cerhadivision | Isla Sorna

Isla Sorna

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bluebetabitch

When you spend a long time building something with your own two hands, it becomes difficult to wrap your mind around the idea of the work being done. Owen grew up around that kind of mindset, and knows very well how it feels to be in the same grip. But he doesn't mind. That's the thing about having a family: it expands, and the world around it needs to expand with it. Little by little, the house came up around them, and they settled into it, and he's never really stopped working this little world of his over like an ever-evolving project that he loves with his whole heart.

They're settled here. Officially. No one can deny it, and even though Owen still has dreams sometimes about InGen -- or anyone -- hunting them down to rip the girls, or even the boys, out of his hands, those fears evaporate every morning. The girls get along as well as any sisters do, and even the squabbling has died down in recent months; the boys have adapted beautifully, and although Chi and Psi still exhibit behavior that looks odd alongside the girls from time to time, they no longer struggle to meet expectations that were completely alien to them for most of their lives.

And then there's Blue and Omega.

The difference in Blue between her youth on Isla Nublar, and the young womanhood that quite clearly blossomed in the Santa Lucia Mountains of central California, is not only noticeable, but striking. Always the one he could rely on over the others, Blue has managed to develop into a creature that is both an extension of his right arm and yet still a highly independent person who no longer looks to him quite so often for cues; she still values her space and her privacy, but those withdrawals from the pack just to brood and sulk have all but disappeared. And while Blue's temper will always strike fear into the hearts of her siblings -- adopted or otherwise -- she's learned to balance it with patience, a trait that would always thwart her more than any other. Until now. Owen always wanted Blue to learn that balance between animal instinct and human rationality, and he knew she'd get there in her own way sooner or later. Now, it seems she has, and it's a beautiful thing to see.

Then, as if her own transformation wasn't enough, she'd somehow managed to turn her mate into an entirely different person.

If Blue's maturation is impressive, Omega's has been nothing short of miraculous. All right... Owen is a professional behaviorist; he knows there's no such thing as miracles, only hard work and dedication. Only this time it wasn't his. It was Blue's time, effort, and uncharacteristic affection that turned a furious, hateful killing machine into something that could be now what he might have been then, before InGen had their way. Omega lives in the house now. He eats when they do. He joins the family in their gatherings, as long as Blue is with him, and although his temper is still zero to 60 when roused, these days it's much harder to set him off than it used to be, even if that wouldn't be saying much. He prefers his mate and solitude over anything else, but his violently aggressive tendencies have been all but curbed for the sake of keeping Blue happy.

For obvious reasons, Owen has kept a close eye on them both from day one, and even from the very beginning Omega has treated Blue like the center of the universe. Owen himself has salvaged his share of abused, wild animals -- it's literally part of the job -- but he knows without question that no one could have done this but her. And her success is absolutely indisputable.

Case in point: today, Omega's dislike for interacting with unfamiliar people had outweighed his desire to be with Blue as often as possible, and instead of throwing a tantrum he simply hadn't gone with her down the mountain.

For Barry, it was supplies; Echo wanted clothes; Blue was only interested in procuring necessary parts for her nearly-restored 1979 Pontiac Phoenix Firebird, a task built upon very specific requirements and one which she would never entrust to any of her siblings. The day is very nice for a sojourn into the city, considering the length of the drive: blue skies and a mild breeze, not quite so far into spring that the air is anything more than comfortably warm. Psi is helping Delta collect chili peppers and the new experimental plums. Chi fell asleep in the grass up the hill. Charlie is giving Owen a hand with replacing some worn poles along the stone steps leading down to the boys' den, when they hear the familiar sound of the Jeep rolling up the long hill that serves as their driveway.

Only, it sounds like it's coming up fast.

Owen and Charlie look at each other, and immediately drop what they're doing to meet the car just as Barry rolls up, screeching to a stop and diving out of the driver's side to rush around to the passenger door. He looks frantic. And he's helping Echo out of the car. She looks like she's about to pitch right off her feet.

"Owen!" Barry calls out urgently, eyes widening immediately as Owen rushes to them. "Owen!" He has to wrap an arm around Echo's back to keep her standing. And then, to Owen's surprise and dread, Barry yells again. "Omega!"

