I chose... Rapture. [Faith/ Dream]

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Welcome to Rapture. A city where the artist can roam freely, the scientist can create with the sky as the limit, and the power is with the people. Such a place could never exist on land therefore it was literally built on the bottom of the ocean, as far away from the governing powers as possible. Out of every jurisdiction. The extreme of extremes. It is a massive place with buildings that tower over head and long walkways that link different areas of the city together.
Everything you could ever want you can find in Rapture. There are stores, restaurants, hotels, spas, housing units, art galleries, markets, sports centers and for those who enjoy a little bit of nighttime excitement there are bars and love-houses. Everyone is welcome in Rapture! There are no minorities. Everyone is equal. Everyone gets a fair share.
All of this is thanks to to the hard work and dedication of our founder Andrew Ryan!

At least..that's how things used to be. Before the revolution. On New Year's Eve, at 12:00 on the dot, just as the clocks were ticking down and the champagne bottles were about to be popped, explosions rang through the entire city. The whole foundation of Rapture was shaken to its very core. Those explosions marked the beginning of what would be a long battle throughout the streets between those who supported Andrew Ryan and those who supported a man named Frank Fontaine. Soon blood coated every wall on every corner of the city. The year 1959 was off to a great start.

Hundreds died and those that didn't die..were left to slowly go insane. Driven only further to insanity by their addiction to Adam; the genetical stimulant that once kept the wheels of Rapture turning.
The side-effect of this drug was both an overwhelming addiction to it and a range of horrible disfigurations due to the way the drug affected the human body. Those addicted where named Splicers and those Splicers are all that are left in this city. They do whatever they can to get their hands on Adam..even if it means killing each other. Many have banded together in order to overpower those who are weak, making them even more dangerous.

The revolution was two years ago. There are now those who are merely trying to get by and those who are trying to escape. But to escape means going through hell and back again...straight through the center of the city. Can you make it out?
Let's see, shall we?

(have to be at school at 7 tomorrow. I'll reply when I get home.)

(That sounds good, I've got class at 8 myself so I'll be here when you get home Have a good day tomorrow)

I wasn’t sure what exactly had come over me. Every moment that I thought about it the more confused I got. I wasn’t sure why she thought she wasn’t attractive or whatever it was she thought. She thought I wasn’t interested which was probably the farthest from the truth. Now I was thinking how the best way to get all her armor off was. It was really hampering the progression of the situation. I couldn’t keep from leaning and in embracing her with another harsh kiss on her lips. Every time I pulled away my mind fogged up a little and I smiled wider than I had the time before.

I go to lean in to kiss her again, but her words stop me. Maybe when we were on the surface? I cleared my throat, looking down to the hands that I still had pressed against the wall. I couldn’t keep the light flush off my face as I realized how far this had gone before she stopped it. I was assuming that’s what she was doing. I mean, it was apparent by the way she smiled down at me that she didn’t want anything that she had offered to me a moment ago.

Really, this came to me as only a slight relief. This wasn’t the time or the place for the stupid ideas that had been dancing through my head. Every time I tried to push the memory away, I flushed an even deeper shade of pink. I just stood there a moment, pressing myself against her. I keep my hands where they are, gripping harshly at her warmth. I take in a deep breath, watching for a moment or two before sighing. She speaks as my heads about to fall. I look up at her instead, a smile pressing against my lips.

“I love you, Echo” My words are soft as I pull my hands away from hers. The warmth is gone in an instant, but I reach up, running one through her hair while I place the other on the metal of her armor. “I don’t want to ever think that I don’t want you. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met” I smile to her, leaning up to place another kiss on her lips. This one is different though. Instead of the harsh kiss that was filled with so much emotion before, this kiss was light and sweet on her lips. I closed my eyes after I’ve pulled away, letting my head come to rest on her breastplate.

For a few moments I just stand there, taking in everything that has just happened. In only a few minutes so much has unrolled. I just think it over for a moment before opening my eyes and looking down to her hands. I sigh quietly, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted--I'm not sure what came over me" My words are soft as I watch her another moment before closing my eyes and listening to the sound of her heartbeat through the armor. It was very steady and I liked the way it sounded; so strong, like it could never stop.

“Why don’t you get that armor off and we lay down?” I’m not sure if she’s up for the idea or if her thoughts are enough that she wants to still walk. I wouldn’t stop her if she wanted to step out of that door after the little stunt I had just pulled. I wouldn’t have thought any less of her either.

As the words passed my lips I found that I was not sure what she was going to get from them. Would she take them for a way of telling her I didn't want anything to happen? Or would she get what I actually meant with them; that I was assuming that she was the one who didn't want anything to happen between us at this point. This assumption came from the way she had brushed off my offer, despite how stupidly timed the offer was, and told me that I 'didn't need to throw myself out there' the way I had.
The way she spoke made me think that although I was wrong in thinking she didn't find me attractive the way I did her, she also did not want anything to happen at this point in our journey.
Was I so wrong for thinking this?

The way she kissed me though told a completely different story. They were harsh kisses that were meant to make the heat of my body rush to my face and make my heart beat so rapidly that it threatened to break through my breastplate.
However despite the intensity of the kisses and the flush that crossed her cheeks every few seconds, she began to slow down her advances on me. The kisses became light and she let my hands fall from where she had been holding them. It was almost a disappointment to me really because I knew that she had taken my words the wrong way.

Even with the misunderstanding though, there was no way for her to misunderstand the three words I whispered to her. The three words that we now knew we could say to one another without fear or hesitation. The three words that now defined the relationship we had and how much it had evolved from the first tense moments of our meeting outside that diner in the Drop.
Her hands were only off me for a few seconds before one came to run through my hair while the other placed itself on the front of my armor.
Her words made me smile shyly and blush but the happiness in my eyes was unparalleled.
"The most..? " I began quietly but I was cut off by the softness of her kiss against my lips. This one had lost the harshness and longing but instead those emotions were replaced with emotion and love.

Once she pulled away we both stood there silently holding one another with her head resting on my chest and my lips pressed against the top of her head. I could have stood there for hours without feeling the urge to move. Just the sensation of her being close to me was..beautiful.
Her words caused me to lean my head back so I could look down at her with a bit of a frown before I shook my head.
"You did nothing wrong. I'm sorry I took things the wrong way." I replied quietly with a warm smile.

Mira then suggested my getting my armor off so we could lay down together and I found the blush very quickly found its way back to my cheeks. I wasn't sure what she had in mind but I wasn't about to turn her down. How could I? We both needed the rest.
"Sounds good." I murmured with a nod of my head as I used one of my hands to begin the somewhat long process of getting all of the straps along the side of the armor undone. The other seemed perfectly content with remaining on the small of her back though. My body did not want to lose her warmth despite the fact that it'd be right back in only a minute or two.

