Elphaba stared at the parts lying there, so innocent in themselves. Could she really assemble them into a bomb? Oz, should she? Even to kill the Wizard. How could they do that without killing innocent people?

And she would be responsible.

The parts mocked her. She could already see how some fit together, started building it in her mind. See it made. A hesitant Avaric giving it to Zephyr, and the next day hearing a dozen children were killed. Or a cloister. Collateral damage, Zephyr would say. A necessary evil.

She made a face.

"My feelings exactly." Avaric studied her from the doorway. She turned to face him.

"Can we do this?"

He sighed. "I don't know. But I've done worse for the cause. Or, if not worse, at least more close up."

She crossed to him. "I mean, I believe in what we're doing, but…"

"I know." He pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his shoulder. "I'd say we can deliberately fail, but I don't think we're experienced enough for that. We're still more likely to blow ourselves up anyway."

"Really helping," she mumbled into his shoulder. "I don't know if I can live with this."

"You will. Lock it up in sturdy chains of why the sacrifice had to be made. Theirs. Yours. All of it. And whose fault it really is."

"That's how you-"

"And you'll never talk about it out loud."

She stepped back. "Right. Just a job. It's not up to me how they use it."

"Yeah, maybe it's just a threat."

"Maybe." And maybe she'd sprout wings and fly to Mount Kolojaco.

Her eyes studied the parts, not daring to meet his. "Do you…" She swallowed. He might hate talking about it, but she had to know. Before it was too late. "Is it worth it? Even with…everything."

He hung his head, and pulled her back to him, as much for him as for her. "Oz, I hope so."

Her indecision drained her. She wasn't one for waffling. There was a problem, and she solved it. That's her world. Not this ambiguously moral dilemma.

She pushed back.

"Well, it's not going to make itself."

"Look. If you want to stop, say it. I'll handle it. There's no reason Zephyr even has to know."

She cocked a hand on her hip. "Because you don't need me?" He shot her a look. "Or I can't handle it, but you can? You don't have to coddle me."

"More like I'm already a lost cause." His fingers grazed her cheek. "You don't have to be ruined, too."

"Avaric-"

He let out a heavy sigh and stepped back. "I know. You won't. But I had to offer."

"No, if it has to be done, I'll do it."

He nodded, expecting no less.

His confidence lent her room to ask, "Can you please just…convince me? That it has to be done. That we're on the right side, here."

"We are." The definitive tone took her by surprise, particularly after his clear reticence with what he had done. "We have to stand up to them, and if we don't take every avenue of attack, I mean… Sometimes you have to punch the bully in the nose."

She laughed. "Weren't you the bully?"

"Depends on perspective I suppose." He flashed her a lovable grin, and she rolled her eyes. "But if we don't, who will? And then we'll be guilty still, but without anything to show for it. What's my integrity to another's life?"

Something about his intensity spoke to her. She felt drawn to him, by his words, his eyes, his charisma. Oz, he wasn't kidding about not needing help with women. She found herself tilting forward and jerked back, but not before he caught the motion.

His gaze traced her lips knowingly, and despite herself, she felt a flush creep up over her neck and cheeks.

"We'd better get to work."

He stepped up beside her. He'd already briefed her on what he'd learned from his interrogation, but he clarified still. "Start with the base."

She eyed the parts, letting them fit together in her mind. She recognized one as the part she'd been unable to procure at the nightclub. She gathered a few pieces and connected them. Avaric helped her quietly, but she felt his eyes.

The flush deepened.

With her base finished, the explosive mechanism came next, and she added it with extreme caution. He moved subtly closer, as if he could stop the explosion should it happen. "Hand me that piece."

He followed her point, and passed it to her. She held very still, adding the next piece.

"Okay, I could use your help if you're planning to hover anyway."

"I'm all yours," his low voice came from so close to her ear she nearly jumped. She shut her eyes to steady her nerves. "What can I do?"

The gravel in his voice inspired very inappropriate answers to that, and she had to force it away. Of all times, her libido had to spike now? No time for that. She could examine this odd attraction later. When she wasn't holding a bomb, for Oz sake.

From his place behind her, he stretched for a part. So close, she felt his muscles move, could imagine them rippling and bunching beneath his smooth skin. He handed it to her, but she couldn't grip it without setting down the others.

Could she? Or would the contact be enough to detonate?

"Here." He placed his hands over her, and they passed the parts between them.

She added the new one. They worked in tandem through the next ring of parts, fingers grazing over warm skin. Surely her rapid pulse came from the work.

Damn, she needed another to fit together. She stretched over him, breast bumping over his arm, and he sucked a breath in. "Oz, woman. You're going to send me to an early grave."

She tilted her head back to look at him, only to regret that when it clarified how close he was. She rested her head on his shoulder, her lips a hand's breath from his. "That is my real mission," she deadpanned.

"Oh, is it?" He leaned in an inch, and caught himself. "Bomb, Fae. Come on."

She turned forward, suppressing a smile. "What's the matter, distracted?" But the stiffness in her shoulders belied her tension, too.

"I would retaliate, except your holding our lives in your hands right now."

