Chapter 37

Man with a plan

After Jade disappeared, Alexei came running out to Petrov entirely too fast. So fast, in fact, Petrov was expecting an attack. Why else would the kid be so eager to greet him?

"Alexei, where's the fire?" Petrov asked as he made his way back to the hotel.

"I-I, need you," the kid panted out as he blocked Petrov's path back inside.

"Ok?" Petrov raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?" If this was about the toilet paper being out again, he'd shown Alexei the housekeeping closet before. The boy had no excuse this time.

"Huh?" Alexei asked, eyes wide and seeming deliberately blank. What was with this kid? Petrov didn't have time for this absurdity. He had to go back in and tell everyone about Jade's stunt.

"Alexei, I don't have time for this. I gotta find the others," Petrov shook his head and gave Alexei's shoulder a gentle push, trying to get him to move.

"No!" Alexei screamed.

"Stop yelling!" Petrov scolded. Even in their 'safe haven', potential death was around them at all times.

"I mean, I need your help," Alexei clarified much more quietly. What was with him? He was acting strangely, even for Alexei.

"Ok, with what?" Petrov asked again with more exasperation.

"Patrol! Patrol!" Alexei stated repeatedly.

Patrol? Neither Katja nor Adrien – and especially not Blue – would send the kid on patrol. "Right now? Under whose orders?" the lieutenant asked, glancing up at the resort. He could see the balcony of their suite above, but nobody was outside.

"Jekaterina. She's worried Weyland is lurking around," Alexei stammered. Petrov looked him over doubtfully. The kid didn't even have a weapon.

"She sent you out here without so much as a butter knife?" Petrov queried again. Katyusha would never do that to one of her people.

"She– she said you'd give me a gun! C'mon, let's go! I want dinner!" Alexei urged, pulling him along.

Well, it wasn't a bad idea, and being overly cautious of Weyland did sound like a Katja order. But why was the kid acting so suspect? And it was impossible that he'd willingly go on a patrol. The best course of action was just to do the assignment and then ask about it later.

"Fine, let's go," Petrov agreed and handed over his pistol.

Much later, Adrien wheeled two serving carts out of the kitchen. Each held a whole cooked turkey. One for them, one for Blue. And if that wasn't enough, he'd go cook the big guy more food.

Turkey tended to dry out, no matter the cooking technique. So, he also made a southern-style white gravy to smear over it. His cooking experiments with Blue showed him the alien enjoyed fruits and tolerated only some vegetables; that dictated he serve raspberries and green beans for sides. Being lazy, he actually grabbed a few bags of French fries – from the kid's menu, no doubt – and made those for everyone, utilizing the deep fryer to enhance the flavor.

The dinner table was quiet. Uncomfortably so. With Jade's bitchy council in his mind, Adrien tried to stifle any lingering anger and act like a professional.

"Here you go, Blue," Adrien said, placing a pre-made-up plate of sides in front of him. Next, he placed the first cooked bird in front of his extraterrestrial partner. "It's turkey. Not my favorite meat, but it is part of a ceremonial meal from my culture. This whole bird is yours," he finished, trying to use words he thought the alien would understand.

"Thanksgiving!" Alexei said in poor English. To which he was ignored. Blue nodded and began taking the bird apart to his liking.

Better to get this out of the way now. Adrien wheeled the other cart over to Petrov and began carving pieces out and placing them on the plate. Once filled, he set it down in front of the lieutenant, who began picking at – but not eating – the food on his plate.

"Are you trying to tell me you want more, Max?" Adrien asked jokingly, attempting civility. The man glanced up, as if noticing him for the first time.

"No thank you Pierce; this looks great," Petrov stated rather solemnly. He was working up the courage to tell them about Weyland's offer, that much was obvious.

"Alright, then," Adrien wheeled the cart to Alexei. No surprise, the kid was picky about the pieces he wanted. A mix of dark and white meat, but only certain kinds. Weird thing was, Adrien was just not in the mood to fight him, which Alexei had clearly been expecting. Little turd even seemed disappointed.

Finally, Katja. "Anything you want in particular?" Adrien asked.

