A perforated eardrum, a mild concussion. Certainly not the most damage Amon had ever accepted but it was still annoying. They'd managed to heal her ear but her head was still foggy, her balance remained unstable only to the point she had to carry the tray of tea and snacks to the king's room with two hands. Worst of all she wasn't supposed to sleep more than a few hours at time. If she hadn't been sleeping in so much recently she'd have said it wasn't a problem but now she couldn't trust herself.

She waited outside the door for a moment before entering.

The king's chambers were empty, though his bathroom door was ajar allowing a decent plume of steam to escape. She wouldn't interrupt him bathing. Instead she arranged the tea and cups on the table that bore the map he'd been studying for days. He'd made progress with the lines of resources she noted. His signature sharp scrawl filled a pad of paper next to a pile of pins. Curiosity goaded her into peeking at the details. Names of officials to speak to about allocations. A timeline.

She smiled then continued organizing her offerings on the other side of the table to avoid interfering with his work.

The humidity in the room changed drastically as the bathroom door opened fully, she felt it in her hair. Unsure if the king was decent or not she didn't look to him at first.

"I see you're walking unassisted." That dark rumble of a voice earned her attention. Hiei leaned against the frame of the bathroom, towel loose and low on his hips. Droplets of water clung to him more desperately than his towel offered. Rivulets slid down the planes of his chest, the lines of his arms. His hair sat heavier, pressed down against his nape and cheeks.

"Yes." She nodded. "To save you the trouble of harassing the doctors I brought you their notes."

"You managed to avoid eating again."

She held up a piece of paper. "I had the kitchen sign off on this note saying they watched me eat a reasonable portion of food including meat."

"I'm supposed to take the word of men you bully on a daily basis?"

"No sir, so I had the doctor's validate it."

"Clever." He allowed. "But it's not enough. Especially because I know the doctors favor you."

"They fear you more than they favor me."

"Good." Hiei inhaled deeply then closed his eyes. "I didn't like the tea from the meeting earlier. It was too bitter. I don't know if it was brewed to long or if that is just how it tastes but I'd rather not have it again."

"I'll make it for the generals." She grinned to herself. "That way it won't be wasted."

Hiei opened his eyes, barely. "You're in a good mood. I thought you'd be more irritated with me."

"Over tea? It's not one of my blends so I won't take it personally."

"About me killing that idiot. I thought you'd have plenty to say about it once you were able to speak properly." He admitted casually. "That behavior is normally bothersome to you."

"Do you want me to scold you?" She wondered, finally finished with making the tea and pouring it. "I had an epiphany. I realized you were right about some things. So no, I'm not upset. Even if I was, it wouldn't change the outcome." When she turned and he was still towel-clad in the doorway she seemed surprised. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. I'm curious why you'd ask."

"You're not getting dressed."

"I don't intend on dressing for bed, Amon. I only wear clothes to sleep when I'm traveling or when you're sleeping in my room out of respect for your comfort. You know that."

"I do. I'm sorry, I think it just surprised me because I'm not accustomed to you bathing so late. When I come to you at night you're generally already in bed." It was the truth. Not that it meant much. She'd seen the king changing before. Too many times for it to be appropriate but that was part of the job at this point.

He finally moved away from his perch and strode to the table. The towel threatened to slip free with every sure step yet it held fast. The skin of his stomach was broken by a dusting of dark hair below his navel trailing down under the terrycloth. The material was tied on his left hip, forming a slit of sorts that did not cover his left thigh unless one was being overly generous. Amon worked hard to avoid taking advantage of the situation and her king's comfort in his own skin. He wasn't doing this to entice her, nor was he trying to be reduced to a vehicle for her fantasies. She owed him more than ogling.

So she trained her eyes on his arm, taking stock of the dragon tattoo he kept hidden. She guessed he must not have wanted to replace the binding in the steam of the bathroom. He reached around her to steal the papers she'd brought with her. He held them in one hand, grabbing a cup of tea with the other, and then unceremoniously sat himself down in one of the chairs at the table. His feet found the surface of the map, a familiar habit in an unfamiliar choice of attire, and Amon had to move to Hiei's side of the table to protect the kings modicum sense of modesty. Or her overly strict of propriety. She wasn't sure who she was protecting, actually, but she knew that his covering was dangerously ill equipped for the task of keeping him decent in such a position.

Hiei sipped his tea, reading through the doctor's report. "A concussion?"

