sittin' on the top of the world -->Niki<--

[niki]

Once again there a silence fell upon them, as each of them had their thoughts running through their heads. Niki wondered what Brennan was thinking, she wanted to know if he was thinking the same things she was about their new found relationship. All sorts of thoughts were going through Niki's mind. Mostly would their new relationship last, and how much she loved him already, even though she only just met him. It seemed ridiculous to think of him like that when they'd only just met, yet time and time again she couldn't help but think she loved him since she'd met him that little time ago.

How she wished she could delve into his mind and find out what he was thinking, it was killing her not knowing, but then again, she was sure he'd probably be thinking the same thing about her, wishing he knew what she was thinking. Everything was happening quite fast, but at the same time, it seemed natural, well to Niki anyway. Yes she'd only just met him, but he'd saved her life for goodness sake, and he'd obviously loved her for a long time, and he was gorgeous, and he was kind and he was muscular, and he was a saviour, what wasn't there to like about Brennan Sands, she thought.

"Yes, I have been deprived of a man for quite some time now as it happens" Niki said, raising her eyebrow slightly but smiling, especially when he kissed her on the forehead, but she soon began to laugh a little as she watched him struggle to find out where things were. She was tempted to say, I thought you would have known where everything was, having 'stalked' me for so long, but she bit her tongue, as she was scared he may have taken it the wrong way, instead just laughing lightly.

Then of course her words must have hit him about the house not only being hers. As he began to struggle more and more to keep things together. She just continued to laugh slightly as she waited on his response. Soon he had set the pizza down in front of them after what looked to be a bit of a struggle, and then he pulled her up to her feet hugging her to him. It was a strong hug, he was holding her close, and she could feel his heart beat against her own chest, against her own heart beat, almost as if it was one heart beating together.

He was also kissing her forehead long and hard, and Niki began to wonder if this was his way of saying yes he'd move in with her, but she also didn't want to push the matter, she had mentioned it and she was going to leave it up to him to make the decision on what he wanted to do. Then he began to kiss her on the lips again, another passionate filled lingering kiss.

Then he said the words she was longing to hear. He said he'd live with her.

"You will?!" she asked almost in exclamation as if she didn't really dare believe it were true."I was worried you'd think it too soon, but..but" she was struggling to find the right words to express how she was feeling.

"It's just I've been lonely for so long, and I never knew it was possible until tonight, but I think I've fallen in love with you Brennan Sands" Niki said in her husky voice as she looked at him, stared at his eyes, her own eyes darting from left to right as she took him in to see if she could get any sort of reaction from him just by looking at his most handsome face. She did love him, she was so totally sure of that now. She had fallen for Brennan Sands, she'd fallen for an angel, and she's fallen for him hard. He truly had been a gift sent to her from above.

[brennan]

Brennan couldn’t seem to stop loving her. That was a terribly good thing, he knew, but at the same time it was terribly bad. If he and Niki worked for the good of all enhanced humans, and really all humans, then there must be some bad people, some villains that wanted nothing but the destruction of all heroes. He and Niki’s love was sure to arouse some glances (and glares) from the opposite side. Brennan’s mind ran through all of the possibilities of Niki’s death – skipping over death by falling from a roof, of course – but he forced himself to stop. There would be enough time to worry later, when they were safely married and Micah was back and living with Niki.

Brennan liked the boy from what he had known about Micah. In fact, Brennan knew enough about Micah that he was sure that DL had spoken to him. He knew Micah’s favorite food, favorite television shows, and knew that Micah loved none other than Niki tucking him in at night. He knew what Micah liked to eat for lunch – or around-abouts, since he had never really been able to see the kitchen fully. And he knew that Niki sorely missed Micah. He was sure that Niki would want nothing more than to have Micah back in her house, in her arms safe and sound. Well, maybe she didn’t just want that, she had said that she was craving male attention. Maybe she was craving it a little too much.

Niki pulled away after a short exclamation. She searched his face for any change in his emotions, but could he really change his facial expression? He was beaming with a joy so intense that if he could, he would burst through the roof with Niki in his arms and fly to the moon. To another galaxy. To wherever they could be alone. To her bedroom. He didn’t know how else to feel. He didn’t think he could feel anything other than extreme elation – and surprise. Normally women didn’t ask men to stay with them on a first date. ‘But this was more than a first date, huh.’ He wondered gaily as he, in return, searched her face. She was surprised, but he could see that she was ready. She had been searching for a guy to fill DL’s place since he had died, probably.

