『Chapter Twenty-Five』
『the sweet thoughts』

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If there was one thing that got Jace excited, it was how he managed to get both himself and Kain away from the sight of his friends. It was something that he never thought that he'd be able to do, given that since they landed, Jace couldn't help but notice the way of which Drax, Rocket, Gamora, and Peter watched him. It confused him a lot, like they waited for him to snap or something. It made him uncomfortable in a way, which lead to Jace dragging Kain off and out of their sight.

That and the fact that all that Jace wanted was some alone time with Kain to at least get an idea on where he wanted to take the relationship between them. Though he was still filled with an intense amount of guilt over everything that he'd done previously to Kain, there was still a part of him that wondered whether he would be able to fix things between them. That and the fact that he knew that Kain could help him when it came to finding out where his mother came from and what he truly was.

The pair of them ran down an ally which seemed almost too empty, though either way it was nice. The ally was somewhat dark as the buildings covered the sun's rays from lightening up the place. Kain had let out a small laugh once the pair slowed down into a walk. Being able to hear Kain's laugh once more sent a small jolt inside of Jace that it almost made Jace question everything, it was almost hard to focus as a whole.

Their hands managed to join when they made their ran away from the others, though even as they were walking through the alley, they didn't let go from each other. They'd pull each other in different directions as they tried to navigate their way to the now maze of alleys which they got themselves into. Jace found himself giving Kain a longing look. There was a part of him that missed this, the way that they could easily joke around each other, the way they could easily hide when needed to, the way of which they were together as a whole. It was like no time had ever grown between the pair of them.

Jace hadn't realised just how much he missed Kain and their relationship. He knew that the relationship caused him pain, enough pain to last a lifetime, but he supposed that the pain blocked out just how much he missed everything about Kain. He knew that everything was different now that they no longer had to hide and that they changed in their small ways. He knew that they both worked differently yet they both still worked well together despite the changes. At least, he hoped that they'd be able to work well if they were to get back together.

"Jace," Kain said, drawing the man out of his thoughts. "You looked deep in thought," Kain chuckled which caused a sudden warm feeling in Jace. "I was saying, where do you hope to go? For this date, I mean? I like these alleys, very familiar. I mean, I assume that this is a date, right?"

Jace smiled as he stuttered over his words slightly. "Yes. It is a date, I hope that it's okay." He then shook his head slightly. "I remember you saying how you always enjoyed art. Ophelix has an amazing art gallery which also is like this history place for the planet. I thought that you might want to visit it. But if you don't want to then—"

"Yes!" Kain cut in. "Please, this planet is stunning of course I wanna learn everything I can about this place!"

Jace grinned. There was something about Kain's excitement which made Jace's insides feel all warm. "That's why I forced us to come here. I may or may not have woken up when everyone was asleep and set course for this planet after looking for date ideas. Plus, I knew this planet was beautiful and you deserved to see something like this, and I wanted to apologise for yesterday."

Kain hugged Jace, causing him to almost tumble over. "Thank you. This is amazing!"

"We're not there yet," Jace said with a small laugh.

Kain broke away slightly, though his arms still wrapped around Jace. "But you brought me to this planet. Even that would have been enough without the gallery."

Jace smiled. "You know that I'll always take you somewhere nice even if the planet we're on is just as amazing as this."

Kain grinned though he blushed. He broke away from Jace properly. "You showed me the galaxy, now show me the world. And you don't have to apologise for anything, Jay."

Jace rose a brow though smiled. "You know," Jace laced their hands again as he tried to navigate his way out of the alley, "I have lived among the stars for nineteen years. I've seen a lot of things and yet nothing compares to you."

Kain stiffened slightly, letting out a small gasp. "Jace, I—" He almost sounded as if he chocked. Jace gave him a somewhat confused look to see if he was okay, though smiled at Kain's reaction.

There was a small part of Jace that knew that there was a chance that he shouldn't have said that to Kain, but it was something that he couldn't help to say. He felt as if it was something that Kain needed to hear, he hoped that there was a chance that he could work for Kain's forgiveness, could do whatever was needed in order to win Kain's favour once more. All that Jace wanted was for another chance, a chance where he didn't have to break up with Kain for safety that didn't exist.

Jace turned his attention back to Kain who looked as if he was going through various emotions, or the fact that it was like watching something buffer. Though eventually Kain couldn't help himself from grinning. "Smooth bitch."

Jace found himself chuckling, he shook his head slightly as he chuckled. "Come on, we have a Gallery to see!" As he said that, the pair had found their way out of the maze of alleys and walked onto a calm street. Or well, somewhat calm street.

The people who either visited Ophelix or lived among the planet were cluttering up the sidewalk as high-tech floating cars hovered down the streets. There was the occasional train which surfed over buildings and everyone below, cyclists rode either on the ground or hovering. Everyone was either absorbed in the shops around them or their friends and family. Everything was calm and happy. It felt like peace, something that Jace craved inside himself.

