Waking up to the sound of my alarm, I stretch to push the sleep away. For a moment, I am simply orienting to the land of the living...

Man, I slept hard... and better than I have in months.

A rush of memories of last night crashes over me in a wave, and my eyes snap open.

He's still here. I can see him... or at least, the outline of him... lying beside me on the bed.

"May," he whispers softly, "your alarm is going off."

I stare at him, feeling my eyes bulging out of my head and my mouth hanging open.

"You're real," I whisper, ignoring my alarm completely as I stare at the swirling mist in front of me.

I try and follow the movement of the wisps with my eyes, hypnotized by the way the smoke-like tendrils swirl and move within the opaqueness of the mist. It's beautiful, in its own way, if not a bit... well, unusual feels like an understatement...

"May," he chuckles, "your alarm."

I reach blindly behind me, unable to tear my eyes away from him and flounder around until I find it. I dismiss it without ever looking at it, and I hear it thud to the ground as I knock it over in my clumsiness.

Yet I never look away.

"Liam," I whisper, "I can see you."

I watch the form sit up slowly, leaning over me in a way that encourages me to roll over onto my back. I look up at his form, studying him - completely unable to process what I'm seeing.

"You're not in my head," I murmur, half to myself, as I furrow my eyebrows, "or I'm so far gone there's no going back now."

"I'm real, May," he whispers, hovering over me.

I watch in awe as he reaches up to touch my face, and my eyes flutter when I feel his touch.

This is real... this is really happening.

He leans forward, slowly, and presses his lips to mine. I can't resist encouraging him, opening my lips to invite him in.

I can almost taste him when his tongue dips in, cautious at first... but quickly growing in intensity until I can only describe us both as desperate.

It's just a whisper... a hint of real contact. So close, yet so far away from the real thing. Yet, it's more fulfilling than anything I've ever experienced before.

I reach up to find the edges of his form, and I trail my hands along his back - careful not to let my hands fall through his transparent and very-not-solid body.

The warmth spreads through my palms and a tingle shoots through me in exhilaration at being able to initiate contact.

The way he moans at my touch has that tingle shoot right between my legs.

God, I want more... I want whatever he can give me.

When he pulls away, I'm panting from the kiss. I look into his face and wish desperately I could see his eyes... the features of his face. As it is, he's more of a shadow... there, but only barely.

"May," he rasps, his lips trailing to my neck and down my shoulder.

I feel his touch start to travel down my collarbone, and like last night I lower the covers when his touch hovers where the blanket interrupts his path.

This time, though, I damn near throw the thing away... not gentle, not slow or hesitant. No, desperate for him.

As his hand travels further down me, I decide to try something new of my own. After all... I have absolutely no idea how this works, and it can't hurt to try... right?

Slowly... carefully... I reach my hand down and slide it between us to search for the place between his legs.

I'm met with the same warmth as I feel anywhere else I touch him, but his sharp intake of breath tells me to him it feels different.

His lips hover above my neck when he freezes, and I move my hand slowly up and down - trailing my touch along the edge of the mist where he's clearly more sensitive.

The way he groans does something to me, and I swear I can almost feel him tremble beneath my touch.

"Liam," I whisper, "I want you..."

I don't even know if it would work... I'm not even sure how we try... but I want to find out.

No, I NEED to find out.

He hesitates, then he reaches down between us as if fiddling with his clothes... is he wearing clothes? I don't even know how I would be able to tell...

I'm immediately distracted from the questions that pop up in my mind when his fingers work quickly into my slit and begin to rub my clit.

"Are you sure, May?" he breathes, the strain clear in his voice.

"Yes," I breathe, fighting the urge to buck and gride against a form he doesn't have.

He pauses for a moment, pulling his hand away before I feel a pressure at my entrance.

Holy goodness... is this really possible? Is this really happening? If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up.

I feel him enter me, slowly, testing to see if this can even be done. It's not the same as if he had a body, but yet there is the familiar warmth of his touch... and it is firm. Rigid. Solid.

I arch my back and gasp as I feel him slide into me, and that same bolt of electric fires through me when he moans.

"My God," he gasps, pulling out slowly before repeating the action, "May... I... God I can feel you..."

