Learning to Trust

[Valkyrie Black]

The sun was just starting to settle its way below the horizon, the oranges and pinks and red oozing their way across the blue sky, slowly fading into the dark blue of the night. It was rather poetically beautiful, if you really paid attention to it. On the surface, to anyone passing by, it would look like Valkyrie was enjoying the view. And the beauty. And the poetry.

But she wasn't. Not really. Sure, she'd come out here because it was nice, nicer here than anywhere in the facility. But she wasn't here for the poetry. Or the beauty. Or the view.

She was waiting for someone. Someone important. Because she had something important to talk to this person about. Something really important.

Valkyrie didn't do the whole trusting thing. She hadn't trusted anyone in years, if ever. The whole "outcast of the family" thing made trust hard. And then, there was everything she had done to make money. She had business partners, and she trusted them to do business, but as for real trust? Valkyrie Black didn't do real trust.

Until now. How in the name of all holy hell she had managed to find someone she really trusted in Furiae of all places was beyond her. But she had. She had come to trust him more than she'd ever trusted anyone, and now, she was ready to trust him again.

This prom thing, it was going to be big. All of the inmates were going to be there. And if Valkyrie showed up with someone, she showed off one of her new vulnerablities to the entire facility. And if she went through with this, what she was planning, then she would be trusting him to not violate her trust, to not take advantage of that vulnerability.

She took a deep breath. Valkyrie Black was not vulnerable. Never had been. This was... new. Very new.

She glanced up at the sound, and despite her nerves, she felt a smile make its way across her face. There he was. Tyson Payne.

"Hey."

[Tyson Payne]

Tyson was never really the one to end up falling in love, let alone being in a relationship, and considering that he was basically in a relationship in a freaking prison, well, he never thought that it would ever happen. As he walked down the corridors of the prison for the convicts, his mind raced. He knew that there was a prom going on, but he didn�t know how he was going to ask Valkyrie yet. Hell, they were still getting over the fact that they had wild, crazy, passionate sex that one day in the Alecto barracks. Numerous times, he had to add silently in his head. It had to have been at least three times, and it was the best time of his life � there was no doubt about that. There was such a sexual tension between them that it would never go away. They had this undying attraction to each other, and despite how much they wanted to forget and ignore it

Taking a couple of deep breaths, the blonde haired boy walked forward as he stopped right underneath an arched walkway, his blue eyes looking directly at the petite figure of his now girlfriend, Valkyrie Black. A small smile crept up on his lips as he looked at her, his heart pounding beneath his chest. When she turned around, his eyes locking with hers, his breath got caught in his throat. Her words were the most wonderful thing that he had heard all day, especially considering how bad his day was. Seeing V�it was like his day lighting up all with just one glance. Walking forward, he took his hands out from his pockets of his robes with the crocodile emblem embroidered on his chest. �Well, well. I didn�t think that you would show up,� he joked as he stepped up to her, taking a second before wrapping his arms around her small frame.

He inhaled deeply through his nose, relishing in the smell of her as he finally pulled back the slightest, his ears straining for anyone who would see them. �But I�m glad you did.� His head dipped down, and he pressed his lips to hers gently, kissing her ever so softly, relishing in the feeling of how the pressure on her lips was so nice against his lips.

[Valkyrie Black]

As their eyes met, Valkyrie saw in Tyson�s eyes the same feelings she always had when she saw him lately � that her day had just miraculously gotten better. It was crazy and irrational� and she liked it. She chuckled at his teasing and let him pull her into a hug, taking an uncharacteristically soft moment to nuzzle against his chest, hold him close, and take a deep breath of that smell that was so distinctly Tyson. Once one got past the stench that was Furiae that hung around everyone, Valkyrie included.

�Hey, after the other night, why wouldn�t I show?� she teased back, pulling back to shoot him a coy grin before leaning in to meet Tyson for the kiss he was moving to give her.

