Cells at Work: Ebola

Chapter 12: The Burden of Command

He opened his eyes and saw Regulatory cell leaning on his sitting position with her hand resting on his chest. Her smooth, rosy cheeks rubbed with his, and he could hear her soft breathing near his ears.

"Courage, my love," she whispered. "The world needs you at the helm with all your strength."

He felt his chest rising and falling with anger, but the tender touch of Regulatory cell abated some of it.

He closed his eyes again as he wrapped back his own arm around her waist. He needed this. He realized how badly he needed the warmth of the one cell he had formed a bond with.

"Thank you, Regulatory," he sighed. The rage inside him had cooldown low enough for him to gather his wits and form a more rational assessment of their situation. "Thank you."

Regulatory cell moved slightly away from him so that the two were now staring directly into each other.

Helper T swallowed as he felt shame for losing his cool when his partner was trying to remain composed despite the rapid destruction of the world.

Regulatory's face looked tired and spent. Her jeweled green eyes seemed to convey to him a sense of sadness and pain.

He averted his gaze from hers. "Regulatory, I..."

But she never gave him the chance to finish as she suddenly pressed her lips with his.

Helper T's eyes widened with surprise at the unexpected kiss. It came out of nowhere, and a hundred thoughts suddenly swirled inside his head.

But he ignored them all, pulling instead Regulatory closer. Her lips felt soft and sweet, and he savored them all in his response.

For a couple of seconds, their world stopped moving. For just a brief moment of their lives, he allowed himself to experience the eternal bliss of their love. Nothing matters outside them... The world did not matter, the war did not matter.

Helper T cell wished they could stay like this forever. To hell with the Consciousness and Lady Em. To hell with them all.

Only the two of them, wrapped in each other's loving embrace, with their tongues intertwining, mattered.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Despite his desire not to care anymore on anything, his partner knew that would never happen.

Regulatory cell finally moved away from him, her face still flushed and red. Her chest rose and fell in synchronized rhythm with her panting. A strand of her bangs fell down from her forehead, covering her left eye, and giving her a tired but seductive pose.

Helper T cell also heaved lungfuls of air to catch his breath. He could feel his mitochondria now booming in his chest from his partner's sudden kiss.

"That should help you to calm down my love," she placed a hand on his seer-helm, giving him a faint smile. "Do not lose hope, I will always be here by your side."

Helper T adjusted his glasses as he smiled back. "Forgive me Regulatory, I just... I just lost myself for a bit."

"I know your burden is heavy," she whispered. "But you are not alone... I will help you carry some of the weight."

"Thank you," he nodded, his eyes once again started to tear up.

He was never a firm believer in fate despite the multiple lectures from Lady Macrophage. However, if such a thing as fate does exist, then he was truly grateful that, of all the trillions of cells living in this world, he was able to meet the one he could fall in love with.

A stream of urgent thoughts suddenly buzzed inside his head, notifying him of an incoming call. The augmented display in front of him indicated the source of the call, and it took all the self-control he had not to rip out his headgear and murder the cell on the other line.