Fortitude (Heart of Stone)

by D H Sidebottom

  “Okay.”

  “Okay? Okay?” he scoffed. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to have your dick operated on?”

  “I guess not, Mason. I don’t have one.”

  He rolled his eyes and pursed his lips, “Mortifying, that’s what it is. Bloody horrific!”

  “Right.”

  He nodded seriously, “Not nice.”

  I exhaled heavily, “So why did Rebecca not know about this… operation.”

  He stared at me as though I’d lost my mind, “She knew I’d been tested but there was no way I was telling her they shoved pipes up my… fuck Ava, have you no consideration.”

  “Apparently not.” I shook my head, exasperated over his embarrassment. It was just a bloody operation. Fair enough on the most nicest part of him, but still.

  I huffed and nodded, “Right, well the poor love thought I knew you couldn’t have kids and she was mortified when she let it slip. She thought she’d ruined my life.”

  “Well at first she didn’t have a clue, the same as me. I thought I was infertile, I was infertile. But she found out I’d been to the hospital and… done the thing.”

  “So she just presumed. You should have told her.” I finished for him.

  He nodded sadly and let his gaze drop to the bed. “I was really cruel to her the last time I saw her.”

  I nodded, “I had gathered that when she came to the cottage loaded and ready for tearing me to bits.” He was quiet for a while as his grief tumbled from him. “She meant a lot to you.” I said for him, sensing his need to talk.

  He sighed and looked at me. “It’s strange. We were strange, our whole relationship was bloody strange. But she was always there, you know, always on her knees when my cruel side merged. She would always take my hatred and…” he paused and blew out a breath. “I’m not proud of how I treated her, Ava. I was cruel but it was almost like the worse I got with her, the harder she tried. She just took it, and that is… was quite the ultimate feeling of power. To hold that much influence over someone…” He swallowed as shame held him, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hand. “She loved me and I hurt her. That’s all I can say really.”

  “I tried to save her Mason, I tried…”

  “Hey,” he shook his head and pulled me onto his lap. “I know.”

  “If one thing has come from this, it’s that we made our peace.”

  He nodded and smiled, “She wasn’t a bad person, Ava. I just made her into one.”

  “You have a habit of doing that.”

  He snapped his head towards me and frowned, “I do?”

  “You do.” I nodded seriously. “I was never bad before I met you.”

  His eyebrow quirked as his lips twitched. “Really?” he laughed.

  “Yes!” I slapped at him. “I was angelic, your wicked ways just made me bad.”

  “Wicked, hmmm? You seem to have forgotten that Halloween...” My eyes widened and I blushed furiously. “Nope, you haven’t forgotten,” he laughed loudly.

  Halloween

  Marcy opened the door, her grin huge and her eyes already wonky. She was plastered. This should be fun. “Come in,” she urged as she opened the door wider. “You two don’t have to knock.”

  I glowered at her. “You can tell who we are?”

  He eyes roamed over us. “Your hair, Ava.” I grumbled a reply. Damn red curls. “And Mason, you are fucking awesome.”

  I turned to smile at him. I saw the hatred in his eyes through the little eye holes. “What I don’t understand,” he moaned with a muffled tone through the little mouth hole as he pushed past Marcy. “Is how Ava gets to be Catwoman and I’m… Well, what the fuck does Sully from Monsters Inc. have to do with bloody Catwoman? I see you didn’t come as Mike.”

  “Mason,” I sighed as I once more had to explain the situation to him. “I’m the kind of person who can’t wear bright green. I told you this, not with my red hair!”

  “Ava! No one would see your damn hair under the Mike costume.”

  I curled my lip at him, adjusted my eye mask and went in search of alcohol.

  ***

  Two hours later, I was as drunk as Marcy and horny. Very horny. I spotted Mason across the room, his bum perched on a table as he spoke with someone I didn’t know. I sidled up to him, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as my grin forewarned him.

  “I’m horny, Mason.” I whispered in his ear but grimaced when I whispered too loud and the music track stopped to move onto the next. I grinned nervously at the people around me that had heard my declaration.

  “What? Now?”

