A/N: Despite certain reservations I've had about posting them due to the content, I've decided to start sharing my Phoebatrix fanfics with more than just my friend since they've become 90% of what I write lately. I just love those two so much I can't stand it sometimes, and I've never had something give me so much creative inspiration before! (22 pages of this one were written in one day, which is unheard of with me.) There will be some fairly dark content later on, but I hope you can enjoy this little story anyways. :) It is entirely completed with maybe some minor editing as I post it, so it should be updated fairly quickly.

My breast is cold as clay
My breath is earthly strong
And if you kiss my cold clay lips
Your days, they won't be long

How oft on yonder grave, sweetheart
Where we were want to walk
The fairest flower that ere I saw
Has withered to a stalk

When will we meet again, sweetheart?
When will we meet again?
When the autumn leaves that fall from trees
Are green and spring up again

"Beatrix, over here!" Phoebe shouted, not far from the woman she was addressing. She had attacked a Thrall Enforcer and could use the boost from her Patient Zero.

"You got it, Miss Hemsworth!" She fired a shot of liquid at her ally, who then started mercilessly stabbing the thrall at inhuman speeds, taking it down in record time. After seeing how effective it was, she decided to trail a bit closer after her and continue giving it to her, which ended up making the rest of the mission go much faster than the first part, not to mention smoother. She approached Phoebe once they returned to Nova. "Good job. You seem to do quite well with my Patient Zero."

"It was definitely a lot of help. It's so….invigorating."

"What do you say we try and work together more? We seem to melt through them pretty quickly together."

Phoebe was hesitant at first, but nodded after a few moments. "But that's it, alright? Just during missions."

Beatrix giggled. "As you wish, Miss Hemsworth. I'll see you on the next mission then."

"Goodbye, Dr. Lucavi." She floated away with her nose in the air.

Beatrix couldn't deny she was excited to work with her more. As snarky as Phoebe was, she continued to be increasingly intrigued by her. She turned on her heels and hummed as she went about her business, anxiously awaiting the next mission to see what would happen.

As planned, they both worked together again soon, then found themselves doing so more and more. Phoebe continued to try keeping her distance, but Beatrix kept trying to close the gap. Another mission came and Beatrix was a bit surprised to not see Phoebe in the assembled team. "Where's Miss Hemsworth? Shouldn't she be coming with me-er, us?"

"She opted to sit this one out." Ghalt began. "Marquis had to give her some uh….bad news."

Beatrix lightly clapped her hand over her mouth in concern. "Oh my….I hope she's alright."

"She'll be okay. She's a tough girl. She just needs a little time." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, the mission…." He explained what they were to do and they left to fulfill their duty. When they returned, Beatrix went to Phoebe's quarters and knocked on the door. "Miss Hemsworth? Are you in there?"

There was a pause before she answered and, when she did, her voice cracked a bit. "Yes, Beatrix. What do you want?"

"Can I come in?"

"What? Why do you want to come in?"

"Ghalt said you got some bad news. I wanted to make sure you're alright."

Another long pause. "Oh, alright." She soon came to open the door and allowed Beatrix in, shutting it again behind her. She wore a long, silver, silk robe with long sleeves and light blue designs decorating it. Since she wasn't in her dress, she also had her feet planted firmly on the floor for once. "As you can see, I'm fine. No need to worry."

Even in the dim light, it wasn't hard to tell she was lying. Her eyes were red, puffy, and dull; downcast without making direct contact with her visitor's once thus far. Her arms were folded, her shoulders hunched up. "Just what happened?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." She turned away and sat on the bed, her arms remaining folded.

Beatrix sighed, her concern growing. "Look, you wouldn't have let me in if you didn't want to talk. Maybe it'll help you feel better."

"I already talked with Marquis."

"And that means you can't talk to me?" Beatrix walked over to the armchair in front of her and pushed it closer, then sat down. Out of instinct, she reached up to caress her cheek. "I just want to help you, and you let me in so I assume you want the help.".

