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It took him three days but Kano had finally finished his gift for Nary. It wasn't easy for him to spend time away from her and lie to her, but he believed it was worth it. He looked up when he heard a knock on his open door.

Liu stepped inside, "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yeah, I took your advice about Nary's gift and here it is!" He handed it to Liu.

His dark eyes widen in surprise then brightened, "Great attention to detail, fine craftsmanship."

"Obviously, but will she like it or will she think it's utter shit?"

He looked at the Aussie and told him the truth, "She will love it. Not only is it personal but it's also practical."

Kano grinned then asked, "You're not fuckin' with me, right? Cause if you are…"

Liu gripped his shoulder and his lips curled up, "Of course not. It's not easy getting her something that she can simply buy herself but, you managed to be successful. Well done, Kano."

With a grateful look and tone, he replied, "Thanks, Liu!"

His eyes popped open, "That's a first."

"Yeah, don't get used to it, Magic Mike." He smirked.

Liu laughed, "I won't. I'll see you at dinner."

"Later, Mate!" He opened his desk drawer as the Shaolin monk walked away.

While wrapping the present in a piece of canvas, Kano started to experience a first, butterflies. The last people he had given gifts to were his late mother and uncle. He remembered how surprised, grateful and elated they were when they unwrapped their presents; he hoped to get same reaction from Nary. She wasn't like anyone he had ever met. Although his pilot friend Ros had known him since he was a child due to her friendship with his late uncle, they only reached out to each other when they needed favors. With Nary, he knew that her gestures came from her heart instead of having a financial motive or selfish agenda. He also valued her opinions and loved learning more about her. When he tried to think of another person who intrigued him like she did, he couldn't come up with a name.

Using white string, he tied the cloth securely around the present. He placed it in one of the compartments on his utility belt then headed for the lounge where she was making dinner.

There was an undeniable bounce in his stride when entered the lounge. A smile came to his face once he smelled fried food and saw Nary bent over the oven stirring a pot. It wasn't the first time he walked in on her cooking but he found the ordinary image so comforting.

"Mmm, what you got cooking there, Sweet Pea?" He sat down at the breakfast bar.

She said with a small yet proud grin, "Sonya's favorite, fried chicken, mashed potatoes with white gravy, seasoned corn, coleslaw and peach cobbler."

"It smells great, Love." He reached into his utility belt and removed her present.

"What's that?" Nary removed a basket of freshly fried chicken legs from the stainless steel deep fryer. She then unloaded them onto a wire cooling rack that was inside of a roasting pan.

A ghost of a smile was on his mouth, "It's a gift for you made by yours truly."

Her full lips dropped open, "Oh Kano, you didn't have to it's not my birthday or even Christm-…"

Waving her off, he answered, "Cupcake, I wanna show you my appreciation for treating me right. Now go on, open it!" He held the present in front of her with both hands.

After a she took a breath, Nary grasped the gift then eagerly untied and unwrapped it. A big burst of joy spread through her heart once she saw the custom-made knife. It was a bit smaller than his bowie knives and there was a black etching of a wolf's head, it was identical to her necklace's pendant. Nary's left hand went to her heart, her eyes became flooded as her lips formed into a brilliant smile.

It wasn't until that moment he realized he missed showing another person how much he cared for them. He had also forgotten how rewarding it was for him to see them express genuine happiness. Kano thought Nary looked like Christmas morning; the pride and bliss he was feeling reached his eyes and lips.

"Oh Kano, I love it!" She immediately reached out and grasped his hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

He gripped her hand back and his smile grew large as he tilted his head, "You're not bullshittin' me?"

"Of course not! You clearly spent so much care, thought and time into making this for me. It's perfect! Why would you have doubts?"

His shoulders rose then dropped, "I couldn't find anything to make a sheath for it."

Nary waved him off, "Oh it's OK, I'll get one on my next supply run. Kano, this is beautiful and amazing. Thank you, so much!" She leaned over the breakfast bar and gave him a one-armed hug.

