Coming Unraveled {Ty, Kayla, openish}

[Kaera Fenrisulfr Vuldanshe]

(continued from IN THE LIGHT OF DAY )

You left me at the start
The silence is deafening my heart
I examine my scars
Losing my mind wondering just what we are…
Questions, problems, answers, i’ve got none
What is this love you stole from me?
I bleed, everytime you walk away
You would leave everything
Now i’m cryin’
I believed, when you said you’d never go away
But then you did, now every night, i pay for it




Kaera was never so grateful to Ty then that moment. His snarly attitude had the cops backing off and then he was whisking her away to some place where sanity was still identifiable. Leaning on him for support, the petite blond knew she probably looked a sight with blood all over her clothing and the material ripped and torn in places but she really didn't care. Her mind was in to much of an upheaval to deal with that at the moment.

As a shifter, she knew none of her injuries were life threatening. However, that didn't mean the bump on her head wasn't going to leave her with the thumping headache she could feel throbbing harder and harder at that very moment. The thought of dealing with her overly protective brothers... well, it was safe to say that one didn't give her much comfort and she gave a sigh of relief when she realized that Ty wasn't taking her home.

Trying to sort through her thoughts, the blond was quiet for the walk to the cafe. She barely realized where they were until she heard Ty bark out a request and glanced upwards. Suprised flickered over her face but before she could dwell on it, her companion suprised her by trying to wipe at the blood on her face. Yelping with bemusement, she tried swatting him away and then eyed him warily.

"Hey now......I think I've been bruised enough for one day buddy... Your "gentle" treatment might just do me in!" she chided him with a soft, teasing note that belied her words.

For the first time, she took note of something besides her own confusion and saw the concern in his eyes. Reaching out, she squeezed his hand and then sighed. Today had been a very close thing and that part hadn't even sunk into her rattled brain until that very moment. A car explosion wasn't something even one of her kind could walk away from. In fact, it was one of the few accidental ways they could be killed because when you were blown to bits.. Not even a shifters power could put you back together again.

It was obvious that Ty had already thought of that and Kaera knew she was probably lucky HE wasn't trying to lock her in a padded cell. He could be as bad as her brothers when it came to those he loved and she knew she was lucky enough to be included in that rank. They had been friends for a very long time and she knew she'd feel the same if it was him in her position.


"Ty..I'm all right.. I promise..Just a bit rattled is all....."

Reaching up, she pushed a lock of hair behind an ear and frowned. His question about what had happened made her reply the events of the morning and it was hard to focus.

"I was driving to work like always ... only... I decided to avoid the condensed traffic and took the scenic route. I had just turned up the radio and was singing along with it like I always do when I rounded a curve and saw something sitting in the middle of the road. It was a huge silver timber wolf.... When its head whipped around to look at me.. It had blue eyes. I recogized it instantly and I know it recognized me too..... It was Banning , Ty... I know it in my heart..... I tried to slam on the brakes then but it was too late so I twisted the wheel in hopes of avoiding the creature but I felt it hit the bumper just as I left the road. The car rolled after that but the next thing I knew... I was in the car upside down with the smell of gasoline in my nose. I think that smell woke me up because my instincts were screaming danger at me and propelled me from the vehicle. No sooner than I'd gotten a safe distance away than the explosion went off and... Well, you know the rest."

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

She wasn’t going to die.

Hell fucking yeah, she wasn’t going to die. If she even TRIED to keel over, do some brain hemorrhaging or hide an injury, he was going to strangle her. Good Gods, he wanted to strangle her anyway. When that phone call had come in, the explosion on the horizon…

One would think that over a hundred years would give him a tougher skin about losing the people he cared about. He outlived most, killed for make himself feel happy inside…and yet, there he was, having a mini-heart attack.

If she died, he was going to kill her. Bring her back and kill her himself. GOD…the words ‘he needed a hug’ flashed through his mind, and it was all he could do not to start banging his head on the table.

“Hell, you want gentle, call Brom next time. He’ll seduce a random pedestrian to wipe the blood off your face.” He growled in reply, doing his damndest to hide his emotions. He wanted to throttle her for scaring the shit out of him and hold her until her head popped off, and he wanted to start barking at Kayla until she brought up a freaking towel. Then, he wanted to kiss the shit out of the café owner until she begged for mercy.

ANYTHING but feel the damn panic in his chest. He hated emotions. Hated them with a godsdamn vengeance.

With a deep breath that was meant to calm- ha, like that shit ever worked; he probably sounded like a wheezing rhino- he gave her hand an answering squeeze and rocked back on his heels to listen to what she had to say.

“How could that be?” He said once she was through. “You told me that your m—er, Banning was killed cent—er, a long time ago,” Damn, he hated trying to talk about the truth when surrounded by humans.

With a shake of his head, he straightened his shirt and pushed himself into a chair next to hers. “But I don’t disbelieve you, Kae. I looked around while the cops were stomping around; I smelled bleach and saw a spot of blood on the sidewalk. Do you think that it’s a trick? A…vision, or some baddy trying to get at you or your brothers?”

[kayla]

Her first reaction, she was ashamed to admit to herself, was a pang of jealousy as she saw Ty lead the stunning blonde woman into the Cafe. So that's what he tore out of here for? she thought to herself.

But that next glance at the woman and the state she was in erased all such petty thoughts from her mind. What was wrong with here! Here someone was injured and she was getting jealous! She hurriedly finished taking care of the customer at the counter, stealing glances at the two of them and noting how he was treating her. The manner he used was one she was all too familiar with herself with her big brother and something she recognized easily. She grabbed a clean towel and glass of water as she hurried over to where he sat with the woman.

Blessedly she was able to not walk into the middle of that conversation as she approached and a look of sympathy crossed her features as she looked over the blonde woman. With a fluttering hand she shooed Ty's attempt to reach up and try to wipe more blood from the woman's head away and sat down in the booth next to Kaera, dipping the tip of the towel into the glass of water.

