Chap 100: If Only He Knew

 The whispering wind and creaking branches above them were loud. Tee didn’t get to see the scar behind Kie’s bangs. He had grabbed her hand before she could part his hair.

It took a moment for her mind to register the sensation of his hand around hers. She darted her eyes to the left corner.

“Oops, I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said, pulling her hand back.

Her heart sank when his grip didn’t release. He squeezed her hand between his and slid his fingers between hers.

His eyes shifted from hers to the treetops. His voice was low. “You know, it hurts when people scorn my scars. I used to think being ripped would shift focus from my scars to my physique.”

He sighed. “The closer I got to eighteen, the more I realized that didn’t help. All the female troopers at my MS were only interested in sleeping with me. But none of them got to me. It was easy.”

“They were that unattractive, huh? Fear and stress can turn anyone into an ogre.” Tee turned her head toward her shoulder and laughed.

His lips flickered, but no smile formed. “No, that’s not it. I’m asexual.”

Tee wanted to roll her eyes. For someone who read that much DGS, she doubted it. Still, she played along. “Were you always like that… asexual?”

Kie placed one hand behind his head, resting on her lap, while keeping the other on his tummy, staring into her eyes.

“Sweet-tee, let’s not talk anymore. This wind is drying out my lips.” He pressed his lips together—they stuck briefly before pulling apart.

Tee laughed, but when she stopped, she scolded herself. Him getting a genuine laugh from her wasn’t a good thing. Even worse, she hadn’t gotten anything useful to leverage later. His recent words echoed in her mind. Did he call her sweet-tee or sweetie? She gasped at the cleverness of it.

She hummed thoughtfully and looked down at him. He had closed his eyes with a small smile on his lips.

“I’ve got the perfect nickname for you. It’s Cooper, because you’re a cute trooper.”

His smile widened, eyes still closed. “That’ll work.”

Tee saw the deep dimples in his cheeks again. She poked the one closest to her and asked, “Who did you get these cute dimples from, your dad or your mom?”

His smile faded, and she waited a full minute, staring at his closed eyes. Finally, he said, “I got it from one of my parents.”

She grabbed strands of grass on either side and pulled them from their roots. It was either that or push him off her lap hard enough to send him rolling for miles. What was she to do with him!

They stayed under the tree in the windy fields until dinner, and Tee’s numb legs didn’t bother her—she was too angry at getting nothing from him. Letting Kie lay on her legs for hours had been a horrible idea, but the walk back got the blood flowing again.

They sat beside each other at the dining table. Their teammates were too busy eating to comment, giving Tee time to think. Sending another day with that Xenogenist without getting anything substantial was unacceptable. She needed answers and it was going to drive her crazy if she didn’t get them.

Her desperation showed. When it was Kie’s turn for dish duty, she joined him. Unlike her, he did it efficiently, so Saeda and the others didn’t need to monitor him. It was just the two of them.

Kie’s brows furrowed when she stopped at the second sink beside him, gloves on. “What are you doing?” he asked. Everyone knew how much she hated dish duty.

“This chore’s too much for one person. I thought I’d help, since we’re together and all.”

Kie nudged her arm. “You’re too sweet.” He leaned closer, pushing his lips out.

Tee raised a finger and pressed it against his lips. “Remember rule number three? No kissing.”

Kie looked down at the plate in his hand. “Your rules make no sense. Lying on your lap counts as crossing your personal space, in case you didn’t know.” He shook the suds off the plate and handed it to her.

She took it under the running faucet. “Maybe if you opened up a bit more, I’d consider amending the rules. You could start by telling me about your parents—”

Kie froze mid-scrub, his ears twitching. That word again. Why did she like reminding him of things he worked so hard to forget?

“Just forget about it,” he muttered, continuing to scrub.

Tee glanced at the pans and plates stacked to his shoulder. Whatever information she got from him better be worth it. That thought alone drove her to keep helping.

She was relentless, asking the same family-related questions in different ways.

“Do you have parents…? Who did you get your red eyes from…? Why are you such a jerk?”

Kie kept his cool, offering vague answers, sometimes before she even finished.

“What do you think…? From a human being… You tell me…”

When Kie handed her the last pot, he turned toward the exit.

She dumped the pot under the water and spun around. “Where are you going?” She stomped her boot. “Why are you making this so difficult!”

He turned, yelling louder. “Dammit, can’t you see I don’t want to talk about them!”

Their chests heaving, they glared until the numbness in their ears faded and they could hear their hearts again.

Kie turned away and started walking. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Tee replied, “It’s alright.”

“I’m going night training. Are you coming?”

Of course she was. She needed to surpass him, and day training alone wasn’t enough. Speaking of cutting, she hoped he didn’t mind her slicing her fingers off.

“Yeah. I’ll meet you there.”

They got dressed and met in the training room. But it wasn’t all talking. They split into their separate sections and didn’t see each other again until it was time to leave.

Kie’s stone-serious face could only mean one thing—he hadn’t channeled energy down his sword. He held both ends of his towel around his neck.

Tee didn’t cut herself that night. She didn’t want the blood to steal attention from the question she planned to ask him on their way back to their rooms. But she realized that wasn’t the best time to get him to spill anything. Still, she needed to remind him that he was the one begging for the relationship, not her.

When they reached the last steps before their dorm section and stepped onto opposite sides of the center wall, she turned to him and said, “Kie, we’re over.”

She turned away and didn’t stop walking until she reached her door. Between a blink and raising her hand to the control panel, he was suddenly in the corner of her eye.

“Why?” he asked.

Tee faced the panel and pressed her palm onto it. “Like I said, my heart died with my first love. I’m not feeling anything, so we’re wasting our time.”

The door slid open, but Kie stepped into the space between her and the entrance, blocking her way.

“With your stupid rules, of course you won’t feel anything,” he said. “Words can’t express everything. Admit it—you’ve never had a real kiss before, and you’re scared.”

Tee tucked her chin, baffled by such a claim. “Scared of what?”

Kie leaned in until their lips were barely an inch apart. “Then kiss me.”

“Never. Now move.”

He glanced at the wall behind her and grinned. “Scared little girl.”

Tee glared into his red eyes, refusing to look away. Was he seriously asking for a kiss from a Xeno-victim? The best burns were the ones the other person didn’t realize until too late.

To spite him, she grabbed his shirt, pulled him close, and kissed him—passionately. But he kissed her back with a heat that startled her, wrapping his arms around her and dipping her like something out of a fairytale. When he stopped, she gasped, staring up at him, trapped in his arms.

He lifted her upright, though his arms stayed around her.

With wide eyes, she asked, “What was that?” A laugh escaped her—wild and unexpected. Her cheeks burned; she hadn’t laughed like that since Jack’s death.

She’d never been taken like that before. Maybe she should keep that up—for her own pleasure. She was going to die soon anyway. Might as well have some fun with him. Two could play that game.

“Are we back on?” he asked.

That guy was just acting nice. Maybe she could bring out his bad side.

She brushed her fingers down his cheek to his neck. “Only if you agree to kiss me like that every morning.”

“We have a deal. No more rules, right?”

“None.”

He pinched her neck lightly and stepped aside for her to enter. The door slid shut behind her, cutting their locked gazes apart.

When he was out of sight, Tee clutched her stomach and fell to her knees laughing.

She was a Xeno-victim. If only he knew.