Cross was roused from his sleep by a light rapping at his door. He rose from the bed slowly, stretching out his back until he felt a satisfying series of pop. He frowned down at what he once considered the most comfortable bed he had ever slept on. After spending so much sleeping in Misa's tree, he could no longer say that. The simple mats had grown on him, despite his early disdain. That said, having blankets again was a plus. If only he could find a way to merge the two…

He shook the thought away as he pulled on a shirt and moved to unlock his door. His fingers had scarcely left the lock when the door was kicked open. The edge caught him on the shoulder and knocked him back a step.

"Hey!"

Cross tried to catch his balance when something hard plunked off his nose. As it hung in the air in front of his eyes, he realized it was a phoenix stone. With a bit of fumbling he managed to catch it just in time to bring his eyes down and see a small fist come careening towards his face. He ducked under the punch and swung his arm up to block the kick that followed, dropping the stone and catching his assailant by the ankle.

"Morning to you too, Lex," Cross sighed as she glared at him. His eyes slid down, dragging across her bare leg. His eyebrow went up. "You know, you shouldn't try to kick people when you're wearing a skirt. White, huh?”

Lexi flushed and tugged her leg free from his grip. She wiped the smile from Cross's face with a lightening quick punch that caught him squarely on the nose. His head snapped back and sent him tumbling off balance. Lexi pounced on him and sent them both crashing back into his bed. Cross let out a groan as Lexi sat up and pressed her knees against his chest.

"Alright," Cross gasped as he reached up and gingerly touched his nose. "I might have deserved that." He looked up at Lexi who was staring at him intently. "You look nice."

Lexi scowled and lent back to pick up the Phoenix stone he had dropped. She forcefully pressed it into his hand.

"Would it have been that hard to remember to bring that with you?" She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest. "It fits in your pocket, you know."

"Ah, right, then, about that…" Cross gave her a weak smile. "Sorry Lex. It slipped my mind. Honest."

Lexi's scowl dropped a notch. "It also would not kill you to give a proper goodbye before you go out on a mission."

Cross coughed out a laugh as Lexi relieved some of the pressure on his chest. "Considering getting attacked first thing in the morning is how you say good morning, it might."

"This is not good morning. This is welcome back."

"I feel welcome," Cross said. "Really. I don't think I have ever felt more welcome. This should be a service offered at the finest hotels."

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Cross, shut up.”

"You really do look nice, though," Cross said as Lexi finally moved off of him. He took in an unlabored breath as Lexi sat down beside him. "Makina told me you've started seeing someone."

"Ah. He's…" Lexi reached up and toyed with a tassel of her white scarf.

"Your lover?" Cross grinned. He lifted his arm to block Lexi's swipe and gave her a gentle nudge with his shoulder.

"He is not my…" Lexi gave her head a small shake. "Yes, I have been seeing someone."

"Must be getting serious." Cross mused. "I was gone for almost a month so that means you've been seeing him…"

"Two.”

"What?"

"You were gone for almost two months.”

There was a slight edge to her voice and Cross wisely chose to avoid continuing down that dangerous line. He cleared his throat. "So, tell me about him?"

"He's from a noble, from Romiatii," Lexi said. "I saved him from an attempted kidnapping by a pirate named Atlas Silver."

"A pirate kidnapping. And you're worried about me getting into trouble?" Cross chuckled.

"I would be less worried if you were more apt to handle danger.”

"Oh, of course. I mean, it's not like I can compete with Midnight, the most feared bounty hunter in all the land."

"Well, you could try.” The corner of her mouth turned up into a small smirk. "But you are just a simple courier, after all. And if we take into account how long your last request took to complete, you're not a very good one."

Cross grabbed at his heart. "Ah, that hurt. At least I came home conscious this time."

Lexi's smirk turned to a soft smile and she pushed him with her shoulder. "I am glad you are back. I missed you."

Cross gently nudged her back. "Yeah, I missed you, too."

"Well I did not miss either of your incessant babblings!" Makina snapped as she stepped into the room. Her hair was still mused from sleep and a thick blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. "I should smite the pair of you for daring to be so loud in the morning. Don't you know it is an affront to wake a divine being before she is ready?"

"Makina, just the person I wanted to see," Cross sighed as he stood up. He cast a hand over his room. "Notice anything?"

Makina glanced around the room. "It is a simple mortal dwelling. A rather messy one at that. You should consider cleaning it."

Cross reached up and rubbed at his temple. "Makina..."

Makina yawned. "What?"

"You destroyed my room.”

"I did no such thing! How dare you attack me with these baseless accusations!”

"Really? Because the gold I had hidden under my bed is gone.”

"The gold wasn't hidden under your bed you idiot, it was hidden in your desk. Are you too stupid to even remember where you hid your own-" Makina slapped her hands over her mouth. "You tricked me again!"

"Yes, I did.” Cross repressed yet another sigh. "You spent it all?"

"Possibly." Makina pulled the blanket tighter around her body. "However, I would like you to remember as my servant you are responsible for all of my expenses."