She tells met that I’ve done nothing wrong. I feel my stomach curl slightly. I didn’t know why it seemed that she always felt that it was her fault. I could have explained things better or completely avoided the situation by telling her when she came in what I was reading. I shake my head, but I don’t have the energy to tell her how wrong she was. I would take the blame for everything. In this case it had been my fault, but in any other case, I would have been happy to simply take all the weight on my shoulders.

For a while it’s silent; so silent that I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I don’t know why the silence seems to natural when we are together. We could be talking or laughing or doing a multitude of things, but we weren’t. We stood with each other in the silence of the room, a smile on both of our faces. It’s hard to keep my mind for hanging on the butterflies that are in my stomach. They flutter around, wanting to be free, but I keep them inside.

At my request, she begins taking off her armor, one arm still wrapped around me. I feel bad, thinking that I was just making things three or four times harder than they needed to be. Since she only uses one hand I know that it will take her longer.

As much as I want to pull away from her and to tell her to meet me in bed, I don’t. I have come to enjoy this embrace far too much. Even though metal separates us, I can tell that there is a lot between us. We are connected by an unseen force. We are connected by love.

Once she gets most of her armor unclipped I force myself to pull away from her and take a few steps. She would be going no further if I stood there, staring into her eyes like a fan girl. It would let her get the tank off her back and the beast plate off.

A small smile forms on my lips as I watch her a moment. A playful grin pulls onto my face as I watch her. I stick out my leg a little bit, my dress pulling up my leg much more than it normally would have been allowed. I took the pose of a pinup girl that I had seen on some of the Atlas and Ryan posters. I gave her a smile and a wink, trying to keep the giggle out of my voice.

“I’ll be in the bed; meet me when you’re done” I give another wink and a giggle before turning and escaping back towards the bed. Of course, I wasn’t implying that I wanted to do anything more with her than lie with her in the soft warmth of the beds. It was just a joke since really; she was the closest thing to a knight in shining armor that I would ever get.

My bare feet are cold from being on the floor so I take not time rolling into the closest bed and wrapping myself in the blankets. I’ve gotten myself rolled around enough that the blankets have been pulled off the bed. I hum quietly at the warmth, enjoying being at the center of the massing of blankets.

Although my body and my mind wanted to stay standing there with one arm wrapped around her, my eyes looking intently into hers, and admire her beauty as a whole. I knew that wasn't going to be possible if she wanted me to take off my armor down to my diving suit so I could join her in bed. More because I needed some space to take off certain parts of my armor that I just couldn't get with her pressed against me the way she was. Until I could reach no more of the straps that kept everything tight though I stayed as close to her as possible. I could not imagine it was very comfortable though seeing as it was pretty much soft fabric against plated metal.

When I reached the point where I could no longer get anything else off with just one hand she seemed to realize it and she stepped away from me slowly, slipping out of my grasp. I sighed at the loss of her warmth but at the same time I knew it wouldn't be long before I found myself back in her arms. Not only that but we were going to be closer than ever without the bulkiness of my armor keeping us apart.
Not to mention we'd be beneath the covers on the bed together.
Just the thought made a small smile spread across my lips while my cheeks refused to let the light shade of pink fade away.

Mira's soft giggle drew my gaze up from where it had been fixed on the straps of my breastplate only for it to settle on the leg that she had drawn her dress up along in what was best described as a coquettish tease. At first I was a little bit too stunned to say anything as she struck a pose that I recognized from a number of posters and crude paintings on the walls of buildings throughout Rapture.
Her giggle and wink drew me out of my little trance though and I smiled at her.
"S-Sounds good." I replied to her words with a bit of a breathless stutter. I knew I wasn't supposed to let such things get to me but they did.
How could they not? Mira had a superb body.

The rest of my armor came of pretty easily thanks to the addition of some clasps that had not been on my previous model of armor. This suit was a lot more secure once completely put on but was also quite easy to get out of once all of the straps and clasps were undone.
So easy in fact that I believe it only took me all of 3 minutes to get down to stepping out of the heavy boots, a feat that would have taken me 5 minutes in my last suit.
The cool air of the room hit my now less covered body and I felt a little shiver run along my spine. The diving suit may have covered my whole body but it did hug my figure tightly and was little more than a layer of strongly woven water-tight cloth.

With a little bit of hesitation I approached the bed and climbed into it, smiling as I saw the bundle Mira had wrapped herself in to defeat the cold of the room. She sure looked cozy however there was something she had failed to predict; the fact that because her whole body was wrapped in covers it was very easy to pin her down to where she could not move.
A mischievous giggle passed my lips as I reached out to turn her onto her back carefully, still mindful of her side, but once she was there I leaned down to press a kiss to her lips.
Different from the others this one was much more..deep and sensual. Perhaps it was all of the things that were going through my mind but the moment I felt her lips against mine, my body acted on its own intentions.

I felt my body come down to gently press against hers as I brought one of my hands up to rest on the curve of her cheek while the other supported me above her so I wasn't crushing her. Before I truly knew what I was doing, I felt my lips parting slightly.
It was then that I suddenly caught myself and I drew back before I could go any farther, my cheeks a bright pink color. Much worse than before that was for sure.
"S-Sorry! I g-got carried away. " I stuttered quickly as I leaned away and laid down next to her, my hands coming to wrap around myself as I curled up a little bit. I felt like burying my face in the cushion I was laid on to hide from her in embarrassment.

It was only now that I sat there, curled up in the blankets, watching Echo pull of her armor that there was so much about her that I loved. She didn’t think she was attractive and I shake my head at the thought. Her body is what made her sexy. She might not have seen it; she was blinded by the lack of curve her body had. I giggle quietly from my blankets, watching her a moment. She’s smiling to herself as she fights to get all of her armor off. That smile made her the prettiest thing I had ever set my eyes on.

I have to roll over, curling up into the closest thing to a ball I can. I hear something being placed on the floor and in a moment she’s gotten me rolled over and is kissing me. I hum quietly, closing my eyes to just feel her. It was her personality that made her so beautiful. Each movement and kiss…She was just amazing. She was the perfect example of a diamond in the rough. I told myself a hundred times over how much she didn’t deserve to be here. She was the one that deserved to be on the surface. I wanted her to get there with or without me, this moment made me more than positive of that.

Soon though, our kissing has turned into more than just simple light kisses. My heart begins to race and flutter, my breathing picks up and it’s hard to tell where I am. Each breath I take is just another one that takes me closer to her. Her lips part and I move to meet her, pulling my arms up towards her cheek where her hair has fallen into her face.

Before I get to brush my hand against her soft skin, she pulls away; she cheeks rosy pink as I watch her in silence. She was so beautiful when she got this way. She pulls away and her warmth is gone in an instant, like a dwindling fire. I watch her a moment as she cries to curl herself up and away from me. I sighed quietly, still so innocent and sweet.

I watch her another moment, my eyes gracing across her body. I am slow to pull myself out of the blankets that still trap me; my mind is in a fog that I cannot shake away. I move as if in a daze for a moment, pushing the blankets to the bottom of the bed. I pull myself up, crawling to where she decided to curl herself up.

