A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.

WARNING: SEMI-AU, OOC, LANGUAGE

Chapter 3: Friends at Odd Places

It had been the tenth night now. Argilla and Heat sat on the same bench, looking blankly at the darkened horizon of Muladhara.

Argilla looked at Heat. It was funny really. During the day, they were fully functional soldiers, ready for action. But at night, they were but mindless zombies.

The good thing was that they had been partners in both worlds; both when being a soldier and being a zombie.

She had nodded in approval about Heat's performance though. She had been his coach for a week now, and he had proved himself to be more than worthy to be a part of their team. She remembered smiling then…She was smiling now too.

It was just such a shame that someone so dedicated and someone so strong…could be the fragile and troubled man that she now sat with. Taking a deep breath, she ventured into the unknown, "Heat…?"

Snapping out of his daze, he looked at her blankly, "Yeah?"

Argilla could feel her face burn and her body beginning to squirm; what was she supposed to say again? His eyes were making her uncomfortable…

'It's just Heat! God! What's wrong with you?!' she said to herself, psyching herself.

"So, what do you think of Serph and the others?" she asked evenly, effectively concealing her real motive; to find out what brought him out there, on that bench, with her, every night.

'With me?' she gulped mentally. Well, it wasn't "with her" per se, but the meaning was understandable.

Heat leaned back and redirected his gaze elsewhere as he pondered her question. He really didn't care much, but he supposed that breaking the monotony of thinking about self-pity was a welcomed break.

"Gale's a rock. Cielo is retarded and Serph is a goody-two-shoes kind of guy." he replied to her nonchalantly; his eyes expressionless, bland.

"Oh." was all she could say.

Well? What now?

"Why do you ask Argilla?" he suddenly asked, breaking her from her reverie. Argilla blinked, "Oh…! Well, it's just like a routine personnel appraisal…Nothing of concern." It was a nice excuse; totally seamless.

Heat raised an eyebrow; a personnel appraisal? Sure, he had heard of those! He had been doing those since…forever! But why would Argilla be asking him about those sorts of things in the middle of the night…?

Most especially when they were off duty?

He smirked mentally, 'Because she's looking for a good ice breaker.' He rolled his eyes. Why would she want to do that?

'Maybe she wants to make sure that the person sitting right next to her wasn't some psycho.' he mentally reasoned with himself.

'That is a plausible possibility.' he concurred.

'He's closing himself in.' Argilla deadpanned to herself. She sighed; she really wanted to get to know her partner better. She reckoned that if she did, it would prove to be good esprit de corps. They would be cohesive and more effective as a team.

They would be able to perform their missions at the optimal level; or even more. That was all that mattered; their missions, their performances.

"You know, I've been in the Embryon for as long as I could remember."

Heat turned to look at her; she was speaking to him? Well, there was no one else there anyway! It had got to be him!

He gazed at her evenly; eyeing her dreamy expression warily. Was she sharing something with him?

'Like I care.' he snorted.

"My parents were the ones who had joined Embryon…before Serph had been leader, of course. I was a child at the time."

Why was she telling him all of this? Didn't she already understand from their silent meetings together that he didn't care? And couldn't care any less?

"Back then…I had a playmate…" Argilla suddenly paused, "A boy."

Heat closed his eyes, still perfectly quiet; if he pretended to be asleep, maybe she'd take the hint and shut her trap.

"He had been older than me…We used to play together all the time…Then…when my parents died, he was the one who took care of me."

Heat suddenly froze.

Argilla had someone else take care of her other than her parents? Her childhood friend, to be more precise…He blinked several times as his body stiffened; it was déjà vu. All of a sudden, he wanted to hear more.

Argilla could feel the sudden change in her partner's demeanor. It was something that she had picked up during their "closeness" for the last ten days; to be able to intercept and interpret his signals.

Judging the way he was breathing and his straightened posture, she could tell that he was curious about what she had said and had wanted her to continue. She smiled tightly; that was progress.