Owen doesn't actually know where Omega has been this whole time. But suddenly he's there next to him, clearly as alarmed at being summoned as Owen was to hear it, and Owen can practically feel the tension in the male raptor's body triple because they both realized the same thing: that Blue is not with them.

"They took her," Barry says, breathless, and the bottom falls out of Owen's stomach.

Echo tries to rouse herself, flopping a little, mumbling in groggy frustration as she tries to shake off whatever is wrong with her and help explain. But Barry keeps his hold on her and barrels right through it.

"It was InGen. They had an entire strike force, Owen, the streets are chaos now. They used non-lethals. Tranquilizers. Echo took a direct hit, but they left her behind. All of them were focused on Blue." He looks at both of them, Owen and then Omega, panicked and desperate. "They came for her."

The weather was gorgeous a minute ago. Now the entire world is ice. Owen's heart has stopped, his breath is gone. Delta and the boys come running up, but he barely notices them. Beside him is Omega, frozen; then suddenly the raptor whirls to him, eyes wide, and the fury -- the fear -- in them is apocalyptic.

Omega doesn't say a word, but Owen immediately finds his voice. "Go get her."

The male raptor is gone like a bolt of lightning. Owen turns and strides quickly to a hidden cache beneath the porch. He pulls out two assault rifles and a hell of a lot of ammo as Charlie shrieks behind him, "Why aren't we going with him?!"

"Because we're going to follow him." Owen tosses a rifle to Barry, and gestures sharply for everyone to get into the car, including the still-dizzy Echo. "After Isla Nublar, Omega found us in less than a week on nothing but Blue's scent and pure instinct. This time he knows where he's going. We'd only slow him down." The motor is still running. Almost before every door is shut, Owen jerks the Jeep into gear. His last words are almost a growl to himself. "With any luck, all we'll have to do is clean up."

The Jeep screeches in reverse, turns, and roars off down the mountain.

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"She definitely does." He knows that Gwen cares about the girls almost as much as he does -- not that it's a competition, Owen's bond with them just happens to be a little different. And of course she likes the boys as well, even if Omega does make her nervous. Absolutely no one could blame her there.

All of this, though, everything Blue is saying now, this is all more introspective and peaceful than she's been in... ages, perhaps, even longer than the last month. He knows she was very pleased when he started dating Gwen, and expressed her approval within the same dynamic of Alpha and Beta that they've always had, but it wasn't like this. Owen nearly pulls the truck over to the side of the road just to hug her.

"I think so, too." He glances at Omega in the back seat, and then over at Blue again. "Sometimes the waiting is important, to make sure it happens the right way."

Blue nodded, gazing softly out of the window at the mountains passing by. She'd always liked to go; to see new places, learn new things, discover new adventures. She'd always been the first to try out a new discipline, a new exercise, even a new language. InGen had tried to sour all of that, had very nearly succeeded, but Blue didn't feel like giving up the ghost just yet.

Thanks to her amazing family.

She was quiet for a few miles, then glanced over at Owen briefly to ask, "You wouldn't...let her leave us, would you? I mean, you guys don't ever argue or anything, so she should stay with us for a long time, right?"

Another amused glance is tossed her way. "Well, I can't promise we'll never argue." The fact that he can't remember the last time he argued with Gwen, in any sense of the word, doesn't change the point. "But we've known each other a long time, Blue -- I think we both have a good idea of what we're in for."

Should anything happen in the future, Gwen can't even plead ignorance. Poor woman.

"Don't worry, Blue. Even if I managed to monumentally fuck this up, I don't think Gwen will ever go too far for you girls to reach her."

Over fifteen years, to hear the doc tell it. Blue had always found stories of those days exceedingly amusing, if only to envision what her Alpha had been like all those years ago. But it wasn't so much that Gwen might disappear from their lives forever, as that anyone in the family would go and never come back. Back in Costa Rica, the Sword of Damocles--for the girls, especially Blue--was the horror that Owen might be somehow removed from the I.B.R.I.S. project and they'd never see him again.

That particular fear had hit home in Blue, recently.

"I don't think you'll fuck it up, Owen," she told him with a half-smile. Which faded shortly after. "I just...don't want anyone to go away, is all." Blue turned her head to look at the trees passing by again. "To go where we can't find them again, I mean." She absently chewed on a stray lock of long hair. "'cause we're family, and family should always be together."

