Once More with Feeling

She looked up at the feel of the car rocking slightly, clearing her throat and attempting to regain some semblance of togetherness. Nix stared at him owlishly for a few minutes before registering his offer. "I..." She debated politely turning him down for about 2.5 seconds before she thought of Vaseras baking Corvus into a casserole and groaned, slumping against the steering wheel with her chin on top of it. Ordinarily her politeness would prevent her from accepting such an offer without thorough fuss. But, desperate times...

"If you're sure it's not too much trouble... I was planning on playing with her some though, giving her some attention, but now that I need to handle this shitstorm...augh." Nix rubbed her temples, the beginnings of a headache building against her skull. "I don't want you to be trapped at my apartment while I dote on my cat. You're welcome to come in and stay for a bit, of course, ah, if that isn't strange, but you can also just drop me off and I can cab back for my shift."

Kure shrugged, leaning on the open window now. Goodness--he smelled heavenly.
"If it's no problem I can stick around. We have nothing to do today--we have today off."
Reaching in, he messed with the steering wheel a bit teasingly and pressed a few buttons until she shooed stopped him. He laughed and hopped back a few steps, light on his feet.

"I'll get my keys." He turned and disappeared inside, sniffing around the back of the bar. Once he found them, he scribbled a note for Clydus, telling him to take care of the boot on Nix's car, along with a smug "I owe you one babe" at the bottom. He hopped out the back door, swinging his keys around.

Nix heard the hum, growl, and purr of a vehicle within no time. It must have been parked somewhere in the alleyway or a street down, she didn't know. But as it rode up--holy shit.
A 2014 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. This thing didn't even look real. Painted jet black with the golden crest on the hood. Kure parked next to her car and motioned for her to get in, but gawking at it only seemed natural. It was actually unsure if these were even--released yet. Were they? Was this thing even legal?

Nix gave a low whistle when the car pulled into view. Well, that settled it. He, or his family, or whoever financed all of this, was drowning in money. That or they had connections like the mob. Wait--maybe they were the mob... She made a mental note to ask Lyra about it later. Almost self-consciously, she got out of her silver 2004 Ford Escaped, gathered her things, and locked up the car before walking somewhat carefully over to the Firebird. It looked like he'd driven it off the factory floor; it was absolutely spotless, with not even a smudge on the door handle. She cringed slightly in guilt as she opened the door and settled inside.

She looked around in awe for a moment, muscle memory leading her to fasten her seatbelt. It smelled of leather and Kure and she wanted to bottle that smell and curl up with it. She looked over at him with wonder, intrigue, and a touch of mischief on her face she saw him looking at her with a cocky, devil-may-care smile, but his eyes still somehow managed to convey childlike glee. She told him her address and started giving directions, and when the car started moving she actually had to suppress a shiver because by god this was a gorgeous machine.

The music playing was loud enough to sing to but not loud enough to be obnoxious. Kure set his phone up with a GPS just in case, singing various songs from various bands that ranged from rock to EDM, English to Indo-Aryan. He had a fantastic singing voice, but he sang quietly. Whenever he caught Nix eyeing him, he'd shyly stop for a while, laugh, and then start up again a moment later.

Despite this, the car ride felt too fast. Like they both could have stayed in there forever. He could have driven her to the ends of the earth and it felt okay--but of course--there was a cat to take care of. They arrived at her building, Kure swiftly parking with no problem. People jealously stared as the two exited the car. Kure didn't notice, too busy eyeing the building and smiling for whatever reason.

After a drive that she was pretty sure qualified as a sexual experience, they parked in the lot behind her apartment building and got out of the car. Looking up, she could tell which apartment was hers by the plants on the fire escape. She could tell the lights weren't on, which allowed her to breathe a bit more easily. Nonetheless, Nix hurried over to the back door to the lobby, swiping her keycard to unlock the door and holding it for Kure before scurrying inside and over to the elevators. Perhaps a minute passed before the old elevator arrived, and as they got in she pressed "4" and tried not to spend the slow ride to her floor thinking about the fact that she was in an enclosed space with her boss. Her hot boss. Who was about to meet her psycho cat and see her apartment and be in her apartment oh god she hadn't cleaned there were dishes in the sink and clothes on the floor and her bathroom was a mess and there were still cardboard boxes in the living room and--

The elevator dinged merrily, and even before the doors opened she could hear the distant, wall-muffled sound of Corvus's yowling, as well as the agitated voice of Vaseras. Nightmares of dirty dishes and laundry momentarily forgotten, Nix rushed down the hall to her apartment, outside which was gathered a small assortment of unamused neighbors, Vaseras among them.

