A/N: There's quite the adult scene in this chapter, so a head's up. Naughty times ahead.

-Hebei Province, Day 7-

Given yesterday's storm hadn't let up until later that afternoon-the rain went off and on, but the thunder and lightning were fairly strong the entire time-the crew had spent most of the day around the house. After Duo Lon had started to show the rest of them a bit of mahjong on request in the basement while they listened to some of the new albums they had acquired at the small store, the group had decided to turn in early. None of them minded, as they liked using this time to simply lounge around and eat some of the goodies they had bought, enjoying being in the middle of nowhere.

Duo Lon had once again prepared breakfast for the group the next morning. The youtiao was seemingly a permanent staple with this group, so he had made more of that-he had plenty of it frozen-along with a bunch of these pan-fried dumplings filled with chives, eggs, and vermicelli noodles, which were likewise wonderful. He wasn't the most elaborate cook, but he was quite good at preparing his local cuisine.

Now, he and Leona were on a path about a half hour away from the house, heading up the nearby foothills. Adel and Whip had chosen to stay behind to explore the immediate area.

"I come up here a lot," he said. "There's a place we can go with plenty of dry places to sit." The ground was still damp after yesterday's rain, but the stones and rocks were dry. The clouds were still thick, though the two did not mind at all; it kept things cooler. The breeze was damp, and while it was still warm outside, it almost felt like the ever-so-slightest hints of fall might appear in the air soon, possibly in another month or so.

"Just to spend some time?" she asked. She liked the solitude of the area.

"Yes. And I like to see what I can find. I have a sort of...strange goal to try to uncover an organism or two in my life that had not yet been seen, or at least not yet identified." Duo Lon's interest in biology went way back to when he was a child, having to learn it as part of his lessons involving anatomy, poisons, and the like. When he would train on his own, he would often attempt to search out new things-be it a plant, animal, insect, or even mushroom.

"I remember seeing some of your books. Any luck yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. Or, well, I'm not really sure. Sometimes it is hard to tell without an actual lab to test the thing in question."

They continued, liking the silence of the mountain-except for the odd chirp of an animal, and the wind in the trees-as they continued up, finally reaching a nice, secluded spot where the assassin stood to look around.

Joining him, Leona's hand brushed his back, her fingers tracing under his shirt and over his cool skin for a moment as she looked over everything, smiling softly.

"This looks as beautiful as the city. Only in its own way."

He nodded. They couldn't even see his house; they had walked for perhaps an hour. "I knew I had to take you up here before we went back."

"Two more nights, is it?" she asked.

"Technically three, but two more at my place. Adel had let me know this morning the tickets he had gotten were an early flight on our return date, so we'll get hotel rooms in Shijiazhuang near the airport for that last night. Which I don't mind-I've had to race back before to catch a mistaken flight before," he chuckled.

The look on his face told her it was probably a certain someone's doing. "Shen?" she asked.

"You can tell by looking at me, I know," he replied, an amused look on his face. "It's doable-I managed to drive it in just over two hours, speeding the entire way faster than I'd like with him hanging out the window yelling about how fun it was-but it's not something I'd like to repeat." He laughed at this, before continuing. "We can leave at any time-I don't mind driving at dusk, and the sun sets fairly late."

Leona had a chuckle herself, picturing the scene in the car. Folding her arms, she continued to look out over the scenery.

"I might miss it here," the soldier finally said, looking up at him a moment as she leaned against his arm. It slid around her as he sat and leaned against the rock behind him; she joined him on the ground. They were in a small clearing that was mostly a few trees and rocks, and had fairly dry stone to sit on. "I'm pretty sure I will."

"We can come back sometime," he said. "If you get time off again, just let me know."

She slid her hand down to take his, letting their fingers interlock again as their fingertips traced over one another.

"I'd like to see it in the autumn. I can only imagine."

"That is when I often try to come back. Spring and autumn, more often than summer. Autumn is perfect, though. I usually try to take a four-week stretch around October-usually from October to November-and stay here. I may take a necessary job or two in the province itself." He chuckled somewhat darkly. "I suppose that's the closest thing I get to vacation. I usually try to go camping somewhere around that time for a couple of days, to really get away."