Closing his eyes, he savored her sweet scent, soft skin and the warmth of her embrace. She was the first person in over two decades who had given him true physical affection; it felt almost foreign and yet, it was also wonderful.

Being so close to him, feeling his soft beard against her cheek while his strong arm gripped her back as she breathed in his fresh masculine smell, it was so tempting for her. She pushed through it and turned her face away as she withdrew from him.

"You're welcome, Sunshine." He said with a gentle grin.

From the lounge's doorway, Lord Raiden watched the exchange with surprise and interest. He then cleared his throat as he walked in, "Good evening, Nary and Kano."

She straightened her posture; "Lord Raiden, is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "Why do you ask?"

Her dark perfect brows creased, "Because this is the first time you've ever came here."

"The delicious scent of dinner was hard to resist. So, can you please make me a plate?"

"Oh, sure! Do you wanna join us?" She picked up a plate and began spooning the mashed potatoes.

"No, I'm having dinner with the others but thank you for offering."

Kano said with a small cackle, "Lord Sparky, I'm surprised that you're not here every night because her cooking is fucking fantastic!"

He nodded, "I'm aware. Tonight, I decided to have some… variety. Thank you, Nary." He accepted the plate from her.

"You're welcome and tomorrow morning, I need to make a supply run."

The thunder god tipped his head at her, "Come to my chambers when you're ready to go."

Kano asked, "Isn't that dangerous? Evil Merlin and his merry band of monsters know about us."

"He doesn't know about Nary but he does have spies in the area. However, unlike yourself, Sonya and Jax, Nary blends in with the local residents."

"I'm also discreet so I don't attract any attention."

"Well, I wouldn't say any attention, Sweetheart." He winked at her.

"Really Kano? Do you ever turn it off?" She asked as she held her hips.

His eyes slowly traveled down her body, "For you? Never, Darling."

Lord Raiden bowed his head, "Thank you for dinner, Nary. I wish you both a good night."

"Likewise!" Nary waved at him as he walked away.

"Have a good one, mate!"

Just as Raiden was walking out, Liu, Lao, Cole, Sonya and Jax entered the lounge. Nary excitedly showed them the knife.

Cole held the blade in his hands and reluctantly commented, "I gotta admit, this looks pretty cool. Good work, Kano."

"Thanks Twinkles, it's some of me best work!"

Kung Lao carefully accepted the weapon from Cole, "Impressive. And none of the swordsmiths helped you?"

The Aussie shook his head, "It was all me!"

The cocky Shaolin monk nodded then a mischievous grin touched his lips, "Excellent work. But Kano, if you put as much effort as you do when making a knife or pursuing Nary, into fighting, you'd be one of the greatest champions here!"

Kano rolled his eyes and waited until everyone else's laughter died down, "Very funny, Slice n' Dice. Keep talkin' like that and I'll melt down your stupid frisbee hat next."

Jax gripped the knife, "This is a really well made knife. I like the wolf too."

Sonya was surprised at how well-crafted the blade was but shrugged, "Not bad. I've seen worse."

Kano dramatically clutched his heart, "Aww Blondie, you sure know how to make a guy feel special, me little heart can barely take it!"

Everyone laughed as Sonya suppressed a smile, "Enough ego stroking, dinner's getting cold and by the way Nary, thanks, everything looks and smells incredible!"

"Aww, thanks Sonya! Now you're getting an extra slice of peach cobbler." Nary smiled at her.

Outside of his room, Kano heard voices and metal clanking against wood. He opened his door and saw Jax and Sonya at Nary's suite with a bowl of crunchy flamin' Cheetos in the former's hands.

"What da fuck are you two doing?" He asked while leaning in his doorway.

The blonde soldier answered, "It's girls' night, obviously."

"Then what's he doing here?" He pointed at Jax.

His shoulders lifted then dropped, "I was invited."

"Girls' night? What the fuck happened to the 'No boys allowed' shit?" Kano glared at the blonde.

