Chapter 99: B3 — 41. A Blooming Relationship

AuthorSME

News:  I'm in the process of writing the 2nd draft of TO; I'm trying to do a chapter a day on Monday-Thursday (not ATM days), and Saturday if I can swing it.  Link to them here:

The Oscillation 2nd Draft (Explicit)

The Oscillation 2nd Draft (Clean)

POV:  Rachel Sung Park (Our scheming girl has been doing her thing but has someone challenged her at her own game?!)

Recap:  Thanks to Rachel's step-sister (you go, Alexa; I take back everything I said about you!), she finally knows about Anthony's mysterious ring and the sad story behind it.  Now, how will she use this information, and will her family prove to be the death (by embarrassment) of our Lunar Hare as she fears!

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Rachel turned to observe the FBI front entrance, noting the poles with three flags waving east with the gentle gusts, heading for the sea.  It was a partially cloudy night, which looked strangely normal with her night vision, and the waning moon flooded her already capped Lunar Pool.

She held her hands above her tail, shifting so the breeze wouldn’t throw her hair back in her face.  Anthony stood to her left, focus wandering; words hadn’t been exchanged for a bit as they listened to the city’s distant sounds, broken by the occasional car passing down 145th.

Anthony seemed to be deep in thought, but his focus swiftly moved to her, causing a curious smile to touch her lips.  “Something caught your interest?”

He smirked, left hand sliding through his hair; he managed to keep his glowing green eyes centered on her’s, which gave her some internal laughter.  “Off the top of my head?  I could name a dozen.”

“Mmh?  You have my attention.”  Wait, is this the first time we’ve really been alone together?

His smile fell slightly as he turned back to the building.  “We can pick up that topic in just a minute, but…”  He paused, popping his tongue.  “You said we were going after Scarlet and Maëlle, right?”

“Yeah,” Rachel slowly replied.

Sucking in sharply, he released it with a hiss.  “I really should have thought about changing my clothes, then.”

Rachel’s tongue popped out, sliding along her lips as she casually leaned left and right to study every inch of his body, hair weaving with her movements.  “Oh, I don’t know … the tank-top and shorts look pretty good from my angle.”

“Is that right?”

“Mhm!”  She nodded brightly.

A soft chuckle shook Anthony’s chest as he folded his arms.  “You’ve got that innocent look down flat.  Is it a skill?”

Her ears tilted left with her head, eyes widening.  “What look?”  She held it as he lifted an eyebrow, and only managed to keep it for three more seconds before giving him an impish wink.  “All natural!”

They both broke into fits of soft laughter.

Anthony took a deep breath.  “Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve laughed so much,” he muttered, giving her a light smile.  “So,” he turned back to the building, smiling curiously.

“So?”  Rachel asked, following his gaze.

“You don’t think they’d be mad if we played hooky?”

“Already guilty!”  Rachel chimed, ears bouncing up.

“That right?”  Anthony asked, holding his hands behind his back as he nudged his head to the right while walking along the sidewalk toward the northern gatehouse.  “I’ve only been out three times since you left.”

“Like it that much here?”  Rachel asked, keeping pace.

“Nah,” he gave her a sidelong look.  “I was just hoping to run into you again.”

“Careful,” Rachel playfully bumped him with her shoulder; it was like trying to move a tree, but she heard his muscles give in, allowing her to push him a few steps to the right into the grass.

“Of?”  He chuckled.

Her heart picked up its pace.  C’mon!  Don’t be stupid; this is just a fun little game, but … in games, there are winners and losers.  I’m a winner, and I still need payback.

“What am I supposed to think when you say something like that?”  She asked as they neared the fence.

Anthony’s fiery eyebrows lifted as he stopped, placing his hands on his hips while glancing back at the guard in his booth; he was clearly tired and not paying much attention.  “What were we talking about again?”

“Okay,” Rachel mused.  “I see how it is; the amnesia card, huh?”

He didn’t respond, turning to study her body, eyes down her legs to her feet before climbing up to her ears.  Rachel kept a questioning smirk in place, but she could feel her skin heating up.  Why isn’t Scarlet here to tell me how he’s really feeling…

“How high can you jump?”

