#c:lina

Apparently, it was going to be a sleepless night for Jax. The realization had come after a particularly noisy racoon had sought help at his window, wanting a thorn out of her paw. Of course, Jax had obliged, but true to his Nox curse— now that he had risen once during the night, he was doomed to stay up. Nashira’s inky wings soared above him as he made his way to the lake. During the day, he wasn’t there often. But at night, it was one of his favorite places to be when he couldn’t sleep as the reflection of the stars rippled in its surface. As sounds of excitement came from Nashira, he called up to her mentally. “Find a friend?” The bird stayed silent for once, which he found deeply suspicious. He had his answer as to why as his eyes trailed to family's dock, and he could make out the form of Lina there. Suddenly dread filled his insides, and he stopped in his tracks. Was it too late to turn back? Had she already noticed him?

Of course, Lina knew it was dumb to sit at the spot that she and Jax screwed. She knew it wasn’t going to happen and she knew she was an idiot for feeling like maybe she wasn’t good enough in bed and that was part of the reason he was being weird. She knew that wasn’t it and it the dinner, but trying to get out of her own head was harder than expected. When Biscuit took off to the sky, she was startled, a yelp coming from her. She soon realized it was Nash and looked around the lake looking for Jax. When she finally caught him, she raised her hand for a wave. “Hey,” She was trying to act natural, as if she picked this spot randomly, though her blush gave away that she had not. “How are you?”

The effect of her greeting over Jax was instantaneous as he felt nearly every muscle in his body tense. It was as if it was preparing for fight or flight, though he knew that at this point the latter wasn’t a viable option, and the former wasn’t one he was willing to consider. It made him angry that it wasn’t. He’d hurt countless people that had gotten in his way without a blink of an eye, and now that Lina was sitting firmly in his path after making her sentiments obvious at the centurion dinner— he still knew that hurting he was the last thing he wanted. He was failing, disappointing his father and the family name even if Jefferson didn’t know it. But in another moment he was careful to put his body at ease, trying to appear as if everything was normal. Though it hadn’t escaped his notice that she’d chosen to sit in the spot they’d hooked up on, and her blush only made more memories of the time rush forth unbidden, as he was unable to wipe from his memory the redness that had filled her cheeks once they’d finished. And there was that stupid question again. Not exactly ‘Are you fine?’ but still asking after his emotional state. Which was something he was still trying to deny even existed. “I’m fine,” he said almost as a prod towards himself and his idiotic sensitivity to Lina’s words. “How are you?” he shot back, though his words were carefully neutral.

To say Lina felt like a stupid little girl right in that moment was an understatement. A few days wasn’t going to fix what she had said or what she had done or what they had done. Her knees went to her chest, making herself as small as she could at his answer. She hadn’t been expecting rainbows and sunshine, but she expected something more than the same flat tone that people often used with Lina. “I missed Christmas with my dad.” She said instead of I’m fine back. Maybe the openness would be better, maybe Jax would be taken off guard and she’d be able to get behind the mask he had put up for her. She looked up at the sky, two figures playing. “Nash and Biscuit seem to be having fun.” At least they were happy.

Jax couldn’t miss Lina’s attempt at making herself smaller, and it only caused another pang of guilt tug at him, a rather new emotion for him to be feeling. But it was soon followed by the anger once more, as his mind threw accusations at him for caring in the way that he was for someone that should be his enemy. He was somewhat surprised by Lina’s admission, as he’d gotten the sense before that she and her dad were rather close. “Why’s that?” This had to be a safe topic to speak of, right? It was of a mortal man, and mortal affairs. Mentally checking on Nashira and Biscuit flying above them, he tried his best to continue at pretending everything was normal. “What can I say, she’s a social gal.”

With her arms wrapped against her knees and her chin tucked in between her knees, Lina felt a bit like a kid again. Her small frame did wonders for hiding, but she wished she could go invisible like Maia. Of course, the conversation with Jax wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t actually a conversation with Jax. “His girlfriend is the most annoying person I’ve ever met. I have to call him Pete in front of her and she constantly tells me ways to make myself better. Go to college, wear makeup, go vegan.” She rolled her eyes,”It’s exhausting.” She didn’t know why she was saying it. She didn’t know why she was telling Jax about Karen, but it was nice to talk to him. She watched their two companions fly through the air together. “Who would have thought a bat and raven would be friends?” But then again, who would have thought Lina and Jax would be? She wondered if their friendship would crash and burn like hers did.

Jax shouldn’t be walking closer to the dock, nearing Lina as he went. But the way she was speaking, it was almost as if he could pretend that the dinner had never happened, that they’d only just met here for another moonlit rendezvous. He had so few people he could trust this days, and though he knew Lina could no longer be one of them— it didn’t change that as much as he didn’t want to admit it to himself...he wanted her to be one of them. But again the other side of him lashed out, telling him that these were the thoughts of a traitor. How could he possibly want to trust someone that was working against his need for vengeance? Working against the debt that his former centurion was owed. And it wasn’t just that. The Greeks had proved in that small moment that they were a hazard to all the Romans with their unpredictable ways. He wouldn’t let them hurt his remaining friends, his city, his home. Lina was included in those he’d been trying to protect, and here she was going against his secret efforts. He tried to only focus on Lina’s words, and not the civil war within his thoughts. “You’re telling me this isn’t the beginning of your staunch vegan phase?” Had he made a joke? Maybe. It was what he should have done, right? He gave a shrug at her last comment, not having any particular reply to it.

Lina had been avoiding looking at him, though was subtle about it. If she looked at him, she’d remember everything that attracted her to him. She’d remember how he understood her better than anyone else. And then she’d remember how she insulted his family, twice. She’d remember that he had a reason to be angry with her. She’d remember how she had acted like a petulant child, showing up to the Christmas already drunk because she couldn’t quite handle the idea of sitting through a dinner with some of those people. And Jax hadn’t been included in those people. Really she had expected them to leave together, but maybe she had gotten her hopes up. Why would someone like Jax actually want someone like her? “I’m going to be a vegan beauty school student. Get all of her checklist out of the way.” She hated how the joking made her miss him that much more. She missed him and he was stood in front of her, wasn’t that fucked up.

For the moment, Jax resisted the increasingly strong urge to sit down beside Lina, simultaneously trying to bury the memory of the delicious sounds she’d been making the last they’d been here as his lips and hands had traveled her. Though he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that he was still annoyingly attracted to her. After all, he’d slept with Greeks hadn’t he? He knew attraction didn’t have to have grounds in emotional connection, but he was having a harder time of convincing himself of such things these days between Adriana and Lina. Still, it was managing to hold true for him. But despite his internal debate, her absurd words managed to draw a chuckle from him— though as soon as it fell from him it felt as if the sound waves of it had turned right back around to spear him through the chest. His own words echoed through his head from his last Cult job. ‘Pain hits you right in the gut. Knowing that things are different now. That even though they’re alive and well things will never be the same.’ He shouldn’t be laughing with Lina. Or should he? His father would most likely tell him to keep his enemies closer, but all his usual tricks he employed felt dirty when he thought of using them on Lina, and he was growing increasingly angry with his mind’s apparent need to grow a conscience where she was involved. “She must be thrilled.”

Lina wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel him pick her up again like her weight was nothing to him. She wanted to lose herself in the moment and call him things she never would otherwise. The idea sent a shiver through her body and she had to pretend it was the cold. Her hands rubbed up and down her arms, trying to get rid of goosebumps that were popping up from the mere idea of Jax touching her again. Maybe it was the knowledge that it would never happen again that made it so dangerous for her to think about. Something lost was often something sought after more than not. Were they lost? Yes, they were. “She won’t be thrilled until my father blocks my phone number and changes addresses without telling me.”

For a moment, Nashira’s attention was back on Jax, and she called down to him as they both took notice of Lina’s chilliness. “Well, don’t be an asshole. Be the gentleman you were raised to be. Sit your ass down.” Finally, his knees got the best of him— folding in so that he could sit beside Lina as he saw her shiver. Why was she even out here without warmer clothes? He told himself he sat because he was tired and unable to fall asleep, and his secondary excuse should the first one implode was that he was simply being a gentleman as Nashira demanded, and he let the heat radiating off him find its way to her as they ended up closer. Though he didn’t dare touch her. That would most likely result in a heat that was similar to how they’d ended up doing much more than kissing underneath some mistletoe. His brows drew together in concern before he could stop them, and just as the voice in his head began to berate him he only just managed to silence it for the moment being. If he’d taken the time to think on it, he’d realize it was the first time he’d ever so wholly managed such a feat. “Yeah, as if we wouldn’t be able to find him even if something like that happened.” Another stab of pain at the word we. Who knew two little letters could make such an effective weapon against himself?

Finally, Lina caved and looked over at him. She told herself she’d only look for a second, but as if she was a starved man, one second of him wasn’t enough. Her eyes swept over him, trying to memorize the shape of his brows, the angle of his nose, the softness of his lips. It was if she would never see him again and she need to sear him into her brain to make sure she had one good memory left. After staring at his lips for far too long, Lina tore her eyes away, face looking away from him. She couldn’t kiss him and she had to accept it. “If he wanted out, I’d give him out. My life has been spent with too many feeling trapped by me and I won't force more people into the trap that is Lina. And maybe Karen’s right, maybe he’s better off without me.” Was she talking about her dad still? She didn’t think so.

For a moment, Jax couldn’t help but notice where her gaze had gone to his lips, and his heart had already begun to pound faster in his chest, as if it knew that him kissing her was inevitable. Unknowingly, he leaned forward in the slightest, his body moving of its own accord before Lina looked away. It was too easy for Jax to fall back into the way they’d been, though the realization of having done such a thing only made him more upset— another reminder of what it was he’d lost. “Karen sounds like a bitch. And wrong.” But Lina’s other words confused him. Could she actually believe such a thing? He didn’t know all that much about Lina’s past, but he couldn’t help but think that her equating herself to a trap wasn’t something that was accurate. “And I’m sure your father would never want to be without you.”