“Don’t be afraid; no apologies” My voice is a whisper over the silence of the room. I watch silently a moment before using a hand to uncurl her. Now I’m leaning over her, trying to lean in for a soft kiss. If she didn’t want this then I wouldn’t force it on her. She seemed like a child the way she pulled away. If something as simple as her lips pulling over startled her then what would happen on the surface if…

I close my eyes a moment, taking in a sharp breath. That time was not now. I would think of that when I needed to, but that wasn’t here. I would simply continue what I was doing. I placed soft kissed on her forehead and her cheeks, trying to show her that it was okay. It was just a soothing nuzzle that I hoped would keep her from shutting her doors to my affection again.

There was something deep inside me. Something deep inside me I had never felt come to the surface until now. In that moment when the kiss was deep, my emotions high, my body pressed to hers..something inside me started to move my body without my telling it to. It was that force which caused me to begin to part my lips so that I could further the kiss even more. Bring it to the next level of intimacy that we had not yet reached.
I suppose that was what caused me to pull away and shy away from her. It was a certain amount of fear but also a certain amount of excitement. All these new feelings washing over me like a wave onto a new part of the beach.
I was inexperienced and this lack of experience made me feel like I wasn't going to be able to control myself if I happened to lose what control I did have over myself. I was afraid of what might happen if that 'thing' deep inside me came out.

So I lay there quietly hoping that she would remain where she was. More because I didn't want to give in to the powerful urges that still coursed through my mind as I played the moment of my kissing her over and over in my mind. My heart raced in my chest, my breathing was soft and quick, and my mind was fogged with thoughts of her. Not the thoughts that I felt I should be having though.
They were thoughts of what would happen on the surface if we ever made it there and we found ourselves in privacy and safety..what would happen then?
A little quiver ran up along the length of my spine.

There is movement on the bed next to me and I open my eyes to see Mira moving out of the covers she had been wrapped in. I parted my lips to protest her moving but by the time I did so, she was already crawling towards me slowly. I let my lips come back together as she reached out to turn me over. Uncurling me until I was laid on my back looking up at her curiously but also quite happily.
The smile on my lips was warm and affectionate to say the very least.
She told me not to be afraid nor to apologize for what I had done and to those words I nodded my head dreamily.

When she leaned down to kiss me softly I reached out with my hands to place them on either side of the curve of her neck, letting my fingers absorb the warmth there. My eyes closed only while our lips were together and when she drew away I watched her closely. Her mind was doing the exact same thing that mine was. I could see the thoughts as they passed through her mind but I could not figure out exactly what she was thinking about.
Her sharp intake of breath though made me smile. Maybe..just maybe.. she was imagining the same thing that I was.

As her lips brushed against my forehead and my cheeks I couldn't keep a giggle from escaping into the silence of the room. It was amazing how she could take all of the nervousness or self-consciousness I felt and make it all go away with something so simple as a kiss or a touch.
Everything she did was amazing to me.
She was the older of the two of us. She was the more experienced. She knew exactly what to do and when to do it. I suppose that knowledge made me feel more at ease for I felt my fingers lightly draw her closer to me as my eyes searched hers slowly.

I wasn’t sure what I was doing anymore. As much as I wanted to say that I was acting with my mind I wasn’t. I was acting on pure instinct. I didn’t know why my mind shut down like it did. Maybe I was afraid that if I let myself think too much then I would end up mucking everything up or going too far with her. I didn’t want to step over that boundary that we had set up. I wanted to wait for the better things until we got to the surface. If we were lucky, we would both make it and it would be wonderful. We could get our own house and be alone. We wouldn’t have to worry about the broken down door, the girls in the common rooms, or being attacked. We would simply worry about us and enjoy all the little things that life had to offer.

Her hands ran up the side of my head, smiling quietly as I kissed her softly. I wanted to show her that this wasn’t all about how new she was at this. She didn’t need to be afraid of pushing me away. I could barely tell that she was new at kissing. Sometimes I could tell, but more than anything, the feeling of her pulling away showed me. I didn’t want her to pull away from me anymore. I was tired of being pulled away from.

I lean down farther as I feel her pull me closer. I don’t want to worry about all of this. I just want to enjoy the softness of her lips and the harsh beating of my heart in my chest. I felt one of my hands come up to brush most of the hair that had fallen into her face out. I just close my eyes, leaning down and kissing her.

“Let go” I pull away, leaning down to whisper the simple words into her ear. I wanted this to be the best time she had down here. Of course, our affection made any time with her a great time, but I knew I wanted her to remember this.

I continue kissing her softly as the pain in my side continues to grow. I ignore it for as long as I can until I have to lean over to my right a little more to get the weight off my side. I give her a small smile in apologies, trying to keep from aggravating her with my movements. I didn’t want her to see the pain in my eyes either though. I close them silently, leaning forward to kiss her again. This time, I take it to the height we had reached before. Eyes closed, lips pressed together, I feel my lips open slightly. I wanted her to get her feet wet. I wanted her to see what it was like. She would always think she was no good until she tried to kiss me differently.

If I thought my mind had been going at a thousand thoughts a second before now, then I now it was going at about a million. While many of the thoughts were questions as to whether I was performing well enough for her liking..a surprisingly large amount of them were focused on the fact that I was the happiest girl in the world right now. It was a simple as that.
I was in laid with the woman who I loved with all my heart and she loved me back. She embraced me with such softness and emotion that I could feel how much she truly cared for me in every single one of her movements. I was warm, I was safe, and I was loved.
What more could I ask for?

As I laid there happily accepting the soft kiss she pressed to my lips I realized something that had never crossed my mind before. All of my novels described relationships between a man and a woman. Never was there a story between two women. The thought didn't bother me in the sense that I thought it was wrong, oh god no there was absolutely nothing wrong with what was happening between us, but rather it bothered me that none of the novels described the absolute beauty of a relationship between two females.
What was described as the act of working together when it was a man and a woman, would be better described as a dance when it was a woman and a woman. An intricate but infinitely more beautiful dance.

When she pulled away so she could lean down to whisper in my ear I immediately felt my breath catch in my chest for just a second, my reaction to the words almost immediate. When she leaned away I looked up at her with a small smile, nodding my head but saying nothing.
Her lips came back down to mine and her body followed shortly thereafter though, after a minute, she was forced to shift by what I assumed was a pain in her side.
I looked at her with a slight amount of worry but before I could so much as utter a word, she was leaning back to meet me yet again.

I followed her lead. Perhaps that's exactly what I needed at this point. Someone whose lead I could follow instead of being the one who was doing the leading. I felt like, as the inexperienced one, it was not really my place to be the one who was choosing the pace or the intensity of what was going on. In my mind it was so much easier for me to accept the kisses and brushes of her hand against me as opposed to the roles being opposite where I was the one initiating the kisses and deciding how everything went.

