Afternoon delight...or evening...whatever

'Ouch.'

The sound of stumbling, heavy breathing and an occasional yelp of pain can be heard from the east elevator in one of the lower sub levels where Nova's quarters were. With a silent swish, Kyle and Nova spilled out of the elevator into the hallway, almost on the floor.

'OOF,' Kyle huffed as he caught his inebriated vampire...ess, from falling. She had slipped in between his legs and his hands were locked around her waist. She was literally dead weight in his hands and without her help, he was struggling to make out with her and not drop her at the same time.

He wasn't doing very well.

'Ok, upsie daisy...Nova don't...don't don't don't...whoa don't grab me RIGHT THERE,' he squealed the last bit of his request as he disengaged her hand from...sensitive areas and he heaved her further down the hallway to her room.

'Nova...yes...kissing is gompf...did you have peanut butter for your lunch? Nova, nova,' he was managing to get her upright.

'Jesus how much did you have to drink?' Making it to her door, he thanked god when it opened on its own. 'Pretty cool door there, babe.' Finally picking her up again and throwing her over his shoulder, he huffed and puffed into the front room and set her down on the couch. Collasping, he sat down next to her and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

With a final sigh, he took a moment to rest.

By the time they returned to the domicile, Nova was awhirl with kissing and groping and crude attempts at walking, vaguely aware of the fact that stumbling drunkenly and heatedly to her dwelling with the knowledge of sex at the forefront of her mind was what passed for romance in her book. Hell, maybe it wasn’t romantic, but it was good, it was fun. Standing on tiptoe to suck on Kyle’s earlobe while one hand grabbed his ass, more for balance than anything else. Talking dirty in the elevator, muttering obscenities and flirtations while she fiddled with his belt buckle. After his peanut butter remark she had shot back with ‘Indian’, then threatened to have –him- for lunch, burying her face in his neck and nipping lightly. This gesture proved detrimental to her efforts at walking, unfortunately, and Kyle had apparently lost patience with her stumbling.

Nova wondered if he was frustrated or just eager to get in the sack as he lifted her off her feet. Everything was becoming a pleasant blur; this was easy, this was okay, they could fall into bed and just move together, ultimate escapism after a messy night. Trying to process what he was saying was only adding to the blurry quality of everything – instead of trying to answer the questions she could barely make sense of, she responded with one of her own.

“Think I wanna fuck you through the bed. That alright with you?”

She made a soft grunting noise when Kyle put her down, and it took her a moment to register that she was on the couch, not the bed. Not fully comprehending, she grinned, sloppy and slouching.

“Or this works too.”

Still smiling, she closed her heavy eyelids and leaned forward, resting her chin on the armrest. Unfortunately her eyes didn’t seem to want to open again once she had closed them. She blindly gestured to where she thought Kyle was, muttering.

“C’mere.”

Then her head dropped to one side, and her arm thunked to the floor.

Her mutterings made Kyle chuckle to himself. Her attempt to seduce him with a slurred invitation was...well he had had better, but who was he to complain really? As Nova reached next to her, trying to find him, he watched her fumble and then...pass out.

'Wha-....aw that's not right.' None to gently, Kyle grabbed at Nova again, and with a deep breath, heaved her back over his shoulder and off the couch. He almost tripped going up the stairs, but he made it to her bed. Throwing her down on top of it, he put his hands on his hips and looked at her. Kyle walked to the side of the bed and tried to make her comfortable, make sure she wasn't sleeping on her arm or anything, then proceeded to the bathroom.

Exiting the bathroom, he took a gulp of cold water from the tap, and for a moment, considered his options. Looking around the room he figured he could wait her out. Let her sleep it off. Then he looked down at his half filled glass of cold tap water...and then her shirt. He could have himself a wet t-shirt contest, but then she'd probably wake up and rip his head off and deficate down his throat.

He frowned at the latter idea.

Setting the glass down, he trudged back downstairs to her living room...and out the door.

Kyle peeked around the corner. He was still on Nova's floor. The elevator had refused to open for him, not knowing the Domicile computers didn't recognize him. He did not, however, take into consideration the security alarms he was tripping left and right.

It was a long hallway with a small sitting room in the middle. Nothing too comfortable, he's not sure why anyone would want to sit in the small open area anyway. However, every door he passed has a computer panel. He looked at each one as he passed. The panel was dark and if there were any buttons, he couldn't see them.

Upon reaching the sitting area, he found another larger version of the computer panel. Pausing, even to breathe, he listened for some noise. Nothing. He stooped over and looked at the panel which was about 4 1/2 feet up. Level with his chest. Reaching out, he touched the panel and it lit up.

Putting his hand back down he looked around, waiting. Nothing.

When he looked back at the panel, a tracing of an entire hand had appeared in glowing green lines. His mind screamed, 'DONT TOUCH IT' so - he touched it. There was a click and a whir. The bottom panel had opened up, sliding out a tray. Again, another form of a hand, but this time shaped in metal. His hand hovered over it for a minute. Every reasonable voice in his head was telling him not to do it, but he was always a sucker for shiny red buttons.

Placing his hand on the metal tray caused the panel to light up. Suddenly it was displaying information on his fingerprints which were incidently in the computer. A short profile was being displayed.