"Maybe...I'll see then," she said, taking his hand to nuzzle it for a moment as he closed his eyes, still leaning back. She ran a hand down his chest as she sat there. Leona was feeling particularly...touchy today. Perhaps it had been a mix of things, like yesterday's talks and realizations. Maybe it was something more. It felt like it had started on that rooftop, for some reason, and she wasn't sure why. "I've done my share of camping. It's not that fun on the field...but for leisure, I think it would feel a lot nicer."

"Yes. I have had to stake out as well, and it's entirely different. For leisure, I usually just pick a part of the forest and relax for two or so nights." His hand absently traced her body as he spoke.

Duo Lon was apparently getting as touchy as she was, as he finally let his arm slide around her. As they lay, somehow butterflies-the same sort that had visited Leona back when they were in the attic-started forming in her stomach again, and she wasn't quite sure why. The assassin felt strange as well, as if he were discovering things anew. Perhaps it was the fact that the two were so close to his home, and they had spent the past couple of nights there.

As she leaned near him, the smooth stone cool against her back, he slid over her and they met in a simultaneous kiss; it didn't take long for it to deepen into a slow and sensual one. Their hands quickly finding each others' bare skin, going under one another's shirts, he straddled her, one leg on either side as he continued, feeling her nails start to trace down his back.

In no time at all, that familiar, smoldering ball of heat formed out of the previous moments' butterflies and settled in the pit of Leona's stomach. To this day, when they joined like this, she would get the same feeling, only stronger. It was a mix of anticipation, straight up horny energy, and something else, which she still did not know.

Duo Lon knew that their current situation-especially given the potential for inclement weather-probably meant they could not have as long of a usual session...but he could certainly have some fun and give her a good time. Tracing his lips down her neck, allowing his teeth to lightly scrape the skin as she enjoyed having done, his hand slid down to her sides, tracing over her lean and hard muscle for a few moments as it slid lower.

Leaning her head back and moaning softly, her own hands traced over his shoulders and down the dense, scarred muscle of his back again, letting her nails dig in harder as a low moan escaped his throat. The two, despite having been together several times now over the course of the past two months, seemed to be making up for lost time in terms of physical contact. Even now, their hands would trace each others' bodies, getting to know each other again and again, just like the first time at the party when the two apparently contact-starved and at the time mostly silent warriors started to discover the warmth of another's intimate touch.

They broke from their activity-after quite a while-the two of them quite ready for more soon, as if they weren't already there. Looking at her, running a thumb over her lip as she kissed it, he smiled softly. He slid the loose, sleeveless shirt he wore off, placing it at the side.

"Are you alright here?" he asked. He knew she could be hesitant in areas without actual privacy. The attic was something completely different for her; but they at least had a door lock there.

"Yeah," she said, panting as she traced a hand down his stomach. "No one's here for miles," she continued, a smirk on her face. She found that didn't mind getting into things outside for once.

Leaning back in to kiss her more, he then slid up her shirt, leaning down to tease her stiff nipple with his tongue. The breeze made her skin prickle, and this was soon combined with the pleasurable feel of him beginning to gently suck, his other hand tracing over and grasping the other as her hands slid through his ample hair. He nipped at it a few times, his teeth causing her to gasp.

After some time teasing her breasts, one free hand cupping the swell of one as his thumb traced a nipple as he teased the other, he slid down to her stomach, allowing his lips to plant feather-light kisses on the firm muscle the entire time. It was almost ticklish; it made her laugh softly, while at the same time making her even more aroused than she already was, given how low he was getting.

As he slid a hand down to undo her trousers, he smiled a little evilly when he found himself looking at her mound of closely-trimmed blue hair instead of her underwear; she had gone without. Pausing to plant several slow kisses on it, he looked up at her, smirking a bit wickedly.

She raised her eyebrows, giving him a knowing grin. She could see the hunger in his eyes, and she always thought it was extremely hot when he would look at her like that. She knew that he was getting ready to ravage her, and that thought alone was enough to make her shiver.

