Die: ... I'm bored.

Zane: ... I don't care.

Die: *throws something at him* Meanie!

Jaden: Yeah, be nice to Die!

Zane: *throws object back at Die intending for her to catch it*

Die: *yelps as she gets hit* THIS MEANS WAR! *begins throwing things at Zane*

Jaden: *follows suit with maniacal gleam in his eyes*

Syrus: *sighs* Neither of the two authors own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

Chapter Thirteen: Holy Trust

Cienna, sort of familiar with the steps, still faltered a bit when she tried the waltz. It admittedly wasn't her favorite style of dance, but nonetheless, she grimaced, frustrated with herself. "Dammit..."

"Relax," Zane soothed gently. "Just let me lead."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders to release the tension. "Right. Let you lead." Hard thing to do when I still don't trust you... ugh. No. Don't go there. Just relax. She closed her eyes and followed his lead, immediately becoming less uncoordinated.

"Good girl, tenshi," he praised gently, twirling her with a protective glint in his eye.

She laughed as she stepped back into his arms, "You make it sound like I'm a puppy you're potty-training."

He chuckled. "You know, I never had a dog growing up, though Syrus was always begging for one."

"Are you kidding me?" She asked in surprise. At the shake of his head, she sighed. "That's it. You guys are coming to my house this summer. We have three."

He smiled softly. "I'd like that."

It was official. Jaden was hopeless at leading—even dancing at that. He was stepping on Syrus's toes like they were cockroaches under his feet. "Sorry Sy!" He yelped after stepping on the smaller boy's toes for the tenth time in the past three minutes.

"Jaden," the blue-haired boy murmured, "shut up."

The brunette nodded mutely, turning his attention back to the steps. Not even thirty seconds later, holding down an apology, he stepped on Syrus's toes. He bit his lip.

Across the room, Gabriel rolled his eyes, looking to Lucifer, who was watching his own pair with a proud gaze. Figuring that Branwen and Aster were getting along well enough, the angelic soul strode across the room, materializing next to his demonic lover. "Shall we help them?" he asked in a quiet voice.

The demon grinned. "It does look like they need it..."

With that, Jaden's steps became surer, more confident, and managed to avoid Syrus's toes. Gabriel let out a contended smile, offering his hand to Lucifer. "Shall we?"

He smiled. "We shall."

Chazz could feel the time in the music growing nearer, the time when he would have to place all his trust in Bastion not to drop him as the larger male dipped him. His muscles were tense, his movements stiff even if they were correct, and a very fine trembling took over him. He knew Bastion was his mate and he knew the other was a kind soul and would likely not even remotely think of dropping him, but oh gods he was just so wary. He'd been hurt far too often not to be.

Bastion took note of the hesitance, offering a gentle smile as a remedy.

Finally, that moment in the music came, and Chazz felt himself being gently leaned back. His panic appeared in his eyes, so he was glad that Bastion did not go far, instead holding a smaller dip and then gently pulling him back to the comfort and control of upright. Professor Banner noticed this, and he said, "Misawa, Princeton, do that last bit again, this time with a proper dip!" The demon's whole body tensed tightly at the words, his fingers tightening their grip on Bastion's hand and the back of the angel's neck.

Bastion smiled reassuringly, tightening his grip on the demon as he dipped him back "properly." The dip was far and slow, but the angel's grip was never lost. He pulled the smaller back into an upright position, gently setting his feet back where they were safe.

Chazz was trembling at that point, clinging close to Bastion and trying desperately to fight back tears. Branwen, who was nearby, gently pulled Aster to a stop and reached out to pat the black-haired demon's head softly in understanding. She'd had years to learn to control her fear, she'd had to for all the banquets and such, but the other demon had never needed to learn, thus why it was such a bad experience for him.

Bastion held the trembling demon in his arms, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "It's all right, Chazz. I've got you. You're safe."

Branwen bit her lip, debating. She knew Chazz would prefer to be shielded by wings, even if they were her own rather than Bastion's, but she also knew he'd firmly deny it if she requested it of the angel. She would have simply spread her black wings herself except that she would have had to relinquish her grip on the hand of Aster behind her, which would make her dark side come back and likely do horrible things to everyone.

As if reading her mind, or maybe because he'd come to understand the demon so well, the angel shrouded his soulmate in his wings, shielding him from the rest of the class. Chazz welcomed the adjustment, feeling so much more secure now that his upper body was protected.

