Chapter One of a short Storm Hawks story, and it's not Aerrow/Piper! What's wrong with me? I'm trying my hardest to focus more on story-writing, which requires a lot more organisation on my part so if this piece falters during production... just pester me until I finish it. Three/four chapters max I think. Thanks in an advance for anyone who reads :)

Chapter One

Love and Lies

"I don't love you, you know."

"Good, 'cause I don't love you either."

Crimson eyes meet tangerine orbs through the dark, silence falls; it's a defiant kind of silence, in which two former enemies stand resolute, waiting for the other to break.

But this game has been played before, and no one ever wins. There's always that hesitation, that reluctance, that distance between them. Because at the back of their minds they know that whatever it is that they share, it's wrong.

The silence lasts just a little longer, every single time there's that lingering hope that perhaps this time – this time – one of them will say that they don't mean it.

But that never happens, probably because they're both equally as stubborn as the other… or perhaps it's because the truth is just too painful. As much as they secretly long for it, the truth would only cause more damage, it's hard enough as it is without love even coming into the equation.

Finally, he looks away from her, breaks the silence with a sharp "hmph" and the spell is broken, the moment passed, no harm done.

Well… almost no harm done. It's difficult to tell exactly what counts as "harm" anymore, ever since that first chance meeting, ever since that first kiss, that first night together. Life changed forever, when the Cyclonian and the Storm Hawk fell in love.

… Except they're not in love.

They can't be.

And neither of them will ever forget it.

Because here, on this lonely terra where they shared their first encounter they can be anything they want: allies, friends, lovers. But when those first rays of the golden morning sun begin to brighten their shared sky, they are nothing but sworn enemies. Because on the battlefield, one is a Cyclonian and one is a Storm Hawk – the two are not interchangeable.

Neither of them knows how the other feels, and never will they know. Because regardless of any of their passions or their desires for one another, there's always that lingering thought in the back of their minds that the night won't last forever; there's too much to risk the following day, too many lives endangered, too many ideologies challenged, too many duties ignored, too many promises broken.

The Dark Ace swore to destroy all those who defy the kingdom and the rule of Cyclonis; he was ruthless, terrifying, unforgiving, feared. And then she'd stormed into his life, with her sapphire locks and her amber eyes and her cocoa skin; she'd laughed at him, soothed him, challenged him, moved him. He hated her for it all, and loved her too. Not that it mattered.

Piper vowed to protect the Atmos from any and all those who threatened its safety alongside her cherished team and family; she was intelligent, passionate, caring, prepared. And then he'd charged into her life, with his ebony mane and his crimson eyes and his cutting laugh; he'd questioned her, mocked her, changed her, protected her. She hated him for it all, and loved her too. Not that it mattered.

On the battlefield, none of those things ever mattered.

"You can be so childish sometimes."

"I'm childish? FYI, I don't have cooties; you don't need to tell me you don't love me."

"No, but I like making the point; girls can get carried away."

"The last thing I ever was, was a hopeless romantic; and I've learned to expect nothing from this world. Dreaming is for the weak."

Those words move the Cyclonian, startle him… they're something he would say, not Piper. Piper used to be that over-enthusiastic control freak, the one Dark Ace had usually missed: it was his Master who had held the grudge against her. To him, she'd never been of any importance. And then he'd gotten to know her, and he'd seen that she was the power, the moving force behind the Sky Knight and his team. She cooked, she cleaned; she was in charge of weaponry, tactics, recon, health, navigation…

And yet she'd never been appreciated. Taken at face value, anyone would have thought that that never bothered her.

But the Cyclonian had seen a different side to the Storm Hawk, he explored beneath her surface and found a girl fighting back a bitter taste, almost consumed by a desperation to be seen and heard and acknowledged. Master Cyclonis had acknowledged her, but Piper had that ever faithful moral compass – and for all her longing, she'd refused the offer of appreciation.

That was what kept the two apart: both longed for appreciation, for glory. But only one of them would have stopped at nothing to achieve that. Piper put others first, Dark Ace didn't.

"Stop staring at me like that."

"Sorry."

Tangerine orbs meet crimson eyes, and a mischievous smile appears. Slender fingers stroke his chest, cocoa lips brush against his cheek; excitement ripples through his body. He wraps his heavy arms around her fragile form and pulls her to him. They embrace. The night is passing by, time is running out. Two stubborn lovers succumb to each other, ignoring the blindingly obvious: that this whole thing is well beyond their control…

"I don't love you, you know."

"I know, you just love the sex. Now just shut up and stop wasting time."

So convinced that revealing the truth would come at too great a price. Neither of them saw the damage their lie could do…