In the Dog House (Kazuma)

[Teneile]

Teneile had driven home by herself. No music had even graced the speaker system of the old mustang as she drove a intent frown on her face. She was so mad that her eyes had even grown cold and for anyone knowing the kind and light hearted girl it was not something that happened often. Her red hair had been pulled back visciously into a pony tail that was only adding to her headache but it was pissing her off being in the way right now and so she would take the headache. As she pulled into the driveway she threw the car into park a scowl on her face as she grabbed her bag of things and got out of the car. Slamming the door shut she headed to the front door and unlocked it.

"Rocky Sit!" she growled before the German Shephard could do anything. He whimpered Teneile had never yelled at him before and she felt bad immediatly. Kneeling down in front of the large dog she hugged him tightly petting him gently. "Sorry Roc, just not a good day." she said softly.

Rocky licked her ear softly and nuzzled into her face with his cold nose which was almost enough to make her smile. She rose and shut the door with a wince. Her arms were throbbing. She hadn't looked at them yet but she knew they couldn't be pretty. Upstairs she went to her own room and she tore off her clothing for the day leaving it in a heap on the floor. In the full length mirror she winced. Her upper arms for the most part were black. No wonder they hurt. Kazuma had definatly been aiming to hurt her, unintentionally but still, he had done a good enough job those would take a long time to heal, they were deep. Tears stung her eyes as she pulled on her tights, black ones, and a soft sky blue leotard. Long sleeve so that if/when Kazume got home he wouldn't see the bruises, she was going to lay into him when he got home and it wouldn't do any good if he was all over the pity train for the bruises.

Back down stairs she grabbed a bottle of water and her dance bag. Wincing at lifting the weight she went down to the basement. Down there the lights flickered on and she sat at the foot of the steps putting on her tennis shoes for now. She walked over to the tredmill and put her water bottle and a towel close by. She set the tredmill and began to run. Not just a nice little jog either. A full on run. The problem with Teneile was that the long she was allowed to fester in her anger and hurt, the worse it got. She would run the situation over and over in her mind and just get more mad and more hurt by the moment. She ran for a full hour not stopping once. Teneile trained a lot, and she had the endurance that only a dancer or perhaps a runner could have. Finally out of breath she stopped the treadmill and got off panting she leaned against the cool cynderblocks of the basement and wiped the sweat off her small pale body and drank her water.

It took her a full ten minutes to calm herself back down and she rose from the bench press seat she had been sitting on. She sighed softly as she went over to her other room. Two rooms had been given to her in this house. Her room upstairs that was hers to use as she wanted which she did anything she wanted in except sleep in. She slept with Kazuma in their room. And this room, her dancing room. She flicked on the lights and walked in. It was nice in here she felt at home in a studio. She went over to the counter where her surround sound system started and looked through her cds. Picking one of her fast more modern dance cds, she placed it in the cd player. She sat on the floor as the first song began to play and she switched her tennis shoes and socks for her ballet slippers. These however were not the pink ones she normally used but black ones built for the kind of dance she was about to do.

Up once more she got up and took a deep breath tightening her pony tail she moved to the center of the room and stretched out for a moment getting any extra muscles worked out. Crying out slightly as she worked her arms she winced and sighed. The song changed and Teneile burst out in dance. It was nothing like her graceful moves in ballet. Instead there were a lot of jumps, turns, full on sensual moves as she danced to fast paced music. She moved with beauty. She moved with practice and she had definatly studied this kind of dance before. Sweat marred the front of her leotard to prove just how long she had been at her work out now. She would dance through as many songs as it took until Kazuma came home or she passed out. Which ever came first.

[Kazuma]

As Kazuma drove into the neighborhood his bike seemed to swerve as though he was drunk. He was still shirtless as the one he had gone out with was ripped beyond repair and his body showed clear signs of a fight. The worst was his head and face which had began to swell already making him less of the looker he normally was. The rest of him was not to bad, the majority of his body was built to take a beating and so it was no where as bad looking as his face was.

He pulled up in the driveway next to the mustang which had become like the family car. As he did his neighbor who was outside watering his little garden seemed speechless only giving a ‘holy shit’ out to the young Kazuma. He walked with a bit of a limp as he headed to the front door of his small home, an empty picnic basket in hand. When he got to the front door he could hear a faint music playing coming from downstairs. At least he knew where she was.

