Cards on the Table, We're Both Showing Hearts

[vesper_verde]

After he had presumably killed two mutants in the middle of Mutant Town and caused some more deaths just by trying to save his own skin, Marcelo called his lawyers to get ready for anything to come up. After assurances they would handle everything if the matter arose, he texted Stephanie to see if he could stay the night with her. His hands were shaky as he punched the letters. His spelling wasn't great to begin with, but he assumed the message got through.

He contacted Xavier's when he managed to calm himself. He got clearance for him to arrive via helicopter. The five minute jaunt to the school was necessary if he was going to ply Stephanie with La Navarra food. It would still be fresh by the time he got to the school. While he put in the order, he gathered things for the night and some presents for Sancho.

The Brazilian let his fiancé know he would be there in five minutes. He had a small duffel and a selection of Stephanie's favorites from her favorite restaurant. Marcelo just wanted to spend the night with the one person he felt safe around. Though he wasn't sure he would be allowed to stay after he told her what happened. If she didn't already know.

Comments

[pyroprincess]

It hadn't taken long for the news to break from Mutant Town to the Mansion. Any thought of anger at what had happened had been banished by relief that Marcelo was okay, and ... fear about what this meant. It didn't take much to realize that he was being targeted for assassination. And given the visual of the shattered mutant, it wasn't hard to piece together that it was Sinister's assassins.

Most likely a favor to her father.

When he landed on the helicopter pad and came out, she immediately ran up to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly to her.

There were a lot of unanswered questions, that needed to be resolved.

But right now, her fiancee was safe, and that was the most important thing.

[vesper_verde]

Sudden Stephanie after exiting the helicopter was not a bad thing to him. Though he had trouble hugging back with bags of food from La Navarra in hand and a duffel bag poking his butt despite being slung over his shoulder.

"Olá, querida. Como vai?" He sounded calm. Calmer than he felt on the helicopter. Stephanie was here and holding him tightly. She must know.

He nudged her gently toward the mansion. Whirring metal blades near his body in any sort gave him a cold sweat down his spine.

[pyroprincess]

"We'll talk when you're inside, okay?" She punctuated the statement with a kiss, trying to take some of the bags from his hand, so she could hold one of them as they went back to her quarters in the Mansion.

She stayed close to him, not willing to move away from him. It seemed that life was ever fond of throwing terrifying curveballs at them. But he was all right now, and that was worth celebrating.

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo liked that punctuation.

He was tempted to put a silence bubble around them, but he didn't want to tip off even potential allies about his abilities. Especially since his abilities were so measly compared to theirs.

He let her take some of the bags. He gave her hand a squeeze. He was glad he wasn't turning to jelly just yet. Maybe once they were in her temporary room here.

"I hope you're hungry. They miss you at La Navarra."

[pyroprincess]

"I miss them too. And I'm always hungry." She gave his hand a squeeze right back. It wasn't all that from the helicopter pad to her room at the Mansion. Most all of the restrictions had been removed in the intervening time. Knives were not an issue anymore.

When they got inside, she kissed him again, far less chastely.

"I missed you. You need to stop scaring me."

[vesper_verde]

He tried not to drop the bag of food at the less chaste kissing. He succeeded. He thought. He set the bag somewhere at least. His duffel hit the floor with a thump, however.

"I'm not trying to scare you. I didn't want my car to have a hole blown in it either." Deflection with personal property was a new one for him. But he loved his dark green Tesla.

He wrapped his arms around her. "I want you home. How much longer?"

[pyroprincess]

"I know you're not trying to scare me. But I'm still scared." Stephanie pointed out, she thought very reasonably. "This means that Sinister's after you. And he has no reason at all to attack you unless my father asked him to." It was significant, that 'asking'. She knew well enough that not even her father could order Sinister about like a servant. Though his failure would probably cause him to lose a small amount of face.

"Soon. Maybe the end of this week coming up." She helped him with the rest of his things. "We can eat, and then I can show you just how much I missed you."

The more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to talk right now. They had a whole morning to discuss serious matters, after all. He was safe for now.

[vesper_verde]

He placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "I know, querida. I am, too. I came here because... you're the only person who makes me feel safe."

He grabbed his duffel off the floor. "Food first. Then as much sex as you can handle."

Marcelo smirked slightly. All of this could help him forget. He needed a moment to not think about it.

"I brought some things for Sancho. To keep him entertained while we're making lots of noises he doesn't understand."

[pyroprincess]

"Then we can feel safe together." Stephanie replied, pulling him closer.

"Oh, yes. You'll need your energy, boy. And shouldn't you be saying all the sex you can handle?" It was a simple matter of realism. She'd be satisfied, and he'd be exhausted. It was just the way things were.

Especially since it'd been so long.

Stephanie smiled. "Such a considerate Daddy you are. But yes, that will be good. We could be occupied for quite a awhile." She kissed him again.

"But first, food."

[vesper_verde]

He quirked an eyebrow but did not comment on how a doubly hunted man made her feel safe. Instead, he held her tightly. His hands were free, so why not?

"Hm. I'm a bit too old to be a boy. Because that would make you a toddler, and that's very not sexy. Now, if you want to finger paint, I'd have to have some delivered. I'm positive I didn't include that in my bag."

If he could distract her libido long enough, they might actually get to the food.

[pyroprincess]

She laughed and traced her fingers down his chest slowly, right down to where the waistline of his pants are.

"Walked into that one, didn't I? But trust me, I know you're all man." She looked at him with a lusty smirk. "Hmm ..." She licked her lips slightly and raised an eyebrow. She paused for a moment, fingers resting right on the button of his pants.

"You brought paella, didn't you? We should eat that, before it gets cold." She grinned at him.

