s not the only reason we’re doing what we’re doing; it’s also to assure our personal survival and comfort. And believe it or not, this trailer is gonna help us get to that point eventually... Hopefully." I replied before hopping off the trailer and making my way to the back end of the totalled car.

"I strongly admire your outlook, Hunter." Jordan admitted as I inspected the mechanism of how the car connected to the trailer.

"I'll admit, it's... strange having my outlook, especially from a person who used to be an extremely pessimistic person and didn't really wanna do anything with their life. At least, not anything that grand or remarkable. But that's enough about me, wanna figure out how to put this trailer from here to there?" I said, pointing to the back end of our car.

Twenty tedious minutes later passed before we were able to hook the trailer on the... y'know, the back thingy of a car that lets you hook it up to trailers. I noticed that the tires of it were pretty flat, but there wasn’t anything we could do since we didn't think to bring an air pump. I determined that the trailer was easily over six meters in length and a little under two meters in width. It could definitely haul some large loads, as long as the car itself could handle it. Which I had faith it did, it had some pretty gnarly specs that we'd put to the test.

We didn't retrieve what Jordan sought out right away since we decided to go to the solar farm and get the panels first, only after that did we go back and scan for what he desired. Though when we got to the farm, we wasted no time in using the new drills to unscrew the panels and pile them in neat stacks on the trailer. It was quite a workout to move as many panels as we did, a total number of fifty, along with all their components. It was all so complicated and my descriptions aren't doing it justice. All that I can say on top of that is that we spent over two hours at the farm, the three of us trying to work as fast as possible.

On our way back through the town, Jordan stopped us at an iconic store where you once were able to buy all types of big furniture or appliances. Being there reminded me of a few things that'd come in handy in a few months, like some air conditioners.

"Well, if we ever want beds, we know where to find them." Ashton announced as we walked by a large display of them. "And a lot of other spare furniture."

"A place like this will definitely supply a lot of comforts like that, including the houses that we might eventually loot... But I dunno, that's a long time from now."

"It's possible that Trinity might make her own instead, she used to do stuff like that all the time." Jordan replied as we walked by a dolly, the man taking it as we went advanced.

"Possible, yes. Practical? Just a tiny bit, though Charlotte would have to make the blankets and what not... and for that, we'd need Audrey to tend to some animals while some others tend to crops to feed the animals..." I explained revealing the chain of tasks that'd need to work together for that one ulterior task to be completed.

"Wow, when you put it like that, you realize how developed our world was, huh?" Ashton said as he thought back to his job. "Everything that enabled me to do what I did... so many chains of supply, demands, power... and so many more things. It's wild how it all fit and worked together."

I nodded. "It took thousands of years to build it up while humanity tested what worked and what didn't along the way. But hey, at least we have the framework to start getting to that point again, right?"

"Yeah... though it's gonna take a very long time to get to something that somewhat resembles it."

"As long as we work and strive for it."

When Jordan spotted the electric stove he desired to take, we helped him mount it on the dolly so he could lift it up and take it out of the store. Moving shit like that sucked ass, so moving a fairly large freezer sucked even more. But with it, we could start stockpiling leftover perishable food in bulk which was pretty rad.

We yoinked other types of kitchen appliances and then three air conditioners for whenever the summer rolled around. We might need more later, but there were plenty to come back to so we put a pin in it, if the need ever arises. We wasted no time in putting everything in the trailer and getting back in the vehicle before taking our large ass haul back home to set up and put some in storage. The vehicle barely noticed what it was hauling - it was great to see how capable it was.

When we got back home, I checked the percentage of the battery pack. It had gone down by a percent so we definitely didn't have enough panels up and running. I didn't mess around by getting Kai and Kostas to station the newly constructed frames in place while I helped trade out the old gas stove for the electric one. Thankfully, Kostas' arm was mostly healed by that point, his stitches having recently come out of his arm, though there was a pretty gnarly scab there that'd turn into a scar. But hey, at least it wasn't on his face, right?

After we carried in the miscellaneous kitchen appliances, I left Jordan to his devices to help out with putting some solar panels on their designated frames. And damn, was having a drill satisfying. It could screw the panels into the wood in just a few seconds, contrary to a couple of minutes manually. Humans were smart as hell for inventing tools. That thought reminded me that I still needed to bolt the battery pack into the ground.

However, that took much longer since I needed to find the right drill bit so I could effectively pierce through the concrete. It took about twenty minutes for the pack to be securely in the concrete. Now it'd be virtually impossible to tip it over. As the panels started getting connected, I observed my team working from the porch, leaning over the fence, lost in deep thought. I thought back to the strange things I've been seeing as of late... and the ghost woman that I saw. Or dreamt of.

But it was extremely realistic! All of my dreams have been like that recently... Maybe my concussion changed the way my dreams work? If it persists, then that'll be a solid conclusion. It's just so strange, it'd take a long while to get used to if it stays.

"When do you think we'll go to the hospital again?" Olivia asked which ripped me out of my thoughts.

"Probably in a few days. We need to gather a few things Audrey mentioned for cultivating the ground first. Then, maybe a few days after that, we'll go ahead and retrieve what you want to get."

"That sounds fair." She replied as she joined me leaning on the fence to see the panels being implemented. "It's... amazing that this is all happening. I feel so lucky to have directed our group down the path we took or we would've never found you and none of this would've happened."

"Yeah, that is a crazy thought to think about... I wonder what it would've been like had you not. Probably a couple magnitudes more boring."

"Not 'less exciting'? Are you saying we're boring you?" Olivia playfully responded as I realized my wording.

"You're right, less exciting. Truth be told… it feels a bit wrong saying this because, y’know, The Drop happened, but I'm having the time of my life doing this all. I have a bunch of good friends, a healthy and active lifestyle, and a lovely little someone who calms my soul to the core."

"I still worry a decent bit about our future, but it's nice to hear how the leader’s doing." She said which made me chuckle.

"I still need to get used to that. I'm sure that with more people comes more power and more merit to being called 'the leader', so I’ll probably grow into it. I hope it's a gradual process, but only time will tell."

"How much more of that plan of attracting new people to us do you need to figure out? Or is everything already figured out and I'm not in the loop?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"We still need some type of radio, determine a designated area to direct the stragglers to, and then we need to actually build the signs. We already have the design, it's pretty abstract, made by the one and only talented beautiful Stacy."

She lightly sighed. "It's gonna be really stressful come that first person who bites... I wonder how many people will willingly miss out on the opportunity to come here."

"I would guess not that many, if at all. A lot of people hate being completely alone in a desolate world, even the people who think they want that. It's... pretty depressing when you've got no one. Before The Drop, no one truly understood what it's like, it was impossible to permanently get away from everyone and everything. Y’know, excluding death itself."

"Be honest with me here, Hunter, how likely do you think it is that we'll allow someone here that'll harm us?"

I thought about her question for a silent minute, thinking about several variables and deterrents before drawing to a conclusion. "Slim. After we get the farms up and growing crops, why should they attack us? In my mind, there's literally nothing to gain from it besides a psycho having a little fun, but even then, they’d most likely die by getting shot before escaping. And then there's Kai who could probably track them down even if they escape us, allowing us to take vengeance on them."

"That's definitely one way to look at it and I hope it's true... You believe in vengeance?"

I nodded. "I believe in an eye for an eye... Only when it comes to murder, at least. If you kill someone, intentionally, I'm not going to take the chance to let you kill another person."

We stayed quiet after that for a couple minutes before Olivia continued asking me questions. "Do you plan on creating ‘a book of law’ as we grow in number?"

"Most definitely. I just don't know when I'd do that. It seems pretty obvious what not to do at the moment. Essentially don't kill, don't harm, don't steal, don't vandalize, stuff like that. Basically: don't be a dick or get shot, maybe."

She chuckled. "Seems easy enough. It'd just be nice to have something like it, primarily for quick clarification."

"I'll get around to making it when it feels necessary." I assured.

"Do you think anyone'll buzz off after they stay here for a bit?"

"I've actually thought about that before and it's definitely possible. I'm thinking, and tell me if this is wrong by any means, when someone stays here long enough to apply for membership, they'll take an oath swearing allegiance to the group. Basically, after you take that oath, you're stuck with us until you die. If you break that oath, we break your face?"

She thought about it for a couple silent minutes which made me think she really didn't like that idea. "It's... definitely an authoritarian stance on it. But it might be needed for a few years."

"Unfortunately, sometimes people have to be led by an iron fist. But I will never, ever, stoop down to be a tyrant. I will be a leader with passion and care for the well-being of my people. I will only ever lead with an iron fist when I have to."

"In what situations does that apply?"

"Conflict, rampant disease, stuff like that; when shit's hitting the fan and you need the people to obey so the community as a whole can get the hell out of dodge as swiftly as possible."

"I hope you never feel like you have to resort to such a way... But I'd understand it if you did, sacrificing freedoms for a set amount of time for the greater good should be understood, as long as you get those freedoms back when whatever crisis is over."

As the conversation was wrapping up, I had one more thing to say. "I've been thinking of a way of leading which allows three important people to collectively make a decision to override what the leader says, to make sure that tyrant part never happens by letting a leader do whatever they want."

She nodded. "That's a good idea. How do you determine those three people?"

"I haven't come up with that part just yet." Mainly because it can’t be letting the leader choose who that’d be since that’s prone to corruption. I guess voting for them would be the way to go? Eh, this idea will take place way down the line probably, though it's good to think about these sorts of things early on.

Not much long later, I returned to the dining room to start writing a list down regarding what we'd need to scavenge for next. Radios, walkie-talkies, Audrey's farming equipment, and finding a place to act as the spot where we'll meet new strangers. After that, I looked at the calendar. Six more days until Stacy's birthday, just a little longer.

After briefing Ashton and Audrey on what we're getting next, I found Stacy about to head out of our room with a towel on the bed while holding a little bit of soap and some cream with a razor on it. She was just getting to wrapping them up as I walked in, the girl lightly blushing at me as she did so.

"Isn't the water still a bit chilly?" I asked while I walked up to her, the girl giving me a coy grin.

"It..." She trailed off, obviously nervous about what she was about to say. "Maybe... maybe it won't be if you go with me?"

At this point, we hadn't bathed together, not once. And that was due to the water still being cold which stifled the chances of that happening because fuck bathing in freezing water (I've already said that we've washed the dirtiest parts of ourselves when needed, so don’t judge me too much… now that I think of it, stop reading my fucking journal). I wanted to bathe with her before, but the chance never appeared until this moment. "We're just gonna bathe, right?" I asked as I started getting my own stuff to wash myself with.

"Yeah, what else would we do?" She said with a giggle.

After quickly getting my own cleaning supplies, we snuck out and dashed away from the house so no one would spot us and ask us what we were doing, if they were nosy enough. We made our way a decent bit down the stream so no one would see us doing what we were gonna do - my girl going extra far because she was scared of anyone else seeing her naked form. Which was cute, how she would let me, and even want me, to ogle her all I want but the idea of anyone else even getting a glance at her beautiful nakedness scared her to her core... Which I loved so much.

And I let her go farther because as I've said and thought of so many times before, I'd rip the eyes out of someone who intentionally saw her naked. I'm not joking about that… Maybe I’m a little insane? Nah.

When she finally announced that we had gotten to an alright spot, we set our supplies down on a boulder protruding out into the stream before I helped take her shirt off, mine followed right after. She took my pants off for me which had the unwanted side effect of me starting to get slightly hard. She lightly giggled as I stepped out of my pants.

"We're just gonna bathe, right?" She asked, repeating what I had asked earlier.

I put a hand on her cheek and closed the distance between our bodies, my semi-hardened phallus rubbing against her soft belly as a result.

"Yes, I'm just enjoying the view... Unless you wanna do something else?" I led on, kissing the tip of her nose briefly.

She blushed but retained a warm smile. "Nah, I'm just here to get cleaned off, not get dirty."

After that, I helped her take her pants off where I got a good look of her fuzzy, beautiful, and not horny lower lips as I did so. At least, I think she wasn't horny since I hadn't really seen her naked without... y'know, fucking her in some capacity. After that, I took the first step into the really cool water, the liquid zapping the heat off of my skin. It wasn't freezing, but it was still fairly cold. I held her hand as I led us into the water where the both of us grunted at the shock of the cold water while we submerged ourselves in the slow flowing river.

In no time, the water was up to her waist which is where I stopped us, the girl starting to get on her knees so she could get more encompassed in the water. I joined her in doing so, the both of us diving under the water to get thoroughly soaked. I stayed there for a while just so I could get used to the cold temperature before coming back up where I then saw the girl pushing wet strands of hair behind her ears.

"If i-it was a bit warmer this w-would be a lot nicer." I commented, trying my hardest to suppress shivers and stutters.

In response, she slid closer to me and turned herself around where my arms instinctively wrapped around her before she pressed herself into me. I felt a small shiver rattling through her body as our bodies tried warming each other up as best as they could, even if we were under water.

We stayed like that for around five minutes, just getting used to the chilly water, as we enjoyed our skin pressing against each other's. In the middle of it, I leaned over her shoulder so I could gingerly kiss her, the girl accepting my lips as she lightly kissed back. Since I was in cold water, I couldn't really get hard so that didn't happen, even if I wanted to just a small bit.

"Does this count as me making you wet?" I asked with a giggle after the kiss ended, the water not feeling all that cold anymore.

"Hm... I'll say yes, but not like how you're thinking, mister." She playfully said before she glided toward shallower water to the rock we had put our stuff on, the girl taking a bottle of shaving cream that was almost emptied before squirting some in a hand.

With that being done, she applied it to her groin and lower lips, the hair there being caked in the white substance as she got her armpits too. After she put some more cream on her hand, she covered her legs as well. She wasn't really naturally a hairy girl, I sometimes barely even noticed it and said it didn't matter if she shaved or not, but she liked not being hairy.

An idea came to mind as I watched her apply the cream like a creep... but she allowed me to watch, the girl glancing at me to make sure I was watching, so it was fine. "Am I allowed to shave you? I wanna be the one responsible to make you my smooth and sexy little girl."

She lightly giggled and blushed just a tad harder. "Sure, just don't cut me..."

I got up and made my way to her before taking the razor she held out of her hand and lifting an arm of hers up. After I eskimo kissed her, I started very delicately applying the razor’s head over the pit of her arm, the girl suppressing a bit of laughter while the hair started getting cut off and made smooth. The hair wasn't really that long, just a centimeter or two, but she didn't like it, like I said.

When I had to, I quickly swished the razor’s blades into the stream to get rid of the excess hair to continue the mission of making her smooth. When that armpit was done, I moved onto the next one which played out the exact same. I found her suppressed giggles... a little bit sexy. I had always found it just a tad attractive when I tickled her, I like causing her the sensation to laugh and feeling her squirm up against me.

I knelt down and moved to her thighs, the limbs significantly less hairy, but I took the razor and slid it down the girl's legs regardless. Five minutes later, her legs were devoid of hair which only left her sacred region left to be clean shaved. After her legs, I made sure to be extra careful while shaving her mons venus, the bush she had been growing being a couple of centimeters long.

I didn't mind it, I quite liked it actually, but I liked how she looked either way since the girl was able to pull both ways off with ease. When I was done with that area, I moved over her labia, a breath hitching in her throat as I did so.

"Are you alright?" I asked with care.

"Y-Yes, just... it feels a little weird since I'm not the one doing it." She explained with a giggle.

I was so happy that she trusted me to do something like that - it took an extreme amount of trust which I did not want to ruin by accidentally cutting her. So my hands stayed slow and caring while making sure I wouldn't slice the girl because I couldn't forgive myself if I did.

When I was done shaving there, I used some water to brush away any hair that stuck on her after being shaved. I thoroughly looked at my work after I handed her back the razor, my hands then firmly taking a hold of her hips. I leaned down by quite a bit and kissed her soft lower belly for a couple of minutes. After that, the tip of my nose briefly contacted her clit before I lovingly, softly, and deeply kissed it which caused her to squeak at the sudden sensation. I continued to kiss it for a couple of minutes, the girl's hips very minutely gyrating on my lips, but it didn't go any further since I stood back up with somewhat of an evil grin.

"Just bathing, right?" She reminded with a cute giggle and a blushed face. Not quite hot and bothered though.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself..." I explained as she set the razor back on the boulder.

She wrapped her arms around my abdomen. "It's alright, it felt pretty nice, the entire thing..."

We hugged for a couple minutes longer before I deeply kissed her, the act ending way too prematurely, before we focused on lathering soap across our bodies and on the top of our heads so we could wash away the grime that had built on us the last three or so months. I'll reiterate, we still washed the most dirty parts of us, just not our entire bodies. It felt good being in the water again.

After we let the soap soak on us long enough, we quickly washed it off before sitting in the water as I held her, the moment being quite intimate. For the first time bathing together... it was quite nice. I hope that this was the new method of bathing, I didn't really want to do it on my own anymore if I could spend it romantically with my lovely partner instead.

I took the time to observe the trees, noticing that their leaves were starting to grow, signifying that spring had finally started. After passionately making out with her for ten minutes in the serene area, we got out of the stream and dried ourselves off before getting dressed.

As we walked back, she said, "That was... really nice. Can we do that some more in the future?"

I took a step closer to her and brushed a hand through her damp hair. "I agree and we definitely will, don't you worry." She nuzzled my hand in response as we continued our way back home, the both of us satisfied with how clean we felt at that point.

Later that day, I saw Audrey setting up some pots and filling them with soil that she had dug up elsewhere, the dirt she was then potting being in the wheelbarrow. "What's going on here? Need any help?"

She looked at me and gave me a gentle smile before picking her work back up. "Nah, man, I'm just gonna throw a few weed seeds in some pots for now, so I can get my fix as soon as they're good to go, you know?"

I nodded as she continued to fill a few pots with soil. "When do you wanna head out tomorrow to go fetch what we need to start planting some seeds in the ground?"

"Like, around eleven or maybe noon-ish. I wanna get those tillers, but they'll need some charge time. So, thinking we start the whole cultivating gig the day after we grab 'em."

"Makes sense and sounds good to me. I'm getting excited at the idea of tilling the ground." I said with a happy smile.

"You might not be singing that tune once we're knee-deep in planting those seeds. That part’s not automatic, yo. Gotta space 'em out right depending on the crop we're throwin' in."

I looked across the backyard which appeared much more open since a lot of trees had come down during the winter. "Have you fully planned out where what's gonna go where?"

She nodded."Yeah, got it all locked down a few days back, man. Just had to tweak a few details, you know?" She joined me in looking across the backyard. "We're gonna have to chop down a bunch more trees this way, but that's the deal as we expand to grow other crops. Planting over where the trees used to be should be cool, as long as we toss in enough dirt. Roots shouldn't be too much of a hassle to deal with."

"A lot of work to be done in the near future..." I said before changing the subject. "Have you seen where Trinity is? I need to see what she's been up to." She replied with a negative which prompted me to look for her over the course of ten minutes. I ended up finding her talking to Stacy in our room. "No wonder why I couldn't find you... Am I interrupting something?"

"Not really, we were just finishing a conversation about something... private." Trinity answered as she got up from mine and Stacy's bed the both of them were sitting on. "What'd you need?"

"Wait, private?" I asked, wondering if Stacy didn’t want to talk to me about it. In hindsight, I should've already known what sort of thing they talked about, but we all have dumbass moments.

"A girl talk, Hunter." Stacy answered with a light blush.

"Oh, alright. Yeah, I can see why it's private then." I said, quickly moving on from that topic. "Anyways, I was gonna ask you to start making a design for the planned signs and start producing them - we're just about ready to start putting them up."

"Do you want me to continue making some more fuckin’ frames while I do that or put that on halt and focus on making these fucking signs?"

"I think we have enough panels up at the moment to sustain our demands for a good while. Though after you manufacture a good amount of signs, I'd like for you to finish the rest of the frames, if you're able to do that." With a nod of understanding, she made her way out before I made my way in where I noticed that Stacy was giving me a grin. "What's up?"

"It's just... you talk a little different when asking things, it's a little strange."

"...Yeah, now that you say that, I see what you mean. I suppose the change in my tone is a way of more effectively getting my points across? Something like that." I explained as I walked up to her and sat down at her side, the girl hugging me immediately afterward.

"Hey, Hunter?" She asked after a couple silent minutes which caused me to hum briefly for her to continue. "I never did play my clarinet for you... Do you still wanna listen to me play it?"

I kissed her forehead. "Yes, I'd love to hear it."

She got up and retrieved the clarinet before the girl returned close to my side where an arm wrapped around her waist. She got ready to play as I rested a cheek on the top of her head and got comfortable so I could intently listen to what her musical capabilities were.

She softly started blowing a small amount of air through the tube, causing the clarinet to come to life as her fingers expertly positioned themselves where they helped her produce a beautiful tune. I wish I could capture the sounds she produced in writing, but no such things exist, so what I'm left with are words that fail to correctly describe how amazing it was to hear her play the clarinet.

As she trilled her clarinet every now and then, getting deeply into the groove and rhythm of the song I'm sure she made herself, I heavily relaxed into her and enjoyed the music she was playing just for me out of the goodness of her golden heart.

Around four or so lovely minutes slowly passed by; a period of time where my mind and body was mostly filled with a little tingly feeling sloshing throughout my person. I think that’s the best way to describe how I absolutely adored everything to the fullest extent about her musical capabilities. "Stacy... I can't get explain just how amazing you are."

She set her clarinet down on her lap while she blushed and smiled. "Thank you..." She simply said as she rested her head on my chest.

"Really, you're a flawless artist, musician, beautiful enough to be history's greatest model..." I listed off, causing her to giggle.

She thanked me again as our embrace tightened. I kissed her forehead a couple more times before she looked up at me so she could kiss me back, the soft kiss staying light but lasting, the both of us greatly enjoying each other's company. I just couldn't get over how lucky I was to have someone like her, seemingly perfect in every way despite her flaws... I couldn't wait to give her the ring.

Chapter 29: Communication Support

Chapter Text

Here’s yet another scavenging trip that I'm gonna write about. How many more am I gonna write down? I dunno, I just think writing them down, if sometimes brief, is a good thing to do because I like reminiscing in the memories of making progress. Is that weird? I don't think it is. Anyways, it was also a reconnaissance mission to find a good spot to direct future members to. At least that was the original idea but… I’ll get to that later, it’s not really important though.

Before we headed out, Jordan made us a meal using the stove that he had recently implemented which was quite nice. It didn't take him nearly as long as it previously did and he was able to handle it so much better than cooking in the fireplace. It was also much quicker since the man was able to delegate smaller amounts of food to different areas of the stove. It was a great investment, driven by how the end result of what he made was higher quality which allowed us to enjoy the fruits of his labour more.

As I was exiting the house, I advised Trinity that she should get working on the signs whenever she can, the woman respectfully nodding and claiming that she’d probably have at least one of them done by the time I returned. I thanked her and made my way out onto the porch where a little someone surprised me with a hug.

After deeply kissing my angel 'see you later', Ashton, Audrey, Etsu, and I made our way to the vehicle, on the mission to cross off the fairly small but important list of items that’ll further our progress as a group Etsu tagged along with us because she felt like it was time for her to start pulling her weight, the woman's wound fairly passed the latter half of healing, which I appreciated. Her wound was much deeper than I originally thought and she had a hard time getting over injuries, so it was great to see her no longer struggling to do basic tasks.

As we drove to our favorite town we liked to pillage from, I thought about a two way radio setup that we’d be looking for and wondered how exactly it would work. Would we need an antenna to set it up or something like that?

"Not if we can find a model that has at least a ten to fifteen mile range. It might be somewhat staticky, but if we find the right radio, we don't have to worry about building an extension to the antenna," Ashton answered. "Used to use a radio like that all the time back in my mining days."

"Good, I was getting worried that there was gonna be yet another step, one that I wouldn't know how to tackle." I replied as I thought about another thing we were getting; walkie-talkies.

They'd be so useful to give each member. I'd be able to call on them for a group meeting and we'd all group up in mere minutes. And if something dire happens, like an attack or if we need to prepare for something of the like, they'd enable me to make the call effectively and efficiently. It'd be yet another layer of defense to our group, one of the most important aspects of defense - quick and effective communication.

Audrey wasted no time in directing Ashton to a market that sold farming equipment out in the open, the area thankfully being right next to a farm so it had everything Audrey needed.

In a world where society was essentially abandoned within a few hours, besides the vehicular crashes at first and probably some plane crashes, the remnants of society are relatively pristine, ripe, and free for the taking - that's why getting equipment and tools is so easy. The only things limiting us are finding them, time, and hauling whatever we wanted or needed. It wasn't like anything any zombie show portrayed, what with every tool and every other type of supply being scarce and rare. Furthermore, it wasn't like that because... how many groups at this point need a tiller? How many established groups are there on Earth? I'm gonna take a hunch and say not that many, let alone anywhere near how advanced we are. That might be incredibly wrong and I hope to find other groups nearby, eventually. Just, y'know, I hope they're nice people.

We took all four tillers ripe for the taking so we could get our planned crop fields established as soon as possible, the sooner the better, it’s not like anyone else was looking for them anyways. Luckily, the tillers were electric and not manual, so that part was gonna be even easier. That left our manual focus to be on planting, taking care, and harvesting the crops which was certainly gonna be the hardest part of the entire operation. At the very least, I was happy we weren't gonna have to endure hours upon hours of backbreaking tilling, unless they break down or something. Hopefully I didn’t jinx it.

After we loaded the tillers on the trailer, we swung our way back to the town to scavenge some communications devices. It only took us about twenty minutes to stop by that creepy ass market once again. As we headed in, I started some conversation to keep my mind off the fear I had of the place. "So, any ideas where we should put the meeting point for stragglers at?"

"I was thinking here, actually." Audrey said as she led our search. "Just a bit in, you know? Not too deep 'cause we don't wanna spook anyone. This spot's weirdly windowless, except for the entrance, so gotta keep it chill."

"Alright, any other ideas?" I asked, not liking her suggestion.

"The police station? I had a thought of putting a sheet of paper describing some more things about us next to where we’re gonna station a radio for the people who’ll be interested in our call to them. It'll detail that they need to use it to contact us, saying that the place is a third party location for us to meet safely, stuff like that." Ashton said.

I hummed. "It's an alright idea, it just might make them skittish about entering a building that they think would probably harbour guns, so they might be scared of the idea of walking into a police station. And really, the biggest thing I'm afraid of happening is some sort of misunderstanding happening, ending in an injury or worse."

Etsu looked away for a split second at that before throwing her idea in. "You s-said you guys met in a mall, right?" She asked, giving her a nod. "What about, y’know, over there? It seems that place might be a-alright to lead them to and meet them at."

The idea rolled around my mind for a few moments. "I actually quite like that idea." I admitted as we made our way into an aisle that contained some of the items we were looking for. "It's an open place that's indoors and a nice area to talk to new people at. Learned that the hard way with these two weirdos."

Etsu grinned but the other two scoffed. "Says literally the biggest weirdo alive." Audrey claimed, which had no effect on me.

"Hey, it's what makes me me, and you know you love it." I replied as the romantic couple scanned over the many types of walkie-talkies that stocked one of the aisle's shelves.

"I mean, you're alright..." Ashton lied, underselling my character, who then left me no time to act offended. "How many of these should we take?"

As he slung his backpack off, I walked up to the shelf to see dozens of the same model of walkie-talkie. "Twenty for now. To cover us and a few possible future members."

With that being said, we did just that where we essentially threw the handheld, portable, and convenient communications devices into a couple of bags. Once that was done, Etsu carried a couple of the charging strips that the devices would be ported on. After we smuggled them back to the car, we found a set of a battery powered two-way radio system almost an hour later. It was hard to find shit in that market, it was almost like a labyrinth, the place almost feeling as if pitch black tentacles could take ahold of you and hold you down within it until you perish (not sexually, fuck off.)... Which was probably true for this market, wouldn't be surprised if that was true.

On our way out, I found an aisle full of buckets of paint which were perfect for walls and wood, the type of paint that Stacy didn’t use since she kept her projects confined to being small and on paper, meaning the industrial stuff wasn't required for her hobby. I swiftly retreived a shopping cart and put a few buckets of bright and contrasting colors within it, the strategy of making our signs an eyesore to catch the eye of anyone being enabled by the selection. After I got a few brushes, the scavenge was essentially over.

"I guess we didn't really need to do any reconnaissance, huh?" I said as we made our way out of the market where we then wasted no time in moving the cans of paint onto the trailer.

"For now, yeah. But as time passes, we're gonna discover more and more of our surroundings, just as a given. I'm just wondering where the next major town is." Ashton replied,

We all got in the car once all the paint was secured, the medium-sized radio stations resting on my lap before we began making our way back home.

"How much mapping has been done using the car?"

"Not much, I've been waiting to get missions like these done first."

"Wise. Though I'm unsure if I should let the car be used for cartography or leave that up to the bikes, all so we can keep the car's miles down."

“Totally get it, man. But hey, we could probably rack up a few thousand miles on this baby without breaking a sweat. Easy cruising, you know?” Audrey replied, which was an alright point. “Can we push it like five or six thousand miles, just to really vibe with where the road takes us? I'm all about exploring the interstate, hitting a few other roads, and seeing where those routes lead, you feel me?”

"Yeah, that sounds alright, just don't go too far, you don’t want to run out of energy twenty miles out. When do you wanna do that?"

"Well, since I'm letting the tillers juice up today, I reckon we can get on that today."

"Make sure you bring enough supplies to map everything out. You even have a way of measuring how far you go, y’know, by seeing whenever the total amount of miles driven ticks up one."

"Now that's a smart thought."

We returned home without any more major conversation, the rest of the ride back having just a bunch of little small talk that didn't really matter. When we returned, we stacked the cans of paint on the porch before me and Etsu took the telecommunication devices to the dining room after leaving the other two to handle where to put the tillers.

Right after Etsu and I put the charging strips and radios on the table, my hands wasted no time by taking the plugs and inserting them into the wall, allowing the port to take its first breath of life after years of being dead. I had taken Ashton's backpack before we departed so I started fishing the walkies out and putting them on the strip.

"Let's hope the batteries on these radios last a long time, it’d be annoying to go to the mall just to charge a battery up even semi-regularly. They should last for a while though, it really only uses electricity when it's being used."

"A-Am I gonna have one when everyone gets one?" Etsu asked after a silent minute while I placed the last walkie on a port where I then noticed a few condoms inside Ashton's backpack.

"Would it be funny if I poked a couple holes in one or two of them? Probably not, but hey, I'd indirectly cause a person to be born, right? So that'd be somewhat cool." I somewhat evilly thought before turning my attention to Etsu. "You're one of us, right?"

She was just a little shocked at my question. "I... guess I am, yeah."

I softly chuckled as I took a seat in my usual spot where I quickly saw the list of names that the others were suggesting for this place. "Would you take an oath to swear undying allegiance to the group?"

"I... would have to think about it, b-but it's not immediately a no."

As I slid the sheet of names over to me, her words gave me the first impression of how newcomers would see such an oath. It was a promising first impression, I just needed to flesh out what the oath would have someone say. I’d also need more reactions from newcomers since one point in a dataset is almost useless.

"Let's see here..." I said, reading the names on the sheet of paper.

The list wasn't that long, there were just a few names. After a minute, Etsu asked, "Which ones do you like that most? Personally, I… I like Solaris the most. It reminds me of... the bright ray of hope that y-you want this place to be."

The reasoning behind her opinion was pretty sturdy, her explanation winning a lot of points for my opinion about the name Solaris. "That's... a really good reason behind that name. Elytrov and Tachyon are pretty good too, but Solaris speaks to me a little more, now that you say that. What would the people be called then? Solars?"

"That seems alright to me. Being called a Solar sounds pretty... awesome, for lack of better words."

"And then I could be called the Sol leader, right?" I thought, which was actually a pretty decent idea, but I kept it to myself. I slid the paper back to the middle of the table. "When these walkies are charged up and we know they work, we'll hand them out, tell them where to charge them, and then I'll call a group meeting by using them to decide the name. I'll also have to come up with a ceremony of sorts and a proper oath of allegiance just to make sure there's a little more to talk about..."

Moments later, I left Etsu to her devices so I could continue getting some work done. That included seeing how Trinity was coming along with the progress of the first sign. But I was shocked to my core when I walked out to the porch to see Nova and Roman face-battling with each other, almost viciously so. I always thought calling ‘making out’ face-battling was quite funny, I should use the term more often.

But yeah, that was a piece of gossip that I was gonna keep to myself. Well, maybe I'd tell Stacy since I tell her just about everything, but that's it. Anyways, it didn't take them long to realize that I had joined them on the porch where the two quickly separated from each other which made me chuckle.

"I don't know why you two are stopping, it's not like I'm one of your guys' dad or care about you doing that. Although you two are probably somewhat new to this whole thing. Don't worry guys, you get used to it, it took Stacy a while to get used to kissing in public even if she still covers our lips when we do it, but I don't mind, it's cute." I didn't leave them enough time to respond before I took off. "And make sure you use condoms and all that stuff when you decide to fuck each other, have fun!" I mainly said that just to fuck with them.

"What the fuck's got you giggling like a tickled funny bone?" Trinity asked as I walked up to her, the woman subtly damp from sweat from her labour intensive task.

"I'll tell you about it later." I lied while she nailed some planks together. "How're the signs comin' along?"

She pointed to one of the already completed signs that laid next to the woodcutting hole before she focused back on her work. "To be honest, somewhat slowly. I need to cut some more fuckin’ trunks into planks, but that takes a while and a lot of fuckin’ effort to put in. And it's not like Stacy or Etsu can help me with that and a lot of the others are out fishing and doing their own jobs... Although Roman's ass has been kinda slacking lately, I might need to pound a more respectable work ethic into his damn head."

"I mean, he might be the one pounding, if you know what I mean." I thought. "As long as the work gets done at a pace that's reasonable and quick, then go ahead."

When she finished nailing another board together, she set the half-made sign down. "Care to help me cut a log or two?"

I really didn't want to, but it seemed fair to throw in some labour to help the woman I was commanding; bless her heart for following the difficult plans that I had crafted up. Unfortunately, they only used the chainsaws to cut down trees since sawing the logs into planks would take up way too much of the charge. It was a fair reason to explain why we still had to manually cut the logs, but I can still complain about it. Anyways, after thirty minutes of helping her make some more planks, I was off to my room to draft up some sort of makeshift ceremony and an oath of allegiance to our soon-to-be-named group.

I wasn't really prepared to see Stacy sitting on her chair and tightly holding her legs to her chest while she rested her forehead between her knees. She didn't move at my arrival, not even when I closed the door. I immediately knew that something wasn't right, a feeling that was instantly confirmed when I heard her sniffle sadly.

"Stacy?" I gently asked as I calmly walked up to her, the girl looking up at me with teary eyes when I got to her side and put a hand gingerly on her back. "What's wrong, my love?" My words prompted another tear to roll down her cheek. The sight made my heart ache; her look of sadness being one that I sought to always comfort.

She gingerly got on her feet and closed the distance between us before the side of her face rested on my chest while her arms softly wrapped around me. I put my arms around her which made the dam burst, a flood of tears escaping her as a result, the scale of her extreme sadness clearly expressing itself to me. While she cried, I slowly ran a hand through her soft hair, put my chin on her head, and very gently swayed her back and forth, allin hopes that I’d be successful in silently telling her how much I love and care about her.

Five minutes later, the strength of her crying began to relent,the following minute seeing the storm of tears calm back down to a quiet sniffle. "Can I pick you up?" I whispered, the girl nodding afterward. I gently and slowly picked her up bridal style where one of her arms wrapped around my neck before she rested her forehead in the crook of my neck. I held her close as I made my way to our bed and sat on it so I could ease the increased amount of weight off of my knees.

I then lovingly nuzzled the top of her head while a silent minute passed by us, the both of us staying just like that which helped soothe her, before a little broken voice spoke up. "I-I love you..."

"I love you too, Stacy, more than anything on Earth... May I ask what's got you so down or would you rather not talk about it at the moment?" I tenderly asked, the girl then taking a deep and shaky breath before slowly releasing it.

"It's... y'know, my birthday's almost here and... I keep thinking about..." She trailed off, but it was enough to know what she was gonna say.

"Your parents aren't here to ruin this for you. I promise I'll make your birthday so nice that you'll forget about them completely."

"I-I know, but, it's not that exactly..."

"Oh? What is it?" I said, completely lost at that point.

She deeply sighed once more. "You... you know how my mom wasn't supposed to have kids...?" I slowly nodded. "I... I wasn't meant to be here... I wasn't wanted and I'm just an accident."

My heart took a hit at that - her words were so wrong from what reality actually is. But she didn't know that, so I had to tell her why she was wrong. "Stacy... Stacy, no, not at all." I leaned back so I could look her in the eyes, the same eyes that got teary again. "You're not just an accident, Stacy. You're an amazing, beautiful, talented girl and so much more. You're my source of happiness and the thing that drives me to do what I do."

She looked away as my words circled around her wounded mind.

"You might be an accident but the truth is, Stacy, we're all accidents whether that be directly or indirectly." I said which made her look back with a confused expression. "It's a long explanation and I can go into detail later, but we're all related to people who lived tens of thousands of years ago... I'm sure they had many children that were accidents, the accidents we're all related to, which means we're all accidents indirectly regardless..."

She didn't look too convinced so I added on some more.

"Even then, I'm so extremely lucky that you defied all odds and managed to get to this point. You were unwanted by your terrible parents but, Stacy, you are the thing that I want the most, to keep you, for my entire life, because I love you so, so much. I love you so much because even though your parents were indescribably awful, you turned out to be the loveliest, sweetest, and most adorable angel that I could've ever met. You're appallingly amazing, Stacy. "

She leaned her head up a tad which prompted me to close the distance between them, my forehead resting on hers, where Stacy deeply relaxed into my touch. "Thank you..." She very quietly said.

We stayed like that for a very long time where her body relaxed even further as the minutes rolled by. I didn't realize she eventually drifted into a slumber since I was also greatly enjoying just holding the little girl.

When I realized she was asleep, I held her for another five minutes before gingerly getting up and setting her down on our bed where I softly kissed her forehead before standing back up. I gently cupped one of her cheeks to brush away any remaining tears there before doing the same for the other one. After wiping my hand off, I decided I was gonna let her sleep for an hour or so.

I wasn't tired, so I sat down in her chair and turned to the desk where I quickly saw a sheet of paper with words that... were quite depressing. There were several repeating words like 'accident, mistake, unwanted', stuff like that, which made my heart ache. I really hoped my talk with her would soothe these emotional scars she had... I needed to heal her mind, I felt obligated to. I'll keep on repeating what I mean until she can accept the truth behind my words.

I sighed and folded the sheet of paper up, not really knowing what to do with it. I set it off to the side after writing 'you are my beautiful, lovely, amazing, little angel that is the engine to my happiness' with a little heart next to it. After that, I grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and got to work drafting up a type of ceremony and an oath that the future members of our group are gonna have to swear.

As I did that, I'd sometimes watch Stacy sleep for a couple minutes to help me think before continuing to write things down. It might be a little creepy, but the sight of her peaceful and elegant form sound asleep calmed my soul.

Coming up with some sort of ceremony was rather difficult, especially how to even begin making it, which is always the hardest part of writing anything. Though when it got rolling, it easily flowed out of my mind since I knew the general idea of what I'd want a new member to say and do, though the whole process took over an hour to complete. Reading it over, I thought that it'd be a tad strange to do at first since we’re still a small enclave of people. But I was hoping that it'd feel more and more official and legitimate as time passed by.

Right before I was finished with the first draft of the 'Oath of Admission', I heard movement from behind me, so I set the pencil down and turned around to see that Stacy had sat up and was rubbing her eyes. "I was just about to get you up... How are you doing?"

She looked at me with weary eyes before she gave me a small smile while she remembered what had happened during the previous hour. After she put her legs over the side of the bed and after a yawn, she said, "I'm feeling better, thanks to you."

She got up and gingerly made her way towards me. I extended my arms out, the girl extending hers out as well, all so we could hold hands as she got in between my legs. I scooted forward which caused the both of us to press our bodies against each other where we then rested a cheek against one another. I slowly nuzzled her, her little hands subtly squeezing mine after a couple of minutes of holding them.

"Can I sit on your lap?" She whispered.

I smiled at her request. "Of course, Stace..."

She gently beamed at that before she made her way onto her desired area to rest. After she settled down, an arm snaked under her knees where I then leaned the both of us back. It had the intended effect of her being leaned back and to the side so we could more easily look each other in the eyes.

Unfortunately, I couldn't gently put a hand on her face since my other arm was wrapped around her torso to tightly hold her, so I was forced to just nuzzle her face which caused her to lightly giggle. I kissed her cheek after a minute of nuzzling so I could lean back a tad and repeat a message to her.

"You truly are so extremely beautiful in so many ways, Stacy... And you truly are the best thing to ever happen to my life."

She took a couple of seconds to reply. "You are too, Hunter..." Her lip quivered for just a second. "You've... you've made me so happy-." She couldn't hold back some tears as she finished her sentence, the girl hugging me as she quietly cried once again. She only cried for a couple minutes that time, not having that many tears left to cry. I was just happy that they were happy tears this time, the tears warming my heart for the reason behind them

I kissed her forehead. "And you have too... and I plan to keep you happy."

We stayed in the loving embrace for another few minutes before she relented a bit to wipe her cheeks off of any tears, the girl then looking at me again with her stunning eyes. I decided to nuzzle her with the tip of my nose, my nose rubbing against hers, her cheeks, and then her top lip. It only took me a few more seconds after that to passionately kiss her, the kiss staying intimate and overflowing with the immense amount of love we have for each other.

She put a hand on my cheek as we relaxed into the act as time seemingly slowed down. As the minutes rolled by while in the kiss, my heart kept fluttering as I kept remembering just how much I love Stacy. She was just so... I can't even put it into words. She's everything I ever wanted and so much more.

When it ended after several long minutes, she rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes with a gentle smile. I relaxed back into the chair so I could get more comfortable since I knew I'd be holding the precious girl for a decent amount of time. Which I didn't complain in the slightest about since having many sedentary moments like that with Stacy and making sure to thoroughly enjoy them is what having a relationship is about, to not get tired of each other's company, to always want and look forward to slow and intimate moments... And I did, craved them, and never took them for granted, just as she did. Anything less would be a red flag, honestly.

"Your smell is so nice... It is weird to say it calms me?" She asked with a little giggle.

"No, not at all. Your smell's pretty good too. It's a shame you don't really smell all that often for me to enjoy it..."

She stifled a laugh. "I dunno why I'm asking the weird guy if what I'm doing is weird or not..."

"Nothing's weird about what we've discussed. You like what you like, right?"

She nuzzled my shoulder. "Yes." A few minutes later, she glanced at the sheets of paper I had been writing on. "What're you doing anyways?"

I efficiently explained to her my ideas and read the oath out to her, the girl soaking up every word, intently listening to me. "What do you think?"

"It's... cool. I think that having them swear to us makes it to where they kinda can't leave us... Though it does sound a little scary with what would happen if you break the oath, but I get it."

And that's all the confirmation I needed; her words having more merit and weight than anyone else in the group by a few thousand miles. But even then, as a leader, I have to ask for other opinions since I can’t be wholly biased. After her words, I properly sat her down on my lap so I could finish writing and revising the oath, which while doing so my nose stayed in her hair so I could have her scent flow through me and comfort me as I finished the writing. Keeping an arm around her belly also comforted me even further since keeping the girl close like that was always such a phenomenal feeling.

When I was done writing, I set the pencil down and wrapped my other arm around her belly where I then deeply breathed in through my nose, causing her to giggle. I started to get a tad hard at the subtlety of these actions which gently tugged my mind in that direction of thinking. I had been suppressing certain thoughts even though I didn't particularly want to rail her at that moment. I guess the intimacy just turned me on, but not in a lustful way if that makes any sense. It probably only turned me on in the sense that I just so deeply enjoyed doing little affectionate acts that fed the immense cravings my mind wanted.

After I took a few deep sniffs of her hair, I put my head over her shoulder so I could nuzzle her cheek and kiss it, the girl enjoying my little acts, though I just got even harder. She must've felt it pressing against her because she said, "I don't really want to have sex at the moment..."

"You don't have to sound afraid or hesitant to say that, Stace, I'll always understand. Although I must say, I also don't want to have sex." I replied, the girl getting confused at that. I explained to her what I already wrote down, the girl liking the explanation.

"Oh... Well, I like how hard I make you and how it happens because you enjoy doing things with me."

I chuckled at her response, the sentence being vague about a lot of things. "It happens all the time, I'm surprised you haven't noticed. Especially when we're kissing or cuddling." It was true, I pretty much got non-lustfully aroused every time we kissed. It was a tad annoying, but it is what it is.

"Sometimes I have. I just didn't say anything since... Well, I do feel a bit bad when I say I don't want to have sex."

That explanation alarmed me just a tad. So I gently explained why she shouldn't feel like that. "What? No, don't ever feel that way, please. Like I said, I'll always understand if you don't wanna do it, you want what you want."

She rotated a tad more toward me so she could nuzzle her cheek against my neck. "I know, I know, you've said that so many times now... And I love you for being like that. The reason I feel bad is because... I mean, you want to feel nice because of me, right? So when I don't give you what you want... y'know, you don't feel nice?"

The struggle she had while explaining what she was thinking was so adorable. I kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then her lips for a few seconds before replying. "It's not like it wouldn't happen later, so don't worry your pretty little head about it."

She took a few seconds to think about it. "...Okay, but I'm still probably gonna feel bad in some ways." There wasn't really much else I could say. I tried tackling the problem as best as I could, but there are some things that would just take time to solve themselves.

She stayed on my lap for another thirty minutes, the both of us nuzzling, hugging, and kissing each other upon other little acts of affection. "There's a couple things I need to do. Oh, there’s actually something I need you to do as well, if you wouldn't mind."

She cutely tilted her head. "What's that?"

"One of the signs is complete. I need you to start painting on it so we can get closer to getting more friends. I got you some type of paint that I don't think you're used to. It should last much longer than what you would've otherwise put on it, if I didn't get it for you."

Her ears perked up at that before she excitedly got off my lap, the girl intrigued to mess about with some new type of paint. She snatched the design that she had made for the signs and made her way out of the room. I chuckled as I got up while she already started making her way down the stairs. She quickly came to realize that she had no clue where the paint I had referred to was, so she waited for me to get down the stairs before hugging me and saying, "I forgot to ask where the paint is."

I hugged her back and chuckled before leading her to where the supplies were located a few seconds later. She tilted her head when she saw the cans and knelt down to see what the colors were. She grinned when she saw that they were the colors that she needed, though she looked confused as she tried finding any mechanism to open the can.

"...How do you open it?"

"With a screwdriver. We should take them over to where you're gonna be painting first so you don't accidentally spill any of it on the porch or anywhere else like it for that matter." I advised.

"Oh, right."

She wanted to work next to Trinity so she'd be able to get straight to work on any signs that Trinity finished as soon as possible. After we moved a few buckets of paint in her desired area, I fetched a screwdriver and showed her how to open the cans. With yet another affectionate kiss on her forehead, I went back up to our room and grabbed the plans for member admission and took it down to the dining table where I spotted that the walkie-talkies were fully charged. I tested one by speaking into it, the rest having all been tuned into the same frequency, so I heard my voice about twenty times saying the same thing. It was a little loud.

Ashton's backpack was resting in a chair, so I picked it up and put thirteen of them in it and slung it over my shoulder. As I entered the living room, the only person I saw was Nova who was writing on a sheet of paper. It was then I realized how quiet the house was. "...Where is everyone?" I asked which gently caused Nova to jump a tad due to how deeply she was focused into her work.

"Oh, uh... I think everyone's out working in some way... besides me." She answered as I walked up to her.

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked as I looked down at the sheet of paper, though she covered it in a shy way. "Perhaps writing a story?"

"I... yeah." She confirmed as her arm slid back down to her side. "Like I said before, I'm not really that much of a sharer..."

I sat down next to her, leaving a few inches of space between us, before I set Ashton's backpack on my lap. "I understand. But like I've said before, I'm not someone who's a rude criticizer." She still looked pretty shy at that. Her timidness really shines bright when you talk about her writing. "Here, this is gonna come in handy in a bit." I said as I took a walkie-talkie out and handed it to her.

She gave it a strange look before taking it out of my hand. "Do you still want to read my stories...?"

"It'd be a way to pass the time for a bit. There's no more books in this house that I haven't read and that trip to the library was strictly only to get books for work purposes, so there's that." I answered as she set the talkie to her side.

She looked down at her pages for a quiet second. "I'm still writing this one, it's about someone losing all hope in their life until they find someone that helps them through their internal struggle."

"That sounds oddly familiar..." I thought. "I'd love to read something made by you when you're done. I assume that's the one you want me to read first?"

She nodded. "Yes, since it's my latest one, meaning it's the one made with the most experience."

"Makes sense. Does Roman not read what you write?"

"He does... But I'm not sure if he's being completely honest with me since he's my... boyfriend, y'know, so he might lie to be nice."

"What are the reviews like?"

She chuckled. "He says they're pretty well made and I should be more open about them... I'm just too shy about it."

"I get it, it takes a lot to share something you're passionate about at first."

There wasn't that much conversation had after that, so I got up a couple minutes later just as Ashton and Audrey walked into the house. I called them over and handed them both a walkie-talkie and told all three of them that the devices are theirs and it’s their responsibility to keep charged, not to damage it, and to not lose it. I was gonna have to explain that to everyone which I knew was gonna be annoying, but simple and brief.

"We're hitting the hay early tonight 'cause we gotta get that ground tilled pronto tomorrow. No slacking off on this one, man." Audrey announced.

I nodded, pleased with those words, before I made my way outside to Stacy and Trinity. I gave them both a handheld radio and told them the gist. Stacy's first sign was coming along, albeit, slowly and wasn't perfect. She'd have to get more used to the paint to be more effective and efficient at it, but as it was, it was looking pretty good. It was laying on the ground so the paint wouldn't drip over itself... and the messages were gonna need a lot of tedious work put into them.

The second of eight signs was completed as well; it should only take another day or two for them all to be completed. Well, maybe three or four. We first had to delegate which sign would go where and create a little map from that point to the mall. We'd need Stacy's delicate hands to do that, for sure.

I returned to the porch and waited for everyone to return. I wasn't gonna waste my energy searching for them when they'd all eventually come to me, not to mention that Kai and whoever he chooses to hunt with sometimes go pretty far so it would've been futile regardless. And so the amount of walkies I had dwindled and dwindled as people returned, the hours slowly ticking away as the sun made it trudge through the sky toward the horizon.

Of course, I didn't just stand there that entire time. Stacy eventually came by after she painted both of the signs and started waiting for more to be constructed. I also went upstairs to retrieve my journal to write in it for the day's events... which is what I'm doing right now, it's the same day. So I'm gonna come back when the day's over so I can continue writing.

But yes, it only took another hour after that point for everyone to have been flagged down and handed a communications device, the entire crew all now being connected through the pieces of technology. I made my way into the dining room and used the walkie-talkie to call a group meeting. It took around ten minutes for everyone to trickle into the dining room where the meeting commenced right after the last person entered the room.

"Alright, let's get down to business. First thing's first, these walkies are strictly for conveying important information. Always be tuned into the first frequency so you'll hear any important information that'll be conveyed on it. And important information is stuff like someone asking for another person to help them, ask if someone's got something done, and in my case, to check in on progress or make an order for someone to do something. No casual talk through them, alright?"

"Yep, this is a very smart move." Olivia said after there was a general consensus that they understood my words.

"Audrey here's gonna lead the charge in us starting to cultivate the ground tomorrow. If anyone can tomorrow, after fishing, hunting, and the like, I'd like for everyone to chip in. The sooner we cultivate the ground, the sooner we can have an abundance of fruits and vegetables to eat."

"I feel like I'm pretty much gonna be obsolete after that point..." Nova honestly commented.

I tilted my head. "Why's that?"

"I'm the one that goes into the forest to gather as many fruits and vegetables as I can find. It's what I do best, at least at the moment."

"I see... Well, I'm sure you're still gonna find some unique fruits and the like over time. I'd just like you to delegate your time and strength into possibly being another assistant to Trinity or something like that in the meantime."

"Hey, that's a good fuckin’ idea. Roman here's been slacking off quite a bit, I might even replace him with you." Trinity announced, causing a few of us to giggle.

"That's actually an alright idea... Not replacing Roman, just helping you out." Nova replied which made me lightly smile.

"Well, there you go. I just warn you that it's a pretty physical job... I'm not sure how Trinity does it." I announced which caused the woman I was referring to to playfully scoff.

"To be fair, I don't know how she does it either." Charlotte said.

"Anyways, back on topic. The signs are coming along now. Trinity, how long do you think it will be until you make all eight of them?"

"With another assistant...? Untrained that is, then probably two days, maybe three. It really fuckin’ depends on how fast we can make these annoying ass planks."

I nodded. "That's a good time frame. Stacy here will have them painted as they come, so the day after they're all complete is probably when we'll set them up. The radios are already charged so we'll set up the meeting place the day the signs are made to just have it prepared for newcomers as soon as possible."

"How confident are you that we'll be able to support more people?" Kai asked.

I took a few seconds to think about the question. "It's most likely going to be a little shaky for the first two or so months, assuming we get a couple of people that take the chance to come meet us. Willow, I want you to produce a lot more fish traps, more sophisticated ones now that we have the tools to do so."

She took a second to get over the shock of her name being called. "Right, I can definitely start making some more efficient designs... I probably should've started doing that sooner."

"Now onto the more 'political' part of this meeting... It's time to decide on a name for this place. As you can see, the list is here. I'll read 'em out so y'all can know what the suggestions are, then we can discuss which names are the best choices."

There were only eight suggestions so there wasn't that many to choose from. The discussion was long and not that worthy to write down, but we swiftly cut the suggestions down to the two that caught most of our attention. And those two options were Olympus and Solaris. We were pretty split on which one we wanted to choose and after about ten minutes of a few of us expressing why we liked each name, we put it down to a vote. And it was pretty close after all the votes were tallied up five minutes later.

It was eight to six for Solaris, eliminating its opponent as the majority of the people spoke their minds. I smiled as I read off the results since the choice I wanted to win had claimed its victory. I then set the paper down after some of them expressed their reactions to either victory or defeat, but in the end both of the names were pretty good. It's just that Solaris was better.

"Here on April fifth, 2027, the name Solaris for our small hamlet was determined, officially making us an established group on the Earth." I announced to the rest, feeling proud of our group.

"...Olivia, do you regret giving him the leadership yet?" Willow asked, getting a few of the others to chuckle and giggle at her words.

"Nope, not at all. Each day that passes is a day where my belief in that decision strengthens." She replied after chuckling at Willow's rude words.

I nodded at her with a grin. "Thank you very much." I turned to Willow afterwards. "I'm just putting on a small show to make it sound official."

"Seems a bit odd though, huh? Just us, a tiny crew, out here in the middle of nowhere." Audrey admitted.

I just shrugged. "For now, yeah, we're just a small group. Only time will tell if we grow in number... Speaking of which, I drafted up an idea of taking an oath, to swear undying allegiance to Solaris." It felt weird but good to refer to our place as our new official name. It sounded... futuristic, in a way. I explained to them why I had come up with an oath. "Even though it's just words, it'll be backed up by our power and they'll know that. The message of the oath will be 'if you break the oath, we break your face'."

There were a few chuckles at that, though Charlotte wasn't quite sure about it. "Should we really threaten people to stay with us? It doesn't seem right..."

I quietly sighed at her question. "Unfortunately, some things are gonna have to be done for the greater good. We're not gonna have the ability to let people go if they choose to take the oath and later leave, mainly due to it being a risk to our safety. The oath itself will be a choice, a choice we'll try our hardest to convince them to choose and not leave any details out on letting them know what they're getting into. And after you take it, leaving us will just not be a choice. When you're one of us, you're one of us until you die."

"It does make sense..." Jordan replied. "Hunter and I previously spoke about how dire it is that we find and keep people. Spiritually locking them in and giving them a sense of duty, a sense of belonging, responsibility, and loyalty is the way to go about it."

"And as long as we keep building Solaris up, newcomers are going to want to be one of us, to not leave. Although it's basically inevitable that there'll be defects eventually and we'll deal with that once that problem rolls around. But this is a good first step to prevent that from happening, at least delay it in some way." I explained.

"Sounds good so far... Didn't you say there'd be some sort of ceremony for admission?" Olivia asked.

"I did and I crafted one up. The premise is to take the oath upon a book that I'll write. It'll be about our short history, promises for the future, and the rules of Solaris that I'll firmly establish within it. Does anyone object?"

"Are we gonna get any say in establishing the rules?" Ashton asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Whenever I establish the rules that I'm gonna make, I'll lay them out here on the table. There'll be a sheet of paper for amendments and suggestions if any of you choose to speak up. After a few days of suggestions being written down, we'll all meet again to vote whether to pass it or not. Does that sound good?"

With no objections being voiced, I adjourned the meeting before feeling proud that we got a lot discussed. It wasn't that much compared to other things, but it was all definitely important to talk about, to get things rolling along ever faster within our community. I was happy that Solaris finally had a proper name. Now all that we had to do was use it so it'd stop sounding weird whenever it was referred to as Solaris.

The day didn't have that much more in store. Stacy and I went out fishing, a couple games were played, and the ideas for the book I was gonna write floated around my mind. I went to sleep early that night because Audrey advised me to if I wanted to help cultivate the ground, which I did, so I went to sleep at ten o'clock. No dreams had but a cute little Stacy did wake me up sometime later when she slipped into bed where my arms then wrapped around her while I remained both excited and dreadful of the next day's work, just wondering when the first newcomer would discover one of our signs...

Chapter 30: Cultivated Love

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

Audrey wasn't playing around when she said that we'd be getting up early. It was seven thirty when I managed to slip out of bed. I wanted to stay there holding my precious Stacy for another hour more but unfortunately work was calling my name... or more specifically, Audrey was. The day was finally the day in which we'd start cultivating the ground so after I got over not being able to hold Stacy I got excited and ready for the day's work.

After eating a quick meal of venison which we had started storing in the freezer, Audrey, Ashton, Kai, and I headed out to the backyard where I saw twenty or so flowerpots in a neat line, the process of something growing in them having been started. I already knew what was planted so I didn't ask about it. Kai and I were gonna be working together to remove the grass that the tillers would dig up to prevent the grass from adapting and growing on the tilled soil. We didn't want the grass to be taking any vital nutrients the crops would need to grow. So he took the wheelbarrow and I got the shovel so we could work together on dumping the unwanted grass elsewhere.

The other two got half of the tillers and made their way to one of the many outlined areas where crops were planned to be. And they were decently sized, I can't even put in an accurate guess but they would definitely feed a lot of people throughout the course of the year. When the romantic couple got to the first designated area they wasted no time in starting the tillers up before getting to work on digging and tearing grass and soil up and out of the way. As they moved forward, Kai and I followed from behind, the shovel I was carrying being used to shovel the grass into the sizable wheelbarrow. It was then that I realized how tiresome that it was gonna make me. Sure, I was fine then, but I knew hours of doing that task was gonna be exhausting.

As I continued filling the wheelbarrow up I just thought of the possibilities of the future and wondered how big Solaris might get. I liked the thought of that so when my body began to start feeling the effects of the labour I focused on why we were doing the task. The thought process was to grow food for more people so we can grow and eventually get to the point of that village that Stacy and I want. She was another thing that I kept thinking about and what kept me going. As we filled a few loads of wheelbarrows up the thought of my lovely little Stacy warmed my heart and fueled me. I had to put in the amount of effort I was putting in to make her happy. And that's what my ulterior goal is, to make her happy, she deserves every bit of it and then some.

So as the hours rolled by of Kai and I swapping jobs I got more and more exhausted from the intensive task but I pushed through it. It's not like I was alone with the suffering. The other men with me were as well but somehow Audrey wasn't. I assumed it's because she used to do such tasks all the time as a girl and young woman. But eventually we took a thirty minute break to calm down, get some water, all that stuff which was brutally needed by the time Audrey allowed us to do so. When I walked back inside the house it was twelve o'clock. I was sure Audrey wanted to work for many more hours so I knew not to mess around and got a large cup of water before downing the liquid so I could sweat some more when later came as I continued the tilling task.

I was thankful that it was early spring and not summer, I'm sure I would've had a heat stroke an hour into helping them make the farms. As it was, it was a cool fifteen degrees Celsius but I was sweating regardless. As I've said many times before, I'm not really a strong person and definitely much weaker than what I should be. Maybe I should scavenge some workout equipment so I could build some muscle mass? That's definitely a thought to think of later.

Anyways, after I drank that cup of water I felt much better and I felt even better when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my abdomen. I looked down to see the most beautiful girl in the world grinning up at me. I turned to her and hugged her before hunching down a bit so I could rest my chin on her head.

"Good morning, my love. I'd apologize about the sweat but I don't think you mind..."

She was deeply breathing through her nose as I said that, the girl deeply enjoying the scent I gave off. Which I thought was a bit funny because I was sure I reeked to the others... but shouldn't we be immune to body odor at this point since we haven't had things like deodorants in years? Eh, that was besides the point, I quite liked how Stacy thoroughly enjoyed how I smelled as the pheromones did their work in making her even more attracted to me.

She just continued taking calm and slow breaths on me. I let her do so as I dug my nose in her hair to smell her as well, I thought it was fair. But it was just a bit weird, right? The two of us just smelling each other. I mean, it was kind of intimate, I guess, but I've never seen any couple do it. Maybe it's a thing close couples only do in secrecy? Because if so we were breaking that rule by doing it right in the open.

After a few minutes I put my hands on her jawline and directed her lightly smiling face to look up at me. "Have you had your fill yet?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Hm... no. You smell too good to not be smelling so I'll continue until you don't anymore."

I eskimo kissed her before actually kissing her softly for a couple of minutes. "I'm gonna need to go back out there to continue tilling and cultivating the ground in a few minutes."

"Aw, but I wanna be with you for more than just a few minutes..."

I pecked the tip of her nose. "We will, later. Cultivating the ground is really important to getting to that village we want and I gotta do this for that to happen, right?"

She slowly nodded. "But can't someone else do it instead...?"

I chuckled. "No can do, little miss. Sure, someone's gonna replace me eventually, just not any time soon. We need to put in as much work as we can to get these farms up and growing as soon as possible."

She lightly sighed. "Okay, I understand... promise to cuddle for a while when you're done?"

"Yep, I promise." I answered, the girl lightly giggling when I rubbed her cheek with the tip of my nose.

After silently enjoying each other's embrace and scent once again for ten or so minutes I was back in the field with the gang picking up where we left off. It was a lot more of the same but Ashton and Audrey had to swap their tillers out for the other two to let the others charge back up. I was sure by the time the charge on the fresh ones they were using ran out the old ones would be charged up again so it worked out well.

Another exhausting three hours rolled by of hard work before Jordan replaced me for the day, a lot of progress being completed on the field in the time I put in. Even though we had put in a lot of effort into cultivating the ground there was still a large amount needed to be done since the first field was only about halfway done. Audrey thought about manual techniques of cultivating so more people could work all at once but she put a pin in it.

When I got back in the house I somewhat sluggishly looked for my Queen but she wasn't in any of the rooms. After that failed search attempt I went through the front door and around the house to see that she was painting on another one of the signs giving it her beautiful design she had made. I noticed that it was the fourth sign that she was working on, the task for creating signs about to enter the latter half of its life. At least for now.

She was engrossed in her work the girl not even realizing that I came up behind her who was on her knees and leaning over the sign to work on. Thankfully Trinity wasn’t there so I just watched her rump wiggle as she worked, the girl washing the brush off when needed to select another color, her hands expertly replicating the design nearly perfectly.

When she put the brush down and sat on her knees to thoroughly look over the sign I got on my knees behind her which prompted her to look behind her. She squeaked in surprise when my arms wrapped around her abdomen before a smile appeared on her lips as I took a couple small steps with my knees to eliminate the space between our bodies. She leaned back into me as we deeply kissed each other before my hands slipped under her shirt so the palm of my hands could feel her soft belly.

When the kiss broke I kept my forehead on hers to keep it intimate and kept my voice quiet. "It's looking good, Stace. I thank you for helping us make these signs..."

"It's nothing compared to what you're doing... I can tell you're tired." She quietly replied back, causing me to nuzzle her a tad.

"That's not completely true. What you're doing is just as, if not, more important than what I'm doing. So I deeply appreciate it. How much longer do you think this one's gonna take?"

"Ten or fifteen more minutes maybe... Snuggle after I'm done with this one?" She replied with a small giggle.

"I'd never say no."

After another soft kiss I backed up and let her finish her work. I intently watched her hands deftly use the paintbrush to create the abstract attention seeker and when she was done she put the lids to all of the buckets of paint back on and left the brushes on top of them. Afterward she got up on her feet to walk over to me and hug me.

It didn't take her long to slip from my arms before a hand of hers held mine as she led the way up all the way to our room to our favorite snuggle spot. By then we always kept blankets and pillows up there so we swiftly got comfortable and close to one another, this time my Queen wanting to face me. My legs were around her as she was cross-legged between them, the girl resting her face on my chest as she intently enjoyed the scent I gave off once more. I kept my arms around her torso with my nose buried into her hair as I smelled the light and attractive scent she gave off as well, the both of us greatly relaxing into the smells we emitted once more.

Eventually I leaned back and kissed her forehead before trailing those kisses down to the tip of her nose before kissing her smiling lips, my tongue then rubbing against them and her teeth for a minute before her tongue shyly contacted mine. At this point I had been erect since affectionate cuddling has that effect on me. But her soft tongue rubbing against mine started putting genuine small amounts of lust into the equation.

I love holding her and kissing her like that with my arms tightly wrapped around her torso so she'd stay close to me, it's so very nice. I ceased the tongue rubbing after five minutes of thoroughly enjoying it so I could continue kissing her, Stacy not objecting as our kissing session continued... and it did for another ten minutes before we stopped where she placed her head back down on my chest.

She lightly sighed in delight afterwards as she nuzzled my chest. "I love this so much..."

"I love doing anything when it involves you so much... Everything with you is just the best feeling ever..." I replied before a silence emerged between us. I eventually felt her arms unwrap from around me a few minutes later.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She leaned back and looked up at me, her right hand placing itself on my chest where that hand then slowly draped down my body until it contacted the bulge in my pants, the something within it desperately asking to be let free. "You're... really hard." She pointed out, her hand on the bulge staying light.

I chuckled. "I know and it's alright if you don't want to have sex... I'm pretty wore out anyways."

She thought about my words as her hand lightly pressed into the bulge where my tip was which caused me to lightly grunt at the minute amount of pleasure traveling through it. She pressed her hand into me again just a tad harder which made the pressure in my pants start to hurt since my phallus was so confined and compacted inside the fabric.

She adopted a small blush. "You’ve worked so hard today though and I want to... lick it." She admitted as she pressed her hand into me again.

"Are you sure? You sound a little uncertain..." She nodded. "Alright... Go at your own pace, I won't do anything to make you uncomfortable about it." It’s not like I was gonna deny a curious and intrigued girl who wanted to suck my dick.

She scooted back from me and got off the window bay and turned to me. "I wanna do it here."

I chuckled. "In front of the window when it's day time?"

"No one will be able to see anything if you turn my way..." She said which was a great point.

I wasted no time in enacting upon her suggestion where she then made her way in between my legs, the girl kissing me afterward as she took the lead. I really liked how she did that since the girl was usually the submissive one so the change in pace turned me on even more. Though since this was her first time doing something like that she didn't really know what to do.

"Do I... should I get on my knees and then... take your pants off?"

I chuckled at her adorableness and the uncertainty in her voice. I eskimo kissed her as I answered her question. "Yep, I'll help you with it."

She took a pillow and put it on the floor before gently getting on her knees, the pillow cushioning her so it wouldn't hurt after a while. One of her hands delicately and somewhat shakily went up to the button of my jeans. She undid it and the zipper a few seconds afterward. I helped her pull down my pants and boxers below my hips where my cock then sprung to action in front of her face, the girl being somewhat mesmerized by it.

"It's... so much bigger up close." She said as she scooted herself forward.

"And you're so much smaller when you're right next to it." I thought as one of her timid hands approached my phallus, her soft and little digits taking a delicate hold of me around the base, directing it down a bit. This reminded of the first time she touched my cock... That was the best sex I've ever had by miles. But that doesn't undermine any other sexual experience I've had with her as they're all phenomenally great. That first time will always have a very special place in my mind. Anyways, I got off topic.

"And now I just... start licking it?" She asked, sounding like she was asking for permission.

I lightly put a hand on the side of her face. "Well, at the beginning, yes. Then you're supposed to put the tip of it in your mouth and slowly go down it so I can put the entire thing inside you... But you don't need to do that if you want."

She lightly gulped before her face started leaning toward the cock that twitched in anticipation, her tongue then poking out and contacting the middle of the stiff phallus with the tip of her warm tongue. She hesitated for a bit before draping her tongue up to the head of my shaft, a small grunt escaping me at the desired feeling.

She stopped for a second to actually taste what her tongue had touched before her timid tongue contacted me again, the appendage a little more confident about the situation. When her second lap was completed she stuck her tongue out even farther so more area of her tongue could be applied on my stiff member.

Though she stopped for a few seconds to press my cock against her face, the girl deeply taking a whiff of my cock which caused her to shiver as she let it go. “It smells so fucking good…” I chuckled as she took another deep breath.

After a dozen and a half thorough licks that side of my cock was decently dampened with her saliva. She then surprisingly kissed the head of my shaft which felt quite strange. She giggled, the little devil, before kissing it again a couple of times. The sight of her doing it as she looked up at me was enthralling.

She continued lightly kissing my tip for a few seconds. After a long and strong kiss she timidly encompassed it with her plush lips who started lightly sucking which was a completely unique feeling than any other that she had given me. I quietly moaned as her little sucks continued, the hand that had been holding the base of my shaft lightly squeezing me as she continued looking up at me with her flawless blue eyes.

"Can I put my hands on your head?" I gently asked, the girl nodding with my tip lodged in between her lips. "Please be careful with your teeth, I know you don't mean it since this is your first time doing this..." I advised as I gently put my hands on either side of her head before her mouth opened up a bit so her teeth would stop contacting my tip. "Am I free to guide you down? I'll be slow, you can come back up whenever you want..."

She nodded again giving me the permission to slowly start pushing her head down where my shaft then began to delve into her virgin oral cavity. Her lips stayed tight around my member before her tongue curled up on me as her tongue got rougher on my tip as I slowly guided her down. I closed my eyes to relax into the feeling and grunting when it felt like I needed to. I was sure she greatly enjoyed watching me enjoy what she was doing to me and hearing my grunts of pleasure, she said that it really turned her on so I went out of my way to be a bit more vocal when we did anything sexual.

After the second inch delved into her mouth is when the problem of her not knowing how to properly suck a cock kicked into play. She hummed which made me slow her descent on my dick slow down before she gagged just a tad when the third inch of me entered her. Being so deep inside her mouth felt so insanely fantastic as her little sucks didn't relent while her tongue rubbed against my shaft, the moist heat telepathically telling me to thrust into her. But I fought off that want, I didn't want to do that to her, that'd be a terrible thing to do.

At that point I was surprised she allowed me to push her down, the girl impressing me as she sucked a bit harder which I took as my cue to continue her descent down. She gagged pretty hard as my fourth and a half inch slowly submerged into her since my glans hit the back of her throat causing a louder moan to escape me since her squishy throat rubbed my tip.

She pulled back a tiny bit which made my grip on her head lighten where Stacy's light sucking then had the effect of some precum drip from my tip onto the back of her tongue, the girl then instinctively trying to swallow it which felt jarring but in a great way.

"Stacy, you're so fucking good at this!" I couldn't help but say as she continued her gentle little sucks staying in place.

Sure, she wasn't really doing all that much but goddamn, every little thing she was doing was phenomenal, like she was a natural at being able to suck a phallus. I loved the visual of her lips tightly clung around my shaft as she wore an expression of intrigue and happiness. "You're such a good girl." I couldn't help but say.

She giggled at my words as her sucking started to get a little harder causing my cock to twitch as her saliva spread onto my member giving it a thin coat of the warm substance before a little more precum dripped out of me as she continued picking up strength in her sucking. I then suddenly felt her other hand gently contact my testicles where her fingers softly took hold of them and very gently squeezing which felt... nice in a way. Only because the most vulnerable part of my body was in the hand of the one I trusted the most who made sure to delicately caress them.

"Can I... help you do something to make this better?" I asked which received another nod from her. My hands on her head tightened slightly and started to lift her head up my cock until her lips tightly clung around the very tip of the head of my shaft. "Keep your mouth open and lips around me..." I reminded as I brought her head back down. "Continue sucking..."

I moaned again as I brought her four inches back down before lifting her head up again. After five or so iterations of the movement she got the idea and started moving her head for me, the girl's soft gag slowly subsiding as she continued giving me the pleasure I deeply desired.

My shaft was pretty wet with her saliva in the following few minutes where a little slurp sound started emitting from where the action was happening as she continued sucking me. It didn't really take me much longer to cum, only around seven minutes in total of watching the little girl suck me passed by before my end quickly reared its head.

"I-I'm gonna cum, Stacy- Do you want to stop before I do or do you wanna taste it?" The question made her slow down a tad before picking up speed much faster than what she was going previously. I took that as her answer and closed my eyes again to deeply relax into the feeling of her cum-hungry mouth.

I moaned audibly as I came really hard into her mouth, ecstatic that I was claiming another one of her holes, the load feeling amazing to release after a day of hard work. She gently squeezed my testicles as the first two wads of my semen ejected straight into the back of her throat before her tongue pushed up against the tip of my shaft so I'd continue cumming on the roof of her mouth as she pulled back a bit. My semen painted the roof of her mouth before falling onto her tongue. She made sure to suck and rub her tongue on my glans as I came to make it feel as pleasant as possible to make sure she left no cum inside me and to drain me. She then slowly lifted her head back all the way back up to my tip while sucking just a bit hard to make sure all the saliva and semen would be in her mouth.

When my orgasm ceased the hand at the base of my cock lightly squeezed up my shaft to squeeze the semen that was still in it out like a tube of toothpaste and onto her tongue, the girl still not swallowing my load. When her hand squeezed all the way up my shaft I squirmed just a tad, my cock oversensitive to sensation. She pulled away completely as she looked up at me with a small smile.

"Does it... does it taste good?" I asked as my cock started softening.

She slowly nodded as the girl had some difficulty not swallowing what was on the back of her throat. She started to move her tongue around to savour the white and thick liquid that entered her mouth, Stacy somewhat swishing it as she greatly enjoyed the taste of my seed. Watching her do so filled me with a bit of lust so I put my hands back on both sides of her head.

"You're such a good girl for not spitting it out and actually savouring my seed..." I kissed her forehead. “Open your mouth, I want to see it inside you…”

She did so which revealed a white mess causing the lust to explode in my mind. I was so happy that I was the one that unloaded my seed into her previously innocent mouth… it was so hot to me. It was a real shame I didn’t have a camera to take a picture of it. Instead, I got a thorough look before letting her close her mouth to enjoy tasting my seed some more.

It only took her a couple of minutes longer to reluctantly swallow since she wanted to taste it for longer before my semen quickly made its way down her esophagus. She stood up which forced my hands to relocate to her hips instead. "So, was that all alright?" I asked, wanting to make sure she enjoyed it.

"Yes, and much better than I expected... It was hard trying to put it in at first but I wanted to make you feel nice so I powered through it. You... deserve to feel nice after working so hard today. And I had fun too, it definitely... tasted so good. Can I do it some more in the future?"

I chuckled. "Yes... But only when you don't want sex and I'm horny, how does that sound?"

"I... would like that." She said with a smile.

"Are you horny?" I asked the flushed girl.

"...A bit. The smell and feeling of your penis in my mouth and your moans were so… fucking hot." She admitted which prompted me to delicately pull her pants down, the girl allowing it as I lowered her pants beneath her pelvis.

Her folds were engorged so she was much more horny than just 'a bit'. After that realization I slid her pants all the way off, stood up, and hugged her. After lifting her up her legs wrapped around me as I carried her to our bed. I sat down and scooted back to the middle of it before laying down with her on my belly.

She lightly ground on my belly, the girl getting some horny girl liquid on me which was a bit hot so I let her do that for a couple of minutes. "Get over my face, I'll give you the thing you're craving."

She complied by quickly making her way across my body so she could station her groin above my head. I tightly held her hips to keep her in place before leaning my head up so I could thoroughly sniff the scent her slit emitted which stoked a bit of arousal. I slowly let the breath go while shivering a tad where I then sniffed again a couple of times so I could enjoy it as much as I could. After that I delicately kissed her clit. I continued kissing her swollen love button which caused her to start cutely grunting and moaning before my tongue lovingly curling around it.

I continued making out with her clit and tasting her juices for a few minutes before rubbing it with my tongue by sticking it out as far as I could so I could rub it with a rougher part of my tongue to cause her to moan and grunt even more, wanting her to cum to make the treatment of her fair. Not much happened really after she took her shirt off, it was just ten minutes of me lovingly getting her to the point where she got to cum as the girl ground my face as she rode her orgasm. After another five minutes she came again where the girl was satisfied with the amount of pleasure after that.

She returned back down to my belly and asked me to take my shirt off. I complied which made her lay down on me right afterward, her soft belly and breasts pressing into me which felt extremely nice. I wrapped my arms around her as she closed her eyes and nuzzled my chest, her pussy also feeling quite nice pressing against my belly.

Describing all of it, the little girl laying on me naked, as 'nice' doesn't properly describe it, it was so intimate and I loved the feeling so much. It didn't take me long to fall asleep as the sexual acts and the hard work caught up to me along with the feeling of the girl on top of me quickly luring me into slumber, all of it feeling too great not to fall asleep.

Sleeping with her on me was always way too short, I despised how sleeping like that only felt like a couple minutes at most. I lightly sighed when she started gently shaking me, the naked girl firmly on my abdomen as she quietly cooed my name. A hand instinctively went on one of her hips and then up her body before trying to get her to lay down.

She giggled and complied to my hand that wanted her to lay back down. But she scooted forward so her nose could press against mine, the girl softly eskimo kissing me. "I let you sleep for around two hours... you should get up so we can cuddle some more and be awake to enjoy it..."

I sighed again and opened my dry as fuck eyeballs. I smiled when I saw my beautiful Queen. I eskimo kissed her back and leaned us up as I kissed her cheek before kissing her neck, a giggle coming out of her. "That sounds alright... We're staying naked though."

The bubbly girl giggled once again. "That sounds fun."

I stretched as I forced myself to wake up some more which was pretty difficult given the circumstances. After a little more encouragement from her we returned to our snuggle spot, the naked girl getting in between my legs with her back facing me this time. After I put a blanket over us I wrapped my arms around her abdomen and pulled her close to me, her soft skin contacting my groin, abdomen, and chest.

I leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "I don't wanna have sex even though I'm gonna get hard, is that alright?" She lightly nodded. "Can I massage your tits?"

With a subtle blush and a cute grin she nodded again before my hands on her belly trailed up her belly and chest where I then delicately placed them on her breasts, my fingers then expertly applying pressure on the small mounds of flesh. Like I predicted, I started getting hard, my phallus pressing against her skin which felt wonderful, but I didn't wanna fuck her or anything like that… I mean, I wouldn’t complain if I did, but still.

I kissed her cheek a few times and then her neck where the girl lifted her head up to expose more of her neck to me of which I wasted no time in kissing and lightly sucking on the area. After a few minutes of kissing a large area of her neck I asked, "Do you think it's weird that I like pressing my penis up against you?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all... it feels really nice actually. And comforting in a way since you're holding me and I make you hard... It's a nice thought and I'm glad I do."

"That's good to hear. Maybe I should do it more often?" I said, prompting her to chuckle. "Wanna kiss for a while?" I figured her mouth was devoid of any of my semen at that point… I didn’t dislike the idea of having semen in my mouth, well I do now since I want this relationship to be my last one ever, it was the idea of my own semen that turned me off. Just something about it.

She nodded and slightly looked back so I could deeply kiss her more easily where I then pressed my lips against hers in less than a second. Our tongues would lightly rub against each other every now and then as I continued massaging her breasts, my cock greatly enjoying touching the something it knew that it owned as it reminded Stacy that she belonged to me...

I'd transition from deeply kissing her to kissing and sucking on her neck every few minutes. I wished I was able to do every little affectionate act at once but unfortunately that was impossible. I was hoping that what we were doing then would become our new snuggle routine since it was so extremely intimate... It'd probably lead to much more horniness but I don't think that's a problem.

At the thirty minute mark, before I continued kissing her neck, I gently asked, "How much more do you want me to do this?"

"...A while. Is that alright?" She timidly asked.

I nuzzled her cheek with my own. "Yes, of course, I just wanted to ask to make sure you wanted me to continue... I'm enjoying this so much." Another thing I was starting to enjoy was the aroused scent she emitted. It was light but I picked up on it, the girl's legs having been spread open. After another five minutes I asked, "Want me to touch you? You seem pretty turned on..."

She lightly swallowed. "Yes, if it wouldn't be a bother..."

A hand went down to her precious heated folds before my hand draped onto one of her inner thighs to massage it a bit, my prodding fingers causing her legs to spread open as far as they could. Sheesh, it's so damn adorable when she does that and such a nice gesture of trust, love, submission, and desire. The sight was also just another fantastic thing that I felt so extremely lucky to view. She lightly gasped as I danced my fingers into her flesh where I did so for a couple of minutes before giving the same treatment to the other one. When I was done there my fingers draped up onto her smooth labia where they thoroughly enjoyed the touch of her small groin for a minute before my index and middle finger felt her damp seam.

When my fingers contacted her clit I very softly started stimulating her which immediately caused her to emit little grunts from her voice. If she could lean into me any harder she would've but as it was she rested a hand on my own to guide where I should rub her. After getting the hint I dipped my fingers into her a few more centimeters before applying more pressure where the girl then looked up as she kept her eyes closed, the woman facially expressing to me that she was greatly enjoying my touch.

I kissed her forehead as my hand on her tits swapped from one to the other every thirty seconds before applying even more pressure into her love button. Her back rubbed against my fully erect phallus as she lightly arched her back while she relaxed into the touch of my gyrating fingers. I still wasn't wanting to have sex, I just greatly enjoyed every little smell, sight, and feeling I was receiving that Stacy was giving me.

As my rubbing slowly sped up she got a tad louder so my lips landed on hers to keep her quiet. At least for the meantime, I loved hearing her hums of pleasure as she kissed me, the subtle vibrations often traveling down my throat which was pretty comforting.

When her climax came she broke the kiss and moaned where the sound was like music to my ears, just loving the fact that Stacy was my submissive, beautiful, little girl that let me touch her however I wanted. She lightly sighed when her climax ended a few moments later, the girl deeply relaxing into me afterward.

"Want me to continue or are you alright for now?" I asked with another kiss on her forehead.

"I-I'm alright... That felt really nice."

With that being said I lifted my fingers up to my nose and deeply smelled the lubricant on my digits, the smell being really strong, musky, and lovely. I wiped a finger on my nostrils so I could continue smelling a small amount of it after I sucked the juices off my fingers. Afterwards, I greatly relished her delicious taste if only just briefly. Right after that I continued kissing her and rubbing my tongue against hers and massaging her tits... We did that for another thirty minutes before our very intimate snuggling session was adjourned.

(Sex scene over. That was a lot longer than I thought it was gonna be.)

A few seconds after we got dressed she walked up to me and hugged me before the girl rested her head on my chest and nuzzled me. "We should do stuff like that more often... Especially snuggling naked."

I dug my nose into her hair. "Definitely. The last couple of hours have been so worth the hard work... You calm me so much and make life so worth it."

We lovingly hugged for a couple more minutes before she went to get back to work on painting some more signs. I was slightly disappointed since I loved her touch so much but unfortunately we can't just hug, kiss, and touch each other all day as much as I wanted to do that... since, y'know, I'm deeply addicted to affection.

I didn't want to work on any of the farming stuff because my arm and back muscles were feeling pretty weak after what I put them through. I'd definitely be aching in the morning, I wasn't looking forward to it. Instead, I decided to write in my journal for a little while at Stacy's desk as I listened to the walkie-talkie that'd go off every now and then. It was such a great investment and made efficient work so much easier. Though I'll admit it was just a tad annoying when we heard them quietly go off as Stacy and I snuggled and did all that cutesy stuff but it's whatever.

When I was done updating my journal I leaned back in the chair and wondered what else I should do. It took me a minute to decide to start making some drafts about the book that I'd be making for the future oaths that'd be taking place within our community. After I spread out some fresh sheets of paper I got to work on what the title would be, planned out what aspects of topics about Solaris I'd put in order, and spent an hour coming up with what to write about for each topic.

The biggest problem was making a book itself, y'know, with a cover and making it official looking. I had some idea on how to make one since my mother used to be someone who'd make all kinds of little crafts she'd sell to people, she was quite talented regarding that... Oh how I miss my Mom, I wonder what she'd think of me now?

Anyways, that trip to the library had gotten us several books that were gonna come quite in handy. A couple of them were books on just how to make random shit which was pretty nice since a lot of us didn't know how to make a bunch of random shit, why would we? So I'd sift through them to see if they'd be able to help me make a book. Maybe.

When I was writing about how the founding members of Solaris all met I asked each member their origin story through the walkie talkie. "I thought you said no chit-chat over the walkies, Hunter. Seems a bit hypocritical if you ask me..." Willow said, causing me to roll my eyes even if she couldn't see it.

"This isn't chit-chat. This is retrieving important information for the book that future members are gonna be swearing on." I explained which promptly shut her up.

A lot of their stories were relatively the same with bumping into each other, taking a path that led them to today, some misunderstandings between them, and trust issues at first. The most surprising one was when Audrey, Jordan, Nova, and Trinity, before Stacy and I, were the last additions. They kind of opted to not group together. But somehow, I don't know what the odds are, they met back up three weeks later and decided to merge, thinking it was some sort of destiny.

"We're all so grateful that we chose to stick together after that, we would've never known what we all would've missed out on. The friendships, relationships, happiness, and now Solaris." Olivia said as I continued writing shit down.

"Has anyone ever left our group?" I asked, surprised at the realization that I had never asked anything like that before.

The talkie was quiet for a few seconds before Olivia answered. "Once. And we don't know what happened to her, she mysteriously vanished one night."

"That sounds suspiciously familiar..." I said to myself before actually talking into the talkie. "What was her name? How long ago was this and how long did she stick with y'all?"

"Her name was Catrina. She stayed with us for a couple of weeks a month before we first met the other four. I wonder where she is these days... I hope she's alright, she was a pretty fun girl." Olivia answered which eliminated the thought of it being the same girl Stacy had been with. The chances of that being the case were one in quadrillions regardless.

"I wonder if you'll meet her again and if she’ll ever walk by one of the signs we'll put up and if she takes the chance to check Solaris out." I somewhat optimistically pondered.

"Only time will tell..."

After another hour of writing down our origin stories and then writing down the focus of trying to make Solaris a ray of hope in our world I moved onto rules and laws. After I set up a system of punishment I started dotting rules down. They were pretty common laws to have and were pretty obvious but they needed to be stated regardless.

Stuff like don't harass physically, mentally, or sexually (which is physically but meh). Don't discriminate against any sexuality, race, religion, and gender. Don't steal, harm, vandalize, or kill, the possibility of these being accidents will be discussed at a later time. Laziness is strictly prohibited, meaning I drafted up putting in a standardized work day of at least six hours for at least four to five days a week. I'd need to delegate a couple of people to make sure newcomers pull their weight for them to stay and to encourage them by telling them how great Solaris will one day be with the help of their work. Or something like that.

Don't litter AKA don't be a slob or something similar, that's pretty obvious. Be respectful to each member in all aspects for good relationships to be formed. If there's a problem preventing that from happening talk to the higher-ups for it to be solved. Communicate to the higher-ups if you have questions, want to suggest something, or want to build or change something within Solaris. Critically lying will not be tolerated. And just to make sure the members know, breaking any rule is not tolerated which is a given.

And the last main one that might be somewhat of a problem, though it will definitely change given enough time, the Sole Leader has the final say in major decisions for what Solaris does. There are ideas rolling around my mind about limiting the power that I have given myself but it's not needed in our current state. I will implement some form of 'government' when Solaris grows big enough to warrant the limit in power, to prevent me from becoming a tyrant.

But as it was, I stopped writing rules down after getting the main ones out of the way. I was more than sure that our rule book would be expanded as time went by but this is a first great start. Mainly because they were 'progressive' rules, equality between all humans being the underlying message. Though I'm not for absolute equality. I'm for absolute equal opportunity, meaning everyone has equal rights but the people that are able to do things better than the average are the people that should be rewarded more depending on their occupation. And eventually I'll make sure to clarify that no individual should be over-rewarded.

The reason was simple. I'll use the long-gone country and prime example of The United States to help me out here. In that nation their politicians and courts were bought out long ago by over-rewarded billionaires that paid them what laws to make for them. So some didn't pay taxes, fucked over the lower and middle class, took away and cut social programs, and got tens of millions of people killed indirectly after overworking them and taking their benefits away. If Solaris is the engine to restarting humanity I will make sure we don't repeat our mistakes or die trying.

If we ever get advanced enough to resemble something like our past society I'll be sure to pass a rule that makes bribery, political 'influence', or lobbying a life sentence to prevent anyone from thinking they can get away with it. I'm not gonna fuck around with letting Solaris become corrupt as hard as I can. Also the punishments for rape and murder in Solaris will be death since we can't really trust people like that since I'm not gonna take the chance for them to kill or rape again. And at the moment those are the only two crimes that I'll punish with death.

Death by hanging as well by the way. It’s probably a little evil but in my eyes rapists and murderers don’t deserve a painless death. They deserve having a terrible death for committing a terrible crime. Seems only fair. I just hoped that we'd never have to do that, only time will tell...

The punishment system I drafted was a three strike system before banishment. Rape and murder are exempt from this since, y'know, those don't deserve second chances. A member will be able to appeal depending on the severity of their crimes. I’m thinking they’ll have to pay for their crimes with a bunch of hard work on some sort of probation or they get banished. It seemed simple enough but I'm aware of how dangerous it might be. Given enough time we'll grow in number, grow in defense and power, and grow in confidence. I was wondering if maybe erecting a wall around the Town Hall and the cabins we'll someday make for another layer of defense but that's a topic for a later time.

After I was done writing everything down, able to fill two sheets and a half, I neatly stacked them on top of each other and leaned back into the chair. I'd write it all out in a bigger font and put all the rules in points so I'd be able to take up a lot of pages to make somewhat of a thick book, I didn't want it to be really thin.

A couple minutes after I relaxed I took the sheets of paper and a couple of fresh ones and made my way down the stairs. When I got to the dining room I spread the sheets of paper across the dining table and putt the fresh sheets to the side. I wrote 'suggestions and amendments' and unlined it, making it to where anyone walking by should take a look at what was there.

"How're the farms going?" I asked into the walkie after I sat down at the dining table.

"I'd say we're about seventy percent complete with the current field. We should be able to begin the much longer task of planting what we have in stock some time soon." Audrey replied.

"Good work team. How're the signs coming along?"

"Just got done painting the sixth one. Trinity said she'll finish the rest tomorrow." My little angel answered.

"Alrighty. Now we just need to make some little maps then paint the message on all of them. Then after that we'll set them up and prepare the meeting area. Then we'll wait and prepare if anyone follows them then figure things out from there. Any objections?"

With no response being voiced I figured they were all good with the plan. The day after that point flew by and before I knew it the day was wrapping up. After we ate dinner, Stacy and I headed up to our room to snuggle closely as the day ended. Though there was a knock on the door when Stacy and I got comfortable holding each other.

I had stripped out of my clothes so I swiftly put them back on and answered the door where I saw that Nova was there holding five dozen sheets of paper.

"Don't tell me those are suggestions for changing the rules..."

She lightly giggled. "No, but it's the story I just finished. Do you still want to read it or do you pass?"

"Oh yeah, sure thing." I said as Nova tried peeking into the room.

"Am I allowed to come in?"

I looked toward Stacy who had a blanket over her naked self. I was tempted to allow her in but I wouldn't put her through that stress. "No, actually. Stacy's kind of a bit naked and I wouldn't want you to see her like that."

My words caused both of the girls to brightly blush. "O-Oh... was I interrupting something?"

I shrugged. "Not particularly. So, should I just gently take them out of your hands or...?" She practically shoved the papers into my hands and walked off, the girl clearly embarrassed about what I had said. I chuckled and closed the door before turning back to Stacy who was somewhat glaring at me, the girl retaining an adorable blush. "What's the matter, my love?" I asked as I walked up to her.

"You didn't need to tell her that..."

"Oh well." I said with a smirk. "Wanna read a story? I love hearing your soft voice read things."

She glanced at the papers. "Sure."

After I stripped back out of my clothes and put Stacy back between my legs she started reading the story a minute later. I rested my chin on her shoulder and relaxed into hearing her beautiful voice, the story's quality being amplified through it. The relaxation made me hard so my phallus pressed up against her once more. I tried to suppress it a little but I couldn't help myself.

The story was bitter-sweet. It was about following a woman who never knew their father, lost their mother to cancer recently, had a terrible drug addicted brother, and had trust issues after having an abusive boyfriend. It was pretty sad, Stacy not liking the beginning of it at all. But she powered through it and read about the woman struggling with debts, stresses, addictions, going into a reclusive state, and depression. But it all changed when she met another woman who was sweet, considerate, caring, tolerant, and a bit broken herself. The story ended with the two getting married after the both of them built each other up and healed each other's soul through a healthy relationship. It was a very happy ending.

"Reminds me of us a bit..." I said after we set the sheets of paper away from us.

She tilted her head. "How?"

"I... was so lost before you. So sad, dreading life... But then you entered my life and everything changed. Now I'm the happiest man alive with the best little sweetheart I ever could've asked for."

She turned her head around so her nose could rub against my cheek. "I'm so happy that I changed that... And it was like that for me too, dreading life... I love you so much."

We didn't stay up much longer after that. The both of us migrated to bed and held each other tightly not long later, the both of us thankful for each other's passionate company. The next day would be a lot of the same though I didn't complain. A little progress with a lot of passionate love is all I needed each day to keep me sane and happy... And I was happy that I had the perfect little person that was able to fulfil those wants.

Chapter 31: Captivate and Allure

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I once again got up at an early time the next morning since there was much more farm work needing be accomplished to get things growing A-S-A-P. But goddamn were my muscles in pain from the prior day's work. I had to push through the pain to help the crew out with the intensive work, I had a strong attitude of the sooner the better. So cue a couple hours of Kai and I shoveling grass off the ground that became tilled land before I couldn't put myself through the pain of using tight and sore muscles.

"Well if I would've known you were feeling like that I wouldn't have let you come out here and work again. It's kind of really bad to strain yourself like that, Hunter." Audrey said after I called in for Jordan to replace me yet again.

I shrugged. "Gotta get this done, right? I felt like I needed to put some work in regardless of how I felt."

"While I appreciate the want to get things done I strongly recommend against it and taking a day off." She replied causing me to lightly sigh.

"You're probably right..." I said as Jordan jogged his way toward us, the man ready to work with the other three. "Just sucks how I'm kind of really weak." I thought about the state of myself where I quickly decided I'd probably ask Stacy about it when I got up to my room. Which I headed for after they had some fun pointing out how small but tall I was.

Thankfully when I got to my room Stacy was awake and drawing something on her desk, the girl then looking at me with a soft smile. "You're here a little early... How come?"

"I'm just a little hurt from yesterday's work... What're you working on?" I asked as I walked up to her where my eyes swiftly scanned what she was drawing. It was a hilly landscape with little houses dotted around in it.

"Just drawing a random village... You're hurt?" She asked with care before quickly getting up from her chair after setting her pencil down.

She lightly hugged me and nuzzled my chest. "My muscles are pretty sore from what I did yesterday. Audrey said I should take a day off even if I kind of don't want to..."

"You're in pain, you should lay down..." She said as her nuzzling continued. She looked up at me after a few seconds. "Would me rubbing your muscles help?"

I rested my forehead on hers. "It probably would. That sounds lovely."

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She kissed me for a few seconds before ending it and asked, "Alright. Could you take your clothes off for me?" I did as she asked as Stacy walked to our door and locked it before turning around and looking at the phallus that was starting to get erect. She giggled as she walked up to me before her hand gingery took hold of my shaft who then slowly stroked it up and down for a few seconds which succeeded in getting me fully erect.

"That's not really the part of me I thought you were gonna rub but this equally applies to what I said..."

"It's not, I just wanted to touch it and get you hard, it’s cute in a way..." She said as she let go of my cock before the girl took her clothes off as well. "Lay on the bed for me?" I obeyed her words as she followed me before I laid on the middle of our bed.

She got on the bed with me and straddled my abdomen where she wasted no time in resting all of her weight down on me. I saw that she wasn't really horny but her little pussy resting on me felt nice regardless. With her on top of me I just got harder, her hands then being placed on my chest.

"You're not gonna continue rubbing me down there?"

She lightly giggled. "Maybe after I'm done rubbing you everywhere else... Now, where do you hurt the most?" She asked as her fingers started gently digging into my somewhat sore chest.

"My arms, chest, back, and back of my legs." I answered as her fingers started pressing into me harder which began the process of her giving me a proper massage.

I deeply relaxed into her fingers as the timid digits relaxed the tightened muscles. She continued on my chest for the next ten minutes, the girl making sure she thoroughly did the entire sore area over twice. After my chest she focused on my biceps, triceps, and forearms, the process taking another ten minutes before she got off me.

"Roll over, please..." She asked, glancing at my erect shaft a couple times.

I obeyed, the girl straddling my hips once more, Stacy wasting no time in pressing her fingers into my back, the most affected area of the workout from yesterday. I actually started quietly grunting in pleasure since it felt so nice. I grunted every now and then for the next fifteen minutes as she relaxed the muscles she was giving the blissful sensation to. When she was done there she turned around and focused on my legs.

Her hands were so goddamn exquisite since the appendages were able to rub away the knots that had formed within me, the girl being extremely caring to get each one to make me feel better. The raging boner I was laying on enjoyed Stacy on top of me, like she was dominating me in a way, her fingers causing ripples of relaxation to flow through my body.

When she was done there she turned around and focused on my legs which only took around five minutes. After that she got off me again and asked me to roll over once more. I of course wasted no time in doing so. She straddled my hips again and lowered herself on my phallus, my cock twitching in between her labia as she lightly slid up my shaft. I instinctively put my hands on her hips to help guide her up and down though she was deliberately sliding really slow on me.

She surprised me by somewhat ejecting herself off me and forcing herself in between my legs. I opened my legs up for her to give her the space she needed as one of her hands took a gentle hold of my scrotum as she leaned down so she could take a deep whiff of my cock, her nose pressing against the base and between my scrotum. She continued smelling for a couple of minutes before her tongue peaked out and started licking me. I put my hands on her head as she slowly licked up and down on my shaft as she watched for any reactions.

"Do you want to suck it again?" I asked as she lapped up her own trace amount of juices which turned me on even more.

"Yes..." She replied as she took her hand off my sack, her mouth going down so she could gently take a testicle in her lewd mouth. She sucked the testicle for a minute before moving onto the other one. I really enjoyed her doing that, the feeling of her warm mouth giving my testicles a sensation they never really had before.

After she had her fun with my testicles she continued licking up and down on my shaft, the girl once again kissing my tip after she got it thoroughly coated in her saliva. She backed up and leaned up a bit and sat on her knees. She grabbed the base with one of her hands and grabbed the middle of it with another, the girl's hands then working together to stroke me causing a little bit of precum to leak out of my tip.

She leaned down and licked my tip not letting the precum go to waste before she took my glans in her mouth. She lightly started sucking causing me to moan, her hands slowly stroking me as another bead of precum exited me. I moaned again when her tongue started delicately swirling around my head.

"Stacy? How many times have you done this before? Because you're so fucking good at this!"

"Just yesterday... Your moans turn me on so much." She pointed out before taking my tip into her mouth again, the girl lowering her head on me so she could suck more of my extremely hardened member. She gagged when my tip hit the back of her throat though she didn't move back, the girl tightly closing her eyes as she resisted the urge to gag.

After she moved her hands down to slowly fondle my testicles she shockingly continued to take more of my shaft into her throat. She gagged again when my cock curved into her throat, my sixth inch delving into her tight neck that was closing on the foreign object. She stopped after my seventh inch entered her, the girl fighting the urge to gag as my cock blocked her pharynx.

"Stacy, you don't need to continue..."

But she did anyway by taking the rest of my shaft in her throat, her lips contacting my mons pubis, her nose contacting the area that I had recently shaved. My tip felt fantastic, being deep inside her throat being a revelation, the throat adjusting to my cock and swallowing instinctively as she sucked what was in her mouth.

After a dozen or so seconds she started lifting herself up off my cock a couple of inches, took a breath, and started moving back down where she gagged once again. It'd take a little while for her not to do that... After gagging for the fourth time she raised her head up all the way off my shaft then wiped a couple tears away that the gagging had caused to release from her tear ducts.

"It's really hard to do that..." She somewhat disappointingly pointed out as she sat on her knees.

"That's alright, it felt really good anyways. I don't want you to push yourself if you don't wanna... Doing what you did yesterday is all that I really need, anyways..."

She grinned at that and looked back down at my dampened phallus. "I think I wanna put it in me now..."

"Go ahead."

She got on me and straddled my hips before she took a hold and directed my phallus into her fun-hole. She was able to quickly slide all the way down due to her being wet and me having had a more than adequate blowjob, the girl pleasurably grunting at the dampened cock that impaled her. It just made it easier for her to bounce on me which she did a minute after we both enjoyed the feeling of being connected.

It started off slow but she quickly sped up as my thumb stimulated her clit so she'd have an amazing orgasm, my lips pressing against hers in a heated kiss for the duration of her riding. Which she did just a few minutes later before I came in her just ten or so seconds later where I was vocal about it since Stacy loved hearing me moan.

"Your sounds are so fucking hot..." She commented a minute after the act ended. "I kind of wanted to taste your cum again... maybe next time?"

I leaned up to her and wrapped my arms around her abdomen as she continued to lightly grind on my spent phallus. I kissed her neck for a minute before whispering in her ear. "We'll see... You're my horny little girl and you always will be..."

She giggled. "Just as you're my horny guardian..."

Writing that exchange down makes me realize that it's a bit peculiar to say that but it’s whatever. Anyways, I couldn't argue with that. We stayed connected for a while where the girl eventually laid down on me as we enjoyed the afterglow of fornicating. It always sucked when my dick naturally slipped out of her since I wanted to keep it in her so it could stay really intimate. At least in that position. I haven’t been able to experiment on how to keep it in as of yet.

A few minutes later we heard Trinity on both of our walkie-talkies say that she needed Stacy to paint the signs that were all finished. "I'll get up in a few minutes..."

A few minutes fly by too fast. I sighed when she got up and off me where my little Queen quickly cleaned herself up with a towel before getting dressed. She didn't really want to eat semen that had been inside her, which was understandable... even though she'd lick her own juices off my cock. I didn't say anything though as the girl threw me the towel so I could clean up from our act.

"Thanks for giving me a really good treatment, Stace." I said as I sat up putting my legs over the side of the bed.

She giggled and walked up to me where she moved the towel out of the way and got in between my legs, the girl guiding my hands on her hips. After she wrapped an arm around my neck she leaned forward and rubbed her nose against mine, the girl kissing me afterward. "Of course, it's my job to make the man that loves me so much and works so hard and provides for me to feel nice, right?"

I lightly kissed her. "I guess so... I love you, Stacy."

She kissed me again which was her cue for one of her sneaky hands to play with the tip of my cock for a few seconds. "I love you too... I'll see you in a bit, I got some signs to paint."

(Sex scene over)

After she left, the small amount of lust she had given me right before she was gone exited my system... I was so grateful to have such an active sexual life. There'd be no way I'd find Stacy any less attractive than any other day prior. She was too stunning not to... I was glad I wasn't a slut that was in relationship just for sex (Which I mean, if that's what you want to do in a relationship and both of you are fine with that, don't let me stop you). Sure, I liked fucking her a decent but that wasn't the point of the relationship. I'd sacrifice sex to keep her since I love her so much. Sex wasn't needed between us, in the sense that without it our relationship would fail. Nah, we just did it since we enjoyed having it at the rate we did. I mean, it was needed biologically speaking, but you get what I'm saying...

Wait, why are you reading my journal you freak?

Anyways, there wasn't really that much to do since I was supposed to be relaxing. Which I tried for a while. But I gave up and went to Stacy's desk to doodle a few things, staying naked of course because it's nice to not wear clothes when you're able to. I liked the idea of erecting a wall around Solaris and having another layer of defense. I had been thinking about it for a decent amount of time as of late. It'd definitely take a lot of effort to build but it might be needed if we got big enough. I was just wondering when we'd start building our own cabins. It really sucked that we couldn't just move houses around, that'd make everything so much easier.

But starting from scratch for the long run is the way to go. I'm sure we'll perfect our skills on making cabins as best as we can when the time rolls around. I was looking forward to expanding the space we occupy, that being the first true signs of becoming an established hamlet. I wonder when the first baby will be born here, that child becoming the first native born Solar citizen... Now that has quite a ring to it.

I'm getting ahead of myself like I usually do.

Not much of significance really happened that day. Well, not in the sense of writing it all down. The group completed a section and a half with the help of manual labour, Stacy finished painting the eight planned signs, and some others did their tasks of collecting and hunting the day's food. Willow was starting some prototypes of new fish traps which she claimed would be more efficient than the one's she had made. I couldn't wait to see the results of her claim.

After Stacy had finished giving the signs her beautiful artistic touch I painfully drew eight miniature maps and a brief description of how to get to the mall on each sign. That whole process took about four dreadful hours. While I did that, Stacy wrote the message the wanderers would be reading and by the end of the day all the maps and messages were on the signs. Now all that was left was setting them up, setting the meeting area up in the mall, and waiting for results on that front as well.

At the end of the day Stacy and I were cuddling on one of the living room couches as the both of us subtly smelled the scent that we both emitted. It was light but they were there and quite enjoyable.

"There's something about tilling I didn't tell you, Hunter." Audrey said as she cuddled with Ashton on the other couch. My ears perked up at her words. "We're gonna need to wait a week or so for the soil to get used to being tilled. Unfortunately since we didn't have electricity to make the tilling job a few magnitudes easier a few weeks ago we couldn't have already been to that point."

"It's... only a little disappointing hearing that but if we have to wait a week then it is what it is. How much food exactly are you planning to plant?"

She lightly chuckled. "Way more than we need. We're gonna run out of space to put all of it."

"I love to hear it. It's just gonna be a pain to take care of it all. Maybe we can build a storage barn or two to use for the crops or something like that?"

Trinity and Charlotte were also cuddling but by the fire, my suggestion prompting Trinity to speak up. "Yet another idea of work that Hunter's gonna put me through..."

We all shared a laugh at that. "I'll be sure to help whenever we focus on construction whenever we get around to it. We've got a lot of things to build and do so we're all hands on deck throughout this entire year."

Ashton lightly sighed. "And we can tell you're not joking... At least we have a long queue of shit to do, right? No excuse to be bored this year."

"That's the spirit. And like I've said before, don't overwork yourselves. When you need a break, take one. And when you're energized again put your all into making Solaris the ray of hope we all want it to be."

"You should follow your own advice…” Audrey replied with a quick wink. “But yeah, I'll drink to that... if I had a drink." She added on, another laugh being shared between us. "Though I do have a question... How are you gonna help with construction if you're this sore?"

"...Power through it."

She glared at me, somewhat playfully. "What did I say about not working when you're sore?"

"But like I was saying..." I said though Audrey wouldn't let me change the subject.

"Stacy, you better make him listen to his own words, the words about taking a break when we need it."

"Okay." She simply replied as she nuzzled my chest and her arms around me tightened a tad.

"What? I'm the leader of this group, I can do what I want!" I playfully called out.

"You wouldn't want to disappoint Stacy, right?" Audrey asked with a smug grin, conceding to my fate.

Before a lull in the conversation appeared I continued it by saying, "I was thinking of scavenging some workout equipment so I can get my ass in shape. How good of an idea is that?"

"That's an alright idea since you clearly need it. Gonna be a pain in the ass to move some of the equipment though." Ashton replied as I looked down to Stacy.

"What do you think?" I whispered to her.

She lightly blushed. "...I don't want you getting huge muscles, I think those are gross looking."

I chuckled. "I wouldn't, I'd just strengthen myself to do more shit for longer periods of time, I'm sure you'd barely notice an increase in my size..."

"Then yes... then I can smell you more after your workouts."

"You little weirdo." I said with a chuckle before kissing her forehead afterward. So I guess that was on the to-do list now. I just wondered where I'd put shit like that. The rest of the day wasn't much. When Stacy and I returned to our room we got naked again so she could rub some of my muscles once more, the nakedness keeping the act intimate but there wasn't any sex involved, just the girl lovingly trying to soothe my aching muscles which I deeply appreciated.

When I woke up the next day I was quickly reminded that it was time for the signs to be erected in their designated areas, the want to do that as fast as possible being strong within my mind. Though a couple of other things were floating around my mind as well. Stacy's birthday was then two days away and I still hadn't gotten the fireworks so I planned to get them while out on the sign mission.

The other thing was that I wanted to drive a bit to start getting a feel for it so when Ashton came down the stairs to have some breakfast I asked, "Hey Ashton, would you be fine with teaching me a bit about driving?"

"Uh, yeah, sure man. Just give me half an hour or so."

I nodded and focused on getting the tools we'd need for that day to complete our missions. Specifically a couple of shovels and a pickaxe. We'd be digging holes for the stilts that the signs had, the holes being deep so their own weight would make them stand strong which in turn would make wind unable to knock them over. After I set the tools on the trailer I waited for Ashton to come out as gay to the car and announce he was prepared to teach me the basics of how to drive a vehicle.

"It'll be a magnitude easier if you drive without the trailer since driving with a trailer requires to be at least an adept driver." He explained which made sense where the both of us then worked on disattaching the trailer from the car.

Afterwards, we got in and saw that the car was at a full battery so we'd be good on charge for a long while. He thoroughly taught me how to turn the car on, adjust mirrors even if I didn't really need to, apply pressure to the pedals and how to turn expertly.

"That's really all there is to it these days. You don't need to care about road laws, signs, or lanes since no one uses them. Just keep your eyes peeled out for potholes, animals, and abandoned cars and you should be good."

With that being said I started the car and took a deep breath before I applied pressure on the... do I still call it a gas pedal if it's an electric car? Anyways, he picked up on my anxiety.

"That's a good step, to take a deep breath. Just make sure you don't apply too much pressure. Just don't get scared by the jolt." And so I followed his words before I lightly pressed the pedal until we jolted back as the car began moving forward. It was a little nerve wracking as the both of us slowly made our way down the mansion's dirt path. "You're doing good. Apply more pressure when you feel comfortable."

I chuckled. "You're a much better teacher than my mom was. You know the stereotypical mom who freaks out about their child driving? That was my mom."

"Yeah, definitely not the way to go about teaching someone to drive..."

"She was just being protective and not wanting her child to get harmed... Though she probably shouldn't have tried teaching me at that point." I replied with another chuckle. "I remember some of what I learned before The Drop. I was just a beginner at driving at that point and getting the understandings of the very basics. It should really only take me a couple hours to get the feel of the vehicle, right?"

"Something like that. You're lucky it's easy these days, not having to worry about idiots hitting you. You have the road all to yourself."

And so I drove for around thirty minutes, the vehicle staying at a slow fifteen miles per hour since I was a tad scared to go even faster. But I got a lot of experience out of that little bit though turning the car was gonna need a lot of work but other than that driving was fairly easy. As I pulled up to the house I brought up the fireworks scavenge to Ashton.

"Today's gonna have to be the day where I yoink a bunch of fireworks. Her birthday's in two days. I got the perfect spot to put them until then. I hope she's gonna love it..."

"I'm sure she will. Where's the area you have in mind?"

As I parked the car I answered. "You know the lake to the west? There. It's devoid of trees in that area until the hills start rolling where the trees return. I'm gonna be alone with her under one of the trees as we watch the show."

He chuckled. "Don't get too crazy with her now... You know what I'm saying."

That prompted my own chuckle to escape me. "No comment."

We hooked the trailer back up shortly afterward where Ashton then drove the car off to the side of the house next to the signs. We then carried all of them onto the trailer, Ashton bringing the car back around to the front when that task was completed. My muscles were still somewhat in pain but it was definitely bearable. We put the portable radio station in the back seats of the car where the other radio it was connected was set up on the dining table. With all that being done I went to go kiss Stacy deeply before Kostas tagged along with Ashton and I before we left, and we were on our way to set up the signs. Thankfully Stacy was kind enough to draw us a really scaled up version of the map to help guide us to our destinations.

The designated areas were as follows: the main entrance and exit to the town, along the interstate, on a couple of trails, one on some train tracks, and another two on some highways that didn't connect to the town. They were pretty strategic positions though they took about five hours to set up five of them.

Digging the holes for the stilts wasn't all that hard though it did take a small while to make sure that the signs wouldn't fall over easily by making sure the signs were well into the ground to prevent that from happening. We made sure to put them in obvious places, by areas that made them on their lonesome so there wasn't anything else special to look at. The backs of the signs also had two big words on the back of them, the words being ‘READ ME’.

As we swung by the town I directed Ashton to the fireworks shop for our little raid. When we got there my eyes quickly scanned the many types of fireworks ripe for the taking. There were tons of different sizes of boxes containing the large explodey kind which are the ones that I focused on. I didn't really care for the foreplay fireworks.

I let them choose a few of the fireworks they wanted to see to help me out since I wasn't sure which ones to grab and take. After we got a decent bit of them we loaded them up into the trunk where by the end of our pillage a couple dozen boxes were loaded up which all contained around ten to fifteen minutes worth of beautiful fireworks that'd be mesmerizing as fuck to watch.

After we packed all of those up we made our way to the mall, the three of us then making our way to the intersection of the mall where we all had our first proper conversation and greetings. "This place is a bit nostalgic already... I wonder what this place will look like in ten years time." I pondered.

"We'll see, as long as we're able to stay at Solaris." Ashton said before we moved some chairs and tables out of the way where we then combined some to make one large important table in the center of the intersection.

We placed the radio on the table where Kostas turned it on and grabbing the handheld mic close to his mouth. "Solaris, this is the sign erector squad calling in to announce that we've established the meeting point."

"...That's kind of a terrible name for our squad." I commented, making Ashton chuckle.

"That's cool, I guess. Hey, when are you guys coming back? You guys have been gone for a little while." Willow replied after a few silent seconds, her voice being somewhat staticky but we could clearly hear her.

I smiled, happy that the distance wasn't too large for telecommunication which just confirmed that the mall was a great third party area to meet new people.

"Heading back in a few minutes after we make sure everything here's all good for us to leave." Kostas replied before the man hung the mic back up on the radio a second later.

And so we did just that. Ashton taped a sheet of paper next to the radio that contained a bunch of information about Solaris, why we're looking for them, why we set up a third party location, and told them whenever they use the radio that we'll use communication when we get to them to avoid any instinctual violence.

When that was done we returned back to the car and started making our way back. I let Ashton speed up to thirty miles an hour on our coast back home, feeling safe in his experience after he had the time to warm back up to driving. Though I told Ashton not to take the turn to the mansion and instead directed him to the area we'd put the fireworks for Stacy's birthday. It only took us a few minutes to get there, it wasn't that far from the house. I planned to just say a few words to Stacy to get us in the secluded area I had planned, not sure what exactly at the moment. I had time to think about what I'd say that day since it was still two days away.

When we got to the pond, at least to the road that was a few dozen meters away, we started hauling the boxes of fireworks in a nice open space. I'm sure by the time Stacy and I got there it'd be too dark for her to see across the hills to the open area so it'd be just fine. I'd probably wait a few minutes before giving them the signal to start lighting the fireworks through the use of clicking my walkie-talkie since it makes a blip sound when someone's about to talk into it.

After we made sure we relocated all the fireworks in their designated spots we made our way back to Solaris to continue getting some work done. Well not for me personally since in my case I just asked a few people to do a few things so we can be ready or and start preparing for a few projects before we're forced to start those objectives.

I knocked on Charlotte's and Trinity's door after retrieving a certain book from Olivia's room, a book about construction that Trinity had requested that I figured was time to give it to her since she didn't have that much of a queue for woodworking. It took a long minute for Charlotte to open the door. "What's up?"

"Is Trinity here? I wanna talk about a little something real quick with her."

She glanced down at the thick book in my hand before looking back into the room. "Trin, someone wants to talk with you about something, I think it might be important."

"Am I allowed to come in?" I asked before Charlotte took a step back, the woman silently allowing me to step inside the room as Trinity walked up to her.

"What is it, boss?" She asked, causing me to extend the book to her.

"At the moment you've run out of woodwork to do, right?"

She softly took the book out of my hand and read the title. "At the moment but I'm sure I'm gonna be making a few more frames or signs sometime down the line when needed." She looked back up at me. "I'm assuming you're gonna ask me to build a structure or two?"

"Not exactly. At the moment I want you to learn how to make cabins and then try to build one after you do. I'll leave you in charge of where you want to build it, just make sure it's in a place that makes sense."

She looked back down at the book before swiftly running through its pages. "It's gonna take me a few days to read over everything I need and then put the knowledge to the test. I assume that you're gonna exploit the skill you're asking me to learn so we can build living spaces for future members?"

I nodded. "As long as you're alright with that. You're gonna be a vital part of Solaris as we expand."

"How big should I make them?"

"What sounds reasonable?"

"I'd say, at minimum to live comfortably in a small cabin with a significant other, twenty feet by twenty feet. It'd be a lot of work to build one, a couple weeks each, probably three or four, and definitely much longer for the first one."

I nodded once more. "Take your time to figure things out, techniques, focus on the quality of the build, stuff like that. If you need anything to start this project let me know so we can get you it."

"Well, I'm probably gonna need another worker or two, to be honest." She admitted as she glanced at Charlotte.

"...Why'd you look at me like that? You're not thinking I'm gonna be able to help, are you?" Charlotte asked which made me chuckle.

"I think you'd be a great worker, just gotta get you into shape for it." Trinity replied. "Nova's proven to be pretty productive with helping Roman and I out, she's a quick learner and I'm sure you could do it as well."

"I'll leave this discussion to you two. You have the permission to get as many workers as you need, we still gotta leave a large portion of us to collect food and what not. Hopefully Audrey's farms are gonna yield us enough food for that not to be such a pressing matter, we'll see. Anyways, I have to go. Good luck with this and talk to y'all later."

Not much was really gonna happen the next few days besides Stacy's birthday. Since we had to wait for the ground to get used to being tilled and Trinity was taking a few days off of woodworking we're slowing back down. But just for a bit before we start to work even harder and I'm looking forward to it to be honest.

I returned to Olivia's room because there was a book I wanted to read, a book I yoinked from the library because it had my interest. It was about mental diseases and addictions upon other stuff like that, thought it'd be something that might more thoroughly explain what I'm seemingly going through.

Before I left I made sure all of Stacy's gifts were all charged up and had fully charged batteries in them, ready to be used the second I gave them to her. After telling Olivia about the planned firework show I returned to my room and placed the book on Stacy's desk where I figured I'd read it later when the both of us would be snuggling again.

I wondered where she was so I looked for her. It didn't take long since I found her at the dining table with Roman and Willow, the three of them going silent when I walked into the room with them. "...Am I interrupting something?"

They were silent for another couple of seconds. "No. We were just talking about... future plans." Willow replied, obviously lying.

"Right... Stacy, what were you three talking about?" I asked as I took a seat next to Stacy.

"We were talking about babies." She blatantly answered which made me raise an eyebrow at Willow.

"...Future plans?"

She blushed a tad. "Stacy! Why would you just tell him!?"

Stacy shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie."

"Let me get this straight because it sounds wrong, we were just talking about babies because they're weird, I'm not planning on becoming a mom, I kind of don't want that." Willow explained which made me suspiciously hum.

"What? Why not? I think being a mom would be so, so cool..." Stacy responded causing Willow to glance at me.

"...You just openly admit that to Hunter?" She asked, the idea being alien to her.

"We don't hide anything from each other. Hunter says communication is the key to relationships which is a good thing to think about. It's worked out so well for us."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense..."

"Thank goodness you're not actually planning to be a mother though, you as a mom would be scary..." I playfully commented, getting a glare from the girl.

"Not as scary as you becoming a dad!" She somewhat weakly replied.

Stacy gave her a somewhat stern look for a brief second. "He'll be an amazing father whenever we have kids."

I leaned down to her ear. "I don't think that's something that should openly be discussed about to the others..."

"You two agreed to have kids eventually?" Roman asked, somewhat puzzled at the idea.

"That's none of your business, Roman." I plainly said, preventing that conversation from continuing any further. "Anyways, I came down here for a couple reasons." I announced as I slid the sheet of paper with the input of the other members about the rules I was gonna set in place.

There were a few suggestions and changes about some rules that weren't too significant to write down. I was happy that, at that moment, everyone was seemingly fine with the punishment system and the setup of power. Afterwards I told Roman about the cabin prototype that he and Trinity would be working on when she's off her break, Roman then looking forward to the project.

I asked Willow how the new fish traps were coming along and, long explanation short, they're doing much better than what they once were. The new traps exploit how the water level rises and lowers throughout the day. She claimed if she made a couple dozen more than we might not even have to manually fish in the river, which was something I wanted to happen so others could focus elsewhere to get other tasks done. It'd definitely come in handy to focus time on growing the crops that would've been spent on fishing instead.

Nothing special happened the rest of the day, at least no work-related things played out. Instead, just a bunch of leisure time involving talking to others and playing a couple of games. When the day wound down, Stacy and I headed up to our room, stripped out of our clothes, she stroked my cock a few times to get me erect, and snuggled, the girl quite enjoying the phallus that rested on her back.

I had taken the book of mental illnesses over to our spot when we got there to read it sometime during the snuggle. She asked about it but I changed the subject by kissing her and lovingly fondling her breasts. The girl was quick to change her attention to the pleasure she received before relaxing into the kiss and my massaging. I love how easy it is to please her and how long she wants to be pleased for, those two somewhat erotic acts persisting for well over thirty minutes.

As the minutes rolled by she leaned back into me before our kiss got softer and softer before she stopped kissing entirely. It didn't take me much longer to realize she had fallen asleep while I did those two actions. I thought it was adorable, the girl feeling so extremely comfortable with my acts of affection that I lured her to sleep.

I stopped my actions a couple minutes later and gently repositioned myself so I could get comfortable with her sleeping on me. A few minutes after that I softly rested my chin on top of her head and picked up the book where I wasted no time in opening it and tried to find anything that could apply to me.

Though somehow I found myself in the 'addictions' part of the book and started reading a segment focused on addictions to partners. And I wasn't quite sure about a lot of it. It contained a few things that seemingly applied to me but not at the same time. One aspect was of feeling empty when apart... Is that not normal? At least, I can go a day being apart but I wouldn't like that. Much more than that then I'd be getting sad... Is that a bad thing?

We had no problem giving each other love equally, we never blame anything on each other, and never pick fights over disproportionate exchanged love with each other so we don't check those boxes. We don't have any problems with sex, I made sure to get across when she doesn't want to have it then she doesn't have to and that she shouldn't feel obligated to do so. However, I do love spending so much time with her and giving and receiving a huge amount of little acts of affection... But is it a bad thing to be addicted to that?

I'm sure it was back a few years ago when you'd have a societal job to attend to and the book pointed stuff like that out a lot. But since we don't have that then it shouldn't really matter, right? As long as the love is equally shared and expressed, not getting in the way of our work, then it should all be good... is my thinking.

I dunno why I'm thinking about this so much.

Anyways, I read about some of the mental diseases that might be causing me to see and hear the things I'm experiencing. But what it told me is basically without having the proper tools to find out if I have one of them then I'm not gonna find out, not until those tools are reinstated in some capacity at Solaris. So I'm fucked basically is what I'm trying to get across if I do have one of these mental illnesses. And if I do have any of them it goes into detail about how to handle someone with them. And how to do that is by comforting them, not freaking out, don’t stand over them, don't argue, don’t criticize, don’t shout, don’t threaten, don’t block the doorway, or touch them.

And a few other things is to be respectful and supportive through an episode of what they're going through, if the illness develops that much. In conclusion, just be a person with common sense to deal with something like that, it seems pretty straightforward. Though I guess you could be anxious when trying to deal with something like that and forget a few things so... what do I know? I really hope that wouldn't happen for mine and Stacy's sake, I'm sure it'd be so much energy and stress to help someone with such an extreme mental condition.

After I read about that all I set the book down and wrapped my arms around Stacy's abdomen before digging my nose into her hair and closing my eyes. I enjoyed holding her close for five minutes before putting my head over her shoulder and kissing her cheek repeatedly as I gently shook her.

It took her a few seconds to wake up and realize what was happening where my kissing persisted. "How long was I asleep?" She wearily asked.

"Around an hour... I'm just waking you up so we can go to bed."

It took her another minute to scrape up the willpower to get up where the both of us then swiftly got into bed and held each other tightly. After a loving kiss she quickly drifted off back to sleep. I deeply relaxed into her so I could quickly get to sleep, something I was able to do in just a few minutes because of how much she calmed me.

Hunter here from the end of the next day reporting what happened that day. A bunch'a nothing to be honest. We still needed to wait a few more days until we started planting crops, Trinity and Charlotte were studying the book I gave them together, we set up the rest of the signs, and I fished with Stacy to get our own food for the day. Right now I'm about to go to sleep and excited that it'll be Stacy's birthday tomorrow. She has no clue what I have planned for her... I wonder how she's gonna react to it all. Well, I'm gonna find out soon. Tomorrow's gonna be fun.

Chapter 32: Affection and Promises

Notes:

There's not exactly a sex scene here? But definitely a lot of horniness. Just a fair warning I guess since there is no skip within this chapter. But are those really necessary this deep into the story? Probably not but I'm still gonna put them in when a proper sex scene happens.

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I stirred awake shortly after the sun had risen. Right after I awoke I held Stacy closer though before I went back to sleep I remembered that it was her birthday which caused a rush of energy to flood my system. Probably a little too much but I couldn't help myself since the day was gonna be very sweet and as enjoyable as I could make it these days for my little lady. So after I calmed my quickly beating heart down after taking a deep breaths I gently unwrapped my arms from around the sleeping beauty and quietly got dressed.

I made my way to Olivia's door and gently knocked. I got no answer but I had to get a lot of things from her closet. So I quietly made my way in after figuring she was sound asleep though I was shocked when I saw... Kostas and Olivia sleeping on the bed together. I was shocked for only a few seconds since I didn't really expect them to be in a relationship, but that's cool and interesting since I never had the idea of them being together... But I'm drawing to conclusions as they could just be snuggling platonically? I don't know. Anyways, after my observation I made my way to her closet to collect all of the art supplies and the book I had gotten Stacy.

After I put it all in a box I made my way out and quietly closed the door. I guess Kostas and Olivia are a secret that I'm gonna keep to myself... Maybe I'll tell Stacy, maybe not. I returned back to our room and shimmied my way up to her desk before sprawling out the supplies over it so she'd instantly see it all, I wanted to get her birthday off to a good start by her seeing some of the gifts I collected for her.

When I was done with that I took my clothes back off and made my way back into bed which caused Stacy to wake up briefly as I did so before her arms instinctively wrapped around me where she then went to sleep. I kissed her forehead and a cheek shortly after she settled down causing a light smile to appear on her lips before she fell back asleep. I held her tightly so I could get back to sleep as well since I still felt a bit tired, that desire swiftly being accomplished just a few minutes later.

I woke up an hour or two later where a still sleeping Stacy was wrapped in my arms. She always liked to sleep in since she needed a lot of sleep to keep her going. I'm sure it was just all of the love energy she was giving off that I harnessed, the girl always so radiant, passionate, bubbly, and lovely around me. I loved it so fucking much.

I watched her elegant form peacefully sleep where I admired every aspect about her as I usually do when I'm awake and stay in bed in the morning, the beautiful girl just being so... captivating to look at. I couldn't help but just remind myself how lucky I am to have her to the degree that I do. A hand around her draped onto her side where my fingers then lightly trailing up her side before going back down to delicately feel her smooth skin. I pecked the tip of her nose and lightly kissed another area of her face just to do so. I wasn't trying to wake her up, I just couldn't help myself but show her affection even if she was unconscious. She was too adorable not to.. I'm sure she was alright with me doing that.

After a few minutes I stopped and continued admiring her. It took her another ten minutes for her stunning eyes to flutter open where a hand lightly placed itself on the side of her face, the same face that immediately adopted a small smile as I eskimo kissed her.

"Good morning, my love... My flawless, stunning, beautiful girl that I love to my core and always will." I greeted after a silent minute causing her to lightly blush.

"I... Thank you..." She somewhat speechlessly replied with a strengthening grin. "I'm gonna love you forever too, I don't know why I wouldn't."

I closed the distance between our lips so I could lightly kiss her where the girl softly kissed back, the both of us staying in the simple act of affection for a little more than a minute.

"Today's your very special day... Whatever you want to do we'll do it, I'm dedicating all of my time today to you." I said, Stacy being reminded that it was her birthday.

"Are you sure...?"

I nodded. "Yep, I can spare a day off for your birthday. I want this day to be very special to you."

She looked just a tad sad before she asked, "Alright, if you don't mind... Can we hug really tightly for a little while at the moment?"

I lightly chuckled. "Of course Stace, I would do that regardless, I'd never say no."

And so we did that after Stacy scooted up to me where our arms wrapped around each other as the both of us gently pressed our foreheads against one another. I slowly rubbed my nose against hers as we relaxed into the comforting touch of each other. After we got settled in the intimate embrace a couple dozen minutes rolled by of us just silently enjoying each other's company and touch.

"There's gonna be a whole lot of hugging today, isn't there?" I asked with a chuckle, the girl nodding at that. "Not like that's a bad thing, I wish most days we could just hug and kiss and all that..."

"Me too, it's so nice..."

I kissed her forehead briefly. "Can I move you on top of me and continue hugging like that?"

She nodded happily before helping me move her to lay on top of my body. I kissed her forehead a couple of times when the migration was over. With her on top of me I started getting hard, the feeling of her little pussy pressing on my lower belly stoking the reaction, though I wanted to save the sex for later that night. We stayed like that for another ten minutes before I leaned us up, my phallus pressing up on her ass but she didn't care. Stacy then rested her head on my chest as her body pressed into mine, the both of us continuing to deeply enjoy the hug.

"I love it when it's pressing against me... It's such a comforting feeling. I love how I make you so hard…” She admitted after I buried my nose into her hair to smell her light scent. 

"I agree... Is it weird to ask if it reminds you that you belong to me?"

She giggled. "No, because it reminds me of that too." She looked up at me with gleaming eyes. "I belong to you and always will, like how you belong to me."

I kissed the tip of her nose once again before kissing her lips once more where the both of us got lost in each other's lips. My cock got as hard as it could while in the kiss as our tongues lovingly rubbed against each other for ten minutes before softly kissing for another ten. I could tell she was starting to get a little turned on since her folds started becoming a little engorged as she started emitting a light smell of arousal.

"I wanna have sex later tonight, do you want to wait that long?" I said after the kiss ended.

"...Not really. How come?" She asked, being confused as to why.

I froze for just a second. "I promise to tell you later. For now, what do you wanna do that doesn't involve sex?"

"Okay, I trust you... Hm... It's hard to think when I want you to rut me..." She said with a little adorable grind.

I put both of my hands softly on her cheeks and kissed her for a few seconds. "I will later, let's just focus on everything else first..." It'd be great to have her somewhat horny throughout the day since the satisfaction of her getting the pleasure she desired would be so much better whenever she got it.

After I said that we rested our foreheads against each other once again where our noses gingerly rubbed together. I could tell that the day was gonna be overflowing with little acts of love. I looked forward to it and silently promised myself to thoroughly enjoy every little aspect as much as I could.

Right before she got off me she lowered herself onto my glans and lodged it between her labia, the girl grinding for a few seconds as the want to fuck her exploded in my mind, both of our horny genitals lightly stimulating each other. I begrudgingly resisted the urge as she persisted the act for a few more seconds where the girl got off me before giggling as she saw my cock twitch in desire.

"I'll be sure to give so much of it to you later..." I lustfully said, trying to forget the feeling her hungry slit gave me. "For now, let's forget the want to fuck and focus on what's on your desk at the moment."

She looked toward her desk after I said that where her eyes lit up as she saw all the art materials that she was running low on. She got up and walked up to her desk where I followed her shortly afterward, the girl smiling as she looked over the supplies. I walked up to her as she picked up one of the several boxes of charcoal sticks, the girl then setting it back down after a few seconds of scanning over the other supplies.

She turned to me and hugged me, my phallus rubbing up on her belly since I was still somewhat erect, the girl not caring as she hugged me closely. She nuzzled my chest with a smile, "You didn't have to go out and do this... Thank you so much, some of this stuff is really hard to find."

I dug my nose into her hair. "You're welcome, Stace... And yes, I did have to. You needed some supplies and I have to give my Queen stuff that she wants and needs for her birthday… I mean I do regardless, but you know what I mean."

She looked up at me with a bright smile. "Kiss me."

And so I did, my dick getting a bit annoying since it got pretty hard again as we deeply kissed for another couple of minutes. It didn't help when she took a step back and lightly stroked me a few times. "You really are trying to get me to rut you as hard as you can, aren't you?"

"...Maybe. Should I draw something right now?" She asked, turning her attention back to the art supplies.

"Maybe in a bit. Wanna have breakfast first though?" I asked, hoping the change in scenery would kill my boner.

"Hm... Only if you promise to let me sit on your lap as I draw something... naked."

I took a deep breath at her request. "The both of us?" She nodded. I slowly let a breath go. "Sure, I promise. But I'm not gonna put it in you."

"We'll see..." She said with somewhat of an evil chuckle. It was adorable, how she thought I didn't have the willpower to not fuck her... I severely overestimated my willpower.

But before that happened we got dressed and headed downstairs where our meal had already been done a couple dozen minutes before that point. But how did Jordan know what to cook when to cook? Maybe because I told him a couple hours before yesterday ended what to do in the morning.

Thankfully no one else was in the dining room so it’d be a somewhat secluded area to enjoy the meal together. On the dining table there were two plates of liberally seasoned courses of salmon, venison, a small portion of rabbit, and a side of a decent amount of foraged greens Nova had collected on each one of them. I'm not sure what they were but they looked similar to spinach leaves... if those leaves had a lot of varying sizes and shapes.

She almost walked right past the dishes but I gently stopped her by holding onto her waist and directing her to turn toward the table. She lightly gasped. "I thought you were just doing that to tease me... Does it have my favorite type of fish?"

She started walking toward one of the chairs to sit down where I followed immediately behind her. "Sure does, I made sure to fish for one yesterday so you can enjoy it today." I answered as I pulled the chair out for her.

She looked up at me briefly and gave me an adorable grin before she lightly sat herself down on the chair so I could push her toward the table. I took a seat next to her and scooted the chair toward her so we could eat together closely. She looked at the plate with a soft smile, not sure what to do at that point.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, Stacy looking back up at me.

"Yes, everything's great... It's just that this is so nice." She replied before looking back down at the dish where a hand then hesitantly went toward the food.

I chuckled and gently took a piece of warm salmon off her plate where I got even closer to her to press my forehead against hers. I then slowly directed the slice of expertly cooked salmon toward her lips where the girl accepted my offer as she gingerly took it out of my fingers. I kissed her forehead as she slowly chewed it where the girl thoroughly savoured the tasty bit of flavoury meat.

"It tastes so good..." She commented after swallowing her first bite.

"I'm sure it does... Want me to continue feeding you?" I asked, thinking the act would be cute and affectionate.

She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Yes, as long as I get to feed you too."

I chuckled and nodded before kissing the tip of her nose as I grabbed a slice of venison and gently put it up to her lips, the girl once again happily accepting my offer. I fed her another three slices of meat and a few greens before she gingerly took some food off of my plate where her timid hand made its way up to my mouth before waiting for me to eat what she was holding.

I delicately took hold of the venison between my teeth and savoured it where I took my sweet time to chew it before swallowing. The girl softly nuzzled my chest as I did so, simply loving the fact that our bodies were resting against one another. I nuzzled the top of her head after I swallowed which is when the girl took that as her cue to grab another piece of food to feed me.

We slowly and intimately fed each other for around half an hour. During that time a couple members walking through the dining room as we did so which they thankfully just ignored us as stars would've been super annoying and uncomfortable while we were feeding each other. It was really lovely and intimate I thought due to so many nuzzles being shared as we took our time to enjoy the very well made and delicious breakfast. I wished I could've cooked it for her but being the one providing the meat is the only thing I had to do, to have the meal ready when going downstairs. And Jordan was able to make it better than I would've which was another argument for why I didn't. Maybe next time.

When we ran out of food to eat we hugged each other where my chin rested on top of her head, the both of us feeling greatly satisfied that we were no longer hungry and loving on each other. I took the time to smell her hair as she continued nuzzling me, the both of us staying in the hug just like that for ten or so minutes before we departed. I took the dishes to the sink and told her not to worry about them since I'd wash them later for her.

When I returned back to her at the dining table I gently tugged her off the chair causing the girl's arms to wrap around me once again to nuzzle me. "I already love today so much... this is so nice."

Hearing that made my heart flutter slightly since the girl was already so pleased and happy that early in the day. I kissed her forehead, "I'll try to even make it even nicer by doing whatever you want, like I said... What do you want to do now?"

She coyly looked up at me. "Draw?"

I lightly chuckled as I rubbed her nose against mine. "Sure thing."

She delicately took my hand and led us upstairs back into our room, the girl then locking the door behind us before she looked back up at me. "Take your clothes off?"

I did as she asked where the girl taking hers off as well after I did. She wasted no time in lightly stroking my cock that was slowly starting to get erect. After she made sure I was as hard as I could get she led me to her drawing station where the girl set the supplies in appropriate areas so she'd be able to properly draw. As she did that I sat down before helping the girl take a seat on my lap a couple minutes later where my cock penetrated between her soft inner thighs. She made sure my cock was pressing up against the very edge her clit which was a very nice feeling after she closed her inner thighs on the appendage.

She lightly giggled as she looked down at it where a hand lightly wrapped around the head of it. I leaned back a bit and took a deep breath as she lightly stroked me once again, I would not let her touches beat me! ...But goddamn was it hard, in more ways than one.

Her light rubbing persisted for more than ten seconds but it was long enough to almost make me lose myself in lust. Thankfully she stopped right before the point of no return since Stacy took out a fresh sheet of paper and got a couple pencils and charcoal sticks out. I gently wrapped my arms around her abdomen to hold her close as Stacy blankly looked at the sheet of paper as she thought deeply. A minute later her hand started to glide across the page, the next work of art officially beginning. I rested my chin on her shoulder to watch her expertly draw, my hands staying light on her soft belly.

"Can you... touch my tits?" She coyly asked a few minutes after her project started.

"Yes. But I mean it when I say we're only having sex later tonight..." I replied as my hands trailed up to her chest where my hands tenderly took hold of the medium sized mounds of flesh.

A few minutes of this passing caused a little bit of precum to exit from me, though she was too focused on her work to see it. I wondered how she was able to be composed... I'm sure she was having a very difficult time doing so since I knew she was getting aroused, a light blush being donned on her cheeks telling me just that.

Forty-five minutes later of drawing and sensual touches I could make out what she was drawing. "Are you drawing... a couple having sex?"

She nodded with a coy smile. "I always wanted to try this... How does it look so far?"

I could make out that the couple were gonna greatly enjoy the act since the position the two were in made me jealous of them. Well, to be fair, any position at that point would’ve made me jealous... The only thing that stopped me from doing something like it was just lifting her up a bit and inserting my dick inside the pussy that'd be more than willing to take it. But I tried brushing those thoughts as best as I could.

The picture itself was faceless since the angle of what she was drawing focused on where they connected in a first person point of view. I could tell it was in her favorite position, the one where I stand up, hold, and fuck her. The picture was a view of a woman looking down their chest to watch herself get fucked. I assumed she knew how to draw it so well since we liked doing that position so much...

"It looks great... Is it supposed to be us?"

She giggled. "No, just a couple people with no names... but, do you want it to be us?" She hinted at.

I kissed her neck. "Later."

I continued lightly kissing and sucking her neck before the girl started slowly exposing more of her neck even though she tried to focus on her art. If she wanted to tease me I was gonna tease her right back. Fighting fire with fire is never a good idea since her free hand wrapped itself around my tip again to lightly stroke me where my precum smearing on her hand.

She'd stop every few seconds for a few minutes before picking it back up again, the both of us loving how much we were teasing each other by massaging her breasts, stroking, and little lustful kisses, the girl grinding a couple times on my shaft which almost put me over the edge. We were both so horny it was crazy.

We did this for an hour... At least, it felt like it. I'm surprised I didn't just say fuck it and pound the fuck out of her but I didn't. But I will admit that I almost gave into the idea a few times though. When she had the basic concept of the image down she leaned back into me where my head migrated back so I could dig my nose into her hair.

"I'll touch it up later..." She claimed with a light sigh. "It's been nice doing what we've been doing, even if I'm extremely horny right now..."

"I think it's time for us to calm down and head downstairs, I'm sure the others want to celebrate your birthday with you as well..." I announced, causing her to lightly sigh with a hint of disappointment.

"True... You better treat me really good tonight."

I chuckled. "I promise I will."

We got dressed again after that and culled the lust that was between us to save it for later where the both of us then headed downstairs to mingle with a few of the others. Charlotte, Willow, and Nova were all having a quiet discussion about something when Stacy and I walked down where the group then greeted Stacy with cheers about her birthday.

"Thanks...! I don't know what to say." She coyly replied with a shy giggle while twiddling her fingers a bit.

"It's not what you can say but what you can do, as long as you want. Wanna play a few games to celebrate in some small way?" Charlotte offered with a friendly smile.

Stacy shyly nodded at the girl. "If it wouldn't be a bother..."

"Nothing you ask for is gonna be a bother, today's your special day!" Nova cheerily replied, the girl trying to cull any uncertainty that was in Stacy's mind.

They quickly got to setting up a couple card games that Stacy chose, the girl also picking out a board game she had never played before, a board game that could take hours and teaches you about the evils of capitalism. Probably, at least I think that was the game's original purpose.

"Am I allowed to invite myself to join y'all?" I asked as they huddled around the coffee table, the girls then glancing at each other.

"No-." Willow said but was cut off by Stacy.

"Yes." She said before lightly patting a spot on the floor.

"Gotta do what the birthday girl says, right?" I said with a smirk before taking the spot next to Stacy. Afterwards, I gave Willow the finger.

Willow rolled her eyes as Charlotte started shuffling a deck of cards. It was the card game that ruined friendships... Well, some friendships, I wasn't friends with Willow though. I'm just fuckin' around, Willow's a good friend to fuck with, I love the banter we have.

In the middle of the game Willow asked, "So, has Hunter been treating you good so far?"

Stacy nodded with a very subtle light blush. "He never hasn't... Though today's been really nice so far. I'm enjoying today so much." I lightly wrapped an arm around her and lightly rubbed a hand on her. "I wish it was like this every day..."

"Hey, I try to give you as much love as I can. Unfortunately, work gets in the way of every day being like this... You're such a needy girl, I love it." I said with a chuckle.

"I can't help it... and I understand, it's just a wish. As long as you continue doing what you usually do every day then I'll be fine." She cutely replied.

"Has he given you anything today?" Nova asked which made me worry a bit.

I was sure they all knew about the fireworks show that was planned, all except Stacy of course. "Yes, a lot of art supplies and... a lot of something else I'm not gonna talk about." She answered with another light blush.

"Aw, well that's sweet. Are you gonna give her anything else, Hunter?" Nova asked, smartly skipping over Stacy's second statement.

I pretended to think about her question. "It's possible I might give her a couple more things... We'll see if that happens as the day progresses." Stacy's ears perked up at that but thankfully she didn't ask any questions, the conversation moving along from that after that exchange. "It sucks how we can't go to places like roller rinks, ice rinks, bowling alleys, amusement parks, restaurants, and other stuff of the like. I know I'd try to take you to do all of that if it was possible..."

"Maybe one day?" Nova optimistically said.

"Maybe a few of those things eventually but most likely not an amusement park, I think those are gonna be out of our reach for a very long time."

Nova shrugged. "You never know."

"I know you would, Hunter... But I know you're trying your hardest to make today as best as you can and I love you so much for that." Stacy said, causing me to smile at her words.

"I love how you're so understanding."

"I don't see how I couldn't be."

Willow pretended to be sick. "Stop, you two are making me sick from how... much everything you two just openly express."

Stacy and I giggled at her words before all of us focused back on the game. We played a few rounds where Willow got pissed every time I fucked her over, probably only made it worse by giggling at her as Charlotte and Nova tried to stifle their giggles. I basically just set out not to let Willow win, I didn't care about winning so pressing Willow's buttons was how I enjoyed the game.

"You're only winning so much since Hunter never uses his cards against you! This is basically cheating!" Willow complained after Stacy won another round of the game.

"You just need to get better..." I replied with a shrug.

"Wha... This game is literally luck based!"

"Anyways, when do you guys wanna move onto the next game?" I asked, Charlotte grinning at my suggestion.

"We should do that now if you guys want, we've been playing this one for a while." She said where the others agreed to her words. It took a couple minutes to put away the game we were playing and for Charlotte to set up the next one.

"What exactly is this game?" Stacy asked as Charlotte started passing the white cards out to all of us.

"It's... a very vulgar but fun game. Just place the card you think will be the funniest to put down when I read out the sentence that's missing a spot." Charlotte briefly explained.

I chuckled. "You're gonna blush so much while playing Cards Against Humanity..."

Stacy was shocked when she read some of her cards. "...Oh..."

The game shortly commenced after I chuckled at her adorable reaction. And like I predicted, as we played the game she blushed at some of the rounds which was just even more adorable. She really enjoyed the game though, we all did, it was a very fun experience, some cards causing me to laugh so much that it started hurting to laugh. It definitely felt like I gained a year or two of life just from how much enjoyment I got from the experience.

In the middle of it, Kai and Roman joined us at their significant other's side but didn't join in on the game, they just wanted to join in on any conversation. And also they wished Stacy a happy birthday which was deeply appreciated. And the news of Roman and Nova finally getting together had recently been broken so it was still new to the others along with seeing them all romantic.

The games, discussions, banter, eating some 'snacks' that Jordan had made, and tame fun persisted for another four hours before they concluded, Stacy then wanting to cuddle some more afterward.

"Let's cuddle on the couch to be a little more social since we've been in our room for a while today. Shouldn't we be rather social on your special day?" I quietly suggested which wasn’t particularly a great excuse to stay out of our room but it’s what I thought would work.

"Alright..." She said, sounding a little disappointed. I'm sure she wanted to lure me up to our room so she could continue to try to get me to fuck her but I was able to tell what she was thinking so her little plan was foiled.

And so we cuddled on one of the couches with her head resting on my chest along with my nose buried in her hair as I had my arm around her to tightly hold her. Another hour rolled by of us enjoying yet another loving embrace and during that time the rest of the crew wished Stacy a happy birthday. Eventually I kissed her forehead and announced, "There's something else I wanna give you..."

Her ears perked up at that. "Oh? What is it?"

"Let's go in the dining room first." I said before a surprised squeak emitted from her as I took hold of her when I stood up. I quickly held her bridal style and made my way into the desired area before setting the precious girl on one of the chairs.

"You don't have to give me more things, what I've gotten today is already enough." She sweetly said though I just kissed her forehead again.

I gingerly put a hand on the side of her face. "Don't be silly, Stace, yes I do... I got you something that you've wanted and I know you're gonna love it."

She kissed me before I headed upstairs to Olivia's room where the woman wasn't present so I allowed myself in. I opened the closet door and took a box that contained the camcorder and DVD player along with all of the many types of songs I got with it. I looked at the much smaller blue and plush box that contained the ring I was gonna give her that night and thinking of it I took that one as well and slipped it into a pocket so I wouldn't have to return to Olivia's room suspiciously.

And to avoid suspicion from arising even further I took all of the sex toys I had gotten her and transported them onto her desk. I couldn't wait to introduce them to her and was getting slightly aroused at the thought of it. But I extinguished those thoughts and focused on the present so I then took the box with electrical gadgets downstairs where I took my sweet time returning back to the dining room.

When I walked into the dining room she glanced at the box I was carrying, the girl tilting her head a tad as I walked up to her. "What is it?"

I leaned down and eskimo kissed her for a few seconds before placing the box on the table in front of her. "Open it and find out." I said with a nod toward the box with an encouraging smile on my lips.

She looked at the box for a few silent seconds before her hands steadily made their way toward the lid of the box on either side. She gingerly started lifting the lid up where the lid easily came off of the box that was about a foot tall. She peered into the box and smiled at what she saw. She looked back at me, the girl a little uncertain if she should just take what was inside the box.

"Well go on, pick one of them up..." I quietly said causing her attention to turn back to her gifts. One of her hands reached inside the box and pulled the handheld camcorder out where she put it on her lap as she closely examined it. "Is that what you wanted?"

She nodded and looked back at me, her smile being so incredibly adorable. "Thank you..."

I gently hugged her. "It's what you wanted, to delve into photography, I had to make it possible for you to try it out... Plus, we can take images of cool and important things now, I'd like that to be done by your skilled hands."

We lightly kissed when I pulled back before she opened the screen on the side of the camera and turned the camera on, the girl happy to see that it was fully charged. "...Can we take a picture together?"

I sat down in a chair and scooted it as close as I could to her where I then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently pressed her to lean onto my chest as the girl tried figuring out how to use the camera.

"Want me to take the picture?" I asked, the girl handing me the camcorder a few seconds later. I didn't waste any time in extending my arm out and turning the camera around, the both of us getting comfortable to be captured. After I took the picture my arm around her shoulder deftly made its way under her chin before I leaned back a bit so Stacy could look me in the eyes. "Wanna take one of us kissing?"

She lightly blushed but nodded which was my cue to softly place my lips on hers where I took the time to deeply enjoy the kiss before I took another picture of us. I set the camera down on the table and put my other hand on her jaw where the both of us just continued deeply kissing each other for a few minutes. When it ended she hugged me.

"I love how the first images you wanted to take were of us..." I said as I slowly smelled her hair.

"I think it's the best way to first use it... Since it's me and you and I want to remember this day for as long as I can."

"Beautiful reasons..." I simply commented before the both of us enjoyed the hug for a couple of minutes longer. "When are you gonna check out the other thing that's in the box?"

"Oh yeah!" She happily said right before breaking the hug as her hand reached into the box again.

I picked the camera back up to look at the photos I had taken and... I loved them. They captured the both of us perfectly since there was no blur, the lighting was fine, the angle was great, and caught the emotion that we shared between us... Especially the kissing one, the both of us were so engrossed into the simple act of passionate affection. She was so photogenic... I actually think the both of us are, we're a really good looking couple in my opinion. But that might just be my ego.

She pulled out the portable DVD player with the small pair of headphones and a couple of the discs that I had gotten her, Stacy not really knowing what it was. "It's something that lets you listen to music, as long as you put in the DVDs for it.. Here, let me show you."

I showed her how to use it completely by inserting one of the DVDs in it and putting the headphones on for her. The music she was listening to was a disc of a bit of pop, the songs it contained being upbeat. She appeared to enjoy it as the minutes rolled by. Stacy eventually took the headphones off and placed them on the table after listening to a couple of them.

She looked up at me with pleased eyes. "I love them so much. Thank you for everything."

I rested my forehead on hers and lovingly kissed her. So many kisses that day... "You're welcome, my love."

She hugged me again. So many cuddles that day and so many hugs as well, I loved it so much. I made sure to savour and relish in the feeling of having my adorable little Queen's arms wrapped around me along with her head resting on my chest and gingerly nuzzling me. We yet again spent a decent amount of time holding each other along with me kissing her forehead every now and then to make it more comfortable for her.

"How else do you wanna celebrate your birthday?" I asked after a long while. Sure, we talked about a few small things every now and then but this was a real conversation changer.

"Hm... I kinda want... a big fire." She said, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.

"In the fireplace?" I asked, the girl shaking her head. "...The backyard?" She nodded her head. "To be honest, I kind of forgot we had a fireplace back there... But you're the boss for today, how big do you want it to be?"

"Like, really big!" She cheerily said.

I pecked the tip of her nose because she was being adorable. "I'll make it as big as I can make without using wood we can't afford to burn, alright, my Queen?"

She giggled and nodded where the girl squeaked in surprise when I swiftly stood up and took her with me. I carried her in the way I usually do all the way back to the backyard fireplace. I took a couple glances at the tilled fields, happy that we'd be planting some crops in a few days. I set her down and started retrieving logs that we stored outside to be cut into smaller pieces for the inside fireplace. Thankfully we kept them in the backyard so it only took me about twenty minutes to pile on a good amount of wood to burn. She offered to help but I didn't want her little muscles to work all that much so I persisted on her leaving the job to me.

With some help from Stacy it still took a little while to get some kindling burning but when it finally started to slowly start spreading we hugged each other as we watched it burn, the fire growing in size as each minute passed. When we had to, we'd take a step or two back so we wouldn't get too hot, the fire getting pretty big.

As the fire crackled and popped I noticed that the sun was only gonna keep the day light for another hour and a half or so. "Damn, have we really cuddled and played games for the entire day? It's gone by so fast..." I thought, a little bit sad that the day just flew by. Though it was really fun and was extremely memorable, I knew it was gonna be a very good memory to look back on in the future. And I was happy about that. That was the entire goal for the day.

Kostas, Ashton, and Olivia came out to the backyard the following thirty minutes where all five of us told stories around the campfire. Though Stacy and I didn't really have that many since we were still pretty young, the both of us not able to create such stories through experience in our lonely world.

It was fun hearing about their pasts, what they thought, who they loved, dumb mistakes they made, and things they would've done before The Drop if they knew it was gonna happen. It was a very somber conversation but it wasn't sad, instead it was relatable and enjoyable... Being open and social was so goddamn nice and able to have friends you can rely on and be able to tell anything to. It really is a stress reliever when one needs it, when one falls into a depressive episode, or just needs help figuring things out.

As the sunset drew nearer, around forty-five minutes away, I asked to talk to Ashton privately where Stacy was a little suspicious about as to why I wanted to but didn't ask any questions about it. We both walked ten or so meters away and I kept my voice low. "I'm gonna start heading to the spot where I'm gonna take Stacy to watch the fireworks in a few minutes. I want you to tell everyone that if they wanna watch it that it'll be happening soon."

"Alright, I'm sure everyone's home by now so that shouldn't be too hard." Ashton whispered with a nod.

With that being said we returned back to our spots at the dwindling bonfire where Ashton whispered something to Kostas and Olivia. I made sure to distract Stacy's eyes from Ashton whispering by deeply kissing her. It was pretty easy to make sure she didn't see that since we were both sitting on the ground along with a hand positioned on her chin to make sure she didn't look in their direction. She was too busy hiding our lips from the others to care about what Ashton was doing. After he was done relaying the information I stopped the kiss right before Ashton excused himself to head inside.

A few minutes later the supposed secret couple fucked off as well, the fire getting lower and lower. I kissed Stacy's forehead before telling her a certain something I was planning where I withheld the main secret from her to not ruin the surprise. "Hey, Stace?" She hummed and looked up at me. "I wanna go to another area, alone from everyone... I have yet another thing to show you."

She looked a bit shocked. "...Really?"

I nodded. "Yes, my dear... Want me to take you there?"

She happily nodded. After I made sure I was wearing the walkie-talkie we both got up where I then gently scooped her off her feet so she didn't have to walk the entire distance. "Where are we going?" She innocently asked after wrapping an arm around my neck.

"To a really peaceful area." I simply answered, being mysterious about it.

As I carried the little girl to the designated area we lightly kissed for a few seconds every now and then, the little acts of affection making the two or so kilometer walk feel brisk. There were probably around twenty or so minutes of daylight left in the day when I got to the tree I wanted us to watch the fireworks blow up at, something I easily determined due to how low the sun was hanging at the horizon.

"Here... I'm gonna show you it here." I announced before setting the girl down to give my arms a break. She tilted her head and briefly looked around for a few moments. "You're just the most adorable thing that has or ever could exist by light years."

"I don't see anything."

I chuckled as I took one of her hands and led her toward the tree before taking a seat at its base and facing toward where we had put the fireworks. Stacy followed my lead and sat next to me before leaning into my chest where we then snuggled close together. "It'll be a couple dozen minutes or so... It needs to be dark for you to see it."

"Hunter... that doesn't make any sense." She said with a giggle. "I was gonna ask about it getting dark though... It'll be night soon."

I chuckled. "Yeah, it doesn't make any sense if you don't have context... And no worries, I'll protect you from any monsters that might attack us, I promise." I claimed with another kiss on her head before taking a gentle hold of one of her hands.

And so it got darker and darker as the minutes rolled by. When I thought we had waited long enough, the sky then a dark blue, I unhooked my walkie-talkie and clicked it for a brief second giving Ashton and Kai the signal to light whatever they wanted within the next couple of minutes. My heartbeat picked up just a tad as I nuzzled into her hair.

"Stace? It's time I tell you what I'm gonna show you." I announced, the girl looking up at me after I said that. "Are you familiar with firework shows?"

"Hm... aren't they pretty?" She asked, really not certain about what they were.

"They are, but they're also loud."

"How loud?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Really loud, they're practically explosions, but cool explosions. They're gonna launch here in a minute or so... Didn't you say that you're scared of loud noises?"

"I... in a way. When I'm alone, definitely..."

"That's good to know... I'm here so there's no need to be scared. Hold me tighter if you get scared by them and remember that you're safe, try to enjoy this, alright? It's gonna be amazing and pretty." I advised, eskimo kissing her afterward.

"Alright... I'll try."

"Let's watch and wait now..." I replied, looking in the vicinity where the explosions would occur.

When the first shell was launched we both jumped a bit since it was sort of impossible to know when they'd begin. Stacy jumped even harder when the shell exploded beautifully into a bright red that lit up the sky for a brief few seconds, the explosion quickly followed by a giant blue explosion.

Stacy's arm and hand tightened their grasp every time a firework launched or exploded, the girl flinching a decent bit each time, though she watched the explosions with awe. After making sure she'd be alright I started to watch the explosions as well after resting the side of my face on top of her head, the both of us lovingly holding each other closely.

The show was mesmerizing, the explosions not relenting for well over ten minutes. Stacy expressed her awe with adorable little oo's and wows. The fireworks were beautiful, came in all sorts of colors, sizes, shapes, and were well worth all the time I had invested in setting it up, especially since Stacy was enjoying them. But all good things fly by when you're experiencing them and the show was no outlier to that law.

Though the last box went a little haywire at the end by the box tipping over as it ended where two fireworks flew off toward the ground which was somewhat near where I thought the others were spectating from. Thankfully that box was about out of ammo so it stopped firing rockets after those disastrous shots were fired.

I picked up my walkie and asked, "Is everyone alright?" I really didn't want to be responsible for an injury.

A few seconds later Olivia said, "Yep, just a little scared from it, it was a bit too close for comfort." Everything can't go perfectly but all things told it could've been a lot worse.

After a silent minute I directed Stacy's head up toward mine so I could look her in the eyes. "So, how was that?"

She took a couple seconds to form a response. "It was... really beautiful. It was pretty scary, since y'know, they're explosions. But I got used to them... in a way. It was so cool..."

I softly rubbed my nose against hers. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Thank you... again..." She said as we hugged each other once again. "Today's been so amazing..."

My heart skipped a beat when I remembered that I had the ring in my pocket. I leaned back and directed her head up toward me, her lips having a happy little smile of joy. I kissed her, the kiss lightly strengthening and persisting for a few minutes before I broke it and rested my forehead on hers, my heart rate slightly increasing by what I was about to do. I thought about even more as I lost myself in her beautiful blue eyes, my heart racing at the meaning of the act I was about to enact upon.

"Stacy?" I said, the girl giving me a light hum. "There's one more thing I need to give you..." I leaned back a tad as a hand slipped into my pocket and took the small opulent box that was holding the ring within it out, my heart rate increasing slightly once more.

She kept her attention to my eyes, the girl's eyes getting lightly misty from my words. "You got... even more?"

I nodded before reaffirming my grip with one of her hands where she reciprocated the grasp. I took a deep breath as I put the box on my lap. "I did, and it's... very, very important."

"Oh? What is it?" She innocently asked.

I looked her lovingly in the eyes as I thought about what I was going to say. "Stacy... You... are so much more than everything I've ever wanted and everything I'll ever need..." I said, beginning my long monologue, speaking from the heart as I took in her features with the help of the light from quarter of the moon. "You have made me... so happy, so optimistic, and gave me the desire to... to do something greater with my life. You're the best thing to have ever entered my life and I know that title will never be beaten. I can say that and mean it because... Stacy, there is no beating what you are."

At this point her eyes were starting to brim with tears as my monologue continued spilling out of me. "You're the most beautiful, talented, amazing girl I ever could've found by miles in every metric... You calm my soul, make me look forward to every day, help me power through anything, because I know I'll eventually return back to you, something I'll always strive for because of how wonderous it is to have you. The reason being is because just being able to hug you, let alone everything else, causes me to nearly be overloaded with happiness. I'm so extremely lucky that I was in that cabin when I was, that I didn't leave you, that you warmed my heart up just enough to make me feel obligated to help you..."

I lightly put my free hand on the side of her face as a couple tears rolled down her cheeks as she accepted all of my words. "You're the person I trust and love the most, with my entire being. You're my other half and you complete me. You're the single greatest person that I have ever met. I want to spend my life with you by my side. But the point of all of this, Stacy, is I promise to protect you. I promise to love you and only you forever. I promise to provide for you. I promise to help you whenever you ever struggle with anything. And I promise to keep you happy. The last promise I'll make to you is this..."

She gasped when I suddenly lifted the box up to her where I then opened it to reveal the ring. "I promise to keep all of my promises until the day I die..." I lightly put a hand back on her cheek as she looked at the ring. "...Do you feel the same? Do you want to be with me, by my side, for the rest of our lives? Where I'll treat you to the best of my ability in every single way I'm able to?"

"I-I don't even n-need to think about it... Yes, I do." She replied, desperately trying not to cry.

I turned a bit more to her, my hand travelling down to her left hand and lifting it up a tad. I set the box on my lap so my free hand could take the ring out where I then looked her deeply in the eyes as I slowly slipped the ring on her bare finger, the ring slipping to the base of her digit with ease. It was a perfect fit, it was meant to be. I held her hand that now sported the ring with both of mine, Stacy lightly sniffling before she quickly shuffed to sit on the ground in between my legs and face toward me with her legs crossed.

We lovingly kissed once more where Stacy no longer was able to hold her tears back, the girl having to stop the kiss so she could hug me and cry on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her head as the girl sobbed harder. Which was the first time she did so since she was usually always a quiet crier...

But they weren't sad tears, they were tears of joy, happy about everything I had said, happy that we had a symbol of eternal commitment to each other, and happy about the promises we had forged. She cried heavily for a little longer than five minutes, so many tears being saturated into my shirt during it, but I didn't care about the mess. When her crying slowed down to a sniffle I leaned back and directed her face up to mine so we could continue talking face to face.

"I love you, Stacy... I know we don't need the ring to confirm what we feel... But I thought it'd be an amazing gift, a symbol of our love, something you can look at and remember why you have it." I said as I wiped off the tears off of one of her stained cheeks.

"I... I-I love you so much... More than anything ever, I'm so lucky to have f-found you, and I promise all of those promises too..." She said, looking down at her ring for a silent thirty seconds. "But it is a way of confirming everything we feel... I'll definitely cherish this for my entire life..." A couple minutes passed of her examining the ring in the dim lighting. She looked back up at me. "Does... Does this mean we're married?"

After I dried her other cheek my arms lightly wrapped around her chest, the question having shocked me just a tad. "...Do you want it to mean that?"

She looked down at the ring again and softly smiled at it before looking back up at me once more. "...Yes."

I wasn't particularly ready for her to say that. But I thought it over... Why should I say no? There wasn't a single reason. I lightly sighed. "Life... is too uncaring about how people live... The Drop is a prime example of that. And we're gonna be together for a very, very long time... We already have promised to be together forever upon so many more promises... I wanted to wait a couple of years to get married to you but I don't know what the next two years are gonna be like. And I'm not gonna pass the opportunity to call you my wife." I lightly put a hand on one of her cheeks once more before leaning down a bit. "So yes... This means we're married."

With that being said we kissed each other, the kiss... surprisingly feeling very magical, the energy feeling the exact same just like when we had our first kiss... I don't know if it was some sort of placebo or something like that, but... it genuinely felt like we became a married couple at that moment.

After a couple minutes of the tender kiss I rested my forehead on hers once more as the both of us relaxed into the hug with bright and ecstatic smiles on both of our lips.

"Does this mean my last name's yours?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

I thought about her question for a few moments as an idea came to mind. "It doesn't need to be... Do you want to change your last name to mine?"

She nodded. "...So I don't have the name of... of my evil parents."

I didn't want her to think about her parents, I didn't want those sacks of shit to ruin the moment. "I have an idea about our last names..." She tilted her head, interested in my words. "Let's swap them out agree to a new one. How does that sound?"

She thought about it for a few seconds. "It sounds... cool, and fair in a way"

"I've actually thought about this before. New world, new names. And being the leader of Solaris... How does Solstice sound?" I asked, the girl thoroughly thinking about it.

"Hm... It's a good start... May I change it a bit?"

I nodded. "It's our last name, you deserve a say in it."

"How does... Solace sound?" She asked, the name instantly winning me over.

"It sounds... perfect, just like you." I said, the girl smiling at my words. "Are we Mister and Misses Solace now?"

She lovingly giggled with a small nuzzle. "Yes."

We hugged tighter after we agreed to our new last name, the both of us getting even spiritually closer...

"I love you..." She whispered, nuzzling my chest.

"I love you too..." I replied to my newfound wife...

I really loved being able to call her that, my heart flutters every time I remember we agreed to be a married couple. In this world, we don't need a ceremony, we don't need a legal system, we don't need all that bullshit. All that we need is our undying love to express to each other what we want... and what we want is to be together and love one another for the rest of our lives, something that I wanted and needed on an immeasurable scale...

Chapter 33: Committed Celebration

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

Stacy and I stayed under that tree for a long time where the both of us quietly celebrated our decision to be married. We kept lightly kissing each other, I kept kissing her temples, forehead, cheeks, and the bridge and tip of her nose while enjoying our lovely embrace along with the both of us affectionately nuzzling each other. And even then there were still other cute and soft acts that we did like eskimo kiss each other. It was a very... intimate and sweet moment, a moment that I'll never forget and cherish for the rest of my life. After an hour of loving on each other she gingerly turned around, relaxed, and leaned back onto me since she was still in between my legs. Both of my hands went to hold hers that now wore our commitment ring in response after she settled down.

She held my hands right back as I buried my nose in her hair so I could smell her light scent, my arms making sure to lightly tug her into me so we could more closely press our bodies against each other's. Eventually I leaned my head over her shoulder which caused the girl to nuzzle me before we continued intimately kissing. When it ended a few minutes later I rested my forehead on hers.

"I love you so much, Stacy..."

"I love you so much too..."

I eskimo kissed her as I lightly placed a hand on her cheek. "How much have you liked your birthday so far...? Did I do a good job?"

She happily nodded. "I... I feel so loved and cared about. After everything you've said and done for me, I feel so warm inside. And now I'm... I-I'm your wife."

She said before choking up just a bit at the end of her explanation. I lightly kissed her to calm her down. "And I'm your husband... for eternity. I'm glad I can make you feel this way, my wish is to forever keep it that way."

"I know you'll try... And I will too. And I thank you so much, for everything. For promising me all those promises, loving me, and just everything else... I'm so lucky."

Another light kiss. "There's no way I couldn't do all of that. I’m so lucky too..."

"Hunter?" She said after a silent minute causing me to hum. "I promise you all of those promises too... Okay?"

I chuckled and looked down at her ring. "That's what the ring tells me... And it does stand for endless commitment. So whenever we come across a rough patch between us, I promise to work it out with you, so we can stay together."

"I promise that too..." We deeply kissed again for a few minutes before looking up at the starry night with a comfortable silence emerging between us. Until she asked, "How much do you know about them?"

"About who?"

"The stars..."

"I know the basics... There's hundreds of billions of them in our vast galaxy, one galaxy of trillions." I looked down at her, the girl staring intently at the cosmos as she listened closely to my words. "The nearest star is trillions and trillions of miles away."

"Have people been there before?"

I chuckled at her adorable ignorance. "No, not even close. The fastest thing humans ever made, compared to the vastness of space, is extremely slow. It would've still taken... over seventy thousand years to get to the nearest star if I remember correctly."

"Wow... Space is huge..."

I giggled at her simplified terms. "That doesn't even begin to cover how big the universe is."

"Isn't the sun a star?"

"Sure is. About ninety-two million miles away."

"How big is the sun? Do the other stars have Earths?"

I found her questions adorable in a way, how she was so ignorant about the plane of existence she lived on. Though it did surprise me when I remembered that we hadn't talked about it before. It just slipped out minds. "You could fit around one million Earths in the sun." She lightly gasped at the number. "And we never figured out that other question. Sure, we found thousands of planets orbiting other stars but we could only really see their shadows and tried to guess their size from that. And there were a few that might've been able to have life on them."

"...So that means there could be people on those planets?"

I nodded. "It's possible. But the people there will probably look like nothing we could ever imagine."

"How come?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

I lightly sighed but with a smile. "Have we ever talked about evolution?"

"...A bit. It's been a long time though."

"It's the small changes of animals over long periods of time through environmental pressures, chance, and natural selection, which is how different animals emerged on our planet. Almost four billion years ago the first little cells emerged on our planet through some sort of chemical reaction most likely, humans were still answering that one though we do know that's how the building blocks for life emerged. From there they eventually learned how to convert the sun's light into food, plants still do it to this day, it's photosynthesis and it creates oxygen... Life stayed like that for a really long time, until about five-hundred million years ago when some sort of mutation happened inside the cells that helped them group up with other cells, enabling them to become actual animals."

"Without them we wouldn't be here?"

I nodded. "We're all related to them. Every living thing is. So the deer we hunt, the salmon we fish, the trees we cut down, the crops Audrey will harvest, you and me, we're all related to them."

"That's... amazing."

"And it goes to show you how lucky we are to be alive. If the mutations in those cells didn't happen when they did, we most likely wouldn't be here... And that's just one example, there's so many other things... Like all of our ancestors procreating when and where they did, all of the paths they took, and even things like the asteroid hitting the Earth that killed the dinosaurs that let the mammals take over the planet... Which by the way, if it was thirty seconds late it would've missed the Earth and we wouldn't have ever came into existence."

"Wow..." She speechlessly said. "How long have humans been on Earth?"

"Around two-hundred thousand years. Before that we were ape-like creatures, around six million years ago. Because there was a lot of time, we gradually turned into what we are today. A lot of people before The Drop couldn't understand that and instead opted for blind belief that had no evidence. To be somewhat fair I don't have any evidence on me but I'm not really in the position to go get some, heh."

"So, how come people from space probably won't look like us?"

"Right, it's because creatures need to go through the exact same evolutionary path that we went through... Meaning you need the same star, the same type of planet, atmosphere, moon, mutations... so many other things. Life on Earth is already so diverse. From zebras to eels to crabs to anglerfish to eagles to mosquitos to tardigrades… and that’s just here with the species that are still alive. Who knows what the billions of other species we never discovered looked like."

"...Oh. I see. So they'd look really weird?"

"Most likely..."

"How did the moon get here?" She asked while looking at the beautiful celestial body.

"Four and a half billion years ago another planet crashed into ours. It launched trillions of tons of rock into space which formed a ring around our planet before that ring eventually turned into our moon. The moon used to be several times closer to us and our days used to be six hours long but over the course of billions of years it strayed away and our days slowed. It was theorized that we had two moons at one point where the both of them merged together since one side of the moon is much thicker than the other."

"That would've been so cool to see..." She quietly said. "How did the Earth and sun get here?"

I really didn't mind all of her questions, she was unaware of the history of the universe and was curious as to why things are, so I continued answering her questions. "When the sun formed four and a half billion years ago from a gas cloud of a dead star, it pushed the lighter gasses away but kept the heavier things close to it. That's why there's big gas planets are on the outside of our solar system with rocky planets in the inner solar system. So the Earth just used gravity to its advantage, pulling the materials close to it over millions of years, getting it to the size it is currently."

"Hm... How did the universe get here?"

"There used to be nothing at all, no space, no time, literally just nothing at all... 'Everything' was concentrated into one infinitely small point until it exploded to life where it created all the energy and mass the universe would ever contain. In scales we can't even comprehend, it became the size of many galaxies in several trillion times faster than a tenth of a second. From there it got bigger and cooler. It took hundreds of thousands of years for the first materials to be formed and then hundreds of millions for the first stars to form. They didn't live very long though, the stars creating new materials for the universe. Then they died in explosions, creating even more materials. Those materials made new stars which made new materials, which made our sun."

Of course that's an extremely, extremely vast oversimplification of how our universe got to this point. But I had to explain it in ways that she'd understand where Stacy knitted the other explanations together to get one oversimplified timeline of our universe.

"...What caused that to happen?"

I lightly sighed. "And that's where I'm no longer able to answer your questions. No one knows what started it and we probably never will... We can only guess what happened."

"Oh... What do you think caused it?"

I thought about her question for a few seconds. "I truly don't even have an idea about it. It could've been some sort of God but not a God that any human once worshipped." I decided to not get into it possibly being the switch being turned on for the simulation to begin. That conversation was already really deep.

"I barely understand any of what you've said... But it's really cool that you know this all." She said, turning slightly to me.

"We can go into more detail later if you want... For now, it's really late. Want me to carry you back home so you don't have to walk?" I asked, pressing the tip of my nose against hers.

She rubbed her nose on mine. "I think I can walk on my own..."

"It wouldn't be that nice to not carry my wife when I can easily do that, now would it?" I asked with a strong smile, happy to have called her that.

She blushed and lightly giggled. "Okay, if you wouldn't mind..."

We let go of each other's hands before standing up a couple seconds later. I gently scooped her off her feet and started making our way back home after I checked to make sure I had my walkie-talkie on me. Once again, the both of us lightly kissed each other every now and then as we made our way back... Though the cuteness was slowly starting to be replaced with lust as the minutes rolled by.

When I walked up to the porch I set her down and opened the door for her where the girl gracefully walked in before I followed behind her. She somewhat hid the ring from the others' view, probably not wanting to explain it tonight which I understood. But I took her hand with the ring and gracefully held it.

"We were about to send out a search party for you two." Audrey announced with a chuckle, the woman cuddling with Ashton on one of the couches.

"Don't be hesitant to display the ring openly..." I whispered to Stacy before focusing on Audrey's words. "Well, we're here now so cancel all the plans that any of y'all have drawn up."

"Will do. You two looking to stay down here? What're your plans?" Ashton asked, the man glancing at Stacy's noticeable ring but kept quiet about it.

I looked back toward Stacy. "What do you want to do?"

"I... I'm tired. Today's been a long day." She lied, glancing toward the stairs.

"Welp, you heard her. And since it's still her birthday I've gotta do whatever she wants. So see y'all tomorrow, goodnight." I announced where I then started to lead Stacy to the stairs with me. "Wait, I wanna get one more thing." I said before letting go of Stacy's hand and going to the dining table where I took the camcorder with me. I then quickly concealed it before continuing to lead Stacy back upstairs.

"Don't get too loud now." Audrey advised which stoked a bright adorable blush on Stacy's face before the girl walked faster than me to avoid the embarrassing situation.

When we got to our room I turned the light on and closed the door for her where I locked it as well. After I put the camcorder on the desk I turned my gaze back to hers as the girl delved back into a state of desire, somewhat thankfully not seeing what was on the desk. I closed the distance between our bodies and put my hands on her jawline before pressing my nose against hers.

"We can do whatever you want. What do you want me to do?" I whispered, the girl lightly swallowing in anticipation.

"I... us to have really sweet sex..."

I kissed her. "Let's do it then." I said as my hands travelled to her hips before slipping under her shirt so I could start lifting it up to take it off her.

(Sex scene ahead “ctrl+f ‘sex scene over’ to skip)

After I took her shirt off her hands went to my pants as my cock hardened while her hands undid the button and zipper to my jeans. I took my shirt off as she was doing it where my pants and shirt dropped to the floor seconds later before my hands returned to her hips afterward. I gingerly pushed her back and kissed lustfully all the way back to our bed where I lightly pushed her on top of it. I slipped out of my boxers where she eyed my cock with an instinctive hunger before my fingers slipped under the sides of her pants and panties where I backed up a bit so I could effectively take them off.

When they were off her I threw them to the side as Stacy spread her legs open so I could have access to her entire body. I got fully erect as I ogled her horny groin before my eyes trailed up her chest up to her beautiful and blushed face. I took a step toward her to eliminate the space between us and placing my hands on her sides before leaning down. I pressed my phallus onto her clit as my lips pressed against hers which was the cue for our tongues to rub against each other's and our lips, the both of us greatly enjoying the gentle feelings we gave each other.

When the kiss ended I said, "I got a few more things for your birthday... It'll make sex a little more interesting."

She tilted her head. "...Is that why you wanted to wait until now?"

I nodded. "I got like six things... They're gonna make sex really different."

"What is it?"

"I'll bring one at a time over so you can agree to wear them or not, alright?"

She lightly whimpered. "Okay... Just please, I've been super horny on and off all day... I want to have sex so bad, I need your penis in me."

I chuckled and kissed her again, her words stroking a part of my mind that deeply adored what she said. "Alright, my dear." With that being said I took a step back and headed toward her desk where I looked over the toys I had gotten her. I decided to take the collar and the leash first where I hid them behind my back as I returned back between her legs.

I revealed them. It didn't take long for her to express that she had no clue what they were. "What is it?"

I lifted the collar up. "This is a collar. I'll put it on your neck, a little bit tight, but only just a little bit. And this is the leash, so I can guide you when you need it... Do you want to try it out?"

She glanced between the two items before timidly nodding. I put the collar in my other hand so I could lean her up. I set the leash down before undoing the collar and gently put it around her neck as the girl innocently looked up at me. I made it a bit tight before I made sure it wouldn't weaken its grip around her neck where I then latched the leash onto the collar immediately afterward.

I held the leash and tugged just a tad. "How's that feel?"

A hand of hers reached up to the collar and fiddled with it a bit. "It's definitely different... I kind of like it."

I leaned down and kissed her before returning to the desk. I decided to just pick them all up, minus the vibrator but including the camcorder, and returned between her spread legs. I set all of the toys next to her where a hand went to her chin to direct her to look toward me so she wouldn't spoil the surprise of the toys. After I quickly explained that to her I picked up the plush handcuffs.

"These are gonna restrict how you use your hands and arms... Wanna put them on?"

She intently looked at them. "...Yes" My submissive wife answered.

I took one of her arms and tightly cuffed it, making sure it was tight and wouldn't come undone unless I did it. I wasted no time in cuffing the other one as she just watched me do whatever to her. The cuffs didn't allow her wrists to get even an inch apart so she wasn't able to undo them even if she wanted to anyways. I picked up both of the manual nipple ‘suckers’, Stacy at a loss for what they were.

"These will allow me to 'suck' your nipples even when I'm kissing you elsewhere."

"...Show me."

And so I pressed the ‘mouth’ of the somewhat small device over one of her nipples, the nub of her nipple pressing into the soft and plush inside of the toy causing her to gasp. I did the same with the other one where her legs spread open again as I pressed the stimulators into her nipples. She loudly whimpered when I squeezed the pumps on the top of them, pressing them slowly, the sucking getting harder with each squeeze.

"F-Fuck- These are g-good." She said as I let go of them where the sucking pressure on her nipples persisted so they could start becoming really sensitive to touch.

After that I picked up the ball gag, Stacy once again being lost at what she was looking at. "This is a ball gag. I'll wrap it around your head and insert the ball into your mouth, to keep you quiet and so you can't talk... Wanna try it out?"

"I... Yes." She somewhat hesitantly replied, unsure about it all but she wasn't afraid of trying it out.

"Before I do," I picked up the blindfold. "I'm sure you know what a blindfold is."

She nodded. "Put it on me." I did so before wrapping it around her somewhat tightly, her vision quickly not being in use. "How am I supposed to say anything if I want anything to stop...?"

"Shake your head really fast. I'll know if something's wrong then. Can I put the gag in your mouth?"

She timidly nodded which prompted me to put it on around her, the girl lightly opening her mouth so I could push the gag into her where the gag was just the right size for her. I took a step back from her and admired how I dressed her up in sex toys. I walked back up to her and picked the camcorder up before opening it and turning it on. It's funny how fast it was used for sex but why wouldn't I have done this?

"Hey Stacy, can I take a couple pictures of you?" She tried talking but the gag prevented her from doing so. She timidly nodded a few seconds afterward. "...Can I record us having sex for a bit?" I asked, the girl slowly nodding some more. After getting her consent I got ready to take an image of her. "Spread your legs open some more and lift your arms up a bit for me, please."

She did so which gave me the perfect shot of her engorged pussy, her fully ready and lubricated slit begging and waiting for me to give her everything she wanted, her succulent tits being in the shot as well since her hands were clasped above and between them. I took a couple pictures of her like that before moving the camera up to her pussy so I could take a closeup image of her folds. I was so incredibly hard doing it that I couldn't wait any longer.

"The last thing I could've gotten you was earmuffs... I should've, for the pounding you part, would you like that, hm?" I asked after I set the camera back down by her side. I once again leaned down to press my nose against the girl's, the same girl of which who was shakily breathing in anticipation.

She nodded...

"I'll be sure to get you a pair eventually, my submissive, horny, sexy, beautiful wife..." I kissed the tip of her nose before pressing her down and getting on my knees so I could enjoy the smell of her aroused slit for a couple of minutes. I took a couple of long licks so I could thoroughly taste her addictive lady-juice and hear her adorable whimpers, the taste and smell being so feral... Afterwards, I stood back up and pressed my cock on her clit. I picked up the camcorder and directed it to capture where our genitalia were as I changed the camera option to record before starting a video.

I knew it was gonna be really ameture but I didn't care. I lovingly rubbed my cock up and down on her clit for a minute before directing the tip of my shaft into her slick and incredibly horny lower lips where Stacy grunted into the gag as I stretched her vagina and slowly plunged myself into her groin. My free hand went to her inner thigh so I could massage it for a minute or so before placing it on her mons pubis after my tip contacted her cervix so I could rub her clit with my thumb. Stacy's insanely adorable grunts and stifled moans were causing my penis to twitch in anticipation, my mind yelling at me to give her a pounding to hear more of her pleased noises.

I enjoyed the feeling of my cock being encompassed by her hot and slick depths, the horny pussy feeling like it was trying to squeeze me even more, like it had a mind of its own. After a couple of minutes I slowly pulled out and directed the camera up her body to her face to focus on her expressions as I pulled out before directing the camera back down to where I impaled her as my thrusting slowly started to pick up afterward. After five minutes I was pounding her, a plethora of grunts being limited in noise by the ball gag as I made my wife happy with pleasure.

My hand stimulating her clit migrated upward so I could release the pressure from one of the nipple stimulators. I made sure to record myself putting some sucking pressure back on her nipple before releasing it again, a suck motion being replicated with the small device as I repeated the action. She was in bliss and deeply relaxed into my phallus rubbing her walls and g-spot as her constrained hands migrated above her head as she tried to escape from the cuffs, the sight being so fucking hot. I enjoyed the sight of it since she wasn’t shaking her head, something I stayed aware of.

After I captured that I recorded our fornicating (But that doesn’t really apply anymore, does it?) groins for another minute before ending it and setting the camera down so a hand could rub her clit again while I focused on replicating sucking on her nipples using the manual devices on them where my hand swapped from one to the other.

I leaned over her and latched my lips onto a sensitive and exposed part of her neck where I sucked hard to cause her yet another pleasurable feeling. It sucked how I couldn't massage her inner thighs and kiss her as well but I got over it, she was already in a state of immense pleasure. She came really, really hard a couple minutes after I started kissing her neck, the girl squirting a large amount of lady fluid onto my shaft, my thrusting not relenting as I continued to breed her.

"Aw, you really love being my little submissive wife that loves to take all the poundings I give you, don't you? I fucking love how you keep your legs open for me and let me breed you, you're such a good little girl..." I couldn't help but lustfully say, her legs around my pelvis trying to help me thrust faster.

She nodded, the girl continuing to moan into the ball gag.

 "So fucking sexy and beautiful... Everything about you is so damn perfect." The lust in my tone was starting to drip off of it. "I'm so happy your little needy pussy is mine forever, your womb will only ever be the one to accept and to be filled with my seed." It only took her a few minutes to cum again which prompted me to near my edge just a minute later.

I leaned up as it swiftly neared and looked down at her sweaty body being ravished by me, the girl looking just so overwhelmingly sexy in her submissive state. I wanted to pull out of her to calm down but in that moment I only wanted to claim her as mine again, her cunt needed to be painted white for so, so many intimate reasons. I picked the camcorder back up and started to record where we connected since I wanted to capture the end of our session and the first time I came in her as my wife.

As I started that new recording I deeply focused on the feeling, glanced at the small bounce of her tits after each hard thrust, listened to her stifled moans and whimpers, smelled her natural scent, and once again admired her spread legs. I was only able to last twenty more seconds after that before the desire to impregnate her overruled all thoughts in my mind.

I pleasurably moaned every time I ejaculated deeply into her inviting pussy, the girl grunting from each wet smack that signified another shot of seed entering her womb. It was pure bliss like usual... The feeling of cumming inside her euphoric vagina and contacting her cervix with every thrust will always retain a feeling resembling heaven. When I stopped thrusting a few seconds later I took a deep breath and let it go, the serotonin rush of orgasming hitting me. I recorded the girl who was panting, her hands returning to her belly, her legs pressing me into her so my softening cock could stay in her.

A couple minutes later I took a step back where Stacy's legs unwrapped around me, my cock unfortunately unable to continue using her pussy to cause her to feel amazing. Some of my semen started leaking out of her which is something I made sure to closely record, the thought of recording her being really hot to me, especially a closeup of her slightly gaped labia as my seed slowly dripped out of her bred groin. After a minute I ended the recording and took a picture as well before setting the camera back to her side to help her lean up. I took the ball gag off her first and then the blindfold which revealed her eyes wet with tears.

"Is... everything okay?"

She nodded. "Yes... That was really intense... But I loved it so much, I loved feeling restrained, that was amazing. "

I chuckled and kissed her as I took the cuffs off of her before pulling the nipple stimulators off her as well which caused her to squeak, her nipples having been engorged from the prolonged sucking pressure.

"So I take it you’re satisfied?"

She nodded with a weak smile as I took the collar off. I was too caught up with everything else to really use the leash so maybe next time I'll use it. "Really, really satisfied... That was probably the best sex I've had... Can we do that again next time we have sex?"

"With me recording it as well?" I asked with a smirk before taking a seat next to her after placing the final of the sex toys at her other side.

She hugged me from the side. "...I don't know." She looked up at me. "What if someone finds the recordings? Do I even look good in the video?"

I lightly put a hand on her cheek and directed her to look up at me. "You look flawless on them, don't worry about it... We'll make sure the camera stays in a hidden spot whenever you’re not using it." I assured with a kiss on her lips.

We relaxed into a hug for a few minutes before she took the camcorder and placed it on her lap. "...I wanna see what I looked like."

I took it off of her lap and navigated through the few pictures and videos and selected the first sexy picture I took of her. "Look how beautiful you are..."

She swallowed hard. "...Yeah, that looks really hot." She gasped when she saw the closeup of her pussy, the one before the mess.

"I couldn't help myself, it's too amazing not to photograph... Look at this one, the beautiful aftermath." I said, navigating to the picture where her used pussy was gaping, used, and leaking cum. She intently stared at the picture with a blush. "I think that's enough looking at them for now… Y’know, considering we just did this." I announced with a small chuckle before closing the camera afterward. "Let's get ourselves cleaned up..."

I picked up all of the sex toys and placed them back on the desk before Stacy retrieved a towel that had already been used to clean our fluids off of us a couple of times before, the girl then walking up to me after she was done using it. I took it out of her hands so I could get rid of the fluids on my flaccid cock before quickly tossing the towel in a random direction when I was done.

(Sex over)

I walked up to my newfound wife and put my hands on her sides where her arms wrapped around my abdomen as I rested my forehead on hers while my nose lightly rubbed against hers. She happily smiled before a small giggle escaped her lips as I pressed her close into me.

"So, how was today?" I quietly asked her.

"Today was... was the best day in my entire life. I'm so fucking thankful that you're so... so caring and thoughtful. And I'm so, so happy that... that I'm your wife now." She answered with a really bright smile, the girl sounding like she was on the verge of tears again.

"I'm so happy too..." I simply replied, deeply kissing her affectionately. When it ended, I chuckled. "Getting married this young before The Drop was unheard of... at least, in most of the States."

"Oh well, it doesn't matter..."

"You're right... It's not like we need to be older to understand what we want."

"Exactly." She said before kissing me again. We stayed really close together just deeply kissing for fifteen minutes before she stopped and yawned.

"Ready to go to sleep?" I quietly asked, my beautiful wife nodding her head.

I know I didn't have to but I picked her up and carried her to bed before going to the light switch so I could turn it off. I returned back to our bed where the both of us faced each other as we laid on our sides, our arms wrapping around each other and holding each other close. After we lightly intertwined our legs I kept my nose pressed against hers where I slowly rubbed it with mine as we wound down from the day. I lightly kissed her one final time for that day, her light breathing deeply comforting me.

"Good night, my beautiful wife... I love you more than anything."

"Good night... I love you more than anything too."

With that being said and done we snuggled close and got comfortable with each other's touch. Being so comfortable, feeling so loved, holding... my wife close to me was swiftly able to lure me to sleep, more than happy, ecstatic even, with how the day had played out. It was a day I would cherish until I'm gone.

"Is it time for phase three?" An unknown voice asked as I felt something drape across my forehead. The same voice hummed. "Well, it's gonna happen regardless since it's already been put into play... I just hope they'll know how to handle phase four..."

I woke up a few hours later, feeling energized from the day prior's activities, all the memories from it slamming into me as I remembered what had all went down. I laid there as the memories came flooding back as I deeply admired Stacy who was sleeping with a little happy smile on her lips, the both of us so very close in the cuddle we had been in for hours. As always, I continued admiring the sight of her, grateful for... her wanting to be my wife. My heart flutters every time I remember that we agreed to be married.

Hunter Solace and Stacy Solace has quite a ring to it... I really loved our new last name for so many reasons. Though I no longer share the last name of my family, we live in a new world. And with it, a new sense of identification. Plus, it's the agreed upon union of mine and Stacy's futures... It was a great decision.

When she stirred awake she kept her eyes closed though her smile strengthened as she felt my arms around her slightly tighten. I kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips. "Good morning, my love."

She opened her eyes. "Good morning..." She unwrapped her left arm and scooted back a bit, the girl then checking to see if her new ring was still on her. She happily giggled. "It wasn't a dream..."

"Well, it was... It's just that the dream came true." I corrected, Stacy eskimo kissing me afterward.

We hugged for another ten minutes before we got up where the both of us got dressed for the day. She couldn't stop admiring the ring on her finger, the girl trying to focus on other things but she ultimately focused back on what was on her finger.

I walked up to her when she was intently looking at it. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, getting a nod from her, the girl looking up at me afterward. "I got the ring that reminded me of you the most, the most beautiful one..."

She lightly blushed. "Thank you... It's perfect. I can't stop looking at it because it's so beautiful... I love the sapphire, the diamonds… The meaning..." I kissed her deeply and stayed with her for a few minutes longer before I had to get somewhere where she stayed behind since she wanted to finish the sex drawing she started the day prior.

"What to do today..." I muttered to myself as I made my way downstairs before going into the dining room to read the time.

It was eleven in the morning, fairly late to wake up at the time but it is what it is, it was a productive night after all. After I made myself aware of the time I took my spot at the dining table and slid over the changes and amendments that the crew had been suggesting. I quickly read over them all.

Someone straight up didn't like the punishment system or the death penalty. But I strongly disagreed with them, I think what I came up with was the way to go. And seeing that there were no other suggestions to change it I simply extinguished the suggestion. If they had came up with an alternative way I wouldn't have done that, but as it was they didn't so I essentially erased it. But I did incorporate the others suggestions for rules since they were minor things that would eventually need to be added anyways. I wonder if we'll ever set up a permit system for all types of things, only time will tell.

After reading all of the changes I concluded that it was time to start crafting the book. Now, how does one craft a book? It'll be rudimentary but that's alright, as long as it looks good in the end and is made with quality.

"Hey Kai, do you know how to tan deer hide?" I asked in my walkie-talkie.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to find tanning oil." He simply replied a few seconds later.

"How do you make tanning oil?"