Sonya arrogantly explained, "Boys as in plural, so we can have one and Jax is it!"

He added, "I also grew up with four sisters; so, I'm very in touch with my feminine side."

Just then, Nary opened her door, "Hey guys, come on in!"

Kano crossed his arms and huffed, "So, you let T-Rex arms into your suite but not me? Dumpling, now you're just being fuckin' cruel!"

An amused smile was on her full lips as she held up her forefinger and thumb leaving a quarter inch of space between them, "Aww, you were so close, Kano. Night!"

He continued to curse while a laughing Sonya and Jax went into Nary's suite.

By the time the end credits of Set It Off appeared on screen, Sonya, Jax and Nary were wiping their wet eyes and blowing their noses and had emptied a box of tissues. Once they regained their composures, Nary went over to the television to switch movies.

"Hey Jax, what's your favorite dish? I've made everyone else's so far and I don't want you to feel left out."

His full lips pulled into a gentle grin, "That's real sweet of you Stokes, but I don't wanna be a bother."

She lightly gripped his shoulder, "You're not and I insist! So, what are you craving?"

"Wait!" Sonya swiped a pen and notepad from the nightstand, "I wanna guess! And I bet you fifty laps I'll get it right." She jotted down her answer.

"Really Blade? I didn't know tonight was also game night."

"I just wanna prove that I know you better than you think." Her lips lifted into a half smile as she ripped out the page, folded it and handed it to Nary.

"We'll see about that, Blade. Anyway, I really miss cookouts. So, I'd love to have grilled steak, shrimp and barbeque ribs."

Nary eagerly nodded, "Done!" She opened the folded page showing it to him, "And you have to pay up."

Jax saw Sonya's answer, it was a perfect match. He feigned annoyance, "We've known each other for over a decade, it's not that impressive."

"Keep telling yourself that, buddy. I'm not the one who has to run fifty laps tomorrow morning." Sonya happily smirked at him.

After Jax and Sonya returned to their suites for the night, Nary went to the lounge's kitchen. As she removed the frozen steaks, ribs and shrimp from the freezer; Kano walked in.

"You here for a midnight snack too, Angel?" He walked over to the pantry.

"Nope, just preparing for tomorrow's dinner, this time around I'm making Jax's favorite meal."

Holding a tin container of sriracha flavored crunchy peas, he walked over to her, "Wait, steak, prawn and ribs, we're havin' a barbie tomorrow?!" His face lit up.

"Yes we are, again, thanks to Jax!"

"I want in! I make the best steaks, prawns, ribs and sauce! Although you Americans fuck it up saying 'Shrimp on the barbie'. It's PRAWNS!"

"God you Aussies are so sensitive about shrimp vs. prawns."

"Because fuckin' Paul Hogan poisoned you Americans with that shit! Anyway, can I help with your little barbie tomorrow or not?"

"Go right ahead, but being Australian and cocky doesn't mean that you're better at barbeque."

An arrogant smile spread across his face, "Oh Darling, you're gonna be eating those words tomorrow night."

"Is that so?" She placed her hands on her hips.

He leaned his back against the counter, "Oh yeah. Hell, I know that everyone will like my cooking better than yours."

Her eyes widen, "Oh Kano, it's gonna be an utter delight when I wipe that smug smirk off your face."

"Right back at ya, Pumpkin!" He winked at her and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

After getting into bed, Nary took Kano's handmade knife off the nightstand and held it in both hands. Excluding her family and friends, the last person who had made a present for her was James. Even then, it was a homemade dinner that he had accidentally burned. He had given her a humorous experience while Kano delivered to her a thoughtful and useful memento that took days to craft. As her right forefinger traced the wolf marking, she remembered how happy he looked and his comforting embrace. A soft smile touched her ample lips as warmth began pouring through her. It was the same marvelous feeling she had after her first kiss with James. She cleared her throat, put the knife back and reminded herself that it had been over a year since she had been physically intimate with a man.

