(A/N: Some of these mini drabbles are going to be general team/slices of life/there's more than just DxZ in these okay? I love the Fears brothers and Zhalia living together with Zhalia as their guardian/big sis, as well as what could have been the dynamic between Zhalia and Harrison in the Blood Spiral. So there's gonna be a few scattered around.

ALSO! A semi heavy T rating for the Lazy Mornings drabble. So if you don't want some more sexual than usual stuff you can skip it. None of it is explicit, more of a morning after sorta thing. Wait, if it's done in the morning does that mean its still technically the morning after even if…I've gone and confused myself, let's just stop.

I'll be updating multiple drabbles and bits inside the 24 hour thing, so just look for the chapter numbers instead of the update day/time for a bit.

Cheers mates!)

Bodyguard

Zhalia sighed in frustration. Harrison was stubborn, she had to give him that. And despite him technically being her superior, he was also a fourteen year old kid that she was honestly rather fond of.

So she'd be damned if he was going to do such a stupid, petty thing and not listen to her. There was going to be a bit more force involved this time around, and fuck it if there were other Spirals watching.

"Harrison, look," The infiltrator put a hand on the young commander's shoulder, trying to sound gently concerned. "I'm your bodyguard, right? Everything I do is supposed to be to protect you either directly or indirectly. I do these things even if it pisses you off, because I'm supposed to be making you stronger and making sure you aren't going to get yourself killed by some jealous grunt or a Casterwill fighter.

"So with that in mind, let's try this again." Zhalia snatched up the plate of picked at food Harrison had discarded under his camp chair by one of the marching army's many fires. She jammed the edge of the plate against his thin chest to articulate her words as she tightened her grip on his shoulder and growled harshly, "Because I'm not leaving your scrawny ass alone until you eat. Your fucking. Dinner."

Harrison's face went bright red and he looked to Tantras, sitting across the fire, for support. The elder Spiral let out one of his disturbing laughs, grinding his staff into the dirt in front of him. "Your guard is right, boy. Do as she says."

If it was possible the youth's face grew even more scarlet as he took the plate and began grudgingly spooning the unappealing mash into his mouth. He swallowed as Zhalia roughly mussed up his hair with a "Was that so hard, kid?" and took a seat beside him.

It looked like she was going to keep her promise and stay by his side until he finished. For some odd reason, Zhalia keeping her word even on such a mundane thing made a comforting warmth rise in his chest.

Harrison was sure to eat every last bite.

Goons

It had been a quiet week since the defeat of the Professor. Even with the start of school, things were relatively calm around Dante's house.

Which was why Lok was itching for some action, or at least a little controversy and lively conversation.

The aforementioned teen put his latest puzzle box down on Dante's coffee table. "Uh, hey…" Everyone looked up, Sophie from the textbook in her lap, Dante from his newspaper, and Zhalia from her Technomicon. "I've been thinking…Defoe really had it out for you, Dante. And then he just…disappeared."

Dante was silent for a long moment. "…Huh. You're right." He set down the paper, rubbing his bearded chin. "He's not the type to just abandon a grudge."

Zhalia went back to her Technomicon, already bored with the direction the conversation was heading. "Probably dead."

"What?" Sophie shot Zhalia a shocked glare. "What on earth would give you that idea?"

The ex-spy returned the glare with a deadpan expression. "Because that's how the Organization works?" She reached towards Dante, palm up. "Here, I'll prove it. Let me see your phone."

"…Why?" Despite his question, the detective pulled his phone from his back pocket and passed it over.

"Because I know exactly who would have been next in line after Defoe." Zhalia paused, considering another addition. "And because he won't answer my texts." She finished punching in the number and put the phone on speaker.

"What can I do for you, Vale?"

Everyone in the room sat bolt upright at the sound of Grier's voice. Everyone but Zhalia, who crossed one leg over the other and leaned back with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well hello there, Grier. How's it going in sunny Sutos?"

Grier audibly grumbled through the line. "Moon. Are the rumors true?"

"That I defected from the Organization, turned Klaus to stone, faked my own death, helped Dante and the kids defeat the Professor and now live with the Foundation's number one Seeker?" Zhalia's smirk expanded to a toothy smile. "Yes. To all of the above."

"…Congratulations on joining the Foundation." Grier huffed. "Do you want something from me?"

"Well, I was wondering about a certain someone. Defoe. Ring a bell?" The island ruler grunted in confirmation, sounding more and more irritated with each passing moment while Zhalia seemed quite the opposite. "Tell me, Grier, one former Organization goon to another, you killed him didn't you?"

Grier was silent. Then, "I was given an order. And I follow orders."

"As we were taught. No shame in that. Have fun with your personal island, soldier boy." With that Zhalia snapped the phone shut and tossed it back to Dante. "Like I said. It's how the Organization works."

The room was silent. Lok swallowed hard and managed, "Wow. That's…kinda brutal."

"Little fish eat the big fish where I'm from." Zhalia didn't even deign to look up this time. "Unless they start shocking the fish tank. Then we just kind of float until they leave us alone and we go back to plotting revenge."

"Did…did you ever kill a–"

Lok's voice died in his throat as not only Zhalia, but Dante as well, fixed him with a smoldering glare.