"I don't know. I've only had turkey a handful of times, all of them at my father's… things. It's not common in Russia," Katja answered sheepishly.

Adrien shrugged and just began cutting her some pieces. If he had to guess, she'd prefer white meat, given how in shape she was.

"Long day," Adrien offered lamely.

"Mm," Katja hummed shortly in agreement. "Looks like you're ending it on a high note," she complimented his meal.

He gave a half smile and nodded. With her plate filled and in front of her, he went back to his spot and made a plate up for himself.

Before digging in, he looked around the table. Everyone's focus was on the plate in front of them. Nobody spoke. Nobody even made eye contact. Shit, their dynamics were still all out of whack and here he was about to tell everyone they were assaulting the nest tomorrow.

"Not to interrupt the 'lively' conversation, but we're attacking the nest tomorrow," Adrien said, doing his traditional band-aid method of giving information.

"Then this is probably a bad time to tell you all, but Weyland apparently is planning on buying me out. Jade told me so," Petrov added, speaking overly fast, like he couldn't wait to get it off his chest. He went on to explain what they all already knew, minus Alexei.

"It's good you didn't accept. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't honor it," Adrien said simply, to put that doubt of 'it's too good to be true' in his head.

Katja, for her part, just nodded in agreement. If Adrien had to guess, maybe she didn't want to say 'You did the right thing, Maksim' or the like in case it opened the fresh wounds again. Blue gave a very subtle nod at the technique.

"I don't think we should attack the nest yet," Petrov stated, pushing some green beans around on his plate. He was looking at Katja as he said it.

Adrien had to hold himself back from a sarcastic reply of, "That's nice Max, really; I don't give a shit what you think. It's partly on you why we have a time crunch now."

Katja must've sensed the incoming friction, so she jumped in. "Despite our efforts, the queen is gaining strength and numbers once more. We are out of time. Adrien's right. Tomorrow, we attack."

Adrien mentally shrugged. It was a nice save. He did give Blue an eye roll when they weren't looking, though.

Before Petrov could respond, Alexei started babbling. Adrien already knew what he was saying and decided to shut it down. "Yes, you are going too, you little weasel. If it makes you feel better, you'll have a job somewhat further away from the fight."

The kid continued to moan and pout, but everyone just ignored him. "Maybe Katja should stay here, then. She is still recovering," Petrov suggested casually.

His intent was not even subtle. Now he was worried she could become pregnant. Dumbass, should've thought of that earlier.

Checking Katja's reaction, Adrien found it interesting to see her becoming visibly angry. Looked like he didn't have to do the work of yelling at the himbo this time.

In Katja fashion, though, she didn't need to shout to express her anger. "I'm going, Lieutenant. We're going to need every gun out there," she said with just a sprinkle of cool indignation. In a way, it was more intimidating than if she'd started screaming the way of a typical drill sergeant.

Man, there was popcorn he could've made in the kitchen. That, with some beers, and he and Blue could've had a halftime style party while these two bickered.

"I'm sure Pierce would agree with me, right?" Petrov prompted, undeterred by the rattlesnake-like warning in Katja's voice.

Oh, no. Adrien was not backing him up on this. Granted, he did have a safety plan for Katja, but dumb-dumb didn't know that, and he was still simmering a bit.

"I have no stake in this," Adrien recused himself simply. His wording was purposely clever, because Petrov did have a stake in her. Literally. He was taunting them, but being subtle. Katja must've picked up on it as she shot him a dirty glare.

The lieutenant worked his jaw, trying to think of something to say. He was pushing Katja, his only ally, away. Nobody else liked him right now and he knew it.

"I'm going," Katja said with finality. Wasn't like Max could argue, either; she officially was still his superior. Not only that, he probably knew it was an idiot move to try and fight her on it this early in a relationship. Wisely, he shut up.

"With that settled, I'll lay out the basic plan and we can go over it in depth after we eat," Adrien jumped in. "Blue, Max, and myself will lure them out with a loud noise. Say, a close proximity explosive. Katja will take the fifty-cal sniper rifle and perch up at the abandoned Weyland camp with Alexei covering her back. From there, it should be a slaughter for them. Low numbers and an open field," Adrien laid it out.

