-Shanghai, Day 13-

"I think I'm going to take about two weeks off drinking," Adel said, shoving a youtiao into his mouth that had been well soaked in sweet soy milk, all of the tiny crevices dripping with it. The food hit his stomach like a blessing, and was quickly followed up with a large swig of coffee. While the crew were not too hung over, they were certainly feeling like the past few days had caught up to them.

"You and I both," Whip replied. "I don't even think I'm going to want the evening wine."

Leona chuckled, nodding. "I don't drink much to begin with. This vacation had certainly hit me a little more than normal."

Duo Lon simply looked around the breakfast table. "I'm feeling alright. A bit tired, maybe."

Adel scowled at him jokingly, knowing his friend burned out alcohol at an alarming rate. Duo Lon shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

The four had gotten room service for their last full day in Shanghai. All of them had slept in until it was almost nine. This was unlike the group, save for Duo Lon when he was living on his night schedule, but the past couple of days had been fairly busy for them. It was like the relaxation that had set in from their trip to Duo Lon's home had worn off and they had shifted into sort of a busy mode that had them traveling about the city more so than before.

"That dinner was beyond delicious, though," Whip stated as she chewed on an egg-and-chive pocket; the rather heavy cuisine was just what she needed at the moment. "I can't say I've eaten a third of what was on that menu. If not half."

"I wonder how Shen's doing," Adel thought out loud, grabbing one of the pockets for himself.

"I'm sure he's fine," the assassin said. "He can get over heavy drinking nights easily enough, and he seemed quite pleased to get to try abalone, his...crude humor aside."

Leona snorted laughter at that, grabbing a tea egg and sipping her coffee. "I could skip the sea cucumber next time, though."

"I think we're all in agreement there."

Chuckling, Duo Lon nodded. "While I am not as bothered by it, I can say it's not one of my favorite dishes."

Whip looked over at the suitcases that had been thrown onto Adel's bed, sighing. "Guess we need to get this done sooner than later."

Adel glanced over, polishing off his current plate and reaching for a sesame pancake. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too hard. Better to get it over with now so we can just not have to think about it. Last minute packing sucks."

They had started throwing some things in them yesterday. Being thankful they had packed light, it hadn't taken long to even get to the halfway point. But knowing that they would have an earlier departure-their flight would be leaving around noon, and they would have to be at the airport by ideally around nine-they didn't want to deal with any more morning packing than necessary.

"We had started yesterday, as well," Duo Lon said, sipping his coffee and going for a tea egg himself.

"I'll have the limo here for us a little before eight thirty," Adel mentioned. "Tell Shen to get here if he doesn't want to miss it."

"I'll let him know," he said, chuckling once. "He should be able to make it, if he doesn't go out drinking tonight after the crabs."

"We'll get breakfast at the airport, I think," the blonde said, grabbing another sesame pancake after devouring the first quickly; these were the sweet variety, and he had grown attached to them. "Don't laugh, but I think I almost want a big, greasy, fast-food breakfast. This stuff is delicious, and I am going to demand the kitchens start learning how to make some of it. But somehow..."

"You'll be going back into fancy food again," Whip replied. "It's sort of your break."

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Even I wouldn't mind," said Duo Lon. "I have eaten this fare most of my life. While I of course love a lot of it, I think I'm ready to eat an egg sandwich with cheap sausage."

Nodding, Leona gently leaned against his shoulder for a moment as she took another bun. "Want to come to the hotel when we get back to Köln?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, smiling softly.

Adel looked warmly at them before polishing off his ample plate and leaning back. Whip looked at him, stroking his hard abs as he smiled contentedly. She finished off her own plate before standing to go poke around her luggage again; she had done a fairly good job of getting everything lined up. Being in the military, she was, of course, quite good at thorough and methodical packing. She showed Adel a few hints on how to get even more into a smaller space.

"Is there a lounge at this airport?" Leona asked curiously.

"Oh yeah. All the big airports are guaranteed to have them. We'll basically be in the same type of place we were on the way here. Same basic seating on the plane, too."

"What time are we getting back?" Whip asked.

"Frankfurt time? Around six in the evening, so it won't even be dark yet. Henrik will have the limo for us there."

"Sounds good."

"Checking the weather, it's a little cooler there than it is here now, but we'll still have a couple more weeks, I think, until the weather breaks. It shouldn't be too much longer until we start getting that nice autumn breeze blowing in."

