AT LAST - PART TWO

A collaboration with Team Promethiad.

Part Two

She liked the feel his hand against hers. It was comforting and somehow familiar, but at

the same time a little exhilarating. “The back seat sounds like a perfect place for Panda.”

"Yeah, Panda likes to roll that way I'm thinking." He said with a smirk. They got into the

little boat, put Panda in the back where it would be nice and safe, and he casually placed

his arm around her as they ventured into the dark tunnel. At first, yes, he was a little

afraid. After the encounter with the hunters, he couldn't help but feel a little on edge.

Once they were completely surrounded by darkness and there was nothing more than the

sound of the water splashing against the walls, his body relaxed against her.

She jumped a little when Toby’s arm went around her shoulders, but then she relaxed.

Nothing was going to hurt her here. She tried to choke back the panic that was

threatening to rise. She had to remind herself that this was nothing like the little room

she had been trapped in, and that Toby wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. She

snuggled closer to him, willing herself to calm down. She took a deep breath. God,

he smelled good! “This is nice,” she commented, and then cursed the way her voice

quavered a little.

"Mmm," he agreed. His arm tightened around her protectively as they sat there. He could

sense she was feeling the same kind of fear he was. He was determined to help her forget

those nightmarish moments. Granted, he didn't know what had happened to her exactly,

but if it was anything like his experience...He shivered slightly.

A glow of light came up ahead as they were coming up on a 'scene' of some kind. No

doubt something cutesy with unicorns like the tunnel from back home. In the past he'd

always gone on it with his friends and made hooting and howling noises to annoy the

lovebirds who were no doubt making out. They'd always laugh at the low-end displays

that reminded him of the cardboard panoramas he'd made for class back in elementary

school.

Now though, his mind was only on her. As the light grew brighter, he used it to look at

her face and really study it. God she's so freaking beautiful. Gently, he cupped her chin

with his hand and tilted her face towards his. "I promise I'm not going to let anything

happen to you ever. If you're ever in trouble, I'll find you and I'll help you. I will find a

way to."

Was he going to kiss her? He was staring at her so intensely. She held his gaze. Where

was a time-stopper when you needed one? This would be the perfect moment to

freeze. “You know I’m telepathic, right?” she blurted. Great job, Moira. Way to kill the

moment.

"Tell me what I'm thinking," he said with a smirk. Close your eyes.

“Okay,” was all she said, smiling at him as she complied and closed her eyes.

He laughed a little and then leaned down and kissed her right as they started passing the

lit up 'scene'. This was his first kiss, so he wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but his

lips were on hers, and he had no intention of pulling them away just yet.

Her heart leaped into her throat when his lips touched hers. She didn’t know what to do.

She reached one hand up and experimentally ran her fingers through his hair. It felt like

silk. A small sound escaped her throat, and she wrapped her fingers around his hair and

used it to pull him closer.

Wow, she wanted more. Good sign. He adjusted his lips, opening them slightly just like

he had seen in more than one movie. After all, that felt more than natural to him. He tried

to keep it slow despite the urge to want to rush the movement. At the same time, he did

just want to saver it. His hands rested on both of her hips. That felt like the only safe

place for him to put them.

She opened her mouth slightly and began to move it slowly against his. She really hoped

she was doing this right. She reached her other arm up behind his neck. Kissing him was

even more amazing than she had imagined! And she had certainly thought about it a lot...

After a long minute or two passed, he pulled back needing some air. Wow. And he hoped

she was reading his mind then because he wasn't sure he could say a word.

She opened her eyes when he pulled away from her. “Are you okay?” she asked, a little

worried. Had she done something wrong?

"I'm fine." He said. "I mean, wow. I just...that was my first..." He gave a small blush, glad

it was dark again so she couldn't see it and then leaned in to kiss her again.

She wondered what he was going to say. She was tempted to read his mind to find out,

but she didn’t want to invade his privacy. She didn’t like to read minds unless she was

asked to, or unless she had to. All thought of what he was going to say halted when his

mouth met hers again. Then all that she could think about what how he felt...how he

tasted...

He truthfully didn’t want to admit that she was his first kiss even though he was pretty

sure he'd already said something about it a few times before. Still, it was more or less a

little embarrassing for his studly jock image. After all, he lied to his friends about it a lot

just to avoid being teased or thrown onto the school hussy.

He went back to doing what felt right, his arms around her, his mouth open to hers, eyes

closed. This was a dream he didn't want to wake up from, and a moment he didn't want to

see end. Their time together was limited. He had to make the most of it.

She was well aware that the ride would soon be ending. She knew that she shouldn't be

thinking about that, that she should just be enjoying the short time they had together.

She wanted to feel what he was feeling. She didn't want to invade his mind, but she

wanted to see if he was feeling what she was.

She tentatively opened her mind to his and was instantly assailed with emotions. It was

like everything she was feeling had been intensified a hundred times. It was so strong that

she had to pull away from him for a moment, to break the physical connection.

