With the engine under him softly purring like a very satisfied cat, Vinnie drove through the empty streets of the city of Chicago.
It was a smooth and quiet drive so far, a bit too quiet by his standards, but that all had to do with that little crazy human sitting behind him.
Although he had his tail coiled around her waist to keep her comfortable and safe, he figured she had enough adrenaline for one day, so the least he could do for her was keep himself in check.
Which was a bit harder than he initially thought it would be, for taking a drive at full speed, preferably with some crazy-ass neck-breaking stunts here and there added along the way, was his usual way of dealing with his emotions.
And emotions there were.
A lot, actually.
Like a sandstorm on Mars, they raged through his body at the same speed with which he actually wanted to drive right now, if not harder, and it made him even more restless than he usually was.
Holy shit, what a day.
What made him even more uneased was that images of Harley kept flashing in front of his eyes, his brain apparently desperate to remind him of what he had lost.
Which was nothing but an exercise in futility.
As if he would ever forget what he had lost.
The nightmares he had every night were indisputable proof that he would never, ever forget about her.
Though he had to admit, he hadn't thought about her for a few days now, nightmares aside, but that didn't count in his humble opinion.
It was meeting Charley that had put his mind off of her, and although it made him feel guilty, it was simultaneously like a breath of fresh air.
But as it seemed to be a common thread in his life, he had been overtaken by his demons and now, all there was left was her.
Harley.
The conversation he had with Charley had opened the door which he so frantically tried to keep closed and if he even so much blinked his eyes, the image of her being grabbed by that filthy traitor Mace forced itself upon him, over and over again.
It made him sick, actually.
And where the soft purring of his bike's engine was usually enough to comfort him at least a bit, it was now suddenly way too quiet here.
Music.
All he needed was music.
That would be sufficient enough to keep the ghosts from the past away, since he wasn't really in the mood for talking right now.
With a slightly trembling hand, he pushed a button on his dashboard and after a soft beep, the radio came to life.
But instead of shrieking guitars, there was something else coming out of the speakers.
Something that bordered dangerously close to the characteristic yet revolting tones of a country song and he already let go of the handlebar again to skip to another station, preferably before he would throw up.
Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to flyThe midnight train is whining lowI'm so lonesome I could cry
It wasn't so much about the raw voice that was actually surprisingly pleasant for the ears, something he never saw coming after hearing the country-ish intro.
No, it was the words that stopped Vinnie from skipping the song, or if he had to be completely honest, it might be even the combination of both.
Either way, after a short hesitation -because come on, how was listening to a song like this one even cool?-, the white-furred youngster lowered his hand and grabbed the handlebar again, still trying to keep his pace as steady as possible.
I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling byThe moon just went behind the cloudsTo hide its face and cry
Goosebumps spread across his body, although he wasn't sure why.
Perhaps it had something to do with the horrific memories that still tried to force themselves upon him quite mercilessly.
Blue eyes, filled with confusion and fear, looking at him pleadingly...
In some feeble attempt to escape her burning gaze, Vinnie raised his eyes, hoping it was only the moon that would look back at him, but it wasn't.
Blue eyes, filled with confusion and fear, looking at him pleadingly...
No, not pleadingly.
Incriminating.
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?Like me, he's lost the will to liveI'm so lonesome I could cry
Up until this moment, he never realized how lonely he actually felt ever since he had lost her.
Or maybe he did know, deep down.
He just never acknowledged it.
If one ignored something long enough, it simply didn't exist, or well, that's the theory anyway.
It was a coping mechanism taught by his beloved mother, and he still wasn't sure whether to be grateful or hate her for it.
It was odd, though.
That it was the voice of this unknown singer that managed to get through to him.
To show him what was hidden behind the mask.
And it wasn't just loneliness.
No, there was something else, lurking in the shadows as he kept staring into the accusing eyes belonging to a ghost from the past.
Something even nastier.
The silence of a falling star
Lights up the purple skyAnd as I wonder where you areI'm so lonesome I could cry
Guilt.
Disgraceful and destructive guilt, in its ugliest form.
It unfolded itself and covered him like a blanket, but not a soothing one.
No, it was a heavy one, as if it was made of lead.
A prison.
One that was all too familiar, sadly enough.