"You extract it from carrot seeds… or something like that"

"Hm..." I said, not speaking into the walkie-talkie. Instead of having deer hide as the cover for the book I was thinking of making, I was just gonna make the first version's cover be made out of some leather from a coat... Now to determine which coat to cut the leather out from.

Eventually we'll get around to producing our own leather and hides, all that good stuff, but not at the moment. We're already focusing on so much, we need to focus on the most important things first. And so that's what I got up to do where I took the sheets of paper with me to focus on making the book that would further establish us as an organized group... At least, that was the plan before I halted my steps as I heard the radio on the table go off.

"Is… Is this the group that launched those fireworks we heard?"

Chapter 34: Incremental Expansion

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

The feminine voice that asked that question sounded really timid and unsure, the voice causing a spike of adrenaline to rush through my system. I swiftly turned around and faced the radio as I realized the gravity of the situation where I properly processed the woman’s words from the radio's question. I somewhat stumbled my way back to the table and sloppily put the sheets of paper I was holding on the table before my hand anxiously picked up the mic to the radio.

I paused for a second to quickly think of what to say to the stranger. "Why yes, it was us. It was just a little celebration, a party of some sorts. I reckon you tried to locate where they were happening so you could join in on the fun?"

I hoped my friendly tone would help them feel more comfortable talking to me. The next few silent seconds were quite stressful, something that I was quickly getting a little bit afraid since I started thinking they weren't gonna reply.

"Not quite. We just wanted to see who was bold enough to launch as many fireworks as you guys did, you essentially told anyone in a few mile radius that you were here." She replied, a little giggle at the beginning of her sentence.

"Well to be honest, that wasn't really the plan with them. like I said, we were just having some sort of party."

"But you want to attract people regardless, right?" She inferred.

"In the sense of meeting and converting, yes." I confirmed. "I reckon you found one of the signs we erected that led you to the radio you're using?"

"Yep, when we tried looking for where the explosions were set off. We stumbled upon one of them and assumed they were made by the same people who launched the fireworks. It was a little bit of a journey but nothing we're not used to." She explained. "What do you mean by 'convert'?"

I lightly sighed before speaking into the mic. "I think continuing this conversation in person would be the way to go, not through some boxes that you have to listen through static so you can hold a conversation."

A male voice replied a few seconds later. "Fair warning, we'll all be somewhat on edge. If there's any funny business we'll dip as soon as we feel like we need to."

"Understandable. How many of you are there by the way? I wanna tell my group how many people we'll be contacting."

It took a little while for an answer to come my way. "Seven. What about your group?"

"I'll answer that when we meet up with you in about forty minutes." I said before hanging the mic up and taking the walkie-talkie off of my waist where I put it up to my mouth. "This is an urgent message, there's a group of some wanderers at the mall. Let's plan out the course of action."

"Holy shit, already?" Kai asked.

"I'm quite surprised too but it was the fireworks that attracted them, the signs just helped guide them to where we wanted them to go." I simply explained as I got up and started heading toward the stairs.

"How many of them are there?" Olivia asked.

"Seven. Who wants to go meet them with me? Three others, max." I asked as I made my way into my bedroom to get ready for the sudden trip. Stacy was just about to exit the room when I opened our room door, the girl hugging me when she saw me. I put the walkie-talkie back on my hip and hugged her back as the girl nuzzled into my chest while we heard some of the others discuss who should head out to meet the strangers.

"I kind of really don't want you to go... What if they hurt you?" She asked when she looked up at me with a hint of worry in her eyes.

I pressed my nose against hers. "Then I'll hurt them back if they do. I have faith they won't though. I know I'll try my best to avoid something like that, I promise."

She lightly kissed me and then lightly giggled. "I don't know why I'm getting scared and you're the one who's not... It's the complete opposite from when we met everyone else in the mall."

I chuckled at her explanation. "Yeah, that is just a little odd... But it is what it is, I'm a tad scared to do this but I feel that I have to take some risks. As long as I know that I'll be able to protect you."

"I'm just scared that... that you won't come back if they hurt you..." She admitted, a look of dread appearing on her face.

"Nothing will ever stop me from returning to my wife, I promise you that." I assured with a rub on her nose.

She lightly chuckled, the laugh conveying to me that my words flattered her. "Please do that... I love you so much."

"I will." I assured once more before deeply kissing her one more time and hugging each other tightly. We separated a couple minutes later so I could get ready for the upcoming little excursion.

All that I got was a holster for the magnum and inserted the handgun into it before slipping on my shoes and deeply kissing Stacy again. There's never such a thing as too many kisses. I saw that she started a new drawing but I'd ask her about it later. The people who were gonna go talk to the strangers to me already decided who'd go by that point so it was a more pressing matter. I told them all to meet by the cellar in five minutes.

Kostas, Ashton, and Audrey met within the suggested time where Audrey then handed me the key to the new lock on the trapdoor to the armory. I quickly undid the lock and opened the hatch.

"Time to decide who doesn't get a bulletproof vest, just in case they might use guns on us." I announced as I glanced at them all.

"I'll volunteer to skip out on it, all of you need it more than me." Ashton announced with a shrug.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, not expecting a conclusion to be drawn instantly.

"Well you're the leader, Audrey's the person who knows what to do when it comes to growing things, and Kostas will be the man who produces tools when he gets the chance because we'll inevitably need someone to do that at some point." He explained, which to be fair were pretty solid reasons.

"But won't you be the person supplying Kostas the materials to make the tools he'll give to me to farm?" Audrey counter argued.

"We can talk about this all day. I'm volunteering my safety for you guys, I know the possibilities that might happen." He announced, lightly putting a hand on Audrey’s side.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let a couple decide who'd be more compromised in a precarious situation... Anyways, it didn't take too much longer for Audrey to very reluctantly concede to Ashton's idea which allowed us to don the vests we had scavenged. They were heavier than I had expected but they'd definitely protect us from any bullet that'd try to pierce us, though we'd probably still have a couple broken ribs which would suck ass. I just hoped that any shot at us would be a body shot and not anywhere else.

When we were in the living room and about to leave Audrey coined an idea out loud. "Shouldn't we take a few pictures of what we have to prove what this place is like?"

"That... is a very good idea, actually." I replied.

"Say, didn't you give Stacy a camera yesterday? Maybe we can use that to prove what we're doing here to them?" Ashton asked which made my heart skip a beat.

"...Alright, sure. Just I’ll get complete control over the camera." I said before heading up the stairs a couple seconds afterward.

"How come?" The bastard asked.

"None of your business." I plainly said before hurrying my way back to my room where I instantly saw Stacy intently watching one of the videos I had recorded yesterday while sitting in her chair.

She jumped when I entered the room again where the girl quickly closed the camera and sloppily put it on her desk. She turned to me with a bright blush who was definitely hot and bothered from what she was watching. "Hi." She said cutely.

I chuckled as I walked up to her where a hand delicately went under her chin and directed her head up to me. "You don't need to be embarrassed about watching them Stacy, I recorded so we can watch them. You're so adorable."

Her embarrassment quickly died down a lot before one of her hands picked the camera back up and opened it. "I just... keep rewatching when you came inside me. It's so hot..." She was definitely aroused, her blushed face and her slightly spread open legs telling me that.

She looked down at the camera screen as she timidly continued the video where the moment when I was cumming inside her resumed playing. I'll admit that my moans were somewhat odd to hear from a third person perspective, I hadn't really done so before. Though I watched her face where I was easily able to tell that the girl greatly enjoyed the visual and the sounds the camera emitted as she had a little smile on her blushed face.

I kissed her forehead and gently took the camera out of her hands. "I'm sorry to rain on your parade here but I need to use the camera for a couple of hours if you wouldn't mind..."

"Aw, why?" She innocently asked looking back up at me. I explained Audrey's idea, the girl worried about the idea. "What if- what if someone sees the pictures or videos?"

"They won't, I promise." I assured, kissing her forehead once more.

"I trust you..." She lovingly said before she handed me the camera a few seconds later. "Is it weird that I kept... rewatching that video?"

I gently shook my head. "Not at all. Just don't let it take up too much of your time."

She lightly giggled. "I won't... it's just it's so good, I love watching myself... be filled by you, I love it when you cum in me."

I started getting aroused at her words but I closed the video and tried culling the hard-on I was getting. 'Want me to please you when I get back?" I whispered in her ear. She lightly swallowed and nodded. "Alright, we'll do that whenever I get back, see you in a bit."

"Stay safe." She said before I kissed her one more time where I then made my way back downstairs.

We discussed what we should take pictures of for a few minutes before enacting upon doing said action. We took a couple pictures of the solar array, the battery pack, a few of the lights in our house, Trinity's woodworking area, and the tilled land in the back. I made sure to have a person or two in the shot and sometimes having them interact with the objects to prove that they're real.

When I was done with the photoshoot of a small and dinky Solaris in its first stages we hiked our way to the car after double checking ourselves before making our way to the meeting point. I thought I should probably name that area just to give it an official name instead of calling it that but I put that in the back of my mind, there were better things to focus on.

I let Ashton drive at thirty-five miles an hour since I've been feeling more comfortable with him driving faster as he had been driving for a little while at that point and he had relearned essentially everything there is to driving. That and we didn't want to make the new people wait any longer than what we had already let them. We didn't want them to stray away even though we had no clue what could happen once we got there.

When we approached our destination I said a few more words on how to handle the situation. "We'll be transparent with them about how we'll be able to defend ourselves if we feel like we need to retreat. We'll talk with them for a little while, try to get a feel for them, determine if they're sketchy, then figure out if we should invite them. That was the thought process I had with y'all when we first met in the mall."

"That's solid reasoning. Let's just hope that it doesn't scare them away..." Kostas replied as the distance between us and the mall shrank quickly.

"If anything, we should be the ones who are more likely to be scared away. If they told me the truth then there's a decent bit of them, that is... The problem of space for Solaris, if we invite them, quickly became a huge problem, much faster than I expected." I said as we pulled up to the mall where we stayed thirty or so meters away from the entrance.

"I reckon we're gonna have to get Trinity and her little minions to pick up their feet?" Kostas asked, causing me to chuckle.

"That's what I'm thinking. If we invite them, we'll figure out where they'll stay when we get to that point. Let's go meet some new people, shall we?" I said before opening the door and stepping out.

They followed suit where the four of us cautiously made our way toward the entrance like a unit not to be fucked with. Which we were, we wanted to give off that energy but with a hint of friendly energy as well. We wasted no time in entering the mall where I quickly saw seven figures scattered around the center of the intersection with some sitting and some standing. It didn't take them long to see that a small group of strangers had entered the building with them.

"A very familiar feeling..." I quietly muttered to myself as we closed the distance between our two groups, a couple of them whispering to one another as we neared.

"Well hello there strangers!" One of the men called out as our pace slowed down. "No sudden movements now, we got you right where we want." My eyes slanted a bit but he chuckled. "I'm just messing with yah." My demeanor lightened up a bit but stayed somewhat tense when he suddenly got up and approached us.

"We ask no sudden movements as well. We don't want any... mishaps to happen, per se." I replied before he stopped his stride toward me.

"I understand." He said as a shorter woman walked up next to him. "Can't speak for everyone though. You four seem pretty prepared for this, except that guy right there, I respect that." He extended an arm out. "I'm Phoenix."

I graciously accepted his hand and shook it for around three seconds. "I'm Hunter, the leader of the community I'm seeking out to build."

"You guys are for real on becoming a 'ray of hope'?" Asked a soft voice from the woman by his side.

I nodded. "Sure am. And as the sign said, we need your hands to help build it up. May I ask what your name is, dear?"

She was really shy though she swallowed her timidness and extended a hand out. "Autumn, it's nice to meet you."

"Who're your cronies here, Mister Hunter?" Phoenix asked, looking at my crew who was intently observing the conversation.

"I'm Audrey, was about to ask you who your cronies are as well." After Audrey said that the other two introduced themselves shortly afterward.

"Would you find it to be more comfortable to discuss things further at the table? I find table-talk much more calming, official, and precise." I offered, the two strangers glancing at each other.

"Well sure thing, but I do warn you the others are quite weary of you guys which I'm sure you understand why." Phoenix admitted before making his way back to the table.

We all took our seats except Kostas who opted to stand around a meter or so away from where the discussion would take place. I let him since I thought it was strategically smart just in case anything went south. Phoenix called the others that had strayed away a bit to join him in sitting on his side of the table to which his members obliged. I guess now would be a good time to describe their appearances.

Phoenix is a white guy with relatively short blonde hair, the man having some bright green eyes that radiated. Autumn looked Hawaiian and had dark, curly, long hair with bright blue eyes, though they were nothing compared to Stacy's, there's no beating that.

"Let's get introductions out of the way first." Phoenix suggested which is what I was about to say.

I looked all the way to the left to see another woman. "I'm Scarlet." She announced. She's a Latina with brown eyes, long, brown, curly hair on the top of her head. And she was pretty short compared to the others.

"Elliot." The second tallest man in their group to the right simply said. Another white dude but with silver hair that was fairly long and straight. He had the common eye color of brown.

The woman to his right didn't say anything. Though she used her hands to communicate. "You'll have to excuse Quinn here, she's unable to talk." Phoenix answered the question that wasn't asked. Quinn was pale and had dirty blonde hair that was in a ponytail, her eyes being the only hazel ones of their group.

"A mute... That's pretty neat." I thought as I turned my attention to the next person.

"Hello, I'm Solomon, it's very nice to meet you." Solomon said. I could instantly tell that he wasn't... the sharpest tool in the shed, per se. I instantly got the vibe and sense that he was mentally slow which isn't meant to be an insult or anything like that at all. He was a black guy, the tallest one of the group, around three inches shorter than me I'd say. He had really curly black hair and had some dull brown eyes.

"And I'm Raiden. Audrey's cute." She boldly commented which greatly surprised Audrey causing the woman to jerk back a tad from what she had heard. Raiden's an Afro-Asian with relatively short black hair for a woman and her eyes were brown as well.

"Y'all got some pretty neat names, I'm sure they reflect your personalities as well." I said with a friendly smile.

"And sorry to burst your bubble, Raiden, but I'm taken by Ashton." Audrey announced which prompted Ashton to speak up.

"I mean, we could make some room..." His joke probably nearly got him killed just by the stare Audrey gave him. He quickly said he was joking but got Phoenix and Autumn to laugh at their antics.

Before I let them delve into an argument I said, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. I'm sure y'all know why we set up signs to direct you here?"

Autumn gingerly nodded. "We got the idea of you looking for people to help build up a community, like you said. Is that the right message you want to tell strangers?"

I nodded. "As of a couple months ago I started to kick my group into gear because I gained the desire for an ulterior yet ambitious goal. And for this goal to be achieved I need to seek out as many people that are left roaming the streets, try to reign them in, so I can get to that goal."

"What's the goal? By the way, you never did tell us what you meant by 'convert'." Phoenix asked, causing me to lightly smile at his questions.

"The goal is to get to what was promised on the signs, to build a ray of hope in our barren world, to eventually get back to some type of the normalcy we know. Minus all of the corruption and disasters that were on the horizon with the previous society. And by convert I mean turn you into a member of my group, if any of you'd be willing to do that eventually." They all seemed rather shocked at how I just laid that information on them which was a fair reaction.

"That's... a very generous offer. What's the catch?" Raiden asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Well, the catch is to become a member. There's a rule book that I was just about to start crafting right before y'all used the radio to contact us. Essentially, you'd just need to be a respectable person, abide by the very reasonable rules, pull your weight, and then become a member, gaining all the rights that come along with it." I simply explained.

"How many of you are there?" Scarlet asked.

"Fourteen in total. We're a small niche at the moment but we all have skills that can be used and built upon through teamwork. Their skill sets are what helped persuade me to start this call to action, to find more people, to help fuel what we all want to build and get to."

"This is definitely a... gamble of some sorts. I know that your group is somewhat advanced since you have the capabilities to set up a couple radios. What all does your group have?" Phoenix asked with a tilt of his head.

"I'm going to take my backpack off so I can take a camera out to answer that question." I said, Phoenix nodding for me to proceed. I slung my backpack off and quickly took the camera out before opening it and swiftly getting to the first picture of the solar array after making sure no one had a chance to see any nudes or sex tapes. I turned the screen around for them to see it. "This is how we get our power, an array of around thirty panels, I forgot just how many we have exactly but we have plans to more than triple the amount." I changed to the next image. "This is where the energy gets stored that powers where we live."

They all intently looked at it, the group very clearly impressed that we had gotten some technologies of yesterday back up and running. I showed them the pictures of the lights in use and then all of the tilled fields.

"We were just about to start putting some seeds in the ground a couple days from now. Everything's ready for it to happen... except maybe all the labour that'll need to be put into it." Audrey explained to them as they passed the camera around to see the image closer. I of course made it clear to them not to snoop around on it.

After they were done observing the picture Phoenix gingerly handed me the camera back. After I closed it he said, "...What'll it take to see these things in person?"

"A few things. At the moment though I want to get to know you all a little more." I replied. "I assume you're the leader of this group, Phoenix?"

He looked unsure for a couple of seconds. "Eh... Not really, we don't really have a 'leader'. We just do what we feel is right. It's got us to this point so far, right?"

"That's a fair statement." I simply said. "Guess that'll make merging easier if there's no leader to dispute that idea with..." I thought but I was getting ahead of myself like I typically do. "How did all of you meet each other?"

"It was all through chance just like how you and I got to this point." Phoenix answered before the man started to explain his group's history with the help of whoever came in order.

It was a lot of the same with our group. What with people meeting each other in random areas at random times that randomly started to group together. It made me think that as more time goes on the more people will group together and forge bigger and bigger groups. Which made me wonder, how many groups are as advanced as us and have settled down?

Anyways, I'll summarize their history because it's cool to know these things. Phoenix and Autumn met a few months after The Drop happened who then met Solomon and Quinn over the course of the following year. After that they merged with Elliot, Scarlet, and Raiden around six months ago. It's truly fascinating to me how people group up.

They wanted to know how my group all met so we told happily them. It was a little longer than their stories but that's whatever. Having long conversations with strangers was a fantastic step in determining whether or not to invite them to begin the integration process if we feel like we should give them the chance.

"You mentioned that you people have skills? What kind of skills?" Solomon curiously asked.

Ashton took the lead on answering his question where he explained his role first before going down the line. "Some have opted to become little workers like Charlotte and Nova helping Trinity with her woodwork. Hunter here's gonna be putting her through a lot of work in the near future. She's gonna need a few more sets of hands to help her through it."

"What about any of you? What were your jobs before The Drop?" Kostas asked.

"'The Drop', is that what you guys call it?" Scarlet asked with a small chuckle. I didn't appreciate that all that much but I didn't really care. "It's a pretty straight forward name. We call it 'The Great Dying'."

"I mean not really, to be honest." I said which confused pretty much everyone. "The only species that was seemingly affected was humans. Sure, our species dropped in number by a few magnitudes but the other species of this planet have flourished since then. So in a way, it's more like 'The Great Resurgence'."

"That makes... some sort of sense. I'm still gonna call it 'The Great Dying' though." Elliot replied after a couple silent seconds.

"But yeah, my job before The Great Dying wasn't anything special. I only worked dead end jobs that would've led to nowhere. I had no clue what to do with my life at that point, still don't really." Phoenix answered Kostas' question.

Quinn signed something. Scarlet was able to understand what she said, I assumed Quinn had taught them ASL... Damn, that must've been hard to communicate at first. It's amazing how they did so. "Quinn says she shares that sentiment. Personally, I was still in school before The Great Dying happened so I hadn't really thought that far ahead to be honest."

We quickly found out that they were all in the same boat, the boat of them not having any significant skill... But I saw that as a great thing. They could be used as labourers for anyone that had a specialized skill set. And labourers are definitely going to be needed for the future since they'll make up the bulk of our operations.

"This 'Trinity', what do you plan to have her make?" Autumn asked with a small tilt of her head.

"Building materials for cabins and other buildings we'll set our sights on eventually. And other stuff like frames for more solar panels and more signs to put up when the need arises. The signs aren't even that old by the way, we put them up just a few days ago so we're a bit unprepared for newcomers..." I answered honestly.

"Huh. Well I guess you put them up just in the nick of time." Phoenix commented. "But cabins? Have you guys built any of your own?"

I lightly shook my head. "Not yet. We were just about to start doing so though. That's part of the 'not prepared' aspect I mentioned."

"We can help you do stuff like that, can't we?" Solomon asked with genuine enthusiasm in his voice.

"Well, that's the hope we have with the signs, to get people interested in the idea that I have who'd be willing to become part of a bigger picture." I explained, quickly glancing at the rest of them.

"This is... definitely something we'll probably have to talk about more privately as a group." Phoenix said, sounding uncertain about how to move forward.

"Understandable. When we first met Hunter and Stacy we did the same, right in this exact area as well." Ashton replied. "And to be honest, we'd be the ones taking the bigger risk, to allow strangers into our home."

"But they're risks that I have to take, to get to an age of comfort once again. And I hope that you aren't people who want to prevent that from happening but instead want to join us in getting there once again." I said in a calming tone.

Quinn signed something to me for a minute, her 'words' once again being spoken through Scarlet. "Quinn says that she doesn't sense any lie and that she senses... a type of hope regarding this opportunity."

"Just keep in mind that the work probably won't be that easy. But I'd make sure you get what you need regarding your daily needs." I claimed which prompted Raiden to speak up.

"How does your group keep itself fed? Your farms aren't even growing anything right now."

"Hunting, fishing, and gathering, though that last one isn't too popular at the moment." Kostas answered before receiving a nod from Raiden.

"You’re all able to live off the land where you're at?" Autumn asked, sounding a bit puzzled.

"Somewhat surprisingly, yes. It's very lively there with fertile ground and we're located next to a healthy stream too which yields us a decent amount of food on its lonesome." Audrey added more details onto it which satisfied Autumn's curiosity.

"With more people comes more demand but at the same time more hands to help with the demand... As long as y'all can pull your weight, which is the key idea here and I cannot stress that enough, we'd be able to make it to our first harvest, expand the fields some more, then just rinse and repeat as needed." I said which caused a couple of them to go into deep thought.

"Like I said, we're gonna have to have a conversation about this... The main reason is because I'm just not sure how much we can trust you." Phoenix bluntly admitted.

"I understand. It's something that takes a lot of courage and faith to decide on, with both parties involved, as the same's true in my view. What do you think'll help build up some trust?" I asked politely.

"Well, are you armed?" Elliot asked which somewhat surprised me since neither side had asked about weapons.

And because I said we should be transparent with them I said, "Yes. We all have guns on us, just in case. And most of our other members are armed as well. What about you guys?"

"...A couple of us." Raiden answered for everyone. "With guns as well."

"That's a bit... really unsettling." Autumn admitted, fear evident in her voice.

"I don't think it should be. We haven't pulled them out, they're purely for defense purposes. If we ever feel threatened we might take them out but you all seem like nice people so I doubt that'd happen." I thoroughly explained to them, hoping to ease some of the tension that had spontaneously formed.

"Are we gonna be able to keep our weapons if we decide to accept this invitation of sorts?" Scarlet asked.

"This is probably going to be a bit hard for you to hear but you have to understand where I'm coming from. No, you won't, not for forty days at least. I need to protect my people from any possible danger as much as I can while still taking leaps of faith for our future. And allowing people we don't know to have weapons in our house is something I will not allow."

"I can understand that... even if I don't really like the idea of being defenseless." Phoenix replied.

"You have my word that if anyone happens to threaten you in any way that I'll try to help solve whatever problem that is to mitigate infighting." I said, trying to ease them into the idea of handing over their weapons if they accepted the invitation. "The goal here is to make friends, not enemies. We've all suffered enough through the crippling loss of just about everything we had."

After a few silent seconds Phoenix asked, "Are we allowed to take some time to talk about this?"

"Absolutely. How much time do you think you'll require?"

"It'll be a little while most likely... Shall we?" He asked as he glanced at his other members. They all agreed and got up before scurrying down one of the hallways about twenty or so meters away.

"What do you think about them?" I asked my own members as I observed them begin a quiet conversation about us.

"They definitely would be useful if they agree to accept our invitation. Having all their extra hands and strength would get our plans rolling much faster." Audrey replied.

"I'm getting no bad sense when it comes to them... Except one." Ashton admitted which made me raise an eyebrow.

"Which one don't you like?" I asked.

"I think his name is Elliot. Can't really tell you why, just a feeling, y'know?" Ashton tried explaining but failed.

"I don't get any bad vibes... If it'd make you feel better then keep a close eye on him to find out if that feeling you have is true." I advised as I got up and sat down on the chair next to the radio. "Anyone in the dining room? This is Hunter.'

A few seconds later my wife said, "Yes, hello!"

I smiled brightly. "Hello my dear, the mission's going smoothly so far, they seem like nice people."

"Are they coming home? You've been gone for a long time."

"It's only been a couple of hours." I replied with a chuckle. "But I've yet to find that out. I'm leaning towards probably saying yes so I'm gonna ask you to get everyone prepared for seven new strangers."

"Okay. When are you coming back?" She cutely asked.

"Probably another hour or two." I simply replied.

"Aw, alright. See you when you get back, I love you." She sweetly said.

"I love you too, my love." I hung the mic back up right after I said that before turning to my members who were suspiciously whispering. "What exactly are y'all talking about?"

They went silent, the three of them just staring at me for a few seconds before Kostas asked, "Hunter, did you... propose to Stacy yesterday?"

I was only a little shocked at the question but I quickly recovered from it. "That's a complicated question. I gave her a ring that I put a lot of meaning into after telling her a monologue of how much I love her and what I'm going to do for and with her. She wanted it to mean more... I didn't think I could say no so we just agreed to be married. Originally I wanted to wait a while but plans change and my thought process was that I don't even need to wait that long to make sure I know what I want since I already do and that's to be with her for the rest of my life."

"That's... really adorable." Audrey commented with a smile. "Even though you two are as young as you two are... Well, the love you two radiate off proves that you're just meant to be together."

"We radiate love?" I asked with a tilt of my head before getting up so I could return back to their sides.

"You guys give off too much, to be honest..." Kostas quietly muttered.

"That might be true, in a way. You two have made me more affectionate to Ashton ever since you two started showing your love publicly. It's really cute and I wanted to feel the same way so... I started doing what you two do." Audrey explained.

"Keep doing it, Audrey's a really good cuddler." Ashton said with a chuckle. "I saw the ring you got her, it's very... beautiful."

"Indeed. Since you don't really need to work and earn thousands of dollars to buy a ring these days I just got the one that caught my attention the most and the one that reminded me of her the most." I explained, somewhat thankful that I didn't have to go through the stresses of buying such an expensive piece of jewelry. It would've been over fifty thousand dollars! Everything was labelled to be worth that much in the cabinet I found it in. Sheesh, it's crazy how expensive just some rocks were.

"No ceremony or anything?" Audrey asked, a bit puzzled at the seemingly quick decision.

"Choosing to get married was a bit on the fly, I didn't really expect that to happen. But even if we did know that was gonna happen we probably wouldn't do a ceremony regardless. I think just being alone, expressing your feelings, saying 'vows' in that moment, is the way to go in a world that doesn't have any legal system."

"That's exactly my thinking." Ashton said with a smirk.

"I guess I can understand that... It's just that in my opinion, weddings are amazing and beautiful, gatherings to make and capture the binding of two souls."

"Psh, gay." I wanted to say but contained the thought inside me. "So, when are you two gonna get married?"

"Yeah Ashton, when?" Audrey asked as she turned her gaze toward the man in question.

"Some time in the future." He replied with a shrug which was technically the truth if he wanted to marry her someday.

Around thirty more or so minutes of some unimportant small talk between us passed before the new group of strangers returned back to relay what they had come to the conclusion to. After Phoenix sat back down he said, "We... reluctantly decided to accept your invitation, with a few conditions."

"What are they?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"Well first of all, we want to know where you'll put our weapons."

Fair demand. "In our armory which has a heavy duty lock on it and only gets opened twice a day."

He slowly nodded. "We'll be allowed to leave any time we want, right?"

"Like permanently?" I asked, the man nodding. "If on the condition you haven't officially become a member, yes. I really hope y'all don't feel the need to leave because we truly are seeking out to find more members and in turn, friends. I'll make sure I'll try to prevent that feeling of needing to leave as much as I can, in the friendliest way of course."

"There's something we all discussed about so I'm just gonna ask it." Elliot spoke up. "I noticed there was only one house in those pictures. Fourteen plus seven is twenty-one. Where does everyone sleep?"

I knew just what to say. "Again, we were unprepared for this but we accepted the challenge. At the moment we're gonna have to share some rooms until it's not a problem anymore probably through my members cramming in with some other or something like that. This is where I'll bring up that cabin idea once more since that's the solution to this problem. We'll be focusing on two major projects at once, farming and building. With your guys' help it should be significantly easier as long as if y'all are down for putting in the labour."

"We are." Autumn simply replied. "This... opportunity seems too good to pass on. A little too true since... y'know, you're supposedly an advanced group in this world of emptiness. Can we hold onto our weapons until we get there, just to make sure what you guys have is actually real?"

I somewhat hesitantly nodded. "Yes, but once y'all're satisfied with confirming that our place is real, I'll ask you to hand them over, deal?"

Phoenix extended a hand after my words where my hand quickly met up with his. "Deal." He said as we shook them.

"Now, before we take you there, I'd like to get to know all of you a little more and I'm sure my friends do as well." I announced as some questions I forgot to ask resurfaced. "How long have all of you been on the road for? Ever settled down anywhere?"

"We've been travelling ever since The Great Dying happened, really. There's not really any place to settle down at, y'know?" Raiden answered, which made her group agree with her words.

"Ever come across anyone who didn't group up with you or left you guys?" Audrey asked which might've been somewhat of a sore subject.

"A couple of times... I wonder where they are now." Solomon answered somewhat somberly.

"Maybe you'll get to meet them again?" I pondered optimistically. "If we build up Solaris to something that resembles a little hamlet, why would they want to pass on the opportunity to become part of it?"

"Is that the name of your establishment? I quite like it." Phoenix commented, chuckling after I confirmed his question.

"I feel that this is a much more... direct conversation from when I met the other eleven." I thought, the meeting not having felt that long. "Just to make sure, you're all fine with the idea of being assigned to other members who'll tell you what to put your strength into? There will be a lot of hard work ahead of all of us."

Quinn started signing to me which was once again translated through Scarlet. "It will be a challenge but a challenge that's worth trying out."

"Indeed." Raiden agreed. "There's no getting to a point of good living standards if we don't work for it, right? And I'd rather put my energy into something like that than roaming the streets for my entire life doing essentially nothing. I really hope that we're taking the right step with this..."

"I wholeheartedly agree, that's why I started this initiative. When do you guys wanna head out to confirm that Solaris is real?" I asked, Phoenix glancing at his members for a few seconds.

"Well, any time really. Can't be that far since you guys got here pretty quickly." Phoenix determined.

"Oh, it's actually around a two hour walk from here. We just have a car so we can travel much faster and carry really heavy loads of stuff when we need it." I explained, shocking a couple of them. "It's electric, of course."

"That's... amazing. Do you guys want to go check it out?" Scarlet asked the others who all quickly agreed to her suggestion.

Their consensus of agreement prompted my crew to lead them back out, the gravity of the situation hitting the other group as they looked at the very useful asset we had access to. Thankfully the trailer on the back was big enough to carry a dozen or so people so I said, "If y'all feel comfortable with it I'll join you guys in the trailer, to eliminate wasting the energy and time of all the walking would use up."

Kostas joined me in the trailer as Audrey and Ashton took their respective seats in the front of the car. The other group somewhat reluctantly started boarding the trailer but I made sure to emit a friendly energy to not frighten them in any sense of the word. After five minutes we were ready to go on our way so I patted the top of the car telling the driver that we were ready.

As we started to leave the mall behind and pick up some speed we slowly got used to the change in motion as we accelerated. While we started returning back to Solaris we started some small talk. "So may I ask how old all of you are?" I asked.

"Probably twenty-six by now." Phoenix answered with a shrug.

We all took turns revealing our ages though I was last. Before I write that down I'll list all of their ages from youngest to oldest. Raiden's nineteen, Scarlet's twenty, Autumn's twenty-five, Phoenix is twenty-six as he said, Quinn's thirty-three, Solomon's thirty-five, and Elliot is forty-two. They'd definitely raise the average age of the group if they become members, that's for sure.

"You're... only eighteen?" Elliot asked after I revealed my age, his tone sounding seemingly lost.

"I am. But it doesn't particularly matter, not really. I know what we all want and how to get there. I've led my group up to this point with relative ease and it's just the beginning for what I have planned for our community." I explained, hoping that my age wouldn't deter them from their decision. I knew that a lot of people would still think that people my age shouldn't lead, which would be true in the world of yesterday. But our world has forced maturity and responsibility of everyone alive, leaving no room for us to be otherwise.

"...I believe that you're fit for the role. You've handled us quite well, more well than what I could've done." Scarlet admitted.

Even though we had met just a couple hours ago her words felt... true and great to hear. I once again had that feeling I had gotten when I allowed Olivia's group over to the mansion which was an optimistic and positive one. I'm not sure if I'm being foolish or naïve, maybe I am, I don't really know. But like I've said many times before, I'm fairly certain that one must take the risks that I'm taking if we want better lives. Uncertainty of the future is the most stressful thing that someone like me can go through, thinking about what the uncertainty of the results of what decisions a leader makes might be...

"You definitely have the radiating charisma to be a leader." Phoenix complimented with a respectful nod.

"I feel like I have to be, we need the drive to do what we all collectively want, right? Willpower will be the key idea during the next few months and even years." I explained, my new friends quietly understanding my words.

Small talk ensued all the way back to Solaris which allowed me to get a firmer grip on our new guests. From what I could tell they were genuine in what they were saying, the folks just being some lost humans not really knowing what to do with their lives. Which I think we all can agree with. Sure, we're focusing on building something up but I've always had the idea that no one truly knows what they're doing with themselves. We just force ourselves to believe that we do by distracting ourselves with medium-term goals. It's all fine of course, as long as the people are happy then it's all good.

When we started driving down the dirt road toward the mansion I made sure to make a certain message crystal clear. "If any of you intentionally hurt any of my people you will sorely regret your decision. Are we clear as day on the meaning behind that?" They quickly affirmed that they understood my words. After that my tone returned to a friendly one. "Then welcome aboard. You all have today off, read the rules, mingle with the residents of the house, form some early stages of friendship with others so you guys can figure out where you're gonna sleep, all that good stuff. We'll not be slacking around come tomorrow though, we're gonna start getting to work on building cabins, collecting food, and then farming in a couple of days. Tomorrow will be an important day to get a first impression through learning how to pull your weight."

After another couple of minutes we strolled up on Solaris where our guests quickly had their suspicions erased when they saw our solar array. When Ashton parked the car we started hopping out of it where I saw Nova, Willow, and Stacy all on the porch waiting for our return.

"Would any of you like a tour?" I asked, being the last one to hop off the trailer. Half of them denied the offer while the other half accepted it. "Now that you've been assured that Solaris is a real base of operations, I'll politely ask you to hand over your weapons. I promise you'll get them back eventually, it'll just be a little while."

Phoenix and Elliot somewhat reluctantly handed me over a couple of handguns after a couple of minutes. "So I guess now that we're completely defenseless, now'd be the time for you guys to attack... and seeing that you aren't, I trust you, if it might be a little foolish to do so at the moment." Phoenix announced.

"It goes both ways, really. It's probably a bit foolish to bring home yet another large group of strangers but it is what it is. We're much more prepared these days to do this now though so it forces my hand in a way. I'm glad to hear that you've put some trust in us, it will not be abused." I put their weapons in the backpack I was wearing. "Now, onto your tour, I'm sure your friends will help you later whenever you decide to retreat inside your new temporary home." I said as I looked at the other half of their group that denied the tour. "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

The ones who accepted the tour were Phoenix, Autumn, Raiden, and Scarlet. I led them onto the porch as the other three looked around the house where they went to where Trinity usually worked.

"Hello! What're your names?" Nova asked as I made my way up to them.

"Phoenix, and you are?" The man asked while extending a hand to Nova.

As they all introduced themselves to each other the energy stayed light, all of them seemingly happy to meet more people in our world. Stacy hugged me after she was done introducing herself to our guests where the other two continued to talk to the other four.

"This probably isn't the best time to do this..." I whispered to Stacy who nuzzled my chest.

"Says who?" She whispered back. I respected her words, the girl only caring about showing affection to me.

"We've heard a lot about you all. You guys have some special and respectable skills." Raiden said as Stacy stepped back from our hug.

Their small talk persisted for around ten minutes before I led them inside where I saw that Charlotte and Olivia were having a quiet conversation which was interrupted by the presence of fresh meat. More of the same played out, what with introductions and a bit of small talk. I didn't join in unless my name was called, I just opted to listen and then move on to start showing them around. I showed them around the living room, the dining room, and then the kitchen, the group taking note of the locked cellar.

Thankfully all of our established rules were still on the dining table so I retreated back there and spread those sheets of paper across the table to allow our guests to thoroughly read over them.

"Yep, they all certainly make sense..." Autumn said, being the first one to process the rules. "I definitely agree with killing rapists. I don't think there's any forgiveness for monsters like that."

I nodded. "I'm glad we're on the same page. As long as y'all abide by these very moral and easy rules we'll all get along just fine. Are there any objections to that?" I only got silence in response which usually means yes.

After that I led them upstairs and pointed out whose room was whose. I really didn't like the idea of any of them sharing a room and having to move my members out so I quickly forged a new idea up.

"I'm gonna repeal my idea of you guys sharing some rooms for now. However, in turn, I'll grant you all the living room and even the dining room until the problem of space is solved. Of course, you all will get as many blankets and pillows as we can spare to make it as comfortable as we can make it. I hope that'll suffice?" I thought out loud.

"That sounds reasonable, all things told." Phoenix simply answered as a couple of them viewed Stacy's works on the wall.

"I apologize that a lot of you aren't gonna have any beds to sleep on for a while, if I could change that I would."

"I understand, Hunter. Unprepared for us." Raiden replied with somewhat of a teasing voice. "We're used to not sleeping on beds anyways. Though it'll be nice once we can."

"Hopefully not for long with all of your guys' help..." I quietly replied. "But that's essentially all there is to this house. It's much smaller than it looks on the outside. Oh, well there is the attic but it's not that important."

"Can a couple of us sleep in there?" Scarlet asked with a tilt of her head.

I didn't really expect that question. "Um... Yeah, sure. Though I don't think it'll be that comfortable."

"I'm used to sleeping in uncomfortable positions." She replied with a shrug.

After a couple silent seconds I left them to it. "Once again, welcome aboard. Don't make me regret allowing y'all over here. Make some friends, have some fun, and get ready for work tomorrow." They nodded and with that I went back downstairs where I once again got hugged by my lovely little wife. I dug my nose into her hair and took a deep breath, her scent strongly calming down the nerves that had been building within me.

Over the course of the next few hours our guests introduced themselves to my other people, played some games with Charlotte and Olivia, Olivia asked to check up on them to see if anything was out of the ordinary with their person, and other miscellaneous things that don't need to be written down. I felt pretty good about the next few weeks ahead of us, truth be told. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't just a little nervous... I'll see what plays out, I'm hoping for the best.

Chapter 35: Miscellaneous Work

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

As the day progressed our new guests slowly got acclimated to the new environment and had some good fun playing games with the others and getting to know each other. Stacy and I closely cuddled together on the couch where the girl gently nuzzled my chest as she kept her eyes closed, all the while I quietly enjoyed watching our guests mingle with my people. Etsu was very excited to see new people when she returned from fishing where she frantically talked with them to try and become friends with them as fast as possible.

She felt a little more natural at our place since she was still relatively new. So now she had some people she could relate with when it came to joining and integrating into our group. And goddamn it felt so nice seeing as many people as there were with all of them talking, laughing, and having a great time. It started feeling like we were genuinely on the path to return to the world we once knew and I was excited for that. It also felt great being there since I was closely holding my wife with the both of us being so deep in love with each other.

I made sure that the members of Solaris would stay on high alert about our new guests by stressing many things like to be friendly but aware, give hints that we wouldn't mess around if one of them decided to break some of our rules, stuff like that. Even though we were having a fun time I was worried, I couldn't not be. The possibility for harm to be inflicted on one of my people was somewhat high and I wanted to lower that possibility as much as possible.

Stacy and I excused ourselves to fish for more than an hour where the both of us got enough fish to feed ourselves for that day. Jordan graciously cooked them for us before my wife and I each received a delicious plate full of fresh aquatic meat. We sat really close together at the dining table where she leaned on me as the both of us affectionately fed each other once again. I know we didn't have to and it probably took more time to eat that way but I didn't care. It was affectionate, lovely, intimate, and we savoured the food more than what we usually do as we enjoyed every little action the both of us did to each other.

I carried her up to our room a few minutes after we were done eating and washed our dishes since the girl wanted to show me the drawing she drew earlier that day. "I was gonna ask you about it before I left but I was already essentially being timed..." I explained as I set her down before closing the door behind me.

"That's okay, you're here now so it doesn't really matter." She sweetly replied as she softly took my hand before guiding me to her desk and sitting me down. "I'm not quite done with it... but almost." She gingerly sat herself down on my lap and scooted back into me where my hands firmly grasped her hips to press her into me some more.

I put my head over her shoulder and scooted the chair forward before my gaze made contact with the sheet of paper that had a display of a beautiful cosmos. A gentle mix of purples, dark blues, and very dark reds smeared across the canvas encased by the void of space where dots of whites and blues scattered throughout the page representing countless stars. It was extremely beautiful, the art being exactly like a view inside a really colorful galaxy.

She picked up a small piece of white chalk and continued making really small stars in one of the corners of the page. "I drew this because it'll always remind me of when we married each other, the best moment in my life..."

I nuzzled her cheek with mine. "Mine too... Besides first meeting you, where it all began."

She lightly chuckled. "Well, that's my second favorite moment... Only because it hurt, y'know, my arm."

A hand gently took hold of the arm she was referring to before my fingers lightly draped across the scar tissue on her forearm. "I still wish that there was another way to have done that..."

"I know and I do too... But you did what you had to do and that's that." She replied as she touched up some of the blending colors together to make it more professional. I watched her touch up the drawing for the next ten minutes while giving her light kisses on her cheek and the tip of her ear where the girl lightly smiled as I did so. "Do you trust the new people?"

I was only a tad unprepared for her question. "I... Not really, only because we haven't known them for long. But they seem fun and respectable so give it a few days then I'm sure they'll grow on me... I know Etsu surely likes them."

She giggled. "I've never seen her so... talkative/"

"I'm definitely gonna put them through some work tomorrow, I really wanna get to building some cabins." I kissed her temple. "Then this place will start looking like the village I've promised you."

She coyly giggled while her free hand played with some of her hair as she thought about it all. "How big do you think Solaris is going to get?"

"I'm not sure... I really have no clue."

"Hundreds of people?" She optimistically pondered.

"I... would like that, to be honest." I truthfully replied. Though I'm not quite sure how I'd feel about being in control of hundreds of people... It would be awesome for sure, it'd just probably be really stressful and definitely something I'd have to grow into.

"I think you can get us there. As long as you want to get to it. We've gotten this far, right?"

"Yes, we have." I replied, our conversation stopping after that as she focused back on finishing her drawing. As I watched her finish it I thought about the future of Solaris and how it's possible we might get that big some day. Hell, we've gotten eight new people in the past month, it's possible more and more might keep coming since we've just put the signs up and are inevitably gonna erect more as time goes on.

When she finished another cluster of stars she slowly put the piece of chalk down and thoroughly examined her work. "I think... it's done." She announced as she put her hands on her lap.

"Like always, it's extremely beautiful." I complimented as I looked at all the details in the picture, clearly able to see how much love and passion she had put into drawing it.

She lightly blushed as she accepted my compliment. "Thank you..."

"I'm just saying the truth, my dear." I simply replied. "When do you want me to put it up in the hallway?" I asked after a couple silent seconds.

"In a bit. Can I finish another one?" She cutely asked with a tilt of her head.

"Of course, when you're on my lap I'm all yours to do whatever you want..."

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She giggled before wiggling her hips a tad into my groin as she took out an unfinished drawing of a village from one of the desk drawers. Her little tease prompted me to slide my hands under her shirt and onto her soft and vulnerable sides before Stacy moved the galaxy picture into the drawer so she could start working on the village drawing. The drawing's point of view was as if someone was on their porch and was overlooking a really hilly valley where little houses were scattered about that all had dirt paths connecting them all. It was a pretty serene drawing.

My fingers every now and then lightly pressed into her delicate flesh where the girl struggled to suppress her adorable giggles and lightly fidgeted, her mannerisms turning me on. She finished her drawing half an hour later where the girl set her pencil down as I started to kiss her neck which made the girl expose more of her soft neck to me for me to kiss. Like always, I accepted her offer, the girl quietly grunting as I sucked her sensitive skin, my wife's legs spreading open a tad.

A hand on her side trailed up to start massaging one of her tits as my other hand unbuttoned her jeans and undid her zipper, the girl then helping me slide her pants off. I took her shirt off for her and then I took my own off, before standing up, taking her with me, and set her on our bed.

"I want to try something a little different, if you want." I said, the blushed girl's head tilting at my words. "There was a toy I didn't use on you yesterday since it would've prevented me from fucking you... Want to check it out? To see if you'd be interested?"

"Uh, sure..."

After hearing her words I went back to her desk and opened another drawer, the one where I had put all of the sex toys I had gotten her. I brushed past all of them and reached into the bottom and grabbed the pink five inch clitoral vibrator. When I got it I stood back up and walked back up to the horny girl, not hiding the device from her.

"I was gonna ask you what that is but I forgot." She innocently said as a couple fingers went under her chin and directed her to look up at me.

I deeply kissed her for a couple minutes where our tongues passionately fought against one another before I got on my knees. I set the vibrator on the bed and put my fingers inside either side of her panties before slowly sliding them off her. After tossing them aside she slowly laid down as I held her hips and had a little fun smelling and tasting her for a few minutes, the girl's groin getting ready to be penetrated by me.

When I was done with that I stood back up and picked up the toy I was gonna use on her, my free hand slowly massaging one of her inner thighs to keep her legs spread open. I turned the toy on, the two buttons that change the level of vibration lighting up. It wasn't vibrating just yet so I correctly assumed pressing the arrows that signified power would make it start doing that.

After completing a deep kiss of her clit I put the phallic part up to her lower lips and slowly rubbed it up and down between her labia where the girl squeaked at first. "That's... not like what I'm used to, your penis is warm and that's... not. What is that supposed to do anyways?"

"It's something that'll vibrate your insides and your clit at the same time, it's a bit different from me fucking you. Do you want to try it out?" I explained as I continued sliding the toy between her damp lips.

"...It wouldn't hurt to try it out, right?" She said with a shy smile.

"If you don't like it I'll just take it out of you and fuck you, alright?" I assured as I lined the toy up with her hole.

She grunted as I started applying pressure where the toy slid into her depths somewhat easily with the help of her liquid and some of my saliva. Lube definitely would've helped but... y'know, it's all expired... Wait, why are you reading my journal?

It was a bit of a shame that it couldn't reach her cervix but that's whatever. Stacy squeaked again when the toy contacted her clit which prompted me to press the clitoral stimulator harder into her love button, to make sure the vibrating and sucking would have maximum effect.

After I made sure that it was firmly on and in her I took the rest of my clothes off and sat next to her. "I want to do something that's even more different..."

"Oh? What is it?" She coyly asked. I then moved myself onto the center of the bed before taking hold of the girl by the sides of her ribcage and flipped her over to lay on me, belly to belly. "This isn't that different..." She pointed out. "But it definitely different to still have something in my pussy that isn't your penis..."

I kissed her forehead and then deeply kissed her lips before leaning the both of us up. I didn't really like it when the head of my shaft contacted the toy I had put in her but I quickly got over it. "Turn around."

She was confused at my words when I said that but she did so anyways where the girl practically sat in my lap again. But I laid back down before my hands returned on her hips so I could drag her ass toward me causing her to lay down on my belly again. Only this time her face was hovering over my cock.

"Do... Do you want me to lick it?" She asked as I looked at the buttons on the device, the girl being at the perfect angle for me to mess with how much the toy would vibrate.

"As long as you want to." I advised as my fingers slowly trailed up and down her outer thighs.

After a few seconds the tip of her nose pressed into the base of my cock before the girl took a few deep breaths. "I fucking love that smell..." She quietly commented before I felt her timid tongue start giving my cock gentle and ginger licks causing it to twitch at the lovely sensation.

A couple minutes of this passed before my cock had a thin layer of her saliva on it before the girl gingerly took my glans in her mouth and start to lightly suck on it causing me to grunt in pleasure. I took that as my cue to press the button that'd activate the vibrating where the toy turned onto its lowest vibration level which caused my tip to fall out of her mouth so she could moan in surprise.

"Does that feel nice?" I asked when she closed her eyes to relax into the feeling. I barely saw her nod, the girl squeaking again when I upped the power of the vibration. It still wasn't much but she was already greatly enjoying the feeling. "The closer you get me to cum the more power I'll put into the vibrator..."

She shakily took a breath before both of her hands took hold of the base of my cock where the girl then inserted the tip of my hard rod back between her hungry for pleasure lips. She sucked a little harder as her tongue swirled in circles around my tip. After a few seconds of this I upped the vibrating power once again which caused her to stop for a few seconds before continuing to please me.

After a couple minutes of us enjoying the pleasure we were receiving she started to lower her head where she made sure her tongue roughly pressed up on my shaft as she took more and more of it into her mouth. When she started sucking and swallowing every now and then a bit of precum exited my shaft which the girl made sure to savour it.

"Since you're being such a good girl I'll up the power up again..."

The next level up was when she started grunting much more, the device's vibration starting to be audible and much more visual. I could still see her lower lips and could tell the lips were engorged and begging to be roughly used.

My tip contacted the back of her throat causing her to gag a bit though it was much more tame than the previous couple of times. She continued taking my shaft down her throat as she relaxed into the vibrations her insides and clit were receiving. I relaxed back to let her gracefully suck my cock and to enjoy the fact that she was more than willing to give me the pleasure I wanted. My left hand lightly grasped the respective buttock before steadily rubbing it in an encouraging way. I liked seeing her tight and pink anus as she did so, it was adorable. I wondered when or even if we'd do anything those holes, we never had a discussion about them. Anyways, as she lifted her head up around three inches some more precum exited me where she didn't waste any time to swallow me again.

After five minutes of her deepthroating me with plenty of grunts from the both of us, where she fought the urge to gag throughout doing the act, she came hard, her juice leaking around the toy and onto my chest. When that orgasm was done I increased the power of the toy three more levels which caused her to go wild. I put it back down another two so she could continue sucking my shaft.

"Maybe I'll put it on the highest level and keep it there until you get me to cum?" I thought out loud which caused her mouth to quicken up a tad after I said so. Another couple minutes passed of her mouth giving me a feeling that reflected euphoria, though I still upped the vibrator another level.

She came again so she stopped for a few seconds to thoroughly relax into the vibrations before sucking me some more. She stopped deepthroating me so she could focus on the first four inches of my cock, her sucking feeling more effective that way. As she bobbed up and down on the first inch to the fourth inch of my shaft her tongue pressed on me harder causing my climax to quickly approach.

"I'm gonna cum, Stacy. You're such a good girl..." I announced, the girl working extra hard after hearing my words.

A few seconds before I blew my load I put the vibrator on maximum power causing the girl to moan on my shaft as she ground her hips on the cock that wasn't there, one of Stacy's hands then taking hold of my testicles. I tried lasting as long as I could so she'd feel the vibrator as long as possible but I could only hold it back for a few more seconds before I lowered the power of it right before my semen shot out of me and into her mouth afterwards. It was so, so nice to cum inside another one of her orifices that wanted every last drop that I wanted to give her.

A shot went into the back of her throat before she realized I went over the edge where she then made sure no more of my seed could do that so she could savour the taste of my semen. She pressed her tongue on the roof of her mouth so her tongue could catch all of my seed, the girl sucking and slowly moving her head up and down as I came where she squeezed my testicles just a tad to make sure she was sucking all of my cum out of me for her to enjoy.

After I shot about six times into her I heavily panted and turned the vibrator off. Stacy once again squeezed my cock from the base to my tip to get all of my cum out of me before sitting up after she sucked my tip clean from semen. She turned around and looked down at me as the girl lightly smiled while she swished around the cum that was in her mouth.

"You dirty girl..." I commented with a chuckle before leaning up so I could kiss her forehead as an idea came to mind. "Don't swallow for a little while."

I slid us over to the side of the bed, picked her up off me, and sat her down before going to my backpack and quickly taking the camera out. I returned back to her as the girl curiously eyed the camera while she continued tasting my musky semen.

I opened the camera and turned it on before selecting the photo option. I then put a hand under her chin as I got ready to take a picture of her face. "Open your mouth..." She did so. "A little wider?" I asked, Stacy obeying as she slowly moved her tongue around. I took a couple pictures before setting the camera down and closing her mouth for her where I then kissed the tip of her nose. "Now you can swallow..."

It took her a couple minutes before swallowing my load, the sound of her gulp being delightful to hear. I kissed her forehead again. "Good girl..." I sat down at her side where an arm slid around her so I could lean her onto me. After a minute of snuggling a hand went down to the toy which then turned it on the lowest setting causing her to jump. I chuckled before turning it off again and slowly pulling it out of her pleased folds.

"That was... pretty interesting. I kind of prefer your penis though and your cum inside my pussy..." She said as she looked up at me, her adorable eyes being extremely captivating.

"Me too, I just wanted to try that out... I have a couple more ideas for this particular toy but we'll do that later, if you want." I eskimo kissed her and leaned back. I brought the toy up to my nose and took a deep breath of the feral smell where my tongue then draped across the damp toy to collect her musky and addictive liquid on the intrigued appendage. After having a minute of fun I savoured the juice before putting the toy up to her lips where the girl sustained eye contact as she wrapped her lips around it and sucked her own juices off of it which was super sexy to me.

When she was done doing that she said, "My own taste is weird..."

"That makes sense, just know that to me it's really delicious..." With all of that being said and done I cleaned myself off of her liquids and put everything we used in the session away. Afterward I returned to her so I could snuggle tightly with her and fall asleep, the day quickly coming to an end thereafter.

(Sex scene over)

"No, not yet."

Which was the only thing I dreamt about. It was so quick that I thought Stacy had said it so I was pretty confused when I opened my eyes to see that it was early in the morning. I wasn't tired at all so I kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose for a couple of minutes before getting up for the day. After getting dressed I made my way to Stacy's desk and took a seat there before getting my journal out to catalog my personal experiences.

When I was done with that I got up and took her two new finished art works and got a couple of pins before making my way to the hallway to hang the works of art up into her growing art display. I was tempted to put the one she drew of a couple having sex up but I went against the idea, I didn't think she wanted me to put that one up anyways.

After admiring her works I made my way downstairs to retrieve the sheets of paper that contained all of the information that I'd be putting into the book I wanted to craft. I took a lot of other things as well like a couple dozen sheets of paper, a couple clamps, a couple markers, a ruler, a drill, and some thread that I had to ask Charlotte for.

As I was collecting the materials for making a book the techniques on how to actually craft it were slowly resurfacing in my mind. I was thankful that I helped my mother with a lot of what she used to craft so I knew how to make a few random and obscure things such as a book. Since I did that with my mother it's really gonna come in handy. I was also thankful I did that since I got to spend a lot of time with my mother... Damn, I miss my parents so much.

After I put all those materials on Stacy's desk, which is where I was gonna make the book, I remembered even more materials I required to make a book so I continued my search for them. Thankfully Charlotte was looking ahead in a lot of categories involving what I needed, things like hot glue including the hot glue's tool. I emptied one of the boxes from the attic and broke it down, the material being the thing I decided to make the skeleton of the book out of. Which wasn't the best material but I figured it'd be alright for a first iteration of the book, the cardboard was quite hard. I made sure not to wake up Scarlet who was enjoying her slumber in the attic of course.

Finally, I yoinked a brown leather jacket that no one owned so I could cut out portions of it to cover the hardbacks of the coverless book. I didn't waste any time in returning back to the desk with the rest of my equipment, the want to finish the task being the thing that I desired the most to get done at that moment.

It was still pretty early in the morning when I started making the book so Stacy slept through most of the process. The process itself was pretty straight forward. After I folded in half about thirty thick pages I was happy with the thickness of what the book would be so I used the clamps on a couple of clipboards to squish the paper in between them. After that I drilled some holes (it was a quiet drill) in the spine of the paper and then used the yarn to firmly tie them all together.

I cut out the cardboard pieces appropriate for the pages, taped them together, and also cut out the leather for what'd cover the cardboard. Afterwards, I applied the wood glue on the back of the cardboard then laid it on the leather, putting some books on top of it to make sure the glue would properly do its job. I had to wait until the next day to continue the craft which was just fine by me. I was a bit proud that I was able to remember how to get up to that point.

As I leaned back in the chair and examined my work for the next five minutes, Stacy, unbeknownst to me, was stirring awake. So I was a bit surprised when the naked and sneaky girl walked up to my side and hugged me. We silently hugged and nuzzled each other for a few minutes before I heard her stomach rumble. It's weird how they do that, isn't it? Anyways, that was my cue to go fish with her so we could solve that problem. Well, after explaining what I was doing to her.

After a couple of hours we had gotten much more food than just for the two of us since we wanted to get a little extra to make sure our guests can all eat well for the day. Speaking of which, they weren't wasting any time in showing me that they were gonna drag their feet. Phoenix, Elliot, and Solomon all went hunting with Kai, in two groups, and Autumn, Quinn, Raiden, and Scarlet all went fishing with Willow way down the stream. I was thoroughly pleased with hearing that from Olivia.

Stacy and I were talking to her as our personal chef cooked us up another meal. I always offered to help since I felt like we used Jordan's abilities for granted but he always playfully shooed me away and claimed I don't have a chef's touch to expertly season and cook things with the perfection that he was able to do. So basically I just gave up since he didn't mind doing it all by himself which I greatly appreciated.

"When do you think I should go back to the hospital? I've been putting it off for a little bit but I think it's time to scratch that off the list." Olivia asked as Stacy and I held each other close.

With my chin on her head I said, "Any time you want. Though I'm probably gonna be staying here for a few days, to keep a close eye on Phoenix's group, I can't let my guard down."

Olivia nodded. "Understandable. There's not much I'm gonna get but it's all important to have for various reasons I won't delve into. I'll get Kostas to work extra hard with carrying what I need, only extra since you're not gonna be there."

"Don't stress him out too much..." I warned, the food Jordan was cooking being finished. I got up to retrieve the two plates for my wife and I before quickly settling back down by her side and got close again.

Olivia departed from us right after that so she could retrieve the people she wanted to tag along with her for her little mission. Stacy and I then took the time to lovingly feed each other once again. I loved doing that, to eat while receiving or giving slow nuzzles and light little kisses while greatly enjoying the food was such a fantastic and somewhat of an addictive feeling. At this point I knew it was gonna be a common occurrence between us, a change I couldn't support more for. When our meal was finished I kissed her forehead, tip of her nose, and then her smiling lips for a couple minutes before I moved onto searching for Audrey.

I found her after ten minutes where I saw that the woman was watering the plants that had been potted in the backyard. After quick little greetings I cut to the chase. "When do you think we'll start planting our seeds?"

"Tomorrow. I'm fairly certain that come tomorrow enough time will have passed for us to properly start planting and growing them all. With the new folks the job should be much easier. Having seven new people is definitely gonna make such tasks much more simpler." She expertly answered before continuing to water the young marijuana plants.

Not much more talk was had after that since I just wanted to know the answer to that question. So after I was done there I went to go see what Trinity was up to since I wanted to know how the cabin research and progress was developing as that was the second most important thing currently in development. It didn't take me long to find her helping Roman carry a freshly cut down tree to an ever growing pile of useful lumber.

After getting Trinity's attention I walked up to her and asked, "So, what's your plan for today? Anything to do with constructing some little abodes?"

Trinity nodded. "The beginning of it at least. Gonna do some measurements to mark out where we're gonna build it, make sure the ground is sound and level, and remove any grass that'd be in the way."

I smiled at her words. "Sounds amazing. How much help do you need with all of this? I'll throw in a few hours of my time if you need it."

"If you can remove all the bark off these logs that'll be greatly appreciated. I was just about to do that but if you wanna instead then I'll go ahead and get to work on what I just listed off."

We separated right afterward so we could get those tasks completed. I was getting excited for the work to be honest so I wasted no time in picking up a bark spud before getting to work on peeling all the bark off the logs. Every time I completed skinning a fallen tree Roman would use the timber tongs to slowly bring over another one. It had the effect of never running out of trees to peel. And I did that for quite a while, the task being repetitive so there's not much to write down about it. Except that the sound and feeling of doing the task were nice to hear and feel despite it being time consuming.

After peeling a couple dozen logs I took a break from it and went to go check how Trinity was getting along with her task. I was pleasantly surprised with how seemingly far along she had gotten so quickly. The four corners for the cabin were signified by erected makeshift wooden corners that outlined the proportions of the planned cabin. I liked the location of the cabin as well. When you walk out of the mansion's front door the cabin will be to your right around twenty or so meters away.

Nova and Charlotte were helping Trinity flatten the ground where the foundation of the cabin would stand, Charlotte being the one to shovel the unneeded dirt and grass into the wheelbarrow that Nova would then relocate the material. After my quick glances at the construction site, Trinity flagged me down so I shimmied my way over to her.

"We're gonna need a lot of concrete in the future which might become a problem sooner rather than later. I'm probably gonna use all of the concrete we have for the foundation for this cabin alone, not quite sure yet. If that's the case then we'll understand just how much concrete we're gonna need for the future."

I thought about the incoming bottleneck for a couple of seconds before coming to the quick conclusion that it'll probably be a major problem if I don't choose to do the right things to prevent that problem from arising. "Alright, that's good to know. For now, we'll scavenge the rest of the concrete that we know about then work on figuring out how to make our own which is definitely going to be a very long-term project. I'm sure Etsu and Ashton are gonna be key components in figuring that out so I'll talk to them about it when I can and it's relevant."

Trinity nodded. "Are you done removing all the bark off the logs?"

"Nope, just wanted to see what's going on here. I'm pleased with the quick progress. If it wouldn't be too much to ask for you ladies I'd like the progress to stay quick. But of course, make sure quality is the main focus while making any future structure, meaning not to rush anything or cut any corners."

"We're definitely going to try, we recognize the need to build these, it's quite crowded in the house now." Charlotte replied as she continued shoveling unwanted small hills of dirt into the wheelbarrow to be redistributed across the foundation.

After hearing the other two agree to her words, Trinity gave out an order to Nova. The order was for the girl to locate a type of moss we'd be putting in between the logs to insulate the cabins and to keep insects out. After she made sure Nova understood the order she turned her attention to me. "We're gonna need a lot of rocks and small boulders for the foundation of this cabin. Using the car with its trailer would make that job hundreds of times easier. Would I be allowed to use it?"

I nodded. "Yes, just make sure to be really careful with it."

I asked about the foundation where Trinity explained that she'd only be using concrete on the corners of the structure as a base. After laying down rocks and boulders for the rest of the foundation we'll use clay soil to strengthen it which would make sure there'll be no gaps or holes in it to further insulate and stabilize the cabin. It sounded like a solid plan and I was satisfied with what she told me so I didn't slack around much longer before returning back to the stockpile of logs a couple of minutes later.

I put in another couple hours of work before Autumn and Phoenix helped me with it, the three of us then working together to peel off all the bark we could in the following two hours before we ran out of logs. The task itself wasn't too intensive but when you put hours into it your arms feel like wet spaghetti after a while so when we were done I retreated inside to rest my arms and took a seat on one of the living room couches.

As I listened to Raiden, Etsu, and Quinn, through Raiden of course, talk about something random I don't feel like writing down, I thought about an idea that I had put in the back of my mind. And that thought was scavenging some sort of gym equipment to strengthen my weak-ass. And at that moment I really wanted to scratch that off the list of things on my queue to achieve or do. So when Olivia returned from the hospital about half an hour later I flagged them down and explained what I was thinking about.

"You sure you wanna put your energy into that and not something a little more... productive?" Kostas asked as they prepared to transport the miscellaneous medical instruments into the house.

"I'm sure I'd spend the energy appropriately. As it is, I mean, just look at me. I look kinda fragile." I said as I held my arms out a tad letting them take a thorough look at my body type.

"...Good point and good idea. Who do you want to go with you on this little venture out?" Kostas asked as he and Ashton started taking shit off the trailer.

"Kai or Ashton maybe. I also wanna take one of the news guys, Phoenix or Solomon maybe, to see what some of their capabilities are. And you, if you'd wanna tag along even though you were just out."

"I wouldn't mind, I didn't use too much energy while out. Can't say the same for Ashton though."

I looked toward the other man after Kostas said that. "I opted to do most of the heavy lifting."

After he simply said that I said, "So Kai it is then. I have faith in myself that I can drive to the town and back, shouldn't be too hard." Driving really wasn't all that hard these days so I was able to quickly learn there was all to it. I had been practicing whenever I had a chance.

"Don't crash my car," Ashton playfully warned which caused me to roll my eyes at him.

I then proceeded to help them move all the new medical equipment up to Olivia's room, the temporary clinic, until we got around to constructing another building for being a clinic entirely. I didn't stick around to watch the equipment get hooked up. Instead, I picked my feet up to get some gym equipment so I can start working on getting some proper muscle mass on my body.

After getting my group of Kai, Solomon, and Kostas I made sure to passionately kiss my beautiful wife before making my way to the town where all of our eyes were peeled for a gym to loot from. The drive there was slower than what Ashton could've drove but all things considered, besides a subtle stress of crashing in some way lingering in my mind, the drive went smoothly. And it felt really good to do so, to be able to man a piece of technology such as that vehicle feeling extremely fulfilling.

It took us over an hour of searching before we spotted an abandoned facility of exercise, the four of us swiftly getting to work in entering the premise and scanning through the equipment that was ripe for the taking. The trip was a trip, quick and simple. I didn't want to get any of the big sets of equipment because there wasn't really anywhere we'd be able to put stuff like that so I just ordered that we take many sizes of dumbbells and smaller types of equipment.

Singlehanded dumbbells, double handed dumbbells, hundreds of pounds in weights, medicine balls, a couple of those chin-up bars you can put in a doorway, and a couple rep flat bench which was small enough to be put into my room and big enough to be a reliable piece of equipment. The final thing I found was a guide on many different types of exercises one can do without all of the big equipment so that'd be pretty nifty down the line, especially since it covered most muscles, detailing some exercises I didn't even know about.

After about an hour or so of scavenging what was wanted we made our way back. I quite liked the small mission. There was no messing around and it was quick, not really much more to write down about it. Other than how we also wasted no time in returning back to Solaris.

It took us about thirty minutes to unload everything onto the porch which left the trailer to the car empty once again. Moving most of those weights was a small workout on its own but I wanted to do some more with them after unloading them was done, I just wasn't that sure how I'd be able to do that. So I headed up to my room to plan out a small section of where to lay some equipment down.

Though I was slightly captivated by Stacy peacefully drawing while wearing headphones, the girl intently listening to music from the device I gifted her, the sight of her taking my attention when I entered my room. I know I write down a lot about her but I feel like I can't not do that... She's just such a huge component of my life at this point, truly my other half, has been for a while now... Which is strange since we've only known each other for a few months, but... it's felt like years.

Anyways, I listened to her softly humming as she drew and admired her content form for a few minutes. Eventually I walked up behind her after a few minutes. I was somewhat surprised that she didn't see me come up to her in her peripheral vision but I just assumed she was laser focused on drawing and listening to music. I didn't want to touch her in any way because I was sure she would've jumped causing her to make a mistake so I refrained from doing so. At least, until she set her colored pencil down to look over her work.

She did indeed lightly jump when I put my hands softly on her shoulders where the girl giggled when I leaned down and put the tip of my nose in her hair before lightly smelling and rubbing it against her. Though I had to stop when she started taking her headphones off before she quickly set them on the desk and then looked up at me with a cute smile.

A hand left one of her shoulders to gingerly take hold of her head, her soft hair feeling quite nice between my digits as I kissed her forehead. "Your humming's beautiful... I'd love to hear you sing." I decided against turning that into something sexual.

She cutely twirled a finger in some of her hair as she accepted my compliment. "The song I was listening to? Or a song I helped make with the others?"

"Your choice." I simply replied before kissing her lips afterwards and changing the subject. "For now though, I'm gonna be moving some stuff into our room."

"Oh, want me to help?"

"It's gym equipment. Think you can carry some of it?" I asked as I swiftly scanned our room to see where I should set the equipment that I'd bring in. Thankfully our room is quite large so the corner between her desk and our bed sufficed for my plans.

"Yes." She confidently answered before my hand grasped hers so I could stand her up where I then took us to the porch.

Her confidence quickly evaporated when she tried carrying forty pounds of weights, the little lady barely able to hold onto them. Which was understandable since that was nearly half of her weight. She was so small and light and just absolutely adorable. Though she insisted on helping me by only carrying twenty pounds instead whereas I carried fifty up to the designated corner in our room.

"You're so strong..." Stacy said after we set the few sets of weights and barbells down which was more than enough for me to get started on building myself up.

"Eh, compared to you, yeah. But beyond that I'm quite weak which is why I'm doing this to begin with. It'll help with a lot of things regarding physical labour... Gonna have to do some cardio too."

"Cardio?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Endurance or stamina. You run, jog, hike, stuff like that to build it up."

"Oh... How much do you want to exercise for?"

"I wanna gain at least twenty pounds since I'm twenty pounds underweight, maybe a little more. You should barely be able to notice if I get bigger, that's not what I'm doing this for."

"Hm... You'll almost be a hundred more pounds than I am..." She pointed out which was a little shocking when I came to the conclusion that she was correct.

I walked up to her and put my hands on her jawline. "That just means I'll be able to protect you from any danger even better."

She simply lightly giggled as we eskimo kissed each other. Afterwards I went back to the porch for one final thing and that was to carry the flat bench up to complete the set of equipment. It was decently heavy, also around fifty pounds but I was quick to transport it and set it in a spot that was optimal. Thankfully, Stacy returned back to drawing so she didn't see me somewhat struggling with figuring out how to proceed.

There were three main muscle groups that I wanted to work on first which were my arms, upper body, and abs. I'd do cardio afterward. I wasn't quite sure how to improve my leg muscles. Back and shoulder muscles were also gonna be worked on as I exercised as well so my muscles were in for something they never really had done before which was to build them up solely for that reason, just to be built up.

I decided to start with my upper body so I took a double-handed barbell and put fifteen pounds on each side. I figured I'd start off reasonably light at first to see how much weight I can actually rep, aware that repping a hundred pounds would be dangerous since I didn't have the safety precautions in place just in case it slipped out of my hands and crush me... or something like that.

Though the bench did have a place where the barbell could sit so picking things up from there was simple. So when I was done putting the weights on I got comfortable on the bench and took the bar in my hands where I easily took it off where it rested and doing a couple reps. It was too easy so I rested it back on the bench and quickly doubled the weight, bringing it up to sixty pounds in total.

Since I had never really done something like that before I was expecting not to be able to lift all that much though I was a little surprised when I struggled just a tad trying to lift the bar back up. Though when I put some more force into lifting it up I was able to do so, easily able to tell that it was getting a tad difficult after five reps. But it was still a little too easy for my liking so I put another thirty pounds on the bar.

"Are you sure you can do that?" My wife sweetly asked with mild concern who was looking back at me as my hands grasped the bar yet again.

"Not a hundred percent but I was told I should be able to lift a little under my body weight..." I replied as I started to apply some force into lifting the bar up.

It was only ninety pounds which was a little under Stacy's weight but it felt much heavier than that. I think being able to hold her is much easier since her legs and arms are always wrapped around me when I do that so the weight gets put onto my legs, not my arms, so that makes sense. Either way, doing those reps revealed to me just at how much I need to build myself up, and to be honest, I was looking forward to it. Maybe I'm a bit of a masochist?

I was able to do thirty rep before starting to struggle badly by the end of it so I rested the barbell on the bench so I could give my arms and body a small break, of which were already feeling the first stage of pain. I took my shirt off afterward since my body was already starting to sweat a bit where Stacy was having a little trouble focusing on her drawing.

"That was impressive..." Stacy commented with a light blush. I guessed she enjoyed the show of my mediocre strength.

"Eh, it's not really that impressive to my standards, I should be able to do much more than that... But this is the first step to achieving what I want to do, eventually."

"What do you want to get up to?"

I assumed she meant how much I wanted to lift. "Around my own body weight, I think that's fair."

With that simple question answered I moved onto what I wanted to do next. And that was to use the one handed dumbbells to work on my biceps, triceps, forearms, and some of my shoulder muscles, changing the exercise when needed so I could properly work on each muscle. I used a twenty-five pound dumbbell for each arm which wasn't that much but it was definitely heavy enough to put some strain into my arms to get the process of strengthening going.

After that I did a few types of pushups just to add onto the strain of the already warmed up muscles causing a few other muscles tagging along with feeling the workout. When I was done with all of that I did the final thing I wanted to do, which was crunches and planking.

Overall that whole process took almost an hour and by the end of it I was slightly sweaty and emitting a scent that Stacy was able to quickly pick up on after I returned behind her. "You smell nice..."

"Maybe to you but I'm not too fond of it..." I replied as I rubbed my nose into her hair.

She stood up and gestured me to take a seat in her chair, of which I quickly did so where my wife gently plopped herself on my lap and scooted back into me. She took her shirt off before she contacted me which surprised me a tad where she then threw her shirt to the side before pressing her bare back into my chest, the skin to skin contact feeling quite nice.

My hands instinctively but slowly took a gentle hold of her small breasts which caused her to lightly giggle as my fingers delicately pressed into them as I started a slow massage. As I was starting to get aroused I finally took a good look at the drawing my little artist was making which revealed a display of a huge fireworks show on the paper. There was a full moon in a dark sky being lit up by large explosions. Reds, blues, yellows, greens, and whites exploding in the previously empty sky, the image of a fireworks show that would definitely be loud as fuck all coming together. She was nearly done with it so as I massaged her she picked up one of her colored pencils to resume the drawing after my nose went to the crook of her neck as we enjoyed each other's company.

"Are you gonna do all of that again tomorrow?" Stacy asked as she was wrapping the drawing up.

"No, I'll do it every other day. I'll space them out with a day of running and jogging a bit, it'd give my muscles the time to build up while building up my stamina, that sounds like a solid plan to me."

"How long will you run for?"

"Around half an hour since I'm a beginner to it all... Should've started running a while ago to be honest, just wasn't really feeling it."

"Think I can run with you?" She asked as she set the pencil down.

I chuckled. "I think I'd easily outrun you..."

She quickly raspberried the air in rebuttal. "...I guess you're right."

"It looks stunning, Stace." I complimented, changing the subject to her work.

After she cutely thanked me I started giving her light kisses on her neck. It didn't take much longer for us to mutually get aroused. I'm sure you know what that led to... Now stop reading my journal.

Chapter 36: The Seeds of Dance

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

After a dreamless sleep and after a few minutes of peacefully holding my wife close to me I departed from her and did my usual routine of getting ready for the day. As I did that I started feeling the pain from the workout I had put myself through the day prior, my muscles not happy with me for what I did. I put that in the back of my mind since I thought I wouldn't let the pain prevent me from moving forward throughout the day... Or at least, as best as I could've.

The first thing to get off my to-do list for that day was to finish the book I had been crafting. I was able to finish the process in around thirty minutes before setting the rudimentary book aside so the rest of the cover's glue could dry and be cemented onto the cardboard. It'd be somewhat flimsy so I'd take great care of it. I planned to write down all what I wanted to write within it at a later time.

I got up a few minutes after I set the freshly made book aside before returning back to my still sleeping and beautiful wife's side though a grin appeared on her lips as I pressed myself into her. I gave her cheek and her temple light kisses which caused her eyes to flutter open before she leaned a tad into my lips. With that gentle awakening done we laid there for a few minutes before we decided to go out fishing for a little while.

As we did that Stacy noticed my somewhat stiff movements. "You should've told me earlier..." She said after I answered her question about my well-being.

"I thought it wouldn't be noticeable." I replied with a shrug.

"It still hurts, right?" She asked, I lightly nodded. "You should always tell me when you feel like this, I know how to make it a bit better. Can I give you a massage when we get back? I'd ask to do it now but... y'know, we're in a stream and we haven't fished enough yet."

I chuckled. "Yeah, sure thing, that’d be very nice."

The fishing session didn't really yield all that much. Which was fine, not all days are gonna be able to fuel our personal demands. Though we did get a couple of fish so it wasn't a complete loss. When we returned home we continued what had become our new normal which was have the food be cooked and then lovingly feed each other. Afterwards, Stacy took me by my hand and led us up to our room before the girl asked me to take my clothes off where she took hers off as well after I did so.

And so she massaged me like last time, what with being naked and on top of me, the sweethearted girl making sure to press her wonderful little digits into my somewhat knotted muscles. It wasn't a cure to the pain but it was magnificent. I deeply kissed her after her service was completed to try to silently tell her I was grateful for her massage through the act. But still, not a cure. However, I did feel much better and much more able to continue my day forward which is what I needed for the tasks ahead of me.

And those tasks included seeing how construction of Trinity's new project was coming along and to see when Audrey would start sowing some seeds into the ground. I suddenly remembered that second one which filled me with excitement but I contained it and moved to find Trinity before I focused on that.

I lightly smiled when I found her at her station where Trinity nailed some planks together. "What's that gonna be used for?" I asked.

"One of six molds for the concrete supports that're gonna be in the ground. We're not gonna waste any time in putting them to use and then collecting the rocks and small boulders for the rest of the foundation."

With that question swiftly answered I decided to help her craft the remaining three wooden molds as Roman did his job in cutting some more timber down for future use. While we were making the molds, Trinity told me that Ashton, Autumn, and Solomon were out already collecting the stones needed to move forward with the project. That piece of information made my smile strengthen a tad since I was happy that no one was dragging their feet.

About an hour later the molds were done where the newly crafted objects were quickly transported to the construction site and inserted into the ground, the holes for their insertion already having been dug out by a couple of the other members. After helping Trinity collect a bag of concrete and a bucket of water she took the lead in creating the wet mix of adhesive stone.

Though right before she got to it I heard Audrey announce over the walkie-talkie, "Gonna start planting here in a few minutes. Anyone who wants to volunteer to help, meet me by the outside fireplace."

"I figure you can handle the rest of this?" I asked, Trinity nodding at that which prompted me to make my way to where Audrey was presumably stationed. "What's the plan for today, Audrey?"

"I'll brief you in a few minutes, I wanna tell everyone the plan for today all at once."

I nodded. "I get that." And so we waited for some of our other members to trickle on down to us for ten minutes or so.

Nova, Jordan, Etsu, Phoenix, Elliot, and Scarlet all made their way to us before Audrey determined that was all the volunteers she was getting and that all the others were all occupied with other tasks.

There was a backpack by the woman's feet of which she swiftly rummaged through before Audrey took out and revealed to us several packages of seeds. "Potatoes are one of the easiest crops for a group like us to be growing. They're easy enough to plant and take care of but since we're gonna be immediately planting them into the soil, a decent bit of them will unfortunately wither away before maturity. But to make sure that won't be a problem that's why we're gonna be planting a vast amount of them."

"How do we go about planting them?" Phoenix asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Audrey lightly smiled. "Well, let me show you."

After she gave us all a seed package each she stuffed a few more in her pockets before leading us to the designated tilled field ready to be used. It was then she showed us how deep to put the miniscule seeds into the ground and how much they should be spaced apart from one another. After a few minutes of the farmer showing us how to begin the growing process she split us up into groups.

Phoenix and Elliot would transport water over to us, Audrey and Nova would make sure that the rows and placements of the seeds would stay optimal, and the rest of us would sow the seeds into the ground.

The planting process was quite slow at first since the sowers were obviously brand new at the task of planting. Thankfully Audrey was a patient and happy teacher so her 'students' were able to learn how to properly plant some potato seeds, even if it might've been a little slow and sloppy. It was pretty nice to see Audrey in an upbeat mood, she must've been really passionate about her ability and knowledge of agriculture.

By the time half an hour had passed we were able to adopt slow but repetitive motions that got the figurative wheel of progress rolling, our seeds being drenched in stream water shortly after they were inserted into the ground. That made me think of irrigation but I quickly shrugged that thought off, at the moment a task like that is too much of a behemoth to undergo. Maybe one day in the future.

As an hour of labour passed us by my light smile stayed on my lips, the thought of the step we were taking being a warm one. It was a step that didn't get rid of uncertainty but a step that made the possibility of Solaris' success of survival even greater. So even though my body was still in a little bit of pain I continued to push through it and work. And it wasn't like it was that difficult, it was quite easy compared to other things truth be told. But any task gets increasingly difficult with each hour you do something for.

So after another couple of hours we decided to take a small hiatus for about half an hour where the group swiftly broke up to do whatever it was they wanted to do during their small break. I decided to spend some of that time checking in on how the construction site was coming along.

I saw that the concrete had been poured into the molds with some excess of dirt filling any air within the ground around the molds, the soil firmly solidifying their position in the ground. The wet concrete was well on its journey to dry and harden. That wasn't the only thing I saw though since Ashton, Solomon, and Autumn had all returned from their mission on collecting a large amount of the stones that Trinity required for the build.

And there were quite a bit of sizable stones being unloaded from the car's trailer to a stockpile of stone next to the construction site. Even though I was on a break from working in the fields I decided to help them rid the trailer of any stone with some pain still being present. But to keep my mind off of that I asked, "How'd the trip go?"

"Well decent, I suppose..." Autumn answered. "Though the trails we took weren't that fit for a car of this size and its trailer. But we managed."

"We did, though I almost nicked a tree or a boulder along the way but I was able to expertly control the situation so nothing like that would've happened. Still a challenge though." Ashton somewhat cockily claimed.

I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I should've let them continue risking themselves and the equipment like that but when I thought it over, what other choice was there to swiftly transport large amounts of stone to Solars? I lightly sighed. "Just be really careful when going down future trails, the last thing I want is for one of you to get hurt."

Ashton gave me a playful salute. "Yes sir! We were gonna go back out to get another load of stone since Trinity's gonna be needing a lot for this cabin plus the ones that we’re gonna to make after it."

"I wonder how many she's planned..." I wondered out loud though I shrugged it off to ask another question I'd instantly get the answer for. "Another load? How long did this haul take to collect?"

"Around an hour. But we found an opening in the forest by one of the trails. There's a lot of rocks there, we can easily get hundreds of them!" Solomon explained before Ashton could.

"Oh?" I asked, wanting more detail.

"Indeed, it's quite a large clearing as well, it definitely has several trailers worth of material ripe for the taking. Wish we had found it sooner but it is what it is." Autumn explained as we finished moving the final stone.

"Might as well get all that you can get from elsewhere first and then focus on the obvious. Anyways, I suppose y'all're gonna head out again to get some more so I'll leave you to it."

"Wanna tag along?" Ashton offered.

I shook my head. "No can do, I'm needed in the fields, the farming process is beginning."

"Ah, right, forgot about that. Well, good luck with that, have fun!"

"You as well." I said with a wink.

As I started making my way inside to relax for a bit I gave them all sporadic finger guns before focusing on the task at hand. The break didn't last that long since I spent half of it, y'know, not indulging within the break. But I quickly got over that and regrouped with the farming team where all of us picked back up from where we left off.

And so we endured another few hours of planting potato seeds, a repetitive task, so there isn't that much more to write down about it. Other than that it was nice knowing that we were making progress and not so nice was the labour itself but it had to be done.

After another three hours or so of working after our break with a few conversations being had we decided to call it quits for the day only to continue the next morning. But to be honest I actually was looking forward to it, it felt nice to do some work such as planting. But to take my mind off of that I remembered that I wanted to begin working on my stamina and cardio. So after a short ten minute break I made my way to a dirt path leading into the forest.

I stretched for a couple minutes before I began a run, not quite a sprint. And boy, I sure do suck at running, that's for sure. I say that because I was only able to run for around five minutes before that horrid burning sensation invaded my chest. But I pushed through it for a small while... I despised how you had to go through suffering to become stronger, but it makes sense why it's like that. Still, I can hate it.

I stopped for a minute to catch my breath before picking it back up again. I started to feel that my calves were starting to feel a burning sensation as well but like always, I pushed through it.

I ran for another five minutes before stopping again for a minute or so once more, a pattern of such emerging as I continued to push myself. It'd be embarrassing for others to find out just how... physically weak I am, but doing what I've been doing will eliminate the possibility of others finding this truth out. I'm grateful that no one else knows of my strength, besides Stacy of course. I turned around after a third quick sprint.

I'm not quite sure when a subtle and peculiar feeling of eyes on me appeared but after the twenty minute mark of running I noticed it. When I took another short break I scanned my surroundings to try to see if any type of figure was lurking within the trees that could possibly cause the strange feeling to appear within me. But no such thing was seen... At least, I think so. I did see, for less than half of a second, spot some type of dark figure quickly evade my vision that disappeared as soon as it was caught.

My heart skipped a beat but I quickly ruled it out as my mind playing tricks on me. I deeply sighed. "You better not be failing me..." I quietly said with a hand on the side of my face, referring to my brain.

Brains are fucking weird. Intricate squishy things made of hundreds of billions of neurons that come together to make one conscious being. The thing that became aware of itself which then named itself, the thing that always talks about itself in the third person, and the thing that lives inside a skull, wearing meat armor, that controls everything within the biological structure it formed in which was created by another brain.

Anyways, the creepy feeling that I was experiencing wasn't really shaking off so I decided to hightail it back home where that feeling grew stronger the closer I returned back to my destination. When I decided to look back to check if there was anything once more I yet again saw some type of figure dart out of existence.

I was then thoroughly spooked. What the hell was following me? Only one way to find out, I thought.

"Is... Is someone following me?" I called out, feeling rather stupid to be honest. Only because I was somewhat certain that there wasn't actually any other being close to me. I waited for some type of response for a couple of minutes before calling out again. Nothing. I should've expected that, I just wanted to make sure, I suppose. I continued my way back, the subtle uneasy feeling swiftly leaving my system as I approached Solaris.

Wanting to put that experience in the back of my mind to think about later I once again made my way back to Trinity's construction site to see what all had been done. No one was there when I reached the location though I saw that more stones were allocated to the stockpile that was swiftly growing in size. I assumed everyone, or almost everyone, was done with their tasks and labour for the day so I retreated inside.

Relatively speaking it was packed. Which made sense, even though we lived in a type of mansion it was definitely not built for over twenty people. Though that problem was somewhat of a welcome one. I can't express how nice it was to know that our little niche of humans was starting to diversify and expand in number, something I thought would never happen after The Drop.

…But the introverted part of me takes control when in large crowds. And these days 'large' has lost a lot of its original meaning. I'd've liked to talk more with Phoenix's group but they were all having a conversation with some of my members so I decided against joining in. Instead, I decided to look for Trinity to discuss a couple of things.

I found her with Charlotte in the backyard a few minutes later. "Do you have any ambition for more cabins after this one? We're definitely gonna need it."

Trinity's ears perked up at my words before the woman looked behind herself to see me walking up to them. They were sitting on the stairs so I joined them there where I made sure I gave the slightly cuddling couple space.

"I do. But I haven't thought about where or when we're gonna start some others. I'd rather focus on just the one right now, figure out a course of action on how to properly build one, then improve upon the inevitable faults we're gonna experience in building it." Trinity expertly replied.

I nodded, pleased with her words. "Any idea on who's gonna get the first one?"

She shrugged. "No, not really. Considering it's gonna be made from scratch and not part of a modern building no one, at least to my knowledge, necessarily wants to volunteer at the moment. Only because of the uncertainty about it. But I do have some faith that the 'prototype' residents will prove that it's a viable structure, whether that be immediately or progressively."

"Which makes me wonder, how are things like heating and cooling gonna work out with the cabins?" I pondered, opening up a whole new branch of possible plans.

"And electricity as a whole..." Charlotte added on.

"I'm not quite sure... I think Kostas might be able to help us with that though, he's really good with wiring. Maybe we can set up some type of localized grid?" Trinity pondered out loud.

"Hm... Maybe at first. Mind if I go on a bit of a tangent?" I asked, getting a shrug from her. "I think the cities we used to have were kinda ugly." They looked confused at that. "The ugliest part of a city was the grid. How there were wires everywhere. You never really thought about it since the wires were always there, for your entire life. But one day I realized them. I then quickly realized everything else. The way the roads turned and twisted, cracks embedded into them, sharp changes in color within the asphalt. A lot of the houses were utilitarian at best, the suburbs were a boring nightmare, and a lot of it was old or cheaply made, a lack of greenery... Of course, maybe that was inevitable. I just didn't like it."

"That's... certainly a lot to think about. Now that you say it, yeah, the wires were really ugly. How do you suppose that doesn't become a problem again?" Charlotte asked, her head slightly tilted.

"This isn't gonna happen any time soon but it's the answer; having the cabins slash houses have their own solar panels connected to their own battery packs. But for now and for a long while, a localized grid will have to do."

"Definitely, that's some far-future stuff you're suggesting..." Trinity pointed out.

I lightly shrugged. "I think it's always good to think about what the far-future might be like."

After that was said a lull in the conversation emerged. Since I had retrieved the information I wanted I departed from them shortly afterward since the need to hold my wife tightly suddenly appeared within my mind. Thankfully I found her right when I returned back inside where the desired girl had just returned back from a fishing trip. At least, that's what the bucket with a couple of decently sized fish told me.

The kitchen was a tad busy so I reluctantly refrained from hugging and kissing her and instead briefly asked her about her little excursion in the stream. Seeing that Jordan was quite busy I didn't want to put some more work on his queue. It didn't take me long to suggest to her for us to make our own dinner for that night where she liked the suggestion after I uttered it. We helped each other scale, fillet, cook, and season the fish that she had gotten us where we were able to get a large amount of greens on the side provided by Nova. Thankfully since spring was in full bloom there was a lot more plant-food being collected.

After my wife and I retrieved our plates full of nutrition we decided to head up to our room to eat there since Stacy didn't really want to be seen as we fed each other. She's so adorable so she easily won me over with her idea. She led me over to the window bay where the both of us quickly got comfortable on it.

Her back was facing the window where the girl was facing my direction as she sat in between my legs while she kept hers crisscrossed. I set my plate to the side since Stacy's lap was the only appropriate place for a plate to be stationed between us, her lap only able to hold one meal.

With all that being done we started to intimately feed each other. Eventually I gently placed a hand on one of her cheeks before my forehead gingerly pressed against hers. We gave each other little kisses and little nuzzles of affection as the minutes rolled by, the both of us savouring our food and swapping out her plate with mine when we ran out of hers.

When we ran out of food she set the plate aside and scooted closer to me where her arms wrapped their way around my torso before the girl nuzzled my chest with a happy and pleased smile. I of course put my chin on her head as I hugged her back where the both of us silently embraced each other for several minutes.

"I can tell you went out running..." She quietly pointed out breaking the silence which got a small chuckle from me. I asked her how. "Your smell... It's... uh, vibrant?"

I chuckled again before leaning back and putting a hand under her chin to direct her smiling face up towards mine. "You mean pungent?"

She had been interested in the dictionary recently since she wanted to expand her vocabulary. It was cute that she wanted to do that and seeing her struggle by trying to use the words she was trying to teach herself.

"Yes." She simply replied before one of her hands taking a light hold of my wrist that was under her chin. "And... delectable."

"You're adorable." I couldn't help but say before kissing her lips afterwards.

We held each other close for another ten minutes before getting up to do our last couple of chores for the day. One of mine was checking the durability of the book I had crafted. So when I took a seat at Stacy's desk I reached out for it, opened it up, and brushed through the empty pages.

It was relatively small in comparison to a meaty book but it'd get the job done. And it was definitely something that needed to be taken gentle care of, it wouldn't take all that much to destroy or tarnish it. So after making sure it was in good condition, for what all I had available, I set it off to the side for later. It didn't take long for Stacy to grab my attention yet again. She did so by grabbing her towel in a somewhat obnoxious manner, the girl heavily hinting at me grabbing mine as well.

"What, you calling me dirty?" I asked with a laugh as I grabbed my towel as well.

"Well, you did work in a field today, so you probably are..."

"Fair point." I simply replied.

"Is it weird that I prefer bathing with you?"

I gently shook my head. "No, because so do I... Bathing alone is boring for so many reasons."

Even though the day was coming to an end there was around an hour of daylight left so we had plenty of time to mess about, of which I took advantage of just a tad. I did so by taking her clothes off for her after she led us decently down the stream. She returned the favour and even gingerly touched my member for a minute, the touch fully arousing me. But since she was a tease she didn’t continue and instead took a hold of my hand before leading us into the water.

Nothing unique happened besides the two of us deeply kissing each other as we soaked in the cool, almost cold, water. It took us a little while to determine ourselves clean as the day briefly came to an end. We lost track of time, too lost in the feeling of relishing in each other's soft touch and meaning behind them. I was disappointed that the day was coming to an end but I quickly got over it before the both of us dried ourselves off and getting dressed once more.

Right before I was able to follow Stacy up the stairs Ashton called for my attention before I was up the first step. So being responsible, I gestured for Stacy to continue her way up the stairs as I went to go see why Ashton flagged me down. "What's up?"

"How soon do you think we'd be able to get some livestock under our belt?"

I wasn't really expecting such a random question so I was confused at first. "Uh, I don't think any time soon. We've got a lot of stuff on our figurative plates already, it'd be very difficult to put even more on top of that. Why do you ask?"

"While Autumn, Solomon, and I were out getting some stone we spotted a squad of sheep rolling by. They were pretty far away so we kept our distance. They didn't stay long but I thought it'd possibly become something more in the future."

I slowly nodded. "Definitely something we're gonna look into... at a much later date. It's good to know that sheep roam our forest. Having a supply of wool and even milk would be really nice."

He looked a bit puzzled after I said that. "...Sheep's milk?"

"Never had it before? In my opinion, it's better than cow milk... Damn, milk's weird when you think about it."

He chuckled. "I'd definitely not be against at least trying it. I'm kind of tired of drinking just water, I miss some flavour in my drinks... Maybe I should ask Audrey to grow some teas?"

"That'd be nice to have. I'm not sure if it's possible at the moment though. Audrey already has so much to plant and grow, it might be too much for her to handle."

"Good point. Still, it wouldn't hurt to ask about it."

With a lull appearing in the conversation we agreed that it was over before I continued my way back up to my room to see my wife sitting at her desk and wearing her headphones. Well, kind of, she was pressing one of the phones onto an ear while her other ear wasn't covered at all. Though she didn't keep them like that for long since the girl set them down and turned to me with a lovely little smile. It was then I realized that she was holding something small and black in her hands.

When she stood up I asked, "What'ch'ya got there, Misses Solace?" I started closing the distance between us.

With an ecstatic smile that I called her that she then immediately revealed to me what it was. "Willow gave me a little speaker a few days ago, to play music when I don't wanna wear the headphones. Sometimes they make my ears all red and hot."

I knew there was some type of joke I could've made there but I decided against it. "Oh, well that's sweet. Gonna play anything?"

As her smile relented she shyly looked back at her DVD player before she suddenly held the speaker close to her chest, her gaze timidly looking back into mine. "Uh, I..." A light blush appeared on her cheeks.

I closed the rest of the distance between us and gingerly put my hands on her cheeks. "What's got you so... flustered? Is something wrong?"

She giggled shyly. "No, no, I'm just... I wanna ask you something, I'm not sure if it's dumb or not..."

I nuzzled my nose against hers. "Nothing you'll ever ask will be dumb, my love... You'll always be able to ask me anything, it's not like I'm gonna laugh or make fun of you, I could never."

"I... can we dance together?"

Her tone was quiet and hopeful as her beautiful blue eyes intently looking into mine. I wasn't quite prepared for a question like that, it definitely wasn't anything similar to what I thought she was gonna ask. I gently smiled at her words and slowly continued nuzzling her nose once more.

"Dance? Of course I will. Do you have anything in mind?" I sweetly replied, the girl lighting up afterward, most of her shyness dissipating.

She twirled some of her hair. "Well... the thing is is that I don't know how to dance. I remember watching videos about dancing, how couples would do it together... A lot of them seemed very hard though so I don't want to do those, not the hard ones."

Instead of expressing to her how her adorable tone was causing my heart to melt I said, "We can just slow dance if you want. Maybe twirl you around and dip you a couple of times?"

"What's that?" She innocently asked.

"I'll show you... I assume you're asking to dance now because you have that little speaker of yours, right?"

She gently nodded. "When do you wanna dance...?"

"As soon as you want to."

With that being said she softly pulled away from me giving me the hint to take a couple steps back from her. She then returned to her desk and retrieved her DVD player. She turned to me. "What kind of music should I play?"

"Slow and calm music if you have any."

She looked through one of the drawers in her desk where the girl deftly grabbed a disk and popped it into her portable device. It only took her a few seconds to connect the speaker to the player before a gentle tune started emitting from it shortly afterward.

Stacy turned to face me after she adjusted the level of volume a tad. "Is this alright...?" I nodded and gestured her forward where my wife easily complied by quickly walking up to me. I delicately took a hold of her wrists and directed them toward my neck though I quickly remembered a tiny problem.

Now I don't really think I've properly conveyed how much shorter Stacy is than me as it's kind of hard to do so when you're sixteen inches taller than the other. Needless to say our proportions compared to each other are quite large which changes quite a lot of things in our relationship. Mainly how we kiss since I have to lean down a substantial amount for the act to happen as long as we’re standing but then I had discovered that dancing was also affected.

She wasn't able to wrap her arms around my neck without having to stretch her arms out too far so I let go of her wrists and told her just to hug my upper chest. After she did so I firmly gripped her sides since her hips were too low for me to grab without having to bend my knees where I then quickly kissed her forehead.

"Alright, so first you take a step like this and move like that. Yeah, that's right."

For the next few minutes I taught her how to step and sway where the girl had a little trouble at first and almost tripped at one point. But she got a feel for it and eventually we were looking deeply in each other's eyes as we shared a comfortable talkless moment between us while we slowly swayed with each other. The music that she chose was quite nice too, not sure how else to describe it, it's kind of impossible to write down what music sounds like so that's how I'm describing it.

A hand slipped under her shirt where my fingers greatly enjoyed the feel of her soft skin before gingerly pressing into her ticklish side. She giggled as my other hand slipped under her shirt which is when an idea came to mind. And no, it wasn't wanting to have sex... Though I guess it could be sex-related.

"Do you want to be naked and do this? I think it'd feel nicer."

She playfully narrowed her eyes. "Hmm... I wanna dance for a little while longer."

"Who said we wouldn't dance? I just wanna feel your skin against mine is all." I calmly explained.

"...That actually does sound nice. So yes, yes, I do."

It took me a few more seconds to slowly take her shirt off where the both of us slipped out of our clothes a minute later. We swiftly returned to the dance position and continued with our bodies intimately pressing against each other. It was always so nice having her skin pressing against mine... and her breasts pressing against the upper half of my belly.

I was starting to get erect before that but as each second passed of the intimate feeling and glancing at her breasts I got harder and harder. It didn't take much longer for my phallus to firmly press against her in its fully aroused state. But it wasn't like that was a problem for us. I was thankful she liked having it press against her so there was no talk about it.

We continued to look into each other's eyes where the both of us were lost in them as we simply enjoyed each other's presence. I'm not sure what she was thinking but I was once again thinking about how lucky I was to be able to call her my wife. We both wore happy smiles. Though I did happen to think about other things, a thought occurring to me which made me think of a question, a question I didn't intend on keeping to myself.

"So, you saw videos of people dancing?"

She nodded. "They were very... fascinating. It was so cool how people could dance the way they could."

"Hmm... I thought you said you weren't able to watch anything back then. Am I mistaken?"

She was silent for a couple of seconds before her smile weakened a bit. "No, you aren't... Back in school, the last year I was in it... I did have a friend, just one..."

"Didn't your parents not allow you to have friends?" When her smile weakened again I knew I was delving into a very sore subject.

"They didn't... But that didn't stop me... Well, I wasn't the one that talked to her first, she talked to me first." She chuckled, but in a sad way. "I remember being so shy, not really knowing what to do, freaking out about it a bit... I was always silent in class... I guess she felt bad for me since one day she sat by me in the cafeteria... It took me a couple days to say a few words to her. I thought she'd give up on me... But she never did and we eventually became friends..."

Our stepping and swaying slowed down dramatically as she told her tale where a couple of tears brimmed in her eyes.

She quickly shook her head for a moment. "Anyways, she had a phone. When we could, she let me use it, showed me things, we watched things together, one of those things was dancing... I miss her."

I kissed her forehead and the bridge of her nose before fully embracing her as she sadly sniffled. I tried my best to soothe her mind by showing little acts of affection though it still took her a couple of minutes to calm herself down from telling her story. I didn't mind of course because as I've expressed many times before, I'll always be there for her and help her as much as I possibly can, as any good partner should.

When her little episode ended I put my hands back on her sides as the girl looked back up at me. "Sorry... Can we continue?"

"No need to be sorry my Queen..." I replied, making her cutely giggle as our slow dance picked back up. After another couple of minutes I wanted to try something else. "Wanna do a twirl or two? And maybe a dip?"

She looked confused but intrigued. After a nod I took a hold of her hands and taught her to twirl, then how to dip a few minutes later. She once again almost tripped over her own feet the first time we tried but I made sure I had a firm grip on her.

When I did successfully dip her, keeping in mind many things by the way, it's not as easy as it sounds, I had to lean down quite a bit more than I usually do which was a bit hard to do but I managed. I kept her suspended in the dip causing her to happily giggling. "How many times have you done this before?" She asked.

"A few times. I've never told you before, never thought it'd come up, but at one point I took a dance class. It was a bit awkward but it was fun. I didn't get too far into it before I decided to depart from it, focus on some other things instead..." After a quick 'oh' and with her question answered I finally delicately pressed my lips against hers, the gentle act persisting for the next couple of minutes.

We danced for a few minutes longer before we ended it where she happily hugged me after she put away her DVD player. "Thank you..."

I slowly ruffled some of her hair with the tip of my nose. "Of course my dear, it was very sweet..." I lightly chuckled. "We should've danced like that when we decided to be married. Though I guess that's what happens when you don't do a ceremony."

She took a step back to look me in the eyes. "Do you think we'll ever have some type of ceremony for it?"

"Eh... If we are, not any time soon." I took a hold of the hand that sported the ring I gave her. "But if you want to have a proper marriage ceremony eventually, way down the line, then I'd love to. But as it is, it's not necessary since we've already decided."

"I love you..."

Since the sun had already set below the horizon it didn't take that much longer for us to head to bed and tightly bunch up. Though as we winded down a part of me winded up, probably because I was softly kissing her neck. But since we were tired she wasn't in the mood for coitus. And to be fair I wasn't particularly either but I still asked something a tad bit strange.

"Can I... still put it in you? I won't thrust or anything."

"Uh... sure."

A hand trailed down her side, over a buttock, and between her thighs. I lightly grasped an inner thigh and raised her leg up a tad before putting my phallus between her legs. "Can you guide me in?" I whispered into her ear.

It only took a few seconds for her to grab me and insert my member into her hole, her flesh drier than usual. But there was more than enough lubricant for me to wonderfully slide all the way inside her after a slow minute. I couldn't help but let out a low groan of pleasure when the tip of my shaft contacted her cervix, her vagina tightly encompassing... I would say foreign appendage but it's not really all that unfamiliar to her by now.

I kept my word by not moving my hips and just enjoying the stationary and extremely intimate feeling of being inside her sacred depths. I gently kissed her neck for another minute before ceasing the act and kissing her lips for a few seconds before holding her as close as I comfortably could where I then closed my eyes as I focused on every magnificent feeling my wife was giving me... It didn't take long to fall asleep due to how nice the intimacy of being one throughout the night was.

The next day was a lot of the same since I once again volunteered to help plant some more seeds for a few hours, workout for a little bit, and socialize with the new people for a while. I was still on edge about them all for obvious reasons but as each day passes us and the more information I receive about them it will help calm my nerves down bit by bit. Eventually, if they keep helping us with farming, building, and collecting food, all while building that trust up, I'm gonna call them a friend to Solaris.

That made me think about when I'm gonna propose to them to become a member for life in our group... It was definitely something that had a lot of uncertainty regarding it. The thought also made me remember the book that still had to be finished so after I was done talking with a few of them I returned to my room to write down everything I wanted in it.

It took me almost two hours to make sure I worded everything the right way and being careful and delicate to use the best handwriting I could muster. When I was done with it I swiftly ran through the pages before lightly smiling at the finished product. I decided I wouldn't tell them about it any time soon, probably bring it up in a couple of weeks or so, let them get used to the crew first before proposing the idea.

But for now we needed to stay focused on the dire tasks at hand and that was construction, agriculture, hunting, fishing, and for me personally, to love on my beautiful wife. Like always, I was looking forward to it all.

Chapter 37: Some more progress being made

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

A couple nights later I stayed up later than what I usually do, only because I hadn't written in my journal for a few days and needed to write down a decent bit of events. It took a while and by the time I was done I turned around to see that Stacy had fallen asleep. I only admired her adorable form for a minute or two before getting up from the desk and gingerly sitting on the side of the bed next to her where I was mindful not to wake her up.

But I couldn't stop myself from letting a hand softly contact the side of her face before my digits slid up to her hair to brush through it. She had recently gotten a brush so her hair was much more straight than what it had been so my fingers easily breezed through her soft hair, the girl unaware of my caring touch.

I continued delicately brushing her hair for a few minutes before I got back up again and started making my way outside to take care of some business, the business that I hate writing about, excreting. So skipping that, when I returned back inside I didn't want to waste any time in making my way back to my room to join my wife in bed. Though when I reached the stairs I heard a frustrated grunt come from the dining room.

Since my curiosity always gets the better of me I changed courses and made my way to the dining room where I received only a couple of stares from the new guys. When I got to the dining room I saw that Audrey was writing some math down on a sheet of paper by an open book next to the sheet she was jotting down on.

"I know how it feels, math homework pissed me off the most as well." I said which caused her to jump a bit before I quickly took a seat at the head of the table. "What's the matter, Audrey?"

She chuckled after she registered my words before she sighed. "...I'm gonna admit that I've made a serious faulty judgement on how much we need to plant."

If an exclamation point could appear over my head it would've. "What do you mean? I thought you said you'd plant enough food for thirty people."

She struggled to say something before sighing and calming herself down. "I'm not perfect when it comes to farming, alright? I know how to grow a lot of different crops but knowing how much to grow was never a strong suit of mine. I figuratively skipped out on that class and never properly learned how much land is needed to feed the wanted amount of people. I kind of lied back then, thought my guess would be correct... Though I wanted to make sure, so I asked Ashton to get me a few books on it so I could teach myself about it... And I was off."

"You're learning about it now? Haven't you had the books for a few days?" I asked, retaining a calm tone.

"I... Well I've been teaching myself for the past three days, wanting to make sure my calculations were correct. I didn't start earlier because... well, Ashton and I have been spending a lot more time together, much more than we usually do, so I foolishly spent a lot of time doing that and not this." She answered, the woman sounding like she was starting to freak out just a tad.

"Hey, calm down, everything's alright." I assured in a gentle tone. "I understand where you're coming from. But I need to know, how off were you?"

"...For the optimal amount of food that needs to be grown to feed thirty people, primarily with corn and potatoes, two acres. And that's quite a decent amount of land, labour... I'm amazed at how built up the world was before The Drop... Everything was built together in a way that took thousands of years to make. Starting from scratch, almost, is... extremely difficult."

"Two acres..." I quietly repeated before leaning back into the chair.

"There is a way to double the longevity of the food but that's by slashing the amount of people eat by half, if we're going off the recommended amount of two thousand calories a day."

"But we're not just gonna be eating the crops since fishing and hunting are still gonna be a thing, right? Willow's new fish traps spread across the stream are already starting to show an increase in fish."

"True. But we still have a slight negative in food income. I reckon if we conserve and ration things out as best as we can we'll be able to make it to harvest. Of course, it's not gonna be easy, not at all, but we might be able to squeak it out."

"Hmm... I'll call a meeting to talk about it tomorrow and maybe get some more suggestions laid out before I decide on anything. Back to the two acres, do you have anything planned to achieve that?"

She sighed and stood up before walking to the map on the wall. She pointed to the farming area. "We can expand the fields this way... It's gonna be really difficult and take a lot of time. If I knew any better I'd've had us constantly tilling for a couple weeks... We've lost a lot of time but that's not too detrimental, not yet. The biggest problem I see are the trees that we need to chop down. Getting rid of stumps is hard but doable, and thankfully the forest in the direction we need to expand into is much more sparse than the other side. A little peculiar but it makes this situation easier on us. Properly getting rid of the stumps and filling in the holes with the soil we need will most likely be enough to forget that they were even there"

"How are you gonna be able to tell that the fields will be an acre?" I asked as she returned to her spot.

"The old fashioned way of manually measuring it out of course..."

"How long do you think all of this will take to do?"

She sighed once more before glancing at the calendar afterwards. "Hmm... At least the rest of this month. If it takes until the middle of May we still have at minimum three months to grow our crops which should be enough time to grow all that we need. It's really gonna depend on how many people help me with all the labour, and it's a lot of labour."

"We'll talk about this all tomorrow, when I call the meeting early in the morning... I'm gonna call all hands on deck, make sure we all focus on this, work overtime, long hours. I'll make sure to get how important this is to us if we don't do it in time."

With all that information exchanged and with the seeds of worry newly sowed within my mind we said our goodnights and departed from each other. What we had discussed stayed strong in my mind until I saw that Stacy was awake. Dreary, but awake.

When she saw me she lit up a tad. "Going to sleep yet?" She quietly asked with a gentle rasp to her voice.

Wanting to take the farming situation off my mind, even if temporarily, I stripped out of my clothes and slid into bed behind her where I then held my bare wife close and not worrying about the work that was gonna need to be taken care of in the near future as she helped melt my worries away. Instead, I wanted to think about enjoying sleep by holding Stacy close to start that off.

After getting in our preferred position she let my erected phallus rest between her inner thighs. Now, our usual sleeping position had changed recently, just a tad. And that was by having my phallus inside of her, the tip contacting her womb, unmoving. It was very nice, calming, and relaxing, meaning so many different things... Love, trust, companionship, commitment. It was extremely calming to the both of us, especially the idea of being one throughout the night, the touch reminding us of the aspects I already listed off upon many other. And the best thing about it is that it quickly lures me to sleep...

When I returned home from a long day of hunting I immediately went up the stairs since I wanted to wind down with the help of my wife's presence. Though as I approached my door I began hearing a gentle pleasurable moan, something that made me think of a couple of things. Things like Stacy touching herself, using one of the toys I got her, probably waiting for my return. But when I decided to open the door I was quickly able to throw out the ideas I had since what I saw made me immediately freeze.

The new guy was using her, doing her from behind, my wife seemingly greatly enjoying what was happening to her. It didn't take them long to realize that I had caught them and that the jig was up. By the time they did... You know how seeing the color red when angry was portrayed in stories and movies? That's what I saw as everything was tinted in a bright red while I processed what I walked in on.

"How could she do this? Why did I get betrayed again? Why am I not good enough? Why did I even try again? Why am I so stupid?" I thought in less than a second.

But the anger swiftly won control of my body, took control of my actions, and dictated what I did. All that I was able to do was watch what my instinctual self did as I became an observer to the world around me. I didn't even realize I was holding my hunting knife by the time I ran forward and tackled the other male in the room to the ground.

Even though he struggled to escape from out beneath me and my grasp it didn't take me another second to plunge the knife into one of his eyes and getting flashbacks of the time of my first murder. But I didn't let that stop me as I was too angry to just stab the guy once. I stabbed his tarnished eye again, and then another time before stabbing his neck in quick succession after that. I stabbed and stabbed and stabbed, yelling as I put all of my strength into mutilating the bastard.

I started losing consciousness after the hundredth stab, reality itself slowly, then quickly, losing its grip in my mind, feeling as if I was delving into insanity, having the sacredness of a relationship once again ripped from my soul...

I awoke with a rush of adrenaline entering my system as I slowly realized what had happened and what had woken me up. Stacy was on her knees and had her hands on my chest with a worried look donned on her face. Realizing that I was still angry from the dream and that it wasn't real I swiftly calmed down as a hand went to my forehead which felt that sweat had started leaking from my pores.

As my heart rate lowered she asked. "A-Are you alright? You were mumbling and shaking..."

I took a couple of silent seconds to further calm down before leaning up and slowly taking a hold of one of her hands. "...Yeah, just a terrible dream... nightmare."

"Oh... Was it about The Drop again?" She asked with care, clearly worried about my well-being.

I deeply sighed. "No, no, nothing like that... It was a dumb dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She sweetly asked, the concern not faltering.

I sighed once more. "It uh... Like I said, it was dumb, it... You were with someone else." I shook my head, laughing a bit at myself. I continued vaguely telling her what conspired in the dream. "Like I said, stupid... I just don't like the feeling the dream gave me, in my chest..."

She properly sat down and scooted up to my side. "Whoever that Stacy was is a whore." I chuckled at her blatant statement. "And something that I'd never do, never even think about..." She looked up at me. "I'm married to you, forever... Don't ever worry about me leaving you, okay? I'd never. I love you way, way, way too much."

Truth be told, her words strongly made the feeling in my chest disintegrate. I kissed her forehead. "I know, I trust you..." She rested her head on my chest.

"Would you actually kill someone who did that to me?" She nonchalantly asked which was a bit surprising.

I took a few seconds of thinking to come to a conclusion. It was easier than I was expecting. "Probably. Not sure with a knife though, maybe a gun..." She surprisingly chuckled at my answer. Maybe we're both a little insane...? Nah. After a few minutes of silently holding each other she yawned, making me remember that it was in the middle of the night. "Wanna go back to sleep?"

She nodded before the both of us got back in our sleeping position where I didn't waste any time to tightly spoon her and hold her close again where the girl helped me insert my stiffening cock back into her moist heat once more. I nuzzled the crook of her neck as we wound down and relaxed into each other's loving and intimate touch.

(Small sex scene)

At least... we tried to for a few minutes before I started fidgeting my hips which turned into small thrusts after a couple of minutes. Her little grunts told me she was fine with what I was doing so I continued delicately thrusting in and out of her. Feeling her cervix retreat further back into her as her vagina got wetter was very interesting and fascinating, I'll comment.

The act stayed slow and intimate where we simply stayed like that and focused on the sensations our genitalia helped cause each other feel before the both of us were satisfied after around fifteen minutes. As we settled back down I enjoyed the feeling of her womb being filled with my semen, her vagina still tightly encompassing my softened shaft as our bodies pressed against each other. After softly kissing her neck we truly wound down, the sexual satisfaction quickly soothing and exhausting our minds.

"Everything's perfect about you... I'm so glad you're mine, forever..." I whispered, feeling appropriate after ejecting a part of me into her accepting womb which would house some of it for a few days... It helped me forget about the dream where I marked it as a memory to be forgotten. Even though I just wrote it down. Eh.

(Sex scene over)

When I woke up I didn't want to get out of bed for a little while since I was still tired but not tired enough to fall back asleep. Instead, I held my wife closely and enjoyed her touch where I was still ported inside her heavenly depths. Ever since we started sleeping like that I discovered that I was able to stay inside her throughout the night, my flaccid state still being large enough to stay within her. Spooning her had a great effect on helping with it stay inside due to the very close proximity my hold on her would be while spooning her. Though it did cause me to think about a few things as I laid there.

Like are we too sexual? Or is this a completely normal thing? Maybe I should ask Olivia? But I'm not sure if she wants to talk about anything like that... Never know unless I try, right? Anyways, I also thought about how much I kiss, hold, and give her light touches throughout almost her entire person... And I'm just not sure if it's excessive or not. She accepts it all, consents to it all, and even asks for it all... So in that sense it should be all good, right? All that I'm doing is trying to show her how much I love her, through actions...

I lightly sighed after my thought process before gently digging my nose into her neck. It was then did I remember the dream where my heart skipped a beat as I remembered the pure rage that it had caused me to feel. I knew it was just a dream but the idea of something like that happening, let alone a show within my mind, was enough to cause a reaction, albeit subtle, from me.

Like I said, I trust Stacy, with my life... But I've been betrayed before, by someone I truly trusted. I guess I'm just scared of it happening again. Maybe it's a little immature, I dunno, but I will say it's not like I'm gonna live my life constantly afraid of it happening again, I think that'd be kind of toxic. But I'll admit, there will always be a part of me that's afraid of losing her, whether that be from her abandoning me or by death itself, but isn't that natural? That's a question, because I don't know. I'm starting to get pissed at how much I don't know and am unsure about.

I sighed once more before ending my worried thoughts since I wasn't in the mood to ask questions that wouldn't be answered. Instead, I relaxed and calmed down before enjoying what I was able to in the moment. A dozen or so minutes later Stacy woke up but stayed put since the girl also wanted to cuddle and enjoy the intimacy of the moment. My hands on her belly delicately draped over her smooth skin where my digits traversed across her abdomen and sides.

Even though I wasn't horny, my cock inside her started getting erect as I gingerly nuzzled her neck before my wife turned her head around a tad so she could see me. I adjusted my hips as my penis extended where my glans once again contacted her cervix. When I was done doing that act of affectionately nuzzling I moved onto softly kissing her lips where a gentle kissing session ensued for the next twenty minutes. I took a hold of the hand that wore her ring, her grasp reciprocating mine, expressing more affection to each other, especially after my free hand gingerly held a tit. Unfortunately, all romantic moments must come to an end and this was no exception.

Pulling out of her heat after being in it for a while was such an... annoying feeling de to having the extremely pleasant feeling ripped away from me. But I quickly got over it, knowing it'd return at a later time. Though not before Stacy voiced the exact same opinion of mine where the girl proclaimed she preferred not to be empty inside but instead to have my shaft deep inside her inviting slit and tightly encompassing the member.

Anyways, after getting dressed I headed downstairs so I could get a read on what all was happening for the day. It didn't take me long to realize that it was eleven o'clock meaning everyone was already out and about where they were either already doing some tasks or planning out how to execute their tasks. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since I slacked off for a bit because of the addictive feeling of intimate affection with the one I love and trust the most and always will.

When I saw Audrey I was instantly reminded of the conversation we had had the night prior which caused a rush of information to hit me in a moment's notice.

"Finally you're up, what took you so long?" She asked as she walked up to me.

"Cuddling and being inside my wife." I bluntly answered. What, I'm not gonna lie... Maybe I should in these circumstances. Oh well.

She narrowed her eyes a tad. "What do you... Never mind, when do you want to call a meeting?"

I lightly sighed. "Right, a lot of things to discuss..."

I didn't drag my feet any more than what I had that morning since the situation that Audrey brought up was quite important. After twenty minutes the fourteen members of Solaris congregated in the dining room to discuss how we should move forward as a group where I gave them all the information and ideas that Audrey and I had talked about the night prior.

There wasn't really any groundbreaking conversation had between us. I ordered that Willow craft more fish traps and that she get the help she requires to do so, that we have to focus and work much more on cultivating the land we need, and officially put in a limit on how much an individual can consume for the day. Probably should've done that long ago but I didn't think I had the power or influence. I guess laying down how we're somewhat walking on a tightrope figuratively really made the others understand how detrimental the next month or two would be regarding the possibility of being able to stay put.

I really hoped that it'd all work out as the first true stresses and strains as a leader finally started emerging...


And so a rhythm of everyday life formed during that day, one that was repetitive but satisfying, at least for the short-term future. I'd wake up intimately holding my little and adorable wife to then throw in around twelve or so hours of labour, primarily fishing and working on the fields, having a few breaks every now and then. After working hard I'd then push myself to exercise, the need to build myself up still being prevalent. Afterwards I'd eat and bathe with my little angel.

The days were sprinkled with getting to know our new friends and many intimate and soft romantic moments. I was getting most of my sexual desire satisfied every other day or so and having the days end where they began, cuddling with my wife, in our preferred way of sleeping, all resulted in a happy life. I wondered if it would be upheld as we continue moving into the future... Guess there's only one way to find out.

Yes, it's been a little over two weeks since I've last written in this journal. I've been too focused on this new and more developed lifestyle of mine to take the time to write everything down. Though there hasn't been that much to write down as of late as it's all mainly been the same with every day being just a tad different since we've been making bits of progress every day. But anyways, I should stop faffing around and write this all down as quickly as possible, Stacy's waiting for me to join her in bed...

Stace here, I'm forcing him to come to bed.

…Alright, it's a day later and I finally have the time to write.

So our food situation has gotten better due to the slow stockpiling of food beginning since we've now cut back on how much we eat in a given day. It sucked, not being completely satisfied after a meal, but we had to since it was something that was a worry of mine, a worry that wouldn't be settled for a little while. There were still some days that were pretty lackluster when it came to the yields our hunters, gatherers, and fishers brought back so that's when we'd tap into the food we had stored up. It was an alright system but it wouldn't be permanent, it's not that easy unfortunately.

Yesterday, I didn't waste that much time in getting ready to throw in some more hours of my life into sowing some more seeds into the ground or tilling some more land. Though I couldn't help but slowly sigh when I exited the back door as there was another day of work ahead of me. Seeing that there were already a few people working I got over myself and made my way toward Audrey who was at the section of potatoes we had first planted.

As I took note of the little green signs of life in the tilled columns Audrey said, "They've sprouted... Now it's time for the hard part, maintain their growth until harvest." She looked up at me. "Good morning Hunter, you lost?"

"Eh, maybe just a tad. What should I do today? You're the boss when it comes to all of this."

"Hmm... You can help me with the sprouts to see if everything's growin' alright. Just got out here and was just about to start. Shouldn't take too long."

We proceeded to exterminate any weeds that also began to sprout which weren't that many at all but they'd become an ever increasing problem as time passes on. We also made sure, glancing of course, that the sprouts were stable in the soil with nearly all of them being healthy thus far.

Afterwards I got a bucket of seeds and decided to join Autumn and Phoenix in sowing some corn seeds into the ground, the field parallel to the potato field. Corn seeds were much more complicated than potato seeds since they needed to be soaked in warm water for a few hours. Thankfully, Audrey knew that so she had the seeds that needed to be planted for that day all set and ready to go by the time morning arrived.

As we did that I glanced at the ones who were tilling some more land a decent bit away. An acre is much larger than I thought. Anyways, I saw them work away, removing grass, breaking up the soil, and putting their backs into it. We had gotten more manual tools to till as well since our electric tillers weren't enough firepower to get the job done in time. I usually opted out of tilling the old fashioned way because, to put it bluntly, fuck that shit. I was glad that there were others who'd do it instead.

Also the trees that needed to be removed had all been chopped and hacked down. Roman and Nova were then working together on getting rid of their stumps. It was nice to see all of them removed to be honest, the main reason being because we now had a large stockpile of logs, much more than we need any time soon.

"To be honest, I wasn't ever expecting to be planting corn in my life... But it's a welcome surprise, if I'm being honest yet again. Well, all the work isn't that enjoyable but it gives us a little meaning and purpose." Phoenix announced which broke the silence between us and getting some conversation rolling.

"It gives you a lot of meaning. Without your guys' help, who knows if we'd've been able to do all of this in time. It's greatly appreciated and I know it's a lot to ask but keep up the good work, it'll all be paid back to all of you eventually." I advised to them.

"Well... I think it's the least we can do. Your hospitality and friendship is something that took quite a bit of trust and we're grateful that you even gave us a chance, a chance for that whole friendship thing to happen. Staying put in an area such as Solaris is also something that's... very calming and assuring in a sense. We were all getting tired of moving on..." Autumn responded.

I lightly chuckled at her response. "It's true that I did take a leap of faith. I just hope that my next leap isn't the jump that fucks me over..." Again, I was worried about being responsible for having a murderer be invited into our little niche. Before I delved deeper into that topic I changed it. "Anyways, we need more room before that point."

"Speaking of which, Autumn and I would like that cabin whenever it's completed. We really want our own privacy."

"I get that. That'd be fine by me, you'll just have to run it by Trinity though. I'm sure she'll easily let you take it."

He nodded. "Will do, whenever we're done with this."

"I guess I'll tag along with you when you two do since I've got some things to discuss with her as well." I replied as I checked in on the workers in the distance. I estimated that there was a little over a week left of cultivating... Definitely much more than what I originally thought.

As the number of seeds in our buckets declined we continued a sedate pace of conversation, mainly small talk that didn't matter, something I don't write down. Though we did get onto the topic of leadership.

"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting to take the reins... It just sort of happened naturally over time. Being a leader never really occurred to me until Olivia handed it over to me, imagine my shock."

Autumn giggled at my words. "I know I'd be pretty shocked considering I wouldn't know what to do as a leader. It's... very impressive that you decided to lead, especially how old you are."

"This age thing is gonna be a big talking point for years to come, isn't it?" I thought. It was a minor peeve I was developing but I got over it. "Olivia handed it over for a reason. Compressing it down into a few words, she thought I was better at doing it in nearly every metric. The stress of being a leader is still a new feeling to me but something I'm able to handle." Primarily because I have the best woman as a wife to help me through it... "It's true that I don't have a lot of experience regarding leadership, but I'm adaptable, roll with the punches, and good at improvising and thinking quickly. At least, that's what I've been told by the others..."

Phoenix once again nodded. "Some of those definitely apply since I've already seen you do things that warrant those words. But even then, there'll be people who won't care about that... I know Elliot doesn't really like how you're in charge."

A type of small rush entered my system after I fully registered those words. "What do you mean?"

He was silent for a couple of seconds. "He uh... He calls you a kid, claims you don't know what you're doing, stuff like that."

It was my turn to be silent for a couple of seconds. I chuckled afterwards. "A weakness of mine that I'll admit is that I don't have thick skin when it comes to being berated and criticized. But this can be some type of practice for me, even though it doesn't really affect me all that much. He can think that but as long as our group continues to move forward then he'll continue to be wrong about me."

Autumn giggled at my response. "You definitely don't seem hurt."

"Yeah, don't mind Elliot. I don't think he really understands what he claims to know about."

It didn't take much longer for Autumn to point out my supposed charisma and charm which started to make me lightly blush so I changed the topic off of myself since I felt like the conversation was too focused on me and I didn't really like that. Though after that there wasn't really anything else of significance to write about as we continued sowing some seeds into the ground.

After sinking another couple of hours into planting I ran out of seeds in the bucket I had taken. With a rhythm of how to insert a seed into the ground having been adopted and perfected it didn't take me as long as it first did when I started learning how to plant things. But there were still thousands of seeds to go so there was still a lot of work ahead of us. Thankfully the plants only needed watered every week or so but that'd still be a large effort to transport the water required.

I helped Phoenix and Autumn plant the rest of their seeds before the three of us sought out Trinity when we were done for the meantime. It didn't take us long to find her and a few others working away on constructing the future abode. The abode itself was coming along nicely and looked humble. The stone foundation was all clayed together and the walls of barkless logs were slowly being erected and were snug and perfectly laid into each other where a type of moss had been cushioned between each layer for insulation and to keep bugs out.

The walls were a few inches shorter than me at that point while Trinity and her works were swiftly putting work into creating the next layer of log. She was standing on a decently sized platform she had built, separate from the cabin, so she could easily hack away the top of the latest layer of logs so the next layer could easily fit around the circular shape of the next log. It's very difficult to explain and I don't know how else to describe it so hopefully that's good enough, if not, oh well I guess. It's not like this is a story that gets read by people.

Another process of the cabin making was how they figured out what to hack away for the incoming layer. On the other side of where Trinity was working was Raiden who was using a flexible two pronged tool that held some type of markers, a precision tool that I don't know the name of. She was using it to mark out where Trinity had to hack away at so the next log they'd place upon it could effectively build the wall up even more.

One more thing I'll say is that the floor of the cabin was completed where many smooth planks nailed together making a nice floor. There was a whole skeletal process underneath it but I won't delve into that, I'll just thank that we had the power tools to efficiently make the quality planks needed for the job. It was all coming together nicely... But I still had a few queries for Trinity regarding the process.

"How's it comin' along ladies?" I asked, getting the attention of them both.

Trinity continued hacking away at the lumber causing bits and pieces of log to tear and fling off as she replied. "Steadily as per usual. With only a couple hiccups today we should be completing the walls in the next few hours. Then it'll take a few days to build the roof which will be the hardest part."

"Have you gotten anyone to take the completed product off your hands?" Phoenix asked.

"I've talked to a few about it who have expressed interest in taking it... Nothing official though."

"Is calling dibs official enough for you for Autumn and I to take it?" The man asked with a hint of hope in his tone.

Trinity glanced at him for a second before shrugging when she had the chance. "I guess so. But you two are gonna help me, Raiden, Kostas, and Scarlet finish it off."

If I was in his position I would've made some type of sex joke but since I wasn't I had to hear his normal and boring response. "Of course," He said with a nod "it'll be a nice change of scenery from the fields we've been working in."

"Anyways, I have a question of my own." I said, bluntly changing the topic. "Any idea when you're gonna get around to planning out some more cabins? And also another question, do you know how many we're gonna need?"

By the time I was done asking those questions Trinity had finished hacking away into the lumber. "Nope, though I have been thinking about it, if only briefly. I think I'll plan out some more just before we finish this one. For the other question it's as simple as making every couple their own place to call home, leaving the rooms in the mansion for whenever newcomers arrive... Or something like that."

That made me think of something new. "Well, in the future, not sure how far into the future this is, I'd like newcomers to stay in another large separate building as another precautionary measure, to delegate them to sleep elsewhere so sneaking around the mansion won't happen or easy access to killing us while we sleep. But for now and for the foreseeable future your way is how we're gonna have to go about it... So how many cabins would that be?"

She took a second to think about my question. "At least six more. That'll probably take around three or four months, depending on a lot of things... And that's just the ones we need currently."

"Maybe if more people join us they can help with the process and make it quicker?" Autumn timidly suggested.

"...That's actually something I forgot to consider. So it's possible that we might make more faster than what I'm expecting but it's best to expect the more conservative route and to just be pleased if things play out better. So around four months until the seven cabins that could be constructed are made..." She lightly sighed. "A lot of work ahead of me and my helpers... I'm glad my daddy taught me all sorts of stuff regarding construction back in the day, made all of this much easier than what it would've been otherwise..."

"I appreciate everything you're doing, I feel I'll always be deeply in your debt." I couldn't help but say before the woman lightly shrugged afterward.

"Just my contribution to a bigger picture. Honestly, knowing what I'm putting my strengths towards makes it pay for itself. I'm happy to be doing this. I had no clue I would ever feel like that after The Drop."

Our conversation pretty much ceased after those fairly relatable words so it didn't take me long to branch off from them so they'd have a conversation of their own. I decided to take a quick break before moving onto tilling for a couple hours. The expansion of the fields was going swimmingly, they were definitely over seventy percent complete by that point... Which was quite impressive considering how much we had to do and how much we had done within a little over half a month.

But there was a lot of back-breaking work required for us to get to our ulterior goal so I didn't slack around. I'm not sure if I'm pushing myself too hard, my muscles definitely feel like they're trying to tell me that, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with myself if I wasn't pushing myself... I guess I'll just have to ask my little sweetheart to give me more of her intimate massages. And it was that thought that kept me fueled doing the manual tilling which sucked ass so I'm gonna stop writing about it, best to just forget that as much as possible.

When I stopped tilling I didn't do that though since it was still way too early in the day to get my wife’s hands all over me. However, I still did want to see my wife so I went on a prowl for her. It took me longer than expected only because she was in the potato field sowing seeds into the section that was ready for it. She was alone as she did so and a decent bit away from anyone else, the girl content with working in the field.

I wanted to check if she wanted any company so I made my way toward her by walking between the rows of newly tilled farmland where the grass had also been removed in their surroundings... I've not done a good job in describing them. Anyways, I noticed that she was wearing headphones with her DVD player having been forced into one of her pockets. Her adorable humming became audible as I approached her where I noted that the girl's planting was still somewhat slow since she was still new to the concept.

It didn't take me much longer to enter her peripheral vision which caused the girl to look my way where a flawless little smile appeared on her lips as I closed the distance between us. She took off her headphones. "I was wondering where you were."

"Me too." I simply replied as I got on my knees with her by her side before snaking an arm around her back and resting my chin on her head.

I heard her slowly sniffing as her arms wrapped around my abdomen as her head rested against my chest before a gentle nuzzle rubbed against me shortly afterward. It only took a few seconds for a feeling of being watched to appear within my mind but this time it was different, not like the time I first ran in the forest. I took my chin off of her head to look around quickly and trying to see if there was anyone or anything that could've been the culprit.

A swift search resulted in no sound answer being discovered since the only things my eyes were telling me was that there were people going about their business and paying us no mind. Though peculiarly the feeling vanished as soon as I looked for what was causing it. I shrugged it off and put my chin back on the top of my wife's head and softly placed my free hand on the side of her face. The feeling appeared again but I decided to ignore it, it was probably just my mind fucking with me. It really needs to stop doing that...

Her gentle nuzzling stopped so she could look up at me. I reciprocated her gaze so our eyes could make contact where we then deeply looked into each other's eyes, her blue irises never losing their breath-taking state of beauty. We eskimo kissed each other before softly pressing our lips against one another's as my hand on the side of her face trailed up to slowly breeze through her hair.

After a couple of minutes of the tender kiss I held her hand that sported her ring for another minute or so, her cute and adorable state practically forcing me to quickly kiss the tip of her nose. Her bright smile and light blush always made my heart flutter, the adorableness of her almost too much for my heart to handle.

"So, are you here to help me or kiss me?" She asked with a giggle.

"Maybe a bit of both. Need any help?"

"If it wouldn't be a bother..." She timidly replied, causing my heart to flutter once more.

"Of course not, we should've done this by now together." After another gentle kiss we split the seeds she had and got to work sowing them into the ground. After a few minutes of comfortable silence I asked, "Not gonna continue listening to music?"

"Well, you're here... I thought it would've been rude."

I gently shook my head with a chuckle. "No, my dear, not when we're not talking. I insist you put your headphones back on, I want to hear your humming... And your singing, if you so let me hear your beautiful voice sing..."

A light blush reappeared on her cheeks before her smile turned to that of a shy one as a hand of hers timidly took a hold of one of the phones around her neck. "I've... never sang in front of anyone... I'm not sure if I'm good at it."

I intently looked her in the eyes. "Only one way to find out but I know it'll be beautiful... I can say that because everything about you is beautiful. If your humming alone is magnificent, your singing will be magnitudes more stunning."

She giggled as she started reequipping the headphones. "I've only quietly sung..."

"That's good enough for me, my love."

After she took her DVD player out and started playing a song that she knew well she started lightly singing. She was indeed a quiet singer but that didn't take away from how... silky smooth her voice was, the girl showing no sign of being shy as she sang. I guess that makes sense since, y'know, she wanted me to be her husband. But yeah, her voice was... beautiful at this point isn't even comparable when I apply it to Stacy...

The song itself was a simple romance song about a couple deeply in love, there's not much else to write about it. It somewhat reminded me of Stacy and I but I think any romance song would in some capacity so eh. But the sound of her voice, not the lyrics, is what made me focus almost all of my attention on, the girl's voice enough to define the entire song itself.

When the song ended she timidly put the headphones back around her neck, the girl's eyes having trouble staying on me. It didn't take me long to express to her my thoughts on her singing, my wife blushing a tad harder after processing my words. "Thank you..." She cutely replied.

"I'd love to hear you sing some more... I wish I heard you sing long ago."

"Well, I never really thought of singing before, it was never really something I did in my life, until recently because we have access to music now. Before that I always focused on just playing the clarinet."

"I guess that makes sense... Still, I'm definitely hearing more of your singing in the future."

After another flattered giggle from her we continued our task and continued working together in the field by planting the seeds of crops that would hopefully one day be consumed by us. Working together was much nicer than working with the others to be honest, it made time seemingly pass faster. It's probably some type of placebo effect since I was spending even more time with my wife during a boring task or something like that.

We did that for a while and completed the daily quota for potatoes planted which took another hour. When all that was done I continued my new routine by moving onto running. Stacy joined me for a bit since she wanted to start running as well though I was a magnitude faster than her so I left her in the dust. When all that was done we ate and bathed together, she lovingly massaged me, and the day ended when I tightly spooned her with my phallus unmoving and snug deep inside her.

All in all, it was a good and productive day.

Chapter 38: Mysterious Message

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

So a week swiftly flashes by but at the same time, in hindsight, it felt much longer than usual. It's strange how that is and it was kind of annoying but I'm gonna disregard that. The week itself was much of the same routine and task-wise so there wasn't much to write about, at least, not really anything that I could be bothered to write down. So I figured I'd wait a little while for some more progress to be made to go ahead and log down a day in which I felt appropriate for the matter. Though this day started off with a... vivid dream and one that has given me a type of hope.

"C'mon, we're about to leave!" Austin called out while I was putting my shoes on before darting to the door.

"Always been the one to unnecessarily rush, my little brother." I teased with a grin causing my brother's eyes to roll before he exited the house.

"You're my little brother, you're just tall, don't let it get to your head." He argued as I followed him out of the house before the both of us swiftly got into his car.

"Sure, you can say that, just know you're wrong." He chuckled, annoyance prevalent in the laugh. After he started the car and after a couple of minutes a sudden strong feeling hit me. "I'm having some serious deja vu right now."

"Well you should since this has happened before." He nonchalantly replied, taking his eyes off the road and toward me instead, only glancing forward every few seconds.

"Keep your eyes on the road, we're gonna..." I trailed off since the vehicle was now in a white void. "...Huh. Oh, I'm dreaming."

"Yep, you are dreaming."

I stayed calm, knowing that if I got too excited I'd wake up. I sighed as I returned my gaze to my brother. "I miss you man... I know this is a dream and that this isn't real... But goddamn I miss you so much."

"Who said this isn't real?" He replied with a light smile.

"I mean, this is a dream I'm having inside my own head. Chances are that this doesn't mean anything. I can probably control you and make you do whatever you want. Heh, it's funny how I'm talking to my own dream.'

"...Go ahead and test your theory."

I gave him a suspicious look. Before I enacted anything upon him I changed the scenery to the place where Stacy and I got married. After that I tried to give him an extra head. Nothing happened, not even when I put in extra effort.

"Are... a-are you actually him?" I asked with a large amount of hope in my voice.

He looked conflicted for a couple of brief seconds before he gently nodded. I was still skeptical but I couldn't help myself from not hugging him. It didn't take me long to start crying over his shoulder.

"I'm not able to stay here long..." He ominously announced.

"How come?" I asked, trying to hold back my in-dream tears.

"Y'know, dream time is much faster than time when you're conscious." He sighed and took a step back. "There's a lot of things I wish we could talk about if we had more time to talk...There's really only one thing I came here to talk to you with."

"W-What is it?"

"You're doing a phenomenal job with everything you're doing... Continue to trust what your instincts tell you and whatever challenge you come across, always keep in mind that you have your friends and your wife to lean on... Your wife was something I also wanted to talk about but we're almost out of time."

A saddened feeling appeared in my chest when he announced that last bit. "I'll keep it all in mind... If this is actually Austin... Is there an afterlife?"

"..." He looked away, once again an expression of conflict appearing on his face. "I... I'm unsure. Where I've been... it doesn't feel right, like something's been broken."

Quickly sweeping the questions relating to that answer that were forming aside I asked, "Are you doing alright? What about our parents?"

"...They're alright and they're proud of you. We all are and we hope to see you do bigger and better things as time passes on..." Everything started getting fuzzy. He sighed. "We're out of time."

A very saddened frown appeared on my lips. "I love you... I promise I won't let you down."

He gave me a sad smile. "We know and we love you too... Until we meet again, Hunter."

"Wait!" I quietly called out as a small amount of adrenaline flooded my veins. It only took me another second to realize that I had woken up and returned to reality as I processed feeling Stacy's hand softly rubbing the back of my own.

"Are you awake?" She quietly replied, her little affectionate act persisting.

I slowly sighed as I quickly remembered what had conspired in the dream. I felt extremely unsure about how to feel or even think about it. Was it actually real? Was that actually my brother? I'm not sure because ever since I had that concussion my dreams have been much more realistic and immersive. They all seemed random and nonsensical so the chances of it also being nonsense were high...

"Yeah, I'm awake..." I replied before gingerly rubbing my nose in the crook of her neck.

"What did you dream about?" She innocently asked as my arms tightened around her abdomen before adjusting my hips so the tip of my phallus could contact her cervix once more.

I lightly sighed again. "My brother..." I spent the next minute or so telling her what had happened. "Just coming out of it... I'm not sure what to think about it."

By then I had returned to a very saddened state since the feeling of having lost my brother reappeared within my mind. I couldn't contain the sadness within me which caused the tears within me to escape my eyes and onto Stacy. I didn't realize that that was happening until Stacy turned to me with an empathetic look on her face.

She completely rolled over, the girl having to take me out of her to do so, and wrapped an arm around me, one of her hands gently placing itself on the side of my face. When she pressed her forehead against my own I couldn't stop myself from letting over a couple dozen tears slip out of me, the feeling of holding someone so important to me, knowing that they were there and empathetic, upon other intimate feelings mixed with the emotion of loss made me cry hard, harder than I have in several months.

I didn't want to be loud so the vocal expression of sadness was muffled, my voice making a quiet and quivering sounding sob every now and then. Stacy let a few tears of her own run down her temple which just further proved to me how much of a sweetheart she is.

When I ran out of tears to cry she wiped the stains off the bridge of my nose and my temple. I did the same for her before pressing my nose against hers so I could gently rub them together. "It was so real... Like we genuinely hugged and that he was actually there..."

"Maybe he actually was..." She optimistically replied, trailing off not knowing what to add on.

"I... I'm just not sure... Dreams are dreams but..." I harshly sighed for a brief second. "But anything's possible... There's just so much mystery regarding what happens after death and what caused The Drop."

"Even if it wasn't him what he said is true... You'll always have us to lean on... You'll forever have me."

Even though I knew that, every time I was reminded of it my heart would flutter. I gently kissed her to convey that I was grateful for her words. Conversation about the dream ceased after that so we could calm down and enjoy each other’s presence for a little while before the both of us got out of bed a little later since the sun had been up and over the horizon. Sharing a little motional episode with Stacy like that, even though sad, was ridiculously nice as we were able to share and express our pain to each other where we then helped each other heal from it. It's such a close and intimate thing to do. 

But after that, I was ready to get the day's work ahead of me done. And the day's work was rather simple since the labour intensive tasks, for the meantime, were coming to an end. The fields had almost been completed as the tilling process entered its last day for being required. Planting more corn and potatoes was the next job and then tending to them being the next. There definitely were a few difficult months ahead of us... I really hope that it'll all pay off.

Before I could go out into the fields, Ashton and Audrey stopped me when I entered the backyard. "Have you wondered where I was all day yesterday?" Ashton asked with genuine curiosity.

"No, not particularly. Though I'm wondering about it now since you're bringing it up."

"I discovered another town about forty miles away from here which seems to be bigger than the one we're right next to. I would say that I'm surprised it took this long but the previous town that we were at before we went to the one we met you at... Let's just say that it took a while to get there."

I nodded at the information. "Plan on going back there?"

It was Audrey's turn to nod. "Yesterday was just a scouting mission. Today will still be a scouting mission but we're gonna be searching through some things while we're there to hopefully find some stuff that'll be useful... If you'll allow me to."

I lightly chuckled. "You're your own woman, Audrey, that's not my decision to make."

"Well, I ask because I usually lead this farming operation we got going on."

I looked over the fields to see that a couple of people were already doing their jobs. "I think we can handle a day without you here. I'll be sure things go smoothly, they seem pretty straight forward now."

She glanced at the fields as well before looking into my eyes again. "Alright, I trust you."

"Good. Now, you two have a mission to complete so you better get going. Don't have too much fun while you're out, all alone, away from anyone for several miles, for hours." I warned with a playful wink which got an eye roll from Audrey.

After that exchange I swiftly went on to start continuing the development of our fields. Until a little hiccup emerged half an hour later. "You alright, Autumn?" I asked, shifting my gaze to her for a couple of seconds before continuing to sow potato seeds into the ground.

The woman in question had stopped planting and started taking slow and deep breaths. "Y-Yeah I'm just... I don't really..."

A couple seconds later the sudden sound of retching followed by a chunky splatter hitting the ground immediately made me stop what I was doing so I could put all of my attention to figure out what the situation was. I quickly saw that she had vomited, thankfully away from the properly tilled land, which prompted me to get on my feet.

She put a hand up in a way that told me to stay put but I still took a couple of steps toward her. "Have you been feeling like this for a while or did it just sneak up on you?"

"Uh... Almost all day." She answered after hesitating.

"Why are you out here then? You shouldn't be working if you're sick." I calmly replied.

"I just... y'know, I don't wanna do nothing."

"While I greatly appreciate the work ethic I can't allow you to push yourself like this... You're excused until you're feeling better."

She looked slightly disappointed but accepted my words before the woman stood up and made her way into the mansion. I glanced at the mess she involuntarily made... Maybe I should've told her to quarantine herself in some capacity. I quickly thought I should've really told her that so I radioed her to do so.

I disregarded the vomit since it wasn't gonna cause any problems as long as no one stepped in it. I wondered what sickness caused Autumn to do that. I hoped that it wasn't contagious, that's the last thing everyone needs.

After that little event ended I returned to the matter at hand where Stacy joined me a few minutes later to pick up where Autumn left. It was the two of us for a couple of hours with not much being said since the both of us just focused on the job that we wanted over and done with. Though she was once again listening to music, humming, and softly singing which I adored.

We had gotten much faster at planting the seeds into the ground so when we ran out of seeds in that field for the designated day we were happy with the total amount of time taken. Since we had gotten finished sooner rather than later I made my way to the front of the mansion to check in on how Trinity's cabin project was coming along. I wasn't disappointed when I saw that Trinity, Phoenix, Raiden, and Charlotte were all helping each other assemble the last bit of planks on the skeleton of the roof, the cabin on the verge of being complete in splendid time.

Everyone who had been working on constructing the cabin had been putting several hours into each day. From chopping trees down, to processing the logs, to assembling the planks, and everything in between. With all their hard work, effort, and organization they made swift work of it. And as they did so they flagged any mistakes they'd make and try their best to iron them out which tells me the next cabin will be made faster and better than the first one.

Now, I'm terrible at describing how they made the cabin, it's difficult trying to put it into words but that's probably just me. The 'skeleton' of the roof was pretty much just the framework of smaller planks where the bigger planks would go and be built upon. They were built between logs that would help sturdy up the roof even more, the long pieces of lumber spanning across the structure end to end.

The ends of the structure, of course, ended in points giving it the iconic roof look. At first I wondered how they were gonna do that without having gaps of space where insects could easily walk and fly through. They got around that by putting logs a little bit longer than needed when they made the top of the front and back walls. They then cut the logs at an angle to get rid of the excess and make it to where the not-perfect sized logs became perfect and snug.

They managed to get the logs up there by making a ramp of other logs, the ramp of logs having wooden 'hooks' that would let a log rest on the ramp on each quarter of it. Each log that was being elevated up would have a rope of some sort on each end where two people would then hoist it over those hooks and rested when needed. It wasn't perfect by any means but it was the best solution to what we had available. I hope I did an alright job explaining that but it's not like anyone's gonna be reading this part of my journal anyways.

A little staircase had been built where the cutout of a door had been made which just made me wonder how that was gonna be made and if windows were gonna be a thing. But I think stuff like windows are a long ways away, I don't even know how glass is made but I'm sure it's difficult... I think it's one of the things Etsu knows how to make actually.

So that's the first thing I asked Trinity after she was done hammering away the last plank of the roof and returned to the ground. "I've already built half of the door, just need to go ahead and finish it then put it where it's supposed to be. Now, for the windows... Well, I'm not sure how to make glass. What I do know is that it isn't easy and that we aren't able to do it, not yet at least and won't be for a long time."

I nodded. "I'll have to ask Etsu if she knows how to then. Anyways, when you put the door on, is there anything else you need to do with this cabin?"

She looked at the finished-looking structure for a couple of seconds before replying. "Besides furnishing it which will be the responsibility of Autumn and Phoenix, yes, it should then be done."

I grinned. "Need any help with finishing the door?"

"I wouldn't mind the help." She simply replied before giving the other the permission to go on a break.

Doors are much more complicated than I originally thought since they had to be really precise to work optimally. The mechanism for a door to stay shut was also complicated but it was much easier than building the door itself. In the middle of it I wondered why we didn't just hijack another door from another house and slap it on the cabin since I figured it'd've been much easier that way.

"Because that would look ugly." Trinity plainly replied.

"Fair. At least we didn't have to make hinges from scratch." Which was true. The reason I brought my original point up in the first place was because door hinges had been scavenged.

Sometimes I wonder if we should've just moved to the town so we could skip this part of rebuilding. But I've always been split on the thought since I've always thought that starting from almost scratch was the better way to go so we could learn how to do stuff like this to have an easier future since you know how to do things independently. I hope that makes sense.

Another reason why I chose to stay where we are is because in the town there wasn't anywhere to have your own fields of potatoes and corn. Without those I'm not sure if we'd've been able to stay in the town. Plus, the stream is in the perfect location for our residence. In conclusion, I think choosing where we are was the better option... At least, that's what my instincts are telling me.

Anyways, we spent a little over an hour finishing the door before the both of us continued to haul it over to the cabin and then somewhat painfully putt it where it was designated to go, the doorway having perfectly measured indentations so there'd be no gaps when it'd be closed.

I held the door up as Trinity put where the hinges oughta go where the woman then hammered the nails into the logs and the door, the process being completed another ten minutes later. When it was done being nailed into the structure I gently closed the door before the both of us took a few steps back to look over the completed structure.

Trinity put a fist out which was something I bumped with my own a second later. She walked back up to the structure. "Hopefully not too many problems arise... I'm fully expecting them to since this is our first cabin, it's not perfect. There’s a few quality issues with it but I'm happy with how it's turned out..."

"Do you think future ones will be made faster?"

"Most likely. As I suspected, while we were making it we figured out a few courses of action, learned some techniques, and learned from some of our mistakes."

I walked up to the door and opened it before walking inside the dark cabin. "It's pretty dark in here..." I commented.

"Indeed. But like I said, glass is something that's not possible at the moment so windows aren't really gonna be a thing for a long time... Though it's possible to make a grid, the one we discussed about, as long as Kostas can lead with that. But before that point we can just run an extension cord from the mansion to here, put a lamp or two for the meantime as that gets built..."

I walked back out and closed the door before glancing at the stockpile of stone that had been built up over the past couple of weeks. "Sounds like a plan, I'll be sure to kick Kostas' ass into gear as soon as possible." She lightly chuckled. "I know that it might be a little early to ask but I'm curious, when do you think you'll start making another one?"

"Tomorrow or the day after that. We're gonna be taking a short break but when we pick it back up we're gonna be building two at once instead of one."

"Damn, think that that's possible? Seems rather... extensive."

"I'm confident that it's possible even though I do agree that it's extensive. We wanna move people out of the mansion and into their own homes as soon as possible."

I nodded once more. "I think I'll help a lot more when y'all continue the project since the fields will be fully set and in motion in a couple of weeks or so."

The conversation came to a halt so she excused herself to go and do whatever with Charlotte. I took that as my cue to flag down Kostas to finally discuss that localized grid idea that was brought up previously. I probably should've talked to Kostas about it a while ago but it's whatever. I waited for him to get back from hunting with Kai for a little while where I eventually found my lovely wife drawing at her desk.

I walked up behind her and softly wrapped my arms around her torso causing the girl to lightly giggle as she put her drawing utensils down. I leaned down and kissed the side of her neck where a quiet gasp escaped her lips.

She exposed more of her neck since the girl thought that I was trying to get her in the mood to fornicate but she was mistaken. I easily lifted her out of the chair where a surprised squeak emitted from her before putting her on the bed. My hands slipped under her shirt and lifted it up to just below her breasts. She wasn't expecting me to start tickling her. 

I did so for about ten minutes which was full with the girl squirming, kicking, and laughing as my fingers relentlessly pressed and rubbed into her sensitive skin and muscles. Though she was kicking, she was simultaneously wanting my fingers to stop as her body pressed into my hands which told me she wanted me to continue. I greatly enjoyed her laughs and giggles as well before moving onto another form of tickling.

Giving her raspberries on her tummy appeared to be her favorite so I persisted in doing that for a little while. I only stopped when Kai reported through the walkie-talkie that he had returned. I softly kissed her belly for a few seconds before lowering her shirt where I noted that her face was flushed and was actually starting to sweat from how much I tickle 'tortured' her. I enjoyed the sight before kissing the tip of her nose before making my way back downstairs.

"Up for getting assigned to a new project?" I asked Kostas who was pouring themselves a drink of wine at the dining table.

He shrugged before he took a large swig of the elixir. "Probably. What are you thinking of?"

"A proper localized grid. Think that you'll be able to do something like that?"

He hummed quietly as he thought about the question. "With the right amount of wires, most likely. Do you want me to connect the new cabin to it?"

I nodded. "That's the first goal. The ulterior goal is to make it easily expandable as more cabins get erected. I wanna make sure that come new housing they have essentially the same capabilities as this house to make them more appealing."

He simply nodded without saying anything else regarding what was said. "You want some?" He asked as he glanced at the bottle of wine.

"I don't see why not." I accepted as I retrieved my own cup. "I also wanna talk to you about something else other than wiring."

"Go ahead." He replied as I poured myself some of the red wine, just a small amount.

"You were a blacksmith before The Drop happened, right?" He nodded. "Does that mean you know how to do metallurgy?"

He nodded again. "Of course. Need me to make something for you?"

Ideas of what he could possibly manufacture started popping up in my mind. "Not personally, no. There's just things that I'd like you to start making. Things like tools, nails, and other miscellaneous metal related objects that we're gonna need in the future. Do you know how to make bullets?"

"No to the bullets but it has been something I wanted to go into just in case we ever need to make more. I'm surprised we haven't practiced with the guns just yet, I would've thought that Trinity maybe would've made some type of shooting range by now or something like that."

"Well, I'm kind of against that idea since it might attract someone directly to Solaris. If we are to practice with guns I'd want that to happen elsewhere, does that make sense?"

After a nod he said, "Back to the other things. Those things would probably be easy to make. It just takes the metal and the set up to do so of course since the knowledge and experience is something I already have."

"Like a type of forge or foundry?" I inferred.

"Yes. But Trinity seems to already have her hands full with so much else, should we really put something else on her?"

"Hm... I'd have to ask her about it, unless you wanna do that. I strongly suggest that what you do with this grid and now forge-idea is that you collaborate with Trinity to find the best course of action to make it possible"

"Makes sense though I might not need to talk with Trinity about it at all, at least at first. Though that still leaves the 'metals' part that I would need out."

I only lightly sighed after he pointed that out. "Correct. And what I can think of at the moment is to scavenge metal objects and melt them down, something like that, then turn that into what we need. I'm not sure if something like starting a mine is possible, even if Ashton was a miner before The Drop. That seems extremely far-fetched."

"I agree. The scavenging for metals seems like an okay way of doing things, I'm sure there's a lot we can take from." Before I could say anything he continued. "But yes, I will talk to Trinity about this in... a little while. At least bring it up but again, I don't think I will need to all that much." He confirmed as he took another large drink of wine.

After another sip of wine I realized I didn't want to drink by myself. Kostas, when he drinks, is usually extremely antisocial so that's why I say that. So I yoinked another smaller wine bottle and another cup and made my way back to my wife's bubbly company.

"Wanna have a drink?" I asked which quickly got her attention.

She glanced at the bottle of alcohol as she got on her feet. "Hm... Maybe a little." I headed toward her desk but was stopped by her arms wrapping around me. "Can we drink it outside?"

I looked down at the pleading eyes that were cutely looking into mine, her cuteness making it impossible for me to deny her somewhat peculiar desire. "Sure thing, Misses Solace."

She smiled and took the extra cup before the girl led the way out of the room and outside to the front porch. I wasn't expecting her to continue walking toward the stream.

"Where are we going?" I softly asked with an arm around her shoulders.

"To our bathing spot... Is that alright?"

I chuckled. "Of course it is."

When we got there about ten minutes later she sat down at the base of a tree that was a few feet from the dirt path that ran across the stream. I joined her by her side where the girl leaned into me as I poured us some of the flavuorful beverage. She delicately put it up to her lips before taking a small sip to thoroughly enjoy it. Any drink with flavour was extremely tasty, primarily only because most of the time we drank water so when we drink something other than that we enjoy it probably more than we should be.

"I'm only gonna have a little, I don't wanna... get drunk." She announced after her sip.

I put my nose in her hair. "Understandable, I don't want to get drunk either."

After that we slowly drank minute amounts of liquid for the next few minutes, the sounds and smell of nature being extremely pleasant to the mind as we did so. It also felt quite nice since the air was really starting to warm up by now, and I was able to enjoy every aspect of it since I wasn't working in a field. When Stacy had emptied her cup she set it aside and hugged me. My cup joined hers a minute later before the both of us then tightly embraced each other and greatly enjoyed each other's touch and company.

After a couple of minutes I gingerly put a hand under her chin to gently make her softly smiling face look up at me. I just looked at her in her beautiful eyes and got lost in them as I remembered how lucky I was to have her as my wife. "You're so extremely beautiful in every single way possible..." I couldn't help but say.

A light blush appeared on her cheeks. "You too..."

I chuckled. "Meh, maybe."

She briefly touched the tip of my nose with her index finger. "You are... Now kiss me."

Avoiding a debate I chose to comply with her command as one of her hands put itself on the side of my face before the both of us enjoyed the soft feeling and addictive taste of each other. The taste and smell of kissing her has never changed and stayed as addictive as it always has been. Having my senses enjoy nature and my wife at the same time made the experience even more enjoyable.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She abruptly migrated after a few minutes to relocate between my legs where the girl sat with her legs crisscrossed and facing me. She scooted as close as she could and put her arms around my neck where the kiss continued from there. I gingerly put my hands on her sides as the feral part of me starting to get turned on.

I slid my tongue out where I hit her teeth, my tongue then rubbing up against them and asking her teeth to open up so it could play with her tongue. It took her a few seconds for her teeth to part where my tongue entered her mouth and wasted no time in rubbing against hers. She weakly fought back and let my tongue ravish hers where our saliva thoroughly mixed with each other's which further turned me on.

When the kiss broke after another few minutes we rested our foreheads against each other's where I noticed that the girl in my hands rate of breath had slightly elevated. "Are we... are we allowed to have sex out here?" She innocently asked.

I chuckled at her question. "We're allowed to do anything. It just depends on whether or not you want to do it..."

She lightly gulped and gently sighed. She looked around as she presumably tried to determine if the area was secluded enough. When she looked back her arms unwrapped from around my neck before her right hand went down to the button of my jeans. I let her do what she was going to do where her hand timidly unbuttoned my pants and unzipped them.

I lifted myself up a tad so she could pull them down under my waist where her hands pulled my boxers down to that level as well causing my cock to spring free into the cool and fresh air. I sat back down, not caring about the ground as Stacy eyed my intrigued cock as she thought more thoroughly if we should have sex out in the open.

"What if someone sees us?" She whispered as she looked up at me.

"The odds of that happening are extremely low..." I replied, not particularly answering her question. The thought of having sex in the woods was one I always wanted to do, I just never knew how to approach Stacy with the idea.

She swallowed hard again as she looked back down before her soft hand took a delicate hold of the base of my penis. She slowly stroked me up to my tip before going back down causing a low moan escaping me. She stroked me a few more times before she abruptly moved once more, the girl then getting on her stomach and scooting close to me.

I leaned back and took a deep breath as her lips hovered over my glans where I felt her breath contact my shaft causing it to twitch in anticipation. She leaned down a tad more where her nose contacted the stiffened rod so she could take a long and slow breath of the scent my groin gave off, the girl thoroughly enjoying it for a minute or two. When she was done doing that she kissed the head of my shaft with no warning, the sensation of her soft and moist lips causing me to jump a tad as my cock once again twitched in anticipation.

I settled back down as her kiss strengthened before she sprinkled several kisses across my tip over the next sixty seconds. When she was done there she explored back down my penis where she gingerly sucked on a testicle for a few moments, the girl treating the other one the exact same before her tongue licked up and down my entire cock a few times.

After that she encompassed my tip in her lips where she girl lightly sucked on me for a few seconds before her head started sliding down, the elegant mouth taking four inches of me before she lifted her head back up, her lips and tongue tightly clinging to my shaft. I put my hands on her head as she did so to help her lift her head up and down for a couple of minutes more effectively where I let her hear a few of my moans that I knew she really liked to hear. I relaxed back, closed my eyes, and looked up as I spread my legs which made the feeling much greater, her tongue being too skilled to not moan and grunt with every lick she graciously gave me.

After a total of three minutes of her sucking she stopped. Since it was in the moment I was a little disappointed but that swiftly disappeared when she got on her knees and took her shirt off. After she set it to the side she stood up and took her pants and her panties off before the girl's turned on folds appearing right in front of me.

I took a hold of her hips and leaned down a tad where my nose contacted her aroused clit. I thoroughly enjoyed her scent just like she did with me. I pressed my tongue against her slit for a few seconds, feeling just how wet she was, her strong tasting lubricant being just that. But she stopped me by taking a step back.

Before I could ask what was wrong she turned around and got on her knees. It only took her another second for her elbows to contact the ground as well which gave me full access to mount her and make her mine, to thoroughly breed and do with her as I wished.

When I realized that I briefly stood up so I could take my clothes off before getting on my knees and taking a few knee-steps to close the distance between us. I put a hand on one of her hips where I felt the girl slightly shivering in anticipation as she waited for my insertion. I placed my other hand on the back of her head before gently pushing the side of the girl's face to the ground. She allowed me to do that so she didn't resist at all and instead went along with it.

When that was done I took my hand off her head to help direct the tip of my phallus into her practically dripping cunt. I rubbed it up and down between her labia for a minute where she let out an impatient huff as I had my fun teasing her. I chuckled at her huff before genuinely putting the tip of my shaft into her awaiting vagina which caused her to whimper in desire.

"Use me, use my pussy, fuck me for so long, cum inside me, make me pregnant-!" She begged as she tried lowering her ass so my cock could contact her cervix sooner.

My free hand went around her torso so I could massage a tit as my hips finally started thrusting forward. Since all rational thinking at that moment was gone and lust was the only thing on our minds I leaned over and lustfully whispered, "I'll try my best..."

After that I focused on the act of railing her where my hips further delved my shaft into her welcoming, tight, and moist heat. Feeling her small pubic hairs rub against my shaft in the first thrust was always such a delightful feeling which was only made more delightful by how wet she had gotten, the tip of my penis contacting her womb in just a few seconds. I loved how my testicles would lightly hit against her clit every time I reached her cervix along with her secretions smearing on my scrotum.

When that happened the only thing I cared about were the feelings that we were receiving, any thought process being overridden by the want to comply with Stacy's begs. So I pulled out and slammed back into her causing a pleasurable moan to emit from the both of us. The feeling was only amplified by the natural scents and sounds around us. Being in nature, where sex originally took place, was a much better experience than I expected and might be something that I actually prefer. It's hard to describe but in the moment, it seemed to make sex even more enjoyable due to just how feral it made us feel.

It didn't take me long to get into a rhythm of thrusting in and out of her where the sounds of sex shortly started entering our ears as the both of us relaxed into each other's bodies. I can’t express how much I love how she tries her best to stay still as she lets me use her and takes my cock, the girl having to adjust her position every other minute due to how her body slightly shook each time my pelvis slammed into hers.

A few minutes of this sedate thrusting passed before the hand massaging her tits relocated to her clit as the want to make her cum first was more important to me than my own pleasure. After starting to kiss the back of her neck I helped her achieve her orgasm by thrusting faster where the girl reached her peak of sexual experience a couple minutes later. After that I put my hands on her hips and started quickly thrusting into her since I fully obeyed what she had told me to do to her.

I used her tight little pussy and listened to her moans of pleasure for a few more minutes before my peak quickly arrived. I looked down to where we connected causing my grip on her hips to strengthen as my toes curled while I watched the pounding. "I-I hope this is gonna make you carry a child... my child..." I ferally hoped just a few seconds before the first spurt of my seed shot directly into her womb, the feeling of creampie-ing and making her pussy mine yet again causing me to moan a little bit loudly in happiness. Cumming inside is just the greatest physical feeling ever that can't be beat.

When I finished emptying myself inside her I took a refreshing deep breath as I kept my glans pressed against her semen-filled womb. I looked around the area just to make sure no one was watching us, a tad afraid of that happening since the lust had quickly left my mind. When I determined that no one was watching I looked back down to where Stacy and I connected, the girl's eyes closed with a satisfied smile on her lips. I slowly rubbed her back while the minutes slowly rolling by, the both of us staying in a comfortable silence as we enjoyed the ending results of our sexual act.

"I hope I'm getting pregnant right now..." Stacy announced, breaking the silence.

My heart skipped a beat at her words. Usually she stops hoping that after we finish... I lightly chuckled at her words. "I'm not sure if that'd be the best thing to do at the moment."

But... at this point I think I'd be fine if she got pregnant... maybe. I kind of have just accepted the possibility of her getting pregnant since I cum in her every time we have sex, it's not like I'm gonna be surprised if she gets pregnant.

"But you said you hope I'd get pregnant too..."

I chuckled once more. "You know I only say stuff like that in the moment... I don't actually want it to happen, not now at least."

She lightly sighed. "I know you said ten years... but that's a long time. I really want a baby... a baby that's ours and that we'll raise and be really good parents."

It was my turn to lightly sigh. "I... I'm not sure if that's possible."

"...I talked to Olivia about it." She revealed, which piqued my interest.

"What'd she say?"

She lifted her head off the ground and rested herself on her elbows before the girl wiped some of the dirt off her face with somewhat of an annoyed expression on her face. "That it would be a really bad idea to get pregnant at my age..."

"...Did you tell her about how often I cum in you?"

She shook her head. "No, I was too scared and embarrassed to talk about something like that with her... But I did ask if someone had a hard time getting pregnant, does that mean they can't get pregnant?"

"What'd she say? That's something I've been meaning to talk to her about."

"She said that some women take months and even years to get pregnant. Maybe I'm one of them?"

The hopeful tone of her voice was adorable. "I guess we'll find out if you are or not..."

I found it endearing how she wanted a child of our own... I'm just not particularly ready to be a father... Again, I realize how possible it is and if she becomes pregnant I'll swiftly ready my ass up, accept it, and look forward ti becoming a father. I guess I'm just scared of failing as a parent… Though I did find it strange how much she started wanting a baby the last month or so. Originally she was pretty scared about it… It’s crazy what your instincts will make you do.

I forced myself to stay inside her pussy for a little while before pulling out where she stayed in that position to keep all my semen inside her and at the top of her vagina. She had the correct assumption that that'd increase the chance of her getting pregnant.

"Did Olivia tell you what a woman’s body goes through when she's pregnant?" I asked. I had told her that it'd be extremely difficult previously, I just didn't tell her the specifics of why that'd be.

She nodded. "If it means getting a baby then it's worth it... But it'd be really difficult. Though with you, I think you’d always be there for me to make it easy."

I was a tad worried about her thoughts on getting pregnant, the most worrying thought being the question of how hard it would be. Considering, y'know, Solaris is trying to figure its shit out. Who knows when Solaris will be in a position to be able to start birthing its first native born citizens. Only time will tell when all of that will happen.

And even though we agreed, in a sense, to having a child a decade into the future, it wasn't like I was gonna stop her keeping my semen inside her. Because first of all it's already inside her, I love everything about cumming inside her and knowing that my semen was travelling deeper inside her, and the whole ordeal with Stacy's unknown and mysterious reproductive system.

I was still behind her and sitting up against the tree as I greatly enjoyed the view of Stacy's used and exposed lower half directly in front of me. I didn't do anything else so after a few more minutes of the girl keeping her ass up she sat on her knees before the girl made her way back at my side.

I put an arm around her shoulders as she watched a small amount of semen exit her slit, the amount being a lot less than what usually leaves her since a decent bit was truly deep inside her. She abruptly pressed her forehead against mine as a hand of hers was placed on the side of my face before the both of us eskimo kissed the other. She softly kissed me afterward where the kiss had no amount of lust in it since we had kinda just fucked it out of our systems. I didn't care that she had sucked my cock not that long ago but only because I didn't cum in her mouth.

"This was... really good. Can we have sex here again in the future...?" She timidly asked with a blush after the kiss.

I lightly chuckled. "Yes. Having sex surrounded by nature is... very nice and lovely."

After that we softly made out with each other for a little while while the both of us tightly embraced each other and intimately enjoyed our naked bodies pressing against each other. We stayed like that for a dozen or so minutes before we cleaned ourselves up and put our clothes back on before returning back to the mansion shortly afterward.

(Sex scene over)

Not much happened up until the point Ashton, Audrey, and Solomon radioed that they returned from their mission from that new town Ashton had discovered. I wasted no time in making my way outside to see if they had gotten anything of use.

"What all did you get?'' I asked, taking a couple glances at the trailer. It was pretty dark by the time they returned so it wasn't that easy to make out what they were harbourirng in the trailer.

"More concrete mix, a few tools, some food, and a few books. Some other stuff too but that's the most important things." Ashton swiftly answered before I turned my gaze to Audrey who appeared to be a tad excited.

"And we found a few greenhouses there!" Audrey excitedly exclaimed. "It's definitely possible to disassemble them and transport them here. May we go ahead and do that?"

I was pleasantly surprised about the news. "Of course! That's something that'll help grow the smaller volume crops and the crops that need very special care significantly. Not to mention that's something on the Plan's list to be crossed off... But you have the responsibility of figuring out where you're gonna put it and all that."

"Of course. We also mapped out a decent bit of the town though there's still a much, much more that needs to be discovered... How was all the field work today?"

"Like usual. The tilling was completed, now we just need to plant everything and then help the crops grow until harvest."

"Can I leave you in charge of the operation for a couple of more days? I'm planning on being in that town for the next little while."

I nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard to keep things moving along here, things seem pretty straightforward."

After a quick discussion of the cabin and future plans regarding it I returned back inside to work out for half an hour or so. As I did that, Stacy entered the room in the middle of it, the girl often watching me do chin-ups, push-ups, and lift heavy weights with a light blush. And every time I finished with a workout session she'd offer to massage me which was always in the nude and on top of me. She probably did it for two reasons, to make me feel better and to smell the scent I gave off. I of course accept the offer every time, that's something I'd never deny.

Her hands were getting a lot better at relaxing and pressing into my muscles each time she massaged me, her digits now having a genuine effect in lowering the amount of pain I'd feel which was so greatly appreciated. The feeling of having her on top of me with her unaroused slit pressing into my belly and able to see her full natural and beautiful naked form was always such a lovely way to wind down from being worked up, probably the best way.

And all the working out was genuinely... working out. It had been a few weeks since I started and I could already tell that I was gaining in mass and my physique was getting more cut. I could now bench a hundred and forty pounds, albeit with difficulty, weighed a few more pounds, could do a lot more push-ups and pull-ups, and could run with more ease.

Even my orgasms were experiencing a change because of it all, the change being that they were a bit larger and more intense which is definitely a gigantic plus. Another change is I’m happier and feel better all around. I was wondering how long it'd last...

After another hour, exhaustion had caught up to the both of us. We ended the day where it began with the usual by holding my wife tightly with my penis unmoving inside her welcoming slit. As I enjoyed her skin pressing against mine the dream I had that morning couldn't get out of my head. I asked myself several times if it was real or not as I replayed my brother's words over and over again as I desperately wanted to know more information.

"It doesn't feel right, like something's been broken."

What does that mean? How would that be possible? And other questions like that. So many questions, questions that would probably never be answered.

I lightly huffed at the mystery before forcing myself to empty my mind and focus on the feeling of intimately holding my wife as I tried to let sleep take control of my body for the next several hours. So that's what I did just a few minutes later.

Chapter 39: Intimacy and Possibilities

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

When you're focused and have a good and predictable routine down, a week doesn't really feel that long so I've discovered. I only say that because it's been a little more than a week since I last wrote anything down primarily because I didn't want to but also because there's not a lot else to… write down. Not to mention that I'm not gonna be writing down days in which are really repetitive and practically the same, I don't really want to repeat what I already have down over and over again. It's better to write when you've got a big list of updates to keep things interesting.

I don't know why I care though, it's not like my journal's gonna be published to anyone or anything. Eh.

The day started off as usual so I'll skip that. Though I will once again express how much kissing my beautiful wife calms my soul. And I'll also skip the planting that I did since there's not much to write about it other than that it'll take a little under a week for the remainder to be planted. Though checking on the first crops we had planted was cool, the little green sprouts were getting larger slowly over time. It made me brightly smile since I knew that when they're done growing that a lot of labour will be freed up from collecting food elsewhere.

As of late, food has been getting a little more scarce than I feel comfortable with. At the moment it's... fine but if we stay on this trajectory then there's gonna have to be even more extensive regulations when it comes to our consumption. Hope is something that's leading me at this point, to not become negative and get that terrible feeling of negativity in your chest, nothing good will result in that.

So taking my mind off that, after I was done checking on how the crops were growing and seeing that Audrey, Scarlet, and Jordan were tending to the crops, I headed around the house to see if anyone needed a spare set of hands regarding a couple of the projects we had going on. One of them was the grid project that was delayed for a little while, primarily because Kostas wanted to work elsewhere before moving onto the project.

The other project was building more living space which was two more cabins. They were getting along just fine as all the concrete they needed had been used along with their rocky foundations having been fully built out and standing sturdy. The cabin-building crew, which consisted of the main contributors of Trinity, Raiden, Phoenix, Solomon, and Ashton were working hard on making the skeletal foundation of the floor.

It was cool to see them building it but I didn't waste my time watching them do that. Instead, since they seemed to be getting along just fine, I made my way back to the wood processing area where Kostas, Charlotte, and Roman were indeed processing wood. (Probably should've stopped by them first, whatever.) More specifically, Roman was peeling bark off of logs, Charlotte was turning logs into what the building team would require, and Kostas was going ahead and building his own parts to his project.

I was more interested in what Kostas was doing so I walked up to where he was working. "Need any help here, Kostas?"

He briefly looked up at me before looking back down to the wooden pole where he was installing hanging metal bits into. I thought he was gonna stay silent but before I could ask again he said, "Not here, but over where this is going to go."

"...Mind explaining a little more?"

"This is the permanent solution to the grid you want. It is something that will be able to spread easily to power more and more things as we grow bigger. I thought I might as well make something long lasting so I don't have to restart again later. That means this needs to be a meter or so in the ground. I was gonna get to that after I was done with this but if you did it instead then this will be done a lot faster."

I nodded as I looked at the fifteen-ish foot long utility pole he was making. "Gonna be a bitch to move this." I pointed out.

"Won't be as big of a bitch as the wiring is gonna be..."

I didn't even wanna think about that. Mainly because I don't know anything about that type of wiring so it'd most likely be redundant to even try to help him with that. I just hoped he knew how to properly connect everything and not start a fire. So after that I asked him where he wanted me to dig the hole where I goy a reply immediately afterward.

Because I felt like being nice I returned to the front of the house to do as he suggested where I found an electric auger that had recently been scavenged and put on the porch. I grabbed it, it was much heavier than I was expecting, and shimmied my way to the spot where Kostas wanted the pole to be erected which was between the dirt trail and the first cabin that was made.

After twenty minutes of removing dirt and double checking to see if it was deep enough, I then returned the auger to the porch. I wondered how he was gonna connect the pole to the battery pack but that was answered when I actually looked at the battery pack and saw a smaller utility pole which had already been connected right beside it.

"How the hell did I miss this...?" I quietly asked myself.

I could make out that the smaller pole would be some sort of 'jumping' point for its wires to connect to the larger one, so the wires wouldn't be low and all that. I also noted that the mansion was connected to it which soothed my nerves. I always had a small fear of the wires catching fire but now the chances of that happening were much lower since it was now much more professionally made.

Since I didn't want to go inside I went to the side of the mansion, not where wood gets processed, but where a decently sized greenhouse is gonna one day stand. I wanted to check out how the project there was coming along.

There was a large area dug out for concrete to be poured into so the greenhouse would have a solid base and a good floor to stand on. The greenhouse itself was disassembled in stacks or piles of each part just waiting to be put back together. Now at first I wasn't sure if using all the concrete it'd need would be a good idea but in the town where Ashton and Audrey retrieved the greenhouse they had found a massive amount of it so that relieved that thought, for now.

It was a lot, sure, but it wasn't unlimited. We'd run out eventually so figuring out how to deal with that before it becomes a problem is how I'd like to tackle the problem. Not any time soon though since there's more important things to be focusing on, but we'd eventually get around to solving that inevitable problem.

After I satisfied my curiosity I returned to the front of the house to see if Trinity needed some more manpower for the cabins. But I stopped when Phoenix's and Autumn's door opened where the woman of the couple hastily exited the building before vomiting on the ground.

I was silent as I looked away since I didn't want to see that where she finished the involuntary act a few moments later. She sat on the stairs to the cabin and sighed as she saw me where my gaze looked back to her direction.

"I thought you were getting better..." I said as she rested her head on one of her hands.

"...I did too." She replied, heavily sighing afterward. "I haven't told Olivia about it."

"Why not?"

After another sigh she said, "Didn't think it was anything serious... I have a feeling that it might actually be."

"How so?"

Her expression turned nervous before the woman's eyes averted my own. She looked back at me. "...I'll tell you later."

I slowly nodded, unsure of what to say next. "Alright... Well, I hope whatever it is you can get back to not throwing up. I strongly suggest that you go and talk to Olivia to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible."

She lightly nodded as I made my way to Trinity who then made me help them for a couple of hours. By the end of it I was slightly sweaty and the floor to one of the new cabins was starting to get its first planks nailed into it. Happy with the progress for that day I then made my way inside to see if Stacy was there and not out and about.

I quickly received an answer when Quinn was teaching her and Etsu sign language, something that I was actually really interested in so I stayed back and watched them get taught by Quinn. Watching Quinn teach was really fascinating to me in a way as the woman was only able to properly teach the ignorant through writing down on paper first. After she got the first movements of hands correlated to meaning it became much easier. But it was still hard since you had to memorize what the movements meant. It was exactly like learning a new language.

Of course we didn't need to move our hands and arms since she wasn't deaf so we could talk to her all willy-nilly. But obviously we still need to understand what the movements mean, it's just that doing the movements yourself helps you learn faster in most cases. Not to mention it'd be a good skill to have just in case you're in a situation where you can't talk but still need to communicate.

"How do you call someone beautiful?" Stacy asked which caused Quinn to smile at her question before the woman showed my wife the movement to do so.

As they asked Quinn obscure words I quietly made my way behind Stacy who was sitting on one of the couches before I firmly placed my hands on her shoulders. That didn't really distract Stacy all that much so I started lightly massaging them where the girl emitted a very quiet and cute pleasurable grunt at the feeling that only I heard.

Since I didn't want to take her away from two of her girl-friends my massaging stayed light, the girl letting me massage her shoulders, neck, and back over the course of twenty minutes. Thankfully the other two didn't even gaze at me... or so I think as sometimes I was too busy focusing on pressing into Stacy's skin or too lost in thought by remembering how much I love her.

Though after twenty minutes their lesson ended before Quinn left to go fishing and Etsu went to do... whatever that strange lady does when she wants to do something. Seriously, just when I think I have a read on Etsu she flips the script on all of us. She's a very interesting character. I should talk to her more.

So of course that just left Stacy and I alone as my hands continued to massage into her muscles. "What took you so long to start doing this?" She asked, almost purring.

"You never asked..." I simply replied. "Though I should've started doing this a long time ago, I've been a little selfish."

She giggled. "It's fine... As long as you keep doing it from now on."

I grinned. "Of course, it's only fair."

After another minute she looked up to meet my gaze as the girl gently twiddled a few of her fingers. "Can we go in our room to continue this...?"

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Yes."

She led the way by holding my hand where the girl took her clothes off when I closed and locked the door. I gave her a wolf whistle as I looked her over where my wife playfully rolled her eyes with a shy smile afterward. She walked up to me and took my hand before gently putting it on the side of her face and gave me an adorable pleading expression. "Can you please massage me some more...?"

I leaned down and kissed her forehead before trailing down to the tip of her nose. "Of course, my love..."

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

She lightly kissed me for a few seconds before her hands went to the sides of my pants where she gently tugged them down. Getting the message, I took my clothes off before she took my hand yet again and took us to the window bay. Before we took our usual spot on it she quickly made her way to her desk and retrieved her hairbrush.

I lifted an eyebrow pretending to be clueless. "What's that for?"

"Later." She replied after she set the brush on the window bay and turned to me. I leaned down and kissed her forehead again as one of her soft hands gave my penis a few slow but firm strokes getting me fully erect.

I chuckled. "How come you do this right before we get on the bay every time?"

She lightly blushed as her strokes slowed and stopped. "You know how much I like it when it's hard and on me..."

"I kind of like it better when it's hard and in you." I said with a smirk causing her blush to darken a tad.

"Maybe later... if you do what I say." She said in a playful tone.

I kissed her forehead once more. "Of course, my Queen... What do you want me to do?"

With a cute smile she said, "Cuddle and hold me and continue massaging me and maybe kiss me too..."

And so we took our spot on the bay where the both of us got as close as possible, the girl then making sure that my phallus was on her. After wrapping a blanket around us a hand returned to continue massaging her shoulder as the other arm wrapped around her abdomen to keep her close and eliminate any chance of her escaping my hold. I then leaned down to kiss the side of her neck where she lifted her head up a bit to expose her neck so I could kiss and lightly suck the more sensitive parts of her flesh.

My hand that wasn't busy massaging her then trailed up her belly and her chest where her tits started getting a small and gentle treatment before my hand trailed back down her belly and to her inner thighs, my fingers then digging themselves into the sensitive flesh. My erection didn't falter, especially after I started smelling a light scent of arousal coming from the girl, all of my stimulants turning her feral side on.

My hand massaging her shoulders would change from there to her neck and then to her back in a pattern, my other hands going from her inner thighs to trailing over her soft belly to her petite breasts also in a similar pattern.

After ten minutes she was fully aroused and in a state of feral urge. "I... I-I need you inside me-."

I slowly stopped what I was doing to her, somewhat not wanting to, before she turned around and put her feet over my hips. After the blanket around us fell she scooted forward causing my cock to rest on her groin and belly. I chuckled as the girl ground on my phallus which resulted in only a frustrated grunt from her.

I grabbed her by the hips and lifted her up a small bit where her arms and legs wrapped around me. The lotus position... Probably the best position for slow and intimate sex.

I lifted her up some more so the head of my shaft could enter her hungry depths. But after failing for a minute or so she grunted in frustration again before unwrapping an arm and grabbing my shaft before guiding it into her impatient sex that craved the touch and pounding of my cock.

"Let's calm down, little girl..." I quietly whispered after my tip was encompassed by her moist flesh.

She looked a little embarrassed. "Oh... I-I'm sorry, I just... I'm really horny..."

I chuckled and eskimo kissed her. "I understand... Let's just take this calm and slow though, alright?"

She nodded and wrapped her arm around me again before the both of us gently pressed our foreheads on one another. I slowly lowered her onto my phallus causing her to gently grunt in pleasure as she slid down and I stretched her walls open once more. I'll never be able to properly convey just how great the first thrust is...

When my tip touched her womb I softly and deeply kissed her for a couple of minutes where my phallus twitched in happiness/anticipation every dozen or so seconds as we stayed still. After the passionate kiss I leaned back a tad so we could then properly look each other in the eyes and looked down to where we connected for a few moments. I loved it so much how my girth spread her open by a decent bit as I saw the small abdominal bulge my dick always caused. After that I slowly slid her up where the girl gently grunted again as my cock rubbed against the spots that craved to be pleasured.

I rested my forehead on hers again where we once again sustained eye contact as she slowly slid down again when she got halfway up my penis where one of her arms unwrapped from around me so she could delicately place a hand on the side of my face.

"I love you... so much ." I whispered when my tip touched her cervix again, a mix of passion and lust dripping from my tone.

"I love you so much too..." She quietly replied through a whimper of pleasure, almost pouting the words.

I continued slowly and intimately lift her up and down a few times each minute, the sex itself being really slow but it was extremely enjoyable nonetheless. She quietly whimpered and grunted through the entire session, the pace not being fast enough to be loud but slow enough to be extremely pleasurable. After five minutes of this sedate pace we deeply kissed each other again, our lips staying locked as our lustful and slow dance continued. The sounds of her grunts and whimpers being stifled by kissing will never get old.

A lot of precum was exiting me as this was happening so it kind of added to the lubricant where we connected which strangely felt quite nice. I didn't let it distract me from continuing to kiss her where I had to resist the urge to speed up the process of lifting her up and down.

When I was nearing my edge she told me she was about to cum so I slowed us down even more which denied us our release. "Tap my face when you're about to cum..." I advised so we didn't have to stop kissing for her to tell me before we continued to deeply kiss afterward.

In the moment of lust I loved how she let me use her like that, the girl not moving as she let me slowly lift her up and down on my cock, the girl more than happy to let her perfect vagina be my little toy that I could cum into and risk getting her pregnant any time I wanted. I of course didn't, I wanted the moment to last much longer and wanted her to feel fantastic as well, but the thought, upon many others, added to the lust flowing through my mind.

After another ten minutes of having been stayed in a kiss and two taps on my face signifying the denial of orgasming, my heart dropped when I heard a knock come from our door. I broke the kiss and looked behind me where Stacy huffed at the knock. "...Should I call back?"

"...Just ask what do they want." She quietly replied with a pout.

So I did just that. "I need something from you and need to talk to you about something. It's about what's happening with Autumn." Olivia replied, slightly muffled through the door.

At that moment I only cared about having sex so I looked back at Stacy and whispered, "How long do you think we're gonna take?"

"This is really, really nice... Maybe another ten minutes?" She whispered back, getting impatient.

"...Is this a bad time?" Olivia innocently asked.

"Yes, it's a really bad time." I honestly replied.

"Oh, uh, sorry, I'll be in the living room so find me there whenever you can." She frantically replied. I could hear the blush on her face.

We waited until we knew she was gone to continue where the both of us returned to deeply kissing each other as I slowly lifted her up and down on my shaft. After another few minutes, my lips started getting tired from kissing for so long but I forced myself to stay in the passionate kiss as I focused on the feeling of her moist, warm, and firm vagina squeezing and tightly hugging my phallus, her walls encouraging me to paint them white, as I steadily penetrated her.

After the thirty minute mark and another tap on my face she broke the kiss to say, "I-I can't t-take this anymore, I w-want to cum so badly-!"

"M-Me too..."

After looking each other in the eyes for a few seconds we kissed one more time before speeding up the act of fucking by a decent bit which took only a few moments of mating to cause us to cum, the both of us reaching our climax at the same time.

We both moaned into the kiss as we received one of the greatest orgasms we ever helped each other feel, the girl squirting on me as a healthy three day load of my semen shot into her womb. Even though the orgasms were just a few seconds long they rocked our minds in pure bliss as we rode our orgasms out on each other, the moment being one of the most intimate moments in my life. It reminded me a lot of the first orgasm we both helped each other feel, it was really similar.

When our orgasms ended I took my hands off her hips as the girl rested her body weight on me and keeping my phallus pressed against her cervix. My arms then wrapped around her chest so we could tightly hug each other as we stayed kissing, the amount of liquid dripping out and off of us being a decent amount and getting the window bay messy. But we didn't care, we just cared about kissing each other at that moment.

And when it ended three minutes later we rested our foreheads against one another yet again. "I l-love you..." I repeated in another whisper.

"I love you..."

My heart fluttered after her words as the want to sleep while holding her close quickly grew within my mind. My heart fluttered again when I looked down to our messy and connecting groins where I remembered how incredibly intimate it was to be able to be inside her let alone cum inside her whenever I want... most of the time. That thought still and will never not make my heart flutter upon so many other things that I'm able to do with Stacy... I feel like the luckiest person when it comes to her for so many reasons.

After two silent minutes she rested her head on my chest which prompted me to put my chin on top of her head where the girl gently nuzzled me for a minute. "When are you gonna go talk to Olivia...?"

"Oh, right... I forgot about that" I said with a sigh. "In a few more minutes..."

"That was... so~ fucking good..." She said with another nuzzle with a small wiggle of her hips which felt quite nice on my flaccid cock within her.

I chuckled. "One of the best, that's for sure... It'd've been better in the forest, with no interruptions."

She quietly giggled. "I... agree."

We stayed connecting for a few more minutes before begrudgingly separating since as per usual I didn't want to be outside of her glorious heat and in her case not wanting to be empty inside. I offered to help her clean up but she insisted that I go talk with Olivia and that she was fine with cleaning the mess we made together. I accepted her words and cleaned my lap and penis off before getting dressed again where I then quickly made my way downstairs.

(Sex scene over)

It didn't take two seconds for Olivia to realize I had come down to the living room where the woman wasted no time in getting up and approaching me. Before I could ask what she wanted she had me follow her back upstairs to her room. Guess she didn't want to hear anything if Stacy and I got loud which was understandable.

"So... What's up?" I asked after she gestured for me to close the door.

"Autumn's pregnant." She bluntly revealed which made my heart skip a beat at the news which was a bit odd. Probably because that meant a whole bunch of things for Solaris.

"...Do you know that or are you assuming that?" I asked as the throwing up suddenly became obvious.

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure that she is. When she told me about all the symptoms of the 'sickness' she's had I immediately knew since I've gone through the exact same thing three times before."

I slowly nodded. "Did you diagnose her with 'baby'?"

"Well not officially but I did tell her what I think. She started crying when I did for many reasons and expressed how much she's scared of the possibility..."

"...Is she okay with you telling me about this?" I asked. It seemed a tad odd that she brought this up with me.

She nodded. "Only you, other than me and Phoenix. And that's for two reasons. It's because you're our leader and that you have pregnancy tests that I'd really appreciate if you handed them over to me."

"...How did you know I have them?"

"You don't hide the discarded ones well at all."

Fair enough. "Yeah, sure, I'll give you them, we haven't had to use a pregnancy test for a long while now."

She slowly nodded. "Am I allowed to ask something personal?" I nodded. "What would you do if Stacy got pregnant?"

I should've expected a question like that since we were talking about pregnancies but I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I'm a bit dumb. "Uh... Well, I wouldn't be surprised first of all. I would want her to keep the baby and then reiterate several promises to Stacy. After that I'd make sure to make her pregnancy will be as easy as I could possibly make it and then try my best to help her raise the baby and be a good parent. I'd try my best to teach our child all the right lessons, mindsets, and raise them with common decency..." I sighed. "I just have a fear of failing the child, my wife, or both."

"If you go on with what you say then that won't happen, I'm positive that you won't fail, I've seen the spirit that you and Stacy share. But not surprised? Do you two not practice safe sex?"

"...No." I honestly replied.

She looked a little shocked at my words. "Aren't you... not really wanting to, y'know, be a father right now?"

"I don't think she can get pregnant, that’s the thing. If she was she'd've been showing signs of it a long~ time ago." She was curious how I came to that conclusion so I told her how almost every sexual session ends between Stacy and I. She seemed kind of disappointed unsurprisingly. "I feel like I'm betraying Stacy a tad by revealing all of this to you..."

"I'm not quite sure what to say to that other than talking to her about this conversation later. She has kept a few things secret from me regarding her reproductive system, she's extremely shy when talking about it so maybe you have to be the one to talk to me about it. Well, besides a few days ago when she asked me about pregnancy and... it now makes a lot more sense. Has she been wanting to conceive? Is that why you ejaculate into her so often?"

"Yes to the first one, no to the second. I cum in her because we both immensely enjoy it, that's it. But as of late she's had a really bad case of 'baby fever' so she's been hoping to get pregnant even though we know it's probably a bad idea for several reasons and agreed to wanting a child years from now..."

She slowly nodded. "It's the instincts controlling that part of you two which is only getting amplified since you two aren't able to be regulated... There's only so much one can do to persuade to not get pregnant, to practice safe sex, and related methods to prevent it. And also to tell them how stressful being pregnant is on your body and how difficult it is to raise an infant."

I didn't really like how she basically called us... mindless sexual deviants so I brushed that under the rug, who knows, it might even be true but I hated the thought of that. "Again, I'm not sure if she's able to get pregnant. Not just because she isn't already pregnant but because her periods are extremely unpredictable." She asked me to explain so I did.

After explaining the odd timings of her periods and how bloody and painful they were she processed the information. "...She might be anovulatory, maybe some form of PCOS, most of those symptoms align with it. But I'm not gonna be able to find out, not for a while at least. The instruments to do so are still far out of our reach."

After another minute or so of discussing that the conversation ended so I returned back to Autumn. "You said she's scared? Is she... wanting to terminate it?"

"She... expressed the possibility but didn't say she wanted that to happen. She's most likely talking to Phoenix about it as we speak. Whatever they determine is what they're gonna do." I nodded, keeping my opinion about abortion a secret. So to avoid that discussion I opted to go get her the pregnancy tests.

