Kenzi slammed down another shot of a whiskey that's name she'd never been able to pronounce, feeling incoherent. It had been a few hours, but Trick had stepped out of the Dahl before that, leaving Kenzi to tend to herself. It was when she no longer could pour her whiskey without it sloshing across the bar that her favorite Dark Fae slid into the seat to her right. "Allow me, love," Vex said lightly, his familiarly soothing accent cutting through the alcoholic haze Kenzi had slipped into. Reaching out, he took the bottle from her hand and poured the amber liquid into his own shot-glass, then filled the little human's. Downing the shot, he watched as the girl struggled to do the same.

After a moment of frustration for the little human, he stood from his seat and moved to stand behind hers; wrapping his arms lightly around the barstool, he took the shot-glass from her hands, letting his arms linger there for a moment longer than he should have before pulling back. "Love, you really shouldn't make a habit of drinking this much...especially not at the Dahl, of all places," Vex quipped, a bit offended that she hadn't chosen to reside in one of his clubs, though he wasn't sure why he cared. He took a brief pause to drink Kenzi's shot, and then offered, "Let me call you a cab."

"I'm not going back to the house!" Kenzi said quickly, her slurring voice suddenly gaining force.

Vex frowned internally, but his outer sarcasm over-rid his inner concern, "Trouble in paradise, lovie?"

The little human shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sick of ceiling falling on my head during BoBo's-"

"Ah," the Mesmer interrupted in understanding, taking Kenzi's hand and helping her up from the barstool. "You can rest at my place then, love." He almost left it at that, but his compassionate side only went so far-iespecially for humans!/i he sharply reminded himself-so he continued, "Although you'll owe me, of course."

Kenzi scrunched up her nose, but continued to lean on the Mesmer for support so that she didn't fall on her face. "I am NOT-"

"Nothing like that, love," he reassured her with a slightly too amused chuckle. He pulled her close to his chest then, in blind view of Dyson-who had just walked in without either of their knowledge-and playfully murmured, "Unless you want to, little human."

Suddenly, Dyson was at their side, grabbing Vex by the collar of his black shirt and letting out a protective growl. "What the Hell is going on here, Vex?" the wolf roared, casting Kenzi a worried glance.

"It's alright, D-man," Kenzi reassured quickly, though the slur in her speech didn't reassure Dyson very much.

Vex cleared his throat, hugging Kenzi closer to his form without noticing that he did it. Looking Dyson in the eyes, his voice rang out harshly in the now-dim lights of the Dahl, "I was just offering to take Kenzi somewhere safe to sleep. Perhaps you would rather I'd sent her home, alone and in a drunken haze, where sleep would be impossible."

Dyson blinked slowly, and then released his hold on Vex's shirt. "Right... Kenzi," his eyes flickered to her-he had a hard time resisting the urge to retch at seeing her leaning against a Dark Fae so calmly-as he spoke, "I can drive you...if you'd prefer that."

Kenzi gave a slow shake of her head, which embarrassedly made it look like she was nuzzling Vex's chest. "I'd rather go with Vex," she mumbled quietly. It was true, but she wasn't sure...why.

The wolf nearly choked, blinking several more times before giving a quick shake of his head to clear his thoughts. "Alright... Be safe, then." The tone of his voice made it clear that he would be checking in with the both of them the following day.

"She's safe with me, aren't you, love?" Vex responded absent-mindedly, turning away from the bar so that they were no longer facing Dyson. The little human's eyes fell shut a breath later. The Dark Fae bit back a chuckle of endearment as he saw the girl drifting in and out of coherency. With that, he slowly slipped his arms around her so that he was carrying her bridal-style.

"You better make sure she is, Vex," Dyson warned from behind them as Vex began to walk towards the exit of the Dahl. Ignoring the wolf, the Mesmer stepped out into the brisk night air. His first thought was to somehow take his coat off and wrap it around Kenzi; his second thought was how utterly too caring that would make him look. Pulling open the door to the car he'd recently "borrowed", he unlocked the back-seat so that he could lay the little human down. Looking at her small form as she shivered in her sleep, Vex gave in and took his leather jacket off, covering her with it. "Sleep well, love," he said quietly as he shut the door and got into the driver's seat, pulling out of the Dahl's parking lot.

iOn the way to his home, Vex couldn't stop reviewing things in his mind. Kenzi, the little human who he had sworn he wouldn't develop feelings for, was in his back-seat. There was not a being, human and Fae alike, who would have thought that was "acceptable". And somehow, he didn't care. She needed somebody who wasn't busy with something else... She needed a quiet place to stay so she would stop drinking for the wrong reasons... She needed a warm place to rest tonight that didn't involve drooling on Trick's bar... She needed... She needed.../i He refused to let himself finish that thought - He could bnot/b think that Kenzi actually ineeded/i bhim/b...

