Boredom=Unacceptable. ~open~

He turned and noticed that she had taken off her shirt. She knew he realized her intent by his smile. Or at least, she hoped that was what that smile was about. For a moment, she thought that he was laughing at her. She crossed her arms over her stomach before thinking better of it. He was getting up with his plate, as he had scarfed down the rest of his food. As he put his dish in the sink, she felt his skin press and slide against hers. She shivered and bit her lip. It was an odd feeling, but she liked it. "Sorry, I should have moved out of the way." If she had thought about it she would have. Or maybe not, she really did enjoy his touch. Probably more than she should. She shot him a look for that 'brave girl' comment.

She set her mouth in a prim line as she sat down on the foot stool. She laid her shirt across her lap and wrapped her hands up in it. Thankfully she was close enough to the fire that with just turning her head, she could stare at the flames. She reached up and pulled her hair to the side and braided it to get it out of the way. She could feel the warmth of the fire against her bare skin and she wondered at what she was doing. Here she was, sitting in front of a fire in a man's house, shirtless. How did she get herself into this again? She saw Adam standing there, his markings reflecting back the light, and she remembered. Maybe she just wanted to be like him. He was unlike anyone else she had ever known and she respected him for that. She also really liked him. Just the way he moved, the way he talked, the way he got that look on his face when he was thinking about how to answer her questions. She liked watching the emotions flicker through his eyes as his face remained stoic.

She waited for him to start, and tried to stay calm. She had set herself up for a painful experience, but the reward would be worth it in the end. She wondered what she would do to keep it from getting infected. One step at a time though, she thought with a chuckle. She would have to get through getting it done first. She could only hope that she didn't make a fool out of herself in the process. She figured that she would cry, but hoped that she didn't scream. It would be horrifying to look like a sissy in front of him.

She finally got to see the real Adam. He was completely unguarded when he knelt beside her. He told her to stay calm, to stay still. She could only look at him and bite her lip. She wasn't going to be making any promises. Especially ones that she was most likely not going to be able to keep. Her eyes followed his hand as he placed the rod into the fire. It was thin and short. No wonder he was able to get such detail in with such a delicate instrument. Because of it's small size, it didn't take long for it to glow red. He smiled. An actual smile. She couldn't help the small smile that curved her lips. He had a wonderful smile, one that lit up the room more than the fire did. This is what he loved to do, it was his passion, and he was sharing it with her.

The first line, the pain didn't hit her right away. Maybe it was just immediate shock. Shock at hearing her skin sizzling or shock from the smell of burning flesh. It didn't take long though. By the time he had lifted it off her skin and started the second line, the pain hit. He was so intensely focused on what he was doing. She glanced over her shoulder at him, seen the concentration on his face. She wouldn't ruin his work, she wouldn't move. Her hands wrapped up even tighter in the shirt on her lap, probably permanently wrinkling it. She groaned and grit her teeth. The after-shock of the pain hit her in her stomach and she felt the food she had just eaten turn uncomfortably.

She realized belatedly that he had stopped. It gave her a chance to catch her breath, and for her stomach to settle. She gave him a questioning look. "Don't worry so much about me. Yes, it hurts. I can handle it though." She nodded and looked back into the fire. Maybe that could take her mind off of it. Sort of ironic, since it was the source of her pain. She took a deep breath and settled herself more comfortably on the foot stool. She remembered the look of pure joy and anticipation on his face and for a moment turned back to him. "You are really enjoying this aren't you?" She asked amused. "I can tell that your smile is real this time. It's nice." She smiled herself and once again turned back to the fire. The pain had for now turned into a steady throb. If she concentrated on anything else, it wouldn't bother her at all. She didn't think it would anyway. First, though, she had to get through the rest of it. She repeated her earlier statement, "I'm ready when you are."