[/LEFT]

[/CENTER]

Dayle leaned back in her plush leather chair. Her arms came over her head, her fingers knotted together and she turned her palms to whatever was above her in that reclining position. Her spine cracked a couple times and her elbow popped gently as she groaned loudly and expressively. Lowering her arms, her hands came up and began gently rubbing her eyes. Staring at a computer screen for nearly twelve hours was something she was definately not used to. Bringing her chair back upright with a clinking thud, her bare feet wiggled against the edge of her chair mat under the desk. Her right hand reached out to the side of her monitor for her mug. When it reached her lips and she tipped it enough to drink, tipped further, and further again, she muttered, "Of all the bloody..."

As she stood, pushing her chair back to knock against the wall, she mentally tallied the night's damages. Seventy three mugs of tea. No wonder her bladder suddenly started screaming for release. Tugging her blouse from the back of her chair, she slid into it and half-heartedly buttoned it... "No sense teasing some random vampire," she thought. The white cami that she'd been reclining in was certainly enough to visit someone with but not to have someone visit her in her own office.

Out into the hall she stepped, and followed the carpet-edged corridor to the kitchenette where she'd been brewing her tea. Quickly filling the carafe with water, she set it to boil and, realizing her own plight, trotted down the hall to the ladies' room. The odd echo made her ears perk up but nature's insistence was more important.

A moment or two later, relieved, refreshed, and ready to drink yet more tea, Dayle found herself cradling another cuppa on her way into her office. Stepping around the desk, she set her mug on the coaster and reached with the other hand to pull her chair under her bottom.

The cotton of her skirt had barely contacted the leather of the seat when alarms started flashing on her monitor. "Intruder alert, unknown entity on level three." "Unauthorized authorized guest." And other strange things that Carol had mentioned she needed to keep an eye out for. Opening her desk drawer quickly, she pulled out the small handgun she'd been training with and carefully palmed it. "Wait, wait... there's very few people who would be wandering this late... if it said 'unauthorized authorized guest...'" Dropping the gun back into the drawer, she slid it closed.

Stepping out of her office again, she turned in the direction the alarms indicated and, after a few moments, saw a somewhat familiar man standing in front of the access panel.

She waited behind him, impressed at his silence at getting stabbed with a dozen needles at once. Glancing around him, she read the computer's output and filed the information. "So this is Kyle Evans. Why is he wandering around without Nova?"

Dayle was about to clear her throat to get his attention when he stepped backwards into her, elbowing her breast rather sharply. Her hands flew up to brace herself and hold him steady as she turned him around carefully. Her peripheral vision saw his hands moving together as she stared at his worn face. She took a deep breath before saying, "You know, Mr. Evans," she said lightly, hoping to not be patronizing at all, "if you wanted access, all you had to do was have Ms. Piestewa ask for you. As it is, you've set off a dozen or so alarms. Excuse me..."

Dayle leaned forward and, tapping a command into the console, set it dormant again. "Up and about somewhat late, aren't we Mr. Evans? Or I should say, aren't you? Because I know what I'm doing here, and I don't know why you're wandering around here at this hour."

It was a fairly solid 'something' he bumped into and with a small squeal, he was turned around to face...a woman. A mighty pretty one at that.

'ACK - oh.' He was still holding his hand like it was on fire and almost missed her questions after she said his name and seemed to recognize him.

'You know who I am? Who are you? Alarms? Uh...oh. I'm here with Nova...DON'T BITE ME!' Mentally rolling his eyes, embarassed with his oh so brave front, he cleared his throat and started again.

'I brought Nova home, that's how I got in. I was just looking around but the elevators won't work for me. What the hell was that thing?' Kyle said annoyed now at the computer panel. 'And what the fuck is up with all the needles??' His annoyance was overcoming his common sense as he stood talking to the perfect stranger. Crap, he thought. Nova was going to be pissed.

Dayle stuck out her left hand for Kyle to shake. ("Since humans didn't heal as fast as vampires, no sense exacerbating the man's pain," she mused thoughtfully.) "Dayle Yolgrave. I'm Ms. Hedley's protege. And yes, since you weren't previously set up with access to the facilities, alarms were going off, though most are now taken care of. I suppose the paperwork could wait til morning, though you seem to be conspicuously alone." Pursing her lips for a moment, she grinned as she realized what he'd demanded. "And no, I won't bite you... Not my practice really to bite another woman's man. I don't get my jollies - or dinner - that way, thank you. You, however, are still in pain, and likely will be for the next hour. If you like, I could take you back to my office and we could get you to sign a few documents, perhaps add your name to the shejjule of expected humans, and give you some tea or coffee? And a tylenol, perhaps?"

Dayle took Kyle gently by the arm and turned him down the corridor to her office. "That 'thing' is a security device intended to keep people out who don't belong, and to let people in who do. I apologize for the pain of the needles but they are necessary to get an accurate amount of DNA samples to add to the computer system. Some elevators will now work for you; once we get done our paperwork more will. Though we will want to speak with Ms. Piestewa before we give you full run of the place. You understand, I'm sure."

Kyle listened to Dayle and took her hand with his left when she offered it, amongst other things. Tea? Ew, he thought to himself as he suddenly realized Dayle had taken him by the arm and was leading him somewhere else.

He had heard her mention paperwork and he inwardly shriveled. He had come back to the Domicile, much to his displeasure, for...well sex. This was beyond disappointing and confusing, but he let her move him in the direction of her office.

At the mention of Nova's last name, he did say, 'Nova will be happy you pronounced that right.'

"I have tried to learn everyone's names, even if I haven't met everyone in person yet. So many people spread so far..."

