The scene in which Baal and Saiya kiss for the first time (sort of!) - from Baal's point of view. Needless to say, these little shorts will not be in any particular order, except the order that they were requested in. Enjoy! And please keep your requests coming! This is good for my muse. :)

Memory Two: On the Docks at Midnight (from Book One, Ch. 20)

Baal shifted his weight from one leg to the other, scratching an itch on his ankle with the sole of the opposite boot. He had been waiting for hours now for Saiya to return from the other side of the river, and he was beginning to worry that she wasn't going to.

Because you were an asshole to her, that's why. You'll be lucky if she ever talks to you again.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the fear that he might have ruined the only friendship he had. He hadn't meant to say all those things, they just … came out. Seeing the stupid mage on top of her, the way he had dreamed of for days, something had just snapped in his mind. He had lashed out at her, like Marion all over again. Only she wasn't his to claim, and all he'd managed to do was hurt and embarrass her. Gods, what a mess.

The sound of oars splashing heavily through the water caught his attention, and he tensed in expectation. A lantern appeared between the tree trunks, bobbing up and down with the motion of the ferry. By its orange glow, he could make out the back of Kormac's head, and a cluster of other shapes. And there in the back, wedged in between a fat man and Brother Malachi's assistant, was his little monk.

She looked tired, exhausted actually, but there was a smile on her face as she responded to someone's comment. Something eased in his chest at the sight. At least her day had been good, then. Probably better than his.

The boat jolted against the dock, and Kormac jumped out first, nearly overturning it in the process. Saiya didn't even look in Baal's direction as she stepped up onto the dock. His heart plummeted before it occurred to him that perhaps she hadn't noticed him. It was dark, after all, and just because he had excellent night vision didn't mean that everyone else did.

He was proven correct when he stepped forward, and she jumped in surprise before saying his name in far too calm a tone. The Hunter tried not to sound too desperate as he replied, "Hey, Saiya. Can I have a moment?"

She crossed her arms. "Depends on what you want to say."

Okay, so she hasn't forgiven me yet. At least she didn't tell me to fuck off …

"Hallo, Brother!" Kormac shouted. Neither of them turned to look at him. "Uh oh. Have you two been fighting again?"

"More or less," said Saiya, sounding rather irritated. "Kormac, you and the others can go on ahead. I'll join you in a minute."

"Whatever you say, Schwesterchen," he said, and gestured to the others. "Come on, fellows. I think we've earned a nice cold pint or two. I'll buy." As he passed Saiya, he gave her a pat on the shoulder. Baal couldn't help wondering how much she had told him about their earlier fight.

They were alone now, and she was staring at him with an expectant look on her face while he struggled to find the right words. Should he launch right into an abject apology? Try to play it casual? At last, realizing that anything was better than just standing there like a dumbass, he offered her the bottle of alcohol he'd purchased earlier.

"I got this for you."

She accepted it rather cautiously, but her expression changed the moment she peeled back the cloth and saw the seal on the cap.

"This was made in Ivgorod," she murmured.

"It's honey mead," he said. "I thought you might enjoy it."

She looked up at him with shining eyes. "Thank you. Really. I mean it. It was a nice thought."

His pulse spiked. With an effort, he ignored the urge to pull her in and kiss her until she couldn't stand. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he muttered, "Yeah, well … I wanted to apologize to you. My behavior this morning was totally out of line, and I'm really sorry. It's true that I was motivated chiefly by concern for you, but that didn't give me the right to say what I did, or to interfere in your personal business. I give you my word that it will never happen again, and I hope you can forgive me."

"I'm sorry too," Saiya said regretfully. "I said some unkind things that I didn't really mean."

Baal grinned, feeling absurdly pleased with himself for fixing things. "That's alright, I deserved it. So, are we friends again?"

Saiya glanced down at the bottle, pulled the cork, and took a long swig, then a second one. To judge by the look on her face, she liked it. She offered him some, which he supposed was a good sign. He could taste her on the lip of the jug.

Gods, I'm pathetic, pining after this woman like a lovesick puppy. What the hell is wrong with me?

Saiya sat down on the edge of the pier. He accepted her unspoken invitation, taking another gulp of mead before passing the bottle back. There was enough in there to get both of them reasonably drunk if they finished it. He wondered what she'd be like under the influence. Adorable, probably.

After a while, wanting to keep talking if just to hear her lovely voice, he asked, "How's your friend Pip doing?"

Saiya's expression darkened. "Gods' will that he live."

"I realized after you left that I had forgotten to tell you the news. Sorry."

"That's okay," she said. "I ran into Aidel not long after that. I've been across the river all day, keeping an eye on the children."

"I know," he admitted. "I'd been waiting for you to return. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back."

"How long were you there?" she asked.

He shrugged, feigning a casual attitude, as if he'd had nothing better to do with his day – though frankly, he couldn't really think of anything more important than mending fences with Saiya. "Oh, I don't know. Since just after noon, probably. I lost track of time." She raised an eyebrow, and he quickly added, "I didn't want to miss my chance."

For some reason, she seemed pleased with that response, humming a little to herself as she lifted the jug again. A tiny bit of the liquid within escaped from her mouth and trickled down her chin, but she didn't appear to notice.

