I was trying to... Something! - Tidus

Cassandras little whispering was goosebumps awaking. Had she wanted his for as long as him? It made his heart skip a beat.  Since he first saw her, he admitted that he had been intrigued by her beauty and stubbornness. She had something that no one else had.
He was ready to kiss her again, disappear, forget the rest of the world, if it hadn’t been for her son and brother. A little growl escaped his lips. Quickly he did tho turn it into a laugh and smile.
“Yeah, Knock you little shit!” Tivo said and looked over at Tidus.
“Knock? It´s my office and cockblocker?? How dare you even considering doing that in my office!” Tidus complained. The smile on his lips told the truth. He was happy to see them together. His office or not.
“But alright, alright… If you want some privacy… I could give youuuuuu…” he looked down at his phone as he dragged the word out. “20 minutes?” with a cheeky smile, he looked up at Cass, which didn’t seem to please the werewolf.
The tall as man went over to Tidus and took his head in between his armpit. He gave the blonde a knodge.
“You´re little shithead, that´s what you are!” Tivo said and let go of Tidus. The blonde hair was now pointing in every direction.
Tidus made a PFFFFF sound as he now tried to fix the hair. “At least I gave you an offer.”

She had heard the growl. The werewolf was clearly as displeased as the witch in his arms. ‘’In all fairness, UNCLE Tidus,’’ she said, looking at him with a slightly displeased glimmer in her eyes, ‘’I could have used your cockblocking skills a lot of times in this very office. Now isn’t one of those times,’’ she said, raising her eyebrow to see if the demon had gotten the hint, as he tried to straighten out his hair.

‘’It’s easy to joke about the length of the act when you’re at the receiving end!’’ she then said, crossing her arms and she smiled teasingly at the demon. she then waved her hand in a gentle motion; making the little dragon disappear into thin air. ‘’I came here because you had sent word for me. You have gotten my answer - and I stand by it; to hell and back. Now, get your hair fixed and start making those changes before I claim the mafia as my own,’’ she said with a stern voice, although it was clear from the expression on her face that she was messing with him. She would never take over the mafia from him unless he asked her to.

She looked shortly at Bienvido. ‘’I’ll be looking forward to working with you as my equal instead of my babysitter,’’ she then said, winking at the werewolf before she walked closer to them, as she needed to pass them before she could leave the office. ‘’Tidus has my address if you guys need me.’’ She said. She didn’t want to leave Bienvido behind, but she wasn’t comfortable in the office right now. The air almost felt thick enough to cut through. On her way, she stopped, as she had passed a bookshelf containing large folders. Her name had been written on one, only… It was the name her mother had given her; not the one she had gotten by the baptism. Very few knew of her real name, and even fewer used it. Had Jasper had the gall to contact her grandmother?! The folder was ripped down from the shelf as she reached for it; only demonstrating how magic seemed to come easier to her now. It landed in her hand, and without even opening it, she looked back at they guys.

‘’If you find anything about me in his notes… Ignore it.’’ She said, looking at Tidus with a now almost frustrated look on her face. She didn’t want them to know all the things Jasper had been able to gather about her and use as a way of blackmailing her. Tidus had been her weak spot when it came to do anything to protect him, but that didn’t mean that Jasper shied away from using her past against her as well. Then, she clenched the folder tight to her chest as she moved past the guys and out of the office. Once again, she felt like she kept secrets from them; secrets that shouldn’t be needed kept hidden. No one would blame her for what she had did - would they? Would Bienvido? She moved quickly through the hallways of the headquarter, only to be stopped by one of those guys that thought that he still was entitled to doing as he pleased with her. He didn’t touch her, although his words hit her like a ton of bricks; ‘’So, you went from the boss to the boss’ son and his friend? Room for one more in your holes?’’. The question had been asked in a calm and sleek manner, as it had been a pickup line and not an insult. To Cassandra, however, it was a step too far.

‘’Back. Off.’’ She warned him out through her tensed jaw, as she tried to walk past him. He grabbed onto her arm, making her drop the folder on the floor, spilling out crime scene pictures, notes, testimonies and much more. Cassandra briefly forgot about the folder, as all her attention was on the man that had a solid hold of her arm. ‘’I said; back the fuck off!’’ she yelled at the man; her voice filled with anger and fright at the same time. Her eyes had changed, making her look like she was possessed. For a moment, time froze, as the sound of the slap could be heard echoing through the headquarters. The man released her arm, only to touch his cheek where a solid mark of Cassandra’s hand now shined red and painfully. Then, without thinking more of the man, she crouched down to gather the contents of the folder and get out of the headquarters again.

