~Conclusions~

The lights were dimmed, and Cyclonis watched the shadows dance from the flickering light. The heavy weight of Aerrow's head rested on her chest. She could feel his breath caress her collarbone. She idly played with his hair, running the strands through her fingers. The locks were uneven and wild. The last time it had been cut probably had been when he had been recovering from the stabbing. Some of the mats in his filthy hair had been easier to just cut away.

It had been days ago since the confrontation with the Doctor, and she had done her best to pretend it hadn't happened. In the busy crush of the day when she could throw herself into her research or into council meetings. She even used the red-head as a distraction; trying to exhaust herself into dreamless sleep. It worked fairly well, but she always found herself in quiet moments like this, where her mind was free to wander despite her best efforts.

And it made her realize how far off track her original plan had gone. Not even just off track, the train had gone off the rails completely, gone careening down a cliff and crashed in a terrific explosion. It was supposed to be Piper. It had always been about Piper. It was Piper that she had fantasied about. The person who's love, admiration and friendship she had coveted. Whose hatred and loathing she gleefully nurtured.

The person she had wanted to break and tame.

But, now that time had distanced her mind from the plan she realized how much a failure that would have been. Piper would have died, and it would have been by Cyclonis's hand. Piper wouldn't have forgiven her. Wouldn't have adapted. The girl would never allow her hate to tolerate Cyclonis's existence. And Cyclonis would have snapped one day, let loose her hurricane of emotions and Piper would have been lost to it.

But Aerrow was used to reading the winds, and riding them accordingly. He was yielding. Not to say the man wasn't stubborn. He could dig his heels in when he wanted to. For that reason alone, it was a miracle Aerrow hadn't been sent flying through the window already. Maybe it because as much as he argued, he also listened. He was fair. That attitude towards her was alien, when she was used to have to her have her opinions overrode or ignored in the council, even with Piper. Especially Piper.

And as... unlikely as the attachment was, it was there. And now that she had it, she was loathe to let it go. She had never been very good with sharing.

~Safe Keeping~

Cyclonis didn't take risks with what she considered hers. She liked to keep those few precious things tucked away. The Doctor had told her to ask him to stay. That was impossible. That gave him the option to refuse. Like he had a choice to leave. Which he didn't. Not now, when she had decided to keep him.

And he would leave if she gave him the option. She knew he would. Because it would be the right thing to do. Because he was the hero and they did that kind of noble nonsense.

But she had a plan. And it was easy. Fool-proof, even. Hers plans might fall apart when it came to getting rid of Storm Hawks, but surely they had to succeed at keeping one.

But this idea was simple. Nothing over complicated, and there were no minions involved to bungle it. It was just going to take a while to set up before she could capitalize it. But when it worked, she would be safe in trusting Aerrow's loyalty to her.


A/N: Thank you kindly all for the reviews and sticking with me! To answer a question that keeps cropping up - no, I'm afraid I won't be writing more lemons for this story (or any story really). I don't feel comfortable writing them, nor enjoy it. What's the point of writing something you don't enjoy? Takes the fun right out of it. If you guys ever have questions or just want to drop a comment you can also do so at silver-quick dot tumblr dot com. I have anon turned on, so I can answer you there a little more easily than here. Take my dears, and expect more updates!