Archive of Our Own ^beta

Land and Ubel ducked into a quiet alleyway near the marketplace below the tower. Little did the townsfolk know, the whole plaza had just been held hostage—mere moments away from being reduced to rubble.

“Ubel. Are you able to see yet?”

Ubel tilted her head in the direction of Land’s voice. It cut through the haze still clouding her vision. They were far enough from the falling tower that the spell shrouding Ubel’s sight had weakened. Just not enough for her liking. Blurred shapes still swam and mingled in front of her.

“Let me check.” Land sounded stern. But the touch Ubel felt on her face was careful. He had grabbed her shoulder the same way in the storeroom before. “The spell doesn’t seem particularly complicated. Your sight should be back any moment now.”

“Thank you, Doctor Four-eyes,” Ubel muttered dryly, “You may back off, now—unless you’ve decided to make grabbing me a new bad habit.”

Earlier, when he had grabbed her, Land claimed to have simply been ‘acting appropriate.’ To buy them enough time to escape from the Magic Task Force together. Ubel had somehow been prepared for Land to take advantage of their situation. And ever in the pursuit of getting to know Land intimately, she might have wondered where something like that could have gone. If she might have even liked for it to go anywhere. Any other man could be easily sidetracked, depending on the particular heat of the moment. But Land had immediately stepped away. Not even the tiniest bit flustered. He remained on task as he sorted through boxes of antiques and tea-sets.

However, now that there was no threat, no rush, Ubel was surprised.

The silhouette in front of her did not budge.

At first.

Then Land’s head dipped into her shoulder.

Exhaling. His breath seeped through the lace of her gown, slow and uneven. The faint scent of smoke and dust still clung to him. Ubel stood there a moment, thrown by his closeness. For once, she hadn’t been the one imposing it.

“Four-eyes?” Ubel called out. Loudly, even if she could almost brush her nose against his ear lobe. 

“I’m fine,” he hushed her.

The hurried response left Ubel with some workable inferences. Someone hadn’t happened upon them again. So that meant they were still alone in the alley. And safe. Though Ubel doubted whether Land was really as unaffected as he said.

Whatever was weighing on him, he wasn’t letting it show beyond the way he steadied his breath into something he could measure, could control. She could practically hear him forcing himself to move past it. To act normal.

Well, normally, Land had a clone. A spare waiting in the wings, an extra piece to manipulate the playing field. An insurance policy. But this time—he hadn’t.

Perhaps Land had felt cornered.

And despite that, he had chosen again not to abandon her to chance.

Ubel’s fingers twitched at her sides. Not out of sympathy for him. Even Ubel wasn’t sure she was capable of that just yet. But she wondered how to capture the sheer newness of him like this, like pinching a dragonfly perched on a blade of grass. But before Ubel could tilt her head to nuzzle against his, or even lift a hand to meet the one holding her face—he retreated.

Warmth vanished from her skin.

“We should deliver the documents,” Land said.

Temptation came swiftly, and stronger than Ubel expected on her part. A better person would have let it go. Let him put as much distance as he could between himself and the clear crime he had just committed against his typical behavior.

But Land had allowed himself to rest against her.

Ubel let her arms drift forward, searching until she finally felt the crisp fabric of his lapels under her palms.

“Were you worried, Four-eyes?”

A beat. Then, flatly: “No.”

Ubel knew Land would never admit it. Not to her, not to anyone.

Laughter slipped from her lips. “You sure about that?”

Ubel curled her fingers into the front of his vest, pressing closer—intending to dance at the edge of his patience as she always had. But Land moved too. His hands shot out, her gown bunching in his fists as he yanked her towards him.

Her back slammed into the wall. And before she could breathe, his mouth was on hers.

But even if his kiss was insistent, as if taking the lead meant Land had won anything here, Ubel could still feel it. Beneath the pressure of his lips and the bite of his grip on her hips. Restraint. Even now, he was holding back.

That wouldn’t do.

So Ubel bit him.

Land grit his teeth, seething. He immediately crushed himself against her. Harder, this time. Like he needed it. Like he was half-starved for it. Heat flared, sharp and dizzying, from where his thigh wedged her knees apart. Ubel found herself tilting into the friction. Her hands slipped under his jacket, nails dragging a shudder down his spine that surged back up onto her tongue.

And then he wrenched himself away from her.

“Ubel—“

—should have known Land would stop it there.

Cold night air replaced the pressure between her thighs as he drew his knee back. Her gown fell back into place. The ache beneath it more hollow than she expected. As the chill crept back over her skin, Ubel could feel her lungs burn through her frenzied senses. Her sight sharpened enough to see that Land was still staring back at her. Gaze dark.

This could not be over. Not even close.

“We still need to deliver the documents,” Land repeated.

Ubel noted a lack of an edge in how he spoke. Land turned. He adjusted his glasses, straightening out his tuxedo before he started down the street.

She followed, her heels clicking softly against the cobblestones as they slipped back into the thin, flickering light of the marketplace. For the first time, she got a glimpse of the town wrapped around them—hawkers calling out prices, chattering merchants, the color of the night—but it all still felt muted.

Her gaze drifted to Land’s back ahead of her: his steady gait, determined to act like nothing happened. She touched her fingers to her lips. The lingering warmth was her only proof that something had.

And that Land did care about her. Just not enough for either of them to understand why he had let her into his bubble at all. She wondered he'd do now that she was decidedly there.

Ubel smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.