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A few days later, Lily was just getting home from a long, exhausting day, teaching four classes, and taking her workshop for her upcoming meditation class that would be starting in the fall. Which, despite being a workshop on teaching meditation, Lily didn't find at all relaxing. Now all she wanted was a long hot bath, a couple glasses of the Chardonnay in her fridge, and her bed. Instead, when she got up the stairs to her apartment, she laid eyes on a tall, well built male form that she'd come to know quite intimately. He was clad in a fitted black tee that showed off broad shoulders and muscled chest chest and hid what she knew were washboard abs, and black cargo pants that were tucked into sturdy black boots and suspended by a thick, heavy belt that had too many little pouches and attachments to be anything but a military relic. Her mouth lifted into a smile of its own accord, because it was the second night in a row she'd come home to find Scorpius Malfoy waiting for her. And last night was probably contributing to her current exhaustion.
"Hi," she said, moving toward him, and grinned up at him when he hauled her close and bent to kiss her thoroughly, making her heart rate kick up and her nipples go hard in her sports bra as his tongue teased the seam of her lips.
"You look tired," he said, finally pulling back.
"It's all your fault," she said, even as she disentangled herself enough to unlock her door. She frowned, because unless she was mistaken, it was already unlocked, and she was almost positive she'd locked the door knob as per usual that morning before going to the studio.
"What is it?" Scorpius asked, even as Lily reached for her door handle and turned it, frowning some more.
"I'm almost sure I locked my door this morning," she mumbled. She made to open the door, but Scorpius stopped her with a hand on her arm, his instincts taking over.
"And it's not locked now?" Scorpius asked. When Lily met his dark grey eyes, they were storming under his blond brows that had pulled together.
"No," she said. "But maybe I just forgot, or-"
Scorpius's eye twitched a little at that. "Please don't say things like that out loud," he muttered, even as a very large part of him tried to smother the urge to lecture her about safety. She snorted.
"Save the lecture, Scor, I'm a big girl. And come on, I know all my neighbours. If anything, it was probably Mr. Kim from 4B. He has my spare key and sometimes helps himself to the contents of my fridge."
Lily made to open to door again, even as Scorpius felt something like shock choking him, rooting him to the spot. She just left her spare key with the neighbour across the hall, who apparently liked to just let himself in and out of her apartment when she wasn't home? Fucking Christ! It went against everything he'd ever learned in the military and since coming back and building his security firm, that did. "What?" he croaked.
Lily laughed. "Yeah. It's cool, because he always feeds me when he makes stuff he knows I like." She pushed into her apartment and Scorpius, who'd shaken off his shock at the lax security, followed right behind her. The redhead stopped dead only four steps into her living room, looking around, knowing immediately it wasn't Mr. Kim who'd been in her flat.
"Whoa," Scorpius said from behind her. There were clothes spilling out of the bedroom, the kitchen looked as if every drawer and cupboard had been raided, and her living room was looking like a small, contained tornado had struck it. The lamp on the side table had been knocked over, along with her potted plant, spilling dirt and greenery all over the carpet, and her book shelves were a mess, half the books and knick knacks from it now on the floor.
"That fucker!" she snarled, dropping her large tote and stomping toward the hallway. Scorpius hurried after her, to the second bedroom across from the bathroom, where the medicine cabinet had been emptied onto her vanity and sink. Scorpius looked over Lily's shoulder at the strips of colourful fabric that looked like they'd been, purposely, shorn up all over the room. "Oh, he is so going to pay for this!" Lily hissed, and Scorpius could feel the rage emanating from her.
"Who?" he asked, already guessing the answer.
"Harvey!" she snarled, and stomped her foot. "That fucker! He said he'd come get his stuff, but this is just fucking unnecessary!" she growled. "These are my best mats! Or were anyway! That fuckwad!"
"You knew your ex would come by?" Scorpius asked, wondering why she'd trusted the man who'd cheated on her after five years, to possibly not trash her apartment. From everything he'd heard, the guy was a douchebag extraordinaire, and Scorpius wouldn't put it past him to ruin Lily's belongings to spite her after a messy breakup.
