A/N: I think I'm getting the hang of this again. Everything seems to be flowing a lot more smoothly. Also, thanks for my reviews. ^^ I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Metalocalypse.

Chapter 4

Lilith stretched and kicked off her pretty chocolate colored pumps as she closed the door her apartments. Hemingway pawed at her legs, panting happily. He danced prettily on his back legs, begging to be lifted up. She patted his head absently, padding to the kitchen. When she opened the cabinet, there was a small scale stampede as her pets scrambled to their bowls. Chuckling, she snatched a few cans of animal food. She made short work of opening the cans and dumping their contents in the food bowls. Water bowls were filled and set down carefully. Lilith headed to the bedroom.

The room was cool and dark. It almost made her sad to turn on the the light, Inhaling, she flicked the switch and shed her jacket. Next came panty hose and her simple silver earrings and bracelet. She unpinned her hair and shook it out, bending to comb her fingers through it. She shook it again and unhooked her skimpy bar and slid off the matching underpants. All the clothes landed with a soft thump in the laundry basket.

The redhead stepped into the bathroom, staring hungrily at the luxurious tub. She turned the ornate silver-plated knobs then drizzled in a liberal amount of her favorite bubble bath. Almost immediately the warm vanilla sugar smell filled the room. She flipped the switch that would turn on the heater, then closed the door gently. A towel landed with a soft flop next to the tub.

Lilith stepped into the steaming water and slid in with a happy sigh. Once the tub was brimming with water, she toed off the faucet and slid under the surface of the water.

It had been a long week. Ofdenson was more demanding than she had imagined. She'd copied, filed and fetched so many documents and drinks that her head had been filled with dreams of typing since the night she'd started. However, he was filled with engaging conversation and made no effort to run her completely ragged. She'd even accompanied him to his private gym where she'd watched him fence for a few hours. It wasn't something she'd minded. It was rather enjoyable to watch him in his calculated practice with a Klokateer. He'd allowed her to watch the news and had ordered lunch for both of them every day.

All in all, she was enjoying the work and the environment. Everything was running smoothly.

Nearly an hour later, she let the tub drain and rubbed at her dripping hair. It fluffed into damp curls. She scowled at the in the mirror, then wrapped the towel snugly under her arms.

Sweet scented steam billowed out into the bedroom. Her feet left damp prints on the carpet. She stepped into the living room and nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a loud knock on the door. Lilith nearly fell over in her desperate scramble to snatch her robe. She barely had it tied when she opened the heavy door.

Toki stood on the other side with two small packages in his hands. He gave her a long look, something confusing crossing his feature. But then he smiled and the huge grin on his face was ridiculous. "Hey! Cans I comes in?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment, opening the door silently. "Uhm, of course." She stepped aside, tightening the belt to her fluffy blue robe. She grimaced at the small, wet footprints leading from the door to the bedroom. "Would you like some help with that?"

Toki shook his head and placed the box gently on one of the small tables beside the couch. "I's waited for a whole's week, and it's finallys here! Ofdenson said I should wait and wraps it but I wanted to gives it to you now!"

"Give...?" She stared at his back in confusion. "Mist-Toki, what are you talking about?"

Toki turned and thrust one of the packages into her hands, smiling widely. "Go aheads! Opens it, Lilith!"

She glanced at him sharply. It was the first time she'd actually been addressed simply as Lilith in a long while. Her gazed dropped to the heavy paper-covered box he'd given her. She carefully made her way to the couch and dropped onto it gently. She placed it on her knees and looked at Toki uncertainly. He gave her an eager smile, snatching up the other package.

She picked at the paper, gently pulling it away from the heavy packaging tape. She took apart the box and stuck her hands deep inside the packaging peanuts.

Toki wriggled with excitement. "I gots this for your 'Welcomes to Mordhaus' present'!"

Her heart fluttered when she pulled out camera. It was beautiful, one of the best and most expensive digital cameras in the marker. Several thousand dollars pre-owned, and that was on a good day. It was something she never would have had the gumption to pour that much money into. She stared at it and then at Toki. He had an identical camera sitting in his lap.

He lifted it up and grinned. "I thoughts I wouldst gets me one, too. I don'ts haves any pictures of anybody."

"Toki, I can't accept this." She winced when his face fell. "Oh, it's wonderful and I would love to have it." She reached out and touched his arm gently. "But it's much too expensive to give to me. Really, it's a lovely gift, but I haven't done anything to deserve it."

Her chest hurt when Toki looked up. He looked like a sad little boy who'd made a present for someone and found it in the trash bin. Her first instinct was to scoop him up and tell him she was sorry, but this was really much too outlandish for a simple secretary.

Toki looked at her tiny hand on his forearm then up at her. "Oh, please takes it. I picked it out especiallys for you. You's been so nice to me since you gots here." He gave her his best puppy face."I wanteds to gives you somethings nice."