"Look at you, you poor thing. What in the world happened to ya Kaera?" she asked as she gently used the towel to clean carefully at the woman's wounds. Her touch was tender as a butterfly kiss, conscious of the redness around them. "Don't you worry you're pretty head none though. I'll have ya fixed up in no time and then you can just sit here and take a load off. I got some fresh made Chocolate Lava cakes and one of them has your name on it." she said as she smiled to the woman and winked.

She had no idea how the two of them knew one another but at the moment it wasn't as much a pressing concern to her as taking care of the nice woman that she'd met in this very Cafe. Of course the little demon of jealousy and suspicion tried to niggle at the back of her mind but she pushed it down stubbornly, determined not to be one of those women.

Looking over to Ty she forced a smile to her lips as she tried to remain calm and comforting to the woman beside her. "Ty, honey...would you go get the coffee pot. I think this little gal could use a little shot of caffeine to help steady the nerves. There's a fresh pot on the stove and the cups are under the counter."

She looked back to Kaera and smiled as she dabbed a bit of blood from her chin and dipped the towel into the cool water to clean it off a little, still speaking to Ty. "Grab the bottle of Chocolate Mint syrup under the counter by the register to and carafe of cream." Working with a surgeon's precision and steady hand around the particularly nasty little cut near Kaera's temple she smiled to her. "I remember how you like your coffee darlin, a little of that and you'll be steady as a rock. We caffeine junkies have to stick together after all."

She couldn't help herself but to be all momma hen over the woman, it was just her nature; the nurturing and comforting way she fussed over the other woman. She'd never been able to turn her back on a person in need. Never able to not get involved.

Kayla knew what it was like to have an over protective brother hovering over you and glowering and tried to give the woman a little reprieve from it a moment to get her bearings. It was the least she could do to try to exert some calming presence to the situation.

[Kaera Fenrisulfr Vuldanshe]

Damn, her head ached like a bitch.

All the high running emotions and shock of the morning were setting in even as she tried to keep it together long enough to reassure Ty. She knew she'd given him one hell of a scare... hell, she had scared herself.. but she needed to lean on his strength for the moment while she got herself under control. He was the one person she could count on to keep his prospective even if he was looking at her like he didn't know whether to hug her or spank her.

Ugh... You had to love overly protective males as much as you hated them.

His cool sense of reasoning was one of the reasons she had called her friend instead of Wulf or Brom. With the history between them, their relationship was complicated and simple all rolled into one. Once upon a time, they'd been each others lifeline to sanity before forging something close to kinship. No, it had never been love or anything like that but it had been comfortable and safe. They helped each other wrestle the ghosts of the past and shared each others deepest darkest secrets without fear of judgement. At the moment, it had been what they both needed and then lead to a solid foundation of friendship that nothing had shaken.

Now, she considered him family... not quiet a brother because, well lets face it... she didn't exactly look at him like she did Wulf or Brom.. That would just have been CREAPY! Instead, he represented something almost more dear.

In many ways, he was the best friend she'd ever had and he was the only other person she trusted completely. He was also the only person she could count on to give the score to her straight without all the softening bullshit her family used. Her brothers tended to use kid gloves on her and it drove her absolutely NUTS at times. She knew she could count on him looking past the danger to herself and to the other implications of what she'd seen. Her brothers would have simply wrapped her in bubble wrap, tossed her in a padded room and thrown away the key. They took any threat to her well being very seriously and weren't above locking her away in order to keep her safe. The events of the last few hours were no doubt making them froth at the mouth but she needed time to figure out what the hell was going on exactly.

"Honestly, Ty.. I don't have any idea. The last few moments before the car flipped are the only ones clear to me. I know it was Banning I saw... I couldn't mistake those eyes for anything." she finally said in reply. "It doesn't make any sense but I know what I saw.... If it wasn't for that blood and the damage to my car, I would be tempted to believe it was my own imagination but something is going on....I just don't know what."

Feeling a touch on her head, the petite blond looked up in a bit of a dazed manner and saw the pretty cafe owner looming over her. She had that mother hen look about her that made a small smile flicker over Kaera's lips.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you like this Kayla.... I'm afraid I'm probably scaring off some of your customers. I had a bit of an accident on the way to work this morning and Ty is an old friend of mine... He was the only person I could think of to call as both my siblings are out of town at the moment...."

Leaving out the rest of the details, she rubbed her forehead and sighed. Dimely, she heard the young woman ask Ty to do something and then turn back to her with a comment about coffee. Giving her a grateful look, she nodded and then the words she had spoken to Ty registered.

Blinking rapidly, the blond felt her instincts kick in and she glanced from the pretty cafe owner to the growly male. There was curiosity in her eyes as she tilted her head and inquired.

"Did you just call Ty honey? You know him that well?"

Just then, two and two seemed to click into place and her eyes went wide. Understanding dawned and an impish glint twinkled in the tired blue eyes.

"OMG!!! YOUR THE..... OH GOOD LORD..... "she started before clamping her lips shut on a laugh. "You and Ty??? I should have known....."

Casting a glance in her friends direction, Kaera laughed. Now it all made sense to her ... Why he'd known that this cafe had the best coffee and rolls, his interest in suddenly knowing how females liked to be courted and why he'd brought her here instead of taking her home after the wreck.

"So... Your the female who has Ty all in a twist..." she teased impishly. "I don't think we've ever properly been introduced. My name is Kaera, as you know.. Kaera Fenrisulfr-Valdanshe. Ty is my older brothers best friend and one of our family.... We'd been wondering where he was hiding out at so much lately... I must say I'm pleasantly suprised that he's managed to find a decent woman finally."

Oh yeah, Ty was SOOOOOOOOO going to kill her. Oh well, at least it took all their minds off the stressful morning. Besides, she was insanely curious about the woman and how the pair had meet. Her inner heart told her that the sweet cafe owner might just be what Ty needed to sooth the ragged edges of his heart. If anyone deserved happiness after all these years, it was her friend.

