Laina woke with a start, Ryo stood before her with the tv remote. Blinking she looked at the clock and rubbed her eyes, she must have fallen asleep while watching tv. She stretched and groaned.
"Sorry, Ryo. I fell asleep watching the movie," Laina said standing up. Ryo hit the light switch and walked to the stairs. Laina stood for a minute letting her eyes adjust. The moonlight shined through the blinds and she followed him up, a deep purring coming from behind her. She froze for a moment but then remembered the white tiger. Her fur shone in the moonlight as she passed Laina and followed Ryo to his room. Cautiously she stepped up the stairs and walked into the guest room. The moonlight lit up the room from the two large windows that looked out into the forest. Laina opened up the window, a slight chill from the night touched her. She heard the sounds of crickets and smiled as the stars glittered in the distance. This view was amazing, leaving the window open she got into bed and quickly fell back asleep to the sounds of the crickets chirping.
There was a chill in the air when Laina woke. She had pulled the blanket over her and noticed the sun streaming in through the window. She flinched as she heard shattering coming from downstairs. Sitting up she put her feet on the floor only to find fur and a slight growl. Looking down she spotted the tiger that scared her so easily yesterday. She had to stretch her leg pretty far to get over the sleeping tiger and she realized the door was open to the room. Her bare feet padded across the cold floor and she stopped at the kitchen. Broken glass covered the floor by the table and Ryo was sitting there with his head on his arms.
Laina reached out and touched his back to comfort him. She had barely put her hand on him when her arm was grabbed and she was forced onto the table, her arm twisted painfully behind her.
"Who the fuck are you and how did you get…oh, yeah. Shit, sorry Laina," Ryo said letting her go, "I'm so sorry, I forgot you stayed last night. Did I hurt you?"
"A little, but I'll be all right. It was my fault, I guess I snuck up on you without realizing it," Laina replied, rubbing her arm.
"Sorry, without my eyesight I guess-," Ryo started.
"No, don't worry about it, I'm fine," Laina said putting a hand on his shoulder. It was warm and hard. Just touching his bare skin made her feel like she was going to melt. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him. She gasped as his other hand came up to her neck and jawline. Her heart raced as she thought he was going to kiss her, but then she felt his soft lips on her forehead.
"I'm so sorry," He said, resting his cheek there. Laina took a deep breath, smelling the intoxicating scent that was pure Ryo.
"It's okay," she said pulling away. He sat down in the chair as she grabbed a broom and swept the glass up. It had been a glass of water.
"Hey, girl. Do you know how to make coffee?" Ryo asked sitting back down in the chair. She sighed and went to work making a pot of coffee.
"I'd appreciate it if you called me Laina, not girl," she said putting the coffee grinds into the filter and hitting the start button.
"Well LAINA, I'd appreciate it if you left me alone!" Ryo said sitting back in the chair. She watched as the rising sun glistened across his tan torso. A growl came from the other room startling her. The aroma of the fresh coffee reminding her of the task at hand.
"Well Ryo, if I left you alone how would you get coffee?" she asked, setting a coffee cup in front of him, "Do you want creamer? Sugar?"
"Both," Ryo replied reaching out and touching the hot mug. Laina put in the cream and sugar how she likes it and stirred it with a spoon while he sat holding the mug and waiting for her to finish. She noticed that when she walked away he pulled the mug up to take a sip, and she smiled. White Blaze came sauntering in. Ryo moaned as he drank the coffee, it had probably been a while since he had some. Laina watched him savor the coffee and then hit the cabinet of the island in his kitchen hard with her knees as the tiger walked past, she fell back onto the tiger and gasped. Ryo chuckled.
"Did you just biff it?" he asked tilting his head.
Laina closed her eyes and shook her head, most of her body had landed on the tiger so she rubbed her fur and pulled herself back up.
"No, your tiger tried to take me out! Good thing I wasn't holding that coffee, or she'd be a brown tiger," Laina said feeling a blush of embarrassment cross her cheeks. She really did need to work on her leg strength, not that it would be that effective around a big ass tiger. Rubbing her sore knees, she went and made herself some coffee. The tiger sat looking up at her expectantly. Laina looked back at it trying to figure out what she wanted. White Blaze purred and stood back up, and Laina backed up until her back touched the counter.
"She likes you for some reason," Ryo said, "White Blaze, don't associate with the help."
