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Chapter 11:

Fever walks along her normal route, keeping an eye out for any malicious intent. She is happy to see that love and desire is still thriving, and despite the after effects of her most recent blast to the past, she finds herself smiling. She had reestablished her mental connection with Val just in case something happened, but everything seemed to still be in order. She catches movement out of the corner of her eye and reaches for her dagger, but then relaxes when she sees Truth floating down toward her. The raven haired girl smiles at her, and then reaches forward and hugs her. Fever doesn't even need to ask what it's for. Her best friend always knew when she was thinking about her last love. They part and Fever sits on the edge of the rooftop, leaning back on her palms. Truth sits next to her and they savor the first moment of peace they had felt in a while.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." She says, and Fever glances over at her. "When you said that you could sense Luke… are you really planning on killing him yourself?" The blonde sits there is silence before nodding firmly. "Fever-"

"I can do it, Truth." She interrupts her quietly. "I have to." Truth sighs and nods in understanding.

"Okay." She turns slightly and reaches into the white sash around her waist. She pulls out a small pouch and shows it to Fever, who tilts her head curiously at the familiar shapes. "I had these made for you. I assume you know what to do with them." She drops one of the bullets onto Fever's palm, who inspects it. It seemed to be full of some kind of sparkling liquid. "I made them out of my holy water. There is so much truth and purity in them that if you aim right, they should cleanse Luke completely."

"We could save the world from hate and corruption, and set it onto the path of eternal loving and abundance." Truth nods.

"There are thirty of them, enough for two magazines."

"Thank you." Fever says sincerely, taking the pouch from her. Truth rests her head on her friends' shoulder for a moment and smiles before she perks up and stares into space. Fever turns to her in confusion and watches her bite her lip to hold in a smile. "What?" Truth just shakes her head and stands before making a sudden exit, and Fever sighs and leans back onto her palms to watch the city below.

However, it doesn't take seconds before she hears that irregular heartbeat, and she rolls her eyes as Aster steps out of the shadows to tower over her. She tries to ignore how she suddenly feels warmth flow through her, and her pulse speeds up traitorously, and doesn't say anything. He stands there for a bit, silent, and then he crouches down behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, burying his face into her hair. Her eyes drift closed and she tilts her head to the side when his lips move under her jaw to trail down her neck. He is stopped by her shoulder guards and growls in frustration, his paw trailing down her front and squeezing her breast through the bodice of her coat. She manages to laugh and sit up straight, putting her hand on his paw to stop him.

"Stop." It pains her to say it, but she does, and his mouth leaves her neck. He sits behind her and rests his legs on either side of her body, keeping his arms wrapped around her waist. He settles his chin onto her shoulder, trying to ignore the hard metal covering it.

"Do you give up?"

"Of course not." He smirks at her stubbornness, but is happy that she doesn't push him away.

"What did Truth give you?" She moves under him and shows him the bullet, and his ears flatten against his skull as he inspects it. "It's not my first choice. It's impersonal and… brutal. But we need to get rid of him once and for all." His nose twitches at her tone and he moves one of his paws to stroke her strawberry blonde curls, bringing her eyes to his.

"This seems pretty personal to me." He says, and she looks away uncomfortably. "What did Luke do to you?" She knows he's not talking about the most recent incident when she was almost lost to them. She takes a deep breath and finds her courage when he gives her middle a comforting squeeze.

"He killed my fiancé." Fever feels him tense against her and waits for a negative reaction from him; confusion, pain, anger. But there is none. He is simply silent, so she continues. "When I was still mortal he fed the lie to my fiancé that I had committed adultery. He made something ugly grow in John that was never there before. I tried to get him see the truth, but he wouldn't hear it. He got drunk that night and stumbled out into the street in front of a carriage." She hears Aster gasp and shuts her eyes for a moment before she is sure that she won't cry. "When I died and became the Spirit of Lust I promised myself and John that I would keep people from falling for the same lies that tore us apart." Aster still doesn't say anything, and she worries that she has managed to lose him, too. Lies had taken her last love from her. She didn't want the truth to take this one away, too. "Please say something, Aster."

