"Good choice, brother," came Dom's voice from above, and he returned the momentary smile before his twin's face vanished behind the upper bunk again. They both spent a few minutes organizing their thoughts before they began the analysis. Don always spoke first.

Dom's nod of agreement came seconds before their greens entered, interrupting further possibility of worthwhile conversation. These two boys were new, fresh from the shuttle two days ago, and completely intimidated by their veteran status and synchronization. Six months until graduation was going to be a long time with the greens in here to cramp their style, but Don knew they would manage.

Dominic woke feeling incredibly selfish and relieved to find his twin sleeping soundly in the bunk below him.

Waiting until his features regained their normal mask of reserve, he leaned over the edge of his bed, throwing his pillow down to hit Don with a muffled thwack. The boy sat up suddenly in bed, and with a tiny twitch of his lips, Dom grinned at his surprise. "Morning, brother. Time we started."

He unzipped his jacket, and he heard her slight intake of breath, but the door remained locked, and he didn't turn around to see if she was trying to escape. The undershirt went next, and quickly, and he stood bare from the waist up and bowed his head.

He wasn't moving, just bowed his head and froze in place and didn't say a word. Her amethyst eyes tried to focus on his mark, but she found herself taking a few shaky steps closer, finally standing on her toes to see. It was a tattoo, thin black barcodes at the base of his neck, and she ran her fingertips lightly over the raised brand as he shivered.

"The Creche is where my brother and I were decanted." He used the word the scientists had used, his voice still flat. "We were raised as a set to match another pair, Madeleine and Melinda, in their breeding program. The Creche is government-funded, and they chose to assign us here after we came of age instead of giving us Earthside duty. When our training here is complete, they will either take us back to the Creche or let us go on to the Command Post. Either way, we remain their...property."

Dante didn't know what to say.

He'd leaned his hand out, bracing himself against the higher bunk, as if to steady himself. She pulled her hand away from his back, hesitated, completely shocked in lethargy for a long moment. He seemed so resigned, so lost within his own world that she could never fully comprehend, and the flatness to his voice saddened her.

He was prepared for that. He knew how most of the world regarded Creche children. Outrage, disbelief...disgust...he knew what to expect from the "normal" general public. He had broken his conditioning and told her for no reason he could understand, and here was the result. He had no one to blame but himself.

"Donovan, I..." She was trying to be kind about it, at least. He gave her time to think of her excuse. It was only polite, after subjecting her to his cruel, cold narration. She would make some simple, paltry excuse and leave, and he could sit down and tell himself that she wouldn't tell anyone, he wouldn't have to tell his brother...and maybe things could go back to the way they had been before.

And then her touch returned, her liquidly accented voice speaking his name, closer now. "Donovan?"

He finally turned around, holding her small hand against his heart with his own larger palm, and she almost forgot to close her eyes as he leaned in for a kiss, so lost in those swirling midnight orbs that when his lips touched hers, she sighed in relief.

Identical twins, perhaps, but nothing like his brother.

Smooth, fluid, as if she couldn't quite see the lines anymore. He laughed quietly, smiling as he kissed her, a deep intense kiss that made her knees feel weak and her heart beat erratically. Before she could react, melted in lethargy, he seated her on his bunk and tugged off her boots, removing his own and crawling into his bed, pulling her to him.

Her kiss became a little rougher, and he responded accordingly. Fleeting images of Madeleine drifted through his mind, images he'd summoned at times during these sessions with other girls, but Dante sighed against him and they scattered and disappeared. Dante was real to him now, as real as she had been and all the girls since had not, and he wanted no one else.

Nothing like anyone she'd known before. Not Nathan, and his memory slipped away under Donovan's touch. He finally pulled away from his caresses, reclining on his side next to her, and his arm wrapped around her waist to pull her close, facing him. He kissed her lips, even as she trembled with fire, and Dante opened her eyes briefly to stare into his.

She sensed rather than felt the amulet slide from her pocket, nestling into the bed beside her. Her hand went down to retrieve it, cold chain and charm against her warm skin, and she lifted it uncertainly to hold tightly in her palm. She'd always given it to those who reached her, who were as close to her as she felt Donovan growing, but her once symbol of protection meant nothing. If she was going to give him anything, it couldn't be this worn amulet, her trinket that carried too much pain. He deserved something for himself, and himself only.

His first reaction was anger, but it never reached his eyes. She wasn't mocking him. There was no disdain in those violet depths. It hadn't even been conscious on her part, that little caress. She had accepted it as a part of him, and continued to display affection. It didn't matter to her - at least, not enough to frighten her away. She trusted him, regardless.

Dante had no need for her ice anymore, not with Donovan.

His touch was expert, knowing as he ran his hands over her skin, but that was lost on her as she sighed, eyes closed as her lips sought his. When he rolled them, she found herself sitting above him, staring down with wide violetfire eyes, her curls tumbling past her shoulders to brush lightly against his chest and face. Donovan pulled her down for a kiss, releasing her to place his hands on her hips, and a tiny hint of ice swirled silver in her gaze for the briefest moment, before she let him move her slowly.

Shocked, elated and a little ashamed, he turned them over gently, brushing the curls from her eyes and her flushed cheeks before he pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. "Shh..." he whispered into her ear as he began to move above her, his shame dissolving as the balance became clear to him. Emotional love was as new to him as physical love was to her, and he would make sure she did not regret what was rapidly becoming the most intense experience of his life.

...love?

At that moment, in Dante's world, there was only Donovan.