Branwen smiled softly at the sight, glad to see that Bastion had such large wings for a half-angel, and turned back to Aster, blinking soft ruby eyes at him. "You know," she murmured softly, glad that Professor Banner had decided to end the lesson after that one session with Chazz, "I never did catch your name."

He grinned. "Aster Phoenix."

Her wings drooped in disappointment. "Oh." Aster Phoenix was a name she recognized. How could someone not know the angel who had completed so many dangerous things at such a tender young age, the one who managed to defeat numerous other, older angels in their usual duels? She had grown rather fond of him, if only because he made her feel special and quieted the dark voice in her head, and was sad to see that he wasn't even a potential mate. She hadn't seen his wings, but she'd dared to hope that he would be a demon, if only so that she could try to seize control of her own destiny by choosing her own mate.

He slid a finger under her chin, tipping her head up to look at him. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and gave him a shy smile, drawing on all her acting experience for those thrice-damned banquets and social events she'd been forced to attend. "Why would it be?" she asked softly.

A soft—if minorly unconvinced—smile crossed his face. "No idea."

Cienna appeared out of nowhere, having abandoned Zane as soon as she noticed Aster, throwing her arms around her old friend's neck and knocking him off a few steps. She giggled, "Hey Ash!"

That action was not good. Across the room, Zane stiffened angrily, worried about where Cienna's affections lay and even a little jealous at the way she'd abandoned him for this new boy. Jaden held Syrus close to him in a rather protective fashion, the blue-haired boy curious but obviously reluctant to fight the brunet demon, who was merely reacting to the name he'd overheard earlier and the dangerous auras he could sense. Branwen, whose slender form Aster kept his eyes on over Cienna's head, remained locked in place, her pupils dilated as she warred with herself for a short moment before, at Atticus's concerned touch, she sprinted off in a flurry of black feathers and red silk. "Cienna," the silveret murmured, torn between wanting to run after the demon girl and catching up with his old friend.

She froze as she registered his tone, throwing a look over her shoulder. Her gaze was concerned as it returned, knowing him better than anyone what this probably meant. "You could go after her if you want. I can wait." She smiled prettily. "But if you go, you have to come find me before dinner. There's a lot to catch up on and it will not fit into one meal."

He chuckled, extracting himself from her embrace. "I think that would be the wisest idea, considering the glare that demon you were dancing with earlier is giving me." He gave her a half wave, shoving his other hand into his pocket. "Later Ci."

Branwen buried her head in her kness, her ruby eyes forced shut as she recited the Fibonacci sequence to try to distract herself. "1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21," she muttered, focusing harder. The higher she got numerically, the easier it would be to keep herself sane and in control. "34, 55, 89, 144, 233."

"Branwen?" He was quiet, approaching her slowly as if worried of her reaction.

Kill, a voice whispered in her head, time to kill him…

"NO!" she yelled, throwing herself forward into his arms, sobbing.

He pulled her closer, sitting down with his back against the wall and rocking her gently in his lap. He pet her hair soothingly, "It's all right, darling. I've got you. It's all right."

She calmed down a little, her wings moving towards him before they stopped, remembering that he could never be hers and retreating back behind her again, instead sniffling gently and hiding her face in his chest.

He held her close. "What's wrong?"

"I'm scared," she whispered, deciding to go with the concern most would be crying over rather than the one that made her so depressed.

"Of what?" He asked quietly, brushing the hair from her face.

"Myself, of waking up to find my friends lying dead around me, my family, of the cold darkness that lurks in my heart." She shrugged, trying to act like she didn't really care. "Take your pick."

He looked surprised but was still comforting. "Wanna tell me about it?"

She shook her head, fisting her hands in his suit jacket. "Just… stay with me. When you're here, it's not."

"Sure." He said gently, pulling her head under his chin and positioning her more comfortably on his lap. "Whatever you need, Branwen."

"Who was that?" Zane growled, barely able to control himself from simply yanking her into his arms and hiding her behind his wings so that she couldn't leave him.

"Aster Phoenix." Cienna replied with a fond smile, immediately slipping her hand into his.

That tore it. He yanked her close then, his arms closing around her possessively, eyes narrowed fiercely as a low growl escaped his throat. His horns would have come out too except that she was so close to him and he didn't want to hurt her in a careless mistake.

She looked up at him in surprise, eyes ridiculously wide. "Zane?"

"You're mine," he hissed darkly, reminding her rather of Jaden when he thought his position with Syrus was threatened in even the most remote way.