  “Now,” I hissed back. “Your bloody costume is turning me on.”

  His head moved under his head piece to look over his Sully costume then back to me, his eyes narrow and questioning. “Have you been at Marcy’s coffee liqueur again, Ava?”

  I lowered my eyes from him and tapped my foot on the table leg. He sighed heavily, “I told you to never touch that stuff again.”

  “But, it’s nice,” I defended as I tugged on his hand.

  “Ava, we can’t here,” he hissed under his costume.

  “There’s bedrooms, Mason. Come on, please.”

  “What the hell?” he mumbled as I pulled him quickly across the room and up the stairs.

  I opened the first door I came to, darkness greeting me as I pulled him in quickly and shut the door behind him. “Oooh, so much fun,” I murmured as I felt my way over the thick fur of his costume.

  “Let me find a light switch Ava…”

  “No! It’s fun in the dark.”

  “Ava…. Shit, baby...” He groaned when I cupped his cock through the material and smirked when I got an instant rise out of him.

  “See, Sully likes me too.” I told him as I tugged the bottom part of the costume down to his thighs and trailed my finger over his erection through his shorts.

  “Sully likes you very much.” He replied as he tugged at his shorts and pulled them down to sit with his furry trousers. “Very much.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” I smirked at his hiss as I tickled the head of his cock with the tip of my tongue, lapping at the pre-cum that had already collected. His flavour burst into my mouth, heightening my drunken lust even further as I cupped his balls in my hand and scraped the underside with my nails.

  “Oh Christ,” he moaned when I took him in my mouth and sucked hard, my tongue still tickling the underside.

  “You like Catwoman giving you a blow job, baby?”

  “Fuck yes!” he rasped as I felt him fall back against the door for support, his fingers sliding into my hair, until my curls were wrapped securely in his grip. “Suck Sully’s dick, Catwoman.”

  I grinned at him, his voice incoherent with pleasure and booze, and although he couldn’t see me, he felt it around his cock. “You kinky bastard.”

  He laughed but thrust his hips, sinking his cock further into my throat as his fingers tightened and his moans intensified. “Shut up and do what you do best.”

  “Now is not the time to bake muffins Mason,” I scolded as I shook my head.

  “Eh?” he murmured then tutted. “Not baking you daft sod, sucking.”

  “Oh right,” I mumbled and giggled. “Sorry.”

  He started to chuckle, then laugh and before long we were both hysterical, our stomachs hurting and our sides cramping. “Fuck, Ava. I fucking love you,” he boomed loudly.

  “Shush,” I slapped at his leg and giggled with him. “It’s not my fault. It’s that damn coffee liqueur of Marcy’s. The bloody stuff is toxic to brain cells.”

  “Uh-huh,” he scoffed. “Blame the liqueur, Ava.” His hands slid under my arms and he lifted me up. “Pull down those leggings, Catwoman. Sully needs into the pussy.”

  I grinned to myself as I fiddled with my clothes, grumbling at how tight the damn trousers were to this costume, it was like trying to free a grape from its skin. Mason helped me when he realised I was struggling, his fingers curling into the waistband as he started to yank at them
. “Oooh, someone’s eager” I laughed.

  “Well, I would like to fuck you before Monsters Inc. 6 comes to the cinema.”

  I laughed loudly, “Well Batman 12 is out in July and they need me, hurry up.”

  He chuckled with me as he managed to roll them down to my hips then twirled me round so I was facing the door. “That’ll do,” he muttered as he grabbed my hands in the darkness and placed them on the door. “Now prepare to be invaded, Catwoman.”

  I snorted loudly but sucked in a breath as his delicious cock slid inside me effortlessly. “Christ, you were horny. You’re bloody drenched.”

  I nodded, unable to form words as pleasure curled around me, ending the need and bringing on the want. My fingers clawed at the door, the paint scraping under my fingernails and I cringed, Marcy would kill me.

  I turned my head and peered into the darkness over my shoulder, “Fuck me Sully, bring out your inner monster.”

  “I’m gonna make you purr, Catwoman.”