The next night, Kano and Nary worked side by side in the lounge's kitchen. All the familiar smells coming from his stove's cooktop and indoor grill reminded him of his childhood and teenage years. It also didn't hurt that despite their playful rivalry, Nary was in close quarters with him. Whenever she wasn't looking, he caught a glance of her either tasting seasoning or sauce, her face scrunched up while her lips had a slight pout as she determined which ingredient was needed; he found that habit to be so endearing.

It pleased Nary to see how content and confident he was as he worked on the sauce, grilled and smoked the meats. To her surprise, he wasn't as talkative as he normally was, he seemed determined to deliver on his claims of being the best at grilling and barbequing.

"Is that your recipe?" Nary asked while she poured her sauce into a squeeze bottle.

"It's a family recipe, from my grandfather on my mum's side. Uncle Jack showed me how to make it when I was twelve."

"Well, it smells good and I think it's lovely that it's your family's legacy."

He tipped his head to the left, "I never thought of it that way before…but yeah, it's nice. And much better than your sauce, haha!"

She rolled her eyes, "You must be the cockiest man on this planet."

"Why do you say that like it's a bad thing, Sunshine?" A teasing smile pulled at his lips.

"Because being humble acknowledges the fact that we all have flaws and weaknesses. And in your case, unless you can back it up with something real, you're only talking a big game."

He briefly clenched his jaw, "Sweetface, I'm gonna love proving you wrong tonight. And just to make things fair, we're not gonna tell anyone who cooked which sauce and dish."

She shrugged, "Fine, but it won't matter because they're going to prefer my cooking!"

"Oh Sugarplum, once me cooking wins them over, I'm never gonna let you live it down!"

The aggravation on her face was obvious until a devilish idea popped into her mind. She brushed her forefinger in her sauce pan, "You say that now…but you just wait until everyone tries my sauce." She slowly pushed her forefinger into her mouth sucking the sauce off. A small pop came from her mouth the instant she pulled out her finger. In a sultry voice, she purred, "Mmmm, it'll just melt on their tongues."

His lips formed into an O, "Fuck me…." He dropped his tongs on the floor, "Shit!"

A mischievous laugh came from her as she watched him pick up the tongs and washed them in the sink.

"Buttercup, you play dirty!" He huffed while drying the tongs with a tea towel.

With an innocent look and tone to match, she replied, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Kitten, my beard didn't start turning grey until I met you!" He pointed at her with the tongs and held back a smile when she giggled.

Moments before everyone else arrived for dinner, Nary placed small green sticky notes on her dishes while Kano used blue ones. When they walked in, Kano explained the situation and they were intrigued. At the end of the meal, Nary and Kano turned their backs as everyone else reached for the sticky notes.

"We've made our decision! Turn around!" Sonya eagerly said.

After Nary and Kano faced them, each person opened their hand revealing a sticky note, all of them were blue.

Absolute excitement ran through Kano; he pumped his arms then flexed his right one, "Fuck yeah! Come on Kano, uuhh! That's what I'm talking about it!" He then turned to Nary, "Oh Buttercup, this is golden! Just look at you!"

Nary folded her arms, narrowed her eyes; the tension in her shoulders was evident.

Jax's dark eyes became big, "Fuck, she is so pissed off. She has the same face my mom had right before she beat my ass for doing stupid shit."

With a worried look, Liu replied, "I hope Kano doesn't go too far because this will not end well for him."

Horror was on Sonya's face when she realized that she sided with Kano. She then cleared her throat and spoke calmly to an irritated Nary, "Remember, you will always be the better person, OK? He can grill and barbeque pretty well, so what?! He's still a piece of shit! And that indisputable fact will never change!"

Kung Lao joined in, "Nary, she's right! You went to finishing school and Kano never even finished school!"

Cackling, the Aussie pointed at Nary, "Who gives a shit because tonight, I schooled you, Love! Haha!" He then thrusted his pelvis in the air and grunted.