The movement of him leaning forward caught Lina’s eye and she looked back toward him. She mimicked his motion, her body spurred on by his. There was a flicker of potential, maybe they would kiss and Lina’s fears of them being forever changed would be proven wrong. She doubted it, but still she kept looking at him. “Karen is a bitch.” Lina wasn’t sure she was wrong, however. He was just being nice to her, like he always was, even when she proved over and over again she didn’t deserve it. “He would be one of the few to think that then. I’m a little much for a lot of people.”

Jax’s body was begging him to move forwards once more, to close the distance between him and Lina just as he had done underneath the mistletoe, and once again in this very spot at the lake that same night. There were too many directions his mind was trying to pull him. One was in the direction of locking his lips to Lina’s because it was simply what he wanted to do. But when had he last let himself do simply what he wanted to do? At the same time there was the voice demanding that he not fraternize with anyone that could support the Greeks. The last was the voice of his father, a sound that he was never far from. It was this one that made Jax’s decision for him— for this voice was also telling him to kiss Lina. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, right? But manipulating her to such an extent was something that caused his stomach to roll, and he knew that if it was something Jefferson would approve of— it wasn’t something he wanted to do to Lina. “Well then people are stupid,” he said as he inched backwards once more, disappointed and relieved all at the same time. “You don’t need them.”

Lina swallowed that hope that had welled up in her quickly as Jax inched away from her. It hurt to see him back away and she couldn’t help but wonder if she had said what she did if they’d already be kissing. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around herself and she sunk further down, the small woman a small ball now. “You’re one of the few who thinks I don’t need them.” Hadn’t he said this before during training? That people were idiots and she didn’t need them. “Don’t we all need people to support us?” She didn’t have that, at least not as much as she needed. That was the most devastating thing of the dinner; realizing that she needed people much more than they needed her. Realizing that the people she needed didn’t need her. Realizing that her views made them not even want her.

Jax wanted to be certain that he’d made the right decision in not kissing her. But it was most likely he would never truly know if it was or not. It was infuriating to no end, and a rather foreign concept to not be sure of something he’d done. Most of his actions had the utmost confidence behind him, and he was quickly finding that this questioning of everything he did was terribly annoying. He knew he’d said something quite similar in training, but that didn’t make his words any less true. “Maybe. But why would you want people like that supporting you?”

Lina forced herself to look forward, the disappointment that she was trying make disappear crawling up her throat. It’s presence was so distracting she didn’t know how she was breathing. She almost wanted to hate him for how this was making her feel, how out of control he got her. She’d be perfectly fine at keeping control in almost all situations before him. Now she was a miserable lump sitting in the freezing cold feeling like a teenager who had had gone through her first break up. She leaned her face on its side against her arms. “Because then at least I would have someone supporting me.”

Jax shrugged himself out of his jacket, taking note of the way Lina had curled into a ball. Was the brisk air making her cold? Or was it their strained conversation? Either way, it made him feel better if he did something. Draping the garment over her shoulders wordlessly, he tried his best not to look at her. After their almost kiss, he didn’t trust himself to see her once more without the urge resurfacing. He wanted to say he supported her. That there were other supporting her. But saying he supported someone who rooted for the Greeks would go against his every fiber, or at least— that’s what he thought. But then why was every inch of his body telling him to comfort Lina no matter the cost? As if the cost of not comforting Lina was far greater than anything else? “It’d probably prove more toxic than helpful.” Nashira dipped down from her playing to check on the pair for a moment, sensing Jax’s tumultuous emotions. “This is getting a bit tangled, Jax.” She was right. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could do this for with all these voices sounding off against one another in his head. “You should get some sleep, Lina.”

That heavy lump in her throat grew more uncomfortable as he draped his jacket over her shoulders. Of course, somehow in the middle of her trying to hate him, he does that. Lina couldn’t help but snuggle into the jacket. It was very cold outside and the fact that it was Jax’s definitely had nothing to do with it. She sighed,”Hasn’t everything turned out to be more toxic than useful lately?” At least everything to do with her. At least fake support would give her a few moments of assurance that she wasn’t being crazy. She watched her bat, Biscuit, fly down a bit to, she assumed, check on her. “As if she sleeps much anymore.” Biscuit, unbeknownst to Lina, hissed to Jax. The demigod woman sighed again, but nodded. “I probably should. I’m a bit of a nocturnal creature because of my mother.”

Death was something that was accepted in the demigod community. People died from monster attacks, from wars, from quests. People die. Lina had seen people die before. She had had strangers and friends die around. Yet, to watch Cat shot Callum in the stomach, something in Lina cracked. She was nearly blind from the tears pouring down her face, her legs running even though all she wanted to do was stop and cry and give up. Her near blindness slammed her into another person and she attempted to apologize, but only full body sobs came out. She didn’t know who was in front of her, but she clutched on to them. She couldn’t breath. Her right hand left blood on the other person, her shoulder wound still bleeding.

Jax was walking along in his own stupor, his jaw set grimly in his face. Leo was gone. Fergus was gone. He was simply a walking blank slate at the moment. Ever since he’d seen Fergus fall...his mind tried to shy away from it, not wanting to accept it as something that could be real. He’d watched his little brother die. Someone he had protected and taught since he could remember. It seemed that the only thing that could pull him out of his numbness was the feeling of someone running into him. Automatically, his arms went to help stabilize them, and when he realized it was Lina that was against him, he made no move to take his arms from around her waist. The next thing that became apparent was she was crying, followed by the unmistakable color of blood at her shoulder. Suddenly, Jax felt very alive, and very unlike he had since Fergus had perished. “Lina?” he asked, needing some sort of explanation, but a moment later he was tearing bits from the edge of his shirt, getting ready to bandage her shoulder. Instinctively, his abilities flared, draining whatever physical pain Lina might be undergoing from her. “Lina, what happened?” Gods help him, if he lost another person today...he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Sobs were the only sound that came from Lina for a good couple of moments. She had to tell him, but it was so hard to get enough air to say the words. Crying was horrible. She hated this feeling. With the pain gone, she was able to clear her head enough that she could break through some of the sobs. “Callum… Callum is…” She couldn’t make it through the sentence without another harsh sob wrecking her body. “Cat. She…” She had to force out the words, but it was so much harder telling Jax his own sister killed Callum. Her tears muddled the words, the sobs making it hard to understand,“Killed him.” She wanted to crumple to the floor and lay down and not move for as long as she could. She vaguely thought of how she stopped running, because Jax had at some point became a safe place for her, yet any emotion that would have brought her was overwhelmed by the dread and feeling of grief she had. Callum was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.

Already Jax was thinking of how much he would make whoever had done this to Lina pay. A rage was building in him, the kind that demanded blood for blood as his eyes went once more to the wound. Just because he and Lina had been on awkward terms for a few months...didn’t mean he’d forgotten his fondness for her. A closer look at the wound revealed a gunshot hole, and a pit began to form in Jax’s stomach, though he refused to jump to the conclusion his mind wanted to find. Once he’d finished wrapping the wound, he brought one of his hands up from the Lina’s waist, using his sleeve to try and wipe her tears away as the arm around her tried to pull her closer to him. If seemed as if she needed serious comfort, and gods knew Jax needed it too. But her words brought the opposite of comfort as his motions froze on her face. “Cat—” his mind had already struggled to process so much grief ever since the exodus had started, he couldn’t even begin to know how to process more. “Lina, what do you- I don’t understand.” It was confusing enough that Lina was here and not in jail where she was meant to be, though he rather preferred her outside of bars. “That’s impossible.”

Even as he cleaned Lina’s face of tears, more just fell. Though the motion was comforting, what she had seen made the tears heavy and strong. She remember seeing Callum’s blood spray across the front of her clothing and it made her feel sick. As he pulled her closer, she put her head on his chest, needing the physical contact to remind her that she was safe. At least for now she was safe. The sobs were slowly retreating from her, but the tears stayed. Her lips wobbled and her voice was weak,“He was trying to get me out. He didn’t think it was right that I was in jail.” Her voice cracked and she had to take a few very deep breaths before continuing. “Cat… Found him in my cell. He… moved too quickly.” A sob went through her again as she remembered watching him fall to his knees. “He… He was just trying to help me.”

Lina’s head lying on Jax’s chest was perhaps the most comforting thing he’d felt all day, though it was still a far cry from making him feel alright. Bringing a strong hand to the back of her head, he held her against him, his eyes closing for a moment as every sadness of the day washed over him. Leo. Fergus. And now Callum? He’d thought his heart had crumbled when his brother had left, but apparently it had only been the beginning. If Lina wasn’t here, needing Jax’s strength, it would be safe to say he’d be little more than an empty shell at the moment. But for Lina, he could be something more than that. Still, the news of Callum only brought more rage and despair into his heart. The news of it being Cat’s hand that had killed him didn’t help in the least, and a million more questions flew through his head. Such as why exactly had Cat turned to violently on a fellow Cult member? A question he obviously he couldn’t ask Lina. But more than anything, how could any of what he’d done been worth it when everything and everyone close to him and been injured or killed? He knew Lina needed comfort, but more importantly she need to be safe, and New Rome wasn’t a place where she would be such a thing. Moving to scoop her off the ground and into his arms without asking, he began to make his way to a hiding spot he knew of nearby. “He was-” Jax’s voice caught on the words for a moment, emotion catching him by surprise. “It sounds like he died a hero. But we need to honor his death and make sure he didn’t die in vain. We need to get you somewhere safe.”

