Vegetarian for a Reason
FIVE
Sunlight streams in from the window, warming our already entwined bodies. I sigh in contentment, wanting to stay here forever. With her forever.
With Snow, life could be normal. Or...kind of normal.
I drop a kiss onto her bare shoulder, enjoying the steady rise and fall of her breath. For a girl who doesn’t sleep much, we sure managed to wear her out.
At first, I fight the self-satisfied smile, but then I realize no one is here to see it, so I let my lips fully stretch.
I want to laugh. To roll her over and kiss her senseless, to twirl her around the room. It’s a feeling the others never allow me, much less themselves.
Giddiness.
I’ve wanted to meet Snow in the flesh for so long and now I’m here. The colors, scents and sensations are so vivid, I realize I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be in the lead.
You’re ruining this, Two drawls. Can you at least try to be cool?
No. I don’t want to be cool.
Even Two can’t deny that there were moments last night where we all felt like we were one. Like we were...whole.
That's because all of us were focused on the same dick, Four says with a grin.
I roll my eyes. It was more than that. It was almost like there was a gravity pulling us back toward our center, toward ourselves. No, toward ourself. Singular.
Maybe she’s the key. Maybe Snow is the path to becoming whole again.
Don’t be ridiculous, One chides. She’s not magic.
Her pussy is, Four jumps in.
Shut up, One snaps. She’s just a human.
Seven is oddly quiet, and there is a lack of the dark, brooding energy that is usually present and emanating. Almost as if she has soothed the beast inside him too.
She’s more than just human, Three says shyly. I think Five is right.
So says the dreamer, Two rolls his eyes.
I felt it too, Six says in an even tone that quiets the rest. The gravity Five is talking about. It was real. And it’s because we were with her.
If you guys are right, Four says after a moment. Maybe we should just go fuck as many girls as possible to see if that’s the way to become whole again. Through our dick. Heh, heh.
You’re disgusting, One sneers.
You don’t want that, Six says, stripping away Four’s glibness. You only want her. Just like the rest of us. Only her.
While the rest natter on, I’m lying next to Snow, running my fingers through her pure white hair. Wondering if her hair and eyes are the reason her parents gave her such a cold name, because other than those features, there is nothing chilly about her.
She’s hot, full of life, expression, and passion. Everything about her is so alive and she resides in my mind like a living thing even when she’s not around.
There is no gravity. Seven’s voice stops everyone cold. There is no becoming whole because of some human girl. There is only one way we become whole again.
A blanket of defeat falls over us as we think of that one road. Of what it costs to become whole again.
We do it the right way and we do it how Mother wants us to, Seven says, shutting it all down.
My jaw tenses. Closing my eyes, I try to push away those thoughts. I want to stay in this moment. I want them all to shut up. I just want to be here with Snow, pretending like this is all that matters.
I want to forget about last night. About finding Carolee. About our part in it.
And now Mother is asking for us to find her a mermaid. A rare creature that sticks to the deep seas, that we are likely never to find.
And I can’t tell if I’m glad of that or not. Because if we don’t find Mother a mermaid, we can’t be fixed, but after last night, that doesn’t feel so important anymore. Not like it has for our entire existence up until now.
"Hey." Snow’s soft voice has my eyes snapping open to meet her groggy blinks.
"Hey yourself."
She’s turned toward me, the sheets pooled at her waist, exposing her perfect, perky brown nipples to me. My stomach drops then bounces up as my throat dries with desire and emotion.
"We may have slept together, but we haven’t officially met," she says, waggling her eyes at me.
"Oh, right." I sit up as she does and stick out a hand. "I’m Five."
She looks down at my outstretched hand, white hair tousled from our sexathon. Her lips twitch as though she is trying to suppress a smile before she slips her hand in mine and gives it a firm shake. "Pleased to meet you, Five."
My heart flutters in my chest so intensely my face wrenches up for a moment.
"Can I make you pancakes?"
"Uh...sure," she says, as if I surprised her. "You cook?" She slips out of bed, and I resist the urge to pull her to me.
I shrug. "Of the Seven of us, I’m probably the one who enjoys cooking the most. Besides One, that is. Not that I’m the greatest at it, considering they rarely give me lead to practice. My magic is..."
Shut up, Five, Seven warns.
For real, Two agrees. Do not embarrass us.
Yes, it would be incredibly embarrassing, Six concurs.
Snow grabbed a shirt and missed what I almost said while slipping it on.
I sigh and shove down the explanation. Sometimes, I think everyone views my magic as worse than Seven’s.
