No one knew how much time had truly passed since they were all in the basement. Rebecca had come back to join in on the conversation and introduced herself to Jake's friends. Eventually, April felt it was time to take a shower, so she tugged on Don's sleeve to get his attention. "Oh, ready?" Don inquired.
April nodded and no one said anything as they excused themselves. Don already knew where to go, so he lead April into the master bathroom, and when they arrived, Don shut the door. April had been silent and shy with a tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Umm..."
Don had already taken off his combat vest, so now he was removing his shirt when April spoke up. She had turned from the mirror to see Don's chiseled body. A well-toned physique. That wasn't all she saw either. She also saw scars from blades to bullets. She had never actually seen Don's body. It was both beautiful and saddening.
"Don..." April approached him and place a hand on his chest, going over the scars softly. Don looked down at her. "We don't have to," Don stated thinking that April was disturbed by the scars that littered his body. April shook her head, "It's fine. Will you tell me about them? How you got them?" April asked softly with her gaze shifting to his eyes.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt. But, you need to change into your swimsuit." Don remarked. April stepped back. "Speaking of that..." She shuffled around a little. "I actually did not pack one. I did not think we needed it." April admitted bashfully.
Don took a moment to establish what she said before sighing heavily. "Then let's do this..." Don took a face towel and turned it into a blindfold. "I'll turn away. You go ahead and undress and get into the shower first. I'll put the blindfold on when I am ready and join you."
When Don expressed an alternative. April was surprised that Don was still comfortable with showering with her. Although the alternative was a bit silly, she decided to go along with it. "By the way, did you bring yours?" April asked. Don shook his head. "I was just going to use my underwear." Don replied.
April shook her head softly, "I don't think that would be comfortable. Just wrap your waist in a towel or something." April remarked. The look in April's eyes showed that there was no room for rebuttal, so Don just nodded. "Fine." He replied before turning away to give April time to undress and enter the shower.
April called out to Don when she was ready, and Don turned around. He could see her silhouette in the shower curtain, which caused him to shake his head softly before undressing himself. He wrapped a white towel over his waistline and tied it tightly to keep it in place. When he was ready, he made his way to the shower curtain and placed the makeshift blindfolded on.
Then he opened the curtain so he could proceed into the shower. April's face was deep red, her eyes trailed over Don, and she would gulp heavily. "Do you need help?" April asked. Don shook his head. "I am fine." He could get a feel for what was around him and used April's voice as a way to avoid clashing with her. When he entered, he closed the curtain. The shower just barely fit two people. It was only meant for one person to enter, after all.
April could feel her heart beating rapidly. She was stark naked in front of the man she loved. Her mind was going wild. If Don wanted to, he could force himself upon her, but she knew Don wasn't that kind of person. She was just nervous because she didn't know what she would do. She placed a hand on his chest as the water ran over them from above. Her fingers trailing softly along a small scar that ran across his chest. "Tell me about this one..." April asked in a soft voice to hide her embarrassment.
Don could feel her touch his flesh and the sensitivity of his scar was all he need to know which one she was talking about. "When I was younger, a man pulled a knife on me. I narrowly escaped a deadly slash, but he still nicked me with the blade. My trainer disarmed him afterward since his attention was focused on me." April listened to Don's explanation.
It seemed that he was indeed trained at a young age, much like herself. Though... the fact that he had come faced to face with someone who held a knife was a scary thought. She knew that she would have frozen up and probably died. April slowly moved her hand over a bullet wound that was near his left shoulder. "What about this one?" April asked in the same soft manner.
"While on the run from a group of thugs, one of them pulled out a gun and fired at me. The thug hit my shoulder, but the bullet flew straight through. My trainer patched me up later." Don's explanation was vague, and April could tell that Don wasn't going to reveal everything; however, she was happy that Don was opening up to her even a little. Her hand moved onto another scar. This one went all the way down to his abdominal area and into his waistline. "What about this one?"
"That one..." Don paused for a moment as he recalled where he got it. It was the most memorable scar of his. He could never forget about it. "My trainer was in danger. She had been held hostage, and I went to save her. When I arrived, the man who kidnapped her was about to cut her down, but I jumped in front of the blade."
Don stopped his explanation, but he recalled that his actions gave her time to take out the man. He also recalled that his trainer was shedding tears and begging him not to die. He recalled having blacked out several times, but she had rushed him somewhere and that when he woke up, he was within a hospital bed.
April did not miss the fact that his trainer was a woman. She wondered who his trainer was. It obviously wasn't Rebecca. She knew that much. Was it his mother? No... from the way Don spoke, it seemed like a totally different person. He held this tone of admiration when he spoke of her. As if he cared for her and adored her... maybe even loved her? April bit her lower lip in silence. Don was wondering what was going on with April since she was quiet, "April?"
