"She is both

Hellfire and holy water.

And the flavor you taste

Depends on how you

Treat her."

-Sneha Pal

It was easy to miss opportunities to speak to David, to apologize and face what she believed would be an apathetic acceptance, when she was so incredibly busy. The weekend prior to Thanksgiving was the final run for Les millions d'Arlequin, and the following two weeks, except for the holiday, were to be spent in rigorous and long practices until their opening night of The Nutcracker.

Except, it was hard to avoid all of David's friends when they worked there. Mush greeted her and Natalia Friday morning as they hurried across the lobby, trying not to be late for practice and probably failing considering their late night. They called out half-hearted hellos, neither looking at the kind, curly-headed man directly as they bolted for a carriage to the theater.

"It was awful, Hazel was sobbing and Jack and I were staring at each other and everyone was trying to help and…" Natalia let out a frustrated noise and Nina patter her back, murmuring comforts.

Natalia's Thanksgiving had crumbled just as fast as Nina's. She'd come home so upset by the evening, Nina hadn't found a way, yet, to tell her that she'd read the letters. That she had a brother. "It will be alright, sakhar." Sugar, she purred to her best friend, having already heard the full story and just letting Natalia vent about Jack's daughter's reaction to the two of them. "Children are adaptable, but they need time to adjust."

Natalia nodded her head, squared her shoulders and plastered a smile on for practice, the two of them silently agreeing to throw themselves into dancing and not dwell on their problems. For the first time in a long time, Nina hadn't been cast as the lead for a ballet, and to be perfectly honest she was excited about it. Natalia fit the role of Clara a thousand times more than Nina ever could, with her tiny stature and soft features, and Nina was looking forward to getting to be the Sugar Plum Fairy. Sergei, of course, was still the lead as both the Nutcracker and Prince parts, with Nikolai cast as the imposing Mouse King.

Nina watched as Natalia giggled a few times during their scene where Clara was supposed to be frightened of the Mouse King. "I'm sorry, Nikolai, it's just so hard to find you intimidating when I know how sweet you are." She heard Natalia say to him, causing her to raise her eyebrows at her best friend.

Nikolai took it in stride, suggesting softly, "Imagine I'm the man who entered your room, but instead of running, he came for you."

That stopped the giggles, and Nina sent a few scowls Nikolai's way for being so unnecessarily mean. The man was always so mean and harsh, it was a wonder Natalia even put up with him.

Not to mention everyone knew who Nikolai's father was.

Except, perhaps, Natalia. Nina rolled her eyes as her friend's continued obliviousness at all things Kostova, and then jumped on stage for her scene with her cavalier of fairies. It was somehow more exhilarating to dance when it was to avoid her thoughts and worries, letting herself go to the music, muscles warming from the dancing, she felt like she was one with the other dancers.

After practice, they headed back to the hotel and Nina found herself hanging back when Jack was out front waiting to see Natalia, his face breaking into a grin the moment he spotted her. Nina watched Natalia run full speed toward him, smiling as he let her crash into him and they murmured to each other before going inside to talk.

Sighing, Nina leaned against the wall for a moment before catching a reporter coming down the street. Any story, even one as silly as her leaning out front of the hotel, seemed to be enough to bring them flocking, so she ducked into the alley and headed back to the service entrance, hoping someone would let her in back there.

As luck would have it, Skittery was just lighting a cigarette as she turned the corner and he grinned at her, "Nina, how's it rollin'? Everyone's all abuzz about you screamin' at Davey and might I say it's about time?"

She rolled her eyes, but was glad to see him. "You mean you didn't hear it first hand?" She inquired, sitting down beside him. Nina liked Skittery, though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly about him it was. He looked disheveled most of the time, though mainly for David's benefit, but he was funny and almost every other word out of his mouth dripped in sarcasm. His ability to pick up on what annoyed others was also a gift that made for hours of entertainment. She'd eaten dinner in the hotel one night a week or so ago, when David was busy with some hotel debacle or other, and she'd watched Skittery mercilessly tease another waiter by simply moving certain things; whether it was the pad he took orders on, his pen, or the tray of drinks, Skittery spent a lot of time and energy doing it quietly and just so subtly that he never got caught doing it.

