Miki was out of her seat first, hurrying over to Deryn. "Hi, I'm Miki," she said, holding out her hand. "It's great to finally meet you."
As Deryn shook, Miki tugged her in and hugged her. When she pulled away, Kemp was right there to claim the next hug. Xander couldn't help but find amusement in how uncomfortable Deryn looked. But this was good for her. She wasn't used to people anymore and once she escaped Utopia and found her way back to the Resistance she was going to be surrounded by them. She might as well get used to it now.
As soon as Kemp was finished, Anan was standing right there, staring at her strangely while keeping his hands firmly in his pockets.
"So it's really you? Ruby, he ..." Anan gulped. "He rescued you?"
"I never said I rescued her," said Xander.
Deryn looked back at him and said, "But you did."
"No. I found you. You rescued yourself."
"But you found me right when I was in danger of getting recaptured, and you've taken care of me ever since. It counts."
Xander smirked. "Whatever you say."
"Are you going to hug me now, Anan?" asked Deryn, looking back at him.
Anan blushed before opening his arms and leaning in. "I'm really glad you're alright," he said.
"Thank you." When they pulled away, she really looked at him. "God, I can't believe how tall you are. What happened to the little munchkin I used to give noogies to?"
"I'd like to see you try and give me a noogie now," he said with a laugh.
"Don't tempt me."
Pushing everyone aside so he could get off of the staircase he was more or less stuck on, Bronson strutted forward, raised the bags he was carrying and said, "Should we start cooking?"
Deryn smiled and nodded. "Anan, this is Bronson, head chef today. I'm going to be his sous chef."
"Nice to meet you," said Bronson, shaking Anan's hand. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon Ulric standing a few feet away. His jaw dropped. "I know you. Y-you're Ulric Franklin."
Ulric smiled. "I am."
"Holy cannoli, Ruby didn't tell me you were here!"
"Oh, isn't that adorable. Even his wordplay is food related," Miki whispered to Deryn.
"Am I supposed to know who he is?" asked Xander.
"Yes!" snapped Bronson. "He's traveled farther than any other Outsider, trying to remap the world. He takes pictures everywhere he goes and put together a few books. I used to have all of them." He hurried forward and shook Ulric's hand urgently. "I am such a big fan. Would you mind being a line cook so that we could discuss your time in the ancient city of Las Vegas? It has always fascinated me."
Ulric chuckled and said, "Sure. I've been told I'm an excellent chopper."
"Could I be a line cook, too?" asked Miki. "I would love to learn some of your cooking tricks for days we're not graced with your presence."
"Of course," said Bronson, walking towards the kitchen.
"Me too! Me too!" shouted Ronan, grabbing Deryn's hand and pulling her along.
"So did you open your presents yet?" Miki asked Deryn a short while later as she grated cheese.
Deryn smiled. "Yes, I opened them this morning. Thank you for helping Xander pick out some records for me. I haven't listened to all of them yet. Just Blackbird."
"All morning!" Xander called from the other side of the room.
"Seriously," said Luka. "I thought those round things had multiple songs on them."
Deryn chuckled. "I suppose that means they're already sick of it."
"Hold out your hand."
Deryn watched as Bronson poured a bit of salt into Ronan's outstretched hand. He lifted him up and held him over a pot on the stove.
"Alright, kid. Toss it in."
Ronan did just that, laughing joyously as Bronson praised him.
Luka walked over and started picking at the grated cheese. Deryn slapped his hand away.
"Awesome job! High five!"
They all watched as Bronson and Ronan smacked hands.
Miki sighed. "He really is adorable, isn't he?"
"Ronan?" said Deryn. "Absolutely."
"Not Ronan. Bronson." She smiled. "Such a shame that someone so pretty will never go for me or you. Luka has a chance, though."
Luka choked on the cheese he'd stolen, despite Deryn continually slapping his hand away. Miki didn't seem to notice.
"Do you think he's ever been with a woman?"
Deryn blushed.
"He was only with women until he was, like, nineteen or something," said Luka.
