Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/3384632. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: F/M Fandom: Animorphs_-_Katherine_A._Applegate Relationship: Marco/Rachel_(Animorphs), Rachel_(Animorphs)/Tobias_(Animorphs) Character: Rachel_(Animorphs), Marco_(Animorphs), Tobias_(Animorphs) Additional Tags: Unsafe_Sex, Irrational_Behavior, Dom/sub_Undertones, Abuse, Plot_What Plot/Porn_Without_Plot, POV_Alternating, POV_First_Person, First_Time, Mildly_Dubious_Consent Stats: Published: 2015-02-18 Words: 4096 ****** Like Fighting ****** by fingalsanteater Summary What Rachel wants, she gets. So, when Tobias keeps giving her excuses, she turns to Marco to satisfy her. Marco's just trying to keep up with the force of nature that is Rachel. Set in an AU where the Animorphs are much older teens-- think 17 or 18, TV show age. Notes This was written after I read "Megamorphs 2: In the Time of Dinosaurs." Like I said in the summary, this is set in an AU where the Animorphs are all older-- more like late high school than middle school. I marked it underage for people who prefer to avoid aged-up characters, but they are definitely older teens. Please heed the warnings. This fic features aged-up characters who are underage for the majority of the book canon in sexual situations. If this bothers you, do not continue reading. Any negative comments regarding the sexual content of this fic will be deleted. See the end of the work for more notes Rachel Tobias was perched on the edge of my desk. It was late afternoon on a Saturday and my mom and sisters were out seeing some kid movie. I decided to stay home, hoping that Tobias would show up once he saw they were gone. I knew if I went out flying, we'd stay in bird form the entire time. But, if he came to my room, maybe I could convince him to morph back to human. My "convincing" wasn't going so well. "Why don't you morph human?" I'd asked at first. To that he replied, A reasonable concern. But, I was beyond being reasonable. I was home alone with a boy in my room. I wanted to do what girls my age did with boys. Not Cassie, of course. I think she and Jake are saving themselves for marriage or just waiting until the war's over or something stupid like that. Who knows if we'll even be alive next week, let alone long enough to get married or see the end of the war. But, other girls. Girls like me who who didn't hesitate to take what they wanted, who weren't waiting around for some imaginary time when it'd be okay. Nothing about my life was even remotely okay. Even this. I wanted to have sex with a boy who was a bird. I knew he liked me, so I don't know why he was so hesitant. Maybe he was just clueless. Guys tended to be oblivious to the advances of women. "I'll help watch the time," I told Tobias. I hoped I could keep track if we ended up doing what I hoped we were going to do. I guess I could set an alarm. He sounded apologetic, but I wasn't having any of it. I was angry. "There's always some excuse with you, Tobias," I yelled. My outburst startled him and he nearly fell of his perch. He started, but I interrupted. "Always some excuse as to why you can't morph human! Well I'm sick of it." Tobias was staring intently at me. But his stares always looked like that- - intense and piercing. He was a bird after all. He said, sounding cold. "Of course you wouldn't understand," I said. "You're just a bird." I didn't want to talk to him anymore and I hated the sight of my bedroom suddenly. I left Tobias perched on my desk, his head cocked to the side in a gesture that meant he was very confused. He didn't try to thought-speak with me on my way downstairs. After standing in the foyer for a minute with no sense of purpose but too much pent-up, unresolved anger, I pulled on a pair of shoes and stalked out of the house. I walked down the sidewalk, my footfalls as heavy as I could make them without actually stomping. Tobias was probably overhead, watching me. Let him watch. Maybe he'd figure it out eventually. I walked right out of my neighborhood. I knew where I was going. =============================================================================== Marco The doorbell rang, startling me. I'd been dancing around the kitchen with a mop in my hand. Technically, I was cleaning, but I still hoped none of my friends caught me dancing to Destiny's Child with a mop. I turned off my CD player and went to answer the door. Out the peephole I saw a tall blond who looked a lot like Rachel. Except Rachel would never show up at my house, uninvited or invited. So, I had to be wrong. I wasn't. She was slightly out of breath, hair disheveled, with a wild look in her eyes that told me something wasn't right. I ignored the voice in my head that said