Laina shook her head as she glared at him. White Blaze made a little growl, turning her head to Ryo.
"Don't tell me you're ganging up on me too," Ryo grumbled to the tiger.
"How did you get a tiger for a pet anyway? I mean she seems pretty tame," Laina said digging around the kitchen for breakfast stuff. Finding some eggs and bacon she went about making them breakfast, hey it's better than cereal.
"She found me, actually. And she's not tame, well not really. If I wasn't here and she didn't know you she would probably just kill you," Ryo said with a shrug, "Or if you threatened me or my friends, she'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"Oh, that makes me feel better," Laina said sarcastically, "I'm not sure if she's staring at me because she doesn't trust me or because she's hungry and wants to eat me."
Ryo laughed, "She's probably hungry and hoping you'll share whatever it is your making. It smells good. Bacon?"
Laina laughed, "Yeah, bacon and eggs."
"To be honest I'm kind of hoping you'll share too," Ryo said before taking another sip of coffee.
"Oh, well that's good. I might share with you because you were nice enough to let me stay, but I don't think this is the kind of food for a tiger," Laina said glancing at White Blaze and watching the tiger lick it's lips.
"No, it's not. Don't give her any. She usually finds her own food but sometimes I'll give her a treat of steak. It's probably in the freezer," Ryo said. Laina put a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of Ryo, setting a fork down beside it. Then she went and started digging through the freezer, finding a bag of chopped up steak. She pulled it out and set it in the sink to thaw. When she turned around Ryo's plate was empty, the fork in his hand.
"Is there any more?" he asked. Laina shook her head and gave him her plate, settling for a bowl of cereal.
"I think I'll run by the store today and get some more supplies," Laina said sitting down with her bowl of cereal as Ryo devoured a second plate, "Slow down, you're going to make yourself throw up."
Ryo laughed and shook his head, "Sorry, It's just really good."
"So when is Seiji coming? Maybe I should let him know I'm staying so he can bring Anna," Laina said. She figured she would probably call anyway and let him know she wouldn't be there for the training this week. Her mind raced over things she could do. Maybe she could get an apartment, or rent a room somewhere.
"He doesn't usually come until Sunday. He teaches classes," Ryo said sadly, "Touma doesn't come anymore. He used to come on Wednesdays, and Shu comes by Friday."
"That makes Shu the supplier," Laina said raising an eyebrow. Ryo laughed.
"Actually Shin would bring beer, too. So don't go thinking Shu is the Devil or anything like that. Shu does eat a lot though, so be prepared," Ryo said, "He usually brings me some food too though. It's not like I can go out shopping like this. I'd probably buy a box of detergent thinking it's cereal."
Laina laughed, "That means we're going shopping together, huh? You can pick out what you want, instead of having to eat what's brought to you."
Ryo looked thoughtful, "Actually I think I might do that. I mean, if you don't mind having to take me… It's time I got out."
Laina smiled, "You know I'm proud of you. That is a good step in the right direction."
Ryo's eyes widened in surprise, "You're proud of me?"
"Don't you back track on me now. Just make sure you're wearing a shirt and shoes," Laina said, "Or they might kick us out… Make that fully clothed please. I don't want you trying to walk around with your junk hanging out."
Ryo laughed, "One time, to get you out! I'm not a nudist."
"Coulda fooled me," Laina said finishing her coffee and cereal. Ryo laughed and she got up, taking her bowl and cup to the sink. She was surprised to hear footsteps behind her and turned to see Ryo holding his empty mug and plates. She smiled taking them from him.
"Thanks," she said turning to wash them.
"No problem. I'm going to get dressed, or maybe undressed," he said laughing as he walked away. Laina shook her head.
She thawed the meat the rest of the way in the microwave, leaving a good size bowl for White Blaze, which she gulped down barely even tasting it. Then they went to the store. Ryo wore sunglasses, a hat, and brought his stick. She was happy to see him fully clothed. She ran up to her room to change as well. When she came back down Ryo was petting white blaze and talking softly to her.
"You ready?" Laina asked opening the door.
"As I'll ever be, I guess," Ryo sighed and followed her out closing the door on White Blaze, so she couldn't follow. I mean who would allow a tiger into a grocery store? Laina laughed imagining people's reaction to a tiger following them. She could picture her sitting in front of the counter of the meat department.
