His lips taste like the rain; soft and warm and something else, something perfectly and indescribably Will.
The wet fabric sticking to his back is cold against my hands but I barely notice. Warmth consumes me, blossoming from my chest and spreading throughout my body, ending in my fingers and toes. He's here. My gods, I can't believe that he's here.
"You're here." He breathes, cupping my head with his hands as he rests his forehead against mine.
"I'm wherever you are." I look up. His dark features are made darker by the pelting rain but his grey eyes are bright, searching. I reach out a hand and touch the scar marring his brow, feeling the air catch in my throat at the realness of it.
"Kay...."
"I'm so sorry, Will. I'm so incredibly sorry. I should have said it a long time ago but I didn't know then what I know now. I didn't understand how you felt." The words come tumbling out in a rush, leaving me breathless. He pulls me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I bury my face in his sopping clothes, shivering from a combination of the damp and the very essence of him.
"It's all right." He murmurs into my hair. "I'm sorry as well."
"I thought I had lost you forever." My choked words are muffled further by his shirt but I can tell from the way his arms tighten around me that he has heard. "I thought you were gone."
"I'm right here."
"You weren't, though. You weren't here. They took you from me and I was alone and I couldn't get to you."
"You did, though. You found me." He tilts my chin up with his fingers, forcing my eyes into his. "You amazing, brave, beautiful girl. I knew you would find me."
And then his lips are on mine again, his hands buried in my hair as I clutch at his soaked clothing, feeling as though I could burst from the pure joy and agony of everything between us. I pull him to me with a desperation I have never felt before, needing to feel that he is indeed real, that this isn't some wild vision conjured out of my broken mind.
"I love you." I tell him.
"I know." His eyes glint mischieviously and I laugh, nuzzling the dimple pocking his scruffy cheek.
He pushes the hair back from my face, smoothing away the soaked strands. "We should get you out of this rain."
"I don't mind it."
That half-grin. "I know you don't, but let's not forget where we are."
I give a cursory glance around the iron gridwork and down towards the roofs of the buildings below us. "This doesn't appear to be any more dangerous than usual."
"We do have a habit of consorting under less-than-ideal circumstances." He agrees, stepping back but still refusing to release me. "Do you have somewhere to stay?"
I bite my lip. "Yes, but I can't bring you there."
"That's a pity. Most girls would be proud to take me home."
"It's nice to see that being captured hasn't dampened your ego."
He laughs, kissing me again. "I guess we had best go to my place, then."
"Lead the way."
I follow him over the guardrail and together we scale several levels through the grid. He grips my hand and leads me along a walkway back towards the centre of the city. The sound of our feet striking the iron grating is muffled by the rain and the fat drops do a handy job of concealing us as we dart high above Babel's skyscrapers.
Finally, we draw up to one of the many windows dotting the aerial landscape and Will ducks inside, disappearing into the darkness. I follow, climbing over the window ledge and hopping down to the floor, using my wrist to wipe the trickling rainwater from my brow.
Light flares from the the corner and settles into a low flicker. Will stands across the room, shaking out a match as he places the half-melted candlestick on the floor. Aside from Will, the candle and what looks to be a single, thin blanket balled up against the wall, the room is completely bare.
"You've really done well for yourself, I see." I tease, accepting the blanket when he offers it to me.
He doesn't move away, instead staring down at me intently as I wrap the blanket around my shoulders. He looks so incredible, standing tall with droplets of rain running down the curve of his nose that I can't help but reach forward, opening the blanket to him and pulling his lips down to mine.
His breaths are shallow, the ragged puffs of air warm against my neck. I feel my skin rise in goosebumps as he nudges the sleeves of my shirt off of my shoulders. A groan escapes my lips and my legs tremble, suddenly weak.
He catches me when I stumble, his hands cradling the small of my back as he eases me down on top of the blanket, his mouth never leaving the hollow carved by my collarbone. The weight of his torso against mine is pure ecstasy, undeniably solid and sure and entirely him.
Rain continues to fall outside, ricocheting off the scaffolding in a musical rhythm of highs and lows, playing a song just for us.
The candle has burned dangerously low by the time we draw apart, our wet clothes flung a distance away and drying into wrinkled heaps by the open window. I breathe deeply, inhaling the unfamiliar scent leftover from the rain. The sky has brightened and I roll over onto my stomach to peer out the window, craning my neck upwards.
"What is it?" He murmurs.
"The sun is back. I guess they block it out during rainfalls." I look down towards him, smiling at the affectionate way he trails his fingers up and down my exposed back.