Miki looked at him curiously. "Really? That wasn't that long ago, was it?"
Deryn knew the answer, but she smiled and looked at Luka expectantly.
"Six years," he said with a slight blush. He stuffed one last handful of cheese in his mouth and hurried away.
The whole time they cooked, Xander kept a close eye on Deryn from the other side of the room, wanting to make sure she was all right. She kept giving him a reassuring smile but, even so, it was clear that Miki's girl talk was making her uncomfortable.
Once the turkey was in the oven, Ronan wanted to show Deryn and Xander the play area downstairs that Santa Claus had brought for him. Xander had to admit, it was pretty noble of Miki and Kemp to give credit to a fictitious man after all the hard work they had put in. He'd always known stories of Santa Claus but never actually believed in him. Few people did in Utopia. It was just an ancient fable that Outsiders liked to keep alive.
Ronan ended up dragging Luka downstairs too, and they all played in the small, fort-like play area for a while before deciding it was time to head back upstairs.
"Xander, wait," said Deryn, grabbing his hand just as he began to ascend the staircase. "Would you mind if we stayed down here a minute longer?"
"Sure," he said, looking up at Luka and Ronan.
"I'll take the kid up," said Luka, letting Ronan take him up instead.
"Everything alright?" asked Xander as soon as they were alone.
"Yes," she said with a nod. "It's all just ... a bit overwhelming, I suppose. I only need a minute." She pulled him close. "Just you and me."
Xander smiled. He stroked her cheek while staring into her eyes, which were sea-green again, and only then remembered the ring he'd found in Willow. It would be a nice surprise when they returned home.
Putting a hand on his arm, Deryn leaned up and kissed him, her heart still aflutter from the words he had said to her earlier. That he loved her.
Upstairs, Anan was pacing around the room, his eyes constantly drifting to the staircase. "What's taking them so long?" he asked, whipping his head towards Luka, who was flipping through a picture book Ronan had really wanted him to read.
Luka shrugged. "Dunno. Why do you care?"
"I just ..." Anan bit his lip and thought carefully about his words. "I just don't like Deryn being alone with a Guardian, alright?"
Luka's eyes glanced up from the book and stared hard at Anan. Then he smirked. "So how uneasy would you feel if I went down there, too?"
Anan turned red.
Luka laughed. "You do realize that the two of them are alone all the time, right? I mean, she's only been living in his apartment for nearly four months." He smiled wider. "And now I live there, too."
Bronson chuckled from the kitchen and Quigley looked plenty amused from where he was playing chess with Kemp.
Anan's face quickly went from red to white. "That's where she's staying? With him?"
"And me!" Luka said brightly.
Without another word, Anan was darting for the staircase.
Luka followed him with his eyes. Once he was out of view, he looked at Bronson, smiled and said, "That kid is in for quite the reality check."
Not even ten seconds later, Anan was running back upstairs, panicked and out of breath. Either he was in really bad shape, or something had shocked him.
"They're ... they're ..." He gulped. "They're kissing down there! Kissing!"
"Yeah, they do that a lot," said Luka, looking back at his book. "Try l
iving with them."
"Yes!" Miki, who was still helping Bronson in the kitchen, suddenly threw her hands up in victory. "I totally called it! Pay up, Kemp!"
"Oh, hell," said Kemp. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a silver coin and tossed it to her.
Anan looked at Miki, who was smiling brightly at her new coin. "You knew?"
"I suspected," she said. "Del did, too!"
He moved his ever-growing eyes to Del, who was sitting next to Luka on the couch with Ronan in her lap. She shrugged. "I've known Xander his whole life. I could tell there was a new presence affecting him."
Just then, they all heard a creak and turned their heads to find Xander and Deryn stepping off the stairs. Both looked around curiously.
"What's with the tension?" asked Xander, his eyes immediately falling on Anan, who looked like he was seriously contemplating slaughtering him.
"The noogie recipient went to find you downstairs," said Luka, finally closing the picture book and smiling at his friend. "I don't think he liked what he saw very much."
