Artair came awake slowly for once, his mind taking a few seconds to really kick in. Why was it so warm? He could of sworn he'd turned the heating off two days ago. Better yet why did it feel like someone was cuddling him? Looking across the answer was pretty obvious because someone was snuggled up to him, fast asleep with a peaceful expression. Oh yeah, Xavia. That date had ended well and by well, he meant very well. The evidence of their night was scattered about his room, apparently they'd been a bit excited when it came to removing those pesky clothes.

Well s--- lad, this complicates things. Sure things last night had been good. Really good in fact, but it didn't help him figure out his confused feelings any better, just made them a whole heap of different complicated, with the added bonus of, if they didn't move forward with this, it was going to be really awkward to go back to just friends. They had chemistry, that was pretty damn clear, but shouldn't he know by now how he cared about her?

At least they'd both slept well. Better than he had in a long time to be honest and that was saying something. His usual morning pain wasn't even as bad, but the doctor in him refused to think that was anything other than an outlier for now. As she started stirring, he turned his full attention back to her. Starting with a joking tone, "Morning sleepy, you were pretty out of it there. Long night or something?"

Indeed, she was fast asleep. The night before had been something for the books, that was the truth. She was still in a super peaceful and warm state, laying there as she was, no shame. She slowly opened her eyes to see Artair peering at her, cracking a joke as he usually did. "Hi..." she said softly, her eyes half closed for another reason other than the long night of... what could only be described as "spectacular" in her mind. She gave a sleepy smile and rubbed at her face. Man, she felt so rested for the first time in months. It was nice.

She rolled onto her back, reluctantly breaking the contact between them, oddly not feeling the nausea she normally felt around this time. Maybe it would come later, but right now, she was feeling really nice. "I t'ink I had a run in wit' a strong Scotsman last night who drove me insane." she countered with a half joke of her own, and she took a deep breath.

Unaware of his inner turmoil, she rolled to face him now, tangled in his blanket as she was, and she watched him with a serious expression on her face. She touched his arm, then sighed in a contented way. She didn't even want to read into what happened as more than just... consensual adult fun. Hell, she didn't know what was going to happen... But she, for one, did not regret the night at all... In fact, it had been needed more than she thought it had. And she decided to lay some things out on the table, in true Xavia fashion...

"Artair, last night was really lovely and I honestly do not know what will happen in t'e future, but I have no regrets. I hope you don't eit'er... It was spectacular. But don't worry t'at I want you to tell me you love me already, because t'at would be asking a lot." She smiled with her sincerity, adding, "And might be a bit much. I just want you to enjoy, t'at is all." With that, she rolled and sat up to stretch... He would see her toned back with the faint road map of scars, and the two little dimples at the lower end, before she, unabashed, got up and padded to his bathroom without bothering to grab for her clothes yet.

He couldn't help but laugh at her rolling with the joke, especially given the circumstances. Felt damn good to as well, so early in the morning. Sure he wasn't sure where he stood right now but he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying their time together. When she turned towards him he was suddenly acutely aware that neither of them were dressed and they were still lying in bed together. Que his brain deciding to go all awkward and only notice that. Why did his brain hate him?

The serious look on her face forced it to at least listen rather than try to get some peeks. Christ lad you'd think you had enough looks the previous night to last a while, no need for more right now OK? Listening to her it was like she was speaking right to his worries and setting them at ease. Xavia was kind of amazing to have that kind of effect on him. As his brain started to formulate and answer she just sat up and the stupid primitive part of his brain kind of took control and just stared. Damn she was gorgeous and with the light of day he could see the faint scars on her back, each telling a story. God who could do that to a person!? At least his were caused by an accident, even if they were harsher than hers they weren't a constant reminder of abuse.

And back to caveman brain as she got up to go to the bathroom. This time though he didn't even try to stop it and stared after her as she left the room. Probably had a pretty daft grin on his face if she turned around but which lad wouldn't in that situation?