Dayle spun the guest chair for Kyle and stood between it and the loveseat against the wall. "Wherever you're comfortable, Mr. Evans. Did you want that coffee?" Dayle had spied the disgusted look when she mentioned tea. "Unfortunately I haven't stocked any other drinks in my fridge. So unfortunately, no soda is offerable at the moment."

She knew offering the man beer was a bad idea, from reading his file... He'd had such a strange and rocky road, from what she'd read, both out in 'the real world of Nachton' as well as after his... introduction to Tacharan. "I'm sure you feel I'm imposing upon any plans you might have had. However, as you're one of the few non-familiar humans in the building at any given time, I'd like to spend a few minutes to get to know you. Besides," she grinned musingly, "Nova would probably be better rested by the time you get back to her." Dayle winked salaciously at Kyle.

Kyle took a step towards the loveseat, but then thought better of it. He went to the guest chair and settled down. His hand tingling now, he looked at it closely, counting the needle pricks.

'Twelve? Jesus. Huh? No, actually I'm good. I'll take that tylenol though.' Just then his watched beeped at him. As Dayle spoke, he dug out the small medicine bottle out of his pocket and opened it. He snorted at the comment about Nova. 'Considering thy mistress is sleeping one off, one being a fabulous drunk to which I am insanely jealous of, I'm good for some Q&A.'

He popped a yellow pill and dry swallowed it.

'So, who are you? You said Carol's protege? Where is the fair blonde, now that you mention it. She owes me dinner.'

"You can call me Dayle. I'm from, as you can probably tell by the wonderful accent, England. And you're perfectly free to make jokes about all the wars where the American forefathers kicked the English forefathers' behinds... I've probably heard them all, and I've only been in town a month. You'd probably believe," she said rambling a bit, "how many times I hear that in bars or clubs." Clearing her throat, Dayle attempted an approximation of an American accent. "You know, hundreds of years ago, our country kicked your's butt all the way across the pond. Does it still hurt? If you like I can kiss it and make it better..." Snorting to herself as she wiggled her mouse to turn off her screensaver, she continued, "I gave the first guy points for originality. I was ready to clobber the twelfth." Shaking her head, she looked up from her screen finally and gazed at Kyle with a small smile. "So. Not a regular visitor here, I take it."

By the time Dayle had finished her description of american pig headedness, Kyle was nodding with a proud smile.

'Aye,' he said with an english accent, 'here's to the filthy americans, eh!' He gave her a wink and looked around her office. Nice digs, he thought.

'Regular? No...noooot really. Although I have been in Nova's bedroom a time or two. Be sure to tell her I said that.' Another brilliant smile. 'But regular visitor, no. It's been some time since I've been around, but I'm familiar with the clan's holdings, unfortunately. Especially Duibne's medical facilities. I experienced that first hand.' He twirled a finger.

After her rambling, he realized she never directly answered his question. 'But you, what's your story here?'

"I don't have a story, Mr. Evans. There's me, filling Ms. Hedley's position. There's you, wandering the halls of the Domicile early in the morning." She shrugged amiably.

She tilted her head a bit and regarded Kyle curiously. "Why is it you want Nova to know that you have said you were in her ..." Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying, and what Kyle had said just prior. 'Here's to the filth Americans, eh?' rang in her mind. "Never mind... I think I understand. Tell me," she said after a brief pause, realizing she was treading on ice thinner than a hair, "do you regret everything that has happened because of your experience at Duibne Medical?"

Kyle had started to chuckle at Dayle's slow realization of his rather inappropriate joke when she mentioned Duibne. His smile faltered unhappily. He leaned back into the chair and looked at Dayle for a moment. She was either very nosey or just very curious. Leaning foward he planted his elbows onto his knees and laced his fingers.

'Miss...Yolgrave is it?' Nodding he continued, 'I would imagine my file here is quite thorough. Details from recent events to what I had for dinner in the 9th grade...I'm full of regrets - in fact I regret everything I have ever done. I just regret some things more than others.'

He frowned thinking a moment. 'I'd have to say I only -kind of- regret everything that has happened since the raid. Sometimes being a boy scout doesn't get you anything but a pain in the ass. Sometimes doing the wrong thing is better in the long run than doing the right thing. I chalk it all up to just being incredibly unlucky. But do I regret everything? Yeah, but only a little. I wouldn't be here having this charming conversation with you...a half a fucking mile underground...surrounded by vampires.'

Dayle was half tempted to lean forward to get a bit closer to Kyle to show the sincerity on her face, but realized it would be a bad idea. Instead, she turned fully towards him and kept her expression neutral. "I'm sure you are aware, Mr. Evans, of the difference between reading what's in a file, and speaking directly with the person that file is filled with. I wanted to ask you about something recent, to learn about who you are now. You're not the same man you were eight months ago, Mr. Evans. Each of us goes through something that changes us so irrevocably that sometimes, even immediately after or for years down the line, we look in the mirror and wonder, 'How did I get here?' whether it be with a sorrow, regret, or awe-filled voice. You may choose not to believe it if you wish, but believe me when I tell you that I have been faced with just such events three times in my life, each of which led me here. You and I are here for a reason, Mr. Evans. You may come here to shag Ms. Piestewa or to gaggle over the water cooler. I come here because it is my job to be here and because I like my family. I may not know any of them personally, but like it or not, I will. You are the first person other than Ms. Hedley or Mr. Huntington to sit in that chair, Mr. Evans. You're the next highest person on the totem pole from me, and you're a human."