"He was the one who dressed me, taught me things…He had been my only family…"

Heat wondered…He wondered how this story was to end. Her story had been so similar to that of his and Sera's that he couldn't help but wonder to its conclusion.

He looked at her intently now, waiting for her next words. She slumped forward and put her chin within her palms with her elbows situated on her knees, "I felt so grateful to him…He was my whole world…"

She suddenly sighed, "He still is."

Heat raised an eyebrow; this person…this man was still with her?

'Who could it be then?' he mentally asked.

She suddenly laughed and straightened up, stretching a bit. When she was done, she looked at Heat with a warm smile, "Sorry about the boring monologue."

Heat could only nod, "It's fine."

He was disappointed that she did not finish her story. A large part of him wanted to know what happened and as to who that person was…

"What about you Heat? How long have you been in the tribe?" she asked him.

"Ten years." he deadpanned coldly.

Argilla nodded, "I see…"

Silence once more encased the two. Argilla sighed; maybe she should just give up. Opening up a man like Heat was like asking the sun to freeze. Totally impossible.

Argilla looked up at the sky and smiled as she saw the moon. Opening her mouth, she unconsciously spoke, "I love the moon…" she trailed off dreamily.

Heat made a confused face; what the hell was she talking about? First she wanted to talk about personal details and now she was talking about "loving the moon"? He blinked; was it really that easy for her to change topics? To be able to change them without further thought of the previous one?

Wouldn't that entail that she wasn't all that interested to know the answers to the previous questions at the previous topics? His head spun; maybe he was overanalyzing things…

"The moon is beautiful; isn't it Heat?" she asked dreamily, her eyes hazy as she turned to look at him.

Hat stared back at her blankly and she tilted her head, moving it, motioning towards to moon. Growling a bit, he looked at the moon and his heart stopped. She had been right…it was beautiful.

The moon was full and shone proudly…yet palely.

'It looks like…her eyes…' he mentally trailed off, mesmerized by the moon as his thoughts once more meandered to Sera.

'Oh Serph…you bastard.' she mentally spat, 'Even the moon reminds me of you…' she thought sadly.

Feeling the sadness push its way to the forefront, Argilla tore her gaze from the moon and settled at the wet ground. Her hair was getting soaked; she needed to turn in for the night…Serph was going to send them on a mission after all; she and Heat.

She slowly stood up. He looked at her questioningly; silently asking her where she was to go. She smiled; their invisible bond was stronger than she previously perceived.

"I'm going to turn in. Remember the mission tomorrow Heat."

Heat nodded but said nothing.

"Goodnight." she said politely before turning away, not waiting for his response.

He looked on after her…He continued to look even as she had been long gone, "Goodnight."

xxxxx

"I trust you all slept soundly." spoke Serph cheerfully.

Heat said nothing but nodded. Argilla looked at him; bored.

Serph sweat-dropped, "Alright. Enough pleasantries. I've called you both in here to brief you about your new mission. It's not a big one; you two are to inspect the bunkers 20 miles north of here. I want to make sure that the troops there aren't goofing about. They are newbies after all. You are to depart ASAP and are to return immediately upon appraisal completion. Any questions?"

Argilla looked at Heat, who looked at Serph steadfastly and spoke boldly, "No sir."

Serph looked at Argilla, raising an eyebrow, "Argilla? Any questions?"

She turned her gaze from Heat and looked at Serph, "No sir."

Serph nodded, "Dismissed."

He watched the two go with mild interest. They both looked calm and composed, but he could see mild fatigue behind their eyes…

Fatigue?

He wondered; there hadn't been many developments as of late. Their ceasefire treaty with the Brutes was holding and hence, there hadn't been any skirmishes at all lately. He knew their training schedules and they weren't that tedious or overwhelming to their physical stamina…

He wasn't worried about Heat though. He was a grown man, older than him even! He could take care of himself…It was Argilla that he worried about. He blinked; but then again, he always worried about her…

He frowned; Argilla was doing something that she shouldn't be…

He was sure of it.

