After the initial teasing, they mainly sat in silence, waiting for their flight to begin boarding. Papillion went back to reading 'The Witches of Karres', Chaim pulled out her own book before turning so that she leaned on Papillion with her feet up on the seat next to the one she was actually sitting on. Papillion adjusted herself by putting an arm around Chaim's shoulders. Chaim smiled up at her when she did this and then promptly went back to her book.

Marek sulked. Edward looked decidedly uncomfortable. The old man stared.

Chaim and Papillion choose to ignore all of this. Papillion actually didn't notice, as she was fairly engrossed in her book, her book that was yet another present from Chaim. Chaim, whose warm weight against her side was comforting and welcome, and kept her somewhat rooted in the present.

But no matter how out of it Papillion was or how interesting the book she'd chosen could ever be, Chaim was still frightfully aware of their surroundings. Marek wasn't a threat for now, but that could change if she wasn't careful. He wouldn't try anything in the airport, and Edward was too aware of everyone around them to even think about hurting either of them. Besides, Edward was never going to be a threat to her, and therefore by extension, Papillion. However, that didn't remove the chance of Marek forcing him to do something to help Marek get back at Chaim, whether it was by targeting Chaim or by setting his sights on Papillion. Chaim would put her money - and Papillion's life - on the latter of those two. Marek was, in fact, incredibly petty and something of a coward; he would go after the easier of the two targets.

Perhaps it was time to put him in his place again. No - it was past time to put him in his place again. She'd have to do it soon, very soon, thought probably not before they arrived at their destination. Planes were such tricky things; there were far too many people who could see far too much. It was better to wait. His hands were tied just as much as hers, as well. There were just too many people.

But that old man - he knew something. Chaim knew it, and he knew it. She wondered if he knew that she knew. Probably not; people had long underestimated her, something that she, in fact, encouraged by her appearance. She supposed her personalty helped, but that one wasn't really her fault. In some ways, it was amusing that her actual personalty was so useful to her like that. Or rather, what was left of her actual personality.

Chaim physically shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts, carefully hiding it behind a yawn. Papillion gave her a bemused look before returning to her own book. Chaim checked her watch, noting the time. Marek was still sulking. Edward was still uncomfortable. The old man was still staring.

Now that she thought about it - as she turned the page of her book - he wasn't really all that old. He was older than any of them, certainly (Marek was the oldest, and by quite a few years; he was in his mid-thirties now), perhaps in his late forties or early fifties. If Chaim really had to pick an age, she would say that he was fifty-two or maybe fifty-three; the forties, fifties and sixties were the ages when people started to look alike, after all. But he definitely wasn't sixty, and he definitely wasn't any older than fifty-four and he most certainly wasn't any younger than forty-nine. He wasn't trying to hide it, in fact, he was trying to look older. Chaim found this not odd but suspicious. She did not like the way he stared, and she knew it wasn't disapproval (even though the rest of her companions thought it was so).

In her mental checklist of things to be done, the man moved to the top, above Marek and Edward, or even this joke of a mission. The mission was really just to give her something to do, and to let Papillion have a taste of 'real' life. Chaim almost snorted, but didn't, letting her eyes slide over slightly so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye. He was a much more pressing matter, even only for the fact that he was a wild card, an unknown in the entire equation. That was what made him dangerous, and she was not going to dismiss him out of hand, like Marek would.

Part of the reason for this was that he was hiding. His hair was newly died white, to make him look much older, he was wearing contacts, and Chaim would bet just about anything that he was newly shaven and that his hair hadn't been that short for very long. The hat next to him on the seat had merely been taken off because it would arouse suspicion and make it much more obvious that he was hiding.

All of this did not add up to a simple old man in Chaim's book. In fact, it added up to a criminal. Chaim wasn't stupid, no matter what any of her peers (if she could truly call them that) would like to believe. Chaim had spent her entire life surrounded by criminals of all sorts and calibers, and this man was definitely not top-tier.

