A/N: Here's the next chappie. I'm in a real descriptive mood so stay with me. Cookies to all who reviewed.

Disclaimer: I own the WORLD. But not the Thief Lord.

Hornet groaned and rolled over on the threadbare mattress. Wait, mattress? Hornet cracked one eye open. Moth-eaten theater seats loomed above her. She was back in the Stella. Closing her eyes, Hornet let the events of last night swamp her. She ached all over, her head felt waterlogged, and her clothes were cold and damp.

She would have drowned in her misery right then and there, had she not realized she was being watched.

Turning her head to the left, she blinked to see Scipio watching from the shadows. He kept his distance, a considering, guarded expression on his face. Wondering what secrets she was hiding, what past he had yet to hear. The things he had dismissed before, only because she had seemed a simple project, nothing of terrible complexity. He wasn't sure of what he was looking at now.

"Sorry bout the damp clothes," he ventured, "didn't think you'd like it if we changed you." Hornet blushed and nodded, but still met his eyes. The unspoken question hung heavily between them, both knowing it was there, neither sure how to bring it up. Finally Skip gave in. "Why'd you go?"

It should have been a simple answer for a simple question. But Hornet felt too worn to dance around, too tired to avoid the truth. She rooted around her bed, but knew since she had awakened that the ruined book was gone. She sighed and sat up.

"I had to get it back. But now it's gone." Hornet knew Scipio would make no sense of these words, but it was the only way she knew how to begin. Backtracking, she tried to explain a little better. "I had this- this thing- that meant a lot to me. I had left it at the bridge when those drunks came up, but I had to get it back. But then the rain started, really hard, and I couldn't save it. I tried, I really did, but it was no use…" Hornet picked at a loose thread in the weave of the blanket.

Scipio was quiet for a long moment, then pulled something from his pocket and examined it. Hornet still couldn't meet his gaze, so she didn't see what it was till he held it out to her.

She stared at the beaten cardboard and paper that barely hung together. The cover was unrecognizable, the binding falling apart, but it was hers. With hands that shook, Hornet took her beloved book from him. Hornet looked up at him. She saw confusion in his eyes, but she could also see him want to understand. Hornet looked back down at the book, giving a slightly twisted smile.

"It's not exactly the book itself that I loved so much. It was the story. I could read for hours back then and… escape life. Sometimes life seemed so hard. But in a book everything ends right. I- I can't really explain it better then that." Hornet felt tears on her face and was surprised. She thought her tears were used up already.

She lifted a hand to wipe them away, and found she was beaten to it. Scipio kneeled next to her bed, and with his thumb, he solemnly brushed away each salty drop. Hornet looked one last time at her book, then, as if in a burial, laid it to rest on the ground.

Scipio's hand lingered on her face. At his touch, Hornet felt shivers run through her body. Skip looked at her through concerned eyes, but there was something else, a nervous, boyish look. Unsure of himself. Hornet wondered what he was thinking. Then, she couldn't wonder anything, because his face was only inches away. And as she closed her eyes, the distance closed, and their lips met.

A/N: I love fluff, don't you? I know Skip's kinda quiet for himself but… yea. R&R!