I run on coffee and chaos, sweetheart

It seemed like he had a hard time accepting that she found him both interesting and attractive. Either that, or the feeling weren’t the same for him, which made her certain that she needed to stop before she went too far and scared him off. “I guess that if the men you are referring to can’t appreciate things that are pleasing to the eye, then you might be right,” she said with a soft and calm chuckle. She needed to take it slow; wouldn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

As she had explained how she was the one of the siblings making trouble, he teased her by saying that it suited her. She winked teasingly at him, as she knew that he meant no offense by it. And trouble she made, indeed. Then, he explained how his mother had passed during childbirth, she felt the same heartache as she had done back when Rafael had explained how he lost his family. Of course, that heartache would be visible in her eyes, if he knew what to look for. She nodded, to show that she listened. “Well, I...” she said, not knowing how to even begin expressing how sorry she felt for his loss. “I’m sorry, I have a hard time finding the right words,” she admitted; looking slightly sad about the situation. She had a hard time even knowing how to react, for being upset was not good for her in the slightest.
“I’m an idiot; I’m sorry,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck slightly. She truly didn’t know what to do or say, being scared that she might hurt or offend him.

“I sincerely hope that you didn’t expect me to be easy to argue with?” She asked, with a chuckle in her voice. After all, she couldn’t help being slightly difficult to have an argument or fight with, since she had grown up with two brothers. She had been forced to be the one with the brains as her brothers had the brawl.

He stepped closer to her as he noticed her reaction to his story. She had noticed it, but thought none of it since he had yet to display any act of indecency with her. He assured her that it was alright after she had been lacking words to describe how she felt, and yet as she apologized for being stupid, he did something she had not expected. With his index finger, he lifted her face so that she would look directly at him. As he stated she was no idiot and had done nothing wrong, she was just about to tell him otherwise when their order was called and he removed his finger to fetch their milkshakes. Lavender just stood there for a moment, wondering if she was even allowed to comment on the finger lifting her face moments earlier. Instead, she waited patiently for him to return, only to notice him stuff something into his back pocket. He then turned to face her with the milkshakes in his hands. “I can’t promise you that,” she chuckled, as he asked for her honest opinion on the milkshake. She didn’t like to talk bad about neither people nor objects, so she wasn’t going to admit if she didn’t like it. However, she was pleasantly surprised as she took one rather small sip of hers; of course getting a bit on her nose, because eating was a messy task! “Oh geez..!” She sighed - almost hiding a moan in the back of her throat. “This is... well, delicious!” She chuckled before she looked at him with an enthusiastic smile. After all, she had a massive sweet tooth, so toffee was the most enticing choice. She then realized the sound she had made moments earlier; a sound that was reserved for more pleasant and intimate settings. She chose not to comment on it, seeing as she didn’t want to make him embarrassed. “This could very easily be my new favorite!” She then admitted, smiling gratefully at him before she took another sip; sighing once more.

As Benjamin seemed to expect her to have a strong opinion, or so he expressed, she couldn’t help but chuckle at him once more. ‘’Although I prefer not to have to display my opinions too often,’’ she then admitted. ‘’Sometimes I fear my brothers only allowed me to win in arguments because of my condition,’’ she then added in a chuckle. Just as he spoke of his mother like it was nothing, so did she with her heart. There was no reason to make it into a sob-fest after all.

Her honest opinion regarding food was limited. She didn’t cook much, so her knowledge about taste and flavor combinations was limited immensely compared to any woman her age. Still, it seemed like her honest opinion was displayed regardless, as her nose got dipped in the milkshake and her throat wasn’t able to keep quite about the delight. Benjamin’s comment about it not being far from where she worked already also seemed to be a hint at something different; something she deep down knew might be a better alternative than to have to enchant your supervisor to avoid harassment. She chose not to comment on it, however, as she somewhat hoped that the employment at the cafe was a rather limited period anyway. She had other plans than serving costumers all her life.

As he handed her the napkin and called her a little piglet, she frowned a bit. ‘’Of course I make a mess of myself,’’ she sighed with a chuckle, as she wiped her nose off. ‘’But in my defense, it’s too good for only my mouth to have a go!’’ she then said - only to realize how some people had food fetishes and that if was the most weird thing she could have said. ‘’That… Please forget I ever said that,’’ she then chuckled; feeling her cheeks flush in slight embarrassment even though it might have been nothing at all.