Duo Lon finished his own food and coffee before standing back. "I will excuse myself to take care of what packing I have for now," he said, bowing. Leona stood as well, waving as the two walked out.

Adel drank off the rest of his coffee, planning on getting more after he took care of the bulk of his packing. Emptying the main hotel drawer, he rolled up and packed the majority of his clothing as it was, making sure his suit was kept nicely in its bag to go on top. He was quite quick at this; having traveled a lot in his life, he had gotten used to it.

He made sure to leave out clothes for the next day, as well as a few toiletries, but he was otherwise finished rather quickly.

"You're almost as fast as me," Whip said, also loading up her clothing, having made a pile of whatever stuff she had bought from the various stores around Shanghai. There had not been a whole lot; Whip was not the most dressy of young women, and liked more casual wear when she was around, but she had found a few odds and ends she had wanted.

Pausing to look at the window, Adel smiled over his shoulder at her.

"I'm glad we got to do this," he said. "Not a bad way to spend a first anniversary, I guess?

She came up behind him, sliding her hands around his muscular chest, kissing him between his shoulder blades.

"Not at all."

"So you're going to do it?" the blue-haired soldier asked.

Looking at the tattoo parlor, Duo Lon checked his watch. "It's not quite ten. I think we'll be just fine."

"We packed most of our stuff even before we went out. And we're not going to Shen's until eight, right?"

"Yes, we're eating later tonight. And if you don't mind sitting, I'd be happy to have you there."

"I never watched one get done before. Does it bleed?" she asked, curiously.

"There's not much," he said. "Sort of mixed with ink." He knew she wasn't too fond of blood in large amounts, though she did not mind the small amounts drawn from their affectionate bites and scratches. Indeed, they had discussed it before; she had confessed to him that she had no aversion to those. It was the opposite, in fact-somehow for her it showed just how much trust they had that they were willing to allow the other to do such things.

"It'll turn into some nice looking art," she smiled.

The assassin simply touched her cheek lightly and walked inside; the shop was small, clean, and well air conditioned.

Greeting the man in Mandarin, Duo Lon seemed to ask a few questions; nodding with a satisfied look on his face, the tall, tattooed man behind the counter-his own hair somewhat long, though only to his shoulders-waved the two over to the waiting chairs.

"He'll be out in a bit," he said. "His name is Zhu, and he's done some of my work before."

"Do you always come here?"

"Just sometimes. I've gotten some done around the clan villages. Others around Shijiazhuang. Then even some around South Town, and a couple were done in Europe, too."

Leona examined his arm, enjoying the detail of the sharply detailed, eerie looking designs. "Any specific plans?"

"Just going to tell him to keep within the theme for this," he said, pointing to his left upper arm, which had more skin open than the rest. "Some of his darker designs."

Eventually, a man about Leona's height stepped out; his hair was cut into a medium-length mohawk and his body was adorned with a whole lot of tattoos of various kinds. He did not look old-no older than his mid thirties-and was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. A mask was on his face, which he slid down. He took off the rubber gloves he wore, tossing them into a covered trash can, before washing his hands and stepping over to Duo Lon, holding one out.

"Hello," he said, clearly in Mandarin.

"Hi," he answered back, shaking his hand. Zhu looked at Leona, nodding.

"English?" he asked. He spoke it well, though had a fairly heavy accent. He tattooed tourists fairly often, so was used to it.

"Yes," she said.

"Zhu. I see my friend is back ready to get some more done," he grinned. Duo Lon was a good paying customer, after all.

The assassin nodded. "Some work here, if you could. Thank you for taking me on short notice."

He shook his head. "Good customers get good treatment," he replied, leading them toward the back.

His office was clean and well kept, and there were a few similar offices around with other artists doing varied work on people.

Duo Lon sat in the long chair, his arm on the side. Zhu sat, examining things for a few minutes. "I think I have some ideas for this." Spinning around, he grabbed his sketch pad to quickly hammer out a few ideas; it didn't take him long for him to come back with something particularly eerie and befitting the assassin.

"You do all of this freehand?" Leona asked.

"Mostly," he said. "There are times where I need to follow a design, for more specific, detailed pieces. But I've done this since I turned eighteen. You get used to it. In his case, it's more freeform work."