"I don't want to be sidelined," Katja protested, squeezing the french fries she'd been holding into mashed potatoes.

"I'm not? The plan requires a sniper and you're the best shot," Adrien half-lied and half-didn't. He was sidelining her, but he really did need the best shooter sniping. Petrov figured it out, and looked extremely relieved.

"Yes, yes, you are the best shot. That is a great plan," Petrov stuttered out. Adrien furrowed his brows. Of course it was a great plan. He made it. Well, Blue did too, he supposed; but still.

"Fine. From there?" Katja moved along, thankfully not dwelling on the matter.

"Clean house, then we take the queen," Adrien answered matter-of-factly. Yeah, as if it was going to be that easy; but better to encourage than discourage at this point,

Alexei raised a hand. "Yes, the annoying one in the back," Adrien pointed. Alexei spoke his Russian gibberish and he looked to the translators for help.

"He asks what we do after the fight. Can we go home?" Petrov explained.

"Let's just… start with the nest, Alexei," Katja answered for Adrien. He would've probably said the same. Unlikely they were going to survive this, after all.

Silence descended over the unspoken part of that statement. "We'll go over the plan in depth after the meal then," Adrien tried to bring everyone back.

This was not an encouraging sign for tomorrow.

Vai'dqouulth assessed his work on the window barrier. Adrien wanted to seal their dwelling up, allowing them all to sleep through the night in safety, rather than have a rotating guard. It was a risk, but a calculated one that could have benefit. Especially for the humans.

Satisfied, he returned to the main room. Adrien was busy sealing the main portal into their dwelling, the runt giving him bad, and likely unwanted, advice. This reminded him of his infiltration into the community dwelling. Back when he just wanted the device from them.

"What do you think?" Adrien asked, taking a step away from the door.

"Will not stop much for long," Vai'dqouulth stated truthfully.

"Yeah, well, don't tell our enemies that," Adrien said. Must be more of the strange human humor. After all, why would he reveal a weakness to their enemies?

"How we looking, lady and gent?" Adrien asked their other companions.

"Buttoned up as much as we can, but that doesn't mean much with these things," the weak warrior answered.

"Ditto," Katja joined them a second later. All of them stood in a circle, quiet, which was unusual for even the quietest human among them. They were nervous. Maybe not about dying, but that their race could be lost should they fail.

"M-di h'dlak," Vai'dqouulth stated in his own language, slow enough for them to pick up on.

"What does that mean?" Petrov inquired.

"No fear," Vai'dqouulth answered through his wrist device.

"He's right. We're gonna come, conqueror, and kick some tomorrow. Queen is gonna regret coming to earth," Adrien tried to reinforce the sentiment, although some of the language was confusing and seemed incomplete.

"Alright. I have my watch alarm set for just before sunrise," Katja explained. Vai'dqouulth looked down at the watch Adrien gave him. He was told to keep it, as the marine had other ways to tell time. He now could too, with his wrist gauntlet, but it was oddly satisfying using this method.

A moment of silence longer before the weak warrior spoke. "Good night, then." That seemed to be the signal, and they all dispersed, the human males retreating to their own room.

Katja followed Vai'dqouulth to their sleeping pallet. She reached for her upper body covering, but stopped.

"Adrien says your kind sees in infrared… is that true?" she asked. The tone sounded unsure. Nervous, perhaps.

He nodded in response, not volunteering any more information about Yautja than needed. She exhaled. Relief, he'd say. "Ok, that's good to know."

She proceeded tearing outer body coverings off, displaying her underclothes. Given her usual modesty, she must've assumed he couldn't see in any other spectrum. Bad assumption on her part, but he didn't want to scare her away from a closer inspection.

The relieving news was she wasn't built all that different from his kind. Just smaller, softer skin, and less bulky muscle tone, as he'd already noticed back in the dwelling when he was attempting to steal the device. But now he had a much better visual to confirm.

He also took note of the wider hips; even compared to his kind, they were proportionality wider on her frame than the average Yautja female. Probably because humans were so small. He did still wonder how they gave birth without expiring.

