~Videl~

Videl felt like she was floating on air. Thanks to Kane pushing her, she had accomplished what she couldn't manage to do on her own. And when he told her how proud he was of her, it felt like her whole world tilted on its side. Once she had rinsed the pool water off and was back in her warm, dry clothes, she paused in front of the mirrors. For the first time since Cryo, she felt like she recognized the person that was staring back at her. Her long, dark hair was a little wavy from the water, her golden eyes no longer looked hollow and lost. Her reflection felt more familiar. Like her soul had returned to her body, after an extended astral journey through the cosmos, and was finally settling back home in the shell it had left behind. Was she glowing because of it? She smiled as she tentatively ran her fingertips across the curve of her cheek where Kane had last touched her. She felt like she was.

Was all of this a dream? A fantasy swimming in the depths of a mind in cryo-stasis?

Videl dragged her eyes away from the mirror. She moved to the doors that led back out to the main room of the Gym, but ended up stumbling as she bumped into two girls who were coming in.

"Stars! Sorry!" Videl yelped, righting herself.

It was Ava and Kayleigh - the girls who had approached their table in the Cafeteria that one day. Ava's hands reached out as if to steady Videl, then she smiled and dropped them to her sides.

"Oh, it's okay!" Ava chimed in a friendly way.

"You're fine," Kayleigh said, at the same time, shaking her head at Videl's apology to show that it wasn't necessary.

Videl giggled awkwardly, stepping aside so that they could walk past her. Kayleigh did, moving toward the lockers with a duffel bag that looked brand new. Ava lingered, looking shy.

"We've never been here before." Ava admitted with a blush.

"Oh," Videl tilted her head slightly, before hesitantly asking, "Did you just join today?"

"Yeah," Ava nodded, twirling her hair around her fingers. "We didn't know it was so expensive, though."

"Worth it for Ava to be around her crush!" Kayleigh called over her shoulder nonchalantly.

"Kayleigh!" Ava turned scarlet as she scolded her friend, and glared at her.

"What?" Kayleigh grinned mischievously. "That's why we're here!"

She turned her gaze to Videl. "We could only afford one membership with both our allowances, so I graciously agreed to let Ava have it, and I'm her guest." She shrugged, obviously enjoying her friend squirming with her confession.

"My very rude  guest who can't keep secrets," Ava chided, but she was smiling.

Clearly used to Kaleigh's bluntly honest way of showing all of Ava's cards, Ava was only mildly annoyed.

"So, is Dare around?" Ava asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a hopeful lilt in her voice. "I didn't see him out there."

"He's probably still getting dressed," Videl giggled when Ava's eyes widened like she was imagining it. Videl leaned closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Just so you know, he's usually leaving around this time. If you want to catch him working out - he gets here at 6."

Ava gasped, excited to be given the unexpected, top-secret information. At the same time, Kayleigh - having overheard the tip - groaned.

"6 a.m.?!" Kayleigh hung her head at the thought of how early they would have to wake up, before fixing Ava with a glare of her own. "You're lucky I love you."

Ava flashed her a blinding smile. "I know."

Videl laughed, and with a wave, she turned to leave. "Good luck, girls."

"Thank you for telling me - " Ava cut herself off, seeming to realize that she didn't know what to call her. "Wait, I didn't catch your name?"

Videl felt relieved that the girls didn't seem to know the real Videl - that maybe she was making her own friends that would have no one to compare her to.

"Oh, my name's Videl." She offered her hand, feeling nervous. "But my friends call me V."

Ava shook her hand with a sweet smile. "Nice to meet you, V," She said earnestly. "And thank you, again."

"No problem." Videl felt a rush of exhilaration. Ava called her V - she wanted to be friends. That felt like an accomplishment on its own.

"Yeah, really - thanks a lot, V!" Kayleigh said with a good-natured sarcasm, pretending to sulk, though it was obvious that she would do anything for Ava, even if that meant getting up at the crack of dawn.

"Glad to help," Videl giggled and left the locker rooms, feeling giddy.

She must have had a goofy smile on her face as she met Kane and Dare at the manager's desk, where they were waiting to swipe out with her.

"What's got you so happy?" Kane wondered, with a curious smirk.

"Oh, nothing - just ran into Dare's future wife," Videl joked.

She enjoyed the exasperated look on Dare's face at her jest, and Kane's sexy rumble of a chuckle at his friend's expense.

"You're joking, right?" Dare whined, "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Nuh-uh," Videl was glad to confirm. "I thought you'd be happy! You lift heavier when girls are watching," she reminded him innocently.

Kane's subdued chuckle turned into a burst of laughter at Videl's well-meaning taunt.

Dare groaned and after they had all swiped their wristbands, they left the Gym with him grumbling something about a "stalker" under his breath.

~Kane~

Kane was pleased with the realization that no girl had made him laugh as hard as V had when she taunted Dare. He couldn't recall ever being around a girl who he genuinely thought was funny. She was feminine, sweet, and beautiful . . .

