The sound of approaching footsteps made Irys turn her face downwards away from his with Markus pulling his hand away and break the contact between their bodies. Words couldn't describe the amount of disappointment and frustration that he felt at the moment ending like that. He, honestly, would have gave anything to have the moment back and have it continue. Issa made her way into the kitchen, after casting a glance back and forth between the two of them, a knowing smile spread wide on her face. Again Markus felt his face heat up and was sure that if he could blush, his complexion would have been a deep shade of red. Irys's face was visibly blushed, but she returned her mother's smile.

"Yes momma," she asked, her voice tight and cracking as if she were holding in a laugh.

"The girls are in their bed but you know they asking for you. They wanna hear their mommy sing before they go to sleep." Issa replied with a teasing tone.

Irys reared her head back and let out a sound that was a mix between a groan and the laugh that she had been holding in earlier. "You couldn't have read them a story or something, mom?"

Issa's face then scrunched up, her head tilting to the side and her hands going to her hips in an incredulous posture, "You're lucky I even stuck around this long. You know I'm usually out that door after the food is put away."

"Okay, okay." Irys threw her hands up in defeat, she looked at Markus and said, "You wouldn't mind waiting in the living room, would you?"

"No not at all." Markus replied, only just realizing how tight and awkward his voice sounded.

"Come on, mom. I'll walk you out."

With that the two of them walked out of the kitchen and Markus made his way back to the living room. However, instead of sitting down, he stood in the middle of the room, looking around. He wasn't looking for anything in particular but once he saw something that caught his attention he went over to it. Next to the tv mantle, there was a small end table with a cluster of pictures on it. He made his way towards it, studying them closely until he was within reach to pick one up. It was the largest of the pictures and the one that piqued his interest the most. The other pictures were of Irys and the girls throughout varying stages of their infancy into their more recent toddler years, but the one that he had picked up was that of Irys. She wasn't the only one in the photo though. It was one of those portraits done professionally in a studio. In it, Irys seemed to be sitting down, her face turned towards the camera and grinning brightly, yet her eyes were closed. Her hair was shorter, clinging closer to her head and she appeared to be thinner. Standing over her, but bent down enough to plant a kiss on the side of her face was a tall, thin young man with dark brown skin, a thin, closely trimmed beard, a large afro of dark hair that was pulled away from his face with a band and large, round shaped glasses. Markus knew that this had to be Laz.

"Markus," he heard Irys's voice call from the doorway.

He quickly turned around, feeling a bit startled. He had wondered if his snooping may have not been viewed lightly by Irys, but she didn't seem to notice really.

"I'll be right back. You can just sit on the couch." then she was gone out of the room again.

For some reason, Markus didn't go the couch as she had told him. Even after his deviancy, Markus didn't really act on impulse but he found himself walking out of the living room and into the hallway. He saw a light coming from the end of the hall where he figured that the girls room is. Although he heard voices, Irys and the twins were out of view. Slowly and quietly, he made his way towards the room, until he stopped just short of it and out of any possible view that they could have had.

"Alright, you both tucked in good?" he heard Irys ask.

He only heard Hazel's response but he was certain that Halle probably used a non-verbal means to answer her mother.

"What song do you want to hear me sing?"

"The one about the star and the boat." Hazel answered softly.

"Alright, good choice." Irys answered back.

Markus listened intently as Irys began humming a simplistic but beautiful melody before singing the lyrics of the song. Her deep and throaty voice sounded just as mesmerizing as it did before from when he had listened to her sing on Laz's song. If anything, it was much better hearing it live, in real time. Her voice was both soothing and absolutely hypnotizing as she sung about the subject of the song who is first described as a star and she is a black sky that only lives to let the star shine and even if the star were to leave, she would be happy just as long as the star left it's dust to remind her of them. Then the subject turned to a boat and she the sea, pushing the boat to its destination as her goal is to see the boat be free and sail away but she wouldn't mind as long as she will remember the wake that the boat left to remind her of it. As she sung, Markus closed his eyes and actually began visualizing the images that Irys sung about in his mind. As he pictured the pitch black night with the lone bright star shooting across it, and the ebbing, flowing sea with the lone sailing boat, he was struck with the realization that this may have been the closest thing that he may have ever had to a dream. When she finished, he opened his eyes and before he could think to retreat Irys had exited the room and was staring him in the face. Her eyes went wide with surprise as she stopped dead in her tracks.

