Kota was lying in bed with his pillows propped up on the headboard, and the lamp which rested on a small table on his side of the bed was turned on. He was covered up to about his midsection, and was using his legs to prop up the book he was reading. Interestingly enough, the book was on Civil War history. Kota didn't necessarily let most people know it, but he was VERY much into history, particularly the Civil War.

As usual when he came to bed, he was shirtless, wearing only his navy blue boxer briefs tonight. For the first time, he was trying out his new reading glasses. He'd broken down and got his eyes checked a few days ago, and was dismayed to discover that his vision wasn't quite what it used to be, at least when it came to trying to read. His mind, obviously, was on the events of the day.

He had just reunited with his parents after seventeen years, but he'd kept quiet about what was on his mind around Jade. She got the chance to meet them for herself, even before he knew they were here! But anyway....he lay there, reading quietly, waiting for Jade to come to bed.

Happy? That was putting it lightly. She had been bouncing around all day after she found out that the reuniting had gone off without a hitch. Now, after all this time, she'd have parents of her own. In-laws, but they had made it clear that they would be taking her in like it was nothing.

And Claira? She was just in love with her new grandparents. That made Jade happiest of all. So, after brushing her teeth and changing, she made her way into the bedroom donned in a black tank top and a pair of silky boxers she stole from Dakota. She tilted her head at the sight of Dakota reading... and those glasses! Oh the smile she held on her lips.

Eyes lifted from his book, and damn...looking good as always. The idea of going to bed with her every night for the rest of his life? He could get used to that. He didn't close his book quite yet, but he turned the comforter and sheets down for her so she could get in. "C'mon in, baby....come talk to me.."

She let out a giddy coo. Did we mention she was having a delightful day? Jade nodded and crawled in and curled up with him. Her beaming smile went up to him, "Yes? About?"

Finally closing up his book and setting it on the nightstand, he took off his glasses, laid them on the book, and turned over to his side to face her. "My dad and mama.....I mean....what was it like for you, when Aiyana brought them here without me around? What'd you think of them?"

"They're wonderful, Kota. Amazin'. It didn't even seem ta phase 'em ta what I was. I swear, that sister o' yer's musta told a number to them, 'cuz I know how native americans can be really iffy 'bout supernatural stuff. But it wasn't like that at all. They took me right in. An' Claira? They jus' love her! She was in heaven the entire time they were here," There was a sweet sigh as her gaze went upward to the ceiling, "Your mama said that if we don't make it, she's keeping me anyway." She gave a light fluttery laugh, "But she also said that she couldn't think o' anyone more perfect for ya... even if ya guys hadn't seen each other in fifteen years."

He had rolled onto his back, smiling as she was telling him all about her day with his parents, also looking upwards at the ceiling. But he then quietly sighed as she made that last comment. "Seventeen years..." A moment of silence or two. "Seventeen years I've lost with them, and I ain't never gon' get that back. It went by so fast....they were in their late 40's the last time I'd seen them. They're in their 60's now...my God.." He then once again turned to his side to face her. "Time goes by fast, Jade.....goes by a helluva lot faster for me than it does for you."

Oh, she had to know what topic was on his mind. Something that they really hadn't discussed much. "How's that gonna work, baby? I'm gon' be lucky to still be alive in twenty years. Sometime or another, my body's gon' break down because of all the shit I did when I was younger. It's gonna catch up with me, an if I AM still around...I'm prolly gon' end up showin' my age a helluva lot earlier than I should be. Meanwhile, you're still gon' be young and pretty. I just.....I don't want you to feel like you're stuck with me when that does happen."

And sigh. Her beaming smile started to slowly turn into a frown, however light it was - it was still a frown. "Over my dead body..." pause for the frown to deepen at the choice of wording, "Yer not gonna be like me. Ever. I dun care how old ya get, I'm gunna love you all the same..." She trailed off, starting to chew on her lower lip as her fingers went to tracing his hand, "Dun want you ta be this monster. It's not all what it's cracked up ta be."

"Baby, I ain't never seen you as no monster..." And truthfully, he hadn't even considered the possibility of her turning him.....BUT she just pretty much planted that seed in his head right then. His hand reached out to rest upon her side, letting his fingertips slip beneath her tank top, wanting to feel her skin. "It's easy for you to say now how much you're gonna love me...but hell, I consider myself a ****in' machine in bed, and I struggle keepin' you satisfied now!" And yeah, he laughed at that, wanting to keep the mood somewhat happy. "What's it gon' be like when I ain't got that in me no more?"

