AN: Here is one alternate ending of three. For convenience, I've cut out the first section of the previous chapter. It's unnecessary for this alternate ending.

Disclaimer: Don't own TT.

Alternate Ending #1: Bad End

A few stories above the trio, Jericho sighed again and yawned again. He was pinned to his mattress, one arm under Kole and the other under his precious guitar. If he moved either one Kole would awaken, by the movement or by the noise of the guitar being placed on his nightstand.

Great... How am I gonna be able to sleep in this position? Looking down at the beautiful girl slumbering innocently at his side, he wondered, Do I want to sleep with her now? Well, we would just be sleeping, nothing else, but she's so pure that it makes me wonder if she'd be okay if I drifted off next to her, while sharing the same bed and blanket as her.

"Hey, Jericho...?" The hero in question jumped, and he wanted to smack himself for it. Why was he so finicky? The answer to his own question sat up, giving him his much desired mobility back. "Sorry. Were you still playing? You're holding your guitar like you were."

A man who preferred speaking with his actions, Jericho carefully set Yellow Rose on the nightstand to his right.

Kole rubbed her arms, although she didn't look cold. Nor did she appear any more well rested than she had when she knocked on his door ten minutes ago. "This might sound bad, but... could you play me something? I know you've already played alot, so you don't have to if you don't want to. If I'm overstepping or something just tell me and I'll back off and let you go back to sleep."

With a small, tired smile, Jericho picked up his sweet Yellow Rose once more. What to play, what to play? What hadn't he already played?

"Do you know 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'?"

"No, I don't know the exact chords, but I can improvise since I know the beat already."

"It is a popular song."

Jericho stopped tuning his strings to answer, "Infamous. Wish I could write like he did."

"I don't like Mozart's music as much as I like yours. Every piece you create is a Joey masterpiece in its own right."

"Careful where you use that name."

"It is just us in here... right?"

The instant Kole bit her lip, Jericho knew what she wanted. Ever since she had begun calling him 'boyfriend' in the privacy of their rooms, she had needed alot of kisses to keep their relationship happy and quiet. Under no circumstance could the guys discover that their stupid plans had worked. He could not let them take the credit for the success of his and Kole's friendship or the blossom of their close personal relationship.

Kole's lips curved into a smile as he obliged her, as he pressed his thin lips firmly to hers. Although he would never tell her, Jericho loved that intimate sensation her kisses gave him. Kole grabbed the wooden neck of his Yellow Rose while he was distracted, and discarded it onto the floor. Hands free, she brought one to rest enticingly on his back.

Responding as she usually did to kisses, Kole retreated first and let her intuition guide her. In her compromised state, she could hardly resist its pull downward to the dip of Jericho's exposed shoulder. A second or two after the contact of his skin and her sensitive lips, the bold girl shuffled to be in his lap.

His arms reinforced her, and urged her to continue.

An amorous caress of his upper back reminded Jericho of their interlocked state, so did the slow path of her right hand dragging from his tender neck to his stomach. She would go no further than that, he knew, but his adrenaline spiked in spite of that promise. If his voice had been present, she would have heard him growl.

Kole acted as if she had by moaning. Often, she found herself romantically lost and frustrated. The erratic pounding of his overactive heart had spooked her, in a sense, causing her to doubt her ability to control how he reacted to her advances. Him throwing his arms around her she had predicted, but the crazy heartbeat she had not been privy to. Her left hand had felt the low rumble of his inaudible growl. What would he do if she really pushed him?

Unsure, she backed off.

"Joey..." The young man tucked his head beneath her chin, sucking the previously untouched flesh at the base of her throat. Humming instinctively, Kole struggled to wrest control of her train of thought. "No further... please. I'm getting tired." Her hands found safety on his shoulders, and she was hard pressed to keep them far from danger.

Jericho had to disengage her in order to nod, and did both. The break didn't last long after, to Kole's discomfort, as her sweetheart's hungry lips latched fast to her collarbone again not a full second later, to a new patch of skin. If the foreign presence of his lips wasn't enough, his sharp teeth breaching her flesh was quite enough. Controlling herself so she wouldn't scream at the stunt, Kole allowed herself a gasp and a light, warning push on his shoulders.

Playing the innocent, despite having been the instigator, Kole softly kissed his cheek. Drawing close to his ear, she whispered, "Please... stop." Another cheek kiss cooled Jericho's blood so that he could stop.

Gaze apologetic, Jericho grimaced. He signed, "I should have stopped before. Now you have a very red mark on your collarbone."

Kole winked at his concerns. "Isn't that what scarves are for?"

"If you want everyone to know about it."

"Argent wears scarves all the time, and she doesn't have a boyfriend."

Jericho raised both of his eyebrows critically. "HS?"

"And as far as he knows, I don't have a boyfriend. I've gotten good at pretending that we're still just friends who really like each other."

