"Course, I 'ad it all under control," Tristan said for about the twentieth time.

"It did seem that way when you were trapped under that toolbox screaming at the top of your lungs," Emily grinned.

"Well I didn' wanna 'og all the fun, did I?" Tristan explained as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "You lo' wanted in on the action an' I was all 'oo eager to oblige!"

"And your back up plan in case we failed?" she asked.

"Well it's not my faul' if you lo' fack up is it?" Tristan's three spectators all roared with laughter. The bloke grinned to himself although Zam had a feeling he had no idea why what he'd just said was funny.

It was late evening and Zam had thrown together a last-minute party to celebrate yet another successful mission. He and Taylor were sitting peacefully on his sofa, wrapped up in each other's arms and had been listening intently for the last few hours as Tristan attempted to recount the events in the National Park in a favourable way for himself. So far all he'd managed to do was convince everyone that he had literally no idea what he was doing.

He and Emily were sat on Zam's second, much smaller sofa and had been the main source of conversation. At first, Zam had been worried about Tristan, fearing for some kind of aggressive reaction to be in such close proximity to a member of the police force, but he needn't have worried; they were getting on like two people who got on really well together.

There was a knock at the door and Tristan immediately sprang to his feet. "Pizza's 'ere!"

"Finally, I'm starving," Emily said, practically drooling when the warm smell entered the room.

"Awigh' then, big one for you two," Tristan said, struggling to handle all three boxes. Wincing slightly, Zam reached out and grabbed the largest of the boxes. His shoulder had definitely been dislocated earlier and even though it was back in its socket, stretching still caused him some pain. "Dis one's mine and... 'ang on! I fought you was a copper?"

"I am?" Emily said with a puzzled look.

Tristan dramatically opened the lid and turned it around, a look of horror on his face. "Pineapple! On Pizza! Now dats gotta be a crime!"

"Just because I'm a woman of culture," she scoffed, taking her box and stuffing a slice in her mouth. "What've you got then... plain cheese! I should've known... flavour a bit too much for you to handle?"

"Listen love," Tristan said, eyeing her dangerously as he forced a slice down his throat. "I can 'andle anyfing, you go' that?"

"Can you two shut up?" Zam finally said as his lips parted from his beer. "You're giving me a headache."

From the kitchen, Magnezone was operating a set of speakers. "For real brah? Want me to turn the music down?"

"Don't worry Magnezone, I'm lying. Just trying to get the flirting to stop."

"Sick! Because DJ Magnezone has some fire tunes coming right up!"

"Have I ever told you how weird it is when you do that?" Taylor asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. She'd been sitting quietly, eating, drinking and cuddling Zam, merely observing the others engage in conversation.

"When I do what?" Zam asked.

"You know," Taylor said, "Ala! Alakazam!" Tristan and Emily almost spat out their pizza.

"That was spot on!" Emily cried, clutching her sides from laughter.

"Again!" Tristan urged.

"Alakazam!"

"Hey!" Zam cried out, bringing the laughter to an abrupt end. "That was very rude, offensive and it sounds nothing like me!"

Taylor rolled her eyes and shot him a grin. "Really? Do it again."

"No."

"Please?" She looked too adorable to decline.

"Fine," he sighed, shaking his head. "I am the greatest mind of my generation and I don't know if you've noticed but I'm also a damn handsome young man."

"Alakazam!" Taylor mimicked again, resulting in another round of laughter from the other two.

"Well would you look at the time, it's getting late!" Zam said quickly.

"You've got a point there," Emily nodded, rushing to stuff her final few slices in her mouth. "I've got to be up early for work tomorrow. I think my boss wants to start discussing my promotion." She added the last sentence with a warm, genuine smile, one that Zam had not seen her wear before.

"You deserve it Emily," Zam smiled. "Or should I say detective?"

"Oh, stop it." She tried to look annoyed but couldn't hide the slight reddening of her cheeks. "I'd better go. See you all later."

"See you."

"Bye Emily!"

"Now 'ang on jus' one momen'," Tristan said, standing up and blocking Emily's path to the door. "Walkin' 'ome in the dark on the treacherous, dangerous streets o' Goldenrod? I never 'eard o' nofink so reckless!"

"You think I can't take care of myself?" Emily said, an odd smile on her face.

"I don' doub' that for a second my dear," Tristan replied. He too wore on odd smile. "But why do somfink so highly irresponsible when there's a perfec'ly good bed jus' across the 'all?"

For a moment Emily just stared at him. "You'd really do that for me?"

"Well o' course!" Tristan grinned. "We wouldn' wan' you fallin' victim o' foul play before promoshun would we now? No, no, no my dear, always be'er to be safe than sorry. Now you jus' take this and go get yourself nice and ready for bed ait?"

She caught the key that Tristan had thrown at her before glancing at Zam and Taylor. "Night!" she beamed as she left to exit Zam's flat.

"Haha!" Tristan chuckled once Emily had closed the door behind her. "Nigh' mate!" Zam watched after him, horrified. This was treachery of the highest order. It was an outrage, it was a scandal, it was a monstrous betrayal of trust. Worse still, there was nothing Zam could do except hope that Emily did not succumb to Tristan's charms but as he knew all too well it was easier said than done. Even Zam had ended up topless on Tristan's bed after a particularly moving pick up line.

