V. It scars.

For most of the following day, Kenzi thought the foreboding had been Bo-related all along. It had been a close call, Bo getting irremediably itched with Whatshisface for all eternity, but the catastrophe had been narrowly avoided and the feeling of imminent disaster remained.

Dyson, who had not picked up the phone all day, was a no-show at the Dal. Trick hadn't seen him all day, neither had Bo. Hale only shrugged when she asked him about his former partner.

While they didn't get a chance to plan anything, be it a beer or a continuation of their tawdry whatever, she had expected to seem him anyway. He spent most of his evenings drinking down the place, after all, and after those past two nights, she thought… It didn't matter what she had thought.

His cell kept ringing and ringing before switching to voice mail while her sense of unease mounted hour after hour. If he was bleeding out in a ditch somewhere, she was so going to pester him to death.

A part of her, the part will all the issues –daddy, abandonment, self-esteem, you name it– kept bringing up images and theories that had little to do with an imminent danger. So much so she was reluctant to show up at the loft uninvited for fear of finding him entertaining a lady friend. Lady friends? After all, he had spent the past few months loving-and-leaving what seemed like half the female population of fae-ville. As for Kenzi… No promise had been made, he didn't owe her a thing beyond his friendship.

She had to keep her freaking cool. He was fine, probably. Only otherwise occupied. And if the notion twisted her gut, well, that was on her. Right?

/\/\/\

Kenzi didn't sleep much that night, tossing and turning while her mind reeled. To rein in her emotions, she concentrated on the best-case scenario: he was busy on whatever secret mission he'd been tasked with and hadn't thought to call her at all.

They were friends. Friends who had accidently slept together, twice, but friends nonetheless. The rest was all noise. Pleasant noise. Noise she wished she didn't yearn for… but noise nonetheless. She'd have to ask Bo for a lesson on compartmentalization because things were definitely not that clean-cut with her.

Noise. Dyson was definitely not on the market for a relationship, and neither was she, for that matter. They had an imminent apocalypse to worry about, after all.

/\/\/\

The next day, while Bo went to meet the Glaive – another crucial step towards the incoming battle and again, Kenzi seemed to have no place in it– she pulled herself together and reluctantly made the trip to Dyson's loft.

The first thing that hit her was that her bike was gone. Other than that, nothing looked wrong at first sight. She rang the bell long enough to wake the dead, but nothing stirred.

Disgruntled, she tried for his cell, which went straight to voicemail this time. Was he ghosting her or running out of battery?

"Good thing I know a thing or two about picking a lock," Kenzi announced out loud, a token warning, just in case… What? Was he pranking her? It was possibly an unforgivable violation of his privacy, letting herself into his place with no prompting, but at that point she was so immensely furious at him for his failure to communicate that she didn't care one bit.

Well, the good news was he wasn't shaking up with a new conquest in there. The bad news… She looked around a bit, hesitant to touch anything of his in his absence. The loft was exactly the way she'd left it when she'd seen herself out after his departure. The bed was still the mess she'd left it in. Her mug sat in the sink, unwashed.

/\/\/\

"No news is good news," Trick told her for the upteenth time. "If anything... significant had happened, we would know by now. Dyson's been known to need a breather from time to time. Wait it out. Or, you know. Don't."

"I've got nooo idea what you're blabbering about, old man," Kenzi grimaced in the general direction of her near-empty pint glass. He was sweet for keeping an eye on her – a self-appointed mission Kenzi pretended not to be unaware of– yet she couldn't bring herself to smile.

"I think you do," Trick replied, raising a no-nonsense eyebrow.

"Yeah, well." Kenzi gulped down the rest of her beer. "I choose to ignore you, since you insist on hurting my feelings."

"Kenzi..." He sighed, unwilling to pick up where they had left off.

The much feared-war was about to begin, yet day after day, they were pushing her away a bit further, the whole lot of them. Calling her a weak spot. A distraction. A liability. A freaking burden was what they really meant. With each well-meaning remark or advice on the best way to pack her things and run for the hills she felt a little more demeaned. Her friends - her people - kept treating her like a lab puppy gamboling across their battlefield. It was so unfair! She was useful, dammit, and capable, too. Superpowerless, maybe, but resourceful.

How could Bo, of all people, suggest she should take off and start over somewhere? They had done just that for most of their lives, the two of them. It was over now, they were home, where they should be. With their family. Hiding away while they fought the good fight was simply unthinkable. Which begged the question… Was it what Dyson was doing? Holing up and waiting for the all-clear? The thought broke her heart worse than any hook-up ever could.

/\/\/\

The night Nadia died, their lives descended further into chaos. Bo had killed before, of course, but never like this, neither for sustenance nor self-defence. She had fallen to pieces, and Kenzi was a wreck for her own selfish reasons.

From the moment Kenzi joined Bo on her frilly bed, intent on holding her tight until she cried herself out, her own tears started spilling out of their own accord like a seawall giving way. She felt more than a little ridiculous, crying in Bo's arms on this day - of all days. Her friend was inconsolable for killing her on again, off again girlfriend's girlfriend who just happened to be possessed by an evil monster. Kenzi's crisis? Being overprotected by her pals and having the guy she wasn't even in an actual relationship with go radio-silent for a few days.

