Disclaimer: Enjoy it, but I hope you know by now that I REALLY DON'T OWN THIS!

26. Drastic

"Miri, if you don't stop laughing, I might just have to do something drastic," the Commander commanded. He should have known better. Of all the irregulars in the Queen's Riders, Miri was the one that he truly couldn't command. In fact, she just laughed all the harder.

"I'm sorry. Just say it again, Larse. I have to make sure I heard you right," she squeaked, barely containing her laughter long enough to say it.

"She called me a heartless pig that takes pleasure in eating the mud I bathe in," he muttered, standing up slowly. His face was bright red. Miri laughed, and laughed, and laughed. The rest of the Riders were utterly silent, staring at the mud-caked commander and his friend. Gods above, would she ever stop?

"Drastic, Miri. That can't be good," he tried. She didn't listen. You couldn't blame her very much. He'd been not only been completely dumped in front of everybody, but he'd allowed himself to be pushed off his pony and directly into the mud by a woman a whole foot shorter and a whole lot less muscled.

He thought of his options. He could punish Miri, but he really didn't want to do that. She'd punish him even worse later. He held back a shudder. He could perhaps just find some way to shut her up. How?

Wait.

He thought about the consequences briefly, as Miri laughed, before nodding to himself. She leaned forward and grabbed Miri before passionately kissing her. Surprised, Miri stopped her laughter, and on complete impulse wrapped her hands around Evin's mud-caked form and kissed back.

Somebody whistled.

Evin and Miri jumped apart quickly, both of them pink. The riders were still dumbfounded. Miri glared at Evin.

"What the heck was that for, Larse? I didn't exactly consent to revealing this! And now there's mud all over my clothes," she spat, furious.

Evin chuckled. "I did say drastic. Now, I'd like to go wash myself in the river, and I don't suggest you follow. Unless you want to."

Miri choked on her own breath and forced herself to turn away from him. It was a little hard to resist taking him up on his offer, she admitted to herself. Her cheeks, already pink, bloomed into bright red and spread all throughout her face.

The Commander beamed.

27. Rumor

Of course, it was everywhere by the next day. Neither Miri nor Evin could go anywhere, particularly together, without being looked at or giggled about. At first, they somewhat avoided each other in the hope that the gossip would stop.

"Are the rumors true?" A gossip-loving young Rider asked him while he was eating his midday. She smiled flirtatiously at him, as though trying to convince herself that they weren't.

He snapped. "Yes," he replied shortly, ignoring the poor girl's stricken face. He stalked off to find Miri.

When he did, she promptly said, "If somebody asks if it's true one more time, I'll scream. Can we just show them? I'll forgive you if you don't mind," she asked, obviously just as furious as he was.

"I was going to ask you that," Evin replied, still fizzing with anger. He scowled. "You beat me to it. So, let's."

Miri suddenly grinned, grabbed him by the arm, and literally dragged him with her outside. Some of the people saw them and snickered. Her grin vanished and was replaced by a scowl.

Then Miri turned to the crowd. "Yes, it's true. No, not terribly long. No, we haven't done anything beyond kissing. Yes, he's mine now and not yours. And finally, stop being such immature gossips and get over it already!"

Everybody was staring at her. "Calm down, Miri!" Evin said, barely remembering in time that she'd kill him if he laughed. He fought to keep a straight face.

He looked down at her and she looked up at him. She took advantage of his distraction to kiss him quickly, before she dragged him away once more. They were both grinning. Behind them, they heard a few coins clinking and the mumblings of a shocked crowd.

28. Obvious

A month later, nobody bothered to mention it anymore. It was as natural as the sky being blue for Evin and Miri to randomly kiss in the middle of something, although to everybody's amazement it didn't affect their work in the least. Both of them could be at a meeting with others, discuss a problem with thieves in a certain area, kiss for no particular reason, and continue the discussion with everybody else as though nothing had happened. They themselves were oblivious to the fact that everybody was amazed that they could do that.

Meanwhile, being able to be together whenever they liked, they grew more and more in love with each other, as impossible as it sounded. Once, twice, twenty times they nearly carried a simple kiss in their rooms into something else entirely. She ended the kiss before they could. She didn't want that right now.

No, that was a lie. Miri was nervous and doubtful, despite how much she wanted it.

What if she was just another little fling of his? Another toy? Someone else to have fun with but eventually leave? She couldn't help but doubt. She hated herself for doubting him, but she couldn't help it. Unfortunately, Evin couldn't help but flirt with others now and then, and she couldn't help but doubt more. So she kissed him, but she wouldn't go farther. She didn't want him to leave her behind.

They met in his rooms once again. Miri had only come to ask if he had any news about the Second Rider group's status, but they quickly found themselves kissing – again. And then, he reached for her shirt, and started pulling it up –

Miri came to her senses and pushed him away quickly, stumbling. She gulped and looked down. "No, Evin. Sorry," she mumbled, and turned to leave abruptly. Evin's hand caught her arm in a strong grip before she could leave, and he pulled her back.

He wasn't mad. He wasn't upset. He was just puzzled.

"Why?" His bright blue eyes searched her eyes.

Miri looked down. "Am I just a fling? Somebody you like a little bit, but not enough for anything but to play with. Perhaps a girl to flirt with, to watch, maybe to enjoy the blush on her face. Evin Larse, I can't trust you. I don't want to doubt you, but I do. You flirt with other girls. You try to make me go farther, but what if you do?" she was blushing a hot red by now, partly embarrassed and partly angered. "Then you might just go away. You'll be done with me. I don't want you to be done with me, not when I -" she muttered, and stopped herself short. She finished the sentence in her thought. Not when I love you, she realized. She stared at the floor, waiting for him to say something.