"A mild one." Amon took up her own cup and inhaled the aroma. She'd crafted this blend herself through careful work. It was the most effective so far at helping the king sleep through the night with as little disturbance as possible.

"They fixed your ear?" He framed it as a question even though he had the answer in front of him. "You want to tell me what happened?"

"He hit me for telling him to leave. I made the choice to not fight him. My interference with the assassins brought too much attention on me and on your defense of me. I didn't realize he'd blow out my eardrum or I might've made a better effort to avoid the strike." Amon explained readily. "He hit Talia too."

"Talia? Ah. The woman with the purple skin. I saw that. That's actually why I went looking for him." The absent remark as he turned a page of the report meant little to him, but piqued the interest of the woman sharing his space.

"You didn't know I was handling the situation?" Amon lowered her teacup, head tipped with curiosity at this news.

"No. I didn't know you were involved until I saw you. I was intending to kill him for harming a member of my staff either way. You just happened to be there." Hiei was slick about stealing a look at her, watching without watching. Was she angry? Disappointed? Neither, it seemed. Instead she smiled warmly, almost relieved. He suppressed a sneer.

"I'd like to tell her that. I think it would make her feel safer to know that you acted in her defense even if you didn't know her name."

"Oh, I don't think you'll need to explain anything. I'm pretty sure dinner made my stance on these matters clear." Hiei smirked, humored by the memory of the starkly quiet hall suffering under his glare. "I was sure to tell everyone in attendance that no one is to put hands on my staff."

"That's kind of lovely. I'm glad." Amon sipped her tea, claiming the chair beside him as her own, finally.

Hiei relaxed when she sat, as though he'd been waiting for her to show comfort in his presence. This ordeal of a festival and visitors and his friends had stressed him. Amon's behavior a mere few days ago had stressed him. Seeing her now, sat and sipping tea with such a pleasant look, it was the first time he'd felt at home in his own castle in days.

How frustrating his moods were not his own to control, he mused.

Something from her words, maybe her serene expression made him analyze the moment deeper until he realized the truth of it. Hiei laughed, tossing the papers in his hand to the table top before turning his head to watch her once he realized the crux of the situation. "They didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Amon's brow furrowed immediately, wariness lining her eyes. "Sir, what have you done?"

Hiei sighed, "You know, you have annoyingly persistent habits Amon." Getting to his feet he stood over her in her chair. A quick hand reached out and grabbed the bottom of the chair she sat in to spin it so that she faced him towel and all. "That is the second time you've called me sir since you've been in here." Amon opened her mouth to apologize, he was sure ,but he wasn't interested. "It's too late for apologies, Amon. I've been fairly patient about this."

He crooked a finger under her collar, tugging upwards to force her to face him. Those soft looking lips parted but no sound escaped. A thrill down his spine raised the hair on his nape. It created a particular thunder in his veins, the way her blue eyes widened under his stare.

Doing this in a towel wasn't his best moment, he realized. He was glad he was able to school himself and his reactions.

For now.

The minute she left what he did with the memory of this moment was between him, his body, his sheets and the more adept laundry maids.

"Say my name, Amon." He demanded without malice, the finger locked under her collar giving him a good anchor for pressing his thumb of the same hand under her chin so she couldn't avoid looking at him. He didn't want her to hide her face. He didn't want to deprive himself of her expression.

"Hiei." The syllables were shaken and small, uncertain. As comfortable as she was with the king, these moments still shook her. There was a forbidden emotion swelling in her from the way his stared into her eyes, scoured her face. He didn't understand why she trembled, she knew. If he did he might not be so careless with his touch.

"Again, Amon. So I can hear you properly."

"Hiei." Amon offered more firmly but he was too close for her to speak his name comfortably. She could smell him, fresh and clean, and it was dizzying. His hold on her was warm, though their contact was minimal. Her king had angled her to face him and his bare chest with fire in his eyes and it was ruining her painfully. So, her voice wavered.

It was only natural to mewl a bit in a moment like this.

"I'm disappointed. I'm beginning to think you just don't like the way it feels in your mouth when you say it, Amon. Or perhaps you dislike the taste of my name? Is that why you keep failing to do this simple thing I've asked of you?"

It's not simple at all. She wanted to tell him.

His thumb smoothed over her chin as he stepped closer. His scent clouded her mind and he filled her vision, leaning over her. She couldn't do it. The nail of his thumb found the soft skin of her bottom lip, pulling at the flesh without regard for the havoc he was wreaking on her nerves.

