Stay out of it

She knew serpahim tears would hurt more than do any good. The clergy’s had warned her about it. It wouldnt help her like it had when she was a human. She did sit in just her tank top so it was quite unlike what she usually had. She had even more tattoos covering her shoulders and her chest it seemed, a flower theme quite prevalent in the art style of choice.
She listened and looked at him as he squatted down in front of her, letting him take the tincture. She did grit her teeth as it was a new feeling and it stung a bit. He had seen worse? She didnt really know if that was a good thing but it did soothe her thoughts a little. His question of what else to talk about was reaonsable but maybe she felt that she was in fact just making it more complicated for herself by not talking about it. “I dunno.” She admitted before she looked down, lifting her hands to cover her arms a little. She was quite used to the comfort of always wearing some kind of shirt or a hoodie so she did feel exposed now. “Am I still someone you could fall for?” She asked. That was something she needed to know, especially if it had changed. Or did she? “No… uhm.. dont answer that.” She mumbled, looking away with a small frown. “Do you have a shirt or something? Preferably something with a zipper?” She asked, wanting to not feel the cold air on her skin.

Her question took him by surprise but he would gladly have replied. However she seemed to regret asking, and he nodded but didn't seem upset or anything. She asked for a shirt and he hummed, "I'll get you one, though we gotta wrap you up first," he argued, moving to his feet he inspected the cut. The tincture looked like it was working, but he didn't have much left, perhaps only enough for a second round before bed. He placed some gauze pads along the cut, wrapping it close to her skin with the bandages. Making sure it wasn't strangling her, he nodded in approval. "Sit tight; I'll grab you a hoodie," he said, drying off his hands after cleaning them. She could clean up a bit as well if she wanted to.
Returning with a hoodie in hand he handed it to her, letting her get comfortable in it. It was quite big on her, but he hoped it wasn't too much of a problem. "Fuck you even look cute in my clothes," he sighed, tilting his head a little to the side. Reaching his hand down he helped her up on her feet if she needed it. He didn't want to risk her passing out again. "Pillow fort, my lady?"

She let him wrap her up, gritting her teeth as she didnt like having her neck wrapped. The scar always seemed to act crazy when it was covered and she was worrying that that would happen again. But she didnt object, because getting blood everywhere also didnt help. He went and got her a hoodie and she looked at her bloodied hands. She got up and started washing them, just making sure she looked a bit more… normal.
She was drying her hands by the time he returned, taking and putting on the hoodie, zipping it up quickly so she felt less exposed. It made her calm down more, as she before might have seemed a little on her toes. At least her thoughts werent as wild now. The compliment she chuckled at. “Shut up.” She groaned but clearly in a playful non-serious type of tone. She took his hand and hummed at the suggestion. “Your lady? You’re a knight now?” She teased him, but kept her hand in his, moving ahead to go back. It was odd how she had almost forgotten the nicest kiss on her cheek to ever have happened was only a moment away.

He liked that they could so easily return to teasing and being playful. They returned to the living room, her tease made him scoff. "I don't think I'm a knight," he replied, sitting down in the pillow fort, helping her down next to him. He chuckled slightly, "I mean at best I could be a bodyguard," he argued. He reached out to touch her cheek, his thumb caressing her cheek that he had kissed. He already missed the feeling of her skin against his.
"Was the kiss alright?" he finally asked. They had gotten a bit distracted and he sorta wanted to return to that moment they had had. Looking at her, he felt closer to her now more than before. The only thing that he wanted to do was make her feel happy once more.

She hunmed at his reply but she might think differently. She let him help her down next to him, shaking her head at his argument. “If you think about it, then your bike is also known as a metal horse? So you must be like a knight in leather jacket and on a shiny horse.” She argued back with a soft chuckle to follow. She liked the feeling of his hand on her cheek, just taking in the feeling with a soft smile over her lips.
The question was a little surprising. Was he worrying whether it was good enough? She lifted a hand to place over his, rubbing lightly over his skin. “Why would it not be?” She asked as she looked at him, her smile growing to a soft grin. “I dont think anyone has ever held my face like you did then. Like honestly and truthfully.”