"I promised her I'd get her more steak," Ryo said, easily taking the steps. He followed her to her little car, not even using the sticks. She clicked the button to unlock it and as she reached for the handle, she touched his hand. He opened the door for her and waited for her to get into the driver's seat before he closed it. Then he went to the passenger's side.
"Thanks, I think you're the first guy I ever had do that," Laina said turning the key into the ignition. The car took a couple times to start.
"Third time's a charm," Laina said with a little laugh, "My cars not perfect but she runs."
With that Laina drove them to the grocery store. She could tell Ryo was just pretending to use the stick. He didn't actually need it. His senses are really good. He went straight for the bananas.
"Can we get some fresh fruit?" Ryo asked.
"Absolutely," Laina said grabbing a good bunch of bananas. She tried to calculate as they went along and bought a few things. She hoped there would be enough in her bank account. There should be, but if Wyatt had gotten a hold of her account, she would probably have nothing, and he might find out where she is. She felt nervous as they went around the store. Ryo stopped her by gently grabbing her arm.
"Hey, do they have those ice cream things? The Mochi? I like Mango," Ryo said and Laina looked into the freezer next to her and laughed. How the hell did he know exactly where they were?
"Got it," Laina said grabbing a few boxes of different flavors.
"Relax, you seem kind of stressed," Ryo said, "You do know I'm paying, right? Is that what you're worried about?"
Laina let out a breath and her shoulders dropped, "Thanks, I was just worrying if I had enough, and also if Wyatt was watching the account."
Ryo chuckled, "No problem. Get what you like. Also get some deodorant. I know you didn't bring any with you."
Laina smelled her armpit, forgetting she had worked out yesterday and agreed, "Yeah, I stink. I guess I better get shower stuff too."
Laina noticed that Ryo seemed to know exactly where everything was. Maybe the store hasn't changed around in a while. She noticed he would stop and ask for something exactly where it was. One time he even grabbed the box and asked what flavor it was. They completely passed the cereal. Laina even noticed Ryo sneer a bit as they walked past. She figured he must be really tired of cereal. When Laina grabbed a package of bacon he reached out and added another one to the cart. She looked at a carton of eggs to make sure none were broken and he grabbed another one and handed it to her.
"We need this much?" Laina asked.
Ryo smiled sheepishly, "I'm a growing boy."
Laina laughed and checked the carton before adding it to the pile. As they checked out, she noticed the checker kept glancing at him. Laina also noticed that the cost was going past her budget.
"It's good to see you out and about, Sanada," the checker said as he continued scanning items.
"Thanks, Hiro," Ryo said with a smile as he pulled out his wallet. He slid the card in and waited for Hiro to finish.
"Make sure you help him load it in," Hiro said to the bagger as they finished bagging the food and Ryo signed his name.
"Thanks, Hiro. See you next time," Ryo said with a wave. The bagger helped us load up the car. We had to put some in the back seat. Ryo gave the bagger a good tip, which made him smile as he took the cart and headed back to the store.
"Hey, do you see the Mochi anywhere?" Ryo asked, "Grab me a box of the mango. I think you got some other flavors too, right? Which ones did you get?"
Laina had already grabbed a box of the treat, figuring they earned it, "I already grabbed Mango, but there's also chocolate or strawberry, or vanilla."
Ryo held out his hand and she put the box in it. She pulled out of the parking spot and made her way back to the cabin. Ryo handed her one before he reached in for his own. Laina hoped it wouldn't get messy. Her phone rang as she drove but she ignored it. She'd call them back when they got to Ryo's. As they pulled up Laina noticed a fancy black car parked in front of Ryo's, with a baby seat in the back.
"Someone's here," Laina said as she slid it into park. Ryo's head tilted and he opened the door. He got out and walked to the steps and froze.
"It's Seiji, Anna, and Mason!" Ryo said happily, "Good thing we got more mochi!"
Laina expected him to run in and greet them, but he surprised her when he left his stick on the porch and came back. Laina had her arms full as she passed him. He grabbed twice as much. She opened the door and smiled as Seiji and Anna were sitting on the couch, Mason was climbing white blaze.
"Hey man, come help us unload the car. I got Mochi!" Ryo said with a huge grin on his face.
"Mochi!" Mason yelled slapping his hand down on the tiger. Laina laughed as they took the groceries in and started putting them away.