AN: Sorry for the delay. Life sucks sometimes. I expect there to be one to two more chapters after this one.

4: Experiment

The security camera prototype was a success. Senkuu grinned widely, watching the camera feed from the monitor, arms crossed over his chest. With the majority of the parts already under production, they would have a surveillance network on the premises by Friday morning, assuming there were no hiccups.

An echo in his mind in Gen's voice reminded him about his shitty luck, and he internally scoffed, before returning to his work.

It was a gloomy day, weather-wise, and the heavy patter of rain on the roof muffled a lot of the outside hustle and bustle, as well as the idle chatter in the area. It actually helped him focus, and he found himself even more productive than normal.

Well, maybe it was also because he had finally been able to sort out the ambiguous, nebulous feelings he had in regards to his personal bodyguard, but if anyone were to ask, he would give the weather the credit. Senkuu saw no reason for anyone to be involved in his business with the lioness, at least not until they had a chance to sort it out themselves.

Speaking of, he chanced a look out of the corner of his eye, watching her stand by the exit. Although she was paying close attention to everyone entering and exiting, she immediately met his gaze when she felt it on her. Nothing seemed to escape her keen eyesight.

They held eye contact for a few seconds, before Senkuu turned back to his work, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

XX

The sun was almost set when Kohaku walked up behind the lone scientist in the room, folding her arms over her chest. She knew he knew she was standing behind him, so she waited.

After several seconds, Senkuu spoke without turning around. "I can't leave until this is done. It's not something that can just be paused and picked up tomorrow."

Kohaku pressed her lips to a thin line and walked around to the side to watch him. Her stomach growled, letting the scientist know exactly what it thought of having a late dinner. Senkuu paused, eyes cutting over to her before a grin broke out across his face. The warrior wrinkled her nose at him, folding her arms over her chest in a rare moment of self-consciousness. The unusual turn of character made him start laughing. "Ten minutes, Lioness. I promise. I'll even make it up to you."

She lifted a brow, clearly doubtful to whatever he was about to say, "Oh? How's that?"

Senkuu hummed in response, working steadily to finish on time, but a slight smile played at his lips, as if he knew something she did not. "I'm taking tomorrow morning off."

There was a long, pregnant pause, with only the sound of rain and Senkuu's work filling it, before Kohaku finally replied. "What."

He tried and failed to not let his lips pull into a grin. "This thing I'm setting up will take time to get results. The new guard's supposed to be showing up tomorrow, too, so there'll be a lot of distraction and stuff. And, I figured it'd make you happy if I took some time to sleep in."

Turning his head to her, he gave her a lazy smile. "I'm not completely unreasonable, after all."

"Hah!" Kohaku looked away, arms still folded over her chest, although she had a grin on her face.

XX

The rain did not let up, continuing its rampage throughout their dinner. Senkuu rubbed his chin, staring out the open door of the dinner hall as Kohaku carried their stoneware to the kitchen for the cook to clean. Many people still lingered at tables, chatting quietly in hopes to wait out the rainfall, at least enough so they would not get drenched on their way back to the rooms.

The scientist turned to his bodyguard as she approached and shrugged. "I don't think it's going to let up soon. We can stay here like the rest of the crowd or resign ourselves to a very wet jog back."

Kohaku lifted a brow at him, coming to stand beside him. He knew what she was thinking even as he looked over at her. "Of course, at your top speed, you can make it back to our room in under half a minute. Maybe longer if you're carrying me."

"That sounds like a challenge," She replied, though she mentally lingered on his choice of words. 'Our room' sounded quite personal, despite knowing it was simply a factual statement.

He chuckled as she crouched down to let him climb up on her back. "I'm timing you, Lioness. Let's see how fast you can go."

She hefted him up, securing his legs under her arms and grinned, before taking off through the rain, leaving a few onlookers watching them curiously.

As they dashed down the compound and out of sight, Xeno watched with amusement from his place under an overhang. Tilting his head up, he spoke without looking away from their retreating forms. "It's kind of cute, really."

In response, Stanley exhaled a thin stream of smoke, flicking his cigarette. "You want me to carry you around like that?"

The scientist chuckled, reaching up to lightly rap his knuckles against the soldier's chest. "We have enough gossip going around about us without any extra help."

"Let them talk," Stanley replied softly, looking away from the rain to the man beside him, his expression saying the rest. In return, Xeno simply smiled.

XX

"Thirty one seconds. I'm disappointed, Lioness," Senkuu drawled, and it was everything in Kohaku's willpower to not drop him into the puddle next to them, instead letting him down to open the door.