Brennan’s smile grew wider as she said she’d fallen in love. “Well, my perfect little angel, I believe you are now feeling what I’ve felt every day of the week for months. I don’t think I have gotten used to it, yet. I hope I won’t ever get used to it.”

It was true: Brennan hadn’t gotten used to the pull in his heart every time he looked at Niki. And now that she was his the yearning to hold her, the yearning to make her happy, had only increased. His sense of smell, already acute, seemed to be even more so whenever she was around. His ears could hear every single thing she did, and could pin-point whatever she did—though of course not through glass or walls. He could feel her much better than he could ever feel anything. Her skin was silky to the touch, her hair like waves of cascading liquid under his coarse fingers, her clothes much rougher than her skin. He wanted her clothes off so that he wouldn’t have to feel them anymore. So he could revel in her beauty.

He pulled away from her unwillingly, not wanting to budge, to keep her near him forever. He wanted to keep her heartbeat close to his, to know that he was guarding her now and forever. But he was hungry, and his growling stomach accentuated that note. He smiled a sheepish smile that lit up his face until he looked almost childish. He sat down and picked up the pizza. It was great, and his stomach craved it. He downed his first piece before he realized it, and then smiled. “This is some awesome pizza. Can you give my compliments to the chef?”

[niki]

Niki was definitely in love, she was one hundred percent in love, because she hadn't felt this way since she had felt that way about only one other man, and that's why she knew she was in love with Brennan. She didn't care that she'd only just met him, she knew what her heart was telling her, and she wasn't about to ignore her heart.

Now all she had to do was get Micah back, then her life would be complete. She'd have her son back, she'd have Brennan, her guardian angel, she'd have a family again. A family to love, and a family to love her back. Niki really couldn't think back to when she was quite this happy for a long time as she was now.

As Niki searched his face for a sign, it told her only what she already knew, that he was in love with her, and he was happy that she'd asked for him to live with her. Any normal person looking in on them from when they met, would think they had been a couple for months, yet if they had known they'd only met a half hour earlier, they'd think the two of them were crazy for being in love and wanting to live together. But Niki knew she wasn't crazy, and she knew Brennan wasn't crazy.

She knew their love was true, because she could feel it in his heartbeat against her chest and she could feel it in his kiss, feel it in her own heartbeat and in her kiss back to him. It was love, sheer love, pure love. One hundred percent love. If this was what it felt like to be in heaven, to be in paradise, she wanted to stay there forever.

When he called her his perfect little angel and told her she was only feeling what he had been feeling every day of the week for months, her smile spread ever wider, her heart beat ever faster, her heart opened ever more. "Well I hope I never get used to it either, because this has got to the best feeling I've felt in a long, long time" she said, and now she was more sure than ever before DL had sent him to her. Because only DL would send someone so perfect, so loving and so caring to her.

How she wanted to feel his body next to hers, flesh to flesh, feel his warmth, feel his breath on her face, on her body as he explored it with undying love and passion. She felt herself tingle at the mere thought of it, felt herself tingle at the idea of feeling him inside her, and as she thought about it, her heart began to beat even faster again.

The love she had been feeling, had stopped her from thinking about hunger, but suddenly just as it would appear Brennan's stomach did the same thing, Niki's let out an almighty growl, and she realised she had to stop feeding and intoxicating herself with love, and eat food instead.

As she began to eat, she realised how hungry she was, and soon she had also eaten a slice of the pizza. Looking at Brennan and grinning as he spoke.

"Why thank you, I'll be sure to pass the compliments on" and then she did something she hadn't done for a long time, she let out a girlie giggle. Then as she began to eat the second slice, she looked at him again, her eyes darting from left to right, piercing into his own, "I was just wondering" she began, raising her eyebrow at him and giving off a devious smile, "If you had dessert planned at all?" and she sat there waiting for him to respond to her question. Of course Niki was being terribly naughty, she just wondered if Brennan was naughty enough to pick up on what she was saying.

