-Day 4, Shanghai, Hotel-

Waking up in the rather luxurious bed-its light cotton sheets cool against her-Leona felt like she had finally adjusted to the time difference. It usually didn't take her long, luckily. Given she was on vacation, she had even decided to start 'sleeping in' somewhat, waking around eight instead of her usual five-thirty or six AM.

Looking next to her, Duo Lon slept. They had been sharing one of the room's king-sized beds still, and she found herself enjoying it. He was not at all a clingy sleeper, giving her plenty of room, though at times the two liked to come together to touch one another.

She smiled-a touch sad, as she had heard him come in around six that morning and immediately hit the showers. Her instinct told her he had managed to get involved in something, and that something was probably not particularly...vacation like. There was an off chance, she thought, that he ended up at a bar with Shen, and the latter may have thrown up on him or something ridiculous like that...but her instincts, coupled with the fact he had been slightly distant after visiting Shen in private-told her it was something else.

She wished that he could maybe get to relax more often. Still, she said nothing and just stayed mostly asleep as she felt him eventually get into the bed next to her after having smoked his pipe.

Sliding a hand behind her head, she stared absently at one of the expensive-looking decorations on the wall. She was dressed only in her short tank top and underwear, with a sheet thrown over her legs. Duo Lon wore his briefs and nothing more.

Debating getting up to put on coffee-she loved the suite having a proper coffeemaker with a wide selection of brews-she heard him move next to her, his eyes opening as he turned on his side. His hair was spread on the bed, and she pushed some of it toward him, enjoying the silky feel in her hands.

"Good morning," she said. Given he likely had, at best, around two hours of sleep, she figured he'd be falling back again soon.

The assassin smiled softly at her. "Morning." He stretched out, repositioning some a little closer to her.

"You're up early."

"Seems my body just wanted to wake up, at least for a while."

She reached over with a small smile, running a hand down his side and toward his stomach; a finger tracing the hard muscle.

"You feel kind of tense," she said.

"It happens. Travel, maybe."

She didn't push the matter of her feeling that something was up. Kneeling, she brushed some of his hair out of the way.

"Lay on your stomach," she said.

As he did so, she sat across him, starting to trace her firm hands down his back. They usually woke up a bit less...touchy, unless they were in her hotel room after one of their intense sessions of physical release, but this morning, she found herself wanting to do this.

Using her slightly rough fingers to firmly press down his spine, she smiled softly as he arched and stretched out, sighing. Duo Lon did love when she would do this, and having it done as soon as he woke up was a pleasant surprise.

She didn't have any oil on hand, but there was some lotion at the side; she put a little on his back to better rub it in. Tracing over the defined muscles of his shoulders, she ran her hands over the tattoos that crept from his arms to his shoulder blades before working her way to his neck.

The assassin was in some sort of heaven right now. His arms around his pillow, he had his head resting on it as he uttered a low sound of contentment at Leona's heavenly backrub. The lotion had a very soft and comforting scent to it; nothing too strong at all, and it served to continue relaxing him as her deft and strong fingers worked over everything.

Leona did find a bit of selfish pleasure in this too, admittedly, as she found it an excuse to be able to just touch him. Ever since that time in the attic, she had enjoyed doing this. Continuing to work out any tenseness she may have felt-his muscle was densely built, but she could tell the difference between the two-she worked her way over the scars on his back and back up to his neck and shoulders again.

It took her a while, but she eventually finished. Still sitting across him, he turned over underneath her, his face with a slightly sleepy, though highly content look...and there was something else going on, too.

Glancing down at his waist, she raised an eyebrow; she had thought that may have made him extremely tired. He shrugged, looking up at her.

"I guess these things...happen," he said, sitting up to plant a long kiss on her abs that were right in front of him before pushing her down to the bed.

This led to an hour of pure, sensual bliss.

Smelling coffee, Whip opened her eyes, pushing herself out from under the sheet. She saw Adel having made the coffee and was poking around the stocked kitchen of the suite, munching on a red bean bun when he turned and waved. Swallowing the bite, he grinned.

"Morning," he said. "Got some coffee going and heated up some of these red bean buns. They're sweet," he said, bringing her one.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes and taking a drink of water from the bottle next to the bed. "Thanks," she said, smiling. Taking a bite, she enjoyed the taste; they tasted better than the ones she had remembered getting at a restaurant before.

He came to sit next to her. "It feels like our vacation is going so fast, yet we've only been here three nights."

"I know. We still have plenty of time, at least." She laid back. "I wouldn't even mind being lazier today," she added.

"That's fine by me. Stick near the hotel. Check that mall out that we wanted to. Maybe the four of us can have dinner tonight."