He sighed; he didn't want to do this to her, but he had no choice. It was for the best.

xxxxx

Argilla crossed her arms as they drove through the rocky and muddy terrain. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Heat looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "What's the matter? Too messy for you?"

Argilla rolled her eyes, "No. I'm just thinking why we have to do this surprise inspection, now, today, on this very day, at this very time at this very weather! We could've gone tomorrow when it's not raining!" she huffed, annoyed.

Now it was Heat's turn to roll his eyes, "It's the rainy season ma'am. We can't really avoid rain. Are you really that bothered by such simple crap like rain?"

Argilla blushed; he was right on both counts.

First of all, it was the rainy season. It wouldn't really make much of a difference if they went today or the other day. Secondly, as a soldier, she really shouldn't be bothered by rain at all!

Harsh conditions were supposed to be her backyard.

'No…Serph never used to…'

She gritted her teeth; it was all about Serph again. He never used to get her messy or dirtied. Granted she would participate in missions that involved harsh conditions, but he had always been there to make sure that she received only the light part of it…

Whenever there would be a storm, Serph always made sure that there was shelter for her while he, Gale and Cielo braved the storm outside. Whenever there would be a mudslide, Serph would always carry her to safety, never letting her boots get dirty…

'I should stop depending on him.' she told herself steadfastly, 'I have Heat now. If I keep doing things the way I used to…I might get him killed…' she told herself resolutely.

"We're here." said Heat.

Argilla blinked; they were there already?

xxxxx

Argilla dragged herself through her room; annoyed. Not only had the rain soaked her hair and her uniform, but the wind had brought grains of sand and stuck them to her pink strands of hair and on her exposed chest.

She growled; she needed a bath. Right now.

Heat, on the other hand, didn't care.

'Well, he's a man damn it! Hmph!' she mentally reasoned.

She looked at her watch; it was 1600 hours. She had half an hour until her report to Serph. She grumbled; that was another thing to be merry about.

Without further ado, she left for the showers.

xxxxx

Heat briskly walked through the halls. He had just gotten back from his mission with Argilla and wanted to see Sera. He sighed; he hadn't seen her in over a week…

Well, just because she rejected him, yet again, didn't mean that he would stop to look out for her. He smiled; she still needed him, didn't she?

He walked up to her room, which was beside his old one and knocked, "Sera?"

He heard light footsteps near the door and he took a step back, waiting for her to answer the door. A moment later, the doors slid open and there stood his black-haired angel. He smiled at her, "Hey…"

She smiled warmly at him, "Heat…Hi…"

Heat began to feel awkward. He cursed himself; how could he be feeing awkward about her? She was just Sera!

Heat looked within her eyes and grappled for words to say…but again, he found himself tongue-tied.

She blinked, "You just came back from a mission?" she asked slowly, eyeing his appearance.

He nodded, "Yeah."

Sera licked her lips, "I suppose it went okay?"

"Yeah."

The two were engulfed with silence…Sera who touched the doorframe, darted her silver eyes from left to right, wanting to distract herself from the feeling of aloofness. Heat felt the same. He didn't know what to say…

Before, conversation came so easily, so naturally…But now…

"So…how are you doing…?"

Heat wanted to strangle himself at that moment. After minutes of thinking that was all that he could come up with?

Sera turned to him, "Hm…? Me? I'm okay…What about you…? How is your new partner?"

Heat nodded; finally, a good topic to discuss.

"I'm fine. Argilla's competent."

That was it? Was that all that he could say?

'God damn it!' he cursed himself; he couldn't think right!

Sera nodded again, "Hm…that's good to hear…"

"Sera I-"

She put up her palm and shook her head, cutting him off, "Heat, I really need to go now. If there's nothing important…I need to be elsewhere." she told him firmly.

Heat's red eyes blazed with hurt, "Fine. I'm sorry to have bothered you." With that, he turned and left.

