These happy places we go to

Frankly Ethan felt like he was an idiot, frowning as she said she needed home. Was this not it? He kneeled down in front of her, looking up at her as he watched her pull herself in to a ball. Her words was not something he ever thought he would hear from her, moving to his feet, sitting down next to her if she allowed it, wrapping an arm around her. It had seemed to make her happy at the playground before he had ruined it, and he hoped that it would help. Trinkets she then mentioned, his lower lips shaking a little before he grabbed his necklace, pulling it over his head and pulling out a few hairs. "I'm here, Vane, I'll always be," he promised, handing her the necklace. Did that count as a trinket? It was just an old dirty silver chain, the small pendant flat and round, an E pressed in to the metal. "Here ... Ya can have this," he spoke softly, hoping she wouldn't just throw it away in a fit. He sighed, holding her close if she let him.

Ethan felt rather relieved in the fact that she took the necklace. It wasn't really anything special, but he did wear it a lot, however he would rather see her happy than wear the necklace again. She thanked him and he just shook his head lightly, not moving out of her hands. It felt good, but did it help her? She explained the trinkets, making his eyes soften up. "I'll be there from now on, I promise ya, yeah?" he said, his voice encouraging. "All I've ever wanted was for ya to be happy," he confessed, his hand moving to place over her hand holding the trinket, his thumbs caressing the back of her hand in small circles.
"I did tell ya the truth; I care 'bout ya," he reminded her, his voice sincere, but would she ever truly believe him. He hugged her a little closer, having heard something about it being able to ground someone to be hugged tightly.

As Vanessa had fallen asleep in his arms, he had laid down with her carefully, laying behind her with his arm still securely around her. It took him a while to fall asleep, but when he finally did, he felt almost in bliss. He could smell her hair even in his dreams.
When she awoke with a gasp, he blinked a few times, not sure if he had dreamt it, but he could feel how her body flinched and he let go of her. He mumbled a drowsy sorry, his eyes moving lazily around as he was still coming out of sleep. But truth be told he hadn't slept that good in a while. "Ya alright?" he mumbled, sitting up and running a hand through his messy and dirty hair, fluffing it up a bit, but ultimately it still looked like a mess. He was slowly starting to remember the events of last night, sighing to himself as he rubbed his face. "I'll go make us some coffee," he said, but he wasn't really a morning person.
He got up, scratching his side where his jeans had dug in to his skin, yawning and stretching his body. He was by no means as tall as Gareth, but he still had to restrict his body when they had been on the couch.

Ethan stood in the kitchen, heating up the spring rolls for her and listening to the water drip through the coffee machine. He liked staying at Vanessa and Ayalla's place; Mostly because their stuff always worked. But also because he always wanted to be closer to the daemoness. She came back out as he was pouring a cup for her, putting something in if that was what she preferred, and handing it to her before pouring himself a cup. He took a sip, burning his tongue a bit, but quickly resumed to keeping an eye on the spring rolls. She started speaking and he listened, mostly because he wanted to hear what was going on, but he hadn't really put two and two together yet. Then she apologized and he frowned, turning around to look at her. "Why are ya apologizing? Ya didn't hit me or nuffin'," he said, not sure if that was what she meant. Was she dangerous in that state or was she just not liking showing her weakness?
He walked over other to her, looking at her messy make up, and fuck he liked seeing that. Not because of the tears, but because she had slept in his arms. Even if that was the first and only time, he really liked it. "Vane we've known each other for four years now ... I feel more like a shitty friend for not knowing," he said, frowning. He was always rather attentive, at least when it came to Vanessa, but had he missed something so important as this? Maybe he had just been fooling himself, thinking that he noticed everything about her, but alas it was probably hard to know everything about a person. "I juss wanna know - Did I cause it? I mean I know I acted stupid at the playground, and I just want to apologize for making ya uncomfortable," he said, looking at her eyes if she was looking at him.

He did feel some sort of relief when she said he hadn't been the cause behind it. Honestly he had been worried, worried that he had caused her to act like that and be so out of it. They were quiet for a while, Ethan looked out the window, feeling a slight breeze come in, making him sigh. Then she asked him something that made him frown. She pulled the necklace out, and he touched it carefully with his thumb and index finger. "I don't need it back if ya wanna keep it," he said. Sure, he liked that necklace, but maybe this was the only way he was ever going to say how he felt for her. Her explanation made sense, she had been so scared and shaking, but she had calmed whenever he had given it to her.
"Ya spoke 'bout trinkets ... But I didn't want to let go of ya, so I gave you ma necklace," he confessed. He had been way too scared to even think about letting her go to grab something for her. "I want ya to keep it; Make it a happy memory," he said, his lips pulling up in a boyish smile. Ethan wasn't really known to give gifts, but he saw it more as something that might protect her. "I promised ya I'd always be there; And wiv that trinket I am," he said, chuckling as he felt silly, letting go of the necklace, letting his hand dangle by his side.

