index


Message-ID: <53591asstr$1145337001@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Pandora's Box 14 (Mf Mff MMf rom ws exhib bdsm)
Lines: 505
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 01:10:01 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


She snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Or there could have been a horrible accident with bleach and food
coloring. Tragic." He grinned.

Pandora relaxed a touch once Tandi stopped being quite so hostile. "We
don't have to figure it out right away. There's still almost two weeks
before they get back. And it might be a while before she notices, even
then."

Gabriel said, slowly, "True. Except... your sister."

She bit her lip. "Yeah. But... I try to avoid her _anyway_. She won't see
anything strange about that. I don't intend to _be_ here most of those two
weeks." She looked up at him uncertainly. "Unless... that's a problem for
you?"

Gabriel smiled. "Not as far as _I'm_ concerned."

"You mean you're staying gone the whole time?" Tandi asked indignantly.
"That wasn't part of the plan!"

Gabriel looked at Pandora. "As far as I'm concerned, she's welcome to come
over anytime, if you're okay with that."

Pandora blushed. "I, um... when do you go to work?"

"Well, not for a while, remember? If nothing else, I need to get used to
hiding things." He sat back down on his heels. "Why?"

"Oh, right. I wasn't thinking." The blush deepened, and Tandi looked at her
and laughed.

"She figures she's going to be taking every chance that comes along to jump
you, and the presence of a little sister could be inhibiting, that's why,"
she said, grinning wickedly.

Then she added, "I don't see why... she's used to photographers and people
watching her... why should I be any different?"

Pandora screeched indignantly and leaped at her sister, and they rolled
around in the floor, with Tandi laughing... and carefully not doing
anything that would scratch or bruise her sister's white skin.

Gabriel shook his head. "Well, if she doesn't object, I guess I really
don't have any room to."

"I bloody well _DO_ object!" Pandora snarled. "And it's not _funny_!
Ooohhh... you little... you asked for it!" At which point, Tandi's tone
changed.

"C'mon Dora... a joke, hey? Just a--no!  No, don't you _dare_!	Yeeeee!"
She squealed and collapsed into helpless giggles as Pandora began to
mercilessly tickle her.

Pandora was intent on punishment, though, and merciless... for all of about
thirty seconds. Then she stood up, looking rather delightfully rumpled, and
plopped down on the bed. "Bad sister. No cookie."

Tandi stuck her tongue out. She was still panting, and laying in the floor.
"As if _you_ could bake any."

She looked offended. "I might could."

"Ha."

"How hard could it be?	Flour and water and... um... sugar and stuff. Maybe
some... um... cornstarch, or whatever to make them, y'know, fluff up?"

Tandi winced and looked at Gabriel with sympathy for the first time. "Hope
you like delivery."

Gabriel gave a wry laugh. "Well, it's what I've been eating for the last
two years. Lissa could cook. I... " He shook his head. "I once ruined a pan
boiling water." He shook his head again. "It's a shame. Lissa built us a
really nice kitchen."

She looked at him in disgust. "That's... pitiful. Even Dora could boil
water, if she'd been allowed to."

Gabriel shrugged. "Well... Lissa liked to cook, so I let her." He sighed.
"It's a shame she's haunting the -- not the kitchen."

"Um. 'Haunting'? You want _my_ sister to stay in a haunted house?" The
emphasis on 'my' was slight, but noticeable, and grated along his nerves as
it tweaked his possessive instincts.  "Haunted by your ex _wife_? Who, you
know, might not be so happy about her? Are you _crazy_? No way!"

"Actually, Lissa likes her. It was a... surreal conversation." He
hesitated. "Um. I'm guessing you don't know the story."

Pandora said, "Um... I didn't know everything. Remember?"

"Right." He nodded. "Okay. It's a long story, but to make it short: Lissa
realized she was a lesbian, went to divorce me, and her parents went nuts
and blamed me. She ended up killing herself to stop them. We were really
good friends, even after we decided to get a divorce."

Tandi looked shocked. "Whoa. That's... not the way I pictured things," she
said quietly.

Pandora stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him
comfortingly.

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. It was... rough. Really rough. I have your sister to
thank for making it."

Pandora frowned, looking up at him, and shook her head. "No. You did that
part on your own. I wasn't there."

Gabriel shook his head in return. "You were. Siren was."

She looked away. "Not like I should have been. I knew where you lived, knew
it was close."

"But you didn't know how bad it is. I never let anyone know." He sighed. "I
probably should have. I just... " He shook his head, not having words.

She hugged him tightly. "I knew it was bad. You're the type... well, you're
the type who, if you say anything at all about something, that means that
it's really, really bad. Bad like would have anyone else screaming and
hysterical. I always knew that. And... I wanted to. But I was 13. And I
didn't think you'd want comfort from a kid like me. And I didn't know what
to say to make it better. I still don't."