"You don't suppose Tristan and Emily..." Taylor began but Zam cut her off.

"No."

"They seemed to be getting on pretty well," she insisted.

"No, no, no," Zam shook his head. "I've not known Emily for that long but she's tough and she knows what she's doing. If Tristan does make a move he may well end up in handcuffs."

"That might actually be what Tristan wants," Taylor suggested.

"I really don't think he wants to go back to prison," Zam scoffed.

"No, that's not what I... never mind," Taylor sighed. Without any further warning, she got up and walked off to their bedroom. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Your friends are weird!" Magnezone exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," Zam nodded in agreement before returning Magnezone to its ball. Even though he'd brought up lateness of the hour to avoid more bullying, it had turned out to be a good call. For whatever reason, he was completely shattered and could think of nothing he would rather do than lay on his nice cosy bed and allow himself to drift into deep, rejuvenating sleep. Well, perhaps there was one other thing he could think of.

Grinning to himself, he stood up and made his way to the bedroom. To his surprise, he didn't find Taylor already in bed, attempting to steal more than half of the duvet, which was often her course of action because apparently her goal in life was to make Zam slightly colder at night than she was. Zam quickly got changed, ditching his white suit for some loose-fitting shorts and then made his way to the en suite where Taylor was, no doubt, hiding.

"Hey," he said as he walked past her. She was leaning over the sink, standing only in her underwear, eyes closed as if she was in deep, disturbing thought. Zam glanced back at her. "You ok?"

"Yeah," she said. "Fine."

"Is this one of those things where you say something even though you mean the opposite?" Zam asked, trying not to sound too happy that he'd picked up on the signs.

"Honestly, it's nothing."

"If it was nothing I wouldn't have noticed, would I?" Zam grinned before embracing her from behind and placing his chin on her shoulder. She half flinched when his hands found her exposed stomach.

"My diet went to shit today," she said quickly, her cheeks filling with colour.

"That's what this is about?" Zam asked, a puzzled look on his face.

"Well... it's one thing on my mind." She still hadn't opened her eyes and her head was still pointed firmly at the sink.

"I thought I already told you, your body is nothing to be ashamed of," Zam said before he placed a light kiss on her cheek. "You're a grown woman and you're perfectly entitled to some pizza and some ice cream whenever you want some. Besides, you're beautiful just the way you are; there's no need to try and change."

Taylor opened her eyes, smiled slightly and turned her whole body around so that they were facing each other before leaning into his chest and embracing him properly. "Zam, what are we doing?" she sighed.

"We appear to be hugging in our bathroom."

"No," she groaned. "I mean what are we doing with our lives? Going off on reckless adventures, spending every night like it's our last... is this it? Is this what we do forever? What's the point? What happens when all of it... isn't possible anymore?"

"Taylor," he said softly as he pulled her even closer. They were so close that the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he felt every single breath she took. "Look, I don't know about you but I love things the way they are. I feel like we're living our lives to the fullest, taking every moment as it comes but making the most of each one as well. Maybe it is reckless but you know what? We're young, we're free and we're lucky enough to be able to do whatever we want so I say, why not make the most of it?"

"I know," she agreed. "And it's not like I don't enjoy all the adventures, because I really do, it's just... I wish I didn't have to be suspicious of you all the time."

"You don't—"

"Yes, I do!" Taylor insisted. "Today started off so nice, it was just me and you, and it was simple but it was perfect and then I found out it was something completely different. We almost died! It just makes me feel like I can't trust you."

Zam considered these words for a moment. The truth was he had never intended Taylor to get involved in today's dangerous antics but she had insisted on joining him once she knew what was really going on. Had it really been his fault if she'd been put in serious danger? At what point did the responsibility shift from him to her? Or maybe, was it always both?

Zam bent down very slightly so that their eyes were level and gazed into her beautiful blue eyes, eyes so spherical that some might even liken them to orbs, which are defined as a spherical object or shape, and said, "Ok then, from now on we trust each other completely. No more secrets."

For a split second her eyes widened but she seemed to catch herself. She smiled and said, "Yep. No more secrets." The kiss that followed started slowly with both parties simply savouring the moment but it soon became a passionate affair, the contact between the two becoming increasingly more extravagant and wild, almost as though their mouths were engaged in some really weird, deranged form of combat and neither one was giving in.

Not to be too distracted by the great war of the tongues as it would go down in history, Zam's nimble fingers got to work, fumbling for Taylor's bra strap. For some reason, Zam had tried to look clever and impressive in going for a one-handed approach but it was turning out badly; his thumb and forefinger were simply no match for the complex mechanism. Every time he thought he'd undone the irritating obstacle, it seemed to somehow latch itself back together, as if it had a mind of its own and was determined to stop him. After a while, Zam realised Taylor had stopped kissing him.

"It's fine!" he insisted. "I've got this!"

"Zam," Taylor said in a flat tone as she took his hand away from her. "I'm, err, not in the mood."

For a moment Zam narrowed his eyes at her. This definitely seemed like a sudden change of heart. However, fearing the potentially disastrous consequences of pressing the matter further he just shrugged. "You in the mood for a cuddle?"

"Always," she smiled, taking his hand and walking back towards the bedroom. Zam chanced a quick glance at her back.

"Bollocks..." he muttered under his breath.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he smiled back. The clasp was the other way round.