Tugging said trousers off and placing them off to the side where he had thrown his shirt, he moved back up some to kiss down her stomach, enjoying the feel of her abs against his lips as always, teasing with his tongue as well as he reached lower, between her legs.

She started to moan-and then groaned in frustration as he let his tongue rest for a moment against her center...before moving off to the side to work at her thighs somewhat.

He chuckled when he heard her reaction, only wanting her to better enjoy it after some teasing. Her taste was now in his mouth, and while it was hard for him to resist, he had to tease her just a little more first.

As the assassin moved to kiss her thigh-lightly at first, before letting them grow slower and longer, her breathing grew heavy. Her midsection was once again inflamed with desire; but his teasing just made the actual pleasure that much more intense.

Feeling his warm breath close to her center, she felt his thumb stroke her for a few moments before pushing her open; she muttered under her breath as she felt him start to kiss her nether regions deeply, his tongue sliding up and down as he did so. He took his time heating her up even more, pressing the flat of his tongue against her to slowly give her firm strokes. Already slick, he allowed her taste to fill his mouth, causing him to stiffen even more than he already was. He shifted, one hand freeing himself to give things a little more breathing room.

Leaning against the rock, she moaned low as he pushed closer, intensifying his actions. While he had only been treating her this way for a couple of months by now, it didn't take him long while in the attic the very first time to be turned onto the delightful pleasures of performing oral sex, and he would always make sure she was well cared for before they went all the way. The fact she got so vocal during it-she would mutter and even swear at the feel, when she was normally so quiet-made him like doing it even more.

This time, she tried to keep quiet, as sound could carry. She was at least whispering softly under her breath at the feel, her hands tangling in his hair, pushing him closer as he began to tickle her opening with his tongue, thrusting it inside to pick up some of the sweet juices that had already began to flow from her to swallow. Letting his incredibly long tongue snake inside of her, thrusting quickly, it caused her to begin to moan and bite her lip as she looked down at him. His eyes were closed and he looked content; one of his hands traced up, allowing his nails to dig into her sides just enough to cause that little bit of pain that she liked as she grasped his free one, interlocking fingers tightly. Pulling out, he sucked a few moments at her clit before biting her thighs and going back; having teased her for some time he settled into trying to push her over the edge. His tongue swirling and flickering over her clit as he sucked it, he felt her digging her nails in harder as he did the same, a tiny bit of blood being drawn from underneath the sharp appendages.

"Fuck," she whispered. "That's so good."

Letting her muttered swears and grasping hands guide him, he pressed close to suck hard at her soaked folds as she thrust toward him. Her head dropping forward, she opened her eyes long enough to watch him, his eyes closed and his lower face wet from pressing into her. His long tongue rubbing her more and more intensely as he sucked harder at her clit-his tongue rolling quickly over it as he did so, she moaned out a little louder than she had been as she came, filling his mouth with a sweet reward as he continued to stay close, swallowing all that came as his tongue lapped quickly as if not to miss anything.

As she started to finish-the pleasant aftershocks of the intense orgasm firing through her body, he stayed, gently cleaning her up as his hand continued to trace over. The stone beneath her was wet from their actions-he knew how to make her come incredibly hard with the things he had discovered about her over the weeks.

Looking up at her, he kissed her a few more times as she shivered from the sensitivity and rested his wet chin against her thigh as she fingered his hair, smiling at him.

"It always feels so damn good when you do that," she said.

"Mmm," he said, starting to nuzzle around lower again, letting his tongue give some more long, slow strokes. Knowing she was sensitive, he nonetheless could tell he could wrench one more orgasm out of her. Stopping a moment, he glanced up, letting his eyes tell her everything as he pressed back close, opting to thrust his long tongue up inside of her.

"Yes," she whispered, thrusting her hips toward him as his nails dug into the firm muscle of her side, quickly thrusting deep, pressing his tongue against her on the inside to quickly build her up again, enjoying himself and her reactions.

He knew how to treat her after the first orgasm to ease her into another.