Just after that, he felt the blindfold being pulled down. "April?" Don inquired once more; his eyes caught hold of her eyes, staring up at him just a second before he felt her lips pressed firmly to his own. He did not return the kiss even though April continued to keep her lips there a moment longer.
When she stepped back, her arms came behind her body. A beautiful body filled with purity. "Don... I love you." April whispered with a tinge of red across her cheeks. Don's gaze became half-hearted, and he turned away. When April also this, she seemed a bit defeated, but she wasn't going to give up. Not this time. "Don, look at me," April called out to him. Don closed his eyes tightly. "Don, please... I want you to look at me." April called out to him once more. Don shook his head. "I can't," Don replied.
April stepped up to him and took his hand only to place it against her chest. "Do you feel that, Don? Do you feel how rapid my heartbeat is? I do not know why you avoid me. I do know why you keep me just within arm's reach, but what I do know is that you care about me. I knew you would never take advantage of this situation. That is how much I trust you. So please, look at me." April softly spoke once again. Don could feel the warmth of her flesh and the beating of her heart. For a moment, he let his guard down, and he opened his eyes to look at her. April smiled softly when she saw he was looking at her. He could see a deep red on her face. She was clearly nervous about all of this, but she still trusted him.
April stepped to him once more, pressing herself to him while looking up at him. "Don... If I told you to take me, would you?" April asked with a sense of encouragement as if she had steeled herself for this moment. "I can't." Don replied disheartened.
"And why not? I am eighteen. I am an adult. I do not see why we can't. I turn nineteen next month too. You are only three years older than me. So why not?" April asked with slight defeat and confusion in her voice. "Because..." Don bit the inside of his cheek. "What, Don? Talk to me. Tell me, what is it? What is bothering you?" April insisted. She could feel just how close she was to getting Don to open up to her.
"Because you are too good for me. You are too pure. You are too innocent. Too warm... too bright... I do not want to taint you. My hands have soo much blood on them... I do not want you to lose that smile of yours. I do not want you to also have blood on you. I am a monster. I am a murder. I am a killer... April... I do not want to drag you into hell with me." Don finally opened up to her. Everything that littered his mind was now coming out. For years he held this back; for years, he could never tell her anything, but now... was it because she opened up to him? Was it because he felt her heart? Was it because... of how warm she was? He did not know.
April listened to every word he spoke. The way he spoke of her, the way he viewed her. It moved her, but at the same time, she felt saddened when he spoke of himself. When he said, he was a monster, a murderer, a killer. She felt pained. She knew there was something more to Don.
She knew it was abnormal that he could easily just take life away. These last two days showed her a different side of him, but... she also knew that there was more to him. She knew that he cared for others and that he would protect others. Not just her, but Rebecca, Noah, John, Josh, and Jake. Even Tyrone... Sure she called out to him, but if he truly was a monster, then she wouldn't have been able to get him in the first place. He would have killed Tyrone even when she called out to him.
"Don..." April spook in a hushed tone of voice as she looked up at him. Don was scared to look at her. He was scared of how she would view him. Sure he hadn't told her his upbringing, but surely she wasn't that dense? She could easily tell that he had killed people before. "Don, look at me. I want you to know something." April spoke up again.
Don did not want to face her; he wanted to deny her, but... he also knew that he needed to face her. She was the only one he would ever let judge him, which was why he was scared to hear it—her verdict. "Don," April called one more time in a soft manner.
Don turned to her and open his eyes once again. His eyes widen in surprise. What he saw was not disgust, hatred, fear, or anger, but love. If anything, it had only grown stronger than what he had last seen.
"Don. I don't care what you did or what you have done. I am sure you did what you did to survive. Still, if that does not ease your worry. I want you to know that you are who you are, Don. You are considerate. You are caring. You are protective. You are smart. You are strong. You are cool and calm. You are human. So regardless of what you think... I know you would never hurt me." These words resonated with Don. So much so that he suddenly embraced April. It was surprising to her, so suddenly and affectionately, but in the end, she held him back as well.
After a moment, Don released her and took a step back. His eyes were clearer than before. They held some form of light, maybe even hope. They no longer held doubt. When April saw this, she smiled warmly. "Now then, shall we have a bit of fun?" April teased him with a playful wink. Perhaps she felt bolder and more confident since Don had opened up to her.
Don chuckled softly to her tease. "You want your first time to be in a shower?" Don made a playful rebuttal as he approached her. His hand moved to cup her cheek softly. Her face returned to be a red tomato. She did not expect to be on the receiving in; the feeling was unusual but not terrible.
