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Hunched over a large textbook Ronnie signed as she closed it with an audible thud and leaned back in Seth‘s creaky gray office chair. “Well that’s all I’m doing today, I'm heading to bed. Mind if I stay the night?” She said as she begrudgingly lifted herself from the chair. In the opposite room, Seth spoke “Are you sure… you've been here all week. You should really get out of the warehouse God knows I would if I could.” he said half jokingly poking his curly chocolate haired head out from the doorway. Ronnie chuckled “Yeah right and let you set our progress back a week!” Seth looked at Ronnie genuinely offended, leaning his full frame against the doorway before asking “What’s that supposed to mean?” his arms now crossed to accentuate the point of his displeasure. Ronnie rolled her eyes and brushed her long fingers through unkempt hair, looking back at the man she replied “Haven’t you ever noticed when I’m gone for too long you always pull off some crazy stunt that I somehow have to fix, I mean, Jesus Seth it’s already enough work trying to find a cure!” Seth cocked his head to the side and scoffed, bouncing his shoulders “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” he said defensively. Ronnie eyed him as if to say really? but she still wouldn’t let it slide rather opting to prove her point. “Fine, I'll give you the list.” She said now her full focus on the man in the doorway “let’s think… oh! How about you getting drunk after I went to see Stathis and going into the telepod, starting this whole mess! Even though you were the one who said we shouldn’t do anything rash before we get the results back from the monkey.” Embarrassed, Seth darted his eyes to the floor not making eye contact with Ronnie, his voice becoming small “Actually it was a baboon..” he said as if it would help his case. The woman continued “Or when I had to do overtime to catch up on some work and when I came back, you tried to convince me you turning into a fly monster was actually a quote on quote a good thing and that we should quote on quote let it run its course.” Seth interrupted, “OK OK I get it.” He chuckled trying to hide his shamefaced. “That’s what I thought.” Ronnie smirked. She walked up to the semi flustered man and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to bed. You should come with me.” She suggested, caressing Seth‘s gloved hands with her thumb going back in circular motions. He pulled away-“I’m not tired Ronnie… I should put in a couple more hours.” he turned his back towards her. “Seth!” Ronnie said, exasperated. “It’s like you’ve said I've been here all week and the entire time I haven’t seen you sleep more than a couple hours.” Seth responded, “I've gotta work on this Ronnie time is of the essence!” Ronnie with genuine concern continued “Well what’s the point in finding a cure if you’ll die from exhaustion?” Seth sighed, she was right and he knew it but he couldn’t help but feel like rest was just a waste of time.
He sighed again and his hand scratched the back of his head in surrender. “I have a feeling you’ll just continue to pester me if I keep working and I’ll get nothing done and if I can’t get anything done well then, I might as well get some sleep.” He looked at Ronnie expectantly “Did I capture your thought process?” He asked, knowing the answer, “You know me too well.” She said with a sly grin and went up to her boyfriend. They embraced each other and Seth planned a kiss on Ronnie’s pale chiseled face. It had taken them forever to re-enter that point in their relationship, once Seth had started transforming the last thing he wanted was for Ronnie to be near him. He was disgusted by himself, the change made him feel like his own body was a foreign place, the constant changes in his appearance and the having to re-teach himself to do basic tasks. It always felt once he relearned something he would discover the loss of another basic skill. Although he was significantly faster and stronger then before and with every human capacity he lost he gained a fly one, like climbing walls, but what was the point of superhuman abilities if he couldn’t walk or even eat without some form of pain. Not only did the changes in his body unsettle him but the changes in his psyche, on some days he would feel like he was on top of the world and the next as if he was drowning in a deep dark sea. The switches of being sane and gone always varied. He honestly scared himself. and he had no idea what he would be like in a couple hours. His vessel was a puppet to his own madness caused by the house flies instincts and Seths human desire to make things make sense. But Ronnie always made it feel like it was bearable, even when she had learned of his condition not knowing if it was contagious or not, she gripped on to him tightly and hasn’t let go since. The warmth of his kiss on Ronnie‘s forehead, comforted her but she wouldn’t describe it as warm no it was… hot? She dismissed the thought and when he released his lips from her head, she pulled him back in. “I wanna kiss lip to lip.” She said almost dead pan, Seth looked back at her wide eyed in shock. “We both know you’re not contagious and-and we have been able to do anything in a while...” she said a bit flustered, she was starting to regret her poor wording. Seth continued to stare back like a deer in headlights, his usual darting eyes still and sharp like a wild animal. “It’s just that-that… why… Why would you want to?” Seth stuttered out.