So when I felt her lips part the way mine had moments ago, I met her movement with a similar one of my own. My lips parted and tentatively I let my tongue explore a place it had never ventured before. It was new, exciting, and sent electricity coursing through my whole body.
My hands gripped at her skin oh so lightly as my body became tense with a mixture of uncertainty, happiness, and bliss.
What were all these new sensations? What was this warmth? It was all just so wonderful!

(I have to apologize. My mom is making me go to bed early because I have a performance tomorrow. I'll reply when I get home. It'll be later because the performance is at 4. Sorry, the rest of the week will be strenouous because we are hosting region at our high school this year so set up is Friday and region is Saturday)

(That's alright, just reply when you can and that'll do. Good luck on your performance! I'm sure you'll do just fine)

I could feel the fluttering in my stomach. I can’t stop the feeling in my heart as it seems to grow a million times a second. I can feel so happy that for once someone loves me. When I was home, yes mother did love me, but there was that little bit of resentment. She hated me a little in her heart because she thought that it was my fault we came down here. Echo loved me with every part of her being. I could feel it as I brushed my hands across the flat of her stomach. Of course, the diving suit was in the way, but it was much better than having all that extra armor on her.

I knew that I could easily enjoy her touch all day, but something urged me on. Each breath made me move closer to her as our lips were pushed together. I feel my free hand dance across the cloth, feeling the new way we were kissing. Her tongue graced the inside of my lip, carefully inspecting as if she were afraid I would pull away. I don’t pull myself away; I only lean in to meet her kiss in the middle. I can tell that she’s letting me take the lead with this. I can tell that she wants me to show her the wonders of being with someone.

I don’t though.
Something inside of me tells me that I shouldn’t do such a thing. Something tells me that I should just back off and wait. There was always time on the surface to do things like this. I continue to kiss her, only for a few more minutes before pulling away, a soft smile on my lips.

“You promised me that you would eat when we got back. I think it’s time you keep that promise?” I wasn’t sure what it was that caused me to pull away from the warm embrace that we shared. I didn’t feel like this was the time, but I also didn’t think that we were ready. Yes, deeper kissing was already another step on the relationship ladder that we had begun to climb. I didn’t feel like we should take it any higher until we were ready; until we had been together longer.

I knew how emotions could get in the way. I knew exactly how one could get caught up in the moment and let things happen that normally wouldn’t happen. I knew things like that worked out sometimes, but I didn’t want this to be one of those times. I wanted her to think and be sure that she wanted to be with me before that happened.

Perhaps it was not the best idea in the world, allowing her to take the lead in something I was so inexperienced with, but I did not care at this point. My mind was swimming with emotions, thoughts, and sensations. None of which I had ever experienced before.
At one moment Mira's hands strayed down to brush across the flat surface of my stomach which, although covered by the woven fabric of my diving suit, tensed beneath her touch out of both surprise and the sudden jolt of feeling. Like fire spreading across my skin even though she was not directly touching me.
Just the thought was enough to make my body react to her touch.

The kiss itself was a cause for whole new sensations to run through my body. When my shy little tongue made its first movement she met me while leaning into me, almost urging me to continue. The way she reacted to the very first of my actions seemed to speak, telling me that I had nothing to be afraid of. I didn't need to worry about her pulling away from me because of something I did.
I didn't need to feel like she was going to think any less of me for the way I wanted to kiss her or the way I was allowing my instincts to take over.
A few minutes later though I felt what could have only been the very beginnings of her drawing away from me. My eyes half-opened to watch her for a second before I closed them again, letting her do so with no resistance.

When she pulled away I could not help but utter a small disappointed sigh but I did not allow that feeling to come to my eyes. I didn't want her to stop nor did I want her to pull away but I was not going to allow my selfishness to force her into doing something that she did not want to do. Perhaps I was much too willing to give myself to her.. did she not like that? I asked myself this silently as I watched her move away.
However I could not let her get very far before I reached out to wrap my arms around her neck, drawing her back to me only this time it was into a warm embrace. The intimacy was gone and instead it was replaced by affectionate warmth.
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!" I whispered into her ear quickly before I let my grasp slip and I leaned away blushing but also giggling like a schoolgirl who's just found out her crush likes her too.

"Sorry..I needed to get that out of my system before it built up a little bit too much." I said in a voice that was not fully apologetic, though there was some of that in there, but more playful and happy. To tell the truth I was about as happy as a girl could be right now. How could I not be? I was laid in the arms of the woman I loved and who loved me back. She wasn't just acting like she felt for me either..she truly did have feelings for me. Perhaps that's what made me feel so ecstatic about everything.

As she moved away I leaned up until I was back to the position I was originally sat in. I was surprised to see that I had almost come to lay back fully while we were together in our intimate embrace. Although my heart was still racing in my chest, there was still some color on my cheeks, and my lips were tingling from the sudden lack of warmth against them..I nodded my head as I looked across at my companion, smiling at her warmly.
"I did promise though and you know I can't break a promise I've made to you." I spoke with a sincere tone of firmness. It was simply against who I was as a person to break a promise. Especially one made to someone as important to me as she was.


(How'd the performance go? Well I hope!)

People always did say that me liking women was just a faze that would pass. It wasn’t unheard of in this day and age to find a woman that could love a woman or a man that loved a man. It wasn’t unheard of, just uncommon. Especially in Rapture. Different was pulling against the Great Chain. Different usually meant you got yourself killed down here. I didn’t flaunt it to as many people as I could have. Yes, a girl here and there, and mother knew. I never told father. I made sure never to tell him in case he got the sorry idea to hit me for that too. We both knew to not give papa anything more to hurt us with. I didn’t have many girlfriends here. Yes, I had a first boyfriend and three after that, but only two girls.

I remember my first like it was yesterday. Julian had a smile that could light up a stage. She was one of the stars of the drop. She went up there and sang and danced until she couldn’t sing anymore. I remember watching her perform. She was captivating. Afterwards we walked through arcadia together, kissing each other softly. We thought we were in love then. We thought that we could hold hands and kiss and be happy forever. It was just a faze for Julian though. I never grew out of my faze. It was just a little thing that soon became only distant memories in the back of her mind that, even if she were still alive, she wouldn’t remember. It was just a faze with her…

I can feel her warm breath as the sigh passes her lips. The air pushes against my nose and lips before spreading out to my cheeks, making me frown slightly. It was very obvious that neither of us wanted to get up and escape the embrace of the other, but it was very obvious that we needed to. Each breath that we took seemed to draw us far to near to one another. It was great and wonderful, but it still wasn’t safe. A deep breath pulls into my lungs as I pull myself back just a little bit before her hands wrap around my neck and I feel myself being pulled down again.

I can’t keep the giggle off my lips as I sit there, watching her face beneath mine. She was beautiful. I really did love her. I could tell myself that every second of my life and that would make it none any more clearly to me. I was in love with her even if it was just a faze…What was I thinking? This was stupid and crazy. This wasn’t a faze. This was two people loving each other.