'I'm sorry Heat…' Sera told herself; clutching her heart as she watched him stomp furiously away…She didn't mean to turn him away coldly like that; but he needed to take things seriously. Things had changed. She had changed…while he hadn't. He was still stuck at that time period.

He still saw her as that girl who needed him…

He still thought that there might be something between them; like love. She sighed; she did love him…Only not in the way that he would want her to…

This wasn't the first time that she had rejected him…That was why she was all the more adamant to be cold to him; in order to not give him false hope. Every time that she would reject him, he would always come back to her, promising her that he would no longer try to get her to love him.

And she believed that…

But, the story always ended in the same way. He would fall for her along the way, all over again which would lead her to reject him all over again and would result in him getting hurt all over again.

And then, after a while, he would return to her and tell her that he would never fall in love with her again…

Well, this time, Sera had had enough.

It had tired her enough; it had hurt her enough. She wasn't a cruel heartless monster. Of course she knew how much she hurt him, both from her rejection and her now cold countenance towards him…

But she deemed that if they ceased their contact and moved on with their lives, he would eventually completely fall out of love with her…

He wasn't the only one hurting…She could feel a small piece of herself die whenever she would see the hurt in his eyes…

But if hurting him now would save him a great deal of pain and agony in the long run, then having no contact with him was a small price to pay.

'It's better this way Heat…That way, you won't have to think that you have anything to return to in me…'

Because there was nothing for him to return to. Only a sister looking for a brother; and unless Heat could return to her as a brother, Sera would only hold her doors and her heart shut.

xxxxx

Heat slammed his fist on the wall in his room. He gritted his teeth in sheer anger, pressing his jaws tighter against each other in order to stop himself from shouting. She had hurt him, again.

'What's this?!' he thought angrily, 'First I'm not worthy to love and now I'm not worthy enough to protect her?!'

He narrowed his eyes, 'Why does love have to be so fucking difficult?!'

He just wanted to lay there on his bed, just thinking of her…Her and her cruel and hurtful words…He sighed; as much as he would like to do that, he can't. He needed to be there with Argilla when they presented the report to Serph.

He rolled his eyes. Really, what was Serph thinking? Checking on newbies?

'What the hell kind of mission was that?' he asked himself, annoyed. He crossed his arms and spat, "That was a waste of time…"

But still, when he really thought about it, the mission did him some good as he got himself to stop thinking about Sera, even if just for a little while…Even if just for a little while, he could get his mind to focus on something else…

He got up from the chair and straightened his posture, making sure that his uniform was clean. He snorted; he even had to rush to the showers just to get ready. He looked at his watch; five minutes to 1630 hours. He had better get a move on.

xxxxx

Serph was glad; Heat and Argilla seemed to be getting along great. He had read their report and had not to question them further. Their report was concise and accurate; nothing was amiss.

That was good…

He blinked as he remembered Argilla. Yes; there was still the problem with her…His silver eyes became steely; he would find out what she was doing. He had a sneaking suspicion that whatever it was she was doing was doing harm on her health.

She wasn't getting enough sleep.

He frowned; he made up his mind.

He may not love her the way she wanted him to, but that did not mean that he would cease to care for her. Of course not. Nothing had to change between them. He would continue to be there for her; he told her as much.

He made up his mind.

xxxxx

Argilla felt strange as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was half past midnight and again, she found herself preparing to leave for her nightly rendezvous with Heat…

She arched an eyebrow, "It's not a rendezvous with Heat per se. It's just uncanny coincidence. Yes; that's all." she convinced herself.

'Then why do I feel excited?' she asked herself, disbelief clearly visible within her pink eyes.

She then shook her head, 'Nothing but funny thoughts…That's all.'

Dismissing the "funny" thoughts from her mind, she again left her room. It was a good night that night; there was no rain…The stars were out and so was the half-moon. She walked along the empty streets noiselessly and soon, she had reached her destination. She grinned as she saw Heat already sitting on "their" bench.

He didn't turn to her to notice her, he grinned, "You're late…ma'am."