"This Madam must have a weakness for realism." A pinched line appears between his brows and I wiggle back down into his arms, reaching up a hand to brush away the tension.
His eyes drift closed as he visibly relaxes. I take the opportunity to study him, committing every curve of his face to memory. Something seizes in my chest as my gaze darts across his handsome features. I realize suddenly that a part of me truly thought that I had lost him forever, that I would never again see him safe and whole. The thought momentarily paralyzes me and I freeze with my fingers hovering near his cheek.
He senses my hesitation and opens his eyes, wordlessly reaching over and pulling me down next to him, curling his body around mine and tucking my head beneath his chin. The simple gesture is so heartbreaking that I half-expect to have to fight another bout of panic. Instead, I feel an incredible sense of peace. My fears about our people trapped belowground still linger, but now the hopeless ache has been replaced by a kind of calm certainty. Will's strong, steady presence and talent for thoughtful planning is all we need to figure this out. With him by my side, I know there is nothing that I can't handle.
"How did you do it?" I ask.
"Liked that, did you?" He teases. "I could show you again, if you like." He tickles my hip, pinning me against him as I squirm.
"Not that!" I shove him playfully and flip onto my other side so that we are facing eachother. "I mean, how did you escape? How did you know that I would find your note?"
"Ah, that." I roll my eyes at his trademark arrogance. "I suppose I can let you in on that trick."
On that fateful day in the desert Will took note of the strangers' gas masks, remembering what Luca and I told him about our escape through the tube tunnels with the cloud of poison in pursuit. When the order was given to release the nerve gas Will was ready, falling to the ground along with the rest of our soldiers and holding his breath while he searched the sandy, bloodstained earth. A dead or injured Enforcer lay motionless nearby and he managed to crawl over to the man, taking up the mask and inhaling enough filtered air that he was able to say conscious- barely.
After the heavy cloud of gas cleared he feigned being asleep while the Enforcers picked through the piles of comatose men and women, loading them onto stretchers and bringing them one by one into the ship.
He was dumped unceremoniously into one of the cages belowdecks, stripped of his weapons save the small knife left hidden in his boot. Once they were alone he immediately used the dagger to pick the lock and open the door to his cell.
"A very useful trick, you taught me." He remarks and I grin.
Now free, Will crept up and down the length of the ship in an effort to rouse his comrades.
"Out cold, every one of them." I can hear the pain in his voice and I instinctively snuggle in closer, letting his arm around me tighten. "There wasn't a hope of us overtaking the ship."
Left without any other option, Will hid himself in a dark corner and waited there, praying that no one would notice him missing while the ship docked and his troops were shackled, spirited away to gods-know-where.
"My hand was clenched so tightly around that puny dagger the entire time." His fingers furl and unfurl unconsciously. "It is a terrible thing, to hide like a coward while the men and women I am responsible for are taken."
"You made the right choice." I tell him. "You could not have fought all of those Enforcers single-handedly. If you had revealed yourself then you would have been captured or else..." I let the last word linger unsaid.
"The logical choice and the right choice are not always the same." He seems to be speaking mostly to himself. "Sometimes I think that my sense of judgement is a curse."
"Then your curse has made you a strong commander." I say with certainty. "You knew to keep yourself alive so that you could save them when the time was right."
It is several moments before he continues.
Once the ship was empty Will crept out of his hiding place and rifled through the various trunks and compartments until he found a spare Enforcer's uniform.
"I tore off a few shreds of my City garb and held on to them in case I needed to leave a trail." He explains, stroking my hair absently.
"How did you know to leave that note above the pipes?"
He gives me a rueful smile. "I'm getting to that."
From this point onwards, Will's actions more or less mirrored my own. Disguised as an Enforcer he found his way down to the ground level of Babel, slipping amongst the crowds and learning the strange ways of the city.
"It's all about control for her." He muses aloud, recalling the first time he heard the Madam's broadcast. "She forces everyone to adhere to a strict schedule and punishes them severely if they step out of line."
"The remedies." I recall. "Do you know what they are?"
"It's some form of execution."
I nod. "I figured as much."
"I don't know precisely how they are done. The Enforcers I spoke with were reluctant to talk about it. There is a definite sense of fear inside this place."
A shiver runs down my spine. I recall the image of the Enforcers and citizens shuffling around the Madam's courtyard during the evening's announcements. The tension was palpable by the way the citizens robotically arranged themselves into formation, their faces blank and staring.
