An: Sorry for the late post. With work all day, and then a lack of food/water for most of that day, I wasn't feeling well enough to update this when I got home. I'm up now (for a couple minutes at least) and I thought I would throw this up while I can, before I make some noms and go back to bed.

Hopefully you guys enjoy this though...it's fluffy.

Saturday's sessions came and went quickly for Miranda, and released from her training early, the eager teenager took the chance to return to her room and clean herself up before she met Skye for their evening out. Showering, and quickly drying her hair, she opted for wearing something comfortable, and slipped into the tattered jean shorts that she wore most days when she still lived on Earth. Finding a relatively nice shirt to accompany the outfit, she slipped flats onto her feet and returned to her bathroom to highlight her vibrant eyes with eyeliner and mascara.

With a final examination of herself in the mirror, she smiled at herself, and replaced her tools before she checked the time on her terminal and opted to leave early and mosey the halls while she could.

Following a longer course, she made her way up to the facility's balcony, and walked by the plethora of windows that allowed her to look into the other sessions being conducted for the students. In one room, a girl small in size, but in no way lacking muscle, was sparring with her mentor; trading jabs and quick kicks that resonated off the walls and met Miranda's ears even through the thick glass. In another, a particularly stocky man was weight lifting, but the weights and his entire body were surrounded in his biotic energy. In the last room, the lights were dimmed and large walls were placed around the room like a maze. She could see movement within the maze, but didn't entirely understand what was going on, until she saw Skye pulling himself onto one of the walls. Smiling immediately, she watched as her friend looked around, and then leaped for the ceiling's rafters; perching himself and readying his sniper rifle against him. With a solid breath, the gunshot rocked the glass in front of her, and the heavy mech that was lumbering through the maze fell to his knees, before exploding into shrapnel and wires. Clearly satisfied, a cocky smile reached Skye's lips, and Miranda chuckled as the infiltrator picked his way back to the ground, and disappeared from her sight.

Knowing that the destruction of the mech more than likely marked the end of his session, Miranda moved on, and weaved through the halls until she emerged in sight of the cafeteria, and saw Skye already waiting for her by the door.

"You must have taken the long way if I managed to beat you here," he laughed, running his fingers through his still-wet hair, and smiling his usual charming smile. "Enjoy the show?"

"How did you know I was watching?" Miranda asked, stopping and crossing her arms over her chest as her eyebrow rose in question.

"I caught a glimpse of you when I crawled up into the rafters, and I knew that the feeling of being watched wasn't coming from my instructor. He just sends the mechs in...doesn't really care if I kill them or not."

"Well, to answer your question...yes," she smiled. "I did enjoy the show. You're quiet impressive Skye. I've never seen anyone move like you can, and you're obviously amazing at hiding your position, or else that mech would have just locked his cannons on you and shot you out of your perch."

"I'm flattered," Skye chuckled, pushing off of the wall and walking to her. Extending his hand, she graciously accepted, and allowed him to lead her into the cafeteria that was slowly filling up with students and instructors alike. Obtaining their dinner, they gravitated to their usual table, and sat away from the growing crowd. Settled, and slowly digging into their meals, Skye restarted their earlier conversation, "I've had a lot of practice working security. Most of the time, I was always the one to tail the guys we suspected would cause trouble, and obviously, I couldn't be seen or heard."

"I'm pretty good at finding my way through mazes, and avoiding guards," she joked, "but I've never needed to be that nimble to be successful. How long have you been able to do that?"

"Since I was a child," he answered with a smirk. "I lived in the woods with my family, and we survived on the acres of farm land we had. I always had to help my father in the fields, and I rarely got free time to be a kid. I didn't have any friends except for my little brother, since I lived so far away from any civilization, so we both turned to nature for our fun when we had the time for it. We would hike and climb through trees and explore. Doing all those things helped me become as nimble as I am."

"Why did you leave? Why did you start working security on a colony?"

