Khloe's POV:

Their 'fight' lasted a total of two seconds. Both of them became a blur before Nico had Xander face down on the floor, holding Xanders wrists tight against his back while he basically straddled Xander's lower half.

All while the granola bar was left on the seat.

I barely heard Doe's small gasp at how quickly that was over.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!" Xander yelled as he struggled against Nico's grip.

Nico just smiled, not loosening his hold on him at all.

"I don't think you can tell me that you weren't ready when you made the first move," he responded.

Xander still tried to get Nico to let go.

"Wha- I didn't-" Xander sputtered before he practically buried his face in the carpeted floor of the limo and let out a disappointed groan, finally ceasing to try to break free.

Nico just basked in Xander's response.

I couldn't help but smile a bit myself watching this. Watching him.

Nico just seemed so much happier towards everyone lately.

I think the fact that he's been a lot more brotherly towards Xander lately was what made me the happiest.

It reminded me of My older sister and I back when we were kids

All the fun and laughs we'd share. The trouble we'd get into and the secrets that we'd keep from our parents.

That relationship was one that I could never forget and one that I miss every day.

But I was happy that Nico was now seeming to cherish his relationship with his brother... in his own way.

"Do you give up?" Nico asked.

"Hell no!" Xander snapped as he quickly turned his head the best he could to face Nico.

Then he began struggling to tear away again, writhing around and kicking his legs.

Nico let him go on with his antics for a couple seconds before he began pulling Xander's arms further up his back.

Xander immediately began to panic.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" Xander quickly exclaimed.

A victorious smirk rose on Nico's face before he released Xander's wrists.

"Damn right I did," He responded as he stood up, turning to grab the granola bar and take another bite out of it.

He met my gaze as he turned back around, his victorious grin turning into more of a genuine smile.

"Next time Nico," Xander began as he got to his feet, "Next time I'm winning."

Nico shrugged, doubt evident in his face, "Whatever you say dude."

~~~

I sat backwards on the seat, facing the window to make watching the world pass by easier.

It was just so strange driving through a part of the world that I had never been to before.

All I have ever known were the plants and animals that resided in the same city that I did, so all of these new species that I was seeing was very strange to me. 

I took mental note of the ones that stood out to me, knowing that id want to try to sketch them out later.

Id sketch them out now, but I'm not sure if doing that with Xander here would be strange.

Even if it wasn't, I didn't want to risk the possibility of him wanting to look through what I had already drawn in my sketchbook.

That could be bad...

I turned my attention back to the lush green field that we were speeding past.

I stretched my arms over my head, hearing some faint pops from my back as it cracked, before exhaling sharply.

A short and quiet laugh from my right caused me to turn my head.

Nico sat completely facing me, even his legs were crossed and pointed towards me, with a content smile plastered on his face.

I rose a brow, silently asking him what he was doing.

"Have I mentioned recently that you're beautiful?" he asked

My eyes shot open wide in alarm before I turned to see if Xander or Doe had heard that.

Well, of course, they would have, he didn't exactly whisper it.

I calmed down ever so slightly as I spotted them.

Doe was sat leaning against the corner where the two-sided of chairs met, her eyes closed. Xander, on the other hand, was laying with his head on her lap, one arm hanging over his eyes, and the other dangling off the seat.

Nico's low chuckle filled my ears, causing me to look back at him.

"They're asleep," he attested.

"Are you sure?" I spoke quietly.

He nodded, offering me his hand, "I wouldn't have said anything If I wasn't," He said a bit more hushed.

Right...

Hesitantly, I reached out to take his hand, still a bit unsure about this whole thing.

I mean, they were literally right there!

"And Marcus?" I asked before taking his hand.

"He cant hear us with the screen separating him and us," he assured me.

As soon as he finished his sentence, he pulled me towards him, forcing me to suppress a surprised yelp before I found myself basically sitting on his lap.

I turned to check again if they were awake, that action quickly ending by Nico gently setting a finger on my cheek and guiding me back so I was looking at him.

"Trust me," He whispered, the hand he grabbed me with now supporting my lower back.

I did. I knew that he could hear all of the signs that told him that they were asleep and that he could tell when they were waking up, but with Doe and Xander so close I couldn't help but be a bit anxious.

I slowly nodded my head.

"I do, it's just still kind of strange y'know?"

"Yeah I get that," He began, " But I figured that I should take my chance to spend time with you while I can during this ride."

I leaned into him a bit while his knuckle brushed against my cheek, taking a stray piece of hair with it.

"How long have they been out?" I asked.

Nico looked towards the two.

"Xander passed out like twenty minutes ago and Doe about five." He responded.

"So, how long do we have until one of them wakes up?"

His eyes narrowed a bit in thought.

"At least an hour. Maybe two if we're lucky."

"Is Xander a light sleeper?"

"Not really."

"Doe."

"Probably."

"Dang it."

Nico stifled a laugh.

"Dang it? Did you have something in mind that you wanted to do during this time?"

I flamed red.

"N-No I was just saying in g-general like... like um... conversing... and stuff."

The delight was shining in Nico's eyes at my anything-but-convincing sentence.

"Really? Just conversing?" He asked, leaning in.

"Mhm," I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

"Really?" he asked again, lower this time.

I felt my breath hitch.

"Um..."

Ugh screw it.

I sent one last glance at Xander and Doe before I closed the few inches between Nico and I.

I felt the edges of his lips quirk up as soon as they met with mine, followed by that low growl he made that made me melt every time.

The hand that wasn't already holding my back cupped the back of my neck while my own traced the curve of his jaw with my fingers.

The back of my mind was still screaming that I shouldn't be doing this so close to other people, but I knew that I could trust Nico.

Although when his thumb began lightly tracing the side of my neck, I had to push him back by his chest.

"You're really not making it easy for me to keep quiet," I grumbled.

He didn't even try to hide his proud look.

"Maybe we should wait till we get to the castle then."