He never understood the perpetually pronounced breasts, either. She didn't have a child – at least, not yet – so why were they always like that? It seemed cumbersome, especially for a warrior like herself. But if humans didn't have a season, maybe that was why.

The halter she wore underneath the upper body cloth also had the strange animated feline graphics on it, though she now wore a different color of langot on her lower half.

Those were the only real differences between humans and Yautja he could see on the outside observation. There should be more than enough dissection data to understand inner workings once he could access the archives.

It would mean her life, if she had to live on his planet with him. That he understood their inner internal workings, such as organs, diet, and weaknesses. Just because they seemed similar, didn't make them exact to his kind.

Now, onto the pleasing visuals. Namely, the scars. She had a few, as any decorated warrior should. Some were more intriguing than others. Specifically, the ones he couldn't guess the origin to.

He gave her a bark to get her attention and she turned to him. He prepared himself for her inevitable discomfort at the revelation he could see in her spectrum, and she had shed her outer coverings assuming the opposite.

"Yes?" she asked. He pointed to a scar that he couldn't recognize. Her face fell, then scrunched up.

"You… you can see the scars?" she questioned nervously. He nodded, his arguments and assurances prepared.

"You said you saw in thermal," Katja protested, crossing an arm over her chest.

"Asked if I see that way. Did not ask if I could see in other spectrums," Vai'dqouulth pointed out calmly.

"I guess. But you could've said something when I started tearing my clothes off," Katja argued, but without passion. "Dammit; I'm an idiot. You saw my freckles; of course you can see outside thermal. I hate being drugged." She put her hands over her face.

"Never get to observe humans up close and alive like this for so long. Do not know all social etiquette of humans. Simply eager to learn," Vai'dqouulth spoke pointedly and truthfully.

"I never thought about it that way. You looking at me in my underwear is probably like me looking at a zoo animal, only uglier," Katja chuckled. Not even remotely true, but if it made her comfortable to think that, he'd abstain from comment.

Getting back to the matter at hand, he tapped the scar on her forearm again. "The scar? It's a sunburn I got in Syria when I…" She trailed off. "I got it in Syria. When we stay in the sun too long, it doesn't just cause freckles. It can cause skin damage."

This was very informative. It wasn't a battle wound; it was prolonged ultraviolet exposure. He'd need to be mindful of this on his planet – if she came – as it had two suns.

His next point of interest was what looked maybe like a burn under her left wrist. Without preamble, he grabbed her arm and turned it over before tapping it. "Oh. I was very little," she began.

"Pup," Vai'dqouulth offered helpfully.

"Yes, I was a pup, as hard as that would be to imagine," Katja smiled. Not hard at all. She may be the size of a very early Yautja adolescent as it was.

"I took a treat item when I wasn't supposed to. My mother punished me by putting my wrist over a candle," Katja explained.

Vai'dqouulth bristled. Her bearer caused this injury?

While Yautja females had to discipline pups – even physically, sometimes – they would never do something like this. Dishonorable human bearer.

"My brother didn't like that, either. Whatever he did or said to her resulted in less severe punishments going forward," Katja added. "At least, I didn't get any more permanent marks from her."

She must've picked up on his body language at the story. It was good someone cared for her in her young age, if her bearer wasn't going to.

Moving down, he pointed to her left palm next. He recognized the slicing wound of a blade, but the spot was out of place. She laughed at that. "That was one hundred percent my own stupidity. I was about fourteen and really wanted to be a soldier like my brother. So, I put on his oversized uniform and played with his knife. Needless to say, I cut my hand."

Vai'dqouulth wanted to see pup Katja dressed in her battlewear. She sounded… charming? No, that implied something that didn't at all match his thoughts. Endearing? Maybe. None of those words seemed right to use. He searched his vocabulary but turned up nothing.

Instead, he moved on and pointed at a mark below the stomach, but above the langot. That stab mark there looked like it was intended to be fatal.

"A fellow soldier had a problem with me when I first enlisted. I, uh, turned down his… advances, and he took it personally. During bayonet exercises, he stabbed me with a real one instead of the rubber training ones he was supposed to have. He claimed it was an accident and he didn't know, but I know it was intentional. What I don't is if he was trying to kill me, or just cause a wound that would result in a medical discharge." Katja explained the story, fiddling with her hair ends. "Doctors put me back together, but said I would have trouble getting pregnant and shouldn't try. And, umm, that is why I acted weird at the dinner the other day when you asked about children. Once, with Alexander, I thought I'd defied the odds, but…I was wrong."