  I frowned then smirked as I tried to hold in the giggle. “Purr? Fucking purr?”

  “Well what the fuck else am I supposed to say? You’re a bloody cat, so yeah, purr.”

  “Why the hell not,” I shrugged. “Okay, make me purr.”

  And he did. I fucking purred like a kitten, his strokes in me hard and fucking glorious, and each one driving pleasure into every fibre of me. His furry costume tickled my back as his hands cupped my breasts beneath the silk of my top until he tugged at the strapless black Basque and yanked it below my boobs so he could caress the actual flesh, his fingers teasing my nipples as he continued to pound me into oblivion. My head was bouncing off the door with his merciless fucking, his growls as monstrous as his suit. His hands gripped my shoulders to pull me back onto him as he exploded inside me, his fingers digging into my neck deeply to bring on my own climax.

  We both puffed and panted, trying to calm the rage flowing through our veins. “Fuck me,” Mason wheezed. “I’m bloody roasting.”

  “Have you still got the hood on?” I asked in amazement.

  “Well. Yeah, you wanted to fuck Sully didn’t you?”

  I closed my eyes and sighed, “Bloody hell, Mason. I’m surprised you haven’t passed out!”

  “Well, I do feel a bit light headed.”

  I laughed at him as I fumbled around and pulled my leggings back up, sucking in my stomach to get them back into their original position. “You daft sod!”

  We were still laughing as we sauntered down the stairs. I frowned as Mason said something and silence greeted us. Where was the music? The laughter and peoples chit chat?

  I froze as everyone stood smirking at us, each pair of eyes in the room trained on me and Mason. “Umm.”

  “What’s going on?” Mason asked me under his breath.

  “I have no idea,” I whispered back.

  Marcy walked towards us with a huge grin, her eyes laughing. My knees buckled when she lifted up a baby monitor, her tongue in her cheek as she waggled it at me. My eyes widened on her as Mason stiffened beside me. “Good job the kids are at my mothers, although I forgot to turn off the monitors.” She sucked on her lips then chuckled, “Now is not the time to bake muffins, Mason.” She mimicked.

  My gaze shot around the room as murmurs of snorts and giggles echoed around us. “By the way,” Courtney shouted to me from the back of the room. “Batman 12 is out in June and I already secured us tickets.”

  I groaned at the memory, Mason chuckling loudly beside me. “So funny,” he smirked as he tapped my nose.

  “So embarrassing,” I rectified but chuckled with him.

  “And for the record, green would now look good on you.”

  I shook my head and put a hand on my blonde fluff, “Nope, ‘fraid not.”

  He scowled at me when he sensed my embarrassment over my hair. “Hey,” he whispered when I gulped. “I like it. It’s soft and perfect.” His gaze was sad on me, his heart aching with mine as he felt my hatred at my looks. “And it’s growing really quickly, before you know it, it will be down to your chin.”

  “But what if…”

  He placed a finger over my lips, ceasing my worry. “We’ll deal with the what ifs after your results tomorrow.”

  I nodded as the anxiety bubbled in my stomach. “It’s okay, Ava. Have faith.”

  “Mmm,” I murmured, wishing I had as much confidence as my husband.

  Mason

  “Are you hungry yet?” I asked as I flicked through the TV channels, bored out of my tiny mind.

  Ava quirked a brow at me and scowled, “Mason, go to work. I’m fine.”

  “Uh-uh,” I muttered as I found a channel showing an old Top Gear and settled back against the headboard, pulling up a pillow to support the back of my head.

  I frowned when I felt Ava looking at me. “What?” I asked as she stared at me.

  “Top Gear?”

  “What’s wrong with Top Gear?” I gawped at her in shock.

  “I’m ill, Mason.”

  “Eh? You said you were fine.”

  She huffed at me, “Well, I’m too ill to watch Top Gear.”

  I rolled my eyes and switched off the TV and turned to her. “Well, what would you like to do, my dear?”

  She narrowed her eyes on me, “Are you being derisive?”

  “Nope.”

  She scrutinised me sceptically then sighed, “I dunno. Talk to me.”