"I'm sorry." He whispers into her ear, and she can finally breathe, hearing the sincerity in his voice. "I too have lost my loved ones." Her eyes widen at that and she turns around in his arms to look at him head on. "My entire village was wiped out. I'm the last of my kind."

"I'm so sorry." While she had lost many, she had gained so much in return. But Aster had lost absolutely everyone, and it made her feel badly for even saying anything.

"Hey." He puts a paw under her chin and brings her ashamed eyes back to his. "It's alright, baby doll." His thumb brushes away a tear that has escaped and rolled down her cheek, and her lips twitch into a small smile. He smiles back and leans forward to kiss her. Fever responds by wrapping her arms around his neck and parting her lips underneath his immediately. He hadn't expected that, but he just holds her tighter and allows one of his paws to slip underneath the panels of her overcoat to wrap around her thigh, pulling her flush against his body.

As his tongue brushes hers, she lets out a small moan and her fingers stroke the soft fur at the back of his head, tickling his ears. His other paw begins to pull at the laces of the bodice, and she breaks apart from him, her hand moving to cover his. He glares at her despite his shallow breaths and drowsy eyes, and she shakes her head with a smile.

"Is this going to be a pattern with you?" He nearly whines, and she laughs lightly and climbs off of his lap to sit on the rooftop again, trying to gain back the sanity that left her from the kiss.

"We're on top of a roof. I have too much class for that." She sniffs with a smirk, making him laugh. Her eyes become sincere again and she sighs. "Aster, I want to. But…" She takes a deep breath and straightens the lacing on her bodice, silently wondering how he had managed to get the knot and so many of the grommets undone so quickly. When all of the laces are redone and tied, she turns back to him seriously. "Until Luke is dead and I can live without revenge in my heart, I can't." It was unfortunate, but it was the truth. She knew that she shouldn't want revenge, but this was an opportunity for her to save others from Luke, and if she managed to find closure in doing so, then so be it. Aster sighs in frustration and turns to her, his eyes impatient.

"I'll give you time, but I can't wait forever." Fever smirks as she catches a glimpse of the reason why he can't wait, and he just shrugs, unashamed. She leans forward and kisses him lightly, pulling away before he can deepen it. "Especially if you keep teasing me like this." She laughs at his gruff tone and stands, brushing off her overcoat.

"I won't make you wait forever. I promise."

"And where exactly are you going?" He stands as well and she dances away from him as he tries to catch her around the waist again.

"I need to get some heavy artillery." He smirks and puts his hands on his hips, making her roll her eyes at his implication. "Don't start. I'll see you later."

xoXox

As soon as Fever found a pistol that was capable of holding a fifteen round magazine, she went into their firing range where Val usually kept his archery skills sharp. She pulls up one of the cardboard cutouts of a person and raises her hands, holding the gun steady and pulling the trigger strongly, sending loud popping sounds echoing off of the walls and making her ears ring. After a few shots she stops and checks the cutout, seeing that she had gotten all four into the chest of the silhouette. A small smile grows as she sees that her aim with knives is just as good with a gun. However, when it came down to it she really hoped that she would be able to use it. She never wanted to sign up for fighting, let alone killing. But it was clear that this was the only option. She hears Val come in next to her and he crosses his arms over his chest, observing the holes in the cut out.

"So…" He says, and she turns to him curiously. "You fuck the rabbit yet?" Her eyes narrow and she lifts the gun with one hand toward the silhouette, not even looking as she squeezes the trigger… and feels great satisfaction from Val's flinch as she shoots the cut out straight in the crotch. "Alright, jeez. I'm going." He mutters the word "crazy" under his breath as he leaves the range and she smirks at having sent him on his way so easily.

xoXox

Author's Note: I was torn about what to use for the fatal weapon. I really don't care for guns so much but holy water infused bullets just sounded too cool to pass up. More action is coming up next! Review please!