Was she unable to conceive? He never thought to check that, and wasn't sure if he'd know what he was looking for.

Unfortunate if so, as she had said she wanted pups and her lineage would no doubt produce great warriors, but the fault didn't lie with her. She was still the best female he'd ever met.

Switching vision modes, he did an internal scan. There was prominent damage, certainly, but she was most definitely not irrevocably injured.

The wound had even healed up rather well, considering. Pregnancy would be easier than she had been informed, if his assessment was correct. He was relieved. To not give her false hope, though, he kept silent.

He may even be able to get her advanced Yautja medical care to further repair the damage.

Spars often resulted in accidental injury, that was nothing new to him. This sounded like a dishonorable intent to kill during a spar, however. "Show offender. Will challenge," Vai'dqouulth demanded. The offending male's courting had clearly been dismissed, and yet he still attacked her – and not in a display of strength or honor, but vindictiveness and vengeance.

Katja smiled, but it seemed… distant. Maybe morose. "You don't need to. He's in prison already."

Why she was upset over this dishonorable bad blood male's incarceration was a mystery to him, because in Yautja society he'd be put to death for such an act; but he thought it best to just let it go.

"We should sleep. Early morning tomorrow," Katja prompted, pulling on her sleeping attire.

Vai'dqouulth paused, thinking of the expression he'd heard them giving in the late evenings. "Goodnight," he said through Petrov's voice.

"Yes. Goodnight, buddy. I'm going to say goodnight to the others, and then I'll be back."

He gave her a steady warning growl at that. Her rest cycle antics were the only characteristic he did not enjoy about her. Should she join him on his planet, that was the first thing he would have the healers treat.

Tonight, she would sleep a full rest or he would force it. She could not afford to be drained of energy for the attack. He coiled his body to pounce should she attempt to flee from her decided fate.

"Five minutes. I promise," Katja bargained, hands held up defensively.

Internally sighing, Vai'dqouulth killed his growl. He knew she wasn't intentionally lying. Her objective was pure. But she would not be back in five minutes.

"Five minutes," he repeated her voice and tapped Adrien's gifted watch as he had seen the marine do on occasion. "Then I collect you to sleep. Unwillingly," he spoke with voice clips, using a special clip for the last word to emphasize his threat.

"I promise," Katja repeated solemnly before leaving.

Vai'dqouulth laid back and checked the watch. In less than five minutes, he had a human female to go hunt…

Adrien dragged back the sheets on his Queen bed, wondering if this would be the last time he'd ever close his eyes knowing for sure he'd wake up.

He ignored the squeaking breaths of Alexei, who was already passed out across the room in the roll-away bed (which was in itself still probably far better quality than Adrien's own bed back home). That was the first thing he and Petrov had gotten so neither of them had to share a bed with the little gremlin. Much to the kid's protest, but what could he really do about it? Smiling at Alexei's discomfort, Adrien began arranging his pillows, stashing his loaded sidearm under one in the process.

"Pierce... Adrien," said Petrov, who had just emerged from the smaller bathroom. "I'd like to speak with you, if you'd spare a moment."

"Only a moment? So, I'm guessing this will be as short as your tryst with Katja?"

Petrov gave a short, quiet sigh, sounding more mildly inconvenienced than offended. "Adrien. I'd like to apologize for attacking you earlier. It was stupid, and we need to be uni– un– unity."

"United," Adrien automatically corrected, but surprisingly – even to him – he didn't do it rudely.

"Right," said Petrov. "Anyway, I am sorry."

"Fine," Adrien said shortly. The less he had to talk to Petrov, the less likely he'd lose his temper again.

But Petrov pretended not to hear the warning in his tone. "Do you… do you really think she could potentially become pregnant?" he asked with uncertainty.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. "As a matter of fact, yes. These things tend to happen when it's least convenient. Mackenzie didn't come at a great time in my life, as an example. Why? You planning to ditch her if she does?"