"Or would you prefer French toast?" I offer, changing the subject and wondering if I need to pop out for ingredients.
"Chef’s choice," Snow says, smiling. Then she saunters over to me with a sexy sway to her hips before leaning over and kissing me. I pull her onto my lap, knees on either side of my hips as we lazily meet mouths.
The perfect pressure of her mouth, the caress of her tongue, all has my muscles loosening and relaxing until I’m a puddle beneath her.
She breaks away, all glassy eyed with swollen lips. "How about some bacon to go with?"
"No." I nearly bark the word and she stiffens on me, brow furrowing. "Err, I mean it’s just that I’m a vegetarian."
She cocks her head. "Just you or all the rest too?"
"Most of us," I say, a slight irritation creeping in.
After literally burning off the amount of energy I do, it requires a good source of protein, Four says, defending his position.
Plus pork products are too damn tasty, Two adds, completely unrepentant.
Snow’s lips quirk up in a smile. "I have no problem sticking with pancakes. I think I have all the stuff?" She stops herself, scratching the back of her head. "And I think we have some fruit we can put in or on them." She beams proudly.
"That’d be great." I brush the silken hair off her shoulder, leaning in and giving that spot I’m obsessed with another kiss. While I’m in lead, I plan to drop kisses there as often as possible.
"How about after we shower first though?" I’ve been dreaming of getting her wet in even more ways and now is my chance.
Snow shivers on top of me and nods with hooded eyes as if knowing exactly what I have in mind. Then after another deep, hot kiss, she gets up and pulls on a pair of shorts.
I stand up and the glaring sun cuts through the window and hits me square in the eyes. A sharp sting behind my nose is all the warning I have.
NO! all of the other six yell.
But it’s too late.
I sneeze into my hand.
Every muscle in my body tightens as I tense.
"You okay?" Snow says, touching my arm since I haven’t moved.
I nod slowly, but I don’t remove my hand from my face.
"Do you need a tissue?" she asks, looking around to try and locate one.
I shake my head, my shoulders dropping in defeat.
"You know how the others have powers," I say, already hating that I have to do this. My voice is nasal from how I’m holding my nose, though I’ve stopped nothing.
"Yes," she says slowly.
Oh dear god, Two shakes his head in shame.
Why did we let him take lead? Four bemoans.
I’m affronted by how embarrassed they are by me, but I get it.
This moment is literally my nightmare. Displaying my disgusting power in front of a girl I like. Hell, more than like. I’m borderline obsessed with her. And this is...the worst.
"I have one too, but uh, it’s not like theirs. It’s rather useless and err…embarrassing."
Snow laughs lightly. "What, do you accidentally sneeze your brains into your hand or something?"
I can hear the groan from Six, and Three buries his proverbial face to keep from seeing what’s about to happen.
With a heavy sigh, I pull my hand away and reveal five tiny pink pigs. They are each about the size of my thumbnail.
Snow stiffens, her eyes wide and trained on the tiny animals trotting around on my palm.
"This...this is your power?" she asks, blinking in disbelief.
Shame and embarrassment wash over me in heavy waves even as I nod.
I’m not sure if they come from the others or myself, but either way I want to fucking disappear.
Maybe the others were right. I should stick to the background, let the rest take lead. Forever. I can be in the shadows, suppressed like Seven.
Though now I wait for her disgust. For her to back out of the room, look at me like I’m a freak. And it’s so much worse that I’m standing here stark naked during this whole bit. I didn’t even get a chance to put on my boxers. I’ve never been more godsdamn vulnerable.
Kill. Me. Now.
Gladly, Seven offers with dark promise. I think of all of us, he hates what I can do the most. Aside from his own magic.
Yet, getting to experience Snow in the flesh is something I wouldn’t ever willingly trade, even if it meant keeping my secret.
"It’s..." she trails off, eyes still glued to the little trotters I hold, "awesome!" She shrieks with glee.
Cupping her hands around mine, she moves to get a closer look at the tiny pigs. She delicately drops a finger to try to pet the head of one. It snorts up at her and trots quickly away, but the second one she tries to stroke enjoys the attention thoroughly.
"They are so cute," she says, using a high-pitched baby voice. Then she proceeds to talk to them in that little baby voice, prodding them gently and squealing in delight when they let out tiny little snorts.
For a moment. I feel like someone has yanked the floor out from under me.
She continues to baby talk to the pigs, and I know. I know it just like I know the rest of us do.
I am inexorably, completely, totally beyond oblivion in love with her.
No, Seven growls.