"I expected this," she continued, giving him a significant look.
It was her second lie of the night. And just as necessary as the first.
"Funny—you failed to warn me of this possibility," Graydon said flatly, looking like he dearly wished to put her over his knee.
Kira fought back her smile. He was adorable when he was grumpy. "If I had, you'd never have let me come."
"You're learning bad habits," Graydon grumbled, looking away from her.
She cupped his jaw, finding it rigid from how hard he was grinding his teeth. His stubble pricked her palm as she lifted onto her tip toes to press a kiss to the corner of his lips.
"I'll be fine," she promised.
Storm clouds gathered in Graydon's eyes. "You'd better be."
Unspoken, was what he'd do to the humans around her if she wasn't.
Kira dropped back onto her heels; her smile impish. "Just for the record—you make a terrible oshota."
Graydon pulled her hand away from his face to glare. "I do not. I'm great at it."
"Only in terms of your ability to protect. You're absolute shit when it comes to following orders."
That was probably what made him such a great Face. He dominated any situation he was in. Even when he didn't say a word.
The fact he was willing to humor her and take a back seat while she drove the situation was something of a coup.
They'd come a long way from that first meeting.
"Look after the kid while I'm gone, would you?" Kira nodded at Lathan.
Though the wanderer was perfectly capable of looking after himself, you could never be too careful. With a lenacht in the mix, they had to stay on their toes. The Tsavitee had already targeted it once.
"One day we're going to have a talk about your habit of leaving me behind."
"You should compare notes with Finn. He'd love having someone to commiserate with."
Kira walked over to Lathan, fishing the J1N's shell out of his hood.
"Don't think I won't," Graydon warned as Kira shook the drone.
"See you soon," Kira said with one last look at Graydon.
His stance was rigid, the muscles in his body strung as tight as a bow. "You'd better. Otherwise, I'm coming in after you. I make no promises as to what state your friend or their equipment will end up in if that becomes necessary."
"I'll consider myself warned."
Kira tossed the J1N into the air. "Let's go, Jin. Looks like we've got work to do."
The J1N sailed in a perfect parabola. Right before it dropped like a stone, hitting the snow with a thud.
Diesel raised an eyebrow. "You weren't kidding. That's some glitch."
With a frustrated sigh, Kira bent and prodded the drone. Each tap was a little fiercer than the last. Finally, there was a hum as the drone's antigravs initiated.
The J1N lifted off the ground. "The great and mighty Jin is reporting for duty."
Kira grabbed the J1N, turning it so its 'eye' was facing in the right direction. "Let me help you, buddy. There you go."