Jace was with the man he knew he still loved and wished for a second chance with, and that's all he wanted within this moment. He looked towards Kain who was happily looking around with excitement and wonder, it was enough to make Jace feel like the air got stuck in his lungs, making him realise just how much he attractive he found Kain to be. From the way he got excited about the smallest of things to the way he loved—it made Jace fall all over again. He realised that when he first remembered Kain back in the shop.

"Kain," Jace said, gaining his attention. Kain's excited face turned to Jace, Kain was grinning wide and for a moment it felt as if his heart stopped beating at the sight of Kain's grin. He found himself pulling Kain in for a small kiss. He knew that it was something that he shouldn't do, given how they hadn't talked about their relationship, but it was something that he couldn't help, all that he wanted within this moment was to kiss Kain as if he was desperate for it.

When they broke away, Kain was still smiling wide. "Come on. We can always do that later."

Jace grinned and nodded, dragging Kain to the direction of the art gallery. Jace kept telling Kain that he would love all of it, the art—just everything. He was excited to show Kain this, he knew just how much Kain appreciated art, so he hoped that Kain would like it. It was one of the things that he remembered the most about Kain.

There was still this throbbing part within Jace that yelled at him to not do anything stupid, that he shouldn't have kissed Kain, that he should wait until they talked about everything before getting into any form of relationship once more. He knew that he should focus on the date that they have but Jace's thoughts consisted of whether Kain was putting up some form of act just to please Jace in some way. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts as best as he could.

All that he needed to focus on was rebuilding his relationship with Kain and hopefully getting more information out of Kain about the Nine Realms. He had to remember that, he needed to remember that Kain knew the Nine Realms better than anyone else that he knew. He felt bad that he was doing this, but he knew that this was the reason as to why he was with Kain—that and the fact that he hoped that they could get back into a relationship with one another once again.

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Adrian found himself walking through the marketplace of Ophelix town centre, it was enough to send a shiver of familiarity down his spine. In a sense it felt like home, to see something so familiar that it felt too much like home. It was nice to say the least to know that whenever Adrian could, he could come here if he needed a place where he felt he belonged. The one thing that Adrian loved more than anything was the fact the town never changed, the planet never changed.

This planet was where Adrian felt he belonged. If he could, he'd settle here, its beauty was always something that captivated him more than he thought that it would. It was odd really; he never would have thought that one place could make him feel like that. And yet he liked it. He always thought that his ship would make him feel like he belonged, yet as he passed through the market and the people, it felt right.

If he could stay here for the rest of his life, he would, but he knew that he couldn't. He had to stay on mission no matter what he felt. So, like normal, Adrian had to push down his thoughts, keep them all hidden and suppressed till a later day came. He knew that there was a chance that a later date might not come given his own liking to his job, but it was something that gave him some form of comfort and hope that maybe he'd be able to relax soon.

"Focus," Adrian muttered mainly to himself. He had to keep his mind on trying to locate Jace and his friends.

No, maybe it would be best to avoid his friends. Adrian realised that there was a chance that Yondu would have warned them that Jace was being hunted. So maybe avoiding the friends would be wise, going after just Jace might be easier. He knew that Jace was friends with Gamora, he knew that Gamora would be some form of challenge for him, which was enough for Adrian to know that he should avoid Jace's friends as much as he could.

As much as Adrian wanted to stay on this planet a lot longer, he knew that he needed to get this job done and avoid Jace's friends. There was a small part of him that wondered whether Yondu spoke his name to Jace's friends and whether they'd know his face, though the thought made Adrian shake his head. He knew that certain people believed that uttering the name of a demon assassin might curse those that spoke his name—and yet, there was a small part of Adrian that wondered whether Yondu believed in that sort of thing.

Adrian snapped back into reality when he took notice of the jewellery stand where each were made with various metals and even Ophelix's rare metal Nephila. The rings, chains, necklaces, and others were patterned with various patterns which gleamed and shone in the sun. It was enough for Adrian to consider buying something though he tried to shake off the urge. Adrian shook his head as an attempt to disregard all of his thoughts, which ended up with him staring at the man behind the stall.

The man behind the stall was preoccupied with the jewellery that sat at his table, in his hand was his tablet which Adrian noticed showed the amount of units he'd gotten so far. It took a moment before the man rose his head as if realising that someone was at his stall, his eyes locked with Adrian's, the man's orange eyes narrowed at the assassin. Adrian noticed the look in the man's eyes that the man knew him but couldn't place the how and where.

