Episode 10 (Serena Season 2)

The next morning we get a message from Clyde.

He says he wants everyone to take a day of rest from building the ship,

so Serena and I end up back in bed.

It's a azy morning of watching her mix paints until my restlessness gets the better of me.

MC: "Are you almost done?"

Serena: "Almost."

Serena: "I was going to start experimenting with blues if I could find the materials."

MC: "Oh."

Serena: "I've gotten to the point of boring you, haven't I?"

MC: "No. It's all really pretty."

Serena points a stained finger towards my nose, and I squirm to get away,

laughing every time she pretends she's about to swipe the mess of paint across my cheek instead.

Serena: "But you're still bored."

MC: "Okay, maybe!"

MC: "...or maybe you should just go wash your hands."

Serena: "Should I now?"

MC: "Uh-huh."

Quirking a brow at me, Serena swings her legs over the edge of the bed,

carrying her tray of paints out of the room and back to the kitchen.

I listen to the cool rush of water for a few minutes before she comes back,

drying her hands on a scrap of cloth.

Serena: "I hope you're not going to ask me to perform surgery. That scrubbing takes forever."

(There's at least ten openings for dirty jokes there,)

(and I can't come up with one that she wouldn't kick me out of bed for.)

MC: "Pff, no. Come here."

Serena only makes it a few steps before I grab her by the shoulders

and pull her the rest of the way into a firm kiss.

She hums against my lips in amusement, then promptly topples me back against the bed.

MC: "Hey!"

Serena: "Now I see your wicked plan."

Serena: "But you definitely wrote off some creative opportunities."

MC: "Yeah? I'm listening."

She moves to kneel between my legs with a smile, starting to slip out of her dress with a few careful tugs,

but when I see Serena shake her head, I realize I've just missed something.

(She's gorgeous, okay? I get caught staring a lot.)

MC: "Um. Now I'm listening."

Serena: "Are you sure about that?"

MC: "You have alllll of my attention."

When Serena leans down, stopping her lips an inch from mine, I gasp quietly.

It's not fair for her to stop right there,

our bodies so close to meeting as she starts stripping me out of my clothes.

Serena: "All the paints I made today were using fruit."

Serena: "There's no reason I couldn't paint something pretty on your skin..."

Serena: "...And then taste every inch of it."

Heat rushes through my body in two directions at once,

but it's my reddened cheeks that Serena kisses with affection -- at least, to start.

Her mouth travels lower as our bodies entwine together,

kicking the sheets away to remove every barrier between us.

MC: "I'll keep that in mind for next time."

Serena: "I bet you will."

Serena: "But there's already plenty for me to taste right now."

MC: "Mm--please."

Serena: "You don't have to ask."

She kisses along my breasts and my stomach,

a slow worship up and down until my hips start to shift under those brilliant hands.

My insistence doesn't go unnoticed, but Serena teases with a gentle caress along my thighs nonetheless.

MC: "Serena--"

Serena: "Oh, sweetheart."

Serena: "I'll stop teasing."

The softness in her voice catches me off-guard but makes my heart ache,

longing building in tandem with pleasure before Serena bows her head,

dark eyes locked with mine the moment her mouth meets brazen heat.

(She's so good at keeping her promises.)

We end up taking a short nap after eating lunch in bed, but I wake up with an incredibly scratchy throat.

Sneaking out to the kitchen for some water, I bring it back to the bedroom,

ony to start coughing on the first sip.

Grimacing, I manage to swallow as much as I can to ease the dryness,

but I see Serena stir from sleep, brushing her hair back away from her face with a frown.

I try to gulp down the rest of the water before she sees, but get a look for my trouble.

Serena: "Are you okay?"

MC: "I just--"

Another wave of coughing makes my shoulders tense, body shaking as I try to catch my breath.

Serena slips right out of bed, coming up to me to take my temperature.

Serena: "When did this start?"

MC: "When I got up. My throat's really dry, it's probably just--"

The next cough is so hard that I almost drop the glass,

which Serena takes out of my hand before leading me to the bed.

She rubs my back until it stops, but I still groan and put my head on my knees for a moment.

Serena: "Everyone else was fine yesterday, and I feel fine."