"Wow," she said, deciding to examine some of the books he had there as the artist set up his inks and the tattoo gun. She was quite impressed at the various art in this book; he had a wide variety of things he could draw. Some of the work was more in the sense of beauty; floral patterns, though very nicely designed and realistic. Others were terrifying or even eldritch in appearance-not unlike some of the things Duo Lon had.

Others yet were more industrial looking; chains, gears and the like. It was these that piqued her attention as she took a closer look at the section as she heard the tattoo gun click on, its small hum noticeable in the room.

Duo Lon paid the tattooing no mind. His pain tolerance was nothing short of insane, and this felt like more of an annoying scratch than anything. He and Zhu chatted a bit in Mandarin; while the artist was fairly good in English, the former was his mother tongue. Leona didn't mind; Duo Lon would rarely use his mother tongue when the others were around so as to not let them feel left out, but he would sometimes, if he needed to speak quickly about a few things.

After a short while-Leona watching as the man dabbed away blood and ink from Duo Lon's arm, the artwork already starting to form-Zhu turned to her and smiled, since he had seen her looking quite awhile at one design in particular in the book. He had noticed her trace her finger over it, tilting her head to the side as if she was in thought.

"See something you like?" he asked.

"This is nice," she said. "I like the mechanical look."

The assassin smiled at her, almost able to read her thoughts. "Are you…"

She coughed. "I'm...usually not spontaneous. Not until..." she said, her blue eyes darting off to the side as she ruffled her hair; they both knew she was speaking about the party. "And...well I'll say the first time I felt spontaneous, I had never felt happier after."

Zhu looked between them, not quite sure what any of that meant, but he could tell when someone was interested in a tattoo. "I can have yours done in perhaps two hours? Maybe three. You can consider it." He continued work on the tall man's arm, Duo Lon leaning back, his legs casually crossed in front of him.

Leona looked over the design again and rubbed her shoulder, indeed taking some time to think things over.

"Hmm. Should we get the crabs yet?" Whip checked her watch, seeing the time was only around five.

"Probably not. They should be alive when they go in," he said, making a bit of a face. "They're delicious, but poor bastards."

"At least they'll be going to a worthy cause," she chuckled, patting Adel's stomach.

Grinning, he nodded. "I guess we'll just go get them when we're all together, before going to Shen's place. Place should still be open, we got 'em really late last time."

"Have you heard from the other two?"

"They're still at the tattoo parlor. I thought Duo Lon had said he'd only be about three hours, but they've been gone most of the day."

"Maybe they had a wait, or he got some more work done than he originally planned?" she thought.

"Probably." He stopped outside of a coffee shop, looking inside. "Want any?" he asked, pointing with his free hand. His other held a bag with a few other odds and ends he had picked up to take back home.

"Oh yeah," she said, wiping her brow.

The pair walked in and ordered a couple of big iced coffees, loaded with plenty of sugar and milk. While Adel typically liked his coffee without milk, and only a little sugar-sometimes none at all-when it came to this stuff, he liked it loaded.

Sitting and sipping their drinks-the café was nicely air conditioned, granting their sweaty bodies relief from the early evening heat-Whip sighed, smiling.

"Tomorrow morning, then," she said.

"Yeah."

"I loved this," she said simply, patting his hand. "Finally, something just...relaxing."

"Let's just hope that someone doesn't try to start a fight on the plane," he laughed.

"Well technically vacation's done at that point, so I'll count it as a win," the soldier replied, chuckling.

"True." Sipping his drink, they sat in their familiar, comfortable silence as Whip checked her phone for a few things, Adel simply watching as people wandered in and out, ordering various things. After a few moments, his phone rang.

"Hmm?" he checked. "Oh, it's them," he said.

"Oh?"

"Hello?" he picked up. "Everything alright?"

"Just fine. Took a little longer than expected. Where are you?"

"We're at the café near that one restaurant we had breakfast at the first week. It's got the blue sign."

"That's Wu's. We'll meet you there," the assassin replied.

"See ya," Adel said, clicking off his phone. "They're finally done. Took them awhile this time, but looking forward to seeing his ink."

"Same, they always looked so damn neat." She scratched her head. "Have you ever considered one?"

"I don't know if they're my thing," he said. "But I like piercings."

"Yeah, you wear them well," she grinned as he played with the barbell in his mouth for a moment, sticking it out between his lips.

