Ground Rules

...Okay, Amy had to admit, that was pretty good. And she approved of the look that Army was giving her, too- steady, earnest, intense.

Amy leaned forward. “What if a kiss was all that stood between you and winning a fight?”

Seemed like a pretty straigthforward, easy question. Almost too easy, but Army wasn't going to overthink it and look like he was waffling.

"Unless I'm wrestling you?" He shrugged. "I guess I lose."

Though, in the future, he was going to work hard to make sure he didn't get in such a spot ever again. Really, the simple fact that Mileena worked him over well enough that he had to resort to tricks was bad enough.

Amy stayed locked in position for a moment after Army's answer. Then she stood up, took a step forward, and joined Army on the couch, sitting close enough that their hips touched. She pulled Army’s arm over her shoulder and leaned in.

“Okay. You're mine, I’m yours. That's good.”

Amy was satisfied; she had nothing left to be angry about. Her throat unclenched, and the knots constricting her chest loosened, and Amy was able to breathe in normally for the first time in what felt like a very long time. Amy was relieved, and she didn’t bother to hide it, either; her back and shoulders relaxed under his arm, like his touch was salve on a burn.

After taking a moment to enjoy being curled up against her boyfriend's chest, Amy kept on. “Expectations, huh?” But beyond fidelity, she didn’t have much else to ask for. Army met or exceeded all of her needs... oh wait, there was one. “Hold me after sex.” She craned her neck to try and catch Army’s eyes, but it was hard from her position. “I’m all for video games after, but sometimes we move from the bed to the Wii a little too quickly. I like to bask.” Was there anything else? Amy decided to pass the baton while she thought it over. “You go.”

Army couldn't put into words how glad he was that Amy came over and sat next to him. They were making physical contact. Most girls would've put a moratorium on that for a little while, made him sweat. Not Amy's style.

She fit perfectly in his arm, held against his chest, and Army ran his fingers through her hair with his spare hand, just enjoying her presence until she finally spoke up. She had a little point, there - Army never liked deflating after sex, and he'd started to rely a bit too much on the videogames to keep his blood pumping. It was definitely something he could fix, and he could think of a lot worse things to with his day than cuddle up to a naked Amy.

"Well,  you know, I could just play on my iPhone a bit. Angry Birds. That way  I can hold  you and play at the same time. Compromise." He managed to hold a serious face for all of two seconds before it completely broke down into a laugh.  "Joking. Mostly. Ummmm..."

He trailed off for a moment and rubbed the little stubble under his chin, comtemplating. There wasn't much he could think of - Amy kept him pretty well satisfied in every sense of the word. Except for, maybe...

"Thinking we could put a little variety into things. Sex is great - it's awesome, really. But. Maybe we could try some crazier stuff, experiment a bit. Handcuffs, whips, masks, stuff like that." He lowered his head down and brushed his forehead against hers, nuzzling it. "We're both reasonable, fun, kinky adults, right? No harm."

Amy lifted her chin and deposited a soft kiss on the corner of Army’s lips. “Done.” It was an easy enough decision to make. Amy'd never had more than a casual curiosity about the more elaborate ways by which people got off. But Army had achieved with ice cubes what no partner of hers had ever managed before: he made her cum so hard that she passed out. Granted, he had already knocked her out once that night, and she’d been riding a bit high from having just started a new relationship. But that didn’t change the fact that that night was the single most intense sexual experience of her life, topping a list that was already rapidly filling up with Army’s name.

Anyway, the point was, Amy was made a believer that night, and she was only too eager to see what Army could do with the proper tools in hand. But there were some caveats. “Do you have experience with that kind of thing? I’ve only played with handcuffs and blindfolds, so you might have to take point through some of the basics. And it can’t replace our vanilla sex." Amy entwined her fingers through Army's. "Girl gots needs.”

Army scratched his head, a little hesitant to say what he wanted to come out of his mouth next. "Experience?" He wobbled his head. "Not me, exactly, but, well...my sister does. She doesn't think I know she does, but I do. She has, like, this whole closet full of shit that I'm not allowed into, and sometimes she goes off and hangs out at these clubs and it's all really, really freaky shit."

He chuckled - it wasn't like he even cared that she was into all of that, he just loved the way Carmen always tried to hide it, like the world would explode if her little brother knew she was a freak. He enjoyed the laught for a moment before straightening up and giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "Just don't tell her I told you. Because she'll stab me. With a knife. Repeatedly."