His presence behind her wasn't helping with that. She'd done all the easy parts. Even having never made a bomb, she wasn't too worried as long as she had room to add new parts. But now, as she worked on the detonator, the space had become so limited.

He handed her a piece, and she fumbled the trade. Her heart stopped. Avaric tucked her tight against him as it fell.

Without hitting the half-made bomb. It clattered on the floor, and she let out her breath. "Keeping you on your toes."

"My toes are fine." He unclasped his white knuckles from her to retrieve the piece. "My blood pressure, not so much."

Her mounting tension rippled through him behind her. He molded to her back, keeping her arms from getting tired in the awkward position. Each new part was more difficult.

Her back ached from the tight muscles and tedious work despite his help, and she couldn't imagine he felt any better. She added the last few parts until the final one remained.

"That's it. Don't rush the dismount."

She nodded, and she took a moment to breathe for what felt like the first time in hours. With a sharp breath in, she settled the part in place, connecting the tiny wires in place and very delicately screwing it together.

"There," she sighed, and with both their hands for steadiness, they set the bomb down. "Oz."

She collapsed back into him, relief rolling through her. His arms came around her. "That was intense." His head fell to her shoulder, and she let hers rest against it.

"Very. But we did it."

"You're amazing," he whispered, and she felt this connection with him in the moment that she couldn't describe. Perhaps it only came from partners that risked life and limb for each other in a very literal way.

"Not so bad yourself." She shifted her hips slowly as the other source of her tension rippled through her exhausted body. He felt the change, and his breathing stilled.

"Oh?" His lips brushed her ear. "Glad to be of service."

His breath sent tingles through her, and she couldn't seem to hold still. His body behind hers felt so solid, so warm, so…hard. At least she knew she wasn't alone in the attraction. "Maybe we should get out of here before something explodes."

His hands trailed down her arms. "Maybe we should let it."

Her nose traced along his cheek. "Are you really suggesting we have sex in a room with a bomb? If so, I've sorely misjudged you."

He chuckled. "Is that so?"

She turned to face him without losing contact. "You think we would be that calm together?"

He grinned, and he pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "Let's go find a room to destroy that won't bring down the building."

This was probably a bad idea. But she knew she was making it, regardless of whatever logic dictated she shouldn't.

They searched the hallway for a suitable room, to no avail. The next flood held all locked doors. She wiped a hand over her eyes. "Maybe we should just go back. We can be careful, right?"

Avaric shot her a look.

A couple turned the corner, and Elphaba immediately dropped his hand. The pair eyed them in return. They'd nearly passed when Avaric offered, "This floor's all locked."

She spun on him with wide eyes.

The other guy sent him a smirk. "Thanks. So's the one above."

The men shared a commiserating look. His date flushed a deep red, but Elphaba refused to be flustered. "Roof?"

He sent her a sideways look of esteem that nearly made her laugh. The other couple had reached the far end, but the man sent back, "Tried. No door in." The door swung shut on the last word.

She tilted her head in consideration. They could always just use the doorway, then. No, too likely they'd get locked on the wrong side of their clothes.

They skipped the third floor, not that the fourth looked any more promising. Avaric turned another knob, and grunted in frustration. She tried the opposite side of the hallway, just to be safe, but with no response.

Down they went, but still, only locked doors. Perhaps it was fate's intervention after all. She started toward the stairs.

Avaric let out a sharp breath. "Screw this."

He shouldered open the next door, and hauled her in after him. His lips crashed into her, and she returned his enthusiasm with equal fervor.

He dug a hand in her hair to hold her to him, and they deepened the kiss. She started on his buttons, and he scrambled to help. His shirt off, she pulled back to admire her handiwork, and the bruises there cooled the fire in her blood. "Are you sure you're-"

"Are you suggesting some bruises would keep me from doing this? Really?"

She cocked a smile. "If you'd not up to it…"

He hiked her knee to his waist so she could feel exactly how up for it he was. "If you want to back out, Thropp, that's on you."

She unzipped her dress in answer, and the material pooled on the floor. He eyed her hungrily.

"You're sure?"

She cocked a hand on her hip. "You need a written invitation?"

He dragged her back to him, and the next few moments were lost in a sea of exploration. Fingers, lips, skin, all wild with sensation. The smattering of hair on his chest tickled her bare skin. He was so warm, so hard, so smooth, so…intense.

The contact was such a rush, flooding her with emotion. Perhaps it was being with someone from university. He'd known the innocent girl she'd been, and being with him felt somehow both intimidating and exciting. But she was no blushing virgin anymore, that was certain. No matter what flush he drew from her.

"Take off your pants."

He lifted an eyebrow, but he complied. She ran her fingernails over his chest, and he sucked in a breath. It had been too long. She'd missed this feeling. He stepped back to pull his legs free, but his eyes never left her.

She pursued him, closing the space to trail her lips over his firm muscles, down his chest, down his stomach. He sucked in a breath. "Oz, woman, you don't have to-" He swallowed a groan as she wrapped her lips around him.

