Yul squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay." His voice was gentle, thick with pain and light-headedness.

Still holding onto her hand, as if he could have stopped her, he reached out with his other arm. With hand on her back, he did his best to ease her to him, to rest her head against his shoulder. Like his voice, his touch was gentle; not that he could have applied any more pressure if he'd wanted to.

Tilting his head, he nuzzled into her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know. I should have." Yul whispered, his breath brushing her ear. "I should have listened to you, shouldn't have made you..." He sighed, then swallowed. "Thank you." He said in a small voice.

She cries, curled against him, and it's not gentle. Apparently she does even this with complete abandon. Her whole body shakes with it for a long minute, two, then shivers hard as she dredges up control. Carefully, she leverages her weight away from him "That has to hurt, I'm hurting you," she whispers hoarsely," sitting up and wiping at her eyes. "I don't...I thought I was carrying a corpse," she chokes out.

"But.." Another calming breath. "thank you for not dying, ok?" she says, brushing hair from his face, keeping her hand there, just...holding contact.

It did hurt. Yul didn't care, his own emotions running high. He squeezed his eyes shut, wincing slightly as her weight pressed against him, but then he held her against him, his hand stroking gently through her short hair, down her back, again and again. Head on his chest, Mumei would be able to hear his breath, steady and strong. And his heart, a steady thump, perhaps fainter than before, but very much there.

"No. It's okay." Yul shook his head faintly. His hair stuck to his face, but moved at her touch; Yul tilted his head, moving gently against her hand, a pleasant sigh escaping his lips.

He looked up, his gaze passing over her lips, finding her eyes, some of that spark visible in his. "My pleasure." Yul murmured, lips curling up, just a little. Emotions flickered across his handsome, strained features. He swallowed. "Where are we?"

"A few miles from the lake." She doesn't point out the damages to the vehicle just yet.

She's able to look closer. "You...are still not in good shape, are you? Sorry, I have no medical training, just the attentions of the water kami overflowing." She picks the holoslate up again. "Wish I had a cup of water for a proper offering. But one makes do. Her voice is steady now, reciting the practiced invocation, asking the water to rush and flow and mend.
_______
D5 LA, Path to Inner Peace, TN 13, Void slot: 5d10k3 23 10 more

That seemed to do it. Yul's wounds closed entirely, leaving only some bruising and a fair amount of bloodstains behind. His color improved, his unhealthy pallor fading away. With a deep breath, Yul rose, pushing himself up with his free hand, rising perhaps a little stiffly, but no worse than that.

"Wow." He grinned at her, his exuberance returning. "Hey. That was incredible. All of it." Some of the exuberance faltered as faint memories flashed in his mind. Of intense pain, of tumbling... of Mumei, desperately pulling him. Yul shook his head. "Okay. Talk later. Let's get out of here."

But with his vitality returned, so did his desire. He took a deep breath, suddenly aware of just how close they were, his eyes drawn to her lips. Yul slid his arms around around her, gently pulling her closer. "Actually..." Yul whispered roughly as he leaned in, tilting his head to press his lips against hers with a passion unrestrained by seatbelts or aircraft controls, bolstered by a sudden surge of emotion.

A tightness across her chest eases to see him moving again, and she pushes herself to her feet with little of her usual grace. That flash of desire in his eyes means that she's not exactly surprised, and not in the least unwilling to meet his passion with her own.

There's a moment of hesitancy, afraid still to do more damage, before her hands tangle in his hair to kiss him with desperate urgency. She tastes blood, knew she was going to, and simply doesn't care. Her hands are sticky with blood, her cheeks smeared with that and tears. But they're alive and together, and she happily drowns in the desire between them.

Her hands slip to the sides of his face as the long, desperate kiss resolves into smaller, exploratory ones, her eyes open as she pauses "_This_ is amazing." Something in the emphasis says that she means more than the kissing, as heartstopping as it is.

"And..." she takes a long breath. "I won't even tell you to never do that again." She swallows. "If I'm going to dream, I need to remember that comes with knowing you might fly out and not come back. So every moment we choose is.." Words fail, and she simply stops her own lips by leaning in once more and finding his.

Blood, sweat, tears... Yul didn't care. They all seemed like accents as he tasted her lips, their shared desire seeming to build upon itself, one kiss turning into several. He took a shuddering breath as they parted, his brown eyes meeting hers, spotting that green glint. He swallowed as she spoke. "Yeah." Yul said, his voice rough. "It is." Eyes locked, there was no chance of misunderstanding.