She chuckled quietly. "Of course I am, Zane. But he's my best friend. I'm going to hug him."

His arms tightened pointedly. "Yes, but no one else sees it that way."

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, not wanting to agitate him more, but totally clueless of what was going on.

He sighed. "When a demon decides to court another, the dominant one in homosexual relationships or the male in the heterosexual ones will drive away all other potential mates in the area. As such, allowing you to remain close to your two male friends is a rather generous concession on my part, but I stopped myself from doing anything about it because the two are my little brother and his love interest, not to mention gay. Aster, however, is not, and as such, my entire being is telling me to drive him off in order to protect my claim on you, even if it is rather pre-emptive."

"He's not a threat." She said seriously. "He's my best friend. Nothing else. I promise."

"Yeah, well, try telling that to my instincts," he grumbled. "Until one of us mates, I'm going to have to resist the urge to kick him right in his pretty-boy face."

She gave him a stern look. "Don't even think about it Zane. He's been there for me since I was a kid."

"Too late for that," he groaned, closing his eyes. "If he doesn't find someone to court before I have to see him again, whatever harm I may do to him will be on your head."

She sighed, pressing herself closer to him. "Zane."

His wings wrapped around her at their closeness, his whole body wishing he could steal a kiss from her lips. He knew he couldn't mate with her, not now, but surely a kiss would be all right? No, she had told him she didn't trust him anymore, he had to regain that feeling, and that meant letting her make all the moves. "Yes, tenshi?"

"I just... don't want you to hurt him." She said quietly.

He sighed. "Very well, tenshi. I'll try to restrain myself for your sake."

She smiled softly, standing on the tips of her toes and pressing a small, gentle kiss to his mouth. "Thank you." She said quietly.

He couldn't contain a soft smile himself, elated that she'd bestowed upon him the very thing he'd wanted most from her right then. "Anytime, tenshi. Just as you are mine, so am I yours."

Jaden didn't want the heat to be back, he didn't, but he could feel it creeping up on him, the same way it had left him when he was around Branwen. He whimpered softly, burying his face in Syrus's hair.

"Jay?" He asked gently, wrapping his arms around his soulmate.

"I'm so hot, Syrus," he whispered, "So hot…"

Realization instantly smacked Syrus in the face. "Jaden..."

"Syrus," the brunet crooned softly, cuddling up to the smaller.

"It's not that I want you to leave, but..." He paused. "I don't know if it's a good idea for you to stay..."

Zane saw the two of them and instantly realized what was going on. "Cienna, Atticus," he called, getting the attention of the two of them, "go find Branwen. She needs to clean up some of the mess she made."

Cienna threw a look at the perky brunet demon. "C'mon, Aster went that way."

Atticus looked positively gleeful. "Yay, another romantic scene to destroy!" he announced, skipping off happily.

She rolled her eyes, groaning. "I guess I'd better follow him." And so she took off after him.

Branwen's wings drooped tiredly, her head resting against Aster's chest. She was exhausted, and now that she didn't have to fight, she saw little reason to remain awake, even if he was petting her hair rather soothingly.

Aster was gentle, cuddling her a bit snugger to his chest. "Sleep, sweetheart."

She wriggled so that her head was up in the crook of his neck, her wings wrapping around them both. "But I can't. I need to get back to my room… and there's something else I have to do, something important…"

"It can't wait?" He asked quietly, running his fingers through her hair. But before she could answer, the blonde half-breed came skidding into sight with the perky brunet demon close behind.

"Sorry guys." She said quietly. "But Jaden's going back into heat..."

"Yep, that was it," the black-haired girl sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "Shall we?"

"You want me to come with you?" He looked mildly taken aback.

"Of course," she replied. "Atticus is fun, but, no offence Atty, he's rather a bit on the… eccentric side of life."

"Love imposes impossible tasks/ parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme/ though never more than your own heart asks/ and I must know you're a true love of mine," he crooned, beaming at them all after his rendition.

Cienna stared at Atticus in surprise for a moment before shaking her head. "Umm... right. Well, does anyone else think we should go get Jaden?"

"Atty, you're scaring them," Branwen scolded softly. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry, he just loves that poem 'Scarsborough Fair'. Anyway, yes, I do believe we should go, preferably before Jaden rapes someone, rape is very common when a demon is in heat, and not always with the one they want as a mate, though if the person fights, they'll generally move on and only push the matter if it's their soulmate."