 Lying back and starting up at the ceiling he did have wonder, would it be so bad trying out the whole dating thing with her? There might be heart break and pain in the future but should he let that stop him from living? He lived with pain most of the time, taking some happiness might be a good idea every now and then. Speaking to himself softly, "Might not be the worst idea in my life, finally try letting go a little."

She grabbed up her underwear, slipped them on, and then shrugged as she grabbed his shirt from the night before. She inhaled his scent as she pulled the thing over her head and went to the kitchen... In his shirt... And started to poke around in the cupboards to pull dishes out. Soon, an aroma filled the air, and it smelled delicious, and a tune would also fill the air. "Shut your mouth, baby, stand and deliver... Holy hands, oh they make me a sinner... Like a river... Like a river... Shut your mouth and run me like a river..." She was belting it out, but not so loud that the neighbors would complain. Not that they had anything to complain about, the lady could sing. It was no wonder they signed her to a contract.

This was not a typical morning for her, but she was in a fantastic mood, padding about in his kitchen without a care in the world. Hopefully, he wouldn't freak out at her for wearing his shirt and helping herself to cooking breakfast, but she was starving, and she was an okay cook, so he probably wouldn't mind the healthy breakfast. Let's just assume that he had the stuff to make some sauteed veggies, eggs for him but not for her, and some toast for both. If he didn't have the veggies, he would probably not want to ask how she got them, for it tended to weird people out. Hey, her tomatoes were safe to eat, damn it.

She continued to sing, set the plates on the counter and started to pour some coffee, careful not to spill on herself. She would have to content herself with not drinking the delicious smelling brew, since... well.. Caffeine... but god, did it smell good. Hopefully, he would take the cue and investigate. Knowing him, though, he probably would.

The sounds from the kitchen, follow by the gorgeous smell of food refused to let him ponder any longer, pulling himself out of bed and putting on his boxers and jeans. Sleepily glancing about he couldn't see his shirt, had they lost it on the way to the bedroom? The entirety of last night was still a haze so it was a definite possibility. Moving into the main room, "Hey Xavia have you seen........never mind question asked and answered." Worse she looked better in it than he did, "Is it bad that I'm jealous of how well you pull that off?"

"And coffee? Damn you know how to drag a guy out of bed," giving her a cheeky grin, "or into it." She could sing, she could cook, there was fresh coffee ready and waiting, yeah why was he hesitating about this? Unless this was all a cunning ploy where he really couldn't see an end game. Okay he needed to wake up a bit and the steaming pot of caffeinated bliss was the answer.

Grabbing the plates and moving them over to the table, before grabbing the little bits and pieces needed for a meal, he wondered if he had any orange juice left. Opening the fridge and giving the carton a shake, looks like he did, "You want a glass? I've also got some fresh bottle water as well." Pouring some drinks into glasses and depositing them with the food, he only had one more thing to do. Shame it was the worst part of his morning and always made the scars on his chest itch.

Pulling down a box from one of the cupboards and sorting out the mornings pills, he grimaced as he swallowed them with water. Can't go a day with a fun reminder he couldn't function without copious amounts of drugs and medicines. Ugh and they even tasted bad, because of course they did. "Well, I'm ready for something nice after that, cheers for breakfast lass, it smells great." 

"I figured it would be better t'an wearing my dress in t'e kitchen. I didn't plan for staying t'e night at your place." And yes, she did look pretty hot in his shirt. "Yes please," she said to the orange juice, and then sat down at his table. He would probably notice that she was at ease even if he wasn't. Hey, no big deal to her, right? She propped her bare foot up on the chair, which was definitely something she always did at home and was a good indication that she was comfortable in his presence.

Of course, she waited for him to sit down to eat first. The coffee would be perfection, strong but not too strong... The eggs would be nice and fluffy, soft scrambled. She took a bite of toast, hers had avocado mashed and smeared all over it. She hadn't gotten that from his fridge. She nibbled at the toast and smiled at him with her eyes warm on his face. "Did you sleep well, Artair?" Honestly, she hadn't had more than an hour of sleep in a while and it was nice for her.