"Oh... um... uhh..." April fumbled over her words. "If it's with you..." She whispered shyly. Don grasp her waist from behind to pull her into him. His fingers on her cheek moved to lift her chin softly so he could peer into her eyes. "Well... maybe you can settle for this instead." Don leaned in to place an affectionate kiss upon her lips. Once again, she was surprised. Don had taken the initiative once again, but April repaid the kiss in kind.
While Don and April bonded in the shower, the others were also bonding. They were all sitting comfortably in the basement. "So, what is up with those two?" Sussan, one of Jake's friends, spoke up. "Don and April?" Jake asked, and Sussan nodded.
"Well, April is madly in love with Don. Has been for god knows how long. You should've seen Jen's face when she found out." Jake remarked with a light chuckle. "Jen wasn't the only one. Everyone knew you had a crush on April." John added, which caused Jake to sigh lightly. "You too?" Tyrone asked while looking at Jake, and Jake saw the kindred spirit in Tyrone when he said that.
"I mean, can you blame me? Her cheery personality, her kind demeanor... not to mention her angelic smile. Who wouldn't fall in love with her?" Jake made a rebuttal.
Josh chuckled lightly and waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah. Don doesn't seem to be affected by it one bit." Josh pitched in. "He's an exception!" Jake exclaimed. "Of course, there have been some sexual tension between him and Jen. Maybe Don just likes his girls with a bit more fire inside of them." Jake added.
"Jen?" Rebecca asked since the name came out more often than not. "Yeah. Jennifer. She's one of the crew. Jen and Don throw around sexual tensions like bullets in a firefight, but they haven't done a single thing." Josh replied. "Probably has something to do with pride." John added.
"So you all know each other?" Dillian, another one of Jake's friends asked.
"Not all of us, the only thing everyone in the crew has in common is knowing Don. " Josh replied.
"Speaking of, aren't they taking quite a bit of time? Hasn't it been nearly an hour?" Ryan, the other of Jake's friends would pitch in as well. Everyone fell silent and looked at one another in disbelief. Were they really doing it?
"What about us?" April's sudden voice damn near scared everyone to high heaven. Rebecca saw that April and Don were holding hands and smirked with a devious idea going through her head. "I bet you two had a steamy time in the shower." She teased them.
April turned away with crimson cheeks. The silence brought a surprising look to everyone's faces. Some even held looks of disbelief. "Wait did you?" Rebecca hastily inquired. She was only joking about it, but if it actually happened that was a different story. Don shook his head to dismiss their thoughts. "No. Nothing like that. She washed my back and we talked a bit." Don corrected their naughty minds. A breath of relief left Rebecca's lungs. After all, there was no need to create babies at this time and she highly doubted Don had any protection on him.
"We did kiss though..." April murmured. Once again everyone had a shocked expression on their face. "Oh my..." John's mother commented since she knew the chemistry between them. Don sighed heavily since everyone was making a big deal out of it.
"Regardless, that was as far as it went. Now then, I believe everyone should get some shut-eye. I want to take a small number with me to the nearby gun shops and department stores. If we plan on meeting up with Jen and Boss then we are going to have to go through Downtown again. I want to make sure we are prepared for what may lay in wait. For all, I know it could be a spider hive by now." Everyone seemed to be in agreeance, but the talk of spiders would raise some curious looks from those who had yet to encounter them.
"I'll explain tomorrow. I'll keep a lookout. I see you all already have mattress', blankets, and pillows set up. So go ahead." Don released April's hand and moved over to the stairwell.
He sat against the wall with a leg stretched out and an arm resting on the knee of one that was propped up. "Wait, really? You are going to keep watch?" Susan asked and Don nodded.
"Yes, so go ahead and get some sleep." Don replied. "Alright, I won't argue." Dillian wasn't going to argue. Being able to get a full night's rest was a godsend. "He won't... do anything to us, will he?" Ryan had his reservations about Don. After all, Don killed some people. April made her way next to Don and sat down beside him.
"Don't worry. Don's a good person." April's smile seemed to be enough to ease his worries. Jake, Josh, and John all agreed. Rebecca looked like she wanted to rebuttal since Don took watch last time. She felt that Don should get some proper sleep, but she knew that Don wasn't going to budge even if she asked to take watch.
"Just make sure you get some rest as well." Rebecca spoke up in turn. "Will do." Don replied. Everyone seemed to lay on a mattress meanwhile April placed her head on Don's shoulder. "I'll keep watch with you. Okay?" April looked up at him with a soft smile. Don's lips curved into a faint smile. "Do what you want." He murmured in reply. Even if he told her not to; it wasn't like she would have listened to him anyway.