Cienna's thoughts immediately drifted to Zane—the remorse he'd had the morning after when compared to the way he'd attacked her while in heat. She bit her lip, reaching up to fiddle with the piercings on her ear as she thought. "R-right." She stuttered. "Well then let's haul some ass."

Branwen nodded, leaning in close to Aster. "No matter what happens," she breathed into his ear, "don't let your hand leave me." I'm afraid of what I'll become otherwise.

"No problem." He whispered back, giving her a big grin.

Jaden was panting, his tongue running along Syrus's neck when Zane pulled him off. The brunet growled, his wings thrashing dangerously as he desperately tried to break free. "Stop it, you stupid Slipher," the elder Truesdale hissed, trying to ignore the buffeting, "I'm trying to help you."

Syrus backed away, looking a little bit scared. "P-please don't hurt him, Zane." He stuttered, wringing his hands worriedly.

Branwen appeared then, flitting over with Aster's hand clutched in her own. "Oh, thank you Zane," she murmured, leaning in close to Jaden. "If you hadn't grabbed him, it would have been so much harder to do this." She pressed her forehead to his, forcing him to still his movements and lock his green eyes on her ruby ones. Then, with a sudden motion, she flicked her wings towards to him and danced away, letting the wind she'd stirred from her wings bring him to his senses.

Cienna watched curiously as the brunet returned to his normal self, apology instantly roaring over his face as Zane let go of him. "I'm sorry Sy!"

"It's okay." The sky-headed boy said quietly, opening his arms. "Just come here." Jaden immediately walked into the embrace, burying his face in the other boy's locks.

The blonde girl walked over to Zane, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest, sighing quietly. He wrapped his own arms and wings around her, his gaze firmly affixed to Aster in a warning.

For once, Branwen didn't feel lonely being in a crowd of couples. The warm hand resting in her own prevented that. She looked down at their conjoined hands, smiling softly and fondly.

Aster smiled at her, squeezing her hand softly. "Is it always like this?"

"Is what always like what?" she asked in reply.

"Are things always this hectic?" He clarified.

She looked up at him, her eyes soft as she gazed into his sapphire eyes. "With them, perhaps. I'm not good enough friends with them to know for certain, though it has been since I've met them. For me, not this kind of hectic exactly, but yes, it is rather… strange."

"Interesting." He said absently, brushing a strand of her from over her eyes with their linked hands.

Atticus came over then, noticing how her wings sagged ever so slightly. "Come on, Wren, time for you to get to bed," he scolded softly, well aware he had to take on a more parental role at times with the black-haired girl in order to get her to bed on time. Often, if he did not hustle her to bed, more often than not curling up in his with him rather than her own, she would remain awake, working on endless school concepts and educational endeavors. She memorized entire plays, read collections of novels, looked at every possible critique for a certain piece of artwork, learned the exact notes for a song in every key, and for no more reason than simply that she was "bored".

Aster smiled at her, bringing their hands up to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to hers. "Until tomorrow, Branwen."

She blushed but frowned, looking down. She wanted to stay with him, if only so that she would not hurt anyone, or at least that's what she tried telling herself. In fact, she was entranced by the angel and would have willingly strode into the gates of her mansion home if she knew he were there, which was saying a lot considering her past. She, however, was far too polite to vocalize it. "Good night then, my hero."

He grinned at that, watching her leave before turning to Cienna. "You send you wanted to talk?"

"Yep." She smiled softly, turning to Zane. "I'll come to your dorm when I'm done, okay?"

Zane growled in an undertone. "Only if you're wearing my feather," he whispered into her ear, his breath huffing over the shell.

She shivered, shaky hand reaching into the collar of her uniform and pulling a chain from under the top. The feather dangled from it, hanging across her chest. "It's right here." She grinned softly, standing on her toes and pressing her lips to his.

He instantly responded with a groan, delighted she was treasuring the physical symbol of his affection. "Good," he murmured when they parted, panting softly. "Keep it out."

"Will do." She whispered quietly, breathing a little heavily herself. She turned as fast as she could and grabbed Aster by the arm. "C'mon, pretty-boy. Lots to talk about."

Aster knew better than to protest as she dragged him away. Jaden, however, watched the process with confused and pitying eyes. "I'm the one who just got taken away to be an Obelisk, and he's the one she drags off? Still, better him than me."

Zane snorted at that, stomping off moodily to go think, otherwise known as sulk, at his lighthouse. Syrus sighed, clinging close to Jaden's arm. "Come on, Jay," he murmured softly. "Let's go get something to eat."

