A/N: Wow, thank you for such kind reviews : ) And now, for the chapter that will finally decide if this is a fic with a Lexi/Yazoo pairing, or a Lexi/Kadaj pairing… -coughs- and tenderness from Yazoo…? Expect none…

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Chapter Seven "Coming Together"

When her eyes fluttered open, Lexi wasn't quite sure what had awakened her. She lay curled up on her side with her back to a large boulder in the tall grass that surrounded the pond she had found sometime during the night. Blinking, she sniffled a little. Gazing around, she saw that it was early morning, the sun barely rising. The surface of the pond rippled in a gentle breeze that caused the grass to tickle her face. Slowly, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, wincing as pain shot through her ankle again. Without even looking she knew that the side of her face was bruised and puffy, and the cuts hurt like hell. Her neck was tender and she was pretty sure that was bruised as well. Leaning her head back on the boulder, the tall grass up to her shoulders, she wondered what had awakened her; the forest was completely silent. Than she heard a voice.

"Lexi! Lex!"

She froze, not that she had been moving before that, her eyes darting from side to side. So he had finally decided to come back for her. Well, it was a little late now, and she wasn't so sure that she wanted him to find her. She slid down on her side again, pretty sure the swaying blades of tall grass hid her from immediate sight. He was close, somewhere behind her. She couldn't hear his footsteps, but she usually never did anyway. Tears came to her eyes again as she remembered the previous evening, and she wiped them away with her uninjured hand.

"Lex…I know you're here somewhere. Please…"

He seemed to be almost right on the other side of the boulder now, and she thought that he sounded kind of worried. She remained silent, drawing her knees carefully up to her chest and trembling a little. She heard him sigh. For a few long moments, all was silent again, and she started to think that maybe he had moved on.

"I just…want to tell her that I'm sorry. If she'll even listen to me…"

She frowned a little; was he talking to himself? Had to be; he wasn't acting like he knew she was there.

"I was just so angry at Yazoo… I should have never taken it out on her as well," he said slowly, sounding some what depressed. "It's not her fault that he's a jealous bastard."

She blinked, not really seeing the blades of grass that swayed before her face as she listened to him.

"I never meant to hit her. She probably hates me now. Like everybody does." He said bitterly, "But she's…special. I thought she accepted me. Loved me even."

A pebble suddenly hit the surface of the pond with a splash and she flinched.

"I'm such a stupid jerk," he sighed, "Only a remnant."

Another pebble sank into the water.

She had never heard him talk like this before, to anyone. Maybe he really didn't know she was there.

"I hope she can ever forgive me. Give me a second chance." He said quietly. "What do you think? Could you Lex?"

Her eyes widened and she rolled over. Startled, she quickly sat up when she saw Kadaj sitting on the boulder, watching her with sad eyes while he rested his chin on his knees. He slid down to sit beside her and she moved away a little, keeping some space between them.

"I didn't think you would give me the chance to explain," he said.

"You h-hurt me, how am I ever supposed to t-trust you again?" she whispered, drawing her knees up to her chest and linking her arms around her legs, curling up as small as possible.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching out to her.

She flinched away, but he persisted, gently stroking the side of her face. She trembled beneath his touch.

"It's not that…easy," she said.

"Than tell me what to do. To make it up to you," Kadaj said.

"I don't…I just want…" she shook her head. She wanted to go home. She wanted him. She wanted things to be back to the way they'd been the other morning, before everything. "I don't know…if I can forgive you." She whispered. Tears were blurring her vision again, and she tried to fight them back.

"Please." He slid closer to her, and she tried to move away, but he stopped her.

He put an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her into his lap. At first, she tried to push him away, but her hands shook too badly, and it was a feeble attempt. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight, but carefully. She had no other choice but to let him, and really, despite how scared she still was of him, she wanted him to. She hid her face against his chest, her tears starting to fall silently now.

"I want to forgive you but I can't," she whispered.

"I promise that I will never hurt you…again," he said softly.

She didn't respond for a long moment, letting her tears fall until she felt that she couldn't cry anymore, and took a shaky deep breath. "I'm afraid to trust you," she admitted, half hoping that she spoke it too softly for him to hear. But he did.

He pushed her back a little so he could look her in the eye. "I'm so sorry," he said.

Keeping one hand on her back, he brushed his other lightly down her neck. She involuntarily flinched again, and averted her gaze. He pulled her close again, not speaking, and she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. For a long moment they sat in silence, her breathing slowing to normal, but her pounding heart refusing to follow.