"You?"

"I dunno," she said. "I like my earrings? I'm not sure if I'd like more or not."

"No hurry to decide. If you even want more."

After a short while more, Duo Lon and Leona walked in; the tall man's defined arm covered in a thin sheet of wrap, which had some clean petroleum jelly on it. This was generally only kept on for the first hours, when it would be removed, washed gently, and allowed to let breathe.

In addition, they noticed Leona with a similar setup on her shoulder, albeit not as large of a bandage. Whip's eyes widened as Adel smiled.

"I would not have expected…" he said.

Leona smiled, scratching her hair. "It was...just something I ended up wanting." She sat as Duo Lon went to go get them drinks. On her shoulder was an incredibly detailed industrial sort of design that looked like steel and chains blended in with some gears; it went a few inches down her bicep and crept up to her shoulder. It suited her arm, corded in its lean, wiry muscle- very nicely.

"That looks so cool," Whip said, examining it. She looked up at the assassin as he handed Leona an iced coffee and sat. "Did you…"

"I did nothing...she was interested, and my artist was happy to oblige," he said.

"You should see his up close," Leona said, gently taking his arm to show them. The finalized design-symbols blended in with strange, almost demonic or otherworldly designs-connected more of his sleeve, giving it an even scarier look, mostly in a dark, bloody red and black.

"That looks even better than before, and I always thought it looked great." Adel said.

"Zhu does great work." He looked at Leona's, gently shifting her arm, though not touching the tender spots. "This does suit you. Very nicely."

She smiled at this, moving her arm around. "It just sort of spoke to me, I guess you can say," she said. "Before I knew it, after Zhu finished him up, I was in the chair getting it. It hurt a little at first, but nothing compared to getting shot," she chuckled.

Whip bent closer to look at both of their work. "I wish I could sketch like this, let alone ink someone's skin," she said. Examining Leona's, she nodded. "It really does work for you."

Settling back-the soldier's arm feeling strange and sore as she sipped her coffee, she tried to restrain herself from touching it.

"That's going to itch," Duo Lon said. "Just don't scratch it." He flashed his nails. "I learned quickly with my first one...I wasn't even eighteen yet," he chuckled. "I was lucky to not have to get it redone."

"I should be fine," she said, shuddering at the idea of his nails scratching a tattoo. "It is a little tender, though."

"It's your first. If you get more, you'll get used to them. You might have a little trouble sleeping on that side tonight."

"I usually sleep on my back anyway. I'll just flip to my right side if I need to."

"My piercings felt so weird when I first had them done," Adel said. "The tongue healed fast, but the others were sore for quite awhile. I did go and get these three done at once, though."

Whip giggled. "I still remember coming home to that."

He smirked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Wonder what you're going to come up with."

"I don't know yet," she said, tweaking his shirt. "Maybe something will hit me."

"That's how it usually happens."

The four ordered up a snack as they drank their coffee, deciding to get a couple of plates of sweet stuff to munch on while waiting for Shen's call so they could pick up tonight's dinner.

Sure enough, after some short time, Duo Lon's phone rang; picking it up, he answered.

"Yes?"

"Where are you? I'm kinda close to the hotel."

"Wu's."

"Gotcha. I'll come there and meet you guys. Then we'll go get the crabs. Let's double 'em this time."

"However many you want. See you here." He hung up, nodding to the rest. "He's on his way."

"So you tripled them?" Whip chuckled as they made their way down the street back toward Shen's apartment.

"Yeah, might as well see the vacation out good," Adel said, the bags of crabs hanging from his hands.

Shen walked ahead, smoking a cigarette. "I got a case of beer upstairs. We'll do exactly what we did last time. Only less jet lag and more crabs." Quickly keying in the door code when he arrived at the place, they made their way back up the several flights; Duo Lon taking them as quickly as he always did, even flipping up the last flight.

Leona smiled at this as she took off up the stairs quickly herself.

The rest made their way up, choosing to be lazy and go slower, eventually making their way down the short hallway. Shen unlocked the door, letting the crew in. Having left the air conditioner on, the room was nice and cool, a blessing from the stuffy stairwell and hallway.