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

‘Until the car flipped over.’ Gods and all of their many bastard children, he’d come so close to losing a good friend today. Banning or no Banning, he was going to find the stupid son of a bitch who’d scared Kaera and strangle him until he saw Olympus. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth against the urge to lash out at something, and forced himself to calm.

He needed a level head to help his friend piece through the morning’s events. He’d seen blood on the sidewalk mixed with bleach. That definitely meant someone was trying to cover something up…and it didn’t involve Kaera. The thought had him relaxing just a smidgeon.

If the bozo’s with the Banning-like wolf had wanted the younger Fenrisulfr, they would have taken her right after the explosion. So, the question is…who the hell had been taken in her place?

Before he could ask her just that, Kayla’s familiar voice cut through their conversation. Like a switch had been flipped, most of the rigor-tight muscles along his neck relaxed, as if reacting to the familiar cadence. His lips twitched at her motherly tone, but what fell onto his face was a scowl as she proceeded to give him orders.

And…holy Gods, had she just called him HONEY? No, he was hearing things. She couldn’t have…wouldn’t…oh shit, Kaera looked shocked. She had.

Great. Now he was never going to live it down. At least this was Kaera finding out about his woman, and not one of her brothers. Then it would have been time to kick ass and take names. At least with Kae, all he’d get is some good natured ribbing, then she’d leave him alone.

And as if the honey wasn’t enough…had she’d just ordered him to do something? His eyes narrowed in a habitual show of stubbornness, but then Kaera started laughing, that familiar twinkle in her eye, and he all but about faced and ran into the kitchen. It wasn’t as if he were ashamed of the feelings he had for Kayla, but…Gods, he wasn’t used to all of this! And now that Kaera knew, she’d be asking him for details, wailing on him for his mistakes, and then he’d be thinking about his mistakes—

Damn! Listen to him now! He sounded like a man-boy! GODS, they’d better not be swapping stories back there, or he was going to kill his friend himself!

It was these thoughts that had him hurrying back into the café, now that he knew that the shifter wasn’t about to keel over anytime soon. He poured a cup of the sweet smelling coffee and slid it toward her, eyes flickering over to Kayla. The two women in his life; one an old lover-turned-best-friend, and the other his current obsession. Oh, how things started screaming ‘awkward.’ Especially for him, as the words ‘finally found a good woman’ echoed in his mind.

For the longest time, he couldn’t even look at another woman, forget thinking about them in a romantic sense. His wife had been the only person who’d understood him, who’d accepted him. But after his little ‘introduction’ to some natural powers…who knew how long this little would-be relationship would last? Kayla only knew him as the loner construction worker who seemed to find himself softening when around her. How would she react to his other half?

Shoving the thoughts away, he focused his attention back on the women, shifting a bit uncomfortably.
“I haven’t been hiding out,” He grumbled, sneaking a glance at Kayla. “Just getting some breathing time away from your brothers. Speaking of which…my phone’s going again. You want me to run interference, Kae?”

[kayla]

Kayla's eyebrows rose a little as she heard Kaera mention her calling Ty that and she blinked, not even realizing that she had. Of course back home that was a common thing to call someone just like darlin' or hon or sweetie or sugar. It was just a Southern thing.

But apparently the inflection of her tone when she'd said it to him had revealed a bit more than she thought and she glanced over at Ty sheepishly and listened as Kaera went on talking about a female that had had him...how was it she said it?

'....all in a twist.'

She blinked as the blush crept into her cheeks and ducked her head a little, grinning.

That is until she saw the scowl on Ty's face and the way he about faced as he took off for the coffee.

That grin melted from there then and a deep pang twanged like a bow string somewhere deep in her chest. She felt like crying. She wasn't the type to get weepy-eyed despite any other disappointments she'd had in her life. Only once had she been cut so deep. The one that had made her skittish to even try a relationship again but now...

Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders a bit, her chin held high she decided that she might have been cut by the reaction but she'd never let it show. Too much Southern pride for that.

She didn't even look or acknowledge his return to the table as she carefully finished cleaning the blood off of Kaera and sending just enough energy to those wounds to help them not hurt and heal a little faster.It left a comforting, slight tingle where she'd touched, dulling the pain as she dropped the towel on the table and looked at the other woman's clothes.

"Well it's nice ta know your last name after all this time Kaera. So you have a big family too I take it?" She utterly ignored the good woman comment since clearly he preferred to keep her his little secret. His dirty little secret. Well at least she hadn't let him be too forward and managed to avoid that particular humiliation.

The thought had her blood boiling as she sat there, steadfastly not looking at him. "Your clothes are ruined honey." She intentionally used the word towards Kaera to diminish her embarrassment of earlier and yes, felt a little guilty for not saying thank you to Ty for getting the coffee for his friend.

But, she reasoned to herself, it was the least he deserved. She'd already told her Momma about him, in detail. Now?

Now she wished she hadn't. It would make her feel a lot less foolish. The blush that filled her cheeks was one of embarrassment and hurt as she went on, her kindness to the injured woman not diminished in the least. She wasn't to blame after all.

"I got some clothes upstairs if you'd like to change into something. It might make you're brother's less likely to have a hissy when they do see you, not to mention be a sight more comfortable to be out in public in." Of course Kaera was a bit more blessed in the bosom than she was but she had some larger shirts she could loan her.

And then....he was speaking and it sure didn't help his cause any. Her cheeks grew hotter as the temper in her rose and the blush faded all the way up to the tops of her ears. Hiding out? Breathing room?

BREATHING ROOM?!?!?!?

Oh if he wanted breathing room she'd give him all the breathing room he could stand. He could breathe all by himself!

Inhaling through her nose she stood and picked up the towel on the table as she forced a smile to her face and the thing just didn't sit right on her. It was strained, uncomfortable. Not her usual visage at all.

"Well I'll leave ya'll to it. I have customers that want me.." she faltered a little and corrected her words, a little flustered "...need me. If you decide you want that change of clothes darlin you let me know. I got a batch of biscuits in the oven that I need ta get out right now though."