It all happened way to fast.
To Tivo, it seemed like the happiness they had just felt, was ripped away in the moment Cassandra discovered papers. Papers there probably was about her.
Worried, Tivo stepped a bit closer to her and was about to ask about her frustration. But in that moment, she walked past them both, left a cold wind. The emerald eyes looked after her. His heart was beating as he tried to say her name. Before he had the change, Tidus walked after her, said her name as a frustrated yelp. Just like Tivo, he wanted to know what was going on.
Both of the young men got surprised as they stepped out of the door and one of the other mafia men harassed her. Tivo saw red. Yes, Cassandra have given the man a deserved slapped on his cheek, but to Tivo, he deserved so much more pain. With a loud growl, the werewolf stepped forward and gripped around the man´s collar. He lifted the man from the ground, starring at his face with so much anger, that it was scary. “You better take those words back you hijo de puta!”
Tidus got up next to Tivo. Carefully he put his hand on the shaken shoulder. “Let him go Tivo. I will take care of him. You go after Cassandra.”
For a time being, Tivo just stared coldly at the man, before letting go of the piece of trash and walks after Cassandra. Left behind, was Tidus cold blue eyes, starring down at the man on the floor.
Tivo ran after Cassandra.
“Cassandra!” his voice sounded worried. “Cassandra please wait up!”

To her, it was easy to tell when she needed space. Maybe it wasn’t so easy for others after all. She had heard Tidus say her name in a yelp, but it had been too late; she had more pressing matters to handle, with someone thinking it was okay to speak to her in such a manner. Although she had been quick to react and get the man to release her arm, it had left her with a rather big mess to clean up, with documents scattered all over the floor. She turned slightly as she heard the familiar voice, so angry in a growl that she had to turn away once more to simply avoid feeling pity for the man that in a way deserved whatever Tivo decided to do with him.
She continued to collect the papers, albeit a bit frantically, as she heard the werewolf calling out for her. How could she even explain what this was, that she was holding in her hands? How could she explain that this was her doing - all those men she had killed even before joining the mafia? It simply wasn’t possible for her to explain without sounding like a maniac. She had gotten all of the papers back in the folder, as she stood up. A few feet from her was the werewolf she had admitted her feelings for, only few moments before.

‘’As the Don’s advisor, it isn’t suitable for you to attack members… Even though, that guy needs his mouth washed out with soap,’’ she said, not really looking at the werewolf; not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t want him to see that she once more was crumbling. She was so fragile that it was a comedy almost. She was so… stupid. She would never be able to return to the mafia without being seen as the plaything of the former and the present Don… Would she? She shook her head slightly… ‘’You don’t have to run after me… Tidus has my address, if need be. I’m not disappearing again,’’ she promised, her jaw slightly clenched as she feared busting into teas once more, right in front of the werewolf that might have been the one to see her the most vulnerable of all.

Tivo did not care if it was suitable of him to threat, curse on Spanish or even hit the moterfucker… no one and he meant… no one, should talk like that to Cassandra. He knew she could defend herself, but he would never stand back and let anyone trash talk her. Never.
As she stood there in front of him, he felt like pulling her close and just smell her familiar, yet so distant sent. They were close. Yet so far. And he knew that. He had to accept that.
He smiled weakly at her and then looked over his shoulder. He tried to stand tall and not look like a puppy, there just wanted to protect its most precious keeper.
“He deserves so much more… but I´m sure Tidus will make him regret his words,” Tivo mumbled lowly and looked back at Cass. “I know… I will give you some space…”
In front of him stood a strong woman. A strong woman who needed to put down her façade. Which she had done with him. Not by her own will… but… her ability had shown him who she was and what she had been hiding for so long.
“But before that… at least let me follow you home?” he asked calmly. He smiled at her and looked into her amber eyes.

‘’I believe he already does that, Bienvido,’’ she said, calmly as she could. Truth was that she wanted to rip his arm off and beat him with it for even speaking to her in such a foul manner. Instead, she smiled carefully at the werewolf, trying to calm him a bit. ‘’I’m not asking for space,’’ she then said, reaching out and grabbing his hand carefully. ‘’I just want to get out of here.’’ It wasn’t a lie; she hated the headquarters after what had happened the last time she was there. She could still smell Jerry’s blood in the air and hear Jasper’s scream. Worst of all, every time she moved near the room she had been held in, she could feel her bones ache and her nails curl up as if they were scared of being broken of ripped apart again.

Then, she entangled their fingers gently, showing him that she wasn’t leaving him again. He had not to fear her disappearance once more. ‘’Of course, you can walk me home. But first, I’m craving a coffee so bad. Want to join in?’’ she asked. They had not been on a date before, truth be told. They had gone out drinking once in a while, but then he had brought some bimbo home with him, forcing Cass to accept that he wasn’t into a monogamous relationship - at least not at that time. She clenched the folder tight to her chest, mainly to prevent more papers to fall out. She didn’t want anymore of her secrets to slip out before she was ready to tell them herself.

The way she so carefully grabbed his hand, made him smile a rare little smile, that he hadn’t showed anyone. A smile he last remembered he had shown back in Mexico. He looked into her amber eyes and disappeared for a second. He knew she hated the headquarters and he understood why. Therefore, he was more than willing to take her out on a coffee and maybe a cake.
He smiled and started to walk slowly, her hand in his. It fitted so perfectly there. Her hand was so warm.
To the papers in her hands, he decided not to question. She seemed secretly about them. Rather panicked. He would wait for her to be ready to tell him about it.
“We could go to that… what is it called… star Bush?” he said a bit questioning. He knew that he sometimes couldn’t pronounce the things right or remember what it was called. “Or was it star burst?”
He chuckled and looked down at her. “you are allowed to laugh at me.” Here he then clicked his tongue. “Why am I saying that? Of course, you know you´re allowed to laugh at me… you do it all the time.” He winked at her.