"Hell, no. Never. It's just… I wish she wasn't here. That's all." He began to set the alarm next to his own bed. "Thank you, by the way. For assigning her a position outside of the nest. It's the next best thing to her not coming."

For a second, Adrien felt like denying it, but let it go instead. "Well, she never would have stayed behind."

Petrov sighed. "How pissed would she be if I turned off her alarm and we left her here tomorrow?"

"Ending things with you before you can even get a second date pissed?" Adrien suggested. "Kiss your ass goodbye pissed?" He climbed into the bed and turned away, hoping to signal the end of the conversation. No such luck.

Petrov continued to talk. "Katja, she – she had an accident in basic training. The army doctor told her she probably couldn't have kids. That's why– I didn't think…"

"Obviously," Adrien said, pulling a pillow over his head, resisting the urge to ask what had happened to Katja. And whether she had bothered to get a second opinion from a non-military physician. And a non-Russian one, at that. Not like this country was known for stellar medicine. Maybe, though, his instincts were wrong, and she wasn't pregnant.

The door between the suites thumped with a knock, and through the pillow Adrien heard Petrov say, "Come in."

"Oh, are Alexei and Adrien already asleep?" Katja asked softly.

"No, he's not allowing me to sleep," Adrien mumbled from under his pillows.

He heard footsteps, and suddenly the pillow was lifted from his head. Reluctantly, Adrien opened one eye to see Katja, her head sideways as she bent over looking at him.

"Just wanted to say 'Goodnight'," she told him, cautiously friendly.

It was a struggle for him not to smile. Dammit, he was supposed to be mad at her. "Goodnight, Kat," he grumbled, closing the eye again so he couldn't see her. "Sleep well."

"You, too," she told him, and he felt the pillow being placed over his head again.

Petrov then said something to Katja in Russian, and she paused. Adrien waited.

"Adrien, Petrov wanted to ask me something. Do you mind if we go to the kitchen for a minute?"

Well, at least she was treating Adrien on equal ground now, keeping him informed and asking his input as a fellow leader. It was… something, even if he was annoyed by the idea. And anyway, she was supposed to be keeping an eye on Petrov for any last-minute betrayals. "Don't care. Sleeping. Use protection," he mumbled tiredly.

"You going to be able to sleep at all tonight?" Petrov asked as they sat down at the kitchenette table.

The remains of a fruit centerpiece sat between them, still sporting a couple of rapidly browning bananas and apples that they hadn't gotten around to eating.

"I hope so," Katja replied.

"Alexei and Adrien didn't seem to have any trouble," he said with a small chuckle. His eye was well and truly bruised now, but it didn't look like it would affect his vision for shooting.

Sliding her hand across the table, Katja took his hand. "Maksim, just say whatever it is you need to. We've never been dishonest with each other."

"Ok. I'd like you to stay here tomorrow," he said bluntly, more in Adrien's style than his own. "Please," he added, as if making sure she knew it wasn't an order.

"No," she answered just as bluntly. "I appreciate your concern about me, but there is no way I'm not going."

"Worth a shot," he said regretfully.

She withdrew her hand. "Is that… was that all?"

"I guess so. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Maksim," she responded, and stood to go. She felt him watching her.

"Wait, no. It's not." He got to his feet, but didn't step away from the table. "I love you, Katyusha."

Katja caught her breath, a spike of shock jolting her, even if she wasn't exactly receiving new information.

Her mind tried to catch up and think of what to say. It felt like forever, and Petrov observed her reaction with a gentle smile. "You weren't ready to hear that though, were you? Sorry. But I might not have gotten another chance. And I think you should get to believe it, for once."

Before she could reply, Katja felt a force push her to the adjacent wall. She had been so focused on Petrov's declaration, she now struggled to process what had just happened.

After a breather, she realized she was pinned spread-eagle by a familiar looking net. Blue materialized a moment later and approached with a protesting Petrov behind him.

"Five minutes, I promise," Katja's voice played from Blue's wrist. He stood there, ignoring Petrov. His body language suggested he demanded an answer. She was late, but she had forgotten when Petrov asked her to the kitchen.