Just as understanding flashed in his eyes as she went on, along with something else. Regret? Pain? He had no words either as they came together again, his lips parting against hers. There was an extra spice to each kiss, Yul felt, a present of pleasure against a future of risks.

This time, it was him that parted, hands on either side her waist, forehead gently pressed against hers. "I know." Yul breathed. "When I kissed you..." He smiled, "I mean, the first kiss, minutes ago, I was thinking back to just before," he swallowed, "-everything happened. And how I regretted not getting to kiss you then." Gently, he shook his head, smiling. "Let's dream... but also, no regrets, huh?"

As his right hand settles at her waist, he can feel the sticky torn cloth and feel her wince, though she doesn't move away. "None at all." She glances down at the ruin of his clothing, pressing her lips together in a suppressed smile. "I'm going to point out that you're half undressed and everything is blood, but I still want...more than I can remember ever wanting before...to find a quiet corner with you."

"And then a very thorough bath." If there's a slightly manic edge to her laugh, nearly dying will do that.

Yul's hand shifted immediately, settling on Mumei's hip instead.

"Oh." Yul smiled, his eyes intent. "Bath, yeah, absolutely. But right now..." He leaned in, kissing her lips, then trailing back along her jawline. "Seems like it's pretty quiet right here." He whispered, his breath caressing her ear.

"In which case, I have just one question." Yul drew back, until they were face to face again. His half-bare chest rose and fell as he breathed in and out, his eyes glinting at her. "Do you want to lead, or should I?" His fingers gripped her hips just a little more tightly.

She leans into the kiss, feeling that manic edge calm, everything focused tightly on the feel of as her own hands wrap around his ribs to pull him closer finding tender newly-healed skin between shreds of fabric and leaning into the kiss. "It had better stay quiet this time," she murmurs, kissing his ear.

Her eyes are bright as they draw back for a space, one hand coming around to rest on his chest, still reveling in the feel of a solid heartbeat there. Her eyes darken with a slow smile. "For once...It might be nice to follow." She steps in, letting their bodies align. "show me your steps this time."

/ftb?

Yul smirked. "I'll show you more than that." He leaned in, kissing her deeply, his hands beginning to guide her...

/fadebackin

It was not the most comfortable place. But they had made do. Yul lay on his back on the floor, his arm very gently around Mumei's shoulders, careful to avoid her injury. He breathed slowly in and out, a look of sheer contentment on his handsome features.

"No regrets." Yul grinned, tilting his neck to kiss the top of her head.

The Osprey sprawls. That's really the only word for the way she's draped across him to avoid any part of her clawed back to touch the wall, the corner of the seat, the dangling bit of safety harness, or the crumpled mess of bloody ruined clothing. She sighs in contentment, listening to his heart, feeling that she will never tire of hearing it. "None," she echoes again.

The fingers of her left hand trace up his arm, avoiding the trails of dried blood. "You're an amazing lead when you know the steps, Yul"

She stretches, one muscle group at a time shifting. "How long before we really have to move?" She's obviously not in a hurry, but...cognizant that this is a rental.

The beat of Yul's heart was steady and strong now, gradually slowing as Yul grew more relaxed. The fingers of his left hand idly traced through her hair, braid and close cut alike, seemingly at random. "Mmm. Thank you." He murmured, his voice rumbling in his chest beneath her. He tilted his head to give her a smile, his eyes dancing playfully. "You were a wonderful partner. I'll bet you lead at least as well as you follow."

He shifted a little, underneath her, his expression growing briefly serious. "Soon." He sighed. "But not just yet. I think this can be our corner of Asakaze a little while longer, anyway." Saying that, he pretty much had to kiss her again, craning his neck until he could brush their lips together.

"I wonder how much of this the insurance covers." Yul chuckled. "I'll wash the inside before I return it. It won't be the first time I've been on scrub duty."

That kiss. Nope still hasn't gotten old. She grins up at him, having little trouble with the contortion required. She takes her time to enjoy it. "I'm confident in my ability to lead," she laughs, stretching to rest her chin on his collarbone. "We'll just have to find time and another small corner."

"As to that. I've found worse corners, honestly." She sighs contentedly, then grimaces as she looks around at the mess. "I'll help clean..I can purify it while we're at it."

She groans, sitting up letting her fingers trail along across his chest as she does. "This is exceedingly real, while still feeling like...a space of dream carved out of the day"

"Yeah." Yul grinned at Mumei. "We definitely will."

