1. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

"Msye?" It took a few long seconds for him to bear the light enough to open his eyes. A dark hand moving some of the hair from his face, noticing how soft they felt. It was the most heavenly way to wake up in his opinion, the only content way to wake up. "Bonzour." He had enough in him to nod his head in acknowledgement at the singsong voice, happy enough being doted on by a woman despite how much he would prefer to close his eyes again. She laughed softly before she removed her hand from his face. "I've done my best to let you rest but I'm afraid you must go."

"I think I'd rather stay, Marie." She struggled to contain her smile, avoiding his eyes while she held a hand to her lips. He watched with a smile too but the confusion for her amusement grew the longer she failed to explain herself.

Once enough time had passed, she faced him, "Michelle. But close," An exacerbated sigh came from deep within him as he realized his fault. Perhaps she was showing him mercy to give him a second chance. It was just a shame that second chance wasn't worth it with him around. "Now you really have to go, Feliciano. Maybe not so many people will see you around here so early." At least she had enough foresight to remember his name – He was really kicking himself now but he obliged enough to roll himself out of bed and to his feet.

"I think I need to get my brain checked, can't remember things as sharp." Michelle let out an amused sigh, sitting at her vanity while he tried to find each item of clothing. This being her apartment, she seemed to care very little about being bare in just a peach slip.

"If there's any reason to have your brain checked it wouldn't be for your memory," She shook her head. "You remember a lot of things." Despite saying very little, Feliciano didn't appreciate the way she seemed to know a lot more than she was letting on. Attempting to quell the paranoia, he tried to move on.

"Oh, do I? I wouldn't know, I can't remember." Flicking a bottle of wine with the tip of her nail, he could hear the click interrupting any further thoughts for good.

"Too much wine. I don't get to have such a luxury so often."

"Maybe I can give you that luxury again?" She slumped visibly, a sheepish smile on her face. "Oh – Don't feel any pressure to…"

"You're sweet but… Well, you know how it is." No, not really. Nobody seemed ready to give him ways to stop eliciting such a response from women. Catching them was easy but reeling them in was the hard part.

"You know where I am if you change your mind." She nodded but he knew she was quite concrete on the issue. Throwing his jacket over an arm he felt a sudden coldness having to leave.

Cigarette smoke filled her lungs the second she walked outside. There was a nervousness uncharacteristic of her whenever she spoke aloud. It wasn't often she had to open her mouth; she didn't even talk to coworkers but all she knew was that people didn't take too kindly to her voice.

Hesitating slightly, she cleared her throat before saying, "Excuse me." It was supposed to sound a little more polite and less like an order to gain attention. It seemed to have the unintended effect of spooking the stranger into turning around sharply with a shriek, his cigarette nearly falling out of his lips.

"Am I bothering you?" Her fingers tightened around her bag, nodding at his question. There was a tightness in her chest when she realized how terrible of an influence her loner brother was, it wasn't like he was any good at conversation either. "And how can I help fix that?" He seemed amused but she didn't take well to the way he was looking at her.

"Move." It was then that his face turned pale, shuffling over with mouth agape.

"Well…" He stammered, moving to his feet and out of the way. Her embarrassment was immeasurable, hiding her face by looking at her feet each step she took. "Need a hand?"

"No." She squeaked.

"You should get something that fits you better so you don't walk like that. I could get you a nicer pair!" He suggested, a little too enthusiastically. There was an urge to kick this man in the shin that overcame her, wondering how he could be so forward.

"These fit just fine," She said, offence in her voice and face. "I just think my feet are more interesting than you." And it also just so happened the heel was an inch too tall for her liking, not only did she look like a giraffe next to this man, she also walked like a particularly drunk one too.

"Ah! Of course!" Perhaps in spite of her harsh tone, he beamed. "A real German girl!" It was some surprise to her to hear her own language outside of her home, maybe even pleasant despite who it was coming from. "How am I? A little rusty?" It was embarrassing how charmed she was – To have someone try for her, just this once.

"I'm late." She hurried, deciding it wasn't worth the trouble of getting to know him. He was noticeably of different standing, his shoes a little too nice for her to be comfortable around – Perhaps it was why he had pointed her own out, maybe he had a knack for embarrassing her already.

"It was nice meeting you." He managed to fit in whilst she rushed past him. It was no matter; he was just nobody to her.