Aidan laughed, hand forming an obscene gesture that he directed at his brother. "Is that humor from Kieran Stone?"

"You sound like Raven," Kieran remarked, a hint of mock distaste tracing the faint line between his brows.

"Good. I was making an effort to," Aidan returned.

Kieran raised a supercilious eyebrow. "Don't. It doesn't suit you."

Aidan sighed long-sufferingly but refrained from a retort, instead returning to the topic that he'd brought up formerly. "So, how did you get Mistral as a bodyguard? And why," he added, "was the first time I heard about it over a microphone that I'd planted in your room?"

Kieran's lips twitched at the slight tone of umbrage in Aidan's voice. "She came to visit this morning, and we reached an agreement; I didn't tell you because I wanted to test your remembrance of Morse code."

"You knew that all of this would happen, would play out like this?" But Aidan wasn't truly surprised, and his inquiry was more of a statement than a question.

"Let's say that it was an educated guess." Kieran's eyes slanted in amusement.

"Enlighten me," Aidan replied, spreading his arms.

Kieran acknowledged his request with a nod, amusement growing as they duplicated the ritual that had become commonplace for them.

"Very well, then. Mistral contacted me a number of weeks ago; she wanted me to locate her sister. I acquiesced, my price being her services as a bodyguard, which she agreed to with less deliberation than I might have expected. Even for a woman in search of her sister."

Aidan and Kieran shared a knowingly amused glance.

"I, in return, contacted Raven," Kieran continued. "She acceded to meet me here--intrepid, really, considering that she could be walking into a trap. On unfamiliar ground, nonetheless," he mused transiently.

"Well, we already knew that she was plucky," Aidan interposed.

Kieran raised an eyebrow, amusement inherent in the motion. "It's rather hypocritical of you to say 'we,' don't you think?"

"Since when have I not been hypocritical?" Aidan countered with a smile, head cocked charmingly to the side.

Kieran shook his head, a soft sound of amusement floating on his exhale. "Cretin."

Aidan's grin only widened. "You know you love me."

*

*

*

A/N:

I really like these brotherly moments between Aidan and Kieran. They're relaxed and happy and--mostly--off guard. These chapters are such delightful little pieces of insight, both to read and to write, and I hope you're enjoying them as much as I am! Vote, comment or PM me if you are and/or have any feedback (:

On another note, I have a question for you all: do you consider my work sloppy and/or unnecessarily fast-paced? I recently received critique that used those two words as predominant adjectives, and I want to know if you guys feel the same way in any regard. Please, please, PLEASE be honest--you won't hurt my feelings, I promise. Your honest opinion and bettering my story in any way that I can is all that I care about xx