Pretty Things & Evil Deeds

@ katahdin

"I know, I know," Azana said with a warm laugh. "Though you won't have that excuse once you feel back to normal!" As he draped an arm behind her, the woman leaned in and laid her head against his shoulder. Smiling softly as she happily curled into his side. They had gotten used to being close like this. All Azana wanted at first was Elliot to console her, to protect her by staying as close as possible. And, she did still want both of those things but Azana also wanted to keep doing it because she genuinely wanted Elliot to cuddle up with her.

"I can't say I liked all of them but most of them were at least good." Azana laughed. "I think you will like this movie though." With that said, Azana pressed play.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot laughed, finding her laughter to be quite contagious and adorable, and he tugged her close as she rested her head against his shoulder, grabbing the throw blanket from the floor where he'd left it from his nap earlier, draping it over their laps. He always enjoyed whenever they watched movies, since it felt like they were getting closer as friends. He half expected her to never want to speak to him again after all of this, so he was pleasantly surprise to have her wanting to be around him.

"That's high praise, I'll take it." He laughed before falling silent as the movie started, simply nodding when she said she thought he'd like the movie. He did end up enjoying it, although he occasionally in the beginning had to ask a clarifying question, or would make some sort of funny comment, but by the second half of the movie he was watching closely, head resting against hers and his arm wrapped around her securely, thumb idly rubbing her arm.

@ katahdin

As the movie went on, Azana continued to enjoy their time together. The movie was great and one that she enjoyed quite a bit, but it did not compare to resting against Elliot, feeling his thumb rubbing her arm. She had found a comfortable spot in Elliot's side, with her head laying against his shoulder.

Though after some time had passed, Azana turned a little against him. The young woman lifted her head up to look up at Elliot, looking into his eyes. And without little thought at all, the young woman leaned in and lightly pressed her lips against his as her hand laid against his chest. She had been wanting to do that for a few days now...

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot had been focused on the movie, having finally settled down enough to pay attention, so he didn't notice Azana shift and look up at him for a few moments, blinking a little in surprise as he noticed her, tilting his head a bit in question. "Everything alrig-" His question was cut off when Azana pressed her lips against his, startling him. He'd been wanting to kiss her for ages, but he'd never thought...

But she had kisses him, and he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to kiss her in return. His arms tightened around her as one of his hands moved to cup her cheek, returning her kiss with a gentle one of his own. After a few moments he pulled back to look at her, obviously a bit nervous and hesitant. What if she only thought she liked him, because of the situation they'd ended up in? Plus he was still a necromancer, and she'd always get looked down on for being with someone like him. It was important to him that he know she was really ok with this.

@ katahdin

A bit of a smile moved over Azana's face for a moment as Elliot had started to kiss her back. Though it was not long until the man pulled away and was looking down at her, with a slightly nervous look on his face. And as Azana looked up at Elliot, a deep red was moving over her cheeks, suddenly feeling a little overwhelm at what she had just done. She liked him. She really liked him. But when he had pulled away, Azana could feel the mix feelings rising up in her. Suddenly, she felt like she was jumping into something she wasn't really ready for.

"I'm sorry," Azana suddenly mumbled out as she turned her eyes away from his, suddenly feeling embarrassed about what she had done and about what she was going to do. "I-I like you but I shouldn't have done that." Azana moved her face into her hands, feeling the anxiousness rising up in her. "I just mean- you know, I - I mean you don't know." The young woman let out a small groan of frustration as she rubbed her face, finding it difficult to explain exactly what she was feeling in that moment.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot frowned worriedly as he saw the nervousness on Azana's face, although his eyes were quick to soften as she turned away and hid her face in her hands. Just as he'd suspected, she didn't really like him, she just thought she did. After all, why would she want to get involved with another necromancer after everything that had happened to her because of his kind?

He was quick to shake his head though as she stammered out an apology, shifting a bit to rub her back soothingly in an attempt to comfort her. "No, it's fine, Az. I understand." He assured her softly, offering her a faint smile. Her rejection hurt, but the last thing he wanted was to pressure her into something that she didn't want. "I get it, don't worry. If I were a healer, or a fire mage, or anything else really, it'd be one thing, but I'm not, and I understand not wanting to risk being with someone so.. so repulsive." He let out a little sigh, giving her arm a little squeeze before he scooted over on the couch to put some space between them, making sure that she was left with the blanket so she stayed warm and comfortable. "I'm sorry if that was too much, or I overstepped in any way.. I'll start sleeping on the couch, so you don't have to worry about me."

