“You’re going to break your back if you keep trying to lift a woman half-made of steel...”
“...I forgot,” he confessed.
Eden chuckled against his shoulder. He had forgotten about her legs... She loved that too. He put a kiss on her head, and she moved her face away from his shoulder to kiss his lips next, while he put her down. They kissed for a little while, chuckling and hugging each other as if they had found one another again.
“...You know, Kitties, this is a really unsanitary place to get nasty, just for the record. I’m not stereotyping Chinese restaurant bathroom stalls in general, but toilets are unsanitary anyway. No offense to the Chinese buffets. I love buffets.”
Eden sighed, and they parted reluctantly.
“There is no way to mute him?” sighed Dante.
“Not that I know of.”
“And even if you did, I’d find a way to unmute myself! You bad, nasty Kitties! Come on! Unless someone needs to parachute a choco nugget, time to go!”
“Damn, Loir, you’re seriously gross.”
“I’m not taking lessons from someone who just kissed in a toilet!”
“Shut up!”
Annoyed by her partner, Eden led Dante out of the bathroom, only to remember once they stepped outside that he was still half-naked, and she had no idea where they were either. She walked aimlessly around for a little bit but wasn’t sure she would find her way back. She wasn’t in the mood to ask Loir for help either. She turned to Dante and noticed the man from earlier, who had guided them all to the dining room when they first arrived, stepping out of nowhere to politely smile at them.
“I will accompany you back,” he simply said, before walking ahead.
Eden and Dante followed him, but she noted how quickly he had appeared. They were probably being followed since she had stepped out of the dining room... They followed the man in silence, holding hands. Eden was still a bit bothered that Dante’s shirt was in her hand rather than covering him, but he didn’t seem to care at all. When they returned to the dining room, Thao’s eyes went right to the piece of clothing.
“Wow, you guys must have been busy... Done already?” she chuckled.
“Very classy, Thao,” sighed Michael. “Don’t worry, you guys, we’re leaving anyway.”
“Wait, we’re done?” Sanyam asked.
“We have a plan, everyone knows what they’re supposed to do,” said Tanya, getting up from the table. “I don’t know about you, but I had no intentions of staying with that old Dragon longer than necessary, and am probably not going to say goodbye either. I got a territory to watch.”
Eden noticed that indeed, the old Dragon hadn’t bothered to come back to this room after talking to them... Pan’s hologram was gone too.
She watched as the Zodiacs agreed to leave one by one, each giving the other ten minutes to get out of the territory, probably to avoid murdering each other once they stepped out... Tanya and Michael, who were the ones with the farthest territories, left first, followed by Sanyam. However, Eden noticed A. hadn’t moved from his chair at all and was chatting in a low voice with Lecky. They weren’t hiding, but it didn’t look like they were expecting anyone to listen either. Eden sat next to Dante at the table, waiting for their turn. Thao was still busy drinking and sending amused glances to the Tiger, who didn’t care at all. It had turned into some weird staring contest between them, and Eden wanted no part in it. The rivalry between these two wasn’t too alarming, more like a slow burn between rivals... Eden was more intrigued by the duo whispering at the other end of the table. From what she could grasp of their discussion, A. was giving Lecky information about a possible escape route, and a safe with vital information, which surprised her that he didn’t seem to bother hiding their conversation at all.
Suddenly, both men turned to her at the same time, making her a bit embarrassed she had been caught eavesdropping.
“Eden,” said A. with his usual low and slow voice. “Could you give us some of your time?”
“W-what for...?”
“You’re going to lead the Edge tomorrow,” said A. “There are a couple of people you need to meet.”
She frowned, but nodded, a bit intrigued. So far, she had felt like A. was the most trustworthy of the Zodiacs, and the least likely to set up some sort of trap. She glanced at Dante, but even if he had heard the whole conversation, the Tiger hadn’t shifted his eyes from Thao, meaning he would probably follow what she decided. However, Lecky caught her gaze.
“We’d appreciate it if you came alone,” he muttered.
“No.”
Dante’s voice was firm and cold, and he hadn’t even moved. Aleksander Lecky grimaced, probably expecting this much. He and A. exchanged another look.
“This isn’t about you,” A. said. “It’s about... the security of the people we want to introduce you to.”
Eden knew this kind of speech. In fact, she easily understood that involving the Tiger could be a deal-breaker. Lecky and A. were Zodiacs, but they were more experts in hiding and protecting than killers like the others...