[brennan]

The pizza was delicious, but Brennan’s mind wasn’t on the pizza. In fact, his mind wasn’t on anything in particular. It kept jumping around from one thought to the next like a grasshopper in the swaying grass. He didn’t know what to focus on, and didn’t know if he could focus on anything. Everything was happening too fast right now, he had been sure that they’d—Niki and he—would be able to think this through a little bit. But what was the fun of going slow when things could speed up? Why keep in the slow lane if the fast lane’s open? There were some downsides to that: some fast food restaurants sucked.

Speaking of restaurants, Brennan really thought this pizza was good. What was it? He took another bite thoughtfully, chewing steadily. He wasn’t really ignoring Niki; he was just jumping around in his head like a madman. He didn’t know what to think, what to say, what to do besides chew like a cow. He swallowed. The moon was pretty tonight. He wondered if Niki would enjoy him flying her around outside. He wondered if Niki would like his favorite place: his most favorite place in the world. He wouldn’t tell her, make her guess one of these days. The sunsets there were awesome, he loved watching the large ball of sun drift slowly down to the other end of the Earth, loved to feel the last of its warmth-giving rays bathing him in light.

Like a cow at the pasture. Niki was eating, too. Brennan was happy for her. She would need the strength, she’d probably lost some pounds after that near death experience, but then again she’d probably had many near death experiences that Brennan didn’t know about. He chewed another piece. And he stared at Niki. Niki was wonderful, so dainty compared to him… but if he were to be called dainty then he would have known he was gay. He was not gay, and he knew that much. He loved Niki fervently and with all of his heart.

There was silence, Brennan now realized. But it wasn’t just a normal silence. This silence was comfortable, and he could live with it. It was the silence of older people sitting together and enjoying the memories of the past, their eyes not focusing, their brains whirring, the dust falling from the cogs of their brain. But Niki and Brennan weren’t old people, they were young. They had possibly their whole lives ahead of them. This silence, though, it spoke of something entirely different. It spoke of love, undying and un-needing to bring attention to.

Niki… he looked up at her, and his worries instantly vanished. Anything that he may have been thinking disappeared like the dew on a mid-summer’s day. His heart renewed its fevered beat, and he smiled unconsciously as he tried to get it to listen to him. It would not, and could not. Then he realized that he did not want his heart to listen, he wanted to love Niki any way that was possible. Any way. His smile deepened when she asked him slyly what he wanted for dessert. “I want you.” He said simply, lovingly, and put down his half-eaten second piece – his stomach wasn’t growling anymore, so that was fine—and deftly swung her into his arms. It was hard not to say he’d practiced that maneuver, but that would be lying.

He found the stairs easily enough, but he had a hard time carrying her upstairs, what with all the kissing her he was doing. He finally stopped halfway up the stairs, walked up the rest of the stairs, and started to kiss her again. He knew the route to her room solely because it was in the front of the house. He set her down, and fumbled with her shirt to get it over her head. It wouldn’t work, and he decided instead to do his own shirt, which came off easily. He pushed her gently back on the bed and leaned over her, kissing her entire face like he would never see her again.

Not like cows, he realized. Cows could not love like humans could love. They could chew slowly, they could give milk, and they had jobs to do. But he and Niki were not like cows. They could love, they could share memories, and when they were older they could reminisce in their memories like any old couple. Cows would just get killed when they were too old. And they never loved like humans. ‘No,’ Brennan thought quite happily, ‘Not like cows… like Niki and Brennan.’

(( And after this post I'm fast-forwarding to the end of 'it' ))

[niki]

Niki had been hungry and she was enjoying the pizza, but she found she couldn't eat it all suddenly. She laid the rest of her second piece down on the plate and felt she was just constantly staring at Brennan. Her eyes constantly darting from side to side, as she constantly took in his every essence of being. She was still trying to figure out if it was really happening or if she was living some magical dream.

She had asked him if had anything planned for dessert in a very teasing way, and of course another small silence had fallen upon them. Again, not the awkward silence you got, this was a silence Niki could cope with. However, being so lost in the moment, she had to keep reminding herself, she really had only met him earlier, maybe just about an hour ago now. But everything was magical, intense. It seemed unnatural, and yet natural at the same time.

