Fin swallowed, trying to stop blushing. "I-I'm fine," he told Frei.

Frei blinked, "Wolfe does this when he seems Raven," she commented, sounding a little confused.

Fin blinked at Frei, surprised that she didn't understand such a simple social cue and yet she could drive a motorcycle blind. After awhile he explained quietly, "... Sometimes it happens when you're... with someone you like."

Frei tilted her head, "Like?" she questioned, "You like me... how Ryuji likes Raven?"

"Uh.." Fin muttered, face turning redder. "W-Well, n-not exactly."

Frei paused before shrugging. She pointed to the bike, "Another go?"

Fin swallowed a bit, trying to put his head back on straight. "... Will you stop me from crashing?" he asked quietly.

Frei gave him a slightly annoyed stare which is roughly translated to a 'duh' in Frei terminology.

Fin took a few deep breaths before nodding.

Frei nodded a little, climbing back on the bike.

--

"Wait..." Laurel said quietly when Nic and her were sitting down to lunch, "Is it true that Long's here?"

So Fin got back on the bike.

--

Nic simply nodded.

Frei continued to train Fin, being rather tough on him but they never crashed.

--

Laurel seemed to be thinking quickly, "But, it's... Yue's brother's bodyguard, right?" she clarified.

Fin eventually started getting used to Frei's teaching style and finally started to learn the basics.

--

Nic nodded again.

Frei was patient with him in her own way.

--

Laurel started to look worried, "Then... won't he try to kill you like everyone else?"

"He'll probably try to kill me," Nic replied calmly.

Once Frei knew he'd got the basics down, she suddenly jumped off.

--

Laurel stared at Nic, eyes filling with terror, "W-What?" Why was he being so calm about this?!

Fin immediately came to a sloppy stop and looked back at Frei, worry for her clear on his face.

--

"He can't hurt me," Nic reassured Laurel.

Frei was tilting her head at him, standing and perfectly fine.

--

"H-He's Long!" she persisted, not happy that Nic wasn't taking the threat seriously.

Fin blinked at her. "... Why did you jump off?" he asked.

--

"He's injured," he sighed, wishing she wouldn't make such a big deal about this.

Frei shrugged, a tiny smirk on her lips.

--

His response seemed to hurt Laurel. She stared down at her food silently.

Fin blinked, wondering if she was just sadistic.

--

Nic was silent for awhile, eating. Then he continued, "He's not a mindless brute; he'll listen to reason once he's more comfortable."

Just then Frei yawned a little, looking really cute as she wiggled her nose. She walked back over to the motorcycle, "Home," she decided.

--

Laurel didn't reply for a long moment, "... Long... scares me," she whispered, "not because of his physical strength... but of what he stands for... and what... they could take away from me."

Fin paused before nodding a bit, scooting back so she could sit in front.

--

Nic paused before nodding a little in acknowledgement.

So Frei swung up and took off at top speed again.

--

Laurel's eyes were watering, threatening to overflow, "S-Sorry..." she murmured, rubbing her eyes, "sometimes... it just overwhelms me, the things we have yet to face."

Fin held on tight like the first time.

--

Nic nodded in acknowledgement again. "We'll get through," he replied before taking another bite.

When they got back to the jet, Frei turned to Fin, "You're alright," she stated, having seemed to have decided. Perhaps this was all some sort of test.

--

Laurel nodded back, "I know," she replied quietly, "i just... forget about our troubles sometimes... I think we're an ordinary, happy couple but... we're not."

"Thanks," Fin replied, hoping that was a good thing. "You're alright too."

--

"Forget when you can," Nic suggested.

Frei nodded and started up the jet, "Fun," she added.

--

Laurel sighed a little, "But you never do... do you?" she answered apologetically.

Fin chuckled a little as he strapped himself in.

--

"... On rare occasions," Nic disagreed.

Wolfe found Yue, handing her the key to Long's room, "You need to talk to him more than anyone else," he figured.

--

Laurel looked up, a look of hope on her face, "Really?" she asked quietly.

Yue paused before nodding and taking the key. So after Long had some more rest, she went to go talk with him some more when everyone else was busy with something else.

--

Nic paused before nodding once and getting back to his food. He had just said so.

Laurel slowly reached out and put a hand on Nic's, "That makes me happy," she told him quietly, still upset over Long but that feeling was slowly fading now.

Nic didn't say anything, letting Laurel keep her hand on his.

Over a few days Wolfe kept an eye on Long and visited Fin again. He wasn't mean to him but still as forceful as ever. He was getting too busy again and forgetting to make time only for Raven.

Laurel continued to avoid most of the neonates and continued her training schedule.

Three days after their last encounter, the neonates troupe of Snow, Tulip, Rosen and now Zala entered Long's room unannounced.

Raven didn't bother Wolfe about making more time. Not yet.

Long turned his head a little, expecting Yue. When the groups entered, he looked a little overwhelmed again. And this time Yue wasn't there as a cushion.

"See!" Tulip proclaimed to Zala, "Isn't he adorable?"

Zala shrugged a little, eyeing Long, "Is this really Sheng's right hand man?" she inquired in a soft voice, "He has the face of a boy band."

Snow laughed at that.

"He is rather cute," Rosen agreed.

"Oh, don't you start," Tulip pinched his arm again, "Don't you have a girlfriend already? What's the girls name..."

"Missy," Zala informed her.

Rosen made a disgusted face, "Missy?! I'd never, ever get involved with her!"

"She's not that bad," Snow said with an eyeroll.

Somehow they all seemed to have forgotten Long was there as they argued about Missy.

Long simply watched them for awhile, trying to get a feel for their social dynamics.

In this group, it was hard to feel any social dynamics. The top dog seemed to switch up continuously because of how different each of them were. Snow seemed to be on top the most, Rosen picked on the most but also got his way the most, Tulip seemed to be the most prone to violence and Zala was the quiet brains that mostly stayed in the background.

Eventually they turned their attention back to Long. "So how are you liking it here? Different than the Yin Long?" Snow asked.

"I hope you're smarter than you look," was Zala's comment.

"You never answered my question about your shampoo..." Tulip complained.

Long blinked, glancing at each one of their faces for a short moment. "... Different," he agreed after another moment as he looked at Snow. Then he turned to Zala and replied, "Thank you..." And then finally he looked to Tulip and gave her the name of the brand. It was fairly standard and well known, nothing fancy.

They all seemed surprised Long had answered.

Then Rosen stepped a little closed, peering down at Long, "Do you have a boyfriend back at home?" he inquired, earning an eye-roll from all three ladies.