  “Talk?” I tapped my fingers on my knee as my gaze roamed the room looking for something to talk about. “What do you want to talk about, Ava?”

  “I dunno,” she barked.

  I jerked at her tone and stared at her, “Well you wanted to talk.”

  “Yes, I know but… but I don’t know what about. Think of something yourself.”

  Okay, was she for real? She wanted to talk but it was up to me to find a subject. “Umm….”

  We both chewed on our lips, sighed, pouted, tipped our heads and clicked our tongues as we tried to think of something to talk about. “Oooh I know,” she cried out excitedly. “What’s been the best day of your life?”

  “Oooh well, you know that week when my horse came in second and I won….” I paused as she stared at me. “No?”

  She shook her head slowly, causing me to nod as slowly in reply. “Umm, ooh, ooh it was when you made that rhubarb strudel and Greg got ill.” I started laughing loudly, picturing how green he had gone as his hands gripped at his stomach. “Christ, that was funny shit, I’ve never seen anyone…” I rolled my lips and smiled at her, “The twins?”

  She grinned at me, slapping my arm when she realised I was messing with her. “Yeah,” she whispered. “The day the twins were born.”

  Tolerance

  She’d been under for so long it was getting difficult to breathe. I glanced at my watch again, three hours, three damn hours. The coffee in the place had started to curdle in my stomach, the acid eating at it furiously and burning up whatever I had left in there.

  I squeezed my eyes closed when the vision of all the blood flowed into my mind again. Bloody hell, I had never seen so much. And her scream!

  I traipsed the corridors again, for what seemed like the fiftieth time, trying to draw my attention away from just waiting. I studied each replica painting that adorned the scuffed walls, I pressed the footplate on each bin I passed just staring as the lid popped up and down. I even mended a broken drinking fountain when I found it didn’t work.

  I was slowly going crazy.

  My feet came to a stop outside a small door. My eyes narrowed on the ‘chapel’ sign. I hadn’t been to church since my mother dragged me to midnight mass one year on Christmas Eve.

  I placed my palm on the door, hesitating and checking to see if anyone was around but gave in and pushed, the scent of lemon polish and wood hitting me as soon as I stepped in.

  Each pine pew led the way towards a long table decorated with candles and a small cross to which a figure of Jesus was attached. My eyes roamed the empty room as my feet
led me through the centre of the rows. There was one single window, a colourful image of a saint I didn’t recognise spreading rainbows across the small room, each painted ray being soaked up by the wooden seats. Colourful red drapes hung from the walls as various crosses of different shapes and sizes littered the walls.

  I stopped when I realised I had reached the table, Jesus now staring at me. I frowned at the garland of thorns wrapped around his head. “That must hurt, huh?” He didn’t answer me, but I guessed I’d have passed out with that offering. “Hi,” I smiled, feeling myself blush at him. “How are you?”

  I know! I know! But what were you supposed to say to Jesus? It’s quite a difficult task actually.

  I nodded when he didn’t answer and let my eyes rove the room again. “Quite a nice place you have here, quite… homely.”

  I strolled over to the front bench and settled myself down, crossing one leg over my knee and brushing off a piece of fluff that had attached to the crappy material of my trousers. I’d never buy that brand again, cheap shit.

  “So,” I sighed and smiled back at Jesus. “I suppose you know who I am… do you know who I am?” I rolled my eyes and tutted, “Of course you do. You know everyone.”

  I placed my palms on the seat either side of me and rocked forward and backwards slightly. “My… girlfriend - sorry were not married… YET! Yet.” I nodded to him, my eyes looking at the ceiling hoping I wouldn’t suddenly be smited for ‘fornicating’ before marriage. “Well she’s… they’re operating on her. She’s… well, she’s not doing so well.” I smiled at him and shrugged. “She’s having my babies.” I nodded excitedly, it was good to share my delight instead of sat holding in my despair. “Twins, we’re having twins.”

  The smile slipped from my face and I looked at him for a while. “I umm, I’d be kind of… umm, well I wondered if you could… you know… make sure they’re okay and all that… if that’s okay, if you don’t mind, and umm… well I…”