When he said simply he wanted her for dessert, she was glad to hear it, because it was exactly as she had hoped he would say, because her own idea of dessert had been Brennan. "Pleased to hear it" she responded, and then the next thing she knew she had been swung into his arms. It felt good to be there.

Niki felt herself giggling ever so slightly as she was being carried up the stairs to her bedroom, he was hardly able to get her up the stairs properly for kissing her, not that Niki was complaining, not in the slightest. She was revelling in it, and then he stopped to get up the stairs quicker, and began again when he'd reached the top.

Once they were in the bedroom he had tried to remove her top, which wasn't working too easily, so she helped by taking it off herself, and soon his own shirt was off, she finally felt his flesh next to her own which made her shiver and whimper at the same time as she took in a sharp intake of breath. As he pushed her gently back onto the bed and continued to kiss her face like he'd never kissed her before, Niki felt herself arch up into him, as she wrapped her arms around back and found herself digging her nails into his back.

Yes Niki was in love, and right now she was in heaven, and Brennan could take her to heaven any time he liked.

[ooc: that is fine with me]

[brennan]

Before they had made love, Brennan had been excited. He had wanted to do this forever, or at least since he had met his wonderful Niki. He didn’t remember when he met Niki, he didn’t even remember how he had met Niki. He just remembered that he had loved Niki from the very start, even though she had barely glanced his way. He had had to go through many different people just to learn her first name, and had to hack into a database (it wasn’t him that actually hacked into it, he had no idea how to do anything with computers) to find out her last name. He realized quite suddenly that his last name and her last name matched up until her last name had the –er. His last name was only Sands, but that in itself had to be a sign that Niki would one day love him. She surely wouldn’t care if Sanders became Sands, would she?

Brennan felt pleasure when she opened up to him, and afterward he realized that he had, too. He had loved when she reached up to meet him, had loved the climax, and loved the afterward. Now he lay beside her, inhaling gruffly as he remembered. What a day! First he saved Niki, then she asked him inside—her house!—and then she and he had sex. Of course this was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Then Brennan stopped. No, not the perfect ending. Not by far, and he knew how to make it even more perfect than it was now.

Brennan leaned up on his elbows and looked at Niki. What he had thought was true: Niki’s skin was as soft as he had imagined. Her stomach, wow. Her stomach was softer than her arms, and her neck was the softest of all. He reveled in her soft skin, and absentmindedly meandered his hand across her stomach. Then he leaned in to kiss her neck. It was, of course (and as explained above) very soft. Then he lay back again and smiled.

“I didn’t think we’d progress this far already.” He breathed finally. “But since you’ve opened up to me, I want to open up to you. I want to show you my most favorite place in the world.” After a second’s pause, he added, “And as much as I’d hate for you to get dressed, you’ll need to, the air’s warm tonight, but when I fly, you’ll get cold.”

Following his own advice, Brennan found his hastily doffed clothes, and put them on. He was a little sluggish, but no more than a little. He wanted so much to show her his place that adrenaline coursed through his body. He grinned, and said, “Should I help you with your clothes, or do you want to put them on yourself?”

[niki]

Up to the point of making love Niki was sure she was doing the right thing, and now that they had made love, she knew she had done the right thing. The closeness of him against her skin, his breath on her face and body, his scent, his eyes, his mouth, his face, his perfect body, his every move into her, was like a lifetime in heaven. She felt safe with him, she never wanted it to end. She still wondered how it was this perfect angel had been sent to her. She really believed it was what DL wanted, and now she had made love to Brennan, thoughts of DL were dying in her mind as more thoughts of Brennan came alive.

Now she was just lying next to Brennan, exhausted, but happily so, catching her breath, as he lay beside her also, with his own happy heavy breathing. She lay on her side, watching him, with her hand propping up her head. It had just been the most perfect day. She lazily trailed her finger around his perfect abs and up and down his arm as she watched him. She found it difficult to keep her eyes off of him. He completely mesmerised her. If it were possible, if it were her ability, she'd freeze space and time, so she could keep the magical moment forever.

When he allowed his hand to trail across her stomach, she felt herself tingle all over again, even more so when he leaned in to kiss her neck, at that gesture, she lifted her hand up and put it gently around his neck and pulled him closer to her so she could kiss him on the cheek, and then on the lips, across to the other cheek and back to the lips again. Just small, gentle kisses. Full of tenderness.