Chloe took a deep breath and waited for him to continue. He had a look of concentration on his face that deepened the lines around his eyes. It didn't detract from his looks, though. Far from it, if you asked her. At any other time, he had a detached look, blank, but for the emotions that slid through his eyes. Right now, his face was so animated. The pain was intense, but she knew that no matter how bad it got, she didn't want him to stop. He got up to reheat the rod in his hand. She watched his movements, saw the smile, and smiled right back at him. His hand reached for his own face and her eyes were drawn to the unfinished picture. Didn't take much guessing that the pain was too much and he had to stop. It was too bad, she would have liked to see the finished picture.

It didn't take long for him to get done, after all it was just a bumblebee. Still, it had seemed like an eternity for her. Adam peered closely at it, then got up. Chloe found herself just watching him. It didn't occur to her yet to look at the picture. When it did, it was too late. He had already placed the cloth on her arm. He was looking at her face as he pressed the cool cloth to her over-heated skin. The look in his eyes was enough to take her breath away. Nothing detached about that look, she thought to herself. He said not to look until he said so, so she nodded and looked away. The room was extremely warm, the fire having kept it hot even as the sun began to set and the temperature outside was falling.

When he said she could look, she did so automatically. She lifted her arm so that she could see, by the light of the fire, what he had done to her. She was right, it was worth it. Eventually the redness would fade, and it would scar. It would shine in the light just like his. For now, she was amazed at all the little details that he managed to work into it. She reached her hand over to touch it, in awe of the design. The first time her fingers grazed it, she hissed at the shot of pain it sent through her shoulder. "Well, won't be doing that again." She said with a weak chuckle. "It's so beautiful. Imagine what it will look like when it heals..." She let it trail off as her eyes just kept going over it again and again. When she finally looked back at him, she knew her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She didn't think about what she was going to do, she didn't know what she was going to do. She came off of the stool and hugged him. "Thank you for doing this for me." She said as the first tear she let herself shed trailed it's way down her cheek. She knew he wasn't much of a touchy-feely kind of guy, so she let go quickly and leaned back on her heels. "I love it." She said, feeling kind of lame and awkward. "I can't wait to see what the next one will look like."

She stood there, looking at her toes, realizing that she should have probably put her shirt back on before hugging him. She could still feel his skin pressed against hers in an almost tingly awareness. Her hand lay resting below the burn on her arm, squeezing it gently to relieve some of the throbbing pain left behind by the marks. Marks she had willingly endured to feel something again. In the end, was that all it was? Trying so hard to make herself feel something significant? She realized then that she had been numb. Not in the sense that she would have ever realized it on her own. She lived out her days in a sort of daze. Doing what needed to be done, like a drone on autopilot. She hadn't taken any real joy out of her life because there had been none to have.

Now there was, not just in modifying her body, but in a friendship she hadn't even realized she craved. He didn't return her hug, but that was okay, he had given enough of himself to her for her to not need it. She had wanted him to though. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and give her that comfort, that warmth, that he probably wasn't even capable of. He was the one who needed that comfort, that person to be with him, so he would know that it's okay to not be alone. He didn't want to be anyway, but how could she presume to be the one to fill that void in his life? She picked up her shirt as it had fallen to the ground when she got up to hug Adam. She flipped it out to release the dust and ashes from it before slipping it over her head. The fabric grazed over her arm and it hurt, but she didn't wince, and she didn't cry. She smiled instead, she didn't think it was healthy that the pain would make her smile, but she decided then not to over-think it.

She opened her mouth to tell him it was getting late, and that she should probably go, even though she didn't want to. It was warm here, cozy, and he was here. All these thoughts went through her head, but never made it out of her mouth. Before she could say it, Adam finally spoke up. "Can you stay with me?" The question brought her up short, her eyes moved slowly to his face as her mouth shut, swallowing her words. He wanted her to stay? Could she stay? What would her parents' reaction be if she did? How long did he want her to stay? What would they do? All the questions, and she couldn't find an easy answer to any of them. She was always awkward and shy around people. She had let herself go with him. Was she willing to let that end yet? No. No she wasn't.


Chloe smiled slowly and nodded, sitting back down. The fire was dying, the room was slowly getting cooler. "I think I can do that." She said softly. " I didn't really want to go anyway." She looked up at him. "What do you want to do now?"