<span style="color: #FF0000">Colt smiled into the phone, “No need. I figured you would not answer, but I did not want you to think that I had forgotten about you.”</span><br/><br/>The smile was heard, but not reciprocated, uncertain of why he sounded so chipper just then. Not to be put off focus, she asked again, “You’ve still not told me how you are.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Tired and sore, but happy to be hearing your voice. And you?”</span><br/><br/>“Tired and sore?” she repeated, leaving off the rest of the question as she answered it herself. “How hurt are you?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"What makes you think I am hurt?" he asked her carefully.</span><br/><br/>His tone left her a bit unamused. One simply didn’t end up sore for no reason, and she knew that the usual things like needing stamina to dance and be<span style="font-style: italic">human</span>were null and void. “Can we please not pretend like I don’t know that it takes a lot for you to get sore…?” she asked, the devoid sound replaced by a sigh and wary. “You had a front row seat to how things go when people aren’t honest.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He sighed, “I had to do some damage control with Athan. He banged me up pretty bad, but I’ll be fine.”</span><br/><br/>His name had her stiffening, but she ignored it for the time being. “How badly?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He shrugged even though she could not see, “I’m not sure. I just know that I’m not going to die any time soon.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and then winced when he shifted slightly, “You should be fair and tell me how you are doing. Just sayin with this whole being honest and all.” Accent was back just as easily as that, while he tried to get a bit more comfortable in his chair.</span><br/><br/>“Saying you won’t die anytime soon isn’t a great indicator,” she replied easily, no accent coming out. “Is anything broken? Are you bleeding? Bruised? You should probably see a doctor.” Then, thinking about it, she added instead, “Or at least the people the studio has on hand to make sure your injuries aren’t more serious.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The lack of accent bothered him and he dropped his accent, “I can’t really go to see anyone. I’ll be fine, just a bit banged up is all. So, what have you been up to?” As he tried to ask her something else to see if she would answer anything at all about herself.</span><br/><br/>“If it becomes more, we’ll find someone who can look at you,” she replied, not wanting to push the issue. “And I’ve been up to nothing in particular. What about you when you’re not on Athan detail?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Worrying about you and that is pretty much it,” he groaned slightly when he shifted again. “What are you doing today?” he asked with a small hope he could get her to come out with him.</span><br/><br/>“Nothing to worry about here; I’m not the one doing damage control for a vampire,” came her wry response. “Today...um, today, I’m doing more of what I’ve been doing this week. Why?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"Do you think you want to like...hang out for a bit today? Get something to eat perhaps?" he asked cautiously.</span><br/><br/>It took a lot not to audibly sigh after he asked her to hang out. Instead, the line went very quiet, a hand rubbing at her eyes as she tried to think of how to word what she was going to say. “...I don’t think that’s a good idea, Colt.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">What bit of happiness he had felt disappeared and he sighed softly. “Alright…I understand. Maybe another time?” he asked softly.</span><br/><br/>“Maybe,” she replied to that. The tone of his voice had a pang of regret resounding in her core, but she wanted to remain steadfast in her new resolve. They could be friends, the kind that spoke over the phone and danced together at work. Hanging out after hours complicated things. But, his voice had dropped to an exponentially quieter volume and it<span style="font-style: italic">almost</span>had her relenting. Almost. “You should be resting, anyway. You sound like you need a break.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I have rested for most of the day, but I am hungry and don’t like ordering in,” he said as he grunted slightly with the effort it took to stand up. “Is it ok if I call you tomorrow?” he asked after a moment. “You know…just to talk?”</span><br/><br/>The grunting was noticed and taken account of, silence coming from her end for a moment. “Is there...anything else going on?” she asked, a slight frown in her voice. “I’ve allotted for sore, but it’s like...whatever smile you had at the beginning of the conversation diminished until it died...Is there something you aren’t telling me?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I’m just a bit lonely is all,” he answered honestly. “I was excited talking to you, but I’m just a bit bummed that we aren’t hanging out is all…” he admitted while he looked for his keys.</span><br/><br/>That made her feel worse. She hadn’t even really thanked him for coming by to help her with Athan, and then he’d played Athan-detail for a week, resulting in being hurt.<span style="font-style: italic">...Damn it…</span>“...Meet me at the diner?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Tempest, you don’t have to come out, really. If you would rather stay in that’s fine,” he tried to insist while he then looked for his wallet.</span><br/><br/>“...I didn’t thank you for what you did,” she started, slowly getting herself sorted. “So, the least I can do is take you out for food…” There was a sigh on her end as she tried to finger comb her hair before pulling it back and slipping some shoes on. “Will you meet me at the diner or not?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Alright. But I am going to help pay for the meal, ‘cause I eat far too much to leave such a bill on anybody,” he said as he found his wallet and headed for the door. “If I’m not there when you get there, feel free to get us a table, alright?” he said as he exited his apartment and headed to the elevator.</span><br/><br/>She wasn’t about to argue it with him when it came to who paid for what, so she left it alone and nodded. “I’ll get us a table,” she answered. “See you in a few.” With that, she hung up.<span style="font-style: italic">Just do this before you lose your nerve,</span>Tempest coaxed herself.<span style="font-style: italic">You’re repaying him for the help and keeping him company, like any friend would do. You can go back to apartment hunting later.</span>So, to make sure she didn’t change her mind, she headed out with nothing but the clothes on her back and her card tucked into her pocket, making her way over and praying there wouldn’t be any surprises on the walk.<br/><br/>As she suspected, she got there first, getting them a table that she got comfortable in (or, as comfortable as possible in), staring absently out the window.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The walk over hurt and he was a bit annoyed by the looks that he got from time to time. His slightly banged up visage was one that drew more than a few looks. By the time he got to the dinner he was worn out, but happy when he caught sight of Tempest. <br/><br/>“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he took a seat across from her. “Took me longer than I thought, I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long?”</span><br/><br/>His voice drew her eyes lazily over to him, only to stop dead, eyes widening. “Fuckin’ hell, yah worse off’n’ yah let on, mate,” she said without thinking, accent thick with her surprise at his battered face. She was out of her seat and into the one next to him in the blink of an eye, examining the damage. “Ya shoulda tol’ meh ‘t wah this bad…”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The return of the accent had him grinning, even if the action hurt. As she examined he just sat back and let her be for a moment before he answered, “I’m terrible when it comes to checkin out me self. I can just  only tell by how I feel.”</span><br/><br/>“Well, yah should be laid up ‘n bed no’ ‘ere,” she replied to that, pointedly ignoring the grin as she turned his head to try and look at him better. Releasing hold on him, her face scrunched into more of a frown, moving back over to her side. “Jus’ like I said, restin’. You look a right sight.