As they arrived to starbucks, he looked at the sign and let out a: ahhhhh, between his lips.
“Starbucks… okay!” he looked down at her with a smile. “wanna go there? My treat… I never tried it before so… why not!” He still had her hand in his.
Around was a lot of happy people. They were all so relaxed and smiling. The smell of coffee and caked sneaked through the door, each time someone walked in or out.

She loved that smile. Even though she rarely mentioned how handsome she thought him to be, she truly loved his smiles. As they walked, she remembered how he was rather tall compared to her. His strides were longer than hers, sometimes making it hard for her to keep up. As he tried to suggest the popular coffee chain, she smiled slightly for herself, simply waiting for him to recognize that he had said it wrong. It didn’t take long. As he looked down at gave her permission to laugh at him, she smiled a crooked smile. ‘’Oh, sweetheart, you are so right…’’ she said, winking back at him as he had stated that she laughed at him all of the time.

As they arrived, it seemed that he finally understood the name. ‘’Well, to be fair, it would sound better with StarBurst,’’ she said in a teasing manner before she looked up at him. ‘’Your treat? I might be a woman, but I can buy my own coffee, mister!’’ she chuckled at him with a little wink. It was nice, being out with him without having to think about the next job Jasper ordered them to handle. Now, it was Tidus that was their boss - and he couldn’t dream of interrupting their date… Could he? ‘’Come on, TiVo,’’ she said, using his nickname in a teasing manner, before she guided him inside where the scent of roasted coffee beans filled the air delightfully!

He chuckled as she explained she could pay her own coffee.
“Come on… this is a date and I wanna pay, let me spoil you… just this one time… okay?” he said and leaned in. Briefly, he placed a kiss on her warm and soft cheek, before following her inside. Her little way of saying his nickname, made his heart skip a beat and his smile wider. He just started to love the nickname Tivo a bit more.
Inside was crowded. People sitting at tables, either talking with each other or sitting alone with their tiny laptops. He smiled and tilted his head a bit. Some things he still has to get a little used to. Especially this trend of hanging out on coffee places. He stood in line with Cassandra and smiled down at her.
“I´m just saying… You´re taking my virginity in drinking coffee,” he said and smiled that cheeky little smile of his. “You should feel special.”
Some guy in front of the line, looked a bit confused back at Tivo, with his eyebrow raised. Tivo just stared back at the man and said. “what?”
The man just laughed, shook his head and looked in front of him again.
Tivo shrugged. “Virginity is no laughing matter.” He mumbled and then chuckled lowly himself.

Cassandra knew it was the chivalrous thing to do; pay for the lady. Still, to her, it felt wrong somehow. She knew that he meant no offense by it, so she just smiled gently at him as he pleaded for her to let him pay, just once. "on one condition," she then said, looking teasingly at him with a crooked smile, "you have to actually drink the coffee," she said, knowing that he might not enjoy the bitter brew as much as she did herself.
The kiss on her cheek made her heart flutter and her face blush, but she tried her best to hide that by looking straight forward as they entered the crowded Cafe.

As the stood in line, the werewolf revealed his innocence towards coffee; making the witch chuckle lowly. "Well, at least you have some innocence in you," she teased hom; knowing how many ladyfriends he had entertained in that short period she had been staying with him. That, however, seemed to stop right before Tidus had gotten stabbed. She thought none of it, to be honest. Perhaps the werewolf simply had lost his passion towards women as his friend had slipped through his fingers?

"to be honest," she said, looking at him with a rather hesitant expression on her face, "sometimes I wonder why you even-," her exclamation was cut off as a barista with long golden hair af big green eyes almost shouted her name with glee in her voice. The barista moved fast between the line of costumers until she stood in front of the witch, hugging her tightly in an embrace that forced the with to let go of his hand for a moment. "I thought you had died or something, you little minx!" the barista said, releasing Cassandra from her embrace, only to look at Bienvido. "Are you the one that stole her away, huh? Naughty boy! - So, Cassandra, the usual?" the barista asked, now facing the witch again. Cass chuckled slightly before nodding. "the usual, and something for a certain coffee-newbie," she said with a calm smile. "Coming right up! Go sit down, handsome," the barista said before she disappeared again.

Cass grabbed his hand once more and guided him out of the line and towards a table and two large recliners. On the table stood a 'reserved' sign, written in the most beautiful handwriting. She placed the folder on the table and sat down in one of the recliners, looking at the werewolf as she waited for him to sit down opposite of her.