this was no time for jokes, and went for it anyway. "Well, look who it is. Xena herself. I knew my irresistibility would bring you to my door sooner or later." I grinned at her and hoped she'd fire back some remark like "Marco, the only things attracted to you are flies." That's how our banter usually went. Instead she asked, "Is your dad home?" I was confused. Maybe something was very wrong. Maybe something had happened to Jake or Cassie or Ax or Tobias. I was starting to feel a little scared. I narrowed my eyes and said, "No, he's got some overnight conference." She smiled strangely. "Well, are you just going to leave a girl standing on your porch all night, or are you going to invite me in?" She sounded almost flirty, but it couldn't be. She never flirted with me. This whole thing was weird. I opened the door and let her in anyway. Once I'd closed the door behind her, I started to ask what was wrong. But, before I could get a word out, she'd pushed me up against the wall. One hand was on my shoulder, the other fisted the fabric at my shirt collar. I didn't know what was happening, not really. But, of course, I just had to say, "I always knew you wanted me." "Shut up," she growled. She actually growled. Then she kissed me. I was so shocked at first that I just stood there doing an impression of a statue. My brain was flopping like a fish on dry land, desperate to get back to water it knew so well. Being kissed by Rachel was nothing I ever expected. I'd never even kissed anyone before. I mean, who has time for romance when you are fighting an interstellar war? But Rachel seemed to know what she was doing. Maybe she'd been practicing with Tobias. But if she was with Tobias, then why was she here? I was thinking too much. Less thinking, more kissing. =============================================================================== Rachel Marco was a terrible kisser. He didn't even try to move his lips or anything. His hands just hung limply at his sides. But I wasn't about to give up. I was getting what I came here for. I pulled back slightly, letting my hands drop. His dark eyes were wide with disbelief. He sagged against the wall. "I know you're hopeless," I said meanly, "but even you ought to know what do when a girl kisses you." I was in his space still, my body pressed tightly against his. He was several inches shorter than me so I had to kind of look down at him. That shouldn't have turned me on, but it did. I loved the power that came with being physically bigger than someone. He was silent for a moment, shock melting into anger. "If it were actually a girl who were kissing me and not some crazed lunatic, sure." "I'll show you a crazed lunatic," I said. I wound my fingers in his hair, yanking his head back roughly. His lips parted in surprise-- or it could've been pain. I didn't care. I leaned down and kissed him again. This time his mouth opened to mine. I tongued his bottom lip, licking into his mouth.  His hands found my hips and, and, for a brief second, I thought he was going to push me away. Instead, his fingers curled around my hips and slid under my shirt to caress my skin. Running his hands along my back, he traced the bumps of my spine with gentle fingers. Marco's tongue was slick and warm and brushed softly against mine when I opened my mouth to him. He sucked my bottom lip tenderly and kissed the corners of my mouth. I was already wanting when I showed up, but now I could feel throbbing between my legs, an urgent spreading of warmth and wetness. It was good; it was too good. I didn't want this to be good, not with him. I wanted it to be rough around the edges, with a rawness and bitterness that that cut us both straight through. Tenderness wasn't for Marco and I. My thigh was in between his legs and I kept kissing him until I felt him grow hard. Biting his lip, I finally drew back, our harsh breaths echoing loudly in my ears. Marco's eyes were half-lidded with wide pupils, his mouth red and swollen and slick. I hated thinking it, but he really did look cute all thoroughly kissed. I ground my thigh hard against him. Eyes widening, he let out a strangled gasp. I think he wanted to say something funny, but all he managed was a shaky, "What the hell, Rachel?" I liked seeing him flustered. Reaching down to palm his dick, I asked snidely, "Is that all you've got." His dark eyes were so wide that I could see the expressive flicker of anger in them. He bit back with, "You're the one who came on to me. Beggars can't be choosers." Marco wasn't above self-deprecation if it meant dragging me down too. I couldn't let him get an upper-hand. "Let's get one thing straight: I didn't choose you. You're just what's most convenient. Face it, Marco, you're a slut." He laughed. "Says