A/N: This is Part Three of Chapter Two of Thieves in Time.

I don't own these characters, but I do enjoy messing with their lives.

Reviews would be appreciated!

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With no more thought for Servalan's safety, Avon guided his air car back toward the Delta sector. He had to talk to Vila and he had to talk to him tonight. In the back of his mind, he might have felt a little concern for the girl's safety since she had to walk back through territory that could prove a little dangerous. Of course, Servalan was more than a match for just about anyone, as Avon well knew. She could take care of herself. Of course she could. Dismissing her from his mind, he steered toward the section of the city where Vila Restal lived with his family.

The house was small and crowded, but Avon felt more at home here than he'd ever felt in his own house. The noise, the love, the warmth fairly flowed from the walls and enveloped everyone inside.

After an unanswered soft knock, he eased the front door open, calling, "Mom Restal?"

"Come in, Avon." The voice answered from somewhere at the back of the house. "I'll be right there."

He did as she bid and closed the door. When she appeared, wiping her hands on a tea towel, he asked, "Uh, is Vila at home?"

She shook her head, graying curls bouncing about. "Why, no. I believe he said something about going down to the Thieves Den. Said he needed to do some serious thinking." She cocked her head sideways. "You two have a fight?"

"No, ma'am," Avon answered sharply, eyebrows raised. He sucked in his lower lip, his eyes wandering about the threadbare living room, anywhere but at the woman who knew him so well. "But…I did have one with my girl. I was kind of hoping Vila was around so I could talk to him about it."

"Well, he hasn't been gone that long." She smiled wryly. "Probably still there unless one of this thieving friends has talked him into something that'll get him into more trouble." While she didn't really disapprove of Vila's chosen profession, she worried about his occasional brushes with the authorities. She did approve of this Alpha, though. He was good for her son and he'd become part of the family over the years since Vila had 'rescued' him at six years old. They'd been friends for more than half their lives and seemed good for each other.

"Thanks, Mom." Avon kissed her on the cheek and left quickly.

The Thieves Den was just a few streets over. It was the local gathering place and watering hole for some of the more enterprising of the Delta grades, Vila among them. It had a reputation of being a rough place, but neither Avon nor Vila ever had any trouble there. If you needed a quick brew or fast meal at a decent price, or even just some company for the night, it was usually the place to start.

Avon parked outside the 'Den, this time making sure his vehicle was doubly secured. Most of the regulars knew his vehicle and left it alone. Still, no need to tempt anyone unduly.

He paused inside the door, letting his eyes adjust to the haze and dim lighting. Sure enough, seated alone at their favorite table, a frowning Vila Restal slouched, an untouched glass of ale in front of him. He looked troubled.

Avon walked down the steps into the tavern, acknowledging greetings from several of his less well-connected acquaintances. Walking to Vila's table, he kicked a chair to one side and sat down. "Hey, Vila, you all right?"

Vila raised his head, blinking a moment, like he was coming back from far, far away. "Oh, hi, Avon."

"I said, are you all right?"

Vila caught the concern coloring his friend's voice. He forced a small smile onto his face, just to reassure Avon. "Sure. I just had some thinking to do, that's all."

"You? Thinking? Will wonders never cease?" Avon teased the other young man without thinking. It was their way and neither seemed to resent the other for it.

"Thanks, Avon." Vila looked over at him, noticing for the first time the tension in the set of his shoulders and the worry lurking behind his dark eyes. "You don't look so good yourself. What's wrong?"

"Did I say anything was wrong?" Now that he'd found Vila, he was suddenly shy about revealing his problem. Maybe Vila would laugh at him. Or, worse, walk away, leave him. It was a delicate subject and a touchy one, at least in the Delta sector.

"Didn't have to. It's all over your face. Never could hide your feelings from me, ya' know."

"I suppose not," he muttered, shaking his head. "Your mom said you told her you wanted to be alone." He finally looked up, into Vila's caring eyes. "I hope that doesn't include me."

"'Course not, Avon. I was working m'self into a sulk over nothing, as usual."

"Sulk? About what?" That surprised Avon. While Vila could be moody at times, he was usually upbeat. He was happy with his life, his future seemed assured, and he had Avon and his family at his back.

"Oh, just thinking about you and that little Alpha witch that seems to take up so much of your time. Saw a little item in the society news on the local board. Seems the two of you have been linked as the newest and latest gossip. Some local psychic's predicted great things for the two of you."

"Shows you how much they know, doesn't it, Vila?" Avon's lopsided smile held very little amusement.

"Huh?"

Avon's voice was barely above a whisper and Vila had to strain to hear him. "It's over between me and Servalan."

"Did you say over? You mean you had another fight, don't you?" He leaned across, laying a consoling hand on Avon's arm.

"Oh, it was more than a fight this time, Vila. She said things to me I can't forgive, accused me of…things." He looked away at the end, unwilling to reveal his distress to Vila, but unable to stop, now that he'd started. Everything had seemed so black and white before, but now, faced with telling Vila, it all seemed murky, grey, uncertain.