When I entered my room I saw that Stacy was on the window bay which was devoid of sexual fluid as she was tightly wrapped up in a blanket. She looked behind her and lightly grinned. "Can you... brush my hair?"

I made my way toward her desk and swiftly opened the drawer for the pregnancy tests. "Sure thing, I just need to give Olivia these."

She eyed them as I pulled them out. "...Is Olivia pregnant?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No... I'll tell you about it later." I figured I shouldn't talk about Autumn's situation without getting her permission to tell it to others so I wasn't sure if I'd be the one telling her about it.

With Stacy a little unsatisfied at my reply I quickly gave Olivia the tests and made my way back to my room, turned the light off, and walked up to Stacy. She didn't say anything about it, the girl giggling when I put my hands on her shoulders.

"Can you take your clothes off and get back on her with me, please?" She cutely asked, something I obeyed.

After half a minute she was yet again sitting in between my legs with her legs crisscrossed as she leaned back on my chest where the both of us looked out of the window into the night sky. (That day really went fast, I spent a lot of time helping build the cabins.) She of course made sure my somewhat flaccid cock was on her after I wrapped us up in a blanket before she handed me her brush after an arm wrapped around her abdomen. She gracefully let me tug her toward me just to eliminate any remainder of space between us.

With all the sexual energy having been zapped out of us I could gingerly massage one of her breasts, admire every aspect of her flawless nude body, and smell the light scent she gave off without it getting steamy. So that's what I did when I started slowly brushing her hair where the both of us started sharing yet another intimate moment with each other. I didn't really expect brushing her hair to be as lovely as it was but it was pretty nice, my gaze looking down an the beautiful girl half the time. The other half was admiring the cosmos that we were able to see through the window.

This was the first time I brushed her hair for her so I had to get used to how to properly brush through her hair at the right pace which took a few minutes. As I figured that out I decided to not keep the conversation with Olivia a secret, the parts where we talked about her at least. "Would you be mad at me if I talked to Olivia about... you wanting a baby, how I cum in you, and how your periods are?"

She was silent for a few silent seconds as the brush continued flowing through her soft hair. I was able to sense that a blush appeared on her face as she processed my words. "No... But..." She lightly sighed. "I'm not mad, it's just... I think it's really embarrassing to talk about that stuff when I'm not talking to you... It's embarrassing that someone knows all of that now..."

I kissed the back of her head. "I sort of understand but Olivia's a doctor, she's supposed to know these things. It's not like she's gonna tell anyone what I told her, it's purely for medical reasons only."

She lightly sighed again. "I... understand. It doesn't mean I have to like it though."

Another kiss on the back of her head. "Of course, I get it... But I strongly suggest you have a more thorough conversation with Olivia about your periods, I can only say so much."

"It's gonna be embarrassing..."

"You have to try to get past that, at least with Olivia. Just keep in mind that it's professional, alright?" I calmly explained.

She gingerly nodded which ended that short lived conversation. I was thankful that she understood why I talked to Olivia about her private physical attributes to the doctor. Hopefully we'll eventually be certain as to why and what's causing Stacy's abnormal periods...

But anyways, she started quietly and softly singing after that conversation ceased. Her delicate and angelic voice calmed my soul from how beautiful and nice it was. After twenty minutes of slowly brushing her hair and after she was done singing I set the brush aside and leaned over her shoulder to deeply kiss her, the kiss lasting a couple of minutes.

"I love you..." I reminded with a peck on the tip of her nose.

"I love you too..." She said, yawning a few seconds later. "Getting my hair brushed by you felt very nice..."

"Maybe that's also something I'll do every now and then?"

She brightly smiled. "I would like that."

"Definitely with you beautifully singing while I'm doing it of course." I said, causing her to shyly giggle.

It didn't take me much longer to get up and carry her to bed as the both of us swiftly got exhausted from the day's activities. I liked how light she was getting because of how much I was building myself up, the lighter she got the more I felt obligated to protect her from any and all threats... I of course still do that, it just seems like I have more of a want to do that as time goes on somehow.

That reminded me that I didn't run that day but it was way too late for anything like that to happen so I brushed the thought off since I was too tired to want to do anything else other than once again being inside/connected with my wife, holding her close, and going to sleep. After repeating the message of saying that we love each other we went to sleep, the both of us wanting to get ready for the next day ahead of us.

Unfortunately there were no dreams had. I've been hoping to get another dream about my brother again so I can talk to him some more... But that seems dumb to think, dreams are just dreams... right? Anyways, I didn't wake up naturally because the boom of thunder decided that we shouldn't be sleeping as strong pouring rain crashed down with it.

But I quickly found out that the sun had risen (I could tell it was blocked by heavy storm clouds) so I stayed awake after being rudely woken up. Another smaller boom of thunder made me realize that Stacy was awake since the girl slightly jumped in fear after hearing the sound. Her little jump immediately made me hold her tighter as a hand went to hold one of hers that housed our ring before I softly kiss her neck to calm her down.

Those three things always helped calm her down through storms, the thunder being a trigger for her causing her to remember what it was like being alone for so long. "I'm here, I'm here... And I'm never leaving you. I love you." I whispered to her which helped me calm her down even more.

She eventually rolled around and tightly hugged me where my arms reciprocated the embrace before digging my nose into her hair as she slightly shivered in fear. I advised her to focus on breathing to calm her down where the girl took my advice to try and calm down as I reminded her how much I love her and how amazing she is as I gave her little kisses every now and then.

It took her a dozen or so minutes to stop shivering but the embrace stayed tight, the both of us staying still as we listened to the rain hit the window and the roof. I put a hand on the side of her face and made her look into my eyes. "There's nothing to be scared of, my love... Nothing will ever hurt you when I'm here, when I can protect you from anything."

She lightly swallowed as her face still expressed a small amount of fear. "I... Is it dumb how... h-how I'm like this?"

I delicately rubbed the tip of my nose against hers. "No, not at all... I completely understand. You just have to remember that I'm here for you."

She silently looked me in the eyes. A few seconds later her bottom lip started to lightly quiver before she started crying where the girl stayed quiet as her tears leaked from her tear ducts. I pressed my forehead against hers and held her tight throughout the show of saddened emotion, something I will always try my best in helping her through.

"I-I love you." She said in the middle of her crying. I reciprocated her words right before she continued crying.

We stayed there for a little while as the storm relented a lot before we decided to get out of bed and downstairs to socialize with the others. The consensus was that we'd start working on projects after the rain ended even though we didn't know how long it'd last. I really missed radar for these situations. Hopefully someday we'll have it again but that's probably in the far future since I have zero clue on anything relating to radar. And we agreed to that because... y'know, fuck working in the rain, it's dangerous.

Stacy seemed to be a lot more calm whenever a rumble, not a boom, of thunder growled when surrounded by her closest of friends, her friends that consisted of Willow, Charlotte, Nova and most recently Quinn. I'm surprised I've never written that down before... Ah well.

I'm just gonna skip forward to something that's actually notable. Sure, talking with some of the others about whatever was all fun and good but not anything important came of it. So when I decided to part from the group a little while later I wanted to go talk to Olivia to find out if the Autumn situation progressed any further.

Olivia was down in the living room being a part of the conversation but when Phoenix and Autumn entered the mansion from their cabin they wanted to talk with her privately. So she led them up to her room where they could do that and had been there for a little while before I sought them out.

When I knocked on her door my heart started suddenly racing. I knew something was wrong with my body but the sudden spike of adrenaline made me unaware of just what the problem was. When I took a step back... I exited my body. I only briefly saw the world from an outside perspective but I returned back to my point of view when Olivia opened the door where the adrenaline left my body as soon as it entered it.

"...Are you alright, Hunter?" The doctor asked as I took a deep and lightly trembling breath.

"Uh... yes." I replied. I was starting to get used to odd feelings and sights but that one was new. I decided against telling her since she was dealing with Autumn, maybe I'll bring it up with her later. "I'm here to see how things are going, if you wouldn't mind."

She looked behind her. "Let him in." I heard Autumn gently say. Olivia did just that by taking a step back where I entered the room and quickly saw that Phoenix had an arm around Autumn who was leaning on him while the both of them had a spot on the bed. It didn't take me much longer to see the pregnancy test the woman was holding on her lap with the test result side down. It also didn't take me long to see what she used to urinate into, something I'm not even gonna write down because that's not important. What was important is that she had used the test.

"...Am I allowed to know what you two decided on regarding if Autumn's pregnant?" I calmly asked them.

The couple in question quietly whispered a couple sentences to each other before Phoenix decided to answer my question. "I... we don't want to terminate what's going to become a child. I know for a fact that I couldn't live with myself if I decided to do that. And... we have a lot of faith in this place. From the electricity, the small community, the work ethic, and the crops... We think that this is going to work out, that we're gonna be able to raise a child here." He lightly chuckled. "Hell, we even have a doctor here."

I slowly nodded. "All good reasons... and a huge decision to make as well. Exciting yet kind of scary, mainly because of the uncertainty about a lot of things. How early are you two gonna be preparing for it to come?"

"We need to check the results first to continue that conversation." Olivia replied, hinting for the couple to reveal what the pregnancy test said.

"Right..." Autumn said, taking a shaky breath in before slowly releasing it. She turned her head to Phoenix. "Do you want to lift it...?"

"You can go ahead and do it..." Without them wasting anymore time Autumn hesitated for a couple more seconds before she flipped it over on her lap.

She quickly saw that it was positive which caused Autumn's breathing to elevate a tad. "I-I still can't help but be scared." After she said that she started crying. I'm not sure what kind of tears they were but Phoenix comforted her which I thought was quite sweet. It was then that the realization hit both Phoenix and I.

I could see that he wanted to express excitement but he contained himself since it wasn't the time to be excited. I kind of felt bad in a way since he wasn't able to do that since he just found out that he's gonna be a father. He continued comforting Autumn as she processed the reality of the situation.

I didn't really know what to do as they were doing that so I looked away so they could have their moment in peace. The feeling of it becoming awkward emerged a few minutes later. But it was sweet listening to what Phoenix was quietly telling Autumn, how he'd be there for her throughout the pregnancy and try to help her raise the child as best as he could. I always thought that it's a bit strange that people need to tell others seemingly mandatory things like that to calm them down... I mean, I understood it since I did it not too long ago with Stacy, but that still doesn't make it not at least a little strange.

When Autumn calmed down a significant amount she took another relaxing breath and asked Olivia, "Have you ever delivered a baby before?"

She nodded. "A few, yes. There's gonna have to be a lot of things to set up and do to prepare for this up and coming baby of your guys'..." She replied which calmed Autumn down a tad more.

I didn't want to bring up the possibility of a miscarriage because that'd probably be a dick thing to talk about in a way. I wasn't able to since Phoenix forwarded the conversation anyways. "And I'll make sure all of that happens, whatever it is, so you'll be able to properly deliver this baby and so much more." He confidently claimed.

Olivia nodded at his assertion. "I appreciate your enthusiasm but let's not do anything about it for now since other things are needed at the moment. We'll start preparing after Autumn's first trimester, then you can help me start preparing for your baby to be delivered."

Autumn quietly chuckled, the woman finally wearing a light smile. "It's hard to believe that... that I'm gonna be a mother."

"I know the feeling all too well... It's a feeling one can only understand through experience." Olivia replied with a saddened grin. I could tell she was thinking about her children... I can't imagine the feeling of loss she feels every day. Losing your children is most likely the worst loss there is.

"Do you guys want to keep this a secret?" I asked as I thought about how Stacy would react to the news. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting from her... I'll definitely find out sooner or later.

"Uh... Maybe in a few weeks, just to make sure that this is actually happening." The pregnant woman replied which made sense.

There wasn't much more conversation had between us so the couple left not too long after where they took the positive pregnancy test with them. As they were leaving, a thought of Autumn being an example for Stacy to see what a woman goes through during pregnancy emerged in my mind. It would definitely be a learning experience for her and something that I'd also be interested in since I never had a sister or anything like that for me to see the process.

And it wasn't like I wanted her to see it to dissuade her from her wishes of wanting to conceive. I just want to make her understand the magnitude of the difficulty and stress that a woman goes through during the process. But I will admit... "I'm a bit jealous of them."

Autumn and Phoenix were already down the stairs after I quietly said that to Olivia who raised an eyebrow. "Really? I took the opinion that you didn't want a child."

I lightly shook my head. "I never said that, though I guess I can see why you think that." I lightly chuckled. "It just might be the fatherly instincts telling me that I want a son or daughter to raise with Stacy even though, y'know, we want one years from now... I keep the want a secret from her because I'm not certain about the idea. I also keep it secret because, again, she might be anovulatory so telling her that might make her want to do something even more that might already be impossible for her to do."

I sighed as I thought about that possibility. "As much as I enjoy her not getting pregnant for the pleasure... Whenever the time comes that we both want a child immensely and she's still not able to conceive, it'll suck really badly... I hope that one day this won't be a problem but it just might be one indefinitely."

She was silent for a couple moments after my short monologue. "It's sweet that you say that all, always wanting the best for Stacy... Even if there are some things that I disagree with. To her reproductive problem, there are treatments that could possibly jumpstart the ovulation process to get her fertile if she is indeed anovulatory. There's no cure but conceiving can still happen if we get the correct drugs to do so/"

"I... did not know that." I admitted, a spark of hope for the future appearing. "...Can I come to you in the future to figure that out, whenever Stacy and I decide we want a child and it still hasn't happened?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yes, I'd love to figure that out with you two... Just not any time soon."

I chuckled. "Of course, I wasn't planning on it anyways."

Since this chapter of my life is almost all about pregnancy and children I started thinking about kids, not babies. And what I mean by that is Olivia's children. Her past regarding them has been a great anomaly since the woman was too hurt to talk about them other than doing a small reference to them every once and a while. It was something that no one was able to get her to crack on and talk about.

Which made sense to me. I'm sure talking about them is one of the hardest things she can do. The magnitude of pain it brings up being starkingly obvious from the small hints she gives every now and then. It took me a little bit to determine the best course of action to slide into the topic. I decided to go in bluntly.

"So... children. Did you say that you had three of them?"

During the time I was thinking about how to bring it up to her, she had taken a seat at her desk. She quickly processed my question, the woman seeming shocked at my words. "I... Yes, I implied it."

Her voice suddenly turned soft as my fingers figuratively pressed into a very sensitive weak spot. "May I ask about them...?"

She was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time. Right before I backed down from the conversation she looked my way, tears brimming her eyes. "They..." She took a slow and deep breath to calm herself. "They were my babies, my angels... my two little girls and my boy..." She slowly turned the rest of her body to me. "What do you want to know about them...?"

I was a bit surprised that she asked that since I wasn't really expecting her to be ready to openly talk about it. "What was it like having children?"

She took a few silent moments to think about the question. "It... in my experience, through the highs and the lows, it was so worth it, to watch what you made grow up, learn, and love... My children were my drive to what I did and they made me happy to be their mother, they were so smart... But even though they were my drive, to study so many fields of medicine, I should've spent more time with them..." A tear was dripping down a cheek as she intently looked me in the eyes. "If you ever have children, never let your work do that to you and your children. Never let it take up the time you should've spent with your children, you will regret letting that happen if you do." She sighed. "Even though I did spend most of the time I had off with them it was still more limited then it should've been... I-I miss my babies so much... I would sacrifice so much of what remains of me to have them back..."

I gave her sorrowful eyes. "It's easy to believe your words from your tone alone... You should talk about them more, with the others. Tell them about your experiences, your wisdom, why your children meant so much to you. I'm sure we'd all love to hear the stories you have about them."

She slowly put a hand on her forehead before the appendage covered her eyes as she began to cry. I felt bad that I was kind of the reason why she was crying so I closed the distance between the two of us. "I-I... I'm just not r-ready to talk about them openly... I don't think I ever will be."

I softly put a hand on her back which caused her quiet cry to strengthen a tad. "I would say I understand... but I don't since I don't understand the type of loss you experienced. The best I can say is that we're always here for you. We're a family and we'll do anything for each other. If time is what you need then that's what you'll get. There is no shame in it."

She looked up at me a few moments later, the sight kind of breaking my heart. "...I'm glad we met you... And I'm only gonna get happier that we did as time goes on."

I wasn't particularly expecting that response and wasn't expecting her to stand up and hug me even more so. I wasn't really that used to hugging anyone other than Stacy so it was a bit odd to be honest. But I didn't want to be rude so I gingerly put my arms around the woman expressing her gratitude. The hug only lasted a minute before she let go of me before she wiped the stains off her cheeks while I took a small step back.

"Telling you about them... even if it wasn't that much was actually kind of nice. I haven't talked about them in a long time."

"What made you finally talk to someone about them?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"...I'm not quite sure. I guess I just... finally cracked." She took a deep breath. "If you ever want to talk about children with me again, never be afraid to ask me... In private, of course."

"I'll keep it in mind for when I need advice regarding children and just basic conversation. Does this offer extend to Stacy as well?"

She slowly nodded. "I don't see why not. Children are a two team effort, right?"

"Hm, so what's an outside source?"

"The cavalry." She simply responded.

"Solid argument." I simply replied, the conversation dwindling afterward.

I excused myself not too long after that to let her calm down from the emotional episode she shared with me where I sort of felt like a true friend after she felt comfortable enough to be in such a vulnerable state. I went back to socializing with the others but you can only do that for so long so I cuddled with Stacy and just listened to what was being discussed about, not really paying attention as I played with Stacy's hair while lost in thought. Those thoughts mainly being about Autumn's developing fetus. That was definitely going to be interesting, intriguing, concerning, and worrisome as time went on. All we could do it hope for the best.

The rain persisted for a long time and by the time it ended it was already too late in the day for us to pick up some work where we left it so we just opted to cancel the work and put it off for tomorrow. But fishing wasn't cancelled so my wife and I went off to catch ourselves a fish that we ate together. It was a nice meal and intimate moment to end off the day.

Chapter 40: Lightning Round

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

So... it's in the middle of June now and a lot of things have conspired since the last time I wrote anything down. It's been around forty days which doesn't sound like a lot and sometimes doesn't feel like a lot of time but like I said, a decent amount of things have happened since I logged anything down. So cutting to the chase, I'm gonna do some sort of 'lightning round' to write everything of importance down and not beat around the bush here.

Continuing off of what I last put down in this journal, it took the fields four more days to be all up and running as all the seeds that were waiting to be sowed into the ground were then on their way to sprouting and growing the food that we'll one day eat. When all the planting was done our focus shifted onto our construction plans. And just to clarify, we focus on the construction after we tend to the crops so they'd have the highest chance of making it to adulthood.

The hardest part of growing the crops was watering them. Thankfully the rain took care of it most of the time but when we had to manually water them it was quite... intensive since we had to carry so many pounds of water from the stream to the fields. When I had to do it the thought of snuggling with Stacy always got me through it since it was the most rewarding thing I could ever receive. That had become my go-to thought when I had to do something I didn't want to do, it was a really good motivator.

The construction projects were getting along quite nicely with a few hiccups every now and then which sucked but sometimes they were just unavoidable. Kostas' grid project had a healthy beginning, (I'll simply say that moving the utility poles into place sucked even harder) and Autumn's and Phoenix's cabin was hooked up to the grid so their little abode gained one of the most basic features for coziness. Screw chilling in an almost completely dark place, right?

Not only was their cabin connected to the slowly growing grid but so were the next two cabins. Those two cabins were inhabited by Kai and Willow, and Ashton and Audrey respectively. The mansion was slowly getting emptier but it'd still take a while to independently house anyone who asks for it. At the moment another two cabins are about to be completed but I'll write about those later, probably.

The customer reviews were pretty positive so that was epic to hear but there was still a complaint or two like there being leaking from the roof being the biggest problem that they faced. Thankfully the problems were tame since Trinity made sure that the quality of the cabins were as best as they could make them. Sure, it added on more time for them to be made but that's preferred since we don't want something that sucks to sleep in.

I will admit that I'm worried about the wiring malfunctioning and causing a fire since they were pretty much made from scratch. Kostas had assured me that that wouldn't happen but I feel obligated somewhat to worry about the possibilities of things that might go south. I can't really help it, I really dread the day when someone gets fatally wounded whether I'm responsible or not.

Another project that we've slowly been expanding upon is the signs telling stragglers where to meet us up at. We've doubled our total signage to sixteen on trails and roads that we deemed would probably be the best position to put them. A design change was made with them as well. There were now overhangs over where the art was made to make it last a lot longer. Because of the rain, pretty self explanatory. The original signs we put up have weathered a bit but not nearly as much as I expected. Still, Stacy touched them up to maintain the powerful pop that they displayed.

And the signs have worked even more ever since Phoenix's group has contacted us. Three more people have joined us while two walked away before they took us up on our offer. I feel bad for the ones that didn't trust us since they missed out on a huge opportunity but I understood the trust issue. Hopefully one day they'll turn back but until then they've been lost to time. I'll write about the new people in a bit.

With the sign expansion, the map project expanded with it. We've discovered two smaller towns that we haven't really focused on as of yet but it's on the to-do list whenever we need to look somewhere new. A bunch of roads, trails, and tracks were also discovered and also some geographical mapping was made. We're getting a good idea on just what our area looks like which made me feel more comfortable as we discovered more of it. We actually had to redo all of the maps since they were taking up too much space on the wall via having to upscale them to just a few sheets so that was pretty interesting.

The greenhouse project started off slow but it quickly built up speed over the course of its erection. There was a strong focus for three days to scavenge all of the concrete it needed and then pour the mix into the dug out area of the planned spot for the structure before making sure the concrete was nice, smooth, and flat for it to dry properly. After that it took a little while to piece it all together and to make sure it was all properly set up and insulated. It was far away enough from the house so it'd be getting all the sunlight it needed. I just wondered how well it'd work through the winter.

Audrey wasted no time in putting it to use when it was determined that the project was completed. She moved the marijuana and coffee pots into the greenhouse and quickly got to work on growing some more delicate plants. Such as spices, teas, and even some types of herbal medicines that Olivia requested. So with all that being grown I took a strong liking to the greenhouse since it would literally spice life up a decent bit. And I'll add that the marijuana was just about to be fully grown so there was definitely a fun experience to be had in the near future.

We installed a second battery pack by the way which was a magnitude easier to do than the first one. We had the proper tools and transportation so it only took a couple of days. Thankfully the amount of solar panels we have is still more than enough to keep them charged though that will be put into question depending on how much we grow over time. Which means that all of our scavenged solar panels were now up and harvesting the sun's rays.

Our food situation was surprisingly getting just a tad better since wild foods were much more widespread as summer gets closer. Many types of berries, mushrooms, onions, roots, and leafy greens were being collected in bulk with the help of Nova's team's foraging trips. Willow and her helpers were also was making some fantastic progress with trapping fish with the fish traps she had been making, the crafts getting more sophisticated as she innovated them.

Even though there were these abundant sources of income regarding food the amount of time and labour needed to be put into them was immense and some days were still a miss. My concern with it fluctuates quite a bit from thinking that it's okay to being slightly worried. I'm looking forward to whenever we start harvesting our crops which should be around another nearly three months or so which'll alleviate a lot of stresses.

My mental state has returned to normalcy as I haven't had a strange event happen to me in quite some time. Maybe whatever was causing it to go a little funky solved itself but only time will tell. I just hope that that's the case as losing my sanity is the last thing I want. I'm a little sad to report that my dreams are no longer as strong as they were after the concussion which kinda sucks but it might be better this way. They were quite jarring and too realistic for my liking after all. Though I still sometimes hope that I'll talk to my brother again, even if it is just a dream.

Autumn's situation with her developing fetus was still a secret and probably will be for a couple more weeks or so. The woman's about to enter her second trimester. Phoenix and I have been getting close recently where the man has expressed how excited he was to be a father. It was nice to see that type of happiness and beautiful in a way and I would be lying if I said I didn't envy him a tad. But as per usual I try to squash that feeling as best as I can to feel at a later time.

Autumn herself has expressed uncertainty and a small bit of fear which was understandable as very uncertain times lay ahead of her. I can only do so much to assure her that things will be okay but I don't know if they will be in reality. I just have to help Phoenix keep her calm through the whole ordeal and try to be a friend in that regard.

Their group has been a massive help with Solaris. From farming, building, fishing, and hunting, their labour is immensely appreciated. I feel like I can't get that message across properly because it feels like that it's simply not enough. They claim that they're more than happy and there's not much else I can do. I can only hope that they continue to feel that way as Solaris gets built up. Labourers like them are gonna be the backbone to future operations. I can't express how grateful I am to them, how they want to put in the work and effort and how they weren't some type of bandits.

But all has not been easy and smooth. There's been some type of rivalry building up between me and a certain someone. That someone is Elliot. I'm not sure what his problem is but he doesn't like me and I have a feeling that something's gonna break out between the both of us. He's disrespectful to me, ignores me, and even acts immature. I've wished that he'd grow up considering how old he is but as long as he pulls his weight I'm just gonna opt to ignore him as well. Though I do wonder who'd win in a fight if I'm being honest.

I say that because I've gained several pounds in muscle and improved my stamina by a magnitude or two. Stacy's so incredibly light now that she's basically air in weight, it's extremely adorable. I've calmed the body building down a lot as of late since I don't want to be a big man. I just want to be a more capable man and what I've done so far has accomplished that. Now, my body's much more cut and healthy now and I'm happy with it.

Another thing is I don't know how to fight, I've never had to before. I mean, I've gotten into a scuffle that lasted only a couple of seconds or so but I've never been in an actual hand-to-hand fight. I do believe that I wouldn't be afraid to fight if I had to though since I've had my instincts tested as I just hinted at and they sure work. Only time will tell on whether or not how that possibility would play out.

And my wife... She's genuinely the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, by far. Like I said, she's what motivates me, she makes me so extremely happy, I can't properly comprehend how beautiful and adorable she is... I'm so happy that she wanted to be my wife and to be by my side for as long as we live. She's such a sweetheart, a sweetheart that's still recovering from the emotional scars that I'm still helping her heal from. And I'll continue to do so, my patience will never run thin with her.

Physical and sensual affection has only become more extremely common between us and I couldn't be happier about it. I love how we give each other so much attention and time. I swear, we've spent five years amount of time in less than a year. And remembering that we've only been together for less than a year... It really doesn't feel like that so it's crazy when I remember that it's not really been that long. But I don't think that matters, time isn't a good measuring system when it comes to love. Though I guess it'll feel more right as the months continue passing us by.

Again, I'll reiterate about the physical affection. (Why? Because.) We've been bathing and feeding each other when needed, massaging, and dancing with each other whenever we ask. I've been brushing her hair, she's been singing and playing her clarinet to me. Throw in a lot of talking, kissing, cuddling, sex, and sleeping then you've got a finished list on what my favorite parts to our relationship are.

Sometimes I wonder if it's seemingly too perfect but maybe that’s confirmation bias or something like that. But then I remember... What would ruin our relationship? We don't have the reasons to fight and argue that the society of yesterday once made couples fight over. We trust each other with our lives and we make sure to have that communication thing down to a tee. Though there have been a few times in which one has slightly inconvenienced the other but nothing major has ever come of it and I'm thankful for that. I'll continue to hope that it stays like that.

The girl has been using her camera a lot more often as of late. She's been taking photos of serene areas in the forest, moments in the very small village of ours, of people, and obscure images of completely random areas throughout the mansion. The photos were pretty for a lack of better words. We only used the camera to record one more sexual experience but it was tame compared to the first one we recorded. But forgetting that, I liked the photos she took and encouraged her to continue, the girl on her way to perfecting yet another skill somewhat related to art.

Speaking of art, the hallway of Stacy's art pieces continues to steadily grow and cover more of the walls. Walking through the hallway would practically force you to admire the many different types of art that were up for display where colors ranged from the darkest blacks to the brightest whites. Sometimes I couldn't believe my eyes from what she could produce, the end results of her works being museum worthy. She expressed interest in sculpting and pottery recently, yet another form of art. Olivia promised her whenever such habits are revived she'll teach her how to do it. She looked forward to it.

There's one more thing to write down about what's happened before going onto what's going to happen. And that's making Phoenix's group official members to Solaris. I brought it up to them a couple weeks ago when their forty day trust test expired. They didn't accept it off the bat though nearly all expressed interest in it but needed to think about it for a little while before they decide on something like that. That was understandable since it was a huge step to make. I'm still waiting for their answer but I'm pretty sure one by one they're gonna accept, I just gotta wait until the first one steps forward then it should be a domino effect.

That should be it for what's happened since I last wrote anything down. Now it's time to quickly touch on what's currently happening which probably shouldn't take too long. So first and foremost, Olivia officially started planning out a clinic for future medical operations. Unfortunately, we don't have the technology to create any clean rooms but having an independent building will be much more practical than what we have now.

The clinic itself was probably the size of two cabins put together, maybe a little smaller, primarily because Olivia was looking ahead of time. It'd be able to house five patients at a time with a healthy amount of space so it was definitely big enough for some type of medical crisis that might happen sometime in the future. It was also very useful just to be the place that holds most if not all of our medical equipment. I know Olivia's voiced her opinion about her desire for everything to be moved out of her room though she has expressed the idea that the clinic might become her room. She'd still have to wait a while for that to happen though.

Another building that was being planned is a forge for Kostas. That building will be unique to the other ones that we've built as the forge was an open design. It'll have a concrete floor, have a primitive but working foundry to melt scrap metal, and many types of tools to help Kostas make what our community needs whenever his expertise is needed. He was actually getting a bit excited that he was gonna get a forge all to himself, it was a bit weird seeing him express that emotion. It was gonna be a little smaller than the clinic but larger than one of the cabins.

Other buildings were also being considered but not planned since we wanna build the ones being planned first before moving onto other projects. Buildings such as a proper woodshop for Trinity, silos for future grain that'll be grown, a windmill to process the grain, and even a tailor shop for Charlotte whenever she starts getting the materials needed to make clothing.

There were ideas for growing cotton but we didn't do that since we need to focus on crops that produce food first. Wool is an alternative but we need sheep for that, something I'm not quite sure how to accomplish. Sure, there were sheep roaming around our part of the forest which I know that since I've seen them a couple of times before. The thing I'm unsure about is how we're gonna domesticate them and how we're gonna keep them in one area. It's not like we're really in the position to build a large fenced off area. So I'm pretty unsure on how we'd be able to keep them...

It's a project and a problem for later, one we'll most likely focus on at a much later time. I'm looking forward to it though. Primarily because if we successfully get our hands on those sheep we'll be able to get wool, milk, cheese, butter, creams, and eventually mutton and hides from them.

One last thing I'll write about and that's the new people that've joined us. Five weeks ago a platonic couple who go by the name of Tess and Lexi contacted us using the radio in the mall. They're both young with both being fourteen years old. They're also pretty little, not as little as Stacy but just barely. They were pretty cagey at first which is more than understandable, I'd've been extremely scared too.

Mainly because I was a big, armoured, and armed man with backup by my side while they were, as I said, small and essentially defenseless against the squad that met up with them. They're pretty quiet and stay to themselves which is also understandable. No one's been able to talk to them about their past as of yet but I'm sure they've known each other for a long while. But they have expressed gratitude in the short time they've been with us, the girls choosing to work in the fields to pull their weight.

They both have long and dark brown hair, Lexi being on the paler side of the spectrum while Tess was much more tanner. Both had round faces and button noses, if I didn't know any better I'd guess that they're sisters. But they look different enough so I don't actually think that they are, the chances of that being the case being close to zero.

I promised them that if anyone tries to threaten, assault, or harm them that they'd answer to me most likely through violence to help make them feel more at ease at Solaris. I just hope that never happens.

The other person joined us three weeks ago all by coincidence who another woman named Lyra. While Ashton was out with a team and scavenging in the town over yonder they ran into her. Thankfully there wasn’t a scuffle since it was all out in the open so it was a calm and civil discussion, Ashton claiming it felt like how you'd talk to a stranger back before The Drop. When Ashton offered her to take a look at Solaris she bit, having the mindset that she had nothing to lose.

She's pretty lax and open with everyone and doesn't appear to have anything that bounds her in any capacity regarding the social life so surprisingly a trust was quickly formed between her and I. She decided to pull her weight by helping Nova forage and search for natural foods within the forest, the woman being a quick learner and very adaptable.

Her appearance was just a tad strange. Her hair's extremely curly and silver while the woman also had a pair of silver eyes which were fascinating to see. I'm not quite sure what her race is but her skin's fairly brown, I'm not quite sure how to ask the question to her. She's also the tallest of the women coming in at just under how tall Kostas is so that adds to her flaunt. To top it all off she's thirty years old.

I sort of hope that the amount of people that trickle in stays like this, three to five people a month. At least for a while so we can steadily build ourselves up. Hopefully with more people comes more hands to build more housing to house themselves and future inhabitants, kind of like a runaway effect. I hope all of that as long as we can balance the intake and consumption of food on a reasonable level, we'll see what happens.

So that's what's all conspired in the last little while in a nutshell. I could've gone into more details in some parts but I didn't really feel like it. It's about time I head to bed anyways, it's pretty late. I just had the sudden urge to write everything down since I was thinking about what all has been done as of late.

My birthday's around the corner too so that's something to look forward to I guess. It's a bit hard to believe that I'm only gonna be nineteen in a few days only because I feel thirty sometimes. Time is definitely a linear, non-linear thing if that makes any sense.

I'm really wondering what Stacy's gonna do, if she's gonna do anything. I've always had extremely low expectations regarding celebrations so I can truly appreciate anything that I might get, I found that to be the best way to genuinely feel grateful about whatever occurs on celebrations. That just leaves me to wonder what she has planned since I'm completely unsure what she'd do. I guess I'll figure it out come my anniversary of birth.

Now I'm off to go cuddle and go to sleep with the love of my life while wondering what I'm gonna do for tomorrow.


Like always, the morning came way too quickly and the comfort of closely and intimately snuggling with Stacy ended with it, the responsibility to get shit done forcing me to get up, get dressed, and decide on what I wanted to work on for the day. I decided not to work in the fields since there were already a few people already doing so. And thankfully the crops at this point don't need as much tending to as they did when they were first starting to grow. Now all we needed to do was just to walk by and quickly check if there were any weeds that needed to be removed and see if the crops were growing properly.

The crops, especially the corn, were starting to get rather large which caused the fields to actually look like something was growing in them. It was a cool sight to see and even hopeful I'd argue. So after I determined that I turned around and entered the mansion again to realize that Audrey was at the dining table and thoroughly looking at the map of the back yard.

"What'ch'ya plannin' there Audrey?"

She briefly glanced at me. "Storage and next year's harvest. I figured I might as well plan ahead."

I nodded. "That's a good idea. What have you thought of so far?"

"Doubling the number of fields we have so we can plant potatoes and corn again. The two fields currently growing those will have to grow some cover crops so the soil can stay fertile. It'll most likely be soybeans since, in my opinion, those are the easiest cover crop to grow. Not to mention they can be used for several things other than being eaten."

"Sounds like a solid plan... Now what about storage?"

"I'm thinking about a large cellar or two with wooden walls and support beams with a concrete floor. We might have to make some ventilation and conditioning system if it doesn't reach cool enough temperatures which would be quite a challenge if needed... But if we want to store the corn and potatoes for around a year then this is gonna have to happen."

I slowly nodded as I thought about all the work that'd need to go into such a project. "When are you gonna break ground on it?"

"I was thinking at the end of this month. The heat's been picking up and we're about to hit peak temps. Then we're gonna be stagnant for a little while before it starts heading down at the end of August. So I'm fairly confident that the crops are all gonna be well and healthy by the time they've matured. Then it's just gonna take the storage capacity to house the harvest. The reason I'm not breaking ground right now is because it's not exactly that dire at the moment so I'd rather get the buildings that are dire built first before moving onto this."

"All reasonable arguments. How much longer until the crops are mature?"

"The potatoes and corn will be done by the end of August. Still a ways away but if we keep up the work we'll get there."

"It's a shame we're not growing any fruits. I understand why though since they're difficult to keep fresh and rot so damn easily."

"I wholeheartedly agree. Maybe sometime in the future when we have better storage techniques we'll grow fruit but for now, what we're doing will have to do."

It really sucked just how hard and intricate everything we had before The Drop was. Your typical person never really understood how complicated everything was and took it all for granted. I can say that because I know I did. Living in a post-societal world has its upsides and a lot of downsides. But surprisingly I was happy, we were happy. Sure, we were worried and stressed but that didn't stop us from feeling that emotion.

If you were to tell me that I'd be happy after The Drop a year ago I'd've probably ran away at first and then realize how seemingly stupid your statement would be. Of course, there are times where I sometimes wish that society was still a thing because of the comforts and pleasures it had but that usually goes away when I realize that it's not gonna happen. But I've been handed the possibility, even if it's really small, to rebuild some form of society. A society that will learn from the mistakes of the previous one. At least that's my intention.

If I was able to choose to revert the world back before The Drop and make sure that whatever caused it would never happen... I'm not sure if I would. On one hand I'd get my friends and family back... On the other hand I'd lose the friends and family that I made after The Drop. It'd be a choice that I'd never be able to make a decision on. So thankfully that decision will never have to be made.

So after I was done talking with Audrey about that I went to find out who all was doing what. Willow was leading a team with Autumn, Phoenix, and Jordan to see what all fish they could catch in a shift of work. Nova was also out and about with Scarlet and Lyra. Then there was Kai who went out hunting with Solomon and Elliot. The building force consisted of Trinity, Charlotte, Raiden, Roman, and Kostas. And lastly there was the farming group which had Lexi, Tess, Quinn, Ashton, Audrey, and Etsu.

These groups of workers had consolidated to those skills, all of them finding out what their preferred skill and desire was over the past month which made figuring out who was where much easier. But then there was me who went from one to the other in a fluid state. I'm not sure why I chose to do that but it felt natural. A good excuse is so I can keep and build up friendships with them all just to stay in touch with everyone.

I decided to help build that day since cabin four and five were nearing their completion. Thankfully since Kostas was there to help build four and five from the ground up he was able to incorporate the wiring to them much more professionally. The rate in which cabins were able to be built definitely saw a few days faster increase since the first one so they were definitely ramping their ability up.

I spent many hours with the building team finishing one of the roofs where the fourth cabin was completed by the end of that day. It turned out that Roman and Nova opted to get it when complete so they were happy when they found out that it had been completed. I would be too if I finally had the chance to have some privacy in the comfort of my own abode. But they were generous and let Lexi and Tess 'bunk' with them for a while which was sweet of them.

That made it to where four romantic couples and a platonic couple (as far as I know) were out of the mansion but that still left fourteen people inside of the mansion. So we were slowly giving everyone who needed it a place to call home slowly but surely. At least we're at a level where the mansion isn't overcrowded anymore.

Scarlet, Quinn, Etsu, and Raiden all share a room and they're surprisingly all fine with it. I'm not sure if I'd be but girls have always been fine with being open about things they probably shouldn't be open about... At least that's what I've come to the conclusion to. Olivia still had her room but was planning to move out into the clinic, there was mine and Stacy's room, Charlotte and Trinity still had their room, and the final room was taken up by Jordan and Lyra... Yeah, they hit it off... well, almost instantly.

They're an odd looking couple, mainly because Jordan's pretty short for a man and Lyra's pretty tall for a woman. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Jordan finally found someone he could grow close to... Probably. They're still a new thing and people are trying to get behind it but it's not like no one's gonna shun anybody. Hell, Audrey and Ashton got together sooner than them and look how they turned out.

So that meant there were only three people who didn't have a room to call theirs, Solomon, Elliot, and Kostas. I'm sure that'd change relatively quickly but until then they had a few choices to determine where they wanted to sleep, which was primarily the living room. And that concludes the current situation of who bunks where, it was interesting to see how that's changed over the course of the past couple of months.

When the building team dispersed after calling it a day's work well done I headed toward the mansion since I wanted to wind down by holding my beautiful wife close like usual because what else should I do? Intentionally missing out on spending some time with the one I love the most is not something I'm fond of. Though somewhat unfortunately that was delayed due to Phoenix calling out my name a few seconds after walking by his cabin. I turned around to see him and Autumn sitting on the stairs to their cabin as the woman leaned on him.

"What's up? Is Autumn doing alright?" I asked mildly concerned as I made my way toward them.

He lightly chuckled. "Yep, doing just fine minus the sickness she gets every now and then… I wanted to tell you that we've come to a decision on that 'becoming official members' proposal, at least Autumn and I have."

My ears perked up at that. "Oh? What'd you two decide?"

They quickly glanced at each other where Autumn nodded at him for him to continue. "We want to accept the opportunity. None of you have ever given us a reason to back out of Solaris but have done the exact opposite. We think we'd be foolish to ever leave this place behind, especially since..." He quickly glanced around to make sure no one was listening in. "there's a little someone on the way." He quietly continued.

"When do you guys wanna go ahead and do that?"

"As soon as possible." Autumn simply replied. "I've personally been wanting to get it over and done with, it just took a little more convincing for this thing." She playfully added on, referring to her man.

"I mean it's understandable since this is kind of a lifelong commitment to make."

"One that'll be worth it." Autumn confidently replied.

"As long as you have the faith..."

Because I'm kind of a nerd and like making things official, as I've written down before, I had finished the ceremony concept for when people swear their allegiances to Solaris which truth be told was rather simple. And for it to feel official, as official you can make things these days with a small group of people, you need a gathering of them to witness the event. So as I was heading up to my room to get ‘The Book of Solaris’ I called out over the walkie-talkies what I was thinking, wanting to know how many of them would want to be a witness of the ceremony.

The whole community was connected through the devices because it'd be pretty stupid for us not to be. Information could travel instantly, there was no barrier for communication to cross, and it was the strongest defense that we had. So I was able to figure out that little over half of the community would be attending the ceremony.

After I retrieved the book of law, Stacy and I made our way down to the dining room as the people who wanted to witness the event made their way there as well. I wanted to do it outside but I decided against it since the sun was setting which meant that parasitic bugs were gonna be wanting to take some bites out of us. Not to mention that the inside was also air conditioned so that was another plus. But I will admit that putting the air conditioners in kinda sucked ass to put in but we managed to do so.

When the fourteen members of Solaris congregated along with Phoenix, Autumn, Quinn, and Raiden, I didn't waste anymore time in making my way toward the middle of the room.

"Friends, family, loved ones..." I started off with only a little anxiety, any quiet conversations ceasing as I gave a wink to Stacy after the end of my opening words who cutely giggled. I was a little surprised when I saw that she was recording the moment with her camcorder but I quickly put that in the back of my mind.

Hold on, Stacy just walked in.

It’s weird how I put notes like that, it’s not like anyone would know if I stopped writing at a given time… Anyways, I heard Willow quietly sigh. "I wonder how odd he's gonna get during this..."

"We've gathered here today to officially raise the ranks of two people, two good friends of Solaris, into the lawmaking and decision making branch of our community. Autumn and Phoenix, if you'd please make your way up to me."

They did so before maintaining a distance of a meter or so as I opened the book to the first page. "The book I hold in my hands is the approved Constitution of Solaris detailing our history, our promises, and most importantly, our rules, laws, protections, rights, and punishments for those who break them. I'm sure you're well aware of those three categories but this is the book that you'll be swearing upon which will result in you two giving this community a lifelong allegiance of citizenship, responsibility, faith, friendship, labour, and much more. So it is only right that I brief you two on just what exactly you'll be dedicating your lives to."

I took about ten minutes repeating the short history that led up to our community being founded. "And now we're here in the present and on the cusp of turning over to a new chapter of our history by granting you two membership, most likely being the first of many."

I took another five minutes expressing all of the promises and ambitions that our community hopes to one day achieve. "Even though this moment may be small, it's another huge step in the direction for our ulterior goals to be achieved, to one day resemble a place of the past but without the mistakes that were made then."

I then started reading off the laws which took yet another five minutes. "With our laws comes organization, morality, decency, opportunity, equality, and most importantly a future." I closed the book and turned it around before steadily extending it to the couple in front of me. "Now, put your dominant hand on the book of Solaris and repeat after me, Autumn."

She seemed a bit hesitant before the woman delicately rested a hand on the fragile book. She looked me in the eyes and nodded. "I, Autumn Kalua, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute a lifelong allegiance to the prosperity and future to Solaris."

She repeated my words and repeated them after every sentence. "To do what is best for the future of Solaris and its people. To uphold and enforce the laws and constitution of Solaris. And to defend Solaris against all foreign and domestic threats. Until the end of your days?"

"Until the end of my days..." Autumn quietly said with a soft smile which ended the oath she was taking.

I pulled the book back a bit which caused her hand to be taken off of it before my hand extending to hers so I could shake it. "Welcome aboard to complete membership to Solaris." She nodded with a smile as a small round of applause happened between everyone in the room.

I extended the book out to Phoenix next. "Put your dominant hand on the book of Solaris and repeat after me, Phoenix." And so another oath was repeated, the same words with the same ending afterward. "Would anyone else like to take the oath...?" I asked as I glanced at Quinn and Raiden.

That made me remember that Quinn couldn't talk but thankfully I quickly thought of a solution to that. I saw her sign to me, almost not understanding them but thankfully Stacy and I get taught by her together every now and then. "Maybe later." She signed with a small smile.

Raiden quickly glanced from side to side before sighing. "I think I would like to as well. I was kind of waiting for someone else to do it first before I did it and since now that's the case... I want to go ahead and join what some of my friends have now permanently joined."

It didn't take long for Autumn and Phoenix to back away and make room for Raiden instead. "You've already heard what needs to be said so let's just skip to the oath..."

When her oath was said and done it didn't take that long for about half of the witnesses to leave. Thankfully the new members didn't leave as we started pouring ourselves some liquor. Even though I was a bit tired from the day's work I didn't want to miss out on what was being consumed and Stacy didn't either. And when Charlotte busted out a couple of card games I had to wait until everyone else decided it was time to go to bed.

As Stacy, Willow, Autumn, Phoenix, Charlotte and I were playing a game of UNO (Charlotte had a total of three decks that she made into one so several people could play a game but the custom plus eight card was bullshit) we enjoyed each other's company as some of us enjoyed the cider in a small celebration of advancement.

In the middle of the game, Willow couldn't help but say, "Is there a reason that you've gotta... y'know, be extra and do the things you do?"

"I think it's a pretty cool thing to do, to make things seem real." Charlotte voiced her opinion before I was able to speak.

"And I think it's kind of cute..." Stacy timidly said after a sip of her cider.

Before Willow could respond I decided to answer her question. "I've always liked official things. Especially when it involves the advancement of our little hamlet. I'd like to get the ball rolling on officiality from the get-go just so we can start off on the right foot. Not to mention that I might like being the center of attention for brief periods of time a bit..."

"Well in my opinion, it feels right." Autumn replied which made me feel more sure about the whole process. "The whole thing just makes me more sure that Solaris is the real deal and that the future you all wanna get to is more possible than I originally thought."

"It was just a little awkward... That's all I'll say without repeating anything Autumn just said." Phoenix added on.

"...It was really awkward." Willow claimed.

"Maybe for you but that's understandable since you are an awkward person after all." I loved the death stares I'd cause her to glare at me. I know it's all fun and games, she'd never actually hurt me... Probably.

We played games and drank for an hour or so as someone left every now and then before we all decided that it was time to start ending the day. After we dispersed I picked my little Stacy up like a bride and carried her up to our room. She drank a little more than usual so she was slightly tipsy and the girl's face was slightly flushed as I carried her. She kissed my jawline and parts of my neck as I walked up the stairs, the little acts stoking my arousal bit by bit.

When I sat her down on the side of our bed she twirled some of her hair as she looked up at me. "Can you... fuck me please?"

"Hm, that depends... How drunk are you?" I've thought about this before a couple of times and it was kind of a gray area. Would fucking my wife be bad if she was drunk? I'm not sure about it...

She playfully raspberried the air. "I'm not that drunk... How do you want me to prove it?" She asked as she stood up and took her shirt off before the girl deftly taking the rest of her clothes off.

"Well, you're at least coordinated..."

She grinned and turned around where the girl hopped on the bed and put her ass up in the air for me to breed her. I took a deep and slightly shaky breath as I eyed her horny pussy where my phallus quickly got fully erect as she waited for me to mount her.

"No foreplay or kissing?" I asked as I conceded to her desire as I took my clothes off.

"No." She simply replied as I closed the distance between us, wasting no time in letting my cock slowly rub against her lower lips and clit.

"Fair enough..." I said as I firmly took a hold of her hips.

A usual session of nothing but moans, grunts, admiring her form, deeply enjoying each other's bodies, and loving everything about the moment ensued. Ten minutes of blissful sex always flies by way too quickly but it's enough for us to be greatly satisfied by the end of it. The best part of it was the end of it as I knew that she was happy with my semen inside her though the girl still wanted to conceive. I'm sure it's just a stage of hers...

When she was done keeping her ass up in the air we cleaned up and went to bed without any blankets since it was too hot to be covered by them. Our bodies pressed together was enough of a blanket for us. And I will comment that it kinda sucks going to sleep right after having sex since I'm not really able to easily put my phallus back inside her throughout the night... But I usually slip it into her in the middle of the night since the girl always allowed, wanted, craved, enjoyed, and anticipated my entry into her heat to be one throughout the night.

But as I laid there a subtle type of regret emerged in my mind since it was then clear of lust. It wasn't that big of a feeling but it was there. Was it wrong that I fucked her when she was a bit drunk...? In the morning after she said that it was fine but before I knew that I couldn't shake the thought. But now I'm sure that she wanted that since, y'know, she told me. Perhaps it's all fine as long as she's just a little tipsy... That's my opinion at least.

But with all that being said I need to go get some work done so... I'll log another day whenever I feel like it’s needed, I suppose.

Chapter 41: Happy Nineteenth

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

A couple nights later when I was writing in my journal my little Stacy entered our room. I looked behind me after I heard the door close where I saw that the girl was holding her camera close to her chest with a little pleased smile. "Just gonna stand there and silently look at me?" I asked with a teasing smirk.

She playfully scoffed and made her way toward me which is when I wrote a little note down in my journal, the girl then setting the camera down by the book when she made her way by my side. She quickly read what I was writing before she entered the room which made me thankful that the page didn't have any information on Autumn's pregnancy situation. I'll tell her eventually, just not any time soon...

"Not only is your 'wanting to be official' cute but I've always thought that your journal's pretty cute too." She commented after reading that I was writing about when Autumn and Phoenix became official members.

"Cute? The only cute thing here is you, Misses Solace..." I replied which made her giggle lightly.

"Maybe to you... I mean, I am cute, but you are too, Mister Solace." She confidently claimed which made me lean toward her so I could kiss the tip of her nose.

As I slowly trailed my quick kisses up the bridge of her nose her adorable smile strengthened before my wife getting closer to me before she abruptly forced her way onto my lap. When I realized what she was trying to do I helped her take a comfortable spot on my lap where the girl's bottom delicately wiggled on me as I took slow and deep breaths of her hair through my nose. My fingers on her sides lightly pressed into her for a minute before her hands softly took them off her so she could hold my hands over her belly. She leaned back into me when I kissed the back of her head.

"It's your birthday tomorrow..." She pointed out after she settled into me.

"Indeed it is. Haven't really thought about it, been focused on other things."

"...I hope I can make you happy tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do anything even close to what you did on my birthday."

I nuzzled the back of her head and kissed it again. "Hey, don't worry about anything like that, my love. You make me so happy every day, every time I remember that I have my precious little Queen... Having your time for a gift, even if I get time from you every day, is way more than enough... And it's what I want."

Which was all true. There wasn't any object or thing I wanted for my birthday, just my little lady to love on.

She had a flattered grin on her lips, the girl more than happy with my words. "I'm still gonna do a few things for your birthday."

"I look forward to it." I quietly replied after another nuzzle. "So, did you take any new pictures while you were out?" I asked after another minute of intimate silence which caused the girl to quietly gasp after I reminded her of what she had recently done.

One of her hands left mine and grabbed her camera before her other hand left mine as well so she could handle the camera professionally which made me gingerly wrap my arms around her abdomen to lovingly embrace her.

"I took a picture out in the forest of a doe in the stream near our bathing spot." She revealed as she expertly pulled the picture up on the screen to the camera. "Is this a good image...?" She asked as she looked up and behind her wanting my assurance.

I gently took the camera out of her hands with one of my own so I could take a better look at it. And it was indeed a doe in the stream where I was easily able to tell that the creature was having a nice swig of stream water and completely unaware that Stacy was twenty or so meters away from it. The quality, lighting, and angle of the image were impeccable and very serene. Clear flowing water, bright green leaves, bushes, and grass all while the sun was starting to get low in the sky. It was beautiful.

I told her my observation which of course made her cutely smile and lightly blush as she twirled some of her hair. As she took the camera and looked back down I kissed the tip of her ear and her temple to silently express how adorable I think she is.

"I have a few more but that was my favorite one." She said after I was done giving her small affectionate kisses.

"Show me, I'm sure they're all fantastic considering you're so extremely talented at so many things..."

That was her cue to start showing me all the pictures she's taken the past couple of days. I hunched down a bit so I could put my chin on her shoulder to get a closer look at the camera's screen as she passionately explained the pictures that I saw. Some were of our people working, some of the buildings, closeups of nature, a sunset or two. All were very beautiful.

After I repeated my opinions to her I kissed her cheek for a few seconds before she turned her head so we could softly kiss each other as the girl put the camera back on the desk so she could gingerly put a hand on the side of my face. My arm around her belly gently pulled her closer into me as I put my other hand on her neck where the kiss stayed innocent

After ten minutes the kiss ceased though I continued kissing the tip and bridge of her nose, her forehead, her cheek, her temples, and the tip of her ears. She let me do so since she greatly enjoyed when I bombarded her with affectionate kisses, my kissing trailing down to her soft neck after another ten minutes.

I love the smell of her skin and love the smell of her skin being damp even more so. I made sure to sloppily kiss a large section of her neck before deciding to just give her neck a long lick, something I haven't done that many times. It was only getting a little steamy but we communicated that we didn't want to have sex that night so that's why I stopped kissing her in the spots that turned her on. But that didn't stop me from continuing to slowly lick her slightly salty skin.

She cutely giggled as I trailed my tongue to her jawline for a minute before it trailing up to her cheek. I had never thoroughly licked her there before but a strong desire to do so quickly grew in my mind. "Can I... lick some more of your face?"

She giggled as a couple of her fingers traced over her damp neck. "Um, sure..."

My arms abruptly tightened around her belly so I could stand up and hold her. She was surprised but let it happen as I walked over to our bed. I set her down on her feet and turned her around before I put my hands on her shoulders where she innocently looked up at me as I gently pushed her back to sit on the bed. But I continued scooting her back until her legs were all the way on the bed. When that was achieved I got on the bed with her where the girl's thighs were in between my knees as I looked down at her.

"...Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" She asked when I put my hands back on her shoulders.

"Eh, maybe." I replied as I pushed her to lay down.

When that was done I leaned down and pressed the tip of my nose against hers before proceeded to lightly kiss her again. When that ended, my tongue contacted the tip of her nose before slowly trailing upward, trace amounts of saliva spreading onto her which effectively claimed her as mine in yet another way. The taste of her soft and smooth skin was one I didn't know I liked so much.

She stayed silent and retained a small smile as I continued licking the bridge of her nose, forehead, temples, cheeks, and chin. After ten minutes I stopped and leaned up a bit so I could assess what the girl looked like after my thorough licking.

She had a light blush with her hands on her belly as she looked up at me with a cute little smile plastered on her lips as her gorgeous hair was perfectly sprawled out behind her. I gingerly placed my hands on her neck causing a breath to hitch in her throat, the girl trusting me with her life. It's kind of weird to write that down but that's the truth.

"You're so small and beautiful..." I quietly commented as my hands enjoyed the feeling of her soft neck. I held her like that for a couple of minutes to let the trace amount of liquid on her face to dry. "Do you like when I hold your neck like this?"

She gently nodded. "It... it makes me feel so... safe but powerless at the same time. I love it when you hold my neck when we kiss too, it makes me... so wet. "

"Oh, is that so little lady... Do you like it when I do this?" I asked as I applied a small amount of pressure on her neck causing her to lightly gasp.

"Just that and no more..." She replied. I could tell that her breathing was just a little constrained where any more would start hurting her and I never wanted to do that.

"Of course, I don't want to hurt you." The yawn she had a few seconds later made me realize how late it had gotten and how tired I was. "When are you going to sleep, my love?"

"Soon... I was gonna ask that shortly after I came in here but we got distracted."

I eskimo kissed her before my hands left her neck. "Let me finish writing in my journal then we'll go to sleep. Does that sound alright?"

She nodded which was my cue to get off her and back on my feet. She got up too to take her clothes off which something I closely watched with her unspoken permission.

As I continued writing in my journal we briefly talked about our work that day which consisted of Stacy farming and me helping the fifth cabin be completed. That cabin was taken by the three who didn't have any rooms, Kostas, Solomon, and Elliot. It was nice to have everyone have a proper room even if they didn't want to share one together... Oh well.

When that conversation was done I focused on writing since Stacy was quickly being lured to sleep. It took me half an hour to finish and when I was done my lady had fallen asleep while waiting for me to hold her.

I turned around in the chair and admired her beautiful, naked, sleeping form for a few minutes by just looking over every perfect detail of her person as I thought about how much I love her. A thought forged itself in my mind and that was to capture the pure beauty that Stacy is in an image that I'd be able to look at any time I was able to when I wanted to see my beautiful wife... y'know, when she wasn't with me and I had the camera.

As I took hold of the camera and turned it on I figured I'd talk to her about it in the morning just to let her know I took a picture of her while she was asleep. After turning the device on I quietly rolled the chair over so I could get in the best angle to admire her form.

She was laying on her right side, her left arm stationed on her side with her hand taking a very gentle hold of her soft belly. Her head was resting on her right arm whose hand was in her hair at the back of her neck, the girl having her hair pulled up and out of the way of the side of her face.

Even though her breasts were small (B cup size is, in my opinion, superior to all, fight me) they were firm and held a beautiful form as she laid on her side. Her nipples were perked and added to the finesse of her character, her posture just asking to be photographed, my wife being a natural supermodel.

Her legs were slightly bent as her left leg overhung the other one which just added to the beauty of her pose. Most of her groin was covered by her legs but I was just able to see very edge of her little and adorable clit, her slit being too far back to be in the shot. She had recently shaved her legs and armpits so she was hairless there but she didn't shave any part of her groin as of late so that entire area was starting to grow a little bush, something that I honestly quite liked.

After admiring her for another two minutes with minimal sexual thoughts I readied the camera as best as I could and took a picture of her which happened to be a shot that was perfect. As I looked at the result of the picture I promised myself that I'd take more pictures of her in more casual scenes. But is it so bad to deeply admire her natural form? Anyways, after reviewing the photo I shut the camera off and put it back on the desk before standing up and taking my clothes off.

I turned the light off and slipped into bed behind her where my arms snaked their way around her abdomen so I could gingerly pull her close to me before one of my hands took a light grasp of one of her breasts. The movement and touch woke her up which confused her but I quietly shushed her and then lightly kissed her neck which calmed her down.

A minute later after getting settled I felt her left foot rub one of my calves which signified that she had her legs spread open a tad for me to put my cock inside her awaiting slit, the girl allowing me entry since she loved being filled and one throughout the night. I obviously accepted her invitation by wasting no time in pressing my tip into her moist heat where the both of us quietly grunted as the tip of my phallus made its way to her cervix.

"I love you..." Stacy drearily and quietly said when my glans contacted her womb. After a nuzzle in the crook of her neck I reciprocated her words before the both of us made our way to the land of sleep shortly afterward.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

A few hours later Stacy left the tight embrace that I held her in throughout the night where my phallus had to leave its pleasant fleshy home as she got up. I immediately opened my eyes and saw that it was the morning but I was still tired. I looked at Stacy who stood up and quickly stretched. When she turned to me she seemed a bit surprised. She then quietly said, "Go back to sleep, I'll come back in a few minutes."

With weariness still dictating what I did I listened to her so I laid on my back and closed my eyes. I fell back asleep only a few seconds later but only for twenty minutes or so. The feeling of the tip of my shaft being encompassed by something moist, tight, and warm gently woke me up, the feeling being jarring so I was quickly pumped with adrenaline.

I looked down at my groin to figure out what was happening where I saw that Stacy had stationed herself in between my legs and that she was on her stomach as she held the base of my flaccid cock in her hands. After seeing that my tip was inside her mouth and getting a little more time to properly register what was happening my penis truly began to grow in size, her little sucks and licks picking up in strength coaxing my phallus to get fully erect.

I took one of our pillows to prop my head under to watch her do the act as her beautiful blue eyes glanced up at me as I moved. "So a blowjob in the morning? I like the change... But are you fine doing that? Since, y'know, I kind of had it inside you throughout the night."

"Mhm!" She hummed as she started lowering her head, the pleasure of her now somewhat experienced mouth hitting me.

After she put the first four inches of me inside her she sucked, licked, and salivated on my hard rod, the girl swallowing the mix of some of my precum, the taste of her pussy, and saliva when needed to. It only took her another minute to start lifting her head up to start the basic movement of giving me the pleasure that she wanted to give me.

I put my hands on her head as she sped up and let quiet grunts and moans of pleasure out when I felt like I needed to, the girl glancing at me for a few seconds when I did so. I completely relaxed, closed my eyes, spread my legs open a decent bit, and just focused on the feeling of her mouth which washed over me. Ten minutes later I was nearing my edge but she stopped right before I reached my climax causing my cock to twitch in anticipation since it wanted more pleasure so it could achieve its goal of cumming inside her accepting mouth.

"Is something wrong?" I asked as she gave me somewhat of an evil grin.

"I wanna give you something..." She shifted and took something out from under her belly where she then revealed an elastic purple cockring. "I don't want your cum coming out, not until I let it come out..."

I loved the small tint of a blush on her face and the tone of voice she used in that statement. When I took a closer look at the cockring I could tell it was the type to prevent ejaculation, at least most of it. A few of my own ideas emerged in my mind as I looked at it where an evil grin of my own appeared on my lips.

"Alright, alright... as long as I get to use the ring for my own adventure at a later time."

She happily giggled as she stretched it open a tad and put it over my glans. "Of course..." It only took her a couple of more seconds for the elastic ring to reach the base of my cock where the ring squeezed the base hard enough to not be painful but hard enough to make sure no semen would exit me when I reached my climax.

"It's... definitely a new feeling... But I'm not opposed." I commented which caused her to smile before she took my glans back in between her lips.

After she kissed it for a dozen seconds or so she continued sucking me where the girl had to work my way back up to my climax. Which she did about five minutes later, the girl looking at my face as I approached my climax. When I reached it she continued lifting her head up and down as my semen was forced to stay inside me which felt extremely jarring and somewhat painful. She continued sucking as I moaned, my penis twitching sporadically as my semen desperately tried to escape me. The climax felt like it was twenty seconds, Stacy not relenting in her sucking.

Even though having my orgasm tampered with like that was a tiny bit painful at first it was still incredibly magnificent. The denial of it was quite rewarding especially since she continued sucking me, my cock now much more sensitive to touch and retaining the erection.

Three minutes later I was once again on the doorstep to climax, the same thing happening again as the last one. It was pure bliss... Almost, the really strange feeling of denial was one I had to get used to but the pleasure seriously outweighed the negatives since I was able to have orgasm after orgasm without losing the steam I've built up.

Somewhat unfortunately though a minute after that second orgasm she slowed down to a halt before she sucked hard on the last motion upward to collect most of the saliva off of my cock. She pressed her nose into the base of my cock and took a minute to just thoroughly smell my scent before taking the cockring off of me and setting it off to the side.

She looked me in the eyes as her own eyes conveyed to me that she was still in a state of lust and desire. "Now it's my turn to cum... Tasting you, hearing you, smelling you, watching you, and causing you to feel like that gets me so wet. "

"What do you want me to do to you?" I asked as she got on her knees.

She took a few steps back. "Scoot over to me, please..."

I did just that which had the effect of me laying down flat completely. When I settled down she quickly migrated to straddle my hips where the girl pressed her aroused slit onto my lower belly where my cock was squished in between the lips that were indeed very wet. She ground on me for a dozen seconds before moving up my body where she pressed her slit onto my chest.

She gently gyrated her hips on me causing her clit to rub on my skin which caused her to quietly moan. My hands on her hips helped her smear trace amounts of her liquid on me as her hands took a hold of my shoulders as she closed her eyes and relaxed into the feeling we both helped her feel.

A few minutes later she looked down at me for a few seconds before evilly giggling through a grunt of pleasure. "Y-You know how you licked my face last night?" I nodded. "Can I... rub my pussy on your face?"

Looking back on it, it's kinda weird but in the moment I loved the idea. Probably just the lust rushing through my mind but I'm fine with it, after all, we're just a tad weird but who isn't? I mean damn, I licked her face, that can't be that normal right?

After I gave her permission she took a few more steps with her knees and gingerly rested her slit on my mouth where my tongue made its way to her clit to rub it for a few seconds before I decided to deeply kiss it. She of course squeaked and let me do that for a couple of minutes before she moved her hips upward causing her slit to rub up against my nose before going to my forehead.

Seeing her pussy that close was somewhat new but I welcomed the sight before the girl rubbed her pussy on my forehead and then trailing her groin down the side of my face. The feeling of her slightly hairy lips squishing, pressing, and smearing trace amounts of her lubricant across my face felt pretty nice to be honest, the girl physically claiming me with the help of spreading her sacred juices on my face.

She kept her hands on the sides of my head as I kept my hands on her hips to help her keep her balance so she could continue rubbing her cute little pussy elsewhere on my face. After five minutes of her smearing her sex juices on me she stopped, determining that the mission was accomplished. My forehead, cheeks, temples, and chin were all slightly damp with her somewhat sticky juice and I loved it.

"Suck my clit, make me cum." She ordered confidently which was new.

Since she was the top in that session at that point (I knew I could easily lift her up and put her on her back so I could take the lead) I obeyed her command right after she rested her pussy back on my mouth. I once again deeply kissed her precious love button for a couple of minutes before sucking it in a way to give her as much pleasure as I could. When she started rocking her hips and her moans were getting more vocal I let her, the girl using me to get her off.

The small amount of musky liquid that drained from her a few minutes later told me that she had reached her climax, the girl grinding harder on me for a few seconds as she rode her orgasm out. When it was over she slouched and took a deep and refreshing breath as she rested on me for a few seconds before taking a few steps back to straddle my abdomen again.

She looked shy, timid, and her face was flushed. "Um... I... I don't know why I was like that." She admitted.

I chuckled as I wiped some of her orgasmic fluid off of my chin. "What do you mean?"

"I was like... demanding things."

"Ah, you're just not used to being the top. Don't worry about it, my love, it was really enjoyable and quite... hot. Maybe you should do stuff like that more often?" I asked as I leaned up before a hand cupped one of her cheeks.

A shy smile appeared on her lips. "Maybe... It was fun but being in control is... it's kind of stressful, I didn't really know what I was doing."

"Noted. But I will say that you're a phenomenal improvisor when you're extremely horny... Now, what do you say about us going to the stream and getting ourselves cleaned up?"

Even though I was still pretty hard since I wasn't able to properly ejaculate, we got up and wiped off most of the liquids on us so we could get dressed without soiling the clothes. Thankfully it was still early in the morning so not a lot of people were up so we didn't walk into anybody as we made our way to our bathing spot.

(Sex scene over)

As I held her close in the warm water a few minutes after we cleaned our bodies and mouths I asked, "You got anything else for my birthday? Because today's been just fine so far..."

She lightly giggled. "I might have a couple more things for you... But that's for later."

My ears perked up at her words but I kept my intrigue under control. I was able to do that by distracting myself through softly making out with her for a while. Deeply kissing her in the serene area that is our bathing spot was always such a fantastic way to spend my time... Well, any moment with Stacy is but you know what I mean. And you know you shouldn't be reading my journal.

When we returned to the mansion, just about everyone was out and about where everyone started personally wishing me a day of happiness. Stacy followed me into the dining room where Audrey was who was thoroughly explaining to the building team about how we'd be storing all of our harvest. Even though she said that the project would start in a month the building team were taking a break from making cabins so she capitalized on the opportunity. After she briefed them they went to start the project. I started walking with them to help but Stacy took my hand which made me look down at her pleading eyes.

"It's your birthday, you shouldn't strain yourself today... You should relax and take a day off." She said after I turned to her.

I cupped one of her cheeks. "And how do you suppose I do that, little lady?"

She wrapped her arms around my abdomen. "Hug me for now..."

I couldn't deny her desire but I surprised her by squatting down a tad and wrapping my arms around her chest and picking the girl up which caused her to squeak in surprise. When I stood back up to full height she hiked her legs on my hips as her arms wrapped around my neck instead where the both of us just stood there in a tight hug as we greatly enjoyed each other's touch.

After a few minutes of silently hugging each other I heard a voice say, "Happy... birthday Hunter?"

"I've never really known what to say to that because saying 'thanks' doesn't seem like a proper response but I appreciate the well-wishes regardless." I replied and then turned around to make eye contact with Charlotte.

Stacy giggled right before Charlotte replied. "Always have to make what would've been a simple response complicated... But that's one of the reasons why we love you. Anyways, I have the day off and so do a few others. We were wondering if you wanted to chill out with us for a little while."

My heart warmed up after she said that they loved me, I really do have a family not of my own blood... "Why yes I would, that sounds lovely."

She then exited the dining room into the living room. I followed her whole I held my little Stacy where I quickly saw that Ashton, Olivia, Etsu, and Autumn were all conversing. I assumed it was all their day off otherwise I would've kicked their asses into gear. Olivia gets a pass though since her spine, for lack of better words, kind of sucks. Trust me when I say that she has serious back problems. Not too long ago she tried pushing herself to lift and produce building materials, it didn't go well. I understand why she tried pushing herself, she kind of feels useless, but I assure her that she's vitally important for several reasons.

Anyways, as I approached them they exchanged their salutations of 'happy birthday' with me before all of them received a similar response to what I told Charlotte. I took a seat in the corner of one of the couches where my wife swiftly got off of me and to my side since she didn't want to be on my groin in public which is understandable.

"Nineteen now, right?" Ashton asked, getting a nod from me. "Two more years and you'll be able to drink!" He sarcastically claimed, causing me to playfully scoff.

"To hell with that. Speaking of which, is it too early to drink some cider, wine, beer, anything in between?" I replied, hoping the answer would be no.

"Way too early." Olivia replied with a smirk much to my disappointment. "Not to mention that we'd rather watch a movie than get drunk. I haven't watched any movies... Well, since long before The Drop."

My ears perked up at that. "A movie?" I repeated, somewhat shocked.

Etsu then used a remote and turned on the TV that hadn't been on in years, the name of the brand appearing on the screen before a blank blue screen appeared. It was then that I saw all of the CD cases on the mantle to the fireplace, a couple dozen being stacked on each other.

"Do you like it?" Stacy whispered as she twiddled a couple of her fingers, the girl looking up at me with a hint of nervousness.

"I love it." I quietly whispered back which made her nervousness swiftly disappear. "I hadn't even thought about getting anything like this... Wait, did you do this all by yourself or...?"

"Charlotte helped me figure it all out..." Stacy quietly answered.

"But it was all her idea. I'm in the same boat with not even thinking about movies so I'm glad that Stacy brought it up with me. There's dozens of movies we can watch now, I'll try not to let it eat up too much of my time..." Charlotte replied. "Though I'll let the birthday boy choose which movie gets played first, it's only fair."

I kissed Stacy's forehead briefly. "I think I'll let my beautiful wife choose the first movie because it'll also be the first movie she's gonna watch..."

"It's your gift so you should be the one to choose." Stacy quietly counterargued.

A small and playful argument ensued but only briefly. "How about we come to an agreement on what to watch, how about that?"

"Deal." She conceded which caused us to get on our feet.

We swiftly made our way to the mantle of the fireplace to look at the covers of the movies and briefly read some of their descriptions. I've seen a few movies of the movies before so I was able to swiftly summarize a few of them in just a couple of sentences. After sifting through a few action films and a few comedic films, Stacy picked up one that actually had some merit to it.

"What about this one?" My wife innocently asked after she picked up one of the most iconic movies of all time.

"That... is a good movie. It's a movie based on a true story, about a grand ship that sank well over a hundred years ago. It has action, romance, and it’s very immersive." I simply explained which didn't do Titanic justice.

She eyed the case for a few seconds longer before giving me a cute and subtle look of a beg. "Wanna watch this one? I've always wanted to be on a ship..."

I lightly chuckled. "You might not want to after watching this movie... But sure, we can watch it. I haven't seen it in years so it'll basically be like watching it for the first time again." Minus the part in how I knew what the ending was like. I didn't want to spoil the movie where I made sure to tell the others not to as well since spoiling things is a terrible thing to do to others. I wondered how Stacy would react to the ending...

After having a little difficulty in getting the TV to start playing the movie, Stacy and I made our way back to our spot and held each other close as the movie began. The beginning of movies is always boring unless the movie doesn't faff around and immediately gets into the disaster but sometimes I like a long exposition. I know that Stacy enjoyed every second of the beginning since her eyes were glued to the screen and taking in as much detail as she could, the girl silently ecstatic that she was watching a movie. It was adorable.

"Was the ship really that big!? How did it even float? That must be like a million pounds!" She asked, her pretty little mind not having the proper understanding of physics.

"It has to do with how much air's inside the ship. That's why whenever a hole or a crack happens in the hull of a ship it starts sinking, because the air is being pushed out of the ship weighing it down." Etsu explained in simple terms. "And it was much heavier than a million pounds. If I remember correctly it was well over a hundred million pounds."

"Wow... That's crazy." Stacy simply responded as we focused back on the movie.

I forgot how long the movie Titanic is so we continued watching the drama play out and the two main characters forming their relationship. We all commented every once and a while so it wasn't completely quiet but nothing important enough to write down. But when the drawing scene happened Stacy blushed really hard. But during that she whispered to me that the necklace Rose was wearing looked a lot like her necklace.

And it surprisingly did look quite similar but it was cut a little different and lighter. She also blushed really hard when the pretty censored sex scene happened but not for long since it quickly moved onto the ship hitting the iceberg. But it was nice to see her reaction about how cars looked like in that era of human history. As a little side note, that whole scene of them trying to miss the iceberg is probably my favorite scene in movie history. You can feel the fear and the hurry in the characters with the stakes of the moment being so high. It always made me anxious and made me think that maybe they just might not hit it.

"How are they gonna escape? How are they gonna get back home?" Stacy asked a few minutes after the ship was officially doomed.

"Watch and find out, just keep in mind that Mister Andrews said there wouldn't be enough lifeboats for everyone." I quietly replied.

"Oh no..." She said in a hushed tone.

Stacy was very reactive to anything that happened in the movie, from the shooting scene, to the moment when Rose kinda stupidly jumped out of the lifeboat, to all the intense sinking scenes. But she made sure to keep it somewhat contained by holding onto my arm and squeezing it a tad to keep herself quiet. That as well was really adorable.

When the violinists started playing 'Nearer My God To Thee' Stacy swallowed a bit hard since the girl was getting emotional about the situation that was playing out before her eyes. As chaos ensued in the movie the ship started sinking faster and faster as all hope started being lost. When the ship split in half she gasped at the carnage.

"How are they gonna get home?" Stacy asked again, worry in her voice for the characters.

I stayed silent to let her ponder her own question as she watched the ship continue sinking. After it was gone and under the water Stacy scooted into me and rested her head on my chest causing my arms hold around around her chest to strengthen a bit. It was cute how she was reacting that way, like she forgot that it was just a movie.

I could feel her heart drop when she realized that Jack had died from hypothermia causing the girl to try and swallow her sadness and trying not to cry. But when I heard her sniffle I knew that she couldn't contain her tears. When Jack was let go (after Rose said she'd never let go? I never got that part of the movie) and sank into the ocean I could hear the quiver of Stacy's lip as she quietly cried.

Since we're all so familiar with the concept of death, even if they're fictional characters, we felt the familiar feeling of loss that such a situation would cause one to feel. However, only a few tears from the others were let out (I don't mean to single them out but it was the women.) Personally, I just felt a small bit of dread. Stacy was the one letting several tears run free as she slowly nuzzled my chest as she processed the situation.

Maybe watching Titanic wasn't such a good idea for the first movie to see. It was too late to go back on it so I comforted Stacy through the emotion. I was surprised at how sad she was so I asked her if she was gonna be alright and if she wanted me to do anything. It all made sense when she sadly looked up at me and said, "I-I'm only crying because... It's- I can't imagine what that'd feel like for her... What if something like that happens to you and I lose you?"

The movie was just about over and our conversation was very quiet, I'm sure the others couldn't even hear it. After hearing her words, her tone, and seeing the expression on her face I couldn't help but feel a large punch of sadness hit me in the gut. "I... I won't let that happen. I promise you, something like that will never happen."

I knew that that was something I couldn't actually control but she needed to hear it at that moment. She eskimo kissed me before resting her head back down on my chest so we could finish the movie.

"That was so sad..." Stacy said her final remarks to the movie. "...Are all movies like that?"

"It is a very sad movie, I remember when I was a little girl I balled my eyes out after the first time watching it." Olivia agreed, probably trying to make Stacy not feel like the odd one out. "No, there's all different sorts of movies of all different sorts of genres. We should probably watch an uplifting one to lift the mood."

I let them decide on the next movie as Stacy was calming down from the tragic ending. In a weird way I was happy that I had an emotional girl like Stacy since having an emotionless person... y'know, that's pretty self explanatory. I kissed her forehead after she recuperated from her tears before the girl got the desire to watch another movie around ten minutes later. But not before I could ask her what she thought about the first movie she had watched.

"It was amazing in so many ways..." She simply replied before once again saying how sad it was. "It was much better than what I thought it was going to be. It felt so real."

A minute after that they decided for us to watch the best animated movie we had, Wall-E. Not much to say about the experience other than that Stacy loved it and it lifted her mood while also being amazed at the idea of animation and the ideas of the movie itself. She had so much to learn about fiction...

That's all I'm gonna write about the watching it since there's not much else to write about unless I wanna review the entire movie which I don't want to. That'd take a lot of time anyways. Though I will say that in the middle of it I stopped watching it briefly as the thought of chance emerged in my mind as I looked at each individual and remembering what all had to happen for us to be in that room together.

Looking down at Stacy made me so grateful and thankful I decided to choose every big and small decision the way I did so I could get to that moment, it's hard to wrap my head around how improbable this reality is. I also kind of thought about something that I despised and that was what if I had not met Stacy? I'm sure I'd still be a hopeless nobody having missed out on the opportunity to build something greater... But thankfully that's not the case so I quit thinking of that.

I forgot to mention that people were coming and going. Ashton had to go somewhere and was replaced by Audrey, Trinity joined us at some point, and so had Willow. So by the end of the second movie it was pretty much a new group from when we began the movie binge. Watching movies was definitely a way of forward time travel, I completely forgot about how they did that.

"Goddamn, has it already been four hours?" I asked as I looked around for a clock, only to remember that there wasn't one in the living room. I always did that, look for a clock in a room I'm very comfortable in, I always feel stupid afterwards. Oh well.

"Yep, that's the result of how television and streaming services kept you blankly watching a screen for hours on end. Truly makes time flash by." Etsu replied which made me take the time to see that her and Audrey were on the other couch, Willow was on the floor, for some reason Olivia also decided to take a spot on the floor but not on her stomach, and the lesbians were platonically sitting right next to each other closely on the other side where Stacy and I were.

"Computers and smartphones were much worse, I wish I could get the countless hours I wasted on those back..." Audrey wished after her statement.

"Somewhat unfortunately there's only the option to look forward and not repeat the mistakes of the past. I'm hinting at not watching another movie because before we'll know it the day will have ended." I said which got an all around agreement from the others.

"But would you want to watch another one with me in the future?" Stacy quietly asked as she cutely looked up at me with hopeful eyes.

I leaned down a tad and eskimo kissed her. "Yes, absolutely."

After a few silent seconds Charlotte said, "...So does anyone wanna play a few games instead?"

"Charlotte and her games..." I quietly said to Stacy who lightly giggled. It's not like I was against it, hell, I loved playing games with them. The past couple of months has had the rate in playing games drop significantly since the need to do more important work was replacing it. We've only been doing such things on special occasions. "Yeah sure, what do you have in mind?"

"I was gonna say the usual but since today's a little special for a little someone we should do something new but simple, nothing involving the usual sets of cards." Charlotte explained.

"Little?" I thought but kept to myself. "What do you have in mind?"

"Pictionary, act it out games, guess who maybe... Simple games that we've never really tried before." She answered with somewhat of a sly grin.

"I guess we can try that..." I said, sounding just a little unsure.

Olivia excused herself by claiming that she needed to talk to someone about something medical related. It was extremely vague but we understood that anything having to do with someone’s well-being should be kept a secret but I knew it was most likely relating to Autumn. Though as she walked by me she leaned down a bit and asked me, "When are you gonna do anything with this?"

I jumped only a tad when her fingers grabbed a portion of my hair. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Haven't really thought about it since I don't really care about it, at least not yet, maybe soon though... Why?"

"May I cut it for you later?" She asked after letting my hair go.

Not really expecting where the conversation was going but interested in her question, I humoured her request. "You know what? Sure. Just don't mess me up too much..."

The woman lightly chuckled. "Wouldn't dream of it but only the opposite. We'll discuss details later."

A few seconds after Olivia continued her journey elsewhere Stacy asked, "A haircut? How much do you want to get rid of?"

I put a hand in my hair to feel how long it had gotten. It felt like my hair had stopped growing for a few months at this point. I guess the rate at which my hair grows is short compared to what it could've been which I'm somewhat thankful for, I don't like long hair. (When it's on me, of course.) I was also thankful that it curved and slightly curled in a way that made it appear not as long as it actually was so I get a little surprised when I run my hand through my hair to be reminded of how much I really needed to cut it.

Anyways, I answered her question by saying, "At least half. Might cut more on the sides if I feel like it to get a good looking cut, it depends on what Olivia can do. I'll figure that out all later. For now, how about we waste a few more hours having some time equivalent to that of family time?" And so we did, which persisted for a couple of hours.

"It's a line, square, box, cube, ice cube, table, bed." I quickly 'guessed' as Ashton drew on a fresh sheet of paper.

"...It's a bed." He revealed as he stopped his short lived drawing.

"Alright, Hunter is banned from Pictionary." Charlotte proclaimed where everyone agreed to her discriminatory rule.

They were just jealous that I was so good at playing games.

But yes, we spent a couple hours doing that where eventually Charlotte was replaced with Phoenix in the middle of it along with Nova. It was much more fun than I was expecting and hilarious to see people act things out. A couple of times when they revealed what they were acting as I had basically lost control of my laughs because of the absurdity of their effort. Definitely time well spent.

After those two or three hours most of them dispersed to go take care of whatever. "I've got something for you, Hunter." Audrey claimed which perked my ears. "I'll share it with you later tonight. And Stacy if she wants, just find me then."

After accepting her offer, Stacy took my hand and lightly tugged me to follow her. I lightly smiled as she took us to the front door before quickly making her way to the porch. When we got to the far end of the porch she stopped us, turned around, and wrapped her arms around my abdomen. She looked up at me with a little happy smile as one of my arms went around her neck while I softly placed my other hand on the side of her face.

"Why'd you bring us out here little lady?" I curiously asked. "Just wanna hug out here?"

"I want to give you something. It's small so it's not that good of a gift but you've been needing this for a long time, you just never got around to getting it."

"Hey, anything you give me is a fantastic gift no matter how small it is... I haven't asked for anything so anything you put your time into getting is so greatly appreciated, don't worry about if it's big or not, okay, my love?"

Her smile returned to its gleaming state as she nodded. She took a step back which ended the embrace and forced me to put my hands back at my sides so she could put a hand in her pocket to take out an opulent looking watch. "So you don't need to ask what the time is or guess what it is anymore."

I gave her a warm smile as I graciously took it out of her hands and closely examined it. It was powered by winding it up so it didn't need any batteries but that didn't distract from the beauty of the golden watch. Even though I knew that I could've scavenged any watch at any time I absolutely loved it, the watch she gave me having much more meaning to me then if I were to have just gotten it myself.

"It's lovely... Just like you." I said as I put it on my right wrist where the watch stretched to fit my wrist perfectly. After a little flattered giggle from her I gingerly put my hands on her cheeks and leaned down as the girl wrapped her arms around my abdomen and pushed herself on her tip-toes. "Thank you, it's gonna be extremely useful."

"It's the least I can do..." She replied, trying to downplay herself.

"It's still a lot. But I will say that it's gonna take a little while to get used to this on my wrist." After saying that we looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before I kissed her where the kiss quickly turned into a deep one. A minute later my hands travelled down to her sides before abruptly picking her up where the girl hiked her legs on my hips once more.

We stayed in the kiss for several minutes before breaking it followed shortly by hearing the sound of a rumbling stomach emitting from the girl in my arms. "...Can we go fishing?" She simply asked.

Since I was also quite hungry I liked the suggestion so we did that for a while before it was officially time to eat, the day's spoils of food-work being set up for the taking. Even though intimately eating with Stacy is common these days the feeling of doing so never changes. I'll always love the sessions of softly kissing and nuzzling each other as we thoroughly enjoy a nice meal with each other.

Half an hour after that we were tightly holding each other on the window bay where the girl's eyes were closed as she rested her head on my chest while a hand of mine slowly breezed through her soft hair. "I'm gonna go see if Olivia can do that thing she wants to do in a few... Do you also want a haircut?"

She looked up at me. "Do... do you not like my hair like this?"

Looking back on it, I don't think I've ever written down just how long her hair is. It's quite long which makes it extremely gorgeous. I would guess it's about three feet long since it gets down to her ass. I've never really written about it since it's never really been in the way or caused any trouble since the girl was always aware of where her hair is.

"What? No, I absolutely love your hair, it's extremely beautiful. I was just wondering if you want it trimmed since it's pretty long."

She leaned away from me a tad and put her hands to the back of her head so she could compress her hair together at the base. She put the large amount of hair over her shoulder and over her abdomen so she could look at it. She thought about what I said for a few silent seconds before saying, "I... I like my hair being this long. Some of the other girls get jealous because this is apparently something that takes years to grow out. I don't want to cut it, I've never cut it before... It'd be like getting rid of a part of me since I've always been like this, if that makes any sense."

I took a hold of the end of her hair and held it close to my chest as I placed my other hand on the side of her face. "Of course, it's your choice. Not to mention that you'd look really different if you cut it since you've always been like this... You'd still be amazingly beautiful of course, just different."

"The same thing with you." She replied with a light blush.

I leaned down and kissed her forehead for a couple of seconds. "You should get some scrunchies for this, braid it in a few ways, I'm sure you'd be able to do some mesmerizing things with your hair."

"Hm... I'll think about it. For now, you need to go ask Olivia about that thing, right?"

I set her hair down and scooted forward toward her so I could press my forehead against hers. "Yes I do."

After she said she was a little uncertain about me changing my hair I kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips before getting up and making my way to our door. "Meet me back here when you're done."

After affirming her that I would I went to find the doctor. Now I will admit that I've never cut my own hair since I always went to a barber shop or let my mother cut it when that was possible. Is not knowing how to cut your own hair normal? I'm not sure but I think it wouldn't be too difficult... Maybe. Hey, Olivia was offering regardless so I just accepted it and forgot about these thoughts.

After a few minutes of trying to locate Olivia I was successful in my mission where the woman led me back up the stairs and into the bathroom that almost no one ever entered. I saw that there was a kit of instruments all relating to the act of cutting one's hair with a stool having been placed in the center of the room. She pretty much ordered me to take a spot on it before the... hair-gown thing was equipped on me.

"So what're you seeking out for me to cut today, Hunter?" She asked as she stationed herself next to the tools on the sink-counter.

"Well since this was so abrupt I can only think of the last haircut I had which is quite simple which was the fringe up style if you know it, if that wouldn't be too much to ask?"

"Of course not, that's quite a simple one indeed, relatively speaking. How much do you want me to take off?" I told her my wishes in wanting it to be cut in half. After I did she put the desired length of trimmer on the razor, got a comb, and walked behind me before determining the best way to go about the task. After a few seconds she turned the razor on and applied it to my scalp.

Remembering how much I didn't really like haircuts (at least the process of getting them) I decided to keep conversation rolling. "So, have you done this before?"

"That's probably the question I've heard the most by a mile... Yes, I have."

"Were you gonna be a hair stylist before you decided on being a doctor?"

She was silent for a couple of seconds as large chunks of my hair started to persistently drop down. "No... I used to give my son haircuts back in the day. He..."

I gave her a few seconds to continue but when I knew she needed a little encouragement I softly said, "You don't need to continue if you want but it'd be very nice to hear some of the stories you had with your children..."

She lightly chuckled. "He claimed he had the best hair in his class. Some of his best friends even asked me to cut their hair so that was even more practice for me, y'know, after I got their parents permission first. It... it was fun and I miss doing it... Doing this right now reminds me of him immensely."

Now that her figurative walls had collapsed on the subject I wanted to talk about her children some more. "How old was he?"

"...The year of The Drop he was sixteen... I've never said this since I always thought it'd be best to keep it to myself, but I see a lot of him in you. I hope that's not weird to say."

"No, it's not... It's kind of sweet that you think that. Sixteen? May I ask how old were you when he was born?"

She lightly sighed. "I was seventeen... It was extremely difficult for so many reasons. My parents were furious, my education was in jeopardy, I was even called... a whore by some of my fri- my ex-friends." She sighed again in anger. "I was in an extremely religious community, a strict one, so that explains why... y'know, that was the reaction. But all wasn't bad. My boyfriend at the time who'd go on to become my husband was the right one. He was faithful and helped me through just about everything... As much as I've tried to move on... I can't deny my feelings in saying that I miss him so much..."

"...I don't mean this in any negative way, did you ever consider termination?"

I thought I had crossed a line with that question but she spoke before I could retract my question. "Once. But I could never make myself do it, that'd've been a regret for my entire life. I'm so glad I didn't truly consider it since I never would've had my son..."

"Do you mind if I ask one more question?" I asked, still very careful as to how I spoke.

"Just one more." She calmly replied as she switched the size of the trimmer.

"How did you support a child and still become a doctor?" I asked as she started trimming one side of my head which started to give the hairstyle its iconic look.

"Tristian took care of him most of the time when I went to university." She answered. I assumed that was her husband. "We also both had jobs so we'd have to put him at daycare sometimes since my parents didn't really want to do anything about the grandson they disapproved of. We lived really cheaply since we were kind of forced to. Things really started to change when I got my first true role in the medical field that took years to achieve... Life wasn't easy for such a long time..."

"I'm not quite sure what to say to that other than that yeah, it sure seems like life would definitely be extremely difficult given those circumstances."

"Let's talk about you now..." She said, abruptly changing the topic.

I'm not gonna write down the rest of that conversation in detail because I'd be reiterating things that I've already written down. She simply asked how Stacy and I were doing, how work's been, and if any plans have been made or changed as of late.

By the end of that conversation she was done cutting my hair so I turned to the mirror in the bathroom to take a gander at the end result. And as far as I could tell the shortened sides blended perfectly into the heightened top, my hair taking a much more attractive look if I do say so myself. What? I'd fuck me if I wasn't me. What a strange thing to write down... I'm glad that this is a private journal.

"It looks fantastic, Olivia, thank you. You should cut the others’ hair too, maybe become a self-made hair stylist. I know a few of the others definitely need to at least be trimmed."

"That's... actually a good idea. Maybe I'll feel a little less useless if I do simple things like that." I reminded her that she wasn't useless and encouraged the attitude of wanting to do things like giving haircuts. Little accessories are what make life interesting and fun after all. 

After she asked if Stacy would be interested in getting a haircut and after telling her what Stacy thought about it I left to go see my woman so she could review the result of the change. And I quite liked the change since my scalp hadn't felt the breeze in years, it felt quite nice.

When I opened the door to mine and Stacy's room I instantly noticed that the lights were off and that Stacy was wrapped in a heavy blanket as she sat on the window bay and peered out of the window. I stepped in and closed the door causing the girl to look behind her with a small smile and a blush.

She gasped when she saw me, her eyes having a difficult time not looking at my hair. I asked her what she thought. “It’s… new and looks really nice… I like it. It's gonna take a little while to get used to it but it's definitely... more tame, if that makes sense.” She said which was enough approval from the only person that mattered when it came to stuff like that.

After her acknowledgement I continued the conversation. "Isn't it a little warm to be wrapped in a blanket?"

She lightly giggled, turned around, and got up on her feet as she tightly kept the blanket wrapped around her. "A bit. Would you like to take it off me?" She asked as she took a couple of slow steps toward me.

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

Oblivious to what she was thinking, I made my way toward her and put my hands on her covered shoulders. My fingers slipped under the blanket and slowly tugged it so it'd come undone where the blanket swiftly lost its grip on her and collapsed to the floor. What I revealed made me fully erect in a few seconds since the sight was one that was more than welcome.

I took a step back to see what she was wearing in earnest. She was wearing just able to see through stockings going up to just above her knees and was wearing lacey lingerie that did a poor job of covering her tits, belly, and groin. The color of them were a dark crimson, the color reminding me of a sensual setting. You'd think being completely naked would be better but the sight of her all dressed up like that was insanely sexy to me.

"Do you like what I'm wearing...?" She asked after a few seconds of my eyes ogling her flawless form.

"I... love it." I answered, words practically failing me.

She chuckled as she took a step toward me and took my hand before she took us to our bed where I saw that she had laid out all of the sex toys including the cockring and camera but minus the vibrator. After she knew that I saw them she looked up at me and put my hand on her neck. "I want you to rut and use me... for so fucking long."

"I... I will." I said before leaning down and deeply kissing her where my tongue breached out to sensually rub against hers just a few seconds later. We did that for a couple of minutes before one of her hands started to tug my pants down where she broke the kiss so she could focus on that.

I helped her take my clothes off where the girl used them as cushioning so she could get on her knees comfortably. It didn't take her long to once again put my glans in her mouth where she happily sucked it for a few moments before slowly taking the first four inches of me inside of her again. I put my hands on her head and helped her sway her head up and down for a few minutes, a few minutes filled with the forever magnificent feeling before she stopped.

She deftly took the cockring off the bed before returning back on her knees where my wife once again slid it to the base of my phallus before she started to suck me again for another three minutes. After that she got up and put her hands on my sides where she gently nudged me to sit on the bed. "I want to be in control for now... after I cum, I'll let you do anything to me..."

"Deal..." It's not like I was gonna hurt her or anything.

She asked me to scoot back some more before she got on the bed and straddled my thighs while her hands were placed on my shoulders so she could push me to lay down. A couple seconds after that her lubricated slit ground against my shaft where she had her fun there grinding for a minute or so before taking a hold of my cock and directing it into her hole. I took the time to see the lingerie, the clothing not covering any part of her slit and labia in the perfect way for me to see everything. What she was wearing was so enthralling.

As she slowly slid down my shaft the both of us quietly grunted and moaned into the extremely pleasurable moment of intimately becoming one, the hair on her lower lips rubbing against me making it more enjoyable since she was growing it out down there. When she came to a halt after my glans contacted her womb she rested herself on me where we deeply looked each other into the eyes, the both of us silently telling each other how thankful we were for being able to do the intimate act to each other. 

She put her hands on my chest as she began grinding her hips causing small grunts to start escaping her lips as she relaxed into the cock inside her. I took it upon myself to grab the camera that was only a few inches away before somewhat stumbling to turn it on to record the penetration that was taking place. 

She shyly giggled through a grunt when she realized I had started recording her riding which caused her to get ambitious so she started thoroughly lifting her hips up and down on my shaft, the feeling causing me to start quietly grunting in pleasure more seriously. It wasn't often that she did all the work which is something I quite enjoyed. That was the fault of my own since I enjoyed being the one to give her a pounding and to feed her arousal as best as I can. But there was something about being controlled by my little lady and being used by her that was an extreme turn on.

I placed my left hand on her thigh before my thumb made its way to her clit so I could rub it causing her to close her eyes to relax into the sensations even more. I changed the focus of the camera to her upper half for a minute or so to capture the blissful expressions she was making where one of her hands left my chest so she could pleasure one of her nipples.

Then I focused back on our groins, the sight of my shaft plunging in and out of her forever retaining its magnitude of feral appreciation. It was always amplified by being happy that I was more than big enough for her, my tip always pressing against the womb after each thrust, the womb that always accepted my seed, and the womb that was always willing to get impregnated by me. 

I hope we’ll one day have a baby… I really want to be parents with Stacy eventually, there’s no other person that I would ever want to do that with. I’ve got to stop thinking about possible offspring.

My mind always gets a massive wave of happiness every time I realize that I’m able to mate with such a beautiful, sexy, and talented, person among many other definitions, the feeling of her tight, wet, and warm folds and walls being the most satisfying feeling I could ever receive. Other than everything relating to all the reciprocating feelings of loving, respecting, wanting, appreciating, and everything in between that to each other. 

After another five minutes of her riding I made sure to capture the penetration when she came a little harder than usual, her riding slowing down to a halt as the blushed girl looked down at me. I ended the recording and set it aside before my hands went to her cheeks as I leaned up and deeply kissed her, not caring about the oral sex she had preformed on me.

I stood up holding her causing her legs to wrap around me before I turned around all while sustaining the kiss. I held her tightly as I decided to fuck her little slit like that for a few minutes, the girl's grunts picking up in volume before setting her down where my first climax was starting to rear its head after I set her down.

I pulled out of her heat and eyed the other toys. "You're starting to get a little loud... And we can't have you do that, as much as I would love to hear you scream your moans... But before we deal with that I want you to suck my cock clean for a minute or two..."

She looked down at my member before scooting forward and getting on the floor causing me to take a step back. She complied with my wish by taking it into her mouth where the girl forced herself to take all seven inches into her to make sure she'd suck all of her juices off of me. I kept a hand in her hair so a couple fingers could rub her scalp in an encouraging way. After the two minutes were up she stopped before licking my scrotum, the girl taking each testicle in her mouth where she gently sucked and licked the both of them each. After that she quickly sat back down on the bed and awaited my next move. "Now, it's time to dress you up even further."

She swallowed hard as I picked up the ball gag where she opened her mouth a couple of seconds after it was in my hands. "Good girl..."

After inserting it into her mouth I quickly put the blindfold on her. That's when I saw that there were also earmuffs to would effectively block out hear sense of hearing which I assumed she had gotten for this day so I put those on her as well. Before I put the nipple stimulators on her I got on my knees and took a hold of her tits where I tenderly massaged the small mounds of flesh for a couple of minutes before my fingers pinched and rubbed her nipples for another couple of minutes causing her legs to spread open again. After that I sucked her nipples for a minute each, the girl thoroughly enjoying the sucking and my tongue rubbing them. I definitely should suck her nipples more often.

When I was done with that I got back up on my feet and put the small 'suction cups' on her damp nipples where maximum sucking power followed them just a few seconds later. I decided against using the collar or leash since I wanted my own hands on her neck which was something I strongly kissed in all the right places for a few minutes before grabbing her hips and tugging her to stand up.

Since she didn't know any better she 'listened' to my tugging, the tugging persisting until she was a few steps away from the bed. I took the handcuffs and put her wrists behind her back before the handcuffs restrained her more than she was used to. (We had only used the toys two times in total at that point, we usually failed to use them before we just opted for vanilla sex.)

I decided to put the collar on her but only for one reason and that was to get a few photos of her being all dressed up. And so I did that where I used the flash to get good lighting and quality. After getting a closeup of her pussy I set the camera aside wanting to be done with it.

I walked back up to her and kissed her forehead and gently rubbed my phallus against her soft belly before taking the collar off her. A hand went behind her to our promise ring so I could turn it about sixty degrees so the stones wouldn't be poking her when she laid down again. I took the time to gently hold the sapphire that's her necklace as well, both pieces of jewelry being flawless and expressing the beauty of Stacy even more. I'm glad she wore them almost constantly. The girl only took the ring off when we went to sleep.

She gasped through her nose when I placed both of my hands firmly on her neck causing the girl to lift her head as I applied a small amount of pressure there. Her breathing adopted a gentle quiver in anticipation. She gasped again when I gently pushed her back to the bed where she tried to get back on but failed. I helped her by lifting her up by her sides and laying her down where my wife spread her legs open as far as they could be as she wanted me to use her slit.

But before I did I once again got on my knees and strongly kissed her inner thigh for a minute before going to the other one. I could only imagine what she was thinking and what it’d be like to have most of her senses blocked. 

I then kissed each of her labia and then her clit for yet another a minute each before getting back on my feet to kiss all around her soft belly. After that I pressed my cock onto her love button and gently rocked my hips back and forth on it causing her to pout. I teased her for another sixty seconds before slowly penetrating her where my thrusts started out slow before speeding up into a pounding where she wrapped her legs around me.

When a wet smack started down at our ecstatic genitalia my hands returned to her neck and with it the pressure there as well while I used her and held her into place, my grunts and moans of pleasure going unheard. The stifled moans and grunts I heard coming from the girl below me and her little squirms from the pleasure only encouraged me to pound her harder, my climax quickly barreling to the present. 

During that time Stacy came two times, her moans that would've been screams being limited by what was in her mouth. And when I did reach my climax it was once again controlled by the cockring causing any semen that wanted to enter her to be halted at the base of my penis. So after climaxing inside her for about twenty seconds I stopped for a minute to recover as I lightly panted from the prolonged sexual experience. Cumming inside for an elongated time was definitely something that I was going to be doing more.

My thrusts started to slowly pick back up again when I recuperated causing another pout to escape Stacy as she realized I would truly be using her little succulent slit for my feral mind to feel as much pleasure as I wanted to. Having a woman completely restrained, held down by my strength, who was completely submissive practically filled every extremity with lust as her perfect vagina rubbed and squeezed my glans. I was only acting upon her wish. I climaxed another time five minutes later after being completely lost within the depths of sexual enjoyment yet again. After this point we came every few minutes, some being at the same time, for at least thirty minutes making this the longest time we’ve had sex. By the end of those thirty minutes I was going crazy since I really wanted to empty my seed into her womb which is when my thrusting slowly ceased so I could take a deep breath to think about what I wanted to do next.

I lifted one of her earmuffs to talk to her. "I'm gonna take the cockring off me so I can actually cum inside you. Is that alright?" She slowly nodded.

And so I did just that where I instantly picked my thrusting after taking the ring off me. A few seconds after I picked it back up I leaned down a bit, slipped my hands between her arms, and wrapped my arms around her chest so I could hug her tightly (which was a little odd since her she was constrained) as I fucked her, loving the touch of holding the little girl closely and pressing against me as she was helpless and under my complete control. Nothing dissuaded me from relentlessly drilling her but quite the opposite since her legs stayed wrapped around me and encouraged me to continue what I was doing.

I tightly closed my eyes and put my chin on her shoulder before letting the divine feeling of breeding invade my mind. After that my fairly large climax happened only two minutes after I continued using her where my semen finally exited me and flooded the cervix that the substance so desperately tried to get to the entire day. I couldn't help but moan quite audibly as the feeling of bliss rocked through my entire body at the release, my mind hellbent on making her pregnant at that moment. It was one of the best orgasms I've ever had, the only other better ones being when I first came inside Stacy and the one where we were in the lotus position slowly fucking.

After my orgasm ceased the both of us immediately slouched but I continued holding her tightly as the lust had quickly left our minds. But I still wanted to do something and that was to take another close-up picture of her used and creampie'd pussy. I loved looking at a before and after image of her being thoroughly bred, it was such a satisfying sight.

So after staying inside her semen-filled vagina for a few minutes as I smelled the light scent coming off her, lightly kissed her neck, and kissed around her face, I did just that after coaxing her to spread her legs open again. I looked over her and silently enjoyed the sight before taking the picture.

After I set the camera aside again I took the earmuffs and the blindfold off the girl who kept her eyes closed as she continued lightly panting. I leaned her up and took the ball gag out of her mouth and then took the nipple stimulators off, the devices having engorged her nipples once more.

"You alright, Stace?" I asked with mild concern as I took the handcuffs off her where the girl still kept her eyes closed.

"Yeah... That was... Just... Wow..." She speechlessly replied. She finally opened her eyes and looked up at me. "That was so intense... That's definitely staying a special event thing."

"Isn't it weird how birthday sex is having sex in celebration for your parents having sex?" I thought then threw the thought away. "That's something I'd want to stay a rare thing anyways, to not ruin by overdoing it... But I would like to see you in this outfit every now and then." I put a hand on her cheek, the girl weakly smiling.

"Sure... Is it too late to go bathe?"

I looked out the window to see that the sun was setting. "It is, unfortunately. We'll have to get cleaned the old fashioned way."

(Sex scene over)

After getting a towel and cleaning our groins (the part of the bed where we fucked over was kinda soiled so we had to deal with that later) she stood up and took the lingerie and stockings off before she sat back down on the bed and away from the soiled part. I grouped all of the sex accessories in a pile before sitting by her side where the girl leaned onto me as a hand brushed through her hair with my chin atop her head. I softly put my other hand on one of her inner thighs of which two fingers gingerly rubbed into causing the girl to very minutely spread her legs open.

One of her hands went to my wrist of the hand that was in her hair to take a light hold of it where she looked at the watch I was still wearing. After a few moments the same hand gently placed itself on my abs (they weren't really that much bigger, just more cut) and looked up at me. "Was today alright?"

I looked down at her and rubbed my nose against hers. "It was fantastic, all thanks to you..." I softly kissed her for a minute. "But Audrey still wants to give me something, I think. She said that you could tag along too. Wanna go find out what that is?"

"...After a few minutes of holding each other." She said as she put her head back on my chest as her arms wrapped around me which practically forced me to stay put.

And so we did that for a little while where we once again softly nuzzled and kissed each other, a stark difference from the rough fucking we just had. But I got us up before we let sleepiness dictate what we did where the both of us got dressed in bland clothing before scouting out where Miss Audrey was. And thankfully they were in their cabin so it only took us about five minutes.

"You guys up to allow a couple of friends in?" I asked as I lightly patted Stacy's head. Ashton threw on a thinking expression before Audrey walked up behind him.

"You wanting to find out what I wanted to share with you?" She correctly guessed which I nodded at. "C'mon in."

And so we did. It was then did I realize the cabin was well lit and decently furnished. But it was still pretty barebones as it had only been their cabin for around a month so it wasn't a home just yet. On the far side of the cabin was their bed with a couple of nightstands and a lamp. There was a circular table with four chairs on the other side with a couple more chairs scattered about, a few lamps of different sizes littering the place, and then there was a minifridge. I guess that you don't really need much these days, just your very basic concepts of modern comfort.

"You can take a seat at the table. Ashton, can you give them something to drink?" Audrey asked as she made her way to the bed where the woman pulled out something I couldn't quite make out.

Stacy and I made our way to the table where the both of us scooted the chairs closer together first before sitting down. Ashton then placed four medium sized cups on the table along with a bottle of cider which happened to be Stacy's favorite alcohol.

"Is the cider and a deep conversation what you wanted me here for? Because I'd be down." I asked as Autumn made her way toward us before the woman placed a sizable blunt down on the table. "Oh. I didn't know those would be done today."

"Well, you're right. I just couldn't wait any longer and decided that today would be a good day to harvest one of the plants a little early for your special day." Audrey explained as she took a seat before Ashton sat down with us as well before they poured themselves a small drink.

"We're not gonna get drunk and high, are we?" I asked after pouring Stacy and I some cider before I wasted no time in drinking a small amount of it.

"Jesus, no. At least, I'm not. I'm here to supervise so I’ll be abstaining from both of those." Ashton explained as he took a small sip of his beverage.

"...I'm confused. What's happening?" Stacy innocently asked as she looked up at me who clearly wanted me to explain what her little mind had no knowledge of regarding marijuana.

"Wait, you two are fine with letting Stacy smoke?" I asked just a little surprised.

Audrey lightly chuckled. "Are you being serious?" She asked before becoming serious when she saw that I was indeed serious. "Oh. You are. That's only a bit surprisingly. Anyways, yes, we're completely fine with it. I think Stacy's mature enough to understand consequences and make conscious decisions... That and, y'know, she already drinks every now and then, has sex, and is married. A little smoke’s not gonna hurt anybody."

Stacy's face flushed after that but she slowly nodded with her assessment. "Yep, makes sense, just wanted to make sure." I simply replied.

"Not to mention that Audrey herself started smoking at... what was it, thirteen years old?" Ashton asked, getting a confirming nod from Audrey.

"I'm... still confused. What exactly is going on?" Stacy asked, her eyes shifting to Audrey.

Audrey picked the blunt up causing Stacy's gaze to shift to that instead. "This is the result of something I've been growing, marijuana. It's a substance you light on fire here and breath in through the other end. The effects it has on someone vary but they're all almost positive, the effects being stronger depending on how much you inhale. For tonight we're only gonna be smoking a very small amount since it won't take much to feel the effects." She explained as simply as she could.

"...Will breathing it in hurt?"

"It might if you breathe in a lot of it. As long as you limit yourself, it's the tamest drug one can take."

Stacy's face suddenly lost a bit of its color after that sentence which alarmed me. "Stacy? What's wrong, my love?"

"...A drug...?" She repeated like she'd get in trouble for saying the word.

"It's harmless if that's what you're scared of even if it might seem like it's not when you've had too much... Hey, don't worry, we're not forcing you to do this, it's your own choice." Audrey calmly explained as Stacy took a slow breath in.

"It's... I know, it's just..." She looked at me, stress clearly making itself known through her eyes. After a couple of seconds she quietly said, "I... my parents did things that they c-called... drugs..."

After she said that a few more things made sense and I wondered why she had never told me that her parents were drug addicts. I probably should've expected it and I probably should've asked her about more details about her past but I never wanted to deliberately put her in the mood of being frightened by her past.

I delicately put an arm around her and leaned her onto my chest. "There's no need to be upset, my love. They're not here and don't mean anything these days, they're nothing." I kissed her forehead. "Marijuana's a drug that was nothing like the ones your parents did, it makes people happy, mellow, and hungry, there's nothing to be afraid of, my dear...

"It does...?" She asked, getting a nod from me. "I... I'm afraid that... that it'll... make me be like them..."

I leaned back a tad and put a hand softly under her chin so she could look up at me. "Stacy, there's nothing on this planet that could ever turn you into a fraction of what those monsters were, you hear me?" I calmly explained. "You are way too lovely, nice, sweet, and so much more to let anything change that."

After a quick kiss on the tip of her nose she lightly smiled. "I love you..." She quietly whispered, a quiet whisper of my own being said to reciprocate her words. 

I thought it would've been a little awkward for the other couple in the room but they were out of my mind because Stacy's well-being was of dire importance. So I was a little surprising when I heard Audrey say, "You two are way too endearing for your own good."

I gently hugged Stacy and put my chin back on her head as I looked at Audrey. "Or you're just jealous."

She playfully rolled her eyes at that before moving the conversation along. "So... do you wanna do this another time?"

"Well... I'm unsure. Stace, do you wanna stay and not do it? Or go somewhere else?" I asked, not really sure what to say.

"I..." She lightly sighed as she looked at the blunt. "...You said it was fun? Plus all the other things you said..."

"I did. Even though I've only done it once before it was... an interesting experience but one I wanna do again in a small dose. And Audrey's very familiar with it so she can back me up when I say that it's fun and can actually be a cure to a lot of things."

Audrey did indeed back me up. Stacy eyed the blunt for a minute or so causing an internal debate to quickly occur within her mind before she came to a conclusion a dozen seconds later. "I... want to try it. But just a very small... amount."

"Same thing with me." I clarified, causing Audrey to look at the blunt that was a bit large for what was being planned.

"Let me get one of the smaller ones then." She said before she stood up where the woman swiftly retrieved the desired size of blunt. And as was previously stated, it was substantially smaller.

"You guys are fine with smoking in your cabin?" I asked with a tilt of my head, just a little surprised after Audrey explained what she was gonna do with the blunt.

They shrugged as Audrey took out a lighter and put the blunt between her lips. It didn't take her much longer to switch the lighter on and catch the end of the blunt alight before Audrey took a slow breath in for four or so seconds. She held the breath for a few more seconds before she slowly let it go causing the woman to start coughing a moment or two after her exhale ceased. She continued to cough a little harder which had next to no effect on how I reacted. But since Stacy was entirely new to all of this she looked a little worried.

"A-Are you alright?" She innocently asked with a hint of worry inside her tone.

"Ye-ah, this is nor-mal for how much I inha-led... I probably should've done a sma-aller hit but I got greedy."

"Oh..."

"We're not inhaling for that long, maybe for as long as a second or two." I said before an idea came to mind. "Hey Stace, want me to do the inhale and then exhale it into you?"

“Ah, a shotgun kiss.” Ashton simply commented.

She looked confused at that so I decided to show her preemptively. After wrapping my arm around her chest my other hand returned to her cheek to make her look up at me before my nose pressed against hers. "I'm gonna be doing this, as long as you want." I then pressed my lips against hers and slowly exhaled to show her and then explained to her to be breathing in as I exhaled, Stacy getting the idea and quickly practicing with me. "Alright. Are you sure you still wanna do this?"

She lightly nodded which was my cue to ask Audrey to hand the small blunt over. I gingerly took it out of her hands and then stared at it for a few silent seconds as my heartrate picking up just a tad. "Alright, get ready..." I said to Stacy causing the girl to shift just a tad as I put the blunt up to my lips.

When it was properly in between my lips I inhaled for a little more than two seconds with adequate force where I kept the smoke in my lungs for three or so seconds before I leaned down to exhale into Stacy's mouth who graciously inhaled everything that was inside my lungs. Doing the act felt quite intimate... I think I'll suggest doing that in our next cuddle session to at least try it out because why not.

I started coughing when my lips separated from my wife's before the girl followed my lead by keeping the smoke in her lungs for about three seconds before exhaling, her own little coughs ensuing. I handed the blunt back to Audrey who put it out so it wouldn’t go to waste.

"I guess this is where shit gets interesting, huh?" Ashton asked after he emptied his cup of cider.

"Hopefully not too interesting, I'm just here to have a little fun." I replied after drinking my remaining cider before my attention turned to my little angel. "Hey Stace, when you start feeling it don't freak out or stress, alright?" I advised as I took a hold of her hand that sported our ring. "Just always keep in mind that I'm here."

This was more of a warning for me to be honest since I was the one that directly took a hit from the blunt. But she nodded and rested her head on my chest again. Small talk ensued as we waited for the drug's effects to kick in which took a little longer than expected.

"So... have you treated Hunter to something special today, Stacy?" Audrey asked after she went silent for a little bit with a scary huge smile who was trying her hardest not to giggle like mad.

"Do you really wanna know the answer to that?" Stacy asked with a blushless face and a small smile. "Wait... Why are you asking me that? Woah..." She said as she looked around, the girl looking as if she was lost.

"There's gonna be so much mindless and random conversation to be had... I respect you for being the adult in the room, Ashton." I said as I started to feel the effects of the drug where everything started to feel much bigger than what they actually were.

"Wait, Audrey, don't ask me that, that's kind of weird, bro." Stacy funkily said which tipped Audrey over the edge to start laughing. "You laughin' over there... Hey, what's so funny?" Stacy's words started causing me to laugh, the girl really confused as to what was going on.

"Ashton, why don't you ever pick me up like them two over there?" Audrey asked after her laughing fit, Stacy having forgotten about it already.

"Well, they have it much easier since Stacy's really light." Ashton explained which made Audrey adopt a sad expression.

"Light, and, bright, and adorable, and beautiful." I mindlessly said as I looked down at Stacy.

"Aw~, you're so nice Hunter, I love you so~ much" Stacy said with a long and affectionate nuzzle.

"Are you calling me fat?" Audrey asked with a shiver in her voice.

"What? No, Audrey, look, look at Stacy, see?" Ashton said, Audrey taking a slow glance toward my Queen. "See how small she is? She's like ten pounds. And you see how huge Hunter is?"

"...Oh~ I get it, you're just weak! Well you better beef up!" Audrey said, any trace of sadness instantly leaving her mood.

Stacy giggled. "Hey, Hunter, she said beef!"

Talk like this continued for ten minutes, the conversation having no rhyme or reason as to what we were talking about. I'm surprised I really remember any of it since my thinker was, y'know, under the influence. But it was pretty fun solely for the purpose of our senses being bent in the way they were. It was definitely a couple of magnitudes more tame than the first time I got high, that's for sure. And having my little Stacy in my arms made the experience even better.

"Hunter~ she's gonna like... I dunno, fall out of her chair if you keep doing that." Audrey warned as I continued to kiss Stacy's face, Ashton having looked away since he didn't really want to see that.

"Are you gonna fall out of the chair?" I asked with genuine concern. It’s amusing how easy you can fool someone if they’re high.

"What? No, I'm fine, keep kissing me, you're making Audrey jealous."

"I'm not jealous, I would never want Hunter to kiss me."

"Keep it that way." Stacy nonchalantly said, causing me to giggle.

I wish I could write more of the experience down but I can't really make sense of everything else. I'm not sure if it's normal but I kind of forgot a lot of the experience just because that's an effect I had which kind of sucks. But I knew that it was all enjoyable and fun even if it was a bunch of nonsense. At least it was for most of an hour or so.

Stacy yawned as she sat on my lap, my wife having relocated some time during her trip. It was completely nonsexual since we were too high to care about that along with having had a really good fuck session not too long prior but Ashton still didn't really want us to do that. We said fuck him and promised not to do anything too inappropriate. But when the yawns started to pick up as we got ‘low’ the reality of how tired we were hit us.

I took a deep breath and stood up and held Stacy like a bride. "Uh... Do you guys want me to clean the cups or whatever?" I asked, still somewhat affected by the marijuana.

"Nah, I got it. This was definitely... a really interesting evening to put it mildly." Ashton replied as Stacy nuzzled the crook of my neck.

"Um... yeah. Hey, we're gonna go to sleep, okay? Goodnight." I bluntly stated before getting a laugh from Ashton.

"Have a goodnight you two."

It took a few minutes to get to our room, to undress, and hold each other close as Stacy trailed a hand up and down my side and dancing her fingers on my face. I kissed the tip of her nose and gingerly grabbed her hand to stop her from doing that after a couple of minutes before telling her it was time to go to sleep. "Okay." She simply replied before rolling over which was my cue to hold her tightly and take a light hold of a tit. One of her feet rubbed on one of my calves a few seconds later which indicated that she wanted my cock inside her slit yet again to complete the very intimate way in which we sleep.

It took me a little while to get hard enough to put inside her, the act also being difficult to do due to exhaustion and the small influence the marijuana still had on us. But when I successfully ported myself inside her we pretty much instantly went to sleep after enjoying the connection briefly, the amount of energy between us almost equating to zero.

And so that was my birthday. A day definitely very worth remembering and cherishing for many reasons. Though I barely acknowledged that I had turned a year older, it seems a bit redundant these days to be honest. I was just glad that I had a really fun time which was mainly engineered by my one and only flawless little wife.

Chapter 42: Complications, both past and present

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

The beginning of the next morning had Stacy and I silently and deeply looking into each other's eyes as one of my hands ran through her hair while she rested a hand on the side of my face. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that but it was probably more time than we should've spent but it was time well spent since getting lost in her mesmerizing eyes was one of the best ways to spend the morning. "Would you wanna get high again with me?" I asked, finally breaking the silence before a gentle barrage of kisses started on the tip of her nose.

"Uh... yeah, sure, it was... interesting and confusing but still fun. When is the next time we'll do that?" She asked as I kissed her forehead.

"A few days from now probably. Even though Audrey's growing quite a bit of marijuana I don't want to be a stoner, I want it to be something I can properly enjoy every once and a while. Smoking more than that just sounds unfun." I explained as I finished sprinkling kisses across her face before resting a hand on her side.

"That makes sense... I'm just a little scared that I might get addicted to something like that."

"If you think you're getting addicted to anything that could be viewed as bad then feel free to tell me." I calmly explained as I eskimo kissed her.

We didn't laze around for much longer before we got ready for the day ahead of us since the both of us wanted to get back to work because we had an off-day the day prior. She went to help out in the fields whereas I decided to figure out what was happening on the construction front. I quickly found out that two large projects were underway which were one of the cellars that Audrey planned and the clinic that Olivia had also planned.

The cellar seemed more important at the moment so I decided to meet up with the crew there to see how I'd be able to chip in. It turned out that I had to help them dig out where the cellar was going to be which is as hard as it sounds. The reason why it had to be a cellar is because building something in the ground provides natural cooling and insulation. All that we needed to do was carve out how big the cellar was going to be and then apply the building materials we'd want to use for the ceiling, walls, and floor.

The plan that Audrey and Etsu had made was quite intricate. The floor would have to have two layers of different types of gravel with bricks being the floor. That makes the entire floor a drain which would work naturally because the cellar was positioned into a decently sized slope. A primitive ventilation system was also planned but we'd get to that later.

Audrey didn't have all of the materials the cellar needed then but she knew where to find it all since Ashton's scavenging missions were pretty successful in finding not only towns and areas where signs would be planted but also where to find such building materials. Anyways, that's not what we focused on since we had to dig out soil which was pretty dreadful.

Ashton showed us how to properly use pickaxes and shovels since he was familiar with the concepts and it was pretty straightforward, the man having set up a a small excavation site in the process. On the third hour of putting work into smashing soil up and loosening it, I was pretty sweaty and my arms were pretty tired, the others feeling the same but we knew that we had to push through the labour so our harvest wouldn't wither away by the next harvest.

The cellar was pretty large and quite ambitious since the size of it was planned to be similar to the mansion's dining and living room combined with the building being four meters deep into the ground. It made sense since there was a fuck ton of harvest on the horizon and getting closer to our grasp every day that passed. It just meant there were many, many hours of backbreaking labour ahead of us all.

The work was going well for a while but a fairly large hiccup occurred when I got my pickaxe stuck in the soil of the dirt wall. I pulled and yanked it not wanting to smartly pull it out because I was persistent. Damn roots were so annoying to break through but we managed throughout the project. But in this instance when I successfully pulled the pickaxe through the dirt wall I pulled it out from the side at an angle that made me stumble back because I wasn't really expecting it to break that easily.

This had the unintended consequence of stumbling back into someone causing them to stumble back as well causing the person to trip in the process. I turned around as quickly as possible to see who it was as I tried apologizing to them where I saw that it was Elliot who was picking themselves up, the man giving me a somewhat angered expression.

"You did that on purpose." He claimed when he stood back up to full height brushing some of the dirt off of him.

"No I didn't I-" He took a step forward and shoved me, my body not ready for the sudden movement so I once again stumbled back, thankfully into nobody. But the shove made my heart sink and adrenaline to flush into my veins where pure instinct almost took control of what I did. But I didn't let it. "Dude, what the fuck?"

"It's only fair." He pretentiously replied after I took a step forward.

"Hey, can you two stop?" I heard Kostas ask but it went unacknowledged.

"No, everything you've said is unjust and frankly, quite stupid. I'm not gonna quietly take your dickishness because I'm not afraid of you as I'm technically your boss. Now, stop being an asshole, acknowledge that it was an accident, and move on. Stop being childish." I calmly explained and simply told him the truth.

"If that's true then you're clumsy and shouldn't be here as you're a liability and news flash, I'm not afraid of you either. Just because you're tall doesn't mean you know how to fight, I could easily floor your ass."

"Stop being childish." I repeated and advised retaining my calm tone.

"It's funny that you say that since you're the kid."

I took a deep but quiet breath. "I'm not gonna feed your toxic attitude by uselessly arguing with you. Either get back to work or fuck off." I bluntly said as I picked the pickaxe I was using back up.

"Guys, can you two calm the fuck down-." I heard Ashton call out before I felt an abrupt blunt force hit the side of my neck causing me to stumble once again.

That's when I saw red as an immense amount of anger emerged and flowed through my veins after I let go of the pickaxe again. I quickly turned around as I took a step back where my instinctual self tried to determine the best course of action to deal with my attacker, the PTSD of when I had to kill swinging in full force. When he took a step forward he looked to be in a stance ready to skirmish but I took it as that he was charging at me so I preemptively charged at him readying my fist for it to land on the side of his face.

He surprisingly dodged by ducking before swiftly punching me in the gut which hurt quite a bit. But it wasn't a complete loss since my other fist came up and successfully uppercutted him which is when our time to fight ran out since Ashton forced us apart as Kostas took a hold of my shoulder to make me get away from my aggressor.

When Kostas grabbed my shoulder I turned and almost attacked him before I realized that he was a friend causing my instinctual self to leave me as I properly processed what had happened before the pain of Elliot's punches truly made itself known. Ashton kept Elliot back which forced him to calm the fuck down but my anger was still being facially expressed.

After a few seconds I put a hand on my stomach. "You work in the farms from now on until I feel like taking you off that duty. You're on a thin line of making me choose something drastic so you better tread lightly. Don't get near me and don't say anything or face greater consequences." I told Elliot in a low and ominous tone before I turned around and made my way out from the inside of the hill.

Kostas followed me as I made my way. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just need to check myself." I calmly said. "Continue where we left off, I might come back in half an hour or so."

"Yes sir." He respectfully replied before dealing with the situation I left behind.

"That goes for all of you." I simply said to the rest since some of them were glancing at me as I walked by. They got the message.

A few minutes later I made my way to the mansion's bathroom to look myself over in the mirror where I saw that a sizable bruise was swiftly forming on the side of my neck. As I tenderly draped a couple of my fingers on the spot I was thankful he decided not to become a member and at that moment I decided to suspend the possibility of him becoming one indefinitely. He'd need to build his trust back up.

Ten minutes later Phoenix and Autumn returned from a fishing trip so I asked them to meet them by their cabin when they could, the couple thinking they were in trouble at first. I always found it funny when couples did that since it makes me think 'okay, where did you two riskily have sex?'. Why is that the first thing I think of? Because I'm a little bit of a pervert.

Anyways, another ten minutes shot by before the desired couple met me by the stairs to their cabin. "What's going on?" Phoenix asked after I stood up.

I showed them the bruise causing Autumn to lightly gasp at it. Afterwards I then told them the story of what recently conspired. Then I told them what I decided about Elliot. "Drill the message into his thick skull and don't let him argue. If he doesn't want to comply then he leaves. Completely."

It seemed a little drastic but Elliot's an ass. It might even be a positive thing to lose someone like that, I'm not too sure. Phoenix slowly nodded his head. "Alright, we understand and we'll tell him. I apologize on his behalf, if that means anything."

I shrugged. "Not your fault and I'd need to hear it from his mouth for it to mean anything. Keep on growin' that baby, Autumn."

With that being said I departed from them and radioed to the building team that I'd be taking a proper break since I was just about to go ahead and do that before the scuffle happened. So to take a break I didn't want to do anything besides laying in bed and pretend to be asleep since that's what I wanted to do. But I was responsible enough not to go to sleep as much as I wanted to. At that time I wondered where Stacy was.

That reminded me that I could use the camera and look at the photo I took of her beautiful naked self so I did just that by swiftly finding the camera and turning it on before the desired photo was put on the screen so I could admire her. It was the photo where she was in a flawless position as she peacefully and gracefully slept. I intently looked at it for about ten minutes and just admired every single little detail of her person which caused my phallus getting a tad hard when I focused a little more attention on her little clit that I could barely see.

It didn't take me much longer to pull up the photos of her from the day prior when she was all dressed up and both of the close-up pictures of her somewhat used and then creampie'd pussy which fully turned me on. I stared at her cum-dripping slit for a few minutes before going back to the innocent picture of her. I really wanted to kiss her at that point.

It's like reality listened to me and gave me what I desired since Stacy walked into the room a few seconds later. She was carrying a couple small containers of naturally made paint as the girl had learned how to make her own from the book I gave her, the girl being slightly surprised when she saw that I was on the bed. "Oh! Hi!"

"Hello, my love." I replied as I put my legs over the side of the bed and sat up as my erection quickly faded. Suddenly Stacy sharply gasped and ran to her desk to put the containers down before swiftly taking a spot at my side.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She asked with pure care in her voice.

"Don't touch it." I swiftly said before one of her caring hands could contact the injured skin. I kissed her forehead since I used a tone that she didn't know how to feel about. I explained to her how tender the spot was.

"How did this happen?" She asked again as she wrapped her arms around me. I let go of the camera since it was securely on my lap and explained the fight to her. "I... I..." She replied as anger, fear, and sadness switched positions in the tone of her voice since the girl didn't know how to feel. "He... hurt you..."

"Just a bit. But I'm fine and this'll go away in a few days, the pain's not a problem. It's the person that caused it that is... But I think I've already solved that problem so you don't have anything to worry about, my little Queen." I replied before ending it by deftly booping her nose with my index finger.

She nuzzled my chest afterward since she didn't know how to reply after that. I put my nose in her hair so I could slowly smell her and realizing how happy it made me that I was in the arms of such a lovely, caring, and magnificent person. When she stopped nuzzling me she turned her head to look at the camera on my lap. "What're you doing with the camera?"

"Just admiring the most beautiful person alive." I simply replied, my wife looking up at me.

"...Our sex videos?" She asked with a blush.

"No, just a couple of pictures. Especially this one." I said while opening the camera again revealing the innocent one.

"When did... you take this one?" She asked as she gently took the camera out of my hands so she could get a closer look of herself.

I forgot that I hadn't told her I took a picture of her like that so I quickly answered her question. "Is it alright that I did this?"

She slowly nodded as she intently looked at herself. "I... I really like how I look here."

I kissed the top of her head. "Well like I said, you are the most beautiful woman on the planet..."

She looked up at me again with a shy and flattered smile. "You're so nice..." One of her hands went up to my neck, her fingers landing on my bruise causing me to jump from the sudden wave of pain. "Sorry! I forgot!"

I chuckled as I softly grasped her hand that she quickly pulled away and pressed my forehead against hers. "It's alright, I understand." After assuring her we softly pressed our lips against each other as I gingerly placed a hand on her cheek. When it broke a few minutes later I said, "You should take a picture of yourself every now and then to capture your beauty, I need more photos like that to look at."

She lightly giggled and set the camera to the side. "Sure... After I figure out how to do that." She looked up at me as her eyes glanced at my bruise. "...Hey, the... the fight. It wasn't your first one." She said as her mood abruptly turned serious.

I nodded. "Yes, unfortunately..."

She twiddled her fingers and glanced away. "I'm your wife, right? I can ask you anything?"

I lightly chuckled. "Of course, I didn't want you to be my wife if we couldn't be respectful, understanding, and transparent, plus a lot more to each other."

She lightly sighed. "Your first fight... When you... killed someone," My heart dropped when she said that, knowing where the conversation was headed. "...I've never asked because, y'know, you did that. I don't blame you, I know you had to do it... May I ask what exactly happened that day?"

It was my turn to lightly sigh. "It..." I trailed off as I thought about how I should tell the tale. I stood up and took her hand before quickly leading her to the window bay where we got into our snuggle spot, the girl in between my legs leaning back onto me. With a hand slowly sifting through her hair, my other arm wrapped around her abdomen, and my chin on her head I started to tell her the story of when I had to kill someone so I could continue living.


The sun was setting, dusk, the barren city devoid of any human life as a chilly breeze blew over me while I thought about where I'd settle down for the night. I had been walking the highway for a long time yet I've seen no people up to that point during my journey even though I have long left Illinois and migrated into the center of Indiana into the massive city and empty city of Indianapolis. But like every other city and town I saw up to that point it was silent, still, dead, and decaying.

As I peered at a white and two story house with a large yard wondering if I'd settle down there, I heard a type of rustling behind a blue sedan that belonged to the deceased owners of the house. Being alarmed just a tad I thought that it might've been a squirrel or a rabbit which was something I marked as to be left alone. But when the strange sound of the rustling continued I knew it was something out of the ordinary.

I quietly made my way over to the vehicle that was ten or so meters away from me with my hand on the handle to my dagger just so I'd be prepared for whatever animal it was since I didn't want to be bitten by a rabid animal as it'd be certain death. I made sure to get low as I got closer to the vehicle as I made my way to one of the tires so I could get on my knees and look under the car.

When I did that I wasn't expecting another person to be looking back where the both of us made eye contact for a split second before they stood up and screamed, "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND I'M NOT GIVING IT TO YOU!"

My heart was beating out of my chest, it was another person! I finally knew that I wasn't the last person on Earth! But why are they screaming at me like they know who I am? As I swiftly got back on my feet I said, "Hey, I'm not-."

They charged their way from around the car and sprinted toward me while they wielded something I couldn't quite make out. My instinctual self engaged the fight or flight instinct so I was able to dodge their charge, the small (relative to me) white guy turning around as he readied the gnarly looking sickle in one of his hands. He gave me a deranged look as he slowly walked toward me forcing me to walk back.

"P-Please don't do this, I haven't seen another person in... since this whole thing happened, please, I'm not someone who wants any trouble." I tried explaining but my fear was making itself known through my stammers.

"You..." He trailed off as the man minutely unreadied the sickle. But all progress was lost when he readied it again. "You lie! I can't trust you! You're evil!"

"No, I'm not, I-". I tried explaining but he charged me again where the man surprisingly closed the distance between us much faster than I expected.

By the time I pulled out my dagger it was already too late while my feet failed me causing the top blade of the sickle to deeply cut into my temple where the blade was unrelenting in its journey down the side of my face. The blade almost completely cut into my cheek and halfway across my jaw. It was so quick that the pain didn't register as I lifted my dagger up while my other arm wrapping around my aggressor before my dagger swiftly came back down with as much force as I could muster and pierced the top of his head which instantly killed the crazed man.

The whole scene happened in around a second, it was extremely fast. After my knife was planted well into his skull his body collapsed on me which took me down with him causing the both of us to hit the pavement another second later. I felt a large amount of blood squirt and leak from the side of my face as the first stage of pain started making itself known, the shock of the situation keeping me paralyzed under the newly made carcass for a few seconds.

When I realized what had happened I pouted in pain as I pushed the heavy and dead body off me before my hand went up to the side of my face as I got on my knees. After feeling how much blood I was losing and seeing how much had dripped onto the pavement I got to my feet and unslung my backpack before darting my way toward the door to the house leaving a trail of blood behind me.

"Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck!" I said as the pain started to pick up in volume but I didn't care since I knew I was going to die if I didn't stop the bleeding.

When I made my way to the door I didn't even try to open it since I quickly determined that it was one of the more fragile doors so I slammed my body into it as hard as I could which broke it open. After making my way inside I continued running as I took out a flashlight and turned it on, quickly trying to find a bathroom I could stitch myself up in. It took a few seconds longer than I would've liked but when I did I set the flashlight up in a way so it'd be directed toward the ceiling illuminating the whole room before my hands practically threw out my medical supplies from my backpack as I located where the medicine cabinet was.

After quickly throwing all of my medical supplies in the sink I applied a cloth to the wound to clean up some of the blood but it just kept oozing out. After deftly damping a large portion of another cloth in peroxide I forced myself to clean the wound where I screamed from the pain but I pushed through it since I knew that it was just the beginning to the operation.

After knowing it was clean I put together the stitching tools required and wasted no time in starting to stitch my face shut where the needle passed through my skin like butter. The pain was unreal but I was driven by instinct which was the something that told me if I didn't do this that I would die.

It was sloppy, very sloppy. But after ten minutes of closing the parts where I was profusely bleeding I forced myself to close the rest which was extraordinarily difficult to do. I was still lightly bleeding in a few places along the seam of the stitch but it was reasonably contained. It didn't take long for the weakness of losing so much blood to finally start hitting me. I looked down in the sink to see my drenched in blood medical supplies.

I took a couple steps back and rested against the door before slowly sliding down so I could sit down before my hand went to my backpack so I could get out some gauze. When I applied gauze and pressure to my wound the reality of the situation hit me. I started crying from the pain and how I murdered someone in this cold, lonely, and dead world.

Since I was able to actually properly process the event, the feeling of how my dagger entered the skull of another human… I’m not able to put it into words. Neither can I describe the feeling of ending one’s life prematurely.

I wondered if everyone alive was like that person. I wondered if I'd ever have a friend again. And that's when my fear of people swiftly formed. The pain from the wound was immense and came in several different ways. The wound took a few days to heal up a bit so I could get back on the road which was a very painful healing process. The wound then took another two months to heal completely which left a bright and indented scar where it once stood...


I of course told my wife the story in a more simple way but I've always kind of wanted to write that experience down to tell others in a story-like fashion whenever I get around to being fine with telling it, if that time ever comes...

She looked up at me giving me where she gave me empathetic eyes before the girl placed one of her hands on my scar which was on the other side of my face of the bruise. "I... I wish you didn't have to go through that... I'm so sorry this happened to you."

I softly kissed the tip of her nose after I realized the somber expression I instinctively had on my face. "I wish I didn't have to either but it's what happened... I know that they were crazy and lost their mind but... I still can't help but feel bad about what I did. I know it was self-defense... It's hard to explain."

"I get it and I believe everything you've said about it. You're not a bad person for doing it, just keep that in mind that you had to do it and that you're the best person that's ever been in my life."

Her words always had a large amount of merit so that actually made me feel better about my past even if it was just a tiny bit. I sighed. "It's something that'll probably always be the same, how I think about it. The only good thing that resulted in it was... Well, you. And then everything you helped cause."

She tilted her head. "How?"

"If I didn't get my fear of people I probably would've spoken to the others I stumbled into before you... Sure, it was only four or so but I could've become friends with them, made a different right or left turn, and our paths never would've crossed... You... you probably would've died in that cabin if I was never afraid of people. I'm so glad you warmed my heart up just enough to make me want to travel with you..."

She tenderly held my hand that was on her belly as she thought about what I said. "That... I hate that thought, if you never found me. Do... do you think you would've fallen in love with someone else if you talked to them?"

"I also hate the thought of that." I immediately replied. "In our world, our universe, I fell in love with you, the right person, the perfect little person. That's all that matters, not the possibilities that could've been us. Let's just be happy that reality resulted in us because that's the happiest reality, okay?"

She nodded with a small smile after I kissed the top of her head. She looked up at me. "I love you so much..."

I kissed her forehead before leaning down a bit so I could kiss her lips. "I love you too, my beautiful wife..." After another giggle we went silent for a few comfortable minutes so she could process the information as I held her close. Until I broke the silence with a question of my own. "Hey, Stace?" I instantly got her attention. "Since you asked me a very sore question, may I ask you one?" She timidly nodded. "I've been thinking about this every now and then and I always forget to ask you when I have the chance. A while ago… a long while ago, you talked about being bullied. May I ask about that?"

She took a calm and deep breath. "That's almost nothing compared to what you went through..."

My hand in her hair started to sift through it again. "If it's something that haunts you then it doesn’t matter how small it is since you're still my little Stacy and always will be which means you're free to share all of your emotional baggage with me."

"They uh... it..." I put my lips on the top of her head and gave her light kisses every few seconds to help her through answering my question. She sighed, presumably clearing her mind before professionally answering my question. "Almost the entire time I was in school I... was made fun of, laughed at, things were thrown at me, I was pushed... I was even beat up once... And a lot more."

Her voice was quiet and extremely fragile. Even though she just started her tale my heart already ached for her. And even the thought of anyone harming Stacy was enough to fill me with rage. "That's... worse than what I went through, I'm sure that was a multi-year long thing." I quietly replied.

"I... I was used to it though. I was used to... to being treated like nothing, not being wanted, not-." A little cry emitted from her, her hand with our ring covering her eyes as she sadly sniffled.

"Sh~, you don't have to continue if you want." I lovingly said as I nuzzled her neck as my arm around her abdomen held her a tad tighter.

But she continued nonetheless as her tears slowly dripped down her cheeks. "S-Since I had no friends, was silent, and my parents didn't care about me... I didn't say anything to anyone, I didn't know if help existed since I thought that everyone hated me and believed everything they called me, that I was just a stupid and worthless mistake that was worse than... than garbage. Being hurt at school was almost an everyday thing but I preferred it there... Because then my parents didn't have a chance to hurt me..."

Both of my arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. Right before I said anything she continued venting to me. "D-Do you wanna know why I was named Stacy?" I gently hummed for her to go on. "B-Because it was the most b-bland name my parents could think of, they didn't even want to think about what my name should've been."

She continued quietly crying as I gingerly nuzzled the back of her head. "Your name is beautiful, Stacy, don't even worry about that... Your name stands for you." I briefly reminded her of how amazing she is in so many categories. "They got what was coming to them. Those monsters, all of them, were scum of the Earth, too stupid to realize that your value is worth more than any valuable you could ever find and the complete opposite of everything they claimed you to be. I hope they've somehow suffered through and paid for what they put you through. Like I've said so many times, you're my amazing, talented, little adorable Queen... I'd do absolutely everything I could ever do just to keep you with me by my side since there's nothing I would ever want more... You hear me?" I calmly asked, the girl nodding trying to cease the tears from escaping her eyes. "I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that, you deserve only happiness..."

After a minute she wiped her tears away and surprisingly lightly smiled up at me. "It's... it's in the past and something that I want to forget. Thankfully it all doesn't even matter because I have you... I'm so happy that I have you, that you make me happy, and so, so much more. I love waking up with you every morning, remembering that... that all of this is real. I love you so much."

I intently looked her in the eyes. "You experienced a very traumatic childhood, it's not something that doesn't matter. You can try to suppress it but that's not how you deal with it, okay? If you ever feel the want or need to talk about it all I will always be here to help you through it, okay?" She slowly nodded as we continued deeply gazing into each other's irises. A deep, slow, and passionate kiss that conveyed my care for her ensued which halted the conversation since the both of us only wanted to focus on the other's lips for a long while. And so we did that, it was extremely sweet as usual. Though I did think about what she said, how much worse can her past be?

Even though we were committed to each other for as long as we live I was still trying to figure out what she's gone through. I think I've got most of the major pieces discovered but there's still a lot of gaps but that's fine since I'm never gonna force her to reveal anything, I'm fairly certain that she's got a type of PTSD regarding her past.

The thought of her father possibly... possibly sexually abusing her made its way into my mind during the kiss. But I thought the possibility of that having happened was extremely unlikely since she had two parents (so unless her mother was fine with something like that, which I highly doubt, that didn't happen, unless he was ‘sneaky’?) 

She was also very sexually innocent when we met and considering what our first time having sex was like just assured me that something like that didn't happen... Her father touching her might've happened but wouldn't she have given me a hint about that by now? I'm not sure. I didn't ask because I didn't want to ruin the feeling of happiness we were experiencing.

In the kiss I also thought about how unwanted she was by her parents and how her mother would call her a curse disguised as a blessing... Did they try to abort her? Was it illegal where they were? Too dangerous or expensive? I'm not sure and she wouldn't be able to answer the question. It's a strange thought and one I hated. What if she was aborted? None of this would've ever happened...

I only thought about that for half a minute before I forgot about it by relishing in the fact that she was in my arms, my wife, and my undying companion. Though I did think about how she turned out after her childhood, how she ended up as a beautiful, talented, sweethearted, ambitious, bubbly girl. How she managed to retain and be (since she's a mix of two monsters, sounds bad but it’s true) her natural state of being utterly spectacular is... it shows me just how amazing and defiant she truly is. When the kiss broke we continued nuzzling each other for a few minutes and let a silence emerge between us as our foreheads rested against one another.

After a long while I kissed the tip of her nose as my hands slowly slipped under her shirt so I could drape my hands up her belly to gingerly grasp her tits. I kissed her forehead and then steadily eskimo kissed her for a few seconds before my lips kissed her cheek as well. I delicately pressed my nose into the crook of her neck to smell the lovely scent of her skin, the smell light but extremely enjoyable.

"I love it so much when you do this..." Stacy quietly whispered as the hands on her breasts leisurely fondled them. "Your gentle touches, kisses, nuzzles, tight cuddle... They make me feel so loved, wanted, safe, and... at peace."

I lightly kissed her neck. "I hope it stays like that for a very long time... I'm sure I've said this so many times but being able to do all of this to you makes me feel all of that too."

"I don't know why I'd ever want this to stop... It's the best feeling ever."

After another kiss on the neck I continued slowly nuzzling her and steadily massaging her tits. A minute later she properly crisscrossed her legs so they could be spread open since my touches were starting to cause a bit of lust to emerge within her mind. After a few minutes I remembered that I wanted to try something a bit odd. "Stace?" I asked, instantly getting her attention yet again. "This is a bit weird to ask but do you wanna do that breathing thing we did yesterday? It's something I've really been wanting to do."

"...Like breathing each other's breath?" She asked, just a little puzzled.

"I think it would be... intimate in a way."

She lightly grinned. "You know what? Sure, that sounds... interesting."

I stopped pressing into her neck and nuzzled her cheek with my own as I explained how we should go about the act. After I did I firmly pressed my lips on hers again, still breathing through my nose, where one of her hands went under my chin to make sure she'd stay in the kiss. We lowered our rate of breath which further calmed us down. I slowly exhaled into her mouth where the girl inhaled just as steadily which began the process of intimately breathing each other's breath. The breathing stayed slow and intimate, our breath going from one to the other like a pendulum.

We weren't suffocating because we were both breathing through our nose and mouth at the same time so there was a constant source of fresh air, half of what we were breathing being our mixed breath with fresh air. It was honestly quite nice even if it was quite peculiar but it was intimate indeed. It was only made nicer as I delicately massaged her breasts.

She had closed her eyes so she could focus on her breathing and the massage so I took that as my cue to do it as well where the both of us just enjoyed the other's touch and breath flow through one another. A few minutes passed before she wanted her tongue to rub against mine which I instantly complied to, the appendages' rubbing staying slow and intimate. We continued this for another ten minutes before our lips separated, a new intimate experience being unlocked.

"That felt pretty nice... Can we do that some more every now and then?" She asked with a bit of hope in her tone.

"Yes, of course."

We only stayed there for a few more minutes before we got up to get some work done even though I kind of wanted to continue holding her. But I always want to do that, it's extremely addictive for so many reasons. Instead of doing that I made my way back to where the cellar was being made since I was all rested up though my neck did hurt considerably more. I pushed through that and threw another three hours into helping the building team excavate a fuck ton more dirt out of where a cellar will one day house a very large amount of food.

By the end of those three hours we barely made a dent in how much in total there was to dig out since it was fifteen feet deep and about twenty wide, it was a pretty large cellar and starting to look like a proper quarry. It was gonna be extremely difficult to make the proper flooring, walls, and roof of it but it was going to be worth it. I hope that we can get it done in time as this project was gonna be a long one.

Later that day I radioed to Phoenix, Autumn, Raiden, and Kostas to meet me in the dining room where I told the newest members that I had a somewhat important discussion to have with them. Kostas was the first one there so I informed him that I was gonna give the three incoming members a handgun of their choosing. He nodded and understood that I wanted him to teach them how to properly handle that type of weapon.

"Elliot didn't cause any more trouble, did he?" Autumn asked when she walked her way into the room with her significant other trailing behind her.

"Oh, no, nothing like that thankfully." I replied which extinguished the slightly worried expressions on their faces. A few seconds later Raiden entered the room which was my cue to get the conversation rolling. "Since you're now members of Solaris and now uphold its laws and are good friends, it's time that I grant you a means to defend everyone as a whole. But I need to ask you if you'd be interested in obtaining that power first and foremost."

Raiden tilted her head. "What means of defense?" I quickly explained to her about all the spare guns we had. "Oh. Yeah, I'd be interested. Need to learn how to use it though."

I nodded. "Kostas here will help you with that since he's quite familiar with guns. He's the one that taught us all basic safety procedures regarding the tools. What about you two?"

"This is... an unexpected notice. I'm not sure, things like that kind of scare me." Autumn revealed. "Uh... can we talk about it?" She asked, referring to herself and Phoenix. I nodded, the couple not messing around and going to the corner of the room to quietly discuss the decision.

"If I can shoot it, where do you think I can practice with it?" Raiden simply asked.

"Since we want to never shoot in the vicinity of Solaris as long as it can be helped, Trinity set up a small shooting range at the mall we all met up at a few weeks ago. So if you want to practice with a gun today I'm sure we can quickly arrange a gun appointment."

"Uh-huh... Well, I'd like to do that."

"If Autumn and/or Phoenix decide to have a gun as well then we can go ahead and make our way over there so y'all can get a handle of them for a couple hours or so. It's not like Kostas minds going over there to teach you how to work a gun, right my guy?" I asked, glancing over to the man in question.

"Well, this was kind of unexpected and I might have to postpone a couple of things..."

"Like I said, he doesn't mind." I said which caused Raiden to lightly giggle. It didn't take much longer for Phoenix and Autumn to shimmy their way back to us so they could reveal the conclusion they came to.

"We'd both like to have our own." Phoenix simply announced.

"But I will say that I most likely will never have it on me let alone use it. It'll be there for a last resort type of thing." Autumn added on.

I nodded. "Fair desire. Would you two like to go practice with them for a little while? Might as well get that out of the way as soon as possible to start getting a feel for it."

They were fine with the idea so I then led them to the cellar, unlocked it, and made my way down where my three unarmed comrades shortly followed me down. I glanced over the shelves that were less than half stocked as I made my way to the far side of the cellar where we stored the guns and ammo in a few cardboard boxes.

Phoenix picked up one of the assault rifles. "Think I could have this one as my pick?" I gave him a look that conveyed all the information that he needed to take the hint. He put it back down. "Right..."

It didn't take them long to pick out a single handgun. The safety on the weapons were turned on to immediately avoid any possible lethal accidents. After that we made our way back up which was enough time for Kostas to sort out whatever he had to postpone so we didn't slack any more than we needed to and got the show on the road. Well, right after I made my way to the porch where I found my little Stacy. Wanting to notify her about where I was going I surprised her by picking her up like a bride and deeply kissing her.

She was shocked for a couple of seconds before kissing back for a few moments. As the others made their way to the car I briefly explained what I was about to do elsewhere. "Please be careful..." She sweetly asked.

"We have Kostas to make sure everything goes well, what's the worst that could happen?" ...I confidently replied.

After another kiss I set her down and made my way to the shotgun seat of the car since Kostas volunteered to drive us down to our makeshift shooting range. A couple of minutes after we started our journey to the mall, Kostas immediately started talking about how aware, responsible, and serious one should be when owning a gun, to never have the safety off when one doesn't intend to use it, not to put your finger on the trigger before you're sure you know you're gonna use it. Pretty basic stuff like that but laying down the proper rules, even if a bit obvious, is always a good first step one can do.

Once parked by the doors to the mall we got out where Kostas' lesson truly began a couple of minutes later after he took the gun that Phoenix chose out of his hands. Since I was already well aware of how to use a firearm I wanted to check if the radio within the mall was still operational so I shimmied my way over there before picking the mic up as soon as I reached it. "Hello Solaris, this is Mother Bird, is this thing still operational?"

A feeling of being watched emerged in my mind which was a feeling I hadn't felt in quite a while but I swept it under the rug since I was thinking it was just my mind playing games on me. I sighed since my mind hadn't done anything like that for a while but I was distracted when a voice replied a few seconds later. "Did you just say mother bird?"

"Figured it'd be more interesting than my actual name." I replied to Willow with a shrug that went unseen.

"That's not hard to beat, to be fair." She replied, a smirk most likely on her lips.

I didn't really know what to say to that so after a couple seconds I simply said, "Get back to work, Willow." After she scoffed I hung the mic back up before jumping a bit when I heard a shot go off. I instantly assumed that Kostas was showing them how to shoot so I wasn't worried. However, what did worry me was when I saw a dark humanoid figure in one of the hallways that branched off to the side. It was quite a bit away so I wasn't able to make out the features of the figure since it was too dark but it stayed there as my heart pounded in fear.

"What are you?" I asked loudly, knowing that the figure was no human. "What do you want? Why are you following me? Are you here to hurt me?"

The silence was extremely unsettling. I only became more unsettled when the figure started to slowly drift into one of the abandoned stores, the thing exiting my sight. When I thought I heard a very quiet chuckle I noped the fuck out of there as the feeling of my skin crawling infiltrated my mind. Even though I was sprinting toward the exit I couldn't have made it out faster. The sun's rays felt extremely magnificent when I exited the building.

"What's wrong, Hunter?" Raiden asked as I lightly panted after the quick sprint.

"Uh... Nothing. How's everything gettin' along here?" I asked after I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, just wanting to move on from that experience. But I'm definitely extremely afraid of going into the mall alone now.

Things were going just fine as Kostas taught them a few more things. When another ten minutes passed, Phoenix took his gun back so he could test his aim on one of the panels of wood twenty or so meters away. They were kind of small so they were mass produced where a considerable amount of fresh targets were located just inside by the mall's first store. They also had a very simple target painted on them. 

I realize the targets weren't that practical considering Trinity and her workers need to focus on other important things which is why people barely practice shooting as it is. But it seemed fairly important for people holding a weapon of their own to know at least the bare minimum about the gun and get a feel for it so they know what to expect and all that. It only took a couple weeks for those who have a gun to become adept at using a gun. It used up a couple hundred bullets though so it was a heavy investment but I was fine with that since my people now know how to effectively defend Solaris if they ever need to. It helped soothe my mind about defense.

Anyways, after Kostas summarized the lesson about how to hold a gun and how to position your arms with all the safety procedures, he asked which one of them wanted to take a shot first. It didn't take long for Raiden to step up to the plate and get into position where Kostas was before the woman turned the safety off and quickly enacted upon what was taught by Kostas. I'll never be able to get used to the boom of a gun. Even when you expect it, it's unexpected so I couldn't help but flinch after she shot the gun.

"That was pretty good for a first shot." Kostas complimented as we all took a look at the target.

It was on the third ring of the target so fairly far off from the bullseye. But at least she actually shot the wood unlike my first shot who took more than two times to actually hit one of the damn things. After the quick evaluation of her shot she took another minute to get ready to shoot again.

She did so for another five minutes who incrementally got closer and closer to the bullseye but only bit by bit, the girl trying to improve her aim as fast as possible. "This really gets uncomfortable for the wrists after a while." She said as she flipped the safety back on before putting it in her makeshift holster.

Kostas nodded. "For beginners. You get used to it. Which one of you two want to shoot now?"

Phoenix was next, who wasn't that unfamiliar with the task at all. After a couple shots he got pretty close to the bullseye before he felt comfortable enough that he was still able to handle a gun. When his turn was up it was Autumn's turn to step up and try her hand at the weapon.

When I saw the visible nervousness a small feeling of my own nervousness appeared within me. That should've been my sign to call the practice session off. But I foolishly ignored what my gut was telling me.

After Phoenix told her a few assuring words that I forgot, she seemed a little more calm. Though when she readied her gun I couldn't help but note a smaller shiver that the gun had right before she pulled the trigger. It was then that time literally slowed down.

In slow motion I saw the gun leave her weak hands since the woman wasn't prepared for the immense jolt that shooting a gun produces. As I watched it fall to the ground I realized that I was in slow-mode. I didn't have time to enjoy the different rate of time I was experiencing since the gun hit the ground which had the unwanted intention of it firing yet again where the barrel of the gun happened to be pointing directly at my face.

I moved my head out of the way the instant I processed what had happened as the thought of maybe already being dead hitting me and thinking that maybe time had slowed down since this was my final moment.

It definitely felt like that when I felt the searing hot bullet tear across the side of my head.

Chapter 43: While I'm recovering I might as well learn, right?

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

Seemingly as fast as time slowed down it returned back to its normal rate. But at the same time it seemed quite fast since the side of my face had just been severely wounded yet again.

Not the side of my face with the sickle-scar but the other side where the bullet grazed my temple which was less than a centimeter away from my eye where it continued grazing through my skin like butter and through the tip of my ear. At least that's what I came to the conclusion to since after the very sharp feeling of pain a great burning sensation replaced it as I felt my blood escape me and start dripping down the side of my face.

Well, at least the blood started exiting me after I fell to the ground due to the shock of the situation of experiencing time slow down and how my life yet again almost came to an abrupt end. A deep feeling of dread, anxiety, and fear entered my gut as I leaned up to see my friends anxiously talking to each other as one of them sprinted to my side.

I wasn't processing what they said, not even when they were asking me things, I just ignored them as I continued processing the situation as I looked ahead toward the parking lot with abandoned vehicles. My heart rate was very elevated, I’m sure I must've been pale, and I had trouble breathing while my PTSD from having to kill someone having been triggered.

The strangest thing about this situation is that I don't even remember getting into the car's back seat where Phoenix was pressing a couple rags into the side of my face to stop the bleeding as Kostas barreled our way back to Solaris. I think I can remember Autumn crying as Kostas was saying something about how the situation could've been avoided and the mistakes everyone involved made but I'm not really too sure.

I wasn't thinking about what should be learned from the situation and how to move forward from it as I was still processing what had happened. It wasn't until we were just about back to base could I properly assess the situation. But I didn't want to say anything to anyone, even as I took hold of the cloths Phoenix was holding to take care of myself.

"He's finally moving himself." Phoenix relayed to the other two.

"Autumn, tell Olivia what's happened and tell her she's gonna be needed." Kostas ordered, the woman shakily using her walkie-talkie and doing what was asked.

When we got back to Solaris I got out of the vehicle myself and walked toward the mansion while holding the soaked and red cloths to my head where I ignored the few people that had made their way to the front of the main building. Though I did wonder where Stacy was since at that moment she was the only person I cared about. All up until the doctor made her way up to me with a concerned expression.

I didn't realize that Kostas and Phoenix had been closely following me before Olivia took my free hand and hurriedly said, "Let's get you fixed up, we don't want to waste time, you've lost a lot of blood as it is."

I figured she was right so I followed her up to her room where she sat me down on her bed before the woman swiftly retrieved the supplies and quickly got ready to stitch another part of my face shut. At least I didn't have to do it on my lonesome this time...

After Olivia pushed me to lay down she asked questions like 'how exactly did this happen' and 'how do you feel' of which I gave quiet answers to. As she was asking me questions she had Kostas help her as they continued to stop as much of my bleeding as they could as Olivia took my vitals.

It turned out that I was a little cooler than normal, my blood pressure was lower than it should've been, and my heart was still beating at a much faster rate. After that the woman surveyed the injury while messing with it for a bit which hurt like mad. But I assumed she had to. I knew she had o clean it which also hurt quite substantially more than what it already did.

But when I felt a great burning I jumped and wanted her hands off me. She had Kostas press me down which caused me to start getting angry but she explained how she had to cauterize some of the blood vessels that continued to bleed. I reluctantly let her continue and calmed down from the anger.

"It scraped a lot of bone here, your skull might be cracked a bit which will heal on its own and from what I can see there's no major bone damage. But without x-rays I'm not certain how much damage has been sustained. I can only treat it as best as I can and if any complications arise then instantly head for me, alright?"

I nodded when she took her hands off me to do the final preparations to set up the medical supplies. When she did, Phoenix excused himself before Olivia started stitching that side of my face shut. She had Kostas keep his hands on me which was the right move even though I hated that.

Boy oh boy did I not miss the feeling of a needle piercing through my skin and forcing it shut. I tried my best to hold in any screams as the doctor stitched the burning skin, in more than one way, closed. But thankfully the wound wasn't as long as my other scar was, this new injury only being around half of its length, the bullet having pierced through my temple and exiting it right where my ear is...

After what felt like ten excruciating minutes (anesthesia is greatly missed) she finally stopped after the stitch was completed which was Kostas' cue to let go of me. It only took another minute for her to reluctantly announce, "...Your ear also sustained a lot of damage, Hunter. The top half... most of it’s gone. What's left of the damaged tissue is tarnished, it'd simply be a waste to try to fix it."

I slowly sighed, the aching and burning pains in my face plus the blood loss wanting me to go to sleep to try and heal as fast as possible. And after getting that bit of news the tears that had welled up in my eyes silently left where they had pooled. "Do what you must..."

And so after another five minutes Olivia removed the pieces of ear that were weakly connected to me which was quite painful, especially since she cauterized a lot of it. But it wasn't as painful as the stitches by any means. The emotional pain of knowing that I would be permanently damaged after the incident was making itself present. I'd have two giant scars on my face and a mangled ear.

Though I could've died so I'd rather take this than that, so...

When she was done discarding the amputated tissue the operation was officially done which let me focus on the waves of pain that travelled through my body. I can't put into words how the wounds burned and ached while the areas were slightly inflamed which just added to the discomfort of the whole ordeal. Eventually I just wanted to silently hold my wife to start to recover from the situation.

I told Olivia about how the pain was getting worse which was her cue to retrieve some painkillers of which I swiftly consumed. I quietly chuckled after a little while as a hand draped over the bruise that happened earlier the same day. "Shitty day." I quietly said which got their attention.

"Yeah, I heard about that earlier. Damn, you really have had bad luck, huh?" Olivia replied.

"...I'm sorry I let this happen to you, Hunter. If I knew-." Kostas said but I cut him off.

"This is no one's fault, there was no way of knowing what would've happened. It was an accident and it is to be recognized as one. As much as I want someone to blame for this, that would simply be immature to do. You did the best you could which is all that matters and I appreciate that. Autumn is to not be ostracized or punished, she just needs to have a conversation with me." I quietly stated which got a simple nod in return. "Am I free to get up?"

"Absolutely not." Olivia replied which got a quiet sigh from me. "You were in shock, lost a lot of blood, are in pain, and you've had a bad day, I do not want you walking around until you recover for a little while."

I sighed yet again while trying to ignore the immense pain in my face. "Alright, alright, that makes sense, I just... I want my wife."

"We'll find her for you. Just don't move or you'll be in trouble." The doctor replied which got a nod from me.

"I guess I'm her patient now..." I quietly said to myself as both of them left the room.

As I silently stared at the wall in front of me I thought back about what had conspired, just trying to make sense of it all. I'm not sure how long I stayed like that but the painkillers finally started to set in which started to limit the magnitude of the pain, even if it was only a little. I thought about opium plants which is something we might grow to make more effective painkillers in the future. But I'm not sure how we'd execute that, maybe I'll figure that out later with Olivia's help.

As I thought about that all I sat up and scooted backward to lean on the head of the bed to be more comfortable. Eventually a hand went up to contact my newfound expertly made stitches which sent a sharp pain through my body which I should've expected. But that didn't stop me from putting my hand back on them to feel them and accept the fact that my body was gonna be permanently changed once more from that day forward.

I put my hand down when the door opened and a very worried little Stacy walked in where the girl sharply gasped when she saw me. Since I was getting very tired at that point I drearily looked over to her to see that only Olivia had returned with her. The sweethearted girl started crying as she walked up to me with a hand over her mouth before the girl reached my side in just a few seconds.

"I... I-I-." She tried saying something but failed due to the shock of what she was looking at.

"It's alright, I'm gonna be fine..." I said which didn't help at all with slowing down the tears dripping down her cheeks.

"I... You…” She had difficulty saying anything as she properly realized how I had almost died. “You almost... You almost... almost left me..." She managed to reply as she wiped some of the tears off her cheeks.

I looked at Olivia. "Can she get on the bed with me?"

She nodded. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit, I'll be in the hallway."

With another nod from me I took a light hold of one of Stacy's hands to encourage her to get on the bed with me, of which she quickly did where my wife was extremely mindful not to get close to my wounds. As Olivia left the room she tightly wrapped her arms around me and started to audibly cry after she rested her head on my chest.

I put my chin on top of her head and reciprocated the embrace before letting the girl cry for a few minutes. "I-I was fishing- if I knew you w-were hurt I'd've ran here as f-fast as possible-." As she explained her whereabouts the realization of how close I was to losing her, losing everything, made itself known. I really did almost lose my little angel... After her explanation she continued crying.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I wasn't there when it happened, maybe I could've made this not happen?" She asked with a raspy voice after her tears ceased.

"Nothing's your fault, my love... Don't focus on what could've been, you'll drive yourself crazy. Just focus on what actually happened." I put a hand under her chin to make her look up at me where the saddened girl wiped her cheeks off yet again. "I didn't leave you and I never intend to. I will always try my best to prevent that for as long as I can because you're my wife. My amazing wife." I eskimo kissed her. "Hell, this isn't even the first time I've almost died so I have a track record of beating Death's ass. A puny bullet isn't gonna take me away from you, it's gonna take something a million times stronger than that, I promise you that."

She lightly nodded as we looked each other in the eyes. I lightly kissed her for a few seconds before she rested her head back down on my chest. "Please stop getting yourself hurt... I hate seeing you like this."

I put a hand in her hair to brush through it. "After this I'll be much more careful, I promise... It's just that my injuries are so unexpected, it's hard to not get hurt."

She lightly nuzzled me. "I promise that too. I can't imagine losing you... I would be extremely sad for the rest of my life..."

I put my nose in her hair and lightly nuzzled her as well. "Me too..." A few silent minutes passed of us holding each other before I couldn't help but say, "Goddamn, my face hurts so fucking much..."

She looked up at me. "W-What should I do?"

"Continue hugging me, you being here feels like you're making me heal faster."

"Then I'll stay here and hug you." She sweetly replied before tightening her arms around me a tad. After a minute she asked, "...What exactly does it feel like?" I quickly told her about the aching and the burning.

"...How ugly do I look now?" I asked, somewhat fearing the answer.

"You don't look ugly, Hunter... You'll heal and be good as new." She optimistically replied.

"I'll have another scar... And my ear's not gonna grow back. I haven't even seen what it looks like but I know it looks terrible."

She hugged me tighter and pressed her head onto my chest. "It... You'll still be you, it's a small change. Sure, it'll be a little strange for a bit but you'll never be ugly. You're... You're the most handsome person I've ever seen, don't even worry about it. I love you."

Her words were calming to hear but I still needed to see the damage for myself which was something I expressed to Stacy who then got up after a minute to retrieve her handheld mirror. After she returned to my side I used it to check out the wound. I wasn't quite ready to see that about a quarter of my ear was missing, the feeling being quite jarring causing me to tear up. It was strange having part of an appendage you've had for your entire life just to be gone.

Ten minutes later I laid back down and spooned my wife close. Unfortunately since we weren't in our bed we weren't able to do the regular routine of being naked and being connected but I was too tired to do that anyways. Not to mention I just wanted to sleep through the pain. Even though it was a little early in the day to go to sleep I still did, only caring about going to the realm of unconsciousness.

I found myself in a pitch black void with nothing in either direction for infinity. Until I focused a little harder in each direction where I was able to see very, very small dots of random colors. I started walking around, trying to look for something to find, something to do. That was until a large white orb appeared in front of me. Even though it startled me just a tad I calmed down and examined the object.

Something appeared to be playing within the orb but the quality was quite poor so I wasn't able to make out what was taking place within it. Well, until I decided to reach out for it where I discovered that the object had a strange staticky touch to it which slowly dispersed as I kept my hand there and weaned the energy off.

Surprisingly my touch caused the orb to become more clear and even audible so I put my other hand on it. "I love it so much, Hunter, I always wanted a pet! I'm so glad I have you as my husband." I heard the orb say as the image within it showed Stacy opening a present that contained a small kitten with me right by her side.

I took a step back and bumped into something. I turned around to see a red orb of which also had something playing within it. But just like the other orb, before I touched it, I couldn't make it out. That was then I realized there were a couple of other orbs before another one popped into existence just a few seconds later.

Before I touched the red orb it felt as if a pair of furry paws covered my eyes as something whispered in my ear, "It's nice to see a wanderer, even if you may be lost... You humans are an interesting species, I'll give you that. Go on back to your own dreams now, go on..."

It felt as if my will itself was tampered with before I emerged in a dream of which had no rhyme or reason, one that persisted throughout the rest of my dream.

When I awoke it was just before the sun had risen so I was up way earlier than I should've been. But I felt well rested and the pain in my face was starting to pick back up so I couldn't get back to sleep and gave up twenty minutes later. I held Stacy a little more tightly where I was happy that my wife had stayed with in my grasp after I went to sleep. She could've left to go do other things but she wanted to comfort me... I definitely had the perfect person for me in my arms.

I wondered where Olivia was since we were in her bed so I rolled over just a tad to see the woman sleeping on the window bay in her room. I guessed she had to make do with what she had and even though she let me sleep in her bed I couldn't help but feel a little bad that I basically made her sleep there. I forced myself to forget about it and focused back on holding Stacy.

As I laid there in silence I couldn't help but think about some lewd thoughts involving Stacy causing my phallus to start slowly getting erect. A few minutes later I pressed my pelvis into her behind, dry humping being something that I rarely ever did.

I put my nose in the crook of her neck as a hand slipped under her shirt, my mind wanting the girl to have been naked. I really wanted to put my shaft inside her and quietly mate with her since the urge to do so quickly built within my mind. But I forced myself to calm down since that'd be a very disrespectful thing to do since it wasn't our bed. Not to mention I didn't really want to risk getting caught by Olivia and possibly ruin relations or at least put a damper on them.

I sighed and calmed my thoughts down. But I continued slowly dry humping Stacy for a little while. I stopped since I didn't want to continue teasing myself and tried forcing myself to go back to sleep. Not without thinking about the dreams I had. More specifically the one about the orbs.

That was a really cool dream and felt real, if only just a little creepy. The dream made me wonder if Stacy really did actually want a pet, that thought making me remember the pets that I had in the past. Maybe we'll have pets again in the future, I don't know.

I managed to fall back asleep after a while and in a flash I woke back up. But I stayed calm before taking a peek to see that it was morning and to see the doctor sitting at her desk ahead of me and writing on something there as she quietly spoke with Stacy.

I kept my eyes closed and listened in. Is this considered eavesdropping? Anyways, they talked about the Elliot situation, how unlucky I was the day prior, and how they adored the hope and inspiration I had given the group. When Stacy started telling Olivia how much she loved me my heart fluttered at her adorable words.

"He's been so kind, gentle, respectful, caring, supportive, patient, nice... so much more. He helps me through everything when I need it and was the first person that showed me they actually cared about me. And that's why he's the best person I've ever met and I love him so much... Do you think we got married too early?"

Olivia thought about her question for a few seconds. "Back when society was booming I would've said yes due to a lot of things relating to finances, cheaters, and that there were just terrible people all around that could've used you. But since you two reciprocate all of those aspects and married each other privately for the sake of wanting to be married... No, I don't think it was too early. You two have always seemed mature enough to be doing the things you two do and are in the relationship for support, love, and companionship. I'm able to confidently say that since Hunter's also expressed very similar feelings to me as well. You two were made to be."

I could feel the gentle smile on Stacy's lips after she received Olivia's verdict. "However..." Olivia continued, "the only immature part about you two is how you let Hunter ejaculate inside you. Unless you want to become pregnant and we've already had this conversation about what effects it'd have on your body."

I could also feel the heavy blush on Stacy's face after that statement. "I... I do want a baby. I want one really badly and have been hoping that I get pregnant for a little while now. I used to be really scared of getting pregnant but I changed my mind, being a mom would be... would be awesome."

I heard Olivia's chair turn toward Stacy. "You've talked to him about this all before, right?" Stacy gave her a positive answer. "...Being a mom is indeed 'awesome'... Able to grow a baby within you of which you then raised to see grow into a person of their own... But it's extremely difficult, not as difficult as it once was since you two don't need to worry about money or education, but the job of parenting correctly is tiresome, difficult, and takes the majority of your focus to help them become the person a parent needs to make their children be. Not one that is reliant upon the parent or is scared of the parent, but a person that's self-sufficient, respectable on both sides, confident, and happy. There's a lot more I could list off but you get the gist."

"...I think me and Hunter can do that. Maybe with some help every now and then but it's something I want to do."

"Keep that attitude and keep your guys' relationship as healthy as it is and I have faith you two will be able to do it. But not any time soon, I advise you two wait a long while before that happens."

"He said ten years... But that's a long time. But maybe that'll never happen since my body's broken."

I think Olivia wasn't quite sure what to say after that since she stayed silent for a dozen seconds or so. I took that as my cue to say, "You're not broken, you're perfect the way you are."

Stacy jumped when I first spoke up which was understandable. "H-How long have you been awake?"

"Just a little bit." I replied as Olivia stood up and walked to us.

"How're you feeling? Is it feeling any better?"

"It still aches and burns quite severely. I'm hoping for a swift recovery."

"May I check to see if it's not getting infected and healing properly?" The doctor asked who got a confirming nod in reply. After a quick analysis with her hands minimally touching me she reported that it was indeed healing properly. "I'll have to check every day for a week to see if it's healing right which should be around the time I take the stitches out."

"Can I have some more of those painkillers?" I asked before the doctor granted me my wish. After taking the pills, "Am I free to go or am I confined to this space?"

She thought for a few seconds. "You're free to walk around. With Stacy's supervision. And you are not to work in any sense of the word for at least a week."

I sighed. "Another few days of feeling like a drain on resources..."

"I'm not quite sure if I remember saying this to you but you're our leader which is someone who'll never be a drain, especially when you have to take a few days off."

We only talked for a few more minutes before I wanted to get up and eat something since I was getting quite hungry. So Stacy and I went to do that and fed each other. It was nice. I wasn't aware that this began a slow and somewhat boring few days but I had my little Queen to make it all better. Especially when she reminded me of all the movies we could watch together.

It was hard focusing on a movie since my face and ear were in pain. And as we watched the movies I noticed how having a broken ear affects hearing. It's a minute difference but it's still different and will take time to get used to. The reminder that I was even more weird looking felt really bad but thankfully my angel was there to help me through it.

And during all the movement the members and guests of Solaris wished me well and all that jazz. It was nice and greatly appreciated that they all cared for me. Well, except the newest guests of Tess and Lexi who I really needed to talk with more. And also Elliot but fuck him.

There is one notable interaction of well-wishes that I'll write down and that was with Autumn. As Stacy and I were cuddling with each other on one of the coaches and in the middle of watching the first movie in that session the woman who almost killed me (harsh way to put that, Hunter) entered the mansion.

I looked over to the doorway to see who had entered to see a nervous Autumn look away from me. I wanted to be mad, I really did, but I didn't get mad. As much as I wanted to get angry I literally couldn't, it wasn't Autumn's fault for the accident. I guess you could claim that she could've held the gun tighter but it seems a little arbitrary. Instead of getting mad I said, "What's up, Autumn? Wanna join in watching the movie?"

She quickly sighed and looked back at me. "You... You're not mad at me?"

I saw that she was desperately trying not to look at my newly deformed ear. I stayed silent for a couple of seconds before replying. "I'm not mad at you, no. But I am mad that it happened." I went on to tell her what I had told Kostas, the thing about how she isn't to blame. "So don't fret, I forgive you. I just never want to be with by you when you have a gun."

She nodded as she walked up to us. "I get it... And even though you've already forgiven me I sincerely apologize. If you ever need me to do anything I will always do what that is. It's the least I can do after... y'know."

"You don't need to do that for me. But I mean you're offering, the least I can do is accept it, right? It's not like I'm gonna put you through something that's evil or anything like that even if I do."

"Again, I'm sorry. I'll never be able to express how much I am… I hope you get better fast."

With all that being said and done she declined the offer to stay with us and watch movies which was fine. That just meant that Stacy and I could watch something all alone. That means I eventually put an arm in her shirt to massage her breasts and make out with her for a while. She was really scared at first but I told her how to be discreet if anyone walked by us. She accepted the massage after a few minutes. It was nice.


A couple days later early in the morning, Scarlet, Etsu, Stacy, and I went out to do a little scavenging trip to the library. It was purely to find books we'd be interested in since there weren't that many new books back at Solaris since most of the books within it have been read and we just wanted new ones. It's strange how I once despised reading but now I quite enjoy it.

Anyways, when we entered the library, Stacy took a hold of my hand, looked up at me, and said, "You're staying with me, you are not getting hurt on my watch."

"I thought you gifted me the watch?" I asked which made her glance at the watch I was wearing.

"Sh. Now, where do you want to look for books?" She asked as she started walking forward, the little lady taking me with her.

"At least somewhere in the library." I couldn't help but say.

"I'm gonna discover where the fantasy section is." Etsu plainly announced before delving into the library. Scarlet followed her.

That was my cue to actually say something useful as we made it to the first aisle of books. "Well, what do you wanna read about? Any type of story or anything you wanna learn about?"

She hummed as she looked over the many books that we walked by. She looked back up at me. "Remember what we talked about after we got married?" I nodded. "I want to learn about space and how things work..."

"There's gonna be a whole~ lot you're gonna be taught if that's the case..." I simply replied before we started searching for the aisle of non-fiction relating to science. It took a little while to find it but when we did she started stacking books up that she was interested in.

Books relating to the fundamentals and history of the universe, physics, books for algebra, calculus, and geometry, and many more. It was adorable to see her so intrigued by all of the knowledge she wanted to learn about as the girl realized that she was quite ignorant to how reality works.

"There's still so much about the universe and physics we don't know about. So many mysteries that we might not ever figure out and that kind of really sucks. I hope one day we'll pick back up where we left off regarding the discovery sense." I said as I looked down at a book explaining the anatomy and history of stars, fusion, atoms, electrons, light, photons, and many more things like it.

"What mysteries?" She curiously asked as she sifted through a large book of biology, anatomy, and physiology before taking a book all about chemistry off the shelf.

I looked on the bookshelf and surprisingly saw a book about the greatest mystery within the field of science. "Dark energy and matter." She curiously asked me to explain what it is as I picked up the book. "It's a hypothetical form of matter that comprises well over eighty percent of our universe. We detected long ago that the universe appeared to have a lot less mass than what we could observe. So we know that it's there but we don't know what it is. There were many theories about it but we never figured it out. We might've been getting pretty close though."

"...So we don't know what most of our universe is made of?"

I nodded. "It's annoying how much we don't know. And the more you figure out the more questions you receive. Discovery seems to be a never ending idea of humanity."

"I wonder how much we don't know..." She simply replied as she stacked the books she was holding on the others.

"We undoubtedly don't know more things than we know, I'd easily bet on that." I lightly chuckled. "Hell, there's a lot we don't even know about our own brain so that oughta tell you."

We continued collecting books about subjects that interested Stacy regarding math, physics, and science sprinkled in with some biology. The amount of passion she already showed about learning was fascinating to me. Maybe her becoming a great mathematician was another talent she'd put under her belt which would be amazing to see.

So after like three trips to and from the car to drop off books (Which is funny because the other two only got like two books each) we made our way back to Solaris where we put most of the books on the empty dining table.

"There's so much to learn..." She quietly said as she looked at the stacks of books.

I lightly chuckled and put a hand in her hair to slowly brush through it. "Thankfully you're not in school so you can learn the things you want at your own pace. What would you like to learn about first?"

"Hm... The Big Bang was the beginning of it all, right?" She asked as she picked a book up on the early universe.

"That we know of, yes. But you need to know a little more before that topic..." I replied picking a book up explaining gravity, atoms, and light.

That's when her learning process began, a process that made her open her mind to questions she never thought to ask before. For example, as she was learning what light is and how light absorbs into, reflects, and bounces off things she asked how we saw color. The strange thing about color is that it doesn't actually exist outside of our mind which is fascinating. A wavelength of light within a certain parameter gets processed and interpreted as color within the mind.

This made her wonder how things determine their color, what are the wavelengths of light, how fast does light travel, how is it made, what limits its speed, why is the sky blue, why do the stars twinkle, what's refraction... Light is a whole lot more complicated than I remembered.

"Now, what's the shape of the orbit of the Earth?"

"A circle!" She confidently claimed.

"Incorrect, my little lady."

"Wha... But you said it was?"

"Because you need to know the basic concept before delving into how it gets much more complicated than that."

"So... What shape is it?"

I taught her that it was an ellipse that slowly changes over time. This led to the discussion of how long a year is and how it's not exactly three-hundred sixty-five days. “It's a little over that but it's perpetually slowly changing as well due to how the Earth revolves a little faster around the sun than that set amount of days and how the moon's also slowing down the Earth's rotation.” She then learned that the moon is slowly getting farther and farther away from Earth.

From there she went down the path of discovering that the Earth had a tilt which caused the seasons, distance not causing the seasons since there was this thing called albedo. She discovered what the Coriolis Effect is and what the magnetic field is. The true shape of the Earth was also taught during this, an oblate spheroid.

I taught her about tidal locking and tidal heating. I taught her about the tides and how the tides are the things that are tugging on the Earth causing it to slow down. I taught her that this happened to the moon as well and that's why we only see one side of the moon. The moon's trying to make it to where it sees only one side of us too.

I taught her about how the Earth moves through the solar system, how the sun travels around the galactic core, and how The Milky Way wanders through the cosmos towards Andromeda and how they will merge in the far-far future. This led to the expansion of the universe and the mystery revolving around that. After that she wanted to learn about what we're made of, atoms. So I taught her about the anatomy of an atom and how an atom works, decays, gets formed, how it determines color, and changes.

She looked down at one of her hands. "It's... wild how we're made of... what was the number you said, several octillion? Octillions of atoms..."

I grabbed her hand making her look at me. "Octillions of atoms that came together to form such a beautiful little lady..."

I feel like I'm writing a lot of this down, much more than needed, but teaching Stacy about so many things was so fun mainly due to the awe and amazement she expressed as we talked and read about these subjects. The time just flew by as we enjoyed learning things. And it's my journal, I can write whatever I want to in here, it's not like anyone's gonna read this.

It didn't take her long after being flattered to ask what atoms are made of. I taught her all about quarks and the Higgs boson which we had a book on thankfully. After she had a lot of basic understanding about a lot of processes she read the book on the early universe… without wanting to know what sound is first.

She was fascinated that vibration caused sound and the ears just interpreted it as the sounds we hear. She then discovered that all atoms vibrate due to how energy is always present. This led to her learning about the Doppler Effect and the laws of thermodynamics.

After she had her fill there she truly moved onto the book about the universe where she learned about the first instances of The Big Bang, the forces of the universe, when quarks and atoms formed, fusion, the creation of heavier elements, and how our solar system formed.

She learned how toxic, hot, and asteroid-y the early Earth was, the Theia-Earth collision, and the late heavy bombardment. After learning how the Earth became a global ocean she picked up a book all about evolution. She learned more thoroughly about how photosynthesis works and how our atmosphere became the way it is currently. She learned about the Iceball Earths, continental drift, supercontinents, radiation, mitochondrial symbiosis, the ozone layer, and the Cambrian Explosion. She learned about the evolution of sex, eyes, eggs, lungs, legs, vertebrates, and plants.

"...The Permian Extinction killed over ninety percent of life?" She asked, dumbfounded at the number as she read about the five mass extinctions.

"We think it was a supervolcanic eruption. Volcanoes are not to be underestimated, that's for sure."

She learned about dinosaurs, Pangea (since that's the most important supercontinent, I guess), the Yucatan asteroid impact, fossils and how they're formed, and the mammalian uprising. She learned about the first primates evolving, the evolution of the primates, and Africa's forests disappearing forcing the primates to become bipedal because of massive climatic shifts.

She learned about these primates discovering fire, language, tools, as they lost their fur before how they expanded across the Earth escaping from Africa where these primates then battled it out to find out who was the superior species. She got up to the point where agriculture was discovered before she yawned which made me remember that it was getting quite late.

At some point during her deep dive of Earth's history we went up to our room onto the window bay where the girl took her classic spot in between my legs as she read the book out loud. I had been brushing her hair for a long while at that point where the girl deeply enjoyed the act. I looked at my watch to see that it was well past midnight, (we spent more than twelve hours just briefly studying these topics…) the day having been shot (that saying now has a different meaning to me) due to her wanting to learn and me wanting to teach her.

The girl had been writing notes down the entire time she was learning about things so she had a few sheets of paper containing a large amount of information that she wanted to remember. She also kept a separate sheet of paper to write questions down on. A lot of them would lead to even more questions but I was fine with that, I wanted to help her understand anything she wanted to learn about. It just kinda sucked that we didn't have the internet to make the process several magnitudes easier.

One of her questions involved cells which would definitely lead to a lot more questions because you can go down so many routes about processes within the body.

"Yeah, we should get to sleep..."

"Aw, but I wanna learn more." She cutely replied.

I lightly chuckled and leaned down a bit to nuzzle the side of her face. "You gotta give your beautiful mind some time to process the information. You can't learn everything in one day, that's impossible... I promise to help teach you some more tomorrow."

She lightly sighed, put a bookmark in the book, and closed it before setting it aside. "You're right. It's just it's so fun learning about... how things work and why everything is, y'know? I wasn't aware of how much I didn't know... I feel a little stupid."

"Don't feel that way, Stacy... You're not stupid, just ignorant, we all are. You're smart. You want to learn, you want to know... That's a huge sign of you being a smart person so don't even worry about it."

She looked up at me with a little smile, the girl flattered at my words. She only glanced at my wound a couple of times but she continued cutely looking up at me. I kissed her forehead causing her to giggle. "I love you."

"I love you too..."

(Small sex scene ahead “ctrl+f ‘sex scene over’ to skip)

After getting undressed and getting ready to go to sleep my phallus got extremely erect as she laid down where my eyes took in every minute detail of her person. She noticed and lightly grinned at the sight. "Do you want to fuck me?"

I got into bed with her and swallowed hard. "Yes"

She rolled onto her side and settled down before spreading her legs open a bit. With a light giggle she said, "Go ahead."

Not wanting to mess around with foreplay as much as I love doing that, I laid down and scooted up behind her before wrapping my arms around her where she took a hold of my shaft and inserted me into her quickly lubricated folds. A couple of weeks ago I wasn't that aware that the hair she was growing down below would feel so nice rubbing against me during sex. I was actually starting to prefer it much more than being clean shaved. I lovingly and slowly started a gentle thrusting in and out of her for a couple of minutes before she asked me to speed up.

It only took another thirty more seconds before I was pounding her (as best as I could in this position) as I rubbed her clit and held her neck. It didn't take much longer for her to look behind herself so we could kiss each other as I used her, her lovely grunts being stifled by the kiss.

And it was just that for ten minutes before she came where my orgasm occurred just a minute later. It was a nice and simple but rewarding fuck, something I was extremely grateful for that she even allowed it all.

"I love you..." I said one more time to the lightly panting lady before kissing her neck as the girl reciprocated my words.

The feeling of going to sleep while holding my companion tightly and being ported inside her semen-filled vagina will never be beaten. I'm not quite sure if there's a better physical feeling that could ever be achieved. Though the mornings where I see how much semen had exited her onto the bed was always something I disliked about the action. We always had to clean our sheets every two or three days because I refused to stop doing that…

(Sex scene over)

The next morning I was in the bathroom looking at myself in the mirror just looking at my newest wounds. The pain was still there but not as much and it was thankfully healing properly and on the correct path to heal. But it was still annoying how it hurt, I wish I could just tell the brain to stop being an asshole and block the pain receptors because I fuckin' know there's a problem, you don't need to keep telling me.

Missing a large part of my ear is gonna take a long time to get used to. Every time I remember that it's damaged the way it is my heart skips a beat like I'm quickly reliving the situation. I'm somewhat traumatized from the event which is most likely understandable. I glanced at my other scar as I continued staring at my stitches. I was gonna look like a mean son of bitch when healed, that's for sure. Maybe looking like that will be a good thing to get that intimidation factor? My height really helps with that... I don't know, I'm trying to find a bright side here.

Anyways, after sulking by looking at the mirror I helped Stacy take the sheets off our bed and take them to the stream so we could wash them. We brought all of our dirtied clothes as well to kill two birds with one stone. I've never really written down about how we wash clothes because it kinda sucks. We have to do it the old fashioned way since there's no other alternative which means that washing sheets takes a while to clean.

As Stacy volunteered to clean the sheets I cleaned our clothes. After washing a few shirts I took a hold of a pair of her blue panties and lightly held them as the peculiar want to smell them appeared in my mind. So... I did. I didn't quite expect myself to like the light scent so much. Maybe because my body thought I was about to mate with Stacy again? I only smelled them and deeply enjoyed the scent for another minute before Stacy saw what I was doing.

"H-Hunter!" She said which tore me out of the trance-like state I was in within the scent of her groin.

"Huh?" I noticed the dark blush on her face. "Oh. Sorry, I just figured I could smell you... Do you want me to not do that?"

"It's... It's a little weird since, y'know... They're kind of dirty..." She shyly explained as the blush on her face slowly diminished.

I took one long whiff of her panties before starting to wash them while keeping the breath within me for a little while before I slowly let it go. I only did it to tease her (which is a very weird way to tease, I'm aware) but I enjoyed doing it.

"...Did they really smell that good?" She curiously asked after a silent minute before getting a nod from me. I explained to her how much I enjoy her musk before she admitted that she greatly enjoyed mine as well. But I already knew that.

After that I killed the erection that the feral smell gave me and focused on the task at hand which took a little while. When we returned back to the mansion we strung up the clothes and sheets on clothes lines that were erected between the cabins which was nice, it made drying out fabrics so much easier though Stacy always dried her panties elsewhere which I thought was cute in a way. After that, Olivia checked up on me and then Stacy wanted to learn more about everything.

After getting settled down in the dining room she started reading a book on cells. She learned about protists, archea, and fungi, along with plant and animal cells, the many types of cells within the human body, and cancer. At this point it was getting fairly medical so she went to go find Olivia and asked if she was interested in helping us learn since I wasn't that aware with biology.

She happily accepted the offer and pretty much became the teacher from there. She taught us about how the systems of the body work together which took a long while since there's twelve of them. Systems like the immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, reproductive system, and the others. It was very fascinating and an oversimplification of what the knowledge that she gifted us really is. But as it was it was still a load of information.

It was interesting to learn how air, water, and food were processed, distributed, and used within the body. It was interesting to learn how cells lived, multiplied, and died. It was interesting to learn how the body defended and healed itself. It was interesting to learn how the body rids of waste and how the body feels. It was interesting to learn how the muscles work together and how coordinated they are. And it was especially interesting to learn how we reproduce.

Of course, I knew the basics of how a baby develops. But Olivia was able to knock it out of the park since she went into fine detail how and when a baby forms within a uterus from sperm/egg to infant. She made sure to go over how a woman shows she’s pregnant, how stressful and painful it is on a woman's body, and what complications could arise, probably to help dissuade Stacy from wanting a baby, but it did no such thing to waver her want but did the opposite.

Olivia also went into great detail about DNA, genes, recessive genes, pheromones, hormones, and chromosomes. She even started talking about the anatomy of a few types of cells, mitochondria and all. Thankfully Olivia had a bunch of visual aids from the books and also she had a few medical posters she had scavenged that she'd be decorating her incoming clinic with. So Stacy was much more easily able to understand everything that Olivia was teaching her.

Stacy then wanted to learn all about anatomy... The human body is so much more complex than we realize. It's funny in a way, how you're made up of so much stuff but the vast majority of people are unaware just how complex they truly are. Anyways, Olivia taught all about the eye, layers of skin, the throat, mouth, nose, ears, functions of the organs and bones, and touched on the muscles.

"Is it possible to see cells? Apparently atoms are smaller than light itself which makes it a bit impossible to see them."

Olivia nodded at Stacy's question. "We just need a microscope. Didn't think about getting one before but now I might grab one whenever my next visit to the hospital is." Stacy looked satisfied at the answer. Olivia glanced at the clock on the wall. "Sheesh, I've been talking your guys' ears..." She stopped and blushed in embarrassment at her choice of words.

I hadn't seen Olivia embarrassed like that so that was a peculiar sight. When I realized why she cut herself off I couldn't contain a few laughs. I probably shouldn't have been so... just fine with the situation but it was funny. "You can go ahead and say it Olivia, it doesn't bother me."

Which was a little white lie. Being reminded of my injury wasn't that preferable but I'm not gonna censor sayings. Anyways, she said, "I'll pass, I'm sorry about that. But I have been talking to you two for quite a long while... I need to go check on how the clinic's getting along."

Stacy seemed a little bummed since she had a lot more questions to ask. "Alright, you go do that. Do you think we can do this again some time later?"

Olivia nodded with a grin. "Of course. It's fun teaching the ignorant about what there is to know, especially ones who intently listen to what all I have to say... It's quite nice."

After we said our quick words of departure, Stacy reviewed all of what she had written down. And again, like the day prior, it was a few sheets full of knowledge. I wondered what she'd be doing with it all but it was cute to see that she did that. Hell, everything Stacy does is extremely cute, that's just a fact.

I also wanted to check on how the clinic and the cellar were coming along but my wife wouldn't let me since she forced me to snuggle her on the couch instead. Which was actually preferable as it always is, I'll never get enough of the sight of Stacy resting her head on my chest with her eyes closed as she deeply relaxed into me. Words will never be able to express how much I love how... lovely our relationship is.

Though Stacy persisted that I either study or cuddle with her instead of working... for the next few days to not work. I didn't complain all that much.

Chapter 44: Theories... and baby talk, I guess

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

A week of watching movies, cuddling, and studying with my wife flashes by much faster than what I would've expected. But I probably should've expected that since time is always fast when you're having a good time. The week I had almost purely with Stacy was extremely enjoyable for so many reasons, mainly because the girl was helping me cope with the result of the injury. You'd think we would get sick of each other... But it's true when I say that I can never get enough of Stacy, how could I ever get sick of such a happy, bubbly, lovely, little lady?

So after a total of seven days after Olivia stitched the side of my face shut she declared it had healed enough for the stitches to be removed. Thankfully the stitches coming out were only a little uncomfortable and not actually painful. I expected it to hurt so I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't.

After that quick procedure was done she dismissed me though not before I asked if it was fine if I could get back to work. She said I could but she just made it clear to me that I had to be more mindful of my surroundings. Which I guess was a fair thing to say... I'm not a believer in luck but that painful day a week ago sort of says otherwise. Ah well.