The flat of her tongue slid along the underside of his member, and he fell forward, bracing against the wall. Her smile quirked around him, a rush driving through her at how powerful she felt. She drew him in, and his eyes rolled back in his head at the steady rhythm she found.

"Stop," he grunted, too soon by far. She peered up at him, and he swallowed thickly. "And don't look at me like that. Mm, those eyes. Kumbricia, woman, do you have any idea what you do to me?"

She pulled back to grin wickedly.

"Get over here, unless you want this to be over before it's started."

She stood slowly, enjoying the heat in his gaze. He kissed her hard. She rolled her hips against him, and he jerked. He pulled back to trail over her skin with lips and fingers. The skin tingled with electricity and puckered tightly over her nipple.

He bent to her breasts, and she gasped at the current running through her. And then his hand found the juncture of her thighs, while his mouth fell hot on her nipple. He had her breathless in moments, wordless noises of need tumbling unbidden from her.

She pushed him back before he could drive her senseless, and clamoured on his lap. He hissed at the pressure on his bruised ribs, and she pulled back. "Sorry. Are you-"

He stopped her with a kiss, and dragged her back against him. "You think I'd care if every bone in my body were broken?"

Her face spread in a smile without reservation, and she drew herself over him with torturous patience. "I might."

"Then I'd better be convincing." He lifted her hips to meet his. With a swift motion, he was settled inside her, and they each drew a long breath at the comfort that brought. His forehead fell to hers. "You feel amazing."

She rocked her hips, slowly. "You're not so bad yourself," she whispered. He wrapped an arm around her waist, the other drawn back to her breast. He bucked against her, letting her set the pace. "For the record," she upped their pace little by little, "you're…surprislngly…." Her words failed her as the rush of sensation flooded her.

He kissed her deeply. "We're going for the record?"

"Shut up."

She rolled her hips, and he buried his face into her neck. "Umm, Fae," he ground out, his gravelly voice a turn on of its own, "you're damn amazing. Oz, woman, you own me."

She doubted that. A lothario like him? But she appreciated the pretty lie nonetheless.

"Mutual," she puffed against his scalp. She could be persuasive, herself, when she chose. And what man didn't need his ego stroked? "So lar…"

She cut off as he shifted their angle to thrust more deeply. Sweet Oz. She muffled a moan against his shoulder. Maybe he didn't need it after all. His confidence was well-placed.

He rocked against her, stoking the growing intensity building in her. He worked her body, inside and out, until she could no longer think. Only feel, and oh, what a swell of feeling. It flooded her, washing over in waves, building in intensity, until she felt a hurricane poised at the precipice.

She drew in a ragged breath, and he joined their mouths. Eyes closed, she let the sensations wash over her and he sped them toward the brink. He pulled back to press his forehead into hers, and she knew he was close, too.

His rhythm faltered just as she fell over the edge, her body twinging with aftershocks, and he followed after her. His eyes met hers, and she felt a new wave of emotion at the look in them.

For a long moment, they drifted down together from the high, until finally, he sighed. "Well, that was explosive, alright." He nosed her cheek. "You're incredible."

She kissed him lightly. "At least now I see why you're so arrogant."

He barked a laugh. "Oz."

Reluctantly, they cleaned up and redressed. "You know," Avaric offered with a casual air too showy to be genuine. "We don't have a mission tonight."

"Is this your way of saying you're not satisfied?"

He shot her a look. "More that I'd be perfectly willing to do that again, only this time with a bed."

She straightened her dress. "And you think I'm amenable?"

He leaned toward her and kissed her neck. "You're a terrible tease, you know that?" She chuckled. "Do you need convincing?" he murmured against her, his voice smooth as sin. "Because I'm more than happy to oblige."

She indulged in a long, slow kiss. "So soon?"

"If it were up to me, you'd never get dressed." He untied her braid that had loosened horribly anyway and combed his fingers through. "Come on. I want to see this gorgeous hair spread all over my pillow."

"Is that what you want?"

"Well, not all that I want." He hauled her back against him. "But if you're determined to make me say it, I want to make you shudder like that again more than I want to breathe."

She felt her pulse winding back up as he pressed her tightly against him. "Well, we'd better get to it then, hadn't we?"

"Yes, ma'am."

She linked her arm with his. A thought popped in her mind, and she found it voiced before she considered if she should. "Well, I won't pretend to be the most beautiful woman you've slept with, but I might be the most dangerous."

He kissed her hand, still gripped in his. "You're both." His eyes stayed on the hallway, and a momentary insecurity rose up that the reply was too polished. Too canned.

She pushed it away. No, he had a past, and so did she. This wasn't a marriage proposal, it was sex. Damn good sex, and she wasn't going to mess it up by overanalyzing it.

She tugged him closer and slipped a hand over his firm ass. "So, my place or yours?"

He spun her into him and leaned them against the wall. " I'm not sure we'll make it to either if you keep that up."

She slid her hand up his inner thigh. "I thought you wanted a bed."

"I want you," he growled, and he slipped his hand down her chest. His fingers trailed down slowly, but she pushed him back. He let out a groan at the swivel in her hips as she led him to the stairs. "Temptress."

"Yeah, but you like it."

"Damn right."