She did, however, grab the collar of his shirt as he went to walk in, dragging him back out into the rain just so she could run in first. He shouted in protest, then stared at her as she turned around and gave him a cheeky grin from inside the room. "Next time you should taunt me after you're already inside, Senkuu-sensei!"

He scowled, darting in and kicking the door shut behind him. Despite her speed, the torrential downpour certainly got to them, soaking through their clothes. Senkuu's hair was droopy, giving him quite the hilarious appearance. At least, that's what he assumed, given Kohaku's gaze was just above his face, her eyes bright with amusement.

Kicking off his shoes, he moved into the room and to the lamp, casting light into the room. With that out of the way, he pulled his shirt off and over his head, wanting the cold, wet fabric off of his skin. As he peeled the material off his arms, he turned to Kohaku. "This is ten billion percent the worst storm I've seen since we set up base here. I'm glad we planned for it when building the compound, though I'm concerned there may still be some issues on the roads we've made."

Kohaku hummed in response, pulling off her dress and looking for a place to hang it, unbothered to be walking around in her undergarments. It wasn't anything Senkuu hadn't seen before. "What about flooding?"

Draping his shirt over the chair of his desk, the young man shrugged, undoing his belt so he could get his trousers off. "The river's banks are pretty strong, so it shouldn't pose an issue. Though there's a small risk of damage to the bridge. We'll just have to see once it's over."

Now clad in nothing but his underwear, he went to fish out dry clothes, but glanced over at Kohaku, who sat on her bed still next to nude. He arched a brow at her. "You gonna stay that way?"

She shrugged. "This dress is wet, and the other dress I have is still with the… laundry," She hesitated over the foreign word, Senkuu having explained it to her when someone came by to collect soiled clothes and bedsheets to wash yesterday.

"Hm," He shuffled in the small chest beside his bed before turning and tossing a piece of clothing her way. "Unless you want my lab coat again, you can wear this."

"Hahh…?"

He had to bite back a chuckle as he pulled on a dry linen shirt for himself, glancing over at her once he was done. She was still staring at what he'd tossed at her. The leather was worn and the equation somewhat faded over the passing of time, but it was still easily recognizable.

After a quiet moment, the warrior took his old signature tunic and pulled it on, synching the tie at the waist. It was, like his lab coat, a tad too big, especially in the shoulders, but it did its job. She toyed with the hem thoughtfully before looking up at him. "It also smells like you."

He snorted, running a hand through his hair to shake the water out of it. "No surprise; I'm pretty sure that's a permanent feature. If it's too bad, you can wear this shirt and I'll find something else."

She shook her head, standing up and looking down at herself. "I like it. It brings back memories."

A smirk tugged at his lips. "Yeah. It does."

XX

The lamp had been moved beside his bed, casting a warm glow over his corner of the room. He laid on his back, an arm tucked under his head, while his free hand lightly held onto Kohaku's. She had her knees drawn up under the blanket, matching him with staring at the ceiling. Both were lost in their thoughts, but neither quite ready for sleep.

After some comfortable silence had passed, Kohaku shifted and looked over at the man beside her. "Are you still feeling okay with this?"

He lifted a brow, eyes cutting over to her. "If I wasn't, I'd say something."

She hummed in thought. "I think… normally, yes. But as this is something different, and new…it is worth asking directly."

The soft huff he gave was amused, but not enough to be considered a snort. "That's… fair. I appreciate it." He turned his head to look at her directly. "Nothing has changed, Lioness."

She pressed her lips into a thin line, "I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up that you'd drop the awful name."

"It's a pet name at this point," He replied, grinning.

"Pet… name?"

He shrugged, looking back up to the ceiling. "A pet name is a special name you give to someone close to you. Usually not used by others, so it's unique to your connection with that person."

"Like… how you call Taiju 'Big Oaf'?"

Senkuu paused, brow furrowing to correct her, before he thought better of it. Instead, he laughed quietly. "Yeah, sure. That counts."

Kohaku hummed, looking back to the ceiling. "I think you're just saying this so you can keep calling me 'Lioness'. If so, I will find an equally terrible pet name for you."

"You could always go back to 'Gentleman Sorcerer'," Senkuu suggested helpfully.

"Yeah… no," Kohaku replied flatly. He laughed.

They fell back into a pleasant silence after that, Kohaku's thumb lightly stroking Senkuu's knuckles. He enjoyed the light contact, pleasant but not distracting, allowing his mind to work without interruption

That is, until Kohaku spoke again.

"Hey, Senkuu."

"Hm?" He did not look over at her, eyes on the ceiling as he continued to do mental calculations, while sparing her a thread of his attention.

"Can I kiss you?"