Still looking at Anan, Xander raised his eyebrows. "Really now? And just what didn't you like about it?"
"You dirty Guardian," spat Anan through gritted teeth. "How dare you ... how dare you kiss Deryn!"
Deryn's cheeks flushed.
Luka chuckled. "They've done more than kiss. Perhaps you'd like to hear the story of why we were late."
Anan's fists clenched. He growled as he lunged forward, heading straight for Xander.
Before Anan could strike, Deryn leapt in front of Xander and held out her hands. "Anan, stop!" she shouted. "You have no right to be acting this way!"
"Move out of my way, Deryn," ordered Anan in a strained voice. "He's had this coming for a long time."
"Why?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Because he's a Guardian!"
"So? It's just a title. Obviously he's defected or he wouldn't be here."
"You don't know tha -"
"Yes. I. Do," she said firmly. "It's because of Xander that I'm standing here now. That you're all standing here now. Every last one of you would have been captured if he hadn't warned you about the curfew."
"And found a safe place for us to stay," added Del, who had jumped off the couch the moment Anan started going for Xander and was slowly edging towards him.
"How?" he asked, looking over Deryn's shoulder at Xander. "How did you know this place was safe? I've always wondered, but Del would never let me ask, so I've just been waiting for the day Guardians seep out of the walls."
Xander gazed back at him and smirked. He put a hand on the small of Deryn's back and moved so he was beside her instead of behind her. She tried to protest but he was adamant. He wouldn't let her protect him like this.
"Four years ago, when I was still trying to earn back the president's trust, he had me snoop through old, private files the government keeps on all Utopian families, trying to find any information on members of the Resistance that might help us capture them. Really tedious work." He cringed at the memory. But he supposed it was better than what he was doing now. Killing people. "While researching, I came across the deed to this place. It belonged to a family that died out with no will and I simply remember seeing that it was a registered residence as well as a business. I didn't feel it was important enough to correct, so I ignored it."
"So that's it?" said Anan skeptically.
Xander shrugged. "Not exactly the malicious story you were hoping for, I know, but that really is it. It was just a coincidence."
Anan didn't look happy, but he at least seemed satisfied with the answer. "And you two?" he said, pointing at Xander and then Deryn. "What are you?"
They looked at each other.
"What? Like, a definition?" asked Xander.
"Yes."
Still staring at each other, they both knitted their brows.
Huh.
They had never really talked about it before. Luka, Bronson and Quigley often referred to Deryn as Xander's girlfriend but, while he never bothered to correct them, he had never called her that himself.
"Xander and I are ... well, I suppose we're involved," said Deryn, her voice quivering.
"Involved?" repeated Anan. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Why must we label it?" asked Xander. "It means what it means. You name it, we've done it."
Deryn blushed again but she didn't scrutinize him. A surefire sign that she wasn't feeling like herself. It was as if all the hard work she had put into getting herself back to normal meant nothing when other people were around.
Anan sneered. "You fucking -"
"Miki, will you please take Ronan into the back room," pleaded Del.
Miki nodded and headed over to collect him from the couch.
"How dare you!" Anan lunged forward, but he wasn't especially aggressive about it. Xander only had to shove his shoulder to send him back a few steps.
Luka was on his feet in a second, Element aimed intently at Anan.
"No weapons!" shouted Del as Miki took Ronan into her arms.
Luka slipped it away but when Anan went for Xander again, this time with his fist raised, he immediately reacted by charging forward, grabbing Anan and flipping him over his shoulder so he landed hard on his back.
"Wow," said Bronson from the kitchen, leaning on the counter and watching Luka with lust-filled eyes. "That was hot." He caught Miki's gaze just before she ducked into the back room with Ronan and she nodded in agreement.
"Get off me!" screamed Anan as Luka pinned his arms above his head.
"Not until you take a breath, you fucking dick," said Luka venomously.
"Luka, where did you learn to do that?" asked Xander.
"I taught myself," he answered. "You never know when you're going to find yourself weaponless and, if you do, you might want to know more than how to throw a punch."