She hoped that he wasn't uncomfortable with whatever this situation was in general. She did understand, though, seeing as she hadn't planned to come home with him so soon, but... The way his hand was in hers the night before... Damn. Just the thought gave her goose flesh for a moment, and a blush touched her cheeks. She looked down at her toast now and then took another bite.

Sitting down and digging in, he had to admit the smell was not deceptive, it was pretty damn good, comfortable too in a way. "Hmm? Oh yeah slept great, for once. Only woke up a minute or so before you did to be honest." Artair still struggled with his sleep, even with the stress of uni over for the year, it was like his body had gotten into that bad rut and just wouldn't climb out. True they'd worn themselves out the previous night but even then he'd had one of the best nights sleep in a long time. "What about you? I know your's isn't any better than fine, you sleep OK?"

He did have to grin when she started blushing and didn't look him in the eye. Must be having some fun thoughts there, maybe involving a certain happy looking Scotsman. Couldn't blame her, it was hard to not think about it himself but he had a decent poker face when he was actually in control of his emotions. Last night didn't count, Xavia had ambushed him him with kisses. "Remembering something fun there lass? Can't possibly think what it might be." It felt good to joke with her, made things easier for him to process.

It was weird how comfortable he felt like this, just hanging out with her in morning, having breakfast together. Should it be weird? Christ they'd spent a night together so surely this was the easy normal bit, right?

Why were these the most complicated parts of his life? No it wasn't his university work, the various legal and moral questions his work with Haven raised or even the fact that his heart could literally stop at any moment, it was relationships. B----- irony right there.

"I slept very well, t'ank you," she said with a smile, then ate her veggies one by one. Mmm, they were so good. "I am glad to have helped you sleep," she said softly and then got up to take care of her empty plate, washing it as soon as she was done eating. It was most likely an OCD thing. Her cup and the pan, the knife, the cutting board, everything was washed but what he was eating off of, and then she sat back down and eyed the coffee almost forlornly, but knew she couldn't go there.

And then he brought up her thoughts, and she blushed a little more, biting her lip. "Maybe." She said as she drew her knee up again. Her eyes watched him carefully now, and she resisted the urge to get up and interrupt his breakfast to show him just how much she thought about the night before. Give the man a breather, she thought to herself, and smiled into the glass of orange juice she was still working on.

"What about you, Artair?" Her brows shot up and she bit into her bottom lip. Her cheeks were still nice and pink with the directions her thoughts took her brain. My my, but she was going to have fun for whatever amount of time they would do.... whatever this was. If it was a relationship, great! But right now, she was enjoying his company, and thinking about that song where two young ladies tied a blue silk ribbon around a certain spot beneath a kilt, and she started to actually hum the song just to be silly. Then she whisper sang the words, "Ring-ding-diddle-iddy-i-de-oh..."

Well that was good then, they'd both slept well, for once. Didn't mean anything though. Finishing his meal as she washed up, he quickly cleaned the things he'd used once she was done, dried everything off and put it away before he sat back down. Made sense to him to get everything done in one go and he had to admit it would have made him feel a little too guilty to just sit there and watch her clean up after she'd cooked as well. Just didn't sit right with him, she was a guest after all, he should be treating her.

"I'll bet, although I can't blame you. Pretty memorable from where I'm sitting." How did she manage to look so pretty just sitting in his clothes at the breakfast table? More than one woman he'd know had looked completely different without makeup or doing their hair, yet Xavia somehow looked just a good as ever. Well there was that and the fact that when she drew up her legs, she was basically showing them off to him and damn, the woman had legs.

Hmm, should he tell her? They had promised to be mostly truthful with each other and she seemed to type to not mind a compliment every now and then. "Honestly lass, I was admiring the view. Not every day I wake up to a beautiful woman in my flat, or have a half dressed breakfast with them." Thank god for steady hands, spilling hot food or coffee on himself now would suck. Raising an eyebrow at the tune, what Scot wouldn't know it. "Well, can't say I deserve first place but cheers for the compliment lass. Just ask though if you want to see and man in his kilt," he finished winking.