With that she turned and headed to the little door behind the counter, hitting it a little harder than she should have to open it as she passed into the backroom with the big oven and the sinks and laundry stuffs. Tears were brimming hot in her eyes as she made it over to the oven and opened the door, the heat hitting her and making her blink, those tears spilling over and down her cheeks.

Not paying attention to what she was doing she slipped on the oven mit and reached in quickly for the tray of biscuits, her forearm catching the rack above them and burning it. She dropped the tray out of instinct and let it clatter to the floor with the fresh biscuits, "Damnit!"

The curse word flew from her lips in a hiss before she could call it back and she shook off the over mit as she knelt down on the floor to gather the fallen biscuits as tears rolled down her cheeks.

[Kaera Fenrisulfr Vuldanshe]

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothing new

Ok, so of all the reactions Kaera expected to get with her thoughtless words, the ones she recieved weren't even in the ball park. Used to men uncomfortable with their feelings and gruff when their bluff was called, she was still grinning at Ty when Kayla suddenly seemed to freeze up and get a funny look.

Blinking in bemusement, the petite little blond opened her mouth but didn't have a clue what to say as the cafe owner excused herself and left both of them looking after her. Concern made her brows furrow and then she reached to take the phone from her friends hand.


"Um..... I'm sorry, Ty... I was really just teasing... I didn't mean to put my foot in my mouth or butt into something I shouldn't have.... " she said, bitting her bottom lip. "Maybe I better take this and you go talk to her. Tell her I'm sorry for upsetting her... That wasn't my intention. I guess I'm more rattled than I thought....


Glancing at the caller ID, she sighed and flipped it open before holding the reciever to her ear. The moment she did, she heard the deep, bellowing voice of her oldest brother reading Ty the riot act.

"WHOA... Hold up there, big brother.... Its Kaera! I'm fine so cool down...."Wincing at the next volley of words, she sighed. "Like Ty told you... I'm OK ... Just a bit rattled and needing some time to get my head together."

Closing her eyes, she leaned her forehead into a palm and listened to her brothers rant. Finally, when he rounded down and asked where she was at, she explained about the cafe. Immediately, he told her he was back in town and would be there to pick her up in a few. Knowing that any further evasion would only make things worse, she said goodbye and hung up.

A quick glance around showed that both Ty and Kayla had disappeared so she got to out a pad of paper and a pen in order to write a note. She had a feeling the couple was going to be a bit busy for a few so she wrote a quick note explaining where she was going and then asked one of the other waitresses to give it to Ty.

Then, getting to her feet, Kaera headed for the front door just in time to see a sleek black Aston Martin pull to the curb and her brother jump out to open the passenger door for her. One look at her condition and the wolf about had heart failure. Oh happy , happy Joy Joy. Wasn't this just going to be a wonderful ride home?

With a sigh, Kaera slid into the passenger seat and resigned herself to a very long ride back to the Den. Oh the Joys of older brothers. Glancing back at the cafe, the young woman hoped that she hadn't screwed things up to badly for Ty and then sighed. Leaning her head back against the headrest, she blocked out the sound of Wulf's voice and tried to find some sanity after a morning of hell.

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

Oh good Gods in Olympus…if the looks that Kayla was throwing in his direction was any indication of her mood, he was about to get clawed sometime soon.

His face stony, he kept himself silent, though he couldn’t help the little flashes of confusion from flashing onto his face. What had just happened? The impish little café owner had gone from her usual spritely self to…subdued. Clipped, even…and was she ignoring him? What in Hades’ name had he done?!

Completely at a loss, he tracked her movements, throwing a few helpless glances in Kaera’s direction, as if she could decipher the womanly anger being thrown his way. All he’d done was gone to get some coffee, for the Gods’ sakes. He didn’t like having his personal life flapping in the wind, and given the fact that he’d so far been lying to the little human about who he was and what he did for a living…

Gods, maybe this whole mess was a bad idea. He’d known it; planned on it from blowing up in his face…but he’d found himself undeniably tied to the Southern woman. The way her eyes lit up when she smiled, or how her accept deepened when she was excited…or how her laugh seemed to light up a room and any sadness make the world around her droop. All of these things seemed to affect him; to leave him anticipating the next day. After the horror of his past, he’d just lived day by day, waiting for his time to run out; until he could feel that bliss of peace that death would provide.

And then Kayla had come along and changed everything. He didn’t want to just live. Now, he wanted to live a life that included her. Even if he didn’t understand her womanly ways, and felt like a schoolboy, unsure of his actions.

Case in point, this very situation. Had his silence on their relationship offended her? Was that the reason? Or perhaps she was angry for his bringing Kaera to the shop? Was she jealous? Had he simply said the wrong thing and insulted her by mistake? AGH, if only he could read minds!

“I doubt you’re the one at fault here, sister,” He said, confusion evident in his voice. “If your brothers give you too much grief, tell ‘em that you’re fine and I’ll take it out of their hides if they try the cotton wrapping again. Keep me informed, Kaera. I’m going to…I’m going to go walk into the dragon’s nest. Wish me luck.”

The latter was muttered to himself as he nodded at the shifter and stood, heading for the kitchen where Kayla had disappeared. He paused at the counter, watching as the woman made her way outside, shaking his head at the expression on her face. Brom and Wulf were going to descend on the café quicker than ants to a honey drop. And when they were done making sure Kaera was swathed in bubble wrap, they were going to bite into him.

Given his mood, he would probably appreciate a chance at a brawl. The tension under his skin was making his body hum, and he muttered another curse under his breath as he pushed through the doors leading to the small kitchen beyond. Ah, just in time to hear a pan clatter to the ground, followed by a very unladylike curse. His timing was perfect.

