A/N: Just a heads up, I think this particular story merits an M rating, though I'm not exactly sure. XD

Making Amends.

Sareena walked down the halls of the Lin Kuei temple, trying to locate its Grandmaster. He'd been avoiding her for days after their last confrontation. Sometimes, she'd think she caught a glimpse of him but he'd disappear as soon as she took a closer look.

She sighed as she reached the courtyard. Sub-zero could be stealthy when he wanted to be. Sareena wondered where he was hiding. He wasn't in his rooms, the dining hall, the training area…

Sareena sat down on a stone bench and ran her hand through her hair. How in the world would she be able to apologize to him if she couldn't even find him?

"Miss Sareena?" a voice questioned from behind her. Sareena started and faced the person who spoke. As soon as she saw who it was, she relaxed her stance.

"Oh, Ryu, it's only you."

The boy chuckled. "What a warm welcome."

Ryu was a Lin Kuei warrior who had befriended her the moment she entered the stronghold. He helped her when she got lost and talked to her when Sub-zero was busy.

Sareena reached over and ruffled his hair. "Only for you." She teased.

"Hey, hey, not the hair." He slapped her hands off playfully and attempted to fix his mussed hair.

"So what are you worrying about at this time of the day?"

Sareena sighed. "I may have said some things to your Grandmaster that offended him." She bit her lip as she remembered her statement.

Get away from me, you monster!

"Why not go and apologize to him if it's eating you up?"

"That's the problem. I can't find him! I've tried his room, the dining hall, the courtyard, the training area, basically everywhere!"

"Really?" Ryu gave him an amused smile. "Have you tried the kitchens?"

Sareena blinked at him. "Why in the world would he be there?"

He gave her a grin. "Well, it's the last place anyone would look for him."

"Thanks, kid." She messed up his hair—earning an indignant squawk from him—and walked towards the direction of the kitchens.

When Sareena reached the doors leading to the kitchen, she paused to formulate her apology in her head.

Sub-zero, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to say that. Then grovel at his feet.

She shook her head at that. It sounded rather stupid.

She opened the door and stepped in; only to bump into a person.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She looked up at the man. He was a tall and bulky man with messy black hair. Sareena felt like she had already met him before, though she wasn't sure where or when. His unnaturally blue eyes widened in surprise before narrowing.

"It's quite all right, Miss," he said. "Did you have any business in the kitchen?"

Sareena frowned. Why did the man seem so annoyed at her? "I merely want to know if your Grandmaster is in the kitchen."

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. "He isn't."

Her shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Oh," she said. "Well, if you see him, could you please tell me?"

"I can pass the message along."

Sareena shot him an irate look. "I believe this is something I wish to tell him myself."

He gave her an inscrutable look before stepping aside and gesturing for her to enter the kitchen.

"Huh?" she asked unintelligibly.

He rolled his eyes. He went inside and grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses before sitting at one of the tables at the far end of the room. Puzzled, she followed him inside and glanced around.

Just as most places in the Lin Kuei temple, the kitchen was also a busy place. People were running around and about, cooking different dishes at the same time. The most amazing thing about the whole thing, perhaps, was that it seemed like an everyday thing. They anticipated the other worker's moves, much like in a fight. The cook on the right threw the bottle of oil and the person to his left extended his hand and grabbed it, without even looking!

"Amazing aren't they?" he asked her with a smirk.

"They are." she agreed wholeheartedly. He poured whiskey into both of their glasses and handed her one.

"Whiskey before dinner?" Sareena eyed it speculatively before taking it from him. "It isn't poisoned, is it?"

"I don't think so." He smiled wryly, and started drinking. "So what happened between you and the Grandmaster?"

"I think that's between me and him."

"Is that the reason for his mysterious…disappearance?"

Sareena's eyebrows shot upwards. So she wasn't the only who noticed.

"…Perhaps." The demoness took a sip, enjoying the feeling of the alcohol burning down her throat. "So was there any reason you suddenly invited someone you've just met to drink whiskey?"