"I left his shit in a box outside my door," she said, sighing, pushing a hand through her hair, shoulders slumping. "He texted me yesterday and said he'd drop by around two today, but I can't just cancel my classes to babysit that idiot getting his shit." She started picking up the strips of fabric from her destroyed yoga mats, making a tight fist around a few sections of a purple one. "And I paid full price for this mat," she growled. "Full fucking price! And that idiot doesn't even get it, that this was my favourite mat, and I paid way too much money for it, because it's a limited edition colour, for the anniversary sale, and I am going to kill that motherfucker!"
She whipped the handful of yoga mat back on the ground and sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Lily," Scorpius said softly, still standing in the bedroom doorway, and the redhead shook her head.
"It's not your fault," she grumbled. "Ugh, that just tops off my fucking day, though!" she growled. "Sorry," she sighed. "You should probably go. I've got a shit load of cleaning and reorganizing to do, and I'm in a pissy mood," she said.
Scorpius tilted his head a little, because he didn't much want to go. He'd been thinking of Lily all day, non-stop, like he had from the moment he'd first been assaulted by her, and been looking forward to seeing her again, and even more to taking her out that evening. "Would you like help with this?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to the disarray that was her flat.
Lily snorted. "Not really. I want to drink wine and soak in the tub and go to sleep, after beating the crap out of Harvey," she admitted. "And it's not fair to subject you to my frustration, because you're not at fault."
Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, because that was sweet, and he rather liked watching Lily get riled up. She was one of the few women who looked good angry. All flashing hazel eyes and snarling words, her beastly mane of dark red hair almost crackling with her rage, chest heaving as she tried to hold onto her temper. It was kind of a turn on. Which might make me a sucker for punishment. "I have a better idea," he said, and reached for her hand.
"What?" she asked, following his lead even as he lead her back down the hall and to her living room again.
"You come with me, and vent that anger into something other than cursing your bastard of an ex." Lily frowned.
"Scorpius, I have to clean this shit up, I can't-"
"Come on," the blond said, leading her to the door. He frowned. "Does that fucker have your key still?" he asked. Lily shrugged.
"I told him yesterday to leave it under the mat." Scorpius checked, but there was no key.
"In that case, you're getting your locks changed," he said, pulling out his phone. Lily scowled.
"In case it escaped your notice, Scorpius," Lily said, looking pissy again, "this is literally none of your business. I don't need my locks changed, the fucker already made his point."
Grey eyes rolled. "Humour me," he said, pulling up a name from his contacts and putting his phone to his ear. "Your ex, who might just be a little crazy if this is what he did for no good reason, has a key to your apartment. You need your locks changed." He smirked a tiny bit. "Or to invest in a German Shepherd."
"Who are you even calling?" she snapped, folding her arms.
"A friend of mine," he said evasively. "Ricky, put Dozer on the phone," he said after someone obviously picked up. "Who do you think it is?" Scorpius asked. There was a pause. "Ricky, I'm not playing twenty questions with you. This is serious." There was another pause, and then Scorpius sent Lily a sideways half smile that effectively sapped her anger, making her feel a flutter of delight he was so adamant she have it so Harvey couldn't get back in again, even though she was pretty sure the sexy blond was being paranoid. His obvious concern, on top of the ridiculously too nice gesture to help her tidy up her ex's mess, made Lily feel oddly protected, and cared for, more so than she had any right to feel for a man she'd barely known a week. "Dozer," Scorpius said at last, and Lily wondered who the hell he could be talking to. "Of course," the blond said easily, smiling a little. "Never better in fact," he said, glancing at Lily again. "I need you to come by and do a change out on some locks for me."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Scorpius, really, I don't-" she began, but the blond merely turned away from her.
"No, not my place. Eleven seventy one Wisteria Ave. Unit 4A," Scorpius said, and Lily scowled, because she didn't like people knowing her address, or having it listed anywhere. "I would call it in normally, but it's for a personal acquaintance."
"Scorpius," Lily said, frustration revving up once more, that he was ignoring her, and her requests, and telling people her address. And, if she was honest, she was little offended by that 'personal acquaintance' remark. She wasn't desperate for a new man, but she would have at least said friend, not 'acquaintance' in regard to what she and Scorpius had.