When she pulled away, he frowned a little. "I..." He paused for a moment, trying to figure

out the right thing to say. He wasn't quite sure if he should ask her what's wrong, or keep

the mood light. He decided to say something honest. "I love you."

She stared at him for a moment as short as a heartbeat, tears threatening to spill over her

cheeks. She was overwhelmed with emotions, both her own, and his. “I love you too,

Toby.”

He smiled, not noticing the tears because he was kind of an oblivious boy. He did notice

something was different about the way she was asking but he was afraid to ask about it.

His emotions had shifted. Was she not supposed to say it back? Was he upset because

she had pulled away in the first place? She was seriously confused. “What’s wrong?” she

finally asked him.

"I was gonna ask you that," he said, “Cause you're all like..." he paused trying to mimic

her facial expression only minus the tears. "I just thought I did something wrong."

“No no no!” She touched his arm, trying to reassure him. “You didn’t do anything

wrong.” She was embarrassed to admit what she had done. She hoped that he would still

trust her, still love her...Well, best to be honest, she supposed. “I, well, I wanted to feel

what you were feeling. When I opened my mind to you, I got kind of overwhelmed and

I couldn’t separate my emotions from yours. I kind of freaked out a little.” She cringed,

hoping that he wouldn’t yell at her or something.

"Huh?" He understood what she was saying, but at the same time he didn't. "Like, you

felt what I was feeling?" At least then she'd know he meant what he said and not think

it was some kind of line. Though he kind of figured she'd know better than that. "Look,

babe if you wanna go in my head, you can. I don't have anything to hide from you. But

you gotta tell me okay?"

“I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t technically go in your head. I couldn’t hear what

you were thinking. I can feel emotions—strong emotions—just by opening my own mind

to someone. It’s usually easier if I’m touching them. Since we were so close, I guess it

just kind of threw me. Please don’t be mad!”

"I'm not mad, but I'm confused. In some ways, it's easier this way because I'm not all too

good with words anyway. I can never say the right thing. You know me, I'm all rambles."

He gave her a weak smile. "So...find anything good then?"

“Wait, now I’m confused. Are you saying you want me to read your mind?”

"I'm sayin' it's a part of who you are," he mumbled. "I just want to know if you do go

in there okay? If you do it all incognito, then I'm gonna have issues. You wanting to

feel what I feel though, I...it makes things easier sort of. But I don't understand what's

happening. I...my powers aren't...like yours."

“Well...wait, what are your powers? You never told me.”

"Because they're bad and I didn't want you to think I was some kind of a psycho," he

mumbled. "I mean, you didn't tell me about yours until tonight."

“I didn’t want you to think I was crazy! It’s not something you just bring up. The only

reason I said anything tonight is because I assumed you must have some sort of powers

too, because everyone on this show does. Also because you said that if I was ever in

trouble, you’d find me. I was going to say that since I’m telepathic, I could like, send a

message to you telepathically or something.”

"Right and that's a fair assumption to make cuz its true. One of the conditions. I didn't tell

you for the same reasons and...mine is...bad." He bit his lip.

She reached over and took his hand. She wished she could see his face better, but it was

so dark on the ride. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. Will you tell

me?”

He gave her hand a squeeze. "It started a few years ago. It’s why I keep to myself.

I...change into a monster. There's no rhyme or reason to it." He frowned as light

approached them and the end of the ride could be seen.

She noticed his frown and wondered what it meant. Instead, she asked the first thing that

popped into her head. “What kind of monster?”

"Big. Claws. Teeth." He bit his lip. "Wings. Mom practically shoved me on the show so I

can get fixed if I win."

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t really know what else to say. The ride had stopped, but she made

no motion to get out. “Can you control it?”

"No." He sighed and slowly stood, fully expecting her to dump him now.

She followed him out of the boat, pausing to grab the panda. She reached up and placed a

hand against his cheek. “It’s going to be okay.”

He faced her when she touched his cheek and closed his eyes. "Sorry I shouldn't be gettin

all..."

“All what?”

"Depressing? Emotional?" Stupid, but he didn't say that one.

“You’re not being depressing. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

He shrugged, "I don't know if I do or don't, but I kind of owe it to you don't I? You need

to know this stuff."

“I guess . . . but only if you feel comfortable telling me.” She paused as they got jostled

by others getting off the ride. "But maybe we should go somewhere else."

He nodded, beginning to walk aimlessly. "I will tell you anything you want to know. I

mean, I love you. Its not changing how I feel."

“I love you too. And nothing you tell me will change how I feel either.”

She threaded her way through the crowd, past various food and game booths as she

followed him. “So...um...I’m sorry, I have to ask. You don’t have to answer if you don’t

want to. Have you ever—hurt anyone? I mean, I know you’d never hurt anyone on

purpose, but you said you can’t control it...” she trailed off uncomfortably, hoping she

hadn’t upset him.

