Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse,

and they would smile at the beauty of destruction.

- Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

"What do you understand about love, Khan? Is it something you've even considered having?"

"No."

"Then why do you keep me close?"

"Because…I need you."

"And isn't needing someone love? Or do you label it as something else?"

"I label it as I see it. Now be silent."

Two forms stood several feet from the hangar, bathed in darkness, watching as the members of the Starfleet Academy moved across the room. The massive ship was the lone vessel there, and it was this ship he was targeting.

For far too long he'd been complacent, stewing in his own vat of vengeance and plots, while the U.S.S. Enterprise slowly spread the 72 pods across the galaxy. It was a strategic move, assuring the rest of mankind that should Khan Noonien Singh ever awaken, it would be years before he retrieved each and every one of his crew.

But if there was something that the humans continued to underestimate about him, it was his patience.

Even as he spent the last two months planning extensively, he nursed what anger he had towards Starfleet - and the unexpected affection he carried for a (former) member of the said organization.

Irene Adler.

Khan wasn't certain what he was feeling for her, but as she'd so aptly pointed out, he had become close to her - in more ways than one. It was those two months of idleness (or at least in his mind) that had planted such seeds within him, seeds that threatened to break the icy heart he had.

"Stay here,"

he murmured, slipping the gun from his holster, making sure the setting was set to 'kill'. He was done with being polite; he wanted his crew back. Whoever got in his way was sure to be dealt with with the utmost savagery he could muster.

"If you think I'm just going to sit there and watch…" Irene began, which he silenced by pressing his fingers over her lips. The soft pressure of her mouth as she kissed his fingertips was a distraction, and he shot her a look that she simply returned with a smirk.

Slipping his fingers away from her mouth and moving across the shadows of the hangar, Khan targeted the first two humans by delivering two quick shots. The soft ping of his laser gun was followed by a series of shouts, which were silenced as Irene fired her own weapon as well.

An annoyed growl came from the Augment, as he dispatched the other Starfleet members using a combination of his bare hands and his weapon. By the time the dust had settled, Khan was halfway inside the ship, closing the back ramp once Irene was inside.

"How many times do I have to prove to you that I'm not helpless?" She raised an eyebrow at him, while several locks of her hair fell to one side. "That I actually enjoy doing what you do?"

"I forgot. The human woman who wishes she were an Augment."

"Or with one," Irene countered swiftly, skimming her fingers down his chest, finally resting on the spot close to his hips where she knew he was ticklish. An involuntary jerk came from him, and he pulled away from her, making his way into the control room in seconds.

The ship was fully stocked, fully functional, and fully capable of spending years in space. Perfect for his mission.

Their mission.

She'd made it clear that she shared his vision, his opinions towards Starfleet. It was these opinions, coupled with the fact that she was the one who had gathered information for him from the organization, that had stilled his hand and prevented him from killing her.

Irene had seated herself on one of the chairs close to the captain's chair, flinging her legs over the arm rest and looking at him as if he were not a cold-blooded murderer, but the captain of a ship.

Setting the coordinates for their first destination - a star quadrant several light years from Earth - he took control of the ship's guns as he maneuvered the vessel from the hangar. Their exit was more conspicuous than he would have liked, but by the time Starfleet would be able to send a ship after the stolen one, he would be far away from them.

"Don't worry about Starfleet. I left them a little…surprise." Irene had risen from her seat and was now standing behind him, her hand on his shoulder.

Khan's forehead creased, the confusion evident in his face. It was only when the tell-tale noises echoed did he realize why his explosives were missing (a thought that had bothered him prior to their arrival in Starfleet several hours ago) - and who had taken them.

"You read my mind."

Her only response was a gentle kneading of his shoulders, before she went back to her seat. He kept his eyes on the skyline as he directed the ship away from the atmosphere and into the familiar star-ridden landscape of space. A low smile slid on his face as he glanced at her, setting the controls to automatic.

Perhaps he would keep her.

Protect her.

Love her.