Cross glanced at Lexi. "You let this happen? Thanks Leader."

"Well I would have asked you if you wanted me to stop her, but…" Lexi pulled her personal phoenix stone from her pocket and blinked.

"Ah." Cross frowned. "Right, then."

"Enough of your prattle. The money is gone and that is that. Now I am going back to sleep. Try to remain somewhat quiet or you shall feel my wrath." Makina swept out of the room but not before calling out. "And do not leave again without my permission! Idiot!"

"Well, it's good to see some things don't change," Cross said as he looked down at Lexi. "When is your date?"

"He should be here soon, actually."

"Better get downstairs then. Don't want to keep him waiting," Cross said, holding his hand out. Lexi accepted it and allowed him to pull her up. Together they headed downstairs just in time to see Banksy stumble through the guild doors. He let his pack fall to the ground and stumbled to the nearest table. He collapsed into a chair and let his head thump heavily against the table.

"You okay?" Cross said as he slid into a chair across from the thief.

"Awesome." Banksy yawned. "Welcome back, by the way." He held out his fist and Cross gave it a bump.

"You too." Cross peered down at him. "You sure you're okay? Where were you?"

Banksy shook his head against the table. "Same old, same old. Break the lock, open the safe. Steal whatever is inside. Take the long, long, long way back home to be safe. You know how it goes."

Lexi and Cross exchanged a glance as she sat down. It was clear it was a lot more than 'same old, same old.'.

Lexi raised an eyebrow and flicked her dark eyes down to Banksy's head.

Cross shook his head. Banksy looked like he was ready to keel over. An inquisition was not what the thief needed right now. In this state, he might not even survive it.

Lexi nodded.

Cross shook his head.

Lexi blinked and reached her hand towards Banksy.

Cross caught her by the wrist.

Lexi blinked.

Cross twisted his mouth and shook his head.

Lexi tilted her head.

'Later,’ Cross mouthed.

Lexi's hand tensed in his before she let out a silent sigh and nodded. She retracted her hand.

"Cross, I didn't know you were back." Servilia said as she entered the guildhall. She looked just as tired as Banksy, if not more so. "I trust you were successful?"

Cross nodded. "I delivered the medicine to the Mistress last night."

"You took longer than I anticipated. I had to contract out a few other requests I had waiting for you."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Got caught in a storm, had to wait it out." Cross shook his head. "Took a lot longer than I expected."

"No matter. I'm glad you made it back safe," Servilia said. "Alexis, thank you for covering for me while I was gone."

"Of course." Lexi gave a small nod. "Anytime."

"I may take you up on that." Servilia continued on to her desk, but not before pausing next to Banksy and laying a hand lightly on his back. "Nathan, why don't you go get some sleep? You look exhausted."

"Yeah, good idea," Banksy yawned without lifting his head. "You should get some rest too."

Cross watched their interaction with a hint of surprise. He could see Lexi's interest was piqued as well as her hand once again moved to tap Banksy when the door slammed open.

"Oh no. It's too early for this," Banksy groaned as Romeo's voice boomed through the guild.

"Friends, guild members, countrymen! I have returned and I have come bearing gifts!" Romeo yelled as he tossed an armful of colorful squares into the air.

Lexi deftly caught one. "Chocolate?"

"Chocolate!" Romeo unwrapped one and popped it into his mouth. "The best in all of Voy. I was protecting the heir to some candy fortune. No need though. The little rug rat didn't get so much as a second glance by anyone. Just his mother being overprotective. Sweet lady though. She made me a breakfast like you wouldn't believe! For a candy company, they eat crazy healthy over there. And exercise a lot. You should see my abs. Here, look!"

"Romeo, keep your clothes on!" Servilia called from her desk without looking up just as Romeo began to pull his shirt up. “We’ve talked about this.”

"But… fine! But we all know everyone here wants to see some of this!" Romeo flexed his arms and waggled his eyebrows drawing a blank expression from the table. Romeo sighed and sat down at the table. "No love."

"Romeo, thank you for the chocolate," Lexi said as she popped the confection into her mouth.

"Not as much praise as I deserve, but I'll take it!" Romeo beamed.

"Little early for sweets, isn't it?" Cross said, flicking his eyes to Lexi as she began to unwrap a second candy. He reached out and snatched the chocolate just as she began to lift it to her mouth. "You're going to ruin your appetite for your date."

The lights in the guild flickered and three thick arms of shadow shot out from the table. Two grabbed Cross's wrist, holding it in place as the other forced his hand open. With a slow blink Lexi reached out and plucked the candy from Cross's hand before popping it smartly into her mouth. She chewed languidly, her eyes never leaving Cross's face. He let out a sigh and tugged his hand free from her shadows. Or tried to, only to have the shadows grip him tighter. He frowned at Lexi who was watching him with amusement

"Really?" Cross said with another tug.

