A/N: This is Chapter 10 of Thieves in Time. It follows 'As My Lord Wishes.

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It was late night on Xenon Base. Avon watched pensively as Vila undressed. He sat on the bed, his chin on his raised knees, arms wrapped around them. "Do you trust me?" Avon asked suddenly. He stared at Vila with opaque eyes, betraying nothing of his thoughts.

"Of course I do, Avon," answered Vila. "I know I'm always safe with you." He smiled over at Avon, pulling off his trousers.

"You shouldn't. Trust me, that is. In this, at least. I'll hurt you, you know, if it means my survival," he said seriously. He hadn't moved.

Vila came to sit on the edge of the bed, facing the closed off body language Avon exhibited. "I've never asked you to put your survival ahead of mine, have I?" he asked, head tilted.

"No, not outright, but I feel it's expected of me and I can't give it. It's just not in me, Vila. You have to understand that, so you'll know to protect yourself. Even from me."

"From you?" Vila blinked, clearly confused. "Now why would I need to protect myself from you, Avon? I love you and I know you love me. You wouldn't hurt me, not on purpose. That much I know for certain. Now, what's bothering you? Out with it." Vila placed a reassuring hand on Avon's arm, looking questioningly into dark, haunted eyes.

Avon looked away, unable to meet Vila's open gaze. "I don't know, it's just a feeling, an…oppression I've had for some time now, centered around you. It started with that weird dream I had about Blake. I can't shake it, Vila. The feeling's getting stronger all the time. Something's going to happen. It frightens me and I can't stop it. I just know you have to be careful of trusting me." He looked back into Vila's bewildered face. "I feel it to a lesser extent with Tarrant, Soolin and Dayna, too. Maybe it's a foreshadowing of the future."

Vila couldn't stand it any longer. He moved closer to Avon and, putting an arm around him, drew him into a comforting embrace. Avon changed position readily enough, but remained stiff with apprehension.

Continuing in a low voice, seemingly on the edge of despair, Avon said, "This past year or so has been a nightmare for all of us, Vila. I'm…beginning to think I'm cursed. Everything I touch goes badly for us…for me. And it hurts all of you, too. I caused us to lose Liberator…and Cally. Our raids, our plots, have all gone awry. I…lost Anna again. Even Soolin hasn't fared well with us. I feel as if…I'm losing my mind. Nothing is real anymore. It's like the color has gone out of the world for me." He looked at Vila, begging his friend and lover, "Am I making any kind of sense?"

It was Vila's turn to look away. He sat silent a moment before he answered. "Yes. I've felt it in you for some time now, but didn't know how to bring it up. It's true we've had quite a run of bad luck. And it's true you seem, I don't know, preoccupied, or disconnected lately. I don't think you're mad, though. Maybe just depressed." He turned his head and locked gazes with Avon's dark tormented eyes. "Whatever happens, though, I'll be here for you. No matter what you do, you won't be able to push me far enough away for me to abandon you. Understand me, Avon?" He waited for an answer.

Avon nodded, then buried his head in Vila's shoulder, leaning heavily on the slighter man, feeding on his inner strength. He felt safe, at least for the moment. For a time, he could keep the madness he felt stalking him at bay, like the wild animal it was. Maybe, just maybe, he and Vila could turn the tide and come out ahead. But, running up and down his spine, denying that possibility, was a shiver of foreboding.

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A/N: We all know what comes next, don't we, as Avon again spirals into madness. The next story/chapter is 'Final Orbit.'