After much time spent thinking, and merely driving around the block so that he had more time to think, Vex finally pulled into his driveway. Kenzi was still sound asleep as he scooped her up in his arms, watching as she cuddled into him and clutched at the jacket he'd wrapped around her. "Little human, if only you knew…" the Mesmer said quietly as he unlocked his door, carrying Kenzi to his bedroom. "The Succubus would have my skin if she knew you were here," he whispered as he took the outer layers of Kenzi's outfit off of her sleeping form so that she would be more comfortable, knowing that she couldn't hear him.

"Hale too, probably," he added absently, leaving the little human in her grey tank-top and black pants. He took her outer layers of clothes, and her boots, tucking them into his closet. With that, he sprawled out on the bed and switched off the light, having left a firestone to dimly light the room incase Kenzi woke before him (though he doubted this would happen).

Careful not to wake her, Vex wrapped his arm around Kenzi's waist and lightly nuzzled her hair, letting his eyes fall shut. His breath slowed and, just before he fell asleep to the scent of Kenzi's perfume, the Mesmer found himself whispering, "Good night, love. Pleasant dreams, hopefully of me." The last part flickered though his mind and—before he fell asleep seconds later—he began to wonder why he had said it. After all, he was a Dark Fae, she was a bhuman/b, she was drunk, and they were barely ifriends/i…

The next morning, Vex woke to Kenzi stirring in his arms. His accented voice was tired as he spoke, "Love…Kenzi, lovie, you're alright; you're safe." He wasn't sure why he was soothing the girl, especially not at such an awful hour, but he found himself doing it anyways.

Kenzi's eyes snapped open and she found herself looking up into the Dark Fae's eyes. She gasped and yelped, "Shit balls!" The little human squirmed in panic, but the Mesmer's eyes only softened as his arms tightened around her more.

"Don't… You're safe, love," he breathed quietly.

Kenzi's frantic yelping turned into a quiet whimper as she glanced around at the scene. Vex gently smoothed her hair and sighed, "Kenzi, love, calm down."

"How can I calm down when I'm in a Dark Fae's bed!?" the little human shrieked, her fingernails digging into Vex's arms in her hysteria.

That question broke Vex's compassion resolve, "Damn it, human, calm down!"

The suddenly sharp tone in his voice made Kenzi flinch, quickly looking away from him. Vex let out a sigh, reaching down to touch her face, "Look at me, love…" When she didn't look up, the Mesmer's instincts took over; he gave a slight wave of his hand, using his powers to force the little human to look up at him.

Immediately after being released from his control, Kenzi gasped. "Vex! Don't do that!"

Vex opened his mouth to apologize, and then shut it again. For all that he was—a psychopath, a murderer, a Dark Fae, a cheat of physics, and much more—and, even though he could control anybody else in the world, he couldn't make himself say the two words that this little human had a right to hear.

When the Mesmer didn't reply, Kenzi snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Vexie?" the nickname fell from her mouth before she could stop it, "You okay?" She began to pull out of his embrace, grabbing his arms without digging her nails in this time.

Vex blinked a few times, but his arms suddenly tightened back up. "Yes, love, I'm fine…Where do you think you're going?" His voice regained its strength as he asked her that.

Kenzi stopped moving altogether for a moment, and then changed the subject by looking down at herself; she jolted in surprise, looking to the Mesmer with a frown. "Where are my other clothes?"

"They're in my closet," he replied absently.

A mildly confused frown appeared on Kenzi's face, "May I get them then?"

The Mesmer's eyes briefly flashed with annoyance before he replied, "They're a bit used and they still smell like you fell into a liquor store. I'll find something that'll fit you, lovie." After a moment of hesitation that he didn't know the reason for, he unwound his arms from the little human's form. Too quickly, she was out of his embrace and running her fingers through her hair to get rid of most the tangles—most of which Vex had, admittedly, caused in his sleep.

He rolled out of bed and gave a shake of his head, then stepped into the connecting walk-in closet. Somewhere amongst all the chains and leather and things she wouldn't let him have her wear, he eventually found an outfit for the little human. Taking it, he stepped into the other room and tossed them at her.

