Northern Water Tribe :: Northern Water Palace ~ Long Time, No See

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"I think I l-love you too .."

As first Cassian thought he'd been shot. The sudden, oozing sensation in his chest seemed to validate such an assumption. He then realized his heart had done a 180, going from complete unadulterated fear to happiness and relief in seconds, and maybe emitting some kind of hormone that turned itself to mush. It made him fucking dizzy. He didn't really have to experience neither emotion, let alone within milliseconds of one another.

Kaeda liked -- no loved him too? Oh God. It's been two years. He was so happy though. More happy than he ever remembered feeling, but how on earth could their feelings have grown so strong then?

He recalled something Castiel had said once. "You know you love someone when, the longer you are apart from them, the more potent your feelings become. It's like fermenting wine. That is how you differentiate love from mere infatuation. That is how you know that whoever is on your mind you will love forever and ever. Love never dies."

F*ck you, Castiel, and your philosophies, he thought, but there was no strength behind such a thought. He knew damn well his brother had been right. He'd loved Kaeda even before the two year stretch, which explained why his heart did that incessant back flip whenever she became the topic of conversation in the palace. When he'd found out she'd become general he mulled over her for days, obsessively wondering how she fared with the title.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear that." Complete and utter relief laced his tone. "I always thought I was going crazy. I was .. afraid you wouldn't feel the same. But let's not rush .. things." As in 'I love you and you love me, but let's take baby steps. Baby steps, Kaeda. Otherwise I'm going to explode."

A warm feeling was spreading through Kaida's chest. It was something she had never experienced, but she liked it. It was forcing her out of her shell, melting the ice in her, and for the first time she let an emotion other than anger shine through. This was the beginning of love if she identified it correctly. She remembered Kael telling her about it once.

"True emotions come through the heart. You'll know love when it happens. You'll feel it in your heart when it's real. When you want to be with someone for the sake of being with them, and not for any lustful reasons. Just because they make you feel happy. That's love."

She didn't know where he pulled that stuff out of, because her brother had definitely never been in love, but in any case she was getting in over her head. Nothing had happened yet. Just call down, she told herself.

Kaida looked up to Cassian. He had just told her that they should take it slow, almost like they were a couple now. Well, why not? In an instant, Kaida decided to seal it. Make it official. She leaned across the table and put her hand behind Cassian's neck, pulling him in. (It wasn't uncomfortable, the table was quite small.) And then, she met his lips.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Kaeda's lips were surprisingly warm. He didn't expect them to be cold, but he didn't expect the burning sensation he got when they connected with his. A slow, sudden thought in the back of his mind stated that he didn't very much appreciate his respiratory system being cut off, but the friendlier side, the one for Kaeda, relished the moment as if it were the most precious thing in the entire world.

Precious. When the hell did such a word slip into his vocabulary?

Being around Kaeda was intoxicating. The kiss was euphoric, overtaking him, and he allowed himself to melt into it. He returned the gesture, a bit too forcefully for his liking, pushing her back a few inches.

It was at that moment a supervisor happened to come in.

"Informing the prince and general of the Southern Water Tribe special forces .. that .. um .. ?" He trailed off uncertainly, gaping at the scene in front of him.

Cassian drew back, not too suddenly, for he wasn't a damn child, and glared at the supervisor. "Do you mind?" he asked coldly.

The man sputtered, ducking out the room. Cassian cursed. That was Hartfield, a fucking imbecile when it came to tact. He had no doubt the man was going to tell everyone on the court what just happened. He glanced back at Kaeda, gauging her reaction.

Kaida stared at the supervisor as he quickly shut the door, fumbling with the handle in embarrassment. Of course someone had to walk in, it was always something. Still, Cassian had kissed her back. And with such force.... She failed to resist the urge to smile and glanced at Cassian, who was staring at her with curiosity. Waiting for a reaction no doubt. She opened her mouth several times before actually speaking.

"I guess this means we're a couple now?"

She smiled warmly at Cassian, considering having a boyfriend for the first time. It had crossed her mind once before, when her parents were still alive, but after they died it just seemed...petty. Maybe not. The one thing that made her hesitate was the fact that the nations were going to war. Kaida would be leaving fairly soon. Off to fight the wizards. And who knew what would happen, if she would even survive the war. How long would it even last? Six months? A year? Five years? The thoughts flooded her mind all at once and her smiled faded as quickly as it had come.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian very strongly desired to take a sledgehammer and just smash his head to a billion pieces. No, better yet, his heart. The damn thing was throbbing unmercifully now, sending way too much blood through his body that wasn't needed, so it all swelled up in his face, turning him a very visible shade of carmine. He supposed this was the mechanism behind blushing; it certainly made enough sense to him.