Blue gave herself a mental shake; she'd promised herself she wouldn't dwell on the events of the past six weeks, damnit. So she veered off on another segue. "Dr. Gwen said you had a crush on her roommate, when you were in college. And that's why you kept pestering her during your Psychology class, kicking the back of her chair and stuff." She gave Owen an amused little arched eyebrow. "Did you really?"

Owen just manages to stop himself from glancing at Omega in the rearview mirror, when Blue says such meaningful things about the importance of family. Her mate has never been quite sold on the idea, after all.

"Jeez, what are you doing talking to Gwen so much." Traitor.

But he shrugs anyway, over something he never gave much thought in the first place. "I don't know if I'd call it a crush. It was more like... a high school need to go after the girl because everybody else was trying to go after the same girl." Which sounds incredibly stupid even out loud, and Owen will be the first person to admit that that's exactly what it was. "I was an idiot in high school. Gwen met me in that stage of my life, it's a wonder she can stand me at all."

Then he looks over at Blue again, grinning confidentially. "Did she tell you she was a cute, shy little nerd? Straight out of a movie."

"I like talking to her," Blue told him loftily, pausing to amend, "Well, listening, really. She knows a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff. And she's like you, a lot--just easy to sit down and talk to." Blue pushed her hair back behind her ear. "'cause when you think about it, she's like the only mom any of us have ever had."

But she listened to Owen "explain" his college years with an eager little smile, giggling at his admission of being an idiot back then. Blue smirked. "Well, maybe she saw something worth waitin' around for, huh?" Imagining Omega's expression at this conversation between her and her Alpha, Blue snerked again, nibbling on a thumbnail.

His description of their doctor back then prompted another little grin. "She's still cute," Blue replied with a soft shrug. "But I can't imagine her ever being shy, not Dr. Gwen." Blue had witnessed their physician handle situations which would have most humans hurking up their toenails with impressive calm and straight-forwardness, never getting ruffled or discombobulated.

Blue gently leaned her head back against the headrest. "Either way, I'm glad we found her again. I really didn't like that other doctor they brought in, after Gwen left us." Emphasized most pointedly in Blue breaking his nose during her annual physical. "He was such a jerk."

He just smiles a little at that, eyes on the road. Gwen feels the same way. It's nice to hear it from both sides.

"Don't let her lie to you. She was shy, and a nerd." Honestly he can't wait until this gets back to Gwen and she finds him just to smack him or something. "And we were lucky we had her."

Owen almost points out -- more instinctively than anything -- that they could've done a lot worse. But mentioning something like that in present company would only bring up bad blood and that wouldn't be helpful at all. He catches himself just in time.

"Gotta give that guy credit for not bailing out when he had the chance, though. Who the hell knows what they would've sent then."

Blue snorted softly. "They would have begged our doc to come back, if they had any brains at all." It was still a mystery, why Dr. Gwen had so suddenly just left the park the way she did. Blue knew better than to ask, but speculation still abounded between the sisters.

Then the walkie-talkie pinged, Charlie's excited voice coming over the radio. Blue picked it up and answered her, and conversation skewed to the sisters for a while, until the inevitable squabbling began and Blue heard Gwen's firm voice instructing Echo--who now had the walkie, apparently--to turn it off and put it back on the charger, please.

The drive down the mountain took the better part of an hour, and Blue absorbed all the visual imagery she could, replacing former memories with these, much more comfortable and safe. They made a brief stop at a gas station before getting on the interstate, and while Owen made sure both vehicles were topped off, Delta escorted Charlie and Chi inside, to make sure nothing unpaid for ended up in either's pockets, and Echo bounced over to the truck's front passenger window.

"Nice ride, B," Echo grinned, sticking her head through the open window and looking around approvingly.

Blue gave her a little shove, not really wanting her sister's head right in her face. "Yeah, it's loaded, too. Doc went a little overboard, I think." But her smirk belied her criticism.

Echo giggled. "Hey, she can afford it. And Owen woulda tried to shove all of us in the back of the Jeep, come on." She gave a theatrical roll of her eyes as they both snickered softly.

