<div align="center"><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Saturday, January 11th - 8:15 AM</strong></span><br/><em>Front Yard (Edge of Estate)</em></div><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c3/0b/13/c30b1366f38a9c0e707227f6158d1c90.jpg)</div><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><strong>WHO:</strong> Marley Ann (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=316749.msg15283294#msg15283294)<br/><strong>WEARING:</strong> White shirt + grey pants (both pictured), tan sandals<br/><strong>DOING:</strong> Talking to Kaine<br/><strong>NOTE:</strong> Tissues are recommended<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong> Kaine | CLOSED</span><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;">Every one of his admissions made her heart flutter. He was angry at their very limited relationship. He knew Eric hurt her in bed and didn’t agree. But he didn’t blame her. He <em>loved</em> her. He loved her so much that he wanted to show it and hold her hand, and kiss her lips, and cuddle, and watching the fucking moon. But he didn’t show it, he didn’t take more, because of <em>her</em> happiness. He did it for her happiness. He had done everything for her happiness. <br/><br/><em>He had given her a god damn planet. </em><br/><br/>And that gift was so big that it <em>crushed</em> him. He thought that if he’d stayed, <em>if she had begged him to stay</em>, they would have had a real, intimate relationship. Or, at least one that wasn’t hidden or overly casual. One that didn’t give her attention unequally to Eric. But because he left, <em>because she hadn’t said anything</em>, they lost that chance, because now she was closer with Eric than him. <em>Was that true?</em> Had they lost their chance at each other? “Did we lose everything we had?” Marley sniffed and asked the question aloud, too, as more tears rained down her cheeks. “It certainly didn’t feel like we did, the other night in your <em>actual</em> bed, at least not to <em>me</em>.”<br/><br/>She sat in between his big legs, and twisted to see his face. She knew expressing feelings was hard for Kaine; it exhausted him, it made him feel vulnerable, which was a rare occasion in his life, due to his powers. And Marley understood why. Her tears were clear, and easier to hide and wipe away under the guise of something other than pain. But <em>his</em> tears, his alien physiology… <em>Everything was blue</em>. His tears were bright, vibrant blue. They made any emotion he showed, so, <em>so</em> incredibly visible. “Your tears are beautiful,” she said softly, tilting her head at him in his arms. She reached her hand up, but she didn’t wipe them away. Instead she held his chin, and made him look at her. It was okay to be sad. It was okay to not feel good. It was okay to just… <em>feel</em>. Marley sniffed again and smiled sadly at him. “You should let other people see them, some of the time.”<br/><br/>She wondered what she was supposed to do with his gift; her planet. It had come with such an impossible price tag.<br/><br/>“You <em>didn’t</em> lose everything we had, Kaine.” She answered her first question for him, to clear any of his doubts. Before the war, they were intimate more frequently, in those secret, dirty, sad places. But their sex had <em>never</em> been like two nights ago; there were moments were it felt so <em>real</em>. “You are my soulmate.” Marley didn’t hesitate or stumble on the words; they were true and Kaine needed to hear them. <br/><br/>Their love was personal and selfless. He was her family, her <em>person</em>. They didn’t have to try to be their best selves, they did it unconsciously <em>for</em> each other. Was it the reason their sex was so damn good? <em>Yes.</em> Did she like having sex with him? Oh god yes. But did their feelings depend on sex? <em>No.</em> She had a passionate love with Eric, but with Kaine it was… something different entirely. He had a piece of her heart, no matter <em>who</em> she was with, or <em>where</em> she was, or how… immortal she was. Even if she <em>was</em> in a committed relationship with Eric, or someone else for that matter, she would have feelings for Kaine. Even when Kaine died before her, and he <em>would</em>, she would love him. Perhaps that was why Eric's anger hurt her so much.<br/><br/>“How I feel love is different.” Marley admitted quietly, twisting again between his legs to rest the back of her head on his collarbone and look out at <em>her</em> planet before them. It was broken, and falling apart, but so was she. "And yes, it is because I can’t die, but it’s also because I’m attracted to personalities, Kaine. Eric is passionate, you are charming, Tia is… forgiving.” Admitting she her attraction to yet <em>another</em> person in the house was a relief, but now the time to discuss how Tia made her feel. “Each one of you is different Kaine, regardless of what your parts are, and I’m so…” Marley sighed heavily, and sniffed, one last time, as if inhaling all of her remaining tears. “Exhausted, Kaine. I’m exhausted from feeling sad and from <em>hiding</em> my heart. And I know that loving multiple people at once is <em>selfish</em> but I can’t stop how I feel. Even when I’m with Eric, I’m in love with you. And I’m so done feeling guilty for that. I spent a year feeling guilty for that, Kaine, because I should have chosen Eric when you left to fight the war but I didn’t... I couldn’t…”  Her voice trailed off for a moment, knowing that Eric was going to make her chose between him and Kaine eventually. It hurt her so much that her mind traveled to other pains. “I thought you weren’t going to come home, Kaine. I thought I missed my chance to say goodbye. I wrote a letter to your mom and memorized it in case you did die, because I knew I was the only person who could explain to her why her deceased son did such a stupid and incredible and selfless act.”<br/><br/>She gave a small shake of her head, determined. “But we are alive, Kaine.” She twisted her head upwards and kissed his cheek, his tears staining her pink lips a bright blue shade. “The Earth, this planet you gave to me, it is <em>alive</em>. It’s healing, Kaine. You are <em>healing</em>.” She kissed his lips, staining them too before pulling back ever so slightly. “Not as rapidly as me,” Marley admitted with a shy smile, not that it was a contest, “but we can’t all be immortal.” She breathed, then did something he had mentioned before, in his pain. She <em>cuddled</em> against him, pulling her knees up around her chest, so that their was no part of her that wasn’t surrounded by his big form. “I wish others were though…” Marley continued quietly, finding it surprisingly soothing to talk about her powers. They tended to isolate her, even when she wasn’t trying to distance herself from others. “That’s why, one day, I want lots of babies with my regenerative DNA.” She was smiling, soft but genuine. “I say three, but we both <em>know</em> I love sex, so it will likely be at least five. Some of them will be <em>very</em> happy accidents.” She laughed gently into the warm, desert air.<br/><br/>For many moments, Marley was quiet, simply enjoying cuddling with him. “I don’t want us to go back to old times, Kaine.” She said suddenly, thinking about his anger before his tears. “We survived a fucking Apocalypse, we cannot go backward. If not for us, then for the people we <em>lost</em>,” she thought about the other members of the Cathedral who hadn’t returned like Kaine, “and for the people we’ve <em>gained</em>. You saved us Kaine,” their school, despite all that had and hadn’t happened, was thriving again. “You saved <em>me</em>. And for that you deserve…” Holy shit, she didn’t know <em>how</em> she was ever going to repay him. "You deserve <em>so</em> much more than sex in the back of a sandy vehicle, or in shitty, forgotten motel rooms. You deserve <em>more</em> of <em>me</em>, and I want you to have it.” She did. That was true. She just had no idea how to navigate her feelings, or the feelings of others, to do so. “Though,” Marley cautioned with a small grin, “I don’t think I’m ever going to top your gift of a planet, so if you could lower expectations just a bit, that would be greatly appreciated.”<br/></span>