Red Blood High

Amnesia nodded, trying to convince herself that it was true, but the more she thought about it, about her differences and everything he didn't know, doubt began to set in. She'd hardly seen him since her memories had come back. How much change from what he was used to had he really noticed yet? And the things she didn't have the words to explain to him before--how did she explain them now?
And while she knew these thoughts weren't the only reason for the reaction she'd had, not by a long shot, she couldn't help the way they filtered through and pushed themselves to the front of her mind.
Then he kissed her and she responded, letting his mouth guide hers and feeling some of the building anxiety fade away. When it ended, she realized that she had her hands pressed against his chest, trapped between him and her because of their closeness, and she thought she could feel his heart beating under her palms.
And then he said something she never expected. Three, simple little words, but they did something wondrous to her.
"I love you too," she said with an answering smile, freeing her hands and wrapping them around his neck as she hugged him tightly. "I love you in a way I've never loved anyone else in my life, and the thought that you might hate me like Lily... or that I might lose you terrifies me. I love you so much it scares me, James."

He didn’t know her doubts, couldn’t read her mind, and he couldn’t tell if his attempts were working, though, he could hear a heartbeat (Did she have a heart? He assumed…), his senses and the utter closeness allowing the pumping to somehow lull his anxiety as the two pressed together. Maybe it was her warm hands, or maybe it was the way she pressed them into his bare chest, but, he felt his heart begin to pick up, increasing in response.
By the time he’d separated and spoken, she responded and made him want to kiss her all over again, instead settling for the tight hug she wrapped him into, his hands lowering towards the small of her back, holding onto her and simply enjoying the warm, happy feeling inside.
He almost…didn’t know what to say. She trusted and loved him so much more than he’d imagined she had, and the trust that came with her love made him fearful. He…didn’t want her to be hurt or to hurt her, hurting her something he saw happening much easier than her being hurt.
“Amnesia…Solstice, I could never…. ever hate you, and I don’t ever aim to go anywhere. You’re mine and I’m yours’. I’m scared too, but that just means we have something to protect.”
He told her, realizing very quickly that he too seemed to feel that attachment, realizing he’d fallen quickly into something he hadn’t realized…and he didn’t regret it.
For a moment, he sat and wrapped into her, simply enjoying this position, before he began to slide, falling (Intentionally) onto the cushion of the couch, laying on the couch with her snuggled still into him.

As she held onto him, Amnesia buried her head in the crook of his neck, and she didn't budge even at the mention of both her names, though it surprised her. He'd never called her Solstice once, and especially after telling him that she preferred Amnesia, it seemed almost as if he used the name to acknowledge the little pieces of her past he did know.
Somehow, without ever undergoing the ceremony, it felt like she'd found the thing all spirits searched for and she thought she'd never have.
"Mine," she mumbled, holding him a little tighter. "I promise I'll protect you."
At first, she didn't realize that James had even moved. It wasn't until she felt her knees trying to slide that she noticed, but rather than try to move away from him or sit up, she stayed in his arms, letting herself slide down with him until she ended up laying on top of him, arms still hooked around his neck.
Amnesia let her head lay against his chest, her cheek pressed to his bare skin. Where she'd felt his heartbeat with her fingers before, now she could hear it and feel it, like a small, soothing drum.
"You could ask me anything you wanted, you know," she said softly after a few minutes, eyes closed as she simply enjoyed the moment. "About me or my home or anything. I'm not trying to hide it from you... I just don't know how to say it all or make it make sense."