Benjamin had decided for them to walk with their milkshakes, to which she wasn’t completely opposed. He offered her two options, and seeing as she was planning on doing bar training later that day, going home might be the best option at that point. ‘’Please show me another route home! I really enjoyed our last walk - and I did promise you to show you my place after all,’’ she said with a soft smile. Did he even want to see her place? Maybe.. She couldn’t quite tell where they stood. Maybe they didn’t even stand on the same continent and she was being an idiot. Maybe…

He raised an eyebrow slightly, as she told she didn’t like to display her opinions. It wasn’t very often women didn’t want to express their opinions. “Interesting,” he said nodding slightly. When she quite so calmly brought her brothers and her hearts condition up, both brows were raised equally. “Really? Because they didn’t want you to throw a tantrum?” he asked teasingly.

While taking a sip himself, he chuckled slightly, as she replied with ‘making a mess’ of herself. She sure did make mess for herself. And soon, oh so very soon, she would seem to be even more messy – or was dirty more correct to use? While taking a sip of his milkshake she came with a quite dirty sentence, which made him spit his milkshake back in the cup, making some of it spray out on his face and drip down his shirt. The whole mess, and her trying to correct her ‘mistake’, made him cough, as he had been choking slightly on his milkshake. “I’m so sorry,” he tried to hold back laughs between coughs.

Drying his eyes he asked if she wanted another route or to see more of the city. Luckily she wanted another route home. Maybe he could borrow her sink to wash his shirt, before it got stained? He smiled slightly as she mentioned showing her place. He had just been invited inside her home. “That’s right! Let’s go then!” he said quite so positive. He couldn’t really wait to she how she lived. Not that it mattered, but she had said that she slept in a bathtub, and it had him wondering if she even owned a bed.

He stepped outside and continued in the opposite direction of the café she worked at. Making sure he didn’t take big steps, so she was able to follow him without having to overexert herself. Not that he was trying to take into account that she had a condition with her heart, but just to make it easier for her, now that she was carrying a milkshake. “Are you always this dirty?” he asked jokingly before he took another sip of this milkshake.

‘’Yes, Benjamin; because they tried to avoid me making a scene,’’ she said, winking at him. After all, she might have been that sister that had abused her position as ‘the fragile one’ on multiple occasions, just to get things her way. Could anyone blame her, however?

Her way of saying what she wanted to say; although it was slightly perverted to some, made the poor man sputter and and spit the sip of his milkshake that he had just taken back into the cup; only for it to spill over his face and shirt. Her attempt at correcting the whole thing just made it worse; coughing and apologizing, he was slightly choking on his milkshake. She gave him some gentle pats on the back, trying to help him get rid of the coughs.
Quite positively minded, he agreed on her showing him her flat. It wasn’t much, but it was home. Or, as much of a home as she needed it to be. ‘’Alrighty then, lead the way, mighty piglet,’’ she said, winking at him. After all, hadn’t he just made fun of her for getting a bit messy with the milkshake as well?
She followed him outside the Juice Stop, and walked next to him; keeping up with him as much as she could. However, she wasn’t the tallest person, and even though her legs were long and slender, she seemed to have a hard time keeping up in the long run. She took another sip of her milkshake, as he asked jokingly if she always was that dirty. She looked over at him. ‘’I have no clue what you are talking about, mister,’’ she said, clearly fake-pretending.

The walk back to her place was just as pleasant as it had been last time. Talking about everything and nothing; joking and teasing - and even some minor flirting now and then, although she kept it at a minimum as to not give him any impression that the only reason she had invited him back to her place was to practice gymnastics in the sheets. He was already becoming a dear friend of hers, and messing it up being being intimate wasn’t something she was willing to do.

