A/N: Disclaimer: Refer back to Chapter 1.
WARNING: OOC, LANGUAGE, SUGGESTIVE NARRATIVE
Chapter 5: Trick or Treat
Argilla eyed the wall in front of her with only the outmost of interest.
'I wonder what would happen if I repeatedly ram my head on the wall?' she asked herself wistfully. Of course she knew what would happen! She'd suffer concussions, have enormous and hideous-looking bruises that would make her look like a troll or possibly, let her suffer from internal bleeding due to internal hemorrhage and most probably die on the floor.
Yup.
She definitely considered that as a better option than getting a shower, getting some sleep and then waking up on the next day only to find herself face to face with Heat.
She suddenly choked as she thought of him.
He was the cause of all this crap that she was going through anyway!
"What the hell did he kiss me for!?" she seethed angrily, her face blushed beet red.
'Why the hell are you complaining?! You liked it didn't you?!' her inner self protested.
Argilla groaned, "Not this again…First Serph, now Heat…I never seem to have any luck with men…" she grumbled childishly as she walked over to her bed, letting herself topple over in, face first.
Wait a minute.
It was not as if she had ever considered Heat to be a man! She suddenly sweat-dropped. What she meant was that, while she didn't doubt Heat's masculinity, she had not really considered him to be a prospect love interest either.
She grumbled within the sheets as she remembered their kiss. She flipped herself over so that she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, "It's just a kiss. That's all. It's not as if I slept with him or something…"
That was right!
She really shouldn't be bothered! She and Heat had had a very close, albeit, strange sort of bond, but it was a close bond nonetheless; a tightly knit one at that!
'So? What's the problem then?' she asked herself.
She should just act as if it never happened! That was all! A kiss was a kiss…It wasn't anything else. It was just a casual meeting of lips by two close friends; a typical example of displaying affection for people you care about.
Yup.
'And Serph?'
Well, that was a whole different issue. But the fact remained the same. Serph was Serph; the love of her life. And Heat was Heat; nothing but a close friend.
End of story.
She smiled weakly.
'Now…what were we supposed to do?' she asked herself, touching her chin in thought.
'Oh right. Report to Serph…' she yawned. Well, the sun was going to rise and she was dead tired. Serph could wait. She and Heat would figure things out the next day.
xxxxx
"What do you mean?!" yelled Argilla angrily as she slammed her palms on Serph's table. She gritted her teeth as she glared at the silver-haired man.
Heat couldn't believe what just happened. He crossed his arms and walked up to Serph, beside Argilla, "For how long?" Well, he may not like the turn of events, but an order was an order.
But still, he had been curious as to the reason behind such a drastic decision made by their leader. Well, he would keep his mouth shut…for the time being. He had a feeling that Argilla would do most, if not all, of the talking.
It was something that he came to know about her.
Once she got going…there was no stopping her.
Serph's lazy eyes regarded Argilla coolly, unbothered by her outburst and ignored her, turning to Heat instead, "For a week. Seven days and seven nights."
Heat narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing, 'A week of that? Just peachy…' he thought sarcastically.
"Tch…" he spat in annoyance but said nothing more.
Argilla's eyes widened in shock; seven days and seven nights?
"Are you crazy?!" she yelled.
Heat sweat-dropped; could she really get away with that? He looked from Argilla to Serph and then back from Serph to Argilla. Well, it would seem that she would and will get away with yelling at their leader.
'What a faggot…' Heat thought as he looked at Serph, 'He's too damn soft…If I were him I'd…'
'You'd what?' asked a voice within his head silkily.
Heat closed his eyes, 'Not now…Get out!'
To his surprise, the voice disappeared.
"Why?!" she yelled again, leaning on Serph's desk.
Serph looked at her lazily before hardening his silver eyes, "Keep that up and I'll make it for two weeks."
Argilla's face contorted to that of repugnance as she straightened up and covered her mouth with her palm. Heat wanted to laugh at the both of them; they were acting like a father and daughter with the daughter negotiating for the lessening of her punishment…for which she, inevitably, was unsuccessful.
