Chapter Two
"No."
Piper scrambled up, the warmth of Dark Ace's lips torn from her neck. Her fingers clawed through her hair as she tried to control her shuddery sobs, the tearstain tracks on her cold cheeks glistening through the darkness. The Dark Ace immediately stood up, but then had no idea why: He opened his mouth, trying to say something, anything, to calm her.
"Piper…"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She hissed at him suddenly, wheeling around, her eyes bright with threat. "What's your problem?"
"My problem?" He hissed, dropping any feeling of concern for her in a swift second. "You were comfortably adjusting yourself into my lap if you remember, or do you suffer from short term memory loss?"
Piper's mouth dropped open. "You-
"-What? I what?"
"You… I…"
The Dark Ace almost laughed aloud at the helpess girl before him. "Oh this is too good. You don't deny it then. You're just being a typical little brat, making excuses." He stepped towards her, hunger still strongly apparent in his eyes. "You want me, don't you?"
Piper said nothing.
He lifted his hand to scrape a finger along her chin delicately, making her uncomfortable as his dark eyes roamed her face. She stood still, looking up at him, her chest rising and falling like a silky, small wave.
"I'll take that as a yes," He breathed as his eyes rested upon her full, dusky pink plump lips. Piper swallowed as he leaned in slowly, not quite able to pull back. His lips brushed against hers and she felt them willingly part for him; he tilted his head and took her bottom lip between his own-
"-PIPER."
They jumped apart, both instantly recognising Aerrow's voice: Piper ran to the door, banging on it hard.
"IN HERE. AERROW WE'RE IN HERE."
There was a pause, with nothing but the heavy breathing of Dark Ace heard in the small, dark room.
"We?" Aerrow called, clearly puzzled. "Who's with you?"
Piper burrowed her head into Aerrow's warm neck, exhausted. His arms immediately wrapped around her delicate frame, holding her tightly.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
"What did he do to you?" He murmured against her temple quietly, his eyes flicking over her shoulder towards the Dark Ace, who inappropriately smirked at him.
"Jealous?" The Dark Ace asked, a satisfied smug look on his face. Aerrow's eyes flashed dangerously- Piper didn't fail to spot it.
"Aerrow, no-"
It was too late. Dark Ace felt his head bang against the cold floor hard, the left side of his face burning. He looked up and saw Aerrow standing there, furious, but his gaze moved to Piper: intrigued by Piper's blankless expression.
"We're taking him with us," Aerrow told the rest of his comrades, still glaring down at the Dark Ace. "And we're leaving: now."
Piper pressed the cool cloth against his head, ignoring his sharp hiss. She moved the cloth to soak it into the warm, salty water before looking up at him, a small smile sauntering onto her lips.
"What?" Dark Ace snarled, trying hard not to wince. "You're not the one that got punched for no reason-"
"-No reason? You asked for it."
"And you're pressing this cloth too hard into my head."
"Oh no. I'm so sorry."
He glared at her. "Seems you also lie."
"Excuse me?"
"You said you weren't going out with him."
Piper raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing. "With who?"
The Dark Ace only looked at her, meeting her gaze. "You know who."
"If you mean Aerrow," Piper put down the cloth and crossed her arms, glaring at him properly now. "Then what difference does it make to you?"
"Only that you don't care for him like you do for, say... me."
Piper's head snapped up, a look of shock on her face. The Dark Ace watched as a pink blush slowly spread over her cheeks and felt his heart flutter a little at the sight. She opened her mouth, only to close it again. He raised an eyebrow, still continuing to watch her in quiet amusement.
"Cat got your tongue?" He couldn't help but finally tease her, a chuckle rising from his throat. Her eyes narrowed.
"No."
"Well, then, what's the problem? I know I have an overwhelming affect on you, but I don't see how you can always manage to find yourself tongue tied."
Piper's eyes narrowed. "I'm not tongue tied-"
"-It's an interesting expression, tongue tied. Do you suppose we could use it to describe how our tongues-
"-Alright, I get it," She interrupted harshly, gritting her teeth. "Now if you don't stop, you'll find yourself punched again: and hard."
"Oi," Aerrow walked over to her, taking away her book. "Stop. You need to sleep. C'mon."
Piper moaned, trying to reach for her book as he held it above him. "Aerrow-
"-Do I have to LIFT you?" Aerrow started, sneakily letting his arm slide around her waist before bending down to swiftly grip her tightly and toss her easily over his shoulder. "Oh look, seems I did. Let's go."
Piper groaned complaints into his back, not even bothering to struggle: she was weak and numb with tiredness. Surely but slowly, she felt herself start to drift off, the warmth Aerrow provided starting to make her mind snooze and her tingling eyelids flutter…
"Junko, you can leave. I'll take watch."
Junko almost ran out, utterly relieved to be leaving a very sullen looking Dark Ace. Aerrow strolled in, spreading some maps on a table before him, humming joyfully to himself. Dark Ace so badly wanted to punch him; but his arms were tied. He was stuck with no alternative but to listen to him.
"You realise there's no point of me even being on here." He started, attempting to distract the leader.
Aerrow barely looked up, lazily shrugging his shoulders as he examined the maps. "If you say so."
The Dark Ace lost his patience and couldn't help but hiss, "Why, then, am I here?"
"Because you have useful information for me."
"I'm not telling you a thing."
The Dark Ace had spoken before he could think, and mentally cursed himself for doing so. Aerrow finally raised his head, a smile creeping into his lips.
"Well, thank you for confirming there was even anything useful to tell me." Aerrow smirked, putting down the maps to turn to him, his arms crossed. "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get it out of you."
The Dark Ace only sneered at him. "Oh I'm shaking."
"Good for you." Aerrow's eyes were now narrowing as he assessed the scruffy Dark Ace. "One more thing," He continued calmly, lifting his head properly. "Stay away from Piper."
The Dark Ace was taken by surprise, but quickly recovered. "What makes you think I'd want to be near that little rat?"
Aerrow raised an eyebrow delicately, but said nothing, merely looking at him, before finally, he spoke.
"Nothing."
A/N: Thank you for the reviews/alerts/favourites I've got from this so far. Keep tuned!
Reviews are always appreciated!