"I'm sorry, really, she'll be fine in a minute--" She didn't really pay attention to people yammering at her, because Corvus sounded so distressed and Nix knew the cat was just being a baby but the sound still broke her heart. In her rush she didn't get the finicky lock to cooperate the first time and had to start again, but then she was finally in the apartment and being absolutely screamed at.

"Corrie! Corvus, baby, shhhhh, it's okay," Nix crooned, everything else forgotten as she scooped up the raven-sized, jet-black cat, kissing her fur and shushing her as she scurried over to the food dishes on the kitchen floor. Scoop of dry food, forkful of wet food, then Nix was sitting on the floor petting Corvus as the cat ate like she hadn't seen food in ten days.

Gradually, she became aware that it was really incredibly quiet. Looking up as though suddenly remembering what had led up to this, Nix saw Kure standing just inside her apartment, hands comfortably in his pockets, watching her with a wry smile. The door was closed behind him, and Nix couldn't hear anyone in the hallway.... She blinked, her surprise that Vaseras hadn't stuck around to chew her out fading not-so-slowly to embarrassment. Nix got quickly to her feet but didn't really move, awkwardly clutching her purse to her stomach and briefly forgetting any semblance of manners when it came to guests. Her mother would be appalled.

After a few endless minutes of staring at him dumbly, Corvus broke the silence by looking up from her food, eyeing Kure up and down, and meowing loudly at him.

"Hush," Nix said instinctively, reaching down to chastise the cat, but Corvus was already trotting over to Kure's feet, sniffing cautiously at his shoes before purring shamelessly and rubbing against his legs.

"Um," Nix said a bit helplessly. "Sorry about--all of that. Ah, this is my apartment. Sorry for the mess, I wasn't--planning on company. Not that you aren't welcome!" she added quickly. "Please, make yourself at home."

It took no effort for the beast-of-a-man to get the neighbors to scatter. Despite the sudden rumors of Nix possibly having a boyfriend or love interest over while feeding her screaming cat, Kure let them off with a kind, cold smile. Once inside, he gently closed the door and stood there as to not disturb anything.

He could not remember the last time he had stepped foot in anyone's house. At best, he'd go to a room at the tavern. But no--he was standing in Nix's house. And it was cozy to him, lived in. Though his eyes, now, were on this small, furry creature who had approached him.
Slowly enough, he knelt down, lowering his head so Corvus could inspect his face. He gently touched noses with the cat, and somehow, some way, bonded through a soft headbutt. As the cat purred, Nix swore she heard Kure purring back. He stood up and waved Nix's worries away with an elegant, svelte hand, taking the moment to look around. Despite his previous motion, Nix still felt a ping of worry as his eyes seemed to scan everything in the room. With how keen his senses evidently are, it wouldn't be surprising if he had photographic memory and was saving this all in that pretty, little head.

He hummed and stepped in a bit more with no shame for being a bit nosy. He didn't remove his hands from his pockets, simply leaning over this and that to look at things and inspect them. When he caught the rhythm of Nix's heartbeat, he stopped and lowered a brow, giving her a crooked, guilty grin.

"Sorry. It's been a while."

And that was it. He went back to looking about. Been a while since what?
Since he fucked a bitch? Since he's seen a couch? Or a cat? Or an apartment?

Nix stared after him with a mix of incredulity and a strange, nervous excitement. As he headed toward the back of the apartment, she put her purse down and kicked off her shoes before scurrying after him, blurting an apology about the mess in her room. But he had stepped over the scattered clothes and was examining the contents of her knickknack-infested bookshelves with what appeared to be quiet interest.