[vesper_verde]

"Skipped right in with all the requisite jiggling, I think," he teased with a smile. His smile broadened as her finger descended down his chest.

"I brought paella," he confirmed as he leaned down a bit to kiss her cheek. He brought his mouth my her ear as he straightened up. So, he only had to whisper the next bit. "I know what you like."

[pyroprincess]

"You do. I know what you like too." Stephanie grinned. "How convenient that it all fits together so perfectly."

She playfully pushed him back just a tiny bit. "Paella now. Sex later." It wouldn't be that much later, by the look she was giving him, though.

She reached into the bag and pulled out two bottles of exquisite Spanish wine, a dry white Rioja for the paella and a fruitier (but still rather dry) red Garnacha for drinking afterwards.

"Oooh, even better." She grinned. "Did you remember a corkscrew, darling?" Not that they'd have any trouble opening the bottle if worse came to worse.

[pyroprincess]

Stephanie had actually slept through much of the night. Not quite out of exhaustion, but out of simple satiation. When she blinked her eyes open, it was already getting on for eleven, and Marcelo was clearly still out for the count. She couldn't complain, though, he'd certainly more than held up his end of the bargain.

She propped her head up on an elbow and just watched him for a quiet moment. He looked peaceful, relaxed, contented. Soon, though, he'd wake up, and they'd both have to face so many of the uncertainties of their lives.

She frowned. It wasn't fair, or right, that they should have to live like that. But it wasn't going to change. And it was still more than worth it. For nights like last night- and for little moments like this too.

Sancho had flopped between them at some point and was snoozing away himself.

My little family. Stephanie couldn't help but think.

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo had slept the sleep of the physically and emotionally exhausted. He had given Stephanie everything he had with an intensity brought on by the very likely idea he wouldn't live much beyond the time he left her here.

He surfaced enough from the depths of exhaustion that his regular nightmares returned. He stirred a bit and reached for a warm body beside him.

He subliminally wondered what part of Stephanie's body was that hairy when he clutched at Sancho.

[pyroprincess]

Sancho wasn't terribly fond of that. He soon got up with a mrowr and decamped for a less grabby portion of the bed. Stephanie herself moved a little closer to him so instead of Sancho's fur, he could feel her soft, but most decidedly less hairy skin.

It was clear that he was getting more agitated. Having a bad dream. Maybe knowing she was there, even unconsciously, would help.

[vesper_verde]

When what he had his hand on disappeared, Marcelo got more agitated in his sleep. His breathing became a little faster as his hand tried to grab something. That he got soft, warm skin reassured him enough that he settled back into a more restful sleep.

Or restful waking once it pierced his dream state that his hand was somewhere on Stephanie.

[pyroprincess]

His hand would've landed on her stomach, right where her piercing was, actually.

She leaned over and kissed him slowly now that he seemed to be awake.

"Morning, you." It was still technically morning.

[vesper_verde]

The piercing poking the middle of his palm seemed to confuse his sleepy mind. He pulled his hand back and poked at the piercing with a fingertip. He looked slightly confused before Stephanie leaned over to kiss him.

"Bom dia," he mumbled sleepily. He blinked a few times to try to get the sleep out of his eyes. When he was seeing more clearly, he grinned. "Puxa vida, you're gorgeous in the mornings."

[pyroprincess]

"Buenos dias." Stephanie replied softly, kissing him again for good measure and stroking her fingertips down his arms before pulling him closer.

"You look pretty nice yourself." It was nice sometimes just to admire him, without the delicious haze of lust fogging everything over. "You seemed surprised when your hand rested on Sancho at first. He was surprised too, I think." The cat in the meantime had found a perch on a bookshelf to rest in.

[vesper_verde]

One thing most people didn't know about Stephanie, with good reason, was that she was snuggly. Marcelo knew it very well and took advantage of it when she pulled him closer.

"I grabbed Sancho, huh?" He considered this with a chin jutted out for effect. "Probably not the ideal pussy to come to hand."

He tried to look oh so innocent. And failed miserably.

[pyroprincess]

Most people didn't know it because she didn't care to be snuggly with anyone else. Most people who tried would be risking horrific deaths. Or at least a hearty slap.

"You did." Stephanie snickered slightly. "There's a better one closer at hand, yes." She saw right through his attempt to look innocent. It wasn't working, and frankly, she wasn't concerned about that.

It'd been a long time since she was innocent.

[vesper_verde]

He could joke about that because he had very nearly attempted Death by Snoo-Snoo last night. He was sore enough that the desire to do anything but snuggle was not there.

"I'd ask what's for breakfast, but the answer would probably require getting out of bed. I don't think my groin could take that." He would maybe request a bag of frozen peas or something later. Though he would not stop the contented sigh that came out.

[pyroprincess]

"I'll go forage us something. You ... put ice on that or something." Stephanie smirked faintly. "I'm not finished with you yet." She got out of bed and slipped on a housecoat, striding out to see what she could get for food.

About twenty minutes or so later, she returned with a sizeable plate of cut-up fruit as well as two singularly massive cinnamon buns, gooey with cream-cheese frosting, along with a pot of hot coffee and necessary condiments. Now safely back in their room, she arranged her items such that they were easy to reach and slipped off her housecoat, lying next to him.

"Breakfast."

[vesper_verde]

Marcelo looked around the room from his position in the middle of the bed. He didn't see an ice machine or ice bucket handy. Handy meaning within arm's reach of the bed. So, he rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head.

Stephanie coming back into the room startled him awake. He blinked and shifted so he wasn't laying on his stomach.

"Mm. Looks good." And nothing like the shattered mutant he just had flit through his mind. Such thoughts were chased away by seeing Stephanie naked.