As they arrived at the entrance to ascent in which she lived, she turned to look at him for a moment; almost as if she was hesitating. However, that hesitation quickly was replaced with a smile, before she turned the handle and opened the door into the ascent. The stairs looked like one too many homeless hobos had been sleeping there or using it as a urinal - which also was the case. Still, she stepped over the worst discolored spots on the steps of the stairs, as she began to move up to the level on which her flat was located. Most would have thought, you know, with her medical condition, that she would be living on the first or second floor, but no. She continued walking until they were up beneath the roofing of the building. Here, she pulled out a key from the chest pocket of her shirt and unlocked a shaggy looking door, which opened up to a dormer flat.
The flat itself was tiny. Most people had at least a separate kitchen, room and bathroom. Lavender, on the other hand, had a bathroom which was separate to a all-in-one room where a convertible couch was facing the only window of the flat; which was tiny and cracked. A small dining table was placed against a wall, alongside with two chairs. An accent table was placed by the couch, where a laptop was resting. There were no signs of pillows go blankets; no rugs on the hardwood floors and the wallpaper was clearly stained from the former residents. In the farthest corner, a box with her clothes would be visible, although it was closed with a sleeve from the dress she had been wearing last time he saw her sticking out.
The tiny kitchen consisted of a one-burner stove, no oven, a sink and a kettle to boil water. A dorm-sized fridge was nudged in beneath the sink. on a shelf she clearly had mounted to the wall herself, there was three mugs, a single glass, two bowls to eat out of and some silverware. I single pot rested in the sink, alongside a wooden spoon.
The bathroom wasn’t big by any means. It had a very old tub up against the wall; plants all over the place, a toilet and a sink. A mirror, cracked and discolored, was hanging by a screw in the wall that was moments from giving up.

She stepped in; gesturing him to enter too, as she kicked off her heels and placed them against the wall behind the front door. ‘’It’s not much,’’ she said - clearly wanting to finish the sentence, but it would be a blatant lie. This didn’t feel like her home, but it was where she was when she needed to hydrate and sleep. It was quite clear that she didn’t cook, and if he was curious enough to open the fridge, he would find some leftover Chinese food and a good amount of grapefruits in a basket. Nothing else. ‘’So… Welcome to my place,’’ she said, before she placed the now almost finished milkshake on the table.

He was quite clearly not impressed with her living situation. She had known that, even before she had allowed him to see her flat; after all, who would be impressed about a dormer flat where it looked like junkies had been the former tenants?
She had only been living there for a very short amount of time, and seeing as she almost ran away from her previous living arrangement, she hadn’t had the time or savings to go splurge on anything really. Most of the things in her kitchen was second hand - bought in some thrift shop for as cheap as possible. However, the place was spotless. No mess, no dirt, no grime. She wasn’t a neat freak, but between work, practice and sleep, there simply wasn’t any time for her to make a mess of anything.

As he stood in the middle of her flat - her home - he stated with a slight smile how it was fascinating. Then, after he had seemed to get a look of the entire place from the spot where he stood, he pointed towards the kitchen, asking her how she even managed to cook. She chuckled softly, before she shrugged with one shoulder. ‘’Well, I don’t. Or, I guess I do. Does oatmeal count?’’ she asked in a chuckle, knowing that her chuckle was a way for her to make things less uncomfortable, even though she was at the most vulnerable right there. She was admitting it all; she lived in a shithole, she couldn’t cook and her life was basically just her focusing on anything else but her mental and physical health. ‘’It’s alright, once you get used to it,’’ she said, smiling calmly. She did however understand that most people would find this subpar - but for her… This was all she had. How could she one day be in the elite of The Circle and live at the estate near the Oneroi Mountains, if she hadn’t tried living like those exiled from there first? Her aunt had displayed very clearly how greed and ungratefulness could be absolutely vile, and Lavender was in no way possible going to end up like her aunt.

‘’I know, I know.. It’s not a palace,’’ she then said, before she walked over to the laptop on the accent table by the couch, and closed the laptop shut. There was no reason for it to be open, especially when she had company. ‘’I guess it wasn’t what you had imagined, huh?’’ she asked, clearly not offended nor displeased. After all, it was her place. Her own place, where she could do as she pleased. That was something worth holding onto.

Could she blame him for not thinking anything remotely positive about that place? No, she couldn’t. Why? Well, because she was too used to the fact that she didn’t have to impress anyone. That would change soon enough, although she did not yet know that. Instead, there she stood, with one of her closest friends at the moment, feeling somewhat ashamed about how she lived. His way of asking how she even cooked made her blatantly aware that a woman of her age should be able to cook - or at least know how. She didn’t. She couldn’t be bothered to cook. She hated it. She wanted her tea, her bathtub and her music. It was all she needed when she was at home.

