Nothing Left to Fear || Closed

Brendan was a good kisser. Like, really good. Much better than Sarah had thought he’d ever be - not that she’d given it that much thought in the first place. It was just that guys that had that slight asshole-ish air about them always seemed to be shit at kissing. Or at least, that had been her experience. Then again, even if he had been shit at kissing, she hadn’t planned on complaining about it. Because she was used to this. She’d kissed people before, and had sex with them. For a couple of seconds, she could pretend that there weren’t zombies outside, and she was just making out with someone on his ridiculously small bed.

Her fingers were still clenching his shirt, even though they weren’t kissing. She still kept a hold though, because suddenly that was all she wanted to do - forget about the zombies outside and make out with this attractive guy lying next to her. “It’s fine,” she said, swallowing. It was a bit hot that he was out of breath, especially knowing it was because they’d just been kissing. His head was so close to hers that she couldn’t help herself as her gaze dropped down to his lips. It took her a little longer than she would have liked to admit to bring her eyes back up to his. Her heart jumped as she felt him brush against the back of her neck. She smirked faintly and shook her head. “You didn’t actually. I asked if you were good?”

She kept one hand clenching his shirt, but let the other drift up and rest against his cheek, her thumb brushing against his jaw light as a feather. There was a warmth pooling in her belly, one she hadn’t felt in awhile. Was she actually attracted to him? Looking up at him, she thought she might be. It took her by surprise. Once she’d heard about the near apocalypse, she’d thought that that had been it for her. No more emotional attachments, no more family or friends, no more sex. But then somehow - it all felt a bit blurry to her then - they’d ended up there. Lying in that tiny bed, and he’d kissed her.

“I don’t think my brain’s functioning at full capacity either,” she admitted, her voice soft as her focus dropped to his lips once more. She really, really wanted to kiss him, but she needed to keep her head clear. They could make out, sure. Even get a little handsy. But she didn’t want to kill the moment and just announce that they definitely weren’t having sex if there wasn’t a condom. She was getting ahead of herself. “But I’m pretty sure that you should kiss me again.”

---

Kennedy couldn’t help but still as she started to pull her arm from the jacket. His hands shot out as she doubled over, hovering above her but not touching her. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally cause her more pain. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, so soft he hoped that she hadn’t heard him. It was his fault that she’d gotten shot. If he hadn’t made up that dumb story about her getting bit, the man might not have shot her. He might have aimed at Kennedy instead, which would have been better. It killed him to see her in such pain.

“Alright,” he breathed out, forcing his hands to steady. He cocked a brow at her, surprised. If it would have been him, he would have been begging for the alcohol to try and dull the pain. He could handle a lot of things, but he knew that if he’d been shot, he would have reacted a hell of a lot worse than she was. “When we drink then, we’re going to get shit-faced,” he said, offering her a weak grin. His gaze stayed steady on her as she took her glove off, nodding slow once he realized what she was doing. “Alright, just… Brace yourself, I guess.” He took a second longer before reaching out and letting the fabric drop under her arm. He lifted the other end of it, making sure that it was above the wound before pulling it tight. He knew that he needed to cut off the blood flow as much as possible, even if it would hurt Abby. “You’re alright. I’ve got you,” he murmured, tying the ripped fabric into a knot.

He reached back down into his bag, searching for the mini first aid kit he’d shoved in there. Abby had gotten the other ones, but he was too scatterbrained to look through hers. He found what he was looking for and ripped it open, breathing out a sigh of relief. A shit ton of gauze, some medical tape, some other stuff, and wet wipes. It had alcohol written in bold across the front, and he knew that’s what she needed. He tore it open with his teeth, making a face at the taste as he pulled it out. “I’m going to clean it, okay? I’ll try not to press down on it too much.” Gently, he took her hand and lifted her arm just slightly, holding it in place as he used the other hand to wipe away the blood. He was gentle in his movements, dabbing at the blood around the wound as soft as he could.

It took him a couple of seconds to get the area around it fairly clean. There was still blood coming out, but it didn’t look nearly as bad as it had. He looked from the wound to Abby, his heart starting to pound in his ears. This was the bad part. “Abby? I don’t - I - I think I’ve got a pocket knife in my bag. The bullet needs to come out, and I don’t have any other way to do it. Are you alright with this?” They could clean it as best as they could and patch it up, but just leaving the bullet in there would only make things worse. He wasn’t sure if they’d make it to the highway with her in that much pain. “I can do this, but it’s going to hurt. Worse than this.”

The reaction Brendan got from Sarah was slightly unexpected. Sure, he expected her to either kiss him back or push him away and call him a creep or something, but…she seemed almost as eager as he did. He was easily thinking this could lead to something more. He’d just told her he’d been picky, but now he didn’t really have a choice. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t have picked Sarah if they’d met before all this mess, but…under the circumstances, she was the only thing that was keeping his mind from running with too many thoughts. He was one of those kinds of people who let their mind run once they got into bed, but now it seemed like that had been sent into overdrive with everything that had happened.

His eyes slipped over her features slowly, realizing that he could be staring at the last person he could ever see alive. As he let this realization sink in, he realized he wanted nothing more than to press his lips against hers and clear his mind for as long as they stayed connected. He nodded numbly as he spoke, eyes slipping between both of hers. They were probably the prettiest color he’d ever seen up close; a mix of green and grey. His eyes slipped down to her lips and he bit his own bottom lip. They were soft, pillowy, and looked like they pouted at times. He glanced back up at her to spot her staring at his lips and he grinned a bit, realizing that they were probably traveling down the same thread of thought. Another laugh left him as she spoke and he nodded again. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said softly, eyes slipping over her features once more.

Drawing in a steady breath of air, his eyes followed her hand before it rested against his cheek, taking the time to truly appreciate the gesture of it all. Maybe this was all they needed in this moment, the comfort of another human being to help them forget that these humanoid, living dead things were just outside the building and waiting to tear into any parts they could reach. The world was not gentle anymore. It wasn’t loving. It didn’t nurture. Maybe they were both realizing that even though their outlook was grim, they had this moment to make the most out of and take advantage of.

He noted the drop of her gaze to his lips and his pulse rose slightly again, seeing the want flicker in her eyes. His hand slipped back to her jaw, thumb brushing over her tempting bottom lip. When she spoke again, he just barely let her get the last word out before his mouth was on hers again and he was kissing her like she was oxygen and he was suffocating. His other hand slipped around her frame to rest on the small of her back. Fingers splayed against the base of her spine, he pulled her body flush against his, sighing softly against the kiss as he nipped gently at her bottom lip before slipping his tongue into her mouth. It may have been foolish to distract himself with her, but he was determined to keep his mind from running.

---

Abby’s heart was drumming in her ears. She knew the bullet wouldn’t kill her, not immediately at least. But if they were smart about this, she’d be able to walk away without any nasty infections or having a useless right arm for however long she had left to live. All she knew was that for whatever pain she didn’t feel initially, it felt like it was progressively getting worse the longer she sat there. She was worried; not just for her, but for Kennedy as well. Guilt had settled itself into her chest, heavy amongst all the pain, and she wasn’t even the one who’d shot anyone. Maybe if she’d been stronger, been able to fight back, he wouldn’t have to go through this.

She was going to hold him to getting shit-faced and thought that might be the only thing that would get her through this all; the comfort of drinking herself silly with the only person she had left on her side. It probably wouldn’t be smart to drink while she was still bleeding anyways, regardless if the bourbon was bottom-shelf or not. Thinning her blood out was the last thing she wanted to do. The woman flashed him a worried glance as he told her to brace herself, breathing out slowly through her nose before drawing in a deep breath of air. Instead of watching, she turned her head to the side, eyes squeezed shut tightly. A short grunt left her as he constricted the fabric tightly around her arm. Her body tensed for a moment, trembling slightly before it relaxed again once he had finished.

The woman let out the breath of air she wasn’t aware she’d been holding in and pulled her eyes open, tears wetting the corners of her eyes as she tried to blink them away rapidly. For some reason, hearing him say the words ‘I’ve got you’ calmed her right down. She knew he wasn’t some superhero or savior, but the idea that he’d shot someone just to see her safe meant a lot to her. Would she have preferred not seeing someone murdered right before her eyes? Of course. But the fact he hadn’t ditched her in the face of danger proved just how much weight those words held. She easily would have attempted at doing the same if it meant saving him, even if guns made her terribly uncomfortable.

She lifted her eyes to his as he spoke of cleaning around the wound and she nodded a bit in response, not being able to say much with the glove in her mouth. As he took her hand, she winced a bit, though it didn’t really hurt much as he raised her arm. She could, however, feel the tips of her fingers tingling with the lack of circulation, so she supposed the tourniquet was doing its job. Drawing in a deep breath of air as the wipe touched her skin, she realized this didn’t hurt nearly as bad as tying the tourniquet had. He was surprisingly gentle for a guy, taking great care not to put her in any more pain than she already was. When he spoke again, the way he stuttered put her on edge, knowing the worst was yet to come. A heavy sigh left her at the mention of a pocket knife, already feeling exhausted from everything that had already happened and she knew it would drain that much more energy to have to be quiet while someone poked around her flesh and muscle for a bullet. Her eyes slipped between his and she gave him another nod. They had to do what they had to do.

Sarah knew that they were both consenting adults. She knew that. But there was still the worry pricking at the back of her mind, making her wonder if this was a good idea. They were both scared and nervous and on edge. Hell, they might have even been in shock for all she knew. Was this right of them? Was it healthy? But then she watched him bite his own lip, and it was like her stomach bottomed out. It was just too easy for her to focus on feeling good and making him feel good. And this might be the last that either of them get something like this, to be reminded that they are alive and there’s something good out there.

She was tugged from her thoughts when his hand slipped to her jaw, making her heart stutter. This time, when he kissed her, she surged into it, pressing as close to him as she could get. Her hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck, her fingers winding through his hair. Her tongue brushed against his, making warmth pool in her stomach. The hand that had been clenching his shirt dropped to his side, slipping under the hem of his t-shirt. Her fingers splayed against his side, nails dragging against his skin lightly. Her lips moved in synch with his, urging her closer to him.

It was easier this way. Instead of focusing on the faint shuffling of the horde outside of the house, she could focus on his breathing. Instead of worrying about a zombie somehow breaking in, she could focus on the it felt when he nipped at her lip. The longer they kissed, the harder it was for her to remember that it was a bad idea to go further. The last time she’d felt like this, it had been before everything went to shit. They deserved this, to remember that not everything had to be dark and terrifying. Instead, they could allow themselves just a little respite.

Her fingers wound through his hair, tugging on it gently. His lips felt soft and comforting, and she almost felt like she could relax a little. She brushed her tongue against his once more before pulling it away, her teeth grazing over his lower lip before nipping at it softly. She used her teeth to tug it just enough, letting out a sigh as she let it go. Sarah pushed herself against him, needing to be as close as was physically possible. She pulled her head away just enough to shoot him an impish grin before placing a kiss against his jaw, trailing kisses down his neck.

---

Kennedy had thought that he had a strong stomach. He’d watched friends break bones while doing incredibly stupid things. Hell, he’d even made it through the entirety of The Human Centipede without looking away once - which he regrets, but still. He’d done a lot of dumb things which resulted in some pretty horrendous injuries, but this took the cake. He almost wished that she’d said something a loud, something that would have reassured him that he could do this. But that was stupid. Abby needed the reassuring, not him. “Alright, let me grab the pocket knife,” he murmured, figuring that at least telling her what he was doing might comfort her a little. He hoped.

He bent down and began to rifle through his bag, praying that the knife was there. He dug around, breathing out a sigh of relief once he found it, buried deep down in the front pocket. He grabbed the first aid kit, finding a tiny bottle of rubbing alcohol, and flipped the blade out. Pouring a little bit of the liquid onto the blade, he prayed to whatever God was listening that this would work. He made sure that it had covered the whole blade before waving it back and forth slowly, hoping for it to dry. He glanced over to Abby and offered her a faint smile. “It’ll be fine. Honest. You’re going to be okay,” he said, his words as much for him as they were for her.

He took in a deep breath, letting it out slow before taking her arm in his hand. “Just stay still, alright? We’re safe right now. We’ll handle this, and then we’ll head to the highway.” That was a lie. He wasn’t going to expect her to get to the highway now, not when she’d just been shot. No, they’d find a place to crash for the night and head there in the morning. His thumb brushed against her uninjured skin, offering her a faint smile before lifting the knife to her arm. This was so fucked up on so many levels.

He pressed down against her skin, creating a small line heading from the bullet wound to her inner arm. It wasn’t much, but he had to steel himself when the blade cut through her skin, making the blood drip down her skin. He pressed a tiny bit farther, afraid to go any deeper. They should have found a doctor. They should have done literally anything but this. He grasped her arm a little tighter before moving to the other side, cutting down just a little from her wound towards the outer arm. Neither cut was very long, just under an inch or so, but he hoped it would do the job.

