Ender's breath was hitched in his throat; just looking at this girl made his heart race and thoughts get mixed and jumbled. It was not like this before. After all, he had known her long before this. But what now?

"Ender? Are you even breathing?" asked Bean, raising a questioning eyebrow. He realized he hadn't taken a breath. He took a long, deep breath and looked at Bean, a teasing smile on the latter's face.

"Yes, I am," he replied and began to leave for his bunks. He had been in the hallway when she had passed by, her long raven brown hair freshly washed and dried. "I'd bet otherwise," replied Bean. "Anastasia's somewhat beautiful, isn't she?"

"She's beautiful, there is no doubt about that. Smart, sweet, kind, brilliant - how can she not be beautiful?" replied Ender, changing course to go to a free game station instead of his bunks.

"Not that way, Ender. I mean physically," he replied, conjuring an image of her in her usual T-Shirt and Pajamas in his mind and smirking. "Sure is." Ender looked at him, a little disturbed. He didn't like the way Bean was thinking.

"Bean? Do you know you sound like a pervert?" he said, sounding irate and angry.

"And do you know you sound like a boyfriend? Her boyfriend?" he replied with a smirk and a snicker. "Why so defensive?"

"I don't like it when guys think of girls like that," he replied, taking a gaming station. Especially of Anastasia Cromwell. No one can think of her that way. Saving me, he added, remembering the dreams that often crossed him in his sleep, dreams that would make his throat burn and lips dry when she would sit with him, his eyes glazing over when he thought of it and later, berate and scold himself to think so, even though most of the times he saw them sitting together, holding hands and laughing. I'm not supposed to. He hated the lust he felt, hated how those thoughts made him go crazy with longing.

"Yeah, right? So why weren't you offended when Dink called Petra a hottie and stared at her like all he wanted to do was kiss her senseless?" asked Bean.

"Because Petra and Dink are together," he replied tiredly. "Anastasia is a friend."

"You forgot the just," Bean replied teasingly. Ender turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. "Every guy who claims he doesn't have a crush on the girl he does says he's just a friend of hers." His ship went crashing down.

"I don't have a crush on her!" Ender replied indignantly, angry at both Bean and the game. Bean, who was smiling till now, cracked up.

"Don't lie! I can tell the way you look at her in classes sometimes that the best that could happen to you these days was her and you kissing each other breathless." The very mention of that made Ender's throat go dry.

"I'm going to bed," he replied and left for the commander's quarters, shared by him and Anastasia. Thinking of her name brought up her image in his mind. Raven hair, emerald-colored eyes, lithe figure, pale skin - she looked a lot like him in terms of stature, but her eyes defined her physically. Reaching his quarters, the darkness put his senses into a state of sleepy sluggishness. He looked at her bunk, fast asleep, hair falling on her face, making her look cute in his opinion. He undressed and put on his pajamas, sitting on his bed, staring at the ceiling and then the windows, looking at the empty space in front of him.

Even after winning the war, they had been sent back to Battle School, now the school for the gifted and talented, the battle rooms now recreation centers. They held all regular classes here for the selective fifty who came hear every year at ten and studied for the next seven years, till they turned sixteen or seventeen at the most. And so, even the winning squad was sent back for regular education. Ender was nearing the end of his education, after which he would go back to Earth, and then Eros, if he chose to study military history, warfare, or enroll in the army. Fifteen and still not used to the changes in his body and his emotional framework, he was getting used to all things a regular teen would. Anastasia was the first.

He looked at his most able friend in a different light now; she had co-commandeered with Ender in the war, and was the person he could count on the most. They were good friends. But now things were changing, now Ender looked at her like she was someone else, not a friend whom he would video-call in the night to share his worries and fears and ideas with. Rather someone who teased his fantasies and made his mind scramble for control on itself.

