Chapter Five: Very bad things

"Make yourself at home."

Pitch opened the door on a small flat. More like a bedsit really, but it was nice and clean, modern looking. Beka stepped inside and looked around. She had expected his place to be... flashier or something. Or more tasteless. Ah, well, not that it mattered; she didn't plan to stay long here. There was no spare bed, but the sofa looked comfortable and big enough so she wasn't worried.

"You hungry?" he asked.

She considered lying and saying no but what was the point? She needed to eat. Might as well take advantage of his hospitality.

"Sure," she said.

He disappeared out into the kitchen and she had a closer look at the place. There were no pictures on the walls, she noticed, only some strange-looking masks. No photos anywhere. She had a quick look through his disks, but there were all by bands she'd never heard of. Of course, this was another dimension, she kept forgetting that.

So, this was EterniVision. The massive building complex where he'd taken her. There had been lots of fingerprint identification and security controls before they got into the lift and went up to where his room was. Apparently there were more on their guard than ever, now when the company was about to go under. Whatever.

"I hope you don't mind micro pasta, only I'm not exactly a gourmet chef or anything..."

Hah! Tyr could cook. There you go... Why did she just think that?

"I don't mind. So, do you know where I can find Milon?"

She leaned against the frame of the doorway, watching him taking down plates and glasses.

"Milon? Haven't seen him in a while. He's not very... sociable these days."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess people change."

He said that like it was supposed to mean something. He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, and she got the feeling that she really didn't have him as sussed out as she'd thought. Maybe there was something behind all that self-confidence? Then he broke the eye contact and went on with the non-cooking.

She had to admit that the food was nice. Although, as hungry as she was, she'd eat much anything by now. He kept topping her glass of wine up on the sly and she was starting to feel slightly... warm. And relaxed. He wasn't flirting with her, which she was grateful for. Also a little surprised; it was not what she had expected. But definitely not disappointed. Definitely not... He just looked at her now and again and gave her that minimalistic smile which seemed to affect only the outmost corner of the left side of his mouth. And the eyes. Very much the eyes. She found that smile disconcertingly hard not to return. Eventually she looked up from her plate and noticed that he'd been looking at her.

"What?" she said sharply.

"Just looking. Haven't seen you for so long..."

"Well, if it was up to me, you never would have seen me again," she said, but she couldn't keep her voice all that hard.

"You really hate me that much?" he said, almost looking at little... sad?

"I don't hate you, I just don't appreciate the way you took advantage of me."

Her words sounded hollow and whiny in her own ears. Like a teenage girl who couldn't get over it. It was embarrassing.

"Ah, yeah... I should probably not tell you this then..."

Now he looked embarrassed. What was it he was going to tell her?

"Tell me what?"

"Well... back on the Andromeda, I wasn't quite honest with you..."

"I know that already!"

"No... I mean... when Milon told you about my Gelf, my... ability or whatever you want to call it... I knew you would think I used it to manipulate your feelings. And... I let you believe that..."

He looked up, into her eyes, as if to see what her reaction would be. Confusion, was probably what he saw. She didn't quite understand what it was he was telling her.

"What do you mean? You did manipulate me..."

He shook his head, looking like he expected her to break out in a fit of rage, then said:

"No Beka... I didn't. I lied to you... I just thought it'd be easier, for myself, to leave if you were angry with me... I guess that was pretty selfish of me..."

He really looked like he felt bad about this. But what did that mean? That the feelings she'd had, the intense passion she'd felt for a few days, that was real? Well, what was so wrong about that? She was single. She was a grown, independent woman. She had the good sense and tact to avoid a relationship with her crewmates. Why should she not enjoy herself with someone likeminded? And she had enjoyed herself... Unwanted memories floated to the top in her head, making her blush slightly.

"So... you never used your... powers on me?" she asked.

He looked her straight into the eyes. It was a little strange, looking into his eyes. Because they were black, she couldn't see where the iris ended and the pupil started. She could imagine what that would do to people who claimed to be able to tell if someone was speaking the truth by seeing if their pupils were contracting.

"No," he said finally.

She just raised her eyebrows and lifted her wineglass off the table, taking a sip and thinking the situation over. Seems she might have misjudged him.

"So, how come you're telling me now?" she asked.

He smiled a hesitant smile,

"Well... I told myself that it didn't matter what you thought about me. That I didn't care. But... seeing you again... I guess I do care."

Well, this put a whole new spin on the situation now, didn't it? Maybe he hadn't used her, but he'd lied to her, so who'd blame her if she used him now? She was sure he wouldn't say no. And her feelings were safe. Despite what they'd had; the chemistry and the truly mind-blowing... um, chemistry, she knew for a fact that she would never, ever fall in love with him. He was gorgeous, but not someone she'd want to spend every day with. Not built for talking... ok, now that's a very sexist thing to say... so what? The point was there was a hundred reasons why she wouldn't have to feel bad about this. And it had been six months since she'd had... things her way.

She emptied her glass and walked over to where he was sitting. He looked up at her like he was trying to figure out what was on her mind. Almost like he expected a blow to the face. She pulled him to his feet and kissed him. No use wasting time with silly games. He returned her kiss long enough for her to remember that he was just as good a kisser as (she'd thought) he was a liar, then pushed her away gently.

"Beka... I'm not sure we should be doing this... it might be bad..."

Bad was the last thing it'd be. Oh, he meant it that way. Bad for who?

"I'll risk it," she said and that was the end of that argument.

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A/N: FanFiction's TV screen goes all pixellated here, because we're not allowed to show such filth anymore, especially 'cause this is PG-13! Or is that my crappy excuse so I don't have to suffer the embarrassment of writing the naughty scenes? I don't know, do you?