His hands were too dirty for him to try and grasp it, so he used the knife instead. He pressed the blade down in the cut, keeping it steady as he moved it towards the bullet. Once he had the metal up against the ammo, he sighed. “I’m so sorry, Abby,” he breathed out, knowing that this would have been horrible. He pressed down to secure the bullet, slowly sliding it upward. It almost slipped twice, but he kept it steady, and what seemed like hours - but was only a minute or three - later, the bullet came out.

It was getting harder and harder for Brendan to keep his head on straight, especially with the way that Sarah was reciprocating his kisses. It was weird. Maybe it was because he’d rarely spent time on just kissing someone, but he realized just how much a good make-out could be. She was definitely not inexperienced at kissing and the way her body melded against his had his mind immediately drifting to other places. He wanted to feel skin-against-skin, he wanted to press his fingertips down her naked spine and sink them into supple flesh. His mind was being drawn from thinking about the world around the to where only the room, themselves, and the bed existed.

Her fingers in his short hair were a welcome addition, both relaxing him and coiling him up even tighter. His stomach muscles jumped involuntarily as her fingertips found their way beneath his shirt and a soft groan left him as her nails slipped against his skin. Brendan was losing grip on his control bit-by-bit, mind steadily hazing up with the thought of having her beneath him or on top of him, completely naked, and their bodies joined together in the most intimate of ways. Somewhere at the back of his mind was a nagging little piece of his conscience that reminded him that they would not just go their separate ways in the morning and be done with it, that he was now invested in making sure they worked together to survive. The more carnal side of him promptly told his conscience to shut the fuck up and allow him to enjoy this. Death was all around them, but they still had a life to live yet and this was how he was going to prove it.

A low hum of a noise left him, rumbling deep within his chest as his other hand drifted slowly down her body, taking in a cursory tactile glimpse into her curves before it pressed itself just beside his other hand. Tentatively, it dove beneath the hem of her shirt, slightly roughened fingertips trailing up her spine as he continued to kiss her deeply. The room had been cool before, but it suddenly felt sweltering. His wrist dragged the hem of her shirt up as his palm rested just between her shoulder blades, just beneath the clasp of her bra. He used this hand to press her even closer to him.

When her teeth found his bottom lip and nipped at it, a soft, breathless noise left him before he could stop it and he coiled tighter still. And as she tugged it out a bit, the tension in him threatened to snap completely. A soft sigh left her as he looked over at her, breathing a bit quicker than normal. He could feel just how swollen and red his lips had gotten from their kissing and the grin she wore brought one to his own lips. Another low noise rumbled in his chest as her mouth found his jaw and then travelled down his neck and his eyes slipped shut. Suddenly, laying side-by-side wasn’t enough for him. He held her close and turned the two of them over so that she was laying on top of him, grin still pulling at his features.

“Uh…um,” Brendan probably should have tried to string his thoughts together a bit better before trying to speak. “If…if we’re lucky…my wallet’s in my front pocket and I’ve…I’ve got a condom hidden somewhere in there…you know, just…in case,” he finally managed to get out. If there was a God listening, he was praying that he’d managed to grab his wallet before flying from his house earlier.

---

Abby, yet again, felt like she had somehow left her body and was peering in third-person on the events of her life. She was watching as Kennedy watched her, trying to make sure she was going to be okay with all of this. She could imagine the pathetic little tears working their way down her cheeks, collecting up under her chin, and finally continuing down her neck until they absorbed into the putrid scarf she’d picked up for them. The woman tried repeating to herself that she could handle this, that she could be stronger than she was, but she highly doubted it. She was a woman and had been through pain before; she’d broken her arm jumping out of a tree, she’d drunkenly cracked her forehead against plenty of sliding glass doors, walls, and bars, and she’d wiped out on her bike once and scraped up the entire side of her forearm on pavement. However, with the shock wearing off and the pain setting in, getting shot was steadily emerging on top of the most painful things that had ever happened to her.

Her stomach dropped suddenly when she spotted him pulling the pocket knife from his bag and she grit her teeth slightly on the woven glove in her mouth. She was not going to like this, she was not going to like this in the least. But it was what they had to do, wasn’t it? She was thankful he was at least taking the time to sterilize it the best he could. Would she have expected anything different out of this guy? He’d been nothing but thorough and careful, making she was okay and alright at every turn. For a moment, the thought crossed her mind that she was rather lucky they found each other. He was honestly her one shot at survival.

She glanced up at him as he spoke, eyes darting between both of his as she drew in a deep breath of air through her nose. The small smile he provided her caused one to curl her lips as well. A soft hum left her as she nodded in understanding. Her features pinched in slightly as he took her arm in hand, preparing for it to hurt, but finding that it didn’t. The circulation had gone so much from that arm that it just felt like pressure more than anything else. Maybe that’s what it’d feel like when he’d cut into her skin. Abby was aware that he was talking to her again and her gaze lifted from her wound to find his once more. Another hum left her as she nodded once more. She didn’t know exactly how stable she would be to continue on, but she’d try her best to push through it for Kennedy’s sake.

With a soft sigh at the feel of his thumb against her skin, she breathed out slowly through her nose. Though, it grew into a sharp intake of air when she noted he was nearing her skin with the knife. The moment the blade pressed down into her skin, grey and black spots danced in front of her eyes. She felt like she was going to pass out the pain had come so suddenly and so sharp. Her teeth bared down on the glove in her mouth and she could hear herself letting out short, clipped whimpers. A cold sweat washed over her again as she could feel it beading up and slipping from her temples, or were those tears? She didn’t know exactly what she was feeling at the moment.

Maybe Abby did pass out at some point, because the next time she opened her eyes another cut had been made. She could feel her breathing picking up, becoming uneven as her whole body grew tensed. He was trying to get the bullet out now, she could feel it, and she knew that now was the worst time for her to move. She could only hope and pray that they wouldn’t be interrupted by another human or zombie. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she kept her gaze on the knife in her wound. When the bullet finally emerged, all the tension left her body, her head fell back against the wall behind her, and she spat the glove from her mouth. Her eyes remained focused on the grey sky, noting a few white, fluttery flakes of snow starting their descent around them. “Thank you, Kennedy,” she offered weakly, feeling completely and utterly drained.

Looking back on it, Sarah would be surprised at just how into it she was. For the first time since she’d seen that fateful news piece on a cannibalistic attack in her city, she wasn’t worried. The nerves that had been a constant in her had switched to something more excited, something more enjoyable. She could focus on other things aside from trying to figure out how to survive. Instead, she could focus on the way his hand had just slipped beneath her shirt, and the way his fingertips were tracing up her spine. She allowed herself to be pressed closer to him, briefly wondering just how close it was possible to get.

Whatever noise left him made her stomach flutter, and she suddenly wanted to hear that noise over and over again. She put her attention to his neck, kissing spot after spot, pausing for a moment to suck just under where she could feel his pulse. She let out a yelp of surprise as he turned the two of them over, gripping onto him tight so she wouldn’t lose her spot. She shifted a little, moving to sit back. She kept herself leaning down over him, hands light on his chest to keep her balance. “You brought your wallet with you during the apocalypse?” She asked him, lips twitching up into a smirk as she held back her laugher. It was almost ridiculous. What good would money, or an ID do during all of this?

She thought back to how he’d mentioned the wallet, and just how much he was practically stuttering. The realization made her warm. It was because of her that he was having trouble putting together his thoughts. She tilted her head, gaze slipping over him slow. She could see a faint red mark against his neck where she’d sucked at the skin, and she felt a jolt of arousal at the sight of it. She shifted her eyes back up to meet his, still smirking. Slowly, she sat straight up, settling back on his hips as her hands went to the hem of her shirt. Each hand went to the opposite side, and in a swift move, she tugged her shirt over her head and tossed it to the ground.

There was a part of her that was shrieking, telling her that this was an awful idea. They were going to wake up together, and they were going to survive together. She wasn’t sure if any good would come of this. But she effectively silenced it as she smirked down at him, rolling her shoulders back in an attempt to relieve a bit of tension - and distract her from the fact that she was now in her bra in front of him. She looked back to him, her smirk widening. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to your wallet if your shirt is still on,” she said, giving him a pointed look. “I think it’s in the way.”

---

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Kennedy murmured, watching for a moment as the blood started to drip from the now empty wound. The bullet had blocked a lot of it from getting out, and he knew that he’d have to bandage it up tight to make sure that it wouldn’t bleed too much. He grabbed the medical wrap and some gauze from the first aid kit, letting out a quiet sigh. They were almost home free. “This is going to hurt, but not as much as that,” he said, offering her a small smile. He wasn’t sure if the feeling low in his chest was pride, but it felt like something close. She’d handled all of that like a champ. It was impressive.

He placed the gauze right over the bullet wound, placing it there lightly so he wouldn’t cause her any unnecessary pain. He put the one end of the medical wrap over the gauze, and began to wrap it tightly around her arm. He knew that it would have to be tighter than what would be comfortable, but he figured that compared to digging a bullet out of her arm, she’d be able to handle this part a hell of a lot better. He continued to wrap, using the rest of the wrap and holding it in place so he could grab some tape. He used his teeth for that part, tugging it out and then biting off a sizable piece. He placed it on the wrap, tugging it tight so it wouldn’t come apart. He placed another piece of tape there for good measure, his gaze focusing on Abby.

“We’re going to need to find a place to stay tonight, alright?” He murmured, listening for any stray sounds in the night. He glanced behind them, relief flooding his system at the sight of an empty street. The zombies hadn’t managed to find them. He felt something wet lay against his nose and he blinked. It was flurrying. He wondered when that had started. He glanced back to Abby, finding it hard to look away. It felt like he’d known her for so much longer than the mere hours they’d been together. How long had they lived in the same apartment building, and yet never saw one another? That morning felt like it had been weeks ago.

Kennedy regarded her, his gaze softening the longer he watched her. It felt much longer than the actual few moments that they were. “Do you think you can stand?” He asked her, knowing that she must feel pretty shitty after all of that. “I can help you, if you want.” He’d do just about anything she wanted, really. Ultimately, it had been his stupidity that had gotten her shot in the first place. He shouldn’t have made up that lie. He should’ve locked the door behind them. He should have done at least twelve things differently, and he hadn’t. His stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought. “You want some of those painkillers that you grabbed? They might come in handy right about now.”

Kennedy could feel the blood gathering around the spot she’d sucked on, knowing she more than likely left a mark on his skin. That thought made him grin a little; the fact that she’d marked him like two teenagers too afraid to go all the way yet. The sound that she made brought a bright grin to his lips, a soft chuckle leaving him as he pulled his eyes open slowly to look up at her as she settled on his hips. His hands slipped down to rest just at her thighs, fingertips gently gripping onto her skin. Another low laugh left him at her question as he looked up at her. “I think I just grabbed it out of habit…it felt kind of naked leaving my house without it,” he explained with a small shrug of his shoulders.

He swallowed hard at the realization that he quite liked the look of her on top of him and the way that she was looking down at him. By this point, his pulse was racing and his breathing was still quick and uneven as he looked up at her. He bit his bottom lip as she looked over him, wondering what she was thinking at this moment. His brows lifted slightly at the smirk she shot him, a bit unsure of what was happening next. He was pretty much at her mercy, but there wasn’t a bit of him that didn’t enjoy it. A low hum left him as she sat up, the movement causing some friction at some more sensitive parts of his body. His eyes followed as her hands went to the bottom of her shirt and a grin curled his lips despite himself as she shed the fabric that covered her upper half.

His jaw went slack a bit as he took in what he could see of her, hands drifting up her bare sides on their own accord and settling on the small of her waist. She was gorgeous; absolutely, unapologetically gorgeous. There was something that Brendan appreciated about the naked form of a woman. He didn’t look at it in lust, more-so appreciated it like it was a marble sculpture in a museum. But with the smirk that she was wearing, it was hard to keep his thoughts merely appreciative and he could feel his length slowly begin to strain up against his jeans, pressing against her through the layers of fabric between them. He was entrapped by her every movement; the roll of her shoulders and the way her smirk widened a bit before she spoke. At her words, he regained some of his confidence back and his crooked grin returned as well. He knew damn well his shirt wasn’t in the way; she just wanted to see him show some skin too.

“You know, I think you’re right,” he murmured. His hands latched onto her hips as he quickly sat up, a soft, breathless sort of noise leaving him at the friction this caused. He hoped to everything holy and good that he still had a condom in his wallet, because his mind was focused on one thing and one thing only at this moment. He supposed this was why he’d kissed her in the first place; to see if he could distract himself from his thoughts with the beautiful woman that was sharing a bed with him. In a movement to mimic her own, his hands went to the hem of his shirt and he pulled it up and over his head and off of his arms in one practiced movement. Slinging the fabric to the side, he paused a moment, hands finding their grip on her hips once more as he took her in up close. His eyes swooped over her features as he pulled their hips closer together, grinding his hips up against hers and causing himself to gasp slightly with the movement.

---

Abby drew in a measured breath of air through her nose, lips pursing for a moment as she spotted a trickle of blood going down her arm. For as much pain as she’d felt, there really wasn’t that much blood being lost. Maybe the tourniquet really had done its job in making sure she didn’t lose too much blood. Her gaze lifted to his as he spoke, running her tongue over her lips. They were beginning to chap and she wished she’d though of grabbing some lip balm from the grocery store. There was no way in hell she’d end up going back to the grocery store now though. “Okay,” she said softly, lips pulling up slightly at the corner before she drew in a deep breath of air.