“Because I love you Seth.” She said infinitely more confident in the statement. The two of them looked intently at each other before Seth hesitantly leaned into her embrace, his movements were stiff and rigid. Seeing the man’s indecisiveness she plunged herself against him and pressed her soft silky lips against his. Their kiss was tender and innocent until Seth slipped his tongue into Ronnie’s parted lips but she didn’t mind no, she was waiting for it. The two of their tongues glided over each other's smooth surfaces as their presents melted into each other. Both pretending the kiss wasn’t now but back then when things were simpler, the memories kept their minds warm and mouths hot, then sweltering. Ronnie gasped at the heat flowing from Seth’s mouth; soon the warmth of their kiss became a burning hot sensation she dared not pull herself from. Before long the pain became unbearable and she had no choice but to break away. She pushed back and stumbled away from Seth, her lips and tongue throbbing in agony. Hunched over she gasped for air, her breath coming in hot pants trying to breathe the cooler in comparison air of the apartment. Seth ran up to her steadying her balance, his own panic setting in. She leaned on him and he began to rush her to the restroom and quickly turned on the sink. Ronnie began to cup small amounts of water into her blistering mouth still gasping and sputtering until the pain began to subside. She wiped the spittle from the corner of her mouth and sat on the edge of the tub, taking deep breaths between parted lips. Seth hovered over her while nervously rubbing his gloved hands together akin to a fly, not knowing what to do or even say before he finally sat down beside her and rubbed her back in comforting strokes. “What just happened?” he thought to himself, his mind racing through the possibilities before the answer became clear. The enzymes in his saliva had begun to corrode her skin if the kiss had been a second long the burns could have been much more severe. His eyes outspread at the terrifying realization, he signed, clutching the sides of his head feeling an oncoming headache beginning to spread. He got up and opened up the medicine cabinet, previously known as the Seth Brundle natural history Museum which Ronnie made him immediately get rid of once they began their search for a cure. In truth he didn’t have the heart to throw it away, instead he opted to transfer everything into a cardboard box he secretly kept under his mattress. He scanned through the rows of the cabinet, the only good thing that came from the knowledge of him almost dissolving his girlfriend’s face off was that he now knew how to treat it. He took out a tube of simple burnt ointment and passed it to Ronnie. “I’m… I’m so sorry Ronnie we shouldn’t have- I shouldn’t have… God i’m sorry Ronnie I still don’t know anything about this still, the chemical changes in my own biology. I wasn’t even thinking about it! I was more concerned with what you thought of me instead of the million ways it could’ve ended and catastrophe!” He exclaimed “That’s a bit dramatic don’t you think? It was only a kiss and at least we know now.” Ronnie shrugged whilst applying ointment to her slightly scarring lips. “That’s not the point! It’s…” he again signed, trying not to wound himself up. He leaned against the kitchen sink in defeat as Ronnie got up from her seating. “Wanna kiss again?” Ronnie said with a smirk. “Ronnie, why in hell would we!?-“ his anger subsided immediately when Ronnie pressed her delicate hand against his mouth, her lips being blocked by a barrier of her own skin yet both of them still felt the push of it. She let go, her mischievous smile now becoming more serious “I’m not an idiot Seth so don’t treat me like one. I know what I’m signing up for. I'm going to be here with you every step of the way, no matter how much it hurts, no matter how many compromises we have to make, I will always be here for you Seth.” The couple looked at each other intently before rushing into a tight embrace with each other, neither of them wanting to let go.