Andron stared at her for several more seconds before coming back to reality.

"I… almost killed you." He felt horrible, guilt wracking his soul.

"And I nearly killed you," she responded somewhat more matter-of-factly.

"I forgive you."

"As do I." She sat next to him against the wall. "Are you badly hurt?"

Andron's face was sore, as were his ribs, stomach, and just about every part of his body.

"I don't think so," he answered hesitantly. He made to get up, before crying out and falling against the wall, white hot pain shooting up his spine from his ribs. Aureleth gasped and reached out, once again slightly surprising herself with how much she cared for him. He leaned his head back, "I think you broke a rib…"

Aureleth didn't know what to do. She was torn between helping this man who meant surprisingly much to her, and her own people. She decided after some thought, however, that she would help who she could the most right at that moment.

"We need to get somewhere safe,"

"Okay, but I'll need your help. Here," He held up his left arm, opposite his broken rib, for her to take. She took his arm and brought herself under his arm, and in turn placed hers over his shoulder. Their faces a scant few inches from each other, they shared an awkward smile before making their way to the back of the storefront, Aureleth supporting Andron as they picked their way over the bodies strewn across the floor.

They exited from the rear of the building, into yet another street that led to more elegantly constructed habs, many of which were now bombed out or destroyed. The "sun" was beginning to descend down from its apex, heralding the evening, and it would be dark in several hours. They walked for nearly a mile, getting as far from the battle as they could to find some place to seek shelter, picking their way through small amount of rubble. Andron had taken off his pack and it was then tied to his waist, dragging his rations, weapon, and other supplies behind him. He grunted in pain every other step, the strain on his broken rib beginning to severely wear down on his stamina. It took them nearly an hour and a half between the obstacles and their condition.

Aureleth could feel him getting weaker, and knew that they would have to find someplace soon. "Not much further, I see a place where we can take shelter."

Andron moaned half seriously "It's too far, gak you hit me hard." He chuckled at his own joke, but was quickly punished for doing so in the form of a stab of pain in his side. He decided it would be better to walk on in silence, and he did just that until they arrived at their destination.

It was similar to the others, being part of a city, with a curved façade, spires, and no corners. "This one looks good," Andron scrutinized the dwelling.

"Wait here." Aureleth let him sink to the ground and set his pack up behind him for him to lean on, which he did while he waited for her. She drew her pistol and chainsword and moved up beside the door. Weapons raised, the turned the corner and disappeared into the house.

Andron heard her clear the house in a time that would put just about any Guardsman to shame. A matter of seconds later, she calmly returned to retrieve her fallen friend. Andron held out his hand, which she took, and she helped him inside. They moved to the upper floor after closing the door, where she laid Andron down on one of the sleeping mats. Andron was pleased to know that they were comfortable, for it was the first soft surface he had laid against since he first met her, and it had been weeks since before then.

"Take off your tunic."

Andron stammered like an idiot. "W-what?"

"Your tunic. I need you to take it off. I can't see what injuries you might have through your clothes. It will be difficult enough given the fact that we are not even members of the same species."

"Okay." He felt uncomfortable

He sat up, and after removing his equipment webbing and flak vest, took off his tunic. He was a man of above-average physical fitness, though not quite a hulking bear of a man like many Guardsmen were. Aureleth sat and stared for a few seconds longer than was normal, and Andron coughed, and then winced in pain, to regain her attention. She was visibly embarrassed. "Right. Lie on your back," she instructed as she opened up and examined the contents of his medical kit. They might be two different races, but they were close enough that Aureleth could infer the purpose of the supplies contained within. There was not too terribly much that she could do, but she set to work anyway, identifying the source of the injury.

"Tell me if this hurts," she reached out before her hand stopped a hair's breadth from his skin. She glanced toward his face to find him looking right back at her. She quickly looked away, as did Andron, before she began to press on his ribcage, going from the top down.

Her hands were soft, her delicate fingers gently glided on his chest for a split second before she pressed down, probing for pain. "Nothing," he indicated, to which she moved her hands, without lifting them, downward, and pressed again. "It's lower, I think."

"Here?" She applied pressure.

"I don't th—" Andron barked in pain. "Yeah, there," he said through gritted teeth. "Here, take those bandages and tape, and apply them along the broken one,"

"Like this?" Aureleth was not trained to be a medic, so had little experience in the field of field medicine. She followed his guidance, until his side was appropriately bandaged, helping to ease pressure, stress, and pain in the area.

"I feel better already," Andron smiled. "Thanks for your help. I believe it's the least you owed me given the reason for the injury," he added with a smirk.

She laughs, but winces slightly, causing Andron's smile to disappear.

"I didn't hurt you, did I? It sure didn't seem like it,"

"No, it is from where we first met. It still hurts when I put forth any kind of physical effort. You could have stood and done nothing during that engagement and I would have still been in agony,"

Andron was genuinely concerned. "Would you like me to take a look at it again, and make sure it's healing properly?"

It was Aureleth's turn to feel unsettled, the thought of exposing herself having an entirely new connotation and different implications suddenly. "I… suppose that would be a good idea." She reached down, and hesitantly began to remove her armor, starting with her greaves. Underneath the mesh armor she wore a skin-tight suit to allow for mobility. She cursed the engineers behind the ancient piece of military hardware for not allowing the undersuit to be opened without destroying it unless all pieces of the armor were removed. Then again, she thought, they most likely didn't consider her current situation as a possibility. She felt foolish for being so nervous over a non-issue, but that feeling of… she did not know what it was, still lingered. All that remained was the torso section, and she hesitated at the last seal before, with a deep breath, removing the last piece of armor.

