..What If.. -- Club Alien

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What if I'm a weeping willow?

Laughing tears upon my pillow...

What if I'm a socialite

Who wants to be alone?

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No matter what Kat had hurled at him in the heat of her anger, despite all of the fire and brimstone her words had carried...the truth ran like a clear and clean river down below the canyons of pain. She didn't blame him for the life she had come to live. They had been young, so very young, all those years ago. Passion had been all they'd known. Nothing about their lives had been simple, nothing about there love had been conventional. He was no more at fault for his actions or lack of than she had been for hurling words she hadn't meant. They'd been no more than children, really. The fact was, it was the years that had followed that they were responsible for. Kat had chosen to stay in her situation. The reasons why were of little importance. Now that she was free, her eyes had been opened wide to her own fault. She had lived in fear, yes...but she had been weak to allow that fear to consume her. And for that, Paige had no responsibility. Besides herself, she had no one to blame now but Norbert, for condemning her to her own personal hell for so many years. And oh, how fiercely she hated him for it!

Stripped of her emotional gaurds, of the fortress she had built around herself, Kat was no more than a frightened and wounded young woman. One that had been forced to stay strong for far, far too long. And wasn't it just perfectly poetic that when she broke, it was in the arms of the only man she had ever loved? The sudden shift within her was enough to surprise Kat herself. She had wanted to tear into him not long ago...to share her pain with him, to make him feel half of what she was feeling every time her chocolate gaze met his. And now? Now she was frantic, desperate to feel the protection only his arms could offer. She needed him then, needed him in the most basic and innocent way a woman could possibly need a man. She needed his strength...to pull her back up out of the abyss now that her own had failed.

Kat barely noticed as he shifted, concerned only with the weight of his arms as they settled around her frail frame. She fit so perfectly against him, even 10 years removed. It was as if they had been carved to fit only each other. Never once had she ever felt the same with Norbert...even before his true colors had shown. She gave a shuddering little breath, curling herself even tighter against him, as if she were afraid he might suddenly melt away. Not long ago she had prayed his existence was merely a nightmare...but now, the tides had turned. It was as if she was desperately scared that he might suddenly turn to mist in her grasp.

She gave a muffled little cry as he scooped her up, half believing that he was going to draw away from him. Her grip on his shirt tightened as she felt herself rise from the floor, secure in his strong arms. She clung, her face buried against his neck, not caring in the slightest where he was bringing her, so long as she could stay secure in his warmth. When he reached the bed, she refused to be anywhere but in his lap...her legs draped over his lap, her torse pressed flush against him. Little thought was given to the towel, which was hanging dangerously low on the round top swells of her breasts. When one had been through as much humiliation as Kat, modesty was a forgotten luxury.

The blanket felt like pure bliss as he wrapped them in it's warmth, but it was his words that caused a shiver to pass through her. He wasn't going anywhere. He was willing to hold her just as long as she pleased. Had she ever had that since she'd lost him? She didn't think so. "Thank you..." She breathed against his neck, her words rusty from the choked sobs she'd been crying for so long.

She wasn't sure just how long she stayed that way, no longer sobbing but simply holding him and letting him hold her back. It had to have been awhile, because her long red tresses had begun to dry at the ends...she could feel them against her naked back when she slowly drew her face away from his neck. Her chocolate gaze dipped low for the briefest of moments, before ever so slowly making the trek to lock with those of blue. She swallowed hard as she felt the weight of his gaze wash over her, tidal waves of emotions decades old capturing her in the span of only a few seconds.

And then, she kissed him.

It wasn't the hungry kiss of passion, no...given the proper fuel, there was no doubt that it could turn to that. It was instead the cautious, gentle expression of too many years passed, of too many dreams left unanswered. It was slow, it was sweet, and it was true. Maybe later she'd regret it. Maybe not. But for now, all Kat was aware of was just how wonderful his lips felt against hers...and for the moment, that was enough.

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What if I'm a toothless leopard?

What if I'm a sheepless shepherd?

What if I'm an angel

Without wings to take me home?

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