She watched carefully as he placed the gauze over the would, lips twitching slightly, though it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as having a knife jammed in her arm. When she decided that it wasn’t going to hurt, she lifted her gaze from her arm and focused on Kennedy. Her head was swimming slightly and she felt a little boneless, but she knew that at any given moment, she could have to get up and run if the zombies found the two of them hiding away in the alley. The wound almost felt a little better all wrapped up tight. She shot Kennedy a small, albeit tired smile when he looked up at her.

The young woman nodded a bit when he said they’d have to find a place for the night. “I’m glad you said that. I honestly don’t know if I have it in me to make it to the highway,” she told him softly. “I need food…and I need to sleep,” she continued, grabbing her glove and tugging it back onto her hand. It was a bit slobbery, but now that she wasn’t being put under duress by a knife in her arm, she was beginning to feel the cold. Pulling her lips between her teeth, she watched Kennedy for a moment before turning her gaze back up to the snow that was steadily beginning to fall around them.

When Kennedy spoke, she turned her gaze back to him once more, brow furrowing slightly as she let the question sink in. “Yeah…Yeah, I think I can stand up,” she murmured quietly. “I just…I may need to you watch out in case I’m more worse than I think.” She pulled a bit of a face before slowly pulling her sleeve back down carefully over the now wrapped wound. The area was still terribly tender and she winced a few times as she tried to pull the sweater back down. Breathing out a heavy sigh, she carefully pushed her arm through her jacket sleeve, managing not to hit the wound too many times as she moved. A soft hum left her at the offer of painkillers and she frowned a bit. “Maybe once we get somewhere I can eat. I don’t want to risk them on an empty stomach,” she told him before offering him a small smile. “Seriously though, Kennedy. Thank you,” she said, nodding her head once before bracing herself up against the wall and slowly pushing herself up to her feet.

It concerned Sarah just how much she liked the feeling of his hands on her thighs. It was such an inconsequential movement, but for some reason, she enjoyed it. She let out a soft laugh, a couple strands of her hair falling into her face as she shook her head. “At least your credit cards won’t get stolen,” she teased, giving him a sly grin as she looked down at him. She liked it like this, her looking down at him. She wasn’t the tallest of people, and this position made her feel a little powerful. Most guys she’d been with had gotten weird when she’d wanted to be on top, but some had been into it. This, though, this felt a little too comfortable for her.

If there was one thing to be said about Brendan, it was that his facial expressions were priceless. The way he was staring at her, jaw slack and gazing up at her like she was a work of her art was making her insides quiver. God, she would have been crazy into him had they met before all of this. She could feel him pressing against her, and the feeling made her emboldened. His grin pushed her forward, and she reached up, unclasping her bra and tossing it towards her shirt. The quiet voice in her head telling her that this was a bad idea was quickly growing quieter, and she was appreciating it.

“Those damn shirts, always getting in the way of -“ She cut herself off, letting out a soft sigh as he sat up. She’d involuntarily shifted her hips against him when he’d moved up, his hips moving against hers. She swallowed as his shirt went off, and she bit her lip hard. The man was infinitely more attractive without a shirt on. Faintly, she wondered if she could convince him to never put one back on ever. She wanted to take in the plains of his chest, but then he pulling them closer and holy shit grinding against her. “Bren - fuck,” she mumbled, groaning softly. That felt way too good, even though their jeans.

Sarah held back from kissing him, wanting to look him over since he was that close. Her gaze dropped to his chest, and she reached out, letting her fingertips brush against his chest. She trailed down, tracing over the skin. Without realizing it, her tongue darted over her lips, wetting them. Maybe her luck had actually turned up in all of this. And if worse came to worse, at least they got to make out a lot before they died. If he had that condom, then they’d even get laid before it happened. “I wasn’t - um - I -“ Now she was the one who was having trouble stringing together a complete sentence. “I wasn’t expecting you to be…” Her gaze flickered up to his chest to meet his eyes, and she smirked faintly. “I really hope you have that condom.”

---

Kennedy glanced around, unsure of where there next stop would be. He could kind of see a door at the opposite end of the alleyway, but he wasn’t sure where that led to, or if it’d even be unlocked. Where they were now, it was mostly businesses. Which wasn’t terrible, but most of them would be locked up. And sure, there were apartments on the upper floors, but how the hell were they supposed to even get into them? He glanced over to Abby, offering her a faint smile.

“Sleep is probably going to be the best for you. Getting - hurt would take a lot out of you.” He pretended not to notice that he couldn’t say shot without freezing up. He’d deal with his emotions once they were safe and she was sound asleep. She’d been through enough and the last thing she needed was for him to flip out and scare her. He tugged the beanie that she’d chosen for him down over his ears, not liking the way the snow was picking up. Depending on how much fell, it’d muffle the sounds of the zombies. And that made everything about a hundred times worse.

“Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for you,” he said, offering her a small smile. The words meant more than just in that moment, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. He kept his focus on her as she pulled her sleeve back down, wincing any time she did. He wasn’t sure how she was even doing all of this. For as hard as she’d been on herself earlier, Kennedy didn’t doubt her abilities for a second. She’d gotten shot, and she was still trucking along. The woman was a person to be respected. “Oh, that’s a good idea. I forgot about taking those without food,” he said, once again glad that she was around to think of stuff like that. He got up to his feet, hovering over her as she pushed herself up.

“Abby, you don’t need to thank me. I just… We’re good.” Kennedy wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to accept her thanks for that. For other things, sure, but maybe not that. He glanced around, debating on where their next move should be. They needed to find someplace to crash - preferably an apartment with a lot of blankets. They’d need to grab some of those as well if they were going to survive that winter. “We should head that way,” he said, nodding towards the farther end of the alleyway. “If we walk a block or two, we should be able to find some apartment buildings. One of them will probably be open, or at least be easy to get into.”

Brendan could feel his pulse hammering blood through his body as his gaze continued to run over the skin she’d exposed to him. He was beginning to think this was all too good to be true; that he’d find no condom in his wallet or that something would interrupt the two of them before this went any farther. The next thing he knew, her bra was coming off and joining their shirts on the floor. His bright gaze openly wandered over the newly-exposed skin, taking in her naked breasts. Gently, his hand skirted up her side, fingertips brushing gently up her ribcage to stop just below her breast.

Brushing a thumb along the underside of one, he drew in a deep breath of air, gaze flickering up to meet hers as a charming little grin curled his lips. He was restraining himself from throwing Sarah to the bed and taking control of this situation. It wasn’t very often that he liked the woman to have control, but this was one of those times. He liked her on top of him. He liked her having control over him. He liked the grin that curled her pretty features because of that control. His fingertips delicately traced over her ribs once more, resting at her hips as he gripped them and ground his hips up against hers once more. Her reaction the first time had sent a shockwave of desire through him and he realized he wanted her to continue making those noises and having a hard time putting together coherent sentences or even be able to finish saying his name.

His thumbs traced the crests of her hip bones as she took him in as much as he was taking in her. His eyes were alight with amusement, though the sight of her tongue slipping across her bottom lip sent another sharp jolt of lust ricocheting through him. A low hum of a laugh left him as she stumbled over her words, a smirk curling his lips as his eyes flickered over her features, her exposed skin, and her kiss-swollen lips. When she finally finished her thought, he nodded in agreement. “God, I hope so too,” he murmured, gaze focusing on her lips for a moment before he decided now was a good a time as any to dig his wallet from his pocket.

Brendan kept his hand on the small of her back as the other maneuvered its way into his jean pocket. His fingertips grasped at the thin, leather fold of credit cards, his id, and maybe a few spare dollar bills and some change. Ironic how the only thing he thought was useful in there was a condom—that may or may not be in there. With a few pulls, he slipped it out of his pocket and breathed out a slow sigh, gaze flickered up from the wallet to Sarah. “Moment of truth,” he said quietly, brows lifting a bit as his heart leapt into his throat. His fingertips dug into the bill pocket of the wallet and he realized he may or may not have been holding his breath. Once his fingers brushed against the metallic wrapper, his eyes slipped shut and he let out a slow breath of air. “Fuck yes,” he whispered, pulling the condom from his wallet completely before tossing the leather wallet to the side as his eyes flickered from the foil packet to Sarah as a small grin pulled at his features.

---

Abby could feel her kneecaps and shoulders shaking slightly fro the cold as she braced a hand against the cool brick wall behind her. If she strained her ears enough, she could just barely hear the shuffling and groans of the undead roaming the streets. None of it sounded too close, so that provided a bit of comfort to the young woman. There were sounds of car alarms going off in the distance, but other than that and the zombies, there was just the hush of steadily falling snow. What should have been a bustling city street at this hour, the silence unsettled something within her greatly.

Licking her lips, she risked pulling her hand away from the wall and balancing on her own. She sighed softly at just how weak and tired she felt, at how much her arm was beginning to ache and throb. She could only hope they found their shelter for the night sometime soon, because she was even more of a liability now than she had been before. Still, she knew that the anxiety of everything that had transpired within the last few days, particularly the last 24 hours, would probably keep her awake if the pain didn’t. “I’m going to need either a lot of painkillers or bone to get to sleep,” she told Kennedy, lips pulling up wryly at the corner. Once she deemed herself stable enough to stand, she peeked her head around the dumpster, cautiously making sure no zombies or humans had found where they were resting for the moment.

Abby’s gaze swung back over to find Kennedy’s as he spoke, a small smile curling her features as she took him in. She wasn’t always the best at being able to read someone, but she knew that what had happened affected him greatly. How couldn't it? She wanted to try and talk him through it, to let him know that the world they now resided in could call for shooting a living person to survive. People were fucked up and she could have been dead if it weren’t for him. “And I’ll look out for you,” she responded with a nod of her head, curls bouncing slightly with the moment. The woman eyed him for a few moments before her gaze went to the ground, checking to be sure nothing had fallen out of their bags and that they weren’t leaving anything important behind.

“You’ve got to be the most considerate, almost-stranger I’ve ever met, Kennedy,” she noted honestly, shaking her head a bit as she brought her gaze from the ground back up to his and shook her head slightly. “Not too many people would…” Her voice died off, not wanting to speak out loud what had just happened just yet. Especially not when Kennedy seemed to be so shook up over it. “Just…I appreciate it. Everything. I honestly didn’t expect someone I’d just met to have to play doctor to me and do it without question.” She winced a bit as she thought over her words, knowing there was some sort of double entendre there and a slight flush painted her cheeks as she wrinkled up her nose. “That probably sounded…kinda bad, didn’t it?” She questioned, though she quickly recovered when she realized they would probably need to get a move on soon. She nodded at his directions and drew in a deep breath of air. “You go ahead and lead the way. I’ll probably be moving a bit slower than before so I don’t pass out or anything.”

Sarah wasn’t sure, but a part of her thought it was a bit pathetic that she was as into his light touches as she was his hips pushing against hers. It wasn’t that any of her previous one-night-stands had been too rough or anything, but there was something that felt a tiny bit special when the tips of his fingers were brushing against her skin. Or how his eyes slipping over her naked form sent a jolt of desire through her that was almost equivalent to what she’d felt when they were kissing. The part of her brain that was supposed to be rational was whispering to her that this was a bad idea, that they weren’t just going to go their separate ways in the morning on their way to work. But she managed to quiet that part, and instead focus on him.

It was easy to focus on him, to focus on his thumb brushing against her breast, his little grin sending a thrill through her. She let out a soft sigh, enjoying the feeling. Doing all of this almost felt like defying their situation. When imagining sex in the midst of an apocalypse, one would think that it would be quick and hurried, being thrown against the closest surface and thrust into just to get it over with. But Brendan tracing over her ribs made her want to defy the circumstances even more. If they could do this and take the time to enjoy it, maybe it meant that they could somehow defy the apocalypse and survive as well. She shook her head just a little to clear her ridiculous thoughts, offering him a grin that turned into a gasp as his hips ground against hers. “I’m not - shit - I can’t think properly when you do that,” she murmured, smirking just a little. It was easier to smirk than to admit that she really, really wanted him to keep doing that.

“I mean,” she began, pausing as she became a bit distracted. His thumbs against her hip bones was making her want to just press against him then and there. “If there’s not, there are other things we could do.” She wanted to wipe the smirk off of his face and make him feel as off-kilter as she did. God, when was the last time that she’d wanted anyone so bad? And how had they gotten there so fast? It was like one moment she was terrified for her life, and the next his lips were on hers and was making her feel like this was all that mattered in that moment. Maybe, she thought to herself, thinking about it wasn’t such a good idea. If it was shock, she’d take advantage of every single second.

Sarah’s heart was pounding in her chest as she waited to find out. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said that there were other things they could do. And sure, oral was fun, but at that moment, she just really wanted them to fuck. She let her fingertips rest against his chest, one finger dragging down the expanse of his skin as she waited for him to pull it out. Her gaze locked onto his as he looked from the wallet to her, and she felt her stomach lodge in her throat. But then everything deflated when she heard those two words, and she grinned at him, bright and wide. “Perfect,” she said, her hand reaching up to rest on his shoulder as she leaned forward and kissed him. Her tongue darted out, dragging across his lower lip as her other hand remained against his chest.

