[SE] and again for good luck

FOX

"Let's just hope he isn't planning on giving you anything else," Fox remarks dryly, barely able to contain his smile until the waiter is gone and he can take a sip of his beer in peace. "I'm a monster hunter by trade, but I bet I could get body guard work if you want me to stand under your window for the evening." With that being said, he's got a feeling that Kiada is formidable in her own right. But, you know, it's polite to offer.

What he's going to do with his evening is a subject he really hasn't given much thought about, Fox rolling a shoulder in a soft shrug. "I was going to trade in the fur, but that situation with the spiderwebs ate up a lot of time. I'll have to check back at the stalls tomorrow," he says. "Other than that, I was just going to head home, eat and sleep, probably. You know, incredibly adventurous stuff."

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

He’s absolutely joking, but Kiada’s smile brightens in amusement and actual thoughts when the playful offer is made. And it helps that she laughs another chimed sound, settling into her seat as the buzz starts to settle from the burn in her throat. She doesn’t decide to ask just yet, choosing to hear what his plans are; when they amount to virtually nothing.

“Did take up some time.” She agrees, leaning forward to take another sip, iceberg eyes remaining on him as she considers her thoughts. “Well, you could be my bodyguard for the night if you wanted to.” She offers, raising a brow and offering that same saccharine smile. She’s no damsel in distress by any means, but she also refuses to admit that she’s lonely from her own choices. And maybe she hasn’t misinterpreted the flush to his skin each time they’ve brushed.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

Humming his agreement and taking another sip of his own drink, Fox's eyes have automatically slipped back around to the bar as if to survey the clientele, something Kiada will no doubt recognise from her own days as a hunter. There's no off switch for that kind of thing - or at least, it's not easily done. But sentences like you could be my bodyguard for the night have the equivalent of old internet dial-up noises playing in Fox's mind, and he blinks back at her with a mix of flustered shock and uncertainty as to whether he's heard her correctly.

With a mouth suddenly dry, he takes another long drink of beer before setting the glass down and scoffing as if trying to play it cool, though the pink haze to his cheeks and the way his hazel eyes don't seem to know where to settle is a huge giveaway. "I suppose I could miss out on my very important plans," he reasons - you know, the eating and the sleeping and all of that. "That is, if you wanted to."

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

She does recognize what he’s doing, it’s something she often does as well. It’s also why she’s picked that corner booth, less odds of something going wrong that you can’t see coming. Unlike her question to Fox that has silence in its wake as he tries to wet his throat and her smile remains just as sweet, just as curious what his answer might be.

And she certainly loves this part — the fluster, the attempts to play it cool, and she remains leaned against the table to sip from her drink as she waits for his answer. “Oh, I very much do want you to.” She murmurs, as if it’s her attempt to squash any second thoughts. She even goes so far as to extend her hand, to drop the room key in his hand, not without brushing her fingertips along his palm.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

Luckily for Kiada, Fox is about as touch-starved as it gets, and he hasn't been much more than a workaholic for a lot longer than he's been an Ancient. Her fingers graze across the back of his hand and he finds the room key sitting in his palm, the hunter turning it in calloused fingers and pressing his thumb into one of the ridges.

"Well, I did already offer," he reasons, glancing up towards her pretty face with eyes catching a glint of green from one of the lanterns on the wall. "So it would be rude to take that back." Rude, and he might also suffer a mutiny from his own libido if he tries to back out of it.

Resisting the urge to say are you absolutely sure as if she's mistaken him for someone else, eventually (and with increasing heat in his cheeks that's starting to creep towards his ears) Fox settles on, "I do think you should probably know, though. I haven't actually been a bodyguard in quite a long time."

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

Her hand hovers over his, eyes focused like a hawk on his face, watching as he turns the key in his hand and presses his thumb in against it. He offers his reasoning, and Kiada’s smile turns admittedly a bit sunnier at the agreement. Especially as she meets his hazel eyes with the flecks of green, surrounded by the air of pink that shades his cheeks and grows and grows and she relishes in it.

Lowering her hand to run her fingertips along the side of his wrist, Kiada nods in understanding, her smile softening a fraction as she looks from her hand back up to his face. “I don’t imagine you’ll have trouble remembering.” She offers her own reasoning, shifting in her seat slightly before she continues. “But, if it helps, I haven’t in a while either.” Not while Ascended; the last time had been years ago. “I can offer a nice tip, though.” She half purrs, burying her smile with another sip of her drink.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

Even the touch of her fingertips along his wrist is enough to have him restless in his seat, Fox promptly averting his gaze again as if he might be able to take a beat to reset his thoughts by creating imagined distance between them. It doesn't work at all, mostly because distance is the last thing he wants. And suddenly in this crowded bar, it feels like more of an obstacle course than even his most dangerous hunts.

"You're kind to think so," he manages with a warm smile directed into his half empty drink. Taking another sip (dutch courage hey), Fox anchors himself back to the here and now and forces himself to meet eyes that seem impossibly blue. "And that's very generous of you. Say the word and I'll get right to work." You know. Bodyguarding. Guarding her body.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

She positively drinks it up, the way her touch drives him restless and how the heat of his skin she wants nothing more than to soak up like a lizard on a warm rock. Which, if tonight goes how she thinks it will, it’ll be the same exact vibe. But, she does withdraw just enough to focus more attention on finishing her drink, so that she doesn’t wind him up too much.

