Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 24: For My Love

At week's end, and following a long school day, Dawn unwound in the V.A.S.E. meeting room with Sky, as he mentored her ahead of the history exam. The two had spent the late afternoon going over various terms which she would need to memorize. Despite qualms earlier in the week regarding the ongoing pursuit and the new missing persons cases, it had been relatively quiet since. And Rain's continued reassurance only helped put her mind at ease. A relaxed peaceful afternoon in the meeting room on the quiet campus was exactly what she needed.

Now on a break from another mission with the team, she hoped to use this opportunity to relieve Sky of all the pressure he put on himself too. Though after struggling to concentrate on her studies early on, Dawn broke away into Ellie's office where she prepared a vegetable stew with his help. She smiled to herself while stirring the pot on the stove. With a spoon, she dipped into the pot and brought up a small sample of the stew for a quick taste. Just then, Sky walked halfway through the door frame, leaning on it as he watched from afar.

"You done, yet?" he asked.

"Mm." Dawn took a large gulp and lowered her spoon. "Sorry, I didn't notice you were there. Yeah. It's just about done."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"What?" She tilted her head. "Now, you're doubting my cooking skills too? Here, come taste it."

Sky dragged his feet as he walked over to the stove. Dawn beamed as she raised the spoon up to his lips. He reached out and held her hand, gently lowering the spoon as he guided it into his mouth. She stood in excited anticipation for a moment, until she noticed a pained look in his eyes as he glanced at her before looking away. He stood in silence for several seconds longer, before releasing her hand.

"Is it that bad?" she asked.

"We should...get back to work." Sky hurriedly turned away and began walking back into the meeting room.

"Oh yeah, sure. Just give me a second." Dawn turned the stove off before removing an apron borrowed from Ellie, and letting down her hair which had been tied into a ponytail.

She soon rejoined Sky in the meeting room, sitting beside him at one of the tables they had arranged, separating it from the other desks. He patiently watched as Dawn drew a timeline across a blank page, writing down various dates in time as she read them aloud from the textbook in front of her. As much as she tried to focus on studying, Dawn could feel that while he was there physically, Sky's mind was elsewhere. She knew pressing him on it likely wouldn't work, but persistence was the only way to get through to him.

"So, which year was the demilitarized zone put into place again?" she asked.

"It's right there in your notes," he said. "Nineteen fifty-three."

"R-right, I completely overlooked that." She frowned and continued writing.

"It's all right."

Dawn did a double take and set her pen down, prompting him to shake out of a momentary daze and look at her.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. "I can tell you're thinking about something."

"It's nothing," said Sky.

"Come on, I know that's not true. Is it because Price cancelled today?"

"What do you mean?"

She folded her arms. "I know how badly you've been wanting to head back out there to Death City. He just wants you to give yourself a rest. We all know how hard you've been working."