Never had a place seemed so close yet so far away. Physically fit wise he could have walked all night and been fine. Emotionally and intellectually he was taking a bit of a bruising. He was spared from having to dwell on having her body pressed close into him from behind by the leather jackets they both wore, but she was in full on cling mode. The guide in charge of his trying to figure out what he was supposed to do had taken a sabbatical and joined and monkhood without telling anyone. Just a few more steps then an elevator ride then a few more steps.. assuming his brain didn't hit eject and get far far away from this increasingly awkward situation

Please just a few more steps to their combined refuge without her saying anything emba- a dial tone sounded in his head for a long moment as his steps turned decidedly trudge like. His ear was apparently directly connected to his internal battery and as soon as they brushed he wriggled from top to bottom with a cascade of electric energy. 

W-was that a sigh? Was she really talking about him? The brave hamster in charge of keeping his brain functioning died of a merciful heart attack. Then eaten by a cat, who was clubbed by a seal and turned into a violin then tossed off a building. A hobo promptly started a fire with the wreckage and life trickled on. "Uh... I am not all that amazing at all. You save lives and do so much to help people you don't even know. I am not even sure I do the things I do because I really want to or because it is just what I think a good person would do." He highly doubted she would remember at this point given her rather jello like consistency on his back. Someone was incredibly relaxed. He also really really wanted her to stop talking about him like he was some saint.

The neck nuzzling caused a few more involuntary spasms as lust took the in appropriate timing to cover his eyes. Already off balance and missing a step he corrected and felt his face his the corner frame of the elevator soundly. "Son of a.." rapidly blinking away the sudden appearance of spots. He found a safe spot to hunch over even more so he could let go and hit the button for the elevator and quickly reasserting his hands so he could stand back up before she could fall off. 

Had a mutant messed with time in the area? The numbers coming down seemed to dwindle far too slowly for his liking. Sloth and lust were in competition mode and with his hands unavailable for petting they had made it a competition to see which side of his face would rub off first.. one eventually got used to the random snake tongue flitting up the nose after the second dozenth time he discovered with watering eyes.

There were a few times that he seemed to have shivered, and she wondered if he was cold. That wasn't possible, right? He was wearing a coat, just as she was.

Then again, she had been shivering for a while now. Maybe they both really were cold and she just couldn't feel it!? The Greek hunkered in further, squeezing slightly with arms and legs in what she hoped was a warm embrace.

"Oh hush." She blinked at the profile of his face that she could see from her spot. Her hazy mind decided right there that she didn't much like the piggy back anymore if she couldn't look him in the eyes. "Whether you do it because you feel like it, o-or you do it because it is the right thing to do, you are still doing it. You are still making a conscious decision yourself t-to do the good thing." She wiggled slightly, wondering how to dismount him properly without falling.

Around about that time Erik smacked into the frame of the elevator, and she was jostled slightly. The Greek ended up Gripping on tighter for a moment as she processed what had happened. "Oh!"

He stumbled them in and bent over. She tried to pull herself up a little more to see if he was injured, as he pushed the button to her floor. "Are you okay?" She wanted to see his face, but couldn't. She needed to see!

Like any good drunk would do, she came up with a plan and gave it exactly 0 thought before launching into it.

She released her hold from around his neck and lifted her arms straight into the air. Simultaneously she went completely limp and she wriggled right out of the bottom of the big coat he had given her. It was pushed off to the side along with her shoes as she flipped back, planted her hands on the carpeted floor and waited for him to release his grip on her legs. Sloth had released itself enough that it just slid suddenly back over Erik's shoulder and thumped to the floor unceremoniously.

... She had not expected nor prepared for her dress to flip down after her.

Whoops!

Still, she giggled at the humor in it all. "Can you release my legs please?"

Erik had never been on anyone's designated driver or drunk call list. That didn't mean he had no experience dealing with drunks however. One thing was universally sound. There was never any point in arguing with a drunk so when she got all philosophical he just nodded like a good donkey and kept following the carrot. At least until she got even more jello like and started wiggling. The squeezing and awkward cuddling would have been far easier to manage and thus ignore. Now she was getting squirrely and her snakes weren't helping matters. 