Adrian, in return, rose a brow. A small smirk rose onto his features though the pair stood in silence for a moment longer. There was a small part of Adrian which wondered whether the man would recognise Adrian better with his hood up, though disregarded the thoughts, he knew that he'd changed a lot since the last time that the stall owner saw him. After a moment, the man gasped, as if he finally put the pieces together on who Adrian was.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" The man questioned. "It's Adrian Sanguis! My boy!"

Adrian grinned. "Hello old friend."

The man was in fact a very old friend of Adrian. He knew him since he was merely a thirteen-year-old boy. It was his third time on Ophelix, and Adrian was lost, only for the man—Alexis Montague—to find him and help Adrian find his way. Of course, Adrian was on a small task by the group which trained him but still, the planet had confused him back then. And it was ever since then that Adrian made sure to keep in contact with Alexis.

Alexis was always someone who was nice to him, even after Alexis realised what he was. It was like Alexis didn't care much about Adrian being a demon and an assassin, it was something that Adrian liked the most when it came to the stall keeper. Alexis was one of the few people who never feared Adrian for what he did and who he was, plus Alexis always gave him the advice when needed and it was something that he respected a lot. It was like the pair of them had some form of understanding with one another that Adrian never truly had with anyone else.

"Come 'er!" Alexis stretched across the stall as he then hugged Adrian. Adrian happily returned the hug with a small smile. Both patted each other on the back before pulling away. "What you doing here, 'Drian? Not looking for any trouble are ya?"

Adrian grinned. "Nope, I'm on a small job. You know. And I need to find someone and bring them back to a king."

Alexis rose a brow, knowing exactly what Adrian meant. "I take it it's not one of those hunt and kill jobs?" Adrian shook his head. "Well, what does this person look like? Got a photo?"

Adrian nodded this time, taking out a small screen. The screen itself was on a metal rod which held it together. The screen lit up at Adrian' touch, a photo already up of Jace Taylor. The photo was taken a few months ago when Ronan happened, it was on Xandar that Jace was on. Adrian showed Alexis the image and at an instant his face softened. Adrian narrowed his eyes. "You recognise him?"

Alexis nodded. "Course I do, he was here half hour ago with his boyfriend—I presume—they bought one of my rings. They went that way," he then pointed to his east (Adrian's west), "before they went down an alley. I would guess they would go to the Gallery—I hear they're doing an amazing event. A lot of people have been buzzing about it all day. Said to be the most amazing thing to happen, but they say that about everything all the time."

"The Gallery? Art Gallery?" Adrian asked raising a brow. "Down the Livithing Street?"

Alexis nodded. "You can't miss it; it has a golden archway for doors."

"And this boyfriend of his, what did he look like?" Adrian asked. He needed more information as a whole of who surrounded Jace. Especially if there was someone else that he needed to know, then he wanted to get some form of idea about who else might be around Jace now that he knows that there's someone new.

"Came to the lad's shoulder—though might have been a little taller. Now that I think about it, there might've been a few inches between them." Alexis shook his head then. "He was purple, and his hair was long and midnight blue. He walked as if he was royal, polite as well. Wore this medallion which—honestly—looked as if it was worth a fortune. I think he's a prince from that one really rich planet. . .Xopheila or something?" Alexis explained though he was slightly confused. "Why'd you ask?"

Adrian nodded. "I just need to know the kind of people the one I showed you keeps around him."

Alexis then cleared his throat, clearly a little uncomfortable. "You do realise that you're after Jace Taylor—he's part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, right?" Honestly, Adrian's not surprised that Alexis knew Jace's name.

"Yes," Adrian said his eyebrows knitted together. "Of course I know. I'm not killing him if that's what you're wondering, Alexis. I've been sent to look for him by King Odin of Asgard, he wants Jace to be brought to him. I can assure you that no harm will come to Jace if that's what your worried about."

Alexis then let out a small sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're not. You'll have all the dang Nova Corps on your tail if you kill him. Plus, you'll have the rest of his group after you. The last thing that I want of you, boy, is for you end up in prison for it."

Adrian let out a bitter laugh. "Oh Alexis, have you forgotten already? No one can touch me; no cell can hold me long enough for me to stay put." Adrian shook his head slightly as a grin formed. "Plus," he added, "I may not have threatened one of the Nova Corps, they know exactly who I am after, and I don't see where them anywhere."

Alexis smacked Adrian's chest. "You can't go around threatening people, Adrian! Especially the Nova Corps!"

"It's my line of work Alexis!" Adrian argued. Adrian felt a sense of anger build inside him, he knew that Alexis meant well but being questioned about his job and who he threatens was something that he wasn't going to sit around and let happen. "I have to get going, catch up later okay?"

Before Alexis had the chance to answer, Adrian left and headed towards the Gallery. He wanted to get this job done, he wanted nothing more than to begone of Jace Taylor and the issues that he was going to bring up.