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"Takeout's in the kitchen," came the casual comment as she heard the familiar clink of keys on the side table. It had taken some getting used to, with his quiet entrance, so key clinking had quickly become the alert to Ursula that the General King had entered the room.

She glanced over in his direction, tearing herself away from yet another VH1 rerun (she'd wonder now and again how women like Beryl survived back in the day before shows like American Idol, Daisy of Love, or Survivor existed). He was still looking tired, which was a constant worry on Ursula's mind, though she kept it to herself... for the most part. Even after ensuring he was eating regularly and even taking the occasional vitamin, the dark circles under his eyes were still there. Hm.

She planted the cushion back down on the couch before hopping up, bare feet padding their way over to the kitchen area. Small cartons of Chinese takeout still sat in the white plastic bag they were delivered in, and she quickly transported the bag not to the dinner table, but back over to the couch, setting it down on the coffee table in between the tv and couch. The message was clear: if you want to eat, you're going to have to sit right beside me and be forced to eat with the television blaring.

"Did you want to watch a movie?"

The answer was typically a resounding no, but Ursula was not one to ever give up. Horror flicks, chick flicks, mystery flicks, sci-fi... anything was up for debate with her, but she figured the idea of being forced to sit next to her for any lengthy period of time was still on the to-never-do list for him. She was patient. Okay, so not really, but she'd have her way, eventually.

Patting the spot next to her in an unspoken invitation to him, the Barren Pines teacher flopped ungracefully down on the couch and picked up two chopsticks. Leaning over, she dug unceremoniously into the plastic bag, whipping out a carton of something unmistakably delicious.

Eyes shifted from her box to her husband-to-be and then back to the box. Lifting the flap, she dug around the contents with her chopsticks, and then plucked food from it.

Noodles dangling midair, she dared to nudge his arm with her own. "Sort of like how you don't ever involve yourself with women, huh?"

Before she could get herself into any further trouble, she began chewing on the noodles, batting her eyes at him innocently. Ursula was careful when it came to teasing, mostly because, well, geez, he was still the General King of the Negaverse, but every once in a while it was fun to poke at him, here and there. Not to mention the ******** adorable reactions he'd sometimes give her.

She moved to flip the channel, settling it on the History Channel this time. Every time she managed to cajole him into sitting on the couch with her, she'd test out a new channel to see if it could capture his attention. Today's utterly boring program just so happened to be over Attila the Hun. Yaaawn.

Dropping the volume significantly (please, boring ancient dead men?), she turned to give him her attention as he spoke, her ears perking up at the mention of project.

"What, sho shoon?" she asked, mouth still half full of noodles, though then she had the decency to swallow before continuing, "But we just started, practically!"

Her nose scrunched up at the mentioned of barbecued bodies. God, couldn't he have waited to talk about this stuff after they ate?

Then she remembered who she was talking to.

Ready to take another bite of food, she was prevented from once again attacking the box by his dark hand reaching out and taking hers, examining her slender fingers for the diamond that symbolized their matrimony-to-be. It had taken a few stores before she'd found one to her liking, and, as promised, she'd kept it relatively on the affordable side.

She couldn't help but grin as he commented - was that a joke she heard from the always serious General King?

"And, knowing that, it tells me that one day you will watch a movie with me."

Still grinning, she leaned over and kissed him, lingering long enough to be more than a peck, but not anywhere close to face sucking. Pulling back, she plopped her sticks in her box, withdrawing another bunch of noodles to devour. She hesitated, though, as if rethinking her options, and then extended the tantalizing noodles out into his direction instead, her smile turning sly.

"And that woman is quite happy that you involved yourself with her, Mr. Killingworth."

Ursula Johnson: Awkward Moment Maker Extraordinaire.

"Like the name Gunn Killingworth is so convincing anyhow."

Ursula wasn't about to admit that she'd failed to see through the name, not until that fateful evening when he'd run out of the apartment after breaking up their kissing session. Since then, it had been all-too awkward to call him Gunn, but what other name did she know him by, in the civilian world?

Finished with her dinner for the time being, she planted the box and chopsticks down on the coffee table and swung her legs up on the couch, crossing them indian-style as she faced him. One cushion was snagged out of habit, blocking a good deal of her tank top and shorts as she leaned over, the pillow pressed against her chest as she hugged on to it tightly.