When he spoke about her opening up to him and how he wanted to take her to his favourite place, she just smiled at him, not that she could do anything else. She too didn't want to get dressed, nor did she want him to get dressed, but she wanted to see his favourite place. "Alright then" she said softly, as she leaned up from the bed, "So you're going to fly me somewhere? I'll be like Lois Lane in Superman's arms" she said and bit down on her lip slightly, before smiling and picking up her clothes which had been discarded earlier.

She felt so intoxicated, she was struggling to keep herself steady to put her clothes on, when he suggested helping her, she wasn't even aware of her own actions as her head nodded, and she found herself saying softly, "Yeah, please, that would be nice" looking at him, and feeling like she was going to be treated like a princess. "I would go anywhere in the world, so long as I was with you" she added softly, as she stared into his eyes.

Everything was happening very quickly, she knew this, but she also knew how she felt, and it was true and honest. She loved Brennan Sands, and if he proposed to her right there and then, she knew she'd accept, but at the same time, she knew that all of this was probably overwhelming for Brennan. Having loved her from afar for so long and it all to go the way he had wanted for months in a single night. She knew her emotions were running over the place like wildfire, so she could only take a guess at how his own feelings were reacting.

But she loved Brennan Sands, and she would love him from now until eternity, she'd love him until the day she died.

[brennan]

When she said that she did, indeed, need help with her clothes, Brennan laughed gently. He finished tugging on his pants, then zipped them up, buttoned them, and redid his belt. Then he took from her, her pants, and shirt, but left her underthings in her hand before leaning back. “You can put these on yourself.” He smiled, not willing to touch her more than was absolutely necessary. When she put those on, still smiling, he dragged the pants gently up her legs, and the shirt he pulled tenderly over her head. Right now, he thought, I feel like I’m dressing a child.

Wonder if I will ever have a child with Niki. Brennan wondered happily, still wondering how he and Niki had gotten together like that if Niki had only just met him. But maybe Niki felt like she had known him for forever. Maybe Niki felt like Brennan did, felt that she and he were inseparable, like twins. Like they would always know how to find each other even in the thickest crowds, maybe an invisible connection or something. He helped Niki into a jacket that he found tossed in the corner of the room. He winked, “It’ll be cold flying. But if you get too cold, just huddle closer to me. Our body heat can keep us warm together.”

Then, when he was sure she was securely in her clothes, and they were in their correct places on her body, he picked her up. “Hope you like heights.” He laughed out, pushed open the window—which opened for him easily—and fell out of it. Before he was even two feet from the window, he gently floated up to the sky. “Now, I have two favorite spots. One of them is on your neighbor’s roof so that I can watch you at night. I’m pretty sure you won’t want to spend the night on your neighbor’s roof, though.” He winked at her, and then continued to speak. “Actually, you might know where my favorite place is, and you might not. I know you see it possibly monthly.”

Brennan would not tell Niki where he was going. She would know soon enough that his favorite place was not, in fact, in the United States (though there was a similar, but much smaller one in Las Vegas). He flew quick and low over the raging ocean. If Niki would have asked him later, he would have said that the air currents closer to the waves made his flight faster, which was slightly wrong, but he wanted to see her surprised expression when the dolphins or whales broke the surface. He was flying so fast, though, that it didn’t matter. She would only see a glimpse of them before the waves whisked them away.

Then they were there. It was still day in Egypt, but the sun was the best part. It sparkled briefly on the Nile River; but its main show point was the wondrous rainbows it sent off when it reflected off the sand. “Almost there.” Brennan said, and clutched her closer to him. He neared the largest body of the Sphinx and gently set her down on its head. He sat, and looked out at the landscape around him. It was beautiful; he could never get over that fact. “It’s even more beautiful at night, when the moon casts its faint rays on the water below. He wished he could turn the clocks forward, or backward, whichever was quicker. “I hope you’re not too tired. It’s too hot to sleep here in the daytime, anyway.”

[niki]

Niki couldn't believe she had told Brennan she needed help with her clothes. He must have thought she was like a child or something. But Niki had been so intoxicated by their love making, she felt incredibly shaky. She began to giggle nervously when he told her she could put her undergarments on. She nodded her head, and shakily did so before he began helping her to dress. It was better for her to put her own undergarments on because she felt that the slightest touch from Brennan would have sent her back onto the bed ready for another round.