"You've seen it as well." His voice breaks through my thoughts. "They're scared."
"They have every reason to be." I say, coldly. "Their leader is a soulless monster."
"We've come up against monsters before." He chucks me under the chin.
I give him a small smile. "What happened next? How did you get down to the Irrigator?"
"Mostly through bluster and misplaced confidence." There is the briefest flash of his dimple. "I have you to thank for that lesson in espionage."
"Fake it 'til you make it."
After bluffing his way into shiftwork down at the Irrigator, Will found himself belowground and wondering over the Madam's unholy mechanical marvel much the way I did. He grew friendly with some of the guards and was able gain entrance to the lower levels, experiencing the horrible truth of Babel firsthand.
"It was..." He struggles to find the right word.
"I know."
We lapse into silence, clinging tightly to one another. I bury my head in his chest, listening to his ragged breaths as I wait for him to gather the strength to continue his story.
His unwavering sense of duty and responsibility can be maddening at times, but they are the traits that caused Meg to realize what an invaluable commander he would one day become. Now, those very same qualities are causing this agony inside of him. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to see the people you have vowed to protect toiling under those conditions and being unable to help them.
I tilt my head up, studying the expression on his face and feeling a sudden ache in my heart when I recognize it. I kiss him softly, willing his tortured mind away from that dark place, patiently coaxing him back to me. After a moment he stirs, parting his lips and pulling me closer.
He tells me that he first noticed the water pipes overhead when he was returning to the lift.
"I thought of you immediately." He murmurs into my hair. "I knew when you made it down to the Irrigator, that you would find a way to climb the pipes so you could see into the hole."
"I've become predictable."
"Only to me." He kisses the tip of my nose. "I was already expecting you would be coming after us and knew that I had to find a way to contact you."
"It's lucky that I was able to figure out what you meant with that note." I shake my head. "Three and a half at twelve? Where did you come up with that?"
He shrugs. "I don't know. The idea of Babel being laid out like a clock face seemed logical. You were able to decipher it with little trouble, so perhaps luck had nothing to do with it."
"Perhaps I am cursed with an understanding of how your ridiculously overly-analytical mind functions." I furrow my brow, thinking. "Wait, how could you have known the North and South orientation of this place if you were belowdecks when you were brought inside?"
"I took notice of the stars' alignment when I first arrived."
"Aren't you clever."
"I like to think so."
Will wrote the note on his torn strip of City uniform and stashed it above the pipes, then proceeded to return to the same point on the grid every day until I showed up.
"I didn't have long to wait." He looks down at me. "You don't waste time."
"I was completely focused on getting you back." I say darkly. "Nothing else mattered."
He doesn't say anything for a moment, a strange look crossing his face.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I was really scared for you, Kay."
His blunt statement takes me aback completely. My mouth drops open to respond but something stops me. I pause, thinking over his words.
"You thought I would do something reckless." I say, eventually.
"I was convinced you would."
"You needn't have worried. The plan to get inside this dome was meticulously thought out, even by your high standards."
He raises his eyebrows skeptically. "Is that right?"
"It seems that I have also learned something from you, young William."
I fill him in on our journey from the tube station to the discovery of Babel, detailing the directions to give him a sense of where we are.
"Jaron estimates that we are less than a day's walk from the ocean." I tell him. "Or what used to be the ocean, anyway."
I can see the gears in his head turning. "And you say we are over the river?"
"Yes, on an extremely wide expanse of it, with nothing but flat plains on all sides. They have covered the outside of the dome in mirrors so that it is nearly impossible to locate unless you know what it is you are looking for."
He rubs his forehead. "Mirrors. Gods."
"I know." I sigh. "It's completely exposed yet totally hidden."
"Don't tell me that you walked across that expanse to get here."
"I told you this was well thought-out, didn't I?" I say with false indignation. "I entered the same way you did. I flew."
I explain how Luca and Jaron set off the brushfires and used the resulting smoke to direct an airship so that it would fly overtop of the radio tower. Will's eyes grow progressively wider as I talk and he is shaking his head in bewilderment by the time I get to the part about jumping on top of the helium-filled balloon.
"I thought you said you didn't do anything reckless?" Exasperation is clear in his voice.
"Relatively speaking. We thought through every scenario and determined that this was the safest way inside." I say defensively.
"You are insane."
"I'm not." I huff. "I was logical, the same as you always are. The fact of the matter is that I have a talent for these stunts and it would be foolish not to use it to our advantage. Luca came up with the idea of lighting the brushfires and I was positive that I could complete the jump. It was still a risk, sure, but finding you and the others was important enough to be worth it."