The momentary respite of her clinging tighter after the lost battle of wall 1, skull 0 she had decided to cling rather then wobble. "Yeah I am quite fine thank you." Physically at least, everything else was still up in the air. He really should have known better then to relax and assume her wiggling phase had completed itself. One second she was clinging onto him and the next she performed a series of drunken acrobatics. Tensing at the sudden thought she just brained herself he turned and his eyes shot behind him.

No One would ever be able to convince Erik that alazer hadn't shot from some corner of the elevator and etched the sight right into his brain and let his eyeballs regrow. The completely intellectual side of his brain noted all of her very full set of undergarments were most flattering and complimented her skin color. Everyone else lamented the loss of Bob the hobo fire tender and governor of Eriksville. Brutally murdered for his shoes the thief had run into a passing bus attempting to escape the police. The whole planet was in morning. All offices closed.

In real time he stared for a few heartbeats as he attempted graps how she had managed to accomplish such a feat and wondering just exactly what to do even while most of his brain was occupied with the retina burn on his brain. Heart beating fast once he finally moved he MOVED. Dropping her legs unceremoniously and pulling her dress down the next possible second. Moving to scoop her up from the floor and silently wondering who had set his face on fire. 

"Please try to be careful, you almost hurt yourself." He managed in a small pained voice. His arm locked under one of hers.. she was not about to go falling anywhere once he managed to get her standing again at least. 

One second she was upside down with the lace of her dress obscuring her vision, and the next she was flat on her back with her legs flopped on the floor. Then, she was dazzlingly scooped up in a blur of motion and found herself pressed snugly up to half of Erik, with his arm holding her secure. It took a moment for her to orient herself while he scolded her.

Once her brain caught up to which way she was standing, she looked up into his face and blinked.

A second later she had lifted her hands and cupped his cheeks with both of them, trying to turn his head this way and that to satisfy the drunk nurse inside her. Seeing nothing- not a bump or scratch, shewas satisfied.

"I am glad. I was so worried!" Andrea smiled, sharp teeth on full display as she blushed happily. The thought that she should probably remove he hands didn't occur to her, so she simply relaxed in his grip while staring up at him.

Her gaze bounced around a little, traveling from eyebrows to eyes, to cheek and then lips. She caught herself staring and blushed deeper.

DING!

The beep of them reaching her floor made her physically jump and she tore her gaze away to stare at the doors and try to drunkenly contemplate what she had just been thinking.

"oh, we are here." She sounded more than a little distracted.

The gloved hands on his face came as a bit of a surprised. He also noted he had never really asked why she wore gloves. Something to ask about later and lacking any reasonable way to deny her he suppressed a sigh. She was in full on drunk nurse mode and he recognized 'damage inspection' when he felt it. Erik consoled himself with the fact it lacked any poking or prodding. Whatever minor irritation he had felt was wiped away with her earnest words.

"Told you." He responded lightly with a smile.. then she didn't let go and he pulled himself into the present instead of wondering when they would arrive. She was.. staring and a lovely shade of brown had formed across her cheeks. Air raid sirens suddenly blossomed in his head and before he needed to find an excuse to do anything the elevator dinged. 

It was in just that moment Erik almost re-contemplated his stance on religion. That one visit he paid to the synagogue felt like it paid dividends. The last thing he had wanted to deal with was his friend wailing like a fire alarm because he stopped her from doing something she would no doubt regret later.

"Yes, we are let us get you home." Gently, while she was distracted, his free hand nudged her hands from his face and he simply picked her up and walked for the both of them. Her feet dangling several inches above the floor as he threw any pretense she was walking herself anywhere right out down the elevator shaft they just left. Scurrying over to her door he waited for her to unlock it so they could go inside. "Let's get you to bed shall we? You must be exhausted.." Gods above he knew he was internally exhausted and thanked the maker his body didn't factor in annoying physical tiredness. Quietly he lamented his left over ice cream bucket and resolved to buy a pound of candy to eat in the near future.

"oh!" A little squeak left her as they were on the move, and yet she was not walking. She clung on a little, not noticing the forgotten shoes and coat abandoned in the elevator at all.

Her mind was busy elsewhere.