‘’Remember how you told me not to worry about you last time? Wouldn’t it be wise to follow your own advice, mister?’’ she asked, as he mentioned not being sure if he should be worried about it being alright once you got used to it or not. However, her teasing tone and smile faded a bit as he asked about coming over once a week with some food. She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head. ‘’I will not have you come by and feed me, Benjamin. I do eat, when I need to,’’ she said, and although her lips had formed a calm and caring smile, it didn’t reach her eyes completely. Right then and there, she felt like such a failure. She couldn’t even feed herself, so now people around her offered to bring her food. How embarrassing.. ‘’Besides… I don’t really like food that I need to heat up or cook. I prefer to eat things raw,’’ she said, knowing it was something that might sound like a terrible excuse, but it was somewhat true. She was a siren.. She preferred her meat with a pulse, and preferably a dick accompanied by lungs filled with water. Not that she would ever do that kind of thing again, however. Never again.

As she had closed the laptop, stating that her home was no palace, Benjamin approached her slowly, stretching out a hand in an invitation. She looked at him, raising and eyebrow before she took his hand; curious to see what he wanted to do that demanded physical contact between them. Then, those cheesy and somehow sweet words passed his lips, which made her chuckle and sigh at him at the same time. She had not expected him to lead her into a pirouette, but yet he did. She did not recall telling anyone but Rafael about her love for dancing, so as he decided to lead her into the pirouette, she couldn’t help but smile somewhat impressed at him. Of course, she had done a completely perfect pirouette, which she assumed wasn’t the biggest accomplishment, since it was a basic step for every little girl to do once in a while. The words that followed the pirouette made her chuckle at him once more. ‘’Why do I sense that you’ve watched too many disney movies, Benjamin?’’ she asked, winking at him. But then, as they stood there, she felt the same urge as last time they had been standing close; the urge to feel him even closer. She looked up at him, before she took a step backwards. ‘’And even if this was a ballroom, and you were the knight in shining armor, I shouldn’t be the one you danced with,’’ she said, still smiling. ‘’Because dancing with a siren… That’s a dangerous game,’’ she teased him, before she took a step back and smirked at him. ‘’Now, that cardigan of yours… Shouldn’t we at least try to get the stain off it?’’ she asked, trying to make him think of something else than what she had just said. After all, she could always be understood in so many ways… And none of them had to be necessarily wrong.

He chuckled slightly as she reminded her of his own advice. He liked his teeth thoughtfully, “You’re right,” he said. It was clear that she didn’t really like the suggestion. “Alright, alright – I trust you,” he said nodding slightly, almost as if he tried to put the topic away. It almost seemed like it was a ‘dangerous’ topic to talk about. If she didn’t want free food, he could keep it for himself. Too bad she would be missing his great cooking skills. He liked to cook in general, even though he only really got full when he got blood – everything else didn’t do shit but give experiences. He really liked to serve food and see what their reaction would be to his cooking. He chuckled slightly as she said she liked raw food. There was no way he couldn’t agree more. “I know how you feel,” he said with a slight crooked smile. Something, right in that moment, made him feel some kind of urge to taste her blood. Though, he would never take some without her permission, and even if she suggested it, he might even say no or hesitate.

She seemed somewhat curious as he approached her and she seemed to like the words which he presented and she was indeed very elegant, as he led her into a pirouette. Beauty and grace. She seemed happy for it, and that made him feel pleased with what he had done. Her comment made him smile widely and look down between them shortly, before he looked up into her eyes. His eyes made a short pitstop on the way; looking at her lips. “Maybe I have,” he confessed smiling at her. But then she took a step backwards. Pulling the scene apar. Brining them back to reality; seeing the lousy room around them. He frowned slightly at her with a confused smile, as she said he shouldn’t be dancing with her; if this was the ballroom and he was the knight in shining armor. Why? And no matter her explanation to his confused face, he knew that no matter what, he wouldn’t be the knight in shining armor. He was the demon in disguise.
Her reason was that she was a siren and that dancing with a siren would be a dangerous game. Dang girl. What are you talking about! He wanted to reply, but she took another step backwards, changing the topic to his cardigan. Shortly he glanced at his shoulder, where he had placed it, before he took it off and threw it onto the sofa. Shaking her head at her, presenting his hand again, bowing just a tiny bit. “And dancing with a demon isn’t dangerous?” he asked with a small smirk. If she hesitated, he would insist: “Come on, Lavie… I trust you, and you can trust me.”