"It's his baby, he can't help it." Blue shrugged, knowing that the only way their Alpha would ever part with that automobile was if it spontaneously caught fire and rolled right down the mountain. "And then you know he'll find some way to haul it back up and rebuild it again," she added after imparting the former thought.

"Hey, speaking of vehicles, are you ever gonna finish the car?"

Blue immediately froze, and Echo stared at her, realizing what she'd said. "Hey, B, it's okay--I'm sorry--never mind..."

Breathing deeply kept her from screaming and swiping at her sister's stricken face, but only briefly. Suddenly beginning to hyperventilate, Blue jerked out of the seat belt, flung open the truck door--nearly bowling Echo in the process--and tumbled from the pickup, unable to outrun the clink-clink of chain coming after her in the depths of her mind.

Well, it is a very nice and incredibly boring conversation that Blue and her Alpha are having up front, Omega thinks, not entirely willing to just ignore it when he's trying to keep watch over Blue but still not having much interest in the Isla Nublar veterinary clinic turnover or whatever. He stretches out on his back as much as he can before he has to bend his legs some, and stares out the window at the tree branches and the sky rolling by. She's in a good mood. That is the only thing that matters.

He dozes a little, hypnotized by the shadows despite the rumble of the road beneath the tires. Briefly he considers throwing the walkie-talkie out the window, but fortunately Dr. Gwen has those idiots in the other car under control and the noise doesn't last very long. Plus, Blue wouldn't be thrilled with him for that, either.

This is going to be such a long damn trip.

He does stir when the truck rolls to a stop after a bit, wrinkling his nose at the unpleasant smell of gasoline. Wandering around a bit occurs to him, since he might not get the chance for a while, but truthfully he has no interest at all in exploring this particular area, and if his mate is going to stay in one spot, then so is he. Omega drapes an arm across his face and prepares to block out the sound of her sister at the window. But then that damn idiot has to go and ask about the car.

Omega doesn't get upright fast enough to catch Blue before she dives out of the car, but he's hot on her heels, throwing the door open so hard that it slams shut when it bounces back. Owen yells to Blue from behind them, but Omega is already there, catching her by the shoulder and ducking the immediate swipe that she aims at his face, without letting her go.

"Blue, look--! Look at me!"

A savage hiss was her initial response, drawing back to deliver another deadly wicked strike, but Blue's boot caught on a broken snag of concrete, turning her ankle just enough to upset her balance. She stumbled, would have fallen if not for Omega's arm, then simply went limp against him, long hair obscuring her face.

Blue felt her mate pull her up and into his arms, and she offered no protest, hiding her sniffles in his shirt. A few moments later, trembling arms stole around his waist and, face still obscured, she bit at her lips, trying so hard to contain her silent struggles. She knew her sister hadn't meant anything by it, but even thinking about her beautiful Firebird reminded her of that day, when she'd been brought low by InGen's adaptive methodology.

Claws still clutching at the back of Omega's shirt, she muttered into his chest, sniffled, then turned her head just enough so that the words carried and tried again. "...'m all right. ...they're...gone."

For now.

He doesn't say anything else before she does, because once he has her in his arms, there's no need; if she tried to attack him again, he'd put a stop to that somehow, but he doesn't think that will happen. She's better than that already. Blue doesn't just lose progress without a fight, and she's definitely made some since the afternoon they decided to take this entire trip in the first place.

When she lets herself cling to him, he decides it's safe to fold his arms fully around her, running a hand slowly over her hair. An absolutely poisonous look is shot over his shoulder at her idiot sister, but he doesn't say anything about that either. The car hasn't gone anywhere. He knows why she doesn't want to think about it, and she doesn't have to.

"...you sure?" Shutting herself back up in the truck, even with Owen, may not be the best idea of she's still too twitchy. "Want to take a walk?"

A walk sounded--great, actually. If only to stretch her legs and hopefully leave some of the cluttered chaos in her mind behind. Or at least push it back behind its door where it needed to stay, damnit. Glancing up at her mate, a flash of gratitude in her eyes, she nodded, then glanced over at Owen, who did the same.

