Walking the Miles {BRENDEN}

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara sat on the edge of the pier with her feet dangling in the water. The sun was starting to set and the soft purple and pink clouds began sweeping in. A few ducks bobbed lazily on the water a bit out more. There were a few boats still tied to their docks. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white zippered jogging hoodie over it. She had pulled her hair up into a ponytail and some of the shorter strands had escaped and blew softly in the breeze.

The temperature was warm, but not overly. Her sneakers and socks were on the dock next to her. She gently swayed her feet in the water, enjoying the cold liquid covering them. She sighed.

She hadn't met many other people that were in the force, but she knew her best friend Brenden was. She was going to meet him here shortly. A big smile formed on her face at the thought. They'd met in the academy and just hit it off, becoming best friends. Even to this day, they remained close.

Tamara stared at the water surface, seeing her own reflection ripple there. She had been harrassed at the academy because of her looks. They thought she was some kind of pristine barbie doll that was too beautiful to be taken seriously. It irked her to the point she ended up suing a cadet for sexual harassment. Brenden had been her salvation there and supported her through everything. She was grateful toward him. Some part of her had wondered what it would be like toward him romantically. She liked the idea and trusted him completely, but she wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her. Perhaps he only saw her as a friend. She sighed, waiting for him to arrive

[brenden]

Brenden stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he headed to the pier where he was planning to meet Tamara. He was off duty of the day and wearing normal street clothes but kept his firearm hoist against his waist. Back before the apocalypse there was need to carry it around all the time but life was treasured in this world now. Some people would go to immense lengths just to survive. You'd think that dealing with the living dead was the only priority now but his department still dealt with humans. Not to long ago he walked upon a dispute between two men that were fighting about the other harboring too much food. It was silly but that's what happened in current time. Mongrals were big to deal with too but Bren was grateful to have days off when he could not worry about arresting people over surviving. It still may not have been safe to wander around but he didn't to worry so much with guns and training for them. He didn't even have to worry about his best friend. Tamara was a cop as well. They met in the academy and had been friends since. She didn't need protection like most women today. She could handle herself but sometimes he wished she was his responsibility. Like he could be the man she needed for protection.

"You know...pretty ladies such as yourself shouldn't be out here by yourself. You might attract male re-animaters." Brenden teased as he sat next to the brunette on the dock. He nudged her shoulder slightly as he starting removing his shoes so he could dip his feet in the water. Sitting and talking amongst themselves while admiring the view was something the two had done for some time. Even before the apocalypse. Bren and Tamara did just about everything together. They were extremely close and he was protective over her. Back in the academy many of the other man gave her crap but he always supported her. Partly because he knew she could probably beat the crap out of him. Female cops were not to be messed with. But from the start there had been an connection to her and it was unbreakable. "How are you?" He asked as he ran a hand threw his hair and gazed around the harbor. It was silent but calming.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara looked up and spied Brenden. She broke into a huge grin and laughed when he suggested attracting male zombies. She playfully poked him in the ribs.

"Right. And all the females will be jealous of me" she laughed good naturedly.

She bumped his shoulder lightly and looked at him. She reached over and messed up his hair.

"I've been ok. What about you? What have you been up to?" she implied of him curiously. A few ducks swam by their feet and Tamara had to break into a grin.

She and Brenden were extremely close. They were connected. She stretched.

"At least the winter's not here yet, but I dread that. Snow? I can't stand it. Cold weather ok, but snow and ice is a pain in the ass[/b" Tamara said to him.

She secretly wanted him to be hers, but was scared to say anything to him. She liked the fact that he protected her, she protected him. It was a nice feeling wanting to be wanted. It was something she never wanted to lose. With Bren, they both easily flirted with one another. It was light and easy, but she hoped it would become more.

