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"Quinn..." Aeaea muffled through things as she tried to brush away the tears once more. It was hard to stop them once they started. So many years she hid things like this so now, now it seemed like everything just wanted to spill out of her! Finally she was able to look up, her eyes red around the rim as she leaned against him, stabling herself in his arms. "Stop talking about yourself like you are scum." Her hand came back and smacked against the top of his shoulder. "You are some of those things but if you don't stop, I'm going to make you." She was trying to calm down. Trying to laugh. He had just given her a roller coaster of emotions because in truth, she had expected him to just...walk away. To decide to suffer alone and shut her out. She had prepared for that moment when the door slammed in her face. She knew what to do then, she new how to walk away. What she didn't understand was....this? "What's gotten into you?"

“There you go. That’s more like you,” he smiled weakly down at her when she smacked him. Her being snarky or bossy was so much more like her, he knew how to handle that. Tears not so much. With her less likely to burst into more tears he loosened up his grip some but didn’t move to remove her from his lap. “What do you mean?” He looked at her with the question all over his face, not understanding what she was talking about. Did she mean the hug or the fight or what?

"I mean..." She looked up at him and then back at where she was sitting then his face. "You are acting like an adult. It's very...odd."

“Ouch, that stings.” Hav made a face but followed it up with a grin. “I’ve been an adult for a while now thank you very much.” He, of course, followed this up with sticking his tongue out at her. His teasing faded with a sigh as Hav leaned his head against her’s. “I can’t leave things like they were. Not anymore. To many people rely on me now. I can’t just hide from everything.” It was something he learned by being the boss. He had to face problems. He couldn’t just ignore them and hope they go away. Not anymore.

"Arthur Quinton." Aeaea commented, pulling back slightly from his chest. "Did you grow up and forget to tell me?" It was a full tease. He had grown up a long time ago and to her it seemed he was the only one who refused to see just how much he had. Snuggling her head against his, she took a deep breath and did something that she knew would make or break so much. Lifting her chin, she kissed his lower jaw. "I'm proud of you even if you send me on an emotional roller coaster ride far too often."

“Nah. It was a surprise for me too,” His smile was a bit weak but it was still a smile. He startled a bit at the kiss, eyeing her before he reiterated his earlier statement. “I still think you deserve someone better than me,” but he tightened his hold on her again before he rested his forehead against hers. “But I won’t let you go. If I have to pick between losing you or doing whatever this is. Then I’ll pick this every damn time.” He was still unsure on any real relationship but he didn’t want to lose Rae over something stupid like a label.

"Quinn..." Aeaea sighed, looking up at him with a rather annoyed look on her face. "You realize when you put it that way you make it sound like I'm holding a gun to your head and forcing you to do something you don't want to do." Slowly she began to pull away. Her body seemed cold as she unwrapped from his but she didn't go far. Slipping to the side, Aeaea moved back to the feather covered bed and reached out a hand to take his in her own. "So please, tell me right now. Ignoring all the bs of deciding what is right or not for me, do you want to figure out whatever this is with me or do you not? Because I'm not going back home thinking one thing and you thinking another. The last thing I want to do in embarrass myself in front of everyone and have you saying I forced you into something...because last I checked you were the one with the rope."

Hav made a face full of distaste at her particular metaphor. He didn’t mean it that way. His frown turned more to worry as Aeaea started to pull away but he loosened his hold on her, he never had been and never would be a male who would physically hold someone in place if they really didn’t want to be there. He just didn’t like it. But she didn’t go far, she just slipped next to him so she too was sitting on the bed. And then she asked a question he had no idea how to answer. After a moment of silence Hav could only sigh and flop backwards onto the bed, sending a cloud of feathers puffing out. “I don’t know… I don’t want to lose you but I’m not exactly what one would call a good dating candidate.” His fingers tightened around hers even as he went on, “I’m selfish, childish, busy as ********, I rarely sleep, eat only when I remember, and I’ve killed before… that isn’t exactly boyfriend material. More like serial killer material.” She honestly would be safer and probably happier anywhere but near him.