One that literally haunted him in his dreams.
As always, his primary reaction was to flee, preferably as far as possible and his hand holding the throttle twitched.
It was ever so slightly, but his bike always had been sensitive.
Sometimes, it almost seemed to have a mind of its own.
Today was no different and the moment he only so much flexed the small muscles in his fingers, the impressive machine catapulted forward.
The warm arms around his waist tightened, and a soft cry was heard from behind him.
One that brought him back to reality instantly, and Vinnie immediately let go of the throttle again, cursing himself for allowing himself to get carried away with his emotions as he did just now.
As the bike slowed down, his tail gently squeezed Charley's waist in a silent apology, hoping she wouldn't be mad at him again.
He truly meant what he said, you know, about her being scary when she's mad.
But, thankfully, she didn't yell.
She didn't try to hit him.
She didn't even say anything.
All she did was rest her helmeted head on his back while holding him even tighter.
It probably should comfort him, as it was intended, and he couldn't be more grateful for her attempt.
However, it made him severely and uncharacteristically insecure instead.
Insecure to such an extent that he almost hit the brakes and made a full 180, suddenly doubting his own sanity for what he was about to do.
For where he was about to take her.
Just as turning on the music, it belonged in the category of badder than bad ideas.
And yet, he kept going forward.
He just kept driving, his rapid heartbeat and somewhat uncomfortable breathing the only clues for what was currently going through his mind.
There was simply no other choice.
Not anymore.
...
With his heart pounding in his throat, Vinnie took a sharp turn to the right and steered his bike on the unpaved road that led to his destination for tonight.
Although he could practically feel Charley's confusion about where he was taking her, she remained silent, and for some strange reason, he was grateful that she was.
He also felt a pang of admiration, for he knew how hard it must be for her to keep the questions she obviously had inside.
He had never met anyone before that was plagued by such lethal curiosity as this human being, and that included himself.
Go figure.
Nibbling on his lower lip in some feeble attempt to deal with his nervousness, Vinnie swerved from left to right to avoid the many holes this road owned and for a moment, the sharp yet somewhat soothing pain actually helped.
Until he suddenly noticed how close he was.
Removing his teeth from his lip to prevent himself from biting a hole in it, he let go of the throttle as if it was on fire and the bike immediately slowed down.
On edge as he was, he could feel Charley raising her head to look around her, but there was nothing to see.
Not yet, that is.
Even though he was close, he still wasn't close enough and he suddenly wasn't sure if he would ever be.
Close enough.
As in slow motion, he took his feet off the footrests and right before his bike came to a halt, the soles of his worn-out bike shoes made contact with the forestry land to make sure they wouldn't topple over.
At least he still had the presence of mind to think about that.
All to make sure that she would be safe.
That was all that mattered.
To keep her safe...
"Where are we?"
Her voice sounded somewhat hoarse after being silent for so long, and Vinnie closed his eyes for a brief moment as the melodic tones caressed his eardrums.
Then, he opened them again and stared into the darkness.
"Close. We are close."
Charley shifted her weight behind him, obviously confused by this vague answer, something he couldn't blame her for.
"Close to what?"
He opened his mouth, but then closed it again and he wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
Not because of her, but because of himself.
He was just so goddamn weak.
Above all, this was a mistake.
"I shouldn't have brought you here", he muttered, shaking his head as he already used his feet to push his bike backward, but a warm hand on his back made him stop.
"You brought me here for a reason. I'm not sure what's frightening you, but..."
"Nothing is frightening me", he cut her off, feeling utterly childish and even hypocritical for doing so, but it was like some sort of automatic reaction whenever someone accused him of something as fragile as being afraid.
"I laugh in the face of danger, I always do."
If only his voice didn't tremble, but it did.
Of course, that didn't elude Charley, and she gently squeezed his shoulder.
"Then laugh in the face of danger. As you always do."
Vinnie's red eyes darted from the shadows in front of him to the dashboard of his bike, and he swallowed with difficulty as he stood there, completely paralyzed by that stupid thing they call fear.
But it didn't take long for him to realize once again that there wasn't really a choice.
He had to do this, for he not only owed it to himself but to her as well.
She had to know what she was dealing with here.