Before I get a chance to move, she leans in, whispering very fast words in my ear. I smile at them, and her warm breath tickles my ear. I watch as she pulls away, pushing her face away and giggling crazily at the outburst. Her words make me smile, a light chuckle escaping my lips.

“You know I love you too” I smile, giving her a wink as I lean forward, giving her one deeper kiss. My eyes close and my tongue just graces her lip before I pull away, a grin on my lips. I shouldn’t have been thinking those things before. I can feel that feeling in my stomach beginning to settle as I think more and more over what has been happening. It couldn’t be just a faze.

I take in a deep breath, running a hand through my hair before reaching over to grab the last bit of candy I hadn’t finished before. I wanted to eat something that could maybe help be forget those memories I myself should have forgotten a long time ago. I pulled up the candy, placing a small bit in between my lips and taking a bite.


(You have no idea how sorry I am. After I posted that night I had to go and help move more equipment around for region auditions which we had that Friday and Saturday, Sunday I had two gigs two hours away from town I had to go to and then the next day I came down with the flu and have had it since then. I haven't been strong enough to even get out of bed until yesterday. Today was my first day back to school. I have region clinic tomorrow and Saturday [I made first band first chair] and then next Friday and Saturday I had All State.)

Was sexuality ever really a question for me? Not really. In fact the only contact I had with men was when I huddled up in my sheets to read one of my romance novels or, somewhat more directly, when the scientists performed their tests on me though I never really got to see their faces from behind the white masks most of them wore. The only people I'd really been able to interact with were the other girls in the facility like Focus, Sam, and Mel. Them all being girls meant I developed a kind of appreciation for members of the same gender. The first girl I ever had a crush on, funnily enough, was Focus. Though nothing had ever come from that little crush.

That was why it was so easy for me to develop feelings for Mira. She had everything I could ever hope for in a woman and so much more. She was different from anyone I'd ever interacted with and although at first she had been almost..mean.. the difference in her personality now was jolting. I never would have believed a person could change so much in the matter of a week but she proved me wrong, so wrong.
Her response to my little outburst made me giggle softly.

"It's just nice to have a little reassurance." I replied in a playful tone with a small smile as I looked up into her eyes for a few seconds just before she pulled away from me completely. I wanted to sigh at the loss of warmth and contact but I knew better. So instead I just made do with the warmth that I had with the hopes that after we'd gotten something to eat we'd settle back into bed for another period of resting. We both needed it even though it seemed like the only thing we'd been doing recently was rest.

I pulled myself up into a sitting position and I crossed my legs in front of me, placing my hands on my lap so that they didn't get the urge to wander where they shouldn't. We'd made the decision not to do anything with one another so I was going to respect that decision despite the fact that my stomach was still doing flips from the intensity of before.
How could I not respect the decision she clearly made for us? I had no right. Nor did I feel like she had made the wrong decision in stopping us at the point to which we had gotten. As safe as we were in the facility there was very little..privacy in a room with no door.

Something was bothering me though and I couldn't help but feel my brow furrow a little bit. I had seen something in Mira's eyes if only for a second or two. A kind of fleeting thought that remained in her eyes for all of a minute before fading away completely as she took a bite from the chocolate she had left on the bedside table minutes earlier.
I quietly debated whether or not to ask her about it. I didn't know why but something deep inside me told me that she was thinking about..our relationship. What about it was a mystery to me.
"You've been with others, haven't you?" I blurted out quietly before I could stop myself, immediately regretting the question that had passed my lips. It was a thought that had been on my mind but I had never dared bring it up.
I suppose in a way I didn't want to know. I knew there was no way that I was anywhere near as good as those people were.

"Forget I said anything.." I suddenly said while reaching across towards my supply bag so I could find something to eat like I'd said I would. Mira's past was not something I knew much about. Especially not the part of her past that had to do with her previous relationships.
Something told me each and every one of those relationships, and I didn't doubt there were a number of them, was much happier than ours. How couldn't they be?
Now she was stuck in the middle of a fight for her life when before she was free to be as happy as she liked.
Really, in a way, she'd probably be better off leaving me once we got to the surface so she could continue her life with someone more normal. That thought saddened me somewhat.


(That's alright! As I've said before, it's not uncommon for you to disappear for long periods of time unannounced. I've almost come to expect it of you. Haha but I'm glad to have you back.)

A deep breath of air had filled my lungs. I was enjoying the sweet taste and aroma of the candy. It wasn’t a very nutritional meal, I could say that without a doubt, but I wasn’t going to let it go to waste simply because it wasn’t nutritional. I was fully enjoying the small bit of chocolate when I’m lurched from my bliss by the question that Echo posed.

I pulled my eyes open slowly, but instead of meeting her eyes, she lets herself become busy looking through her bag. I knew very well that if she had blurted it out like she had, it was hanging heavily on her mind. What would she say if she knew I had been in six relationships in rapture? Even if some of them amounted to very little, it would do nothing to calm the fear that was in her mind. I couldn’t just drop it though.

I swallowed what was in my mouth quietly, pulling myself up until I was sitting a little straighter. She didn’t look at me for a while; she just looked into her bag for something. I wasn’t going to just forget that she had brought it up. She deserved to know I had been in some relationships. I wouldn’t tell her how many, simply because it would frighten her.

“I have been in relationships down here…I was a lonely child who craved attention. You don’t know what it’s like to have a father that…” I trailed off. It only dawned on me now that she didn’t know probably anything about my past. She didn’t know about my father or my mother or the beatings…She didn’t know about any of that…

I grit my teeth, looking down to the bed a moment. I felt very bad that she knew nothing about me and I knew so much about her. I knew she was trying to be nice. She had been keeping herself from asking for some reason. Maybe she didn’t want to know about the subject? No. If that had been the case, she wouldn’t have asked about any past relationships.

“You know nothing about me.” I chuckle stupidly as I look back up to her. It was so strange to say that out loud. “You don’t know anything about me before Rapture, do you? I’ve never told you?” I lean forward, now wanting to just spill out every bit of information and history to her because I felt so bad. I had been so selfish before now, hadn’t I?

ooc- I just got back from Region. I'll unpack and be back to post again soon.

My searching through my bag was more an act to make me seem busy than anything else. For all I cared I could have pulled a random item out and that would have been enough for my 'meal' with how little hunger I felt at this point. Yet I did everything I could to search through my bag to take my mind away from the questions that now filled my mind. It didn't even cross my mind how easy it was to see that's exactly what I was doing.

It's a bit hard to describe the way her answer made me feel. I suppose the best way to describe it is to say that my thoughts had been confirmed. The thoughts that saddened me and made me feel, even more than before, like I wasn't good enough to be with Mira. How could I, a freak of science created from pretty much the ground up to be a machine, compare to relationship with a normal person (or persons for all I knew) back when she didn't need to worry about fighting to survive the way she did now.
There was simply no way I could come close to making her as happy as she was back then. With that realization I felt my expression drop further.