There was a distinct sour taste in Lina’s mouth and she had to swallow down the ill feeling that was bubbling up in her. She wanted to shower, she wanted to clean off all the blood on her. The blood that belonged to both Lina and Callum. She had to wonder, was anyone but her and Jax going to know what she did the Callum? Cat was smart, people wouldn’t look too kindly on her killing another centurion, even if he was helping someone who committed treason. Would she cover it up? She had the means to, Lina was sure of that.  “I’m sorry,” she whispered into his chest, knowing that Jax had been Callum’s friend, just as Lina had been. She swallowed and nodded,“I think his plan was to get me to the Greeks… New Rome isn’t safe for me anymore. Not after what I did… And not with Cat here.” Her home, or what used to be her home, wasn’t safe for her anymore. She hated to say it, but she wasn’t safe anywhere near Cat. She had the feeling that she would be shot on sight.

Jax would have to grieve later. Lina needed his help, and that was the most important thing at hand. His emotions always came second, duty first— though it was becoming harder and harder to practice such a thing. After all this time in the Legion, and all the deaths he’d witnessed and experienced, he still didn’t know how to receive I’m sorrys and condolences for his losses. For now he simply opted for trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “Me too.” If he’d had more of his usual mask on, and cared enough to protect the Cult and the actions that were going on around New Rome, he would have remembered to act surprised that Cat had killed someone, and remembered to pretend as if Cat wouldn’t go after Lina. But this was Lina’s life, and that wasn’t something he would ever risk playing with. He knew Cat all too well, knew that she didn’t leave loose ends when it came to dirty work...just as he didn’t. She would be on the lookout for Lina, and Jax could think of only one place to hide the girl in his arms as Lina said it herself. “Lina, you’re going to have to find the Greeks. I have some idea of the direction they went, and I can get you past the guards— but once you’re past that, I can’t go with you.” There’d been a plan developing in the back of his mind, one that he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge or act on before, but Callum’s death had pushed him over the edge. He wouldn’t lose any more friends, any more family. Jax was on the edge of an enormous choice, and had the smallest sense of deja vu. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d helped someone escape New Rome. But the time he’d helped Murtagh flee had been long ago. He’d been so young, and filled with much less hate. Most likely no one would even believe that he, the golden boy Jackson Karavadra, would ever do anything such as help a criminal escape...even if they were caught. But things had changed. He was almost to the place where he’d be able to find help.

Standing there with a bullet wound, held onto by Jackson Karavadra, while recounting the death of Callum Hayes, Lina realized that New Rome was never going to be the same. New Rome would never be the safe haven she believed it to be. At least for the next while, Lina was on the run. She was a criminal. She was someone they’d be looking for, someone they would aim to kill. She was a target. People she loved would soon enough be hunting for her. Her former legionnaires, her friends, even her family. They would be ordered to kill and if they found her, Lina would have to decide her or them. The idea filled her with dread. She didn’t want to look across a battlefield and see Elara. She didn’t think she could. She wasn’t even sure if they Greeks would take her in now, she had promised Percy she would go with them, and she hadn’t. Broken promises can do a lot of damage. She swallowed down her doubts, even wounded she was an asset to them. Even if she wouldn’t attack her family. “You can’t get caught helping me, Jax,” her voice was soft, emotion coloring the end of her words. “I don’t want anyone else to die helping me,” she tried her hardest to swallow down the sob that came up, but it cracked through her body anyway. “I can’t have you die helping me. I made my bed, now I must lie in it.” Renewed tears streamed down her face, but she set her jaw. Leaning back slightly, she caught his face with one of her hands, the disabler cuff dangling from it as she did,“I want you to be safe.”

They’d reached Jax’s target. A Cult safehouse that had been unused for quite a while now, though Jax still locked the door behind them as he entered the small room. For a moment, he leaned into her touch before setting Lina down on the somewhat shabby couch. Jax would have been happy to stay in that moment forever, but he knew he had to move fast. Rummaging through a nearby drawer, he pulled clothes out of it, moving as if he’d done this a thousand times. And in a way, he had. Learning how to disappear had always been a necessity of being in the Cult. Still, it was surreal to have Lina here, to know that in this moment— he didn’t care that he was disappointing his father and the Cult at the same time. His priorities had shifted. Keeping those closest to him safe was what was most important, and that certainly included Lina. He still wanted to protect his city with all his being...but he’d lost sight of what was the best way to do it for now...though he had a sneaking suspicion he knew the answer, and was simply too afraid to recognize it. But Callum’s death had helped to change that. “I’m not going to get caught,” he said without missing a beat. He’d been on countless Cult missions. He knew how to make this work. “And I’m not going to die.” At least not today, not when he still had work to do to save those he cared about.

First things first. He fished out a piece of ambrosia from his pocket and approached Lina by the couch. “I’m gonna have to take the bullet out so it can heal over right. But don’t worry, it’s not going to hurt. Just sit still.” Jax was still dulling her pain as he carefully fished the bullet from the wound with a pair of tweezers, making her ability to feel such a thing nonexistent. “And now the ambrosia,” he said, holding the gods’ food to her lips. Hopefully removing the bullet hadn’t made things worse, but to be sure she needed to eat the healing cube as quickly as possible. “He wished he could have been more tender with her as he wanted to be, but there was no time for it at the moment. What mattered most was getting her out alive, and they had precious little time. The cuff catching his eye, he knew he’d have to deal with that before leading Lina away from New Rome.

Lina didn’t have any idea of what this room could be, other than the obvious safe house. She wanted to ask him how he knew this was here, but assumed it might have been his families. They’d be around long enough to have safehouses. “What are the signs of shock, Jax?” She hadn’t had any pain as of late and that worried her a bit. Bullet wounds weren’t something she was familiar with, well treating bullet wounds at least. She was feeling pretty familiar with having one. She knew that bullets hurt a whole freaking bunch and that at the beginning it burned so much Lina thought her brain was exaggerating the pain. She watched him closely,“You don’t want to go to the Greeks with me, but you want me to go to them. Why?” There had to be a reason for that. He knew she was in danger and the Greeks made the most sense, but if he was willing to help her, why wouldn’t he come with her? He had been one of the few who was never overly open with their political alignments. Maybe he wanted to stay and fight the Greeks, but that would mean potentially fighting her. Why would he go out of his way to save her if he was going to fight her later?

She closed her eyes as he took out the bullet and then held out her hand,“Can I keep it?” It was going to act as a brutal reminder of what happened this day. Scars weren’t enough to keep as a reminder. She wanted to hold what was meant to kill her, she wanted to hold it and remember what Cat did today. What Callum did today. She wanted to be able to know and remember for the rest of her life. She took the ambrosia from his fingers with her lips, letting the taste of nutella crepes take over her mouth as she chewed. The sweet taste felt wrong in the situation, it felt wrong to enjoy the flavor as she healed. “What next?”

Searching for signs of shock had been one of the first things Jax had done when Lina had stumbled upon him, and though she’d been shaken, she hadn’t entered such a state as shock. He wondered if her question was because she wasn’t feeling any pain. By all means, it went against all logic that she wouldn’t feel the excruciating burn of Jax removing the bullet from its place. “You’re not in shock, Lina.” Clinging to his secrets was apparently a habit that died hard, though if she asked directly...he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to lie to lie to her. He’d already done so much of that. Redressing the wound, his eyes found her’s as she asked her second question. There were many reason he didn’t want to give her a full answer. It would take too long, and he didn’t want her involved in something that could put her into even more danger. “I just can’t go, Lina. And you’ll be safe there.” But she deserved more of an explanation, especially after all he’d put her through and he knew it. “I can’t explain now, but when I see you again...I’ll try my best to.” He refused to say if, not when he’d already lost so much.

Jax’s entirely serious visage broke for a moment at Lina’s query about the bullet, the smallest hint of amusement coloring his features. It was good to see that though everything had changed...Lina was still Lina. Always surprising him. He handed her the bullet before going to work on the cuffs, getting to work on picking the lock. As he worked it was an entirely different side of Jax emerging, the side that was rather used to partaking in illegal activities. “We’ll get this cuff off, and then you need to change your clothes.” He nodded towards the child’s clothes he’d laid out. They were stereotypically masculine, and he was banking on Lina’s minuscule stature to help mask her as a young teenage boy. They were hopefully baggy enough to help hide her figure.

“Bullet wounds are supposed to hurt and mine isn’t. Isn’t that a sign of shock?” Lina didn’t feel like she was in shock, but it was always good to confirm. Shock was a serious thing and she had seen it only once. It had been scary and quite honestly, she would very much like for that to not happen to her. She turned her head to look away from him after his answer, her eyes suddenly burning with tears again. With a sniffle, she wiped at them. She was scared. She didn’t want to lose anyone else and Jax helping her was dangerous. “You would be safe there too.” The statement hung heavy in the room and Lina hated that she had let herself get this emotional. She didn’t want him to be in danger anymore. She didn’t want any of them to be. Except maybe Cat, but that was excusable, because the woman had just shot her. She swallowed,“We’re going to be on opposite sides of a war, Jax. The next time you see me, it might be on a battlefield.” It was a harsh reality. They weren’t going to be fighting together. She would be with the Greeks, Jax would be with the Romans, and Lina already knew that she wouldn’t be able to face him out there. She didn’t want to fight. Her friends, her family, and her legionaries were going to be her supposed enemy. However, if she was going to go to the Greeks with nothing but herself and expect them to take her in, she had to be willing to go to battle for them.

She took the bullet in her hand gently and rolled it around. “Funny how a tiny piece of metal has the power to rip through our flesh,” it wasn’t funny. A tiny piece of metal had killed her friend. A tiny piece of metal was easily able to rip apart worlds. She watched curiously as his hands worked to get the cuff off,“Seem to know your way around a lock.” The statement was a question without her actually asking him one. She didn’t want to simply ask how he knew how to do this, but she was curious.

