I wake up feeling extremely tired, like I'd spent the whole night running around the training center and then I feel a strange ache between my legs. My cheeks turn red and memories from last night make me smile.

I turn around to face Lucian while keeping my naked body hidden under the sheets. It's weird that I feel so shy even though we've seen every inch of each other.

Lucian is lying on his side, facing me. His eyes are closed and his silvery white hair hangs over his fore head, falling across his eyes. He breathes in deeply and I watch his chest puff out and sink in simultaneously.

He looks so at peace and strangely more handsome than ever. It feels like I am looking at him for the first time. My heart skips a beat as I think about the pleasure he gave me last night and my body suddenly throbs to unite with his again.

I look down, feeling extremely embarrassed while the smile on my face stretches even wider.

"What are you smiling about?" Lucian's husky morning voice startles me and my eyes shoot up in alarm.

"Nothing," I quickly say while I squeeze the sheets to my chest.

Lucian's eyes fall to my hands and then my reddened cheeks. He then smiles knowingly and even though his face is fatigued with sleep, that smile still manages to take my breath away.

"Is it really nothing?" He teases, scooting closer.

I laugh nervously and move back but he pulls me towards him and wraps me in a hug. Fireworks explode in my chest and my heart beats rapidly as I bury my head into his neck. He strokes my hair lovingly and kisses my head.

"I could get used to waking up like this," Lucian murmurs and I can't help but agree.

He wraps his arms around my body, squeezing me against him softly and our bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. I don't feel afraid or shy anymore. Everything just feels perfect.

"We have a long day ahead of us," He sighs, sounding slightly annoyed. "Our squad will have to prepare a thorough report on our mission and present it to the war council."

I've learnt about the war council during my initiation. They consist of the highest ranking commanders and they're involvement is crucial in all major decisions.

"The war council? Will you tell them your suspicions about who caused the accident?" I ask him.

"No, they are the most influential commanders after the Generals and the Trinity. I will need their majority vote to become first in command or sole commander but I can't bring up such a dangerous insinuation without concrete proof," Lucian runs his fingers through my hair, absent-mindedly sorting out the knots while he speaks.

I nod my head against the skin of his neck. "We should get ready then."

"Yeah, we should," He agrees but he makes no effort to release me or move.

"Lucian," I stifle a laugh at his stubbornness. I push him with my hands but his body could have been a boulder, it doesn't move one bit.

"I think it would be more efficient if we got ready together. Don't you think?" He teases as he finally releases me.

"It wont make a difference," I say smiling. I get up and he grabs me without warning, making me shriek.

He carries me to the bathroom, dragging the bed sheet that is wrapped around me with us. I laugh in his arms as his fingers dig into my sides, tickling me.

"Lucian, stop it!" I cry, my eyes already in tears.

He finally releases me once we are in the bathroom and we both brush our teeth side my side. I can't help but smile every time we stare at each other.

"Aria, you can't bathe in that," Lucian rinses his mouth and then eyes the sheets wrapped around me with a disapproving look on his face.

I smile at him cheekily while I shrug my shoulders and then let the sheets fall. His eyes widen when he sees me do this but I pretend to be unaffected and I walk into the shower.

"Are you going to join me or not?" I ask the statue outside and he finally moves. The water cascades down my back in the most soothing way. I run my hands through my hair and then turn around to look at the magnificent sculpture standing in front of me.

Lucian places a hand on the wall behind me and then he moves closer. The water hits his head and then rolls down his glorious face. The blue in his eyes are so intense and his proximity makes me shiver.

The atmosphere is no longer playful as I place my hands on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin. He runs his hands through my wet hair and then down my back. He kisses my forehead and then my cheeks, slowly making his way to my lips.

Once we kiss I feel the burning desire to consume him all over again. Lucian lifts me up and pushes me against the wall, deepening the kiss. I let out a moan and wrap my legs around his body, letting his hands guide me.

Lucian looks into my eyes while we make love under the running water and I cry out in pain and pleasure as I come undone once again. When we are finished he leans his forehead against mine, cheeks flushed and out of breath, panting.

"I think I might be addicted to you."

I laugh lightly at his words but deep down a small fear forms because I think I feel the same way. We finish getting ready, head to the army base and walk hand in hand to the command center. The happiness I feel inside is so profound, it fills up the little bubble that has enveloped both Lucian and I, separating us from the rest of the world.

The moment we cross the threshold and enter the SyStem we are bombarded with numerous officers and crowds. Lucian unconsciously releases my hand when someone addresses him and a sinking feeling worms its way into my stomach like a disease.

Because a bubble always bursts.

We meet Altair and Deneb in the SyStem waiting to be scanned. Lucian apparently doesn't have a tracker in his forearm like the rest of us so he waits for us to finish and we head to the Grey region.

Once we meet with the rest of the squad, we board the elevators and head to the highest floor. We follow Lucian down a long and plain grey hallway with bare walls aside from the occasional picture of a group of officers. There is only one room at the end and once we go through it, I see a large room that looks like it takes up the whole floor.

The lay out reminds me of the interrogation rooms the older slaves used to talk about. There is a single podium with an attached speaker at one end of the room which faces a row of chairs arranged in a semi circle.

There are already some Plutonian officers inside and they all greet Lucian once we walk to the back. I stay close to my squad members as we stand around waiting for others to arrive.

