Chapter 6: The Most Beautiful Bodyguard

"I feel like I should have a uniform of some kind," Melody said, walking beside E'tann with her fingers laced through his, grinning at him and in a lovely, teasing mood, all things considered.

They were, for the moment, not in E'tann's room, instead strolling through the garden on the east side of the palace. Technically, E'tann's room was the site of an attempted kidnapping, so until the royal guards were finished making sure no one else was supposed to come after the crown prince in that attack, the two of them were banished outside.

But more than that, Melody was pretty sure they'd been kicked out because their parents were trying to keep them from getting into too much trouble while they were actually physically together. Absence might have made their hearts grow fonder, but it made for some wicked longing in multiple different meanings of the word.

But the gardens were private, too, and the two of them were already preoccupied with stealing kisses, even if Melody was still hyper-aware of their surroundings and listening for every single mind around them.

E'tann, on the other hand, was focused on mostly one thing, and that was stealing kisses. So when she mentioned a uniform, he looked surprised, pulled back from her, and blinked at her. "...what?"

"A uniform," Melody insisted, though she kept right on kissing him, grinning at his surprised reaction. "I need one."

"Okay, I'll rise to your bait. Why do you need a uniform?" he asked between kisses, playing with the edges of her shirt as if he were thinking of getting her new clothes then and there - possibly not immediately after removing her current ones.

"Because I'm on your protection detail now, so I should look the part," she said, not at all trying to stop him as he pushed for more affection. She didn't hear any threats in the garden, so she didn't see a reason not to have some fun.

He laughed. "You're not a guard, Melody."

"I kind of feel like I am," she teased and kissed him until they had walked blindly into the Kree equivalent of a hedge, laughing when he startled at the sudden shrubbery.

"We should really find somewhere more private," he said, still playing with the edges of her clothes. "The gardens are lovely, but they are patrolled."

"I can always listen for interlopers," she offered, not too keen on the idea of slowing down when they were so rarely together that she was going to run with as much affection as possible.

"I'd like to hope I'm more distracting than that," E'tann teased, sliding his hands down her waist to make his point.

She let out another girlish giggle. "You are," she agreed. "But I'm also not all that thrilled with the idea of fighting more Accusers in our underwear again."

E'tann bit his lip. "While this is true, I thought you looked quite fierce," he said.

She gasped delightedly and hit him lightly with the back of her hand. "Is that a sense of humor in there?"

"Don't sound so surprised," he said, smiling widely when he heard her laughter. "You've been in my mind. You should know me better than anyone else."

"Yes, but it's nice to see you let it out sometimes," she said. "I've heard talking out loud can be amazing."

"You've heard," he repeated, caught up in staring at the place where her smile met the rest of her face, the indent in her cheek where it began.

"Would your head be where it's at right now if I were wearing a uniform?" Melody asked, not that she was complaining — she was just in a teasing mood.

"I'd have to see what you looked like," E'tann decided, playing with the loops of her jeans. "You look so nice in this."

"Terran fashion," she teased. "We like to strut our stuff."

"I'm not sure I understand the phrase entirely, but from context, I'm going to have to agree with you. You look very nice."

"That's right I do."

"You'd look even nicer somewhere private and in something of mine," E'tann said, and Melody laughed, finally caving to the hints he'd been blatantly dropping that whole time and letting him lead her off somewhere secluded.

I'll listen for Peeping Tom guards, she promised, and he laughed.

"How's it feel being the useless sibling?" Ael teased, dropping down on the couch beside Sying and propping his feet up on the table in front of the couch. He had brought snacks because Sying looked so tired - he'd just had to more or less wrestle Ariel into being still long enough to take a nap. They were sticking well to her schedule, but sleeping in a different place was always hard.

If Ariel woke up again, Sying was just going to run her to the Marvel and let her sleep in her room there, so that she had not only someplace familiar to sleep but the comforting telepathic touch of the ship itself.

The Marvel totally cheated for the kids she loved, and she was getting more affectionate with old age.

Sying shoved Ael in the shoulder when he dropped down. "What are you talking about? I just spent half an hour singing to my daughter to get her to go to sleep. I wouldn't call that useless."

"Not what I was talking about," Ael said, grinning. "You're usually the big hero, but this time, the girls in our family are the heavy hitters."

"About time they took a turn," Sying said without missing a beat.

Ael grinned. "Atta boy. That's a good way to look at it."

"I haven't had a real vacation in a while," Sying pointed out. "Krissy and I got to honeymoon, but then there was Apocalypse and then the baby, and to be honest, I'm more than happy to let someone else take the lead."

Ael nodded and leaned back with his hands behind his head. "Fair enough," he admitted. "I just know our family doesn't actually do vacations. I mean, look at Mom and Dad and their anniversary tradition."

"I'm trying very hard not to have the same tradition," he said. "So if you could please not jinx me…"

"Too late. Pretty sure saying it out loud screwed you over."

"Thanks."

"Had to do it. It's my job as your little brother and the only person who apparently has enough sense not to be on a team or in a royal family that requires being on your toes all the time," Ael said.

Sying shoved his brother's shoulder again. "You want to go deep sea diving, don't you? That's dangerous too."

"Yeah, once I'm done with school. Dad's helping me fast-track, so it shouldn't take too long, I don't think. Especially since we have access to tech that would make deeper and longer dives possible."

"Yeah, but Dad doesn't want to share that tech."

"I know." Ael pulled a face. "He's supposed to be an explorer. Can't he let me explore?"

"Nobody's stopping you from going on one of those dives. You're probably better suited than any human anyway, considering the oxygen saturation on Hala."

"That's the hope," Ael agreed. He turned to face his big brother without taking his arms back down from behind his head. "Seriously, though, you okay? Everyone but Mom seems more on edge than usual."

"Yeah, we're okay," Sying promised, though he let his teasing smile fall from his face. "Just harder to ignore the Kree brainwashing in Kree territory."

"I haven't had any issues," Ael said.

"You're not wired the same way we are," Sying pointed out.

"Thankfully," Ael teased.

Sying smirked. "In this case? Yeah. Thankfully."

"Nice to know all those powers of yours come with drawbacks sometimes," Ael admitted. "I mean, imagine being me and getting adopted away from a warzone and then joining a family full of superpowered people who save the world on the regular. Even the ones that don't save the world all the time get asked to save the seat of the Kree Empire when we're supposed to be on vacation, you know?" Ael had lost a lot of his teasing expression, and when he saw it, Sying had to lean over and hug him tightly.

'Hey, no one expects you to have powers, Ael," Sying said into the hug.

"Yeah, I know," Ael said. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm a big brother. I'm gonna worry about it when my baby brother sounds like he thinks he doesn't belong."

"I'm okay," Ael insisted, more forcefully that time. "Really. I've seen what a drag it can be to have the powerset that everyone wants."

"Hey, Chance and I were really close growing up. I saw firsthand what it's like for the non-powered sibling."

"At least I'm stronger and faster than your average human by virtue of being Kree," Ael pointed out. "I'm not that far down the ladder."

"Silver linings," Sying said and hugged his brother again. "Seriously, if you want to train with me or something…"

"No, no," Ael said quickly. "No, I was actually serious when I said I didn't want to be involved in all the crap you guys go through. It sucks not being able to keep up with you guys, but Mom and I at least are slow together, and I'd rather not have people taking apart my mind and body like you and Dad have been through."

"Yeah, as your protective big brother, I would also like for you not to ever experience those things," Sying said. He still couldn't shake how bad he felt that Ael felt so left out, though, so he bumped shoulders with Ael, grinned, and said, "Wanna go raid the kitchens?"

"The Kree don't have nearly the same level of snacks we have back home."

"Yeah, but Annie sent us with stuff to last the trip, and it's on the Marvel…"

"Race you there," Ael said, springing from the couch.

Sying broke into a laugh — and then smoked his brother in the race. After all, Ael might have been a little touchy about being left out, but he was also a baby brother, and he'd totally started it.

"Okay, so I've been pawing through Accuser minds all day," Jubilee announced as she let herself into Sinta's throne room. She had cheated and peeked at his mind to make sure he wasn't holding court before she came in, but she personally delighted in breaking norms like that and making the Kree uncomfortable. They weren't entirely comfortable with her being a Terran, so she was going to rub it in their faces that she was so very different from them.

But Sinta wasn't as stuffy as he used to be, so instead of getting all up in arms about her arrival, he waved her inside. "Please, feel free to make yourself at home," he said dryly. "This is only the seat of my power."

"I will, thanks!" Jubilee said brightly as she bounced in, blowing a bubble and everything.

Sinta shook his head but didn't correct her - especially not when he knew she'd come bearing news. "Well, Jubilee, what have you found, then?" he asked, trying to get down to business and reestablish some semblance of control over his own throne room.

"You guys are so totally shooting yourselves in the foot hoping that the Accusers will pull their heads out."

Sinta's wife chuckled where she was seated next to him, and he shot her a smirk before he turned back to Jubilee. "I don't understand your turns of phrase."

Jubilee put one hand on her hip and cocked it out. "I mean you've got an infestation of Accusers who have zero intentions of being part of your new worldview long-term and are just waiting for the right opening to reestablish the way things used to be." She blew a bubble. "You were right about one thing, though. They haven't fully coalesced around a leader, which is lucky for you. If they had a replacement picked out, you'd already be dead."

Sinta frowned and leaned back in his seat. "When you say infestation…"

"I mean there are literally fewer Accusers on your side than I have fingers on my hand."

Sinta's expression fell, and he ran a hand down his face. "I'd truly hoped that the years of peace we have enjoyed would change minds. Hala has never had so many years of growth."

"Depends on your definition of growth," Jubilee said. "The Accusers want to go back to being conquerors."

Sinta waved a hand. "The Kree way is supreme, and we will spread our reach, but we have had to spend our resources on dealing with recent Brood problems. They know this."

"They're zealots. I don't know what you were expecting."

"I was one once, if you recall. And yet I'm still fully capable of understanding distribution of resources."

"That's because you're not half bad for a racist conquerer of worlds."

"Really."

"Really," she said. "You know it's stupid when you're all 'The Kree way is supreme and everyone will serve us' right? Like, I've been on the other end of your colonizing attempts, and you guys suck."

"Such is always the view of the conquered — until they learn better," Sinta said. "Our peace and prosperity will be theirs once they are part of the Empire."

Jubilee puffed out all her breath. Sinta was by far the best leader the Kree had ever had, but he was still so very Kree, and it was beyond frustrating sometimes. "Whatever. I'm not here to tell you how wrong you are. I'm mostly just here to tell you that keeping the Accusers in your backyard is the wrong play."

"I will take that under consideration," Sinta said.

"You better," Jubilee said, leveling a finger at him. "My baby girl and your little boy are in the crossfire here."

"I will not allow anything to happen to them," Sinta swore. "My children mean the world to me."

"And Melody means the world to me."

"As she should," Sinta agreed. "Do not worry. Melody is dear to my son, and I find I like their match more and more. I like the Kree my son is when he is with her."

Jubilee couldn't help but smile. "Aww, you should say things like that more often instead of being all conquering Kree."

"Kree are conquerors."

Jubilee waved him off. "We're having a moment here, Sinta. Don't step on it."

He chuckled. "Our visits are always instructive and interesting."

"Thanks!" She bounced on her toes. "Okay, I'm sure you have super important things to do. Like fire all the Accusers."

Sinta chuckled as he watched her head for the door. "Thank you for your help."

"Anytime!" she called over her shoulder before she hopped out of there to go find her family and do her best to relax despite knowing how many Accusers would totally kill her family if given the chance.

This was the downside of coming to Hala for a vacation. She should have known better.