Argilla lightly chuckled; well, this was a rather good change of events. He was actually the first to initiate a conversation.

Argilla sat down beside him and stared at the horizon, her smile still on her lips, "So, what did I miss?"

Heat shook his head, "Nothing much…"

Argilla nodded and there…again, silence reigned supreme over the two souls. And so, as Argilla looked out on the horizon, engulfed on her own thoughts, she once more contemplated on the love of her life. At that moment, a searing pain reached her chest, constricting her breathing.

Se immediately clutched her heart and her face contorted to a look of pain. Remembering that she wasn't really alone, she held her tears back.

She blinked several times, trying to think of her happy memories with Serph, rather than his painful rejection of her…But nothing came.

All that she could remember was his honest but painful words…

"I'll always be here for you Argilla…Whatever happens, I'll be here for you…as a friend."

She let out a pained breath, "Serph…"

Heat stiffened; Serph?

He turned to her and saw her pained expression. He felt like a total idiot at that moment; here she was, obviously distraught and he didn't even notice. He had been too caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't get to see Argilla at all…

He nodded; he understood now…

It had been Serph who took care of her…

He looked at her; she too was wrapped up in her own little world to notice him noticing her. He wanted to laugh at that; it was really a comical scene. It was the phrase "so near yet so far" in actuality.

He suddenly saw a vision…

There…on the bench with him, as Argilla clutched her heart, as her eyes dilated and her lips quivered…he saw someone else.

'Sera…' he thought knowingly.

He had seen that look…that look of excruciating pain on her for too long a time…Suddenly, not knowing from where it came from, he had the urge to comfort her. But he forced himself not to. It was none of his business. She and he were there on that bench not so that they could talk about their problems…No. It was just for the strange sense of solace at the other's presence.

That was all.

But be that as it may…

'She's really hurting…'

'Just like Sera…'

Giving into his protective instinct, he draped a hand on her shoulder. Argilla, feeling a hand on her shoulder, turned to her side and there, saw Heat look at her firmly, yet compassionately.

She could feel her eyes brim with tears at that moment…

She felt…grateful…

She immediately calmed down, nodding and then, smiling cheerfully once more, "Thanks Heat."

He nodded back and retreated his hand from her shoulder, "Anytime."

Heat was glad that he had been able to alleviate her suffering. It was unknown to him as to why though. After all, he had only met her ten days prior and had no emotional ties to her…But still, he felt glad. Not wanting to confuse himself any further, he left it at that.

He now knew who she had been and was still in love with. Their silent leader. So, it had been him who took care of her and raised her…He closed his eyes and breathed in evenly; it had been the same with him and Sera…

And now, seeing her sit on that bench with him, he needed not wonder as to how hers and Serph's story ended…

'It ended the way Sera's and mine did.'

xxxxx

Silver eyes penetrated the cool air and there, its owners blinked in surprise. He could have never guessed it. Not in a million years.

He took out his eyepiece and gathered his thoughts. So, that was why Argilla was fatigued in the morning…and apparently, it had been the same reason to Heat's fatigue as well. He never could've guessed that they had spent their nights this way…

His Argilla had been more distraught than he had previously anticipated.

He felt guilty; but at the same time, he was a bit glad.

She had not been alone in the times of her feeling this way…Heat had been there with her. He blinked again and put on his eyepiece. His heart stopped at what he saw.

Heat had put a hand on her shoulder. He suddenly felt a knot tie itself within his gut as his protective instinct jumped in. A part of him wanted to leave his hiding place and walk up to the two; to break up their cozy little get together and send them to bed and give Argilla a tongue lashing about letting another man touch her.

But another part of him wanted to see what would happen next. He wanted to know whether there was good chemistry between the two…

Because, if there was…

'She wouldn't be alone anymore…'

Serph took out his eyepiece again, deciding on the latter of the choice rather than the former. He had best leave them alone…It was better for his Argilla.

'It's time that she met other people and explore.'