In a way her answer brought me to realize that life wasn't like the books I had read. Whenever two people fell in love it wasn't going to be 'first love' the way it was in the stories. My mind had been wrapped in its own little delusion that everyone was like me. My only true perception of the outside world stemmed from what I read in books and the few things I could remember from my time wandering with a Big Daddy at my side. But those were only fleeting memories that were blurred with time.
She'd been with others who were probably better than I could ever be. That was something I was going to have to learn to accept.. somehow. Or perhaps I'd let her go once we got to the surface. Let her get on with her life so she could find someone who deserved her the way I knew I didn't.

A quiet sigh passed my lips as I let my hands fall still in my bag, bringing my gaze up to look across at my companion. The childish twinkle that usually could be found in my eyes was gone to be replaced with a sad shade of uncertainty. I was scared of what I might hear if I kept going down this road. I was scared that she might say something that would make me want to get up and walk out of the door behind me forever.
I was lost in a sense of inadequacy because I truly was inadequate.

"I don't know anything, Mira." I said quietly as I pulled a pep bar from my bag and turned my attention towards getting the package unwrapped in my lap, my eyes focused on my hands. I wasn't sure I would be able to look her in the eye. Not now.
I didn't want to see the things that once were. Perhaps I didn't want to see what it was like to have a past. That was something I didn't have nor would I ever have.

My jaw tightens as I watch her. I hadn’t meant to make things bad like it seemed I had. I shouldn’t have stopped kissing her. I closed my eyes a moment, bringing my hands up to rub my temples. A slow breath fills my lungs and I let it out with a harsh sigh. She was busying herself so she wouldn’t have to look at me or really let what I could have been saying sink in. I closed my eyes, knowing that I didn’t want to let the words fall from my lips. I didn’t want her to know how much of a war my life had been even before the civil one that took place throughout all of Rapture.

I don’t notice until I’ve placed the empty wrapper on the bedside table that my breathing is causing my entire body to shake. What I said could impact whether we were together in the end. What I said could make me the unhappiest person in the world. She deserved to know though. She deserved to know as much as she could about me. She had told me so much about her. Hell, we were in the place where she had been turned into a sister. I grit my teeth, shaking my head silently. I had seen much more than she even knew I had seen. That was enough to make me want to spill everything.

I take a moment to rub my head again before looking up to her. I wasn’t sure how much she wanted to know about me. I didn’t know how much I would be able to tell her without breaking down. I had so many bad memories tucked away in the darkest corners of my mind. I wasn’t sure if I could keep sane and tell her everything. I breath slowly, looking away from the bed and up at my partner who is still attempting to wrap the pep bar in her hand.

“My birthday is in November.” I look up to her, taking in a slow shaking breath. “I remember getting the news that we were leaving home on my birthday. Of course, it was a few more months before we left the great city we lived in. New York. It’s a big place, with buildings that just sprout up from the ground, threatening to touch the sky.” I sigh quietly, thinking of how much Rapture looked like New York from a bathysphere. “We left in the coldest part of February. I remember the way the sea could splash onto the boat deck and get hit you with the coldest water you had ever felt.”

“We were one of the first families to come down to Rapture. Before it was populated with people who ran the shops and sold things, we were down here. Father helped put the last finishing touches of Rapture before Andrew Ryan started letting folks come down…That’s when the money was good.” Another slow breath filled my lungs and I close my eyes. “The money was good for a workin’ man until connection to the surface was cut off. It’s like they knew there was no way out so they paid father whatever they wanted…He drank, but for a while he was just a docile drunk.” I grit my teeth. I don’t want to be talking about my Father. I know how much the memory of him infuriates me, but I keep going. She deserved to know everything.

“At first it was just a beer here and there to dull a workin man’s pains. Then he got to gambling, and beer turned into Scotch or whiskey. He became…mean and hateful. I was little though, and it seemed like I was a little girl until I was at least fifteen or sixteen. He didn’t hit me for a while. He would push mother and give her a black eye here or there, but he didn’t hit me like he hit her. I got whatever was left after mother was sobbing on the ground…But I would run. Out of the apartment and into The Drop. Where I met children like me; children who had fathers going broke and getting depressed. Kids that needed to get out of the apartment that they lived in before something bad happened…”My voice is barely a whisper as I stare off into the distance, lost in my thoughts and really just rambling now. I wasn’t sure where I was going with this story; it was all just another memory that faded into another.

“After a while I stole and begged for food and clothing for me and the other children of The Drop. I had another family that depended on me. I would get money and buy things that I thought we needed and…I would buy things for myself when I had the money. We had people out there looking for the children that went missing. At the time we didn’t connect the Little Sisters with the disappearance of the little girls. I was too old by then to even draw their attention. But that was right before the civil war.” I take in another slow breath.” I remember being at home that New Years. They were playing the sounds of the ball over the radio when the gunfire started. I ran out of the house to try and find all the kids; to make sure they were safe. Half of The Drop kids I found that I had helped were spliced and working with Atlas.” I give a half laugh, trying to think about where I was going. My mind was beginning to fog up and shut down.

“I just went home. While there was crying and screaming outside, I went home and went to bed… I didn’t go out into The Drop to help people after that. I went out to steal for myself and only for myself.”
I can feel my hands begin to shake quietly as I remembered just how betrayed I felt knowing that I had risked everything for those people and they just gave themselves to Atlas.

“Then about a year later, my mom was caught in the crossfire of an Atlas, Ryan shootout. She was out buying groceries and they just shot her. Dad came drunk and…” I can’t say anymore. My words get caught in my throat and I feel my eyes closing quietly. I could remember the memory perfectly. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to remember what happened. ”He beat me.” My voice is only slightly audible. I had never said that out loud before. I had never told anyone such a thing. I hadn’t out and out said that my father had beaten me before. I feel tears well up in my eyes but I push them back. I wasn’t going to cry. I was going to be strong and remember that I owed Echo this. She should know why I was like I was. She deserved that.

My eyes were focused on my hands together in my lap that were fidgeting with the wrapper of the pep bar I had pulled out of my bag although I now felt no hunger whatsoever and no longer intended on eating the food. A thousand thoughts were flying through my head each of which made my sadness deepen however at the same time I focused my attention on Mira's voice as she began to speak. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from her. Was I really going to want to hear what she might tell me about herself that I hadn't known before?

It really only dawned on me then just how little I knew about her beyond the fact that she had lived in The Drop throughout her childhood and that something incredibly traumatic had happened during her last days in that apartment before she left it for good. I didn't truly know her age, where she was from, who were parents were, or what kind of life she'd lead before the war began.
With this in mind I realized that my love for her had grown solely based on her personality as it had become as a result of her past that I knew nothing about. How could that be love? Or perhaps it was the purest form of love out there..