"I like that idea," she said, finishing the bun and washing it down. Standing and stretching, she walked over to fetch the two of them coffee once she heard it stop brewing. Taking a sip, she put the mug aside and curled up next to the blonde. "I just want to get over this jet lag so I can be a little less tired in the morning."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I feel like I have to take a nap during the day all the time. Luckily an hour seems to do the trick."

"Are we going to see Shen again?"

"I hope so. I'd like to spar with him."

"Of course you would." She grinned.

"I think I can take him-I hear Duo Lon usually doesn't have too much issue. But still-he seems strong, and I know he likes a good brawl."

"He seems like the type that will jump at the chance," she grinned, taking another bun and laying back against the padded headboard, her legs stretched out and crossed. Grabbing her laptop from the nightstand, she started looking over some things. "Hmm. You want to actually try that hotel restaurant tonight?"

"Hey, that's a good idea. I've been checking that place out as we walk by. Seems casual...for this place, anyway, so we don't have to dress up."

"I think we can go someplace nice near the end of the trip, but for now I don't mind dressing down."

"I brought one suit with me. Not the black-tie one, though."

"Yeah, I brought one dress, and I know Leona did, as well. Duo Lon looks fancy half the time in tournaments," she laughed. "It took me a few days to get used to how we see him now, back when he visited the Sky Noah." She was so used to seeing the assassin in his more luxurious silks that when he had started walking around the Sky Noah in his more casual sleeveless shirts, half the time with a band logo, it took her by surprise. He would sometimes walk the middle ground of fancy and casual in a sleeveless qipao in warmer weather.

"We'll set something up there. I'll do some poking for one of the best places around. Probably as our friend, too. Maybe a couple nights before we leave."

"That sounds fun. That way we have one buffer day to do whatever."

Grabbing another bun, Adel considered other food options as he mulled over what to do for the day.

Whip thought for a moment. "Doesn't the hotel have a pool? Given the expense, I'd assume it does."

"Ohhh yeah. All of these do. Has an entire spa set up. Wouldn't mind seeing it to see how it stacks up to mine," he chuckled, swirling his coffee around before swallowing another gulp as Whip settled against him, the laptop against her legs.

After a few moments, she heard him start laughing. He had picked up his own laptop to check his email.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just Henrik checking in. Apparently Gwan got a bit mad that we weren't there and decided to take it out on some curtains."

Now she had to laugh. "I guess they're just like regular cats...sometimes, anyway."

"He does like to sit in boxes, yes."

"That's right." She remembered Gwan deciding to make his home in her luggage more than once, with all the shedding fur that it entailed, especially in the summer. "I think he's outgrowing most of the boxes."

"He isn't the little baby he was before, definitely," he smirked.

"When are they full grown?"

"A couple of years. He's still young, but he could get around seventy-five kilos at the high end. They're the smallest of the big cats."

"That'll be fun when he jumps into bed with us."

He grinned. "Rodem would sometimes. He wasn't nearly as personable, but he liked the household. Be prepared for a lot of fur."

Laughing, she went back to her laptop.

Sitting at the table with some coffee and some snacks, Leona looked over to see the snoozing Duo Lon in the bed and smiled. She felt wonderful...both physically and emotionally, the latter being something that did not come often at all...until fairly recently, that was.

This had been the second time they had...spontaneously done anything. Usually, when they would meet during their times of getting together, they knew exactly what would happen; not that they minded this, as they very much looked forward to that when they got behind closed doors. They knew what was coming, and they were as intense as anything. The first time he was spontaneous was in the shower that one day...when he had decided to go down on her one more time for a few moments.

There was something...wonderful, to be frank, about just having it happen that way. The backrub had been something that she hadn't planned, and he hadn't planned on laying her down afterward to pleasure her. In the early morning, she had been sensitive, and the entire session had felt sublime.

She was also curious about everything that happened, but she of all people didn't want to press someone's privacy. She just had a feeling that there was some trouble somewhere, and she sort of wished he got to relax. She wasn't psychic-she felt that she could be completely wrong, in fact, but it was just a gut feeling.

Finishing her coffee, she went back over to the bed to lay next to him, relaxing a little more. Reaching over-a little hesitatingly-she stroked his soft hair lightly for a few moments before settling back, grabbing one of the books of landmarks to check out. She was curious about what other places there might be interesting in the city to see later in the day.

Hearing her phone buzz, she looked over to see Whip having messaged her.

"Dinner tonight, the place downstairs? Menu looks good."

Leona smiled, remembering she had glanced at the place herself.

"Sure. Will tell Duo Lon when he wakes up." She knew he'd be fine with it.

