A/N-Hey guys, I'm back again with an update! Before I start with the thank yous, I wanted to inform y'all that Mondlichtvogel is unofficially beta-ing for me so the greatness of my grammar is now in part due to her. Also, this chapter is all talking no action, I'm so sorry about that. The next chapter will be mostly action and much less talking though, so you do have that to look forward to :) as always thank you for reading and reviews always make me want to update faster~ Mondlichtvogel: thanks for everything and for supporting me from the beginning of this all ;-; it means so much. FeistyGreenSnake: ooh, I love the art in Alice Madness Returns. I hope you've enjoyed playing it. The real life stuff is going fine thank you for your support and caring :D Remi: well they're together in the same place? Not as a couple though, sadly DX Guest1: Jesus, you made me laugh for real. Guest2: thank you! IllusionsStars: OMG i am SOO sorry I forgot to mention that it was mature content I just love her writing style a lot and I totally forgot about everything else ;-; sorry again, and thank you for your viewership. ScarletFire: haha, it's a surprise~ but if you really want to know, you can message me privately and I'll tell you. I'm not really against spoilers in a major way.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Saints Row or any of its characters. The content of this story was not meant to insult anyone in any way, shape or form. Rated T for violence, coarse language, and mild sexual content.

Chapter Fourteen: Love Gets in the Way

"I could've left you, you know."

"I know. Thank you."

"Seriously, you'd be dead right now if I hadn't come back for you."

"I already said thank you."

The President leans back on the couch I've come to claim as my own in my one day aboard this ship, smirking unabashedly at me.

"I saw you naked."

I roll my eyes and turn up the collar of the spacesuit in my lap so that I can finish making the adjustments I feel I need in my impromptu space hero uniform. I'm currently wearing one of the original spacesuits (no longer naked but the Boss, a five year-old at heart, won't let that go) temporarily. Somehow I just can't pull it off the way the President can.

"You've seen me naked before." I point out, ignoring the slight blush that's creeping up over my cheeks, "And you didn't find it quite so amusing then."

"That was different," she says, and her expression is entirely serious, "You had your dick in me at the time."

I can't handle it. The sewing needle slips from my fingers and I bury my face in the spacesuit I'd been working on, warm and beet red against the material. She bursts into laughter and I, not for the first time, am amazed by how different we are. It's strange to imagine that the two of us were once a couple, but then I feel that same unbidden warmth towards her that I always do. Yes, it's definitely strange, but it also couldn't be anything else. I still love her.

Upon rescuing me the President had surprised me by becoming my closest remaining friend and only living confidant. I suppose this wasn't based on merit so much as it is that she's the only person on the ship who isn't nonchalant towards me at best. Keith David, despite my admiration of him, barely knows me and Kensington hates me with a passion that I hardly think I deserve. Sure, I'd hacked into her files and made her seem like a dominatrix and a traitor to America, but I thought we'd moved on from that. I forgave her for showing the Queen that email I'd gotten from MI6 (which led to the end of our relationship), so why can't she show me the same courtesy? She's so juvenile. The Boss, on the other hand, is the very definition of composure in my presence. She teases me quite often and refers to our sexual accolades more than I'm comfortable with, but she never lets things get awkward. I'm not sure how she manages to make me feel completely at home with a single glance, but she does. And I'm so thankful for it.

I didn't take the end of the world as well as I thought I would have considering all the post-apocalypse type games I play, but I guess there's a more of a difference between the world ending and the world getting blown up than I'd imagined. I've woken up a few nights in a cold sweat, thinking about the fact that I never got to call my mother back before everything happened and I'd feel tears pricking at my eyes in a painful sort of way. The President doesn't cry, though, and I know her well enough to understand that she probably wants to. I need to be just as strong as she is.

"Miller," Kinzie says again, her voice a low hiss, "Miller!"

I continue to ignore her as I've been doing pretty much every day since the Boss got me back. However, it's not meant to bother her as much as it's meant to protect me; Kinzie Kensington takes every opportunity to make her dislike of me vocally evident. Having a conversation with her would be akin to asking for verbal abuse.

"If you don't answer me right now, I will shove your head into the trash compactor. I'm serious."

I sigh, moving my hands off the keyboard in front of me and turning away from the computer screen to look at her. The former press secretary has made it our mission to cause as much damage to Zinyak's simulations as we possibly can (Kinzie and I are hacking, the Boss has chosen a more...hands-on approach) and I find that I'm surprisingly good at it. Perhaps it's because I want to get back at Zinyak more than I want almost anything else.

"What is it?" I give in, terribly frightened of having my face damaged in any way. Even the slightest scar would offset the perfect symmetry.

"What do you think will happen if we find Johnny Gat?"

This is the last thing I'd expected she would ask. Her brows are furrowed and she's chewing on her bottom lip as she waits for me to answer. A smattering of freckles covers her nose.

"The Boss will be happy." I say plainly. Kinzie's expression softens just slightly as her eyes bore into mine.

"That's not what I meant." her voice is quiet, nearly silent. I glance back at the computer screen I'd been focused on before and then, very briefly, at the larger one next to it. This monitor displays the whereabouts of the President whenever she's in the simulation and causing havoc. That's actually what she's doing right now. I watch for a moment as she flips a zin footsoldier over her shoulder with very little effort and I'm suddenly fervently thankful that she has her superpowers to keep her safe.

"Then what did you mean?" I ask. Her answer comes back quick, snappy. Just like her.

"When she had Johnny, the Boss was a different person," she explains, "They were lethal together. I know for a fact that they buried some kid alive."

"He was an asshole," I point out, having already heard this story from the Boss herself.