Evin actually laughed. She brought her head up angrily. "What is your problem, Larse?"

He laughed again. "Miri, don't be daft," he advised, and kissed her sweetly. He didn't try to make it into something else; he just wanted to kiss her. That much was clear. When he stopped, he continued, "Isn't it obvious? I love you. I love you so much, so, so much. If that's what you think, fine. I'll convince you. I'll stay with you forever. I'll kiss you every single day, I'll show you that I love you in every way I can. It still won't show how much I love you. That's impossible. But really, I'm surprised you hadn't noticed, Miri. It really is quite obvious," he repeated. He was grinning at his joke, but his eyes glittered with something far beyond a little laughter and fun.

She stared into his eyes. He loved her. He truly loved her. Suddenly, she shook her head with a huge grin, and hugged him tight. Before he could respond, she caught him up in a passionate kiss. Soon, she found she couldn't help herself. She broke apart from him.

"You're right. It was obvious," she said with a grin. "I hope you realize how obvious it is that I love you too, or we could have an issue here."

This time it was Evin's turn to kiss her fiercely. Finally, after half a year of kissing with only thinking the other didn't love them quite as much, they had told each other the truth.

Miri didn't get quite so much sleep that night.

29. Laughter

Why was Evin so funny? It didn't make a difference whether he joked before a huge ballroom party or after a long, bloody battle, he'd still make her laugh. She normally managed to do the same for him, even if her humor was at his own expense. But he was always the one with the jokes.

That didn't make him any less serious, kind, helpful, selfless, romantic, brilliant, and irritatingly handsome. Of course not. He was Evin, after all.

Miri loved him for everything he did, all of these. She loved him endlessly.

It was a time like this, when all she wanted to do was cry, cry, and cry, that she most appreciated how he could make her laugh. She cried, and cried. He held her tightly, letting her weep, and all the while talking. It didn't matter what he said, it was just nice to hear him. And then he'd say something funny, and she'd laugh. She'd cry a little longer, and he'd wipe her tears away both literally and figuratively.

And he'd make her laugh again, until eventually she was laughing so hard that her tears were of laughter rather than sadness.

Evin.

30. Distance

Evin watched the sun sink below the glittering water of the ocean with her, enjoying his peaceful moment together with Miri. They didn't get these much, and he meant to make the most of it without bandits or thieves interrupting their time. It was a shame they were both Riders, but this was their life. They lived it.

They just sat together side by side, not even very close together, watching the sun make its way down. To anybody else, it wasn't very romantic in the least. Evin knew far better than that. Their love for each other was beyond distance. No matter how far apart, they held each other in their hearts.

And in between their hearts, there was no distance at all, Evin thought with an inner grin. But even so, it was still better when she was close.

He grabbed her hand, and yanked her over by him. Miri didn't have time to do anything about it, and she fell right into his side in a undignified manner, before she knocked against him and fell into the sand. Evin laughed at her, and she glared, her green eyes reflecting the orange sun to add to the fiery effect of her anger. Evin ignored it, and took the opportunity to kiss her sweetly, slowly, and blissfully.

When they stopped at last, the sun was a little red slice over the dark water.

Miri leaned against him. "If you're going to be redundant, I might as well go with it," she joked. "It had been romantic enough, thanks."

"So?"

"Good point," Miri replied absently, and turned to kiss him again.

Distance didn't matter to them, really. They both knew that. It was unspoken, but it was obvious, Evin decided.

That didn't mean he didn't love holding her as the sun disappeared, for certain. He preferred this to a wonderful memory any time.

He fell asleep against the sand only minutes after she did, and he did not rise till well past the time when the sun came up again.

Ha, not exactly drabbles, are they? Oh, well. Same difference.

Assume they eventually marry, have kids, live happily ever after. I know a lot of the timing's COMPLETELY off in this story, but I ask you to ignore it please.

Thanks again for sticking with me here. I'm so relieved. I'm finally done! I actually finished! It's amazing! I feel so happy!

For anybody wondering, I'm working on something very hard, for me at least. I'm going to try to finish a Kel/Dom fic even before I post it, so that I KNOW I'll have it finished. It could take a long time (meaning one to six months, especially considering my Science teacher's love of assigning too much homework), but please stick with me some more and be patient. I think all of you Kel/Dom fans – and perhaps even some Kel/Neal fans (Neal plays quite a part in the Kel/Dom-ness – he actually kisses Kel at one point… ha, you'll see, but no, it's NOT Kel/Neal) Just wait, it'll be great and already finished on time!

I also have a Kel/Dom oneshot that's partly typed up and it's absolutely hilarious. After that, I might attempt to do Sir Neal Starting or To That, I Say Never and get that off of my conscience.

Or, I might give myself this little challenge I'm thinking about giving myself… It'd be fun to see how many completely different ways I can manage to get Kel and Dom together, yet somehow keep them in character –for the most part, at least. Sound any good? I've got a few ideas already. It'd be many oneshots, and a few longer ones, including the ones mentioned above. Do give your opinion, I'd love to know.

Well, now I'm just babbling along in my excitement. Thank you for reading! I hope you loved them all! – Lauren

P.S. YAY! AWWWW! MIRI/EVIN IS SO CUTE! THAT WAS SO SWEET AND AWESOME AND KIND AND WOW AND I HAVE NO CLUE HOW ON EARTH I MANAGED TO WRITE THAT BECAUSE IT WAS SO GOOD! YAY! Okay, I'm done now.