A knocking at the doorway attracted the table's attention to a waiting Sammir. Cross's hand was immediately released as Lexi stood up, breaking the spell. Unfortunately for Cross, he was currently trying to tug his arm free with a considerable amount of effort and the sudden lack of resistance nearly sent him tumbling out of his chair.

"Good morning Lexi!" Sammir greeted cheerfully as he came to a stop beside Lexi and gave her a small peck on the lips. "And good morning to the rest of you as well."

"Hey," Romeo said with a decided lack of enthusiasm. He ignored the glare he received from Lexi.

"Murgh." Banksy tried to lift his hand but the effort was too much. Somehow it still sounded more spirited than Romeo's greeting.

"Oh, I don't believe I've had the pleasure," Sammir said as Cross finally caught his balance.

Cross stood up and held out his hand. "Cross."

"Ah that famous Cross. Lexi has told me so much about you. I am most pleased to meet you. My name is Sammir Wasim.” Sammir looked back at Lexi. "Your Leader here is a most amazing young woman."

"More than you know," Cross said as he sat back down and rubbed at his wrists.

Lexi looked out the window and fidgeted with her scarf, unsure of how to handle the sudden praise.

"Well then-" Sammir offered Lexi his hand. "Shall we?"

Lexi accepted his hand and allowed him to lead her away from the table. She tossed one final glance over her shoulder as she reached the door. Cross caught her eye and gave her a small wave. She smiled before disappearing through the door.

"Welp, what do you think?" Romeo said as soon as the happy couple was out of earshot.

Cross shrugged as he pulled back the sleeve of his shirt and investigated his broken bracer. With a little fiddling he managed to work the armored piece off. Gently he settled it on the table and glanced at Romeo.

"Got your tools?"

"Always.” Romeo reached into his bag and produced a small tool pouch, along with another item that looked suspiciously like a bomb. Cross eyed it for a moment before accepting the tool bag and fishing out a small screwdriver.

"Broke the firing mechanism," Cross explained when Romeo gave him a questioning look. "Just need to replace the hammer, I think."

"How did you manage that?" Banksy said as he finally worked up the strength to lift his head up.

Cross shrugged and continued to tinker.

"So…" Romeo rolled the bomb back and forth across the table.

"Hm?" Cross said as he managed to remove the firing mechanism from his bracer and began to dismantle it.

"You know." Romeo popped the bomb into the air before catching it cleanly and leaning onto the table. "I mean….?"

"He wants to know what you think about Sammir," Banksy said when Cross made no move to further the conversation. He glared at Romeo when he let out a scoff. "What? You suck at being subtle. You might as well just ask him."

"Shuddup, you wanna know too.”

Banksy didn't argue the point and both boys turned to look at Cross. Cross didn't answer as he successfully found the issue. The hammer had been damaged just like he had thought. It wasn't actually completely broken though and with a bit of work he was able to rig it back into place. It wasn't a permanent fix, but it would be fine until he could go visit the blacksmith. He returned the bracer to his arm and removed the other one. He might as well check them both while he was at it.

"Cross?" Banksy prompted.

Cross slowly lifted his eyes up. "Sammir seems like a nice guy."

"That's it?" Romeo said, clearly disappointed. "So, you're telling me that… wait, who is that?

A man entering the guild interrupted the conversation from going any further. Cross recognized the emblem that was stitched the left shoulder of his jacket. He was a Courier of Romiatii.

Cross reached up and gently touched his temple. A pressure was beginning to build in his head.

"Excuse me," the courier stopped by their table. "I am looking for Sir Wasim. I was told he might be here."

"You just missed him," Cross said. He gave the man quick directions of where to go. The courier nodded a quick thanks before quickly hustling out of the guildhall.

"What do you think that is all about?" Romeo said.

"Dunno, probably just a message for Sammir. Nobles always have something or another going on." Banksy yawned before he dragged his tired eyes to Cross who was staring out the door and rubbing his temple roughly.

"Anyways-" Romeo waved his hand, sending sparks scattering out across the table. Banksy cursed and pushed himself away from the onslaught. "So Cross, you're telling me that you're not worried at all about Lexi? I mean, this guy is a noble. A noble Cross."

"You're a noble, Romeo," Cross said as he brought his eyes down and began to tinker again.

Banksy snapped his fingers. "That's what I said."

"Exactly. That is why I don't trust anyone!" Romeo declared.

"You trust everyone," Banksy said.

"Well, I do now. Except for people that I don't."

"What does that even mean?" Banksy dropped his head to the table. "I can't deal with you right now."

"Look, I'm just saying," Romeo held up his hands. "Even if you like him, you gotta be a little worried, Cross. You and Lexi are like… like…"

"You're close," Banksy supplied from his facedown position.

"Exactly!" Romeo nodded. "You're close."

"Lexi can handle herself," Cross said, even as a small frown formed on the corner of his mouth. He could feel Banksy and Romeo staring at him. His grip tightened on his bracer for a moment before he gave his head a small shake and continued to work. “She can handle herself.”