“Eh, what?”  Rachel asked, tongue pressing against her bottom lip.  “I’m a hare; what do you think?  Ah, you’re just asking that to have an excuse to eye my legs.  Huh?”

He shrugged, returning her smirk.  “What can I say?  You have nice legs.”  He casually jumped the eight-foot fence in a single bound, landing on the other side with his hands in his short’s pockets.

I have nice legs.  She nodded with a soft hum before looking up at him through the white bars.  “You know...”  Stepping back, Rachel lifted her left leg into vertical splits before slowly leaning forward, pressing her heel against the railing, “I do have nice legs!”

Anthony’s lower lip tucked under, slowly giving her an impressed nod as she leaned forward, fingers closing around her left knee.  She pressed her forehead against the back of her hand, chest compressing against her thigh before she pulled back.

Twisting her foot to the side, she put tension on her hip flexors, adductors, glutes, hamstrings, and groin muscles while leaning forward.  “Mmh,” she moaned before giving a sharp grunt as the light burn spread.  “Stretching really is the best!”

She couldn’t help but cheer as a light blush touched the Legendkin’s cheeks, and he cleared his throat.  “Yeah … can’t argue, there.”

Balancing back on her right foot, she rotated her hip to swing her leg back, lowering it to the ground with a controlled motion.  “That’ll do,” she winked with a playful smirk as he swallowed.

“Yeah, killed it,” he muttered.

Turning her back to Anthony, she bent her knees, jumping into a graceful back layout; her hair flew with the wind, but she kept her ears perfectly straight as she arched her back.  Anthony followed her descent until she landed two feet behind him, brushing her hair to the side to give him a mischievous grin.

Anthony’s blush faded, regaining control before nodding and folding his arms.  “Okay, consider me impressed.”  His massive, flexed biceps more than snatched her attention, chest-puffing out as he laughed.  “I like that glow, too, and I didn’t quite notice how cute your tail is when we sparred last.”

She played it off by rolling her eyes, but it was hard trying to prevent a blush.  “My tail?  I saw where your eyes were going, and here I thought you were a leg-guy.”

“Ah, are we moving to this phase of the journey?”  Anthony asked while they locked pace, Rachel leading the way to Maëlle and Scarlet.

Her head wandered as they stepped onto the sidewalk, scanning the area with her wide field of vision.  She felt a little bad for not being there to temper the situation the Succubus was exposing her friend to, but then again, it wasn’t that bad, and not enough for her to cut short a game she was winning.

Rachel noted the cars that passed along Southwest 145th Avenue; they were catching more than a few looks from the cars.  “Oh, I’m looking forward to it,” Rachel hummed while adjusting her hair.  “Why don’t you go first?”

Anthony smacked his lips before popping his tongue a few times, glowing green irises casually moving down to her fingers as she managed her pink-hued white hair; they snapped back up to her eyes before he spoke.  “My favorite feature, huh?”  Clicking one more time, he nodded.  “It has to be your legs; no doubts.”

He chuckled as she punched his shoulder, putting enough strength in it to send him a bit off-balance.  “For real?”  She asked, giving him a hard stare while grinning.

“Hey,” he held up his hands defensively, “that stretching exercise caught me good; I was sunk after that, but then again…”

“Mhm?”  Rachel pressed while lifting an eyebrow.  “Then again?”  She asked, twirling her wrist expectantly.

“We’ll have to wait until your turn,” he replied with a curious tilt to his lips.  “What do those,” he cleared his voice, “charming eyes see?”

“My charming eyes,” Rachel repeated, tucking in her lips while giving him a hard stare. 

“Are you saying something with that?”

“Oh, is it my turn again?”  Anthony questioned.

“Okay, okay,” Rachel’s ears tilted left with her head, vision catching every inch of the muscular man, and a lump dropped down her throat as she centered on his chest.  “I told Scarlet before, I’m a chest girl,” she tucked in her lips, “and I can confidently say that tank-top does you justice.”

