The Trap

Opening her eyes she reached up and picked a hand off her shoulder, bringing it slowly to her face she ran her cheek along it taking in the feel of his skin and his cool scent.
Softly he squeezed her hand and pulled away.
"So?"
"I got through Steel! Just for an instant I heard Lead call my name! But..." her excited voice faded.
"But what?"
"There is something out there Steel, a kind of malevolence I haven't felt since the Darkness, I couldn't even start to fight it I was too weak, out too far. It was a terribly long way Steel." Now reproach coloured her words.
"But you got through!"
"Yes, but it may do us no good, I don't think they could get to us on my weak signal. Maybe Jet...?" She glanced at Steel for some reaction, "It is her speciality after all, maybe with your connection you could reach her?"

Steel stood rigidly and looked into the nothing. "Connections are not my speciality," still looking away from her, "besides people assume alot about Jet and I as well."
Surprised she said, "So you're not bonded?"
Almost in a growl he turned, "Are you and Silver?"
She felt rebuffed by his tone, "Of course not, you know the Authority frowns on it, bonding makes agents too autonomous," she raised her hands in quotation marks.
"Would that make the slightest bit of difference if you wanted it?" She heard the wry humour back in his voice mocking her and protecting him.
"No of course not, and we may after all have to assume that this," she gestured at the cafe's interior, "may be a punishment for our own past independance."
"Besides, Silver's not..." she trailed off.
"Worth it?"
"No" she replied sharply, "he's just not the type to want it."
Steel made a non comittal noise and walked to the cafe's counter top.
"Is there anyone who would risk themselves for us, that we could trust?" Sapphire said nothing.
Steel shrugged shook his head and began to pace, "Can we fight the barrier ourselves?"
"No, not well, not in our current state."
Pausing he looked at her, "What do you mean current state?"
She looked him in the eyes, "It is too far to where the barrier, the malevelence dwells. To get past it we would have to discover a weakness, trick or overpower it and to do so would require a level of synchronicity and power exchange that we do not posess."
He looked away deep in thought "And if we had this power we might be able to slip through?"
Sapphire smiled, "Possibly, it would help if it was distracted, but with only the two of us..."
Turning back he said, "Synchronous, what do you mean by this?"
"We'd have to work as one, mentally shore each other up and draw seamlessly on each others strengths."
"How?"
"Well there is years of specific practice and trainingtill we have attained a correct level or..."
"Or what?" Steel felt apprehension in the pit of his stomach, he was beginning to feel where this was leading and the fear made him irritable. "Or WHAT Sapphire."
"Or we could bond."

He turned slowly to face her wearing an unreadable expression. "Bond."
"Yes, it is the quickest way." She tried to keep her tone light and non comittal, feeling his mood changing and not liking or knowing where it was leading. He looked furious now.
"So it would be a means to an end for you is that it?"
She looked back into his eyes no longer calm grey but the palest ice blue and refused to be cowed "Why? What would it mean to you?"
He gaped at her, lost for words in his anger and confusion, then turned away as if the sight of her hurt him and began walking away.
*Steel*
*It would change everything* his mental tone was hard, sharp.
"Yes," she said softly standing up, "But Steel what would it mean to you?"
He stopped walking, head bowed *everything*
*yes* she answered.