---

Kennedy let out a huff of a laugh at her words, glancing from the opening of the alleyway to her. The sight of her lips ticked up at the corners made his chest warm. If she was feeling good enough to do that, then that meant that she’d live. Probably. He hoped, prayed, begged that she’d live. The extent of his knowledge of bullet wounds came from movies and tv shows about emergency rooms that claimed to be real but were probably fake. But he knew some stuff about first aid. He’d cleaned the knife as best as he could. He’d gotten the bullet out and tied it up tight. He still offered up a silent prayer to a higher being, God maybe, begging to keep her alive. He’d find a Bible and start reading it if it meant that she’d live.

He blinked at her words, stunned. She couldn’t have meant what he’d really meant. But even then, if she was only talking about them making it to some place to crash for the night, he would still be shocked. The woman had just gotten shot. She wasn’t supposed to be looking out for anyone but herself. “Thanks,” he said, his words coming out slow and a little surprised. What was he supposed to say to that? It wasn’t like he could order her to not look out for him and instead making sure that nothing happens to her wound. That’d probably be stepping out of line. His gaze shot back to where they’d head for. He hadn’t seen anything pass by - zombies or humans. The thought didn’t make him feel that much better, though.

Kennedy could feel his cheeks flushing at her words, but he could blame it on the cold. The snow was starting to fall a little faster now, the temperature dropping steadily. “It’s not - I’m not - Any decent person would - “ He cut himself off. Would a decent person have shot him if there was another way? Maybe a smarter person would have been able to talk the guy out of whatever he’d been planning to do. “It’s no problem,” he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. He did, however, quirk a brow as she continued on. He watched as a flush colored her cheeks, and briefly, he decided that he liked her blushing. It was pretty. “Not too bad. Mainly because I have done that a couple of times with people I’d just met,” he said, hoping to lighten the mood just a little. He gave her a nod, taking in a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through his mouth. He just needed to remember to breathe. They’d be fine. “That’s fine. I’ll go slow so we stay close.”

He started to the opposite end of the alley, ears straining for any kind of sound. The snow was laying, but it was the soft kind that muffled any kind of noise - which was yet another turn of bad luck. He stopped once he reached the opening, pressing his back against the wall before slowly popping his head out to get a look. There was just enough light to see a decent distant in either direction. “It’s clear,” he said softly, glancing behind him to watch her for a moment before stepping into the street. He looked left, then right, trying to figure out which buildings would have apartments. “You know anybody that lives around here?”

The way Sarah’s grin turned into a gasp sent a hot stab of desire through him and he knew then that, in any other circumstance, he would have not let her out of his bed for days. As it was, this was not his bed or even his house, and there were hoards of the undead waiting just outside the door. Still, all these things seemed like a minor annoyance to him at the moment, like the threat wasn’t as great as it actually was. It was like the feeling of the weight of her body had rattled his rational side and he was strictly focused on getting the both of them naked. “Who said anything about thinking properly right now, Sarah?” He asked, wanting to goad on her reactions just a bit. A wily grin curled his lips as he gazed up at her, shaking his head slowly. “The whole purpose of me kissing you was to try not to think,” he continued in a low tone, the way she was smirking at him only egging him on. This girl really was something else and he was cursing whatever force it was that brought two people together that it didn’t bring them together sooner. He would have loved to have taken her out a few times before the world went to shit.

As she tried speaking again, he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, trying his hardest not to laugh at how hard it was for her to form a coherent sentence. It was amusing really. He knew he had a certain effect on women in times like these—certainly she had to know that he was feeling the same way. At her next comment, he lifted an intrigued brow, a wolfish sort of smile curled his lips as he leaned forward slightly. “I honestly think I would have missed out on something had I not tried, whether we actually have sex or not,” he told her, a single hand slipping back up her side to circle around a nipple before he gave it a short, sharp pinch, punctuating it with another rock of his pelvis against hers. A low sort of noise left him and he realized that he was teasing himself just as much as she was teasing him.

Brendan was sure that he’d never faced a distraction as much as he faced when Sarah placed his hands on his chest, fingertips just barely resting on the skin and drawing a single finger down. For such a simple gesture, it was a powerful one within him. He was surprised he could even get the condom out of the wallet, he had gotten so distracted. Boy, the grin that curled her features when he finally got the wrapper out of his wallet could have lit up the room. And, honestly, he preferred the sight of her grinning much more than her smirking, especially now that he knew they were both going to get what they wanted in the end. Soon after she spoke, her mouth was against his and his heart was taking up a rampant beat in his chest.

He kissed her back with equal fervor, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her body flush against his, chest-to chest and hips-to-hips. Brendan let out a low noise against her mouth at the feel of her body pressed up against his. He opened his mouth slightly at the urging of her tongue across his bottom lip and he slipped his tongue against hers, rocking his hips up against hers once more. He couldn’t remember a time merely pressing up against someone felt so good. He kept one arm draped around her as he slipped the other in between the two of them. His hand found the button of her jeans and deftly undid it, fingertips splaying for a moment against the skin underneath before starting on getting her zipper down.

---

Abby didn’t know what was going through her mind at the moment, because she felt remarkably calm, all things considered. It was odd. Normally, she would be out of her mind with anxiety at the moment. She was going to chalk it all up to blood loss and fatigue. Drawing in a breath of air, she let her eyes slip shut for a few moments, taking in the cool air around her and relishing the quiet feeling that had come over her. She was sure that the moment she started walking toward the exit of the alley, this calm feeling was going to dissipate quickly. Her eyes slipped open and over to Kennedy for a moment. Hopefully once they got some place safe for the night, they could let the truth of their situation sink in and attempt at coping with it. Abby didn’t know how well she would do with that, but if she had another breakdown, it was at least looking she’d do it where she wouldn’t die for having it.

The young woman didn’t really know why Kennedy had reacted the way he did when she spoke first. Had what she said really shocked him that much? Her brow furrowed for a moment and she let out a soft sigh, her gaze slipping away from him for the moment as she busied herself with checking the end of the alleyway. Did he not want her to keep an eye on him? Was it because she hadn’t really been all that helpful to that point? Her self-consciousness was running rampant and all she could manage was a small smile to Kennedy and a not of her head before she looked away.

When he spoke again, she shot him a sidelong look, noting the reddish color on his cheeks. Had his cheeks shown such a reaction to the cold before now? Her brow furrowed even more for a moment as he stammered over his words. She watched him for a few moments as he finally got something out and she twisted her mouth to the side. “Yeah…but I still appreciate it,” she told him, eyes locked on his for a few moments. She tentatively placed a hand over her wound to try and see if she could try to apply pressure to stem the pain, but she immediately pulled her hand away the moment she applied the slightest bit. “To be honest…I’m typically the doctor,” she replied with a shrug of her shoulders and a sheepish sort of grin. He still looked troubled and she realized she wanted to see him smile and grin again. It was much better than seeing him like this.

She nodded in reply to him and followed behind him as he moved. She took tentative steps at first, worried that if she moved too fast, she would end up collapsing to the ground. She did feel rather unsure of her footing and kind of out of it, on the whole, but she knew she didn’t have the luxury of stopping to try and recover. They needed to get someplace safe and preferably quickly. She pressed herself against the wall beside him, keeping her gaze on him as he peeked around the corner. Using one hand, she flattened her hat down on her head again, following behind him as close as she could. She was afraid if she moved too quickly, she’d end up losing her footing. “I have a friend that lives in an apartment down two blocks on Briar,” she offered thoughtfully, shooting a worried gaze behind the two of them before looking ahead once more.

Sarah couldn’t remember a time when she’d been so into someone, so ready to just do them that she’d had a hard time thinking coherently. As it was, she kind of liked it. It was nice to not having the impending doom of the apocalypse looming over her, instead being able to focus on the here and now. She hoped that it would last, that they’d be able to have their fun and not have to worry about anything else for awhile. She shifted her attention to Brendan as he started to speak, shaking her head at him. God, his grin was was unfair. He would have been bad news for her had they met before all of this. She wouldn’t have let him out of her apartment for days. “Oh, really?” She asked him, cocking a brow. “Then you need to try harder, because I’m definitely thinking again,” she continued on, her smirk widening as she just barely pressed her hips into his.

“I’m glad you tried, then,” she said, biting her lower lip as she watched him. It took her a second to realize that his hand was moving towards her breast, and yet she was still surprised when he pinched. She let out a gasp, head tilting back as she rocked herself right back against him. She was suddenly impatient, wanting nothing more than the clothing on them to disappear so they could get right to it. But all she could do was blink at him, pupils dark and wide with lust. “I’m really, really glad you tried,” she managed to get out, her voice low. She let out a slow, deliberate breath through her nose. She needed to get a handle on this, otherwise she was going to dry hump him like a teenager.

Sarah let out a whimper as he kissed her back. It was like he was the sun, and she would burn under his touch. She didn’t mind it, though, not at all. Her hips moved with his, grinding down to get as much friction as possible. Her tongue stroked against his, eager to touch as much of him that was possible. She was so distracted by the way they were kissing that she didn’t realize at first that his hand had drifted south, and was unbuttoning her jeans. She knew that he was trying to get her zipper down, but the way his hand felt against her, so close and distracting, all she could do was cant her hips against his hand, grinding against it. Her cheeks flushed when she realized what she was doing, and she let herself drop back against his lap.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, pulling away from kissing him just barely to catch her breath. She pressed a kiss against the side of his mouth, a hand dropping to his chest as the other slid down his side, brushing against the skin that was just above the start of his jeans. She slipped a finger underneath his jeans, dragging it around to the front slowly. “Your jeans are in the way,” she murmured, pressing another kiss against his jaw. “So are mine,” she said, adding it as an afterthought. She lifted her hips, hoping that it’d help with getting her jeans off as soon as humanly possible.

---

Kennedy shrugged his shoulders when she said that she appreciated it. When he looked at it that light, it wasn’t so bad. Abby was alive because of him. He’d saved her life, which was good. He wasn’t sure how he would have reacted had something happened to her that was beyond a bullet to the arm. It was insane and probably a terrible thing that he’d somehow managed to get so attached to her in mere hours. Maybe it was the shock, or the situation. The last living person he’d talked to had turned into a zombie right in his apartment, but before that? It had been days, at least. Hell, when he’d gone to the store, he’d used the self-checkout line. If only he’d been less impatient, and had opted for the regular line, with the cashier.

His gaze whipped form the alley to Abby when she spoke, eyes wide. “You’re typically the…” He trailed off, mouth opening and closing as he floundered for something to say. “I bet you’d be a hell of a doctor,” he said, a slow grin easing onto his features. It helped that she was sort of grinning herself. It was easier that way, to focus on her and her mood rather than any internal issues he was dealing with. He needed to focus on the present, and not get so caught up in the past. At least, not until they found safety. And then, once she was fast asleep, he’d allow himself to process what had happened. Or cry, at least. His throat was doing that thing where it’d get thick and uncomfortable, and he knew that that always happened right before he’d start losing it. But he couldn’t - not then.

He kept a keen ear out, more for her than anything else. If she stumbled or fell, he needed to be ready. He can’t imagine what it would feel like to fall and land on a fresh bullet wound. He’d seen her when he’d been removing said bullet, and it couldn’t have felt that much better in the short amount of time. He glanced back towards her, giving her a short nod. “You think that’d be a safe place to stay?” He asked, making sure that his voice was low. A sharp wind blew through the alley, and he tugged his jacket closer to him. Briar wasn’t too far off, but two blocks down was still two blocks down. Normally, he wouldn’t consider it far, but it was snowing. And Abby had been shot.

Kennedy thought it over for a moment longer before sighing. “We might as well head down that way,” he said, hesitating for just a moment before starting forward. The snow wasn’t deep yet, and he was grateful for that. “Why couldn’t this have happened in the summer?” He grumbled under his breath, a frown settling on his features. The summer would have made the dead bodies stink to high heaven, but he honestly thought that he would have been able to handle it if it meant not freezing to death. In another life, the snow would have been pretty to watch falling to the ground. He ran his hand over his face, willing himself to be positive. He needed to be positive. Hell, they both did. “What’d you do, before all this?” He asked, the realization hitting him that he honestly had no real clue what she did, or who she was.

The little whimper Sarah let out as Brendan kissed her sent a shiver down his spine. This woman was steadily becoming more and more irresistible to him; the way she gasped as he pinched her nip, the rock of her hips against his, and the way her eyes had gone dark. He knew she had been taunting him to try harder, but he couldn’t pull himself away to try and make some sort of smart comment back in return. He wanted the fire that was steadily growing between the two of them to consume them and pulling away would only be wasting time. It’d been a long time since he’d been with a woman who seemed like they could keep up with him, to take jabs back at him and make him try to think. He liked it.