Markus went into slight panic as he quickly stammered out, "I'm really...I'ma...I apologize. I guess I just...wanted to hear you sing again…" he trailed off.

Irys appeared to still be stuck in her spot by surprise but slowly she seemed to start coming around, "You know you can't just go stalking about in people's homes like that."

"I know, I just wanted to hear you sing again. You have a very beautiful voice, I love hearing it." he said lowly, as he nervously started to shuffle his feet.

Irys cleared her throat and wrung her hands together, her eyes searching his face, "Let's just not do that again." she gave him a small but still uneasy smile, "But thank you. It feels good to hear that someone besides my kids like my singing." her smile then turned into a real one.

Markus instantly felt the tension that had clasped onto his body release itself. Irys motioned for them to go back into the living room and he followed suit. She sat on one end of the couch and he sat at the other. The tv had been cut off before dinner so it was completely quiet in the living room between them. The silence was an uneasy one, it was awkward for Markus because he didn't really know if he should say something or let Irys start the conversation. Admittedly, he wouldn't have minded at all if Irys made a move to continue where they had left off from earlier on the kitchen, but something told him that things may have had to build back up to that again. He still felt a lot of those feelings left over from then, he wanted to explore them some more again. Yet he wasn't comfortable enough to make any moves on his own. He certainly wasn't sure if Irys was open to him making any moves either. So he figured he would just wait it out, to see what would happen. After sitting in silence for a few he caught Irys staring at him out the corner of his eye, he tried to appear preoccupied in his thoughts by staring into his hands in his lap. Turning to meet her gaze he asked if something was wrong.

"No, no." Irys answered a bit shyly, shaking her hair over to one side of her face. "It's just...at the risk of sounding either cheesy or something, you're, like, really good-looking. Like beautiful even. It's kind of weird. You're almost perfect."

Markus was both parts flattered and cautious. There was a point in time where humans were more resistant towards androids simply because the early models' aesthetic were viewed as being too perfect and unrealistic looking. All androids were made to have a more realistic look to them now, coming as far as to even have visible pores and blemishes on their skin, but they were still designed to fit the conventions of what was viewed as society's beauty standards. It didn't stop him from feeling good at Irys's complement but neither did it stop him from being self-conscious that she noticed how perfect he looked.

"I would think you were one of those androids if not for your eyes." she locked her stare with his.

"My eyes?"

"You have heterochromia. You have a blue eye and a green eye. I went to school with a girl like that when I was younger. She had a blue eye and a brown eye. I always thought it was so cool."

"Oh yeah, you're right. I don't think a lot of people notice that."

"I noticed it the first day I saw you. Forgive me for sounding shallow but when I first saw you, I thought, damn he's good-looking." she laughed, one that Markus joined in on, "That and then I was like, but he looks so damn lost too."

"So which one made you stop to talk to me? That I was so damn good-looking or because I looked so damn lost?" he joked, surprised that he actually did such a thing.

"More so the lost part. I mean, yeah you're handsome but there was just something about you that said you needed help. Like, not only did you look lost in the physical sense but, you also looked lost like you lost a lot and you had no idea where to go afterwards. You looked like you were searching for something so eagerly, like clinging to whatever it was because it may have been the only thing you had left."

Markus found himself speechless at what Irys had said. For perhaps the first time since they had met and after all of her other assumptions and musings about him and his life, this was the first time that Irys actually analyzed the entire situation and drew the correct conclusion. It was practically the same thing that Lucy had said to him the first day he came to Jericho. He had it all and lost it all. He was looking for Jericho that day because he literally had nothing else to search for after piecing himself back together in the android dump. He had nothing else to cling to. He was lost that day he met Irys and slowly he felt as though he was finding something again.

