Fate's Games

(A/N: Here is a reviewer request, and one I'd planned on doing anyway. Hope you enjoy.)

Watched

Delvin,

Master of sneaking, huh? If I ever catch you trying to sneak a peek at me while I'm bathing in the lake again, I'll cut off your most valuable asset.

Vex

Well what did she expect? To say she was beautiful would be the biggest understatement that could possibly be made. All right, he'd gone a little overboard that time, he'd admit that; fair enough. Anyone could admit to a mistake. Funny thing was, he didn't classify it as one. He supposed the fact that he was repeating the error now was proof enough of that. He crept over a rock and caught sight of her washing her hair. He couldn't see anything else, in his defense. Not that it would stop her if she spotted him.

He watched her duck her head under then come up humming. She was like a siren. He smirked softly. The smile fell. She was like a siren, and he was the sailor who so desperately wanted her that he would dive into the depths of the sea just to be near to her. He was the sailor who would swim out to her even though he knew, as she did, that it would mean his life. After all, what chance did a mortal man have with a creature in the likeness of s nymph? What chance did he have with her?

She was shallow and cold, he knew that much about her. There was nothing outwardly appealing about him in any way shape or form. He had even been mistaken for old before. He wasn't young, but he wasn't an old man either. Didn't matter anyway. She wouldn't give him the time of day. No… This was the closest he could ever come, the only time he could ever let his thoughts focus on her and just watch. If he watched her in the Ragged Flaggon or the Guild, the others would see. They would see and know. They would taunt him, or be appalled at his audacity. And she would hate him even more because his name wouldn't be the only one dragged through the dirt. It wasn't his fault that the only moments he had to watch her were when she was like this. He would have liked to watch her elsewhere without fear. But he couldn't.

ES

She felt eyes watching her and frowned. She looked sharply around, scouring the shadows for any sign of life. Her weapons were on the beach. She grimaced in distaste. She would have to race to get to them before whoever watched her beat her to it. Wait… watched? Her eyes narrowed and lit up furiously. Delvin! It had to be. She searched even harder, and then she spotted him. He was behind a rock peering out, probably imagining what she looked like below the neck. She scoffed. Oh he would pay. She just had to get to the beach without arousing his suspicion. In her defense, she'd warned him about this. The man had one thing on the brain, just like all the rest of them. Someone eventually would have had to have been made an example of.

But wait… She cocked her head, squinting. He looked as if his mind were elsewhere. Where else would it be, though? He was lost in thought. He had the ability to think? In that moment she felt furious. Where on Earth would his mind be if not on her? What right did he have to think about anything else but her!? Oh he would pay doubly now. Slowly she went towards the beach. A thought flitted to her mind that made her flinch. Had that harlot Haelga gotten her clutches into him? Oh if she had, the woman would rue the day. She couldn't compete with that whore's Dibella loving antics. Wait… Since when was she trying to compete? Since when did she feel jealous? Her eyes lit up in realization. She nearly screamed in horror. No, just no! The whole idea was stupid and plain, well, wrong. That was it. Delvin wasn't leaving this beach alive.

ES

He watched her coming towards shore and hid behind the rock, sighing as he slipped down it to sit. He buried his head in his knees. He would give her the privacy. Contrary to popular belief, he did value respect. In himself as well as others. Honor amongst thieves and all that. He leaned his head back against the cold rock. There were times he wished he could shut his eyes and her image would be gone; everything would be gone. There were times he wished he would never wake up when he was caught in a dream that centered on her and him and some semblance of a future together. No one would expect him to actually be one for settling down. He'd never been before, not even with Vex. Not for the longest time… Things changed, though, and this infatuation had turned at some point in time to something he wasn't ready to accept.

"You should have taken the message seriously," a voice said icily from above him. He gasped, eyes flying open. There they fell upon her.

"Vex!" he exclaimed in horror, leaping to his feet. She had him pinned against the rock with a dagger at his throat in seconds. He cursed himself for not bringing a weapon; or not getting out of there sooner. He should have known something was wrong! "'Ello love," he awkwardly greeted.

"Delvin, what did the letter say?" she asked him as if she were talking to a child.

He swallowed dryly. "You would cut off my most valuable asset," he offered innocently.

"If…" she pressed.

"If you caught me tryin' to sneak a peek at you bathing in the lake again," he helplessly answered. He was trapped like a dog now. No, like a sailor caught by a siren.

"Exactly," she replied, pushing the knife against his groin area. He flinched and gave a slightly pained moan as the tip dug in just above her target. He didn't cry out, though. Just as the sailor's never cried out, he wouldn't.

ES

"Come on now love, can't we talk it out?" he asked hopelessly.

"Hah! Sorry, all out of mercy," she replied.

He cringed as the blade drew blood, hands automatically going to cover the wound; and in the process covering hers. She paused, hesitating and slightly flushing, though she cursed herself for it. She had pondered killing him, but not for long. After all, they were 'friends,' if you could call it that. Maybe she wouldn't go any deeper with the blade. "You said you'd cut off my most valuable asset. It ain't that, Vex."

"Oh yeah? Then what is?" she challenged, eyes narrowing icily. The weasel was trying to worm out of it. Unlikely.

"My heart," he replied, though he knew full well how pathetically sappy that sounded. She hated sappy, he hated sappy, but hey, what did he have to lose?

She looked up at him in shock. She hadn't just heard that from Delvin, had she? Her eyes were wide. "What?" she asked after a long moment.

He shrugged. He had nowhere to go from there. He was out of words. He'd been caught, he would pay her price whether he liked it or not. "I'm not Vald, Vex. I act like it, sound like it, but I'm not Vald; and when I say I love you, I mean it."

"You've never said I love you in your life!" she sharply shot.

"I'm sayin' it now, love," he answered. "I love you… Siren, I don't want you for your body, I don't want you for your connections, your looks, or any of that there stuff. None of it's that important to me these days anyway. I love you. I watch you bathe because it's the only time I can. If I was ever caught doing it in the guild… I couldn't drag your name through the dirt like that, not along with mine, and that's exactly what would happen if the others ever… I'm done now," he finished, realizing he'd said far too much at this point.

But she just looked at him and never moved. And finally she pulled the dagger from him and tucked it away. He looked surprised, shocked, and after a moment she suddenly kissed the corner of his mouth softly, curiously. She pulled away and harrumphed. She nodded in approval then turned and walked away. He followed like a kicked puppy, but she let him come up beside her, and when he did she simply directed, "Put your arm around me." He looked at her shocked. She wasn't looking back at him. He hesitated a moment but soon obliged, and his heart leapt when she leaned against him with a contented sigh, letting him guide her back to the Guild.