Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Damn you!” her lips pursed and eyes narrowed up at him, annoyed he got her twice in such quick succession. Her arm moved to brush his hand off her shoulder dismissively but he’d already moved a step away and all she touched was air.

“That’s three questions by the way.” not that she was disinclined to answer them but it was supposed to be one for one was it not?

Meridiana shrugged, rolled her eyes at him and simply replied, “Regarding the other agents, I’ll just say that the Negaverse was very appreciative of their generous contributions to the energy pool.” She smiled then, all too proud of how completely she’d drained them and were left butt-a** naked on the floor of a motel for the cleaning service to find the next morning.

Burdened by cumbersome parts of her uniform, she paused to discard the feathered shoulder piece and tossed it aside. “As for your other question. I can’t quite tell if that is a hint of jealousy I hear... I assume you’re asking for a friend, right?” She hummed with a brow raised in curiosity and let the question linger for a moment.

The next article of clothing to be removed was her belt followed by the outer dress which fell into a pile of fabric around her feet leaving her in little more than a form-fitting bodice, mini skirt, and thigh-high boots. There was nothing she could do about the heels and would have to make due for the time being.

Now properly divested of her garments she teleported back to the table and grabbed herself a second weapon since Zinkenite seemed disinclined to allow her close to the edge of the chalk ring.

Meridiana faltered, her heartbeat quickening, though it wasn’t from the exertion of running or expending energy to gain distance from him. None of her anticipations regarding him prepared her for his next move. She’d braced herself for a strike across her back as she was turned away, not the almost gentle grasp he had on her hand or the closeness of his voice beside her ear.

A shiver danced up her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake, and was accompanied by a subtle blush spreading across her cheeks which he hopefully could not see.

It felt like he was using her own tactics against her and while she wanted to be angry at him for it, to curse at him for doing so many unexpected things, Meridiana felt almost thrilled by the challenge it presented. Fortunately, he was in her space now; and while she was non-combative in most situations, she had plenty of time to hone her other skills.

“That is a lesson I remember keenly.” Her body seemed to relax at that admission, the memory of being attacked feeling all too recent with the scar on her side being ever-present. “Which is why, without a partner, I have had to learn how to navigate my patrol without needing one.” Meridiana’s hold on the weapon loosened as she turned it over, palm up, so she could lace her fingers through his.

Her body turned slightly as she wrapped his arm around her so Zinkenite’s hand rested against her opposite hip. “Although…” she looked up at him with an almost thoughtful expression. “If the consequence of finding myself in a similar situation means I get saved by a very handsome knight in black armor and get to wake up in his home again.” She bit her lower lip in a manner befitting a Succubus, “I might just consider taking one for the team.”

Meridiana’s smile widened as she dared to let him go so she could turn and face him fully. One hand found its place between his shirt and long coat where it rested just above the chain that wrapped around him like a belt. “Magic aside, I have other assets at my disposal. A proper amount of knowledge can be just as deadly.” She reached up with her other hand, catching his chin between her thumb and index finger, counting the chalk mark it left there as her point.

“I don't know about you, but I distinctly remember a time when me being this close made you exceedingly uncomfortable.” Oh how rigid he’d become the first time she’d kissed him before ever learning his name.

“So, my question before still stands, are you asking for yourself or for a friend?”

For as confident she’d felt in her approach, as forward in her advances to the point of considering kissing him if he didn’t teleport away again, his whispered words made her pause and consider that perhaps she’d taken it too far.

Meridiana removed her hand from his side and in a motion reminiscent of what happened in his home, she reached up, curled her fingers around his hand, and leaned her cheek against his open palm. Two points she’d offer to him freely, “I’m sorry I can’t make that promise.”

Hurt wasn’t reduced to the feeling of pain from wounded flesh alone, sometimes it presented itself in ways that no stitch could close or makeup could cover. Being forgotten or left behind and left to worry about those she cared about left her with a wounded heart where unseen hurts were hidden behind a pretty smile.

“But what I will remind you of is that there is only one person I trusted enough to have given a key to my home.” She let that answer linger as she released his hand and retreated a few steps away to give Zinkenite room to breathe, to compose himself before continuing.

It seemed as if their training had morphed into a synchronized dance, where each step she retreated, he seamlessly mirrored. But then she stepped towards him, closing the small space between them again, and pinched the fabric of his sleeve with a loose grip.

“Are you telling me this because of someone you met while you were away…” she asked cautiously before adding to her question. “Or someone you returned home to?”

Among all the individuals she had ever kissed, be it for powered responsibilities and quotas or personal curiosity, none had left her breathless the way Zinkenite had done in this moment.

For her, time seemed to freeze, suspended between heartbeats. A sharp pang of disappointment stabbed her when he uttered someone else's name, but it blossomed into unexpected warmth as his palm settled against her lower back, drawing her close, and he kissed her gently, as though afraid she might reject him.

But she did not recoil from his touch nor the tentative brush of his lips against hers. If anything, the grip she had on his sleeve seemed to tighten as she felt the strength in her knees begin to weaken. Instead, she carded slender fingers, still covered in a thin layer of chalk, through his hair at the nape of his neck, and responded with a chaste kiss of her own.

When finally she pulled away, Meridiana tucked her head beneath his chin, hiding her face while she tried to calm her racing heart and remember how to breathe.

"The girl whose name you mentioned…” she began, her voice was no higher than a whisper. “She missed out on someone very special." I don't want to make the same mistake.

They both looked a mess, chalk on their uniforms, on their faces, but neither of them seemed to take notice of it. "There is no rush to sort through what you're feeling." Meridiana looked up then into his eyes with wordless wonder before cupping his cheek gently in her hand as he had done when she had felt ashamed of an admission.

"All I ask is that you let me stay beside you. If you can grant me that one request, I will be happy with whatever you choose." Even if it led him into the arms of another. "That is a promise I can give to you"