The gas station was attached to a small diner and deli, which attracted drivers from both the Pacific Coast Highway and the freeway, just half a mile away. It sported a car wash, a small picnic area, and a strip of lawn for customers to walk their pets, if necessary. The latter two locations were surprisingly devoid of people, and it was in that direction that Blue and Omega headed, the Beta dropping down backwards on one of the picnic table benches and sighing heavily.

"...'m sorry," she muttered at her boots, hands gripping the edges of the bench. "It just...snuck up on me, this time." She couldn't stop an irritated little growl. "God, how I hate it..!"

Omega lets her go only when she sits, but doesn't immediately join her; he's found it's best, these days, to let her make herself comfortable and then gauge after that just where he'll fit best, to be a comfort but not a disturbance. It's more public out here than he'd like, even without anyone actually around, but the only reason they're even here is to give her a chance to breathe. That much seems to be working.

But finally he foregoes sitting altogether for the sake of crouching down in front of her, and he pries one of her hands away from the edge of the bench to grip it in his own, resting on her lap. His actual response comes with a trace of wryness.

"It happens," he informs her bluntly. "It's not your fault." All right, maybe it's not entirely Echo's fault either, but like hell is Omega going to waste any time on that right now. "And you had a good reason."

Blue let Omega relocate her hand to his, and she gripped him back with just as much strength as she had the bench. His hand was warm, familiar, a comforting weight in the stormy sea behind her eyes; she didn't feel so hopelessly adrift whenever he was near. ...and last week, she'd been unable to even let him within ten feet. God, what the hell was wrong with her?!

She bit her lip on a sudden sob, refusing to let it out. "W-Well," she hiccuped, scrubbing her cheek with the back of her other hand, "I hate it when it happens." Blue tugged on him a bit, wanting him to move a little closer so she might rest her forehead against his and feather fingertips over his cheek, signing softly against his lips.

"...thank you..." she murmured softly, unable to help gracing his mouth with the softest kiss, "...for catching me." Despite his insistence that he always would, she still felt it necessary to acknowledge such unwavering devotion, especially when she felt herself not quite worthy of it.

He goes where she tugs him, easily; that kiss is more intimacy than she's allowed him in a month, and it instantly makes his throat go tight. But he just swallows, and nods with their foreheads touching. "...you're welcome."

It still hurts that that's all he can do. And of course he always will, as long as there's still life in him -- no matter where she goes, he'll find her, and bring her home. Wherever home may be. And Omega should let it go at that, at the truth they both know already.

But some unreleased tension inside him prompts him to say, without lifting his head from hers, "I want you back. All of you."

Blue bit her lip. "...I know," was all she could really say, because so did she. She longed to be whole again, not this...splintered thing, so fragmented and just waiting to shatter into a thousand pieces. Swallowing another hiccuped sob, she gave him another soft, girlish kiss, breathing him and letting his familiar scent ground her back here, where she belonged.

"...I...think I'm okay," she murmured in their quiet little cocoon. "We should...probably head back, so we can get on the road." Blue eased to her feet and tugged Omega up with her, indulging herself with another brief burrow into his arms, nose pressed to the hollow of his throat, inhaling him deeply.

She knew that Owen would, of course, wait as long as she needed, but Blue absolutely didn't want to be a burden--their family had plenty as it was.

That's all they have to say about it. It's not a discussion, something they need to work through with each other out loud -- it's just honesty. Said and done. Now the action is more important. Omega just wants Blue to know he'll wait for her. She's worth waiting for.

He'd do his entire life over again if it meant that he'd still find her in it.

Once he has her in his arms again, Omega is reluctant to release her from them, especially just for the sake of piling back into the car for however many hours it'll take to get them to the next stop. Even if the destination is supposed to do wonders for her... hopefully. Omega considers suggesting that they just... walk there. Together. He's traveled greater distances on foot; this one wouldn't be too bad at all.

But instead, he just mutters "All right," into her hair, and makes the valiant effort to turn them both back in the direction they came, where her Alpha is waiting for her with tension visibly easing out him even from a distance.

Blue settled into the front passenger seat as their caravan headed up onto the freeway. Owen hadn't said anything about her "episode", thankfully, and Blue hadn't wanted to discuss it, so she simply held her silence, not at all uncommon, for her.