He opened the front door and like every other day a charging german Shepard was within leaping distance. Kazuma didn’t have to say a word, Rocky knew there was something wrong the smell of blood was still fresh on kazuma and Rocky knew it was never good to jump on daddy when he smelled of blood. Kazuma came in and put the basket down. He forced himself first to the couch sitting for a moment would do him some good. His body was still hurting and it would for the next day or so, he was so glad injuries healed pretty quick on him but they were a bitch none the less.

What Kept him on the couch was not the pain in his body but the idea of Teneile, of having to see her and having to look her in the eyes which he had not been able to bring himself to do just yet since the fight ended some hours ago. He felt like he had betrayed her some how, he could not remember anything but the fact that she was alive when he snapped back to himself was a signed he had not really tried to attack her, but still he felt something was wrong. The way she spoke to him there, the way she left in such a huff, he knew she was hurt but he could not recall what he had done wrong. Fighting had always been part of his life and so he did not see the big deal, but then again he did not know the truth behind all of todays events.

Kazuma Forced himself to get up, as he headed to the kitchen the music got louder because of the door that connected the kitchen to the stairwell that lead to the basement. He wished there was some other way to do this but there wasn’t he had dug his own grave and now had to lay in it. He took the painfull trip down the narrow stairwell to the basement which was filled with her dcent. She had been there some time and must have been training real hard or atleast that’s what the stale air was telling him.

When he got there Teneile was Dancing and without a second thought he entered her room, well her dance room to be specific. She was there Dancing her heart out looking really pissed and Kazuma knew who all this anger was directed towards. “Teneile” he said his voice loud enough to be heard over her music. It was all he could say at the moment he had nothing else that would come out, as he was to afraid saying the wrong thing would cause her to leave him for good

[Teneile]

Hours. It had been hours since she had left kazuma and come home to work out her fustration. She needed a shower badly because she had worked so hard that her body was not only completely exhausted again but it was tired and beginning to dehydrate she was losing more than she was replenishing. She was pushing her body hard again but she tended to do this when she needed to get things off her mind but today it wasn't helping and so she was pushing further than she had ever pushed before. She had not heard the door open nor Kazuma come home. She had been single minded in her dancing and working her body til it was about ready to give out. Her arms had long since made her scream out in pain but right now her jaw was tight against it since she used her arms so much in dancing she just took the pain knowing she would regret it later.

"Teneile!"

She heard her name and her blue eyes darted over to the door way where a very beaten and more swollen kazuma stood. She sighed and stopped dancing her heart lurching because she wanted to go over to him and help him. To nurse him back to health and to take care of him. But another part of her was cursing the way he had handled himself out there, breaking his promise of never becoming that kind of man again, and even letting himself go so far that he had not only hurt her, but she couldn't imagine what would have happened had she not been there at all. She didn't say anything at first. She went over to the stereo breathing hard shimmering with sweat. Taking her towel she wiped off her face her chest heaving she was going to need a shower very soon she would have to get Kazuma to sleep first so he wouldn't see the bruises. She turned off the music and the silence that ensued was near deafening after the room's accoustics had kept it so loud.

Calming her body down for a moment she looked over at him her blue eyes were guarded, sad, and hurt. She took a deep breath and her eyes darted to the ceiling as she tried to calm herself down but it wasn't working.

"I see you lived. Nice that you don't have any internal injuries." she said harshly as she threw her towel in the hamper close by with force. She walked over to him. And looked up into his eyes and pushed him. Yes SHE little Teneile pushed him, Kazuma.

"How DARE YOU!?" she said with a harsh voice.

"I CAN'T BELEIVE THAT YOU DID THAT!!! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT EVER AGAIN!" she screamed as she pushed hm crying with pain for her arms and in her heart.

"I HAD TO WATCH! I HAD TO SEE YOU THERE GETTING BEATEN UP! DO YOU THINK THAT MADE ME HAPPY? DO YOU? BECAUSE I CAN ASSURE YOU IF YOU DID YOU ARE WRONG!" she pushed him again her hands on his chest her whole body was shaking with pain and tears. She looked up at him as she collapsed on the floor crying as her arms fell limp in her lap.

"I've already had one boyfriend in the hosptial. Did you think I would enjoy another?" she asked softly as she cried tears dripping into her lap and down her cheeks. "I can't lose you damnit! I thought you knew that. You are my family! My life! The one I love." she said as she cried looking down at her lap she just cried sitting there on the wooden floor of her dancing room.

