Message-ID: <53467asstr$1144390205@assm.asstr.org>
From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Pandora's Box 3 (Mf Mff MMf rom ws exhib bdsm)
Lines: 379
Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 02:10:05 -0400
Path: assm.asstr.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://pandora.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Pandora and our other stories. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cool water soothed both her tender flesh and his aching head, allowing
for some high-quality frolicking. She swam like an otter, all smooth,
graceful motion and uninhibited playfulness, replaced by purring approval
as he showed her the tricks to having partially submerged sex...including
the one where they hung on beneath the diving board, her legs wrapped
around him, holding him in her. Afterward, they walked arm in arm to the
Jacuzzi, slipping into the warm water and cuddling close.  After not too
long, though, his headache returned, a throbbing ache that spoiled even the
sensual pleasure of her soft, pliant body pressed against him.

"You really don't have to go home tonight?" he asked.

Pandora smiled up at him. "I really don't. I can stay. If you want me to, I
mean?"

"Would you?" He pulled her close. "I'd really like you to stay." He
hesitated for a moment, obviously troubled. "If you want to. I...don't know
exactly what you wanted out of this."

"I...I'd like that. A lot. I just wasn't sure you'd want me to. I meant it,
Gabriel...I'm not going to...I mean, you don't owe me anything, you know?
You don't have to do anything just because it's what most people would
expect. I'm not most people."

Gabriel sighed. "What _do_ you want?"

"I...um...this. Just to...be with you. To be able to be myself, to do this
with someone I can trust. Again, if...if you're willing, but if you're not,
then...a friend still, at least? Someone to talk to? I won't make any
demands, either way. No strings, no expectations, just...whatever your
limits are."

Gabriel hesitated. "So...friends with benefits, basically?"

She straightened up and slid a bit aways from him. "That sounds awful. I'm
just trying to be fair...I don't want to push. But...that makes it sound
like this...was something cheap. And it wasn't. Not for me."

"Honestly...I don't think that would work anyway. I like you, you know? And
I don't think I could keep it at just...friends with benefits level. I just
don't know how we'd work something more than that."

She peeked up at him, uncertain but hopeful. "So...what are you saying?
What do _you_ want?"

"I'm...not sure. I mean, I just...don't think I could handle not being
anything more than friends for long. I'd want more."

She frowned. "O..oh. I...Gabriel? Can you please just...tell me? Because I
don't know what I should be feeling right now, and that makes it kinda hard
to respond to you. So are you saying 'all' or 'nothing'? Cause I can't
tell..."

"Oh. I...think it's 'all'." He looked at her uncertainly. "I'm just not
sure how we would work that. I mean...would it be fair to you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well...think about what you'd be giving up. I mean, we couldn't really be
together openly," he said.

"Oh...I thought you understood. Honey, I couldn't _openly_ be with anyone
yet. Not anyone I'd be willing to be with, anyway. Well, I _could_...but
it'd be a huge hassle with my parents. But as long as I'm discreet, they
don't really care what I do, so that's okay, I guess. And...I'm not real
social, anyway. I...I don't want a status symbol. Or to be anyone else's.
My idea of a, um, good relationship doesn't really have anything to do with
what other people think, you know?"

Gabriel bit his lip. "I just don't want you to...to miss out, you know?"

"On _what_? God, do you even have any idea how _nice_ this has been? And I
don't mean just the sex, either, I..." She looked down, scared. "I _like_
you. That's why I did this. It wasn't just a...a convenience, just a matter
of you being a nice, clean guy in the right place at the right time. It
was..._you_. I wanted...you. But I was just...willing to be realistic. Not
get too...hopeful."

Gabriel smiled. "Well, in that case...why don't we go take a nap, and enjoy
the cuddling, and afterwards we can do things together?"

She gave him a timid smile. "really?" Then she threw her arms around his
neck and kissed him, hard. "ohhh god..." she whispered as she drew back,
then frowned, rubbing his cheek with a gentle hand. "What's wrong? You're
so pale..."

"Headache. So a nap sounds really good."

"Was it...um...something we did?" she asked guiltily. "I mean...too much?"

Gabriel shook his head. "I don't think so. I think it might be sinuses."

She kissed him again, gently. "Then come on, honey. I'll tuck you in bed
and make you feel better."

"Okay."

Gabriel winced, then laughed suddenly. "Oh, my god."

Pandora looked at him worriedly. "What?  You look _really_ awful, you
know..."

"I just realized what I did."

"What you did? So you do know what caused the headache, then...why's that
so funny?

Gabriel shook his head. "No, not the headache. I..." His lips twitched. "I
opened Pandora's Box."

She stared at him, totally aghast, and her eyes narrowed. "You are _so_
lucky you're sick. Because if you weren't....I'd seriously hurt you for
that."

Gabriel raised one eyebrow. "What? It wasn't _that_ bad."

She growled. "That's a matter of opinion. I mean...do you _really_ think I
haven't heard variations on that theme since I was 10? Lay off my name,
mm'k? It's not funny. And _so_ not voluntary."