[brenden]

"Of course." Brenden nodded and chuckled slightly at her response. He loved how he could just joke with her and not be taken seriously. Most of the time people gave him crap for the way he acted. There wasn't a whole lot he took seriously other than surviving and protecting those who matter most to him. Everything else was like a game to him. Bren knew that some of the choices he made her idiotic and risky but he didn't care. He was the type to just live life as it came. He didn't like to worry about things or stress. Life was too short to for that kind of behavior. Especially in a world that was infested with zombies. He was grateful that Tamara understood his behavior and still stuck by him despite it. He was lucky to have a friend like her. She was special and as much as he wanted to be so much more, he was also worried about losing their friendship over it.

"I'm good. Been doing the same old stuff." Brenden shrugged slightly and shoved her playfully when she ruffled his hair. He had a big cheesy grin across his face as he looked at her. There wasn't much exciting about his life other than the danger he always got himself into. His mother was convinced a heart attack due to worrying about her son would kill her before any re-animaters. It was obvious that he got his sarcastic side from her but she was slightly more serious. "What about you? Got any interesting re-animater stories for me?" He nodded towards her as he looked around again. It seemed so peaceful, yet there were still people dying every day because of the vaccine someone made. It was a bittersweet reality and Bren wasn't quite sure what to make of the world now.

"You better find yourself a man to cozy up with during the winter then." He winked at her as she said this. For as long as they had known each other both had dated other people and for the most part he let it be. Sure there was jealousy from time to time but that was his fault for keeping his feelings to himself. It's not like a gorgeous woman like Tamara would like him anyways. In his mind she deserved better. Maybe someone who was a little more serious. He figured that because all of his past girl friends couldn't handle his jokative behavior. But even as he pretended that he'd be happy for her, Brenden still wished it would have been him.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara grinned at him.

"Same old same old huh?" She asked laughing.

When he suggested that she get a man to keep her warm for the winter Tamara sighed.

"You could," she joked lightly bumping his shoulder with hers. But then she turned serious. "I dunno. The entire world is a zombie. Finding someone special in all that is pretty limited" she said dryly.

Deciding to change the subject, Tamara linked her arm through his and laced her fingers through his.

"Why don't you come back to my place and I cook you a dinner? We can watch movies all night and pig out on popcorn" she asked him eagerly suddenly excited at the thought. "You know I've got an extensive library"

She had ALOT of DVDs of all types of movies. Horror, comedy, romance you name it. She was a big movie buff and loved movies period. She pulled her feet from the water and began slipping on her socks and sneakers. She stood up and stretched, causing the hem of her shirt to rise up exposing her midriff for a bit.

The sun had set now and Tamara didn't like being out after dark.

"It's getting dark. we should get indoors" she said waiting patiently for him to respond

[brenden]

"You know me." Brenden nodded as he grinned at Tamara. She knew him the best out of anyone. She knew of his senseless ways and she knew the reasoning for them. He didn't like to talk about his twin brother. He didn't like to be reminded of the consequences his actions called him. He had no intention of getting his brother killed but Bren always blamed himself. His past was no excuse for his wreck less behavior but it was inevitable for the twenty-six year old. Luckily Tamara understood. She knew of his past and accepted the ways he went about dealing with it. Though it was rare for them to talk about it much. The lively side of him didn't allow to immerse in the past as much as he already had.

"You know I'm down for cuddling any day." Bren assured, knowing they had done it many times before. Their friendship was so strong that they had grown comfortable with one another. They were use to doing minor things that most would normally only see couples doing. Wrapping his arms around her or holding her hand from time to time was common and quite comforting. They fact that she allowed him to be that close gave him relief that she would always be around. That she's accept him of being there to protect but maybe not in all the ways that he wanted to. Tamara was right about finding someone in this world though. All the good ones were either dead, take , or in his case off limits.