MC: "Yay?"

Serena: "No, that just concerns me because you were the only one that didn't get sick when the rest of us were."

Serena: "That almost means you could be sensitive to something we're not."

MC: "Like what? You and I eat all the same food together."

MC: "We drink the same water."

Serena: "And sleep in the same bed. Hmm."

(There was the plant thing that Olivia showed me, but Serena went into her house too.)

(And it's not like I touched it.)

A. "I'll take the day to rest."

B. "Maybe it'll go away."

C. "It's just a cough."

---

C. "It's just a cough."

MC: "It's just a cough. You don't have to worry."

Serena: "It's my job to worry, ."

Serena: "And a cough can be a symptom of any number of more serious issues."

Serena: "So let me figure that part out first."

---

Serena does a few more quick tests before pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

Serena: "I'm going to go hunt down something to shore up your immune system a bit."

Serena: "Unfortunately, we're running low on citrus fruit."

MC: "Maybe I could go steal one of Olivia's plants. That would work quick."

I was mostly joking, but I know the joke goes sour the second Serena's mouth thins into a tight line.

Serena: "I don't want her using those on you. Not until I know it's safe."

MC: "It worked for Logan."

Serena: "On a broken arm."

MC: "But--"

MC: "You really don't want to give her a chance."

Serena: "She hasn't given me much of a reason to, ."

Serena: "Olivia's not exactly open about how she gets her miracle cure."

Serena: "So I'm going to get you some fruit and you can relax here."

MC: "I don't want to stay alone."

MC: "Especially if I get worse."

Serena "The guys won't know how to treat you if--"

Serena: "..."

(And she's realizing the only other alternative is Olivia.)

Serena: "Alright. You can come with me."

Serena: "But don't push yourself. If you start feeling really sick, we're turning back."

MC: "Deal."

Serena makes me drink more water before we leave the treehouse,

and she keeps a tight grip on my hand once we're off the rope bridges and down into the meadow.

Tension radiates through her while we walk, and she's even quieter than usual.

MC: "Hey, what's going on?"

Serena: "...Nothing."

MC: "Okay, we both know that's not true."

MC: "If you want some time to be quiet and think stuff over that's okay, but I know something's up."

Serena: "Alright. That wasn't fair to say."

Serena: "But I'd think it would be obvious. You're sick and..."

MC: "I'm not that sick, Serena."

Serena: "I think I've earned a little bit of paranoia after the first time."

Serena: "Especially after I made a complete fool of myself."

MC: "Well, you were super sick."

MC: "Besides, if I start confessing my love, you know I already mean it."

Her fingers relax subtly around mine,

and I take that as a victory while Serena and I pass into the edge of the jungle.

My cough keeps up the whole way in fits and bursts, but when I hear something even louder, we both freeze.

Serena: "What was that?"

MC: "Not a cough."

Serena: "Keep an eye out, . Be quiet and careful."

A. Turn back.

B. Look around.

C. Blame the capybara.

---

C. Blame the capybara.

MC: "Maybe it's just another capybara."

Serena: "That would be very cute and nostalgic if the last one hadn't tried to bite you."

MC: "I... yeah, that's a good point."

---

Serena and I carefully start to move, holding each other's hands tight,

only or a whisper of vines to come behind us.

I whisrl around, just in time to see a fanged green mouth lunge at us through the trees.

MC: "What the fuck!?"

Serena: "Run!"

The monoster emerges from the jungle with a rattling snarl, thons sticking out from its uncoiling arms.

It practically blends into the plants aound it, and even as I sprint away with Serena,

fear and recognition hit me all at once.

(That looks just like the plant that was in Olivia's cage! Except this one is huge and angry!)

(The other one didn't even have teeth... I think.)

(What IS this?)

I stat to wheeze as we run faster, my lungs burning from the inside out,

and Serena quickly puts her arm around my shoulders, helping me along as quick as she can.

Serena: "I know it hurts, but we have to keep going, okay?"

Serena: "We don't have any way to fight that thing."

MC: "Nn, I know--"

MC: "I'm trying."

When I see the buildigs of the village in the distance, I summon one last burst of strength to keep running,

my heat pounding so loudly in my ears that I can't hear the monster at all.