"I hurt someone." He nodded, his hand tightening on hers as they walked. He searched

for something new for them to do. "First time it was a stranger and the other it was my

brother."

She stopped walking and waited for him to look at her. “I’m so sorry.”

He stared down at her. "Thank you."

She hesitated for a moment, not sure whether she should say what she was thinking. “Just

so you know, I trust you. This doesn’t change anything. I know you’d never hurt me.”

"I hope not." He said, but he wished he could promise he never would. "I'll try."

“Even if you do, it doesn’t change anything, okay?”

He stared down at her and then the ground. "Let's...not worry about it then." He hoped

she meant it though because that was the one thing that petrified him the most.

She could tell he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Time to change the subject. She

tugged on his hand as she started walking again. “So, what do you want to do now?”

"More games? Or another ride?" He glanced at his watch. How much time did he have

until he was supposed to meet the others? "Or find a quiet corner and suck face some

more?" He had a lot he could say still, and a lot he wanted to ask her, but their time was

limited. "I just...I've missed you and you're here now and..."

“I’ve missed you too,” she said. “I hate that we’re finally here together and now we’re

going to be separated again. I don’t even know if we’re always going to be in the same

place so we can sneak away and meet again.”

"I hate that you're my competition. Because that means...something bad happened or

something you need is...and...I don't want to stop you from getting it Moira."

“I don’t regret what I did. My mom wanted me to go on this show. I’d rather see you

win.”

"What...what did you do and what...what's your prize?" He wasn't so sure his prize was

worth all of this, and he really didn't want to lose her.

“Well, part of my telepathy is that I can plant thoughts in others’ heads. It’s not

something I use often. I mostly use it when I need to communicate silently with someone.

But this time, I tried to plant an idea in someone’s head and pass it off as his own idea. I

didn’t do a very good job of it. Anyway it was the president of some cosmetics company

that still tests on animals. He agreed that if my team wins on this show, he would drop

charges against me and free the testing animals.” She waved it off like it was no big

deal. “But he doesn’t really have anything against me, and there are legal ways of freeing

those poor animals. I’m not worried.”

He nodded as he listened to her speak. That was pretty intense. He hated the idea of her

being in jail or in any kind of trouble.

She didn’t know what else to say. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the

time. “What time do you have to be back?” she asked.

"I've got about fifteen minutes I would say." He said with a heavy sigh. "I seriously hate

my team."

“Me too. Although, one guy did save me in there, so I guess I kind of owe him now or

something.”

He nodded. "Yeah, someone had to...save me too otherwise I would have..." He bit his lip

and looked away.

She pulled him around a corner where it was quiet and leaned up against the wall of a

booth. “What happened to you in there? I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you

don’t want to. We don’t have much time left together.”

"I almost died. There was a box. I couldn't get out. I almost drowned." He shrugged it off

as though it were nothing. He pulled her in close again, playing with her beautiful dark

hair.

“Oh God, Toby. That’s terrible.” She looked around for a place to set her panda. There

wasn’t one, so she had to put it on the ground. She hoped it wouldn’t get dirty. She put

her arms around Toby’s waist and rested her face against his chest. “I’m so glad you’re

okay. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "I don’t want you to ever have to wonder."

“Me either,” she told him. “Ummm...I think it’s almost time to leave. I don’t want to

leave you, but I don’t want us to get stuck here either.”

He kissed her lips now. "We won't get stuck."

She smiled. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if we did get stuck here together...alone.”

He swallowed hard. She was so hot. "We need to stay in touch so we can meet up again

soon."

“Of course. I’d imagine we’d be in the same place most of the time. I brought my laptop

and my phone. Did you bring yours?”

"Of course! I couldn't leave without Petunia!" Which was the name he gave to his laptop,

his gaming machine. He couldn't live without it. He grinned. "We'll definitely be keeping

in touch as much as possible. We can have secret rendezvous! It'll be like a spy movie."

She smiled. “Sounds good.” She knew their time was almost up. Any minute now, their

teammates would come looking for them. She stood on her toes (he was so much taller

than her!) and locked her fingers in his hair. She pulled his mouth down to meet hers.

He closed his eyes, kissing her again and wrapping his arms around her fully. He didn't

want to ever stop, to ever let go, but he knew he'd have to eventually. He savored the

kiss, hanging onto the moment for as long as possible.

She could hear her teammates calling her name. “Damn it,” she murmured against Toby’s

lips.

He deepened the kiss one more time and then sighed. "You should go. Don't want you

in too much trouble. We'll see each other again, and I want you to email me about what

happened to you. I love you Moira."

“We’ll talk soon. I wish I didn’t have to go.” She could hear the voices getting closer.

Her team couldn’t find them together. They’d probably be mad. She picked up her panda

and, gripping it in one arm, kissed him fiercely one last time. “I love you too, Toby.” She

turned and disappeared around the corner.

He clung to her while he kissed her, still not wanting to let go. When she finally pulled

away and disappeared he once more had to pinch himself to make sure this wasn't some

kind of a dream.