the girl who--" I squeezed him and his words were cut short, replaced with a yelp. "Were you saying something?" I grinned. After a second, his mouth, previously slack with shock, turned up at the edges in a teasing smile. "No, ma'am," he said, leering. He leaned up and tried to kiss me again, but I pulled back. "See." I said. "A slut." "And you're a tease," he countered, laughing. "What did you come here for, Rachel? Tobias wouldn't feather your nest?" The truth of his remark cut me deep. =============================================================================== Marco Maybe I shouldn't have said that last thing about Tobias. If I thought Rachel looked a little angry before, she was furious now. Sometimes I hated being right so often. And I also don't know when stop. "So, Tobias can't give to you as good as I can, huh?" I thrust against her palm, still pressed against the crotch of my jeans. "Keep dreaming," she said with a sneer. "I bet you disappoint your own hand." "Why don't we find out how... disappointing I can be?" I licked my lips and watched Rachel suck in a breath, her pretty lips calling to me to kiss them again. What was I getting myself into? I should've stopped after the first kiss, but every time I thought about pulling away, the taste of her lips drew me back in. I was in deep. And, her hand on me was too promising. My head was buzzing with a mixture of possibilities and arousal. Rachel's light blue eyes were steel, determined. I both hated and loved that look. "Let's do it," she said with a smirk. My heart skipped a beat. Grabbing the neck of my shirt, she pulled me along to my room. I let her. Something about the way she was man-handling me was really hot. It made me go a little weak at the knees. She pulled me through the door of my bedroom, kicked my mess on my floor out of the way as she led me to my bed. I was still in "I can't believe this is happening" mode when she pushed me down on the mattress and started unbuttoning my pants. Her long-fingered hands deftly opened and unzipped my pants. I'd have to cooperate if she wanted them off, but, suddenly, I was struck with the reality of the situation. I grabbed her wrists as she started tugging the waistband down. She was focused on the swell of my dick through denim, but the touch of my hands brought her eyes to mine. We were both breathing hard. I'm not saying I didn't want this bad, because I did. I wanted it so bad. But, bad was the operative word here. You could say I was having second thoughts. Second and third and fourth thoughts about how much of a bad idea this was. It was obvious Rachel was mad at Tobias and was using me to... well, get back at him or something. Yet, at the same time, I didn't care that I was being used. I didn't care that this was bound to end with me miserable. I was feeling as reckless as Rachel probably felt a hundred percent of the time. But, a brief flicker of doubt must have shown on my face, because Rachel said, "If you want to back out now, I'll only make fun of you for, oh, about the rest of our lives." I acted like I hadn't even considered backing out. "Are you kidding? I've got you right where I've always wanted you: in my bed." I waggled my eyebrows and she huffed out an incredulous laugh. I continued. "Are you sure you aren't the one with the second thoughts? I mean, once you go Marco, you donmmph--" Rachel pulled her hand from my loose grasp and covered my mouth before I finished. "If you want to live, you won't finish that sentence," she said plainly. Like I could even talk with her hand on my mouth. I swallowed and nodded. She removed her hand and continued on with removing my pants. There was no slow, sensual mutual undressing; she didn't waste any time. With a bit of wriggling on my part, she quickly had my pants and underwear off. I hadn't thought about it as it was was happening, but now that I was half naked, my swollen dick resting heavy on my stomach, I was feeling a bit self conscious. No one had ever seen me like this. I had never even considered the possibility that Rachel would ever see me like this. Well, okay, that's partially a lie. I did fantasize about Rachel, but I never imagined my fantasies could become reality. Then, Rachel wrapped her hand around me and all my misgivings disappeared. =============================================================================== Rachel I pumped Marco a few times, getting a feel for him. He thrust up into my hand as I rubbed the wetness beading on the head of his dick with my thumb. Marco was watching me, not my hand on him or his dick disappearing into the tight clutch of my fist, but me. I'm not great with reading others; that's more Cassie's forte, but right now I was struck with the thought