Making ends meet

Lily nodded, letting the seraph consider it if she so wanted. "Alright," she said, just to voice it out loud too. It was clear she was a little disappointed, though whether it was in the answer or her own behavior wasn't really clear. Tessa spoke about heading back and she hummed, "Did I do something wrong?" she asked as they were walking back towards the guys. She was clearly thinking about her actions a lot. "I just get over excited whenever I get an idea .. Like it's this urge in me to just create and go crazy, you know?" She chuckled, wrapping her arms around herself. It was clear she was being vulnerable, however it was perhaps also some sort of manipulation strategy in her mind. If Tessa thought that she was genuinely worried, then there would be a higher chance that the seraph would feel pity and in turn seek her out later on.
Marcus looked up as they came closer, smiling at the two girls, "what a sight, am I right?" He chuckled, poking his elbow against the nephilim who looked only at Tessa as they came back. Marcus wrapped his arm around Lily, pulling her in closer, whispering something in her ear that made her roll her eyes before looking at Tessa. "Here .. Have my card," she said, handing her a small business card with all her contact information as well as an address to her workshop. "Very sorry to break this up; But a man has his needs," Marcus chuckled which made Gerard wince as he watched the couple walk away.

"No, you did nothing wrong." Tessa assured her with a soft smile, a genuine one. How could she had done anything wrong? She even explained herself though it wasnt needed. "It's not you." she said, stopping in her steps to look at her with a bit of a serious look in her eyes and yet it was because she didnt want her to feel bad at all. "It's just tonight. I'm out with my fiancé. I cant just leave him all night." she explained, hoping it made sense. She had a pure heart. She had to think of him as well, even if Lily was so full of inspiration and creativity that the valkyrie wanted to put a straw in her mind and have some of it. The future would only tell how they would pan out.
They returned to the guys and Tessa smiled at Gerard with a happy smile. She was so overjoyed. It had been fun to meet these new people, though she didnt know what she thought of Marcus. He seemed a little... too old for the current crowd, even with Gerard. She accepted the business card and drew in a deep breath. "You'll hear from me soon." she promised, before Marcus' remark made her smile fade a little. It seemed a little off. Tessa watched them walk off, frowning lightly. "Hm.." she hummed, looking down at the card, running the edge under her nail by habit.

Gerard had been having the most awkward conversation with Marcus. He wasn't sure that the other guy had picked up on it, but the nephilim surely had. In fact he was rather relieved to see Tessa return with Lily. Though if he was being honest, he was happy to see Tessa get along with someone closer to her age. Sometimes Gerard wondered if he was being selfish - which he was mind you - and if Tessa perhaps wanted to do more stuff that people her age usually do. It wasn't like he could feel the age gap when it was just the two of them, but being out in public he knew what people might think of him. Maybe he was just a sinister pervert in their eyes, someone taking advantage of a young and beautiful girl. At least he hoped Tessa would never think that.
Watching Lily and Marcus leave, he leaned down to his fiancée's ear, "was I the only one picking up on a strange feeling just now?" He was wondering if things were alright with Lily, but the young daemoness didn't even seem to want to move away from the elder lycan. He guessed it really wasn't his headache, and he didn't want to assume anything about someone else's relationship; Because frankly people probably wondered about his own. He shook his head a little, wrapping his arm around her hip, pulling her closer as he looked down at her, his dark brown eyes searching her features, taking her in. "Did you have fun?" he asked, genuinely interested in hearing if she had had a better experience than he had.

Gerard nodded, as the lycan had boasted about that as well, but it seemed that this Lily was more than just a pretty asset to Marcus. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, but perhaps that wsa because he still had that odd feeling in him. "I suppose we artists attract each other, non?" He chuckled lightly, but it was good for them to see new ways to express one's self. He at least felt inspired by all of this, though he wasn't sure how he was going to translate his ideas into something tangible and photographic. Though he would be sure to spend some time just trying to figure it out, he didn't want to get distracted from the time he was spending with his fiancé right now.
She mentioned getting painted by her and he smiled leaning down to her ear, "perhaps she will paint you as the angel you are .. up amongst the clouds, flying naked in all of your beauty and glory?" he whispered softly, smiling as he kissed her earlobe. He loved teasing her like this, but he also wondered if he could get to see the painting once it was done. Though he wouldn't press for it. He of everyone knew what it was like to feel pressure to show something that wasn't ready. "Do you want to continue our night? We still have a lot of dancing and drinking to catch up to," he smiled, and while he wasn't one for getting blast out drunk, he would like to spend some time just dancing with the woman he loved.