The two dark wood bookshelves contained a smattering of almost everything: old, chronologically ordered issues of Scientific American and Psychology Today; some textbooks she'd found particularly useful or interesting; a hearty and potentially embarrassing collection of young adult fiction novels she had loved as a teenager and still couldn't bear to part with; several high fantasy series, each copy some degree of well-loved; and an assortment of other selections. Corvus was rolling around on the floor with one of Nix's socks, and she shooed the cat away from it and started gathering clothes at large to dump in the hamper inside her small walk-in closet. When she returned, Kure was cross-legged on the floor in front of the bookshelves, wrinkling his nose at the contents of one of her old textbooks and petting Corvus absently.

With curiosity that rivaled that of a young child, Kure continued to stick his nose in books, behind things that one normally wouldn't bother to look behind, and the top of Nix's desk. It was as if every time she blinked, he was somewhere else, but traces of him being where he was previously completely gone. He put everything back so neatly--it was like he was never pulling books off the shelf or messing with pens.
In most situations, it was okay to tell some one to back off, but Kure--somehow--didn't step over that line. If he went anywhere near the line of "personal", something else would catch his attention and he'd walk away, on to something else.

Moving by, Nix could smell him--that sweet smell that still remained on his skin, most likely from working out this morning. He didn't look greasy or smell even the least-bit bad, he just glimmered in some dazzling way when he stepped into light. He turned and met eyes with Nix, the bright green piercing deep through her. She suddenly felt paranoid that he could read minds, and at this point it wouldn't be all that surprising if she learned he could.

But--he didn't look away. In fact he didn't even blink... Just stood there, staring. Despite the complete lack of movement, she could almost read what he was thinking through his eyes. If he could read minds, somehow it felt like she could read his back.

Innocent curiosity.

This man was dangerous. Dangerous in ways that both terrified and made Nix even more interested.
The reality of what was happening hit her like a truck. Harder than before--forcing its way to the front of her mind. This man she had known for a day or two was standing in her house. He was her boss, as well, the boss of a crazy job with a crazy blond guy and two really cute chefs. He was standing in her house. The neighbors saw him arrive. Vaseras saw him arrive. They all saw him walk into the house with her with such nonchalance--oh goodness. Oh good God.

A buzz interrupted her thoughts, Kure's attention spiking enough for him to raise his head a little as if he just tuned into her brain and heard exactly what she was saying to herself. The paranoia faded, but it still felt like his eyes were on her even as he turned away to play with the cat.

Despite the odd wave of calm, Nix continued to watch Kure carefully with a vague feeling of surrealism. Her brother would be less than pleased that she had invited a man she had known for less than 48 hours into her apartment. But, Nix reassured herself, she was an adult. An adult perfectly capable of making her own decisions, however questionable.

Stifling a yawn, she stood awkwardly in the middle of her own bedroom trying to decide whether it would be rude to take a shower. Leaving her guest alone meant being a bad host, right? But she did want to shower before her shift, and--

Wait. Had he said they had the day off? She looked at the time: 4:15pm. Well, she sure as hell hoped that was what he said. Okay, fine. That was--terrifying. She had to--eat, shower, figure out her car, feed the cat.... Despite this, she couldn't really bring herself to move, somewhat paralyzed with possibility and the anxiety of making a good impression.

All the while, lying on his stomach on the floor with his feet swinging happily, Kure cooed at the feline. He purred back at the cat and rolled over on his back in an act of mimicry, but their playtime was interrupted by his phone going off. He smiled up at Nix and checked it. From where Nix was standing, she could easily see the name he had set for who was calling him without even trying.

❤️Little One❤️

A girlfriend? A friend in general? Some kind of love interest? For some reason, Nix found herself more concerned about this than she should be, but Kure was already standing and giving Nix an apologetic nod to excuse himself. She heard his muffled greeting as he stepped into the livingroom.

Nix could hear every word, despite him getting quieter as he audibly paced back and forth. Of course, it wasn't like he wasn't a room a way, like the door wasn't open, and he wasn't in some form of soundproof box.