The whole thing seemed like something taking out of a rom-com novel or something. There they stood, in her shitty flat, making no sense. Of course, they could pretend that they were at a palace and that they were dancing the night away at a ball; but once reality would catch up to them, it would all just be memories that would be erased with time.

She could see how displeased he was with her moving away from him. However, she was uncertain regarding the whole thing. Of course, they could trust each other. They could dance, have fun, laugh and even have some innocent flirting going on. However, she knew that it had to reach an end, and that she would miss it too much to even dare wanting it to begin with. Benjamin, who looked rather confused at her for backing away, now threw his cardigan at the couch, making her chuckle lovingly at him, as he bowed slightly and once more presented his hand to her. The small smirk on his lips as he stated that dancing with a demon was dangerous as well. To that, she couldn’t say anything. He was right. Hesitating slightly, he used her nickname; stating that they could trust each other. Delicately, she placed her hand in his once more; this time allowing her hand to rest properly in his instead of how she had been slightly insecure earlier. ‘’Remember that I warned you, mister. I’m not at fault in you end up madly obsessed with me,’’ she chuckled teasingly. Of course, she was scared of her instincts taking over at some point; and if she began humming or singing, she would already have caved in to those damned instincts. However, she didn’t wish to scare him off, so she kept those thoughts to herself.
Gently, she reached for his other hand; placing it around her waist if she allowed her to do so. She didn’t want to assume that he knew how to dance, because it was a forgotten trait to be taught in school. She had been homeschooled for a while, so learning the classical arts had been easy enough.

‘’Is it here that I admit that I’ve been a dancer my entire life, just to intimidate you?’’ she asked, winking at him before her hand that had guided his moved to rest on his shoulder instead. There was still time for him to back out if he wasn’t up for it anyway, but as she looked up at him, she moved every so slightly closer to him; almost to a point where she could feel the body heat radiate from him.

Benjamin would be sure that no matter what, he would never forget the moment Lavender showed her apartment and how they ended up in the position they were in right now. He would take this memory to the grave.

Benjamin never really saw an end in the fun they had. He would love to have a friend like her forever, whom he could joke around with and tease. Who wouldn’t want that? Her chuckle was extremely lovable and gave him slight chills. Luckily, when he insisted, telling her they could trust each other, she took his hand, and he slowly stepped closer. Just as he had done that, she once again warned him. “I’ll take the responsibility. Don’t wo-” he stopped himself, knowing that the ‘do not worry’ or ‘it is alright’  wasn’t very welcomed between them. It always seemed like it made things slightly worse or the counterpart began to worry. He didn’t really have a clue about what she could do that was so ‘dangerous’, except for singing of course. He had never really heard a siren sing, and somehow wondered what it sounded like and how fast their song would have an effect. As it seemed like she knew what she was doing, with the placements of his hand, and it somehow reminded him of what he had seen in Disney movies, he felt like it would be going alright.

And then she said it. “You what?” he said. The way her hand moved to his shoulder made her words get very clear. Her movements were so elegant. He almost interrupted himself, “Really?” he said looking slightly surprised. It almost felt like he got performance anxiety, as he had to look down between them, changing his stance, before he looked up into her eyes again. “Well then… Then I gotta warn you… Disney movies teached me,” he said, trying to keep a serious face. He knew nothing about dancing and only remembered minor things. The hand which she had placed at her waist, slowly moved to her back, as she stepped closer. Slowly he started to move forward, to the left, backwards, to the right. He chuckled slightly as he was very cautious of her feet, so he wouldn’t step on them. Almost subconsciously he gave her a good deal of his power so if he failed, stepping on her, she wouldn’t feel it as much. Nervously he glanced up from his feet, with a wide happy smile on his lips, to look into her eyes.

The words almost passed over his lips, but he seemed to remind himself that those words would only bring more worry with them. So, instead, she calmly smiled at him. After all, if things went haywire, she could always just ask him to leave before they did something stupid.
He seemed slightly flabbergasted when she mentioned that she had been a dancer for her entire life. She was just about to repeat herself, when he slightly surprised announced both surprise and disbelief. He looked down between them; changing his position, before he looked at her her eyes; those eyes which were deep and luring like the sea itself. ‘’Relax, Benjamin,’’ she chuckled at him, as he then warned her about how he had learned most from Disney movies.

