"Wow...you can tell?" Daria sometimes forgot how strong Mike's powers were. "Alright...the day is young..we've got a stolen car to sit in and keep us warm." she laughed unbuckling her seatbelt so that she could put her legs up on the dash board and lean back. "We can wait for a while"

"Works for me," Mike said, parking the car and sliding the seat back so he was clear of the steering wheel. He yawned slightly, leaning his seat back a bit and turning on his side to face her.

Daria could feel his eyes on her but stared at the sky through the sky roof. Birds flew over head in an arrow formation.

"um..yeah...So do you think Tricity will get mad at us for taking the car?" she blurted randomly trying hard to keep her focus on the task at hand.

"Doubt it," Mike commented, closing his eyes slightly. "She probably won't even notice that we have it, she's been so busy lately. And she's got bigger things to worry about... did I tell you that she found out Whitmore has her fiancé, too?"

"I'm not going to bite, you know," he thought to her, slightly amused.

"Thats horrible." Daria said softly then, hearing Mike's thought a wave of dissapointment rushed over her.

I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a bit uncomfortable since...you know. I do my best to avoid getting hurt again. It has nothing to do with you.. she trailed off and closed her eyes as her ears flattened against her head in sorrow. She was trying so hard to be normal for him and it still wasn't working.

Mike smiled slightly and reached out, brushing his hand against her cheek while her eyes were closed. "Frankly, you're doing better than I'd expect," he commented. "I'm one of the few people who would know what it was like to go through what you did. I don't blame you at all for still being nervous or uncomfortable, and it doesn't insult me or anything like that." He shrugged, "I just like to remind you... there's nothing to worry about."

Daria leaned into his hand with her eyes still closed then took a deep breath and slowly turned to her side her eyes still closed. It was easier for her not to speak out loud for the moment. When one says something and hears one's own voice speaking it becomes undeniably real.

I know, I really appreciate it. It sucks being suspicious all the time. I'll fix it, I'm sure.

She thought back to when they were in the living room and she had finally relaxed for the first time in a long time. She had been so at peace because she knew she was safe. And when they were in his bedroom-nothing had happened, hadn't veen crossed her mind. There was only one difference betweeen those times and now..she was alone with him-pracitcally in the middle of no where and no one was going to disturb them And why did that have to be bad?

She opened her eyes and smiled at Mike. How could she possibly be afraid of him? Without over thinking the situation she leaned over and kissed him.

Michael kissed her back, holding his hand behind her head. He wasn't going to push her, but... God, he wanted to do this. He shifted closer, and got his seatbelt clicker jammed into his stomach for his effort.

They can't put bench seats in these things, can they? he thought, not letting it slow him down.

Daria laughed mentally and pushed him back so he wouldn't hurt himself, throwing herself on top of him in the process. She kept her tail straight for balance and to keep from putting all her weight on him-not that she was that heavy. She massaged his shoulders as she continued to kiss him.

Mike wrapped his arms around her, pulling, her closer as he kissed her. Mentally, he worked the seat controls to take the seat back farther, since now more room was required from the steering wheel.

It had been about a week, that was all. Just about a week that he'd known her. It still boggled his mind that it had been that short a time. He didn't completely understand, and he didn't care to. All he knew was that when she was with him, things made sense. Things didn't seem hopeless.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind and returned his attention to kissing her. Thinking on that would just make him want to move more quickly, and he knew that wasn't a good idea.

Daria leaned in closer pressing her body against his so that she could feel his heart pumping. And she was surprised to see that, as her breathing became heavier, her heartbeat matched his. The leg warmers beneath her skirt kept her from slipping off the leather seats as she pulled back for a moment.

She'd caught some of Mike's thoughts. True it had been a week, but he had helped her emotionally and spiritually more than anyone ever had-even Sean. And he did it all without expecting a thing from her, she hadn't even given him the tittle of "boyfriend" and he hadn't cared. Suddenly, things didn't seem dirty with him involved, nothing was wrong and everything was right. She focused her green eyes on his blue ones.

I love you, Mike

Mike broke the kiss, at least for the moment. It was always so easy for him to use his power as a shortcut... no one else could hear what he thought to people, and it just came easier to just put thoughts in their minds instead of trying to say things. This wasn't the time for shortcuts. His eyes locked onto hers as he cupped her cheek, so close that he could feel her breath on his face.

"I love you too, Daria," he whispered.

And, honestly, hearing her think it and being able to say it felt better than any of their kisses so far.

Daria smiled before leaning into him again. . She slipped her hands beneath Mike's shirt-that had been all she needed to hear to make the moment complete.

Mike just held her close for a bit, feeling more than a little lightheaded.

"I'm so keeping this Hummer now."

Daria laughed and laid her head on his chest.

"Well, I don't think Kaine will want it back" she quipped. "If he's locked up in the acdemy, he's got bigger things to worry about."