The itinerary was to drive northeast through San Jose, up through San Francisco, then Dr. Gwen had reserved them rooms at a hotel in Bend, Oregon, about ten hours away. Then it was another nine or so hours north to Thompson's Falls, Montana. Where her alpha had grown up.

Blue eventually came out of her silence by asking questions about their ultimate destination, growing drowsier as she listened to Owen's reminiscings. When a huge yawn nearly cracked her jaws, Blue unbuckled her seatbelt and slithered over the seat to curl up with her mate, draping her long frame between Omega and the back of the seat.

She nestled her head beneath his chin, absently wedging her fingers between the buttons of his shirt until she felt the raised scar tissue in his skin, right over his heart. Blue let her hand rest there, another yawn escaping, and she drowsed, lulled by the hum of tires on asphalt and the low rumbling purr of her mate.

It's not as bad as he thought. The idle chatter between Owen and Blue becomes white noise after a while, not grating on him as it might have a handful of months ago; their siblings don't abuse the radio privileges again, likely because Dr. Gwen is maintaining some semblance of order over in the other vehicle. And they do stop every once in a while, which Omega also thought would have annoyed him, except that he is simply too tall to stay comfortable in the back seat indefinitely, even stretched out as much as he can manage. So it helps to move around every once in a while. Cramped conditions are not so thrilling, but he'll manage.

Once his mate crawls into the back with him, though, he might as well be glued to the seat for how willing he is to disturb her by moving at all. Omega lets her settle however she pleases, and basks in the loveliness of her weight and warmth at his side. The touch of her fingertips sends out a spiderweb of tingling heat through his chest, like cracks in cooled lava.

Listening to childhood recollections that mean very little to him also hasn't left Omega with a very clear idea of what they're heading for. It's north, that's what he thinks of most, very north, where the cold is aggressive, unlike the lazy and ineffective winters on their mountain. Will it get cold while they're there? Blue doesn't do well in the cold. And the rest of this adventure is just one big question mark for someone who hates not knowing what's ahead of him.

But Omega just watches the shadows of passing trees roll across Blue's body, letting time stretch on toward Oregon.

Bend, Oregon wasn't as sparse as Blue had expected. The doc had reserved them rooms at a place called the Shiloh Inn, which she said with a smile "isn't exactly the Hilton but not a Motel 6 either". Thankfully, Blue and Omega had a room to themselves, with the doc bunking down with Echo, Delta and Charlie, and Owen taking space with Psi and Chi. Since all of their rooms sported two queen sized beds, no one would have to sleep on the floor.

Dr. Gwen suggested pizza for supper, which sparked its own debate about toppings, but eventually Meat Lovers and Supreme won out and thankfully the place delivered. Charlie and Echo immediately headed for the pool--indoors, surprisingly enough--with Chi close behind but the middle brother not quite so enthusiastic, but following along docilely enough. Owen and the doc naturally went to supervise, with Delta staying behind in the "girls' room" to wait for the pizza and unwind with a little cable tv.

Blue, despite loving the water, wasn't really in the mood for swimming. Especially not with her sisters and brothers-in-law, God. She instead opted for an early steaming shower, running a towel through her wet hair and crawling into one of the beds in the room she shared with her mate, hugging a pillow as she curled in a ball of white tank top and shorts, damp dark hair and spring-tanned skin.

The hotel smells weird as hell and there are other people living in it and Omega is just not on board with the idea of this kind of thing at all. But he and Blue get their own room -- or rather, a room to themselves, with a bed other people have slept in -- all right, he does need to take a bit of a walk to shake off the displeasure that used to trigger a very bad temper. Fortunately for the mood of the room, such as it is, Blue's shower gives him an opportunity to do so without actually abandoning her.

He might have followed her into the shower, otherwise. But there are plenty of reasons why that wouldn't have been a wise idea.

But he returns well before she emerges, tantrum averted and his dissatisfaction schooled behind whatever emergency reserves of self control he possesses that can only be accessed for Blue's sake. He lingers by the large window, but turns to watch his mate as she rubs herself down and then burrows into the pillows. It makes his chest hurt. She's so beautiful, and she's better than this, stronger than this -- stronger than them--

Without saying anything he leaves the window and joins her on the bed, stretching out alongside her, a long dark thing on white sheets beside a lovely creature much more colorful than he is. Omega doesn't quite touch her, but he watches her and waits for the chance.