[Kazuma]

Kazuma managed to prop himself up in the door way, he had not regained full felling in his right leg yet so putting to much weight on it would cause him to fall over. He saw her eyes dart over to him, he wanted to duck and cover afraid of the face she glared at him with. She was covered in sweat, she had the same habit he did when they were angry and that was training till they dropped or until they were stopped by some one else. As she turned the radio off he kept his eyes on her. He wanted to cry, he wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg for her forgiveness but if he did that he was not sure she could ever view him as the strong man she had fallen in love with.

Her first words were harsh…really harsh actually. He never thought it would be possible for her to talk that way to him or anyone. He was looking down still avoiding eye contact, afraid to let her see the shame they held within them. He didn’t notice towel flying toward the hamper but he did feel a push into his midsection. Which only made him wince because of the pain he was already in.

She began to yell and scream at him which only made him feel worse then he already felt. She reminded him of his now broken promise. (I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…I didn’t want to…I know you can never forgive me) he thought to himself. It was easier not to say anything right now it would only dig his grave further down. She pushed him again crying now, he knew she felt betrayed and it was a feeling he would never be able to take back.

He thought along to her screaming answering her with his thoughts, his sad eyes never changing (Why did you show up to watch, of course seeing me fight like that would not make you happy…why the fuck did you have to stick around). This time when she pushed him he hands stayed on his chest and they slid down his down as she seemed to collapse on the ground , her arms looked like they were hurting from something as the fell limp in her lap.

As her crying got worse her tone soften. She was not so much angry at him as she was worried about him and their life He was crying light at this point and his back seemed to slid down the door way slightly. “I’m sorry” he said lightly “ I broke my promise and I hurt you” he said referring to his heart breaking betray of actions. His voice seemed to crack “I only agreed to it…in hopes of being strong enough to keep you safe” he paused “But there is no excuse I can give you for becoming that things. His body seemd to stumble, he was still exhausted no mater how he tried to hide it.

[Teneile]

Teneile looked up and she saw his tears. She stood up not using her arms letting them stay limp at her side as she went over to him and gently leaned against him just barely. She listened to his heart beat for a moment just listening to the soft rythum of it. She kissed the center of his chest and moved up gently letting her arms hold him around the waist. Looking into his eyes again her own tears still falling. She hugged him wincing a bit as she did so but she ground her jaw through the pain until she let the tension of her arms go and looked back up at him.

"I worry for you." she whispered. "I love you so very much I thought you were really going to hurt yourself out there. I would be helpless to help you. I can't lift you or anything. And I am glad I was there too, because you went.. crazy.. If I hadn't been there to stop you I'm afraid that it would have taken a lot to come back to the man I love so much."

She kissed his lips softy and looked up at him. He was so tired. You didn't live with a man this long without knowing that. Gently, once more working through the immense pain of her arms she slid her arm around his waist and helped him stand up. She was tired too but she would need a shower before she went to bed.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed. You need sleep more than anything." she said softly. "I'm sorry I got so mad but I love you so much I can't imagine losing you. Seeing you hurt like this hurts me." she whispered.

He didn't know about her arms she assumed and she wasn't about to enlighten him either. The less he knew about that the better. Let him think it was just that she had pulled them while working out, he might figure it out if he gave any real thought to why she was going to be wearing long sleeves for a while. She helped support her very heavy boyfriend back up the stairs to their first floor and then across the living room to the other set of stairs. Which for both of them was a much harder climb stopping at least three times to lean on the wall to catch their breaths. She leaned against him as much as he leaned against her supporting each other as much as they could.

Finally up the stairs she got him into their bedroom which luckily wasn't far. Setting him down on the end of the bed she collapsed on the bed next to him breathing heavily with the exertion she had just spent. She lay there for several moments catching her breath before she sat back up and turned to him. She lay him down on the bed carefully and took off his shoes as well as his sweat pants and tossed them to the side before turning on the ceiling fan to keep him cool. She pulled up a throw blanket since both were too tired to try moving the covers to get beneath them.