She decided to address the human-vampire comment he made. "Let's take a what if. If you weren't here right now, if none of the last ten months happened, there's that chance that you'd meet me in Finnigans, and we'd laugh and gab over a pint, after which, depending on the week, you might become snack. I don't make friends for the snack options, Mr. Evans. If I were to become your friend, it would be because you're an interesting chap and you have quite a lot to say. Even if you beat around the bush saying it." She snickered to herself, shaking her head and staring at her lap for a brief moment. "As it seems I am doing so myself, I will simply ask... Why regret that you fell into something so good?"

Kyle blinked.

'What? Did you say something so...good? How is being kidnapped, killed, revived, almost burnt up, shot at, almost crushed, addicted to an underground drug, BITTEN and BLOWN UP a good thing? Was I suppose to be having a good time through any of that, because I missed the memo.'

'Listen, the only thing, probably the best thing that might've happened through all of that was meeting Nova, even though she tried to separate my head from my body. I've believed about...you all...for years. I've only really known now that I was right. It's one thing to be right and it's another to be dodging bullets. So,' Kyle's hands came up in a sweeping gesture, 'all this - yes, I regret. To the eyeballs I regret because my life is no longer my own. Looking over my shoulder isn't considered paranoid anymore, it's PRUDENT.'

'Now, if you don't mind.' Kyle stood and wiped his pants and straightened his shirt. 'Where are the papers you want me to sign - I have a drunk vampire waiting on me.'

Dayle kept a straight face through Kyle's tirade. She knew he'd be adamant in thinking the experiences were a bad thing... Not that she wished being killed and forcibly revived by becoming addicted to a wonderdrug on anyone... but he still skipped around the two important parts that were the most positive. "You're still alive, Mr. Evans, with a wonderful woman who cares a great deal about you. You could have several allies here, and possibly friends, if you stopped looking everything as if it were a conspiracy against you. Most of 'We all'," she said, pausing on imitating his grumbling description, "are simply folk trying to continue our lives, and live alongside those we used to be a part of. Some day there may be acceptance of us, Mr. Evans, but for now you're right, as you said in one of your columns some years ago. 'The widespread knowledge of the existence of the supernatural will remain for the time being as a figment of writers' imaginations, childrens' nightmares, and hokey television shows.' I am sure you're learning from your experience, Mr. Evans, but I wish you'd recognize we're not all bad. Some of us," she concluded, "would like you to stick around."

Dayle opened the folder lying on the top of her desk and, with the pad of her finger pushed two sheets of paper towards Kyle. One was a copy of the personal information in his dossier; name, address, and the like. The other was a listing of major sports and entertainment events as well as some of the restaurants in the city. "Sign the first. Keep the second." She rolled a pen towards him.

Nova didn’t have much luck with her peek out into the hallway. Where the hell had Evans gone to? She was beginning to suspect she had imagined the elevator ride up, and if she had imagined that maybe the entire museum trip was a figment of her imagination. She made a quick circuit up and down the hall and, seeing no sign of the reporter, went back to her room in a bit of a huff.

This spelled trouble, she was sure of it. Kyle wandering around the domicile was –not- a good thing, considering his penchant for getting himself into really crappy situations.

Still, she couldn’t help but smile a little. That was Kyle, and it looked like he’d gone and done it again. Somehow it was comforting…in a really weird sort of way.

Flopping back on the couch, she opened her laptop to see if Kyle might have registered with the computer somewhere. She might not have the access to watch everything happening in the domicile but she could probably see the last room Evans entered.

And sure enough…he’d gone into an office.

Hmm. Who was Yolgrave? She hoped that wasn’t some new merc…

Shit, this could be bad. Thinking that she had better hurry and explain that he was with her and no one was supposed to mess with him, she careened out the door at top speed and booked down the hallway to the office.

/ooc OMG COLLISION COURSE!!!!!one!!!!

Kyle grabbed the pen and flicked the top off with his thumb - sending it flying to the right of him. Without breaking his ridiculously arrogant stare on Dayle, he signed the papers where HE wanted to sign them. Signature lines be damned. He pointed at her with the pen and then dropped it on the desk. Turning he walked to the door and let himself out, but not without tripping slightly. Again he looked at her, eyes narrowed and backed out of the office, waiting for the door to close.

Tucking in his shirt, he nodded at the door quite pleased with his exit. Stepping to the right, he rounded the corner - right into Nova.

'Wha- ugh. Am I dead? I think I'm dead.' Kyle sat up and touched his head, shaking it gently. 'Nova - you're real nice and all...but I'm starting to think you have a thing for hurting me.'

He sat there on the floor, hand on knee, looking at her with an incredulous look on his face. Where ever they went, she was trying to kill him in one fashion or another. Kyle sighed.

'I'm DELICATE.'

Dayle saw the pen cap land on her loveseat out of the corner of her eye, but the main direction of her gaze was at Kyle.

As soon as he disappeared out of her office, she realized she regretted her questions. She'd known he was going around the building with a heavy chip and dose of morosity but... She wished he would be a bit happier for the fact that he was still living, and possibly in love.

Sighing as she closed the dossier, she dumped it in a box to her right and paused a moment. Decision quickly made, she shut her computer down and dug her purse out of her drawer to head home.

(( Dayle out. ))

“Oh –fuck-!”

The crash was probably inevitable, Nova reflected as she picked herself up off the floor, but geez if that hard tile didn’t hurt like a bitch. Rubbing her wounded posterior, she knelt back down to give Evans a hand. From the way he was carrying on she thought for a minute he might be seriously hurt.