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"You look as pretty as the last time I saw you," he said boldly while he took up his menu.</span><br/><br/>“Not like yah can see anethin’ with yer busted eye,” came her retort with a perked brow. Then, clearing her throat and shaking her head, she started again, accent-free. “Besides, the last time you saw me, the terms weren’t great.” Not bothering to look at her menu, she glanced out the window. “Any idea what you’ll be having?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"I can see you just fine and you are a sight for a sore eye for sure," he remarked with a glance up at her. "Aren't you going to look at your menu?"</span><br/><br/>Another glance back at him and her brow rose further. “You seem to be in the habit of question evasion today,” Tempest remarked wryly. “What do you think you’ll be having? You need to eat a fair bit, I’d wager, to recover.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He grinned, "You say I am avoiding questions, but you're the one who continues to do it." He looked over his menu and then set it down, "I am going to have two thickly cut steaks and six eggs, with a double side order of hashbrowns and a pitcher of water." Then he leveled his gaze at her, "Is there something very interesting out that window? Cause I feel like I am missing out on it."</span><br/><br/>As he rattled off the contents of what he’d be eating, she was reminded just how *not* human he was; There was no way in hell anyone but a professional food eater could manage all of that in one sitting.<span style="font-style: italic">I wonder if he’s considered that as a profession…</span>came an absent thought.<br/><br/>“How am I continuing to avoid your questioning?” she asked, forehead furrowing. “I’ve answered each question you’ve asked thus far. And no...nothing’s interesting out the window; I wasn’t really focused on anything in particular.” She gave an apologetic shrug, and then nodded at the menu. “You sure you don’t want anything else with it? Some pie? Maybe a side order of sausage and bacon? There’s still some of the menu you haven’t even looked at.” It was her attempt at a joke, but an honest attempt to shift focus and put herself into, what she hoped would appear, better spirits.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He looked at her for a long moment then shrugged, “I might take something home to eat later. I may just order the other side of the menu and take it home.” He knew she was trying to be in a better mood for him, so he was not going to press her any further. <br/><br/>Stacy arrived just then and could not stop herself from nearly losing her composer at the sight of Colt. “Geez! What happened to you?! Get hit by a bus or something?” she asked somewhat taken aback by his condition. <br/><br/>“Nothing, Stacy. Just a little fight with a friend,” Colt tried to assure her. <br/><br/>“Man, your friend must be a real piece of work to do that to you,” she said as she bent down to look closer, the menu clutched almost like a shield before her. <br/><br/>“He is pretty tough when he is grumpy,” Colt said with a small chuckle. <br/><br/>“Geez,” she said a final time before she was able to focus on taking their order. “So, what are you having?” <br/><br/>Colt said his long order once again, stressing that the steaks be cook rare and that the thicker the cut they had the better.<br/><br/>“And for you, hun?” she asked Tempest.</span><br/><br/>A breath was loosed before she took a quick glance at the menu without any real conviction for finding something to eat. Nothing looked appetizing, and she was feeling like perhaps this was a bad idea. She wasn’t good company and it was blatantly obvious she wasn’t good company, no matter how much of an effort she put forth.<br/><br/>Stacy’s sudden reaction had her nearly jumping out of her skin, swearing beneath her breath in her accent and mumbling about putting bells on people as she examined Colt’s face. Not that she could blame her; her reaction had been much the same when she’d seen him, with much the same sentiment.<br/><br/>So, when attention turned to her for her order, she didn’t want to seem odd by not ordering anything at all. “I’ll have a cup of your fruit salad, and a cup of coffee.”<span style="font-style: italic">It may seem weird in comparison to his meal, but at least I’ll have something to pick at.</span><br/><br/>After Stacy left, she tilted her head at Colt. “...Why did you let him beat on you?” she finally asked, concern in the depths of her eyes. “He could’ve killed you; Judging by the news reports, I’m betting he wasn’t going for a friendly scrap, either, when you two fought…”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Colt shrugged, “If he was hitting me he was not out there hurting someone else. So, I let him hit me, fight me and try to kill me that way the rest of the city was safe.” Another shrug was given as he took a sip of his water and looked down at his hands.</span><br/><br/>“And if he’d killed you? What then?” she asked, eyes dropping for a moment before looking back at him. “You shouldn’t have done that. That was irresponsible, and reckless, and stupid.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"Tempest," he said as he reached for her hand across the table. It took a moment, but she finally gave it over. "I would not have let him kill me. The only reason I am just banged up is because I let him do it to me, so that he could take out his frustration on me. Ok? Werewolves are physically stronger than vampires and I was not about to let myself get killed. Especially, not after having met a friend like you."</span><br/><br/>She was hesitant to give her hand over. In fact, even after she’d started to reach for it, she second guessed herself and started to withdraw. But, at the last moment, she plunged forward and took his hand, dropping her gaze as she couldn’t do the physical contact along with the eye contact. “Who said anything about letting?” she replied to that, voice quiet. “You’ve seen what he’s been doing to those nightclubs. I doubt you’d have had much of a choice… You should have found another way to get his frustration out.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“It was why I let him fight me,” he stressed to her. “Humans are easy targets for us, too easy sometimes and he was just using them to make himself feel better. I could not stand for that so, I confronted him. Pushed him into a fight and then let it drag over before finally putting it to an end with knocking some of his teeth out.” Another shrug and he kissed the back of her hand gently before he let it go, “I was not going to let him kill me and I could not bring myself to killing him either. It was the only thing I could do at the time and it saved enough lives that I don’t regret what I did, save that my appearance now bothers you.”</span><br/><br/>His shrugs were too nonchalant for her. She understood why he did it, but that didn’t mean she liked it, at all; It was the polar opposite of what she’d have liked in a perfect world. Her hand rose as he lifted it, lips brushing across the back of her hand before he released it, and her attention was momentarily drawn to it, focused solely on where the skin burned after the touch had ended. Then, after that moment of looking at it, she withdrew her hand, clasping with its fellow in her lap.<br/><br/>“Your appearance only bothers me because of how it happened. I’m not going to say it’d be better if you were beaten to a pulp another way, but this is worse. As much as you’d like to say you wouldn’t have died, you could have; You don’t know for certain that you wouldn’t have.” A quick glance around and then she continued. “Stacy cares and doesn’t know the whole truth of it...I already lost him, and if I lost you to that, I wouldn’t forgive myself.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Colt frowned and sighed, “I’m sorry, Tempest. I did not want for it to come to that and I did think about you. Part of the reason why I did it, was to make sure you were kept safe. I’m very sorry…” he whispered softly and sought her eyes with his own. “It was reckless of me and I won’t ever do it again. I promise,” he implored her as best he could to make sure she understood that he was serious and sincere with his words.