"Yeah, you'll have open access. But make sure you lock it up tight for me, Dozer," Scorpius said, still ignoring her, and Lily tapped her foot impatiently. "Bring the new keys to Carlos, and you'll probably find me there. If not, drop them at my place." There was another pause. "I'm not answering that," Scorpius said, frowning a tiny bit, and glanced at Lily again. "Thanks, Dozer."
"Are you quite finished now?" Lily asked acidly when he'd put his phone away.
"Yes," Scorpius said easily, and smirked, then moved toward her, unfolding her angrily crossed arms. "And trust me, I'll sleep a helluva lot better at night knowing you'll actually have a decent lock on your door that your asshole ex can't get past."
Lily pouted, but still felt touched he'd obviously gone out of his way to do something for her. "Fine," she grumbled. "But I better get a spare key for Mr. Kim," she said firmly. "Because I like homemade kimchi and Haejangguk."
"Done," Scorpius replied, and smirked. "Now do you want to get changed before we go?"
Lily frowned, even as she leaned into Scorpius's chest, sighing at his solid warmth. "Go where?" she demanded, pulling back to look at him.
"To vent all your frustrations before you even bother cleaning this mess up," he said succinctly.
Lily looked taken aback. "I don't need to vent anything!" she snapped. "I'm perfectly fine, just a little irritated that my whole goddamn apartment is turned upside fucking down, but I can clean up perfectly damn well without-!"
"Then why are you shouting at me, Lily?" Scorpius cut in lightly, and the redhead paused in her tirade. "Come on, you'll feel better after. I promise."
Scorpius extended his hand for her to take, and Lily hesitated, then threw caution to the wind. She wasn't looking for a new man, but if Scorpius wanted to be hers, she wasn't going to flat out say no. So she took his hand and let him lead her out her front door, that she locked up on purpose, even as Scorpius smirked a tiny bit, then followed him downstairs and to his car, parked in the visitors section. She climbed in and did up her seat belt, and then they were off to wherever Scorpius thought it would be best to vent her frustrations.
Lily looked at him, trying to figure out what it would be. She knew he was ex-military, and for a moment she wondered if he thought she was going to have the energy to kick box or something else physical, because she didn't have remotely enough pep left in her step after a long day, let alone the stamina for such exercise. Ten minutes later, as she rifled through other various idea Scorpius might have, telling herself as they pulled into the parking lot of a long, single story building that almost looked like a warehouse, she probably wasn't in for a massage. "Where are we?" she finally asked when Scorpius had parked and turned off the car.
"We're going to visit a very good friend of mine. Carlos," he said. Lily rolled her eyes, because she'd surmised that from his vague phone conversation. "And you're going to find an outlet for the anger you've got bottled up."
Lily's brows lifted at that. "Who says I've got-?"
"Me," Scorpius interrupted. He opened his car door, then glanced at her, leaned in, and kissed her briefly, but possessively, on the mouth. "Come on, Lily," he said. "You can trust me."
The redhead blushed, because, although she'd barely known him a week, she was finding she could trust him. That he would look out for her, and maybe even look after her. "Fine," she said grudgingly, making Scorpius grin, and she exited through the passenger door and walked beside her blond haired lover toward whatever surprise he had in store for them.
They walked into what looked like almost a convenience store, only with no merchandise, except for things that Lily had a sneaking suspicion were gun accessories and various other defence and mild attack items. Her stomach churned with anxiety, because if Scorpius thought for one second she was going to shoot a gun, he was dead fucking wrong.
"Carlos," Scorpius said, and Lily looked, for the first time, at the guy behind the counter. Wearing a black vest over an army green shirt, he was tanned, Latino, and handsome, especially when his somewhat somber expression brightened into a wide smile as he looked up at Scorpius. Then his dark, sharp eyes moved immediately to her, standing beside the tall, sexy blond man. Lily smiled weakly back.
"Capitán," Carlos said, taking a step as if to come around the side of his little counter thing before Scorpius intercepted him, doing the hand grab, back clap thing straight men did when they were close and greeted one another. "You have not been here in some time, my friend," he said looking back at Scorpius.
"I've been busy," he said, and Lily's gaze flicked sideways to see him smirking with smug satisfaction.
"Hi, I'm Lily," the redhead said boldly, sticking her hand out and Carlos lifted his dark brows a little, but smiled charmingly and shook her hand firmly. "How do you know Scorpius?"