Cole rolled his eyes, "All right, Kano we get it. Stop being a shitty winner!"

Nary said through a forced smile, "Thanks Cole but Kano has earned this."

"She's right, Twinkles. Sweetheart here has been talking a lot of shit since last night."

"It's true and you won. So, congratulations." She bowed her head.

"Thank you, Angel." His smirk was wide.

"You're welcome, Kano." After a deep exhale, some of the tension eased from her body, "Now, it's time for dessert!" She then headed for the kitchen.

As Kano and Nary walked out of the lounge, the former spoke, "You know Princess, you're very cute when you're mad."

She answered with a small bob of her head, "You're not the only one who's made that observation. My two older brothers would be celebrating with you if they were here."

"That doesn't surprise me and they sound like fun blokes. You're usually sweet as honey - so it's nice to see how horribly you handle being proven wrong."

"Kano if you're flirting with me, you're doing a real shitty job."

He chuckled, "I'm not, I'm simply chuffed that you're not Little Miss Perfect."

"I never claimed to be…" She groaned and slumped her shoulders, "I should have used Rasi's sauce recipe instead of Ian's."

"Who the fuck is Ian?"

"He's an award-winning chef…and my last boyfriend."

He perked up, "Another Aussie tosser?"

"No, an English wanker."

Kano stopped in his tracks and then stood in front of her, "Hold on a minute, Love! You dated another non-American? Peaches, it sounds like you fancy men with accents which really bodes well for yours truly." He brought his hands to his heart.

An annoyed grunt came from her, "Just two boyfriends and if it wasn't obvious, we ended on horrible terms."

"What happened? Was he a bad lay?"

"No." She hugged herself and glanced to the side, "He uh, he was cheating on me with his ex…in our bed."

His mouth fell open, "You walked in on him fucking some other woman?"

Nary nodded, "It was the day before his birthday and I wanted to surprise him. I left work early, dropped by Agent Provocateur, bought dinner from his favorite restaurant but when I came home, I saw his underwear along with bra and panties which didn't belong to me on the stairs…"

He didn't hide his shock and disgust, "Princess, that Cunt Face was clearly a fuckin' idiot to cheat on you! Fuck, you're the whole package, Darling!"

A small grateful smile came to her lips, "Kano, you don't have to say that just to be nice and-…"

To assure her, he reached out and gripped her shoulders, "I'm not a bullshitter, never have been…never will be. He's a fuckin' asshole and dumbass to not see how great you are!"

Her right hand lightly gripped his forearm before letting it go as her lips curved upward, "Thanks Kano."

"No problem, Sweetkins." He grinned and with some hesitation, released her shoulders.

As they started walking again, she confessed, "Anyway, I genuinely thought that his recipes and sauce were the best…until I tasted yours. Goddamn it was good."

He chuckled, "Thanks for that but come on Beautiful, yours-well, Ian's is good but mine is fuckin' incredible! And besides, you're still the best cook I've ever met."

"Thanks, but when it comes to grilling/barbeque, I'll leave that up to you."

"As you should." He then wiggled his brows, "So, Agent Provocateur."

She looked straight into his eyes, "What? Their lingerie is well made, stunning and I like the way I feel when I'm wearing one of their pieces. Sure, their lingerie is ridiculously expensive but I like to splurge sometimes. Granted, with Ian that was the first and last time I ever bought one of their outfits but what I said is still true."

The Aussie nodded, "Mmm, and which specific piece did you buy? You see, I'm a very visual kind of bloke…"

Her laugh was dry, "Oh I'm aware and I'm going to bed."

"Just a little hint, please, Sweetheart?"

"Forget it!"

"Woman, why are you trying to kill me?!"

"Because it's so fun!" She giggled as she opened her door.

He cocked his head to the right, "How is it that I," he pointed at himself, "beat you tonight and yet I still fuckin' lose?!"

"I guess it's just one of your many talents, Mate!" Nary stepped backwards into her room then winked at him.