He wasn't blind to her condition. It had always been him that she had been with. He was the only thing that she saw and clung to. He had always been the only one who protected her the way a mother hawk protected her hatchlings.

'Maybe I've been too protective…' he told himself.

He was the only man that she had ever seen. Cielo and Gale…those two; she didn't even consider them as men. She just thought of them as boys…but never as men…Except him.

Serph smiled tightly. Well, maybe it was Heat who would make her change her mind. So, having made up his mind, he left his hiding place with great stealth and vanished into the shadows.

xxxxx

It had been two whole months now since Argilla and Heat began their strange bond. Argilla felt strangely nice about it though…It was like having a friend for convenience. Neither talked but just comforted the other without either of them even realizing it.

With all things being equal, it was a safe assumption to say that they both changed. Argilla, although she still felt lonely, felt that her loneliness somewhat subsided whenever she was around Heat…

And Heat…

Heat had changed too.

He was no longer the stiff that she had first encountered. Granted, that he didn't talk very much and she had still to know his reasons for being there…

But…

He did initiate conversations, no matter how brief and silly. And he also managed to reply back to the things in which she spoke.

She smiled; he really did make her burden feel lighter.

So, that was the reason why she was there with him again…

But still, she really wanted to get to know him better…Better than she did right now. She wanted to know…what drove him to need her the way she needed him…

She knew that it was not her place to ask…but she could only hope that he would see that she was worthy of his friendship…and trust.

"You know," Heat began, turning to her direction, "we've been sitting here like total whackos in the middle of the night for two whole months now, and I still don't even know why you're here in the first place." he said wistfully.

Argilla was taken aback; he had beaten her to the punch.

She blinked, "You would…like to know…?"

Heat leaned on the backrest and looked at her firmly, "Yeah. Why not? But, well, you really don't have to tell me."

"No!" she said, cutting him off, "I want…you to know." she finished, blushing as she cast her face down.

Heat touched her shoulder and she smiled weakly; he did that more often than not and she felt all the more comfortable and at ease with him…

"I come here…to get away from things…I just can't keep up being a soldier for twenty-four whole hours Heat. I need to release my feelings…" she sighed as she paused, "And this is the only time that I could do that…" she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I came here…because of someone."

"…" Heat chose to remain quiet, not wanting to interrupt her monologue.

"I already told you right…? About the boy who took care of me?" she asked, smiling sadly.

"Well…he and I grew up…but I fell in love him." here, she paused as she bit her lip tightly, "But he didn't love me like that…He loved me as a friend…as a sister…" she finished in a whisper, her eyes brimming with tears.

Suddenly, she straightened her back and blinked furiously, fighting off the tears that were threatening to spill. She turned to him, "In short," she said, smiling, "I come here to let off some steam." She chuckled, "It's just a bonus that you happen to be here!"

Heat was right; it had ended in the same fashion as his and Sera's story. He nodded; he understood. It really was painful to love someone and not be loved in return. But he supposed that was the way of the world…

He peered into her eyes and saw her suffering within; she was still madly in love with this man…Serph. Yes; he had reason to think that it was Serph whether she admitted it or not.

And he wasn't going to ask her about it either.

She was hiding behind the pretext of a happy smile. He frowned and looked at her firmly, "You said that this was the time for you to release your feelings."

Argilla looked at him questioningly; what did he mean?

Heat's ruby eyes burned through her gentle pink orbs, "This is the time for you to be yourself Argilla. Then do so. Don't hide behind some damn cheap smile." he told her firmly, his eyes annoyed.

Argilla's smile vanished and she cast her face down, "…"

"If you want to be sad, be sad. No one's going to be grading you here; no one's going to be judging you whether or not you're serious about your mission enough. There's no one here to conduct a personnel appraisal." he told her; drawling on the words "personnel appraisal".

Heat narrowed his eyes, "You don't have to pretend. Serph's not here."

Argilla stiffened; he knew?

She laughed bitterly; not saying anything as she shook her head. She froze once more as she felt a warm had on her shoulder. She looked at him and saw his empathic eyes.