Xander smirked. "Noted."
"How could you do it, Deryn?" shouted Anan, still struggling beneath Luka even though his efforts were futile. "How could you do this to Dax?"
Staring down at him, Deryn's jaw slackened.
"He's waited for you!" Anan's face was livid as he took several sharp breaths.
Xander expected Deryn to turn away from him, like she always did when put in an uncomfortable situation, but she didn't. Instead she kept his gaze, stepped forward and crouched down beside him.
She sighed. "I haven't seen Dax in over five years. We're not the same people anymore. It's impossible to fight on either side of this war and come out unchanged."
"But he's a Guardian," he spat, motioning his head towards Xander. "They're murderers!"
"Oh, and I suppose members of the Resistance are so innocent?" hissed Luka, tightening his grip.
"We only kill who we have to!"
Luka let out a loud, "Ha!" Then he said, "Two years ago there was a member of the Resistance, I can name him if you want?"
Anan said nothing.
Luka smiled. "Everett Jensen. I know you know him. During a raid he killed a guard by the name of Helena Mack."
Xander blinked. He remembered Helena. Sweet girl, never should have been a guard. Much like Lona. He recalled Luka being troubled by her death but never thought too much about it. At one time he'd suspected that maybe they were dating. Luka always denied it but it was after her death that one night stands became a regular habit of his.
"Helena hated being a guard," continued Luka. "Hated it, but her family needed her to do it, for the money. In her two years of service she never killed anyone, other than the people the president had us torture for information. But they hardly count. They're already dead, and they know it." Continuing to pin Anan's wrists with one hand, Luka moved his other hand down and gave his face a tap before grabbing his chin. "So tell me something, Anan. Was what Everett did justified? Or was it murder?"
Anan spat at him. "She was a guard. She deserved it!"
Unable to control his anger any longer, Luka lifted his hand and swung i
t hard against Anan's cheek.
"Luka, that's enough. Let him go," ordered Deryn.
"Not until he admits that there are fucking shades of gray! Neither side is good! The Resistance is just the lesser of two evils and we're both mentally fucked in the head! That's war!"
Deryn looked down at Anan, but he showed no signs of budging on this. She sighed. "Please, Luka."
Luka looked into her pleading eyes and huffed. "Only because this is your fucking holiday." He let go of Anan and stood. "Don't ruin this for her," he said, giving him a light kick. He returned to the couch and sank into it.
"Best Christmas ever," Kemp whispered to Ulric. Both had moved incredibly close to the action and were watching with a fixed fascination.
"Reminds me a lot of my house. Right, Quigs?" Bronson looked back at his friend, who was still sitting beside the chess board.
"Unfortunately, yes," said Quigley, finally standing. "Which is why I always dragged you over to my house."
Deryn held out her hand to help Anan to his feet but he refused it, choosing to get up on his own. "What's happened to you?" he asked. "You never would've associated with the likes of them before."
Deryn narrowed her eyes. "Stop talking about them like that. Xander and Luka have both done a lot for me."
"Yes, I'm sure he has," he said with disdain as he motioned his head towards Xander. "Twisted your mind so you actually believe you have feelings for him."
"What was that?" Xander's fists clenched as he stepped forward.
"You heard me," spat Anan. "A girl like Deryn would never go for a sociopath like you if her mind hadn't been seriously fucked with."
Deryn's jaw dropped, her eyes filling with tears as that feeling of insanity washed over her.
"You little fucking -"
"Stop right there," said Bronson, running forward and stepping between them. "Ruby, take Deryn downstairs."
"Just as soon as I deal with this piece of -"
"No, now," ordered Bronson, glancing at Deryn.
Xander looked and saw that she had burst into tears. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away, putting his arm around her shoulders as he led her carefully down the stairs.
As soon as they were gone, Bronson turned to Anan and crossed his arms. "Listen to me, you little shit. Believe it or not, Deryn was actually excited to come here today. It's important to her and I won't have you ruining it."
Sunken Eyes (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 2) Page 12