Sucking at her as she thrust closer to him, he started to all but fuck her with his tongue for a few moments as she gripped his head, panting she felt herself build up again; a few more moments passed as he felt her grow slick one more time as she let out a shaking, low moan, her honey once again coating his tongue.

Drinking her in while he sucked at her midsection a bit more, he finally pulled away, kissing her a few more times before biting her thigh rather hard, surprising her. She had to take a few moments, due to how intense he would usually get.

After she gathered herself, she grabbed his face with both hands after he was done licking it-and her-clean, and pulled him up to kiss him, entwining around him, already the pair starting to be enveloped in some sweat and even more bodily fluids.

As their kiss broke, his lower lip in her mouth for a few moments as she nipped it, she smiled at him silently as her hand began to stroke his shaft, her rough thumb lightly circling the already damp tip. His soft, yet deep, voice rumbled from his chest as he moaned, his hand tracing around her well-toned back. His deadly fingers worked around her, occasionally passing over one of her scars, much as hers did to his own. He would dig his nails into other parts of her, causing her to close her eyes and smile; she had found it odd that she had really started to like this, but she supposed it was more of a case of her not having any idea what she liked, before they had gotten together.

The assassin sat back, propped up against the stone as she teased the piercing at the tip with her tongue, opening her mouth to take him in. Duo Lon was a very endowed fellow, but she handled him with no issues.

Letting her tongue rub up and down his shaft as she took him deep, her hands continued to massage his muscular thighs, as well as allowing one of them to slide toward his rear...remembering what she did to him that one day where they had gone into the sixty-nine, and trying that again.

His low moan and quick shiver-as well as his hand digging more into her back, told her that he indeed still liked this. His moaning turned almost into a low growl, which she found sexy as hell, as it emphasized his dangerous side.

Sucking faster at him, his hand stayed gently in her hair, sliding down to rub her shoulders. Her tongue worked his shaft as her free hand worked at him in ways that he did not remember back in the hotel room; getting a touch louder with his moaning, he started having to tap her, as the double treatment she was giving him-her tongue now swirling around the tip as she gently sucked the tip, teasing the jewelry-was going to make him bust any minute. Panting, he shook her a little more firmly. She did suck him a few more moments before slowly pulling back, the familiar taste of him in her mouth.

As she sat back on her heels, he pulled her forward for another deep kiss, shivering in her arms at the intense pleasure he just received...there was something very enticing about her not wanting to pull away from him. Kissing down her neck and shoulder, biting her some more, he maneuvered to sit down, motioning for her to go on top of him.

The assassin leaned against the stone as she positioned over him, slick and ready, sliding down on his shaft. She let out a shaking moan as he filled her; he exhaled deeply at the feel of being inside of her again. Straddling him, she was able to let him get deep inside of her, and it felt absolutely exquisite. Looking up at her, running a thumb over her lips as she kissed it, the two then embraced in a deep kiss themselves before she rested her head next to his, starting to ride up and down on him.

He grabbed both of her hands suddenly, interlocking fingers and holding them tightly; the position they were in didn't allow him to pin her, but he at least held her tightly this way. Moaning, she leaned her head back and continued thrusting, and she grinned as he leaned in, allowing his sharp incisors to bite the soft skin of her neck.

He held her like this for some time, eventually dropping her hands and holding her close to him as they continued their intense session, his own pleasure building to the point where he was getting unable to hold it back any longer. He had fairly good self control, but they'd always go so far into the foreplay that it would start to become difficult.

Meeting each other in harder and harder thrusts, he finally tensed, growled low in his throat and came hard; he continued to thrust as he did so. Leona moaned quietly herself, enjoying the now-familiar, and incredibly intimate feel of him coming inside of her. After the first time she had wanted him to not pull out, she had grown quite fond of barebacking and all that entailed, including the end.

Holding him tightly, she leaned in to bite at his neck herself as he threw his head back, kissing up it before meeting him again, his nails once again scraping over her skin.

Breathing heavily, Duo Lon looked at her as she straddled his waist, still having not pulled away from him yet. Being almost naked in this situation-outside, even if the closest people were an hour's walk away, was something that was completely unlike her.