"Well you tell me I guess," he shrugged, not really sure what to say. Why wouldn't the kiss be alright? For starters maybe he just wasn't good at kissing? It wasn't like he got a lot of feedback when he was close to someone. And he had never been close to someone in this way. Tender touches and hushed whispers. "I can hold your face whenever you want me to," he said, so genuine in his statement. He leaned in closer, inspecting her face before his lips pulled up in a smile, "besides it's really easy when it's you .. Everything just feels so right." Did she understand that feeling too?

“It was good.” She assured him, as he seemed to need to hear that. And she wasnt shy of admitting it. Frankly, thinking of it just made her feel a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest that she liked a lot. His hand was only aiding to that feeling, so when he told her that he could keep providing it, she felt thankful. He leaned in and she looked a little curious as he did, though she noticed how he was inspecting her. She hoped she didnt look too pale from the blood she had lost. It wasnt a lot lot but she was already pale as it was. “You dont say..” she mumbled, leaning in closer before nuzzling her nose against his. “.. but you’re getting real sappy on me tonight. Is it just because you missed me..?” She teased but then she lifted an eyebrow just a slight bit. “.. or…” she pulled on the word before she clicked her tongue and leaned away with a slight smirk on her lips. “ Hm. Nevermind” she shrugged.

Her tease made him narrow his eyes, watching her carefully as she leaned in closer only to brush it off. He grit his teeth, pulling her up to sit in his lap, wrapping his arms around her. "No, tell me," he encouraged her, his fingers softly digging in to her back, holding her close. Even though there still lingered the smell of blood, it didn't deter him. A man had a harder time hiding when he felt aroused, and yet he made sure not to place her there. He didn't want her to think that she owed him or it was something he was ready for yet. This was going slow and at a pace where he could still get to know her. Today she had been really brave, perhaps stepping over her boundaries. "And I'll tell you if it's real."

She shuffled a bit on him, and it took everything in him not to groan as she probably had no idea what movement she had just made. He liked this. It was agonizing and yet so good. He cared for her, he wanted her close, but these teasing moments was small reliefs. Her admittance made him sigh, one hand moving down along her thigh, caressing it and softly grabbing at it. He liked feeling all of her. Her tickle making him smile, though he wasn't very ticklish. "You worry that I'm only this way to get in your pants?" he asked. Was that a fair assumption? He sighed, feeling her thigh through the fabric of her pants, almost as if he could feel her skin. "You worry that falling for one another would result in heartache?" Was he close?

Rhys hummed, his jaw tensing as she moved closer. How was he supposed to think when she acted like this? This was so different from any intimacy he had ever been a part of. She wasn't shying away from his touch, not shaking in fear, and actually wanting to be near him too. "You're killing me, princess," he muttered, his breath haltering a bit, trying to keep his body under control, "do you like torturing me?" He grasped lightly at her thigh still, almost clawing at her clothes. He had a darkness in him, but he wanted to suppress it, remain sweet and gentle for her sake. "You worry that .. That .. fuck, Ems," he was trying to behave, he really was, "can we .. can we take a breather?"

It was paining him a little and while he loved this, he also couldn't deny that her rubbing against him had an effect on him. She agreed, asking what he wanted to do and he shuffled her back a bit so she wasn't sitting so close to his quote on quote problem area. "You didn't do anything wrong," he assured her, still wanting her close, but it was as if being this close was making his mind wander and get creative. "Sorry," he apologized softly, gritting his teeth as he closed his eyes to take deep calming breaths. He wasn't sure why he was reacting this way. He just felt so good having her near and to feel her want that closeness too. "You're just really turning me on, and .. I don't want to push things further before we're both ready."

