Vex woke up with a headache, which wasn't really a new experience as far as mornings go. His eyes still closed, he dragged a tired hand down his face while the other combed through his hair. He felt the familiar strands cling to his fingers, before his fingertips met with a much softer substance. He ran his fingers over it tentatively, stroking what seemed to be fur above where his head lie. His fingers were promptly, and without warning, caught and punctured.
Vex shot up, his eyes now wide open, and jerked his hand to his side. Now cradling his injured hand, he turned to glare at the offending party: a small white cat, its blue eyes taking up half his face. The creature stared at him with fading interest, before jumping down from its perch above the couch he was lying on, and stalking over to another room.
Vex raised his hand at the cat momentarily, before dropping it.
"Bloody beast" he muttered.
He stood up and looked around, inspecting his surroundings while trying to remember what had happened the night before.
The young woman from the bar. He remembered their interactions in the alley, and her fortunate timing at the warehouse. He could recall bits and pieces, he remembered being used as a punching bag by the minions of DuPont, and he remembered a ring of fire and the gang leader falling to ground. He ran over the events that had happened after they both left the warehouse.
She stepped forward and gingerly grabbed his hands, turning them over. When she noticed him choke back a scream, she frowned.
"Hmm"
The man rolled his eyes. "Care to share with the rest of us?" He drawled.
Instead of answer, she splayed her fingers right below his sternum, and pressed down with moderate pressure.
He double forward and yelped, before glaring. "Christ, Woman. Do you enjoy inflicting pain on the helpless?" he hissed at her.
"You're not helpless" She stated, then frowned. "Though you are pretty messed up"
"Not the first time I've heard that, pet" He winked at her.
She ignored him.
"Can you walk?" She asked
"Yeah, but-"
"Good. Then get up"
He balked at her, watching she stood and faced away from him. "What?" he scoffed incredulously.
"I don't want to be here when that guy's buddies come looking for him." She started walking away, into the shadows.
The Mesmer stood up, cradling his injured arm to his torso, and hurried after her.
"And pray tell, sweetheart, what exactly is your plan?" He questioned, trying to keep up with her long strides.
She turned back, for a second, to look at him." I guess that depends"
He looked around, keeping a watchful eye out." Depends...on what?" He asked, hating this back and forth exchange.
She sighed, and finally stopped walking. She turned around then to fully face him. Her expression was a mix of apprehension and careful calculation." It depends on what you saw or what you think you saw. It depends on if I can realistically trust you. It depends on who all is looking for you." She looked him up and down, her eyes settling on his bruised fingers. "I suppose it also depends on whether or not you are a quick healer" She added, as an afterthought.
He gazed her hard for a moment, a part of him recognizing the tone she was using on him. It was calm and controlled, much like the voice she used earlier in the warehouse, and like the one he used when he was conducting damage control over fae exposure to humans. Which, he realized, was exactly what she trying to do. She thinks I'm human he thought, the implication making him nauseous. Or perhaps that was the concussion. Who knows?
"I saw enough" he replied simply.
Her shoulders slumped for a moment, before she straightened herself.
"Right. I'll grab us a cab. You'll be crashing at my place tonight." She concluded
He raised an eyebrow at her." You really think that's wise, love? Bringing a stranger home with you?" He questioned, before amending. "I mean, not that I'm not flattered."
She shrugged. "I don't really have a choice, now. Until I know what to do with you."
Vex sidled up next to her, matching her strides as they walked." I could think of a few things" He added, suggestively.
He watched as bemused grin flashed across her face, before vanishing. "I'm sure you can."
He followed her to a walkup, just south of the downtown area. The apartment complex was respectful enough, though anything compared to the hovel the Justice Twins kept seemed like a palace, just by having actual walls.
They walked in silence up to the third floor, and stopped in front of a door labeled "321 C". The brunette stopped and reached into her purse to grab her keys. She pulled them out and inserted the key into lock, turning the knob and swinging the door open. She ushered him inside, closing and locking the door behind her.
Vex walked around, noticing little Knick knacks here and there, and perused the shelves. He could hear her shuffle around the kitchen. (And it was, in fact, a real kitchen, he noted. It even had a sink and full oven. Such things never seemed to be comforting to him until he was forced to live in a glorified shoe box for a month).
"Are you hungry?" He heard her call from the kitchen .He walked towards the dining room, and noticed her bent form in front of the fridge. His gaze stayed on her jean clad arse as she perused the fridge, looking for something edible.
Letting out a defeated sighed, she stood up and closed the fridge." Scratch that. I forgot it was my roommate's turn to buy groceries."
Vex merely nodded, a part of him mourning the view from before.