Cupping his face with her hands, she let her fingers trace over his face and mouth as she smiled softly at him, her body having been once again subjected to intense pleasure. Nuzzling forward to kiss him softly-still smelling some of herself on his face, which given the intensity that he would always go down on her with was usual-she felt his hands gently trace down her back, his own fingers-also rough like hers, tracing up and down her spine, over the occasional mark, as he returned the kiss deeply, still inside of her.

As they broke, she smiled down at him, her heart pounding. He could feel it in her chest as she leaned into him again. His own beat slower than normal-a side effect of his strange powers, which would eventually cause more biological shifts in him far down the line-but he could feel hers.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said.

They separated finally, cleaning up the best they could with what they had in their pockets, planning on going to the hot springs for a soak afterward. Having slid their trousers back on, they embraced tightly again, his previously rough hands still gentle, soothing the scratches and bites.

They didn't expect to fall asleep as they did, but before they knew it, the two were out.

"They've been gone for a while now," Whip said, checking her watch. "Did they go hiking to the summit or something?"

Adel chuckled at that as he mixed two drinks for them; they had found some rather good tonic water behind Duo Lon's bar and had opted for a couple of classic vodka and tonics. Adding ice from the icemaker that he kept there-he certainly had this place decked out for a basement hangout, he thought-he gave them another stir before passing one to Whip. He then moved back to the front of the bar and sat next to her.

"I guess they just wanted to go have some alone time. Like we all do."

"They are more private," she agreed. "I think they're probably sorting through some things, too."

He smiled at that; he imagined, since the two of them had been hanging out with the others yesterday, that a lot of discussion had probably happened.

"Henrik had gotten in touch with me again, by the way. Gwan had stopped trying to shred the curtains and is now tormenting the kitchens."

"Isn't that your job?"

He scowled, not serious. "He's just filling in for me." His face softened after, though. "Nothing about the...situation, though. Which I suppose is good and bad. I'd rather have no news while I'm gone than bad news."

Rubbing his shoulder, she sipped her drink. "I'm halfway between missing the city, and also not wanting to leave here."

"I know exactly the feeling you're talking about." Adel blinked a moment, feeling his phone. "Huh, a message." He read it, grinning.

"What is it?"

"Duo Lon just said to get what we wanted from the fridge tonight. They might be gone for a little while today."

Whip smirked at that; she was more than happy to hear this. "Fine by me."

"Another drink?" he asked, touching her under the chin lightly, kissing her once.

"Yes, sir."

-Hebei Province, Day 8-

Rolling over, Adel stretched and yawned. Scratching his sleep-tousled hair, he sat up, seeing Whip also start to move.

"Good morning," he said, rubbing his head. "Is it just me or have we been sleeping in more?" He checked the clock; it read nine-thirty.

Yawning, Whip ruffled the big fellow's hair and nodded. "It seems that way, doesn't it?"

Sitting up, he rubbed his neck, sniffing. "I do smell coffee. Seems like the other two are always still up early, vacation or no."

Whip laughed. "For Leona, anything after six is considered sleeping in, and I'm still wondering if whatever Duo Lon does is considered sleeping or not."

He smiled at that. "Last night here tonight, then."

"Yep." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, grabbing his shorts he had off to the side to throw on; he didn't bother with underwear. "I might even do laundry here."

"Might as well." She rubbed his shoulders.

Moving up the stairs after Whip threw her own shorts and a tank top on, they noticed the rest of the house empty; Duo Lon's door was cracked, and the two weren't in there, nor were they in the kitchen. There was a fair amount of food there on the stove, however; those egg-and-chive pockets, some pancakes, meat buns, and other odds and ends.

"Huh, wonder where those two went again?" he asked. They had come back in the evening the night before; it was somewhat after dinner by the time they had made it back. They had shared some spiked coffee around the table with the other pair, looking incredibly content.

Whip shrugged, looking out into the backyard and not seeing them there, either. "Not out back. Maybe they hit the hot spring?"

He grinned. "Let them have all the time they want out here."

"Oh, definitely," she said.

The two hit the bathroom before settling around the table with the food.

