the final mission

15

The lights turned back on.

Gasps erupted at the sight of the five bleeding people.

Stella left Kai's arm to go check out the commotion.

Finally.

He ran upstairs towards Cale, who was pretending to comfort Winslet. The estate workers ran past them and looked for the culprits. Winslet's raindrop tears created a pathway from her wet eyes to the microscopic smirk that laid comfortably at the bottom of her face.

Somewhere on the dancefloor, Diego held Ziva tightly in his embrace. She needed a little privacy within the room to talk through the earpiece without seeming suspicious. Diego didn't mind, of course. He had a girl that was as pretty as a picture all to himself for a few moments.

"Kai? Kai, can you hear me?" Ziva muttered through the earpiece. She heard a few muffled sounds in the background before hearing Kai's confirmation. "There's a room at the end of the hallway you're in. Go in, grab the key hanging on the back of the doorknob, and walk out. Clear?"

"Clear."

★★★

It was so not clear.

Kai was fighting his eighth guard with his bare hands.

He was getting tired.

"Backup's here." A light feminine voice sounded behind him. Roddy immediately sprung to action, stabbing all of the guards with a pocketknife that she had swiped from a random guest. Her date would have questioned why she had a knife with her.

Kai clenched his jaw, his energy magically coming back. He wasn't sure if it was him trying to show off to Roddy, if the anger from earlier coming back, or if it was a little bit of both. Nevertheless, the adrenaline kicked in as they took down the group of guards together.

"Is Roddy's date distracted?" Ziva questioned into the earpiece. She didn't like calling him by name because it made her feel dirty even saying it.

Kai expected Roddy to answer, but realized she didn't have an earpiece in either of her ears. He heard a faint yes from Raina and continued pummeling the men in front of him.

★★★

When Kai arrived to the girl's house, he immediately stormed into his bedroom. He expected an empty room. He was looking forward to sitting in his room thinking about the way Roddy and the mystery guy looked together. How good they looked together.

He didn't expect Roddy sitting on his bed with a box of cereal, watching the large flat screen tv. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering why she was him when she could be with her rich boyfriend.

"Hey Buddy, you gonna - oh!" Roddy scrunched her nose. "You're not looking too good. Well, you're looking good, but you're not looking good. Ya feel?" Kai's bad mood immediately left him, as well as a hearty chuckle. She was too cute for her own good.

"Let me clean you up, hm?" Kai hesitantly followed her into the bathroom. Roddy got out the first aid kit and sat him on the lid of the toilet. "They got some good ones on you. I saw you putting a fight." She murmured this as she began cleaning his wounded cheek.

"Who was that guy you were with?" Kai didn't want to beat around the bush. He was not a man who liked to play games.

"Oh, Gio? He's just a close friend of mine, no feelings involved." Well, for her at least. "I saw you and Stella together on the dancefloor, very nice dancing." Roddy snickered. She really tried to muster up jealousy, but it wouldn't come out because even her subconscious knew Stella wasn't a threat.

"I wasn't doing too well tonight." Kai admitted, turning his gaze to the ground. He had been distracted and almost risked the mission for everyone. Ziva's angry rants through the earpieces hadn't helped his case.

"Hey? Look at me." Roddy tilted Kai's head upward. "We all mess up sometimes, it's no biggie, alright? That's what we're here for so don't beat yourself up over it." Roddy had leaned very close to Kai while she spoke, as if to prove a point.

Kai stared at her lips, as if he were noticing them for the first time. He brought his eyes from her plump lips to her cute button nose, which he'd pleasure himself in booping later. He found her beautiful icy blue eyes already staring back at his in anticipation.

"Can I make a mistake right now?" He murmured, tracing the edge of her bottom lip with his finger.

"Depends what it is."

Kai pulled her in a bit more, until she was straddling him. He rubbed circles into her back softly as he took the time to look into her eyes with his own hazel eyes. Roddy thought they looked like an earthy galaxy.

Kai leaned in until he was no more than a breath away.

And they kissed.