"My parents were getting old, and my father wouldn't be able to work all of the crops to get enough money to live in a few years time. So, while my little brother decided to stay with them, I caught the next ship to a developing colony, and got a security job so I could send some more money their way."

"What about them now, though? Cerberus surely doesn't pay you to be trained..."

"They don't, but I still don't have to worry about it," Skye explained as a glimmer touched his happy eyes. "I was told through the grape vine, of course, that the Illusive Man admired my devotion to my family, and now he sends a substantial amount of money their way every month as long as I remain loyal and prove useful to the organization. They've been doing amazing lately, and my parents are as healthy as ever."

"That's great," Miranda smiled, instantly thinking of Oriana and Niket. "The Illusive Man has done some amazing things for myself as well. I'm extremely thankful that he is so giving. I would be worrying a lot more if he wasn't, that's for sure."

"I totally agree, and he may just be doing it so we can focus on our training, but honestly, as long as he is helping my family, I don't care about his motives. I would do anything for them...especially my little brother."

"I completely understand," she nodded, her heart lurching as she practically felt the bullets bouncing off her biotics as she remembered running as quickly as possible from the turrets with Oriana in her arms. "I...I have a sister. We have a complicated situation going on, but she means so much to me, and I couldn't imagine if anything happened to her."

Knowing not to push for information, Skye easily danced around the subject, and shot her a reassuring smile as he brought his fork to his lips once more. "Well I'm sure that wherever she is now, she's thankful that you care as much as you do, and she loves you just as much as you love her."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning on her forearms and pushing away the tray that still contained most of her meal. "I appreciate you saying that. It really does mean a lot."

"No problem," he responded with a grin; mimicking her form and pushing his own tray away. "Wanna get out of here? If we run, we might be able to get the good racing crafts."

"Racing crafts?"

"You've never ridden on them before?" he asked with disbelief, laughing and practically jumping up from his seat. "Good god, Miranda! You haven't properly lived until you've raced over the country side on one of those babies!"

"Well, then by all means," she laughed, standing and throwing away her remaining food. "Show me what I've been missing out on."

"Oh, it'll be my pleasure."

Laughing, the two rounded a sharp corner on the hover crafts, and Skye glanced over to Miranda before he revved the engine, and bent his knees to prepare for the acceleration he was about to feel. Shooting forward, she smirked at the challenge, and did the same, but dared to go faster and soon shot by him. Racing back to the facility, the wind whipped through her hair, and a smile of happiness remained plastered on her face as she slowed her hover craft to a stop within the garage they gained their crafts in the first place. Removing her feet from the indentation on the foot board, she stepped off the craft and lurched forward slightly when the feel of standing on solid ground confused her body. Chuckling, stability returned to her legs, and she stood straight, watching as Skye slid in beside her, and moved to jump off.

"Well, I see that you owe me ten credits," she stated, leaning into her hip and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, yeah, a deal is a deal," he agreed, ruefully handing over a ten credit credit chit. "I underestimated you Miranda. I didn't think you had the guts, or skill, to win a race against me, but I see you aren't a book to be judged by its cover."

"That's right," she laughed, taking the chit from him and slipping it into her pocket. "I'm glad you've seen the light Skye."

"As am I," he said, slipping his arm around her shoulder and leading her away from the garage. "Maybe now I won't be stupid enough to make a bet with you. Clearly, if I do so, I'm going to lose."

"You catch on so well," Miranda stated, looking up at him and laughing before slipping her arm around him and squeezing softly. "Don't look so grim. I'll stop teasing you eventually."

"Eventually being the key word there," Skye muttered, smirking at her and shaking his head. "Nah, you won fair and square. Gloat all you want."

"I'm more so preoccupied with wondering what we're doing next," she said. "Got anything planned big man?"

"Well, the facility heads show movies all night in the auditorium, there's a lake that we could go swimming in, there are nature trails that lead through the forests...what do you feel like doing?"