She walked over the cupboard above the fridge, her stretched position allowing a view a small image on her lower back.
She grabbed her prize and set it on the counter, looking at the man before her for the first time.
Suddenly, as if remembering how normal people interact, she offered him her hand. "I'm Annabella, by the way".
He shook her hand, noticing her firm grip, before dropping his hands to his sides again. "Vex"
She nodded, before grabbing two glasses down. She opened the scotch and poured two generous glasses." Well, Vex, how you feel about Scotch for dinner?" she offered, passing him a glass.
He took it and flashed her a grin. "Why, love, that's just about my favorite kind of meal".
Vex walked around, checking the couch for his phone and wallet. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he woke up in some broad's apartment missing his things. Granted, each time that happened, his bedmate found themselves strangled by their own hands later.
After finding his things in place, he ventured around the apartment, carefully avoiding crossing paths with the furry finger eater.
He heard the clattering of dishes and followed the sounds into the kitchen, to be met with the smell of fresh coffee, strawberries, bacon, and eggs.
He walked into the kitchen to see Anna standing over a pan, wielding a spatula with one hand, and whisk in the other.
"Well, aren't we domestic this morning" He drawled, grabbing an apple and a mug of coffee before dropping into a chair. He watched as she darted around the kitchen, stirring this and flipping that, but not once noticing that the stove was in fact, not 'on'.
After completing all of her tasks, Anna set the table for three. She sat down with her plate, lifting her fork to her mouth before noticing his bemused gaze on her.
"What?" She asked.
"You didn't have to cook for me, love." He teased, placing a hand over his heart.
Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed red." I didn't! It's Pancake Monday!"
Vex stared at her as if she had completely lost it. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Every Monday, Clara and I have a Pancake breakfast. I cook, she cleans, and we ….Oh" She stopped herself, looking at the three place settings. Without a word, she stood up and cleared all of the plates and dishes off the table.
"Hey!" He protested, watching mournfully as his plate of food was snatched from him.
She paced around the kitchen, gingerly picking up items off of the counter, and either placing them in a Tupperware or throwing it away all together.
Vex watched as she settled down in front of the fireplace, staring off into the flames.
Cautiously, he snuck over to the fridge and remade his plate. After all, her apparent neurosis was no reason for him to starve.
After finishing his meal (which was, if he had to admit, easily one of the best breakfast he had ever consumed in his long life, and that was including the decade he spent in France), he cautiously padded over to the living room, sitting behind the girl on the floor.
They sat in silence for a while, both staring at the flames that seemed to lick at the bricks behind them.
He knew she was aware of his presence, even though she hadn't acknowledged him yet.
Vex was not the kind of man one turns to for moral support. Not usually, at least. However, watching this girl become some so suddenly despondent tugged at something in him. He wanted to pry, he wanted to be the confidant, if only to have something to hold for bargaining later, he reasoned.
"Well, you serve one hell of a spread, love." He offered. He watched as her gaze turned ever so slightly towards him, before returning to the flames." Though your immediate removal of it from your guest is borderline sadistic" he added.
"What can I say, I'm just twisted like that." She lamented dryly.
He smirked and threw an arm around her comradely "Two peas, we are, then".
He watched in satisfaction as she leaned her head back against his arm, before he let go.
He stood up and helped her up off the ground, before leaning back on his heels and sticking his hands in his pocket.
"So…" He started, looking around "Fancy a quick shag?" He joked. Okay, only half joking. No, just joking, he decided. Unless-
His string of thoughts were cut short by the tall redhead sputtering out "I'm going to be sick" before rushing over to the sink.
He was about to take honest offense to that, before he heard the sound of retching from the kitchen.
Vex stood there debating whether or not to take this as his opportunity to leave or stick around to learn as much as he could about this human creature. He made a quick list of pros and cons in his head.
Pro: If he earns her trust, she might prove to be useful in warding off anyone sniffing around after him.
Con: If she finds out he crossed her, she could easily make his life a living hell.
Pro: If he sticks around, he could learn her ticks and strengths and use them to his advantage.
Con: If she finds out, she could kill him.
Pro: She rejected the Succubus.
Pro: If Evony found out he had this kind of power around, she'd be jealous enough to do his bidding, for once. Vex smiled a sinister grin.
He walked into the kitchen, resolved to stay as long as things remained interesting.
He stood behind her, unsure as to what to do. Again, he didn't make a habit of being a gentleman, so the process of how to go about comforting was fairly foreign to him. Begrudgingly, he thought back on the times he had watched wolfman hold Kenzie's hair back after a long night of drinking. He decided he could start with that.