The former Organization 'goon' was the one to speak. "Lok, I don't think anyone in this room wants to know the answer to that question. They don't want to, but I'm pretty sure they already do. But the less they can confirm, the better for their consciousness. Get. My drift?"

Lok gulped again, unable to break eye contact while Zhalia practically pinned him to the wall with her gaze, and nodded.

"Good." The teen nearly slumped back onto his heels and collapsed on the coffee table when Zhalia looked back to her Technomicon.

Everyone went back to their respective activities. At least, they tried to, because a few minutes later Sophie let out a little snicker.

"I'm sorry, it's just," She began in explanation, "when you said 'Organization goon' it made me realize…You were a suit at some point!"

"Sophie, I'm getting this close to using Skingrip on you."

Lazy Mornings

(A/N: Heavy T rating. I was quite ill when I wrote this and a few other bits between the hours of 12am and 4am to keep off fever dreams. Sorry!)

It wasn't even eight AM yet and already it had been a perfect morning.

Dante and Zhalia were both panting, sprawled in Dante's bed in a tangle of arms and legs as they recovered from a very pleasant wake up call. It was still raining outside, the constant beat of drops on the roof lending a sleepy air to the room that was practically charged with energy not moments ago.

"We...we should start every morning like this." Dante gasped, chest heaving. If anything his partner was even wilder in the early hours, full of energy from a night's rest. "You...I can't even...damn, babe."

Zhalia gave a breathy laugh and stared up at the ceiling. "You're one to talk. I don't think I'll be able to walk for at least an hour." Dante chuckled and rolled over to rest his forehead against her arm. "You're a beast and a tease all in one. Christ."

The detective smiled, the soft bristles of his beard tickling Zhalia's arm. "Is that good?" She rarely used religious swears beyond the usual 'damn' sprinkled here or there.

"Fuck yes. Good god, Dante, sometimes I think you have no idea the things you do to me."

The smile widened. "Just checking."

They lay together in comfortable silence, listening to the rain patter down onto the rooftops and into the Venice streets. Zhalia absentmindedly toyed with Dante's auburn hair, gently running her nails over his scalp as the elite Seeker drizzled nonsensical patterns across her toned stomach with light fingertips. Their mornings usually started at five, but the rain had given them an excuse to skip their morning rooftop scouting run in favor of sleeping in. At least, they had intended to sleep in.

"Do we have to get up?" Zhalia reached over and smacked their alarm clock off the bedside table as it alerted them to their eight AM wake up time. It landed with a crash that didn't even disturb her partner, too engrossed in exploring the former spy's body as if he had never laid eyes on it before. "...I'll fix that later."

"We have to get up eventually." Dante muttered, tracing down the delicate scars that graced his girlfriend's ribs. He had a near identical set on his own side, a memory of his first encounter with a Redcap. "We should probably shower."

Zhalia huffed, annoyed with his answer. "We don't have to shower if there's going to be a round two, you know."

Dante locked eyes with her, pupils nearly blown with desire, and Zhalia couldn't help the smirk that edged at the corner of her mouth. His hair was still wild, lips flushed and bruised, and his shoulders were littered with bite marks ranging from the barest of indents to angry red welts. All in all he looked thoroughly fucked, and it just added to the renewed heat pooling in her belly.

She knew her neck was in a similar state compared to his shoulders. She could feel the marks pulsing with each heartbeat, and found herself wondering if Dante thought she looked as worked over as he did. She wondered if he liked what he saw.

If the look he was giving her was any indication, she'd say yes.

"Besides," Zhalia waved a hand in a casual gesture of dismissal. After seeing him in such a state she really didn't want to get up now. "I wasn't kidding about not being able to walk. You'd have to carry me to the shower. And forget standing for it."

Dante was suddenly over her, his knee between her legs and his lips sucking eagerly below her ear. "Oh, you don't need to worry about standing." He growled, the vibrations of his voice sending shockwaves to his partner's core.

"Really?" Zhalia couldn't manage much else of a response, and let out an uncharacteristic squeak when Dante swept her into his arms and began walking to the master bathroom.

"Don't need to worry about showering either." Dante confirmed in a low rumble.

Zhalia laughed and threw her arms around his neck as he kicked the bathroom door shut behind them. "I fucking love lazy mornings!"

Looking Back, pt. 1

Looking back, Dante couldn't really put his finger on when he knew there was something off about Zhalia.

It wasn't that she was a lone wolf operative. He had met plenty of agents who came under that name. It wasn't her refusal to share anything beyond professional pleasantries on their first few missions.

It was never something he could pin down or name. But something always told him that the woman beside him needed guiding to the right path. And while that nagging little something told him that trusting her could be his undoing, another part of him whispered that not trusting her would be his end.

Oh, he knew by the time they were in Ireland, of course. His little something was keen to notice her unease in a family home. Her hesitation at Newgrange and her use of the Deadcalm bug only solidified his suspicions.

Don't even get him started on Egypt. He didn't even need to go there.

And through it all, despite all the signs and the warnings, somehow he knew that she would never harm him.

He just had to trust her. And he had to let her know that he did.

And in the end…it all worked out.