"I'm, uhh, I'm sorry, you're right. Petrov wanted a private talk, and time got away from me," Katja apologized, wondering how long the alien had been standing there.

Without warning, the net released from the wall. The alien caught her, however; but instead of releasing her, he bundled the netting to keep her secure, but transportable.

"Is this necessary? C'mon, I'm coming to bed without a fight," Katja protested over Petrov's increasing hysteria.

"Bad human," was all she got as a reply. Sighing, Katja just relaxed. Not like there was much else to do.

"Maksim," she said, "it's all right. Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Blue could and might do a lot worse to him than a black eye.

"Pierce! Pierce! Wake up and help me!" Petrov yelled as they passed the room. Blue stopped and turned to the groggy American Captain, who had previously had been completely unmoving,

How, Katja wondered, could he fall asleep so easily?

"Say something!" the lieutenant demanded.

"Use protection," Adrien stated before laying back down and putting the pillow on his head once more.

Katja tsked in response. So very helpful, that Adrien, as always. Blue took that as an ok to proceed with whatever he had planned.

He kicked open the master bedroom door, walked in, and closed it with the lock before Petrov could join. Still, her Lieutenant pounded outside the door frantically.

Sonuvabitch. Maksim was going to get killed and skinned before the night was over, if she didn't do something.

"Ok, you win. Can you let me out now?" Katja reasoned with Blue.

"M-di." Blue told her. Instead, he put the netting on the bed and let her lay out under it. He then began anchoring the net to the wall and floor, so she could lay on the bed, but not escape it.

"You can't be serious. I'll take the 'other' sleep aid method please," Katja complained.

"M-di." Blue repeated.

"What if– what if I have to go in the night?" Katja asked, hoping to change his mind on this.

"Wake me," his computer stated. Just then, there was a knock at the door, to which Blue snarled.

"It's me, Petrov woke me up," Adrien announced. "Again."

Stalking over, Blue opened the door.

Adrien took in the scene for a brief moment before speaking, his tiredness evident. "I'm not sure what weird shit you guys are up to, but use protection. Seriously."

"Adrien!" Katja yelled, frustrated. He was going to get Maksim even more worked up.

"Good night." Adrien cut her off before he turned and left. Blue whipped around to her, looking just a bit self-satisfied now that he had the American's blessing to do literally anything he wanted to her.

With what little maneuvering space she had to work with, Katja glared fiercely at Blue as he prepared himself for bed. Namely, taking his armor and weapons off. He simply ignored her for the moment.

A short time later, he came and laid down on the bed, facing the ceiling. It took seconds before he looked over at her.

"Comfortable?" He used a voice clip.

"You know, sometimes I hate that you have a sense of humor," Katja grumbled as she turned her back to him. In response, she heard him shift closer. The sudden heat of him at her back confirmed it.

"Mad?" The question came out of the computer.

"Not exactly pleased," Katja answered. Then, she felt her hair being messed with. At first, she assumed it was his hand, but after feeling a puff of breath between the points of contact combing her hair, she figured out it was his mandibles.

"Don't be mad," Blue coaxed with his computer.

Frowning, Katja considered what was going on. If she didn't know better, she'd say he was trying his hand at flirting, but in the annoying Adrien way. No, he didn't want another fight to break out with more loss of morale for tomorrow. This was him trying to smooth things over with her.

Good thing she wasn't actually 'holding a grudge' mad. Just a little steamed by his unbridled and uncensored determination to get things done the efficient way over the high way.

Tipping her head back, she made eye contact with him. "I'm not angry. Just a little agitated by the way you do things sometimes," Katja assured.

"Do for your benefit," Blue argued back.

And that's why she couldn't be angry with him. A smile broke out. He won. Again. And judging by his excitedly flailing tusks, he knew he did too.

"Good night, Blue," she said. Neither had to acknowledge the forgiveness now, they both just knew.

He just cupped her shoulder to let her know he heard and returned the sentiment.

She'd sleep a lot better now knowing that her friendships weren't totally irreparable. Silently in her mind, she thanked Jade.

We were both sick when we edited this chapter, so let us know if you spot any errors