"You don't have to say anything," he said quietly. "You just have to _be_.
I... probably _couldn't_ have taken what you offered. Not then. It was too
raw still. But... it's better. You've made it better, a lot better, and
talking to Lissa this morning... that helped."

"Whoa whoa waitaminute. Not that I don't appreciate the show... I mean,
I've got a sweet tooth, so I can handle the sugar... but can we stop for a
moment and elaborate on the 'talking to his dead wife' bit? Because... no
offense, but were I somebody's dead wife, I'd drop a bookcase on someone
like Dora post haste," Tandi said bluntly.

Gabriel shook his head. "Lissa was... Lissa was special. A law unto
herself. And like I said, the conversation was... surreal. I do think she
was a little ticked that it'd taken all this time to get to talk to me, but
she wasn't mad at Pandora. Quite the opposite, in fact."

Pandora added, testily, "And, in fact, it's none of your business. She's a
ghost in the house, but she's not going to hurt me. That's all you need to
know." She looked up at Gabriel. "Honey, you need to stop being so polite
to my sister. When you're nice to her, she turns into a little bitch."

Gabriel looked at Tandi. "She doesn't seem like a bitch to me. She's just
worried about you." He smiled. "I understand completely." He looked at
Pandora. "You're right that it's none of her business, but she'd feel
better if you explained."

Pandora sniffed. "If I went around trying to make Tandi happy all the time,
I'd never go anywhere or do _anything_. She's worse than Mom, sometimes."

Tandi flushed slightly. "Okay, that was uncalled for. I just worry about
you. I still helped you, didn't I?" she asked, sounding -- for the first
time -- young and uncertain.

Pandora melted, releasing Gabriel to go embrace her little sister warmly.
"I'm sorry. Yes, you did. And it was all perfect, too."

Tandi smiled, relieved, and hugged her back, hard. The embrace went on
for a long moment, long enough to grate against the possessive
instincts that Gabriel held under tight rein, before Pandora stepped back.

"You really liked it? I wasn't sure about the cake... "

"Tandi... I might just trade you Gabriel for another cake. At least for as
long as the cake lasts, anyway."

Tandi looked at Gabriel speculatively. "Hmmmm.... deal."

"Hey," Gabriel protested, as Pandora stared at her younger sister in shock.
"Don't I get a say in this?"

Tandi shook her head. "Of course not. You're just the commodity. Now hush
up and be picturesque."

Gabriel looked thoughtful. "I guess I could wear the pants."

"But you don't even _LIKE_ men!" Recovering from her shock, she turned,
wide-eyed, to stare up at Gabriel. "And no you will NOT wear the pants. Not
in front of my little sister. Not _ever_!"

Tandi raised an eyebrow. "Pants? These sound like _good_ pants." She
grinned and held up her hand. "It's okay, sis. You don't have to disembowel
me. I was just joking." Then her face sobered. "_I_ was. But you shouldn't
say things like that. He's Unseelie. Someone else... well, they might want
him so bad they don't care if they hurt you. So don't make that offer
around a straight chick, not unless you're prepared to deal with the
consequences."

Gabriel managed to conceal the sudden disappointment that shot through him.
"We've... discussed that."

Tandi gave him a quick, disgusted look, and muttered, "Unseelie, yeah."

Gabriel frowned. "What?"

She didn't say anything, just glared. Pandora reached for his hand and
said, "That's not fair, Tandi. He's _male_. That sort of thing is _normal_.
There's a different between thinking and doing, you know."

Gabriel sighed. "Is it? I never did it before." He shook his head. "And I'm
not sure I like doing it now. Especially with someone as... as young as you
are, Tandi. No offense, but... well, it makes me feel slimy."

"Yeah, well, it is slimy. And I mean offense, lots of it. Cause, see, I'm
just special that way. An honest sorta girl."

Gabriel held up his hand. "Look, I swear to you, I've _never_ been
attracted to girls your age before." He stopped, a puzzled look on his
face. "And... I'm still not. You... _please_ don't take this the wrong way,
but you don't have the right, um, curves to be... arousing. There was just
this... sudden disappointment." He sighed. "Shit. Yet _another_ thing to
dislike about this."

Tandi looked down at her body. "My god, he's right! I don't have any
_BOOBS_!  Call out the national guard!"

"Would you _stop_?  Can't you see he feels bad enough?" Pandora wrapped her
arms around Gabriel. "It's not your fault. And you wouldn't do anything
about it. You would _not_ hurt my little sister. Or me."