Tossing the bags on the counter, Adel stretched and headed over to the recliner that he had liked last time to slump down in, crossing his long legs in front of him. He sat near the air conditioning unit, which had a familiar 'cold' smell to it; somehow it made him feel even more at home than he already did. It was almost like his brain craved normalcy of 'everyday people' after having been raised in mansions, on giant, luxury aircraft carriers and posh airships his entire life.

"Want a beer?" Shen asked, grabbing one.

"I think I'll wait for dinner," he replied after a moment.

The rest agreed, settling around the room in various positions; Duo Lon went to poke around the kitchen, smiling at the array of new spices Shen had purchased.

"Seems like you were telling the truth," he said, smirking.

"Told ya," the brawler said, patting his shoulder.

"I'm going to have a pipe on the balcony first, and then get started."

"Take your time. It's what, around dinnertime? You guys can stay as late as you want."

"Yeah, we can always sleep on the plane," Whip said.

Leona settled on the couch, leaving some room for when Duo Lon arrived back in. Shen went back to his shelves-he had just been watching one of his fighting DVDs before he left-and put on some music instead.

"What do you have up there?" Adel asked.

"I like action movies, as you might know. I do collect fights as well. Though they are kinda lame half the time, depending on who's going at it." He snorted. "I don't really join those, though...a little too controlled for me," he chuckled.

Duo Lon had finished getting a few things out in the kitchen before packing his pipe at the dining table; moving to the balcony, Shen went to join him for a few. The others let him go, since they figured they would have a few more things to chat about before going back.

Leona peered at the wall of CDs and DVDs, curious to see a few of the things he had while Whip leaned on Adel, still on the arm of the recliner. She pulled out an action flick with a lot of explosions at first, accidentally tugging out another DVD-which, when she caught it, happened to be something of an adult movie.

Whip laughed. "Find anything good?"

She picked up the movie, turning it over and raising an eyebrow; she placed it back on the shelf, smirking. She was sort of thinking about the last time she had seen something naughty in passing and what became of it later.

"Kinda."

Adel could smell the smoke coming from the balcony; Shen's harsher cigarette coupled with Duo Lon's gentler, more fragrant pipe smoke. They seemed to be chatting in Mandarin about something, watching the sun set.

They felt at home, though, despite this only having been their second time here.

"Hmm, I think I might be ready for a beer now after all," Whip said thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, yeah," Adel agreed.

"I'll get us some," Leona said, going to the fridge to grab four, knowing Duo Lon would probably want one as well. She handed them out, relaxing on the couch as the others checked out a couple of the magazines Shen had lying on the table; mostly these were music entertainment and fighting magazines. One of them featured in retro game consoles. This interested Adel, as he didn't know the brawler would like something like that. Action movies, fights, porn, gambling, and even some cartoons, sure-but older games, not so much.

Meanwhile on the balcony, Duo Lon was taking his time with his pipe, looking out over Shen's part of town, which still was slightly more old fashioned compared to the rest of the city, albeit it was also a little on the dimmer side, with less lighting. Blowing out another thin stream of smoke, he turned toward his friend.

"Do I need to help you with anything else before I leave?"

"Nah. It'll be okay. Money is good, training is fine." He adjusted the collar of his shirt a moment as he took one of the last drags of his cigarette and sipped his beer. "Just tell me when I need to make sure I have free time come October."

"Of course."

"And you...don't be afraid to show your feelings. I know how you are. Like how you really are."

"I don't mind telling you things."

"You know what I mean," he said, giving the assassin a playful nudge, a somewhat fake scowl on his face.

"Trust me. She has seen almost everything I have to give her."

"That's good. Don't hold back."

"I don't plan on it." He finished his pipe, tapping it out. "If you'll excuse me, I have crabs to steam," he said, getting up and heading inside to the kitchen. Leona followed, having enjoyed the process the first time.

Shen slumped back onto the couch, looking over at a curious looking Adel.

"See something you like?" he said, having noticed the magazines were looked at.

"I didn't know you liked retro games," he said.

"Yeah, heh," the bruiser replied. "While I was mostly here in Shanghai, there was a time I jumped around...traveled a tiny bit here and there when I was young, made it back. I mostly lived here, but for maybe...two years of my life I was in other places. It's what I had to keep me occupied while I was jumping around in a couple new places. Especially some time spent in South Town. I brought one back with me. Kept me from fighting...as much, anyway," he chuckled.

Whip smiled at that. Knowing Shen grew up here and there, never really having a true home, it was probably good for him to find something besides constant scrapping with people to keep him busy.