Honestly this was the sorta night that they had needed. Gerard chuckled as she made up her mind, gladly taking her hand and returning to the festivities. Dancing, holding her tight, generally just celebrating that they could be together and not worry about too many things at once. It was freeing in that sense and it had been a while since Gerard had felt this relaxed when out and about. The night ended at home, coming into the apartment giggling and making out, hushing each other as to not wake up Xalvador. Yeah, this was how good life was going to be together.

Lily had set up in her studio. With her grandmother busy with yet another lost daemon, she found it easier to just keep her distance a little. She liked Joe, but he needed some space too, and if she had to hear one more story about how much he missed his boyfriend she was going to roll her eyes out of her sockets. Holding a paintbrush between her teeth, she was shifting a little between a few, she heard her phone buzz. She usually kept it completely silent when she was in her creative process, but these days it seemed that Marcus demanded more and more. He was getting annoying to her, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue the arrangement they had.
However seeing an unknown number was a bit of a surprise, but her lips pulled up in a smile as she placed her brushes down, drying off her fingers before picking up and putting it on speaker. "Lily speaking," she smiled, "sorry if the sound is off, I'm painting," she said, picking up her brushes once more to keep working, being rather good at multi-tasking. Hearing that it was indeed the valkyrie just made her day that much better, "I thought you had forgot about me," faking a slight pout before chuckling. "I know this is sorta weird, but I'm in the middle of something .. would you mind coming over?"

"Oh so you're making demands now, huh?" She chuckled, fiddling around with some different paints, trying to mix the right color that she had in mind. However one thing she understood better than anyone, and that was how creativity was a fickle mistress. Smiling she hummed, "alright, I'll agree, but then you'll have to pick up some things for me," she rolled her eyes, but she was easily persuaded. She agreed to text the list and hung up, returning to her artwork. The list wasn't too bad, just a couple of fruits and some rubber gloves.
When Tessa finally arrived she would find the door unlocked and loud music playing. It wasn't the typical pop-ish music, rather it sounded more like rock from the 60s. Lily was dancing around in her large work room, most likely getting paint everywhere, but it was a part of her process. Multiple large canvasses stood all around, some covered up, some on full display, but most of them unfinished in some way. In the middle stood her current work, a medium sized canvas, on it was a mixture of different colors, and it was clear she was still just working on the background, but things took time. Turning her head she realized the seraph was there, her face lighting up as she put down her brushes and came over after turning the music down a little. "Hello there pretty stranger," she chuckled, leaning in to kiss her on each cheek as a greeting. Taking the bag she checked that everything was there, smiling as the seraph had even remembered the chocolate. "So, welcome to my humble workspace," she smile, gesturing with her hand to her to show that she could explore all she wanted. Meanwhile she would go sort out the bag on a large work table.

She let her look around all she wanted and the compliments she liked more than anything. Her hands were busy unpacking the items from the bag, humming along to the music as Tessa spoke about painting. "You don't have to be able to paint anything," she reminded her with a cheeky smile, before her eyes turned to the seraph, "that's why abstract art is so popular." Clearly a bit of a jab, but Lily didn't dislike abstract. Sometimes it was really cool and meaningful. Other times it was just a red dot on a while canvas getting sold for gods know how much money.
Her question made her hum as she placed one hand on her hip and nodded to herself, "I told you I wanted to paint you," she said, as she clearly had a vision, though they would need to melt the chocolate a bit. Turning her head she studied the young valkyrie and it was clear her mind was going through all sorts of alterations in her mind. "To me you're sorta the forbidden fruit," she smiled, walking closer she adjusted her hair a little, just to get a feel for the texture. Lily liked to get a little intimate with someone she was supposed to be painting.
"I find you very attractive .. you're unique in not only your beauty, but also your style," Lily wasn't holding back. It was just the two of them. Nobody had to know. "That's why I want to paint you," she smiled before moving away, "I want to smear chocolate on you and surround you with fruits," was that a weird sentence? Most likely, but Lily didn't care. She lived and breathed for her art, and once she had an idea she had to fulfill it. "You can decide if you want to do it partially nude." - "But the contrast between your ivory soft skin and the rich dark chocolate would be really cool to capture."