Catching the pile of clothes, Kenzi blinked a couple times. She took a second to glance at what was in her arms, then raised an eyebrow at the Mesmer, "These are… yours, aren't they?" She held her head for a moment; having gotten over the shock of waking up in Vex's bed, she was now starting to feel the effects of the hangover.

"Mostly," Vex said absently, "I'll be in the kitchen when you're ready."

Kenzi watched as he left the room, and then took a moment to look at what he'd given her. Pulling on the black T-shirt, which was a little big on her, she couldn't help but breath in the now-familiar scent of his clothes. There were a pair of jeans as well, but they were obviously not Vex's—unless he had went through a cross-dressing stage at some point that Kenzi didn't know about. Shrugging her shoulders and marking it as something to ask about later, she pulled them on and sat down to put on her own boots.

As she walked into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast hit her like a brick wall, "Are you…cooking…pancakes?" she asked nervously as she stepped into the room, seeing Vex at the stove.

Without looking back, the Dark Fae replied, "Yes I am, love. I thought you could use it, considering you have a habit of drinking too much in all the wrong places."

"And where would be a good place to drink that much, Vex?" Kenzi asked, raising an eyebrow as she poured herself a mug of the coffee he'd made.

Vex shrugged from his place at the stove, "Somewhere that none of the good guys will see it. They wouldn't…approve." He knew what he meant, but it came out a bit skewed, "I can't kidnap you when you're in places that the mutt and Succubus frequent—or that Trick owns, for that matter."

Kenzi tilted her head to the side, seeming to sense the underlying message in his words. "Oh," was all she replied with, not sure how to take what the Mesmer had said.

A few minutes later, the two were sitting side-by-side, eating breakfast together. "Would you be careful?" Vex chastised, "You're going to burn your mouth, human."

Kenzi shoveled in another mouth-full of steaming pancakes, speaking muffledly around her food, "I don't care! These pancakes are killer!" She paused to swallow the way-too-hot pancakes, and then added, "You're amazing!"

Before Vex had a chance to respond to the little human's compliment, a rather loud knock struck the front door. Standing, he excused himself with, "Just a moment, love; I'll see who's bothering me at such an early hour." With that, the Mesmer went to the door, opening it to see a not-so-happy Dyson. "Dyson, how are you doing this fine morning?"

"Where exactly did you take Kenzi last night?" Dyson asked sharply, "She hasn't arrived home yet, Vex. Bo and I've been trying to get ahold of her all morning, and you were the last person to see her."

Vex blinked slowly, "Does the Succubus know that I was the last person to see her human yesterday evening?"

"No, I haven't told her. I thought you might want to explain why Kenzi isn't—"

At that moment, Kenzi stepped into the room. "Hey D-man, what're you doing here? And why isn't Kenzi what now?"

Dyson blinked in surprise, "A better question, Kenzi: Why are you wearing one of Vex's shirts?" He gestured flippantly at Kenzi's form, eyes slightly wider than usual.

"He said mine looked a little lived in due to last night," the girl replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Vex wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders, pulling her to his side and murmuring, "That sounded a bit more suspicious than it should have, love." He then looked to Dyson and amended, "She drank a bit, more than normally from what I hear. Her clothes smelled like a bloody liquor store."

Dyson frowned, "I see." His gaze shifted to Kenzi, "Bo is worried sick about you, Kenzi. I told her when I found you that I'd give you a ride home." He paused briefly before pointedly adding, "Alone."

"Come now, Dyson, there's no reason for her to be such a rush to leave," the Mesmer argued lightly. "After all," he added, "She idoes/i have my shirt."

Dyson growled quietly as he spoke, "It is important that Bo knows where Kenzi is. She iis/i her human, after all."

"Tell her then!" Vex challenged flippantly.

The little human at the Mesmer's side tensed, speaking in a slow voice, "Did you…just call me…Bo's human?" Before either of the men could answer, she continued, "I am so tired of the Fae thinking of me as bBo's human/b. I have a name; my name is Kenzi." She looked at Dyson then, "I would have thought you'd have figured that out by now."

The Mesmer gently pulled Kenzi closer to him, whispering, "It's alright, lo—Kenzi… Calm yourself." He wasn't sure why he was soothing the girl, but found himself doing so anyways. His eyes flashed to Dyson, burning with a rage that the wolf hadn't seen cross Vex's eyes in a long time, "You have upset my guest. Remove yourself from my home, now."

