Mocha Latte

-Kitty

Chapter 4: Cozy Evening


The wind was gusty and the rain came down in icy cold sheets. The pair of hunched figures rushed hastily into the courtyard of the apartment complex, feet slapping wetly in the shallow puddles. His pants clung uncomfortably to his lower limbs, impairing movement and making his legs feel like cold hunks of flesh dangling beneath him. A low grumble was bubbling under his breath and grew steadily the longer he stayed in this drenched, cold state. The slimmer figure in front of him made a far different sound and was laughing maniacally as she fumbled with her keys to let them both inside the building.

"C'mon, c'mon!" she cried over her shoulder, the blustery wind whipping her words away from her lips.

"It's definitely a hot pot night!" the woman declared as she burst through the door of her apartment, sprinkling a shower of raindrops from her drenched hair. Behind her, a significantly less enthused individual stalked in, eyeing her with suspicion that, at this point, was more of a stubborn put-on than anything else. The female figure quickly shed her damp sweater onto the dejected looking couch at one end of the room, breezing into the kitchen to find the various meats and vegetables in support of her declaration.

He stood back, dripping in the doorway, mentally fighting the battle between just leaving now and waiting until after filling his stomach. He'd been questioning his presence beside her the entire walk back, mood turning sour the more water seeped under the poncho he wore. The young woman popped her head out from the kitchen, casting her eyes about before focusing on his stiff, grumpy figure in her doorway.

"Well, come on in and make yourself useful!" She said, "And take that poncho off, you're soaked through!"

He begrudgingly shifted to bring one foot and then the next into the cramped homey space. His skin was thoroughly chilled in the afternoon shower and his jeans stuck tightly to his thighs. The fabric clung to his skin and the discomfort added greatly to his sour mood. The crinkly plastic poncho stuck to him and he eventually shredded the blasted material, a growl developing at the back of his throat. The peculiar woman peeped out from the kitchen to witness his grumpy spell and didn't bother the stifle her giggle. His grumble grew louder in response but she resolutely ignored his growls and moved across the room to dig into a closet, eventually pulling out a thick, fluffy towel.

"C'mere you," she commanded. She seemed greatly amused by his reaction to the order. His ears flattened and both his fangs stuck out in a menacing growl. 'No one orders me around, bitch!'

She simply rolled her eyes and stepped forward, bravely in the face of a snarling beast. Raising the towel up in between them, she swiftly took him by either side of his face and before he could snap his fangs or slash his claws, she was massaging his hair dry with the softness and murmuring to him softly.

"There," she said, "Doesn't that feel nice?"

He was positively stone stiff for a few rigid seconds before he was able to command his muscles to move. The girl jumped when his fist came up to roughly put an end to her confidently massaging fingers. There was a little piece of him that regretted the force of his movements as he ripped her hands away and stepped back, toweling his own hair dry and roughly tossing the damp material back at her. His eyes were narrowed, clearly indicating that he still didn't trust her. The girl didn't miss a beat, simply rolling up the damp towel and tossing it aside before turning around and digging through her closet again.

"I have some spare sweatpants you can use…," she muttered, "Ah! Here we are!"

She pulled out a bright red monstrosity and held it up to him expectantly. He eyed the gaudy attire with disgust, not at all interested in the clothing. Again, she took his reluctance in stride and simply stuffed the soft, fluffy material into his arms before whirling around and returning to the kitchen. He shifted uneasily, gingerly holding the fabric out and away from himself until he had to admit that warm, dry clothes were infinitely better than clingy, wet ones.

By this time, the gaping hole in his abdomen had stitched together enough for him to balance on one leg and peel the annoying, damp cloth of his jeans off his cold legs. The tinkle of a giggle could be heard from the kitchen and his eyes snapped over to make sure no one was getting a peep show. The human wench seemed completely immersed in the business of prepared something savory and delicious smelling and he proceeded to reluctantly step into the softness, almost startled by the sensation his nerves fired up to his brain.

The stark contrast of cold, stiff jean to soft, pliant sweatpants made his skin tingle and he struggled to stifle his innate reaction to savor the feeling and attempt to look displeased with his surroundings. A clatter erupted from the kitchen as he tugged off the oversized sweater and stood half naked in her living room just as the woman emerged, arms laden with dishes and chopsticks. She paused when she caught sight of him, her expression softening and she blinked once or twice before her eyes refocused on his face. She smiled widely at him.

"Glad to see you're healing nicely," she chirped brightly. Using a foot to nudge the coffee table out of the corner and into the center of the room, she clumsily set down the dishware before returning to the kitchen, reemerging with a portable gas burner.

"Think you can figure out how to turn that on?" she asked over her shoulder, breezing back into the kitchen. He narrowed his eyes and stood stock still. 'Still not taking orders from no one bitch!' he thought to himself. The girl huffed a little to herself to see he hadn't moved an inch when she stepped out again, this time carefully balancing a steaming pot of broth. She rolled her eyes at him teasingly before finishing the rest of the set up and flicking on the burner. The savory scent of broth and herbs permeated the room and he couldn't help himself from salivating. The woman had left a window cracked open for ventilation and finally sat down beside the table, perusing her little stash of thinly sliced meats she'd laid out.