"Things. What…things?"

Avon bowed his head, not wanting to look into his friend's face at that moment. "I'm not sure I can talk about it," he mumbled.

"Well, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong, now, can I?" Vila put aside his own problems. They were unimportant at the moment, with his friend so distressed.

Avon glanced around the noisy crowded tavern. He really couldn't stand the thought of having this conversation here. "We need to go someplace private. Let's just go for a drive. I even promise to keep the speed down." They rose as one, heading for the bar.

"Must be serious, then," Vila muttered as he threw a handful of coins onto the bar for a cold brew before leaving.

Avon grabbed the bottle of the local bitter ale he could only get here in the Delta sector. "We may need this later," he ventured, walking up the step to the door.

The two young men strapped themselves into the air car and Vila, out of habit, closed his eyes, held on and braced himself for the first rush of gravity. Incredibly, it never came as Avon accelerated smoothly, slowly, and pulled the vehicle into traffic without so much as a jerk. Now I know something's wrong, Vila told himself, opening his eyes and staring across at Avon.

They rode in silence for some time. Vila knew from long experience that when his friend was ready, he'd tell him the rest of the story, and not before. One did not push Kerr Avon.

Avon drove slowly, almost sedately, obeying every traffic law on the Federation books and a few not yet written. Somehow, that frightened Vila even more than his usual breakneck abandon.

They reached the edge of Delta sector. It was bordered by a manmade park of sorts, a small terra-formed sculptured canyon with artificial greenery. It served several useful purposes, not the least of which was separation of the classes. It also provided a good place for secret assignations away from the Alpha Security's prying eyes. It was also a safe place to talk.

Avon pulled the car into a secluded area of the maze and stopped. "Crack the seal on the bottle, Vila. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

Vila opened the ale, took a gulp and handed it back to Avon, who took a healthy swallow himself, then set the bottle on the dash.

"Now, what was this about a fight between you and your lady-love?"

Avon hesitated a moment, trying to come up with a way to explain what had happened less than an hour before.

"I told you, we broke up for good."

"You've had fights before. I know, I witnessed a few of 'em myself. Lady's got quite a temper."

Avon shook his head. "Vila, you don't understand. Something else happened tonight."

"Something else?" Vila was somehow afraid to hear what Avon had to say.

"You know I told you I had no intention of going all the way with her, not for awhile anyway."

"That's what you told me, yes."

"Well, tonight, I changed my mind."

"Turned you down, did she?" he guessed, a smile toying with the corner of his lips.

"I wish she had. That's the problem."

He tried to guess at Avon's problem, though it seemed obvious enough. "You had a problem?" Vila was intrigued. "You mean you…" he waved his hand in the air, "couldn't?"

"Sort of."

"Huh? How can you 'sort of'? Either you could or you couldn't."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Avon had to chuckle at Vila. He needed humor if he was going to be able to handle this.

"Come on, Avon, out with it, the whole story. You know I won't tell a soul," he reasoned.

"You do and you're a dead man, Vila," Avon informed him, then turned the bottle up and downed half of it before taking a breath.

"Hey, leave some for me!" Vila cried out, grabbing for the bottle away from him. He cradled it protectively against his chest.

"Right," Avon acknowledged. "You may need it when I get through." He waited until Vila had gulped down several swallows before he continued. "We were out beyond the main city, just sitting in the car. You know the area between the Elite sector and here where we always go?"

"Yeah, I know the place."

"Well, she was telling me that she had to go back to school in two days and that she wouldn't be coming back till mid-term. I don't know now if she was lying or not. Anyway, we were just kissing, you know, touching a little. But…it went a little further than usual and she managed to convince me that making love was the right thing to do. She said she wanted to have the memory to take back with her. Now that I think about it, it sounds even more ridiculous than it did then. But I was distracted or I'd have figured it out on my own."

Vila sounded disgusted. "Avon, I thought I'd educated you about women better than that."

"Not about this one, unfortunately. She doesn't react the way girls you know react." He pushed his hair back off his forehead. Reaching for the bottle, he took another small sip of the ale. "Gods, this is hard for me to talk about! We took off our clothes and were lying in the front seat of the car." He groaned at the memory. "It was good, Vila, damned good."

Vila smiled, then realized he was getting just a little aroused himself, thinking about Avon and Servalan, naked together, in the seat he was now sitting on. "So, what happened next?"

"Well…somehow, she managed to end up on top of me."

"On top of you?" Vila found that hard to believe. "How?"

"I'm not sure. I think it started out as a joke." Avon closed his eyes, remembering what had happened next. "Some joke. That's when it happened."

"What happened?" Vila leaned forward, eager for details yet apprehensive. Whatever had happened clearly disturbed Avon.

"I…was, you know, inside her and she was straddling me. Gods help me, Vila, I…called her by…your name." Avon's voice trailed into silence, letting the words sink in. He couldn't bear look at Vila, so he hung his head and waited.

