Book IV: Avi Dragon

Consummate Surprise

He reached around her to turn off the water, dropped a kiss on her shoulder, and opened the shower curtain. They'd grabbed more towels from the pool area, so they didn't have to use damp towels now. He handed her one, though he would have enjoyed drying her off himself. Baby steps. At least she didn't close the curtain between us again.
   When they were dry, their hair damp around their shoulders, he held one hand out to his wife. It wasn't a command, but a request. She swallowed hard, but she did place her hand in his. He backed slowly toward the open door, and she followed where he led. Her steps were wooden, her hair swinging about her hips, but she didn't flit away this time.
   He slid his arms around her, pulled her into a kiss. It was a light, patient thing; a test of the waters. Her shoulders were tense, her legs stiff, but her lips returned the pressure, measure for measure. She made no move to deepen the kiss. He knew if they did, his control would slip. He was content to explore her face, for the moment.
   Her hands rested on his chest. His began to roam; up to frame her cheeks, and back down, to her hips. His lips plucked gently at hers, offering silent encouragement. Her fingers fluttered against his skin, braving his ribs and shoulders.
   He began to sway a little, side to side; a slow sort of dance. Gradually, she relaxed enough to move in counterpoint, their hands exploring with a bit more freedom. She shivered in some places, stiffened in others. She learned where his shivery spots were, and it made her brave.
   The real world dropped away when their mouths opened in tandem. Fire and ice tingled along their skin and nerves, respectively. Everything tilted, then righted itself, in a wondrous new configuration. A rhythm took hold, and carried them higher than either had been before.
   And then they exploded together. One glorious moment in time that stretched for a brief millennium.
   Before they could find solid ground again, shards of pain arced through their bodies. It was worse for him, though they wouldn't find out why until later. They collapsed to the bed, abruptly dropped into their bones without a fare thee well.
   They drifted into exhausted slumber before they could analyze what happened.
   In the morning, they woke slowly. Her eyes opened first, but only just.
   "Morning." His voice was ragged, which puzzled him for a moment; but she was distracting him, so he forgot his confusion.
   She didn't intentionally distract him, but it wasn't very often that she found a naked man draped over her in the morning. She had to make sure he was real, didn't she? Yes, that was definitely a beard. Hmm, yes, soft hair. Illusions didn't have texture, or weight. They also didn't have muscles that fascinated her.
   Figments didn't kiss the daylights out of her, either. She shifted restlessly beneath him, silently asking for what she couldn't voice.
   He wanted to oblige, but when he tried, everything hurt. For ordinary newlyweds, that would have ended things, but they were dragons. One of them was roused beyond patience, and strong enough to flip the other on his back and drive them both over the edge.
   Angel sprawled across his chest, but he immediately sucked in a breath of pain. She propped herself up on her elbows, pushed the mass of bronze hair out of a face puckered with concern.
   "What's wrong?"
   "Don't know. My ribs hurt." He was gasping, so she sat back on her heels to give him air--but he curled in on himself when her weight settled on his pelvis.
   Angel combat rolled to the side, off of him entirely, and knelt beside him. "Hold still, 'kay?"
   "Gladly," he grunted, trying not to breathe too deeply.
   She closed her eyes, and did the last thing in the world she wanted to do: she Looked at his internal organs again. She wouldn't realize until much later that she should've Felt what the problem was. She shouldn't have had to Look for it.
   "I don't know what I'm Looking for, but nothing looks swollen, or--oh! I didn't know you had bass clef hearts on your ribs. That's hardcore."
   Another thing that was hardcore was the stream of muttered curses that startled her right out of her trance.
   "What--"
   "I only had half of the heart yesterday." Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. Frustration mingled with pain, and she wished fervently that she could help.
   He heard her wish, and though it cost him dearly, he seized the hand closest to him. "You can. I don't know... how you do it, but... your eyes go all... green and glowy... ungh..."
   Angel's spine shot straight with surprise. "Well, if that's the case, give me my hand back!"
   His hand shuddered open, more than any conscious decision on his part. Every bone in his body was on fire; a pain he thought he'd never feel again.
   She closed her eyes, hands extended over his ribs. She Saw the raw Marks now. They looked different from the older ones.
   What if I... She pictured little healing nanobots swarming the wounds, soothing the irritated bone cells. At first, nothing happened. Several eternities later, his breathing eased. The joints stopped pulling toward each other, in a futile attempt to curl into the fetal position. The "redness" faded from her Othersight, until healthy bone remained. She couldn't make scar tissue form, but it seemed she could get the body to stop fighting itself and focus on healing.
   "I love you." The words feathered into being, on a sigh of relief.
   Her eyes spluttered open, flickering an answering pink; but it was hard for her to believe long enough to sustain the happiness of hearing him say the words for the first time.
   "You're just saying that because I make ouchies go away."
   He laughed, winced reflexively, and then laughed some more. He nabbed her by the forearms and pulled her into a bear hug.
   "Nope. I love you, plain and simple." He kissed her once, beaming brightly. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
   That startled a laugh out of her. "We'll see how you feel later, but you're wrong. What I can do is get our daughter. She's been awfully patient thus far."
   He kissed her soundly and let her go. It was going to be a very good day!