It was going to take a long time for Jax to feel comfortable with revealing secrets he’d kept his entire life. Even now anxiety rose in his as he tried to decide whether or not to reveal his abilities to Lina. Perhaps there was some middle ground. “It’s a gift from my mother,” he said simply after hesitating, not entirely admitting to his powers. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Lina, it was simply that old habits die hard. It felt as if another piece of his heart had chipped of when he heard Lina’s sniffle, and guilt pooled within him. As if he hadn’t already put her through enough. Once he finally managed to break open the lock, his hand went to rub Lina’s chaffed wrist gently, trying to get circulation flowing properly once more. The other gently went to her face to try and turn her gaze towards him to meet his eyes. “I have things I need to do here, Lina. Things that will hopefully help make everyone safe.” But her words struck a deep cord in him, he couldn’t imagine facing Lina or Leo on the battlefield without it ruining him. That was something he would have to figure out later, though he knew he’d never be able to harm them should it come to it. But he couldn’t reveal his plans to Lina, not if he wanted her to be as safe as possible. Ignorance would bring her more safety. “Maybe not as opposite as you think,” was all he could cryptically say.

Every question or sentence of Lina’s seemed to make him grow more uncomfortable, secrets and sharing them still being something that felt to go entirely against his being. Secrets were all he’d had for the last ten years, things that kept him and those he cared about safe. Or had they? Perhaps they’d actually been what had brought everything crumbling down. With a sigh he gave an unsatisfactory answer. “Would you believe me if I said I learned it at Boy Scout Camp?” Handing the clothes to her once more, he tacked on another sentence. “Get changed carefully, you don’t want to upset the wound. And we have to move fast.”

Jax’s words were very interesting to Lina, a gift from his mother. To her that sounded an awful lot like he was talking about a power given to him. She hadn’t known he had any abilities. It must be another heavily guarded Jax secret. “Well, I thank her. It comes in handy.” Once they were seperated, Lina was sure the pain would be back, but at least she had a few more moments of blissful ignorance. She let him guide her face to look at him, her brown eyes meeting his almost black ones. Had she had the moment to stare into them, she’d have tried to memorize how they looked in this light. Alas, she did not have the time and she had to focus on the conversation at hand. Her lips pressed together,“Everyone? Including yourself?” Jax was a smart man, he knew how to keep himself safe, but even smart men messed up. Sometimes smart men grew too smart and that was their downfall. Her eyebrows drew together, what did he mean by not opposite. Did everyone include the Greeks then? “I don’t want to fight you,” the words left her mouth softly, though they filled the small room just the same.

“Do they even have Boy Scout Camp here?” She asked, with the slightest look of amusement. While it wasn’t what she wanted, it was funny enough she could ignore the need to know more. She took the clothes and glanced at Jax. She’d been naked in front of him before, it wasn’t as if her body had changed since then, but it felt a bit awkward. However, in an attempt to make it seem like it wasn’t that awkward, she simply stood and went over to the side a bit. She was extremely careful when taking off her shirt and putting the new one on. The pants were a bit easier, but she was still careful. Once she was finished, she took her old clothing and looked at Jax,“What do we do with these?”

For the first time since Leo had left, the smallest of twinkles entered Jax’s eye. How was it that Lina could make him feel amused in this moment when all he’d felt in the last 24 hours had seemed to pain and anger? “I’ll be sure to let her know of your gratitude,” he said, almost a tease. It was a wonder Lina had managed to bring him to such a place. His eyes flicked back to her’s at her next question, and he wasn’t sure of how to answer at first. Jax was most certainly going to be in danger, truly in the thick of the wolves’, but he’d lived with wolves before, he could do it again. “It’s not a suicide mission if that’s what you’re asking.” Though he certainly wouldn’t be as safe as it seemed Lina wanted him to be. More than anything he was surprised and touched by what he thought her sentiments were, though mostly he felt guilty for having ignored and tiptoed around her when it seemed that she truly cared about him. “We’re not going to fight,” he said, though he couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t be faced with one another on the battlefield.

“And I went to mortal high school so— for all you know, I could have been a Boy Scout,” he teased, still wondering how Lina managed to have this power over him. “Bet you love a man in uniform.” But then she was changing, and he was doing his best to give her privacy as he went to ready the backpack he’d be sending her with, stuffing all the general demigod essentials into it. “We’re burning the clothes...if you don’t mind.” He’d thought to spread them elsewhere in New Rome to begin a false trail for those searching for Lina, but the risk of having the garments on him was too great to take, not when he had no guarantee they wouldn’t be searched. “Do you think you’d be able to do that?” Sometimes people struggled with the sudden return of one’s powers after being freed of dampening handcuffs, but he had a feeling Lina would be more than able. “Now turn around so I can stuff your hair under the cap, and then we’ll get going.”

“Please do, I’d hate for her to think I was an ingrate.” Lina knew this wasn’t the time for teasing, their friend had just died, but it felt good. It was nice to not have to think about it, to pretend things were okay for a moment. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to convince him not to do whatever he was planning on. Just as he wouldn’t be able to talk her out of one of her own plans. Yet, she wanted to. She wanted him to the Greek camp with her, she wanted him out of the war. “If you die, I’m going to be really mad at you,” though it was an attempt at a tease, it was still true. She would be genuinely mad at him. “So make sure you don’t die, okay?” She usually hated to show this level of emotion, but if there was any time for it, it was now. She stared at him, eyes soft,“Can you promise that? We’re both going to be ordered to attack those that oppose us. And to those who are ordering us, we would be opposing each other.”

“You seem more football player than boy scout to me,” Lina hadn’t known he had gone to mortal high school and it was actually a fact that surprised her. If anything she had assumed that he had been school in New Rome his whole life. “I sure do, though Boy Scout isn’t really my cup of tea.” She looked at her clothes and didn’t mind the idea of burning them at all. The garments felt cursed now, an energy so bad she couldn’t explain it coming off of them. “I can burn them. I want to burn them.” There was a darkness to her statement that was unusual for her, but for the circumstances, it seemed right. She turned for him, letting him do what he wished to her hair. “I’m guessing my goal is to not look like I could be Kolina Valla.”

Quickly, Jax gathered Lina’s hair into a bun and tucked all the edges of her hair under the cap he’d provided with the clothes. Moving to turn her towards him, he took in the picture she made. Though she didn’t look like the Lina most knew, she still held too strong a resemblance to herself for Jax’s liking. What he would have done to have a child of Venus nearby at the moment. But this was what they had to work with. Tugging the cap lower over Lina’s eyes, he simply said. “Try to keep your face down so you’re better hidden, and hopefully that’ll help you achieve that goal, unless you have any sort of magic that can help hide your identity?” he asked hopefully. At the mention of death, it felt as if the gaping wound in Jax’s chest had been reopened. Fergus and Callum. His little brother and one of his closest friends. And suddenly the teasing glint from his eye was gone. He had work to do if he wanted to protect the rest of those who were important to him, Lina most certainly included. Jax wanted to promise Lina what she wanted, but the realist in him knew it was foolish not to promise death. After all, hadn’t he seen today just how fleeting life was? “I’ll do my best, Lina,” he said softly, thinking once more of how it’d been terrible to not be speaking with her all this time.

It seemed as good a time as any to let out the guilt that had been bubbling inside him as he went to turn her towards him once more. His hand cupped her chin for a moment, trying to bring her gaze upwards to his. “Lina…” How did one begin to apologize for what he’d done? “These past few months...I’m sorry.” He hoped it was clear enough what he meant, as genuine emotional words had never been his forte. “I truly thought I was protecting you but…” he looked to where her bullet wound lie, “it obviously didn’t matter what I thought I was doing.”

Lina felt awkward in the clothing he gave her, feeling too much like someone else in them. Though, she supposed that was the point. It was an uncomfortable feeling, knowing she couldn’t be who she was. Knowing she would have to hide for a long while, most likely. She hide most of her life, but she had hidden things that gave her an advantage. She had hide to make herself stronger. This wasn’t an advantage and it wasn’t her decision. She was forced to do this, forced to hide behind clothes that weren’t her style. “Cosmetic magic has never been my strongest, but I can try. What were you thinking I do?” She couldn’t see herself, she didn’t know what she had to do to look different. She didn’t want to hear what he said, she wanted an empty promise that would make her feel better in the moment. She would be glad that he didn’t give it to her later, but right then? Right then she wanted Jax to lie straight to her face and say everything would be alright. She needed him to be safe. However, as the day had proven, what you need wasn’t always given to you. “You better. You do whatever it takes to stay alive, okay?” A heavy ask for people who had seen what people would do to stay alive. However, she meant it. She wanted him to fight tooth and nail to stay in this world.

She let him move her face, as she guessed she always would, and looked into his eyes again. She wondered how long it would be until they saw each. If they saw each other again. “We both made mistakes,” she replied, thinking back to how she had exploded at the dinner table. He hadn’t been the only one not speaking to her. Only recently was Adri speaking to her again. “We can’t change what we did in the past. We can’t think what would have happened if we could. I forgive you and I hope you forgive me too.”

Jax had never been one to give false hope, though promising his safety wasn’t perhaps the most foolish thing to swear. Still, he didn’t want to give something he wasn’t certain he could deliver on. To Jax, his word meant everything, and he wouldn’t be doing Lina any favors by telling her he would be as safe as he’d been yesterday, or the past few months. “Only if you do too.” Losing Lina...it was a thought he didn’t even want to entertain, shying away from the pain that registered when he thought of such things. “For the cosmetic things...just— hang on for a moment.” There was no logical reason for him to delay her magic other than the fact that he simply wanted to have one last chance to take in her features just as they were before they changed. It would be the last time he’d see them for who knew how long, and he’d already gone many months without seeing them as often as he would have liked to.

Shaking his head lightly, he didn’t want to accept Lina’s apology— mostly because he felt as if he didn’t deserve it. “There’s nothing to forgive, Lina. Not with you.” With her face still turned upwards towards his, his hand still cupping her chin, he went to pull her closer once more with his arm around her waist, wanting the contact of her one last time. Instantly, his mind was thrown back to their last conversation near the lakeside, and he remembered how desperately he’d wanted to kiss her then. The urge was rising in him once more, and his eyes lowered to her lips for a fraction of a second, somehow trying to gauge whether or not it’d be terrible of him to dip his lips onto her’s. “We should go soon.” he said quietly, though he seemed to be stuck in the moment.