His movements are slow but not hesitant, and each time he bottoms out inside me I feel a fullness that has the pressure inside me building... so slowly. So intense, like my body is an instrument he's taking his time to learn and master.

His pace slowly increases, the feelings inside me building at a crawl... it's excruciatingly drawn out and yet deliciously intense. It feels like he's designing my orgasm rather than chasing it, and I can barely breathe it's so overwhelming.

"Liam," I moan, desperate for more but unable to demand it, "Oh God, Liam, please! "

I don't even know what I'm begging for. My brain no longer works.

He draws it out, taking his time with every deep thrust... and when I'm teetering on the edge, ready to absolutely explode, he leans forward and places his lips next to my ear.

"Cum for me, May," he whispers, his voice deep and husky, never faltering as he sinks into me again and again.

I fall over the cliff then, my orgasm erupting from me with an intensity I've never felt before as it obeys his command. I scream his name, clutching the sheets of the bed as if they can ground me as I shatter around him.

Stars explode in my vision and my body spasms uncontrollably with the force of it, even the echoes rattling me to my core as he continues to move inside me.

I feel him speed up, his breathing labored, and I ride out wave after wave as he thrusts into me faster and faster.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," his voice is breathy and strained as his movements become erratic.

It's so intense. My God...

"MAY!" he roars, stilling suddenly and I feel the warmth inside me spread.

"LIAM!" I cry out again, overwhelmed as another orgasm crashes through me at the same time as he finds his release.

As we come down from our highs, still connected and breathing heavily, I open my eyes and gasp.

I feel my eyes go wide when... his form is even more solid than it was before. I can see shadows of his features... the shape of his brow, the outline of his jaw, the lines his lips.

Lips that are parted as he breathes heavily... breathing... I can see his chest heaving as if he's breathing.

He pulls out slowly, and flops down beside me and I can tell he's looking at me. I can't quite see his eyes but... I can see enough to know exactly where he's looking.

Can he tell what's happened?

"I can see you," I whisper, reaching out to trace along his jaw, "more, I mean... I can see you more clearly. You're... more solid than before."

He reaches out then, his hand cupping my cheek... and we both inhale sharply when...

"Holy... May I...," he breathes, his whole body going tense.

"You feel... more... solid," I finish for him, my voice barely above a whisper, "Liam... I can... I can feel you..."

"What's happening?" he whispers, rubbing his thumb back and forth along my cheek as if he's testing the sensation.

"I don't know," I say softly, a smile forming slowly, 'but... I like it."

We lay there for a long moment, experimenting with touch. I can see the outline of the collar on his shirt and the edges of his sleeve... I can feel the slight difference between it and his skin.

He's not so firm that I can't push through him, and yet he's solid enough that it takes a bit of effort to achieve it. Like pressing against sand.

The mist that makes up his form is thicker, the smoke-like wisps that swirl within it denser... he doesn't cast a shadow, but laying in front of him it feels like he's blocking the light.

Kind of like a pair of strong sunglasses?

I giggle at the comparison.

"What?" he chuckles lightly, still trailing his hand over my skin as if mesmerized by the sensation.

"The way my mind works," I scoff, "I was trying to describe how you look in my mind and... well, the way I can look through you but you dim the light... it kind of reminds me of a pair of strong sunglasses."

He laughs quietly, and I can't help staring at how his form shakes with the movement.

I can see him laugh... and it makes my smile grow wider.

"I'll be your shade whenever you need it," he chuckles, shaking his head slightly.

"I have to get up," I murmur, frowning slightly, "I have to get to the soup kitchen."

I pause for a heartbeat before admitting, "but... I don't really want to."

"I know," he says gently, dragging his touch along my side, "but we can't stay here forever."

"That feels like a challenge," I muse, raising an eyebrow.

I'm stalling. He knows it, and so do I.

But God I don't want this to end.

"One I would love for you to take me up on," he murmurs, leaning forward and kissing me slowly before pulling away just a bit, "but you have obligations, and I respect that. Don't worry, love, I'll be with you. Just like always."

My breath catches, and I stare at this phantom before me with all the warmth in my soul.

My phantom.

If I've gone mad... I hope no one ever finds the cure.

--

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