"Old days this, old days that." She echoed back, one eyebrow raised as her head tilted, "If you're to work with the times, dear, then I suggest you quit acting so old. That was then, this is now. I'm ready and willing to be the almighty and powerful sovereign the Negaverse apparently needs, but just because you might have walked fifteen miles in the snow back then to get to your star seeds doesn't mean we have to tromp along the same path these days. Things have changed. People have changed."

Her bottom lip stuck out slightly, the idea of their eventual marriage still apparently nonsense to him. Well maybe it didn't mean anything to him, but she sure as hell was happy over it, and he was doing nothing but trying to ruin her excitement!

It was clear he was trying hard at changing the subject, and she would have laughed at hearing Charonite use such a phrase as 'sucking face' had it not been for the two names that had been strung along in that sentence. Her eyes narrowed, the pout turning into a scowl.

Ursula hadn't seen hide or hair of Khaldun since the infamous 'dinner', but it didn't surprise her at all to hear he was back with Audrey. That little two-bit tramp. She had half a mind to tell the General-King about catching Linarite with Castor, but the young woman was enjoying his company far too much to have him storm off in a fit of anger. Perhaps another time.

"He's too good for her," she snorted, still glowering. Then... another notion hit her, and her eyes moved from staring into his towards looking at the side of the couch, "Though... you know, Audrey is a fortunate gal. Khal sure knows how to woo a lady, even if she isn't worth his time. I've seen them around campus before. Hell, had to break them up from a kissfest myself. Nothing seems to stop him from showing her how much he's into her..."

"Oh shut up, you're acting like you're middle aged, for Christ's sake." She shook her head, covering up her disappointment as best she could with a laugh. It was getting easier, unfortunately, to deal with his denseness these days. Things had always sailed over his head in the past, so why should she expect it any different now? There had been a breakthrough with her fuse with Beryl, but he was still as dense as a ******** rock. "Marrying a woman whose body is host to an ancient queen isn't exactly ideal either. I can accept you for your age, so is it so hard to accept me for mine? I haven't exactly led a normal life for a twenty-two year old, you know. I'd like to think I'm a little more mature for my age than other girls."

Her head shook again, a soft scoff escaping her lips. Surprisingly, his hand went unnoticed as she returned to his earlier comment. "As much as I find Audrey to be one of the largest ******** disappointments the Negaverse has to offer, you've got to remember how old he is, Gun--darling."

Goddamn fake names.

"He's just a kid. He'll grow out of all of this in due time. Audrey's too dumb to know any better than to jump the bones of any guy who pays her attention, but Khal will realize, soon, that there's more to life than women. I mean hell, look at the role model he's got to look up to."

She smiled, her eyes returning to meet his. "I mean, Jesus, with you in charge, he's not going to have much of a choice in the long run, is he?"

The pillow was clutched tighter, Ursula now growing aware of the hand that was touching her. She didn't dare look at it and refused to acknowledge it was there. A glance or a return touch could very well scare it away like a spooked rabbit, and the notion that he was voluntarily touching her was too good of a thing for her to frighten off, as far as she was concerned.

"You sure as hell seem to continue to try to set an example," she returned flatly, a hint of amusement still in her voice. Her position was growing uncomfortable at this point, her legs stiff, but she wasn't about to dare move a muscle, not while she'd finally earned some semblance of physical attention from him.

"While you're not his father, you're the next best thing he has to one," came the gentle attempt at an explanation, her face softening as she looked up at him, the pillow being played with by her fingers, "So of course he's going to do things to spite you. Teenagers rebel, it's just how they are."

She grew silent for a moment, a tiny shiver of excitement passing through her as his thumb moved, her mind attempting to stay focused with the conversation. "Does he even know he was showing promise, Charonite? When was the last time you said something positive to him? If all you tell him are negative things, he's not going to see himself in any better light than the way you treat him. I understand the Negaverse has no place for the weak and worthless, but these are children you're training."

Hesitating, she finally gave up on resisting any return affection and outstretched her hand to gently cup the side of his face. His goatee brushed against her palm, and her fingers softly caressed the hardened General-King's cheek. God, he looked so ******** tired, and it was worrying her so much. Was there anything she could do to lighten his burden?

"They're not going to be anywhere close to how it was in the old days, at least, not until they all do some growing up. You've got to give it a little more time. I promise things will improve; I'll do whatever I can in my own power to make it so."

"We don't have room to make a mistake."