He hadn't really expected her to keep it, not the way she was looking at him, but when she pulled him in for a hug, he chuckled lightly. He wrapped his own around her, loving having her close, but also knowing that it would end up hurting him in the long run. "Don't mention it," he said, wanting to add more to that sentence, like some talk of a friendship, but he didn't want to be left with a bitter taste in his mouth.
When she let go, he smiled, shrugging lightly at her comment. "Somebody's gotta do it, ya know," he said, trying to play it off, but he was glad that she noticed. She went to grab the spring rolls, and he went over to finish his own meal which was the rice, along with some eggs he had found in the fridge. He knew they wouldn't mind, well except for maybe Ayalla. Her question made him hum, taking out his phone to look at the reservation. "In a couple hours," he said, sending her a smile before popping his phone back in his pocket. Normally it would be buzzing with messages, but it had been silent. "I was thinking of taking a quick bath," he said, transferring his meal to a plate and grabbing a fork before sitting down at the small kitchen table.

"I'm a dirty bad boy, with or without a shower," he chuckled lightheartedly, eating his rice and eggs before he realized she was still playing with his hair. He liked it. There was something nice about her just reaching out, doing what she wanted to him, but as she pulled her hand back he shook his head. "Ya don't have to apologize 'round me, Vane," he told her, sending her a smile before looking at his plate. He must've been hungry, because he was almost already finished.
"Imma grab that shower, yeah," he said after finishing his meal, getting up and placing his plate and fork in the sink. Then he headed off to the showers, he knew the bathroom location already, and he knew where they kept their towels. Turning on the water he waited for it to heat up, getting undressed before stepping under the water. He liked his showers rather cold, but not so cold that he would start freezing. After that he simply got out, dried off his body fast, but there still being a few water droplets on his chest. Pulling on his underwear and jeans, he moved out in to the apartment, feeling rather refreshed. "Where ya want the towel?" he asked, stepping barefoot and shirtless in to the kitchen if Vanessa was still there. His face had some smeared eyeliner left around his eyes, but he always had that look. His hair was clean, but still a mess while he was drying it with a towel.

Ethan nodded, deciding to just throw it on the bathroom floor in the corner - that way it wasn't really in the way of someone. He returned, stretching his body as he put on his shirt, messing with his hair before it was just a wet mop. He still found it hard to think about just how loaded Vanessa's family was, not that money mattered to him, but grasping the whole idea of wealth was sometimes giving him a headache. Moving over he sat down in one of the armchairs, looking at the daemoness as she spoke. He nodded, a frown on his brows as he was a little nervous, but he decided to abide by what she said. It honestly wasn't his thing to deal with, even though he wanted to stand up for her, it was her battle. "Sure, I'll just be a good boy and wait for ya," he chuckled, smiling at her to let her know this was alright.
He grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and zapping through some different channels until he reached a music channel. It was rather nice just to hear something new and refreshing. Digging out his phone from his pocket, he checked up on his messages; A few from Darren, most of them incoherent, but he could understand that they were all going to meet up one of the upcoming days. Then there was one from Gareth, one about a new shipment that had arrived that they could be stoked about. But that message also gave his stomach a large knot. Gareth was like a brother to him, not flesh and blood, but definitely closer than him and Samuel. And right now Ethan felt himself to be a scumbag. He had acted out of line with Vanessa, and he wasn't sure how much of it was even acceptable in the daemon's books. Sighing he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes as he just listened to the music.

Ethan was just listening to the music, trying not to listen in when he heard Vanessa raise her voice over the phone. He felt bad, mostly because he sometimes wondered if he was the reason. However he just tried humming along to the music until she returned once more. He opened his eyes, looking at her with a cheeky smile as he chuckled, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "I dunno ... I ain't trained or nuffin', so I might just end up ruining the chords," he said with a small shrug before turning to sit so he was facing Vanessa. He could see she was still a bit upset. Unlike Gareth, Ethan found Vanessa easier to read; At least to some degree.
"We don't gotta watch that movie if ya'd rather stay home?" he suggested. Maybe going out would just be an easier way for her to feel watched over. "Besides, staying here means we could juss turn this room in to a giant pillow fort," he suggested, his boyish smile creeping forward. He wouldn't mind staying here, the only thing that made him a little nervous was the fact that his heart was racing like crazy.