In the kitchen, Duo Lon was setting up the steamer; getting the spices ready, he set everything going and put the first batch in. Leona very much enjoyed the smell of those spices, and wanted to get some herself.

"If I were any good at cooking, I'd get some of these spices to put on things," she said.

Looking over at her, he smiled gently. "I'll show you a few dishes."

Adel decided to see what was going on in the kitchen; seeing the crabs cooking, his stomach rumbled. "Goddamn those smell good," he told his friend.

"I'm glad. These will be even better this time."

"How long?"

"Not long, Twenty minutes for the first batch. I put as many as I could in. I'd set the table if I were you."

The rest of the crew set out plates and more beer around the table as Shen went to go check a few things out in his bedroom; he was going to clean up a few things in case they wanted to go check the systems out he had in there. His room was of a decent size, and his little corner where he had his old games set up had a small couch next to it in the corner.

Finishing up as the crabs came out, Duo Lon set them on the table.

"Better get here before Adel gets them all," he smirked as the blonde settled at the table, Shen sitting on the other side of him, the two piling their plates high.

Leona looked at Duo Lon and grinned.

"We can get some in the second batch."

"Holding up?" Whip asked.

"Of course," Adel said, grabbing two more crabs. The entire batch had now been cooked, the final pile having been placed onto the table. There were enough there for three batches, which took awhile for the assassin to finish cooking, but he ate while they cooked.

Duo Lon grabbed another. "At least you don't eat the shells."

"People eat the shells?"

Shen looked between the two, spitting a piece of shell out of his mouth, which seemed to almost arc in slow motion toward his plate. He sipped his beer.

Whip laughed as she took another crab, Duo Lon cracking a shell open in one hand as he sucked some more meat out.

"Any more stories, by the way?" Leona decided to ask Duo Lon.

"About?"

"You guys."

"I'm sure I have a few."

"Hey now, you always tell stories about me!" Shen pretended to grump.

"You have many stories to tell."

"I mean I rarely talk about the Paris airport incident before the big tournament," the man snorted, taking another bite of crab.

Adel looked at Shen, puzzled. Duo Lon peered over the top of his beer.

"What airport incident?" he asked.

Shen looked at his friend and roared laughter. "You mean he never told you about the time we got escorted out of the airport rather quickly when we got there? When Mr. I'm-Always-In-Control gave the guards there the scare of their lives?"

Duo Lon simply raised his eyebrow at his friend, though one could, if you looked closely, see the whisper of a smirk.

Whip folded her hands. "Please, tell us more."

"So!" started the shaggy brawler, seemingly delighted at this turn of events. "We had landed, and we were trying to find our stuff. We had no knowledge of the place yet. He's good at learning cities and buildings, but he does have to see them first."

"Go on."

Duo Lon ate his crab silently as his friend went on.

"So we're waiting in line to try to get a rental car-huge queue. And thus dude comes up ranting and raving. He's like screaming for a full five minutes. Turning bright red and everything. At the cashiers and everyone else."

"Did he get tackled?"

"No, he wasn't attacking or anything. Just ranting. He was getting kind of menacing, though. A lot of posturing. Anyway, I look over and Duo Lon is getting rather annoyed."

"Someone didn't allow me to get any sleep the night before," the assassin quipped.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I turned back around to see what was going on, the guy had quite a crowd surrounding him at that point. Just screaming away. The guards were waving to him to stop, they looked ready to escort him out. Then I turn back...and Duo Lon ain't there anymore."

Adel blinked. Duo Lon coughed as Shen continued:

"Before I know it I heard the guards freaking the fuck out. I think I heard You killed him!' yelled in English at some point. People are staring and pointing. I turn back, and Duo Lon's standing there with the guy dropped on the ground in front of him, limp. Dashed over there, hit some pressure point to put him out. The guy went so limp so fast the guards literally thought he murdered the guy standing there!" he said, wheezing laughter.

The tall man sipped his beer. "It was a non-lethal point."

"So the guards...they don't look enraged at my friend here...I imagine they were kinda terrified of him after that, they're airport rent-a-cops and not equipped to deal with...whatever they thought he was, and you could tell once they confirmed he was alive they were kind of okay with not having to deal with him but...they still got a little freaked out and asked him to leave since it kinda wasn't his job to put a dude out. So we were stuck basically getting taxis around Paris since we couldn't get a rental car."