"You really want to know?" Serph asked her, but his question was directed at the both of them.
Heat nodded, "Why are we going on this mission sir? Why had we been assigned there?"
Serph nodded and then looked at Argilla, "I have decided to assign you to the depot because of your misconduct. Two counts of misconduct, actually."
'Two counts of misconduct?' Argilla and Heat thought with utter most dismal disgust.
Serph nodded as he read the looks of shocked and aghast expressions within their faces, "Yes. Two. You two ought to be thankful that it wasn't the MP that caught you two; otherwise, my hands would have been tied and I would be forced to give you more tedious chores…"
Their faces fell.
Serph continued, "I would have demoted you two…"
Heat and Argilla's hearts stopped.
Serph grinned evilly, "Or…I would have had you doing manual labor and tedious chores and then demote you two."
Heat, being the first to recover from the shock, growled lightly, "What are the charges, sir?"
Serph thought they would never ask.
Serph intertwined his fingers and brought his elbows on the desk, bringing his intertwined fingers at the level of his eyes and spoke calmly, "The first act of misconduct is the consumption of alcohol eight hours before being designated for duty. As you both know, the regulations clearly state that there should be at least an interval of twelve hours between being in the state of intoxication and being on duty. That was the first violation."
All of the color from Heat's face drained; Serph knew about that? How? He suddenly narrowed his eyes into slits as he looked at Argilla from the corner of his eyes, livid. Of course; how could their leader have found out if it weren't for little Miss Prissy?
Yup. He was right. It had been Argilla who told.
How could he not know? The expression on her face was as good as any verbally recorded confession.
"But I didn't drink!" protested Argilla angrily, "If you want to punish someone, punish him!" she yelled indignantly, pointing at Heat.
Heat rolled his eyes; well, there went the "Leave no man behind" saying in the military folds.
Serph shook his head, "You were present during the act of indiscretion and did nothing to stop it."
Argilla's eyes spun; she couldn't believe what it was he was saying!
"Not done anything?! I told him to stop!" she yelled.
Serph shook his head again, "You hid it and didn't report it to the MP; that makes you an accomplice." She opened her mouth to protest but Serph put up his palm, signaling for her to stop, "I will not tolerate any more questions or objections."
"But…!"
"One more word out of you will result in another count of misconduct." he threatened; narrowing his silver eyes.
Argilla held her tongue as tight as she could at that moment. Heat was smirking within; did she really think that Serph would punish just him? Did she really think that she could talk her way out of this?
Seeing that the two had calmed down, Serph continued.
"The second act of misconduct, was the act of fraternizing with your comrade, who I might add, is your C.O," he said icily, staring at Heat, "who happens to be your subordinate." he finished, looking intently at Argilla.
The two were completely frozen; not able to say anything. So…he knew about that too…
Argilla wanted to die right there; whatever hope she might have had about the small, almost nil, possibility of her being with Serph rapidly evaporated into thin air.
Serph leaned back on his chair, "For those two charges, I've sentenced you to do guard duty, sentry duty and depot maintenance at the bunker a hundred miles south of Muladhara for seven days and seven nights." His silver eyes narrowed into slits as he looked intently within Heat's unfazed but fiery red orbs for a moment and then, over to Argilla's soft pink eyes, "Don't think it's some vacation either ladies; it isn't. I'll be checking on you personally within the week…Any time, at any given date. And I swear, if I find that your performance is lax, I would ensure that your next punishment would be…severe."
Argilla gulped; she had known Serph since…forever…
If anything, he was a man of his word; if he promised something, he would see to it that it was done. And right now, they really were treading on thin ice…
This really wasn't the time to be questioning him about his decision. It wasn't the time to ask him to lessen it either.
"Since you two are scheduled for patrolling duty for the next two nights, you both would depart three days from now, at first light. Good day." he said dismissively, turning his attention to the bunch of paperwork in front of him.