</span><br/><br/>She didn’t meet his gaze, instead looking pointedly at the table while he spoke. “To make sure I was kept safe? Why wouldn’t I have been?” Tempest asked, her own frown deepening. “He ended our relationship, but I’ve not seen hide nor hair of him. He’s not tried to contact me at all...Why would I have been in any danger?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He sighed, “I was afraid that in a bit of blood rage he would target you. It has happened before and I did not want him to even think about going after you.”<br/><br/>Before the conversation could continue Stacy and another waitress arrived with their food. It took a bit to lay it all out, but before long it was all there and they were once again alone. “Was there any damage to your apartment when we tussled a bit?” he asked while he cut into his meal. “I could patch anything up for you. I don’t want you getting in trouble for us acting like assholes.”</span><br/><br/>“...It’s happened before…?” she repeated, eyes widening, though her gaze refused to lift. Even when Stacy dropped off their food--her small fruit salad and coffee dwarfed by his spread--her gaze remained transfixed on the table. Fork in hand, she pushed the fruit around, opting to play with the food instead of eat just yet. But, his near complete change of subject pulled her gaze for a moment, deciding to eat a piece of melon before answering.<br/><br/>“No patching is needed,” Tempest replied with a shrug of her own. “The bulk of the damage was done myself, and I’m moving out now, anyway, so what patching is needed will be handled by the superintendent after I pay for the extra damage, as he’s already kept my deposit.” Another moment was spared to eat another piece of melon before taking up her coffee mug to simply hold. “But thank you, for the offer to help. You’ve done enough already, though, just helping with the Athan thing, so we’ll let them handle the rest. Besides you need to be resting, remember?” A wry expression took hold of her eyes. “Trying to help patch things isn’t resting.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Glad for the subject change he focused on that, rather than her wanting to know more about when this happened before. “Yes, I know but I want to help you and well it was also an excuse for me to spend more time with you…” he grinned and even blushed a bit before he continued on with the conversation. “Where are you looking to move to?”</span><br/><br/>Her original retort to his wanting to help was on the tip of her tongue, never coming forward as she took in the sight of his blush and the words that’d preceded it. Focus drawn to the light red that spread across his cheeks, she watched its progression, watched it form, before her eyes moved up to his. “I’ve no specific place in mind...but I’ve a question of my own: Since when do you blush?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"What?" he asked as if he did not hear or even understand her question. "You know if you wanted you could live with me. I have tons of space and I won't get on your case about breaking things."</span><br/><br/>Her brow lifted, suspicious curiosity forming in her gaze. “Don’t try to change the subject,” she started, head tilting a fraction. “Why the blush?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"We could be roomies and could practice our dance whenever we wanted," as he continued on ignoring the comment about him blushing.</span><br/><br/>“Must be that old age...making it so you can’t hear me,” she retorted with an eyeroll, taking a sip off of her coffee and sitting back in her seat. “Since you can’t hear that, not like you could hear whatever answer I had for your offer, either, so I guess we’ll sit in ‘amiable’ silence.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He grumbled as he chewed, "Fine. I don't know when that happened it just did. I guess I just missed seeing you or something."</span><br/><br/>“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning a touch forward. “I can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak up.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"I missed you!" he nearly shouted which drew the eye of more than one patron.</span><br/><br/>She nearly jumped out of her skin, her turn to blush this time around as attention was drawn to their table. “...Seems this is becoming a regular occurrence with you, being the center of the spotlight in this diner,” Tempest remarked, eyeing him from behind a suddenly interesting dessert menu. “Now...as for your question, I’m not sure being roommates is a good idea...Missing you aside, that would complicate things, spending more time together, let alone living together…”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"How would that complicate things? We are friends right? And you need a place, which I have to offer. Plus, we both know it would be nice to sleep knowing you are not alone and there is someone just across the hall to chase away boogey men. I'm of course talking about myself needing you to check under my bed for these boogey men."</span><br/><br/>“Boogey men. Because they exist, right? Right up there with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus,” came her retort as she took another sip off of her coffee. “Yes, we’re friends; I’m not denying that...But, you don’t think being around each other constantly would complicate anything? Firstly, it’s not like Athan has left town, and the night it ended, he brought you up and was livid. Second, you’re already blushing...I’m not trying to think too highly of myself, but without needing more reasons, it seems like those two reasons alone could be more complication than either of us wants right now.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">"Hey. Give a guy a break. I've never really had a friend before and I missed hanging out with you. And we can't just continue to tiptoe around Athan. He does not control our lives and after this last confrontation he is not up to causing anyone any trouble."</span><br/><br/>“I’m not saying to tiptoe around him...but not to start in full-swing, either,” she replied to that with a sigh. “I’m not saying I haven’t missed hanging out with you, alright? I have...but it’s better if I just...keep to myself. Athan and I hung out, and look where that ended up?” After it was out of her mouth, she frowned, having implied unintentionally that things would follow the same path without fail. Shaking her head, she looked back at him. “I don’t want to mess this up.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Colt tried to mask his disappointment, but he knew he failed to some degree. It hurt more than he realized to have her think he was like Athan, which at the moment was essentially a monster. "Yeah. You're right, we should just continue with this random hangout brunch thing. If nothing else, I can at least help you move. You know, just a little bit."</span><br/><br/>His attempt to mask his disappointment failed miserably, which had her rubbing at her temples with a heavier sigh. “I don’t know...exactly what you’re thinking, but I know I’m not...communicating right.” She looked back at him with a frown, expression a little lost. “I don’t know what to say, or maybe I do but I don’t know how to say it. I’m just trying to keep one relationship intact. I’m trying to make sure our friendship doesn’t get strained.” There was a pause. “I know I missed you more than I thought I would have, but I don’t want to chance ruining our friendship.” Trying for a more lighthearted approach, she added, “I could snore, or sleepwalk, sing terribly off-key and be a slob; You’d have no idea until you lived with me and you could absolutely hate it. I mean, what if I ate the last of your food or something without even thinking about replacing it? I could be that inconsiderate; You don’t know that I’m not. Hell, I could use your toothbrush to clean the toilet.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He could appreciate what she was trying to do and the effort earned a half smile from Colt, though it did not completely negate how he felt at the moment. “I’m just trying to help you out,” he said after a moment. “It does not even have to be on the same floor. You can have the first floor and I will stay on the second. We can turn it into your own studio apartment,” he gave a shrug and focused on his meal, which no longer looked very appealing to him. “Then we can keep things as they are, right?”</span><br/><br/>She was silent for a long moment, watching him as he focused on his meal with a look on his face that said he wasn’t fully with her explanation. And that hurt, as she hadn’t meant to make him feel as he was.