(Untitled)

[virtual_ram]

Ram put the book down on his bed after Java left his room. He kicked himself mentally for letting her leave. Last time she left, she didn't come back until a week later. The front door of the apartment clicked shut

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[_java_]

Java systematically searched the cabinets of Ram's kitchen as her husband continued his work, such as it was, and assembled a small collection of cooking paraphernalia on the old countertop. It wasn't like Ram to be so clumsy, she thought, picking up a heavy ceramic bowl. It was almost as if he were hiding something... Not that that was anything new. She measured rice into the bowl and filled it with water, watching the grain swirl in tiny eddies as the water rushed in. The room sounded painfully silent when she turned the tap off again, and Java realized that she could hear her heartbeat, very faintly, in the back of her ears. She set the bowl down into the sink, dipping her hand into the water and carefully washing the starch out of the rice. Regardless of her feelings, she had to say something to him, Java realized; she couldn't just barge in and hide in his kitchen. The water had turned milky-white. Java cradled the rice against one edge of the bowl with one hand, poured the water out, refilled. In the living room, something was set down on the table. He'd been so unpleasant earlier, however; perhaps she would do well to let him stay quiet for now...

Java glanced to Ram, hoping to get a feel for his mood while he was distracted by work. His computer was on the coffee table now, however, looking decidedly put aside, and Java was displeased to see her husband looking towards her as well. Their eyes met, once, and four years of training allowed Java to slap a smile into place as quickly as if it had been genuine. "What's on your mind, baby?" There was an odd, hollow ring to her voice as it left her lips; she could only hope it would escape Ram's notice. Java's left hand dipped back into the rice bowl, swirling the grains up into a hard lump in her fist as she smiled.

[virtual_ram]

Ram leaned forward and instinctively started tidying up the coffee table. "Hmm?...Oh, Nothing." He lied distractedly. He had been mulling over what exactly he would tell Java when he went to leave this evening. She wouldn't take it too lightly, especially since she didn't like Ved. The way she reacted this morning, he could tell she didn't like him being out in the city, either.
Maybe she won't care... The optimistic thought immediately diminished. His Javie cared about everything having to do with him. He neatly lined up the stack of books using his hands and got up from the couch.

He walked over the kitchen and leaned against the counter, watching Java work. He stared at her hands playing with the rice in the bowl as he ruffled his hair, still not used to having it down all the time. Absently, he wondered if she had remembered to wash them. He pushed the question out of his mind. He was normal now; he didn't care about silly little things like germs.

Ram pushed away from the counter and moved closer to Java, still looking at her hands. He enjoyed the contrast in between her dark skin tone and the pale rice. He raised his eyebrows playfully, incase she did look back at him. "Anything I can do to help?"

[_java_]

Java resisted the urge to shy away as Ram moved closer to her, her hands keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. He was close enough for her to catch his scent again, clean and subtle, and Java wished with a sudden desperation that she did not love him. The rice water had turned white again, she noticed, and she shook her head slightly as she poured it off. "It has to soak before it'll be any good to us," she explained, with that carefully practiced tone that implied that she was simply reminding him of something that he, Lord Ram, would already know, and her smile was too tight as she filled the bowl with water once more. It was almost disconcerting to see Ram offering to help, just as it had been strange to watch him willingly clean the dishes after lunch. Caesars don't make their own dinners. The rice kernels looked up at her from beneath the water, vaguely pearlescent, and Java realized that her breathing was off, very slightly. And people don't change. She set the satisfyingly heavy bowl on the countertop. He, especially, does not change.

Java ran the tap for a moment, washing the tension of the moment and the lingering grains of rice from her hands with soap that smelled like peaches, and turned to her husband. He was too close, she thought, the sense of danger from earlier mixing with a strange knowledge that part of her truly wanted him closer. But he still wants Ebony... Java looked up into his face, the forced smile faltering a moment. He was beautiful, the bastard, with his gentle expression and tousled hair, and in that moment Java hated Ebony more than any creature on the earth. She opened her mouth slightly, meaning to say something charming, and nothing came out.

[virtual_ram]

Ram flashed her a boyish smile and brushed away a braid from her face as he leaned in and kissed her. He lingered, nibbling on her lower lip, then pulled back, remembering what time he said he would meet his friend.
He glanced out the kitchen window over the sink. "Javie, while you were out, I got an email from Ved. He asked to meet up at the Casino around dinnertime. He probably wants to get out of the mall, and you were gone...I had no idea when you were going to be back, so I accepted. I'm really sorry." He appologized. He wasn't sure if Java would understand or not, or how she'd react, but he knew she would let him leave. It was just the coming back part he had to worry about.