Argilla and Heat, seeing that there wasn't a need to remain any further, saluted and left the office promptly.
xxxxx
Argilla walked briskly towards her room, annoyed. It wasn't just Serph's punishment that annoyed her either. She hadn't spoken a word to Heat since they left the office and had hinted, with the help of her body language, that she was going to go to the confines of her room for the sole purpose of solitude.
What annoyed her was that, Heat didn't seem to grasp the meaning of the word "solitude." Ever since they had left, he had been following her. She didn't want to speak to him due to awkward reasons and gave him the benefit of the doubt that perhaps, he was on his way towards his own room as well.
But she saw him ignore his usual route to his "rat cellar" and followed her instead. He was still a few steps behind her but still she didn't care.
She was right outside the sanctuary of her room.
The doors slid open and she walked in only to find herself pushed forward, which made her stagger forward as another body quickly entered her room right after she did.
Gritting her teeth no longer due to annoyance but of anger, she turned and saw the lazy face of Heat staring back at her.
"You told him." he told her; unfazed.
Argilla gave him a dumbfounded look, "What are you talking about? But, forget that! What the hell is your problem?! I almost tripped damn it!"
Here, the serious look on Heat's face vanished, replaced instead by a grinning one, with his pearly white teeth bared at her, "Yeah? Then I should have pushed you further. That way you would have fallen on your face."
She stuck her tongue out, "Shaddap!"
Heat's eyes momentarily widened as his heart skipped a beat at seeing her tongue. At that moment, he wouldn't deny it. He had wanted to kiss her. He shook off his thoughts and gave her another cold stare, "Enough crap Argilla."
"What?"
"You told 'ye olde man', didn't you?" he asked.
Argilla blinked in confusion before realizing what he meant and getting her lips to shape a well-defined "O".
She scratched her head silly, "Whoops…sorry about that…"
Heat crossed his arms, "I thought that we were supposed to be trained in the Code of Silence." he said, arching an eyebrow.
Argilla rolled her eyes, "Not against Serph we're not!" she defended.
Heat chuckled as he slapped his forehead with his palm, "Don't tell me you're still in love with that girly-man…!"
Argilla growled and stomped over to him, hitting him on the back of his head, "Hey! Don't talk about Serph that way!"
He stopped laughing and looked at her; his eyes foggy, "Or what?"
Argilla pouted, "Or else."
"Else what?" he prodded.
"Else I'll have to shoot you when you least expect it." she retaliated haughtily, staring him in the face.
Heat could see the truth swimming within her pink eyes. He sweat-dropped; she really would hurt him if he said anything more about Serph.
"Whatever." he stated, changing the mood, "So," he said again, his tone now serious, "why did you tell him?"
Argilla blushed, "I didn't tell-tell him you know…? I accidentally did…He was asking where you were and I said you were sleeping…and I kinda told him that it was because that you were…drunk." she finished; her last word coming out as a timid squeak.
Heat narrowed his eyes, "Did you tell him anything else?"
"Like what?" she asked; her pink eyes wide with curiosity.
"Cut the crap Argilla. Did you tell him anything about me?" he growled, his red orbs piercing into hers, "Is this what this whole thing is about!?" he yelled.
Argilla blinked confusedly; what was he talking about?
She couldn't understand Heat sometimes…At times he could be a total sweetheart; gentle and funny. But at other times, he could be as ferocious as a mad dragon.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" she yelled back.
He walked up to her and grasped both her arms tightly, "The reason why Serph put you with me! So that you could watch my every move?! Is that it!?"
Argilla winced as his grip tightened like a vice, "Heat…! Stop it! And no! It's not about that!"
Heat leaned in close to her and asked with his low tone, "Why don't you just tell me the truth eh? And drop the charade?"
Argilla's blood boiled as he continued to grab her tightly. At that second, she thrust her leg upward and hit him square in the groin. Heat's eyes dilated at an extreme rate that Argilla found it almost hilarious as he registered the pain. He froze and there, he let himself fall on the floor, his hands, making their way towards his private area, "You…you bitch…"
Smirking, she stood in front of him, triumphant. She lifted her right leg and there, set her leg down, her foot on his chest, "I'm not lying. My friendship with you is completely unrelated to that of our professional careers. What-Serph would actually send me to 'spy' on you?" she laughed here, still relishing on his pained expression.