<span style="font-style: italic">It’s not like his suggestion is bad...I wouldn’t mind having a roommate; I just don’t want to complicate things. ...But, maybe I’m complicating them by overthinking.</span>“...How about this?” Tempest started, her eyes on her mug while going over how she was going to word herself. “...We try a weekend of being roommates. If, after that weekend, we find that we’re not wholly incompatible, then we’ll be roommates. If for some reason, you can’t stand my weird habits, then I’ll take the floor below you…” A glance up, hesitance in her eyes, but a willingness. “How’s that?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">It was better than nothing and certainly made him feel less like he was some kind of a monster and more like her friend. “That sounds good. I am going to have to go shopping before you get there. Since I don’t think I have enough food to feed you and me, even if you eat like a bird,” he joked.</span><br/><br/>“Who said you’ll have time to do any shopping before I get there?” she asked to that. “The plan is that, when we leave here, we’ll get some of my clothes and then head over. Giving you time to prepare would be too convenient…” Her gaze turned to one of mischievous humor, brow lifting. “Unless your apartment is uninhabitable?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Despite my beastly side, I can assure you the apartment is more than habitable,” he remarked with a tone of mocked offense. “Eat your bird food so that we can get going,” he said as he focused on his own meal, with a bit more enthusiasm than he just a moment before.</span><br/><br/>He seemed measurably happier after her announcement, more joking, even eating with more gusto. A small smile appeared on her lips as she started eating more of her fruit while watching him from the corner of her eye. “It’s not bird food,” she remarked as she neared the end of her food, pushing her bowl back and finishing the last of her coffee. “Just because you have the appetite of one thousand men doesn’t mean that a normal meal is bird food.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“That is hardly a normal meal,” he said as he shifted one plate out from in front of him then slid another into its place. “That is like really only enough food for a bird or a small child,” he gestured with his knife before he used it to cut into his other piece of steak.</span><br/><br/>“In case we’ve forgotten, I have to be<span style="font-style: italic">lifted</span>,” she retorted. “Unlike some, I have to be light to get off the ground and thrown around like a rag doll.” Taking her fork, she reached across and stole a bite of his eggs. “...Yeah, the fruit is plenty. All this food, and I’d weigh more than that dumpster you lifted.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“How many times do I have to tell you,” he waited until their eyes met. “I never tire of lifting you and would gladly do it over and over again, with a smile on my face,” he said with a smile before he went back to his meal.</span><br/><br/>Her gaze met his, and the smile was returned even if there was a laugh given and a gesture at his face. “I think you’d tire of lifting me right now, Colt; Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she said with a lighter laugh peppering her words. “There will come a day when you tire, and it’ll be the day that I’ve managed to eat something more than ‘bird food’.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Want me to prove it?” he asked as he wiped his mouth and left the money on the table for their bill. “I can prove it right now if you want?” there was this wild look in his eyes, almost like he sought to challenge her resolve in this matter.</span><br/><br/>She was getting up from her seat as she caught the wild look in his eyes, the one that spoke of challenging her when she’d not meant to instigate a challenge scenario. “Prove...what? Colt, you’re broken; You’re supposed to be<span style="font-style: italic">resting</span>, that thing you don’t seem to know how to do properly. There’s no picking anyone or anything up as you could hurt yourself in the process.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">To that all he did was arch a brow and attempt to scoop her up, which much to his annoyance she managed to dodge his first attempt. There was an exchange of words and her eye darted about as if to seek help from the other patrons, but was met with smiles of amusement at what appeared to be just friendly banter between friends. <br/><br/>When he made his second attempt she was just not fast enough and soon found herself draped over his shoulder as if he were a caveman and she his newly acquired woman. <br/><br/>“Take it easy with her now,” Stacy chuckled as she went to their table to collect the money and clear it off for the next customer. <br/><br/>“I make no promises,” Colt replied and as if to demonstrate gave Tempest a playful smack on her ass and with that they exited the dinner. “Are you one of those girls that packs like her whole apartment for just the weekend?” he asked as he walked with her on his shoulder. “Cause if so, I am going to have to get us a cab home, as I am not going to carry your whole apartment, plus you on my shoulders.”</span><br/><br/>She saw the look in his eye and anticipated his movement, sidestepping to the other side of the table. “Colt, don’t even think about it,” Tempest cautioned, looking at him with narrowed eyes. “You can’t possibly pick me up in this condition!” Glancing around, she tried to catch the eye of a patron, a friend, someone who could talk some sense into him and get him to realize that this wasn’t the time, nor place, for demonstrating points to unintentional challenges.<br/><br/>But, that look went unheeded, instead being met with amused looks and a few chuckles that had her letting out a sigh of exasperation and a heavy eye roll. “You are no help whatsoever,” came a grumbling, before bolting for the door and being caught up by his hold. “No! No, put me down, damn it!” Over his shoulder she went, hands bracing on his back to steady herself and push herself up.<br/><br/>And to make matters worse? Stacy was goading him on like it was perfectly acceptable! Then, he smacked her ass (which she squeaked at and told him to keep his hand off of), resulting in her squirming as her backside was met with fresh air and jovial conversation.<br/><br/>“Colt, you’re going to hurt yourself,” she tried again, propping herself up as much as she dared. “And then there will be no helping me with anything at all! And no dancing, no anything!” However, she didn’t dare struggle anymore in case she<span style="font-style: italic">did</span>hurt him more, so that left her hanging hapless on his shoulder, hair falling into her face as she swung back. “...To reply to your comment, no, I do not pack an entire apartment for one weekend, thank you very much! You’ll just have to tell me if we’re planning on doing anything, and I’ll plan accordingly.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I’m just fine,” he remarked with a light shrug of his shoulder. “I’ll just pack for you to make sure you have everything you need,” he said in a matter of fact tone. <br/><br/>At her apartment he set her down only so that he could rummage through her things so that he could gather them for packing. More than once he held up something she wore and arched a brow before he shoved it into a bag. Once it was all packed, he scooped her up once again and took the long trek back to his place. <br/><br/>“Here we are,” he said as he set her down once they were through the front door. “Now, I should have bet money on that entire thing cause I barely even felt your little, though firm ass,” he winked at her and focused giving her the grand tour. “Bathroom is over there, my room is over there, kitchen there and open area here for fun things and likely area where I will use part of it to make your room later,” he rambled on. “Welcome home!” he shouted.</span><br/><br/>She gave up fighting him picking her up, and instead let herself hang there as careful as possible; it was a fine line to balance being perfectly limp and not going deadweight on him. But, once they were in her apartment, she was happy for the reprieve, going to grab what<span style="font-style: italic">she</span>thought she’d need. What she thought she needed, however, didn’t seem to match up with what he thought as he pawed through her belongings and eyed her wardrobe. Each time he held something up to himself, she covered her eyes and stifled a groan.