"Well, I'm not going to disagree with you on any of th..." she stopped, realizing the last thing he said and looked back at him. Deciding NOW she needed answers more than ever, Aeaea didn't just hold his gaze. She literally climbed on his lap and sat there. "Alright. Now that I have your attention, start talking."

Hav let out a slight ‘oof’ when Aeaea climbed on top of him, he didn’t stop her he just shot her a look at her before going back to stare at the ceiling. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what she wanted to know. “It’s what I was trying to tell you back at the beginning. This,” he waved at everything before his hand flopped back to the bed, “isn’t just fun and games. This whole nonsense is literally a fight, sometimes to the death.” He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Other then Valerie he hadn’t really talked to anyone about what had happened. It still felt so very fresh. So very wrong. “It was during a fight. Two against two, though they had more power on their side. The kid I was trying to protect was able to get away while I faced the two officers.” Though technically one was a corrupt senshi but he didn’t say that. Explaining that would have taken too much time. “The problem was when one of the officers took after the girl. He was going to kill her, really kill her. I didn’t have a choice.” He trailed off unable to say anything else. Not really sure what else he could say.

Her face was emotionless as she listened, bracing herself so the jerks didn't shake her even if she knew he wasn't trying to really throw her. After a long moment, she leaned down, laying herself across him with her arms folded on his chest to keep her head propped up. "Quinn, if there is anything I know about you it's A. You did what you did because you had zero other options in order to save someone. You would not do anything to that level unless backed in a corner. B. You have lived with that guilt eating away at you every day since. C. If there is any piece of logic my old therapist said that stuck with me it's this: the people who feel remorse for their actions are NOT the ones you need to worry about. It's the people who go on thinking they were in the right and have no regrets about it that we need to lock up." She was smiling at him, holding up three fingers and well aware that if he glanced down,he was going to get a show even if that was NOT her intention at the moment. "So I know you and I know you did what you did because the alternative was far worse. I also know you will question yourself basically for the rest of your life. So I still don't see what's wrong here."

He knew she had a point, she had three very good valid points, but that didn’t make him feel any better. Not really. He was still haunted by the sightless eyes of the lieutenant he killed. Still plagued by nightmares. Hav sighed, the extra weight on his body really noticeable at that point, glanced at the redhead currently using his chest as a pillow. He didn’t even look down her top even though he had a great view. “I know all of that. I know it but I still don’t feel it.” Toss in all his other s**t, primarily his parents and the job, and he was a giant bundle of anxiety and nightmares, with splashes of childishness. No one deserved that. Especially Rae. “Thats why. It’s not you that's the problem it's me. It’s always been me that's the issue. Your smarter, prettier, more successful, more everything then me. Why would you want to deal with all my crap?” And he still didn’t see himself as good relationship material.

Rolling her eyes, Aeaea shifted on her position to free one of her arms. "First off, thank you however you know damn well I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you and your family's help." She stuck out her tongue, reaching up to grab his nose and give it a yank. "So stop being so silly! Or at least stop acting like you are the worst human being on the planet. I can think of far more assholes than you who would never have had the heart to do the things you have done. To step up and be the man you have the potential to become. " Releasing his nose, she slid both her hands to his side, pushing off so she could slide up. "So to be corny, so holding back and hiding. There is a king in there, I know it." She was holding herself just over him, gazing down before she dropped softly, deciding now or never. "You just need to believe in yourself like I do." And finally she let her lips softly touch his.

Hav went to shake his head to deny how much help his folks gave her only to have his nose pinched between her manicured fingers. Rather then say anything, because really what was there to say, he just crossed his eyes at her briefly. “What is that? A line from the Lion King?” He quipped quietly as he tried not to physically react to the sensation of Aeaea sliding up his chest one inch at a time. ********. The only way it would have been worse was if she was going the other way. He was still a guy after all. Of course all thoughts went right out the window when she kissed him. At first he didn’t react but then he gradually started to kiss her back. His arms slipped around her to hold her close even as his tongue asked to deepen the kiss. To hell with it all. ******** it all to hell and back. He didn’t care. She could do better, he was a degenerate and she deserved a ******** prince but right then he didn’t give two ******** about it. He only cared that it was Rae in his arms, that it was Rae he was kissing.

