[GP] Check-in Day: Lurking Out of Habit

[st_ingofthehundred]

The first of the month arrived and Kash took up his usual station at the edge of the Cafe with his eyes on the door. It had been his habit since he first arrived and learned that arrivals had a pattern, and he had kept to it when he realized that a lot of people showed up injured. It had nothing to do with expecting Zahra to come for him any day now. Nothing to do with wanting to be right here should she arrive. He was just doing his work as a healer.

From the new library, he had acquired a text on modern medicine. It sat in front of him, a cup of coffee by his hand that Kitty kept full of fresh, steaming brew, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies by his other hand. He wore the symbol that he refused to consider holy, his dark spear rested against the thigh closer to the wall, and he had prepared all of his healing spells, and a few damage and area of effect spells in case anything came through that posed a threat.

Kitty was on-shift, which used to mean covering the bar, the cafe, and the pool bar. Out of habit, she still watched all of them, but these days, she had plenty of help. Ignis or Emma were almost always in the kitchen and someone usually tended the bakery counter.

In short, there was absolutely nothing unusual about the day, Kitty or Kash. It was exactly like every other arrival day. The only exception, if it was one, was that Kash was almost as interested in his book as Kitty was her research.

Comments

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_unaligned]

"I don't mind." She said in reply to the girlfriend thing. In fact, it might have pulled a smile from her that was a little more light than she normally let herself be.

To his question, though, she sobered a little and thought. "It's hard... It really depends on the person. Back home - I know I couldn't make it work. Both people I love wanted to be exclusive and things kind of never worked out when they could have with either." It was always so complicated. "But it's about being honest and truthful. The truth might hurt, but pretending or not putting 100% into someone who expects that can hurt longer and deeper."

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_andingtall]

Sam sat quietly for a few minutes thinking about that. "This is going to suck out loud," he said and pinched the bridge of his nose against the headache he was getting just thinking about it.

"Okay." With Bo, at least, honest was simple. "Truth: I like you a lot. I want this to be more than just a friendship with great sex and benefits, you and me. I want... us to be a couple. But I get that you need to feed and it's probably not safe to feed on just me. I get that it's your nature to want to be with other people, and I think I can be okay with that as long as I know where I fit. It'll probably be easier for me if I know it's okay with you if I'm with someone else sometimes too. It would be easiest if we just had one or two other people we were with together. Is that... how does that sound to you?"

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_unaligned]

Bo didn't really realize until he said the word 'couple' that she had started to have feelings for him not unlike the ones she had for Lauren and Dyson. She was not exactly the best example of happy relationships, but most of that was influences of outside forces - or at least she'd like to think so.

"Yeah." She nodded, something stubborn decidedin her mind at that moment. She squeezed his hand. "I won't see other guys. And that's my decision, not yours." He didn't get to make that call one way or the other and it wasn't like sleeping with women was second-best by any means. "I can be monogamous. At least when it comes to my feelings and who I'm dating. Everyone else..." It was a little harder here because she couldn't exactly just meet a stranger in a bar, feed, and then never see them again. "I can find someone who won't let it get too personal."

"And I'm okay with you seeing someone else. I know I kind of came here suddenly and messed up what you had going. I can share."

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_andingtall]

"You didn't mess up anything." Abruptly, he wished they were having this conversation in bed or somewhere private so he could show her she'd done the opposite of messing anything up. What he could do was kiss her as softly and tenderly as he knew how. "You didn't."

And he did want to be with her. He was going to have to talk to Caroline and Molly. It shouldn't be an issue with Caroline, because they'd said no feelings, but he knew it wasn't that simple. Molls would be fine as long as they didn't fuck up the friendship.

"I don't really want to see anyone else the same way I'm seeing you. But if you need to feed on people who aren't me, I think it'll be easier for me not to resent it if I let Caroline and Molly decide if they still want something with me if they know I'm with you instead of cutting them out. Does that make sense?"

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_unaligned]

Bo nodded, understanding him exactly. "Yeah, I get it. And I'm okay with that." It was only fair, considering. She wondered if she could see only him. It was probably possible. Still, what would happen to Caroline or Molly? Bo had a complicated love life.

"You know, you're really something Sam. And I say that about you entirely, just not how good you are in bed."

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_andingtall]

Sam's brows furrowed over a quixotic smile. He had no idea what she meant by that, except that it was good. He brush the back of his knuckles against her cheek instead of asking.

"I wasn't planning this conversation. I don't think I'd even thought about it. But I'm glad we had it."

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_unaligned]

"Me too." She hadn't exactly been planning on answering the way she had either.

Bo leaned in to kiss him once. A teasing kiss before she pulled back and stood up. "I'd invite you back to my place, but now since we might be kind of dating I should probably be more coy." Her smile and tone suggested she was entirely teasing. Mischief played in her eyes as she leaned forward and took his ear into her mouth. She sent out a wave of pleasure as she let her tongue play around the lobe and then she stood up and stepped back out of his reach with the same playful expression.

"I guess I'll just have to see you for dinner." A play on words as she turned and let her hips sway a it more provocatively as she started to walk away. She wanted Sam's desire to fester a little because she knew the end result would be amazing.

Re: ota, tag Sam

[st_andingtall]

Sam grinned as she walked away, and while there could have been, there was nothing much lascivious about it. Bo was a succubus, and unbelievably effing hot. Sex was a given and a good given and he liked looking at her. She knew that.

But right this minute? He might've been a teenager who just negotiated the perilous waters of getting a first girlfriend.