that I could see vulnerability in the way Marco was watching me. The fact that I found that vulnerability arousing was disturbing. Suddenly, I was tired of foreplay. "Get your shirt off," I demanded. I started striping, pulling off my clothes with a brutal efficiency. "Aw," he whined. "The first time a girl takes her clothes off for me and she doesn't even make a show of it." He threw his shirt in the pile of clothes at the end of his bed, and watched me as I unceremoniously stepped out of my underwear. His eyes traveled my body, starting at the determined set of my mouth, to my small breasts and peaked, pink nipples, to the soft curls between my legs and the swell of my hips, down my thighs and legs, all the way to my embarrassingly long toes. "You're..." he started to say, but I cut him off. "If you're going to say I'm beautiful, save it. I've heard it from better people than you." I was irritated by the attention he had paid to my body. Everyone said I was beautiful, but it didn't mean anything. All they saw was the pretty face and I hated it. He snorted and said, "I was going to say 'You're not really my type,' actually, you narcissist." "Well, you're not my type either. You'll never be anything I want," I said hotly. He flinched, like he'd been slapped. I wasn't even sure if what I'd said was true or not, but hurting him made me feel better. And, the fact that I felt better when I hurt him made me feel slightly sick. What was wrong with me? He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I know. Your type has more feathers." The anger that had been simmering in me all afternoon started to boil over. We were getting off track, heading into dangerous territory. My fingers were clenching and unclenching, making a fist. I'd punched Marco before, when he deserved it, and it had always been so satisfying to feel the impact of my fist as it slammed into his face. Eyeing my hand warily, he let out a hysterical laugh. "I thought you said 'Let's do it,'" he said, imitating me. "Well, I don't see us doing it yet." He was trying to take my mind off of punching him. It was working. "You're right," I smirked. "Ready to disappoint me?" "I.. um. Wait," he said, sounding awkwardly like he was stalling.  "I don't... have anything." "Anything?" I asked, confused. He choked out the word. "Condoms." I hadn't even thought of that. Oh well. "Just pull out before you come," I said, crawling up on the bed next to him. He sputtered, "Just- just pull out? You realize condoms don't just help prevent babies, right?" Did he think I was stupid? Of course I knew. "You telling me you have some hideous disease?" "What? No, but..." He sucked in a breath as I threw my leg over his hips and straddled him. "Got it. No hideous diseases and you tell me when. We are good to go, so let's go. I'm tired of messing around." Gripping his dick in one hand, I positioned myself above his narrow hips. I was so wet my thighs were slick with it. "Tired of messing around, she says, while we are messing around," whined Marco, his voice strained. I could feel the tip of his dick pressing against my entrance, so I moved my hands to bracket his shoulders and give me better leverage. Then I sunk down. He slipped in easily, filling me comfortably. Jerking his hips up to meet mine, he slid into me deeper. I sat up, using my strong thighs to move my body the way I wanted, and after a few awkward thrusts, we started to find a rhythm. His hands loosely gripped my hips, touched everything they could reach; his thumbs brushed softly over my hard nipples, caressed the soft skin under breasts. His fingers carded through my pubic hair, rubbed my slit, parted my labia, and finally pressed against my swollen clit sending a jolt of pleasure through me. I must've moaned when he touched me because he gasped, "God, Rachel, keeping making noises like that. It's so hot." I bit my lip to keep any sound from escaping my mouth. "I want to kiss you again," Marco panted as he thrust up into me. "Can I kiss you? I want to kiss you all over. God, you're amazing, Rachel. I..." I slapped my hand over his mouth, unwilling to hear more. I didn't care what he wanted. This was about what I wanted. I was at the point where I just wanted to orgasm and be done. His thumb was still on my clit, but his hand had stilled and the only simulation I got was when when I rocked my hips. "Just keep your thumb right there and shut up," I said. Hot, wet breath hit my hand, still clasped over his mouth, as he struggled to breath. Adrenaline surged through me, the same feeling I got when I was fighting. This was what I was looking for. =============================================================================== Marco This was insane. Rachel looked wild and