And thus, after taking a deep breath, he opened the throttle again and slowly yet steadily, his bike drove further and further into the dark forest of the nature park they were currently finding themselves in.
After a few minutes of driving carefully through the trees, they entered the open space that was their destination and Vinnie let his bike roll out before it slowly halted.
It was still too dark to see anything, or at least with human eyes, and without giving himself time to think about it, Vinnie pushed a teeny-tiny button on his right handlebar as he subconsciously braced himself.
Here goes nothing.
A soft click was heard, and soon thereafter, about a thousand fairy lights in the trees that surrounded the place flicked on, illuminating the until then pitch black environment.
His sensitive ears caught the sound of Charley gasping in wonder, or at least, he hoped it was wonder and not condescension or something like that.
He said nothing, though.
He just sat there on his bike, eyes down and every muscle in his body as tight as a drum while he waited for her to say something.
But she also remained quiet when she slid off his bike before pulling off her helmet.
Her silence made him even more jittery, as far as that goes, and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, only to see her looking around her with those green eyes of hers wide open.
Hardly able to breathe, he just silently watched her taking in the details of where he had brought her.
First, she looked at the fireplace near the water.
At the log next to it, serving as a chair.
Then, her green eyes darted over to the hammock that was tied between two big trees not far from the fireplace and her mouth dropped.
"Vinnie, what..."
But she trailed off again when her gaze eventually landed on the big tree house on her left, and for a brief moment, all Vinnie could think of was how her eyes looked even more marvelous with the small lights reflecting in the green flames that were her irises.
She was just so breathtakingly beautiful.
He didn't deserve her.
Not even a little.
After gawking at the tree house, which was also decorated with about a hundred lights, she let out a sigh while slightly shaking her head in awe.
"It's beautiful...", she whispered, and she turned her head to look at him, her eyes more clear than he had ever seen before.
Apparently, being here did something to her, just like it did to him, although she wasn't aware of that.
"What is this place?"
Her question, though totally justified and understandable, was like a slap in the face, and Vinnie cleared his throat as he straightened his back, his red eyes now focussed on the dashboard of his bike again, for he wasn't able to look her in the eye.
"It's uh... It's my uh... safe haven... I guess..."
They were just words.
A few simple words, spoken in genuine honesty.
Nothing more, nothing less.
It wasn't extraordinary, or special, and yet, for Vinnie, it was.
He couldn't even remember the last time that he had lowered his walls, the conversation in the garage excluded.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
And yet, here he was.
He wasn't sure what to expect, but what he did know was that her agreeing with him, let alone understanding what he was talking about was actually far down the list, but once again, she managed to surprise him.
"I get that."
Pleasantly startled, he looked up, and after turning his head, their eyes locked.
"You do?", he asked, his already high-pitched voice even a few octaves higher than usual.
But she didn't bat an eye, telling him she was being genuine here.
"Yes."
Although he did everything within his power to conceal it, her response confused him, and not just a little.
After all, how on Mars did it make sense for a badass soldier like himself to need a safe haven?
Well, the answer to that was simple.
It didn't make sense.
At all.
In his humble opinion, the fact that he needed this place to unwind was more like the definition of being a wuss, but she didn't seem to agree with him on that theory and again, he got hit by the realization of how special she actually was.
As he was still staring at her like some sort of idiot, she glanced at him before she pointed at the tree house.
"Did you build it yourself?"
He had to admit, it was tempting to say that he did, if only to see the awe in her eyes, for it made them look even more extraordinary than they already were and it wasn't really a secret that he -but mostly his ego- thrived on recognition and admiration.
But it would also be a lie, and since he had vowed to himself never to lie to her, he shook his head, although a bit reluctant.
"Nope. It was already there. I only uh... upgraded the place, so to say."
"And Throttle and Modo..."
"Don't even know that this place exists", Vinnie already answered before she could finish her sentence and he shrugged in an attempt to hide his unease for her, even though he knew that was in vain anyway.
"And I'd like to keep it that way."
Nibbling on her lower lip, Charley eyed him with a somewhat investigating look on her face, but not because she was judging him, he could tell.
It was more like her trying to guess what was going on inside that sophisticated head of his.
But since it wasn't really that hard to guess what was on her mind, he decided to just continue before she could ask the most obvious question.