A low noise left him occasionally at the grind of her hips down against his, knowing that with every movement he wanted the rest of their clothes off more and more. He was pleasantly surprised as she lifted herself to grind herself against his hand instead as he finally pushed down her zipper all the way. Damn, he thought to himself. He found the that fact she was trying to find any sort of friction from him was incredibly attractive and he kissed her with even more fervor, beginning to slip his hand into the front of her pants. He paused, however, when she dropped back down on his lap and his hand slipped to her lower stomach with the movement. A quiet laugh left him as she spoke and a crooked grin pulled at his features, shaking his head a bit in response.

“Don’t be sorry,” he told her, his voice quiet and slightly husky, “I thought it was fucking hot.” He let out a short breath of air as she pressed her mouth to the corner of his lips, eyes slipping open just slightly to look at her with a heavy-lidded gaze. He needed the both of them naked, and he needed them naked now. He was still fighting a bit to catch his breath, which only became even harder to do when he felt her fingertip beneath the top of his jeans and slipping around to the front. A low rumble of a hum in agreement left him as she spoke of his pants being in the way and his eyes slipped shut for a moment as her lips found his jaw. Another hum left him shortly after she’d said her jeans were in the way as well. “I guess we’ll have to fix that,” he murmured softly.

His hands went up to her ribcage for a moment, looking up at her and taking her all in before they slowly smoothed down her sides. His thumbs latched down onto the tops of her jeans, easily sliding the fabric down until he hit about mid-thigh. There was no way he’d be able to get her jeans off while they were positioned like this. So, he wrapped his arms around her and guided her onto her back, hovering over her for a moment. Achingly slowly, he kissed his way from her jaw, down her neck, along her sternum, and then her stomach as he slipped down her body and pulled her jeans down the rest of the way. His teeth found the crest of her hip when he finally slung the fabric from her body and across the room. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her to stand beside the bed, quickly unbuttoning and zipping his own jeans before stepping out of them. Quickly, he took his place between her legs once more, leaning over her and studying her closely before wrapping his arms around her midsection, and pulling her up so that she was sitting on his lap once more.

A low hum left him at the feel of the two of them pressed together through the thin layer of underwear that now stood as the only barrier between the two of them. “Better?” He murmured, teeth and open mouth trailing along her neck as his hands massaged her hips.

---

Abby hadn’t really been paying attention when Kennedy reacted to what she’d said about being the doctor. She was definitely going to blame blood loss for how freely she was speaking. For a girl so shy, the only other thing that could loosen her lips was alcohol and she certainly hadn’t had any of that. She would definitely hold him to giving her some of that bourbon that he’d thought to grab. If anyone needed to get their mind off of things, it was certainly those two. Of course, they wouldn’t drink a drop if she didn’t feel safe wherever they found to rest for the night. She hoped where ever they stopped had hot running water because she felt like she needed a bath. Her own blood was drying on her arm and she could feel the speckles of the man’s blood drying on her face. Abby tried to not think about the amount of blood she’d seen in the past few days too much.

Her gaze darted over to him as he gaped at her, brows lifting for a moment before her cheeks flooded with color at the realization of what she’d said. Shit, she was really out of it. His next comment had her pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and biting down hard on it, cheeks burning brightly as she ducked her head a bit. “Yeah…well…get a girl tipsy and…uh…” Her voice died off and she lifted her good arm and hand to rub at her cheek, bashfully looking away. They were not going to have this conversation. Not in the middle of the street. Not while she was dead-sober. Though, part of her was secretly pleased with how he’d reacted.

“I’m sorry. I’m tired…and my filter tends to go…” She murmured once her cheeks felt less flushed and more tingling from the cold. Her injured arm was letting off shockwaves of throbbing pain, though she supposed she was still in shock, because it still wasn’t as bad as she thought being shot would have been. Or maybe it really hadn’t been a very powerful gun. She frowned a bit, hugging her arm close to her side so it wouldn’t inadvertently swing as she walked. When Kennedy questioned her, her gaze lifted back to his back and she drew in a deep breath of air. “I think they were out of town this week on vacation…or something. Maybe we can break in,” she told him. “It’s at least is better than being our here once it goes completely dark. Who knows how long we have until the streetlights stop working.”

She took slow, sure steps behind him as they headed in the direction of Briar. Abby’s gaze trained on a few of the snowflakes as they flittered to the ground around her, a cold, damp wind stinging at her cheeks. The woman forced herself to focus on her surroundings, more importantly the fact that at any point they could run into zombies or a bunch of terrible, vile human beings. “I actually don’t mind the winter too much,” she murmured. “But…that may change if I can’t get my fuzzy socks and hot chocolate to stave off the cold,” she added solemnly. A slight frown pulled at her lips at the thought, knowing that their lives were going to be vastly different from here on out. She glanced to his back as he questioned her, thankful that the snow hadn’t yet begun to stick to the sidewalks and make them slick. “I was in vet school,” she told him quietly. “I’ve honestly felt more at ease around animals than other humans.” She dragged her tongue across her lips to wet, already feeling them beginning to chap with the wind and cold. “What about you? What did you do?” She questioned just as quietly.

For a moment, Sarah wished that she could go back in time and remember to pack condoms in her backpack. The pack was currently in the study or office or whatever the hell it had been, dropped there when she’d first gotten there, and forgotten about when she’d heard someone downstairs. It held the essentials - a water bottle, a change of clothes, a jacket, some matches, and some other odds and ends. But one thing she hadn’t thought to pack was condoms. It was almost unfair. The sex was going to be good. She knew that, could feel it in every nerve in her body and everywhere that he’d touched. But after this, the condom was used. If they stayed together - which she still wasn’t a hundred percent sure about - they couldn’t have sex. Her birth control was going to wear off soon enough, and she wasn’t going to risk it, even if she liked him. Which she did - or, at least, liked how he made her feel.

“Pretty sure,” she began, pulling away just enough to speak. She had to take in a deep breath before she spoke, to make sure that she could get an entire sentence out. “Pretty sure you’d think anything I did right now was fucking hot.” She grinned at him. The room was getting darker, light from the street lamp filtering in through the window, but it wasn’t much. His face was mostly in shadows, but she could make out enough of him. She could hear him trying to catch his breath, which made her heart jump. She was the reason he was breathing a little heavier. God, she didn’t want to leave that room. She just wanted to hide in that corner of the house and pretend that the outside was fine, that everything was fine and nothing had happened.

But she didn’t need to pretend, not really. Not when his hands were against her skin, and then sliding her jeans down. She let herself be guided onto her back, really liking how he’d managed to shift their positions so easy. But then he was kissing down her jaw and neck and lower and lower, his mouth hot against her skin. She let out a soft sigh, the ache between her legs growing with every touch of his lips. She just wanted to shove her jeans and underwear off immediately and get his mouth on her skin permanently. Shakily, she let out a breath as his teeth were against her hip. If she’d been a bit more collected, she would have told him exactly where she wanted his mouth. But instead, she let out a whine at the loss of contact. She felt drunk, hazy in a way that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Lazy, she turned her head to watch him, unabashedly looking him up and down as he stepped out of his jeans. Fuck, even his legs looked good.

There was something about the way that he looked at her that made her stomach flip pleasantly. Her hands grasped against his shoulders as he pulled her up, and she gave a weak nod. It was hard to think with his fingers pressed into her skin and his lips against her neck. She tilted her head a little to give him easier access. “Much better,” she murmured, letting her fingers twine in his hair. It was better, the feeling of skin against skin a thousand times better than jeans against jeans. But it made her impatient, wanting more faster. The fact that their underwear was the only thing separating them made everything even more… more. So she ground her hips against his, practically gasping at the feeling. She paused for a moment only to do it again, this time harder. “Brendan,” she breathed out, her teeth biting her lower lip harshly. She let it go, another shaky breath leaving her mouth. “I’m pretty sure that I’m going to explode if you don’t do something.”

---

“You sure you’re going to be able to handle the bourbon?” Kennedy asked her, a faint smirk settling on his features despite the way his own cheeks were flushing. It was easier to focus on this, the teasing and lightness of anything but their current situation. It was nicer, too. He could pretend that they were just old friends, walking through the snow and laughing quietly in the middle of the night instead of what was really going on. There weren’t any zombies along the street, or even actual, living humans out there. He figured that if he tried hard enough, he might even be able to convince himself that everything was normal. He’d taken plenty of girls on dates where they’d ended up walking around the city in the middle of the night, laughing and grinning at each other until they ended up at one of their apartments. This felt too close to that, and he realized it was a bit disconcerting.

He shook his head at her, chuckling quietly. “It’s fine, really. Nothing I’ve heard before.” He wondered if it was because she was tired, or because of the blood loss. Vaguely, he remembered reading or seeing somewhere about blood loss and its effects. Your mental filter going could be a sign of it. He wasn’t sure how much blood she’d actually lost, but he figured that it was enough to be concerned about. He glanced over to her, watching her carefully as she spoke. She didn’t seem like she was going to pass out any time soon. That was good. Not that he wanted her to pass out at all, but he would much rather her to pass out in a secure apartment than just on the street. If zombies showed up, he wasn’t sure how they’d be able to escape if he’d have to carry her as well as run. “Breaking in is good. They might even still have their power on.” The thought made some hope well up within him. If there was power, that meant that it might be warm. Hell, they could even get a shower if they wanted to.

Kennedy let out a soft laugh at her words. He didn’t say it aloud for fear of being pessimistic, but he was pretty sure that every single sentient human on the planet was going to hate winter by the end of it. Or, at least in their hemisphere. Or just in their country. He still wasn’t sure where everything had hit. “You want me to steal some fuzzy socks for you?” He asked her, a slow grin curling his lips. He wouldn’t mind finding her some fuzzy socks if it ‘d make her feel better. “I’m not sure how practical the hot chocolate would be, but I’d bet your friends might have some once we get to their apartment.” He tugged his beanie over his ears, trying to get it to go down as far as possible. He looked forward, gaze raking across the street ahead. The snow was coming down, just heavy enough that he was having a little trouble seeing. But with the streetlights, it wasn’t impossible. He returned his focus to her, lighting up at her answer. “You were in vet school? That’s awesome. Animals are way better than humans.”

He pressed his lips together, hesitating for a moment. What did you do. It wasn’t a ‘do’ anymore, it was a ‘did. He realized that he’d said it in a similar way to her earlier, but still, it was weird for him to hear aloud. “I was a high school teacher,” he said softly. “I mainly taught history, but I’d occasionally have to take over some english lit classes if they were down a teacher.” His fingers tapped against his leg as he rolled his shoulders back to adjust the backpack. “It wasn’t a shit ton of money, but I liked the kids and I’d get the summers off.” A tinge of guilt darted through him when he realized that he hadn’t thought about the kids at all since he’d first come across Abby. Sure, some of them were absolute pricks, but they were teenagers. None of them deserved this.

Brendan grinned a bit against her skin as she agreed with him, hands gripping at her hips as he continued to bite, suck, and press open-mouthed kisses to her skin. His mouth trailed up her jaw, pulling away just before he reached her mouth again. With half-shut eyes, he let his gaze slip over what he could see of her slowly. He was beginning to think this was going to be extremely unfair. They were going to do this now and without another chance and finding any more condoms, they wouldn’t be able to do this again. He got the feeling that Sarah was going to prove to be rather addicting. When they weren’t trying to stay alive, he figured trying to abstain from keeping her the way she was right now and keeping her pressed against him so tightly.

Her fingers in his hair was proving to be rather relaxing, chipping away a bit at the pleasant anxiousness that came before going to bed with someone. He let out a soft, strained sort of noise as she ground her hips down against his, bottom lip finding its way between his teeth as he drew in a sharp breath of air through his nose. When she did it again, this time even harder, he realized that he probably should have gotten them out of their underwear too. His sense of touch had been heightened and the thin barrier of cloth between them was suddenly the most irritating thing in the world to him. When she said his name, his eyes snapped up to hers, watching with darkened eyes as she bit her bottom lip. He found himself distracted for a moment by the way her teeth tore at her skin before she spoke again. A low hum left him at her words and he lifted a brow.

“And we wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?” He murmured quietly, too afraid of speaking any louder as it may have broken the quiet, intimate setting they’d closed themselves into for the night. His hands slipped from her hips, hands resting on her shoulders and forearms cradling her back as he guided her onto her back once more. Brendan’s face hovered close to hers, chest pressed against hers as his gaze raked over her features. His hands pulled out from beneath her, breath uneven and hurried as he hooked his thumbs into his boxers and quickly pulled them down his thighs. He shimmied out of them, kicking them off the foot of the bed. The air of the room felt cool against the newly exposed skin, but it quickly warmed at the thought of ridding the last item of clothing that separated the two of them.

Pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, he leaned back on his haunches, fingertips slipping beneath the tops of her underwear and he slowly began to pull them down her legs. His eyes took in the newly exposed skin, fingertips taking note to slide against her smooth skin every chance he got. He leaned himself far enough back to pull her underwear off entirely, slinging them off to side. Pausing for a moment, he let his eyes wander over her in full before slipping between her legs once more. Brendan’s hands slipped up her thighs. He kept one hand on her hips but the other grasped at the condom. Tearing open the wrapper with his teeth, he pulled the condom out and slowly rolled it over his length. He let out a shaky breath of air, hands going back to Sarah’s waist for a moment as he leaned over her, leveling his face with hers for a moment. “You ready?” He questioned softly, partially asking her this question to make sure if she had any reservations she had a chance to push him away.