Sleeping in a place like this wasn't entirely alien to Blue and her sisters; Owen used to arrange for them to have a suite at the Park's resort every once in a while, chalking it up to a different form of socialization, which made it legitimate for the behavioral program, which in turn helped keep his paycheck in his wallet, Blue didn't doubt.

But she wasn't quite as ill at ease as Omega seemed to be, although it was definitely a good thing that she found him in their room when she emerged from her shower. She turned to face him when he joined her in the bed, hugging her pillow and her expression soft, tranquil. For the moment, at least.

Blue simply gazed at him, eyes roaming over his sharp, familiar countenance, features she'd recognize by touch alone. The urge to touch him was as strong as ever--it was the bond between them, mates--but newly learned fear held her still. He would respond so eagerly, that she knew; he was always starved for her touch, her attention, her care. And it wrenched her heart, this unswerving devotion--how could she ever be worthy of it again?

She gently chewed on her lower lip. But finally broke the quiet with a gentle query of, "...are you hungry? Food should be here soon."

Is he hungry? For some reason that question strikes him as odd. Yeah, he should be hungry, or at least more hungry than he is. All that junk food that their siblings love so much is certainly not what he'd eat, given the choice, but honestly Omega's appetite just... hasn't been as pronounced since they brought Blue home from Isla Sorna. It's hard to eat when she refuses to do so.

So he just nods, not really enthusiastic but not putting up a fuss about pizza either. Being able just to lie here with her will satisfy needs a lot more pressing than hunger.

As silent moments pass and she doesn't tense or recoil, Omega reaches across the small space between them. It's an ache under his skin not to touch her the way he wants to, like brushing back the wet strands of hair clinging to one shoulder, or smoothing out the rumpled white fabric of her tank top at her waist. Yes, he's always eager for her. Miserable without her. But he's not going to be the one clinging to her now that it's his turn to be her support -- something he honestly never imagined before. Not like this.

So he just slips his hand over hers, taking it gently from the pillow, and weaves their fingers together. Drawing them in lets him breath the clean scent of her skin from the back of her wrist, and he rests his cheek against her hand, a gesture of that devotion without any words at all.

In all honesty, Blue wasn't entirely thrilled about pizza; she didn't like all the garlic in the sauce. Nor the chewiness of the dough, nor the frozen taste of the vegetables. But there wasn't much help for it, so she'd do her best to choke it down--maybe just one slice, anyway. A small one.

But other concerns lay before her now, literally. Omega stared back at her with lookalike blue eyes, brilliant mirrors which seemed determined to paint her as beautiful, a masterpiece of color in a world of black and white. Seeing herself depicted as such now made her want to squirm.

She watched as he reached out and took her head, threading their fingers together. His hand was warm and rough, as always, but familiar--she didn't pull away. Blue opened her fingers to cup his cheek, gliding the pad of her thumb across the high arch of his cheekbone, loving him in silence. A wash of sudden tenderness then guided her thumb across Omega's face, feathering lightly over his lips, a small sigh escaping her own at their remembered softness.

That gentle caress is so exquisitely painful he almost wishes she wouldn't. If it's only going to be ripped away again, he'd rather not have it -- except that's not true at all, not even a little bit. Even if he knew he'd only be starving for it again, he's completely at the mercy of those touches, the ones that remind him of why he tried so hard to be better in the first place.

Omega remembers having to learn how to touch her. It used to make his muscles itch, instinctively wanting to rend flesh but not wanting to hurt her; tenderness was a conscious effort, and clumsy, graceless. Perceiving his own inadequacy at something that meant so much for some reason had infuriated him, which in turn only sabotaged his efforts, and the vortex of his own savagery would have swallowed the whole mountain if not for her. He still doesn't know how she worked that kind of magic.

His fingers tighten between hers and he nuzzles her hand again, lips parting against her thumb, remembering the last time she kissed him -- not so terribly long ago, only a few hours. The sweetness of it leaves a burn on his skin, and he wants so badly to pull her into his arms again and curl them both up around each other the way they used to do. But this is already so much more than she's allowed him to have in weeks. He wouldn't risk it now.

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