When they pulled apart, she glanced around to make sure they were still alone in the courtyard. Leave it to one of the inmates to spy on them, or one of the Marshals to show up and ruin the moment. Or, worst case scenario, the Warden happened to be out for a walk. The last thing the couple needed was for the angry, hormonal woman to show up and target the pair.

Then, with a soft chuckle, she realized that she needed to stop worrying about the other inmates with the prom coming up. That is, if her and Tyson really were going to go together. That minor detail had yet to be determined. Pulling him around the archway to a slightly more secluded spot, she settled onto the grass, tugging him to follow.

For a minute she sat with him and just watched the sunset again. She was venturing into territory she wasn�t used to. As of a few days ago, in the barracks, she was delving into feelings she�d never felt before. It was all happening fast � not too fast, but fast � and she was still sorting through it all in her head.

In the end she took the simple and, in retrospect, unintelligent sounding route.

�So, there�s a prom coming up.�

She winced. Wow, could she have made that sound any less incompetent?

[Tyson Payne]

There was nothing normal about these two peoples� relationship with each other, especially considering the fact that they were in a juvenile prison in an attempt to rehabilitate their lives from the crimes that they had committed. It was strange, realizing that these two had fallen in love with each other � or what felt like love to Tyson � in the one place that forbade any sort of relationship building. Looking into Valkyrie�s eyes, he could feel his whole body start to flare up with an unfamiliar emotion, something which startled Tys as he tried to figure out what it was. Holding her in his arms, he inhaled her scent deeply through his nose, letting the scent drift up his nostrils, overflowing his senses. A small smile crept up on his lips as he kissed her gently, closing his eyes as he relished in the feeling of the softness of her lips putting gentle pressure on his own.

Feeling her hand slide into his, he couldn�t help but squeeze it gently, a small fluttering in his heart and stomach was becoming more and more apparent with him. As they sat down on the small bench in front of them, his arm came and wrapped around her waist. He never thought that he would ever find someone as special as V was to him. She was the only one who had touched his heart, who had gotten close enough and actually cared enough about him that the two of them had become so close. They had known each other back at Hogwarts � both of whom were on the Slytherin Quidditch team, only a year apart from each other. Tys was a year older than V was, but he remembered walking through the hallways and passing by her. It was on the rare occasion that their gazes would lock, heads turning towards each other as they passed one another.

But too soon, Valkyrie had spoken again, and he dipped his head own, eyes glancing at the floor as he took a deep breath. Right, prom. He had completely forgotten about it until now. With his free hand, he ran his hand through his blonde hair, a heavy sigh escaping from the boy�s lips.

�Right, prom. Um. Well, I don�t have a date. And I don�t want to go unless I have date. So, would you and your sexy self like to come join my hotness to the prom?� he asked her, a sly grin reaching across his lips.

[Valkyrie Black]

Valkyrie chuckled, a grin worming its way across her features. Leave it to Tyson to make her horribly awkward and incompetent comment at least seem less ridiculous. That was one of the many things she liked about him. Not only did he understand and care about her in a way no one ever had before, he could make her rare awkward moments seem, well, not awkward.

�Only if you�re bringing your sexy self along too,� she teased. �And yeah, I�d love to go. I�ll transfigure up something nice for the occasion.�

She was mid chuckle again when she heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. She paused. It could have been nothing more than a rodent or other small, fuzzy woodland creature. Of course, this was Furiae they were talking about, so small, fuzzy woodland creatures tended to come equipped with razor sharp fangs and a drive to kill anything that moved. Kinda like the Warden on a bad day.

Her senses heightened, she motioned Tyson to stay where he was, pressing a fast kiss to his cheek before getting to her feet and pulling her wand. More likely it was another inmate, spying and ready to get her and Tys in trouble for something.

Ha, right. Not on her watch.

Grumbling to herself about how much she hated this damn wand, growling about how it never did what it was supposed to do, she softly cast a spell to reveal the intruder.

At which point her wand, most inconveniently, exploded in her hand, sending her flying backwards into one of the nearby columns. Pain laced through every fiber of her being as she crumpled to the ground and fell into unconsciousness.