<br/><br/>Thankfully, the moment was shortlived and he was scooping her up again to go to his apartment; Why he felt the need to carry her back, she wasn’t certain as the challenge had obviously been aptly met. And the moment they reached the apartment, she was put down again and given the tour, pointedly ignoring his remark of her “little, though firm ass”. Most of it, she remembered from her brief visit a week before, but it was nice to officially see things pointed out.<br/><br/>“Soooooo,” Tempest started, bringing her bag further into the apartment as she perused for herself. Her bag was dropped beside the couch before she allowed herself to fall back on it, sprawling out. “What are we going to do, roomie? Since you obviously don’t know what the word ‘rest’ means, I’d assume you’re not inclined to just relax.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Feel up to a little dancing?” he asked her with a smirk.</span><br/><br/>“Dancing...did you<span style="font-style: italic">not</span>just hear what I said?” she replied with narrowed eyes. “You shouldn’t be dancing; You should be lounging on the couch like I am and relaxing so your body can recover.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He rolled his eyes and undid his shirt, “I have been dying to dance all week. I need to do a bit of dancing to stretch out or I’m going to stiffen up and hurt even more.” The shirt was tossed off into some corner while he kicked off his sneakers and pulled his socks off, “So, are you going to help me limber up? Or are you going to just let me cramp up and hurt all the more?”</span><br/><br/>“I haven’t really been dancing this week, so you could probably limber up solo,” she mused wryly, but the guilt was already growing at the idea of him cramping up more. So, with a sigh, she started sliding off her own shoes. “...You really shouldn’t play the guilt card on your roomie. It’s low.” Shoes off, she looked down at her jeans and shrugged. “Since you’re only limbering up, I should be fine in jeans, right? Not like we’ll be doing any big feats until you’re mended, so they shouldn’t tear? Unless you’re planning on overexerting, at which point I should probably change and pray you packed something I can move in.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Grins, “Let’s do a fun run through of our routine. So….yeah, change into something else. I packed some leggings or whatever those are called for you,” it was hard to not notice how excited he was as he went through some stretching routines while he waited for her to change.</span><br/><br/>Rolling her eyes, she mumbled something beneath her breath about how he shouldn’t be so smug, rummaging through and pulling out a pair of leggings and one of her dance bras before disappearing in the bathroom. Changing didn’t take long, coming back out with the new attire and her hair pulled into a more secure ponytail. Then, it was just a matter of a quick stop off at the couch to deposit her clothes and then she started stretching out, using the couch’s back as a makeshift bar.<br/><br/>“You’re terrible,” she remarked with a sidelong glance at him, leg pulled flush against her body, cheek resting against it. “After we’re through dancing, you’ll be on strict rest. The last thing I need is you stroking out due to overexertion and exhaustion.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Are you going to make sure I stay in bed?” he asked her while he sat on the floor and stretched his legs. “Being my nurse or something?”</span><br/><br/>Switching legs, she looked over at him with a wry look. “Do I have to make sure you stay in bed?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of you <span style="font-style: italic">trying</span> to make me stay in bed,” he laughed as he moved to his other leg to stretch.</span><br/><br/>“You doubt me so much,” she replied to that, leg released as she bent over backward, stretching her back as she touched the floor. “I could make you stay in bed if I truly had to.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Colt merely rolled his eyes, “If I was in the mood for some bedroom fun, I would gladly take you up on that offer, but I really don’t want to hurt you.” There was no way to mask the cocky attitude that he showed as he stretched out his arms next. “Alright, so I really think that we should work on having you throw me for our dance. Not that I think you can actually do this, but if I helped with the jump you can easily <span style="font-style: italic">lift</span> me,” he taunted her as he twisted at the waist, he bones in his vertebra snapped and popped as they were realigned.</span><br/><br/>Now it was her turn to roll her eyes, slowly rolling her spine up until she did a few test pirouettes to make sure her balance was intact before hopping in place and shaking her arms. Mid-jump, though, she stopped, looking at him confused. “You want me to throw you?” Tempest repeated. “Where do you think that’d fit with what we have thus far? Any ideas or do you want to just...run through and feel it out?” Then after a second, she felt the need to add, “And I could throw you...for the record. How<span style="font-style: italic">far</span>I could throw you would be the question.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Sure you could and Santa Claus is real,” he said with a smirk. “Yeah, let’s just feel it out. It would feel more organic that way,” he said as he did a few pirouettes himself. “I’ll try and get you worked up enough so that you <span style="font-style: italic">can</span> throw me,” he said with another grin. “Ready?”</span><br/><br/>“Going to get me worked up, huh?” Her look turned mischievous as a grin pulled at her lips. “What makes you think you<span style="font-style: italic">can</span>get me worked up?” There was plenty of innuendo to her words, but they were friends so joking was expected, right? No harm, no foul. “What are you going to do? Pull my hair and run away?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I might even kick you,” he said and moved to step behind her. “Maybe a nibble or two,” he whispered at her ear before he used the remote in his pocket to start up their music. Strong arms wrapped about her form, his lips a whisper against her neck and shoulder as he stepped with her in their dance. From one side to the next, they moved their actions in sync with one another until he shifted his grasp to about her waist where he turned her one way and then turned and dipped her back the other way. “You seem a bit slow…the week off you get rusty already?”</span><br/><br/>“Oooo, bumping it up to a kick?” she replied back, voice dropping down as the music started. “Sounds like you’re really trying.” But, the jokes started to melt away as her mind slid back into the dance; As far as it could slide, anyway, still distracted with what’d happened a week prior. Moving through one step to the next, she thought she’d been doing just fine, staying in sync with him as he shifted, dipping her one way and then to the other. Or, she had until he commented about her being slow. Her brow furrowed, pulling away from his hold as she pushed him, walked him backward. “I’m slow?” came a bemused reply, eyeing him while they moved. “Perhaps your perception is off, with all that head trauma.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">They turned around their backs against one another and he reached up over his head to grab at her hands and flip her over so that she was now in front of him. “Or, maybe you are just rusty,” he said before he bent down to grab a hold of her ankle which he used to lift her leg as she rolled over his back to stand before him. While her hand was still out stretched he took hold of it and spun her roughly back into his form, his hand about her neck, “Just admit you can’t keep up…” he taunted her. <br/><br/>Then before she could do much else he adjusted his grip so that he could <span style="font-style: italic">toss</span> her away from him.