He had been allowed to pay for her, in only one condition. He should drink the coffee. He had agreed right then and there. How bad could coffee be? Especially since so many seemed to love it and kinda have an addiction to it.
When they finally did come to the line and for him to order, a barista had taken that from them. She seemed nice and all. Perky too. She even embraced Cassandra as it was nothing.
Tivo smiled over the whole scene and looked from Cass to the barista. When she asked if he was the one who had stolen away, he smirked and nodded one time. “You bet, I´m Bienvido.” He introduced himself and then looked down at Cass. He knew that they didn’t have a label yet. But he liked to think that someday, they might make it official.
As the barista said they could go sit down, he nodded but also looked rather confused. Would the barista just come down with the coffee? Just like that? He looked over his shoulder and at the line.
When he sat down, he saw the sign and couldn’t help but laugh lowly and lift it up. “Has it been reserved for you the whole time?” he asked teasingly and waved it in front of Cass face. He placed it down on the table again and smiled at her. “I guess you´re local here… just like a family.”
He was teasing. A lot. How could he not.
He then remembered that she had tried to tell him something, before the barista had interrupted them. “Oh! You never uhm… explained what you wonder why I… why I what?”
Carefully, he took her hand in his. Caressed her slim hand with his thumb.

It was nice to see him like this; like something else than the mafia member she had gotten to know. Of course, she had seen him at home and all, but... well, she had thought none of it. Now, it all seemed different, and it scared her just as much as she loved it.
As he presented himself to the barista, cass chuckled slightly. Sooooo, no flirting with the blonde girl? That was a start, of course. As soon as they sat down, he of course chose to tease her with the fact that she was a local. “Of course, you dimwit. I had to go somewhere every time you had lady friends to entertain.” She said, calmly, although some part of her still felt like it pained her to remember that there had been a time where she would hide away at the cafe with a book or her laptop while she waited for en werewolf to be done screwing pretty girls. She winked at him to show him that she said it in good fun - mostly to avoid him feeling guilty.

Of course he remembered she wanted to ask something. Blasted. She shook her head for a moment, as he took her hand in his, and gentle caressed it with his thumb. “It’s nothing.” She said, smiling calmly at him. Her amber eyes tried the best they could to hide the fact that she wanted to know one specific thing; why her, of all the women he could have had. But she didn’t ask - she was too scared of the answer.

“And yes... like family. Stacey is my cousin,” she said, smiling gently at the werewolf. “It’s far out, her uncle married my aunt or something,” She then said, shaking her head. Moments later, Stacey - the blonde barista with big green eyes - returned with three mugs; two with black coffee and one with hot cocoa. In the side was a rather large tray of assorted cookies and a little note. ”there we go! Now, get your paws of my cousin for a moment, will ya’?” Stacey asked with a teasing grin before she looked at Cassandra. ”The boss wants to talk to you later, if it’s okay? Something about the new employee,” She said, crossing her arms. “Of course,” Cassandra answered. “If he wants to, he can come out and say hi? We don’t bite,” Cass said, making Stacey chuckle. ”oh, buttercup! You know he doesn’t like strangers,” She said, winking at TiVo. “Stacey, please just ask him to come say hi.” Cass said; her patience wearing thin. The blonde girl nodded, clearly having picked up on the change of tone. Then, she disappeared out in the back

“So... Milo is the daily manager here. I used to help him with the books,” she said, looking calmly at the werewolf. She picked up one of the mugs with coffee, and even though it was scolding hot, she took a large sip; the heat not affecting her at all. She moaned silently into the mug, trying to hide her appreciation for the bitter brew; failing miserably.

Every time he had lady friends to entertain. This sentence made Tivo make a little funny face, as in: yeahh… whoops. He had never realized how annoying it must have been for Cassandra that he brought ladies back home, when she slept on the couch. He even remembered when one of the ladies tried to start a conversation with her. That had been so fun and so awkward at the same time. At to Cassandra, it had been oh so annoying! Tivo could clearly read that on her face.
Back to the topic!
He now sat here and waited patiently for her to tell him what had been on his mind. When she told him to forget it, he was ready to insist, when the blonde cousin returned. Even though she told him to remove his hand, he kept having Cassandras hand in his. No blonde chick should tell him when to remove his hand from his girlfriend. He kept smiling friendly at her though, as she and Cass talked. He just sat there and listened to the sound of her voice. It was so soothing… so calming.
They talked about some manager guy. A man Cass used to help. This made him tilt his head and smile.
“Oh yeah? Well… he can always come out and say hello yes… It´s about time I meet your family,” he said teasingly and prepared to take a big sip of the coffee, just like Cass. Only to instant regret it. He instantly burned his tongue and placed the coffee cup hard back at the table.
“Carajo!” he cursed and shook his head. “That shit is hot! Carajo!” He quickly took a napkin in his mouth to make the pain go away. Or at least he tried.

It was easy for Cass to be the one to point fingers. Yeah, the werewolf had entertained some girls now and then, but it did not match the fact that she had been killing mates and fucking their boss. The expression on his face assured her that he knew that it had not been that fun for her to be forced to deal with his ladyfriends anytime he needed to get laid. He was a player, and she was not going to fall head-over-heels for a player. Heartbreak was inevitable.