She was surprised. Surprised by her own will to take action and kiss him but even more surprised that instead of pushing her away or trying to throw her off, he not only kissed her back but asked to make the kiss even deeper than the soft one she had started with. Her mouth opened, welcoming his tongue as she met it with her own, sinking into him as his arms pulled her close. Five minutes ago she was sure he was going to force her from his life. Now? Now she had to wonder if he could feel her heart racing through all the fabric he had on. Her hands went to side sides, grabbing at the jacket he wore since she couldn't wrap them around. She didn't care. All she cared about at that moment was for once, for the first time, she felt that maybe he finally understood her feelings…

As the kiss went deeper, his tongue dancing with hers, tasting her, one of his hands drifted down to cup her a** even as the other cradled the back of her head. It might have gone further, they were two consenting adults on a bed after all, if they weren’t interrupted. “You two look like molting pigeons.” Hav started slightly, breaking off the kiss to shoot a look at his ancestor who was standing in the bedroom door.

“Do you mind!?”

“Not at all!” His snark was met with a chirpy response and before he could say anything else the dead woman went on to say, “if you two are done sucking face how about you clean up the feathers before you get them stuck where the sun don’t shine. I don’t get paid enough to be your maid…. I don’t get paid at all.” She laughed and walked away, leaving the two alone again.

With care he shifted Aeaea off of him and sat up, without looking at her he apologized, “sorry. That was inappropriate.”

The jerk back to reality was cruel punishment. She had FINALLY gotten him and Val appeared. What, did the woman have a GPS on him? Not to mention the world's worst timing..."No, inappropriate is going to be me finding a way to send her to the great beyond." Aeaea mumbled as she shifted to right herself. She could already hear his tone, feel him shutting down to her once more as he tried to tell himself, she bet, that what just happened was a mistake. Like hell it was. Coming up beside him, Aeaea took a seat, her hip against his as her hand rested on his inner thigh. "No Quinn. That was rude. This is inappropriate." And her hand slipped between his legs searching for what she had seen earlier was was pretty sure was already reacting to her touch.

“Ha, she might actually thank you for that,” he said softly at her muttered comment. Val had been around for a damn long time so being ‘retired’ would likely be more of a blessing then a curse. Any thoughts of his ancestor went out the window as Aeaea settled beside him, hip to hip, and rested her hand on his inner thigh. Hav was really aware of her right then but even he wasn’t fast enough when her hand slipped further up to find the rather obvious physical reaction he had to her. He was able to keep her from doing more then just touching though with a hand on her wrist. His fingers lightly gripped her delicate skin, holding her still, even as he warned her. “Rae, there are some lines that once they are crossed there is no going back.” He knew that if they went any further he might not be able to stop. That they could never go back to just being friends. That, probably more then anything, was what was holding him back. He knew that somehow he would screw up any intimate relationship they could have, which would trash the friendship they had now. Probably irreversibly.

His grip made her stop mid move as she jerked her head up to look at him square in the eye. Surprise shown there before she gave him a smile and leaned forward to kiss his lips softly. "I know. But I made my mind up years ago that you were worth the risk. So now the only question is..." She pulled back and looked up at him. "Are you going to let fear stop you from finding out if I am or are you willing to see what taking me to bed is like."

Did he jump or not? That was her question, or what it boiled down too. Did he dare risk their friendship for something more? There would always be the possibility that it would crash and burn but there was just as much of a likelihood that it could soar. Still he hesitated. And then he stopped thinking about it… stopped worrying and fussing. When in God’s name did he ever really fear the unknown? He had jumped off buildings, dived with sharks, seen space, and faced death. But this was the scariest thing he ever done. And he wanted it. Even knowing he would ******** it up he still wanted it. So he let her wrist go before drawing her in for a kiss. “Yes,” He murmured before really diving in for mind numbing kiss. “I still don’t think I am worth it but yes, I want you. So I’ll try. I’ll screw it up most of the time but I’ll try.”