Erik brought her to her door, and she fumbled for the keys stashed away in her little black, matching purse. Her hand shook slightly as she unlocked her front door.

Inside was a warm, cozy little den she had mostly put together herself. It wasn't cluttered, but had a few things here or there that she loved. A cream colored couch sat a ways away, past the entry hall and closet. A cozy looking rug stretched over most of the living area, with a simple coffee table and side tables as accents. There were a few lush, green plants of various sizes scattered around, some hanging from the ceiling by the large windows overlooking the street below.

A large bookshelf stuffed with tons of old volumes sat against one wall with a little reading chair and a knit lap blanket draped over it.

A decent sized kitchen was off to the left as you entered, most white in decoration with what looked like marble counters. A built counter with bar stools separated it from the rest of the place.

From the living room a hallway branched off to the right down to where Elliot's room was. The other hallway led to her room, which might have been obvious to a trained eye due to the plants that trailed down the length of it to her door.

The whole place smelled slightly of warm spice and citrus.

Andrea, still being carried presumably, ignored it all in favor of internally stressing over what she had very nearly done.

She had almost kissed Erik.

She had wanted to kiss Erik!

She had never before realized that the love she had for her friend was angled toward attraction in that way. Sure, he was lovely to look at and she adored his personality... but...

She shivered despite the fact that it felt like she was on fire. What had she done...?

"I-I think that is a good idea. Sleep is a good idea."

She wiggled slightly in an attempt to get down.

The shoes and jacket, abandoned and forgotten set forth on a journey of self discovery. What are we if we are but forgotten? They asked to the heavens rotting in a lost and found box until they were donated and found new comfort in life.

Strained as his internal resolve was he watched her fumble about for her keys and just as he felt like she would have to assist her they finally made it into the safety and refuge of her place. Sparing them both some dignity if she went into crazy drunk mode. 

He took a moment to survey the place and noted someone else seemed to live there as well. Subtle things of course. He doubted Andrea would let things get too terribly messy. Briefly he wondered why how many down on the list of people she called for situations like this. He wouldn't have put himself near the top of his own list let alone hers. The old books drew his eyes momentarily before the weight on his side reminded him of why he was there in the first place. 

Erik was ready to get her into bed and find somewhere quiet with no people he could enjoy and soothe his tortured soul. The continually clinging hadn't been terrible, but it touched on something internally that he was having difficulty categorizing. Past evidence suggested he was absolutely unqualified to have any of and currently in dire need a CDC hazmat team to sort out. The wiggling brought him into the present and he slowly and very gently let her down now the immediate embarrassment and haste had died down. He left a hand hovering protectively near her, almost as much to reassure himself as her.

"Let's get you to bed then." Earnest concern oozed from his words. Only slightly concerned he would have to accompany her into sed room was causing even more internal strife till he firmly bottled it up by base necessity. The internal screams could echoes off the halls of his soul once the current mission was complete after all.   

   

Her toes touched ground and she felt her weight return to her, as well as the subtle swaying of the room that led her to believe she was still firmly drunk.

She was also acutely aware of how cold it suddenly was with his warmth gone, and struggled with the notion that she missed it more that was probably acceptable for a simple friendship.

Internally she was ready to just about tear herself in half over wanting to desperately escape the feelings growing within her and also wanting to be a good host. Should she thank him and offer him tea? Coffee?

Oh, but her bed was calling her name and she just wanted to forget the night.

... or at least everything but that piggy back ride.

Confusedly, she turned to look at him and spotted the hovering hand and did what any sane person would do.

She grabbed it.

And then she started carefully walking herself toward her bedroom with him in tow.

One very awkward trip later she pushed open the door of her room and stepped inside. It was quaint and very organized. A largish bed, a dresser and a book case. A curious lack of a tv. A desk over beside the sliding door that led to her balcony was overflowing with different kinds of paperwork from both her job, as well as the charity work she volunteered for.

There were a few pictures on the walls of places she loved, as well as a few small frames with the tiny group of close friends she had. Her medical degrees were framed above her desk, and a small green cactus sat perched by the window.

The Greek paused at the foot of her bed, face flushed and eyes wide, before she released his hand and grabbed the edge of her comforter.