Well, she knew that it would shut him up.
"What on earth for Heat? It's not as if you're 'dangerous', are you?" she taunted him persistently, baring to him her victorious grin.
Heat growled from beneath her but with his current state all he could manage was a low growl and the speaking of one word, "Bitch."
'Dangerous? Not dangerous am I?' he thought angrily, 'When I get up from here I swear I'll-'
She laughed, "Temper, temper Heat!" she said, wagging her index finger back and forth. She leaned down on him, putting her elbow on her bent leg and looked at him with feigned sympathy, "Does it hurt? I mean, really?"
Heat wanted to strangle her right there for even asking him! And the fact that she was leaning over like that with that annoying facial expression of hers, didn't help to alleviate neither his physical pain nor his mental annoyance.
But still, she had said that she did not tell their silver-haired leader anything. He wanted not to believe her…but he felt it in his gut; he felt that he could trust her. After all, if he didn't, he wouldn't have told her anything in the first place.
Finally, she removed her foot from his chest and took a step back. From there, she held out a hand for him to take. He stared at it skeptically for a moment and she seemed to have read his mind and chuckled, "I'm not going to do anything. Come on. You need to get outta here and get to bed."
He nodded but instead of taking her hand, he forced his wobbly legs to function and stood on his own. She shrugged her shoulders at his attempt to give her the "cold shoulder" as he dusted himself off, not giving her a glance.
When he was done, he looked at her, "I appreciate that you kept my problems confidential Argilla."
She smiled tightly, "I would never rat out on you."
He nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."
With those words, he left her room.
xxxxx
The next night came too fast for Argilla. They had been patrolling the city walls for nearly half an hour and so far, there was no activity whatsoever.
That morning, as she and Heat had been assigned the training sessions, she couldn't help but blush as she remembered how the scenario turned out.
*Flashback*
Argilla gritted her teeth as she hit the back of her head on the training mat; her body completely pinned by Heat, his arm pressing hard on her neck, as his other hand disabled hers completely; his legs straddling her.
"What's the matter Argilla?! Get up!" the training coach yelled.
It really didn't matter to her what they thought though. She wasn't in her gray uniform though but was just in her army fatigues and her gray shirt; fit for training. So, really, she can't use the "My clothes are too tight and inappropriate!" excuse for losing to Heat in this scenario.
She peered within Heat's eyes and saw how adamant he was to win. But as she looked at him deeper still, she thought she saw a flash of mischief running through his eyes for but a split second.
She began to blush right there as she considered their positions and wanting to fight off the annoying feeling, she mustered all of her strength and rammed her head onto his forehead as hard as she could. She could tell that he immediately saw stars as she head-butted him and so she rolled him over and now straddled him, her hands now free.
She could hear the cheer from the other cadets as she balled her hand into a fist and quickly delivered a blow to his jaw. Heat gritted his teeth as she hit him and intercepted her second blow and twisted her arm.
He used her unbalanced position to roll her over onto her back once more, his hands grabbing hers and pinning them on either side of her face.
This time, there was no mistaking the naughty look that he was getting in his eyes as the aforesaid look had traveled over to his lips as he grinned at her like a Cheshire cat, "I win." he deadpanned haughtily, his face leaning towards hers dangerously close.
Argilla frowned; no! She could not let him win!
Thinking quickly of a way out, she internally grinned as she saw her salvation in sight. Using Heat's close distance to her, she immediately thrust her face towards his and kissed him.
He was completely frozen on the spot. Argilla felt so as his limbs stiffened. The audience, who had been thus far cheering, howled and laughed as they regarded the two.
Argilla smirked, 'Sucker!' she yelled in her mind.
Using Heat's distracted countenance, she immediately, kicked him off her and there tackled him and had him in a death grip; her fingers two seconds away from pressing the pressure points on his jugular that would knock him unconscious.