As Stacey - the blonde cousin - returned to her station after having given the message to Milo about coming out to say hello, nothing happened. Perhaps Milo wasn’t in the mood to meet someone new - which Cassandra wouldn’t care to change. Milo was a strange one. A very strange one. They returned to their coffee, and as the werewolf prepared to take a big sip, she reached out to stop him; a little too late. The coffee cup hit the table hard, splashing a bit of coffee on both them and the table, all while the werewolf cursed in his native tongue about it being hot. The witch let out a full-blown laugh as the grasped him around the chin with one hand. She removed the napkin, looking at the werewolf with an amused glimmer in her eye. Then, a pleasant heat spread from her fingertips, through his chin and to his scolded mouth and tongue; healing the burns.

‘’I guess you forgot that most coffee is served hot?’’ she chuckled at him before she released his chin as her healing had completed. Then, she took another sip of her own coffee, with a crooked smile on her lips. Had he forgotten she wasn’t sensitive to the heat as much as he was? Of course, she needed the heat to survive and when she got cold; she would feel like she had no energy at all. But drinking coffee as soon as it was made was one of the perks - definitely.

Without even thinking twice, Cassandra grabbed his chin and made him look a bit surprised at her. What he could have hoped would have been another kiss, turned out to be a healing, which was good. But a kiss would have been better. He chuckled by the thought. Just a second before she took her hand to her, he turned his head and kissed It quickly. Afterwards he smiled teasingly at her and then placed his head in his hand. Relaxed as he once again admired the beauty in front of him.
“Yeah… I forgot coffee was hot, since you´re drinking It like it´s a cold soda,” he said and leaned back in the chair. “This is our first date… it´s kind of interesting.” He smiled at her and then looked at the files. He couldn’t help but spread his lips, as if he was ready to say something, but then shake his head and take a tiny sip of the cocoa.
He shouldn’t ruin the date by asking her about the files… should he?
“So… How was Bali? What did you see, who did you meet?” the green eyes looked into her beautiful amber brown. “Tell me everything.”

The sneaky kiss on her hand made her wink at him before she continued with her coffee. In some simple way, this was the most casual day she had experienced in a long time. Simply just enjoying a cup of coffee with her… With Bienvido. She wasn’t the one to rush into labels any longer; trying to ensure that this wasn’t one of his flings. She wasn’t a fling; she wasn’t the other woman; she wasn’t a mistress. With her, it was all or nothing. The thought gave her a bitter taste in her mouth. She needed to tell Bienvido the truth, but… Jonathan hadn’t brought it up himself, so why should she worry? She would just file for a divorce as soon as she had settled in with the mafia once more, and then it would be history.

‘’Well, I like to think that I prefer my beverages as my men; hot and steamy.’’ She said; her voice teasing and exaggerated to make it obvious that she was joking. As he then expressed that it was their first date, she looked at him with a careful expression on her face. Date?... Did he really think that she was ready to anything with him? She knew how his dates ended - and she wasn’t one to drop her panties for him in a heartbeat. ‘’Interesting. That’s one way of putting it,’’ she then answered; her lips revealing a gentle smile. she wasn’t going to argue with him that this hardly could be counted as a date. She had not been on a date since she met Josiah… then, he looked shortly at the files on the table. No, she wasn’t going to share that information with him just yet.

Luckily, he changed his mind and asked about her trip to Bali, making her smile softly. ‘’I saw endless beaches and my hotel room. I met the roomservice and some random strangers once in a while on the beach. That is it,’’ she said, looking calmly at him. She had been hiding away in the hotel for large amount of her getaway, simply because she was terrified of the world. Then, as she discovered her love for the water and the sand, she started to spend all day in the warm sand, enjoying the sun. ‘’There’s not much to tell. I got to read some books and I visited some old library to read something called the tomes of Tzarasal, but that’s it.’’ She said, taking another sip of her coffee. ‘’What have you guys been up to while I was away?’’ she then asked, as she tried to avoid speaking more about Bali. She feared that she would reveal the fact that she was using the trip to recover from her assault and abuse; to recover from the heartache of being hurt so bad.

She preferred her men hot and steamy. This made him smile that confident little smile. Even though she was joking, he couldn’t help but feel confident in that he was the right for her. Maybe he had something to prove. But when he first had founded the one, he wants, then he didn’t waste time on other people. Especially not other women. Cass was the one and only.
“Then it is good you have chosen me,” he leaned back in the chair and winked at her. “I´m hot and steamy… plus a cuddly bear. I´m the whole packaged and you know it.”
As soon he said the word date, he could almost see the panicked facial expression on Cassandra. Maybe he was pushing it a bit to far by calling it a date? He ran a hand through his black hair and shortly looked away. “or whatever we are calling it… our first get away?” he then looked over at her with a smile.
Don’t push anything Tivo. Don’t push it.
Her tale about Bali made him miss Mexico. The hot weather, the beaches and the people. It must have been such an experience for her. He smiled and tilted his head, showing her that he listened to her. The soft smile on her lips was adorable. The outside light hid her so perfectly.
When she turned the conversation over at him and Tidus he looked a bit surprised. “Oh uhmm… Not much… Tidus discovered a new enemy mafia… calls themselves the Dark angels… something like that… OH… and I was introduced to Halloween… that was interesting… it kinda reminded me of Dia de Muertos.”

