It was early that Sunday morning and like Niall usually did on Sunday mornings, he was sitting at his piano, tapping away at the keys. He wasn't playing anything in particular, but was instead trying to distract himself from the consistent barrage of thoughts about what was to come the day after and how he was going to deal with it. His mind was full and each of his thoughts were loud and he needed to clear it all the best he could so that he could focus on what was most important.

Thea and Milo would be back in the Capital soon and with this new information that they were able to come across, he knew the two would probably head straight to work again... to get some more done before tomorrow.

Maybe they would pull another all nighter, and though Niall would have preferred for them to take a break, he certainly would understand why they would feel otherwise. But his concern wasn't really that. His concern was Thea.

What was he going to do about Thea... and Karney?

Soon he sighed, giving up on the playing seeing as it wasn't working to clear his mind, and instead grabbing a cigarette. When he placed it at his lips however, he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

Niall turned, a little startled but remembering immediately that he had a few appointments this morning. The first being with Aari. "Sorry, Sir," Aari said. "I knocked and rang the bell but there was no answer, so I let myself in."

"It's fine," Niall said, standing and waving it off before he lit his cigarette. Once the tip burned a bright orangey red, he set his lighter aside and looked at Aari, a puff of smoke escaping his lips. "I've been extremely distracted all morning... I didn't even hear you."

"The piano probably doesn't help," Aari added. "Though you were playing beautifully, as always, Sir."

"It's Sunday, Aari, you can drop the niceties," Niall said as he walked towards the kitchen to pour the two of them a cup of coffee. "But thank you."

"You must be really stressed about tomorrow?" Aari asked from the den.

Niall returned with two mugs of coffee, the cigarette still between his lips. "Yes," he handed a mug to Aari, who was now sitting at one of the couches, before taking his cigarette between his fingers. "We need Rue... and I'll be honest, I haven't even begun to think of what direction we will take if we do end up losing him."

Aari watched as Niall took his usual seat at his armchair. "That certainly isn't like you."

Niall chuckled before sipping his coffee. It really wasn't.

"Well, fine, let's stay positive," Aari added. "If all is well, we'll be one step closer to getting 'deputy' taken out of your title and when you don't have to answer to Rivier anymore... things will change."

Aari was right.

Everything would change.

He'd finally be where his adoptive father was before he passed. He could finally pick up the reins that he dropped and move forward. For all this time, being the Deputy Secretary of State had crippled him, forcing him to be unable to do what he needed to do.

But that may soon change and it would all largely be thanks to Thea... so long as whatever was bothering her didn't halt their plans in its tracks. "Yes... we're getting close."

"Does Thea know the... reality... of everything yet?"

Niall looked up at him, a little surprised that he was bringing that up. "Her focus is Rue," he said. "And I don't exactly have the authority to fill her in just yet."

Aari nodded slowly as he set his mug down. "She may not be pleased."

Niall had considered that already, but he also knew that he had a job to do and that was his priority, no matter how he may have felt about Thea. "I know, but there are ways that these things need to happen and we all have orders to follow... my hope is that she'll understand." Niall then, however, realized something. "Speaking of Thea not being pleased, you've still not attempted to reconnect with her?"

Now Aari hesitated.

"She's been consistently bringing up the fact that she hasn't met you yet," Niall said. "I know I've told you that you're welcome to go reconnect with her... is there a reason why you haven't?"

His hesitation continued, and Niall could tell that he was trying to think of the right way to respond, which worried Niall. Nevertheless, Niall waited patiently, watching as Aari pulled an Old Elorian penny out of his pocket and began fiddling with it. It was a habit which Aari had that Niall was well aware of and often compared it to his own smoking. The boy would always fiddle with this penny when he was deep in thought or concerned.

Of course, It was certainly a better habit than smoking.

But when a few moments had passed and he still said nothing, Niall frowned. "I know we went on with pursuing her for this position without consulting you... is there some issue between you two that I'm not aware of? If we–"

"No, no," Aari said, quickly. "It's nothing like that."

Niall kept his eyes on him, becoming more and more worried with every second that passed. "Were you two... in a relationship?"

Aari chuckled, shaking his head. "No... we were kids... it's just, we were really close at some point and I left it all behind without an explanation... I suppose you can say I'm a little worried to see how she'd react when seeing me again."