"Alright…" Dyson said after a moment, holding his hands up in defeat. "I won't challenge you in your own home, Vex…Not this time." His eyes briefly moved to Kenzi's still-outraged face, "Check in with Bo soon. She deserves that much."

With that, he stepped outside the door; Vex reached out with a free hand and slammed it shut. "Come now, love, your coffee may get cold if we stay to dwell on the Light," the Dark Fae coaxed gently, leading her to the kitchen. They sat down and Kenzi sipped at her coffee in defiant silence, clearly having little to say to any Fae at that moment.

"I do hope you aren't upset with bme/b, love," Vex said quietly after a while had passed. "For what it might be worth, I don't see you as Bo's human…Maybe I used to but… I ido/i see you as a person now, Kenzi."

The little human's voice came out almost inaudible, "Thanks, Vex."

"Anything for you," he replied. For a moment, that was all the Dark Fae was going to say. Then, he realized how heart-felt it had sounded and added, "You do have my shirt still, after all."

To his luck, the little human chuckled at that. It was music to the Mesmer's ears to know that the tension between them from Dyson's visit was gone. Unfortunately, he had to risk that sooner than he would have liked to. "You're more than welcomed to stay here, love, but I don't need the Succubus showing up to break down my doors. When you're ready, let me know; I'll drive you home so that you can check in long enough to keep her at bay."

Kenzi nodded, taking a long drink of her coffee. "Okay."

A couple hours later, Kenzi was in the passenger seat of Vex's car—his iactual/i car, not the one he'd "borrowed" the night before—trying not to dread her arrival home. "It won't be that bad, love," Vex reassured from the driver's seat. "I told you, the mutt hasn't told the Succubus who you were with."

"I know but…" the little human trailed off and reached over to turn on Vex's radio. "What if he does? And even if he didn't, what am I supposed to tell Bo? She's igoing/i to want an explanation." Despite the music that was playing in the background, Kenzi was talking faster than normally, "Shit balls; do you think she'll recognize your shirt?"

The Mesmer reached over and put a hand on Kenzi's arm, "You, love, are worrying yourself for nothing. Just tell her that you were with a friend…" He trailed off briefly. "That's true enough, isn't it?"

"Of course, but—"

"Then that is all the Succubus needs to know, lovie," he reassured, his usual humor returning to his voice. "And no, she is not going to recognize anything of mine—aside from maybe my car, which won't be an issue unless she's starring out the window like a lost puppy."

That made the little human's face break into a smile, "Got it."

Vex let his hand rest on Kenzi's arm the rest of the way home, driving one-handed and occasionally tracing patterns on the front of her shoulder. Somehow, it seemed like the girl didn't mind it all that much. Eventually, they arrived at Kenzi and Bo's home.

Kenzi reached over and let her hand rest by Vex's face for a moment—during this time, he couldn't decide if she was going to slap him or something else—before lightly fixing a part of his hair that had fell out of its usual messy state. "See you around, Vexie," she said quietly.

The Mesmer sat there for a moment, and then let the hand that had been resting on her shoulder move to briefly take her hand in his, bringing it to his mouth and leaving a kiss on the back of it. "See you, lovely," he bid softly before releasing his hold on her hand.

Silently, Kenzi took a breath before getting out of the car. She glanced at him briefly before shutting the passenger door behind her and walking away. Just as she was about to walk in the door, she looked over her shoulder and watched his car pull away. Once it was out of sight, she went inside. She had to lean against the couch for a moment, not sure what to make of what had just occurred.

Bo walked into the room then, "Kenz!" She grabbed Kenzi by the shoulders, shaking her lightly, "Where the Hell have you been?"

"BoBo…Sshh… Hangover," Kenzi mumbled, grabbing her head for emphasis. Truthfully, she was too busy processing the past two days events to really ifeel/i anything.

Bo rolled her eyes, "Poor baby... What were you? Dyson called and said you wouldn't let him take you home…" The humor in the Succubus's eyes faded, replaced by concern.

"I was at a friends," Kenzi replied, taking her favorite Dark Fae's advice.

The Succubus blinked slowly, "What friend? You never talk about your human friends."

A rising guilt began to bubble in Kenzi's gut, "Just an old pal from the street."

Bo shrugged, "Alright, fine… Don't tell me his name, that's fine."

"Why do you assume it's a guy?" Kenzi asked, raising an eyebrow.