"You sleep." she whispered brushing his hair back from his bruised face. "I'm gonna go shower, change, and then I'll be right here next to you." she whispered softly laying her head gently on his chest as she closed her eyes for a moment dearly wanting to just pass out right there but she felt too sticky. "Be right back."

she got up with a shove and a grunt from the pain of that shove as she went into her room and grabbed a long sleeve tshirt and some shorts. Back across the hall and into the bathroom she closed the door and sadly she locked it too. She got into the shower and turned on the hot water as soon as she was undressed. The hot water made her wince and moan at the same time as she let it run over her for some time. Letting the water run down and over her body. Her arms were masses of black. Almost her whole upper arm was black. Black where Kazuma's hands had been. Purple around the black, Blue around the purple and then a sickly yellow the rest of the way. She sighed. She hoped he hadn't bruised the bone but as thin as she was it was a definate possibility. All she knew was it hurt.

Getting out she painstakingly dried herself off and put on a white tshirt long sleeve with blue hibiscus flowers on it. And a pair of stretchy, sweat pant material shorts that matched. she came back out and climbed up in the bed next to Kazuma who sounded asleep but she wasn't sure. She lay there next to him on her stomach with her head on his shoulder. One arm draped over his chest and the other lay off the side of the bed so no weight was on either of them as she fell nearly right to sleep exhausted.

[Kazuma]

Kazuma barely remembered getting up the stairs to their bed room. Everything seemed so light and fuzzy around him he could not even remember anything se told him once they left the basement. His body was tired and their was no shame in admitting that. As soon as he hit the pillows on their bed Kazuma passed out anything could have happened and he would have slept right through it without so much as being jostled .

As he dreamed everything started to tear at his mind. The berserker he could turn into was a subconscious being and not a split personality like most people would come to believe, it meant that while he was awake nothing that other side did could be remembered until he actually fell asleep. Soon the fight began to replay in his head and he could see everything that monster had done to Bruce who had been dumb enough to stay and fight instead of running away like Kazuma had told him to.

It was then he dreamt about the end of the fight, Bruce falling to the ground out cold after his last attack. He remembered wanting to fight more, wanting to spill more blood with his fists. And then he pictured what had actually stopped him. He saw her running toward him, his lovely Teneile who looked so worried about him and what he might do. She stood infront of the monster he had become to try and snap him back to his old self. His hands wrapped around her arms and he remembered the look of pain in her face, he could not recall he words just the sound of stress that was in them as his grip tightened.

His eyes shot open as the dream ended. It was all so horribly clear to him now, what he had actually done and what he actually wanted to do. She had some how stopped him but she had paid a price for standing infront of the monster he was but just hours ago. His head turned to the side Teneile normally was, she was there sleeping on her stomach right next to him. (Why) he thought to himself (Why would you be next to me after that) he could feel sadness fill his heart. He closed his eyes and turned his head to his other side upon opening them he had seen 3 hours had passed since he had fallen asleep.

He could not stay here, not next to the woman he hurt. He quietly crept out of the bed and looked down at her in her long sleeves, she had never worn sleeves unless they were out especially in bed. How badly did he hurt her, he didn’t know he wanted to lift her sleeves and see what he had done to her but he was afraid that might wake her up. He shook his head and walked over to his closet, opening it slowly and pulling out a pair of sweat pants. He then left the room.

He walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind him and turned on the shower. Removing his boxers he got into the steaming water which burnt his skin slightly. His body no longer hurt the way it did before his nap, though the water stung the open cuts still on his face. If it was one thing Kazuma could say about his body, it was that it always bounced back unnaturally fast, though he would chalk that up to his years of weight training and the supplements he filled his body with which helped speed up muscle recovery.

He was angry at himself at the moment, angry he could hurt the girl he loved so much. He thought about reaching over to the medicine cabinet to where his straight razor was and sliting his own throat just so he could never allow the monster another chance to rear his head and hurt the fragile high spirited flower he called Teneile, but he knew doing so would only make her live a life of sorrow.

He turned off the hot water after 15 minutes and toweled off, before putting his sweat pants back on. When he exited the bathroom he would enter their room to see if she had awakened

[Teneile]

Teneile stirred when Kazuma woke. She was used to them getting up together because they always worked out in the mornings together. He on his weights and herself in the dance room where they could still spend time together and yet get their morning work outs out of the way. So when she heard him moving about the room she rolled over on her back with a wince as her arm was pressed against the matress for a moment. She turned and lay with her face close to the window one of her arms up by her face her hand just up above her hair as she tried to slip back to sleep. She sighed softly as she nuzzled into the pillow that was there as the coolness from the lack of Kazuma's body began to get to her. His body was always so warm and she loved sleeping next to him because she didn't need so many blankets to stay warm.