She blushed at his compliment, as if hearing it from a guy was something new, which it wasn't. Xavia was not a vain creature in general... She dressed nice because she liked nice clothing against her skin, which made sense given how scarred up she was beneath them, how sometimes one had more sensitive skin in scarred spots... Then again, she was also conditioned to wear nice clothing, given that her family was loaded when she was a kid. But compliments were usually quietly bringing thanks, or she ignored them, depending on who gave them. She clearly liked it when he, in particular, complimented her. Her eyes met his and she said, "You're very sweet."

She finished her orange juice and got up to take care of her last dish, then moved, once again to sit down. "To be honest, I t'ink you look pretty good, yourself... And I don't t'ink you wearing a kilt would hurt my eyes in the least, but I am not sure how long you want to keep me here." There was a certain way she said that, and the way she swept her eyes up and down with her brow lifted, that gave away exactly what she was getting at.

And boy, did she picture that regardless of whether he wore the kilt or not, causing her to swallow and then clear her throat. She wasn't going to be the one to keep making the first move, however much she wanted to go to him right then and there and show him what the thoughts made her feel. Damn, maybe it was the pregnancy hormones going into overtime, telling her that she needed certain things, or maybe it was just that she had come to really appreciate this Scotsman for certain things... Either way, her face was flushed again and it was his fault. Nope, let him offer if he wanted it this time... Don't be such a floozy, lady.

Hello again caveman brain, why it had almost been a whole twenty minutes since you'd last gotten certain thoughts, not tired out are we? Why of why, was Artairs brain acting like this was the first pretty woman it had seen in months in his flat (it was) and just would not stop making him think like a teenager again. True, Xavia was very appealing sitting across form him wrapped up in his shirt, her face flushed a little from the cheeky comments. And yes, she was basically inviting him to make a move, but was this really a great idea? Was this sane?

"You're free to leave any time you want lass," giving her a knowing look, "but if you want to stay I'm not going to complain. I'm sure we could find a way to entertain ourselves." Yeah he was doomed. The moment she'd put it on the table it had only been a matter of time before he caved and let the more immature part of his system get a hold.

Reaching out and taking her hand, he did the swirls with his thumb she seemed to like so much. She wanted to play? He could play. It's not like he had a strict schedule at the moment and he'd planned to only do some light training today anyway. If she had no where to be, why not have a little fun together in the mean time. Sliding out of his chair and moving towards her, he bent down slowly until they were starting at each other, faces barely an inch apart. "If you're late for anything because of this, remember you wanted it," he added with on final smile, before he kissing her this time. Apparently the back and forth stealing of a kiss was going to be a thing, but he was far from upset about that.

She made absolutely no protests as his mouth met hers after a warning. She got up from the chair and did that thing girls did where they twine about a person to be carried back to wherever the man had in mind, making those sounds in her throat as the darkness of censorship dropped like a curtain over them...

L a t e r - T h a t - D a y

Mmmf... She lay in that haze from before, quite satisfied, quite content. She had fielded a call from her mother, letting her know that yes, she was fine. It was right after round... two? or was it three? She forgot... When she got off the phone, she kind of burst into peals of laughter at the situation, not having received a scolding from her worried mother for quite a long time. It was too cute for words. Mama had said she was about to call the police looking for her. But Xavia calmed mom down and then things calmed down.

Currently, she relaxed against him, her body perpendicular to his with he head resting on his chest. She had told him an amusing story from the mansion, how she had to deal with stubborn teenagers all day when she worked. "So t'ere is one kid, and he always does his homework on time and gives me t'ese smartass answers on his homework and tests. Just yesterday, he turned in his last assignment for semester, and he wasn't a smartass t'is time. So I ask him why he isn't giving his usual answers, and he says t'at he is gonna miss me. Sometimes it is stuff like t'at t'at makes teaching wort' it."

Xavia kind of turned her head, she was smiling and genuinely affected by how the kid answered. Her eyes were kind of misty at the thought of all those kids graduating and moving on. "Kind of reminds me why I started fighting for our kind, you know?"