After I left Olivia's room I went to go into the bathroom to see myself in the mirror. The skin that was stitched shut had the classic look of just that, it looked really gross. All the holes the stitches made along with the dark red seam that the bullet left behind. That's definitely what my future scar's shape is gonna be. At least it's not gonna be as big as the sickle-scar but it's still gonna don my face...

Unfortunately my ear wasn't faring that much better. It literally looked like someone took a chomp out of it and cauterized it. It was gonna take another couple weeks to heal over and when it did it was gonna look quite peculiar. Like I've said before, it's gonna take a long while to get used to it being that way. But at least the bruise on my neck was quickly fading.

I had lost myself within the mirror by looking at the strange looking man who peered back at me. It wasn't often I looked into a mirror and when I did I never truly recognized what reflects off of it. I'm a completely different person from who I was not even three years ago. And I'm not quite sure if I've changed for the better.

I've murdered, almost died twice, look mean as hell, and lost my family. Though on the other hand I've saved a life, formed a family, lead them into the future, and received a very healthy lifestyle with a person who's generated an immense amount of happiness for me. I guess I just need more time to figure out what side I land on but who knows what I'll be like in another three years. I was somewhat hoping for a slow paced life, at least, a life with minimal near death experiences. Only time will tell.

Speaking of which, my lovely wife walked into the bathroom and wrapped her arms around me which ripped me out from my thoughts and threw me back into reality. I simply hugged back and focused on her where I only glanced at the mirror a couple of times to see what we looked like.

I chuckled when I processed what I saw because it was honestly a little funny. I was so much taller and bigger than Stacy and I look like I've seen some shit. On the opposite end of the spectrum Stacy was little, frail, and very innocent looking. We were a very odd looking couple but despite that I thought we still looked good. I liked having the impression that I was Stacy's guardian angel and something that'd protect her from any form of evil or harm to the best of my ability.

"What's funny?" She quietly asked. I explained my thoughts. "Is it... is it rude to say that I've always found your scar cool?"

"...No. But can I ask why you think it's cool?"

"Well... It reminds me how strong you are both physically and mentally." She simply replied which actually made sense to me.

But I sighed. "I'm still not fond of it but I'm glad to know what you think about scars... Strange how I'm just now figuring out that you think that but oh well."

We fell silent after that and stayed in the embrace for a little while before she looked up at me and asked, "Are you planning on doing anything today?"

I booped her nose. "Why yes I am, little lady. Since I was down for the count for a little while I need to get up to date and assess what's been goin' down in Solaris the past week. What about you?"

"I was gonna fish for a bit but then get back to studying for a little while."

I chuckled at the adorable girl and kissed the tip of her nose. She had been going into more detail about all of the subjects we learned about that first and second day since we only quickly learned about them all to cram as much knowledge as we could in that span. The girl really was so intrigued and interested in knowing things, it was nice to see her so bookworm-y.

"Then I'll join you then whenever I'm all done, deal?"

She happily nodded before resting her head back on me. We stayed like that for only another couple of minutes before splitting and getting on with what we needed to do. The first thing I wanted to know was how the crops were coming along so I shimmied my way to the backyard to see the many green rows of slowly maturing crops. It was nice seeing how large they had gotten but I knew we were about two months out from harvesting them all. I hoped we'd be able to properly store them all.

Before I checked on how the cellar was getting along I wanted to get a close examination of the crops so I closed the distance between the corn field and I. As I walked between a row of corn stalks that had nearly become taller than me I inspected the ground to make sure no unwanted weeds were growing where the corn stood.

As I walked in the aisle I thought about other crops that I eventually wanted to get to. Crops like lettuce, carrots, beans, wheat, and maybe fruits like tomatoes, strawberries, and apples. But storing fruit is so much harder than storing vegetables. Besides maybe apples, I'll need to ask Audrey about it all.

After sinking some time into looking out for any weeds I spotted a few others already doing the job so I shrugged and made my way to the construction site of the cellar. It definitely seemed a lot larger than I remember but that's probably because just under half of the soil had been excavated and removed by then. The people of Solaris were fast and hard working people, I loved them all for all the effort they put in.

There were a lot of things I didn't really understand regarding how they were building it, specifically the floor and how it was a drain. They had already implemented a few special types of pipes beneath where they were pouring gravel. The piping of which would direct the unwanted water that could make its way into the cellar back out the side of the slope that the cellar was stationed.

The floor itself consisted of the previously mentioned gravel (which was around eight inches thick) and then a layer of snuggly laid down red bricks. Thankfully we were in a world where the only labour regarding retrieving those materials was just to find them and then haul them back to base. And the world we're in has many abandoned markets just waiting for us to get our hands on them.

But the amount of floor that had been laid out was just starting to get underway along with the construction of the wooden walls. The ceiling/roof of the cellar would also be wooden but that'd be the last thing the construction team would be focusing on regarding the cellar.

Speaking of the walls, Trinity led a small team (which split off from the construction team so I'll call them the woodworking team) to process fallen trees into building materials as the rest focused on excavating. So by the time they started building the proper walls they had a decent stockpile of readily available wood to use. This process also used another scavenged commodity which was nails. Thankfully there was a massive amount of those so there wasn't any worry regarding that. And I will comment that seeing them use the nail guns was satisfying because it was a couple magnitudes faster than manually hammering planks together.

The day after I got shot I actually delegated them to be in those groups to try to go about the clinic and cellar projects as effectively and quickly as possible. We've been able to focus a lot more hands on construction since Willow's fish traps were really starting to pick up which has resulted in a lot of labour on that front to be alleviated and focused elsewhere. But even then I can't properly express how surprised I am by how fast they're chugging along. They've been throwing many hours of hard work each day. I really appreciated their work ethic.

So after learning how they were building the floor I excused myself to check on how the clinic was coming along. The clinic was stationed on the far side of where the solar arrays were, the construction site on the side closer to the mansion so its shadow wouldn't cover the panels after its completion. Even though it was on the side closer to the mansion it was still around thirty meters away... I think. I've never been that good at calculating distance and I can't be bothered with measuring the distance out manually.

Anyways, the progress of the clinic has really been hindered by the other project since the focus of construction was mainly diverted there. Olivia was fine with it since she understood that the storage should be done as soon as possible. I promised her that we'd only focus on her clinic next since I knew how much she wanted it.

The progress to the clinic really halted after the foundation to it was finished. And that consisted of a few concrete stilts and a boulder-y base. The wooden floor was about to get underway before I called on them to move onto the cellar. And I will comment that the footprint of the clinic was quite large, it was easily as large as two cabins, maybe a little bigger.

So after checking it out and getting up to date on our projects I moved on to fishing for a bit so I could start to make up for the deficit I made by being out of the loop. I was able to catch a couple of decently sized fish which was more than enough for the day. I wondered how we were able to have a steady income of aquatic food from the stream as I fished. I figured it was because there weren't that many humans eating fish anymore and the stream might've been connected to a larger river.

Being satisfied with the two fish I speared, I then made my way back to the mansion to put them in the refrigerator for Jordan to get around to processing them when their time was up. I didn't even notice that Stacy was sitting at the dining table and reading a book until I made my way back into the dining room.

I quietly walked up behind her and put my hands on her shoulders causing her to jump just a tad. As I leaned down she looked back at me before lightly smiling. I kissed the tip of her nose before asking, "What're you reading about, little miss?"

"Spatial dimensions and time." She simply replied.

"Oh really? I always found that topic interesting... Well, what have you learned so far? I would like to hear what Misses Solace has learned so far today." I asked, wanting to engage with her studying.

She then gave me a crash course on the X, Y, and Z planes of space. She was starting to read about time so she couldn't explain that to me all that well. So she made me sit down so she could take a spot on my lap before continuing to read. It took a little while but she discovered this thing called time dilation and the reason why time only moves forward at a constant rate.

Eventually I started to teach her about a possible fourth spatial dimension because that was something I always found very fascinating. It took her a while to understand how the W axis could exist and how that extra plane of existence would work. With the help of making her understand how two dimensional creatures would see the third dimension, I applied the same logic to how three dimensional creatures would see the fourth dimension.

"So since we're three dimensional we can look inside the square and circle people and look inside their square houses all without them being able to see us. Since we're in a higher level of existence we can see all of their sides. So if there was a four dimensional creature looking down on our three dimensions they would be able to see all of our sides and do all the same things we could do to two dimensional creatures. Does that make sense?"

Stacy was thinking hard as she looked at the circle and squares I had cut out of paper to simulate the circle and square 'people'. "It... Well, it does, it's just so hard to understand what a four dimensional creature would look like."

I lightly chuckled. "Well like I said, the fourth dimension is a plane we're unable to interact with and will never be able to mess with. So no matter how much we try to think about it we'll never know."

"...That's kind of annoying." She simply replied as everything clicked within her mind.

I went on to tell her what a Mobius strip and a Klein bottle are along with how a four dimensional creature could pick us up, take us into the fourth dimension, flip us around, place up back down, and we'd be spatially reversed. While we neared the end of the conversation, Charlotte, Kai, and Willow were on their break and decided to spend it in the dining room with us. But the intellectual conversation didn't falter.

Somehow our conversation went into the direction about why we exist and what happens after we die. "It's possible that we are God. What I mean by that is a God or an entity of something resembling near infinity might've gotten so bored in a sense and started this reality thing to do something. To live all infinite life in an infinite universe with circular time endlessly so it’d never be bored. It's also possible that a God's raising a singular consciousness that lives all human life before it matures to become a God." They quickly expressed their fascination with the idea. "But I personally believe that if there's a God it, and I say ‘it’ because it would not have a gender or sex, it either doesn't care or the meaning of our existence is far beyond what we could even start to comprehend."

"I agree." Kai replied. "That and a God would most likely not look like a human or any other creature that could exist. I would think it takes the form of some type of energy, maybe embody the energy of the universe itself."

It was Willow’s time to speak. “...Honestly, religion as a whole was kind of stupid. Not the ‘wanting there to be a God’ part since that's understandable, it's just what other religions did to each other and how there were so many of them. How could anyone back then be sure they were in the right religion? If a God really wants their own creations to worship them and punishes them for eternity for not believing in them or having been born into the wrong culture and religion… That’s not a God worth worshipping. That’s an immature child.”

“Precisely!” I replied.

Charlotte nodded. "And I'm sure a real God wouldn't give a fuck if you're gay, believe in it, wear clothes that have mixed fabrics, and isn't obsessed with sex. I'm sure it's reasonable and only punishes anything if something’s actually evil."

"Oh, totally." I agreed. "Like punishing the evil of people who supported the backwards ways of the Church. But maybe they can be forgiven since the reason why religious people back then were against those things is because they blindly believed books that were thousands of years old that were definitely tampered by people through the generations and translations and most likely written by old, racist, homophobic, sexist, men that were farms who had no clue about anything science related that wanted to rape as many young virgins as possible. These same people found that the population was easily gullible and it spread like wildfire which helped governments keep their populace under control."

"Do you think a heaven exists?" Willow asked me.

I took a few seconds to respond. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure if any type of afterlife exists. No one does no matter how much one wants to claim."

"Hm... But why? If there's no afterlife then how are we remembering anything? Shouldn't there be some type of continuation after death since we can remember?" Kai asked which was an alright talking point.

But I had a response. "There's a lot of things that could explain why we remember things. After all, we are trapped inside our own skull, at least it seems like it, and the brain is quite the mystery, who knows how many layers of lower and greater levels of consciousness there are. As we know it, the neurons in the brain are just a sponge of information that gets triggered depending on what one wants to remember. We forget so that tells me that saying you remember is not enough evidence for any continuation. And that's if what we remember is even real."

"...What do you mean by that?" Willow asked.

"I... It seems like you're the one living your life. But this could all be an experiment. This could all be a virtual reality gone bad in a brain implant. This could be a dream. This could be a computer simulation. You could just be an observer who thinks they have this possible illusion called freewill. Your memories could've been planted there at any point, even just a minute ago, and you wouldn't know."

"That... is an unsettling thought." Charlotte replied. "Do you really think we could be a simulation?"

"It's possible, yes. When humanity was in its prime, video games in fifty years went from a few moving pixels on a screen to games that looked like reality. What would another fifty years of development have done? Another hundred, a thousand and beyond? It's entirely possible that a civilization could build a Dyson Sphere to power a computer that could run millions of simulations all at once. Meaning we could be one of them."

"...A Dyson Sphere?" Stacy asked.

I explained to them what the spatial megastructure idea is. "What'd be the point in having us be a simulation?" Kai asked.

I shrugged. "A civilization that advanced would have reasons far beyond what we could comprehend. I'm not saying that we are a simulation, just that it's possible. Anything's possible regarding our existence. Our existence could be a smaller version of existence attached to a greater layer of existence. Our existence could've started completely randomly for no reason at all and there's nothing after death."

"This conversation is getting way too deep." Charlotte replied, struggling to process my words.

"It's very interesting and cool to hear what possibilities there are." Stacy replied.

"It is, but I've never thought about it this hard. I can at least somewhat understand what not existing would be like since I can just think what it was like before I was born." Willow said.

"Oh, but do you?" I asked, wanting to throw her in for a loop. "Truly think about what it's like to not exist. You can't think. You can't comprehend anything. You can't even comprehend not comprehending anything because the 'you' doesn't exist. When I think about it long enough it becomes a 'turtles all the way down' type of scenario."

Willow thought harder about it. "It's... Ugh, now that seems hard to do."

"All that we can do is feel lucky that we do exist and enjoy what has been given to us, given for unknown reasons." Kai replied.

I couldn't help but say, "But how do you know we actually do exist?" They looked rather confused at that. "You can't be sure that you exist. You never will be able to. The reason being is because you're confined to just one perspective in one reality with you being forced to play by the rules this reality has. I'm not saying we don't exist, we do in at least some capacity since we're having this conversation, it's just to the extent of our existence is and probably will forever remain unknown. There is not enough perspective and reality to go around to come to a conclusive answer."

"...Sheesh, I'm not gonna be able to get to sleep tonight." Charlotte said after a few seconds of silence.

"Anything else you want to throw in?" Stacy asked, mesmerized by all the ideas I was putting in her head.

"Eh, those are the main thoughts I have regarding existence. Though I guess I can talk about the multiverse for a little bit."

"What's the multiverse?" My wife curiously asked with a tilt of her head.

"It's the idea of an infinite amount of universes containing every single outcome and possibility of existence. So every minute change in the laws of physics, every outcome of every decision anything has or could ever make, and even universes that make no sense, all having an infinite amount of combinations each. And we just so happen to be in this universe."

"So there's a universe where The Drop didn't happen?" Stacy asked.

"An infinite amount. And an infinite amount of universes where The Drop is going to happen to them. But that's if the multiverse exists. As it is, it will most likely never be discovered by humans. Honestly, that might be a good thing..."

"It is a fascinating thought... Not provable but it really gets you thinking." Kai commented.

"A lot of things are unprovable. But just because it is doesn't mean we should shun the idea. You only stop talking about an idea or a belief when one can refute it with evidence saying otherwise. Like a lot of shit in the Bible, not a God itself, but a lot of things in the Bible because they were simply… primitive to believe that a lot of those things actually happened."

"Right, and with all those other ideas you said about existence, how we can continue to talk about them." Kai pointed out which I nodded to.

"...I also believe that the possible ideas of the possibilities to reasons why we exist are more unknown than is known or thought of." I simply said.

"Well that's a mindfuck of a sentence." Willow replied which I chuckled at.

"You get used to thinking about things this way. It’s freeing to be open minded to reasons why we exist and not being forced or tied into a religion. But it comes at the cost of slightly driving yourself a little insane and somewhat developing the fear of dying. Honestly, the unknown as to what happens after we die is too great for me to ever want to find out... It sucks so much how that's inevitable though."

Stacy took a hold of my hand that was on her lap. "That won't happen for a very long time." She confidently claimed.

I nuzzled the top of her head. "As long as you're with me, I hope that will be the case..."

The conversation lulled but just for a minute before Charlotte said, "...So, wanna talk about something a little more comprehensible? Like... What about aliens?"

Kai chuckled. "Because that's a really down to Earth topic, right?"

Willow giggled at the irony which I thought was hypocritical. Only because every time I made a joke like that she'd scoff at me. Though I guess it made sense since they fuck each other so I guess she had a weak spot toward him... Or something like that.

"Me and Hunter have talked about aliens before. From what I understand, aliens would most likely look like nothing we could ever think of." My wife said, the girl going on to explain evolutionary paths, life generating differently than being carbon based, and pure chance ranging from a planet's aspects to extinction events.

It was fascinating to see how she was able to retain a lot of what I had told her and quite impressive. The rate in which she could learn actually kind of turns me on...

Anyways, I added onto the conversation by saying, "The people who think other life in our universe doesn't exist are kind of silly to me. Sure, we don't have proof of it and I'll get back to that, but the universe is so large that the odds of us being the only life are close to zero. The biggest estimated size of the universe claimed our universe to be several decillion light-years in diameter if cosmic inflation began the instance the universe began. The odds of Earth being the only speck in the universe with some type of life is astonishingly low."

"...Decillion?" Charlotte asked, unaware of the number.

So I decided to write it down for them. Which is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That's a decillion written out. Fairly huge but puny to other numbers that I could think of.

"Jesus..." Willow said when I stopped writing zeros down.

"Just remember there's nearly six trillion miles in a light-year. And I'd like to say that maybe aliens have already visited us. Maybe they couldn't come here because their bodies react violently with oxygen. We might've just been too unaware of what they were, like how an ant would see a human. It's also possible that aliens have seen us and determined us as not intelligent since their definition is so far beyond what ours is that we're pretty much nothing compared to them, like how we classify flamingoes as not intelligent. We don't talk to flamingoes just because it's another form of life."

"...You have a very interesting mind, Hunter." Kai simply replied. "That does make sense to me though... Maybe too much sense."

"I would also like to say that we could be owned by extraterrestrials right now. I say that because humans did that with animals all the time back in the day. We'd claim and own land but the creatures within it had no clue what society was. It was beyond them. Same thing could apply to us on Earth in the Milky Way."

Somewhat unfortunately the conversation didn't last that much longer after I expressed those ideas to them before the three of them went on to do their own activities. But that just left Stacy and I to talk about what was discussed between us and our friends.

"I really hope there's an afterlife of some kind... It's true when I say that I want to be with you forever." She said, the tone of voice making me realize that she became somewhat worried of the uncertainty of mortality.

I nuzzled the back of her head and gave it a kiss. "I hope so too as I want to do that as well... There's nothing we can do though. If there's an afterlife that we can enjoy together then we will. But if there's not then... Well, we don't have to think about that. We just have to focus on the now, alright? There's no way to figure out what happens after death until we die. And I'm gonna try my best to prevent that from happening to either of us for as long as I can, I promise you that."

"Yeah, that makes sense... I'll try not to think about it."

I leaned a tad over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "That's for the better. I personally like thinking about the possibilities but if it upsets you then I won't talk to you about it, that's the last thing I wanna make you feel."

"Maybe I'll like talking about it in the future... But for now I wanna learn about the states of matter." She said before reaching out for a book all about that subject that was stacked upon a few other books.

It was a simple subject that taught her all about atomic bonding, ions, molecules, chemical compounds, the fundamentals of chemistry, surface tension, cohesion, adhesion, viscosity, and how atoms behave in each form of matter including plasma. There were several states of obscure types of matter the book touched on but didn't go into great detail unfortunately. But those states of matter might be a little redundant these days so it's whatever.

She had been making a list of simple experiments she wanted to try to see physics work in real life other than on paper so she could make sure that what she was learning was true which was smart. I promised her a lot of things to help her achieve what she wanted to do. That included getting more books about topics she wanted to know more about as she needed a lot more books. I hoped that we could find what we were looking for. I’d need to keep my eyes peeled for more libraries elsewhere.

I wanted to find a microscope, telescope, plasma ball, mathematical tools, and a globe, stuff like that to help her do a few of the things she wanted to do. But before I did any such thing Stacy changed gears and started learning about the beginnings of Quantum Theory and things like the Planck Length, Time, and Temperature.

I honestly thought that she was moving too fast and so did she when she started reading about something as complicated as Quantum Theory, Theory of Relativity, and String Theory all at once. "I'll save this book for... much later." She said after twenty minutes of reading it.

I lightly chuckled. "Yeah, those are some pretty intense topics... Especially for someone who's kinda new to this all."

She giggled. "Yeah. A lot of things are taking a while to understand but that makes sense... I'm gonna have to review everything I've written down just so I can make sure that I remember it all."

"Keep the attitude and desire and you'll become smarter than me."

"What? No way, I'll never be as smart as you." She confidently claimed.

"Hm. We'll see what happens."


Just like that another week has passed me by, another week of incremental progress at that. But it was mainly things that I've already written about, the two main things being more progress on the cellar and the crops continued to grow. Thankfully since I was healing quite nicely I was able to properly get back to work by fishing and helping to build things. Cushion that with studying with Stacy and that was the prior week had.

Even though I said not a lot happened, there has been a couple of notable things that have occurred that I feel like writing down. One of them was three more people decided they wanted to become official members which consisted of Solomon, Quinn, and Scarlet. We did another ceremony which was more of the same but it was still nice. And I will say that when it was Quinn's turn I just had her nod to what she needed to repeat my words since... y'know, she's a mute.

Elliot's chances of becoming a member were still suspended and would be for a long while. And honestly, I think it might stay that way since he's growing distant and I'm becoming somewhat paranoid of him. I've told a couple of other members to keep a close eye on him and report to me if they discover anything suspicious or damning.

Another one of these notable things happened a couple of days ago when I was out scavenging with Lyra, Solomon, and Kostas where we were retrieving more building materials in a town beyond the typical one.

There were about four towns in total that we know of by now which all had signs telling them about Solaris. Trinity was producing a sign every other day where my little lady was more than happy to paint on them which built up a backlog so we decided to erect the ones that were stockpiled. The sign network was about twenty large now so our figurative net of trying to catch as many people as possible was slowly getting bigger. I was both excited and nervous for many reasons to see how many people would trickle in.

Anyways, during the trip to get more bricks for the cellar I spotted something that I've been thinking about recently which was getting a second car. When we pulled up to the decently sized market and got out I saw a good model of an electric car within the parking lot. It wasn't nearly as good as the model that we had but it was definitely one of the better ones that could be found.

Somewhat thankfully the remains of the previous owner of the vehicle were inside the car itself which meant that finding the keys was something that was gonna be easy. Contrary to being something like finding a needle in a haystack.

"How're we gonna charge it up? We're far away from home and I reckon there's no other working charger in a twenty mile radius of us." Lyra pointed out before I opened the charging port to the vehicle.

"...We might not need to. We can tow it back to Solaris if we have the right equipment since our vehicle can do that with no problem. But the problem here is that we need to lockpick this vehicle open. Kostas, are you familiar with lock picking any?" Thankfully the car model that was there was on the more 'primitive' side, the company manufacturing it not having been a very electronic company before they started manufacturing the model.

That made me think of coolant and how we'd eventually need to change the liquid out... But that was for future me to worry about.

"Uh, well somewhat. It would take me a while to figure out how to open this but I think we should focus on why we're out here first, maybe come back for this at a later time." Kostas replied.

I figured that was the right call so we focused back on the mission to locate and haul the required amount of bricks needed to continue the cellar project. It took a while and a lot of labour but we filled a decent bit of the trailer up with bricks before making our way back to Solaris. By the time we got back to base it was getting late so I put the 'retrieving another car' off for the next day.

The next day came quickly since there wasn't anything else noteworthy and with it so did the mission. Since Kostas had time to prepare for it he brought a few tools with him to help him out in successfully lockpicking the car. But he had to go to another market to find a towing strap so we could... y'know, tow. So after unhooking the trailer from the car and after Ashton wanted to tag along with us we were off so we could get back as soon as possible.

It's really nice to have almost every store fully stockpiled with just about everything we need, tool and utility wise. I say that because it only took about thirty minutes to find what Kostas needed before we made our way over to where the second electric vehicle was. And honestly it seemed too easy when we got there.

I say that because it took about forty-five minutes (the watch Stacy gave me has really come in handy) for Kostas to successfully get the car open after much struggle. We cleared it out, retrieved the keys, properly hooked it up to the back of the other car, and started making our way back to Solaris. Thankfully the car was compatible with the charging port we had back at home so we didn't need to find another type of port, that'd've been very annoying.

But it wasn't quite that easy. I say that because two of the tires on the vehicle were damaged and deflated. So that was a problem which... was quite the bummer honestly. But at least we didn't need a second vehicle, I just wanted it just in case we needed more carrying power or needed more space to flee. I don't expect that second one to ever happen but you never know. Maybe we'll find an electric bus eventually, that'd be cool.

After Ashton told me about the tires I simply said that any scavenging team that headed out should keep their eyes peeled for a pair of tires that'd be compatible with the vehicle. I put a note on the extra vehicle just so anyone that'd be interested in checking it out would know what up and what's needed.

After that I returned back to the dining room where Stacy was continuing her deep dive in teaching herself things. She hadn't been focusing as much time as she had been that first week since she wanted to focus on a couple of art projects and music but she was still intrigued at all the knowledge she could learn about. It'd take her months to properly study everything she wanted to know but she was determined. It was adorable.

In this instance she was learning about aerodynamics which included things like lift, thrust, weight, and drag. She was also learning more about the laws of thermodynamics and the laws of motion which she was incredibly fascinated by. Anyways, as I helped her study, Phoenix and Autumn walked into the dining room with us but I paid them no mind. I just kept a light hold on Stacy's hips as she sat on my lap as the girl quietly read a passage from the book she was reading.

When the other couple whispered a small bit I glanced at them since I thought they were starting to act a bit suspicious. But I took the time to note Autumn's appearance as well. She was starting to develop the first signs of 'showing' that she was pregnant. It was minute but I was still able to make it out since I was able to see the woman's belly having a small baby bump to it.

I wondered when she'd be telling everyone of the up and coming child. I didn't have to wonder for long since Autumn gently said, "Hey, Stacy? There's something I need to tell you."

Autumn successfully ripped Stacy out of her focus causing the girl to look toward her direction with a small tilt to her head. "Oh? What is it?"

Autumn glanced at Phoenix before continuing. "It's something we've been slowly telling the others over the course of the day, something that... Well, it's something that has had a lot of different reactions and might not even be that important, not to some others at least. It's just something we want to warn everyone about before it arrives."

"You're being very... cryptic." Stacy replied which got a chuckle from Phoenix. "What about Hunter? Are you fine with telling me whatever it is with him right here?"

"He already knows." Phoenix assured her, which confused Stacy a little bit.

"Have you noticed this little bump I've been getting recently?" Autumn asked with a hand on her belly before the girl on my lap slowly nodded in response. "Well, simply put it... I'm pregnant. We're expecting it to arrive in around twenty-four weeks or so."

I don't think any of us were expecting Stacy to jump off my lap in excitement. "Oh my- what's it like being pregnant? Do you know what it looks like? Have you decided on a name yet? Have you seen it?"

I chuckled and stood up before making my way behind Stacy. "Calm down, little miss... You're overwhelming the soon-to-be parents."

Autumn quietly giggled. "I don't mind all of the questions, they're quite sweet... But one at a time please" Stacy excitedly nodded and repeated her first question. I think she already knew what the symptoms were like since Olivia had told us all about it not long ago but I assumed she just wanted confirmation from an actual pregnant lady. "It's... strange and sometimes a bit annoying. The morning sickness is hitting me hard every now and then, I've gotta pee a lot more often, and uh... my breasts already feel pretty tender."

"Do you know what it looks like?" Stacy asked, quickly moving onto the next question since she wanted to retrieve the information as soon as possible.

"No, not yet. But Olivia's about to get an ultrasound machine so we can take a peek at it. Would you want to be there when we see it?" Autumn asked which lit Stacy's eyes up.

"Yes! ...But what's an ultrasound machine?"

"It uh... Hm, it's a device that emits some type of wave that echoes back so you can see inside a uterus. That's at least my understanding of it, you can ask Olivia about it later." Autumn replied, only having a little difficulty with Stacy's question.

"Have you decided on a name yet?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Not yet. We need to figure out if it's a girl or a boy first to decide on what its name is gonna be. But we're open to suggestions."

"What about Vulcan for a son?" I somewhat jokingly coined the idea of.

"That doesn't sound too terribly bad..." Autumn replied. "Does it mean anything?"

"It means fire." I simply replied.

"...What about Luna for a daughter?" Stacy shyly coined the idea of.

"And that's also a good suggestion." Phoenix replied. "It's simple yet unique and stands for something so beautiful."

Talk about names only persisted for another couple of minutes before Stacy timidly asked, "...May I touch your belly? Is that a weird thing to ask?"

"No, I don't really mind. But it's gonna be a little while before you're gonna be able to start feeling the baby's kicks." Autumn answered before Stacy walked up to her and lightly touched the bump of her belly where she gingerly giggled.

"It's... It's awesome how there's someone growing in here." She said which Autumn nodded to. "It's so cool..." After she touched Autumn's belly for a few more moments she looked up at Autumn and asked, "Can I... Can I hold it when it's out?"

Autumn was just a bit surprised at her question. "It's... endearing how you're acting like this. Yeah, I'll let you hold them a little while after they've been born. But just you, besides Phoenix and maybe Olivia of course, this'll be our little secret."

"Not much of a secret if you ask me." I replied which got a laugh out of Phoenix.

"Women are pregnant for forty weeks, right?" Stacy asked, quickly getting confirmation. "And you said twenty-four weeks... That's a while from now."

"It's gonna flash by.. At least for me. Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to be a mother yet but I've been coming to terms with it and have been mentally preparing for a while now... I just hope I won't fail." Autumn said.

I kept a thought within me for a few seconds before I had to express it. "If... If you two ever need help with the baby then we'll be able to lend a hand. We're all in this together."

Phoenix nodded with a grin. "We greatly appreciate it but we hope that we won't need to use a lifeline. We will only when we have to."

With all that being said and done the conversation tapered off from there before the couple said their goodbyes shortly afterward to go tell whoever left about the upcoming event. Stacy turned around and walked back to where we were at prior to when they interrupted our study session. She gestured for me to sit down so I complied to her unspoken wish before she made her way back onto my lap but instead of her back leaning on me she turned and leaned her side on me.

I wrapped my arms around her waist before her arms wrapped around my torso as the girl rested her head on my chest. "Why didn't you tell me she was pregnant?" She quietly and curiously asked.

"I would've if they gave me permission... They just didn't want anyone else to know which I respected."

"Oh, that makes sense. I'm kind of jealous of them..." She admitted which made my heart skip a beat.

"...Jealous, huh?"

She looked up at me so I reciprocated her gaze and lightly pressed my nose against hers. "Yes. I really want to get pregnant..."

Her words made me a little aroused but I quickly clarified to myself that her words weren't all that sex-related. But I did think about how much the girl wanted a child which prompted me to ask, "...What are the reasons why you want a baby so much?"

She looked away for a few seconds as she formulated a response. She looked back up at me. "I... I want to raise a happy child. I feel like I need to in a way since how… badly I was raised... Is that dumb?"

That explanation made some type of sense to me. "No, it's not dumb. Nothing like that will ever be dumb, Stace... Are there any more reasons or is that all?"

"Well, I also just want to be a mom in general. It sounds so cool, making a baby in me, a baby that would be ours, and then helping them grow up to be a person of their own..."

I closed the distance between our lips so I could lightly kiss her for a few seconds. "I... agree. It's just we have to wait for a lot of reasons."

She sighed and looked away again. "I understand... We have to know that we'd be bringing them into a Solaris that has its future pretty much guaranteed, I get it... It's just so hard waiting. But again, there's that possibility of it never happening."

I quickly debated whether or not I should tell her if all hope wasn't lost regarding her conceiving. I knew I probably shouldn't have for reasons I won't get into but I did anyway. "Olivia said there's a few medications you could take to see if it'd help 'jumpstart' your ovulation process."

She looked back up at me with a glint of hope in her eyes. "Oh? Do you know what that is?"

I lightly shook my head. "No... And she said that it'd be a few years before she helps us with that."

She stayed quiet for a few seconds before huffing a small bit which was adorable. She nuzzled my chest before she rotated herself so her back could lean on me. "I'll focus on something else until then, I guess..." I gently nuzzled the top of her head as I assumed she started internally reading the book where she left off. "...Are you gonna put your hands back on my sides?"

(Sex scene ahead “ctrl+f” ‘sex scene over’ to skip)

"Oh, right." I said before doing just that causing her to gingerly wiggle her hips into me which stoked a minute amount of arousal.

She continued reading from there for about fifteen minutes before she slowly got silent. I was gonna ask her if anything was wrong but she spoke up before I said anything.

"I like having you hold me like this, keeping me in place... It reminds me that I'm yours..."

Her words started arousing me again so I leaned over her shoulder and kissed her neck for a few seconds before moving on to kissing her cheek. "Yes you do, my little lady."

She lightly gasped when I wrapped an arm around her abdomen as my other hand slipped under her shirt before the appendage breached into pants and her panties where the palm of my hand quickly cupped her hairy groin.

"Your delicious pussy especially belongs to me and only me, forever..." I seductively whispered as a couple of my digits gently draped over her labia causing the girl to quietly whimper at what I was doing as she gingerly spread her legs open. "Does my little dirty girl want another load of my semen in her, hm?"

She kept her eyes closed and very lightly nodded as her breath adopted a light shiver to it. I kissed her neck as I continued draping my fingers over her lower lips causing her rate of breath to increase slightly as she exposed her neck to me. I accepted her offer and deeply kissed several parts of her neck where the girl swallowed hard as she wiggled on the hard bulge that had formed under where she sat.

My hand around her abdomen migrated but kept a tight hold on her as it slipped under her shirt and up to her breasts to massage them so I could turn her on even more. I could tell it worked since she spread her legs open a little more before she quietly moaned. These actions only lasted a couple of more minutes before she abruptly got up off me which forced me to stop what I was doing to her where she then took a hold of my hand.

She gave me the familiar pleading eyes of her being in a feral state of wanting to be pounded. I put my other hand on the side of her face and pecked the tip of her nose before she started tugging at me to get up and follow her. Thankfully there was no one else in the mansion, at least not in the living room, at that point so we made it to our room with ease.

"Can we... can we do something a little different?" She asked after I closed the door where the adorable little girl looked up at me.

I put both of my hands on each side of her face and eskimo kissed her. "Of course, whatever you wanna do we'll do."

She swallowed hard again before I let her go. "I've gotta get something from the bathroom first..."

I was only a little confused but she went and did that with no questioning where the girl came back with the small stool she uses to help herself use the mirror in the bathroom. This house wasn't particularly made for people five-six and under where while she could use it without the stool it was much easier for her with the stool. Never mentioned the stool before because I thought that was obsolete but it wasn't in this case.

"What are you thinking, little miss?" I asked with a chuckle as she placed the stool down in the middle of the room.

She got up and stood on it before facing my way. "I... I want to stand up and have sex. We've never done that before and it's something I've been wanting to try..."

That quickly made sense in my mind so I walked up to her and kissed her forehead. The stool was the perfect height for our groins to be at the same level with each other but even then, my wife was still about five inches shorter than I was so she still had the small factor apply to her. "This seems like it'd be fun so yes, I will fuck you like this..."

She happily smiled after I wrapped my arms around her. I rested my forehead on hers and gently rubbed my nose against hers for a few seconds before lightly kissing her. The kiss strengthened over the next few moments before I lightly ground on her groin.

When we broke the kiss we looked each other deeply in the eyes as both of our rates of breath slightly elevated. We didn't even have to say anything before I slowly started taking her shirt off for her, the girl allowing it before I moved onto taking a tight hold of her pants and panties.

As I slid those down she put both of her hands on my face so she could kiss me as I fully undressed her where the girl kicked the clothes off when they fell to her ankles. When the kiss ended I took mine off as well before I rested my erect phallus on her lower soft belly, from her groin to her belly button. It was so hot to remember how deep my cock went inside of her.

"Do you want to take this really slow? Like that one time we didn't cum for a long time?" I asked as I slowly rubbed my cock on her.

She nodded. "Yes... Yes, I want that so much."

I rested my forehead on hers again as a hand took a hold of my penis to slowly direct it between her very lubricated folds. I of course rubbed my tip between her lips for a minute causing the adorable girl to swallow hard in anticipation as I enjoyed the hair rubbing on me as well before starting my plunge into her familiar but forever magnificent depths.

As I started delving into her I put my hands firmly on her hips before her arms wrapped around my neck where the girl kissed me before she lightly grunted when the second inch entered her and spread her hungry seam open. We lightly danced our tongues together for a minute before kissing regularly where my glans contacted her cervix another minute later.

I broke the kiss but kept our foreheads resting on each other to lustfully whisper, "I love being inside you... It's the best physical feeling there is..." The amount of lust within my tone was only amplified as I enjoyed the feeling of being deeply ported inside her and pressed against her cervix and encompassed by her perfectly heated, tight, lubricated vaginal walls. It’s literally heaven on Earth.

"I-I love it too... You're so big, you make me feel so full, comfortable, and warm... Like you were made to be inside me..."

I started to very slowly pull out of her, the both of us deeply looking each other in the eyes, of which persisted for the duration of the conversation. "Maybe not specifically made for it... But we're definitely the ones to do this with each other... No one else, ever... Your pussy is too divine to be for anyone else." A hand on her hip snaked around her hip to take a firm hold of a buttock as another hand lightly grabbed her neck which she once again swallowed at. "Your smell, taste, warmth, wetness, tightness, depth, elegance, and beauty will, like I said, be mine and only mine. Forever..."

She nodded with a quiet whimper as I started delving my way back into her. "Y-Yes... Just like how you'll be the only one who has sex and cums in me and only me..."

We're really possessive, aren't we? It's not a bad thing since we reciprocate the feelings... right?

"I don't know why that wouldn't be the case... How could I ever be tempted when I already have perfection?" I replied as I hit her cervix again. "You're a very good girl... You really are, you always have some of my semen in you, a piece of me in you that confirms that you belong to me."

"I... I love always having something of yours inside of me... It calms me..." She struggled to say through stifled grunts. "The moment before you cum in me is so... it's so nice..."

I sped up my thrusting by a decent amount but it was still slow, a full (or more so half) in and out movement happening every five seconds or so. "Oh? Tell me more..."

"It... It-." She moaned as the rubbing on her sensitive spots and cervix started properly invading her mind. "It gets really hard right before you cum. Having you spread me open and having you so deep inside me when you cum is always... a fantastic feeling. I love how your penis twitches so much as I feel your semen enter me as you empty yourself... it's so warm... It's so lovely. And... the thought of how intimate it all is... How you love me so much, how you always put my pleasure above yours, how we own each other, how I'm able to make you cum, how we might make a baby... and how we're one ..."

It was nice hearing her purest form of thoughts regarding it all. She had told me a lot of that before but never all together in one package so it was a real turn on for me. In response I continued holding her tightly, slowly giving us the pleasure we desired, and kissed her. Before I kissed her I told her to tap my face whenever she was about to cum so we could last for a very long time in the caring, loving, magnificent, and intimate session.

As we kissed over the course of thirty minutes we heard each other's grunts and whimpers of pure happiness and pleasure as we mated, the girl sometimes hiking a leg on one of my hips before putting it back down after a few seconds. The way she was standing made the sex just a little more tighter than usual since she usually always had her legs spread open for me so that was a welcome feeling. Even though I loved the sight of her legs open I didn't mind it since any sex with Stacy is so mind-blowingly great.

Eventually one of her arms around my neck migrated onto my shoulder where her appendage draped its way down my chest, side, and hip. I continued slowly fucking her and listening to her stifled grunts from the kiss as I wanted to know what she was doing. Her hand then trailed its way over my mons pubis and down to my testicles of which she then took a light grasp of.

She slowly fondled them as our steamy act continued, the feeling of her caring fingers holding the most vulnerable part of my body and completely at her mercy being comforting in a way. At least, it added onto the comforting feeling since being inside my wife comes with several intimate attributes along with remembering as to why she’s my wife. It always calms my soul.

In response, the hand not on her buttock migrated to take a hold of a tit to massage it just to give her another pleasurable feeling as well. The feeling and sound of her elevated breath was addictive too, I loved making the girl feel this way. And also because we had been doing the act for a little while at that point we were starting to sweat and give off a scent. So we were thoroughly enjoying the smells we gave off as well…

Her orgasm ended up being denied three times and mine was denied two times. We were heavily breathing after five minutes after the second time I was denied, the kiss having been broken for three or so minutes as we held each other close even though we were still fondling each other, the feeling of being edged and denied in our groins and bellies screaming at us to cum.

I tightly held my eyes shut as I desperately tried not to cum while I continued my gentle thrusts where quiet grunts of pleasure escaped me. I held her tighter as I edged myself again, the girl reciprocating my tight grasp. The feeling of physical touch of our bodies pressing against each other as my phallus was tightly squeezed in a fleshly, tight, and well lubricated tunnel of pure companionship and knowing she was my amazing wife was so extremely amplified to the mind. "I-I need to cum, I need to cum inside you, to claim you, I need to do it so much." I announced, the last of my efforts to hold back my climax starting to fail.

"D-Do it, I need to cum too- I want your cum in me so bad-!" She replied which in response I kissed her and drastically sped up my thrusting.

All for about five seconds before our groins exploded in orgasmic fluid and with it we both moaned quite audibly as we rode our orgasms out within each other. I frantically thrusted into her as I felt a small cascade of musky fluid exit her groin while the girl pressed her body into me as we let the intense waves of pleasure wash over us and flood our veins. I didn't mind the splatters I heard, I just cared about the glorious feeling the glans of my phallus was experiencing.

When our climaxes ceased ten seconds later we stopped fondling each other and kissing each other before we tightly wrapped our arms around each other as we heavily panted. My cock continued twitching inside her as my semen quickly started dripping out of her since gravity was working against my wants of most of my semen staying inside of her for a few minutes.

We silently stayed there for a few slow minutes as my penis slowly softened inside her, the need to sleep swiftly invading my mind. I gingerly rubbed my forehead against hers as we enjoyed the afterglow of being greatly sexually satisfied. The way it feels in the mind, to hold your partner so close while smelling their scent as you’re intimately connected with them will never be beaten. 

I kissed her forehead before slipping my flaccid cock out of her and retrieving a towel. "That was... That was so good... So fucking good..." Stacy quietly said after a few seconds as she weakly stood on the stool.

"We should have sex like that more often..." I commented as I walked back up to her and started cleaning her groin.

"I agree but... it's so hard not to cum. It's worth it in the end but... it's so difficult." She replied as I started cleaning myself off.

"I also agree." After waiting a few more minutes for most of the rest of my semen to make its way out of her were I passed the time by admiring her form, I put the towel on the mess on the floor and scooped Stacy into my arms. I deeply kissed her for a few seconds before making my way toward our bed.

After we got settled down we faced each other and held one another as we quickly got dreary. After delicately intertwining our legs together and looking into each other's souls we struck up a conversation. “It was interesting to feel how your… testicles retracted inside you as you came… I thought that was so hot. Especially because I knew you were about to cum in me and your testicles wanted to impregnate me... so hot.” She commented as we reviewed what we liked about the session. I typically say the same things of how I enjoy being inside her, her scent, how she presses into me, basically everything about it. "The only thing I didn't like is how your cum fell out of me so quickly..."

I quickly nuzzled her nose. "Well, maybe next time I can pound you from behind so it can stay in you for a little while... At least some’s inside you now..."

She lightly giggled. "Yeah... It's so nice..."

Conversation died those last words, the both of us continuing to deeply look into each other's eyes. I don't even remember when I fell asleep to be honest.

(Sex scene over)

Chapter 45: The third anniversary...

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

So yet almost another couple of weeks has gone by of my regular routine and healing from the incident. And with it was the third year anniversary of The Drop. On the morning of that day I started it off like usual which was to deeply enjoy being intimately connected with my sleeping wife, thank whatever God there was that allowed me to have my precious little angel, (and also curse them for letting The Drop happen) and enjoy holding her close.

As I slowly smelled her hair, enjoyed her light scent, and gave her light kisses on her temple I remembered that it was the anniversary of that one fateful day. My heart skipped a beat at the realization which was predeceased by a flash of memory of what I experienced that day.

I despised the anniversary for obvious reasons. I tried forgetting about it by holding Stacy closer and digging my face into her hair to get lost in the feeling she gave me. That did a decent bit but I still couldn't shake the thought. I struggled to get lost in Stacy's sensations for about ten minutes before I realized that I should be getting up for the day. But y'know, getting out of bed is always hard and pair that with intimately holding my wife then it's even harder, if you know what I mean.

Stacy's usually the one to get me out of bed anyways because I can never usually take myself out of her due to how pleasant tightly and intimately spooning her is. Which she agreed with so when she wakes up we stay in bed for another ten minutes before we agree that we've 'wasted' enough time and get up for the day.

As she was glancing at what clothes to wear for the day I made my way behind her and wrapped my arms around her abdomen before digging my nose into her hair. I was still feeling dread from it having been three years since The Drop happened.

"Oh, is that today...? Is there anything you want me to do to make you feel better?" She sweetly asked as she leaned back into me.

I leaned down and nuzzled the crook of her neck. "Not really... I've just got to remember that I have you, my perfect, lovely, little wife..."

"And you forever will... I love you, Hunter." She said which helped a little with my mood.

I kissed her cheek and leaned a little more over which is when the girl got the hint and looked back at me so we could lightly kiss for a couple of minutes as my hand slowly draped up her skin. My other hand delicately brushed through her hair which I always enjoyed. "Now, as much as I love seeing you naked, we've gotta get dressed to get down to business..."

I kind of forgot that we had three more people join us. Wild thing to forget, right? Meeting new people was starting to become normal again and... it was so nice even if worrisome. Our total number is now up to twenty-seven. Their names are Vanessa, Zaine, and John. They were all average height and twenty, twenty, and nineteen years old respectively.

And honestly, the amount of people in Solaris is already getting to a point where some people aren't gonna be my friend. And that's expected since the bigger we get the more people I'd have to keep up with and I honestly didn't want to do that. But of course they'd be friends with other members and as long as they're working they're more than welcome.

The amount of labourers we're getting is great and the more labourers we get, the more work can get done so I was all for it. Thankfully the first main group (the original eleven) were all able to be a leader in their segment of expertise. And I was the leader of the leaders, it was cool how we already had a line of 'political' power up and running.

But that did mean another cabin had to be constructed and all three of them would be taking it since they're in a polygamous relationship. I didn't mind it as they're consenting people so more power to them, as long as they keep it to themselves. But it's something I would never do, not even think of, but I can kind of see the appeal to it. I just wonder how you'd be able to successfully love more than one person, you'd be splitting the love power, right?

Anyways, there's more questions I had about polygamy like... how does double-penetration work and feel like and what happens when the woman gets pregnant? Does each male get a turn at impregnating the woman? Honestly, these might be dumb questions but it's what I wonder.

When I taught Stacy what polygamy was she straight up despised the idea. She respects it but she thinks it's really gross. It's not like she's gonna stop anyone or hate anyone for it though, she's not a child.

But yes, we were still focused on the cellar so their cabin would have to wait. That didn't stop Trinity from planning ahead and figuring out where the next five cabins would go which was intriguing. Solaris would start looking like a proper village after that amount of housing is made and I honestly couldn't wait to see it.

Anyways, the work I did was more of the usual though I will note that there was a type of glum feeling that everyone was feeling due to the anniversary. I fished with Stacy for a bit, helped build some of the walls for the cellar as some others worked on ventilation and insulation, and worked out for a little while.

Regarding the ‘working out’ I was deliberately plateauing at a hundred and eighty-five pounds because I didn't want to get any beefier. The goal now was to just keep my muscles up to scratch since I was satisfied by how much stronger I had made myself.

I chuckle every time I remember Stacy's weight. She's ninety-seven pounds now but that's including her hair. She's ninety-two without it so I'm double her mass. She was now so incredibly light that it was even more adorable.

So after determining that I had put my body through enough stress and strain I put the heavy barbell up and continued to lay there as I quietly caught my breath. Sweat's always been so annoying but I get the purpose. It just sucks how dirty it makes me feel. At least Stacy greatly enjoys the scent I give off.

Speaking of which, she barged into our room which actually kind of scared me. "Hunter! Autumn's gonna see her baby!"

I sat up as the girl made it to my side. After wiping a decent amount of sweat off me with a spare towel and putting my shirt back on I surprised her by scooping her off her feet before standing up. "Oh? What're you doing here for then, aren't you gonna miss it?"

She nuzzled my chest as she smelled me. "Nope, they're moving that big ultrasound thing into the living room. Olivia figured just to keep it down there because bringing it up would be a hassle and there's already so little room."

"Makes sense... Well, wanna go see it play out?" I asked, getting an excited nod in response.

I carried her downstairs to see Kostas and Phoenix doing what Stacy had claimed. Olivia and Autumn followed behind them as they wheeled their way to the desired spot. I followed too since we were invited to watch what was gonna be revealed.

After they put the machine in a spot that Olivia determined was an adequate spot, which was a meter or so away from one of the couches, she plugged it in and spent a few minutes doing whatever to set it up. When she was done with that she turned to Autumn, the woman taking note of me holding Stacy. "Alright let’s just get right into it, why don't you go ahead and lay down on the couch here? I know this is a pretty unprofessional setup but I think you understand."

Autumn nodded with a small giggle and did as she was asked before the woman used the armrest of the couch as a pillow to prop her head up. Phoenix made his way behind Autumn as Olivia pulled out a bottle of ultrasound gel.

"How much of that do you have?" I couldn't help but ask before taking a seat on the other couch where Stacy migrated herself to my side right before leaning on me.

"A decent bit but it expires in about two years. I know olive oil can be used as a replacement but that's for much later." She replied as she picked up a stool that was near the door.

As she placed it next to Autumn I assumed Stacy got it for her and wondered what she'd do if she figured out we fucked on that stool. Anyways, she picked up the... the ultrasound-looker thing that I don't know the name of and started squirting the gel on it. She glanced at Autumn who nodded before she pressed the device onto her lower belly which made Autumn jump.

"W-Wasn't expecting it to be so cold..."

Olivia just lightly smiled before she looked at the monitor displaying a mess of black and white. But it didn't take much moving on Olivia's part to spot the fetus since Autumn was about eighteen weeks pregnant at this point. "There it is... And it looks like you're gonna be expecting just one." The doctor announced.

Stacy excitedly gasped and got up to get a closer look at the ultrasound. I looked over to Phoenix and Autumn who were holding their hands together which I thought was really cute. Autumn had tears, not sad ones, welled up in her eyes as Phoenix expressed joy on his face. I hope one day that'll be Stacy and I...

I got up too and stayed behind Stacy as she tried making sense of the monitor as I myself had a hard time reading what was on the screen. Kostas only gave it a few glances which I thought was kind of funny, the man really didn't like children I guess.

"They're beautiful..." Autumn whispered.

"What's this part?" Stacy asked as she pointed at a white appendage.

"That's one of its legs." Olivia happily answered as she continued moving around Autumn's belly to get more information on the fetus.

"Oh! It all makes sense now! ...It's so cool..." Stacy replied as she continued intently looking at the screen.

A few minutes later Olivia said, "Well, things appear to be developing nicely, nothing's out of the ordinary here." She turned to the couple who exhaled in relief. "Do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"You can tell?" Stacy asked, the girl turning to the doctor.

She nodded and awaited the couple's response. "We don't see why not. Autumn and I agreed that gender reveal parties were kind of dumb back then. And it's not like we're in a place to start throwing parties, not yet at least."

Olivia waited a few more seconds to reveal its gender. "Congratulations you two, you're gonna be expecting to be raising a little girl come the time she's born."

Autumn started to cry after that, the woman so full of emotion at the reveal. Phoenix comforted her as she cried as Olivia took the ultrasound thing off her belly. "W-Wait, I want t-to see her some more." Autumn announced.

Olivia put it back on her belly before Autumn continued her crying but only for another couple of minutes before she focused on the screen. "How far along do you think she is?" Phoenix asked.

"Hm... My best educated guess is around eighteen weeks or so. What's the date twenty-two weeks from now?"

"Let me figure that out." I said before making my way to the dining room to use the calendar there to help me out. It took a few minutes and when I got back I answered, "December fourteenth, twenty-twenty-seven."

"That's your due date." Olivia said afterward.

"That's so long from now..." Stacy quietly said as the ultrasound was coming to an end.

As Olivia was wiping all the gel off with a rag she was reminding the couple what they should be doing, going to her if anything seems off, how to take the best steps to make sure the baby develops properly, all of that stuff.

"So have you guys thought of any names for your daughter?" I asked with a gentle smile, intrigued for them. I was looking forward to meeting the first native born Solar citizen.

Since Autumn had calmed down from her emotional episode she replied with, "We've thought of a few so far... Haven't decided on one just yet and we're still open for suggestions."

"What names do you currently like?" Stacy simply asked.

"At the moment, now that we know it's a girl, Isabella or Kalena might be the one... Those were the names for our mothers, naming them that would be in memory of them in a way." Phoenix quietly replied.

"That's sweet... And those are good names." Olivia replied as she finished putting everything up for the ultrasound machine and turning it off. "If you two want to see your baby again then we'll go ahead and do that in a month or two just so we can further check on her development. It's not really required though, you're just about out of the woods for the most uncertain part of a pregnancy."

The couple seemed pleased at the doctor's words before the little medical check up concluded not much longer after that. All in all it was nice to see that life was still able to go on and that the circle of life was continuing right inside Solaris. I hoped for that baby's sake and any other baby that would inevitably be making their way to us would be born into a world that has learned from our mistakes and into a self-sufficient and developed community. We just had to continue working for it.

Since I was invigorated by seeing the fetus I wanted to work some more so I made my way to where Trinity was, the woman often being where they processed timber. The processing team consisted of Trinity herself, Raiden, Phoenix, and Charlotte while Solomon and Roman were the ones hacking down the required trees.

The way it was set up was efficient and working well. Two people in the timber-hole, which is what I call the hole that was made where timber gets cut into multiple slices, while another two further cut those slices down into smaller planks. Thankfully with all the power tools the planks we made these days were much nicer and more smooth, it really made the whole process so much more refined.

Unfortunately though we still had to cut the trunks of trees manually since there weren’t that many electric chainsaws to go around and we've yet to find a power saw station. The trunks were thick and the chainsaws would only be used to slice two, maybe three logs in total before dying so I prohibited the use of them like that and only wanted them used to chop trees down.

Anyways, I joined them in helping create smaller planks by hauling a slice of trunk onto a table-like craft of which then a certain amount of timber overhangs an edge. After that the amount of wood overhanging the edge gets cut off and smoothed out before getting added to a stockpile of them. When I say ‘a small plank’ they were still a couple meters long so they were pretty large, just not compared to how long a trunk of a tree could be.

"It's the third anniversary for The Drop..." Charlotte pointed out as she took a break from sawing timber.

Trinity was right next to her so she was the first one to reply. "Oh, right... Three years already, huh?"

"Feels like three decades sometimes." I replied as I carried a freshly made plank on the stockpile.

"It sometimes does... Ever think we'll know what caused The Drop?" Charlotte asked.

"Probably not. The reason being is because there's no bodies to do any autopsies on. So the reason why almost everyone died will most likely forever remain a mystery." I pessimistically replied.

"The mystery just kills me... I want to know so much about why we had to lose everyone." Solomon commented.

"Whatever reason there could be, it's not enough to justify killing eight billion people. " I harshly said, anger prevalent in my voice. I took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "Sorry, it's just that this topic pisses me off. So many people didn't deserve to die. So many people had their lives cut short for seemingly no reason."

"...We understand why it pisses you off. I'm sure it pisses all of us off." Phoenix replied, the other three agreeing with his words. "But it's a topic we all should be more open about, it’s something that needs to be discussed more so we can heal from it. Don't think that I haven't noticed how silent all of you are about The Drop. It can't be that healthy to keep it all bottled up."

"You're... right." Trinity reluctantly agreed. "It's just... Personally, I barely open up to Charlotte about it. It's so... difficult just having your entire family die... especially right in front of you."

"We all can relate to that statement. As far as I know there isn't anyone in Solaris that has a living family member on the planet. We can build each other up since we're all on the same level of loss." Phoenix replied. I somewhat disagreed with his statement but decided against saying it.

"Do you guys think it was different in other areas of the world? Do you think Asia got hit less than America?" Charlotte pondered which got a light shake of my head.

"If Europe or any other part of the world got hit less than us wouldn't we have been contacted by now or at least seen some sort of advanced civilization? Hell, I've been wanting to set up a proper radio station to reach several hundred miles out to see if there'd be any other communities that have our capabilities. Who knows what'd happen then."

"It's an intriguing thought. The possible trading of knowledge, goods, and making an alliance maybe. Maybe merge our peoples to form an even bigger civilization?" Phoenix pondered, his ideas being something that intrigued my mind as well.

I lightly chuckled. "I've thought about that all before... It'd be very interesting, fascinating, and just straight up cool if we discover another settlement. I wonder how long it'll be until then... if there's another settlement out there."

"I doubt that Solaris is the only one." Solomon plainly said.

"I doubt it too. We're getting a few new people every month. There's gotta be tens of thousands of people left in America alone." Trinity replied.

"Yeah, that's a good point but if I had to guess it'd be probably ten thousand people in North America at maximum. I wonder how many more people are gonna make their way to us." I said.

"Isn't it possible that we've already been discovered by a bigger group?" Phoenix wondered.

"It is. The only thing one can hope is that they have good intentions. If otherwise, then that's why our members have guns and walkie-talkies, those tools are fantastic for defense if shit goes south. I've also been thinking of another layer of defense and that's to build a wall around the parts of Solaris where people have their living space. With that then we'll have a couple people work as lookouts for Solaris in the night."

Trinity nodded. "That's somewhat of a solid plan... Just requires more effort in building which is... Well, I'm not upset about it. I'm proud to be working for this community and proud to be one part of building it up."

I nodded as well. "And I'm proud to be leading such a fantastic group of people. I hope all of you retain the desire to build Solaris up to what we want it to become. Our path forward relies on all our hands collectively. Hopefully one day instead of building a cellar we'll be building skyscrapers the world has never seen before. But we get there by doing the little things first like this."

"Ambitious as always." Charlotte said with a hidden smile.

"This definitely doesn't seem little to me, that's for sure..." Solomon commented.

After that the conversation tapered off as we continued our jobs in getting shit done. At least we did for another hour before the day was starting to come to a close and another productive day neared its end. The productive part of my day ended when Audrey walked up to me as I was putting the power tools I was using back in the shack out back.

"Have a good day today?" She asked as I put a sander in a box.

I turned to her to see her leaning on the doorway with a blunt in her hand. I only glanced at it once. "Yeah, it was pretty alright, we got a lot of woodwork done. Do you have any idea on what the ETA will be when the cellar's completed?"

"Another three or four weeks most likely. The insulation's the hardest part of this whole process but I really don't want to talk about it, it's pretty mind numbing and somewhat stressful work. Instead, I want to get high. What about you?"

I eyed the blunt, a type of small craving entering my gut as I looked at it. I shrugged after determining that there'd be no negative in partaking but really only positives. "Sure. I assume I can invite my wife?"

She nodded. "Of course, you're free to invite anyone really. All the marijuana has been properly harvested so I now finally have a huge stockpile of it. I can finally properly cope..."

I thought about what Phoenix said regarding our emotions to The Drop, "...You know, we're all friends here. Pretty much family by now. You can open up to us as much as you need to."

"...No amount of talking will help me." She somewhat angrily said. She sighed after realizing her tone before using her free hand to rub her temples in frustration. "Sorry, it's just... It's the anniversary of The Drop and with Autumn expecting a daughter... It's put me in a bad mood even though I realize that that's probably immature. You probably don't even understand why."

"I guess what Ashton said regarding that one guy-talk conversation staying between us was true." I thought as Audrey put her hand back down. "Your emotions shouldn't be thought of that way. You just gotta try your best with properly handling them and not letting them get out of hand."

She lifted the blunt up. "And that's why I have this."

I'm not a doctor and not a psychologist so I wasn't qualified to try to guess how I should reply to that and how to help her deal with the internal turmoil she faces so I said, "You should probably look into a few more ways to cope. But that's all I'm gonna say because I'm not that qualified to prescribe what you should do other than to share your burdens with friends because it's something we're all going through."

"...That is a fair thing to say. I'll think about it later. For now though, go get your wife and meet me in my cabin."

I nodded and let her go there first because it was awkward saying 'see you later' and then walking the same direction. Anyways, I found Stacy at the dining table doing a sketch of a spiral galaxy.

"That looks wondrous, Stacy..." I quietly commented which got her attention.

"I'll make a proper one later. I've just been experimenting with how to draw one for a couple days now. They're really hard to draw..."

"But you're really talented so you'll be able to draw them in no time." She lightly blushed at my compliment. "For now, do you wanna smoke a little?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall that said it was nine in the afternoon. "Isn't it a little early to smoke?"

I lightly chuckled. "There's not really a time that defines when one can and can't smoke. If I had to put a time on it though I'd say after the day's work has come to an end, which it has. You can say no, it's all up to you."

"No, no, I want to get high again... It was cool. Are you gonna go do it now?" She asked with a small tilt to her head.

"Whenever you feel like going with me." I said with a shrug.

"Alright, let me finish this part first..." She said before focusing on her sketch.

She spent ten minutes finishing a segment before getting up on her feet. I took her hand and made my way to Audrey's and Ashton's cabin where I saw the couple that owned the cabin, Olivia, Raiden, and Zaine. They were all around the round table that the cabin had which had a couple bottles of alcohol and a couple decks of card games on it. They reserved a couple of seats for us so we accepted the offer and made our way to them.

"Good thing these cabins are a decent size. Trinity definitely knows what she's doing." I commented as I scooted my chair closer to Stacy. "So are all of you up to get high?"

"Yep, no adult supervision this time." Ashton replied as Stacy started pouring herself a cup of cider.

"Well this is gonna be helluva night, isn't it?" I inferred which got a few confirmations and a couple of shrugs.

"So I take it you didn't invite anyone else?" Audrey asked which got a shake of my head in response. "Alright, good. Who wants to smoke first?"

"I volunteer as tribute." Zaine confidently replied.

Since I haven't described Zaine within my journal as of yet I'll go ahead and do that. He's average height for a man, Caucasian, brown and short hair after Olivia gave him a haircut. Man's got hazel eyes and is pretty reserved. I think he's probably the cuck in his relationship but it's not like I wanted that confirmed or anything. And I guess I'll mention that he volunteered to work in the fields. We can never have enough hands there as field work sucks ass.

Audrey took out a lighter and adequately lit the blunt before passing it to the man. As he inhaled I poured myself a drink as well before my wife leaned onto my side as we waited for our turn.

"So what brings all of you here?" I asked after setting the bottle of cider down before starting to slowly drink some.

As Zaine started coughing Olivia said, "My back's really been acting up lately... Back before The Drop, where I lived, marijuana was legalized and it actually helped a decent bit. I'm hoping that this'll help me out a bit."

"How good is smoking for you?" Stacy asked as Zaine passed the blunt Raiden.

"It really depends on a lot of things but it mainly depends on how much you smoke. Marijuana was something we didn't know all that much about since society despised the drug so medical tests and documentation didn't happen until just a few years before The Drop happened. So there's a lot I don't know about and a lot that'll remain unknown." Olivia replied as Raiden started coughing quite hard.

"It's a little funny to me to see a doctor smoke honestly." Ashton commented as Raiden gave him the blunt.

"Again, not much is known about marijuana and I don't intend to become a stoner. I am aware of not just what effects marijuana could have on you but also how there's the possibility of spreading a disease to one to another since we're sharing a blunt." Olivia replied. "If only I knew how to grow shrooms..."

"Yeah, that'd be something I'm willing to try, at least once that is." I admitted as Ashton took a hit. "Were there any other drugs you did back then?"

Olivia shook her head. "I was too scared of the illegality to do more than one illegal drug. I didn't want to raise my chances of being caught."

"Oh, what other drugs would a doctor be interested in?" Zaine asked after he recovered from the coughing fit.

"Not that many besides LSD, ecstasy, and maybe cocaine. Of course, just once because I'm aware of how dangerous it is to be doing those kinds of drugs. But even then they shouldn't have been illegal. No drug should've been."

I was surprised at her comment. "Really? All drugs?"

As Audrey started smoking Olivia said, "Yes, all drugs, for several reasons. A lot of dirty money before The Drop was gained through drug trade meaning the war on drugs was the main source of income for gangs worldwide. Take that away, by legalizing drugs, and you take away a large portion of criminal activity as well as allowing people with addictions to seek help without fear of the law. And then when it's legal the nation can make billions in the taxes the drugs would create and the law can focus on things that actually need to be focused on. Like murder, rape, pedophilia, hate crimes, stuff like that instead of a problem created by the law itself."

"Those are some really good points, never thought about it that way..." I admitted

"Wouldn't that in turn create more addicts?" Raiden asked which I thought was a good counter argument.

Olivia shook her head. "Legalizing them would do quite the opposite. Most drugs like cocaine or meth were actually mixed with other drugs like fentanyl to make them more addictive. Opening the market and allowing law enforcement to punish dirty practices like that would actually decrease the addiction rate while increasing the rate of people wanting to recover. It would also decrease the cost, if done correctly, so less people would be driven to homelessness over it. And legalizing it would inadvertently make it more easy to control. If you have laws in place for creation, distribution, and selling with age laws and the like then you can control it so much easier."

Audrey handed the blunt to Olivia after her small monologue. "I agree with Olivia." She simply said.

"Sure, there would be a few cases where legalizing drugs goes terribly. But for the vast majority of cases it'd be a gigantic positive. Hell, I'm sure we're aware that drugs were primarily made so illegal to help fuel the prison industrial complex. Simply as evil as they claimed drugs to be. It was fucking appalling how pedophiles and rapists had lighter sentences than people with drug cases." After Olivia said that she started to smoke for... much longer than I was expecting. "Y-Yeah, th-that w-was... w-way too much." She struggled to say as she handed me the blunt which was about quarter way through being used. It was quite large.

Stacy wanted to do what we did last time with how I breathed the smoke into her so we got ready to do that. "Do you want to get really high?" I quietly asked.

She seemed a little nervous but excited. "Sure... It's not like it's gonna hurt."

With that being said I put the blunt between my lips and slowly inhaled for a few seconds before passing the blunt off back to Audrey. I let the smoke stay in my lungs for a few seconds before I leaned down and pressed my lips against Stacy's who graciously inhaled what I exhaled. It was quite a bit of smoke so I had a very difficult time exhaling a decent amount into Stacy where I gave up a couple of seconds before the transaction was completed since I started coughing like mad. It took Stacy another three seconds to start coughing as well.

My eyes were quite teared up and my nose was somewhat runny so I took care of that after a couple dozen seconds of trying to recover. "You two are gonna be baked out of your mind." Audrey said with a small chuckle.

"That's the plan... We've got nothing to do and the night's young." I replied as I settled back down before Stacy leaned into me again.

"So... do you guys want to talk about it?" Ashton asked, getting a new conversation rolling.

"Talk about what?" Audrey asked, Ashton clarifying that 'it' meant the anniversary for The Drop. "Oh. No, not really. Today's really had a... glum feeling. I threw this smoking party to lift our spirits and just forget about it. So I'd rather not."

"How much marijuana do you guys have?" Zaine asked as another round of smoking commenced.

"A decent bit but it's not something that can be smoked by a lot of people every day. Since Hunter gave me the authority over how the products of the crops I grow gets distributed, I also have control over who consumes what. So you can ask me to get some marijuana if you want but I'll only give you a small bit every now and then since we've got to conserve the small amount we've got. And then there's 'parties' like this which is to celebrate that we have the marijuana and to lift our spirits." Audrey thoroughly explained.

"Didn't you grow like forty plants?" Zaine simply asked.

"It goes a lot faster than you'd think. I started growing another forty pots but those are expected to be done some time in October. We'll see how much we have left over by then to figure out if we need to conserve more or if we can consume more, does that make sense?"

"Yep, you know your shit which is why you get the say in what gets consumed. Just don't flaunt your power because I can take it away as fast as I gave it to you." I subtly warned. Which was weird to say because 'power' these days mainly relies on friendship since there's not really any actual power these days. I mean, I could probably floor Audrey if I needed to but that's not gonna happen.

"Of course, Hunter, wouldn't dream of it."

As I poured Stacy and I another cup of cider I asked, "Are any of you looking to get cross-faded?"

It was a resounding no from most of them where reasons spanned from it being too intense and people hating being hungover. But Raiden did give me an affirmative. And Stacy asked, "What does cross-faded mean?" which I gave a quick answer to.

We continued having a light conversation for five or so minutes before I saw Zaine put a hand on his forehead before he took a deep breath. "You alright over there?" I asked with a small chuckle.

"Uh.. Yeah, it's just I haven't smoked in a very long time." He simply replied.

"I'm already starting to feel its effects too." Raiden said as she took a third hit of the blunt that was just about out before she drank a little more vodka.

Stacy and I denied another hit of the blunt since we thought we had enough. Which turned out to be the correct assumption we later found out. And one by one each of us started feeling the effects of the marijuana and it hit me especially hard. My memory became short-term, it felt like I became an observer, some of my muscles had a mind of their own, it was hard to listen to people, I started laughing at the smallest of things, and my mouth got so fuckin' dry.

And honestly... there's not much I can really remember from the conversation we had. It was a mindless conversation that had no rhyme or reason to it which most of us forgot. Though I can remember a couple of things. That included how happy and dumb everyone had gotten. Being high with others is definitely preferable than being high alone.

And then there was the other thing that I somewhat remember. "Who's that over there?" I asked as I saw a black silhouette at the corner of the cabin.

Only Stacy and Olivia looked to where I pointed at since the others were too focused on their own conversation, the both of them claiming I was being crazy. "Nothin' over there big man." Stacy claimed.

But I wasn't having it and stood up with a few protests from Stacy not wanting me to get up which I actually ignored before making my way to the corner of the room. "Does weed usually do this?" I quietly asked myself as I walked up to the figure that had manifested into a really tall woman. But this figure was translucent and seemed like it was having a difficult time existing.

Now since I was high off my ass at this moment (I was pretty fucked up) nothing seemed all that out of the ordinary since my mind was getting railed by the marijuana. The woman was at least seven feet and six inches tall who was just able to stand up inside the cabin and wore some type of black clothes. Though upon further inspection I realized what she was wearing appeared to be metal, like armor, encompassing her whole body besides her face.

Her skin color was a light brown along with her hair which went to her shoulders. This woman had a neutral expression as she peered down at me for a couple of seconds before she put her arms behind her back as she peered at the others.

Since I didn't know how to make sense of the situation I extended a hand out toward her which quickly perplexed me since my hand phased through her. I told the others what was happening but I don't think any of them heard me. So I just continued moving my hand through her before one of her arms went out from behind her back and grabbed my wrist before gently pushing me back.

"Continue being diligent..." She quietly whispered inside my head before letting me go.

She took another glance at my friends before taking a step back where she disappeared into the wall never to be seen again. Since I was high I gave the wall a very hard look as I thought even harder after a hand went up to my chin as I thought about what had happened.

Now looking back on it with a clear head... I'm not sure what I should've done or who that woman was. But honestly, I think she was just some type of hallucination caused by how much marijuana I had smoked because my mind already fucks with me without it. So it doesn't bother me all that much... even if marijuana doesn't really do that. But what else would it have been?

After I don't even know how long, Stacy called me back so I returned to her side and hugged her where the girl scooted herself onto my lap. I nuzzled into the crook of her neck as I passively listened to the conversation my friends were having. It only took me another five minutes or so for my hands to slip under her shirt so I could massage her breasts. She accepted my offer which... I'm not sure if the others saw but no one said anything as they continued their talk.

I wasn't expecting weed to lower our inhibitions so much but it did. I somewhat regret doing that right then and there but it's not like anyone saw anything… Probably. And hey, I wanted to feel her firm breasts, perked nipples, and make her feel nice, which I was successful in.

Ten minutes after that I stopped so we could play a couple of card games which was significantly harder to do when you have a lot of your motor skills turned off. But it was fun nonetheless, at least the parts I can remember.

By the time the second hour had passed the effects of the marijuana were wearing off which just left Stacy and I to realize how tired we had gotten. Olivia and Raiden (who was really fucked up) also realized how tired they were so our little get together was agreed upon to disperse roughly ten minutes after that discovery. And when it was high time I swooped Stacy off of her feet and we said our goodbyes before I made my way out.

I lovingly and softly nuzzled Stacy's face as I walked rather slowly toward the mansion where the girl gently smiled and reciprocated the nuzzle. Though when I felt a pair of eyes watching us I looked around and actually saw someone looking at us. And that person was Elliot who was on the porch by himself.

Since I was still drugged up I didn't care at all about that, I just continued my way toward the door without saying a word to him. But the feeling I was starting to get from him was slowly evolving into something like that of paranoia. I'm not sure how bad of a thing that is but the energy between him and I has been progressively getting worse. It's not like because he's done anything else but it's just because we haven't said a word to each other ever since he attacked me.

I've tried once to make amends but that failed since he ignored me so I ignored him back. I just continue to hope that he stays in his lane and does not cause anymore trouble. Only time will tell.

(Small-ish sex scene ahead, “ctrl+f” ‘sex over’ to skip)

When I got to my room I set Stacy down and undressed her as per her wish. The girl then hugged me and gingerly rubbed her body on mine after I undressed myself. She was looking up at me with a small smile so I leaned down and kissed her as my phallus got excited at the touch which she took note of and properly rubbed her body against it. It felt nice. And it felt nicer when she got on her knees and started sucking me.

I was pleasantly surprised but let her as the girl looked up at me as she lovingly but slowly gave me a blowjob for ten minutes. But right before I came she stopped and stood back up before hugging me. "You're not cumming tonight..."

"W-What?" I asked as she nuzzled my chest. She didn't say anything. She just grabbed my hand and led me to our bed before laying down.

I quickly spooned her and rubbed my phallus between her lower lips before she took a light hold of my cock. "I'll let you put it in me as long as you promise you won't try to cum..." She whispered.

I didn't know how to feel about this apparent femdom. I really wanted to cum, especially after being edged. I swallowed hard as I took a hold of a tit and said, "Okay... But why not?"

"Because I think this is hot." She simply replied as she inserted my tip into her folds.

After pressing it against her cervix I tried so hard not to pull back out. I held her tighter and buried my nose in the crook of her neck before trying to get to sleep. It took a long while and it probably wasn't the best decision to be inside her pussy in that state... Oh well, being one throughout the night is my preferred way of sleeping anyways...

When I woke up the next morning I only had the strong desire to cum in my mind. So only three minutes after waking up I was fully erect inside her again. I patiently waited for twenty minutes before she also woke up. It took another five minutes of nuzzling her before she slightly turned to me where I started to slowly cuddlefuck her. She allowed it and laid back down as I felt her insides get turned on which was always a fascinating feeling.

As I sped my thrusting up I kissed her neck before she turned over some more so we could kiss. The sex only lasted ten minutes with the usual amount of moaning and grunts before we were both completely satisfied.

(Sex over)

She lightly giggled after five minutes of recovering from mating. "I knew you were gonna want to fuck me in the morning... Hey, did you touch my tits in front of the others yesterday?"

"Oh, right, we got high... Uh, yeah but no one saw anything. They were too high to mind us any." I replied before we started talking about what it was like to be that high.

Interestingly she had visual effects as well. But she described it like... "Imagine a circular railway where you can't see what's ahead of you, the direction the rails go being unpredictable and can go in any direction. And it was somewhat colorful but mostly beige."

I chuckled. "If only you tried describing that when high. When high people try describing something their definitions and analogies are funny as fuck."

We continued talking about the experience for another five minutes before getting out of bed and cleaning ourselves up. After getting dressed and making out for another five minutes we split to start focusing on what needed to get done for that day. Though I decided I wanted to write in my journal so I got it and made my way toward the usual desk. And now we're here, like three hours later.

Writing definitely takes a lot of time and my hand gets tired after almost every time I write in here... But it's fine as long as I document what I think is important or fun. And maybe I write too much sex in here... I'm sure the amount I write here will calm down eventually but sex with her is so... amazing. It's hard not to write down about because I don't want to forget it, if that makes sense.

Stacy's always fine with it only as long as I keep my journal hidden where we hide our camera which I do so that's all the approval I need. It's not like anyone's gonna find out where I hide it and if anyone does... Well, you'll find out.

Anyways, I need to get to work. I'm not sure when the next time I'll write in here because the next few weeks are gonna be a lot of the same. So unless something amazing happens I'll update this when we're nearing the completion of the cellar... Which is a while from now. So... signing out, I guess.

Chapter 46: Death kinda sucks, y'know?

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

It's strange how so much progress happens each day but it's a small amount at the same time. What I mean by that is that at the end of each day you'd review all of what had gotten done and it'd seem like it should’ve been much more than what it was as you look at the bigger picture. But you'd start properly understanding how much was getting done after each week since a lot more happens week by week then you’d realize.

The month of July swiftly passed us all by and so did the first half of August. And thankfully the days are seemingly starting to slow back down as I've found a great comfort in the routine that has been established within our community. This routine consisted of a lot of the same of what I've already written down before.

The routine of waking up intimately holding my wife, throwing in a few hours of labour (mainly construction and fishing), work out, spend my free time which consisted of spending time with my friends, getting high, spending time with my wife, (studying, bathing, eating, loving on each other, sex, watching her draw, dancing, hearing her sing and play her instrument... and other little stuff like that) and doing miscellaneous tasks like scavenging, setting up signs, accepting people into Solaris, and being a leader.

Yeah, I kept true to my word that I'd write a status update in this journal when we're nearing the completion of the cellar. It was rather difficult not writing some of the mundane and usual down (I should probably write down when we meet new people, huh?) but I'm gonna be needing a second journal here soon as I'm about out of pages with this one.

I'm surprised it's lasted me this long and that I've taken good care of it. I would be extremely sad if I lost this journal or it got tarnished. So many years of my life are within these pages. I wonder when I'll go ahead and get a second journal to continue writing my life down. It's really helped that I have small handwriting so I could put a lot more text within one page and that this journal is quite large... But that's enough talk about this journal. It's kinda like talking to myself in a way.

At least talk about the journal itself feels that way. Anyways, it's... extremely calming in a way that a lot of what I'm doing has become the mundane and usual. Especially the time I spend with Stacy. (Not saying it’s boring.) Having sex be something so casual, something that happens every two or three days, is... it's so nice. How I'm able to do something so intimate so often, something that seems like it will never lose its grasp on my mind, with my amazing wife has made me so happy in life.

Of course, the sex alone is not the thing that makes me happy, it's a part of it but it's just part of a bigger picture. Having everything else I mentioned with Stacy being the normal all comes together to calm my soul. And with the working out and eating healthily I'm living a great life. But not without its small hiccups as all life has.

Alright, that's enough talk about my precious little angel for now. Solaris itself has continued developing in several ways. First of all there was the continuation of the growth of the corn and potatoes. The first seeds that were planted were starting to get into the final stages of growing and are gonna be done in around another three weeks or so which is cutting it close to how much more time is needed to complete the cellar.

I was hoping we'd have it done in time and if not then we'll temporarily use the cellar within the mansion to give the building team more time to finish the project but I doubted that needed to happen. Speaking of which, the food within the mansion's cellar was dwindling and getting really low. There was probably a little less than twenty percent remaining from the original inheritance that Stacy and I got. I was a bit surprised at how long it lasted but I've started to stress about it. When the crops start rolling in I'm sure it'll be alleviated but I can't help but stress which is probably a bad thing to do. Thankfully I have a wife to help me through it.

Audrey's already made plans for the expansion of the crop fields for next year. We’re gonna triple in size which was, y'know, gonna require triple the effort. I wasn't too sure about the plan but her argument for it was that Solaris was already coming to that thirty to forty people in population mark which meant expansion was needed for future growth. And as a small trickle of people continue to join us, Audrey wants to preemptively make a large area of fields just in case.

This meant she had also planned for another cellar to be built at another strategic position so we'd be able to store a tripling in food production. But that's next year so I'm not gonna think about that until the time comes.

And I've mentioned it like twice now so I'll just get it out of the way. More people have joined us, five to be exact. And honestly there's not much to say about them other than that they're purely more workers and background characters in my life. I'll write about them whenever they do something that's worth noting but until then that's all I'll say... I mean, I could give their names and ages at least.

Of which are Oliver, twenty-two years old. There's Jessie (a woman), who's twenty-seven. Those two are a couple. Jake who's thirty. There's Charlie (who's a woman too, unisex names are a tad annoying honestly) who's twenty-eight. And then finally there's Jayden (a man) who's thirty-one.

Y'know, after having these five join us I've realized something about who's still alive. I have yet to meet anyone who's older than fifty. I think by now that I can start making connections relating to The Drop about how there's no old people. I found it rather strange and I started speculating that maybe there really was something determining who died and who didn't when The Drop occurred.

This speculation has really made me ask more questions than it's solved, if it's true that is. I try not to think about it but it's odd... Maybe if an old person finds us then my little theory will be busted. I mean, it's also possible that most old people weren't capable of living this long after The Drop? But surely some fifty and sixty year old people would be capable... right?

So what else is there... Autumn. She's really starting to show that she's growing another human inside her. The bump on her hasn't ballooned but it's definitely doubled in size as her body's starting to make room for the baby and is starting to do all the water weight stuff. Real professional talk there, Hunter. I continue to hope that all goes well with her pregnancy and that nothing catastrophic happens to her fetus or herself. This whole ordeal is something that’s intriguing and will be testing a new frontier in a way.

And finally there's the cellar itself that I'll put an update on. The floors are complete and the walls are gonna be completed here in a couple of days. The insulation and ventilation system has proved difficult but with the help of Etsu's engineering mind we've managed to make it work with a couple of hiccups.

The roof of the cellar is starting to get underway too with several logs being spaced out by a few meters each spanning the width of the cellar giving the roof a framework to build off of. It's gonna be covered back in dirt to conceal it after we make sure it's been properly constructed to give it that extra layer of insulation. That's the hardest part about this project.

Other than that we've had to focus a little more on collecting food due to the increase in our population. We're still managing but if not for the crops then we'd be in imminent catastrophe. I'm glad I had an Audrey that made all the farming possible. I'm not sure if we'd've even had a Solaris if she wasn't part of the group.

Oh wait, that reminds me of the people who've given their allegiances to Solaris. That includes Lexi, Tess, and Lyra as well as the polygamous.. people. Almost said couple but that doesn't really apply since they're three. So now we had even more armed members which in turn made the chance for someone wanting to harm another much lower. Though after I almost died, Kostas cracked down on possible accidental deaths and preached that one should only take out their gun if only absolutely necessary (excluding training which he made sure more precautions were set up there). Otherwise their right to a gun would be stripped which I supported.

And speaking of how I almost died, I had an extremely vivid and the most heartbreaking dream I've ever had a couple of days ago. And I'm gonna thoroughly write it down because it's something I don't want to forget even though it’s kinda fucked me up...

I died.

It was instantaneous and there was no pain. I didn't even have any realization that my life was in danger beforehand. I just heard a loud bang before everything went black and my life ended up being cut short.

Though after this I became an observer to the world around me where I was able to see how the world beyond my body continued its march forward. So I was able to see my friends freak out on a level I hadn't seen. I also saw my body get hauled onto the car's trailer with a trail of my blood following suit after their freak outs ceased.

I was having trouble processing everything so it seemed so quick. I didn't even realize they were back at Solaris before they started planning how they should tell the others that I was unintentionally killed.

"Radio Olivia first..." Kostas glumly said as he kept his position in the trailer next to my body.

Phoenix was on the other side of him who obeyed his command. He quickly told Olivia to meet them outside though the tone in his voice was one I can't quite put into words.

When Olivia made her way outside, Raiden brought her to the other two where she quickly discovered what had happened. I could feel all of their anxiety, stress, shock, and sadness from the situation. Olivia was deeply torn up about it but was able to control most of her emotions, the woman only letting a few tears escape her eyes.

"We'll figure out what we do from here in a couple of days... We've gotta inform the rest about this." Olivia struggled to say.

"...Who's gonna tell Stacy?" Kostas asked, the man really not wanting to ask that question but he knew he had to.

Olivia heavily sighed as a hand draped down her face. "I... I will. I've told so many people something like this so many times, I’m capable of doing it... Does anyone know where she is?" After a quick question over the walkie-talkies an unaware Kai told her he thought she was with Willow in the stream. "I'll get her. Phoenix, get a sheet to cover Hunter... We'll tell the rest what happened after she knows."

Again, I could feel the anxiety in everyone's chest as Olivia walked off to find where Stacy was. Especially in Olivia.

It took her only a few minutes to spot Stacy peacefully fishing in the stream where the girl was quietly humming with a light smile. The last smile I'd see her have. "Stacy?" Olivia called out which got the girl's attention instantly.

"Oh! Hi Olivia, haven't seen you in these parts before... Is something wrong?" She asked happily in that first part before her tone took a turn as she realized the energy Olivia was giving off.

Olivia hesitated for a second before saying, "Um... yes. I need you to follow me."

I felt Stacy's heartbeat elevate as she started speculating before she swiftly got out of the stream and set the equipment down as soon as possible before Olivia started leading the way back to my body. I continued to feel the anxiety and the worry that started to build up within Stacy.

"...Did... Is Hunter alright?" She asked as she looked up at Olivia who had to look away since she couldn't hold in a couple of tears.

Olivia continued leading her forward until they were about ten meters away from the trailer. Olivia turned to Stacy and softly put a hand on her shoulder. "Hunter... He's... I'm so sorry, Stacy, he w-was accidentally killed..."

Stacy blinked as she continued looking at Olivia whose emotions were starting to become too hard to control. It only took another couple of seconds for a feeling of extreme dread and strife to emerge within Stacy's chest.

"W-What? No, you're lying, that's not true." She replied as tears already started brimming her eyes, her nose was preemptively getting ready for a 'draining' from crying, and a lump in her throat appeared. She pushed away from Olivia and had a little trouble walking toward the mansion, the girl still in disbelief who started to feel like they were also becoming an observer to the world. It didn't take her long to discover something covered in a white sheet inside the trailer of which she continued walking toward causing her dread to exponentially ramp up. But she stopped walking when Olivia walked back up behind her and stopped her by wrapping her arms around her abdomen.

She fell to her knees as her chest started experiencing an immense pain. "No, no, no, NO, NO- NO! " She screamed as the gravity of the situation hit her, the girl continuing to repeat the word as tears started streaming down her face.

Before she let herself get too lost in that position she wanted to truly know if I had died so she swiftly broke away from Olivia and got up and onto the trailer next to my body. She could make out the outline of my person so she stumbled her way next to my covered head where the sheet had been a little stained with blood where I had been shot.

The sound of her crying is something I'll never forget. Especially that sound only being amplified after she shakily uncovered my head to confirm with her own eyes that I had been killed.

The magnitude of dread, strife, sadness, shock, and the feeling of everything being unfair and terrible in her chest was immeasurable. The girl became purely inconsolable. She put her arms and head on my chest as she continued heavily, heavily crying on my corpse, her world, heart, and spirit being completely shattered. She stayed there crying her heart out for at least twenty minutes, the girl crying so hard that she couldn't even keep the saliva in her mouth.

During all that time everyone else was gathered and told of the news where my friends shared the sentiment of either feeling a deep sadness or crying. But all cries were drowned out compared to Stacy's who stayed unmoving as she mourned over me. They all gave her the space she needed since she was my wife so they all had to mourn elsewhere when they were given the news.

She stayed there for hours as she continuously tried processing the reality of the situation. She had run out of tears and her face hurt like it got hit by a train from all of the crying. But she continued to silently keep her head down on my body as the first stage of a severe chronic depression started emerging within her.

"Hey, Stacy?" Olivia quietly and gently said, the woman's voice a bit raspy from the bit of mourning that she had gone through.

Stacy stayed still for a few seconds before she shakily lifted her head up just a tad to glance at the woman. She put her head back down without saying a word.

"We... I hate to say this but it needs to be said... We need to give Hunter a burial..." Olivia said as she carefully got up on the trailer before gingerly getting next to Stacy. "It's the right thing to do..."

"I-I I... I..." Stacy speechlessly said as she tried crying more. "He... He w-was my husband..." Olivia softly put a hand on her back. "He was the l-love of my life... he w-was the best person I've ever met... he was my other half..."

I could feel that Olivia felt her pain. "...And the same is true for him... I already said this and I despise to say it but we have to bury him, Stacy..."

Somehow Stacy managed to cry a little more after those words. "H-He's just... I can't..."

Olivia gingerly explained to her what burials were, why we do them, and how it'll be a place where I can peacefully return to where I came from. After another ten minutes, Stacy very reluctantly agreed to let them carry me over to where the forest really started picking up, in an area that wasn't planned to be chopped down where an empty grave was already dug out.

Only my closest friends were there which consisted of Audrey, Ashton, Willow, Kai, Kostas, Charlotte, Trinity, Nova, and Roman (Olivia and Stacy as well, obviously). The others weren't present since they figured only the closest people to me should've been there since my death was so sudden which had the side effect of it being a pretty unprofessional funeral but there wasn't anything else that they could do.

"Hunter was a man of a great sense of humor, a greater sense of reason, and someone to look up to." Ashton said with a broken voice, the man desperately trying to continue his say on me. "From inspiring love to inspiring the want to build something greater in our barren world... He'll be seen as the man who started something phenomenal, who pointed us in the right direction, who knew we could all be something bigger, and be the person remembered as to who's responsible for what will one day be a vast community. We will continue to work together to fulfill what he wanted to achieve... For Hunter. He'll be truly missed as one of my greatest friends..."

All of them continued quietly mourning as each one took a turn at their say. It was a lot of the same but it was endearing in a way to see their emotion. But when it was Stacy's turn, who was last in line to say something, she was too broken to say anything. She only managed to say how much she loves me before giving up on saying anything.

Olivia, through her own quiet tears, had to hold Stacy in a tight hug as Ashton and Kostas lowered me into the makeshift grave which was four or so feet deep, my body still having the sheet wrapped around me. She had to hold Stacy like that to prevent her from trying to stop them from putting me there since the girl desperately didn't want  me to be gone forever. The cry she had was... so heartbreaking.

She didn't close her eyes as she watched them shovel the dirt back over me where my body was quickly encompassed in soil, my person never being able to see the sun's rays ever again just three minutes later.

My friends continued mourning me for the next thirty minutes before they slowly started to disperse. Olivia continued holding Stacy for another hour as Stacy continued looking at the fresh grave as her heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest.

When the sun was starting to set, Olivia quietly said, "We should probably go inside, it's getting late..." Stacy said nothing. "You're exhausted, you really need to get some rest..." She said as she tried gingerly moving Stacy who let out another couple of tears. Olivia sadly sighed. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Stacy said nothing for five minutes. "Leave me alone..."

"I'm not sure if that's the best-."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed before pushing Olivia away where the girl then collapsing at the foot of my grave.

Olivia was thoroughly shocked and stayed put for a minute as she watched Stacy continue to sob with a very minute amount of tears escaping her eyes. "I'll be back in a bit." She gently replied, Stacy then staying silent before Olivia started to make her way back to the mansion.

And so the sun set as exhaustion made its way into Stacy's mind. And like Olivia said, she returned to try to get Stacy to rest. After the woman repeated what she previously said and getting no answer she said, "Do you want to sleep in my room?"

"I... I want... I want to die..." She replied which made Olivia's heart drop. "I don't want to live without him..."

"I... Hunter wouldn't want that... He'd want you to live for him. I'm sure he wants you to become the greatest version of yourself that you can become." Olivia tried reasoning with her.

Stacy just lightly shook her head before she weakly stood up. She walked past Olivia toward the mansion where Olivia took her to her room. The other members of Solaris only gave her a few worried glances as she sadly made her way up the stairs while the girl tired not to look at anything that'd remind her of me.

Olivia gave her a large cup of water and her bed to make her feel comfortable where the girl swiftly drank all of the water before curling up into a ball in the middle of the bed. She then blankly stared at the wall for an hour before slipping into sleep after her mind stopped showing her the image of my tarnished face.

But she woke up about four hours later where she instantly remembered what had happened. It didn't take her that much longer to start balling her eyes out again as she stayed in the fetal position. This woke up Olivia who was sleeping on the window bay. When she realized what was happening she got up and made her way to the side of the bed to see the heart shattered girl.

Stacy noticed Olivia but that didn't stop her sobbing. I could feel the instinct within Olivia of wanting to help and protect Stacy, the woman developing the want to be her mother in a way. "Stacy...? You can hug me if that'd make you feel any better..."

After thirty seconds Stacy sat up and got off of the bed before hugging Olivia before another cascade of tears started falling down her cheeks. "H-He was everything t-to me..."

"I'm sure he is..." Olivia replied before they stayed like that where Stacy continued to heavily cry.

I thought the dream sequence after this was gonna end but it actually continued. Though it skipped a week in dream-time.

Stacy was sitting on the window bay where we had spent countless hours cuddling and snuggling on. The girl's cheeks being stained with fresh tears was a sight that was easily recognizable. The pain in her chest hadn't faltered but only grew as she distraughtly peered out of the window. She was holding the shirt I wore the most close to her chest as she thought about how she was never going to feel my arms wrapped around her again, never feel my affectionate kisses again, and was never going to hear my compliments or hear me say that I love her again.

She continuously thought about how we weren't able to say goodbye or say that we love each other one more time. How if she'd've been there then maybe just maybe I wouldn't have died. She was driving herself insane. She started hating herself. It was her fault that I died, she claimed. She really truly was a worthless mistake as everyone had said, she claimed.

She had been sitting there without moving for hours which was something she often did after losing me. If she wasn't silently weeping on the window bay then she was at the foot of my grave heavily crying and sobbing as she thought about how I was rotting into soil. When she'd mourn me at my grave someone would try to comfort her every now and then but she was always unresponsive and too caught up in her immense grief to even notice them. And even after that, she’d only at most say two words to someone before retreating back into her room, the girl just wanting to be left alone.

Her marriage ring was off of her finger and placed in front of her crisscrossed legs, the girl glancing at the ring every now and then which always felt like a stab in the heart to her.

"Stacy? I made you a plate of your favorite type of fish. Can I come in?" Olivia sweetly asked which ripped Stacy out of the stare she had been in ever since five minutes after she woke up.

She looked back at the door as she thought about if she should answer. "I'm not hungry." She called back after a silent minute. That was a lie. She was starving. She hadn't eaten for six days.

Olivia lightly sighed. "I know you're lying, Stacy. None of us know when the last time you ate was and I'm worried about you. You need to eat."

Stacy didn't reply as she looked back out the window and ignored anything else Olivia was trying to say to her. Until Olivia opened the door a couple of minutes later. But she continued ignoring her as Olivia walked up to her before the woman set the mentioned plate next to her. Stacy didn't give it a glance. Her bottom lip started quivering when Olivia gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Stacy... What you're doing is not gonna make you feel any better. You need to come out, we're all worried for you. Being with the others will make you feel better, we can get through this together."

Stacy took another minute to look up at her. "...Nothing will ever make me feel better. I'll never get through this."

"Stacy-."

"The girl you knew before died with Hunter. Just stop trying to help me. Just stop."

"But you'll-."

"NO! FUCK OFF!" She yelled as loud as she could which made Olivia frightfully take her hand off Stacy's shoulder.

Olivia was hurt but somewhat understood her reaction. After Stacy stared back out of the window Olivia left the food behind before she quietly started taking a few steps back where the woman made her way out of the room just before Stacy started crying again.

Stacy didn't touch the food even though her body told her she needed it. She glanced at it though which made her remember how we'd never bathe together again, I'd never brush her hair again, we'd never feed each other again, we'd never cuddle again, and everything else that we as a couple did.

Thirty minutes later she placed the shirt she was holding down as she remembered something she could do. She got up and found where she hid her camera before she returned to the window bay as she sadly kept the device in her lap while she started to lightly cry again as she remembered her birthday.

After a couple of minutes she turned the camera on, ignored all of the sexual pictures and videos since that was the last thing she wanted to think about, and pulled up the first picture of where we were in a deep kiss.

The quiet whines and weeps she emitted as she looked at the picture conveyed that she was so... extremely devastated. She picked up the ring and held it close to her chest as she continued looking at the picture.

"I'm your wife and only your wife... And I will be forever... I'll never love anyone else... You were the only one..." She struggled to say. I could feel that in her soul she was telling the truth. "I... I don't know if I want to live without you... It'd be so easy to kill myself with the revolver in our closet... I can't do this, Hunter... I hope that we'll be together again when I'm dead too..."

The dream ended there but I know where that dream... nightmare was headed. She was definitely going to kill herself since I felt that desire spread within her to every extremity. I'm so glad that the dream ended before that point. Even though it was all just a dream... all of that emotion is still something I'm processing. That was my most vivid and longest dream I’ve ever had. I wish that it wasn't that seemingly alternate timeline... It's made me so glad that I didn't die that day.

And after I woke up from it I deeply gasped as my heart rate spiked. I realized that it was morning, I was in bed, I was intimately spooning my happy wife, and I was in the realm of reality where everything was fine and everything was okay... Y'know, relatively speaking.

"Hunter? Are you alright?" She asked with a slightly concerned tone before the girl turned to me as I processed that I wasn't actually dead. I assumed she had been awake.

I looked her in the eyes as I quickly relived all of the emotional scenes that my mind made me go through. Afterward, I tightened my arms around her and pressed my forehead against her which she lightly giggled at. I nuzzled her before deeply kissing her which surprised her but she accepted the deep kiss regardless, of which we stayed in for a couple of minutes. I made sure to thoroughly enjoy all of the touches we were giving to each other.

"Well good morning, Hunter..." Stacy said with another giggle after the kiss.

"You're... I'm not dead... Oh my God, Stacy you..." I said as I tried recovering from the mental prison I was locked in.

She looked pretty confused. "Are you alright? Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No, no... maybe another kiss." I said which she kissed me afterward. "Stacy, you... I think I lived in another reality."

"...I'll go get Olivia, I'm a little worried about what the weed's doing to your noggin." She jokingly said with another small giggle. But she saw the genuine emotion in my eyes. "Oh... What do you mean?"

That's when I told her brief details about the dream and as I did so I properly woke up. "Thinking about how close I was to actually dying and being able to properly process it... That dream really doesn't seem too far off of what could've been. Do you... Do you think you'd really do all of that?"

She rolled over, having to take me out of her heat, before scooting as close to me as possible. "That... sounds horrible. I... I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost you. Maybe that's what I would've done, I don't know. It's just... I've never thought about you dying. I never want it to happen and the mere thought makes me so sad..."

I lightly sighed and gingerly pressed my forehead against hers. We tightly hugged before I said, "Thinking about you dying makes me extremely sad too... I know I'd lose myself if I lost you but... dying is something we have to talk about. Unfortunately, it's going to happen some day. And it can happen any day unexpectantly, like how I almost died when I got shot." Of which was about fully healed now.

Stacy lightly sighed as she eskimo kissed me. "I... I know... I just hate it so much."

"I do too... We'll only talk about this all once, okay? So we know what's going to happen when one of us dies..."

She quickly said, "That dream is true when I said I wouldn't love another. I don't ever want to love anyone else. I'll love you and only you for so many reasons..."

"...I would probably be the same." I admitted. "I would want you to live if I die though, okay? I would want you to become a great artist, photographer, musician, and scientist and change the world. You're capable of doing it."

"I... I would want that for you too. But it'd be so... so, so, so hard to live without you. Please don't die for at least a hundred years." She begged which I quietly chuckled at.

"I'll try to live as long as possible for you."

"Me too..."

"Do you want to be buried?" I asked just to get this conversation over and done with. The dream really made me want to figure all of this out since I had already almost died while I was with her. And if that dream was a sign of what'd happen then I'll adhere to it. She wasn't that aware of burials so I explained it like how the dream-Olivia did to her.

"It's kind of gross... How my body will rot." She said, discomfort in her tone. "How... I'll be getting eaten by things..."

"It is, a lot. And I agree with how you feel about it. There's also cremation where you burn your body to ashes. But that's gonna be out of our reach for a long time."

"I kinda don't like either way but if I had to choose... Maybe get buried where we married each other?"

I actually liked what she said. "If so then I want to be buried next to you."

"I... I want us to die at the same time so we won't have to live without each other and can be buried with each other... Is that weird to say?"

"I'm not sure how that'd be that likely unless it's like a car crash, getting poisoned, murdered, or a double suicide... There's no good way to die but I'd like to not live without you, as long as we've lived a long life together."

She gingerly nuzzled me. "I hope we do... I love you so much, Hunter..."

I nuzzled her back as I put a hand on the side of her face. "I love you so much too, Stacy..."

We lightly and lovingly kissed each other for a few minutes after saying that, the both of us expressing a fraction of how much we love each other while in the kiss, something we often failed at doing because of how immense our emotions are. When it ended we silently looked each other in the eyes for a couple of minutes before finally getting up and getting dressed for the day.

As I made my way to the cellar I couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare. It was so sad seeing Stacy like that even if it was just a dream. I forced myself to forget about it and focused on helping the construction team continue the construction of the ceiling for the cellar. It easily took my mind off of it since properly building that ceiling by making sure the planks were correctly built by being tightly against one another was quite difficult. And the project was coming to a close. I was happy since it'd definitely be able to store most if not all of the harvest that was on the horizon.

But as I worked, the idea for a line of succession emerged in my mind which is yet another thing that I hadn't planned in case of my unforeseen death. I had a lot of time to think about it as I worked so when I took a much needed break from it a few hours later I used my walkie-talkie to tell Olivia, Kostas, Ashton, Audrey, and Trinity to meet me in the dining room.

"Sir?" Trinity said when she made her way to the desired room.

"Take a seat, we're gonna have a conversation when the others make their way here. It's nothing too big so it shouldn't take long." I replied, the woman swiftly taking a seat at the table. And so we waited for the other four to make their way into the room where Kostas and Olivia entering the room just a couple of minutes later.

"Are we in trouble?" Ashton asked as he walked in with Audrey which were the last few we were waiting for..

"Yes. The reason being is because you still look dopey and you haven't gifted me any personal weed, the hell you two?" I jokingly replied.

Olivia lightly chuckled as the couple joined us at the table. "My apologies, your majesty, I'll have a box of blunts delivered at your doorstep as soon as possible. For my dopey partner... Well, there's not much I can do about that, it's not his fault he looks like that." Audrey replied, playing along with my remark.

"I have the opinion that you just don't know what male beauty is." Ashton said with a wink.

"That's debatable. After all, I'm aware that I'm the male beauty that all males should aspire to become." I cockily replied.

"Right, and that's just not your ego clouding your view..." Ashton replied with a smirk.

"Nope. Anyways, I bring y'all here to discuss something I should've talked about as soon as I recovered from this." I said as I pointed at the newly formed scar on the side of my head. "A line of succession in case I die prematurely."

"...And I assume we're all here because you think we're the candidates responsible enough to be in that line?" Olivia inferred which I quickly confirmed.

"The only thing I need help figuring out is what order I should put you guys in and how to make it official." I revealed. "And maybe couple this with making a second-in-command and a third-in-command, stuff like that."

"I would think putting Olivia as your second-in-command would just make sense. She's led us before and has at least some experience, right?" Trinity offered the idea of.

"That's true... But it's up to me whether or not I want to accept that. I think for a time I'd be fine with being in charge. Like in an abrupt emergency or to help figure things out after this possible death. After that I'm not sure if I'd want to continue being the leader." Olivia replied. "I assume stepping down would be an option?"

I shrugged. "I don't see why not. Would you like to be the person to take charge for a brief period of time if my death suddenly happens?"

She lightly sighed. "If it's best for the future of Solaris, then yes. And you know you've always been able to come to me if you need help with this whole leadership thing."

I nodded. "Alright, who's after that?"

"I would like to be your third-in-command." Audrey announced. "I realized that you've picked the leaders of each delegated group, besides Nova and Kai since they don't lead that many people, so you know that we've already been getting some type of experience. That's smart. I feel like I have the most experience of them all besides Olivia."

"Ever fantasize about leading all of Solaris?"

She shook her head. "Though I do fantasize about being the head of a vast agricultural company a lot. So I think I'd be adequate to lead the community if the need ever arises which I hope never does."

I nodded again before Trinity spoke up. "I feel the same way. So if you want me as your fourth-in-command then I'd accept the role."

"A high command of women, how liberal of you, Hunter." Kostas said with a chuckle.

"Think we're not capable?" Olivia said with a smirk. "I assure you, we are."

"I didn't say that. It's actually nice in a way since back when I lived in Eastern Europe women had a lot of stereotypes that would go against women being in charge." Kostas explained which nullified any hostilities that may or may not have formed.

"So that just leaves you and Ashton to be the fifth and sixth in line. Unless you two have an objective to the order?"

"It's an alright order since I'm sure Audrey would be able to successfully take the reins after Olivia. Trinity though..." Ashton said, causing Trinity to playfully scoff at him.

"Are you saying you want to take my place? If anything, you should be the last person in this line..." Trinity replied.

"That's a fair point." I playfully agreed.

Thankfully there weren't any more objections after I put Kostas in fifth place and Ashton in sixth. I took out a fresh sheet of paper and briefly wrote about the line of succession before signing my name on it. I had them sign it as well because I thought it'd make it more official. A couple of them thought it was nerdy but whatever, I like making things feel official, I can't help it.

After that was done I got a pin and took it to the map on the wall before pinning it on the wall next to them. I dismissed them before glancing at the sheet of paper. The line of succession was a good idea and something I should've thought about after almost dying... That dream really got to me, it was hard not to think about how distraught that shattered Stacy was.

So to take my mind off of the dream-Stacy I went to go find the real Stacy who was painting on a freshly made sign. I spent thirty or so minutes with her before I told her a little more about the dream which made her realize how much it upset me so she stopped what she was doing, put everything up, and made me snuggle with her as soon as possible so she could cheer me up. Though when we walked up to our room I found a small box with a note on it. I picked it up and read the note.

Again, my apologies my King, it shan't happen again. Hopefully these are enough blunts to satisfy your cravings for a long while. -Audrey, your third-in-command

"What's that?" Stacy innocently asked as I opened the box to reveal twelve regular sized blunts with a lighter.

I coughed and swiftly closed the box as the potent smell of marijuana infiltrated my nostrils. "A package from Audrey I wasn't expecting to actually receive."

As I opened our door she smelled the marijuana and was intrigued. I put the box on her desk before she opened it herself to see the blunts. She looked up at me. "...Do you want to smoke a little?"

I looked at my watch to read the time and sighed. "It's so early, I can still put a couple of hours into helping out with the cellar."

She hugged me as she continued looking up at me. "They'll be just fine. You've been working so hard lately and you haven't had a day off in a long time..."

I lightly sighed knowing she was right. And I'm the leader dammit, I can do what I want! …Y’know, in reason. And she made a good argument. So I let her pick out which blunt to smoke before grabbing the lighter before making our way to the window bay where we quickly got comfortable. After that I only took another minute before lighting the blunt and inhaling a decent bit before leaning down to exhale it into Stacy.

"How high do you want to get?" I asked after we were done coughing for the most part.

"...A lot." She said with a giggle.

"Do you want to smoke the blunt yourself?"

"As long as I get to breathe it into you..."

I handed her the blunt before swiftly telling her what to do. After that she timidly inhaled before exhaling the smoke into me. After that I took it out of her hand to smoke it again. This repeated a couple more times before I extinguished the blunt to save for another time.

"We're gonna be so fucked up..." I said after putting the blunt off to the side and tightening my hold on her.

"That's the idea... I'm sure it'll make cuddling interesting." She said with a light giggle.

And boy oh boy did it make cuddling interesting. Like I predicted we got so fucked up . It's hard to explain just how fucked up we were, nothing bad, but personally the way my senses and comprehension were tampered with it was... so confusing. At some point we took our clothes off and I remember the vast amount of nuzzles, kisses on her lips and across her face, and tit massaging. It was lovely but the weed pretty much decapacitated us to do nothing but love on each other. I deeply needed it.

The next morning we woke up much earlier than we usually do since weed is a really good sleeping medicine for us. So since we had a lot of free time that morning we slow danced with each other (being naked and holding each other closely while deeply looking into each other's eyes is our preferred way of slow dancing), fed each other breakfast, and I brushed her hair as she softly sang to me which had kisses sprinkled throughout it all.

In that time I told Stacy about the line of succession I had formed. She approved of it but didn't want to talk about me dying anymore which I understood so I swept that type of conversation under the rug indefinitely. But besides that, spending that morning with Stacy was so nice as spending any amount of time with her is. But, y'know, it doesn't last forever so when the time came to start getting ready for work I did just that.

There's not really much I can write about working, not really. Unless a special conversation is had which is rare since it's usually small talk about how one is, what their day's been like, and other trivial questions that aren't important enough to write down. And it's not like I'm gonna be writing down how exactly I worked because work is something I don't really like writing about since it's work. I just like writing down the progress that has been made.

Though during a break, Olivia was doing another ultrasound to see Phoenix's and Autumn's baby so I joined them along with Stacy and Nova since they both were also pretty interested. It was a lot of the same minus the heightened emotional state of Autumn. Though we were able to see that the baby had developed quite nicely so it was sweet to see everything was going well.

"We're deciding to name her Luna after a lot of thought about it." Autumn announced as the ultrasound came to an end.

Stacy got a little excited since that was her suggestion. "What happened to the names of your mothers?" I asked.

"We're gonna make her middle name the both of them. So Luna Kalena-Isabell... and we're still deciding on what last name she'll get." Phoenix answered which I nodded at.

I thought the name they were giving her was unique and beautiful and so did the others. When the ultrasound was all said and done Olivia quickly put everything up before Nova wanted to talk to her. After that I got back to work to make up for the time I 'wasted' the day prior. But I was getting really tired by the end of the work day since I had woken up so early that day.

So to help keep myself awake, Stacy and I watched a couple of movies with a few others while drinking a small bit. It was sweet.

Chapter 47: Life as usual. Mostly.

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I brightly smiled as I used the nail-gun to force the last required wooden planks together at the back-end of the cellar. I was covered in sweat as my team had already put in around three hours of work into the project that day. Most of that effort was put into constructing the storage unit as high-quality as we could possibly make it. It was tedious work made worse with the heat of the August sun but the feeling of satisfaction that Raiden and I felt after nailing the last few nails into the cellar's walls was incredibly magnificent.

I scanned my section of the building (I was stood on the roof since it was completed as a little sidenote) just to make sure everything was in pristine condition and after glancing over the rest of the cellar I looked toward Raiden. "It's done."

There was a quick little celebration had between the few workers that were on the sidelines having a short break. The celebration was well more than deserved due to the thousands of hours put into making it.

"I'm sorry to say but we're not done just yet. We've still gotta relocate the dirt back where it came from. At least a lot of it." Ashton said which caused me to slowly nod after looking at the hill of excavated dirt.

"Anyone who needs to take a break, do so. Otherwise, let's still put our all into this so we can get done as soon as possible. This should only take... a few hours maybe." I advised to the building crew.

"It'll probably take another day... At least it won't be a fraction as long as it was excavating it out. Mostly because we only need to relocate a fraction of the dirt we originally took out." Trinity said before her Ashton, and Kostas started making their way toward the excavated dirt mound.

I wanted to take a little breather so I made my way to the kitchen and poured myself a large cup of water. As I downed it I thought about how it was super nice it was to have refrigerated water where the water was purified with the help of the stove. It made life so much nicer and easier.

After resting up for ten minutes in the dining room I made my way back to the construction site where I helped shovel dirt into wheelbarrows where they'd then dump and properly spread and insert dirt around the cellar which began the process of the building getting its final layer of insulation.

Have I ever mentioned how repetitive this type of work is? There's only so many ways I can describe shoveling dirt but I'm sure I don't need to to get the point across. Before we knew it, the sun was low in the sky and the heat was starting to relent a little by the time around a quarter of the de-excavation job was complete.

As the building crew were returning equipment back into the shack, Trinity said, "Hey, good work everyone! Let's try to finish this tomorrow by all means, it'd be nice to finally be done with this."

We all agreed with that sentiment but I wanted to put that at the back of my mind since my body was feeling really gross due to all the sweat and dirt I had gotten on myself. So to deal with that I made my way up to my room to retrieve a towel though on the way I met Stacy in the dining room where she wanted to join me. So she tagged along with me on to where we bathe. It didn't take much longer for the warm-ish water within the slow flowing stream to wash over me, the water feeling fantastic over my body as I felt the dirt and grime wash away.

I spent a few long minutes just trying to get it all off me while my wife peacefully bathed at a much more sedate pace. After I felt like most of the dirt and sweat was off me I observed Stacy run a hand through her hair as she poured water on her head with a cup. I watched her do that for a couple minutes as I did the usual of admiring the person she is.

When those couple of minutes passed I slowly made my way behind her where my arms delicately wrapped around her abdomen and tugged her close which she lightly giggled at. The water was at my waist which meant it was just below Stacy's breasts. I'll reiterate that the water was slow-moving so it was no problem for her and she wouldn't be washed away. I leaned down a tad so I could rest my chin on her head as my hands on her belly slowly draped up and down so I could enjoy her presence.

After another minute I gently took the cup out of her hand and slid a hand under her chin before gingerly making her look up at me. I dumped the cup in the water as we made eye contact though my eyes took note of the adorable smile she had on her lips as I brought the cup back up before slowly pouring it on her head. No amount of water ran down her face as I made sure it'd only get her scalp and hair where my free hand would then run through her long hair to further remove any loose strands of hair and any other undesirables within it.

I did that a few times before setting the cup on the boulder that protruded out into the stream so I could wrap my arms around her again. I kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. "I love you..." I couldn't help but quietly say.

She quietly reciprocated my words before we lightly kissed where the gentle and lovely act persisted for several long minutes. "Remember the first time we bathed here? Like the same week we found the mansion?" She asked which dug up that exact moment within my mind.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I sure do... I was super shy but I didn't show it. I was somewhat scared that you were gonna look at me and break that promise we made."

"I kinda wanted to look and for you to look at me even though I was extremely shy too." She said which I thought was just a little shocking. She noticed my subtle reaction. "I know, it seems a little weird looking back on it but even though we didn't know each other very long... I felt something, if that makes any sense. And hey, it turned out to be true."

"I guess so, yeah. It's just at that point that'd've been super early... I think when we saw each other naked for the first time was the right time to do that."

"It's crazy what that's turned into since... Well, just look at us." She said which I took as my cue to look down at her chest.

"It kind of is but that's just how it goes." I said with a shrug before meeting her gaze again. Not without the sound of my stomach grumbling quite audibly. "Damn, that reminds me I haven't really ate anything today."

She turned around and hugged me as the adorable girl still looked up at me. "I'll make us dinner when we get back, okay?"

"You want any help with that?"

She shook her head. "Nope, you've worked super hard today so you'll be resting instead, this is non-negotiable."

I softly eskimo kissed her. "Your adorableness is... immeasurable."

"Psh!" She simply replied which further proved my words.

We kissed for another couple of minutes before finishing up shortly after that. I carried her like a bride back to the mansion where she directed us toward the kitchen where the girl got to work in cooking us both something. When I tried to help her she took my hand and led us up to our room where she had me sit on the window bay.

"Stay. Rest. I'll be back in twenty minutes." She said and kissed me which prevented any rebuttal from me.

"Sure thing sweetie." I said when she ended the kiss. I knew better than to deny the nice gesture she was trying to give me.

When she left the room I got back up to empty my pockets and place the walkie-talkie all on her desk where my eyes took the time to take note of the art piece that was on the latter half of completion on the desk. It was somewhat simple. There was a purplish pond within a cave full of stalagmites and stalactites with huts around the pond. I then sat in the chair as I waited for Stacy to return which is when my mind drifted and wondered about all things random. Until I wanted an update on something that I hadn't been briefed on in a small while.

I picked up my walkie-talkie with the intent of talking to Audrey. "How're the corn and potatoes coming along?"

"They're just about done. Well, at least the first seeds we planted are. I'd say we start harvesting the ones we know are ready three or so days after the cellar's completed... That's some good timing on my part." She confidently claimed.

"Don't flatter yourself too much." Ashton said for me which I chuckled at.

"So I guess those days beforehand should be the days that the building crew get off, I think they deserve it."

"Won't see any of us complaining." Trinity said which quickly got an agreement from Charlotte.

"I was gonna suggest that almost everyone should focus on harvesting since it's gonna take a lot of work to do so. Not to mention that we'd be able to do that and not worry about food since... y'know, we're gonna be harvesting a great deal of food. I think that's a good idea.” I took a few more moments to think about it. “Yeah, we'll go ahead and do that. But I want the builders to continue doing their usual job, to continue the clinic, start the forge maybe, and to perhaps even start a cabin or two if possible."

With confirmation from the team-leaders with only a couple of them being reluctant, that plan was set in stone and Harvesting Day was officially established... That made me think about holidays and if we'll ever have them again. Perhaps the first harvest of Solaris can be marked and celebrated yearly to commemorate the humble beginning? Maybe.

When I heard a knock at the door fifteen minutes later I went to go see who it was which unsurprisingly turned out to be my wife holding two plates of adequately made venison and leafy greens. It only took a couple more minutes for us to get in our usual spot and start intimately feeding each other.

Thirty lovely minutes passed before we finished the food before the girl migrated to in between my legs so we could hold each other closely. After she leaned into me I rested my chin on her head which is when I realized how tired I had gotten as my eyes quickly delved into a state of exhaustion.

After I yawned she gingerly nuzzled me. "Is it sleepytime for you?"

"Maybe... It's a little early though, are you even tired?" I asked as I slowly dug my nose into her hair.

"No, not yet, I wanna hang out with the girls for a little while. But I can stay with you until you're asleep."

"You're so sweet..." I quietly said before kissing her forehead.

"I'm just trying my best to be a good wife, I always am trying to do that."

"You're not just being a good wife but you're being the best wife." I pointed out which caused her to giggle. "I just don't want you to do things that you don't wanna do."

She scooted back a tad and looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. "I'll always want to do stuff like this, it's so nice and makes me so happy... I don't know how I would stop wanting stuff like this."

I pressed my forehead against hers and lightly put a hand on the side of her lightly smiling face. "Same here... I know I say it a lot Stacy but I always feel the need to say it even though it doesn't convey a fraction of what I truly feel for you. I love you so, so much my adorable little angel..."

"I love you so, so much too..." She quietly replied before our hug tightened a bit as we kissed.

It lasted a few more minutes before we got up and undressed before laying down on the bed where my arms quickly wrapped around her abdomen to make sure she was as close to me as she could be. It only took a few minutes of greatly enjoying us being like that for me to fall into a deep dreamless sleep. I was a little confused when I woke up early in the morning with her still in my arms with me ported inside her since I didn't remember when she left my grasp or when she entered it again.

As usual, I stayed like that for around ten minutes before slowly separating from her where I was careful to not wake her up. After getting dressed and admiring her sleeping form for a bit I made my way downstairs and out back to the shack where I started putting the required tools for excavating in one of the wheelbarrows.

I poured out all of the tools on the ground before immediately getting to work on shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow since I wanted to get that job done as soon as possible. So that's what I did. I was able to pour fifteen large loads of soil back over the cellar before the building team started trickling in to help me out. An hour later our effort was in full swing causing the hill of dirt to swiftly shrink as the cellar started properly being encased in dirt.

And boy oh boy did we do that for a substantial amount of time... I woke up at seven in the morning and by seven in the afternoon the job was just about completed. I had minimal breaks during that time but I was fine, relatively speaking. They had me stop so they could finish the job because they claimed that I needed a break since I had worked four hours more than the next person. (They take a few hours break in the middle of the day.)

I looked over the large grassless section to review if they needed my help any longer. Since it was about ninety-five percent complete I saw that I was no longer needed so I left them to it where my mind finally properly registered how much I made my body go through.

But before I wound down I wanted to do another review of the cellar just to take in how much had been accomplished. The entrance to the cellar had the door at a low angle, probably around thirty degrees since that's how the slope was, so it was a tad strange when opening it. And I will comment yet again at how fantastic of a craftsman Trinity is as the door was really high quality in the sense of how insulating it is.

What lay behind the door was a sturdy staircase of around fifteen steps that led to another door, this time at an angle where a door usually stands at. I kept both of the doors open to let light in since the cellar wasn't connected to our grid yet which made the interior really dark. Kostas is gonna be working on that fairly soon.

Anyways, I looked over the wooden walls which looked quite nice, I hope they'd last for a fairly long amount of time. I then looked down at the red brick flooring which also looked great since the bricks were been compacted tightly together. The floor being a drain was something that impressed me greatly, I wouldn't have even thought about that. Etsu really knows how to engineer an effective building.

And damn, it was indeed cool, cold even. I was a little skeptical that it could get down to such temperatures but I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be true, we really could be storing the harvest we'll soon have into it and not worry about decay for a long while. I reviewed the structure for a couple more minutes before having my fill there and properly exiting it afterward.

"Another day shot..." I said to myself after taking a spot on one of the living room couches as I thought about how fast the day seemed to go by. Strange how it seems so long in the moment but seems like a flash afterward.

It didn't take me long to just blankly look at the TV that wasn't on and think about time itself. Y'know, things like where we're headed as a community, how that time will be spent, how it's... limited. I despise thinking about how we'll all run out of it some day and how I'll undoubtedly lose some more friends and family as I grow older... It sucks and I know it's kind of a bad thing to think about but I can't really help it sometimes.

I started thinking about what I'd be doing for the next three free days other than anticipate the work ahead of me. I didn't think about that for too long since I accidentally fell asleep when fatigue abruptly snuck up on my mind.

"Rosy, it's time to get up, sun's about to rise."

I shook my head and huffed, it felt like I had just gone to sleep. Damn whoever tried to prevent me from getting a nice few hours of sleep... Wait, who's Rosy?

After that realization I cracked open an eye to see a maroon, white on the chest and belly, and fluffy fox giving me a neutral expression as it waited for me to wake up.

My eyes shot open which is when I realized the snout that was attached to my vision. That's when I realized that it was my snout which caused one of my paws to lift up off the ground to touch it, to make sure it was real.

"Rosy, what are you doing?" My... brother asked.

"I... I'm not sure." I replied as I looked at my paw before putting it back down. I got up and stretched before my brother lightly shook his head.

"C'mon, we don't have much time to waste to get to the mines, the boss'll fire us if we're late again."

I sighed as my memory fully returned. Strange how that happened, must've had a crazy dream or something like that. After spending ten minutes getting ready for the day I asked, "Honestly, Pip, is the job even worth it anymore? Is the five coin a day wage worth all the labour they make us do?"

Pip also sighed before meeting my gaze. "You know we have no other choice here. Yes, I'd love for us to have more opportunities and a better life like what the Chisainese have but that's just not gonna happen here, not in our lifetimes at least."

I chuckled. "You believe the Chisainese really live the way the rumours claim? It's nonsense. You know what they would do if a species lived like that."

"Maybe it's just a rumour, maybe... But one can hope that the Chisai truly live like that. Maybe we can hop on a boat one day and leave this all behind... I know that's what mom and dad would've wanted us to do, they didn't rebel for nothing."

I slowly nodded. "...Yeah, I guess there's hope. Speaking of which, I hope that the Federation won't invade."

"I doubt they will, I'm sure they're just bluffing. But yeah, we should really be headed out now, I let you sleep a little longer than I should've."

"What time is it?" I asked as we made our way to the door of our shack where I quickly saw that the sun was starting to rise above the horizon.

After receiving the time we made our way out to the dirt path where the smell of burning trash was present and light but it was still there. I despised the smell though it was always there. I also despised all of the litter that scattered across the pathway which consisted of a countless amount of sheets of paper, tin cans, broken tools, and bones disposed of upon other miscellaneous garbage. A lot of it washed into the river we lived nearby which was also being polluted by numerous mining facilities that were erected near it. I was tired of the sights and smells but I couldn't do anything about it. I was just one fox.

I also despised the sight of the buildings we lived in. They were crammed together, cheaply made, poorly put together, made on unsound ground, and made with cheap materials along with a countless amount of cut corners. Sheet metal, concrete, sticks, and mud. And we paid an absurd amount to live in them, these overcrowded spaces where we were lucky if the poisoned water we drink didn't start an epidemic of sorts.

Suddenly, a flier for the election coming up was barreling right toward me. I stepped on it and turned it around to read what it said. I quickly scoffed at it.

"Not sure why they're wasting paper on these things. We all know that the dictator's gonna win even if everyone votes against him. And nothing will change, hasn't since even before our grandparents were alive."

"...At least they outlawed slavery." Pip optimistically said which I yet again scoffed at.

"Maybe federally. But other mining companies still use them, work some of them to death still, and they see no repercussions. They're just gonna continue spending all the country's money on themselves."

He stayed quiet after that, my brother knowing that I was right. Five minutes later I swear I felt something subtle shift below me. Then I felt it again, which was ever slightly so stronger.

"Pip, do you feel that? Beneath us?" I asked as I looked toward him who looked at the ground with his ears bent back.

"...Something doesn't feel right."

It only took a couple of more seconds before the Earth itself started to violently shake. The shaking only strengthened as we got low on the ground as the brittle buildings around us quickly started to collapse.

The sound of cracking, breaking, smashing, and crashing only picked up as the town around us was getting levelled. Other people were fleeing the buildings that still stood as others around us in the street frantically panicked as I got closer to my brother. My heart rate was immeasurable as the amount of adrenaline put my instincts on hyperdrive. I would try to- no, I will not lose another sibling, my last sibling, in this cruel world.

A disastrous and chaotic minute later the hardcore shaking was over which allowed us to process what just happened. I shakily stood up and looked around where I saw a lot of smoke and dust from different buildings pluming up as some of the cheaply made shacks started catching fire.

There was nothing standing left. Every building I saw was razed while the sound of screams and cries for help made themselves known. It was stomach churning. I was left speechless at the carnage.

It didn't take me much longer to faint after that.

I woke up with a small amount of adrenaline flooding my system along with a sharp intake of air filling my lungs as I quickly came to my senses. Though I was double spooked since a lady in front of me was right in front of me, that same lady getting spooked by my sudden awakening.

After getting over the initial shock I focused on the girl to see who it was. It was decently dim but I could still make out every detail so my eyes quickly came to the conclusion that it was my wife. "I was just about to wake you up... Sheesh, you scared me."

I rubbed my eyes as I woke up a little bit more before my gaze then discovered that she was wrapped in a blanket as she walked back up to me. "Scared me too, little lady... What time is it?"

That question instantly reminded me of the dream I had which I wanted to remember. But dreams like those were hard to forget, mainly due to how realistic they are and how much of an impact they have on me.

"Almost midnight." She simply answered as I leaned toward her.

She had an adorable grin as I placed my hands on her sides though the blanket prevented any skin-to-skin touch. Though when I felt her arms underneath the blanket opening the blanket up I put my hands down to let her do that. Though I gasped and grabbed the blanket before closing it again causing the girl to giggle as I fully woke up from the rush.

"Stacy, what if someone saw you?" I asked in a hushed tone, the girl giggling yet again.

She wiggled a small bit. "Everyone's either in their cabin, room, or asleep... There's no one down here, it's fine."

After hearing her reasoning I looked around to see if there was anyone in any of the rooms I could peer into where no sign of life was detected. I looked back at her lightly blushing but still smiling face before a small sigh escaped my lips.

"It's really risky..."

"I'll keep the blanket around my shoulders just in case I need to quickly wrap myself again..." She reasoned which made me slowly let go of the blanket.

It took her a couple of seconds to slowly reveal her naked body once more where this time my mind allowed my eyes to thoroughly admire what was in front of me. I heard her lightly giggle as I ogled her breasts, belly, groin, and legs. I can't get across how attractive my wife is...

(Sex scene ahead, "ctrl+f 'sex scene over' to skip)

"You're so sexy..." I whispered as I placed my hands on her sides before the appendages slowly draped up and down her skin.

She leaned forward a tad which is something I reciprocated causing our foreheads to rest against each other's for a few seconds before we started lightly kissing. Only for a minute before I ended it and kissed her neck causing the girl to lift her head as my kiss strengthened. I continued peppering her neck with kisses before making an abrupt detour down to her breasts where my lips treated the mound of flesh just as they did her neck.

She quietly squeaked when my lips latched onto a nipple since my mouth lovingly sucked it as my tongue slowly swirled around her nipple. She quietly grunted every now and then as she rested into the sensation. My mouth then did the same thing to the other nipple a couple minutes later to give them equal treatment.

My right hand draped from her side down to the respective buttock to take a tight grasp of as my mouth returned back to the other nipple after the same amount of time it took to pleasure the first one originally. After another five minutes I stopped and met Stacy's gaze where I saw that the girl was blushing and lightly panting, my wife very clearly being very hot and bothered.

"Again, so sexy..." I said with a little bit of lust in my tone.

She abruptly moved forward and straddled my lap before the girl placed her hands on the sides of my face before pressing her forehead against mine once more.

"I want you to breed me, pound me for so long, make me yours, you deserve to fill my tight little pussy up to the brim after fucking me for so long for completing the cellar... I want you inside me so fucking much..." She huskily said which drove the feral part of my mind wild. I wasn't able to get a reply in before she pressed her lips against mine where the kiss was strong and persisted for several minutes.

While in the kiss one of her hands went down to undo my pants where the girl's excited hand then took a hold of my fully aroused phallus and took it out before she pressed her horny slit against the member. As she continued kissing me she lightly ground on me causing the girl to quietly grunt as she spread a thin layer of her horny lubricant on my shaft.

"I hope you two are just kissing and doing nothing else under that blanket." I heard Olivia say with a tone that was motherly and somewhat stern as she was half way done making her way down the stairs which is when the quiet sound of stairs creaking became evident.

Stacy got low on me, stopped kissing, and stopped grinding instantly after she heard her voice. Thankfully the blanket around her had concealed what was happening beneath it.

"We probably are just kissing." I calmly replied as Stacy buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"Good. This is a terrible place to do anything more than that. But I'm sure you know that."

"Trouble going to sleep?" I asked as the doctor made her way toward the kitchen.

"Just a bit. I've been thinking about Luna and wondering when the clinic will resume construction." She called back as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Should we go to our room?" Stacy whispered.

"When Olivia's back in her room." I whispered back before replying to Olivia. "The clinic's next on the list for things that need to get done so we'll be resuming it in a few days. Though we'll be focusing on harvesting as well and we need to construct a couple more cabins and another couple of buildings after that."

"A lot to do... It'll be nice seeing all of it unfold." Olivia simply replied.

"It will indeed." I said which ended that conversation.

Stacy started lightly grinding on me after thirty seconds of silence causing the girl to quietly giggle as she gave herself minute amounts of pleasure that she craved for. The motion stoked any arousal that had left my system but I kissed her forehead and firmly put my hands on her hips to stop her grinding which made the girl pout.

"You're being naughty. We'll continue this when we're in our room..." She cutely huffed but conceded to my idea.

It took Olivia around five minutes to walk back out of the kitchen and toward the stairs. After saying our farewells for the night she returned back up to her room. Stacy and I looked each other in the eyes for a couple of minutes before kissing again after we felt comfortable we wouldn't get interrupted again which caused the thought of rushing to our room to be forgotten.

After yet another couple minutes of the kiss and her grinding she lifted herself up a tad so we could look down at our groins where she then took a hold of my penis and inserted the tip of it into her heavenly heat. My hands on her hips stayed firm as she slowly rested her body weight down where my shaft pleasurably spread her slit open which tightly clung around my girth as her walls lovingly squeezed my cock while she slid down my phallus. My plunge into her was decently quick since my glans contacted her cervix just twenty seconds later.

"I love you..." I quietly said as her grinding continued.

"I love you too..." She replied before putting her hands back on the sides of my face and deeply kissing me.

Our small thrusts continued for five lovely and intimate minutes as we felt and enjoyed the familiar sensations that never have lost the magnitude in which we craved them. Those feelings were amplified when she properly started lifting herself up and down on half the length of my shaft causing the pleasure to strongly invade my mind as I relaxed and let her please me.

It was so nice to just sit back and be settled while in a deep kiss as I helped her a small bit by keeping my hands firmly on her hips so she could continue easily stimulating the both of us. I closed my eyes and focused on the feeling of her flawless vagina and her lips, those two feeling the best experience that mimics what heaven, euphoria, and happiness itself in physical form. The stifled grunts of hers that she was making were so adorable and when I stopped kissing her a few minutes later so her grunts could become quiet moans, that’s when they became beautiful.

She looked down at where we connected and just watched how it looked for a minute. I watched the mesmerizing sight as well for a few moments before she giggled. "It's so... cool how you're inside me. H-How I can have your penis super deep in me and have your penis want to make me pregnant... It's so a-awesome."

I chuckled as her riding slowed. "Yeah, it is... It's so nice being one."

She agreed before another silence appeared between us. That was until my arms wrapped around her and stood up which caused her to wrap her legs around my pelvis a minute later. The blanket around her had fallen to the floor but we didn't care at that point since the only thing we cared about was pleasuring each other and to help each other reach our orgasm.

We stayed kissing and connected as I walked us up the stairs and into our room where I let my pants fall to the ground before I set us down into the lotus position on the window bay. After taking my shirt off we proceeded to have soft, caring, lovely, gentle, intimate, and slow sex for twenty minutes with the kiss persisting as our quiet grunts of pleasure were muffled by it. We denied our orgasms a couple of times before we needed to cum which was conveyed to each by through the both of us deeply looking each other in the eyes as I broke the position and delicately laid her on her back.

I put a hand on an inner thigh to massage the sensitive flesh to encourage her to keep her legs open before softly placing my other hand on the side of her flushed face.

"I'm so, so glad I have such a perfect goddess as my wife..." I said as my thrusts stayed slow for a few seconds before slowly sped up.

She just wrapped her arms around my neck and the leg I wasn't touching around my pelvis as she gracefully took my extremely desired thrusts into her. It didn't take much longer for an orgasm to rock through her body as I pounded her, my own large orgasm emerging a few seconds later of which we both audibly moaned at. And it was indeed quite large since my somewhat aching testicles felt like they unleashed three orgasms worth of sperm into her magnificent vagina. The emptiness I felt in the groin area afterward felt phenomenal…

Ten seconds after my orgasm began and after enjoying the last few very sensitive thrusts into her, all motion stopped as we panted and looked each other in the eyes once more. I had been smelling her natural scent but I took the time to properly register it as we enjoyed feeling satisfied from our act. I admired where we connected, that sight being one of the best I'm able to see. Mainly because at that point I know that my semen is making its way deep into her forever accepting system, something that would only ever accept me.

We didn't say a word for five minutes as we stayed in that exact motionless position before we migrated to lay down on the window bay where the both of us stayed connected as we got comfortable. After pulling her close and kissing her lips one last time we expressed the love we have for each other one more time before focusing on trying to get to sleep which was followed with the both of us entering the realm of the unconscious mere minutes later.

(Sex scene over)

A couple days later the building team was starting to preemptively prepare to get to work on Olivia's clinic. Not actual labour since they had another day off but planning a little more about how they'd construct it. They were applying the lessons learned from building the cellar to the clinic and changed a few things about the clinic like what materials should be used.

It was mainly the floor with the plan changing to have the clinic have a brick floor instead of a wooden one. I was indifferent about the change but they needed some more bricks since we were just about out. I opted to go with Solomon, Kostas, and Phoenix when a scavenging team was assembled just to get some more work done faster.

We set out early since there was no point in slacking as tempting as it is. We went to the town that was the furthest away that we know of which is around forty miles away from Solaris where Ashton told us where we can get the required supplies. So it took a little while to get there but we were cruising at a swift pace of forty miles an hour. Do the simple math and you'll find out how long it took to get there.

"Can I get a refresher on what all is gonna start being made in a couple of days?" Kostas asked shortly after we entered the abandoned market.

I thought back to what Olivia and I talked about a couple of nights prior as I whipped out a flashlight. "The general consensus is that we'll always have two projects under construction depending on how labour intensive they are. So basically what I'm trying to say is we'll be focusing on the clinic and maybe another cabin."

Kostas slowly nodded before saying, "Well, would I be free to start building my forge?"

"Yeah, sure. Though we might need to focus on the other things I mentioned first."

"Oh, I'm just gonna do a lot of it on my own. I'm pretty sure I can get pretty far before I need any help from anyone."

"How come you didn't start earlier?"

"The others needed help with the cellar and all that." He simply answered which was fair enough.

"Well, if you need any help starting it I can help you. Though it might not be much due to me not knowing much on how to build forges..."

"I appreciate that. Making a forge that I can use with the materials I have... it's going to be, what was that word, primitive? It's gonna be primitive compared to what I used before The Drop."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Forges used a lot of gasses that we don't have anymore. We're gonna have to do it the old fashioned way like how people smelted metals hundreds of years ago. It'll be very annoying compared to the methods I mainly used but I will get over that."

"Yeah, that makes sense... You just know how to make a smelter from scratch?"

He nodded. "Good thing I do since this forge idea would not happen if I didn't. Knowing the history of metallurgy was a pretty important thing to know about being a blacksmith." He saw my wondering expression so he decided to keep talking. "The smelter itself will mainly be made of clay. I had Nova make a lot of hay so I can mix it into the mud when I start making the forge. There's many parts to it I can tell you all about but I won't, you probably wouldn't remember."

Bold of you to assume that, Kostas.

"The bellows is probably the most important part which keeps the charcoal burning which will probably be the hardest part... And charcoal is pretty easy to make. I'll make an area for that nearby where I'm gonna put the forge."

"Where are you making that by the way?"

"About twenty meters away from where they cut all the wood. It's nowhere near any buildings or the forest so the only thing that has a risk of catching fire is the forge itself."

His words soothed my mind. "I have faith that won't happen."

"You can never be too sure. Anyways, the first thing I'll do is make molds of the tools we use since that's the point of this entire idea."

"Do you think I can take the first tool that rolls off the assembly line?"

He lightly shook his head. "I think I'll keep it as a prize for the landmark or something like that. You can have the second one though."

I was fine with that and looked forward to it. I don't have high expectations of it since it'll be the second one. I have the opinion that the first few will be low quality but if it turns out that I'm wrong then I'll be pretty pleased.

"And there they are." Phoenix said as we spotted dozens of pallets full of red bricks. "Need us to do anything for yah, Solomon?"

As it was, Solomon had been pulling an empty pallet jack that a scavenging team had scavenged the first time they had retrieved bricks. And it was a pretty good one, able to lift over a couple of tons, maybe more, I’m not sure.

"Not really. Unless you guys can find another one of these things and double our speed then just being there to talk to is enough." Solomon sweetly replied.

"Wanna do a sweep of the place?" I asked either of the other men.

"Yeah, sure." Kostas said before we branched off to do just that for around twenty minutes.

"Died on the job..." I said as Kostas and I looked at the skeletal remains of what we assumed to have been a worker.

"Like countless others." Kostas simply replied before taking hold of the pallet jack's handle and setting the nearly empty pallet it was carrying down on the floor.

I didn't really think about it often but damn... It's strange how numb we've all become to the remains of people. It's probably something that should be expected since remnants are everywhere but it still seems inhumane in a small way. But what else are we supposed to do?

By the time we got back to the bricks two pallets of them had been migrated out of the building and into our car's trailer. Kostas quickly loaded a pallet onto the pallet jack and set off toward the exit of the building. We met Phoenix and Solomon halfway there where Phoenix asked, "How many do you want to take?"

I glanced at the bricks that Kostas had been tugging. "You know what, we might as well take as many as we can. What'd be the harm in that? It'd save us time from a few trips back here."

"Might as well, I suppose..." Phoenix replied before we got back to work.

We spent another thirty minutes loading the car's trailer with as many pallets as we could safely fill it with which happened to be around eight pallets plus another eight stacked on top of them. After putting one of the pallet jacks in the spot we made sure to stay free for it. We left the other one behind and made our way back to Solaris. I like simple and quick missions like that. It didn't take too much effort other than pulling the pallet jacks up the ramp to the trailer. It also didn't take us long to drop off all of the pallets next to the foundation of the clinic just to kill two birds with one stone.

The day at that point was still quite young so I had a lot of time just to do whatever I wanted. So I decided to write in my journal and as I was doing that I thought about all the materials that are just sitting around in all the stores that we know of. I've recently been wanting to start a scavenging program... which maybe I should've started something like that a little while ago?

It might seem somewhat stupid at first that I've been so anti-scavenge this entire time. I say that because some abandoned markets have a large stockpile of non-perishable foods within them along with some having a large amount of building materials, tools, and clothes.

The reason I haven't ordered that we collect it all and the reason I worried about running out of food before the harvest is because I wanted to know if we were self-sufficient for the future. Scavengable food is only so plentiful out there and I just wanted to make sure we never relied on it. I hope that makes sense and is the responsible way to go about it...

Of course, if we needed to scavenge before the harvest we would've. And a couple other members asked me why we weren't scavenging which I explained my reasoning to them. Though Willow was still persistent that we should go ahead and scavenge. Maybe she'll be pleased when I announce this idea. And I'll announce it perhaps a little later after we're done harvesting all the corn and potatoes. Or whenever I think we can spend the time on it and need it in a way.

But back to self-sufficiency. It appears, at least for now, that we probably are self-sufficient as long as we expand the fields when spring rolls around again. Now that I know we're self-sufficient, at least on the food front, I think it's about time that we focus on collecting all these resources we're able to reach just to know what's there and what we have to do before a problem of starvation ever appears on the horizon. Mainly so we know how much time we have and what we should do, stuff like that.

But then there's the problem with storage since there's a lot of things that we can scavenge. We can scavenge a vast amount of bricks, concrete, and paint due to the couple of warehouses we've found. (Stacy doesn't use the paint I'm referring to other than on whenever she paints a sign. It's the industrial type paint that isn't really used in her arts) And we've recently discovered a lumberyard with a vast amount of planks.

I wasn't there for that discovery but after receiving the news I spoke to Trinity about it who was pleased with the finding. She said we should take them all and use them because that'd take a lot of labour off the wood processing team's shoulders. And I agreed, after all, whenever all that wood runs out they can just get right back up to speed on producing our own planks from scratch. But we haven't transported any of the planks yet, they're waiting until building operations are back up and running after their break.

So we're gonna have to figure out where we'll stockpile all that stuff. Shouldn't be too hard as those materials should be fine when exposed to the elements. But there's a lot of things that will be stored inside. Like the tools, clothes, and food I mentioned. We had cleaned out and organized the shack and attic a couple weeks ago (it took many hours, I hate organizing those types of rooms) so now they had a substantial amount of room to have shit within them. And I want to put as many tools as we comfortably can in the shack and as many clothes as we can in the attic.

Charlotte will eventually start making clothes again, I'm not sure when but she will. Because new clothes will have to be manufactured in the future and she has the skills to do so even if she has to perfect her skills regarding clothes-making.

And we'll see where I want to put the food since there's gonna be a lot more than just a cellar's worth of it. Maybe a lot of it will go in the cellar that was recently finished depending on how full it gets after all the corn and potatoes get put into it.

After writing in my journal I made my way to the dining room to write down the gist of what I had thought about regarding all of my scavenging ideas. As I did so a subtle feeling deep within me emerged, that feeling being related to dread. I ignored it as best as I could but that feeling slowly strengthened before it spiked as I finished writing things down causing it to be impossible to ignore.

The feeling was immense and caused me to stand up since I was alarmed for... for my wife. I knew there was something wrong happening to her. I don't know how but I needed to find her.

Nothing would've prepared me for what was revealed mere minutes later.

Chapter 48: A very difficult decision...

Notes:

A fair trigger warning (might be a little spoilery I guess); Non-con elements.

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I'm not sure how or why I had that feeling of alarm and had the need to find my wife but it was strong, intense, and flowing into every nerve of my body. I took a deep breath before setting aside the pencil and sheet of paper I was writing on before quickly walking toward the entrance of the mansion. As I somewhat shakily took a hold of my walkie-talkie, Willow entered the house which made me immediately turn my attention toward her.

"Willow? Do you know where Stacy's at?" I asked, not able to keep a subtle tone of worry out of my tone.

"Uhm, yeah, is something wrong?"

"Where is she?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"We were fishing down the stream that way half an hour ago. She'll be coming back soon." She answered as she pointed in the general direction of her location.

Without saying another word I left the house and followed Willow's direction where the feeling in my chest didn't falter in the slightest. I put my walkie-talkie back on my waist because I knew she never wears hers when she's fishing so it was redundant. I walked fast before I started jogging as my mind started to theorize what happened to her, if anything at all. But I didn't have to theorize much more five minutes later when I was a decent bit down the stream.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, move your hands or you're severely going to regret it."

The voice was faint due to the distance between the both of us along with nature's sounds of water flowing, wind breezing, and birds chirping blurring it by quite a bit. But I was able to hear it and make it out since my instincts put my senses on overdrive. I quickly processed and understood the meaning of the words which caused a large amount of adrenaline to flood into my system. And it didn't take much longer for me to find out who said that and why I had a feeling of dread within my chest.

What I saw when the trees quickly cleared made me see red. Elliot had a hand on Stacy's neck pinning her against a tree with his other hand on one of her hips while Stacy kept a hand tightly on her other hip to keep her pants up as her other hand tried pushing his off her. The bucket of fish she had was spilled over and her spear had been thrown away from them. The amount of rage that flowed through me was immeasurable.

"N-No!" Stacy replied after staying quiet for a few seconds, the girl sounding weakened and extremely frightened as his hand harshly slipped under her shirt.

I was running as fast and as silently as I could before my hand went down to the revolver at my waist. Right as I pulled out my revolver Elliot looked behind him and we made eye contact with each other when the both of us were fifteen meters away. He froze for a second as I stopped running but continued walking instantly after my revolver had been lifted up and pointing at him.

"If you move, you die." I announced ominously as I continued closing the space between us. He continued looking at me as he quickly thought before the man cursed under his breath. "Get your fucking hands off her."

A few long seconds passed before he abruptly grabbed Stacy's sides and turned around where his hands quickly went to her head and locked her in place causing the girl to look ahead which is when I noticed her tears dripping down her cheeks as she trembled in fear. Stacy's pouts of fright are something I never wanted to hear. And after that movement of him locking her head my heart dropped.

"Now you're gonna be the one who puts your gun down and toss it to me or I snap her neck and she's gone." He replied with hatred in his voice. "Do it!" He yelled after a couple of silent seconds.

I... I couldn't risk trying to shoot him as my aim was still terrible. He was almost entirely behind Stacy, his head only visible due to him being a head taller than Stacy. I was also subtly shaking which added to the reason I couldn't risk it. So I stopped pointing the gun at him as my heart pounded as hard as it probably has before. The thought of Stacy's life being able to be ended in a single motion made me weak and churned my stomach.

I slowly kneeled as I set the gun on the ground before tossing it ahead of me by three meters. "Please, please don't hurt her..."

He glanced at the gun a couple of times. "Well, we're in a precarious situation here, it depends on what you're gonna do... I don't want to hurt Stacy, she's so beautiful, it'd be such a shame to get rid of that." He creepily said as his hand subtly readjusted on her head.

"Why would you do this." I said as he started to gently walk forward.

He stayed silent as he continued to take his steps toward the gun where the man slowly pushed Stacy to take steps forward as well. "...I've wanted to rape Stacy for so long . Everything about this woman is so sexy. Her face, hair, ass, especially her age for being just like how she is. I'm sure her pussy is just as amazing, if not more so, than all of her combined... If only you weren't here."

My immeasurable rage was mixed with immeasurable disgust at his words.

"I'm jealous that you took her virginity and that you get to fuck her so often, Hunter, I'd've killed to have that... There was just never a good opportunity. When I heard that you had been shot I was hoping that it was fatal. That would've left Stacy all open and free. Unfortunately for me that didn't turn out to be the case, obviously."

"So why were you doing this while I was still alive."

"I couldn't wait any longer. I saw Stacy out here, far away from home, all alone and I couldn't pass it up." He replied as he continued walking toward the gun, the man then being two meters away from it.

"And how would you have kept her quiet afterward."

"That's for me to know and you to never find out. I will die with what I had in mind." He said as he stopped walking due to having approached the gun. "Oough!"

He exclaimed in pain due to Stacy having elbowed him in the crotch where the girl's attack caused his grip on her head to weaken which she swiftly thrashed out of afterward. Her movements were quick and smart which, with the help of the adrenaline, I reacted to instantly where my legs caused me to sprint forward toward Elliot.

"You little-." He said a second after Stacy escaped his grasp where she dropped to the floor and laid on the gun as I dove over her and into Elliot.

My tackle was successful in us both hitting the dust before Elliot quickly put a hand on my neck and chest as he tried pushing me off him. I instantly fought back by grabbing his shirt by his collar and punching the side of his face and damaging his cheek which hurt like hell since I hit a bit of bone. But I powered through that since I was seeing red.

I punched the side of his face again and then one more time before he put in all his strength and successfully pushed me off. He then swiftly got up before I did and tried getting the gun from Stacy but she had put it in her shirt and curled up into a ball that he couldn't pierce. "Give me the fucking gun!"

During that time as he got up I swiftly scooted myself nearer to the spear that had been thrown away and equipped it. It took me just a moment to charge toward Elliot who was crouched and still trying to pry Stacy open. The spear pierced his side which he yelled at in pain before the spear retracted from his body as quickly as it entered him which made him start bleeding quite substantially.

That attack had pushed him to the ground but he was quick enough to get back up, clutch at his open wound, and back away as I pointed the spear at him as I walked toward him at an equal pace. Though he turned around and started running which made me quickly realize that we were now on the chase.

I swiftly turned around and got on my knees next to Stacy as I dropped the spear. "Stacy, give me the gun." I quickly asked, the girl opening her eyes and looking at me. "C'mon, hurry!"

She processed what was said and uncurled before the girl shakily handed me the gun which I snatched out of her hand. I quickly dropped my walkie-talkie next to her and said, "Tell the others what happened." before instantly afterward I ran in the direction of where Elliot went with my gun up and ready for action as I followed the trail of blood droplets.

I ran through the forest, dodging and weaving trees, making sure I stayed on the blood trail so I didn't lose him. My mind was set on termination due to the adrenaline rush and the disgust and rage flowing through my body. Someone who thinks like Elliot does not deserve the right to breathe. Though after five minutes of running I slowed down and got quiet as I continued following the blood trail since my body needed a small break from all the action I had experienced.

"He has to stop somewhere at some time..." I thought as the small blood trail stayed persistent. I was happy that all that time hunting with Kai got me acclimated to being a decent tracker.

But when the trail abruptly ended I looked around a little more thoroughly, the ending being quite odd to me. My walk slowed as I listened to my surroundings and tried to hear anything out of the ordinary. As I continued doing that I walked up to a decently sized tree where that tree passing my vision as I walked by it. Though I heard a twig snap (how cliché, universe) which made me look back toward the tree.

Elliot charged toward me which made me try to point my gun at him as soon as possible but Elliot's hand grabbed the side of the gun causing me to fail at pointing it at his head. This failure to point it correctly resulted in me shooting over his shoulder.

I continued to try to point the barrel at his head but we fought over where the gun was pointing relentlessly where the both of us angrily looked each other in the eyes as our strength clashed against the other. Until we swayed our fighting hands too hard to the side just ten seconds later which caused him to have a little more strength. This caused the gun to be thrown to the side before one of my now free hands punched his belly though one of his hands landed a punch on the side of my face.

It knocked me back just a tad which he took as his chance to leap toward the gun which was something I picked up on and sprung myself once more to tackle him to the ground which eliminated his chance of getting to the gun with that move.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" He yelled as he once again tried pushing me off him.

At this point a lot of my strength was zapped forcing my reserves of energy to be tapped into as I held him down. I got in one more punch on the bruised side of his face before he pushed me off him where the push made me land on my back. He took this opportunity to quickly do the same thing that I did with him where the man got on me and punched my cheek.

Getting punched was jarring but with the amount of adrenaline that was running through me made me not experience pain, not instantly at least. He punched my cheek again which is when I realized what it sounded like to get punched. A low pitched thunk sound is the only word I can most accurately describe it as.

I tried pushing him off me but he was too heavy and I was too weakened. So I had to endure getting punched again. And again. And again. With each punch I felt weaker and weaker and I started to think that maybe I was gonna be beat to death.

He punched my cheek and temple a few times which made me go unfocused. He punched my jaw which made my teeth slam shut. He punched my eye which caused me to see several white dots. He punched my lips which busted my bottom one where the taste of my own blood was recognized at some point during this. And he even punched my nose which made it start bleeding. It was all on the same side of my face, the left side, that he punched over and over again.

I looked on the bright side at that moment since it was the only thing I could effectively do. For some unknown reason I felt something and managed to save Stacy from this monster. I saved her from whatever atrocious act he would've done to her and prevented her from enduring something that would've destroyed her. And that's all that mattered to me. I felt at peace that I upheld my promise of protecting my angel from pure evil.

Until around three minutes later; "Get the fuck off of him or it's your brain getting a nice big hole right through it."

Elliot stopped and looked down at me as the man panted where the same man felt the tip of an arrow press against the back of his head. Elliot slowly sighed and slowly got up which is when my eyes finally saw that Kai had him at crossbow-point.

Kai took a few steps back as he got up to eliminate any chance of his going for his crossbow. "Hands in the air." Elliot slowly complied as Kostas and Raiden came running up to us with the both of them equipped with handguns.

After a few moments of needed recovery I slowly (struggling a decent bit) got up on my feet and slowly walked past Elliot toward my gun. "Point your guns at him, keep him pinned, don't relent in the slightest." I ordered Kostas and Raiden, my citizens obliging to my command with no questions asked.

I heard Elliot sigh as I made it to where my gun lied on the ground where the firearm quickly returned back into the grasp of my hand. As I walked up to Kai's side, an unarmed Olivia who carried a backpack and an armed Phoenix joined us.

"You don't need to point it at him anymore, I've got this." I said to Kai before the boy put his crossbow down and took a few steps back. "On your knees." Elliot glared at me. "On. Your. Knees." He slowly complied. "How many are coming here."

"Stacy should be directing Trinity and Ashton here... That's the only other two who said they were coming." Kostas answered. "Here comes Trinity now."

They started taking positions around me where those spots were spaced out by a few meters each. Olivia gasped when she saw the side of my face but didn't bring it up then. And yes, my face fucking hurt since the adrenaline was starting to wear off. It was throbbing and getting inflamed, I was sure it was incredibly bruised. A minute later Ashton joined us.

"We're all here... Good." I said after looking at all of them where some of them had a hard time not looking at my injuries. I looked back at Elliot. "Now it's time to decide what we should do with you. " I said before taking a couple steps toward him.

Suddenly Elliot's attitude shifted. "I... I'll never see any of you again, I'll go and never return."

"...Is it true he tried to rape Stacy?" Kostas glumly asked.

"A hundred percent. Even admitted he's wanted to rape her for a long time." I replied with pure disgust. "Which thankfully doesn't help your case in the slightest." He was an idiot to reveal his desires.

"...That's punishable by death." Raiden plainly pointed out.

"Raiden... Please, we've known each other for a long time." Elliot pleaded.

"Oh, how the tables turn..." I thought, his begging echoing mine from earlier.

"I don't know who you are." Raiden coldly said.

"A-Are you sure it should be punishable by death?" Kai asked. I knew him pointing his bow at Elliot was a bluff, a very effective bluff at that, but still a bluff. Strange how the hunter isn't able to kill one of his own species but is used to killing... I mean, it makes some sort of sense but that's besides the point.

"He would've killed Stacy. He would've killed me. Had he the chance, if he remembered he just had one, I wouldn't be alive right now." I calmly replied. "Yes, it's punishable by death."

"Rules are rules." Kostas lowly pointed out.

"But... can't we just let him go?" Phoenix asked, the man not wanting his friend to die. I did understand it, I did, but...

"He'd do this to anyone's wife." I said as I pointed my gun at him for a second causing the man fidgeting a tad at that. "Or at the very least any woman that he'd find attractive enough to rape... And we're just gonna give him a chance to do it to someone else? Give him a chance to loiter around and try his chances again with Stacy?"

"N-No, I won't, I promise, I'll be long gone." Elliot pleaded but my ears peculiarly went deaf whenever he spoke. I abruptly migrated behind him and slowly peered at all of my members in front of me.

"...Who'd kill him?" Olivia reluctantly asked. I could tell that she deeply despised the situation.

"...I would." I replied which made Elliot's demeanor adopt a genuine emotion of fear. "I've killed before. I can handle it." A few of them glanced at each other. "Does anyone object."

"Please, don't do this, I'll do anything to repay all of you, anything! "

Olivia slowly shook her head in disgust. But she didn't say anything and turned around.

"Rules are rules." Kostas repeated himself.

Phoenix was actually silently crying, the man having put a hand over his eyes to hide his tears. But he also turned around as he accepted the reality of the situation.

This time it was Elliot's turn to start crying which... actually started tugging my empathy. "Please! It was a massive mistake, I was being fucking stupid!"

Kai slowly shook his head. "This seems sick..."

"Not as sick as this man's wishes, wants, desires, and fantasies." I coldly replied which Kai had no response to before turning around.

Since the group there were the only bodies that had a say to vote and since I felt it deep within me that we had to uphold our rules... not to mention how utterly disgusting this situation was, I lifted my gun up and pressed the muzzle to the back of Elliot's head.

"What more can I say-!?" He tried saying but I cut him off with a raised voice.

"Elliot, you are hereby guilty of attempted rape and attempted murder and will receive the appropriate punishment of death. Have you any last words to say." Raiden looked away as Ashton covered his eyes.

He was crying but it wasn't loud. "I... I'm truly sorry for all my faults, I am, please, I can make this all up to you."

"...Is that all?" I asked, hiding the sympathy I felt.

His hands then shot up and tried to grab the muzzle of my gun but just as quickly I pulled it back and put a foot on his back before applying a large amount of force to lay him down where the barrel of my gun pressed onto the back of his head again. That's when time seemingly slowed down as I thought about this all.

I felt really bad. I did, I really did. His pleas and begs seemed real but... can't you understand why I did all of this? He would've raped my wife. He would've killed me. And he'd probably do this to someone else if we let him go free. And by no means did I enjoy this. I hated it. I didn't want to kill another person. I do not want to become numb to killing. I wish I could've not been in this situation. But I'm a leader that needs to protect my people and as a leader I unfortunately have to make decisions I don't want to do for the greater good of my community. And this would be eliminating a possible major threat.

The trigger for the gun felt super heavy as I applied pressure. My face showed no emotion. And Elliot's struggle ceased after a few more seconds of nothing being accomplished of him trying to take the gun out of my hands, though it was difficult keeping him down and fighting against his grip, his energy being exhausted from everything that had conspired. I assume he accepted his fate as I continued applying pressure to the magnum's trigger...

BANG

...Doing that felt atrocious. It felt as if a piece of my soul left me before my chest quickly felt an emptiness nearly like the first time I had killed.

I lifted the gun up and stood up straight before putting the magnum back in my holster while my face still expressed no emotion as I looked over the members in front of me. I didn't want to look down at the newly made carcass but as much as I tried to not look, my eyes felt an obligation to view what I was directly responsible for. I wasn't really ready to see something like it but I emotionlessly viewed the head with a hole directly through it as blood pooled on the dirt as it oozed out of the body's exit wound with a bit of brain matter.

"...What should we do with him?" Kostas quietly asked after a few silent seconds.

I thought about his question for a dozen seconds before I looked back up. "Phoenix, if you want to make a burial for him, do it here. I don't want him buried near Solaris."

"...Don't you f-feel terrible for doing that?" Kai asked reluctantly.

"...Saying I feel egregious is a vast understatement. I didn't want this to happen as much as any of you wanted." I replied after a brief silence before explaining to them all of my reasons as to why I did it. "I wish there was another way but unfortunately there wasn't. What's done is done. All that we can do now is heal and learn from this incident and move forward."

Olivia slowly nodded with a small frown as she gave off the energy of being horrified. They all did for what had just happened in front of them which was totally understandable but they understood the reasoning behind it and why I did it. Anyways, she said, "...Speaking of healing I should really get you back to the mansion and heal you up. Your face is... It's pretty bad. You’re bleeding quite a bit."

"I know." I simply replied before focusing on the rest of the group. "Any questions?"

"What do we tell the others?" Phoenix managed to ask through his silent tears.

"We tell them exactly what happened... Do you hate me, Phoenix?"

Phoenix stayed silent for a few seconds before lightly shaking his head. "No, I don't hate you... I understand why you did what you did but... Fuck, he... he helped with a lot of things that I won't get into and was a really good friend to me. Though ever since we've gotten to Solaris he... he changed. He became so... bitter. I don't understand it. And I know wishes do nothing but I just wish he wasn't... that he didn't do what he did."

After his small monologue I slowly nodded at his words. "For what it's worth, I am sorry that this had to happen... I tried to be friends with him, I did, but he just hated me for some reason... Though I guess I know the reason now."

Any affirmative or negative from the man himself for my speculation and everything else for that matter regarding his opinions, beliefs, memories, and experiences was erased after I pulled that trigger. Damn, this situation sucked...

With all that being said and done we fell silent for a minute before I said, "Alright, disperse... The situation's been handled."

Raiden gave Elliot's body one last glance before turning around and returning from where she came from. Kai and Kostas followed her as Olivia walked up to me who minded the body as she took hold of the hand that I had punched with.

"Ah!" I exclaimed in pain as she felt around my hand.

"Knuckle here's definitely broken..." She said before peering up at the side of my face. “Sheesh, it looks much worse up close…”

She set the backpack she had down and opened it before taking out a cloth and a bottle of water. She then cleaned off the large amount of blood that had left my nose, lip, and open wound on my cheek. I wasn't even aware that my cheek was bleeding as much as it was. I guess that's just what happens when you focus on the bigger picture of what's happening. My injuries continued to bleed so she told me to keep the cloth pressed against the biggest wound.

“Look at me.” She ordered which I did before the doctor then intently looked at one of my eyes. “...Your zygoma is definitely fractured. I can tell since your eye has a small case of subconjunctival hemorrhaging. Your nose needs a splint and I'll have to keep up to date on the swelling just in case it becomes serious."

“...What’s my zygoma and what’s the hemorrhaging?”

"Can we... go to the mansion? I’ll tell you there." She asked, clearly extremely uncomfortable about what was at her feet.

"Oh, uh, yeah..." With that being said we started making our way back to the mansion. A few minutes later I couldn't help but say, "I need to check on my wife."

"She's doing alright as she can be, at least what I saw in the brief time I saw her... You've got injuries I need to fix, I'll let you go get her after I put that hand in a cast."

I sighed knowing she was right. I lifted up a hand and looked at the knuckle that was broken. "God dammit, I just had to punch with my right hand."

"All of it should heal up in a month..." Olivia said which didn't make me any happier.

"It's gonna really hinder my ability to do things for a while then."

"Just some more injuries to add to your list..."

"I really didn't want to add to that."

"...This situation is fucked." She commented as we got to the stream.

"Yeah, agreed... Do you think I made the right call?"

She thought about my question for a few silent seconds. "I have no clue. I wouldn't have been able to make a decision had I been in your spot... It's a good sign that you didn't enjoy doing that in the slightest. It proves you have heart even for people who severely wronged you."

I ran a hand down the unbeaten side of my face. "I just want to forget this..."

We got to her room a few minutes later where she had me lie down on her bed before she started getting stitching equipment. I sighed since I knew what was about to happen but to briefly not think about it for too long I asked, “So, my zygoma and the hemorrhaging?”

“Right, your cheekbone is fractured and you’ve got a blood spot in your eye which should go away in a couple weeks.”

“...Does my cheekbone need realigned or something?”

“No, if it was a tripod fracture I’d be able to see that and then surgery would ensue. You definitely have an isolated orbital rim fracture so it’ll heal on its own. That should take three weeks or so.”

She walked up to me and took the cloth I was still pressing against my face out of my hand. I sighed again

“I hate this too, Hunter, I wish anesthesia was accessible… I’m starting in three, two, one.”

She cleaned the wound on my cheek before doing the stitches. Thankfully she only had to stitch six times so it wasn’t that big but still… stitching is the worst. During that time my nose stopped bleeding and the bleeding in my lip was tapering off. She then dressed my cheek with gauze.

After that she leaned me up and went to get some stuff for my nose. When she returned back she inserted a small stick-like metal object into my nasal cavity and forced my nose back into place (it was very slightly off center and man, it hurt like hell when she did that) before putting gauze on it too along with a splint. “Keep this on for fourteen days.”

At this point my left eye was pretty swollen. I’m sure it was a helluva black eye. After she was done with my nose she retrieved another medical object from her dresser drawer, the doctor taking out a knuckle orthosis. She then took my hand, realigned my knuckle, and professionally equipped my hand with the cast which hurt a decent bit before cleaning the side of my face once more.

“Your knuckle should heal in about three or four weeks… I’m gonna give you some codeine since your injuries are quite severe.”

I sighed in relief at those words. “I wasn’t aware you had some of that… Why didn’t I take some before the stitches?”

“It takes about an hour to take effect and I couldn’t let you wait that long since you needed to be stitched up stat.” She explained as she took a bottle of the stuff out of her desk drawer. “But yeah, I found some of this on my previous trip to the hospital. A few bottles actually. A shame they’ll only last another year though.”

“I suppose we’ll just need to figure out how to craft our own painkillers?” I suggested as she handed me an appropriate strong amount of codeine of sixty milligrams using the lid of the bottle which is something I quickly drank. The taste was quite peculiar.

“I’d like to do that. I'm just not sure where we’d be able to find opium poppy seeds… If you need some more painkillers you can come see me and have some of this every six hours.”

After that was said our conversation tapered off so she sent me on my way where my wife shot her way up to the top of my priorities. I asked Olivia if she knew where I could find her which I got a negative answer to.

I briefly looked over our room which yielded nothing so I moved on downstairs to use one of the spare walkie-talkies. "Does anyone know where Stacy is?"

"She said she was going to go in her room, she was really unresponsive and worried..." Charlotte replied a couple of seconds later.

I gave a confused look at the walkie-talkie before somewhat quickly making my way back upstairs and into my room as my concern spiked for her. I thoroughly looked over the room but didn't see her. Until I remembered the door to our small wardrobe closet. There I saw my girl sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest as tears brimmed her eyes when she looked up at me.

I wasn't able to say anything before she gasped and stood up just as the girl's tears failed to stay within her as they started rolling down her cheeks. "Y-You're s-so hurt." She pointed out as she hugged me and looked up at me, the tone of her voice being weak and broken.

"What're you doing in here, little lady?" I very gently asked as I slowly wrapped my arms around her.

"I-I was so s-scared that you might've b-b-been shot... I didn't want to find o-out if it was true or not... Something like Schrödinger's cat..."

I gingerly eskimo kissed her with the very tip of my nose, something I was extremely careful not to make hurt. "Well, I'm here now, no need to worry my little angel. Again, a puny bullet isn't gonna take me away from you..."

"I- I feel so... so gross..." She replied with the same quiet and broken tone a few seconds later.

"...Did he kiss you? Did he touch you?" I once again gently asked.

"No, he didn't k-kiss me... He just... tried taking my c-clothes off and held my neck really hard... I don't know how but I did stop his hand f-from going under my shirt. It was so s-scary..." I realized that she was lightly trembling in fear which severely pulled my heartstrings so I hugged her just a bit tighter.

I put my chin on her head. "Stacy, it's okay, it's okay sweetie... He's gone and I'm here, your husband, your guardian, okay? You've got nothing to be afraid of now..."

She gently nuzzled my chest before the girl finally let all her tears all out. I assumed that the tears were all from the fear she experienced and how fucked up I was. She heavily cried for her usual five minutes before her tears relented.

"I... I want to bathe. He's made me feel so dirty m-mentally and physically."

I kissed her forehead. "Let's go ahead and do that then."

I only gathered a couple towels and nothing else for the trip before I delicately picked Stacy up like a bride. Throughout all of these actions I quickly learned how much the orthosis affects just about everything I do. But I was still able to hold and hug her just fine. Her breath had adopted a quiver as she looked at my damaged face.

"You... you protected me... You got hurt so bad just to protect me..." She pointed out after we left the house.

"And I would do it again. And I would do something a hundred times worse if it meant protecting you from harm. You're my little queen that I'd do anything for, okay?" I replied which finally made her lightly smile, her lips having a light quiver.

"I feel like... like I need to do something amazing for you to make it even." She said which I kissed her forehead in response.

"No need, sweetie, it's my job as your husband to protect you from monsters like that. You just being my wife makes everything 'even' automatically, okay, my love?" She nodded after a couple seconds before putting her head in the crook of my neck. She sighed after I set her down a few minutes later when we reached our iconic spot. "What's wrong, dear?"

"The river... fishing, bathing, I feel like they're gonna remind me of... of it."

I once again hugged her but I put a hand softly on the side of her face. "What do you want me to do, sweetie?"

"I... I don't know." She answered with a sad pout. "His hands were so... rough and cold. H-He touched my belly and almost put his hand in... in my pants... He was so much stronger… He was just about to- to do anything he wanted to me before you showed up."

"Just remember that something like that won't happen again, okay? Keep in mind that I'm here to protect you and always will." She slowly nodded before I kissed her forehead again.

I thought about ways she could have to defend herself from something like that in the future but I didn't bring it up to her then, I decided that I would do that later. It took her another minute to take her clothes off which was something I'd usually catcall at but I refrained from doing so for obvious reasons. I joined her in her nakedness a few seconds later before we got in the stream where the girl stayed close to me.

"Can you hold me please...?" She asked as she sat down with her legs crisscrossed where the water went up to just below her breasts.

"Of course." I gently replied before sitting directly behind her before an arm softly wrapping around her abdomen where I once again rested my chin on top of her head. I stayed aware of where the orthosis was since I really didn't want to get it wet. She started lightly shivering as we went silent for a minute before I said, "If you want me to do or say anything just ask..."

"How do I forget his touches and his words?"

I thought about her question for a few seconds. I wasn't sure how to mitigate her thoughts about it and I really hoped that she wasn't gonna develop a type of PTSD regarding the situation... If she does then I'll try my hardest to help her through it.

"...Just focus on other things, don't think about them, try to forget his words. Keep in mind that he was... insane and sick. Do you think my touches will make it worse or better?"

She stayed silent for a few moments. "I don't want my neck touched... Not now or any time soon at least."

"Alright, that makes sense, I understand."

She turned around to face me so she could look up at me. "You can touch me. I just want to look at you when you do it... Is it weird I want to do that just to know that it's you?"

I softly put a hand on the side of her face once again. "No, not at all."

"I think... Maybe I'll be fine in a few days, I just... need a little time to process it all."

"You take all the time you need, okay?" I replied before kissing her forehead once more and then the tip of her nose where my arms then wrapped around her neck.

After that she hugged me and rested her head on my chest before the girl slowly nuzzled me for a couple of minutes. "Thank you..."

A few minutes later she then separated from me and dunked her head underwater. She rubbed her neck an excessive amount since the girl wanted any possible part of her attacker off of her. We stayed in the stream for another ten minutes before drying off and getting dressed before heading back to the mansion. I of course carried her back like a bride like I always do where my wife wanted me to take her up to our room and lay on our bed.

We faced each other as we held the other close where she had a light frown as she looked at my injured face. I calmly explained to her that I'd be fine and to not feel guilty for anything a couple of times. That's the last thing I wanted her to do since nothing was her fault, a point I repeated to her to make sure she knew that.

Fifteen minutes later she closed her eyes and settled down which was followed by the girl's rate of breathing slowly winding down over the course of a few minutes. A couple minutes after that I knew she was asleep so I kissed the tip of her nose and gently separated from her.

I then sat in the chair at her desk and put my head in my hands as I thought about what all that happened. I felt terrible. The image of Elliot's dead body was engraved into my mind. It deeply disturbed me. But even then I didn't regret it. It was justified. I'd just... have to take a little while to process and accept it all. Knowing that I had now killed two people... It's a number that I hope I'll never add to.

I stayed like that for ten minutes before getting up and heading toward the bathroom since I really wanted to see what my face looked like for myself. It looked terrible. My face was swollen and bruised... I hoped that it'd heal swiftly. And of course, it hurt like hell, which was quite an understatement. I was still waiting for the codeine to kick in. And it looked super ugly as fuck too. But I pushed through it so I could make sure my wife was alright... 

After leaving the bathroom I headed downstairs where a few members had congregated in the living room. That group consisted of Autumn, Quinn, Willow, Nova, and Charlotte.

Willow flinched when she saw me, Autumn covered her face, and the other ladies didn't hide their gaze toward me. I gazed back and showed no emotion before heading to the kitchen to get some water. I heard whispering as I made my way toward the desired area.

"Is Stacy alright?" Nova asked when I was finished with the kitchen, the woman breaking the somewhat awkward silence.

"Yeah, she's not hurt, just really frightened... She's taking a nap, girl's tired from having to endure that all." I explained as I took a spot on one of the couches where the women then averted their gaze from my bruises.

"...It's terrible that that happened to her, I hope she'll be alright." Charlotte quietly commented.

“It’s terrible what happened to you as well, Hunter… You’re… you’re a hero for what you did. How you got hurt just to protect your wife is… am I allowed to call it endearing? Inspiring in a way?” Nova asked which I shrugged at.

"I wish I knew she was in danger, I wouldn't have left her." Willow said with a hint of regret.

"I'm sure you wouldn’t have." I calmly replied. "But you didn't know, nothing's your fault... And thank whatever God there is that Elliot didn't get too far into doing anything before I got there."

"...How did you know that that was happening? Willow said you were freaking out just before all of it happened." Autumn asked.

"I’m... I'm not sure. I just felt something within me like something was yelling- screaming at me that Stacy needed my help... That's how I can put it into words at least. But I can't explain how it happened." I replied, that feeling I had within me now being completely recognized.

"...Maybe your guys' souls are connected to each other?" Charlotte said which was an idea of sorts.

"Maybe, maybe..." I simply replied before saying something about what was bothering me just a tad which was their averted gazes, "Girls, you can look at it all. It's not like I'm gonna yell at you or anything, I understand that you want to see it without being rude." With that being said they took a few seconds before shyly scanning the side of my damaged face, nose, and hand.

"Damn, that's... Is it too early to ask about what exactly happened?" Willow asked which I nodded at.

"Are y'all aware with how I dealt with Elliot?" I asked, wanting to make sure that that news had spread.

"Mhm..." Autumn hummed. "It's... our group, like the group that Quinn and I were in before we became part of Solaris, is shocked by it. Elliot was... he wasn't a great person but we didn't expect him to do nothing remotely close to something that. Ever. And I do agree with what you did but it's hard to agree with it, if that makes any sense."

"Elliot was a jerk" Quinn signed. "At least to me. We weren't really friends"

"I just feel like I have to explain why I did it." I said before I did just that. I then told them about all my thoughts regarding having to kill again.

"It's all understandable, Hunter. It was a hard decision to make." Nova commented afterward.

After telling them my hope of never doing that again and that we should learn from the experience I moved the conversation along by telling Autumn, "Remember how you said you'd do me a favour for accidentally doing this?" I gestured toward the second scar on my face. She nodded. "Can you keep a close eye on Phoenix after this? He's pretty upset about it..."

"Yeah, will do." She simply replied.

I noticed something which I audibly pointed out. "Y'all're Stacy's best friends." A couple of them nodded. "It's nice to see that her friends care about her... Speaking of which, I ask that you spend some time with her, calm her down, make her feel safe, remind her that nothing was her fault, stuff like that. I want to avoid any mental complications that can arise from this situation. Can I trust that y'all have my back on this?"

"Of course, it's our duty as her friends." Nova replied which I nodded at, grateful for how much they enjoy their friendship with my spouse.

After a silence emerged between us I abruptly got up a few moments later. "Alright ladies, I am tired, exhausted actually. I think I'm gonna go take a nap with Stacy to get chugging along on the road to recovery once more."

We said our farewells before I enacted upon my words. It only took a minute for me to rejoin Stacy in bed and to hold her close before trying to go to sleep. It took around thirty minutes of me trying to suppress the image of Elliot's body, his final words running around my mind, the pleading that went unheard ringing in my ears, and the pain in my face and hand. But I eventually got tired enough that those sounds and visuals stopped.

And that's when that shitty, terrible, horrible day ended due to me changing my plan instead to nap but to sleep. The day could've been worse, I suppose...

Chapter 49: Always on the road, aren't we?

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I woke up at four in the morning after having eleven hours of sleep which is when all of the events that happened the day prior instantly flashed through my mind. And with it, the feeling of dread caused by once again killing awoke with me. It wasn't as strong as it was just after I killed Elliot but it was still prevalent and strong within my mind. But I still didn't regret it, I truly believe that it had to be done, the reality of it just sucks. Even then, as I held my wife a little tighter, I couldn't get to sleep.

The pain in my knuckle, nose, eye, cheek, zygoma, and lip just kept ramping up. I sighed before gently separating from her and sitting on the side of the bed before my head rested on the hand that wasn't in an orthosis. I was properly fucked up. I wondered if I was close to dying when Elliot was punching the fuck out of me. Looking back on it, my vision was just starting to fade right before Kai saved my ass...

So... I've almost died three times now. I sighed after another minute of just silently sitting there before I wanted something to null my pain. So I got up and headed out into the hallway to Olivia's door. Since Stacy and I weren't in the mood to sleep naked we didn't so that saved me some time, especially due to dressing now taking much longer due to the orthosis on my hand.

I knocked on her door with a moderate amount of force. I knocked a little harder after thirty silent seconds. A few moments after that I heard shuffling from within her room before her door creaked open to reveal a very tired Olivia who was barely able to keep her eyes open. "...Ah, hi, Hunter."

Our voices kept quiet. "I'm sorry to wake you but may I have some more painkillers?"

She slowly processed what I said before nodding her head and disappearing back into her room. I waited at the door for a minute before she returned, the doctor then handing me the same amount of codeine she did the day prior. I quickly drank it and handed her the lid back.

"Hold on, I wanna quickly check up on it all." She said right before I left as she turned her bedroom light on.

She allowed me in, which I accepted before the doctor made me sit in her desk chair so she could view my face at a reasonable height level.

"A little more swelling but this should be the highest amount you're gonna have... It's only uphill from here. But still, I'm gonna keep a close eye on you." After that I got up though she said, "Hey," I stopped moving forward. "I forgot to say yesterday but I don't want you working any. Take at least a week off and we'll see if you've healed enough to work after that time."

I quietly sighed and accepted the doctor's orders. Great, even more downtime from me. I got over it and returned to my room, not without us saying our farewells to each other of course.

I returned to sit back on the side of the bed before my head once again rested on my undamaged hand. I must've woken up Stacy since a minute later I heard and felt a subtle shuffling from behind me which caused me to look around to see what was happening. Stacy was rubbing her eyes before the girl looked at me, her eyes blinking quite a bit as she tried seeing in the dark.

"Is everything alright?" I quietly and sweetly asked as the girl took a few more seconds to wake up.

"...No."

I was a little alarmed at that. "What's wrong, dear?"

She started scooting forward after a couple of silent seconds. "You're so hurt..." She answered as she made it to my side and with a saddened tone she said, "Olivia told me about all of your injuries... I'm so sorry this happened to you, is there anything I can do to help you?"

She was looking up at me as her eyes started pooling with tears. I kissed her forehead. "None of this is your fault, Stace. There's not much you can do other than hugging and kissing me, that's the best medicine in my opinion."

She hugged me and rested her head on my chest. "Then I'll do that... I'll cook for you, get you everything you need, okay? I'll be your nurse again. I'll help you as much as I can."

I wrapped my arms around the sweethearted girl and rested my chin on top of her head. "As long as you want to be my adorable little nurse... But you experienced something too." After she slowly nodded and then thirty seconds passing by, I delicately took a gentle hold of her chin and made her look up at me. "Are you okay? Has it... traumatized you any?"

She stayed silent for a few seconds. "I just... I still feel so creeped out. And... I'm scared that if I'm alone again, something like it will happen again."

In my honest opinion it's one of those fears that's both rational and irrational. It's rational because we have a steady intake of strangers and she's so little so it’s okay to be scared of that. And it might be irrational due to how little the chance of something like that happening again might be. But I understood why she was thinking that way, fear of the unknown and all that.

"Do you want a gun?" I asked which she then considered.

"...Guns are so scary."

"They can be, yes... What exactly scares you about them?"

"They're so loud. And I'm scared I might shoot someone or myself, like what happened to you."

I slowly nodded. "That was a freak accident, something that had a very low chance of happening. Guns have a feature called 'safety' where you can't pull the trigger until you turn it off. There's a lot of other safety techniques I can teach you but that depends if you wanna learn them."

She thought about my words for a few seconds. "...Maybe I'll learn and try them soon. Do you want me to have a gun?"

I nodded once more. "I do. This is coupled with you learning how to handle it expertly. I want you to be able to protect yourself on your lonesome. I secretly wanted you to originally have a gun just in case but back then we didn't know if it was needed."

"Yeah... I'm sorry, I just thought having just my guardian would be enough."

"Hey, don't be sorry, dear. Because that did work out. But that might not be the case if you get into danger again in the future. And if I'm not able to help you from someone... Stacy, you're itty-bitty. Someone... Lets’ face it, most men would be able to overpower you with little effort."

"Yeah..." She quietly replied and pressed her head back down on my chest. "I... I don't like being small."

I dug my nose into her hair and held her just a tad tighter. "I can see why when it comes to strength. But a gun will give you all the strength you need, as long as you know how to use it." I kissed the top of her head. "On a similar note, your size is really adorable... I love how you're my little lady."

"Hm... Yeah, I like being this size when it comes to us cuddling and hugging and al lthat but... I'm so weak."

"You're most likely about as big as you're gonna get regarding height since you’ve been the same ever since we’ve met. You can start working out if you want, to build up some muscle to get stronger." I suggested.

She gave me an unsure hum. "I dunno, that's a lot of work and pain..."

I chuckled. "It's a lot indeed... But again, a gun is a lot of strength. It might be all you need."

"Yeah, probably..." She looked back up at me. "Can you teach me?"

I kissed the tip of her nose. "Yes. Just not any time soon."

"Okay." She cutely replied. "I kind of don't want to work in the stream anymore..."

I slowly rubbed the tip of my nose across her forehead. "It's understandable... Where do you want to work instead?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure, I was gonna ask you."

I thought about where I should direct her for a few solid moments. "I don't really want you working in the building team because of what we've already established with you being little... Do you think working in the fields would be fine? We're about to start harvesting so we're gonna need most hands on deck."

She slowly nodded. "That doesn't seem that hard... Are you sure almost everyone needs to do it? I thought we were gonna harvest them one section at a time because of how we planted them a few months ago."

"That's what I thought too originally. No, Audrey split the fields up into bigger sections. We'll be harvesting the next section that is grown enough every three days. The times in which they were planted in each section is negligible and doesn't really matter."

"Oh, that makes sense. Sure, I'll work in the fields and take your spot for a little while."

"Just make sure to not overwork yourself and take a break when you need it, alright?"

She simply nodded before moving onto her next point. "And I don't want to be alone outside when I'm a little bit away from the mansion and cabins. I can already tell that I'll feel... unsafe. Is that dumb?"

"No, it isn't." I calmly replied. "I understand it completely. But how are you gonna do that?"

"...I can ask my friends if they wanna hang out with me whenever I go a little far. And then there's you."

"That's an alright idea, as long as anyone you ask is down to do so. I know I'll try my best to chaperone you to make you feel safe as long as I'm not busy or sleeping... but I'm sure you don't want me to smother you, now do you?"

"You don't smother me, we have our alone time every now and then. And I'll never get tired of your company no matter how much you give me, I love you way too much for that to ever happen." Her adorable words made my heart flutter. I didn't really have a reply to that though so I didn't say anything, I just kissed her forehead once more. A few seconds later she asked, "Do you want me to do anything for you?"

"Not particularly, my dear. Are you tired? It's quite early in the morning."

"What time is it?" She asked which was my cue to take a gander at my watch which enabled me to swiftly answer her question. "I'm kind of tired but I can stay up with you and hug you if you need me to."

"You're so sweet..." I couldn't help but comment.

"I just want you to be as happy as I can make you, it's my duty as your wife and temporary nurse."

I once again nuzzled her before glancing at the window bay. "Want to cuddle on the window bay?"

"As long as you want to." She replied before she slipped off of the bed and stood up before grabbing my undamaged hand.

She led us toward the desired location but before we took our spots on it I asked, "Is it too early to ask if we can cuddle naked...?"

She looked up at me. "No. You don't need to be afraid of asking me anything like that, Hunter... We're married, nothing's ever gonna stop me from wanting stuff like that." With that being said she pulled down her shorts and panties and let them hit the floor before she stepped out of them, her shirt then landing on top of them a couple seconds later. "I was just a little uncomfortable about anything sexual after what happened... I think I'm fine now, just... don't touch my neck, okay?"

"I won't." I said as I looked over her body. "Am I free to look at you and all that?"

She lightly giggled. "Yes, Hunter. Again we're married, silly... You can do what we usually do, just remember the neck thing..."

I hated how the 'situation' caused this all. I quite like having a hand on her neck with just a small amount of pressure, it really turns my dom side on. But of course, I respected her wish. And I know that it could've been a couple magnitudes worse, how she's reacted to it all and what could've happened, so I’m grateful that it wasn’t too bad, y’know, relatively. She could've stopped wanting sexual things altogether which would've been its own problem...

I lightly chuckled as my hand slowly draped over her side. "I'm just making sure that you're fine." She glanced at my wounds and looked away before sighing which caused my hand draping on her to slow down. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Do you want me to stop?"

"It's just..." She sighed again and looked back up at me. "The whole... situation was caused because of sex-stuff." She lightly shivered. "I'm trying so hard not to remember what was said but it's so difficult and trying not to think about what would've happened if you didn't save me..."

I slowly nodded. "It's best to not think about what would've happened so it's good you're trying to suppress those thoughts. We don't have to do anything sex related but it'd be unhealthy to let the situation prevent you from enjoying sex-stuff a little later."

It was her turn to slowly nod. "You're probably right... I just can't help but feel a little dumb about it."

"You're not dumb, Stacy." I calmly reminded with a peck on her forehead.

She hugged me so I hugged her back, that act persisting for a dozen seconds before she ended it and looked down at my groin where she saw a sizable bulge. She undid my pants and pulled the fabrics down where my erected shaft entered the freeing air.

"Do you want to have sex...?" She asked as she looked at my penis as my legs kicked what was around my ankles off me.

"...No, not really. I just like being able to be naked with you is all." I really wasn't feeling the want to mate, the situation really put a damper on those feelings. "Let's just cuddle for now."

"Okay." She simply replied before getting on the window bay.

I dropped my shirt on the floor before joining her on the window bay, the girl being between my legs, my arms gingerly wrapping around her abdomen and pulling her close to me. She turned so her side could lean against me before she rested her head on my chest as my phallus laid on her side, all of the contact being quite lovely. I then rested my chin on top of her head yet again.

My undamaged hand draped up her other side a few times before taking a light hold of one of her breasts, something I very slowly fondled and massaged which she allowed. It succeeded in calming and winding her down a substantial amount as the girl slowly nuzzled me some more as she enjoyed the gentle sensation I gave her.

"I love you so much, Hunter..." She quietly said.

"I love you too..." I simply replied.

We then stayed silent as we cuddled while my hand continued to gently massage her tit. I might've already written this down before many times but I'll say it again, just silently hugging and holding my amazing wife (upon other acts with her) is the best feeling I’ll ever be able to get on this planet. She's such an angel and has a sweet heart that's made of pure gold... I hope that anyone that tries or has hurt her has paid for it.

On a somewhat similar note, I couldn't shake the feeling of the killing off. I had been putting it at the back of my mind but the underlying feeling was there. I'm sure it'll wean off me but it's such a terrible feeling, I can't really put it into words. But I tried to not focus on it and just focus on my wife, something that worked for the most part.

She fell asleep twenty minutes later which was my cue to stop fondling her. My arms then slowly and gently hugged her before staying still, my eyes then looking up at the sky through the window to just enjoy the view of the cosmos. Though my left eye had trouble seeing through the black eye I had.

I never really mentioned it before but ever since the fall of civilization the sky above during the night was so much more luminous. Due to the cities no longer producing light pollution, that allowed the cosmos above to shine much, much brighter. Thousands of stars along with the collective entity of the Milky Way galaxy being visible to the naked eye. It was one of few views that never lost its beauty, the sky causing me to think a near endless amount of thoughts.

And I often lost track of time whenever I peered into the heavens, my thoughts relating to shower thoughts which just makes the time flash by. And as I did so the pain in my face persisted, the pain eventually being lessened but was still fairly present. I should be all healed up in around a month... I'll find a way to pull my weight. And I really hope that my right arm won't atrophy a whole bunch.

I stared and admired the skies above for over an hour before I laid us down so I could get a couple more hours of sleep. I figured I might as well try to sleep as much as possible to make recovering feel faster. Sleep and my wife are the best medicines outside of actual medicines after all.

And I'll comment that it didn't even feel like that long since I had been shot... How long ago was it, two months and a half or something like that? It's been a decent bit but to have a couple major injuries so close together is super dangerous... I'm really unlucky. I just hope that I won't have another severe injury any time soon... or ever for that matter and that it won't kill me. But I undoubtedly will get another terrible injury, that's just a way of life unfortunately.

And the road to recovery was a long and relatively boring one. Since Olivia ordered that I not work I had to resort to lazy-activities to pass the time, the same activities I do when I'm experiencing downtime. Activities such as watching movies, drawing, reading, writing, and doing cuddly acts with my wife. These aren't bad things to be doing but I do enjoy working for a couple reasons, mainly because it's progress and I don't feel useless due to me pulling my weight.

But I had to get over that since all those 'lazy' activities were what I did as I slowly recovered from the incident. So that entire day Stacy stayed by my side to comfort me as we lazed around, my friends who hadn't seen me after getting fucked up visiting me and wishing me well. It was nice to see their care, it was greatly appreciated, though I had to get used to them looking at my injuries.

It was also nice to see Stacy's friends do what I asked, her friend group meeting up with us to have a girl's night... though I was a bit of a third wheel during it. But I didn't feel awkward or out of place so I wasn’t a true sort of third wheel, I felt quite welcomed as a matter of fact. Autumn, Nova, Quinn, Charlotte, and Willow are all lovely ladies and made the time swiftly melt away.

We played games, watched a couple movies, some of them played some instruments, and we started drinking (minus Autumn) but with no intent to get drunk. Throughout this all the atmosphere was friendly though it seemed fragile. And I knew the girls were struggling to keep their curiosity about the situation suppressed to not be rude. And I tried my best to get over the feeling of it all. It'd take a few days but I was sure I would come to terms with it eventually.

During the middle of it, Autumn sat on the couch and relaxed, the woman keeping a hand on her belly that had really ballooned and would continue to do so.

"Luna doesn't kick that often, it's actually kinda rare, so we might be here for a while. Though when she does it's like she's trying to run right out of me. 'Get me out of here already' is what I think she's trying to tell me." She explained which got a few giggles from us.

Stacy was sitting next to her, the girl wanting to feel Luna's kicks since she shockingly hadn't felt them before that point. I figured she'd've already felt them by then due to her and Autumn being friends but I guess she was just nervous to ask, the girl having to get some words of encouragement from me for her to ask the pregnant lady. Autumn was happy to let her put a hand on her belly, she found it really endearing how Stacy was so intrigued by babies. And to be fair I also found it cute.

"Does the kicking hurt?" Stacy gently asked as she softly placed a hand on Autumn's belly, Autumn by the way almost being six months pregnant.

"It can be just a little bit when she's runnin' too hard. Other than that it's sometimes uncomfortable but also comforting to know that she's okay."

"...It's just so cool how there's a person growing in you." Stacy commented which a couple of the others giggled at.

"Are kicks from the baby supposed to be more common?" I simply asked.

"Olivia's told me that most fetuses kick much more than Luna but she said not to worry about it, some just don't kick as much and it doesn't mean that it's a bad thing if they don't kick that much. But she's told me if it becomes any rarer that I'd have to talk to her about it... I hope that doesn't happen."

"I believe that it'll all be fine." Stacy replied before she lined up another question. "...Can Luna kick your organs and stuff? I've seen pictures on how squished everything gets inside you."

"I'm not sure about an organ but there's this thing called uterine rupture where the uterus carrying the baby essentially just breaks. Olivia said it's extremely rare though so it'd be really unwise to worry about something like that... It's hard though, I sometimes can't help but worry."

"That's sweet in a way." I thought. "How's Phoenix been treating you?"

"Amazingly! He's been anticipating the arrival of Luna for a while now. Our cabin's all decked out with a lot of baby supplies that he was more than happy to get... I hope we'll be good parents."

"You will, I haven't seen any other sign telling me otherwise." Charlotte commented where Nova and Quinn agreed which made Autumn lightly smile.

Luna however didn't want to kick for Stacy so she took her hand off of her belly, Autumn assuming that she was asleep. "Yeah, the way she sleeps is unpredictable... Sometimes she keeps me up until three in the morning when she's extra active or she'll sleep just fine through the night. It's a little annoying but I tolerate her."

I chuckled at that before the other girls started asking her questions that Stacy and I already knew due to us already having had thorough conversations with Olivia and Autumn all about the processes. But even then, there were still questions that have slipped our minds as Stacy just proved.

Fifteen minutes later I joined Stacy at her side as we were just about to move onto playing the next movie but suddenly... "Wait, I think she kicked right here."