He shrugged. "You looked like you needed a drink."

Sareena gave him a sly smile. "Or maybe you're trying to get me drunk, then ravish me in bed?"

The man flushed bright red and promptly choked on his drink. Sareena laughed at his reaction before slapping him on the back.

"W-what in Raiden's name made you say that?" he rasped.

Sareena was now clutching her stomach. "You—you—the look on your face—!" she managed before bursting into laughter once more.

He was still blushing faintly by the time she finally calmed down.

"Thanks," she said as she wiped the tears off her face. "I needed that."

"Glad I could entertain you."

There was a moment of silence before Sareena spoke up. "So, what's your name?"

"Um, Ed." He coughed.

She cocked her head. "You don't look like an 'Ed'."

"Then what do I look like?" he raised an eyebrow.

Sareena shrugged and refilled her glass. She was sure that wasn't his real name. "So Ed, why are you so hell bent on finding out what happened between me and your Grandmaster?"

"Actually," he poured himself some more whiskey, "I've heard his side of the story, and just wanted to know what yours was."

"Oh." Was all she could say.

"But if you really don't want to, I won't force you."

Sareena kept her eyes on her drink as she spoke. "He trigged some…memories."

"What kind of memories?"

"Not so good ones."

"What exactly happened?" Ed probed.

"We were sparring, and well, he won and pinned me on the ground. And…and that triggered a flashback." She glanced at his face.

"Yes, but what flashback?"

Sareena bit her lip. "I—I think it's pretty obvious." She rubbed at her arms and shivered in disgust as she remembered.

Hot breath searing her skin, one hand roaming her body; the other clutching a knife, retracing old wounds—

A whisper.

"Whose are you?"

No one's.

A scream of pain as the knife is plunged into her arm. Warm liquid trickles down her limb.

"Whose?"

A sob.

"Yours."

A cold laugh.

"You best remember that, Sareena."

"Sareena?" she looked up as he called her name. His eyes were filled with concern. He reached over to her face and wiped something off her face.

It was then that she noticed that she was crying. She quickly dashed the tears escaping from her eyes.

"Sorry," she mumbled. There was no use crying, it never did solve anything. "When the flashback started, I thought he was going to…you know. I mean, he sort of tried to kiss me." she sighed. "I pushed him off and started shooting my mouth off. I didn't mean a lot of things I said. My mouth is more often than not disconnected to my brain."

"It's quite all right. I think I understand." He said as he grabbed two bottles and held it out to her. She took it from him and drank her worries away, not even bothering to ask how in the world he knew her name.

The next thing Sareena remembered was waking up with a splitting headache.

She groaned and sat up. She opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself in Sub-zero's room.

"What the Netherrealm—?" And then it hit her. She laughed out loud. How could she have not noticed it before?

She stood up and tripped over something on the floor. As she flopped on top of him, he started to stir.

"Hnn? Sareena?" he murmured, disoriented.

"Good morning Ed." She greeted as she placed her hands on his chest and propped her chin on them.

"I don't want to get up yet."

Sareena stiffened as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. Soon enough, though, she relaxed into his arms.

"Sareena," he said.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have avoided you these past few days…"

"It's all right." She mumbled into his chest. "I didn't mean the things I said. About your brother being a better man than you."

"I understand."

Silence.

"Sub-zero?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you didn't get me drunk to ravish me in bed?"

He laughed at her as he rolled her off him and pinned her down on the ground. "Do you want me to ravish you in bed?" he teased, though his ears were turning pink.

She gave him a teasing smile. "Maybe."

He chuckled and dipped down to press his lips against hers.

And this time, she was quite happy to let him.

A/N: So what exactly did Sareena say to Subbie? Well, I'll just leave that to your imagination.

Meh, not exactly as I planned it, but oh well. XD I still hope you liked it. Please leave a review. :D Anonymous reviews are always welcome. :P

BTW, any suggestions for pairings?