He sighed. Ram didn't really want to change, even though it was probably for the best. He looked back at Java. He was such a complete jerk for leaving her while she was cooking, for him, nonetheless. This definitely wasn't going to help reconscile things between them.

"Look, we can put this away and you can come with me. Then we can finish when we get back. Do you want to come with me?"

[_java_]

"To meet Ved?" The surprised warmth of the unexpected kiss faded into incredulity as Java's eyes darkened, the honey in her voice now carrying a trace of venom. She pulled away from him, instinctively. "I think I'll pass." Java didn't like Ram going into town, especially the Casino, and especially to meet Ved, but if he was going to give her the opportunity to be alone, she had to take it. The kitchen felt small, suddenly, and the light bulb seemed too yellow as the sky darkened outside. Time was running out.

Java folded her arms across her chest, her chin jutting forward stubbornly as she glared down at the countertop. It didn't bother her that Ram was leaving, really; she was used to it, after all, and men like her husband were not well suited to change. What did bother her was that he was going to put his life on the line to meet Ved, and she, his self-styled bodyguard, could not be there to keep him safe. Java considered, briefly, going with Ram now and then sneaking out to meet Mega later, but it was simply too risky; she couldn't afford for her husband to be suspicious of her, especially so soon. Loyalty is the only thing worth dying for. But if Ved was leading her lover into a trap, or if Ram stumbled into a Color War zone...

Looking back up at his face, at the lips that had settled for the taste of her own in the absence of her little sister's, Java did what little she could to ensure her husband's safety, her eyes meeting his as she forcibly softened her expression. "You are taking a weapon, Lord Ram?"

[virtual_ram]

Ram bit his lip as she declined. He understood. Java and Ved had never gotten along. He nodded.
"You are taking a weapon, Lord Ram?" He cringed inwardly at what she had called him, but brushed it aside for a more important thought: a weapon. He wasn't sure if he still had his T-Gun or not. A sudden pang of panic attacked his nerves. He was a wanted man, some kids out there wouldn't think twice before killing him. He started reconsidering his whole trip.

I've done it before...twice, even. Both times I didn't have any weapon and I was fine... His thoughts turned to the first time he went out into the city. The only problem he had was with that girl, Moz. And that wasn't really a problem. She was just protecting her tribe.

"No." Ram mumbled quietly as he shook his head. "I'll be fine, though, Javie. Don't worry." Ram gave her a quick peck on the temple before exiting the kitchen. He left his laptop out on the coffee table. Passing it, he thought about putting it away. To spite his tidy instincts, he left it.

He opened the front door to the apartment and looked back at Java, flashing her a small smile, then he stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

[_java_]

He was leaving without a weapon? Java's eyes flashed as he brushed his lips against her; she couldn't allow him to enter the city defenseless. Her hand moved to the T-gun in her pocket, her gaze falling. He'd want to know where and why she'd gotten it, of course; it could compromise the security of her mission... But it might keep him safe. "Ram..."

But he was already out of the kitchen, his steps quick and determined. Java stepped out of the kitchen to stop him, to make him see sense. He flashed her a little smile at the door, and Java relaxed a bit; he'd just been toying with her. Her hand slipped into her pocket. "Lord Ram, I--" The front door shut behind him, and her eyes darted back up, wide and angry. "Lord Ram! RAM!" But he was gone. Java swore, low in her throat, her free hand lashing out angrily.

She could chase after him, she thought, desperately; it wasn't too late to stop him. But Ram was still Ram, she reminded herself, and if he had made his mind up, then there would be no changing it. Java took a deep breath, and forced herself to turn away from the door, making her way instead into the washroom to check her make-up. She had to give Ram enough time to get out of eyesight before she could leave, and there was a twisted little part of her that wanted to make sure that she looked perfect when she returned to Mega's base. "Everything bows to beauty," she murmured, tunelessly, fixing a tiny smudge of eye-makeup and smoothing her braids. Every girl felt better when she was perfectly beautiful, after all, and Java needed to feel as strong as possible if she was going to take on Mega and his hordes. She wasted a few more minutes redoing her lipgloss, straightening her collar, and otherwise killing time, until she was certain that Ram would be out of sight.

When she felt it would be safe, Java forced herself to stop procrastinating, and set out for Mega's, the hand on the T-gun in her jacket pocket doing little to alleviate her fear.