"I prefer walking anyway," his friend replied.

Adel looked over, laughing himself; they all were.

"So...even you fly off the handle."

He simply shrugged, reaching for another crab. "I was getting a headache."

Leona simply stared at him, her blue eyes with a level of amusement in them that they rarely held; peering at her, a sly smile spread on Duo Lon's face. She rubbed his leg, actively starting to laugh.

"So yeah, that was the story. I'm surprised he didn't tell you."

"They never asked."

Adel blinked, looking at him as the long-haired man started to disassemble another crab almost nonchalantly. "When was I supposed to ask about the story of when they thought you killed a man in the Paris airport's baggage claim?"

He shrugged, sucking the meat out of a claw, his expression that of wry amusement.

"Got any more for us?" Whip asked, smirking.

"Unfortunately, nothing as fun as that one," he said. "Mostly he just stares at people and gets them to behave."

Almost in answer, the assassin began staring at Shen, giving him a look. The brawler grinned, his eyes darting back and forth. Finishing his crab claw, he smiled.

"Better get some more crabs before Adel takes them all," he said to his friend, as the other blonde scooped more onto his plate.

"Shit," Shen muttered, grabbing some herself. Duo Lon quickly grabbed some for himself and Leona as Adel handed Whip a few. After they were settled, Shen grabbed five more beers from the fridge and handed them out.

"I suppose I'll go for another," Adel said, cracking it. "I've woken up earlier after drinking more."

"It's only been three, right?"

"Yeah, and after the past few days, these may as well be water."

Shen cracked open another shell in one fist. "What's going to happen at your little event?"

"We'll probably just rent the manor from Friday through Monday. Leave in the morning. I'll have the Sky Noah flown there like last time and have it come get us. It's only about a three hour flight from where we are."

"Man," the brawler said. "I'm still getting over the whole...flight thing. Why didn't you just fly the thing here?" he asked. "I never did ask that. You could have just stayed in it."

Drinking some more beer, the blonde pushed back his long bangs. "We wanted it to feel like a real vacation. Flights, hotels. Even if it's all luxury."

Whip nodded. "Having stayed back and forth between the barracks, hotels, and now the Sky Noah a lot the past year...it's different. It's hard to explain."

"I...think I get it. It's like home, and you're just moving home."

"Exactly."

"Yeah, that's why we'll fly it to places around Europe, but then stay other places from time to time. Depends on our mood," Adel added.

"I've only heard of private jets," Shen said. "I never got to fly in one."

"Hmm. I'll send ours over to get you, if you want, for next month."

"Really?" he said. "You'd do that?"

"Of course."

"Damn," he said. "I...don't got much here to give back...well, wanna come in my room and see a couple of those systems that I have?" He scratched his head. "Or watch some fights?"

"Hmm. The systems, maybe. Whenever I watch fights I get judgmental."

"He does," Whip confirmed.

"Heh, I know the feeling. But the system is in there. I cleared a spot in my room."

"Nice," he said. "I never owned one."

"Even with your cash-oh yeah. Sorry man."

Adel shook his head. "It's no problem."

"I technically didn't own one until later," he said. "But I liked what I played."

"They've never much been my thing," said Duo Lon, "But I've watched him from time to time."

"You read those weird biology books and listen to that creepy music, I know."

The assassin sipped his beer quietly, giving him one of his usual looks, an amused gleam in his eye.

"Well, let's finish up, then," Adel said, reaching his large hand for another crab as the four followed, cleaning off the middle plate.

Despite knowing they had to leave for the airport about eight-thirty, the five ended up in Shen's room until after midnight noodling around with the old systems and plowing through the case of beer, figuring they could regret their choices later on.

Adel and Shen played most of the time, though they all took turns going through various games, Whip egging Adel on to not let Shen beat him so badly at them. Leona, feeling mellow around her friends, leaned into Duo Lon's chest as he sat against the wall, somehow not minding a bit of public affection for once.

While they fought much of their lives, for now, they went back to the place they were at during the summer party; somewhere that they could forget about their usual lives, at least for awhile.

"Whew," Adel exclaimed as all four followed him back into their room. "About not drinking anymore for awhile…"

"Yeah, we did end up packing more away, didn't we," Whip chuckled, a little tipsy. She wiped some sweat from her brow. "I am so done with summer," she added. "I know it'll be warm for awhile more in Germany, but...gah."

