They tested each other the next week, and nothing interesting happened. They ate dinners, and he caught her sneaking looks at him from the floor, which never failed to make him smile, though he was quick to hide it lest anyone else see. Then one night, he saw caught a glimpse of Dev chatting with Sanna, and a few minutes later, Dev came slamming into the kitchen, glaring at Remi. "You. Me. Outside. Now."
Fuck.
Remi slammed the dish down and started muttering in French, but he followed Dev out to the side alley, where Dev turned on him. "You fucker, you mated to Kara's human friend!" Dev looked like he was about to laugh or about to groan. "I don't get why you're hiding it, man. She's a cute little firecracker." Remi snarled and Dev just laughed. "She is, you of all guys must get that. Why hide it? I know you can't see from the kitchen, but she gets a lot of attention, man." Another, darker snarl from Remi and Dev gave him a knowing look.
"I seen that look, frere. Hell, I've GIVEN that look to dipshits that think they'll be starin' after Sam. I know she ain't Becca, Rem, but she's a sweet little thing, and she likes you. A lot. Maybe enough to go through with it if you tell her the truth." He watched Remi for a second, and when he didn't respond, Dev laughed loudly. "Holy shit, you already told her didn't you?"
Remi shrugged, getting defensive. "I didn't much have a choice, did I?"
"Well now you sure don't. What'd she say?"
"Apparently she was already aware that we're not exactly human, thanks to Alex and Kara and that whole thing with Gautier. She's... not saying no."
"Then what's the holdup?"
"She's human, moron. She wouldn't last a few weeks."
"I think you're underestimating her."
"I think you're a braindead asshole, but you don't see me bragging about it." He snarled, going back inside. He paused inside the door, his eyes narrowing. Sanna was at a table, laughing with a group of people. Two girls and three boys, one of which was leaning too close for his liking. Sanna reached up to tighten her ponytail, and the boy's eyes followed the movement of her hands, dropping for a second to her chest, and back up to her eyes before she could catch him. Remi snarled, and his mood only darkened as he listened to the guy as he leaned even closer to her, practically touching her.
"Hey Sanna, we're going dancing after this, why don't you come with us once you're off?"
She smiled sweetly, but shook her head. "No thanks, David. I've got plans after work."
He rolled his eyes, like he'd heard that excuse a few times by now. "Come on, babe, that mysterious, nameless 'boyfriend' you keep talking about?" He scoffed, and the rest of the table laughed with him. Remi felt a weird pang as Sanna's smile turned a little strained. He was the cause of that strain. He was the reason she could only talk about a mysterious, nameless boyfriend, because he refused to let her talk about him. "When are you going to stop playing me and finally come out with us?" David asked, gesturing to him and his friends. The other two guys had lost interest, but the girls were watching, waiting to see what Sanna would say.
"When you learn to take a hint, Davey." She said, trying to sound light and teasing, and the girls laughed with her but David looked annoyed. He reached for her hand, which she quickly drew away from him, but his grip must have been tight, because he was still holding her wrist as she pulled away. With that movement, Remi's temper snapped for good and he stalked over to the table and grabbed David's wrist, pulling it off Sanna's almost hard enough to break it. "Remi!" She squealed in surprise as David pulled at his hand. "Hey man, let go!"
"Since you can't take a hint, here's an order; stay the fuck away from Sanna, got it?"
The guy nodded, looking more frightened as he realized he couldn't pull his wrist from Remi's grip. Remi let his wrist go, and reached to usher her away from the table and back to the bar. "You ok?"
She was trying to bite back a wide smile. "I'm fine, overreact-er. He was just hitting on me. I can handle some innocent flirting."
"I can't." He said, leaning in to kiss her on the lips in full sight of the bar. When he pulled away, she was staring at him in shock, a pleased and slightly dazed smile pulling at her lips. "If he touches you again, I'm breaking his fuckin' arm." He snapped, going back into the kitchen. He felt better, surprisingly. Better than he had in a long fucking time.