A/N: Here's a little ficlet that may or may not turn into something more...just like the Bass/Rachel relationship. This is just the starting of my diving into the complexity of this pairing. The title reveals my hope to do further exploration with this couple. They're both like time-bombs. Touch them the wrong way, and they'll explode in your face.


Chapter 00

She watched him, likening him to a wolf prowling about in the deep of the forest, waiting for the opportune time to pounce on its prey. That was how she viewed their relationship. She never knew when he was going to attack, and as a prey, wasn't she entitled to keeping herself protected?

He was in his militia uniform as usual, looking smart, not a strand of hair out of place, hands behind his back, a stance she was familiar with, the image of the calm and collected dictator in control.

But she knew better. Dig a little deeper under that composed surface and be prepared to rouse a dominant volcano. She had been in that position plenty of times. Stood at the edge of the crater, looking down at the face of death, the glowing liquid fire nearly blinding, the intensity of the heat capable of melting her skin, and anticipating the eruption.

Plenty of times, she had ventured there, but she had always emerged unscathed. So often that she had lost her fear of the danger. Sometimes she just took a kind of sadistic pleasure in pushing his buttons just to see if he would react. More often than not, he would survey her with his dark eyes, wearing an attitude best described as a parent resignedly indulging a child that needed to be coaxed into behaving. On occasional days, when his nerves had already been frayed from whatever issues he had faced from his men, and his patience was running low, that was when he would get rough with her.

Whenever he came in for visits, the air would crackle. With what exactly, she wasn't too sure, but if she were to describe their behavior as the entire situation unfolded, she would think they resembled the lycaon pictus, or African wild dogs, circling and sizing each other up, threatened at the thought of their territory being infringed upon. They would test the waters, to see how each was feeling that day. It was a little like the game of tag, only significantly edgier and with greater consequences. He knew she wasn't entirely harmless either. Entertaining thoughts of doing away with him was not a strange occurrence, and she knew he was aware, having acted out on her impulses before.

Today, she had lost the match, and had very nearly lost her life in the process. She had stood at the peak of the volcano and had nearly been extinguished.

Guess that was what happened when one played with fire.

He had made one round of the room. Not one word had been spoken between them. His gaze travelled to her, and as an instinctive reaction, she dropped her eyes downward. She had no intentions of letting him know he intimidated her, and most days, she could hold her own, but this time, she could smell her own fear in the air.

She heard his boots clomp on the floor. She counted each and every one of them.

Then, there was the gentle click of the door shutting.