Stacy and Nova perked up at that as Autumn put a hand on her upper belly where she thought Luna had kicked. It seemed like another kick wouldn't be happening as the seconds rolled by until a whole minute had passed. Though Luna finally started a light jog which Stacy brightly smiled at.

"Here, it's okay." Autumn said as she lightly took hold of Stacy's hand, the woman directing her hand on top of where Luna kicked, the baby kicking every two to three seconds.

My wife very, very gently placed her hand on Autumn's belly where the small protrusions were being caused, like she'd accidentally hurt Luna if she pressed a little too hard. Her smile strengthened as she felt Luna's kicks, the girl giggling as she enjoyed the brand new feeling and alien experience. She quickly looked at me as she felt the fetus jog before looking back at her hand.

I lightly wrapped my arms around her in response. Though a couple dozen seconds later she then glanced at Nova who had also been interested in feeling the kicks. "Do you want to feel them?" She whispered, Nova nodding before swiftly taking a spot at Autumn's other side.

Stacy graciously let Nova's hand replace hers where Nova quickly adopted a gentle smile of her own before Luna's kicks started winding down a minute later. "It seems her exercise quota is done for the day..." She commented thirty seconds after the kicks ceased getting a giggle from Autumn and Stacy.

"I'm sure she'll do another sprint later tonight, right before I go to sleep... She's a little brat like that already, I'm sure she got that from Phoenix." The incoming mother explained lightheartedly.

"You've just gotta make sure that the brattiness doesn't get outta hand, God forbid she becomes as bratty as Hunter here." Willow said which I quickly sucked my teeth at.

"Right, because you're definitely not the biggest brat here by miles..."

"Correct." She confidently claimed.

Anyways, ten minutes later we put on the next movie, turned the lights back off, and got comfortable as the movie began. I held Stacy closely as we took a spot on the couch, the girl resting her head on my chest as we quietly watched a movie about contacting aliens.

But as the boring exposition played as most movies have, Stacy looked up at me and whispered, "It was so cool to feel Luna move... It'll be even cooler when we're able to see her."

I kissed the tip of her nose and whispered back, "I bet it was, it's an amazing thing."

"I'm sorry that you weren't able to feel it, it's just that Nova and I talked about wanting to feel Luna do that a couple of times before and really wanted to do that."

I quietly chuckled. "It's alright little lady, I can do that whenever she starts kicking again I suppose."

After that she looked back at the TV. All for about two minutes before looking back up at me. "I hope we get to feel a baby that's ours kick in me someday."

My heart fluttered at her quiet words. Her tone, eyes, honesty, and passion behind her words being true and adorable. I kissed the tip of her nose once more. "We will eventually..."

We nuzzled for a few seconds after I said that before we focused back on the movie, talk about babies ceasing after that. And we purely focused on the movie, our night of fun persisting after that.

I'll comment that it's a marvellous thing that painkillers exist because this whole night would've been much worse due to me just being uncomfortable otherwise without them. I still experienced a substantial amount of pain but surprisingly the severity of the pain in general was starting to relent a decent bit as well by the end of the day. My face was so fuckin' warm and swollen and just all around very uncomfortable, like I said.

I decided to take a picture of myself in that state at the end of the day in my room. Why? I'm not quite sure. I guess it's for proof that I actually went through all of this, proof for people I'll tell in the future about it since I'm probably gonna have just a little scar on my cheek from the fight. Hooray, a third facial scar. Is my face gonna be nothing but scars in five years? I'm aware it could've been much worse, Olivia told me about what a tripod zygoma fracture is, that would've been fucking terrible to deal with… Still, I’m allowed to feel pissy over it.

I reviewed the photo I took and just blankly looked at what the camera displayed. I was so... alien looking, like I had no clue who that person was. For some reason I had a feeling that I'd feel more and more disconnected from the way I look as time goes on. Looking at the picture was tanking my mood so I swiftly put it in its own unique folder on the camera and set the camera on the desk before my wife knocked on the door so I opened it for her.

My little nurse had made dinner for us of which we slowly ate together over the course of twenty minutes, the both of us being exhausted after eating it so we stripped out of our clothes and got comfortable on the bed. I pulled her close and nuzzled her just below her ear.

"Can I put my penis in you or is it too early?" I quietly asked.

It took her a couple of seconds to reply. "Sure, you can..."

I slowly inserted myself into her depths until I reached her cervix which is when I kissed the spot under her ear. "I love you..."

She looked behind her so we could make eye contact. "I love you too... Does it hurt to kiss? We haven't kissed in a little while."

"Yeah, it hurts a little bit. But I can kiss you if you want, if you want to kiss me with a busted lip."

"We'll kiss lightly." She replied which was my cue to press my lips against hers, the both of us softly kissing for a minute. "That felt just a little bit weird but it's so worth it because I'm kissing you..."

"And it hurt just a bit but yeah, totally worth it. I'm glad that you still wanna kiss me when I look like this.."

"You'll quickly heal. But even then, it doesn't matter to me, you're my husband and my amazing hero. It doesn't matter what you look like."

My heart fluttered at her words. "Thank you..."

I pressed my forehead against hers and we kissed for a few more seconds before we properly laid down and got comfortable. It didn't take long for that feeling to invade my mind, the magnificent feeling of being one with my wife and holding her tightly swiftly luring me to sleep, a sleep that lasted another eleven hours.


And so a week has quickly passed me by of a bunch of nothing really. At least for me personally, Solaris as a whole was moving forward just fine as we marched into the beginning of September. The harvest of the fields was underway which finally had Solaris see a large intake of fresh food. I really wanted to throw some hours into helping the people who were harvesting but Stacy and Olivia didn't let me. Well, and also the cast on my hand so I capitulated to them and didn't do anything regarding the fields.

However, I was able to watch some progress be made at least so I wasn't left in the dark. I was there when they started harvesting the first crops (where they would harvest the corn by hand and the potatoes with a spading fork) where they then put into crates that they would fill up to the brim before hauling it off down into the cellar. 

The cellar of which was near freezing and had a proper ventilation system (screened properly) to let the space be oxygenated and humid. The product would then be dumped into long wooden trough-like storage units that spanned across the cellar's length. There were a few rows of them (a lot of them still just planned), the space between them being optimized to fit as many as we could comfortably have.

Each container was a little over three meters long and one meter wide, able to be swiftly mass-produced due to the wooden planks we were now scavenging, the wood processing team churning them out since they no longer had to create the wooden planks from scratch. Thank goodness Trinity made the cellar's doors extra wide, I wondered why they were much bigger than usual.

And the reason why those were being manufactured should be quite obvious, we weren't just gonna dump the crops on the floor in piles due to that being a whole mess and frankly, quite unprofessional. And it's not like they took too much effort to create. Just needed to get the materials, make the storage containers, and install them into the cellar.

And just today, they finished installing a couple of rows, the storage units quickly filling up with the fruits of our labour. Or in this instance the vegetables of our labour. But it'd take two or three weeks before all of the food that we've grown to be harvested even though eighteen people were working on collecting the crops. They'd spend four or five hours a day before the section they were harvesting was completed, the group then taking a couple days break before doing the same thing when the time was up.

Audrey had already gotten thousands of potato seeds when the potatoes' flowers had bloomed and the tomato-like plant sprouting from them was harvested. That happened weeks ago, the woman had to put those berries through a tedious process which involved mashing, water, fermenting, and a few days' time before she stored them into the mansion's cellar for when spring rolls around again.

She's also designated an area within the bigger cellar where a few hundred special ears of corn will be. Those ears of corn will be the ones where we get the next generation of corn as thousands upon thousands of kernels are expected to be planted next spring. I'm not sure if we're gonna need to triple the size of the fields honestly, maybe only doubling them perhaps? Depends on what unravels in the future.

Audrey had also whipped up a plan for a composting area for the incoming plant scraps such as what's left of a corn on the cob after the kernels are eaten and the spent corn stalks themselves. She plans on using the compost to spread over the fields so the plants can have a higher chance of being healthy and make it to harvesting season.

Speaking of crops being healthy, not all of the crops made it to the harvest. I'd guess around five to seven percent died or withered away before they matured which was to be expected but it was still a damper on the amount we'd be getting. Another thing about the crops is that some didn't pollinate right so they were small and won't have much taste to them. But it is what it is and they'll most likely be eaten anyways.

And I think that Audrey did some math wrong... I say that because the amount of crops we were getting was a vast amount. There were easily over ten thousand crops, it just felt like we planted so much more than we needed to. But I don't think that's a problem whatsoever. We built the storage, have the labour, and are a community that has a slowly growing population.

"You've still got to wear the nasal splint for another week. A lot of things will be happening in a week actually. The swelling should be gone, the bruises should be gone, your black eye should be gone, the subconjunctival hemorrhage should be gone..." Olivia announced after she reviewed all of my injuries, the doctor having removed the stitches on my cheek.

"At least my lip's just about healed... I'm sorry to ask once more but I feel like it'll heal faster if I ask, how much longer will it take for my knuckle and my zygoma to heal?"

"They should both be healed in around three weeks. I wish it was faster for your sake but that's just not how it is, just got to be a little patient. How much pain are you still experiencing?"

"Hey, I may be your patient but I'm not little." I said with a smirk which confused Olivia for a second before she rolled her eyes after she understood the play on words.

"At least your witty remarks have made a full recovery..."

"I'm not experiencing that much pain anymore thank goodness... As long as nothing touches the side of my face. I'm pretty sure I can stop taking painkillers now."

She nodded. "I was gonna suggest that so I'm glad you were the one to bring it up. That's all great to hear." She looked away for a second before looking back at me. "So... Are you comfortable with me talking about your mental health?"

"Oh boy..." I thought, staying quiet for a few more seconds. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"...The execution and how it’s affected you." She gently replied.

I slowly nodded. "The first couple of days I felt a decent amount of dread within me but... I don't feel that bad anymore. At least not even a fraction of what I felt. I'm not sure if that's evil but like I said, it unfortunately had to be done. And I'm not nearly as upset as I was the first time I had killed."

It was her turn to slowly nod. "Right, you've killed before..." She sighed heavily. "This world is so messed up. You shouldn't have gone through a fraction of what you have." I simply nodded. "May I ask how your first killing affected you...?"

I almost denied her request. "...Severely. I felt an extreme dread everywhere in my body. I cried a lot and even threw up. It took until a couple weeks after I met Stacy to get over it."

"I understand that completely. I once had a patient before The Drop that died a few days after surgery. I didn't head the surgery, I was just a helper, but I couldn't help but feel equally responsible for them dying. It's a feeling I'm not able to put into words... I'm just grateful that that only happened with just one of my patients and not any more than that."

I slowly rubbed my forehead as I thought. "It really is just the worst feeling. But I've got to just move on and not focus on it, forget it in a sense. Is that evil in a way?"

"...No, not in my opinion. If you kill someone who's evil or kill someone in self-defense it's not evil. And it'd probably be for the better not to feel bad about it if possible. But once you kill for any reason outside of that, with very few exceptions that are probably slipping my mind, you delve into being evil."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I just needed to hear from a perspective outside of my own and my wife's."

"That's always a good thing to do."

With that being said our conversation tapered off. It didn't take me much longer after that to leave her room and head downstairs where I went into the dining room to review what our current and future plans around Solaris were just to remind myself how things were going.

I already mentioned all of the farming stuff so there's no need to go over that again. The clinic resumed construction and was underway since half the wood processing team had been allocated to proper construction along with most of the original building team not opting into harvesting. They had made swift work of completing the brick floor, the material making the structure much more rigid before getting straight to work on erecting the walls to it.

They're still making the walls out of logs so that's why half of the wood processing team is still wood processing, to prepare already chopped down trees before getting hauled off to the clinic and properly used. It should take around two and a half to three weeks until it's completed since the foundation and flooring was already finished.

Kostas had been making his forge which was like he said it was going to be, fairly primitive. He's starting off with the bare minimum so he can work his way up the ladder of innovation. The operation is small, will be slow, and will be inefficient at first but I totally expected that. He's got to get acclimated to the act of blacksmithing after so long, get the proper tools, build the right equipment, and plan how to improve what he's got. And with the help of Etsu who knows a little bit about the process of blacksmithing I think he's gonna one day achieve a forge similar to that of what humans had in the eighteen hundreds.

I've watched them build and do these things for a little while just to see progress be done and be their moral support for a little while whenever I did it. I just wanted to feel part of it I guess and make sure things are moving along... No, I don't micromanage. That wastes time, installs mistrust, and is all around annoying. I'm glad my people have a mutual relationship of trust. And by the way, I'm watching them do these tasks since that's all I'm able to do at the moment and it'll stay that way for at least another week... until I try working again, I'm gonna prove to them that I'll be capable. So I'm going to stick to observing the citizens of Solaris every now and then until I can actually help them.

A few minutes later Jordan and Lyra entered the kitchen as they hauled the right amount of corn and potatoes that they'd be making for dinner for the entirety of Solaris. The days where Jordan cooked for as little as thirteen people were long, long over, the demand for his skills having more than doubled. As of recently, Lyra has become his helper with it all, a lot of pressure being taken off of his shoulders. Jordan had told me that eventually he'd need a bigger kitchen but that was something to discuss more thoroughly later.

As they started whipping out the kitchen equipment I got up and headed upstairs to do something else to keep my mind off of food since I was getting hungry at that point. I quietly made my way up the stairs where I saw Stacy standing on her stool as she put one of her drawings on the wall. She didn't hear me since she was too focused on hanging the art up to realize me until I had walked up behind her when she put the last thumbtack the art required into the wall.

She lightly jumped when my arms softly wrapped around her abdomen. "Hello there, my lovely little lady."

She stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. "...Can you tell me when you're about to do that? Hugging me from behind, I mean."

I had forgotten how she had gotten snuck up upon in the incident so I took a step back as my hold on her swiftly weakened until I let her go. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Stacy, I forgot about that."

She looked behind herself with an assuring smile. "It's okay, I understand. You can hug me now, I just want a warning before you do that."

I carefully took a step back forward and hugged her again before my forehead pressed against hers. She asked me about how all my injuries were doing which was nice to hear how she cared so much about how I was doing. After that I looked at the art piece she had finished, the one of the pond in a cave.

"It took me a while to make this one since I haven't been focusing on art as much as usual. I've been playing the clarinet with the others and harvesting a lot."

"That's all good, taking as much time as you need to finish something is the best way to go about it. When you rush something it makes the quality of that something go down a substantial amount so I would suggest never doing it. So, where did you get the idea for this one from?"

As she explained how she just wanted to make a random landscape with a certain theme I lightly kissed her cheek, the girl wearing a light smile as I did so. I held her just a bit tighter before kissing her temple, my wife giggling as something within me started getting turned on after having been suppressed due to the 'situation'. My heart rate elevated along with my breath as her natural scent finally turned the switch back on.

(Sex scene ahead “ctrl+f ‘sex scene over’ to skip)

I had lightly dry humped her ass, the girl becoming well aware at how hard I became for her. I stopped kissing her to look her in the eyes, the woman in my arms also having a slightly elevated rate of breath. Our conversation stayed at a whispering voice level. "It's been well over a week since we've last had sex..."

She slowly nodded. "It has... I'm sorry, I just haven't wanted to do it."

"No, no, don't be sorry, I haven't either. I guess our sex drives just took bit of a hit after... y'know. But I really want to make passionate and intimate love with my lady right now."

She slowly nodded as she retained her smile. "I want you to too... I'm getting more and more turned on by the second right now."

I lightly sighed. "Are you sure you want to mate with me looking like this? I understand if you find this really unattractive." I said, referring to my fucked up face.

"...It's definitely not preferable. But I know you're you and if it'll make you feel good and happy we can have sex. I want to make you feel happy however I can."

"As long as you'll enjoy it, my love." I replied as I dry humped her again, my inhibition dropping severely.

After she affirmed she would, I kissed her, my hips dry humping her ass once more, the girl in my arms kissing back with a little more strength. My undamaged hand on her belly slipped under her shirt to drape over her belly, that act persisting for thirty seconds before it gently breezed into her panties.

My fingers enjoyed softly rubbing the small bush that she had grown out, my mind exploding in lust as I felt the hair I had grown to like. I enjoyed touching the hair for a few more seconds before cupping her groin which delicately ground on my hand, her slit smearing trace amounts of her horny lubricant as I registered the touch of how her labia had gotten engourged in excitement. Our kiss ended a few seconds after I started slowly rubbing my hand up and down her slit, my mind loving it whenever her lubricant would smear on me.

"Sh-shouldn't we go somewhere else?" My wife whispered as she continued to cutely lightly grind on my hand, her actions being insanely adorable to me.

I thought about her question for a few seconds before my hand stopped. "Hm... Why not do something a little risky?"

"What do you mean?"

My hand slipped out of her panties before it went up to my nose, her lovely musky scent infiltrating my nostrils which fueled my feral mind. After enjoying her scent for a few seconds both of my hands took a tight hold of the sides of her pants and panties. (Thankfully my thumb and index finger on my damaged hand were fully capable) I whispered in her ear. "I'll pull these down a little, just enough so I can put my penis in you, and then slowly fuck you here..."

She swallowed hard and looked left and right to make sure no one was in the hallway. "What if someone sees us?"

"They shouldn't be able to see anything, it's not like your pants will be at your ankles, I'll be covering you..."

She was breathing much faster than usual as she thought about my words. "...Okay, okay. But you're cumming when we're in our room."

I happily smiled as I softly tugged her pants and panties down in unison, the girl relaxing her body so I could have a much easier time doing the action. It only took a few seconds for me to stop pulling them down just below her ass, the girl having changed the way she stood with her feet further apart than usual so her legs could keep the clothes on her.

"You're such a good and beautiful girl..." I whispered as an arm gently wrapped around her abdomen once more, my other and undamaged hand undoing my pants and taking my shaft out.

I slowly rubbed my fully erect cock on one of her firm buttocks before I took a handful of the other buttock and gingerly massaged it. I did both of those actions for a couple of minutes, just appreciating part of her body that I neglected the most. I should really do stuff like that more often.

I stopped having a firm hold on one of her buttocks but continued to gingerly rub my phallus on the other one, my free hand sliding under her shirt and up to a tit so I could massage it for a bit. It was so adorable to see her somewhat impatiently wait for me to insert myself into her but she enjoyed the gentle touches I was giving her beforehand.

Though she got a little more impatient when my hand slid down to an inner thigh a minute later, my digits then massaging each inner thigh for thirty seconds before caressing her lower lips. I made sure not to touch her clit just yet which was a massive tease for her. But not long after that I decided we waited enough so I took a hold of my shaft and directed it to the extremely desired, warm, and lubricated area.

She quietly whimpered when my glans rubbed between her fully aroused lower lips, the girl putting both of her hands on my forearm that was on her belly. I had to slightly bend my knees just a tad so my shaft could properly reach her pussy. I teased the both of us for a minute just to stoke our arousal even more.

"Actually, maybe we can wait another week for this, maybe two..." I said before pulling my penis back.

"Wha- wait." Stacy said as she looked back at me with pleading eyes. "You can't just... do that. Hunter, please, I'm so horny, please put it in me, please."

I chuckled and deeply kissed her for a few seconds. "I was just teasing, dear... Gosh, your begs are so adorable and sexy." I swiftly repositioned myself back where I was where I didn't want to tease anymore so I properly inserted my glans into her, her lower lips encompassing me which made me instinctively push my hips forward after a couple pleasant seconds, the both of us quietly grunting as my phallus delved into her.

Both of my arms wrapped around her abdomen so I could hold her tighter, my mouth right behind her ear as I quietly moaned in joy. Her walls were so lubricated, heated, and tight, my penis twitching in happiness as it felt the sensation it had greatly missed. Even though I slept with my dick inside her, this scenario was different since we were genuinely sexually aroused. It's strange how your mood changes your perception of touch.

And since it had been around a week of having not had sex the feeling was much greater than usual. So when I reached her cervix I stayed still for a bit as we enjoyed being connected, my right hand draping down her belly so my index and middle finger could lovingly rub her clit. In response she put a hand over her mouth so she could keep her grunts quiet as she tightly kept her eyes shut, her struggle turning me on even more.

When I started pulling out of her I continued softly grunting into her ear, my hips not wasting any time in slowly thrusting back forward after three seconds of pulling out. This continued for a minute before each pull in and pull out of her was a second each, the feeling of pleasure heavily taking a strong grasp within our minds. Even though I only pulled out half of my length before plunging back into heaven on Earth, it was just that. The risk of being caught also greatly turned me on... It's strange what your mind does when horny since that's the last thing I want. Especially the thought of “hopefully I cum in her as deep as I can right as we get caught”.

A few seconds into this rate of thrusting Stacy put an arm on the wall and rested her head on her arm, the girl vehemently trying to stay standing as her pussy took and received the stimulation it was starving for. But at the same time she relaxed into it, the girl trying even harder to suppress her adorable whimpers of pleasure with her other hand. I immensely loved the quiet squelch sounds that was emittng from our gleeful groins…

Unfortunately only two minutes of this gentle pace passed before I stopped as I neared my edge. Stacy’s vagina just felt so much more tight, warm, and wet than usual… "I-I'm gonna cum, I need to take it out."

"A-Already?" She asked as I stopped my thrusts, the girl sounding somewhat disappointed.

"I'm sorry, this is just feeling so fucking amazing." I replied as I took my penis out of her, my penis twitching in protest, begging to be put back into Stacy so it could fill her up. "And because I haven't had an orgasm in a little while, it doesn't take much."

"It's fine..." She replied as she checked our surroundings before looking back at me. "We should go in our room, this is too risky."

I also checked our surroundings before nodding. "Yeah... This was fun though, I like the risk..."

She pulled her pants up before getting off the stool and picking it up before she swiftly went into our room. I didn't do anything to hide myself as I followed her into the room, the girl swiftly undressing herself after I locked the door. She then got on the bed, laid on her back, and spread her legs open as she gave me pleading eyes.

I undressed as well before walking up between her legs and pressing my shaft onto her adorable clit. I rubbed her like that for thirty seconds before putting my phallus back into her moist, tight, heat. Our soft moans of pleasure picked up after that but once again for a short amount of time, this time for only a minute.

"Again, I'm sorry, this is so good..." I said as a thumb rubbed her clit.

"G-Get the vibrator, let me use it for five minutes then you can fuck me for one more and cum in me." She said in the heat of the moment.

"That's a good idea. Nice quick thinking." I replied before going to her desk to retrieve the desired toy. I glanced at the other toys we had and swiftly thought about how hot it is when she’s wearing them all. But I marked them off, perhaps we'll use them next time.

I walked back up to her and gingerly placed a hand on her side as I rubbed the phallic part of the toy between her labia. It only took a few seconds for it to be fully inserted into her, the clit-sucker properly pressing against her love-button. I had her close her eyes and relax before I turned it onto the lowest setting, the girl squeaking as her clit got sucked, her g-spot got rubbed, and the rest of her vagina got vibrated.

I intently watched her expression as she relaxed into the vibrations and sucking, the power being turned up every ten seconds. This caused her to spread her legs as far apart as she could, her moans freely coming out of her mouth as they got a little louder.

I only made the toy's power go to half power, my little lady thoroughly enjoying herself as she got lost in the pleasure. My mind was extremely jealous that she was being pleasured while I wasn’t so to take my mind off of that I draped my left hand over her belly, tits, and inner thighs as she jerked her hips every few seconds.

But I still looked at her groin and watched the toy vibrate as I heard it do its job. I only imagined how nice Stacy was feeling because of it which made my penis even more jealous. But I pushed through it and waited. Until a little over four minutes passed she said, "T-Take it out! I'm about to cum-!"

I turned the toy off and made eye contact with the panting girl. My hand was on one of her inner thighs of which I massaged a little bit more before slowly sliding the toy out of her cunt and replacing it with my excited-to-cum-in-her penis. I slowly licked her delicious liquid off of the toy for a few seconds before setting it aside. After making it to her cervix once more I placed my hands back on her sides to lean her up, the girl wrapping her arms around my neck before we deeply kissed. As she also wrapped her legs around my pelvis I reciprocated her hug.

That was my cue to start thrusting in and out of her, my pace of thrusting slowly ramping up to that one second in and one second out pace. We just enjoyed each other's lips, smells, hug, and touch, not focusing on anything else and forgetting about the rest (Besides maybe remembering how lucky we were to have each other as spouses…). The only real thing we focused on was our intimate dance of pure love, craving each other’s pleasurable touch, and needing to show each other how much we cared for each other, those things being the only thing we cared about in those moments.

She was the first to cum ninety seconds later, her hips grinding a bit as her blissful moans were stifled by the kiss we were in. As I felt her vagina convulse in ecstasy my groin told me it was about time to unleash what it had been saving up to paint her divine and accepting womb. I tightly closed my eyes as I focused on the pleasure that flowed through me. 

And I came only fifteen seconds after that, my prostate shooting my ejaculate out so hard that it hurt in a small way, something that hasn’t happened in a while. It was so difficult to stay in a kiss as my moans of intense joy fought against the desire. And my ejaculation was at least seven large spurts into the vagina that craved to be filled, the same vagina that always tried its best in milking me for as much semen as it could get...

The amount of pleasure that thrashed through our groins and minds were immense, the feeling of wanting to never stop feeling an orgasm while always needing more persisting for just a few seconds. We broke the kiss ten seconds later as I twitched inside her, the both of us deeply looking each other into the eyes after I pressed my forehead against hers.

"This is a lot like our first time, the ending at least..." She pointed out after a few seconds of panting.

"...Yeah, you're right. Just no blood this time."

"Gross, blood." She said which I agreed to. "Anyways, I missed having your semen in me... Have I said how calming, comforting, and pleasing it is?"

I lightly chuckled as I softly placed a hand on her cheek. "A few times. But I like hearing you say that, it's nice. I'm sure I don't have to say that I love claiming you."

She giggled. "No, but I like hearing something like that too." She sighed in delight. "I love having your sperm deep within me at all times. I went a couple days without it just then, I broke the streak of having it in me, I felt kinda sad about it... But now I'm happy."

Oh how I love how she likes my semen inside her... "Maybe this is a start to a new streak that lasts several times longer than your first one?"

She smirked. "As long as you want to do that with me."

"Of course, this is one of the best things there is..."

We deeply kissed once more which persisted for a few minutes before I pulled out of her. We then decided to clean up after she was satisfied with knowing that most of my sperm had made it deep into her. What a good girl… We then got dressed shortly afterward and headed downstairs.

(Sex scene over)

We instantly smelled the delicious smell of potato soup and boiling corn which reminded me of how hungry I had gotten. My wife voiced the same thing so we went to the kitchen where Jordan and Lyra were just about to finish dinner. He told us it'd be around five minutes so Stacy and I took a couple spots at the dining table, close together of course. When the time came Jordan called out to us.

I moved but before I could get up Stacy put a hand on my side which stopped me. "I'll get it, I'm your little nurse, right?"

I lightly chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You are but I think your patient's capable enough to get his wife their food."

She stayed silent as she thought for a few seconds. "Are you sure? I just wanna be a good nurse..."

I eskimo kissed her. "You're a fantastic nurse, Stace, the best I could ever have. You're so sweet. But I think it might be time for your nursing to be retired for now, wait until I get my ass handed to me again."

"I hope that doesn't happen..." Stacy said after conceding to my suggestion.

I then got up, retrieved a couple bowls of properly seasoned potato soup and a corn on the cob each, and returned back to my wife's side. As we started eating the other members trickled in to get their share of food but it didn't get crowded thankfully. Though Olivia, Kai, Willow, and Etsu joined us at the dining table where a casual conversation ensued.

"How come you two rarely eat down here? You two almost always retreat to your guys' room when it’s dinner time." Kai asked after the conversation tapered off.

"We go up to our room and feed each other. We don't do it in public to avoid looks." Stacy innocently answered which made them curious.

"What exactly do you mean?" Willow asked as I simply continued munching on the corn cob. And I’ll comment that it was super sweet and delicious, it felt phenomenal to eat what our labour had produced.

"I just get between his legs before we feed each other, y’know, take food off of each other’s plates and put it up to each other's mouths. We hug, kiss, and nuzzle each other as we do it too, it's very nice."

"That was almost a TMI, Stacy..." Willow said before turning her head to Kai. "Why don't we do anything adorable like that?"

"You never asked?" Kai replied, unsure of himself. "Maybe we can do it next time with a food that's a little more solid?"

With that simple talk over and done with we finished the delicious dinner with no other interesting talking points I care to write down. And the day didn't last that much longer afterward due my body starting to ask to rest to recover faster half an hour after dinner had ended. So it didn't take me long to lay down with my wife and go to sleep. I just hoped that I'd recover swiftly so I could get to work. I'm a little antsy to do so.

That's where I'm leaving this section of my life until the next one.

Chapter 50: Just some simple continuations

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

A week later I woke up in the early morning with the desire to work being strong within my mind. I lightly kissed Stacy's temple before getting up and getting ready for the day five minutes later, my injuries by then starting to deeply decline in relevancy. While I looked in the mirror It was super nice to see that the swelling on the side of my face and eye had dramatically gone down before my eyes glanced at the splint on my nose. I wondered if it could come off.

Since it was eight in the morning not that many people were out and about which included the doctor so I waited to do anything about the splint until she was awake and aware. I know I probably could've dealt with it myself but I wanted to know what the doctor's opinion was before I did anything since I figured she'd know best. So I waited for around an hour.

"Good morning, Hunter." Olivia said after she opened her door though she smiled when she looked over my face. "Looks like you're recovering well. How's everything going?"

"Ah, I feel much better since it’s a lot less warm which feels great. I was wondering if this splint could come off today."

She glanced at it before taking a step back where the woman silently allowed me entry and told me to take a seat at the usual spot. It took a few minutes but when the splint was off I was able to take a deep and refreshing breath which was something I didn't know I was missing so badly, the breath rejuvenating me.

"The hemorrhage is gone so that's great and whatever's left of your bruising and swelling should be gone within a couple of days. Have you been experiencing any pain in your zygoma or your knuckle?"

I shook my head. "Nope to the zygoma. I do sometimes hurt my knuckle but that's only because I'll foolishly forget that it's broken and still healing as it's hard to keep that in mind since I've never had to not use my dominant hand before."

She nodded. "It's very common that that happens. It's fantastic to hear that you're healing well."

"And because I am doing that, does that mean I'm finally free to go work?"

"Hm... What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Just gonna help with the harvesting. My left hand should suffice for the task, I don't see the harm in putting in the little effort I'm able to."

She slowly nodded. "I suppose you're right. Just be aware, cautious, and don't get yourself hurt or the doctor's gonna be quite upset."

I chuckled. "That's the last thing I want so you probably don't have to worry about me... I think they're starting to get up though and getting ready so I'm gonna get out of your hair and meet with them." So I did.

"Glad to see you back in action, Hunter!" Ashton called out as he walked up to Kai and I after the both of us dispersed after hearing Audrey give us the rundown on what needed to be done that day and how it should be handled.

"What's up, big bird?" I offhandedly replied which Kai chuckled at.

"I'm probably more offended than I should be." Ashton replied right before he started walking at my free side. I simply shrugged. "Anyways, do you two mind if I tag along with you? I'm the odd one out here."

"Always have been." I wanted to say but refrained from doing so. "Sure, Kai's gonna need a little more help than me due to... this." I said, raising my damaged hand up.

"Ah, right. How much longer is that staying on you, do you know?"

"At least a couple more weeks. Can't wait to get it off, it's really annoying."

"I can imagine..." Ashton trailed off.

Shortly after that we made our way to the furthest corner of the corn field where we quickly started taking ears of corn off of their stalks and neatly placing them in the sizable crate that Kai had been carrying. They had to quickly teach me how to properly rip an ear off (irony, haha) since for some reason it was just a little more complicated than what I had thought. But after I got the hang of it we started filling the crate up at an adequate pace though I was a tad slower than the other two.

We'd then press the stalk down onto the ground by snapping it and laying it down so we knew that the spent stock had no more goodies that we could use for that harvest. Besides it being composted and fed to animals but Audrey was still making a composting area and we had no animals to feed, not yet hopefully.

Even though the work wasn't all that intensive, the early September sun was still decently hot so it didn't take long for sweat to don my face and wet my back... I really disliked that feeling but I got over it. The three of us were quiet for a while until someone decided to break the silence.

"So... do you want to talk about it? Or is it too early? I don't mean to rush anything." Kai cautiously said which stopped what I was doing for just a second before I continued.

"I don't think there's really all that much to talk about." I replied as I put an ear of corn in the crate.

"Maybe not. But we want to know if our friend's doing alright. We're just a little concerned, is all." Ashton added on.

I slowly nodded as I registered the care they were trying to express. "I'm alright. I really am, it just was a really bad damper for a couple days."

"...I would've done the same, Hunter. I don't blame anything on you in the slightest. I couldn't imagine how angry I'd've been if it was my partner in that situation but I'm sure it wouldn't have been far off from what happened." Ashton said which was just a little bit comforting in a way to know that I really wasn't the only person that'd do what I did in that situation.

"It was a fucked up situation, for sure." I simply replied.

"I'm not sure what I would've done. I'm not sure about a lot of things but... It just greatly unsettled me, his last few words. It was sad, pitifully sad that is." Kai announced.

That's when I told them how hard that decision was, how much I didn't want to do it, and reiterated my reasoning.

"If it means anything, mine and Audrey's support for you wasn't shaken at all. I mean, he tried to kill you, several times at that. At the very least it was self-defense and looking out for us and the people he would've met if we had let him go."

I slowly nodded and looked at Kai. "Yeah... If I hadn't fired the gun and you didn't run your ass off, Kai, I probably would've died. I'm pretty sure the fool was just enjoying beating the shit out of me, wanted to knock me out, before getting my gun and filling my head with lead. I owe you one, Kai."

"It... was my duty, sir, I don't owe you nothing. I'm happy to have been the one to save you. And as much as I dislike it, what he did was deserved, I suppose. I mean, he knew the rules, he knew the risk, and we had to uphold what we all agreed to." Kai replied.

I deeply sighed as I put another ear of corn in the crate. "If there was a way to contain and rehabilitate him I would've done it. But unfortunately in this world, no such thing like that exists and won't for a long time. I believe in rehabilitation but only with proper power and techniques that are out of our reach. But I promise y'all, when we can rehabilitate effectively, I will abolish the death penalty."

"...Really? Didn't that not really work back in the day?" Ashton asked which reminded me of America's prison system.

"Depended on the country you lived in. The majority of European countries focused on rehabilitation, educating the prisoners, gave less harsh punishments, and gave them a chance in society. America on the other hand focused on punishment, made them legal slaves of which they were treated as, ruined their lives by making higher education and having a good job impossible upon other things, and didn't help drug addicted people overcome their problem. This led a lot of them to repeat offences because they were in a hole, couldn't get a better life, and the punishment caused more harm than good."

I took a breath before continuing. "It's the same logic of spanking your children. Spanking them, in most cases, doesn't teach them right and wrong. It teaches them to be better liars and hide things better... Now, of course there are going to be problems with rehabilitation regardless. Like I'm sure serial killers and people who have no morals can't be saved. But I think that most one time murderers can be rehabilitated depending on why that person had killed. Could Elliot have been rehabilitated? I'm not sure and we'll never be able to find out. But I wish I could've tried."

We stayed silent for a decent bit as they processed the information. "That sounds wise but I'm just uncertain if I'd let a murderer have a good life if they killed Audrey for example."

I slowly nodded. "I understand that completely... I know I wouldn't forgive someone if they killed Stacy. Even if it was an accident. And I'd probably try to kill them minus if it was an accident, I'm sure of it. How to deal with murderers is such a massive moral problem..."

"It is. But I totally agree with what you said about rehabilitation." Kai simply replied.

That conversation tapered off after that since our opinions and comments had been expressed. There was only a little small talk every now and then as we continued filling up a couple crates where those crates were then hauled off to the cellar when full before dumping them and taking them back to be filled them again. At least we were making quick work of the job where four and a half hours swiftly shot past us of working in the heat. But I can honestly say that I was happy to be working again and feeling useful.

After meeting the day's quota of harvest I wanted to see how the clinic was coming along. I wanted to relax a little bit but I pushed forward since it'd only take a few minutes at most. So that's what I went to do though not without passing through the cooled down mansion. It was nice having those few moments of being somewhere cool. It made me wonder how cooled down the cabins were since they were much smaller and had their own air conditioning systems.

"It's looking phenomenal y'all." I commented when I got close enough as I continued walking toward the construction project.

Trinity and Charlotte were both chopping away at the latest level of log that had been put on top of the other one, the girls doing the usual task of making sure the next layer of log would fit snugly around the previous one.

"Well I'd hope that'd be the case since we try our best when building anything. Regardless, it's still nice to hear that, to know we're doing the job we've been assigned to do." Trinity simply replied as she hacked away at the wood.

"At least that's what it looks like, I have no clue about the integrity and quality since I've not looked closely at it. But, y'know, I trust that with you in charge that no problems like that will arise to the best of your ability."

By the time I was at an adequate talking distance I stopped walking forward which is when Charlotte said, "Feel free to join in on the project. I'm sure if you'd help you’d be able to look at everything you want to check."

I shook my head with a small smile. "I don't think I'm required to be delegated here because as I said, I trust y'all. After all, the cabins have had minimal problems. Not to mention I'd most likely be more of a liability due to me still healing and I know how pissed Olivia would get if I managed to hurt myself again. I think I'll stick to harvesting for now."

"Yeah, that's probably wise. No doubt that Olivia would be pissed after making sure you're okay and what not. She's talked to us about how seemingly clumsy you are." Trinity said.

"Hey! I'm not clumsy, just... y'know, unlucky."

Charlotte playfully scoffed. "I dunno man, I don't think luck exists to be honest."

"Well, to be fair a couple injuries were caused by he who shall not be named. So maybe Hunter's rate of injury will come down quite substantially in the coming months."

"Here's to hoping at least..." I somewhat quietly replied though they heard me.

As they continued to work, a silence fell upon us which I then took a few more moments to look over the building before my mind was satisfied with the quick briefing. It didn't take another minute for me to part ways with the girls and head back toward the mansion where I decided to thoroughly enjoy the pleasures of indoors.

I decided to wind down in the dining room with a large glass of cold water. I was looking down at the revamped and resized map of Solaris that Stacy had recently made. It was a project of sorts that she started which was to make a highly detailed map of our community every few months so we could plot the growth of Solaris... It was a cool idea and a tad bit nerdy which I adored. I then looked at the date that was put in the corner of the map.

September 9th, 2027

It feels so unreal whenever I'm reminded of the date, it feels like it should be four years ago. It's scary how fast time is flying by yet how long it feels at the same time. Hell, it's almost been a year since Stacy and I met. A year? A year. Yet it feels like ten, at least our relationship does. A lot of things outside of that feel like weeks or just months. It's so strange how non-linear time feels...

"How're you doin', my guardian?" I heard the most precious girl ever say to my right.

I was instantly pulled out of my trance-like state and looked over to where my amazing Queen was where the girl took just a couple of more seconds to reach me by my side. "Nothing much, little lady, just having a nice drink and wondering what else I should do for today."

She lightly giggled before we hugged. "If you can't think of anything, the cuddle store is always open for you. Everything's a hundred percent off."

My heart fluttered at her adorable words so I kissed the tip of her nose. "Ah yes, my favorite place to shop. I'll be sure to stop there for a while some time today. Maybe after I do whatever I'm gonna do next."

She had rested her head on my chest as I replied before the girl slowly and thoroughly smelled the scent I gave off. "Alright, that sounds good... Hey, remember how we talked about me getting a gun?" I nodded. "I've been thinking about that on and off today. When do you think I can do that?"

"Well, when do you wanna go ahead and do that?"

"Whenever you're not busy, I don't want to be a bother."

"You'll never be a bother to me, darling. We can go ahead and do that when I know I've got nothing else to do, how does that sound?"

She looked up at me. "That sounds fine. I'm just kinda nervous about it, I'm scared of things going wrong. Is Kostas going to be there?"

I thought back to how Autumn was nervous when she was at the range and what that had caused. I softly put a hand on the side of her face. "Yeah, I'll have to get his attention and brief him on the topic." I then looked back at the map where I saw a kiln-like structure a decent bit away from where wood got processed. "Might as well kill two birds with one stone. I see that his forge here is on the map. It does appear to be primitive as he said... Well, I'm gonna go see what's up with his project. Seems so much has happened while I was in stasis."

She jumped, blushed, smiled, and giggled a small bit. "I thought you were gonna say 'while I was in Stacy'."

I chuckled and eskimo kissed her. "Well, that's partially true. That's quite the dirty thought, are you trying to say something?"

She blushed a tad harder but retained her adorable smile. "Not necessarily."

"Hm. Ah well, I've got a Kostas to talk to if you wouldn't mind." I said before she kissed me for a few seconds. After that we broke the embrace and I got off the chair. "You wanna tag along? Maybe talk to Kostas about guns beforehand when we get to that topic?"

She shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not."

We didn't dillydally any so we instantly headed off toward where Kostas had set up shop. And it didn't take us long to see the forge which appeared to be coming along nicely. "How do I manage to not realize things like this..." I quietly muttered right before we closed most of the distance between us and the work site.

Though there wasn't much of a building. There was just a fairly large clay furnace which was around two meters tall. I noticed that there were also a dozen or so bags of charcoal that had been scavenged off to the side for later use. After I acknowledged that I decided to finally turn my attention toward Kostas who was tending to the furnace.

"Yep, it's fairly primitive alright. Very clayful." I commented when I was around two meters away from the man who was on his knees on the grassless ground.

He looked over his shoulder to check who was all behind him before quickly looking back at the furnace. "Have to start somewhere. This is just the first version of many to come in the future."

"I'm sure it is. May I ask all about it?" I asked as I took a closer look. He simply nodded. "What exactly is that thing you're using to fuel the fire with oxygen?"

"Box bellows. The box directs the air into the tuyère which makes sure the oxygen goes directly under the charcoal.. A box like this is very useful because it blows air on the upstroke and downstroke, it makes it very easy."

As he continued slowly pumping the wooden stick in and out of the box I assessed the furnace though it was more like a kiln as previously mentioned. The area where he put the charcoal in and what he wanted to smelt was covered almost entirely by a piece that was made of clay. I assumed it was there to keep most of the heat in because that just made sense.

"What's in the furnace?" Stacy asked before I could.

"A decently sized crucible in charcoal. It's got some iron ore in it and I plan to pour it into a mold after making sure all the slag and what not has been removed." He said as the man pointed to a clay mold that was set off to the side.

"Where'd you get the ore from?"

"The river is rich and diverse in the rocks it is made of so I was able to find a big amount in no time. I, of course, will smelt down metals that are scavenged in the future but I wanted to make a couple things from scratch first to test myself. It's been quite a while since I've made anything... It feels great."

"It's nice to hear you say that. From scratch? What about the charcoal over there?" I pointed out.

He glanced at the bags of charcoal. "Almost scratch. And then there's that crucible but creating a crucible is really time consuming and scavenging it was much easier. The charcoal was just there so I decided to take it. It's not like charcoal is difficult to make anyways, it just saves me some time. I'll be making an area for making charcoal eventually, don't you worry about that."

"What's the next step you have in mind for this area?"

"Getting an anvil. I'm not sure where I'll find one but it is the next step. For now I have to use a flat and big rock to hit against. I would like to upgrade that as soon as possible."

"What do you plan on making first?"

"A hatchet." He simply answered.

"Ah, alright. I expected something else, something like a pickaxe or just an axe maybe."

He shrugged. "I'll get around to that eventually. I wanted to make a hatchet just in case I need to use a melee weapon again. There's something more honourable about using a blade you created yourself in a fight like that. Though I hope to not get into one again."

"Speaking of weapons, Stacy here wants to learn how to handle a gun after... y'know. So we're wondering if you'd be up to be the one to help me teach her all about it. I figure it'd be much safer if the guy who knew all about guns was there with me because I'm sure I'd forget a thing or two."

He stayed silent for a few seconds as he continued pumping the bellows box. "Sure. It'll just be a while though. I will radio you when I'm done with this."

I nodded even though he didn't see it. "Sounds good. For now, we'll get out of your hair. We wish you well with this endeavour."

"Thanks." He simply replied.

That was my cue to face Stacy who met my gaze. A couple seconds later I abruptly wrapped my arms around her chest and lifted her up in a hug. She instinctively hiked her legs on my hips as I started marching my way toward the mansion as the girl softly nuzzled my chest as I did so.

"I think I'm gonna go down to the cuddle store now, I can't pass up the offer I was given earlier." With an adorable giggle she continued nuzzling my chest as I made our way to our iconic snuggling spot. "We should hug like that more often, it's really nice." I commented as I delicately set the girl back on her feet.

"It is, I love how strong you are. I know I've said it so many times before but you holding and hugging makes me feel so, so safe, it's so nice."

"I'm not that strong, it's just that you're minuscule."

She quickly raspberried the air and crossed her arms. "I'm very big, actually."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, extremely colossal even."

I booped her nose. "Your adorableness is, yes. Physically, no."

"Psh, whatever." She playfully said before she took her clothes off and took our spot on the window bay. "Get naked and hold me, please."

I wasted no time in obeying her command which caused my clothes to hit the floor just seconds later. After that I joined her on the window bay and wrapped my arms around her abdomen before pulling her close to me. She then turned to her side where she leaned and rested against me as her arms reciprocated my embrace. Well, before she made sure my phallus was pressing against her just the way she likes it. It didn't take her long to start nuzzling me again every now and then. And it took even less time for me to wrap a blanket around us.

After resting my chin on her head and my undamaged hand gingerly draping up her chest to massage a tit, a comfortable silence emerged between us so we could just enjoy the cuddle where time and responsibility became meaningless as we only cared about each other's presence and touch. I'd kiss her forehead, temples, the tip of her nose, and her lips every few minutes since I couldn't resist not kissing her, she's too adorable not to be kissed.

I love my little heavenly wife so, so much, more than I could ever express...

"Y'know, I've noticed that your heart will beat really fast every now and then. I noticed it so long ago but I never brought it up... so why is that?"

I thought about her question for a few seconds to find the answer before my hand that was in the orthosis instinctively went up to her chin but I sighed when I remembered it was damaged. So I stopped massaging a breast and used that hand instead to direct her to look up at me. I delicately pressed my nose against hers and looked her in the eyes.

"It's because I get extremely happy every time I remember that I have you. I'm so incredibly lucky that we're here, that we're together, that you're everything I ever wanted in someone... It's impossible to explain how big the magnitude in which I love you to my core is."

She very softly placed a hand on the side of my face, the girl somewhat worried she would hurt my faded bruises, as I noticed her small blush. "I feel the exact same way... I love you so much."

I reciprocated her words before pressing my lips against hers and embracing her yet again where the both of us stayed in a deep kiss trying to try to express a fraction of what we felt for each other for several long and lovely minutes.

"I love you..." I quietly repeated in a whisper when the kiss ended, my forehead not straying away from hers.

"I love you." She replied just as quietly as I said.

Unfortunately, only another minute or so of us embracing each other as we looked into each other's souls passed before my walkie-talkie buzzed to life where the voice of Kostas got our attention and said now was the time to head out to the range. I only lightly sighed before forcing myself to get up and away from the lovely snuggle we were in.

"Alright, Stacy and I will go to the cellar so we can get a gun she'll be practicing with. Meet us at the car, we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Which one?"

"Ah, right, I forgot we got that other one operational. The red one, that one handles better."

"See you then."

With that being said I placed the device back on the desk and turned to face Stacy who had gotten on her feet before the girl bent down to pick up her clothes which exposed her holes completely to me. As I walked toward her I gave her a wolf whistle at the admirable sight which she giggled at followed by the girl gingerly wiggling her rump for me a small bit which I appreciated in more ways than one.

"Such an extremely beautiful sight, one that'll always retain its pure elegance..." I commented when I put a hand on one of her hips as I continued ogling what she happily displayed to me as the girl continued to lightly wiggle.

My hand draped over a buttock which I took a gentle grasp of where my hand spread the cheek apart a tad so I could get a more interesting view. A minute later my hand slid down to an inner thigh and then went up to her labia where I thoroughly enjoyed the touch of draping across the entirely of the fuzzy skin. I did that for a few moments before my index and middle fingers gingerly pressed onto her seam where I steadily slid up and down it, my fingers briefly touching her clit when they got to that area.

As I felt a subtle moistness I thought about how incredibly nice it was to have someone so willing to let me view and touch them as I please. I thought about how the thing I was touching gave the both of us so much divine pleasure and so much intense intimacy, unlike anything that has ever come close to in my life. I was extremely thankful that we had a relationship so truly trustworthy and close, so close we were the other half of each other... My heart still flutters every time I remember she wants to be my wife. She fits the role perfectly.

Before things could progress any further I pulled my hand away from the warm and sacred region and said, "It's a shame and pains me to say this but we've got some place to be. Maybe we can continue this later?"

She sighed, stopped wiggling, and stood straight up with her clothes in one of her hands. She then turned around and hugged me where the girl delicately rubbing her soft belly on the appendage that she had turned on. "You're right. And we will. I just like it so much when I know you're looking at me there..."

I chuckled. "It's always good to hear that since it'd be extremely difficult not to look there otherwise. Especially when it's right in front of me." She stopped rubbing me but we hugged for another minute before kissing for a few seconds. "All right, let's get dressed, we've wasted enough of Kostas' time."

She simply nodded at that before she started getting herself dressed. I only briefly smelled the musky and delicious scent on my fingers for a couple moments before dressing myself as well where the both of us made our way down to the cellar's hatch after I retrieved the key to the lock. I went down into the cellar first and switched on the cellar's lights where the old bulbs flickered to life with a decent bit of struggle.

Stacy climbed down the ladder a couple seconds later before the both of us then walked toward the far end of the cellar where the spare guns were stored. As we walked toward them my undamaged hand draped on the empty shelves, the memory of the first time of when Stacy and I had been down there surfacing in my mind.

"It's wild how empty this place is now." I commented as I looked at the few remaining bunches of canned food left in the room. "It's surprising how long it all lasted though. I'm glad we were able to make it to harvest before we ran out. Though I still wonder if we're gonna be able to get to the next just fine."

"I think we will. We've got so many potatoes and corn already and we've still got a lot more to harvest after that. I would think it's gonna take months for us to run out of that even if we're not fishing and all that."

"We'll see. But, y'know, I just can't help but keep that worry in the back of my head."

"I think it's sweet in a way." She pointed out as we got to the box of guns. She looked up at me. "And even if we do run out, didn't you say we can start a scavenging thing as a 'lifeline'?"

"Yes, I did. And I think I'll go ahead and start doing that for a little while, maybe, to refill this cellar. I don't see why not. But a decent bit after we're done harvesting since it'll be a non-issue for the foreseeable future. Now, what kind of gun does Misses Solace want to sport?"

She smiled at that before looking into the box. She scanned over the weapons for a few seconds before a timid hand reached into it and took a very delicate hold of one of the smallest types of handguns within the box, a Glock 19. She stayed mindful of where the trigger was and got a firm hold of the object before the girl's other hand took a hold of it as well while she brought it up to her chest so she could inspect it more thoroughly. She didn’t point it at herself or anything like that.

I lightly chuckled. "Yeah, I was gonna suggest that one to you. The bigger ones kick much more than ones like that. I'd be afraid of the other ones hurting your hands."

"Right, I forgot about that possibility. And also this one just sort of speaks to me and feels like it fits in my hand really well."

"The safety's right here. It's on and unloaded so there's no chance of something going awry here." I quickly explained before making my way toward the shelves of the cellar where a couple of them were stocked to the brim with ammunition. I pocketed a box of a few dozen rounds which were compatible with her weapon of choice before returning back to her side. "Interested in any others or is that gonna be your go-to weapon?"

She glanced at it one more time before nodding. "Where do I put it when I don't want to hold it?"

Her question reminded me that she needed a holster of her own. So I advised her to follow me back to the shelves where a few leathery belts that housed a holster were located. I handed her one that fit her and explained how she needed to equip it.  The girl struggled a tad before successfully wearing it where she then inserted the Glock into the awaiting holster.

"How's that feel?"

"Different. A little bit strange but I'll get used to it."

I simply nodded. "Alright, good. Let's get on out of here now, Kostas is certainly waiting for us."

With that being said we properly exited the cellar and made our way next to the car we would be riding in. We saw that it was already in the position to depart from Solaris so I assumed Kostas was patiently waiting for us to hop in. Which we did, the both of us taking a seat in the backseats of the car. My wife of course was at my side by the time we settled down.

"Are we good to go?" Our cab driver asked.

"Yep, to the mall we go." I simply replied before the short drive commenced.

As we coasted down the familiar road toward the most familiar town Stacy scooted as close to me as she could get where she did the usual of hugging me and resting her head on my chest. I reciprocated the embrace and dug my nose into her hair and relaxed into the hug. I thought about whether we should wear the seatbelt though that'd've been difficult to figure out. But I trusted Kostas not to crash the car because I thought that chance of happening would be close to zero.

After a couple silent minutes of us holding and softly nuzzling each other Kostas asked, "So do you want me to start telling you about how to handle a gun or do you want to wait until we're at the range, Stacy?"

"Um, you can go ahead if you want, I'll be listening."

After hearing her response Kostas started telling her the basics of everything relating to the gun. How to hold it, when to take it out, where to keep it, how to stay responsible, how to be as safe as possible with it, stuff like that. Stacy intently listened to all his words, the girl set on becoming properly educated on the subject.

"That's about as much as I can tell you before we get there since the rest of it has to be something I actually have to show you." Kostas said when his lecture ended. A few seconds later he said, "So... I assume you're doing this because of what happened. It's understandable. I will try my best to teach you this so nothing like that will happen again."

I nodded. "I appreciate that, Kostas, and have faith you'll be able to do it. I'm happy we have someone like you to teach us how to protect ourselves."

"I'm happy to do it, sir. If it means helping to prevent any sort of... of violation, harm, or anything like that, it's really important and needed. I just hope it's a deterrent before anything harmful happens."

"Yeah, let's hope we don't run into someone disturbed like that again..." I sighed. "I would loathe to have to kill again."

"I understand. But like we have said, rules are rules. I think it's good that we no longer have them here. Who knows what he would've done if he was still here." I simply agreed to that before we quieted down for the remaining duration of the drive to the mall.

When we got to the iconic area where we practiced shooting we swiftly got out of the vehicle where Kostas directed Stacy where to stand. She looked toward the proper targets that had been scavenged from a range a couple weeks ago which was much better than what we had previously in many ways. As Kostas told her a little bit more on how to own a gun she took a deep breath and let it go, the girl clearly nervous about what she was about to do.

"Alright, hand me the gun. I'll show you how to hold it, how to aim, how to reload, the whole package." He said which caused her to gingerly take the Glock out of the holster and hand it to him.

He proceeded to show her everything about what was previously mentioned along with how the posture of your body and arms should be when getting ready to shoot. When he asked me for the ammo I had on me he showed her how to reload before fully arming the gun. He then warned her that he was gonna shoot so she'd be ready for the noise as he flicked the safety off a few seconds later before firing the gun.

She still jumped quite hard when the near deafening boom emitted from the weapon, Kostas having shot a near bullseye on the target that was around twenty meters away.

"Think you'll be able to do it all? I don't expect you to get a bullseye or even hit the target for the matter on your first shot because you have to start somewhere. You just have to keep it all in mind."

She slowly nodded as she looked at the target. "I think I might... y'know, I'm nervous so I’m kind of scared I'm gonna drop it or something."

Before I could say anything Kostas said, "This gun doesn't have much recoil at all. All you have to do is keep a firm grip, breath steadily, and be calm. If you do all those things you shouldn't have any problem keeping it in your hands."

"...I guess you're right. I just hope my hands are strong enough to keep a hold of it/"

"I guess we're gonna find out." He looked at me. "Do you feel safe right there or do you want to take cover somewhere just in case?"

"What are the odds of a freak accident like that happening again." I thought. "I mean, what am I supposed to take cover behind?"

"You can retreat into the car." He suggested but I turned it down.

"I have faith that Stacy's strong enough to keep it in her hands." I replied before meeting Stacy's gaze. "Just remember to keep a firm grip, that's the key here." She timidly nodded at that.

Kostas then carefully handed her the gun where she took another deep breath as she thought about all the things that Kostas had told her while she aimed the gun. She took another deep breath as her posture settled though Kostas had to tell her to unlock her elbows. She further calmed herself down for a few more seconds before she placed both of her index fingers on the trigger where she then started to gently apply pressure to it.

It only took a couple of more seconds for another loud bang to pierce the air where the gun in Stacy's hand kicked back a decent bit but due to her strong grip it didn't fling out of her grasp. And she even hit the target! Just barely though.

"Good first shot, babe!" I complimented before taking a couple steps toward her to put a hand on her back to encourage her in a small way.

"Yeah, better than expected." Kostas simply replied as Stacy slowly let a deep breath go. "Are you okay?"

She nodded as she continued pointing toward the target. "Yes. That was easier than I expected though it still kicked really hard." She looked toward me. "Do I shoot again?"

"As long as you want, dear. Just keep in mind everything you have to do and can stop whenever you want."

She nodded once more and looked back at the target. She repeated her actions of taking a deep breath as she aimed the gun. Though she had a small shake to her hands as she applied pressure to the trigger before another shot rang out a couple seconds later.

She missed the target. "Dammit."

I chuckled at her adorable and quiet swear. "It's no biggie, this is your first time practicing. You're doing great, you have good posture, have good grip, and are being confident. Just need to work on your aim, that's why we're here."

She lightly smiled after my words of encouragement before aiming and shooting again. What proceeded was my Queen shooting a couple dozen rounds in the next twenty minutes. With each shot she got a little more confident and learned bit by bit. A little over three quarters of her shots made contact with the target which was good accuracy considering this was her first time using a gun. Though she was nowhere near the bullseye. She'd get better with time. And I will comment that seeing her hold and shoot a gun was quite sexy in my eyes.

When she had to reload she struggled a bit. She had to properly learn how to take a clip out and a proper technique on how to reload the firearm. It was nice watching her learn these things... Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about her hurting herself in a way. My mind kept scaring itself by thinking about the possibility of a freak accident happening and the gun killing her which was a greatly disturbing thought that truly fucked me up. So I forced myself to forget about it but it was hard to.

After her twenty-fourth shot she relaxed her arms which pointed the gun to the ground where the stock of the gun rested on her groin. "Okay, I think I'm done for now."

"I will take it out of your hands." Kostas said before enacting upon his words where a safe exchange of hands then ensued before he unloaded the magazine and pulled the slide back to eject the last remaining bullet out of the chamber.

"My ears are kind of ringing. Is that normal?" My wife asked as she wiped her sweaty hands on her shorts.

Kostas nodded. "Yes. Even my ears ring from it sometimes. It is completely normal but dangerous. That's why you will only practice once a week at most. I do not want you to get hearing loss. And I'm sure you don't want to get that as well. Though I do want to look harder for the… the thing you put on your ears to block noise, I forgot the word in English. I couldn’t find it in the range."

"You're right, I like hearing things." She simply replied before turning to me and taking a couple steps so the distance between us would equate to nothing. She wrapped her arms around my abdomen and cutely looked up at me.

"I think we're done here." Kostas announced which I nodded at. He got the message and nodded back. "I will be waiting in the car."

After he walked off I kissed the tip of Stacy's nose and then eskimo kissed her. "Perhaps there's a little warrior spirit inside you. my little lady. You handled that gun quite well.."

"Psh, not as good as you could. I'm kinda really bad at it."

I booped her nose. "Like I said before, that was your first time practicing. Just gotta work on it and you'll harness that warrior energy in no time."

She contently smiled at that before we softly eskimo kissed each other for a few more seconds. "My hands kinda hurt too."

My uninjured hand took a hold of one of her hands around me where that hand brought hers up to my chest so I could get a good look at it. That's when I turned it around so I could see her palm before my hand in the orthosis carefully held it so my other hand could gingerly press into the muscles of her hand. "...At least, this is where I assume it's hurting."

She giggled and nodded. "Yes. That feels really nice too." I massaged that hand and her wrist for a couple minutes before she asked, "Can you do the other one too?" I happily granted her her wish and did the same with her other hand, her hands feeling much better afterward.

"Alright, I think it's time to get in the car and return home, we've once again made Kostas wait for us."

She shrugged. "Oh well, I guess. I wouldn't have wanted to skip doing things like this to save a few moments."

I chuckled. "To be honest, same."

With one more peck of her nose we headed toward the car and settled back down to how we were before we got to the mall. I thought about checking the radio within the mall but it was checked not too long ago so I forgot about it. It didn't take us much longer to double back to Solaris.

Halfway back a thought occurred to me. "Hey, Kostas, did you finish that hatchet you were making earlier?"

"No. I just poured the metal into the mold. I need to sharpen it, put in the required holes for the handle that I had Trinity make, and then test it."

"I'm interested to see how it's coming along. Mind if you show me it when we get back?" I asked. He just shrugged before we rode back in near silence where my wife and I continued to softly love on each other every other minute or so.

When we returned, Stacy split off to do her own thing as Kostas led us back to his new workstation. He showed me the axe head and the handle that'd be put on it. The handle had many holes where many small metal bars would be inserted into them, these bars acting as something to reinforce the grip… on the grip whenever the handle would be glued onto the axe. He went on to describe the sharpening and polishing process which he had his tools on standby for which he started getting to.

I watched him do that for a few minutes before excusing myself. Though it was quite fascinating watching him do his magic on manufacturing a tool, it was hypnotizing in a way. I wondered how many tools he'd make in the future and how big his operations would one day grow into.

And so that day continued with nothing of note happening for the remainder of it. And so were the next few days, what with being not that notable. Other than generalizations like we continued harvesting the crops, the clinic continued to get built, a couple cabins were planned to start construction soon, I continued healing properly, and a scavenging program was further planned out. Then there was all the usual personal stuff that happens but you already know all about that. You also know you shouldn’t be here but here you are.

But as it is, work calls my name yet again. Let's hope I don't injure myself or anything as I'm working. I can't wait to heal fully and get this damn orthosis off me... At least my handwriting's not too terribly bad. Anyways, off I go.

Chapter 51: I guess I can reminisce

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

So it’s been a little while since I’ve catalogued a day down here. It’s the beginning of October now so that’s how long it’s been. I’m still getting used to this new journal I got a couple weeks before the last time I wrote here. Yep, I had to retire the old one since the poor thing ran out of fresh sheets I could write on. Now I suppose I’m gonna keep the old one safe and sound where Stacy and I hide the camera to look back on whenever I think I need to.

Anyways, our community has been doing well though we’ve had no new recruits for a long while. That might be for the best, who knows, it gives us some more time to develop after all. We finished harvesting the crops a while back we’re enjoying the fruits of our labour, two more cabins have started construction, and the clinic just finished construction a few days ago which was a pretty satisfying thing to complete.

Olivia’s quite excited about it. She couldn’t have decked it out in medical equipment and decorations faster even if she tried. She strained her back a bit so I had to order that she take a break and calm down but it was adorable in a way to see her like that.

I was happy with Solaris’ development and as always, I was looking forward to developing Solaris as fast but effectively as possible... Especially after the conversation Olivia wanted to talk about with me in private.

"So what's the matter? I hope nothing terrible has happened..." I asked after I closed the door to the clinic after we entered it.

"No, no, nothing terrible... But I'm fairly certain there's more than one baby that's currently in utero." She replied as she took a seat at the far end of a wall by a desk.

I was confused for a few seconds before somewhat dumbly inferring, "Is Autumn having twins or something?"

"No, I'd've been able to come to that conclusion the instant I saw Autumn's baby that first time... No, I'm fairly certain Nova's pregnant too."

"Jeez, another one?" was my first thought as I sat on the only bed in the clinic and faced her. And of course she planned for more to be there. After all, these were the first days of the clinic’s existence. Anyways, "How certain are you?"

"As certain as I was with Autumn when I had my suspicions. It hasn't been confirmed yet since I don't have the tests to make sure. So I'm asking to confiscate the remaining pregnancy tests you have and I'd like to go out to scavenge for more upon other feminine hygiene products. We’re running low."

I slowly nodded. "I'll tag along with you since there's a couple of things I've been wanting to go out and look for. But I'm curious, how come you're the one that always gives me this news? Was Nova too nervous or scared to tell me?"

"Well since I'm the doctor in this establishment she felt that I should've been the first person to know after Roman. She was going to tell you but wanted it to be confirmed first... But that was an excuse since she actually is scared to tell you or for you to figure out that she's probably pregnant."

"Huh... Why would she be scared of that?"

"Stuff like this makes someone not have a clear way of thinking. She might be scared of her superior being upset that she's pregnant, might think she's too young to have a child, and is probably anxious about the idea of it all. I know all of those things applied to me when I first got pregnant..."

"First of all, I don't like being called anyone's superior even if it may apply in a sense. But I'm not gonna be upset if it turns out she's pregnant. I'll be the opposite and be happy for her or at least support her... though I will be worried about how we're gonna support ourselves if we keep growing at this rate. Sure, we've planned an expansion for the crops but their harvest will be available all the way in August and September... I'm probably gonna have to delegate a decent bit of people to fishing, hunting, and foraging for a while."

"That's certainly an appropriate thing to be worried about... We can always begin that scavenging program too since that mode of food gathering has really fallen out of fashion. I'm sure there's a lot of non-perishable food in the towns we've discovered that are waiting to be tapped into."

I slowly nodded. "...I kind of forgot that that's a choice, mainly due to us being quite well off due to the harvest. I'll certainly enact the scavenging plan if the need arises. But her being too young for having a child is debatable. Again, there's no society, no need for education, and no finances to worry about. All that matters is our community and how we develop it. So in a sense it's much easier for someone to raise a child these days, within a community like ours, as long as they want to. I'm just hoping that the influx of babies stays low for now. We only have one doctor and I don't want to put too much stress on her."

She lightly chuckled. "It’s really low considering Autumn’s seven months pregnant now. I’m sure I’ll witness a baby boom in Solaris at some point in my life. And it'd only start getting stressful if ten women got pregnant all at once and I’m the only one able to help them with it all. As long as complications don't arise, which will inevitably happen sometime down the line, the only difficult part is delivering the baby and keeping an eye on it for a little while. But I wouldn't say ‘no’ if we had a second doctor and a few nurses."

"I'm sure you'll build up your own team of medical experts eventually... How many babies have you helped deliver?"

"Twenty or so... I'm glad that when I'll deliver Luna it'll be free of cost to the parents as it should be. I despised how expensive anything medical was back then to the commoner. And I feel the sense of duty to be a doctor for the wellbeing of others regardless of how much I get paid."

"You're a good person." I complimented, appreciating her attitude toward her occupation.

"I just wish that they'd stop hurting themselves while hunting, processing, and building things, y'know?"

That was true. There've been a few deep cuts on a few people and even a dislocated shoulder once (I don't even know how that dumbass, Ashton, managed to do that). "Unfortunately that's just part of the learning process... and humans aren't perfect so they're gonna hurt themselves every now and then. Unless you're wearing my shoes and are just unlucky."

"I'm well aware that we aren't perfect but that's a good thing. If we were, everything would become dull and boring. It's a yin and yang type of situation. If nothing was ugly then you couldn't appreciate the beauty..." She glanced at my newest scar and then where the bullet had grazed me. "I sometimes wonder what it would've been like had you been standing an inch closer to the right. You got very lucky."

She reminded me of the dream I had a decent while ago about answering that question which I briefly thought about for a few seconds. After that dream I made sure to appreciate my life, friends, and wife even more. It really put into perspective how close I was to losing it all. But I didn't want to think about that so I moved the conversation along by asking, "When do you want to go look for all of the medical stuff?"

"It's pretty late so not today. Would you like to head out tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds good to me since I'm not constrained to one job. Gonna bring anyone else along with us?"

She shrugged. "I'll maybe ask around for another person or two if they need to look for something."

With all that being said and done I made my way out of the clinic as I quickly thought over the conversation. If it was true that Nova was also pregnant then the problem of the unknown of how things are gonna work in the future has become even greater. I'm not saying that it's a bad problem, I'm calling it a problem because this is something that has obviously never been done before with our community so it was gonna be a learning experience for us. How hard could it be?

The rest of that day went quickly which meant the morning was upon me just as swiftly. I didn't want to mess around since I wanted to head out so I could get back as soon as possible. And I only had that attitude since we were gonna go to a town that wasn't the usual one, the one we were going to is a little further away, about forty miles out.

Even though we've discovered six towns we haven't discovered a lot of places, routes, and trails. We've only traveled a few of the main routes in a fifty mile radius of which itself had a lot of things unknown about it. So there were most likely a few more towns close by that needed to be found. The reason why we know so little is because as of late we've been focusing a lot on Solaris itself. Though I've been thinking of setting up a couple of small mapping groups soon. I was also thinking of letting both of them use both of the cars to cover more ground. Probably should’ve established that a while ago. Eh.

As I drove at a moderate forty miles an hour down an abandoned highway that has seen better days, I thought about how I had never really been in the car with Stacy alone before. She opts out of scavenging since she wants to focus on her art, music, studying, friends, and work. She also thinks she doesn't need to go far since the others can scavenge adequately which was a good point. Still, I wanted to take her somewhere far away to be truly alone from everyone for a bit.

It's strange how you'd want that after everything that's happened. I only mean it in the sense to take a small break and just goof around for a little while, like what Stacy and I did before we met Olivia's group... I already feel nostalgic about those times and even more so when I remember the times before Stacy and I were a couple... I love what we've become.

Etsu and Autumn decided they wanted to tag along to help Olivia and I search and scavenge for a long list of small objects and devices that some others wanted. We happily accepted their request since they were simple, though we made sure to tell them that it wasn't a guarantee that we'd find them what they wanted. Things like watches, necklaces, DVD players, speakers, stuff like that. We hadn’t gone out to scavenge miscellaneous things for a long while so this was the trip that broke that streak.

Oh right, my injuries from when I got my ass handed to me have all been cleared up. The only remnant is that I have a small scar on my cheek from the stitching I had there but it wasn’t big at all thankfully. Getting that orthosis off of me was so extremely satisfying, my hand being ecstatic to have the ability to do shit again. My arm atrophied a decent bit but not too much so I instantly went to work on building it up again. Should take a little while to get to where it once was but I’ll get there eventually.

"Do you guys ever think we'll ever fly again?" Autumn asked after a long silence within the vehicle.

"Hm... Humans as a whole? Probably. Us? Most likely not." Olivia replied

"Yeah, the fuel needed for something like that has all expired and the infrastructure and supply chains needed to create fuel are gone and will be for a long time." Etsu added on.

"Weren't electric airplanes becoming a thing before The Drop?" Autumn asked.

"They were new and primitive, still in very early development." Etsu answered. "Nothing like the colossal planes we're familiar with... If you mean flying relatively short distances then that's much more likely. I just wouldn't count on it because I don't think flying is a priority."

"No, it's not. But give it enough time and it will eventually. Like at least a few decades." I said. "I wouldn't even want to figure out how to build an airport..."

"Just the asphalt alone requires so much." Etsu pointed out.

"It's always wild to think about how complicated everything was back then..." Autumn commented.

"Very complicated. It all starts within the mines which required sophisticated tools that came from the previous generation of tools and mining equipment... Indeed, it was so very complicated. It will take a long time to get back to that point."

It was nice having Etsu know all about supply chains and processes. She was going to be a detrimental part to the future. If not the head of infrastructure, supply chains, and organization in our time then she'd make sure to pass her knowledge on down to the next generation so they can enact upon what she would otherwise do.

Anyways, strolling through towns to figure out the layout and determining what each building was used for is a much harder task than you'd think. Some buildings would blend in with each other, appear to not be a store of what they were selling, stuff like that. Though residential zones and markets were easy to distinguish. And a market is where our first stop for this trip was.

"Etsu and I will split off to search for this part of the list and you two can get to work on getting the other half. Does that sound alright?" I asked as I pulled out a shopping cart in the entrance to the market.

"Seems reasonable to divide and conquer. And we have these with us so we're not gonna lose contact with each other." Autumn replied as she tapped the walkie-talkie on her hip.

"Alright, we'll meet back up here when we're done... Unless we bump into each other in the bowels of the market or something."

Thankfully the market had a lot of skylights so it was reasonably bright within the market so flashlights weren't needed. That calmed me since I had developed a fear of large and pitch-black rooms since they seemingly trigger a part of my mind to go fuck itself. So after that observation, Etsu and I walked side by side and kept our eyes peeled for what was requested back at home.

But not without conversation. "So, were you always planning to be an engineer back before The Drop?"

"I... wasn't. I wanted to be a police officer." She replied, which was just a little surprising. "Then I wanted to be a forensic scientist and then a chemist... I finally settled on civil engineering and I wanted to know how society worked. I almost delved into sociology but I stopped myself to focus on engineering after realizing that it was an umbrella for learning about so much... I wanted to learn so much. And damn, was becoming an engineer to the degree I was so difficult and expensive. I hate how I was an engineer for only a year."

"Oh, education was definitely too expensive. Education should be free to the ones who want to put the work into their aspirations. What that person becomes would pay for itself after they get their qualifications. It’d be a type of investment." I said, stopping myself from getting angry at the past.

"I agree." She simply replied.

"What did you do as an engineer?"

She took a slow breath in. "What I did was so broad... There were so many types of engineering within 'engineering' that I'm not sure if I'd be able to name them all. My first and only year of engineering I was helping cities plan out roads, sewer systems, construction zones, school districts, public transportation, waterways, gas lines, electrical grids, and solar arrays. I helped with tunnels, bridges, railways, updating old infrastructure, making resistant buildings to things like earthquakes..."

I was thoroughly impressed with what she claimed. "You helped Trinity with planning the cabins, right?"

"And helped Kostas with the small grid he made."

"Wow... So you have the knowledge of how to plan whole cities?"

"Hm, not exactly. I would need another couple of engineers and some architects since design on a smaller level wasn't a strong suit of mine. And it's better to have multiple people on large projects like that. Since Solaris is small, it's easy to plan since we're primitive. We don't have a lot of the things I listed off so it's a magnitude easier these days... Though I hope we will one day do all of that."

As we were talking we popped a couple of items in the shopping cart. "I do too. But before then I'd like you to make some sort of... curriculum to teach the future scholars of Solaris how to engineer. I'm not sure if we're going to find another engineer in our world and I'd like to preserve the knowledge that you have within your head. Do you think that'd be possible?"

"...If you give me enough time." She simply replied.

"You have all the time you need."

"I really do hope we find more engineers and find some architects eventually... Engineers like environmental engineers, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers. But it all relies on labourers. People for farming, mining, processing and creating materials, transporting them..."

The scope of the things we wanted to do and achieve really relied on people and you can never really have enough people, especially these days. "You said you're a civil engineer... isn't that a broad term?"

She nodded. "More specifically I'm a transportation and water resource engineer that knows a decent bit about structural, municipal, and construction engineering. I just say civil engineer because that's easier."

"Hm, that's insanely impressive..." I didn't even want to imagine all of the stress she went through to get those qualifications. "What about those other broad terms, what other engineers do you think we'd need specifically? You used other broad terms just then."

"I already said environmental and chemical engineers and there's also geotechnical engineering. There's process engineers who are responsible for the methods, systems, and tools used to process raw materials. There's safety engineers who look for violations and hazards in the work space. They also investigate accidents and teach how to use safety equipment. There's a plastics engineer who tests and develops plastics. There's a petroleum engineer who extracted oil and gas from the planet to fuel society."

"I hope we'll learn from our mistakes from those last two..." I quietly said before she continued.

"Electrical engineers do so much too. Computers, microelectronics, power generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization, all types of telecommunications, and robotics. A lot of this ties in with mechanical engineers who dealt with mechanics, manufacturing, nanotechnology, production planning, automation, automotive, control systems, acoustics, and the design of anything electrical and mechanical... That's about it with the most-most important engineers but all of them are important for an advanced society to work."

"So there's a lot of types of engineering we're missing. At least it's not needed, not yet at least. Good thing we have you to know what we're looking for and I must say that it's difficult to express how extremely impressive it is that you can remember all of what you easily listed off."

"That's nothing compared to what my education put me through... But ask me anything outside of engineering then I'll most likely have no clue. I was dead set on learning engineering and only engineering from before I graduated highschool. Mainly because of the fear of letting my parents down."

I took a few seconds to digest that information. "Did you want to become an engineer or just became one to not disappoint your parents?"

"It... was a bit of both." She simply replied as we turned into an aisle full of aluminum cans after a quick observation of some others.

I picked up a can of beans, one of many. "I think we should discover where all the markets are, search them for food, and take it all just to know how much there is relatively soon. As it is, this aisle is one of a few aisles of just one of the markets there are."

"That'd definitely alleviate a lot of the need to actively fish and what not even more. Any reason why that hasn't already happened?"

"A couple. We started off actively getting most of our food to be independent from scavenging. Seemed to me like it'd be better to start off on that foot and to learn how to properly execute that so we wouldn't rely on scavenging since what we scavenge is finite and we'd need to go further and further distances to scavenge more. Whereas hunting and fishing is essentially limitless within the same areas time and time again."

"Makes sense... Well, if you want a second opinion, I think scavenging all of what we can easily find should be the way to go just to get it over and done with. It'd restock the shelves of the mansion's cellar since that's dwindling down to almost nothing."

"Good thing these last for years." I said after putting the can back on the shelf. "We'll get a decent bit after we know we're done getting gadgets and what not."

So after I told Olivia and Autumn what the change in plan was, Etsu and I continued searching through the market. There was only one thing I wanted but when I saw a phone charger I remembered something that I had kept in my backpack in a small compartment that I hadn't opened in a long time. I took the phone charger and continued looking for what I went there for.

"A tripod? What exactly do you want that for?" Etsu nosily asked after I put the sizable tripod in the shopping cart.

"I want to take better pictures with Stacy. With this, I can time the camera and get ready to take a picture with a third person perspective. It's awkward having to ask someone to take a picture of us because it's weird intentionally being all lovey-dovey in front of them, y'know? And she also wants one to take better photos of nature since this can steady the camera to do so."

"Oh, that makes sense." Etsu simply replied.

Another half an hour later after getting a large portion of the desired objects, our two groups met back up in one of the canned food aisles. "How much do you want us to take?" Olivia asked.

"We have a huge trailer we can put a vast amount on if stacked optimally... So as much as we can transport into it in an hour or two." I said as I started swiftly taking cans of corn off of the shelf and into the shopping cart. Thankfully all the cans were easily transportable due to the cardboard cartridges they were residing in.

The other three followed my lead and started taking cans of beans, spinach, peaches, carrots, corn, pineapples, pears, soup, and noodles. There was a lot of food ripe for the taking so we were only able to transport half of the aisle onto the trailer before our two hours were up. It was a lot of food but I knew it'd run out eventually. Couldn't put a date on it but if Solaris continues to slowly grow Our harvest will probably be nearly gone by the time August rolls around again. We'll be focusing on consuming that first before eating anything we’ve scavenged to get to August just fine. Maybe. There's a lot of food out there. We'll see what happens.

After that trip to the market we stayed on the lookout for a clinic or a pharmacy so Olivia could get what she went on a scavenging trip for. I'm gonna say it right now, abandoned and crashed cars were annoying as fuck to drive around. I don't mention it because it makes me sad (and I also don't mention the skeletal remnants within buildings we often see) but goddamn is it irritating.

It took a little over an hour to spot a corner store that had the things that Olivia sought out. As she looked for pregnancy tests the other girls looked for other things throughout the store as well. I on the other hand wanted to go to the feminine hygiene section as soon as possible to get something over and done with, to get something that needed restocked.

And that was pads for Stacy whenever she has another period. She had a period a couple weeks ago which was a little better than that first one that I had helped her through. It was still really bad though. That’s when I first scavenged pads for her. I was hoping that the next one wouldn't be as severe as that first one or even the second I helped her through. She doesn't deserve any of the pain she receives from them, no woman deserves to go through that... It's so unfair for them. But her next period being light seems very unlikely since she said that all of her periods have been that severe.

After putting a couple dozen pads in my backpack I helped Olivia find the rest of what she needed which was a bunch of miscellaneous medicines and items. We didn't stay there long before Olivia determined that she had scavenged all of what she needed so we ditched the place and put the supplies in the car as we talked about if she should do anything else.

"We could always do some more strolling around but we can only spare so much of the car's charge before we need to head back." I said as I tried ignoring the heat of the day which I failed at doing. It was a particularly warm day.

"If only we had a map, that'd make searching so much easier..." Etsu commented.

"We could scavenge spray paint and put markings on the buildings we've been in to label which ones have been scavenged or not. I’m not sure why that thought never occurred to me, I’m sure there’s hundreds of spray paints we can find."

“That seems fairly smart. It would definitely make knowing which building has nothing at just a glance by seeing a big ex on the door. A lot of time would be saved.” Etsu commented again which I nodded to.

“I think we can doubleback to the market we were at and take four or five cans just to get some of it for the beginning of our scavenging program. Any objections?” 

The only reply I got was a shrug from Autumn which I took as a yes. So we returned to the market and wasted over forty minutes trying to locate the damn cans of paint before being successful in doing so. We deftly yanked five cans of green spray paint before returning back to our vehicle and agreeing that our excursion to the town was over. It was a nice quiet trip back home with minimal small talk.

When we got back to Solaris, Autumn and Etsu volunteered to give the items and objects to the members that ordered them. "I'm gonna go speak with Nova and do that thing." Olivia whispered to me shortly after we got out of the car. With that being said I took the tripod and headed up to my room which was devoid of Stacy.

I set the tripod on the ground and unslung my backpack before taking the walkie-talkie in my hand and said, "Attention, this is Hunter with a short little announcement about something I think is something we should start undertaking because we can now focus on it. I want to begin the scavenging program so we can loot every market within our grasp of all of its non-perishable foods, tools, and clothing that we can get." I then told them my reasoning about learning how much we had access to after the fact which they agreed to.

"Hm... What if a stranger was gonna look there for food themselves and they find none within the store? Seems like we'd be causing some harm with this plan." Charlotte asked which was actually a good point.

"We could make some little signs explaining why there isn't any food in them and direct them toward us if they miss the signs we've already planted." I replied after a few seconds of thought.

"Reasonable." Charlotte simply replied.

"There's a large amount of food in the car's trailer we scavenged so it'd be nice if some of you would start hauling it down into the mansion's cellar. I'll join you when I can." I said before the announcements concluded.

"Where are you, Hunter?" My wife asked a few seconds after that.

"In our room." I simply replied, refraining from calling her darling. It seemed somewhat strange to do that over the walkie-talkies.

After that I finally focused on opening my backpack and taking the phone charger I had scavenged out before opening the small compartment that had my phone within it. I took it out and held it in my hand as I thought about how it was used seemingly so long ago, the device feeling alien due to how long it had been since I held it. There was only one purpose as to why I wanted to charge it since it was pretty useless because there's no internet for it. Before I did anything else I took the pads out of my backpack and put them in a drawer to Stacy's desk. I planned on telling her later.

I plugged the charger in the wall and connected it to the phone which finally started to get charged up after over three years of inactivity. It was a bit strange seeing it light up again since I thought that would never happen again. So I set the phone on the floor to charge before returning back to the tripod to focus on setting it up as the device charged.

After properly setting it up I retrieved the camera and turned it on. I looked through some of the pictures and got a little annoyed that all of the pictures were in a single file. Thankfully after a few minutes I discovered how to make different files so I broke them up into groups. The groups of 'Stacy's photography', 'Miscellaneous', 'Stunning images of Stacy and/or Hunter', and 'Sex related'.

After sorting all of the videos and images I looked through the file of Stacy and I. The beautiful girl has been taking a lot of selfies recently where they’re just simply amazing. The way her hair flowed, her eyes lit up when they were open, the angles, and her beautiful soft smile were just... pure beauty.

After looking at them I mounted the camera on the tripod before Stacy made her way into our room. "...What's that?"

"Just a little something to help record a little something, if you know what I mean." I vaguely replied and teased before turning to her.

She lightly blushed but kept the gentle smile on her lips as I walked toward her. She giggled after I gingerly wrapped my arms around her. "How come you like recording us having sex?" She asked after reciprocating the embrace.

"A few reasons..." I replied as I dug my nose into her hair. "I like watching what I've done to you, to relive the excitement, admire parts I didn't in the moment... Stuff like that. Do you not want me to record us when we do that?"

She looked up at me. "No, you're fine, it's cute in a way that you do that."

I slowly rubbed my nose against hers. "Do you want to do something like it right now?"

"Hm, maybe in a bit. For now, what have you been up to? Was the trip alright? Heard it seemed to be a little productive."

I told her about what we did in a decent bit of detail. It's nice having someone ask you how your day has been and then seeing them intently listen to what you have to say. Just another thing that calms my soul.

I showed her the files on the camera and how to sort images which she thought was pretty neat. After that she noticed my phone charging which reminded me that it had definitely charged enough to turn on.

"Oh right, my phone..." I said before walking back to it and picking it up.

I turned it on and swiftly saw that it was at four percent but I didn't want to wait anymore to use it. Unfortunately it had the effect of keeping me tied to the wall so I sat down on the floor as the lockscreen for the phone appeared on the screen. Stacy joined me on the floor as I rested against the wall before the girl peered at the screen as she leaned onto me.

"Why are you now just charging your phone?" Stacy quietly asked as I tried remembering what the password was.

"Wasn't something I thought I'd focus on. I only remembered it when I saw the charger when I was out scavenging... And also because it has photos and videos of my friends and family on it. That's the only reason I'm charging it yet... I don't know if I'm ready to look at them."

She looked up at me and wrapped her arms around me. "I'll be here if you want to cry..."

I lightly sighed before typing in the password. Afterward I navigated to the gallery where I saw the files of memes, random pictures, and the camera roll. I tapped the camera roll to see a plethora of pictures I had taken of and with my mother, father, brother, and a few of my friends.

I tapped the first one which was a selfie of Austin and I eating at a burger joint at three in the morning. We were side by side about to take our fist bites into the delicious but heavily processed things that were barely food. But I will admit that it would be quite nice to consume one of them.

I sadly and lightly chuckled. "I miss that dopey lookin' moron..."

"Is that... is that Austin?" Stacy asked as she looked down at my phone. "You looked so different back then..."

"Sure is... This was a fun night. This was after our friends went home after a fun party but we were hungry so we decided to go to this place."

"I didn't expect him to have a beard... or to be blonde and have pale skin." Stacy commented which I chuckled at.

"He got that from our mother. My father's side of the family was pretty Native American while my mother's was pretty Germanic. I show more of the Native American side but my skin's still a little whiter than what it would've been had I shown a little more Native American..."

"...Huh, we've never talked about your genetics before." Stacy pointed out. "Though I have wondered why you're a little dark, if you're just tanned or not I mean."

"Wasn't really any reason to talk about my ethnicity before, I guess. Well, now you know."

"I wonder what my ethnicity is..." Stacy quietly said. It was a little sad since I remembered she would never know given the circumstances. Before I could say anything she said, "It's so cool how humans mix themselves to create new people..." which I chuckled at.

"It's very cool." I looked away and wondered if I should say what came to mind. Though it didn’t take me long to decide and look back down at her. "Hopefully we can do that someday."

"Yes... Like ten times."

" Ten? " I couldn't help but exclaim at the absurdity of the number which literally shot some adrenaline into my system.

She giggled and nuzzled me. "I'm just joking, Hunter... More like five times."

I quickly calmed down after knowing she was joking. "Two times, max."

"We'll see about that..." She said with another giggle.

I focused back on my phone before swiping to other images where I landed on one that Austin took of me helping my mother sew some clothes. I sadly sighed as I looked at my mother where the woman was so full of life. It was hard getting the image of the burial I made for them out of my head.

My wife nuzzled me some more as she sensed my sadness, the sweethearted girl trying to lift my mood with her affection. I softly wrapped an arm around her and held her close as I continued looking at the picture.

"She had no clue that she was gonna die a couple of weeks later, how could she...? I wish I had the opportunity to talk with them all one last time. I really hope there's some type of afterlife when we die... I miss them so much." I heard Stacy quietly sniffle a couple seconds later which I thought was cute in a way. "What's wrong, my love?"

"You... How this all happened. How you don't have them anymore, how you're so sad... How I will never meet them."

I kissed the top of her head. I love how empathetic she is, it's so sweet. After that I swiped to another photo of my father and I playing chess. "He always went easy on me since I didn't stand a chance against him if he tried... I miss playing games like this with him and having deep conversations. He said that what I can talk about was extremely fascinating from science, history, politics... Though he was stubborn when it came to some subjects so sometimes it was difficult to talk to him. I didn’t know that I’d miss it so much."

I continued looking at photos of random instances, my sixteenth birthday, Easter, New Year's twenty-twenty-four, the one time I got high with my brother. I stopped looking at them when pictures of my ex started popping up which prevented Stacy from seeing what she looked like. I should've deleted those pictures long ago but I didn't have the strength to do it. But now I certainly do but I put it off for later.

After putting my phone down I hugged Stacy a little tighter and slowly nuzzled the top of her head. A small feeling of dread had entered my chest while looking at the pictures from the magnitude in which I missed my family. It'll definitely be something that will never heal, that's for sure...

"Do you want to take a picture of us like this?" I quietly asked five minutes later, wanting to create new photos to look back on later in life.

"...With the phone?"

I chuckled. "No, silly girl. Your camera over there."

"Oh. Yeah, sure. But one of us has to get up to do that." Stacy pointed out.

"It'll be worth it and it'll take my mind off of... the sadness." I said before getting on my feet and getting to the camera on the tripod.

I migrated it closer to us and pointed the camera to where we'd be sitting. I then messed with the timer and set it to take a snap in two minutes after I confirmed it. After that I returned back to Stacy's side where we quickly got back to holding and lightly nuzzling each other before waiting for the flash to go off. To be more specific, I rested my cheek on top of her head which was resting on my chest, my arms were wrapped around her shoulders, and her arms were wrapped around my abdomen as she relaxed on my chest. When the flash happened we silently stayed like that for another couple of minutes before we wanted to review the result.

The result was beautiful (how egotistical, Hunter). It was nice seeing a third person point of view of how we looked when we loved on each other.. I really did look like her guardian angel since our size difference was so vast. The amount of care, love, and affection we put into holding each other clearly shows naturally. Holding her the way I do is something I take for granted even though I try my hardest not to.

"Do you want to take more pictures of us like that?" She asked after I put the picture in the proper file.

"Every now and then, yes. Do you think it's strange that I want that?"

She gently shook her head. "What else would you want to take a picture of?"

I couldn't help but say, "A lot of pictures of you naked. Your immense sexiness deserves to be captured."

"Hm... Maybe later. Don't you have some work to attend to?" She said with a small giggle.

I lightly sighed, wanting the conversation to take a more heated turn. "A little planning and a little hauling..."

It didn't take that much longer for us to depart and for me to help haul a decent bit of tinned food into the cellar where the cans filled it up a decent bit by the end of the relocation. Though it was still primarily empty. (The cans we disposed of get collected by the way, primarily in the attic.)

After that I called upon Oliver, Jessie, Charlie, and Zaine to be the ones who scout the towns to find and locate where markets are so we can get a proper understanding of how many we can search through. I left them to plan while I found out about what all happened while I was out scavenging. The usual happened with more construction, food collecting, and wood processing.

I put in a couple hours helping construct the cabins before the workday came to an end. After that I joined in on playing some games with Charlotte, Willow, Nova, and Stacy. I wondered if Nova had taken a pregnancy test at that point but I wasn't gonna ask. I was gonna wait until either she or Olivia told me.

The day ended as usual though I wanted to thoroughly mate with Stacy as I laid there intimately holding her. I fought off the strong desire to do so until the morning arrived as hard as I could, if you know what I mean. The desire was fueled mainly due to the girl having trimmed her full-grown bush down to just a few millimeters, down from being a little over an inch long.

As I’ve said before, I like that region of her however she wants. Full bush, trimmed, or shaven. It’s all immensely beautiful to me for their own reasons. I hadn’t grown mine out for a long time and kept it trimmed to a few millimeters just because I want to be in the middle ground of what options there are. 

I’ll back up my opinion about not caring about how much hair she has grown; I like her having a bush because it feels really nice during sex and looks appealing due to it being a feature that expresses how much of a woman she is.

Clean-shaven is also great because then I can kiss and lick her labia all I please without worrying about getting a hair in my mouth which I’m not a fan of but I tolerate it when that happens. I also get to completely see her groin without any obstruction which is also fairly nice. Though I do miss the feeling of her hair rubbing against me during an intimate act for a few days. But it’s not like I’d ever control an aspect of her life, it’d kinda be screwed up otherwise.

I also might’ve watched her trim herself which might be weird, I don’t know. But she allowed it and even wanted me to when she was doing it where the girl would make sure that I could see and watch everything that was going on in between her legs. She’s such a tease… Which is something I quite like.

She commented how nice it was to feel the breeze on her groin again after she trimmed since the girl had had her bush grown out for over a month. Having a bush like that keeps that area of her much warmer than usual so that was also another nice feeling, to feel a few degrees warmer.

Anyways, that’s enough talk about this and focus on what happened after we had our rest. When the time came, the intimate session I craved for was a little more interesting than usual when the morning arrived.

Chapter 52: Beauty deserves to be captured

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

(Sex scene ahead, “ctrl+f” ‘sex over’ to skip)

When the morning was upon me I still had the very noticeable desire to make intimate love with Stacy. But the desire wasn't too incredibly strong at that moment so I intimately held her closer and waited for her to wake up as well. As I did so I smelled her hair, lightly kissed her neck, and enjoyed the feeling of my glans pressing against her cervix as her walls tightly encompassed my shaft. The psychological and physical intimacy we expressed to each other was always so immense yet we always wanted to show more.

As I laid there I thought about UTIs. Weird thing to think about when you're somewhat in the mood but eh. I wondered how common they were since I used hear that you should piss after sex so they wouldn't happen. But Stacy's rarely ever done that and she has me ported inside her quite frequently. I didn't know what else to think other than hope that the absence of such an infection persists.

I also thought about wanting to take a picture of us laying down like that. The desire to capture our intimate sleep-snuggle quickly grew within my mind as the minutes passed. I'm not sure if it's weird or egotistical that I want to capture the both of us in close and loving embraces, snuggles, and other scenarios. And it wasn't like I was gonna ask anyone else, 'is it weird that I like taking images of Stacy and I doing so and so together?' as that would be quite strange.

"Good morning, my love..." I quietly said as she stirred awake before she reciprocated my words a few seconds later.

As I softly kissed her neck in just the right way I felt her cervix slightly retract further back into her, the girl knowing I was in the mood to mate since this is how a lot of our unwritten sessions begin. So to compensate I scooted forward as it retracted so my glans could continue to be pressed against her womb. As a hand on one of her breasts gingerly massaged one of them I felt her vagina become ever so slightly more lubricated.

I was fully erect afterward before I continued softly kissing her neck for another minute as her rate of breath elevated a tad. We started a quiet chat as I continued gently fondling her about what we might do that day. It lasted for a few minutes as properly woke up before she asked if I wanted to have sex with her. That's when I expressed my desire to take a picture of us like that. She lightly giggled. "Sure, as long as I look good..."

"You always look so stunningly beautiful, Stace." I replied before departing from her and exiting her heat briefly.

I made my way to the camera that was still in the tripod and migrated it over to the side of the bed where we'd be facing it. After lowering it a tad I set it to take a picture in three minutes and another one a minute later so I didn't waste any time in returning back behind Stacy, getting close to her, taking a light grasp of a tit, and wrapping my other arm around her abdomen. After we delicately intertwined our legs she inserted my cock back into her folds. I then put my nose in the crook of her neck and slowly nuzzled her there.

Since it was early autumn it was still fairly warm to be using a blanket so we were almost never covered while in bed. She softly put her hands on the arm around her belly as she closed her eyes before the girl quietly started whimpering when I very slowly started rocking my hips back and forth by maybe an inch.

"Does my good little girl want me to thoroughly make her mine again?" I whispered directly into her ear.

"Yes..." She replied with a little wiggle of her hips. "Do you want to use the camera then?"

"Yes." I replied as we fell silent where the camera took a picture of us shortly afterward.

She looked behind her so we could deeply kiss where our tongues lightly rubbed against one another as we got lost in the gentle and calming touch, smell, and taste of each other. After the second image was taken I realized just how hard I had gotten due to us being photographed. I'm not sure why it turns me on so much but it's not a bad thing, probably. I didn't want to get up immediately afterward since I was having some fun teasing Stacy with my minute movements.

She lightly giggled but held the kiss after that second picture was taken. A few minutes later when our kiss broke she asked, "How many more pictures do you want to take?"

I rubbed my nose against hers as my slow thrusting continued. "Hm, a decent amount... I want to do a small photoshoot on you, to take pictures of you in sexy poses and a few with my penis inside you... Then maybe record fucking you?"

Stacy lightly shivered in excitement at the idea. "Sure, I'd be fine with that..."

I deeply kissed her again for another minute before separating from her once more and making my way to the side of the bed where the camera was. I then gestured for Stacy to come toward me who properly sat on the side of the bed where she then looked up at me with horny eyes. I couldn't help but lean down and kiss her again.

During that time my hands went down to her inner thighs where I gingerly spread her legs open while digging my digits into her muscles a tad, the girl more than willing to let me do that. Afterward, I put a hand on her side before breaking the kiss and getting on my knees. I deeply admired her trimmed groin, that area being so much more exposed once again, a sight I loved. 

After intently admiring her sex, I pressed my nose against her labia of which delicately rubbed on her as I sniffed her delicious aroused scent causing her to cutely giggle as my nose tickled her. The millimeters thick hair rubbing against me also felt quite nice which encouraged me to softly tickle her for a little longer. This, by the way, was the only area she didn't shave as she shaved her anus, armpits, and legs so she was still smooth elsewhere.

I nuzzled and smelled her groin for a couple of minutes before deeply kissing her clit once where I made sure my lips were tightly wrapped around it and rubbing it with the tip of my tongue so I could get a good taste of her which was something I thoroughly enjoyed that fueled my feral hunger for her. 

I did that for a few long moments of which she appreciated before I returned behind the camera. "Put some of your hair over your shoulders." I softly suggested where she easily complied with my words where a decent bit of her hair then rested against the outer-sides of her breasts and down her sides which didn't block the view of her beautiful chest and belly.

Her hair really was so beautiful as well. The length of it amplifies just how gorgeous it is. The girl lightly smiled as she glanced at my phallus every now and then, my wife appreciating how hard I was for her. After a quick reminder of keeping her legs open I took an image of her like that before zooming in on her very aroused pussy and taking another one. I’m so grateful that I’m the only one who’s allowed to admire, fuck, and cum in it upon other things… And I immensely like that I’ve been the only one to do so.

"Alright, turn around, get on your hands and knees, and put your ass high in the air. Looking back at me is optional..." I suggested, the girl doing so and displaying herself to me in probably my favorite way.

As she settled down a little bit of precum exited me but I ignored it as I focused on her exposed lower half as the girl gently wiggled her perfect rump which silently told me she was ready in more than one way. “You’re so fucking beautiful…” I couldn’t help but quietly say before I swallowed hard and took another picture of her and took another one when she looked back at me. I deeply admired her anus, body, the position she was in, and her nearly glistening sex for a minute, the slit silently begging me to use it.

"Touch yourself." I said, the girl doing so and gingerly rubbing her clit with two fingers. I loved hearing her quiet and extremely cute moans as she gently pleasured herself. I took another picture after I enjoyed observing her doing that for a couple dozen seconds. "I only have one more I want to take of you on your lonesome if you wouldn't mind. Can you get on your back, hold a tit, and spread your pussy open with two fingers?"

She heard me and enacted upon my wishes before the girl happily displayed her heavenly pink insides to me a few moments later which was something I intently ogled that I made quite obvious. She kept her light smile as she gave me a sultry look though I could see a small bit of nervousness (which was present throughout the whole shoot but it was cute. She knew she could deny my wishes any time she wanted). The girl kept her legs open but not as much as they were in the first picture. After capturing her like that I was partially satisfied and reviewed the pictures. They were all amazing and perfectly captured Stacy's physical beauty.

I then set the camera to go off a couple of times in three minutes so I walked up to her and got her on her feet. I put my hands on her shoulders and gingerly pushed her onto her knees though the girl got a pillow to cushion her knees. "Slowly suck my cock like the good little girl you are."

She shakily nodded her head before taking a light grasp of the base of my shaft and took my tip between her excited and moist lips where the familiar sucking pressure quickly followed suit which I couldn't help but quietly moan at. She swirled her tongue around my tip so she could taste the precum that had exited me before lowering her head. I closed my eyes and relaxed into the feeling of my wife happily taking my cock into her as she made sure to skillfully suck, lick, and taste my phallus for both of our enjoyment.

After taking the first four inches inside her mouth she continued slowly sucking my phallus as one of my hands brushed her hair behind her ears before going to the side of her face to help motion her head with the hand that wouldn't block her face from the camera's view. I only minutely thrusted in and out of her intrigued mouth since the feeling was too great not to.

"Keep going..." I advised her after the camera took a picture causing the girl to continue to gingerly pleasure me as I decided to look down at her.

Before the camera took another picture I pulled my cock out of her mouth which made her hand let go of it and pushed her head forward so her nose would press against the base of my cock. She deeply sniffed my musk as my cock rested on her face where the camera took another picture with her like that.

But after that I kept my phallus on her face as I looked down at the lightly blushed girl who timidly met my gaze where my cock really put into perspective how much bigger I am than her. I slowly rubbed my dick on her face so my scent could rub on her before the girl then kissed and licked my testicles for a couple of minutes.

After thoroughly enjoying those gentle movements I stood her up before setting another three minute timer to take four pictures which would take another picture one minute after the last. After that I sat on the bed and scooted back a bit before laying down. I advised her to come over to me of which she did before the girl straddled my hips, sat on her knees, and directed my penis back into her depths.

I firmly put my hands on her hips and slowly guided her down where she then put her hands on my belly after my tip contacted her cervix once more and rested. After that she started grinding her hips into me as we deeply looked into each other's eyes. She quietly grunted as she slowly lifted herself up and down half of my length, the girl deeply enjoying and relaxing into the penetration for thirty seconds before she started to speed up her riding just a tad. I’ll comment once again at how nice it is when she does that, it’s such a turn on to have a little lady control what we do.

“How much are you enjoying this?” I asked, just wanting to make sure she wasn’t uncomfortable about how much I was photographing.

“S-So much, so fucking much!” She happily replied through stifled grunts of pleasure.

With my question answered I focused back on having sex and relaxed into her riding before a quiet grunt of pleasure leaving my lips as I watched her gently bounce on me, that tiny bounce her tits experienced being so… is adorable the right word? Anyways, the camera took a picture of us like that shortly afterward. After another picture I told her to turn around to face the camera and ride me, of which she did, that specific position being something we hadn't really done before.

She continued slowly and confidently riding me as she was photographed. " Hnng ~, I'm gonna c-cum!" She announced after the last picture was taken.

I let her continue at her pace before I felt her cum on me causing the girl to moan quite audibly as she thoroughly ground on me while she rode her orgasm out as her vagina spasmed which always felt phenomenal. A minute after she came I tightly held her hips and decided to relentlessly pound her for a minute. The girl was extremely surprised at the sudden change which caused her moans to catch her off-guard but she happily accepted being held in place for my pleasure. 

I leaned up and tightly wrapped my arms around her abdomen to lock her in place even more after my quick thrusts ceased. I pressed my nose into the crook of her neck and whispered, “You’re such a good, amazing girl… So talented, sweet, nice, bubbly, and lovely… So sexy, so submissive, so horny, with a perfect tight little pussy that craves me and only me…”

She quietly whimpered as we both gingerly grinded into each other. I kissed her neck and took a hold of a tit and after a couple of minutes she wanted to deeply kiss once more. While in the kiss our tongues lovingly rubbed on one another as she continued lightly whimpering.

My other hand around her abdomen slowly draped up her belly to enjoy touching her soft skin while retaining a tight hold on her. My draping hand slid down to her clit to lovingly rub it for a minute before continuing to drape my hand across her belly and sides of which repeated a few times. She was subtly shivering at all of the touch I was giving her.

I took my cock out of her after a couple more minutes for it to calm down since the thought of all the intimacy of loving each other, kissing and touching each other, my tip pressing against her womb, and being one along with the heavenly touch of being tightly squeezed and rubbed within the wet, tight, and warm insides of my angelic wife nearly drove me to my edge. But I wanted it to last a lot longer.

My cock pressed against her lower belly where my glans just under her belly button, which smeared a trace amount of her liquid on her as the appendage desperately begged to be put back in her so it could drain my seed inside her and fill the womb it knew it owned and would accept what it wanted to give. 

It twitched when Stacy took a light hold of it who quietly giggled while still in the kiss. Her soft hand then slowly stroked me for another minute before pressing it onto her belly which also pressed against her clit a bit where she then lightly ground on my shaft once more. I broke the kiss and deeply looked her in the eyes where my heart skipped a beat due to realizing how lucky I am to have her once again. 

“I love you.” I said, unable to keep those words within me and feeling like I had to tell her that.

Her soft smile strengthened and reciprocated my words before we kissed some more as she continued gingerly subtly grinding on me. Yet another couple of minutes passed of this before those actions ceased.

After that she got off of me so I could set another three minute timer for the camera with more successive photos after it. I returned back onto the bed, faced the camera, and got on my knees before telling Stacy to get in front of me.

She also faced the camera so I wrapped my arms around her abdomen again and rubbed my penis on her back for a few seconds before a hand went down behind one of her legs and to her inner thigh to then hike it up. I lifted her up a tad and closed the distance between us so my phallus could be underneath her pelvis where my cock gingerly rubbed between her labia which silently asked for permission to be let in again after it had enough time to calm down.

She grabbed my phallus and slowly stroked it again for another minute before teasingly rubbing my tip between her lower lips. I quietly grunted at both of those actions before she inserted me into her once more a few seconds later where I continued a slow, deep, and loving thrusting into her. I kept her leg hiked up so her legs could stay spread open, kept her close to me, and leaned down to deeply kiss her as I waited for us to be photographed again.

My arm holding her leg open moved forward so the inner part of my elbow would do the task so my hand could gingerly rub her clit yet again. My arm around her abdomen also migrated to hold a tit to massage the mound of flesh and pleasure a nipple. After an image of that was taken I deeply kissed her neck where the girl exposed her neck after I started doing so which was also photographed a couple minutes later.

After that, I enjoyed my slow thrusts into her for another minute longer before I once again quickly pounded her. But again, only for a minute before I stopped and pulled out of her heat. I then turned us by a little more than ninety degrees so the next picture would have a decent angle to see what I was about to do.

I set her down on her knees, gingerly pushed her over, grabbed her hips so I could position her ass to be at the perfect angle for it to be in the air, and then directed my penis back into her wet, warm, tight, (there really needs to be a word for these three words. Meh, I like reminding myself how nice it is to be inside her) and welcoming vagina once more. I wasted no time in adopting a moderate pace of thrusting into her where she happily complied with everything I was doing to her and gladly took my thrusts into her since she wanted to be my submissive little girl. It was so nice how she just let me use her like that, for both of our pleasure…

“Put your hands behind your back.” I commanded after a few moments where the girl did so which is when I grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and forced her arms to stay behind her back as I fucked her. It was so nice to feel her arms helplessly try to escape my grasp as she got blissfully railed.

Right after that I put a hand on a buttock and grasped with a decent bit of force to enjoy the squish of her flesh for a few seconds before putting the same hand on the side of her head and gently applied a little bit of force to make sure she stayed in place as she let me breed her.

As I did that I looked up, closed my eyes, intently focused on the magnificent pleasure that was coursing through my veins, and quietly grunted in pleasure as Stacy’s moans of happiness infiltrated my ears where a subtle smell of sex complimented what I was experiencing. An extremely cute and quiet ‘yes’ would escape Stacy’s mouth every now and then, the word telling me that she was extremely comfortable and immensely enjoying what I was doing to her.

When another picture was taken several moments later I yet again pounded her for a minute before abruptly stopping where the both of us lightly panted as we settled down a bit. But we did that only for a couple minutes before I separated from her. I then relocated the tripod near the end of the bed and called Stacy over to me. "W-What do you plan on doing?"

I had her lay perpendicular from how the camera was facing and on her back. I told her to keep her legs spread open as I made sure the angle would properly capture me fucking her in that position to see our groins and bodies in the ideal way. I briefly told her my idea where the girl liked it so I said, "Get ready for me to pound the fuck out of you some more."

Yes, once again in missionary. It’s my favorite position to end on for a few reasons. It’s the best position for when I cum in her. It’s the position that lets me touch any of her whenever and wherever I want the easiest. The position to be able to see her groin, body, and face all at once. The position that we can deeply kiss in. And the position that tells me she’s extremely comfortable with submitting herself to the pounding and the creampie I want to give her.

She swallowed hard in anticipation before I started recording a video. I didn't waste any time getting in between her legs and pressing my cock onto her clit causing the girl to swallow again as I slowly rocked my hips back and forth as we gazed into each other's eyes where the both of us forgot that we were being recorded and focused on the act of making slow, soft, caring, and intimate love.

I put my hands on her inner thighs and pressed her legs down just to remind her to keep her legs open for me where my digits pressed into the sensitive flesh which she whimpered at. I only continued slowly rubbing her clit with the base of my cock for another minute or so before another one of her adorable whimpers reminded me to advance how I should pleasure her.

After having my fun by teasing her clit I once again properly inserted myself into her well-lubricated depths and slowly pushed my way to her cervix where the girl quietly grunted at my voyage within her. After my tip contacted her womb we stayed still for a minute to just enjoy being one again. 

“I love you.” I couldn’t help but say once more before the girl softly expressed that she appreciated and adored how often I told her that before she reciprocated my words.

After enjoying and silently thanking ‘whatever’ that I was able to be inside her and everything else relating to our relationship, I took a hold of her wrists once more and slightly leaned over her where my hands pressed hers down above her head to restrain her as I started steadily fucking her.

She couldn't escape my hold even if she wanted to but she still somewhat tried to escape my grasp. If she ever wanted me to let go of her she knew she could simply tell me to. But she loved feeling restrained and being held down by someone twice her size, someone who made them their little sex toy, someone who enjoyed every bit of her body that they could muster, only by the same person they deeply loved and trusted in every aspect of course. I also love feeling her helplessly struggle as I gave her pussy the stimulation it hungered for since her walls instinctively squeezed me in all of the right ways to make me want to continue giving her what it wanted, the ulterior goal being to accept my seed into her womb, to be completely filled and claimed.

As I slowly sped my thrusts up we continued looking into each other's eyes as both of our rates of breath elevated while our quiet grunts started picking up in frequency and volume. "K-Kiss me." She demanded which I easily obliged to.

She firmly wrapped her legs around my hips to make sure I continued fucking her after our lips pressed together where the kiss quickly became a heavily heated one as my thrusts continued to speed up, our tongues rubbing on one another every few seconds. The iconic subtle squelch sound of our pelvises slamming into each other started emitting as I ferally lost myself within Stacy's euphoric vagina as the girl struggled to continue the kiss since the need to moan made it difficult.

A couple of minutes later I held both of her hands down with one hand so I could fondle her breasts for a decent bit with the other one. After having my fill there my hand draped over her belly for a few moments before I almost took a firm hold of her neck. Right before I did I stopped myself and instead put it on the side of her face before I continued railing her. That sucked because I really wanted to make her feel a little more helpless with my hand on her neck. But I couldn’t due to how she was still affected by… the ‘situation’. 

She broke the kiss another couple minutes later to let her moans easily escape her. The moans weren't loud but they were still quite audible so I was able to enjoy listening to her vocal expressions of bliss. As I did so I deeply kissed her neck in a couple of spots before I leaned back up a bit.

I let go of her hands and migrated my hands to her hips to firmly hold her in place. I quietly moaned as I eyed our connecting groins where Stacy had been glancing there every now and then as well. No matter how many times I look at it, her slit tightly encompassing my girth along with the enthralling feeling of being reminded of being able to mate with my amazing wife will never get old.

As I watched her tits lightly bounce with each thrust I felt the girl cum again where my thrusting didn’t relent in speed as I continued to use her little pussy that convulsed in happiness. During that time I thoroughly enjoyed her expression, her moans, the smells, and her form because I could never get enough of it.

“S-So fucking sexy. ” I huskily said with a tone dripping with lust as the pressure within my groin started reaching its breaking point.

Several more feelings like the insatiable need to cum within the head of my shaft, testicles, stomach, and even my jaw flooded my mind as I once again remembered the intimacy of the situation. And firmly holding her down, feeling her skin and her legs wrapped around me, and causing my little companion to be greatly pleasured along with the previous descriptions of what it's like to be inside of her fleshy tunnel incentivised me to continue pounding her.

"I-I'm gonna cum, do you want me to stop for a bit?" I asked after another couple of minutes as my thrusting started slowing down.

She shook her head. "N-No, make me yours, cum inside me as d-deep as you can, remind me that my pussy is yours forever-."

I enacted upon her wish and sped my thrusting back up. We deeply looked each other in the eyes as I quietly grunted in delectable pleasure while my climax swiftly barreled to the present as I finally let everything let my climax trigger off. I moaned a little louder in joy when I started draining myself into Stacy's eternally accepting womb as the girl below me smiled while she felt the glans of my shaft confidently press against her cervix as I intimately deposited my seed. My prostate harshly ejected the exhilarated substance into her as my testicles once again felt as if they unleashed a few orgasms worth of sperm into her. She enjoyed the expression on my face from the divine feeling of her insanely magnificent pussy trying to get every last drop of what I wanted to put into her.

“S-So f-fucking perfect-!” I couldn’t help but struggle to say through my moans since the need to point out every blissful visual, smell, sound, and touch was too great to keep to myself yet I was at a loss for words on how to describe the euphoria the girl helped me experience. A few seconds of pure bliss in total passed before I slightly slouched after my orgasm came to an end. We lightly panted as my phallus continued to twitch inside her like always before the girl slightly leaned up so we could tightly hug each other. A few silent seconds later I said, "I love you so, so much, Stacy..."

"I love you too. More than anything, ever..." She quietly replied with a little nuzzle.

We stayed connected for a couple of minutes as I slowly softened inside of her where the girl's legs around me continued to force me to stay put so she could enjoy us being one a little longer. The feeling of being completely empty and devoid of having any semen in me felt extremely phenomenal mainly due to how my mind always loved it so much since it knew the missing substance was then inside my greatly satisfied wife. 

She then leaned back a bit, glanced at where we connected, and looked up at me before I gingerly put a hand on the side of her face where the both of us then lightly kissed for a few minutes as the girl wore a light smile on her lips. We eskimo kissed afterward before I kissed the tip of her nose and trailed those kisses up to her forehead which is when I remembered that we were still being recorded.

I gingerly put my hands on her inner thighs and massaged them again for a few moments before pressing her legs down which unwrapped them from around me. Afterward, I slowly pulled out of her heat where my semen had a difficult time escaping her satisfied and thoroughly bred cunt. I made my way to the camera and took it off the tripod before returning between Stacy's legs and thoroughly capturing her slightly gaped and cum-filled slit.

I put a hand on her mons pubis and delicately rubbed against the pubic hair there for a few seconds. I only rubbed her clit for a few moments before trailing a couple fingers down her labia as well. Afterward, I draped it to an inner thigh and delicately massaged it to keep her legs open. I slowly peered the camera up to her lightly blushed but still softly smiling face. “Who owns your amazing pussy and extremely sexy body, Stacy?”

She shyly giggled. “You do and always will, just like how I own you…”

My hand on her inner thigh draped back up her body to softly be placed on the side of her face. "That’s right, my good little girl..." I ended the recording after that.

I then set the camera down to the side, put my hands back on her hips, let her hug me, and leaned down to softly kiss her for a while. She stayed low and at an angle to let my semen stay inside her for most of it to travel deep within her. Again, I'm not able to express how much I like how the girl immensely enjoys letting my semen enter her, my Queen enjoying it for several reasons. 

Might be reiterating this but she said it calms her knowing a piece of me is trying its hardest to enter her and make her pregnant where the girl was able to feel my semen enter beyond her cervix. She also loves how it makes her mine, makes her feel like a woman, makes her feel like my wife even more, makes her feel wanted and loved, and makes us one spiritually.

After ten minutes of being in the kiss I broke it and rested my forehead against hers once more before our noses minutely rubbing against one another. Then the peculiar want to smoke emerged within my mind a few moments later which I expressed to her.

"You know what? Sure, but not too much." She replied with a little giggle.

That was my cue to finally pull out of her head to her desk and retrieve a blunt we had been smoking on and off along with the lighter before returning back to Stacy. She had migrated to the head of the bed and made sure to put a towel that we kept on the mentioned head of the bed under herself so that my semen wouldn't exit her and get the sheets dirty. After that observation I got on the bed with her and sat by her side before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

I lit the blunt with ease and gently put it between Stacy's lips who delicately inhaled a decent bit. We did the usual of trading our breath before I took a decent hit off the blunt as well. After that I extinguished the blunt and set the lighter and the drug to the side before my wife and I hugged each other.

She rested her head on my chest and softly nuzzled me. "I've been thinking... What would being high and having sex be like?"

"I honestly wouldn't know. Depends on how high we'd get, I guess. Why? Is that something you want to do?"

"Only if you'd want to. It seems like it’d be an interesting time. If I don't like it I'll just say to stop."

"I agree. Maybe next time we can, if you want?"

She simply nodded before she left me to think about that. But only briefly before we focused on something else. Though it was still enough time to think about if that'd be a bad thing, like what if she becomes too drugged up to think right? I guess I could ask for a second opinion from Audrey or someone like that... It just might be an awkward conversation.

Anyways, it didn't take us long to start getting high which only increased the nuzzles, kisses, and gentle touches we gave to each other as we giggled and talked about all things random.

All in all, it was a good morning indeed.

(Sex over)

A couple hours later the drug's effects wore off which was our cue to get ready for the day ahead of us and clean everything up. After closely having a nice meal with her she split off to go help Tess and Lexi in the stream since my wife was on the mission to help make those two more social. I'm sure she'd be able to do that since my wife's an extremely talented little lady.

As she did that I went to put a few hours into one of the cabin’s construction, the floor to the building on its way to being complete. As I did that I remembered what it was like building the cellar. That took much longer than what I originally expected, I had to call on us to focus on it extra to get it done in time. I’m glad that we managed to finish it when we did.

I'll comment that it was really pleasing to see the people you've managed to find and bundle together in this world all work around you for a common goal. And it was nice that they listened to my words and enacted upon my wishes. It was nice having leaders in each group of work being led by the leader that leads the leaders…

Anyways, after that observation I helped Raiden and a few of her helpers expertly nail wooden planks together to further construct the floor, the task being rather difficult since we wanted to make sure the spacing, placement, and integrity were optimal. Though due to all the practice we had during the cellar it was much easier than the first few cabins we had made.

Right before the day's work ended, Olivia called for me to see her in the clinic when the woman proclaimed she had something quite important to talk to me about. I had a feeling I knew what it was about so I swiftly excused myself from the work site and made my way to the desired building. As expected, I saw the doctor with Roman and Nova who closely held a pregnancy test to her chest as Roman stood next to her with an arm wrapped softly around her.

I instantly noticed that Nova was nervous and anxious since the girl was lightly shivering as I walked up to them. "Alright, so what's the result?" I nonchalantly asked, cutting to the chase.

Olivia glanced at Nova who spoke for herself. Though she had a difficult time trying to speak the words that needed to be said. "It's- It's positive. And I'm not sure what to do."

I slowly nodded. "Pull-out game's weak, Roman... Though I think mine would be too if I had to." I thought before taking the situation seriously. "Have you two had a thorough conversation about it?"

Roman nodded. "Even though it wasn't expected and we might not be even close to ready for it… I don’t think we could bring ourselves to terminate it. For me, that'd be a stain on my soul I'd never be able to wash off."

Nova nodded. "I'm just scared of a lot of things... Like, how disappointed you are. What if it develops badly? What if I have quadruplets? What if Solaris suddenly can't support us? And a lot of other things..."

"Well, first thing's first, I'm not disappointed. I'm actually happy in a way for you two." I replied which visibly relieved Nova though she was confused.

"What...? Why? How?" She asked.

"It's a beautiful thing, one of the most beautiful in my opinion." I started off, Olivia quietly agreeing. "It's where the result of two people who immensely love each other, these days at least, cuome together to create another being comprised of themselves. I'm getting technical and somewhat off topic but this isn't something to be ashamed of. Pregnancy at your age when society was a thing was looked down upon since there were education and financial concerns as well as commitment and legal implications. Hell, some people back then would want you arrested, Nova, because you're eighteen and he's sixteen."

"Males typically suffered much more from a gap like that, a gap that is negligible, which was fucking ridiculous." Olivia replied, anger evident in her voice. I imagined she spoke from experience. "Yeah, let's go ahead and make the upcoming father's life worse which will definitely not make the mother and child's life more difficult. Sorry, I just... There were so many things wrong with people back then."

"What would you consider a gap that isn't negligible?" Roman asked.

"Anything bigger than Stacy's and Hunter's ages. At least when the younger party is fourteen." Olivia answered which I agreed with. "A proper Romeo and Juliet law could've saved so many people from a lifetime of being registered as a sex offender and seen as a pedophile from something that was completely consensual within the same age group. It always made my stomach churn whenever a story broke out that someone who was eighteen got their life ruined over something that was completely consensual..."

"But like I was saying, there's not all that much to worry about these days besides being parents and staying good citizens to Solaris. You two will have a whole community to back you up and maybe even another one here in the future. Your concerns regarding the development of your fetus are endearing in a way. Just listen to what Olivia advises to limit that possibility as much as possible. What even are the odds of something going south while in development?"

"Relatively low given the circumstances. Defects on the whole have a one in thirty chance of happening. The severity of the defect widely varies. But if you take the proper steps then that lowers much further" Olivia expertly answered.

"...Isn't it harmful to get pregnant at my age?" Nova asked.

Olivia lightly shook her head. "No, not necessarily. There's factors like your size and what your way of life is like. Though you must realize that it's still possible that you might develop preeclampsia, have a premature birth, postpartum depression, and anemia. But thankfully you have someone who can exercise her knowledge of prenatal care to make the chances of that as minimal as we can make it. We're in this together."

Nova slowly nodded after those encouraging words. To forward the conversation I said, "To add on why I think this is a positive thing, it's a sign of hope for Solaris." Nova was a bit confused at that so I explained, "The hope of genuinely restarting society along with the hope that humanity is really on track for a second chance and to learn from our past. And with a new generation being born into a world full of opportunity, I think this is amazing."

"We really hope that that's the case." Roman quietly replied.

"This ties into the worry about if Solaris might suddenly stop supporting you which would imply either the complete dissolution or eradication of Solaris. I say that because this community will always be here to back you up and I promise you, everyone within Solaris, and our future peoples, that I will try my hardest to keep this place standing through any hiccup, conundrum, and problem."

It was all true. And if I have to stoop down as low as doing something evil to protect my people, I will do it. I will never go down without a fight, even when all hope is lost. Of course, I hope that day never comes but the future is uncertain and unpredictable.

"And you possibly having quadruplets? Do you know how rare that is?" I asked with a lighthearted chuckle.

"...No, actually."

"One in seven hundred thousand." Olivia answered. "...It's sad to think that there's probably not even seven hundred thousand people on Earth anymore."

Wasn't expecting that depressing turn so I swiftly turned it back to the conversation at hand. "But if it's quadruplets... Well, then that'd be amazing for starters. It'd be a type of miracle to bring four people into this world but it would undoubtedly be immeasurably stressful for you two... But I would promise you that it would work out."

"You're very optimistic, Hunter, I appreciate that... I just hope that what you say is true." Roman replied.

"I hope so too..." I thought before moving the conversation along. "So please, don't you two worry about those possibilities as they're just that. What's not a possibility is the certainty that you two are gonna become parents in less than a year. So I strongly suggest you two ready up, prepare mentally, have many deep conversations between you two and friends, ask a certain person how to parent, stuff like that to make sure you can give this child of yours the best life you could muster. This is your responsibility now and I will not tolerate deadbeat or bad parents."

Nova slowly nodded. "It's just so sudden. And... I love you, Roman, but we've only been together for just a few months. It just seems really fast for something like this to happen."

"It's..." Roman trailed off, the man visibly not knowing how to properly respond after that.

"I agree with Nova." I announced. "You two should've been more responsible, more aware, understood your actions better, and perhaps waited until you were either married or accepted the idea of procreating. Your actions are not celebrated, I'll tell you that right now. They're just not berated. Big difference. But as it is, what's done is done, there's no going back now since termination is off the table... This is why I told you to use condoms all that time ago, Roman."

"But-."

"Anyways," I cut him off. "you should feel a type of gratitude that you're able to produce another person... It's something that goes under appreciated and is something that some used to even wish that they couldn't do. If only trading the ability was possible."

Nova tapped her index fingers together. "...Do you want to be a father, Hunter?"

"Yes, eventually. But for now there's a whole bunch of things I need to focus on before that point. A vast amount of things. It'll be years before that point." I simply answered.

After that, Olivia asked them how long she might've been pregnant for by asking about the common signs of early pregnancy. I stayed just to listen in on when the first ultrasound would be which Olivia determined to be three weeks from that point. After hearing that I dipped and started making my way down to the dining room where Jordan was cooking a delicious soup in a huge pot.

The soup we had was really satisfying going down but I preferred solid food since Stacy and I can actually feed each other then since, y'know, handling soup is extremely difficult and would undoubtedly cause a big mess. 

Twenty minutes after dinner was over I found myself in the living room with Stacy, Etsu, Zaine, Willow, and Quinn where the mute was teaching us some more vocabulary in ASL. It was so fascinating to learn how to ‘talk’ with your hands and I’ve been getting decent with it but I still have a long way to go. I intend to get at least semi-fluent in it because it was cool and could definitely be useful for scenarios where we have to be silent but can still communicate. I’m sure the need for something like that was low but I still wanted that option.

Stacy was many steps ahead of where I was since her and Quinn have been spending a decent bit more time together since their work schedules now line up significantly better. Thankfully that happens when I’m still working so it doesn’t take away from our time together but even if it did take some time away I’d easily tolerate it. But if it took a lot of time I’d talk to her about it but thankfully that’s not the case.

Anyways, Stacy was helping Quinn teach Zaine, Etsu, and Willow some beginning lessons for learning ASL where the two sat on their knees in the middle of the living room as the other made a semi-circle around them. I was mainly just observing since I knew just about all of what they were teaching though I did put in some of my input every now and then. I’ll comment that Stacy teaching was adorable but everything about her is so that’s just a given. It was also a bit funny how Willow struggled to remember some of the motions to communicate which she picked up on the very minute reaction I had to it.

Only some light banter ensued but it was all lighthearted rivalry. Though her claims of her being a better learner were acknowledged and easily discarded before the lesson could continue.

“Hello, my name is Etsu. ??? name is what?” The engineer signed who was somewhat nervous doing it.

Quinn lightly smiled at her mistake and unintelligible sign and signed, “Mistake. ‘Your’ is done like ‘your’.”

She showed Etsu how to correctly sign the word a few times before Etsu properly learned how to do so. Quinn was a very patient and gentle teacher when it came to ASL and was clearly passionate about showing others how to ‘speak’ with it. It was really sweet in a way that she was happy to teach others how to have this other language. It helped herself out and helped us have a really cool ability in the process.

“Now let’s move on to the next lesson.” Stacy signed as she looked at her students who slowly understood what each motion meant.

It was a slow learning curve at first and just the beginning of their entry into ASL but they were committed to at least getting basic language down through their upcoming lessons. But I’ll reiterate that it was slow, it took a few minutes for them to understand what Stacy said.

“How are you doing?” Quinn asked Zaine.

“Good. What… about you?” He signed back, almost forgetting how to sign the rest. He then asked that question to Etsu who replied with the same thing.

“You’re a beautiful princess, my love.” I signed to Stacy as they were doing that after I subtly got her attention.

She shyly smiled at that which is when Willow asked, “Hey, what did you just say to her?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, nerd.” I playfully replied. “I was simply just telling her something that should only stay between partners, if you know what I mean.”

Willow slanted her eyes at that. “I highly doubt that and just think you’re trying to embarrass all of us because I know you have some sort of fetish for that.”

“Damn, she’s on to me!” I thought as I noticed Stacy’s blushed face. “Well, actually-.”

“He just called me beautiful and a princess, no more.” Stacy answered which erased the possibility of me furthering that topic. Which was fair since they didn’t need any distraction in their lesson.

“Oh. Well, how do you say that in ASL?” Willow asked before Stacy taught them just the word ‘beautiful’.

This lesson lasted for ninety minutes in total before it was dismissed by the teachers where we slowly dispersed as our day ended. I spent just thirty more minutes going over some of the plans that the searching/scavenging teams drew up with and approved them for them to start enacting upon them the next day. It would be nice to thoroughly pinpoint locations in which we could siphon all of its goodies from. I wondered how much we’d focus on it since it wasn’t necessarily needed at the moment. I’m thinking I’ll tag along quite often when I’m not helping with construction since those two activities are the most important at the moment.

When I quietly made my way back up to my room I saw Stacy peacefully looking up through the window at the sky and peering into the cosmos. After silently setting my walkie-talkie down on her desk before delicately making my way behind her. “Can I hug you?” I quietly asked.

Her left ear twitched toward me when I said that with a little jump from her before she looked behind herself. “Yes.”

I then took another step to close the distance between us before gently wrapping my arms around her abdomen. I kissed her forehead causing her to softly smile before she peered back up at the heavens.

My right hand delicately slipped under her shirt which slowly rubbed her belly which she giggled at for a few seconds. I continued doing so as we looked at the night sky where I thought about how our possible children would be created and grow within the area my hand was placed over. It was a lovely thought and I can’t help but admit I hope it’ll happen one day. I just wonder when and how it'd happen...

“It’s so beautiful…” She quietly commented after I put my chin on her head. “I wish I could go there and see it all right in front of me.”

That made me think of something that I wanted to find for our one year anniversary of meeting each other. Actually I wanted to give her a couple of things. The first one was a microscope which was already taken care of since Olivia had found a couple three or so weeks ago. So thankfully that was one thing crossed off the list which would enable her to do what she’s been wanting to see for herself.

I also wanted to find and give a telescope to her so she could see the much more massive things that she’s expressed the desire to witness. I wanted to get a huge telescope for her so we could see Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, globular clusters, nebulas, and the Andromeda galaxy amongst other things. 

“It truly is one of the most beautiful sights one can see… But it pales compared to you.” I said which caused her smile to strengthen a bit. I kissed the top of her head. “If I was able to give you the world and be able to bring you to the cosmos I would. But you’ve heard all about how gigantic the distances are.”

“I know you would Hunter. But…” She turned around and cutely looked up at me. My hands migrated to take a hold of her sides as a hand gestured me to lean down. “I already have the world all to myself.”

I was only a bit confused. “...What do you mean?”

She put her hands on the sides of my face and gently pressed her nose against mine. “You’re my world.”

My heart fluttered at her adorable words which caused me to lightly blush. Those words made me so, so happy.

She lightly giggled as she gingerly rubbed her nose on mine. “It’s so rare for me to make you blush, it’s so cute when you do.”

I reciprocated her nose nuzzle. “You’re my world too and my other half, Misses Solace… I love you so much.”

“I love you too…” She sweetly replied before we softly kissed each other where my arms wrapped around her abdomen to delicately pick her up. After she wrapped an arm around my neck while keeping a hand on the side of my face and hiking her legs on me we stayed kissing for several long minutes. My heart skipped a beat in happiness when I remembered yet again how incredibly lucky I was to have her in my arms.

One of my arms mirrored how she kept a hand on the side of my face for a few moments before that hand slid into her hair to brush through it. The length of her hair flowing through my fingers always felt phenomenal so I enjoyed doing it for a couple of minutes before I delicately placed my hand on the back of her head just so I could make sure the kiss wouldn’t end any time soon.

But of course they all have to end so after many intimate moments we broke it before resting our foreheads against each other’s and looking into the other’s soul. After a minute we expressed the love we have for one another before I set her down after a few more seconds where we then did our usual of stripping out of our clothes, turning off the light, and getting into our intimate sleep-snuggle.

After she inserted me into her I wrapped an arm around her abdomen to hold her close, took a hold of a tit, and intertwined our legs. We kissed for a few more seconds before finally focusing on getting to sleep. As I laid there and wound down with my nose pressed against the back of her head so I could smell her scent I thought about how I would go about finding her a big and high quality telescope so I can show her the mesmerizing celestial bodies out there waiting for us to see. I’m sure she’d be ecstatic and would inspire her to do even more arts relating to the cosmos.

I know she’d adore it so that’s why I’ve been going out on scavenging trips recently and started the scavenging program, to locate and look through markets in hopes to find the perfect telescope. At least, that was one of the reasons. I had a feeling I would succeed in giving her one. I just had to pick my feet up and search some more abandoned facilities faster before our anniversary arrives in just a few days.

Chapter 53: A conundrum or two

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

I peered out at the scenery that swiftly passed me by as I was driven back home by my usual cab driver, a servant of sorts. But just because he was a servant doesn't mean I thought of him any less. In fact, I thought common people like him were the most important types of people within a society since they comprise the foundation of how everything is able to move, work, and be produced.

Though when Stacy and other members of my cabinet suggested I should have at least one other very abled person tag along with me and be a sort of bodyguard I was somewhat against it. But I gave in to my wife's desires since all that she's doing is making sure I stay safe. It's always such a sweet thing for her to express to me so there was no annoyance present. But I do think the chances for some sort of ambush or organized attack were extremely low. After all, I have always tried my best to lead my people to greatness.

Which is what I had just done in a summit with other leaders from around the area to discuss how we move forward into the future. I was in talks with these groups to implement trade routes, allow the mingling of people, share knowledge, and help build each other up. We were still trying to come up with an idea of what to call the initiative. I wanted to call it 'The Solaris Convention' or something like that but that might overshadow the other groups. Though to be fair, Solaris is the largest town of the bunch by a decent bit.

The River Alliance? Meh, maybe not. I'll put a pin in it.

When we approached the grand defensive walls that encompassed the town I had founded, I couldn't help but wear a small smile. It was always nice to see what all of these years had led up to. It was really nice. But anyways, after the guardsmen let us in via sliding the huge gate to the entrance of the town open I was then home sweet home.

After the vehicle was parked in its usual spot I walked the finely made cobbled streets in the heart of Solaris. There were dozens of markets selling all kinds of foraged or manufactured gizmos, crafts, arts, food, and much more. Citizens of the establishment greeted me as we walked past each other where some decided to stare anxiously or nervously. But I didn’t mind it really, I was used to it by now.

Though I will admit that it is just a bit dehumanizing. I know they don't mean it but I can't help but call a spade a spade. It's unfortunate that given a high position makes people see you differently than your average commoner and be anxious or nervous due to my presence alone. Well, I do have the power to arrest someone whenever I want but I only use that for people that actually deserve it. Not to mention that would tarnish my reputation and the people would rightfully be in uproar.

But again, I was used to how things are these days.

"Hello there, Chancellor Solace! What cravings bring you in here for today?" The local brewer asked with an inviting smile.

I chuckled. "Dan, you know you can call me Hunter. No need to be so professional."

"I can. But a man of such grandeur deserves to be acknowledged when their grace is in the presence of those he has saved." He replied which made me playfully roll my eyes.

"Just don't put me on too high of a pedestal. Anyways, I'm here to get the ol' misses another bottle of cider, we're fresh out of it."

He quickly tsked a few times while shaking his head. "Hope she's not indulging too much in the pleasures of alcohol for her own good."

"Heh, don't worry about her, we just had a small gathering which drained the remainder of what we had. Anyways, the usual ten?" I asked while taking a small brown cloth bag I always carried that had the iconic clink sound of change.

"As always." He cheerily replied as he brought up an opulent looking bottle full of the desired concoction while I fished out a coin worth the implied amount of monetary value.

I observed the coin as something shifted around me. I looked at it more intently to appreciate the design of it, a logo of sorts, as I wondered how it was manufactured. In the depths of a smeltery, perhaps... Why couldn't I remember how it was made? On second thought, why couldn't I remember who the brewer was or anyone around me for that matter? Where did all of this-.

I subtly jolted awake partly due to escaping a false reality where my mind was still experiencing and processing a large amount of confusion. But as per usual when leaving the realm of dreams, I quickly calmed down and realized I was awake and aware in what was actually real. That's when I usually quietly lay there and gently reposition myself to hold Stacy closer as I look back on and think about the dream my brain forced me to watch.

I've probably written this down before but those dreams are super immersive and impossible to forget. Ever since I had that concussion this sort of 'ability' has been active which I'm indifferent about, as long as the dream isn't a nightmare. The rate in which I have these dreams is one every other week, which I'm fine with. Much better than having a couple a night when I was recovering from that head injury a little while ago.

Anyways, I thought about the Solaris in that dream. It was large, walled off, had markets, proper political power, a village, vast swaths of farmland, its own currency, its own logo of sorts that I can’t quite remember, and communication with other communities. Those were all nice things to have seen in a dream and things that I've thought about thoroughly before. It makes me want to one day have it all... Well, they do say that your dreams come true as long as you work for them, or something like that. So I suppose I'll put that in the back of my mind to bring up and scratch off later when the need to think about them ever arise. I just hope to live to see it if we get to that point.

After reviewing the dream I gingerly nuzzled the back of Stacy's head and smelled her scent as I thought about what I'd do for that day. It only took me a couple of minutes to come to the conclusion that I'd tag along with the runners that would scout out the locations of markets. I really needed to discover where I could scavenge a telescope good enough for the girl in my arms where I only had three days to do so.

I've been tagging along with scavenging missions the past week or so when I could but nothing has turned up yet. I should've started looking sooner but I've been busy with all sorts of internal affairs that this idea didn't have the focus to manifest itself within my imagination. So I'm gonna try my hardest to find what my woman wants to make her happy like I always try to do.

When those thoughts ceased and a plan for what I wanted to do that day was drawn I relaxed into the spooning the both of us were in for a few minutes. It didn't take me much longer to roll over a tad and reach for my watch to swiftly read the time. I quickly registered that it was just past eight in the morning which gave me thirty minutes to get ready to tag along with one of the groups of runners.

I set the watch back down and repositioned back to how I was before moving but during all of that I accidentally awoke Stacy who had started stirring awake. She gently rubbed her eyes as I rubbed the tip of my nose on the crook of her neck. "Sorry I awoke you darling, I just needed to check the time."

She took a couple of seconds to wake up further. "It's fine. I'm not even that tired actually. What time is it?" I quickly answered her question. "It's time to get up anyways. What are you doing for today? More work on construction? I think I'm gonna be with Nova today."

I swiftly thought about how I should answer her question. "Nope, probably not for the next few days. I'm gonna tag along with some of the scavengers to help them more effectively map out the towns we know of. I really wanna get this scavenging program rolling and I'm confident I can speed the process up."

She put a hand over one of my own that was stationed on her belly to lovingly grasp it as she thought. "Just be careful, okay? And don't spend like eight or ten or twelve hours away from me if you can. I really, really don't like it when you're gone for a really long time. It... I start worrying that you might not be coming back when that happens, like maybe you get hurt or worse out there."

I slowly nodded at that. I didn't expect the conversation to take that sort of turn so abruptly. "I promise I'll try to do as you wish, my love. But if it takes me a little longer than expected we'll make up for the time I'm gone."

She lightly smiled at that and was pleased with my words. After a silent minute she said with a giggle, "And don't 'fool' around with any one of them for too long while you're out there, y'know, far and away from me."

I decided to play along with her words for just a bit. "Alright, I won't, maybe for only an hour this time."

Her smirk only strengthened. "Dang, if only you'd invite me. We could have so much fun." I wasn't expecting her to go this far with the act. "After all, I'm great at beating you all of you at literally any of the card games we play, I'm just that good."

I chuckled. "Ah, that's what you meant. Is that so, dear?"

"Mhm!" She proudly replied.

I kissed her cheek. "Maybe you have some sort of confirmation bias or are just forgetting the fact that I help you a decent bit when we play..."

"Nope!" She yet again proudly replied.

I simply kissed her cheek once more. "For the record, I don't even think about doing anything romantic with anyone else. You're my amazing wife, how could I?"

She cutely giggled, "I know, I know, you've told me so many times. I love it when you do that and call me by our last name."

"'I'm only making sure Misses Solace keeps in mind how spectacular she is."

After yet another cute giggle our conversation pretty much stopped. We then laid there for a few more minutes before it was time to separate and get ready for the day. When we were done with that we did our usual deep and affectionate kiss before we split off to begin the day of work ahead of us. That's when I wasted no time in using my walkie-talkie to determine which of the two groups of scavengers I'd be teaming with.

"It's a bit abrupt but I don't see why you couldn't team up with us when we go out." Jessie sweetly replied after she briefly spoke with Oliver about it. "Let's meet up at the map room so we can share what our plan is to you more efficiently." With her words being reasonable, the three of us made it to the designated area just minutes later.

"So this town is the most unknown to us at the moment, as you probably already know." Oliver started off by pointing at the town I was just recently at. "We figured we might as well get to know and discover everything about the furthest one away from us first, that we know of, so we can scratch that off the list as soon as possible. We can comb though the couple of smaller places if we have the time. Charlie and Zaine are gonna go down to the south and just do what we're doing, the difference here being that they'll go half as far as the distance we're going."

I nodded. "Yeah, seems pretty straightforward. I know it's just a reconnaissance mission but do you think we'll be able to briefly search through a few markets and what not to find something I need?"

"Um, sure, you're the one that calls the shots anyways. What do you need to find? I-If I may ask, that is." Jessie asked with a nervous chuckle who was very clearly somewhat timid due to my presence.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "You're fine. I'll tell you while we're leaving though, it's something that's top secret. But hey, don't fret over anything if you haven't done wrong, we're all friends here. I know we haven't talked all that much but you two are good friends with Autumn and Phoenix which makes you friends to the community. As long as you two continue to have the good faith that y'all have then you'll always have the utmost respect from me."

Oliver nodded at that. "And our appreciation for that is immeasurable. The happiness we feel for the trust and autonomy you've granted us is something we never would've expected to have when we accepted coming to Solaris. It just makes us want to stay here and help this community out even more. It's something that is truly incredible, how it exists, and we feel so extremely lucky to have come across it."

Hearing words like that was always satisfying to hear in the sense of how people want to be a part of us and how they're enjoying their stay. It also reassures me that I'm taking the right steps of slowly integrating the people that take a leap of faith to join us. All that I have to do is continue pushing us forward which I certainly will in every sector possible.

So without much further discussion about the mission ahead of us we communicated with the other scavenging team who gave us their plans on when they'd leave just before we made our way to the vehicle my team would be using. It was the vehicle I hadn't been in at that point so I was interested in how it'd run and all that.

"We'll definitely need to locate a trailer for this one sometime soon. But for now it's got a lot of trunk and frunk space so it'll do for now." I simply commented after my swift observations.

Without anything else to delay our excursion we hopped into the automobile and started marching our way toward our desired destination. I quickly got a feel for the vehicle and it was fairly similar to the model I prefer. Regardless, it was a near invaluable utility in our power for so many reasons so I didn't take it for granted. But anyways, I was the one in one of the backseats since I wanted the couple to be right next to each other which allowed me to look over the map we were using more closely.

Since they knew where we were headed they didn't need me guiding them so I looked closer at the smaller abandoned towns and hamlets which left me to wonder how much scavengable desirable materials were held within them. It couldn't be all that much but collectively it would be a lot. And on our way to the unnamed and decently sized town, we initiated in a conversation rife with small talk. But then Jessie remembered to ask me why I wanted to tag along with them.

I gave them a quick and abridged version of what I wanted to find without giving too much detail which was enough to express the general idea. "It's hard to believe that it's almost been a year... It's hard to believe in the sense of it only being a year since it’s felt like ten ever since I met her. Though sometimes it seems like some events happened just a week ago. It's so strange."

They shared the opinion on how peculiar the experience and remembrance of time is which seems to be a universally agreed upon subject.

"Well hopefully you'll be able to find what you're looking for, it sounds like a very sweet gift. I'll even help you look for something like it if you want just to make it easier on you considering how close this anniversary of yours is. Can't say the same about whether or not Oliver will help though."

"I don't see why not. If we're gonna stop at some places to search somewhere I might as well help briefly search through it so we could get back on the road as soon as possible. Plus, I'd be getting on your good side which would be a good investment."

I chuckled. "Hey, no need to feel obligated to help me out on this but it'd be greatly appreciated if so."

They simply shrugged and with that being said we continued our journey to our destination in relative silence with only a few unnoteworthy things being discussed until we made our way to the entrance of the town I had recently visited. Since I had been there and strolled a few avenues before I was able to easily direct them to routes that were previously unexplored.

There were a decent bit of residential zones that we coasted through which obviously weren't what we were looking for. The abandoned houses definitely have things that we'd want but not an abundance of material for obvious reasons. Abandoned markets are the golden areas for us to siphon from since, y'know, when they were operational they were the building that collected products which then distributed them out. So we shimmied our way to an unexplored commercial area as soon as possible.

Now, the question that was buzzing through my mind was 'where were telescopes sold back then'. Definitely not food markets or clothes shops. Nothing like body shops, restaurants, barber shops, or game shops. So with that being determined a lot of abandoned buildings could be crossed off as useless for me regarding this mission which made it a magnitude easier.

A hardware store or a general market might have what I'm looking for which is what I thought so I made sure to keep my eyes peeled for the desired type of building. As we strode through the empty town, Jessie was quick to make a simple map with simple routes, symbols, and labels just to get the basic point across since rudimentary maps were just fine. Nice looking maps were for much later just to be aesthetically pleasing because then it's nice to look at.

"I wanna look through that one." I said while leaning forward and pointing in front of us where the two people in front were very clearly able to understand where I was pointing.

"Alright then." Oliver simply replied before we made a dash toward the building.

Keeping the attitude of not wanting to faff around, we swiftly got out and made our way into the depths of the unexplored facility. Since we all had our own means of telecommunication we were able to split up and skim through the building much more effectively. Staying on top of the demand for the amount of walkie-talkies required in our community was a simple conundrum we deal with since there's just a bunch of them we're free to take. Thankfully they can all work on the same frequency so that just makes it easier.

Another thing I was thankful for is that my mind decided to not go haywire while looking through the building. I'm not sure why big and dark places trigger that part of my mind when I'm alone super easily. It's quite a mystery and I continue to hope that it doesn't develop. Otherwise... y'know, it'll be quite terrible for me.

But unfortunately after an hour of searching I didn't find what I was looking for but at least I knew the building didn't harbour the device I sought out. So being able to cross the building off the possible place for me to find success in, it slimmed down the buildings I needed to check so even though it was a loss I'd be able to know where not to look even further.

And this repeated another five times over the course of seven more hours. And by the end of searching the smallest of the six stores we skimmed through we decided to call it a night and continue our mapping for another day known as tomorrow. I was only a little bummed out and a little bit worried that I wasn't able to find the item I really wanted to gift my wife but I looked on the bright side; I still had time. But it was crunch time and a scenario where I had to go into overdrive to achieve my desires.

Why did I need to do that? Because my wife's happiness and smiles were of the highest priority in my life. She needs all the love and happiness I'll ever be able to give her because that little angel deserves every bit I can give her. It's my duty and obligation to do so as her husband, an obligation I take with an extreme amount of happiness.

When we returned back to the community the couple made their way into the dining room to wait for the other team to get back to discuss what all they had discovered. I wanted to join them as well but a little someone distracted me by giving me a surprise hug when I entered the mansion.

In response, I wrapped my arms around her chest and lifted her up which caused her to rewrap her arms around my neck and to hike her legs on my hips as I closely held her. We both closed our eyes and wore small and happy smiles as we enjoyed our bodies pressing against the other in a loving embrace. I minutely nuzzled the other just to express some more affection as we stayed there just silently hugging for over five minutes. Thankfully there was no one there just looking at us so we were completely comfortable with us being ourselves and staying there for that little while.

"How's my little lady doing?" I quietly asked, finally breaking the silence.

We continued to stay in the embrace as we quietly spoke to one another. "I was just about to ask you the same question. I'm doing phenomenal now that you're holding me. It's so nice... How was your day?"

I briefly told her the progress we made that day. "There's still so much to scan and look over so I'm gonna be tagging along with them for at least a couple more days. I know you probably don't wanna hear that but I promise I'll get back to work on things at Solaris after I'm done."

She lightly sighed with a small nuzzle. "It's fine, it's only a couple days after all. I'm sure you know what you're doing and I don't wanna control what you do or anything like that. It's just a bit difficult when you're gone for so many hours... Am I being really clingy?"

"Well... It depends on how much you think about me when I'm away. It's really sweet how much you want me to be near you but having me on your mind when you're working's probably not for the best."

"Actually, I'm not always thinking about it when out and about and doing stuff. Well, I think about what we're gonna do later and how much I love you every now and then but I don't keep my mind on it. Just when I'm no longer working."

I kissed her forehead. "That's nice to know. And I'm the exact same regarding my thoughts about you when I'm working."

We went silent for another couple of minutes before the girl in my arms quietly gasped. "I was just about to head to Autumn's and Phoenix's cabin since we're having a small get together with some of the other girls. Would you wanna be a part of it?"

"Are you sure the girls would be fine with it?"

"The girls always enjoy it when you join us. Well, maybe not Willow sometimes but only sometimes. They like when you're talking about science, space, history, stuff like that." She giggled. "Though I've been able to start doing that as well. Not nearly as good as you but I'm catching up a bit."

I kissed her forehead again. "That's because you're a very smart and bright girl. It's nice to know they think that, I sometimes think I've gone too far on some subjects."

"It's mainly because we don't know what to say since we had no prior knowledge to those subjects you go into depth with. Also, we'll be playing some instruments while I'm there. We've recently made a new song."

"Oh yes, now I'm definitely going to hear what y'all have come up with. But just between you and me, you're the main reason I like hearing your guys' music."

She simply giggled before our loving embrace continued. Only for another minute though before I set her down and deeply kissed her for a few moments. After that she led the way to the cabin where the band would meet up.

"How's little Luna doing?" I asked Autumn shortly after our little greetings where Stacy and I had taken a spot on one of their couches.

"She's been a little pest recently." The incoming mother lightheartedly commented with a chuckle as the other couple were stationed on the couch in front of us. "Her running and kicking has picked up dramatically over the past couple of weeks. I'm guessing she finally figured out how to properly use her legs. Sometimes the kicks are especially hard which... I'll admit, it kind of worries me. Even though Olivia's told me all about how I shouldn't worry, it's still hard not to imagine her busting my tummy open or something like that."

"And that's when I hop in to remind you all of the things Olivia's said." Phoenix commented as he placed a hand on Autumn's belly. It was a sweet gesture made even sweeter when Autumn gently placed a hand over his.

With only a little jealousy, I nuzzled the top of Stacy's head who was leaning on me. As I did that I realized just how big Autumn had gotten. There was only a couple of more months before Luna would be born, if all goes according as it should, which is crazy how fast that happened. And it was exciting for Solaris as a whole. We'd have our first native born citizen and Olivia could better, or more likely, unrust her skills regarding helping a woman give birth which should soothe Nova's nerves for whenever she's about to 'pop'. A common wonder for me is how many babies would be born here in the coming years. Another wonder is if Solaris will be able to last the coming years...

"If she starts kicking again can I feel her do it?" Stacy timidly asked.

"Of course, Stacy. It's really sweet when you want to do that, why would I deny you doing that? It's not like you'd be hurting anything."

Autumn's words caused Stacy to wear a pleased smile which was cute. I noticed the small nursery in the corner of their room which was right next to their bed. It looked like the classic nursery with the bassinet, changing station, reserves of boxes of diapers, a small toy box with simple baby toys... It was an adorable sight. Phoenix's very respectable sense of duty to establish that nursery as soon as possible is the exact same sense I would've experienced.

We discussed some more topics about the incoming child as we waited on the other girls to file into the cabin. It took around fifteen more minutes for Charlotte, Trinity, Nova, and Willow to group up within the cabin where they started discussing what they were gonna do for the night. I just stayed back since I wanted them to form their own plans without my input since I was just there for the ride. And by the end of it a plan for a fairly casual night of fun was drawn which was fine since those were always extremely enjoyable.

Shortly after that they went outside of the cabin to perform the song they had written since they were quite confident about what they had created. With Charlotte singing and playing the bongos, Trinity playing the ukulele, Stacy playing the clarinet, and Nova playing the harp, it was a slow paced song which was about hope and friendship which was very lovely and nice to hear. It was very uplifting. The four audience members applauded them and I gave them my unfiltered thoughts about their creation which they greatly appreciated and caused some of them to be flattered.

"Perhaps I could play something as well so I could join your amazing band." I commented afterward.

"You being able to be so elegant? Preposterous." Willow replied which I playfully rolled my eyes at.

"I already play something elegantly which in and of itself is elegant. It makes such beautiful sounds when I'm doing it well."

"Oh? What could you possibly be good at playing?" She asked with a smirk. Since our conversation was then between just the two of us and no one else, I gave her a smirk of my own and pointed at my wife. She looked confused for a few seconds before blushing. "You-."

"Anyways, what do you girls wanna do next?" I abruptly asked.

A fun night of games, conversation, Quinn joining us, some drinking, and a bit of smoking followed which was the usual of our get-togethers. But even though it was the usual, it was still as fun as ever and something I wouldn't take for granted. The loss of all of my previous friends has taught me that, I'll always try my hardest to appreciate what I have in the moment.

When it was just after ten in the afternoon, the day had been swiftly coming to an end as we grew weary. When a couple of the girls split off from us I took that as my cue to offer the idea of going to bed with Stacy. She happily agreed to the idea which is when I gently swept her off her feet five or so minutes later, we said our goodbyes, and I took us up to our room where we undressed and got into bed where my arms wrapped around her abdomen and held her close.

She looked back at me so we could kiss as we intertwined our legs, which is when she allowed my fully erect phallus to be delicately squished between her inner thighs. I couldn't help but drape my hand down from her soft belly to gingerly caress her labia. A couple of minutes into the kiss, a hand of hers slipped down to take a hold of the end of my shaft which caused it to twitch at the lovely touch.

She held it for a couple of minutes as we kissed before she inserted it into her lower lips which told me to push it into her so my glans and her cervix could kiss and make sustained contact throughout the night to show each other our care for one another. When our tongues started lovingly rubbing together, one of my hands on her belly draped up her chest to hold a tit to complete our extremely intimate cuddle. Every time this happened the part of me within her always happily twitched every now and then at the reality I was in.

We did that for ten more minutes before our kiss broke where we looked each other in the eyes for a few moments. As we gingerly eskimo kissed we verbally expressed our love for each other before properly laying down, I tightened my grasp on her just a bit more, and pressed my nose into the crook of her neck where I closely smelled her scent. Though not without softly kissing her neck a few times. But like usual, the very intimate spoon with the very calming and amazing feeling my glans was extremely lucky to feel along with being tired swiftly lured me to sleep.

Though something quite unexpected happened over a couple hours into our slumber. How did I know that something conspired at midnight? Probably because I was awoken by the sound of a skirmish, sounds of some sort of stomping, and a bit of yelling. It took me a couple seconds after drearily waking up from the awful sound to realize what was going on. Well, I didn't know exactly what was going on but I knew it was something bad.

Once I realized that there was something out of the ordinary underway, a decent amount of adrenaline flushed into my veins and caused me to spring into action which meant I had to swiftly end the cuddle I was in and get out of bed. That woke Stacy up and as I swiftly dressed with confusion on my mind while I continued listening to the somewhat faint sound continuing to play out she asked me what was going on with an equal amount of confusion.

"I'm gonna go find out." I sternly replied just as I finished putting a shirt on before swiftly making my way out of the room where I saw Etsu peeking her head out of her door before she gave me a very confused look. I only gave her a glance before swiftly going down the stairs.

"Get the FUCK off me!"

"Well, those are familiar words."

As I finished coming down the stairs I recognized the voice as John's as I glanced over who was in the living room. Scarlet, Charlie, and Jayden were either standing up or on a couch as they looked in the direction where the conflict was happening, the people having no clue what to do and essentially frozen up. Which I didn't really blame them for since solving a problem like what was happening was beyond their ability and could've put them into a lot of trouble if handled incorrectly.

After that swift observation I turned toward where the source of interest was where I darted my way into the dining room which is when I saw Jordan and John... in a fight-hug? They were like holding each other but swinging at each other which would've been funny if not for how serious this situation was. Lyra was also there but a couple of meters away from them who was utterly horrified at what was taking place in front of her.

"Hey!" I called out to try to pry their attention off of each other. Since I was still somewhat delirious due to my rude awakening, my mind was slow to properly process things and think of a course of action that would be effective in that moment and that was the first thing I could think of to do.

My call out fell on deaf ears as the two men continued to tussle. That was until John successfully pushed Jordan off of him which is when my mind planted the idea of me getting in between them to swiftly end whatever conflict was playing out. So to be a good leader, role model, whatever, and with just a little bit of fear of getting punched or damaged, of which I swallowed, I quickly lodged myself between them just before they closed the distance that was made between them. That's when I pushed them back with a decent bit of force.

It was quite speedy and a very swift opening of a window I took advantage of so they didn't even realize I was in between them when I pushed them back. But after that they focused on me. "Enough!"

My raised and irritated voice was enough to nearly completely cull the atmosphere in the room and had successfully turned their attention toward me. For some reason, John tried to take a step forward and take my hand off him but I reasserted my grasp on his shirt and pushed him back using a bit of force while giving him a look that told him everything he needed to know. I'm sure my height, being decently muscular, and the facial scars easily gave my instinct of becoming intimidating a couple of magnitudes more effectiveness. To be fair, I would be intimidated too but I might not show it if that were to happen since I wouldn't want to show my fear in that situation. I know what I'd feel.

I kept a hold on them but it relented a tad and with a non-irritated but stern tone I asked, "Now, what the fuck's the problem?" That's when I glanced at Lyra to quickly check up on her. She was still frozen and unsure what to do about the situation.

"John doesn't have the slightest clue to what boundaries are and can't take the hint to stop any of his unwanted attention." Jordan quickly replied with a pissed tone.

"You are overreacting by a fuck ton." John replied, causing Jordan's anger to spark a bit more.

"I have told you time and time again to keep your filthy eyes off of Lyra which you ignored and then strongly implied how much you want her to do the gross sexual acts that you want for you, I'd say I'm not overreacting in the slightest bit."

"Time and time again? You've only offhandedly said it a couple of times, sheesh. If it bothers you so much you should've made it crystal clear."

" Really? That's your excuse? Not only is that a lie, since I've told you at least four different times, but even then, you should realize how dumb and quite frankly rude it is to hit on someone's partner, let alone next to them, let alone after a few warnings. What you're being is dumb. That's extremely stupid of you."

I listened to them both since I wanted to hear both sides of the story since that was the fair thing to do considering I had no context at all. I quickly put some context clues together and concluded that John only said some things and nothing physical so it wasn't as severe as I first thought, I just needed to figure out what exactly was said. During that, my grasp on their shirts relented by a decent bit since I didn't think it was needed as much at that time.

Jordan's statement angered John. "You are making this seem so, so much worse than what it actually is and trying to make me look like a bad guy when it's actually you . You're the one who hit me first. All I was doing was defending myself."

"You-!"

"Enough!" I repeated which killed the conversation being had. "You two are to be separated until further notice. You two are also both in some severe trouble for letting this little conundrum get explosive. I'm fucking tired, it's late, I honestly don't want to deal with this shit but I have to, so I'm not in the best state of mind right now. I will talk to you two individually tomorrow and I'll decide a couple things after the fact. For now, you two violated a couple of rules, disturbed the peace, and needlessly-"

Jordan tried to interrupt me." needlessly caused a scene which I'm pissed about. Jordan, you could've talked to me about this problem before it developed into this but now it's too late and what's done is done. Do any of you need to see Olivia?" John shook his head as he glared at Jordan while he checked himself briefly before also shaking his head. "Good, I got here swiftly enough." I finally let go of John's shirt. "I suggest you retire for the night."

He was smart enough to keep his glare off of me before he listened to my words. I watched him saunter his way out of the dining room where he and Vanessa, who had rushed down from upstairs, started quietly talking to each other before making their way up to the attic where they slept. During his escape from the dining room though I noticed that Scarlet and my little Stacy who was tightly wrapped in a blanket were stationed just outside of the room. I gave my wife a glance as I assumed she was just there to make sure I wasn't getting hurt or anything like that.

After John had vanished I let go of Jordan before he said, "Hunter, I know-."

"Tomorrow." I said. "Tell me all about it tomorrow. I'm tired."

He just nodded before sighing as Lyra gingerly made her way to his side. After a couple more seconds I turned around and walked up to Stacy where I then gently swept her off her feet once more. I looked over the few people that had been disturbed by the ruckus. "The situation has been nullified and will be situated tomorrow. For now, it's done, we can all go back to our regularly scheduled lives. And my schedule says I should be asleep so that's what I'm gonna do. Have a good rest of your night's everyone." With that being said, everyone silently agreed to it before I started marching my ways back up the stars.

The adorable small Stacy-blanket-burrito I held had been wearing a small expression of concern. "Are you alright? Were you hurt?" She whispered.

I kissed the tip of her nose. "No, no, just a bit of an adrenaline rush and a bit pissy over being woken up by something like that. And a bit pissy that I'm gonna have to situate it tomorrow but it is what it is. But other than that, I’m fine."

She lightly sighed in relief. "Good. I would've been so mad if they hurt you."

I chuckled at that as we made our way up to the second floor. "What would my little angel do if someone hurt me and she was next to them?"

"Try to punch their groin." She instantly replied.

"...Yeah, I guess that's the most efficient and effective way to do it." I said while suppressing a chuckle.

"Or try to shoot them if I have to."

We entered our room as she said that. "I really hope you're never put in that position for many reasons... Do you think you'd be able to even do that though?"

She thoroughly thought about a possible situation where she'd have that opportunity. "...Yes. Because if I have to then that means they're trying to kill you and I won't let that happen if I can. I want you to stay with me forever, nothing will stop that on my watch. I love you way too much not to be like that."

I sat on the side of the bed and held her closer while gently rubbing my forehead against hers. "Everything's reciprocated, my love... How good is your shootin' getting by the way? I should go with you on your next training session."

"I've gotten a lot better. Though I still can't hit the bullseye and my hands still hurt a bit after each time I'm done shooting. And then there's just how loud a gun is... It's kinda annoying." She finished off with a cute little giggle.

"Yeah, it sure is. It's worth it though to know how to defend yourself. I just hope your little hands don't get callused up, I'm not that fond of calluses."

"I guess so, I don't want ugly hands."

"They wouldn't be ugly, that word's just not applicable to you."

She happily smiled at that before we softly kissed. "When do you wanna go back to sleep?"

That's when I properly registered the weariness her face had been expressing as I remembered my own. "I assume now would be a good time for that?" After she gave me a nod I lifted her up and sat her down at my side before getting up and facing her expectantly. "Are you gonna undress?"

She smirked and opened the blanket up to reveal that she didn't get dressed. "I'm pretty sure that's already done."

I was shocked at that. "Stacy- What if the blanket fell around you or you were unknowingly exposed or if someone pulled on the blanket or something?"

"It's fine Hunter, trust me, I know how to stay concealed, it's fine, really. Nothing like that would happen." She calmly replied.

I sighed at that. "Just... be extremely careful when you do that but I don't really want you to be doing that anyways."

"I only did it because I wanted to know if you were okay as soon as possible and doing what I did was the fastest thing my mind came up with." That explanation made a lot of sense to me so I was calmed by knowing she wouldn't do something like that all willy-nilly. "Though I would be lying if I didn't say it was a bit exciting..."

"Now you're just being naughty." I pointed out before my clothes were taken off of me. I secretly hoped that her exhibitionist desires were capped at where they were since I seriously didn't want anyone else to get a glimpse at what only I should see. So with that being said we got back into our sleep position before swiftly being sent back into the land of dreams.

When morning broke I did my usual for ten minutes before once again donning my clothes and assessing what needed to be done for the day ahead of me. The obvious thing on my mind was what to do with Jordan and John since I hadn't had to punish anyone due to a violation of our rules up to that point. At least, not a mild violation since, y'know, Elliot happened. I wasn't quite sure how to punish someone if I'm being honest but I was thinking of assigning them to some long hours of helping out on construction for the most part since that area of operations needs the most labour these days.

Other than that I really don't have a clue on how I should punish them since there wasn't any system in place for it and there won't be for a long while. We're still a small community so jails and law enforcement haven't crossed my mind all that much purely due to how few of us there are. I'm not quite sure when a jail should even be constructed. Near the hundred individual mark? And how would assigning who's a police officer work? It would be very interesting to find out, if we ever get to that size to begin with.

But since I'm an early riser, the two in trouble were still asleep and I honestly didn't want to wake them up if I didn't have to since the scuffle wasn't as severe as it could've otherwise been. Plus, I wanted to do a couple of other things first like talk to Olivia over in her clinic if only briefly.

"I heard about the fight that happened last night. You checkin' in for me to see an injury you for some reason didn't have me treat after it?" The doctor guessed which I shook my head at to.

I noticed another medical bed was installed within her place of residence so it was inching along quite nicely. "I'm just here to ask about the microscope since you’ve guaranteed me one. Have you found an extra one yet or no dice?"

"Ah." She simply said before making her way toward the much better desk she had gotten and opening up one of its drawers before taking out the desired object that looked like any iconic and regular microscope. "It works just like how you'd expect it to. You'll be able to see just about any cell and structure from just about everything you'd be able to get your hands on."

I walked up to her and took the device in my hands as I inspected it closer. "Thank you for finding this, Olivia. I'm worried I might not find a telescope in time before the sixth so I'll at least have one thing that Stacy's been wanting for for a while now."

"It was no problem, Hunter. She'll certainly love being able to see the cells she's been reading all about. I'm sure she's gonna be mesmerized once she first sees individual cells for the first time. I know I sure was."

"Totally. She's been a bit skeptical at times of their existence mainly because she's never seen them before which is a good attitude to have since she wants to see the evidence of things before accepting them. She's such a smart girl in so many ways... Hey, how come she hasn't asked to use your microscope yet? I'm afraid she would've done that before I gave this to her."

"I haven't told her about it and don't keep it on my desk or anything. I don't really need a microscope these days since it's hard to get samples of cells I would need to observe."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense. I just ask you to continue to hide your telescope until after I give Stacy's hers."

"Sure thing, I don't wanna ruin the surprise and experience you've basically set up for her."

I talked to her about how much longer it'd be until the clinic would be fully furnished which she estimated would be around another week which was a satisfactory answer.

"Thanks again for getting the microscope. Really, it means so much to me." I praised as she put it back in her desk.

She smiled at that. "Hey, it really was no problem. It just took a bunch of time searching but it wasn't physically taxing or anything like that. And if it means you make your girlfri- I mean, your wife happy then I'm happy to help." After she said that I could tell she looked back on some memories since she did the classic actions of when someone does that. She looked back at me. "It's a very sweet and affectionate thing when a partner celebrates an anniversary through simple things like what you're doing. It really shows the other party how much they mean to the other. Tristian did it all the time on our anniversaries even though we usually didn't have the money to spend on things like it... The small things he did, limited by our situation, really meant the world to me in so many different ways, primarily that 'how much they mean to you' part... I miss him by an immeasurable amount." She quickly noticed the somber and empathetic look I was giving her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go on that small tangent and make it sad."

"No, no, don't apologize, it's fine, really. It's nice to hear about him and how much he meant to you upon other things. Like I've said before, you should talk about them more at your own pace so the others can hear some stories you've got on reserves along with just remembering them. Remembrance is the most important thing you can do to the people who aren't with us anymore."

She lightly sighed. "I know you're right... It's just so much easier to say than to do."

"And that's why you're going at your own pace. I just remind you that you shouldn't stop yourself from telling some tales by apologizing since that stifles your ability of remembrance."

She simply nodded at that which was good enough for me. I didn't stick around for much longer after that since our conversation essentially ceased after that was said. So after that I started making my way toward the mansion to see if the troublemakers were awake by then. Though before I did that I noticed that Audrey was in the greenhouse. Since I had been thinking about the greenhouse recently and the products growing within it I made a detour to the greenhouse's entrance.

A second after I entered the glass house I stumbled back just a tad since the pungent smell of marijuana is one I just can't get used to. "How's it all coming along?"

"Everything's growing just fine." Audrey simply replied as she watered some of the marijuana plants. That's when I noticed her two little helpers which consisted of Tess and Lexi further back in the greenhouse. "These should be ready for harvest in a couple of weeks. Some of the spices and medicinal herbs will take another couple of weeks after that and then there's the tea and coffee which'll take a much longer time."

Happy with the swift acquisition of information I forwarded the conversation by asking, "So when exactly do you plan to expand the amount of greenhouses we have? That plan's been on the backburner for a little while."

"Probably around next month when winter starts rolling in and we can really focus on it. I assume that winter's gonna hinder our ability to construct at the pace we have been the entire year so that's when I'm gonna request we can shift our focus on this little project. I just don't wanna take the focus off of building the things that are much more important for now."

"Wise, I agree. Say, how much marijuana have we used up ever since that first batch was harvested?"

After a few seconds of thought she said, "I'd estimate there's about thirty percent remaining which is thirty percent more than what I originally expected would still be around by now so I'm happy about that. That means I can be a little more lenient on giving larger batches to people when they ask for it... depending on our population growth, that is."

"Have you planned what the other greenhouse is gonna grow? If I remember correctly you hadn't marked out what it was gonna focus on growing."

"I have, yes. I'm gonna dedicate the second one to just marijuana and then this one will grow the rest of the diversity of crops. That's mainly due to how marijuana is the thing that's being grown the most in here and how I've got a couple of complaints about the smell." She ended the answer with a chuckle. "I don't get it, it's a lovely smell."

With a smirk I replied with, "Psh, are you sure a side-effect of marijuana isn't breaking your sniffer?"

"Positive. What? You don't like the smell?"

"It's a very strong and obnoxious smell... It's strange too. I can't describe what it smells like other than 'marijuana smell' since there's no other object that smells anything like marijuana in the slightest. But smells and tastes are all different depending on the individual so it might be impossible to properly convey to you what it smells like forever. In conclusion, it's strange."

We talked about plans for when spring is upon us again. The plans consisted of refurbishing the fields, doubling the size of them, planting more corn and potatoes in the new fields, and planting soybeans in the old fields. I then commented how nice the potatoes and corn we had in our cellar were. I really can't accurately describe how great it was to have fresh plant-food as nutritious as them along with having a chef be able to sculpt several types of dishes out of potatoes. Potatoes have dozens of ways to be cooked and consumed that they're probably the best food to plant and have honestly.

After that was discussed I parted ways from the greenhouse and moved the 'talk to the brawlers' to the number one priority on my to-do list. Which thankfully I found Jordan cooking a fair amount of venison for those who wanted to have something to eat for the morning.

"Jordan." I simply said to get his attention after I had made my way into the scullery.

"Sir." Is all he replied, the man speaking as if he was walking on thin ice.

"Are you alright? I assume you sustained at least some amount of damage last night."

"My ribs are a bit sore with a couple of bruises but nothing major."

"Good, could've been a lot worse." I waited for a few silent seconds as he continued what he was doing before I drew to the conclusion he wasn't gonna say anything else. "We're gonna have to talk about it, y'know."

He sighed. "I figured. I assume we're in some sort of trouble and that's fair for what you know and what you have to do."

"You assume correctly. It won't be anything too harsh but it will still instill some discipline and maybe serve as an example. I'll cut right to the chase; whenever you're not cooking you'll be assigned to gathering materials for construction. You'll temporarily be assigned this job for ten days for at least eight hours a day. Slacking of any kind will result in a longer amount of time being added on to that ten day sentence."

"That's not as bad as I thought it was going to be... Still, I would be lying if I wasn't upset at it. John better get a worse punishment since he's the one that caused the problem to begin with. And before you say anything, I do realize my mistake and wish I could change it but... I let my emotions get to me. He was just acting so... gross."

"What exactly did he say?"

"It was his stares, remarks, and flirts. He was very clearly trying to make a move after I told him a few times to stop what he was doing. I could've been more stern and showed that I was very serious about it so that's a mistake on my part. Still, he should've got the hint after the first warning. And again, I realize my mistake and will take the punishment with no resistance."

"I'm glad we could come to an understanding. I don't like assigning you to long and hard hours but a rule was broken. Now, if he had touched or harassed Lyra you'd be completely justified. But since that wasn't the case I have to enforce the rules we have."

"I understand."

With that being said I went up to the second floor and to the entrance of the attic since it was a little later in the morning so John should've been up and I wanted to get this conversation done and over with as soon as possible. Coincidentally the man I needed to reprimand was just about to start making his way down from the attic so I let him make his way down first before I spoke to him.

"I do assume you know why I'm here, right?"

"I have some type of idea."

"I'm moving you off of hunting and to construction of the cabins for two weeks, fourteen days, and at least eight hours a day. No slacking of any kind or there will be further consequences, are we clear?"

It took him a few seconds to reply. "We are. It shouldn't be too bad as the next cabin will be mine, Zaine's, and Vanessa's anyways so it seems fair considering everything."

I nodded at that before he motioned to walk past me but I put a hand on his shoulder which stopped him in his tracks. "Respect people's wishes next time. If something like this happens again there will be a major problem. Capiche?"

He slowly nodded at that before I let him go. After that I went to inform Trinity of her new two assigned workers and told her to report to me if they weren't working or slacking significantly. That's when I finally went into the dining room to see if any of the mapping duos were about to depart from Solaris which is when I discovered that Jessie and Oliver had already embarked on their mission.

Charlie and Zaine then relayed a message from the other two that told me that Oliver and Jessie would skim through a few places to help me on my quest to retrieve a telescope which was extremely kind of them and scored them a lot of friendship points... or whatever. That meant less places that I had to search, more places being searched in a less amount of time, and the chance of finding what I wanted to give Stacy were raised. That's because I tagged along with Zaine and Charlie to the scouting mission when they were just about to leave. Thankfully I got there just in the nick of time.

It was a lot of the same as the prior scouting mission with no luck with both parties which had me worrying for the day after tomorrow since I really wanted to make Stacy as happy as I could make her. But she's a very sweet girl who'd be more than happy for even just the microscope I'm gonna give her. It'd just be much better with the telescope. But even if I don't find it in time I could just give it to her as a gift at a random time in the future which I'm sure she'll love either way. I was looking forward to the smile on her face when she receives them.

Chapter 54: One Year: Part 1

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

"It's starting to get cold." Stacy pointed out as we held each other's hand while we walked into the river.

Washing off being the first real thing to do after waking up is a great way to get energized. It's much more effective when the water is colder rather than warmer due to the shock of it.

"Well, it is that time of the year and it is about to unfortunately be winter... I hate the winter so much." I commented.

We stopped walking forward when the water was up to her waist which is when we faced each other and hugged. “I think it’ll be easier this year because we have electricity and have heaters, right?”

“...I honestly forgot about that. I was kinda used to just freezing. Yeah, we have those, so it’s gonna be a few magnitudes more bearable this year, thank fuck.”

I kissed her forehead and took a light hold of the gem her necklace. The necklace along with her ring that she constantly sported had essentially become a part of her and represented the purity, value, elegance, and immense beauty that she is, so it was only right that she always wore it. Not to mention it just had a whole lot of sentimental value to her which I was grateful to have been the cause for that.

"But yeah, winter's the worst season by far. Maybe we can go down south so it won't be as bad when it happens?"

"I think it’s a bit too late for that since we’ve got Solaris. I don’t wanna leave it behind, it means too much to me now. But if we had to, meh, maybe. But in return the summers would be much hotter which would also suck."

She huffed at that. "I hate how it's like that. Why are humans so... sensitive when it comes to temperature?"

"I couldn't tell you. It's super irritating though, you'd think it wouldn't be like that. But hey, I think I will go down south soon."

She cutely tilted her head. "Oh? Would you take me with you?"

A hand that I had put on her side slowly slid down her. "Well, considering you are part of the south I'm referring to, you're already there."

"Oh." She simply said as she figured out what I meant. That's when she gave me a smirk. "The 'south' is always open for you, welcomes you, and wants you just so you know."

I chuckled. "I know that all too well, I'm very grateful and thankful that my second favorite place even allows me to be there."

"Hm, what's your second favorite place then?"

"The vicinity of your presence, of course. That's singlehandedly the best place to be at."

Her adorable smiling face had a subtle blush appear on it which I admired. I couldn't help but deeply kiss her before we moved on to actually washing ourselves off for the next fifteen minutes or so.

"Is this the final day you'll be out mapping for?" She asked when we started drying ourselves off.

"Yeah, it should be, though it depends on how I feel about it to be honest. But I'll probably be done after today." I tried to keep my wording covert to not give her any ideas on what I was planning and actually doing.

"Alright, cool. I painted a couple of signs yesterday so I'm wondering when those'll get put up. I'm also wondering when the next person will arrive, it's been a little while since someone's travelled to the radio."

"I constantly wonder about that as well and speculate many things, all things positive and negative, it's hard not to. But it is unfathomably nice to know there's still a decent handful of people out there just wandering around. Another thing I wonder is if any others have settled down elsewhere... That'll be a bit harder to figure out but I'm sure we will eventually. Maybe next week, a month, or two years or more, who knows."

"I think it'll be very exciting."

"It would for many reasons but also be quite worrisome for a few other reasons. But until then, we have our day of work ahead of us and we've already slacked off for a few minutes longer than we should've."

She tsked. "Psh, it's not like Solaris will fall apart if we're away for like twenty minutes, I think they can handle themselves just fine."

With a boop on her nose I said, "It's about the principle, little lady."

"I guess..." She reluctantly replied.

After we were clothed once more I carried her back to the mansion where she then split off to find Willow to get her quota of work down for the day. Thankfully, Willow's fish traps have been quite effective so it's taken a lot of brute force out of the task of fishing but it still required a lot of hours to get the sustenance that our community required, at least a portion of it since what we have in the crop fields' cellar has made food not that much of a worry. We're starting to get a lot of free time due to that so we're gonna have to figure out what to do with it since I'm not just gonna let us do nothing if we don't have to.

So not long after we split apart, I grouped up with Jessie and Oliver before they headed off to continue their mission of scouting. "I didn't get the chance to ask you two about if you've had any success in finding what I need. Anything over the past couple of days?"

"Unfortunately no, sir. But we're about to head into a segment of the town that's quite heavy in the type of stores you've been keeping your eyes peeled for so we're gonna look there today. You wanna tag along?"

"Yes." I simply said before slowly sighing as I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm somewhat surprised that I haven't found one yet, I didn't realize how seemingly rare they are. The day I planned on giving it to her is tomorrow so I probably won't be able to find it in time which... would suck, to put it bluntly." I then remembered how she'd definitely be satisfied with the little I already have since she isn't expecting anything which just makes my job so much easier. Still, I feel like I need to do everything I can for her.

"Then let's get on the road and to our destination asap, I'm sure you don't want to waste the very limited time you have." Jessie inferred which I nodded at.

"I thank you two again for doing everything you've done to help me with this."

"It's no problem, really, it's given us something to do other than mark out where some things are and made it not as mundane as it would've otherwise been. Sure, it could be seen as 'wasting time' but we're gonna have a lot to 'waste' in the coming months so this is negligible compared to that. And if it's something like what we're doing, it's worth it in a couple of ways."

I really liked their attitudes and personalities. They were upbeat and kind which was always a reassuring thing to be reminded of since it means the amount of jerks hadn't increased within Solaris. But with that being said, we did the usual departure of our community and drove toward our destination in relative silence with the occasional bit of small talk.

When we got to the desired part of the town we did the normal routine of glancing over buildings as we passed them, marked them down on a makeshift map, and stopped at ones that I deemed deserved a skim. But again, no luck. Along the way, the other two collected a few small souvenirs from some of the places we breezed through and even though swiftly searching through these abandoned buildings didn't result in me getting what I was looking for, it still gave us some good intel on what was within them. There were plenty of tools, equipment, spare parts, and metal we could use or smelt down for future use or even use sheet metal to reinforce some sort of wall around Solaris. I had been thinking of that idea for a bit but I put a pin in it for until we start scavenging these buildings for all of their goodies.

"Eight more hours of searching and nothing at all..." I quietly said after getting back in the vehicle before I sighed in frustration. "If I knew telescopes were so damn rare I would've been looking for one a while back." I couldn't help but sigh in frustration again.

"You can always tag along with us whenever we're out and about. Though we are going to be swapped out by Ashton and Solomon for a few days so you might have to ask them and tell them what your plan is." Jessie sweetly suggested.

"Maybe, maybe... I myself might take a break from searching since I've essentially promised Stacy that I'm done mapping for a while so I might just have to put finding a telescope off for later. This sucks but it is what it is."

That's when Oliver told me about how it'd just be another gift on a separate occasion which I already knew about but it was nice being reminded of that in the moment.

"Yeah, I'm probably overreacting a bit. I've got a couple of smaller things planned so she's definitely gonna be happy with it all regardless. I just hope I can give her a telescope sooner rather than later."

"Well, you'll find out how that plays out eventually." Oliver simply said as we started picking up some adequate speed.

There wasn't much to say to that so I leaned to the window and peered out of it and watched the scenery pass me by as I thought about the next day ahead of me. I was upset that I wasn't able to find my girl the device she would adore to get a better look at the cosmos and to see things the naked eye just isn't able to. And I honestly did feel a bit defeated but I promised myself that I would eventually give her a telescope since the very brilliant girl just deserves one.

As we tracked our way back to Solaris by leaving the town we were in, we started passing through a residential zone. While the two people in the front held a quiet conversation with each other, I continued gazing out of the window and not really paying attention as my mind randomly wandered. That was until I thought I saw someone close a door to the entrance of one of the houses we were passing by which caused me to be ripped out of my essential daze.

It took me a couple of seconds to properly register what the very small glimpse of whatever my eyes picked up might’ve been before I said, "Wait, stop the car. Now!"

Oliver was confused and just a bit scared at the barked and sudden order so it took him a couple of seconds to start slowing the vehicle down to a swift halt.

"What? Why? Are you alright?" Jessie somewhat deliriously asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm pretty sure I just saw someone go into that house." I quickly replied and pointed at the house in question.

The two in front of me expectantly looked to where I had pointed to come to the obvious conclusion that there wasn't anyone there to be seen.

"Um, okay, so what's the protocol for that? For seeing someone while out and about? We were never told what to do in case of that happening." Oliver said, a bit unsure of himself.

With just a little bit of anxiety I said, "We try to approach them, say we're well-meaning people who just want to have a conversation for a bit, and make sure to tell them that we'll go away if they ask us to. While we're doing that we need to keep our eyes peeled and be ready to defend ourselves just in case... And I just remembered you two don't have any ranged weapons."

"Right, yeah, that is sort of a problem with that plan. Do you still want me to be by your side if you go through with trying to talk with this person?" Oliver asked which is when Jessie tried to say something about how she should also go. "Jessie... I really don't want you to, it's extremely dangerous and the last thing I want to happen to you is to get hurt or worse."

"But you can easily get hurt too."

"I know, but... y'know, I've always been a much faster runner than you and your reflexes aren't... phenomenal. Hey, don't give me that look, you know I'm right." Before Jessie could say anything else, Oliver continued. "Look, you can still be very useful even if you don't come with us. If things do get hairy we'll need a quick getaway driver, yeah? That can be your role."

She thought about his words for a few moments before conceding to them which was my cue to take the hunting knife out of my backpack and into Oliver's hands. "I assume you know how to use a knife?" I asked which got a nod in response. After that we started getting out of the vehicle.

"Hey, Hunter." Jessie said which made me halt to listen to what she had to say. "Make sure my dumbass boyfriend doesn't get hurt, alright?"

It was a lighthearted comment but I still suppressed a chuckle. "I'll try my best, I never want someone to get hurt as much as I can help it." With that being said I got out of the automobile and gazed at the house in question.

"Just so you know, I'm not a dumbass." Oliver pointed out with a chuckle.

"Dully noted." I simply replied before moving onto the serious matter at hand. "Follow me and lag behind by a few feet just to make the chances of us both getting shot or jumped are as minimal as can be, alright?"

"Yes sir." He said which is when his nervousness started seeping through the forming cracks on his mental armor.

After checking the condition of my revolver, I put it back in my holster and kept my hand on it. "Let's do this then..." After a quiet sigh and a small prayer, I led the way to our destination which was around twenty meters away from where we had parked.

We easily closed the distance before I stood at the entrance where I timidly put my hand on the doorknob. Every single time I meet a new person (which only happened at the mall) I would get a very substantial amount of nervousness and fear since I was afraid of the possibility of a stranger lethally pouncing on me or hurting someone else later down the line. It was a fear that I couldn't really control and one that wasn't really irrational due to how it's happened before.

Though I fear that possibility, I don't show it since it's something I think I shouldn't show to the newcomer since it's essentially a sign of weakness and one they might exploit. But like I've said many times before, I have to take the chances and swallow my fear to move us forward while trying my best to prevent the fear from ever coming to fruition. And that's why we have a multi-step system for anyone to get armed.

I opened the unlocked door to reveal... a living room devoid of any human. I sighed, it was to be expected but still, I didn't like what I was gonna do next.

I stepped into the building which was thankfully adequately lit up due to the uncovered windows letting in the sun's light in which allowed me to know there wasn't anyone hiding in the darkness. After that, I decided to pierce the silence with my voice.

"Hey, is anyone here? Hello? I saw you enter this building and just wanna talk for a bit and maybe become a friend if you want."

As I slowly inched forward I noticed the staircase upward but I decided to keep walking forward into the kitchen which also turned up with no such thing as another human. I then turned around to face Oliver.

"Let's go upstairs." I whispered before walking past him. "If you don't want to talk to us and just want us to leave, go ahead and say that. If we're intruding into your home, we apologize, we're just excited to see another person out here and wonder if we can help you in any way."

Since the house was a small one, there wasn't any other room on the first floor for us to check so that's why I swiftly wanted to check up the stairs.

"I'm coming upstairs, alright? I have no intention of harming you in any way but if you attack me first I will be forced to defend myself."

With that fair warning properly announced, I made my advance upwards. The upstairs revealed three doors, one on one side of the hallway and the other two on the other side. As I kept my hand on my revolver I closed the distance between me and the closest door to me which I also easily opened which turned out to be a decently sized bedroom. There were some clothes strewn about and just a little messy, most likely untouched ever since The Drop happened.

I went into the room and quickly glanced over where anyone could hide, including the small closet it had which only had some more clothes within it. After that swift search I reentered the hallway and walked down it to the other door on the same side of the hallway which was the entryway to a small bathroom, one where no one could hide in it. Since that left only one more option of where anyone could be hiding, I took a deep breath and slowly sighed again as I walked up to the final door.

The grip on my firearm tightened just a tad as I gathered up the courage to speak once more. "I'm gonna open this door now. Really, all we want to do is to just have a conversation. I remind you, you can tell us to leave right now and we will."

I waited a couple of seconds before begrudgingly and slowly opening the door. I half expected to instantly see someone inside the room aiming a gun directly at my head so I was pleasantly relieved when I saw no such thing. That gave me the courage to open the door more and more until the entire room was revealed which yet again revealed no sign of life.

"...Huh." I simply said as I spotted a certain something stationed right next to the window of the room.

"Is there anyone there?" Oliver quietly asked.

I continued looking over the room before I stepped into it after lightening the grip on my magnum. "...No. But I found what I've been looking for." There was a telescope pointed toward the heavens just standing innocently by the window which was the last thing I was expecting. "Not even a closet in here. We... checked everywhere in this house with no one being found."

"...Are you sure you saw someone?"

I looked back on what I thought I saw. It was just a glimpse of a person just before the door to the house closed. "I'm like ninety-five percent sure I saw someone. I'm not certain now that I think about it." Perhaps my mind just made some false connections and made me perceive something incorrectly? "But it appears that the five percent chance is actually the one that’s true." I turned to Oliver. "I apologize for making you anxious and nervous about this, I could've sworn I saw someone enter this house."

"Hey, it's no biggie. Hell, maybe it was some sort of sense telling you this place had what you're looking for." He said while pointing toward the device.

That was my cue to turn back around and look at the telescope. I wanted to scope it out to see its quality and what it was capable of since I certainly had the idea of taking it back with us on my mind. "Keep your eyes and ears peeled just in case someone else actually is still lurking within this house."

After a simple nod from the man I strolled up to the telescope and put a hand on the dusty barrel of it as I properly registered the size of it. I would definitely have to clean it but before then, I checked out the lenses of the scope which finally caused me to smile at the device as I realized the reality of the situation. It was quite large, both the aperture and the focal length. I didn't know it at the time but the aperture was a hundred and thirty millimeters and the length of the focal length was eleven hundred millimeters. This was no small and simple telescope, no, this was a telescope to bring the cosmos to your backyard. It didn't particularly feel real, honestly.

Though after a few seconds of assessing it, I noticed a red star bow on the floor with a note attached to it. So like any curious person, I lent down and picked it up which... It was a note talking about how someone's sister bought one of her siblings a gift that the other had wanted for so long for the sibling's birthday.

"Well that's just depressing." I commented a few seconds after I finished reading the note. Oliver asked me about it as I put the note on the room’s bed which I gave him a simple answer to. "This telescope was never used. The Drop happened before the one celebrating their birthday could get to it."

"Yeah… I guess that is quite sad." He somberly replied as I continued inspecting the device.

After a few minutes I came to the conclusion that every piece and part of the puzzle was there and the only thing else it required was for us to transport it back. Even though it had that sad story attached to it, there wasn't anyone waiting to use the telescope so like everything else we've scavenged, it was fine in my mind to take it. Though not before I said, "We should do one more sweep of the house just to make sure that there's no one actually here. Again, I could've sworn I saw someone."

With the other man somewhat reluctantly agreeing to that, we enacted upon a much more thorough search where we made sure to look more closely and look into places we didn't previously. After twenty minutes of scanning, no one was found to be within the house other than Oliver and I.

"Alright then, I guess there's really no one here." I commented shortly after we called off the small search party. "So then, wanna help me carry the telescope? You just gotta carry a few parts since some parts will just be easier to carry that way."

Oliver easily agreed to that which was my cue to take my dagger back out of his hands and stuff it into my holster to deal with later. After that, I led us back upstairs where we did exactly what was agreed upon. The both of us exited the abandoned abode just a couple of minutes later and darted to the trunk of the vehicle where we efficiently stored it in said area.

"So... was there anyone there?" Jessie asked.

"Negative. It must've been a trick of the light or something." I simply answered. "But the commotion was worth it, as you can clearly see." I quietly muttered how bizarre it was that I found it considering the circumstances. Out of all of the houses here, this house just happened to have the one thing that I was on the search for.

After closing the trunk, I gestured for Oliver to get back in the car which we both did mere seconds later. I peered out at the house and wondered if the person I saw really was just some sort of mind trick. There was a small part of me that thought that maybe that person just found a really good hiding spot and refused to reply to anything I said. If so, they missed quite the opportunity. Not my loss if so.

"Without any further questions or distractions, shall we continue our way back home?"

"Right, yes." Jessie said before starting the car back up.

As we coasted our way back I felt quite grateful that I had been lucky enough to finally acquire a telescope, a high-grade one at that, just in the nick of time for the anniversary. Though it did make me wonder how I would celebrate our marriage anniversary. Maybe just by having a really nice day with her and not giving her anything if there's nothing I can give? Yeah, probably, I'm sure she'd be just fine with that.

Along with the feeling of being lucky, I thought about how the next day would unfold and how I would go about giving her the two scopes. I had only been thinking of how to do so in the general sense but not the nitty gritty. And since there was no need to be extra about it, the general idea was all I needed to do with just a tiny bit of improv.

After being asked about the telescope as we entered Solaris, I said, "I know exactly where to put it but that's for tomorrow. Just leave it in the trunk for now, I'll deal with it then."

With a simple understanding being reached, we departed from each other after I plugged the vehicle into its charger and headed back inside where I was once again ambushed with a hug from my happy little lady. And as per usual, I lifted her up and relished in the feeling of being in a loving embrace.

"I missed you." She said, something that was pointed out every time I returned from a long mission. Those three words meant so much to me, it's hard to explain why, but it's mainly the assurance of knowing that you're wanted. "You're done with going out now, right?"

"Yes, dear." I replied with a chuckle, "I have a feeling they're gonna be just fine with mapping, my job there is done." It was a decent cover up and not technically a lie.

"Good. Wanna check out a drawing I just finished? I think you'll like it."

"Of course, Stacy, I love all your drawings."

With that being said, we hugged for a minute longer before she led me up to our room where she showed me the drawing which consisted of a doe and her fawn surrounded by blooming flowers, lush trees, and semi-tall grass with the usual amount of detail that she was capable of drawing.

I complimented her amazing skills and put the drawing on her ever growing art display before she hooked onto my side. "Can we snuggle? We haven't done so in a little while."

"I have a feeling I don't have a choice either way." I replied with a smile. She just smirked at that which I took as confirmation. "Of course we can."