She chuckled at him, as he seemed to take her teasing as a compliment. ‘’You? You’re a player and a fuckboy, Bienvido,’’ she clarified, not a hint of teasing in her voice. Then, she tilted her head, winking at him. ‘’But, you’re right. You’re hot and steamy. And that makes you dangerous.’’ She said, biting her lip for a moment, before she took another sip of her coffee.
He seemed to have picked up on her reluctance to call it a date, since he tried to determine it at something else. ‘’You’re giving in too much, Bienvido. It’s me, remember? I don’t mind calling it a date, if that is what it is.’’ She then said, calmly. It wasn’t the word that scared her, but the meaning he might put behind it. She wasn’t going to fuck him, simply because he had brought her out on a date.

Then, he dropped the bomb. ‘’A new mafia!?’’ she exclaimed, keeping her voice low as she didn’t want the other guests at the café to hear her. ‘’what do you mean, a new mafia? Who are they?’’ she asked, demanding to know everything. If they knew something she didn’t, she was going to find out. She had been away for a while, so missing information like that was just her own fault, but still… she didn’t really care for Halloween herself, knowing it by a different name as she was pagan. ‘’I know, I know. Kids, candy and costumes. Horrible representation of Samhain,’’ she said, wrinkling on her nose as she expressed her belief. ‘’Now… Who’s the leader of those bird-men?’’ she asked, clearly more interested in the new mafia than some puny holiday she didn’t even celebrate.

A player.
A fuckboy.
Normally he would sit there, smile proudly and agree to the words… but right now, he just felt embarrassed, as he looked down in the table. He ended up chuckling lowly. “yeah… I was…” he looked up and into her eyes. “I´m no longer that…” he lifted a finger and interrupted her before she could comment on it. “And I know, I have to prove it to you.” After those words, he winked at her and then took another sip of the cocoa. The chocolate tasted wonderful. Sweet and luring.
When she agreed to, he was hot and steamy, which made him dangerous, he chuckled and smiled weakly. For once, he didn’t want to tease her about it. He just let it go.
To him It was a date. But he decided to keep that for himself. Or, he smiled and nodded to her, as she said they could call it a date. Whenever she could use it as a answer or not.

He should have known that she would react like that on the new mafia. They were enemies. So of course, she wanted to know more.
He took some of the coffee this time and let its warm hit his tongue. “Darius.” Short and easy to say. “Tidus said that the dark angels had always been there, but there had never been problems until now.” The emerald green looked into her eyes. “He has a suspicion that they´re trying to take over the Patrons. After Jaspers disappearance, they see our mafia as weak.”
Carefully he placed the coffee cup down. “I´m sure they´re more to this… but… he´s not willing to talk about what happened…” He ended the topic and sighed. It was clearly that he knew nothing more about this.

Cassandra understood why the werewolf tried to avoid any confrontation with her. After all, she was known for leaving whenever she felt uncomfortable. This time, however, she wasn't going to walk away. If Bienvido had a need to clarify thi gs between them, he should be able to.
Calmly, she sipped at her coffee. "you don't have to prove anything to me," she said, rather relaxed. She was as serious as possible, as she looked straight at him. "but I won't accept being the second choice." she said, smiling gently at him. To her, it was important that he understood that this was indeed a huge step for her. She feared any form for relationship immensely, so going on a date with him, it was huge.

"Darius," she repeated, tasting the name. Simple and easy - and just as frightening as Jasper, no doubt. Then, as the werewolf explained that the rival mafia thought of them as weak, she made a very unsatisfied low growl. "then it's time to show him just who took over after Jasper." she said: her amber eyes shifting rapidly to the bloody golden hue. Clearly, she didn't like the thought of rivals. The fact that Tidus wasn't sharing the information made her sure of the fact that something happened to him. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and wrote a text rather quickly. A simple 'we need to talk. I'll call you later.', which she sent to her boss, best friend and almost brother; Tidus. They had agreed to no secrets. All of them. She then placed the phone back in her pocket, before she looked at Bienvido once again.
"now. You have to tell me something. When did this even start for you? You know, the whole 'I think I might like her' thing," she said, smiling calmly at him before she picked up her coffee once more

He smiled at her. A smile so warm and filled with love. She would never be a second. She had never been a second choice. In the beginning, she had her mate by her side. One he could not compete with. One he shouldn’t compete with. And when he was gone, he didn’t step forward from the start. It wouldn’t have been right. He waited and yes… he brought some chicks home occasionally. But they didn’t own his heart like Cassandra did. Some excuse… he knew.
“You´re no second choice,” he said and smiled kindly at her. He placed his hand on top of hers again, caressing her hand with his thumb.
Maybe she said he didn’t have to prove anything. But he didn’t believe her. He knew he had to prove something for her. And he would do it. He would prove it.