People often forgot that Lina had killed before. War was an ugly place and she had been in two already. She had watched a man burn in her flames before. It hadn’t felt good to kill or to watch those around her die, but she would do it again. She’d always prefer to knock them out, but if she had to kill, she would. It made it easy to nod at his request, her eyes steely in their resolve. “I’ll do what I have to to survive. I always have,” her mask had been bred out of that need. She had become ‘airhead Lina’ to survive, to get the upper hand. Her eyebrows furrowed,“Should I wait until we’re about to leave?” She wasn’t sure why he wanted to have her hold, but she would. It gave her more time to recharge after the disabler cuffs anyway. Perhaps that’s what he was waiting for, disabler cuffs did make it difficult to use powers even after they’re taken off for a bit.

An answer had been on her lips when he pulled her closer, and suddenly it was gone. Already her cheeks were going a bit pink from the closeness of their bodies. Jax had a magnetic effect to him with her. He got reactions out of her no one else could. She had been desperate to have him hold her like this again, and even though the circumstances were absolutely horrible, she was still glad it was happening. If they weren’t going to see each other for a long time, she wanted their last moment together to be like this. “I think we can spare another minute.” Her eyes glanced at his lips, as his had at her’s.

Jax’s hand on her chin shifted to brush his thumb against the rosy hue of her cheek, the smallest of smiles making its way across his lips as he took in the picture Lina made. Part of him wanted to live in this moment, to bottle it somehow and refuse to go on with his plan. But such things were impossible. Still, they could spare a few more seconds, even if it was for selfish reasons. He felt his pulse racing as he lowered himself closer to Lina, feeling the most alive he’d felt ever since he’d watch the back of his brother walking away. With Lina, it was easy to forget, and to get lost simply in the two of them. Still, he wanted to be sure they wanted the same things, even after he’d done nothing but been indifferent towards her for the past few months. “You think so?” he asked softly, the warmth of his words most likely caressing across her features as he neared even closer, making it clear what it was he was considering.

“I do,” Lina said as she closed the gap between them. Finally, she had done what she wanted to so many time over the last few months. She kissed him softly, savoring the feeling of his lips on hers as she tried not to think of how this could really be the last time she saw him. No matter how much she hoped and prayed that he would be safe, this was war. People died in war. He could die in this war. She hope that he understood what this kiss was to her; a goodbye, a pray, a way to grieve. There were too many things she wanted to say, she hoped that this kiss would say them for her.

Lina pressing herself to Jax’s lips hadn’t been what he’d been expecting, but he was most certainly not displeased by the development. Almost instantly, he was responding to the sweetness of her, kissing her in a way that was much different than the few kisses they’d shared those months ago. His arm tried to draw her even closer to him, as if he could keep her safe simply by holding her and never letting go. It was the most fitting goodbye he could think of, though he’d rather think of it as a see you later, gods willing they both made it out of this war in one piece. He let the kiss go on for a while, wanting to lose himself entirely in her. And though he wanted nothing more to kiss her harder and longer, he knew that her life was on the line. It was the only thing that could have separated him from her in that moment. Finally, he gently pulled away, dragging her lip with him slightly as if he was reluctant to be parted. “It’s time, Lina,” he said with a heavy heart. “I’ll take you as far as I can, and then Nash will fly with you the rest of the way.”

It felt both as though time had stopped and time had gone too fast during that kiss for Lina. There was months worth of kisses she wanted to give him. She was tempted to see if they could stay in this tiny room for as long as they could. She knew, though, that it was time to leave. There was no more they could do to delay what had to be done and an overwhelming feeling of sadness fell onto her again. She was glad the cap was in the way of her eyes as they teared up and she looked away from him. She nodded. It was time and it would just hurt more if they stayed there. “Can I ask a favor?” It seemed like the wrong time, after all he had done for her,“Will you take care of Biscuit and Sourdough for me?” Maybe, if she placed them into his care, that would insure that he would make it. Maybe the fates would feel too bad about starving a snake and would make sure the man who was feeding them could come home. It was a ridiculous notion, but she had nothing else to hang onto. She had to hope that Jax would stay alive, even if it was just to feed her pets.

Jax was still holding her close, reluctant to part with her entirely just yet. “Of course I’ll look after them. I was already planning on doing it.” It was true. After leaving Lina, his first stop would be to her room to collect her animals and important items to keep them safe. Then, he’d be taking some of the more random things to lay about New Rome, creating a false trail for officials to try and track. Then, he was finally letting go of her, rummaging in the most secure pocket of the bag he’d brought with him before procuring the bracelet she’d given him for Christmas. He hadn’t been wearing it, too torn between duty and his own emotions to put it on. But it had meant too much to him for Jax to be rid of it. “But I get to ask a favor too.” He slipped the jewelry over her wrist. “Keep this safe for me? And make sure you stay alive enough to bring it back to me. It’s very important to me, and I’d hate to lose it.”

Just today, the First Cohort had gotten another new arrival. It seemed that Christmas had brought not only the traditional type of gifts, but also presents in the form of an influx of new legionnaires. Jax was always intrigued by whatever fresh blood they received, but if these demigods were going to last the week they would need some substitute armor until they could acquire their own. So here he was sifting through the old shields, and greaves, and gauntlets of the spare armor room. He found a suitable piece and went to exit, but soon heard footsteps approaching, causing him to pause in the doorway of the room.

Lina was quite the fan of Christmas, especially the decorations. It reminded her of home and how her father would dress their small cottage like abode as though it was the Christmas tree itself. To top it off, she and Adriana had received another new legionnaire, which was always exciting for the short woman. She was walking, well to be quite honest, it was a bit like a skip, to the old equipment her new kid could use. She walked into the doorway of the room, stopping speak to Jax. “Long time no see. I assume you have a new legionnaire in need of equipment as well?”

Where Jax’s expression had been neutral before, there was now a hint of a grin tugging at his lips. He was thankful it was Lina that had been the one to come down the hall as she was one of the people that annoyed him least on this planet. A rather impressive accomplishment. “Yeah, it’s almost been an entire two hours since I kicked your ass,” he teased, wondering if she would rise to the bait of the results of their last training session. “But yeah. I got what I came for though so—” He let the sentence hang, silently asking her to move out of the way so he could get going. It’s not that he wanted to leave, but he did have a rather full schedule today.

With their recent training session, Lina had began to get pretty close with Jax. She found his company a well needed change often, it was good to have someone other than Adriana to be able to be her true self with. “You kicked my butt? I don’t remember it quite like that. I think I remember pulling a move that surprised you, maybe you’re just blocking it out.” She didn’t tease people often, Jax was one of the few she felt comfortable enough with to do so. She moved out of his way, stepping to the side a bit,“Off to go prepare yourself for tomorrow’s training?”

Jax shrugged at her implication with a small smirk. “Well if that did indeed happen, it must mean you have an amazing instructor. Pulling off a surprise move and all that.” His conversation with Lina was always entertaining, but he really did have to get going. So he turned on his heel so he could walk away from here but still talk to her at the same time. But the strangest thing occurred. Nothing happened when his feet moved, and it was as if some inexplicable force was keeping him in place no matter how many steps he took. “Lina...you’re not doing this, are you?”

Lina couldn’t help when her eyes rolled, even though she typically only rolled her eyes at Adriana. She supposed that she was just comfortable around Jax to do the same to him. “Sure, amazing. He’s pretty okay, a bit lackluster at times, I’d have to say. His chokeholds could use a bit of work.” She watched his attempt at leaving with a perplexed look on her face. “No. While, I do enjoy your company, I’m not going to stop you from leaving. Perhaps they put in extra security for the equipment? To stop sticky fingers. Maybe you had to sign those out.”

“Lackluster?” Jax said in mock offense, though he was still pondering why he couldn’t seem to move all that much from the doorway. “And I’ll have you know no one’s ever complained about my choking abilities,” he said with a trademark suggestive smirk. It had become rather fun to see what innuendos Lina would pick up on of his...if she ever did. Still, as he tried to reverse his actions and move further into the room, he found that was a no go as well. “I don’t think they’d keep me from going back in if they wanted me to sign something or return the armor.” His usual frown was coming back to his features, as a prickle of frustration made itself known.

“No one ever call you lackluster? I suppose everyone needs a first.” While, Lina was also curious as to why he couldn’t move, she was having a bit too much fun teasing him to truly think of reasons why. “They might have been too afraid of hurting your feelings.” She had never been the type to be able to pick up on sexual comments, the true meanings almost always flew over her head. She mocked his actions attempting to see if she was stuck as well.  When she found that she couldn’t move, she began to look around. Her eyes caught the small plant hanging above them after a few seconds. “I think we know why now,” She told him with a finger pointed at the ceiling.

I suppose everyone needs a first. Lina made making sexual implications almost too easy, but could he really make two back to back? Jax decided to take pity on her, instead focusing on the mistletoe above them. At least now he knew the source of his frustration. Considering the mistletoe above them, he found himself amused yet...concerned. He’d wanted to keep his friendship with Lina uncomplicated, as he rather treasured it— and kissing tended to complicate things. But at the same time...perhaps something like this would help to shake whatever weirdness was keeping him from speaking with Adriana after they’d slept together. What better way to prove that kisses and sex didn’t have to be any more than just that? “Who even put that there? What is it enchanted to keep us here, or something? Can you just reverse it or get rid of it?” He was still fairly unknowledgable when it came to the inner workings of magic.

