A/N: I figure I owe you a chapter so, here's the next part :) Do keep letting me know what you think!

Chapter Fourteen

"Marianne has invited us to join her at the dance she has arranged for her employees for the rest of the evening." Kwame informed his friends when they emerged from the large wheel, obviously eager to accept.

Wheeler couldn't help teasing, "Marianne huh?"

Gi on the other hand was critical, "Kwame it's late. Ma-Ti and I were just saying that we cannot wait to get back to the hotel for some sleep."

"It will not hurt to go for a little while Gi," Linka argued, surprising the others.

The American was looking at the youngest Planeteer however and made a suggestion. "I don't mind going on with Linka and Kwame, but I don't see why you two can't head back to the hotel if you want. I'm sure that won't offend Marianne."

The Water Planeteer laughed and gave in gracefully, "Okay, have fun you guys. Come on Ma-Ti, Kwame can make our apologies for us."

Miss Gunning, as it turned out, had hired a limousine which they were all invited to share and though Linka privately thought that they could have walked the short distance to the hotel that was hosting the dance, she did enjoy the unaccustomed luxury.

"I'm so glad you decided to come with us." Marianne said sincerely, "Kwame has been telling me some fascinating stories over dinner. You all do such marvellous things but he is so modest, he would tell me nothing of himself."

Wanting to further their friend's interests with the beautiful woman he so clearly admired, the two Planeteers were quick to agree and managed to embarrass their friend with examples of his heroism… which were no less embarrassing for being true.

Despite his discomfort, the African didn't miss the way they sat comfortably close to each other, taking turns to speak and finishing each other's sentences as they told their tales. He was pleased to see them so happy together and wondered if they had finally turned a corner in their relationship.

"I am afraid we are very underdressed," Linka commented as they stepped out onto the pavement, suddenly very conscious of her trousers and uniform t-shirt amidst the evening wear of the other arrivals.

"Oh no, you look fine," Marianne assured her airily, "Don't worry about it."

The Russian didn't look very reassured but as their hostess chose to take Kwame's arm and walk on ahead of them she followed on behind without saying anything more. Wheeler helped by draping an arm about her waist and leaning in close to whisper, "You look beautiful, you always do. You'll have every guy in the place drooling over you. What I want to know is how I am supposed to compete with them for your attention?"

"We will make an agreement." She replied in a low voice with a sparkle in her eyes. "No flirting with anyone else tonight, for either of us."

"Oh yeah?" Wheeler grinned, "And what do I get for being good?"

Linka laughed, a lovely sound that caused several interested heads to turn in her direction but neither of them noticed, "The same thing I will get for being good… though as I am supposed to be sharing a room with Gi, our reward might have to be postponed."

"Or quick." He suggested and wasn't surprised to receive a good natured elbow in his ribs.

Seeing that Marianne was absorbed with introducing Kwame to her employees, the American nodded towards the dance floor, "Wanna give it a go?"

The music had started earlier for those who hadn't been invited to the dinner so it was already busy and Linka didn't feel too self-conscious about agreeing. They found a space and slipped easily into each other's arms to sway to the gentle rhythm.

Wheeler loved the way Linka relaxed into him, her body soft and warm against his. Don't change the music yet, let us stay like this for a while…

Wheeler and Linka left the party at midnight, while Kwame was still dancing with Marianne.

"She seems to really like him." Linka commented as they walked hand in hand back towards their hotel. "Perhaps this is the start of something."

"I dunno Babe," The American replied. "Kwame seems to fall in love pretty easily but it never lasts long."

Linka looked out over the river, "Maybe it is because of our lifestyle, we never really get the chance to know anyone but each other."

There was a long pause as each pondered their own thoughts before Wheeler finally broke the silence, "Has… has there been someone you wanted to know better?"

"Like who?" She was surprised as she had been thinking of his own fleeting interest in so many girls, and the way he moved on to the next the minute they were out of sight.

Wheeler shrugged, "Anyone… someone you feel you could have had something special with? You sounded like you felt you were missing out."

He didn't sound happy about the prospect and Linka thought she had better head off that line of thought before it got out of hand, but she tried to keep the mood light. "Nyet, you have seen my list, there are no lost loves on it."

"I'm serious," he said quietly, stopping to lean against the sea wall and staring past her without really seeing anything. "You must think about it sometimes… the guy you might have married, the kids you might have had, if you'd stayed in Russia?"

Linka shook her head, "There was no one in my town I would have married. If I day dream at all it is always of the future. What about you?" she turned the question around, "Is that how you feel? That you have given up your chance to be loved?"

"No!" Wheeler looked into her eyes, wondering if she could really be clueless about his feelings or whether she was just testing him. "I know I flirt a bit… I like the attention of pretty girls, what straight guy doesn't? But I'm not really trying to get to know them, I'm not out looking for a partner… the truth is that you're the only one I've ever wanted to know better anyway."