"Thank you for helping me home, E-erik... " SHe worried her bottom lip, unable to look at him for a moment. "G'night."

And with that, she pulled her blanket around herself and stumbled onto the bed, curling into a little burrito of nerves.

Helping a friend or someone in need was just about the only thing that could salve Erik's usual paranoia and anxiety. The hand at first had seemed like a portent of disaster. A skeletal hand destined to suck the life out of him at first grasp. It was as unexpected as death could be. A million and one ways things could go horribly wrong if he so much as stepped foot in her room and none of them happened. He even lamented the presence of her hand once it fell free from his as imperfect as the walk had been. Like so many things in life the moments of heart pounding, million calculations of second of frostbitten terror had ended in little more then mild regret at the loss of contact. That own little whirl of thought stopped sort before it could cascade into a full epiphany. 

Erik's battered shell shocked eyes saw only worry and embarrassment and he smiled softly at her trepidation. "Good night Andrea. I will stick around for awhile just in case you need something." His own lack of experience deciding that was the only possible reason for it.

Seeing her snuggled into her blankets he let out a deep breath in some vain attempt to soothe his riled tension. Instead he busied himself with ensuring the comforter wouldn't snag on anything should she have to get up suddenly. Like a breeze he returned to her entryway and hung up his jacket to get more comfortable and hunted down very large glass to fill with water. Unable to find the second important item he returned to her bedroom. With leaden steps he entered her bathroom and prayed she forgave him for the little intrusion. Rifling through her cabinet he found what he sought before returning near her bed. The glass of water and bottle of aspirin found their final home on her nightstand.

Standing there he considered deeply if there was anything else to be done for his drunk friend. Too late he felt the distinct texture of scale winding itself around his arms. His free hand pinched the bridge of his nose as he was effectively stuck. Concerned with waking her, yanking himself free wasn't an option. Seeing no other alternative he sighed he sat on the floor as Sloth nuzzled up to his face. Unable to bring himself to be mad about it he nuzzled back and gently pet the snake with his free hand. With any luck the snake would fall asleep after awhile too..

Funny thing about snakes... They tended to seek out warm places to sleep.

Like a moth to a flame, Sloth dragged itself out of Andrea's cocoon, across the small space between them, and found the heat-lamp named Erik.

During the time her friend had been rummaging around looking for water Andrea had fallen into a fitful sleep. She didn't know what he was so dutifully leaving her, nor that her snakes had all virtually decided that he was staying. No if's and's or but's about it.

As Erik inevitably settled in for the long haul in a battle of the wills with the biggest snake, said snake was gradually dragging the Greek closer to him inch by inch as it curled tighter around the poor man.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, Andrea could very much feel the petting that Sloth was happily soaking up, and so could her other snakes. Five others slithered out, further dragging their host with them, to get in on the petting party.

"...Mmm.." Andrea shifted in her sleep, pushing her comforter away inadvertently as her body tried to fight off the tickling sensation rolling over her skin. A soft, sleepy giggle rolled out of her like a purr, fingers curling around the edge of her pillow and blanket.

Inside in dreamland the alcohol was wreaking havoc on her. There was a growing warmth, just out of reach, and tickling hands she couldn't seem to bat away. As far as dreams went it was pleasant and welcome, if a little unusual. She didn't often dream.

"Tickles, Erik..." The words were so soft, breathy, but he was well within the distance needed to hear. She rolled closer in her sleep, seeking that heat present in her dreams, not knowing it was very real. and beside her.

Her expression was placid, but there was a tiny please quirk to her lips and a hint of color hidden among the green freckles on her cheeks.

Sloth inched in ever closer, beady orange eyes glowing in the darkness like dying coals.

Typical crisis broke like waves on a beach for Erik. School bus full of children careening wildly through the streets? Stop it. Bank robbers? Done. Tending to an attractive drunk woman with sentient hair snakes who like you... uh no. Especially when he factored in they probably wouldn't stop until they practically dragged right out of bed. Erik was absolutely not about to have that regardless of the personal sacrifice it would take. Ripping the knots on his boots apart by force so he could slid into the bed in the only polite manner he could think of. Face absolutely flaming up at the pure scandal it would have caused in any other situation he could think of.