Anthony winced.  “Oof, not my winning personality?”  He breathed out a disappointed sigh, shaking his head, “And here I thought you didn’t just want me for my body.”

“Mmh,” Rachel scratched the back of her neck, looking away before giving him a devilish smirk, “I don’t think I ever mentioned wanting personality; besides, who was looking at my butt?”

“Tail,” Anthony corrected, but after a moment, his lips became a line.  “Mmh, although, I can’t say … we’ll have to leave that for the list.”  He nodded matter of factly.  “Is it just me, or are you getting a lot more out of me than I am of you?”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed.  “Are you letting me win?”

“It might make me feel better if I said yes,” Anthony mused to himself, “but … I shouldn’t say that.”

“I’m hearing some mixed signals here,” Rachel noted, pointing at her two ears as they crossed the street, pedestrian sign turning on just before they arrived.

“Are you dodging your turn?”  Anthony questioned.

“Hmm … alright, physical traits are the name of the game, and I’ve gotta say, those abs,” she traced his well-defined valleys with her eyes, “have something goin’ on there.  I haven’t seen many eight-packs, and I’m a gym nut,” she admitted with raised eyebrows.  “I basically lived in the gym when I wasn’t studying or having classes, but I could only get a six-pack.”

Anthony’s focus moved to her belly, causing Rachel’s hands to tighten around each other behind her back as she put pressure against her tail, trying to push her focus off his pretty gem-like eyes.  “Truth, I find that toned belly of yours equally as appealing.”

“To be number two on the list?”  Rachel gave him a doubtful grin.

“Fine, fine,” Anthony chuckled.  “You got me!  Your eyes.”  When she gave him a dubious stare, he buckled down.  “No, really!”  He sighed, tone turning reminiscent.  “It reminds me of this clover patch back home, looking for four-leaf clovers in the heat of the day while hiding out from my tutor; plus, the glowing pink, white, black, and red mix is quite stunning,” he added, closing an eye while giving her the ok-symbol.

Her vision fell to the floor, smile softening before her focus moved up again.  “You really think this odd design is pretty?”

“Umm,” Anthony increased his pace a moment to close the distance, bending forward a little to stare into her eyes.

A lump dropped down Rachel’s throat as she felt the heat of his breath leave his nose, feeling it brush against her collarbone; she had no doubt she wouldn’t have even noticed the sensation as a human, however, with her heightened senses it was all too real.  Still, she did her best to hold her playful mask, but her tolerance was waning with every puff of hot air touching her neck.

How close are you going to get?  C’’mon … just need to hold out for a bit longer; he’ll break off first!  He’s going to…

Her left ear twitched, and she danced back two paces, turning to hide her blush while brushing her hair back to obscure her stiff tail.  “You breathe too hard…”  Dammit … dammit, dammit, dammit!

“Excuse me?”  Anthony asked with mild amusement; she heard him straightening while mirroring her action, facial muscles twitching into a smile.

“Nothing…”  She coughed, ears shifting to prevent more twitches.  “Umm—Duncan just noticed we bailed on him; I think he’s a bit hurt.”

“Oh, he’ll get over it,” Anthony mused.

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An uncomfortable silence followed; at least, she thought it was, making Rachel wonder if her ears could turn red because they were certainly hot enough for it.

Anthony’s tongue slid between his lip and teeth before he popped his tongue.  “You know, I don’t think I could do this with anyone else,” he muttered.

Rachel cleared her throat as softly as she could manage.  “Oh?”  I can’t ask if he could do it with Amelia … dammit, why’d I have a meltdown?  He broke once, but I might as well have caught fire!  That’s like negative two points … does that make us even since he’s kind of been losing overall?  Bah, get your head in the game!

He paused, causing her to stop; it had been long enough to regain a semblance of her relaxed demeanor.  She turned, hair obscuring most of her blush, but he wasn’t looking at her.  “Hmm?”

Anthony’s focus was on a green plastic hardcover that was hiding machinery for some building nearby.  “Hey, is Scarlet safe enough for us to sit?”

She frowned, ears swiveling to catch back up with the near-catatonic Vespertine Reaper as Maëlle demonstrated in real-time how to speak to boys.  She knew Scarlet had turned her way more than once, likely keeping tabs on her while praying she’d come sooner.