Brenden chuckled slightly at her sudden excitement for the idea she had suggested. "You know what I like." He squeezed her hand lightly as it rested in his "Of course I will. I'm starving." Not that he was just using her for her food. Tamara did cook a good meal but he would have spent time with her any day. In fact they hungout a lot that he was surprised they didn't just live together. He glanced to the sky as she mentioned night fall and realized she was right. He really didn't want to be out in the evening where the risk of running into a re-Animater was higher. Brenden was tired of killing and fighting for his life though he would never give it up. But got tonight he'd much rather watch movies and enjoy his time with the woman next time. "You're right." He stated as he too placed his shoes back on and stood. He offered out his hand for Tamara and waited for her to take it.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara grinned at him and took his hand. They headed back to her car.

Tamara opened the driver's side and slid onto the seat. She closed her door and waited for Bren to get in.

She started her car and pulled away from the marina. She didn't bother stopping for a red light. There were no po po's partrolling, well wait she was a police officer.

She grinned at Bren. She reached over and poked Bren in the ribs.

"Awesome. What are you in the mood for tonight?" she asked him as she turned left onto Leaket Street. The neighborhood was eerie and quiet. There were a few Re-Animated walking around but they ignored the cars now. They seemed to have conditioned themselves to learn that moving cars was death or something even worse than death.

Tamara eventually turned on her street and pulled into her garage. She hit the button for the garage door to close behind them. She climbed out and once Brenden was out, she locked her car and began heading into the house through her garage. She dropped her keys on the kitchen table and headed to her fridge. She grabbed a container of orange juice.

"What are you in the mood for for dinner?" She asked him curiously.

[brenden]

Brenden slid into the passenger's side of the car and stared out the window as they drove. He spotted a few re-animaters that paid no attention to them. Most weren't daring enough to step in front of a moving vehicle. They knew instant death, if anything, would come to them. "I don't know. I'm going to be searching threw all your movies for a good hour before I decide anything." Bren teased as he poked her back. Tamara had a huge library of movies. You could name any movie and she would probably have. In the many years they had known each other they had spent time after time going threw all of them and he wasn't even sure if they had made a dent. He didn't mind though. Staying in and watching movies was always nice. The two were like children. They would have sleepovers like someone would have in middle school. Pig out on junk food, do silly things that made them laugh none stop. It was nice to have someone like that but what he enjoyed most is when he got to cozy up next to the brunette. They may have intended on friendly gestures but they were so much more to him.

"Let's make some homemade pizza." Brenden broke out into a grin, as if he was a kid in a candy shop. It was perfect food for yet another perfect night spent with her. "This time. No flour fights." He pointed to her as they settled into her home. Try as they might, there would always be a playful fight between them. It was inevitable and guilty as charged, he was usually the one to start it. Bren kicked off his shoes and dove into the couch, enjoying its coziness. "You know what, I think I'll let you cook it yourself this time." He wove his hand in the hair, with his face buried into the couch pillow. He was only joking but for the moment he could enjoy the down time. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before she attacked him. That was like Tamara. She normally didn't let him get away with anything, even if they wrestled over it. Call him a whip but she could very well kick his ass anyways, though sometimes he went easy on her.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara watched him dive onto the couch. She counted to three silently before she pounced on him, giving him a sense of false security. She playfully landed on top of him pinning his arms behind his head. She was straddling him on the couch. She leaned down, her brown hair falling over her shoulder.

"Oh no Couch boy. You're going to be helping me cook that pizza" she said grinning. "And if I remember correctly, who started the flour fight?"

He had started it the last time when she was trying to make a cake. It was hilarious and the two of them spent the remainder of the day, laughing hysterically while they tried to clean it up. Tamara suddenly realized what position they were in and became embarrassed. She cleared her throat and slowly let him up.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna change. Then we can get to work on dinner" she said as she got off him and headed into her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and pressed her back against it, breathing rapidly. She had done that to him numerous times. Why was it so different now? Raising a hand to her forehead, Tamara quickly grabbed a pair of jogging pants that fit her body nicely and a plain white tee shirt. While she wasn't exactly small, or voluptuous, she wasn't bad looking. Tamara looked at herself in the mirror over her dresser. They'd been so close all this time. Could it be possible that new feelings were starting to surface? Tamara began wondering if that was the case. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and headed back down stairs.