"Are you…ready to go back to the Capital?" he asked softly.

Her only movement was to shake her head. "What about…?" she didn't finish but she didn't have to.

"He's not mad at you, only me," he replied, "Perhaps Loz managed to talk some sense into him though."

He was quiet again for a moment. "I've never seen him quite this upset; he must really care for you. But he's never met anyone like you…"

"There's nothing special about me," she protested quietly, sniffling a little.

"Sure there is," he said, "You're the first person who isn't judging us when you look at as…when you talk to us."

He said 'us', but she knew he meant more specifically himself; no, she didn't judge him.

"You almost act as if you've met us before…though you never have," Kadaj said, "There is something special about you."

"Its acceptance," she spoke softly into his shoulder, "I accept who you are." Most of the time…

"Can you truly accept me?" he asked after a moment.

Could she? She wanted to. "My heart does," she replied slowly. But is that enough?

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Kadaj ended up carrying Lexi back to the Capital, due to her ankle. He'd told her that when they'd returned, he could heal her with Materia. When they reached the Forgotten Capital, neither Yazoo nor Loz were anywhere in sight, which was fine with her. She knew they were probably still there though. Even though she wasn't a complete cripple and could walk on her own, just not very well, she didn't complain when he carried her up the stairs to the tower room as well. And she certainly didn't complain when he helped her take off her boots to see how bad her ankle was.

She watched with silent fascination as he used the Materia to heal her injuries. Of course she had never seen real Materia before, real magic, and it succeeded in capturing her attention almost as much as he had. While she marveled at how her injuries just faded away, taking the pain with them, this was nothing new to him. Long shadows cast across the room now through the window, as it was steadily becoming evening. The day had gone by so fast, and for some reason, the closeness of the night worried her. She couldn't say just why.

Sliding off of the bed, she moved over to the window, raising a hand to the panes of glass as she gazed out. It was already dark in the forest, with just the last rays of the fading sun touching the tops of the bare white trees and turning them golden. The odd feeling that had fell over her persisted, and as she gazed out the window, the thought that she'd never see another sun set here wormed into her mind. And scared her. When Kadaj came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, she welcomed his touch, despite that she was still a little uneasy. But now there was something different that made her feel worried.

"What's bothering you now?" he asked softly, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I…I'm not sure," she replied honestly, sliding her hands over his and tangling their fingers together, "I just…have a bad feeling. Like something's going to happen."

"Worse than what has already happened?" he said lightly.

"Different than that," she said, frowning a little. "I just…"

"Nothing's going to happen," he assured her.

He said it so easily, and she wanted to believe him, but nothing was ever easy; not here, or the real world. "You sound so sure," she said softly.

"Because I am," he replied, "Now stop worrying."

He freed his hands from hers, and turned her around to face him. Sliding his fingers under her chin, he tilted her head up before kissing her. For a moment, she was surprised, but then just as quickly, the emotion faded. She kissed him back, tilting her head to the side as his hair lightly swept her face. He trailed his hands up and down her sides, and a shiver ran down her spine at his touch. Leaning more into the kiss, she hooked her arms around his neck. He moved his hands lower, to the backs of her thighs, and then suddenly lifted her, resting her weight on his hips. It was like this that he carried her to the bed and laid her back.

Continuing to kiss her, his hands trailed to the strap across her stomach, and his fingers nimbly unhooked it. She shivered slightly at this, and his response was to kiss her more deeply, gently sliding his tongue into her mouth. This action sent a jolt through her, but she didn't protest, she let his tongue explore her mouth as his hands traced over her chest to the buckles there. A tingle raced up and down her spine at his touch, spreading over her skin. He seemed to pause for a moment, as if seeing her reaction to this. She had no reaction other than to close her eyes tightly and let him continue with what he was doing. And continue he did. In a few seconds, he had undone both of these buckles and loosened the ties on the front of her top.

He pulled back from the kiss to tug her top up, over her head, and she complied. The undone buckles and the buckles on the sleeves clinked against each other with a faintly metallic ringing as he tossed her top aside, where it fell in a heap on the floor. A sudden terrible shiver over came her at this, and she opened her eyes again. He was gazing at her, and the expression in his eyes somewhat surprised her, and reassured her; lustful, but gentle. That expression eased her shivering, and as he traced a hand softly down the side of her face, she smiled a little. It was a gesture he returned, and leaned in to kiss her again. And it was now with trembling fingers that she reached out to start and undo the straps around his thighs that secured his jacket there.