She’d repeated what he’d said, staking claim to him, his hand moving and beginning to rub at her back.
“And I’ll protect you.”
It was after this that he’d let himself fall, careful not to go too sudden, as to not surprise her too much, but moving quick enough to where he felt his hands tighten slightly the hold he had.
There she was, at peace and laying close, pressing to the heartbeat that played her a steady rhythm. Her skin gave off warmth, body heat that was much more normal, something that, along with her human expressions and emotions, couldn’t make her out to be anything but human. He knew she wasn’t, but it mattered little compared to the way she pressed against his chest, pressing into him with more faith and genuine love than he’d ever seen out of anyone.
Her hair still held dampness that contrasted her body heat, though, even when it touched his skin, he seemed to care little, hand rubbing little circles into her back, before raising and lightly pushing the hair that had fallen forward when she’d pressed her cheek against him away, pushed it behind her ear.
“I will…but maybe later. Like I said, I want to hear all about it, but it doesn’t matter as much to me as just having you here does. Besides…I just want to enjoy this right now.”
He didn’t want to get confused or have her try so hard she’d get a headache trying to make sense of some of the things she had in her head.
“We can both share later…”

Feeling a hand pushing her hair away from her face, one of Amnesia's aquiline eyes opened and looked up. She halfway expected to find him watching her, maybe thinking that she was going to fall asleep on him again, but though she was relaxed, she couldn't imagine even trying to sleep with her heart doing somersaults.
"Okay. I just wanted you to know that you could ask. I don't mind."
She raised her head a bit, not enough to disturb the position they were in, and pressed a kiss to his chest, right where she'd heard his heartbeat. She wasn't quite sure why she did it, except that it somehow felt right, and she placed her head back on his chest after the fact.

He didn’t respond, finding instead that he simply enjoyed the silence and the delicate kiss of her lips on his chest.
It seemed another perfect moment, their silence conveying all there was to say, and for this, they were lost in it. That was the fact, until, among the silence, he heard the smallest sounds greeting his ears.
“Dun, dun, dun, dun…another one bites the dust. And another one gone, and another one gone! Another one bites the dust. ”
A small tune, sung in an attempt at a whisper, but heard with his senses. By the time he’d looked up, he’d seen a black streak, white eyes and mouth staring down at the two of them in near silence, before more of it’s body seemed to come through. Before he knew it, the creature was counting on black fingers, half of it’s body stuck within the wall. He seemed to grow confused, scratching his head as he got to ten and then lost count, shaking his head, pointing at the two of them, and beginning to make obscene gestures with one of his fingers and a circle he’d made with two fingers.
Then, as if a thought sprung to life, he straightened, pointing in the direction of James’s room, and then seeming to signal that he knew what needed to be done, the same circle he’d made before being used as somewhat of an Ok. He’d vanished and come back in the moments it’d taken for James to open his mouth and start to speak. They a familiar brand, unopened, and obviously taken from his room, many of them stuffed within both of his hands.
A protest had started from James, before Dusk shrugged his shoulders, seeming to take this as an okay, raising both of his hands and drilling them both with multiple condoms all at once, many of them falling onto the floor, though one had landed right near James’ neck, close enough for Amnesia to see.
“GET IT JAMES! Snuggle up and wear protection! ~ I got your back, homey!...I have nothing better to do.”

Amnesia didn't press for any conversation as she lay with James, finding that she was fine with the silence. It wasn't until she heard him start to say something, only to go quiet again, that her eyes opened, and tilted her back to look up at him.
About that time, she felt something bounce off her and caught sight of several shiny objects plummet from the sky as a voice yelled above her head. She sat up at once, aquiline eyes searched for the source of the sudden disruption. What she found was, well... What almost looked like half a shadow given body sticking out of the wall above them.
"Ummm... hi?"
She glanced at James, as if he might be able to tell her what was going on and saw one of the objects that had fallen on them. She reached out and picked it up curiously, noticing that it was a little shiny square, though as she turned it over in her fingers, that's all it appeared to be, though it felt almost as if something where contained in the middle of it. It felt weird to squish between her fingers though, so she stopped before long.
With her eyebrows drawn together in her thinking face, Amnesia looked back up at the shadow creature. "Did you throw these at us?" If the answer was yes, the next question of course would be why and probably followed with what they were, since she saw several on the ground.