"I come here when I need to be alone. Sometimes, I just have this desperate wish to be alone..."
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but she still didn't seem to judge him.
She was genuinely curious, simply because she cared, which was enough for him to open his mouth again.
"I particularly come here at night. Ya know, when I can't sleep..."
Not sure whether to tell her about the terrors that came at night to haunt his sorry ass or to just skip that part, he trailed off, but she seemed to understand what he was trying to tell her, for she rested her hand on his arm in the most comforting way.
"I have nightmares, too."
Her breathing accelerated when she said these words that seemed simple at first sight but were in reality the antithesis of simplistic.
It was ever so slightly, but he picked it up effortlessly.
Also, he recognized it as a sign that she wasn't ready to talk about it just yet, and even though he was dying to ask her about her story, he didn't.
He just didn't, which was actually quite astonishing because he usually had little to no control over his mouth whatsoever, but with her, everything just seemed to be different.
The fact that she understood, along with her not laughing at him after showing her this place -which had been scarier than taking off his mask, strangely enough- was enough for him to find back at least a fragment of his usual endless confidence and the left corner of his mouth curled up, knowing perfectly well how charming his trademark crooked smile was.
"How about I show you around?"
Her entire face lit up, which was cute, to say the least and he already slid off his bike to take her by the hand before she could really answer the question, for that wasn't really necessary.
That set of sparkling green eyes said it all.
As he guided her to the ladder of the treehouse, his thumb gently caressed that little delicate spot between her thumb and index finger, for he somehow couldn't get enough of her softness.
But you see, the truth was that even the toughest soldiers needed some softness in their lives, and although he would never actually acknowledge it, beneath all the bravado that came with being a hero such as him, he was a really sensitive guy.
He tried to bury it as deep as possible, for in his line of work sensitivity equaled weakness, but it was there, alright.
This whole place was proof of that.
After climbing up the ladder, Vinnie opened the hatch and once inside the treehouse, he went down on his knees to help Charley get inside.
With her breathing a bit heavy, she sat down on the wooden floor to take a good look around her and again, he watched her taking in the details.
The hammock close by the window.
The big bean bags in the corner.
The small cooler in the other corner.
The oil lamp hanging on the ceiling, accompanied by even more fairy lights.
The big poster on the wall...
Vinnie froze for like a nanosecond, but he then leaped to his feet faster than light and quickly ripped the poster off the wall before rolling it up with his cheeks burning.
"Modo asked me to keep it safe. Seriously, doesn't he know that human-sized posters of hot biker babes are outdated?", he muttered allegedly incredulously, shaking his head as his fur bristled in embarrassment.
Charley watched him with her lips curled into a little amused smile, and when their eyes locked, she arched a brow.
"You know, I may not know Modo that long, but something tells me that he knows perfectly well that posters such as that one are outdated..."
"Not to mention corny", Vinnie breathed as the blush expanded, and soon, even the tip of his tail was burning as he just threw the now rolled-up poster out of the window before putting his hands in his pockets.
Why on Mars he had chosen Modo as an excuse was a riddle to him because even Charley seemed to know that the grey-furred giant would rather die than put a bold poster like that on the wall.
Or maybe it was to prevent himself from dying because he would probably have a heart attack or at least a seizure every time he laid eyes on a poster of a naked girl as the somewhat prudish mouse he was.
Either way, as it was the story of his life, the words had already left his mouth before he could think it through.
"Not to mention corny, yes...", Charley said softly, perhaps even a bit absent-mindedly, biting her lower lip as her green eyes wandered over his body.
Vinnie shivered under the sudden tension that now lingered in the air, one that had become familiar in a very short matter of time.
But where he normally would succumb to his cravings, the pressure of the electric field now only reminded him of why he had brought her here and although it cost him greatly, he managed to suppress his urges.
"So, tell me, Miss Davidson - are you up for another challenge?"
Her eyes slightly widened, and thanks to his well-developed hearing, he didn't miss her heartbeat increasing as well.
Perhaps it had something to do with the way his voice sounded, for it sounded low and raw and thus somewhat dirty.
That always seemed to happen whenever she was around, or when she was looking at him the way she was looking at him right now.