@ katahdin

Azana lifted her face from her hands as tears were now welling in her eyes. "No... No, Elliot, that's not it." She grabbed onto the blanket that he had wrapped around her and pulled it in, tightening around herself. A little part of her felt better that Elliot wasn't mad at her. After all, she was the one who kissed him and then pulled a 180. Though, on the same coin, she was upset that he thought she was rejecting him because of who he was, which was just sad.

She allowed herself a moment to take in a deep breath, to do her best to calm down enough to explain how she was feeling. To explain what she had meant. "It really is not you, I promise it is not. And I do like you, Elliot." Azana nervously started to pull at the blanket before she continued on. "Honestly, I liked the kiss, I really liked it. But, when you pulled away, I started to feel so overwhelmed. Like we're both only beginning to feel better and Kendric is still out there. And I..." Azana's face winched a bit. "I trusted him so much and he almost killed you and tried to wreck me. I just really wanted to kiss you that I didn't think about the fact that I haven't healed from Kendric yet. Sometimes I swear I can still feel him and it makes me so uncomfortable. I just...I am not ready to feel close with someone like that right now."

Azana lifted her fingers and pressed them against her lips for a moment before raising her head and look at him. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you until I was actually ready for what that entailed."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot frowned as he saw her tears, wanting to pull her into his arms and comfort her like he'd gotten used to doing, but he knew it was probably best that they keep their distance. She wasn't comfortable being close to him, and he didn't want to push her boundaries.

"It's ok, Az. Please don't cry. It's not your fault." He soothed, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I understand, really, I do. I should have been better the past few days about getting close to you, since you've been so vulnerable, and I never meant to take advantage or push you to do something you didn't want. And I know there's still a lot to figure out with Kendric and how to keep you safe, and it'd be wrong to think you'd be ready to trust someone like that again so soon, especially another necromancer." He rubbed her back again, offering her a small smile in the hopes to cheer her up. "Do you want to finish the movie? I can get that ice cream you've been saving. Or I can let you head to bed, since it is getting late... I'm sorry that I made you cry."

@ katahdin

"Elliot, you really didn't do anything wrong," Azana told him, trying her best to reassure Elliot that it really didn't have anything to do with him. Though she wasn't quite sure she could convince the man, considering how badly others seemed to treat him. She reached up and started to wipe her tears away, doing her best to calm back down. Even if they were not exactly on the same page, at least Elliot seemed to understand most of it. She felt reassured by his words that Elliot really was not upset.

"You didn't make me cry." The young woman hesitated for a moment before she leaned in and hugged Elliot tight to her. She let out a long sigh before she pressed her face into his neck. "Thank you, Elliot, for everything. Really." Azana squeezed him tight for a moment before pulling back slowly. "I am sorry if I upset you."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot only nodded as she once again insisted that he hadn't done anything wrong. Even if she really did believe that, he couldn't help but think he had, especially thinking back to how he should have said something to her earlier about Kendric. If he'd just said something sooner, or alerted the authorities to what was going on, she would never have gotten hurt. And he'd never be able to forgive himself for that, and would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her.

"I'm still sorry, though.." He murmured, tensing it up for a moment as she hugged him, but after a moment he let his shoulders relax and hugged her back, tucking his face into her hair. "You didn't upset me, Az. I've been through and heard worse, don't you worry." He offered her his best attempt at a reassuring smile, giving her a little squeeze before pulling back. "Come on, lets get you tucked into bed so you can get some rest."

@ katahdin

As Elliot mentioned getting her into bed, Azana offered a little nod in response. While she did love the movie, she did think he was right in saying that it was time to lay down. Azana had managed to fry her own emotions and laying down seemed like the perfect solution to that. So, she happily got up from the couch and followed Elliot into the bedroom. Perhaps some sleep would ease all of this and things would be better in the morning.

Azana grabbed her clothes and got changed in the bathroom before coming back out to Elliot. For a moment, she slowly looked him over as she took him in, trying to determine how he was doing with what had just occurred. "You really don't have to sleep on the couch, Elliot. We can still share the bed." She told him gently, wondering if he would accept her offer.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot turned off the TV and adjusted the blanket around her, making sure she was cozy before he walked with her to his room. While she was changing he pulled the blankets back for her and adjusted the pillows the way she liked, grabbing a pillow for himself and a spare blanket to bring with him to the couch, setting them aside while he quickly changed into his own pajamas. He was glad that she was going to get some rest, and hopefully she'd be feeling better in no time.