"Well?" her voice cut through the background noise of gently boiling water, "You gonna sit down or what?"

About two minutes. That was the longest his will could manage before breaking down and submitting to his hunger and the delectable scents rising from the pot. The woman, for her part, graciously shifted around the dishes and began heaping steaming beef and lamb slices in front of him without so much as a snort or snarky remark. She recommended the ponzu and sesame dipping sauces around a full mouth and continued chowing down. The meal was consumed silently, with clacking chopsticks and clattering dishes, and an occasional slurp as the young woman joyfully and noisily sipped at the now, meaty, fatty broth.

"Ahh…," she said with a sigh, "That really hits the spot!"

She leaned back against the couch behind her, spreading out her arms on either side of her head and sinking down like slowly melting wax. Though he wasn't much for manners, he did try to stifle a belch but failed spectacularly, resulting in an explosion of bubbly giggles across from him and a bright red stain on his cheeks. The young woman sighed as her laughter tapered off and she groaned to push herself to her feet.

"Glad you liked it!" she said casually, stacking up the empty dishes and disappearing into the kitchen. The whirring of the overused kettle once again chimed from the doorway and moments later, she re-appeared holding two mismatched steaming mugs. She set both down on the cleared table and sank to the ground again, tugging off a soft, fluffy blanket from the couch.

"Come sit on this side," she asked him, patting the ground beside her. He instantly stiffened, the initial euphoria of a fully satisfying meal, vaporizing and replaced with caution and suspicion. She seemed to take in all this and shrugged.

"Hey," she said nonchalantly, bringing the steaming mug close in her hands and letting the vapor tickled the underside of her chin, "You do you."

He glanced at her askance, admitting to himself that it did look quite comfortable to be snuggled up underneath the thick blanket, her hands sticking out like little caterpillar legs carefully bringing the mug up to her lips. She yawned wide, her head craning back against the couch.

"You should finish the tea," she said, "I put ginger and honey in it. I'll get you a towel and a toothbrush. Take your time but I think I'm gonna hit the hay."

He retained his statue still position beside the table, his ears following her as she bumbled around the apartment and performed her nightly rituals. When she softly padded back to the couch, falling into the sagging cushions and tucking the blankets under her chin, he realized that he'd been taking up her bed, and she'd been awkwardly making do with the small, beat up sofa. A strange tremble inside of him tried to reach his heart in reaction to this epiphany, but he shoved it back down quickly. And when he glanced up again at the figure on the couch, she was breathing evenly, warm and bundled, and there was something extremely peaceful about the atmosphere in the quiet room.

His golden eyes surveyed the dark, cluttered space, the ornaments hanging on the walls, the muted ticking of the mounted clock, the soft breathing on the couch. There was a drip coming from the kitchen sink and outside, quiet whirring grumbles as cars drove past. Eventually, when he'd absorbed as much peace and tranquility as he could from the space, he stood, gingerly, staring down at the sleeping lump in front of him. He hadn't expected to feel so conflicted. It had only been a day and a night and already he felt tendrils of longing that found nooks and crannies in his walls and creeped into them like vines. One more night would be a night too long.

He cast his eyes around, trying to find his jeans. After a minute, he noticed them hanging out of the laundry hamper and briefly debated leaving them. Then he glanced down at the bright red sweatpants and grimaced, and went over to rescue his pants. There was no sign of his shirt, it was probably in tatters anyway. For a moment, he pondered taking the sweater he'd cast aside earlier… no. He wasn't a thief. In very short order he was ready to leave and glanced back over to the couch. The furniture was short, the curled figure could barely fit, even fully folded with her knees tucked under her chin. He huffed to himself, annoyed by his guilt, then rolled his eyes and stomped toward the sleeping girl. It had been a very long time since he'd handled something without trying to kill it. He was awkward, and jerky, but the woman gave no indication of awakening. She was warm against his chest and there again, he felt a strange trembling in his stomach that tried to reach for his heart. Stiffly, he stalked over to the bed and tried to lay her gently on the mattress. She sighed as she sank into the pillow and he sighed to be done with it all. He let his eyes roam the room one last time, lingering again on the prone, slumbering figure, before turning and heading toward the door.

"You're welcome back, anytime you need," her voice slice through the silence. He froze, heart jolting in fright, "My charms recognize you now, you'll always have a safe place here."

Far too clear and far too awake, her voice darted out to grab hold of something deep inside him and he resisted the trembling that once again vibrated upward from his gut. He swallowed. He sniffed. And then he walked briskly to the door, opened it with more abruptness than he'd intended, and slipped out. The door eased shut behind him and silenced rushed in. Outside, he stood silently for a short while, frowning at the welcome mat, surprised by how hard it was to take the next step.

And then he paused. He took a breath and squared his shoulders. And then he willed his feet to move, one step at a time, back into the darkness and the unknown.


A/N: sorry for the delayed update… this story is really just supposed to be a little escape for me whenever I need a break and boy do I need one right now. Been traveling for work for a month straight so I'm really glad I had a chance to sit out and just vegetate. Got another update for my other story on the way so stay tuned! Hopefully it meets expectations!

Ciao y'all!