Mistletoe was one of those Christmas traditions Lina didn’t understand. Why was kissing a tradition? It seemed rather odd to her, considering Christmas was meant to celebrate the birth of a baby religious figure. She wondered if people often kissed after babies were born. To her, a baby being born wouldn’t make her want to kiss people, but then again she had never seen a baby born. “Likely the people who decorated the Legion. Though, it does seem like something a child of Venus would do… Or your brother. He seems like a person who would enjoy seeing the chaos of this.” She squinted up to the mistletoe,“To be frank, I don’t think I can. Whoever would do this, would probably think about other magic users attempting to remove them. At least I would.”

Jax pursed his lips at the mention of Leo, making a mental not to find his older brother and shake him down for information of whether or not he had been responsible for this. Though he would most likely exclude names...as well as the fact that he had been the one caught in it. Leo didn’t need any ammo when it came to potentially teasing Jax over who he was or wasn’t kissing. So they’d have to kiss it seemed. He could only assume that’s what it was that the mistletoe wanted from them. As a person trying to preserve their friendship, he should have been disappointed— but as someone who had been long noticing how incredibly attractive Lina was...there was a small buzz of excitement that filled his limbs. “Alright, then. Let’s just get this over with. Can you at least stand on your toes or something? It’s hard enough to crane my neck to look down at you, let alone kiss you.” His words were smooth, but his heart rate had increased a good amount.

Lina wouldn’t be overly surprised if Leo had teamed up with one of his many friends to make this happen. She knew from the many sessions of her modeling for him that the man was far too fond of pranks. This seemed quite up his alley. She couldn’t help the light blush that rose to her cheeks, there were two people she had kissed in the world currently. Her ex-husband and Adriana. It wasn’t as though she was opposed to adding Jax to the list, but she was suddenly nervous that this would make things very different. “I didn’t ask to be short, just like you didn’t ask to be born a giant,” She teased, as smoothly as she could. Yet, she didn’t go to her tiptoes, her nervous heart pounding too hard in her chest to follow his instructions at the moment. “Perhaps, I want you to work for it.” Her teasing wasn’t helping her nervousness at all, but she was attempting to keep normalcy between them in the current moment.

The blush that rose to Lina’s cheeks was unexpected, and it caught both Jax and his emotions by surprise as the light coloring of her face made a strong tug of endearment take hold of him. It gave him the unexpected realization that he wanted to make this sweet, a form of kissing he was not as practised with as opposed to the usual heat-filled ones he’d often shared before, though he’d still dispensed his fair share of them. Sweet kisses worked wonders on convincing someone to give up a piece of information. But then she issued something of a challenge, and the thought was momentarily thrown out the window as yet another smirk played across his lips, and his arms rose to find a place on the wall on either side of her head as he slowly leaned down closer to her height. “Work for it?” he said in a low and gravelly voice. “You’re so confident that I’m just that desperate to give it to you? I should at least be asking you to say please.”

Her eyes widened as he leaned down, the blush getting just a shade darker, and her mouth opened just the tiniest bit. Lina couldn’t say she had been in this situation before and even if she had, she wasn’t sure it would feel like this. This made her limbs feel like they were buzzing. This made her stomach flutter with nervous little, purple butterflies. She had to swallow, even though her mouth had gotten a bit dry. “Yes, work for it.” Her voice had gotten softer, as though she was whispering him secrets. “Please work for it. If you’d be so kind.”

Gods, how was she so cute yet hot at the same time? It was already frying the edges of Jax’s brain, making it hard for him to remember why he’d even been reluctant to kiss her in the first place. But the tease was too alluring, and it was only in his nature to keep it up. “Hmmm,” he hummed as he brought himself even closer to her, acting as if he were considering her question. “No,” he said rather arrogantly. “I don’t think I will.” One of the hands he’d had against the wall brought itself to her chin, trying to turn Lina’s face upwards towards his own and he moved his thumb to trace a slow and lingering line across her bottom lip. “I’m just not sure you deserve it. You haven’t even asked me to kiss you or anything. How am I to be sure you really want it, Kolina?” Her rarely used full name slid from his lips, as if using more syllables of her name could give him more leverage.

There were few moments were Lina couldn’t think, where her mind went completely blank and all she could do was be in the moment. Somehow, Jax had very easily tapped into one of those moments. “Not even for me?” She asked, her eyes glancing down at his lips for a quick second, unable to think of clever words to come out of her mouth. Her mouth which would much rather be busy with something else. She let him easily turn her head, falling into putty in his hands. Her top lip went over the top of his thumb, trapping it between her two soft lips as her tongue lightly touched the pad of it. She let go to answer his question. “Will you kiss me, please? Or will you need something else to prove that I want it?”

The entire situation had taken a rather unexpected turn of events, and Jax couldn’t begin to think how he’d ever considered his original plan of teasing her with a gentle kiss and then getting her to ask for more. He knew he wouldn’t make it that far now, as she took the tip of his thumb into her mouth and he was certain all of the blood his brain had been using for planning rushed south, her words only further undoing him to a point where he was uncertain where the shield he’d been carrying had gone. In an instant his lips went to her’s, starting with the soft sweetness he’d originally been wanting to give her. But he was weak, and in a few quick moments, his feet were moving him forwards as he pressed his body against her, his hips making sure to pin her against the doorframe as his kiss grew hotter, and his teeth nibbled at her lip.

Had anyone told Lina this would be happening today, seer or otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to believe them. She wasn’t exactly the type to flirt, or even catch on to flirting, yet, here she was. Here she was, slipping Jackson Karavadra’s thumb into her mouth, as if that was something she was used to doing. She couldn’t help the small noise of appreciation that slipped from her when he finally kissed her. Her right hand made it’s way into his hair, tangling into the soft locks quickly. There had never been a moment in her life where she wanted nothing but to pull off someone’s clothing. Even with Adriana, Lina preferred going slowly, pulling things off one by one. With Jax, she thought she could actually tear his shirt in half to get it off him. She refrained herself, instead pushing her left hand up the back of his shirt to graze his skin lightly. She, again, couldn’t help a small moan that came from her when he nibbled her lip.

There was a part of Jax that wanted to go slow. To savor every bit of Lina that he was discovering in these moments, to uncover every single delicious sound she could make just as she’d done with the moan that had made his blood flow even faster. Despite his claims of being unsure of whether or not she deserved it, he knew he wanted to give her what she most certainly deserved. And if he hadn’t been certain, his mind had been made up as her hand found its way into his hair, a personal weakness of his, and the other snaked a trail up his back, causing a shiver to roll down his spine. He deepened the kiss without hesitation, taking advantage of her moan to slip his tongue past her lips. As another rush of need filled him, and his neck began to feel strained, he brought both hands beneath her legs to lift her against the wall, making the height difference between them non-existent with his hips still digging into her’s, and his hands finding a resting place cradling the ass his eyes had often inadvertently lingered on whenever she wore those ridiculously short shorts she seemed so fond of sleeping in. But there were nowhere to be found now, and he was fiercely aware that due to his lifting her, the skirt she’d been wearing had ridden up dangerously, leaving only a few layers of fabric separating them.

Lina had always been a slow and steady wins the race type of girl. Somehow, when Jax entered the race, she decided she didn’t need anymore self control. Slow and steady worked sometimes, however, this time it was not at all what was needed. What was needed was anything that would get Jax to continue to do this with her. She should have seen it coming, after that pillow fight they had. Looking back at it, it was ridiculously clear to her how much tension was building between the two of them. There was only so much Lina could pretend not to notice, today she had hit her limit. They both obviously had. She met his kiss with eagerness, letting him dominate her in that moment. A giggle bubbled through her when he lifted her up, finding it both very attractive and very funny that he had to. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pushing them even closer as the hand in his shirt moved to explore his abdomen. Fingernails lightly traced over his defined muscles. She rolled her hips, slowly, experimentally against his.

It had been silly to think Jax could avoid the tension building between them, no matter how much he’d been trying to in favor of preserving their easy friendship. Especially after their heated moment when he’d come to wake her up for training, and discovered that fucking her into her headboard didn’t sound like the most terrible idea. Of course, sex wasn’t something that was guaranteed to ruin a friendship, but he hadn’t wanted to risk it. After all, he’d slept with Adriana and now he hadn’t spoken to her since. Yet here he was with his lips mapping out Lina’s, and his hands quite full of her. And then she giggled, and he pulled her from her lips for a split second, a hidden part of him wanting to see the smile that had to come along with the sound, and soon his own very rare smile was across his lips. But it was fleeting, as an instant later Lina’s hand was once more wreaking havoc on him, though he was beginning to think it was her hips that would be the death of him as they brushed against the still growing hardness in his pants. “Fuck,” he breathed out, a somewhat uncharacteristic thing of him to do. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this out of control, and in an instant he knew that he needed to gain some of it back. He could only handle so much and still keep a solid mind, so one of his hands trailed up her side as her legs and his hips kept her in place. His large hand was more than enough to take Lina’s two dainty ones between his own, and in an instant he was raising her wrists above her head against the wall, making sure she could do no more damage on his ability to resist...though her hips remained unrestrained. Immediately, he answered back with a strong thrust of his own, making sure that if she hadn’t felt the sizeable bulge in his pants before, she would most certainly would now. He followed with another quick thrust, not wanting to be outdone.

Sex wasn’t exactly a foreign concept to Lina. Even though, until the recent months, she didn’t really understand how enjoyable it come be. Adriana had taught her, quite easily, what good sex was. Still, she questioned if she could feel like that with a man. She had the feeling that, if it got to that point, Jax would show her just how good being with a man could be. She worried, of course, that this would change their friendship, that he would expect more from her than she was willing. Adriana knew her boundaries, knew that Lina didn’t want a relationship. Even if Jax didn’t know that yet, he would after this, she wasn’t going to make this an area of potential miscommunication. It wasn’t worth any drama that followed afterward. “Sorry,” She replied back to him sweetly, though both of them knew that in no way was she actually feeling apologetic. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide, and her lips smirking when he put her hands above her head. There were moments where Lina could dominate a room, demand respect and attention. Which lead her to quite submissive in the bedroom. To see that Jax was so willing to take control wasn’t unexpected, but it was appreciated. At the thrusts, Lina knew that she had to have something to go along with their kissing. She would die if she couldn’t have anything else. “Jax… Jax, please.” Her voice still soft, but with the slightest edge of begging to it.