As they began to move, it seemed like he was almost scared to step on her. As they moved around in the tiny flat, it was easy to tell that one of them had experience while the other had not. Still, as he looked back up at her, instead of looking at his feet, she shared the smile. She hadn’t been dancing with someone in what seemed like ages! ‘’Here,’’ she said, as she gently corrected slightly on the position of his arm; making them stand so close that they almost touched. ‘’You’re doing great, by the way,’’ she said, as she followed along; although she once in a while had to either move her feet a little faster to avoid being stepped on, or remember to breath - as he, quite frankly, had taken her breath away with how amazing of a guy he was.

Considering how she usually had to stop after a few steps, it felt amazing to not be exhausted while dancing with him. How could it be? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that her being out of breath was because how he was behaving, and not because her damned heart was acting strange and preventing her from having a good time. ‘’So, mister knight in shining armor,’’ she said in a soft tone; almost luring, although that wasn’t her intend. ‘’I might reconsider those weekly homemade meals,’’ she admitted, as she looked straight ahead for a moment; focusing on his collarbone and neck, as to not look blatantly obviously at his lips. She needed to control herself a bit on that front.

Their eyes met, and quite gently she told him to relax. He chuckled slightly, “I, eh… Yeah,” was the only thing he could say. Intimidated both by her eyes and that she had been dancing all of her life. He had to step carefully, not only so he wouldn’t step on her, but also so she wouldn’t think that he was making fun of dancing; because he knew it was a tough sport. And since she had danced all of her life; she loved and cared for it, right?

When he finally took the chance and looked up, she smiled back, which gave him some confidence. If it had been bad, she would’ve done something right? And then she did something. Correcting his arm so minimum distance was between them. It made him speechless, and he felt like he was almost getting a dancing lesson, trying to remember everything. Steps, arms position, her position compared to him, trying not to look at his feet and… You’re doing great, it was like he could breathe again. “Thanks,” he said and slowed a bit down. Not that he was stopping, but because he relaxed more. Subconsciously, as a constant sound, he listened to her heartbeat, keeping an eye out for the blue lips and anything that might indicate she was feeling sick. All of it while he adored her, burning the memory into his mind and forgetting they were not in a ballroom.

She seemed to be quite happy and satisfied with the work that he put into it, or maybe it was something else? A memory? A soft voice broke the focused silence and almost synchronized footsteps. He smiled very welcoming to her, “Yes, malady?” he said with a voice which as well as possible could resemble a true Disney ‘knight in shining armor’. Her words made him slow down even more. “Wait, what?” he stopped the steps slightly shocked and very excited, “Oops, sorry,” he realized it quite fast, and if she wanted to, he’ll continue to lead her around. “Well… I would love to cook for you, and as soon as I get a new phone, you can just text me if you don’t want some,” he said. As much as he liked cooking, he would be cooking no matter what, the only difference would be how much he made. And even if she got second thoughts about wanting food or not, he would just have leftovers or lunch for the next day! Simple!

If anyone saw them, they would maybe get the idea that something else was between them. There wasn’t - they were just friends having fun; weren’t they? As it didn’t seem to help much that she told him to relax, she considered making things more relaxed herself; maybe even switch over to something else than a classical waltz. However, he had been the one to start it, so she guessed that if he wanted something else, he would either say so or simply switch genre.

Then, as he looked up again, once they had been moving elegantly around for a moment, he smiled and so did she. She corrected his arm to a minimum distance between them - mostly because she enjoyed being this close to him. He seemed rather tense about it, but she knew that it might be because she truly had intimidated him by mentioning her experience in the field. She knew he was looking out for cues; if she was getting ill. It was obvious that he cared, and worried, despite it being a thing they told each other multiple times - don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

Of course, as she mentioned the part about reconsidering that weekly deal of a home cooked meal, something changed between them; it went from a romantic scene of them dancing, to a rom com where the lead had gotten confused and excited at the same time; missing several steps. His ‘oops’ was adorable, and hadn’t it been for her own clumsiness, she would have stopped in the same pace as him. Instead, she nearly stepped him on his feet, making her take a rather rushed step backwards to avoid collision. She did terribly at just that, and lost her balance, tumbling over and placing both hands on his chest as to prevent herself from slamming her face into his abdomen. ‘’That sounds,’’ she chuckled; trying to hide the embarrassment, before she continued. ‘’That sounds like a plan, I would say,’’ she then stated, as she looked up at him with an apologetic smile for barging into him like that. Clumsiness wasn’t something she struggled with often - but once in a blue moon, she would do something stupid and end up tumbling over. That was just how she was; a perfectly splendid mess.