"Carlos was Special Forces with me," Scorpius supplied.
"I owe him a life debt," Carlos added, and came around the little counter properly at last and stepped back a little awkwardly. And Lily saw he'd had most of his left leg, to mid thigh, amputated. Her mouth parted, and she looked at Scorpius, then back into Carlos's dark gaze. "I lost my leg, but the Capitán is the reason I have my life." He tilted his head a little as he regarded her. "How do you know Capitán?" he returned.
Lily grinned a tiny bit and Scorpius cleared his throat. "Lily is…" He paused and the redhead lifted her brows at his hestiance, even as Carlos's dark eyes glittered with amusement.
"Sleeping with him," Lily finally supplied, and Carlos chuckled, even as Scorpius shot him a dirty look, neck going red with chagrin. "Anyway, while we're here, I'm assuming this is some kind of gun shooting type place, right?" Lily pushed, feeling her confidence returning. She looked at Scorpius, then at Carlos, and the latter nodded. "Yeah, that's not really my thing." She glanced pointedly at Scorpius, "And I'm definitely not shooting anything."
"Sure you are," Scorpius said, then looked at Carlos. "You think the Beretta?" he asked, completely dismissing what she'd just said, and the dark haired, dark eyed Latino narrowed his gaze on Lily appraisingly.
"She might be able to handle yours," he said fairly. Scorpius snorted, but Carlos shrugged. "You want the Beretta anyway?"
"Yeah," Scorpius said, and Lily watched in mingled apprehension and consternation, as both men pulled out guns, Carlos from behind the counter in the locked cases, and Scorpius from the holster he carried at the small of his back.
"I really don't think-" she began as Scorpius picked up the smaller handgun and looked it over, accepting several rounds as Carlos passed them and loading the weapon with the ease of familiarity.
"Come on, Lily," he teased. The redhead merely stared in mute horror. He was holding a gun. A fully loaded gun with bullets that was capable of shooting things. Terror rendered her immobile. Then she watched Scorpius reach over and pick up his own gun off the counter. "Pick them up, hold them, and tell me which one feels less terrifying," he instructed, holding both weapons out after flipping them butt out toward her.
Lily shook her head wordlessly for a long moment. "I can't," she finally said when Scorpius merely continued to hold the weapons out. Her hands wouldn't move if she tried, she was certain, and they definitely wouldn't be able to hold them.
"Sure you can," he said easily. "Just pick them up. Hold them. You don't have to do anything other than that." Lily shook her head again, even as she stared at the guns Scorpius was holding out. One silver, with a smaller build, the other black, and hugely sturdy looking. She licked her lips, then looked up into Scorpius's eyes, wanting to trust him, fearing the worst.
"I literally don't think my hands work," she whispered and gulped.
Scorpius moved into her personal bubble, lowering his head to nose along the line of her jaw softly. "I know you can do it, Lily," he said softly, right against her ear, only for her hearing. "Just last night, you grabbed my gun and put it on the nightstand, and told me not to fucking forget I was wearing it again, all while you rode my dick."
"That's kind of completely not the same-" she mumbled, blushing profusely.
"It's kind of completely the exact same thing." She felt him smile against her neck, her pulse fluttering as he kissed her, whisper soft. "You were pissed, and you just did it, you weren't playing it up in your head like it's some monumental feat." The redhead frowned a bit at that, because that just sounded like she was being over dramatic and kind of silly when he said it like that. "Do it again," Scorpius rumbled into her ear, and although she felt her nipples ache pleasurably at the rough, commanding tone, she couldn't help but melt a little, unable to help but relax as she got turned on, and told herself she was being silly. Why couldn't she pick up two stupid guns? She wasn't going to accidentally shoot them, she was just going to hold them. That was it. Nothing to be afraid of!
She pulled back, reached for both of the firearms, and grasped them both. Scorpius's gun felt distinctly heavier, and the grip felt much too large for her hand, but the little silver gun, the Beretta, felt light enough she didn't risk wrist injury when lifting it, and the grip was comfortably sized, the girth quite nice, and the handle felt strangely fitted for her palm.
"Now which one feels less terrifying?" Scorpius asked, smirking, and Lily held up the silver one, carefully handing his own gun back to him. She set the silver gun down on the counter.