The sound of the shower woke her completely and her blue eyes opened slowly as she rubbed her eyes getting the sleep out of them. She sat up and made the bed once more though they hadn't seemed to have moved in all the time they had lay together she still folded the cover back to the end of the bed where she had grabbed it. She went downstairs to the basement and grabbed the first aid kit and came back upstairs. He came out of the bathroom and went into the bedroom probaly looking for her. She came up behind him and put one of her arms around his waist and kissed the back of his shoulder gently.

"Sleep well?" she asked softly kissing his shoulder again before she moved back to the front of him and she smiled gently. She pulled him to the side of the bed and sat him down. Kneeling down in front of him she smiled and opened the small case that held all the first aid things.

"Lets treat your wounds. And then I'll start dinner. I'm going to make spaghetti tonight I think. With garlic bread of course." she said with a smile. She got a Q Tip and gently began to apply neosporin to the places where they skin had actually been cut open. She gently applied them making sure that everything was not only clean but that it would heal faster with treatment than alone.

"I hope you feel better now. After your nap." she whispered softly as she finished and checked over his bruises, there really wasn't anything she could do about them but let them heal normally. She smiled and gently put everything away and kissed his lips gently stroking his cheek softly as she did so. She broke it and smiled.

"I'm gonna go start dinner. If you want to help, could you start getting the bread ready?" she asked. "If not, I'll do it." she said with a smile.

"I love you, sweetheart, I really do." she said kissing him one last time before she rose and headed towards the kitchen.

[Kazuma]

He felt one of her slender arms around his waist and he felt her kiss the back of his shoulder. He fought back a tear his mind screaming (Why) he wanted to know why she was still here, why she still loved him after what he had done. He didn’t deserve her or atleast he didn’t feel he did. ‘Sleep well?’ he heard her ask, he did his best to answer in the cool tone he normally spoke though he was not that great of an actor. “Yeah I needed that” he said to her as she moved infront of him.

She pulled him to the side of the bed and he went along with it, better not to resist her at this point. As she kneeled down infront of him the first aid kit in hand he shook his head “No I’m fine really” she shot him a look that was almost scary, it told him ‘your gunna wear the bandages or eat them’. Her face then softened and she smile mentioning treating his wounds and then making dinner.

She worked quickly, almost like she had done this type of patch job before. Kazuma had a hand in first aid as well, capable of even stitching himself up if he needed to. As the nesporin covered swab touched the small open cut on his face his eyes focused on her arms. The sleeves of her tee shirt had rolled up just enough so he could see part of the horrible bruising he had caused her, he kept his eyes solem though, not letting her know what he had noticed. He felt the last small cut being treated, this was the first time he had actually used an antibiotic on a cut, normally he would just let Rocky lick his cuts which seemed to heal them quicker then anything he had used previously.

‘I hope you feel better after your nap’ he heard her say as she checked over his bruises. “Yeah I’m great, only thing that actually hurts is my face” he said to her. His body was thick and dense and had been used to hits and blows that were harder then what even Bruce could produce, but his head was the only thing he could not toughen up leaving it his Achilles heal. She kissed his lips softly and stroked his cheek as she always did, the small act of love tore him up inside.

He nodded his head and followed her down stairs. He was quiet more so then he normally was, he could not help it he felt like some evil sadistic bastard being able to hurt the only person in this world he actually loved. When the were in the Kitchen before she actually had a chance to say anything the giant young man stopped he had something to ask her and he wasn’t sure if he could mange to get the words out of his mouth.

“Teneile” he said leaving a long pause. He managed to bring his dragging head up. She turned around and Kazuma walked over to her cornering her between him and the counter. His hand lifted up and his index finger caught the sleeve of her long tee slowly lifting it up to her shoulder. What he had done was horrible, most of her upper arm was black and he could imagine the other one looked identical to the one he gazed upon now. It was clear that both her and Bruce could have died out there in the forest if her words had not reached him in time. “I did that didn’t I?” he asked her already knowing the answer letting the sleeve drop back down.

His head fell back down “How can your bring yourself to be around me after that…I don’t deserve your gaze let alone your love”. Kazuma was beating himself up more then he had to, he just felt so bad. This was a new experience in his life, never had he ever hurt some one he loved, he had never had to worry about that. He wanted to curl up into a hole and die.