---

Abby shot a glance over to Kennedy as he spoke, pulling a bit of a frown at his question. It quickly turned into a bit of a crooked grin as she thought more on it. “I guess you’ll just have to give me some to see,” she shot back at him, eyes lifting to his back for a moment. The grin dropped a bit as she shot a look behind her, making sure that no one and nothing was following behind them. She sighed softly when she realized they were still relatively alone, glad for that. Turning back to Kennedy, she eyed him for a few moments. If she blocked out the pain in her arm or the fear that was still gripping her tightly, she could have pretended they were merely out late at night and that he was walking her back to her apartment. She knew it was cold, but with the distraction the snow provided, it made it seem like it wasn’t so bad. She would have honestly preferred things that way; their reality was far too terrifying and dire.

Her attention was reeled back in when he spoke, turning to him and offering him a small, sheepish smile. “I know, I just…” She paused for a moment, brow furrowing slightly as she shook her head a bit. “I keep saying we’re strangers, but…” Her voice died off again. Would have been too much to say that they both felt like complete strangers, but also like they had known each other for a longtime. Perhaps it was the situation they’d been thrown into together. When things became a matter of life or death, any sort of social anxiety or shyness seemed to fall by the wayside. Abby couldn’t bring herself to tell him that, for the foreseeable future, it looked like they were all the other person had. She frowned a bit for a moment before her eyes lifted to him. “I honestly would just be happy with a safe place to rest for a little,” she told him, though she secretly hoped the building was warm and she could wash off.

A smile curled her lips at the sound of the laugh that had left him. It made her happy that they at least hadn’t lost the ability to find humor, despite the world around them. Her eyes studied her back for a few moments before she drew in a deep breath of air. At his next comment, she let out a soft laugh, lips pulling back into a bright smile for a moment. He really was too kind, far more kind than most people she’d interacted with and met in what used to be her day-to-day life. “No,” she replied quietly, “fuzzy socks are a bit of a luxury.” She paused for a moment, thinking about it before adding, “But I wouldn’t turn them away if we happened to stumble upon a pair.” She grunted a bit as she moved her injured arm a bit too much, wincing slightly and hugging it tightly to her body once more. “I’m sure they do. I honestly just want a drink or two…or three,” she murmured, lips pursing for a moment. The way he’d reacted to the news of her being a vet brought another bright smile to her features. “Not too far along. I just got an Associates in Applied Sciences to fall back on, but…yeah,” she replied, biting her lip for a moment as she realized just how the career path she’d tried setting out on was now worth nothing. “Most humans, at least,” she added, shooting him a look before focusing on the snow that fell around them.

Her attention was brought back to him as he spoke, brows lifting slightly in surprise as he told her what he’d done before today. To be honest, she didn’t know exactly what she’d thought he’d done, but it definitely wasn’t a high school teacher, let alone a history one. But now that she thought about, what little she’d seen of his personality, it oddly fit him. “That’s…respectable,” she told him, nodding her head a bit. She eyed him for a few moments, noting that the street sign for Briar was now visible through the snow. “And, again…I’m going to blame my lack of filter, but…a guy with a brain for teaching and kids? That’s really attractive,” she murmured, cheeks flushing slightly again.

Brendan’s mouth was magic. Sarah was sure of it. Mainly because there was no humanly possible way that any many could make her feel that good with just his mouth - on her skin. Maybe it was because she’d been so keyed up earlier, that her terror had somehow turned into arousal? Or maybe she just wanted to be this turned on, to push away everything else that was going on. No matter what the reason, though, she really didn’t care. Sure, she’d care later on, but then? She just wanted him. She let out a soft gasp at a certain bite of his, her eyes slipping shut. God, this was almost ridiculous. For a moment, a faint groan of a zombie made its way through to her brain. She didn’t pause or tense up. She wanted - no, needed - this to continue, so she couldn’t let her tiny burst of panic be known.

She focused on the feel of his hair against her fingers. Or the way he felt beneath her. How she felt like she would explode if he pulled away from her even for a second. She watched him carefully, noting the way his lip looked between his teeth. The noise that he’d let out should have been illegal, and she wanted to hear it again. Even more so, she wanted to be the cause of that noise. A thrill hummed through her as his eyes shifted to hers. They were dark, so dark as they watched her. Not for the first time, she cursed the apocalypse. If they’d met before all of this, they could have just holed up in her apartment for an entire weekend, having sex on every single available surface. Now, they had a single condom. That was it. Maybe this was the definition of hell - getting some of what could possibly be the best sex of her life, and then being stuck trying to survive with him while never getting laid again because there’s no more fucking condoms.

Sarah didn’t bother responding, instead just focusing on him. Her hand held onto his shoulder, not wanting to fall back as he laid her down beneath him. His face was closer to hers, closer than she’d initially realized since his chest was pressed rather pleasantly. He had nice eyes. She watched carefully, eyes solely on his boxers as he tugged them off. She’d never been one to just get instantly turned on at the sight of a naked guy, but she could appreciate the form. And he had a nice one. A slow, wolfish grin spread across her lips as her gaze slid up slowly, settling on his features. Ignoring the way they might have gotten on the other’s nerves earlier, she decided that she might have hit the jackpot in the apocalypse-survivor-buddy jackpot.

But then, all thoughts of hitting the jackpot and how good he looked went out the window the second his fingertips dipped beneath her underwear. His touch was too sparse to be enjoyed, but it was enough to drive her mad. She just wanted his hands on her constantly. Granted, she was being a bit impatient considering he was tugging her underwear off. She let out a soft sigh as his hands slid up her skin. She smiled faintly at the question. It was nice for him to be that thoughtful. She didn’t answer right away, instead opting to lean up and press her lips against his. She nipped at his lower lip, tugging gently before letting it go. She pulled away, just enough to speak. “I’m ready,” she answered, her voice soft. “I’m really ready.”

---

“You see, an answer like that makes me think that you can’t handle it,” Kennedy teased, giving her a quick grin. He tugged his jacket closer to him, balling up his hands in an effort to generate more warmth. He really should have thrown on a warmer jacket. His was fine for the time being, but he wasn’t sure how long it would last if the temperature dropped. He figured that he’d have to snag one from a store before they made it out to the country. He hoped - no, prayed - that they’d get there sooner rather than later. If anything, Abby needed to rest. And for longer than just a night. It hadn’t been as deep as it could have been, but still, getting shot would take a lot out of anyone. It wasn’t fair for her to have to make her travel for longer than what was needed.

He gave her a small nod. “I know what you mean. Apparently between the apocalypse and getting shot, you tend to feel like you really know a person,” he said, offering her a sly sort of grin. He could vaguely remember someone telling him about how intense situations make people bond faster. And he could see that. He could remember being nineteen and working for an absolute dick of a boss. All of the employees had become a pretty tight knit group within a week, just due to how horrible it had been. And the apocalypse was infinitely worse than that. “Yeah, but I bet their power is still on. It seems to be on in most of the city,” he said. The streetlights were still on, which said a lot. He knew that if they were off, then there was real trouble.

He glanced over to her, feeling a bit of pride well up at the sight of her smile. It was kind of nice to know that he was still able to make someone smile despite all of the shit that was going on. “So what you’re saying is that I should definitely steal a pair of fuzzy socks should we come across any,” he said, giving her a faint grin. He reached up, tugging his hat over his ears once more. It felt like no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the hat to stay down. The wind wasn’t biting as much, but the temperature was steadily growing colder. He was starting to think that turning to the bourbon might be a good way to warm up. “You feeling alright?” He questioned, catching sight of her wince. He glanced around, pausing for a second. He thought he heard something, but he wasn’t sure. He hurried his pace, but kept the conversation going. No point in worrying her over nothing. “Hot chocolate honestly sounds amazing right now.” The thought of anything warm sounded amazing. “Shit, that’s… That’s smart,” he marveled. He shook his head at her words. “I don’t know. I’ve yet to meet a dog that was worse than a human,” he laughed.

“I’m not sure about respectable. I mainly did it because, like I said, I got the summers off, and I got to interact with more kids than adults,” Kennedy shrugged. Respectable wasn’t a word he would apply to himself. God knew everyone that had known him had tried to tell him to do something else. But he liked teaching the kids, and honestly, getting paid to geek out over the musical Hamilton wasn’t half bad. He ducked his head, glancing over to her with an almost shy chuckle. “You know, a guy could really get used to your lack of filter,” he said, grinning at her. He stole a glance behind them. There wasn’t anything, but something resembling nerves was settling into his gut. “If I said that you being a vet was pretty attractive, could I blame it on my lack of filter?”

Brendan pulled his lips between his teeth for a moment as he took the time to look over Sarah. Maybe he was taking advantage of the fact that he’d been fortunate enough to be housed with this nearly-complete stranger that just so happened to be a woman; an extremely attractive woman who was able to drive him made so easily it was confounding him. Had he been “teamed” up wth a man, he knew he would not be in the same position he was in. Not that he thought there was anything wrong with that—to each his own—but that was not how his boat floated. He realized this was the last time he could potentially have sex…ever. He realized that Sarah could potentially be the last woman he’d ever see alive. He’d gotten lucky thus far; he’d made it to safety for the night, with a beautiful woman, who he was about to have sex with. Perhaps this meant his luck was about to run out, spent all on getting to this point…or maybe this meant his string of good luck would keep going. He honestly wasn’t going to waste too much time thinking about it, especially when he was this close to getting what he wanted.

He licked his lips as he leaned over her, drawing in a deep breath of air as his eyes slipped over her features. He braced a hand just beside her, while his other hand slipped down her side, lazily, yet gently taking in the contours of her shape in the steadily darkening room. He sighed softly as he offered her a small smile, though it grew in size when she leaned up to press her lips against his. That was answer enough for him, but he was determined to take things slow and not to rush this. He felt they both needed this to somehow ground them before being thrown back into the grim reality of the hoards shuffling by outside and whatever chaos had been left for anyone left living. A shuddering breath of air left him as her teeth found his bottom lip and pulled at it before she spoke. When she verbally affirmed what he’d asked, he grinned down at her, eyes flickering over what he could see of her.

His hand grasped at her hip for a moment, mouth dipping down to press soft kisses along her jawline, continuing down her neck. Brendan’s hand slipped over the crest of her hip, fingertips slipping over the place where her thigh met her torso, and down between her legs. With two, gentle fingertips, he slipped them along her core, expertly finding the nub between her legs and rubbing it a few times as his teeth found the crook of her neck. He drew in a deep breath of air through his nose, positioning himself at her entrance before his hand grasped at her hip once more. Slowly, he pressed into her, sliding in until she fully enveloped him and he let out a shaky, soft moan, forehead dipping to rest on her collarbone as he stilled. It really had been far too long or their teasing had been far too much; that simple motion and the feel of her surrounding him was enough to drive him insane.

The man pressed his lips against her skin a few times, slowly pulling his hips back, almost exiting her before he thrust them forward, moving a bit faster than the first time. He set up a slow, rolling pace hips grinding up against hers before he pulled away just to press forward once more. Even though every bit of him was yelling at him to just drive into her with reckless abandon, the small, rational side of him told him that he needed to pace himself—to make this moment count in case this was the last time either of them had human contact in such an open intimate way. He managed to pull his eyes open to look down at her as he thrust his hips forward, grinning slightly to himself before one of his hands found her breast, grasping at it as he leaned forward to catch her ear between his teeth and let out a soft groan against her skin.

---

Abby shot Kennedy a less-than enthused look, though the grin still played on her lips. “I was intending on being mysterious,” she murmured with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head. “As long as you feed me enough bad, cheap food, I can handle pretty much anything you throw my way,” she murmured. “Except for maybe well tequila. Well tequila and I are not friends,” she added with a dramatic sort of wrinkle of her nose. He noted he was fighting off the cold that seemed to be pressing in closer and closer around the two of them. She knew the throbbing of almost the entirety of her arm was proving to be a distraction from the cold. Despite this, she felt a bit bad for not attempting to grab more warm things for Kennedy to wear before they left the small corner grocery store.

The woman used a single hand to push the front of her beanie down, glancing over to Kennedy as he spoke and letting out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I’d say that’ll probably do it,” she agreed with a broad grin. She paused for a moment, glancing around ahead of them for a few moments before adding, “If it’s any consolation, I wish we’d managed to run into each other before now.” She gave a shrug of a single shoulder, knowing she shouldn’t shift her injured arm around too much. Her gaze shifted to the streetlights that tried their hardest to cut through the snow that was falling with their faded yellow light, but failed to illuminate the area completely like it would have without the snow. “Which means we probably won’t risk burning the whole apartment complex down trying to keep warm,” she said with a wry laugh.