"Hiei." She breathed as steadily as she could. Gingerly she reached up, leather clad fingers smoothing over his forearm before taking hold of the appendage. Under her guidance his thumb pressed to her lips once more but there was no testing now. Only the soft kiss of her mouth to the calloused pad of the finger. She repeated for him, "Hiei. Hiei."

She looked up at him through hazy eyes and Hiei was only vaguely aware of uttering a heartfelt, "Fuck."

His fingers curled, a primal feeling surging through him without his permission. There was a quiet pop and the collar was gone, held tightly in his hand before he'd even noticed that he'd ripped it off her throat.

Maybe the collar came first and the exclamation after, he wasn't sure. His mind was too full of dizzying thoughts. Needs. Urges. Promises. Demands. All he could tell for certain in the arrangement of events was that Amon looked at him first, then suddenly he'd torn her collar free and swore. The order of the second and third events was inconsequential. What actually mattered was that the woman whispered forgiveness for him ruining her accessory, her lips pressed to his knuckles. Then his first knuckles. His fingertips. His palm. The pulse point in his wrist.

In an effort to save them both, Hiei pulled free of her gentle hands. Arousal and anger weren't so far separated for him, one sometimes flowed into the other. So him grabbing her jaw, rearranging their bodies so that she leaned back against the table on her elbows with a considerable arch to her spine, it surprised him but not enough to force him to pull back. Her knees opened and he stood between them, the chair under her bottom the only thing keeping him from pressing flush against her.

She had to know what she was doing to him.

She had to.

"You asked what I'd done." Hiei reminded her hotly, but far from angry. "I took that oaf's head as a trophy and I pinned it to the dining room table as an example of what I'll do to anyone who raises a hand to anyone under my protection in this castle. I told them all that I'd have no mercy if they chose to follow his behavior. And then we ate with that stupid bastard's head as a centerpiece. That's what I thought you'd find distasteful."

Say it disgusts you. Tell me you need me to let you go. Push me away.

"Unsanitary definitely. And perhaps not the move I'd have suggested." Amon offered in breathless, and slightly belabored, agreement. "But you drew a line of protection around the vulnerable under you. How could I find fault in that?"

"I said the staff were my possessions. That I don't tolerate my things being damaged or stolen." He pressed, free hand moving to grip the edge of the table for stability as he leaned over her form.

"Should I yell at you? You seem to want me to be angry."

"I want you to-" Hiei wasn't sure how to finished the sentence. He wanted her to push him away. He wanted her to pull him closer. He wanted her to be angry about it so he could sulk knowing their morals were misaligned.

He wanted an excuse to stop.

One arm behind her to hold the edge of the table for balance Amon sat up, allowing his grip on her jaw to remain unbroken. The adjustment meant he was too close standing between her legs still looming over her. Her eyes left his face to scan downward and Hiei suddenly felt viscerally aware how much of himself he's left exposed. It wasn't fear that tickled his nape with the realization but excitement as Amon's gloved fingers suddenly skimmed over his ribs then down his stomach.

If she made the wrong move it would be game over. There was no way he'd deny her if she touched him. A flutter leapt from his ribs upwards into his throat at the idea of her dipping her head down, her hands undoing the towel's knot.

She didn't.

"I was scared that you were going to be torn open by those ugly tusks. You weren't watching him. No. You were looking at me and I feared that would cost you." Every muscle in his stomach flexed unexpectedly as Amon's mouth pressed to the flesh just below his ribcage. "I thought he'd pierce you here." Her hands moved to his waist, pressing another kiss to the same spot on the opposite side. "Or here."

Hiei thought he might burn alive from the inside if she didn't take pity on him.

Another kiss, this one to his solar plexus sent a shiver down his spine. It was some feral instinct that raised his chin so his head could tip back at the sensation. Perhaps it was a mercy from what was left of his higher thoughts, a way to shield his expression.

His need.

Oh, his incredible, undeniable, need.

His body wasn't used to these sort of affections. He didn't have defenses against them. He'd never let anyone near his soft spots so idly before. Especially not after having watched them chew their way through another man's windpipe. After the first kiss his hand had fallen away from her face, some innate part of his mind not wanting to inhibit her movements. A more active portion of brain struggled to keep from taking hold of her hair.

He wondered if he could goad Amon into biting him.

