Fragments of a Broken Timeline [Book 3]

Ch.28 Down in Flames

"Mmm..." Rae moaned softly as she forced her heavy eyes to open.

Slowly, Rae lifted her arms to stretch her tired and sore body, but suddenly winced at a strange twinge in her neck. Curious, the fox lifted her hand and reached for the back of her neck, flinching a bit at how sensitive it felt just at the slightest touch. My neck... Why does it hurt so much? She wondered.

"Mmm..."

"Huh?" Rae perked up when she heard Sly begin to stir. She tensed up for a moment, until the slumbering raccoon shifted, wrapping his arms around Rae as he nuzzled his face up against her bare chest.

"Warm..." Sly mumbled in his sleep.

Rae couldn't help but smile, sighing softly as she lightly ruffled up the fur on top of his head. How could I ever stay mad at you? You're so hopeless sometimes, I swear... Rae grinned, until she lifted her other hand, gently placing it against her stomach. And I hope that this time, it'll work out...

"...Hey..."

"Hm?" Rae perked up again as she heard Sly mumble against her chest.

Slowly, Sly lifted his head, rubbing one of his eyes as he let out a yawn. After shaking his head a bit to gain some of his senses, Sly turned to Rae, who grinned softly. "Hey there, sleepy head..." She smiled, ruffling up the fur on his head again.

Sly chuckled softly, kissing Rae's cheek. "Hey there, beautiful... How are you doing?"

"I'm a little sore, and the back of my neck kinda hurts, but I'll be alright... And you? How are you doing?" Rae asked.

"I'm all good. My back stings a little, and this thing on my neck." Sly pointed to the left side of his collarbone, Rae directing her eyes towards where Sly had indicated, only for them to suddenly widen.

"Oh my God, Sly! What happened!?" She exclaimed. "No way... Did...did I...do that?"

Sly gave a small nod, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... You kinda bit into my shoulder pretty hard last night..."

Rae's eyes softened, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry, Sly..."

Sly could tell how upset Rae was by this, but he grinned, placing a hand against Rae's cheek as he kissed her temple, causing the fox to lift her gaze a bit. "Hey, don't worry about this little thing here..."

"But...I hurt you, Sly..." Rae said depressingly.

"Yeah, you did, but..." Sly paused, Rae lifting her gaze to meet his. "...I did the same thing to you too, ya know."

Rae perked up, confused. "Wait...what?"

Sly chuckled softly. "Why do you think the back of your neck hurts?"

The fox paused, processing what Sly had said, which caused her to chuckle softly. "Right... That would explain that sharp pain I felt last night, but I guess I just didn't care enough to really acknowledge the pain at the time."

"Yeah, but you know why I bit you there, don't you?" Sly asked.

"Of course. I wasn't born yesterday, Sly." Rae replied, draping her arms around Sly's neck. "So that you can be mated with me, obviously..."

Sly smirked, grasping onto Rae's hips. "And why wouldn't I want to be mated with you?"

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that." Rae reasoned. "But geez, Sly, now that you mentioned it, this actually feels really sore. Just how hard did you bite into my neck?!"