She got off of him, and yet she still didn't shy away from him. Wrapping an arm around her, he held her close to his side before he opted to just lay back on the pillows, hoping she would follow. If she had, he would turn to look at her, her remark making him scoff. "Well I've had a lot of time to think about what you said," he explained, referring to how she had wanted her first times to be. "And I think I want things to go slow as well," was that strange coming from a man? He supposed most guys would be driven by their sexual desires, but he found himself more worried about getting closer with her in different ways. "I want to be near you, I want to kiss you .. But I don't know if I'm ready for it .. And I want you to be sure you want your firsts to be with me," his firsts had been wasted away long ago. Though there was one first that he did long to see happen. But could he trust his heart?

Cute? He thought he was being weird, so cute was a definite upgrade, and as she expressed her appreciation he hummed, smiling at her. Feeling her thumb against his cheekbone made him feel good, just looking at her. However her blunt question made his smile fade, his eyes averting her gaze. Hadn't she been Emily, he might've pushed her away, but he was laying still. "Yeah, something like that," he said, speaking honestly, and his eyes showed hurt in the hazel colors. He turned his head, resting his lips against the inside of her hand, feeling her palm soft and warm. Was it too clear that he didn't want to think about it? More less talk about it?

His head was turned back to look at her, and it was clear his eyes looked more vulnerable. He couldn't say he felt comfortable being like this, but he also didn't feel like he wanted to move away. She leaned in closer and he looked down, a faint smile on his lips as he saw the cat snuggle up between them. "He sorta knows when I'm upset," he scoffed softly, moving his eyes from the cat to look at Emily, "we still need to find a name for him."

He liked this cozy time they were having right now. Really feeling more comfortable now that he had cooled down a bit, though he was happy to see and feel that she still wanted to be near him. Of course he knew that this was how it could only be when they were alone together, but just the fact that he was letting himself was very good. "I was thinking of something strong sounding .. Considering everything he's gone through," he said, though he hadn't really taken the time to look up names. They could always do that later. "I mean I can't keep calling him buddy or fella forever," he smiled, nuzzling his nose to hers. She was really beautiful right now, even if she probably would disagree.

He smiled, looking down at the small cat who looked really cozy and relaxed as it slept. She spoke about sleeping and he hummed, running his hand along her side, "we should," he muttered. It didn't look like she had soaked through the gauze, so he adjusted himself a little. Getting up briefly he got out of his clothes before going in to grab his duvet from the bed. They could sleep in the pillow fort, as it was perhaps much softer than his mattress. He laid down, pulling her head to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her once she was ready for sleep. "Sleep tight, Princess," he muttered in to her hair, resting his lips against her scalp.

The next morning he was awakened with a big banging against the door. He grunted softly, pulling her closer, his breath warm against her hair. He wasn't ready to get up. He wanted to lay with her forever, but as the banging continued he got up, heading to the door as he just wrapped a blanket around his waist.
"Eyo, boss," a guy spoke from the other side. Rhys opened the door, narrowing his eyes at what he saw. It was one of the brutes that had gotten hurt and he rolled his eyes, "take him back to the safe house," he just said, going to close the door. "What's going on, who you hiding in there?" the brute asked, still holding the hurt brute over his shoulder. Rhys grit his teeth, "stay out," he hissed making the brute look really scared as he took a step backwards.

She did like the idea of sleeping in the pillow fort and it seemed that the cat got up to go leave them alone. She got out of her pants and contemplated keeping the hoodie on but in the end she decided to take it off. When she was in his arms, she wouldnt freeze, so she wasnt worried about that one bit. It felt so safe to lie in his arms. She had to admit that it made her relax faster than she anticipated, every time it seemed. “Goodnight.” She mutteted sweetly, smiling as she kept close to him.

The loud banging woke her as well, she frowned, tired and a little confused as he pulled her closer. She ran her hand down his back, wondering if it was just a couple of drunkards at the wrong door. But the banging continued and he got up to go handle it. She pulled on the hoodie and sat for a bit, able to hear what was going on.
She frowned lightly at the conversation but decided not to meddle. Another brute came running up the stairs. “They’re already on our track, out on the street looking, we got nowhere else to go.” He said, before he noticed how the brute with the hurt one was backing off. “Kaine we didnt have a choice. We’ve started some shit with… fuck, I forgot their names, the shitbags.. fuck, man I dunno, we just fucking do what we’re told.”