"It's still terrible!" she shivers visibly, "I can't think of a worse way to die."

So Kinzie is afraid of being buried alive? I'll just keep that in mind in case she ever tries to kill me. She falls silent for a moment and I'm able to concentrate on my work for a full two minutes before she sees fit to interrupt me again.

"You want her to be happy."

I stop my typing mid-code, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. I'd assumed that every Saint wants the President to be happy, but Kinzie sounds surprised for some reason.

"Don't you?"

"Of course I do!" she backtracks immediately, "It's just that I never thought you cared about her very much, even if you were together for a while."

"I had a chance to kill her, and I didn't." I say dryly.

"Oh, and that constitutes love now?"

I lean forward, getting as close to her as I can without having my nose bitten off. I don't know whether this is a fight for dominance or a marking of territory, but I plan on winning either way.

"It's better than what passes for your idea of love," I sneer, "Whips and chains? Please. You wouldn't know love if it slapped you across the face."

"You fucking-"

"Alright, alright, break it up." a deep voice cuts her off in a calming tone, "In case you haven't noticed, we're dealing with an alien overlord who's even more psychotic than our President. We don't have time for you two to be messing around."

We spin around in our seats to see Keith David standing behind us, his arms crossed over his chest and a disapproving look clear on his face.

"He started it!" Kinzie is quick to point the finger of blame at me.

"I'm ending it." Keith David says, and then nods at the larger monitor behind us, "It looks like the President wants to leave the simulation. Make yourselves useful and help her out."

I glance back at the screen to see the Boss tentatively skimming her fingers over the surface of one of the simulation gateways Kinzie and I had constructed for her. She's still slightly afraid of them for some reason I can't fathom. Kinzie gets to work securing the gateway and opening access routes to make the transfer easier, but I don't move. I'm tired of having to sit beside her everyday as the Queen risks her life for us again and again.

"Matt?" Keith David says my name as I get out of my seat and move past him, hoping to get to the simulation pod room before the Boss wakes up.

"Yes?"

Keith David is the perfect politician that the Boss never could be. Despite her presidency she was always wild and free-spirited, unable to back down from any challenge presented to her by a foreign head of state and consistently terrible at talking to the press. Mr. David, however, is the very description of calm and collected even now after the Earth has been pulverized into space dust. He follows me to the other room, already aware of my intention to be near the President.

"You've handled all this," he gestures vaguely at the ship around us, "Better than I expected. I wanted to commend you on that."

"Thank you, Mr. David," I mutter, still a bit nervous around him. I've been a fan of his since I was thirteen; not in the same way I love NyteBlayde, of course, but still a fan.

"You can call me Keith."

He walks over to the "pod" that the Boss is strapped into and I follow him, my eyes trailing over her figure as I go. I remember, not too well, that she was taller than me when we first met. That's not true anymore but strangely, it still sometimes feels like she is.

I notice that Keith David has been watching me as I gazed fondly at the President and I cringe inwardly. I need to try harder to keep my feelings under wraps.

"Can I give you some advice, Matt?" he says, sounding hesitant for the first time. I shrug, glancing down at the president and then back at him when I realize I'd been looking at her again. Shit.

"We're in a bad place right now. Humanity's on the brink of extinction and this woman," he nods towards the president, "Is probably the only thing that stands between us and the end. Do you know where I'm going with this?"

"You want me to focus on my job." I say slowly.

"Well, yes," he allows, "But more importantly you need to know that in situations like this, love only gets in the way. Understand?"

For a split-second I feel like arguing with him. If I hadn't loved the Boss, I would never have allowed her to walk away unscathed when she entered the Decker usenet. If I hadn't loved her, she would never have broken me out of the simulation Zinyak had put me in. I'm about to tell this to Keith David when I realize that he, unlike myself, sees the bigger picture. If it ever comes down to it, I may choose saving the Queen over saving what's left of humanity. Love would get in the way.

"Yes," I say in the end, "Yes, I understand."

He casts me a sympathetic look before continuing.

"Good. If we've got that covered, maybe we should discuss-"

"Hey, Matt." the Boss greets me from below. I look down, surprised to have her awake so quickly, to see that she's bright-eyed and grinning like she didn't just undergo heavy mental stimulation less than a minute ago. How does she always manage to amaze me?

"Hello." I force out. The restraints holding her in place release her mechanically and she steps out of the pod as if she'd merely been taking a nap, stretching her arms out above her head until I can hear the faint popping of her joints. She notices Keith standing beside her and her grin grows wider.

"Looks like I've got a welcoming party." she says, her voice carrying a hint of amusement, "What's the occasion?"

Her vice president shakes his head in a way that reminds me of a concerned father admonishing his rambunctious child.

"No occasion, just wanted to make sure you got out of there as insane as you went in."

The Boss narrows her eyes at him, clearly annoyed by his choice of words.

"I'm not insane."

"What would you call it, then?" Keith David smiles. The Boss looks taken aback; she clearly has no answer for this. I clear my throat to get their attention because I do.

"I know this one," I say when they look at me, "She's a 'puckish rogue'."

The President cottons on immediately, recognizing her own joke when I say it aloud. She turns back to Keith David with the same answer poised on her tongue.

"You heard the man. Puckish rogue."

Keith David chuckles lightly, but then fixes me with a look that I understand right away. We've all had to sacrifice a lot in the past few weeks, but it appears that my part isn't quite done yet. If we're going to make it out of this alive, I may have to sacrifice yet another thing. The most important thing. I wrench my gaze away from the Boss knowing that, as with everything I will be doing from now on, it's the best possible choice I could make. It's for the greater good.