"Somebody looks tired," Remulus nudges me and I can't help but grimace. I know him well enough by now to know exactly what he means by that.

"No, I'm not," I try to scowl but my cheeks fight against me and a smile forms instead.

"PG Lulu's in a good mood. I wonder why," He smirks and I ignore him by pretending to study the walls.

The grey walls here are littered with medals and pictures of Generals and Commanders. My eyes fall on a picture of a very young looking Lucian, smiling brightly at me. His parents are standing behind him and his father's hands are placed firmly on Lucian's shoulders.

I look at his father's face, he is holding on to his son with the proudest smile.

The crowd's murmurs suddenly die down and I turn around to see a dozen or so Commanders walk in. I studied their names during my initiation so I briefly recognized each war council member.

They take the seats arranged in front of us, leaving the middle few empty. Lazarus and Luna walk in soon after with their squads. The Generals come in last and they take the seats in the middle of the room.

The Trinity sit down beside them while the rest of us sit on the benches behind, facing the podium.

"Greetings our dearest supreme leaders," A commander seated next to Lucian says into the speaker. I recognize him as Commander Bardotta, one of the most senior war council members. He nods at the Generals and then the Trinity before continuing. "We are gathered here today in light of a few recent incidents that require detailed reports. Let us begin with the most significant event of late- Her honor, General Lyra's accident and subsequent rescue."

He turns to Lucian and Lucian nods at Pollux who walks up to stand behind the podium. He adjusts the speaker and then proceeds to brief the entire room from the start of our mission to the end. He recites each incident methodologically with the precision of his many computers, only leaving out the part about us getting drunk on the way back.

When he mentions my involvement in killing the serpents by shooting at the ice, falling into the hole and then finding General Lyra, I notice Lazarus's hands bunch into fists on the table.

The war council looks extremely impressed with his report and the success of our mission. According to Commander Bardotta, no one has survived a crash in the serpentine constellation but I take his words with a pinch of salt. It's true the place is certainly deadly but General Lyra was alive when we found her.

"As the leader of the mission, you have garnered much confidence from all of us here PG Lucian," Commander Bardotta says. "Would your honor like to say a few words?"

"I would like to make a proposal," Lucian announces and Commander Bardotta nods slowly, looking surprised.

"Of course, the floor is all yours, your honor."

Lucian gets up and takes Pollux's place behind the podium. He looks at each Commander before speaking and I shift on my feet nervously, wondering what he is going to say.

"As much as I would like to take credit for the success of this mission I must admit that I would never have been able to do it without my team members who have shown me the utmost loyalty. As Commander Pollux mentioned, officer Aria was the one who saved our team from the serpent army and her actions lead to locating General Lyra."

My body freezes over like ice as the War Council members finally glance my way, taking notice of me.

"This report proves that a human officer can be as resourceful as the rest of us. Therefore, I would like to make a request to change the evaluation process of assessing a fighter so that more fighters can join the army. All fighters who have won their consecutive matches fairly, shown the skills and mindset befitting of an officer should be allowed to join. This would mean that the fixing of matches must be regulated fairly. I would suggest random pairing by a computer."

Lucian's suggestion seems to shock the whole room. I myself am equally flabbergasted but my heart warms like molten liquid as I watch him stand up for my kind.

The room is silent for a while and I sneak a look at the Generals. General Grievous and his wife, General Ursa look livid, while General Lyra looks disappointed.

"I'm afraid we can't do that," General Grievous suddenly speaks and I watch Lucian tense up. "The matching system used to done fairly before but the humans grew too confident and that lead to rebellious events. That is why we treat them the way we do."

"Does everyone else feel the same way?" Lucian asks through gritted teeth.

"Forgive me your honor. You have achieved such a great feat and your request is debatable," Commander Bardotta says cautiously. "But from our perspective it does seem like a conflict of interest on your part seeing as you are unmarried and currently housing a human lover."

"That has nothing to do with this," Lucian falters, looking stunned.

"You have a fair point Commander Bardotta and PG Lucian does as well. More human recruits will obviously help with our numbers. It is why we set up the fights in the first place. It is a debatable topic that can't end in a single sitting. Perhaps we could postpone this discussion to a later date," General Lyra interferes quickly. "PG Lucian has always been devoted to his duties to the Plutonian empire, I am certain he will continue to do so as a general and a husband."

The Commanders look satisfied with her words especially after she mentions the word 'husband'. I wonder which one of them are hoping for him to marry their daughters.

Lucian looks like he is ready to murder someone but he remains silent and walks back to his seat.

"Speaking of rebellions. I would like to draw attention to an incident that happened two days ago in the human quarter's cafeteria," Commander Inspiron, a middle aged Plutonian woman announces. "It is the third incident since the human -officer Aria's- speech."

As if things weren't already tense enough. Suddenly the entire room's attention shifts to me.

heyy guys I really went ahead and wrote without bothering about the length of the chapter this time. Thanks so much for letting me know that you guys are fine with the chapter length. I sort of rushed through the last chapter because of it but since u guys r so awesome I'm going to rewrite the last part to make it more steamy hehe. Will update on my profile once I've done incase you guys want to reread :) :)

Also let me know what you guys think about everything haha. the shower, Lucian defending the fighters and getting shot down and the rebellions. I love reading ure thoughts :) :)