Can she feel my emotions this far away?  “Mmh, yeah, she’s fine.”  Probably not, but … sorry, Scarlet, you’ll have to handle this one on your own; good luck!

Duncan directed Alexa and Nam to the room he’d brought Sam and Molly before reporting in, getting Maëlle’s location before racing their way in hopes of catching up to them.

Rachel followed Anthony to the green cover, hopping up to join him; she’d just managed to get her burning cheeks under control, spurred by her curiosity.  She knew this shift in his mood likely had to do with it being Amelia’s birthday, and he was spending it with her.

When he spoke, it made her ears stand up for a moment.  “Do you believe in fate?”

“Umm,” Rachel sucked in her bottom lip, forcing herself not to pick at her skin, “honestly, not really, but I mean, who knows?”

“Hmh,” Anthony grunted.  “I don’t know … it’s all so surreal, though.”  He scratched behind his left ear, releasing a long sigh.  “I never really was that big into it either … it was kind of Amelia’s thing, though—she entertained that kind of stuff.  I think she actually bought into a bit of it, but she was too embarrassed to tell me.”

“That’s cute,” Rachel mumbled, twisting her heels against the plastic as her feet dangled.

“She was a bit of a romantic—mmh, and a bit weird, I’ll admit,” he chuckled.  “I was completely caught off-guard by the counter-proposal, though … I just kind of stared at her as we both kneeled in front of each other.  I was so confused.”

He shook his head, swallowing before inhaling and exhaling.  “No—she wouldn’t have played a game like we did; she’d blush within the first five seconds and change the topic … probably to the weather, to be honest,” he said while scratching his temple.

Can he read my mind?  Jeez, this is turning heavy … how should I respond?  Should I hold his hand … no, that’s way too forward of an action.  Don’t overthink it!  This isn’t fight-science.

Her focus snapped back to him as he continued.  “I only thought about her when I changed … it’s been one of the only things on my mind, but…”

Anthony’s brow creased as he turned to stare at her, both taming their hair from the drag of a car that passed, going at least fifteen over the speed limit.  “That’s kind of changed since we sparred; it might sound weird, but … it’s the truth.  Sometimes I lay back and just remember watching you sprint right at my spear point without an ounce of fear in those eyes.  Was it really just to test another Legendkin because I feel like there was a bit more to it?”

Rachel kicked out her feet, letting Anthony’s words soak in.  He’s thinking about me … even over Amelia at times.  If he is getting over her, then it might take some time, but the door doesn’t seem closed, and he’s clearly physically attracted to me.  Maybe mom didn’t ruin everything.

She repressed a grimace, mind returning to her mother’s bubbly greeting as she locked on Aiden like one of her Korean dramas.  “Yes, and no,” Rachel slowly admitted, and Anthony waited for her to explain, sad green eyes focused on the ground.  “I told you that there was a Legendkin that I fought before, and I did want to test you out to see how you compared, but I won’t say there weren’t other reasons, too,” she muttered.

“Like?”

She played with her feet, doing her best to restrain another blush.  “It’s complicated.”

“These changes certainly are,” Anthony whispered, pointing under his right eye; the make-up was almost perfect, unlike before.  “I have to cover-up this beauty mark, or apparently, I can … entice women.”

Rachel smirked.  “I better watch out, then.”

He released a sad chuckle.  “Right?  I don’t know … Amelia always called me a playboy; I hated it when she’d said I was too good for her,” he mumbled, rubbing his nose.  “She ran away once, after a test … Amelia didn’t want me to see the results; don’t know how she thought she’d escape when she had to return to her room anyway.”

“Just emotion,” Rachel stated softly, keeping her eyes low.  “She probably just wanted some time to build up the courage.”

“Yeah … anyways, thanks for listening, Rachel.  Sorry if it got a little depressing; sometimes, I wonder how I should go on, and I’ve read up on my legend … it kind of makes me scared—falling in love doesn’t normally work out for Diarmuid.”

