~Videl~

Kane said I was his girl!?

Videl couldn't contain her excitement. He had said it so naturally, like it wasn't even a question. She was his.  When the other guy was well out of earshot, Videl took a step closer to Kane.

"I'm your girl?" Videl mumbled shyly. "Did you mean that?"

She had to know for sure if he was just being instinctively protective, or if he really wanted her as a girlfriend. Kane was looking at her warily. He appeared to be deciding at that moment whether to deny it as a thoughtless protective gesture, or confirm the sincerity. 

"I - " Kane started, then reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'd like you to be." Videl gazed up at him, only vaguely embarrassed by her palm starting to sweat. "Is that something you'd be interested in?" Kane asked quietly, when she didn't say anything right away.

His hair was still wet from the shower, and the look on his face seemed to display that he was conflicted. Almost like he didn't know what answer he would prefer from her. 

"Very interested," Videl breathed, perching on her tiptoes to press her lips to his in a soft, tentative kiss.

Kane stilled at first, but when she started to pull away, his muscular arm wrapped around her waist, and his other hand wound in her hair, drawing her back in. The fervor he kissed her back with made her knees weak, and they almost buckled beneath her, but his arm around her waist kept her steady.

"Wooo! Get it, Kane!" Dare cheered from somewhere nearby, as he happened upon the scene, and Kane released her, grinning at his friend and rolling his eyes. It was clear then, that Dare had been vying for them to get together from the start, and was overjoyed to see his friend closing the deal with a kiss. Dare threw his arms around both of their shoulders and declared, 

"I'd say this calls for some celebration!"

.   .   .

"Kane wouldn't admit it." Dare snickered mischievously. "But I knew the day I saw him watching you and your friend at the table over there - that he was thoroughly  fucked."

Kane's arms were folded over his chest as he fixed Dare with a good-natured glare. The three of them were sharing a party platter of nachos at their usual table in the Cafeteria's upper tier dining area.

"Is that true, Kane?" Videl teased, taking a bite of a cheese-covered chip. "Were you thoroughly  fucked?"

Kane's jaw dropped, openly shocked at the vulgar word coming out of her mouth. Even Dare was caught off guard, as he choked on a chip and coughed before he burst out laughing. Kane's stunned expression evaporated as he chuckled and nodded.

"Thoroughly," Kane agreed, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Um . . . Dare?" 

An unfamiliar female voice pulled their attention to two girls who nervously approached the table the three of them were sharing. Dare wiped an imaginary tear of mirth from his eyes as he turned to look at them. The chocolate-brown-haired girl who had just spoken smiled at him and said,

"My friend Ava wants to ask you something." She elbowed the cute strawberry-blonde girl who seemed to have been dragged to their table. When Dare's gaze fell on her, she shrank behind her friend shyly, whispering, "Kayleigh!?"

"Ask him!" Her friend prodded, pushing her forward.

Ava stumbled a little and glared at her friend Kayleigh, before nervously twirling her hair around her fingers.

"I - um," Ava gulped when Dare lifted an eyebrow at her. "I was wondering if you asked anyone to be your date for the Cotillion?"

It looked like she might die from embarrassment, and Videl felt for the girl. She obviously had a huge crush on him, and her friend had pushed her to act on it.

"The what?"  Dare asked, shooting a baffled look toward Kane.

"It's a dance coming up," Kane informed him. "We all have to go. They didn't have Cotillions on the Omega?"

Videl didn't realize that Dare was from a different Starship until Kane had asked him that. She briefly wondered how he had ended up on the Titan, and how many other Starships there were.

"Oh - ah, no." Dare answered slowly. "Do you want to be my date?"

Videl had a feeling that Dare was asking Ava in a way that seemed more like a clarifying question to understand her intentions, rather than a serious offer. But Ava's face lit up with a beauteous smile, taking it for what it sounded like, rather than for what Videl assumed it actually was. 

"I'd love to!" Ava chimed sweetly, skipping away with Kayleigh.

"Cool, cool, cool . . . " Dare shot them a helpless look after the girls' backs were turned and Videl laughed, her suspicions confirmed. Dare hadn't meant to ask her out. 

"Don't look at me, man," Kane smirked, his hands lifting up in an "oh, well"  gesture. "I can't help you with that one."

Dare buried his face in his hands and groaned. "What have I done??"

Videl patted him on the back, smiling at him with sympathy. "Oh, come on, Dare - she seems like a sweet girl."

Dare just sighed sullenly, eliciting laughter from both Videl and Kane.

~Kane~

After they finished having their lunch, Dare said his goodbyes. He had sulked for most of the meal, though he admitted at some point that he did think Ava was cute, he just wasn't planning on dating anyone until he moved out of his parents' quarters. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't even filled out the petition paperwork yet, and the waiting list could take months.

