Hours were a strange thing, Kaddar mused. Minutes were easy, seconds barely counted and dayss...well...Kaddar didn't want to think about those just yet. They were a weird estimation of time though, and it was strange how some hours seemed so much longer than others. 10:30am until 11:30am felt like three and 1:30 until about 3pm felt even longer. This was probably why Kaddar loved to sleep so much, because then the hours just whipped by.
The hours during the day were worst, and Kaddar just didn't know what he was suposed to do with them. He could trail of course, and study, but after that what was there to do? He wasn't really the type to read or take a long walk or even watch TV...
Hours had once felt like days to Kaddar though, he hadn't had any direction in his life and no distractions. Every day was the boring same and he lived his life of boredom.

Until she came along, of course.
Then his life seemed to be moving too fast.
He'd wake up beside her most mornings and just gaze at her sleeping, looking at last soft and touchable and delicate, unlike when she was awake and as deadly as a weapon.
Then all of a sudden he had been gazing at her for an hour and her elbow was in his chest for not waking her up sooner. He knew very well that she always overslept when she was sleeping by his side, relaxed too much and feeling too at ease for her liking, even though secretly she knew she never got a better sleep when she was by his side.
"I'm sorry Kel!" Kaddar couldn't resist chuckling though. "You know how-"
"I know that you're getting five laps when we get outside." Keladryie grumbled, and being higher ranked than he, she could order that.
"Aww, but Kel...it's your fault you know!"
"How is it my fault?" Keladryie fixed him with a glare as she tied a boot on, knowing she'd like the answer he would try to come up with.
"You're just too beautiful," Kaddar winked at her. "When you're asleep, that is." he added deliberately, knowing that it would ruffle her feathers.
"When I'm asleep?" she repeated, trying to shrug it off. She tried hard not to agree with the fact he found her pretty, but it was hard when he practically said she was only pretty when she was asleep...meaning no other time...it was hard for anyone to take a comment like that.
"Yeah," he replied breezily. "I was gazing at you while I could, and the hour just...slipped by..."
"Mmm." Keladryie's tone was clipped, making Kaddar grin to himself. Soon she'd break.
He slipped the gun he was training with lately into his back pocket, wishing he could remain with his wakizashis, but he had been practically ordered to learn how to fight exceedingly well with a wider range of weapons. Kaddar waited until Keladryie made the first move to make him rectify what he had insinuated, but she never did and before Kaddar knew it, she was out the door and on her way to breakfast.
“Kela!” he tried to catch her at the door, but she shook free, meeting his eyes with her own. He could tell she wasn’t really upset by it, but she didn’t have the time to play their game at the moment.
“I have to go organise the younger ones into the movement tonight.” She reminded gently. “We’re flying down to Kununurra, remember?”
She turned and clipped her way down to the main office, probably to get a class list of all those she’d be in charge of, Kaddar realising that she hadn’t kissed him goodbye. She wasn’t happy with him even if she wasn’t upset either.
Kaddar sighed and set off for his fathers office, knowing well that Liam would have plenty of work for him to prepare for the movement that night. It was going to be a long day, and he’d probably skip his lunch hour. That was a wasted hour if Keladryie wasn’t by his side for it…

He was finally by her side again that night at the airport, they had even travelled their separately as she’d had to be there an hour and a half earlier than he to check in her cadets and get the weapons passed through without incident, that always caused a lot of messy red tape.

“Are we sitting together?” he asked hopefully, knowing very well that she could be sitting with her cadets and him with the other Elitists, probably between his father and sister.
“Of course.” She looked surprised and leaned up to kiss his cheek gently. “How was your day?”
He smiled happily, glad she was affectionate again. “Boring without you,” he admitted. “The hours just seemed to drag on…”
She squeezed his hand gently, and then turned away while saying over her shoulder “We’ll be talking about that later…”
Kaddar rubbed the back of his neck, slightly nervous. She was a good actor, and although he usually proved that he knew her pretty well she could flip and change in an instant…
“Hey bozo.” Rei interrupted his thoughts easily. “Checked in yet?”
Thankfully his younger sister and her Willard stole his attention for the rest of the hour wait until it was boarding time for the plane, and it wasn’t until he was in his seat that Keladryie appeared by his side again, shuffling him along into the middle seat so she could sit on the aisle, it would be easier to get to her cadets if needed that way.
“Now.” She raised an eyebrow at him with a slight grin on the corner of her mouth. “…About this morning…”
“I was joking.” Kaddar leapt in immediately, glad Keladryie’s father wasn’t sitting on the other side of him yet where he was meant to. “You’re…you’re beautiful all the time.” He murmured softly.
“Mmmhmm.” She smirked. “I don’t quite believe you, not if you’ve had all day just to come up with that to say…”
“It’s true.” He protested, still trying to keep his voice for her hearing only. “…the hours just slip by with you Kel…time moves so fast when we’re together. I could gaze at you forever, sleeping or not. You’re gorgeo-”
She kissed him gently, shutting off his words.
“Yeah yeah yeah…” she brushed away his words after she pulled away, Kaddar knew now he was off the hook. “Let me sleep in one more time though boy, and you’re back in your own dorm. I don’t have you around for anything but an alarm clock, you know…”
“Of course not.” Kaddar grinned happily as they both got to their feet, letting Seth get past them to his own chair, grumbling good naturedly about having to sit next to Kaddar. As they all sat down again Kaddar lifted the arm rest between himself and Keladryie, letting her immediately snuggle into his side.
“I know I’m only there as an alarm clock…nothing else…” his voice trailed off as he let her treat him as a pillow now, lost for words as she untied her hair from it’s ponytail and let it fall down in curls around her face. She looked angelic to him, curled up against his side with her eyes closed, lashes suddenly looking long and her skin pale and unblemished against her darkly dyed hair.
“Only an alarm clock.” Kaddar repeated to Seth who was looking slightly irate seeing his daughter act so cuddly to a Verona. “And sometimes a pillow.”
As Seth rolled his eyes and looked away, Kaddar looked back down at Keladryie and smiled, then rested back in his chair and waited for the hours to melt away as the time always did when he was with her.