Amy didn’t expect that. Carmen seemed like the consummate homemaker (a kickass fighter/businessowner/homemaker that could do something with chicken that made even the leftovers come alive, but a homemaker nonetheless), and that part of her sexual identity didn’t seem to fit; just goes to show that you can’t always tell by looking. And it wasn’t like Amy was turned off by the revelation. Quite the opposite: Carmen was already a bonafide badass in Amy’s eyes; the new information just made Carmen seem that much cooler.

Amy affectionately squeezed Army’s knee with her free hand. “Don't worry, I won’t. Even if you could do with a good stabbing every now and again.” This was a good talk; this was an important talk. This talk was also, Amy realized, long overdue. She supposed that, in the weeks after they’d gained their “official” status, Amy and Army had been too caught up giddily doing stupid shit together to really do the fundamental relationship stuff proper. Maybe Amy actually owed Mileena a debt of gratitude.  

Amy could have happily fallen asleep nestled in Army’s arms there on that couch, but activity from the television arrested her attention; Nathan also had a match tonight, apparently, and it was just about to start. Amy sighed. Good time to get changed.

Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands from their respective perches. “I should go get ready.” But she paused for a moment before getting to her feet; she had a nagging feeling that she’d let Army off too easy. That was easy enough to fix.

“Hey.” Amy nuzzled up against Army's neck, close enough that her lips just grazed it as she spoke. “We've got a good thing going here. Don't fuck-" She punctuated her expletive with a quick little elbow to Army’s ribs. "-this up.” Amy's attack on Army's side wasn't anything that was meant to hurt, but her elbows were sharp, and that wasn’t exactly something she could help.

Army would have been more than content to just lay there with Amy, cuddle for as long as she wanted, just taking the time to enjoy being in each others presence. But duty called. She was a busy girl, and she had to back Blaise up against the Valkyries, and after what just happened there was no way on Earth he was going to complain. He was honestly just happy they weren't breaking up. Anything else, he could deal with.

Of course, life could never be just that easy, so Amy gave him a little parting gift in his side. He winced, taking it right in the ribs, a harsh reminder of why he wanted her to wear elbow pads when they sparred.

"Ow, shit." He rubbed his side and gave ab exaggerated look of pain. He didn't have to exaggerate all that much, though. "Already starting on the kinky stuff, hate to see what you do with a whip. Or maybe I'd love it." A little bad timing, maybe, but he couldn't resist. Amy wasn't with him for his maturity, he figured she'd be all right.

"I can take a hint." He managed to get some seriousness back and looked her in the eye once more, making sure the point was driven home. "No fuck-ups. I'm your man."

In the moments after she delivered her elbow, Amy stood up, fetched her backpack, and listened to Army tease her from behind. But when Army’s voice turned serious, Amy turned back around, and was met with a similarly serious look in Army’s eyes. Army was hardly ever serious. Truth be told, Amy was pretty turned on by the contrast.

So she acted. Amy sashayed back to the man on the couch, put a single knee up in the space between his legs, and drew his head to hers with both hands.  Then she turned her head and kissed him. The kiss was deep and warm; it was aggressive and territorial. Her fingers curled around his hair, and she pressed her body subtly closer to his. She channeled the remainder of her frustration, her hurt, her anxiety into that kiss, transmuting those emotions into heat that burned on her tongue, then lingered as blush in her cheeks.

Amy was going for “breathtaking” here, but she ended up becoming absorbed in it a little herself. But her voice didn’t show it; when she pulled away, it was clear and possessive. “Damn straight.” She topped off the kiss with another- this one short and sweet- then backed up off of the couch and headed for the door. With one hand on the knob, she looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll call you later tonight. Try not to pass out before then.”

Army had hoped there might be a kiss, somewhere in all of this.

It seemed like a vain hope. After all, he'd fucked up, and even though she forgave him and was willing to move forward, he expected there to be some sort of grace period. He'd taken a few steps back, and he'd need some time to recover lost ground. Made sense. Like a month. Maybe a week. A day, maybe. Not five minutes.

He figured she was just messing with him. Should've known better. Amy Poford wasn't big on the mind games. Reason #345 that dating her was one of the best decisions of his life.

He went wild with the kiss, giving her a lot more than he gave Mileena in the ring. Tongues slapped alongside each other and tangled. Lips smacked. Army ran  his hands through Amy's hair, cradling her head like she did with his, keeping close and making sure they didn't overlook a single inch between them.

Also, he was glad he had the foresight to gargle some mouthwash before this. If Amy had tasted Mileena on his tongue, it would've been weird. Weirder.

When she was done, Army let loose with a deep sigh and laid back, sinking his body into the couch. "I'll be up all night for you, pretty girl."[/i] He gave her a little wave and a dreamy smile. "Enjoy the night."