"I can't believe you kissed him," said Trevor as he stuffed items into a satchel. He'd been pouting for a good ten minutes.

"I'm starting to regret that I told you," said Rafferty.

"I regret that you told me. He's untrustworthy, unsanitary, and un…relentingly stupid," he said, oddly proud of rescuing his own alliteration. Pouty Trevor could be pretty smug.

"I resent that you think I would kiss something unsanitary," she said.

"How much dirt do you have under your fingernails right now?" he asked.

"Not … a lot," she said, earning herself a look. Rafferty tried to change the subject, while Trevor picked up a grappling hook.

"We don't need to take that," she said.

"Who's the responsible Jack that's always prepared for everything and who's the reckless Hunter prone to questionable decisions?" he asked, winding up the hook's cord.

Rafferty let it go, and they worked in silence for a few minutes. There wasn't much you could do with pouty Trevor. You just had to ride it out.

"But why would you kiss him?" he asked after a few minutes.

Ok. We're not done.

"Why do you kiss all the boys you kiss?" she asked.

"Because they're cute, and I like them, and sometimes it leads to… other stuff," Trevor said, turning a bit red.

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Rafferty shrugged.

"You didn't!" snapped Trevor, his face contorting in a way Rafferty found amusing.

"No. Not yet," she teased. "But if anything happens, I promise you'll be the first to know," she said, poking Trevor in the ribs.

"I never liked you," said Trevor, which was what pouty Trevor said when he wanted to get out of an argument.

The door opened, and the others filed into the room.

Vincent had been struck by inspiration. There was an annual darts tournament in Bone. It was only days away. Alex had won the tournament three of the last four years. Vincent was convinced that he wouldn't miss it, no matter what else was going on.

So they knew where Alex with Malice was going to be.

And they could get there first.

Vincent had asked for J Hall and B Hall, and the Priory had agreed. Rafferty was sure the other halls had plenty to say about that.

Technically, he asked for 'Rafferty's hall' and 'the fun one's hall.'

The room was filling with people. Bags were being packed. Gear was being checked. There was lots of chatter. It was a big deal.

And you'd think that all that chatter would be about, you know, the important mission that was about to happen.

But no.

No.

The topic of the day was Rafferty and Vincent. It was all anyone wanted to talk about, and that was just dandy.

Just freakin' dandy.

Blaspheme draped her arm around Rafferty.

"So Rafferty, did he taste like strawberries?" she asked, laughing.

"I heard that," snapped Sheridan.

"I think they're cute together," said Brianna.

"I know. It's like when a goat falls in love with a chicken, and no one knows why, but now they're best friends," said Cody.

"Yep, it's just like that," said Seth.

It's going to be a long day.

"So who made the first move?" asked Katrin. It was part question part challenge, like almost all questions Katrin asked.

"I did," said Rafferty, straightening up a bit.

Katrin mouthed something that she didn't say out loud, but Rafferty thought it might be "Good for you."

"So does he seem dumber because he's hot, or hotter because he's dumb?" asked Blaspheme.

"Can we focus on the mission?" asked Sheridan.

Fat chance of that.

"Definitely the second one. I don't know why, but it totally makes him hotter," said Katrin.

"I know, right?" said Blaspheme.

Katrin crossed the room and whispered something to Blaspheme. The two girls giggled, most likely at Rafferty's expense.

There. I got Katrin and Blaspheme laughing like they're best friends. I'm a miracle worker.

"Who's dumb and hot?" asked Vincent, walking into the room.

Rafferty decided to just go with it. There was no way anyone was going to talk about anything else anyway. Trying to get them to stop would only make it worse.

She walked right up to Vincent.

"You are," she said, and kissed him to great fanfare from the rest of the room.

The mission today was tricky. It was uncertain. It was dangerous. The mood could have been tight, especially with two halls that didn't exactly get along. Instead, the room was loose. They were ready.

Rafferty felt an odd sense of pride.

She kept kissing Vincent until the noise died down.

Which took a while.