"Define challenge", she mumbled, still sitting on the floor while looking up at him with those big green eyes of hers.
Eyes filled with desire, the same he felt too.
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Vinnie gathered about all the self-control he owned in his magnificent body and when he at least thought he had himself back under control, he crouched down next to her and placed two fingers on her forehead.
"A Mind Walk. I want to take you on a Mind-Walk", he told her softly as his red eyes wandered over her face before they locked with hers.
"But only with your permission."
"Oh", Charley breathed, clearly, she wasn't expecting this, and Vinnie's lips twitched when he saw a shadow of disappointment obscuring her eyes, in fact, it seemed to darken her entire face.
Along with the disappointment came a hint of fear.
Fear of the unknown.
"Does it uh... does it hurt?", she asked, a bit stuffy, and he flashed her his most soothing smile as he tucked a strand of her auburn-colored hair behind her ear.
"Not even a bit. It's like dreaming while you're awake, if that makes sense."
She nodded, chewing on the inside of her cheek as her eyes darted down before she caught his gaze again.
"Will it be a bad dream?"
Her voice was nothing but a whisper, but still enough to give him goosebumps all over his body, but again, he had no intention of lying to her.
"I'm afraid so."
She kept nodding, like humans always seemed to do when they were trying to comprehend the difficulties that came with encountering alien life, and although Vinnie wanted to give her the time she needed, being patient never had been his strong suit.
Next to that, being so close to her just made him do things.
Like sliding his hands into her hair and kissing her, for instance.
The moment his lips made contact with hers, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, and he now knew that he had made the right choice not to wait until she would make up her mind, simply because it was just too much to comprehend for that tiny little human brain of hers.
She needed him to take charge, he could practically taste it in her kiss and as always, he was happy to comply.
After wrapping his arms around her lovely body, he lifted her and brought her to the corner with the bean bags.
Without breaking off the kiss, he carefully put her down on the soft material whilst he rested his weight on his elbows to avoid he would crush her fragile human body under his.
Once he was done giving her another one of his notorious mind-blowing kisses, he pulled back and opened his eyes, only to see her looking back at him nervously.
In fact, every muscle in her body was as tight as a drum, and he pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"It will be okay, sweetheart. I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that right?", he whispered, one hand pressing on her cheek whilst the other played with her hair.
Charley swallowed with difficulty.
"I know. It's just... Well, perhaps now is the time to tell you that I'm kind of afraid of losing control..."
A soft chuckle escaped Vinnie's lips, in a loving kind of way, that is and again, he planted a kiss right between her brows.
"Kind of figured that out. But you know, there is a certain beauty in losing control. It gives you a certain rush, one that is literally one of a kind."
The hand he was holding to her cheek now lowered and he took her chin between his furry fingers.
"Do you trust me?", he asked with a somewhat husky voice, one that sounded a lot like Throttle and hot damn, how much he loved it.
It seemed to do something to her as well, for her usual pinkish cheeks now colored red, but in spite of herself, she nodded.
"You know I do."
Her answer saddened him, strangely enough, but he quickly shook off the unpleasant feeling, and not only because he hated to feel the heavy weight that came with it.
It was important, if not vital to be in some sort of emotionless mental state before making the connection that was the first step of taking someone on a Mind Walk.
Things could go horribly wrong if he wasn't, for emotions were able to make one lose control and even though he personally thrived on situations that took on a life of their own for the reason he told her just now, he now merely couldn't afford it.
The last thing he wanted was to mess up her mind.
That pleasantly rebellious mind of hers...
Knowing she needed to be at peace as well, and also knowing that words weren't able to achieve that goal, Vinnie leaned forward and kissed her again.
Lovingly.
Affectionately.
He literally put everything he owned in the kiss, and slowly but surely, her body relaxed, and so did his.
But he didn't stop.
He kept kissing her, drowning her in his unconditional love for her.
When he figured she was ready, he activated his antennas and a soft soothing red light joined the warm glow from the fairy lights, but she hardly seemed to notice as she was so entirely caught up in his entire existence.
Which was good.
She was ready.
He wasn't, but he still deepened the kiss.
He still slightly tilted his head.
And before he could possibly chicken out, the tip of his antennas already brushed her forehead.