He did look tired. And he wasn't resisting when she touched him -- before he had looked as though he wanted to flinch. The General-King never flinched. But he looked at her the way he never looked at a battle, either, he looked at her as though she were unknown territory and as though he had forgotten his map. Sometimes he looked at her as though -- it was hard to gauge his expression, he wore a pair of -- well, sunglasses -- even when he didn't. His grey eyes were usually fathomless and unreadable, except for where tiredness had placed shadows underneath them. But he took her hand and drew it away from his jawline, and before she could flinch herself he kissed every fingertip as he'd done the day in the Negaverse cavern; he kissed down to the base of her thumb.

"I'm not Khaldun's father," he said, gravelly, though this seemed completely out of place with the 'hand kissing'. He kissed the center of her palm, then flipped her hand up to kiss her wrist. "Children need to grow up. He should -- he should goddamn know, he was around long before even you were around. Before Lieutenant Obsidian. Before anyone."

Charonite kissed her wrist joint. Wrist joint to the first knuckle of her thumb, again. "I don't do ******** compliment sandwich, Captain." First knuckle to thumbprint. "He needs to know the stakes."


Her heart began to race as wide eyes watched him take her hand. She inhaled sharply as his soft lips began to graze across her fingers, her palm, her wrist, and she struggled to contain the whimper of pleasure that begged to escape her lips.

For a man who was supposed to be inexperienced when it came to romance, he was doing one hell of a good job at getting her flustered.

She kept her mouth clamped shut and merely stared back into his eyes as he spoke (CHRIST, he was sexy as hell - how the <********> did he expect her to think straight when he was doing this to her?). She'd exhaled by this point, but now her breath had shortened significantly, her heart still pounding away in her chest as her husband-to-be practically made out with her hand.

"You said it yourself," she half choked, half gasped out. Immediately, she closed her eyes and focusing on controlling her voice. He didn't need her caving in and acting like some lovesick teenager, not during a discussion like this, "He's doing this to spite you. I'm sure he's well aware of the severity of the situation, si-General-King. And, compared to the others, he hasn't been the worst. He took care of Tisiphone, did he not? Not even I could have managed that."

Ursula hated the idea of pointing out her own flaws, but it was frustrating to see both men at such odds with one another, when it didn't make any sense at all. Neither wanted to give the other a chance, when everything could be perfectly reasonable between the both of them, if they'd only try!

Eyes fluttered open to meet with his once more, her cheeks clearly growing from pink to red as her eyes drifted towards his lips. But damn it all, she did her best to stay focused. "He... after he saw Beryl, I'm certain he's going to have a lot of questions for you. This would be a good time to drive home to him just how important everything is. Just have a little more patience, sir."

His eyebrows had risen: not even I could have managed that. If she hated the idea of pointing out her own flaws, it was just as alien to Charonite to hear her do such a thing. She'd come a long way when it came to Khaldun. Apparently it was surprising even him. But it was an uphill struggle to try to see both men come to some kind of peace settlement, not when the General-King blasted Khal for putting a foot wrong and Khal was convinced that there was no way, no how that Charonite would ever treat him like a human being. She hadn't seen the expression on his face when she'd fainted away into the General-King's arms after her Beryl moment; it had been plain, utter revulsion.

Khal's revulsion aside, he was kissing her. That didn't exactly scream "I am so depressed at having to marry you."

He was touching her fingers now, as though measuring them against his own -- his hand dwarfed hers -- massaging he fingers. "He's out of line." Index, ring finger. "He has -- he's got talent. I'm not saying he's worthless. He isn't. He has the ******** talent." His thumb stroked down to her palm again, the heel of her hand. "He goddamn wastes it. That's what angers me. He pisses his ability up against a ******** wall. He's not a bad fighter -- when he doesn't let his ******** weapon get destroyed."

He was apparently busy getting to second base with her hand when --

"I meant it when I said that -- the Shitennou of old didn't get goddamned married."

Was he nervous?

"I never saw the purpose of... ... ...women."


She inched closer to him as he spoke, unable to help herself. God almighty, was he intentionally trying to tease her with his mouth? Tease her and show her how much he could drive her crazy? Why weren't those talented lips all over her, instead of just her silly hand? She'd thought she would have to be the teacher, the instructor in the arts of wooing, but here she was becoming a slave to his kisses, from a man who had never cared to be with a woman before in his life. Jesus Christ, it just wasn't fair.

"Mmmmm," was all she could respond with at first, her eyes watching his hand as it massaged hers. Thoughts of Khaldun were fleeting, though she did her best to concentrate on the Lieutenant and not on forcing her way onto the General-King's lap and showing those lips a few tricks of her own. "He's just confused, right now. I mean, what does he have to fight for, if he can't remember anything?"