"Let's explore a little," Miranda insisted, as they came up to a path that snaked off towards the woods. Looking at him with a smile, she moved away from him and walked towards the dense trees. Reaching the edge of the forests, she pushed away the branches and walked further, immediately feeling the cool air chill her sun-warmed skin. Jogging forward, she followed the path as it inclined, and snaked around the woods in a seemingly never ending path. Catching up with her up on the slope, Skye chuckled and grabbed her hand to stop her.

"If you want a real adventure...don't follow the path," he said simply, nodding to the rocky ledges that led up to the path's destination.

Looking at him curiously, she eyed the slippery, jagged rocks and rested her hand on her hip. "But isn't that dangerous? What if we slip and fall?"

"You are a biotic," Skye answered, looking up the cliff side, and placing his hands into two of the indentations within the rock. "If you fall, which I'll make sure you won't, you can just flare your biotics and cushion your fall. Now come on, it's fun," he finished, before he pulled himself up and expertly crawled over the rocks until he was at a stable place to stop. Stilling, he turned around to look at her, and leaned down to offer his hand to her. Sighing, she followed his movements, and puffed out air as her muscles strained to pull her body against gravity. Slowly, she climbed higher and higher, and even managed to surpass Skye's position without using his help. Determined, she continued to pull herself up the cliff side, and smirked as Skye climbed beside her and glanced at her with surprise in his eyes.

Reaching the top of the cliff, Miranda pulled herself to her feet, and panted softly as the muscles in her arms twitched slightly in response. Glancing at Skye, he laughed and shook his head; looking at her with a look of pure and utter amazement. "I thought you didn't have any practice?"

"I never said that," she insisted, turning and following the last small stretch of the path to the cliff's top. "I didn't climb up trees or cliffs, but elevator shafts help a lot too."

Laughing, he followed after her, and took a seat beside her on a flat rock at the cliff's peak. Looking out over the tree tops, the facility could be seen nestled within the ring of mountains, but they were more so concentrated on the image of the sun setting over the planet's beautiful horizon. Shades of pink and red were painted across the sky, while splashes of blue and orange collided in honor of the sun's setting. The giant red disc was surrounded by a vibrant purple ring, and as the sun set behind the peaks of the mountains, the purple started to spread, until it consumed the entire sky. Watching in awe, Miranda sat breathless as the purple slowly started to fade to black, and stars sparkled into view. Turning to look at her fully, Skye smiled at her mesmerized expression, and instead of looking up with her, opted to view the reflection of the twinkling stars within her cobalt gaze. Softly, he placed his hand on hers, and squeezed her fingers tenderly. Miranda turned her gaze to him, and he smirked at the slightly surprised expression on her face. Standing from their position, he pulled her with him, but kept their hands tightly interlocked as he spoke to her in a bare whisper, and started to lead her down the mountain's path.

"I wanna show you that fountain now..."

The fountain was absolutely gorgeous, and everything Skye said it would be.

Lit by lights placed in the fountain itself, the water sparkled and easily reflected the twinkling stars that hung happily overhead. Dots of light shimmered within the swirling current, and as the moon rose higher in the sky, the water reflected the light back at the large rock and seemed to transform into liquid silver.

Amazed, Miranda looked to Skye for an explanation, but instead found him staring at her with the reflected light hanging in his eyes. In response, her heart sped up and she tilted her head, but when she began to speak, he slid closer to her, and silenced her with his strong fingers cupping her chin. Smiling softly, his thumb brushed against the softness of her cheek and her plump lips parted in hopes of calming her racing heart and providing her body with oxygen. Chuckling, Skye whispered her name, and snuck his hand behind her neck. Softly, he pulled her closer, and she leaned in without resistance.

Shivering under his touch, her eyes closed, and the smallest of gasps escaped into the air as their lips connected, and molded together without a hint of modesty.