"I realized, when you grinned that way, that you were never in danger. I've been underestimating you. I've been putting you in the wrong box, contradicting a key element of your nature that I hadn't understood before that moment." Her attention lifted back to his face, and Hiei thought it was to his detriment that she dared meet his eyes in a moment like this. "Watching you, really getting to see you in action, I knew that I've been holding you back. Your brand of violence, in that situation, it was precisely what was needed. I shouldn't have been forcing you into a different mold. I think I can help you make the most of your actual skills."

"I believe you." Hiei assured her, trying to control his breathing. Her hands were warm, even through the leather and an ache had started to form inside of him. "I'm surprised you're so comfortable with me this close. You normally shy away from exposed skin."

"It's not everyday a servant gets the chance to hold something so beautifully made. It's not our place."

"Servant." Hiei repeated the word with acidity, gladly grasping at the word in an effort to keep his sanity in check.

"It's what I am. You're faithful servant, your greatest tool. You've said that I'm yours, and I am. Willingly. Completely. Devotedly. I'm happy to be dedicated to your needs, my king. Hiei." Her eyes, looking up at him from such a tantalizing angle, beckoned a reaction. He couldn't help but cup the back of her head.

"Mine?" He repeated, head bowed toward hers. " I'm too selfish for you, Amon. I'll always want something more than you want to give." He, in a move that shocked himself as much as it seemed to shock the woman in his thrall, bit her earlobe once, sharply. Then he lowered his voice to speak against her ear warmly. "If you want to stick to the lie that the collars a symbol of your connection to me then I'm going to make you forfeit them."

"Not yet." She tensed finally, annoyed that this was the thing to separate them. Finally, her hands had raised to press against his hip bones.

Hiei would have been glad if the feeling of her leather gloves hadn't grown to intimate to him.

"Then I'm going to make you admit that you're lying to me." Hiei pulled back so he could nod in front of her, their faces even height. "I think that's within my rights to demand of someone so completely devoted to me, don't you agree?"

There was a moment where she looked at him, owlish blue eyes trying to scheme but failing, that his control broke. It was nearly startling that there wasn't an actual sound to go along with the fracture. He could probably piece it back together if he desired to, but not yet. He could come up with a reason for his actions later. Something that would make sense.

He could form a reason for her to accept his actions.

But before he defended them, he had to commit the acts.

His fingers worked the top button of her top. Amon didn't stop him, though confusion radiated from her sudden stiffness. The second button had her lips parting, brows pulling down. The third finally made her reach for his hands to stop him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Proving you're a liar." He informed her easily. Hiei drug his fingertips over her now exposed collarbone and he watched as she grew rigid. "I'm not going to hurt you, Amon. That's not the point. Stand up."

She did as he told her. That was better, Hiei decided. It was also infinitely worse. He hated that she bent to his demands so easily in this moment of obvious confusion. He hated it, but by no god would he argue against it when she was so ready to accept his commands.

"I don't understand." Amon told him.

"You will. Don't move." He stared at her as he made the demand. He stepped closer, kicking her feet apart just enough to bring his goal within reach. Just to be sure she understood he repeated himself. "Don't move."

It wasn't right. It was an abuse of his power, Hiei knew it. If Amon knew it too she didn't vocalize. No, there wasn't a single sound of dissent that she offered, only a shocked exhale as he pressed his mouth to her collarbone.

Her soft cry preceded her tipping her back as if to offer him better access, her fingertips digging into the table with the audible sound of leather whining against wood.

Always so careful to not incite him, Hiei thought in some rational part of his brain. Always so delicate and deliberate. But the sound she made wasn't careful, nor was it modest. He wouldn't mention it to her. But he would savor it, just as his teeth found purchase. Without a syllable she reduced him to nothing more than instincts and senses. He hadn't meant to lose himself to the lesson so quickly, but the moment he tasted her skin and she'd audibly reacted, Hiei felt his brain cut itself off from logic and useless things like fear or hesitation. On it's own his body moved against Amon's, closer and closer. His tongue traced the shape of her clavicle before his teeth tested the flesh around the ridge. She inhaled at the bite but didn't pull away.

"S-sir." Amon trembled not sure if she should be stopping him or not. She didn't want to. His mouth was hot, his tongue felt nice in the way hot showers that reddened the skin were relaxing. This was meant to be a punishment, or a dare, something but she didn't want to tell him it wasn't working. She wasn't sorry if she should be.

She didn't even know what he was punishing her for.