Kaeda was very forward. Succinct. Precise. It was just the way he liked it, and it certainly made the ordeal a lot less drawn-out than it could've been. He only wished, however, that it would be less awkward ..

"Yes," he coughed a bit in his fist, disliking the sudden raspy note that laced his voice. "Yes, we are." He smiled. Or tried to at least. Just for Kaeda's sake, for her comfort. But then he realized the gesture would make her more uncomfortable than anything. Cassian never smiled so brightly. So, he just let his eyes do all the talking. Castiel had taught him how to warp his expression to that of complete and utter affection with just the tiniest curvature of his lips.

Kaeda beamed back. God, her smile was beautiful.

But just then, she grew sullen, peering listlessly ahead.

Cassian frowned as well. He reached forward, taking one of Kaeda's slender hands in his. For someone that lived in a climate that regularly strayed below zero, her skin felt pretty warm to him. "What's bothering you?"

Kaida averted her eyes, the reality of what was about to happen hitting her. She was charging in recklessly, she didn't know what was going to happen. Anything could. No one knew what the New World looked like except for one, and he was dead, so traps could be everywhere. Plus, it was a war.

"I just realized that I'm the general of Special Forces. I make the choices. I'm responsible for the lives of hundreds and...I might not come out of this war alive."

She met Cassian's eyes, trying to convey the seriousness of this very real possibility. She was only eighteen. Kaida thought herself immortal but...it was not the case. She drew back her hand and set them in her lap, frowning at the table. Lost in thought.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian glared somewhat. Kaeda? Killed? His brain disallowed that possibility. Just the image of someone - the gods forbid - impaling Kaeda or getting her swallowed by some mythical tyrant semed morbidly laughable. She was here, right in front of him. Living, breathing. Whole and alive. But Cassian couldn't shake the huge spike of fear that cut through him. It hurt to think about the future.

It hurt like hell.

He hated war.

Gods, how he hated war.

"Kaeda," he said slowly. Then, finding no words came to his tongue, he sighed and placed his elbow on the table, then drew his hair back with his fingers. A classic gesture of exhaustion. ".. shit."

The ungraceful note made him feel a little better in the way that cursing helped a lot of people feel better, but it did the situation no good and Cassian feared that might've caused the wrong implication.

He had the vague sense that he should be saying something, anything to comfort the girl. That would mean denouncing Kaeda's claims, though. He never sugarcoated anything. He wasn't going to lie to make her feel better, no matter how much he so desired. He was never a good liar, always so blunt with the truth. If you wanted a liar, call Anuk. The B*stard could lie his way through anything.

"You're definitely not going to survive with that much self doubt," he told her, not too coolly. "You need to train, train, train , and basically put yourself through hell until you gain that confidence. You have a better chance of winning when you do not doubt yourself."

He took a deep breath. "Also, I am going to fight with you." He had been against it. He'd said he hated war. But Kaeda meant way more to him than his petty morals. Why should be live comfortably at home while Kaeda was off and abroad in dangerous territory, risking her life? It did not paint a pretty picture. Not at all.

He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "We'll fight together."

Kaida pulled her eyebrows together and looked reproachfully at Cassian. "Is this your version of a pep talk? I have the confidence, how do you think I got to the position I'm in right now? It's just...." She trailed off and found herself staring at the table again. She did have the skills, so why was this worrying her so much? Because she had something to come back to now? No, she always had Kael and Roslyn.

Cassian took a deep breath. "Also, I'm going to fight with you." Kaida's gaze shot up to his face, her eyes wide and her mouth forming a small "o". He took her hand gently and squeezed it, which bizarrely calmed her down. "We'll fight together."

"You don't have to do that." The first words out of Kaida's mouth. Instantly she took them back. "I mean, you said - I - aheh, nevermind. What am I saying, you're the prince! Of course we'll fight." In that moment she felt immensely happy that someone was going to be by her side, and she completely ignored the looming facts of war she had just uttered. Kaida smiled then, which turned into a smirk, her eyes flashing.

"Together."

((End! =D))