Gabriel nodded. "You're right. Mind you, you didn't exactly make it easier
on me, you know. How am I supposed to turn her over to you to turn down if
you already told her yes, hm?"

"B--but I was joking. You... you knew that, right? I mean, you wouldn't
really think that... that you mean less to me than _cake_?" She looked up
at him, the hurt clear on her face.

Gabriel grinned. "I know, honey. But what if you'd been willing to share me
just because she was your sister, and decided it was an easy way to scam a
cake out of her?"

"I don't _have_ to scam one. I just offer her your over-built kitchen."

Gabriel's eyes widened. "Wait. You think that if we offer her free run of
the kitchen we can get cakes?"

"Not after you lusted after my flat-chested little hideous troll body you
can't, Elfboy."

Gabriel grinned at her wickedly. "You might want to wait until you've seen
the kitchen before you say that." He looked her over. "Flat-chested, yes,
hideous and troll, no. Sorry."

Pandora said, "She knows better, honey. She's just baiting you. She knows
damned well she's just got to wait a couple of years before she's the
hottest thing out there. She just plays it down and acts up so Mom won't
notice."

Tandi grinned at her. "Hey, no telling secrets."

"Please... your looks aren't a secret, except from very stupid people, and
you know it."

The girl just grinned unrepentantly.

"Stupid, _blind_ people," Gabriel said.

She smiled serenely. "The people I don't _want_ to know fit the criteria,
so life is good. Still... you were lusting. So no cake for you. I might
make cake for her, though, to comfort her in her hour of No-Good Unseelie
Affliction."

Gabriel looked offended. "_Hour_? I'll have you know it was considerably
more than an hour. Or three."

"And she bloody well had better not have needed comforting _right then_."

"Actually," he said, unable to quite keep the smugness out of his voice,
"She did after the last time. That was the... umm... seventh time. I think.
Didn't you notice?"

"_Gabriel!!!_" Pandora was horrified, shocked, and bright red.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

"That's... that's _private_. Damn it." She turned on Tandi. "You stop
goading him and trying to get him in trouble!"

Tandi grinned. "Who, me?"

"Hey, I figure if she's old enough to ask the questions, she's old enough
to get the answers. And deal with them."

"She's trying to make me mad at you. I don't know why."

"Because I want to see if you can get that way, or if your brain is now
tapioca and I still have to kill him," Tandi said, seriously.

Gabriel looked at Tandi. "Then why didn't you just ask? Yeah, she can get
mad at me. She already has, once. Really mad."

"Oh drat. Well, what'd you do? Something _really_ awful so I get to kill
you anyway?" she asked hopefully.

"She thought I was suggesting a completely inappropriate and sick way of
dealing with your sister. In her defense, the thought did cross my mind --
for long enough to utterly reject it."

"Oh, you contemplated murdering her. Yeah, she won't let me mention it,
either."

Gabriel shook his head. "No. I think it was actually worse than murder." He
pursed his lips. "No. I'm sure of it. I _told_ you it was sick."

Pandora said quietly, "It's none of her business."

Tandi sighed. "Well... it _is_ my sister, too. But... you got mad, Dora?
Really mad?"

Pandora lowered her eyes. "Well, I... was definitely not happy about it. I
was going to try to leave, anyway."

"But were you mad? If you were that mad, why _didn't_ you leave?"

"I... was mad. Furious, actually, for a moment. But then... well, it just
hurt more than anything else, and I just... didn't know what to do, and
that gave us time to work it out, to realize it was just... this
instinctual thing. He saw a threat, so his mind just jumped on the first
way to get rid of it. It's not like he thought it was a _good_ idea."

Gabriel shook his head violently. "God, _no_. I wanted to throw up."

"You said you were going to _try_ to leave, Dora. Not that you were going
to. That you would try. Why 'try'? You've always said you didn't _need_
anybody," Tandi said, a touch of... something... in her tone.

"I... this is different. And I wasn't sure leaving was the right thing to
do. When you love someone, you don't just walk out the first time you
fight. That seemed stupid. But I just wasn't sure that I hadn't made some
terrible mistake. I wasn't listening to him, so I thought maybe he meant
it, see. But I couldn't figure out _how_ I could be that wrong... it was
all so confusing."

"Answer the question, Dora, please. Could you have left him if you'd
decided you wanted to?" Tandi asked softly.

Pandora looked at the floor. "No," she whispered. "I don't think so."

Gabriel looked at Tandi. "It goes both ways. I don't think I could leave
her, no matter what." He sighed. "I'll try to explain, if you want, but I
can't promise I'll make any sense."