"It's sort of pointless, pretending like..." He failed to find the words. More and more, Jericho had come to resent his own inclination to secrecy. What he and Kole engaged in behind closed doors wasn't harmful or illegal, so why did he feel so pressured to conceal it from the world? In order to protect it? Yes, from someone particularly evil.

His mouth set into a frown, and he rolled Kole off to the side. The threat of Slade's prying, all-seeing eyes catching him and his love in a vulnerable way made him sweat, almost shake for fear.

"What's wrong, Joey? Did I go too far too fast?" His answer was nonexistent, so Kole probed elsewhere. "Or are you beating yourself up over this?"

"I feel like we're being watched."

"The guys aren't here, and even if they were I don't think I'd care. Honestly, you might be the only one who does worry about whether we're caught kissing and touching or not."

"It isn't the guys I worry about. Our friends would never hurt us."

"Who's gonna hurt us?"

"Slade."

Kole threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "Why do you worry about him so much? He's a big time villain and Robin is his arch-nemesis, not you! He probably doesn't even know you exist!"

"But he does."

"Quit being ominous. He's never even met you, and you've never even met him!" Looking him in the face, and noting the tears on the cusp of spilling over, Kole recognized her boyfriend's need for tact and reassurance. Her voice dropped in pitch, and she spoke carefully. "And I've never met him either..."

If you meet my parents, like you say you want to, you'll have to meet him. Jericho didn't dare say that.

"Do you not want... to go public with our relationship because you think Slade will see us then?"

Kole had asked the terrible question with such detectable fragility that Jericho couldn't risk to sign. He always let slip more than was proper when her guard lowered, and he would not make that mistake. Any answer he gave could kill all they had going for them.

"Yes."

Shit! Why did I tell her that? I didn't need to tell her anything!

A plethora of emotions lit up Kole's eyes, and he could isolate not a single one of them before they hid from view. She wrung her hands, biting her lip pensively.

Jericho didn't know what she was debating within herself, and brought his knees to his chin to create a semblance of protection. It was an empty defense, since it couldn't protect him from Kole's words, but it still comforted him.

Kole had heard of Slade's choking presence. Those who met him instantly feared him, and those who crossed him prayed for death to seize them by the hands of any other man. Perhaps Jericho had met and opposed Slade once, while on assignment, and felt that same eclipsing fear. From where else could such paralyzing terror emerge? "Have you ever met Slade? Like... Is there something going on between you and him that I'm not aware of?"

I could lie. I could lie and get out of this!

But his hands were moved by the truth, and communicated to Kole that he was connected in some unspeakable way to the criminal mastermind and mercenary.

"You can't tell me..." Hope welled inside her. Maybe he had needed to lie to her! "Is it a secret mission from Robin?" The Boy Wonder had his unorthodox, downright outrageous ways of getting to Slade. Kole couldn't put using Jericho past him, or his obsession.

"No." Jericho's protective blockade disintegrated as he prepared to sign the important details.

Tell her! Just tell her! You've already dug your own grave, ya stupid idiot!

"It's more than that... because we're related, by blood. We're immediate family."

Jericho's expression brightened. The weight of secrecy lifted from his conscience, and it felt great.

Then he considered the negative repercussions of his admission. Pursuing a relationship with me is a raw deal, with Slade being the hidden fee. Kole might realize that, and then we'll be done for. That is, unless she thinks I'm good enough to stick around for despite my family ties. But is Slade too... powerful of a figure? Is he still able to pull my life's strings, even from a distance?

Kole unpacked Jericho's confession. "Then you must be his son."

A dismal nod answered her.

The tears flowed, and Jericho was too afraid to reach out and brush them away. Kole would slap him. She would scream at him. The dear young woman would hate him for his deceit. His treasured girlfriend would walk away without a word. So he fought his own tears and guilt, accepting the miserable end to an authentically loving relationship.

But he had to know something before the end. "Were you happy being with me before tonight?"

"I was so happy..." A pained look washed over Kole's features. Jericho's heritage wasn't a problem, but his secrecy and distrust were big problems. What did Jericho think of her? Had her love been spent on someone oblivious? Without another word, or question, Kole quit the room.

Jericho's heart pounded in his ears and blood rushed to his head. The unshakable desire to pursue Kole and the closeness they had enjoyed almost overwhelmed him.

But the man of action didn't act on that desire.

AN: This ending, I hope, emphasized Kole's changed perspective. Honestly, that's what changed. Before, in the other chapter (the happy ending) Kole reminded herself of Jericho sticking with the Titans and her despite Slade's influence. Now she fixated on the deceit and became short-sighted, forgetting Jericho's love for her and his friends. That is why their relationship ended badly.

Thank you, PhoenixFlight and FoolonMelancholyHill, for reviewing. :) :P

BeautyRaeRae, thanks for following and favoriting the story. It was my first time ever writing smut, and having someone out their really, really like it is encouraging. :D