</span><br/><br/>The flip, where she’d not been practicing, wasn’t her smoothest flip in the world, but it sufficed. Her feet touched the ground and she moved forward for the next part, trying to ignore his words, but to no avail. Instead, she mumbled beneath her breath as he helped push her feet over head, following through until her body was back upright. Not missing a beat, though, she was yanked back to him, the hand about her neck causing her to stiffen, and the words more so. “Why don’t you just admit I’m showing your broken ass up?” she replied back to that before being thrown away from him, leg automatically kicking back, the irritation just beginning to get to her. His hand offered to her, she took it, leg wrapping about him as he spun her in and his arm steadied her across her form. “Is this what you call getting me worked up?” she whispered at him, with a quirked brow. “You’ll have to find another approach.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I’m just gettin started,” he replied and spun her roughly away. “Maybe you should think about taking remedial dance classes? Start over from scratch since you are not even trying right now and I feel like I am wasting my time!”</span><br/><br/>It was an exceptionally rough spin that had her neck starting to ache, but she wasn’t about to be outdone. No, when her feet touched the ground, she pushed his hands away and went to smack him, only to be blocked, so she grabbed his arm and spun him as rough as she could. “Maybe you should work on your own strength and dance abilities as I don’t seem to need to be worked up to throw your balance off.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He grinned as he stood and grabbed her behind her neck then shoved her toward the couch, “Maybe I am just taking it easy on you?” he offered and walked away from her.</span><br/><br/>There was a sound of surprise, due to not expecting him to shove her at the couch, but it was fine. She somersaulted after him, rising up and continuing toward him. “Or maybe you can’t hack it, dancing with me. You’re old, so it’s to be expected.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“It’s called experience,” he said, now behind her once again his arms wrapped about her as he held her close. Again his hand went to her neck, where he grabbed her and moved with body to the beat of the music. On the next series of beats she shrugged off his grip, though he still held her hand and they jerked down with the beats similar to the seconds as they ticked away on a clock, which brought both of his arms about her again. <br/><br/>They were shrugged off and she wrapped her leg about him as he slowly turned her about, only to just suddenly drop her down to floor. “Something that you obviously are lacking,” he remarked to her as she laid there on the floor looking up at him. Slowly he walked over to her, his form almost looming over her, as he parted her legs and <span style="font-style: italic">kicked</span>/lifted her up then used his foot to turn her over.</span><br/><br/>She was feeling robotic, lacking in the proper emotion to do the dance. Did she shrug it off, though? No, because he’d been gunning for her, and to admit that she felt off about the dance wouldn’t work. He’d never let her live it down; God forbid she have a legitimate reason not to dance at some point down the line. So, when he dropped her, she looked up at him with contempt, hips lifting with his kick and turning over.<br/><br/>There was no time to say much else initially as he was back over her, hands gripping at the back of her head as he helped her up, her hands mimicking his own placement as she pulled herself up and started walking him back. “I’m not lacking in experiencing. You’re lacking in control and feeling, something that can’t be taught. Why not give up already? Your talents would be better suited for...janitorial pursuits or entertainment at old folks homes, lifting the objects their brittle bones can’t.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Or, maybe you should just admit that he broke you and you might as well, throw in the towel now and head back to you broken little sorry ass town. Where people can understand you and you can have your own little pity party,” he shot back. <br/><br/>He knew it was a low blow and that it could backfire completely, but that spark she once had when they danced was barely there and if she lost that then she certainly might as well just give in entirely, because without that she could not be the dancer she was meant to be.</span><br/><br/>Her whole world seemed to slow to a stop before her eyes as his words registered. For a second, there was no outward change, and then it started. In her eyes, a fire started, and the rage set into her features. Her body tensed, her breathing became short, her hands shifting from his face to his neck. Pace increasing, she sped up, spying a table in her peripheral that was dying to have him thrown into it.<br/><br/>Which she did, and hard. She didn’t notice if he’d helped with the jump or not, but he was up off the floor and slamming down into the table that buckled beneath him. It splintered, cracked, shattered beneath his weight as he fell with it. “Fuck you.”<span style="font-style: italic">Air. I need air and a change of subject,</span>was what her mind repeated, snagging her bag to look through later as she was too irritated to stick around and search through it in front of him.<br/><br/>Maybe this living together thing wasn’t the greatest idea she’d agreed to.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Pain shot through his back and once he could catch a full breath again he would apologize for several things. One of them being him making fun of her and say that she could not lift him up or keep him in bed. With a groan he rolled over and looked down at the broken table, “I’m going to be making up for that comment for a long time...” Another groan and he managed to get himself up, though his arm hugged his side where his already bruised ribs screamed at him. He knew better than to follow after her, so instead he cleaned up the mess and then sat down in the livingroom to wait for her to return.</span><br/><br/>Air turned into a long walk, barefoot. She didn’t feel like stopping to change, or even add on shoes, so she kept to the less-traveled areas to keep from looking a bit out of place; Walking barefoot in the city wasn’t exactly a normal thing to do. Where she walked ended up being her apartment first, where she changed and packed a few more things. Another possession found itself broken, but it wasn’t one she’d intended on bringing with her and she was already moving out, so it made no difference to her this time.<br/><br/>Then she was out again, walking through the park to go sit at the pond. Finding a spot next to the water, Tempest stared for a long while, not truly focused on the water, but focused seemingly through it. When the staring wasn’t enough, and the thoughts she had were only proceeding to make her angrier, she pulled out a book and started reading it. Occasionally something in the book made her think back to what she was so pissed about in the first place, so there was some swearing or a kicked leg, but then she’d delve back in and go quiet again.<br/><br/>Perfectly normal to kick the air and talk to yourself alone in a park, right? At least it kept the usual suspects at bay, thinking her crazy outweighed theirs.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">When she did not immediately return, worry began to settle in and he could not stop himself as he dressed and went looking for her. Her trail led him to her apartment, but he could tell she had not stayed long and so he followed her scent back out into the city. There was no rhyme or reason behind her actions, so the path was a rather winding one, but eventually he found her at the park where he spied her sitting at the pond reading a book. <br/><br/>A deep sigh was taken before he braved the walk over and sat on the same bench as she, another moment was taken while he gathered his resolve, before he finally said. “I’m sorry…” voice filled with sincerity as he chanced a glance in her direction before he looked away again.</span><br/><br/>She felt him before she saw him, stiffening as she sought out his form with her peripheral, jaw clenching when she saw him making his way toward her. And, for a while, they sat in silence with her pretending to read instead of skimming the pages blindly, and him plucking up the courage to fill the silence.<br/><br/>His apology garnered nothing, not a word said. She didn’t want to have this talk and didn’t want to even look at him. Book shoved into her bag, she slung its strap over her shoulder and stood, walking away again.