Neither was he bottom-tier. And that was what made him dangerous. Even if he was slightly too obvious, it was hard to notice unless you knew what you were looking for. But no one here would recognize him. He had driven to a far-away airport on purpose. Such a smart thing to do. If they were looking for him (which Chaim doubted, as he seemed to be a nervous little man) they would not look for him here.

He was not looking for Chaim, however. He was looking for someone else, or at someone else. Chaim turned her eyes away from him at long last, and checked her watch again. With a sigh, she sat up, making Papillion swivel her head to look at her. Papillion's face was slightly bereft, but Chaim just smiled reassuringly at her.

"Time to go," Chaim told her with that same smile, "The plane's about to start boarding."

Papillion smiled back at her before closing her own book and putting it in her backpack, watching Chaim do the same before running over to a near-by water fountain to fill up their water bottles as well as throw away their trash. She then scampered back over (scamper really was the only word to describe it, there wasn't another one), before throwing her bag over her shoulder and nearly hitting Marek in the face with it as he came up behind her.

"Dammit, watch what you're doing with that thing!" Marek growled at her, "You could've put my eye out!"

"Sorry, Normie," Chaim replied with a false grin - Papillion knew it was false because Chaim's came dangerously close to closing, "I keep forgetting how accident-prone you are and how I should look out for you before doing anything remotely dangerous."

Marek's scowl deepened as he blushed, but before he could reply, the loud speaking came on with telling them that first class was boarding. Chaim nodded as the message finished before holding her hand out to Papillion, who took it. Chaim then waited for Papillion to get to her feet before dragging her over to the boarding line. Unsurprisingly, they were first in line. Marek and Edward trailed them slightly, but not by much. Chaim had to resist the urge to frown when she realized that the man was also in line for first class. She managed to get by it by smiling brightly at the woman who was checking their tickets, passports, and boarding passes, thanking her brightly as she and Papillion moved onto the plane.

Just like Chaim had said, or at least alluded to, they had a pair of window seats. As they got to their seats, Chaim ushered Papillion in. Papillion gave her a weird look, but Chaim gave her an open, honest expression with wide-eyes before motioning her in. Papillion gave her another look before sliding in, taking up residence at the actual window seat. She glanced at Chaim, knowing that something was wrong.

Chaim slid in next to her after pulling a few things from her bag and stowing it. She put most of her things in the pocket in front of her, and then turned to Papillion, obviously waiting for her to say something.

"What's wrong?" Papillion managed to get out after licking her lips. A nervous gesture.

"That man is also in first class," Chaim started before finishing simply, "I don't like him." A shrug, and then Chaim's eyes were front and center, watching 'that man' get on the plane. He glanced around the plane, another nervous gesture. It wasn't curiosity, a cursory glance of his surroundings, but an actual, searching look, making sure that he was still safe. Chaim glanced over at Papillion, who was trying to get comfortable in her seat by squirming around. It made Chaim smile, and then she went back to watching him.

He had noticed them, and he had found Marek and Edward, Marek who was still sulking and Edward who was still uncomfortable. Chaim watched him as he drew close and then turned to Papillion unexpectedly.
"You'd think Jacob was comfortable with being out," she said as he walked by, "You know, they're married now and stuff. Why would he marry Normie if he wasn't ready to come out?"

"You have to stop calling him Normie," Papillion laughed at her, "It's so emasculating!"

"That's the point," Chaim said with a grin as she waggled her eyebrows at Papillion, "He's the bottom."

Papillion stared at her for a few seconds with an open mouth and disbelieving expression before she started to laugh. Her laughter was uncontrollable, and it caused Marek to glare in their direction before huffing. It also caused the man to stare again, allowing for Chaim to assess his position. He was closer to Marek and Edward, who he glanced at before moving slightly away from. It was an unconscious thing that he didn't notice, but it did cause Chaim's forehead to wrinkle slightly.

But then the air hostess was at the front of the plane giving them their safety instructions. This caused Papillion to panic, latching onto Chaim's arm and leaning over to whisper in her ear, "None of this is going to happen, right?"

Chaim smiled at her before kissing her forehead. "Don't worry about it," Chaim smiled, her voice low, "The chances are very, very low, and even if it does happen, I'll take care of you, okay?"