“Dusk! Get out of here!”
If James hadn’t been pinned under Amnesia he might’ve made some attempt to get up, though, not wanting to shove her off, he instead stayed where he was, his voice coming out in nearly a hiss as he attempted to shove the little devil out.
“Why!? I’m just here to make sure you take the right precautions!”
Dusk said, and, as if on cue, the girl laying on top spoke up, bot of his hands raising as he rapidly threw them in her direction in a flurry, almost looking like waving.
“Hiiiiii, girl that’s getting nice and close to James! Not a bad catch, James, not a bad catch! Where do you find the pretty ones!?”
He was stuck inbetween talking to James and talking to Amnesia, looking back and forth between them quickly.
When Dusk caught her picking it up, he whistled.
“She’s gonna put it on for you! Luuuucccckkkkky!”
He dragged the last of his words, turning his head towards James, thumbs raised.
He was switching back and forth, next time focused once again on the little lady.
“I sure did! You see, I’ve got to make sure he keeps himself in good health! You seem like a nice little half naked girl lying half naked with your crotches near each other, but I don’t think I fully trust your coochie, so I’m here to help! Prevent disease, woo!~”
He would’ve blown streamers if he had them.
“Dusk! It’s not like- She doesn’t have any-“
James released a sigh, looking toward Amnesia.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else…”
He said, only to get a quick refusal from the blob up above.
“Nooo! I’m not here to be a pervert! I just wanted to help! I swear I’ll only make a few inappropriate noises! Pllleeeeeassseee! I’m good at catching mice, so keep me!”

“Dusk! Get out of here!”
If James hadn’t been pinned under Amnesia he might’ve made some attempt to get up, though, not wanting to shove her off, he instead stayed where he was, his voice coming out in nearly a hiss as he attempted to shove the little devil out.
“Why!? I’m just here to make sure you take the right precautions!”
Dusk said, and, as if on cue, the girl laying on top spoke up, bot of his hands raising as he rapidly threw them in her direction in a flurry, almost looking like waving.
“Hiiiiii, girl that’s getting nice and close to James! Not a bad catch, James, not a bad catch! Where do you find the pretty ones!?”
He was stuck inbetween talking to James and talking to Amnesia, looking back and forth between them quickly.
When Dusk caught her picking it up, he whistled.
“She’s gonna put it on for you! Luuuucccckkkkky!”
He dragged the last of his words, turning his head towards James, thumbs raised.
He was switching back and forth, next time focused once again on the little lady.
“I sure did! You see, I’ve got to make sure he keeps himself in good health! You seem like a nice little half naked girl lying with your crotches near each other, but I don’t think I fully trust your coochie, so I’m here to help! Prevent disease, woo!~”
He would’ve blown streamers if he had them.
“Dusk! It’s not like- She doesn’t have any-“
James released a sigh, looking toward Amnesia.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else…”
He said, only to get a quick refusal from the blob up above.
“Nooo! I’m not here to be a pervert! I just wanted to help! I swear I’ll only make a few inappropriate noises! Pllleeeeeassseee! I’m good at catching mice, so keep me!”

Amnesia's expression seemed stuck in a state of half-confusion as the shadow creature spoke, not quite knowing what to make of it and not quite understanding half of what it was saying. It seemed kind of nice though, if not strange, and when it waved, she found herself giving a little wave in return. "Hi, I'm Amnesia." It wasn't quite the bright tone she might've usually had, but it wasn't unkind.
Put it on? Amnesia looked down at the little square she still held in her fingers with confusion, trying to figure out how it could possibly go on anything and why it might be a good thing.
Her attention was pulled away from that as her question was answered though, and she frowned as she thought she figured out what was being said about her. "Hey, that's rude! I'd never hurt James!" she argued as she crossed her arms over her chest.
The parts about keeping James healthy and diseases made her think of things that Amaryllis had said a long time ago, about catching something that would make her sick out in the forest. She thought the accusation was that she'd gotten something and given it to James, and even if she didn't know what the little square was exactly, she knew no one needed it because she didn't have any diseases!
Her scowl softened when even James defended her, and she gave the shadow creature a triumphant look. Before she could reply to James though, she was interrupted, and the confusion in her expression returned.

