I Am Alone

Chapter 16: Starcrossed

I should probably wear gloves.

I'm attempting to smelt all the metal we had collected in an indoor furnace. The furnace is made of stone, the cracks filled in with clay, and is fueled by coal, and getting sweltering hot.

It is also in the stone workshop in the back of the house. So I am currently dying of heat stroke, it is so damn hot I'm producing more water than the ocean has.

I had taken everything but my pants off, problem with this is that I am now working with bare hands with liquid metal, not a good idea.

On the table is a wooden base for a crossbow, I am actually making one for Aphmau, I have a different idea for my crossbow, one that she had already openly expressed her distaste for.

A grappling bolt. My idea is that if we need to escape quickly, I could just grapple to a tree or a cliff and we would fly out of reach.

But first I had to get the mold for the crossbar and trigger, and the latch that would release the bowstring at high speeds.

So more burn scars for my hands.

It took multiple tries but eventually I got all the parts I needed to assemble this thing, and I start carving and snapping and aligning things so it doesn't shoot backwards, or just fall apart.

Finally, I have a solid crossbow body, the only thing missing is the bowstring, which I hate making because my fingers are like sausages and like to drop things.

I start braiding fiber together, and Aphmau opens the door and lets some cool air in, and also brings some cool water.

"How's it going in here?" She asks and I chuckle, it is a welcome change of pace for the both of us, actually being productive.

"Just have to braid this string. And calibrate the latch, then you can do your thing and make it all pretty." I reply, dropping the halfway braided string and having to start all over.

She picks it up and sighs before pulling up a wooden chair, she starts braiding the fibers together, her smaller hand having a better grip.

"Thank you." I say, and she rolls her eyes, attaching the braided string to the cross bar, and the end to the latch.

"You've been working on this all day. You need to take a break," She thrusts the water in my hands, I down it, my body cooling from the water.

"I took a five minute break an hour ago, now let me calibrate this latch....."

I place a stone on the barrel and the trigger reveals to be too sensitive, as the rock flys off the body and bounces off the wall, hitting me square in the forehead. Leaving a large red whelp.

I curse and Aphmau starts rolling in the floor laughing, I am unamused, but I do start chuckling to myself, her laugh is infectious.

"Maybe your right. It is less painful..." I rub the whelp on my head and rise out of my seat, Fang must have made his way into the house again, as I hear crashing from the kitchen.

We both laugh as we casually walk to the couch, Fang pokes his head into view, and shakes his massive head.

I flop on the couch, not leaving any room for Aphmau, I smirk up at her and she crosses her arms with a mischievous glare.

Suddenly I'm knocked off the couch, and Aphmau is on top of me as we playfully wrestle on the floor. She pins me down, I break her defense, I pin her down.

Fang is playfully barking and shoving his nose so he shuffles is around, It's his way of wrestling without crushing us with his weight.

Finally I pin her against the floor and position my weight so she can't break free, we're both laughing and breathing heavily.

As my laughter subsides, I glance down at her, she's laughing and blushing. I feel a smile tug on the corners of my mouth as a memory is jogged.

I pin her to the wall, no laughing, but she's giving me a mischievous smirk as she wraps her arms around my neck.

We are not at home, We're in some kind of quarters, like a barracks, but lab coats hung on the walls and it's a small, two person room. A logo of a dragon's head and a flask is printed on the wall.

"Once we finish up our last weeks here we can have as much time together as we want." Aphmau nuzzles the crook of my neck and I smile lovingly back.

"Only two more weeks of interning at Vanguard Tech. And we can go home and....well....."

I lay my hands on her stomach and sigh, we were ready to bring a child, but only after we finished our terms, it's not like we had all the time in the world working here.

The mist fades, and I realize I'm staring into Aphmau's caramel brown eyes, she's blushing and doing the same, she starts giggling as she pulls me down closer to her, my face flushes pink,  as my eyes trial down her.  Yes I am checking her out, no I will not regret it.

"My eyes are up here." She smirks as I find myself getting ever more nervous. Finally, she pulls me down to her lips and she lingers barely touching my lips to tease me.

It works, I close what little gap there is, and she passionately kisses back, I caress her cheek and roll my hand gently over her knuckles.

I pull back, smiling a stupid, dopey smile I know. And she giggles and smiles up at me, tangling one of her hands in my already messy hair.

"Wow....." I say under my breath, I want very much to do it again. But instead I help her up and embrace her, my heart beating out of my chest.

Fang looks between us both, not exactly understanding what's happening, but I understand, and god shoot me down if I don't like what I see.