E v e n - L a t e r - T h a t - D a y

It wasn't even close to dark yet, but it was passed lunch time, she let him make lunch and they talked about whatever. It was really comfortable for her, if not for him, she thought as she leaned her chin on her fist, watching him and giving opportunity for him to talk about himself. She honestly had forgotten time by that point, and brought up the need for a hot shower. "I don't really want to lead up to leaving... But I know we have to come up for air sometime." Indeed, she kept getting texts from Derek, and she couldn't turn her phone off because of having a special needs kiddo at home. That nosy Derek. "Are you sick of me yet?"

By now he was fairly sure that whatever there was petty them, it was worth exploring. They had fun, they were very compatible and frankly she was the most interesting woman he'd know, they could just lie and talk and laugh. It was new and fun and comfortable, in a way. Idly holding her hand as she relayed her stories about her students, he was glad they'd spent a lazy morning getting to know each other. Certainly helped sort his mind out on some topics. "Aye, I can understand that. Seeing a kid able to smile makes all the pain worth it. We need a place in the world like anyone else, to live and love and grow. Not much to want if you ask me." He was new to this fight, but his life was a battlefield from a young age. He'd seen the cost of a government stripping away everything from you, even your culture and language.

After a while, he couldn't really tell how long they'd just talked, they had a small meal and reality started to crash back in. Yeah he might be pretty free at the moment but Xavia did have a fair amount of responsibility. A kid, a job a worried mother by the context of the phone call. And Derek. That had been a revelation, they both knew the lad in different ways and he just knew the guy was going to want to try and get the juicy details about them. Smiling across to her, "Don't think that's possible lass, I mean I could show you how much I like having you around," adding with a cheeky grin. "But like you said, we should probably get back to the real world."

"I have your number though, and there's plenty of time in the future for our second date. Not much argument agaisnt having one at this point. And I have enjoyed our time together, today and yesterday. It's been nice, which is a bit weird for me." Generally first dates didn't go like this, or third dates really. He'd never spent the day after just hanging out with someone like this. "Want me to call you a Haven car? Should be here sooner than a normal taxi, with the added benefits of being comfier than one and free. Got to take advantage of the company resources while I can."

As much as she wanted to stay there, stay cocooned within his apartment and ignore reality for a little bit longer. Truth was, she had never been so relaxed around any guy, not even Delilah's dad. Her eyes met his and she gave a half smile. "My mom worries because of t'e t'ings I went t'rough when I was younger. She knows it is going to be okay, t'ough... She just needed to hear my voice." She knew how it was.

But eventually, she had a shower, possibly with him if he took the invitation, got dressed and went home to go on with her day.

---

She texted him every morning before work, but wasn't the type to send all kinds of texts all day long. Her words were always, Good morning, Artair, I hope you slept well. Thinking of you. She didn't freak out on him if he didn't answer, didn't call him insistently, let him be the one to call if he wanted to talk, and was not pushing for anything from him.

The morning of her ultrasound had come and gone, and he didn't get a text that morning since she had been so nervous, or the next because she was brooding... And then she sent him a text saying,Got some news, needed to process. May I see you?

It was nice having her to talk too, even if it was through texts. There was no pressure, no complications with it and it was enjoyable, even if some days he could only managed a few words as a reply he tried to at least send her his best wishes on a morning, asking how she was, that kind of thing. His previous, very limited experiences with dating had proven that he was not a fan of being hounded, called every day and constantly needing to justify his more reserved way of contacting people. With Xavia it was easy, simple and relaxed.

When a couple days passed without a text he was genuinely worried. She didn't seem the type to just stop all contact and hope the other person got the message, no that was very distinctly his tactics. Well that and he got the impression she liked him. No idea why, couldn't be how well their first date had ended. As the text came in, he had a feeling he knew what was going on. She'd told him something about an ultrasound coming up, must have had the results back.

Of course, where do want to meet up? He knew that she'd been attacked by someone, had she found out if the child was his? God that wouldn't be easy to deal with and as much as he'd want to personally tear apart the waste of human skin that did it, he wasn't going to bring it up with her and constantly remind her of that horrible episode. No he'd just give her fond memories, be someone she could find comfort in. That was all he need to do.