"FOOD!" the brunet cried, running off with Syrus trailing behind him. Nothing perked Jaden up quite like the idea of food did…

Cienna sighed, plopping down on the beach and throwing her best friend a lopsided grin. Her hand rose to the feather around her neck, absently fiddling with it "So where do you want me to start?"

"Wherever you feel it best to, Cienna." He sat too, but his gaze was fixated on a single black feather he'd found in the gym, likely from when Branwen had fled. It smelled of her, like oranges and vanilla, and since she was the only female with feathers of this length, it could only have been hers.

She laughed softly, watching him for a moment before beginning. "I guess Zane is the best start. Zane Truesdale. Demon. My soulmate. He... Well... We..." She flushed both from embarrassment and frustration. "He was in heat... and then he wasn't. He was normal sweet Zane but when I got back he..." she sighed. "This makes absolutely no sense to you, I'm sure."

"Actually," he murmured softly, still focused on the feather, "it makes more sense to me than it does to you right now."

"Then please," she said quietly. "Explain."

"Well," the silver-haired boy stated, "there's been some rumors flying around that the really powerful demons, the ones who have blood ties to the seven sins themselves, can stop a demon's heat in its tracks." He shrugged, averting his eyes. "I don't know if it's true, but judging by the way Branwen knocked Jaden right out of whatever was happening to him, it's likely she can do it in reverse too."

"But why?" Cienna hissed. "Why would she do that?"

His jaw tightened. "I don't think it was her who did it. I may not know her all too well, but from what I've seen, she wouldn't have been capable of something so malicious."

She sighed. "I wasn't trying to accuse her. I know how sweet Branwen is. I just... whoever did it really screwed things up with me and Zane."

"I don't know," he replied, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, "I'm pretty sure he's still interested."

She shot him a glare. "Oh, shut up Aster. I know he's still interested. It's me with the problem."

"How so? He seems pretty sorry for what he's done."

"He is." She said, running a hand through her hair. "But... I'm just not sure I wanted to do... what we did. I feel like I can't trust him."

He was quiet for a long moment, staring at the feather in his hand, until he managed to turn teasing sapphire eyes back on her. "You do realize you're being very damn picky, right?"

Unoffended—she'd heard this kind of thing from him before—she merely looked curious. "What do you mean?"

"Zane Truesdale is an extremely good catch," he stated. "There are whispers about him even among angels about how strong and well-suited he would be for a mate. He's managed to gather just as much of a fanbase as I have. Since he obviously hasn't treated you badly, it was more of a mistake on his part if my sources are correct, what's keeping you from him now?" Seeing her open her mouth, he held up his free hand. "And don't tell me it's not because you don't trust him, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have been so close to him today."

She stared down at the sand under her, grabbing a handful of sand and watching it run out of her hand. "He's my soulmate. I'm not supposed to doubt him. But... I do."

Aster groaned. He really didn't want to do this, but he reached out and slapped her across the cheek. "Cienna Oliver, you go right back up that cliff and go make up with him this instant. If you don't figure this out now, it'll only get worse, and then you could lose the very thing you're supposed to treasure the most." His sapphire eyes burned with a passion, obviously uncomfortably familiar with this kind of hurt.

Eyes wide in shock, her hand raised to her cheek. "What the hell, Aster?"

"You heard me."

She clenched her jaw. "You ass."

He chuckled unrepentantly. "Yep, the ass who tried to make you see sense, that's me!"

A small voice appeared in the back of her head in the form of Syrus. He's your best friend, Cienna. He's not trying to hurt you. Angrily, she tried to push the voice away, glaring at the sand. It was stubborn though, refusing to leave until she saw sense, repeating itself. With a frustrated growl, she pushed herself to her feet, admitting defeat. "You're probably right."

He smirked. "I usually am, now go. I can wait until you're done making up."

She rolled her eyes but pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks, Pretty-boy." She took off running, knowing that she needed to fix things with Zane. If only because she loved him.

Chazz: ... Remind me why we do this again.

Bastion: Because if we didn't, she'd only make it worse.

Aster: And because if we didn't show up, she'd hunt us down anyway.

Chazz: ... Good point.

Aster: Hey, where is Die?

Bastion: *pushes open a door to show Die and Atticus sleeping beside each other cutely*

Chazz: ... *takes picture* BLACKMAIL!

Aster: Review and we'll give you some of this lovely blackmail!

Bastion: *sighs but doesn't bother to restrain them because he knows better*