He suppressed a grin, "Cute, real cute, Sleeping Beauty!"

"Thanks. Oh and one more thing?"

"What?"

"Before I go to bed tonight," she lowered her voice and made it husky, "I'm gonna take a long hot steamy shower." She blew a kiss at him, "Goodnight!"

Kano scoffed and pointed at her, "Ya know, a four-armed monster isn't gonna fuckin' kill me, you will!"

"It would be an honor!" She did a curtsy and quickly closed the door.

"Goddamnit you're fuckin' maddening!" He smiled as he shook his head.

When game night finally rolled around, there was palpable excitement in the air. Liu served as host of the movie trivia game while Kano, Nary and Cole formed into a team facing off against, Jax, Sonya and Kung Lao. Both teams were equally matched and were actually hitting it off.

Liu read the tie breaking question, "How many directors have made live action Batman movies; you each have thirty seconds to discuss and write down your answer."

Each team huddled around their dry erase white boards and spoke in hushed tones. Liu called time and told them to put down their markers. He reviewed their answers, "The team with the correct answer is…The Black Dragons!"

Kano, Nary and Cole cheered; after giving Cole double high-five Kano then hugged Nary. She hugged him back and then embraced Cole.

With folded arms, Sonya said, "We have to make this fairer; we need to switch up the teams for the next round."

Nary said, "All right, since we won, I'll take you and Kung Lao."

Before he walked over to the other side, Kano bragged to Nary, "Oh Sweetheart, I'm gonna destroy you next round!"

She smirked at him, "You wish, Kano! I'm about to crush you into smithereens!"

Liu glanced at both teams, "This is the final question and for the winning point…who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas?"

Both Nary and Kano quickly jotted down answers then consulted with their teammates.

"Times up! Show your answers!" Liu instructed.

Kano and Nary held up their answers. The Shaolin monk looked at their white boards before saying, "Congratulations…Kano!"

"What?!" Nary growled as Kano and his teammates celebrated.

With apparent hesitation Liu told her, "Henry Selick directed the movie."

Kano cackled, "Fuckin' whoops! Tim Burton only came up with the story and produced the movie, Darling! So sorry, Love, I keep racking up these wins against you! You're not as clever as you think!"

She placed the white board on the coffee table and balled up her hands into fists, while standing up, "I see…well, congratulations Kano, Jax and Cole."

Before Jax and Cole could respond Kano spoke again, "Pumpkin, you are one gracious and beautiful LOOOSER!"

"Shut the fuck up Kano! Goddamnit you're the worst winner!" Sonya angrily pointed at him.

"I'm on your team but fuck that. I hope Nary beats your ass!" Jax folded his arms and nodded.

Through gritted teeth, Nary glared at him, "Goodnight, Kano!" She stormed off.

Kano began to follow her, "Oh-Oh come on now Cupcake, I was just playin-…

Kung Lao stood in front of him and shook his head, "Kano, this will not turn out well for you. It's best if you leave her alone and let her cool off."

"Get out of me fuckin' way, Speedy!" He moved past him and entered the hallway.

Cole asked Kung Lao, "She's gonna send him through a wall, isn't she?"

He replied, "If he keeps going after her, there's a good chance she'll blast him into another realm."

Nary was already more than halfway into the living quarters and increased her pace when Kano called out to her, "Will you hold up a minute, Kitten?"

She continued walking speedily down the corridor, "I already said goodnight, now leave me alone!" Nary fully extended her right arm in front of her using vibrations to push her door open.

"Come on, Sweetface, don't be like this…"

When he started to run towards Nary, she kept her back to him, held out her hands behind her and shot two concussive blasts propelling herself into her room.

"Holy fuckin' shit!" He stopped in his tracks just in time to see her glare at him.

"FUCK OFF, KANO!" Using her arcana, she slammed the door shut.

Stunned, he stood there in the hall and for once, he was speechless. Witnessing that level of anger from her was jarring for him. He retreated into his room where he tried to determine what to do to make up for his mistake.

