Note: this story has been changed so that the first two chapters are made up of what was previously the first three chapters. None of the content has been changed, just moved around a little.
Beta'd by Atchair, one of the best fanfiction authors ever.
This chapter takes place a little while after Caine and Sam make their speeches at the end of Plague, during the two hours that Sam is waiting for people to meet him at Ralph's.
For the second time in a week, Diana Ladris was packing. Only this time no one had forced her to. This time it was the opposite. She knew that she would be made to regret it if she was caught. The dark-haired teenager sat on the bed in her new room in Perdido Beach, shoving clothes into a backpack. Caine had chosen the room for her, conveniently just down the hall from his own bedroom. She suddenly looked up from what she was doing, hearing his footsteps as he walked towards her room and gasped, swearing under her breath as she quickly shoved the backpack under the bed.
He unlocked the door with his powers and entered without knocking. This didn't surprise Diana. Caine only knocked when he was trying to seem especially nice or thoughtful, which wasn't often. She looked away from the door, trying to act like she hadn't heard him coming.
"Diana." She looked up, rolled her eyes, and then glared at him for a moment before looking away again. "I-," he paused, noticing her expression. Then it was as if all of his confidence and charm instantly vanished, leaving a nervous teenage boy who had absolutely no clue what to say or do. He closed the door, leaned against the wall, and took a deep breath before speaking again. "A-are you still mad at me?"
It was the tone of Caine's voice, not the question that he asked her, that caused her to look up. He sounded confused and slightly frustrated, but there was also something else. He seemed disappointed, maybe even genuinely sad. He wanted her to love him, and not just because she was useful to him.
She nodded. He sighed and sat next to her on the bed, but not right next to her. "Why?" he demanded. Diana gave him an annoyed look, silently telling him that he should know why. He thought for a moment. "Is it because I embarrassed you in front of Bug?" he asked, and she was about to tell him to go away leave her alone when she realized that Caine Soren was doing something she doubted he had ever done before : showing remorse. There was something apologetic in his tone.
Diana sighed and looked at him, making true eye contact with him for the first time in days. "No, Caine, it's more than just that."
"Then what is it? Whatever it is just please tell me and I promise I'll make it up to you," he was begging now, another first.
"You don't keep your promises, Caine; I've learned that by now. You don't mean half of the things that you say."
"Like what?"
"Like how you said you chose me. Not Perdido beach, me." By this point, she was fighting to hold back tears, and losing. "Just leave, Caine."
He raised his eyebrows slightly and paused for a moment. He knew that he would never let anyone else speak to him like that and get away with it, but something told him that he should just let it go. He stood to leave, about to tell Diana to come talk to him later, when she wasn't as upset. About to say that he loved her and that he really didn't want her to be mad at him, but he didn't. Because that was when he noticed the backpack, shoved haphazardly under the bed, unzipped with clothes spilling out of it.
His eyes widened. It only took him a few seconds to process what he saw, to understand that she had been planning to leave him and go with Sam. He glared at her, no longer apologizing or begging for forgiveness. Diana saw this and winced, closing her eyes and bracing herself to either be thrown against a wall or slapped across the face. He did neither. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes.
He was still angry, but there was something else there too, just a trace of it. He was hurt. "Caine-," she began, but he interrupted her, too upset to really care about what she wanted to say.
"You were going to leave?" She nodded, it was no use trying to lie to him, he knew. "But why? I mean, I know you're mad at me, but I didn't think - please don't leave." He hesitated, then added, "I wasn't lying when I said I need you."
"Really, Caine? Because it sure seems like the only reason you said that was to get me to have sex with you." by now, the tears were streaming down her face. She looked away from him, not wanting him to see how much this was hurting her, how much he was hurting her.
Caine slowly walked over to her, upset with himself for making her cry. He laid a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. "I would never do that," he said and she looked at him skeptically. "Not to you," he amended, "I meant what I said. I can't live without you." Diana turned so she was facing him more, and he sat next to her again, closer this time, before continuing, "I'm trying to be nicer to you, to be less-" he searched for a different, less harsh adjective, but could not find one "-controlling. You wanted me to change and I'm trying to, at least a little."
He saw that she was about to challenge his previous statement and explained, "You're not telling me something, a secret. I can tell." She gasped a little, and he smirked at her slightly, as if to say I was right! She opened her mouth to deny this, but he glared at her, his expression cold. "Do not lie to me, Diana." It was an order, not a suggestion. "You know I don't like it when people hide things from me, but I waited to see if you'd tell me."
He looked at her expectantly, but she shook her head. "Later." He was upset at this, Diana could tell that he was about to protest. She really didn't want to tell him now. She knew that he would be mad at her, even though he had no right to. Technically, it was just as much his fault as it was hers. She sighed, seeing no other way out of it, and laid her head on Caine's shoulder, effectively distracting him.
He grinned at her, then lay back on the bed. She lay down next to him, resting her head on his chest, and, after a moment's hesitation (he still wasn't very good at this whole romance thing) he wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her closer to him. She gave him a small smile, then looked away.
"You're still mad about something," he noted.
"I told you to choose, Caine. Me or Perdido Beach."
"I know. I chose both," he said, then pulled Diana even closer (by this point, she was pretty much on top of him) and kissed her before she had a chance to tell him that he was not allowed to choose both. She kissed back, but pulled away after a moment. Caine whispered, "but you're my favorite." Another kiss, longer this time, then, "A-are you still mad at me?"
Diana considered this. She really should have been, but …"No." Diana leaned in to kiss Caine again, but he shook his head. She raised an eyebrow; usually, if one of them didn't want to kiss, it was her. "We need to talk," he explained.
Diana sighed, but lay down next to him, resting her head against his shoulder, (she had known that this was coming, even though she was hoping that some kissing would make him forget) and he continued. "You're not leaving. You're staying here. With me."
She nodded, but he looked away pointedly. He needed to hear her say it. "As you wish, Fearless Leader." Caine smiled at the mention of his nickname, and at the fact that she was staying. He would never have allowed her to go anyway, but he was glad that it didn't have to come to that. True, her tone was sarcastic, but only slightly; she was still agreeing with him, so he didn't really mind the sarcasm.
"Good," he said, and kissed her again. When they pulled away, gasping for breath, Diana looked at him suspiciously.
"Wow, maybe you have changed," she muttered, loud enough for him to hear.
"Of course I have," he said, giving her a look that clearly said I told you so, "but to what, specifically, were you referring to?"
"You didn't punish me for trying to leave, you didn't even threaten me. Are you feeling alright, Caine?" she joked, feeling his forehead as if checking for a fever. Some might think that she shouldn't remind him of this, but Diana knew better. Either he had already decided not to punish her or he was planning to do so. Either way, nothing she said would change his mind.
He laughed a little, but then he looked at her seriously. "I need to be able to trust you, Diana. And yes, you will be made to regret your little act of treason," he emphasized the last word, to remind her of the severity of her crime, then waited, letting his words sink in before continuing, "but right now, what I matters most is you not being mad at me. Everything else can wait."
She smiled at that last part and kissed him passionately, as a sort of thank you. He was trying to change, after all. "I love you," she whispered in between kisses. Caine grinned and kissed her harder. She returned the kiss with equal force (but she still wished he would say it back).
Even so, Caine stayed there, holding her in his arms, until the two hours had passed and he was sure that she wasn't leaving him. Because Caine didn't think he'd be able to live without Diana, even if she wouldn't believe him.
Please review, let me know if I kept Caine and Diana in-character and whether I should leave this story as a one-shot or continue it. Also, feel free to suggest plot ideas. I don't guarantee that I will use all of them, but I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for reading.