“Kayla, are you alright?” Rushing over to her, he couldn’t help the protective growl that bubbled in his chest at the sight of her arm. She’d probably bumped the poor thing against that hot pan, probably jerked out of the oven in haste. “Gods…I’m ordering those elbow-length oven gloves tonight—come to the sink, a’thaise. No, don’t fight me…Kayla, dammit, get your arm under the spray!”

Gods, she really was pissed, fighting to get away from him as she was. With yet another curse, he snagged an arm around her waist and hauled her up against his side, straightening with ease. Carrying her to the sink, he held her so that she was almost horizontal, and turned on the faucet with a growl, waiting.

Which was exactly when he noticed a telltale wetness on her eyes. Gods…she’d been crying. What in HADES had he done?! The urge to beg for forgiveness was too much to stand, so he sated it by letting her fall to her feet, trapping her against him with hands on the sink to either side of her.

“Put your arm under the sink, little squirrel,” He said softly, eyes boring down into her face. “And tell me why you were crying. Please…I don’t understand.”

[kayla]

At first she'd tried to shrug him away when he came in showing concern. Her Irish was certainly up, as her Grandfather would have said, the flush of her cheeks and the tremble that ran through her entire body like and tightly strung wire. Yes she was a sweetheart. One of the sweetest. But when she actually got angry?


Oh now that was something to behold indeed. Gone was the soft, complacent fluffy bunny and in it's place a little Hell cat!

But when he used that term...oh it made her blood boil making her feel ever more the fool. Oh men, so typical, able to spout such endearments behind closed doors and outside of prying eyes. That wiry, surprising strength had been the bane of her brother and cousins as a child was shown as she struggled with him, legs flailing and arms pushing out at his hands as he grabbed her, twisting and turning in an attempt to be sat down as he carried her like a sack of potatoes to the sink. "Don't you dare! Don't you call me that now." she growled as she struggled, her accent deeper than usual.

As he sat her down she was breathing hard from her struggles, her chin held defiantly up as she stared up at him, fists going to her hips as he trapped her between his body and the sink. That inner fiery spirit in her blazed in her brown eyes, giving them little specks of gold that made them seem brighter, lighter.

She felt a physical pain as he called her the name he'd used on their first date. Her finger raised and poked him in the chest as she spoke, words heated as she stared him down as if he weren't massively larger and stronger than her. "You don't get to call me your darling or anything of the sort. You....you...jerk!" she had to think of what to call him, stumbling over her words in her fury. One little fist struck his chest as she went on.

"I'm not crying over you. I'm crying cause I let myself be a fool. I thought you were different but you're not. But I'm not so much a fool not to see that you were embarrassed out there and that you didn't even want to acknowledge KNOWING me let alone that you were seeing me. I'm not gonna be some dirty little secret that you don't think is important enough or good enough to even mention to the people you consider your folks. That I'm something to be ashamed of? Don't want them knowing that you're slummin it with some backwoods little hillbilly? I'm NOT that kinda gal, not by a long shot."

The more she remembered his words the more angry she got. She had felt so strongly about him, had played into all of it and had gotten, by her current perspective, played like some little stupid country bumpkin that most folks underestimated and assumed she was. Country? Hell yes, and proud of it. Stupid? Not by a long shot.

With a little strangled scream that she kept low to not disturb the diners she hit him again, harder in the chest and tried to push him away from her. Her hair that had been pulled back from her face was now in disarray, little tendrils having come loose from it's binding and now framing her flushed cheeks.

"Breathing time!?!" she said outloud and then made another small, angry sound You can have all the breathing time away from your friends that you want Bubba...just not with this girl! Now...Get. Out. Of. My. Way!

With the last words she had tried pushing him away harder until the final one when she finally realized it would take a bit of dirty trickery to move the mountain of man before her. Bringing her heel down hard on his instep and twisting to push up on his arm she moved quickly, quicker than he might have expected and ducked under his arm, storming over to the door that led upstairs and flinging it open as she called out a curse she'd heard her Grandfather use when he was particularly angry. "Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat."

May the cat eat you, and may the cat be eaten by the devil. And with that parting volley she stormed up the stairs and into her apartment, not really expecting him to follow as she stomped into her bedroom and then to the bathroom attached to it, turing on the water in the bathroom sink.

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

Well, there was the reaction he’d been expecting; her pushing him away. But, surprise, surprise, it hadn’t been the result of his telling her the truth about himself. He’d so obviously done something stupid, but what the hell had he done? For once in his miserable life, he’d actually been thinking about himself for a godsdamn change. He’d been thinking that he was so damn happy, that he’d actually caught himself smiling into the frigging mirror like a fool, all because he might be going over to the café to see his woman. Happy about the fact that he could think of her as his woman and not want to smack himself!

Well, on the bright side…at least she wasn’t doing the whole ‘don’t call me that, slave.’ But the declaration still hurt, even if he were the one tacking on the ‘S word’. He’d just heard it so many times before that it was second nature.

So it really was expected that he’d reel back as if she’d hauled off and jammed her fist in his jaw, which, by the look in her eyes, was something she was so obviously considering. Good Gods, he’d ruined it all somehow, hadn’t he?

He saw her tears and his chest constricted. Her pain was his; he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak…could just stand there and watch while her hurt poured out of her eyes and mouth. She was in pain, and he’d caused it- still not fucking sure how- and the need to fall to his knees and beg for mercy was so strong, he had to stiffen his legs to keep himself upright. He didn’t bow to anyone…even though he really, really wanted to this one godsdamn time.

She hit him and he absorbed the blow with ease, moving back only because he knew she wanted him to. It would take a lot more force behind those little fists to truly drive him back, but he gave her the satisfaction that the anger in her eyes needed. Hades, at this point, he would’ve let her beat the shit out of him if it would bring that sweet smile back onto her face.

Filled with a mixture of confusion and other emotions he refused to put names to, he let her words sink in, brows crashing down to somewhere around his chin. What in all holy Hades was she TALKING about?! He didn’t want people to know about them? Ashamed? EMBARASSED?