"Hey, babe. What?" He stopped walking and went silent, then let out a cute laugh before continuing to walk in a circle. "No, no I'm not. I miss you too--but I really don't want to see him..."
His accent came back--and it actually became much harder to understand what he was saying. Sometimes, it was hard to tell if he still spoke English--only a few words made sense. Eventually, he hung up and appeared in the doorway once more so quickly and so quietly, it made it hard for Nix to try to process what language he was speaking exactly.

He smiled and held up a hand in yet another apology.
"I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting a call from my sister!"

Moving around her, he sat back down near the cat. "If you had stuff to take care of, I can amuse the cat if you like!"
He spoke up in a way that Nix felt a barrier which prevented her from asking further questions about his sibling. His body language and tone were friendly enough but--that social wall was still placed there.
Aside from that, he was quite smitten with the cat!

Nix settled onto her bed while he spoke, watching Corvus trot out of the bedroom and presumably either get under Kure's feet or continue eating. While he was on the phone, she started and deleted several messages to both her brother and Lyra. Before she could settle on what to say to either of them, Corvus came back into the bedroom ahead of Kure.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting a call from my sister!"

Nix couldn't keep the dubious look off of her face, but Kure either ignored it or didn't see it, instead focusing his attention back on the cat rolling around on the rug. Nix opened her mouth to ask about said sister, but something about his tone stopped her. Her next question was about what language he'd been speaking, but while she was working up the courage to ask, he spoke again. And it was then that she became painfully aware of the invisible layer of bar grime caked on her entire being. She probably smelled like sweat and alcohol and looked like a mop.

Nix sighed, rubbing the back of her neck a little sheepishly. "A shower would be great, honestly. You're sure you don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all. I'll be riiiight here..." His voice faded as he lay flat on his stomach, phone out again and the camera focused on the cat. He made faces and cooed at it, off in his own little world. However, he soon realized that it was probably a better idea if he sat in the living room while she showered and (possibly) got dressed...

He sprang up and gave her a small salute, gesturing to the livingroom to imply he'd wait out there. With feline grace that rivaled the cat that ran between his steps in an innocent attempt to assassinate him, he hopped over to the couch, careful not to kick the feline on accident. Plopping back with a satisfied sigh, he rested his arms and head back, and honestly it seemed like he could take a nap there if he wanted to.

What he was thinking right now, Nix had no idea. Her boss was sitting on her couch--actually probably sleeping on her couch--waiting for her to get out of the shower.
It was surreal. And obvious that "crazy" was definitely a word that fix Kure and this ragtag gang perfectly.

Being immortal gave you lots of time to think of course, but also a lot of time to get bored. This situation was interesting enough to amuse him, however. He had opened a bar to get to know locals and mingle with mortals anyway. But he had never gotten personal with any. Never went home with anyone. His understanding of human home-life was horribly lacking.

And, honestly, hiring some one was some form of excuse to find a playmate for the dark-haired boy. This, sadly, was not a plan cooked up by the devil but Clydus--who simply wanted his friend to be able to act more human and have closer interactions with others. The amount of people they interviewed was enough to bore the devil into not even showing up or helping for some of them. The frustration lead Clydus into worry--Kure was too flighty. Anything that tied him down he would run away from, much like how he fled from his protective brother.

However, this time, he's at least amused enough to continue talking to her. To stick around. Maybe too amused. Clydus knew better than to take a toy from the devil, even when the devil didn't consider the "toy" to be a "toy" but much more of a living interest... But the blonde who manipulates the devil himself now finds himself sitting on his own couch, worry coloring his features. He had probably gone too far, and worried more about Kure fucking something up and the cat getting out of the bag and Kure flying off the handle one way or another. His true colors hidden so deep behind Kure's sharp eyes, crooked grin, and seemingly social attitude. He sighed, and despite the guilt and concern he felt, there was a ping of happiness. Kure seemed genuinely pleased. At least a bit.

The shy boy would most likely make a mess of things, but Clydus would clean it up. That's what they always did. He'd take care of it. Nix will be fine. Kure will be fine.
He had to keep telling himself that.