"Well, that was fun. All done," she said, and Carlos chuckled, even as Scorpius rolled his eyes.
"Should I call Maria to scare her into it?" he teased.
"Lily," the tall, sexy blond said firmly, and she looked up at him, her hazel gaze daring him to find a reason she should want any more contact with that oddly comfortable gun.
"What?" she asked, hands on hips, staring back. Scorpius smiled slowly.
"You paid full price for that limited edition yoga mat." He could practically feel Lily's instant outrage roaring back to life, and she sucked in a deep breath, eyes narrowing.
"Yeah," she mumbled. "I did."
The blond leaned closer to her. "Now tell me the thought of that bastard cutting it up doesn't make you want to put a bunch of bullets in something," he murmured.
And although Lily kind of hated him for it, she kind of really fucking did want to just blast the shit out of some paper target, because she was fucking mad damnit! But there was still a hefty amount of fear, fear that tempered her anger a little, attached to that shiny silver gun lying benignly on the counter.
The redhead had always considered herself kind of a hippy, very open and accepting of others, and also strongly against violence of any sort. And now Scorpius wanted her to pick up a gun and shoot it, and she couldn't form any words against why she shouldn't, because there would be no harm to it, and she would probably feel better after, and part of her wanted to, if only just to see. Lily shook her head slowly, trying to come to terms with what she truly felt, and the obvious shift in who she'd always thought herself to be.
"You don't have to," Scorpius said easily, pulling her close and kissing her gently, and she blushed, because Carlos was right there. "But I'm willing to bet if you try, you'll find you like it."
Lily licked her lips and then looked at him calculatingly. "If I do, you have to let me teach you yoga," she said in response after a beat, and Scorpius smirked. "And not the fun kind. The freaky circus flexible kind that's going to make your muscles hurt in places you didn't even know you could hurt," she said, smiling. He instantly stopped smirking, but Carlos chuckled again.
"Perhaps you have met your match, Capitán?" the Latino man drawled, and Scorpius shot him a dark look. Carlos, who Scorpius supposed constituted his second best friend from military life, and especially his wife Maria, had been suggesting and nattering away at him for years to find a nice young lady to tie him down once and for all. And while Scorpius didn't mind at all the notion of finding a woman to share his life with, and maybe have a family, he had yet to find any viable candidates. At least not until- He stopped himself before he could even think it, refusing to accept the thought. Instead he focused on the lithe redhead who stared expectantly at him, and her terms.
"Agreed," he said, because while he doubted he'd like yoga after Lily finished bending him into a pretzel, he knew he'd more than like watching Lily shooting a gun. She was a helluva woman, in every sense, and he didn't doubt she'd feel better afterward. And he had his own twisted perversions that had found the sight of Lily holding his gun, the firearm he wore damn near everywhere, not only a distinct turn on, but probably one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen.
Lily's brows lifted, but she gulped and nodded, then stuck out her hand. Scorpius shook it, then jerked her forward, kissing her and making her blush adorably. "Fine, let's do this," she said after he pulled back, sighing and looking with unease at the Beretta once more. Scorpius almost rolled his eyes again.
"You can pick it up, Lily," he said, and watched her bite her lower lip. "You can't shoot it if you don't pick it up."
"Fine," she grumbled, and reached out for the gun, hand not trembling, and picked up the firearm with admirable courage, holding it slightly away from herself, pointing it at the ground. "But if I accidentally shoot myself, I'm going to sue the pants off the both of you," she hissed to Scorpius, and glanced over at Carlos, who smirked a tiny bit.
"Duly noted," Scorpius said, and smiled, picking up his own gun, and they started forward to what looked like a little cubicle. When they stepped in, however, Lily could see the long range of the targets, and there was a little control panel that, she assumed, moved the target closer and further away. The tall blond passed Lily a pair of ear coverings, slinging his own pair around his neck. Lily copied him, feeling nervous, the gun heavy in her now sweaty palm, and yet still an oddly reassuring and comfortable weight to grip, knees almost knocking with nerves. Scorpius looked at her, put his own gun away and pulled her close, tilting her head up with a hand on her jaw, fingers just tangling in her hair, and kissed her.
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