Chapter 38

That had been exhilarating.

Once Crow realized that the Combat Link WASN'T going to fail, he had felt some weird rush coursing through him. The fight had gone from almost uncomfortable and stilted because he had been concerned the Link would fail again and then into an almost graceful dance. They moved in sync, slashing down their enemies, and he swore he could almost feel the trust flowing through them. He stood there, surveying their fallen enemies, his breathing mildly ragged and enjoyment flowing through him. There was nothing like a good fight, a clean cut, black and white, proper fight. He looked at her, his lips curving into a smile.

They did it. It worked. Melyssa's breathing was ragged as well, her teal eyes glowing in the night and the sheer adrenaline and euphoria from linking with Crow was incredible. She looked at him with a smile of her own, sheathed her Cutlass and began laughing, the sound full of relief at finally being able to Combat Link with Crow.

"We did it. We did it!"

Waiting until he put his pistols away, Melyssa closed the distance between them and tossed her arms around his neck, feeling him spin her around in circles. His own laughter was music to her ears as she held him close, both relishing in the moment for all it was worth. Pulling back, Melyssa gazed into those crimson orbs with newfound affection and adoration and stroked his face tenderly with her fingers.

"I have an answer to your question from this morning." She paused for dramatic effect and to wait for the confusion to leave his eyes, for his brain to catch up with what she said. "My answer is yes."

Crow's brain was not the only thing to catch up, his body did too as it registered what she was saying. May I kiss you? He had asked her that this morning and they had been interrupted.

Not even thinking twice about it, he pulled her into his arms and firmly against his strong, lean body, inclining his head to capture her lips with his. That night, only a few short nights ago but it felt like another lifetime, replayed through his head, the good parts. The kissing and laying out on the bed, how she had felt against him as she eagerly returned those kisses. This was ten times better and when Melyssa parted her lips for him, he took the invitation, sweeping his tongue against hers.

There was no hesitation, fear or uncertainty this time around and Melyssa completely immersed herself into the kiss, following her instincts. Crow was such an amazing kisser and the way he held her against him, she could feel the passion in his touch and definitely with his lips. Melyssa buried her fingers in his hair again as they tasted each other and she could feel their bond strengthening even more. The fact he wanted to kiss her just sent her soaring to new heights, letting out the softest of moans.

This felt so good, Melyssa never wanted it to end and felt her heart thundering against her chest. For years, she had missed him being in her life, always thinking about him. Not a day went by Crow Armbrust wasn't on her mind and he'd instilled himself in her heart as children. She didn't realize it, but all those feelings poured forth in this kiss and it made them both tremble. There was also one other intense emotion in that kiss and it was love – pure, irrevocable love for him.

Crow felt it. He had been getting lost in her kiss, how eager she was and how good she tasted, how good she felt pressed against his body and then this. The intensity rocked him to his very core and sent him spiraling into a bunch of things he didn't understand, other than panic. Not panic so much as he was startled and mildly concerned. He knew he felt lust for Melyssa, he knew he cared about her intensely but this was… something he had never felt from anyone, let alone his childhood friend, the girl who had been like a sister to him. Slowly, the kiss broke between them and Melyssa saw the barrage of emotions flood over Crow's face. Was he not happy with the kiss? She supposed it would be better to be told the kiss sucked as opposed to rejecting her.

"Crow?" Even her voice was unsteady and husky, her tongue sliding out to wet her swollen lips.

"It's getting late, Lyssa. We should head back before they send the search party after us." Crow's voice sounded weird, even to his own ears, while staring down at his childhood friend.

This girl – no, woman – was supposed to be a sister to him since they'd been raised together! And here he was kissing her, touching her and holding her like a lover. It was…wrong. It had to be wrong. How could something so wrong feel so right, though?

"Come on."

"Crow, I don't understand…" Melyssa wasn't leaving with him until he explained what was going through his head. "I-I know I'm inexperienced and I'm not very good at kissing…"

"It's not that." He cut her off, sounding gruffer than he meant to and groaned at the flash of hurt in her eyes. "Look, it was nice – great, even. You're not a bad kisser and…I'm not trying to reject you again or hurt you, but…"

"But what? What is it?" She stepped up to him, searching his eyes and could feel her chest tighten.

"It's wrong. Us doing this is wrong. It feels wrong. We're practically family and we're kissing each other." Crow didn't know how else to explain it, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I shouldn't LIKE kissing a girl I grew up with and who was practically my sister."

It felt like her heart might explode at his words and Melyssa didn't know what to feel or how to respond to that. "Your…sister?" Was he serious? It was obvious what she felt for him he did NOT reciprocate. "Why would you…ask to kiss me again then?"

"I didn't know how I felt at the time, but now I do and…we can't do this, Lyssa. I just want to remain friends with you. I care about you too much to screw it up because of a relationship that may or may not work out." Crow knew he was being harsh with her, but this was how he truly felt and he hoped she understood. "Please don't hate me for this…"

"I don't." Melyssa's voice changed to a calmer tone, digesting every word that came out of his mouth and could feel her heart shattering. It wouldn't help to tell him how she felt because Crow's mind was made up. This was how he truly felt and she couldn't fault him for his honesty. "It's all right, Crow, really. I never want to lose you again and, if that means I have to keep you in my life as strictly a friend, so be it." Reaching up, she smoothed away some of his hair from his forehead and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for being honest with me. I don't think of you as a brother and I probably never will, but…you are one of my best friends and that will never change, no matter what."

"Good." Crow's smile was filled with both uncertainty and relief.