I listened to everything she had to say to me. Every word that passed her lips hung in the air like an echo, engraving itself into my mind permanently. She told me about her parents, about where she'd lived on the surface, and what her life was like in The Drop when her family lived there together through the early stages of the revolution. Most of her thoughts strayed towards her father however.
I was just about to wonder why that was when she continued her story by telling me about the death of her mother. My hands froze and the pep bar fell from my lap as I waited uncertainly for her to tell me more.

Sure I'd never really known who my parents were, as a result of all of the experimenting done to me throughout my life, but I'd never had to suffer through the death of either of them. Not literally anyway. I'd long come to terms with the fact that my parents probably died about the time when her mother had, during the very early stages of the war when fighting was very prominent on the streets. If you didn't pick a side you were shot for being a coward.
I could only imagine what that was like for her.
Then whispered three words that changed everything.

It's a bit hard to describe what went through my mind at first. In a way I almost immediately began to see red. A sensation of anger the likes of which I'd never felt before coursed through my veins. My hands balled themselves into fists so tight that my knuckles went white from the strain while my fingernails dug into my palm so deeply they left marks that were borderline cuts.
It was the kind of anger that, had I been wearing my armor, would have turned the visor of my helmet into that bright red color so many had come to fear. Although instead of the helmet itself producing the light, the usual green color of my eyes faded to a dull red. The Adam that coursed through my whole body flared sending me into a fit of rage.

Before I could really stop myself I swung my fist at the wall and practically put a hole straight through the concrete. It wasn't a full hole of course but the indent was a good six inches deep with large cracks spreading away from where my fist had dug into the wall. Before she could really react I was up off the bed heading straight towards the door where I disappeared into the hallway. The sharp sound of doors being torn from their frames and more blows being landed against the walls came through the doorway back into the room she was in. This lasted all of four minutes at the most.

I came back into the room panting heavily, my knuckles bruised and cut, but the anger was gone from my eyes. I slumped down onto the edge of the bed and sat there for a second or two just looking down at my hands. Then, without saying anything, I climbed further onto the bed while reaching out towards Mira so I could draw her towards me and envelope her in a tight embrace. I held her there as if she were going to float away if I dared to let go.
"Nothing's ever going to hurt you that way ever again. I promise." I whispered almost inaudibly into her ear.

I don’t know how to react. Her rage is so sudden, and for a moment I think that it’s directed towards me. Each breath she takes becomes deeper and I can tell she’s fighting to keep herself as calm as possible. I watch as she forces her fist into the wall, making me jump. The sudden act of violence makes me tense and close my eyes for a moment. I don’t want to see what she’s just done to her hand.

“Stop” The word was silent as I open my eyes again leaning forward. No one was supposed to get mad over the past; over me. No one was supposed to be hurting themselves because of something I had resolved before I ran off into Rapture. I had finally stuck up for myself and there was nothing that was going to stop me at that point. That’s how I had felt when I screamed and cried and ran off. I had been on top of the world.

She is off the bed before I can reach out to grab her; before I can reach a hand out to pull her in. Before I can do anything she’s gone, and I’m left in silence only for a moment. My hand is outstretched to the air and I beg silently for her to come back. I can’t speak; everything is caught in my throat and nothing more comes out.

Then, I hear the harsh sounds outside and I move quick as lightning, underneath the blanket. Curling into a ball, I press my eyes closed, feeling tears begin to run every way they can. I don’t make a noise, however; I take in a deep breath, my body shaking harshly. Did she realize that she was making me do the same childish movements that I did before? If anything she was making the past all the more real! I could not blame her though, and I wouldn’t even if I wanted to.

She was angry and I could understand that. I knew I shouldn’t have made such motions to tell her about my past. As much as I could get over it, I felt that she might not be able to. I am in my ball for what seems like an eternity before the sounds in the hallway stops. There’s other movement on the bed and I feel myself curl up into an even tighter ball. I don’t want to see the shape she is in. I don’t want to see the pain that will be coming to her soon as her rage turns away from her.

I feel her pulling me into her arms, and I let my body relax until I’m enveloped in her. I am silent as she whispers into my ear. I just close my eyes, taking in the slow breath that I am sure I need. One more moment and I’m crying again, reaching down to grab at her hands. I pull them away from my side so I can pull them up, kissing them quietly. I don’t like seeing her or even hearing her like this. Each time I kiss them, I mutter a quiet apology. I can manage very little than that for a moment until I pull myself up to look at her with tears running down my cheeks. In such little time the mood changed so much. I didn’t like it. I hated this.

“Don’t you ever do this again” I’ve somehow found my voice. It’s harsh and I’m watching her with sad eyes. I’m very loud as I breathe; I don’t want to be forced into the same kind of rage that she had just exerted. I just wanted to stay calm; I’m trying to avoid walking out on her completely so I can get some air.

Nothing could have prepared me for the outburst of anger that flared through me when she said she'd been beaten by her father. Nothing could have prepared her for it either. When I came back into the room I only caught a glance of her curled up beneath the sheets but it was enough to know that I'd scared her. Something I'd hoped I would never do during our time together.
In a way it showed me even more how much better off she'd be without me. Especially when she came up and I saw her eyes were filled with tears.

There was a long moment of silence in which I felt her take my hands from around her and bring them up to her lips where she pressed kisses against the bruised skin of my knuckles. I felt no pain but I knew it would come with time. I simply watched her silently as my emotions stirred up deep inside me at the sight.
How could I say that I loved her when I was causing her so much pain?
It was so wrong. I hated myself for what I had done. I hated myself for letting my control slip if only for a few minutes.

Her voice broke the silence that had settled upon the room. At first I wanted to embrace the sound however it quickly became harsh and I lowered my gaze immediately like a child being chided for having stolen a cookie out of the jar.
I couldn't look her in the eye. I simply could not bring myself to see the tears I knew were falling as a result of my wrong doing. It would have been much too hard on the both of us.

"I'm sorry.. I just hate when my friends get hurt. When anyone I care about gets hurt." I murmured quietly as I kept my eyes cast downwards in what was a mixture of shame and embarrassment for having let my emotions spiral out of control the way they had. In a way it wasn't my fault though. The mental conditioning that went into my creation had come to the surface and turned me into the creature I truly was on the inside. I'd reverted to a Big Sister like all those left on the outside. Hearing about the way her father had treated her and the way he'd beaten her was very much like someone laying a hand on my little sister in my mind.
Mira wasn't my little sister, this I knew, but the same instincts applied. That was how deep my feelings were for her. I saw her as someone I needed to protect and although I had not known her back then, I felt like I had failed her somehow.

At this point I wasn't quite sure what to think or what to do. I was at a complete loss for words. What did I know about things like this? Just the way I was inexperienced in the way of a romantic relationship, I was also inexperienced in the way of causing others emotional pain without meaning to. Yet another way in which I was inadequate.
A soft sigh passed my lips as I closed my eyes for a few moments just trying to concentrate on my own slow breaths.
"You should get some rest.. " I said quietly after a long moment of silence had passed yet again.