"Sorry. I guess I should have warned you." He climbed out of the hot tub,
wincing. "I'm an inveterate punster. I can't help it."

"I don't mind puns," she said, reaching to help steady him. "It's
just...well, it's a sensitive area. My parents...were both cruel and stupid
in their naming habits. I got off _lucky_."

Gabriel blinked. "Lucky? Compared to what?"

"My sisters."

"Oh? What did they name your sisters?" He reached for the towel, moving
slowly and cautiously.

She sighed, taking the towel and wrapping it around him, drying him gently.
"My little sister, Tandi? Her name is actually Tandoori.  And my older
sister got saddled with Argentina."

Gabriel blinked again. "Tan...doori. Like...the oven?"

"Like the oven.  My parents...they just took words they liked the sound of,
not even knowing what they meant and slapped them together and put them on
our birth certificates."

"Don't you have a middle name you could use?" he asked.

"If it were any better, don't you think we _would_?"

Gabriel pulled the towel off, offering it to her. "What is it?"

She wrapped the towel around her hair, squeezing out some of the excess
water, and sighed again. "Well. My little sister is, officially, 'Tandoori
Baleen'.  And Tina? She's 'Argentina Lychee'."

"And yours?"

A blush on her cheeks, she looked down and mumbled something
unintelligible.

Gabriel raised his eyebrow.

Another deep sigh. "Taiwan. Pandora Taiwan Harris. I usually just prefer
'Dora'."

Gabriel blinked, twice. "Okay. No more puns on your name." He looked
thoughtful. "The story had it wrong, though."

"I should hope so....I think if a bunch of little monsters had flown out of
there, you might have freaked much, yeah?"

He grinned. "Yeah. But all I found in your box was a whole bunch of
orgasms."

She laughed. "Well...I always knew _those_ were in there. I never managed
to get them out so easily before, though." She looked thoughtful for a
moment. "Traditionally, Pandora's box contained all the evils of the world,
all the suffering of man. I guess, when you think about it, that as a
metaphor it's pretty accurate. Sex does cause more suffering than anything
else. But...well...hopefully in this specific case, it'll be different."
Her eyes softened as she looked up at him. "I never meant to bring you
suffering, you know," she said quietly.

"You didn't."

"And I'm not going to. Not if I can help it. I know you're worried...about
my parents and everything...but don't. I promise, the absolute _worst_ they
would do is just disinherit me. They'd never go after you, because that'd
be admitting that their daughter _could_ be seduced by someone like you.
Idiots."

Gabriel smiled, pulling her in for a hug. "Let's go take a nap. I want to
cuddle. And if they kick you out, well, I make plenty of money."

She looked up at him, a bit startled, then smiled heart-meltingly sweetly,
her eyes soft and caressing. "That's so sweet...but I wouldn't let you do
that. I can take care of myself, don't worry."

"You probably could, but you shouldn't have to be worrying about that. Not
at your age." He shook his head. "You should be worrying about learning
everything you can at school and in college. You're too smart to waste
that."

She laughed. "Yeah, right. I haven't learned anything at school since I was
10, honey. Basically, I educate myself and try to keep the school from
getting too much in the way, since they won't let me just skip it. 'Social
reasons' they say. As if I'm suddenly going to decide I want to be the
little social butterfly they want just because they continue to subject me
to the presence of idiots.  But I've already taken placement tests for
college, and I should be able to go in as a second semester
sophmore...that'll at least minimize the wasted time. And I don't _need_
them for college. I've got scholarships. And I could work, even if I
didn't. They can make things easier. And I love my little sister dearly,
and they could make it hard for me to see her. But they can't really _ruin_
things for me."

"In that case, if they throw you out, you stay here and I'll hire a tutor
for you, so that you aren't slowed down. God knows we need as many people
like you as we can get. There are _way_ too many idiots out there."

Pandora stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him, then slid her hand in
his and tugged. "You are _so_ sweet.  Come on...I want to get you in bed
before you fall over."	She nibbled her lower lip, looking up at him
anxiously. "I'm not sure I ought not make you go to a doctor."

"I think I'll be okay." He winced. "I probably ought to take something,
though."

She led him back to the bedroom. "Lay down, sweetheart. I'll get you
something." She pulled the covers up over his chest, tucking him in gently,
and kissed his forehead. "I'll take care of you. You just lay here, and
I'll be right back."  She was gone only a moment before returning with a
glass of orange juice and a bottle of ibuprofen.  She sat on the edge of
the bed while he took the pills, then gently stroked his forehead, looking
down at him. "Would it hurt you for me to lay beside you?"

He looked up at her. "Please? I'd like that."

Her smile was relieved and happy. "I wasn't sure it wouldn't make it
worse," she said as she slid under the covers, curling her soft, warm body
against his and laying her head on his chest with a happy little sigh. She
felt remarkably right, nestled there against him, as if the curves of her
body were just perfectly shaped to fit his.

Gabriel sighed in happiness, snuggling as close to her as he could get, and
fell asleep quickly.

