> Distractions > by Harmony Charmer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Can't Hold It Back Anymore > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sombra looked down at the mounds of duplicated papers that each bore the markings of every single one of his students, most of whom didn't seem to understand the periodic table by a long shot. He sighed as he marked yet another wrong answer, a slight shake of his head following as he continued to watch the intelligence within the coming generation's dwindle below the line society was losing its' hold on. 'God, they can be such morons...' he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose as he caught sight of a doodle at the bottom of the page, a not so rare occurrence in his grading process. Despite it being a Friday, and the fact that Sombra most definitely could have made plans that night with a certain someone, he found himself looking over to the papers he had yet to look over and, much to his chagrin, grade. God, how he hated grading papers. Though teaching brought him solace and peace of mind in his life, along with his significant other, it also brought him a sense of dread as he came to realize just how much education meant to the technologically influenced era of teens. One second their eyes would be on the whiteboard, the next on their Smart Phones and Kindle Fires. 'Must they be so immersed in the doings of A.K. Yearling's Twitter page and not in their own intelligence?' Sombra questioned silently, a small sigh escaping his lips as he found a small doodle of crudely drawn thunderbolt, no doubt meant to resemble the popular insignia of the Wonderbolts aerial display team. Sombra found himself massaging his temples as he placed his red grading pen down, his eyes closed as he tried to regain a sense of what peace of mind felt like again. It was always so frustrating to see his students disregard their schoolwork, especially in his subject of teaching, it would seem. 'At least nothing is here to bother me...' he mused, somewhat thankful of the peacefulness the empty house brought. A light pitter-patter of rain echoed from outside, the calming rhythm resonating through the walls and into the residence, bringing a sense of serenity. A brief flash of lightning and a small rumble of thunder did little to distract Sombra from the task at hand, though the task itself was rather unenjoyable. But, as things always did when he recognized the peacefulness in his life, that dispassion disappeared almost immediately. A loud, echoing SLAM! reverberated through the house, signifying that Sombra's significant other had arrived home from work earlier than usual. Sombra bit back a sigh as he recognized the familiar clunk of her boots as she tossed them to floor, then shook his head as he heard the daily sound of her falling over from her lack of balance and flourish. 'Don't come upstairs, don't come upstairs,' Sombra prayed silently, not wanting her to bother him. He knew he wouldn't be able to put up with her. "Sombra?" he heard her call out, "Ya home?" Sombra felt like ignoring her, but cringed as he remembered the result of his last attempt at doing so and sighed raggedly. "Yes, Pinks," he replied, then immediately chided himself for using his nickname for her. It would only entice her, he knew. "Oh, OK!" she exclaimed, the sound of wet fabric slapping against the linoleum by the front door. Sombra grinned to himself as he shook his head. She had forgotten her umbrella again. The familiar sound of her light footsteps hopping up the stairs immediately reminded him of his work and he forced himself not to pay her mind. He flinched as he heard the door to his workroom open with a slight creak, showing that she had decided to pay him a visit. God, how he wished she wasn't so distracting from his work. "Oooo, whatcha doin'?" Pinkie asked, her feet squishing against the floor to show her socks were soaked through from the rain. Sombra didn't even spare her a glance. It would only distract him. "Just grading some papers I haven't had the chance to do." "Oh," Pinkie said, her gaze undoubtedly going over to the mound of papers, "How much do you have to do?" "I'm barely through second period," he replied stoically, not wanting her to hear his obvious struggle with ignoring her, "and I still have to get to seventh period before I can call it a night." Pinkie sighed. "How many times have I told not to do it all at once? It'll just give you a headache, Kingsley." Sombra flinched at her off-hand nickname, it being one of the ones he didn't like particularly. But, he held his own, his need for getting work done more important than engaging her on her nicknames. Again. "I work better that way," he told