Niall raised a brow. "She'd be thrilled, surely?" he asked. "I'm sure she'd understand."

Aari shrugged, looking almost childish, which surprised Niall. The last time he had seen Aari act like this was when Niall saved him from the Crows, but that was four or five years ago. Ever since Niall recruited Aari into his team, he had become so... adult.

And now he was looking rather childish.

"I know her... and I think she'd be angry," Aari said. "I'm not entirely ready to face that yet."

"Well if that's the case, you're going to have to deal with it," Niall said, rather sternly. "The longer you push it back, the worse it will be."

Aari nodded, knowing Niall was right.

Niall kept his eyes on him for a while. "I called you here today because I need to send you to Abureth as soon as the meeting is over to handle something for me, assuming that the meeting goes well and we have some semblance of time back on our side. When that happens though, I'm certain Thea will be eagerly waiting for her chance to see you... you'll need to be prepared."

Aari took some more, rather cautious, sips of his coffee. "I'm assuming that's on order?"

Niall gave him a humored, crooked smile. "Yes, officer, that is, in fact, an order. When you get back, I need you to be a man and reconnect with that old friend of yours. For your own sake but also for the sake of the team... we need to start working together as one again very soon."

"Yes, sir," he said, giving him a lazy salute. "So... why do you need me to go to Abureth after the meeting? Aren't Thea and Milo already there?"

Niall paused for a moment, trying to make sure he worded everything correctly. He knew that forcing Aari to return to Abureth was not something he'd be entirely pleased with, seeing as he has long made it clear that he was not entirely fond of the thought of going back. However, Niall knew there was no one else he could trust to handle such a sensitive matter that Niall needed completed. "Thea told me about her brother," he said, "and... once we get an update on the situation with Rue... if things work out in our favor, I need you to go speak to him."

Aari looked up at the General with a look of surprise. "Me?"

Niall nodded. "You're the only one I can trust with this," he said. "I know it'll be hard for you to go back there, but if it helps, I just need you to go straight to her brother and straight back."

Aari frowned deeply, and though Niall could quite easily see the antipathy on his face, Aari nodded. "I'm assuming that's an order too?"

Niall smiled again, though this time a little sadly. "Yes, officer. It is."

Once Aari had been briefed and understood the assignment, he went off himself and left the General alone. Niall paced a little for some time... thinking... reassuring himself that he was making the right decision... and while he was deep in thought, Julian made his way into the room. "Good morning, Sir,"

"It's Sunday," Niall said, just like he had with Aaryan except sounding a little exasperated this time. Sometimes it frustrated him when people didn't treat him like a normal person when he wasn't working.

What Niall would do to just be normal, to drop all the titles and have no responsibilities...of course, Niall knew that would never happen. So at the very least, he wished that people would just call him by his name... just Niall. The name his mother had given him.

Not Sir, and certainly not General Killian... a name that was still foreign to him, despite all these years.

"I'm sorry, Niall," Julian said. "Though I am here to discuss work."

Niall looked at Julian and raised a brow at his stern expression. "What's wrong?"

"I've gotten a report of a rumor that's begun to spread around Achlis... it's been going around for a few days now and–"

Niall groaned and sat down on his piano bench with his hand over his face, his back towards the piano. "What is it this time?" Rumors in regards to him had been one of the most frustrating things that Niall had to deal with while in power. He hated this part of the job, but that was what happened when you had the eyes of the Aiverians and the hair of the Elorians yet still managed to get to where he was.

"It's about you and Theavi."

The General looked up now, surprised but looking more worried. "What?"

Julian sighed. "There are rumors going around that you and Thea are... sleeping together."

Niall felt his jaw tense as his blood began to instantly boil. "What?" Niall spat.

Julian nodded.

After a moment of the two men just staring at each other, Julian remaining rather composed while Niall looking like the veins in his forehead were going to pop, Niall stood and grabbed a cigarette from his silver case, infuriated and glaring as he began to light it. "These goddamn, useless Capital stuck ups," Niall mumbled before taking a drag of his cigarette. "They literally have nothing better to do than gossip about pointless lies while there are people dying all over–"

"Is it true?" Julian asked, cutting Niall's ranting off.

Niall looked at Julian, baffled. "No, of course it isn't," he insisted. "It's absolutely not true."

