Upon entering the kitchen, Amon saw everyone was in the same seats they were the night before except for Aideen who was absent. Not thinking anything of it, Amon took his seat next to Robin and began to eat. About ten minutes later, Aideen made her entrance, Amon, Robin, and Nagira all looking up. Robin looked back down quickly but Nagira kept his eyes on Aideen, his stomach twisting for a not so unknown reason. Amon turned his attention back to his plate but glanced back at Aideen one final time before ignoring her completely. Seeing this, Robin felt a bit better, hoping she was overreacting about last night's events. Nagira looked back down at his plate and smiled a bit, thinking what he said to Amon the night prior got through to him.
A week had passed since the trio's arrival and Robin was a bit bored as was Nagira. They were in a new country, a new city...New York interested Robin. She wanted to experience it while she was there but she hadn't dared to ask Amon if she could go out. Since Aideen arrived, they had been distant, she didn't feel like she could ask him. Robin felt like she was back to square one...like she was just a little girl with a crush on a guy who didn't know she existed just like she felt when she first joined the STNJ. This saddened her greatly and at the same time, opened up other feelings. She had been so dependant on Amon that she had rarely left his side after the fall of the Factory and was almost entirely centered on him before but now she felt the need to go out on her own, to take hold of some piece of her life. Maybe she wanted to show Amon she didn't need him for everything...maybe she wanted to make him worry...jealous? Robin sat on the balcony, wondering where such feelings and desires came from. They just weren't her.
Gathering her courage, Robin stood up and made her way towards James's office intending to ask him if she could go outside and look around the city. She passed Amon on the first floor but didn't stop to say hello or to even acknowlegde his presence. She felt strong, she didn't need him...not right now anyways. As Robin passed, Amon stopped and turned around in the direction she was heading, wondering what she was up to. He then saw that she was headed towards James's office and wanted to know what was going on immediately. Deciding he had a right to know, he followed Robin, keeping his distance.
The door was open a bit so she knocked and then quietly pushed it open a bit, seeing James sitting behind a nice sized desk in a warm, dimly lit room. Looking up, James smiled and motioned for Robin to enter.
"Yes, Robin?" James asked kindly.
"Would it be alright if I went out around the city today?" Robin asked, hoping the answer would be yes. She felt rather than heard Amon lean against the doorway and chose to ignore his presence. How was this any of his business?
"I don't think that would be wise, Robin." came Amon's stern voice from behind. That only served to immediately irriate Robin which was unusual for her.
Turning to face Amon Robin replied "Why? You had no problem with it when we were back in Japan." Amon's face remained impassive but inside his heart jumped a bit. She was arguing with him...she was directly defying him. Looking her straight in the face Amon saw the same look Robin had when arguing with Karasuma over using her powers...when she had finally learned to control her craft and insisted upon using it more often. She had been right about that girl though, she was a witch..."But that is beside the point." Amon thought, mentally shaking his head.
"Because, we don't know how many hunters are after us, where they are, or what they plan to do." he said simply. Figuring that would be the end of the discussion, he turned to leave only to hear Robin angerly reply.
"We've been here a week, nothing has happened. What are the chances of a hunter waiting for me to go outside instead of charging in?"
Amon opened his mouth to reply, Robin's determination irritating him, but was cut off by James who had been silently watching. "How about Robin goes out with someone? That way, she'll be safe and can still get out to stretch her legs? I'd hate to see two good friends such as yourselves arguing over such a trivial matter." Smiling, James looked back down at his paperwork assuming the discussion was over. Turning to go, Robin shot Amon a glare..well, the best one she could manage. She didn't want to appear too mean, she just didn't have it in her and she was oddly afraid that she might hurt him somehow. She marched back up the stairs and straight to Nagira's room to ask him if he'd go for a walk with her. Looking puzzled, Nagira said yes, grabbed his coat, and walked with Robin to the door. Upon reaching the front door, Nagira saw Amon standing back to the side, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest looking rather...irritated. Raising an eyebrow at him, Nagira followed Robin out the door and out onto the street. It was later in the day so the temperature was just right and the sun was beautiful.
After having walked for about 20 minutes, Nagira turned to Robin, full of questions burning to be let out.
"Hey kid, why did you want me to come? I would have thought you'd ask Amon to co..."
"I didn't want to." Robin interrupted. She obviously did not want to talk about Amon but Nagira pressed on.
"Why not? You two haven't been as close as usual..."
"Close," Robin wanted to continue on and bitterly say "When were we ever close?" but decided against it. That would only cause more questions to be asked and she knew it would be a lie...they were close. Robin, instead, chose to just drop it right there and let Nagira take the simple word she had uttered for what he wanted.
"Yeah, I have to say, you're probably the closest friend he's ever had...it's just odd that you two have split apart when you finally have peaceful time together. Like now for instance, now would have been a great time for you two to spend time alone." Nagira suggested innocently...heh, like he didn't know what he was doing...hopefully, Nagira thought, Robin, however, didn't.
