"You aren't as much of a complete ass as I thought."

"Was that a compliment?"

"Don't push your luck, Min Yoongi."

Yoongi had his suit jacket tossed over his shoulder and the front of his white collared shirt open just slightly. His tie had become a single long strand of black fabric resting around his neck and being whisked in the breeze on both sides.

Ava was dangling her heels from between two fingers and she was gripping at the folds of her black knee length dress in the other hand. Her free-flowing reddish hair kept catching in the breeze, fluttering in such a way that Min Yoongi found entirely distracting. Her bare feet padded along on what was a cobblestone paved offshoot of the main arena area.

The two of them walked through a mostly empty area of the stadium where bistros and cafes were situated, now mainly occupied by servers who were wiping down tables. Most people had already up and headed to their seats to see the Ganche Games get underway. Every now and then a roar echoed from the stands behind them at some victorious scene or terrible defeat, though Ava didn't know which.

She didn't much care, either.

She was enjoying herself too much to care.

"So are you fighting in the games today, Yoongi?"

"Hell no. Hobi's the man for that job."

"Oh."

Without warning, Ava felt something hard collide with her chest.

"Watch it, yah dummy!" Yoongi had suddenly stretched an arm out and braced it against Ava's collar, stopping her in her tracks.

Ava snapped, "I wasn't in your way, thank you very much."

He let her go, waving down at the paved walkway in front of them, where shards of broken glass from a thrown bottle were scattered across their path. Yoongi looked down at Ava's bare feet, then up at her face.

"Oh."

"Jeeze...." Yoongi did an about face and turned to look towards the stadium. "Maybe we should head back anyway. Your people are probably looking for you."

"You mean Tae? I doubt it."

Yoongi noticed a dejected note to the laugh Ava barked, but he didn't acknowledge it.

"C'mon," he growled, as he started off back towards the fighting arena.

Ava fell in line again beside him, noticing that his strides were slow and casual. She wondered if it was his natural swagger, or if it was because she was barefooted and he was trying to be accommodating. The thought curbed the bite in her tongue a bit.

His gravely voice rose up again, "Hey, I wanna show you something first."

"If this is you tryna make a pass at me, I'll tell you right now--"

Yoongi barked a single, loud laugh. "You'd know if I was making a pass at you."

"Oh?"

He smirked over at her. Then he pivoted and started walking backwards right in front of Ava, his small dark eyes laughing back at her in a soft, quiet way. "Hey Ava?"

"The heck are you doing? Shouldn't YOU watch where you're going?"

Yoongi stopped in his tracks.

Ava stopped in hers, lest she walk straight into his chest with hands fumbling into his white collared shirt.

"You're in my way and I'm not amused," Ava said in a deadpan voice.

Yoongi leaned in, still smirking. He leaned, his face inching closer into Ava's, until their noses were inches apart.

Then Ava felt Yoongi's hand brush hers...and suddenly pull her heels from her hands. He took a few steps back, his white teeth beaming now.

"What the--?"

"If you don't hurry up, you might lose your shoes," he said in a mocking voice.

"You wouldn't."

"Me? Being an ass is like my favorite pastime. I definitely would."

Ava glared, and Yoongi beamed.

"If you want 'em, come and get 'em." Yoongi started a slow backward jog, waiting to see if Ava would react.

"Boy, you did NOT...."

Ava pretended indifference. But in a split second, she gripped her brimming knee-length dress in both hands and set off at Suga in a barefooted sprint, her feet slapping against stone as she went.

Yoongi spun on his heels and took off like a bolt of lightning down that cobblestone side street with Ava's shoes swinging from one hand, his suit jacket from the other. His sadistic laugh echoed back at Ava, making her burn to catch him even more.

"That little shit." Ava ran after him with all of her might as he wove down the street, through a side alley, behind the back of some kitchens, and through a host of low hanging buildings that looked a bit like a horse stable.

It was in the middle of this stable-like building that Yoongi jogged and coasted to a stop, clutching at his side with his free hand and trying to catch his breath.

Ava jogged to a stop as well, her breathing also heavy and a light sheen of sweat on her face.

Yoongi liked that sheen against Ava's contoured skin, and around her perfectly shadowed eyes. It reminded him of their combat training session. He liked that memory of her, too.

Ava walked up, shoulders back and expression deadly. She snatched her shoes from Yoongi's hands with all of the gusto that she could muster.

"You have some nerve, Min Yoongi."

"That wasn't nerve," Yoongi growled low through panted breaths. "This is."

He practically ran into her, gripped her shoulders tightly, and his aggressive lips found hers.

Ava was putty in his hands, and oh how she liked it.

His gruff forward motion was pushing Ava backwards a few clumsy steps, then a few more, as he unceremoniously pushed himself into her space. Into her lips. Her mouth.

His tongue was the brush, hers the canvas. The small, hungry sounds she started to make caused his hands tighten like ringed claws around her arms.

She didn't remember dropping her shoes, but Ava heard them clatter onto the floor beneath the airy, wet gasps escaping her and Yoongi.

When Ava's shoulders stumbled back into a wooden wall, Yoongi's hands slipped from her skin and braced against the wall on each side of her frame. The tip of his tongue traced the top of her bottom lip, just barely, before he pulled back from her with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

He licked the lips of his grin just slightly and Ava thought, Yes, I'll take another round as well, sir.

Ava couldn't help but let out a laugh, pleasantly surprised. She also couldn't help but admit how much she liked his hands. Such sexy, veiny, strong hands.

"You're not very polite are you, Min Yoongi?" Ava asked playfully.

"No. I'm not." He arched his eyebrows for a brief moment. "And you're not very shy, are you Ava?"

Ava threw back her head and laughed as her answer.

That sexy, bold laugh was like a siren call, and Yoongi was Odysseus tossed out to sea. Ava's smiling, taunting eyes fell on him again, and he started to inch closer once more.

This woman. I want to see what other faces.... Min Yoongi cleared his throat. Focus, dammit.

"I may have shit for manners, but I do apologize."

"For what?"

"For this."

There was a metallic rattle.

A knob turning.

Ava hadn't been leaning against a wall. She'd been leaning against a door.

When Yoongi opened the door, he pushed Ava backwards into the room therein.

Then Yoongi slammed the door hard in her face. There was a metallic click, the sound of a deadbolt falling into place.

He'd just locked her inside of a storage room.