"Nah, I left with the street kids to spend Thanksgiving with my brother. Missed the whole scene, sadly." He did look bummed about it as he took a drag of his cigarette and a lock of dark, brown hair fell into his eyes.

She couldn't help but chuckle and she tilted her head, "Can I try a cigarette?" She asked, suddenly feeling like she wanted to be just a touch reckless.

"Shoah." He handed her the one he'd been smoking and she raised her brows as she took it and hesitantly brought it to her lips. "It's not a cigar, ya gotta inhale it into your lungs."

Nina wanted to ask him why he thought she'd tried cigars, but she was already sucking in the tobacco, breathing it into her lungs before a coughing fit took hold and she handed back the cigarette as she pressed a hand to her chest and coughed out all the smoke.

"Weren't you in Paris before this? Don't they smoke all the time?" Skittery asked, patting her back and attempting to hide the humor in his tone.

She didn't reply until the coughs stopped racking her throat, and she could breathe again, "They do, but my director forbid us all. Said it ruined the lungs and made dancing harder. But, soon I will retire, what do I care?"

"Disappointing your boss, too, Neen? That's the spirit!" Skittery handed back the cigarette and she gave it another go, the coughing afterwards not as body-racking as the first time. "Ya gettin' the hang of it." He told her, smiling when he took it back, brown eyes warm as hot cocoa.

But, gazing into them made her miss David's icy blues and she dropped her eyes and sighed. "I didn't know you had a brother." She stated, more for something to talk about to fill the silence and to keep her from thinking about the man she'd rather be with.

"Yeah, Andy. He'll be sixteen, soon. Nothin' like realizin' ya little brother's gettin' older to make yous' feel old." The fondness in his voice as he spoke of his brother made her smile and he grinned back, "Cheer up, Neen. I'm sure David will fix things between you two soon."

Her smile fell a bit as she took the proffered cigarette, "I-"

"Skittery!" The familiar, irritated voice came a second before Skittery grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the service door behind them right before it was thrown open by none other than David Jacobs himself. He froze taking in the two of them, the cigarette in Nina's one hand and Skittery's hand still holding her other one.

"Hey, Davey. I was just finishing a cigarette and I was comin' back in." Skittery said, dropping her hand like it was on fire and shaking his hair out of his face as he moved to go back into the kitchens.

David let him go in but not before passing him a dark look that didn't go unnoticed to Nina. Which thrilled her a little bit, because it meant that David did care, at least a little bit. She dropped the cigarette and stepped it out, searching for something to say to break the sudden, tense silence that fell between them. "We were just talking." She murmured, aware that she didn't need to tell him anything but unable to bear the thought of him thinking she was doing anything other than talking with his friends.

"That's what people say when they were doing something else." He retorted, snidely.

She folded her arms over her chest, "Or when all they were doing was talking." She glared up at him, in the doorway, "Have I ever lied to you, David?"

His jaw ticked for a moment before he sighed and his shoulders relaxed and he answered her, "No, Nina. You're right. I'm sorry." He paused before stepped out and shutting the door behind him, "And I need to apologize about yesterday."

"David-" She started.

He shook his head, "No, hear me out, I'm really very sorry about the file. I didn't mean for you to find out about it that way. I would have told you eventually, it's no secret, I promise. But, I hated that you stumbled upon it and I know it made you feel awful and I…just, haven't let any women close since…well, and I'm not good at this kind of stuff." He paused, as though to continue, but Nina stepped forward and placed a hand on his cheek, stopping all words as she gazed up at him.

"This kind of stuff like a relationship?" She asked, softly, hoping too much that maybe he did want to fight for her.

He laid his hand over hers, "And fighting."

Nina sighed, swept away quite suddenly by her sweet, work-a-holic hotelier and she felt the anger from the fight all but disappear as she gazed into his concerned eyes. Icy blue that made her insides heat up, "I would have liked to find out from you, but I am sorry for yelling and not giving you room to defend yourself. I needed time to…process."

