Day 3. He'd been sent home. The court house was no longer safe, and people weren't calling for lawyers. Viletta's husband had decided enough was enough, and he wanted her home. And she wasn't one to make her people work when she wasn't. Everyone else had been ordered to go home, too. Where had that left Aurum? Well. Simple. Standing on the street corner, with his cellphone to his ear, hoping the street would remain safe.

"Hey, Riley." He said. "Your apartment's closer. In this chaos, do you mind if I hole up with you?"

A car alarm wailed insistently in the background, and he glanced over his shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn't his. His motorcycle was safe by the curb, a few feet ahead.

Hole up...heh. In a lot of ways...yeah, her apartment was a hole.

The holes were still in the wall from the time Aurum had led mobsters to her apartment, and Riley could hear the sounds of the riots from her window. It was a damn inconvenience was what it was...she'd missed two shoots and rent was due in a week. People were getting sent home from work, but Riley was pretty sure that her old bat of a land lady wouldn't postpone rent day.

Oh. Had Aurum asked her something?

"Sure. I think you left some clothes here last time..."

There was going to be one problem.

"Do you think we're going to be able to order in?"

"Outlook doubtful," He replied. Ordering in? In this riot? That was a laugh.

He glanced to the right, down the street. There was a convenience store not too far... "I can pick something up... if we want to risk it. Or we can figure out something with what you have in the fridge... which, as I recall, is more than before I stopped in last time. Didn't you only have a lime?" It had actually been an orange.

While Aurum was talking, Riley was walking into the kitchen. She opened the door and stared at the contents of the refrigerator she probably hadn't opened since they had stocked it with some stuff. The brunette frowned. Did she want Aurum to risk it?

"Nah. Just come here. I'm sure we can scrounge something up. If all else fails I've got some Easy Mac in the cupboard."

There were people yelling outside, after all, and sirens blaring, and sometimes Aurum had one of those faces that begged to be punched. He needed to get off the street.

Easy mac? He winced. But, he could live with that... he supposed. If you called that living. She had some cheese. Cheese kept long, usually. Better than milk. Maybe he could make some real macaroni and cheese... maybe even cut up some weenies and toss them in. Hey. Don't knock it till you've tried it. Sometimes, the tastes of the common man got something right.

"I'll see you in a few minutes, then." He said, hanging up, already planning where he'd park. He got on his motorbike, started her up, and rolled down the street.

~*~

A short while later, there came a knock knock knock on Riley's chamber door.

Yeah....

Maybe she'd exaggerated a bit when she'd said that she had easy mac. There was macaroni and cheese in a box in her cabinet, and some half and half in the fridge that hadn't expired yet. That would work, right?

Shrugging her shoulders and assuming that Aurum would be able to figure everything out, Riley moved into her livingroom and occupied herself with magazines until there was a knock on her door. Off she went to open it, not bothering to check out the peephole.

Sure enough...it was Aurum.

"Hey, come on in." she said, heading back to the couch and her magazine. "You really don't think a delivery guy could get through? You did."

He pulled her in for a kiss, hands resting on her hips. Then, face close to hers, he said. "And it was like The Walking Dead. Trust me on this, Riley. We'll have to make do."

Aurum stood there for a second, looking into her eyes, waiting for what he expected would likely be a sarcastic, if-disappointed, remark. He wanted to hear one, so he could silence it by kissing her. It was a trap.

It was really hard for Riley to muster an appropriate amount of snark when Aurum was this close to her. He had that effect sometimes, and to be completely honest, it put her in a bad mood. She was the most self-assured person she had ever met, and Riley did not appreciate having that rug pulled right out from under her, just because her motorcycle riding, lawyer boyfriend was within arm's reach.

She opened her mouth to protest both his proximity and his description of the little disturbance outside, but had her perfectly logical comments silenced by the same set of lips who had spoken so undesirably a few moments before.

When the kiss was done, Riley frowned up at Aurum, "Well. Have at it, I guess...." This time it was she who stood on her toes to plant a kiss on Aurum's lips.

"I'm hungry."

In the context, it was not completely clear whether this hunger of which she spoke was physical or mental in nature. Which is to say, he was a Guy, and made his conclusion with the wrong brain.

"Hungry, eh?" He smirked at her expectantly. His words came out suggestive of the very best. "What for?"

A hand went up to tilt her chin to the prime kissing angle.

Men.

There was a riot going on outside, and Aurum had obviously just ridden through it on his motorcycle. All that testosterone and adrenaline and whatever else people had a lot of when they survived doing incredibly stupid things were making him stupid.

Riley kissed him chastely on the lips then shoved him away.

"Food." she said firmly. "I want food." it was beside the point if that was really what she wanted. A girl had to have standards...plus a part of her was curious to see what amazingness Aurum would manage with the anorexic ingredients in her kitchen. It would be like a TV show! Who cared what Aurum had been through all day...Riley needed entertainment!

The sudden rebuff threw him the whole distance of a woman's light shove.

Oh. Well, that made sense.

"Right." His hand moved up to itch the back of his head as he turned awkwardly, looking towards the kitchen. "Well then." He guessed it was time to get started. Off he went to get pots, noodles, water, pans, and cheese. Preparations were underway.

This...was the weird thing about Aurum.

Riley had the situation firmly in hand, but she felt bad as Aurum made his way into the kitchen. In all honesty, she may have been reading that magazine, but she'd been mentally wringing her hands like a school girl from the time they'd hung up to the time he knocked on her door. The relief when he had finally walked inside had been palpable, but then she'd literally pushed him away.

Rubbing her upper arms with her hands, Riley made her way towards the kitchen, leaning on the little door frame that separated it from the small eating space.

Aurum in the kitchen was a sight to see. Riley figured it was what confidence looked like in human form, and she felt significant amounts of envy while she watched.

"I was worried." she said suddenly, frustrated at the color she felt rising in her cheeks. It was always like this with Aurum too, things just popped out of her mouth and then she had to backtrack and explain.

"Who drives a motorcycle through a riot?"

Silence fell on the kitchen. His heart thumped in his throat. He didn't know what to say. It wasn't a feeling he experienced often. Usually, only with her. Funny how that worked. The feelings she'd felt, though... not so funny. More like terrified. Scared.

Aurum cleared his throat awkwardly. "It was actually pretty quiet out there on the trip home... but it could have been worse. There wasn't much I could do to get home, otherwise. I'm sorry you were worried."

He felt like an ass. A big throbbing ass that had its own reality TV show where it made an ass of itself. Which wasn't hard.

Riley nodded her head as he spoke, she knew Aurum too well to think that he would take a risk that was unnecessary. There were still crazy people out there, though, and he'd driven through where they were to get home.

The motorcycle was obviously at fault here for existing. Riley redirected her sass from earlier in its direction and felt instantly better. "I know. But no more motorcycle until all of this is done. In fact, I may not let you leave this apartment." If he knew her, he knew she wasn't playing. Pushing off the door frame, Riley made her way into the kitchen. It was small, but two people could still work if they stood side by side.

"I'll cook the pasta. I remember how to keep it from sticking." she said, holding out her hand for the utensil Aurum had in his.

"Actually, I wasn't planning to leave." Aurum replied soberly. "I've already got reason enough to stay safe... and all it'd take is a call to get the okay. I doubt the boss will mind."

He tried a smile as he handed her what she wanted.

"Alright. I'll get to work on the other stuff, then. I leave this to you." He said with a slight bow and a flourish of his hand.