“Dead people aren’t that loud, Evans, now hold still…geez, are you alright?” Stupid question, she realized, but damn, that had –hurt-, and her mind had been on him getting himself into trouble before all this happened anyway. Carefully she pried his hand away from his head to peer at the resulting red bump. Kyle was still bellowing out his own delicacy, which Nova thought was something of a contradiction considering the level of noise. “I –swear- that wasn’t on purpose…where were you anyway, you can’t just go wandering around here…” She sighed, rising to her feet and offering him a hand. “Let’s get some ice on that.”

She wasn’t sure if the throbbing in her head was a result of the slight hangover, the collision, or just…all the stupid drama. In any case she was considerably more subdued than usual and just wanted to make Kyle stop yelling. And yeah, she felt a little bad about putting him through all that. Not that she was about to apologize, but she’d wanted to keep things between the two of them easy and laid back, a relationship without all the crap. She’d never been the one to bring the intense stuff into a fling before and it didn’t sit well with her.

Kyle took her hand but not without a dirty look. 'Well, I see we're sober again? Mind telling me why you get to booze it up? So unfair.'

He straightened his clothes as they walked back to her apartment. 'So, who's this Dayle chick? I gotta say, if she's replacing Carol - I think I'd rather have Carol. At the very least I get to see some nipples and her thong instead of the insanely thick english accent. She some sort of exchange...vampire?'

Not that Dayle was all that bad, he just didn't think discussing the life of times with Kyle Evans with a stranger was all that appropriate. He shuddered at what other information they had on him. No doubt things he happily blacked out while drinking. He grimaced at the thought.

Nova rolled her eyes as she helped Evans to his feet, finding his question was both an annoyance and a relief. Annoying because since when was she accountable to him, and a relief because he hadn’t asked what was wrong.

“What were the odds that I would run into you while I was loaded? I ask you.”

Only slightly exasperated, she led the way back to her apartment, looking over her shoulder every so often to catch what Kyle was saying.

“Shit, I think you know more than I do.” A pause. “On that topic anyway.” Palming the door, she added a sincere: “I really don’t know, I haven’t met her yet. Are you in trouble?”

She sure hoped not; that was all they needed. Holding the door so Evans could get through, she then brushed past him and headed for the sparse kitchen. No ice in the freezer, of course, but there was a steak and she’d seen someone use that on a television show at some point, so she figured that would do.

She really hoped she wouldn’t have to explain why there was a steak in her freezer as she turned back to Kyle.

“Whatever, I’m sure we can straighten it out. It’s just a steak, I didn’t have any ice; just hold it right there.”

Kyle blinked at the steak. 'I bet...I'm the only person in the room who is wondering where else that steak has been.' He took the slab of meet from Nova with disgusted fingers. 'Um, no.' Kyle made a face and threw it in the sink.

'As for being in trouble, gosh - me?' Grinning he nudged Nova. 'No, she had me sign some papers.' He said in his best russian accent and poked around in her fridge, finding nothing of interest, then leaned back on the kitchen counter. 'So, how many more times are you going to avoid my question? I must've asked you like 4 times why you got all snookered without me. Which, I'd like to state again, I am not happy about. If you're sticking with me, sister, you'll be painfully and utterly sober with me.'

That was, assuming, she was with him. Kyle wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to assume and then take for granted, or just straight off take for granted. In any case, he was prepared to make the mental note based on her response. Mental pen poised, he raised his eyebrows at her, waiting.

Trying not to look offended at Kyle’s rejection of the steak, while wondering why the fuck she should be so sensitive about it, she instead sighed and saw to its disposal. In truth she had picked it up on impulse…because Kyle liked steak and she thought it would be good to have food around, but if he was going to be all suspicious, fuck it. She was kind of embarrassed about it anyway.

She managed to smile back at his sarcasm, leaning into the nudge to offer some resistance.

“’Hope you read before you signed.”

She shrugged and looked away at Kyle’s question, wishing there was a microscope nearby she could stick her face into.

“I figured ‘without me’ was the operative part of the question. And I told you; I didn’t know I was going to run into you.” Alright, she could admit that she was playing games with that – not that she was trying to manipulate, she just didn’t know how to answer the question. Half of her wanted to blurt out something, anything. ‘My baby brother is in prison.’ ‘My psycho brother just called.’ ‘I think I have to go to Arizona.’

“My father died.”

Oh. Crap.

“Fuck…a while ago, he died, I don’t know exactly when. I just…crap, I just found out, it was on my mind, just forget it. Please. Okay.”

Shaking her head and wondering if she was losing it just a little, she took a deep breath. “Right.” She smiled weakly, still not fully looking at Kyle. “So some stuff came up. I didn’t intend for you to see any of that.”

Suddenly, and with surprising intensity, she wished Marthinus were here. The only person she didn’t have to be tough around.

Then the rest of his comments registered with her. Oh this was –exactly- the fucking time for an ultimatum. “I’m not your sister. And I –am- sober when I’m with you…there was just a dumb mistake and some bad luck tonight.” Almost petulantly, she added: “I made a point of it. Not drinking around you.”

How did this work, anyway? Would he stay angry…or at least, ‘not happy’…, or would he blow it off and move on? Was Kyle the type to bail at the first conflict? Hell, -she- was the type to bail at the first conflict and right now she was wondering if she really wanted a hassle every time she decided to have a drink. From the first there had been these little changes from her normal behavior…not drinking when typically she’d be knocking them back, actually talking about things instead of just shutting him up with a fuck…really, it was almost insidious, and it was definitely frightening.