beautiful and she felt so good around me, but I was scared. I couldn't breathe with her hand pressed to mouth and I was really feeling the weight of this mistake at this moment. After a long, raw moment where we stared into each other's eyes, cataloging every minuscule flicker of emotion we thought we saw-- my fear and confusion and her determination and anger-- Rachel finally removed her hand. Inhaling sharply, I tried to catch my breath as she ground her hips down on mine. I must've not been doing something right, because she batted my hands away and found pleasure in her own fingers on her clit. She was so intensely focused on herself that I felt redundant, unnecessary. It was an uncomfortable feeling and made me sick to my stomach. I tuned out, ignoring all but the wet heat I was moving in. I rubbed my hands up her thighs, trying to feel like I was a part of the proceedings, but ultimately turned toward finding my own pleasure. We found our rhythm again; my hands slipped on her sweat-slick skin as I slid my hands up her back, over her soft stomach and breasts. I loved the smooth skin under them, loved feeling them bounce in my hands as she moved. I loved watching her face, loved the way her head was thrown back, her eyes squeezed tight, lips parted slightly. Let's face it, I was a little in love. Maybe more than a little. She'd kill me if she ever knew. Soon, she gasping above me and I watched her face as she came, her mouth opening in an almost silent sigh of pleasure. I fucked her through it, enjoying the spasms of her orgasm and feeling my own building. The sick feeling in my stomach dissipated, replaced by a tight, burning fire that licked through my body, engulfing me. "Ah, Rach-Rachel," I managed to say through gasps. "I'm going to..." "Are you?" She asked, sounding strangely giddy, like she was coming down from the adrenaline high of a fight. "Yes, yes, yes," I panted desperately. I dug my fingers into her hips, trying, in the confusion of my pre-orgasmic haze, to move her, but she just pressed down tighter against me and rocked her hips. I couldn't hold back. Unlike Rachel, there was no nearly silent sigh when I came. I cried out loudly as I spilled into her. Waves of pleasure washed through me, cresting and waning until I felt spent and happy. The happiness only lasted a second. I was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. I hadn't even realized I'd closed my eyes, so when I opened them I was surprised to see Rachel grinning down at me. "So much for pulling out," she said. I groaned. "Damn it, Rachel. I warned you." Why had she forced me to come in her? "I know." She rolled over and collapsed on the bed next to me. I didn't understand and I didn't even want to understand. I was mad at myself for letting things get out of hand. Rachel was clearly out of her mind. Cassie would have agonized over whether I took advantage of Rachel or she took advantage of me, but I didn't care. I was just done. And I felt terrible. I jumped out of bed and stalked to the bathroom. I locked the door and took a long shower, trying to wash the sweet scent of her off me. When I went back to my room Rachel was gone. I felt more alone than ever. =============================================================================== Rachel After Marco walked off in a huff, I got up and got dressed, feeling wrung out, but oddly calm. As soon as I put it on, my underwear was wet with the combined evidence of our orgasms. Forcing him to come in me made me feel powerful, like I was the master of his pleasure. Or was it mistress? Well, whichever, having that kind of control over Marco was a disturbingly attractive thought. The warm sun shown brightly through the closed slats of Marco's blinds; I could hear birds chirping outside. Curious, I walked to the window and pulled the blinds open. A red-tailed hawk was sitting on a telephone pole across the street, head turned toward Marco's house and this particular window. I stared, my heart thumping painfully in my chest, wondering if the hawk was Tobias. After a long moment, the hawk took off, gliding gracefully across the sky. As I stepped out of Marco's house into the waning afternoon, I considered calling Jake later to see if he knew of any Yeerks that needed to be put in their place. I was aching for a fight. End Notes This was partially inspired by Rachel's almost desperate hinting that Tobias become a human nothlit, and her growing aggressiveness and irrationality in the previous and subsequent books. (The scene were she chews her sister out for throwing away week old Chinese food, anyone?) It was also partially inspired by her and Marco's oftentimes bordering on abusive relationship. 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