Vila blinked, then handed him the bottle. "I think you'd better finish this, Avon. Either I've had too much and I'm hearing things, or you just made a back-handed pass at me."

Avon polished off the rest of the bottle, wiped his mouth and turned to face his friend. "I'm not sure if that's what I did. I mean, Servalan and I were talking about you a few minutes before and maybe it just slipped out."

"Slipped out? Are you talking about my name or part of your anatomy?" Humor had always served him in the past to diffuse situations, but now he used it as a shield to hide behind. This was getting just too serious and close to home.

"Both, I think." Avon wrinkled his forehead, refusing to even smile at the double entendre. "And that's exactly what happened. When she heard what I called her, she slapped me and I…got soft, couldn't do anything else after that. I'm not sure if she got angry because I called her by someone else's name or because I couldn't screw her like she wanted."

Real fear eeled its way into his stomach. "Damn, Avon. It's bad enough to call her by someone else's name, but you had to go and use mine. Now she'll be after me, too. You won't be safe anywhere on Earth, and neither will I!"

Avon sighed heavily. "She yelled something about making me pay, as I drove off, but I didn't hear it all."

"Pay? Avon, that girl has enough influence to make sure neither one of us has a chance for any kind of life. You know that. And what about your father? You said he was hoping the two of you could get married and that way he could advance his own career. What do you think she'll do to him?"

"I don't give a damn about my father!" he ground out. "She can sleep with him if she wants to." He snorted a tiny laugh. "He'd probably enjoy that, the son of a bitch."

"Avon?" Vila's voice was soft now, all trace of anger and fear wiped away as he considered his next words very carefully. "Have you thought about why you really called her by my name? Has it occurred to you there may be another reason."

"Yes," Avon groaned. "You think I haven't thought of that and come up with the same answer you just did?" He faced Vila, his body thrumming with tension, his eyes hot.

Vila tried to diffuse the situation. Cocking his head, he asked soberly, "Then I don't have to worry about going crazy?"

"Vila, what are you talking about?"

Now it was Vila's turn to refuse to meet his friend's eyes. "I…that is…lately, I've felt sort of…attracted to you sometimes, when it's just the two of us together."

"Attracted to me? You mean…physically?"

"Physically and emotionally too, Avon. Does that bother you?"

"Bother me? Hell, no, Vila. It does surprise me, but bother me? Not at all!" Avon actually grinned at his friend.

"Damn it, Avon, it's all well and good for you to consider having a male companion or lover or whatever you call them in the Alpha sector, but down here, it doesn't happen, ever! You know that. Just the thought of it scares me to death!"

"Vila," Avon put his hand on the other man's arm. "I…care about you, more than I must have even realized. Now that I've thought about it, maybe that was the problem all along, the real reason I never had that feeling with Servalan that people in love are supposed to have."

"But you did love her, didn't you, Avon?"

"Oh, yes, I loved her. Maybe I still do, but I don't have a death wish." He chuckled, the sound washing away most of the tension he'd felt. "Anyway, let's not talk about Servalan. I think we may be on the verge of a very interesting and startling discovery."

"You make it sound like a science project." Vila griped, a little put out. Not enough for him to move away from Avon, though.

"Well, a little experimentation never hurt." Avon put a tentative arm around Vila and pulled him closer. "I very much want to kiss you, Vila, if you'll allow it."

"Please…" Vila whispered as Avon's mouth descended onto his and he was lost forever

Avon forced his tongue into Vila's mouth and was rewarded with a like motion from his companion. They clung to each other desperately, Vila's arms around him, holding him close. Avon began a slow exploration of Vila's throat, then opened the next fastener on the other man's tunic and slid his mouth down to the top of the breastbone.

Vila gasped out loud and, clutching Avon's head between both hands, filtering the lush waves of Avon's hair through his sensitive thief's fingers. "Please, Avon, don't stop…"

"Have to." Avon pulled himself away and fell back against his own side of the seat. "I won't let this get out of hand like it did between Servalan and me," he said flatly.

"Why did you stop?" Vila was panting, barely able to speak, and thinking was out of the question entirely.

Avon focused entirely on Vila's face, willing him to understand. "When the time is right, Vila, for us…and not before. I care for you far too much to allow myself to be ruled by my hormones again. I intend to take my time. You know it's the right thing to do. I want you just as badly as you do me, believe me. And if we don't go back to civilization right now, you might just find out how much."

"Coward!" Vila accused, smiling slightly.

"No, just smarter than you, sometimes."

"One last kiss before we go back, please, Avon. I still can't believe this is happening."

Avon leaned over and brushed his lips against Vila's, finding it extremely difficult to pull away.

With a lump in his throat and a similar one located much lower, Kerr Avon activated the drive sequence and pulled the car from its place.

When they drove up to Vila's house, he noted with a wicked grin that Vila hadn't even held onto the door handle on the drive back but had simply kept his eyes closed, as if dreaming of other things.

"You're home, Vila." Avon nudged him. "I wish I could kiss you good night, but I don't think that's a very good idea."

They had no idea of the earth-shattering reception awaiting them.