"I gotta make sure to tell the cooks to put some of this stuff on the menu."

"It is addicting. I'm pretty sure I've eaten my weight in these dough sticks."

"We're fighters. We need it," Adel grinned as he grabbed one.

The assassin was in the branches, lightly jumping from branch to branch. Below, he knew the soldier was stealthily crawling about the bushes, trying to get an ambush on him. Several trees behind them were marred with claw marks or sort of cauterized looking slashes, not unlike some of those derelict buildings in one of the seedier parts of Köln. Other things were broken from various stray blows.

It was almost cheating, being able to peer through things like he could...but she did not like him to withhold abilities. There were certain ones he would not use-he would not, for example, summon cursed, dead souls-but he would utilize his abilities to better locate people. She, in turn, would try to outwit him, which would give her even better practice hiding from mundane opponents.

Hearing a rustle of leaves, he started to run along one of the thick branches again; he was up fairly high, as he needed heavier branches to hold his weight. Seeing where some of the rustling was coming from…

...He then dove down nearby, sweeping underneath one of the shrubs, knocking Leona on her back. She had utilized a branch under the leaves to try to make the sound carry to fool his direction, but his assassin's instinct had kicked in.

Pinning her there, he smiled. He had a few marks on him where the soldier earlier had managed to somehow roll between his long legs and swing around onto his back during a clash; he narrowly avoided her 'stab' after that by flinging her over his shoulder. They had clashed some more before she had taken off, and he had then taken to the trees to follow her.

She, too, had a few on her, but nothing serious. At first she tried to scowl...but she couldn't hold it for more than a few seconds, and smiled warmly at him as he let her up.

"How the hell did you know?"

"I have to know," he said, brushing a few leaves off of her, a sly smile on his face.

Leaning against him, she sighed in contentment. Duo Lon had been the only person so far that she had done this more extensive field training with, since after the last tournament. She knew Adel or Whip would agree to this, but there was something about sparring with the assassin that she loved. They had eaten breakfast, and then spent most of the morning in the woods about a half hour away from his home.

"You missed me the first time."

"I know I did," he smirked, sitting by one of the large trees as she sat next to him; she was wearing her usual favored outfit, opting for her longer trousers despite the summer weather since she liked wearing them on the field. He wore very little; going without his shirt, he opted for his loose, black trousers that he would wear on a more 'active' job. He of course would dress depending on the target; if he had to go undercover, he would often just wear what he had to-a suit, his traditional outfit, or whatever was necessary. If he had to take out targets on the field, he would opt for clothing that allowed him to move easily stealthily through wherever he had to go. Unlike many other assassins, he never had to carry a weapon. Being at a range was of no protection for an enemy; he did not even have to fling his strange dead spirit energy-which mostly would act as a stunner rather than a killer. A quick teleport and he would be next to the target.

But today, he was sparring purely for practice...and to let Leona have some outlet that she did not get with her own unit these days. Regular sparring with her close friends was of no issue, but the field exercises involved the whole unit.

She reached a hand over to stroke his defined back, rubbing away a tiny bit of blood left from a strike when a couple of her cuts had hit home a bit too squarely, though he didn't mind at all. His own claws had managed a few hits on her-but while it remained unspoken, the two probably marked each other up more during sex.

The assassin leaned against the tree, with her against him, closing her eyes as his arm went around her.

"You said that you usually come back for a few weeks in the fall?" she said.

"Yes."

"I will definitely try to get a few days."

"Just fly into Shijiazhuang. I'll get you. I'll still be visiting you guys every month for as long as I can, unless I get something that carries me away for a while. Most jobs don't take me that long."

She nodded, her eyes still closed. "We'll see what Adel comes up with for that autumn barbeque."

"I'll definitely be there for that. If we're lucky I'll be able to get over there every weekend, but it's hard to predict."

After a little more time of sitting, enjoying the breeze in the woods, she lay back, her head on his legs as she crossed her own in front of her. One hand interlocked with his as she closed her eyes again, a tiny, content smile on her face, his long fingers tracing the skin of her hand.

