~Videl~

Videl woke with a start - a mild headache pulsed in her temples. Before she opened her eyes, she could already vaguely feel that she was not in her own bed.

"Fucking Stars, Dare!" Kane's muffled voice sounded from a distance. "You're gonna wake her up."

Videl sat up, blinking rapidly as if that would cause her surroundings to make more sense to her. Black satin sheets and a matching blanket made her instantly understand where she was. Kane's bed!?  The memories of the night before flooded her mind, bringing a flush to her cheeks. Their kiss. The movie. That sex scene. The feeling of Kane's hand stroking her hair as she drifted to sleep. Kane must have carried her to his bed, she realized with a wince. What if she snored? What if she drooled on him?

"I'm not afraid of a little saliva."

"I'll try not to drool all over it."

Videl shook herself free of the memory and tossed the blanket off of her. She slid out of the bed and carefully made his bed as if she hadn't just slept in it the whole night. After she was satisfied with its appearance, she took a moment to drink in the sight of Kane's bedroom. Much like the rest of his private quarters, the furniture was luxurious and had a cool, reserved quality about it that matched his personality. It was the opposite of her girly little bedroom in every conceivable way. She noticed a bathroom on one side of the room, and hurried inside of it - suddenly aware of her bladder that was ready to burst. Once she relieved herself, she washed her hands. She almost whined at her reflection and raked her fingers through her hair to smooth out the halo of frizz that made her resemble a feral animal. Her lips tinged slightly red from the wine last night, she greedily gargled some of his blue mouthwash to freshen her breath.

As she exited the bathroom, straightening her rumpled, slept-on dress, she jumped when she saw Kane leaning against his bedroom door frame, waiting for her. He must have heard the water running and came to see if she was awake. Was it possible for him to look even more handsome than he did the night before? His dress-clothes were wrinkled and slept-on like her dress, and his button-down shirt had been unfastened a few notches - just enough to see a hint of the chiseled chest she had longed to look at last night. His hair was no longer combed back, but tousled and messy in a way that made him look dangerously sexy. His stubble was even darker and denser, tantalizingly masculine, making his eyes look like shining stars.

"Sleep well, princess?" Kane asked, with a teasing smirk that made her pulse quicken.

She wished the joking nickname annoyed her, but it filled her with butterflies instead. She was so tongue-tied, she could only nod with an embarrassed smile.

"You want some breakfast?" Kane nodded toward the kitchen. "Dare brought donuts."

"Ooh, donuts?" Videl willed herself to speak, and obliged his gesture to follow him out of his bedroom.

Dare stood in the kitchen, hovering over a huge white box on the island that was filled with a variety of donuts. As she passed the couch in Kane's living room, she saw a throw blanket and pillow on it. It only made sense that Kane had moved her to his bed, to sleep on the couch himself. Videl was touched by what a gentleman he had been.

"The Bubble Queen has risen," Dare greeted her, with a mouthful of donut.

"Good morning, Dare," Videl smiled, glad to see him, and chose not to use his "royal" moniker for his sake.

Kane took a seat on one of the stools on the island and she followed suit, taking the one beside him eagerly.

"And how doth thee fare on this fine morn?" Dare asked, waving his hand around in a silly, fanciful gesture.

"I'm great," Videl giggled. She was more than great, practically floating on air - knowing that Kane liked her back. "I'm glad you're here," Videl told him. "I haven't gotten the chance to thank you for what you and Kane did."

Dare pushed the box of donuts toward her for her to pick from, and grinned widely.

"I think I speak for the both of us, when I say that it was our pleasure, Your Highness."

Videl picked a pink donut with rainbow sprinkles and glanced at Kane, who nodded and winked at her. Videl quickly took a bite of her donut, trying to conceal the way that his wink had made her heart hit the ceiling. She swallowed hard and smiled as nonchalantly as she could. When her gaze lowered to the scabs and bruises on Kane's knuckles, her smile faltered slightly but remained. Kane must have noticed, tucking his hand out of view behind the arm that rested on the island.

"What can I do to pay you guys back?" Videl asked as she started to lick the pink frosting off her fingers.

Suddenly, Kane's hand shot out to stop her, nostrils flaring, eyes blazing. His other hand reached out to the stack of napkins and firmly placed one in her palm before he released his hold. The look on his face told her he did not  want her licking her fingers, especially while asking that question. She hadn't thought about that before she did it, but his reaction made her realize how inappropriately that could've been taken by hot-blooded men. Dare was pointedly looking away at a random spot on the ceiling, and though it wasn't too noticeable, there was a slight flush to his skin. Thoroughly embarrassed at her misstep, she used the napkin to clean off the rest of the frosting.

"How about - " Kane started, his voice deeper than usual before he cleared his throat. "How about you hit the Gym with us today?"

"The Gym?" Videl perked up at the thought.

"Yeah, we usually go much earlier, but I didn't want to wake you up rummaging around for my gym clothes."

Videl realized with a pang of guilt that Dare was already wearing gym clothes. He had probably been waiting hours for her to wake up so that Kane could change.

"Oh," Videl mumbled. "I'm sorry I messed up your schedule. Are you sure it's okay for me to tag along?"

Dare laughed at the question, shaking his head.

