ーHEAD OF THE LEGION.

Ah, much like she expected the king of everything to say.

They were ragged and breathless. The Stargazer had thrown herself into the throes of passion for the person who had her desires - sweet like cherry, intoxicating like perfume - in her vice grip. She was not in a position to regret anything then, not when she said it did not have to mean anything.

But what if, to the diviner, that it did mean something?

One thing at all?

But not all things in this world were made mutual. In pairs, perhaps. But mutual, and exclusivity - such things were luxury.

Her legs which had wrapped themselves around the legion leader's waist, immediately supported her upwards so she could look into Zoya's eyes. Their gaze often met, but often, the silver-haired woman would avoid the windows to her soul be unraveled like threads.

Of course, she would not. That was why they were both so incompatible.

But the raging desire to hold her accountable for their lips touching, and the daring, subtle lick in between - almost overcame her before she pulled back anyway.

If anyone were to practise restraint, it would be Anarkia. Because Zoya always had her way.

"Very well. It does not have to mean anything."

Though she said so, her index finger traced against Zoya's middle, the bare skin that she shows. Lightly so that she would shiver against her touch, lightly so she knew what words weighed.

Their lips were only inches away, and her mauve-tinted lips were a mess. But the smirk on her face showed nothing but confidence that her dancing partner for that night would relent.

The same hand that traced her stomach would then raise, linger just a moment underneath her breast, before brushing against the firm mound and lastly, to wrap around her neck.

Too busy admiring the diviner she had in front of her, Zoya didn't pay much attention to her response at first. Her touch was that bewitching, making the boss slightly shiver under her fingertips. Her eyes couldn't look away either... until they met Anarkia's.

That was when her response felt like it was hiding something. Was she disappointed? It was nothing but an instinctive guess from Zoya. Maybe she was overthinking it, which was unusual for someone so straightforward. But with her... She didn't want to mess it up.

❝ Something tells me that if you were truly fine with that, you wouldn't have repeated it twice. ❞ Zoya smirked, still a little bit amused at the thought of Stargazer being annoyed with her.

❝ Let me repeat myself too then. It doesn't have to mean something. It definitely could though. I'm giving you a choice here. I don't know if you made any of those lately since you can use your talents to see what's waiting for you, usually. So what will it be? Do you want it to mean something? ❞

When Zoya's hand reached for hers, she knew that she was bound to open up at least one door. One door that she remained so adamant to not show, and yet here they were. The feeling of the woman's skin underneath her palm felt like a surge of tranquillity, one she did not think was achievable in the presence of another.

When their eyes met, it was them looking in the same direction. Their gaze met, but it was only because the direction they were looking at for that one mere second, was the same exact point.

Zoya was her own fate-treader. This much, she had known, from the way she carried herself with such strength. It was such a contradiction to the truths that the Stargazer had seen for herself, that it was such a difficult conflict to resolve within her. That her divining sight would not falter, much like this tangible individual made of flesh and bone.

And a heart that knows no surrender.

Her eyes momentarily squinted, at Zoya's words. Not knowing how to quit was a trait both of them possessed. She felt a sense of shame that her heart's desire would value her life more, even if it meant something else.

"You do not see what I see. That is difficult to come to terms with," she began to speak, her lips shuddering at the thought. Her gold claws pressed forward, then reaching the leader's neck. "But you can promise. Promise that when you take something into your hands, you understand that you will need to pay your due."

Zoya was not naïve, this she knew very well.

❝ So you've been observing me more than I thought, huh. I didn't expect that kind of statement coming from you but I liked the sound of that. ❞ she simply replied with a smile on her lips.

Stargazer always had such a way with words that was worlds apart from the terribly foul language Zoya was used to hear in Syndicate. And when she was inclined to listen, it was fascinating to listen to, even when Stargazer's aim was to argue against whatever the Boss thought and said. Though it wasn't the case now, was it...

What Zoya didn't approve until now was how Anarkia phrased things. It seemed impossible to find a middle ground. It always looked like she couldn't think of any other outcome than the one she could foresee.

This time, the white-haired brawler kept smiling. Ultimately, the diviner was right and Zoya knew it. She couldn't see what the other saw but it was certainly better this way. Her judgement wasn't clouded by doubt when hard choices presented themselves to her, simply because her self-confidence allowed Zoya to power through all of that.

That was the reason why, for the longest time, the Legion leader didn't want to admit that with someone like Stargazer by her side, it'd give her another perspective. She didn't want to hear about a path that would end in ruin when she was actively trying her hardest to give herself a better ending than the one she saw countless times.

❝ I promise, if that's all it takes to satisfy you. ❞ Zoya obviously knew what it implied but didn't want to comment more on the matter, it felt unnecessary.