Jax had been wrong to think that just because he was cuffing her hands against the wall he would be given a clearer head, one with which he could really pay attention to Lina with. Instead, he was met with an almost pleading voice slipping from her lips, the begging tone coloring her words being one of his biggest weaknesses. But at the same time it was enough of a jolt to garner the usual response he gave to begging, which was to tease whatever partner he was with further. In an instant he’d let her to the ground, though he was sure to still maintain their incredible closeness. He lifted one of her legs to hook around his hip, using his now single free hand to begin sliding it’s way up the inside of her thighs, his fingertips tapping out a slow dance along the soft and smooth skin he found there. If he’d had his way, he’d be dropping to his knees and throwing her leg over his shoulder, giving her a different sort of kiss than one might be expecting to be had under the mistletoe, but a kiss nonetheless. But somewhere in the back of his lust-ridden mind he was aware of the semi-public venue they were in, and the fact that someone could walk by at any moment, even if they were in a fairly desolate area. But that didn’t stop him from bringing his hand to the top of her panties, tracing the very top of them with a single finger, and bringing his lips to her ear to give it a bite, as well as a rough whisper. “What was that, princess?” He slipped the finger barely beneath the band of them. “Did you say you needed something?”

The moment Jax let her back to the ground, Lina was worried that she had done the wrong thing, said the wrong thing. She figured her fears were wrongly placed, considering how close the two still were, yet they still found their way into her brain. She was quite pleased to see they were wrongly placed, as he took her leg up and around his hip again. Her lips dropped open again as his fingers traced her thigh, the anticipation she felt almost too much to bear already. She thought herself a woman train in the art of patience, yet here she was so impatient she thought she might just explode. If she could move her hands, she’d be roughly pulling his tie or even playing with his belt. She wanted him, even if it was in a slightly public place. She took a deep breath in when he bite her ear, letting it all out suddenly at the word use of princess. She hadn’t know that word could affect her as much as it did in that moment. “Yes. I need you. Please, daddy,” The word left her lips softer than the rest, before she could even think of the implications that came with it. She felt her cheeks burning, but she didn’t attempt to move away from him. Even with that out of her mouth, she was still deeply in the moment.

Jax’s hand slipped slipped further past the band, his long fingers teasing their way towards her center. And that’s when she let it slip. The single word that had his hand freezing above her, and him wondering whether he’d actually made up this entire scenario. It wasn’t as if he hasn’t been called daddy in bed before, but it most certainly wasn’t something he had been expecting from Lina, though the twitch his cock gave as she uttered the syllables made it rather clear that he was pleasantly surprised. So far, he could tell that she enjoyed his teasing, which was perfect because he loved giving it. So as a reward for her whispering that magic word, his hand retreated, and instead he ran a finger along the outside of the fabric, dipping it against her slit followed by an upwards thrust of the base of his palm. “Hmm?” He queried in between leaving a trail of hard lovebites down one side of her neck. Ones that she would have to cover later if she didn’t want nosy people asking invasive questions. “What do you need, baby? This?” The finger teasing her lips through the fabric dipped again, somewhat deeper than he’d gone before, trying to see if he could feel wetness seeping through her panties. “Use your words.” He let up on his grip on her wrists, letting them slip through his hand, and bringing his newly freed hand up the inside of her shirt, brushing against the underside of her breasts, entirely and pleasantly surprised to find that she was lacking a bra. Taking advantage of this newfound discovery, he let the rough pad of his thumb brush it’s way over a nipple, his lips going back to marking her neck. But perhaps an even bigger surprise was his fingers meeting warm metal. He’d suspected Lina had her nipples pierced, had many a thought about such a thing, but it was an entirely different story to have his suspicions confirmed. A second later he was giving the piercing a slight tug, testing her sensitivity.

Again, Lina worried she had said something wrong, though this time she thought she knew exactly what it was that made him pause. This was the issue Lina often faced when she was doing anything with anyone. Her lack of experience often left her a bit questionable in the art of dirty talk, it often left her questioning if she was doing the right thing. She opened her mouth, ready to apologize, when his contact returned and she couldn’t quite remember what she was even apologizing for. His movement made her let out a quiet moan, her head tilting back slightly as she did so. She had had one or two marks before, but nothing that felt like this before. In the moment, she didn’t mind them in the least, but later she knew she would be quite thankful for the fact that she had learned some cosmetic magic. There was no need for her legionnaires to know that she had gotten some. “Yes, that. Please.” She was sure that Jax could feel how wet she was, she was positive that she was absolutely soaking. Lina overall was extremely sensitive to other people’s touch, but especially on her breasts. She couldn’t help the small gasp, then moan when he tugged on her piercing. “I want more of this.”

Jax was entirely pleased with the moans emitting from Lina. He knew a vocal partner was a happy one, and making his bed partners happy was a badge he wore with pride. And if her sounds of pleasure weren’t enough to confirm her enjoyment, the dampness between her legs was, and it brought a smirk to his lips, proud that he could do such things to her. He figured she’d begged enough to be given what she wanted, though he’d still be doing it his way. All of his bed partners had enjoyed his methods, all cumming harder after his prolonged and teasing foreplay brought them to the brink repeatedly before he let them cascade over the edge. Jax wanted to give Lina the same treatment. She deserved to cum hard and long. His fingers roughly pushed the fabric of her underwear aside, finally letting his skin met her’s as they traced her slit, getting her ready for slipping a digit inside her, though he was careful to touch her everywhere other than where she would really need it, still teasing her. At the same time he gave her nipple piercing another pull, this time harder and sharper as he wondered how far he could push her, then rolling it between his fingers. “More? Aren’t you a greedy little one?”

There were many things Lina saw herself doing in the future. Becoming a senator, having children, meeting someone that she could spend the rest of her life with. Jax fingering her in a doorway, was not something she had seen herself doing. Not that she wasn’t fun, no Lina was having a great time. Really being in a semi-public space just made it all the more exciting to her. Her hand went back to his hair, fingers twisting into it tighter than before. Her other hand went to grip his shoulder, long fingernails keeping a hold of him. She couldn’t help the thought that kept rolling through her mind, this was really fucking hot. “Fuck,” She barely whispered the curse as he pushed past her panties. There were very few moments where she thought cursing was appropriate, this was one of the most appropriate moments. It still made her giggle, though, hearing herself curse. She certainly wasn’t used to hearing it from herself. She let out a gasp when he tugged her piercing, the hand in his hair tightening further. “Yes, more. Please. I know I’m greedy.” She bite her lip, looking up at him as she said it.

Jax’s own eyes became more lidded as he felt Lina’s hands tugging at his hair, a satisfied hum emitting from him, almost like a purr. And there was that giggle again, and another smile was earned from Jax as his guard was fairly down at the moment, rather preoccupied with trying to make Lina come undone. “What, you think this is funny?” He thought her laughing was cute, but he couldn’t resist adding a tinge of intimidation to his words. “Do you think it’s gonna be funny when you’re cumming on my fingers?” As Lina became louder, he became more aware of their semi-public status, and he went back to kissing her, hoping that his lips might prove to be a good silencer. Meanwhile, the hand on her breast switched to the one he hadn’t touched yet, giving it the same treatment he’d given to the first. Then one of his fingers paused just outside her center as he found her clit with his thumb and began to draw a small circles around it, making sure not to make direct contact. He was certain she was wet enough to take one of his fingers, but he wanted to hear her once more as he broke their kiss for a moment. “What do you want, Lina?”

Giggling was a rare sound for the female centurion to make, however, Lina was learning, she liked giggling a lot in bed. She couldn’t help it really, she would just suddenly giggle during any sexual moment. Adriana could attest to that, she knew at this point, Lina would almost always giggle, especially during foreplay. She couldn’t imagine it was the sexiest thing for her to giggle during sex, but she really couldn’t help the small, bell like noises that came from her. Just like she couldn’t help when her breathing got heavier when he asked that question. “I think I might be too preoccupied to giggle when I cum, sir.” She wasn’t exactly sure where all these names she was calling were coming from, but she wasn’t minding them. She kissed him with eagerness, lips hungry for his. Lina loved kissing, that was another something she had only recently learned. That she loved kisses. She let out soft little gasps against his lips as his fingers teased her. Her soft voice answered him again. “Your fingers. I want you to make me cum. Please.”

“Such a good girl,” Jax murmured before reclaiming her lips after her utterance of sir, lavishing in the shudder it had sent through him. “Good girls should get something in return, shouldn’t they?” And just like that he was inserting the tip of his finger inside her, though he was surprised when the entire digit slipped into her in a fast and fluid motion, a testament to how wet she was. “Look at you— so fucking eager for it, I don’t even have to stretch you out.” He only waited a single second before he began pumping it into her, his thumb still drawing it’s path around her clit before adding the slightest pressure to the top of it.

Lina let out a pleased sigh when called her a good girl. She was starting to see that was quite the fan of the names he was calling her as well, especially princess and good girl. She couldn’t explain it, but it was making the entire situation even hotter to her. “Yes, daddy.” Her hand tightened on his hair again, before she moved the hand on his shoulder to tug on his tie, pulling him forward so she could kiss him again. Her hand let go of his tie, slowly tracing lower. Her nails tracing down his abdomen muscles through his shirt slowly. A soft moan was muffled by his lips when his thumb pressed against her clit.

Jax didn’t want to go too hard on her clit at first, knowing that some girls were unbearably sensitive there, but the same couldn’t be said for his finger. His pace was mediate, but his moves were strong and deep, the largeness of his hands serving him rather well. Again that word that made him feel like a man stuck on a desert island. In desperate need of water and surrounded by something he couldn’t drink, on the edge, and most importantly...hot. His pace increased as a thank you to her, giving her nipple piercing the sharpest tug he had yet as he continued their kiss.