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Tempest, please,” he pleaded as he followed after her. “I did not mean anything that I said, I just wanted to get a rise out of you so that you would dance how I knew you could dance…”</span><br/><br/>That earned him a scoff, though she didn’t slow down. “And you thought the way to help your<span style="font-style: italic">friend</span>dance better was to make her feel like shit about something she’s already feeling like shit about?” she threw back at him, tone clipped, anger palpable. “You got the rise you were after. Congratulations.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Tempest,” he said as he moved to get in front of her. “Before I hit that table, the look in your eyes, that passion and anger were what I missed when we danced. I went too far, I will admit that, but you were back to what you once were and even proved me wrong to boot. That throw was all you, I barely had time to know what was happening before I hit that table…”</span><br/><br/>“So...what? The fact that I threw you onto a table and broke it, that makes what you did okay?” she asked with a heavy sigh, sidestepping him to continue walking. “Friends don’t pull that with friends. For someone who is supposed to care, you’ve got a funny way of showing it.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He chanced reaching for her, his hand caught her wrist to slow her down, “No it does not, I went too far and I do care for you, I care a lot about you. Please…I’m sorry…” he pleaded again.</span><br/><br/>“How is this caring?” Her eyes were alight with anger. “How is any of that caring? You think I’m off with my dancing so you go for the reason I’m unfocused and decide to throw it in my face?” Yanking her hand away, she leveled her gaze at him. “If you thought I needed provoking, why not get me drunk and get me to talk about it? Why not do something else to get out what’s needed, rather than dance with me and then add that in? That would be like me taking what pain you feel and rubbing your face in it, stealing your breath and looking damn near smug while doing it. Did you know you were going to throw that at me when we started dancing, or was it your last ditch effort when I wasn’t taking your shit for bait?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I did not plan to say that to you, it just came out. I can and will apologize every single day if that is what even starts to make us alright again. But, at least now I know that my friend is still in there and that she was not completely lost over what happened. Had that happened, then I might have to rethink a decision that I made,” he said. “Want to hit me? Throw me into another table? Drown me in that fucking pond? Want me to tell you something painful that you can use against me later? Anything you want I will do anything at all. Just please give me the chance to make this up to you.”</span><br/><br/>Momentarily sidetracked, her brow furrowed more. There’d be time to think about drowning him in the pond, or thinking of something else that he can use to try and make up this whole thing to her. Instead, she asked, “What decision?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“If he had caused you to…no longer be you, then I would cause him to no longer be walking this earth. I left him alive because of you, but if I lost you then there really would not be a point to being nice and leaving him be, is there?” he said with a sigh. “I’m sorry for being an ass and suffering from the whole foot in mouth issue that I thought I was cured of…”</span><br/><br/>“You would’ve killed him?” she repeated, the anger leaving her in a rush much like her breath did when she spoke. None of this made sense to her, not really, but it was a moot point all things considered. She wasn’t “lost”; merely caught up in her own head. They’d never exchanged the dreaded L-word, which she was thankful for now, that their relationship had never gotten that serious. That didn’t mean, however, that it didn’t hurt. For months, she’d been happy and things had been going so well, and, in the course of one night, that happiness was yanked away.<br/><br/>Rather than tell him what she was thinking, Tempest offered a shrug and then glanced out toward the pond. “...I accept your apology...but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to forget what you said. ...I’ll give you the chance to make this up...but breach that barrier again, and you won’t get a second chance.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“You have my word as an Irishman that I won’t ever do it again,” he said and offered his hand. “Can I at least carry your bag home for you? I mean it is a small start to making up for being an ass, right?”</span><br/><br/>His word as an Irishman wouldn’t mean anything until she saw he never attempted that again. Hand stared at for a moment, she handed it over silent with a nod, eyeing him with a furrowed brow, but complying at least. There were several things she wanted to say to him, and none of them were kind,<span style="font-style: italic">but I’m giving him a chance...so comments can be held until such time they’re needed again</span>.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The bag he draped over his shoulder, “So, are you hungry?” he asked with a small smile.</span><br/><br/>“We just ate,” she pointed out, voice noncommittal. “Why would I be hungry again?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Cause I am,” he said with a small shrug. “You have a small table at your place to replace the one that was destroyed?” he asked as he started to walk back toward his place.</span><br/><br/>“Uh, yeah, I have a table. Not sure how you’re hungry, though,” Tempest replied. “All of the furniture in my apartment will be heading over to yours eventually; Guess the time just got bumped up.” Falling into hesitant step with him, still bristling, she glanced over at him and then turned her eyes forward. “You can’t carry the table, so if you head home, I can rent a truck or something to bring a few odds and ends over.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“For once I’m not going to argue with you,” he said with a smile. “I may have you check my back for splinters later,” he continued on with a wink. “When we do this for the show, I am going to have to ask for a break apart table, because while I am a werewolf I don’t think I can take that kind of abuse on a nightly basis.” He chuckled as he continued to walk with her, trying his best to lighten the mood with some funny comments.</span><br/><br/>“And I<span style="font-style: italic">may</span>just leave whatever splinters I find in your back,” she replied, albeit with a lighter tone, attempting to allow her mood to shift to something less agitated. Getting on her phone, she started looking up companies that she could rent a truck from. “You really want to add that into the dance? You want me to slam you into a table nightly? Even if it’s breakable, won’t it still hurt?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He shrugged, “Yeah but I think it really adds to the dance and it would let everyone see that strength you have. Be a nice surprise and shock moment.”</span><br/><br/>Mulling it over, she thought it’d be fun to have that shock moment, but wasn’t so sure it’d be the right move, either. “That’s quite the moment...How would we go passed it, though? As it stands, it’s early in the dance; We don’t want to peak too soon, or the story falls flat.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Then I guess we have to work on our dance more,” he grinned. “Think about all of the practice we can get while we are living together. Oh, I will try to not be too noisy in the morning. I mean I get up early to work out and stuff, but I know you don’t do the whole morning thing.”</span><br/><br/>“If we’re practicing all the time at the apartment, will there even be a need to practice at the studio? We’d have the dance pretty much down, and merely be checking in to assure the director we’re alive,” she replied with a light nudge. “And, I work out, as well, but not at the ungodly hour of...what time do you get up? Seven?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I’m eating by seven,” he remarked. “I get up around five, but we won’t be practicing all the time while at home. There are movies to watch, food fights to have and competitions to be won by me!” he exclaimed and caused a few passer bys to take note of the pair. “Though we will have to check in from time to time to let the world know we are alive.”