“Hiii, Amnesia! My name is Dusk! They call me that because- because- why do that call me that…huh, guess I can’t remember! Haaa!”
He began to chuckle to himself, laughing at the lame joke he’d put forth
It stopped soon after though, his head turning as if he’d been offended, the lack of change a hard indicator, though he seemed to be shaken.
“Hurt him?? Why would you hurt him!? This doesn’t hurt, it feels realllllyyyyyy good!”
Dusk instantly turned his head back to James, raising his hand up near his mouth as if he was going to whisper.
“Pssst, James…did you find one that likes to lead…ya know?”
A half-baked whisper, hardly one at all as it would easily reach her ears.
“She won’t know what you’re talking about. And no…I don’t think so.”
It looked almost as if James had given up after this sentence, though of course it went on.
Before giving Dusk a chance to put anything else in her head, he grabbed for the condom Amnesia held, lightly plucking it from her hands.
“I think you’re better off not knowing that right now…”
He said, though, a part of him, the cautious side, brought him to slide it into his back pants pocket.
“It’s not anything like that Dusk. I’m dating her, and I was sitting with her, we weren’t…doing anything.”
The silence had been disturbed, the mood between them thrown off, and all of his condoms were scattered, some most likely under the couch. Dusk didn’t help at all…
“B-but she was on top of you! You’re both nearly naked! Don’t tell me you weren’t about to do something here! I know you better than that, boy!”
Dusk wagged his finger, seemingly disapproving, as if he thought James was a liar.
“Now take that condom out of the pocket you put it in and make it up to this half naked girl!”

Amnesia didn't appear to find the joke funny, but she also still held herself in the same stiff posture she'd taken when she'd taken Dusk's words for an insult. Then, before she could ask why he thought giving a James a disease would feel good, he'd turned to talk to James, whose prediction was correct. She had no idea what they meant.
Then James took the square she'd picked up, and rather than offer an explanation, simply put it in his pocket. "Hey! I still wanted to know what that was!" With everything else being said, she'd gotten sidetracked from asking, but suddenly having the square snatched from her and hidden had brought it back to the forefront of her mind.
Then, something Dusk said finally wormed its way past the general confusion about the situation and she blinked at him. "Wait... did you think... that James and I were going to have sex?"
"I am honestly amazed you figured that out on your own. Who would've thought you knew what sex was?"
Amnesia felt her cheeks warm at that. Of course she knew what sex was! She just didn't know why Dusk assumed that's what they were doing--or about to do--or what something that prevented diseases had to do with it.
"We were just laying together, but even if we were going to have sex, it's none of your business." It might not be obvious to someone who didn't know her, but Amnesia hadn't gotten angry; she was defensive. "And what do those squares have to do with sex anyway?"

Despite the lack of reaction from her, he found his joke hilarious, laughing for an unnecessary amount of time before coming to stop, speaking to her as if he’d found himself offended.
“Maybe I can tell you when-“
“It’s a condom!”
Dusk screamed out, interrupting James’ attempt to shove it to the side. Though, this was all he said, not seeming to think he’d need to explain further…like he assumed she’d know what it was.
When she looked at him, he began a series of nods.
“Yep! I did! That’s why I brought the condoms!”
Dusk replied, clapping his hands several times, as if he thought his work worthy of reward.
James…hadn’t thought she would know what they’d meant…didn’t think she’d have any idea what sex was. She’d…always acted so innocent, asking him about everything, he’d thought that was a subject she’d have no clue on…. guess he was wrong. Huh…go figure.
“That’s silly! Everything is my business! Besides, you two love birds were sitting so close, you looked like you were inches away from dropping whatever clothes you had left! Don’t lie to me and say the thought hadn’t crossed your mind!”
He spoke, though, at the last part, his head turned toward James.
James purposefully ignored the mass of dark matter, sighing and slowly attempting to pull the condom free from his pocket.
He held it up, where she could see it and, more importantly, what’s inside it.
“It’s a condom…. the man puts it on himself…over himself, to keep himself protected during sex.”
James said, defying the sudden embarrassment, despite the way his cheeks began to redden.
“The man puts it on his penis before it goes inside! If the girl has a disease, he won’t get it! Won’t get pregnant either! Use big boy terms!”
Dusk replied, seeming a bit aggravated by the way James danced around it.
“I’m trying to help you here and you’re ruining it! Puuuutttt ittttt ooonnnn!”