Her thoughts moved with the conversation, and her eyes returned to meeting his, half-lidded. It never ceased to amaze her, how far along they'd come. A little over a year ago, they were strangers. Weeks ago, simply a Captain and her General-King. And now....

"Women." she reiterated, unable to help but smile. Her legs shifted and moved from being crossed to her now sitting atop her legs, finally meeting his height on the couch. "I could say the same about men in general, though, couldn't I? But it's not men that I'm after...not men."


Shifting again, she drew closer, her other hand reaching up to clasp over his. "Why are you fighting for the Negaverse, Charonite?"


The question hung in the air for a few seconds before she continued, refusing to let him actually answer. "I joined for power. But that isn't the only reason I joined. If I joined just for power, I would have left months ago, left when I figured out that I wasn't nearly as tough as the other lieutenants, that I couldn't wield a weapon like they could, couldn't withstand attacks as they did."


Her eyes were fully open now, her face somber. "I came to Destiny City with no future, no goals, just the hopes of keeping myself alive. You know as much. You're the one who saved me, ultimately, even if I was just some girl who could fill the job vacancy that you were after. But you gave me a shot. You obviously saw something in me that I hadn't realized was there. Potential."

She pulled his hand up and gently brushed her own lips against his hand, leaving her lips to linger on his index finger before moving on to gently drag themselves along his thumb. Her eyes had returned to being half-lidded once more, and she let go of his hand to position herself over him, swinging one leg over to where she was now straddling his leg.

"I did not know of a Queen, when I learned of the Negaverse. I did not know of battles that had been fought centuries ago, of wars won and lost, of who died for and against the power we stand for. I fought for myself, and I fought for the man who gave me a chance at life, fought for his beliefs and what he stood for, because he is what I stand for, he is worth me giving my life for."

Her hands had moved up to cradle his face, gentle fingers brushing up against the long dreadlocks that dangled around his head.

"I fight for you, Charonite. That is my purpose."

He looked at her a little transfixed. Charonite never stared transfixed at anything -- except, perhaps, the crystal coffin that had enclosed Beryl's skeleton for so long, but taking things as they were this was a pretty good upgrade. This was a long way from the day they had met, her standing there with her clothes in disarray after that a*****e employment office manager, him already halfway through a packet of cigarettes.

He never had said what he'd seen in her. But he'd seen something. And now he was, apparently, seeing something else, because he closed the gap between them and kissed her; thoroughly, a little carefully, tasting more and more these days like irritably-chewed peppermint Xtra Sugarfree than outright nicotine poisoning -- but he was kissing her and they were a little tangled up in it, her carefully tucked-up into his embrace. He was kissing her.

Except (and wasn't this always how it ended) he suddenly detangled himself, standing up, brushing himself off, snagging the two empty containers of Chinese food like the slightly OCD roomie he was and making for the kitchen. "I left something back in the office," he said a little gruffly, and even the General-King sounded like he knew this was a really really lame excuse.


God, finally.

She clung to him as if he'd float away if let go, her arms wrapping around his neck as his mouth met hers. He did indeed taste less like a cigarette this time, which only meant the kissing was even more enjoyable than their few brief interludes in their short history together. He was holding her, she was clinging to him, his coarse dreadlocks tickling her arms as her lips fervently moved to press against his, every now and again her teeth moving to graze against and nibble on his bottom lip. Pent up lust was releasing itself, she needed him, she wanted him, and finally, god, finally, they were getting somewhe---what.

What.

What.

She let out a confused squeak as he promptly removed himself from her, leaving her abandoned on the couch as he returned to being his normal stoic, heartless General-King ******** b*****d.

Her confused expression turned sour as she watched him pick up the remains of their dinner and move towards the kitchen, her heart still thumping away in her chest, still not over the excitement of the scene that had just taken place on the couch only seconds earlier. Her cheeks were still flustered, her lips tingling from their passionate (and brief) makeout, and her hair slightly a mess.

He was... leaving her. Again.

Eyebrows furrowing, she rose from the couch and stomped her way after him, her lips forming a scowl at hearing the pitiful excuse he was trying to get by with. She was too caught up in her own frustration to even notice that one side of her tank top had fallen down on her shoulder, or the fact her hair had indeed mussed itself after she'd been removed from his lap and onto the couch.