Lilith sighed and gave him a reluctant smile. "Okay, if yo-" The rest of her reply was muffled as Toki wrapped his hands around her neck. She fluttered her hands awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He pressed his chin on the top of her head and gave her a little squeeze, smiling into her wet hair when her little hands landed on his back. He pulled back and grinned brightly at her.

She grinned weakly, left a little unsettled by the hug. "Thank you, Toki. It's a wonderful gift. I really love it." She sat back and smoothed her hair, doing her best to calm her nerves. Her head tilted back as she examined the ceiling

"Good. Now smiles!"

Lilith laughed. "What are you doing, Toki-"

The flash blinded her for a moment. She blinked until she could focus again and halfheartedly glared at the guitarist. He'd flipped the camera over and was squinting at the picture he'd taken. She tried to peek over his broad shoulder. It was an awful picture. Her hair was an awful wet mess and every freckle she carefully concealed normally stood out in ridiculous relief.

Toki looked pleased with himself and turned back to her. "Now, cans we gets a picture together?"

Taken aback, she clenched her hands nervously. "Well, I suppose..." She shook her head when he lifted the camera again. "Would you mind if I took this one? I'd like to get a little fixed up and play around with the camera this time."

Toki nodded excitedly, leaning back easily on the couch. Manticore waddled from the kitchen and jumped delicately in the guitarist's lap. Toki absently stroaked behind his ears and smiled at her.

Lilith made her way to the bathroom, reaching for the blow dryer. It took only a few minutes to put on her face and pull hair hair back into something a little less wild. She slid into a pair of jeans and threw on one of her old band tee-shirts. She'd been tempted to put on her Dethklok shirt, but it seemed tacky and she would have been embarrassed. The redhead snatched at her camera stand and headed into the main room.

The thin man was in the same place she'd left him. Manticore had wound himself around Toki's neck and Hemingway's pudgy little body could barely be seen between the guitarist's leg and the arm of the couch. Even Helena sat warily beside him, watching the door to the bedroom steadily.

"What's happeneds to her eye?" Toki gently rubbed the top of the dog's head. She growled low in her throat. Lilith gave her a look and the growling stopped.

"I'm not really sure. I picked her up in a shelter when she was a puppy. As far as I can guess, she was attacked by something bigger." She set up the stand in front of the couch, reaching for her camera. It took a minute, but she found the appropriate settings and placed it on the tripod. She decided to keep the default lens. "I guess I'll set the timer. It'll take several pictures, so just stay there until it makes a noise or something."

Toki grinned as she scurried back to the couch and sat beside him. Seven seconds left. She smiled into the camera. His arm snaked around her shoulders and hauled her closer to him. She somehow kept her smile as the flash lit the room. She'd set it to take several shots and the flash continued every few seconds. Toki gently ticked her rips and she laughed and wiggled, wanting to curse him for causing her to loose her composure for the last two pictures.

If it had been her brother or any friend she'd made over the years, she would have attacked them with any relatively soft object within her reach. Maybe even mercilessly tickled them back, or given them a good smack on the arm. You just didn't do that with a huge celebrity. Or a really cute guy who happened to have just bought you a really awesome and expensive present.

"Cans we looks at them now?" Toki gave the camera an interested look, then lifted up his own. "And's mines too? Maybes you cans shows me hows to works it and looks at the pictures?"

Lilith sighed happily, glad to be back in a role she was much more familiar with. "Sure." Her computer had only been set up the night before on a small desk. The printer and scanner combo took up most of the room. A tingle of excitement stirred in her belly. She loved working with film, but a digital camera was much more convenient when you were taking pictures with friends or family.

She hooked the two up and brought up the pictures. While she hated to admit it, the last two pictures looked much better. Her stiff smile had been replaced by a happy, laughing face. Toki's arm around her seemed very natural and to be honest, she'd enjoyed it. They looked like friends, or even a couple. A lump caught in her throat. She'd made her first real friend here in Mordhaus. He'd even got her a gift. It was touching and suddenly she wanted to give Toki a big squeeze.

Toki leaned in over her shoulder. "Cans you prints them out?"

Lilith nodded. "Sure. Is there one you want?" He pointed to the last one. She slid in some of the glossy picture paper into the printer and hit the print icon and waited.

Toki leaned in closer. His soap smell was becoming more and more familiar. "Cans you makes smaller sizes?"

She blinked and looked up at him. "Like ... wallet sizes?" He nodded. Lilith wanted to ask why but decided against it. Her mind told her it was a little strange, but she didn't feel particularly bothered and decided to let it go. She printed another for herself, then made the smaller one. "You'll have to cut it out. There are some scissors in the kitchen. It's the drawer by the sink."

Toki wandered into the kitchen. She quickly hooked up his camera. The only picture was of her, with a bewildered half smile, a million freckles scattered across her nose and a wild, wet mess of dark red hair. She made a face.

"Cans I have that's ones, too?" Toki picked up the paper and began to carefully cut the extra bits off. He stuck his tongue out in concentration and her heart fluttered a little bit. He certainly was cute, she mused absently.