He gripped her shoulders, but not hurtfully, and told her, "I want to make it up to you. Take you some place special." His earnestness caused her to smile the first real one in twenty-four hours. It wasn't a big spectacle, this apology, but it felt good. It felt right. And he obviously still wanted a chance with her. She hoped this make-up date he planned would ease her fears, prove that this would work.

"Will you tell me?" She asked, gazing up at him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her closer, making her suddenly breathless.

David's eyes hooded just a touch, "No, it's a surprise but a good one, I promise." He gave a small, silly smile, "It just remembered it. Are you free Sunday?"

"Mmm, yes. I think I can cancel my plans." She joked lightly before wrapping her arms around his neck and murmuring, "Now kiss me, David."

Dutifully, he obeyed her, but the kiss was not exactly chaste or obsequious. It was hot and demanding, him claiming her lips with a need and passion he usually kept a tight rein on. For a moment, she was too stunned by the heat to really fall into it, but then she felt it consume and light her insides up like a forest fire. It shook her foundation, realizing this was his reaction to almost losing her over a silly fight, and Nina felt so treasured and adored she was on the border of giving him anything he wanted.

Until he broke off the kiss, his breaths heavy in her ear as he pressed his head into the curve of her neck and shoulder, "Nina." He gasped, "Don't leave me to face my family without you again." He murmured, which was as close to an I love you as one could get so early on in their time together.

Anyway, with those words she found herself hopelessly in love with him. It was so obvious to her now, as she ran her fingers through his curly hair and murmured small, Russian endearments. He kissed her neck lightly, causing her to let out a low groan, "David, perhaps in the service alley isn't the best place for that." Though, she definitely wanted to come back to those delightful neck kisses.

He pulled away immediately, brushing his hands over her hair to smooth down any fly-aways and he kissed her forehead lightly, "Alright, let me walk you back up to your room."

"Or dinner?" She asked, hopefully.

Chuckling, he opened the back door and ushered her in, "Bernard, I need food for this lovely lady, now!"

A flurry of vulgar, angry French swear words filtered from around the corner and Nina gasped and laughed as she comprehended what the Chef was saying. David eyed her before his eyes widened, "What's he saying?" He whispered, eyes alight as he watched her laugh.

She barely gasped out the translation, "He said he would…sauté your balls and mix them into his next batch of bouillabaisse. But, with lots of curse words in between."

He hmphed, "That little talent of yours will definitely come in handy when he's fighting with Blink." He slipped his hand into hers and led her to one of the small, private booths on the one side of the restaurant, sliding in on the same side as her and wrapping an arm around her waist, "Is this alright?" He asked, shyly.

"Mm, yes, but not close enough." She murmured back to him, feeling reckless again and she scooted in the booth so she was right against him, basking in the warmth and solidness of David Jacobs.

Skittery stepped over to their table, looking just a touch uneasy, and she felt David tense, "Looks like you fixed things, Davey. Atta boy. What can I get you two ta drink?" His words belied the caution he felt as he stayed just out of reach of David.

David looked at her, "A scotch and a vodka." He told him shortly, and Skittery nodded and beat it out of there quicker than a bat out of hell.

"David." Nina purred, reaching over to lightly squeeze his thigh, "Skittery and I were talking about his brother and he told me not to worry, that you would fix everything between us."

She watched as her words visibly eased the tenseness in his shoulder and he peeked at her from the corner of his eye, "Really?"

Nodding, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Really. Your friends care about you. Skittery is a sweetheart, but I'm looking at the man I want to spend my extra hours with." She met his gaze steadily as she said the words and he leaned in to kiss her again, but restrained himself compared to earlier.

"I trust you, Nina." He told her, "But that doesn't mean I like the thought of your lips on the same cigarette as Skittery's."

"I promise it won't happen again. Only your lips for mine." Nina said, smiling and giving him a quick peck to prove her point.

A/N: Thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers, bexlynne, WordyAF, and my guest! You guys rock, never change, hugs and kisses!

Review please!

Truly,

Joker is Poker with a J~