Victoria had nearly finished cleaning out the last of the junk from the back of the car she was sharing with Jez, when something caught her eye. There was what appeared to be a piece of red satin ribbon sticking out from under the driver’s seat. She pulled on it and out came…

“Jezebel Wolfgang Kersekoff!” Jez whipped around. Victoria was standing right there in front of him, looking very pissed off and brandishing, of all things…a bra. Johnny started to snicker behind him, so he gave him a not-so-subtle kick in the shin (which is hard to do, if you’re in not facing somebody), and grabbed Victoria’s wrists, forcing them to her sides, as if hiding the bra would help solve anything…not that he knew what he was supposed to be solving in the first place.

“Um…Vic?” He said, as quietly as he could, while trying to hold her still as she struggled to free herself from his grasp, “Why don’t we go inside, ok? Get some…privacy…” She stopped struggling so suddenly, it nearly threw him off balance.

“Yeah, sure Jez,” she hissed venomously, eyes blazing, “let’s go get some privacy! We wouldn’t want to let everyone know that you’ve been cheating on me or anything, now, would we?” Jez was dumbfounded.

“Cheating on you? I would nev-“

“Save it, Jez,” she said. “Let’s go inside. Johnny doesn’t need to hear this.”

“That’s what I just – “

“Come on, Jezebel.”

He knew he was in deep trouble.

“Would you care to explain this?” Victoria held up the offending red lacy object.

“It’s a bra, Victoria,” Jez said, angrily, wondering how she could possibly draw the conclusion that he was cheating on her from a fucking bra.

“It’s not my bra, Jezebel,” she said, right back in that same insolent tone. “I was cleaning the car. Our car, and I found it. So who’ve you had out there when I’m not watching?” She was trying to keep her voice steady, but he knew she was on the verge of tears, and it made him feel horrible, even though he knew he was innocent.

“Do you honestly think that for one second, I would even consider cheating on you?” His expression changed from one of guilt back to anger, and she was almost afraid of the look in his eyes. She’d never seen that much fury in them…that much…passion. She bit her lip.

“No, I don’t, but-“ Jez interrupted her.

“You’re so fucking perfect, Victoria,” he growled, brown eyes darkening even more, with rage, yes, but she could also make out the hint of lust that was always present when they argued. Most of their fights ended in kissing…or sex, actually, so it was no surprise when he leaned down and captured her lips with his own, in a rough, demanding kiss, as though he was claiming his right to her, marking her as his territory. Mad as she was, she felt herself melting into him, being swept away.

“Sometimes,”(another knee-weakening kiss) “it feels like I love you so much, Vic,” (kiss) “that it hurts.” (And another).

She couldn’t help letting her hands rake through his shaggy blonde hair, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop him from biting her neck and earlobe as he continued:

“I love you, Victoria, only you. I love you, and don’t you ever forget it.” He assaulted her collarbone, shoulders, pulse point, then brought his mouth back up to her own, sending her mind reeling. “Tell me you won’t ever forget it,” he whispered against her lips. Victoria shivered. “Tell me,” he insisted. “Promise.”

“I promise,” she gasped, wrapping her legs around him as he picked her up and carried her across the room to the old, dusty bed with its ripped sheets and creaking springs. He threw her down onto the stained mattress, making her feel very much like the heroine of one of the trashy romance novels that she sometimes borrowed from Sienna.

Then suddenly, he was right there next to her, tearing at her clothes, sending buttons bouncing off of the walls and floor, shredding cotton and lace at the seams. She gave a soft whimper as she pushed his beaten leather jacket over his broad shoulders, then pulled at the buttons on his jeans. He brushed her hands away impatiently, undoing them himself and kicking them to the floor.

When they were both fully undressed, he rolled over on top of her. She winced slightly – it always hurt a little.

But she soon forgot about the pain. It was hard not to, when he was murmuring, ‘I love you,’ huskily, over and over, as he pounded into her rhythmically, lacing his fingers with her own and kissing her face and neck while her eyes fluttered closed.

She concentrated on his musky, boyish scent, the sheen of sweat glistening on their bodies, the beat of the music that no one but themselves could hear, and the pain as she bit her lip to keep from moaning, for fear that Sawyer (or possibly Johnny or Alex) would hear and come bursting in on them.

But finally she could hold it in no longer, and she gasped, “Jez!” just as he groaned and they both reached the climax simultaneously, which had never happened before.

He rolled off of her and they both collapsed back onto the mattress. Then Jez grabbed the dirty sheet off the floor, from where it had fallen, and pulled it over them both completely, just as he had when they were little kids and played fort underneath the covers of their parents king-sized beds.

They lay there in silence for a while; Victoria snuggled against Jez’s broad chest, thinking languidly until she remembered -

“Jez,” she whispered, very close to dozing off.

“Hmm…?” His eyelids fluttered open. Victoria yawned.

“Who did that bra…I mean, where did it come from, anyway?”

“Oh, that…” He looked rather embarrassed. “When we were in that department store…well, I – I saw it and it…reminded me of you. It was red, and, I dunno…sexy, I guess, so I just took it. I figured I’d eventually give it to you, but I must’ve forgotten about it.”

“Oh.” Now it was her turn to look embarrassed. “Well, I’m sorry for…you know…”

“It’s fine, Vic, really. Don’t worry about it.” He kissed the top of her head, nuzzling her mussed red hair. She sighed.

“I really, really love you, Jez.” He laughed.

“I kinda figured.”