She pulled her lips between her teeth, shrinking down into her jacket as a cold wind blew past the two of them for a moment before all went still once more. If Abby listened hard enough, she could hear the moans and groans of the living dead in what she hoped was the distance. She did not feel like running into one of them headfirst, especially not after getting shot. “I don’t think it’s considered stealing anymore,” she said with a small shrug before glancing over at Kennedy. “I mean, I’m taking a pair if I find them, but if you wanted a pair, go right ahead,” she jested with a soft laugh. Her lips pulled down into a small frown as she noted him failing to keep his hat down and she realized that she probably should have grabbed one of those hats with the ear flaps for him. Maybe her friends had one she could give to him—she doubted they’d be coming home anyways. She glanced over at him as he questioned her and she offered him a small smile and a nod. “I moved my arm the wrong way. I’m fine though,” she told him, leaving the part out about how much her arm was hurting. “If they don’t have hot chocolate, I know they’ll at least have tea,” she said, her heart giving a slight twinge in her chest at the thought of her friends being caught up in all of this mess so far from home. “I’m…not…” She stumbled over her words, shaking her head a bit. “It’s not smart. I just… like learning,” she said finally. “That’s very true. And I’ve never had a human get as excited to see me as a dog does.”

Abby scoffed at Kennedy’s words, shaking her head slowly. “Dude, you get paid close to nothing to bring up the next generation,” she told him, strength behind her tone. “If that’s not respectable, I don’t know what is.” She shot him a look and a crooked grin before it fell slightly. She glanced behind her, cursing the snow for reducing just how far she was able to see around them. It wasn’t helping the steadily growing sense of unease growing within her. The feeling dimmed a bit when Kennedy spoke and she offered him a sheepish sort of grin. “You say that now,” she murmured wryly, eyes widening for a moment before she ducked her head just a bit. At his next comment, she flushed slightly before she surprised herself by saying, “I’m not sure if you’ve had a filter the entire time we’ve known each other. And…I mean, I am—in your words—‘one hell of a doctor’.” She grinned over at him, stopping for a moment as the reached the corner of the street they were on and Briar. “While we’re on the subject, I bet you’d be one hell of a teacher,” she added with an impish sort of grin, shooting a sidelong glance to him before glancing around cautiously. There wasn’t anything she could see, but the heavy snowfall could easily have cloaked anything lurking just beyond what they could see. “The building’s not too far now. It’s grey brick, big windows in the front,” she murmured, nodding her head in the direction of the building.

Sarah’s heart was stuttering. That was the only way that she could describe the way it was beating, too fast and making her chest feel all fluttery and excited. For a brief moment in between saying that she was ready and his mouth against her jaw, she realized just how this could go. They have sex. They somehow end up sticking together - which wasn’t that hard to imagine. She didn’t feel like trying to survive the apocalypse on her own, and Brendan was the first living person she’d seen in awhile. She wouldn’t mind sticking together. But it was what could happen after they stuck together for awhile. She tended to get attached to people after a certain point in time, and getting attached to Brendan wouldn’t do her any good. Odds were that one of them would die. Statistically, women lived longer than men. The whole being turned into zombie epidemic might have fucked that up though.

What would happen if she got attached, and he got bit? What then? She still wasn’t sure how long it took for them to turn. She wasn’t sure what was worse. Being turned fast meant that you had to put the person down immediately, and the risk was too big. Slow, though, slow was worse. Slow meant watching each change in a person. Watching as their face paled, their breathing slowed. Their words start to slur, their eyes flutter shut. Waiting for the inevitable moment where they were officially gone and you were stuck putting a bullet between their eyes. Was she ready to do that, if she ended up getting attached to him? She didn’t get an answer to that, though, because the moment was over the moment he pressed a soft kiss to her jaw. It was to hard to focus on the future when his hand was on her hip and sliding down, down, down. She let out a soft, shuddery gasp the second his fingertips hit that right spot.

Holy shit, it must have been awhile for her. It hadn’t been that long, she knew, but she felt like it must have been longer for the way her body reacted to him pressing into her. She couldn’t decide whether she wanted him to go fast or slow. A part of her wanted it to be fast and over with. It’d be easier that way, after they were done. Just to treat it like another ridiculously hot one night stand. But the other - possibly stupider - part of her brain wanted it to go slow. For them to appreciate how it felt, in case this was it for the both of them. For all they knew, a zombie could be sneaking up the stairs right then, ready to turn them into naked, lifeless zombies. Not that zombies could use stairs - she thought. There were worse ways to go than during sex with a really attractive guy.

It took Sarah a couple of thrusts to get her head on straight. The slow pace was going to drive her insane. She blinked slowly, eyelids fluttering before she managed to open them, eyes locking onto his. The grin that settled on his lips made something flicker in her chest, something warm and needy that made her hips grind back against his. A gasp left her swollen lips as she arched her back into his touch. “Bren - Brendan,” she moaned, her teeth biting at her lip. She reached up and dragged her nails down his chest, her breathing quickening. Suddenly, there wasn’t a horde of zombies outside, and they weren’t in some stranger’s home, taking refuse there. Instead, it felt just like it had before - as though they were in her apartment and they’d met at a bar a couple of hours earlier. “Fuck - I - Fuck, right there,” she mumbled, hips thrusting back against his.

---

“Oh, was that it?” Kennedy asked, a smirk settling on his lips. She was cut when she grinned like that. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to stock up on cheap, bad food, but I’ll try my hardest. We can’t have you getting trashed on bourbon,” he laughed. He shook his head at her words, making a face at the mention of tequila. He’d had plenty of wild nights due to drinking just a bit too much tequila. “Tequila hates me,” was all he said, caught up in his thoughts. He and his friends from college had spent countless nights getting drunk off of cheap vodka and tequila - or whatever else had been on sale at the liquor store. For a moment, his chest lurched at the thought of them. He’d never see them again, most likely. They’d been scattered across the country as it was, but now, there was little hope of ever seeing them again.

His laugh was soft, about the same as hers. Her grin was making his chest do weird things, and he didn’t appreciate it. But he couldn’t help it when he mimicked her grin with one of his own, it widening even more at her words. “Yeah? You do?” He asked her, his grin turning almost cocky. He wished that they’d managed to run into each other before then too. Sure, she might not have been his usual type - as horrible as that sounded - but he’d like to think that she would have caught his attention anyways. She was pretty and smart and funny, and had been on the way to becoming a vet. His gaze slipped to her shoulder, frowning when she shrugged, even if it wasn’t the injured shoulder that was moving. “I’d rathe not be known as the idiot that died by burning an apartment complex down during a zombie apocalypse.”

He gave a shrug of his shoulders. “It steal feels kind of like stealing to me, though. Like, what if everything gets back to normal and the owner needs to do inventory and he’s down stuff? Not only did he have to survive the apocalypse, but now they’re short of… Oreos, or something,” he argued. He was getting exhausted, apparently, because he couldn’t imagine himself rambling on about being short of inventory during an apocalypse when he was fully awake. “Stealing a pair of fuzzy socks would be worth it, though. Those sucks are comfortable as hell.” He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as they walked, watching the way the snow fell. It was kind of nice if he didn’t think about it. “Just tell me if it starts to feel worse,” he said, giving her a pointed look. Tea sounded good to him at that moment. Whatever kind of tea was available loaded with a bunch of sugar and a little splash of milk. That sounded perfect. He turned his head to look at her properly, eyes widening as she stumbled over her words. “It is smart, though. You’re smart. It’s not a compliment if it’s a fact,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “If we find a dog, we’re going to keep it,” he decided.

Kennedy let his head roll back as he sighed, shaking his head slowly. “That’s - it’s not - it’s only respectable if that’s what you’re in it for. I just… I get along with teenagers better than I do with adults,” he said, glancing over to her before looking away. It didn’t really matter whether it was respectable or not; being a teacher wasn’t going to help them at all. “I don’t know. I think I’m going to say it later, too.” His eyes widened at her words, and a flush similar to hers tinged his cheeks. Maybe he needed to start watching what he was saying. The last thing he needed was to offend her or something. “I didn’t - I’m not - I - Mmhmm,” he said, finishing with a hum because he had no idea how to respond to that. One hell of a teacher. Damn. He really wished that they had met before all of this. He would have been insanely into her. “Grey brick, big windows. Got it,” he said, eyes roaming the streets. “You think you can walk any faster? I’m just… I don’t know. I feel like something is going to happen, y’know?”

If Brendan had asked for a distraction, he couldn’t have found a better one that in Sarah. He knew it was just lust, just a carnal need to feel skin against skin, to feel needed and wanted for however long their moment lasted. His pulse was racing, his mind was pleasantly relieved of all thoughts spare the beautiful woman in the bed with him, and his body was alight. He was fooling himself into thinking that this moment could last forever and that they could forget about way lay in tomorrow. This had to have been the most intense lay he’d had in a while; though he chalked that up to the fact that their lives had suddenly become so up in the air and uncertain. The last time it had felt like this, it had been with a long term girlfriend and attachments like that he just would not allow.

He could have listened to the shaky intake of air that she made at the beckoning of his fingertips over and over again. There was something in the way that a woman could react that could be almost more pleasurable than the act itself. While he did like to give control over to the woman at times, taking control and getting reactions like that were equally as nice. Part of his was scared they’d have this moment interrupted by a zombie, or by the power going out, or by one of them realizing that distracting themselves in such a way probably wasn’t the smartest of ideas. He stopped his train of thought right there, as if he knew that he didn’t want to run the risk of thinking himself out of taking advantage of the only condom they had at the moment.

When her eyes met his, his grin grew a bit. Though, as she ground her hips against his and arched her body against his, he dropped his head forward as a low, guttural moan left him and hand him squeezing her hips a bit tighter in response. For a moment, he wondered if she knew just what that simple movement had done, but then she was stuttering out his name and causing goosebumps to break out on his skin. Licking his lips, he pulled his forehead from her shoulder, not missing a beat in the steady, slow, and rolling rhythm his thrusts had taken up, to gaze down at her. The sight of her biting on her lip had the thin control he had on their slow pace waning, and her fingertips slipping down her chest threatened to shred his control to bits, but he managed to hold on. His mouth met her jaw once more, one of his hands slowly slipping up her stomach to pinch at and gently roll one of her nipples between his fingertips before he grasped at one of her breasts. However, when she spoke again and what she said, did him in.

His thrusts became a bit quicker, a bit harder and in return his breathing became a bit hurried than it had been before. He could only hope that she kept rocking her hips up with his in time, the delicious friction it caused nearly sending him into a frenzy. “Keep talking,” he murmured in her ear, his voice low and gravelly as his hand slipped back down to grasp at her hip and pull her body into his thrusts. A low groan left him and he realized if they kept up like this, he’d spend himself sooner rather than later. He didn’t know if he wanted to end it so soon, especially when this could be the last time either of them would have been able to have sex. Still, there was always the off chance they could be interrupted before either of them finished, so he knew there had to be some sense of urgency between the two of them. “Fuck,” he breathed against her skin, teeth finding store in the crook of her neck before he peppered the skin there with distracted kisses and nibbles.

---

Abby shot a look over to Kennedy as he spoke, shaking her head slowly but the grin still pulled at her lips. She shrunk down into her scarf a bit to block out the cold for a moment, gaze slipping ahead as he spoke. “I will not get trashed,” she argued lightly, rolling her eyes a bit. “I might get pleasantly tipsy, bordering on drunk, but I will not get trashed. If anything, you should be more worried about me drinking you under the table,” she told him, smirking over at him for a moment before the expression dropped back into a grin. A soft laugh left her at his reaction to mentioning tequila, shooting a quick look around the two of them. “Yeah, it hates me too. Probably just about as much as I hate it,” she murmured wryly, remembering far too many instances where she’d drank too much tequila and ended up doing things she’d never have dreamt of sober. “I basically turn into a large child if I have too much tequila,” she added with another laugh.

She eyed him for a few moments, wondering if it was the smartest idea to fall into conversation so easily with someone. Tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, and while she trusted Kennedy, she knew things could change in the blink of an eye and they could end up separated. Dragging her tongue over her lips, she looked away, feeling a jab of fear and uncertainly rush through her at the thought of having to survive alone. She was injured, there was no way she’d make it on her own, at least not until she healed. “Yeah,” she finally answered honestly, glancing up at him for a moment and offering him a shy little grin, “I do. Knowing you before all of this would have been…nice.” She watched him for a few moments before looking away again, staring at anything but him. A dry laugh left her at his next statement and she shook her head a bit. “I can probably think of at least 5 other ways to go that are better than by fire,” she said, glancing over to Kennedy before watching the buildings they were walking by.

She couldn’t help but to wonder how many living people were still tucked away in their homes or how many of them had tried to escape the city. Abby could only hope that any humans they ran into would be a bit nicer to them than the lot they’d run into back at the grocery store. She wouldn’t bet on it though and she found herself thinking that outside of Kennedy, she’d try to avoid contact with any other humans. She was shaken from her thoughts by Kennedy trying to rationalize why stealing still felt like stealing and she shot him a look. “I think, if things ever got back to normal, we’d get some sort of leniency,” she said. Though, the more she thought about it, the more she realized things would probably never go back to normal. A small frown pulled at her lips before she glanced up at him and nodded in response. “Okay, mom,” she grumbled, another one of those wry grins curling at her lips. She’d worry about the future when they were safe, right now, she was just trying to keep the morale up and the two of them heading towards the apartment complex. A sheepish look came over her as he spoke about how her being smart was a fact and she shook her head, saying nothing, and shrinking down into her scarf. Though, she lit up when he mentioned the potential of finding a dog. “I’d like that…at least once we got out of the city,” she said, offering him a bright smile.