"What did you forget in your office, Gunn?" she shot out, her voice borderline of angry. How dare he tease her like this, how dare he think he could get away with toying with her emotions like he had? "Did you forget your masculinity? Because that's the only thing I'm sure as hell not seeing around here. You've got some ******** nerve, kissing me like that and just running away. What's wrong? Scared you might, I don't know, ******** enjoy something besides killing, for once? Or do you not even know what comes next? Because it sure as ******** hell isn't DASH BACK TO YOUR ******** OFFICE."

He came out of the kitchen brushing his hands against his slacks. "Good tactic," he said, sounding more irritated than he did genuinely angry. "Go on the goddamned offensive. Did you seriously just talk s**t about my masculinity? Did you seriously just imply I'm scared? -- Good. I ******** taught you everything you ******** know, do you know that?"

The General-King stood with arms folded, looming over her. He was still good at looming. And his expression was amazingly even, despite the fact that Ursula looked incredibly dishevelled. Sexily dishevelled, really. "Would it shock you to know that yes, I know what happens next?" he said. "It's not goddamned rocket science, Captain."


She hadn't been prepared for him to turn around and attack back, but then again, she hadn't exactly planned ahead for what was to come after her sudden angry outburst at having the Ultimate Makeout Session broken off due to some lousy excuse about running back off to the office.


Her eyes widened slightly as he towered over her, just once again showing her how much larger and intimidating he was in comparison to her petite form. Had he been doing this months ago to her, hell, WEEKS ago, she'd have probably trembled in fear. Now, however, she wasn't trembling.

She was sexually frustrated and pissed the hell off at the man who'd agreed to marry her.

"As a matter of fact, sir, it would shock me. It may not be rocket science, but it's also not some silly gym scrimmage or battle strategy." One hand fell on her hip, her eyes shooting daggers up in his direction. "So tell me, General-King, do you really know what happens next, or am I going to have to be the man in the relationship and be the one to show you how it's done?"

His arms unlaced, and one tangled back in her hair again, forcing out all the pins and working out the hairtie that she'd slopped up messily in a bun; his hand cupped the back of her skull as he apparently liked, stroking in deep with a fistful of hair, and he reached down and kissed her pretty aggressively -- she realised now that this was because he didn't quite know how else to kiss her, and it was a good sign. It was a great sign. There was every possibility that this meant he'd given in, his lips against her lips, parting them, drawing her in deeper against his body --

And then he disentangled with her mouth and her hair, said "I'll be in the ******** office," and stalked off (possibly with long orange hairs still decorating his fingers).

No victory. Either way. For both of them.

She shouldn't have been surprised.

She shouldn't have. Really.

But she found herself caught off guard by his touch, having expected him to once again balk from the challenge. His hands were on her, his mouth was covering hers, and she could do nothing but let out a soft moan as his mouth took hers, her anger quickly reverting back to her earlier state of lust. Yes, yes yes, this was it, after all this time... oh ******** CHRIST ALMIGHTY.

Just as she should have seen his initial reaction coming, she should have been prepared for the inevitable ending. It never failed. It never ******** failed.

She stood there, her back now pressing against the wall as she watched him rush off towards the door. It was so frustrating it was almost painful, she was wound up like a spring, she needed all of this pent up frustration released, she needed it OUT of her ******** system for ******** once!

Eyes began to tear up slowly as the anger quickly consumed her. No, she was tired of this... no more. He'd toyed with her once, twice, three ******** times, and now he was out.

"Any ******** man," she ground out, her fists clenching into balls, "I could have any ******** man in this city. They would give up their wives for me. Their homes, their wealth. Even your p***y a** lieutenants would bend over backwards to make me happy, and the one goddamn man I actually want keeps rejecting me?"

She'd moved now, to follow him at a distance, watching him grab the doorknob as he began to make his hasty escape out of the apartment.

"Fine. Be a ******** prude, because you know what? You...you can't have this any more, Gunn. You lost your chance, buddy, you lost your chance at one HELLUVA good ******** time!"

The door had slammed by this point, leaving Ursula alone, staring at the wooden frame with glaring eyes. Oh it was definitely on between them now. If he thought he could get away with teasing her and leaving her high and dry like this, then he was in for the ******** surprise of his life.

Spinning around, she immediately stormed over to the couch and ripped off the cushions from their perfectly organized spots. Her mind was already in overdrive, her plan now in motion. By the time the General-King would return to his lair, he was going to be viewing things from an entirely new perspective, and she was going to make him ******** regret abandoning her.

It was time for the tables to turn.