A good sense of humor was like decadent icing on an already delectable cake. As charming as she was, she really didn't need anything else on top of it, but it was a treat, nonetheless. Being able to joke around was never on his list of requirements, he thought to himself, but maybe it should've been. Not that he had any true requirements for dating in the past - his loneliness back then only required a girl who was living and breathing. He had just wanted someone to hold, to touch, to pleasure, to call his - even if he didn't like their personality all that much. And although Darcy hadn't been his type, she was attractive and that was enough.

Maybe if he had higher standards and lower libido back then, he would have been smart enough to avoid getting roped in by her. He could have avoided all that drama. Something told him that his loneliness would have blinded him anyway. After having to take care of his mother and sister all those years - feeling like no one was ever taking care of him, like his love for them and his protection was something that was taken for granted, or worse, despised . . .

He had an emptiness inside that ached for someone to care for him. Someone who wanted him, trusted him, enjoyed his protective nature - that didn't feel oppressed by it, maybe even craved the safety of it. He didn't care who it was, and that lack of choosiness and good judgement gave him Darcy. Thinking back on it, he wished that he had never pissed off the old Videl - things could have been so much different. But now that he had V - he was determined not to fuck things up. If he had a type, he was sure that this was it, he thought, squeezing her hand a little tighter in the elevator. Maybe a little too tight.

She looked up at him and when she met his gaze, she seemed to be surprised by whatever she could see there. Love. The inner beast rasped. He felt struck by the word. Did he love her? Could he? The vulnerability behind that notion was something that he instinctively wanted to steel himself against, with a greedy need for self-preservation. No, it was too soon. He wasn't ready. He might never be. She was batting her long lashes at him, looking confused - like she couldn't read the expression on his face, or the emotion in his eyes, but she gave him an unsure smile anyway.

Her smile sent a quake through him - he felt like he had just gotten smashed out in a boxing lesson, and was sprawled out on the mat, with his breath knocked out of him. His heart seized in his chest - he was trying to remember how to breathe. He still had fight left in him - the match couldn't end this soon! He was afraid to get back up to his feet and risk getting knocked out. No, he couldn't let her have this kind of power over him. He didn't love her yet. Couldn't. She was just a girlfriend. It was just attraction, a familiar feeling. A safer one.

Kane felt himself calming down. He hadn't been defeated, he still had his teeth, and the bell hadn't rung. He was all good. Kane sighed inwardly, relieved.

"I'll make some tacos for lunch!" Dare offered, bolting out of the elevators. "I'm starving!"

They could practically hear his stomach growling as he raced down the hallway to get inside first.

"Wouldn't it technically be breakfast?" Videl giggled, as they followed at a much more lax pace.

It was only a quarter after 8. They could see up ahead that Dare had already made it inside, the door sliding shut behind him.

"Don't break his heart, V." Kane shook his head, smirking. "There's no such thing as breakfast tacos, so let's pretend it's lunch, for his sake."

"You're right," V nodded. "It did seem like his heart was set on having tacos. I won't burst his bubble."

"That's rich, coming from someone addicted to bursting bubbles," Kane joked, referring to her holo-menu game that she loved to play, as they neared the door to his place.

"Well, now that you say that, maybe I'll - " V started to smile coyly, stepping aside for Kane to swipe his wristband at the sensor.

Instead, Kane caught her wrist and tugged her to him.

"Oh!" V yelped, stumbling into his arms where he wanted her.

One private moment before they went inside, his impulse insisted. Before she could question him, he grasped the curves of her hips and pressed her body tight against his. She let out a small gasp, and he dipped his head to kiss her neck. Gently at first, like she was made of glass, then more fervently, when she started to cling to him. He could almost feel her pulse quickening against his lips and tongue, as he became more ravenous for her pleasure. He wanted to hear that moan slip from her mouth.

"Mine," he growled, not even caring that his possessive thought had formed out loud.

Then he bit down hard, sucking on the piece of warm flesh that always made her react more than the other places, hard enough to leave a mark that would show that she belonged to someone - to him. And her moan of ecstasy was a balm against his burning need for her. She was trembling against him - panting and whimpering, as he caressed the bruise that was surely forming with his tongue, like a sweet apology for being so rough. But he wasn't sorry, he heard how much she enjoyed it. Then, he brushed a soft kiss over the mark he had made, and pulled back enough to look at his handiwork. He hummed with a primal satisfaction and kissed her parted lips until she was breathless and squeezing herself tighter to his body. Her hips wiggled against his, grinding slightly, wanting, and he stifled a groan with her lips.

That tiny movement showed that she was just as turned on as he was. He broke himself free with a husky grunt, frustrated with the raw, hungry desire he felt for her. He was starving, but definitely not for Dare's tacos.

"Let's go inside," Kane croaked hoarsely, his voice coming out a little strangled, and more like a feral animal than a man.

He didn't wait for her to agree or protest - he couldn't. He stepped around her, swiped his wristband and went in, expecting her to follow. He didn't care that he had already showered twice that morning in the crappy locker room showers. He needed a cold one, right now.