The fire was glowing inside Cassandra. It was like sitting next to a piece of art. He smiled confidently and wide. He then nodded to her. “It´s defiantly time yes.”
No other mafia could scare of Cassandra. He knew that. The dark angels and Darius had just dogged the hole to their own grave. He smirked and leaned back in the chair. When Cassandra grabbed her phone, he could almost imagine what and who she decided to text to. Tivo knew that she hated when Tidus kept things from her.
The subject changed. From being about another mafia, to she suddenly asked when he had started to catch feelings for her. He leaned forward again and started to smile a bit flustered. Something he usually never did.
“From the moment I saw you, I knew there was something about you… but I knew that I had catched feeling for you one particular day,” he said and smiled by the memory. “You had just gone out of the shower… You sat there on the couch in my jogging pants and a tank top. In your hands you had a cup of coffee and on the screen was Harry Potter… I had a shitty day and just entered the apartment, ready to just call it a day and hide away… until you told me that you had just ordered burgers and demanded me to stay in the living room with you.” He looked into her eyes and chuckled. “That was the moment I knew I liked you.”

His words, stating she was no second choice, somehow made her scoff like she had heard the most stupid lie. She didn’t even want to explain why he sounded like the worst liar ever - because she had been far less than second choice. How many girls had he not entertained, forcing her to either stay and listen or leave the flat all together? No, she wasn’t second choice. She was much less, and he knew it as well as her. She had been second choice with Tidus as well; calling Leviticus for help when he was stabbed, after leaving Cassandra to deal with the abuse his father forced upon her for protecting him. She knew she would never be first choice for anyone - she just had to accept it herself. She took another sip of her coffee, admitting to herself that it was getting slightly luke-warm, and she hated that. She needed her coffee scolding hot, just like her wrath whenever she was treated wrong.

‘’I’ll have a talk with Michael. Perhaps he knows something about Darius,’’ she said, looking calmly at the werewolf in front of her. ‘’If anyone knows something about another mafia in Gaia, it would be him,’’ she said, before she waved her free hand - the one he didn’t caress with his thumb - over her coffee, making at bubble almost immediately like it was back to boiling. Magic was a wonderful thing when used correctly.

Back to the subject of the witch and werewolf, and their feelings towards each other. In a way, she was grateful that he didn’t ask the same thing as her, because her answer would have been a bit more morbid. ‘’I remember that day. It was the day Jasper decided to punish me for the first time,’’ she said, no smile to find on her lips as she recalled the incident. Thirty minutes before the werewolf had entered the flat, Cassandra had been sitting in on the floor of the shower with scolding hot water running over her while she tried to stop sobbing. Something she had never told any of them. it would be many episodes later that she finally cracked; showing the werewolf what she had been going through with their boss. It was not until then she actually asked him to help her cover up har mate-marking on her collarbone. ‘’It was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,’’ she then said, looking down at her coffee, finally smiling a bit. Her favorite movie.

‘’Do you remember the first night I spent in the flat? You tried to convince me to sleep in the bedroom; offering to take the couch yourself. You even tried to make me a cup of coffee,’’ she chuckled, finally looking at him; looking him in the eyes. ‘’you tried everything to make me smile. You didn’t even ask what had happened since I ended up in the mafia. You went straight to being my friend.’’ She said; a crooked smile on her lips. ‘’I liked you from day one. Obviously,’’ she said, chuckling, as she gave his hand a little squeeze; something she shouldn’t have done. All of a sudden, they were both pulled down into a memory she wasn’t even sure she remembered herself, until she was reminded of it in this moment.

The flat looked like it had always done. Next to the couch was her only bag - her only belongings. On the couch was Cassandra; drinking a cup of coffee and watching some talkshow on the television. The front door opened, and Bienvido stumbled inside the flat with some tall blonde girl clinging up against him; their lips dancing like they would die if they even be separate for a moment. Cassandra looked down at her coffee, trying to hide whatever feeling that resided in her chest. Envy? She wasn’t sure… She curled up on the couch, focusing in the talkshow, as the werewolf and his ladyfriend rather intoxicated stumbled through the flat, straight to the bedroom. It didn’t take more than a moment before their sounds of pleasure drowned the host of the talkshow. She drank the last of her coffee before she got up from the couch and moved to the kitchen; placing the cup in the sink. She grinded her teeth, knowing that it didn’t help that she stayed and listened to their ‘fucks’ and ‘oh yes’. No. she didn’t even consider staying. She grabbed her messenger bag with her laptop, phone and keys, and left the flat. Although she was only wearing some sweatpants, a hoodie and a pair of flipflops, she started to walk. Where, she didn’t know - but she didn’t want to stay in the flat. She ended up at a coffee place, noticing a familiar face through the glass; her cousin. After an hour, she decided to return to the flat, only to hear the water running in the shower. Then, his ladyfriend surely had left. She placed herself on the couch once again, only to be met at the ladyfriend prancing from the bedroom to sit next to Cass; trying to start a conversation. Cass tried to remain calm while the werewolf exited the bathroom to join them; sobering up ever so slightly. ’’So, are you guys siblings or something?’’ the girl asked, making Cass grind her teeth silently. She wanted to punch the blondie right in the teeth. Cass looked at the werewolf, awaiting him to reject the theory of them being siblings. Oh, and he did. With a ‘no, we’re just colleagues.’. it was like a knife to the chest. Not only had he just fucked some blonde bimbo; forcing Cass to leave the flat, no, he also saw her as just a colleague. ‘’Yeah,’’ Cass answered in a slightly monotone voice. ‘’Just colleagues.’’. oh, how her heart felt stupid for thinking otherwise. How long had she stayed with him? A week? Less? Of course, he saw her as nothing but a colleague. She should have known that.