The soldier wasn't usually even much for chatting on a phone, let alone in real life, but she had found herself a little chattier lately among her friends, which she definitely didn't mind.

Grabbing another one of the sweet cookies that she had brought over to the nightstand next to the bed, she looked around at their impressive suite, admitting that while she was someone who usually did not live in luxury, she did not mind these bursts of comfort at all, and in fact, learned to appreciate them. Adel was generous, and while at first she felt strange, as she started to spend just a little more time with the group, she started to relax more.

Her eyes shut after a time, and she almost drifted off yet again, very much unlike her in the morning-especially after the coffee, but she supposed there was a level of comfort there helping her along.

After a time, she felt a hand tracing over her stomach and smiled; looking over, she noticed Duo Lon awake-still a little groggy-as he slid a little closer to her.

"Nice morning nap?" she asked, a soft smile on her face.

"Yes," he said, his head laying closer to her as she reached down to stroke his hair.

"They messaged us. Want to go to the hotel restaurant tonight for dinner?"

"Sure. Good food there. I ate there once." He looked around, checking the clock. "About ten-thirty. Getting a little hungry now." He rolled over on his back, though this time, he was naked after their little spontaneous morning session. Her eyes glanced up and down his body quickly.

"They mentioned on the phone they would be relaxing more today."

"We can go do something, if you want."

She looked outside the window. "Is there a place we can go to maybe get a view of the city? From the outside?"

The assassin propped himself up on his arm. "Hmm. I think I know the perfect place we can go," he smirked. "If you don't mind sneaking around a bit."

Leona smiled; somehow, she didn't mind going on a tiny bit of an adventure.

-Hotel, later that evening-

Looking out the window and seeing it fairly dark-the pair having mostly just spent the day around their suite and in the general area, going to get some snacks from a shop down the street that Leona had been curious about-Duo Lon looked over at his friend.

"We should probably start to head where we're going. It'll take a bit of maneuvering around the hotel."

"The hotel?" she asked curiously.

"Yes," he said. "Basically, they have limited times where you can view from the higher points...but I know a way up to the roof on off-hours that gives us a better view. It's sort of an open secret...there may even be someone else up there, but it's still generally frowned upon to do this."

"Is there...no barrier or something?" she asked. She imagined they'd not want anyone getting hurt.

"No, it's protected somewhat...but for insurance purposes, they get a bit hesitant to let people up there. Off-hours, and so on, they don't want to get in any trouble if something were to happen. But…" he shrugged. "It is a rather stunning view that I think you would like."

Smirking, she pulled her boots on as he threw on his own, along with his shirt. "And here I thought you followed the rules."

"I've had to follow my clan's rules most of my life...I do not mind breaking others sometime." He left it unspoken that working as a professional assassin probably entailed breaking a lot more than a 'few rules.'

Heading out of their room, he waved her toward the main elevator. "First we take this about halfway down. There's a fire escape there that we can take after that."

"Wonder where the other two are?" Adel said, sitting down to his fried noodles, looking around the hotel restaurant as he sipped his beer. "I thought they mentioned they would meet us here?"

"Not sure. I'm sure they're fine, though."

"Wonder if I forgot to tell them the time…" he trailed off, smiling a bit guiltily.

Whip dipped some of her chicken into the ginger and scallion sauce that had come. "Oops?" she chuckled, looking incredibly sheepish.

"Man, I'd feel bad if I did."

"I'll try to call, hang on." Whip picked up her phone, trying to first call Leona. After a time she shook her head. "No answer."

Adel tried the same with Duo Lon. "Same." He shrugged. "Maybe they went out to the city and got hung up somewhere?"

"Could be. I'm sure they'll make it here."

He smiled, nodding. "You're right," he replied, getting back to his food.

"Were...we supposed to meet them now?" Leona asked, scratching her head as they headed up the stairs. It had just occurred to her she wasn't sure if she remembered the time right.

Duo Lon stopped and blinked, realizing he didn't remember, either...and this was unlike either of them to forget something like this.

"I could have sworn he said he wanted to eat at nine? I think we were talking about eating later, and it's just after eight."

"That's what I thought." She shook her head. "I'd call them, but I left my phone in the hotel room."

"Same," he said. "Well, we're almost at the top. I guess we can just check this out and then head back? I wouldn't want to leave them hanging if we do end up late."

She nodded, though chuckled after a moment. "I almost feel like we really shouldn't be here. Not...that I mind."

He shrugged. "No one heard us." While Duo Lon was generally a quiet and respectful young man, he did still have some sense of adventure, and his youth could certainly come out. Leona was the same way, neither of them having not been afforded much of a childhood at all.