Her brow furrowed slightly as he replied to her, a small frown pulling at her lips. A soft sigh left her and she looked to the ground for a moment. “I get it. I kind of studied to become a vet for the same reason,” she told him honestly, glancing back up and over to him. A soft rasp of a laugh left her at his reaction to what she’d said, an impish sort of gleam in her eyes. It gave her some sort of satisfaction in the fact that they were completely sober and she’d somehow gotten him to stumble over his words. “Sorry,” she said, though her expression said she was anything but, “that damn filter again.” She shook her head for a moment before glancing up the buildings they were passing. She listened to him, eyes rounding on him once more. “Yeah, I can,” she said softly, lengthening her short strides to catch up to him and walk just behind him. She noted the grey building coming up close, but she could also catch sight of shadowy figures laying motionless on the ground. Was this another jumble of death and gore on the sidewalk, just like it had been in front of the grocery store?

It was almost dumb of Sarah to wish for it, but she wondered if they’d come across a grocery store or gas station or Walmart or something that would have sold condoms. Which was ridiculous, because this was a one and done. It had to be, even if they did magically come across some protection. She could handle one night stands, or even two night stands (or three, if the guy was good enough), but anything beyond that and she risked growing attached. She wasn’t going to risk anything close to that. It was hard enough for her as is, thinking of her family and friends trying to survive. Adding in someone that she cared about romantically was something that she just couldn’t deal with. Which meant that she needed to appreciate every second of this, because this was as far as it was going to go with the two of them.

She noticed that his grin grew, and her resolve to leave it at this single act grew shaky. She was having a hard time thinking in general with how good it all felt, but she was having an even harder time remembering when sex had been this good. She wondered if it had something to do with the adrenaline and panic that had been coursing through her system earlier. Her stomach swooped in excitement at the sound of his moan. She was barely containing herself. Who was she kidding? If they found condoms, she’d do him right there in the gas station. It was dumb. It was selfish. It was reckless. It was all of those things and when his mouth was on her jaw, she couldn’t remember a single reason why they shouldn’t take advantage of this. If they were going to die in this hellish world and be eaten by zombies, then they should be allowed to get laid.

A gasp left her swollen lips as he rolled one of her nipples, pressing up into his touch. Keep talking. Those two words lit a fire in her belly, the way his voice was so low was making her quiver. Could someone orgasm just at the sound of someone’s voice? She was being ridiculous. “Harder,” she managed to get out as he pulled her body up towards his. She was at a loss for words. Most of the time, she was fairly decent at dirty talk. While she wasn’t someone who talked constantly, she could usually keep up a steady stream of words during sex. But she was at a loss, mainly because a silent chant of fuck me had taken up in her mind. She moved her hips in time with his, rocking her hips up against him. “So good,” she mumbled. She let out a quiet moan, the friction almost too much for her.

Half of Sarah wanted to reach down and rub herself, but she felt like she’d be done in seconds if that happened. A fog had settled through her brain, one that was making it hard to think about anything rationally. “If you keep this up,” she began, dragging her nails down his side. She needed something to do to keep from going insane. “I’m going to fin-“ He hit a particular spot which made her groan almost instantly. She ground her hips against his for a moment before letting them go back to thrusting in time with his. The feeling of him kissing and nibbling at her neck was making her stomach flutter. It was a little disconcerting, a weird mix of butterflies and arousal. “Fuck me,” she said, the words being breathed out as she arched against him.

---

Kennedy let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head slowly. “You could get trashed though. Wouldn’t blood loss make it easier for it to affect you, or something?” He wasn’t sure if that was right. He knew that the loss of blood would affect something, but he just wasn’t sure what. Maybe them drinking bourbon wasn’t that good of an idea. But then again… What more could they have to lose, really? “I don’t know about you drinking me under the table. My college years really helped me develop my drinking. You could get alcohol poisoning if you tried to drink me under the table,” he grinned. His hands left his pockets, and he pressed his left hand’s fingers against his right palm, pressing until some of the knuckles made a soft ‘crack’. “Wait, you turn into a large child? Now we’re going to have to find some tequila. I’ve got to see this.” He laughed quietly, shooting her a quick grin. It softened a bit as he watched her. “I just tend to get overly emotional about everything and it annoys everyone I’m with.”

Some fluttery feeling darted through his chest as she watched him. He hadn’t mean to, but his gaze dropped to her mouth as her tongue ran over her lips. He jerked his head away, turning his attention to the snow before them. That was dumb. The last thing they needed was for him to be an idiot. “Knowing you before all this would’ve been nice too,” he said, glancing in her direction. He was disappointed that she wasn’t looking his way. The street lights illuminated her in a soft, orange-y glow. It made everything seem nice and quiet, as though it were some wintery night when it was so late that there weren’t any cars on the road. Those were some of his favorite nights, whether it’d be him and his friends or some girl, just roaming the streets when it was quiet. Before, he’d liked thinking that he was one of the few awake at that time. Now, it made him feel a little overwhelmed. Were they one of the few left in the city that hadn’t been turned? He felt like they were, like they could be one of the few left in the city. Or state. Or world. The thought made him sick.

“I don’t know, though. It’s the government. They’re going to fuck us over one way or the other,” he said, a sardonic little smile making its way onto his features. He was pretty sure that he’d be bitter about the government for the rest of his life, especially now with the way that they’d kind of fucked everyone over. Where was the army, or the CDC to take care of this? The news had covered some of it, but they hadn’t really made people realize what it was. It was the apocalypse. People thought it was just some thing. “Shut up,” he said, smiling faintly despite the roll of his eyes. Her grin made him feel a little better about feeling so overprotective. But he couldn’t help himself, though. The woman had been shot. Of course he was going to worry about her. “It’s got to be a good dog, though. Like a german shepherd or something. Shepherds were used to detect terminators in the movies. They’d probably be useful,” he said, thinking out loud. Any dog would probably come in handy, though he’d prefer a bigger one.

Kennedy glanced over to her, cocking a brow. It looked like they were more alike than he’d initially thought. It made him smile a little. “Adults kind of suck,” he said, laughing softly. They did suck. He much preferred the company of his friends or the teenagers that he taught. It was easier with them. Sure, they had their own issues to work with, but at least they were a little more honest than most adults. “Yeah. That damn filter,” he mumbled, shaking his head at her. God, it was going to be a long night if they were going to drink. “Fuck,” he said softly, noticing the bodies. He tried to listen for something - anything, really - but was coming up short. It didn’t mean that it was clear, just that the snow might have been muffling the horde. “What’s the plan? Is there a back entrance, or something?”

If they stuck together, and if they managed to find a safe place, Brendan was going to try to find condoms and they were going to do this again. It wasn’t often that he made future plans with a woman while having sex with her, but this was one of those few instances. He knew getting caught with their pants down, literally, would put a damper on their chances for survive, but he could think of few things that would be a better way to go, honestly. Besides surviving, he was certain that he wouldn’t allow any more of relationship to grow between the two of them beyond just sex. No way in hell would he allow any sort of attachment form between the two of them. The last thing either of them needed was a relationship to blossom in the midst of an apocalypse. It was making it easier to cope with the fact that pretty much everyone he knew was dead because he didn’t actually see it happen. Forming a relationship and having that ripped from him would probably tear him up.

His mouth continued its path down the hollow of her throat, humming low against her skin at the single word that left her. In response, he thrust his hips a bit harder against hers, hands gripping tighter at her hips to guide her into his thrusts. He was quickly losing his head and he needed to get a grip on it before he ended up finishing too early. Brendan doubted Sarah would appreciate that, especially after how long he’d let things build up between the two of them before them actually having sex. His teeth scraped at her skin, moaning quietly and roughly as she continued to move her hips in time with his. It wasn’t often he slept with woman who tried to move or do anything if he took control, and she seemed to already know exactly the way to move to send his senses into a tizzy.

Brendan pulled away for a moment to look down at her as he moved, drawing in a shaky breath of air as her nails skirted down his sides. His muscles tensed on their own beneath her fingers, eyes slipping over her features as she spoke. He had to use his mind to finish the rest as she was cut off by a moan. He let out his own noise as she ground her hips back up against his, pausing for just a brief moment before he continued moving again at the quick, hard pace he’d set up. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as she spoke, pausing again as she arched against him. That had almost done him in, quickly. One of his hands slipped from her hip, up her spine, to rest in between her shoulder blades as he pressed a few kisses along her jaw before pressing his lips against hers softly for a few moments.

His other arm wrapped around her waist, pressing their chests together as he quickly lifted her off of the bed and he sat back on his haunches. Brendan pulled her onto his lap, never disconnecting their lips or their bodies in any way. His hands slipped back down to her hips, one of his hands trailing down to the top of her thighs before he pulled away to look slightly up at her with half-lidded eyes. His chest was heavily and his skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat despite how cool the room around them was. A crooked grin curled at his lips as he looked over her before trailing his mouth along her collar bone. Using what limited range of movement he had, he ground his hips up against hers, letting out a soft groan at the pleasantly different change of friction the position they were in provided.

---

Abby mulled over Kennedy’s question for a moment before she shook her head a bit. “I guess it’s always a possibility. I don’t know though. I studied animals, not humans,” she murmured wryly, a small grin on her lips. She supposed it was a possibility she could get trashed easier than usual because of being injured, coupled with her lack of eating or drinking water. It would be stupid to allow herself to become inebriated, but if they found a place where they could lock themselves into, she didn’t see the harm in getting a little drunk. She—or they—deserved it after the day they’d had. She shot him a look as he spoke and she shook her head. “Hey, I went to college too,” she protested quietly. Her gaze darted down to his hands as he cracked his knuckles before her gaze darted up to his. She knew she’d probably regret telling him that about her. “No, you’re not going to get to see this. I’ve sworn off tequila for good. Unless you want me to become completely reliant on you and very clingy,” she told him, leveling him with a challenging sort of look before a slight grin curled her lips and she looked away. A quiet laugh left her at his next comment and she glanced back over to him once more. “Oh? Maybe we should find tequila after all…I love it when guys get emotional after drinking too much.”

She reached up with her uninjured arm and pushed her hat back down a bit more securely on her head. It seemed her curly hair was fighting against behind contained and perhaps she needed a bigger hat too. She glanced over to Kennedy, frowning a bit as she watched him look away from her suddenly. A soft hum left her as she looked away too, wondering what exactly was going on. She kept her gaze on the pavement in front of them, studying the footprints Kennedy was leaving in the pavement. Her lips twisted to the side for a moment and she drew in a deep breath of air through her nose, her cheeks tingling with the cold and feet beginning to go a bit numb, even with the shoes they’d grabbed for her. Her gaze slipped over to him as he spoke about the government, a wry grin curling her lips. “Yeah, that’s true. They’re all probably living swanky in some bunker somewhere. Waiting for all this to blow over,” she said bitterly, a wash of anger rolling over her.

A quiet laugh left her as he told her to shut up and she shook her head. “Rude,” she huffed under her breath, though the grin was still pulling at her lips. She eyed him for a moment, the grin slowly falling as she wondered how lucky she must have been to have him save her, not once, but twice in such a short span. She felt indebted to him and she would try her hardest to pay him back. Abby didn’t know how much help she’d be, but she’d try. A small smile curled her lips at the continued speak of getting a dog. “Oh, of course. A dog we can train to be quiet and alert when we can’t. That leaves plenty of dogs as an option,” she told him. Truth was, it kept her outlook on things a bit brighter to talk about the good things of their future instead of how much things would change. She dragged her tongue over her lips again, tugging her injured arm a bit closer to her side. “Adults do suck,” she agreed with a quiet laugh, “big time.” She didn’t have time to continue joking around about her lack of filter, her gaze focused on the death that surrounded them once more.

She spared a watery look at the mangled mass of bodies, cold enough that the snow was beginning to collect on them. Abby drew in a shaky breath of air, mouth falling open for a moment. She strained her ears to listen for what had done this, but she couldn’t hear anything. Either the zombies were long gone or all in the apartment complex, but she was too tired to try and find an alternative place for them to sleep. “If there is a back entrance, it’s probably locked. You’d have to be buzzed up,” she said softly, voice quivering slightly despite herself. She spared a glance to Kennedy, swallowing hard before glancing up to the building. The door was propped open slightly by a severed limb, so that was at least a guaranteed way in. “We’ll move slow and listen closely. I doubt they’re smart enough to take elevators,” she spoke out loud, as if to reassure herself. Steeling herself, she took careful steps up to the door, making sure not to step on or disturb any of the bodies. Abby stopped just by the door, listening in for a moment before turning to Kennedy and giving him a nod. “It sounds clear,” she said, pulling open the door slightly and forcing herself to keep her eyes on the bloody handprints on one of the elevators doors instead of the bodies strewn around her.