The Russian's cheeks went red but instead of pulling away she smiled shyly, "We do have something special, da?"

He nodded, but then spotted something over her shoulder, "Hey look, a tattoo parlour. It's open, wasn't that on your list?"

"Da but…" she bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Second thoughts?" He grinned but gave her hand a squeeze to let her know it was ok.

Linka smiled, "Nyet, I still want to get one but it has to mean something… it is too permanent to get just a nice picture or something."

"Just don't get one in a language you can't read yourself. I've heard stories about that sort of thing, where the artist thinks it's a great joke to put something stupid." He shrugged.

"Do you… do you find it attractive?" She asked nervously, "I mean if you found one on a girl, what would you think of her?"

The American laughed, "That would depend on the tattoo, and the girl, and maybe where it was."

Linka's eyes widened "I would not want anything anywhere… too personal."

"Come on, let's go have a look. We don't need to do it right now." he tugged on her hand and she followed him over to the shop window. The lights were on and they could see someone having a picture inked in on their leg. "Cool dragon… that guy's good at his job!"

The Russian agreed, "And there are health certifications and qualifications on the walls… perhaps I should just do it and not think about it too much."

"I guess I'm starting to rub off on you." Wheeler hugged her to his side, "So what were you thinking of having?"

She held up her power ring, "My symbol, I know it is not much for a tattoo…"

"I dunno, I kinda like the idea. I mean our rings are a part of us now, maybe I'll get that too."

"You are going to have one? You do not have to, I know we said we would share everything but," He silenced her with a gentle finger over her lips.

Wheeler met her eyes with his own, "I know I don't have to but I want to, we said we'd work through our lists together. That's important to me, if I haven't said so before, it is. Sharing all this with you and the change it's made to our friendship, it means a lot."

"Spasiba." She reached up to place a tender kiss on his lips, "It means everything to me too."

Her eyes suddenly lit with inspiration and she turned back to the window, scanning for an image she had seen a few moments before. "I know what we should have…" She pointed to a group of photos of various yin and yang designs. "We can get half each with our symbols in the middle instead of the circle."

Catching her enthusiasm Wheeler pointed to another photo, which was the same symbol but in a slightly different style, "We can get it in the colour of our beams and then the symbol will show up better in the white circles inside."

"Perfect… so I will have the top half in blue, and you will get the bottom half in red?" She beamed at him and he nodded in agreement.

"What?" He asked noting her sudden uncertainty.

Linka pointed to the inner circles, "These are meant to represent the opposite half, the part inside that is the other."

"So we should have each other's symbol?" He asked, "But that won't make sense if you wanted it to represent you."

She nodded, "You think it would be taking it too far."

"I didn't say that, to be honest I kinda like the idea," He confessed, "A permanent record of our friendship… a reminder that we're always a part of each other."

"I like that too." They stood there for a few moments, just smiling at each other, before Linka took a step towards the open door, "His other customer has left, come on."

The tattoo artist was very professional, friendly and helpful and his own body was a work of art, some of which was his own. He took a few minutes to sketch out what they wanted on paper, and when they were happy with the designs asked, "Okay, so who's first? And where do you want them?"

"I am first, it was my idea." Linka told him but she hesitated over the other answer.

Wheeler pressed a finger to her lower back, not in the centre but just by her left hip, "How about here? It's private but not too personal and I know you have swimsuits that will and won't cover it depending on how you're feeling.

The Russian nodded in agreement but then glanced at the window.

"I'll put the screen up," The guy told them, moving to do so.

Once behind it Linka undid her trousers and arranged herself on artist's bench bed. Fortunately her underwear was low enough on her hips that day that she didn't need to pull them down at all because her courage might then have been outweighed by her modesty.

The artist gave her instructions and warned her before he began… it did hurt but she found the pain bearable and the relative simplicity of the design meant that it was not of long duration.

"How does it look?" She asked Wheeler nervously when it was complete.

The American had been watching every second, telling himself not to feel possessive over her… the guy wasn't really touching her and he couldn't see anything but somehow Wheeler still didn't like it. The result however definitely met with his approval and he answered her question with conviction, "Hot. And I'm not just saying that because it's a flame."

He had visions in his head of kissing it and wondered how long it would be before he could explore that avenue of thought.

Linka, who had similar ideas running through her own mind, made use of the mirrors she was offered to inspect it with, "I love it, thank you!"

The artist acknowledged her enthusiasm but went on to explain how she should take care of it over the next few weeks as he cleaned and dressed it. Some of the points like, no swimming and wearing loose clothing made them both realise that they hadn't exactly thought it through… and avoiding aggravating it while on a mission could be a problem too.

Wheeler wasn't about to chicken out however, they would help each other with this as they did everything else. "Okay Babe, so where should I have my half?"

His friend's eyes twinkled with mischief and something more, as her hand reached out to point at his right hip… pressing a point on the front of his body that occasionally showed above his shorts but was not quite considered intimate.