Phoebe shivered slightly from her cold touch, causing her to hunch in even more. There were a few moments of silence as Beatrix's hand hung in the air and Phoebe debated. She looked straight up at her guest for the first time since her arrival and could see the concern and worry glistening in her remaining eye, as well as her expression. That unusually large mouth, usually curved up into a psychotic grin no matter what was going on, was actually flipped into a frown. Thus, she took a deep breath, and spoke. "My mother is gone. I thought she was safer since both she and father have practically lived at work since my departure." There was another pause as she looked away and wiped her eyes, then placed her hands in her lap with a sigh. "It seems I was wrong."

"Oh you poor thing….what happened?"

"She was traveling to do some in-person negotiations on Ekkunar and some Varelsi decided to c-crash the party." Her voice started to break up towards the end of the sentence and her face fell into her hands as she burst into uncontrollable sobbing.

"Your mother….was veiled?"

Phoebe shook her head. "She d-died in the struggle."

Beatrix, again acting on instinct, stood and leaned over to wrap her arm around her in as much of a hug as her body would allow. "My mother died a long time ago due to the violence on Tempest after Rendain stepped in, so I do understand at least somewhat." She gently pressed her head to her chest.

Phoebe was a bit surprised by her reaction and, for a moment, was too stunned to react in turn. She couldn't deny, however, that her embrace was strangely comfortable. Thus, she didn't pull away, but wrapped her arms around Beatrix as well as the tears continued. she buried her face in her chest, which she was sort of shocked to find still felt like flesh.

"Sshh, it's okay. Let it out." She stroked her hair as she continued sobbing, not letting go until she finally started to calm down. At which point, she pulled away just enough to signal for her to get up and looked her in the eye. She wiped away her lingering tears and got a small smile. "Do you feel any better?"

"Maybe a bit." Phoebe wiped her eyes again herself. "Dr. Lucavi, I….I didn't know you cared about me enough to do this….or cared enough about anyone, for that matter."

Beatrix's smile grew as she giggled. "You silly thing. I may have turned a lot of my body mechanical by now, but my heart and brain remain perfectly well intact. Despite popular belief, I'm not heartless, and I can have empathy."

Phoebe got a slight hint of a smile, and even an equally small giggle. "That does seem to be rare, though."

Beatrix's smile grew once again after seeing Phoebe's, no matter how small it was. "Yes, perhaps, but it does exist. I do still sometimes genuinely care for others, and even love them."

Phoebe's cheeks turned a light pink at the mention of the L word and she wasn't sure why. Normally she would just be more shocked and maybe weirded out, but for some reason even the thought was actually lifting her mood, at least a bit. "R-really?"

Beatrix grinned as she realized what was happening. The blush told her all she needed to know. "Yes, my dear Miss Hemsworth, really." She placed her hand gently on her thigh.

Phoebe's hands balled into loose fists in her lap as the blush darkened. There was no way this was going how it looked to be, yet somehow she hoped it was. "Do you….c-care for anyone here like that?"

The other woman's grin widened as she slowly leaned in closer. "Maybe. Just one. That sweet, intelligent, gorgeous scientist…."

Phoebe felt as if her heart was about to break right out of her chest as she grew nearer, only a fraction of an inch away. She closed her eyes as she saw her head tilt slightly and, immediately after, felt her lips pressed against her own. The first encounter was short and sweet, followed by mutual staring to observe each other's reactions. Phoebe herself was stunned, but not unhappy. She raised a trembling hand to place it gently on her chest and leaned in for another meeting of the lips.

Beatrix covered the hand on her chest with her own and held onto it, letting the kiss go as deep as the other would allow. "May I lie down with you?"

"Y-yes."

With another grin, she kept a hold of her hand as she walked around the bed and sat down, then pulled her legs up and flipped around to lie down. "Would you like to be held?"

Phoebe readjusted her position, leading to Beatrix laying her arm out, which she then laid down within reach of and nuzzled into her neck. "I never dreamed you'd be this comfy, Dr. Lucavi…."

It was clear by her voice that the young woman was exhausted and would likely fall asleep soon, not that she could blame her. "I'm glad you think so."

"So cold, but still so warm," her eyes drooped closed, "and so safe."

Beatrix gently ran her fingers through her hair and hummed softly. "Relax….goodnight, Miss Hemsworth."

"Good….night."