"Agreed," the blonde said as he pushed back his hair. "As for the beer...the guy had brought a whole case for us. I felt like we had to at least drink a few of 'em."

Smiling, the assassin leaned by the door with his arms folded. "I could tell he was glad he could host a few people. Especially ones with some things in common with him...namely, fighting and food."

Adel grinned, scratching his head as he slumped in one of the room's large chairs and yanked his boots off. "I'm gonna miss the guy."

"The cookout will come soon enough," Whip said, sitting on the arm of the chair. "I'm sure something will happen before then that will make us want it even more."

"Cynical, are we?"

"Just realistic," she snorted.

"Yeah, you're right," Adel said, ruffling her hair as she settled near him. He didn't seem too bothered by the idea, though.

Duo Lon stretched, looking at them and nodding. He glanced at Leona, motioning to the door. "Want to try to sleep for a few hours?"

"Yeah," she said, moving her arm. "This is already feeling a little weird," she chuckled.

"It will. Tomorrow I'll show you the best way to care for it. Just clean and moisturize it. No need to do anything more."

She nodded. "I usually heal quickly, at least."

"See you tomorrow morning," he said to the other two, smiling. Turning, he and Leona left the room and went back to their own. Upon getting in, he removed his boots and shirt, laying on the bed with his hands behind his head.

Joining him, Leona touched his stomach. "How are you doing?" she asked. "I mean...it's your home, here. Well not here, but in the country."

"I can live anywhere," he said. "Despite that being my home...I have gotten so used to living all over that I am almost more used to that than I am staying there."

Sitting with her legs crossed, she peered at him. "I know what you mean. I...have never had a home besides the barracks since I was a child."

"You make it where you can," he said, touching her face.

Smiling softly, she stretched, patting the plastic over her arm, moving it. Duo Lon smiled.

"I think I can make you forget about that," he said, sliding his hand over her toned stomach as he leaned down to kiss it.

"Want to try?" she asked, suddenly chuckling at herself that she actually said something...playful.

He looked up at her, recognizing it as well. The assassin smiled warmly, happy to oblige her.

Setting his almost-packed suitcase on the bed along with his carryon, Adel stood back, folding his arms and sighing.

"I guess this is it," he said.

"Yeah."

"I don't think I've been on a real vacation in years. This was amazing."

"I don't think I've been on a real vacation, ever," the soldier said, standing next to him.

Looking over at her, he brushed a rough hand over the side of her face. "Well you got one now. And you'll get more. I promise. Even if we have to fight through some enemies every other month."

Whip leaned into her lover, sliding her arms around him as he held her to him, kissing the side of her head.

"I know we will."

A/N: Alas, packing, and getting ready to go, is always sometimes a dreary time at the end of a long vacation, but at the same time, there's always that anticipation of finally getting home and back to normal.

The tattoos were cool. Having had some IRL, I know about what the gist of it is, and Duo Lon has a *lot.* He's a veteran when it comes to it. I saw Leona taking some interest...and indeed, ended up with something I feel like is fitting for her.

"What system does Shen have?" It's KOF world, which is...kinda of in this 'verse a 'slightly alt-timeline Earth' that doesn't play 100% by the same rules, so we'll run with a nameless brand, heh. As you've probably seen, I run by the general rule that the games do-normal cities and countries, with some oddities, like South Town, Second South Town, and so on, and while some landmarks exist-Statue of Liberty, Sears Tower and the like, restaurant names and chains, band names, brand names, and other such things vary from the 'real world.'

(In Shen's backstories, it never specifies that he lived 100% of his life in Shanghai; most of it, but I decided a couple years of his youth he ended up carted around some, as he never really had a true home.)

"Not fond of blood"-it's a canonical dislike of Leona's in her character info, but I imagine she's alright around some of it(in particular from their love bites, which she sees as completely different.) She is a soldier, and some amount of it is unavoidable. I sort of headcanon her, when she does have to take lives, using her 'blades', which can cauterize on contact, making things relatively quick and bloodless. She has gotten a lot better around it over the years, but given her background it's understandable why she's not fond of it and would probably work to minimize it. Her very precision-based fighting style and what seems to be laser-like chi that she can summon are both probably excellent for ensuring a clean lethal hit.