From her peripheral, she can see the waiter constantly checking on them, however, and seeing him deflate also relieves her a fair amount to meet his gaze. “Should finish your drink first, then we can start?” She tilts her horned head, sipping the last bit of her drink before pushing the glass off to the side, folding her arms in front of her on the table, back curving slightly with the movement as if it’ll give him more to look at if he wants to.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

Unlike in the previous few minutes, now Fox isn't focused on the waiter at all. In fact if the man is foolish enough to come over again, the hunter might not even have words for him - he might just push him out of the way and back behind the bar where he belongs. Letting out a breath he doesn't realise he's been holding as her hand slips away from his, Fox is able to focus back on his drink at least for a few minutes.

"That seems like a wise idea," he agrees, resisting the urge to drain the rest of his cup lest he come across as desperate. In reality, he almost wishes he'd had the chance to down a shot or two of liquor instead of the slow burn of a beer, but he's not about to press pause on things for something that minor.

And so, within a few more minutes of admiring the beauty of the woman across the booth and keeping an eye on the bar around them, his drink is finally empty. "Next time I think I ought to have what you ordered," he remarks with a somewhat bashful smile.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

“I’ve been known to have wise thoughts on occasion.” She teases, completely admitting to the fact she’d tangled herself up earlier into the webs of the cloud spiders. She has her moments, but so does he — given the state of him when she’d first found him. So quite a pair they make, and one she intends to continue seeing as he’s agreed.

Her drink is finished, though, and she waits for him to finish his, patiently while admittedly showing off a bit, until his drink is done and her smile brightens. She can deal with the bartering for the drinks later given that she’s got a room here to stay in. “It was quite good. Refreshing.” She hums, moving to stand and take her jacket into her arm, reaching for his hand without the key to lace her fingers through, a part of her making sure that the waiter from before notices it.

And he does, with the way that he seems to sulk behind the counter.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

"I wish I could say the same," Fox laments with a smile that's starting to come a little easier now that his mind is beginning to wrap around the evening unfolding before him. "Mine tend to be more immediate, if you know what I mean." You know, the barge through magical spiderwebs kind of immediate.

Barely remembering to sling the fur over his shoulder again, the touch of Kiada's fingers against his own is almost electric; her hand is small and dainty compared to his own, and it's a rare feeling he finds himself relishing. He's also very grateful to the waiter all of a sudden for explaining with such detail how she gets to her room, because it makes it incredibly easy to head upstairs.

The hum of the bar and the buzz of voices slowly fades away as they head down a corridor lit by soft lamplight, and it's all but silent but for the sound of their breath and their footsteps as they reach Kiada's door. "I should go first, right? As your bodyguard." Fox grins to her, slipping the key into the lock and turning it with a smooth click.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

She can’t help the next chimed laugh that leaves her, knowing full well what he’s talking about. But it’s quite a pair, honestly, both having their moments of stupidity. At the very least, they witnessed it together, so there wasn’t any way for either of them to haughtily pretend to one up the other.

It’s relieving, at least, and she’s more than content to press as close as she can to him as they step up the stairs to the rooms, also equally thankful for the waiter to have explained in depth. She trails a little behind him, still keeping her hand laced in his, before she pauses to lean against the doorframe and peer up at him with a playful blue gaze. “You absolutely should.” She let’s go of his hand momentarily, only to trail her fingertips up his arm and along his back as he steps in, and she follows closely until she can close and lock the door behind her. She remains there as she airs a mischievous whisper of “is it safe, oh bodyguard?”

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back

FOX

Her fingers trail down his back like fire, and not for the first time, Fox is hit with the giddily youthful thought of is this actually happening. If you'd told him this morning that he'd be here now, he'd have likely laughed it off and continued on obliviously. But he is here now, Fox withdrawing the key and stepping into the room to inspect the place.

It's decent enough, furnished in deep blues and greys with a window overlooking The Last Whisper and the other covered boutiques and shops. Oh, and there's no monsters or murderers about either. And so, illuminated only by the faint lantern light from outside, Fox turns to smile back at her. "I think it just might be," he tells her, shrugging off the fur and setting it down on a trunk nearby.

"But if there are any places you want me to check specifically, I'm happy to comply."

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

KIADA

It’s a surprisingly beautiful room, but Kiada only has eyes for him — watching the way he steps in and looks around, sees those powerful muscles on his back move when he sets down the fur. Her jacket remains slung around her arm as she remains by the door, watching with a playful look while he turns to her.

“I can think of a couple.” She drawls, pushing off of the door to step toward him, depositing her jacket on the trunk alongside his fur, heading straight for him to invade his space, pressing her body against his, hands finding his shoulders, lips trying to seek out his, trying to walk him back toward the bed with the hopes he’ll sit the second the back of his calves hit the mattress.

i was young and stupid then, always playing for the win
don't know where we got this bad, i just wish i had you back