[Teneile]

Her name. She heard it and looked up turning from the counter. He said nothing else but the look in his eyes alone made her own eyes open wide. She watched him walk over to her deliberatly pinning her against the counter. She looked up at him. She knew what his hand was reaching for. His hand reached up and began to pull her shirt sleeve up. She blushed and looked away as he revealed the dark bruises on her pale white arm. He pulled the shirt back down he looked down ashamed as he began to berrate himself. She smiled and looked up at him she moved up into his arms and touched his cheek softly with her hand. Brushing her hand back from his cheek and through his hair gently brushing it away from his face.

"Because I love you." she said softly kissing his lips gently. "It's unconditional. And I would do anything and everything for you. There is never a time that I would turn away from you. I love you with my whole heart and you had such rage in your eyes that I was afraid you would hurt someone. I wanted to try to bring you back, the wonderful man that cares for me. The one that is sweet and gentle the one that holds me at night when I sleep and the one that eats my dinners even if I burn it a little." she chuckled.

"I love the way you smile at me and I enjoy living and being here with you. I love the way you hold me in your arms. And the way you take care of me. I love you. To the depths of my very soul I love you so very much. I'm not going anywhere. I told you that I was clingy." she chuckled. "And I told you that I'm going to stand by your side no matter what. And you know me. I'm not a liar. You know that. I am never leaving your side. I told you that I was never going to leave you."

She pulled him into her arms and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She leaned up and captured his lips in a heated and passionate kiss. Pulling him close she kissed him gently but passionatly for some time. In minutes when it broke she smiled softly looking up at him with a gentle smile.

"I love you." she whispered.

[Kazuma]

Her words made him feel better to a sense. They were genuine which was what he needed to hear. After all his mian concern was that she was here out of fear or worse necessity. There was nothing he could do as he held back tears locking them away in his eyes. Last thing he needed to do was cry especially because he could not bring himself to cry infront of her.

When she had said everything and kissed him he could not resist . After everything that had happened today he did not think he would be able to touch her lips for days so to be able to feel them now really made him feel better. He could not figure out what is was about her lips that did this to him but they always seemed to have an uplifting even healing effect. And when it broke all he could do was look down into her eyes. “I love you to” he said with a smile.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her body but was to afraid he would only further hurt her still bruised body. So instead he let himself slip out of her grasp “Well now that that’s over with… I guess I’ll start on the bread” he said to her plastering a smile across his face. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was still feeling bad, it was something he would feel for several days, but luckily for him Teneile actually helped to make him feel slightly better about everything. He turned away from her to the counter where the bread was at the moment a bit of a lose for words.

[Teneile]

Teneile smiled up at him when he said he loved her too. She loved him so much there was little he could do to scare her away. She knew he hadn't meant to hurt her. And she knew that it was likely to never happen again. Still, if he ever did take to beating her it was probably the only way that she would ever leave him. But she knew that it wasn't likely after all he loved her very much and she had never seen him be so gentle with someone as he was with her. When he went to the bread with a fake smile plastered on his face she went up to him from behind and put her arms around his waist holding him to her. She placed her head on his back and hugged him softly.

"You know what?" she asked softly. "It was kind of neat seeing you fight. I mean. Scary too but.. the way your muscles really came out of your skin and bulked up with the blood flow I was impressed." she said softly.

"You're always good looking Kazuma. But when you were all pushed out like that..." she blushed and moved her arms to run her hands down his muscular arms. "..I .. really thought.. you looked handsome. Kind of.. umm.. turned me on." she blushed deeper. She cleared her throat and went off as she placed beef in the pan and began to brown it letting the water boil on the stove to prepare itself for the noodles that would come soon enough.

[Kazuma]

Her arms came around him and she hugged him softly, she must have known he was faking his smile she knew him so well know he could not hid anything from her even when he wanted to. Part of him still felt bad there was no doubt about that, he could not think of any way to make her better or make her forget what he had done. She had said she was not scared of him, and that she loved him dearly before, but he wondered how she would react next time he went to grab her to hold her like he normally would. Would her heart be beating faster because she loved him or would it be because subconsciously his hands still frightened her,

When she spoke he laughed a little. She had claimed to have actually be turned on by his fight and the state it put his body in. Kazuma knew she was lying a bit, she had seen his body pumped up during his morning work outs and she knew what his body looked like when his blood was truly pumping. But her efforts to make his feel better were indeed helping. Whether she was lying or not she had gotten him to smile as she blushed for him.