There was just enough space for him to lay down in the bed next to her and he sighed as hs he the prey brought the snakes what they wanted. Originally he contented himself to petting sloth as the others found places for them to nuzzle into. Some he realized with a mild chagrin on his face. Whispered words pierced the darkness like an arrow struck right into his head. His petting of the snakes was tickling her and he flushed all over again. Shivering slightly in a way that had nothing to do with the cold he rested his hand on Sloth instead and used his other arm to hug the remaining snakes to him best he could.

Gently guiding the ones trying to bury into his ears or up his nose away with silent amusement that bordered on eye rolling. Eventually the snakes calmed down. Minutes.. hours. He hadn't kept track of the various centuries that had passed in a mixture of anxiety and caretaking. Thankfully before one of his appointed hours of chang ehe manage to wriggle free. Her earlier movements had shifted her dress around and he caught sight of a hint of garter and hurriedly threw her blanket over the everything to leave her face free and stepped outside onto the patio. The blast of night air slapping him in the face in a refreshing manner. The mass quantities of sugared dairy he consumed prior to the silly circus would have to suffice till morning. That didn't stop him from placing an order for three large breakfast pizza's to be delivered shortly after he changed back. 

Undressing to keep from ruining his clothes safe for his very stretchy boxer briefs hwe eventually succumbed to his change quietly with practiced agony. The patio groaning slightly under the increased weight and he settled in for a night watching the ebb and flow of the city from on high. The patio door cracked just slightly if she called for help of some kind. As the sun greeted the world for a new day he changed back to the form almost everyone in the world knew him by. Noting absently his larger self had compressed some of the railing down a bit as he shifted back. He took a moment to recover as he leaned heavily on the railing, sweat lightly sheening his body and his body softly shaking.  

The next morning came and with the sun Andrea rose, pushing her blankets off and stretching her arms as high as she could. She stifled a yawn, glanced over on the nightstand to see what time it was, and froze. There was a glass of water, and a bottle of pain reliever beside the bed.

Slowly snippets of the previous night filtered in. Little clips of all the things she had done and said. Her face became progressively more and more flushed.

Certain things were blurry, such as what she has said to Erik into his ear. But she could distinctly feel the smoothness of his skin for some reason. She came to a swift and punctual decision that she was a terrible person... She needed to apologize to that poor man as soon as she could, and then maybe start considering moving to a far off island never to be seen again.

Why had she thought she could do a back flip?!

Standing, the Greek set about dismantling her outfit from the night before. The dress was first to go, straight into the hamper. She hopped over toward her dresser awkwardly while trying to un-clip her garters so she could take them off.

Yanking open the top drawer of her dresser where she kept her unmentionables, she froze as she caught sight of something from the corner of her eyes.

....Someone was on her patio.

Without her permission her chin jerked toward the glass doors and she found herself gawking at a pretty marvelous sight.

There was Erik. Sculpted tush directly facing her clad only in some form fitting boxers, with the new morning sun bouncing off of his glistening body.

Andrea dropped a fresh pair of underwear she had been clutching in her hand as a startled shriek let her and she dove straight back for her blanket to use it as a shield.

A moment after she was firmly wrapped back in her cocoon, her face popped back out with a startlingly deep blush present, as well as seven curious snake heads.

"W-Why are you in your underwear on my balcony?!"

Erik was still quivering slightly from his post shift adrenaline rush. Hearing a scream that could pierce the heavens hit his nerves like a hammer into a funny bone and he almost went right over the railing. Whirling he looked to see what was wrong only to see a flash of green skin diving into her blanket. Oh! Red tainted his chest to his ears. Basic motor functions always came a bit difficulty right after a shift, but even he doubted anyone could run, put on pants, and open a sliding door at the same time. Instead he managed something like, one leg in pants, stumbling into the door with a smack of his head against the jam. The only successful thing he had managed was to get the door open.. at least enough for him to do an impressive mostly unclothed flip into the room.