The man was staring, but Chaim didn't turn to look at him. Instead, she chose to press another, more reassuring kiss to Papillion's forehead before patting her hand and relaxing back into her own seat. The flight attendant had finished her spiel, and had retired from the passenger cabin. Then the captain came on the loud speaker to give them his blurb, which did nothing for Papillion's nerves.

"We're going to be on this thing for six hours?" Papillion asked Chaim, face wide in terror.

Chaim just sort of smiled at her, reassuringly. "It's okay," Chaim said as she patted Papillion's knee, "We'll be asleep through most of it."

Papillion frowned, again put off Chaim's demeanor. She was definitely preoccupied with something else, and Papillion didn't know what. However, it was a minor concern for Papillion, as this was her first flight. Ever. She was a bit more than jittery, and started to squirm in her seat as the plane moved from the gate to the runway. She glanced out the window, but after seeing the moving scenery, tore her eyes from it and stared resolutely at the seat in front of her. So preoccupied was she, that she failed to notice that Chaim was watching her with a slightly bemused and slightly worried expression.

Papillon's jitters grew as the plane accelerated down the runway. Just as Papillion knew that the plane was going to leave the ground, she felt Chaim's hand on the side of her face nearest the window. Chaim gently coaxed her face towards her, and then when they were face to face, Chaim leaned over and kissed her hard on the mouth.

She was shocked, of course. She was so shocked that she forgot about the plane, she forgot about Marek, she forgot about the staring man, she forgot everything but Chaim's kiss. It was so odd, the way the kiss drowned out the rest of the world. Chaim gently pried her lips open and then slid her tongue into Papillion's mouth, along with a watermelon Jolly Rancher. As soon as the Jolly Rancher was deposited in Papillion's mouth, Chaim pulled away and resettled herself in her seat, her breathing still absolutely normal.

"Suck it," Chaim told her, "It will pop your ears. And your ears need to be popped so you don't get a headache."

Papillion slouched down in her chair and then leaned her head on Chaim's shoulder. She did as Chaim told her and sucked the Jolly Rancher, and then turned her head slightly to speak directly into Chaim's ear. "What the fuck was that kiss for?" she hissed.

Chaim smiled at her and then dropped a kiss on her forehead before moving her own lips to Papillion's ear. "You were nervous," Chaim told her in a soft, soft voice, "It was the fastest thing I could think of." She pulled back with a faint smile. "It worked, didn't it?"

Papillion returned her head to Chaim shoulder, her lips perched at Chaim's ear yet again. "That's not all of it and you know it," she hissed.

Chaim glanced down at her before slumping down in her seat so that they were at eye-level. She kissed Papillion's neck (causing Papillion to blush) before speaking. "This is our cover," Chaim replied, "It needs to be believable."

"And?" Papillion prompted as she moved her own lips to Chaim's neck. It was a game, she told herself. Almost one-up-man ship. She decided to give Chaim a hickey, and did just that. Chaim smiled into her hair as she did so, waiting for Papillion to finish.

"You should be careful," Chaim muttered, "Or people will be expecting us to join the mile-high club." Chaim sighed and buried her face in Papillion's hair for a few minutes before continuing. "The man from the airport is still staring at us."

Papillion took a deep breath. "You don't like him," Papillion replied, "He makes you wary." Papillion had almost said nervous, but nervous wasn't something she instinctively knew that Chaim didn't do, so she had said wary instead.

Chaim merely nodded, her cheek pressed against the top of Papillion's hair. She sighed, almost melancholy, and then untangled herself from Papillion. "C'mon," she said with a cheeky grin, "Let's see what movies we're going to get this flight."

And just like that, Chaim ended the conversation. Papillion let her eyes flick to the old man, and found that he was, indeed, still staring. Papillion felt incredibly uncomfortable for a few seconds, but then Chaim distracted her with the movie choices. But even as they went over the movies, Papillion saw the occasionally flicks towards the staring man, and she had to resist a shiver.

This wasn't going to end well, and they both knew it.