"I  asked you, V." Kane chuckled. "I want you to. And I know Dare's cool with it - aren't you, Dare?"

Dare nodded emphatically. "I was trying to talk Kane into inviting you last time we went." Dare jokingly flexed his muscular arms above his head, holding his breath as he said, "I lift heavier when girls are watching."

Videl snickered and Kane rolled his eyes.

"I'll go get ready," Kane grunted, heading to his bedroom - the door sliding shut behind him.

~Kane~

Once they were at the Gym manager's desk, Kane swiped V in as his guest, and Dare swiped his wristband at the sensor a moment after. Every member was allowed a guest who could use the facilities for free. V had protested Kane's offer to set her up with a membership when the Gym manager told her the price. The cost of membership was not inexpensive, but it was a one-time payment, so it really wouldn't have bothered Kane to set her up with one. He tried to argue that he had the Credits to spare and that if she had a membership, she could go any time that she wanted - whether he was with her or not. But she didn't want him to spend Credits on her when she had none to pay him back with, and she made a point to say that she didn't think that she would want to go to the Gym by herself anyway, so Kane relented.

Kane and Dare gave her a tour of their home-away-from-home, showing her where the locker rooms were, the climbing wall, and finally, the Olympic-level diving pool.

"Oh my Stars," V gasped, taking in the sight of the high dive that towered over the rippling, bluish water. "People dive  from that?"

"Certainly not me," Dare whistled, shaking his head.

The guy could handle the climbing wall, fastened in a harness, but the high dive gave him a run for his money. He was a fairly built guy, compared to most in the Gym, and it was almost comical that he had a fear of heights. "There's a regular swimming pool over there for the sane  people."

Kane had to chuckle at the emphasis on the word "sane."

"We mostly stick to the machines and weights," Kane said as they made their way back to the area they usually preferred. "But if you're not interested in lifting, or get bored to tears watching us, you could always go for a swim," Kane offered hesitantly, realizing too late that it sounded like he expected her to join them regularly.

V smiled at him and shook her head. "Maybe I'll swim next time."

Kane smiled back and savored the blush on her cheeks that appeared when he did. He liked knowing that she didn't have an aversion to the idea of coming with them again. That she was already planning to. While the two of them started warming up, she took a seat on a bench to watch. Kane tried to ignore the fact that she was getting more double-takes and lingering stares from the other gym-goers wearing her little pink sundress than the gym girls with their more revealing sports bras and formfitting leggings. He fought the urge to physically pry their eyes off her - he couldn't really blame them for ogling her dainty, delicate body. She was considerably out of place, wearing a dress in a gym full of men whose blood was pumping with testosterone. Like a little rabbit in a den of hungry wolves, ready to pounce and sink their teeth in. Kane decided then, that he was glad that she had graciously refused a membership. It was for the best that she forego the option to come without him.

Dare asked for a spot, and Kane eagerly pushed away his possessive thoughts to focus on the task at hand. And like Dare had joked about earlier that morning, they lifted heavier with V watching intently on the sidelines. Maybe it was just because they had both missed three days in the Gym by being detained, but Kane didn't think so. They both broke some personal records, fist-bumping and whooping in triumph. Kane's limbs were wobbly from the extra exertion, and he and Dare were both drenched in sweat from head to toe, but they kept going. V's eyes never seemed to stray from Kane's body, he noticed with a wave of pride. She was completely transfixed every time he caught sight of her in his periphery. And when he dared to cast his gaze directly on her, mid-bicep curl with the dumbbell clenched tightly in his hand, V turned crimson.

When he and Dare were finally spent, they both agreed to use the shoddy showers in the locker room, so they wouldn't offend V with their musky stench while they went to get lunch in the Cafeteria. V told them that she didn't care, but she said that she would wait on the bench until they were done, when they insisted. After a quick rinse in the shower with dismal water-pressure, Kane toweled off and got dressed in a clean T-shirt and sweatpants - glad that he had thought to pack them that morning, just in case. When he emerged from the locker room, V wasn't at the bench where she said she would be waiting. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on her. She was straightening to stand after taking a drink from the water fountain, and shaking her head 'no' meekly at a guy who was gesturing to his wristband. Anger churned his stomach as he marched toward them. It was clear that the guy was asking for her digits.

"V?" Kane rumbled as he approached, barely able to contain the jealous rage. "This guy bothering you?"

When V saw him, she looked relieved. It marginally helped to quell his inner beast. The man squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest a little bit. Kane was a head taller than the guy, and probably thirty pounds of pure muscle heavier than him as well.

"I was just asking for her digits?" 

The guy blanched, raising an eyebrow at Kane and glancing down at V.

"That's my girl, man," Kane told him, voice steely with warning.

"Woah, my bad, bro!" The guy responded, raising his palms in surrender and taking a good step back. "Sorry," he grumbled, and quickly retreated.

Kane's anger dissipated, and he realized that he had just staked his claim on V without previously consulting with her about it. He hadn't thought about it beforehand. He wasn't ready to commit to anything - he had just reacted on instinct. He didn't think of her as his property, but seeing that guy had immediately triggered his need to defend his territory, regardless. Fuck, she's gonna . . .

But when he exhaled slowly and looked down at her, he was surprised to see that she wasn't angry or annoyed - she was smiling and biting her pretty bottom lip.