"Oh, don't worry, I think I will be huddling extremely close" Niki said with a bit of a laugh. The idea of being in the air flying, without being in a seat, like in an airplane, wasn't sitting too well with Niki, not that she didn't trust Brennan. She trusted him with her life, after all, hadn't he saved her earlier? But to actually be flying somewhere without being inside an airplane, well it might be a bit strange for her to get used to.

"I'm sure I will get used to them, since I'm with you even if I didn't like heights" Niki replied grinning. Then the next thing she knew he was dropping them both out of the window and suddenly they were in the air. It felt amazing. She did feel the coolness on her face, and the breeze was blowing her hair, but she didn't bother. She loved being in his arms, and the feeling of flying through the air was pretty magical.

Even with his clue, Niki had no idea where Brennan was planning on taking her. She just kept herself close to him as he flew them to wherever he was taking them. As he flew her above the ocean she was sure she caught a couple of dolphins and whales jumping around, but they were going so fast, she didn't say anything in case she was wrong. She just kept the wonderment to herself.

Soon they arrived at their destination and it was daylight, Brennan placed her down on a Sphinx head and as she looked out to the scene before her, it was simply magical. "It's beautiful Brennan" Niki breathed huskily, "I can just imagine how gorgeous it is at night" she added, as she looked out across the scene. It was simply jaw dropping and awe inspiring.

"I'm not tired at all" Niki said, she was telling the truth, their little passionate embrace from earlier had truly woken her up. Yes, she was physically exhausted afterward, but in a totally different way to being tired. It simply wasn't the same. "This is wonderful Brennan" she said as she continued to look out at the lovely scene and then back to him smiling the whole time.

[brennan]

Brennan was already starting to sweat. Of course he was starting to sweat; it was Egypt in the middle of the day. He liked now that he had gone low near the ocean. All of the ocean mist had cooled him down, but the Egyptian day was going to warm him up. He still wasn’t nearly as cool as he would have been, seeing as he and Niki had just shared an intimate moment. He noticed now that, in fact, he and Niki had shared an intimate moment. And that he and Niki having sex was not a dream of his. Niki was there right next to him, smiling at him, telling him this place was wonderful. This place or him? Did she have eyes only for him, he wondered. Or was she really looking at the view?

The view was spectacular. During the daytime the eye could see for miles around. The Sphinx’s head took in the most heat, but was the coolest. Brennan didn’t know why the Sphinx did that, or why anything did whatever it was supposed to do. The Sphinx’s face was all but crumpled, only an eye could be really seen. Below the face was the chest, and both the chest and the legs had stood the test of time. Way down at the bottom there was a tent and a sort of trail leading to the other great wonders of the Egyptian world. He could see people at the bottom snapping pictures at the Sphinx. He wondered if any of those pictures would develop and show him and Niki looking out over the great Egyptian expanse.

During the nighttime the Nile came to life. One could see dozens of boats alit with lights sailing up and down the river as if afraid of the daylight. The moon, when it was actually shining, transformed the barren Egyptian world into a wonderful sight. The sand, giving off its heat from the day, would sparkle with energy and create a wonderful display of … for better or for worse, sand-works. The breezes that wafted to the Sphinx’s head carried delicious scents of the night’s meals and of the wonderful scent of water. It was breathtaking during the day, but during the night the scene was heart-stopping.

Brennan sat down cross-legged on the Sphinx’s head. “It’s a wonderful view, I agree. But, angel, we should wait until nighttime. I promise the wait will be worth it, and already the sun is going down.” Brennan gently pulled Niki down to him, and smiled. He kissed her gently on the top of his head. “You don’t mind waiting, do you? Of course you don’t, you have nothing better to do.” He replied to his own question slyly. “I think the sunset is the best part of it all.”

’And I never thought I’d be here. With Niki.’ Brennan thought. Just a couple hours ago he had been listening to a song while waiting for Niki to come home. Maybe DL had made the song skip on one phrase, but even if it had just been the stupid CD player, Brennan knew one thing.

Brennan was sitting on the top of the world.