There was a long pause before Bo responded, "You were gone all night…" The tense air dulled a bit as she suddenly asked, "Did you get laid?"

"No!" Kenzi answered a bit louder than she'd meant to, surprised by the question even though she probably shouldn't have been.

The Succubus laughed lightly, "Kidding, Kenz. But I still wish you'd at least tell me the person's name."

Kenzi shrugged, and then gestured at her head. "Bo, I've got a killer hangover. I'm gonna go sleep it off or something…" Before Bo could object, the human slipped from the room and went to her bedroom, sprawling out. It took her nearly two hours to fall asleep, not seeming to be comfortable or warm enough to rest…

iKenzi was standing in a club that seemed oddly familiar, but she wasn't sure why. She leaned against the bar and tapped her fingers; it felt like she was supposed to be waiting for somebody, but she couldn't remember bwho/b. Then, somebody's hand was resting on her hip and an all too familiar Dark Fae was looking down into her eyes, his own seeming to playfully smolder. "V—"she began to speak, but he bent down and pressed his lips against hers.

She heard the Mesmer incoherently murmur her name, and then something about "them" being "out of our whiskey". After that, he didn't speak; instead, he let his lips leave hers and simply looked at her face. Time seemed to float endlessly, as if they weren't in a crowded club, as if this whole situation wasn't utterly out of place… Then she started to hear his voice, but his lips weren't actually moving…/i

"…so bloody precious," Vex's voice whispered. Kenzi's eyes flew open, shocked awake from the dream; a second later she realized that Vex's voice hadn't been from the dream—he was there, lying at her side with his face buried in her neck, arms loosely around her stomach, his eyes completely shut. The little human gasped, which shook the Mesmer from his state of relaxation. He opened his eyes, much slower than Kenzi had, and then simply yawned, not saying a word.

Kenzi's voice was quiet as she spoke, "Vex?"

"Hmm?" he murmured sleepily.

"What're you…doing here?" the little human asked him nervously.

Vex was too tired to tell her anything but the truth so he replied with, "I got cold. And there wasn't any of the right whiskey in the cabinets. And I couldn't sleep." He shrugged his shoulders, and then frowned. "Do you want me to leave?"

Kenzi blinked, "You don't seem to be having trouble sleeping now…and you aren't cold, either." She scrunched up her nose and muttered, "I call bullshit."

"It wasn't bullshit…at the time, love," he explained, his voice muffled as he nuzzled her hair. "And you didn't answer my actual question."

The little human squirmed mildly, a strange combination of comfort and discomfort stirring in her gut. "I…" she trailed off for a moment, not honestly sure about the answer, "Yes and no."

"Not helpful, lovely," he murmured, lightly pressing kisses into her neck.

"Vex…stop," Kenzi mewled.

The Mesmer let out a frustrated sigh, suddenly pulling away completely so that he standing at the side of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. "Kenzi, will you ever stop this nonsense? I have tried, time and time again, as much as it pains me to be compassionate sometimes, to make you realize that I am not going to hurt you. So why do you still… I simply don't understand your behavior towards me, love." A flash of heartache passed through Vex's eyes, though it was hard to see in the dim light.

The little human blinked confusedly, "Vex… I don't know what you mean by 'time and time again'. To my knowledge this is the only time you have ever acted this way towards me; pardon me if I don't—"

"iPardon me/i if I thought my motives had been made clear!" the Mesmer snapped. "The last thing I want is you to be frightened of me merely because I'm of the Dark. I mean you ino/i harm, Kenzi…"

"Vex…" Kenzi sighed, "Come here please. It's not… it's not healthy for people around you when you get like this; your murder-filled history proves that m—"

Vex was suddenly on the bed again, his lips crushed against hers. The little human gasped; it took her a moment before she began to kiss him back. It was when she was finally relaxing into his embrace that he pulled away, nuzzling her neck before raising his head and looking down into her eyes. "Do you have any idea…how easy it would be for me to simply take control of you and—"His voice was dark, filled with traces of the Vex that Kenzi had thought was mostly gone.

"I know," she interrupted, not wanting to hear the rest of that sentence.

"And with that understood," his voice softened a bit, "I have to know that you trust me, Kenzi. I can't—"The little human's lips pressed against his again as she curled her fingers around the back of his neck and pushed him closer to her. Vex made a sound of surprise, then smiled before letting his eyes fall shut, moving his lips in time with hers. Just as they had both relaxed enough to enjoy themselves, the door flew open.