His multiple trains of thought slammed on brakes, and he blinked rapidly before looking over at her. Her expression was earnest, indicating there was no deep pressure or need behind her request. Instead, it seemed the question was more for consent. He appreciated that.

Despite the residual desire to say 'no', coupled with the nagging worry he would hate it, he acquiesced. "All right."

He prepared himself for her to get in his face, but instead she shifted, taking their loosely joined hands and lifting the back of his to her lips. Lightly, she pressed a kiss there.

He watched her curiously, expression unreadable. "Not what I thought you were asking for, to be honest."

He felt her mouth curve against the skin of his hand, and she shifted, pressing a kiss to his wrist. He felt her breath tickle his skin as she spoke. "I think…this is better for the moment."

He said nothing, but his lips pulled up into a ghost of a smile as he understood the meaning of her words. This was an experiment, exploratory and curious, for both of them. It also had way more impact than if she had just gone in for a kiss to his mouth without any buildup. Knowing that she was calculating her moves and prepared to adjust her approach based on his reaction got him excited, and he turned his head fully to watch her.

She sat up, turning to face him, keeping his hand in hers. The low lamp light cast shadows across her face and she lifted her eyes to him, pressing another kiss, this time to his palm. This time, he responded, letting his fingers brush across her jawline. With a smile she turned and kissed his fingertips.

Curious and captivated by their experiment, the scientist shifted, pushing himself up so that he could better caress her cheek. She hummed in appreciation, tilting into the touch, her own hand cupping his. He let his thumb slide over her cheekbone, watching as she smiled, eyes closed and looking utterly content.

It amazed him how such a small thing made her look so pleased. He understood she enjoyed things like hugs, but this was so different, and yet she seemed to be in heaven just from this little bit of contact. Was it the touch specifically? Was it him? He did not know for sure, but it made him very curious. If this little exchange was such a cerebral thing for her, then what would happen if…?

Ever the scientist, ever curious, he leaned in, eyes falling almost closed as he eliminated the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

He had surprised her, to say the least. He felt her jerk ever so slightly, and through his eyelashes he saw her eyes open briefly before she closed them again and pressed back, her mouth moving gently against his. She lightly squeezed his hand still cupping her face, calloused fingers sliding over his skin.

He had no idea what he was doing, but science was all about moving steadily forward, and so he did, kissing her softly, experimentally, and analyzing every movement they made, every little reaction she gave him. He felt her lean in a little more and tilt her head, and he realized that the angle allowed them to kiss deeper, so he went with it. With that, the situation evolved and he found the energy shifting to something a little more intense.

And it was at that point did he realize… he was enjoying it. Every little twitch of her fingers, every little sigh she made in between kisses, the way she had shifted control and was now guiding him - it was exhilarating! He let her lead, following along as his other hand came up to rest against the nape of her neck, feeling her hair tickle at his knuckles.

He felt her teeth gently pluck at his bottom lip, surprising him. Always one to reproduce an experiment, he imitated her, tugging her lip as she had done to him. His reward was a pleased noise escaping her, and he was incredibly surprised at the way it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He would never have thought he could have such a reaction to something like that, and it shocked him enough that he pulled back from the kiss in wonder.

Kohaku looked at him, lips parted slightly, glistening under the lamplight. They both were breathing a little heavier by that point, and his face felt flushed. He took in a breath, exhaling softly as he recollected himself, wanting to consider his thoughts and process his own reactions.

She watched him, letting go of his hand so that she could instead reach out and cup his cheek. He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts and meeting her gaze.

"Is… was that okay?" She asked softly. There was no insecurity or anxiety in her voice. She was asking for him, not her.

He gave her a half smirk, reaching up to cradle her hand on his cheek like she had done to him earlier. "Yeah. I gotta analyze it all though. Then I'll let you know for sure."

She huffed out a soft laugh. "Hah! I expect a full, detailed report on it."

He lifted a brow. "C'mon, you can't even read."

The warrior lightly shoved him in response, sending him toppling back onto his pillow. He laughed, unbothered by the motion, and leaned over to turn off the lamp. "Let's get some sleep, Lioness."

As the room went dark and he settled back into place, he felt Kohaku snuggle up to him, an arm wrapping around his waist from behind. The only difference tonight was the light kiss she pressed to the back of his neck. "Good night, Senkuu."

He smiled, lacing his fingers through hers and closed his eyes. "Good night, Kohaku."

Idly, he found himself thinking the same line he had proclaimed when Kohaku showed up to save him a few nights ago.

'What a wild turn of events.'

XX

AN: If you're enjoying this, leave a review. It helps a lot. :)