The next morning Kano knocked on Nary's door but didn't receive a response. He then headed to the lounge where everyone except her were having breakfast.

Liu immediately told him, "She's on a supply run but she'll be back soon."

"Thanks for the info, Mate. Once she gets back, I'll make nice and then everything will be peachy again." He set his full plate on the table and sat down.

Cole furrowed his brows, "Kano, you called her a loser last night. Do you honestly think she'll just let that go?"

"Sunshine, it was shit talkin' and yeah, maybe I took it a wee bit far but come on, she grew up with brothers, she's probably dealt with worse." He waved him off but secretly hoped that Cole was wrong.

Right on cue, Nary walked in holding a paper bag in her hands, "Good morning everyone!"

They greeted her back; Liu told her, "I made a plate for you, Nary."

"Thanks Liu!" She took her seat in between him and Sonya. "Kano, I got you something. Last night, I was behaving like a sore loser and I apologize." She reached into the paper bag.

"Aww, thanks Sweet Pea," he smiled at her then gave Cole a smug smirk as he accepted the medium size blue gift box from her.

"You're welcome. I put real thought into it."

He set the box on the table, untied the red ribbon and was talking as he lifted the top flap, "Well Beautiful, I really appreciate your-MOTHERFUCKIN' SHIT!" He jumped in his seat once he saw a ceramic wide-eyed and slack jawed garden gnome staring at him.

Everyone else laughed at his frightened reaction. He was fuming, "How the fuck did you know-Oh get fucked Blondie!" He angrily pointed at a laughing Sonya.

The blonde soldier proudly bowed her head, "Well it serves you right for the shit you said last night!" She kept her eyes on Kano while she held up her hand and accepted Nary's high-five.

Nary then leaned forward in her seat and looked directly into his eyes, "The next time you call me a loser, I won't let you off so easy."

He locked eyes with her and didn't hide the menace in his voice, "Like I've said many times before, I'm a man of many talents and getting revenge is one of them."

She didn't back down, "Kano, you crossed a line last night after getting your second consecutive win against me. Take the L and move on, or else this will get ugly."

"Dollface, it sounds like you're afraid to dance with me."

"No, I simply want to spare you future pain and humiliation. Now, moving on…"

Kung Lao immediately changed the subject. Kano spent the rest of breakfast glaring at her while he ate.

After her shift, Nary went looking for Kano and found him on the balcony that overlooked the gardens and orchard. He was sketching in his notebook; he ceased his action when she sat down next to him.

"Kano, I'm calling a truce." She crossed her legs.

"Surrendering already? That was fast." He retorted.

"More like saving us both wasted time and energy."

"Hmm, sorry Love, I'm not buying it. Last night, you weren't yourself. I could've called you much nastier names but loser is what set you off?"

Her head dropped as she sighed then her gaze returned to him, "You were a runt when you were a kid – I was the one who was always picked last in gym class. Those pricks called me a loser because I was really shitty at team sports, especially dodgeball; I still am."

A light regretful groan came from him, "For fuck sake...if I had known about that I wouldn't have called you that name."

Her stare locked with his. There was a hint of anguish in her voice. "Well, I didn't tell you about it…but come on, no one likes being called a loser. And it really hurts when it comes from a friend."

Her earnestness struck him. For a moment, he glanced at his lap then met her gaze, "…True and well, you're the only one here who's actually treated me well from day one. Last night I fucked up with you…So, I'm sorry, Peaches. Friends?" He reached out and gripped her hand.

Feeling his hand clasped hers sent a brief flash of warmth to her chest; she squeezed his hand and slowly let it go, "Thanks Kano. I'm also sorry for telling you to fuck off, not my best moment."

The Aussie shrugged, "It's not like I was innocent but thanks anyway, Angel."

"So, I propose that we have our own movie night, just the two of us…in the lounge, tomorrow night. I have a call with Rasi tonight."

The corners of his lips curled upward, "Darling, I wouldn't miss it for the world."