She could hear Heat mutter a curse under his breath and would have asked him further if she hadn't heard the whistle of the trainer, telling them to stop.
She immediately let Heat go and there, he stood and glared at her. She smirked at him, "I win."
He then laughed, "I suppose so. But, watch your back! I won't let you off that easy next time."
Argilla's heart skipped a beat as she saw him smile…
It was a mesmerizing smile; she could tell…He really enjoyed that training session; even more than usual. And for some reason, she did as well.
*End Flashback*
She and Heat hadn't made a fuss about it though…They had acted that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Training was training. Combat was combat. It could be dirty or clean. But there wasn't always a guarantee whether or not your opponent would be clean though.
That was why she had decided to be "dirty". She laughed at that. She wasn't even fighting dirty! She had just used some of her "feminine" charms to win the match. It mattered not anyway.
She won didn't she?
But still, there was that nagging voice within her head, asking her, whether or not she enjoyed not her victory, but the kiss.
She blushed at that, 'That was hardly a kiss!' she growled at herself, 'It was nothing more than the pressing of lips together. End of story.'
'Yeah.' her inner self agreed.
Argilla raised an eyebrow; since when did that nagger agree with her?
'You should have put some tongue action!' the voice suddenly said, beaming.
Argilla's face fell; she should've known better than to trust her perverted self when it came to things like these…
But still, it was pretty weird, when she really thought about it. Kissing Heat was…strange. Sure, she felt nothing for him…but it was no secret that she felt undeniably good as their lips pressed themselves together…
Then, at that very second, she had a thought in her mind.
'I wonder what it would be like to kiss him everyday?'
"Man, you got me there that time, you know?" a male voice said, chuckling from beside her, rousing her from her reverie.
Argilla immediately fought the blush slowly creeping up her face. She did not just think that! It was…it was…not good! She immediately shook her head off such thoughts and focused instead on what he had just said.
She looked at him and smiled tightly, "Well, you gotta have presence of mind Heat." she said, chuckling as well.
Heat scratched his head. He had been too taken aback by her sudden and bold action that morning that he had actually lost a sparring contest.
He blinked; dumbstruck.
That had never happened before. Of all the men and women he had sparred with, no one had been able to do that to him.
Argilla chuckled, bringing him back to reality, "You gotta think outside the box sometimes."
Heat frowned; now she was dangling his defeat right in front of his face! She was rubbing it in! Well, she may have won that little contest, but there was no way he was going to let her win again.
So, wanting to play her game, he grabbed her by the waist and pressed her against the wall; his body right behind hers, squishing her in between the wall and he.
Her chest was pressed against the wall and Argilla growled, "Heat! What's the big idea?!" she asked, quite surprised and vexed.
Heat's hands had pressed her palms against the wall as well, as he leaned closer to her, his lips by her ear, his breath tickling her.
Argilla's hair stood on one end as she felt his breath on her skin and his warm body pressed up against hers.
Heat nuzzled his face on her hair and inhaled her sweet scent. Argilla stifled a moan…Wait…A moan?! Was she crazy!?
This was Heat!
Suddenly, she found herself, free. She turned around and saw a look of sheer triumph on his face, "I win." he drawled at her pompously, his hand on his hip.
She said nothing and he walked over to her, brushing his shoulder against hers and walked passed her, "Sometimes, you gotta think outside the box Argilla." he said condescendingly.
She blushed beet red.
'Sometimes…I just hate him…'
Heat chuckled as he continued the patrol with him ahead of her by a few steps. She was pretty fun to rile up. Her reactions were always priceless to him; an endless source of entertainment…
'But she did feel pretty good…' a voice suddenly popped in his head.
He frowned, somewhat, '…'
He suddenly remembered the kiss on that night. His blood stirred at that thought. Yes; she did kiss him back…Thinking back at it now, he really didn't know why he had kissed her in the first place. It was supposed to be a game…
But it felt so much more than that to him. It felt…right. He just didn't know how to explain it…
'Shut the fuck up man.' he told himself, 'This is the sort of shit that got me in trouble in the first place…'
Yup.