He used one of his hands to steady her, placing it on the small of her back. She winced, though he wasn't sure if it was from his touch or from pain.
Using his other hand, he collected the dark auborune curls threatening to cascade into the sink, holding them back. He stood there quietly as she tried to catch her breath, mouthing a "thanks" to him before the second wave hit.
Vex cautioned a glance at the sink, his weird curiosity getting the better of him. He regretted it immediately, as his view was not of half-digested leftovers, as he had anticipated, but dark and thick red blood flowing into sink.
"Sweet mother of. What did you do?!" He breathed. His gaze shifted from the sink to her hands, for the first time noticing the angry bruises on her knuckles, as if all of her fingers were snapped at once.
Vex stared down at his own hands now, remembering the injuries he had sustained from the night before. His mind flashed on an image of his finger being snapped back by DuPont, easily broken instantly. He remembered each process being repeated on each of his digits until rendering his hands completely useless.
The wave of sickness seemed to stop as soon as it started, and she slumped forward for a moment. Vex let her catch her breath.
Anna let herself lean back against him, the coolness of his shirt soothing the flashes of heat pounding in her face.
"Let's lie you down" He said sternly. She shook her head in protest, but let him drag her over to the couch anyway.
"Sit" He ordered
She rolled her eyes, sitting down on the couch.
Vex squatted down between her knees. Usually, Anna would've cracked a joke at this, if only to ease her own mortification. However, the serious look on his face easily talked her out it. She made a mental note that she hated that expression on him. It just seemed..odd.
"Look at me." She obliged, though mildly annoyed.
"Follow my finger" He raised a finger in front of her, and moved it.
She huffed. "Now who's playing nursemaid?" She muttered.
"Anna-"
"Fine" She followed his stupid finger, making a mental list of all the things she found annoying about him. Number 1: Trying to take care of her.
Vex watched as her eyes easily followed his finger, easing some of his suspicions of a concussion, while still leaving him mystified as what was wrong with her.
She watched his face as he continued his inspection. Number 2: Perfectly angled jaw, with just enough stubble to draw attention.
His hand moved from her neck, down her sides and traced over her ribs. He noticed her cringe a bit. Eyeing her warily, he pressed his thumb firmly right along her lower ribs and abdomen. She bit back a scream and doubled over.
Number 3: He was handsy. In a way that didnt make her want to punch him. At least not as hard.
"Shh" he soothed. Or at least tried to make it sound soothing. It sort of came out as more of a hiss.
"Quit poking at me!" she seethed.
Number 4: His voice was stupid, she decided. Slightly aluring with its english lilt, and smooth undertones, but mostly stupid.
Ignoring her, he started lifting up her shirt, revealing the dark ugly bruising along her abdomen and lower ribs, marring her smooth almost porcelain skin.
"They're probably cracked, and you're bleeding internally". He stated.
Number 5: The ability to tell her something she already knew, as if it was a new discovery.
She tugged her shirt back down and pushed him away. "No shit, Dr. Obvious".
For the second time in 24 hours, he sat there speechless.
"You knew?" He asked incredulously
Anna looked away, almost bored. "Yes. I was able to put it together. The spiting up blood sort of gave it away".
She stood up straight and walked over to the door. He followed her.
"Where are you going?" He asked, mentally berating himself for sounding like an idiot.
"For a walk" She unlocked the door and grabbed her coat.
"Really? Now seems like the perfect time for a jolly stroll in the park?! "He followed suit, shrugging on his jacket.
"Not a park".
"I'm going with you"
Number 6: His apparent misplaced concern or discomfort at being left alone. She couldn't tell which.
"NO." She stopped, her hand still on the knob. "Look, I'll be fine. Please just stay here. "She gave him a weak smile.
Vex blinked, as if shaking out of a daze, and walked away from the door. He heard the latch click behind her as she left.
He sat down on the couch, warily eyeing the finger beast as it casually jumped up by him and perched by his head.
He glared at the cat. "You're lucky I'm out of mojo" He threatened. He was rewarded with a long mewl, while the cat curled up by his ear.
The Mezmer examined his own hands and torso, noticing the lack of injuries that he clearly remembered sustaining during his run in with the RedCaps the night before. From what he had observed, Anna had walked away without a scratch last light, while he was a bloody and broken mess. Yet somehow, she was the one with the scars this morning.
What a curious creature, he thought.
Authors note: I'm still twirling around the pieces of this in my head, trying to figure out how to place it all to together. Any Questions? Thoughts? Concerns? Critiques? Let me know , either in a PM or in a review. Also, I am looking for a beta reader, if anyone is interested. Thank you! ~Kate