Page 43 of Ruin

Cute? Lira blinked up at him. That was… unexpected. “Um, thank you?”

Hush grinned widely, tail swishing side to side. “You're welcome!”

Her own lips kicked up involuntarily. For all that most of what came out of his mouth was at least mildly insulting, there was something infectious about Hush's energy.

“You're very… ” What was the word? Animated? No. Excitable? Yes, but that wasn't quite right either. She bit her lip, brows furrowing slightly in concentration. “Vibrant.”

“Vibrant? Ooh, I like that! Nobody’s ever called me vibrant before.”

Lira grinned back, warmth blooming in her chest. “I'm glad you like it.”

Ruin grumbled something unintelligible. She cut a look at him, barely managing to hide a smirk. Was he jealous? Hush caught it too, a devious smile spreading across his face. But at a warning glance from Ruin, he schooled his expression into something more neutral.

“So,” he drawled, rocking back on his heels. “What's the big emergency that you had to call in your favorite friend for backup?”

Lira glanced at Ruin, silently asking him to explain the situation. He gave a barely perceptible nod before gesturing for them to sit at the small table. Once settled, he fixed his gaze on Hush.

“After I killed the Mogovian an’ his guards, Lira an’ I came here to lie low. Yesterday, while out for supplies, an assassin attacked us.”

Hush's playful demeanor vanished in an instant, his golden eyes going hard as they skimmed over her, then Ruin.

Answering the question before it could be asked, Ruin waved a hand. “We're fine.” He sent her a small, proud smile. “Lira made sure of that.”

She felt herself flush what was undoubtedly a vivid red, though whether it was more from discomfort or pleasure, she couldn’t tell.

“What, the morsel? You jest.”

Unaccustomed to having her actions acknowledged in a positive way, she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. With Vargot, drawing any attention had been dangerous.

“The assassin poisoned me. I went down ‘fore we could make it back here.” He nodded to the bot in the corner. “She fixed up that old bot, had it carry me back, an’ helped me, uh, work through the effects.”

He settled a hand on her back, spanning almost the entire width of it. Looking up, she found pride and affection in his gaze. Tangled together, naked in bed, he’d questioned her at length about how she managed to fix the robot. His astonishment, praise, and admiration had her squirming with both self-consciousness and delight.

“Really? Damn, little morsel, you just got a whole lot more interesting.” Brows high, Hush regarded her with new respect. To Ruin, he asked, “So, who was it? You recognize 'em?”

“Mm. You remember thatLo’yrcyborg from that removal job couple years back?”

“On uh,Uhiri, yeah? I liked him.”

“He was the assassin.”

Hush’s tail, which hadn’t stopped moving since he arrived, froze mid-swish for just a beat. “Well! I like him a lot less now. You know who hired him?”

“My mark. ‘Cept he didn’t send the cyborg after me. He sent ‘im to snatch Lira. Turns out her owner was in the middle of a deal with my target to give up the location of a planet with an element called ‘veherium.’ You heard of it?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Me either.”

“So, your target doesn’t know you’re after him. That’s good.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “We kill him, which finishes your mission, and ensures the little morsel’s safe.”

“Mmhm. An’ if there’s time, we do a little pokin’ around. Find out what’s so special about this element.”

“So what’s the plan? I know you got one.”

“Depends. How far away’s the Vengeance? This is probably gonna be loud. Could get messy. We’re gonna want a quick exit.”

Hush leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. “Mmm,” he purred, grin turning feral. “Sounds like my kind of fun.”

---