He tilts his head at me and I lock my eyes with his, fighting to keep from squirming under his steady gaze. Finally, his mouth quirks up into the slightest half-smile.
"What?" I ask impatiently.
"You're incredible."
I feel my cheeks flush and compensate by rolling my eyes. "No, I'm really not."
"You are." He takes hold of my arm to keep me from rolling away. "Tell me what happened next."
I tell him about disguising myself as an Enforcer and standing in line during the Madam's evening announcements. I am just coming to the part of the story where I run into Lara when I pause, unsure of how to continue.
He nudges me. "Why did you stop?"
"There is something I need to tell you."
"Go on, then."
I take a deep breath. "I've encountered an old friend. She's put me up in her flat and she's helping me stay hidden in Babel."
His brow furrows. "So, what's the problem? Who is it?"
"It's Lara."
"What?" He bolts upright. "Kay, you can't be serious."
"Unfortunately, I am."
"How..." He rubs his eyes forcefully. "How?"
"Apparently, after the Rebellion several former Courtiers defected from the City and were captured in the Wastelands, Lara included."
I explain Lara's role in Babel as a consort and eventual breeder, indicating the borderline-indecent clothes I arrived in before he so rudely tossed them aside. "I sincerely hope you didn't think I was wearing those scraps of material because I thought the style was fetching."
He glances momentarily at the discarded heap of fabric and I can tell that he never took the slightest notice of what I was wearing. Typical.
His head swivels back to me. "You can't trust her, Kay."
"Believe me, I don't. I've promised to help her escape if she stays mute about my being in Babel."
"Do you think that will be enough to keep her from turning you in?" He pauses. "Again?"
I sigh, sitting up and pulling the blanket around myself. "I honestly don't know."
"You can't stay with her, it's too dangerous. You can hide up here, with me."
"That's not a good idea. She already knows that I'm in the city. If I don't keep an eye on her she might get cold feet and say the wrong thing to the wrong person." I drum my fingers against my chin thoughtfully. "What's that saying about your friends and your enemies?"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." He blows air out from between his teeth. "I don't know about this, Kay."
"Yes, well, to be honest with you I'm not too happy about it either." I nudge him playfully in an effort to lighten the mood. "It's only for three more days, then we are due back to meet up with Jaron and the rest of the troops. We have until then to learn everything we can about this place and form a plan to rescue our people."
Will doesn't respond immediately, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he studies me.
I slouch against him, sighing as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans his head on top of mine. I breathe deeply, inhaling his scent, letting it fill me with an influx of memories. My heart pounds painfully in my chest and I squeeze my eyes shut, willing away the sudden bout of anxiety threatening to spring forth.
He senses my distress and plants a kiss on my head, murmuring softly. "What's wrong?"
"I thought you were dead." The words come out choked. "And it was all my fault."
"Don't say that."
"It's the truth though, isn't it? If Luca and I hadn't run off on our own to look at that radio tower, then you wouldn't have been forced to split your forces and search for us."
"Are we really going to do this? Look back on all of our regrets and trace them to this moment?" His jaw tightens. "Between the two of us, that could take a while."
That gets a small laugh out of me.
He pulls me to him again. "There is a lifetime of fights ahead of us, Red. Let's not waste these bits of peace."
"Are you certain you don't want to scold me? Not even for old time's sake? I'll give you a free pass on this one."
"No. It was wrong of me to ask you to change in the first place. If it weren't for you, we never would have learned about Babel and the Madam."
"I must have something trapped in my ears. Is the immovable Will Cain admitting that he was wrong?"
My joke falls flat as he stares at me, his brow furrowed and a strange look crossing his features. "I was wrong about a lot of things."
"So was I."
His lips press against mine with a sudden, unbridled lust. My body responds instantly, warming to his touch and opening in ways only possible with him. I pull him down on top of me, smiling to myself as he groans low in his throat. He kisses away my anxieties and I whisper comforts to him in turn.
The strength I feel when we are together is unlike anything I have ever experienced. This impossible man has coaxed every conceivable emotion from me, from dizzying levels of happiness to total exasperation and the all-encompassing spiral of worry for his well-being.
I will take the pain, the rage and the abject fear if it means that I can have these few precious moments of total wholeness. I want to share with him everything he has given to me, heal his scars the way he has healed mine. He has made me complete. Everything I am is made greater because of him.
"I love you." He breathes his promise into my ear, sending shivers coursing down my spine.
"I know."