Quickly Warren understood why she had taken the title of 'Velvet' years ago. Her skin was as smooth and her lips were as soft as the name she had chosen. He had forgotten completely that in this body he needed to breathe, but from the power of a kiss, a true kiss, we forget the world, we forget our troubles, we forget our nervousness, we even forget to breathe and yet somehow our soul gives us a perfect moment. In that moment the world surrenders to our will and gives us just a few more seconds to let our hearts know love.

Finally he knew love and there was no way he wanted to give that moment up to anything. The grim nova had known the affections of only a single woman before Velvet and his attachment to her could hardly have been considered love; he had no idea what it was back in those days. Here and now however the mighty Revenant had been dethroned from his machismo by a single kiss.

Eventually he broke away for much needed air yet he refused to surrender the moment. As he took in a breath his lips explored her shoulders and neck once more. With a firm grip he grabbed her hoisted her up against the tree. She wrapped her legs around him to keep from slipping rubbing her hands aggressively through his hair.

There was no one for miles. There were no phones to ring, no door to knock upon, no chime from an op-terminal that would notify them that they had new mail waiting. There was nowhere for either to run to and no excuses for them to make. The time was perfect and there seemed to be nothing that could interfere with their bliss.

As hands roamed, mouths met, and soft murmurs of pleasure filled the sultry, late afternoon air, only one thing intruded upon what was an otherwise perfect moment.

"Warren," she gasped, breaking off the kiss to mumble against his cheek. "There's a perfectly good blanket going to waste over there... Much softer than the tree." A wicked, slightly crooked grin stole across her lips as understanding dawned in his eyes.

With an ease born of long practice she all but slithered down his body to regain her footing. Two fingers hooked themselves into one of the belt loops on his jeans and, with a lascivious sway in the generous curve of her hips, the former stripper led her gaping bodyguard across the grass.

One hand laid flat against his chest stopped his forward progress.

Deep breath, V. You can do this.

She was fairly certain of her ability to perform, in any case, but something about the intimacy of the setting, of the company, gave her pause.

"You sure about this, Sunshine?" she asked quietly as their shadows stretched across the blanket and the sky burned slowly away into dusk.

Gently Warren brushed his lips to hers. Feathers descending from angel wings could not have been gentler. “Friendship is the expression of unshakable love. Love that is noble, pure.” His lips ascended from her own and pressed softly against her forehead. Hands cupped tenderly against her cheeks tilted her head to meet his eyes. “I fell in love with you the moment I realized that I could trust you to always be there for me, and that I would do anything to be there for you.”

His hands moved from her cheeks to the lapels of his death black eufiber duster. He pulled slowly and arched his shoulders back allowing the coat to loose it’s hold on him and fall into his hand only to be tossed to the side of the blanket behind Violet. He was there in front of her. No power coursing through his body, no defenses from her mental eavesdropping, no weapons should trouble find them, and now without the protection his armored eufiber provided.

“I’ve never been more sure.” So true enough were his words, that the psychic impression they carried with them, were they not alone, could have been felt for several hundred feet.