Tandi looked at him, angrily, and he could finally recognize the trace of
jealousy in her eyes. "You don't have to leave her. You'll outlive her.
Sixty years isn't _anything_ to one of you, but it'll be her whole life.
Her whole life spent with someone for whom she'll be a... a footnote."

Gabriel shook his head. "No. She will _never_ be a footnote." He licked his
lips. "And I doubt I'll outlive her by very long."
<a name="2005-11-23">

Pandora tugged at Gabriel's arm, pulling him over to the bed and down to
sit on the edge, then crawled into his lap. She wrapped both arms around
his waist, then lay her head on his chest. "Don't say such things, love,"
she whispered unhappily.

Gabriel stroked her hair. "I'm sorry, love. I just... I can't do it again.
I almost couldn't do it once, and facing... facing an eternity without
you... "

"But... things happen sometimes. Accidents. And you won't be alone. Lissa
is still here, she'd help you. And you could have any woman in the world
that you wanted. I... it really bothers me to hear you talk like that."

"But... I want you. _You_."

"You have me. Don't ever doubt _that_. But if something were to happen to
me, you could have _anyone_. I'm not irreplaceable, love."

Gabriel looked at her. "Yes. You are," he said firmly.

She rubbed her cheek against his chest, sighing sadly. "Gabriel... you know
what I meant. Maybe not someone just like me, but just as _good_, or
better."

He shook his head. "You're wrong."

"Honey... you would feel this way about anybody you, um, 'bonded' with,
probably."

"Maybe. I doubt it. But even if that's true... I still feel it." He sighed.
"I'm sorry, but... it's how I feel."

She held him tightly, pressing her trembling cheek against his heart.
"Okay," she whispered. "That... that's your right. I wouldn't want to live
without you, either. I'm not even sure I _could_. It just... scares me.
Because what if something happens to me? What if I make a mistake, do
something stupid, and end up killed? It would be my fault, then. And that
thought is... awful. It makes me want to... to buy my _own_ glass case, so
that nothing can hurt you through me!"

"Pandora... love... " He kissed the top of her head. "We _know_ that death
isn't the end. Lissa proved that. So all that would happen is that... we'd
still be together."

She looked up at him, smiling softly, and caressed his cheek. "That's a
point." Then she frowned and looked away from him suddenly.

"What?" he asked.

She gave a tiny shrug and snuggled into his chest, hiding her face against
the silky shirt.

He stroked her hair. "What?"

Tandi watched them assessingly, a slight frown on her face.

"Well... it's just... you already have someone waiting for you," Pandora
answered reluctantly.

"So? She's already said she doesn't mind sharing." He hesitated. "I think
that _I'd_ have to get used to sharing."

"I... if we were all... um... in the same state, I'd feel... like an
intruder. I mean, she was here first. You chose her first. I'm just... "
She shrugged awkwardly.

"Um. Honey. Maybe you need to think about Lissa's... preferences? And what
she said?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't matter without, you know, bodies."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. That's just, um, sex. It's physical, glands and things.
Without that to get in the way, then... you're perfect for each other
again. A perfect match."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then why did she kiss _you_?"

"Because she was curious, of course."

Tandi's eyebrows rose, but she maintained her silence.

"If that didn't matter anymore, then why would she have been curious?" He
smiled. "Seriously, love. She likes you, a lot, and you wouldn't be an
intruder."

"I just... don't know how I feel about that. I mean... I'm _not_ gay. I
tried it, you heard what I told her. And it just... didn't work very well.
Even if it was nice, it wasn't what I _needed_."

Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel caught the sudden disturbed swirl of
Tandi's aura, and looked up just in time to see her jaw tighten, ever so
slightly.

Gabriel closed his mouth, obviously cutting off what he had been about to
say, and thought for several seconds. Finally, he said, choosing his words
with care, "Is it possible that you had the same problem that Lissa had,
but the other way around? That... it wasn't that she was female, but that
even though you cared for her very much, she wasn't male?"

Pandora looked up at him, frowning. "Isn't that what I said? I needed a
male. It just wasn't enough." 

"Ahem! Hello? Little sister still in the goddamned room, here! Can we
please leave the detailed discussion of your kinky sex life for private
time, thank you very much?" Tandi asked.

Pandora blushed bright red but Gabriel looked at her, ignoring Tandi. "Did
you wish it _had_ been enough?" he asked, softly.

She squirmed uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at him. "I... this isn't
the time to talk about it."

"Pandora," he said, waiting until she finally gave in and looked at him.
His voice was quiet, pitched for her ears only. "I understand how important
a sister is, because I never had one. I would never take you away from what
I never had. I don't mind sharing. Not like this."

Pandora went pale as a sheet, stiff with shock.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

http://strangelove.pele.cx

Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com>|
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org>   Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}|
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+