She was still trembling beneath him, muscles just beginning to calm, and he said nothing as her eyes opened again to meet his, just leaned down and kissed her again. It was just as sweet as it had been before. He rested his chin on her shoulder, turning his head to the side and letting his eyelashes flicker against her cheek.

He settled into the bunk, back to the wall, and Dante curled herself against his chest, bare skin sliding on his as she nested in his arms. Her chin tilted up to nuzzle into his neck, kissing his throat, feeling his body heat reflecting off of her and keeping her warm. She could feel her own flushed face, wayward locks curling over both their shoulders as her eyes closed. Hours, days could have passed, and she would have been perfectly content to stay with him here, forever.

He felt like there was something he was overlooking, and it made him a little uneasy, but his mind wasn't focusing properly, and he couldn't bring himself to care. He had told her his secret...but she would keep it, he knew. He would have trusted her with anything she asked of him. Time passed, and he drew the blanket over them as they began to cool, cradling her close. Perhaps they slept, perhaps not, but the small notification bell for dinner woke them both.

He smiled down at her as she did up at him. "We must dress. The others will be back soon, and we need food." He kissed her and she smiled against his lips as he reached to the side of the bed and gathered her clothing, slipping it over her with the ease of long practice, gently pushing her hands away when she sought to intervene, tickling her when she got a little too insistent.

She couldn't help but smile at him shyly, still blushing pale pink, her fiery curls tousled down her shoulders. Leaning up on her toes to plant a kiss on his lips, she nodded, not needing to answer. Pulling away, Dante flashed him one last smile before moving to palm open the barracks door.

Dominic was standing on the other side, his own hand on the palmpad, ready to enter.

He gave her a surprised smile as his eyes ran over her face, and she paled, a little flustered as she glanced back to Donovan for reassurance. But he nodded, and she managed a small smile at Dominic, wisps of ice slipping back into her eyes as he took a step back to make room as she stalked from his cell and into the corridor, on her way to the mess hall.

"Long time no see, brother. But it looks like you had a... visit... from Dante, eh? You blushing? Oh, don't tell me..." he punched Donovan lightly on the shoulder, grinning with triumph and a tinge of irritation. Damn, it appeared as if his brother had gotten to her first. Very well. What one had, the other took, sharing fair and square each time. Wouldn't be too much of a problem to feign Donovan's easygoing charm, and claim her for himself.

"It..it wasn't like that, Dom," he said finally. He wouldn't lie to him. He couldn't. Dominic had to find out now, before he tried to trade, as they'd always done in the past. The thought of his brother with Dante sparked another new emotion in him, something he'd never felt with any sort of intensity before.

Jealousy.

Hunts were clearcut, with established rules and methods of playing. One of them picked the target, and they would conduct an analysis before deciding who received first strike. After a period of survey and careful attacks, one of them inevitably won the desired favor. Report back, trade, report a little more, and move on. Simple. What was there to debate about?

Everything was foreign to him, all of a sudden. No trade? They always traded. Mine? There was no possessiveness with them, never had been. It wasn't Dominic's or Donovan's. It was theirs, together, always together, one. His last statement was the most bewildering of all, and Dominic looked more closely at his brother, indigo eyes shading to midnight as he stared.

He loved her?!

Another completely and utterly unknown to him. Love wasn't for them. They were Creche, and it was simply not an option, not even a consideration that he would have ever thought to think of. Dominic thought briefly of another male Creche pair that had encountered this problem, one of the brother's forming an unnecessary attachment to a different female. The outcome had been enough to frighten him away from ever thinking of "love" again. They were Creche, and anything that could divide them ruined their usefulness. They could find themselves back in reconditioning, back on Earth, sold, or worse. He shuddered at that thought, watching his brother's resigned demeanor, and restrained a sudden urge to strike the man as he finally spoke.

His face remained stony, but inside his heart was sinking. He'd forgotten all about review. Every month the Creche sent up a specially trained psychiatrist to test them, to verify that they were adjusting properly, doing well in their studies...and maintaining their reversible versatility.

The point of going to the trouble and expense of creating twin sets like themselves and raising them entirely together wasn't to cultivate their separate personalities. The Creche wanted two individuals who could play each other flawlessly, should the need arise. A Creche pair who lost that ability was much reduced in value. If the interviewer picked up on that loss, at best, they would be sent to earth for reconditioning. At worst, the Creche would cut its losses entirely and sell them, singly or as a pair. There were hundreds of intermediate fates as well, all of them more or less unappetizing.

Donovan had broken the cardinal rule. He'd allowed himself to form another attachment, and he'd put both himself and his twin on dangerous ground.

"We wouldn't be having this dispute in the first place, if you'd managed to keep from getting pussy-whipped, my brother." He was crude, so twisted with fear at being sold and separated from Donovan that he found himself saying things he couldn't quite believe or understand. "How the fuck are we going to pass review?! It's not that goddamn easy now that I don't even understand you anymore. I don't know what that bitch did, Donovan, but you're brainwashed and we're going to be sent Earthside and fucking sold if we don't take care of this little problem you've created."

The fear and sadness on Donovan's face made him clench his jaw, holding back tears of hurt and rage. A little of his anger faded as he recognized and felt the pleading in his brother's eyes, but only a little, stubborn disbelief clinging to him despite his best efforts to try and understand this sudden turn of events. His own eyes muted, sadness at their seeming separation, and Dominic rubbed his face tiredly, sighing as Donovan spoke again, the same words. "I love her."

"But, you're my... brother." He knew it was a paltry excuse, and a surge of rage at himself erupted. Now he sounded like he was begging, pleading for something he didn't even own or fully comprehend. Dante had managed to draw a line between the pair, and for the first time in his entire life, Dominic was separate from Donovan.