Her frown became a small teasing grin, "Ya know, get 'nother guy fer that. Plenty o' them 'round. Pool boy 'r somethin'." She gave a snicker before he could get pissed, "Kiddin', m'luv. I suppose I'll jus' have ta give that up..." She blinked at how laughable that would be for anyone to imagine, but the scary thing is that she would for him. It'd be hard, but she'd do it. Then she made a face thinking back, "No way in hell I'd let you be a vampire."

"I dunno...it sounds like a lifestyle that'd be kinda nice to me. I wouldn't have to deal with this shit that I'm constantly goin' through now, physically speakin'."

She knew about pretty much all of his problems...his inability to remember something he did yesterday, his occasional slurred speech, his constant aches and pains. It was all just a part of having to pay the piper for the lifestyle that he lived. He hadn't really said much to her about just how many concussions he'd received back in those days, because truthfully, he didn't know how many concussions he'd had. He let so many of them go undiagnosed over the years. His mind wasn't nearly what it once was...brain damage will do that to a man.

"I like the idea of never dyin'....never feelin' this pain...know what I mean?"

There he went again, making her gnaw at her lip. Fine, if he wanted to get her on the one subject she never wanted to think through then she'd be perfectly honest with him. "Yer too old ta live ferever now."

She let that sink in for a moment before she turned over and sat up on her elbows to look him in the eyes, "Ya stay the same way ya were when you died... forever. People think they get off scott free when they are turned, but it's not like that, Dakota. You stay the same way... Yer weight, yer height, yer mental state iffin' yer clinically insane... though those vampires dun live very long like that, and sometimes even your health. All those lil aches an' pains... Ya really wanna live with 'em forever?"

She leaned up, getting closer to him, "Even iffin' you are a lucky one that gets all that cleared up, the first twenty 'r so years are the hardest. Took me nearly hundred ta get me anywhere near right. Ya dun know who ya will kill next.... Dun know iffin' it's gunna be friend or family..." Her lower lip gave a small quiver as she beared her teeth, fangs exposed lightly, "Ya really want that, Dakota?"

He simply laid there in silence, taking in every single word that she said. She'd just given him more info about the life of being a vamp than he'd ever known before. Did he want to live in the state that he was currently in forever? Of course not. There wasn't a whole lot about that that sounded appealing.

In fact, the only response he really had was.... "Baby.....I just wanna be with you for as long as I possibly can, an' I don't give a damn what I have to do to accomplish that." And of course, that led him to his next question. "What was it about me, Jade? What made you fall in love with me, knowin' that it ain't gon' be forever? You coulda found you a vamp that woulda been your soulmate throughout all of time. I feel like......when it's all said n' done....I ain't gon' be nothin' but a tiny chapter in your history." Overthinking things? MOST definitely. He lets this kind of shit get in his head when he gets by himself and has time to kill.

"Sweetie, iffin' I had an answer ta why my soul wanted you so badly... then I'm fer damn sure a lot o' thin's would be a lot clearer." She cringed lightly at the 'found another vamp for a soulmate' statement, "Ain't as easy as it sounds to get 'nother one o' yer kind. Plus, my sould belongs right 'ere," a hand went out and a finger tapped his chest. "Took long 'nough ta find out. But we vampires weren't made for love. Jus' for the kill. Seems I'm cursed with the love bug though," A smile cracked out before she continued, getting to her knees, "Whatever happens with us, it'll be the best chapter in my long long life... however small the chapter may be."

She set a kiss on his forehead. Jade leaned against him like that for a long moment after the kiss, only to murmur in his hair, "I'll do everything in my power to keep us together... for as long as I can.."

Wow....in all his years, and after all the women that he's been with, he had NEVER had a woman tell him that she loved him with that kind of conviction. "Y'all were made for the kill.....I swear I never thought of it that way before.." And he thought about that for several more seconds. Just how DID this kind of love happen? It wasn't anything that he could even try to wrap his mind around. He knew this much however. He wanted her....and he wanted her damn bad. "Wanna make love tonight, or are you tired, baby?"

He had a way of reading her mind. Or maybe they were in tune most of the time. She leaned back to give him that grin. He knew that grin well, "Ain't that tired, but I will be later." A half purr and half snicker was released as she closed the gap between them quickly. The night would end much as it did most nights... they'd be happy campers.