Just then he felt Irys's hand intertwine with his. He looked into her eyes and saw something that he never thought he would ever see in a human's eyes towards him. Sympathy, pure sympathy.

"Markus, this may be presumptuous of me and I know we haven't known each other long but...whether you want to tell me the whole story of your circumstances or not, I want you to know that I...want to help you. I know times are tough nowadays and simple kindness seems to be in small supply but I know what it's like to be in a shitty set of circumstances and it helps a lot to know that you have someone to turn to."

Markus was deeply moved and touched by Irys's words. After everything that had happened that fateful night and how the androids of Jericho always spoke of humans with either hatred or fear, the last thing he ever really expected from a human was an offer of kindness and comfort. He recalled North's cold words of how he came to the wrong place searching for comfort, but here right now with Irys, after everything he had experienced with her in such a short time, he felt North was right. Jericho wasn't the place to find comfort. Irys was offering it here with her instead.

He gave Irys's hand a tight squeeze before saying softly, "Thank you. We both know you don't have to, but it means so much that you want to."

The silence fell over them again, only this time it felt more easy on the two of them.

"For what it's worth, I find you to be very beautiful too." he said shyly breaking the silence.

Irys blushed again, pulling her hand away and using it to nervously shake her hair again.

"I remembered how mesmerized by your hair I was." he admitted.

"This mess?" she snorted, pointing to her head, "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. Your hair, your eyes…your lips…"

Irys's eyebrow quirked up when he mentioned her lips, "My lips, huh?" she replied softly, even going as far to give them a seductive bite.

"You have...very beautiful lips." he sighed, his eyes falling to them.

They looked more flushed and full at that moment. Oddly, Markus felt himself run his tongue over his own lips at the sight of them and his blood started to rush in his veins again.

Suddenly, the thick, tense heated air that had hung over them earlier seemed to swarm back into their space. Finally, Markus remembered the word for what it was that he was feeling towards Irys. It was passion.

Irys's face then became adorned with a small yet seductively mischievous grin, "You wanna make out?"

Without even a second thought Markus breathed out, "Absolutely."

Irys let out a light giggle before she all but threw herself into his lap, straddling him between her legs and pressing herself deep against him. She started kissing him deeply, deeper than the kiss earlier and although he was caught off guard by how forward Irys had jumped into it, Markus soon caught up with her, digging his hands firmly, massaging them into the supple flesh of her hips and returning the passionate enthusiasm of her kissing. Their kissing was feverish, being nothing more than a mashing of their lips and a dancing of their tongues. Something else that caught Markus by surprise but he quickly decided that he liked and eagerly caught on to. Irys ran her hands up and down his chest as his found their way up and down her back, retracing a path from her shoulders down to her ample butt. At his touch, Irys let out a soft, but deep moan into his mouth. One that caused him to notice his already racing blood going towards his member, causing it to quickly become engorged.

Androids were equipped to mimic the human body and form in every way, even down to the genitalia. In spite of human/android relationships not being viewed pleasantly by society, it wasn't all that uncommon for people to enter sexual relationships with them as the creators of androids knew that the curiosity, and the admittedly, silent demand of a lot of humans would get the better of them. Markus never thought that he would ever really use the member he was equipped with as he was a simple caregiver model and he was more than certain Carl wouldn't have been interested in him in that way. Now, he was silently thanking his creators that they had.

Irys broke away from his lips, beginning to leave a trail of tongue kisses down his neck, sending a series of shivers and tingles throughout his body, causing him to knead his fingers deeper into her hip and thigh. As she worked on a particular spot on his collarbone, Markus felt a deep sighing moan escape from his mouth as well. She then stopped kissing him and began twirling circles on his skin with her tongue, moving up from his neck to trail along his jawline before coming full circle to his lips again. Markus decided then that he wanted to take the lead now. While Irys was in control, she had him pressed up against the couch, but now he was leaning forward into her. He broke his lips away from her, going to run his lips and tongue over the contours of her neck and shoulders. As he placed one arm around her waist to steady her, the other drifted to the front of her body, running her hand up her stomach, stopping himself just below her breasts.