'What do you mean, some stuff came up?'

Obviously ignoring her plea, Kyle found himself being concerned over Nova's reaction and explanation for her inebriated state. 'How did you just now find out? Do you not keep in touch with your family...are they still human? I thought you guys kinda converted your entire families after a while?'

The last statement was said out of jest, but what little sensitivity he had towards other people kicked in and he mentally smacked himself for it. He leaned in close and played with her hair. 'And I appreciate you not drinking around me.' More than she would ever know.

They were at an impass in their relationship now. The 'tragedy in the family' test was now upon them. Would Kyle be supportive and coax her into talking about it with him in order to keep herself from hurting alone, or would he just blow it off and let her deal with it on her own? He was voting for the former, but she might prefer the latter and if that is what she really wanted, would he let her do it?

He hoped not.

Nova leaned back on her elbows, bracing herself against the counter while Kyle fired off a list of questions. Finally he seemed to wind down enough to get a word in and even had something nice to say…still, she felt a little overwhelmed.

“They’re all human, as far as I know – before today I hadn’t spoken to any of them since college.” She shrugged and pushed herself up on the counter. “Geez, I don’t like talking about this…there was still some contact,” She tapped the side of her head “with my littlest brother. But even that I was cutting off – I didn’t want to risk walking around in his head too much and having him think of me consciously. I guess I wasn’t careful enough, though. He managed to find me and wrote me a letter.” She rubbed at her nose and pulled one knee up to her chin. “From prison. Drug charges I guess, though I think there’s more to it than that. So anyway, he wrote…-begging- me to come home and help him somehow. I think he figures I managed to get out of that environment once, maybe I can help him do the same…or something.”

She rested her cheek on her knee, making eye contact with Kyle for the first time since this whole tell-all had started. She looked away just as quickly.

“Anyway, I guess he told my older brothers that he wrote me. They called. So they told me about my dad.” She sighed and shifted her weight yet again. “I’m not really broken up about it. I guess I was a little surprised.”

Hopping down from the counter, she paced over onto the island and pushed up onto that instead, talking as she went. “Anyway. I’m not going or anything. It’s not a good time to be up and leaving home base, if you know what I mean. I just thought Yoki…that’s my little brother…I thought he’d do better. And, you know, he sounded scared and stuff. I did tell my older brothers I’d wire over some money though…so I guess I’d better do that.”

It all must have sounded pretty hard assed to Evans, but Nova had made her choices regarding her human family a long time ago and she wasn’t going to waver now just because times were tough and people had supposedly ‘changed’. She wasn’t going to let herself get torn into two lives when she’d left one behind and started another, it –wasn’t- going to happen.

She wondered if her bender proved that it already had.

“It’s fine, though, really – stuff came up, got in my head a little, but it’s fine now. Like I said, I’m not really broken up about this stuff.”

Kyle watched Nova move around with nervous jittering. He opened his mouth a couple times, but felt it prudent to just let her go. When she again reiterated how she was 'fine and not really broken up about this stuff', he gave her a sad smile. Walking up to her, he placed his hands on the sides of her, squirming in between her legs to try and hold her close. Experience told him, even though it had been very little experience, that Nova just wasn't the teary eyed type. Unfortunately he had some experience in the dead father catagory, so he knew what was coming.

'Yes, you've mentioned a time or twelve that you were ok.' He nudged her with his shoulder. 'My father died when I was a kid, but I don't think it matters much how old you are when it happens...or how estranged, I guess.'

Kyle spoke softly as he looked into her eyes. 'I also know that alcohol doesn't kill the pain, it only dulls it. If you...want to talk about this,' he cleared his throat, 'I'm here for you. If you want. Me. To be here. Here for you, I mean, not just here in your kitchen. You know what I mean.' He knelt down and looked into her face. 'Listen, if you get all soft on me and shit, I'll grab you by the hair and drag you upstairs and have rough sex with you. So you just watch, sister.'

Nervous laughter ensued, but he was fairly certain he tried to convey what he meant. Whatever that was. Well he knew what that was. For the most part. Yes.

Mentally he kicked himself and hoped he Nova wouldn't start crying.

Nova yielded, a little stiffly, to Kyle’s advance, shifting to let him settle between her legs and looking somewhere in the region of his collarbone. She looked thoughtful when Kyle shed a little light onto his own personal experience and pushed back with her own shoulder, trying to keep her expression neutral though it wanted to warp into a sour look.

She rested her head on Kyle’s shoulder, half because it was there and warm and his neck smelled nice and half so she wouldn’t have to look at him.

“We really don’t know much about each other, do we?”

Of course, her theory was that no one really knew anyone else…that no matter how long you lived other people would always be a mystery. That you couldn’t –really- understand how a person thought and why. There was only proximity, and these invented connections that you could break any time you chose, if you didn’t find them ripped out from underneath you. All that didn’t explain why things felt better with her head on Kyle’s shoulder – her scientific mind blamed chemicals, hormones, Darwinian instincts at play, but she was only willing to wade so deeply in her own theories on people, that mysterious animal she never quite understood. Instead she looked up and met his eyes, just as he gave the drinking public service announcement.

Maybe if he’d gone about this whole thing differently she would have told him to fuck off and leave her alone just to avoid something painfully awkward, but...just being there, that was okay. He wasn’t insulting her by telling her everything would be okay or making obnoxious little hush noises when she wasn’t even crying, or otherwise being obnoxious. So yeah. That was alright.