My eyes fell closed and I continued the same, quietly, beautiful routine. Kissing her hands, feeling the warmth in them. My mind had all but shut down completely. For once I wanted this for it to not be my life. I just wanted to be normal. I wanted to know that one day I could smile and laugh and not think about all the hell that we had been through down here. For the longest time I prayed to God, begging for this to not be my life. I didn’t want to be poor or hurt. I just wanted the normality that came with everything but my life.

Yes, she had scared me, but I didn’t hate her for it. I hated myself for it. Why was I so afraid of physical violence? I should be used to it. I shouldn’t be anywhere near afraid. Maybe it was the fact that I had never seen her so angry. Never did I think about rage filling her body. That’s what made sisters protect their little ones. She would have the same rage. I hated myself for being so afraid at that moment. I had taken care of my father and all others that had hurt me. Why was I so afraid?

After a moment she says that I should rest. She was probably right, even if I knew that nightmares would come. I would have to just go with her and trust her. She would be there, maybe this would help us both. Maybe a good rest is what we needed. I nod slowly, pulling myself underneath the thick cloth that had been keeping me warm. I grunt quietly as I pull the blanket over her as well. I was still straining my side, but I knew that I could be careful enough. I could see that it wouldn’t heal for a while. Hell, it might not heal until we got out of here.

“I will rest, but we will leave once we have rested” I speak simply, knowing that soon, we will have to move on. Her friends will try and sway her; I know they will, if they haven’t already. They will want her to stay, and if this is where we part then that is just how it will be. For now, I will enjoy her warmth and rest, for I move on in the morning.

“Please sleep, Echo. You need your rest too” I smile to her, leaning up to place a kiss to her lips before curling back up beside her, her hands in mine, my lips pressing to them a moment later. I close my eyes a moment before sighing and forcing myself to relax. I would wait, to see if her breathing softened and she slept. I was worried about her. I worried that her anger may linger and she might be pointing it toward herself now. That’s what I was worried about. Her…

I knew that Mira was right. We both needed as much rest as we could possibly get now that we were thinking about leaving. In fact we were leaving. There was no going back now that we'd agreed. Of course a part of me wanted to stay with the others but the rest of me wanted to stay with her. It wanted to stay as close to her as possible so that one day we might be able to live together on the surface.. Where things could work out perfectly like in all of my books and dreams.
So with a bit of a reluctant sigh I allowed myself to slide further down onto the bed as she pulled the cover over the both of us.

My eyes focused on hers in the semi-darkness of the room as she took my hands in hers, kissing them lightly. The closeness, warmth, and tingle of her lips was more than comforting. In mere seconds I could feel all of the anger and unhappiness flow out of me. I almost, emphasis on almost, forgot the story she'd told me.
Even now though I could do little more than shuffle closer so our bodies were gently pressed together in a close cuddling embrace. I may have failed her before but from now on I was going to make sure she stayed safe.

A few moments passed before my eyes began to close from a mixture of physical and emotional fatigue. I was ready to be done with everything if only for a few hours while I slept. So without really giving myself the chance to think over everything that had happened only minutes before, I forced myself to drift into a light doze where I knew I could remain until deeper sleep graced me with its presence.
It was an ability I'd gotten from living in this facility. While sleep was near impossible with everything they did to us, I learned to put myself into a state of hibernation where I was neither fully asleep nor fully awake. Somewhere in the middle of the two. A state where I could sense things around me but little else.
Sleep came to me only a few minutes later.

---

My eyes slowly opened a few hours later. Four? Five? There was no way of knowing how long I'd been asleep for but one thing I did know was the fact that I felt a thousand times better than before. The anger, pain, and fatigue was all but gone. Much to my surprise it was replaced with what could be described as.. being okay. I was warmly wrapped in the arms of the woman I'd grown to fall for over the last week, we were going to leave the facility that had haunted my dreams for so long, and we were getting close to our final destination. Sure things were not perfect but they weren't bad either.

I turned my gaze towards Mira as she slept silently. How was she doing? I could not find the answer to my own question in her soft expression. I wished I could have though. I wanted her to be okay. I wanted everything to be okay. Hell, I wanted everything to be perfect for her and I. Absolutely perfect.
But I knew that was going to take the rest of our journey to achieve, if that. Neither of us were sure of what to expect once we got to the surface.. Either way though I was ready to get there.
A quiet sigh passed my lips before I leaned in to press them against hers, wishing to wake her up as softly but pleasantly as possible.
It was time for us to leave.

Sleep was a very hard thing for me to achieve. As much as I wanted to relax I couldn’t. I felt her body relax and she fell into at least a light sleep. It was the inability to rest that told me that tonight would be hell. Every time that I tried to clear my head, something came to my mind that sent me into a whirlwind of ideas and thoughts that just kept me up longer. It was annoying and heartbreaking. I would think of so many things that would bring quiet tears to my eyes: Either my mother or my father mostly, but the others that had come into my life and gone just as soon as they appeared. It was like I couldn’t breathe at times. I couldn’t do anything but be enveloped in my memories and think. It was better than sleeping in such a nightmare, but it was worse simply because I never knew if Echo might wake up to see the silent tears that fell down my cheeks, some falling onto her.

It would take a long time before I finally cried so long that I could finally cry no more. That was the greatest feeling I had ever experienced. As much as I hated the fact that I had become so weak, I had never been able to simply cry like this. It was a very good feeling. I was able to let go. I was able to get everything off my shoulders so that tomorrow I would be able to take in a deep breath and step out into Rapture, ready to kill for what I cared about.

Soon though, the crying caused me to fall into a light sleep. I was exhausted. I could do no more thinking and that was a great feeling. I didn’t even have enough energy to have nightmares. I take in deep breaths now, until the warmth around me caused me to fall deeper into sleep until the darkness faded into nothingness and I knew nothing until I woke again a few hours later.

…

The feeling of lips on mine draws me away from my sleep. The nothingness and darkness turned into feeling again and I open my eyes to see Echo kissing me. That wasn’t a surprise, and I feel my eyes close again, a sigh soft on my lips once she pulls away. I smile, leaning up to place my lips to hers again before letting my head fall back onto the pillow.

“Mornin’ Doll” I speak quietly, my eyes only half open. The drowsy feeling of sleep is still heavy on my mind as I’m slowly pulled out of the sleep. It’ll take a while. With the warmth of our bodies together and the feeling of being connected, it’s great to know that for once I can belong someplace. I take in a deep breath, scooting closer to her. I didn’t want to get up. I knew that very well. I would want to sit her and cuddle up to her until she pushed me away or got up to change.

I knew that we were leaving today…Actually; I knew that I was leaving. I still didn’t know if she was going to stay or not. Really, I could only assume that her friends had asked her to stay at some time. I could think of many times that I had slept without her or she walked out to do something on her own. There was so much that could have changed really. I was only hoping that WE would be leaving and not just me. Either way, I would make it to the surface; I wanted to go back to New York. I wanted to see it and enjoy it. I wanted a new life.