"Touch me…" she groaned softly to him.

Markus obliged, moving his hand to cup her breast underneath her bra, but being that it was larger than his hand could hold, it spilled out from where his hand couldn't cover. It felt heavy, but lushly soft. He began massaging it tenderly before moving his hand to repeat the action on the other, eliciting more moans from her that he felt vibrate underneath his lips and tongue as he devoured her neck. The engorging of his member stiffened to point where he almost thought he could feel an aching in it. His heart was hammering, his blood pulsing, his stomach feeling light and heavy at the same time. The whole time, Irys still pressed her lower body into his and the heat from her center became warmer and warmer, seeping into where his body still touched her. Her hands cradled the back of his head as he finally brought his lips back to hers, and he brought his hands to tangle them in her hair.

Just when Markus felt as if he was on the verge of exploding, they finally broke away from each other. Their heads were resting on each other, both of them breathing heavily as if they couldn't get enough air, staring into each other's eyes. Markus was amazed at how at a loss of thought and words that he was in that moment. All that was registering was Irys and him, entwined on the couch, breathing into each other faces.

"It's been awhile for me." Irys spoke first, a breathy smile crossing her lips. "I forgot how good it feels. Almost lost control a bit."

"Yeah," he replied back just as breathless, "That felt damn good."

They both laughed as they pulled their faces away from each other, but still not breaking too much of their physical contact.

Irys reared her head back and let a small hooting noise, pretending to fan herself with her hand, "As really fucking hot as that was, let's leave it to be continued for another time shall we? I mean, I'll admit I've been a bit forward with you today, but gotta bust your balls a bit, otherwise you won't respect me right?" she chuckled.

"No, I wouldn't think that of you." Markus shook his head seriously.

"It's okay Markus," she told him, finally removing herself from his lap, much to his disappointment, "It's getting late anyway."

At that Markus finally realized that she was correct. He had been gone practically the entire day. He was certain that the others surely must have noticed by now. Some may even be worried that something may have happened to him.

"It is getting late, isn't it? I wonder if the others are worried?" he said standing to his feet.

"Wait before you go," Irys said motioning for him to stay where he was she disappeared out of the room.

When she returned, she was holding a duffle bag, "Catch!" she said tossing it at him.

Markus caught it, giving it a questioning look before turning the same look towards her.

"It's a gift. Please, take it." she said walking over towards him.

He unzipped it the bag, reached into it, and pulled out what appeared to be a shirt. Markus already knew that Irys must have packed up what she had left of Laz's clothes and gave them to him. Putting the shirt back into the bag he went to thank Irys, but she placed her fingers to his lips to silence him. "I'll walk you out."

They both made their way towards the door. After placing his shoes back on, Irys helped him into his coat. As he was going to leave out, Markus turned around to face her. She was looking up at him, biting her lips as she fidgeted with her hands.

"I want to see you again. I think you already knew that though." he said to her, meaning every word of it.

Irys let out a nervous bark of a laugh, "You better not have disappeared on me, Markus. I'll find you." she threatened jokingly.

"Can I kiss you goodnight?" he asked, instantly feeling as though he should have just went for it instead of asking.

"We were dry humping on my couch a few minutes ago. Don't worry, you have consent to kiss me without asking after that." she smiled.

Markus smiled too as he leaned down to kiss her. She placed her hands on the sides of his face, holding him in place for a moment. When they pulled apart, Irys's face was lit up like a burning star. The urge inside him was growing steadily strong and if he didn't make his exit soon he didn't know if he was going to be able to continue fighting it.

"Goodnight, Markus." she whispered, letting go of his face.

"Goodnight Irys." he whispered back as he walked out of the door.

Irys closed it slowly behind, peeking out the door, a wide grin plastered until she finally fully closed it. Markus couldn't help but smile himself as he exited the apartment building. Once he was out in the street, he found himself looking back towards the building, in search of a window that may have been Irys's. He couldn't locate it, even with his scanner he couldn't seem to pinpoint it. With one last long look, he walked off into the night.