At Kyle’s ‘threat’ of rough sex, she pulled back, deadpanning.

“Oh. No. Anything but that.”

She gave a weak smile and put her forehead against his.

'Well,' he said softly and with the signature raspy 'lets have sex' voice, 'we could still do that.' With his hands still at her sides, he rubbed his nose against her's and kissed her softly. Wanting to skip her initial question about what they knew about each other, if anything, he still pulled back before getting in too deep and answered her.

'I suppose other than rumors, conjecture and recent flailing about in bed with each other...no we don't know much at all.' Kyle pulled his head back and looked down at her. 'I don't suppose pillow talk counts, right?' Grinning he pushed away from Nova and leaned against the counter across from her.

'So give, sister. Tit for tat? Quid pro quo? Just don't eat me afterwards.' He added a wink in hopes that she'd take that the wrong way.

Pleased to see that they had, perhaps, drifted away from dangerous territory, Nova leaned forward a little to return the kiss, her mouth curving into a little smile. She and Kyle certainly had their moments but it was nice when they could be just like this once in a while. Not that she really minded their more heated moments…of any variety.

She was quite surprised to hear Evans give a…somewhat…serious answer to her comment; really it had been rhetorical, mostly because it had never really occurred to her that Kyle would much care. She wasn’t sure if she was pleased or just confused, but quid pro quo seemed fair enough. Was this some sort of ‘next level’ thing? She wasn’t sure, but if it was at least they were going about it in a way that made sense. Logical and low key in spite of the conversation’s somewhat high drama beginnings.

She put her feet up on the opposite counter, framing Kyle with her legs.

“Me eating you is the least of your worries.” She returned the wink and then tried to think of what she wanted to know about Evans, and what she might have to give up in return. They knew about each other’s dads…well, lack of dads…at any rate she didn’t really want to talk about her family any more. Then there was the issue of telling –anything- to Kyle – the guy had a way of taking a little information and extrapolating. Tool of the trade, Nova supposed.

“Quid pro quo, then. Off the record.” She flashed a toothy smile. “So. For me, showing up to work every day means doing something that means the world to me. My job is why I wanted to become…” She gave an ambiguous gesture indicating her person “…what I am, in the first place. I can say without a doubt that my work is the most important thing I will ever do.”

She didn’t want to get into all the crap she’d given up, especially with her family matters so close to the surface. She could imagine that Kyle got the idea. “But I’m trying to wrap my head around what drives –you-. You do all this crazy stuff…you’ll go anywhere, push whatever buttons you have to, stick out your neck over and over again, just in the course of working. I mean, I can understand really loving your job –that- much."

"I just, and I know this’ll shock you, I just think I’m wrong; I think I’m missing something.” She grinned “And I’m curious. What makes you jump into the burning building?”

He tilted his head and listened intently to Nova's explanation of life which didn't make sense.

'So, in order to do your work, it meant becoming a vampire? That was the only way or just YOUR way? Who did turn you? Was it Simon?' Kyle paused a moment and gave Nova an appraising look. 'Yeah, it was Simon, I bet. That's the only reason I can see for your incredibly insane loyalty towards him and...all this.'

Again he looked around the magnificant structure that was half a fucking mile underground. It was like one huge...well coffin. He shivered but hid it with a shrug.

'But for me? Listen, that wasn't me jumping into that burning building - try more like thrown against my will. How did I get to this particular point in my life? Booze. Booze and a lot of bad luck although I am appreciative of some of the good things that I've practically fallen on top off...so to speak.' Kyle reached out and caressed her firm yet soft bare leg stretched out next to him.

'There's nothing special about me, I suppose. Just...the wrong place at the wrong time, Mgee. That's me. I have no desire to make the world a better place. Hell I'm barely sober enough to deal with it, much less have some...cosmic place in the universe. My job though - pure sensationlism. That's all. How was I suppose to know I'd be right?' He ended his monologue with a hearty snort.

Nova shook her head while Kyle queried, waiting to get a word in edgewise so she could clarify.

“Nono. I didn’t have to become a vampire to do my job, my job made me want to become a vampire.” She crossed her arms over her chest at his mentioning of Simon, suddenly feeling slightly defensive. “Yes. He did.” And he better not have a problem with that! “But you’re wrong – I’m loyal to something I believe in, not blindly subject to my creator. It doesn’t work that way. Anyway, as you can see I’m completely capable of cutting ties with family at any time – I did it with my human family and if something happened to destroy what I have with this family, I’d walk away. That’s so unlikely to happen that it’s hardly worth discussing, but I’m just not…sentimental enough to become attached to something without solid logical reasons.”

Kyle set to answering her question and she put her arms back down, relaxing again.

:”Hmm. Interesting.” She leaned back a little, her eyes going heavy lidded as she peered at him through her lashes. “So…have you –ever- been in control of your own life?”

Kyle snorted at her response about Simon. 'Look at you, getting all hysterical already.' Then she mentioned being able to complete sever ties with her family. 'Right, yes you're dong a fab-oo job of that, babe.' Then she dropped the bomb.

I’m just not…sentimental enough to become attached to something without solid logical reasons.

Kyle blinked. 'So...you have a solid and logical reason for becoming attached to me? You are incapable of not putting your foot in your mouth when it comes to emotional issues, aren't you?' He shook his head and thought about her question about being in control.