Gods, if she knew how freaking wrong she was, she’d be running for the godsdamn hills! He wanted to mark her so that no one came in a fifty mile radius! He wanted to tuck her into his side at night, keep her safe, fucking kick the crap out of those high school kids in the room back there, who were eyeing her ass as she stormed into the kitchen. He wanted her to be his.

Which was definitely a hope the size of a pea at the moment. What was that about cats and the devil? And how the hell did she know Gaelic? He could just hear Brom laughing in his head…

With a growl, Ty watched the woman stomp up the stairs that led to her apartment. The rational part of his brain told him to leave; to take this whole thing as some kind of sign that their little ‘relationship’ wasn’t meant to last. He wasn’t fucking human anyway, and given her strong southern background, she was probably more inclined to see him burn on a pyre than accept him for the strange ass creature he was. He’d known this time would come, and he’d rather she hate him than mourn him when he left.

…But hell, he never listened to THAT part of his brain. Rationality? Fucker had abandoned him a long time ago.

As the bedroom door upstairs slammed so hard, the kitchen walls shuddered, the skinwalker found himself following suit. She thought he didn’t want her? That he was using her as some sort of tight assed distraction? Well, he wasn’t about to let that one stand. HELL NO.

His shitkickers practically cracked the stairs beneath them as he hauled ass after her. When he got to the end of the hall, he faced off with the locked door, took a deep breath…and proceeded to break the fucker down with one well aimed kick. He’d fix it up later.

Hades, when he was done with her, she wouldn’t need a godsdamn door…because he wasn’t going anywhere.

Hearing water running, he repeated the process with the bathroom door; growl, face, kick and glower. As the woman whirled to face him, he immediately moved to the bathroom threshold, just in case she planned on slamming the now wounded door in his face out of spite.

“My turn to talk,” He snarled as he saw those kissable lips open, probably to tell him to get the hell out…preferably through the second story window. He practically bit the words as they came out of his mouth. “For one thing, I don’t think that you’re some kind of a ‘breather’ away from my regular life. The fact that you’d even THINK that I’d see you in that light tells me what a shit I’ve been to you so far. Secondly, I didn’t say anything to Kaera about us because I’m not fucking sure what the hell is going on BETWEEN US! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve actually been attracted to someone; fuck being in a relationship! I lost my whole fucking family…and I knew, knew that that was it; that was my only chance at actually being happy. And then you came along and changed everything.”

He moved toward her as he spoke, every muscle in his body twitching with tension. He was saying to godsdamn much…if he wasn’t careful, the truth would come spilling out. He couldn’t have that; not yet, not with so much anger swirling between them. He needed to plan that one right, understand what he felt for her first.

Stopping when he was an arm’s length away, he braced himself for another blow or the inevitable spring for the bedroom and whatever sawed off she kept under her pillow. Looking into her face, seeing that hint of disbelief, he snarled again, an animal sound, and practically tore his jeans pocket off as he ripped his phone free. He speed dialed Kaera’s phone, putting it on speaker as he watched Kayla’s face. When his friend’s voice answered, he barked for her to put her own on speaker. He heard Brom and Wulf’s curious- well, more pissed off than curious- voices in the background and practically roared into the phone.

“Kayla Murdough, the hu—woman who owns the Sip and Nibble Café, is my woman. I have no fucking clue what the fuck I’m doing, but I am in a relationship with her. I can’t not think about her during the day, I go insane wanting her at night, and I will kill anyone who even LOOKS at her cross eyed. And SHE IS NOT A SECRET THAT I’M TRYING TO HIDE.”

Gods, he could just picture his friends’ faces right then. Even the music blasting from the car’s stereos seemed to shut up in shock. With another snarled ‘GOODBYE AND I’LL BE HOME LATER,’ he flipped the Razr shut and practically cracked the thing in half in one clenched fist.

…And holy shit, what the hell now? With all that drained out of him, he could just stand there and stare at the woman with a look of irritation and wariness on his face. He’d all but used that damned ‘L’ word, for all intensive purposes. And fuck, Hades’ balls, he would have, if he remembered what that damn thing even felt like.

“So…there. Any other things you wanna scream at me for?”

[kayla]

She didn't even hear the front door crash open as she sobbed over the sink, her tears and the rushing water that flowed over the burning of her skin where the cold water ran over that now puckering and angry red little patch of skin deafening her to the sound. But as the bathroom door crashed open she whirled, her arm dripping water as the faucet continued to crash the water down the drain, her cheeks and eyes red and puffy from her crying, a hiccup of a sob hitched in her throat and one other surprising thing for the little Hellcat.

Fear. Real fear.

It lingered in those big brown eyes even as the anger slowly began to flood back into them her brain registered who it was. But after the experiences she'd had of late with the armed robber it was a natural reaction.

Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest even as that dump of fear adrenaline laced her blood as it rushed through her body, making her tremble as she stared the man down in her doorway. There was always the access to the patio balcony from the bathroom but she wasn't about to run, standing her ground against the intimidating skin walker that full grown, battle hardened men had the sense to fear she opened her lips to yell at him in righteous indignation only to be cut off by his words.

"But you said..." she tried to interrupt accusingly but was cut off as he went on with his other points, her lips pressing together tightly and brow furrowing to make that little crinkle between her eyebrows as she frowned at him.

She fought to remain angry at him as the words spilled out, more honesty than he'd spoken to her yet and more point blank honesty. His whole family?!?! It hurt her deeply inside to know that he'd suffered such a thing. She couldn't begin to imagine it. Losing her grandparents had been hard enough but to lose everyone? It was too horrible to even imagine.

Some of that inherent sympathy showed in her eyes, that bottom lip trembling but she kept her fists balled tightly at her sides to stop herself from reaching out to him, hands burning to hold him and chase the ghosts of his past away. And that last line...it melted something deep inside. She had changed it? It sounded too good to be true. How could she make that big of a difference? She wasn't anyone special. But even as he took that step toward her she took a step back, being stopped by the sink basin behind her as she stared up at him as he got closer, having to tilt her head back a bit.