They both got pulled out of the memory once again, sitting at the café. She sighed slightly, knowing that he would either think her to be a complete mess or a horrible liar for keeping her crush on him secret for so long. Regardless of what he thought, she knew that she was an idiot for not owning up to her feelings back when they had a chance to prevent all the shite that had happened to them.

It shouldn’t be a surprise for Cassandra, that when she mentioned someone like Michael, she was doomed to get questioned who he was. The werewolf even tilted his head, clearly showing that he wanted to know who this guy was. “Who´s Michael? Is he a new member I haven’t heard about?”
After all, Tidus and Cass could hire people without concerning Tivo. He had such an unnerving gut feeling. As she took her hand shortly to him, he looked down at the table, just for a few seconds. had he even asked her why she had avoided him in two weeks? Should he be asking why… I guess she had already answered the question to Tidus. She feared hurting him… just like she hurt Josiah.

He sighed and looked at her as she had started to remember the memory of the day. To her… it wasn’t that much of a memorable day. It was the first time she had been beaten by Jasper.
He was ready to say they should forget the whole day, until he noticed her smile at him, and she created eye contact with him. This made his heart beat just a bit faster.
The first day she lived in his flat. Yes. He remembered every little bit of it. It was nice to have someone to talk to. That it was the sweet Cassandra just made it better.

Before he could say anything, she squished his hand and dragged him into a memory. One day. The memory… it made him feel… weird. He saw it all from Cassandra´s side. He felt what she felt. And what she had felt was… was it envy? Was it love? Already that far back? He couldn’t believe it…

Pulled out from the memory, they now sat there, clearly both too embarrassed to talk. Cassandra didn’t want Tivo to know this. She didn’t want him to know that she had had feelings for him for a while now.
He looked down at their hands. They were still in touch. He looked at her and smiled weakly. Should he ask about it? Or… just let it go.
“I… I didn’t even… I´m sorry… I should have noticed a long time ago.”
That was the only words he could stumble out. If only he had known… but… it had been such a long time since he had been in love. It felt weird to be it again. Maybe that was the reason why he hadn’t noticed… no… that was just ridiculous.

Of course, he asked who Michael was. It came as no surprise, but a big inconvenience to her that she had to explain who that person was, as she had no good explanation. He had saved her life, but… The werewolf wouldn’t like that information one bit. ‘’You know Jonathan, right? The vampire-idiot that decided to show up right after all that with Jasper?’’ she asked, looking cautiously at the werewolf, as she knew Jonathan had a tendency to make enemies for himself. ‘’Well, Jonathan decided to seek me out, and despite being well-mannered and a gentleman for the most part, the idiot tried to attack me. Michael showed up and helped me,’’ she said, shrugging a shoulder. ‘’To cut a long story short, Michael is a friend of mine. A good friend.’’ She said, smiling calmly at the werewolf to ensure that he didn’t put too much thought into it.

The memory he had been shown made her scoff silently at herself - mostly because it wasn’t fair to portray him as such a shithead when he had done nothing wrong to be honest. It had only been because she had started to develop stupid feelings for him back then that she had felt like it was unfair of him to live a normal life - or, a life with bimbos, that is. They were both too embarrassed to even talk about it, and when words finally escaped his lips, it was an apology. ‘’If I had wanted you to know, you wouldn’t have been able to doubt it,’’ she said, looking at him; seeing his weak smile. ‘’I didn’t want you to know. Just like I didn’t want you to know about Jasper’s behavior or what happened to Josiah..’’ she said, trying to make him feel better about not noticing her feelings. She had not even been sure of them herself, to be honest.

The minor thought of that blood sucking fairy made Tivo´s blood boil.
“oh yeah… I remember that idiot,” he hissed lowly. He had to push the anger aside. She had to tell her story. And the story was told. Jonathan had attacked her. Michael had been there. Tivo hadn’t. It made the werewolf nervous. Why hadn’t she come to him? Or at least to Tivo? How come none of those 3 came to each other, when something terrible happened! He sighed and wished to have her hand in his again.
“In that case, remember for me to thank this Michael when I meet him, If I ever meet him,” he said the ‘if’ in a teasing tone. It wasn’t even sure he would ever meet whoever this man was. Hell, Tivo weren’t even sure that he cared.

They just sat there now. In a weird bobble. Captured. What Tivo feared would have been a Cassandra leaving, turned out to be far from the truth. She stayed by his side. Held his hand. Carefully, he took the hand up to her lips and then smiled at her, letting go of the hand.
“The past is past… right? We all have or secrets… I guess I even have a lot to tell you about myself…” he then looked at her, smiled and lifted a hand, before she could say anything. “But that will be another time. It´s not about me… wanna go to the movies? Something?” He tilted his head and smiled.
He tried… he really tried to just forget the past with her. He tried to be a better person. The person she would want to stay with forever.