The American raised his eyebrows at her, a look of amusement on his face as he teased her, though he knew she wouldn't get the reference. "As you wish."

He made no complaint about the pain nor, to Linka's surprise, did he complain about having a man so close to that region of his body. Wheeler was actually a little nervous about the needle slipping but other than that had few insecurities where he himself was concerned.

"How does it look?" He repeated her question and she in turn repeated his answer.

"Hot… very hot." She blushed, "I hope it heals quickly."

Wheeler agreed but listened again to the instructions the artist was giving him… he wasn't about to risk an infection. He also insisted on paying, telling Linka she could argue with him back at the hotel.

When they got outside, the beautiful Russian once more stretched up to kiss his lips, "Thank you."

He winked at her in response before wrapping an arm around her shoulders directing their steps towards the hotel.

"Do you think Gi is still up?" Wheeler asked quietly as he opened the door to his room.

Linka entered behind him shaking her head, "Nyet she was very tired, I should not have any trouble sneaking in later."

The American didn't say anything, he hadn't yet given up the idea of convincing her to stay the night. He ducked in to use the bathroom briefly, leaving the supplies the tattoo artist had given them in there and returned to find Linka sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. "If you don't want to do this tonight…"

She looked up confused, "What makes you think I do not want to be here?"

"You look…" He shrugged, "I don't know, like you can't relax."

Laughing, Linka got up and walked into his arms, careful to lean against the opposite side to his new decoration. "I cannot relax, I feel like someone has been sticking needles into my hip. It might make tonight a bit uncomfortable for both of us."

"Yeah, I didn't really think of that," He tucked his arms around her, and smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder as if it belonged there. "We'll manage though."

She lifted her lips in a silent plea to be kissed and after her request had been granted, excused herself to use the bathroom.

Wheeler stripped off but instead of putting his clothes on the floor, with the other things he'd changed out of earlier, he laid them over the chair, mindful that it was all he had with him except for an extra change of boxers. Fortunately, Linka was getting used to the mess he habitually left around and was still a little amused at how at home he was, even in a hotel.

"Subtle." The Russian commented when she returned to find him laying naked in the centre of the bed with his arms crossed behind his head. She had let her hair out of her pony tail and removed most of her clothes but her t-shirt was long enough to cover her lack of underwear. She walked over to the chair and began placing her things next to Wheeler's, knowing he was watching every move she made.

After a moment she stripped her t-shirt off too and put it with the rest, leaving her completely bare.

"You've no need to be embarrassed," He commented as a faint blush stole across her skin, "You really are beautiful, you know that?"

Linka smiled shyly and climbed on to the bed next to him, "I am glad you think so, I like the way you look at me. I am just not as shameless as you are." He laughed and she glanced towards his bandage, trying not to stare. "Does it hurt?"

"Which one?" he teased, seeing her eyes stray slightly.

Linka's colour darkened but she rolled her eyes, "Either."

Chuckling, Wheeler reached over to take her hand. "It's throbbing."

"Which one?"

"Both." He replied making her giggle.

"Talk to me." The lovely Russian requested. "Tell me what you want, how you feel."

Wheeler was tempted to do just that, but he knew her question was about the physical and so he answered in kind. "Come closer, I want to kiss you."

Resting her hands on the bed either side of him, she leant forward to bring their lips together.

Wheeler's hands slid over her and he whispered against her lips, "You feel amazing, soft, like velvet..."

They kissed again and for a while he couldn't speak, but then they were gasping for air and he told her to straddle him. Wheeler was bolder in his descriptions than she had been and while it made her blush, she loved what they shared and prompted him to continue whenever what they were doing distracted him.

Mindful of his wound, Linka was careful to collapse at his side, though that drew a protest for him, "You wouldn't have hurt me, I want you close."

"I am close," She told him cuddling into his arms and noting that he was just as careful about where he put them as she had been.

"Let's get into bed," he suggested after a little while, beginning to get up but she stopped him by saying she would have to go soon. "Not yet, besides I need you again."

Linka looked surprised, "Already? Did I not do it right?"

"You're kidding me? Babe you're incredible, I'm just… feeling possessive I guess." He shrugged, getting up and pulling down the covers, encouraging her to climb inside. "I won't push you if it's too soon though, just stay a while, ok?"

She settled back in his embrace under the covers and closed her eyes as his lips sought out hers. They kissed for some time, content to be together but when they parted Linka whispered, "It is not too soon but it has been a long day, I am not sure I have the energy to do that again and with the tattoos..."

His beautiful companion sounded regretful so he asked, "You want to though?"

"Da," she smiled wistfully.

"Does it have to be romantic?"

Linka laughed, "I have loved everything we have done together since the balloon ride, but I would not say all of it has been romantic. Nyet, it does not need to be, what do you have in mind?"

Finally exhausted, when they settled back to rest in each other's arms they fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake until the first light began shining through the window.

To be continued…