He offered her a little smile as she returned, ushering her into bed before taking a moment to tuck her in, making sure she was comfortable. His eyes softened a bit as she said that he didn't have to sleep on the couch, shaking his head. "No, I think it's for the best I sleep on the couch. I don't want to crowd you. Have a good night, Az. I'll make a pancake breakfast in the morning, sound good?" He smiled, hesitating a moment before pressing a kiss to her forehead before turning and heading out of the room and back to the couch.

@ katahdin

It sadden her a little to watch Elliot walk off towards the living room. She had no intention to make things weird between them and it was quiet clear that she had not thought any of this through. While Azana knew that she did truly like Elliot, she was sure that part got muffled under everything else they had discussed. Though it was probably for the best not to push that thought until Azana was ready to move forward with Elliot, if that was what he even wanted....

She sighed before shifting in the bed. Maybe it was best not to think about any of it. After all, Elliot and she had much bigger issues to worry about than if Elliot liked her back or not. Like the fact that Kendric was still out there... or that apparently some gang wanted her essence? It was a lot to take in still.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot spent a good ten minutes or so tidying up around the living room and kitchen, wanting a bit of a distraction for a bit, although once he shut off the lights and settled down on the couch he was left alone with his thoughts, and felt absolutely miserable. Not only she had rejected him, but she'd done so after giving him hope that he had a chance with her, that she actually did like him. It was made worse by her insistences that she really did like him, knowing she was just saying it to be nice. Not that any of this was stuff he should be worrying about, not when Kendric was still out there and looking to harm Azana.

It took him a while to get comfortable enough and for him to stop thinking long enough to fall asleep, and while it wasn't nearly as comfortable as sleeping in bed with Azana, he managed to sleep through the night relatively well.

@ katahdin

As Azana started to shift and turn in the bed, she reached out, looking for Elliot. Though as she opened her eyes, she saw that he was no longer there and the memory of last night was coming back to her. It seemed that she had gotten used to sharing a bed with him... And she was a little sad that she was left alone. Though Azana did not know what to do about it at this point. She feared that she had made him uncomfortable after the events of the night before, which wasn't really her intention.

Her eyes glanced over to the clock to see that it was a little early in the morning still. Elliot certainly would not be up yet and the last thing she wanted to do was wake him. He still needed to get his energy back up. So she buried her face into the blankets and messed around on her phone, deciding that she would stay in bed until she heard the sounds of Elliot wandering through the apartment.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Elliot could hear Azana tossing and turning and moving around in his room from where he laid awake on the couch, letting out a little sigh. He wished he could be in there with her, having gotten used to how warm and nice it was to wake up with her cuddled up to him. But that couldn't happen anymore, so he'd just have to get used to sleeping on the couch from now on.

Letting out a tired sigh he got up, stretching tiredly before he quietly made his way to the kitchen to begin to make her the breakfast he'd promised her the night before. Hopefully he'd be able to take a nap sometime later today, since he felt absolutely miserable and doubted it would get better later on in the day.

@ katahdin

Although Azana could hear Elliot moving around the kitchen, she still stayed in the bed a little longer. Part of her was hoping that he would head back to sleep, knowing that was what the man needed most. Though as some time passed, it became clear that Elliot was cooking and had no intention of heading back to the couch anytime soon.

So, Azana slowly got up from the bed and made her way over to the kitchen. "Good morning," Azana said softly as she sat down at the kitchen table, facing Elliot. "You're up early today." She pointed out to him. "I thought you were going to sleep in like usual."

@ Sweet.Persephone

By the time Azana was up Elliot already had a few pancakes stacked on a plate, and was finishing cooking the first round of bacon and eggs. He offered her a tired smile as he heard her enter, turning to put together a plate for her.

"Good morning, Az. I promised I'd make you breakfast, didn't I?" He reminded her as he brought the plate over to her, which contained a portion of eggs, two pancakes and a few strips of bacon. "The maple syrup is already on the table. What do you want to drink? Milk? Water? Juice?"

@ katahdin

"You did promise," Azana responded with a warm smile. "Water, please." Her eyes glanced down at the full plate before she picked up her fork and started to eat. "Honestly, I just thought it would be a good idea for you to rest a bit longer, that's all. After all, you're still healing." She pointed out to him. "At least you can relax for the rest of the day. It's my turn to cook this afternoon and hopefully the tonic I'll make will be done by dinner."

She took a moment, looking over at Elliot thoughtfully before continuing on. "How did you sleep?" Azana asked him before looking over the man slowly. She hoped it was well... Azana knew she didn't sleep as well as she normally did though.