There was the punishment that they were still to endure.
Argilla trudged behind Heat; annoyed. He had taken his win back. She didn't even get to enjoy it fully too.
Oh well.
Suddenly, she found herself looking at his back, letting her eyes travel from there, to his legs and feet.
Her eyes traveled back up and saw his behind, 'He does have an amazing ass…' she thought appreciatively, 'Firm…and proud. Sexy…' she giggled.
She suddenly smacked herself, 'This is Heat damn it! Heat! He's nothing but an annoying asshole for a friend.' she drawled inwardly.
She didn't want to admit it, but right now, she needed a drink and lots of it.
xxxxx
It was now another night. The two had prepared for their next patrol schedule when a soldier had called them, telling them that Serph had wanted to see them.
They both looked at each other as they visibly stiffened.
They walked the hallways of the HQ building in silence, until Argilla broke it, "What is it that he wants now?"
Heat shrugged his shoulders, "How the fuck should I know?"
She rolled her eyes, "You're not being helpful." She suddenly stiffened, "Hey! Do you think…aa…he knows about us…"
Heat blushed at that as she said the words "about us". It sounded…nice. He shook his head, 'This is Argilla. Ye olde sourpuss!' he yelled to himself, scolding himself. He hated it when he had thoughts like those.
"…playing our stupid games?" she finished.
Again, he shrugged his shoulders, "Who cares? We'll find out in the next few minutes anyway…"
She sighed, giving up. He was right though.
Again, they walked in silence…She couldn't help but steal a glance at him. His face was stoic, his jaw hardened…but his eyes…though they burned with passion, his expression was that of boredom. She chuckled at that; only Heat could be able to pull that off.
Looking serious yet bored.
'He's cute…'
'Stop it!'
She blinked as she was suddenly met by the steel doors of Serph's office. Well, it was time to face the music; again.
They entered and saluted.
"You requested to see us sir?" Heat asked.
Serph nodded, "At ease you two. There's nothing wrong." he said with a chuckle as he read their stiff and apprehension-filled countenance.
Argilla felt relieved. She wouldn't know what to do should she know that he knew about what she and Heat had been doing during their duty hours…Not that they were doing things that were "wrong". It was just that…Serph was meticulous when it came to that.
"I just called you both to tell you that you are off duty for tonight. You two have an early mission. I suggest you take the free time now and prepare. Alright. You two are dismissed."
The two saluted and left promptly.
Argilla sighed in relief as soon as she left the office; she was glad that he didn't find out. If he did, it could mean more punishment for her and Heat. She shivered; she really didn't want to spend any more time with him than she had to. Well, it wasn't that she disliked his company.
He was, after all, her closest friend, well, second only to Serph…Serph had been her best friend…
But since her monumental embarrassment with him, she had decided to distance herself from him…
And, voila, in came Heat.
She chuckled. And now, after months of being solid friends, she now felt weird towards him…well, sort of and with good reason.
"Gee…glad that's over." Heat sighed in relief.
"Yeah. Me too." Argilla grumbled, "Well…see you around Heat." she waved, walking away.
Heat grinned at her, "Hey! Wait! Wanna go hang out?" he asked mischievously.
Argilla rolled her eyes, "No thanks." That was a lie. She really wanted to. It was still early. But still, they had an early mission the next day…
Well…that was partially the reason.
'I just don't want to end up drunk and wake up naked beside him tomorrow…' she thought with a shiver.
'Liar. Did you see those abs? Damn…I'll bet that he's a real good lay…'
Her eyes dilated at that thought.
"Go to bed Heat. We need all the rest we can get."
And with that, she walked away from him; not sparing him another glance.
xxxxx
Heat looked at his watch; go to bed? It was just 2000 hours. It was too early and the night was young.
He made his way to the lounge when suddenly he was met by a phantasmagoric visage of his pink-haired comrade, who, apparently, was telling him not to go within the aforesaid building.
He blinked and there, she was gone.