With Anastasia asleep, he could now stare at her uninterrupted, which is what he often did when he got too stressed or confused. Either that or recite all the squares he knew. He looked at her face, shielded by her hair, body covered by the covers, wearing her white pajamas that night. Feeling restless, he walked up to her and began to untangle the hair all over face, trying not to take her up. Soon he had removed all of the hair from her face and was placing a loose strand properly in its place when his eyes strayed onto her lips, him breathing in the familiar scent of juniper and watercress which was emanating from her hair, mixed with the new scent of chocolate, now making its presence felt.

Her lips were slightly parted, the smell of chocolate coming from them. It was 85% dark chocolate, his favorite. He tried to dispel the nervousness and moistened his now dry lips, which were getting drier by the second. He leaned in to smell the intoxicating smell, not realizing how close he had come. It was only when he felt a soft pair of lips brush by his and those emerald eyes look at him with confusion was when he realized what he had done.

Anastasia had always wanted Ender, but couldn't bring herself to admitting it to him. Sure, she fantasized about him and her breath would often hitch in her throat, her lips dry and her body lose all strength when he touched her but she couldn't bring herself do admit her love for him. She was sure this wasn't a crush. After all, they had been through so much - she remembered the days when Petra was the one locked with him in that room on Eros after the battle; she wouldn't eat all meals, only drink water timely and feel unsettled and uneasy all the time. Only Dink understood why at that time, and he never said anything about it. He knew the closeness Ender had with her, and he knew how they would talk in the night, defying Bonzo's orders and when promoted to Dragon Army commanders, were rarely seen apart. They cheered the other up on bad days and shared their problems and achievements. Even at Command School and during the war, he would often chat with Anastasia at odd hours, and would never be seen without her during lunchtimes or any other time for that matter.

And now, Ender Wiggin was kissing her, not that he knew he was. She wasn't going to let him slip away.

She got up and moved away from him, looking slightly surprised. He looked ashamed, blushing, stuttering and trying to offer an explanation.

"I'm s-so sorry, I didn't me-mean to," but his apology was cut short when she took him by the neck of his t-shirt and pulled him in. All his thoughts were thrown out of the metaphorical window as he got lost in kissing her back, savoring his first kiss. It started as a soft kiss from her, but he ended up wrapping an arm around her waist, her hand in his air, him kissing her passionately, pushing her up against the wall.

Bean opened the door without knocking, having Anastasia and Ender's permission to do so. He expected to see the two of them asleep and wanted to invite them over to the bunk for a game of Truth and Dare going on, but found Anastasia Cromwell pushed up against the wall, kissing Andrew Wiggin as if she would never get to again. He too was no different, his hand cupping her face, pulling her closer, as if they could come any more closer. Bean snickered quietly and signaled Dink to go.

"Why?" Dink signaled. He beckoned him towards the door. Dink, seeing the scene, quietly went back with a grin, while Bean closed the door behind his back and flipped on the lights, clearing his throat for good measure. The two pulled apart, startled nevertheless.

"Bean? What are you doing here at this time of the night?" she asked, receiving a smirk from Bean. Both her and Ender were blushing.

"I would ask you guys the same thing," Bean replied. "Is this what goes on in the commander's bunks each night?"

"Bean," Ender said warningly, an arm around her waist.

"And you said she wasn't your crush?" he replied.

"Just leave," she said, annoyed. "This isn't appropriate, you know."

"Okay, okay, go on," he said with a smile, switching off the lights as he left. Anastasia gave her boyfriend a grin, who replied by kissing her again.

"So, what happened, are they coming?" asked Petra, looking curious. Dink had been grinning like crazy, yet didn't say a word.

"Well, let's just say they're busy," replied Bean, winking at Dink. Petra saw the look on the boy's faces, and shared the same confusion as Alai. Taking Alai for an alibi in case Ender asked her why she was snooping around, she looked into the door via the space under the door. It took her a couple of minutes to adjust to the darkness but when she did see properly, she could clearly a pair of figures kissing each other, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, they're busy," she muttered under her breath, a huge grin on her face.