Those eyes watched him like a hawk, slightly haunted eyes that wanted to believe so badly but with her track record she just wasn't sure. She'd been fooled before. Was she being stupid again and just falling for lines? Even if they felt so real?

She heard the voice that answered, recognizing Kaera's voice immediately and narrowing her eyes a bit before he began to speak. What was he doing?

Those big brown eyes went wide as she listens to his roar into the phone. Wait! Whoa.. hold up a minute....did he just say...'his' woman? And...and...he thinks about her all the time and...oh dear lord!!...he wanted her to the point of going insane with it?!?!

The shock of the revelation showed on her face as she watched him and flinched at the phone nearly breaking in his hand. He'd managed to attain the impossible, leaving the chatty little woman speechless as she stared at him, her jaw dropped in shock as her eyes drifted from his face to the phone in his hands and back up slowly.

Why did she feel like she was falling down a deep deep hole that there was no bottom in? And why was her head spinning? Or was it the room? She felt light headed and as her lips came back together she whispered in that small, soft, slightly hoarse voice from her crying, the shock of it all coming through her tone..."You broke my door.", before the floor seemed to swirl and race up toward her as her eyes rolled back in her head a little and her body went limp falling where she stood.

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

Damn, talk about a lot of hot air being let out of the balloon. Standing there as the emotions played across her face- he read something along the lines of anger, shock, sadness and, Gods help him, more shock- Ty felt as if he’d aged ten years. Whatever adrenaline had sent him storming into her bedroom and breaking down her doors seemed to evaporate, leaving him tired. Drained.

Hell, he was never one to go and spill out his feelings to ANYONE. Had he ever told his wife that he loved her? As far as he knew, he was more of a…’little things man.’ He liked to act, not talk. People who flap their gums too much about what they should do, or would do, tended to make his eyes twitch.

No, he was more of an action man, as if it wasn’t obvious. He didn’t think he needed to tell her that she was so important to him; he wanted to show her. That was why he’d taken her out to the most expensive restaurant in the district, when he absolutely hated fancy places like that. Why he made sure she was alright walking on the uneven park path, because it was dark. Why he let her steal from his dinner plate, and took so much satisfaction in the knowledge that she was being provided for.

Words never did anything of any worth for him or his in the past. But he guessed that it was different, in the present. Maybe she did need to hear a few choice words every once in a while.

Well, maybe not EVERY choice word. Take the explicative that shot out of his mouth when she topped over, for instance. He was definitely going to be getting a stern look for that later on, knowing his little Southern firecracker.

“MOTHERFU—Kayla? Kayla, love, can you hear me?” In a full panic mode, Ty practically leapt across the bathroom, catching her in his arms as she swayed. Had she just fainted? Had he just made her faint? Good Gods, he’d come in here wanting to forgive him and he made her pass out instead! GAH.

Gathering her in his arms, the skinwalker did his best not to start screaming for help. She had just fainted, that was all. Her color looked good, she was still breathing, and given the amount of times he’d been staring at corpses, he’d know if she were in any real medical danger.

He almost flew over to her bed, placing her down on the duvet as gently as possible, smoothing the hair away from her face. Gods, what was this frantic feeling in his chest? Was that…fear? No, couldn’t be…he’d left emotions like that behind him a long time ago.

“C’mon, baby, open your eyes,” He murmured, sliding a pillow under her head. Rolling his sleeves up, he dashed back into the bathroom and emerged with a cool towel. Ever so gently, lest those big paws of his accidentally bruise her, he patted her face with the cloth.

“Wake the hell up, Kayla. I know you aren’t done yellin’ at me. C’mon, love. Lemme see those baby browns…”

[kayla]

The emotional roller coaster she'd been on had just been too much. First being hurt and in pain as surely as if someone had stabbed her in the chest with a dull serrated knife, right to the heart. Then the anger and self loathing for being a fool. And then.. then the most unexpected and wonderful thing that she never dreamed would happen.

He hadn't said the L word point blank but the way he described how he felt. She had never imagined that. Never dreamed that in such a small space of time he'd come to feel that strongly for her. Sure she'd already fell head over heels but that was who she was. While she might seem meek and small and fragile she had the heart of a liion and once she committed to a thought or course of action she was completely committed to it utterly and fearlessly throwing herself into it.

And she'd decided after that first date that she was crazy for this man. He made her feel things that she'd never felt before.

From somewhere far away she was vaguely aware of a large, strong arms around her and lifting her. Of calloused hands brushing her hair from her face as she laid on something soft. From a distance she heard his voice, heard him call her baby. Was she dreaming it all? Had she hit her head?

But there was another word and those long, dark eyelashes that dusted her cheeks in soft little crescent moons fluttered slightly as her lids opened a little at first, blinking as she looked up into his face and eyes, seeing the concern in them.

Her mouth opened slightly to speak but no words came out. At least not at first. But when they did trickle over her lips the bewildered, soft tone of her voice trembled a little. "Am I..am I dreaming?" she asked and looked at his face as the towel stopped blotting her face. "If I am..don't wake me. Please?"

She had no way of knowing the scent of Dom was still in the room. And, no way of knowing that here, in her bed where the were had rolled around to intentionally leave his scent there when she was out of the room, that Ty could smell it as well. The scent was in the bedroom, the living room, heavier on the couch than elsewhere. It was faint from the days that had passed since the incident with the armed robber, before she'd met Casey and hired him. But it was there and threatened to shatter the small glimmering of peace that had settled over them.

She winced as her hand raised to let her fingertips touch his cheek, amazed he was still around after the ass chewing she'd given him. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at him and she shook her head a little. "I don't want the cat to eat you anymore." she said, referring to the curse that she had called out to him in her anger.

[Tyreese Gla'dour]

Gods and freaking demons, she was out to give him a heart attack! As those doe-like eyes blinked open, Ty felt himself sagging back onto his haunches, relief surging through him like a swift kick in the gnads. His arms tightened around her reflexively, and he resisted the urge to shake her until she started squawking.