'I think I've seen enough of her.' he told himself.
He walked towards the pub once more but then stopped at the entrance; maybe he shouldn't drink…He frowned; but what else was there to do?
Heat let his thoughts meander as he turned and left, walking away from the pub, letting himself be carried away to wherever place it was his feet would take him. Everywhere he turned, he saw her face…
He shook his head, "What…am I doing?"
He willed himself to focus and there, he remembered his black-haired angel. He hadn't seen her in a few days…And now that he thought of her again, he realized just how much he missed her.
So, what was there to do?
Well, now he found an answer.
He could ask her for some dinner…or to just take a walk with him…He wasn't going to tell her anything that will "upset" her anyway.
'Although I want to…' he thought sadly as he felt the all too familiar painful prick of unrequited love.
He sighed and set his direction towards the soldiers' barracks.
xxxxx
Serph looked at Argilla's picture; the one that stood on his desk. He had many pictures of her…back from when she was a little girl…and up to the present.
He hadn't meant to sound so harsh…but she needed to understand that he couldn't be there to protect her all the time. He couldn't be there to take the blame or the fall for her misbehaviors either.
He had been watching them at that time when she and Heat had kissed atop that tower.
Although a part of him hadn't been surprised at his discovery, seeing as they both had overwhelmingly good chemistry together, another part of him felt jealous.
It wasn't because that he himself wanted to be where Heat was. Oh no; it was far from it.
He had always protected her from every male's attentions…and now…he just couldn't anymore and seeing it happen, well, that was the disturbing part for him.
He sighed, "She's all grown up…" He still had a hard time believing it though; in his eyes, she would always, forever remain as that helpless little girl that crawled within his bed in the middle of the night whenever there were lightning and thunder…
She would always be that little girl that he had to take care of…fed her, clothed her…Everything.
And now…
Well, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a grown woman.
That was another reason why he was doing this for her anyway. It was actually a double-edged sword. On one hand, he would be teaching her responsibility; something that he had shamefully neglected at teaching her, since it was he who had given her a life that was too sheltered…
Two, it would get her to realize her other feelings. He knew that she liked Heat; he saw it within her eyes whenever he would ask her about him. He also saw it as she looked at Heat at that tower…Argilla needed to realize this and move on, without him. And it wasn't unrequited either.
He saw it within Heat's eyes as well. Heat wanted Argilla as much as Argilla wanted him.
He laughed at that; he wasn't much older than Argilla and Heat was older than him…but in some matters, such as reading people and being perceptive, he was definitely the winner amongst the three of them.
"They're just like children playing pretend…" he laughed.
That was why he assigned them that "punishment". He had no doubt that they would come to their senses. He chuckled evilly; it was really out of character for him to do something so many people would consider to be fiendish…
But, it was for their own good.
He chuckled again; it was his own personal hidden agenda. The "Operation: Get Heat and Argilla Together."
He couldn't help but feel lousy, lame and utterly ridiculous as he thought of the title. But still, he just called it for what it was. And it really was a covert operation that would push Heat and Argilla together.
He sighed, laughing as he leaned back on his chair; his little Argilla would be so happy by the time this was all over…
xxxxx
Heat held his breath as he arrived at Sera's quarters. He knocked softly and then, waited. A moment later, Sera answered the door. Heat frowned; sadness was evident within her silver eyes.
"Sera. What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
'What's wrong?' Sera repeated mentally, 'You are what's wrong!' she mentally screamed.
"Heat…what are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes piercing into his.
Heat cast his face down, not being able to take her hurtful stare, "I just wanted to see you…That's all."
Sera closed her eyes, "You already saw me…Is there anything else?"
Heat had tolerated her for God-knows how long. But as he heard her again, using that tone, he saw red. He glared at her and forced his way within her room, grabbing her arms in a death-grip.
"Why are you being this way!?" he bellowed angrily at her as he shook her tumultuously; his chest tight with nothing but the searing flames of pain.
She whined, "Heat! You're hurting me!"