Condom... The word meant absolutely nothing to Amnesia, so when that was the only explanation she received, she simply traded a blank look between Dusk and James, as if expecting one of them to elaborate for her. However, the conversation moved forward without explanation, leaving her in the dark.
She couldn't even seem to summon the words to deny the accusation, even though it was wrong. They hadn't been doing anything except laying there together, enjoying the moment, and being half naked had nothing to do with it.
"In your world maybe. Here in the real world, two people getting naked together usually means sex," Amaryllis corrected. "Just because I know it wasn't on your mind doesn't mean I don't know what it probably looked like."
When James attempted to explain what a condom was--and Dusk interrupted, his version actually easier to understand--Amnesia, still blushing, suddenly understood the entire conversation and gave James a look that was a strange mixture of that "ohhh" moment and bewilderment, even as she managed to ignore the last of what Dusk said.
"Does that sort of thing really happen? People catching sicknesses from having sex? And people get pregnant so easily?" She managed to look both horrified and fascinated, her mind apparently dancing around the subject that Dusk seemed intent on pursuing.

James found his attempts to dance the truth thwarted, Dusk seeming thick headed and unaware just of what was going on.
There was an awkward sort of pause as Amnesia finished her sentence, Dusk staring at her straight with a blank, unchanged expression.
“…So, where’d she escape from? She some kind of loony from the loony bin down the street, or is she from a church or something?”
He asked after a moment, head turning to stare at James as his body slipped out from the wall, falling into the crack between couch and wall, his arms and head popping back up as he placed his hands under his chin on both sides.
“People get diseases and pregnant a lot from having sex, it’s why there’s condoms, pills, and a lot of other things…. people can’t keep their hands off each other….and no Dusk, she just doesn’t know all that we do…doesn’t mean anything”
James explained, and, idly, he extended the condom out toward her, giving her the full ability to grab it from him.
“Take a look. Open it if you like…there’s more than enough here.”
The snicker from an oh so mischievous blob greeted his ears.
“Duuude! You’ve got tons! They were all stashed, but, jeez, dude! ~ Are you having a condom water balloon fight!? There was enough for a full-scale war!”
And now Dusk was beginning to grind his gears a lot worse than he had before….and the worst part is he knew it, laughing the whole time.

As Dusk seemed to sort of... fall off the wall, Amnesia couldn't help but find herself leaning away, which in turn led her to remember that she was sitting on James. Giving him an apologetic look, she climbed off as gently as she could and scooted back so that he could sit up.
James' explanation didn't do much to cure her bewildered look. "That's awful!" She'd never known it was so different for humans. "I'm so sorry! Spirits don't have diseases, and you have to be Mated before you can even get pregnant." The last part was almost like an explanation to sort of explain her side of things.
Having been explained the purpose of condoms, Amnesia's curiosity had been sated on the subject, and even though James held the package back out to her in offer, she shook her head, finding that she wasn't interested.
Then, when Dusk mentioned how many James had, something else clicked in her mind. Something she wasn't sure she had the words to ask, even if she wanted to, not to mention the mixed feelings she had about it.
She already knew humans were a lot different from spirits. Just because she'd never really been interested in having sex with someone didn't mean it was the same for him. And what about now that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, that she recognized her feelings for him? Was that something that she might want now, with him?
Though she wasn't cognizant of it, Amnesia had fixed her aquiline eyes on James as her thoughts spun on an invisible wind.