She then went and began to brown some beef in the pan just as he was getting done with the bread ready to place it in the oven. He wanted to tell her she was crazy and in truth they both were, they were crazy for one another. “I must be doing something right in my life if I have you glued to me like this” he told her in a bit of a soft tone He then came up from behind her he leaned down and kissed her neck softly “I am going to have find a way to show you my gratitude later” he whispered in her ear.

[Teneile]

Teneile smiled as kazuma came up behind her holding her close to him. Her hands continued finishing the beef before she added the sauce. He kissed her neck and she smiled softly looking up at him gently. She really loved him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear and she chuckled softly. "I'm holding you to that.' she said softly as she moved back closer to the stove and began adding the spices to the sauce. She broke the noodles and placed them in the now boiling water working on her dinner for them. She enjoyed cooking it was amazing how you could take a little this and that and completely turn it into something wonderful.

When everything was simmering and cooking she pulled herself up on the counter next to the stove. Reaching out for his hand she pulled him close, he always came to her anyway. She placed her hands on his cheeks and gently leaned in kissing from the tip of his nose to right between his eyes. She smiled softly looking into his eyes with a soft smile.

"You're birthday is soon. Keep that day free for me. I have it planned out if you don't mind." she said softly. "I hope.. that you'll enjoy it." she whsipered softly.

"And we should invite Bruce over for dinner one night. So that I can meet him properly. Maybe next weekend. We can have burgers on the grill and just have fun with your friend." she said with a soft smile. "What do you think?"

[Kazuma]

She continued to work on the food, he was always impressed with her ability to cook, especially since he was always on top of her often posing o be a distraction of some kind. Even through his slightly swollen nose he could smell the spices she had placed in the sauce as soon as everything began to simmer.

When she pulled herself to the counter he was not sure if he followed her or if she lead him to her, ether way he could not care he was just happy to have her there instead of running out of his door. She leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose working her way up in a few very light very loving kisses. She then looked him in the eyes, this time he could not think of anything but how beautiful her blue eyes looked at the moment.

“Believe me the day is open…this will actually be the first time I celebrated it and I am looking forward to celebrating it with you” he said to her smiling wondering what the little vixen had planned for them. For once he could not wait to become a year older.

When she mentioned Bruce it was clear he wasn’t fully for the idea. Him and Bruce rarely hung out the only time the really met were to spar or if they had caught one another in the halls of their high school. Yeah I guess we could have him over, would be a nice change of pace for once.” He said to her with a light smile on his face.

After pausing for a second he though back to her arms and what they looked like. “First things first though, after dinner I have some ointment to rub into you” he smiled “Unless you feel like wearing slevees with all this warm weather coming through” Kazuma stopped for a moment to take a whiff of everything simmering around him, it all smelled delicious though nothing seemed to smell sweeter then his beautiful girlfriend that made him smile uncontrollibly

[Teneile]

"Well, we don't have to have him over. But he seemed nice enough and we don't have people over often. It was just a thought." she shrugged softly hearing that sound in his voice that said he wasn't terribly keen on the idea of inviting bruce over.

But she was very happy that he was going to keep his birthday clear for her. She had already made plans. Bought tickets to something. Gotten his gift. Gotten everything together to make this day special for him. She smiled softly at him as he told her he wanted to put some ointment on her arms when they finished with dinner. She nodded softly. It would probably make him feel better if he did and if it helped her arms heal she definatly wasn't going to turn it down.

"Allright, that sounds nice. They are pretty sore." she said with a smile. Gently she leaned in and hugged him placing her head on his large shoulder. Her arms loosely hugged him around his neck as she did so laying there in his arms. She closed her eyes kissing his neck softly a few tmes gently. "I love you so much." she whispered.

It wasn't long that they sat there and the sauce was ready just by the smell she smiled as she kissed his cheek softly and she moved back and got down off the counter. Straining the noodles the steam washed over her face and she closed her eyes for a moment before putting the noodles back in the pot. Moving to the table she set it quickly and then put the noodles and sauce down on the table. She toasted the bread in a skillet on the still hot stove top. It sizzled as the butter and garlic melted into the crispy bread. She hummed softly working the bread that kazuma had prepared for a moment. When done she put it and their drinks on the table.

"Dinner's ready love." She sat down. She always sat at the corner next to him. He sat at the head of the table and she sat around the corner to his left. She smiled softly putting some sweetener in her tea before she served them both, heaping Kazumas plate up. "You have to be hungry after your work out today." she said softly as she began to place the cheese on her spaghetti and then began to eat.

