The Start of Trouble

Aerrow

I think I handled the situation quite well. I had the enemy on my ship. I had him in my grasp… And Kai forced me to let him go. I'm handling my newfound rage amazingly well. After hours of packing the ship with mysterious cargo, Stork set a course for Terra Gale.

Finn met up with us on the loading dock, but he didn't look too happy. He seemed concerned for Kai's safety, but was quite relieved when he found out she was all right.

"Hey, Aerrow… Can I talk to you?"

I glanced at Finn. "What? Do you want to trade tens? I'm sure that one got sticky…" I laughed. The trick with the juice glasses must've, at the very least, stained the money I gave him.

Finn growled, "No… I want to get even. You said that prank was for flirting with Kai? Who says I can't?"

"I do!"

"Why don't we let Kai have the say, eh?" he laughed. "Let's make a bet of it. First person who can get a kiss from her… wins."

I turned around. I could've guessed he was interested in Kai… but I didn't think it was to this extent. "Oh? Wins what?"

"Kai."

"Huh… I think this is honestly the best idea you've had. So, what happens when I win?"

He narrowed his gaze. "When I win, you can't touch her. You can't even think about her the way you do now. Understand?"

"Fine, just know that this will put an end to your flirting with her…"

"I guess we should lay down some rules."

I nodded. "Um…. She has to kiss you."

"Agreed. And out of her own will—no forcing her."

"Obviously… No interfering with the other's chances to change the odds."

Begrudgingly, he agreed. "So… what if she ends up not liking either of us? At what point do we give up?"

That question was entirely Finn. Most people would know when to give up… Finn was not one of them. "You'll know," I told him, hoping that would put an end to the question, saving me the time of explaining a complicated answer.

Finn shot me a glare. "This starts now." The blond soon trudged off.

I sighed. I felt like it was going to be too easy. Kai already showed some interest in me… how hard would getting a kiss be? I doubted it would take longer than the trip to Gale to call the end of the bet. I walked out of the room, in search of Kai. It wasn't too unlikely Finn would be going to do the same, the question was however, who would reach her first?

ooo

The next morning, after a surprisingly uneventful day on either side, I was the first one up. The ship is always quiet early in the morning—the controls are on autopilot, the lights are all off, the shades are still down in the helm, everything is locked down… Being alone in the morning isn't uncommon—being the leader, I always took the responsibility to ready everything we would need for the day and oversee that everything played out right.

I had the upper-hand. Finn always got up last… and it looked as if I wasn't alone. As I walked into the helm, passing the controls, I stepped through the doorway and examined our skimmers. Just past the metal beasts gave way to the hangar door… which was jarred open. Stalled in the sky, the landing strip was as safe as the rest of the ship. I didn't have to worry about wind knocking me over. I passed through the door and noticed Kai on the edge. With a smile, I proceeded forward, careful not to startle her.

"You know, you're terrible at sneaking up on someone!" she laughed. "This is the second time you've done this and I've heard you both times."

Taking a seat next to her, I smiled. "The point was not to scare you."

"Oh…"

"I can't have you falling off…" Glancing downward, I noticed we'd drifted over Blizzaris, the air possessing a deathly chill. I quickly stood back up and rushed into the Condor, making my way from the hangar to her room, and back. I stepped back through the door and onto the landing strip, stopping behind Kai. I threw a warm blanket over her shoulders before sitting back down.

"I thought you left me out here alone," she giggled.

"It's freezing out here… I don't want you to die of hypothermia."

Smiling, she took the blanket off, handing it back to me. "I'm fine…"

"Kai, you're wearing a skirt, you have no shoes or socks on, and your arms are bare. I doubt you're warm in the least." I replaced the blanket over her shoulders, wrapping it around her.

"Such a worrywart… Fine. Under one condition…"

"Hm?"

"I don't want you to die either." She reached out, wrapping the blanket around me as well.

"Hey! I have a jacket! I'll be fine."

She raised a brow, scooting closer to me. "And you're complaining… why?"

I bit back my words. "You're right. I don't want to die."

Closing her eyes, she smiled as she leaned against me. "I thought so…"

I smiled as well. It looked like I would win the bet faster than I thought… and I would have Finn off my back in no time. "Are… are you hungry?" I asked quietly.

She sat up, looking at me. "Why so helpful all of a sudden?"

I stuttered, "I… I-I'm just curious… I was… I was going to make sandcakes…"

Laughing, she rested her head on my shoulder once more. "Well, if you're making them, I wouldn't mind having some."

"Kai… Can I ask you something?"

She smiled softly. "Sure. Anything…"

Changing my mind, afraid to take the risk and ask, I quickly tried to think of something else. "Uh… No… never mind…"

Looking toward me, she seemed disappointed. Sighing, she relaxed against my arm and closed her eyes. "I… I can't feel my toes…," she laughed.

"Pull your feet up, then! Why aren't you wearing socks?"

"Cause you're not my mother!" She rolled her eyes, kicking her feet through the air.

"I don't want you to get frostbite. We don't have anything to fix that…"

"You got water?"

I nodded.

"Then you can fix it. Let me know if my toes turn blue, cause I'm not giving this moment up unless a medical emergency requires it."

Forcing Kai to come back inside was much more difficult than expected. Sure, I got her to stand up, but when she refused to walk I was forced to carry her. I didn't mind that… But in sitting down, even Piper could tell her toes needed attention.

"They look… dead, to be honest. How long were you out there?"

"Couple hours…"

Shocked, Piper sat down and took the conversation in a serious direction. "Without socks... the entire time? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Kai nodded. "I'm not stupid, I was just lazy."

"WHICH WAS STUPID!"

"Blah, blah, blah. I don't care… Can you fix them?"

Her expression flat, Piper stood up. "No. Have your boyfriend do it," she spoke dryly, glaring at me before exiting the room.

"You heard the lady!" Kai giggled, kicking her feet up into my lap.

Blushing lightly at Piper's choice of words, I assessed the situation nonetheless. "I should get some water… You should get some socks." I carefully lifted her feet from my lap, but she refused, resisting.

"Can't you do it yourself?"

I looked at my hands. "My hands would freeze before your feet warmed up."

She smiled. "So?"

Sighing, I removed her feet from my lap anyway. "I'm going to go get you some socks and a tub of water…"

Disappointed, Kai watched me leave the room.

Once hidden from her view, I hit my head repetitively against the wall. I just wanted to help, but she didn't care about her feet. She was trying to make light of things and I screwed it up. Damn…

Even after the incident, I did my best to get Kai's feet back to temperature. Luckily, they weren't damaged and she could move and feel each of her toes. With that situation aside, I tried to escape Kai for the rest of the day, in hopes to save my chances and prevent any more screw-ups. But that didn't stop Finn…