Kenzi held on to Bo and let herself be hugged back, repeating over and over to her friend's ear that she had done Nadia a kindness, freeing her from that beast.

"I'm okay," Bo finally said, her voice shaky.

"You're so much better than that," Kenzi affirmed heartily, earning a half-assed chuckle.

"What's wrong with you, Kenz? You didn't even say."

"Nothing. Nothing important," she amended with a shrug.

"Come on, I wanna know. Even the unimportant thing. I'm sure there's a clause about that in that secret BFF handbook you keep referring to."

"Okay," Kenzi sighed, bracing herself. "You know me, I usually only believe in fate when I find a twenty on the floor. But I know I belong here with you guys. I'm not going to leave you. Whatever happens, happens. And I need you all to stop trying to get rid of me. Or at least to not be so rude about it," she added to soften the echoes of the bitterness that had been eating at her for days.

"No one wants you to go. Not really. We just need you safe. You. Are. Loved. You know that, don't you?"

"It's my decision to make, Bo-Bo. I made it a long time ago. There's no going back now."

"Okay," Bo said, putting her hand on her best friend's cheeks. "Okay. You're part of the team. We're lucky to have you."

"Also…" Kenzi started uneasily.

Bo said nothing, urging her to continue with a small smile and an expectant look.

"Oh, boy. Here comes." Kensi clenched her eyes shut. "I think I may be just a teeny tiny bit in love with Dyson."

"Uh, what?" Bo replied, puzzled.

"It sucks way too hard to be just lust."

"Kenzi? Please rewind to 10 seconds ago."

"Dyson. I like him, like him. I'm into him that way. I–"

"Gotcha," Bo interrupted. "Wh-When did that happen? How? Are you two a thing now?"

"Just a few days ago, rather athletically and I have no idea," Kenzi answered as fast as she could manage, peeking through her eyelids. "So, how much do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you, dummy," Bo said. "But allow me to sulk while I absorb the news."

"Please. You go all out with the sulking. I deserve it."

"Did you feel that way when he and I were together?"

"Well, I didn't find him repulsive then. Maybe there was a little crush. But frankly, I blame the gorgon blood. It all went downhill from that night."

"So, what, you took a peek at his hidden depths and, bam, you fell for him?"

"He's not that deep," Kenzi joked. "But yeah, of course it changed things. It's hard to see someone as just your BFF's asshole ex with the washboard abs when you've felt all the dark stuff he's hiding. And he's got a ton of that. It sort of shook me up, you know."

"You never told me about it."

"It wasn't my place to tell," Kenzi sighed. "We bonded without meaning to. I know he was a dick and pushed everyone away, but..."

"Gorgon blood: the stuff couple therapists dreams are made of."

"Yeah, that was some pretty hardcore roleplay."

"Okay," Bo announced, grabbing Kenzi's hand. "I think I'm done sulking."

"Nuh-oh, that was a ridiculously short sulk! I broke girl code, big time. I expect my membership to be revoked any minute. And I had to lie to you. To your face! I'm so sorry, Bo. Feel free to pinch me really hard. Do you want to ruin my favorite pair of shoes with those massive feet of yours? Go ahead, I've earned it."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. We're above girl code, you and I," Bo said softly.

"C'mon, can't you at least shout a little? I've been torturing myself for days."

"I'll be over it before morning. As long as you're happy, I'm good. But don't go and get yourself hurt, okay?"

"Yeah, well." Kenzi sighed dejectedly. "I think it might be a little too late for that."

When the two of them finally slipped under Bo's silk sheets, neither of them could find sleep for a long, long time.

/\/\/\

The first offensive came as soon as the next day when Ugly, Meanie and Nasty stormed the Dal in the middle of an eventless afternoon. The three Garuda minions were on a mission to kidnap the Blood King and take him to their master. Fortunately, they had their asses handed over by Bo and Hale. On top of everything else, guarding the Dal and, more importantly, its owner, was now first priority.

"Look at us, living in a bar," Kenzi offered, slouching over a table. "Not gonna lie, I thought achieving my life goal would be more fun."

Bo was the only one to force a smile through the collective heavy mood.

"Tough crowd, uh?" she told Trick. "No wonder you're always such a grump."

The Dal was closed to customers but the gang was on high alert. They had managed to repel the Garuda's minions this time, but what would happen next time if they were outnumbered? It was inevitable. While another attack so soon seemed unlikely, every creak of the hardwood floor had them all reaching for the nearest weapon. But when the door finally pushed open, it was to make way for a friend, not a foe.

"Missed me?" Dyson called, looking perplexed by the gloomy tableau they formed.

Kenzi's heart skipped a beat before soaring to her throat, cartoon-style. She had resolved to play it cool, were he to ever show up unharmed, but now that he was almost at arm's reach, the thought didn't even register.

"D-man!" she all but screamed, racing to hug him tightly. "I'm so glad you're back."