Jax was blowing the expectation Lina had for men out of the water. Honestly, she was wondering at this point if her ex-husband was just really horrible or if Jax was just really good. She let out a louder moan, her chest pressing into his hand further without asking her brain for permission first. Her fingers dragged lower, stopping at his pant hem, playing with the edge. Her fingernail traced across the top for a few moments, before her hand moved to clumsily play with his belt.

As her hand played with his belt, Jax realized he hadn’t actually thought about whether or not he would fuck her against the doorframe of an underused armory. Would he? As the sound of her moan rang in his ears, and anticipation of her getting his pants open began to mount, he had his answer. He’d fuck her anywhere— anytime, semi-public doorframes included. But just then...the unthinkable happened. His ears picked up the faintest of footsteps somewhere in the distance.

Lina was a bit desperate to get his belt undone, her fingers working overtime to undo it. Just as she got it to open, her fingers still working to undo the button underneath, she had to pause. She pulled back the slightest bit, her lips still touching his as she whispered,“Someone is coming.” There was a thought in the back of her head screaming at her to care, but lust driven Lina wasn’t listening. Instead of truly stopping, as she should have, her palm began to rub against him through his pants.

Jax knew he should pull away and fix his appearance, try and act as if he hadn’t been finger-fucking Lina underneath some mistletoe. And yet here he was, immediately going to slip another finger to join his first as the footsteps slowly grew louder. “I know. It’s about to be you cumming.” Her hand rubbing against him was something that could only be described as divine, and he was sincerely hoping this person would turn around and he’d get to see her cute little hand wrapped about his dick. But at the same time— he couldn’t resist grabbing at her wrist, bringing it up to the wall above her once more. “Don’t make me tie you up, princess.” The control only made this all the more delicious. He moved his fingers in a come hither motion inside her, searching for her g-spot and gave a smirk against her lips as he found the tell-tale little bump inside her. Jax’s pace increased to something that could only be described as frantic, his thumb still working her clit expertly. “Come on baby, you can do it. Cum for me.”

A noise that could only be described as a disappointed whine came from Lina when he took her wrist in his hand. “I want to feel you,” She told him, that slight whine coming up through her voice again. Though she couldn’t really say that she would oppose being tied up, though that would be something she would rather happen in an actual bedroom. She moaned against his lips once more, nipping at his lower lip afterward. Between the movements of his hand and the approaching footsteps, Lina knew that she was going to cum very soon. Her hand tightened in his hair again, her breathing heavy as she nodded. Her small frame began to shake just as a tiny bit, her orgasm just a second away.

She was close, but so were the footsteps that continued to approach. But Jax never backed down, and getting Lina to cum was no exception. Now would have normally been the time he would slow his movements, bringing his partner back down only to build them up again, torturing them in the best of ways. But they had a time limit, and Jax was not going to leave without seeing Lina lose herself. Her words only stoked the fire inside him. Gods, he wanted to feel her hand on him. Releasing the hand he’d used to trap her wrist against the wall once more, he instead made better use of it as he took hold of her nipple once more, pinching it hard between his fingers as his other hand worked her pussy with even more determination. “Now, Lina. Cum.” His voice was insistent and a partial low growl, as if he could order her into an orgasm.

The moment her hand was released, Lina’s fingers went back to the front of his pants, palming him through them. Really, in an ideal world, right after she came, she would drop to her knees in front of him to get him to cum too. Instead, she had to make do with their situation, which was to simply feel him over his pants. Her hand tugged hard against his hair, harder than she had pulled before, as her eyes rolled back. Even though their kisses were smothering the moans, she was sure she was still a bit loud. Her body shook as she came and she swore she was seeing stars.

Seeing Lina fall apart was truly a sight to witness, and Jax continued his motions through her orgasm, though the hand on his bulge was becoming completely distracting. Fuck, what he would do for the approaching person to turn around so they could continue their romp. He could only imagine her orgasm would be even more enjoyable if she was having it while sat on his cock. ‘There’s a good girl,” he whispered gruffly against her lips. But as soon as she stopped shaking, he took his fingers from her abruptly, stepping away after untangling himself from her and fixing her skirt, and smoothing a hand through his no doubt now unruly hair...just as the person finally made their way around the corner of the hallway and into their line of sight. “Legionnaire Adams,” he said as a form of greeting to them, giving a nod and trying his best to look as if he hadn’t just been fingering his fellow centurion, and wanting to do much more.

Lina suddenly realized how caught they might look and Jax’s belt and pants button being completely undone was not helping. There really did not need to be anymore attention drawn to the front of his pants. She pushed herself to be in front of Jax, hastily attempting to do his belt, having to stop half way through as Adams came around. At least, she was blocking the view a bit Her face was incredibly flushed, but she used that to her advantage, changing her face to look frustrated. She suddenly began speaking to Jax about the Senate fire, because if there was one thing everyone wanted to know about it was the fire, and she hoped that that would make the legionnaire more curious about their discussion than their appearance. “Like I was saying, now that everyone knows what caused the fire, we have to - Legionnaire. Hello.” She said curtly. She grabbed Jax’s upper arm, hoping the motion would keep Adams’s eyes up,“We should continue this elsewhere.”

Jax had already been formulating a plan to fix his pants, but he shouldn’t have doubted Lina and her quick thinking. He went with her plan effortlessly, as if they were a well-oiled machine, though mostly it was his fingers that were best lubricated with Lina’s juices still coating them. “Of course. Let me just take care of this mistletoe really quick,” He said with an upwards glance towards the little plant that had started this all. “Look away, Adams,” he said with a grin, before swooping down to give Lina a lingering kiss. Of course, they’d already more than fulfilled the mistletoe’s quota, but Adams didn’t know that, and he couldn’t resist a last tease. He retreated, his pants and belt now perfectly fastened as he’d used the advantage of making Adams look awkwardly away to fix them. “Don’t get stuck under here with someone, Adams. It won’t let you leave until you follow tradition.”

Lina looked up at him rather amused, a small smile going over her lips and a small giggle left her. “What a Christmas tradition,” She said lightly. A bit overcome with the afterglow, she cupped his cheek in her hand as they kissed. Obviously, to really sell the show, that definitely why she did it. She ran a hand through her hair after the kiss, smiling at Adams,“It truly will get you stuck in here until you kiss them. Alright, come along Jax, we have things to talk about.” She grabbed his hand to start bringing him out into the hallway.

Jax followed after her, the warmth of her hand on his surprising...but not the most unpleasant thing he’d ever felt. He retrieved the shield from where he had abandoned it on the ground, holding it in front of him to help conceal the rather large boner Lina and their activities had given him. As soon as they were around the corner though, he tugged back on the hand she’d put in his, bringing her silently into a storage closet in the hallway. One with a door that he could lock from the inside. Almost immediately, his hand was back up her skirt, picking up where he had left off as a finger once more teased the outside of her slit. “Wanna see how many more times you can cum before your legs turn to jelly? I have a feeling I might even beat my latest record if I eat you out,” he said— referring to her most recent orgasm.

Lina shouldn’t have been surprised when he tugged her in a completely different direction than she was leading him, yet Lina was. She let out another giggle the moment they’re in the closet, feeling a bit like a naughty teen. Her hands both started to undo his belt and as soon as his zipper and button were undone, her hand slipped into his pants, rubbing against him through his underwear. She grinned up at him, another small giggle coming from her,“I welcome your attempt. I’m curious now, to see how much you can beat it by.”

Her hand had been sweet when it was in Jax’s, but now it was a different kind of sweet as it rubbed him, and he let out a small hiss between his teeth. “Fuck— Lina,” his need was obvious in his voice, though her challenge only renewed his determination to get her to cum once more. “You’re gonna have to stop that if you want me to make that attempt. Or I’ll have to make you stop it. Then again...you were such a good girl. Maybe you deserve to have your own chance at beating the record.” Nevertheless, his fingers were once more easing their way into her.

Lina’s lips curled into a sweet smile, as her hand kept going. “Maybe I want you to cum with me.” One finger pulled slowly at the band of his underwear, as Lina desperately wanted undress him. His hiss really only just spurred her on and so did his threat of making her stop. Almost like she was daring him to capture her hands again, her fingers slid into his underwear. She couldn’t help the small gasp that came from her,“Fuck me. Make me cum that way. Please.”

Jax was torn. He so desperately wanted to fuck Lina as she’d requested, but making it hard or her was too much fun. He took away her hand that wasn’t rubbing against him and twisted it around her back before pushing her into the wall of the closet, turning her so his chest was against her back, almost as if he were arresting her. “You want me to fuck you? Then we do it my way.” He’d already fingered her against the doorframe, wasn’t fucking her against the wall a step up?

As soon as he turned her around, Lina began to press her ass against him. “I want you to fuck me. I want you to fuck me until my legs can’t hold me up.” She rubbed against him again, so desperate for him to be in her already. She opened her mouth to say something else, when she heard the running footsteps and calls for Centurion Valla. She wanted to ignore it, but she was rather sure that was Xavier and he sounded worried. She turned her head to look at Jax a bit desperate.

Jax heard the call the same time she did, and though he didn’t recognize the voice, he could hear the urgency in it. Jax knew that if it had been one of his own legionnaires, he’d already be out the door— ready to help. “Gods be damned,” he cursed under his breath, frustration rather obvious in his tone. “I’m assuming you want to check on that?” He loosened his grip on her reluctantly, though he most certainly wouldn’t say no if she asked him to continue.

Lina swallowed and nodded,“Xav wouldn’t try to find me unless it was really important.” Lina bit her lip, feeling a bad about leaving him in a closet. “I have to go. Listen, meet me at the lake later. We can go... Swimming.” Unable to stop herself, she leaned up suddenly and placed a last kiss on him. “And you have to stay in here. I don’t need those questions.”