~Videl~

Kane tried to argue that it was a game for kids, but Dare insisted on the three of them playing Hide-and-Seek.

"Oh, loosen up," Dare chided, smirking playfully, then an imploring gaze turned to Videl. "V, you're down for a game of Hide-and-Seek, right?"

Videl had to admit that she was thrilled at the idea.

"I would love to, but - " Videl risked a pleading look toward Kane. "Kane said he doesn't play games."

Kane stiffened slightly, the expression on his face inscrutable as he mulled it over.

"Please?" Videl begged, trying for her best attempt at a puppy-dog pout. "Play with me, Kane?"

For a moment, Kane's silver eyes darkened into a stormy, tempest color, and his jaw flexed like he was gritting his teeth. Videl's heart sank, thinking she might have made a terrible mistake. Was he pissed off? It was hard to read in the dark, and it appeared as if the lights were dimming incrementally every few seconds. And just when she thought that he was sure to refuse, he sighed, shaking his head.

"Just this once," Kane's voice sounded deeper, rougher, with an unusual edge, but he didn't sound angry. 

Videl couldn't help but beam at his concession, and started bouncing on the balls of her feet, giddy with excitement.

"Alright!" Dare cheered in triumph. "Who's counting first?"

"I'll go first." Kane surprised her by volunteering as he strode away toward a tree. She couldn't see it, but she could have sworn that she heard a smile in his voice. With his back turned to them, he made a show of lifting his hands to cover his eyes and began counting loudly. Dare immediately darted away, laughing like a little boy, and disappeared among the foliage. Videl nearly tripped as she took off running the opposite way. Her heart started pounding and her breathing hitched with exhilaration. As soon as she heard Kane stop counting, she dove behind a tree and tucked herself into the smallest ball she could manage, hoping her curtain of dark hair was an effective camouflage. 

"Ready or not," Kane bellowed. "Here I come!"

Videl waited with bated breath, trying to listen as hard as she could over the sound of her pulse thumping in her ears. All she could hear was the gentle rustle of the leaves in the artificial breeze, and the twitter of the nocturnal birds. After a few minutes, she began to wonder if it was even possible to find people in a place this vast, but her silent question was answered when Dare's voice broke through the silence in a shout of terror, followed by a sound that could only have been Kane tackling him and foiling his attempt to make a last-minute mad dash to the tree that would serve as home base, where Kane had been counting. The raucous sounds were followed by their peals of laughter. The sound of Kane's laugh warmed her heart, but the next thing she heard made her blood freeze in her veins.

"Let's get her."  

The words were so quiet that she couldn't tell which one had said it, but she assumed it had been Dare. Videl clapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to squeal in a mixture of fear and delight. She listened to their footsteps heading in opposite directions as they split up to find her. One of them was going further and further away, and she was momentarily relieved. But one of them was getting dangerously close to her hiding spot. A good kind of panic hummed in her body like electricity. She'd never felt so awake, so alive.

Videl could almost see the home base - it wasn't too far. Maybe if she took off before they saw her, she could make it. She grappled with the indecision for a second too long. A pair of shoes crunched against the dirt path just feet away from her. Hide or run, hide or run?!  Videl sprang out of the ball shape she'd been crouched in, and ran as fast as she could. She could hear one of them right behind her, but she didn't dare look back and risk smashing face-first into a tree. Home base was in sight, she could almost taste the victory!

But a strong arm caught her by the waist and spun her away so abruptly that she screamed, kicking her legs in the air like a little girl.

"Gotcha!" Kane's deep, rumbling laugh tickled her ear, his arm holding her small frame tight against his hard body. She giggled as he let her feet touch the ground, but his arm didn't leave her waist right away. Her heart was pounding for a different reason, now. 

Dare came crashing through the woods a second later, huffing and puffing.

"Okay," Dare gasped, attempting to catch his breath. "My turn!"

~Kane~

Each of them had a turn counting, and they must have spent an hour or two running and screaming, stumbling over bushes and having a great time. Finally, Dare had suggested that they leave before the midnight misters kicked on and soaked them, and Kane and V readily agreed. When they parted ways, all heading to their own Levels, and Kane was back in his private quarters, his body was heavy from exhaustion. He needed to take a shower after all the sweating and rolling in the dirt, so he forced himself to trudge into the bathroom. As he passed the mirror, he paused. A long, dark strand of hair clung to his shirt fibers. Kane gingerly removed it and stared at it, curiously. He wound it around his finger, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He shook his head at himself and laid it on the bathroom counter like it was a piece of jewelry, before he stripped off his dirty clothes and hopped in the shower. 

After a good scrub, he toweled off and threw himself on the bed with a contented sigh. As he sank into the blankets, he found himself hoping that V would have no nightmares plaguing her tonight. Even with those dark circles under her eyes, he thought that she had looked like a little fairy prancing about in the woods, without a care in the world. He was too tired to even chastise himself for thinking of her that way. The last thing on his mind was how good it felt to hold her in his arms as he drifted to sleep. 

When he woke up the next morning, he stretched, surprising himself with how sore his legs were, before the memories of last night tumbled through his sleep-fogged mind. He'd have to thank Dare for taking them to the Aviary/Arboretum. The two of them were definitely successful at taking V's mind off her troubles for a little while, and it was a special kind of fun Kane didn't think he'd ever experienced before. He never would have thought of taking V there, and it was a night he was sure he wasn't likely to forget. When Dare had suggested Hide-and-Seek, Kane was far from interested, and the childish idea made him want to cringe. But when V had looked up at him, batting her long lashes, her full bottom lip pushing out in a pout . . .

"Please?" she'd said, so softly. "Play with me, Kane?

His entire body went hot, and he was struck with a sharp, lightning bolt of desire. He'd had to steel himself against it to keep from saying or doing something that would certainly have had her running for the hills. She was playing with fire, looking at him like that, saying those words so innocently, so unaware of how man would imagine her saying those words to him in bed. Just remembering that moment had him groaning as he rolled out of his blankets. He went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, patted it dry, and started brushing his teeth. After he gargled some water to get the toothpaste out of his mouth and spit it out, his eyes landed on that long strand of hair on the counter. Was he keeping it? That would definitely be weird, but he also felt weird about tossing it in the trash. Like in some irrational way, that would be symbolically implying he saw V as garbage. 

For now, he decided to leave it where it was. Leaving the bathroom, he glanced at the clock on his holo-menu and cursed. He had slept in much longer than he had thought, having been too tired to set his gym alarm last night. He was supposed to start meeting Dare every day at 6 a.m., so they could do their gym sessions at the same time like they had planned. With any luck, Dare had slept in, too, after all that running around and tackling each other to the forest floor. He quickly got dressed and grabbed his gym bag and his cordless ear phones like usual, and headed out the door.