He woke up a few hours later to the somewhat overwhelming realization that,
for the first time since his wife left, he wasn't alone. The soft, warm
body pressed so trustingly against his side wasn't a dream; it was real. 
He shifted slightly, and Pandora made a small sound of protest, tightening
her arm around his waist.

Gabriel pulled her close, resting his cheek on the top of her head, and
tried to ignore the stabbing pain in his head.

Pandora blinked sleepily and looked up at him. Her light-green eyes looked
almost luminous in the shadows, and the red-gold highlights in her hair
caught the dim light, seeming to glow as he looked down at it. Her pale
skin had a white glow to it, as well, making her look thoroughly unreal in
the darkened room.  It was a beautiful sight, but the brightness of it sent
knives of pain deep into his skull.  "Mmm? Gabriel?" she murmured, and
something about her voice sent a pleasurable shiver down his spine, despite
the pain. "How are you feeling?"

Gabriel winced. "Head hurts. Bad," he said, his voice rough with pain.

She sat up, frowning worriedly. "Oh poor sweet baby..." She reached up and
felt of his cheek. "Gabriel, you're burning up! Honey...you need to go to
the emergency room. No arguing."

Gabriel winced again. "I'm hurting enough I don't think I'm going to argue
with you. I think maybe this is a migraine or something."

"I...don't know. Migraines don't come with fever." She slid from the bed,
hurriedly pulling on her bikini and skirt, and picked up his pants. She
pulled out his keys, then handed the pants to him. "Here...you can't go in
naked...unless you think I should call an ambulance?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No. Uh, if you can drive."

"I can drive. You sure as _hell_ can't!"

"Okay." He bent over to pull his pants on, and nearly fell. Only her quick
reaction saved him. "Oh, god. Bending over... not good."

"Gabriel?" Her voice quavered with fright. "Oh god..."	Biting her lip hard
enough to draw blood, she quickly slid the pants up his legs. "We've got to
hurry...you're scaring me...has this ever happened before?"

Gabriel shook his head, then grabbed it with his hand. "Ow. No. Um. If you
look in the closet, you should find a shirt you can wear."

"A shirt? But you're sick....shit, okay, I guess you're right. Don't
_move_, I'll be right back."  She practically ran for the closet, pawing
through it.  It was obvious, when she found it, what shirt he meant. A
woman's t-shirt, black with a red-rose across the chest and a curvy,
feminine neckline. Very obviously his ex-wife's.  And also a size 8.  She
hesitated only a second before a groan from the bed had her swearing
violently and pulling the shirt over her head. It didn't fit, of course,
though it did look like something a teenager would wear. It was stretchy
enough to go on over her breasts, but was plastered to them like liquid
latex, and the bottom hit about three inches above her navel, leaving quite
a bit of silky white skin exposed over the skirt as she hurried back to
him.  "There..._now_ will you let me take you to the hospital?"

Gabriel stared at her. "jesus...wow!"

Her mouth fell open, and she laughed despite her fear. "That's so..._male_.
 Come on honey...easy now," she said, sliding an arm around his waist to
help him up.

Gabriel stood up, holding on to her. "Oh god...hurts..."

"I know baby...I'm so sorry...come on, I've got you."  Carefully, she led
him across the floor. He groaned, looking down at her, and had to close his
eyes at the brightness of the red-gold aura surrounding her. It was
actually rather lovely...containing flickers of green and blue, sparkling
streaks of silver...and it seemed to somehow 'fit' her perfectly, but the
brightness of it was excruciating. When he realized, though, that he could
still see it, even with his eyes closed, he stumbled, falling to his knees
and taking her down with him.

"Definitely a migraine. I'm getting the visual distortions now."

She squeezed his side gently, and tried to help him up.

Gabriel doubled over, moaning, as the pain in his head seemed to double and
spread along his bones, every joint becoming a searing point of agony.

Pandora cried out, reaching for him, but he thrashed suddenly, knocking her
backwards before falling to the floor and convulsing.  She stared, slowly
climbing to her feet and backing against the wall as he writhed in the
floor.

Gabriel felt as if his bones had been filled with fire. The pain was
excruciating, overwhelming, totally filling his perception. Vaguely, he
heard her scream and heard the denim of his jeans ripping as he was
convulsed by unimaginably intense cramps. His head throbbed, and his skin
felt too tight, stretched as if he were about to burst from it, and in
places...his hands, feet, ears...it felt as if hot coals were being pressed
against him. His heart thundered in his chest, and he wasn't able to breath
for the fire in his lungs. It seemed to go on forever, but in reality it
was only a few moments before he suddenly collapsed, weak and limp on the
carpet, most of the pain gone. All that remained was a lingering ache, a
soreness like from too much exercise, and a huge appetite.

Gabriel panted, curled into a fetal position. "Oh, _god_, that hurt." He
looked up at her. "It's gone, now."

Pandora took another step backwards, eyes wide.  "G--Gabriel?" she
whispered, as if she weren't at all certain of that.

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If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
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Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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