Smiling, Yul watched as her fingers traced across his chest, kissing her hand as it drifted by his lips. "Yeah... I know what you mean. This whole day, from beginning to end, it's turned out nothing like I expected." He tilted his head, regarding her with a smile. "I'm really glad this part is real anyway. And unlike last time, I've got some pretty good evidence that it's not a dream." His gaze flickered up to his ruined jacket.

His fingers trailed down from her hair to her shoulder, exploring the lines of muscle, the shape of her... until he stopped, just short of where he knew her injury was. "Hey." He said softly. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she says, promptly leaning forward, hand on his shoulder, making it momentarily difficult to tell her anything as she kisses him again. "I mean, eventually..." she says after a few moments, when she's pulled back a bit, eyes fixed on his.

Well... it wasn't like he was telling her anything urgent. Yulsmiled into the kiss, murmuring pleasantly. His eyes met hers, and while the heat of his gaze was temporarily spent, it was still very warm.

Then his eyes went distant. "I was a late transfer to the Skyrider Academy." Yul said, his voice soft, calm. As he spoke, his fingers continued to make gentle circles on the Mumei's shoulders, enjoying the touch of her. "Except for a stroke of luck, I probably would never have left Shinjo's Grace. Most of my family hasn't. There's a lot of land to be managed there, and more every year, even with how much of the planet is left pristine. So yeah, like I said, stroke of luck."

He chewed his lip. It wasn't easy to talk about, but the intimacy made it easier. He gave her a tiny squeeze. "But it was hard. Not just what I had to learn, but a lot of the other students made it clear that they thought I didn't belong. And they showed it."

His eyes refocused, meeting her gaze. "So... I proved myself. Every day. Pushed my limits, like I push the limits of a ship. Maybe it started when I was younger, but these last five years, it's been all the time, you know?"

Her shoulders arch into his touch as he speaks, finding every contact and connection soothing to something in her that, for once, doesn't know how to hold loosely, to let go. She keeps her eyes on his, even as his gaze goes distant, feeling the difficult to speak of bits in the tension of breath and his shoulders under her hands.

As he finishes, she nods, thoughtful. "And that push nearly saw you, us, killed today?" The question is merely confirmation of what she thinks he is trying to tell her. She leans in, brushing his lips with her own. A silent forgiveness before once more resting on his shoulder, opposite hand tangling gently in his hair. Contact. Connection.

She speaks quietly against his throat. "First, whatever happens, you will always belong where I am. You found the rhythms I move to, I couldn't push you aside without breaking something in me."

A kiss agains the side of his neck. Her thumb stroking his forehead. "And back to that push. It's also what set your eyes ablaze in the sky, isn't it? There's a line someplace to find, and I won't ask you to dim that light even if..." She tucks her head into that space between shoulder and jaw, silent again.

Yul's lips parted, ready to agree, but leaned into the kiss instead. Mumei would feel him sigh softly, mixed sensation and relief, savoring both, even if he didn't quite forgive himself yet. "When I looked back and saw you, saw the look on your face..." Yul's lips quirked, even if Mumei couldn't see them. "Well, at the time it was the most painful thing that's happened lately. It might have been knocked to second less than a minute later, but still..." His hand gently squeezed her again, pressing between her shoulderblades.

Without breaking something in me... Yul's breath audibly caught, just for a moment. "Mumei..." He murmured. Suddenly, one hand touching her didn't seem like enough; his right came up, muscle flexing under her touch, to rest on her hip.

"... even if, someday, my luck runs out." Yul finished for her, his voice a whisper. "I know. It's okay." Firmly, he kissed her temple, breathing in the scent of her hair. "I don't know. Maybe there's another way. I feel some of that spark in you, too. That's part of what makes us move together. Maybe yours is more pure?"

She can, of course, feel and hear his breath catch, but isn't entirely sure why. So she tucks the moment away to see if anything came to her later and just enjoys the warmth of his hand on her hip, the sound of her name in his voice.

But the rest? "Not more pure," she says with a secret smile against his collarbone before pressing a kiss there. "Less dangerous. I _could_ break my neck pushing the forms of dance, but it's a lot less likely. Do you think that flying would bring you that rush of joy, even without the pressures that drive you to push harder and riskier? Do you think other things would?" The words are gently curious.

Her fingers fumble and catch in his hair as it clicks, that catch. She slowly untangles them as she says, "Oh I... I won't lie, the thought of losing you hurts like a fierce hand squeezing the life from my heart. But I can do that. It's out of my hands...the miai...politics...a battle," the words are gentle, though she's tense as a strung bow against him. "But I can't reject you without knowing that I'm chipping away at myself. That...I control.