I had gotten home much later than I expected so it wasn't surprising when the rest of the day flashed by due to all of the cuddling. I wasn't complaining at all. After all, spending the rest of the day like that is the best way for it to end.


"No dreams, alright... Now how do I get out of bed without waking her up?” Is what I thought a couple of minutes after rejoining consciousness.

I only laid there for another minute since I didn't want to waste any of the time I had to retrieve the microscope for her to wake up to. I usually had around twenty minutes before she also woke up so I very slowly and delicately pushed and slid my way back and separated from her. Her only movements were caused by my arms unwrapping from around her. Until she suddenly moved on her own by pulling the blanket over her some more and huffing.

Her huffs were so adorable, something she only did when not fully aware and conscious. At first, I thought she was waking up so my heart skipped a beat but then I realized she was still sound asleep. I cancelled celebrating having successfully separated from her and swiftly moved onto clothing myself before making my way to Olivia's clinic.

She let me in her little hospital and knew why I was there so she didn't take long at all to retrieve the microscope. I had followed her so she delicately handed me the device along with some slides to put whatever substance was going to be observed on them.

"It's all charged up and ready to go. If you have any questions or problems with it, you know who to come to."

"Thanks again, Olivia, this means so much to me."

"If it means someone will learn about the wonders of life, the knowledge of that pays for itself. Now, go on and give it to her."

With that simple exchange over and done with, I quickly tracked back to my room where the precious girl still slept peacefully. I put the microscope and its slides right in the center of her desk to make sure it'd be the first thing she'd see the next time she'd look at her desk.

After that, I shimmied my way toward the sleeping beauty and sat on the side of her bed. I admired her expressionless face for a couple of minutes as I hoped the common hope that doing that wasn't creepy or anything like that. Everything about her face is just so cute and beautiful that it's impossible to not stare at when I have the chance. My stare stayed uninterrupted until I softly put a hand on the side of her face which didn't wake her up but still caused her lips to curve upward just a tiny bit. I immensely loved how her sleeping form knew I was the one touching her and that my touch alone was able to cause her to be happy and smile.

I stayed like that for a couple of more minutes before shifting my gaze toward the window and wondering when exactly I'd give her the other gift. Just a tad bit later after I started thinking about the cosmological objects and structures we'd probably find and observe, I felt her delicately place a hand over the one that was on her face.

I looked back at her. "Good morning, my beautiful angel."

She kept her eyes closed as her smile strengthened. "Good morning, my amazing husband."

A comfortable silence emerged between us after that quiet greeting. Over the course of another minute she awoke even further before she fluttered her eyes open and met my gaze. She then leaned up a few more moments later, the girl not caring about the blanket slipping down her. Her migration practically forced my hand to return to my other hand on my lap as she stretched. Her stretching was always so adorable along with the very quiet grunts she made while doing them. She’s so elegant…

"Why are you already clothed? Did I sleep in a couple hours more than I should've?" She asked after properly registering my attire.

"No, no, it's still just before nine. You'll find out why I'm dressed any second now."

She slightly raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh? Hm, you're being cryptic."

That's when I scooted toward her a bit and leaned down to kiss her forehead and the tip of her nose. As I eskimo kissed her I said, "I love you, Stacy. I reiterate that you're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Likewise here..." She happily replied before she kissed me, a kiss that deepened and persisted for at least two minutes. "So what are your plans for today?" She asked after it ended.

"I'm off today so I don't plan to work as long as nobody calls on me for help. Other than that, I only have a couple of plans laid out but just a couple, you know how I am when it comes to free days."

She giggled. "Yes, I can barely get away from you on them."

"Hey, it's not like you even try to get away from my affection, you just deserve so much of it. And it's not like you'd ever get tired of that, right?"

She simply nodded with a beautiful smile. But only for a few seconds more since her eyes glanced off to the side toward her desk which immediately took all of her attention away from me and towards the microscope just waiting for her attention. She slightly tilted her head in confusion since she wasn't sure what it was at first. "What's-" Then she quietly and sharply gasped at the realization of what was on her desk. "Oh!"

Then she excitedly sprung out of bed and onto her feet before swiftly closing the distance between her and her desired device. I chuckled at her adorable actions as I stood up as well just as she got to the microscope.

"You've talked about how much you've wanted to see cells and other types of microscopic structures that our eyes just aren't able to see for a while. So I thought I'd give my little lady a microscope so she can finally see the things she's read and heard all about along with letting your bright mind be inspired and enlightened by seeing what inhabits the microworld."

She had been delicately touching and inspecting the device like any sudden touch might collapse it. She looked back at me with another cute smile. "This is... this is so nice, thank you so much for this." She turned back to the microscope. "I love it. But... Hm, how do I use it?" Before I could say anything she quietly gasped yet again. "It's the sixth. Right. Uh... oh... um... Shoot."

"Is something wrong?"

She had turned to me once more. "Nope, just... It's been a year since we met each other. Wow... it’s felt so fast."

I walked up to her and placed my hands on her sides. "Has it? It's felt quite slow to me, like ten years instead of one."

"Yes and no. We've talked about what time feels like many times before." She said which I nodded at. "A year already... We've done so much in that time."

"And I don't regret a single thing. Everything we've done is something I'll cherish due to how much it all has meant to me. I'm the luckiest man alive to have perfection as my amazing wife, forever. This is just the first year of many dozen, I promise you that."

She nodded at that. "Yes... I feel like you might think I'm being lazy when I say this but all of those things are true in my case too, how I'm the luckiest woman alive to have you as my husband, how I don't regret anything, and how we're gonna be together for so many more years. It's just you're always quicker than me for saying stuff like that."

I kissed her forehead. "No worries, darling, I don't think that's lazy. If it's true, it's true, and if you have nothing else to add to what I said then that's that. I'm so happy you reciprocate all of those feelings..."

She hugged me and nuzzled my chest for a few seconds. "I got you something too..."

"Oh?"

That was her cue to end the embrace and face her desk before opening the bottom drawer to the piece of furniture. She snatched something out of it before closing the drawer and holding whatever it was in her hands close to her chest as she looked up at me. "Can you sweep me off my feet and carry us to the window bay?"

I easily obliged with her question, carried her like a bride, and sat on the edge of the window bay where I had set her down on my lap. My right arm stayed wrapped around her torso though my left arm was able to be free since most of her weight had been shifted onto my lap. That's when I delicately put my free hand on one of her inner thighs to intimately touch her. "So what's in your hands, little lady?"

She looked down at her clenched hand with a shy smile before meeting my gaze once more. "Nova, Willow, and Charlotte pointed out that married couples both have rings a month or so ago. I didn't really know that but it made sense and I felt a bit bad that I hadn't gotten you a ring. So... I got you one to make sure the other ladies know you're taken by me."

She unclenched her hands to reveal a plush and dark red box where she swiftly opened it to reveal an opulent golden ring with a bright orange and decently sized gem of topaz.

"It took me and the girls that helped me a while to find one that reminded me of you the most... I chose this one because it reminds me of your big heart and the fire you have within you to be the leader of Solaris and my spectacular husband... I hope you like it."

Her tone was so sincere and adorable. "Stacy... it's beautiful. I don't like it, I love it, especially because of what you think about it." My arm around her tightened a bit as I rested my forehead on hers. "Thank you for going out of your way to find something like this. And don't feel bad that you didn't get me a ring sooner, it didn't change the fact that we're married and that I have all of the immense love I have for you. It just tells others that I'm taken without talking and they already know that. But I'll gladly wear this ring and show it since I'm proud to be your husband."

She contently smiled at my words and kissed me for a few seconds before focusing on taking the ring out of the plush box. My hand on her inner thigh left that area just as she took the ring out where she directed the piece of jewelry toward my ring finger. She swallowed hard as she started to slide it down my finger where it didn't take long for it to reach the base of the digit. It was almost too tight of a fit but it did.

She sighed in relief. "I was so scared it wasn't the right size... I'm so relieved, I would've cried if it didn't fit."

I intently peered at the ring that then donned my finger. I wasn't expecting to feel instantly connected to it and feel something quite spiritual because of it. I guess my inner self just needed the ring to fully confirm that our marriage was official and truly real. Our love, trust, and commitment to each other finally had a full physical form that's a part of us both. It was calming in a way and made me feel quite warm on the inside. And since the ring had been scavenged by my wife, it had so much more meaning than it would've had if I found myself a ring... I loved it.

"It's definitely a tight fit but I can get used to it, it'll just take a little while. I'm glad it fits, it's perfect, and I wouldn't have wanted to see you cry today. After all, don't you want to see what your microscope allows you to?"

She cutely gasped once more and practically jumped out of my lap which caused me to chuckle yet again. When she had walked back up to the device she continued inspecting it as I walked back up behind her. She picked up one of the slides, unsure of what to do. "...How does it work?"

I kissed the top of her head. "Well first, we have to get some samples of some things you want to inspect."

"Oh, right, like river water and things like leaves and plants."

I nodded. "And much more, but those are some good beginning things to observe. Shall we go get them?" She excitedly nodded. "Well, you gotta get dressed first, I'm sure you don't want anyone to see your nakedness while out and about, right?"

"Well, maybe only by you..."

I booped her nose. "Only by me, yes, but you know that wouldn't be the case if you don't dress while out and about. So c'mon, let's go collect some samples."

With the girl excited at the idea of using her new device, she swiftly threw some clothes on which allowed us to go on the hunt for the required materials to observe. While retrieving the samples, I kept looking at the ring on my finger, it was hard keeping my eyes off of it due to how captivating it was. It was also a bit distracting since it was a new feeling and a bit jarring since I had never had anything like it on one of my fingers before.

I wondered what Mom and Dad would think…

"I hope you're fine that I only got you the ring for today... There wasn't anything else that came to my mind to give you, you don't really express that you want anything other than the basic needs." Stacy said just as we got to the stream.

"That's a hundred percent fine, Stace. The ring's an amazing and perfect gift, don't even worry about it. And that's true, I don't exactly want objects since material things never really come to mind so it's completely understandable if you don't have anything to give me, it's not mandatory after all. Just keep doing what you're doing since all of your gifts have been lovely. And if you've got no ideas, just keep in mind that your love is always a great and satisfactory gift."

"Likewise here, Mister Solace." She cutely replied.

I kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you, Misses Solace."

"I love you too."

We spent another ten minutes collecting a leaf, a grass blade, and a white flower petal. She excitedly led me back up to our room after our excursion was complete before she had me put all of the samples down on the desk near the microscope.

"Alright..." She looked up at me. "Can you show me how it works?"

"Sure thing."' I said before taking a seat on the desk's chair and motioning her over to me. She quickly got the message and sat on my lap which is when I strolled us closer to the desk to work at an appropriate distance. "It's relatively simple. You turn it on like this, put what you want to look at on one of these slides, insert it into the device right here, and rotate the lens to switch to other lenses to either zoom in or zoom out."

"Um... can you show me?" She asked with a nervous giggle.

I nuzzled the back of her head before slowly and thoroughly doing each step so she'd have the easiest time learning how to properly use the tool of science. I had put a small piece of leaf on the slide since I thought that'd be a good first thing and structure of the batch to observe for someone who had never actually seen any cell before.

"Should all be good to go. Now it just awaits you looking into the eyepiece."

The girl had looked back at me as if she needed to wait for my permission to continue. She was containing her excitement but only just barely, I could feel the energy she was suppressing through her body which was something that was utterly adorable. And after I said that, she looked back at the microscope and hesitated for a couple of more seconds before she finally scooted forward a bit and lent down to look into the eyepiece.

"...Oh wow ... It's so much more different than the images I've seen... Wow… This is amazing." She commented in awe.

"What do you see?" I asked after gently wrapping my arms around her abdomen.

"I see..." She trailed off as she continued silently staring in amazement. I nudged her a tiny bit to remind her to continue her sentence. "I see clear... like compartments squished together with smaller green circles on the edges of each of them. There's also clear circles within the compartments and they're all moving very slightly. I know the green stuff is the chloroplasts that plants have but I'm not sure what the other clear circles are."

"That sure sounds like what it'd look like. Is it what you expected it to be like?"

She continued peering into the eyepiece as her beautiful mind realized and fully accepted the reality of the microscopic world. "...It's not."

My heart dropped a bit since I thought she might've not liked what she had gotten and was seeing. "Oh? What's wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just... wow, this is really real." She replied which I chuckled at. "And how we're made of tens of billions- trillions of cells. How they all work together, live, do their roles, and all of them make up one person... It makes me feel strange and weird."

I nodded at that. "Yeah, it is extraordinarily strange when you remember just what we're made of." One of my hands draped up her side and then down her arm. "Like all of the cells that make our skin, blood, muscles, bones, organs, and everything else... It's just a bit disturbing but amazing at the same time." My hand on her arm then started to brush through her long, beautiful hair.

"Life's so weird and mysterious..." She quietly said which I agreed to.

We quickly went back into silence where she continued looking at the leaf cells at her own leisure. A couple of minutes later she wanted to change the zoom in factor which is when her hand timidly went up to the lens of the microscope and gingerly rotated it to do so, the girl doing her best to not accidentally break it even though the degree to carefulness wasn't needed.

After a couple of more minutes I said, "Wanna look at the river water now? I think you'll find this one to be the most fascinating."

"Oh! Right." She said before remembering how to take the slide out of the microscope before getting a fresh one.

I let her figure it out on her own since I was sure she didn't need me to do it for her since she's a fast learner. Not to mention I wanted her to do the steps on her own since I was confident that she wanted to do it by herself. It took her a few moments longer than I would've taken but she figured it all out and put the new slide with a sample of a drop of river water on it under the microscope and peered into the eyepiece once more.

"Whoa~! There's so many... many cells!" She commented, her excitement causing me to smile. "Oh wow, there's like- Oh my gosh, there's a couple swimming around really fast and bumping into each other! They're like very long ovals and green, there's even some that are circular. This is so cool..."

I kissed the back of her head as she migrated the microscope's lens to look at another area of the water droplet. "I'm glad you're enjoying the microscope. And I can't help but say that your reactions are so cute."

She gingerly giggled at my compliment. "I'm not sure how I couldn't enjoy it, it's so, so cool to finally see cells. I've wanted to do this for a while now, I'm so happy I get to do so now. I mean, I never really doubted the whole idea of cells to begin with because of everything Olivia told me about them, germs, and how it all just made sense. Still, it's nice to know for certain that it all exists." After her statement she gasped again and looked back at me. "I've been so rude, don't you want to use the microscope too?"

After a peck on her forehead I said, "You haven't been rude, silly. Don't worry about it, I've used one of these before back when I was in high school so I know a decent bit about it already. However, you don't so you can take all of the time you want, I'll have just as much fun as you, so don't worry about that."

"Alright, but if you wanna look just ask, okay?"

I lightly eskimo kissed her. "I will keep that in mind, little lady."

She looked back into the eyepiece after I said that to continue her venture in cellular exploration. She went on to describe a few more cell shapes and how they motioned through the water and even witnessed a cellular battle.

"It makes so much more sense why we have to boil our water to drink it. I knew there was stuff living in the water but I didn't know just how much and didn't really understand how there's an entire ecosystem that we can't even see. So amazing..."

I knew the gears in her mind were spinning quite fast due to the sheer amount of fascination she was expressing to me. I wondered how much it was influencing and inspiring her mind to learn even further about our reality but I could take a guess and say a decent amount since she was such a curious and bright girl.

The next twenty minutes contained us observing the grass blade and flower petal under the microscope which were their own intricate structures that were quite cool to see. I looked into the microscope to appease her silent desires and make sure she didn't feel like she was ruining the moment by being greedy with the microscope which was something I didn't want her to feel. So in the end, she felt quite happy and satisfied that she was fully enlightened by the new experience and sight which in turn made me happy due to giving her the chance to do the things she wouldn't have otherwise been able to do.

I wondered how much longer we'd be focused on peering at the microscopic world. It didn't take much longer for that wonder to be answered in the form of hunger. But before then, we had our fun with the microscope since it was something that completely captivated her so I let her spend more time using it because why would I stop this beautiful experience?

Chapter 55: One Year: Part 2

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

Eventually, a little rumble from her tummy took our attention off of the microscope and onto the question of when we should eat since we had delayed breakfast to play with the microscope instead. She spent just three or so more minutes peering into the eyepiece some more before hopping off of me immediately after we agreed we wanted some food.

"We're gonna have to make it ourselves since we pushed this off for later. Jordan's busy serving his community service, so I hope you're fine with that."

"It's completely fine, I cook every now and then... with minimal mess ups." She replied with a quiet giggle. "Do you want me to make it for us?"

After I thought about it, I said, "No, actually. The last couple of times one of us had to cook you did it so it's my turn to do it, it's only fair."

"Okay, just call on me if you need me to, alright?" She sweetly said which I affirmed I would before kissing her forehead. "I'll let you get to it then, I need to do something for a couple of minutes and then I'll come down with you."

I wanted to ask her what she was gonna do but I figured it was trivial so I immediately headed downstairs after that was said and got to work on making us something by washing my hands first, taking out the required instruments of cookery from the cabinets, and taking out some fresh meat from the fridge. I had the foresight to turn the oven on since it took a few moments to warm up so the satisfying sound of meat sizzling the instant it hit the burning metal surface infiltrated my ears.

The pungent and delicious smell that it always produced then swiftly wafted up which further fueled my desire to cook. You'd think we'd get tired of eating what we do since our diet consists of only a few different things but we've learned not to be picky and find enjoyment in the things we have. Plus, spices and seasonings definitely change it up so it makes getting tired of our small selection nearly a nonexistent problem... And also it was just nice to eat.

A few minutes into cooking, a pair of arms wrapped around me which pried my attention away from the skillet and down to the arms on my abdomen. "Howdy, little lady."

She did that very cute thing where she subtly nuzzled my back as she replied. "Howdy. It smells really good, what are you making?"

"Just a simple meal of some venison with a side of strawberries. I assume the misses is just fine with that?"

"Yes, that sounds amazing. Strawberries are so good, I'm glad Nova found them."

"Strawberries are definitely the best fruit out there, for sure."

She continued to embrace me as I easily fried the meat to the perfect amount of crisp for the next ten minutes before I determined that they were just right for consumption. I then slid the slices of venison on each plate which were stationed by the oven which both had a small bunch of fresh strawberries that didn't have the nasty green part connected to them. As I made sure to give each of our plates an appropriate amount of meat, my wife broke the embrace and took a couple steps back before I picked our plates up.

I froze when I turned around since I wasn't expecting... "You're wearing a skirt?"

My words caused her to visibly become nervous where she quickly twiddled her fingers. "...Y-You don't like it?"

The length of the skirt she wore was down to just above her knees and was blue with a plaid pattern. "No, no, it looks great just like everything else you wear, it's just... I haven't ever seen you wear one so I'm just surprised. It looks very cute on you."

She shyly smiled at my compliment. "Thank you. I just thought I'd try it out since we've had a few skirts in our closet for a long time and I never really paid attention to them. I also didn't feel all that comfortable with the idea but it's been on my mind for a while so I decided to finally try them out." She looked down at the skirt. "And it feels really nice and freeing."

After she said that, she happily twirled which caused the skirt to flare out which revealed that she was wearing just her panties underneath the skirt. I enjoyed the sight that only lasted a fraction of a second but then my heart skipped a beat after a realization which caused me to peer into the dining room to make sure there was no one there, just in case no one saw what she had exposed.

I quickly saw that there was no one there and remembered that the mansion's residents all had work that day besides the two of us since the off-day was planned in advance. Still, I couldn't help but calmly say, "Stacy, someone else could've seen under your skirt just then."

Since my tone was matter of fact with just a tinge of urgency, that didn't put any negative feeling into her mood so she giggled once more. "It's fine, Hunter, trust me. I know when I can do risky things like that out here..." She then giggled again but I detected something sinister within it. "Plus things like this." She took a hold of her skirt and fully lifted it up to expose her panties to me which I nervously ogled.

She grinned as she glanced down at my groin a couple of times. "I like doing risky things like this... and it seems you do too. Your penis certainly likes seeing just my panties out here." One of her hands left her skirt to slide down to her panties. "What about seeing my pussy too?"

I swallowed and thought about what she was saying. Though that train of thought was disturbed when her tummy quietly rumbled again. "Little girl, I think you need to focus on eating. Let's go up to our room and do so, yeah?" And maybe I can eat out a certain something for dessert.

She sarcastically tsked, put her skirt down, and put her arms back down by her sides. "I was thinking of eating down here actually. A change of scenery every once and a while, y'know?"

"I guess I can get that. In the living room or the table?"

"Table, please." With that being said, she led us to the dining table where I finally set our plates down in our usual spots. "Oh, we forgot water, I'll go get us that since you cooked."

Before I could make a counteroffer she breezed by me and enacted upon what she said. Since I couldn't do anything about it after that point, I promptly took my seat and patiently waited for her to return a couple of minutes later. She gracefully sat on the chair just an inch away from mine after she placed the cups of water by each of our dishes.

"Thank you." I simply praised with yet another kiss on her forehead.

"It was no problem. Thank you for cooking, that was much harder to do." She said before leaning on me which was my cue to wrap an arm around her.

As a hand reached out for a slice of venison I asked, "I hope you washed your hands, I'm never too sure about the possible dirty places they might've been to."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Can't eat without doing so, you know I can't. Ever since Olivia taught us the proper way to wash our hands I can feel how dirty they are before I eat, it makes it to where I can't not wash them before I eat... But something tells me that you probably wouldn't mind if my hands were 'dirty'."

I booped her nose with the tip of mine. "Maybe, maybe..."

Just a moment after that I put the slice of well made meat I had grabbed up to her lips which she gingerly started nibbling from. And as per usual, I gingerly nuzzled, lightly kissed, caressed, and quietly uttered reciprocating messages of affection to her as she ate a few portions of the meat before she started feeding me.

After I ate the first slice of meat off of my plate she looked down at my lap and back up at me. "Hey, can we please eat in a more intimate way...?"

"Of course, dear. What do you have in mind?"

She put a hand on my inner thigh. "I wanna sit on your lap and feed you. That'll be so much closer and better."

I agreed with her which was her cue to make her way on my lap, rotate so she was perpendicular from me, grabbed another slice of meat, leaned on me, put the delicious food up to my lips, and nuzzled my chest right after she rested her head there. I wrapped my arms around her as I consumed the venison out of her hand before digging my nose into her hair when I had eaten it all. This repeated a few more times until the main course of meat had been depleted.

"Aw, we're all out now... Well, I can think of another meat I can eat, actually."

"Maybe if you keep up the attitude. But I can make you more if you want." I generously offered but she shook her head.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. We still got strawberries to eat, remember?"

I kissed the bridge of her nose before taking a decently sized strawberry off of my plate and putting the larger end of it between my teeth before I slightly lent down to her. She wasn't sure what I was doing at first but she got the idea when I continued to direct the strawberry to her lips. Her teeth timidly took the other half of the strawberry I didn't claim which is when I started to bite into the juicy fruit. I made sure our foreheads gingerly rested on one another's as we savoured the fruit. After swallowing it, I pressed my lips against hers which became slightly heated over the course of two minutes.

Though before it could develop too far we continued devouring strawberry after strawberry by casually feeding it to each other over the next fifteen minutes or so. And when the number of strawberries dwindled, the girl on my lap had started minutely gyrating her hips which I subtly smiled at.

(Sex scene ahead “ctrl+f ‘sex scene over’ to skip)

My cock started genuinely getting hard when I saw the adorable sight of her legs spreading open a tad. After the last strawberry was eaten, I placed a hand on one of her shins and draped it up and into her skirt onto her inner thigh. My digits then started gingerly massaging the sensitive flesh which coaxed her to spread her legs even further apart before she looked up at me with a grin. That's when her hand slid into one of the pockets of her skirt and took out a piece of fabric that looked very familiar to something I had just recently seen.

I gasped when I realized I was looking at her panties. "Stacy, you're getting so reckless!" I said in a quiet shout, not in a reprimanding way or anything like that.

"Not really..." She replied while maintaining her grin which warranted an explanation. "We've had sex on the couch when we knew no one was around and had that blanket covering us, we've had sex in the hallway when we knew no one was around and would've been able to hide what we were doing because of how we were standing, we've had sex at our bathing spot many times, and right now we know everyone's working since it's Thursday. Trust me when I say that I wouldn't be like this if there was a chance someone else would see what we'd be doing..."

As I thought about her words I continued to lovingly caress her inner thigh as I stared at her panties. Her words, tone of her voice, the subtle wiggle of her hips, the hint of a beg within her eyes, the fact I hadn't had an orgasm for three days, the minute scent she was emitting, and the excitement of having sex in another risky place swayed my mind to give in to our sexual desires.

After what felt like a long silence, my arm around her waist tightened a tad to hold her closer before I said, "...So, what exactly do you want to do?"

"Keep massaging my leg." She quietly whispered which I obeyed. "Feel free to go higher if you want..."

My fingertips slowly draped up her leg as I pressed them into her flesh and muscles. As I deeply looked her into the eyes, she swallowed hard before she suddenly started raising her panties up toward me. I let her do what she was doing which resulted in the piece of fabric being pressed right up against my nostrils. The part that had made contact with me was the part that concealed her slit which meant I was able to smell a slight and delicious scent of her musky groin which further made my phallus erect for her.

I took long and deep breaths while looking at her blushed face that intently gazed back at me as she enjoyed how I was allured and captivated by her addictive scent. She felt the bulge she was sitting on get stiffer which is when she made sure her underside would properly rub against my glans through the fabrics which was enough to further add fuel to the growing fire of the hunger for pleasure.

She continued to keep her panties pressed against my nostrils as my fingertips made contact with her labia which caused her to quietly gasp. My fingertips continued to glide across each of her lower lips to enjoy how the few millimeter long hair there felt rubbing against my skin as she spread her legs apart even more. These teasing actions continued for a few minutes which amplified how much we wanted to mate with each other, the touches and smells causing our bodies to warm and wind our genitals up for the action to come.

She then pulled the panties back and set them on the table as her lightly blushed face continued to look up at me. "Fuck me right here, put your penis inside me and enjoy my vagina, please, and continue doing so even if we get caught, show them that you own my dirty little pussy."

She knew she had completely captivated me by using her vaginal musk to turn my animalistic side on and essentially promising me that I was fully allowed into her amazing slit. All she had to do next was help me find my way inside it. I kissed her forehead as I continued stroking her pussy before my index and middle finger draped between each lip with a bit of force which resulted in me finding out just how wet and lubricated her awaiting vagina had gotten for my entry.

I swallowed hard and looked down at her completely covered groin. It was a bit silly to see how her skirt covered everything down to her knees where my hand reached into the depths of the unknown but still so familiar. That's when I knew that it'd be relatively safe for us to have sex right in that spot due to the cover. So as my two fingers slowly draped up her warm slit, I pressed my lips against hers for a minute before I stopped touching her pussy so I could slide my wife away from me by a few inches.

She smirked as she looked down at the button and zipper of my pants. It only took another swift moment for one of her intrigued hands to dart their way there and undo them, which is when I lifted myself up a bit so I could adequately pull my pants and boxers down by just a few inches. Just a moment after that, my wife's hand breached into my boxers and took a hold of my cock to properly take it out of my clothes.

She intently looked at my shaft after she did so and as her hand started to delicately stroke me, she looked back up at me with eyes that conveyed to me just how horny she was. "I need your amazing cock inside me..."

I chuckled as my left arm returned around her abdomen as my other arm slightly wrapped around the underside of her knees before I pulled her closer, to where her side would press against my penis. That had the effect of forcing her legs closed but that wasn't a problem. "Be a good girl and tell me why it's amazing."

She swallowed hard as she looked back down at the appendage that twitched. "It... It's so big and cute. I love how it twitches and wants to be inside my pussy because of how nice my vagina makes it feel. It also loves to make me feel nice as well which is another reason I love it. And I love the feeling of when you cum inside me so, so much... I love having your semen in me..."

That's when I started lifting the little girl up off my lap by holding her like a bride. Though it was a bit more like a cradle after I rested my forehead on hers where we deeply looked each other in the eyes once more. I pulled her close as her skirt gently rubbed the underside of my cock as she was elevated. And as she was raised, she became more exposed from beneath which greatly helped me out on this venture. After lifting her up by around seven inches, I scooted forward a tad and leaned back so the thing I was thinking of would be much easier to enact in practice.

"Help me put it inside you." I quietly whispered as I lifted her up just a tiny bit more.

That's when one of her hands went down to her skirt to move it out of the way to allow my cock to find its way under her groin which it swiftly did. I could feel she was trying to instinctively spread her legs open but the way I was holding her didn't allow it. It was so adorable and hot to feel her legs struggle to open.

Since I was fully incorporated within the skirt, I was able to confirm that it covered what both of our groins were doing from any third party that might've caught us in the act. Right after my shaft was under her, she once again grasped it and pointed my glans in the right direction where it felt the radiating heat coming from her turned on sex just a centimeter or two away.

That feeling sent the message of 'lower her' quickly and effectively to the rest of my body which is just what I did. My glans immediately contacted the awaiting and very horny wet slit that begged for my entry and was happy that I was finally parting her lips from each other. This caused the adorable girl in my arms to whimper in pleasure and glee.

We were still looking each other in the eyes when this happened, something I thought was always an extremely intimate thing to do in moments like these. "Make as many adorable grunts, squeaks, and whimpers as you want. Don't let the scenery distract you from how much you enjoy my cock..." She then slightly nodded and whimpered again as my glans started wholeheartedly making its plunge into her sex as her small pubic hairs intimately rubbed against my shaft.

I let my own quiet grunt of pleasure slip out of my mouth as my glans was encased by her moist flesh. We both grunted a couple of more times as she slowly slid down my shaft in the next ten seconds, her tunnel being very nicely lubricated, before my glans contacted her cervix. Every single time that happens, my penis twitches in happiness since that contact was the most intimate contact that we can do.

I put my chin on top of her head as she rested on me once more and gingerly nuzzled me after she wrapped her arms around my chest. I continued holding her tightly with one of my arms though my other hand slid up her body and took a hold of the side of her head to gently press her into my chest to keep her there and to show her how comfortable I was with her in my lap. I took a slow and deep breath in before letting it go to get a good mental grip on how fortunate I was to be in that position.

"I'm so happy I get to be inside the most beautiful woman just like this so often... Even though it's real, it's unbelievable. It's impossible to describe just how nice it is. Thank you so, so much..."

She nuzzled me with a bit more strength. "I'm super, super happy that a big, strong, man who's so nice, courageous, attractive, smart, and so many other things does this with me too... It really is unbelievable sometimes. I love you more than I can ever express, you're my husband, forever."

"That's what the rings mean..." We say stuff like this nearly every single time we physically become one due to how immeasurably phenomenal it makes us feel in so many different ways. Even though it might be repetitive, the strength of the meaning behind them never weakens.

I held her close and kept us in stasis for a couple of minutes as we deeply enjoyed being connected. For my lower half to be lovingly squeezed by a tight, warm, wet, and fleshy pocket attached by my perfect little wife is God's way of apologizing to me... That's a strange thing to say but the feeling reflects that definition. Though the apology isn't enough. If God exists, I still hate them for everything they've done.

She eventually gingerly wiggled her hips. "Don't be shy, Hunter. You're allowed to use my pussy all you want..."

I chuckled at her encouraging words, the same words that caused a small spike of exhilaration to be felt in my stomach and testicles. "I know, I know, I'm just enjoying simply being inside it again. It's essentially my cock's home."

She nuzzled me once more with a happy smile. "Yeah, my pussy's like a bed for it since that's where it goes when it sleeps. It's so adorable!"

"It's the best place to be in when going to sleep. It's so incredibly comforting..." As I said that, the hand on her head went back under her knees where I then started lifting her back up, though very slowly.

I kept my chin on top of her head as she ascended before slowly sliding her back down my happy cock that twitched again. While that was happening, she started emitting quiet grunts for me to hear and enjoy since she knew her sounds of pleasure fueled me to continue doing what I was doing since I was doing a good job pleasuring her.

"You s-smell so nice..." She commented as I started lifting her up again.

"You do too." It's amazing how much we liked each other's natural scent. I remember I wasn't too fond of it at first but it quickly grew on me and now I love it... Pheromones are a very fascinating thing, that's for sure. Though I do feel bad for the others who have to smell us. Though that's a universal thing with everyone. Modern anti-odor products are greatly missed a lot of the time.

I closed my eyes and focused on the smells and the feeling of holding and penetrating her as I steadily lifted her up and down my shaft. It took around just a second to lift her halfway up before taking another two and a half seconds to put her down after speeding it up a bit. This caused our noises of pleasure to pick up a decent bit due to just how happy we were in the moment. This was definitely amplified by the risk of being caught. I'm not quite sure why that feeling is so hot but it's quite effective.

Three or so minutes later. I lifted my chin off of her head so I could look down and see the beautiful girl who had her eyes closed that was completely relaxed in my arms while wearing a very calm and adorable smile. Her head was resting on my chest and gingerly nuzzling me as she listened to my heartbeat and lovingly hugged me.

"I love you so, so much." I had to say after admiring her cute face.

"I love you so~ much too... So, so, so much..."

With those simple but very meaningful words of affection expressed, we focused back on what physical input our sexes were experiencing and helping each other feel. "I'm getting in a little workout." I commented with a chuckle after a few more minutes of our slow and intimate mating session.

"I-If you wanna work out like this from now on, sure, I'd love that."

"You'd be too easy of a dumbbell after a couple of weeks since you're so little..."

"And? W-Would you stop exercising by using me?"

"...Nope."

She giggled and squeezed her legs a bit tighter which caused me to quietly moan in response due to how her abdominal muscles shifted. "I get so turned on when I think about how your glans is completely surrounded by my vagina, how I'm trying my best to make your penis want to c-cum inside me, and how it cutely rubs against it. It's so fucking cute, I'm so happy I'm the one that makes it feel nice and happy."

"Very, very happy... I've said so many times about how heavenly it is to have sex with you."

"Mhm... I'm glad you d-define it as heaven on Earth." After a few seconds she looked up at me and put a hand on the side of my face. "Cum a-any time you want, okay? Don't hold back."

I pressed the tip of my nose against hers. "Only after you cum..."

We then deeply kissed as I continued lifting her up and down, though I increased the speed in which I did so. That's when a very subtle delicious sound started emitting from our genitals which indicated the intimate ritual we initiated in. Though to be fair, you'd easily be able to tell what we were doing from just how I was lifting and raising her.

Our kiss and dance of pleasure persisted for another five minutes as the thought of how I was using her like my own personal and all too willing fleshlight rubbed a couple parts of me the right way. After our kiss ended and through my grunts, I expressed to her how much that idea turned me on.

"W-Wanna use me faster? This w-was really, really nice... but I want you to fuck me faster and harder."

"What does my girl have in mind?" I asked as my lifting and lowering slowed.

When it came to a halt, she gingerly wiggled her hips with a smirk before she started lifting herself off the well-lubricated pole she liked to bounce on. She then got off me and on her feet before hoisting herself onto the table and spreading her legs apart when she lifted her skirt up.

"It feels great exposing myself out here. We should do this more often." My dirty girl commented as I peered at what was between her legs. The small gape of her slit was something that always rubbed my core the right way, it was such a welcome sight and a sight that told me I belonged there. "Come on and fuck me, Hunter. Pound me so super hard, make me cum, add this to the list of places that you've mated me at, please."

Since the girl knew which words to say at the right times, she easily won over my mind which caused me to get off the chair, station myself between her legs, and direct my insanely hard cock back into her heat. My arms wrapped around her chest as hers wrapped around my neck so I could hug her close which was her cue to wrap her legs around me to make sure I would fuck her and not pull out until I had deposited my seed within her.

I put my chin on her shoulder as my thrusts began. We held each other a bit tighter as the speed of them increased while our sounds of pleasure started entering our ears again. The sounds weren't loud at all since we were quite afraid of being caught but they were still adequately audible. The creaking of the table with each of my thrusts made me smile since each creak signified that I had caused a great feeling of pleasure that her hot hole would relish in.

"The o-only negative here is that we're not completely naked so I can't see all of your immense sexiness, or feel it whilst I'm fucking you, or kiss and touch it whenever I want." I commented as my thrusts started to cause the delicious sound of a wet smack that indicated a session of good sex. "But sometimes, almost exclusively fucking is so, so good..."

A minute later she was struggling to stay quiet as I quickly pounded her sex. I tightly closed my eyes as I pushed back my orgasm as much as possible while it was starting to become too much for me to handle. I then felt my scrotum gently slap against her anus before some of her vaginal secretions smeared there which was something I always adored. Then I started kissing her neck, causing her to expose more of said area to me which I took advantage of for the next couple of minutes by deeply kissing it.

During that, my thrusts were at full speed and my girl was gladly taking every single quick and hard slam of my pelvis into hers since she fully submitted to letting me use her slit. Her body had fully relaxed in her submission and in my arms as she instinctively made sure her posture was telling her partner that she was all his to mate. The ability for her to lure and make my mind please her however she wished was so incredibly efficient and was at an expert skill level at this point. Truly irresistible in every way. And since I was in the mood to use her like this, mainly fueled by Stacy's words and desires, I was nearly completely focused on making sure my cock enjoyed the groin that loved, craved, welcomed, desired, and needed my presence in it.

Thankfully after that, it only took ninety or so seconds for Stacy to throw her head back and loudly moan as she climaxed and leaked a decent amount of orgasmic fluid which made a delicious mess on the floor. The spasms of her vagina and the little jerks of her hips as she rode her orgasm out will always be a very satisfying feeling. I love it when my little lady experiences something so incredible since I had helped her do so because of how much she loves me in every single metric.

"I-I'm gonna cum, should I do it here?" I announced just a couple dozen seconds later.

"Yes! Of c-course! Fill me up, p-please!" She replied as her face pressed into the crook of my neck.

With her permission, I held her closer and solely focused on the pleasure my glans was experiencing by dropping any effort of delaying my ejaculation. It took just ten or so seconds more of my rapid thrusting for my orgasm to trigger off where I had some difficulty to continue frantically thrusting after my climax started due to the immense amount of pleasure that invaded my nervous system. I happily moaned during each ejection and stuttered out a ‘thank you’ since cumming inside her vagina will forever be my glimpse at knowing what paradise is. It really is just the greatest physical feeling there is.

But yes, it caused six or so large strands of exhilarated semen to splash against her cervix and fill her vagina, something that had been starving for a fresh load of semen, as best as I could've. I'm so happy that part of her was all too familiar with being drenched in my seed and fully claimed by me, always so open and accepting of housing and accepting my sperm.

I tightly held her as I kept my glans pressed against her cervix while my cock happily twitched. We panted as we started recovering from our very satisfying act where I took a much needed and rewarding deep breath after I realized I needed it. It took us a minute but she broke the silence by saying, "So... we've made a mess and are about to maybe make a bigger one."

I leaned back a bit to look her in the eyes. I noticed there was a small amount of sweat on her forehead which I assumed was because the clothes on her made the act much warmer than it would've been if we had just been completely naked. And my mind had quickly cleared from the spell that sexual desire had put me under. "Yes, we certainly have... We need to clean this up before someone walks into something they shouldn't see."

She smirked and gingerly tightened her arms around me. "Or you can stay in me for a bit longer..."

It was tempting. "We really shouldn't delay it, this was very, very risky."

She lightly huffed. "I guess so... I just like it so much when you stay in me."

"I do too but I shouldn't, not here." I replied which made her reluctantly nod her head. I then chuckled. "That didn't take us long to turn the skirt into something sexual, huh?"

She evilly giggled. "Well, it was my plan to get you to fuck me like that. I figured it was a good way and excuse to get you to do me out here. Having sex here was so fucking hot..."

"Clever girl..." I pressed my lips against hers for a few seconds before starting to pull out from her. That's when she grabbed her panties, got on her feet, and put them on just as my semen started leaking out of her. Then she got on her knees and grabbed my flaccid cock that was coated in both of our liquids. I was very surprised when she put my glans in her mouth and started sucking my semen and her fluid off of me and even more surprised when she started inserting more of it into her mouth.

It was a really nice feeling and felt super dirty in a good way. She was making sure her tongue swirled around my glans as she cleaned my shaft off to rekindle any desire to fuck her again but it only succeeded in getting me semi-erect. She stopped trying after a couple of minutes and stood back up where her blushed face slightly smirked. That's when I finally asked, "Aren't your panties getting soiled right now?"

As I put my penis back in my pants she said, "A bit. But I like it, it feels so dirty."

"Sheesh, you might want to go to the stream, you're being exceptionally filthy today." I commented with a chuckle.

"Your cock tasted really fucking good... Is being filthy a bad thing?"

"Not at all. Just risky in places like this. It's very attractive when you're being as dirty as you are now."

Her smirk strengthened a bit. "Then maybe I'll be absolutely filthy some more, hm?"

I booped her nose. "As long as you're fine with that-."

That's when we heard the front door to the house open and the voice of Charlotte talking to who I presumed to be Trinity essentially rang out. I'm not sure what they were talking about since their mere presence alarmed my wife and I because there was still a small splattered puddle of Stacy's orgasmic fluid with a couple drops of semen on the floor. And unfortunately, I heard the couple swiftly marching their way toward the dining room.

Stacy gave me a worried expression whose face was still quite blushed from having had some thorough sex and I started thinking there was nothing we could really do but embrace for the possibility of them seeing our mess which is when I'd tap into seeing if saying some bullshit will get them off of our tails. Though I did at least try to hide it by swiftly scooting a chair over the mess on the floor since there weren't any rags or anything by us.

I had quickly thought of maybe taking one of our cups and pretending like we spilled it in order to mix some water with the orgasmic fluids since then they wouldn't be able to tell what it was and make retrieving a cloth not be suspicious at all. But unfortunately, we had drunk all of the water just before we got it on with each other so that option wasn't in our grasp.

And right before the lesbians made their way into the dining room, I wrapped my arms around my wife and deeply kissed her so I could make a very simple and certain excuse after they saw us. Though it was weird to kiss Stacy like that since she was confused about the situation so there was no passion in the kiss and she didn't kiss back. But I thankfully didn't have to do that charade for long.

Since we were at the head of the table, the doorway into the living room was in front of us but off to the side so Charlotte didn't see us until just after she entered the dining room. "...Are we walking in on something?"

That's when I ended the kiss and put a hand on the side of Stacy's face. "Not necessarily. Though you might've if you were five minutes later, who knows."

"TMI, Hunter, TMI." Charlotte replied whilst shaking her head. "Also, out here? Seriously? None of us thought about it until now but I think I'm gonna suggest an amendment to our rules to make public indecency illegal."

"Overruled." I half-jokingly replied, causing Charlotte to roll her eyes and Trinity to chuckle at her. "Go fetch us a cloth." I quietly whispered to Stacy who had been essentially frozen.

She quickly registered my request before heading back into the kitchen as the other girls finally entered the dining room.

"You really should stop teasing that girl so much, Hunter. She almost passes out when you go quite far with it, did you even see how blushed her face was?" Trinity quietly advised which I couldn't help but chuckle at.

"She's fine with it, we've talked about this many times before. I'll just need to do whatever she wants me to do to make up for it. It all works out in the end. Anyways, what are you two out here for?"

"Just out here to review some of our construction plans about some cabin locations and so Charlotte here can start thinking about where a possible tailor shop can be, it's about time that gets figured out."

I nodded at Trinity's words before they walked up to the map on the wall which opened up a figurative window. Also figuratively, I extensively prayed that they wouldn't look where Stacy's juice was before the girl herself returned by my side with the desired cloth. With the other girls distracted, I got on my knees and soaked up our fluids as deftly and effectively as possible where I left minimal and negligible residue behind. There was virtually no trace or evidence of what we had done by the time I was finished with the clean up.

"Let's go to our room." I quietly suggested to her which she happily complied to. And once we got up there, I tossed the cloth into our clothes basket before turning to my lady. "So... I know your panties are quite damp by now."

"Yeah, they are. But... to be honest, I like it. I like feeling your semen drip out of me and spread on my labia. " She then lifted her skirt and looked down at her groin to see the state of them. They had a decently large damp spot but no amount of my seed was seeping through the fabric. "As long as it stays in there, I think I'll wear them like this for a little while."

"Just don't make a mess, please..." I said before kissing her semi-salty forehead.

"I won't. I'll just enjoy this feeling for a bit."

"And it was probably a bad idea to cum out there since we didn't have the stuff to efficiently clean it up. We were almost caught. That would've been an awkward conversation."

"Yeah, maybe cumming in my pussy wasn't the smartest idea... But I needed it in there at that point and plus, the risk was so, so hot, it made me cum so hard."

"Yes, it was really good indeed. Perhaps I shouldn't have ejaculated inside you but maybe on you instead?"

"You've never done that before, it's always been in my throat or pussy. Hm, I wonder what it'd feel like on me somewhere that’s not my groin."

I had been thinking of coating some of her in my semen but I always focused on creampie-ing her since it felt too good not to in those moments of passion. But that desire was slowly growing within me so maybe I'll be able to do it eventually. I think it'd be a nice experience. "Maybe we can do that sometime soon."

"I'd like that." She simply replied with a small smirk.

We eventually found ourselves on the window bay where I held her close between my legs and softly made out with her for a long while. I didn't care that she had recently had semen in her mouth since she hadn't received much within it so I didn't mind. It was nice.

(Sex scene over)

An hour later, we went to the stream to clean off the filth we had put on ourselves for half an hour before we headed back to the mansion and watched a couple of superhero movies together. She was starting to become quite fond of those types of movies which was nice to see, it just meant I had to find her more of those movies to watch which I'd be happy to find for her.

An hour before my people's day of work ended I retrieved Stacy's DVD player and speaker and put them on the coffee table after we had agreed we wanted to dance for a little while. So after properly setting it all up, we then walked up to each other, she wrapped her arms around my chest, I put my hands on her sides, and we started to slowly step and spin around as we intently looked each other in the eyes with content smiles on our lips.

We really only danced like this since we weren't sure how to do anything much more complex and we were just fine with slow dancing since it was nice, calm, simple, and intimate. (That dance class I had taken so many years ago happened so long ago that I barely remember anything I was taught, not to mention I was a bit forced to attend it so I didn’t enjoy it at the time which hindered my ability to learn it quite substantially.) It let me deeply admire and notice every single last detail of the girl's beauty that shines quite brightly. At least in my eyes. I can confidently say that she's the best thing to lay my eyes on due to the amount of serotonin I get from just the sight of her.

She was still in her skirt and wore a fresh pair of panties since the previous ones had been soaked up with an unwearable substance. She promised me that they wouldn't come off and that she'd be mindful of the skirt in case something was being exposed. I was just a bit nervous that she wanted to wear it but it was a long skirt (so even her bending down wouldn't expose anything), she enjoyed how it felt, and I'm not gonna control what she wears unless it is very brazenly explicit. I hope that doesn't make me a bad guy, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. But she also said she would never wear anything like that so I'm sure I'll never have to resort to such a thing.

"It'd be much more intimate if we were naked." I commented after a couple minutes of dancing in silence. Well, there was music playing but you know what I mean.

She minutely squinted her eyes at me with a smile. "Haven't you seen and felt enough of that today, mister?"

I pressed the tip of my nose against hers. "Of course not, little miss- er, misses. It's impossible to get enough of your beauty, both external and internal. And it's also impossible to express just how thankful I am about how you let me enjoy it whenever and however I please."

"The exact same thing over here." She quietly replied with a quick nuzzle. "Well, we could've been naked if we did this up in our room but you wanted to do this down here for some reason."

I pulled my head back from hers. "I just figured that we've spent enough time in there for today and wanted to spend some time down here more, y'know?"

"I suppose so. After all, it would get boring if we spent more time there than we needed to when we could do some other stuff instead."

"Not completely boring since I'd be loving on you but a lot less interesting in general. Which isn't to undermine how much I love giving you affection because that's the best thing I can currently do and it'll probably stay that way indefinitely." I put a hand on the side of her smiling face as her beautiful blue eyes peered into mine and after a few moments, I said, "You make life worth living."

She then wore a very flattered expression. "You too..." Our slow dance slowed even further as her left hand draped down to mine where we then softly held each other's hand. She looked down at them and admired the rings we wore. "I can't believe how happy I am after everything I've been through... so, so happy. I have a bunch of good friends, a warm and big house, good food, clean clothes, I can do so many of my hobbies, I don't have to worry about being... bullied or abused, and I have someone who treats me like the Queen of the world. Who'd've known this would've happened after The Drop."

I looked down at our hands as her words spun around in my mind. "The Drop still hurts an immeasurable amount and always will. But it happened and there's nothing we can do about it besides moving on and looking forward. And with you by my side, Stacy, the future is bright, lovely, and happy. I've repeated this promise many times but I'll say it as much as I need to, with you as my cornerstone, inspiration, and wife, Solaris will be able to do anything that we need and want. After everything you've been through, you deserve this all. There's no way I couldn't treat you like my Queen."

"You deserve it all too for so many reasons. I'm so happy I'm your spouse... And I forever will be."

"Likewise here, Misses Solace. I love you so much." We hugged each other for a couple of minutes after she reciprocated my words. "You know, I got you a bit more than just the microscope today."

She cutely looked up at me. "I shouldn't be surprised... What else did you get me? Now I feel bad for not getting you more."

"Darling, it's completely fine, remember what we talked about earlier." I said to calm her down before kissing the tip of her nose. "And it's something I'll show you when it gets dark outside, it works best then."

She giggled. "That's what you said before you showed me the firework show... Dang, I remember that day very vividly, like it happened just a couple of hours ago. That was probably the best day of my life."

Those words caused my chest to feel very warm and a tingly sensation to wash over my brain since her happiness was something that made me extraordinarily happy in return. "Mine too. All of this happiness we're helping each other feel is getting too much to handle."

She giggled once more. "Tell me about it... But it's not gonna stop us from helping each other be happy, right?"

"Of course, you know I'll always try my best to make you as happy as I possibly can." I said before kissing her forehead.

She then hugged me again where we had to stop slow dancing due to how tight the embrace was. I reciprocated her grasp and simply put my nose in her hair where I gingerly rubbed the tip of her head with it. A few moments later, she told me yet again that she loves me which I said my usual response to. As we listened to the soft tune play, we stayed just like that for a few minutes until it ended.

We then just stayed in that loving embrace until the first person to call an end to their day of work entered the mansion. Scarlet just sort of awkwardly stared at us for a few seconds before heading up to her room. I didn't mind it all that much but stares from other people quickly get annoying quickly so I decided to say something a few moments after Scarlet had left us behind.

"Seems people are about to start heading back which means we've gotta wrap this little dance session up, my dear."

She nuzzled me with a smile. "Okay, alright, I guess so. As always, this was nice. Thank you."

"Of course, I would never deny giving my angel a nice little dance."

We ended the embrace and softly kissed for a few moments before we put away the speaker and DVD player which is when we started wondering when dinner would begin to be made and what we'd have. It didn't take us long to decide on salmon, cod, and some grapes where we helped each other make each other's meal. And without things getting steamy, we fed each other at the dining table once more with the girl in my lap. And while we were doing that, the rest of my people trickled in and the ones who lived in the mansion started getting their portion of food after Jordan and Lyra had made it.

As the day started turning to dusk, I started getting a bit excited at giving my woman a telescope who had been asking for hints every now and then. To which I responded, "I don't want to ruin the surprise, silly girl. Just trust me when I say that you'll love it when you see it later tonight."

Though when I heard a quiet rumble from the outside, my heart skipped a beat. I had a suspicion as to what it was and wanted to see for myself so I darted my way outside where it looked much darker than it should've been at that time. I looked up at the sky to confirm that there was indeed a storm brewing above us, something that was a few days overdue. I sighed at the gray and bulbous clouds getting ready to pour down their inventory.

Since we didn't have the privilege of weather radar, we were never able to get a heads up, know how bad the storm was gonna be, how big it was, and how long it might last. I sighed again at the reality of the unknown since it threw a wrench in my plans. As miniscule raindrops started sprinkling around me, I headed inside to tell Stacy that her receiving her gift had to be delayed. Though that's when she was helping teach Quinn's students some more vocabulary and learning some herself so I waited until they were done with that.

As that played out, the storm continued marching over us and the quiet sound of thunderous rumbling started ramping up in intensity. After a decently audible one, my girl clammed up a bit and looked toward me as her eyes expressed some fear and anxiety.

So when the others were focused on Quinn, I gingerly made my way over to her and picked her up like a bride. Yet again being in another embrace, she held me tighter to try and forget what feelings the thunder was triggering her to feel. I didn't want to embarrass her or anything like that so after she excused herself, I quietly left with her in my arms and headed up to our room where I set her on her feet. I wanted to cuddle with her but since our cuddle spot was next to the window that would've caused some problems if I put us there since she didn't want to be right next to the storm. So that's when I collected some of our pillows and blankets from the window bay and expertly placed them in the corner of the room before leading her to sit down with me.

She sat between my legs and leaned her side on me as she curled up into a ball right after a roar of thunder boomed. I held her close and nuzzled the top of her head to make sure her mind knew she was safe and loved. "I'm here, Stacy, I'm here..." I quietly cooed before kissing her head. "You're my amazing wife in every single way, something I'm immeasurably lucky to have, and I'll forever try to keep it that way and keep you happy, loved, and protected."

"I-I love you." She quietly said after a few moments.

"I love you too..."

I cuddled her closely and tried my hardest to make her feel comfortable and let her know how much she meant to me. The storm continued to pick up and it poured for at least half an hour before it started winding down. Not much conversation outside of me comforting her was had. And when the storm had winded down she was exhausted and peacefully slipped into a sleep in my arms after her mind let her relax.

As I let her sleep, I thought about the first instances we met each other. She was so little, frail, weak, afraid, and needed lifesaving help. I can't get across how happy I am to have been there; it's hard to properly understand everything that led up to us meeting there. And then I took that leap of faith that has turned out to be the best decision I have made in my entire life by far. I'm glad to have seen that frail, hurt, and weakened girl strengthen, grow, and become the very talented little lady that has become my second half.

I thought about that all for around twenty minutes before gently taking her to bed where I joined her in the land of sleep a little while later. It wasn't how I wanted the end of that day to go but you can't always get what you want so I dealt with it. Especially because I had to comfort my little angel. I hoped the next night sky would be clear for us to peer at some cosmological bodies.

One year down, dozens and dozens to go...

Chapter 56: Night terrors, night wonders

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

During the middle of the night, I started gaining just a sliver of consciousness and a bit of awareness to something that was happening around me. The girl I was holding was starting to fidget. The quiet noises she started making further made a small part of me become more aware as the seconds rolled by.

"Mmm... mmm... Nnngh..."

At this point, I thought I was still asleep and dreaming. But what happened next swiftly proved that thought incorrect.

"Nnn... no. No... No, no- no, NO!"

She awoke with a rush as she started experiencing an episode of delirium where she shot up and launched herself off of our bed. Since the girl was in this mental state coupled with a decent bit of confusion, she didn't catch herself or prepare much at all before she thudded to the ground.

The 'no' she yelled was when I was fully alarmed and pumped full of adrenaline at the cry of my wife before I instantly saw her flail to the floor. Since I was abruptly awakened, I was also quite confused at what was going on but I knew something bad was happening with my woman, so her well-being was made the number one priority in my mind.

I essentially threw myself to the side of the bed that Stacy had fallen off to see if she was alright but she gave me an extremely frightened look and started backpedaling away from me. "No, no, no, don't touch me!"

Her words shocked and paralyzed me since she had never said anything like that to me before, it was something I was never prepared to hear. And it was quite dark, I could barely see anything in the room, so to defuse the situation, I backed away from her to turn on the light before swiftly walking back up to her with a concerned expression as she sporadically blinked due to the sudden brightness.

"Stacy? Are you alright? What's wrong?" I gently asked her as I slowly got on my knees.

She had a slight quiver to her elevated breaths while she glanced at her surroundings. That's when I noticed the tears that had escaped her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. This is when the vast majority of the strength of her episode vanished as she came to her senses.

"I..." She trailed off as she looked at me with confusion. "I..."

"Can I come up next to you?" I asked a few moments later in the most delicate tone I could muster at that hour.

Her hands came together where she timidly twiddled her fingers as she took a deep breath and swallowed hard as she continued getting a better grip on reality. She then nodded which was my cue to gingerly take a spot at her side and mindfully wrap an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned on me, which is when I felt a subtle rattle her body was experiencing. I looked down at her to see that some sweat had started to leak from her pores which made me wonder just what had caused her to be so distressed.

"Are you alright?" I asked once more.

"I... I'm sorry. I just... I had a really, really realistic dream about... being violated." She said with a shiver. That's when it all became clear to me. "I thought you were h-him, I couldn't see you clearly and I was just so, so scared and confused..."

"No need to be sorry, dear, it's completely understandable in every way. It was an event that was quite scarring for the both of us and not something that can easily be gotten over... Do you need me to do anything for you right now? Like bring you some water or anything like that?"

She gently shook her head. "No..."

Just like the night prior, I tightly held her and rested my head on hers to silently let her know I was there for her. And I was so totally fine with doing this for as long as she needed it. As her husband who is fully committed to her, it's my job and responsibility to be there for her time of need and I happily oblige to it, how couldn't I be there for her? For the woman who's gone through so much and deserves feeling safe and loved?

So after gingerly nuzzling her head for a few minutes as she further calmed down, I quietly asked, "What exactly did you dream about?"

She subtly gulped after that question as she presumably thought about what her mind forced her to relive. "I was by the stream... And he grabbed me and threw me down before he s-started taking my clothes off."

Even though it was just a dream, the mere thought of someone doing that to her filled me with rage. But since it didn't actually happen, I suppressed those feelings and continued listening to her. "He almost... p-put it in me before I woke up... I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's alright, Stacy, I understand. It was a night terror, you didn't really know any better."

She sighed. "I... I hate how it's made me feel."

Her life, as expected, had changed a decent bit after that event. She still hated being snuck up on, felt like she had to carry a gun which she was getting quite good at shooting, couldn't go to the stream without Willow, was very timid toward new people (especially men, which I understand), still didn't really like her neck being touched, and now night terrors? I'm so thankful I managed to get there before he could've done worse to her, who knows how bad the effects would've been on her then.

"I hate it too. Just keep in mind that I'm here to try my best to make it better and I'll do anything to do that." After saying that, she finally wrapped her arms around me as she continued to relax even more.

I thought about how terrible it must've been to experience a dream, or more so nightmare, like that after almost being raped. Even that word alone makes me shiver in disgust. You've got to be an extremely deranged psychotic monster to even consider doing something like that to someone for so many reasons. It's moments like these where I wish I had just made his punishment castration instead of death... Does that make me a psychopath since I think that's an appropriate punishment? Maybe a bit, I don't know, but rapists are just pure scum and deserve the worst.

"Were you hurt when you fell off the bed?" I quietly asked after another short while.

"...I did actually hit my forehead."

My hand then went up to her chin to make her look up at me. I minutely frowned when my eyes spotted a bruise that was somewhat swollen above her left eyebrow since I had never seen her with a bruise before. It wasn't large or anything but it was there and indicated where she had broken her fall.

"Does your forehead, here, hurt?" I asked as the hand on her hand migrated over it. I wasn't dumb enough to touch the bruise.

She timidly nodded her head. "Only a bit but it's not that bad... It's only a little annoying. How big is it?"

I answered her question as I slowly brushed a hand through her hair. She didn't like the words I used to describe the state of it. "It'll heal in a few days and you'll be good as new. But just keep in mind that anything like this doesn't affect just how gorgeous you are."

"I just think it'll be a bit embarrassing..."

"I don't see why. But if people make fun of you or anything like that, come get me and I'll teach them not to be rude to my lady."

She lightly giggled, something I smiled at since the darkened mood had faded into obscurity. "Even when I'm in the wrong?"

"Well... If they make fun of you, I'll tell them how that's rude and uncalled for. And then I would roll the conversation back and peacefully make you see that you're in the wrong and hopefully talk you into seeing things from a different perspective." I diplomatically replied.

"Good." She said which wasn't particularly what I expected but was thankful to hear. "I don't want to be wrong and be in an... an echo chamber? That's just bad for everyone. Remember what you said about how we definitely have some incorrect opinions?"

I nodded. "We undoubtedly do, just don't know them and that's perfectly fine. People should want to know what opinions they have that are wrong, it's a good thing to be open to having your beliefs questioned in case they're incorrect. People should always have that mindset since it's dangerous not to. And much more dangerous to simply not listen to the other side."

She looked up to me with full concentration in her eyes, a look of admiration and one that conveyed that she looked up to me in more than one way. I wasn't telling her what to do but if her mind agreed with the ideas I shared, then she'd adopt them on her own as long as they made sense. I would've told her to do her own research since one should always do that but in the modern day, it's quite difficult to do that at our limited access to knowledge. We're really dependent on word of mouth and talking to other people to see things from their perspective and what not.

"I wonder what I think is wrong..."

"And so do I. Whenever we come across that, we'll amend it to make it right. But until then, we're on the floor and it's in the middle of the night. What do you say about us getting back in bed?"

"Right, yeah, I forgot about that... Should I do anything about the bruise first?"

I shook my head. "There's no need, it's not severe or anything like that. Just don't touch it for a while and you'll be fine after a week or so."

With her subtle shivering gone, her sweat dried up, and the girl for the most part calmed down, I unwrapped my arm from around her and took a hold of one of her hands before standing us both up. I gently nudged her forward to silently tell her to get back on the bed which she understood which was my cue to head to the light switch so our room could once again be consumed by darkness.

"I assumed you didn't want to be naked." I commented as I got into bed with her.

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling it... I hope you're fine with that."

"Of course, dear. You don't want to be connected as we sleep tonight, that's completely fine. After all, we've done that every night for quite a while now, so a break from it every now and then is fine."

As I spooned her and held her close she said, "Just so you know, I love it when you're inside as we go to sleep so, so much. It means so much to me. It's just the mood's kinda... bleh. We can pick it back up tomorrow if you want."

I nuzzled the crook of her neck as her words pleased my mind. "Definitely, there's no way I wouldn't do that if given the chance, it's so nice. I look forward to it."

I will admit that the lower half of my body craved for my phallus to be encased and intimately ported inside her love-tunnel due to how relaxing, lovely, and sweet it is to be one with her but I understood why she didn't want me to be there. I've said so many times how my glans is extremely lucky to feel something as amazing as being deep within her depths in many ways but it's hard not to talk about it due to how grateful I am that I even have the opportunity to do the act.

Anyways, by the end of that sentence, the amount of tiredness in my eyes was fairly substantial and already luring me to sleep which I expressed to her. After hearing that her own weariness was catching up to her, we lovingly kissed for a moment before settling down and focusing on getting back to sleep. I hoped that she wouldn't have another night terror again for that night... or ever, for that matter.


For the most part, the next day wasn't all that interesting besides working on construction a decent bit more. I've said it many times but really, there isn't any way to write about it without it being very repetitive since it's relatively mundane. Still, I enjoy it quite a bit since it's something productive, fulfilling, and even gives me hope for our future. I like the work ethic we have going on and hope it strengthens further.

The walls to the two cabins being erected were coming along quite nicely and the cool early October air made it not as uncomfortable as it would've been if working in the heat. I was thankful for that since the heat really is quite... not unbearable, but almost. Still, that just meant the freeze of winter was near which I wasn't looking forward to. But hey, we've got heaters this year so I think it's gonna be much better than the past few winters so that makes me happy.

The other thing I had to do for that day was explain why Stacy had yelled in the middle of the night and had gotten a decent bruise on her head. To be fair, that looked really bad for me for obvious reasons but I explained it to them and went on about how I'd never hurt my little angel in any way. And I even told them that if I ever did, they better take away my leader position and appropriately punish me.

Because people who hit their partners are the parasites and scum of the Earth. The only case that can be made for that is if it's in self-defense. But they trusted me and were confirmed by Stacy who was indeed a bit embarrassed by telling the story. Though she didn't say what the night terror was about, though some of them silently put two and two together.

It was quite strange seeing a bruise on her forehead since a sudden and decently big change of her facial features had never happened before so it was hard to get used to. I'm thankful that it's just a temporary feature since it's really out of place and distracting, really. And I will also say that it was a bit strange seeing her injured like that since she was always very aware of her surroundings and handling of any weapon or tool to prevent any bodily harm. So it hasn't really happened before, besides when I first met her, and I really hoped that she wouldn't experience any other injury since my sweet little girl doesn't deserve any pain.

Regardless, the day progressed as normal where I was once again humbly invited to listen to the unnamed band play their instruments that our little community had. They were getting quite good at gifting our ears with new, fresh, and actual performances which were greatly appreciated. There was something about listening to music in person rather than through headphones that gave the music a much bigger kick, feeling, and meaning.

During our little get together, I couldn't help but notice how Stacy hid the bruise as best and as frequently as she could. I didn't really realize how much it was bugging and affecting her so when our crew went inside by the time dinner was rolling around, I guided her to one of the living room couches and cuddled her where she rested her head on my chest which allowed it to be concealed. In a strange way, I thought it was a bit cute even though that spot on her head hurt a bit. What? I can't help thinking whatever my wife does is cute and/or adorable.

Anyways, I held her close and rested my chin on her head. "I haven't gotten the chance to ask you yet, how's your day been?"

She lightly sighed. "They keep looking at it, the bruise, and I had to explain to them what happened so many times. It's really annoying."

I softly chuckled at that as I looked back on recent history. "Yeah, it really is just a bit irritating when they look at your injuries." The stares from getting shot and nearly beaten to death were common and numerous during the time of my recovery from them. Though I quickly learned to ignore them though I did voice how it made me uncomfortable every now and then.

"...Dang, I'm just being a wuss compared to you. This is nothing once you put it up against what you've gone through."

"Maybe just a bit." I said, the words making one of the biggest understatements I've ever said, let alone heard. But I didn't want her to feel bad about herself over it in any way since that was just unneeded. "But you were still hurt and I must make sure that your healing process goes well and swiftly."

"You're being a dork." She said with a giggle. "A very sweet dork. There's really nothing you can do other than give me cuddles since it's just a bruise. I'll be just fine, like you said last night."

I smiled at her adorable words and kissed the top of her head. "You're right, my strong little Queen. And cuddles you want, cuddles upon cuddles you will receive."

"I love you." She quietly said with a grateful smile that I adored.

As members received their serving of food for the day, it didn't take our group much longer for our attention to turn toward the TV since a fresh batch of scavenged movies was recently collected so we decided to start chipping away at them by watching another superhero movie, one that Stacy really enjoyed. I wasn't too aware of the lore within the movies so I wasn't that invested but I'm aware enough to know that it was a good and interesting movie.

“I really like what she’s putting on her lips.” Stacy quietly whispered to me as a scene of a woman putting on some red lipstick played.

“Oh? Is it something you’re interested in?”

“Well… I’m not sure. It seems nice a bit but maybe it doesn’t fit me or people will think I look dumb with it.”

“Even if the others think that, don’t let them stop you from doing what you wanna do, alright?”

“Hm… I’ll think about it.”

Honestly, I was just a bit surprised she showed some sort of interest in makeup like that since she hadn’t before. And if she wanted to wear some, I’d fully support her decision. Though it would take a little bit of getting used to. And of course, I’d make sure she’d know she wouldn’t need any to improve her looks.

Anyways, every time a movie ends, I remember just how fast time used to fly back in the day of smartphones and the internet. I'm somewhat very thankful we no longer have it for a few reasons. Though I do think having them was a net positive due to the free access of humanity's knowledge. Cons and pros, impossible to not have.

"Hey, Hunter?" She quietly asked after our little group had dispersed. I hummed. "Weren't you gonna give me something yesterday? It started thundering before that happened..."

Her timidness was so adorable. "Ah, I'm glad you asked me that since I was just about to get around to getting us on track for it. It's still a bit early but I think we can go ahead and start setting it up."

"Setting it up?" She repeated with a small tilt of her head.

"It's decently big and something you have to use outside. But before we go do anything, do you want to eat anything more or something like that?" I asked where she just shrugged. "Right... Well, then I suppose we can get on our way to the spot I wanna show you it."

"Has to be outside, huh...? I honestly have not a single clue what it is." She commented as I stood us up.

I booped her nose and with a smirk, I said, "Good, you're gonna love it when I reveal it to you even more."

"You went out of your way to get me something, there's no way I'm not going to love whatever you give me."

I adored how easy she was to please. "But the spot I want us to be at is a decent bit away so I want to cut the time by a large proportion since it'd be a while to walk there, like half an hour."

"Alright then, I assume we're gonna take one of the cars?" I nodded. "Huh... I haven't really been in one of the cars before, I never really needed to since I've stopped scavenging." She lightly gasped. "Oh wow... I haven't really left the vicinity of Solaris in a very long time. I never really noticed since the only thing I would need to scavenge for, art supplies, get taken care of by you. Which I can't thank you enough for."

I put a hand on the side of her face and eskimo kissed her. "Of course, my dear. I'm glad to get you the things you need so you can produce more of your awe-inspiring masterpieces."

Even after all of this time, my compliments can still cause her cheeks to get a small and subtle tint of red to emerge on them. I hope that affect never wears off due to how rewarding it is to make her feel that way. She smiled and thanked me for my compliment which got her a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"But yes, let's find our way to the cars." I said which was our cue to exit the mansion where I snatched the fob that hung on a nail within the doorframe to the entrance/exit which belonged to the vehicle that contained the device I would give my wife. I then thought about whether or not the fobs should be in a more secure area and if I should make it to where people have to ask me for permission to use a vehicle before they do just to always know where those very valuable assets are at all times.

On our way to the car, I surveyed the sky to check how the weather was doing. Thankfully, there were barely any clouds hovering above us whatsoever and was fairly devoid of anything that would obscure our vision. I smiled at that. I would've been really peeved if that wasn't the case.

"I haven't been in a vehicle in a really long time, ever since before The Drop." She commented as we took our seats in the front.

"Wow, I guess you haven't. Think you'll be fine with my driving?"

"I trust you." She honestly replied as she explored what the buttons to her window did and what was in the glove compartment before moving onto how the AC... 'directors' moved and could point elsewhere. It was cute seeing her explore what each part of the car did and was something I didn't really notice I fell into just watching for a little while. Her natural curiosity to know things just shone so bright during those few moments. It's a part of what makes her so bright.

After that observation, I started the car up and slowly started making my way down the mansion's gravelly path toward the better but weathered and aging asphalt road. During the first couple of minutes of the beginning of our drive, I stayed mindful of Stacy's reactions just in case she was triggered by something. I wasn't really expecting something like that to occur but I was subtly on alert just in case since one can never be too sure.

As I sped the car up to a moderate speed, the girl to my right fidgeted just a tad after putting her seatbelt on. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just... I forgot what it felt like, it feels funny and a bit dangerous." She replied with a nervous giggle.

"It'll be like that for only when I'm accelerating the vehicle." As I said that, our increase of speed drastically slowed to cap out at twenty miles an hour. "See? I'm sure you've read about what that's called in one of your books you keep your nose in."

"Psh." She simply said in retaliation. "But yeah, now that I think about it, it's conservation of motion... Newtonian laws are a very fascinating branch of physics."

Hearing her say something that was, quite frankly, super nerdy was adorable. I know I define so much of what she does and is as adorable or cute but there's really no better word to apply to her. "Mhm, physics as a whole is fascinating along with chemistry and math. It's a shame it's so hard to learn and understand. Well, at least that's what it was like when I was in school. School made me just absolutely hate learning these things since the way they went about it was so... inefficient and irritating, to put it lightly. Who knows if I'd be able to teach myself all that these days, maybe if I applied myself to it. Though it's something I'll never really use, at least not any time soon, since I have to focus on everything within Solaris, as you probably already know... Damn, how'd I get on this tangent?"

She shrugged. "You just did. But I don't mind it, I like it when you just talk and don't hold anything back, unfiltered. It's nice to just hear your opinions and your past even if I may already know it. Another reason is because I just like the sound of your voice... It calms me so, so much. My mind and body know they're with the person that loves me so much, would do anything for me, and is committed to me forever... Hah, we say this sort of stuff to each other so often, I'm surprised you don't get tired of hearing it."

"How could I possibly ever get tired of hearing my Queen talking about her comforts and affection toward me? It's only the best thing my ears can hear and something I'll cherish and never take for granted. But yes, your voice also calms me and lets me know, or more so reminds me, of how I always have complete access to something that represents a colossal amount of kindness, sweetness, and just pure beauty... I've gotten way too lucky with you."

She shyly smiled at my words. "Thank you... You're those things as well and I feel incredibly lucky that I found you too. But I would never say that 'I don't think I deserve you'. Because I think I do. And I think you deserve me, not to sound egotistical or anything like that. But after The Drop, what happened before we met, and everything after that, we deserve everything that we've done for each other so, so much for so many reasons."

I chuckled. "It's not egotistical at all, at least I don't think it is. I do agree with what you've said, we definitely do indeed deserve each other. I honestly might even claim that we're the only ones who deserve each other, romantically that is, and that it was simply meant to be. I really don't see anything other than that being plausible due to... how well we click, if I do say so myself." She proudly nodded and hummed her approval at my words which was good enough for me. "And again, I won't ever take you for granted. I will continue to give you as much physical and verbal affection as I can. Along with spending as much time with you as we do other casual stuff, and as much as you crave and desire since I'll always be more than willing to give you it."

"All things you mentioned and promised when you proposed to me... Your promises not faltering in the slightest and how you've only ever just been the best person I've ever met tells me that I truly can live with you for the rest of my life. I had no doubt but as each day passes, that… guarantee gets stronger and stronger along with my happiness. And I know I don't need to say it but I will; I've reciprocated all of your promises and actions too, there's no way I couldn't have, and I intend to forever." While she said this, I kept glancing at my ring that I was still getting used to. Her words made my heart flutter at the reality of the situation.

"Likewise here, to all of that." With that being said, we were content with what we expressed to each other and continued our trip to our destination in comfortable silence for most of the way there.

That was until Stacy started pondering about what I had gotten her and started asking 'is it...' questions which I gently refused to give any answers to. Though the few questions she asked were completely unrelated to each other for what I had waiting for her so she really did have no clue.

"Does this place look familiar to you at all?" I asked her as I carefully drove into a certain clearing within the forest that had a lake within it. It was the clearing that was fairly devoid of any trees before some small hills started rolling a hundred meters or so away from it.

"How could I ever forget?" She sweetly replied as I continued making our way to the lake, but not too close. "Like I said, I can easily say that that night was the best night of my life by far. It's so easy to say that since it's so true."

By the time she was done saying that, I had adequately closed the distance between us and the lake so I slowed us down and put the vehicle in park. My left hand went down to hold one of hers as I finally looked her in the eyes. "Once again, likewise here."

She reciprocated my hand's grasp and tightened it a bit as she tried scooting toward me. I leaned down and rested my forehead on hers which was her cue to put her free hand on the side of my face. Because affection is so common between the two of us, we kissed for a minute before ending it. Keeping my forehead on hers, I admired her blue irises that looked at mine for a few silent seconds longer. That was until I remembered our surroundings and how the outside was getting quite orange due to the sun being just over the horizon.

"Should I set up your gift now?"

"Oh, right, I forgot about that. Yes, you can do that. I just... should I watch you set it up?"

"Let's get out of the car first." We did just that where I then walked over to her side and grabbed her hand once more. I walked us five or so meters away from the vehicle and kissed her forehead. "Stay right here and don't look back at me, alright? It'd ruin the surprise."

She lightly giggled. "I'll try not to and try to fight off the temptation to look back as best as I can."

"I'm trusting you." I replied with another boop on her nose. With that simple understanding exchanged, I turned back toward the vehicle and shimmied my way back to the car's trunk and opened it up before immediately getting to work on taking it all out and properly setting it up as stated previously.

As I did so, I could tell she was trying her hardest not to look behind herself but she cleared her mind and focused on the scenery that was in front of her. But she did start up a conversation by saying, "It's impossible to tell you just how much I appreciate every little thing you do for me... Truly, truly impossible. There are just no words that exist for me to use and not enough actions I can take to show you it."

Setting up a telescope isn't that difficult so it was quick work. "That's very true. Regardless, I try my best to show you as much as you want to receive. It's an indefinite thing."

"Yes..." She happily agreed, with nothing more to add, at least not at that moment.

It only took another sixty seconds for me to complete setting up the telescope and making sure it was fully operational by checking it over a second time. It then stood there in a pristine state just waiting for its incoming owner to use and peer deep into the skies. Cleaning it from all of the dust it had on it earlier that day was a bit of a bitch due to having to make sure every crevasse was spotless but it was totally worth it.

I walked back up to her and gently put a hand on her back. "I hope you like it. You can turn around now."

She hesitated for just a moment for some unknown reason before gathering the courage and turning around. She froze for a couple seconds which made me not know how to feel. Thankfully, she glanced up at me and looked back at the device. During the glance, I was able to spot the amazement and astonishment within her eyes. I assumed her mind was celebrating in a small sense since she had read all about telescopes and has said to me many times about how she had wished for one.

"It's not the absolutely gigantic telescopes that humans built and definitely not anything like the James Webb, but it'll let you see just about every type of celestial body you'll want to see. And I will say that I got real lucky with finding this size of telescope when I did. It's good enough for you."

She had slowly started walking toward it so I followed closely behind her. "That... 'Good enough'? Any type or size of telescope would be way, way more than enough! I already love it to death!" She said with a strong smile of joy as she completed her approach to the device.

She then delicately put a hand on it, like she was seeing if it was actually real or not, where she felt the smooth metal casing of the telescope's focal length.

"I c-can't get across how much... just how much that I appreciate that you went out of your way to get me this. You've just... been a bright light in my life, so very bright. I didn't know what happiness felt like before I met you due to how my life was before it, pre and post Drop." She said as she slowly draped her fingers up the scope. "And remember how I said it's i-impossible for me to show your how much I appreciate you?" I slowly nodded at her words as her voice quivered at bit. "I'm going to try to show it. What I'm trying to say is, is that I just... love you. I love you. I love you so, so, so much. Thank y-you."

She tightly hugged, rested her head on my chest, and started to quietly cry. "Not the reaction I was expecting at all... But a strong and nice one to see, even if I don't like seeing my girl cry." Though I guess these types of tears are the exception since she still had a quivering smile as she let her tears go while she said that she loved me a couple of more times.

Of course, I reciprocated her embrace and put my chin on top of her head. "I love you so, so much too, Stacy. And you're welcome. Again, it's my duty to do things that'll make you happy since I'm your husband. Your happiness pays for itself, after all, there's no way I couldn't keep that as one of my top priorities at all times. I'm so glad we're each other's lights in this world..."

She just nodded as she continued to quietly cry with minimal audible noises made. As she did that, her legs became weaker and weaker so she relied on my support to stay standing which I happily obliged to. It took three or so minutes before she started to compose herself where she wiped her tears off of her cheeks after she took a deep breath.

"Sorry... I don't know what came over me, I just... I'm so overwhelmed by how much you mean to me and for some reason this just... I don't know how to explain it." She said as she continued drying her cheeks.

"Please, don't apologize, it's completely fine." I reassured with a kiss on her head. "Crying is a very, very strong emotion and for you to do so because of how overwhelmed you are with your feelings towards me... Well, that action means and shows me quite a lot. I totally get it." After yet another kiss on her head, I added, "Now it looks bad that I haven't done the same for you."

She chuckled at that as she recovered from her emotional episode. "There's no need to Hunter, I understand that you feel the same without doing that. I also understand that you're just not a crier like me... And isn't crying more of a woman than a man thing for some reason?"

"It is, but I couldn't tell you why. Maybe Olivia could answer your question about it. And I'll take your words to heart... Crying's not fun, after all, it makes my eyes hurt in a way."

"Just a bit. But I think it feels really good in the moment..." She timidly looked up at me. "It was super nice to cry and be held like that. Thank you..."

"It was no problem." I said as I put a hand on the side of her face where we looked each other in the eyes once more. By the end of our gazes into the other's soul, I took note of our surroundings once more. The sky above us was no longer a bright orange but fading into purple which was swiftly turning into darkness. The first few stars were starting to become visible due to the lack of the immense amount of light the sun projects onto the Earth. "Now, what do you say about us using your telescope, hm?"

"Oh, right!" She said before instantly turning to the device. "...Again, can you show me how it works? And what will we look at first?"

"Of course I will. And it's your telescope, what do you want to use for it first? If I must, l suggest the moon since that'll be the easiest thing to find in the sky tonight."

She looked up at where the half-moon hung brightly in the sky. "Yes, I really like that suggestion. I've always wanted to see the moon by using something that could give me a much clearer and bigger picture of it. I know there are craters on its surface but I've never been able to see them with my own eyes. It's just been white mixed with a bit of gray my entire life."

Her words made me wonder if her eyes were decent or mediocre at doing their job and if she needed glasses or not. If so, then that'd suck since we obviously don't have the technology to manufacture a piece of tech like that. Aw, a Stacy wearing glasses would be absolutely adorable. Maybe I should request that Olivia give Stacy an eye test... I digress.

I showed her how to maneuver the telescope which was a very simple mechanism so it required no words explaining it in depth for her to understand. "The eyepiece is currently a lower powered one which just means the amount of light the lens is receiving is more broadly displayed within the eyepiece so we can see more sky all at once. I put the low powered one on first because it makes finding stuff easier, does that make sense?"

"Yes, it makes a lot of sense." She simply replied before I started directing the telescope toward the moon. Though before I did that, I asked her if she wanted to do it instead. "Oh! Uh, sure, I'll try. It doesn't seem that difficult."

And so she took a firm hold on the barrel of the device and did what she could to enact upon our agreed upon course of action. It was just a bit funny seeing her steer it since it was a decently large telescope, one that was overkill for observing just the moon, but the moon was a great starting point. I watched her for a couple of minutes as she pointed it towards our natural satellite, the girl not needing any of my help with it and enjoying her first few moments with her newest toy.

"Alright, I've got it in sight..." She said as she looked into the eyepiece where she expressed pure bewilderment. "I... am just speechless." She sounded defeated in a way.

"Is everything alright?" I gently asked as I rested a hand on her back.

"Everything is just great." She said in the same tone. "It's so beautiful..."

She was completely awe-struck by what she was observing. It was another beautiful thing to see her witness and react to for the first time. A warm feeling emerged in my chest since I had been the cause to allow my wife to see and do these things that made her mind mesmerized by the perplexing reality that she had become aware in. And opening her mind and letting her observe the things that our eyes just can't see was a gift unto itself for me since I knew she was making memories that she'd never forget. It was very satisfying and rewarding in a spiritual way.

"Is it what you thought it'd be?"

"I've seen images of the moon in books before but they didn't have this effect, the effect of it being three dimensional and way up close... So, not exactly what I thought it'd be. It's much different in a very positive way. This is just awesome..." Her words made me smile as she started describing what the lunar surface was like as she started guessing how big the impact craters were. "It reminds me of how lucky we are to have the moon and how it was born... The universe is speechlessly incredible."

"It really is. From gigantic stars, supermassive black holes, planets, galaxies, and the laws of physics themselves, it is undoubtedly beautiful. After all, it managed to make you."

She looked up from the eyepiece where she wore a shy smile as a light tint of pink appeared on her cheeks. "Always know what to say, don't you?"

"Not always, but certainly when I need to point out your indescribable everything since I just can't help myself."

She thanked me again before looking back into the eyepiece to continue essentially gush over at the staggering view. After a couple of minutes of her trying to appreciate every little detail of the moon's surface, she suddenly backed her head away from the eyepiece and looked back up to me.

"I'm hogging it again, I'm sorry. Do you want to look at the moon?"

The arm that had been on her back slid around her so I could gingerly hug her. "Stacy, it's your gift, you're allowed to enjoy it as much as you want, silly girl. There's no need to worry about me since we've got all night to look up at the sky. We've barely just begun."

"Oh, right... Yeah, I guess we do have a couple hours out here. I just want you to enjoy this moment too."

After kissing the tip of her nose, I explained to and assured her that her reactions and memories she was making were causing me to greatly enjoy what we were doing. She was appeased with what I said and I encouraged her to look back into the eyepiece which she did.

"How do I zoom it in?"

Her question was my cue to take a much more powerful eyepiece I put within my pocket. "I've gotta swap the eyepiece you've been looking into with this one."

She then took a step back to allow me to get work on deftly changing out the original eyepiece with the more focused one. I taught her how to use the mechanism that locked an eyepiece in place so she'd know how to handle the telescope by herself in the future before locking the second eyepiece into place. I took my own step back to allow her to reposition back into the proper place to use the scope, something I gestured for her to do.

She quickly closed the distance between her eye and the eyepiece to admire the moon's surface once again. "Oh my... There's not much more I can really say about this. It's just so cool..."

I just let her continue to admire the moon's crust as she said a few words of joy and awe at seeing our beautiful moon with the resolution she had for the first time. I knew it was the only time she'd be this excited over seeing the moon since pure excitement and wonder like this is had only when one experiences something new and unique. It never happens on the second time and beyond that point, which is to be expected since you can't have the same strong reaction to something over and over again. So I made sure to enjoy the moment with her.

After fifteen minutes, the sky had gotten much darker as we entered the final stages of twilight. That's when Stacy backed away from the device and wanted me to see what she had been seeing since she wanted to fully share the experience with me. I thought it was a sweet action so I complied with her silent wish and saw what the scope had enabled us to see, or more so get a better view of.

I had seen the moon's surface before a couple of times since one of my aunts was heavily invested in all things space related so it wasn't a unique sight for me. Regardless, I still admired the maria craters on its surface. And as we did so, we spoke about the moon's birth, how it slowly strays away, how it slowed the Earth's rotation, how tides work, and how it got tidally locked. These days, she has a much better understanding of things like this and is able to talk a decent bit in depth into it due to her studying with me and being her study-buddy a lot of the time.

"Are we gonna be able to see black holes?" She somewhat excitedly asked.

"Unfortunately, no." I answered as I pulled myself away from the scope. She looked just a tad deflated at that. "To see a black hole, we'd need absolutely gigantic telescopes across the globe honing in at one point in space twenty-six thousand light-years away from us to see a low-quality image of the accretion disk of a black hole. Only the disk because, well, I'm sure you know about how light itself, the fastest possible thing a single particle or wave can go within space-time, cannot escape its gravity."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense... It's just a bit disappointing that I'll never really see one with my own eyes, er, the disk that is."

"...Well maybe you will. Perhaps you'll become one of the best scientists of the future world within Solaris to make it possible."

She gently shook her head as she smirked at me. "You're way too optimistic, Hunter. That's one of the reasons I love you so much. I don't think I'd be able to do anything like that though... Mainly because of how complex it'd definitely be. Etsu and I have talked about supply chains and infrastructure of the old world and... Well, it's gonna take like two or three hundred years for us to return to what we were like. Maybe even five hundred or something like that."

I wanted to dismiss that and call it pessimism... but it kind of isn't due to our circumstances. So somewhat defeated at her reasoning, I said, "Maybe, maybe... It does kind of rely on the amount of people there are, after all. And who knows how many of those are left and if there are parts of the world that were less affected. Maybe we'll find out eventually. But hey, even if it does take hundreds of years, wouldn't it be cool to become the person that lays the foundation for future generations to jump off of to get a head start? It'd be a phenomenal thing to be remembered for."

"I doubt it. I don't think I'd ever be smart enough to do something like that."

I put a hand on the side of her face so I could assert eye contact between us. "Stacy, I really do believe that you can do truly amazing and stunning things as long as you push yourself toward them. Don't undersell yourself, alright? Perhaps you can promise me that if you ever have the chance to do great things, that you won't pass up the opportunity. As long as you want to, I suppose, since I don't really want to make you do things that would stress you out or make you unhappy."

She put a hand on top of mine as I said that. "Depending on what it is, I think I most likely would. I'll try not to 'undersell' myself, it's just hard not to, y'know?" I nodded. "...Your words are so sweet. I say it a lot, but thank you... Just thank you."

I kissed her nose in response. "Wow, we've been extremely sappy tonight, I'm sure the readers are getting tired of it at this point."

"...Readers?"

"Yeah, y'know, the people that were rude enough to read my journal since I'm definitely gonna be writing this all down."

You know who you are.

"Dork." She simply said with a giggle.

"Let's get back to peering at the heavens and see if we can spot something awesome, yeah?"

She nodded, which was my cue to swap the eyepiece out once more before she excitedly took control of where the device pointed at, looked into the eyepiece, and very slowly and minutely started to steer the telescope's way of facing elsewhere. What she witnessed was a fast changing scene of countless stars flying by within the eyepiece's projection.

Due to the lack of light pollution on Earth, the amount of stars and cosmic structures we could actually observe were much more numerous than they would've been otherwise. The only thing that affected our activity was the Earth's atmosphere itself, how bright the moon was for that night, and the size of our scope.

During this, the night was in full force as the world around us was fully plunged into the night's darkness. And with nothing to worry about besides the activity we were initiating in, we were calm and collected.

"I wonder if we'll find any nebulas tonight. Maybe even the Andromeda Galaxy as well." I softly wondered out loud after a few minutes of her peacefully scanning the skies with a contagious smile on her lips. "Though seeing Andromeda is something that is a bit rare and very hard to see with the naked eye since we can only see the core of Andromeda with just our eye. As the night progresses, we might be able to spot it and point the telescope toward it."

"All of that sounds amazing... I especially want to see Saturn at some point. That one's especially beautiful. It's probably my favorite planet."

"My personal favorite is Jupiter since it's so massive and has cleaned up a lot of asteroids for us. Jupiter's stripes are also extremely fascinating along with the Galilean moons."

She made an excited noise, kind of like a squeal, which was so fucking adorable. "Hopefully we can see Jupiter soon too! Do you think we'll be able to see Saturn's hexagon?"

"...Agh, very unfortunately, no. The angle we're at just makes it not feasible... which is saddening."

"Dammit." She said with a huff. "I guess we just have to deal with that... I'm still excited to see Saturn and Jupiter, whenever that is. I think seeing the great red spot will be amazing."

"I actually haven't seen Jupiter before with my own eyes so it will indeed be amazing... stellar, even." After a giggle from her, I added, "I'm just not sure where they are in the sky or if we can even see them this time of year. Hopefully someone has some pointers. Fat chance of that though so the more likely option is either finding some sort of book to help us on planet finding or be lucky when surveying the sky."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan... I know I'll be surveying the sky quite a bit whenever I can. This is so cool. So, so cool. I thank you again."

My hand on her back lightly rubbed her there in response. "I'll try to be there with you whenever you do since I'd like to help you with discovering things and looking at extravagant sights we might see while we're doing it."

"In this area?"

I shook my head. "No, no, in the backyard or somewhere near there since it'd be annoying to come here every single time you wanted to use it. I just wanted your first time using your telescope out here so it could be more memorable and so no one would be able to interrupt our immersion with it."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense. Well, thanks for taking me out here again and being so thoughtful. It means so much to me."

"Of course, dear. Again, none of this was any problem. I'm glad to have done this all."

With that being said, she focused back on discovering and finding out what the sky above her looked like in more detail. The minutes that flew by us didn't feel as long as they should've been. I say that since we spent at least another half an hour peering at small sections of the sky and discussing how the stars work, how they formed, their past, and their future. It was a very nice conservation with only a minimal amount of existential wonder.

"That is a globular cluster." I said after a few seconds of determination after looking into the eyepiece once more.

After she had located a massive cluster of thousands of stars compacted in a relatively small area, she was mesmerized and shared her wonder before letting me see what she had described to me. It was simply awesome to see a structure like that, it was fairly alien since nothing in the visible sky resembles a mess of sprinkled bright dots that a globular cluster is.

"I wonder if there's anyone there..." She quietly asked as I looked at it.

"Maybe there is... We'll probably never know. But maybe at least one of the planets there has some sort of life since the building blocks of life are quite common. With some of our experiments back before The Drop, we were able to see that amino acids were able to form from natural ingredients in natural and mundane conditions in what would've been a naturally formed planet, sterile of any life... We even found amino acids on asteroids. I want to see what other alien life would look like so much."

"...Maybe one day?" She said with a giggle.

"Aren't you supposed to be the pessimistic one?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Nope." She confidently replied.

I booped her nose while still using the telescope. And we continued to use it for another twenty minutes before a quiet yawn she was trying to suppress escaped her lips.

"I saw that." I commented, causing her to pull her head back from the telescope. "It's getting pretty late indeed. We should probably be done for the night and continue this tomorrow night."

"Aw, but we've barely looked at anything..." She said in a somewhat begging tone.

"Stacy, it might be pretty dark out here but I can see the tiredness in your eyes." I replied as I softly put both of my hands on her cheeks. "I think it's time for us to pack this up and head back. We don't want the others to start worrying for us, do we?"

She lightly sighed. "I guess not... And I guess I am pretty tired... It's just that this is so cool and I love it so much."

I gingerly eskimo kissed her. "I'm happy that you think that. But there's no need to exhaust yourself over it. Because like I said, there's tomorrow night. And the night after that, and the night after that. This is your telescope now, you can use it all the nights you want... I just don't want you staying up until the sun rises once again since that's just not a good choice all around."

She hugged me. "You're right... to all of that. It's just hard to put it off until tomorrow, y'know? It's so exciting."

I kissed the tip of her nose. "I promise I'll look at the cosmos with you again tomorrow, alright?" She simply nodded at that with a smile. "Alright then, I do feel a bit bad for bursting your bubble, but let's move onto disassembling it and putting it back in the car."

"It's fine, Hunter. You're right about saying how it's late. And I don't wanna mess up our sleep schedule." And with that understanding expressed, we swiftly moved onto doing what I suggested before getting back in the vehicle.

"You should return to Jackson. The people there really need your help." Stacy quietly said just as I took my seat.

"What people?" I asked her after facing her, completely confused at what she just said.

"Hm?" She replied with an eyebrow raised. "...What people? Huh?"

"...The people in Jackson? That abandoned town a bit away? You just said there's people there."

"Um... Hunter, I didn't say anything." She replied as a small bit of concern emerged within her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"..." For a few silent seconds, I just thought back at what I thought I heard her say. It was her voice, she definitely asked me something, something really random, but... why would she ever lie to me about something as obscure as this? Her expression and eyes definitely told me that she was telling the truth but my hearing and memory told me otherwise. I was conflicted about what to believe for a few seconds before I sighed and started the car up. "My mind must've just played some trick on me. Don't worry about it."

"Okay then... I love you, Hunter." She sweetly said.

At least her adorable words were able to take my mind off of the strange emotion I was feeling. "I love you too."

Of course, I wasn't satisfied with saying that my mind was just being a dick since it was an annoying conclusion but what more could I do? The frequency of strange occurrences happening are still low and I continue to hope with all my might it stays like that at the very least. Time will only tell...

And so we coasted back to our home where our day was swiftly coming to an end. It was a sweet continuation of what you could label as a 'date' from the day prior so I was happy due to the quality time I spent with my spouse which meant there was nothing to complain about.

But as much as I tried, I couldn't keep what the imaginary Stacy said off of my mind as I intimately spooned my woman while we drifted off to sleep. It was just a delusion but the more I thought about it, the more it made me paranoid since whenever I was in that town, it felt like a pair or two of eyes were on me. But that could also just be due to how my mind is randomly paranoid in some places.

I thought about it longer than I should've before ultimately throwing the thought out and focusing on getting to sleep with the help of holding my beautiful and peacefully sleeping wife as I thought about the unknown future that lies ahead of us.

Chapter 57: Contact

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

Shorter days, cooler air, and the slog of winter approaches closer and closer as each day passes, something I always dread. The lush and green leaves and plants have already died and decayed due to the shift in season since it was already November. The past month felt like only a week since I've been focused on running Solaris and making sure things are moving along while trying to be the motivator of my people. Things are great even if I'm fairly busy but that's not a con or anything. Really, I enjoy the work I partake in and would choose to have this role over and over again.

I was still elevating newcomers to becoming Solar citizens after the required forty day mark had been met, helping with construction by collecting materials and putting in some of the labour needed to construct the little hamlet Trinity and Etsu had planned out, and continued to gracefully allow people onto my lands. Well, not really all that much since I've only allowed one person to check Solaris out the past month and a half or so. An East-Asian who goes by the name of Susil has joined our force even if decently timid and still getting used to the new way of life.

Though that makes sense, it's a lot to take in when you see that a whole community has formed and are seriously developing their little community, one that’s essentially growing as aggressively as possible. The first day she was here, she started laughing a bit like a lunatic for a few minutes since it felt so surreal to her and how she was no longer alone. Which, honestly, is very understandable so laughing like a maniac was probably justified in a lot of ways.

The cabins were still our main focus since we just needed folks to move out and into their own space since the mansion can only harbour so many at a single given time. The polygamous throuple and Oliver and Jessie had claimed the two latest cabins that were recently finished with being contructed so that relieved the mansion of a decent amount of space yet again. Though it's only room for the next number of people since there's no other place for them to be until another abode is erected.

I'm seriously thinking about making some sort of boarding house for newcomers with tiny rooms just to purely act as a place where one can sleep for the night and relax in a small area before they can upgrade when their spot in the queue of getting their own place is up. That's because I worry an extreme amount about letting a stranger in the mansion since I don't trust strangers at all. I just force myself to take the risk while taking the right precautionary steps, AKA, keep a gun within arm's reach whenever I go to sleep. So building a separate building where strangers won't be in the same structure I sleep in sounds like a good idea to me. I'll probably properly brainstorm an idea with Etsu and Trinity about it in the near future since now's a pretty good time to since making more living space isn't that big of a priority.

Our priority at the moment is shifting to scouting and mapping abandoned towns as the season grows colder. Obviously, it's because these places have a lot of things that wouldn't hurt to have. More canned foods, tools, and clothes being the most important things they hold. And then there's a bunch of miscellaneous leisure things like devices, art supplies, instruments, and other stuff like that. And it's about high-time we start capitalizing on all of the materials we could stockpile with much more effort.

"I know this plan has been hindered a decent bit in the past few weeks but that was mainly due to our focus being elsewhere on more important matters. But now that we can spare the time and effort, since we're not just gonna do the bare minimum during winter, it's time to really kick-start us off on collecting all that we can that awaits our taking." I said as I sat at the dining table with Oliver, Jessie, Scarlet, Zaine, and Ashton. "Since Zaine and Scarlet recently found a compatible trailer for our second vehicle, this initiative has recently been truly enabled and feasible which is why I'm finally clarifying that it's go time for this plan to be in full swing because otherwise it would've been half as slow or just really inefficient."

"So when do you want us to start this exactly and what should we retrieve first?" Scarlet asked after my initial remark.

"Tomorrow since we're already half-way through this day. If I had caught y'all in the morning, it would've been today but I woke up ten minutes too late. And let's scavenge tools first since that'll be the easiest to begin with."

"What exactly do you mean by tools? And where should we store them in?" Zaine asked.

"Power tools, anything you'd find in a toolbox, blades, stuff like that, nothing huge or anything. We'll be storing them in the shack out back. It's got a decent amount of room in it after clearing it out and reorganizing it so there's a lot of free space just waiting to harbour what we're gonna scavenge."

"Okay, that makes sense."

"Then once we fill the shack up to the brim with equipment, we'll then start scavenging clothes which we'll store in the attic, and then we’ll move onto food which will be stored in the cellars. Food's not a worry at all any time soon since the harvest has alleviated a shit load of 'do we have enough food' stress due to the sheer amount that we received from it. But it'd still be nice to have the non-perishables at our fingertips, just in case. After all, the variety of food is appreciated which is why some of us still fish, hunt, and forage. Corn and potatoes would get annoying after a couple of months if that was the only thing we consumed."

They all agreed to that before Oliver asked, "Which towns should we loot from first?"

"Preferably, I'd want you to choose a nearby one and go wild with it but if you want to prioritize another area first, go right ahead, I don't really care. Just be smart and efficient and you'll be all good in my books. And remember to take an adequate amount of spray paint with you so you can mark each building as looted so none of us waste any time searching an already looted building in the future."

"I assume we're gonna be teaming up into four team groups instead of just having two groups of scouts, right?" Ashton inferred which I nodded at.

"Correct. Having four people in a group means your unit will have a lot more energy and more hands to swiftly collect things in bulk so it's a no brainer to increase how many are in your scavenging crew. We'll probably need a couple more recruits though so don't be afraid of asking around to see if anyone's' interested in joining in on the fun."

"If you're gonna go ahead and be one who leads the charge on going out there tomorrow, you wanna be a part of my team?" The same man also asked.

"I hadn't thought of who to go with yet but I don't see why that shouldn't be the case. Who're the other two you're teamed up with?"

"Just Phoenix for now, I need to figure out who that fourth person is gonna be."

I nodded at that and looked at the other attendees at the table. "What about y'all? Do you know who you're grouped up with?"

Thankfully, they all did so there wasn't anymore conversation about that particular part of the plan. I then moved us onto each team picking which village or town they'd pick which played out quite swiftly. Though unlike the other teams who chose a nearby place to pillage from, Ashton pointed at a medium sized town about forty miles out, one I had been at before and had been on my mind for a while due to unusual circumstances.

"I know you said it'd be best to get the ones close by first but I think the bigger ones should be first on the list of priorities. Jackson's got a decent bit we can take from so I'm thinking we start chipping away at it. Are you fine with that?"

After a few seconds of thought, I slowly nodded at that. "I also don't see why not, it's not like we're on a time limit or anything and we've got a decent amount of time to do whatever productive thing we want. So sure, let's do that."

After all that was set up, only a couple of more simple questions were asked before I officially adjourned the meeting where we swiftly dispersed. I stayed back for a little while just to peer at the town on the map on the wall that Ashton had chosen for our destination. Nothing felt off or anything… but only just a bit strange, is all. But nothing to deter me from denying Ashton his wish to go there.

I shrugged any feeling that I couldn't quite describe off before turning my attention to exiting the dining room and into the living room. Though in the process, I almost bumped into Olivia.

"Oh, you guys are already done." She pointed out after glancing over the empty room behind me. "I was hoping I could bring something up during it but I missed my chance."

"Not necessarily. I could just relay whatever you want to say to anyone that might be affected by whatever you wanted to say. Though I do wonder why you weren't able to make it on down in time."

"Just some business with the pregnancies. It took a bit longer than I was anticipating but it is what it is." She simply replied. "But yes, I was wondering if I'd be able to tag along with anyone to skim through some drug stores that I haven't yet tapped into yet. Since I've recently finished furnishing the clinic, my attention's on fully stocking or restocking vitamins, supplements, and other miscellaneous medicines because what good would a clinic be without them?"

"Yes, that is a good point..." I replied as I leaned on the doorframe. "There's just a tiny problem which is that I decreed that the groups must be four in total, capable, and efficient in scavenging the resources we're seeking out. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you about what hinders your capabilities." After I said that, she was quick to formulate a response in her mind but I continued what I was saying before she relayed it to me. "But I suppose I can make an exception for your case since it is quite important for your role and important to the community as a whole."

She grinned at that. "I thank you for the exception." She glanced at the map. "I asked some of the scouts to mark down any clinic and drug store they came across where they've found several the past couple of months. It just seems like my duty to see what lies within them for the better of this place."

"And you figured that now was the best time to tap into them since the scavenge program is officially being kicked off." I inferred which she nodded at. "It does save time in the end. And I've said how we have a lot of free time to focus on a bunch of miscellaneous tasks since we're able to be focused on a broader amount of objectives a few times now so this falls in line with that definition. I definitely approve of it. Now to determine who you're gonna team up with... And now that I think about it, there's only one spot that you can fill."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, all the others already have their teams sorted besides the one I'm in. I'll have to bring it up with Ashton. Hope that he hasn't already found anyone to fill that spot."

"Will do. I suppose I'll join the others watching the TV until you find out an answer. It's been a while since I've watched anything and I'm not busy for the rest of the day. Not to mention, it'll then be easy to find me."

I just gave her a thumbs up and a grin before she enacted upon her words which is when I brought up my walkie-talkie to my lips and asked for Ashton's attention. Expectantly, he answered the call just a minute later where a short three minute discussion was had on whether or not Olivia should join us on our quest. And since I now made it to where important and in depth discussions between two parties were to be had on the next frequency other than the main one, Olivia herself didn't listen in on the conversation.

Anyways, we decided that she should come along for as long as she required since again, there was no rush. I thought about whether I should suggest she help us with the heavy lifting on our excursion while out and about but I decided against it since she can only do so much before the thorn in her side, or more accurately, her back starts becoming a problem.

So without much further delay, I migrated into the living room with the desired woman who was having a simple discussion about something fashion related with Stacy, Audrey, and... Kai. A very strange set of people on a topic I thought I'd never hear their opinions about but it was interesting, at least the little I heard. But when I was able to, I gently prodded my presence into the conversation to steer Olivia's attention towards what was much more important.

"Well that was much faster than I expected." She commented as we put a few meters distance between us and the others.

"It wasn't a hard decision." I simply replied before giving her the gist of the details of the mission which she easily understood. With all that being conveyed, we returned to the small gathering of people. "Alright, sorry to burst in on your guys' leisure time, it's just that an important business matter came up."

"We understand, it's not like we're gonna be mad over it. Our conversation about it was just about over anyways." Kai replied as the doctor took her seat.

Audrey chuckled. "It started because of a dumb movie where a couple men pretend to be women. It's pretty funny, though you can tell it was made in a time much less... accepting, to put it lightly."

"The world was definitely quickly moving towards acceptance... At least in the west. I wonder how long it would've taken for the entire world to follow suit." I pondered.

"Much longer than it should've, is my guess." Farmer-lady replied.

"Likely..." I said, refraining from bringing up religion. "Alright, I'll get out of your guys' hair."

"You don't wanna join in?" Stacy asked as she gave me a subtle beg expression to try to win me over. "A spot's always reserved for you, at least when I'm here."

"...I guess I can for a little bit." I can't resist anything my wife throws at me. So I joined them on watching the ridiculous movie and commenting on things every once in a while.

"I like those shoes, they look pretty..." Stacy quietly commented after seeing a pair of high heels. "Did women really wear dresses and makeup that often though?"

"Some did, yes. Do you not like the look of it? Sometimes makeup is indeed overdone which isn't really that appealing and sometimes over exaggerated, especially in media like this movie." I softly replied as she went into deep thought.

"...Is it weird to say that I like some of it? Just a couple parts of it, a lot of it I don't like."

I chuckled. "No, it's not weird at all."

"And is it really... like, a 'woman' thing? Like... women should wear stuff like that sometimes?"

I kissed the top of her head. "It's not necessarily a woman thing. And no, women aren't obligated to wear makeup or stuff like that at all, it's entirely up to the woman, the person, if they want to."

"...I never really thought of stuff like this before."

Her comments were quite interesting to me and just reminded me how she had her social life brutally suppressed and snubbed when she was a child. So it made sense that she had these questions and thoughts since she didn't have anybody to talk to or the opportunity to be exposed to much of what the world had to offer when she was younger. I wondered if I should give her a pair of shoes that are much more aesthetically based eventually. And only shoes, high heels, that are probably just an inch or so high since I'm aware of the dangers of high heels.

And so I stuck around with them for twenty minutes longer before I ended the mingling time so I could head up to my room to make sure I stayed in shape by initiating my usual workout routine. And that was doing a couple types of push-ups, some sit-ups, squats with a medicine ball, pull-ups in the doorframe, some bicep curls with a bit of tricep action, and ending it off with bench pressing.

The whole process takes around forty minutes which works up a good sweat and with it a natural scent that wafts since there's no way to prevent that from occurring. Though I do at least try by opening a window to limit the somewhat strong scent since I know how unpleasant it is to smell the odor of someone you're not intimately fond of. Speaking of which, my little lady enjoys the smell along with watching me lift weights that she could only dream of lifting.

That's what she did a few minutes after I started benching. She claims she tries to focus on other stuff like her artwork but says I'm too captivating for her to look away. It's a nice thing to hear but I know that's a little lie... probably. But having her eyes on me in a way that conveys a sort of desire for me definitely encourages me to continue putting my body through that extra bit of pain to help improve it, even if just a bit. After all, I've plateaued in gaining mass since I'm perfectly satisfied with weighing a hundred and ninety pounds. That thirty pound increase in pure muscle will take me a long way. Now it's just up to me to retain it which... is a bit annoying but it is satisfying and does feel good in a way and in the end, I liked this part of my day in my schedule.

As I continued repping, Stacy finally got out of her chair and timidly walked up toward me. "I still can't express how impressive what you're doing is to me."

I chuckled. "I know, Stace, you've said so many times... Though do continue, it's very nice to hear."

When she reached my side, she got on her knees and softly put a hand on my decently sized abs. "I definitely will. And... y'know, how... it kind of turns me on. Just a bit."

I glanced at her to see the gentle blush her cheeks had when she would watch me. "I figured. It's really adorable."

"Tsk, is everything I do adorable to you?" She sassily but playfully replied.

"Yes. How would that not be true?"

"Psh." She replied, defeated. A couple moments later, she said, "Can I... Can you close your eyes?"

"Um, sure." I replied, quite unsure about her odd request and slowing down the rate in which I was repping. That's when I felt her take her hand off of my belly before I started hearing subtle sounds of fabric being slid across another surface. "What are you doing? Can I open my eyes?"

"Not yet." She said with a giggle. "You'll see."

Just a few seconds later, the strange noises ceased before I sensed that she had migrated to the other side of me... at least, a part of her.

(Small-ish sex scene ahead. Ctrl+f ‘sex over’ to skip)

"Okay, now you can." Since I had her permission, I opened my eyes just in time to see a naked Stacy lowering herself to rest herself on my abdomen. And since I was shirtless, as I usually am when working out, her wonderfully hairy groin contacted my skin before she put her hands on my chest with a grin. "Does this make you want to work out more?"

My reps continued to slow as I admired the most beautiful girl on top of me. "Not necessarily. It makes me want to do something else, actually."

She wiggled her hips, causing her labia to encase an ab which felt the magnificent warm moistness that was within her tunnel. "Maybe once you've finished your workout. How much more do you have to do?"

"Just twenty-five more reps."

Hoping that my hands wouldn't get too sweaty, I tried my best to focus on repping to complete it to focus on more pressing matters. Speaking of which, she continued to press herself on me by gingerly continuing to wiggle her hips which made sure a certain part of me was fully online and operational for her to play with. And let me tell you, those last twenty-five reps felt like the longest twenty-five possible due to how my wife's steamy presence manipulated my sense of time due to how the situation was going to develop.

And when they were finally over and done with, I hung up the barbell and took a few deep breaths to calm down from the workout since it had taken a lot of energy out of me. Though my body was tapping into my reserves since it knew a special certain activity was about to play out, thanks to Stacy's gentle wiggling and soft grunts.

"Do you want to be taken care of?" I asked as I put my hands on her gyrating hips.

"Thoroughly."

I grinned at that as I let her grind on me for a few more minutes. Feeling her clit rub against my skin along with her pubic hair retaining her groin's warmth and the pleasant feeling of that hair draping against my skin is rewarding in and of itself. Her physique was so captivating that I was often lost in the sight of it. Her petite stature, her elegant posture, sexy curves, perfectly sized breasts with perky nipples, thin and soft, smooth and pale skin, beautiful, black, long hair, and a very cute softly smiling, gently blushed face where her stunning sapphire-blue eyes met my gaze... I'm so lucky.

After a minute of staying like that, I wrapped my arms around her abdomen and stood up which caused her to wrap her legs around me where I swiftly slid my remaining clothes off.

She excitedly giggled as I took us over to our bed and got on it before laying her down on her back. I then took a hold of my cock and lined it up with her hole where my glans was quickly encompassed in her flesh before I lent down to rest my forehead on hers and rewrapped my arms around her chest. I was sitting on my knees as she wrapped her arms around my neck while reasserting her legs' grip around my pelvis to make sure I wouldn't pull out of her until I emptied myself within her.

I took a deep and somewhat shaky breath as I started to make my plunge within her. It reminded me a lot of our first time, at least the position... I should really do this position with her more often, it's so lovely. But anyways, it didn't take long for me to reach her cervix which is when I pressed my lips against hers.

Our kiss persisted as we stayed stationary to just enjoy acting as one once more. That was until a couple of minutes had passed where I started the iconic motions of mating. I then steadily ramped my thrusts up until I was pounding her slit where she happily took all of what I had to give, like how she usually did. Eventually, she broke the kiss to freely moan which meant that I could admire her expression and beauty as I mated with my one and only. It was so nice to have my little horny girl just submit herself to me and relax into what I was helping her groin feel.

I often relished in the fact she's my amazing wife throughout having sex with her, a thought that reined supreme during each one of my orgasms while filling her vagina up with my seed which I did just ten minutes later, just moments after she climaxed. We intimately held each other in another kiss while staying connected for five minutes as we calmed down from our sacred and intimate dance of love.

When our passionate kiss ended yet again, we kept our foreheads resting on another as I realized just how sweaty the both of us had gotten. But that didn't change how much we enjoyed the amount of touch we were giving each other.

When she softly put a hand on the side of my face, she softly giggled and said, "We've been doing this for a year now... That first time will always have a very special place in my mind."

"Me as well. And even though every time we have sex is nearly indescribably phenomenal, that first orgasm you helped me feel will probably never be beaten... That orgasm was world-shattering."

She chuckled. "I'm still glad I made you that happy... I'll try to make you feel that happy again." I then told her how her being my partner is magnitudes better than that first orgasm because the emotional meaning she has on me trumps any physical feeling there is. It's just the physical feelings are treats and bonuses, very good bonuses. She really liked what I had to say. "And I still think it's incredible how you were able to write down and mention so many little details about everything during it."

"How could I have forgotten anything about it? I was so excited and ecstatic that it was happening, it was impossible to forget every last, phenomenal detail... It was so, so amazing."

She giggled once more. "That makes sense... Again, I'm glad I made you that happy." After I thanked her, she moved the conversation along. "How many times do you think we've had sex?"

I slowly eskimo kissed her. "Around a hundred... And I don't regret a single one of them."

"Me neither... I hope you continue to do this with me for a whole lot longer."

"For as long as we're married. Along with every other thing we do as a couple." I said, giving her a quick kiss. "There's no way I'll ever deny giving you what we both want... I'm forever grateful for everything you've done to me and let me do."

"I love you."

"I love you too..."

Yeah, not much detail this time because frankly, I don't want to go into detail since it wouldn't be all that interesting to the non-existent readers reading this due to how it would be repetitive to go over details that I always list... Well, I relist them in times that are much more interesting than vanilla sex- Why am I talking to myself like this? I dunno! Hell, I write much of my life down just 'because', why question it at this point?

Anyways, we further calmed down before we separated where I admired my work for a few moments before retrieving our camera and taking a close-up picture of her thoroughly bred slit. I then added it to the folder on the camera of just close-ups of her cum-filled pussy. That folder was a very nice and calming one to skim through when in the mood to make another creampie, they're so phenomenal... And I intend to increase the fifteen or so pictures within the folder to at least a hundred eventually, it'd be sweet to have a huge creampie picture collection of her gladly displaying to me how her god-like vagina belonged to my cock.

Right after that, we started cleaning up our mess while my mind whispered subtle hopes that this load would be the one to kick off a pregnancy. But of course, I suppressed those thoughts as we clothed ourselves, grabbed a couple of towels, and headed to the stream to wash off in the near freezing water. It sucked, but we were very dirty from the activities we partook in so we pushed through it.

(Sex over)

After returning back to base, I discussed the scavenging plan with Phoenix, spent some more time on leisure, socialized some more, before retiring for the night with Stacy where she had me sit on her chair so she could take a spot on my lap and have me hug her as she drew for half an hour. Then we hopped back in bed and got in our usual intimate sleep-snuggle as we drifted off to sleep. I just wondered how long I'd be a part of the scavenging missions ahead of us.


Eight in the morning always reaches us seemingly way too soon every time, primarily because sleeping is a form of time travel. But even though I sometimes would prefer to sleep for an hour or two more, my body won't let me since waking up at that time has been essentially branded into my 'inner clock' and is just a part of me now. I'm not complaining too much since I'd rather have this much more than having an unpredictable sleeping ‘pattern’ since that'd obviously throw every routine off track and it'd just be irresponsible.

So to continue being responsible, I got out of bed five minutes later, got dressed, put my watch and ring on, delicately kissed my still sleeping wife's forehead for a few seconds, and made my way to the dining room where I met up with Jessie, Oliver, Zaine, and Scarlet finalizing and going over their plans one more time. I let them do their thing as I patiently waited for the arrival and assembly of my crew.

Since there's no time limit that we obey, I was very lenient on times they could be late. But the courtesy of following the expected protocol is greatly respected and appreciated so it's just a smart move to follow the suggestion. Especially so your judgment of character to me, and more importantly, your coworkers doesn't needlessly deteriorate. And so after the first scavenging team departed from the base of operations, I wished them well and continued waiting for my unit to arrive where Olivia entered the room just a couple of minutes later.

It didn't take long for her to ask some question that she forgot to ask which I easily answered before retrieving a map of the town we were going to. Thankfully, the scouts who were efficient and well practiced at their job, though rudimentary, were able to mark and spot out every building of interest in a coherent manner

"I've been planning ahead for a few weeks so I had them keep their eyes peeled for the types of places I'm looking for, I was slightly worried that my request might've been denied."

"There'd've been no reason in that and would, quite frankly, be a shot in our own foot if we didn't get you what you need. Y'know, just in case someone injures themselves and you don’t have the equipment to fix whatever it might be that they need help with."

"I know I didn't need to worry but I sometimes can't help it. Anyways, when are we gettin' on the road?"

Before I could answer her, Phoenix made his way to the meet-up location. "I apologize for being a bit late, it's just Autumn's having a decent bit of trouble due to the whole Luna situation and how it's making her feel. She just needs a lot of help with it all."

"Hey, no need to apologize, that's totally understandable. The effort needed to be put in is a two person job and you need to be there for her when she needs it, it's a very respectable position to be in as long as you see it through."

He nodded, "And that I will, there's no room in my mind to be a deadbeat, piece of trash father. Even though I'm nervous and worried for a few reasons, I'm still excited to meet my daughter... Autumn especially is, a decent bit of that is because she just wants the stresses Luna's putting her through off of her."

"Yeah, pregnancy is not an easy task to complete. Regardless, it's worth it in the end for the reward." Olivia commented.

"That's quite true... Though how would you be able to go through it more than once after knowing what it's like to experience it? What Autumn's told me... Well, I'm thankful I can't get pregnant, to put it lightly."

"Again, it's the reward and feeling of comfort you get from the other parent through your trying time of growing a fetus. At least in my experience. It's totally understandable when a woman only wants a single child."

"I guess that makes sense. After all, being able to create another person is quite the superpower."

The doctor chuckled. "I might be just a bit biased, but I would argue that it's the greatest superpower."

"I would agree to that, actually." I said. "Bringing life into existence, to give someone this great gift of experiencing, is one no one should take for granted."

We continued talking about how thankful we are for being lucky enough to live with just a bit of existential questioning before our attention shifted back onto the mission at hand and more specifically, our missing member.

And so I announced, "I'll give him ten more minutes to show up before I seek him out, it's still a bit early... Though he should know not to faff around or sleep in when he knows he shouldn't."

"There seems to be a pattern of him being a tiny bit... irresponsible. Am I wrong about that conclusion?" Phoenix asked.

I thought over some reasons as to why he might think that. "Just a bit. But nothing catastrophic or anywhere near that. If it starts becoming a genuine problem, then that's when I'll bring it up to him and make sure it doesn't happen again."

"By what means will you achieve that?" Olivia curiously asked.

"A magician never tells their secret... or whatever."

She just shook her head with a small smile before we moved on from that point. Though when the man we were all waiting on for entered the room, our attention turned to him.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up." I playfully said.

"I know, but- well, y'know... I don't have a good excuse." He replied.

"...Okay then. Well, let's just quickly get ready to leave. At least you, Ashton, since we've been ready."

Since he was already fifteen or so minutes behind, he felt he should swiftly learn any of the plans he was unaware about, collect a couple more miscellaneous things for the mission, which after he did was our cue to make our way to our vehicle, hop in, and start chugging our way to the town that was essentially untouched.

While we made our way to our destination, we discussed what we'd be doing over the winter during the relative slowdown in productivity which Phoenix and Ashton said they'd be focusing on the scavenging until their hands are needed elsewhere. Well, for Phoenix's case, until his daughter was born so he could help raise her which I supported. A parent's top priority, especially one who has a newborn, is to be a good parent and not focus on their work since being a parent is a vitally crucial job to execute. Parental leave is mandatory.

"I want to make some pottery this winter. I'm pretty sure I can spare the time to do so, finally. It's been on my mind for a few months but obviously, my attention's been elsewhere. Not to say that's a bad thing since I like being busy, even if it's a small part of the community, what with the hair cutting and when people need me to check something out or when I need to heal them. And the last thing I want is for a problem to arise like... dislocated shoulders, for example."

"I have not a single clue just what you're talking about." Ashton said after Olivia's pointed statement.

My ears perked at a certain something she said though. "Oh right, I forgot you did pottery back then. Hey, would you still want to teach Stacy how to make pottery? I'm sure it's something she'll love and run with."

"Of course, I'd be glad to teach her, I don't see why I wouldn't if she wanted to. And that goes for anyone. It really depends on how much clay I can gather but it shouldn't be difficult."

"I assume Kostas will help fire them up?"

"You assume correctly. Though I might have to persuade him a bit. I'm sure I'll be successful in that endeavor."

So for the rest of the trip, the thought and image of Stacy figuring out how to mold clay into pottery with her artistic touch filled my mind. I wanted to be there when she starts learning how to make it, it'll be a fun experience. Those images only formed in my mind for ten minutes since we approached our first target of the day. I looked over the store after I got back out into the chilly air.

"Alright, let's be quick, efficient, and not get too distracted while we do this. Let's split up, we know how to contact each other when needed." I said with a tap on my walkie-talkie.

"Can I actually stay with you and help you out? I don't mean to be a bother, but I think I'd be much more useful in a team with someone." Olivia asked.

"Of course, I understand. Just tell me if anything starts acting up, alright?"

All four of us then broke our way into the store and dispersed after I got a shopping cart where Olivia led and lit up the way, scouting out the desired objects. Which she successively did just ten or so minutes later by leading me down an aisle that was stocked with handheld tools such as hammers, axes, shovels, and saws which we wasted no time in throwing in the cart.

"So, it's been a while since I've had a checkup on you. I bring it up because I'm mainly concerned about your mental state and if anything has developed beyond what you've described. Have you experienced any more hallucinations or delusions in the past couple of months?"

I thought back at experiences that were either peculiarly strong or strange. "It's... calmed down, by quite a bit actually. I still have the very intensive dream every once in a while so maybe the delusions are just transitioning to my dreams, maybe because I'm in a more vulnerable state or something like that... Though there was one last month, with Stacy, about... this town, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it wasn't strong or anything, just strange. I thought I heard her say something about people here. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything since all of these delusions have been meaningless, but it still creeps me out. Like, I'm not a superstitious person at all but... there's no one here besides us when we visit it. I'm not sure why, but it makes me weary."

"I would guess that's at least some sort of paranoia at the bare minimum, but it's great to hear how it's winding down, or at least appearing to be doing so. If it does make this 'transition' to your dreams, I would say there's really nothing to worry about besides having some bad nightmares."

"And I've had a couple of those before... They're hard to get over but I'd much rather have them over being incapacitated by delusion and going insane."

"Like always, come to me if it develops."

"Will do."

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, our collective effort raided over two and a half aisles of equipment which we promptly put in the trailer of our vehicle. Since the store lacked a lot of power tools and had a lot of large equipment we just didn't need, we left shortly after we grouped back up and marked out that the store had been scavenged via spray paint.

The next place had a decent bit of power tools which were always nice to find and take. Having a large backlog of extra tools just in case when some eventually fail and break was nice to have since there wasn't much worry of running out of them. Sure, they're currently a non-renewable source but it'll take many years to go through them all. Still, preparing for the inevitable is always the way to go.

Another thing that that particular store had was a small clothing section, it was a small general market. I didn't think much of it but I did see something in the corner of my eyes that caught my attention. There was a selection of the type of shoes that my little lady might be interested in. I only gave my eyes a few moments to look over a few pairs as I thought about whether or not I should yoink a pair that she might like. But I stopped myself from getting them, I wasn’t too sure what she'd like or if she even truly wants them. I then thought about how I should just take her somewhere so she could pick a pair out for herself... I liked that idea, so I put it on my to-do list. Though I wasn't sure when I'd do it.

The fourth hour of our excursion into the sixth store yielded the same results though that's when Olivia had to slow down since she started having trouble with the labour she was pushing herself to do. It required a lot of learning over which she tried not to do, but it's a very instinctual thing that one does to help complete a task as soon as possible. So I had her stop making herself push herself since I didn't want her to needlessly suffer.

When we met back up, she asked us to go to a couple of drug stores which I allowed since I figured it was finally time to do what she came here for and that it wouldn't be as intensive as moving tools is. Not to mention, the trailer then had a decent bit of inventory which I was close to calling it a day to unload back at Solaris. But still, I stayed at her side when we reached a drug store and bagged all of the supplements, pills, vitamins, bandages, one-use medical supplies, ointments, and other miscellaneous supplies she wanted to make sure she was fully stocked up on, or at least had some of it.

It only took us just another hour before I dumped the last load of supplies in a box full of the medical supplies in the trailer, one box of three. With that being accomplished, the four of us struck up a conversation about whether or not we should return back home.

"We could probably raid one more and squeeze a decent bit more into the trailer. It might be a tight fit, but it's definitely doable. And if not, oh well, I don't really see any harm in it." Ashton commented which Phoenix agreed with.

"I think it's not really needed. Not to mention, I would really rather us not cram anything, if necessary. It's not exactly full since the trailer's quite big, but if anymore is added then the possibility of the tools clanging together might damage some of them so I'd rather not risk it." Olivia counter-argued.

I weighed the options of both sides of the arguments. "I refer back to how we have a lot of time this winter to do it all so there's no rush. Not to mention, and no offence Olivia, we'd be more efficient with another fully operational person with our crew."

"None taken, I understand." She sweetly said.

"I also just don't want to indirectly push Olivia since it's kinda difficult to keep her... y'know, not straining herself-"

"Hello, over there! That's a sweet vehicle you guys got!" I heard an unknown feminine and somewhat faint voice call to us which cut me off.

I instantly became alarmed and turned to where the voice originated from to see three strangers making their way toward us. They were properly clothed and equipped with backpacks so I instantly knew that they'd most likely have some sort of weapon concealed with them. My first thought was suspicion about if they wanted to rob us of our vehicle as they continued their stride toward us. I didn't receive any negative energy from their stance but I still couldn't help but be extremely alarmed since... y'know, they're strangers.

"Indeed it is, it's one of the finest models you can get in all of the land. Do you three have a mode of transportation?" I replied with a raised voice as I softly put a hand on the revolver in my holster.

Who I assumed to be their leader (an olive skinned woman with long, brown, curly hair) defensively put their hands up as they continued closing the distance between us though they started slowing down. "We mean you no harm, stranger. We hope you don't either."

"Not unless you give us a reason." Olivia bluntly said as the unknown group stopped about fifteen meters away.

"We certainly won't give you one as long as you do the same." A tan skinned, black haired man on their leader's right matter of factly replied.

"Good, I'm sure we all have families, friends, and loved ones we want to get back to. No reason for anyone to get hurt or die here, especially considering how few of us are left." I said as the light grasp of my gun softened but I was still ready to sling it out if the strangers made a nefarious move.

"That we do... No, we just have our legs to transport us, to answer your question." The woman replied which piqued my interest.

Though Ashton beat me first to a question. "Are there more of you?"

"Was about to ask you the same thing." A different white skinned and blonde haired woman replied.

"Yes, quite a few more actually." Their leader said. "And I assume there's quite a few more of your numbers too if you're able to get that vehicle up and running again. That's quite an accomplishment."

"What do you want from us?" Phoenix asked as a type of tension built up between us. It was nothing major, just the unknown between us enforcing a lack of trust between the seven of us.

"To talk." Their leader said with a friendly smile. "We've seen your group come to this town every once in a while. We're wondering where you guys come from, if you're a threat, if you're in a community, how advanced you all are, stuff like that."

"...So you took the chance to sacrifice yourselves by walking up to us?" I inferred, the situation not making all that much sense.

"We're sneaky." The blonde haired lady said. "We've kept a close eye on your group ever since we first spotted you when any of you have been here. And we've overheard a few conversations had between your members."

"Note to self; learn how to be aware of sneaky people later" I thought. "What exactly were those conversations about?"

"The ones that we thought were important were ones talking about building a community. And we've come to the conclusion that this community of yours is real given the evidence right in front of us." Their leader said with a nod to the car. "I just wanted to make sure if you were hostile or not before contacting you. And seeing how none of you have pulled your weapons out, then I think it's safe to say that you won't hurt us even though the big guy right here hasn't taken his hand off his weapon yet."

"It's a precautionary measure just in case I need to defend my friends. I'd hate for my doctor, my miner, and the incoming father to get hurt or die." I said, revealing a hefty amount of information to the strangers.

The leader-lady looked shocked after she received the news. "One of you is a doctor...?" She asked which Olivia quickly confirmed for herself. "What kind of doctor are you? Do you do surgeries?"

"If needed and I have the proper equipment, yes... Why do you ask?" The doctor replied.

"May we walk forward so we can talk at a more reasonable distance?" The woman asked which I allowed after a short internal debate where the group of strangers closed the distance before they stood roughly five meters away from us. That's when I realized how tired she looked. "We've... we've been needing a doctor for a while, especially now these days. Some of our health is going out the window, what with our teeth, there's a pregnancy, one of us has recently most likely started getting appendicitis. And there's a lot of mild pains that we're not sure how to deal with."

I finally pieced it all together. "...Are y'all from a community of your own?"

The man from earlier nodded. "We are. Our leader was against the idea of letting us contact you all before we explained to him that you guys are more advanced than us and that it might be worth the risk for several reasons."

My heart skipped a beat at that confirmation. But more so at remembering the delusion that I had about Stacy saying something about how this town had people within it that... needed help. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I lost a tiny bit of color in my face as a feeling of anxiety entered my veins. It wasn't incredibly strong but it was enough to make me feel slightly queasy which I wasn't a fan of. I also wasn't a fan of how it... it kind of scared me. Maybe it was a coincidence... it had to be, it had to be a coincidence... Right?

"If you are actually a doctor then we really need you.. We've been hoping for someone like you to be met." The blonde haired lady said.

After quashing most of my feelings so I could focus on the matter at hand, Olivia and I glanced at each other. "There's a lot we need to talk about before I let my doctor anywhere near your people. You do realize how risky of a call that is to make for me, right?"

Leader-lady nodded. "I understand. What's needed to be said before we can get your doctor's help? The person who we think is getting appendicitis has been experiencing severe pain and… he'll probably die if he doesn't get it taken out of him. None of us are qualified to open him up and we've been hoping that he doesn't die over it but hopes don't take us very far at all... Though, it seems our figurative prayers have been answered."

"Well first things first, what are your names?"

"Addison." The leader-lady revealed.

"Rylee." The blonde haired woman announced.

And the man's name turned out to be Francisco. After my group revealed their names I asked, "How many are in your group?"

"Twenty-four in total. You do realize how nerve-wracking revealing that is, right?" Addison said. The anxiety was subtle but I picked up on it. Unless she was a splendid actress then she was telling the truth. And because I am the way I am, I didn't set aside that possibility.

"We're well aware. After all, all four of us came from different groups that merged into one." Olivia said. "We all know what it's like to take a risk like this. But we all were on our lonesome at the beginning of this all, after all. Wanderers just need to take the risk which I know is a lot to ask for."

"What about you? How big is your group?" Francisco asked.

"Thirty-two. We're quite self-sufficient, armed, and able. Our community, Solaris, has a solar array that powers our homes and we have a couple of acres of crop fields that have already been harvested. We're planning to double it next year." I revealed, not that worried about telling them that since it wouldn't hurt, would it? As long as I didn't give them the location.

"Named and everything, huh?" Rylee said. "Would your leader be fine with you telling this to strangers? Ours certainly wouldn't."

"Considering you're speaking to the leader of Solaris, I'm sure he'd be fine with it." They looked a little surprised after I said that. "Our community is seeking to grow and accept as many abled and good hearted people that are left to help achieve our ulterior goal of rebuilding something that resembles a functional society. We've even built a sign network telling stragglers where to meet us at for a type of interview for admission. We've only met three or so people outside of that area due to chance... But then there's you three so I guess it's up to six."

"Aren't you afraid of letting someone evil into your community?" Addison asked.

I nodded, figuring to not bring up the Elliot situation. "Always. But without an inflow of people, then our goals and wants are unobtainable. Risk is something I must take so we can all collectively move forward. Speaking to you guys right now, who might be thinking of killing, robbing, or torturing us, is one I'm willing to take. If this community of yours exists then this is fantastic news."

"That does make a lot of sense..." Rylee commented. "What would it take to see this 'Solaris'?"

"A meeting with your leader for starters." I simply replied. "Pictures of your community would also be extremely helpful but I assume your community doesn't have electricity...?"

Addison nodded. "Correct."

"We can charge up a camera back at Solaris and hand it to you guys during this meeting between leaders." Ashton coined the idea of.

"That's a good idea. Then we'll have another meeting after that before one side visits the other side... That is if you three like that idea." I said.

"It... It's risky and dangerous. I would personally be willing to do both of those things driven by the need to do so, but we'll need to talk with our leader first about it all. From what you've told us though, I think there's a good chance of some type of communication line being set up. It really depends on cooperation." Addison said. "We'll talk to him about this all and reveal what he says in a couple of days. You guys can meet us back up here at that time, right?"

I nodded. "This is... fairly important if what you claim is true. If so, then this will be our first contact of another proper settlement and frankly, that intrigues me for several reasons. If this leader of yours exists, then tell him that if we get off on the right foot of trust and good faith then only good and positive things will result in it. Things like letting my doctor help your people out, help develop our communities together, and maybe set up a trade route plus a lot of other things I'd like to discuss with your leader."

"That all does sound amazing indeed..." Rylee said before slightly turning to Addison. "When should we go tell Ezra about this all?"

"As soon as the Solaris group here wants to depart. Do you guys want to ask any more questions before we set off back to our group?" Addison replied.

"There's a lot of minor questions I'd ask but I want this conversation to continue with your leader. I will say, before that happens, my group will be prepared for the worst if we get attacked. I will not take the chance for any of my people to be killed or harmed." I matter of factly said.

Francisco nodded. "That's the smart and correct thing to do, anyone reasonable would understand it."

"I will be bringing four of my people to this meeting. Have it so that your group also comes in a maximum of five and no more. I'm sure you can understand why I ask that."

"Will do, Hunter. We look forward to talking to you more and we hope that all works out well... It's just that our friend with appendicitis doesn't have that much time as we think it's becoming the worst case scenario type of appendicitis." Addison said.

"Bring him to the meeting. If needed, we can take him back to Solaris for treatment since we have all of what we need there." Olivia replied, the want to help another human prevalent in her words. It was something I almost shot down but stopped myself. I would talk to her about it in depth later.

"We will." Rylee replied as the encounter started wrapping up. "We'll meet each other here again in a couple of days. Until then, good luck with all of your endeavors."

"You guys too." Phoenix replied.

It didn't take the strangers much longer to break off and turn around before heading back to where they came from. We then decided we should hike it back to base and as my group boarded the car, I couldn't stop wondering about where this other community was located and how precise that conversation was. I also couldn't help but be happy in a way that there was another community... if what they said is true. If so, then I wonder how many other communities are out there just waiting to be contacted in a hundred mile radius... I hope there's at least a thousand other people within that radius. One last thing I felt but was actively trying to ignore was the delusion… It’s impossible to describe just how odd that it’s made me feel. Ignoring it probably isn’t the best thing to do but what else can I do?

The four of us continued talking about the encounter as we made our way back to Solaris. "I'm just wondering when we'll get attacked by someone..." Ashton admitted.

"Well... I mean, Etsu kind of did that to Kostas but that was before even your group had joined us, Phoenix." Olivia replied, which surprised Phoenix.

I took that as my cue to tell the story to him. I was surprised it was never told to him but I guess it wasn't a fun topic that the two in the knife-fight like to talk about. So after telling the story of how we met Etsu, I said, "And then Autumn kind of attacked me not too long ago..."

"That doesn't count! It wasn't really her fault, and you know how bad she still feels about that..."

"Hey, I'm thankfully not dead, probably, so we can laugh about it and not hold any grudges. Anyways, I always wonder when the next attack will be since I know that's... well, it's probably inevitable. I just hope that no one dies as a result of it."

"I wonder what their community is capable of." Olivia pondered as she looked out of her window. "And what their people might've been before The Drop, occupation wise, and how useful they could be."

I lightly chuckled. "I've already wondered about that too. The point of contacting them is to use their numbers for all of our advantage... Sounds fucked up a bit but that's how it goes. We need the numbers for labour to farm, fish, hunt, build, all of that. As long as they're treated with dignity and respect, I see no problem."

It was strange to say that and know that I'm accumulating the power to make people do what I want, when I want. I wanted to continue slowly building my power and influence up so I can further continue guiding Solaris into the future. It's fun in a way to see progress being made, especially when you actively work for it as well. Yes, even through the hiccups of pain... Well, fun isn't the right word for it, more so I understand why it happens but it doesn't halt the feeling of satisfaction from the accomplishments of progress.

But back to the present. Now that this revelation has happened, there's gonna be a whole bunch of conversations had about it along with speculations about them and how we should handle the situation. With my nerves heightened, I accepted the reality and wanted to figure out how to move forward in the best way possible with my high command, for our collective future.

Chapter 58: A discussion before a discussion

Notes:

We have a server on discord now! So if you're interested in this story which you definitely are by now you should check it out where you'll be able to talk to me and others who are also interested in the story to talk about everything within it and perhaps even be notified with each chapter release. Or alternatively have casual talk with others upon some other things. I invite you all in and await your arrival.

https://discord.gg/RWJZnbt54C

Chapter Text

As we dashed back to Solaris, the situation that had just conspired kept replaying in my mind. I was fairly anxious about it but I retained control of my emotions since it wouldn't do anybody any good. Instead, I thought about how I would handle it and what discussion and announcements were going to have to be had since it was quite an important discovery and meant a whole helluva lot for Solaris. And that's exactly what I told my crewmates within the vehicle while Phoenix drove us back to our base of operations.

"I'll make an announcement of sorts after we unload everything we have. It's not an issue that needs to be talked about immediately, just quickly. A lot is going through my mind right now so let's just calm down, discuss, and thoroughly think about it all before any type of action is taken."

"Yep, I agree. We've got a decent bit of time to go over it all and then some so let's not make any mistakes with this." Ashton commented.

"Not to mention that we don't want to screw up a first impression when we talk to their leader. This is a gigantic opportunity for our community for dozens of reasons." Phoenix said.

"Indeed it is, and it is exciting... if what they say is true and that they're good people." I replied. And before we got too in-depth with it, I postponed the conversation and saved it for when a proper emergency meeting was called upon and set up.

When we returned home, Olivia was quick to take the three boxes of medical supplies into her clinic before Phoenix drove around the mansion and to the shack where we were quick to hop out and funnel the adventure's spoils into the shack ripe with space for our loot to fill the awaiting void. With the help of another couple of members, the job only took just under thirty minutes which was my cue to head inside where the usual pair of arms quickly found their way around my abdomen which I always appreciated.

Since I needed my unshowing anxiety to be calmed, I reciprocated her embrace and picked her up before resting my chin on her shoulder and closing my eyes. After she hiked her legs on my hips, I relaxed into the embrace and deeply enjoyed her presence which calmed me and soothed my nerves. I then took a deep breath before continuing to embrace her for the next three or four minutes in peaceful silence. The hug was really sweet and nice where the girl was unknowingly successful in extinguishing most of the anxiety I felt which cleared my mind to think without stress or fog.

I took another deep breath before I said, "Thanks, darling, I really needed this hug."

She timidly giggled. "I missed you too. At least you weren't gone for as long as I expected."

"Well, I didn't need it just because I missed you..."

"Oh?"

I thought about if I should tell her but I figured why wouldn't I tell her. "We most likely just made contact with another community while out. And it had me a bit shaky but your presence helped deal with that."

She leaned back so she could look me in the eyes. "Another community? That's... I don't know what to say."

"I know a decent bit of what needs to be said but to do that, I've gotta talk to the high command about it all and go over many things about it. Mainly, how to deal with it and go forward with the discovery."

She looked a bit afraid at what I was saying. "Do you want to talk to me about it first?"

"There's not much to say just between the two of us. But I could briefly tell you what went down during the confrontation." And so that's exactly what I did where the girl intently listened to every word I had to say. "Now it's just up to what the high command and I discuss. The community will probably vote on something regarding it."

"Do you think they'll try to hurt you?" She softly asked.

I thought it over. "My instincts tell me that they most likely won't want to do that. I'm not really coming up with a reason why they would want to, there'd be no point and they seemed sane. Their pleas for a doctor seemed too genuine for anyone to fake it as well."

She leaned forward again and tightened her hug on me. "I trust what you feel... After all, it's got us all here so far. Just... please don't let them have even a chance of hurting you, alright?"

I lightly smiled at how much she cared for me. "Of course, getting hurt is the last thing I want." After enjoying the hug for another thirty seconds, I said, "Alright, I think it's time to break this news to the community and get my line of succession grouped up so we can talk about it."

"Okay." She sweetly replied before I delicately set her down, which is when I finally noticed the skirt she was wearing. She had been wearing one every now and then which was picking up in frequency. As long as no one tried to look under it, it was completely fine. After all, they looked really cute on her. "Do you want me to be with you when you talk about it? I don't think I'll have anything to say though besides just listening."

"I don't see how it could hurt anything, but do you really want to?" I replied as a hand brushed through her hair.

"...I think I'm more useful when you need to talk about stuff just with me. Only because I feel like I'm on the spot when in a gathering like that and for some reason, it overwhelms me."

"That makes sense, a lot of people feel like that. You're not obligated to be there if you don't want to."

She continued thinking as my fingers enjoyed how her soft hair slid between them. "Are you hungry?"

I wasn't expecting her to ask that but it did make me realize the hunger I had been ignoring due to what was more important. "Yeah, I am actually. Why do you ask?"

"I'll make you something as you talk about that all, alright? And then when you're done with that, we can relax together and talk about it if you want."

Her suggestion was really cute to me so I couldn't help but kiss her forehead. "As long as you want to cook, dear."

"I'll never complain when it means I'll feed you." She said with another hug. "What do you want to eat?"

"Surprise me." I simply relied, briefly hugging her back.

Shortly after that, she understood I had to get going so we separated where I then walked through the kitchen and into the dining room as I brought my walkie-talkie up to my lips while I thought about what I wanted to say to the community. "Hey all, Hunter here to tell you some major breaking news which means quite a substantial amount for our future. We may have just made contact with another settlement while out and about since three people flagged us down and walked up to us to talk, of which they were very cooperative and polite. We got to talking but only spoke about broad details, the most major one being that their claimed size is about on par with ours and they claim they need a doctor. They claim one of them is in severe need for a surgery so we're probably gonna have one of them come over for treatment if it turns out this injury is real. But I'm not certain about it, I need to talk to Olivia about it. But if this other community actually exists out there, then that means a whole bunch of things for Solaris, like maybe some opportunities for some sort of trade route and possibly a bigger workforce, we'll see. These new people were pretty adamant about me meeting their leader so I'm probably gonna be meeting with them in a couple days. When I do, I want Kostas, Phoenix, Ashton, and Raiden to tag along with me when we talk with their leader, my armor corps. Hopefully we can get a line of communication up and running of some sort after we get off on the right foot. Any questions?"

There were only a few questions like if we'd be armed and how exactly we'd go about the meeting.

"We'll be armed, yes. We'll also ask them a bunch of questions regarding a whole plethora of subjects about their intentions and what's within their community. But for that to happen, we need a bit of proof that their community exists to begin with. Thankfully, Ashton came up with the idea of just lending them a camera so they can take pictures to prove it to us. Does anyone have a spare camera that we can use for that?" It took a few seconds but eventually Etsu spoke up. After thanking her for her contribution, I continued. "The next meeting after the first proper one is when we'll review the photos they show us, then we proceed from there. Any more questions?" There were none besides me reiterating some of my intentions with them. "I know a lot of it's vague which is why I need Olivia, Audrey, Trinity, Kostas, Ashton, Phoenix, and Raiden to meet me in the dining room A-S-A-P so we can go over it all. I want to devise a thorough plan and think about several talking points and possibilities that need to be discussed if this meeting is to take place. Everyone else, continue your tasks like normal. A vote of some sort will be voted on tomorrow regarding the situation so stay tuned. Over."

I took my usual seat at the table and waited for my people to arrive as I heard my wife quietly rummage through a few things in the kitchen. It gave me some time to think about what exactly I wanted to discuss and think of some questions which would hopefully be able to be bounced off the others so some things I wasn't sure about could get some answers drawn for them.

It took nearly ten minutes for what's essentially my cabinet to file their way into their designated location and take a seat. During that time, I postponed any conversation about the matter at hand until everyone had arrived to prevent me from having to go over things more than once.

And once Raiden made her way into the dining room, I officially commenced the meeting. "Since there's no room to mess around in this meeting, I'm just gonna get straight to the point." After saying that, I once again told the ignorant what my scavenging team had interacted with in detail and reiterated how important it could be. "Now, we just have to decide a course of action and what we should discuss with them. So I'm gonna give y'all the floor to express your thoughts and ideas regarding this situation."

Trinity was the first to speak up. "Assuming this other place is real, and even though this suggestion is dangerous considering the unknown, I think we should visit their community first before allowing them over to ours. We have more to lose because by the sounds of it, they're much smaller in size and significantly less... advanced than us."

"The problem in idea is that our protection and defense should be the biggest priority which means we need to keep our firearms on us, just in case." Raiden said. "Now that's a problem because of how they might feel about that. Imagine if a more advanced and bigger group did the same thing to us, we'd certainly feel threatened and rightfully so. While at the same time, they wouldn't know us and would have every right not to trust us."

"That is true, yes. But let's backtrack to the root of the problem." Phoenix replied. "Why would either party want to attack the other? From what we know, they sound like they desperately need our help and we have no intention on harming them. If they have a lick of sense, they would know not to anger us, unprovoked, due to our ability to strike back harder than they could defend from."

"Yes, but people do preemptively strike if they're scared enough. Remember how we met Etsu?" Trinity pointed out.

"And also, we don't know for sure if they're telling the truth about their numbers." Ashton said. "It could be that they might be luring us into some sort of trap. They know we have a doctor now, desperation could make them feel like they have to do something sinister to get what they need and decide not to take the diplomatic route in case it fails."

"I don't like being talked about like I'm a tool..." Olivia quietly uttered.

"They said they had been watching us for who knows how long when within Jackson, right?" Raiden asked.

I nodded. "And I always felt like a pair or two of eyes were on me while there..."

"So they've been scouting us out and seeing what we're capable of. They know of probably at least eight of our members, have seen our capabilities of getting something as advanced as our vehicles up and running, have eavesdropped in on some of our conversations, and know we're bigger and more advanced than them. So Ashton could be right when he brought up the possibility of them setting up some sort of trap. I would tread lightly and be extremely on edge with these people."

It was Kostas' turn to reply. "Surely the violent route is a much worse decision than the diplomatic one, yes? It appears that they have already gotten a deal for Olivia's skills since she offered her help already."

"They could be having the same type of conversation we're having right now." Audrey spoke up. "Mainly about how they don't trust us, how the other could be manipulating the other for their own advantage, whether or not we're a threat to each other. What I'm trying to say is, they could think what Olivia said is a lie. Bringing back just one of them, maybe two, imagine the anxiety their friends will have, if they even allow it to happen. And what if this person dies during surgery?"

"I assure you that I would try with all my might to prevent that from happening. Even without the anesthetics, the success rate for me accomplishing what their person-in-need needs is still significantly high." Olivia quickly replied.

Audrey continued. "Still, the chance of them dying is still there. And then what would that do to our image for them? They would probably blame us for their death, might claim we meant to do that, or worse, might want justice in the form of executing who operated on the one in need."

"And this is the reason why I wanted to talk about this hypothetical operation." I said as I turned my gaze toward Olivia. "I trust your ability to do as you claim, but to offer them what you did on the spot like that was quite unprofessional."

"But I can help them and they sound like they need it-."

I cut her off. "I know, Olivia. Your sense of compassion for others is extremely respectable and it's a very endearing attribute of yours. But as you know, we do not know those people and we do not know their intentions. What they have in mind could very well just be that they want our help. But we can never be too sure with random strangers due to all of the risks associated with them."

"But don't we accept strangers into our community all of the time?" Phoenix said. "Look at the group Raiden and I were in. That was quite a move to make when you all decided to do so. What I'm trying to ask; what's so different here?"

I took a couple seconds to think of a reply to his question which thankfully didn't take me long. "The bigger the group, the higher the chance that they form an agenda or a mantra based on them getting what they need, regardless of how it's achieved. Groups of two, three, five, even as big as eight or nine aren't all that prone to crafting such things since from what I can tell, groups that small are on the move and not settled down along with being open to new members since if they weren't, groups that big wouldn't form to begin with. But once they pass a certain threshold of the amount of people that are with them, settlement is inevitable which is when the leader of said group tries their best to make sure the people that look up to them have what they need and are safe from external threats..."

"No offense to you or anyone else at the table, but haven't we allowed an external threat to become an internal disaster?" Trinity replied.

"No. No one 'allowed' that to happen." I corrected, bottling the anger her choice of wording made me feel. Though I did assume it was just a poor choice of words on her behalf. "But it happened. And it will most likely happen again in our future, evil people are unfortunately something that'll always exist and something we have to keep an eye out for. If I knew Elliot even had a hint of a chance of him maybe doing something like what he did, of course I wouldn't have allowed him anywhere near Solaris. But directing evil to us and allowing it in is impossible to know until it's right out in the open. And it's a risk that we have to take to grow and to strive for a better future for us all. To prevent people from turning to evil, we've already set up the grace period to becoming a true member, arm our citizens for their defense, show the new ones there is no need to do anything harmful to anyone due to us showing our kindness and exposing them to the pleasures of what Solaris bestows, and continue to hope that it prevents anything violent from breaking out. And yes, it's not a guarantee that's gonna be the case since we've seen a couple of violent acts still play out, but they were dealt with and examples were made of it which was told to the ones already a part of Solaris. Those who witnessed or heard of what conspired will certainly tell newcomers to further dissuade them from enacting a harmful act to our community. But the territory about if that works for an entirely different community is quite unknown..."

"It is possible that a bigger community might want to take what we have here." Kostas pointed out. "They claim to not even have electricity but brute force could take them a long way, if they're fast enough. In my view, it has the same possibility of them wanting to communicate and all that."

Olivia shook her head. "I strongly disagree. There is no need for them to strike us since we will undoubtedly show hospitality to them as long as they are respectful to our people and territory. And then beyond simple hospitality if the relationship between us gets rooted and then grows from there. They need help, we're able to give them the help, and neither side wants any of us to be harmed because of how little of us are left. Surely The Drop has taught the remainder of us how to be good human beings, right?"

"We just don't know if they think that being nice and passive is the way to go... And they surely don't know the exact same everything about us." Audrey said. "It's like... trying to look at the back end of a wall from the front side, and walking around it is like when or if we take the chance to find out, if that makes any sense."

I chuckled. "Are you high? That's totally a 'high' analogy. I digress, it's true that they don't know... This entire situation just boils down to just that, that we have no idea what the other side wants, or thinks, or is telling the truth. I suppose we just need to hold a couple in-depth conversations with them to get a feel of them and to see how we can take the first steps forward to trusting each other."

"What about the one in need? Something, something, coming back during this first meeting?" Audrey brought up.

I quietly sighed as I glanced over the members at the table. "I will give a couple of simple demands. That we will only take the one in need back with just one more of their numbers, with no weapons, to accompany them. If they deny it, which would be understandable, then we do not take them back. If they accept it, we show those two that we are in fact friendly, mean we want cooperation, help the one in need, and send them back for them to tell their people the opportunity we're giving them. Any objections?"

"Aren't they gonna know the pathway to Solaris if we take them back? That seems fairly dangerous to me." Trinity commented.

"Asking for them to be blindfolded on the ride back... Doesn't that seem just a bit too much to ask for?" Olivia asked.

To which Ashton replied, "What other option is there? Surely they would understand it if we explain to them our thought process regarding it."

I let their words swirl around my mind as I determined if I should reject or accept the idea. "I will bring it up with them. If they truly need our help and they accept our offer, they will have gained a decent bit of my trust because then they would have been telling the truth and nothing but the truth." After my statement, I looked over my people who either just slowly nodded at that or had nothing else to say. "Are there anymore objections to what has been established?"

"What about this upcoming meeting itself?" Phoenix asked.

"I was just about to get to that. I think it'd make sense just to go about it how we usually talk with strangers in the mall, what with being armed and armoured. Though the question remains, who's going to get the bulletproof vests?"

"I will opt out." Kostas quickly replied.

"I will opt out too." Raiden announced.

"...Well that was quick." I simply replied.

"I figured that at least the upcoming father should get the armour over me. I also thought that the other man who possibly might have a child of his own and the woman should also have priority over me." Kostas explained which was alright reasoning.

"You're not a possible father?" Phoenix asked.

"The chance is slim to none. I do not wish to have a child of my own for personal reasons I will not get into."

Everyone figured not to poke him about it which left us to continue the conversation. More specifically, Olivia did. "How come I wasn't nominated to go with you to the meeting? It seems to me like I would be able to check out who needs my help and try to tell if they're lying about it or not. And I could also prove to them that I am an actual medical professional since it probably seems too good to be true for them."

"Those are indeed a couple of good points, they really are, but I'm going to take us back to how we just don't know about their intentions and if they're bad people or not." I reasoned. "Olivia, the knowledge you have within your mind is easily the most valuable asset our community has. To be able to heal people, to know and figure out what's wrong with a person, knowledge about treatments, diseases, and injuries, is something that a lot of people are ignorant about but a lot of people rely on." I briefly glanced at the others at the table. "Everyone in Solaris is extremely valuable. But I'm fairly certain everyone here can agree that your ability and skill is more valuable than the rest of ours combined. It's something that we would never want to lose and if it happens, without any of your knowledge being preserved, it would be a massive tragedy and would most likely result in the demise of some us to occur much sooner than what would've happened with you alive. Basically what I'm trying to say is, is that I will never deliberately put you right in even the possibility of harm's way, and I sort of hate to say it, whether you like it or not."

The room went silent for a few seconds as everyone, especially Olivia, processed the avalanche of words that fell upon her. "I... I understand. I understand my role, my job, and the value I have in this community, so it makes complete sense that you would take these actions. But yet, I still had to ask to perhaps persuade you to let me tag along with you, because of the reasons I gave. But after listening to all of your arguments, and though I don't agree with everything you said, I concede and will be ready for the possible arrival and operation of the newcomer."

With an understanding met between us, I nodded and left a silence for the next point to be voiced.

"Let me take a step back here, let's say that they try to attack us or they threaten us? Suppose they hold us at gunpoint." Raiden hypothesized.

I thought about it before I glanced toward the kitchen where my wife was undoubtedly focused on cooking. I then leaned forward a bit and with a lowered voice, I said, "...Then I will be the distraction. I would be responsible for you guys being there so I'd be responsible for getting you out. I will keep their focus on me and make a couple of bold moves, something like gently walking toward them so no matter where they're positioned they'll all have their eyes on me. That would be your guys' cue to arm yourselves and shoot to kill while trying to retreat back into the car to get the hell out of dodge."

"...You really think that's the best option there is?" Phoenix asked.

I thought about it for a few more seconds before nodding. "Yes. We don't want to be captured. That would make it to where they could get information by any means necessary. I would not want everyone else here to be at risk for a decision I made."

"And if you die?" Kostas somewhat glumly asked.

"Then Olivia takes charge for a time and the line of succession gets triggered. Solaris lives on beyond me." I replied, remembering the death dream I had a few months ago. "And if I do die any time soon, I would want someone to take care of Stacy..." I glanced at Olivia who noticed my look. "I know she'd most likely be inconsolable for an extremely long time. But that's not a conversation for here."

"Your sense of duty and responsibility are appreciated and respectable." Kostas complimented with a nod.

"You said they wanted to meet in the area you spoke with them at, right?" Raiden asked which I nodded at. "Did you clarify a time?"

I lightly sighed. "Negative. It slipped my mind due to the small amount of adrenaline that was pumping through me in case I had to react. So I'm not sure when we should head out tomorrow."

"Might as well go a couple hours after the sun rises, right? All that we'll be doing, if we're early, is waiting for them to arrive. It'd give us the time to prepare our lines, so to speak." Phoenix suggested.

"That does make sense..." I said before I chuckled again. "It's wild how we forgot to set a time during that confrontation, I suppose both sides were quite anxious to be talking to one another. But that's usually how it goes... Alright, has anyone got anything else to add?"

It took a few seconds but Ashton said, "What about the camera you're gonna give them?"

"Oh, right, thanks for reminding me about that. Etsu said she's charging one up so I'll radio her on down here after we're done here. Anything else?" Silence is what greeted me. "Alright then, well without anything else to discuss, this meeting is adjourned."

It didn't take long for my people to start getting up and departing from the table to do whatever they did during their free time. And as they departed one by one, I glanced at them while I looked at the map on the wall, the same maps that had been upscaled from the first version of the map since the wall had previously run out of room for more maps of explored areas. Not to mention that it looked nicer at that scale if a little more inaccurate. But having accurate, self-made maps was kind of impossible unless you're a proper cartographer. But, y'know, none of us are and we most likely won't find one so it kind of had to be self-made. I didn't really care about accuracy anyways, just cared about what was known and what all needed to be discovered. Though I do wonder why proper, already made maps are so rare...

And there were a lot of massive blank spots that none of us had gone down to explore. Exploring our location was a slow and difficult job, primarily the mapping part of course. But it was slowly getting done and hopefully one day we'll know about all of the abandoned villages and towns that are in our vicinity. And maybe even the living and breathing settlements that have popped up post-Drop. It surely seems like we're on track to achieving that.

As the last person to leave the room left, I thought about the position I was in. The position of being able to practically dictate what we as a community do and focus on. It's something I thought a lot about and something I tried keeping my mind off of since I really wanted to not focus on power itself. But I do realize the importance of it all, how I'm in this position. And I just can't help but appreciate the faith that has been put into me and how my position retains its respect and authority.

I then got up to retrieve a sheet of paper and a pencil before jotting down everything that had been discussed, mainly the points I wanted to talk about with this other group's leader. I didn't want to forget to ask or bring up any of them since the upcoming conversation was extremely important for several reasons.

Just after I was done writing everything down, I felt a small nudge on my back. I looked behind myself to see an adorable little Stacy holding two plates that had upon them a decent bit of well-made venison with a side of berries. I once again realized the emptiness within my stomach so my priority was quickly swapped out with sweetly eating with my wife.

"To our cuddle spot?" I suggested which she nodded at.

I took one of the plates and led our way up to the designated spot where we took our usual position of facing each other with her in between my legs before we started to feed each other. Being hugged and nuzzled after being fed by her on an empty stomach is such an extremely rewarding feeling...

It took twenty or so minutes to consume it all and when we had depleted our food, I set the plates aside, she repositioned herself to sit perpendicular from me, I wrapped my arms around her chest, and held her close before resting my chin on top of her head. I closed my eyes where we then stayed in that cuddle for another ten minutes to do the usual of enjoying each other's presence and touch that told us how much we meant to one another. I always loved to look down at her cute face to see a gentle smile of happiness caused by how much she enjoyed being in my arms. It was always made a little stronger with each delicate kiss of her forehead or tip of her nose, two types of kisses I'm sure you know by now that I give her a lot of.

Though when I noticed that her smile had disappeared, I knew she was thinking of something that troubled her somewhat. "Is something wrong, darling?"

"I'm just thinking about the people you met and how that'll go. I heard some of what you guys were talking about while cooking. There's a lot of things all of you are uncertain about. And it... worries me a bit."

I decided to not sugarcoat the situation. "It's totally possible that I might get hurt when I talk to these people... Or something even worse."

"...That won't happen." She replied. "You've done this a lot of times now. You won't get hurt."

I slowly rubbed my nose in her hair. "You know you don’t know that, Stacy. I'm only bringing this up because I'm scared of what you'd do if I'm gone."

She lightly swallowed before finally opening her eyes. "I- I am too." She looked up at me. "I don't think I could... function without you. That might be stupid to say but- you're everything to me for so many reasons. If I get you taken away... I go with you."

I lightly sighed and hugged her. The girl's tone had taken a turn to sadness at the end of her words. I wanted to say that she was exaggerating just a bit but I think that'd be true for me too. I'm certain we're in a position that a certain type of mutually assured destruction triggers off if we lose the other... Fuck, life is so fucking unfair regarding this topic. When I think about it long enough, I despise existence just because if you're not the one that dies first, then you get to watch everyone else around you die.

"It's not stupid, Stacy... I'm sure that all would apply to me too if I lost you."

"Why do you have to be the one that does this? It's so dangerous..."

I lightly put a hand on her face. "It has to be someone. And since I'm in charge of wanting to meet new people, it's my responsibility to contact them with a few others. Maybe it'll change in the future but for now, I'm responsible for making sure that it plays out as positively as possible."

She huffed out a breath before leaning into me. After she rewrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest, she softly nuzzled me. "I want to go with you."

I slowly brushed a hand through her hair and rested my chin on her head once more. "I'm not sure if that's the smartest thing to do, Stace. I told these people that I'd only be bringing five people, so if I bring a sixth one, that might make me look bad in a way. Not to mention I don't want to put you in harm's way, that's the last thing I want to do. I want to keep you as far away from harm as I can. That's one of my jobs, to protect my little lady..."

I always had to tell Stacy similar things like that whenever I went out to talk with new people. It's just this time was worse since we had had that whole death talk before. And I don't blame her for being scared, for being worried, and for not wanting me to go. I completely understand where she's coming from. I'll have the same assuring talks with her so I can continue to try my best on making her calm for as long as she needs them.

"Can't you swap one of them out for me? What if I just tell these people I wanted to make sure my husband doesn't get hurt? Surely they'd understand that, right?"

"...It's a gamble for so many reasons." I said with a light sigh. We were probably making this out to be much bigger than what it actually was, but we can't help it. I put a hand under her chin and made her look up at me again. "If you really want to go, you have to promise me that you'll stay behind me and you have to be ready to flee without me. I don't like telling you what to do but I can't let you get hurt, okay?"

She nodded. "I'll stay behind you and I'll listen to you to the best of my ability. But... I'm not sure if I'll leave you behind if I need to though."

An internal debate ensued after her words. It was quick and only lasted a minute before I came to a conclusion, one that’s probably a bad one to make. "Alright, you can come with us." I figured I'd tell the others that if a worst case scenario plays out that they'll drag Stacy with them. The chances of something like that happening were probably very low but I just needed to make sure. After I told her my verdict she lightly smiled before she continued to softly nuzzle me. "Thank you for showing me how much you care for me, it means so much... I love you, Stacy."

"I couldn't not show you but even then, it's only a fraction of what I really feel... I love you."

And so we continued cuddling where my mind drifted which caused minutes to pass us by in our loving embrace. But I did start to glance at her skirt as I thought about a more intimate act I wanted to do. No, not sex, but it was still fairly lewd. And I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. I then placed a hand on one of her knees before steadily sliding it up her leg and under her skirt.

"Hey Stace? Can I... play with some of your pubic hair?"

What? I loved the feeling of her bush against my skin due to how soft it is. And the hair there grows to be a perfect inch long which is a phenomenal length for just about any task that it was a part of. Though to be fair, it is a strange ask, at least at first.

"...What do you mean?" She asked with a giggle.

"I just want to touch it and twirl it a bit, if that's fine with you." My hand had draped up to an inner thigh.

With another timid giggle, she said, "I don't see why not. What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Just take your panties off. I'll have all of the access I would want due to how the skirt makes it so easy."

She looked up at me with a smirk. "Do you want me to wear a skirt all the time so you can have 'easy access'?"

I eskimo kissed her. "Now you're just being naughty... But it's entirely dependent on whether or not you want to do that."

"I'll think about it." She replied. Then she outstretched her legs, lifted herself up a bit, and slid her panties down her legs where she quickly got back in her crisscrossed state and resumed her lean on me. She put the pair of panties on her lap as she rewrapped her arms around my chest, all while looking up at me as she gave me all of the signs that I had her permission to do what I wanted. It was only confirmed when she said, "Go ahead, put your hand back on my thigh."

And so I did and minutely massaged it as my other hand took a soft hold of her side, the one not resting on me. Though I then slipped my hand under her shirt so I could drape my hand up to one of her breasts so I could take a hold of one and timidly and lovingly massage it to give her a sweet sensation. After enjoying how the sensitive flesh felt in both areas, my hand on her thigh further draped north to her mons pubis which had the wonderfully plentiful hair I craved to touch. My fingers slowly rolled in a circular pattern within her bush for a couple of minutes before trailing down to her labia to do the same thing to the hair in that area as well. She further relaxed as my fingers would immensely enjoy how the lush hair felt between them and how it brushed against my skin in one of those areas of her vulva for two to three minutes before returning to the previous area.

This didn't turn into something too steamy. We got a bit aroused since it was impossible not to, but we simply just wanted to enjoy the new experience due to how lovely it was, even if it was a small and peculiar act. Still, I liked it and would definitely do it again since thoroughly touching her matured sex in the way I did greatly pleased and calmed a part of my mind.

After fifteen minutes of meticulously feeling her curly hair, my hand slowed and draped further down so I could have the entirety of her hairy vulva lightly pressing against the palm of my hand. That's when she softly put her hand on mine so my hand wouldn't leave her sacred spot until she allowed it to, along with making sure to spread her criss-crossed legs to give it all the room I'd need. She only cutely wiggled her hips a tiny bit since her adorable clit would graze my skin which gave her a minute and somewhat teasing tickle of pleasure through her love-button. The massaging of her breasts added to the small amount of pleasure she was surrendering herself to.

Her gentle blush that was upon her cheeks and the soft moan she quietly let slip from her mouth were so beautiful and elegant, so much so that it made my heart flutter. I let her continue her actions because I liked having her smear a trace amount of her liquid from her clit and slit to my skin, something that expressed a mutual ownership of the other. But still, it didn't get any steamier than this. I just twirled a few strands of her bush and some of her head-hair since my other hand pleasing her tits had migrated to the back of her head. While I did this, I simply enjoyed how warm her groin was on my palm as I rested my forehead on hers.

More minutes withered away before I suppressed a sigh when I remembered I had forgotten to do something regarding the upcoming meeting with the supposed other community. So I softly kissed her for a solid minute before saying, "Before it gets too late, I need to talk to Etsu about getting a camera from her. It'll be the one I give to the other community."

She however didn't suppress her sigh. "Work always ruins things like this... Can we do this again in the future?"

"Of course, this was really nice and lovely. I'd love to do it again."

"And I suppose we shouldn't have sex tonight."

"Why's that?" I asked, genuinely confused.

She smirked. "Because your orgasms are so much bigger if we wait a day or two to do it again. I'm not as satisfied if they're small, y'know?"

Is it my fault that she's become a really horny, naughty, dirty girl? Probably. Is it a bad thing that that's happened? It's all consensual, so I wouldn't think so. Regardless, it's hard to keep my arousal down when she says stuff like that for obvious reasons.

We stayed in our positions for another minute longer before we agreed to separate where I then brought my hand up to my nostrils to briefly and deeply enjoy the captivating and calming feminine musk that had spread onto it, but only just briefly. After snatching my walkie-talkie, I made my way back downstairs and into the dining room. Though as I did that, I brought the walkie-talkie up to my lips and said, "Hey, Etsu, is that camera all charged up? If so, I'd like you to bring it down to me in the dining room."

"On my way." She simply replied a few seconds later. It was nice having everyone connected with the walkie-talkies.

A few minutes later, she handed me the camera and then waited for me to dismiss her. I thought that was a bit odd but I assumed she wanted to respect me or something like that. So after dismissing her, I focused on the camera and quickly learned how to turn it on.

It was a different model than Stacy's but it was pretty similar. A different color, slightly smaller, and different placements of where the buttons were located. I took a test picture to make sure everything was properly working before heading up to my room to review the pictures of Solaris that were taken seemingly so long ago on my and Stacy’s camera. I quickly determined that they were quite out of date so I decided to go on and take some new photos of the place so I could present the new people with a more modern understanding of what Solaris has in store. Luckily, the sun was still high enough in the sky for there to be adequate lighting.

I took a photo of the cabins including a picture of the one under construction, the solar array with the clinic, the barren crop fields, the greenhouse and its product, the cellar that contained a large amount of harvest which had been connected to the grid, and made sure to once again capture that our electrical capabilities were operational in other places. I made sure to get pictures with people walking about or taking care of a task just to add authenticity and realism to the pictures. As I went back up to my room, I reviewed them and was happy with the results before putting them in a designated file.

In doing so, I glanced over our X-rated files which was hard to resist the temptation to look through them... which is kind of what I did for a few minutes which I admired and appreciated to the fullest extent. I quite liked all of the photos so I was decently aroused by the time I was done looking over creampies, her expressions, and Stacy's pure beauty. What? I'm sorry, but what we had just experienced put me in an underlying mood, how could I have not looked over some of the photos? They're meant to be looked over again, after all.

I just hope that while showing the other people the photos of Solaris, they wouldn't somehow see any of our intimate pictures or videos. I'm not sure what would happen if that were to play out. Though... couldn't I just take pictures of Solaris with the new camera? Maybe, but should I let them have pictures of our community? I don't think so, because in the very extreme case, they might use it to study it and strategize how to take it over. It's wild to say that unironically, but even though the chance of that happening is slim to none, I still won't take that risk. I am adamant when I say that I will take no additional chances that might put my people in the way of harm. I will always try my hardest to prevent that from happening.

When I returned to my room, I put both of the cameras where I hid the main one to worry about later before turning my attention toward my girl who was at her desk using her microscope for a few moments before she would spend some time on drawing another one of her works of art. The paper displayed a cellular battle playing out which looked to be resulting in the smaller circular cells winning the war instead of the much larger, oval shaped cells. It just goes to show you that sometimes, raw numbers is what it takes to win a battle.

Not all that much happened for the rest of the day really. I had a couple more members ask me to clarify something about our discussion which I easily answered. After that, I privately told Kostas and Ashton the change in the plan and all that, the change being how Stacy wanted to tag along. It was brief so it didn't take much time though they also expressed similar worries I had about her going. I was getting tired of all of the possibility talk but I realized it needed to be discussed. When that conversation was done, they swore to me that they would try their best to force Stacy to retreat in the event of my needless end, which I greatly appreciated. I thought about how I might’ve been making a terrible decision and adding a liability to the meeting but I then thought of how to minimize it. And that was by having her be positioned behind the car, not entirely, on the other side of where the strangers would be stationed to have cover and be able to get inside the vehicle as soon as possible. Following that, the day started to quickly wrap up and the night fell upon the land.

To end the day, Stacy and I watched a rom-com with Charlotte, Trinity, Olivia, and Etsu. It was cheesy but Stacy enjoyed it so it wasn't all bad, I guess.

Chapter 59: Miscellaneous work, again

Chapter Text

Having a dream of intimately mating my wife is always nice, though it doesn't really simulate the actual feeling of sex well at all since dreams lack the realism of real life. Though surprisingly, this time it was, and my glans felt much more sensitive than it is usually during a dream like that. So my dream-self enjoyed himself quite a bit and quickly blew his load which is when I woke up. I instantly realized that dream-me's actions didn't stay within the realm of dreams since I evidently felt the recent injection of the goopiness of my seed within Stacy’s vagina as I laid there, still ported completely inside her depths.

"Well then. I'm surprised I've never done this before." I calmly thought as I held her a bit closer. "And I didn't even wake her up? I wonder if I was making any noise or fidgeting. I also wonder what she'll think about this once she wakes up..."

Honestly, it wasn't a terrible way to wake up at all, what with having my testicles thoroughly drained and emptied first thing in the morning. But on the other hand, the dream only lasted for what felt like a minute since that's just how dream time works. I much prefer doing the actual act when awake and aware since it lasts longer and the other party gets to enjoy it too. Hopefully this stays a rare occurrence, otherwise it'd get annoying.

When she awoke a decent bit later, I softly nuzzled the crook of her neck as she figured out that she was awake. After she rubbed her eyes, she looked behind her a bit with a small hint of confusion on her face. She then looked down to where we became one where one of her hands then timidly headed there. Her fingertips were swift to contact a cooled and sticky translucent white substance that leaked out from within her, onto an inner thigh, and dripped down her extremity to land on our sheets.

"...Did you cum in me?" She asked after a few silent seconds of processing it all.

I softly explained what had happened. "It was a really nice dream but... y'know, a mess has been made and you didn't even feel any of it. I apologize if you find this unappealing in any way."

She smiled lightly and put the hand that wasn't contaminated with semen on one of mine. "I'm not mad or anything, there's no reason to be. I think that... it's super sweet how you dreamt that, I like the thought of being in your dreams."

"Be assured that you are in them quite a bit, mainly because you’re the girl of my dreams."

She cutely blushed at that before commenting further on what she had awoken to. "And it's nice to wake up to being filled by you. I say it a lot, but it's just so nice to have your sperm in me constantly... But yeah, I'd really prefer to be awake when you do that since I can actually enjoy it then."

"Hey, I had no real control over doing it."

"I know, I know. Again, I'm not mad or anything. I understand it was a dream and how you being inside me caused it to happen. And really, as long as you enjoyed yourself I'm happy about that since I helped you feel good. But now I have to wait a couple of days for you to 'recharge'..."

I embraced her a bit tighter and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for being so amazing..."

She turned a bit to look back at me. "You as well."

We then softly made out for a few minutes to wake up even further before we decided it was time to be responsible, clean up, get dressed, and attend to the duties that called our names. All in all, it was a pretty good way to wake up and I wouldn't be too upset if it happened again. I would just want it to be an every once in a while thing for obvious reasons. But enough talk about that and onto more productive things.

When I entered the dining room, the first crew of scavengers appeared to be waiting for my arrival. Shortly after that observation, Zaine got my attention. "Are there any changes to the scavenging plan over what happened yesterday?"

I walked over to the map and pointed at the town my crew was at the day prior. "Don't go here." Then my hand made a circular motion to imply a much bigger area. "Or anywhere here, for that matter. The reason being is because we now know that there's some sort of community somewhere in this general vicinity and even though the chances are slim to none, I don't want anybody coming into contact with one of their members and there perhaps being some sort of misunderstanding between the both of our groups. That's the last thing we need."

Zaine nodded. "Yes sir. It's a good thing we weren't planning on going there any time soon so we should be golden."

"Unless we also find a community while out." Scarlet playfully replied.

To which I commented, "Let's hope not, at least not now, that'd be a lot to handle and worry about all at once."

With their question answered, they shortly departed to continue the mission of collecting all the material goods within our reach for the betterment of our community. I continued to look at the area I had labeled as 'off-limits' while thinking about how the meeting tomorrow might play out and if I'd actually hold a conversation with their supposed leader. Am I being overly skeptical about it all? Probably. But is it a bad thing? I don't think so. Because again, strangers are a great unknown and I refer back to what I said about how bigger groups' ideas change depending on how large they are. As they say, better to be safe than sorry since harm to the people I care about is at the top of my list of things that I want to prevent. Yada yada, still need to take risks.

Eventually, I figured out that Phoenix had to attend to his partner and Oliver successfully persuaded Ashton to switch roles with him and that he had already planned a run with Solomon, Kostas, and Roman. After hearing the reasoning for why they grouped up, I allowed it and threw the plan I had for the day out of the window. So then I was left pondering what I should do for the day.

I eventually hopped on a train of thought about the future of immigration into our community. I then retrieved a recently made map of our community that Stacy had drawn up which gave us the second map of a series that'd let us know how we were growing. And comparing it to the first map she made, we had made a decent bit of progress in just a couple of months. With that, I observed areas near where we had constructed some of our buildings and thought about an idea that had been on my mind since... well, shortly after we started the sign network.

"Hunter here, requesting Trinity and Etsu to see me in the dining room, I want to discuss something I've been thinking about for a while."

"Received, on my way." Trinity simply replied before Etsu gave me a similar response. Just five minutes later, I heard the door to the mansion open where they swiftly made their way by my flanks.

"I figure this isn't a social call." Trinity said.

I nodded. "Correct. It's a very important business matter actually, and I'm pretty sure that our construction teams can focus on it fairly soon. Do you know what a boarding house is?"

"Yeah, like a lodge that gives guests rooms and food for money... What are you planning?"

"I'm tired of worrying about being attacked in the middle of the night by a stranger we take in since they've only got this mansion to bunk in when we do. Not to mention, it's always quite awkward for them since they're suddenly thrust into a community of dozens. I want to rework the way we go about integrating newcomers into Solaris."

"Ah, and to do so via some type of boarding house. At least, that's what I assume." Etsu replied.

I nodded. "You assume correctly. It won't be a traditional boarding house since there's obviously no circulating currency for us to claim from them. But to make them more comfortable along with making me feel safer, our community needs to have a designated building to give them a temporary and minimalist living space. Does that make sense?"

"It does, yes. We've talked briefly and vaguely about something like this a couple of times before but not much was said. Have you designed anything for us to take a look at?"

I shook my head. "Negative, I thought I'd leave that up to you two to design something based on my suggestions for what I want the building to be like."

"And what are those suggestions?" My craftswoman asked.

"Each room needs to be quite small and compact, just big enough to have a sleeping space, a little walk room, and a small table with maybe a small nightstand so they can store some of their stuff. The beds should only be six and a half feet long so the rooms' length should slightly be above that just to make it as compact as can be. Because a few inches bigger means that much more effort and time would needlessly be spent on what are essentially just gonna be holding cells, just a lot nicer."

"Alright, yeah, that all makes sense to me. How many rooms should we make?" My engineer asked.

I deliberated and thought about a few scenarios and the medium term future. "I'm thinking at least twenty."

"Twenty?" Trinity repeated with a small amount of shock. "Hm, that's certainly a decent bit."

"It is. But it's not unreasonable, it's just in case we get a fairly big and sudden influx of newcomers."

"Again, that makes sense. Anything else to add?"

I checked my mind to see if there were any more points that I maybe forgot to say. "Nope, that's about it for this idea other than that I want your focus to shift completely to it after y'all finish Jake's and Jessie's cabin."

"Is it possible for us to focus on something else before that?"

"It really depends on how long whatever you're thinking of will take."

"Audrey really wants us to build the second greenhouse she's had planned for a little while after we're done with this cabin. It should only take three or four days since she only requires that we make a proper foundation for it since most of it is concrete. Then it's her job to figure out how to get the parts for another greenhouse to erect."

"I'll allow it then, that's much faster than what I was expecting. And this boarding house will most likely take a few weeks to make so I might as well prevent Audrey from being upset. That just about does it for this little chat."

Etsu nodded. "Alright then, Trinity and I will figure out where to build this and draw something up, following your suggestions, for a little while. Do you want to take a gander at it when we're done?"

"Absolutely. Even if I don't, I have faith you'll come up with something that'll get the job done since you're fairly abled and competent people for the things you're assigned to do."

"We appreciate the compliments." Trinity replied with a smile. "We'll get right on it."

"I thank you in advance. I'll leave y'all to it then."

With that being said, I left the room as they started a quiet conversation between them as my mind moved onto the next thing that I wanted to scratch off the to-do list which was check on Autumn since her well-being is something that has to have a close eye on just in case a medical emergency happens regarding the pregnancy. It took a little longer to find the desired couple since they weren't in their cabin, but I eventually found them in Olivia's clinic.

"Am I allowed to ask what's going on? Or at the very least, is Luna gonna be alright?" I quietly asked Olivia as I peered at how Phoenix lovingly held his partner close and comforted her through what she was experiencing.

"Yes, baby Luna's gonna be just fine. In fact, everything's on track for a perfect delivery. But that's all I can say, if you want details, you're gonna have to ask Autumn herself."

That relieved a bit of worry I had been minutely feeling. "Good, good, I'm happy about that. Just a few more weeks until they arrive... It's exciting. Hopefully everyone shares that emotion since this is a beautiful thing."

Olivia nodded with a soft smile. "Indeed, it is pretty exciting for a few reasons, like how our people can continue through future generations and how the first people to start being born in a new world are emerging." Her voice then got much quieter and leant toward me. "Don't tell Autumn or Phoenix this, but I'm just a little bit nervous about delivering Luna. Only a bit. It's because it's been a while, around four years, since I've delivered one. I know what to do but I'm fairly out of practice, as you'd expect, but how would I have sharpened my skills up in this day and age?"

Keeping the same level of volume as her, "I have no clue and to be honest, I have no clue what all goes on during delivery. I've read about it before a decent bit but to actually do it, I'm not sure if I'd be able to. Not to mention, along with you, it's been years since I read all that stuff and I've certainly forgotten a lot of what I learned. Though since I have someone who's helped deliver a child, I'm able to ask this, how difficult is it actually to deliver one?"

"It's mainly just being there for the mother, telling her what to do, how to do it, reminding her to stay calm, focus on her breathing, and telling her when to push. The other major part is to make sure the child's coming out correctly and helping direct it so they don't get hurt and find themselves in the safe arms of their mother after the one who delivered them checks if the baby's alright and breathing properly."

"What are some complications that you're afraid of?"

"For the most part, postpartum hemorrhaging and if Luna doesn't start breathing on her own. They're decently uncommon but they're the most likely complications that can happen at this point. Luna's on track in every category and should be greeting the world in around a month or so."

"Very exciting. Well, I continue to hope that all goes well and have the faith you'll be able to make the delivery as smooth as possible. Though I have to ask, do you still not have a helper in your grasp?"

She lightly shook her head but quickly stopped. "Well, not exactly , but I think I'm on track to having one."

"What do you mean?"

"Vanessa first showed me a strong interest in helping me with this all when I started looking for someone who might fit the role. She had these interests before The Drop occurred and was taking a couple classes on medicine, anatomy, and health which she's retained a decent bit of. Of course, she's ignorant regarding a lot and I've been teaching her what she needs to know a few times a week. She's a good learner and she shows all of the promising signs I've been looking for. Still, there's a lot we need to cover for her to be at a level I'm comfortable with."

"I wish the best for you two. A nurse at your side would be good for all of us."

"Indeed, it would take a decent bit off of my shoulders and it'd be much more enjoyable to not be the only one aware of more intricate medical procedures, medicines, conditions, detection, anatomy, and other categories like that. Hopefully I can shape her up to be the nurse I've been looking for."

I then thought about how she was teaching Vanessa to become some sort of nurse. I thought that was quite fascinating and wondered how she was doing so. "What's your technique?"

"A lot of it's from memory but thankfully, the past few trips to the library and a couple of hospitals have yielded a few books chalk-full of material that helps me convey a large portion of what I need to teach. Not to mention, it has the stuff that slips my mind during the moments of teaching. Because as you probably know, our memories aren't perfect and are quite forgetful of what one should say."

"Yep, that makes sense. Let's hope we can retrieve all of the books we need out there, you're still missing quite a bit, right?" I asked which she nodded to. Right before I thought the conversation was drawing to a close, I thought about how Etsu had been preserving her knowledge via writing it all down in a way that one could be taught with it. Etsu hadn't shown me it yet, but she assured me that she had been working on it. "Is teaching any fun?"

"When you have one who actually wants to learn, it's amazing. I love to see the reaction of someone who finally understands something. Helping someone learn is a very rewarding thing to do."

"Do you think you could make something book-like of your own? A book that covers what a nurse should be aware of? How they should go about becoming one?"

"...I actually hadn't thought about that. That's a really good idea and would help me teach more in the future."

"Not to mention that just in case of your untimely death, you'd be able to preserve the knowledge for the next generation of medical professionals. What I'm saying is, is that you should really create something like it and chip away at it whenever you can. I should've asked you a while ago to work on something like it."

"As they say, better late than never. Those are two really good points to be made and something tells me I should listen to your advice since it really does seem like it should be one of my main priorities for now."

"I'll let you think about it then. Getting an update on it every now and then would be nice to hear and I must ask, how long do you think it'd take to make something like what I'm asking?"

"It'll easily be many months, maybe even a couple of years. I could probably make it faster than that but I don't want to completely focus on it otherwise I wouldn't enjoy making it. And it must be comprehensive. There's so, so much I could go on about... Yeah, it's gonna take a lot of my time and definitely a lot of paper."

"I'll see to it that you get what you need." With that being said, our conversation was over so I finally made my way toward the romantic couple in the room. When I did, Phoenix met my gaze as Autumn stayed still. "How's it going?"

He glanced at Autumn who. "She's just... just in a decent bit of pain in a certain area. It's quite rough and the pregnancy isn't making it any better. Really, it's just making her feel worse since her body's already going through so much, so disturbances like this are worse than they should be. But she'll be fine in a day or two, it's nothing severe."

Since he didn't tell me what exactly was going on, I decided I shouldn't pry. "It's really sweet how you tend to her even when it's not severe."

"I'm certain you'd do the same."

I nodded. "Couldn't not. The well-being and comfort of your partner should always be one of the top things on your list of priorities."

"Agreed. It most certainly should be. I just hope that it doesn't get me in trouble regarding having to call off work... Wait, I just realized that you're here. Did you decide not to go?"

"No one should get in trouble for being there in their partner's time of need. Only a true jerk would punish those who do. And I didn't really decide not to go, just that another group of people volunteered to go instead so I figured why not. And it turned out to be a good thing, I've done a couple important things already."

"Does this classify as important?"

"Checking out if you two are alright is definitely important. It is for all of my people. I need to make sure that everyone's alright and if not, how I can make it so."

"That's really nice to hear... Well, Olivia's got us covered and she's done everything she can do so we're gonna be alright. But showing that you care means a lot to me, it really does."

"A leader who doesn't have his people's well-being at heart shouldn't be one. The previous societies suffered hard from that not being that case... And I hope that in the future, any leader who doesn't take care of their people as best as they can should be ousted. There's no need for trash like that to be in charge."

He smiled at that. "I've always liked how nothing holds you back from speaking your mind and not using any soft language."

I shrugged. "Well, there's no other way to put it. Leaders who don't take care of their people are trash, it's as simple as that." When a lull appeared, I decided to forward the conversation. "Has your excitement for Luna dipped any?"

He shook his head. "Absolutely not. Every time I see Autumn's belly, feel Luna kick, remember that she's my daughter, and how I'm gonna raise her... Man, it's so surreal and exciting. I've even dreamt about finally holding her when she's born a couple times. I can barely wait any longer."

"Mhm, that sure does sound lovely." I said as I thought about holding one of my own possible children. "I know I've said it before, but it will be a big milestone and a good sign for our future once she's born. She'll be the first native born citizen of Solaris of countless many."

He looked down at Autumn. "And I hope we get to see it... I just continue to desperately hope that nothing bad happens when Autumn goes into labour."

"It's understandable, I'd be the same in this situation. But you're in good hands and are cared for, the chances of something going sour are minimal, I promise you that. The same thing'll be true for whenever Nova's baby is about to arrive. I can't help but wonder how many more will make their way to being born in the next couple of years... For some reason, I feel like more news is about to break about another woman being pregnant."

"There will undoubtedly be many who become pregnant, that's just what happens as Solaris gets bigger and people get comfortable and form relationships. I'm sure you already knew that though. I bet there's gonna be over a dozen in the next two years, though it depends on how fast we as a community grow. And I'm also gonna bet that... Willow will be the next one to get pregnant."

"Oh really? Well don't hold your breath, she's spoken about how much she doesn't want to become a mom. At least, not yet, perhaps her mind will change eventually, as scary as that thought is." I lightheartedly said with a chuckle.

"Then perhaps Stacy?"

"I... also wouldn't hold your breath on that. I'm not gonna elaborate."

"Charlotte then."

"Wha-, she's a lesbian?"

"That reminds me, lesbian sex is really dangerous, what if both of them get pregnant?"

I rolled my eyes with a disappointed smile as he chuckled at his own words. After a few seconds, he looked up at me. "After Autumn and I cradle Luna for a while and make sure she's okay, do you want to hold Luna for yourself shortly after she's been born?"

I was silently shocked at the question. For some reason, it meant quite a lot to me that he'd offer that to me. The reason being is because he wanted me to be one of the first ones to interact with his child and trusted me enough to do so. Not to mention, to him, I was a good enough person to have the honour of carrying Luna, the first born person within the land that I basically control. It would be quite surreal in the moment.

I softly smiled at him after processing his question. "Why sure, I'd love to, I don't see why I wouldn't. Only after Stacy though since she essentially called dibs on doing that before me."

"We'd certainly be fine with you two being the first ones besides us to hold her. But only you two for a while since we want to take it all slow which includes her introduction to the others."

"Well, I feel very honoured that you'd let me hold Luna, it truly means a lot to me."

"Of course, I don't see why we wouldn't let you. You've been nothing but respectful and a good leader the entire time that we've been here. It's impossible to express just how grateful we are for everything we've been given."

"You're welcome. Just being a good citizen is enough expression for me." I simply replied. "So... who's gonna be in the room when Autumn's giving birth?"

"Obviously me and Olivia, at the very least. Maybe Vanessa and Scarlet too, if Vanessa is certain on becoming a nurse. Scarlet just wants to be there for Autumn since they're good friends, y'know, moral support on top of mine and what not... I don't suppose you want to be there right? Because I want there to be the minimal amount of people needed for it."

I shook my head. "No, I don't want to be there. It'd be fairly weird and honestly, I don't want to see that part of life, at least not any time soon. But, I'll probably be very close by when it's happening to stay updated on what all happens."

"Alright, good. I mainly just want Autumn to feel more comfortable since she doesn't want that many people to look in that area. I'm pretty sure that's understandable." I agreed with what he said before he went quiet for a few seconds as he presumably thought about his past. "Going down the route we did, where we heard you guys launching those fireworks, it's hard to not take the choices we made for granted. I just..." He trailed off suspiciously.

"Hm?"

He stayed silent for a few seconds longer. "It's just that... What happened with Elliot still kind of messes me up for so many reasons. It's... hard to understand how you were able to do what you did. To be honest, how you can do that, it scares me in that regard. And it's hard not to think about it whenever you enter a room with me."

I seriously didn't like the abrupt turn that the conversation had since it had changed from something so sweet to something so terrible. "I know we haven't really had a discussion about it but I suppose we can do it now. I agree with you when you say it still kind of messes me up. I didn't enjoy doing what I did in the slightest."

"I know, I know, you've beat the drum on that point many times, I believe you. I still can't understand it, if that makes sense."

"I guess that's fair. But do you blame me for it? What else would I have done for the safety of everyone? I still think I made the best decision I could've made, given the circumstances. If I hadn't felt what I did to save Stacy..."

"Again, I know. But I still can't control how... confused my emotions are about the situation. Be thankful I wasn't the one in charge because I don't think I'd've ever made a decision. So it's respectable that you did what you did in a way but... I think I'll leave at that."

I knew Elliot was his friend at the time so I understand why he was feeling the way he was. I have no clue what I'd do if a friend of mine turned out to be one who would rape another, other than being truly lost about it. I hope I never have to deal with a scenario like that. And that goes for being in another case where execution has to be the decision I make.

Deciding to change the topic, I asked, "Are you gonna be in Audrey's cabin tonight?"

"I'm gonna have to miss out on tonight because of who's in my arms right now. I don't mind being in this position but it's a bummer I have to miss out on it. I'll probably join next week though so I'll be there then."

"It's not a problem, there's always gonna be next week for our little get togethers."

A little while ago, a decent bit of us decided on making every Saturday a day where we would all hang out and be friends. We'd play games, play instruments, watch movies, smoke, drink, and just have a good time with each other. It was an extremely fun thing to do to pass the time and always went by too fast.

It didn't take much longer for our conversation to come to a stop, which is when I excused myself to make my way to my next objective. And that was seeing what I could do for my community for a few hours since I didn't want to waste the time by doing nothing important. And since Trinity was working on something for me, that meant she wasn't on duty for construction so I shimmied my way to where they were making good progress on the eighth cabin to our small village.

The bundled up cabins, not in the form of an array and not too close to one another, was always a nice sight to bestow. It meant that our community was capable and growing quite nicely. Like a lot of things, I wondered how many would be built in the next few years.

We had gotten quite proficient at building cabins since we've been doing so for quite a while now. The cabins we make now are a couple steps up from the first one we made due to us finding out a rhythm, what and what not to do, and figured out how to improve the quality of what we construct. The ladder of improving and how high it goes is unknown but I'm sure there's still a long way up.

As I helped them continue to build up the walls of the abode, I kept thinking about the mysterious group that we'd be meeting up with. I was anxious about it, how couldn't I be, especially how Stacy was gonna be there, (I was contemplating on whether or not I should cancel that plan.) and thought about how it could all go wrong. From violence, to misspeaking, a surprise attack, stuff like that. I just hoped really, really hard that cooperation would happen and that they were good people. Trust is such a hard thing to create between strangers, especially these days. Leaps of faith are quite common these days... What else can I do?

Eventually, I tried my best to suppress those thoughts and focus on the job that needed to be completed for a decent bit before I decided to prematurely end my shift. I did so because a call for aid was voiced through the walkie-talkies.