"By the way," Baal continued, "if you haven't heard already, they're planning to hold a funeral tomorrow evening for those who died at Wortham, with a special focus on Captain Rumford and Deckard, in light of their heroism." He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to proceed, torn between the desire to her with him and the desire to keep her safe. "The following morning, I'm leaving on my witch hunt. I would have gone sooner, but I wanted to give you a chance to recover your strength … assuming that you would still like to accompany me."

Saiya lifted her chin. "Try to stop me!"

Somehow I knew she'd say that. My girl is nothing if not a badass.

"I wanted to invite Ghor as well. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes, of course. What about Caesar?"

Well, shit. Talk about ruining the fucking mood. He could feel himself grimacing, but he tried to keep his voice even as he said, "His wand is broken, remember? Without the use of his magic, he'd just be a burden." And that's putting it very, very mildly.

"That's not true," Saiya argued, oblivious to his displeasure. "Caesar can still cast spells even without his wand. He's an, um … an ice mage, so he can, you know, freeze things. He froze me to the bed this morning." She giggled, and he had to remind herself that she was only talking like this because she was tipsy. He was pretty sure she hadn't slept with the bastard … yet.

"Even so," he groaned, "you know I don't like working with him, Saiya."

"You've never tried," she said. Her eyes were a bit unfocused as she looked at him. He confiscated the bottle, judging that she'd probably had more than enough.

"I don't much want to," he grumbled under his breath, and went to drink some more. It was empty. When the hell had that happened? Scowling, he chucked the jug into the river with a very satisfying splash.

Saiya gasped, and he jerked his head round to look at her, concerned that she may have hurt herself somehow. But she was staring at the bottle as it floated away.

"That's bad!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn't do that, it's littering."

"Too late now," he said.

"Serioushly, Baal! I'm going to report you for that." She was completely in earnest, which made her slight slur even more hilarious. He chuckled aloud.

"To who?"

She had to think about that. "To … uh … to Captain Aidel."

Baal leaned towards her, but misjudged the distance and ended up almost bumping his nose against hers. "Oh yeah?" he growled playfully. "What's he going to do, arrest me?"

"You're drunk!" Saiya said.

"So are you."

"I am not! See?" She hopped upright, only to topple headlong into the water with an undignified shriek. She surfaced within a few seconds, thrashing her arms and legs to keep afloat and looking generally like a drowned rat. Baal couldn't help himself: he began to laugh, and once he started, he couldn't stop. He laughed until his sides ached and breathing was a struggle.

Blinking away tears, he looked down to see Saiya glaring up at him. "Don't just sit there chortling!" she snapped. "Help me out!"

He rolled his eyes. "Let me guess – you were just trying to get the bottle back." But then, taking pity on her, he braced himself against the nearby lamp-post and leaned perilously out over the river to grasp her hand. Pulling her up was more difficult than he'd expected it to be; his wounded shoulder gave a sharp twinge and he had to grab her waist to keep her from slipping back into the water. She helped him out by putting her arms around his neck, which brought their faces much closer together than he had anticipated. He made the mistake of looking into her eyes, ice blue and silver blended in the most beautiful color he'd ever seen, and he was lost. Before he knew what he was doing, he had closed the remaining gap between them and kissed her.

Her lips were chapped, and sweet with honey mead, and cool from the water that had come down from the mountains. They felt perfect against his, just like he'd imagined they would, and … and she was not reciprocating. She wasn't even making a sound. His brain finally caught up to his body, and he jerked backwards, somehow managing to drag her up with him onto the pier. She knelt there in total silence. He felt his face burn.

What the fuck have I done? She didn't ask for that, she gave no sign that she liked it, she's probably trying to figure out how to nicely tell me that she's in love with the fucking mage and to please not bother her anymore!

"What was that for?" Saiya asked, her voice small. He cringed.

"Please, just forget that ever happened. I don't know what I was thinking … I just … acted on impulse, I guess. I'm sorry." He bolted to his feet, trying to suppress a sudden rush of nausea. "We should probably head back to town. It's getting late."

He thought she'd said something in reply, but in his haste to escape, he didn't hear it. His stomach felt like a pit of snakes, and his head was buzzing unpleasantly. All he could think about was how still she'd been as he … gods, he'd practically forced himself on her, kissing her like that when she'd had no way to get away from him. What a wonderful friend he'd turned out to be. A real winner.

Saiya said nothing as the soldier on duty opened the gate wide enough for them to slip through. Her dip in the river, combined with his untoward advances, seemed to have sobered her up a little. She regarded him a bit anxiously, and he clenched his fists to stop himself from dropping to his knees and begging for her forgiveness right there in the street.

"Where are you going to stay for the night?" he asked gruffly.

"The infirmary, I suppose, if there's still a bed available," she replied.

Oh, of course. Where Caesar is. I might have expected that. Fuck my life.

"What about you?"

Amazingly, he managed to keep his tone relatively normal as he said, "I'm currently staying at the guard barracks. Leah offered to let me have the spare room at her house, but death's presence is too strong there still for me to feel comfortable."

She said nothing. Why should she? With a sigh, he said, "Well, I'll see you in the morning, then."

"Um … okay. Good night."

"Night, Saiya." He turned and left before he could fuck up any more than he already had. As soon as he was safely out of her sight, he stopped and hit the wall as hard as he could. The pain of his split knuckles did absolutely nothing to banish the memory of her mouth against his.

There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight.