Author's Note: Received my first review and follow today! Thank you Lady-Queen99! I was planning on working on this chapter today but that really spurred me on!

I'm not from the US but Wikipedia said that undocumented children can still attend school, so I went with that.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Meeting Again

The trail of guards and attendants stopped at the door of Jupiter's personal chambers. Only Caine followed her in, eyes still staring over her headdress and not meeting her eyes. She motioned to the sitting area on the right half of the room by the door. "Give me a minute." She instructed him. He walked a few feet into the room and stood stiffly at attention, saying nothing.

Jupiter sighed to herself and walked to the dressing pedestal. She thought about how hard it was going to be to get her lycantant to be at ease with her again as she stepped up onto the platform. The little round stand light up at her presence, signalling her team of dressers to enter the room and attend her.

Three tall humanoid splices entered with their smaller attendants following. Her dressers were a set of splices that looked like they just walked off the set of Planet of the Apes. It always amused Jupiter when she saw their furry heads and chimpanzee faces. They were the most obviously spliced members of her entire staff. Their assistants were smaller natural monkey-like creatures that scampered between the dressers and the closet carrying items.

First her heavily ornamented headdress was untangled from her hair and handed off to the little monkey creatures. The dressers pulled off jewellery and held it with their prehensile tails until their assistants returned to carry the pieces off as well. Jupiter sighed as they slipped her shoes off, followed by the heavy ceremonial robe. With practiced efficiency the dressers had Jupiter's hair clipped comfortably on top of her head and a light silk textured robe swaddled around her. Their task done; the team exited in a flurry of bows.

Comfortable and alone again with Caine, Jupiter made her way over to where he stood. She took a seat on a high-backed floating seat. "Sit," She ordered him. The unusual command caught him off-guard, an Entitled would not usually allow their servants to sit in their presence, but he sat on a chair across from Jupiter quickly. He looked distinctly ill at ease, with sitting or with the conversation he knew was coming, Jupiter didn't know. His eyes darted around the room, landing everywhere but on his queen.

"What do you want here Caine, with me?" She asked, trying not to use the firm voice that she often slipped into when conducting Entitled business. Jupiter watched as his expression morphed to one of confusion. His mouth opened but no words came out and he shut it again with a rattle of teeth. Resisting the urge to sigh, she tried again with an easier question, "Are you on duty tonight?"

"No, Your Majesty," Came his reply. He spoke so softly that Jupiter could almost have missed it if she wasn't watching his face intently. "Mr. Drear and Ms. Yumi are on close protection until the morning."

Jupiter nods her head slowly, trying to think what her plan should be. How can she win him back and convince him that he is worthy of her love?

"Caine, look at me." She called softly. His eyes finally settled on hers for the first time since his return. Jupiter hoped her earnest tone would convince him to make his own decision on the next question. "Do you want to stay here with me or go back to your barracks? This isn't a command. I just want to know what you would prefer to do?"

Caine studied her. For the first time in a long time he let himself drink in the sight of her. Gods his Queen was beautiful. He had almost forgotten. The ache in his chest lessened as he gazed at her. She was leaned forward in anticipation as she waited for his answer. Her robe slid open at the neck and a creamy expanse of skin was on view. Was she even aware of it?

Every fibre of his being was screaming at him to tell her he could never leave her side again, so how could he go sleep in the barracks? Could he speak the truth? It wouldn't be right for him to stay. There might be gossip. It might hurt her. Was it selfish to want to stay? He cycled through so many thoughts in just a few seconds.

Jupiter watched Caine's face slip into a frown. His eyes were no longer on her face but has slipped down her body. Glancing down she noticed her robe was askew but nothing scandalous was showing to her relief. She did lean back though which seemed to snap Caine out of his own thoughts.

"I… I would like to stay. I can better protect you here" There, he finally said it in almost a mumble. He braced for her reaction, but nothing could have prepared him for the wide grin she gave him. His heart stuttered in his chest. This goddess of a woman actually wanted him to stay.

Jupiter gave him her brightest smile. Hopefully that would serve as positive reinforcement for him to speak his mind again next time she asked. With a tired sigh, she stood and held out her hand to Caine who had stood quickly when she did. He looked at it for a moment without moving, which prompted her to open and close her hand a few times. Almost as if in slow motion he raised his hand to engulf hers in a soft hold.

The hand felt calloused, rough, on hers but Jupiter marvelled at how gentle his hold was. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled up at him. "Stay with me then. Will you…. Will you sleep in the bed with me?" She asked timidly. Afterall, she had never had much experience with boys. Jupiter did attend and graduate high school, despite her undocumented status, but her mother and the rest of the family never let her socialize outside of school. Even up to the day this whole crazy Entitled thing started her whereabouts were often scrutinized. It didn't leave much time for dating and very little opportunity to fool around.

Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts about her family, Jupiter tugged Caine toward the bed. Caine didn't think it was a good idea for them to share a bed. For one thing he didn't need to sleep nearly as much as she did. The next words stopped any protest he may have formed and intensified the ache he could feel in his chest.

"Hold me tonight. Please?" Now it was Jupiter's turn to avoid eye contact. She felt extremely vulnerable right at that moment. Her feelings at what was effectively the loss of her family threatened to finally boil over. A deep, shuddering breath helped to push them away again for the time being.

The quiet plea was enough like an order that Caine's genes urged him to comply. He was grateful to sink into the simple need to obey, pushing his own inner turmoil away. There was no need to question his own feelings or their implications if he was simply obeying. A sense of calm washed through him for the first time since entering the private chamber a few minutes before.

"Make yourself comfortable." Jupiter said with a smile, reluctantly dropping his hand, "I'm just going to get ready for bed."

Caine watched her move toward the adjoining bathroom suite, keeping his gaze locked on her until she closed the door. Awkwardly, he stood beside the bed, some of his earlier nervousness returning. He resisted the urge to fidget easily but didn't know what to do with himself as he waited.

In the bathroom, Jupiter slipped on a tank top and shorts to sleep in, used the bathroom, and brushed her teeth. She exited the bathroom still plaiting her hair into a functional braid. She was caught off guard to find Caine exactly where she had left him but soon smiled at how silly and coltish he was being.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" She asked him. Normally Jupiter wouldn't have felt the need to question an adult about such things, but with Caine she wasn't sure if he would just suffer in silence if he did need to go so as not to upset her. He disappeared into the washroom without saying a word and reappeared a few moments later.

Jupiter had settled onto the bed while she waited for him, sliding between the silken covers. She had not tried the grav-bed technology yet. The whole thing seemed unnecessarily complicated to her tercie mind. She snorted to herself at that thought. Was she forever going to feel like a country bumpkin that had moved to the big city?

Caine came to a stop at her bedside which caused Jupiter to look up at him. She wasn't sure for a minute what he was doing, but then she realized he was giving her a chance to change her mind. In response to his hesitation she patted the unoccupied side of the bed. "Come on. I'm tired. Its been a long day."

Gracefully he stalked around the bed while Jupiter folded down the blankets for him. He looked unnerved as he sank into the bed. She had half expected him to remove some of his clothes, but he laid down fully dressed. Jupiter wasn't sure if there was an Earth equivalent to the heavenly mattress, but it felt like a cloud. It was sturdy and supportive, but still managed to be soft enough to sink into. Caine was obviously not as pleased by the sensation as Jupiter was.

"Computer, lights off." She said to the chamber presence. The fact she has named it Computer made her feel like she was in the middle of a Star Trek episode. The pleasure at that had not faded quite yet. She wished someone else was around to enjoy her cultural reference. Maybe tomorrow she could tell Kiza about it, if her schedule permitted. Being an Entitled was surprisingly time intensive and came with a lot of responsibilities.

In the dim light Jupiter traced Caine's features with her eyes. He laid flat on his back, unmoving. His wings were folded up close to his back and lay crushed under his frame. He didn't look all that comfortable. She chose not to say anything, figuring that him just laying beside her was enough of a push against his boundaries for now. Rolling over she wiggled back until her back rested against his overly warm arm. The heat radiated into her and she let her eyes drift shut.

The mattress barely shifted to warn Jupiter before a warm hand landed on her hip and Caine's chest was resting against her back. She hummed in pleasure at the contact and snuggled down deeper into the blankets. Her last thought was of deep breathing feathering on her neck as the lycantant breathed in her scent.

She could get used to this.