"I am exhausted with you calling me sir." Hiei growled, his mouth against her collarbone so that the words vibrated in her chest. This time when he bit down he did want it to hurt a little. Enough to make his point. His hands took hold of her hips when she squirmed but he didn't release the flesh he was bruising. Instead he sucked on the spot knowing it would blossom into a starburst of reds and purples. Pulling back to admire the mark he decided to name it the first of many. Then after, Hiei pressed a kiss to the angry red he'd created.

He set to work on the next section he wanted to claim, fingers digging into the thickness of Amon's hips when she squirmed again.

"Hiei." She swallowed, breathless, lightheaded. "P-please."

"I said not to move." Hiei's stern tone made her look at his face, an unfortunate choice as she was trapped by his searing gaze. "What are you even demanding?"

"I don't know." She admitted with what little air was left in her lungs. Her grip on the table tightened. "A reason why-"

His grin was dark, full of teeth and a light clicking of the tongue. The subtlest of head shakes. He felt her quiver. It was hard not to notice every movement she made when he was pinned against her this way. "I already told you, Amon."

Her head was too light, too full, for her to make sense of what he meant.

"You'll figure it out. I have faith in you." The compliment ghosted over her flesh in a wave of heat before Hiei found a new section of skin to grasp with his teeth.

She hadn't meant to make a noise. She'd been scared that he'd stop if he knew she was enjoying it more than fearing the outcome. But her moan was met with a hum of appreciation from the man adorning her collarbone with marks only he could have left behind. She wouldn't have allowed such a thing from anyone else. The table groaned in pain as her grip threatened to splinter through the wood. The sound stopped as she felt hot skin pry her right hand free, fingers weaving between hers before pinning the back of her hand to the table top.

Hiei's mouth traveled upwards finding purchase on her trapezius muscle. This was easier, he thought, fleshier. Absently he wondered what the fallout of this experiment would be.

Amon shift against him, just the right pressure in the exact right place as her thigh moved between his. The agony of wanting more of that contact was enough to shake loose a little crumb of control once again. She made a pitiful sound when he stepped back quickly leaving her so suddenly in the cold. Her legs shook and she was left bracing against the table to catch her breathe. Wild eyes watched him as he wiped his arm across his mouth. He said nothing, but made sure she knew he was watching her struggle to regain her breathing.

Maybe he'd gone too far.

"Take your time." Hiei told her, mostly to watch her suffer the knowledge that he was enjoying her state. "There's no rush, Amon."

Her hand raised to cup the last of the marks he'd left her with. She knew her face was flushed. This was embarrassing. The king was obviously trying to make a point she didn't quite understand, and he was watching her fail to grasp it.

He was watching her suffer through her confusion, the pleasure of his attention at odds with whatever lesson he'd been trying to instill.

"Please stop staring at me." She managed quietly, through her breathless embarrassment.

"No."

She closed her eyes, in no state to argue. "Okay."

"Sit down, Amon. Drink your tea." Hiei guided her down into her chair, pushing it closer to the table for her. She breathed slowly then reached for her cup, sipping the cooled liquid gingerly.

Maybe it wasn't tepid maybe she was just that warm at the moment. There still seemed to be a hint of steam when she poured herself a second cup.

Hiei delighted in her response. It was ugly, to have enjoyed it so much. It wasn't going to stop him though. He went to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of pants he only had to tie closed. That stupid towel had almost gotten him into real trouble. Once he was properly put away he made his way back to the table. Pacing around it he came to a stop behind Amon's chair. Lazily he crossed his arms on the back of the seat resting his chin on his wrist.

"If you wear one those fucking collars tomorrow I'll know it has nothing to do with me or any symbol of loyalty to me." Hiei spoke easily against the cup of her ear without having to move. He had no anger or frustration in his tone because he didn't need it. Besides, he doubted he could muster any even if he wanted to. "Because if you wanted a display of me on your body you'd show these off." He grazed a nail over the mark atop of her shoulder, quietly delighting in the shiver she couldn't hide. "I suspect that come tomorrow you'll be hiding these and still wearing the collars. When that proves to be true I'll be expecting a real explanation from you. No hedging or half-truths, Amon."

"I told you that part of it is because some of Greyfield's allies are here." She reminded him, but there was no heat to her words. He felt she was trying to haughty but couldn't.

How cute.

"You did."

"I don't want them knowing I'm free yet. I want them to feel secure thinking I'm still someone's pet. I want to watch the fear enter their eyes when they realize I have their names, their faces memorized and that I'm free to act however I wish. I want them to wonder if I'm going to kill them. I want them to suffer that question for as long as possible because I've had to face it so many times at their hands."