</span><br/><br/>Her eyes widened as she started shaking her head. “You’ll have to change that schedule,” she stated with a matter-of-fact tone, not affected by the passersby watching them. “I can’t even begin to handle daylight that early, and if you wake me, you’ll get grumpy zombie Tempest to contend with.” Then, she had to ask, “And...what time do you go to bed at?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Well…I sometimes have to try and wear myself out. I have all this energy and nothing to do with it, so I am up until about two sometimes three in the morning,” he answered somewhat embarrassed. Without a pack to socialize with and not being able to have people close has made him restless. The nights were worse because he could not just go out and do something, not without people looking at him and wondering what his deal was. Less questions were asked during the day about some random guy out and about.</span><br/><br/>Her brow furrowed, gaze focusing forward while she thought about that.<span style="font-style: italic">He gets...two to three hours of sleep a night…</span>she thought.<span style="font-style: italic">I’ve only done that a few times, willingly, and could hardly function the next day…</span>“We’ll just have to tire you out more during the day, then, or my schedule’s going to be drastically changing, instead,” Tempest finally responded. “No one should be awake for that long that often. And, despite my current feelings toward you, and I still care. Begrudgingly, but I care.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He gave her a look but then smiled, “I just never had an easy time when it came to sleep. It is like…I’m always thinking or wondering about something and I can’t rest.” He shrugged, “I have tried to take something, but nothing helps me to sleep, so I try to tire myself out physically.”</span><br/><br/>“Then we’ll tire you out, somehow,” she replied. “Or, we could always...talk. It’s this thing I hear some people do to work through whatever’s got their mind going. I don’t personally practice it, but it’s supposed to help or something. If not, then we’ll stick to the tried and true physical beating you need to sleep.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">At that he arched a brow, “Beatings and talking? These are not familiar concepts so you are going to have to explain them to me in great detail.” A smirked played across his lips as he walked with her through the park, “So, is it really that odd to sleep so little?”</span><br/><br/>She quirked a brow at him for his first comment, rolling her eyes and choosing to ignore it, focusing instead on his second reply. “It is extremely odd...Mindboggling, even. I can’t use the usual reason of ‘humans need more sleep’ for obvious reasons, but for one’s sanity? Their mental well-being? You need more peace of mind than that, which is what sleep affords you. You’re severely lacking in that and it’s worrying.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Maybe there is something wrong with me,” he shrugged. “Been like this for a while now, though I can see how this can be a bad thing…” he said slowly. “You think I need more peace of mind?”</span><br/><br/>“Sounds like you need more, yes,” she replied with a shrug of her own. “I can’t say for certain, but if your mind is going like you say it is, and you’re physically unable to sleep because of it...then I think something needs to change.” There was a pause. “How long has it been since you could sleep for longer?”<br/><br/>[color=#FF0000He thought it over and he could not really remember, “Can’t say that I remember. I mean I have spent a good deal of my time just awake and thinking…” With some effort he did try to think about it and the closest that he got was about fifty or so years ago, when he thought he could have some friends. “About fifty years, I think…”[/color]<br/><br/>There was an audible sound of surprise, followed by a silently mouthed repetition of fifty years. “What would it take for you to get a decent sleep? When was the last time that you...managed more than two hours?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Um…” he blushed a bit. “I was with this group of people, kind like a pack but…they were humans and we just all slept together. But not like that! It was just this really nice group thing! Think we were what they called, hippies?”</span><br/><br/>It made sense, really. He was a werewolf. Werewolves had packs...They slept together, didn’t they? “Did you guys share a bed? Or just...spread out throughout an area?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“We had this like huge tent set up and we would just sleep there together. Sometimes just two at a time or in like small groups of three or more. It was just comforting,” he shrugged. “God I sound like weirdo,” he said with a small smile.</span><br/><br/>“You don’t sound like a weirdo…” she replied to that. “Some of the best sleep I’ve gotten was with someone else with me, funny-business aside.” After a moment of silence, she added, “Maybe we could….try it, at some point, and see if it helps. If not, I could occasionally lie on the floor next to your bed, at least, and see if you can’t get some sleep.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“You would really do that for me?”</span><br/><br/>“You need sleep as much as I do and you’re a friend, so why wouldn’t I?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I just have not had anyone willing to do something like that for me in a while,” he said slowly and with genuine shock.</span><br/><br/>Her brow furrowed and she shot him a sidelong glance. “...Should I...not be willing to do that?” she asked. “I mean, if it’s really that weird, then you don’t have to try it. I was merely trying to help.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“No! No! No…no…no!” he said quickly. “It is not weird at all, touching really. Because you care that much about me and want to help me in such a way, it is startling is all. But a good thing I assure you!”</span><br/><br/>This time, an eyebrow lifted and her steps slowed. “Seems like a really good thing with the way you just back pedaled,” she quipped. “But if you’re sure, we can try. Then, maybe you’ll be able to sleep for once. For now...lets focus on getting you home so you can eat.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“So that we can eat,” he said to correct her. When they got home he set her bag down in his room. “Have you found a rental truck?” he asked as he walked to the kitchen to get something to drink.</span><br/><br/>Back at the apartment, she called to reserve the truck, rattling off her information so that there’d be one in her name when she got there. “Yes, I found a truck,” she replied absentmindedly, glancing at him as her phone was tucked in her pocket. “I have until the end of today to pick it up.” Wandering after him, she watched his movements. “What are you going to be making yourself?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“So, we going to get the truck later and then set up everything? So, this is all official now, huh?” he asked with a grin. “We gonna be permanent roomies from now on. You sure you can handle that?” he asked as he drank from the bottle of water he grabbed from the fridge.</span><br/><br/>“As long as there are no other surprises, I’m pretty sure I can handle it,” she replied with a wry, small smile. “I mean, is there anything else you’ve neglected to tell me about yourself? Anything I should know?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I may be a leprechaun?” he joked. “But, um, no you know everything about me. I don’t sleep much, I eat a lot, but I don’t plan on being a bother to you while you are here with me,” he gave a small smile and then a small shrug. “Oh!” He said after a moment of pause, “I may or may not snore. I’m not entirely sure if that is true or not, but I know that someone told me before. I don’t really trust their judgment as they were pissed at me at the time, soo…yeah….”</span><br/><br/>“If you snore, that may be a dealbreaker,” Temp started, eyeing him with mock disdain. “I mean, you’ll already be up all the time while I’m trying to sleep...working out and...coming up with new tournaments for you to win (though, why your ego needs the boost, I don’t know). Snoring, though?? I could handle you being a leprechaun, but snoring I cannot do.”