Around her neck, hanging between her breasts, was an amulet. It almost seemed to glow faintly. Andron sat and gawked, the suit literally reflecting every detail of her figure, and to an even larger degree than her translucent gown had. She squirmed almost imperceptibly under his gaze, and he continued to stare for several more seconds before coming back to reality. He then instructed her to lay on the mat next to where he sat.

"Ummm… how do I…" Andron did not know what the suit's purpose was.

"Oh, here." She reached down and indicated a small tab on the undersuit. "Just pull."

He noticed that she seemed to tense up a small degree as he pulled the tab downward, the suit splitting open similar to a zipper but with no teeth, behind the tab. She quickly but gently moved the amulet out of the way of his touch. The reason for her tensing up became evident as he progressed. She was bare underneath. Andron coughed in surprise, his eyes going wide before pulling his hand away. Much of her cleavage was exposed, and it took more willpower than a Space Marine for him to avert his eyes. "Throne of Terra," he muttered under his breath. He searched around and found a covering for the bed, before laying it over her chest. "Here. You could have warned me, you know,"

"Oh." Had it been lighter, he would have seen her face was bright red. "I did not think that… Seeing as we are from—"

"Some rules apply everywhere," he smiled. He continued to undo the seal on the suit, exposing her flat stomach, lightly rising and falling with each breath she took. It appeared that his dressing still remained. "You did not have this changed?"

"I wanted to go to battle immediately. This would have delayed me."

"Eager to kill me, I see?"

"What? No, I—"

"It was joke, Aureleth." He smiled warmly.

She knew that, and was unsure why she became so defensive over the mock accusation. She then wondered if she actually was unsure, or if she was running from a truth nearly taken shape inside of her. He used her name…

"Here, let me undo these," He reached toward the bandages.

The instant she felt his touch on her bare stomach, she was jolted by an electrifying sensation radiating from the point of contact and spreading through her body. She gasped softly, and Andron looked at her.

"I hope it's not that painful, it should at least be less than when we last saw each other,"

"No, I'm… I'm fine," She broke eye contact and began to nibble on her lower lip.

He found an end, and began to unwind it. The bandage came to a point where it went under her back.

"Here, could you lift your back slightly?" She obliged, and he reached under, feeding the growing ball of dressing under, then leaning parallel to her to allow his arms to meet under her back and pass the bundle. He, in an odd mannerism that almost all humans share, kept his eyes locked on some random point ahead of him, and his head raised as he worked behind her, his hands out of sight. He felt a slight tickle on his neck, and looked down. It had been her breath, and they were now face to face, he on top of her, staring into each other's eyes.

Her mind was a maelstrom of emotions, and she as almost on the verge of losing her composure. What would happen when she did, she did not know. She felt so strange, and had no idea what the feelings were. It was all so new. She was both invigorated and slightly frightened. She might have been one of the most effective killers in the galaxy, but her training only went so far. Some things, she was meant to discover on her own, and there were no paths for.

Time seemed to drag on as they gazed into each other's eyes. Her hair was spread out about the mat under her head, making a golden-white backdrop for her angelic features. Her emerald eyes softly glinted in what little light there was, and he could almost see himself in them. He swallowed hard. His arms were growing tired from propping himself up at an awkward angle, and he hastily began unwrapping the bandages, breaking eye contact.

Aureleth realized that she had been holding her breath, and let it out slowly. She peered into her soul, picking her way through the storm of emotions as he worked on the bandages, trying to understand. Each of her memories, her emotions, appeared as a star in a black void, coalescing into the galaxy of memories and feelings that was her. One star shined brightly. She reached out toward it, drawn by its insistence to be seen. Her hand neared it, but it floated away, beckoning her to follow. She obliged, trailing it through her other memories. They separated in front of her, allowing her to pass freely in pursuit of the one memory that was dragging her in. They went deeper and deeper into the galaxy, fleeting images and snippets of memories giving way to more important moments in her life. Her initiation as a Howling Banshee drifted by, and she saw herself standing with the other recruits, donning their armor for the first time.

She drifted closer and closer to the deepest parts of her soul, nearing the very center, her memories becoming more and more vivid. She passed the moments that affected her most, that shaped her into who she was, before reaching the center. The core of her being glowed brightly, a white glowing, tightly bound conglomerate of the most important experiences of her life, and the emotions, thoughts and feelings that made her who she was. The orb stopped next to a star toward the outside of the center, newly added to the most important parts of her being. It glowed softly, but increased with intensity as she drew nearer, becoming almost blinding. The one she had followed rested itself in front of her, and she reached out and touched it. A memory.

The fall… He saved me. Aureleth had seen her craftworld in flames as the Imperials attacked, indiscriminately killing everything that was not human. Her friends, her family, everybody she knew were dead. This one man, however, spared her and even saved her. She was overcome with a combination of grief and joy, and gives in to the torrent of emotions welling inside of her. She feels his hand on her back. It is more comforting than anything she can remember.

The other star was blinding now. She squinted, trying to find the epicenter in the glare. She was able to make out a white spot brighter than the rest of the light flooding her eyes, and wrapped her fingers around it. The light flooded through her fingers, her body was jolted again with that strange feeling she was about to discover fully. The pieces came together.

She loved him.

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, (a milestone in the storyline/relationship), what do I do next? Should I make things... you know... .com/watch?v=BxuCeHUxoBY

If so, I would do it within the next 2 chapters, or maybe incorporate it into a later chapter to keep you guys wanting to read :P