A hand went to his forehead to check for blood more than anything as the other waved at her. "Wait Wait I can explain. I am not a perv or anything!" Of course just then he had to think of her garters and he flushed a deeper shade of red. The waving hand slid the door closed behind him, somehow managing to think of what the chill would do to her and the snakes, before giving up on everything and sitting on the floor exhausted. Nerves were getting the best of him and he started to shake. Other then his job which had to know he had never told anyone about his other half. The ones who did ended up finding out because he hadn't had an alternative. He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. "My powers make me change every few hours. It makes me a considerably larger individual and I didn;t have a change of clothes handy soItookthemoff. But I wantedto staycloseincaseyouneededsomething." Unable to help but speaking fast to try and end the situation as fast as possible. To him it felt a bit like admitting you had a weird sixth toe to someone you liked. Wait why did he think that? His heart pounded in his chest and he kept shivering  yet he didn't feel the least bit cold. "P-please believe me it wasn'tanythingwierd." Just breath Erik in and out nice and slow. He doubted he could actually hyperventilate. Controlling his breathing would be a good first step to getting his increasingly akward speaking under control.  

He came running, or rather flipping, into the room after her and she shuffled her blanketed self a little further away. Her brows were shifting around like they were as restless as the snakes, which were all trying to scramble to the front and making her hair a nest with their efforts.

Some of her tension ebbed away when he remained sitting, but she didn't move yet. She listened, eyes pointed anywhere but him since he still didn't have a shirt on. Her expression gradually shifted into surprise, and then took a nose dive straight into guilt. It gnawed at her as she took a few steps toward him and dropped to the floor as well with her cocoon still wrapped around her.

This poor man... He had come to her rescue last night, dealt with her drunken hijinx, and then was kind enough to think about her needs in the morning and even stick around to make sure she was alright. Orange eyes flitted to the glass of water and back, before peeking at him through her lashes.

Her cheeks inflamed instantly.

"Oh Erik...." He was shaking. He must have been outside for quite a while... A frown settled on her lips. "I am so, so sorry that I have dragged you through all of this." She clenched her hands in the blanket and it slipped slightly off her shoulders.

"I must have put you through so much and-- Oh how could I?"

Selfish, that's how.

"I owe you more than I could possibly ever repay with all the trouble I have caused. I do hope you can forgive me, but I fully understand if you would rather... rather.." The words got tangled on her lips and she couldn't bring herself to say them.

If he would rather they never meet again, she would at least be able to give him that much.

She struggled for a moment, face darkening, before the feelings burst out of her. "I do hope you can forgive me though, because I enjoy your company so much and I would dearly miss you!"

She slapped a hand to her own mouth, horrified, and tried to bury her head in the blankets.

Erik he figured he must have looked like quite the wreck sitting on her floor with only one pant leg barely on. Of course her being the saintly individual she was proceeded to apologize about it being all her fault. It would have been simple enough to just chuck her in a cab, but he hadn't and they had ended up like this. Her in her blanket fortress and him barely keeping his miniature mental breakdown from whipping out of control. She moved, the blanket slipped and his eyes tracked the movement for an unrecordable short amount of time before they snapped safely to the edge of her bed. 

"Andrea it is not your fault you didn't know about the teas. Of course I forgive-" Just then his brain started tapping on his head rather insistently before he could finish. Naggingly going 'Erik. Erik. Erik.' until he had stopped to pay attention. His brain handed him a telegram, opening it simply read 'dearly.' What an odd telegram.. what an odd word. Nobody used dearly except priests starting nuptials. Query: Word='Dearly' Subject: 'Andrea.' Results returned: 1. Uh whut. Then his brain processed the word again and accidentally spoke it. "Dearly?" Backtracking he noted her reaction to herself speaking it. It was certainly a more intimate word then he had ever actually heard her use when referencing well anyone.

First he felt his body warm to a thousand degrees right before someone punched a heavily beating heart into it. Dizzy from hunger and the tsunami of processing he didn't dare let the long moment drag out further. "I forgive you completely Andrea, especially as there is nothing to forgive." it was hard for Erik to think of a time when Andrea had ever said anything she didn't mean. "You.. you mean that though? Your not.. still drunk or anything are you?" Of course his paranoia had to rear its ugly head even now and perhaps a merciful side if such was the case to give her an easy out. The look on his face saying such a thing would hurt and he highly doubted it was true, but it wouldn't have felt right to presume on anything given the wild night she just had.