There was a reason why men had gone batshit crazy over the opposite sex for decades. Why there were so many songs, poems and paintings about the utter frustration that resulted in relationships with them. THEY WERE FREAKING CRAZY!

“No, Gods, you aren’t dreaming,” He said on a breathy laugh, looking down at her with a mixture of irritation, stark relief and…other emotions he just wasn’t ready to admit to. Catching her hand in his, he placed a soft kiss on the center of her palm.

Another bout of panic ran through him as he spotted her tears, and his face rearranged itself to an almost comical mask of uncertainty. Other than true, stark grief that he could relate to, when the hell did women ever cry around him? More often than not, it was ‘aaaah, get away, you crazy, bald mofo!’ scared than ‘oh, hold me!’ crying. Fuck, what was he supposed to do? Hug her some more? Wait, didn’t Kaera say something about women loving chocolates?

Damn, think, Tyreese! WHERE WAS THE CLOSEST CHOCOLATE STORE?!

“Well, that’s definitely a plus,” He said with yet another relieved laugh as she spoke again. “’Cause I doubt I could kiss you proper while being digested. So hold still, woman. You owe me for forcing my feelings on my sleeve. You know macho guys like me would rather have their toenails pulled off.”

A sly grin slid onto his face as he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. The kiss was salty from her tears, but he didn’t notice. All he could taste was her sweetness; that natural sunshine that had surged its way into his soul from the first day he met her. Call it fate, destiny, the Gods actually doing something good for once in their annoying existence, but she was just meant to be his. The taste of her lips, the feel of her arms around him, the sounds of her heartbeat so close to his own—

Yeah, which SO gave him the right to have a small mental breakdown when a certain scent pervaded their happy little make-up-bubble. A certain familiar, heady, MALE scent that made every single ever loving molecule in his ever loving body shoot up and start howling for blood.

Jerking back from her, a look of incredulous surprise flashed onto his face. Movements sudden and uncoordinated, he leaned forward slightly, resting his cheek against hers as he took a deep breath through his nose. Surely he was mistaken…aw Hades, nope, he wasn’t.

Well, there went THAT comfortable piece of Heaven.

“Now I think it’s your turn to explain some things to me,” His voice came out a low, angry growl as he slowly pulled back to look at her, eyes flashing in the dim lighting. “Why does your mattress smell like a sexed up male?”

[kayla]

That grin did her in every time. It was, as much as he would be horrified to know she thought this way, adorable. And the kiss...The Princess Bride had it all wrong about the Best Kisses Ever because this one...was the sweetest, most tender, most heart-wrenchingly wonderful kiss of all time.

At least by her estimation.

Patient and slow and simmering with heat it smoldered on her slightly swollen lips, her tears and anger having drawn more blood to her face. Closing her eyes and letting her hand gently cup his cheek as his lips caressed hers. Simply put...it was heaven to her.

It's hardly surprising that she looked confused when he pulled away suddenly and had a look of surprise. At first she thought it was that tingling jolt she'd felt once again when his lips touched hers, the feel that the world had just shrank down to their tiny little bubble of space and time.

Her hands reached out to wrap around his neck and shoulders as he leaned in again to nuzzle her hair and cheek and heat flushed through her that made her blush all over, even the places her clothes covered. She allowed herself the small luxury of letting her hands slide slowly down his back and back up again to his neck, to touch him, feel him. Those broad shoulders carrying so much strength, both literally and metaphorically.

But the growl that preceded his sitting back from her and pulling away from her embrace left her confused and laying there looking up at him with a look of utter astonishment and confusion. What in the world was he talking about?

"Wh..what?!?" she sputtered as if he'd just told her that the moon was really made of cheese or that she was a purple headed alien with such utter certainty. The look in his eyes sent a shiver of fear up her spine as she tried to find her voice, not understanding whatsoever what he was talking about. There'd been no men in her bed. Not recently. Not ever for that matter.

Either she was a hell of an actress or her shock and bewilderment was genuine as she looked at him and tried to sit up.

"My mattress smells like no such thing." she said a little haughty, insulted at such a suggestion. "I done told you.. I aint that kind of girl. If you're smellin' that then there's somethin' wrong with your sniffer." she informed him as she raised her chin a bit.

What had just happened? One moment it was utter and total bliss, the best moment in her entire life and the next...accusations? She had no idea how she was being played as a pawn in the power struggle that was brewing among the Shifters or even that they existed for that matter.

"Tyreese Gla'dour...you are the only man that's been up in my apartment other'n the other workers that fixed this place up. Not another person period has been up here. I don't get much company of any sort. I..." but her voice trailed off as she remembered Dom and a look of confusion crossed her features.

Had he been on her bed? She couldn't remember. Maybe sat on it when he helped her upstairs but he went out to the living room while she bathed. She was a loss. How did she explain what happened that night without looking like a freak of nature or like some Jezebell?

"I take that back..there was one other person up here and yes he was male but...there was no bed involved. None whatsoever!" she said a bit aghast at the idea of just bedding the random stranger, even if he'd just saved her life.

Holy bejesus!

"He just helped me upstairs and to the bathroom cause I was kinda shaken up. But there was no funny business!" She couldn't meet his eyes, looking down at the bedspread and plucking at a thread that poked up out of it. She was never a great liar and this would be hard to explain because what he assumed happened was not what she was fibbing about or avoiding but she knew it would be taken that way.

"Remember a few days ago? When I had the front window replaced?" she asked and winced before stealing a glance up at his ever darkening expression and feeling her heart constrict a bit as she looked away quickly. She'd sort of glossed over that bit since she hadn't called him to replace it for her.

"I had a little trouble in the Cafe that night but...as luck would have it Dom happened to come in at the right time and well...he kept things from getting really bad."

Well it wasn't a lie. All of it was true. She just didn't over dramatize the seriousness of what happened or of what she'd done to help him with her own little gifts.