Pushing the door open, they reached the top of the tall skyscraper. The door was still open; the roof did have some odds and ends up here, and people would like to come up to take pictures or whatnot. They had sort of come up the back way, but being good at what they did, they went fairly unnoticed.

Being after eight, the sun had already set, and the view that spread out before them made Leona suck in her breath, a smile appearing on her face.

Being so high up, the wind was strong, though they felt plenty safe where they stood due to the sheer size of the rooftop, which sprawled out for many yards, and there was a waist-high wall around the area. Spread out in front of them was the city, lit up in all of its glory. Between white lights, neon, and cars, the cityscape before them looked like something that one might see in a futuristic setting.

Leona, who liked the look and feel of industrial things, couldn't help but grin at this.

"It's beautiful," she said, standing next to the assassin, his braid swaying in the wind. He had his heavier weights in, which as heavy as they were, did not blow about, though they would move slightly, much like a pendulum. He held them up as easily as if they had been a piece of foam rubber.

"Does this work for you?" he asked, a soft smile on his face.

"It does," she said, walking forward a bit, standing there and looking out. It was peaceful up here, despite the busyness of the city below which housed over twenty million people. She liked the almost cyberpunk looking architecture, seeing the building nearby with its almost strange shape, and other buildings, from skyscrapers to smaller ones, dotting the landscape. Billboards could be seen from afar dotting the streets lit up. It was almost like she was looking out over the cityscape of some film, set far into the future.

He stood there next to her, debating lighting his pipe, but knowing that it would likely be too windy to bother with it. He had to admit, despite not being much of a city person, up here he could get a much bigger appreciation of it.

Looking up at him after a few moments, she debated bringing something up. Something had been bothering her since he had returned early that morning from spending the evening with Shen, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She figured now, while they were alone, might be as good a time as any.

Leona had excellent instincts, and while she couldn't seem to read people with Duo Lon's seeming pinpoint accuracy, she was quite good at reading them, especially those close to her. The past couple of months of spending some time with the assassin-even if it was only six or so days each month in person when they weren't writing to each other-she had learned his mannerisms to the point where she could sense some things with him.

And she felt like there was something just sort of...off.

He met her gaze, smiling softly at her...seeing that she was clearly curious about something.

"What's on your mind?" he asked gently.

She chuckled, scratching her head. "You read me reading you."

He snorted some light laughter, gently touching her neck a moment. "I can tell you've been holding something in."

"What happened last night?" she finally asked. "You came in early in the morning...and went right to the showers. You smoked a pipe...and when you lay next to me, I could...feel it. The tension."

He was silent for a moment before he leaned next to the door leading back inside. After a time, he looked back over to her.

"I had to help Shen take care of a few things."

"Take...care of?"

"He had some big problems. I made them go away."

She blinked, knowing exactly what he meant. "On your vacation, even?"

"That's when it needed taking care of," the tall man replied, seemingly indifferent.

Looking over the city-it's lights bright against the dark night sky, the mix of streetlights and neon buildings stark against it-Leona glanced back at the assassin.

"You really can't escape, can you?" she asked him sadly.

Standing there with his arms folded as he leaned against the wall of the fire escape, Duo Lon looked down at her, smiling softly.

"I'm used to it. He needed a hand. I wasn't going to leave him hanging. Not to mention it was a situation that could have grown far uglier than it was."

"Why didn't you ask us for help?"

"Because I was able to easily handle it on my own. He asked me for a much needed favor. And I wanted the rest of you to be able to relax, for once, without getting more blood on your hands. I'm used to it."

"But what about you?" she asked him pointedly. "Don't you do things for yourself? You helped Adel...helped Whip, and now Shen...and you helped, and are still helping, me. When…when are you going to actually do something for yourself?"

"I do. If I get any information...or clues, I use them to go deal with my own work."

"I...mean that doesn't involve you hunting...or having to…" she looked down. She didn't know why this bothered her so much, but it did. It may have been that while he was not the first person she had opened up to...he was the first person she opened up to in a lot of other ways. She had discovered so many things about herself the past couple of months, and now she felt at a loss. She didn't understand how someone so warm with her could be so indifferent with other things…

...and of course, she could never see how she was fairly distant to people herself. She also had a habit of not being able to see when she should put her own duties aside, and never understood until now why people kept trying to push her a little. She usually lived in her own little world, and was now sort of getting to see it from the other side; someone she cared about, being indifferent, caught up in himself.

Is this how my friends feel? She thought to herself.