Nagira's words hit Robin hard, her strength and anger subsiding. She bowed her head a bit and Nagira, catching this, quickly added "But you have more time, it isn't as though today is the day the world ends. You two have plenty of time to hang around." Looking up, Robin caught Nagira's smile and smiled back.
"Hey, how about we go and get some ice cream?"
After Robin and Nagira left, Amon walked up to his room, his mind spinning. "What's going on? Robin and I are hardly talking and now she's pissed at me...We actually came close to a real argument as well." Walking up the last flight of stairs, Amon was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Aideen walking down the other way.
"Amon..." Aideen softly called. Looking up, Amon's heart skipped a beat as he realized he wasn't alone anymore. His thoughts, which had previously been centered on Robin, changed to Robin and Aideen. "And here who has, unknowingly, caused World War III between Robin and I...maybe I should..."
"Want to go for a walk? It's such a nice day out and it would be a shame if it was wasted." Aideen's words cut through Amon's thoughts, causing him to lose his train of thought. What had he been thinking before? Robin...Robin...that's right...Robin...
"Amon?" Aideen questioned, her head tilting to the side a bit in confusion.
"Hm?" Amon replied distractedly.
Giggling a bit Aideen again asked Amon if he wanted to go for a walk. Nodding, Amon turned around and headed back the way he came, not quite sure of what he was doing.
An hour later, Robin and Nagira came back, Robin's spirits higher than they were before. As soon as they shut the door, Sarah came running down the stairs with her ever present smile glowing as usual.
"Robin! I was looking for you, I wondered where you went to. James said you went for a walk so I thought you and Amon went together but I guess not."
"Why would she think that?" Robin wondered. "If she had been looking for me, wouldn't she have eventually asked Amon if he knew where I was?"
"Why did you think that?" Robin asked, her eyebrows coming together a bit.
"Oh, because Amon wasn't here either. Actually, he went for a walk too but he went with Aideen. I guess he left after you did...Hey Robin,..."
As Sarah continued on, Robin spaced out, not hearing anything else Sarah was saying. Her breathing quickened painfully and if felt like her world had come crashing down. "Amon..went with Aideen..." was all she could think. Nagira looked at Robin out of the corner of his eye and could see that Robin was upset...visibly this time. Her chest was heaving faster and deeper than usual as her breathing had sped up and her eyes were full of tears. Nagira briefly wondered if Robin was going to have a breakdown...
"Hey Robin! Earth to Robin!" Sarah called while waving her hand in front of Robin's face. Looking up, Robin gave Sarah a blank stare, completely lost...
"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, her smile dropping for the first time since Robin had arrived, her voice becoming very serious and worry filled.
Shaking her head, Robin gave Sarah a sad smile and walked off without another word leaving Sarah and Nagira to look after Robin's retreating form.
Walking side by side, Amon felt calm but...there was something else...something that nagged him every once in a while...Following Aideen blankly, he found himself standing on a bridge over a small lake. He leaned on the railing with his arms crossed and stared out over the lake. "Something doesn't feel right..." Looking over towards Aideen, he saw her looking out over the lake as well, a smile on her face. "I'm just nervous...the argument with Robin has me unsettled..." he thought to himself.
"We should get back." Amon said indifferently. Preparing to leave, he heard Aideen laugh a little and turned to look at her.
"Always in a rush." she said.
"How would you know?" Amon asked curiously.
Shrugging, Aideen replied, "Just a guess. It isn't as though we have anything better to do, now is it?" At this, she turned to Amon and smiled and somewhere inside of Amon, something shifted. Aideen moved a bit closer, putting her hand on the side of Amon's face and gently ran her thumb over his cheek. Amon's heart jumped and he opened his mouth to protest but Aideen put her finger to his mouth...moved in...and kissed him softly. Closing his eyes, Amon numbly wondered to himself what he was doing...or what he wasn't doing. Why wasn't he resisting?
The curves of Amon's lips barely moved beneath Aideen's, his mind split between pulling away and kissing her back. Slowly, she pulled back and smiled at him, taking his hand and pulling him away from the railing, back towards "home". Upon arriving, Amon's heart sped up again and he realized he didn't remember the walk back. Aideen was still holding his hand...what if someone saw? Why was he worried? Why was he even holding her hand? He felt like a teenager, completely confused and torn between hiding such a small detail and just letting it go. He then became aware of Aideen leading him up the stairs and down the first floor.
"Wait, I'm on the second floor." Amon said, his mouth finally forming the words his mind had been echoing.
"I know...but I'm not." Aideen said suggestively, opening her door and pulling Amon inside.
Down the hall at James's office, Nagira peeked his head out around the door with a look filled with shock, anger, and digust on his face.
"What are you doing little brother? You don't even know do you?" Nagira whispered to himself. Shaking his head, Nagira turned to James and thanked him for taking time to discuss the situation with him and left. As he passed Aideen's room, he glanced at the door throwing its occupants a heated, almost murderous glare. He reached the second floor and as he passed Robin's door, he slowed and replaced his angered expression with a pained one. Shaking his head, he continued on to his room whispering to himself, "Now what?"