Hiei pursed his lips. "The difference being they couldn't kill you but you're more than capable of ending their disappointing lives."

"I'm making a speech tomorrow, about the festival and you and Mukuro. I'm going to let it be known then that you freed me." Amon turned her face to look at him over her shoulder. "I'd like it if you were there as you're meant to be, being honored."

"For such a special moment I'll put aside my annoyance at being paraded around." Hiei allowed, cool and guarded. "Are you going to kill them?"

"I haven't decided yet. It's a minefield of issues for some of them. But others…others won't be so dearly missed." Amon sighed righting herself to face her tea. "I feel selfish using this week to exact some modicum of revenge for myself. I really want the focus to be on celebrating your accomplishments."

"This is honestly more my sort of celebration. The best gift I ever gave Mukuro was her step-father on a platter to be tortured at her hands however she saw fit for the atrocities he'd committed against her." Hiei checked his nails, still leaning on the chair behind her. "It would be a pleasure to get you something similar. I'd love to see these idiots dead. We could replace the training dummies with some living specimens. Or I could enlist Kurama and get him to ensnare a few in a Sinning Tree."

"I've taken years to get to this point, getting a plan, acting on it. You're speaking as though this is the easiest thing in the world for you to consider." Amon analyzed the boredom in the king's tone as she studied her reflection it the liquid cradled in her palms. "These plans are nothing to you."

"Of course not. I'm not going to waste my energy feeling guilty over murdering a collection of sadists who tortured you repeatedly. I'm not going to act outside of your vision, Amon, but given free reign and I'd make a new throne from their bones." Hiei ceased the investigation of his nails, expression flat. "I'm also not going to hold any acts of viciousness against you in this regard. Do whatever you want to them, wherever you want, whenever you want. As long as you stop wearing the collars I don't care."

His finger once again brushed over the mark he'd left. Maybe he should have gone higher so she'd have a harder time hiding it.

"I'm available to refresh these if you ever decide you need to show the world who stands on your side." He offered idly. "Also if you need to be embarrassed for some reason. I haven't decided exactly what merits a refresher yet. You'll be the first to know."

"I might just have to act up on purpose." Amon joked, but to him it seemed tense.

"Not everything has to be a punishment, Amon." Hiei coiled a finger in a length of her hair where he thought she wouldn't feel it. It was thick, a little coarse. Different than his. It carried a comforting scent, something he noted after a brief inhale. Like herbs he couldn't place. "Enough has been taken from you. Though it is good to hear you're not stewing in rage or contempt for me. I was concerned you might be faking a brave face for my benefit."

"You're lessons tend to be unique but this wasn't unpleasant." She explained cautiously. "It was unusual to have you touching me so freely. This was far more endurable than some other trials you've put me through."

Hiei hummed.

"At any rate I'm definitely not stewing in rage or contempt." She smiled as honestly as she could while hiding behind the words. The truth was the opposite. He'd broken her apart on a whim. It was a terrifying, painfully pleasurable moment and she couldn't admit it. No one had touched her anywhere nearly that passionately in a lifetime. She hadn't wanted him to stop.

It was for the best.

Still, her lower stomach clenched just thinking about the firm hold he kept on her hips. On the heat he'd bred in her.

She'd thought, at first that he was feeling it too. That unbearable need but when he backed up so quickly, so easily from her she knew she'd been mistaken. It had been hopeful on her part. A wistful dream. These marks would heal and the likelihood was that they'd never be replaced. And that was fine.

Hiei sized her up, finally able to walk to his own chair now that his body had calmed down. He wasn't sure if Amon was too polite to comment on his previous state or if she'd been too busy recovering herself to notice. He already missed the friction their bodies created. The heat that bubbled between them. That pretty little moan she'd let slip would haunt him for months. He'd meant his offer. If she asked he'd do it over and over again. It would be torture but he'd endure it.

At the very least things weren't awkward.

He didn't know how he'd handle Amon withdrawing from him but he knew it wouldn't be good.

And she'd given him an idea for a little game to play. She was right, he wasn't particularly physical. Only when they sparred or in very rare moments where he had to focus her attention on him. Never prolonged. Never casually. Wouldn't it be funny if that changed? What would she do if he laid his hand on her back while they were walking? Or if he let his fingers came to rest on her thigh during meals? He was certain he could find endless excuses to touch Amon in ways that would be considered situationally appropriate. Only she would really know it was strange. Would it make her antsy? Would it make her squirm?

Only one way to find out, and he was suddenly feeling very experimental.