"Anyone down to help Willow and I and hopefully take back a good amount of fish from the traps set up?" Kai asked. I waited a few seconds before taking up the offer. "Alright, cool, we'll be where you'd expect us to."

With the quick change of plan set up, I politely departed from the construction team before jogging my way to where the couple waited for my arrival. "I haven't done this in a while, I've almost forgotten how to do it."

"Typically, this is Stacy's role but she's caught up with helping Etsu and Trinity do something about something." He replied before he started leading the way toward the first fish trap. "It's no biggie though, we've got a replacement."

"How many traps are operational these days?"

"Fifteen." Willow answered. "The amount of fish we're getting is starting to slowly tick down as we enter winter but there's no need to be alarmed over it."

"Just like last winter... Hard to believe it's nearly that time again while at the same time looking at how much we've accomplished in just a year." Kai commented. "You really meant it when you said we'd be shifted into high gear just before spring started, Hunter. At least, I think that was you, it's been a while."

"Yeah, it was me since I had officially become the leader of the group at that point. And just keep in mind, this is just the beginning of what we will accomplish, the mere tip of the iceberg so to say. The next year, two years, five years, ten years, and beyond are gonna be extremely eventful for us all."

"I just hope the events that play out aren't harmful..." Willow commented.

"Everyone humane does."

"And let's hope your meeting tomorrow goes well. I worry quite a bit whenever you're meeting new people, I hope you know that. It's impossible not to." Kai admitted.

"You and I both... It's nice to hear that though. But during this meeting, I’ll make sure our safety is as best as it can be for the worst case scenario. I kind of doubt it'll even come to that since it would seem quite stupid for them to anger us, if they've told us the truth, but I still just gotta make sure. If all goes well, then a lot of worry will be relieved from my mind. Still, I won't let my guard down until another meeting or two after the first one. It's gonna be a small bit for this relationship to build up."

To which Willow replied, "I think all will go well. I really don't see any reason why anyone would want to harm us. That does no good for anyone."

As we strolled up to the first fish trap, I started going on about some of the stuff that I had discussed with my high command and army corps the day prior. It went over well but just perpetuated the fear of the unknown and uncertainty about it even further. I didn't dwell on it much longer so we could complete the task we were assigned to do where we collected a decent bit of fish within the buckets we were carrying.

But as we were emptying the sixth fish trap, Kai suddenly put up his hand in a way that told us to halt our movement which we immediately complied to. It was a gesture he made whenever he spotted something fauna related while out and about where he didn't want our disturbances, I.E. walking or other noises caused by it, to spook away whatever animal was near us.

I looked in the direction of where he was facing but I didn't see anything, at least, not immediately. "What do you see?"

He stayed silent as he continued looking in the direction over yonder. I thought he didn't hear my whisper but just before I asked him again a little louder, his hand that had gone up pointed in the direction where he was looking where I was finally able to spot what he had detected.

"Is that... a dog?" Willow asked as we saw a small-medium sized canine steadily stroll their way down the side of the stream.

"Looks like a husky." Kai commented as the creature slowed its pace as it became, what I assumed, nervous.

"...Looks starving too." I said as the distance between us and the canine closed enough where I was able to see the fairly malnourished state the creature was in.

"Even starving adult huskies should be much larger than this one. I'm pretty sure it's just a pup." Kai said as he gingerly got on his knees.

"What are you doing?" I quietly asked as he set the bucket he was holding down.

"Appearing smaller so we don't scare it off." He replied before looking back at us. "Can you two please follow my lead?"

I glanced at him as the dog's pace slowed to a snail's pace. "What if it attacks us?"

"It shouldn't as long as we don't scare it and don't take away food from it." He replied as he looked back at the husky.

I glanced at Willow who met my gaze before sighing. "I don't want to kill a dog. But if a starving dog attacks you, you best bet I'll save your ass from it." I then gestured that Willow follow my lead where I slowly sat on my knees before Kai started gently calling the dog over.

"What are you planning, Kai?" Willow asked.

"It needs our help. We can give it help." He simply replied as his coos started working on the dog's mind, but only just a bit. As it was, it was still around twenty-five meters away or so. And I could definitely tell that the creature was quite curious as to what we were and if we were a threat or not... or if it was determining if we were prey and if it could take us on, if it was desperate enough.

"You're just gonna give it some of the fish?"

"Willow, we've got tons. Not to mention, we don't need it, not at the moment at least. We can spare a fish or two for a starving dog, right?"

"...I guess he's got a point, Willow." I said as Kai took out one of the smaller sized salmon that we had caught earlier while the dog closed in on twenty meters. "Still, giving some to it could be very dangerous."

"There's always gonna be that small chance. I think it's worth taking. The dog doesn't look rabid or anything."

"It's your arm bro, not mine." I thought but refrained from voicing it. I will admit though, it was fairly sweet to see how he cared about the animal, contrary to the ones he hunted. Of course, the ones he hunted weren't on a list of hate or anything, obviously, it's just out of necessity. It's strange how we draw that line of which animal what and what not to kill, it's very arbitrary.

Kai then extended the uncooked aquatic meal toward the dog when it closed in on fifteen meters which is when I was able to see its ears perk up at what Kai was offering. Though strangely, it slowed and laid down as it continued to look at us. I had never seen a dog act like that, especially a feral one which was starving. I assumed it was continuing to determine if we were a threat or not which was a fascinating mannerism to witness.

Kai continued to gently call the animal over and kept his arm extended for a couple of minutes. Before I said anything about maybe giving up, the dog got up again and continued its journey toward us at a moderate pace. I won't lie, my adrenaline was starting to kick in when it was nearer than ten meters away. Mainly because dogs are fucking scary. Especially a husky in the circumstances it was in. Dogs can cause some serious, serious harm if attacked... Though I did wonder why it was alone and starving. Maybe its pack was slaughtered by some other animals?

Kai gently flopped the fish forward by a foot when the dog was close enough which almost scared it away. But it realized that Kai wasn't making any additional moves so it continued to creep toward the fish as its nose went to work on smelling the scents that the fish emitted. And as it kept its eyes on us, it positioned its nose right up to the fish and got a good sniff of it before gently taking it in its mouth where the dog instantly started to chew into it.

Though after a few seconds, to feel more comfortable, it took a couple steps back since it obviously didn't trust us so it could continue consuming a well-needed meal which I bet felt phenomenal going down. The sight of a creature getting the help it needed, knew that we were the cause, and it meant us no harm, was all enough to cause me to gently smile at the scene in front of me. It was a nice little moment of generosity and humility that was quite endearing.

When it was done eating the meat off the bones of the fish, it gave us another look for a few seconds which... it honestly looked like a gesture of thanks. And I could tell that it wanted more. But this animal... why did it seem so smart? It was so surreal and was very different to what I would expect a wild and starving animal to behave like. Though after the look it gave us, it quickly faced the direction it came from and scampered off.

We watched it go on its merry way for a few silent seconds where the smile stayed on my lips. I hoped it'd be able to find a way of life out there to live a long life.

"So, that was amazing." Kai commented. "I was expecting that they would've ran off well before I gave them the fish, honestly. Dogs like that are usually extremely skittish, but it was nice seeing one again after so long."

"Did you used to handle dogs before The Drop?" I asked.

"My mom worked with dogs a lot so I was exposed to them a decent bit back then. I didn't necessarily handle them but I learnt a lot from what my mom said and did, it was mainly word of mouth. Like how to appear like less of a threat, how to talk to one, how to be patient, don't show your fear. Though depending on the dog, it's hard to do some of that. Not that one though, it was in a fairly weakened state."

"Still scary. I wonder if we'll see another dog again eventually." I pondered.

To which Willow replied, "We probably will at some point, seems kind of inevitable to me."

As we finally got up and continued our task, I thought about pet ownership. Dogs would be a decent asset to have within our community for a few reasons. Reasons such as having something to give us an intimidation factor along with how well dogs can track a scent. And also, how it'd be nice to have a few pets roaming around. I'm sure they'd be a good morale booster for a few people.

I digress. The next forty-five minutes saw us collecting the rest of the trapped fish for that day which ended up being a decent bit but a little lower than it was a week ago. I'm sure the number of our yield will continue to decline for the next month or so before it troughs and stabilizes before inevitably going back up when warmer weather arrives again. I'm quite thankful for the crops we grew, that took so much work and worry off of our shoulders. I just hope our population doesn't increase more than we can handle.

When we returned back to the community, I went to check on Etsu's and Trinity's progress with my request. They went over what they had gotten at that point and claimed they'd finalize all their plans tomorrow which was good enough for me. The great thing about planning buildings these days is that not a lot has to go on in the planning and approval process since our community was as straightforward as could possibly be. All that mattered is if the plan they were making made sense and was viable.

As dinner was being cooked up, I called on my armor corps and went over the plan again for the meeting we were gonna have tomorrow just to make sure that it was all gonna play out well. I made sure to get my point across about easy cooperation, concise language, and making sure they know that we aren't to be messed with and that we are open to friendly collaboration between our two groups. While in the process, I went over the change in plan about how Stacy was going which some rightfully objected to. But I explained to them why I allowed it and how I would handle it. It took a little bit of persuading, but eventually, they saw it from my point of view but were still very weary about it which I agreed with.

It might've been a bad decision, I'm well aware, but how can I deny and control what Stacy does without seeming like a bad person? There might be a time when I have to swallow that sentiment for the better of her safety but it wouldn't feel right. I feel like something’s screaming at me to grow a backbone… I'm not sure. I guess I'd have to if it meant that she wouldn't get hurt. And the only reason I'm allowing her to come with is because the chance for hostilities to emerge is probably fairly low... I hope so, at least. Well, I'm gonna find out quite soon.

And I mean quite directly since I'm about to head to bed. Not much happened for the rest of the day besides the usual eating with my wife, socializing a bit, and the thoughts of my mission tomorrow successfully creeping into my mind. Even though I'm nervous, I can't wait to get this over and done with... So, without further ado, I'm gonna go figure out what lies ahead of me.

Chapter 60: The Primordial Conversation

Chapter Text

When the morning was upon us, I only stayed in bed for fifteen minutes before getting up and getting dressed where my wife decided to join me in doing so before we headed down to the kitchen to get a simple meal for the morning. During this, I checked the results of the vote regarding whether or not we should go ahead with the meeting that was planned. It didn't take long to discover that it was approved by a net positive of seven votes so that confirmed that it was actually happening. It would’ve been decently awkward if it was disapproved but this was a huge step for our community so it seemed only right to let the community decide the big steps it should take.

As stated many times before, I was a little nervous about what we were gonna do regarding the mission to talk with a new group of people, like I always am. But I wanted to keep my mind off of it, even if it was just for a little while, so I focused on eating with Stacy.

As I intimately fed her slices of salmon on the window bay, I wanted to take a few pictures of us like that which she allowed. The reason being is because I thought it'd be a cute spectacle to capture us in. After putting the camera in place and returning back in front of Stacy with the girl in between my legs as she usually is, I rested my forehead against hers where we then deeply looked each other in the eyes.

"I love you so much, Stacy..." I quietly said as I grabbed a slice of salmon off of the plate on her lap before kissing the tip of her nose.

She reciprocated my words before accepting the slice of meat just when a picture of us like that was taken. I wanted to take more pictures like that since a lot of the pictures we've taken have been quite steamy. I guess I just wanted some wholesome pictures to look back on because I didn't want it to be too sex-focused. And so we did that by having another picture being taken of us gingerly and deeply kissing, me kissing the tip of her nose while delicately holding her chin, resting a hand on the side of her face as we once again looked each other in the eyes, and a final one of us softly eskimo kissing. After that, we continued feeding, nuzzling, and softly kissing each other

And if you've taken the time to be a peeping tom (is that the right phrase?) and have read my journals, you're probably thinking that it seems like my relationship with her is indeed fairly sex-related, maybe a little more than what it should be. Which yeah, it seems like that because I go into detail about a lot of our sexual experiences. But that's because I don't write down a lot of our slow, intimate, and wholesome moments down here... Even if it seems like I do indeed do that.

But that's also because there's a lot of moments like that. What with eating together, dancing, snuggling, listening to her sing, bathing, everything else... They're repetitive. But that's not a bad thing since I also deeply enjoy them, they'll never get boring to me. I'd simply run out of room within my journals much quicker if I incorporated them all… Not to mention that I don’t really want to, since writing takes a long time to do. The sex-to-wholesome ratio is probably a one to ten for wholesome... Maybe, again, I'm not good at calculations. In conclusion, we spend a whole bunch of time together and I'm grateful for it. I hope that continues and the desire to spend that time together persists indefinitely.

Anyways, I reviewed the pictures and loved them so I put them in the appropriate file and expressed my desire to her about wanting to take more wholesome pictures. She thought my desire was cute, lightly kissed me, and allowed me to do so. I'm gonna make sure I take full advantage of her permission, but only in circumstances that warrant it.

So after our hunger was satisfied, we satisfied the other thing we were craving which was to snuggle a bit. After that, the other four members who were tagging along with the meeting at hand were all up and ready to depart from Solaris. I retrieved both of the cameras and equipped the bulletproof vest (I reminded Stacy that she'd have to stay either right next to or behind me but I really wanted her to have the vest instead.) before Stacy and I headed out to meet the others at the car. That was when Phoenix and Raiden asked how six people were gonna fit in a five capacity vehicle.

"I can sit on Hunter's lap." Stacy answered which a couple of the other's were unsure about. She crossed her arms. "I'm going and that's how I choose to go."

I thought her assertive voice was absolutely adorable but that's probably because it's a very rare thing that I get to hear. I have to tease her an immense amount before that voice comes out. When that happens, I of course always make it up to her through any means that she wants... It all works out in the end for the both of us.

So as was stated, I sat in the shotgun seat of the car where Stacy took a spot on me where she then turned to me so she could rest her head on my chest. We hugged tightly as the others entered the car as well with Ashton opting to be the driver. It's a good thing that Stacy and I were in the front since that gave us our personal space and no one really looked at us. Not like we were doing anything besides nuzzling and hugging each other but we still didn't want to be looked at while doing it.

I gave her quiet, discreet, and light kisses on her forehead and kept my nose in her hair as we got on the way toward our destination. I only had to stop whenever I replied to something during the conversation we were having. Eventually, one of them asked why exactly Stacy chose to tag along from the source herself.

"I'm going to protect him. He obviously needs my protection just in case, y'know?"

"Alright, fair. Hunter definitely needs some type of protection since he always manages to get himself in some unfortunate situations." Ashton replied.

I playfully scoffed before rubbing my nose against Stacy's. "You're only here so I could calm you down... I'm the one that's gonna be protecting you, darling."

"Uh-uh! Not this time."

"And how do you suppose you're gonna do that? You're teensy-weensy."

"...I'm adorable and sweet so I'll be the violence repellant." She confidently explained.

"Hm, some would cause violence because of that for... never mind." Raiden replied, probably realizing her mistake.

"Anyways, I know you guys are gonna be just fine. Hunter just needed me here to help him stay calm, he's a little nervous and worried." Stacy lied with a small giggle.

"If you say so, my Queen." I said, letting the others see it her way.

Small talk ensued about going over what we'd be talking about with the strangers again but I didn't really contribute all that much mainly because I already had a decent idea of the major questions I would be asking. Instead, I just focused on holding my amazing little wife and enjoyed the both of us embracing, nuzzling, lightly kissing, and relaxing into each other for the duration of the road trip toward the desired town. It was nice.

As we strolled up on the drug store that we had raided a couple days prior Kostas said, "Turn the safety off, make sure your gun can be easily accessed, don't take it out unless absolutely necessary, don't put your fingers on the trigger unless you intend to kill, and only point it at who you need to shoot."

It was obvious stuff to reiterate but making sure those messages were hammered into the minds of everyone was the correct way to go. Kostas truly meant that he'd try to lower the chances of an accident as much as he can, which I greatly appreciated. And one of the ways of doing that was to constantly repeat messages and techniques to do so. We didn't say anything in response since we knew the drill.

"So now we wait." I said after I directed Ashton to the building who then put the vehicle in park.

We got out of the vehicle shortly afterward which made me remember how nice heaters are because of the frigid air we were then experiencing. It was quite a cold day, one that finally revealed that late autumn was upon us. Temps were only gonna continue to drop until the brunt of winter is here. Anyways, I wasted no time in placing the two cameras I brought on top of the car before leaning onto the vehicle and kept my eyes peeled for anything moving that resembled another human. After telling the others to stay alert, Stacy came up to me and hugged me from the side before once again resting her head on my chest.

I hugged back and slowly ran a hand through her hair. I silently appreciated how much she craved physical affection and touch, I've already written so much of it in this chapter, but it's incredibly hard not to mention it when you've got a bubbly, angelic, little sweetheart who always wants to show you how much they appreciate you. It was so sweet that it might give me type three diabetes.

"Would you want to control them if they're a community like Solaris?" She asked after a few silent minutes in the hug.

I really wasn't expecting a question even close to something like that so I was at a loss for words. "...I haven't thought of something like that just yet."

"I think you should." She admitted. I asked her to explain why since something like that hadn’t even had a hint of crossing my mind. "You're a good leader with a good vision that needs people, to get to that big village we want. And if they really don't even have electricity, then it'd probably be better if you led them. You know how to do it."

"Hm..." I simply replied as I thought more thoroughly about her words.

I guess it was a solid point but I wasn't sure if I should do that, at least not genuinely think about it any time soon for a few obvious reasons. There's a lot of implications that would come with controlling the other community, that mainly being a near doubling of Solaris' population for starters. And that's if they'd comply with being controlled by me. I know I certainly wouldn't want to force them in any capacity and I'm sure I couldn't force them even if I wanted to. That'd most likely result in deaths which I wouldn't want to be responsible for. Though I did briefly think about how I'd go about trying to convince them to join us and then integrate them with us.

Not to mention that it's just not needed... At least not yet and won't be for years, probably. I'm sure well into the future that Solaris will probably become expansionist and then maybe, just maybe, we might incorporate other communities into a type of Solaris 'nation' by a few means. But that's the far future so I'll focus on the now. And the now says that something like that is not currently possible so I'll shelve that idea for later, if it ever comes up again, since I was getting ahead of myself.

After telling her my thought process, she looked up at me with eyes that expressed deep admiration. "You're so smart... It's so cool how you know how to be a leader."

"Eh, to me it seems rather easy, in a way. For now at least. The thing here is that the larger we get, the harder it's going to be for me to lead the way I do. I'm very localized and pretty personal as a leader but with each new person that joins Solaris, that aspect lessens. It's only a matter of time before I'll have to be forced to see people as a number which will unfortunately have the effect of me losing chunks of my... humanity in a way, so-to-speak, regarding what I decide to do as a leader. Of course, I will always have the intention of making choices that have the best benefits to everyone. But I'm sure some decisions I'll make will have to make someone suffer... As has already happened but let's forget about that."

She continued intently looking up at me as I explained to her my thinking, the girl captivated by the words that seemed like obvious leader-like knowledge... right? It's not like I expected her to know how to lead, or how I think one should lead and how that goes, since she obviously wouldn't know how to.

"You're so adorable..." I couldn't help but say after softly placing the hand that wasn't brushing through her hair on her face. I admired the eyes she was giving me, her beautiful blue irises silently expressing how much she appreciated me.

"You're adorable too." She said.

I booped her nose before lightly kissing it. After that, we focused back on keeping our eyes peeled though it was hard when the girl in your arms persisted on giving you affection.

I hate the cold. I hate the heat. Spring and autumn are the only times of the year in which I actually like. Thank goodness I don’t have allergies to pollen. I despise how sensitive humans are to temperature... You'd think it wouldn't be like that. Anyways, I say that because we waited well over an hour before Phoenix said, "You two might wanna stop. I think our meeting is about to begin."

Stacy and I had been in a soft make out session for a while with a few breaks to stay on the lookout every now and then. Of course, the girl made sure that the others couldn't see our lips pressing together even though they knew what was happening since trying to discreetly kiss with our size difference was essentially impossible. I'm sure they got tired of us loving on each other but whatever. It could be seen as annoying but fuck em', I will show my lovely wife how much I appreciate her as often as I reasonably can. It can also be labeled as unprofessional and immature but who's keeping track of that these days? Nerds, that's who.

Anyways, we stopped kissing so we could look down the street to see five figures headed our way, the five of them being spaced out by a meter or so. Their sizes varied but not by too much. I waited for them to walk up to us to know whether or not I was taller than them or not. While I made that observation, I decided that all the showing of affection was to be put off for later since this was a very serious matter and nothing like that was appropriate during something like this.

"Remember, no sudden movements, we don't want to spook them. Make sure we'll be able to defend ourselves if needed and give off the impression that we will not fuck around if we feel threatened in any capacity. The ulterior goal here is to make a good impression so we can develop something between us." I advised as the embrace I was in ended so my wife could stand by my side. "I'll lead the conversation."

After a small nudge, my woman retreated to the protective spot I wanted her to be at while the others placed themselves in strategic places. Not too far apart but not too close so we wouldn't be easy pickins to be harmed. As the people in my view approached closer, I was able to once again make out that they were adequately clothed, though they lacked any backpacks with them. I assumed that it might've been a type of display to us that they weren't carrying any unknown objects that we couldn't see. Though I still stayed aware that they might've still had a weapon in a hidden holster or something like that.

And one other thing I noticed was that one of them was helping another walk. The one they were helping walk was clearly in agonizing pain. I immediately assumed that they were the person that had appendicitis, something that made me think about several things regarding surgeries. Especially anesthetics. But before I could think about that for any reasonable amount of time, I forced myself to be cautious about the other group's presence.

"Howdy! We were starting to wonder if y'all were gonna show up." I called out when they were about twenty meters away.

"Yeah, I'll take the blame for not setting up a proper time. I was just a bit overwhelmed previously." Addison replied as they slowed down until they were about seven meters away. "Lots of new faces here..."

After her observation the tanned and long black haired man to her side said, "I can't help but notice that there's six of you. That doesn't line up with the circumstances you set up... Hunter, was it? Doesn't give me much of a good impression at first."

“Well, fuck.” I glanced back at Stacy as I processed his words. "That's true, yes, I did say five people on both sides... But you see, besides that beautiful little lady right over there, the others are my armor corps, my defenders. My wife was pretty adamant on tagging along and it wasn't negotiable, she just wanted to make sure that I'd stay safe. This whole ordeal has had her awfully worried"

Who I assumed to be their leader glanced at Addison before looking back to see his other squadmates. They were decently spread out as well, they must've had the same idea as my crew.

"Hm. That is... a likely story, even if rather questionable." He simply replied, only giving Stacy one more glance. "I note your armor as well, even if a couple of you aren't equipped with any. I also assume you're all armed? If so, any move to take them out will be justification for us to 'defend' ourselves."

I slowly nodded. "We are properly armed indeed. And the same goes for us regarding defending ourselves. As I said once before, we all have loved ones and I'm sure none of us want to find out what happens after death today. So as long as both parties stay calm, we can all live to see another day. And perhaps this can be the first proper step of us working toward a common goal and to help each other out with our struggles."

"You talk with a fair amount of... hope in your tone. It's a bit encouraging in a way. But as we both know, there's gotta be a few things that need to be laid out, a lot of things. Like all of your names to begin with. Let’s first start off with exchanging simple information like that to get this ball rolling."

I nodded once more. "We're here to learn about each other and our communities to find out the best course of action on how to move forward. Names are the bare minimum of making that happen and a beginning topic that starts it all..."

After I allowed them to get a little closer, we exchanged what our names are, pretty basic conversation. And now's the time to start describing the new people that were then in front of us.

Ezra was indeed the person I was talking to where his black hair was long enough to meet his shoulders. He had a fairly rectangular shaped face and could tell that he had a decent bit of native-American in him so that was a fairly interesting coincidence. He had green eyes and wore some dark clothes as well.

Leon was the white man in pain. He was a redhead, the hair itself being short and curly. He was a pretty elongated person and didn't look good at all since he looked quite unhealthy and decently emaciated. I could definitely tell that he wasn't faking his condition or if he was, he beat himself up quite a bit for a long time which is possible... but the chance of that having been the case was basically zero.

The woman helping him stand up, Brooklyn, was also white and sported a thick head of auburn hair who was quite femininely cut. She seemed to be struggling just a tad with helping Leon stay standing but I could see that she was trying her hardest to help him. I assumed that perhaps they're at least good friends. And Piper was another olive skinned woman, the woman a brunette, and average size. She appeared very vigilant and gave off the impression that she greatly cared for the well-being of her friends.

"Now that that's all out of the way, what would you like to talk about first, Ezra?" I asked, wanting to get the conversation chugging along.

"Was about to ask you the same thing... Well, I gotta know, why would you possibly want to help us in any way? I've been told a few things from some of my friends but I want to hear the whole story from the source itself. There's gotta be some sort of catch."

I thought about his question for a few seconds. "We... As we all know, other people are far and wide these days, most seemingly aimlessly wandering about, surviving, all struggling in several ways. I'm in a situation where I can help struggling people, ease their pain and their worries. Why would I want to do that? Because I care about the well-being of good people."

"Bold of you to claim that we're good people right off the bat... But what's the catch? Surely you wouldn't help us for that reason alone."

I glanced at Stacy once more. "Not a true 'catch' but like what I claimed last time, I'd like us to establish a proper line of communication, share stories and knowledge, skills, work together, maybe even help build something together." I saw that he was at least intently listening to my words, the man somewhat interested in the picture I was painting. "I can't guarantee what the future will bring. But I can tell you that through cooperation and collaboration between our communities that only good things will result in it as long as we strive toward it."

"It's good reasoning..." Addison quietly said to Ezra.

"And we're always open to new people, people who are good, follow our very basic rules, and put in the work that's needed to build what we all want to achieve " I added on.

"This community of yours, I've heard a decent bit about it. How can I trust that what I've heard is true?" Ezra asked which was my cue to take the spare cameras off of the roof of the car.

"I've recently taken pictures for y'all to see to prove a couple of things. Yes, it works, we really do have electricity... if the electric car wasn't proof enough already."

"...I honestly haven't properly processed the true meaning behind the vehicle you guys have yet." Ezra simply said.

As I somewhat struggled to open Stacy's camera and selected the group of Solaris photos I asked, "There's not much I currently want to show you at the moment due to your side lacking any evidence of your community’s existence, but I can show you one that's extremely important for one of your people. May I walk up and show you?"

"You may." He said after the smallest hint of hesitation.

Before I approached him, I glanced at Stacy once again who shot a glance that expressed to me that she was worried for me. After giving her my own glance of assurance, I cautiously made my way toward Ezra who also took a few steps toward me. We met in the middle where I then extended the hand that held the spare camera, Ezra looking confused for a moment before gingerly taking a hold of the device.

"This is for you to use when you get back to your community to capture what you feel would prove to us that your community does indeed exist. It's to build a little more trust before we visit each other's communities, something I hope will happen peacefully and respectfully."

Ezra nodded as he opened the camera and turned it on. "That does make a decent bit of sense, yes." He simply replied as he messed with a few of the buttons on the device. "Wow. It's been such a long time since I've held an electronic device that actually works." He then made eye contact with me once more. "I have much confidence that your community does exist. But it would be nice to see further proof of it before I take the risk and head there, whenever that happens."

"I'll show you just three or so photos, three very important ones." I announced as I opened my camera up and navigated my way to the folder that contained the recent photos of Solaris.

As I selected the photo of the solar array, Ezra asked, "So, how long has your group been a group for? Or more specifically, when did you all settle down?"

"Around a year ago, when I met a large group of wanderers that were already looking for a place to call home but just couldn't seem to find the right place. It turned out the place I bunked at turned out to be what they were looking for and decided to move in with me."

"Move in with you?" He repeated. "How exactly did that happen?"

I chuckled at that. "I just took them back after a couple long conversations since I had a feeling. A very strong feeling."

He seemed a bit speechless at that response. "Were you alone at the time? How big exactly was this group you allowed into your home?"

Him showing genuine interest in what I had to say was a good sign. Mainly because they were focusing and honed in on what I was saying which didn't leave room for them to do anything sinister. "No, I wasn't alone. Though just barely. I only had my partner at the time which made the move in much easier than it would've been otherwise, since there wasn’t really any problem with becoming a single group. There were eleven." I had the picture of the solar array pulled up but I didn't want to interrupt the conversation we were having.

He looked a bit... I'm not sure if awestruck is the right word, but something like that. "Well then. To be bluntly honest, I'm not completely sure if that was a smart or dumb move to make, given your circumstances at the time."

After a lighthearted chuckle, I replied, "Make no wrong assumption, I was aware of every possibility that could've gone wrong and I anticipated it, to be frank. I made sure my door was locked, placed an empty can at the bottom of the door, and I had a gun close, just in case. Dumb? Maybe just a bit. But sometimes you've just gotta listen to what your instincts are telling you and take that leap of faith. If I hadn't, I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"Would you consider this one of these leaps?" Addison asked.

"Yes. Every time I meet someone new, it's a leap."

"Hm... May I ask how often you take these 'leaps'?" She further asked.

The questioning was pretty one-sided but I told myself that I would make up for it whenever his questioning ceased. I figured this was all harmless information to give and that being upfront and honest was the best course of action. "Once a month or so. We've got plans to expand something we call a 'sign network' that spans across a few towns, roads, and trails which tells stragglers where they can come meet and talk to us, to see if they'd be fine with embarking on a journey that would eventually make them permanent members of Solaris."

"...Fascinating. I hadn't even thought of directing people toward our location. But for good reason. I wouldn't want to tell the world where we call home." Ezra commented.

I nodded. "Agreed, which is why we don't. We've got a third party location, a mall where they can use a radio to contact the one we've got back at base, to do the interview before bringing them back with us after we agree that we should. We have many precautions set up to make the chance of something harmful occurring minimal which includes exposing them to what we can give them and making sure our permanent members are armed and properly trained."

"I can tell just by looking over your crew. You're definitely a force not to be reckoned with." I was surprised that he said that which told me that my exact message was being conveyed. "Let me take the conversation back a couple steps, if I may. What exactly did your instincts tell you to allow eleven people into your home? Loneliness? Boredom?"

"No, no... Well, maybe a bit of loneliness since we had no friends besides each other at the time. But it was what they were capable of for the most part. A doctor, a blacksmith, a tailor, a few people who know how to collect certain types of food, just to name a few. My mind was utilitarian at best at that moment so friendship wasn't the first thing on my mind then, though it was a really good bonus."

"All of that in one group? Surely some were lying. How could you have made sure that the doctor was actually a doctor?" Piper questioned.

"Yeah, it does seem a bit unrealistic to me too, but none were lying. They've all enacted upon what they've claimed back at home. I still question it to this day how that happened... But I made sure by asking them in-depth questions about their claimed skill. Every one of them was able to tell me things that only one who was well practiced in the job could tell me. Not to mention, they had minimal 'ums' and 'ars' so that was another good sign since it’s hard to tell clear details and retain a solid story."

Ezra then said, "I've got another question about the signs but you've been ready to show me what's on that camera for a bit so let's turn to that before then."

I nodded as I looked down at the camera and flipped the small monitor part of the camera over. "It's a bit bright out here but you can still make everything out." As I said that, he leaned a bit forward to see the details of the array, his expression definitely conveying he was quite interested in what I was showing him. "We scavenged the panels, a battery pack, and an electric vehicle around when spring started which the first major things that we as a community achieved. With the advent of electricity, it opened the doors to effective construction, heating and cooling, cooking, and a few other things that have made life much easier. It took a few weeks but it was the first few steps for us to develop into what we are today."

"How did you transport so many?"

"At first, we scavenged some bikes, hooked them up to a wagon that we also scavenged, dismantled them at a solar farm, and took them back home before my blacksmith and I figured out how to properly hook them all up to charge the vehicle to bring back the battery pack and more solar panels. Then my craftswoman made appropriate frames for them out of wood." I'm quite fond of looking back at our humble beginnings even if it wasn't really that long ago.

"I applaud you. None of us particularly know how to do such a thing like that so it’s… it feels alien to see something like it." He admitted.

That gave me a certain idea but I postponed expressing it. I then flipped the camera's monitor around so I could navigate to the next picture before flipping it around again. "Now, since we had electricity, it enabled us to better construct things since we were then able charge up power tools and build things like cabins; headed by my craftswoman and engineer."

Addison wanted to see for herself so she walked up to Ezra's side. I'll be honest, the sudden movement made my heart skip a beat but I realized what was happening before I made any rash decision. "Wow, those look... much better than I was expecting. Are they nice to live in?"

"Customer reviews say so. There's a problem with insulation every now and then, they’re not one-hundred percent effective at keeping bugs and rain out, but they're good units to call a home. I wouldn't settle for anything less. We had a decent bit of trouble during the construction of the first few since we were learning how to do it all which is when we made a lot of mistakes. But we’ve improved significantly since then."

"Why not just make some abandoned buildings your homes?" Piper asked.

I took a few moments to decide whether or not I wanted to give them an answer to that one. "The place we're at is next to a river, within a forest that we get our wood from, has fertile ground, and we have easy access to hunt for some of our food. I couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately, there was just one building there so we had to do what we had to do."

"I suppose that makes sense... It's a lot of work to start from scratch though."

To which Ashton replied, "Oh yes, tons and tons. But it's all paid off by a lot. Hunter's choice to stay in that spot was a courageous one, to say the least."

I flipped the monitor around again to pull up a picture of where we grew the potatoes and corn. "This is where we grew our first harvest. Not only did we have to till the land and then grow the crops, but we also had to build an entire cellar to store it all. We plan to ration it out if necessary to get as close to the next harvest without running out so we can stop relying on hunting as much as we did before harvesting."

After answering a couple questions on how we managed to do that, I closed the camera and put it down which is when Ezra then quietly cleared his throat before saying, "I apologize, we've asked you several questions to which you've all given an answer to. I deeply appreciate the transparency that you've shown. I'm sure all of you are wanting to ask your own questions as well. I just ask you to avoid asking compromising questions."

I glanced at the injured man who appeared to get ever so slightly weaker as each minute passed. It's something I couldn't not talk about after that observation. "So your friend over here. He's not looking too hot."

Ezra looked at Leon for a few seconds before meeting my gaze once again. "Indeed, he isn't. We think he has appendicitis but none of us have any idea on how to remove what's causing the problem. It would... most likely be fatal if we even attempted it."

"But you guys can help, right? You have a doctor?" Brooklyn asked with a hint of desperation.

I nodded. "Yes, we do. And we can help you. You've just gotta understand that I'm hesitant to bring any of you back to my home."

Brooklyn looked very worried after I said that. "W-What? But I thought the doctor said we'd be able to get her help? Sir, please, I'll do just about anything to get your help, really, I would."

I put a hand up in a gesture which told her to calm down. "Let's settle down here, I'm not cancelling the plan, or at the very least, not yet. I can tell Leon means a lot to you, I would despise having to deny him getting help. But I've got to go over a few things before that happens."

"Alright, I'm all ears." She replied which Ezra nodded at.

"First and foremost, I will only allow Leon and one other to accompany him to Solaris. Reason being is because I don't want a lot of strangers from another settled group to be there. To be completely honest, it's to make the chance of something going wrong minimal. I'm sure you understand why I don't trust any of you, not yet at least."

Addison interjected. "Right, but likewise here. How are we just gonna let only two of us go to this place with dozens of other strangers?"

To which I calmly and solemnly replied, "I know it doesn't really mean much to you, but you have my word that we have no ill intent with anyone who doesn't wish ill upon us or any of our friends. There's no reason for it and there are no winners to such a thing, only losers."

"And... speaking for myself, I don't have any more options. This is the only and last chance I have to deal with this... If it means risking my life in another community that could help me... Well, I'd die either way. I have nothing to lose, really... If what the Solaris group says is true, then I'd get the help and then pay for it whenever and however I could." Leon said, the man's voice being quite weak.

Ezra turned to the internally injured man. "Leon, are you absolutely certain that you want to take that risk?"

"Ezra, you know me when it comes to what I say... Yes. I've laid out all of my points already. What else am I supposed to do? Lie? I’m not one to lie, Ezra."

Ezra somberly nodded and looked at Brooklyn. "And I assume that talking you out of being the one to accompany him is an impossible task?"

"Damn right it is." Brooklyn instantly replied. Before Leon could say anything, which I assumed was gonna be something to do with trying to talk her out of it, she said, "Leon, I'm going with you, this is non-negotiable. I've been with you throughout this entire thing, I won't abandon you here."

The exchange was sweet and endearing which showed true care for one another. I was able to tell that the injury and the relationship between them wasn't fake or an act. Though then my mind reminded me that I had to tell them something they wouldn't like to hear.

"Unfortunately... I cannot guarantee you that he will survive the operation. He could bleed out or there could be some unforeseen complication that arises that's just out of our control. If that is to happen... well, any communication between us would probably break down and something more violent could break out in retaliation. I say that because I’m unaware of the mindset of your crew. And because of that chance, I think you can see why I'm fairly reluctant to bring Leon back."

"How well trained is your doctor?" Addison asked.

"She was one for many years and is extremely knowledgeable. Her capabilities are wide and are extremely impressive. She obviously lacks in a few fields, a lot really, but not in the most major ones that matter. I have faith that she can operate on Leon as long as complications don't sprout up."

"They won't." Brooklyn replied. "When can we meet your doctor?"

I lightly shook my head. "You don't know that. I'm bringing it up because in the worst case scenario, it does happen. And even though we've barely just met, I wouldn't want communication between us to break down. I see so much potential between us that it'd be a real shame if it were to not happen at all."

Ezra lightly laughed. "I think I'm feeling what you described earlier, the thing about your instincts taking a leap of faith, and they usually don’t lie to me. Unless you're a phenomenal liar, you're telling the truth. Emotion and tone you're using is exceptionally hard to fake. But... if we are to lose Leon due to your people's hand..."

"Ezra, I wouldn't want to be the reason why cooperation between our groups doesn't happen. We've been waiting for something like this, in a way at least. If I die during the surgery... understand it, please. Because, again, if I don't take the chance, I will die either way."

I honestly wasn't expecting something to be said like that. But it did make sense. He was a desperate and dying man who had no other choice.

After a few silent seconds of deliberation, Ezra nodded again. "Very well then, Leon. But I myself cannot promise I wouldn't be quite upset if the worst is to happen."

"And I promise you that if it is to happen, we will do a lot to try to make it up to y'all. It's not my wish to cause harm but only the opposite." I glanced at Brooklyn who seemed quite relieved which reminded me that all of my terms for their temporary migration to Solaris still weren't laid out. "Obviously, you two can't bring any type of weapon back. If it’s discovered that you do, there will be certain ramifications as a result. Along with that, I need you two to be blindfolded on our way to Solaris."

"What? Why?" Piper asked in what seemed like an offended tone.

To which Phoenix calmly replied, "It's so that they won't be able to map the way back to our home. We want to handle this situation as cautiously as possible, does that make sense?"

"I don't care what we have to do, I'll do it, no one's changing my mind." Brooklyn said which subtly surprised her group. "Anything else?"

It seemed her group knew that it genuinely was non-negotiable and since a few sentiments were already expressed, they allowed Brooklyn's decision without a hitch. "...No, that's it, those're my terms. Do you accept them all?"

Brooklyn and Leon whispered a couple things to each other before Leon nodded. "Yes, we do."

"Alright then. Since the car's capacity is full with just my crew, you two are gonna have to hunker down on its trailer but one or two of us will accompany you there while we get back. I hope you don't mind that that's how it's gotta be."

"We don't." Brooklyn assured. "May we get on it? This is... It's getting difficult to help Leon."

"Yeah, sure thing." I cheerily replied while gesturing towards Kostas who awaited at the end of the trailer. He was the one to check for weapons and then hand them the blindfolds when it was time for that.

As they hobbled their way to their destination, Ezra said, "Don't make me regret letting my people make this decision."

"I promise that my community will try their best to alleviate the pain that Leon's experiencing." I simply replied as the couple settled down on the trailer.

"Now then, I wanted to ask since Hunter's answered a lot of questions about our community; what's your community like?" Raiden asked when she realized that a lull in the conversation was forming.

Addison and Ezra glanced at each other before Addison said, "We're fairly different from what your group is like. Unlike you, we chose to settle down in already abandoned buildings since it was easy for us to do that. Not to mention that building our own homes never crossed our minds."

Ezra continued, "As you can tell, I'm the one who commands what my group does with Addison as my advisor, so to speak. She helps me with decision making and... internal affairs, if that's the right saying, and relations while I keep my attention on our income of food, water, and our safety when it comes to new people."

I thought the dynamic was interesting since I didn't have a dedicated advisor. I just tried my best to keep in touch and listen to my people which helped me make better decisions and gain the insight within my community as needed.

"How do your people get your food and water?" Ashton asked.

"A few ways, and they work in teams, two main teams. We have the 'natural food' team jointly controlled by our friends, Forrest and Nathan, who're in charge of making sure their handful of workers are retrieving fresh food from hunting and gathering, along with making clean drinking water from a stream quite a bit away from where we're located."

Then it was Addison's turn to continue the discussion. "But every day, that alone is almost never enough to sustain us. So to compensate, Rylee leads scouting and scavenging missions and is responsible for assigning people how and where to go. Ever since we found bikes, scavenging the food we need has gotten much more efficient. Though with it, we're relying on scavenging more and more."

"It's not a... sustainable way to get your food, relying on a non-renewable source." Stacy pointed out who had migrated next to Raiden. It alarmed me a bit and... kind of upset me if I'm being honest. That's because she wasn't behind some cover. This was all conveyed to her in the expression I gave her, to which she gave her own which conveyed that it was all fine. I relented a tad since the meeting was going well but it was something I was definitely going to talk to her about. However, I did recognize that she took my lessons on sustainability to heart.

"Yes, we are aware..." Piper replied. "We've been experimenting with agriculture but we haven't gotten that far with it. We can’t seem to figure it out."

Then a thought occurred to me. "Are we encroaching upon where y'all get your food from? If so, I apologize for that, we didn't know. It's just that our own scavenging program has officially kicked off as we get into the colder months."

"No, no, we don't get our food here, not yet at least. We've just been scouting the place out." Ezra replied. "Though I do wonder, if your group has all of that harvest, what's the point of scavenging if you don't have to?" That's when I told him my reasoning for organizing the scavenging program. "I suppose that makes some good strategic sense..."

"So how did your crew meet up and settle down?"

"Slower than yours did." The other leader replied. "But I reckon it's a lot of the same as how your group formed. Strangers walking and walking, bumping into each other, deciding to group up, that whole process. Eventually when we had sixteen people, we decided to get off the road and try to call a place home since we were confident we could, around a year ago. It's been decently difficult but not impossible. I have faith that our group will be able to stay put as long as we work for it. And then from there, we've continued to bump into others who wanted to 'shoot their shot' with us. Though it takes a while for me to accept them into the group for... obvious reasons."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's fairly similar to Solaris' conception story, besides how we're meeting new people. It's interesting to know that our groups formed around the same time, I think it tells a lot about what may be going on in the unknown and afar."

"...Yet your group is able to harness electricity, build homes, and grow food." Addison pointed out with a subtle sigh. "How were you able to figure the farming part out?"

That was Ashton's cue to say, "My partner's a farmer's girl, was raised on a farm, and learned all about how to till, plant, and grow a variety of crops. She's been a real lifesaver to the community and has enabled us to do so much."

"That's... astounding, to put it simply. None of us have any real knowledge of growing crops since none of us were even interested in that before the world went to shit. So we've had to stumble in the dark when it comes to growing plants which has yielded a lot of failed attempts." Piper admitted.

"I would assume so. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and incredibly difficult to figure out on your own just because of how much needs to go right for it to happen. And then I remind you of the labour needed to do it."

"Right... And you said your place is located by a stream? So I assume that you guys can fish and easily transport water to your crops. That's... smart. Ezra, shouldn't we also do that as well?" Piper asked her leader.

He was silent for a few moments. "We've had discussions about it before and for that to happen, we'd have to upend our entire community for a relocation. Not to mention, the streams we know of don't have the appropriate amount of shelter we'd need."

"So as a community, what are your long-term goals?" I asked after determining just how much we could help these people.

Addison answered for me. "Well... Currently, we don't have any real long-term plans, at least not anything grand. Staying alive, collecting what we need, and being safe are always our priority. Sometimes, that's put in jeopardy in the form of bad weather or something risky like what we're doing right now happens to occur. But other than that, I'm sure it's brazenly obvious to you by now; we're not able to do a lot of things that your group can."

"Even though we've tried and are trying to do a few things... We just don't have the proper expertise or the knowledge." Piper added.

"Essentially a blank canvas. I guess it makes sense. Solaris was given the best hand of cards to lift ourselves off the ground to propel us to where we're at today. I reckon we'd be at a similar level of development if none of my people had the skills they had because stumbling and improvising can only take a group of people so far. So I don't blame them at all.” I thought before wondering what else I should ask. “But there is this... vacuum, so to speak, present.”

"What kind of crops did Solaris grow?" Addison curiously asked.

Ashton said, "Corn and potatoes. Audrey figured that they were the easiest to grow to harvest and the ones we could easily have the most abundance of that we had access to. Even though that was the case, it was a shit load of hard work and thousands upon thousands of hours was put into it. Though it all paid off in the end since we now have a large stockpile of food that we can rely on."

"That sounds really nice..." The woman commented as I assumed she played with the idea of doing some of that work. "So... This might be too early to ask but I'm very curious; when do you think we can see Solaris with our own eyes? What do you need us to do?"

I was just a bit surprised but that part of the conversation was inevitable. "Well, at the bare minimum, I need y'all to return to your base and capture some pictures of it to show us in the next conversation we have." I was starting to question if it was necessary at that point but I didn't want to relent any requirements just in case. "I suppose we then have another in depth discussion about a plethora of things, maybe more personal topics, before we decide on who's gonna go over to whose home. But let's save that discussion for next time we meet here, to let you think about it."

Ezra nodded. "This has certainly been a very enlightening and... hopeful talk we've had. I still have a lot of questions about the specifics of how Solaris operates but I feel that I might be close to that 'limit', mainly because of how much we've asked."

"I've definitely revealed a lot to you, maybe a little more than what I should've, but I haven't seen much harm in it. However, I should definitely keep the intricate details a secret for now and wait until our next meeting since I seriously want the proof of your community first. Even though this conversation has settled a decent bit of my nerves, I still require it because I wouldn't feel right otherwise."

Addison nodded. "Of course, I understand. Is this your way of ending the conversation?"

"Not necessarily but I'm pretty sure this is drawing to a close, even though this has been relatively short. It's mainly to let our words stew, assess our feelings about this all, and plan what we want to talk about the next time we're face to face. Also, I'm pretty sure your friend over here wants to get his help ASAP."

Ezra looked over to the man I was referring to. "...This could possibly be the last time I see one of my friends." He looked back at me. "I assume I'm free to make my way over to him so I can give him a small talk, right?"

It was a somber moment of realization and I sympathized with it. "Sure thing. Just no sudden movements." After Ezra passed me and marched his way towards Leon, I looked over the women that stayed behind. Since curiosity always gets the better of me, I asked, "...Are you not friends with Leon? If you want to talk with him, I'll allow it."

"No, no, we are. We've just... already had our conversation with him. We've said everything we want to. It's just..." Piper glanced at Ezra who started having their own quiet conversation with the dying man. "Ezra's... been in denial a lot. He didn't really believe that the Solaris group could help and also denied that Leon could die over this. So... he's been dragging his feet."

It all made sense in its own way and that was all I needed to know so I didn't pry for more details on the matter. I also didn't eavesdrop in on the quiet conversation being had behind me so I focused on asking Piper what she did within her community. It turned out that she's one of the workers that hunt who then described a little bit on how they operate. It wasn't all that different from how Kai's hunting team did their job so that was fairly fascinating to me. But after she explained her role, Ezra had finished what he had to say to his friend and returned to his spot a few feet away from me.

"I was... extremely reluctant to give this conversation a try for a plethora of reasons, to put it lightly, and Addison nearly gave up on trying to persuade me to do so, but I'm pretty sure it was the right call to make. I'm still not entirely certain about a lot of things but the only way to make sure is to continue having these discussions, which I intend to participate in, at least a couple more times."

"When should the next meeting be?" Piper pondered.

I gave it a few moments of thought. "Another couple days from now seems fine to me. Not too short or too long from now and it'd give us some time to receive a few results from Leon's incoming operation along with us having thoroughly thought about this interaction. Do you disagree?"

Ezra timidly shook his head. "No. That seems just fine to me. I do want to ask for something though."

"What is it?"

"I assume that Leon won't be able to recover in that short amount of time and is gonna have to stay in your community. If he is treated terribly within your group, this 'line of communication' you want to set up will essentially end once he's returned. I'm sure I don't need to explain myself."

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, he's gonna have to stay for at least a few days. And I completely understand where you're coming from. But again, I promise we have the feeling of goodwill and helping those in need on our minds and wouldn't dare think about it being otherwise. So Leon's in good hands."

"Now onto what I wanted to ask; I simply want a picture of him before our next meeting, after his operation, just so we can know for sure how it went, how he's doing, and if he'll be alright. I at least assume this operation is gonna happen by that time?"

"I assume the same. I'm fairly certain it will since my doctor's got just about everything she needs for it to happen. But yes, that can be arranged, it shouldn't be a difficult thing to get." It was like planning for a picture exchange.

"See to it that you will." He then glanced at Addison before looking down at the camera still in his hand. "And I'll do the same regarding what you've asking for. Though I can't promise that it'll be as... fascinating compared to what you showed me."

"Well luckily for you, there's no expectations or any high bar of what you need to prove exists. Just a general base of operations."

It seemed like a lull appeared in the conversation but right before I declared the conversation over on an assumption, he looked back up at me and said, "Well I suppose we'll be getting on our way then. But before we do that, I wanna ask that you not break your own rules again by your crew being six instead of five. If you weren't as... polite and lax as you were, I would've marked this whole thing off. It's in your best interest to come in a group of five next time."

I... guess I understood his sentiment but there was an underlying tone of... I can't quite describe it since it was so subtle. I decided not to say or express anything about it. "I'm planning to do just that, I'm sure my wife's concern will substantially be less than what it was when she demanded she tag along."

He glanced at who I was referring to. He almost said something but stopped himself before extending out his free hand which took me a moment to realize he was going in for a handshake. "It was nice meeting you all. Here's to hoping you have a safe return home and that your doctor can save our friend."

"Hear, hear." I simply replied before the handshake finished.

With one last glance from him toward Leon, he turned around and led the way back to where they came from. I waited a few moments, keeping my eyes on the three strangers that grew ever smaller, just wondering about the possibilities. That was until I minutely jumped in fright when Stacy had walked up next to me and put a hand on my back. It must've been because I was still in a state of alert and ready.

"...I'd like to have just a little talk when we get back to Solaris, nothing major." I announced to her which caused her to look slightly worried. I assumed it was because I had never said anything to her like that before so it was new to her. But it was something that needed to happen. But before anything like that happened, I turned around to face my comrades. I quickly saw that Leon and Brooklyn had equipped their blindfolds and were in a tight cuddle. I imagined they were very anxious about it all for blatantly obvious reasons, I'd be the exact same. "Who wants to volunteer to be in the trailer on our way back to Solaris?"

A small three minute conversation was had before Phoenix and Raiden were ultimately decided to be the ones to comfort and talk to our guests on our way back, to warm them up a bit, and to assure them that they were safe. So with that being established, the rest of us took our usual seats in the car before getting on our way home mere moments later. As I nuzzled my Queen, I was getting quite nervous for the operation that was scheduled for half of our new guests...

Chapter 61: Operations

Chapter Text

As we coasted our way back home my mind was starting to act up a bit. But not in the unusual and jarring visual or auditory way. Instead, in the way in which the mind marvels in a certain way at past events. The particular scene I was thinking about while headed back to Solaris was the night when Stacy and I first peered deep into the night sky when I thought I heard her say a pointed statement when we were done with that activity. The more I thought about it, the more my chest experienced a strange fuzzy feeling of pure confusion. It just made absolutely no sense to me since it turned out that someone really did need my help in that town. Their group didn't inhabit Jackson itself but they still passed through it... Maybe I'm connecting dots that can't be connected and seeing patterns that aren't really there. I guess I'm just trying to make sense within the chaos.

"What did you want to talk about?" Stacy quietly whispered, referring to what I had said at the ending of the meeting between groups.

"Something that we shouldn't discuss here." I just as quietly replied which didn't really satisfy her curiosity and made it a bit worse. "After I settle the Leon situation, we can do that."

A few minutes of relative silence later and as I finally took of my bulletproof vest, Ashton asked, "Wanna talk about the meeting any?"

I shook my head. "Not now. I wanna talk about it when we're all gathered with the 'high command'. It's important that we tell them all about it and talk about what our next steps should be."

With that being clarified, the rest of the trip back had nothing notable talked about. That was until we were entering the essential outskirts of Solaris which was my cue to use my walkie-talkie to give a heads up to the community, more specifically Olivia, that we had safely returned and that the supposed injured one was coming in for a landing. I wondered what Brooklyn's and Leon's reactions were as we slowed our pace as we approached Olivia's clinic where the same woman was waiting with Vanessa for our arrival.

Once parked, I dismissed Ashton and Kostas before I quickly got out of the vehicle and gently set Stacy on her feet who split off from me as Olivia made her way towards my position. Nothing needed to be said before I led our way toward the back of the trailer where our guests were still in a cuddle and blindfolded. "Did you not tell them they were able to take those off?"

Phoenix chuckled. "We did but they wanted to hear it from you."

"We wanted to be as careful and cautious as we can. I just assumed it'd be better if we heard it from you." Brooklyn said as she timidly took her blindfold off which revealed squinting eyes at the sudden rush of light.

As she took off Leon's blindfold, I replied, "I greatly appreciate your attitude, it's very telling." It was telling in several ways ranging from respect, trust, and probably a bit of desperation. I'm sure they wanted to make the chances of something going wrong minimal. While they scanned their surroundings, I properly introduced them. "Welcome to Solaris; the welcoming place aspiring to be the ray of hope that so many of us need it to be."

They swiftly glanced over the mansion, the cabins, the solar array, the empty fields, the greenhouse, noticed a few of my people casually walking throughout the settlement, and then the building they were closest to, the clinic.

"...It's one thing to see it on a camera screen and something entirely else to see it all in person." Leon commented. "It's surreal to know now for sure that there's whole other breathing communities. But it's also comforting to know that we weren't being deceived... Desperate choices really can work out just fine."

I gave them a few more moments to process it all and to calm their nerves. "Alright, how about we get you out of this trailer and let you meet the person who's gonna help deal with the problem you two are facing?"

"Yes, I'd love to meet your doctor as soon as possible." Brooklyn replied before swiftly getting up and aiding Leon to follow suit.

Raiden offered her help but was kindly declined since Brooklyn seemed like the one not to accept help even when she needed it, for the most part. I dismissed Phoenix and Raiden shortly after that and gestured Olivia over who stood a couple meters off to the side while our guests properly got on their feet. Brooklyn stared at the woman curiously before making her way off the trailer which I helped in taking some of Leon's weight off of her so they could safely get on the ground.

"So, where's your doctor at?" She obliviously asked.

"Right here." I replied motioning to the woman at my side which caused her to be subtly shocked. "This is Olivia, she'll be the one who takes care of your troubles and the one to be keeping an eye on you two; a chaperone of sorts. Olivia, this is Leon and Brooklyn."

"I wasn't informed on that last part." Olivia quietly replied before quickly accepting the sudden role pushed onto her. She then turned her attention toward her patients. "I've been expecting you two for a little while now, it's nice to finally see that you're here. I have everything ready and set up in the clinic for what's required but we're not gonna get straight into it. I need to check a few things out, ask some questions, and let you settle down for a little while all so I can determine the best way of how to go about this all."

Leon nodded. "Yeah, that all makes sense... I was sure you all would've spoke about this well in advance. Your group's generous hospitality is... well, it just leaves me speechless simply because you guys were willing to let this all happen."

"It would've simply been evil to deny aiding someone when it's in the realm of possibility for us to do that with relative ease." Olivia cheerily replied.

"I just have one major question that's been on my mind. And it's a very important question, one that has me worried... For my own sake, I hope that Solaris has some type of anesthesia... That seems a bit selfish considering everything else that's happening."

Olivia hesitated for a couple moments due to having difficulty on how to word what she was about to say. "Unfortunately... we don't have anesthetics." I saw Leon visibly deflate from receiving the information. And it was understandable for obvious reasons. "The anesthetics I used to have access to have all become expired and we have no way to produce any. There's been some speculation that maybe opium poppies are growing wild across what was once the United States at least in some small areas but who knows if or where. But because of that, it's luck dependent and based on variables we don't know. And since it used to be a controlled substance, it's not like there's any seeds that we know locations, if they exist, where to scavenge from."

Leon failed to keep a sigh within him. "That... wasn't what I was hoping for. But it does make sense. And as much as I'm gonna hate it, I'm gonna have to deal with it. But... is there any way to numb the pain while, y'know, you're cutting in to me?"

"...There are a few ways but they can be dangerous. The main one being is if you drink alcohol. A lot of it. That can certainly numb your pain. But it has its downsides. First of all, it takes a while to get that drunk. You might be vomiting quite a bit while trying to get there. And you could vomit while passed out which could cause you to aspirate while 'under'. It probably won't deaden everything so you could still feel a large portion of the pain. Alcohol thins the blood so you'll be losing more blood this way. And finally, the most severe downside, is the toxicity that it causes which will mess with the natural processes of your body and cause instability." As she listed off the cons to the alcohol idea, Brooklyn minutely deflated bit by bit. Though surprisingly, the man she was helping stay on his feet didn't.

"Are there any other ways to numb the pain?" Brooklyn asked.

"There are just a few but the alcohol route is the most effective and the one we have the most access to currently. Even though it has its downsides, it's probably your best bet that you have here. Of course, it's Leon's choice whether or not he wants to do that."

"It's... something I'll have to think about." The man simply replied.

A couple moments passed before Olivia abruptly clasped her hands together and said, "Alright, let's go ahead and meet up with my assistant and go where you two are gonna be at for a little while."

"Assistant? Oh right, Vanessa." I thought as Olivia turned around and migrated back to the entrance of her clinic with the guests following closely behind her. I figured I'd stay with them for a couple minutes longer since I understood that handing them off to another new couple of faces, even though they've seen my frightening one for an hour or two, is quite nerve wracking for obvious reasons so I wanted to ease them into the transition just by a tiny bit.

Closing the door behind us, Vanessa led them to the back end of the clinic where she assigned them a bed where I assumed all the medical business would eventually take place. I imagined how gruesome it was gonna be for a couple moments before shaking it out of my head. A few more casual words were exchanged between them before Olivia suddenly jumped right into the medical questions. As she started digging out various medical tools to check up on her new patient from her desk, I took it upon myself to reiterate to our guests my expectations (y'know, basic humility and common sense rules) and that they were welcome here. After mentioning that they could ask Olivia for essential things like food and water, and how they could contact me, I made my way out of the clinic. Knowing Leon's more personal medical details wasn't of any use to me.

So that left me with making me conjure up a mental to-do list since there was a few things I needed and wanted to do. The first thing I wanted to do was set up a meeting between the high command about the meeting and what our next step should be. But as I made my way toward the porch of the mansion I was reminded that I had wanted to have a small talk with my little lady. I was effectively reminded because she was off to the far end of the porch and elegantly leaning on the balustrade while peering off into the forest, presumably in deep thought.

I delicately made my way on the porch and somewhat slowly closed the distance between us which allowed me to admire her graceful posture, stance, and lush hair. "I'm comin' up behind you." I softly warned when I was about a meter away.

She of course lightly jumped and looked behind herself to make eye contact with me. She minutely grinned. "I'll never not get scared when you're walking up to me like that."

I then ceased walking forward since I had sufficiently closed the distance between us which enabled me to lovingly wrap my arms around her abdomen and pull her in for a hug. "Just know I don't mean to scare you. Though I will admit that your little jumps are adorable as hell."

She just gingerly shook her head. "Of course you think it's adorable... But yeah, I know you don't mean to, I'm just jumpy which is kind of annoying. I hate the... 'rush' it makes me feel, if that makes any sense."

I assured her it did before I kissed her forehead. I then draped my nose down to hers so we could eskimo kiss for a few moments. My right hand migrated to the side of her lightly smiling face while we did that. Though after buttering her up a tad, I decided to thrust the conversation directly into what I wanted to discuss. "So... you put yourself in harm's way during the meeting. You made me feel quite worried when I saw that you weren't behind cover."

She softly gulped as her posture took on a subtle mix of... fear and worry. "...A-Are you mad at me?"

"No, not mad just... I didn't want you to be unsafe like that. You could've been hurt or worse. You... broke the promise that you'd stay behind cover."

"I..." She trailed off as the girl's posture worsened as she gulped a little harder. "I-I thought it was safe because of how well it was going, they seemed like nice people." Her hurried explanation sounded kind of desperate. I wasn't expecting this conversation to take such a sharp turn. "I'm so sorry I broke a promise. I forgot it was about being behind cover instead of being next to the others. I was an idiot to do that, I'm an idiot."

"Hey, hey, don't say that, it's not true, okay?" I calmly replied as I wondered why she was being so emotional about something not as big as she was making it out to be. "Now that I know, it was a simple mistake. It's okay to make mistakes, we forget sometimes, alright?"

She cutely sniffled. "But I still broke a promise... I'm so sorry."

I wasn't quite sure why she was this affected by the scenario but I of course never made fun of her feelings or undermined them in any way. My girl can be quite emotional sometimes which is preferable compared to that not being the case. "It's okay, sweetheart. Everything turned out fine so it's no biggie. Again, we make mistakes and you didn't mean to. I forgive you if that helps you feel better." She turned around and hugged me which I reciprocated. I kissed the top of her head before admitting, "...I just don't want you to go to another meeting like that. There's a reason I hadn't deliberately brought you with me on one of those meetings before, because of how dangerous it is. I can't even bear the thought of losing you..."

After another sniffle, "I can't either. I just wanted to make sure you were safe. It was so scary because it was another group." 

"Realistically, what would you have done if something sour happened?" I thought but knew better so I kept it to myself. "You're so kind and sweet, you're my little angel for a reason." I placed one of my hands under her chin to make her look up at me . "I understand that you don't want me to get hurt and that makes me feel extremely appreciated. But..." I trailed off as I delved into a route of thinking I hadn't thought of in a while. "Well, how about we set up some sort of criteria  for when I no longer need to meet strangers?"

She tilted her head. "What do you mean? All strangers?"

"Like if Solaris passes a certain number of people. At some point, I'm gonna have to stop risking myself in those situations since I'd have to focus on other things. Along with that, I'd probably be able to delegate an effective, trustworthy, and small team to be a 'stranger welcoming crew' or something like that."

"I like that idea. It would help out a lot with me worrying about you when you're gone... My heart feels so worried when you do that."

She's said that before but it didn't stop me from feeling quite negatively that my direct actions had caused her to be so stressed. I understood it completely. Even though we had talked about it before, I still apologized for it before she reasserted that she understood why I was the one to be heading meetings with strangers. We softly kissed to confirm everything we were saying. It was so nice to have the amount of trust and transparency we shared.

"What do you think should be our population before I retire from stranger duty?"

"Hm... Well, we have a lot of people already." She said as she glanced over some of the buildings we constructed. It seemed surreal that thirty-two was considered 'a lot' but it made sense. After all, we thought for so long that we were just part of a very small handful of people left alive. "And it's not like talking with strangers takes a long time, usually just a couple hours before you come back... And that's once every three weeks or so. Maybe... fifty?"

Listening to her being analytical about it and making calculations on the fly helped me think along with her thoughts. "Fifty seems like a good, round number because I seriously doubt I'd be needed for the job when we're at seventy, a hundred, or more in population. I will say that it's so... incredible to be talking about the possibility of a hundred people being here some day and it not be an unrealistic thought."

"It really is... Would there be anything to stop that from happening?"

The most extreme scenarios only briefly flashed through my mind. "Only if some group is randomly set on our destruction. But that's the worst possible case that there can be. As far as we know, we're the most advanced group on Earth and are willing to help those that respect us and seek it. I'm certain that if any sort of group ever wants to harm us in any way, it'll be our own fault since I don't see why any other group would want to needlessly piss us off with nothing to gain that they couldn't eventually build themselves. It would make no sense whatsoever."

A few silent seconds passed before she once again asked, "So, would you stop talking to all strangers?"

"Oh, right. No, not all strangers, but most which includes the random, unsettled groups of one to ten. I'd do what Ezra did, wait until my 'stranger meeting crew' makes contact or has some discussions with another group's people before ultimately having a formal discussion with their leader... Or something similar to that. Does that sound alright to you?"

"I would still be a little worried. That's something I don't think I'll be able to not do. But I think it'd help a lot."

"And it does seem like the wise thing to do for a couple practical reasons... So with all that being clarified, I'll probably bring it up in the meeting I'm about to set up, how does that sound?"

"It sounds great to me." She answered with a soft smile. Though it did take a dip when she said, "I'm still so sorry that I broke a promise."

I suppose she was fairly upset at it because she hadn't ever broken a promise before which seemed somewhat understandable. Then a thought occurred to me that I didn't want to express it right out of the blue. "Again, it's fine, nothing bad happened... Your emotions seem a little bit elevated. Not that it's a bad thing but, y'know, is your cycle beginning?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure, it might... But I... I'm probably more upset than I should be because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"...That you would've been super mad at me."

"Silly girl, when have I ever been mad at you? You've never given me a reason to be." And it'd be incredibly hard to do so considering how much tolerance I'd have toward her in such any frustrating or angering scenario.

"Yeah, never... I just couldn't help but feel that way."

I timidly tilted my head. "Why is that?"

She thought for a few moments as she peered up at me. I could clearly see that she was experiencing an internal debate as she thought. "I... I don't talk... about my parents much at all with you... even though we're so close to each other."

It was true. I hadn't pried for her to reveal everything about her childhood since she'd often clam up, start crying, and get stressed out at reliving her past by bringing it up. And because of those effects, I understood why she didn't talk about it and was fine with patiently waiting until she wanted to reveal that part of her life to me, if at all, which was the only part of her life that I know little about. I told her that she didn't need to talk about it but she continued to press on.

"My parents... my dad for the most part, would severely punish me over the smallest mess ups... by... p-punching and..." She tried to continue telling her tale but she just couldn't. She still wasn't ready or able to tell me about the horrors. I could only imagine what she went through based on the little she's been able to tell me. It made my blood boil that my woman has to deal with the trauma of the demons that were her parents.

My hug on her tightened. "Sh~, you don't need to continue, I understand what you're trying to say..." Even though the explanation was short lived, I got the memo that her mind was used to being abused because of her smallest mistakes so she had instinctively applied the same logic to me even though she knows I'd never maliciously lay a finger on her. "I'm never going to hurt you. Remember how I'm your guardian angel?"

She chuckled, presumably at herself, as she wiped away a couple tears. "Yes you are. It's just so hard to tell my body that you'd never hurt me and it... I guess it just takes control of what I'm thinking. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes. And it's completely fine." I assured before kissing the tip of her nose. Our conversation tapered off into silence which left us to hold each other and stare into each other's soul. She calmed down which allowed us to then share a soft and long lasting kiss since it was just the natural thing to do, how could we have not? After it ceased, "Alright then, I'm gonna stage a meeting between the high command. What are you planning on doing?"

"I was thinking of maybe reading some comics. I haven't done that in a while. Will you come back to me when you're no longer busy?"

"Of course."

With one last peck, the embrace ended and I took a step back before heading inside the mansion. With one thing on my mind, I brought my portable radio up to my lips and called upon the people I had had the previous conversation regarding the mysterious group with to assemble once more. As the requested individuals sauntered their way into the defacto meeting room, I wondered what I should do for the day which eventually led to me wanting to see what the construction team was up to. But before I got to that, I commenced the meeting when Olivia met up with us.

"First and foremost, as you can clearly tell from our sound return home and the arrival of some new guests, the meeting went well. Of course, there was some tension between us because of the instinctual mistrust present but we were able to ease into it and set a precedent to them; that we can be talked to civilly, and that we're open to communication with no ill-intent. At least, we tried to convey that to them as much as possible."

"What all did you guys learn about them?" Trinity asked.

With the help of Ashton, I was able to answer that question to the fullest extent which resulted in some form of intrigue by those who were previously ignorant.

After the question was answered, it was Audrey's turn to ask a question. "And what all did you reveal about Solaris to them?"

I quickly gave them a rundown of a list of information I gave Ezra which a couple of them were not so supportive of the amount I gave them. Especially Raiden who said, "It seems kind of compromising that you told them that much info. Doesn't that seem like a mistake?"

"Not really? How exactly would they be able to use knowing some generalizations about this place against us? I believe, and feel free to disagree, that these people are telling us the truth about their capabilities, or lack thereof. Of course, it has still yet to be proven so there's some possibility that my belief is wrong. But considering the circumstances, primarily how a second meeting is desired and how one of their people is now a patient to Olivia, it's pretty solid to claim that they're being transparent too."

"When is that next meeting by the way?" Olivia asked.

"Two days from now at the same time. That's when they'll show us the proof that the place they've described exists and that they're as... 'primitive' as they claim. Then we'll discuss some more intricate details about one another before probably setting up a third meeting which I'm not entirely sure what will be about."

"When are you planning to allow more of them to visit Solaris?" Kostas pondered.

"I'm also not sure about that but it'll be a little while. Truth be told, I want to go to their settlement first before they come to us. The reason for that is because we have more to lose here than we have over there. Does that all make sense?"

After a general agreeance, Audrey asked Olivia, "So when are you cutting open... your patient and dealing with their problem?"

"Well first of all, Leon most certainly does have appendicitis, there's no doubt about that since he's showing all the signs for it. And we might have brought him over just in time since... well, all signs point to the problem nearing the worst it can get which can cause problems like an infection spreading throughout the abdomen or him getting sepsis. Ideally, I'd put him under stat and get right to work but... the lack of anesthesia is a problem. Quite a major one."

"I don't get it." Phoenix replied. "Sure, it'll be a terrible experience for Leon to endure but it's for the greater good. That pain will be worth it because it means he won't die over his appendix."

Olivia gave him a look that had a subtle sternness to it. "Yes. But I've never had to operate on someone without it. I don't know what exactly I'm getting into or what can go wrong with a patient that's awake and can feel the pain. It's uncharted territory for me. And... causing that pain, to essentially torture someone for a couple dozen minutes, most likely hearing them scream in agony, that's... something I'm not prepared to hear."

Her words were effective in getting across the concerns and worries she was experiencing. I took it upon myself to say, "I somewhat understand what you're facing. But unfortunately in the world we find ourselves in, you're gonna have to push through the anesthesia problem and perform either way. If and until we somehow produce our own type of anesthetic, you're gonna have to get used to, or at least tolerate, operating without it. I wish that wasn't the case and it's better said than done, but we've promised a service and we're too far along to cancel it at this point."

"You're right, I just... I would say I need more time to prepare but I don't think there's enough time for me to be ready. It's just difficult to accept. All I can do is hope that alcohol is enough to make it better but I have my reasonable doubts about its effectiveness."

"So when exactly are you doing it?" Audrey asked once more.

"A couple hours. I need them to acclimate and get used to their surroundings, I need them to prepare for what's ahead of them, and I need Leon to drink quite a bit before I commence the operation."

"If anything arises or you need help with getting something, notify me as soon as possible." I replied which she nodded at.

"What was their leader like?" Raiden wondered which began a conversation about some of the smaller details about the meeting. Though I did have to mention that it was a purely utilitarian focused meeting set on learning about each other so personal details weren't discussed which left us all with a bunch of questions. The main questions were related to things like what some of their occupations were and their ages. But it wasn't anything too important to know so we didn't put too much focus on it.

When the queries were all discussed, our conversation significantly relented which allowed me to determine that the important bits were all out of the way. That's when I remembered the prototype of an idea that Stacy and I had discussed. "This situation has been making me think about the structure we have with greeting strangers."

"Have you gotten scared of meeting new people or something?" Kostas questioned.

"No, nothing like that. Meeting and accepting strangers is the way forward and I'll try my best not to let one or two bad examples ruin it for the future migrants. What I've been thinking about is my role in accepting strangers, how it's fairly compromising, and something I shouldn't be doing indefinitely."

"How so?"

"Well, even though I've set up the line of succession, I wish for that not to be exercised for as long as reasonably possible. I feel like I'm doing a decent job and hope to continue serving. I don't want to die any time soon and I'd hope that'd be the case for the rest of you." I said with a chuckle as some assured me that it was. "As you might know, I've been attacked by a stranger before and... it's left me with a lot of PTSD regarding meeting new people. It's hard to put into words the stress and fear I feel whenever I hear that a stranger has contacted us via the radio. But I push through it for the greater good and risk my life by heading out there and it's something I've determined that will not persist forever. It'll come to an end at some point because when we get to a certain size, it wouldn't really make sense for me to do so."

"I understand but I do wonder; shouldn't the leader be the one to first meet the strangers to then accept them into Solaris?" Raiden pondered.

I shook my head. "Not necessarily. I currently go there because we're still a small group and I want to test and verify the stranger before entering our safe haven with my own eyes and ears. It's currently the best way to grow our numbers. But as we inevitably amass an ever increasing amount of individuals, get bigger in size, and we evolve into a village from a hamlet, it would be wise for my attention to be focused elsewhere to more productive things while lowering the risk I experience."

"So what exactly are you planning?" Ashton replied.

Then something clicked in my mind when I saw some pieces to a puzzle fall into place. "I obviously plan on removing myself from that process. And to do so, as what a leader does best, I'll delegate someone to take the main role of the task of being in the 'stranger team' after Solaris reaches a certain number of people." I was quickly asked who'd take that role and what the population tally would mark the initiation of my plan. "Fifty people in total. And I'm thinking that Ashton is right for the job."

"Really?" The man asked, not expecting his name to be said in the slightest.

"It's obvious, wouldn't you think?" I replied, seeing that a couple people needed me to explain. "Well first of all, Ashton was the one to come up with the sign network and essentially pioneered it. Ashton's also a very social guy and knows how to handle conversation. Thirdly, greeting strangers isn't a physically taxing or time consuming job since it only happens every once and a while for an hour or two so it's not a titanic task I'm putting on him. And the most major reason I want Ashton to be the one to accept newcomers when I retire from the job is that Ashton has a really good sense of telling whether or not someone's dodgy."

"...Yeah, he did sort of predict that... y'know, Elliot was bad news when we first met Phoenix's group." Audrey somewhat quietly replied which caused Phoenix to subtly flinch at the controversial name.

"I couldn't really tell you how or why I was able to do that. It was just a gut feeling I had. I kind of feel like it was just some sort of coincidence but... I'm not entirely sure."

"Well, you have a track record and the qualities that I'd want someone to have for greeting strangers. What do you say about being the one to replace me when the time comes?"

Ashton briefly glanced at his partner. "I'll have to talk about it with Audrey after this meeting. But it's definitely not a no."

"Sure thing. Radio me when you come to a conclusion." I simply replied. "Does anyone object to the number I set, fifty?"

"Why not now?"

"I simply want to make sure and secure that we get to a certain sustainable number for operations to continue if anything goes awry. There are many extreme examples that could play out, none necessarily absolutely dooming, but I just want to make sure." With that simple question answered, that part of the conversation drew to a close. "With all that being laid out, I'm pretty sure that this part of the chat is over. Do any of you have anymore questions?"

"What about taking a picture of Leon after his surgery?" Ashton reminded.

"Oh, right. Yeah, Olivia, Ezra requested I take a picture of Leon after his appendix has been removed. I assume that'll be just fine?"

She shrugged. "I don't see why it'd be a problem with anything I'm doing."

"Alright, cool. I'll probably do that tomorrow just to give him a tiny bit of time to recover from it. But yeah, anything else?" With nothing of significance occurring, I adjourned the meeting and dismissed them, though I did keep Trinity and Phoenix with me at the table since I wanted to talk to them briefly about some operations. "Now that the car's free and no longer impeding on your job, are you planning on scavenging today, Phoenix?"

He glanced at the clock. "Yeah, I was just wanting to spend a few minutes with Autumn before heading out."

I nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't want to take away from something like that. I hope she's doing well, by the way."

"Thanks, she definitely is. Thankfully it was more mild this time so she recovered quickly. I'll be out within the hour."

Deciding to refrain from prying for answers about what Autumn recovered from, I then dismissed him for him to do what he had planned and turned my attention to Trinity. "What's the status on construction?"

"Well, we finished the walls of the eighth cabin and are starting to begin the process of building its roof. As you know, the roof is the hardest part to this and the longest to get done. I expect it'll be complete in around a week as long as none of us fuck up real bad. And then we'll move onto Audrey's second greenhouse which will take not long at all, probably just three or so day worth of work. The first time took a little longer since we weren't certain what all we were doing but now we know it's just simply digging out a large area to prepare for a concrete foundation and then properly reassembling a greenhouse on top of it. And then we'll move onto the boarding house."

"Good to hear. I might join y'all to speed it up wherever I can, no point in not trying to accomplish it all as soon as we can."

She nodded. "Agreed. It's good work and strangely a morale booster. Being able to look back on all of our accomplishments makes you feel proud of yourself which I think is a fine thing to do as long as you don't go overboard with that feeling in a negative or egotistical way. It also helps encourage you to work on future projects which is nice."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think about it. Then there's also just pondering how much will be constructed in a year, two years, five years, and beyond. It's very exciting."

She grinned. "Indeed it is. But we're not gonna get there by dragging our feet. I'll see you whenever you meet up with us."

I just gave her a thumbs up before she went off to continue her job. That left me to wonder when I should get to work but I quickly remembered that I essentially promised my woman that I'd meet up with her after done being busy. And since I was addicted to affection and needed another fix, I scampered off to find her. It took a little while but I eventually found her in the backyard sitting cross-legged on the ground by her telescope with an open comic book on her lap. 

She noticed me as I walked up to her which caused her to cutely grin which slowly strengthened as I closed the distance between us. "How's it going, little lady?"

"Much better now that you're here, I was expecting you to be busy for a little longer. And it is kind of chilly out here... I'm not excited for winter."

She was in the perfect spot for me to plop down behind her and gingerly tug her into a cuddle. "Me neither and I'll be glad to help warm you up. But hey, this winter we have heating which'll make it a few magnitudes bearable to live through. Though work is gonna suck until winter's dead and gone until the next time. But if you don't like it out here, as I know how sensitive you are to coldness, why are you sitting out here instead of inside?"

She timidly shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to be out in the sun and smell the outside. I probably spend too much inside when I'm not working by painting a sign every now and then and fishing with Willow."

"It's not that much of a problem, there's not that many activities you can do outside with your leisure time. The inside has your art station, your reading corner, movies, shelters you from things like bugs, and a couple other fun things. As long as you do your duty, it should all be fine."

"Yeah, maybe... Though maybe I should work out like you do."

I nuzzled the back of her head. "Is there any specific reason why you feel that way? I hope it's not because you're unhappy with your body and don't like being in it, you're perfectly fine and gorgeous as it is."

She quietly giggled. "Well, maybe not 'unhappy'... But I'm not really sure. I just kind of feel 'bleh' about myself, y'know?" Those words made me essentially confirm that she was indeed starting to enter a menstrual cycle since her mood would always be dampened like this before it begins. "I've also heard that it makes you feel better and makes everything in your body better."

"Well, if you want to work out then I'll support you. I just want you to know that my soft little lady has nothing to worry about, appearance wise."

"Soft?"

"Yes, very soft." I affirmed before slipping a hand under her shirt so I could gingerly grab her belly which slightly tickled her. "It's very adorable and makes me the need to protect you even greater... It's difficult to imagine a Stacy that's muscular."

"Maybe I should start exercising then, to get stronger and make you feel better since I won't rely on you so much for protection. Do you... would you not like me being muscular?"

"I don't mind being your defender, I'm glad to be the one taking that role. And I of course wouldn't like you any less if you decided to build your body up, do what you want to do." Though it would take some time getting used to something like that.

She rotated so she could wrap her arms around my abdomen. "I love you." I then placed a hand on the side of her face and kissed her forehead before reciprocating her words. "But you don't need to worry, if that's the right word, about me doing that. I mainly just want to get really good at running and work on my... core muscles?"

I chuckled at the gesture she was making toward her belly. "That sounds like a good plan, there's a whole host of health benefits for doing that. Maybe I can help you get into it by jogging with you later today?" In response, she happily nodded before we focused on a loving embrace for a couple of minutes. "So what are you reading?"

"Oh, right!" 

She quickly turned her attention back to what was on her lap before telling me about the main premise of the comic book, who the bad guys were, who the good guys were, and what had happened so far up until the point she left off at. I intently listened to her and commented on a few things, making a joke or two, just to let her know that I took her thoughts and opinions seriously. I couldn't even think about being callous enough to not care about her passions since that would certainly squash her mood.

She then turned the comic book to a few pages back where she pointed at a certain character. "I like what this character's wearing on her face, it seems kind of cool..."

"The lip stick?" 

She nodded. "I like the look of it and I wonder what it's like to wear."

"Well, I have no knowledge of what it's like to own and wear it so I can't say anything about it, really. Do you want to get some for yourself and try it out eventually?"

"...Would it be weird if I said yes?" She asked with a giggle.

"Of course not, dear. Back before The Drop, a lot of women used to wear it along with other types of make up. It's a completely normal thing to want, something that should really only be worn if the wearer genuinely wants it."

"I kind of wonder how I'll get it..."

Just like that, her words made an idea pop into my mind instantaneously. "Hey, we can use one of the cars and search for it ourselves if you want."

"...Are you sure? The others might not like us going out for just one thing."

"What makes you think we'd be going out for a single thing? Isn't there something else you want to get? And I doubt the others would care that much depending on when we did it."

"Well, I guess there is at least one other thing I'd want to try out, I guess. But it's not really important, shouldn't the car be used for something better?"

"I think helping you do what you want is important. Maybe not to anyone else but it definitely is for me. Anyways, we'll go when the car isn't being used for anything on everyone's day off so there'd be nothing stopping us. Remember how we used to scavenge together before we met Olivia's people?"

She grinned as she looked back at the fond memories of us getting comfortable with each other. "Of course, it'd be difficult to forget because of how amazing it was to finally be with another person... You wanna scavenge on our day off?"

"Not exactly the type of scavenging we're used to but more so just looking around through stuff and taking whatever we want. Not out of need but out of want, y'know?"

"...I really like that idea."

"And I'll make sure it happens. It won't be hard but as long as you're sure, we'll do that when we have the free time to do so, how does that sound?"

"It sounds lovely."

It didn't take us much longer to cuddle a tiny bit more before it was time for me to end the embrace since it was time for me to go help with what the construction team were doing. After assuring her that we'd run and jog together later, I swiftly met up with Trinity who assigned me to help with pulling some logs we'd be using for the cabin's roof up the makeshift ramps. As usual, it was physically tiresome but worthwhile.

While doing so, I quietly spoke with Roman about Nova's pregnancy which he expressed a great deal of uncertainty about it. It was understandable since it was extremely unexpected and he had never thought of the possibility. Add in the fact that he had no prior knowledge or experience with babies which equates to a heap of unpreparedness. However, he assured me he was figuring out and trying to take the right steps to get prepared and to get prepared fast. I wished him well on his endeavour and secretly wondered about his future.

A little while later, Olivia radioed me that Brooklyn and Leon were as prepared as they could be for the operation. It meant that Leon was quite drunk and Brooklyn essentially 'signed' something that gave Olivia the space and consent she needed to perform the surgery, that she wouldn't try to stop it when and if she saw Leon being in agony, and that they had accepted the possibility of it being a failure. Shortly after that, Olivia went radio silent which I assumed was because she was just about to dig into Leon... I could only imagine how horrifying an appendectomy is. 

Though... I couldn't be left in the dark for long since it was something I couldn't get off my mind for a couple of reasons, mainly because I wanted to know if it was going well. I figured my presence wouldn't have helped at all but I didn't see much harm in checking in and witnessing the procedure. So I excused myself from the construction site and dashed to the clinic where my heart sank when I saw Brooklyn sitting just outside of the clinic with her head in her hands. It was impossible not to assume the worst.

"Did everything go well?" I asked when I was close enough.

She looked up at me, a tiny bit spooked, where I saw that her face looked quite tired. "Uh... I guess? I just had to... I couldn't be in there as they cut into him, making him feel pain right in front of me, knowing th-there was nothing I could do." She took a deep breath. "I had to come out here because I couldn't handle it, I wanted to stop it. But I know it needs to happen."

I nodded sympathetically as I felt a certain relief. "I completely understand that. I'm not sure if I'd be able to stop myself from my wife going through something like this even though it's required for her health... I can only speculate what you yourself feel like. Do you know how far along the surgery got before you left?"

For reference, it had been about twenty minutes since it started. "Kind of? I left around five minutes when Olivia had just spotted his appendix and was... shocked that it hadn't burst by now, said it could at any moment."

There was... a quiet muffled sound being heard which came from within the clinic. "Good to know. I'm gonna head in and check in on the progress."

"I just want this to be over now..." She quietly said before I made my way past her and into the clinic.

At the far end of the clinic beheld the scene you'd expect. Vanessa was at one side of the bed and Olivia was at the other side where she was delicately handling the instruments that were inserted into Leon's incision to his abdomen. One was an endoscope and the other a tool to cut and snip tissues which she was doing by focusing on a screen that was set up next to Vanessa. As she did so, she was telling Vanessa how to detect some things, pointing some things out when she could, and how to remove an appendix. Her student intently listened to every word she was saying. From Olivia's voice, I could tell she was stressed because of the circumstances she was in. But she made sure to keep her anxiety under control so her hands wouldn't shake or shiver.

Something like this, how Olivia was doing two things at once, would've been preposterous and probably malpractice a few years ago. But considering what we didn't have access to and that Olivia needed to teach someone herself to be a nurse and perhaps a future doctor, killing two birds with one stone, especially with firsthand experience, was something I approved. Of course, I recognized the risk with Olivia's attention being split but, again, it's for the greater good of the community. Plus, Olivia was being extremely delicate at where and how much tissue to cut.

It was fascinating to watch play out even though I was a decent bit away. I figured they needed the space along with how I wasn't wearing a mask which could put Leon at a higher risk for infection. Though that higher risk was probably quite miniscule because of how we didn't really have the ability to make a legit cleanroom. But Olivia tried her best. She was quite proficient, adamant, and persistent on keeping her clinic as clean and pristine as possible.

I probably shouldn't have stayed to watch but I wanted to be certain that the operation was successful, I wouldn't have been able to keep it off my mind until I got confirmation of the end result. And there was something... captivating about watching Olivia do the surgery, mainly how she was able to do it to begin with. I've never really been all that squeamish to blood, the internal body, and injuries so it didn't really bother me. The thing that bothered me was how Leon was awake and clearly hurting. He was quite loopy from the alcohol he had drank but he was still conscious and able to feel a decent bit of the pain, evident by the fact that he was trying to force himself to stay completely still as Olivia cut.

Unexpectedly, he passed out which caused Olivia to cease momentarily to scan the vital signs monitor for a few brief seconds. "He passed out from the pain. This'll make it a bit easier."

Vanessa asked how bad of a thing it was for that to happen which Olivia replied with positive answers, surprisingly. Mainly because it'd reduce blood loss and make him not fidget as she cut away at the appendix. And because he had passed out, it helped speed the surgery up by quite a bit which allowed the appendix to be severed from Leon's body just five minutes later which enabled her to grab it and start pulling it out of him through the two inch incision.

The inflamed appendix was much larger than I was expecting so I wasn't expecting her to have to use proper force to pull it through the incision. It looked quite gross, honestly, I hadn't ever watched a procedure like this done before in person so it was a new experience. But when she was successful in doing that, she put it in a kidney bowl that Vanessa had extended to her to discard it later. She then double-checked the area for bleeding before withdrawing her tools and moving onto stitching the incision shut.

"As long as nothing suddenly arises, which it still can, the operation was a success..." Olivia announced which was quite the relief. And it seemed so quickly paced but I suppose when it was as dire as the situation Leon was in, swiftness had to be applied. She briefly looked over her shoulder to finally find out who had entered the building with them before continuing to stitch her patient up. In that time I was able to see how much stress related sweat had donned her face. "We'll be keeping a very close eye on him as he makes his recovery. He'll be bedridden for at least a day, more likely two, and perhaps even more. Hunter, can you do me a favour and tell Brooklyn that it's over?"

"Yes, of course." I didn't waste any time in complying to her request since I figured it'd be a nice thing to do to relieve Brooklyn of a great deal of anxiety.

And it was quite obvious that me telling her the news did just that since her posture lightened up before getting on her feet and rushing into the building to see that Leon was all cleaned and stitched up. "Will he be fine?"

"He should make a full recovery but there aren't any guarantees. Unfortunately, his squirms made me cut strangely and made it a real struggle. He's unconscious now and should wake up with a hangover whenever he's well rested." Olivia replied before giving her the rundown of Leon being bedridden and how they'll keep a close eye on him in case of infections or internal bleeding happen.

"I'll stay right here by his side and help however I can until he's okay, even if it takes a week or two." 

Her attitude was sweet and admirable. It was something I'd hope my partner would do and me for them, something I'm certain would be the case."And I repeat, if any of you need anything, contact me and I'll see what I can do. The last thing I'd want is for y'all to not get something we could easily provide."

Brooklyn seemed somewhat speechless. "I… Thank you. I feel so grateful and like I'm in a world of debt to you all."

"Well, it's not over yet and a little bit early to celebrate. But you're welcome, your compliance and respect made it impossible not to help you two."

The woman then gently sat on Leon's bed and softly placed a hand on him as she wore a stressed but hopeful smile. Being able to observe how my direct actions led up to a person in need's worries be lifted strangely improved my mood. I guess being able to alleviate someone else's pain does that to you.

With that being done, I asked Olivia to keep me updated before excusing myself since I determined that my presence was no longer required there. I simply hoped all would go well as I returned to help out with completing the new cabin. And that lasted for a decent while with nothing notable playing out.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" I asked my queen as we approached the familiar trail I typically ran down every other day.

"Mhm! Though I've been wondering about how I should start doing this."

"What do you mean?"

"Like… How far and how fast I should go. I'm not really sure if I can run far at all."

"Well since you haven't worked on your cardio in any meaningful way, you're not gonna get far at all before your lungs feel like they're on fire."

"...I almost forgot that running does that to you."

"And then there's those wonderful side stitches some of us get for some strange reason." 

"Sheesh, it's been a while since I last ran. But I think I can run for a little while, it doesn't seem that hard." She commented when we got to the trail.

"I'll go easy on you." I said with a chuckle before we agreed to start our exercise.

It then occurred to me just how much slower Stacy is than me since my jog was almost too fast for her run. Needless to say, she commented about how unfair it was that I was putting in barely any effort as she ran. Perks of being as tall as I am, I suppose.

"How much you struggling back there?" I asked as my jog slowed. I then looked behind me to see a heavily panting Stacy trying to keep up.

"A little… bit."

I slowed even further which she followed along with though this quickly halted us. "And here I am barely breaking a sweat… You're gonna have to train a lot to have even just a little bit of a chance to run with me."

She crossed her arms. "Not fair. Would you… want to run with me more?"

The little girl was having quite the struggle with her panting. "Sure thing. But I'm telling you now, it's gonna take a while to get some good results. It's a lot of work."

"I think I can and want to do it."

I booped her nose. "Just keep in mind to not compare yourself to me and that you can quit whenever you want. But for now, let's continue our run."

We spent the next fifteen minutes doing do which revealed to me just how out of shape she was. It was sort of expected though and didn't surprise me, it was a completely fine thing to be. It also gave me a reference as to how much progress had to be made And by the time twenty minutes in total had passed, she was done for the day since her calves and lungs couldn't take the pain any longer. She had already pushed herself quite significantly at that point so I went along with her returning home by picking her up and jogging back to Solaris.

The day at this point was slowly yet abruptly coming to an end. I checked on Leon who was still asleep, made sure the essential jobs were drawing to a close for the day, and then went to go meet up with my lady when dinner was finished where we lovingly ate together before bathing together in the cold stream water, probably the last whole body wash we're going to take for a while. I dreaded it and disliked how we couldn't be nearly as intimate as we once could be. We then spent the rest of the day nakedly cuddling each other after inhaling a decent breath of marijuana smoke. As usual, it was extremely sweet.

Chapter Text

After sharing my typical morning routine with Stacy and we were ready for the day's work, we split off so she could work on painting some newly made contact-signs which left me to make my way to Olivia's clinic to check up on our new guests and to see if things were going relatively well. When I entered the building, the mere look of things certainly conveyed a gloomy attitude since Leon looked extremely weak, brittle, and dying as his friend was sitting near his bedside. If the context wasn't so grim, I would've called it endearing in a way but instead of thinking about it for too long, I turned my attention to the doctor at her desk who had set aside the journal she was writing in before getting on her feet as I made my way toward her.

"How's it all going here? Why is she asleep?" I quietly asked, the volume persisting in stagnation throughout the conversation, primarily due to how Vanessa was sound asleep near one of the beds near us.

"She was up all night staying alert and cautious just in case Leon needed any sudden help. And, well... he at least made it through the night, as you can see. His vitals are lower than normal, a little lower than I'm comfortable with, which is mainly due to how the alcohol he consumed thinned his blood. He lost more than I was originally expecting. Not a catastrophic amount, just enough to be quite concerned about it which is why Vanessa and I will be keeping a close eye on him for the next few days."

"I see." I simply replied before glancing over the patient in question. "How smart of an idea would it be to go up and talk with him?"

She shook her head. "Not that smart. He's hungover, in pain, tired... It's understandable why he doesn't want to socialize."

"Right, I totally get that. Would it be too much to ask about how you're handling his pain?"

She shook her head once more. "Since we're so damn limited on what we can do to limit our pain, we can only curb a small amount of it using primitive means. If only we had access to opium poppies so we could try to make our own anesthetics."

The stress in her tone was blatantly evident. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright." She replied somewhat harshly which surprised me a small bit. She sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just... The pain I had to inflict on Leon and how much he still has to go through has caused me to... feel sick, in a way."

"It was kind of a dumb question, I should've known better."

"No, it's alright, you're just trying to make things better through these tough times. I should be the one apologizing." Before we could discuss who should be the one to apologize, she swiftly moved the conversation forward. "I was never trained to operate without anesthetics. I didn't really know what I was expecting to hear or what I was going to see. I've of course seen blood, dead bodies, and other extremely painful injuries, but none of the extremely painful experiences were by my hand. And to see direct, intense suffering because of what I did... It's left a much bigger impact than anything I would've expected. I can't get his screams out of my mind. This isn't something that I'll be able to forget about."

"I wouldn't expect it to have been as easy as that nor would I want you to stifle your emotions. The only thing I'm able to do is simply remind you that you're very appreciated here and that you have several friends here that'll help you get through whatever struggle you're facing however you'd want them to help."

She took a deep and calming breath. "Even though it seems rather obvious, it's still extremely nice to hear about what we've all built here."

I had to ask this next question out of necessity. "What do you think about future operations?"

She sighed. "I... dread the day when I have to operate a much more intense and more painful surgery. And that might be soon depending on if Leon gets an infection, which is unlikely, but there's still a good chance that'll happen. I know I have to do it for the greater good but that doesn't alleviate anything I feel when executing it. I've... I've gotta somehow deal with it until we can hopefully grow and make our own anesthetics. But that would require finding opium poppies somewhere within the wild and I have absolutely no idea if they even grow in the wild on this continent. If I remember correctly, poppies grow in temperate and warm climates which is something our area isn't renowned for. If opium poppies are growing wild somewhere, I'd guess they'd be found in places like Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other places like that... Y'know, where those places once were."

"It would be a titanic task based on luck coupled with a mountain of uncertainty if we are to go out scouting for opium poppies, that's for sure. But it's not entirely impossible. Though are you sure there aren't any sort of seed packets within, let's say, a hundred fifty miles from here?"

She slowly nodded. "The United States had completely made commercial use for farms and the importation of anything poppy related completely illegal. So even if there were 'packets' out there, it'd be like trying to find a very small golden nugget in a giant lake with no equipment. The only chances we have at finding opium poppies is going all the way south and relentlessly scanning and combing through hundreds of square miles of terrain on the off chance of finding what we're looking for."

This caused me to think about the long-term future. "Maybe it's inevitable that I send a group or two down to bravely go on that excursion, as long as Solaris' population grows. It might be lethal and they might not return, something I'd make sure they knew well in advance, to retrieve what we're looking for. But that's a time that's most likely many years from now so we're going to have to make do with what we have currently, as much as I don't want that to be the case. But what else can we do?"

"...Nothing directly. We can only continue what we're currently doing until we can try to manufacture our own painkillers." She sighed once more. "Maybe I'll just get numb to it..."

"Maybe. But I'm not sure if going 'numb' to it is something that'll cause... unwanted mental problems. If you don't get numb to it or experience some ill effects over it all, just keep in mind what I said about us being here for you."

She timidly smiled at that. "I'll try my best."

There was a small lull in the conversation which let me glance at the journal she had set aside. "Do you mind if I ask you about what you were writing in?"

She looked behind herself to where I was pointing. "Oh, no I don't. It's the first book I've been writing in for everything I know about medicine and surgery." As she explained, she walked toward the journal and picked it up. "I've been slacking on it for a little while since I got quite bogged down on what the outline of it should be. There's so much to go over and I wanted to be as concise as possible." She turned around and opened the book where she swiftly turned through some of the pages. "And my memory's not perfect so I sometimes forget to go over some things before remembering what I skipped over. And then I've been teaching Vanessa about some other things throughout Leon's whole ordeal so this project has lagged behind."

"That all makes sense. As long as you're chipping away at it, it’s no big deal."

"I couldn't get to sleep last night after... the operation so I distracted myself with speeding this along. Do you wanna read some of it?" She asked as she extended the book out to me.

I took it out of her hands and slowly brushed through the pages of the book, glancing over each page for a few moments to get the gist of each page. It was wordy and a bit cluttered but it was effective on going into just enough detail for beginners and generalizations. "I assume that this isn't the final version, right?"

"You assume correctly. There will probably be many versions, each one improving the pace and detail of the last, until I get to as near to perfect as I can get it. Thankfully, I don't have to go too into detail since we've scavenged some other books going into a decent bit of the nitty-gritty. But having an outline of the routes people aspiring to go into the medical field these days, the very limited fields we have access to since a lot of our abilities have been locked out due to the lack of infrastructure and what not, is key to our future nurses and doctors. If only we had another doctor or two so we could collaborate and help each other create a more effective basis of becoming a practitioner."

"It would be nice and assuring for several reasons, yes, but you're all we got. For now at least. Maybe one day if another doctor joins us, you can collaborate with them then. But until that day, you're unfortunately alone on the team. There's no deadline for this project so take your time and don't stress out about it. This is very important work you're doing and I deeply appreciate that you've taken up your role."

"Couldn't not do it for a couple major reasons. And if you want an update on it every once in a while, just ask me and you'll receive it. Etsu and I have collaborated a bit, not on the material itself, but just going over ways to articulate and express techniques on how to convey everything we need to go over. As you can probably tell, it's not that easy unpacking college grade knowledge and a decently advanced anecdotal career into simple words."

That was easily understandable. Though it did bring up the fact that I hadn't asked Etsu about her progress on the task I assigned her to, given that Olivia revealed what she just did to me, I assumed I didn't need to other than just to quench my curiosity about the topic. But with all that being said and done, our conversation ended which is when I excused myself to leave, not without bringing up that she had the ability to call for help on anything from anyone regarding the Leon situation.

I then wanted to update myself on our sign network since it had been quite a while since I had last properly focused on it due to focusing on other endeavours within the community. So I made a beeline toward where the signs were manufactured which revealed a backlog of around fifteen signs next to where my little lady peacefully painted on another one while listening to some of her tunes. Since we had started scavenging planks from elsewhere, a delight that saved quite a bit of time, our community has been able to churn out signs which has accelerated their deployment by quite a bit.

The group of signs awaiting to be erected were soon to be up and running which would take the grand total of operating signs up to over fifty. Since we had gotten all of the main routes within a thirty mile radius, we were starting to get the smaller and more obscure routes just in case someone or a group of people decide to take one of those routes. Rails, dirt trails, and the sides of streams and rivers; the known ones at least. Before I met Stacy, I had walked those forms of pathways so I completely understood why someone wouldn't take a major route or know of a better pathway to walk. Not to mention, we had the materials to sprinkle these signs wherever we saw fit which I approved of; that's why I finally picked up my feet on the boarding house idea.

Satisfied with that, I blitzed onto the next task that didn't particularly require my attention but I felt the need to work hard to be a good role model to my people by helping the next cabin be constructed. The great thing about working like this, not for a salary but as a commune, is that we weren't miserable while working. We all appreciated being in a community, felt lucky to be with other people, and worked with low level enthusiasm to get things done. This is the main reason we're able to construct things rather fast, since we don't really get bogged down all that much.

As we neared the halfway point for the roof's completion, I was thinking about how I was sweating and how I was getting dirty. This consequently made me think about bathing which I mentally shuddered at due to how damn cold the stream's water was getting. I despised it. But as I was helping hoist a log up the makeshift ramps up the cabin's side, I suddenly remembered something that should've been obvious so long ago.

"Hot tubs." I quietly said to myself as the idea instantly made a lot of sense to me. Why hadn't any of us thought of it sooner? I suppose it's because we've been more focused on the utilitarian aspects of life instead of the leisure aspects. But now that our focus is shifting, all that it required was simply finding it and then hooking it up to our grid in some way. I assume it wouldn't be an exceptionally difficult task. Having warm water, genuinely warm water that we could bathe in, would be quite a treat.

Of course, it'd just be washing off since most soaps these days are expiring and that window of finding viable soap is just about to fully close. Along with that, I'm pretty sure that the tub would cease to function properly if it's gunked up with shampoos so it's best to ignore that possibility to begin with. Regardless, it was an idea that somewhat excited me and was something I wanted to plan for since I had no idea where we'd put a few of them. This made me think about how many we'd need for the whole community.

Furthermore, I wondered how often an individual would use it since I wouldn't want to bathe in water that someone else just did for obvious reasons. Filters exist for a reason so I assume I'd let it do its job before I hopped in... Maybe I'm just being too much of a germaphobe. Though considering that the water will be coming from the stream and how hot tubs don't boil water, a lot of bacteria and what not will be within the water so there'll have to be an initial wait for optimal cleanliness regardless. I just previously had to swallow that fact. Now I'm just being pedantic.

Nearing the end of my shift of labour, Trinity radioed me to meet her and Etsu in the dining room to help them finalize a plan I had assigned them to. Knowing precisely what it was about, I darted my way to the specified location where they didn't drag their feet on going over what they wanted to discuss by luring me over to the table where a sheet of paper with a pseudo-blueprint was laid down.

Etsu took the reins of speaking. "This is our plan for the boarding house; thirty rooms, fifteen on each half of the building, each room being eight feet long and six feet wide with the whole building itself standing at seven feet tall. This gives a stranger ample room for the bare minimum which includes their comfort, so these won't be cramped since that'd just be inconsiderate. Through the middle of it is where the electrical wiring will go which will enable every room to be wired to the grid in the most effective way possible to receive a small amount of power each."

I thoroughly looked over the plans as she explained everything about it and slowly nodded at her words. Besides it being a bit bigger than I expected, it was everything I would want a boarding house to have to more easily assimilate strangers into Solaris in a softer and safer way. "Where do you plan on building this?"

Trinity walked over to the map on the wall and pointed to the south of where the clinic and solar farm stood. "Here. It's the best spot to put it since it's away from the mansion and our cabins but also close enough to the array so the wiring won't be that much of a hassle. What do you think about the location?"

"I don't have anything negative to say about the plans since it checks every box that needs to be checked. Its position is far enough away for my reasonable paranoia regarding newcomers doing some mischief during the night to be lowered quite substantially. And it has more rooms than we'll need for years, that’ll be a huge plus when it's fully constructed. I immensely thank you two for creating this plan, it'll be very worthwhile for the community as a whole."

Etsu excitedly nodded. "Of course! We were very glad to help each other make it! Helping shape a community in a very positive way is something I always want to contribute to and you've let me do that. I should be the one thanking you for giving me that opportunity."

It was always very sweet to hear about the work ethic and loyalty my people had to the community. It inspired a lot of collective faith and for others to continue their support for one another which ensures that our village continues to develop. The only thing I wondered about is how long the good faith and work ethic would last. Who knows if being granted a place for shelter and an income of food would be enough to please the future populace of Solaris. There's only one way to find out.

After asking a few unimportant specifics about the building, I approved of the plans which is when I officially put it on the queue for things to be worked on. When we dispersed, I didn't want to forget about the hot tub idea I had thought up so I jotted it down on a stray sheet of paper. Strangely, another idea regarding some form of hygiene emerged in my mind which was something relating to latrines... We’re eventually gonna have to talk about where bodily waste goes when our population gets large enough where that starts becoming a problem. It was a problem I wasn't looking forward to dealing with but you've gotta do what you gotta do. So I also wrote that down with a question mark at the end of it.

But since it was time to relax after having put in a few hours of physical labour, I wanted to spend some time with my adorable, little wife since I had rarely seen her for that day. So I went on a hunt to find where she was, which ended up being in the backyard where she was alone and practicing with her clarinet. I listened in on what she was playing, the music almost alluring. Her skill at playing the instrument had gotten so advanced that it was almost unbelievable. The thing that makes it believable is that I know how special and truly amazing Stacy is so it made sense that she was able to do these wonderful things.

When she stopped playing the clarinet to take a break, she held it close to her sweatshirt before a gentle gust of wind breezed over us which caused her to shiver. This prompted me to make my presence known. "Hello, beautiful."

She looked behind herself with a little smile. "Finally you told me you were here, I was waiting."

"Oh?" I said as I closed the distance between us and gingerly wrapped my arms around her abdomen.

"Yeah, I heard you this time. Not so sneaky now, huh?" She teased with a giggle.

I softly nuzzled her forehead. "Not this time, I suppose. There's always next time though."

"Maybe, maybe... Though I would prefer it if I wasn't so jumpy or just knew when you're close to me."

"That would certainly make things much easier on you. I don't particularly like making you jump but there's almost nothing I can do about it unless you get used to it. Maybe calling your name from a distance will work?"

"Possibly. But that'd be a little weird when in the house, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe at times but it's not like I'd be hollering or anything... Anyways, how's my little Queen doing?"

We embarked on a quiet conversation about our day, I complimented her musical skills, and talked about what we wanted to do together for the remainder of the day. Since she was spacing her newfound exercise routine out to every other day and I could skip mine for the day due to the construction I helped out with, we decided to go ahead and make something to eat together before enjoying it on our window bay. Though during that time, specifically when we retreated into our chamber of privacy, we didn't miss out on getting nude with one another since being naked together is very nice and feels extremely natural with her. Why wouldn't we want to intimately spend time together as spouses? It's not like it's automatically a sexual thing or anything like that and even if it was, would that be such a bad thing?

And so after we finished eating, my amazing, adorable, beautiful, sweet, little wife and I were once again nakedly in the classic cuddle position of her sitting cross-legged between my legs as she leaned on me while I held her. And of course, I always made sure to gently keep one of my hands on her soft belly in a loving hold and have the other on the side of her delicately smiling face. My hand on her cute face sustained a tiny amount of pressure to make sure the side of her face stayed pressed against my chest. To top it all off and for me to complete my loving hold on her, I put my chin on top of her head and closed my eyes to deeply relax into her presence and enjoy the subtle scents she emitted.

Twenty minutes quickly passed of us just being in complete silence, where we basked in the affection that our energies reciprocated. Really, the amount of times my heart skips a beat when I remember how much I love this girl and how much she means to me happens quite often. I just... can't put into words how much I love every single small part of her to my core. And then there's the repetitive comment about how joyous I am that she's my wife, my incredible wife in every category that makes life worth living in so many ways...

During these silent cuddle sessions, my mind drifts and thinks about a near limitless stream of obscure and unrelated things constantly. At least, not when I'm thinking about things relating to my woman. But eventually, my mind often went down a route of thinking that involved romance as a whole, not limited to just my wife, at least not directly. What I mean by that is I once again thought about the question of 'did we get together too early'? And I don't mean when we shared our first kiss or when we first had sex together. I meant in general.

Like... some people would wait years to get married or have sex. And there were many reasons why. It mainly had to do with respecting the other's wishes, getting to know the other, and maturing and growing up. There were a lot of people that would claim that something like Stacy and I wouldn't last simply due to our ages, that we weren't mature enough, that our minds are just clouded by hormones or something like that. And I severely hate that line of reasoning which is why I rarely ever think about it. But I do sometimes, I'm not sure why.

Because Stacy and I have clearly respected each other's wishes and everything else about each other. We've never been purposely rude or yelled at the other, we've never tried to manipulate the other, and have always made sure the other knows how much we mean to each other. Maybe we did get together a little bit early and maybe we could've waited a couple of months, maybe even longer, to get to know each other some more. But it ultimately didn't matter because we know essentially everything there is to know about the other, and we have since only a few months after meeting. Of course, not everything, but most everything major and practical.

We've become each other's greatest friend. We know our likes and dislikes. We know what the other is like when they're angry, frustrated, upset, sick, have been drinking, or if they're on drugs. Yes, we've upset each other before over some small things such as teasing a little too much or accidentally saying the wrong thing, but nothing major has come of it and we always make sure to make it up to the other. Bigger problems between us haven't emerged and I don't think they will... That might be arrogant to say but what would cause a larger problem to appear? There's really only one thing and that's something to do with cheating. I know I'd never even think about doing that and I trust Stacy with my life so I don't humour the idea of the non-possibility of her doing so.

When you really think about it, I've always made sure to establish communication and how that all should work which she's phenomenally listened to. There are no finances to worry about. There are no careers to worry about. It's debatable if my role as a leader is a career but it's not a problem regarding our relationship as she's become my little supporter and advisor when I need it. We spend all the time we want to with each other. The trust we share is unwavering. We're completely fine when the other wants to hang out with some friends, it'd be really unhealthy to be otherwise for many reasons. The chores we do have been a non-issue mainly because a lot are taken care of by someone else or we do them with each other. The habits we have don't interfere with what we are. Our religious and political views are pretty much the same, though it did help that she was too young to form those when The Drop happened. But we're still able to have some pretty philosophical conversations and are able to question our beliefs. The rate of sex we have has been spectacular with only a turn down from her once a month when she isn't feeling it, if that. We're definitely not sexually infatuated with each other since sex is just a bonus to the rest of what our relationship is, something I’ve repeated several times. We might be a little too sexually active or irresponsible, maybe , but we're doing what we want and there's nothing that's telling me that it's clouding my ulterior judgment. And finally, our discussion of children has been laid out long ago, even if we have been silently hoping that she conceives much sooner.

Then there's that maturity thing that people would harp on about... At this point, can anyone reasonably claim that what we are is a mirage? That the commitment we show is a lie, clouded by 'hormones'? I vehemently don't think that it is. The love I know that I feel in every nerve of my being is intense and immeasurable. I know for a fact that this is real, that I know our relationship isn't a teenage fad, and that we're going to last. My dick isn't thinking for me here and it hasn't been. Sure, maybe it was a little bit at the beginning of our relationship, but with a clear mind now, with no hint of sexual desire, I can say that what's between us is as real as it can get. I just know it, what else am I supposed to say? How else am I supposed to prove it?

And people mature at different rates and different intervals. From listening to what Stacy's past was like, she didn't have room to be ‘immature’ in the way that people measure it, not really. Her awful parents forced her to grow up since there was no leniency given to her not to be. It... I'm still so surprised at how she's this sweet and amazing girl after how she grew up. It's a miracle. But yes, maturity is this thing that can't really be measured and can't really be determined from the outside. At least not objectively. From my point of view and from all of the things that I've witnessed that she's done and said, I can confidently say that she's definitely mature enough to be my wife. After all, she wouldn't be if I didn't think that. And I've had no reason to think otherwise.

The brain doesn't stop developing until around twenty-five years old. Does that mean no one's mature until that age? If not, then what is maturity? How does any of this work? Does that mean no one until that age should be in the position I'm in or have sensual relationships? ...It all just doesn't really make sense to me. And it's something I shouldn't really think too deeply about. What I should be thinking about is my own life and not the thoughts or opinions of anyone outside of it, regarding this topic at least. Again, I can arrogantly say that what I have is real... I guess it's just ‘solid proof’ that I'm missing since some can just say that the rings we wear are based upon feelings that are false.

I will continue to say and repeat the truth of how much I love my woman and how I'm going to be her husband until the end of my days. And when we're both older than twenty-five, since some people will be hellbent on that age regarding young couples, I'll be able to look back on this page and smile at my younger self's thoughts since I would then have the ultimate proof that what I have is real. And that proof is going to be able to proudly call my wife 'my wife' ten years in the future. So now with all that vented, for really no reason due to how far the two of us have come and grown together, I continued to lovingly hold my girl.

I slowly nuzzled the top of her head during my cuddling since I couldn't not do that to her. I eventually slid my chin down her head so I could nuzzle her with my cheek  as she gingerly reciprocated the nuzzling on my chest. I then kissed her forehead as the hand on the side of her face felt the gentle smile on her lips strengthen. I then wished I had a couple more hands since I wanted to touch a couple other places of her to make the moment more intimate. But all I could do was continue what I was doing.

I was a bit surprised when one of her arms unwrapped from around my chest where she placed one of her soft hands on one of my pecs as she looked up at me with a gentle blush upon her cheeks. I met her beautiful blue eyes as that hand slid down my torso and to my belly where she enjoyed feeling the finely cut muscles. I took that as my opportunity to gingerly press my lips against hers. After repositioning my hand on the side of her face to take a gentle hold of the back of her head, we stayed like that for many silent minutes as we essentially melted into each other. It's so nice just to do stuff like this with her... It's so relaxing, comforting, and stress-relieving. It really does feel like I've gained many years of life just because of her effects on me.

"I love you." I whispered after resting my forehead on hers.

"I love you so much too."

My hand at the back of her head had gone down to meet my other one on her belly where I still had a light grasp of the soft tummy. I was only a bit surprised when her hand took a hold of my half-erected penis and started timidly stroking it. What? It still gets somewhat hard when I kiss her, I can't control it. And it's not even in a lustful way most of the time, it's just that her soft lips pressing against mine wind up that part of me automatically. But her soft hand slowly stroking me did start putting a little bit of lust into my mind. Though when I was fully erect, she just scooted toward me a little bit more and let go of it so it could press against her since she liked having my aroused phallus rest on her as it was another mutual sign of ownership.

(Sex scene ahead, ctrl+f “sex over” to skip)

However, her hand didn't pull away from that area since she then slid it down to my scrotum to hold my testicles. I really liked it when she did that so I let her do that and eskimo kissed her. But to tease her as well, one of my hands went to a breast to tenderly massage it and the other slid down to her hairy groin and put the entirety of her vulva in the palm of my hand. We then continued kissing to enjoy the more sensually oriented and intimate touches we were giving each other for ten more silent minutes. During so, she cutely and minutely wiggled her hips so her clit could softly graze my skin so she could feel that little tickle of pleasure that she craved.

The warmth that her sex started to radiate felt phenomenal, mainly due to my mind knowing that she had been properly turned on by me and was in a state of need for my touch. This was coupled with a very subtle scent of her arousal joining the smell of the splendid odor she emitted which all caused me to be as erect as I could be. So much so that every little wiggle of hers caused it to twitch in anticipation at how the contact of it resting on her body rubbed it by a very small amount.

When we stopped kissing once more, our foreheads met again and we looked each other deeply into the eyes. I could tell she was quite blushed as she continued to shyly smile. I eskimo kissed her again as the hand on my scrotum gingerly slid up my shaft which caused it to twitch again. "Your penis is so, so cute... I love how it still gets so excited for me and wants to feel my vagina and make my pussy feel happy..." After her hand slid up the entirety of my shaft it slid back down to continue holding my scrotum. "And how your testicles want to get me pregnant and make babies so much..."

Since the attitude had turned steamy and we hadn't had sex for over two days and due to our high libidos, I fully committed to the horniness. "Your pussy's very adorable too, especially your clit, it's so beautiful. The tightness of your vagina is the best physical feeling there is, it's so difficult not to want to be inside it when I'm able to be." My hand on her breast gingerly started to pinch her nipple as I massaged the mound of flesh. "It's so nice to be lured to sleep while relaxing into your moist heat... I love making you feel nice, making you moan, making you feel nice, happy, and loved, and making you cum upon so much more."

"I love making you do those things too. I'm so happy that I'm still able to have your big penis inside me and cause it to cum in me... It's so nice, thank you."

My hand on her groin pressed into her slit to feel the trace amount of lubricant that she had secreted for my entry. "Stacy, I'm always gonna want to have sex with you whenever we both want it. It'd be ludicrous otherwise since how would I be able to deny my irresistible wife? You're such an amazing person and so, so sexy . I'm never gonna pull out of you unless you want me to; how could I not fill you up with my semen when I can? It's the most intimate thing we can do and I love the thought of my sperm going deep inside you... I love how there's some in you right now and how you've always had some in you for so many consecutive weeks."

She giggled. "Like you, I don't see how it could be otherwise... Semen inside me just makes me so, so happy for so many reasons... Not to mention just how adorable it is when I'm feeling your penis spasm in me and how that amazing feeling of your semen's warmth feels... And then, y'know, how I was able to make you cum and feel amazing. I like your noises and expressions when you're feeling 'heaven on Earth'."

"Thank you." I quietly replied with another eskimo kiss. I then looked behind myself and to her desk since I had wanted to do something else during the cuddle session. But the situation made me smile since an old, forgotten suggestion was brought back up within my mind. And it was something that involved what I wanted to do. "I wanna take this slow for now."

She sweetly nodded. "Sure thing... As long as you eventually rut me."

I chuckled as I eskimo kissed her again. "Of course." As my hand on her groin started to slowly slide up and down her vulva to enjoy her furry warmth just a little more before I moved onto something else, I said, "Hey, Stacy?" With a hum from her, I continued. "Do you want to... to get high during this?"

She smirked at the suggestion. "You know what? Sure, I'd love to try that. Oh! A while ago we talked about having sex and getting high but we never did that, I kind of just forgot to bring it up again."

With her consent, I excitedly separated from her and headed to her desk where I made my way to open the drawer that contained our box of blunts. It was the same drawer that also contained all of our sex toys which got the attention of my aroused mind. But only a couple of them, namely her vibrator and the cockring which I promptly took out as well. My free hand then focused on the box of weed where I took out one of the smaller blunts and a lighter where I then started making my way back to the woman that sexily waited for my return. As I did so, I noticed the adorable glances she made to my genital region which conveyed to me just how horny the little girl was.

"Wait." She said right before I got up on the window bay with her. I obeyed her order before she faced me, got on her belly, and scooted forward as she took a hold of my cock where she intently looked at it.

I just watched her do what she wanted to do so I was pleasantly surprised when she pressed her lips against my glans. It caused me to quietly grunt due to how nice her moist and very soft lips felt on me along with how her delicate kiss caused a gentle sucking pressure to emerge on my tip. The kiss lasted a few seconds before she kissed me there again just a centimeter away from where the original kiss made its contact, the kiss staying just as soft as the other one.

She continued lovingly kissing my glans for the next three or four minutes where her tongue poked out to make ginger contact with it so she could taste my penis to satisfy her mind. Though then she abruptly started kissing the shaft itself where those kisses slowly trailed down to my scrotum. I was happy to let her please and touch my penis all she wanted so I continued to watch and focus on the touch she was wanting to give me. My free hand had made its way to take a hold of the back of her head to encourage her to continue what she was doing.

She deeply kissed each testicle and kept taking long and slow inhales through her nose to smell the musk I emitted since her nose was pressed against the base of my cock. Having her tongue cradle and lick each testicle for many moments on end was always a heavenly sensation but caused a feeling in my glans to appear which demanded that I get inside her vagina and inseminate her as soon as possible. But I suppressed those feelings for the time being since I wanted to have my own fun with her before getting onto the main event.

So after she had her fun with kissing my groin, she got back up in her cross-legged position. "So... do you wanna smoke now and then instantly start fucking right after?"

I chuckled. "Not quite. I wanna do a couple things before that."

"Oh?"

That was my cue to get on the window bay with her where the girl returned to be in between my legs. My cock rested on where her calves crossed which she took as her cue to take a hold of it as I scooted forward a tiny bit more and settled down. That's when she finally realized the objects that were in my hands as she had been distracted by the penis she wanted to play with. I set the two toys aside along with the blunt and the lighter.

"Why did you bring the vibrator?" She curiously asked while looking at it.

I softly took a hold of her face and kissed the tip of her nose. "I wanna use it on you for a bit. Not right now though, we'll mess with it in a few minutes."

She giggled. "What exactly do you want to do before then, then? I'm a bit confused about what you want to do."

One of my hands then slid down her face, to her chest, and then down her side to her thigh. "I wanna touch and rub your clit for a bit. It's been a while since I've focused on just that and also something I've just been craving to touch."

She swallowed as she nodded. "Sure... How exactly do you want to do that?"

I glanced at her slit which was very clearly fully aroused. The way her awaiting and begging clit was just able to stand out from her contrasting bush was super captivating. The hand on her thigh draped back up to her hip where I started applying some pressure. "Turn around..."

She let go of my shaft and listened to my polite order. I then appropriately put my hands on her hips and gently dragged her toward me where I made sure to rest my cock on her back which was delicately squished between the both of us. Having her hair be somewhat in the way is something I had gotten used to which is why I don’t really mention it; because if I did I’d be talking about her hair quite a lot since it was so long. My left hand then returned to one of her breasts to treat it nicely as my other hand draped back over her belly to take a gentle grasp of.

I then lent down to her ear and whispered, "Relax into my fingers and let your beautiful voice freely produce your sexy grunts..." I know I didn't have to say those things to her since she would've done them either way, but it really helps set the mood and is the first proper step of the girl melting into me which she was already doing.

As I started softly pinching a nipple, my right hand slid down her belly and to her nether region. To tease her just a bit longer, I played with some of her pubic hair and slid my index and middle finger over each appropriate labia, of which I stroked a few times. She cutely huffed after a couple dozen seconds which I chuckled at and just before she said anything, the same two fingers made a beeline to her slit. I then only took a few moments to slide between her lower lips and up to her love-button.

She gently gasped and then let out a quivered breath as my fingers gently prodded her clit to try and find the best positioning for what I was about to do. I nuzzled the side of her neck and started to apply a small amount of pressure on the sensitive and somewhat slimy button. I kissed her neck as she let another quivered breath go which made me smile at the realization of just how much the girl wanted me.

As I continued kissing the side of her neck and massaging a tit, which would switch to one to the other every other minute, my fingers started a slow but firm gyrating motion on her clit. This caused her to quietly grunt and expose her neck to me some more which I responded to by giving that area of her bigger and deeper kisses. As my fingers continued the same slow pace, she strained her legs to spread them open more and started to minutely wiggle her hips with my fingers.

"You're so fucking cute, Stacy..." I commented just before she quietly grunted yet again. "And such a good little girl. My good little girl..." My words went right into her mind and pressed all of the correct buttons which caused her to whimper. She just submissively nodded which is when I continued kissing her neck while keeping the tender pace of rubbing her clit. It didn't take much longer for her to put a hand over mine on her clit which showed me how welcome my touches were and that she didn't want me to leave it any time soon.

We then stayed like that for a few minutes so I could minutely please her, appease what her pussy wanted to feel even if it was just a small amount, enjoyed her scent, and admired her noises and small wiggles of her hips. All of these mannerisms made sure that the lustful fire within me stayed fueled and large. It was difficult to not just get right into mating her but I fended the desire off since I really wanted to take it slow and keep it soft, sweet, and lovely.

Eventually, my fingers sped their pace up which consequently caused the girl in my arms to melt even further, lean back onto me, become a little more vocal, jerk her hips a tad bit more, and further relax into the sensation of what her clit was experiencing where the pleasure propagated throughout her body. As the minutes rolled by, she closed her eyes, started to lightly sweat, and would whimper out an adorable little 'yes' at how my fingers were treating her.

After the ten minute mark had been passed of us doing this simple sexual act, my hand started to tire out so my fingers slowed down as I pressed my nose on the back of her head. As my fingers continued to slow, my hand fondling her tits also slowed before draping down her chest, belly, and to an inner thigh where I massaged the sensitive flesh just as my fingers stopped motioning. The subtle panting that the girl had was a telling sign that she made a decent bit of progress on the road to orgasm.

"D-Do you want to have s-sex now?" She asked a couple seconds after the pleasure had ceased.

"Not quite..." I replied before pulling my hand away from her groin where her hand on mine left it after some hesitation. I then put my subtly lubricated fingertips up to my nostrils where I deeply inhaled to get a very direct hit of her feral scent. The smell and pheromones that her musk emitted and that I received was able to drive my mind wild and make the sexual desire I have for her go into overdrive. I couldn't help but have my own shiver of excitement when slowly letting my breath go.

After dealing with the trace amount of liquid on my digits, my attention turned toward the vibrator. I grabbed it and then wrapped an arm around my woman's abdomen to properly hug and hold her. I rested my chin on top of her head and looked down at her slit where I brought over the vibrator in that area. I felt the girl lightly swallow as I did so which made me grin.

"I assume you're fine with me inserting this into you?" I asked. After getting a quick nod of confirmation, I lined the phallic part of her vibrator up with her hot hole. My other hand that had previously not been there went down to her groin where an index and middle finger took a spot over each labia where I applied pressure to spread her lips open to make the insertion easier. And with how wet I had gotten her, the vibrator easily but slowly slid into her slick depths.

She timidly moaned as it entered her before squeaking when the clit-sucking part contacted her love-button. I then placed my hands on both of her inner thighs before draping them up her body where a hand went to the back of her head and the other under her chin. I made her look up at me where I kissed her forehead and trailed kisses down her face to the tip of her nose. I then admired how her cute face smiled brightly at all the touch I was giving her.

"Since I'm no longer gonna be the one pleasing your cunt, you can turn however you want. I know you prefer sitting perpendicular to me."

She shyly grinned at that and changed her position to how I expected it to. An arm then wrapped around her abdomen again to hold her close before I placed a hand on the side of her face just as she looked up at me. We made eye contact for just a few seconds before I had to press my lips against hers once more where a soft, long, and toungey kiss ensued. After it ended, my hand on her face slid down her body and to the toy's controls where she steadily but shakily took another breath as I softly stationed my fingers over the buttons to the toy.

Without delaying it any further, I rested my forehead on hers and turned the toy on to its lowest setting which caused her to quietly squeak at the subtle vibrations and sucks her vagina and clit were introduced to. My hand stayed on the toy as my other arm asserted my hold on her. I smiled at how she once again closed her eyes and instinctively made sure her crossed legs were as spread open as they could be. I nuzzled her as she reciprocated my embrace with her arms taking a firm hold around my chest where I then heard a gentle grunt escape her lips.

"I love you so much, Stacy..." I whispered before kissing her forehead.

"I-I love you too." She replied, which made me kiss her forehead again.

A few seconds later, I upped the power of her vibrator to reward her pussy as my mind went down a certain route of sexually glorifying her. I did so by telling her how much I love her, how amazing every bit of her is, how we own each other, and that it'd be like that forever. After each point, I upped the power of the vibrator so by the time my lustful spiel was over, the vibrator was nearly full power and immensely pleasuring her g-spot and clit.

She had rested her head on my chest and started pressing into me as she audibly moaned at what was between her legs experienced bliss. I simply continuously kissing her forehead and enjoyed her sounds and smells as her minute movements subtly rubbed the phallus pressing on her, the same phallus that had desperately been waiting to be focused on and was extremely jealous that the girl was getting her fill of pleasure while it waited for its attention. But I continued to put her pleasure above mine and loved on her as she enjoyed herself. The little wiggles of her hips were always so damn adorable...

A little over three minutes later, I stopped kissing her forehead and looked over to my side once more where the blunt sat. As I felt Stacy in my arms gently wriggle in pleasure, the hand on the toy left the area to pick the blunt and the lighter up before coming back around to meet my other hand that was taking a hold of one of one of her sides to keep her in place. Since her eyes were tightly closed and she was focused on what her fun spots were feeling, I nuzzled the top of her head to get her attention.

"Does my naughty girl still wanna smoke?"

She opened her eyes which quickly made her see what I was doing. She swallowed through a moan as my hands worked together to properly position the two objects for the ignition of the blunt. Her blushed face then looked up at me after a few seconds of thinking before nodding with a sultry smile. With her permission, I lit the end of the blunt on fire before the hand holding the lighter set it aside and returned to the toy where I lowered its power by a decent bit. With that being done, the amount of pleasure she received was significantly lower so she was able to focus and breathe more properly. But the amount she was receiving was still enough for her to cutely grunt, timidly grind, and maintain an elevated pace of breathing.

"Be a good girl and take a large hit..." I whispered into her ear as I brought the blunt up to her lips.

She nodded again and accepted what I wanted to put in between her lips. Though she gingerly took a hold of it with me as she properly inserted it between her lips so I put my hand onto one of her inner thighs since she had it handled. And as she felt her g-spot and clit be moderately pleased, I watched the girl follow my words and breath in a lungful of marijuana. She quickly looked up at me after taking the blunt away from her lips where I quickly met her lips with mine so she could exhale the smoke into me, something I graciously accepted. Though she started coughing after she exchanged three quarters of the smoke with me where she continued to have a decent coughing fit.

I took the blunt out of her hand as she continued to do so. As I exhaled the exchanged smoke, I felt as if I maybe shouldn't have told her to take such a large hit but as she was recovering, she told me that she wanted to and that it was fine. With her assurance, I went ahead and did my own large hit of the blunt before also exchanging the smoke with her where my own coughing fit followed suit with a few more little coughs from my girl. After that, I knew we weren't gonna need another dose of marijuana so I extinguished the blunt and set it aside before focusing on my woman once again.

My hands then went to her belly where I draped them up to her breasts, back down her belly, and to her inner thighs in a pattern. She giggled as I kissed the tip of her nose where these two things persisted for several moments. But then a hand went down to the toy so I could put it on full power which caught her off guard where she let a few beautiful moans escape her lips. I only let that happen for a few seconds before turning the toy off.

"W-Why did you t-turn it off?" She asked, almost in a pout.

As I slowly started slipping the toy out from within her depths, I quietly said into her ear, "Because I immensely want to have sex with my beautiful wife... My cock's been patiently waiting to cum in you after watching you enjoy yourself. It hasn't felt this amount of jealousy in a while."

She swallowed. "Alright, yes, I-I'd love to have it in me... Hopefully it'll cutely twitch when inside my vagina. How do you want to fuck me?"

I put a hand under her chin to make her look up at me. "Well, you've done essentially no work for your pleasure... And I want you to ride my penis for a bit, if you want."

"Sure." She happily replied as I set the toy aside.

She then separated from me, got on her knees, and faced me. My heart skipped a beat as I glanced over her body as the realization of how I was about to become one with her again was processed. That feeling was always so nice… Along with that, the eventual insemination I'd get to enact upon within her essentially hijacked my mind. She had her eyes on the cock that twitched once more due to how much it wanted to feel her warm, wet, and tight walls, the same walls that begged to be stretched and would try their best to rub and squeeze my shaft to persuade it to cum in her, an act that was irresistibly effective.

Before anything could progress even further, I scooted back by a decent bit so I could lean back on the wall after making sure it was adequately cushioned. That's when I gestured her over where she knee-stepped over to me and appropriately straddled my things. I then took a hold of her hips as she placed a hand on the side of my face. She lifted herself up a bit and took a hold of my penis with her free hand.

"Let's wait for a few more moments... I'll put it in me when I start feeling the marijuana's effects. I'm sure my man can wait just a little longer." She said with a giggle as her hand slowly stroked me which caused my shaft to twitch once again.

"Just barely... I want to be inside you so damn much..."

She eskimo kissed me. "Just a couple more minutes and then we'll play together... You're a very patient person, I trust you'll be able to do it."

I softly kissed her as her gentle strokes continued. Though I ended the kiss a couple dozen seconds later since a surprised, pleasurable grunt cut me off due to the little dirty girl having started rubbing my glans on her clit. She continued gliding it across her love-button which caused her own adorable whimpers to fill my ears. Her groin was quite heated and so aroused that I was surprised her instincts didn't override her actions so that her womb could receive my semen as soon as possible. And I will say that preemptively getting some of her fantastic natural lubricant smeared on my shaft before sliding my way inside her loving cunt fogged my mind with lust even more.

A couple minutes of this teasing, but lovely act, continued before she suddenly stopped with a small gasp. Before I could ask if anything was wrong she said, "We almost forgot the cockring!" She then looked behind herself to find the ring which had the unfortunate result of her getting off me to retrieve it. Though only for a few moments since she quickly returned where I let her slide the ring down to the base of my shaft. She took a hold of it and slowly stroked me as I took another sturdy hold of her hips. "There, now you can't unload in me until I allow it... I want you to cum at least five times in me."

"Y-Yes Stacy, I will." I knew better than not to obey her command.

"Good..." She replied before continuing to tease us by rubbing our most sensitive parts together.

To pass the time a little faster, I focused on suckling her nipples for three or so minutes since her breasts were begging for my attention. How couldn't I have done so when the beautiful mounds of flesh were right in front of my face?

Suddenly, she started to timidly giggle which was swiftly followed by the girl draping my glans down between her labia, her pubic hair delicately grazing against me. I swallowed in anticipation as my arms instinctively tried pulling her down a little faster. When my glans was lodged into her sex and then completely exposed to her vaginal walls, she placed her hands on either side of my face and rested her forehead on mine as she gingerly lowered herself which had the effect of me crossing my legs and to happily pant.

"I love you-." I moaned when my glans softly contacted her cervix.

"I l-love how much you s-still find everything about this so amazing..." She commented.

"It'll never falter, I'll forever deeply love everything about you." I honestly replied without even thinking.

"If that's the case then I should treat my man well, right?" She said with a smirk and some more giggles as she started to slowly lift herself up my shaft.

"A-As long as you want." I replied while trying my best to suppress a moan to talk.

She chuckled. "Of course I will, Hunter... Now, rest, be very calm, and deeply relax into my vagina, alright?"

I just nodded as I closed my eyes and listened to her words as I realized the weed's effects was starting to hit me. The main effects were the lower ability of comprehension, laser focus on the present, and hyper attention to what my eyes were seeing and what my glans was feeling. It felt like each time Stacy lifted and lowered herself was more elongated than it should've been and as if I hadn't been able to have sex for a couple months along with my perception of time being a bit wonky since... well, I don't remember all that much other than that she skillfully rode me for a long time where we were moaning and happily giggling as we greatly enjoyed ourselves.

What I clearly remember is when we climaxed. She was the first to cum which I knew she was quite loud while cumming but I couldn't understand just how loud; I could only hope not many heard her. She also trembled and was overwhelmed in pleasure as she desperately tried to continue riding my cock due to how much her body was craving my cock's touch. Unfortunately, since we had gotten so high due to how we only smoked every once in a while and how we smoked quite a bit, I don't really remember when I started fucking her in missionary but it happened shortly after she climaxed. And that's what I did for several minutes on end before my own climax was reached and... it was one of the most world-shattering orgasms I've ever experienced.

This is being pretty vague, more than I would like to be, due to being under the influence. Again, it's because of how marijuana affects me and my memory gets quite unreliable during it. All I can say is that I know we were having a splendid time from the amazing scraps I'm able to scrape together. At least I fully remember how fucking amazing that first orgasm was as I'm pretty sure it was the second best one she's ever helped me feel. I'm so fortunate to have a partner like Stacy...

We must've gone at it quite roughly for at least twenty or thirty minutes of indulging in each other's sexes, moaning, kissing, enjoying every little sight during our rut, and cumming several times... I strongly dislike how I'm not able to go over most of it since it was something that was extraordinary and incredibly lovely. Though I imagine a lot of it had a lot of similar aspects compared to our previous times. Still, it's a bit of a bummer how summarized this all is but I've salvaged and retrieved most what I can from my scrambled memory.

The last thing I'm able to go over is when I took the cockring off, inserted myself back into Stacy's heat, deeply kissed her, and railed her until I climaxed as deep as I could in her where her vagina expertly wrung every drop of semen from me that I was able to eject in another greatly satisfying orgasm. Some of the last things I can remember is that we simply stayed kissing after that, with me inside her, just holding each other for several minutes. When the kiss ended we both deeply looked each other in the eyes where we were able to tell that we were both quite tired; marijuana still having a great drowsy effect on us. So without saying a word, we instinctively got in the position of me spooning her where we quietly told each other how much we love one another before talking about completely random things with no consistency. Our voices got quieter and quieter until we had fallen asleep.

(Sex over)

I didn't intend to go to sleep that early since I had wanted to go over the plans for the  meeting that was planned between communities for the day ahead of us. It was a somewhat notable mistake that I made which I would have to deal with in the morning of the next day... Sometimes we make mistakes. But at least this wasn't a detrimental one and it wasn't something I would really come to majorly regret. Still, this was a good learning experience and something I wouldn't undo if I could as it taught us a lot about the dynamic of sex while high. Would I do it again? Probably, just not nearly as high, that was a bit of a mistake... Oh well, not much I can do about it but not repeat that error. Anyways, onto the next day of my life...

Chapter Text

"Fuck." I quietly said to myself a few moments after realizing that I was awake, had gone to sleep quite early, and it was well before sunrise.

Since there was nothing I could do but simply acknowledge that I had made a mistake and had been a tad bit irresponsible, I continued laying there and holding Stacy as I thought about the things that I needed to do for that day. The main thing on my mind was checking up on Leon and taking a picture of him for Ezra to satisfy his requests. And then there was the meeting itself which I couldn't help but think about a plethora of different ways it could go down and many possible questions and answers that might be discussed.

I did eventually get up so I could put away everything I had gotten out for our fun the day prior, separated the soiled clothes we used to clean our sexual fluids up with by tossing them into a hamper, got dressed, and picked up the two plates of which we were previously too lazy to take down into the kitchen. Though while passing through the dining room, there awaited me something that I wasn't expecting to see that early in the morning; Quinn at the table on a... laptop!

"I completely forgot about those!" I exclaimed, probably a little too loudly for that hour which made the woman jump. I swiftly put that sudden excitement under control and apologized for scaring her.

"It's alright." She signed with a gentle smile.

"Though I guess laptops can't do all that much these days since the internet no longer exists... So I'm very curious as to why you have one."

"Games."

"CDs I assume?" I asked to which she softly nodded. "As long as you can find them. Back before The Drop, a lot of games were starting to only be playable online since the CD was quickly dying as the world became evermore interconnected... Don't let it eat up too much of your time." I teased with a chuckle. She then started to reply but I was unaware with most gestures since I was only semi-fluent in the art of sign language. "Wait, wait, I don't know what you're saying."

She looked around for a few seconds before she abruptly focused back on the laptop and typed something out before gesturing me over to her. I easily listened to the gesture where she pointed to the screen where she had typed out her response. "Of course not. I'll only do it in my free time!"

"I'll be right back." I said to deal with the dishes I was holding. I quickly handled that and returned to the room to ask, "So, what games do you have?"

She put a hand on a small stack of three cases of disks next to the laptop before picking them up and showing me. I glanced over them which revealed a city building game, a game about the eighteen hundreds, and a strategy game. She then turned her attention to the laptop's screen and typed out, "I've been building a town for an hour or so today already. It's crazy how fast video games make time feel."

"Yes, it certainly does make time quickly melt away... Hey, why are you up at this time? Isn't it a little early?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She texted which I chuckled at. "But to answer your question, I was excited to play some more so when I woke up in the middle of the night, I couldn't get back to sleep."

"Ah, I get that... Just don't let it negatively affect your work schedule and it'll be fine with me. By chance, were you a gamer before The Drop?"

She nodded. "Big time! I used to have several friends that I’d play multiplayer and co-op games with, mainly first person shooters, and we'd absolutely destroy our opponents essentially every time. Even though I'll only be able to play single player games now, it's enough to appease me and make me feel the happiness that gaming used to make me experience."

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun. And it does suck that those types of games can't be played anymore, unless some sort of lan system is set up, but I have zero idea on how to do that. Maybe we could eventually set that up but not any time soon... May I ask how you got the laptop?"

She nodded again. "Zaine and Scarlet's scavenging team yesterday, while looking for tools, found a couple laptops they could take with them while doing that. I had asked the teams to retrieve a laptop if they came across any while searching for tools. Thankfully for me, they're nice so they didn't ask for anything in return. They said that they might as well."

"Ah, I see. Maybe I'll give them the order to collect twenty more to have some in reserves and for anyone else who'd like to have one to be able to have one."

She quietly but quickly clapped her hands. "That would be cool! Then I could maybe play some multiplayer games with some others if we can find the disks for it."

"It would be another fun way to spend some of our leisure time, for sure. Opening up ways to have some innocent fun is never a bad idea to explore. I wasn't really much of a gamer so I probably wouldn't join in all that much, but I definitely wouldn't stop others from gaming. Let's just hope no one gets pissy over losing some games."

"Definitely. Sore losers are annoying to deal with. Just say 'GG' and move onto the next round!"

"Exactly. Though it is more understandable when you die and lose all your stuff or the game crashes before you could save your progress. But other than that, it's needlessly annoying."

"Agreed."

We then got onto the topic about memes and how obscure those were getting when the internet was still flourishing. We also speculated how the internet would've kept evolving if it didn't prematurely come to an end. The internet was still a very recent invention in history and was constantly changing and innovating. It would've been spectacular to see what it would've eventually become in a world that was changing very quickly in several ways. But unfortunately, we'll never find out which greatly bugs me. Anyways, our conversation came to a close when we both agreed about our grievances. With that, I left her to it and shifted my focus to the matter at hand which was the upcoming meeting I had to finish preparing for.

So to do that, I returned back up to my room to retrieve the camera, I put on a sweatshirt, and made a beeline toward the clinic which made me realize just how dark our village was in the dead of night. It made me think about if we should install a few street lamps to light the place up since my mind seriously disliked being outside and encompassed in the cold dark. Thankfully it didn't take me long to reach the entrance of the clinic and gently knock on the door before being let in by Vanessa.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to come here this early so your knock spooked me quite a bit; it made me feel a small adrenaline rush."

Our voices stayed low since the doctor and her patients were slumbering. "Ah, sorry about that. I probably arrived a couple hours earlier than needed but I just wanted to get this out of the way."

She looked down at the camera in my hands. "Uh, what exactly are you doing?"

I briefly answered her question and explained Ezra's reasoning behind his wish which she easily understood. "I'm not really sure when I should snap a picture of Leon." I added as I looked over to the man who looked a tiny bit better since he wasn't as pale as he was the day prior. Still, he looked exhausted and immensely sick.

"Um... I guess you can wait until one of them is awake. They don't sleep very long, usually thirty to sixty minutes for many reasons, usually anxiety or pain."

"Hm... I guess I could do that since I don't have to urgently be anywhere along with needing to wait for the others to wake up. But I could do other things if I just took a quick picture of them sleeping right now."

"Wouldn't it be a bit rude to take pictures of them without their permission?"

"Maybe a bit. But does it really matter all that much? I guess there's some sort of argument about morals to be had about it but I don't really want to go into the philosophy of it. I suppose I'll just wait it out and talk to you in the meantime."

She minutely jolted after I said that. "I... wasn't expecting you to want to talk to me like that."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that? You've done me no harm and contributed your fair share."

"Well, it's just that we haven't really talked all that much so I thought you didn't find me interesting enough to hold a conversation with since you've got better things to focus on."

"Hey, that's not true at all; everyone's fascinating in their own way. And I'm not constantly busy so I can focus on my people quite a bit without any problems, it's one of my duties after all. Knowing how the average person is doing and if they're experiencing anything negative allows me to get an understanding about the state of things and if I can do anything to help improve or alleviate any troubles they may be facing."

"That's nice to hear. I personally haven't had any troubles about this place besides learning from Olivia and helping her out with this whole ordeal. It’s been fairly stressful."

"I'd assume so. Becoming a doctor's helper certainly doesn't seem like an easy task and definitely sounds like it'll be quite demanding. How confident are you that you want this position?"

"I'm set on becoming a nurse for this community. While it's not a guarantee that I'll get to that point, I know I'll try my best to get there since I feel like I have to. My mother was in the medical field before The Drop so it just seems like I need to continue what she couldn't; to help people with their pains along with bringing others into this world and everything in between. And you only have one doctor for the whole community. I'd say she's pretty understaffed at the moment."

"Yeah, she certainly is. Being a doctor for thirty people is a monumental task and that certainly does stress her out sometimes which is completely understandable. Olivia deserves so much respect and praise for doing her best on treating the people of Solaris and teaching others about her knowledge within her area of expertise. We're incredibly lucky to have someone as sweet as her in our little hamlet."

We continued talking about the community which primarily consisted of short-term plans regarding construction and scavenging. Though our conversation was upended when Leon abruptly awoke with a signified exclamation of pain which woke his lightly sleeping partner up who didn't waste any time on getting to his side. That's when I glanced at Vanessa who was quick to take the other side of Leon's bed where she asked a few questions about his pain and if he felt any of the signs for infection. After that had played out and their nerves had settled down, as much as they could be at least, I joined Vanessa at her side.

"Has it gotten any better?" I quietly asked Leon who was sweating and suppressing his grunts of agony.

He minutely shook his head before whispering, "No."

Even though he was basically a complete stranger to me, seeing him in such a weak and brittle state, defeated and in excruciating pain, strongly triggered an empathetic sentiment to flow throughout my veins. I hadn't had an injury that cut as deep into me like what his surgery had required so I didn't fully understand the severity of the pain he was experiencing. But I had a decent idea based on other injuries I've crawled through so that just made my empathy even more valid. But as it was, there was nothing I could practically do but make sure he was getting the appropriate care he required which was something I wouldn't slack on.

"This is the worst pain I've ever experienced. It literally feels like a sword has stabbed me and is still in my body."

His words made me wonder how many people would have to go through severe pain like his, and much worse, before we'd be able to preemptively and appropriately numb the body. Unfortunately, I was certain that it'd be in the several dozens due to how complicated of a problem anesthetics are. I continued listening to his grievances and shared a couple short stories of my own pains to make him feel not alone in his situation. That thankfully opened him up a little bit which allowed me to slip in a question that didn't seem rude or abrupt.

"May I take a picture of you? My crew and I are meeting your leader in a few hours and I have yet to capture some proof that your surgery has happened and that you're alive. It'd be a very bad look if we show up without any pictures of you for obvious reasons."

He chuckled but winced. "I figured you were gonna ask that eventually since you're not doing a great job at hiding that camera. Yes, you can take a picture of me, I don't see why I wouldn't be fine with that."

With his permission, I took a couple steps back, found the right angle, and snapped a picture of the hospitalized man a couple of times. Pleased with the result, I closed the camera and walked back up to the side of the bed. "Is there anything you need me to do before I leave?"

Brooklyn then spoke up. "If she's there, can you tell April that I said she doesn't need to worry about us, that she can calm down, and that this place has been extremely hospitable?

"Yeah, sure. Though I do wonder how skeptical she'd be since my words don't have much merit to them in their view."

"Hm... You know what, just give me that camera and I'll do a little recording of me saying that. If you don't mind, that is."

I handed her the camera after making sure she knew not to look through any files and to not get out of the capture UI. Stacy and I have seriously got to get us two different hard drives for the camera to eliminate the anxiety I feel when handing the camera over to someone... Anyways, she swiftly accomplished what she said she was gonna do so the camera was back in my hands in just a few moments. With all that being finished, I pardoned myself from them and let Vanessa take care of the two. And since it was still dark out, I returned up to my room to find that Stacy was awake on the window bay, sitting cross legged, and looking through the window and up at the night sky with a blanket over her shoulders.

Though she had looked back at me due to the sudden noise of the door opening which disturbed her peace. But that didn't prevent a lovely little smile from appearing on her lips when she saw me. "Good morning, little lady."

"Good morning, mister Solace." She happily replied as I slipped off my shoes before marching my way toward her. "Wanna rejoin me?"

"Of course." I simply replied before getting on the window bay with her where she practically threw away the blanket so it wouldn't get in between us. After settling down, I rewrapped it around us, wrapped my arms around her abdomen, and rested my chin on her head.

"So... last night was pretty interesting."

I chuckled at her humourous statement. "Yeah, it certainly was. There were a couple really good things about it and a couple bad things about it."

"Bad? Was it... did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, of course not." I assured with a nuzzle. "The weed just made my mind all fuzzy and my memory somewhat unreliable. Other than that, it was amazing, all thanks to you."

"Yeah, we were really fuckin' high last night." She replied with a giggle. "If we decide to do that again, we probably shouldn't get so stoned..."

"Agreed. Next time, let's just do a couple little puffs. It should be much more tame like that and I'll be able to remember it more."

"It's strange how weed messes up your memory. My most severe effect is the visuals. Everything gets so colorful."

"It probably has something to do with how incredible of an artist you are."

"Your compliments will never not make me smile..."

My right hand navigated up to the left side of her face to gingerly make her look up at me which revealed her adorable expression of happiness. I kissed her forehead and then nibbled her nose for a few moments. "I hope they forever will. You deserve nothing but praise and acknowledgement for your skills and all of your beauty."

"You do too."

We softly eskimo kissed one another for a few seconds before delicately pressing our lips against the other's for a couple of lovely minutes. "I love you, Stacy."

"I love you too."

I rested my forehead on hers and briefly kissed her every couple dozen or so seconds as I hugged her since simple romantic acts like this were calming and it's what the both of us craved. It's strange to know that things like this, due to how common they are, will most likely be forgotten since it'll be lost in a sea of other experiences like it which is sad in a way. Though it's really sweet since it strongly reinforces the blatant existence of the fidelity we have in physical form.

Anyways, when the sky was starting to see its first signs of the light of day beginning, Stacy put us back into a conversation by asking, "So when are you leaving today?"

I started subtly playing with some of her hair. "Eight o'clock. Everything's set up and ready to go. All that needs to happen now is for my crew to wake up, do whatever morning routine they have, and then get on our way to the spot. I wanted to have a conversation yesterday with my crew about what we're gonna be doing in a more formal setting but since we went to sleep so early, I guess I'm just gonna have to do it on the way to the meeting location."

"...Are you sure I can't go with you again?"

I pecked her forehead. "Yes, darling, I'm sure. I don't want to put you in danger again, even if the chance for that is substantially lower this time. Ezra was adamant that I bring just five people with me next time which is completely understandable. And... I don't want to replace one of my defenders with you. I don't mean that in any negative way toward you, it's just you're not... you don't have a soldier's build, so to speak."

She sighed, "I know, I know... I understand. It's just so hard not to be worried. How are you so sure that it'll be safer this time?"

"A lot of it is still uncertain but we have a much better idea now after our first meeting. They seemed like nice people and were very cooperative. Also, we have a couple of their people over here. They'd be stupid to do anything nefarious to us while that's the case."

"...I guess that makes sense. I just... I care about you so much. Even just the thought of you getting hurt makes me super sad."

"And that's another reason why I try to lower the possibility of getting hurt as much as I can. I promise you that I'll continue to try my best at doing that. It's not like I want to get hurt, after all."

She sighed once more. "I'm just gonna have to... not think about it somehow. I wish some people weren't evil and that we'll know for sure that our groups won't hurt each other. It would help get rid of the stress I feel about it. I can't wait until you no longer meet the random stragglers that you meet up with at the mall."

"It won't be too much longer since we've decided on that fifty population mark. And since the sign network is about to get a big expansion, we might reach that point anywhere from a month to six months from now. Then you won't have to worry as much anymore. How does that sound?"

"It sounds lovely. I just hope my worries about new people coming to Solaris won't get any worse..."

"I can get us a couple more locks if that'll make you feel better. We're also gonna be building a boarding house soon so we won't have to worry about strangers in our house. That's gonna solve a couple of our problems." She was interested in what the boarding house was so I told her the plans about it and what it was gonna be like.

"Yeah, I think that'll help relieve a lot more stress too."

"It'll start construction in three or four days. I know I'll be helping as much as I can with it to get it done as soon as possible."

We continued talking about a couple of our community's plans and a few things about what I'd be talking about in the upcoming meeting as the sun rose above the horizon. Before we knew it, eight o'clock was swiftly approaching us. Consequently, I eventually announced that the time was nearing for us to depart and get on with the work we had ahead of us. Since it was imminent, we nuzzled and kissed each other for a couple more minutes before I retrieved the camera and left her to get ready for whatever it was she had planned for that day, which is when I headed down to the dining room to wait for my crew to assemble.

One by one, they filed in and the ones elected to don a protective vest equipped them. During my wait, I learned that the scavenging program was going quite well with retrieving truckload amounts of loot nearly every trip along with confirmation that the fifteen manufactured signs were being loaded up on a trailer and hauled off to their destinations to be erected. It was exciting to see how things were moving along and developing. I wondered if we had to make any future storage buildings or cellars for future gains in scavenging.

When my final party member had joined us, I only waited a couple minutes more for final preparations to finish to order us to get on our way since it was already a few minutes after eight o'clock. Once securely strapped in the vehicle, we started rolling. That's when I started to reiterate some things about how we'd handle the meeting, some things about what we should discuss during it, a little bit of speculation, and assurance that there was an extremely slim chance that anything sour could arise during it. At least physically.

The coast to our destinations were usually filled with two things; small talk and silence. I prefer the latter if I'm being honest but small talk isn't unbearable. Still, it's not noteworthy so the dash to our stop seemed to arrive quite fast. When we got there, we simply got out and waited for the expected group to show up since they were late once more. But I didn't blame them. I assumed they didn't have any clocks so how were they able to tell what the time was? Or maybe they do and our clocks are desynced by twenty to fifty minutes. Or maybe they have some sort of sundial clock.

"So, if I may ask, what are your ulterior goals with this group of people? You've been pretty vague about it but haven't talked about any solid plans just yet. And I know you're not one to lack having a general idea regarding something like this."

My ear twitched toward Phoenix. "For the most part, I'm still trying to figure it out. But I have at least one sort of idea about them. It has to do with labour and construction. But maybe we should hold off on this conversation until they arrive here since I'm sure I'll be going over it with them."

Even though he was fairly curious as to what my mind had thought up, he listened to my suggestion which let our wait continue. Thankfully, our wait this time wasn't nearly as long as it was previously since ten minutes later a somewhat familiar group of five people were marching their way down the barren street toward our position. As they approached us and closed the distance between us, I was able to make out that Ezra, Addison, and Piper comprised sixty percent of the group. The other two of their members were people we hadn't previously met.

"Good morning." I said after I had gestured to them that it was fine for them to station themselves semi-close to us. "I see that you've brought over a couple new faces. Might I ask that we introduce ourselves to each other?"

"How are Brooklyn and Leon?" A brown skinned, black haired lady asked. "Ezra said you were gonna take a picture of him or something like that?" She had a subtle tone of anxiety in her voice.

"Yes, that was something I was also going to ask Hunter about, before any other conversation is had." Ezra commented. "I want to know if my friends are safe and if they actually got what they headed over there for."

"Right, yes, that makes sense." I replied before swiftly snatching the camera off of the roof to the car. His demand was a very understandable one since it was something I also would've cut to the chase for if I had been in his situation. After saying that I was gonna approach him, we started to make our way to meet each other in the middle once more. I had pulled up the picture of Leon on the camera's monitor so it only took him a couple moments to process what he was seeing when I handed him the camera.

"He... doesn't look well." He pointed out. "Did the surgery go well? Any complications?"

I shook my head. "From what we have access to, it went essentially as good as it could go. We're still waiting to see how his recovery plays out and if any post-surgery complication emerges. Right now, it's a waiting game and I've made sure that my doctor and her helper are there to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible."

"Will he get an infection? Did he get any anesthetics for the surgery?" The unnamed woman anxiously asked.

I delicately raised a hand up at her, a silent way of telling her to calm down. "We don't know if he's gonna get an infection or not. My doctor tried her best to prevent that from occurring but there's no way to know for sure until he's recovered or not recovered past a certain point." I then sighed. "And... No, we don't have any anesthetics. He had to get quite drunk before the surgery to limit his pain. It worked a decent bit but that's it, he's still experiencing a severe amount of suffering." I then started to briefly explain the anesthetic situation, why we lacked them, and how it could be solved. "But I assure you, we've been extremely hospitable to your two friends throughout this all."

"It's extremely difficult for you to prove that claim." Addison commented which reminded me of the clip that Brooklyn had filmed for this exact occasion. That's when I was handed back the camera, selected the video, and handed the camera to Addison for her to listen to Brooklyn's message; something she watched with Ezra. "Well... I suppose it's not that difficult with a camera."

After being handed back the camera, I quickly darted my way back to the car, placed it on top of its roof, and returned back to face Ezra to continue our conversation. "Do any of you have any more questions about the surgery?"

"Yeah, how long do you think they're gonna have to be in your community?" Ezra asked.

I considered everything that could happen and averaged everything out in a few moments before saying, "At least a week, probably two. It'll take a while for his incision to heal for him to walk without excruciating pain along with him having to stay there just in case the aforementioned infection does rear its ugly head."

"I see... When do you think one or two of us could visit them over there?"

I didn't particularly know how to answer this question. "I'm not quite sure. It depends on how this meeting goes for the most part."

"What do you need us to do?" Piper asked.

"Well, first I want to know who these two are." I replied while pointing at the two new strangers.

"Oh, I'm April. I typically help with Forrest forage food from around our area. I'm here mainly because I was... very worried about my friends and couldn't stop being afraid of the worst so I had to come here to know if they were fine as soon as possible."

The white man next to her side then said, "And I'm Spencer. I'm essentially Riley's second in command when it comes to her job as the head of scavenging. I'm here for the exact same reason why you brought your people; protection."

"Probably another background character." I thought to myself. After that, I went ahead and introduced myself to them along with my crew doing the same. Since the basics were out of the way, the conversation was pressed forward. "Now, since I've met my end of the bargain regarding showing you the picture of Leon, I'd like to see the images that your group took of your base of operations."

"Oh, right, yes." Addison quickly replied before slinging her backpack off and rummaging through it before taking out the camera that we had lent them. She courteously handed it to me which was my cue to thoroughly sift through the images they deemed worthy of showing me.

The first image I laid my eyes upon captured a cul-de-sac which had clear forms of life inhabiting the buildings in the forms of a couple fire pits being present, drying racks being strewn about, the place being organized and neatly cleaned, and a few people holding their own conversations. It certainly appeared to be the grassroots of a small community getting a hold on the post-Drop world. Even though there had been many other signs pointing to the same conclusion, it was irrefutable proof that Solaris had indeed contacted its first other community within the world.

"I see you weren't lying about anything you had told me... I appreciate that." I commented as I continued looking over the picture.

"There was no reason to unless we wanted to make you suspicious of us; something we certainly don't want happening for several reasons."

I then moved on to see the next picture which showed me a large pantry-like room stocked with scavenged and hunted food alike. That's when Addison told me about the system they had set up of rationing out the food they had and how they kept track of the income of food to make sure they were as on top of it as they could possibly be. It was somewhat like the system that Solaris had set up before we harvested our crops but ours wasn't nearly as strict. But I understood that a group has to do what they have to do to prolong their chances as long as possible until they make or break.

The next picture was of where they kept all of their tools and weapons with someone seemingly sorting through them. Addison further told me about their operations with handling weaponry, who gets armed, what one needs to do to get a weapon, who's in charge of it, and how someone's weapon gets confiscated. Somewhat unfortunately, that's where the pictures of their community ended which is when I handed the camera back to Addison.

Ezra then said, "We figured that since you had shown us three pictures, we'd show you three in return. Plus, there's not much else we'd be able to show you unless it got somewhat personal; something I didn't want to happen for obvious reasons."

I nodded. It made sense after all since I wouldn't have done anything different if I were in his shoes. "Well, you certainly have passed my simple test of showing us proof that another community actually does exist out there. With that being established, we can now actually start taking the proper steps to get to much bigger things between us."

"How do you suppose that'll get accomplished? I'm sure that just because we know of each other's existence doesn't automatically mean that we're fine with strolling within each other's homes."

"You assume correctly. Even though I permit strangers in small groups untied to their own settlements to be allowed within Solaris, a process that my community is almost about to amend a decent bit, it's quite different when it comes to organized and settled communities since the interests of people pivot quite dramatically when no longer on the move."

April tilted her head. "How can you be so sure about what we might think?"

"Well, I can speculate based on my own thoughts due to the position I'm in. Once your people are settled down, you think about how to keep them safe, how to make them prosper, how to get the things we need to live, and become weary to the things that might cause them harm. Other people are the main threat to our community, even above starving. Because if we have a conflict of interest or become paranoid of one another, it is only a matter of time before something catastrophic breaks out... At least, that's my conjecture."

Addison slowly nodded. "It does, for the most part, make sense. I just wonder why our differences would matter all that much when we're located quite aways from each other. I'd figure we'd just be able to ignore each other and leave each other alone if the worst comes to pass."

"Ideally, we would do that, with any group of people for that matter. But mistrust and how humans are fairly finicky creatures always have the ability to make reason obsolete."

"You certainly speak a lot of truth." Ezra replied. "My time in the military certainly taught me all about how conflicts can break out, why rivalries persisted, suspicion of groups of people emerged, and much more. We are a very tribalistic species, full of mental biases, which can lead to a plethora of violence and... inhumanity."

The reveal that he had previously been in the military made my mind instantly conjure up a few questions of his time in the force. It also somewhat intimidated me due to the unknown of his past regarding it but I made sure to hide that feeling. "You were in the military?"

"National guard. Every now and then I was called on to help out with natural disasters and riots for the most part for around four years. Those were the most eventful years of my life by a long shot."

I had many more questions relating to how he got to his position, why he wanted to do it, details about some of the events he was involved with, and other stuff like that. But at that moment, I pushed them aside and focused on asking a more important question. "This is actually steering into what I wanted us to talk about during this meeting; some personal details. Unless you have any questions outside of personal ones, would you like to have a conversation discussing some of our pasts and current details?"

He slightly raised an eyebrow. "Is it to determine and judge my character?" For some reason, I didn't know how to quickly respond. "If so, that's a good segue onto the next topic, I remember you saying something about wanting to discuss that topic during our first meeting. I'd like to be the one to ask a question first to even the playing field."

"Sure thing."

"What is it that you did before society ended?"

I wondered if he'd think I was inexperienced to be in my role. "I... was still in school and hadn't held a job at that point."

"Were you focused on college?"

"No. I was actually still in high school."

His people were subtly surprised at that but Ezra was unfazed. "Well, you must be a natural at communicating with people and organizing them. Otherwise I wouldn't see how you'd be their leader if you were unfit to lead them. And then there's how your group is even able to do things that we can't. You're certainly doing something right. Unless you lot have lied about who your group's leader is."

I surely wasn't expecting him to say such deadpanned compliments but they were certainly welcomed. It was nice not to have my accomplishments nullified or undermined purely due to how old I am. "I assure you that I have given you no lies throughout the previous and current conversation."

Addison then said, "I'm desperately wanting to know how you got into your position. You can't be older than twenty-one. No offense, but I'm not sure if I'd be confident with... someone your age being my leader."

"Saying 'no offense' doesn't make your statements any less offensive." I thought before quickly sweeping it under the rug. I then gave them a crash course of the following month or two after Olivia's group had merged with Stacy and I, how she wasn't meant for the role, how it fell onto her, and the leadership ability I had shown before it was handed over to me. "It's been like that ever since. Having experienced minimal hiccups throughout it all, a good bit of progress has been made. And I intend to continue pushing us forward so we can accomplish just about everything we want to achieve."

"As a leader should. I also hold the same virtues as you since I couldn't, in good faith, slack on something as important as leading a group of people. Having a good sense of what needs to get done, having the desire to do the work, and being there to be a good example is a fantastic combination of aspects. One could only hope they're achieving all three."

"No need for you to hope since it's already happening." Piper whispered to Ezra.

"So how did you get to be the leader of your group?" I asked. Though that's when I wondered about my own people and when they'd join in on the conversation. It was a bit peculiar to be all alone on the discussion front. I guess that's just what happens when there's not a table we can all sit down at and properly talk about things there; all on a more professional platform.

"At first, I wasn't. No one was, really. It wasn't until we were around ten in total did it become obvious which one of us was in charge, though it wasn't really something we determined out loud. Like your Olivia, it fell onto me. But since I have the experience of having been in the military, I was somewhat prepared for such a role. Over time, I've been able to refine it and learn what I should and shouldn't do. It's stressful at times but not unbearably so. I'm fortunate to have the support of my friends behind me."

I nodded. "That's currently the only thing that keeps us in power, if you can really call it that. Be a good person and you'll retain their support; a dynamic that's much more intimate than what it was only a few years back."

"So... are we allowed to talk to your buddies over there?" April asked, timidly pointing toward my squad.

I shrugged. "I don't see why not. If they want to talk about something you'll bring up, go right ahead. We've gotta start making this casual at some point, right?"

Then Ezra said, "I suppose that is true... Though I will remind you all that the rule of 'sudden movements' still applies."

We all understood his sentiment before April and Spencer somewhat awkwardly broke away from their group to mingle with mine. As they struck up a conversation with Ashton and Phoenix, I asked Ezra, "So what motivates you?"

"A few things... Like Addison here, as well as wanting people to live their best life, wanting to make sure we've got what we need, wanting to not be a failure. It feels like I have to be in my position after the immense dying happened."

"Is that what you call it? The event that happened over three years ago?" I asked, to which he nodded. "Our group calls it The Drop due to how nearly everyone dropped dead for seemingly no reason."

"How morbid. But… straight to the point” He sighed. “Every time it's brought up it makes me wonder what caused it, if it decided who gets to stay alive, and how many people are left..."

This caused the conversation to go down a branch of discussing those aspects of the reality we find ourselves in. We speculated what could've caused it, agreed that there was no possible justification for the genocide that took place, talked about if our species had enough people left to not go extinct, and even got onto the topic of how our species emerged and defeated nature. It was a nice conversation, separate from the business related discussion, about sharing a simple intellectual conversation together. I will admit that as we spoke about it, it was hard to stay focused since my ears wanted to eavesdrop in on the conversation being had behind me. But I ignored it and focused on the one I was holding.

It was a really nice conversation to have with Ezra, Addison, and Piper since it allowed us to open ourselves up to just talking without much worry in our minds. It might seem like it's fast paced but when you really think about it, talking to strangers is not all that much different from before The Drop. After strangers initiate a conversation or two and are somewhat confident that the other side doesn't want to harm each other, it's easy to slide down the slope to friendship; or at least tolerance and the beginning of trust.

We had just talked about the four stages of population growth which required talking about the unfortunate reality of women having to have had several babies before the industrial revolution since most would die before adulthood. Because of that, I was reminded of something when Addison had first made contact with us. "Speaking of pregnancies, isn't one of your people pregnant?"

Addison nodded. "Yes, we've only known about it for a couple months. She says she thinks she's about four months pregnant but we're not sure. We're also not sure how the development is going or if she's in any danger; I'm sure we're aware of how lethal pregnancies can be in our situation. We tried to make a case for termination, as awful as it sounds, but we came to the conclusion that she was too far along for pills to help out. Plus, it's not like we're gonna force a termination, that would be horrendous for several moral reasons. Would you... I hope it's not too much to ask, but do you think your doctor might be able to check her out after Leon has recovered?"

"Well, we've got to start getting a proper relationship rolling between our communities. This would only be another great step for them to trust us." I thought. "Eventually, yes. Though your request does remind me that our current relationship is a bit one-sided at the moment."

They were quiet for a few moments before Ezra said, "Well, what would it take for that not to be the case? What do you want from us?"

I decided not to withhold some of the thoughts buzzing around my mind. "The first thing I'd like to do is to be allowed to visit your community and talk with everyone there as a whole. From there, I'll discuss a couple of my plans with you, Ezra."

"...You have plans for us?"

"All good things. It involves a decent bit of labour and collaboration between us but we'll get to that discussion when we cross that bridge; if you'd allow my crew over."

Addison and Ezra glanced at each other. "It's something we'll have to discuss further. The vagueness of your response regarding what your 'plans' are with us certainly makes me think to ask a lot of questions. Is this the only way to help repay our debts to your doctor?"

"Not necessarily but it's certainly the most effective means of 'repaying' us since it'll allow us to more quickly move onto bigger and greater things together. I understand that letting a crew like mine into your home is a big and nerve wracking thing to do since I've experienced it several times before. All I can do is persist in telling you that my group has no ill intent with yours. Quite the opposite, really. My doctor helping one of your people is stark proof of that."

"...I suppose that has some merit to it." Addison admitted.

"I thought you were against the idea of people from opposing communities strolling around each other's homes so quickly?" Piper asked.

"Not exactly. It's me being afraid of another organized community strolling around my home. At face value, it seems hypocritical but based on our circumstances, my group has more to lose than yours if we allowed some sort of nefarious force into the chicken's hen, so to speak. Us being the first ones to visit the other community is the much safer bet for us to make since we'll fully understand the gravity of what the other community is like before allowing them into our community."

"I see. But why would we want to do anything nefarious? Why would anyone for that matter?"

"You never know with strangers. There's a plethora of ideas that they can be conspiring. We can't really know unless it's too late to stop whatever it is, but we can base informed opinions on a track record you can quickly build up." I simply replied.

"What is it that you'll discuss with my people? And how long are you looking to stay over there for?" Ezra abruptly asked.

I had to think about his question for a few silent moments. "I simply want to discuss your people's problems, how they can be solved, what your people's desires are, and talk about some plans and opportunities with them. With your permission, perhaps we can make a couple deals about various topics."

"Even though I don't know exactly what you're thinking, I can tell you're talking about some relatively big ideas. Is there any chance I can get a good preview of any of them before you reveal them to us, if we allow you over to our community?"

"I think it's better to discuss it over there after getting a good understanding of your community where the appropriate people can join in on the conversation whenever needed. Plus, it'll help give me an understanding of what I'd be able to ask for."

"I see... All I can hope is that whatever you may ask isn't too intensive on our community."

I shook my head. "It's nothing catastrophic. It might be rather difficult in some aspects but the investment of doing it will pay for itself and then some. But until then, we're gonna have to put a pin in this conversation until it's time to bring it back up."

Addison then said, "Speaking of which, when would you want our third meeting to be?"

"How does another two days sound? It's a decent bit of time to see how Leon recovers while also not leaving you in the dark for too long, allows us to think about our interaction for a decent bit, and lets you determine how you want to answer my request on visiting your community."

"Yeah, that sounds good to me."

Ezra then said, "If we are to allow you over into our community, it will be the next time we hold a discussion. You have given me no reason to be strictly averse to your presence. Though I'm still not fully accepting of it just yet which is why my group will have to talk about it."

I nodded. Just then, an idea popped into my mind which I had previously thought up before. "Say, next time we meet up we can lend you a radio to communicate with us during the times we don't have these short windows of communication. That'd allow for a consistent and near permanent line of communication to exist between us."

"That would be... incredible."

"But how would it be powered?" Piper asked.

"Thankfully, it doesn't need to be connected to a local power source indefinitely since batteries exist. It'll be fully charged when we give it to you. Then to preserve the battery as long as possible, you can turn it off and use it every other hour on the hour... Wait, you guys don't have a clock. We can lend you a clock too."

Ezra looked rather puzzled. "...You're just fine with giving us stuff like that?"

I shrugged. "It's not hard to find clocks. Radios are much more difficult to find but we've got a few stockpiled over the course of our scavenging program just in case any of our operating ones break. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have extra of what we can easily take so we figured why shouldn't we stockpile some."

"Well, if that's the case, we'll accept those two things. When do you expect their return?"

I softly chuckled. "I don't. You can have them."

Before he could reply, Piper asked, "But how are we gonna charge them when they run out of juice?"

"That's certainly a problem we're gonna have to discuss next time. But there certainly is a solution to it." Since the other conversation between groups behind me had concluded a few minutes earlier, I sensed that our meeting was coming to a close.

Ezra nodded. "I suppose so. It seems like a lot of talking points rely on the next meeting we have. What else would you want to talk about during this one? Didn't you want to talk about some personal details?"

"Not intimate personal details, just overall, which I've asked the few I wanted to ask before we delved into about our species' origin. What about you? What do you have to ask about me?"

Addison said, "This isn't a personal detail; I wanted to ask when my group could visit your Solaris."

"Ah, right. I suppose a squad of you can visit my community after our next meeting. That sounds fair to me. We can discuss details about it at the end of our next meeting; do any of you object?"

"Are you ending the meeting?" April asked, surprised at my antics.

I slowly nodded. "You see, there's not much we can really do while we simply stand here and talk. Conversation between us have lulls emerge a lot and a decent bit of people within these discussions aren't certain what to ask. In a more friendly setting, like playing some sort of card game or something like that, allows for much more casual dialogue to be shared. Meetings like this are purely utilitarian, concise, and seem rather fast paced... But they kind of have to be that way since we're only focused on the questions that need to be asked and talked about."

"It does seem rather abrupt and I do feel a sense of urgency coming from you." Ezra commented. "I think I understand one of the reasons why you're their leader and how you've been able to get things up and running like electricity."

"Would you want to play a game or two with some of us back in our community?" April asked.

"Maybe after most of the important stuff is talked about while we're over there. It would be nice to start forming a more platonic relationship between our communities and taking things nice and slow by simply spending some time doing some leisurely things together would certainly help accomplish that."

"But that's entirely dependent on if we accept your proposition." Ezra pointed out.

I nodded. "It sure does. All I can do is encourage you to make the decision you feel is best for your community."

"That I will." He assured me.

The final lull in the conversation appeared which is when I announced, "Alright then, without any last minute questions, I think our meeting is adjourned for the time being." Ezra and I waited for a few moments for anyone to speak up with silence being met. After I determined no one was gonna say anything, I reached out my hand toward Ezra which subtly surprised him. He realized I was going in for a handshake so he accepted it. "We'll meet here again in two days which will certainly be more productive than our last two. And by the way, you guys are free to keep the camera. The original owner has received a new one."

The handshake ended. "I look forward to our next meeting. Until then, my community will talk about this and make a decision on whether or not we'll allow you to enter our community."

"We patiently await your acceptance or denial." I simply replied.

It took a few more seconds for the conversation to finalize before Ezra announced for his posse to gather and split up from mine. I took that as my cue to turn around and rejoin my own crew.

"Are you sure you would want us to head over to their community?" Raiden asked.

"I'm sure I want myself to head over there. At least that's what a majority of my mind feels when I think about it. There's a decent chunk of me that doesn't like that idea but a couple other chunks think going over there and expressing the ideas I've forged to them can only result in good things. I'll be wearing this bulletproof vest while over there so if they attack me, I'll have decent chances of surviving it... probably. Even if I don't, Solaris will live beyond me since I've set up that line of succession. Y'all on the other hand can opt out of the next mission over here and be replaced with whoever wishes to volunteer to replace your spot."

Kostas and Raiden were quick to announce that they'll stick by my side on this issue whereas the other two had some difficulty coming to a conclusion.

"I'll have to talk with Autumn about it." Phoenix said after a few seconds of deliberation.

"Same here with Audrey." The other one said.

"Of course. I'm going to have to talk about it with my own spouse. Though I already have a feeling that she won't approve all that much for a couple of reasons..."


"I don't want you to go." Stacy replied with an expression of worry after I told her the plan I wanted to execute.

It had been fifteen or so minutes since I had returned home so my crew had dispersed to have their own conversations about the meeting where I had ample time to temporarily retire the vest I had been wearing. That left me to find Stacy before I took us up to our room so I could talk to her about this.

I softly cupped one of her cheeks to show a bit of affection and to make sure eye contact would be sustained. "I know it's scary, Stacy, I always feel some fear whenever I do anything like this, you know I do. But if we want to grow as a community, to become even more self-sustaining, to help and save more people, and to assure our community's future, we have to take big steps and risk initiatives like this."

Her bottom lip started to minutely quiver. "I-I know but... It's just so hard to know you're going to do something dangerous. I'm so scared of losing you."

"Unfortunately, facing danger is inevitable. Even when I'm working in construction, I could be injured quite severely from being harmed by a tool or getting smashed by a log. Of course, some things are more dangerous than others but nearly every risk has their rewards. It's up to the individual whether or not they want to risk it to get the award they desire. And I for sure am not taking any needless risks, that would be stupid." As I said that, tears had pooled into her eyes. And by the time I was finished with my statement, a couple tears were sliding their way down her cheeks. "Stacy..."

Before I could say anything else, she abruptly hugged me and started to release a cascade of her tears. A bit surprised at her sudden surge of emotion, I gingerly wrapped an arm around her and put my other hand on the back of her head so that fingers could breeze through her hair. She made minimal sounds while crying as she slowly lost the strength in her legs to hold herself up which meant she had to rest and rely on me so she wouldn't fall to the floor. I was okay with it though, it was simply another moment where she needed my emotional support. Though I suppose I was indirectly the reason for causing her to cry... kind of.

I kissed her forehead as her emotional episode was coming to a close. "I'm s-sorry... It's just... my cycle started and it's just so unf-fair that life is so dangerous. I hate it so fucking much when you're meeting strangers, you've almost died from a s-stranger before. And most strangers are also scared of us since we're strangers to them and they might want to hurt you because we don't know what they're thinking."

Her pace of talking was quite swift so it took me a couple of moments of kissing her forehead yet again to form a reply. "Don't be sorry, I completely understand your emotions. I can't help but feel like I'm sort of at fault for making you cry over this. I despise seeing you so upset..."

She slowly sighed as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. "It's not your fault, Hunter. It's no one's... unless you blame the strangers. You're doing what you feel like you need to do, I understand that, because you're a good leader and doing what you think is best for our group. It might sound stupid but I'm just so afraid of you getting surrounded and attacked if you go to this other group's home."

"It's not stupid, Stacy, it's reasonable to have these fears. People we don't know are really our biggest threat and a plethora of things could go wrong when first trying to get to know them. But we can look at the evidence we have and base some conclusions off of it; like what you do with understanding other topics."

"Evidence?" She said while cutely looking up at me.

"There's a couple good pieces of evidence we have and the best one is right here at Solaris. Remember how we have Leon here?" She timidly nodded. "He's a good friend to them so them attacking us while over there would be a very stupid move for them to make. They also know now that we genuinely have a doctor; Olivia's help being something they need for their medical needs. And, this is the most uncertain part, but they appeared to be quite friendly. At the first meeting, we were a little cagey since it's sort of impossible not to be when meeting new people for the first time, but we were able to have a nice discussion which made me feel quite at ease with them."

"I hope that what you feel is true then... Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked which I nodded to. Then she quietly asked, "How can I feel calm when you're away?"

I glanced toward her desk. "Maybe if your anxiety is getting too much for you to handle, you can try getting high a bit? Back before The Drop, weed was quickly becoming medically used to handle things like that. Maybe it'll work on you."

"That's actually... a really good idea. I think I'll try that when I'm feeling scared for you when you're away. Hopefully it'll work."

"I'm hoping too. Your anxiety is somewhat cute in the sense that it's nice to know how much you care for me, but if it continues to ramp up, it's gonna become a problem." I thought as I hugged her. "It'll be a good opportunity to see how it works on you. Then, if you want, we can talk about the results when I return from the other community."

She sighed once more. "Sure, we can... Can you just promise me you'll be as safe as you can when over there?"

"Yes, I promise I will, just like every other time I make contact with every other stranger." To confirm it, I pressed my lips against hers which began a soft kiss that lasted for several long moments. "I love you, my beautiful and amazing wife."

I finally got her to wear her lovely smile. "I love you too."

We hugged and nuzzled each other for a few minutes before I excused myself to get some more business done. The first thing in the queue was to go up to the attic and look through the stockpile of a plethora of miscellaneous objects within it. The thing I was looking for was one of those long-distance radios that I had brought up during the meeting. I figured I might as well get this all figured as soon as possible since it wouldn't hurt to do so. So when I found it, I quickly hauled it down to the dining room and started charging its battery.

While that was happening, I briefly collected a spare battery powered clock and placed it on top of the radio. Since I needed to wait some more as the device was being charged, I shifted my focus to the hot tub idea that I had thought up the day prior. As I looked over a map of our community, I wondered where we could possibly have something like that. I then remembered that back before we had modern plumbing, towns had bathhouses which is an idea that my mind ran with. It quickly assembled an image of a four compartment, small, and compact little building off the side of the mansion, between the cabins and itself, for such a building to exist.

I wrote the idea down which is when my mind suddenly focused on the idea of a sawdusty latrines, an idea I had very briefly previously thought about. Managing our bodily waste would eventually become a problem as our community grew which is quite an obvious fact. Coming up with a plan and getting on top of that inevitable problem before it emerges is something that seemed reasonable to put my time into. I didn't do it alone since I needed to talk about it with Audrey due to a specific detail that I wasn't aware of.

"Howdy." She greeted me with a smile when she entered the room for me.

"Thank you for answering the call. Hopefully I didn't pull you from doing something important."

She shook her head. "Nope, just tending to some of the crops in the greenhouse. Speaking of which, do you know when I'm gonna get my second one?"

I chuckled. "Yes. It'll start immediately after the next cabin is complete. And it'll be done in two or three days. Are you able to wait that much longer?"

She shrugged. "I sort of have to. I'm looking forward to it!" She then glanced at the map I had laid out on the table. "So what'd you call on me for?"

The question I was gonna ask was gonna seem weird no matter how I worded it so I decided to be blunt with it. "Are you aware of how to turn feces into fertilizer?"

She slightly raised her eyebrows. "...Um. Yeah, kind of. Though I only did it on one of my uncle's farms a few times before so I never got any good at it. Not that I would really want to, it's a... shitty job."

I playfully rolled my eyes at her shitty pun. "That's great, I need that knowledge for what I'm planning."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Lemme ask you first; when spring rolls around again, are our crops going to need fertilizer?"

"...It's not required but it'd certainly help out a lot for improving how much we'd yield."

"And having more is always better. So here's what I'm thinking." I pointed to an area on the map that was located fifty or so meters away from everyone's living space. "Here, I want to put in a latrine." I told her about the inevitable problem of needing to manage our waste and what would happen if we didn't. "So to avoid that, we should start collecting it now and turn that waste into something useful. Like fertilizer. It'd be killing two birds with one stone."

"...So why are you telling me about this?"

"Because you know the process. What are you able to tell me about it?"

"Well, it's certainly possible to do it. If I remember correctly, some of the first civilizations did exactly what you're talking about. I just didn't think we'd be wanting to do it. And the process itself is long and rather tedious. We'd have to make an area for it, not huge but sizable, mix the waste with other decaying biological material, and churn and splash it with water every other day or so for like... I think it's around seven or eight months. It's certainly not a quick process."

"Do you know if it's safe? Like if it's riddled with disease or something like that?"

She shook her head. "No, it's actually completely fine. Composting it can actually get fairly hot, like a hundred and sixty degrees, which kills the bacteria that pose a threat to us since they're used to temperatures, at most, being around our body temperature."

"So it is completely feasible."

"Yeah... But who'd want that job? I sure as shit wouldn't."

"I'm going to fire you if you continue these puns." I light-heartedly replied. "But that is a good question since I genuinely have no idea who'd want to do that. I'm gonna have to ask around which... doesn't seem like a fun way to spend my time. Anyways, where do you think we'd be able to put a composting area for our waste?"

She looked down at the map. "Why not right beside the latrine? Having the place where we'd dump the waste seems like a good and efficient way of dealing with it. Also, where you pointed was far enough away from everyone for the smell not to be a problem... besides when you want to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, that actually makes a lot of sense. So... I guess I've got to find out who's gonna volunteer to have the churning job and bring it up with Trinity to actually build this thing."

After a few silent seconds, she asked "Do you need me for anything else?" I shook my head. "Well, I was glad- well, not 'glad' per se but whatever, to be able to answer your questions about this. If it goes well, it'll help our next growing season out by a decent bit."

It didn't take her much longer to return back to her greenhouse and for me to start thinking about these two smaller scale projects I had just forged. But before I developed them even further, the radio that was charging up had enough juice in it for me to turn it on and to test it out. Pressing a few of its buttons, messing with its antenna, and trying to get it on the same frequency as the other radio on the table took a few minutes to achieve but when I did, I used it to transmit a message to the other radio in the room.

That yielded the expected result which was good enough for me. I just wondered if it was good enough to cover the range from Solaris to wherever the other group's community was located. I'm gonna find out here shortly so here's hoping it works. After that, I called upon Trinity to meet me where I was where I expressed my ideas to her. I clarified that it wasn't urgent and that it was low priority so it wouldn’t overwhelm her which allowed her to thoroughly think it over. She didn't see any major flaws with my ideas and decided to tack the two projects onto the end of her queue of things needed to be constructed.

Happy with her compliance, I asked about the current building under construction which made me pivot my focus to returning with her to the worksite to help speed along the process as best as I could. With that, not much else of importance happened for the rest of the day besides when the people that were deploying and setting up fifteen more contact-signs in the appropriate locations returned home and when Stacy sadly called on me to cuddle her. I use the word sad because her period cramps and how her hormones were messing with her emotions caused her to quietly cry on me for a few minutes.

Dealing and handling my girl while on her cycle was tough work but I would never wish not to be there for her when she needs it. Otherwise, I wouldn't deserve her. Not much progress of anything else played out for the rest of the day besides watching a couple movies with Stacy and some of her friends. I simply put a pin in what work and progress I wanted to achieve for the next day since there was always tomorrow. Spending quality time with some friends is never a waste of time. So that's exactly what I did for the rest of the day.

Chapter 64: Period Troubles

Chapter Text

"I can't believe I'm seeing it with my own eyes!"

It was quite dark and out since the new moon was upon us which allowed Stacy to see the more dimmer celestial entities that we coexisted with. Even though it was cold, that wouldn't dissuade Stacy from doing what she wanted to do since the thing she was observing was the Andromeda galaxy; something she had wanted to get a look at for a long while but hadn't had the chance to. Seeing her adorable face light up with excitement is also something I wouldn’t want to stamp out since it's one of the most beautiful sights I have the privilege of witnessing.

"It certainly is an amazing thing to actually see and one that really puts everything into perspective. I try not to let it make me feel overwhelmed at how big everything is."

She continued silently looking into the lens of her telescope with a gleeful smile. "Yeah... It's over two million light-years away, right?"

"Sure is. And over a hundred thousand light years in diameter."

"Wow... How many stars are in it?"

I had to think about that one for a while since I wasn't too sure about the answer. "If I remember correctly, I think it's around one trillion stars. I think it's pretty much a guarantee that there's some form of alien life in that galaxy, probably a few types, just due to how big it is."

"...But we'll never know." She pointed out with a much smaller smile. "It's so far away... You've told me all about the limitations of travelling through space and how we'd need to figure out some sort of physics we don't even know of yet to reach even the nearest stars in a reasonable time. It's a bit sad that's how it is... But I won't let that distract me, I'll be fine with looking at things for now."

I didn't really have much to say since there wasn't anything I could say about that other than talking about how admiration is the appeaser of this conundrum. With that, as we took turns peering up at the galaxy, we spoke about alien life and then our own origins. Those two topics were something we commonly talked about and we'd usually talk about the same things regarding it every now and then but we didn't mind since it was always a fascinating and thought provoking conversation about the reality we live in. Plus, it's never a bad thing to go over topics like this every now and then to make sure our understanding of it isn't slipping.

"I still need to find where Saturn and Jupiter are. They would look amazing to see for myself..."

"It might take a while for that to happen, a few months probably. It depends on where they're at in the solar system which... well, I don't know where they're at. But you'll eventually be able to when the time comes. For the meantime, we can try to find other things like more nebulae and clusters and stuff like that. How does that sound?"

"Lovely." She simply replied as she softly hugged me. "Nebulas are so beautiful..."

I dug my nose into her hair and kissed her head in response. With that, we continued gazing into the cosmos in the comfort of each other's presence. We must've been out there for nearly two hours in total which certainly took its toll on us in the form of the bitter cold assaulting us, something we tried to fend ourselves from. But a fight like that could only persist for so long before we had to take apart the telescope and retreat into the warmth of indoors.

And when it was properly put away where it belonged, I delicately swept Stacy off her feet and kissed her forehead, something that had a tinge of saltiness to it. "I hadn't asked you, did you go running earlier today?"

She meekly nodded. "I did when you were helping build the cabin for a while, like twenty minutes. And then I did a lot of the types of pushups that you do. Though I stopped when my cycle was starting to make me feel terrible..."

"I think that cabin's gonna get done tomorrow, finally..." I commented before I smirked. "It's adorable how you think twenty minutes is a while."

"Psh, it is. I was super exhausted when I decided to stop. How is that not a while to you?"

"Practice. I can run with a little bit of a struggle for an hour or so now. It hasn't gotten any more fun per se, but certainly much easier. It's nice to know that I'll be able to run from anyone with relative ease since my height helps an awful lot with that... if they don't have a gun, that is."

"You'll be able to beat them up before that because you're super strong." She sweetly replied. "Hopefully I'll be able to run for that long some day... For now, I have to push myself really hard to run just three or four minutes without stopping for a few moments."

I chuckled. "Hey, I was the same at first. With determination, you'll be able to do what you want to do."

She softly smiled. "Like you and Solaris."

"Yes, like me and Solaris... But just keep in mind about what the thing that drives me is." I replied with a nuzzle on her nose. "Somewhat speaking about exercise, I'll get back to the weights when I'm done focusing on construction. I think I'm gonna return to fishing after this next cabin is completed to get back to a more tame job."

"Maybe I could join you for a bit every now and then?"

"As long as you want to."

I once again reiterate how fantastic it is to have the privilege to jump around the jobs of our community whenever I wanted to. It was very freeing and kept things more interesting than what they would've been. But anyways, with that being discussed, it didn't take much longer for us to find our way to our bed. Unfortunately as the minutes rolled by, Stacy's cycle started getting worse since her mind was winding down and she wasn't focusing on other things so her attention honed in on it.

As she was experiencing a rush of cramps, I softly asked, "Do you want me to go heat up some water and make you a heating pad?" She sadly nodded as she clutched her tummy as a tear rolled down her cheek. I deftly kissed the tip of her nose before swiftly making my way downstairs into the kitchen. As I poured some water into a pot and placed it on the oven, I was spooked when I saw that Nova was in the doorway with a confused expression.

"Is everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Well, not exactly..." I wasn't sure if I should tell her about Stacy's personal affairs but I figured that since Nova was a woman and that they were close friends that it wouldn't really hurt if I told her about it. "Stacy is... y'know, on her period. Her periods are quite painful so I'm hoping to make a type of heating pad for her to help soothe the pain."

"Oh... Well, that certainly makes sense of a few things."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"She wasn't, uh, quite herself earlier today. She wasn't nearly as social as she usually is and seemed heavily distracted. It all makes sense now though. I just wonder why she didn't say what was wrong with her after we asked if she was fine."

I softly sighed. "Stacy really doesn't like talking about stuff like this. Outside of the relationship I have with her, she gets easily embarrassed when it comes to anything about that part of her. It's cute at times but can be harmful elsewhere, like in this instance."

"Hm... I guess it should be something we should try to talk with her about. We won't pry for anything, of course"

I minutely shook my head. "You might not want to do that since she might get overwhelmed with shyness. Unless she wants to openly talk about it, just leave it to me and I'll take care of her."

Nova smiled sweetly at that. "It's nice to see how much you look out for her... Though how exactly are you making her a heating pad?"

I pointed at the pot of water. "Heat this up, put it in a bottle, wrap it up in fabric, and put it against her belly."

She tilted her head. "Huh. Why not just use a real heating pad?" I asked her what she meant. "Like a real, electric heating pad which can cover most of her belly."

I mentally facepalmed since that thought had never occurred to me. "Why hadn't I ever thought of that? I'll have to ask one of the scavenging teams to get me one while they're out. Hopefully they won't ask many questions about it."

"Or~ I can give you mine." She offered. "I'm pregnant, remember? No more periods for me... At least, for now. I don't have a use for mine anymore so I can easily give it to you two."

"Are you sure?" She simply nodded. "As long as you don't mind, it would make things much easier for the both of us."

"Sure thing! Wait here, I'll be right back."

With that being said, she turned and headed out of the mansion and presumably to her cabin. That left me to look back at the pot of water before I ended the operation of boiling and returned the liquid into where we stored our purified water for anyone to take from. After putting the pot away, I waited for Nova's return which thankfully didn't take too long. As she handed me the heating pad of and told me that it should be fully charged, I wondered about the fetus growing within her.

"So, how's the baby comin’ along?"

She sighed at that which didn't seem like much of a positive sign. "The hormones are killing me. I can barely keep anything down and my emotions are all over the place. And I'm already starting to swell even though it's only been around three months. It's going to get much more difficult as time goes on. I just hope I'll be able to handle it..."

I put the heating pad under my arm and gingerly put a hand on her shoulder. "With the community's help, you'll be able to get through this just fine in the end. It'll be difficult for sure, but not detrimental. You have my word that you're a valued friend and that we'll try our best to help you with your baby."

That was able to get her to smile. "Thank you. That really means so much to me."

Then the image of Stacy being in pain popped into my mind. "You're welcome. Hey, sorry to cut this shortly and abruptly but I should be getting back to my wife's side. This could really help handle her pain."