James…couldn’t quite hide the fact that he’d taken in her words, seeming relieved and somewhat intrigued as he slipped up and came to sit up on the couch, somewhat forcefully shoving the hanging Dusk off of the head of the couch, sending him to fall between the couch and wall again, this time disappearing for more than a few moments.
“OW!”
Before he’d even realized she was staring, he’d gathered that Dusk’s words would spark something in her head, and, by the time he looked up, he caught her eyes and returned to her a somewhat guilty gaze, that of which would easily tell her that any of her thoughts were probably true.
“Everything alright…your kind of staring off there. I can pick all of these up and put them up if you want? I can go ahead and kick him out too”
He rubbed at the back of his neck, this and biting his lip one of his nervous habits, starting to stand with the same condom he’d had before in his head.
“Did I do a bad??? Should I leave!? But the seeex!”
Dusk had come from the bottom of the couch, arms crossing as he rested his head on them, staring up at the two, specifically James. When he noticed James’ gaze on him, he released an awkward cough.
“Are you gonna throw me against a wall again?...”

When James spoke, Amnesia blinked, shaking off her thoughts and feeling a note of discord as she saw the look he was giving her. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking and starting to get tired again." Neither of which was untrue. Despite having slept what must've been half the night and nearly the entire day, she could already feel the exhaustion tugging at her bones again. If it weren't spring and she weren't so stubborn, she wouldn't have even been awake at all to be this exhausted.
In an attempt to make him feel better, Amnesia stood and wrapped him in a hug. "I'll help," she offered when she pulled back, giving him a little smile, though she hesitated when he offered to kick Dusk out, glancing back towards the comfortable log and realizing that he'd ended up on the floor and was staring back at them.
Amnesia couldn't honestly say she liked the shadow creature, but the defensiveness had drained out of her, and before she really knew what she was doing, she found herself crouching down in front of him. "No one's going to throw you against a wall... Would you mind leaving though? I haven't been able to see James in a long time and I'm probably going to have to leave soon too, so it'd be nice to spend some time with him alone."

He wouldn’t doubt that she most likely needed sleep. She wasn’t a night person like himself, and he had no clue when she’d woken up. Of course, there was still a part of him that knew what she was thinking, knew that Dusk had gotten to her.
So, when she offered him a hug, he wrapped her into it and let It last for a moment, as if in an attempt to apologize without speaking, before he let her go.
Raising his eyebrow, James stared down, catching the conversation between the two. He had never actually heard someone ask Dusk to leave.
Dusk, who seemed a bit surprised by her, shrugged and released what could’ve been a sigh through his un-opening mouth.
“I meaaaaan…I guessssss.”
He said, his finger idly tracing a circling into the carpet.
“Okaaay……but you two can’t act like you weren’t gonna do something!”
He raised a finger towards both of them, pointing in between them.
“I could see it.”
He said, and, as if on cue, his body became something like a puddle, soaking into the carpet and vanishing into nothing.
“I’m…. surprised that worked.”
James said, sliding a condom off of the coffee table.

Amnesia wasn't exactly sure if her request would be complied with or if Dusk was simply going to stay, so she was a little relieved when he agreed, even if he didn't sound happy about it. "We--" her denial was cut off, and then the shadow creature simply disappeared into the ground, which Amnesia simply stared at for a moment. She'd never seen something like that... was it also how he'd appeared in the first place?
"I am too," she admitted in response to James, and since she was already crouched in the floor, started picking up the condom packages she saw around her feet. When she turned to see if any were behind her, she saw the dirty hoodie that had been forgotten to fall to the floor, and she paused to pick it up and set it on the comfortable log, where she hoped she wouldn't forget it again.
Soon, she and James had picked up all the packages, of which there were a surprising number, and Amnesia followed him to his room to help him put them away. "Hey, I just... wanted you to know that I think I know why you have all these, and... it's okay. I mean, I don't really know how I feel, but nothing you could do would scare me away. It's just... things are different with spirits, with me. A lot of us don't have sex unless we're in love or Mated, and I know that isn't how it works here, and I'm still trying to learn. I've never really had to before, but if I want to stay, I know I need to."
She didn't want him to look at her like he was afraid, and if explaining would help, she would. She'd tell him everything.