her, not taking his eyes off his work. Sombra was surprised to feel her hand on his shoulder, an affectionate squeeze coming from her small fingers. "You know I don't like it when you work yourself too hard," Pinkie said softly, "it worries me." Against his better judgement, Sombra found himself looking at her, his work immediately forgotten as he gazed upon her. She was soaked to the bone from the rain outside, her hair sticking to her face and neck as she shivered slightly from the cold. Her clothes clung to her curvy frame, her arms crossed over her chest as she attempted to regain a sense of warmth in herself again. She looked beyond distracting in her current state. "What?" Pinkie questioned obliviously, blinking her ocean blue eyes innocently. God, she looked so cute when she did that. "Er, nothing," Sombra replied, turning his attention away from her. Too late, he realized his mistake in his reply as Pinkie pulled him into a tight embrace, her cold, wet frame soaking through his button-up shirt. "God, Pinkie!" Sombra exclaimed, jerking away from her as he felt her sub-zero feeling temperature. Pinkie giggled and pulled him closer, her cold cheek pressing into his warm one. "Oh, come on, Sombra! I know you don't wanna grade your papers, ya big ol' meanie!" Sombra frowned as he attempted to push her away from him. "But I have to, Pinkie. You know that, and I think that's one of the reasons you do what you do." Pinkie blinked innocently as she twirled a lock of hair in her finger. "Do what?" Sombra gave her an incredulous look. "You-- That, right there!" "I don't know what you're talking about," Pinkie replied, continuing to twirl the lock of hair. Sombra opened his mouth to yell at her, but stopped himself and sighed raggedly. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" "Doing what on purpose?" Sombra smacked a hand to his face and shook his head tiredly. "You make it so difficult to put up with you sometimes..." "Why? 'Cause you think I'm distracting?" "Yes, precisel--" Sombra cut off as he caught Pinkie tossing off her cardigan onto the floor, "What're you doing?" "I'm freezing!" Pinkie told him, rubbing her exposed arms with her hands rapidly, "It's super cold outside!" Sombra sighed. "There is no way you're doing this by accident." "How is me being cold an accident? Well, I guess if I remembered to bring my umbrella, I wouldn't be so cold, so yeah, it's kind of an accident, now that I think about it." "Look, we've been over this, Pinks," Sombra reminded her, "I work and you go do something to entertain yourself until-- Would you quit taking off your clothes?!" "What?" Pinkie blurted out irritatedly as she pulled off her soaking socks, "I don't want my feet to be cold! And I hate wearing wet socks!" Sombra groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why can't you just go downstairs and bake something to keep yourself busy?" "Ugh, no!" Pinkie exclaimed as she slipped off her tights, "I've been baking all day and I don't wanna do it anymore tonight!" "Will you just-- Why are you still taking off your clothes?!" Sombra snapped, completely irritated as Pinkie tossed off her overshirt, leaving her in a tank top. "I'm cold and wet and I want something warm me up!" Pinkie whined as her hands made their way to her skirt. "Nope!" Sombra exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing her hands before they could remove the clothing, "Please, go change somewhere else!" "Why? We change in front of each other all the time!" Sombra groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You make things so difficult for me..." "Aw, are you having a stressful day?" Pinkie asked, her eyes shining with sympathy, "Here, I know how to make you feel better!" Sombra wasn't prepared for Pinkie pulling him into a tight embrace, her lips colliding with his. While at first surprised and unappreciative of her action, he found himself leaning into it as he felt the familiar curve of her form. Without much thought and complete disregard for his work, Sombra slid his hands under her and lifted her up bridal style, the action causing Pinkie to squeak in surprise. "I thought you had work to do!" Pinkie exclaimed as Sombra carried her out of the workroom, her arms tightly wound around his neck to keep from falling. "I'm taking your advice..." he told her, "I'll do it later..." "But, what about--" Pinkie was cut off by Sombra kissing her, her words turning into sounds of content. After a moment of kissing had passed and Sombra and Pinkie were in their bedroom, Pinkie pulled away from him to give him an incredulous look. "Wow, you really must hate grading papers, huh?" she asked, a brow arched in questioning. Sombra gave her a sly grin. "You have no idea."