"Oh, yes, of course, I completely understand. Don't let me stop you."

Since that exchange was over and my goal had been completed, Nova returned to watching a movie and I darted my way back up to my room which revealed that Stacy was curled up in a ball and sniffling as she cried. The sight was heartbreaking which made me quickly but carefully get on the bed with her and delicately lean her up so she could rest on me in our iconic snuggle position. She wrapped her arms around me as she continued which allowed me to freely lift her shirt up and figure out the best way to press the pad on her before doing so which Stacy looked down at.

"W-What is that?" I quickly answered her question and how I got the heating pad which led up to me revealing that I had talked about how she was on her period to Nova which she sighed at. "I... hate this."

"I know, I know. All I can hope is that you're not too mad that I spoke about it with Nova." I quickly explained to her why I thought it would be alright as I figured out the controls to the pad.

"Hunter, I-I'm not mad, I get it. I just... this just sucks."

"We'll get through this. We have before and I'll make sure we will however many more times you'll go through this. I promise you that." I replied with a kiss on her forehead to affirm my words.

"Thank you..."

It took me just another few moments for me to select the right settings for the device and for me to turn the pad on. As it warmed up, I made sure my hand was adequately yet gingerly keeping the pad pressed on her belly which allowed her to continue relaxing on me. And as it started to soothe some of her pain away, I made sure to ask if she wanted me to get her anything; things like fresh pads, water, or whatever else she wanted. She simply denied requesting for anything else and just wanted me to nuzzle, nibble, and kiss her. So that's exactly what I did as her tears slowed to a halt and until she drifted into a slumber.

I waited until she entered a deeper state of sleep before making any moves to lay down in a more sleep-friendly position. While I waited, all I could do was hope that her period wouldn't be as terrible moving forward and hope that I'd be able to be there for her in her time of need. My little girl deserved all of the love that I could muster to give her. It didn't take me much longer to join her in sleeping.

~~~

The morning had me check up on Stacy in the form of retrieving fresh pads for her, getting her water, teaching her how to use the heating pad, and making our breakfast with the help of Jordan before returning to her side where we enjoyed it as best as we could through her struggles. Thankfully the cramps were relenting due to my care of her but I still encouraged her to take a day off and focus on other leisure oriented stuff like her art or her reading. It took a few minutes of persuading her but she eventually accepted my suggestion after a few waves of cramps washed over her.

"If it starts getting really bad and you need my help, don't be afraid to call for me via the walkie-talkies, okay?" I said as I tapped the device on my hip. She timidly nodded where I then pressed my lips against hers for a few moments. "I love you." After she reciprocated my words, I turned toward the door and made my way to get caught up with what was happening within our community since Stacy's period had put an hour or so delay in my day. Of course, it wasn't detrimental and it was worth it to make sure my angel was taken care of.

After learning of the day's scavenging missions, I made a beeline for the construction zone where I saw five of them already working and getting close to the finish line of completion. "Do y'all need any of my help today?"

Roman was the quickest to turn my way and answer my question. "No, I don't think so. This is wrapping up quickly and should be done in another hour or two. No offense, but you'd probably be more of a liability at this point."

I chuckled. "Hey, at least I've never dislocated my shoulder or anything like that before."

He smirked at that. "Yeah, true. At least, not yet. There's a chance you could during the final stretch of this."

"Always a chance for anything to happen, Roman." I simply replied. "I guess I should find out what I should do instead then; I already have an idea of what that should be."

"Have fun with that!"

"You as well." I then immediately turned back around which is when I started wondering if the other construction team members were planning on imminently starting the construction of the second greenhouse. Deciding not to question it, I asked Willow via the walkie-talkie when she was going to check her fish traps and if I could tag along and help her with it.

"Yeah, sure thing. I guess we could do that now since Kai and I were just talking about that and having a third person never hurts. We'll meet up where we usually start our fishing trips in ten or so minutes."

"Received."

With that simple exchange, I dashed to the mentioned location and waited for my friends' arrival. While doing so, I watched the river water flow which made me wonder about the Ohio River. We hadn't yet sought that river out but we have gotten quite close to it a few times. It further made me wonder about boats and travel along such a body of liquid as well as the possibility of other communities having set up shop across it. Most of humanity before the seventeen hundreds lived and settled across rivers like it so it just made sense to me. And since Solaris now knows that other communities do in fact exist, it seems quite likely that there will be communities sprinkled across the more major rivers of what was once the United States. And if that's the case, I wonder if something greater would sprout up between communities via the aid of the river.

By the time I was finishing that line of thought, I heard Willow and Kai holding their own conversation which is when I picked up a spear. Turning to them, I saw that they had brought the appropriate amount of two buckets so it took us just a few moments to get on the trail to see how successful the fish traps had been. Now I would typically not be writing this down since collecting fish isn't an exciting or memorable task to note. I do so because something unexpected happened.

"Wait." Kai cut himself off and stopped with the familiar hand gesture to halt.

Willow and I immediately listened to him since he'd never joke around when it came to a situation like this. That left me to peer toward where he was looking at which yielded a result that was decently nerve wracking but not as much as it was previously. What all three of us saw was the starving husky-shepard that we had interacted with a few days prior, the creature timidly approaching us from within the woods. As it got closer, its pace slowed and Kai once again got on his knees to appear smaller to the puppy.

"Why did it come back?" Willow quietly asked as she joined Kai at his side.

To which Kai replied, "Hard to say. It might be trying its luck with us giving it some food again. It doesn't look that much healthier than what it was last time it made contact with us."

"We're not going to give it more, are we?"

I got on a knee and rested my hand on my magnum as Kai somewhat stumbled over what he wanted to say. "We... Well, why not? Why should we let it starve when we can easily give it another fish just fine?"

I quietly sighed. "It's a noble thing to want to do but if we give it more, it'll probably imprint on us and come here for us whenever it wants a meal. Plus, it's a completely feral animal, not raised by humans, so who knows if it'd one day decide to randomly attack us whenever we do something it somewhat doesn't like. Then there are other factors like diseases which I'm completely uninformed about but I know there's a possibility for something like that to be a problem."

As I said this, the dog had slowed to a gentle walk and was around ten meters away from us. It took a few long moments for Kai to give me a response as his hand gingerly took out one of the smaller salmon from the bucket which caused the dog to become quite interested in what Kai was doing. "But what if I could try to tame it? I could take responsibility for it and even try to train it to do a few things like helping me track things or protecting people."

I had thought about dog ownership before and it was certainly something that had a lot of positive possibilities attached to it. But even though positives have the ability to exist, negative ones are also equally likely to occur. "If this dog would even be fine sticking with us and if this dog is even trainable, there's no telling what would happen between now and then. There are so many ways for aggression and injury to pop up which would certainly throw a wrench in this whole idea of yours."

"I don't deny that. But I've had my fair share with handling and training all types of dogs before The Drop. From the very injured and sick to the most stubborn and skittish, I know my way around a dog quite well. And like I said, I would take full responsibility for whatever happens with the dog under my watch."

As the puppy was within five meters of us I quickly thought over a few possibilities regarding how he'd be able to do it and if things went sour. "Okay, Kai. If this puppy decides to come back again and it becomes a common occurrence, you can try to domesticate it. But I do not want this dog within our community until you are certain that it at least will not jump on strangers, know that it will not attack anyone if someone decides to get near or pet it, and can keep it under control. Understood?"

"Yes sir." He simply replied as the puppy meekly sat down two or so meters away from us. That's when Kai once again flopped the fish he was holding toward it which evidently spooked the dog but not nearly as much as it did the previous time. Since the dog had had a good first impression of us the previous time we had seen it, it was decently more relaxed which allowed it to take a few small steps toward us before extending its snout toward the meat where it sniffed it for a couple of moments before taking it in its mouth. With that, it once again took a couple steps back before consuming the fish somewhat viscously.

Throughout this all I was quite on edge and stayed alert since, like I said before, a starving feral dog is something to be rationally afraid of. But looking at its frail yet moderately peaceful state managed to reduce the amount of readiness I had. This was probably amplified by how this was the second time we were face to face with this creature so it had already built itself a small track record, something that it needed to build upon.

By the time it had finished eating, Kai extended his hand out once more but this time his hand wasn't holding anything. The puppy glanced from his fingertips to us every few seconds as it thought about the situation it was in and presumably determining how much of a threat we were. It must've concluded that we were probably not wanting to hurt it after having fed it twice but it still took what felt like quite a while for it to take a few skittish steps towards us. And when it was adequately close to Kai, its nose sniffed Kai's fingers which was a mix of his scent and the fish that he had handed to the hungry animal.

It further sniffed up his hand which Kai stayed completely still and calm to. I assumed that Kai was just letting the dog learn what Kai is since, if I remember correctly, that's how dogs meet and greet strangers as it's their type of getting to know someone. Though it does take them a decent bit of sniffing over and over again which seems rather invasive but letting a dog go at its own pace was the smart way to go about the ordeal. But somewhat unfortunately, when Kai raised his other hand to presumably reach out and pet the dog, it startled the canine which caused it to backpedal a few steps.

"I should've waited a little longer." Kai quietly scolded himself as the dog looked to be quite uncertain whether or not it wanted to walk back up to us or not.

Though we didn't have to wait much longer to find out what it was going to do since before we could do anything else, it turned and dashed to where it emerged from. To that, Kai signed and I stood up with Willow since the interaction very clearly came to an abrupt end.

Kai quickly stood up with us. "Well, even though that was brief, I was able to learn a couple good things about the dog."

"Oh?" Willow asked.

"As you could see, the dog's quite skittish and jumpy; it doesn't react to things it's afraid of with growling, snarling, lunging, or biting as we saw. While it's not a hundred percent certain that's the entire case and whether or not it'll try to do one of those things to something else is obviously unknown. I'd have to spend more time interacting with it to find out those answers. But for now, the dog has shown some good signs of wanting to cooperate along with some trust in the form of it having come back to us in the first place. It's just scared of us since it has no idea what we want to do with it, which I think we can all understand."

"Yeah, those are all valid points..." Willow replied.

Then I asked, "Do you think it'll come back?"

Kai slowly nodded. "It probably will since it came back at all. It now knows we're willing to give it some food whenever it comes by without us pouncing on it or attacking it. Though it doesn't feel comfortable enough yet for anything more than an already extended hand to sniff since it's just that skittish. If it comes back again for some more food, I'll be sure to go as slow as I can. Hopefully I didn't permanently spook it away."

"Are you fine with us giving the dog some of our fish, Hunter?" Willow asked.

I shrugged. "It doesn't really matter all that much these days. Fishing and hunting have been put on the backburner with the help of our harvest and it just ensures that it'll last longer due to the extra income of food we get from stuff like this. Cutting into that extra in the form of a few fish won't hurt anything, as long as you don't give the dog a whole buffet it'll be just fine. Other than that, and as long as you're being safe, trying to tame a dog certainly has a few really good benefits we could enjoy if you're successful."

"I make no guarantee that I will be successful. But I'll certainly try my best. Having a pet and being able to bond with a critter like a dog is something I would like to revive. Dogs really have a special place in my heart."

Willow nodded. "If the stories you've told us about your past with dogs, that's certainly true. Are you gonna need some help with trying to train the dog? If you want, I can help you with that."

"Yeah, sure. It's never a bad idea to have someone at your side while handling something that's unknown and probably at least somewhat dangerous." Kai replied before turning to me. "Do you want to tag along when we try to make some progress with the canine or something like that? Assuming it regularly comes back."

I shrugged once more. "Maybe not most of the time y'all go out but every now and then, sure. Getting updates on your progress when you make some breakthroughs would be nice to be aware of. And if enough progress has been made, we'll talk about whether we should allow the dog to visit our other people. But that's if things go well over however much time this might take."

"Yeah, there's sort of no way to tell how long this process will be. It's different for every dog and has around a million factors to it which makes it essentially unpredictable."

"And if it goes wrong? Like if the dog for some reason attacks one of us?" Willow asked whoever.

"Then I would strongly recommend you two quit trying to tame the dog, if you hadn't already killed it in self-defense." I bluntly answered.

"I sure hope it doesn't come to that..." Kai quietly replied

Dialogue regarding the canine after that point came to a screeching halt since our focus pivoted back onto the task at hand. Thankfully, nothing unique happened for the remainder of us collecting our buckets of fish which meant we wrapped that job up in just over forty minutes. With that being done, I wondered where else I could put some of my strength into for the day since it seemed like there was always something for me to be able to help out with. As I thought it over, one thought couldn't get out of my mind which was the next meeting I was gonna have with Ezra's group coupled with wondering how Leon was doing. So with nothing holding me back, I made my way toward the clinic to get an update on his condition.

It appeared that I had strolled in on a, well, I dunno if I can call it a bad time but it certainly wasn't the best time. I say that because when I entered the building, Olivia was in the middle of cleaning his wound and giving him some new bandages. That required for Leon to move a decent bit which consequently caused his pain to flare up at each fidget due to how extremely sore and tender his incision still was. But at least the man had regained most of his color and at least some of his dignity.

"So how's everything going on here? I hope well."

Olivia glanced at me as she finished bandaging the man up. "As well as it can be. At least from the looks of it. It appears that Leon's on the road for a somewhat swift recovery but I don't want to call it too soon just in case that theory is proven incorrect. He's still gotta stick with us for a little while until he can walk and until I know for sure that he hasn't gotten an infection. We're gonna try standing him up in a couple days and see how that goes before working up from there."

After she said that, I thought about when and if some of his friends would be coming over to visit him. And as I thought about that, a thought occurred to me which was about how we had blindfolded Brooklyn and Leon on their way over to Solaris. Looking back at it, that was probably a dumb decision since we were probably gonna be bringing back some of his people presumably not blindfolded which defeats the whole purpose of having blindfolded our guests. But back then we were walking through uncharted territory and had no clue what we were stumbling into. So it should make sense that ideas and plans like that either become a smart or dumb thing to have done in retrospect. I sure wasn't expecting the quick relationship we've formed with this other community to seemingly grow so quickly even though there's still a large presence of uncertainty and mistrust between us.

I nodded. "It's certainly nice to hear that. How's the pain doing, Leon?"

"The torture's lightened up a tiny bit but it's still pretty bad. I can't wait until this is just a bad, repressed memory."

I didn't blame him at all for saying that as I'm pretty sure anyone else would be thinking the same thing. Though we didn't stay on that topic for long since Brooklyn asked me about the second meeting my crew had with her group. I quickly answered her questions about what we spoke about and if it went well before revealing that a few of them might be visiting relatively soon.

"I hope you don't mind when I take another picture of you tomorrow morning, Leon. It's just so I can authenticate to your people that you're truly healing from the operation. I wouldn't want to leave them in the dark anymore than what they have been."

He just gave me a simple thumbs up which concluded that talking point. Before I could talk with them about anything else, the radio on my hip buzzed to life with the familiar voice of my little girl asking if I could go see her with a tone that was certainly trying its best to hide how she truly felt. After all, it made sense since everyone with a walkie-talkie was tuned into that channel for maximum efficiency. Anyways, I quickly answered the call, easily excused myself, and deftly made it to where my beautiful wife was holed up at. This quickly revealed that my woman was in her chair, clutching the heating pad so it'd stay pressed on her belly, had her knees to her chest, and rested her forehead on her knees as she quietly sniffled.

Though at my arrival, she swiftly turned her head toward me which is when I saw that her cheeks were drenched in tears and that her expression displayed a decent amount of pain due to the cramps that her body was making her go through. Without saying a word, I walked up to her, gingerly picked her up like a bride, carried her over to our bed, sat on the side of it, and set her on my lap before scooting over to the middle of it. That's when I placed a hand on the side of her face and softly pressed her head to rest on my chest, which is the moment she wrapped her arms around me and started to quietly cry the rest of her tears away for the next couple of minutes.

All I could do then was kiss her forehead, brush a hand through her hair, hold her, and silently let her know that I was there for her forever throughout all her troubles. Then there was the damning of her periods for being so painful for her which was quite common in my mind during these times. Seeing my girl in pain, being completely unable to help, was the definition of unfair.

"This period is s-so much worse than the o-other ones..." She quietly commented a few moments after the vast majority of her tears had shed.

I took a break from kissing her forehead to reply. "I can see that..." And it was getting that bad that a certain medical thought emerged in my mind. "Should I notify Olivia about how bad it's getting?"

"No!" She quickly replied which startled me. "S-Sorry, I wasn't mad at y-you or anything like that... I just don't want Olivia to get involved with this. Maybe if it gets worse..."

This was another instance where her thoughts on keeping the special place between her legs something that only the two of us mess with could be quite harmful. But what am I supposed to do? Force her to go to the clinic and pry whatever open for whatever examination to happen which might result in something useful? That would be traumatic for her in two major ways. I obviously do not want to add onto the other traumas she's faced so this hypothetical is a waste of time to be thinking about. I just hope nothing catastrophic enough occurs for something like that to be warranted.

"It's okay, I understand... Is it just the cramps or is there something else going on? Can I do anything to help?"

She slowly sighed as she gingerly shook her head. "It's mainly the cramps. They hurt so much. But... I've just been thinking about things. Things like... how much I want a baby." My heart slightly skipped a beat at her words. It certainly wasn't something I was expecting. "And thoughts about... how I was treated when I was little." She looked up at me. "I've... never told you about why exactly it was so terrible." Her lip quivered a small bit. "But you've told me your worst moments before. Am I... being a bad wife by not telling you these things?"

I delicately pressed the tip of my nose against hers. "Stacy, of course you're not being a bad wife. You're the sweetest and the greatest wife I ever could've wanted, you hear me?" Obviously, I've told her this many times before but reiterating it can only bring a couple good things. "You do not need to tell me anything at all about those terrible times. From the little you've told me, I have a glimpse of just how bad it was so I know you're not lying or anything like that. So it makes sense you don't, or can't really, talk about it... I'm not gonna force or pry you to talk about it but only say that you'll always have the chance to talk about it with me whenever you're ready, alright?"

She sadly nodded before hugging me tighter which caused her to rest her head on my chest again. I thought we'd go into a silence since nothing was said for a dozen or so seconds but she surprised me by saying, "I think I'm r-ready..."

Even more surprised that she was seemingly offering the opportunity to learn about more of her past, I wasn't sure. "Are you certain? Is being on a really bad period the right time for this?"

She was silent for a couple minutes as she thought quite hard about my questions. "I've been thinking about this on and off for a really long while now and something that's been on my mind all day today. These thoughts... these memories... hurt so much and haunt me so badly that I don't think I can keep them to myself a-any longer. I try to repress them but they keep popping back up; mainly when I'm on a period... Didn't you say that talking about these sorts of things with others can help... relieve the pain?"

I slowly nodded. "It can but there's no guarantee that it will."

She quietly sighed. "It's still something I should've told you long ago... Okay, here it goes." She looked up at me. "Do you... want to know what the average day was like?"

I once again slowly nodded. "Do stop if you need to..."

With a hint of some hesitation, she continued. "I... would wake up pretty early in the morning in the corner of our living room because I didn't have my own room. We lived in a small shack which only had the living room, my parents' bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom. They were all really small." She paused and hesitated some more, her expression showing clear signs of uncertainty. "S-So I had to sleep in the living room because they didn't let me sleep in their room. That means I didn't have a bed, I just had a couple of blankets... There were bugs too. It was a really gross place..."

Her story was already really saddening even though this was just the beginning.

"I had to wake up early because if I didn't, I'd miss the bus for school which would make my father really angry because it'd make the school angry since I didn't show up for it. At least, he'd get angry sometimes, sometimes he wouldn't care. But when he did... he'd rip my blankets off of me a-and shake me while telling me to wake the fuck up. When I-I'd wake up, he'd slap my face and yell at m-me for a while which I'd cry really, really hard at... Hiding from him or trying to stop him would only make his hitting worse... I did that a couple times when I missed the bus, before he woke up. He... punched me those times, my b-belly..."

The mere concept of anything like that happening to her made my stomach churn. All I could do was continue holding her, keep the heating pad pressed on her belly, and kiss her forehead every few moments as she told her tale.

"I wouldn't be able to eat breakfast since we usually d-didn't have anything in the house to eat but when we did it was kept on a high shelf that I-I couldn't reach since they controlled when I could eat. If I tried reaching it and they saw, I'd be s-slapped really hard. I couldn't take a shower because most of the t-time we didn't even have any running water. That, and we didn't have soap or towels. I couldn't even change my clothes to clean ones because m-mine were never washed... I had to keep swapping my dirtier clothes out for the least dirty clothes I had. And I only had a few p-pairs of shirts and pants. Some didn't really fit me and some were tearing at the seams..."

I sincerely hoped her evil and neglectful parents were in the deepest pits of Hell. Her stuttering through telling me what her life was like is something that tells me how immensely terrible and authentic what she's saying truly is...

"We didn't have a TV, a computer, or any other electronic. We d-didn't even have any heaters or air conditioning. So when it was winter or s-summer I would freeze or be extremely hot. The winters were the worst. It sometimes felt like parts of me were m-made out of ice..."

"Maybe that explains why you hate the cold so much..."

"While at s-school I picked up pencils, crayons, and other stuff like that as I walked through the building and took a lot of paper when I could so I could draw when I g-got home. Drawing was the only thing I could do for fun since I wasn't allowed to go outside. I wasn't a-allowed to have friends. And if I was late by more than ten minutes from when I usually r-returned from school they would... hit me with a belt several times. They'd only h-hit me with their h-hands if they couldn't find something like that in time and... a-and..."

"You don't have to continue, Stacy..." I reminded as she shivered while she tried to keep herself composed.

But she pushed on. "And they'd hit me w-whenever I did anything wrong. Even if it was the smallest m-mistake. If I used the wrong word or sounded even just a little a-angry, if I asked for food too often, if I asked anything about if I could go o-outside or if I could get something from the s-store, if... if I didn’t stop crying or if I didn't leave them alone or if I didn't stop looking at them. My father was mainly the one to hit me... He liked slapping me and s-saying how worthless I am and h-how much he hates m-me."

It was hard holding back some of my comments for her to continue venting to me. I didn't want to interrupt her stream of storytelling.

"He'd keep the bruises to my back, my chest, and my belly so no one would see them. He said that if I showed them any of them that he would rip my hair out, make me blind, break my jaw, and a bunch of other stuff like that which... s-scared me into listening to him. That's why I'd never tell anyone about what was going on. A c-couple times when he... punched my eyes and my lips he told me to use an excuse other than s-saying that he did it for the people that asked. And I listened because I was too scared of his threats. And then there w-were the drugs..."

I assumed this part was gonna be the most interesting section since I figured it could've been the reason for the whole ordeal.

"I don't know what kind of drug it was b-but it was some sort of liquid that you inject into an a-arm. It would make them very sleepy which is when I'd feel the m-most safe... because they weren't able to hit me. But when they didn't have a-any of the drug, they'd get angry." She hesitated once more. She was being so strong by being able to relive what her life was like before The Drop; I'm sure it was a titanic task for her to accomplish due to the magnitude of the struggle she faced. "They'd get angry at me and that's when my mother would hit me, w-when... when they didn't have any of the drug. They'd get really angry at each other a-and... my father would punch her and kick her. All I could do was watch. And... they'd a-always buy the drugs no matter what, even when we needed food."

"Poor, deranged, likely heroin addicts that went through a decent bit of withdrawal effects before they got their fix were what her parents were… They had to have started, at least her mother, after she gave birth to Stacy. I wonder why…" I thought before the desire to ask a really invasive question emerged in my mind. "May I ask a very awful question?" She gingerly nodded. "Did they... ever abuse you sexually in any sort of way?"

She shook her head which was a relief. "No. My father... always told me how ugly and d-disgusting I was whenever he had the chance. The only times he'd touch me is when... when he'd beat me."

"In a really fucked up way, that's sort of a good thing because it means that you didn't get raped or molested." I thought before moving the conversation forward by saying, "If... I genuinely mean this, if anyone ever treats you even a fraction like that ever again, I will kill them without hesitation." After saying that, I realized that my rate of breath had slightly elevated during the telling of her tale.

She looked a tiny bit shocked at that. "Are... are you sure? That doesn't... I wouldn't want you to do something like that just for me. I know you did with... y'know, him , but... I'm just not certain."

I sighed. "It's not necessarily a realistic scenario since you experiencing that type of abuse is thankfully sort of impossible nowadays because I'll always make sure you have what you need, protection included. So it's a bit of a moot point."

She abruptly hugged me. "Thank you... I-I think I'm done with remembering the past. For now at least." She took a deep breath to calm herself. It helped out a decent bit that she had already shed the vast majority of her tears so breaking down wasn’t really a viable option for her to choose. "It's always very p-painful to think about it and even more painful to actually talk about it after all this time but... it does feel a little different now that I've told you. Thank you for being here for me… Sorry it took me so long to tell you."

Even though what she said was just a generalization about what her childhood was like, it told me quite a substantial amount about what her background was like. It was fairly enlightening to receive a few new details about that part of her life and having it all laid out, all bundled together. I wanted to ask her about some specifics tales and certain questions about the details of what she had just told me but I didn't want to push, pry, or get her out of her comfort zone any more than what she already was since her emotional state had been decently negatively affected by the circumstances she was in.

"Of course, dear. I'll always be here for the love of my life. And please don’t apologize, I understand completely." I sweetly replied before gingerly pressing my lips against hers for a couple of minutes. It was somewhat strange how she finally opened up about her past without clamming up all that much. I suppose her decently eccentric emotional state allowed for that window of opportunity to be opened up which I was lucky to jump through. I hoped this meant she was on the path to finally slaying her demons or at the very least taking control of them.

When our kiss ended she said, "...I need to change my pad."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sudden change of conversation. "Do you need me to get you anything?" In response, she softly shook her head before scooting off of me and sliding off the bed where she made her way toward her desk. As she dealt with cleaning up her menstrual discharges, I joined her in standing up but my focus was diverted to what the girl had sketched up on her desk. "What're you making here?"

"She's the princess of fire." She calmly replied. "Nova wrote a story about her and I asked if she wanted me to draw her after she spoke about illustration. It's also something I've wanted to draw for a little bit, a beautiful royal figure."

I smirked. "Why not just draw a picture of yourself then, my beautiful queen?"

A subtle blush emerged on her cheeks. "I'd rather draw other things since you could always use the camera for that."

"Completely fair." With that being said, I turned my attention to appreciating what she had drawn.

The drawing displayed the character in a portrait-like manner. The princess of fire might be what one would expect; hair sprawled out as if it was fire itself, pupils of a blaze making them appear to be full of rage, the woman wearing a very opulent golden tiara encrusted with topazes and rubies, and her hands engulfed in even more flame, as if she was casting some sort of magic spell to launch an attack of unforgiving heat.

"Simply breathtaking, Stacy... Did you have to draw her naked though? I see that she's wearing heels but that doesn't really not make her not naked."

She shrugged after she finished replacing her pad. "Nova's story made her naked all the time. I don't really remember why but the people in her story saw nudity as nothing to be ashamed of... Which I'm not ashamed of being naked but I just wouldn't want others to see me like that besides you."

"Same here." I replied as I went to delicately sweep her off her feet once more. I then remembered that she had shown interest in heels before which was something I wanted to double-check if that interest was still there. "Speaking of heels, would you want to try out a pair of heels eventually? I remember you saying something about them a little while ago."

She nodded. "Yes, I would since they seem kind of cool. I just don't know when to do that or how to get them."

"Remember our plan to drive somewhere on our day off to do whatever? Since we're gonna spend a lot of time out there to do whatever we want, we can do it then if you choose to. And probably some other stuff you're interested in like that, if we can find the stuff you want, that is."

She smiled. "That sounds lovely. If it doesn't get in the way of anything else you want to do, I'd love to do that."

"Then we will." I replied with a peck on her nose. "I just hope it's not something you want because you're getting insecure about your height."

She playfully scoffed. "No, not at all. I love being your little lady... I just want to see what it's like, y'know?"

"I know." I simply replied before she asked me if I had any plans. "Not really. We're just gonna be improvising for the most part, which isn't a bad thing since doing things on the fly whenever we think of things is a more fun way of doing things, in my opinion."

"I agree."

After we exchanged those words, the conversation reverted back to her period which resulted in me retrieving the heating pad and cuddling her on the window bay while pressing it against her belly as I told her how lovely, beautiful, wanted, and amazing she is. Partly because of how true those sentiments are but primarily due to the girl not being able to hide her dampened emotions which persisted after she told me her story of abuse; so I sought to raise her mood as much as I could.

After a while, she claimed that I could continue my work around the community since she felt 'okay' again. I reminded her that she was still able to call on me whenever she needed to see me before kissing her and returning back to my duty. Though there wasn't that much going on besides trying to make the construction projects finish as soon as possible in the form of helping one half of the construction team finalize preparations for erecting the second greenhouse which should sprout up in record time. The main things were measuring the dimensions of the incoming building's footprint and calculating how much concrete it would take to form the base.

When that was completed, the eighth cabin was finished which let the residents in queue for it quickly move into the building. As I spoke with some of my people throughout the day, the time quickly passed me by. I say that because when the first scavenging team returned back to base, we were well into the latter half of the day. And since I had nothing better to do, I helped them unload the truckload of tools and equipment they brought back into their appropriate locations of storage. It was nice seeing how much backup tools we have in our reserves since it assured us that we didn't have to worry about tools breaking or degrading for quite a long time.

And then after I helped with the second scavenging team with unloading, the day for working drew to a close which meant it was time to once again find my wife, eat with her, and do a couple of leisurely things for a couple of hours before heading to bed. And that's exactly what we did. It was nice.

Chapter Text

When the day was upon us, I did the usual of theorizing what the day had ahead of me while I drew up a general plan for what I needed to accomplish. When I was satisfied with what my mind was able to vaguely plan for, I softly kissed the side of Stacy's neck before I stopped spooning her to get out of bed and onto my feet. As I equipped my ring and watch, the aforementioned lady rolled over to face me.

"Sorry to have woken you. How are you feeling?" I quietly said.

She rubbed her eyes. "You're fine. And... a little better, I guess. But only a little."

I sat on the side of the bed and gingerly placed a hand on the side of her face after she quit rubbing her eyes. "It'll be over soon, probably another day or two. You're very strong, you got this."

She grinned. "Only because you've made me super strong."

I booped her nose. "Don't give me all the credit, you've done most of the work after all."

"Maybe." She simply replied as my hand trailed up to her head to brush my fingers through her hair. In response, she retained her smile and closed her eyes to enjoy my touch.

"I'm so lucky I have an angel like her as my wife..." I thought as my heart fluttered, a feeling I hope never goes away. The brushing of her hair only lasted two or three minutes before I said, "I'm gonna have to start getting ready for today's important meeting soon."

Just like that, her beautiful smile disappeared. "...We've talked about it before but I just can't be not worried. I hope I'm not being annoying."

"No, dear, you aren't. Hearing about your concerns for me will always be sweet in a way. And yes, we have talked about it before, you already know just about everything I can say about it." She meekly nodded at that. I then glanced at her desk. "Remember our idea about you smoking when you feel anxious? I think that might also help with your period pains."

She perked up at that. "Really?"

"It might, it's up to you whether you want to try it out or not; pain relief varies widely from person to person. Now that I think of it, marijuana helps Audrey with her periods so there's some proof for it right there."

"I think I'll try it... y'know, since it wouldn't really hurt to try. I really hope it works..."

"I hope so too. There's only one way to find out which you're gonna have to do without me since I'll be away for a few hours."

"Right..." She said before lightly huffing. "Promise me you'll be safe, okay?"

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I promise I'll always try my hardest to return to my beautiful and benevolent Queen."

A soft blush emerged on her cheeks. "...Is that the only kiss you're gonna give me?"

I playfully rolled my eyes before pressing my lips against hers for a couple of minutes. Once it ended, I leaned up and said, "Okay, I think it's time for me to get my crew prepared for our upcoming meeting. But first, I have to take an update picture of Leon."

She abruptly sat up and wrapped her arms around me. "I love you."

I reciprocated her words and nuzzled her forehead while she hugged me for another minute before the embrace just as quickly halted. With her permission, I stood up, donned a fresh set of clothes, grabbed our camera, and headed to the clinic where the aforementioned patient awaited me though his partner was blatantly absent. I assumed she was dealing with some form of bodily function so I didn't question it. Instead, I greeted him, talked about his slightly weakening pain, and snapped a picture of him when it was appropriate to do so. It was a bit awkward but oh well.

Shortly after Brooklyn had returned she said, "If I'm being honest, I'd be quite surprised if Ezra lets you into our community. He's had a lot of trust and paranoia issues with strangers before because of how chaotic the past three years have been. Stuff like fights have happened, a couple people abandoned us, and one even sabotaged some stuff since they were a pyromaniac. So there's a track record of... deviants which has caused some of us to have a heightened level of mistrust of others which is pretty reasonable, in my opinion."

I nodded. "Yeah, I've had my fair share of incidents with strangers and allowing the wrong people in. But I've tried learning from those situations as best as I could. How exactly we should handle them is a whole other conversation. And the whole method of dealing with people you come across in the future is heavily reliant on how the individual or leader forms their philosophy from it. Mine certainly has changed radically over the past year and I can sense it's quite different from Ezra's."

"I wonder by how much..."

Before a lull could appear, I asked, "Are there any messages you want me to relay to your people?"

The two looked at each other and communicated without saying a word before the woman looked back at me and shrugged. "Besides that we're doing alright and we can't wait to see them all again, there's nothing else we'd like to say since this wouldn't be a good way to hold a conversation."

I nodded. "If we're allowed to visit your community, is there anything you want us to bring back for you?"

"Not that I can think of... There's not much we own other than the obvious things like our home, clothes, and food. Well now that I bring it up, I guess you could get us some of our clothes if it wouldn't be a bother. The ones we've got are... a bit gross, to put it lightly."

"Maybe the planned bathhouse can also be part laundromat too; without the coins obviously." I thought before giving her a thumbs up. "Wouldn't be a bother at all."

Leon then said, "And I wanted to say that your people have been... so kind to us. It's not just being hospitable but also being supportive. A couple of the girls, Charlotte and Nova, have gone out of their way to spend a couple hours a day just playing some games and talking with us. It might not seem like much but to me it means more than I can put into words."

I grinned at that. "The girls certainly are quite sweet, they're just being themselves. It's nice to have them around since they bring such positive attitudes to those that need it. I'm glad to hear that they've given you two that as well."

A few more words were exchanged regarding the kindness of the girls before I excused myself to double-check the rest of what needed to be finalized for the day's meeting. So I darted to the dining room to make sure the radio and the clock were in pristine condition and that they were working well and effectively. After making sure of that, breakfast was in order. So with a brief time-skip of half an hour, everyone else woke up, the morning meal of meats and foraged foods was cooked, and I enjoyed it with my little lady.

After finishing that with a farewell kiss, I learned that the construction team was just about to begin turning its full attention on erecting Audrey's second greenhouse. I was made aware of that since when Audrey came to get her share of food, she was quite excited and couldn't really keep it contained which was nice to see. It's felt like months since that plan was made even though it's been just a couple of weeks. I wasn't going to be there when it began which I simply shrugged at, I didn't need to be there for every ounce of progress.

It didn't take much longer for me to ring the official call out for my crew to assemble which had the somewhat expected result of Phoenix opting out after having thought and spoken with Autumn about it. I figured it had something to do with their upcoming child and them not wanting to risk him more than what they already have. I understood it. Though I facepalmed at myself since I hadn't thought ahead on whether or not someone would opt out of coming along with us. Though it is partially Phoenix's fault for waiting until the last minute to tell me...

Using my walkie-talkie, "Is there anyone that would like to substitute Phoenix's for this mission? Anyone at all?"

It took a few moments but Solomon pierced the silence. "Yeah, I think I'd like to."

"Big, strong, certainly a decent replacement." I thought as I calculated what it would be like to have him in our crew. "Alright, cool, I don't see a problem with that. If there aren't any objections, come meet us in the dining room."

As it was, the rest of my team had grouped up and we were just waiting for our final member to emerge. And when he did, he was the final one to equip a bulletproof vest which prompted me to take a hold of the radio-clock duo before we moved as a unit to our vehicle. Keeping it on my lap, it took us a few more moments to begin the somewhat long and fairly boring ride over to where these meetings take place. It was annoying that it was as far away as it was but there's nothing I can do about it but deal with it. Throughout the drive and as the distance between us and home grew, I would test the radio to make sure that communication between them continued working.

In the middle of the drive, Ashton asked, "Can I ask what exactly you're gonna be saying to this other group if you get the chance? You still haven't said much about it which I think might be a bad play on your behalf. You should at least run it by us first to make sure it's a good idea."

I slowly nodded. "I probably should've ran it by y'all first but what I have in mind is a general plan that I want to try out. Its key elements are collaboration, elevation of their community, and trade between us. In very simple terms, that's basically what I have in mind. It'll be something our two groups will spitball ideas at while we're talking, to flesh the plan out somewhat, come up with more and better ideas I haven't thought of, and other stuff like that. That's the idea... and it relies on if we even get to talk to their community."

"It's... quite vague but the general idea is nice. I don't see how suggesting things could cause something bad between us to happen. Really, it seems like only the opposite would happen." Raiden replied.

"We'll probably find out here real soon." I simply said before we continued our drive in relative silence.

And once we got to the location, we waited. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long since we had left our home a lot later than expected so not much time was wasted just standing around. This meant that when the other group was close enough, I carried the radio-clock duo over to them. Though they seemed somewhat surprised at my actions since they weren't expecting me to give them something like it. And as they processed that I hadn't lied to them, I taught Ezra and Addison how to work the radio.

As Addison held the device, I picked up the mic in my hand. "And once you've got it all situated, you can simply talk to us like this; Autumn? Are you able to hear me?"

With a little bit of static, a reply came through. "Sure can. It's still a bit fuzzy but it's easy to make out what you're saying."

Having Autumn take the role of being in charge of telecommunications was a smart move. Since she was quite pregnant, physical labour was off the table. And we had been needing someone to essentially be tethered to the radios just in case a straggler uses the public radio and someone isn't there to receive the message; which is unlikely since that'd only happen in the dead of the night. That, and an info sheet by the radio in the mall makes sure to tell a stranger that they just need to keep periodically using the device until someone replies.

"Alright, sweet. We're here at the meeting point and I'm about to permanently hand the radio off to them. So we'll talk later."

"Received."

I then hung the mic back up before turning the radio off. "There, it's all yours. I'm sure I don't need to tell you to use it responsibly, right?"

Ezra nodded. "Of course not. I'll be sure to put this in the hands of someone that'll be extremely responsible for the role, I'll be sure of it. Though I do have to ask, is this strictly for 'business' purposes or are other conversations allowed to be had through it?"

I stared at the radio. "For now, regular conversations are allowed, I'm sure Autumn and whoever else is with her would like to talk to some of you. But at some point it's gonna change to just serious conversations. Not sure when though."

He nodded. "And you said that we can use it every hour on the hour? Isn't it possible that some conversations will last longer than that?"

"Hm... Now that I think of it, that's probably an unwise time schedule. Maybe we can set times like nine in the morning, noon, three in the afternoon. Does every three hours sound alright? Besides the hours in the middle of night of course."

"I suppose so..."

Addison then said, "But what if we need to tell you something between that time? I'm not sure exactly what it'd be but it's better to know this stuff and not need it than to need it and not know it."

"Well, if you absolutely have to communicate with us for some reason and it's vitally important, I wouldn't be angry or anything like that; that'd just be a dumb thing to be upset about. These limits are just to prevent the channel from being clogged up and to preserve the battery of your radio."

"Right, that makes sense."

With that being laid out, the conversation suddenly shifted when Ezra asked, "So, can we get an update on how Leon's doing? I'll admit that it's hard for some of us not to be worried about how he's doing and if he'll make a full recovery." I nodded at that before retrieving my camera and swiftly showing them the picture I had taken. "At least he looks a little better..."

"At the moment, he does seem past the point of rock bottom which means he can only go up from here. As long as an infection doesn't pop up, he should be relatively fine in two or three weeks. Until then, he's staying at Solaris until he can move without severe aid."

"I really hope that there won't be an infection and that he's not going through any unnecessary pain..." April quietly said. "When could I go visit them?"

I closed the camera and put it at my side. "Well, that's entirely up to you guys. Since we're not beating around the bush here I think it's appropriate to now ask; has your community made a decision on whether or not my crew can come visit y'all?" At that, it seemed Addison showed a tiny bit of hesitancy. "There's no pressure here. I just hope your people received the best info and knowledge to base their decision off of. Be assured that I'll understand completely if you've denied my wish, even though a large portion of me desires that not to be the case ."

"It was a close decision and some of us argued about it for a little while. But considering the proof you've given us on how you're helping one of our friends and that you've given us no disrespect, we voted on allowing you over." Ezra revealed which made me gently smile. "However, there are a few conditions to this decision."

I nodded. "Of course, I'd do the exact same thing if I were in your shoes. What do you need us to do so we can come on over?"

Addison replied, "First of all, if you have any weapons on you, leave them here. If we find out that you bring any sort of weapon despite this, we will strongly reconsider ever allowing your people over again. And if a weapon is pulled out against one of our people, we will see it as a direct attack which will be met with self-defense. Other than that, stay within our sight and be respectful to everyone and everything within our community. If you accept those conditions, none of us will have anything to worry about."

I once again nodded. "That all makes sense since that seems like the bare minimum of conditions that anyone reasonable could set. But I will say that it gives me quite the weary feeling that my people will be defenseless against your people. I'm sure you can understand why I feel uneasy about... y'know, going into the strangers' den with these circumstances."

Ezra replied, "I assure you there's nothing to worry about if you decide to accept our terms. We have no wishes to harm any of you for several reasons, reasons such as we simply don't want to harm anyone unless provoked and how we want the friend who's at your home back with us whenever it's possible. We aren't savages and we aren't mindless, unlike many I have faced. The only real sort of proof for that is how we haven't already attacked any of your people before, something we could've easily done ten times over if we really wanted to. But obviously, that didn't happen so I hope that's putting some merit into my words."

I simply thought about his words for a few moments. HIs would certainly check out if what they said about being 'sneaky' is true. "Ashton, what do you make of this all?"

"Uh- well, I... well, from everything I've heard and seen, I truly feel like they're telling us the truth. And it all makes sense, at least it does to me. Like you said, I don't think we'd do anything different if we were in their place."

"Your instincts better be right." I thought.

Addison then said, "If it'll make you feel any better, you can keep your vests on and I'll be at your side throughout your entire visit, like a chaperone for all your questions, interactions with our people, and maybe even navigation within our community."

"Well, if worse comes to worst and something suddenly goes south, I can grab her and use her as a bargaining chip to get the hell out of dodge." I somewhat evilly thought. But sometimes you need to do evil things to save your ass which is just an unfortunate reality of the world we live in. "That sounds like a decent compromise to me even though it still does seem a little one-sided. To make it fully work, I ask that you stay by my side up until our departure."

"...Sure. May I ask how long do you think you'll be at our home?"

"I honestly have no clue. It's until whatever needs discussed is discussed, which I can't really estimate since the time required to do so has several variables to it."

Then Ezra said, "I guess we'll find out soon enough. If any of you don't have any more questions to ask us about it, then please put your weapons away and we'll start making our way over to where we call home."

"I have a question, actually." Raiden announced which got his attention. "This is just pure curiosity; is there any... ulterior reason why you're allowing us over? It seems like a bold move to do what you're doing right now for a couple major reasons."

He slowly let a breath go at that. "I don't deny that it's a risky move, for both sides, but I have no real reason to believe that nothing terrible will come of this. A few of my people disagreed with me but the majority of us came to the same conclusion. And... it's hard to admit, but we could use some of your help for a few things. And I believe that taking this chance, a leap of faith as Hunter would call it, is the right move to make to get that help we need."

"A utilitarian agenda. Respectable. Let's just hope we're not seen as mere tools whenever possible otherwise I don't think this is gonna work out in the end. But this is how many relationships between people start so I suppose I've got nothing to worry about." I thought. "We'll certainly be discussing something about that while we're over there. I greatly respect that you're taking a leap of faith for us. I promise you that this won't be a mistake but quite the opposite."

"We'll see about that..." Addison quietly said.

That was my cue to turn around and make a beeline toward the vehicle where my group gathered up to quietly talk about the conditions that were imposed upon us. Without getting into too much detail, Solomon and Ashton expressed their concerns for being unarmed. In response, they were met with hearing the reiterated reasons why harm would most likely be deterred. The main thing I couldn't wait for, if it was to happen, is when we no longer need to worry about our safety with these new people. You can only talk and speculate about the same thing for so long before it becomes annoying to do so.

After that short and quiet pep talk, I asked them to hand their guns over. They reluctantly did so before I gently placed them safely inside the car. After doing that, I turned to Kostas as I remembered something he usually brings with him to these sorts of meetings. "What about your dagger?"

Our conversation stayed to the volume of whispering, something we did discreetly, so the other group of people couldn't hear what we were saying. "It is very well hidden. Someone would only see it if I take it out."

Solomon replied, "...Shouldn't we listen to their conditions though?"

"Should we be completely unarmed? We don't know those people and they don't know us. Anything could happen when over there. I am not going over there without my knife since I feel that I need to have some type of defense other than my hands if I need it, to protect us even if my chances are low. If I can't bring it, I am not going over."

His stubbornness on the matter was respectable even though it was troublesome. But the more I thought about it the more it made sense. Sure, it's disrespectful to the other group if I allowed it since it'd be going against their conditions but his points were quite true. Plus, like he said, no one could see the dagger unless he took it out which would only happen if something terrible happens between our two groups.

"I'll plead ignorance if they somehow find it." So after swiftly thinking it over I quietly sighed. "And there's no other way to handle this problem?" Kostas nodded his head. "Then I suppose we can make a secret exception. But if you somehow get caught with it while over there, there's certainly gonna be hell coming our way, understood?" He simply nodded his head which was my cue to close the car door and lock the vehicle before returning back in front of Ezra with my crew lagging a few feet behind me. I then decided to make a bold move by saying, "You're free to pat us down and look for any weapons if you don't trust that we've accepted your conditions."

Ezra swiftly glanced over my crew. "I don't think that's needed."

"Alright then, lead the way if you will." I simply replied.

He then somewhat awkwardly turned around and gestured for his crew to follow suit as he started walking forward. I stayed close behind him as I gestured to my own people to follow me. This began the somewhat long walk toward our destination; I would be lying if I said I wasn't quite nervous for whatever was going to be happening whenever we got there but I kept it under control.

"So how far away is this place?" Solomon asked a minute later when we were all walking at a brisk pace.

"Around a couple of miles out or so. It's a decent bit outside of this town." April answered.

"Huh, considering that we met you here and what you've told us about how your community works, I thought you guys would've lived within this town somewhere." Raiden replied.

April lightly shook her head. "We decided not to choose a city or a town to live in because of how people travel through them and loot them, like what your crew was doing when we contacted you. So we knew it would've been unwise to settle down here since it's much more likely that we'd come across a large amount of unknowns which is something we've been trying to avoid for a long while due to how dangerous it could be."

"But you didn't try avoiding us?" Kostas asked.

Addison replied, "Well, it's different with your group. Unlike other unknowns, your group clearly has a settlement of sorts. We, or at least I, speculate that groups like yours have much less of a need to cause harm to others since you've already got your own stuff from wherever you come from."

"That's the exact opposite of what I've speculated." I revealed. I then explained my reasoning of lone strangers having nothing to gain for fucking my group over and how established groups have much more of a reason of doing so instead.

"There are certainly two ways to look at it..." Ezra replied. "Though our view might be skewed due to some of the experiences we've had with newcomers; we've certainly had a couple of people that've made me have a bad opinion of strangers so I've been cautious about them for a long while. Now, established groups... well, it's yet to be seen how my opinion will form regarding that in the coming weeks since we haven't encountered another group like ours previously."

"Likewise here." I simply replied.

Piper then said, "...I'm just wondering; how can we truly trust you? I'll admit that I was one to be against allowing you guys over due to how little we know about you and how little we interacted with one another. Even though I was outvoted and we're already on our way over there, all that's going through my mind is 'how can we trust you', especially after what you just said about how established groups are the more dangerous people."

This was a difficult question to answer. "Well... I can't make you trust us. All I can say is that we've been as respectful as we can and tried to express a desire for us to have a beneficial relationship between our communities. Really, we should be the ones worried due to the conditions we've accepted. To avoid any hostilities, my group can simply remind you that if any of my people gets maliciously harmed somehow, well, it'd be quite hard for us to return your friend since he's still back at our place. Oh, along with us preventing the doctor that some of your other people need. I'm not saying I want that to happen, but it will if it has to."

"While I appreciate the raw honestly some of the wording you've used doesn't rub me the right way." Ezra replied. "But ignoring that, what you've said makes sense for the most part. Let's all just be calm and talk, there's no reason for anything else but that to happen between us."

"Agreed."

"So... are you gonna talk about your doctor a little bit while over at our place?" Addison shyly asked.

"I sure will. And a decent bit more than that. It'll be a productive conversation once it gets started."

"And just to make sure, you want to talk to our entire community when you do that?"

I nodded. "It gets everyone in on the conversation, lets everyone know what was discussed, and makes them all aware of any ideas or plans that are thought up. There's no real reason not to do it that way."

After Ezra agreed with me as our march continued in relative silence. That was until we started to discuss a few personal stories to pass the time and to not make our trip awkward. These stories primarily consisted of things before The Drop happened; jobs, friends, family, specific stories of when they were in school and funny moments they had with the partner they had. It was a very nice conversation which helped us not think about the mystery we had between both of our groups. It also allowed us just to be human and socialize which is always a nice thing to partake in even though I wasn't questioned about many of my own affairs. I sort of just let the others do that which I simply listened to.

"Ahead of us is where we call home." Addison revealed as the road slowly curved until it ended at a somewhat familiar cul-de-sac.

We had left the town behind quite a while ago which left us out in the open since this part of the world wasn't located near or within any dense forests. I mention that because that was the first thing I noticed about the place; it was wide grassland and we could be seen from quite a distance away within the minimally hilly environment it was located within. It certainly made the smoke their smoldering fireplaces emitted much more visible.

As we approached their homes I couldn't help but say, "From the picture you showed me about this place, it didn't show me that this place is wide out in the open."

"...Is that a bad thing?" April asked.

"Not necessarily. But it gives the outsiders' mind no room for imagination about how your place is structured; at least the exterior of it."

"It was one of the things we pointed out before deciding to make this place our home. But we figured that it was far enough away from any cities and any major roads that we thought most unknowns would usually take. So our detection is lower than you'd think. We still meet someone new every few months but other than that, it's pretty calm here" Addison replied.

"I suppose that makes its own kind of sense." I thought as I continued looking over the place. There were only seven smaller sized houses around the cul-de-sac which I estimated could house around thirty people before their first signs of trouble regarding living space would start to show up. So they weren't currently struggling with space but it seemed quite clear to me that they'd inevitably have to face that problem if they wanted to stay in this location and continue slowly growing.

Ashton abruptly asked, "Do you ever get any animals running amok around here? This place seems quite empty for what it is... seems unnatural in a way."

"We do actually. Sometimes some deer will pass by, there've been a few coyotes, a flock of sheep, and there was even a horse a couple of times. There've been a few other types of smaller creatures but those are the main ones we see over here." Piper replied.

"A horse? That's a very intriguing bit of information." At that thought, I once again glanced over the grasslands to think about a certain subject that Solaris has put on the backburner and essentially forgot about. "This place is certainly quite large and open for a couple types of animals to inhabit and even perhaps graze upon, something not possible for Solaris due to being located in the middle of a forest. Hmm... I think that this place would be a solid candidate for such a project to begin..."

Ashton shared my surprise at her testimony regarding the equine creature. "How long ago was that? Did you try to tame it?"

Piper shook her head. "No, it was quite a distance away and escaped our sights before we could even think about it much. Even then, none of us would know how to go about taming something like that without a bunch of trial and error which might've worked eventually but equally might've not."

"A little bit of a shame since having that type of transportation and labour, y'know how it could help pull and haul stuff, would come quite in handy in many ways."

Raiden asked, "But what about the... maintenance something like that would require? I know horses eat grass but is that all they eat? If not, what else would we feed them and how much would it need? Also, horses have no sense of where's an appropriate place to... y'know, take a shit."

"The only maintenance that's really needed is to make sure it's properly fed and exercised along with grooming and hoof care when it's needed. Protection from the elements, parasite control, and dental care are also something I reckon would be needed. Besides the patties it'd leave behind every now and then, an animal like it would be quite beneficial, in my opinion at least."

After Ashton's comments, I said, "I think it's not a bad idea. Hell, we're probably gonna have to tame the horse again at some point when vehicles get to the point of spare parts being rotted and rusted beyond any salvageable use."

"That's a great point... and a somewhat worrying one, actually. How long will our vehicles and solar panels last for before they're broken?"

I quickly did some mental math. "If we're fairly conservative with their use and maintain them as well as we can... at most, forty years probably."

"It appears we have a time limit for when our people need to jumpstart things, huh?" Ezra asked. "Y'know, before that window of opportunity closes and we all have to start back at square one regarding our technological capability."

"Don't forget about the lifespan of however many scholars and professionals remain..." Addison added.

So we have around forty years to rebuild something to avoid starting from pure scratch. It's... very fascinating in a way to view it like that. Every step I was taking was another step toward figuring out if we'd make it in time. Who knows if we'd even come close.

After that conversation, our two crews entered the heart of their little community where several strangers scattered about glued their gazes on us. I'll admit that I was fairly creeped out but I didn't let that emotion show and instead glanced over them all. Some of them were dirty, others were well maintained, and it appeared that none of them equipped any noticeable weapons. Even though I knew there could be hidden weapons, it helped relieve my mind that we most likely didn't walk directly into a death trap.

"Are our people allowed to mingle?" I quietly asked Ezra as we reached the center of the cul-de-sac. At the same time, Addison handed off the radio to April who then branched off and went to work on setting up the radio in an appropriate place.

He looked around for a few seconds before revealing, "That's entirely up to them. All I ask is that your people stay within the cul-de-sac."

I nodded before turning to my group. "Let's respect this man's wishes and try to make some conversations with some of these people. You don't have to but it'd be appreciated since it'd help warm both of our groups up to each other."

Ashton gave me a salute and Raiden gingerly nodded. Solomon seemed nervous and Kostas seemed unamused. The ex-Bulgarian further said, "I think I will stay with you."

Before I could ask the others, Raiden and Ashton were already making a beeline toward an unsuspecting couple of strangers. As Solomon figured out what he'd do, I turned my attention back to Ezra. It didn't take much longer for Ezra to call out to his people that if any of them wanted to talk to him and the guest of honour, me, that they were encouraged to do so. At that, I glanced over at how some of them thought about the proposition, some clearly nervous and anxious, but others more intrigued at the idea. As I realized how much sweat there was on my back despite the cold, a short lady timidly walked up to us.

"Howdy." I simply said when she stopped walking forward.

"...Is it true that you guys have electricity?"

I was expecting a more personal conversation but I shouldn't have been surprised at her question. It was no biggie though. "Yes we do. We've had a small-scale solar powered grid for... around seven or so months now. Are you interested in getting something electrically powered?"

The following conversation was a repeat about some things regarding our agricultural, electrical, and construction abilities. During so, another one of Ezra's people walked up to her side who seemed somewhat interested but seemed like a proper skeptic. Though not the type of skeptic to dismiss my claims of what Solaris was able to do, no, what they had was a more personal type of skepticism.

In an ominous way, he said, "If any of those 'plans' you have for us cause one of my friends to get hurt, I'll make sure that those plans are stopped."

I subtly jolted back at that and Ezra facepalmed. I didn't feel threatened or scared, I just wasn't expecting such a thing to be uttered so unexpectantly and brazenly. But it allowed me to know that his character wouldn't be afraid to defend what he loves which was a good sign in a way.

Before he could add on to his statement, Ezra cut him off and put his hand back down. "I apologize for my friend's... erratic behaviour. Some of us just aren't used to people like you coming over to our home."

"I understand. For the record, I have no wishes for harm upon others; only the opposite."

The man who didn't trust me then asked, "So what exactly are you here for then? When are you gonna tell us what you want?"

I took a steady breath in. "I'm here to offer your community a chance to collaborate with mine. For me to go into detail, I'd need your entire community here for me to give y'all the details and the benefits it can have, so we can discuss how we can achieve it and perhaps offer more ideas that could help the both of us."

"I see..."

I turned to Ezra. "Speaking of which, when do you think that'll be?"

"Uh, well, it should be around an hour or so. Some of us usually go on an early morning hunt which is hit or miss on whether or not they actually get good game for the day. Yesterday I told everyone that you guys would be here at around this time but they insisted that they not slack on working. I apologize for the inconvenience."

It wasn't ideal but I wasn't pissy about it or anything. "That only gives us more time to talk with others and set the stage before any big plans are rolled out."

Shortly after saying that, April reemerged and announced that their new makeshift radio room was all set up. This intrigued a few of them which consequently attracted some to investigate the revived piece of tech. I assumed Autumn was going to be talking with a fair bit of new voices and further assumed that she was going to enjoy it. At the same time, another new stranger walked up to me and asked me about Leon. I had a feeling I'd be talking about a lot of stuff I've gone over several times throughout my visit within Ezra's community.

Eventually, the conversations I was engaging in made a turn toward the personal which meant we started to talk about what our lives were before The Drop happened. While at first there was nothing too incredible regarding their stories, one of them revealed something that seemed fairly important.

"Yeah, before shit hit the fan, I was pretty far along in martial arts and was going on my sixth year learning it. While I still had much to learn, I learnt enough to become something you wouldn't want to fuck with."

These words came from a lights-skinned man named Salem, of which I stood a whole head taller than. But if his claim of knowing martial arts was true, I knew that no matter my height, it wouldn't matter if he was trained. I wisely decided not to challenge any claim but to instead ask him to expand upon his stories of experiences and his knowledge of throwing hands.

He went on to tell me how the program worked, how they trained, how you advanced, some friends he made along the way, and a couple scenarios where he had to use his ability in the real world which involved creeps assaulting others. I wondered if he'd be able to teach others but I left that topic to be discussed on a later date. That's mainly because those of Ezra's group that hunted had returned and displayed that they had captured a string of rabbits that'd be able to feed quite a few people.

"When do you suppose you could ring out to all of your people that I'd like to have a chat with them all?" I asked Ezra, hiding the nerves I was starting to feel.

"I'll let them handle their game first. It does make me curious though; would your group like to stay over for a meal?"

"Maybe, it depends if my people want to. But before that might happen, I'd like for... 'business' talks to be held first."

Ezra nodded. "I respect your desire to get the more important things done first."

It only took another ten minutes before Ezra swiftly went around to inform his people to head toward the center of the cul-de-sac. As they slowly trickled in around the empty fire pit, my people joined me at my sides as I patiently waited for this type of conference to kick off. Ezra's group was decently spread out and some decided to sit on the ground in small groups as some held their own quiet conversations while we waited. Eventually, I was face to face with a group of twenty strangers who I only knew the names of a few.

As Ezra made his way to me with yet another person at his side, I asked, "I assume this is the final person to join us?"

He nodded. "Besides Brooklyn and Leon, obviously. Other than that, we're all here."

I slowly let a breath go as I nodded while he settled in a spot a few feet away from me. I then glanced over everyone before bravely taking a step forward to begin what I wanted to say. "Good morning, everyone. I have to say, it's quite nice to see so many new people and to finally know if my community, Solaris, stands alone or unknowingly stands with many. Likewise with y'all, we now know that other communities besides our own can and do exist which means that there is hope for all of us regarding what our future could be. With this precedent being set and sharing this revolutionary moment of properly laying down a line of communication with each other, it allows us to have an opportunity, which perhaps no other two communities have had, to learn from one another and help one another... develop."

I never liked having several pairs of eyes honed in on me as I talked but whenever I get going, it's hard to stop my train of thought while I lose the sense of nervousness regarding being the center of attention. "With your majority's permission and Ezra's grace, you've given the both of our groups the possibility of eventually doing things that we wouldn't have previously been able to do; such as letting your friend, Leon, get the help he needed from us. But along with that, there's the possibility of our two communities developing and advancing at a much more accelerated pace, if we can... negotiate and draw some plans together, mutually beneficial plans, which would dramatically increase both of our qualities of life."

As I meticulously thought about what needed to be said next, one of them took it as an opportunity to ask, "And how would that be accomplished?"

I quietly cleared my throat. "There are several ways that can currently be achieved. First I must point out that your group, once compared to the capabilities of Solaris, are severely behind on several fronts. My community would be able to help elevate yours via giving you the power to have electricity and enable your group to construct cabins when your group inevitably needs more room to occupy. Along with that, we can lend you a doctor and even give you fresh vegetables like corn and potatoes whenever you're experiencing a harsh deficit of food income."

"...Aren’t you being kind of arrogant?” Francisco asked which caused my heart to sink a tad.

“Yeah, I find it very rude that you’d come here and say these things to us.” A woman with some foreign accent concurred.

I subtly swallowed. But I kept my cool since losing it only would’ve spiraled into something catastrophic. “Yes, I apologize for being completely unfiltered, I suppose I chose the wrong words to describe your situation.” I don’t think I did but sometimes you have to backpedal even when you mean what you said. “What I meant to say was that we can help y’all out a lot and we’d like to be the ones to play that part.”

“And so what's the catch? I may not be the brightest but I'm sure anyone with a brain would know that no one would do those things for free." Francisco asked which a few of his friends nodded their heads to.

"I want our communities to be allies and for us to mingle with one another but I also want to propel ourselves into the future. This relies on a single key; the key of which is the labour that will be required to do what we both want to achieve. So, fundamentally, I'm asking that in return for the elevation of your community, my command gains half of your community's hands to be allocated toward both your and Solaris' projects, whether that be construction, scavenging, extracting materials, or farming."

By the end of my sentence, a few of them were visibly shocked at what they had heard me say as others thought it over and considered what the pros and cons could be if or if they did or didn't accept my terms. Though my words fell on a couple deaf ears as some were extremely skeptical about my claims and presumably doubted that I'd keep my word.

"This is... certainly a lot to take in." The pregnant lady commented. "It seems unreal that we're even being offered this."

"And it's something that we're going to have to talk about for quite a while before we decide on it." One of the men, Forrest, replied.

"How would you decide whose hands would be part of that half you'd be taking?" Another one of the women inquired.

"That would be up for y'all to decide. I simply recommend that you elect those most capable of doing what would need to get done."

Some of them were whispering to each other about my proposition where I was able to hear some reluctantly admit they'd want to try the deal out. Some people are terrible whisperers. My attention didn't stay there long since I was asked, "Let's say we do accept your offer; how exactly would you give us those things you claim you will? I have my doubts about it."

"Well, for food you'd simply be able to tip us off whenever you'd need some via the radio we're lending you. For the doctor, we can arrange some sort of schedule for her to visit periodically. For electricity, we can focus on dismantling some more abandoned solar farms and stationary batteries and set them up here. It'd take a little while but we've done it before, we can do it again. And with your help, we could do it even faster than what my community did originally."

"How do your people know how to do that stuff?""

"I know how to work with wires." Kostas simply replied.

"And I know how solar panels work." I added.

Ezra spoke up, "And... if I am to allow you to 'take' half of my people, how exactly are you going to command them? Will they be within your Solaris at all times? Do you permanently want them to be ready for whatever you want them to do?"

I shook my head. "No, I wouldn't want to permanently take anyone away from your group or keep them solely as a worker. Maybe they'll have a week off from that duty every month or something like that, specifics can be talked about later. The ones who decide to work under my command will interchangeably go from here to Solaris whenever whatever project deems that they be in one or the other."

"This is ridiculous." The same man who had previously been equally brazen replied. "We don't even know you and you're giving us demands? Does anyone else feel like these people can't be trusted?"

"Excuse me, what's your name?" I calmly asked before I could give him a proper rebuttal.

"Avery." He somewhat reluctantly answered.

"Avery, let's please calm down, I'm not giving anyone any demands. I'm simply expressing some ideas and wanting to hear your guys' feedback on them. Be assured, I do not want to force anyone into anything."

"But from the sounds of it, it seems like you're going to prevent Melanie from seeing a doctor if we don't accept your terms." He replied as he pointed toward the pregnant person.

Olivia certainly was a type of bargaining chip in this regard which might've been fucked up in a way. There is an exception to that and it involves medical emergencies of course. But to ultimately achieve the greater good, some things like this have to happen. I had to choose my words very carefully for my next sentence. "We aren't cruel. If we were, we wouldn't have accepted Leon into our home in the first place. Implying that we'd not help another when they need it is rather insulting."

"I apologize again, Hunter, for Avery's attitude toward your group." Ezra said and cut Avery off when he tried to reply. "Need I remind Avery to not be spoiled and appreciate the fact that Leon got the help he needed, all thanks to your group."

"You won't deny us your doctor if we deny your offer?" Another one of them asked.

"I... would be disappointed if you deny what could evolve into a very harmonic relationship between our communities. But in this case, depending on what it is, we'd have to get something in exchange for my doctor's business since helping someone out is quite resource intensive. On the contrary, you won't need to give us anything for our doctor's services if you accept my offer."

"...Will Leon cost us anything?" Melanie inquired.

"No, that's free of charge since he was in critical condition and no terms of such were discussed beforehand. Oh, and that reminds me, even if you don't accept my offer we can still communicate with each other and form some other deals."

"What kind of deals?"

"Like some small scale trade deals probably. We could trade fresh food, salvaged goods, and other miscellaneous objects. Hell, we could do that simultaneously if you accept my offer, I don't see why not."

"To be completely honest, it doesn't seem like we'd have much to trade. I'm sure your group already has a lot of what we don't." April commented. "Hm, I guess there are some things we could look for that your group needs in exchange for stuff. At least that's one idea."

I lightly scratched my chin as I thought about their group. I wondered if it'd be a bad idea to bring up my earlier thought about how the area around them would be a good grazing ground. I shrugged. "What if this place became the grounds for livestock?"

My question confused a lot of people which was fair since it was quite a random sentence. One of them then asked, "...Like for cows and pigs?"

I shook my head. "No, more like sheep and chickens, maybe even horses. Just before I got here I commented that this place is out in the open which gave me this idea. To me, it seems like a place ripe for livestock to call home."

"Well, even if we wanted to do that, how exactly would we keep any sort of animal like that within our grasp? It's not like we're able to build some sort of giant electric fence."

"We'd maybe be able to do that but it's probably too much work to ever pay off." I thought before saying, "Free range sheep and chickens existed before. I'll admit that I'm not sure exactly how it worked but it's certainly possible."

"You expect us to become your farmers?" Avery accused.

"No, I don't expect anything like this from y'all. All I'm doing is conveying possible plans that come to my mind which you might like to consider. After all, the first proper meeting our two communities had revealed that y'all have no real long-term plans other than just surviving like how you already have been. I figure spurring some thoughts regarding something more sophisticated, like tending to some livestock, could help your group form some grander desires."

"While your suggestion may not be impossible, it'd probably take a long time to not only find any animals like that, but to also make them trust us would be, what I can only assume, a very difficult thing to accomplish." Ezra commented. "Though I do appreciate the suggestion. None of us, to my knowledge at least, had that type of thought even cross our minds until now. But to be fair, I'm not sure why we'd've thought about that since none of us have any experience with tending to animals and we've had... better things to do during that time."

"Yeah, it seems impossible and impractical." Spencer commented. "How would we even begin something like that?"

I thought about how Kai had started to attempt taming that husky we had interacted with. "We have someone that might have a general idea on how to approach and then get friendly with a wild animal. But just going off of intuition, it seems somewhat obvious how to do it; be calm and move slowly while trying to show the animal you mean no harm to it. Eventually, it might take a while, they'll come to understand that you're not a threat and will get to know you as something you can rely on. Like being a source of food or shelter for them when they need it."

"It sounds plausible..." Addison commented. "And with those animals, specifically the sheep and chickens, we could once again have stuff like eggs and milk which could probably be used to make some other complicated stuff."

"Yeah, like cheese and butter." A man named Hinto added.

"Along with that, my partner, Audrey, who's our agricultural expert, has talked about how Solaris will eventually grow grain which means we'll be able to make bread and pasta. It might take a couple of years but it'd happen if we get access to that stuff."

"They'd also be producing wool, mutton, poultry, feathers, and leather... All of those things could be the stuff they trade with us for things Solaris has." I thought.

Ezra slowly nodded. "That is... an intriguing idea. And you make a very compelling argument. However, our group needs to have a deep discussion about this all before any decisions are final."

"That's completely understandable. I want y'all to take all the time you need to make up your minds, there's no rush here."

Suddenly, Piper asked, "If we decide to accept your offer and later if one of us, for whatever reason, gets attacked or attacks one of your people, what would happen after that? And what if one of us wants to stay in Solaris?"

I then said, "For your first question; we'd examine the situation and depending on how badly injured one or both would be, I'd probably just keep the both of them away from each other and expel your group's member involved. It has to be that way because it's likely that it'd turn into a 'he said, she said' situation which is as reliable as it sounds. Now for someone wanting to stay in Solaris, I suppose they could briefly stay there sometimes, but I'd like our people to stay within our own groups since we'll operate independently. We'll just be working together, if y'all decide to do that that is."

Ezra nodded. "I agree; we have our own place here and a community we have to attend to. We also don't want to overstay our welcome. And I'll see to it that this same policy is upheld on our end too."

"I'm actually wondering about that, about us going over to Solaris. When do you think some of us could do that? To see Brooklyn and Leon?" Rylee asked.

"Most likely in a few days; our next meeting will probably decide when that'll happen. You'll have to decide who'll be the ones to come over since I'm only going to allow four or five at most when that happens."

"So what kind of construction plans do you have? I can't imagine you have that many since your group only has a few more people than ours." Forrest inquired.

"Building cabins takes a few weeks, every additional person allocated to the job helps out tremendously. Though at the moment we don't need any more but we will eventually." I said, continuing my explanation by mentioning boarding homes, cellars, greenhouses, outhouses, crop fields, and other smaller but still important miscellaneous buildings. "This is all in preparation for Solaris' ulterior goal which is to direct as many strangers looking for a place to call home toward Solaris. We do this by building makeshift and sturdy signs to then sprinkle them along any trail, track, or road that makes sense which tells them how to contact us."

One of them asked about the dangers to that where I then had to explain the third party location, the radio set up, the planned boarding house, and then how one becomes a Solar citizen. That led up to one of them questioning what our rules were which I recited from memory.

"But anyways, with our sign network accelerating in its expansion, an effect of that will undoubtedly be that more and more people start joining Solaris which means that more construction is needed which further helps accelerate the growth of our population... At least that's the plan, it's yet to be seen whether or not something like that actually happens."

Addison then said, "...Isn't that eventually gonna make your community dwarf ours?"

"Well, maybe. It depends on how your community grows and if all those that contact us want to stay with Solaris. It might be that there could be some system for us to pass on some newcomers over here to help y'all out with your operations eventually. But for now, let's focus on the now and the short-term."

That quickly led to a conversation about what Solaris was planning to grow, how we grow the food, and how we store the food upon other related topics regarding our crops. Ashton was the one leading this segment of the conversation since he knew a decent bit more about our agricultural operations since Audrey liked talking to him about it. But eventually, every major part of our efforts about growing food were talked about which left me to ponder what next would be discussed. But that's when a lull appeared in the conversation. As it was, we had already talked about the major aspects of our two communities and how they operate along with the most important proposals and ideas that needed to be discussed with each other.

The only thing left to talk about was the nitty-gritty which doesn't require the whole community to talk about with. So consequently, the need to have all of their attention was no longer present which essentially ended the meeting. These thoughts were relayed in a much more concise way which Ezra agreed to.

Though not before I decreed, "In good faith and hopes that you'll accept my offer, in a couple days we'll ship over a decent bit of our crop to begin what I hope will be the first of many transactions." At that, Ezra seemed surprised that I'd even suggest such a thing. Before I could let anyone comment, "We'll let you think about my offer for a couple of days before asking for a verdict. Until then, we'll continue taking care of Leon in hopes we can send him back home as soon as possible."

"Are you sure you want us to take some of your food? Without anything in return?"

I simply nodded. "We have plenty of it to go around. It wouldn't hurt at all to share a little bit of it." It was also a subtle move to make them trust Solaris more. Giving something like food for free was a way to buy trust and speed up the process of gaining respect. Why wouldn't I do that?

"I... greatly thank you in advance." With his gratefulness expressed, the man a few moments later dismissed his group. The same man then said, "We'll group up once more in a few hours to go over this all. Until then, let's start cooking up our lunch, it's around that time." Afterward, his crew started to slowly disperse as some held their own quiet chats about our discussion. That left him to turn his attention toward me. "Speaking of which, that offer to have some lunch with us is still open."

I turned to my crew. "Well, do you want to eat a little bit here?"

"No." Kostas bluntly replied.

Solomon seemed indifferent but Raiden and Ashton were interested. The woman of which asked, "What exactly will lunch be?"

Addison took it upon herself to answer. "Usually cooked rabbit meat, sometimes venison, with a single can of whatever you want to eat for that day. Y'know, the selection of canned whatever is limited to what we have in stock."

"Fairly basic." Ashton commented. "But that's pretty much identical to how Solaris' meals were for a while. Do you guys use spices?"

"We have a few but you'll have to do it yourself if you want to use any."

After she revealed that, we decided to have the courtesy to stay for a little while longer. As Ashton and Raiden branched off to go help with some preparations for cooking food, a couple unnamed strangers walked up to me to ask some questions so some things could be clarified. Though this smaller and much less important conversation continued for another twenty minutes which delved into some of my personal history about how I became the leader of Solaris and how it developed to the point it's gotten to thus far.

This theme continued for the next hour as the food was being prepared. During so, we got the clothes that Brooklyn had asked and some new faces would approach me, ask some questions, and I'd answer something regarding my past or current operations. I wasn't annoyed or anything, they were just curious and had to learn of what was said separately from others I spoke to. But it made it to where these interactions aren't worthy of writing down due to the redundancy of them.

So when the food was ready, I decided to only eat some sizzled rabbit without any spices. Since Jordan always prepared meat in his own style, I wasn't used to spiceless meat. So I wasn't expecting just how bland meat can be but there was some taste to it which was good enough for me, I'm not that picky of an eater. My crew stayed as a unit near the center of the cul-de-sac as the other group were sprinkled across said cul-de-sac as they enjoyed their food. But eating simple foods doesn't take that much time so only around fifteen minutes later is when the meal came to an end.

Ezra offered to escort us back to the place where we set up our meetings but I politely declined his offer. "If you have any questions about what we've discussed, you now have that radio to contact us whenever you'd like. Until then, we'll talk later."

"We sure will. Have a nice trip back home."

With his simple reply said, we shook hands again before my crew turned toward the figurative exit and headed back to where we came from. On our way there, the silence was a segue into our own discussion about the meeting we just had of which I started.

"I noticed a distinct lack of any objections you four might've had."

After a few moments of silence, Ashton said, "Oh, uh, well I don't think it was needed. To me, your terms seem logical enough. They'll get a whole host of benefits from us for only half of their numbers working for us sometimes which isn't even permanent. If it was like true control over all of them indefinitely, then I would've objected. But since it wasn't, I didn't see a point to."

"And like you said about how much food we have, there's more than enough to go around. Giving away a few potatoes and some corn won't hurt us." Raiden added.

Kostas made a strange hum sound. "I do think that the livestock idea you said might be... far-fetched."

Ashton lightly chuckled. "Compared to building our own homes and growing crops, I think becoming friends with some animals isn't going to be that hard of a task. It seems very likely that if they want to do something like that, it'll only take a few months for it to get going."

Kostas grunted. "Maybe..."

"Hunter, would you accept the terms if someone offered you something like that? Y'know, if we didn't have what we have." Solomon asked.

After a couple seconds of thought, "I most likely would, purely for the greater good of my people. But I'd be very alert about how the intentions of the other group would either be maintained or changed. If things start taking a more negative turn, then there'd be a big problem."

"And your intentions won't do that, right?" Ashton asked.

"Of course not. I only have the betterment of both peoples on my mind." I honestly replied.

With that, we continued our stride back to our vehicle before ultimately getting back into it, situating the weapons we had left within it, and then began speeding our way back home. And when we had returned to Solaris, I used my walkie-talkie to brief the entire community about what was discussed, revealed my exact intentions with the other group of people, and a few more of the smaller details about the conversation that was had. I then answered some of my community's questions which were very similar to the questions that Ezra's group and my own crew had already asked so it was a breeze answering their questions.

When my announcements were officially over, I put the portable radio back on my hip before suddenly wondering where my wife was so I went up to our marijuana scented room. As I expected, she was there on the window bay and... she was wearing one of my spare hoodies and humming very loudly as she laid down with her eyes closed.

"Little lady, how long have you been high for?"

At my words, she instantly put her hands on her forehead. "I have no~ clue. It's so~ hard to tell how much time passes when high~."

After walking up to her I said, "I hope it's helped with some of your pain and anxiety..."

She looked up at me with a grin as one of her eyes subtly twitched, something that happens when she's high. "It actually has~ a bit. But~ I'm not sure I'd like this every time I'm on~ a period... Or anxious."

I sat on the window bay. "I assume it's because of how strong it affects you?" At that, she nodded. "Well, the more often you smoke, the bigger your tolerance of it gets. Eventually, you'd be able to smoke a few puffs and not be affected all that much. But I understand why you wouldn't want to become a stoner, it's a lot more enjoyable to smoke every now and then."

She gave me a blank look. "You talk so~ much."

I chuckled. "Alright, I'll shut up and cuddle my beautiful queen instead."

Before her drugged up mind could even register my words, I scooped her up and carried her over to our bed before laying down and keeping her on top of me, the both of us laying tummy-to-tummy. I wrapped my arms around her and simply kissed her forehead, the girl only giggling before closing her eyes. And that's when I forgot about everything else and focused on her. Being able to unwind and calm down after working and to be able to cuddle and kiss someone so sweet for a little while was always going to be the highlights of my day.

And so that's what I did. It was very nice.

Chapter 66: Playful Plundering

Chapter Text

"So, what do you want to do for our day off?" I asked a mostly naked Stacy who was sitting between my legs with my foreheads pressed against hers, the two of us on the window bay just after eating breakfast.

"Hm, I'm not sure... I was thinking about playing my clarinet with Charlotte and Trinity but I also want to draw a bit." Before I could reply, she gently gasped. "What about doing that thing you talked about? Y'know, about driving somewhere far so we can just mess around a bit, like how we did before we met all our friends."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Then we can finally get you a new pair of shoes, if you still want them."

She gently nodded. "Yes, I do. I want to try something like that out at least once."

I wondered if she wanted any other femininely oriented clothing other than that since she's brought a few things like it up over the past few weeks. It made me further wonder why she's shown a sudden interest in things like it. Not that it's a bad thing, it just makes me curious.

"So when do you want to leave?"

"Whenever you do." She replied with a little nuzzle.

"I guess we can get ready for that then, I've got basically no responsibilities today. Unless I have to get involved with some bullshit like some dumbass fight."

"You'll beat them up if you have to."

I chuckled. "No, not quite. It'd probably be the opposite if it came to that, I'm not a good fighter." My track record is solid evidence for that claim. Though my words made me suddenly remember what one of Ezra's people said, the one who claimed they knew some sort of martial arts. I wondered if I'd eventually be able to learn how not to get my shit pushed in.

"That's quitter talk."

"Well, I'm not particularly wanting to fight anyone." A few silent seconds passed of us looking into each other's eyes before she quickly stuck her tongue out and gave me a raspberry. "I thought you didn't want me to get hurt?"

"Of course I don't! It's just... never mind."

In response, booped her nose. Just as abruptly as that, I got off the window bay and headed toward our closet. "Come on my little lady, let's get ready to go." She was swift to follow in my footsteps.

As we finished getting dressed, she said, "I hate winter!"

I simply patted her head after she finished putting her sweater on. "I do too..." A few minutes later I made sure no one needed my help or attention before I retrieved the fob to my preferred vehicle and led the way there. After she got settled in the car, "So, my beautiful wife, where would you like to go?"

My question caught her off guard. "Oh,- uh... forwards!"

I chuckled at her adorable response before doing what she asked. When we were properly on the road, we started talking about the old world which I started off by saying, "It might be embarrassing to admit, but I really miss fast food joints."

"Didn't you tell me that it wasn't fast most of the time?"

"Heh, yeah, it wasn't most of the time. But the fifteen to twenty minute wait was always worth it for that guilty pleasure to be fulfilled."

"I think I remember something like what you've described before but... it was so long ago that I've almost forgotten it. What did they sell again?"

"There were four main things most of those places sold which were cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, french fries, and soda. Of course there was a lot of other stuff many other places sold but that's what was focused on for the most part. And some were bad, some were good... But it was quite an unhealthy habit to have."

"Why exactly?"

"Because the food was highly processed, had many ingredients that shouldn't have been there, and had low nutritional value. Then there was the whole meat aspect of it which was... horrendous."

"Oh, yeah. You told me about how people used to treat cows and pigs. It's hard to believe something like that ever even happened. And how many were... slaughtered every year? I forgot what you said about that."

"Two billion pigs and one billion cows. But humans killed a lot more than that every year. We used to kill a billion sheep and over fifty billion chickens every year. Then there was fish which we killed around three trillion a year."

"Sheesh..." She simply replied, her little mind not able to comprehend such large numbers. "That's awful."

"Yeah, we should probably change the topic to something else." To be fair, I didn't expect thinking about foods I missed would spiral into such a tragic topic.

I then let her lead the conversation as I drove. She talked about what she and her friends had been doing, their music, new songs she's been listening to, and spoke about some of Nova's stories and a few drawings she was asked to make for them. Listening to her stories about the parts of her personal life which I was absent from and asking a question or two every now and then was always a nice way to pass the time. It lets me know what she's up to, how she enjoys her time when I'm off focused on something work related, and how others are doing in the community. She sometimes gets lost in the meticulous details of her stories but I didn't mind it. Her hiding absolutely nothing from me, which I wasn't demanding that she be that way, showed me how much she trusted me and how much I could trust her. Of course, I already knew that but this further proved it.

Eventually, we found ourselves in a smaller town that we hadn't been in before. So as a result, we had no clue where anything was which meant we had to aimlessly wander around to try to figure out what was what. A dozen minutes later, her eyes were drawn to a certain building that she pointed out which I instantly recognized as a place where you'd be able to find just about anything you'd need for what once was your typical everyday life.

"Yeah, we can go there if you want." I replied which she nodded at. So with that, I continued ignoring the unenforceable road laws and parked directly by the entrance because why not. I then got out with her and went to open the frunk of the vehicle to take out the crowbar we take for breaking into abandoned buildings.

"Can I break the glass?" Stacy timidly asked.

"I don't want any glass flying into your eyes..." I replied.

"Psh, I'll be fine~, trust me." She made a compelling argument so I handed her the crowbar. "Wow, this is a lot heavier than I thought it'd be." That's when we had approached the doors to the shop. It didn't take much longer for her to wind up a hit and unleash her fury onto the glass. Though the door did a great job at deflecting the blow. In response, she quickly hit it again which gave her an identical result. She huffed.

I chuckled. "Here look, this is how you do it." After she reluctantly gave me the crowbar, I pressed one of the sharp edges into the glass. "If you slam it with this part pointing into the glass, you'll have a much better time breaking it. It's putting all your force into a single point."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense."

With that little lesson over, I gave the crowbar back to her where she emulated what I did before completely shattering the door. I patted her head again as she grinned, happy with herself. "Ladies first."

She grabbed my hand and looked up at me. "But I forever want you by my side."

My heart fluttered. "I do too." As we made our way into the building, she gave me the crowbar which I rested on my shoulder. "It's somewhat dark in here but at least we can tell where we're going."

"And it's somewhat cold in here..."

"If I need to hold you tight to warm you up, I will."

"Oh?" She said before pretending a gust of wind blew over her. "Yeesh, it's really cold in here. I think you might need to hold me tight."

"You know you could just ask for a hug. But if you're really already that cold then we should probably just get into the car again, I wouldn't want to expose my woman to such terrible conditions like this..."

"Wait, I'm fine, I suddenly warmed back up a lot."

I chuckled. "That's a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't be able to ask you if you want any of these."

"What are those?"

"Gumball machines." I answered as we approached an array of said machines, half of which not even containing gumballs but other sorts of candy and even small toys. We stopped at them. "Do you want any?"

"Oh, sure!"

I instantly whacked the nearest gumball machine which completely shattered the top of it causing lime balls of gum to run free in all directions. Carefully sifting through bits of glass and gum, I gave the both of us one each which she gracefully accepted. Though she went one further, or three further, by grabbing three extra gumballs and shoving them into her mouth.

"Are you sure that your mouth has enough room for that? Who am I kidding, I already know exactly how much your mouth can take."

She jolted in surprise and covered her mouth as she chewed, the girl struggling to keep the gum in her mouth as she laughed. "You're so dirty." It was tough for her to say that through all of the gum in her mouth.

"Hey, it takes the both of us for that to happen."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing..." With that being said, she focused on chewing the large amount of candy. That was until she pointed at another gumball machine which contained no amount of gumballs. "What are those?"

"Just some small gadgets."

She pointed to the next one over. "Are those octopuses?"

"Isn't the right plural for that octopussy?" I regretted saying that because I then thought about something that'd have eight vaginas. "Never mind! Anyways, it looks like it. Little small orange, red, and purple octopi... Do you want one of these too?"

"They look cute. Sure, maybe as a little souvenir?"

It only took a moment for me to break another one of the machines open which she then judged which octopus she liked the most before taking one of the rubbery figurines, a purple one. She slowly looked over it before deciding to pocket it which is when she looked up at me. "Don't you want one?"

"I suppose yours needs a friend." I simply replied before picking out an orange one and handing it to her. "Make sure those two are safe and sound until we get back."

She gently nodded as she pocketed the other one. With all that being done, I set the crowbar down by the machines before moving on from them to delve deeper into the store. During this, she was already fed up with how much gum she had to chew so she ripped more than half of it out of her mouth and discarded it on a shelf as we walked by. It wasn't like it was anyone's job to clean our mess up so we didn't care how messy or destructive we were being.

We walked up to an aisle which contained a broad array of toys for children around the ages of six and ten. This caught her attention which slowed her down to a halt, the girl giving them a look that conveyed she was in deep thought. "I remember how much I used to want stuff like this when I was small... I never had anything like it before but it seemed so fun back then. But I was never allowed to ask for things like this."

Her words were so depressing; it infuriates me how she was treated when she was a helpless child, it's a prime example of how unfair life can be. As I've come to know intimately, she doesn't bring up her past much unless some outside influence compels her to talk about it, like a heightened emotional state or an object she sees that digs up one of her repressed memories.

I gently put a hand on her back. "I'm so sorry about that, Stacy. But... hey, look on the bright side; you're allowed to take whatever you want these days. If you want to collect any sort of toy, go right ahead. If you want to take any piece of clothing or any amount of random objects, do what you want and take it all. I'm not going to stop you from doing that."

My words were able to make her gently smile before she turned to hug me. "Thank you..." After a minute, she looked up at me. "I don't want any of these anymore, I was just thinking about how much I used to because the other girls my age did. It seemed so cool back then."

I kissed her forehead. "I'm sure we can find something together that'll be just as cool, if not cooler. Shall we continue looking?"

She nodded before she led the way to the backend of the store where a wall of fish tanks were which was located next to where a lot of cat and dog toys were. "It's so weird for me to think that people actually used to have other animals in their houses. I always wondered what that was like."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, pet ownership sure was a strange thing that we used to do. And it's something that might happen again soon." At that, she looked somewhat confused. "Did I seriously not tell you about how Kai's gonna try to tame a dog that we found?"

She somewhat excitedly shook her head. "How big was it? When could I see it? Should we take some of these toys for it?"

I chuckled at how excited she had gotten all of a sudden. "It was pretty small, Kai thinks it's still a puppy. I'm not sure when anyone else besides Kai and Willow will be able to interact with the dog, it's a very skittish creature so maybe in a month or two, I have no clue. And... well, I don't know if we should take any of these toys since we're far from certain if Kai is gonna be able to make the dog trust him."

"We should do it just in case." She replied before grabbing one of the dog toys. "What kind of toys do dogs like...?"

Since she was interested in thinking ahead, I figured it wouldn't hurt to collect three or four dog toys in case we do have a new canine friend join us eventually. So after pocketing a couple chewing toys, a tennis ball, and a knotty rope, we continued aimlessly wandering through the store. While doing so, I made several shitty puns using the names of the brands of products as we passed them which I was successful in getting her to giggle several times. It's always such a nice thing to hear my girl laugh.

When we got to another corner of the store, there were two displays that instantly got my attention. "Stacy, you would love these!"

"...What are they?"

"Those are lava lamps." I answered as I pointed toward a group of them. "And over there are plasma balls."

"I don't know what those are." She simply replied.

"...It's hard to explain them. They need electricity to work through so I can't show you here, I'd have to show you when we get back home. Well, that's if you want to take at least one of each.”

"Hm... are they cool?" She asked. In response, I nodded. "Okay then, let's take them. Which one do you want?" I shrugged. "Then let's just take... that one and that one."

After she randomly pointed out which ones she desired, I took them off their displays before realizing that we had a lot of stuff on us. "We should probably go dump this all into the car."

"That's a good idea."

With her concurrence, I led us toward the entrance. Though I got distracted when we found the spot where they used to sell things like phones and laptops since the sight of the laptops made me remember what Quinn and I had spoken about regarding the community getting more computers. And since I had nothing better to do, I wanted to scratch that off my to-do list since I was easily able to do it at that moment.

So after explaining to Stacy my thought process, I handed her the plasma ball and the lava lamp before running to get the crowbar to then head back and break into where several boxes containing laptops were just waiting for me to take. Stacking up six of them, we then headed toward the vehicle and unloaded our haul into the trunk where I left the crowbar behind as well. Stacy and I took another trip to the laptops where she carried three more boxes and I carried an additional six more on top of that. Fifteen in total seemed like more than enough to take. Now it was just up to Quinn for whatever she was planning to do with them.

When we were back in the building, Stacy gently poked me in the side. Confused, I turned to her where she simply smiled up at me. So in response, I bopped her cheek. Then she poked me like five times in quick succession before taking a couple steps back to avoid getting booped by me again. She took another step back when I stepped forward, maintaining most of the distance between us.

"Don't make me chase you." I playfully warned.

"You wouldn't be able to catch me, I'm way, way~ too quick for you."

"You wanna bet?"

"I don't want you to lose anything." She smartly replied.

I turned away from her and crossed my arms. "I guess you're right..."

A few seconds later when she poked me again, she sprinted away just as I turned toward her which commenced a chase that was severely one sided in my favour. But since I was fair, I let her gain a lead as we weaved and bobbed through the aisles of the store. As she ran, she cutely giggled to express how much fun she was having due to acting like a brat. It was a really nice thing to hear.

Though a couple minutes later, she actually juked me and I lost track of her after entering the thick clothes section of the store. So I slowed down and steadily cut through the store just trying to hear any footsteps she might've made or if her panting was loud enough to detect.

So as I looked for her, I said, "I see your jogging is already paying off a bit... It also doesn't help me that you're little and can hide in places better than I could. But you can't hide from me forever, Stacy." After saying that, I focused back on looking for where she went. A few moments later, I heard something small hit the floor a couple of aisles away which instantly gave me a good reference for where Stacy had retreated to.

Using that to my advantage, I made a beeline there where she instantly dashed away from me again when I revealed myself to her. Since she had a false impression that she could easily escape me again, she was sloppy with her evasive maneuvers which is when I decided not to go easy on her. So that's when I sprinted and quickly closed the distance between us where I abruptly swept her off her feet which caused her to yelp in surprise. And I will admit that such a move almost caused the both of us to hit the floor; picking someone up while you're both running is rather dangerous.

As she panted, she crossed her arms. "I went easy on you."

I rubbed my nose against hers. "I'm sure you did, dear."

"Even though I for sure went super, super easy on you, it's so unfair how fast you are!"

"Are you saying that so I’ll chase you more?"

"...Maybe."

I kissed her forehead before gently placing her down. That's when she smirked and raised her hand which was going to poke me but before that could happen, I wrapped my arms around her chest and lifted her up again. Just after that, I got on my knees where I then quickly laid her down and grabbed her wrists to pin her hands above her head. At first, she resisted just a bit but then allowed me to do this to her, the girl not expecting what I was about to do since her mind went in a direction that was entirely different than the direction mine headed. But I kept her mind unsuspecting since surprises are always a nice thing to do to someone.

I pinned her wrists over her head with a single hand as I gently cupped the side of her smiling face. She quivered somewhat when that hand started to drape down her body and my lips headed for hers. After kissing her for a few moments, she said, "Hunter, I'm still on my period..."

"I know. What does that have to do with anything?"

She gave me a confused expression. "Don't you... y'know, don't you wanna fuck me?"

"No, not at the moment."

"But-."

She was cut off with laughter when my hand slid under her shirt which started prodding into her sensitive belly. It had been a long while since I last tickled Stacy so I intended to tickle her for a while to make up for lost time. She desperately tried to escape my grasp but her thrashes were kept under control due to my firm hold on her. So her sides and abdomen were relentlessly tickled for at least five minutes, probably a little longer, all the while Stacy's lovely cackles filled the air around us.

By the end of it, she was gasping again, her face was flushed, and her forehead was slightly damp. I let go of her wrists and held the sides of her face before kissing her again. "That's what you get for being a lil' brat." I playfully said.

"Then maybe I should be an even bigger brat for you." She replied with a smirk.

"Well, if you want to be tickled more, I'd be happy to tickle you for much longer..."

Her smirk weakened. "Uh- maybe later?"

I chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "We should probably get up and finally do that thing we're here for." She raised an eyebrow at that. "Y'know, the new shoes you want?"

"Oh yeah!"

Since we were done playing around, we quickly got on our feet to look for what she wanted. And since we were already in the clothes section of the store, it didn't take long to find where the type of shoes she wanted were. As she looked for a pair she liked, she told me why she wanted to wear high heels which had nothing to do with height ro anything like that. She just found them interesting and cool looking so she wanted to see what they were like. While she looked for ones she might've liked, I told her about the havoc that the greater than two inch high heels can wreak on someone's feet. With her gaining that knowledge, she disqualified any heels that would cause such damage.

"What about these ones?" She asked after picking up a purple pair of heels to show me.

This was the third time that she asked what my opinion was about a pair of heels. "They look alright. Just keep in mind that you shouldn't base what you want to wear off of my opinion. You're not trying to wear anything provocative so just pick out what you feel is the best decision for you."

With that being said, she put those heels down and continued thinking as she glanced over several designs of heels. "And I can take as many as I want...?"

"Yes, darling."

She grinned as she picked up a box of basic blue heels. Now I don't know if certain types of heels have different names and it'd be a bitch to try to describe the designs and intricacies of the diversity of heels so I'm not going to do that. All that needs to be known is that she picked out three pairs before finding a chair so she could easily change into them to try them out. So after putting on a pair which looked like the top parts of them were made of large bands, she stood up and cautiously took a step forward.

"How's it feel?" I asked as she continued slowly stepping.

"Weird!" She said before stumbling a tad. "But cool."

"Yeah, I can imagine it really throws your sense of balance off. Our bipedal stature didn't evolve millions of years for us to wear things like heels."

"That doesn't mean anything!"

I raised an eyebrow. "How does it not? It's the reason you're stumbling a bit."

"Well, I mean... y'know, we didn't evolve for cars and stuff like that so I guess it doesn't really matter what we did and didn't evolve for."

"Fair point. As long as it's not extremely harmful to you or others, going against what nature has imposed against us is a great thing to live by because nature kinda sucks."

"Didn't you tell me that nature should be protected though? And that it's called 'mother Earth' because it technically gave birth to us in a way?"

"There are limitations to going against nature like not destroying ecosystems since we rely upon that. But we're allowed to criticize mother Earth for what it's responsible for like parasites and diseases. Though I guess natural disasters aren't really her fault since that's just her physiology..."

As Stacy continued to find and try out new pairs of heels, we spoke about a few cycles of the Earth and how fascinating nature and furthermore existence itself is. By the end of it, she understood how we're composed of multi-billion year old atoms which were once part of and had passed through a countless amount of other creatures that had lived, died, and gone extinct.

"I really liked learning that but now I just feel extremely weird about... everything." Stacy replied as she looked down at her feet. "Anyways, I think I'm done testing these out."

I then walked up to her which made me fully realize the difference something as little as two inches make. "Are you taking all of them?"

"No, just the red and blue ones. The rest either don't fit or are... ugly."

It was nice to see that she had her own sense of fashion, it made me wonder what that'd develop into. She changed back into her regular shoes and collected up the boxes her desired heels came with before I offered to carry them for her. I then asked, "Is there anything else you want from here? We've still got a lot of time to burn."

She suddenly became shy and gently tapped her index fingers together. "Well, I guess there might be one thing we could probably look for maybe?"

I chuckled at her adorableness. "Of course, don't be afraid to ask."

"Can I get... Do you think there might be any makeup here?"

Honestly, I'm not a fan of makeup because it has way more downsides than upsides in my view. I also want to love what Stacy truly is, makeup isn't required for that. But if my queen wanted some then I wasn't going to deny her wish for it. "Yeah, there probably is somewhere. Just keep in mind that you don't need any to make you stunningly beautiful."

She smiled at that. "Thank you. I'm just interested in a couple of things so it's not like I'm gonna go crazy with it."

With that being said, we then went on the prowl to locate where any sort of makeup might be. Though thirty minutes later, which was rife with making a mess of things by hitting shit off shelves, revealed that makeup wasn't in stock at the store. However, there was something else in its absence which was another form of cosmetics.

"Hey, do you think you'd like nail polish instead of any makeup for now?" I asked her as I pointed toward a shelf containing several colors of the glamourous substance.

"Oh yeah, I remember Autumn talking about how she used to wear this stuff. I've been really wanting to try that out too!"

"C'mon then, let's get you a few bottles of it."

She giddily led the way toward the display where she excitedly looked over a spectrum of polishers she could possibly wear. She was spoiled for choice which is why she took her time trying to decide the colors that fit her the best. She eventually landed on a dark blue color which was a very similar shade to the blue that her blue pair of heels were. And since she was rather thoughtful, she took another bottle for her to later give to Autumn.

"Should I put it on right now?"

"Eh, I think you should wait until we're back home. It takes a while for polish to dry which would just be annoying to deal with as we're doing stuff."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just excited to try it out."

I suddenly nuzzled her forehead. It was very satisfying to know how happy she was during our trip-.

"GET OUT OF THIS STORE AND NEVER RETURN."

The sudden shriek at the far end of the store, far out of our sights, drained the color from our faces as fear blitzed throughout our entire bodies. I didn't spare a second thought before I ushered the both of us toward the exit while my hand stayed hovered over where my magnum was holstered. Thankfully we weren't that far from the exit so our quiet yet swift retreat out of the not-so-abandoned store only took a handful of moments. After rushing to get into the vehicle, I threw the boxes I was carrying into the back of the car before turning the car on and slamming down on the accelerator to put as much distance between us and the store as fast as possible.

"L-Let's leave this place." Stacy said.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." I replied, the only thing on my mind was the thought of booking it back to Solaris.

For a couple of minutes while we drove back in silence I thought about if whoever had hollered at us could've been reasoned with. I also wonder what would've happened to us had we not left the instant we knew we weren't alone. Thinking about it, it wasn't a wise move to keep a hold of the shoe boxes since I should've dropped them so I could sweep Stacy off of her feet and dash out of the building; but to be fair my mind was deeply startled so I wasn't able to think right. The last thing I thought about is where the fuck did that person come from? We had walked through most, not all, of the store so I guess it was possible for them to somehow avoid us... unless there was some sort of backroom that we overlooked. Whatever the case, it was frightening to know that we had been inside a building where someone else was for quite a long time. And hopefully they didn't live there, we made quite a mess of the store...

The both of us briefly talked about this all while we calmed down. It was fairly difficult for the color of our faces to return, for our heart rates to slow, and for that horrible feeling within our stomachs to subside for the most part. And when I looked over at her, her hands had a subtle shiver to them. So to help calm her down, a hand of mine went over to hers to hold one which she easily allowed. It was a simple action that let her know she was within the aura of my protection.

"Let's take our minds off of that, we don't want to let that ruin our attitude, right?"

She slowly nodded. "Yeah, you're right... It's just hard to not think about it."

"Tell me about what you want to name the octopus you took earlier."

With that, she put the two octopi on the dashboard and our focus shifted to thinking about names for what the cute inanimate object should be called. After she landed on the name 'Bethany' she asked me to name mine as well. After I decided to name mine 'Sir Nathanial', she asked while twiddling her index fingers, "Have you ever thought about what you'd name a baby?"

"I did briefly when Autumn wasn't sure what to name hers."

"I meant like... for a baby of your own."

"Oh. I have a few times but nothing really meaningful came of it since I didn't land on any names I truly liked. Have you?"

She nodded. "It usually happens when I'm painting a sign. Since it's gotten easy to paint them, my mind can wonder as I do that. It makes me think about that type of stuff a lot for some reason."

I resisted the urge to hint at offering her another one of my donations for another chance of her getting pregnant to instead ask her about the sorts of names she's thought about. What followed was a series of several names with a lack of any pattern which had a wide range diversity. It's safe to say that if she had ten children, they'd all find a suitable name for them fairly quickly. Most of the names she said were alright while some others were worse off which we talked about for quite a while.

It's somewhat surprising that it took us this long to genuinely talk about it but I guess it's almost only seriously talked about when you know you're gonna be a parent soon. And since that wasn't the case it wasn't imperative that we come to a conclusion so we didn't land on a name for any possible children we might have in the future. However, we narrowed her list down quite substantially so some form of progress was made. During so, our nerves returned to a normal state and the fright we had was already becoming a memory we'd be able to look back on and laugh at.

When we returned back home I parked the vehicle and plugged it into its charger before asking Quinn to meet me by it. Now since Quinn is mute, it's always difficult to know how long she'll take to do whatever is asked through the radio or even if she received the message. She could definitely take advantage of that for her not to do whatever is asked of her if she really wanted to and I would never know about it. But thankfully, she's not a scumbag so she met up with Stacy and I only a couple of minutes later.

"Remember when we talked about getting more laptops for whoever wants one?" I asked before opening the trunk to reveal the pile of laptops to her. "Well here you go; about ten thousand dollars worth of laptops for you, free of charge." She excitedly clapped in response. "Do you want me to help you move them to where you're gonna keep them for now?" She simply shook her head before pointing at the plasma ball. "Oh, that's just some other stuff Stacy and I took while out. We'll get our stuff and then you can take the laptops." With her nod, Stacy and I did just that.

It took a couple trips from the car to our room before we reviewed what all we had plundered. As we did so, Stacy pointed at the red tinted lava lamp. "So, what does that do?"

"It's a cool lamp that heats up some weird bubbly material which rises and then falls which repeats until you turn it off." I replied, my explanation only causing confusion. "It's easier to understand if I show you." At that, I unboxed the lamp, put it on her desk, and plugged it in before turning it on.

"...I don't see any bubbles." She pointed out.

I chuckled. "It takes a bit for the stuff to warm up. In the meantime, do you want to see what the plasma ball does?" She nodded before handing me the item over where I plugged that one in as well. After turning it on, she gasped.

"Woah! That's so cool, it's like lightning!"

"I knew you'd like it. And look, you can touch it and make the plasma go to your fingers." I said before demonstrating. After my hand left the glass, "Try it out!"

Her hand timidly headed toward the ball as the girl expressed her fear that it might shock her in some way. I chuckled at her naive worry and explained that nothing like it would happen. Trusting me, her fingertips contacted the ball which allowed her to indirectly wield the power of plasma. She grinned while she focused on draping and then tapping her fingers across the ball, the ever changing bolts of plasma greatly fascinating her.

As I positioned the two rubbery octopi next to each other on her desk and put the dog toys into a drawer, we spoke about the states of matter before bringing up how much we enjoyed our day out. It was something we both wanted to do again whenever appropriate. And it's not like that'll become a common thing since keeping it as a somewhat rare event will make them more memorable and more enjoyable, like a vacation of sorts.

"Do you want to try out the nail polish?" I asked while holding the bottle up.

She quietly gasped and took her hand off the plasma ball. "Yeah!" I then cracked open the bottle for her which quickly reminded me how pungent the smell of nail polish is, something she swiftly picked up on as well. "I wasn't expecting it to smell like... that."

I smirked at that. "It's not the worst smell, it's just quite jarring at first. I'm sure you'll get used to it if you wanna wear it at least semi-regularly. You still want to wear it, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I still like the look of it a lot. I just hope it doesn't always smell that strongly."

"Oh, it won't, the smell dissipates when it dries."

"And how long does it take to dry? How often will I need to paint them?"

"It should take around twenty to thirty minutes to dry. And if I remember correctly, you'd need to repaint them once a week or so."

"That sounds doable. I just wonder how long this bottle will last and when I need to get another one."

I did some quick mental math. "For you, probably around four months."

She cutely tilted her head. "How do you know all of this?"

I hesitated for a second. "My ex painted her nails so I inadvertently learned all about it."

"Oh..."

I quickly changed the topic as I took a seat in the desk chair. "Gimme your hands, I'll paint them for you."

After she gracefully gave me her hands, I enacted upon what I said I'd do for the next five minutes. I made sure to be meticulous and careful so I wouldn't make a mess nor miss any portion of her nails. At the end of it, I twisted the cap on the bottle and placed it on her desk as she looked at her freshly polished nails while cutely smiling.

"This is so cool. I love this."

Being mindful of where her nails would be, I gingerly wrapped my hands around her chest and softly pressed my nose against hers. "And I love making you get the things that'll make you happy."

She giggled. "Stuff like this just makes life a little more fun and interesting; I'll always be happy when I have you."

At that, we timidly kissed for a couple dozen seconds where the kiss stayed soft and calm through to the end. Afterward, her attention abruptly shifted toward a certain lamp that was behind me. "Woah, look at it!" I turned around just in time to see the first huge blob of lamp-juice break free from the base of the lamp before elevating to the top. It stayed there for a few seconds before starting to descend back down again for the cycle to be repeated. "Yeah, that's pretty cool."

"I'm glad you agree. It's totally a good use of energy."

"And also, y'know, we can spare it since the battery storage is always almost full."

"Good point."

After I nuzzled her forehead, she asked, "So... What should I do as I wait for my nails to dry?"

I peered down at her fingernails as I thought about what she was limited to. I glanced toward the window bay where her brush laid. "Can I brush your hair?"

She gently nodded. "Yes. I love it when you do that."

She led me toward the window bay and positioned herself in the middle of it before waiting for me to join her. I quickly did so where she found herself sitting in between my legs once again while I picked up her brush. As I kept an arm around her abdomen, I started to carefully brush her hair which is when she started to softly sing to help pass the time. I had no objection regarding hearing her beautiful voice fill the empty air around us.

Eventually when her hair was properly groomed and the polish upon her nails had dried, she announced, "I think I'm gonna go show the girls and give Autumn the extra bottle of nail polish, I think they'd like it."

I smirked. "And when they get jealous that they don't have nails as pretty as yours, they'll quickly copy what you've done to yours."

She giggled. "Yeah, probably."

"Well go on then, I'll be here when you get back."

She then turned around and hugged me for a few moments which was swiftly reciprocated before the girl hopped off the window bay and exited our room. That left me to simply stare out of the window and think about all sorts of random things for a dozen or so minutes. Eventually, I got up to turn off the plasma ball and the lava lamp before taking a seat on the desk chair again. My mind continued to wonder but this time my mind took an aroused turn after remembering how close Stacy and I had gotten to rumpin' earlier that day. That's when I suddenly remembered that our camera had all the photos and videos of her in just about every lewd scenario I'd want to see her in.

(Small lewd scene ahead, “ctrl+f” ‘sex over’ to skip)

So without much of a fight, I retrieved the camera and sat back down at the desk as I opened up the file where all of our nudes and sex tapes were. I selected an image of her laying on her back where she held one of her tits as her other hand gingerly spread her pussy open just a tad. This turned into me thoroughly reviewing many of the photos by appreciating how she let me be inside her, admiring Stacy's form, zooming in on her lower half, and focusing on our genitals whenever I was slowly fucking her. I quite liked all of the photos so I was decently aroused by the time I was watching one of the videos where I got even more horny as I enjoyed Stacy's expressions and moans in the video.

After a couple more minutes of teasing myself, I unzipped my jeans and took my cock out before starting to stroke myself to the video. It... was definitely a first for me and something I thought was quite peculiar in the moment but that didn't stop me from enjoying myself. Is masturbating to yourself strange? I don't think so; isn't that one of the points of recording yourself having sex?

Anyways, I did that for ten minutes and I must say that I didn't miss being the one to do that to myself. I was thankful that that isn't the case anymore since the actual thing is a thousand times better. And it's honestly somewhat surprising that it took me this long to try rubbing one out... I just didn't need to do this since I've always had her to fulfill that desire, besides when things like a period get in the way. Though before I started getting near my edge, the door abruptly opened which pulled me out of my deep concentration to the video which made me slightly freak out.

Doing that brought up a lot of memories of when I was almost caught masturbating all those years ago. I despised that feeling since it was such an annoying and jarring sensation. Though it lightened significantly when I realized that it was just my woman who disrupted my session. Even then, I had swiftly turned the camera off, put it down on the desk, and hid my phallus out of sight just because I have that instinct when getting walked in on.

At my unusual reaction to her entry, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?" She then closed the door before walking up to me, the girl well aware that something was off.

"Yeah. I was just masturbating." I nonchalantly replied. I didn't need to hide anything like that from her.

She lightly blushed before looking down and realizing that my pants were still undone where a noticeable bulge was still present where my groin is. She subtly bit her bottom lip as she thought about the situation she was in. She glanced at the camera. “And you were watching one of our videos?”

“Of course, you’re the only woman that’d be able to make me cum at this point.”

She flatteringly giggled. Just a few moments later, she assertively put a hand on the side of my face before she gingerly directed me to look at her. "Do you want me to make you do that again?"

"Well, yes, it's just I assumed you didn't want to have sex since you're on your period."

She lightly giggled and rested her forehead on mine. "I don't want to, yeah... But I can still suck it if you want. Remember what we said about my mouth earlier today?"

I lightly swallowed before turning the chair to properly face her. "As long as you wouldn't mind..."

She lightly giggled again and rubbed her forehead against mine before kissing me for a few seconds. She walked over to our bed and retrieved a pillow to use as cushioning before getting on her knees between my legs. During that time I had slipped the lower half of my clothing off and got fully erect again at how nice the next few minutes were gonna be.

"Cum anytime you want..." Stacy advised with a sultry tone as she took a hold of the base of my shaft.

I lightly grunted when her lips lovingly wrapped around my glans, the girl's tongue confidently wasting no time in swirling around it. I lowly moaned at that, her tongue already feeling overwhelming in a way. After she took a gentle hold of my testicles, she started lowering her head while sucking hard as she made sure her tongue stayed firmly pressed against me.

I placed both of my hands on her head after my tip reached the back of her throat. The girl continued to take it inside of her until she had to let go of the base of my cock so her nose could press against my groin. As she housed the entirety of my penis within her mouth I reminded her of how much of a good girl she is.

After she made sure her saliva covered my entire shaft she slowly lifted her head up to my glans before deeply kissing it. Afterward, she focused on the first four inches like usual, the girl starting off slow before speeding up to a moderate pace. Bundle that with her swallowing every now and then, her tongue pressing against me, and the girl wanting to lovingly satisfy me, then the result will be me pleasurably grunting and feeling lucky to have someone who was willing to do that to me.

And the pace stayed like that for only three or four minutes before my edge neared. Since I had masturbated prior to this I wasn't able to last nearly as long as I normally would but she said I could cum at any time so I guided her head up and down a little faster to signify that I was close. She got the memo and prepared for my cum to enter her; of which a large load of it did just a few moments later, the act causing another batch of orgasmic waves to wash over my body.

She made sure to suck as best as she could to get as much of it out of me as possible and into her mouth. It took her a few more seconds of keeping my cock in her mouth before she stood back up, ending the act. Then she started to pull out some art supplies from a drawer to continue one of her art pieces. A couple minutes later she finally swallowed what was in her mouth, the girl satisfied with having thoroughly tasted my seed. I think it's nice that she enjoys the taste of it so much...

I asked her if she wanted me to do anything to her but she shook her head. "I'm not in the mood. Earlier was when you'd be able to do something like that but that window is closed. At least for now."

(Sex over)

After that, we didn't really talk about it since it was a normal thing at this point. I just dressed back up before we focused on her artwork by the girl sitting on my lap as she drew a mountainous landscape. I of course gave her gentle kisses and nuzzles across her face as she drew but not much was said. That was until we started talking about what we were gonna be doing the next day which is when I went over how another meeting between communities was gonna take place.

Since the last few meetings have happened with no detrimental problems having emerged, her anxiety regarding it has come down quite significantly which was a relief for the both of us. After talking about what might be discussed during the next gathering of our groups, we moved on from what we'd be doing here at home. I gave her a rundown of my list of things to build and create which would keep our community fairly busy for at least a couple months. Depending on what Ezra's group has decided on regarding my offer, that busy couple of months will probably be extended by another one, probably even three. But of course, our priorities and our list of things needed to get done continuously lengthens as we grow so we'll be working indefinitely. I wasn't complaining.

Eventually, her landscape drawing was completed which allowed us to leave our room and go down to the living room to join some of our friends in watching some movies. Before we knew it, our binging of movies and commenting on them catapulted us to the end of the day. I was looking forward to tomorrow.

Chapter 67

Notes:

The way that dialogue of the main characters has been completely changed; something that will retroactively be implemented whenever I go back and polish and edit the story.

Chapter Text

Even though it was around that time of year and it should be expected, the first true snowfall is always surprising. And not in a good way. I've always despised snow, the cold, the ice, and the frostbite it comes with. Furthermore, it also makes roads much more dangerous due to how you can lose traction on unsalted streets, which as we all know, no such thing as a service for salting roads exists anymore. So after seeing that around three inches of snow had freshly fallen during everyone's slumber, the preparations for snow removal in important areas were quickly established.

Along with that, I'd later get a proper understanding of how much slower I have to drive when the roads are caked in snow. Because of that, the next meeting we had with Ezra's group was delayed by an hour along with how they allowed us to drive over to the cul-de-sac. They didn't want to walk a couple miles in the snow and furthermore didn't want to carry some heavy boxes all the way back which I understood. Thankfully, we were able to establish the change of plans through our nifty radio connection. During that time of waiting, I snuggled with Stacy for a little while until Trinity asked me to meet her in the dining room.

When I got there, I noticed that Etsu and Roman were also sitting at the table, though Autumn was absent from the radio since it wasn't the time for her to be stationed there yet. "Howdy. Is something wrong?"

Trinity shook her head. "Nope, we just need to talk about our construction plans."

Etsu added, "And... y'know, clarify when construction needs to be stop- well, not stop, but pause. Temperature, for example. This morning reminded me to ask y-you; at… how cold or hot should it be until we call things off?"

"That's a good question. Last winter, before you were here Etsu, we didn't do much at all since we waited until things warmed back up for us to start cracking along on our to-do list. But this time around, we can't sit on our hands, we've got too much on our plates to slack around. With that said, do any of you have any suggestions for temperature related work limits?"

"Isn't 'freezing' a good point for that limit to be set? That's when it seems working out there becomes very uncomfortable, dangerous even." Roman suggested.

Trinity shook her head. "Hell no. As much as I don't like working out in the damn cold, setting the bar that low would mean that we wouldn't fuckin' be working for most of the winter, something Hunter just said our asses shouldn't do. Yes, it'll be uncomfortable as fuck if you're not wearing your winter clothes right and it might be hella dangerous if you're more fuckin’ clumsy than the average person, but we'd be able to push through it to get our fuckin' projects done if done right."

"Etsu, what do you think?"

"Well... before The Drop, the rules- the regulations for construction workers operating in... y'know, severe temperatures were fairly extreme, a-at least in my opinion. It used to be that construction for projects or repairs would cease if temperatures were as low as negative thirty degrees. Wait, I mean, non-essential projects, other important things would still be built. But now that I'm able to have a say in it... I-I... would say we should temporarily cease operations when it gets as cold as zero degrees."

"Fahrenheit?" I asked which she nodded at. "Since you two are the other ones in charge of construction, what do you think about that?"

"I think it's way too cold." Roman honestly replied.

"And I think it's fair as fuck." Trinity added. "Hell, it rarely ever gets as cold as zero degrees here. While we weren't able to measure it last winter, I come from bumfuck northern Ohio and know full well how fuckin' cold and hot this part of the world usually gets year-round."

"It appears you've been outvoted, Roman." I announced which he quickly accepted after a quiet tsk. "So yes, when it gets to zero degrees, postpone construction, the chopping down of trees, and processing the wood. Though scavenging trips can still happen. I'm sure no one'll complain all that much and if they do, tell them to talk with me."

A couple of moments later, Trinity said, "Alright, good. Now that we've talked that shit over, could you get your ass over here so we can go over our current plans and talk about the ones you haven't made official yet?"

While she gestured for me to go over to the dining table where a rudimentary map of Solaris laid upon, I remembered that I had told her I needed to discuss a couple of new building projects I had thought up previously. So after taking a spot next to her, we went over how the second greenhouse was going to be assembled and finished later that day which would segue into breaking ground on the boarding house. After that was clarified, Etsu outlined where the next three abodes would be erected once required.

Once that was all discussed, we moved onto what I wanted to put on their queue of things to be built. "Audrey and I have talked about this before; an outhouse of sorts for our waste to be turned into our benefit. It doesn't have to be big and it doesn't have to be complex. The only thing required other than it being well built is that the waste needs to be easily extractable."

Etsu nodded. "Yeah, that's a good thought- idea. In the last month or so... I-I've seen that some people haven't been going far enough to do their... y'know, their business. Regulating it to one area should fix that problem before it becomes a much bigger problem."

"And that's exactly why I bring this up. It won't be a fun job but it's a necessary and beneficial one." After I said that, I went on to elaborate where it should be positioned and how we'd turn our waste into a form of fertilizer.

Trinity nodded. "I agree, that's shit’s far enough away. When should we get to building this fucker? It should only take us a handful of days."

"Right after the boarding house. How long do you think that'll take to build?"

"It should take around... like three or four fuckin' weeks. Maybe up to six?"

I guess I should've expected an estimate around that long but I have an optimism bias. "Well, the good thing is that this other stuff is not absolutely required at the moment but it will be once more people start joining us. Now, for another form of hygiene, a bathhouse." At that, I outlined a plan for scavenging hot tubs to use for cleaning bodies and clothes. "No, you wouldn't bathe within the hot tub itself, you'd just be able to transfer warm water from it into just a regular boring tub. With that, you'd be able to clean yourself much more comfortably during the winter months and not have to worry about being frostbitten or being utterly filthy; some don't choose to expose themselves to that which I don't blame them for."

Roman nodded. "Yeah, I like that idea, it sounds nice. Though don't hot tubs have filters? How long do those last?"

"Actually, I used to have a hot tub- well, my parents did." Etsu said. "Those filters last for a long time, up to a couple of y-years at least. So if we can find even a small batch of filters, we'd be good to go for several years... probably."

After discussing where such a bathhouse should be placed, we officially added it to the queue of things waiting to be built. Shortly after that, I brought up the incoming meeting that Ezra and I were gonna have and how Solaris might soon need to dedicate our focus and resources to helping them build some stuff over in their community, if they accepted my offer.

"Do they need more... y’know, living space?" Etsu asked.

"No, they're good on that front for a few months at least. The thing we're probably gonna be doing for them for a little while is helping them get electricity."

"Which I assume you'd need us to make a fuck ton of wooden frames for the solar panels they'd have?" Trinity asked which I nodded at. "If so, we'd be a lot fuckin' faster than what it took for us to make the frames for our panels. First of all, we're a shit load more experienced than what we were originally; all of these fuckin' projects have given us something to focus on which has damn near relentlessly strengthened our skills. And secondly, Oliver's crew recently discovered another fuckin' warehouse full of wooden planks for us to take so we won't be hurting for planks any time soon. That'll drastically shorten the time needed to make a frame by a shit ton since we don't have to bust our asses and start from scratch this time around."

"That's great to hear. I'm sure it'll also be great to hear that their array won't be as large as ours."

Etsu tilted her head. "Oh? How come? ...How small would you want their power- their array to be?"

"Half the size of ours; fifty panels. They don't need as much energy generation as we do and quite frankly, we don't even need as much as we do. We've overcompensated by a large margin."

"Won't they think that's unfair?" Roman asked.

"If they do, then they're ungrateful." I bluntly replied. "We'd be giving them something they weren't capable of doing themselves, something that'll help them out quite dramatically. And like I said, they don't need as much as us. Of course, we'd expand their array once they need it, but let's first start out small and test how much they'd respect our deal before we go overboard with it."

"You really think they'd go against your offer after we give them some of the things they want?" Roman asked.

"Probably not. But it's impossible to know for sure until after we take the risk. I must say that it sure would be an idiotic move on their end to cut ties with us and forgo any of our future maintenance and expansion of their solar panels along with forgoing any other type of help and friendship that might've been between our communities."

"Don't you think that this partnership happened somewhat... impulsively?" Etsu questioned. "I've barely heard of the names from these other people let alone even heard- I mean, seen them. Sure, I've talked with Leon and... Brooklyn a few times and have used the radio to talk to a few others, but... y'know, most of the rest of us haven't. While I'm not against working with other groups we come across, I just... I just don't want us jumping right into it on a whim."

I nodded. "I appreciate your well-meaning concerns; I can see where you're coming from. From a perspective that's almost completely left in the dark, it does seem a bit impulsive and even impractical in a way. But there is a reason why I'm quick to jump the gun on this."

"Enlighten us." Etsu said before quickly adding on, "Also... for future reference and for what it's worth, next time you draw up some big plans for new groups we come across, because... y'know, there are undoubtedly more out there, could you p-please get everyone involved in it. After all, this... partnership you've proposed to them is going to affect all of us."

"I sure will. To be completely honest, this has been a learning experience for me. I've learnt a decent bit on how to interact with other groups and how to not make the same mistakes again when we find new groups. For sure, next time this happens, everyone in Solaris will be involved."

Etsu simply nodded. "Now, give us- enlighten us if you will."

"Right, the reason I was quick to make the decisions I have was to swiftly gain the trust of this other group, to show them that we're not a threat, and to get them to open up to us so my offer would have a much higher chance of being truly considered and then probably accepted. I didn't want to make that process any slower than what it was because that probably would've lowered the chance of them ultimately accepting it."

"How do you figure?"

"It'd be more time for them to drive themselves mad with speculation and scenarios regarding possible hostility. While that might seem unrealistic at first, mistrust of other groups is hardwired into our brains, we can blame our species' tribalist upbringing for that. So to mitigate that chance, being as quick as reasonably as possible is, in my opinion, the strategy that seems most fit for something like this."

"Let's just hope other people- other groups don't take advantage of that and do something... nefarious."

"Well if worse comes to worst, that's why we have guns." I replied. "I intend to move around this quickly whenever we find new groups out there for the same exact reasons. But I'll be sure to let everyone know when we find new groups and what the plan regarding them will be in advance from this point on."

I realize I made a mistake with being fairly secretive with my intentions which, in retrospect, was an unwise move to make. But now that I have a good idea on how to handle these sorts of situations, it'll be a lot easier to outline bigger scaled plans when it comes to other groups of people. Yes, I did talk to others about some of the ideas I had for Ezra's group with a few but no one was seeing the bigger picture like I was. So I felt like I needed to act upon it myself, pretty much alone. However, now that I've demonstrated how feasible my plans are, it seems likely that others will see what I see and agree that we should offer other groups we come across similar offerings as I have. But that awaits to be seen.

"When the fuck are you going to find out what they've decided anyways? Also, why can't you discuss that shit through the damn radio?" Trinity calmly asked.

"Well, we can discuss it through the radio, but I promised them that we'd give them a small portion of our crop. Nothing major of course, just enough for them to be fed for three or four days. Because of that, we figured we might as well kill two birds with one stone and talk about it in person since we're already going over there regardless." I glanced at the clock. "As to when; in twenty minutes. At least, that's when we're leaving to go find out. I'll be getting my crew ready soon. And by soon, I mean now."

Without a hitch, my crew assembled, made sure we had the food on the trailer that we had promised Ezra's group, and were on the way toward where they called home. While doing so, I quickly learned how to drive in rough conditions and we talked about our mutual hatred for the season along with the holidays that are no longer celebrated.

Getting right to the point; after struggling somewhat to remember where exactly Ezra's group was located, when we neared the cul-de-sac, I instantly noticed that one decently sized bonfire was burning within the center of their community. Around it was where everyone who dared to go outside, all half dozen of them, who positioned themselves around the pit as they presumably waited for us to arrive. So after putting the vehicle in park just a few meters before we entered the cul-de-sac, and after making sure that none of us had any weapons on us, my crew got out, which is when Ezra and Addison swiftly closed the distance between us.

When they were close enough I gestured toward the vehicle's trailer. "I didn't lie to y'all."

The both of them then looked quite timid after confirming that I was being honest. They quickly looked at each other where Addison simply nodded at him. Ezra then turned to me and said, "Yes, you haven't, and I thank you for your hospitality. Even though it's something small for you, this means so much to us."

"You're welcome, it wasn't a problem." I simply replied. "Here, let's unload all these crates. Where do you want us to put them?"

"Oh, that's alright, we've got it handled. Addison, would you get some of them over to help us out with this?" Ezra asked while he prepared to lift one of the crates before Addison did his bidding. After he picked up a crate of corn, he headed toward the cul-de-sac. "If you would, follow me and we'll go to a place where we can have a conversation much more comfortably and not out in the shitty cold."

Since he insisted that we not help them haul some crates over, I gestured for my crew to follow me as I stayed near Ezra's side. Just moments later, we approached one of the houses and went up to its porch where he placed the crate he was hauling next to its doorway before turning to me once more.

"Do you want to bring your people inside? Do you want to go inside one of our homes to begin with? I probably should've asked you that beforehand, my bad."

I shrugged. "It's up to them." I obviously had my thoughts about what could possibly go wrong once inside one of their houses but something like that seemed extremely unlikely at that point and we needed to start trusting each other for simple stuff like this.

At that, Solomon and Raiden decided that they'd go mingle with the others around the bonfire which they quickly left us to go and do. Ezra then said, "C'mon, it's cold as hell out here and I'm not fond of the cold."

"Likewise." I simply replied as he opened the door before leading us into the much warmer abode. Thankfully they had a fireplace warming up the house so it was a magnitude more comfortable when my crew and I entered the warm air of what I assumed to be Ezra's living room. "It's fairly cozy here."

"Yeah, it makes the outside seem like hell. It takes so much energy to leave it but you've gotta do what you've gotta do."

"Is there anyone else that lives here? Or is it just you?" Ashton asked.

He chuckled. "There's others at the moment, Delilah and Avery; I'm not that selfish. Though sometimes it does seem crowded here but that's probably just me."

"Hey, I'd rather be somewhere that's somewhat crowded than to be somewhere desolate."

He nodded at that. "I think we'd all agree to that after what The Event showed us."

"That's a new name for it." I thought before moving the conversation from that to more important matters. "So do you want to talk about it here?"

He shook his head before making his way toward a doorway at the far end of the room. "Let’s talk about it here." Just a few moments later after entering the room, he gestured toward the table and chairs that were stationed within it. "Please, take a seat. Addison, April, and Forrest should be joining us soon."

Ashton and I accepted the offer to rest at the table, though Kostas opted to stay near the doorway which was nothing out of the ordinary regarding him. Though it did make me subtly worried that he was gonna give someone a bad impression by them thinking he was rude due to not conversing in a more traditional way. But since Ezra didn't give him a second look, I assumed everything was fine.

"Do any of you want something to drink?"

Ashton nodded. "What do you have?"

"Not much besides water and alcohol; scotch for the most part. We only bust out the alcohol for special occasions and this is certainly one of them." He replied, Ashton opting for the scotch while I politely declined his offer. Not because I thought they'd be poisoned of course, definitely not.

After Ezra poured Ashton a glass, we heard the door to the house swing open which was followed by April entering the room with us. "I assume I'm not late?"

Ezra smirked. "No. In fact, you're early. This is such a rare event! You should be early more often instead of being thirty minutes late, as you almost always are."

April sarcastically crossed her arms. "Don't let your confirmation bias make me look bad in front of the new people. I've only been late a handful of times."

"And that hand is quite large." Ezra jokingly replied before quickly moving on from that to ask, "I assume all of those crates have been hauled?" April nodded, "Awesome. Thanks again for the fresh vegetables, it's something I thought we wouldn't have for... years, probably. It'll be very nice to eat some of it tonight."

"I can attest to how nice and refreshing it is to finally get your hands on something like it after so long." Ashton said after taking a sip of his scotch. "I hope you guys will enjoy it as much as we did."

"I'm sure we will. Until then, we should probably focus on more important things; I don't want my mind on food until supper time." He turned to April after a few moments of silence. "Where's Addison and Forrest at? Did they get cold feet and decide not to attend or something?"

"I'm not sure what Forrest is doing but Addison was talking to some of the others about what we'd be talking about here. I mean, they all knew beforehand, but just more of the specifics, I guess."

"I see... Well, as we wait, let's have a little fun."

The next few minutes involved more beverages being poured along with some talk about our past experiences with alcohol and a few of our behavioral tendencies we do when drunk. During this, I learned that Ezra was an angry drunk which is why he only ever gave himself modest amounts of alcohol, whenever it was that he decided to drink any. I suppose it was a good thing to know, just in case we ever get quite friendly with each other to the point of sharing a fun night with friends together, though angry drunks are always a loose cannon and could easily happen if they accidentally drink too much.

"Look who finally decided to join us." Ezra commented just as Forrest and Addison entered the dining room before they quickly took their respective seats at the table.

Addison in response said, "We gotta keep our folks well-informed. Ain't no use keepin' secrets 'tween us, now is there?"

"Of course, I just figured everyone knew about what was going on already."

"Sometimes people need to be reminded or something reclarified." Forrest simply replied.

After Ezra offered them some alcohol, which Forrest politely declined, Ezra took a spot in front of me as the meeting between us commenced. "I assume you want to get right to talking about what my group has decided? I know I sure do." I nodded at his question. "Well, with much deliberation, a lot of debate, a lot of speculation, and no lack of doubt that was shared between us, we have decided to give your offer a try." At that, I gingerly grinned. "As you previously detailed, in exchange for electricity, access to a doctor, food security, and possibly having the ability to construct stuff, we'll allow half of our labour to be diverted toward how your group sees fit."

I nodded, pleased at the results. "When would you want to set up dates and what not to make this all possible?"

"Now hold on jus' a minute, we ain't done sayin' what we need to say." Addison replied. "If this is gonna happen 'tween us, we need to clarify and make it crystal clear that we ain't gonna be completely controlled by y'all's group."

Ashton nodded. "Of course, we're not asking that of you and we're not forcing any of you to do anything for us." Him and I glanced at each other before silently letting him continue the conversation. "But we must know, how exactly do you mean by that?"

Forrest spoke up, "Whatever crew of ours that'll be helping your group out will have its own little leader, someone from our group of course. That person, whoever it is, will be the one in charge of our people while they're doing whatever you want them to do. They'll make sure they're doing their jobs but will also make sure that whatever they're told to do is in line with both of our interests. If they feel like you're putting them in danger or not treating them correctly, they'll be the one to call everyone back to our home."

April added, "And if they're prevented from trying to come back home, the deal is off."

I glanced over them all. "Yes, that certainly does make sense, I don't see a problem with any of that. I was originally gonna think about something like that while over here but it seems y'all have already figured that out. It'll definitely help structure and coordinate things which'll make things easier for both of our groups."

"Have you guys figured out who'll be a part of that group yet?" Ashton asked.

Ezra somewhat shook his head. "Not entirely but we know that some have already decided they'd want to be a part of it. Francisco, Martin, Annie, Joshua, and Nathan have been the ones to express their willingness to be part of the crew. We'll probably figure out the rest of who'll be a part of it in a couple more days after we know more solidly about this plan."

"And that's what we're here to figure out. Please, anything you want me to clarify, ask away."

April then took to the offensive to say, "Now that we know our idea for a crew leader is something that'll happen, let's talk about how we'll receive the benefits you promised us. When will your doctor be able to come over here to check some of our people out?"

"I suppose that'll be possible in a week or two." I replied, the other group looking rather unamused at my answer. "But I can make an exception to those that absolutely need to see her A-S-A-P by letting them hitch a ride back to Solaris with us today."

"How many of us y'all gonna accept?" Addison inquired.

I did some mental math before asking, "Well, how many need it?"

Addison and Ezra looked at each other before they exchanged some whispered words. "Four. Five if you include Harper's arm."

"What kind of problems do these people have?"

Ezra answered for her. "First of all, there's Melanie who's obviously pregnant which needs to be checked up on and all that, a couple of us have gotten a few very bad teeth, and another one has gotten some serious arthritis who wants to see how it can be treated, if at all. And then there's Harper who broke her arm a few months ago which probably didn't heal one hundred percent correctly, but it's nothing major."

I slowly nodded. "Yes, those are problems that are certainly worthy of a doctor's attention. Sure, I'll allow the five of them to come back with us, it doesn't seem like it'd hurt anything. It's also about time that some more of your people come over to Solaris after all of this time and after everything we've discussed."

"Yeah, that's somethin' we was gonna talk 'bout; 'bout more of us goin' over to Solaris. Some of us been worried that only Brooklyn and Leon been there and the rest of us ain't. So allowin' more of our people over and then returnin' 'em after gettin' some help would definitely ease a lot of our moods."

"That sounds great, the last thing I want is for people to fear us."

Forrest abruptly said, "Let's move onto your promise of electricity; how exactly are you gonna accomplish that?"

"Like how we did with our group, just more efficiently." Ashton replied before giving them a crash course on how we dismantle solar panels and stationary battery packs from solar farms before going over the frames we build for them before Kostas explained how they're wired and how to get that electricity to their homes.

"How long does that take?" April asked.

"It entirely depends on how many solar panels your community needs." I replied.

Ezra questioned, "And how many do you think we'd need? I'm pretty sure none of us over here know how much electricity a solar panel generates, let alone how much energy we'd need."

"Relatively speaking, Solaris uses a lot of energy in the form of power tools, small devices made for fun, and HVAC systems which are always much worse during the summer time than the winter time; purely due to how much more energy intensive air conditioning is. But even then, we haven't experienced any type of energy crisis ever since we were done building out our solar farm of one hundred panels. So using simple arithmetic based on our experience, I'd say y'all need about fifty panels and you'd be just fine."

"And how long would that take to establish?"

I did some more quick calculations. "Around a week probably. The good thing about that though is that it doesn't need to all be built out to be used; once you've got like ten or twenty of them working, you could hook the system up and use the relatively little of what it's generating. You might run into some energy problems if you're not conserving it correctly, which you'd have to be conservative until it's built out completely, but you'd be able to have electric heaters and some kitchenware that helps cook food just fine."

"How soon do you think that could begin? Even just the idea of having a completely warmed up house gives me chills... or the opposite of chills."

"I'll have to talk with Trinity, our head of construction, to figure out an exact timeline ,but it could start in a handful of days. Though I would like it for y'all to figure out who's gonna be in the crew that'll be working for us and who'll head it before we start building out the solar farm."

"You won't start building it before then?" April asked.

"No." I bluntly answered. "My group has already given your people some upfront gifts; giving Leon the help he needed and giving you some of our food. I think it's fair to say that it's now your turn to put something in to prove that y'all want our groups to work together as much as I do. I'm sure you will, I'm just making sure that this is a two-way street we're on."

"Yeah, that makes sense, ah see where y'all comin' from. After this meetin', we'll be sure to finish assignin' folks to that crew as quickly as we can. After we do, how y'all want us to help y'all out?"

"I want them to head on over to Solaris for their first assignment. Right after that, we'll begin our mission to get you electrically capable. How's that sound? Any objections?"

"Jus' one question, what exac'ly will their firs' assignmen' be?"

"Learning how to safely and effectively use tools, how to chop trees down, how to peel the bark off of the trunks, and how to build foundations, walls, and roofs of the buildings we'll be making."

"That does make me wonder; how long does it take for someone with no prior knowledge to learn something like that?"

Ashton answered by saying, "Around a month for someone to get good at it, to the point where they can be reasonably trusted with the tools and do a fine job of putting stuff together. Some people take a couple weeks longer than that but having a few dedicated hours of learning it hands-on every day, like how we teach newcomers, is a swift teacher."

"You plan on keeping them over there for a month?" Forrest asked with a surprised tone.

I shook my head. "No, your people will have the proper time off they need. As I said previously, we don't intend to completely control what your people do."

It was April's turn to say, "Speaking of which, we've decided that for whoever will be in the crew helping your group out, working three weeks out of the four a month is an appropriate amount of time for doing the things that need to get done. Compared to how much some of us used to work before The Event, it's quite the bargain for us."

"And just to clarify; all of them will be taking the time off at the same time, right? Because otherwise, it could overcomplicate some things."

Addison nodded. "Yessir, unless one of 'em gets hurt or sick."

"Of course, stuff like that can't be helped. Not only would that be inhumane and rude but it'd also endanger others." With that being said, they were assured that our treatment would most likely be fair. "Though to begin, we can start off with a week and then a week off, to help your people get acclimated to us. After a couple of months, we'll go ahead with the schedule of three weeks out of four."

Ezra nodded. "I didn't even think of that; that's a good idea. Though when exactly do you want the crew to be finished? Is there a time limit to this?"

I shook my head. "No, I'd just like it to happen as soon as y'all can. Once that happens, these plans can start being enacted. So the sooner the better, for all of us."

"I see... We'll try and form it as quickly as possible then."

A lull appeared though it was swiftly killed by Forrest, "We wanted to bring up the suggestion you made about our place, about how we could raise livestock here. Do you genuinely think that's possible here?"

I nodded. "This place is lush and large enough, I don't see why not. Like I said last time, we have someone who could probably tame the wild animals we seek. If successful, we could then have an array of animal products and be able to make more processed products from that. Where Solaris is, it's not a good grazing ground, we'd struggle quite severely if we tried to do it over there. But y'all over here have a good opportunity that we could both benefit greatly from." I detailed the sorts of products they could produce which could be traded with Solaris in exchange for a portion of the crops we grow.

"I lahk the sahnd of that but we still have our doubts. We dunno if yer buddy can actually tame a sheep, we dunno what a sheep would need for it to live here regardin' shelter and food, and we dunno how to properly take cahr of it."

"I hear you, I'm not certain either. But we can try and give it our best shot." I said before a thought occurred to me. "A while ago, we scavenged a lot of books from a library and some were related to wild animals and pastures. I'm not sure if any of my people read through them all but it's definitely something to investigate since they might have some great answers to your questions. I'll be sure to go look through our books once I return home."

At that, Ezra said, "But even if we knew how exactly we should raise and maintain livestock, the biggest problem is initially finding them and then feeding them. It's winter after all."

"Yes, finding them and then trying to become 'friends' with wild sheep and chickens would be the hardest part of that process. Thankfully, Kai, the one we're relying on to get this done, can also track things down. I can too actually, only somewhat though, since he's taught me a decent bit all about it but I'm nowhere near as proficient as he is. Though realistically, we're probably gonna have to wait until the animals we seek stroll by us, that seems to be the most effective way of doing this."

"And that could take anywhere from two hours to six months..."

"Yes, which is why we'd have to be aware of this place's surroundings. I mean, it should be like that regardless but that's besides the point. After that, we could then try to approach them and make ourselves known to be friendly and useful to them which'll probably tip them off that we're something they want to get to know and get comfortable with. It'll probably be a long process but it's definitely possible."

"How certain are you that something like that would happen?"

"It's not guaranteed but wild animals don't seem like that difficult of a problem when compared to some of the other stuff we've done." Imagine if this'll be something harder than anything we've done before. That would be quite humourous.

"Would the animals run away eventually since it'll be an open pasture?" April asked.

I quietly sighed. "I'm not sure. I don't know the intricacies of something like this so for any further questions y'all have about it, I'm not gonna be able to answer. Though I promise that I'll look into it whenever possible since I'm also quite curious about all of the things y'all are. I just never got around to it since the opportunity never arose within Solaris and I didn't expect y'all to actually consider it this soon."

"That's understandable. But by all means, we aren't saying that we're certain we want to do that yet, we're just thinking about it for now." Ezra assured.

Forrest then shifted the conversation once more. "Until then, let's go over how else our people will be put to work, I'm sure construction isn't the only thing you want them to do."

At that, I described some agricultural operations and some possible scavenging operations. In the middle of that, Solomon and Raiden had joined us which increased the amount of interactions between delegations. By the end of that topic, both parties knew that the meat of the gathering had been discussed which left us to silently ponder when to officially end the meeting. Ezra was first to mention it which I quickly agreed to.

"I assume our plans are now set in stone?" I asked.

"Any objections?" He asked his people which was met with silence. He faced me again before extending a hand toward me. "Yes, they're as fit and as fair as can be." At that, I returned the gesture and shook his hand which officially confirmed our unwritten commitments to the other; the true beginning of a mutually beneficial agreement beginning right then and there. "I'll see to it that that crew gets assembled as soon as possible so we can get some of these plans going as quickly as possible."

"And I'll see to it that the people that need some medical help tag along with us back to Solaris. Though I'm gonna need your help finding those people since I didn't even know half of the names of the people you listed off earlier."

"Sure, ah gotcha, follow me." Addison replied before standing up.

Though Ezra interjected by saying, "Are you sure you want to do that now? I would think you'd be leaving soon after you gather them up; isn't there anything else that needs to be discussed here?"

"Not that I can currently think of... Well, I suppose I can talk to some of the people that are volunteering to be part of that crew you're building. I should talk with them about why they've decided to volunteer and what they were doing with their lives before The Drop; it'll help give me a frame of reference for what I should roughly expect from them."

"Sure thing. Addison, you go find the ones who need a medical checkup and I'll go find the volunteers."

At that, they both stood up which was my cue to literally follow in their footsteps. My crew closely followed behind me as I trailed behind Addison though I told them to go on and mingle with some of Ezra's group as I stayed by Addison's side. Most of them did so, bar Kostas, who lagged behind me as some sort of personal bodyguard. Slowly but surely, Addison flagged down the people that needed some medical attention where we then explained what was going on. Some of them took much longer than others to understand what was happening but they all eventually understood and, after some initial hesitancy, got appropriately dressed for the occasion and headed toward the vehicle they'd be riding in, or more specifically, its trailer.

"I hope Olivia's not gonna be overwhelmed by all of these new patients..." I quietly said to myself as I looked over the five doctor-seeking folk who were hovering around the car's trailer. I noticed that Melanie was talking with Ashton who had the courtesy to forfeit his seat so she could be in the warm cabin of the vehicle; it was quite respectable. The others had enough winter related gear to make sure their ears, noses, and other parts of the face could be covered and kept warm on our way back so the effects of wind chill would be severely mitigated. I also thought about how we had blindfolded Brooklyn and Leon when we had taken them over which now seemed quite redundant. Oh well, better safe than sorry, you can never have too much precaution when things seem extremely uncertain.

Anyways, it took just another couple of minutes for the established volunteers to finish making their way toward me. Once they were close enough, Ezra split off from them to leave them and me to hold a conversation of our own. I started out by pointing out their bravery and saying how much I appreciated their willingness to put their efforts into something that could prosper into something not even conceivable at that time. Since dialogue between our groups had made some huge strides toward some form of normalcy, their attitudes were much more toned back and open which allowed us to have a smooth conversation about what lies ahead of us.

That included some stuff which had been talked about during the conversation between leaders earlier, including what they'd be learning and working on along with what their work schedule would be. Eventually, I was able to steer the conversation into the direction of asking them about what they were before The Drop. The answers certainly weren't as exciting as expected since they had had lower-class occupations; but of course there's nothing wrong with that. Societies relied on the labour of the lower-class to operate so in reality, the labourers are the most valuable and the most important thing to appreciate and respect because without them, the rest crumbles.

Martin used to be a fast food worker, Annie used to be a convenience store clerk, Nathan used to be a janitor, Francisco used to be a garbage collector, and Joshua used to be a taxi driver. So while they may not be roles that can revolutionize anything, they all certainly had some small amount of useful skills and could all maintain a position for a long while. That tells me that them being able to learn a new set of skills was definitely in the realm of possibility and that they'd be quite useful in just a handful of weeks.

After that was all said and done, the conversation ended before I turned my attention to the people boarding the trailer. I briefly spoke with them about why they needed to tag along to confirm what their issues were and to assert that they were in good hands. None of them had any health emergencies or absolutely required to see Olivia so I assumed she was gonna be relatively fine with this new batch of people for her to treat. It might be a little rude and even somewhat of a rash decision to have allowed them over but I'm sure Olivia's familiar with the sudden arrival of people needing her help; not to mention that she's shown many times before how she pounces on the opportunity to help someone.

And yes, this was the last act of generosity from Solaris to Ezra's group without anything in exchange. I like helping people out but there's got to be a cutoff point to prevent a one-sided and parasitic relationship from forming. Only once when they start putting their fair share of work into our relationship, we'll continue to help them however they need it. That's a completely fair statement; only those that are spoiled disagree with it since I've bent over backwards to prove that we only have good intentions.

It only took a few more minutes for everyone tagging along to get comfortable which essentially finalized the process. Just moments later, everyone said their farewells as Ezra and I asserted that the plan agreed upon would happen. After that, I got within the vehicle which began our journey back to Solaris. Melanie felt quite timid and nervous within a car of strangers but I assured her that we don't bite and tried warming her up with a conversation about what she was before The Drop. It turned out she used to be unemployed and struggling after dropping out of college. Even though she didn't graduate, she was still rather knowledgeable in the field of transportation, supply chains, and the history of the early Industrial Revolution.

It was exciting to learn of that since Etsu's knowledge regarding the complexity of a large supply chain network was lacking; her mind was filled to the brim of knowledge regarding how to set up an operational city which left barely enough room for any information regarding supply chains to be within her head. The relatively little she's told me regarding it is about as far as her knowledge extends to; understanding and navigating a global supply chain from the bottom up is a behemoth of a task to understand, even just a fraction of it, which one might expect but it's hard to describe just how complicated and advanced our world used to be. I wondered if Melanie and Etsu would be able to communicate with each other about it.

Right after we had returned to our base of operations, I used my handheld radio to warn Olivia about the incoming folks seeking her attention. She was quite surprised but was up for the task. As she prepared her clinic for their admission, I stayed by the car's trailer and talked to our guests to further assure that they would be treated with grace. After they calmed down from the subtle shock they were experiencing, they started looking over the place, somewhat in disbelief, before asking about how it all started and about how some of our things operate. By the end of my explanations, Olivia announced that she was ready for their arrival. At that, I politely asked the five to follow me before leading them to the makeshift hospital.

As the doctor assigned them their own segment of the building, I went to check on Leon and Brooklyn who were quite shocked to see so many of their friends in the same room with them. Leon was getting better and the rate in which he was was accelerating; it seemed like he had cleared the most dangerous part of the recovery but he wasn't out of the woods yet. After learning that he'll try walking in a couple more days, I turned around to see Olivia starting to further teach Vanessa on how to check up on a patient. There was good progress being made on that front.

Shortly after that, I left the clinic since I turned my attention to Trinity so I could update her on a more exact timeline regarding helping the other community out with building their own solar farm. Simultaneously, I learned that Audrey was in the process of dedicating one greenhouse to marijuana while the other greenhouse was dedicated to the rest of the smaller-scale crops and plants that weren't in high demand. I thought that maybe we were producing too much marijuana but is there really such a thing? Maybe it could be used as a good material to trade with other people, I'm sure we'd always have someone out there wanting to give just about anything for a decent amount of joints.

Since it didn't take long for that information to be exchanged, another thing on my to-do list suddenly emerged and was prioritized; talking to Kai about his taming ability.

"You told them what?" The man asked after briefing him on what was discussed. "Look, I'm flattered that you have that much faith in me, but I don't know if I can do something like that. I don't even know if I can properly tame the dog I've been trying to coax into our group. I've made some good progress, as in I can pet it for a little while, but sudden moves or standing up still scare it away. Given enough time, I'll probably be able to make it trust us, but applying that to a herd of sheep might be too far fetched."

I thought very carefully for a response. "Is it really all that different though? It would seem to me that using the same tactics as you've been doing would work universally, at least to passive animals."

He gently shrugged. "I don't know; the only animals I've been close to are dogs. I mean, I could try to do what I do with dogs for chickens and sheep, but it seems like a long shot. Without any of us having any prior knowledge of handling wild animals like that, we can only make guesses and hope for the best, which makes me have my doubts."

I slowly nodded. "I can understand that. Trial and error it is then, unless by some miracle we have a book or two detailing how exactly we can do what we want to do."

He shrugged again. "No clue. I'm no bookworm and I'm not even sure where most of the books are kept. I'd help but... I've got some things to do. Hey, maybe try asking Stacy if she knows anything, she seems to have her nose in a book quite often."

I grinned at that. Stacy still quite liked reading non-fiction books and reading them whenever I was away when she had nothing else to do. Because of that, she certainly had a large chunk of knowledge stored within her mind. So ending the conversation at that, I went to find her to talk to her about it by searching our room first. She turned out not to be there but I saw a few books on her desk which I went to check out since I was interested in what she was currently reading and also wondered if the type of book I was looking for happened to be within that group of books.

As I looked over the space and physics related books, I wondered about a book that I had almost forgotten about, a book that had caused me significant pain during its retrieval. I sat down in the desk chair and opened the desk's drawer that contained the book deep within it which had been buried by papers and other miscellaneous objects.

"Why does this always feel cold...?" I asked myself as my fingertips contacted the large, old-looking, blue book; the one I had yanked from the library after a concussion was inflicted upon me.

After I had firmly grasped it, I put it on my lap and looked down at it. It seemed much heavier than what it should've been, as if there were another three or four books stacked on top of it. Delicately, I opened the book's cover to once again reveal a strange language that I, and no other person I've asked to read it, was able to figure out. It definitely made me ask a few questions over and over again related to just how and why this book was where it was. As I slowly flipped from one consecutive page to the next, I thought about what knowledge it contained.

Then I wondered if it contained any knowledge on what I was after.

My hands froze when I saw what one of the pages contained; I saw a very familiar language written across one of its sheets which shook me to my core. The page had English, I could actually read it. But how? How was that possible? I had skimmed through this book several times which always ended up in nothing readable being discovered. Unless I somehow skipped over this page... But that'd make no sense, why would a single page within hundreds be dedicated to English while the rest of the book was in some other language? And how is it that the page had exactly what I was looking for?

Taming wild chickens and sheep can be a slow and patient process, but there are several techniques that can be used to help build trust and reduce fear.

For chickens, it is important to spend time with them every day, offering food and water, and speaking to them in a calm and reassuring voice. Hand-feeding treats such as mealworms or scratch grains can help them associate humans with positive experiences. Gradually getting them used to being touched or picked up can also help build trust. It is important to move slowly and avoid sudden movements or loud noises that may startle them.

For sheep, spending time in their presence and offering food treats can also help build trust. Sitting quietly in the pasture with them can help them become accustomed to human presence. Once they are comfortable with being around people, gradually introducing handling and leading them with a halter can help them become more tame.

Regarding open pasture animals running away, it depends on the animal and its individual behavior. Some animals are more likely to roam or escape than others, especially if they are not used to being confined. Providing adequate fencing and shelter can help prevent animals from running away, as can regular handling and socialization. It is important to keep in mind that even well-tamed animals may sometimes wander or escape, especially if they are spooked or frightened.

I blankly stared at the page. How was this possible? And why was I scared? Should I get rid of the book? Why does it make me so damn paranoid? These were all great questions and questions I couldn't answer by myself. But who would I talk to about it, about me being paranoid over an inanimate object? It seemed so ridiculous... Maybe I really am going insane. But swallowing the fear I was feeling, I carefully read over what the page detailed. It seemed logical, rational, and true. I then wondered who I should relay the information to and if I should get anyone else to read it with me. But I shrugged that second thought off, there wasn't any point to that; a single page, for whatever reason, was in English which happened to have what I was looking for. Is it a coincidence? Well, what else would it be? I still can't help but feel quite creeped out about it.

Since I wanted to take my mind off of that feeling and I had better things to do, I put the book back where it was and jotted down what I had learned from it. From there, I got up and left my room to contact Ezra's group via the radio within the dining room. After temporarily dismissing Autumn from her duty, it only took a couple of minutes for a session of dialogue to emerge between Ezra and I.

Keeping it short, they were already making quick work on figuring out who else would be part of that delegation they'd assemble since three more of them had volunteered to be a part of it. After that, I told him about how his people were slowly being processed by Olivia and they should all be situated by the morning; something he was very appreciative of. That's when I asserted our plans for cooperation and that we were starting to prepare for that to begin as soon as they meet their end of the bargain.

It only took another few minutes for me to relay the information regarding the chickens and sheep which he thought was interesting but remained doubtful; it was understandable. But I told him my stance when it came to trial and error along with how inaction is the worst action you can take. We seemed to concur though he said he still needed to discuss this idea with his other people since it was a commitment to a version of labour that none of them had experienced before. It'd be fun seeing how that'd all play out.

Shortly after discussing that, we agreed that the conversation was over which allowed us to inform our people about all the progress we had made with each other. Taking the time to do just that, I announced to everyone a quick briefing about what all had been discussed and the reasserted and clearer plans between our communities. Their support seemed to be unanimous.

Since the important business related stuff had all been talked about, it was time for me to focus on important personal related stuff which consisted of checking on Stacy to see if she was doing fine. I found her focused on her work of painting a freshly made sign, her last one for the day, her work area having been cleared of snow. I sat next to her and asked about how she was doing, which thankfully turned out to be much better than the last couple of days since it seemed like her period had finally come to an end, at least for now.

Nearing the end of painting the sign, she commented about how much she liked her freshly painted nails and how they made her feel prettier. I assured her that she was beautiful regardless which she appreciated but asserted that she was gonna have blue nails for a little while. I didn't mind it, it was a nice change.

And so after she had completed yet another sign, we both inspected it. I complimented her skills which she bashfully accepted before I suddenly picked her up by holding her like a bride while sitting on the ground before softly resting my forehead against hers.

She had been minutely shivering so I held her close to try to warm her up as best as I could while delicately rubbing the tip of my nose against hers. It only took us a handful of minutes of us kissing every now and then before we retreated into a much warmer place to continue enjoying each other's presence much more comfortably.

That always helps take my mind off of things.

Chapter Text

A few days of productive yet simple progress swiftly flashed which saw the completion of the foundation to the boarding house, the deployment of a few more of Stacy's signs across a number of pathways, a large amount of tools being scavenged and brought back to Solaris, and Olivia treating Ezra's people in need; though most were returned back to their group after a couple days. However, one of them stayed for a little while longer due to how they had needed to remove a couple of chronically painful teeth which needed more medical attention than the others. Oh, and one more thing, it's about the thing that Kai was making good progress on which I went to go help him with every now and then.

"I think it's time to give her a name." Kai announced after the dog laid down next to him to chow down on a freshly caught salmon.

"Once we name her, there's no going back." I replied as Kai softly stroked her fur.

"I don't think she'd let you have a say about whether or not she stays, even without a name." He said with a chuckle. "Even then, it's already too late for going back on this; she trusts us now, or at least trusts me, you, and Willow. Thankfully, it'll be much easier to get her used to the others through us, it'll take just a handful of days probably, so she'll feel at home soon enough."

"And you've sorted everything out with Willow? I assume you've both finally made a decision on whether or not you'll be her owners."

"Yes, everything's been planned out; I was only unsure since Willow was. I know I wouldn't have had any hesitancy if it was just me on my own, Willow just needed a lot of convincing but she eventually agreed to it. She... well, she's been attacked by a dog before so you can understand why she was so hesitant about it. But Lynn here has shown how sweet she is which warmed Willow up to her."

"That's great to hear." I replied as he scratched the dog's ear. "Lynn's what you're naming her, huh? Did you come up with that on your own?"

"Nah, Willow decided what to name her since I'm the worst at coming up with names, though it did take her a while to come up with one that fits Lynn. Eventually, a simple but cute name turned up for her."

"It's a good name, I approve of it. When do you plan on taking her into the community?"

"I was actually planning on doing that after she gets done eating. Do you want to help me with that or do you have other things you need to do?"

I glanced at my watch. "Sure, I can help with that for a little bit, but only for around half an hour before I head off to Ezra's group once again. As you know, the group we've asked them to form to help us build and scavenge upon other miscellaneous things has been sorted out which we'll be retrieving today. After that, Trinity, Etsu, Raiden, and I will brief them on how exactly this is all going to work. Most of them probably know the gist of it but clarifying everything and making things official to commence it is a good first move to make with them."

"Are you gonna put them to work instantly after that?"

I shook my head. "Not today. Today's working as the icebreaker day and for them to begin getting comfortable within our group and for them to start getting to know the place. Though come tomorrow, training will begin which'll take two or three months once you consider they're only here for a week and then away for a week for a couple months; that'll put quite a damper on the pace of training. But once those couple of months are up, they'll be fairly acclimated to us and then we'll have them for three out of the four weeks each month."

"Sounds like a solid plan. I'll be sure to keep my eyes out for any wrong-doers while they're here."

"I don't expect it but you can never be too sure; I'm sure a few others will be doing the same thing so any sort of tomfuckery should be at a minimum."

A few minutes later, Lynn had finished picking the meat off of the bones of the fish which was signified when she stood up and properly sat next to Kai who continued gently petting her. Just a few seconds later, he slowly stood up as Lynn watched him with intrigue while simultaneously wondering if we were leaving her again.

"Y'know, I do wonder why she hasn't followed you back before. What's stopping her?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"I'm not sure if their minds think this deeply but I think she's just waiting for some sort of permission."

At that, he started gingerly stepping away from the canine before attempting to lure her over through the use of hand gestures and a soft cooing voice. Lynn looked rather confused at first, probably wondering why the weird, tall, and scrawny friend was doing a weird dance. But as Kai continued taking his timid steps back, the puppy eventually began to follow in his footsteps as she experienced a sense of comfort at the tone of his voice. After all, Kai was supplying her with a good amount of delicious meat, was making her feel relieved when he pet her, and made no move to harm her so she felt she could trust him.

Thankfully, we weren't too far away from home so it only took us a handful of minutes to introduce it to Lynn, though she did almost lose the both of us a few times since she didn't quite understand that we were trying to get her to follow us. Of course, she had no idea what she was looking at when she arrived but she now knew where the nice people lived.

Suddenly, she made a quick halt in skittishness when she saw a couple people she didn't recognize standing a couple dozen meters away which almost jeopardized the mission. But when Kai noticed that Lynn had stopped dead in her tracks, he gently sat back down on the ground and patted his lap; a sign that Lynn had quickly learnt meant that she was safe in Kai's presence.

Because of that, she continued to advance forward, though she was slower this time, until she stopped at Kai's side while she kept her eyes glued on the people she didn't know just over yonder. Kai then asked me if I could get the two people the puppy was looking at to come over so we'd have the best chances of getting her used to the prospect of meeting other people. I simply nodded before making my way over to Lexi and Tess who had noticed that a new creature was within our lands.

"Are you two interested in getting friendly with a puppy?"

One of the girls seemed excited at my suggestion while the other one was visibly skeptical. Lexi was first to say, "Is it... safe to do that?"

"It should be; Lynn hasn't shown any hint of aggression, not even a growl, she's just very shy and needs some help getting used to people. While I can't guarantee she won't growl or feel threatened, I can say that it's quite unlikely that anything bad will happen if you try to pet her."

Tess grabbed Lexi's hand. "Don't you want to go and do that? She looks so cute!"

Lexi had some trouble coming to a conclusion. "I guess... but can you pet her first?"

After Tess assured she'd do just that, I said, "Just keep in mind that you don't have to do this. Luckily for you two, Lynn shouldn't feel nowhere near as threatened as she originally did with me since she knows that at least some humans are friendly. Also, be sure to move calmly and gently, she's very skittish, any sudden move can spook her away."

They both nodded at that before I led the way back to where Kai was who resumed petting Lynn to calm her. As I steadily approached them, Tess and Lexi stayed behind me as Lynn grew more and more curious about the two girls. It was similar to walking on thin ice when it came to making any amount of progress with the canine so it was surprising that she stayed completely still, even up to the point of me leaving the girls to their own devices by sidestepping to leave them with easy access to Lynn.

Tess bravely took the lead by following my advice of being calm and getting near Kai and the dog. When she was close enough, Kai told them to slowly sit on the ground as Lynn became rather concerned at their presence. Though she calmed back down as Kai continued petting her while the girls appeared smaller. This allowed the puppy to ponder if she should go up to the girls to learn of their scent but was far from certain. But as each second passed, she was slowly learning that the other two strangers also weren't a threat to her.

Because of that, the thought of approaching them was solidifying in her mind which eventually culminated in the dog leaving Kai's side to close the distance between her and Tess. With each step she took toward Tess, her nose got more and more interested in the unique scent that Tess radiated. It only took a few more moments for Tess to extend her hand out when Lynn was close enough which caused the puppy to flinch a tad but that didn't spook her away. After such a close call, Lynn settled back down before she took it upon herself to smell the fingertips in front of her.

Tess grinned as Lynn got a good reading of Tess's identity before the puppy took another couple of steps forward to investigate Tess's abdomen. That's when Tess gingerly put a hand on Lynn's back to stroke her fur which the dog gracefully accepted. Their actions persisted for a couple of minutes before Lynn's focus suddenly turned to Lexi to give her the same method of assessment as she did with Tess.

Strangely enough, it was Lexi who was the most nervous of all while Lynn invaded her personal space. It took Lexi much longer to get the courage to pet Lynn but when she did, she managed to calm down quite dramatically over the course of a couple dozen seconds. And so now that the introductions were over, Lynn allowed Tess and Lexi to pet her as they pleased, though they remained cautious while doing so.

I was pleased to see the relatively quick and easy progress we were making since I was expecting it to take a lot longer and be a lot harder to get Lynn comfortable with other people. But it seemed that she had firmly placed her trust in Kai and would do the things she originally did with him as long as Kai stayed near her. As the minutes rolled by of the girls stroking Lynn's fur, each party swiftly got used to each other. And most surprisingly, Lynn's tail even started to wag a minute amount. It wasn't anything major, but it was certainly worth noting.

But unfortunately, the progress came to a screeching halt when Tess suddenly sneezed which startled Lynn who was promptly spooked away. As she retreated back to wherever it is Lynn comes from, Kai tried calling out to her and gesturing to her that it was okay but it was a futile attempt.

"I'm so sorry." Tess said, sounding ashamed of herself.

Kai quietly sighed as he stared in the direction of where Lynn had scampered off. "It's fine, sneezes happen, it's not your fault. I just hope it doesn't give her a bad impression. It shouldn't, but you never know for sure how animals will act or think."

"Maybe you could mitigate the possible fallout by luring her over here with the next meal you give her?" I suggested as Tess and Lexi determined they should get back to what they were doing before this little event.

"Yes, that's a good idea, I'll do that. I can introduce her to a couple more people while I'm at it too. Hopefully for each day that passes I'll be able to do that more and more until she's completely fine with meeting new people."

"Lynn's definitely gonna be a lot of work, her shyness is quite the obstacle. Though I guess it's understandable given the circumstances." After I said that, I glanced at my watch again which revealed that the time for me to do the next thing in my queue was swiftly getting near.

"Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day." He simply replied.

To which I said, "What city was built in a day?" At that, he struggled to say anything in response which I took as my opportunity to excuse myself.

With a quick understanding being met, I went on my way to assemble my crew. The next few minutes dashed by before we made the familiar trip to the other group's place, which also dashed by. During that and while Ezra introduced me to the volunteers, a subtle excitement was felt at the incoming precedent about to be set. After getting a thorough understanding of who would be helping us all achieve the things we all wanted, the one who'd be in charge of the volunteer group was established.

"Ah'll be the one who helps keep our folks coordinated, y'all.." Addison announced when the focus shifted to that topic. "That there, and Ah'll be the one y'all gonna have to keep informed and negotiate with for whatever it is y'all want us to do."

Ezra then said, "As we previously discussed about what she'll be responsible for, Addison will be able to deny any request that you make to them and order our people back home if she feels like it's the right call to make."

"And I'm sure that won't happen, it's hard to see how it could." I simply replied

To which Rylee said, "Well, it's always possible that somethin' could make me feel like Ah should deny somethin'. Sure, there ain't many things that could do that, least what Ah can think of right now, 'sides stuff like overworkin' some folks or makin' us do things that we ain't prepared for, so it probably won't happen. But Ah'm just prepared to do what Ah have to do in case somethin' like that happens."

"And I'll try my best to make sure it won't come to that." Because the very last thing my group needed to do was take advantage of these people and push them into doing too much, that certainly wouldn't be a good sign for things between us.

After having asserted which one of them that I'd be communicating with the most during their stay at Solaris, the exchange tapered off until it was collectively decided that it was time to head back to Solaris to outline how to move forward. So after once again telling the other half of Ezra's group the general idea of what the volunteers' schedule would be like while over there, the vehicle was properly loaded up which was my cue to leave. Thankfully, their farewells were simple as they had been expecting their departure which was made better by how they knew that my crew had only helped their people out which caused any tensions that might've existed to be nullified or severely numbed.

The only thing I was worried about was the wind chill on the way back. But after getting back to Solaris and making sure that the volunteers' ears and noses weren't freezer burnt, I radioed to Trinity, Etsu, and Raiden that our guests had arrived. While I did so, the passengers loaded off of the trailer and were bewildered at what my community was able to construct. Since it was distinctly planned before I had left the place, I was swift in directing the volunteers into the warm mansion and into the dining room to be briefed and talked to.

And so after introducing my people and what they do to the other people, Trinity took the lead in the conversation. "Alright, so yeah, welcome to Solaris, the place that hopes to become something much more and a place that hopes you'll enjoy your stay here." Wasn't really expecting her to say something like that but okay. "Getting right to the damn point, as you probably saw when you got here, we've managed to build a lot of things in the past year or so. We've built cabins, a clinic, a solar farm, and other things like a sign network from pretty much scratch, and we have a lot of fuckin' plans to build a lot more soon. That's why we need your help."

Trinity lightly nudged Raiden who was subtly surprised that she was suddenly given the floor to speak. "Oh, uh, yes, we've got plans to build a fair amount of things here but not just here, over at your place too." She assured, her public speaking skills being greatly stressed. "Things like a boarding house over here and a solar farm over there, maybe some stuff about expanding the amount of crop fields we’ll have too. But we're not expecting you to instantly start getting to work on this stuff."

It was Etsu's turn to speak. "Far from it. We're... well, we know that, y'know, you don't have any skills in building- at least, we're unaware if any of you do. So we can't just thrust s-something like this onto you, we'll have to train you. That's gonna take about four to six weeks, well, if you were gonna stay here for that long. It'll be more like eight to… ten weeks since you won't be here every other week."

"And when's that gonna start, darlin'? And what exactly we gonna be doin'? Like, how we gonna practice and learn, y'know?" Addison asked for the intrigued yet somewhat anxious audience.

"Tomorrow." Trinity answered. "I'll be teaching you all the basics of power tools at first before moving onto practicing on some shitty spare wood we can waste." She then detailed the environmental limits regarding temperature we recently set that'd cancel construction on any given day. "For today, feel free to learn of the place and talk to some of our people."

I then said, "And if you experience any problem or have any questions later, don't hesitate to come to me, Trinity, or anyone else that lives here for help. With that, all I ask is that you follow our very basic and simple rules about not being a prick; but I'm sure y'all don't need to hear that, y'all seem like fine people.” As I said that, I was pointing at a copy of the rules we’ve established which some swiftly read over. “Now, how many of you would like a tour of the place?"

All of them accepted the offer which was my cue to lead them out of the mansion and across the community. I pointed out what each building was dedicated for, where the steam was, where our future building projects would be erected, which of my people did what, and explained some of the history behind the emergence of Solaris. At the end of the tour, the volunteers dispersed to socialize at their own leisure which let me slip away to meet back up with Trinity.

"So when do you suppose we'll go ahead and assemble a solar farm for Ezra's group?"

"Etsu and I agreed that it'd probably be a good move to wait at least two weeks before starting that shit. It'd give our asses a little more time to prepare for it while also beginning the teaching of the volunteers. What do you think?"

"I suppose that's about as reasonably timed as it can be. Let's just hope that they won't absolutely need any sort of electric heating in the time it takes to build and complete the farm; that's the only thing that could jeopardize what we're doing with them. It's unlikely but you never know if some extreme blizzard will suddenly emerge."

She shook her head. "I really hope you didn't just fuckin' jinx it."

I shrugged. "What about the boarding house? It's a shame that's only just began its construction, we really could've used it for something like the twelve strangers just arriving here."

After she described that the foundation to the boarding house was pretty much completed, the conversation came to a quick close which is when she left to continue organizing the construction effort on the mentioned building. I could've joined her but I figured that putting myself in an easily accessible and known location for the volunteers to come up to, in case they needed me for anything, was a better use of my time. That location was known as the mansion's porch. That vantage point also put me in a position to observe a large portion of the community which is where I saw a few of the newcomers out and about as they figured the place out.

As I silently stood still and peered aimlessly toward where movement within the community was occurring, I got lost in thought, no particular subject being focused on. That persisted to be the case for a solid twenty minutes before my train of thought was derailed at the arrival of someone next to me who had wrapped their arms around me before cutely nuzzling me.

I gingerly placed a hand on the side of their adorable face and timidly made them look up at me. "Hello there, Misses Solace. I wonder, what brings such a lovely and beautiful little lady over here when she can be within the comfort of a warm house?"

She smiled adorably as her cheeks donned a gentle pink upon them. "Because the house doesn't have my big, strong, sexy man in it."

I chuckled at her description and booped her nose. "That brings up a good point; the outside was being rather boring and I felt I was missing something lovely while being out here. Thankfully, my gorgeous little lady's now here to make everything much better with just her presence."

She bashfully grinned. "Your presence makes everything awesome too. I love you."

In response, I delicately wrapped my arms around her chest to pick her up so I could sit her on the balustrades before taking a gentle hold of her cheeks and making her look up at me. While her face expressed a coy joy, I gingerly pressed my forehead against hers before tenderly kissing her. After a few seconds, she timidly inserted her arms into my jacket and wrapped her arms around me while steadily putting me in between her legs. It didn't take much longer for them to also wrap around me before tugging me toward her just a tad. I relished in how much of an expert she is with giving me her touch and affection.

"I love you too, my wonderful Queen." Once my love for her was stated, I glanced down at her abdomen before continuing to peer toward the people that might've come up to us. "Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure we can't stay like this or publicly display our passionate affection all willy-nilly. Just because I'm the leader doesn't mean I can do stuff like that, even though I sometimes want to."

She huffed in disappointment. "I guess... But can we not even kiss for another minute?"

I rubbed the tip of my nose against hers. "Another minute? Sure, I can always spare another minute to kiss my woman."

She happily giggled before pressing her lips against mine. I then took a step forward which caused me to press my crotch against hers while also allowing us to kiss much more passionately. As the seconds of enjoying each other's lips passed by, a certain part of me was increasingly wishing that the both of us hadn't been wearing any articles of clothing below the hips. Nearing the minute mark into the kiss, this feeling was made even stronger when her tongue pressed against my teeth. I internally debated on whether or not to allow her in for a few moments before she decided for me by breaching into my mouth.

Having decided for me, I greeted her tongue with mine which made the seconds seem shorter than they actually were as she hypnotized me into kissing her for much longer than the original time she outlined. Though when I made a subtle move for the kiss to start ending, she put a hand on the back of my head and continued kissing me. At that, I felt her grin as she kissed me more passionately. I then opened my eyes to see hers also being opened which was a bit surprising but it wasn't a unique sight.

Anyways, as we marched passed the two and a half minute mark, we communicated through our eyes. Yes, no words were used but simple eye, eyelid, and eyebrow movements were effective in hinting at what we were trying to say. To sum it up, I was telling her that it should be ending but she continued begging me to keep kissing her. It was a friendly battle that couldn't seem to be settled. Though somewhat thankfully, it came to an abrupt end without me being the one to decide to put an end to it.

That's because Addison's nearby voice suddenly said, "Now, Ah know we're new 'round here and we don't have no say on what y'all do, but Ah reckon goin' to a room would be better for what you two are doin' for everyone involved."

The instant Stacy heard someone else's voice, she ended the kiss, hid her face, and a strong yet adorable blush darted to the tips of her ears. I chuckled at her reaction and pecked her forehead before focusing on the woman who had walked up to the porch who had Francisco at her side. "That's basically what I told her a couple minutes ago, but the lady here insisted she'd rather keep us here and ignore everyone else. I tried warning her but what else could I do?"

"Deny her moves, Ah reckon?" Rylee replied before a slight smirk appeared on her lips. "Oh, who am Ah kiddin', men never do that when it's the woman makin' the moves, bless their hearts."

"Is she calling me a whore or something?" I thought, not sure if I should be offended. I figured she was just being playful so I shrugged it off. "Maybe, but a man should never want to upset his wife."

Francisco looked surprised. "Wife? Were you two together before The Event?"

I shook my head. "Negative. We just decided we wanted to be a married couple one night a little while ago. Nothing fancy happened, considering the lack of a legal system."

"Ah, I see. No offense, but that does make me wonder how real it makes being 'married' feels."

"Is he saying that our marriage isn't real?" Once again not sure if I should be offended, I deduced he was just being purely curious. "More real than I can express. Legality shouldn't determine whether or not a marriage is real; if you're truly committed to the other and love them with immeasurable conviction, then you already feel like you're married."

"...I see, I guess I never really thought about it like that before for some reason."

"But yeah, we ain't really here to jaw about relationship stuff, y'hear?" Addisonpointed out which I nodded at. Truthfully, I'm not much of a fan of talking about my philosophy regarding relationships or my personal romantic anecdotes to people I'm not familiar with. It's not that I'm ashamed of Stacy of course, it just always felt strange to me, so I was somewhat relieved when Addison changed the topic. "We're just here to clear up a couple things. When we start bein' taught how to build things, do all of us need to be focused on that? Or can a couple of us do somethin' else?"

After her question, Stacy slid off of the balustrades and quietly whispered, "I'm gonna go, I'll see you later."

"I'll see you soon." After my whispered response, I focused back on Addison’s question. "I suppose not all of you have to be dedicated to construction, but it's the most important operation we're doing. We've got a lot of stuff to build and the more hands allocated to it, the faster and better we can build it all which leaves us all better off."

She slowly nodded. I reckon that makes sense, it's just some of us are mighty anxious 'bout it and thought they could choose not to go into construction. What other things could they be doin' instead, ya reckon?"

"Uh, well, they could scavenge tools, building supplies, clothes, non-perishable foods, and other useful stuff like that with one of our scavenging teams. They can scout by looking for and mapping places out. They can hunt or fish but I'd rather them not do that since we've already got enough food for now. Those are the main ones for now but there will definitely be more roles to fill as time goes on, like working in the crop fields when spring and summer roll around or being in charge of composting when it grows large enough for that to be required."

She subtly tilted her head. "Compostin', huh? What in tarnation do y'all exactly compost 'round these parts?"

"Spoiled food, the bits of plants and crops that don't get eaten, rotten wood, ash, and soon to be, well, our own waste. Not sure who's gonna want to do that job but someone's got to eventually."

Francisco chimed in; "And I assume you guys will be using that compost for the plants you'll be growing?"

I nodded. "For a while, it'll be a slow and small operation since there's currently not much to compost and it can take several weeks for a batch of something to become anything useful. But homemade fertilizer seems something worthy of investing in for the long-term."

"I ain't rightly sure if any of us would be interested in that.." Addison plainly replied. "Oh, mah apologies, Ah forgot to ask; is there a limit to how many of us can work on other things besides construction?"

"Well, like I hinted at earlier, it's much more important to work in construction; I would like all of you to be focused on that if possible. But if some of you absolutely need to work elsewhere, then I guess I'll allow up to... four of you to opt out of construction. I can't really be any more lenient than that. I hope you'll understand."

After a few silent seconds of her being in thought, "Ah'm jest sorta wonderin' why y'all pushin' so hard for us to learn how to build things. Is there like a mighty big list of stuff that needs to be completed soon that y'all hidin' from us or somethin'?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly. It's just that constructing something takes a while, even just a cabin can take up to three weeks alone, and each set of hands put toward building one helps shave off a lot of time per unit. And with our plans, the plan of trying to contact as many new people as we can, it's gonna make our growth theoretically continuously accelerate as we execute that plan. That means the amount of living space, upon other things, will accelerate with it. And that's where recruiting and training people like you come into play."

"Right on, that sure does sound logical. How much faster do y'all reckon things gonna come along with our help'?"

"It'll make a significant impact on the speed in which we progress. If eight of you commit to it, that'll nearly double our capability on building structures. In fact, we could then build three cabins simultaneously if needed at that point."

"That sure sounds fine to me... It just seems like it's gonna be a whole heap of work, y'know?"

"It sure is, but I'm certain most of you assumed that this wasn't gonna be easy. Even though the work might be long and tiresome, you'll most likely be able to get enjoyment out of it. That's at least the collective attitude I get from the others."

"Yeah, Ah figured it wouldn't be no walk in the park. Ah sure hope to have that same positive feelin', both right here and back at home." At her response, it made me wonder if she wasn't enjoying her time back at the cul-de-sac. But I didn't ponder it for long since she said, "But yeah, that's 'bout all Ah wanted to ask y'all for now. Ah reckon Ah should go and tell the others what y'all done said."

A thought occurred to me. "Wait, before you go, let's make communication between us easier. Since you're gonna be the little leader of your crew, it's important that you be connected to our walkie-talkie network."

"Oh yeah, Ah was eventually gonna ask y'all 'bout that. Ah done seen y'all's folks use 'em, and it seems like a mighty important thing y'all's community relies on."

"I wouldn't say rely on, but it certainly makes just about everything much easier. Wait here." After retrieving the handheld radio and giving it to her, I briefly explained how it worked. "The reason you're the only one getting one of these is because we don't have any more to give at the moment. We probably will have some more soon, but your other people will have to wait until then."

"That's jest fine and dandy. So, Ah assume Ah can use this here to ask y'all somethin' whenever me or another one of my folks wants somethin' answered? Ah'm jest wonderin' if there's some sort of limit or anythin' like that."

"Just the obvious, really. Don't spam me with unnecessary things and you'll be fine, don't be afraid to ask me for anything."

"Alright, well we'll be goin’ now."

After that quick conclusion to the conversation, I continued looking out for anyone else who may have wanted to come up to me and ask questions just in case anyone would rather go to me instead of Addison. But as the minutes rolled by, I became increasingly bothered by not really doing anything since I know I can always do something more productive instead of idling. So when my gaze drifted toward the clinic, I figured any questions that might've been brought my way could easily wait for twenty or so minutes. With that being decided, I marched my way toward Olivia's abode.

The first thing I noticed when entering the building is that the doctor herself was helping Leon somewhat struggle to stand, something he was doing so he could get back into the rhythm of walking. Furthermore, a couple of Brooklyn's friends were by their side and having a quiet conversation together. Since I was there to figure out the ongoing affairs of Olivia's work, it was a good sign that her first critical patient was essentially healed by that point. I of course use ‘healed’ quite liberally.

"Is now a bad time for me to ask how Leon's doing?"

The man in question gave me a look before he left Olivia's side entirely. It was surprising to see him make such a bold move to say the least and even more surprising when he continued making his way toward me. Even though his legs showed confidence in his steady stride told me, his expression was telling a different story in the form of wincing. But that didn't dissuade him from continuing his show of resilience.

"I'm doing better than I have been in a while." He answered for himself after walking up to me with a strained grin with a subtle clutch on his side.

"Are you sure? When I saw you lying down yesterday, you didn't seem to be in that much pain."

"I am certain. Finally starting to get back on my feet again instead of doing nothing all day is a very refreshing and... liberating feeling."

"Yeah, I feel you. I've been put down for a few days a few times and not having autonomy is definitely a severely annoying feeling to grapple with. But it'll always work out in the end." Unless you die or something.

"Well, the worst is behind me now so I can finally start moving on from this. I just need to literally walk it off now."

I chuckled at that. "Now that you can be on your feet, how much longer are you staying here for?"

"Uh..." He glanced at Olivia who jumped into the conversation.

"I strongly recommend that you stay at least a couple of more days or until you can take a couple dozen steps without risking a fall. While you can leave now, and I wouldn't really blame you for that, it would be against medical advice."

Leon quietly sighed. "Do yourself a favour and never have appendicitis."

I chuckled again. "I plan on it, it doesn't seem fun in the slightest."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna continue practicing pacing."

At that, he made his way back toward the other end of the clinic where Olivia offered to be by his side just in case. But he opted for Brooklyn's assurance which left the doctor to head my way. While Leon continued timidly taking his cautious steps, I noticed that Vanessa was nose-deep into a thick medical book.

I subtly pointed at Vanessa after Olivia stationed herself next to me. "What's she reading over there?"

"Practices and protocols to prevent and control the spread of infections and techniques for assessing, cleaning, and dressing wounds. It's the next chapter we're going over, it's a pretty long one compared to a few others. But even then, there's still a lot of nuance that I'm gonna have to go over with her after that."

"I would assume so. Though to be blunt, practicing medicine doesn't seem like something that would only be contained to just reading books. Is there anything else that she does to learn it?"

She nodded. "Of course. There's a few items that have recently been scavenged that’ll allow her to get some practice in. Like some simulated arms so she can practice injections, blood draws, intravenous insertions, and even catheter insertions. And then more recently there's the simulated skin models we got which come with pre-made incisions for practicing suturing and wound closure techniques. And with stuff like BP cuffs or practicing an array of exams, she can practice on me or anyone else that wants to volunteer. Other than that, there's many other forms of equipment that'll be able to give her some physical practice but we haven't been able to find a lot of it for now. But we will eventually, and when we do, I'll be sure to put her to work."

"Definitely sounds like you've got your work cut out for you in that regard. I've been meaning to ask; how serious do you think she is about becoming a nurse?"

She grinned. "Don't her actions speak for herself? She's been very focused on hearing what I have to say and has been eager to read what I tell her to. She even sometimes gets disappointed when my lectures stop. And when quizzed, she's able to recite what she's been learning about quite well. She's either very passionate about this or has a very good photographic memory."

"So you do quiz her, how interesting. How exactly do you do that?"

"I ask her the questions that are the most important to know in each segment of whatever topic or subject we're doing for that week. It's usually around thirty to forty questions coupled with an essay about the entire chapter, focused on the more nuanced stuff. Even though we just began doing that a couple of weeks ago, it seems to be a good system we've got going on. And with the laptop she just got from Quinn a couple days ago, she'll have a much better time keeping track of important information and writing her essays."

"Damn, that's a very good use for the laptops. I thought they were only gonna be used for gaming and stuff like that." At that, I remembered the ulterior project that I had assigned to Olivia. "Hey, how's the book writing coming along? Do you think moving that to a computer would help you make that faster?"

"I've already begun work on that. Once I remembered that I'd be able to relocate paragraphs on a whim and be able to add details I previously forgot to mention, instead of having to get a fresh sheet of paper or slowly erase what I already put down, I pretty much ran to Quinn to see if she'd graceful enough to let me have one. It should speed up the time it takes me to write a segment by at least a factor of five. I'm just afraid that the laptop will somehow break and I'll lose all of my progress on it, though that's why I'll write down a physical copy of it whenever I'm done writing a chapter of it."

"I'm sure you could use a printer for that, actually. You just need to find a printer and some ink for it. Y'know, if the ink hasn't expired."

"Oh yeah, that's a good idea."

"How many chapters have you written anyways?"

"Six." She answered. The number seemed much lower than I thought it'd be by then, though that attitude shifted when she added on, "And they're all several thousand words long. Like I mentioned previously, it's all very nuanced. I might've been able to skip and cut out a few things, but I'd rather have way too much than not enough. It'll probably be at least thirty chapters by the time I'm done with it."

"I have faith that whenever it's done, it'll be a great guide on how to become an effective nurse for a reliant doctor such as you."

With that, my curiosity was satisfied which left me to silently observe Leon's session of physical therapy for a few minutes before I returned back to the mansion's porch to continue keeping an eye out for possible questionnaires. But I didn't stay there long since I figured that Addison having gained access to the walkie-talkie network made me ultimately obsolete in that regard. Plus, the chill reminded me just how much I despise the cold which incentivized me to slip into a significantly warmer place.

Though when I made my way into the mansion, I didn't expect to see Charlotte, Willow, and Stacy with three of the volunteers in the center of the living room beginning to play some of Charlotte's games. Her games were always a nice way for newcomers to get comfortable with us and were an effective means of socialization for us to learn about each other. Thus, the chances of friendships to emerge skyrocket as a byproduct.

"I hope Charlotte's not forcing y'all to be here, I know how pushy she can be." I teased, causing Charlotte to playfully roll her eyes.

"Of course not! We're just gonna play a few games of War, Blackjack, Poker, and a few others probably. We might even put on some movies after that. Wanna join us?"

"Well, I was planning on doing something a little more productive..." After implying I most likely was gonna reject her offer, I glanced at Stacy who started giving me a pleading look for me to join them. "But if you're gonna be drinking anything fun, I think I'll be persuaded to join y'all."

Charlotte grinned. "We were eventually gonna get to that but I guess we can go ahead and skip to it if it means we get you over here. How many of you don't drink alcohol?" After the volunteers expressed that they weren't against the idea, Charlotte asked Willow to retrieve a couple bottles of cider and a few cups. Since their end of the bargain was met, I made my way next to Stacy's side as Charlotte began handing out cards to use while explaining what game we'd be playing.

The volunteers seemed rather stiff at originally during the beginning of the first game, but as each game ended and then began, they steadily warmed up to us and realized that they were free to be themselves. This allowed them to ease into speaking their minds and answering questions smoothly which built a rudimentary frame of reference of what they were like; their personalities and core beliefs. The alcohol might've helped out with that but none of us were aiming to get drunk or anything like that. Though Stacy getting a little bit tipsy was inevitable.

A couple of hours later while playing the fourth type of card game, the majority of players decided that the card-related fun should be adjourned. With that, Charlotte continued taking the lead of her little welcome-party by switching the TV on and starting a modest debate of which movie the audience wanted to sit through. It was a debate that didn't matter to Stacy and I since we didn't care which movie was shown, something that allowed us to get some blankets and pillows so we could cuddle together at the far end of the room where a couple of recliners were. By the time the others agreed to something, a few other of the volunteers showed up after having been invited and both Stacy and I were already lovingly holding each other and settled in each other's grasp.

"So, how was your day? How's painting your signs coming along?" I quietly asked a few minutes into the magical-fantasy film.

"It's been pretty fun since the girls always make what could be a boring hour or two into a nice mini-party. And... well, I haven't painted anything today. I woke up really late this morning so I kind of just said I'll catch up on it tomorrow."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." I playfully replied. "Being a couple hours late isn't that good of an excuse to have an unscheduled day off... But I can allow a few exceptions for you." That's definitely not any sort of bias I have for Stacy speaking for me. Anyways, she happily giggled at my response. "Though maybe I should start being more direct in the morning by genuinely waking you and getting you out of bed. We don't need this to become a common occurrence..."

"Ssshhh~." She replied while nuzzling my chest, the girl trying to avoid the 'threat' made on her extra hour of sleep as if that'd make me forget the topic somehow.

"Okay, I'll go easy on you... for now." At that, I gave her a few gentle kisses across her forehead. "Are you gonna be doing anything else after the movie's over?"

She met my gaze with an adorable grin. "Watch another movie."

"Oh? What about after that?"

"Maybe another movie..."

I chuckled. "We can't just lay here and watch movies all day, silly girl."

"Why not? It's really nice watching something while being held by you."

I kissed the tip of her nose. "While it's really nice cuddling you, which I can do for so many hours, there are some things I'll eventually need to get up and do. Most of it involves the volunteers, like when they'll eat or where they'll sleep."

Stacy's face subtly contorted in a playful charade of anger. "You're talking about work stuff while we're cuddling, we're supposed to be watching a movie!"

I grinned at her playfulness and eskimo kissed her. "Sorry darling, I'm just making sure that the Queen knows how the kingdom's running."

"The 'kingdom', huh?" She simply repeated before the both of us fell quiet to focus back on the movie.

Though that only persisted for a handful of minutes before we started commenting on the film which eventually led to us talking about things that weren't related to it at all. Watching movies with her was always somewhat difficult since we'd always get distracted by discussing a plethora of topics, or alternatively, we'd start kissing the other. That's what we did after we decided we weren't really that interested in the movie and more interested in each other's lips. Of course, our make out session didn't get too passionate since we were in public but us being behind everyone coupled with the dimmer lighting helped disguise our debauchery. Though it's sort of inevitable that something more sexy happens between us...

She quietly gasped when I placed a hand on her bare thigh, something I caressed by gingerly dragging my hand upward. After ending the kiss and glancing toward the other people in the room, she quietly whispered, "Hunter, we can't do this out here..."

"Then why are you wearing a skirt?" I asked as my hand slipped into the mentioned piece of fabric. "Isn't it for me to have 'easy access' to you?"

She timidly swallowed as she gingerly blushed. "That might be one of the reasons... Another is I just like wearing a girly skirt." She quietly gasped again when I firmly grabbed one of her buttocks, my hand wanting to take her panties off so I could grab it without any barrier between us. "But we really, really shouldn't do this out here."

I softly chuckled. "Of course not, I'm just teasing you. Though can I keep my hand here for a bit?"

She timidly nodded. "Just don't go any further, mister."

"Maybe later..." I not so subtly hinted at before pressing my lips against hers once more.

We continued our more passionate make out session for a few more minutes before I felt like it should end since I felt like we were drawing some unwanted attention. There wasn't really any proof of it at first but as we continued watching what was on the TV, I noticed that we were getting glanced at every now and then which was kind of annoying. But I couldn't really do much about it, unless I wanted to make some sort of scene, so I just let it go and hoped anyone who saw me kissing my woman wasn't some anti-affection nut or anything like that. After all, if they didn't like what we were doing, they had the choice of not looking our way.

So after that first movie and another movie later which had some much needed snacking during it, it was time for supper to be served to the community, including the volunteers. At this point, the kitchen no longer fed the entire group since many of them opt to make their own dinner in their cabins which relieved a lot of work from Jordan and his two helpers, Lyra and Susil. So after an extended amount of time and effort put into cooking the day's quota of food, the mansion became bustling with folks seeking out their fair share of vegetables and meat.

As I helped direct the volunteers where to go while answering an array of questions regarding the food, what they should do with their dishes after eating, and where they'd eat, I made my way back to Stacy so we could focus on our own needs. Though in the middle of it, I wanted to test something.

As she sat cross-legged in between my legs with a plate on her lap, I grabbed a large slice of salmon and put it up to her lips. After she gracefully accepted it, I grabbed another slice which she also accepted. Then I grabbed a third one and pressed it on her lips which caused her to look at me in confusion as she tried to chew up the meat at an accelerated rate. I grinned as I pushed the slice of salmon into her mouth which she playfully fought back, something that required me to use a little more which ended up with her mouth being rather stuffed.

Since she had quickly figured out what I was doing, I stopped grabbing any more slices and allowed her to chew up and swallow the food I was successfully able to stuff inside her. "Are you trying to get me fat!?"

"It's gonna take a few more plates for you to gain a couple pounds, not that that'd be a bad thing... You don't like salmon?" I replied with a boop on her nose.

"Of course I do! But eating slowly is nice, it makes every dinner super enjoyable... And you don't want me to choke, do you?" Don't make a dick joke. "Besides choking on a certain little part of you..." You read my mind.

"Wait, little?" I questioned, though I moved on from that before the conversation focused on it. "Of course I don't want you to choke, I know CPR or whatever."

"Then don't feed me a thousand pieces of food all at once!" She replied with a grin.

I decided to play along for a little while longer. "Okay, five hundred then."

She took the plate off her lap and lifted it up toward my face. "I will make you eat all of this before anything else!"

"I wouldn't want to let my little lady starve."

"Then don't feed me a million pieces of food, jeez!"

"Wasn't it a thousand just a second ago?"

After a sarcastic argument about how numbers work, we continued eating our dinner like how we typically do. Once we were done with that, I went back down to the living room where most of the volunteers were congregated where Addison asked where they should all sleep.

"Well, since the boarding house only has its foundation made, the only place large enough for y'all is here." Since it wasn't the first time a decent amount of newcomers arrived at Solaris, the protocol for the mansion's living room being the place for them to call a temporary bedroom was enacted. "If any of your people need any pillows or blankets, just let me know and I'll provide."

Once again, I secretly disliked having a large amount of people I didn't really know be in the same house as me while sleeping. But there wasn't anything else I could do besides use my door's lock and be ready to pull a gun out in the middle of the night... I'm not paranoid, I swear.

But with all that being said and done, the next major thing on the agenda was beginning the training process of these new folks into the Solar construction force the next day. It really shouldn't take too long to do that...