Did he just admit he’s falling in love with me?  No … he’s just worried about it in general.  He likes me, but I’m hovering dangerously close to the friend-zone.

“Why don’t we sit down and read over some of those legends sometime?”  Rachel asked.

“Yeah,” he shot a short huff through his nose, “maybe we could.”  Anthony gave her a half-smile.  “Like I said, who knows—that four-leaf clover luck you’ve got in your eyes might rub off.  What do you think?”

Rachel gave him a forced laugh.  “Actually—a hare is said to be an omen of bad luck … sadly.”

Anthony’s dashing smile returned as he gave her a wink.  “Good to know The Oscillation mixed something up.”

“Wait.  What?”  Rachel asked, but Anthony hopped off the cover, turning to greet Duncan as he slowly came to a stop, gasping for air; he’d been running after them since leaving the building.

“W-What’s—the big—idea?”  He gasped, coughing as Anthony slapped him on the back.

“Alright, Rachel,” he turned back to her with an apologetic grin.  “I’m going to head back; I’ve got a few things I need to set straight.”

Sliding off her seat, Rachel gave him her innocent smile.  “Oh, no problem; I’ll just go rescue Scarlet, then, but,” she paused, turning her head to look further up the road, “I might be a little too late.  We’ll see.”

Her focus returned to Anthony as his tone softened.  “Thanks, Rachel.”

Ears stiffening, she cocked her head.  “For?”

“Just listening … in other words, your big ears,” he winked.

“You know you love them,” Rachel said, folding her arms while giving him a challenging smirk.

He smacked his lips.  “Mmh, yeah, I guess they’re growing on me,” he muttered.

Rachel stiffened.  “Wait, you didn’t like them?”

“Ah, gotta go!”  Anthony apologized, waving her off as he guided Duncan away.  “Dude, let me see your phone.”

“What the hell, man?”  Duncan protested, glancing back at her.  “Dude, wait a second … aye, yo,” he shouted back at her, still being guided away, “I’ll send word back to those two guys looking for you—why do you need my phone?”

“Dude, chill,” Anthony chuckled, slapping him on the back again, “you guys broke my phone, remember?”

“Hey, I didn’t do shit; it was the lab tech that dropped it!”

Rachel watched them walk off with her hands behind her back, suppressing a grin.  All in all, I’d consider that a victory!  Close, but I can still hold my hand in the air.

She couldn’t suppress a giggle as Duncan leaned in to whisper, “Yo, are you two a new thing or somethin’?”

“Why do you ask?”  Anthony questioned, lifting an eyebrow while glancing back at her with a smirk.  They were already across the street, but she could hear them just as easily as if they were speaking right next to her.

He really is a tease!

“I mean, I don’t know—how well that would work … eh—she’s kind of…”

“Kind of?”

Yes.  Rachel mused.  Kind of what, Duncan?

He swallowed, following Anthony’s gaze.  “Wait,” he whispered.  “Shit, I keep forgetting she can hear a long way’s off.”

“You're just going to leave us hanging,” Anthony asked.

Duncan popped his tongue.  “Yeah … I’m not going to stick my foot in my mouth.”

Anthony sucked in a breath through his teeth before slapping him on the back again.  “Already did it, my man.”

The Agent choked, hunching over while coughing.  “Shit—dude, stop—smackin’ me around!”

“C’mon,” Anthony muttered, giving him a sidelong look.  “Don’t be weak, dude.”

“Freakin’ Demi,” Duncan mumbled.  “I ain’t got the body of Hercules, dammit!”

“Right?  I think you need to hit the gym with me, Man.”

“Screw off!”  Duncan muttered.  “I work out every day.”

“Not with me,” Anthony shot back.

“Yeah … there’s a reason for that.”

Wow, quite the pair.  Rachel mused, turning while taking a deep breath.  Alright, Scarlet, I’m coming!  Lowering her center of gravity, she shot into a light jog, racing up to eighty miles an hour to keep her shoes’ glue from melting.

That was actually a really nice talk.  Some fun, and some progress; he’s a pretty good guy … and he’s got a pretty good body, too!  A win-win.

AuthorSME

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