Waving his hands he stopped them for a moment so he could answer her clearly before they started a fight about her inability to be sentimental. 'Listen - I was capable of having normal days before coming to Nachton. There's just something about this place that feeds on people, no pun intended, making them do crazy things or throwing crazy shit in the way of their normal lives. Yes, I was normal once and in control...a long time ago. Going with the flow, however annoying or dangerous the flow is, seems to be the only way to maintain some type of control in this city. I'm agreeing to disagree, so to speak. I'm deciding to let things be decided for me, I guess. I don't know. I think my brain hurts now.'

Kyle reached out and pinched Nova's leg playfully. 'And stop giving me that come hither look unless you mean it, sister.'

Nova made an indignant sound when Kyle accused her of hysteria and was definitely walking the line with the snark about recent failures to live up to her cold hearted bitch lifestyle choices, but broke into a grin at last, resigned and too burnt out on the emotional crap to do anything but go with the flow.

“As a matter of fact I do have my very logical reasons for being seen with you.” She pretended to hesitate. “’Has a nice ass’ is a logical reason, yeah? And I do not put my foot in it with emotional issues!” This time she really did have to pause. “Alright I totally do, but still, my logic stands.”

She managed to cut her rant short so Kyle could answer her question, and this his response –really- gave her pause.

“…yeah, you know oddly enough I sort of know what you mean. Every once in a while I just get this itch to get out of this city. I mean, I like it here and all, don’t get me wrong. But…” There were a half a dozen ‘buts’ she could have named, but instead she trailed off. “You know? Right, I guess you do.”

She gave an exaggerated twitch when Kyle pinched her, though she didn’t make any real effort to escape further assaults. She dropped her voice a little in a silly attempt at sultry.

“Who says I don’t mean it?”

Kyle laughed heartily, 'Oh ho ho - me Tarzan...you Jane!' And with that he grabbed Nova and heaved her back over his shoulder. Stumbling out of the kitchen, he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom and then threw her onto the bed.

He began to tear his shirt off but then thought better of it. Holding up his index finger, signaling her to wait, he undid the buttons of his shirt. 'Two hundred dollar shirt - buttons are priceless you know.' Finally with his shirt undone, he tossed it to the side and then started to flex for her all manly like.

Kyle realized just then that he was genuinely happy when he was with Nova. Maybe it was because she never seemed to take him seriously and those brief moments when she did, it made him feel whole as a man. Odd, he thought to himself, that it would take a vampire to bring out the man in him. Holding his arms up like a Greek Adonis, he kissed his bicep hoping to garner several un-Novalike giggles. Part of him wondered if he wasn't falling in love with her, which made him pause, lowering his arms. He just looked at her then, curly brown hair in a ponytail and beautiful bronze skin. Then with a wink, he undid the buckle of his belt and wiggled his eyebrows seductively.

Nova could see what was coming after the ‘me Tarzan you Jane’ remark, but still gave a breathless gasp when Kyle picked her up. She wasn’t exactly a delicate little thing and most humans couldn’t handle her…ha, wasn’t that the story of her life.

Evans, however, seemed to have no trouble. It kind of made her feel younger, possibly even cuter, too. She bounced on the bed, feeling about ten years old for a minute, then got her hands under her and leaned back, watching the show and giving him appreciative looks.

The idea of Kyle wearing more expensive shirts than her just cracked her up – she had enough of a clue to realize laughter wasn’t what most guys wanted to hear when getting naked, but it was just too funny not to snort. This only seemed to encourage him as he put on a display of flexing and posing. Feeling cheerful now and suddenly much more energetic, she squirmed up and yanked off her tee shirt in one go. It was quite convenient, wearing easy clothes with no buttons or complicated buckles. Just one motion and they could have that delicious feeling of skin on skin.

Deciding they’d be here for a day and a half if Evans kept going at this rate, she got up on her knees and made a grab for the now unfastened belt, giving it a swift yank. Grinning at the wonderful ‘swish’ sound of leather flying through belt loops, she merrily tossed the encumbrance aside and reached around to the back of Kyle’s neck, pulling him down into a kiss while her other hand fiddled with the button and zipper. These she managed with only a little difficulty, though she was mostly proud that she hadn’t given up and yanked the button off. That sort of thing seemed to matter to Kyle.

That done, she trailed her hand down Kyle’s chest, lingering over his well cut abs, and slipped both hands down both the now unfastened pants and underwear. Pulling away from the kiss with a smile, she gave a good downward push, letting everything fall into a pool at his feet, then moved to the back of the bed and beckoned with one finger.

“C’mere.”

She wondered for a moment if she wasn’t a little too easy – not in the sense that she was giving it up too soon, but rather she questioned her own cheerful mood. Things were sort of going to hell…weren’t they? Shit, she didn’t know anymore…she just wanted Kyle to get his ass over here so she could do him.

Kyle watched Nova fall back on the bed after she kissed him and practically robbed him of the rest of his clothing. Lifting a now bare knee, he tried to pull off a pant covered shoe and with murphy's law being what it is, he of course lost his balance and fell.

'Fucking...shoe,' he muttered from the ground. Pulling off both shoes and fully disrobing, he jumped up and again tried to regain his manly stature. He had lost about ten pounds since the raid and Kyle was briefly self conscious standing naked in front of Nova, but looking at her naked as a jay bird, he promptly dismissed the thought.

In response to Nova's sultry command, he smiled and replied, 'Aye, Captain.'

((Fade to black because I'm MODEST! ooc out =D )