Wow! Look at me, finally getting off my lazy behind and posting a BGAE fanfic! To be completely honest, I've been a member of the Beyond Good & Evil fandom on/off for nearly three years, when my younger brother got the game on PS2. I played it once and was hooked. (Of course, just be glad that I didn't feel an urge to write a fic back then – I can honestly admit right now my writing was rather atrocious a few years ago, hah.) Anyway, so two weeks ago I found the game by accident and decided to give it another go. And the rest, as they say, is history. So, that's how I ended up being here!

Anywho. This is my first BGAE fanfic - and because I have the attention span of a ferret, this is sadly going to be only a standalone, not a multi-chaptered fic.

I also thought that, before I begin, I should mention that I'm a complete and utter Double H/Jade shipper. In my eyes, they are absolutely perfect for each other and meant to be together. So it should be obvious already that this is going to be a romance fic, yes?

Oh god, I'm rambling, aren't I? Okay, I'm gonna shut up now, promise. On with the fic!

Temptation

They sat quietly – silently, in fact – on the cold, hard black tiled floor, backs against the wall, hiding somewhere between an M-Disk reader and some blue laser barriers. The Alpha Sections didn't seem to be in sight, and so Jade and Hub had taken the opportunity to catch a few moments' shut-eye.

Jade was already fast asleep, her tired head resting on Hub's strong shoulder. Every now and then Hub glanced down at his raven-haired partner, wondering just how she could possibly sleep comfortably with her head leaning against the hard metal of the armour he was wearing – but he wouldn't dare try to awaken her. He was just glad that she could finally get a chance to relax, a moment in time where she could be sleeping, and blissfully unaware of their surroundings or their situation.

Hub himself could not sleep. He was painfully tired and the idea of sleep was like a nirvana to him, but part of him knew his first priority was not sleep. It was not even himself. His first priority was Jade. He had told himself he would die before he let her come to any harm. She had saved his life, twice. He wanted more than anything to be able to pay her back.

His eyes found their way to her sleeping form once again, and a smile inevitably formed on his face as they did so. It was amazing to him, how naturally beautiful she was. The glow of the blue lasers lit up her face slightly, and he was surprised how it made her look even more beautiful and radiant. Her eyelids fluttered faintly and her lips seemed to form a slight pout. He had to try his hardest not to lean in and plant a kiss on her warm, enticing mouth.

He sat back once more, looking away from her. Drawing a slow, deep breath, he closed his eyes as he waited a moment before exhaling. This mission was harder than Hub had originally anticipated. As the time continued to pass, he found himself wanting more and more to let his partner know how he felt. He yearned for the moment when he could take her in his arms, hold her, kiss her, let her see how much he cared for her. But a part of him knew that day couldn't ever possibly come.

Hub was a soldier. It was what he'd always been. He always followed the rules. And he knew just what Carlson and Peeters stated about mixing professional and personal life. It just didn't happen.

The rational, sane part of Hub realised that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't possible. He was only human, after all, and he had needs like everybody else. He needed Jade. He craved her. Ever since the day when she'd rescued him from the cruel clutches of the DomZ. One look in her beautiful blazing green eyes and he was hooked for life.

Of course, the rest of him found some way to muffle the anguished cries of the rational part of him. Even though he wished it didn't.

Jade stirred slightly, letting out a small, quiet moan as she did so. Hub turned to her, feeling a small smile creep across his lips as Jade awoke, her hypnotic gaze catching his.

"Double H," she mumbled, her voice still sounding thick with sleep, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only around fifteen minutes, Miss Jade," he told her, "You can go back to sleep if you wish."

Jade simply shook her head, lifting her arms up above her head for a moment and stretching. She let them fall back down to her sides, and then sat up straight, now completely alert and awake.

As she watched Hub yawn, a realisation suddenly hit her. "Double H… have you been to sleep yet?"

Hub didn't turn to face her. He wasn't sure what he might do if he did. "My first priority is to keep you safe, Miss Jade."

"That wasn't my question, was it?"

This time, Hub decided, he had to look. And when he did, he saw she was grinning.

"No." Came his one-word response. Jade knew what that no meant.

"I thought not."

They were still keeping eye contact, and Jade's grin seemed to be contagious. Now Hub couldn't help but grin back.

Suddenly Jade's grin changed to a warm, genuine smile.

"You're a good guy, Double H," she whispered, and then she moved her arm down to pat his leg in a friendly gesture. She glanced down at the floor, about to remove her hand when she felt Hub's hand on top of hers. Her eyes darted back up to meet his again. The looks they were giving each other had suddenly, somehow, changed.

"You know, you don't need to keep calling me Miss Jade," she said softly.

"It's a matter of formality, Mi - " She raised her eyebrow at him, and he stopped mid sentence. " - Jade."

"Why? You don't need to be so formal, Double H. We're friends."

"We are?"

Jade was suddenly serious. "We are."

Hub couldn't help but notice her hand still on his leg. His mind was buzzing. He was trying with all his might to battle away his urges. For once, reciting Carlson and Peeters in his head was not working.

"Miss Jade, I – "

Jade cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. She moved to face him, and he faced her, and both leaned forward so that their foreheads were pressed against each other. Jade closed her eyes.

"This is wrong," she said softly, almost in a whisper.

"I know."

Her eyelids fluttered open once again; only so she could see as she moved in to press her lips against Hub's.

For a moment, all inhibitions between the both of them seemed to melt away. As their kiss grew deeper, Hub put his arms around Jade, holding her tightly, clinging as if she might disappear if he let her go.

Jade wrapped an arm round his shoulders, pulling him closer to her. His metal armour felt cold pressed against her body, but for the moment it didn't matter. She didn't care about the armour. All she cared about was the man encased within it. She wanted to set him free, not just from the armour, but also from all the ties that came with it. All the rules, all the silly formalities – she just wanted them to disappear.

But as they continued to kiss, Jade couldn't help but see an image of Pey'j pop into her mind. She suddenly felt guilt rush through her; like a venom, a poison. Her body was telling her that one more minute in this long-awaited paradise would not hurt; but her mind was overriding it. Reminding her of what she was really there for. It was telling her not to be selfish. She needed to save Pey'j. He mattered more.

She began to pull back, and the second she did so, Hub felt his inhibitions flood back to him. Carlson and Peeters were making sense again. What he was doing was wrong.

There was an awkward silence between them that seemed to last for an eternity. And then… "We should go now, Miss Jade."

Jade took a deep breath, pushing her dark hair back out of her eyes. They both got up from the floor, breathing still hard and uneven as a result of their kiss.

And even though they did not say it out loud, they both silently promised that they could not give into temptation again.

To save Pey'j.

To restore the rules, the formalities.

To keep things just so.

It could not happen again.

But they would not speak those silent promises out loud. Because they both knew that those would likely be promises unkept before long.

It was only a matter of time.