[Kazuma]

He wasted no time in getting to his food. She was right he was indeed starved, being that monster always took it out of him because it was a double edged sword so to speak. At the same time he was willing to kill and destroy everything him his path he was also willing to sacrifice his own body and with it’s low fat and high demand for fuel he wore himself out quickly while fighting without limitation.

He ate like it was his last meal, quickly and hungrily, it was hard to believe he was actually tasting the food as he wolfed it all down but he was enjoying every delicious bite. It was horrible how savage he could be some times but he years of living alone often left his manners something to be desired, especially when his body was looking for something.

He stopped nearly finished with his plate after a few minutes to take a drink quickly, taking a breath after it all. He looked over at Teneile who was looking at him with a bit of surprise, He took his napkin and wiped his face of the little sauce that graced his lips “This is great…I guess I was hungrier then I thought” he said before he smiled at her.

[Teneile]

Teneile sat down and placed her napkin in her lap. She cut up her spaghetti into small bite size pieces. She placed some parmassean cheese on the top before mixing it all together. That was when she paused. Hearing Kazuma going nuts on his own dinner she looked up and just kind of froze watching him eat. it was like a starving wolf or a bear something.. wild and hungry she couldn't help but stare at him. Suddenly before she had even started her dinner he was mainly done and then he explained what it was and she laughed. She laughed because he was so damn cute and she couldn't help it. She merely shook her head and began eating her dinner slowly and began tasting her food.

It wasn't long, Teneile wasn't a big eater, she ate most of her meal and one piece of bread. She lay back in her seat and ate her bread watching Kazuma with nothing but love in her eyes. When he finished she smiled softly at him and rose putting all the left overs away and she put the dishes in the sink and she went over to him and smiled kissing the tip of his head. She ruan her fingers down to his shoulders and began to give him a soft massage with her long fingers. She felt the pressure in her bruised arms but she didn't care not right now. She worked his neck and his shoulders for some time relaxing him feeling all the knots in his muscle and she smiled softly.

"You shouldn't be so tense." she whispered in his ear. She smiled and kissed his ear softly working his neck most. Minutes passed before she finished and she moved away from him. "So what shall we do now?" she asked curiously as she sat herself right in his lap and nuzzled right into him happily.

[Kazuma]

When she sat herself in his lap and began to nuzzle into him Kazuma could not stop smiling. Today had brought up a situation that he was not sure they would ever recover from but she had proved him dead wrong. He sat happily with her in his lap thinking of something they could do but nothing grand was coming to mind. Today was a day they needed to relax and rest from the hectic day so he did not feel like running around later.

“Hmmm I don’t know…maybe we can watch a movie or something…or just turn on the hot tub and relax for the rest of the day” kazuma sighed with his arms gently around her. He was still a bit tired and eating the way he did had only added to it. He kissed her neck lightly “I’m pretty sure you’d like to relax…especially after being so wonderful to me all day”

Kazuma was at a loss right now, he literally was just feeling clingy right now and needed to hold her and kiss her and do all that mushy stuff none of his friends would ever suspect him of. She had turned the furious mountain of muscle into a tamed pussy cat who longed for nothing but her touch. He was so whipped it wasn’t funny but he loved were he was in life anyway.

[Teneile]

Kazuma mentioned two options and one to most people would sound better than the other at the moment. Considering her condition and everything. She smiled as he held her there not in a hurry to move she felt the need to be in his lap like he needed and wanted her there. He held her gently to him and she looked up at him touching his cheek and running her fingers back through his hair gently. They seemed to be in contact a lot and she wondered what his friends might think about the way she had been able to calm the giant. The man that was so large he could do almost anything and here he was holding this little skinny dancer in his arms like she was what was most precious to him.

"How about a movie then. I don't think I would look good in a swim suit right now." she said as she kissed his lips. "And I"m skipping popcorn this time because I'm not hungry." she said with a bright smile.

"AND since I picked the movie last time it's your turn to pick something." she said with a grin knowing he always wanted to please her but the problem was she wanted to please him just as much so when they got together to do something they ended up in that 'you pick no you pick' kind of fight because they both wanted the other to be happier. She kissed his forehead as she got up out of his arms and headed into their living room. She flicked on the TV and sat on the edge of the couch so she could wait for Kazuma to lay down first before she would lay down in front of him so that they could each other like they always did.