By the time Nix was out of the shower, Kure was curled up on the couch, his hands drawn close to his chest and his breath soft. He was sleeping lightly, in such a way that she could tell that the nap was simply chosen out of comfort, not boredom or lack of options. His phone was on the floor in front of him, the screen lit up with notifications from Clydus, a bunch of random numbers asking about parties and meet-ups, and his evident sister.

She watched him lope to the couch before shaking her head. Absolutely loony, this was. Who did things like this? How did she get herself into this situation? She sighed softly to herself and gathered a change of clothes before skittering into the bathroom. Ordinarily, she didn't close the door, since Corvus's litter box was in the bathroom and the cat had a hernia any time Nix went to the bathroom without her. This time, though, she did, hoping Kure's presence would be enough to entertain Corvus. She hesitated, considering locking it as well, but dismissed the thought. No need to be paranoid, she reasoned. If he'd been planning on taking advantage of her, he probably would've done it when she was tipsy and asleep in his bar.

She undressed quickly, putting her phone by the sink and leaving her dirty clothes in a heap by the door, tip-toeing around escaped grains of cat litter she told herself to vacuum up later (but probably wouldn't). The shower was hot in about ten seconds, and she all but jumped in, sighing happily as she started to scrub off the grime.



Twenty minutes later, Nix was toweling herself off, long dark hair wrapped in a towel and piled on top of her head. She wiped steam off of the mirror and, after a moment's hesitation, dared to open the door the tiniest of cracks to try and let some of the steam escape. Dry off, lotion, clean ears, towel hair, apply liberal amounts of anti-frizz spray to hair, dry hair. She winced at the loud noise of the hair dryer, hoping it hadn't startled Kure, but she couldn't stand having wet hair. After another fifteen minutes, she dressed--simple, T-shirt and jeans--and emerged from the bathroom. She threw her dirty clothes in the washer but didn't start it, finding it more convenient than going all the way back into her room to the hamper.

Belatedly, she noticed things were rather quiet--no TV, no nothing, just--wait, she could hear Corvus purring from somewhere in the living room. Nix took a couple steps and peeked into the front room. Kure seemed to be napping, which was strangely adorable, and also impressive considering he had slept through the hair dryer. Corvus looked at Nix with lazy, half-closed eyes from her place cuddled against Kure's legs.

"What are you doing?" Nix whispered to the cat, practically inaudible. Corvus replied with a small chirp of a meow, and somehow that was what woke Kure.

His eyes slowly opened, his long lashes blocking his gaze from her's for just a moment before he looked up. He reached a hand over and gently scratched the cat's head, sitting up and stretching his back. He blinked a few more times and rubbed his eyes before squinting at Nix to inspect her. Almost instinctively, she very nearly covered herself with her hands. It was like his gaze pierced right through her. He smiled sat back in a drowsy stupor.

"Ah, sorry. Just decided to relax with Corvus a bit." He crossed his legs, arms resting on the back of the couch.

Despite his face causing him to look quite rugged, Nix could honestly sum it up with something between "resting bitch face" and "constant bedroom eyes"--he most likely wasn't doing it on purpose. Maybe. He just had one of those faces where he always looked up to no good if you didn't know him better, which honestly made reading him, currently, a little difficult. His expression was a mixture of relaxed and... Inviting?

Only when he turned his attention back to the yowling cat did she realize she might have been holding her breath after locking gazes with this man.

Nix let out a slow, quiet exhale--Get it together, Nix, Jesus--and was finally able to find the wherewithal to respond.

"No, it's okay! I'm glad you were able to get some sleep." She looked at Corvus, who was rolling over onto her back with a stretch and purring as Kure scratched her. "Actually," Nix added, "if you want we can head back to the Tavern." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I should probably start trying to figure out what to do about my car. Fuck," she said with a small exhale of a laugh, her hand dropping to her side as she looked at Kure with a somewhat tired smile. "Corvus should be fine for hopefully long enough for me to get my car back, and then I can head back home."

A small twist of something that could potentially be disappointment curled through her stomach at the thought of saying goodbye to Kure. She decided very firmly to not analyze that particular emotion right now.