He made a mistake. He had gotten distracted by her change of heart about the food he wanted to cook for her, which had resulted in a sudden stop. As soon as he sensed that she wasn’t stopping, he tried his best to not make her fall backwards, supporting her, with his hand on her back – giving her even more of his power. Even though it seemed like she just changed direction and fell directly towards him, bringing both her hands to his chest, so she would go face first into his torso. The hand, which had held hers, he had brought in, surrounding her, so she wouldn’t be able to fall to either side. His brown eyes rested on her, as she seemed to cover up the embarrassment. He sent her a calm crooked smile. “Good. And I’m sorry,” he said once more, “I guess you shocked me,” he teased and tried to support her, mostly with a supportive push on her shoulders, so she could get a proper balance.

When she seemed to have gained her balance and not depend on his chest to stand – even though she was very welcome to stand so close – he let his arms slowly, and observing slide down her arms until they could reach her hipbones. “Are you ready?” he asked, not really waiting for an answer, he bowed slightly in his knees, tightening his grip around her hipbones before he, with no counter jump, lifted her, as well as he could, swirling slowly around before he lowered her onto the ground again, grabbing her right hand, with his left and introducing her to yet another pirouette. There was no way he couldn’t be impressed with her movements, flexibility and her endurance. “You’re a natural,” he complimented, even though he might be quite impressed about whoever danced with him – even though there was quite a big difference from the bar to this.

It all seemed very comical in that moment, as he apologized and she tried to hide some of that embarrassment she had experienced. However, with his hands on her shoulders to help her regain her balance, she smiled at him; a smile that couldn’t get wider, she thought. She was wrong. “Shocked you? About reconsidering your offer?” She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. After all, was it such a surprise? It might very well have been, since she had rejected the offer when he had presented it. She could be a bit of a indecisive person when it came to others. She wasn’t interested in forcing anyone to do anything, and his offer could have been out of pity. She would hate anyone to feel pity for her.

As she had regained her balance, yet still had her hands placed in his chest as per pure reflex, his hands began to glide down her sides; down to her hipbones. Her breathing got slightly shallow and her heartbeat quickened ever so slightly. There was no way he couldn’t hear that, although it was neither threatening or problematic. It was simply a response to his touch. The question, she wasn’t even allowed to answer before he bowed slightly in his knees and tightened his grip. Now, she had a somewhat good idea of what he tried to do - and of course that wouldn’t be an issue with such a tiny girl as her. He lifted her up with no counter jump, making her follow his movements easily. After all, she had done it a couple of times before, but never with a demon - and never with someone as tall as him. He swirled them around, and as her feet was planted back in the floor, she had little to no time to regain any form of focus, because he pulled her into a pirouette. She followed along, naturally, and as they stopped, she returned her feet to a more relaxed position. Had he looked at her feet, which most people she had danced with never did, he would have noticed how she had done the pirouette en point, with her ballet shoes. It wasn’t the most healthy thing, but it didn’t bother her too much. His compliment made her chuckle softly, although it surely made her cheeks a bit more flushed. “All sirens are,” she said with a little smile. It didn’t take many moments for her heart to slow down and return to a normal pace. However, she couldn’t hide the wide smile on her lips. He had found a weak spot of hers; dancing. He could use that to get her to do almost anything, as long as he offered to dance with her.

They had returned to a somewhat respectful distance between them, which actually wasn’t what she felt the most like. In reality, she felt like getting close again, but she decided against it as she wasn’t going to force him into being in close proximity with her. Even though... those hands going down her sides; the way he had tightened his grip around her hips... she bit her lower lip for a moment as she thought about his touch, before her head returned from Space and looked at him with a smile. “You are quite the dancer yourself, I would say,” she then said with a soft tone in her voice. The soft tone was her way of hiding whatever was hiding beneath the surface; in this case the wanting for him to just touch her again. She was a weak woman in that regard.