"Uhm, okay..." She printed it off as well and helped him to cut away all the extra pieces from all of the pictures. The little woman padded to the closet where she kept all of her developing equipment and pulled a frame from one of her extra boxes. You could order them in particular sizes -and in bulk, too- from pretty much anywhere for a lot less than simply picking up a frame at a store. Toki had followed her, squinting in the dim light.

"Does you haves another one? I wouldst likes to frames one, too!"

She pulled out another two, offering them to him. He smiled in delight. They stepped into the kitchen. Toki glanced around. It was the most cheerful room in her small apartments, painted a dark red colorful photos of places she'd visited and food she'd photographed. She sat down in the nook and pulled off the back of the frame. In a moment, she and Toki were smiling out from behind the glass. Toki had his in, too. The other picture took a little longer, but he eventually worked it out.

He smiled at her. "I'm glad yous liked it and decided to keeps it, but it's supper time. I's betters be goings to the dinner halls now."

Lilith hesitated, then placed her hand on his arm as he was about to rise. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I was going to make some lasagna." The leftovers would have fed her for another day or two, but it wasn't like she was hurting for grocery money these days.

Toki looked surprised for a moment, then sat back down. "I'd loves to."

Toki was absolutely full. He carried the picture frame and camera carefully, gently holding them under his arm as he opened to door to his suite. It was simple and cold. He suddenly missed the warm atmosphere of Lilith's apartments. There was a single nightstand beside his bed, and that's where he placed the framed photo of his new friend. She had looked so different withouit all of her makeup and things on. The other picture he placed on his small computer desk.

The guitarist sat down on his bed and stared at the little picture, smiling. It made him happy. Toki liked to consider the other members of Dethklok his friends, but none of the liked to sit around and talk with him. Lilith didn't try to make him feel dumb or put him down. And she even let him hug her without making a fuss. Not to mention, she made some really good food.

Toki rubbed his stomach, yawning.

A loud guitar solo screamed from his pocket. The Dethphone screamed angrily at him. He glanced at the screen. Skwisgaar. Toki sighed and answered his phone."Hullos?"

Skwisgaar's voice crackled angrily. "Where was yous at dinners, Toki?"

Toki scowled. "None's of your business, Skwisgaar."

The Swede scoffed. "What a dildoes. Just tells me, Tokies." The usual guitar notes sang through the phone and Toki wondered how the lead guitarist could hold the phone between his shoulder and head so that he could play without the spikes cutting at his skin.

"I ates withs my friend," he said stubbornly. "I hads lasaginas."

"Hmph. Wells, whatevers. We just wondereds where you was. You's never missed a pizzas night." Skwisgaar shifted. "We's goings outs drinkings at that ones bars. You's wants to goes?"

Toki stood, reaching for his wallet. "Yeahs, I guess I'll goes. Be there's in a minutes or twos." The phone clicked and he shoved it back in his pocket. He stared at the picture for a moment, then slid it in his wallet. The wallet went in the other pocket and he was out the door.

Lilith was washing dishes and nursing a glass of wine when the phone rang. It was Chopin's Funeral March. Ofdenson was calling. She squinted at the phone. It was nearly eleven. He'd never called this late before. She dried her hands with urgency and answered quickly.

"Ms. Roma."

She propped a hip on the counter and began to dry the glass Toki had used. "Sir?"

"The boys are going out tonight, and unfortunately, I won't be able to accompany them due to some pressing business dealing with their next concert. I need you to go with them and keep them out of trouble. The Klokateers will take care of any paparazzi that show up. I just need you to keep them from doing something stupid."

Lilith straightened. She wanted to protest but the prospect of overtime seemed pretty good. And hell, it was a Friday night. Why not go to a bar with a bunch of the most famous men on the planet.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be in the garage."

Toki lingered by the limo, his arms folded across his stomach. Pickles had already started in with a bottle of some expensive liquor and the others were lounging inside. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't particularly want to go out. If he'd had his way he would've stayed with Lilith the whole night, taking pictures and eating good things.

Maybe even a little hugging.

He looked up when he heard the door to the garage open, irritated to see Offdenson. Their manager had accompanied them on most of their outings since Murderface had ended up in the hospital.

Toki beamed when he saw it was Lilith standing in the doorway. She stepped into the garage shyly. When she caught sight of him, she relaxed a little and gave a little wave.

Unable to contain himself, he rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her. "You's goings with us?" He rubbed his chin in his sweet smelling hair and pulled back. "This will really bes a good nights then."

She grinned and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mr. Offdenson had some things to take care of and asked me to go with you and keep an eye on everyone and make sure it's fun for you all."

He wrapped his long fingers around her wrist and lead her to the limo. She clammored in after him. It was a lot more spacious than she'd thought and smelled strongly of alcohol.

Nathan stared at her for a moment. "Uh ... would you like a drink?"

Lilith smiled at him and shook her head. Toki gulped down a shot and scooted as close to her as he could without bordering on creepy. She smelled so nice and the urge to scoop her up and hold her close was overwhelming. He downed the next shot and stared out the window for the rest of the ride.