"I'm not trying to disrespect you or anything of the sort, but you know I need to bring this up," Julian responded. "We all saw her kiss your cheek, Niall... and people are talking about how she's stayed the night here–"

"First and foremost, Julian... neither of those mean I'm sleeping with her," Niall said, firmly.

"Sir, you don't need to convince me of anything. I believe you. And for that matter, it really is not my place to tell you what to do in your personal time. But," his frown deepened, "my only concern is that the timing of this is quite unfortunate."

Niall took a deep drag of his cigarette, glaring out the window, his back to Julian.

"If this rumor reaches the higher ups before this meeting, then Thea's judgment and credentials will almost immediately be questioned," Julian explained, though Niall was already well aware of the consequences of such false rumors. "You know how it is for women here. The leaders will do anything to make her look bad, especially when we're trying to fight to save the life of a Crow... and don't get me started on what people will say about your faith in her. People will not trust your opinion, thinking you're speaking with your cock rather than your head."

"I know," Niall mumbled.

"She needs to prove her capacity first... she needs to stand out as an individual. She cannot go into the meeting with everyone thinking she is your plaything instead of an intelligent, sophisticated, independent woman. She has to make a name for herself. Once she's done that, what happens after between the two of you matters less."

"I know," Niall repeated, frustrated. "Do you know who started it?"

Julian walked over to the coffee table and tossed a folder onto it, making Niall turn and look at it, holding his breath in shock when seeing the thickness of said folder. "The names and profiles of all those who are spreading the rumor," Julian said. "I am in the works of having them reprimanded."

"But who started it?" Niall repeated, though he was certainly pleased. He knew Julian would make sure things were under control.

"These are all coworkers or friends of some kid named Railand, he's in the Finance Department."

A breath of smoke escaped Niall's lips and nose as soon as Julian finished speaking. Despite the situation, it was almost comical, with Niall looking like an angry man releasing steam. The Finance department? What the hell were those people doing spreading rumors about Thea and himself?

"It's safe to assume Railand started the rumors," Julian continued. "I think this certainly has to do with what Milo said... these people are, for whatever reason, just trying to mess with her. Maybe to somehow impress Adrien or maybe they're just trying to hurt her. Whatever the case, what's going to end up happening is it's going to ruin her reputation... to discredit her."

Why? Was Niall's first thought. Why had Adrien hurt Thea, and why were these random people now trying so hard to hurt her too? Thea was kind and smart... he couldn't imagine Thea ever doing something so bad that it would fuel the anger of this man and then in turn these potential followers of him.

"I know you don't want to, Sir, but at this point, whatever issues Thea had with Karney is affecting her work... your work. And this is not including the fact that the man may even be at the meeting tomorrow. You need to talk to Thea about it, soon."

Niall knew he was right, though the thought of talking to Thea about this worried him. He knew she wouldn't want to talk about it... he saw how uncomfortable the topic seemed to make her. Uncomfortable enough for her to have that strange panic attack.

But Julian was right.

This was going too far, and Niall needed to do something about it. "Just try to control this for one more day," Niall said. "Like you said, I can't have the higher ups have some sort of predetermined perception of her because of this. And I'll talk to her about Karney's son soon."

Julian nodded. "Understood."

Niall turned back around and started to look out the window again, but when he noticed Julian was still standing there, he looked back at him. "Anything else?"

Julian smiled a little. "Niall... I'm going to ask you this as your friend, as Julian..." Niall rolled his eyes before he even spoke, knowing what was coming. "So you don't have any feelings for the girl?"

Niall put his cigarette out on the ashtray that sat on his piano. "She's interesting and I'm intrigued by her."

"That's it?"

"And I like her," he said, sighing. "But it's nothing special. I like her the way I like the rest of you. She's becoming family and I care for her. That's it."

"That's it."

Niall looked at the man. "That's it."

Julian's smile grew. "This has nothing to do with her saying your eyelashes are pretty?"

Niall would have thrown his ashtray at him if he wasn't aware of the annoyance of cleaning up the mess afterwards. "No," he insisted. "It does not."

Now Julian chuckled. "Once we deal with Adrien and finish up with the meetings, there's nothing wrong with you and Thea–"

"Shut up, Julian," Niall said before marching away to the kitchen to make himself another coffee, seeing as it was way too early for a whiskey.





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