Heat continued to look at her coldly yet letting his eyes betray his true emotions, "I'm here."

Argilla smiled again; this time it was real.

"Thank you."

xxxxx

Another month had passed. Heat didn't know why, but he felt all the more invigorated. He and Argilla were to go on another mission the next day. He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but to himself, he could afford to accept it.

He and Argilla had been somewhat close the whole three months. It had been a whole month ago since she had finally told him the reason for her being there at night…

While he himself hadn't told her anything.

He shrugged his shoulders; he would tell her…one day.

He let his mind drift to Sera. As soon as he did, an unpleasant sensation made its way to his chest and spine. She had been terribly busy with her squad and had been deployed in missions upon missions upon missions.

Of course, whenever he learnt that she had gone out there, he had worried about her constantly…At times, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

He sighed; he was doing it again. Treating her like a child.

'Just get over it will you?' he growled mentally to himself, 'She doesn't want you.' He then narrowed his eyes, 'She probably found someone else…' he thought sadly.

He frowned.

"Hey. You okay?" a voice whipped from behind him.

He turned and grinned, "Yeah. I'm fine. No big deal." he told her.

Argilla sat beside him, "Another night together eh?" she chuckled.

He nodded, "It would seem so…" he trailed off.

Argilla looked at him; he had something on his mind. Some heavy…or should she say, something heavier.

This time, she was the one that draped a hand on his shoulder, "Heat?"

He looked at her, bored, "Huh? What?"

"What's wrong?" she asked.

His face hardened and his eyes became steely, "Nothing."

Argilla felt a sting in her chest. She had thought that after three months, that he would begin to trust her…maybe she hoped too much too soon. She sighed as she felt his words hit her like a slap.

Well…he didn't want to talk. He wasn't in the usual mood of their usual fooling around…So, she supposed that she should leave him alone then…

She slowly stood when Heat suddenly grabbed her hand, "Where are you going?" he asked; his ruby eyes boring holes in her face.

Argilla's throat suddenly felt very dry…His touch…His touch was…She shook her head, "I'm getting to bed…I figured that you'd rather be alone."

Heat's eyes narrowed; was this woman really this stupid? They had been sitting together for three months now and she still didn't know him?

He growled, "If I wanted to be alone, I wouldn't have come here."

Argilla blushed, "Oh." So, she sat back down.

Heat let go of her hand and gazed back at the horizon, "I was thinking of someone."

Ah…so he decided to tell her his story after all. She found herself smiling a bit but nonetheless remained quiet.

"Like the way Serph took you in, I raised her." he told her. He paused, narrowing his eyes into slits, "We joined the tribe together…Well, I did. She was too young back then. Then…as the years went by…I just saw her differently I guess…"

Argilla's eyes blinked; it was just like her situation with Serph.

"I wanted her but she didn't want me…That sums it up." he told her stoically.

"Oh." was all she said.

Heat gritted his teeth; he felt like a complete idiot telling her. He turned to her with his eyes ablaze, "I never told anyone that. You just keep your mouth shut; got it?" he growled. Argilla chuckled within.

And then, she looked at him deeply, "You can trust me." she told him seriously.

Heat peered within her eyes deeply, making sure that her words were no lies…He drew back a moment later, convinced. He turned away from her and crossed his arms, pouting.

Argilla wanted to laugh; he looked so cute. He looked just like a child who had been punished…But on the other side of the mirror, she felt happy. He had trusted her enough to tell her about his problem…

And so, mimicking his earlier movements, she draped a warm hand on his shoulder. Heat arched an eyebrow and looked at her questioningly.

Now gaining her confidence, it was she now who leaned in closer to him, her eyes penetrating his ruby ones, "It's alright. I'm here."

He felt his heart skip a beat as they locked gazes. Shaking off the enigmatic feeling, he shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the horizon, muttering, "Whatever."

Argilla smiled; it was then, that she could really call herself his friend…

xxxxx