"Months?" Dare had asked, shocked.

"Well, if you don't want to wait," Kane had suggested. "I have a spare bedroom. It's supposed to go to my little sister when she finishes School, but that won't be for another two years or so."

"For real?" Dare gaped. "You would let me move in?"

"Yeah, man," Kane shrugged nonchalantly. 

"Sure I won't cramp your style?" Dare couldn't seem to believe that Kane was really offering. 

"Oh, I'm sure you will." Kane taunted with a smirk. "But I really don't mind. I literally just have to sign a digital form, and you're my roommate."

"Dude!" Dare's spirits were momentarily lifted. "That's awesome! Seriously, thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." Kane's smirk spread into a grin. "I still can't get you out of that date." Dare's face fell at the reminder, and V rolled her eyes. After Dare left to tell his parents he would be moving out sooner than planned, V was looking at Kane curiously. 

Kane was still coming to terms with the fact that he was dating someone now. Something he had refused to do, but now he was. Why wasn't he beating himself up anymore? He surely deserved it, after jumping into this with her. But fucking hell, she was as sweet as she was gorgeous - he hadn't stood a chance. If she liked him, he would be an idiot to blow her off, and let someone else have her instead. He wanted her for himself. The moment that he said fuck it  and kissed her was the moment that he had screwed over all sense of right and wrong, and decided to go against his better judgement by giving in to the fact that he was catching feelings for a girl. Now, he just had to try not to let her down, be someone who deserved to have her. Though, his experiences with girls in the past definitely didn't give him much to work off of. He was going to have to figure out how to be good to her, and how to be okay with the fact that she had the ability to rip his heart out of his chest and stomp on it if she wanted to. That was just something a person had to risk if they decided to date someone, which was the exact reason he had avoided it since Darcy, but it was too late now. He had to make this work. 

"What?" Kane asked, raising an eyebrow at her and trying to ignore his muddled thoughts.  

"You have a little sister?" V tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she put words to her questioning thoughts. 

"Yeah," Kane grunted, taking a drink from his water bottle. "Her name's Kiana. She's quite a bit younger than me, but we've . . . always been close." He winced slightly, feeling that the last part might be an exaggeration now, when it used to be the case. "I haven't seen her since I moved out, to be honest." And since I yelled in her and Mom's faces . . . Kane's guilt niggled him silently.

"I'd love to meet her someday," V said in a shy voice.

"I'd like that," Kane nodded thoughtfully, reaching out to stroke her soft cheek with the back of his fingers. He missed his sister, despite how badly things had ended when he left home. "I think she'd really like you. She hated my last girlfriend."

V flinched, her eyes - that had closed for a second in a dreamy expression as she enjoyed the caress - snapping open. Kane let his hand fall from her cheek at her reaction.

"Your last girlfriend?" V mumbled, looking dejected at the thought of him with someone else, as if anyone compared to her. 

"You're nothing like her, V." Kane said truthfully. "She's a troll." He grimaced at the thought of Darcy, then caught V's chin gently with his fingertips and lifted her face so that she had no other choice but to look him in the eyes. "You're my little princess."

V's golden eyes were still shrouded with what looked like jealousy or insecurity, but she gave him a small smile, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink.

"Really?"

"Really," Kane said firmly, his tone serious and full of honesty.

"Oh," V breathed, her gaze lowering to his mouth then.

Kane didn't waste the opportunity. He startled her by pulling her into his lap with a low growl, and captured her lips with his. She kissed him back eagerly, her soft hands immediately reaching up to stroke the stubble on his jaw. He slowly trailed kisses along her cheek, underneath her ear and down the side of her throat. Her hands moved to tangle her fingers in his hair, and she gasped when he sucked on a sensitive place on her neck. He gripped her hips, squeezing them avariciously, drawing her closer. 

"Kane," his name whispered from her lips - in a way that was deliciously close to a moan - causing him to shudder with bliss as he nibbled gently on that same sensitive place, his hands curling in fists around the fabric of her dress.

"Kane?!" A shrill voice cried out in disbelief from somewhere nearby, ruining their sensual moment together and juxtaposing how sexy his name had sounded from V, seconds before. V nearly jumped off of his lap in alarm, but his arms circled her waist possessively, holding her there as he absently looked to see who had dared to interrupt them. V's eyes followed his and they landed on a very pissed-off Darcy.

"Speak of the fucking Devil." Kane grunted spitefully. 

If anyone had deserved the nickname "She-Devil," it was Darcy, not the Videl, Kane thought to himself.