A/N: While reading the PotS books, I lived for those cameo appearances of Daine and/or Numair. In Squire, Daine helps out Kel with the griffin and takes a feather from him, then, I imagine, flies back home to Numair. This is what could have transpired afterwards.

Funny thing is, when I started this, I intended it to be very simple heartwarming fluff. Then Daine decided that wasn't what she was in the mood for, so... enjoy!

Words: 870
Characters: Daine, Numair
Time: During Squire
Genre: Romance

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce, not me.

Daine made quick work of the trip back to the palace where Numair was waiting for her. It had been a sudden call from the King's Own – for all that the squire Keladry had no wild magic, she seemed to have a penchant for getting herself so involved with all manner of creatures. Most of the time, that was a good thing. In the case of a baby griffin, however… not quite. The critter was far from harmless. But if anyone could handle it, Daine thought, it would be Kel.

Gliding smoothly through the open window to her and Numair's room, Daine shifted back to two-legger form and grabbed the cloak that was neatly folded, ready for her use, on a nearby stool. Wrapping herself snugly, Daine peered into the rooms beyond. "Numair?"

"Back already?" said the mage. Sitting at his desk, Numair leaned his chair back on too legs so he could smile at her.

"Thanks for leaving the cloak," Daine said, crossing to him. Numair's hands reached out and caught her by the waist. He pulled her toward him so she was near sitting on the arm of the chair, rather precariously balanced. His thumbs rubbed circles on her stomach through the cloth, and winked at her.

"Now that you're here, I rather wish I hadn't."

Daine rolled her eyes. She leaned down to kiss his teasing lips, knowing how the cloak billowed around her chest as she did so, but she pulled back before Numair's hands could wander. "You'll fall over if you keep the chair on two legs like that. Don't say I didn't warn you when it happens and all I'll do is laugh."

Numair only grinned, his long legs comfortably stretched. Daine's cloak was coming quite undone. He kissed the spot right between her breasts. When he looked up again, studying her face more closely, his eyes twinkled. "Magelet, you've a feather in your hair." His arm grazed across her in a very roguish manner as he reached out to pluck the small golden griffin feather from behind her ear. As soon as he touched it, his eyes widened.

"Oh, right. The call was from Kel – she's managed to adopt a baby griffin on the Great Progress." Daine rolled her eyes, but Numair wasn't paying attention. He was too busy studying the feather. "Easily distracted, aren't you?"

"Griffin feathers are said to possess astonishingly magical properties. Any arrow fletched with a griffin feather - "

"Never misses, I know - "

" – and since it's impossible to lie in the presence of a griffin… I wonder if the trait extends to their feathers?" Black light sparkled at Numair's fingertips, surrounding the feather. "I wonder if the magic is more or less developed in a baby griffin? I would think less, but perhaps it's like snake venom – more powerful in the juveniles, since they can't control it. And in terms of uncovering illusions - "

Daine, catching the warning signs of an impending, lengthy academic expedition, decided she would stop this one before it started. By coughing loudly, Daine managed to subtly shake her shoulders enough so that the cloak fell completely away from her upper body, barely clinging to her hips. She slipped easily onto Numair's lap, straddling him, and her added weight caused the titled chair to slam back down onto four legs. Numair blinked, still holding the griffin feather in one hand.

Delicately Daine plucked it from his fingertips, tucked it back into her own hair, and raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"

His hands slid up her sides, brushed the underside of her breasts, then cupped her face as he pulled it down for a kiss. "How much I love you," he breathed between kisses and caresses. "How much I wanted you out of this cloak - "

"That's right," smiled Daine.

Numair stood with theatrical haste, knocking the chair over behind him. It fell with a clatter that Daine barely heard, far too wrapped up in his arms and his kisses. She tightened her legs around his waist and let him carry her to the bedroom. When they collapsed amongst the pillows and blankets, Daine took a moment to say, "You know, we won't have such comforts for quite some time. Going on the Great Progress with so many people, and all. We won't be back here for a while."

"True," Numair said, one hand floating up and down her leg, sending agreeable shivers throughout her body. "I say, then, that we take full advantage of such comforts when we can. And besides…"

It took him a breathless moment to find the rest of his sentence, as Daine began to kiss his sensitive spots, like the dip between his collarbones and the soft skin right below his ear.

"We'll… still have our own private tent."

"I love you," she whispered into his ear. Her hands worked busily at his tunic and breeches.

"And I you, magelet," he responded in kind.

On Numair's desk, the gold griffin feather twinkled when it caught the sun from the window, bright and warm, never without its magic.