She entered the kitchen and began getting the ingredients for the pizza.

[brenden]

Brenden prepared himself for the attacked, knowing it would come eventually and grunted slightly as she landed on him. He smirked slightly as she straddled him and placed his hands behind his head. "Are you going to make me?" He teased, knowing this situation was all too enticing. Bren could mock and joke with her all he wanted but as she sat on top of him there was only on thing on his mind. How all of this felt right. How everything they did with each other now seemed so much more important. "Okay, so maybe I did." He admitted to the flour fight. Surprisingly he gave in. He was off guard and too focused on Tamara.

He sat up slowly just as she got off. When she left the room to change he frowned slightly. Bren didn't want her to get off. He wanted her to stay close to him like that but past the friend barrier that they both had been holding up. He let out a sigh as he leaned off the couch, running his hands threw his hair. Why he was suddenly having all these feelings was beyond him. Maybe it was the lack of women in his life lately. Maybe Tamara had been right earlier in the fact that it would be impossible to find the right person in this world. Maybe it wasn't because there were very few people around anymore but because the right person was right in front of them. Brenden just had to get it together. He needed to realize that the relationship he wanted probably wasn't possible.

After a few minutes he watched Tamara come back out and into the kitchen. "So what do you think we should watch tonight?" He asked curiously as he followed. He helped retrieve the ingredients and dishes. Bren started mixing the flower and water to make dough and gave her an evil glare. He was so tempted to mess with her but he hesitated, wondering if maybe he was a little too childish sometimes. Maybe that was why they never crossed the friend zone. Maybe she didn't fell that way for him because he was too immature. It wouldn't have been the first time. He had lost many girl friends because of it but it never really bothered him. Brenden never really cared about any of those girls like Tamara. "No sappy love stories. I don't want to go threw another box of tissue again." He joked yet again.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara eyed him evilly. She knew what he was thinking and beat him too it. She tossed a wad of flour at him. It landed on his face. Tamara giggled.

This led to a flour fight as usual. Tamara knew that it would end up being inevitable that they had a flour fight. She felt a bit giddy at this point so it was only a matter of time.

Exhausted , she slumped down against the island. She was covered in flour and bits stuck to her hair. She turned to Brenden.

She tossed a little more flour at him, laughed then leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

When Tamara pulled back, she was suddenly embarrassed and shy. She lowered her eyes from his.

"I-I'm sorry..." her voice trailed off. He probably would hate her now for kissing him. She felt stupid. He probably didn't feel the same way toward her as she did him, which she realized now was that she was in love with him. They'd been together for so long, Tamara wasn't sure she realized this sooner. She kept her face turned away, clearly embarrassed.

"Please don't hate me for kissing you" she murmured quietly.

[brenden]

"Oh look who's starting it now." Brenden threw some flower back at her in a never ending war. He made sure to rub some in her hair, as cruel as he was, before slumping down next to her. He wasnt sure who had won, though he would have easily accepted the title. The kitchen was a mess, not to mention themselves but he was still able to let out a few laughs. "Truce." He rose a hand as she threw some more at him. Bren was about to grab another handful to counteract but when he turned towards Tamara she was closer than expected and before he knew it their lips were locked. He kissed back but not for long before she pulled away. Brenden stared at her in shock as she looked away in embarrassment. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation other than he had been wanting to do that for some time. He only resisted because he didn't think Tamara felt the same way and now he felt stupid for not making the first move. "You shouldn't be sorry." He assured while trying to whip away some flower, out of nerves.

