Chapter Three – This was not the plan

The doorbell rang. Lauren was between surprised and alert, Evony wasn't supposed to come until half an hour later. But then again, that woman did as she pleased so it was completely possible that she had arrived sooner than expected.

"Hello?" –She asked before opening.

"Are you gonna leave me out here all night? It's freezing!" –Definitely Evony. Lauren smiled at her bossy attitude as she opened the door.

"And good evening to you too"

"Wow" -said Evony looking at Lauren's beautiful dress- "If I had known you'd be dressing like that I'd definitely had come earlier."

"You're early" –Pointed out Lauren with a smile. She was glad Evony had noticed the dress. She didn't look so bad herself with a pair of jeans and a blouse that fit her perfectly. The woman was so elegant she looked perfect with anything she wore.

"Am I?" –Asked Evony in a careless tone while she entered the house and began inspecting everything.

"Make yourself at home" – said Lauren ironically. –"Dinner is in the oven, it's gonna have to wait a little."

"Nice decoration." –Pointed the Morrigan. Lauren had good taste, there were souvenirs in the shelves, paintings in the walls whose painters, Evony thought, would be perfect for her to feed; and all kind of things from all over the world. – "I haven't met too many humans who have travelled that much."

"That was before" –Lauren said while sitting on the couch.

"Before?"

"Before I started… working for the Ash." –Answered Lauren visibly uncomfortable. "Right!" thought Evony feeling stupid for not having thought about that. Lauren continued talking -Thank you, by the way .

"You don't have to thank me, you're a great doctor, you're definitely someone valuable in my team. I'm getting things from you too, or do I look like I'm all the way for charity?" –Said Evony trying to make Lauren feel better. Trying to make someone feel better instead of enjoying their misery, this was a whole new thing too… which wasn't sure she liked at all.

"I didn't mean for the job" –said Lauren smiling, it was comfortable to see her doing so. –"Although, I know I'm a great doctor, you know…"

"You learn fast" –pointed out Evony liking this new turn and sitting next to her while opening a beer and handling it back to Lauren.

"What do I learn?" –Said Lauren grabbing the beer.

"To be arrogant, like the Morrigan"

"Oh" –said Lauren amused. –"You make jokes too".

"Of course I do!" – Said Evony throwing a pillow at Lauren pretending to be offended.

"But you know…" –said an amused Lauren- "it's true, you're a little bit arrogant".

"A little, honey? You offend me". –said Evony joking.

"Ok, maybe a lot". –Said Lauren laughing. They stood quiet for a while looking at each other. They had obvious chemistry, Evony thought. It was so hard for Evony to have fun with anyone; everyone she met or worked with was either boring to her, annoying or threatening (making her unable to relax if she wanted to keep the power, like when Vex was around). But with Lauren… it was different, she had actual fun, she could relax… she could just be herself for at least little moments. And she realized that she missed being vulnerable with someone. She had felt that a long time ago... she felt an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. The betrayal had been so hurtful that she promised herself that she wouldn't let herself be vulnerable again. She stopped her thoughts, this wasn't time to think about that.

"So… what were you thanking me for before?" –asked Evony breaking the silence.

"Me?" –Asked Lauren trying to change the subject. She realized that she had been a little emotional earlier.

"Oh, c'mon" –insisted Evony- "you're gonna tell me anyway once you've had a couple of gulps more".

"Right, 25% alcohol". –Said Lauren. –"Did you come here to get me drunk Ms. Morrigan?"

"Oh Dr. Lewis, I don't need to get anyone drunk to get what I want". –Said Evony getting a little closer.

"Does that mean that you're not gonna stop until I tell you? Or that you're gonna bring an evil dark Fae to suck up my memories?"

"Well, you know I've got 100 years to wait but honey, I don't think you can wait that much" –Evony had said that pretending to be funny but she hadn't stop to think about that fact. And she suddenly hated more than anything the idea of the implications of Lauren being human.

"Oh, I bet you could do something to change that" –said Lauren.

"Believe it or not, there are things that I cannot do". –Said Evony.

"Really? Is that The Morrigan admitting something?" –She liked Evony being open.

"Don't change the subject" –said Evony throwing again a pillow to Lauren.

"Ok, you win. But don't get used to it!" –Said Lauren.

"I promise I'll try"

"It's just that I've been through hell for the last five years…" –Lauren started saying. She was obviously trying to do as if it wasn't such a big deal, but Evony knew it was.

"I know". –Said Evony taking Lauren's hand, surprising herself for the soft tone she had used. Lauren was surprised at Evony's sweet attitude –"But that's over now, I promise. And I let you trust me on this one"

"Good to hear" –Lauren smiled grateful. Evony noticed the urge she felt to comfort Lauren. She was very bad at ignoring these new feelings, and, for the first time she thought that she could just give up trying.

"You know what?" –Asked Lauren smiling and getting even closer.

"What?" –asked Evony in a low tone. She suddenly felt self-conscious.

"You're not as arrogant as you like to think. Actually…" -Lauren began to say caressing Evony's hair, who felt she had lost all control over herself. –"you're quite sweet. And you've treated me like a person, and with respect... That's what I wanted to thank you for". –Lauren was looking at Evony directly in the eye, so close that she could feel her breathing. The situation was so intimate that Evony knew that if something happened, she wouldn't be able to lie to herself about her feelings anymore.

"I just treat you the way you deserve to be treated." –She finally said. Lauren felt suddenly bad for having taken one of Evony's hair without her noticing.

-Too bad you gotta wear that mask all the time" –Said Lauren, meaning it. She hadn't expected Evony to make her plan that difficult.

"Schhh"- Said Evony smiling and putting a finger in Lauren's lips, there wasn't practically any space between her finger and her lips now. - "If you tell anyone that, you may change your mind about me being sweet".

-"That'll be our second secret" -said Lauren. Evony felt she couldn't stop herself, so she didn't move when Lauren approached her until her lips touched.

Suddenly they heard a huge crash outside the door, the two women separated immediately before the kiss could go any further. Evony knew this wasn't good. She had to do something before anything happened to both of them. This "letter-person" had gone too far, and they were certainly going to pay for it.