Heat glowered at her, "I am, am I?" he sneered, "Let me tell you something…This!" he hissed, gripping her arms tighter, to which she squealed, "This is nothing compared to the pain that you make me feel every fucking day and every fucking night! Do you understand?!" he shouted angrily.
Heat's eyes mellowed down as he slowly released her, realizing what sort of human being he had just become…
'I…I'm not human…' he said to himself knowingly as he completely fathomed what it was that he had just done.
He was a monster.
He had promised himself that he would never betray her trust. She had always trusted him; she had entrusted her life within his hands…because he promised, no, he vowed, that he would always protect her…He promised that he would never hurt her…
But…
He had just broken that promise and had betrayed her…It was the worst thing that he could ever do to her…It would have been bad enough if he had let someone else hurt her…but no, it was he himself who had done the act.
And now, what made him realize it?
The very thing that made him see her in the first place…Her tears.
"Sera…I…I'm sorry…" he said, pleading with her to forgive him.
She did no such thing though as she backed away from him, crying as she clutched her bruised arms, "Leave me alone…"
"Sera please…I…I didn't mean it…" he said, begging, as he reached out for her.
Sera backed away still until she hit the wall, which caused her to squeal and then wipe the tears from her eyes. She looked at him, sad and still crying, "Heat…please…"
Heat could feel his eyes beginning to water, "What is it Sera…? Tell me…and whatever it is, I'll do it…!" he told her desperately.
She hiccupped a bit as her tears continued to flow out of her eyes. She looked at him resolutely, despite her relentless tears, her lips parted, quivering, "I never want to see you again…"
Heat could feel his heart shatter as he heard her words.
Her words…damned him a thousand times over…
There was no hope for salvation…
None.
He wanted to scream. He wanted to destroy everything that he saw…He wanted to kill himself…But…if he would do any of those things…he would never do it in front of her.
Never.
He loved her that much.
And so, honoring her wishes, he turned his heel and left promptly. The world blurred as he made his way out of the barrack and through the streets. He didn't know where he was going…but he didn't care.
He just needed to get out of there.
His very sanity depended on it…
He blinked as he found himself within the park once more. He stopped in his tracks and laid his eyes on the empty bench that he and Argilla shared. Slowly, he walked to it and sat. He didn't really care how he looked like right there.
He knew he looked like crap but the world could just screw him. He didn't care.
Heat felt his chest tightening, preventing him from breathing, as he recalled her words.
"I never want to see you again…"
Feeling his resolve and his strength completely leave his body, he leaned forward, his eyes on his palms with his elbows on his knees, his tears cascading down his cheeks…
'It hurts so fucking much!' he shouted internally.
"Sera…Why…?" he asked painfully, desperately.
xxxxx
Argilla combed her hair, smoothing it carefully. Well, this was the last night she would be spending on her warm bed for the next week.
She frowned; Serph could be such a meanie…
But that wasn't what really bothered her…
What got her were the charges that he brought against them; not the first one either. It was the second act of misconduct that really got her.
"He had seen me and Heat…kiss…" she choked painfully.
She slammed her palm on her vanity table as she growled angrily. It was a moment of weakness. He wasn't supposed to see that!
She groaned; it was an accident…
It wasn't supposed to happen!
She set her head down on the table, banging it slightly on the wooden surface. Suddenly, a soft knock on her door aroused her senses.
She looked at her watch; it was nearly 2100 hours. Well, whoever it was, he or she needed to make this quick. She and Heat had an early start tomorrow and she really didn't want to get any more demerits from Serph.
She stood and walked over to her bed where her robe lay carelessly. She put it on herself and frowned as the person behind her door began to knock loudly, impatient.
Argilla narrowed her eyes as she herself was becoming impatient, "Just a sec damn it!" she yelled. The knocking did not cease and became all the more incessant.
She cursed as she dashed towards the door; whoever this person was, he wasn't going to stop until either she opened the door or woke the entire barrack.
Argilla opened her door and gasped as she beheld the person behind her door.
"What are you doing here?" she asked; her eyes wide with surprise.
xxxxx