Bren placed his head against the counter and looked up at the ceiling. "I could never hate you Tamara." He let out a soft sigh. While he was pleased that she had missed him, he was now worried what type of affect it would have on their friendship. "You're my best friend." He stated the obvious without really thinking. Of course he wanted to be more than that but that's what they had considered themselves for years. Knowing that this wasn't they type of repo we she wanted, he turned back to look at her. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He was finally being serious for once. As he waited for a reply he reached over and rubbed some flower from her cheek. "You're a mess." Brenden smirked, losing his seriousness again. Before she could really say anything else he was leaned towards her, pulling her face into his for another kiss. He may not have been positive if this was what she wanted or if the first kiss was an act on impulse but he liked.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara heard him sigh and say that he could never hate her. Relief flooded over her as she felt him gently wipe some of the flour from her cheek. She felt him gently cup her face and pulled her toward him for another kiss. She kissed him back softly and gently.

When she stopped, she was breathless and pressed her forehead against his. He had asked her if she was sure.

"yes I'm sure" she whispered to him, shutting her eyes. "I've felt this way for a long time"

She placed a hand on his chest as she lowered her eyes, keeping her forehead against his. It felt wonderful and strange to be kissing him so intimately like this, but Tamara knew that she wanted to pursue these feelings toward him. They'd been bubbling in her for as long as she could remember.

She leaned in and kissed him again before gently winding her arms around his neck and pulling him against her. She hugged him tightly, pressing her face into the hollow grove of his shoulder.

"You don't exactly look like a prize either Mr." She said as a grin spread over her face.

[brenden]

Brenden wrapped his arms around Tamara as he kissed her back. He held her close and leaned his cheek against her hair as they sat in silence for a moment. This wasn't what he had been expecting when he agreed to come over. He figured it would be just as normal as usual. Hanging out, doing silly things, shamelessly flirting like best friends would but clear they were no longer in the friend zone. There had been a huge weight lifted off his shoulders as he realized their feelings were mutual. He was glad to here that she wasn't taking back the kiss. He was thankful for it despite its impulse but to here Tamara claim that she wanted it was even greater. Bren was slightly shocked as she mentioned that she had the feelings for a while. He never would have thought. Not with how long they had been friends. She was a beautiful and dependent woman. Despite always liking her, he had always thought she'd go for someone better. Some guy more masculine and serious. Someone who didn't find everything a joke. Someone not like himself.

"No thanks to you." Brenden teased as he stood from their spot on the kitchen floor and offered a hand to help her up. There was flour all over the kitchen and he couldn't help but laugh at the mess they had made. "Maybe we should finish making dinner before we get cleaned up." He glanced down at himself and attempted to whip some white powder from his pants. It was useless. They would have to change into new clothes and take showers to get all of it out. Bren started rolling some dough before pulling her over so he was behind her. He had had his arms formed around her body and his lingers laced with hers as they molded the flower and water. "You've really had feelings for me for awhile?" He smirked as he wondered how long exactly. Since the academy? After that? "It's my good looks isn't it?" He nudged her slightly. He was never far from a joke but it was inevitable. It was his way of dealing with things ever since his brother died. It was a way of hiding his true feelings though this wasn't exactly the time to be hiding behind a mask.

[Tamara Houston]

Tamara let him pull her so that he was behind her. His arms were around hers, hands and fingers laced with hers. She let out a soft sigh as he was pressed against hers. Her mind fleeted back to the movie GHOST with Patrick Swazey. Her heart pounded for a bit.

"Oh yes. that and your boyish charm" She teased right back at him. She leaned back against him enjoying the moment.

Once dinner was made, Tamara turned to him. "I think we need a shower. There is a change of clothes for you in the other room." she said to him softly. "I'll be right out"

She entered the bathroom and quickly undressed. She slipped into the shower, enjoying the hot water roll over her. She lathered up her hair and rinsed it out. When she was done, She pulled on a soft terry cloth robe and let her hair hang around her shoulders in damp tendrils. She left the bathroom and then went over to Brenden.

"Ok. Shower's all yours" She said brightly. She went into her bedroom and pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top that showed a bit of he midriff. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and fastened it. She flopped down on the couch and waited for Brenden and dinner.