Duo Lon looked down, smiling softly as well. He would often miss his home when he left, though he was not particularly attached to it in a sentimental way, it was more that he liked the solitude of the place. He usually traveled alone, but half the time he was in a city, sniffing out leads or whatnot depending on the job he was on. Or he was out and about, trying to deal with his own personal hunt.

The incident with Ash the last tournament wasn't even on his mind as much. It was there, but it was more in passing; they would meet when they would meet. He admittedly did not like what the young man did, but at the same time, it wasn't as personal as he had with the man that used to be his father.

As his free hand stroked the soldier's hair affectionately, he was glad to have more to think about these days.

Adel's head rested on Whip's stomach as the two lay on their basement bed; having decided to come inside to just be lazy in the air-conditioned basement, Adel was checking the laptop that he had resting on his stomach. Whip's hand fingered his soft hair as he did so. They had just gotten done taking a little bit of advantage of their privacy, and they both felt nicely mellow afterward.

"Sort of in the mood to maybe drink a few tonight again," she said.

"Definitely. It'll be our last night here, so we might as well raid our friend's bar."

She chuckled. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"I'll reimburse him if we drink anything rare."

"I'd hope they'll join us. They disappeared basically all day yesterday."

"I think they'll be around today," Adel said, scratching his head. "Like we said earlier, I think they had some...things to figure out."

She smiled warmly. "So you're serious about the autumn thing?"

"Oh, absolutely. I think I'd like to do it in early October. That'll be the best bet for it."

"Going to rent a big place?"

He rubbed his chin. "You know...that's not a bad idea. Even if it's just a few of us this time. There was something nice about that weekend. I know this will be the only vacation we get to take for awhile…"

She looked up. "So might as well make that one count as a mini one."

"Exactly."

"Isn't that big manor in London available to rent?"

"I think so? I'm open. It was cool looking. We could also try a small castle."

"For a weekend barbeque?"

Adel shrugged, checking through some more of his email. "I'd probably lean toward a manor. I mean we...could go with the fields we tend to set the Sky Noah down near, but...I think I'd rather have it somewhere else."

"I agree." Whip stroked his hair, smoothing it back as he lay across her toned stomach.

Hearing a sound after some more time-it was a little later in the afternoon at this point-they both looked upstairs.

"I think they're back," he said.

"Excellent," Whip replied. "We can probably all have those drinks tonight then, like we wanted."

"Wanna go up?"

"Sure."

They put their stuff aside and head on up; they saw the other two in the kitchen, with Duo Lon making a fresh pot of coffee, as well as taking the almond liquor out.

"Hope you guys weren't too bored here," he said. "We had another trip out."

"We're fine," Adel said, sitting at the table and smiling at Leona, who gave a shy smile back in return. "I see you're getting some alcohol out...I was going to ask…"

Duo Lon smirked at him knowingly. "About having some going-away drinks?"

"You read my mind."

The four gathered around the table, deciding to make the most of the rest of the day.

A/N: One of Duo Lon's likes is 'hunting for unidentified organisms.' So I mentioned this a little. Tied it into his knowledge of biology that he had growing up, needing it for his shady work.

Sometimes people bond differently. At this point, I like to imagine their bond growing as close as Adelheid and Whip, though in a different manner.

The "field sparring" I figure the mercenary unit does; the military often does field exercises and such. However, while I'm sure her close buddies spar with her, the others I am sure are wary after everything, and with her on desk duty, she's probably sort of 'left out' of those. So she gets those in with Duo Lon, who is someone who does a lot of 'out on the field' stuff himself, albeit in a different way. In Shadow Silence, they had done it in a seedy part of Köln, jumping between derelict buildings, and here, they were in the woods.

I gave Duo Lon and Leona their little naughty moment, since Adel and Whip had gotten theirs in the mile-high situation. I mean, both couples deserve one scene in the fic. ;)

Anyway, thanks for sticking with this just...bunch of slice of life! Chatting, planning other hangouts, and...well, a lil' smut in there too. I know the only potential combat was five seconds of friendly sparring and implied death at the hands of Duo Lon a couple of chapters ago, but I guess you all realized by now this isn't an action-fic.