The resurgence of all his memories had also brought back old feelings. He honestly did view her as a little sister and now it was at war with the desire he had felt for her. The desire would lessen and, hopefully, so would the feeling of sickness in his stomach, of guilt.

"You're too important to lose, Lyssa." He bent down and kissed her forehead, chastely. "I'm sorry for letting it go this far." But now they both knew. She knew how he felt and he knew it would take a long time for him to stop thinking of her as a sister, if ever, it would be cruel to pursue anything.

"We wouldn't have known unless we gave it a shot. No need to apologize." She looped her arm through his to show there truly were no hard feelings as they began walking back toward the city. "You are right though, it is getting late. We'd better head back." Once again, she was swallowing her feelings down, along with the ache in her heart, and she could only hope it went away sooner rather than later. The walk wasn't full of tension like it probably should have been and Melyssa was not surprised to find Ash still at the docks. "I'll be in shortly, go rest up."

Crow nodded, heading off toward the warehouse and watched Melyssa go to Ash, shaking his head. He was an idiot.

Instead of speaking, Melyssa simply sat down to dangle her feet off the dock and stared out into the ocean while Ash remained standing there. She shut her eyes, letting the ocean breeze flow over her and also allowed silent tears to slide down her cheeks. There was no way she could cry in front of Crow, but Ash had already seen her tears once before and she trusted him enough to show vulnerability. Her tears were from a broken heart, the death of her Papa, her father being in danger, all the people who died in the train attack, discovering Aurelia's betrayal…she had every reason to cry and holding her emotions in would only make her feel worse.

After a long silence other than the sounds of the waves breaking against shore and docks, Ash slowly moved so he was sitting beside her but with space between them. From the corner of his eye, he caught her reaching up to wipe at her face, a glint of something on the tip of her nose catching his attention before it dropped. Tears. She was crying. He didn't know why she was crying, but he did know she had every reason in the world too given the current circumstances involving her family. Sighing softly, he reached over and took her hand, gently enveloping it in his and squeezed.

I'm such an idiot! What in Aidios' name was I thinking?! Even with his memories, he never felt the same way I do. He thinks of me as a damn SISTER! A SISTER! At least he was honest about how he felt and didn't string me along or reject me again. I am done with intimacy. I need to focus on saving my Dad and following the way of the sword. I need to hone my skills and stop worrying about kissing guys or the ridiculous notion of love! Melyssa couldn't say any of that out loud and appreciated what Ash was trying to do, but she didn't want to be touched right now.

She didn't want to be coddled or comforted, she just wanted to be left alone. Pulling her hand out of his, she squeezed his shoulder to let him know she silently appreciated him being here for her and stood up from the dock, wiping away the remainder of her tears. Reluctantly, she walked back into the warehouse and went to the bathroom to shower.

Ash had gotten absolutely none of that. If she had wanted to be alone, she wouldn't have come to an occupied dock. As it was, he figured she was checking in on him and would be calling it a night. Speaking of calling it a night, he needed to as well, tomorrow was going to be insanely busy and it would be all hands on deck. All those hands needed to be well rested. When he made it to the warehouse, there was no sign of Melyssa, he assumed she had gone inside, but Crow was standing there, leaning against the building under the cover of mostly darkness.

Melyssa was the first one up in the morning, even before her mother and the sunrise. She made some coffee as quietly as she could and walked outside to lean against the building, needing the caffeine rush.

"What are you doing up this early?"

Melyssa turned her head, raising a brow at Emma's familiar sauntering towards her. "Oh, Celine, right?"

"Hmph, glad to see you remember my name." The glossy black feline planted right beside her, licking her paw. "And yes, it's Celine."

"I should be asking you the same thing. What are YOU doing up this early?" Melyssa countered, sipping her coffee now that it was cool enough without burning her tongue.

"Patrol duty. Also, I went to go stake out where your father is being held captive." Celine looked up at the girl when her head snapped to stare at her wide-eyed. "They haven't moved him yet, but we should act fast. Also, Rean was correct in the assumption of attacking your family home. It was ransacked last night or this morning."

That was unsettling to hear. "Great."

"I don't think they stole anything, they just destroyed some furniture, from what I could tell through the window."

Closing her eyes, Melyssa wasn't surprised and continued drinking her hot beverage. "Thank you for telling me. Do you want some milk or something?"

"Hmph, no need to thank me and I'm fine. Just…keep your wits about you and your head on straight or else you may end up really losing it." Celine walked away, leaving the girl with that bit of advice.

The mission had been to capture and or kill, depending on who it was and the circumstances. It may have been hard to capture someone if another person got involved, deaths happened. As it was, the Brackett house was totally empty and there wasn't a sign or anything telling Shirley where the old lady, her teasing spawn, and those idiots in Class VII had gone off too. Shirley had ordered her 'minions' to go off and find those do-gooders. Now that Rean had enlisted help – how was THAT fair? -, they all had to go before they actually accomplished something.

"Is that coffee?" A yawning Rean asked, approaching the area Melyssa was in, running a hand through his sleep tousled hair, wearing nothing but a pair of sleeping pants and a lazy grin. Even with everything that had happened yesterday, he had slept like a log and woke up feeling… refreshed, actually.

"Good morning, Instructor."

Melyssa looked up and instantly regretted it, immediately averting her eyes back to the ocean, nodding. "I made a huge pot about an hour ago. She made a vow not to focus on men anymore and, even if she wanted to be with Rean, she couldn't. He was her Instructor and she had to keep reminding herself of that. Thors had that policy for a reason.

"Emma's spell seems to be working flawlessly." The entire warehouse was invisible and the protection spells helped with sounds and whatnot, even smells.