"I was born and raised to do this." he spoke up, interrupting her train of thought. "Since I was young. There is no walking away." He did not at all sound grim or depressed at this; he simply stated it as if it were fact. "I have my own way of coping, I suppose."

The soldier looked up at him, somewhat saddened by this. He seemed completely unbothered...yet, something hurt her heart to hear him say all of this. She did her duties as necessary, and this did sometimes require the removal of targets. Her nor her team did not like doing so, but it was sometimes necessary.

Her dear friend seemed to just have long accepted it as his life to the point where she wondered if he knew what it felt like otherwise. She knew he didn't enjoy it...but nor did he ever turn his back on it.

"I wish you could," was all she could think of to say.

Duo Lon smiled softly at her, reaching out with his hand to stroke her cheek with the back of his finger as she stood there. He was silent for some time, before finally formulating an answer.

"I can, at least, leave it to the side sometimes. In fact, I've gotten to step away from it here and there since the party."

At this, she leaned into his hand as he stroked; she then simply grabbed it and kissed it repeatedly. Her eyes closed, she held it in her hands as she kissed it again and again. His cool skin and claw-like nails didn't matter, nor did the amount of blood they had seen. She saw a scar on his hand, probably from something long ago...and she kissed that as well.

Duo Lon simply looked on, his chest somewhat tightening with every kiss. As he felt them eventually slow and then start to move up his arm-it felt like this took awhile, but he didn't really pay attention to that-he moved toward her, the soldier moving close to him to slide her arms under his, resting her head on his bare shoulder, adding a few more kisses to it as her hand caressed the claw marks down his chest.

"I…" Leona trailed off, her own stomach feeling warm. It was a different sort of warmth than this morning, when they had gone at it as soon as they woke up.

His head resting on hers a moment, he tilted her head up. "I was wondering. Would...you like to come see my place? It's a flight to Shijiazhuang, and then a long drive, but...I would like it if you guys came. It might be a little boring…"

"I'd love to," she immediately said, interrupting.

He smiled. "I haven't been back there in about a month. Maybe more. But I'll ask the others tonight." His hand reached up to push back some of her hair.

It didn't take them much longer to meet in a deep kiss; usually, they did not do this sort of thing during these times. Besides a few kisses shared in the Sky Noah, they hadn't had this much contact in what was basically a public place. While they did not expect anyone to come up for photos...it was still something new.

Breaking after some moments, they continued with a few more before separating, though keeping close.

"I think we need to get to the restaurant soon?" he said.

She added another kiss to his lips before answering. "Yeah. Let's go get our phones."

Taking one last look over everything, the two head back inside and down the stairs, their fingers interlocked this time, mostly without even realizing it. Quietly heading back through the more acceptable exit instead of the more emergency one, they managed to reach their room quickly enough, grabbing their phones.

"Ooh…" Leona said. "They tried to call me?"

"Me too," he said, checking. "Just once, though."

"Yeah, probably not any sort of problem." Pocketing it, she brushed a hand over his back as he went to grab his sleeveless shirt that he had lying around. His longer jacket was there, though he skipped it tonight. He had worn it once, and it had been abhorrently hot.

Before they left, they met in one more kiss, though it was quick.

Heading down to the restaurant, the two noticed Adel and Whip there, who waved them over. They were on their second courses, having decided to take their time with their first.

"Hi!" Whip said, smiling. "Everything okay?" Her eyes fell on their hands...which had ended up interlocking once again.

"It's fine," he said. "Sorry we're late...I think we mistook the time."

"It's no problem. We were just hoping you guys didn't get caught up in something."

Duo Lon chuckled. "We just lost track of time and forgot our phones. But...I have an idea, if you two are interested...a little side trip."

Adel pulled out a chair for him so he could sit, with Leona on the other side of him.

"Oh? Where are you proposing?"

A/N: If you've ever seen a good night cityscape, they have pretty amazing futuristic looks. In doing a fair bit of research of Shanghai night photography, it *really* had that look to it, and it was quite beautiful.

One of Leona's hobbies is 'touring factories.' It's not specific about this, but I imagine she likes the look of industrial type things and maybe even likes poking around abandoned ones. I could see her enjoying things like highly industrial looking cityscapes.

I fudged Gwan's age a bit. He probably should have been there from the start, but in this he joined the family-Adel had gotten him from the breeders of Rodem's family, as he's a grandson-a bit into their relationship so I could play with the fact he was a cub for a while. One of Gwan's parents probably lived with them awhile until he was done feeding, and probably some of that panther's earlier litter, who may have been the small one under Rose's piano in 2003. Gwan, these days, is the man of the house(they probably picked him because they found he was the most personable of the bunch or something.) So the cub's first appearance was probably a few stories/months back.