"Iss juss five quid, nuffin' too bad," he said with a small shrug, still a smile on his lips. He liked being around Vanessa, so why would he suggest something he didn't want to do with her? So that was why when she asked if it was okay, he just chuckled, getting up on his feet as he started moving around the furniture. "Honestly, we can be anywhere together, and I'd be fine," he said in a genuine voice, looking at her, his multicolored hair spilling in to his eyes, making him blink it away as he moved around until he had assembled something that looked like a skeleton for a fort.
"I haven't done this in ages," he chuckled, feeling rather excited. Maybe it way just something that he missed from his childhood, a place where you could hide away for a while and just pretend that it was a different world. "But I used to be pretty badass at building them, if I do say so maself," he grinned, grabbing a few pillows and throwing them on the ground, making Vanessa take care of the interior while he focused on the exterior. "How 'bout ya? Have ya done this before or?" he asked, wanting to know more about what she remembered and what she didn't, but without sounding like he was interrogating her.

Ethan was of course too occupied with moving the furniture around to even know the daemoness blush, but he did notice the lack of reply. Maybe he had gone too far again, and he felt that bitter taste once more at the back of his tongue. Why couldn't he just shut up and accept that they were friends and it was all they were ever going to be? However the human also knew that once his heart was set on something, it was hard for him to let go. Perhaps that was why he was so close with Gareth. They had bonded and now he just couldn't let go of him and the feeling of brotherhood he had found within that friendship. But then again, thinking about Gareth just made it harder for him to accept that his heart wanted Vanessa.
He chuckled lightheartedly as she almost challenged him, but it did make him want to prove himself. He listened to her, and hearing her explain how she crawled under the bed made him frown a little. It must've been rough. She left and as she came back he noticed the small bag, but didn't ask any questions about it. Frankly he was curious, but he knew he had to wait for the end result. He stopped for a second as she spoke about seeing all the stars, and he felt his eyes soften. Of course it was always the stars. It was like no matter where they went in the nighttime, her eyes always found a way to look up at the twinkling lights. And how many times had Ethan not wanted her to look at him the way she looked at the stars above? He felt himself bite the inside of his cheek, pinching his lips a little before he entered the fort.
It was quite spacious, but he could far from stand in it. Crawling in, he positioned himself and laying down to look up at the plastic stars. A small smile crept on his face, chuckling a bit to himself. "This is awesome," he chuckled, turning to look at Vanessa. Did she find this lame? Ethan had a childish side to him, he always had, and even Darren called him out for it sometimes. He took a second, just to really look at her, his eyes softening up as he felt so deep in his mind, but alas he looked back up at the plastic stars, reaching a hand up to run a finder over one of them. "I always wanted these as a kid ... I think it was just mindblowing that they could glow in the dark," he chuckled. His other arm was stretched out so that she could lay her head on it. Even if she didn't, he would still keep it there. "Do ya wanna watch a movie or sum'fing?

She agreed on a movie, but then she spoke about being cold. As she huddled closer to him, he felt his heart skip a beat, but he rather instinctively turned to lay on his side, facing her, as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. "Good thing I'm so hot," he mumbled, trying to joke it off, but he just felt so happy to hold her close. He knew he would never be able to tell this to anyone, but in the moment it didn't matter.
"Ya know ... We can also just lay here for a while," he mumbled, placing his chin on top of her hair, looking a little blankly at the blank covered interior. "I mean ya didn't get a good nights sleep or nuffin', so maybe ya just needa rest," he said, trying to rationalize it. This was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but he just didn't want to let her go. To think that Ethan the skirt-chaser had had his heart stolen was incredible ironic, but right now in the moment it was how it was. He was going to be hopelessly in love with her, but it would never be reciprocated or even accepted. So it was with an aching heart he just pulled her closer, laying on the soft pillows and breathing in her scent.
He didn't even realize he had drifted off, but holding her close, feeling her body against him even though it was fully clothed had just made him feel happy. He hadn't slept the best either, constantly worrying and adjusting himself if Vanessa had needed something during the night. He was still half asleep as he started to mumble stuff in his sleep. "Nah ... Nah ... Please," he mumbled, his voice sorrowful and his brows frowning. "Don't leave," he pleaded, his voice still slurred.