Running on Empty//Closed; Kay

[Ashton Wentworth]

Talk about a trip down memory lane. Work was not going well, the say the least. After his encounter on his first day he had been put under surveillance. They didn't 'doubt' his skills as an Auror, they said, that he had proven himself time and again, that he was capable doing his job, and doing it well. What they were concerned with was weather or not he was 'mentally fit' for such a task this soon after returning to a place that was obviously 'traumatic' for him. He hadn't heard anything that crazy in a long while. Since when does punching somebodies lights out on the job qualify as 'mentally unfit' was a load of crap. His jaw still hurt, he had given just as good as he got by his thinking. He wasn't sure what had happened to Tristan, since he was head of his department and all, but he had hoped that it was something harsh, like a demotion. They had forced him to be check out on the spot, luckily, that had been some time ago. His probation was due to be up soon, and he would get to go back out and do field work. Until then, he had been forced to find other means of making his paperwork tolerable. Ashton was not a man that functioned well whenever he had to sit at a desk all day long. He had left the office at five p.m this afternoon and been presented with an abundance of opportunities. He had the next couple days off, and while he should have just gone back to his hotel room and taken care of business, possibly called a certain woman to keep him company for the evening he hadn't he had opted to search out his old haunts. He hadn't stepped foot into Tripp since his 7th year whenever he had worked as a bartender with Georgie. Given that his other favorite bar owner had passed away he was still looking for something that he could consider his 'watering hole' and if he could remember that pink haired witch that ran this place properly, she shouldn't mind seeing his face around more often.

Franny never had minded whenever Ashton and Georgie were late to work, or got into fights that ended up with some spilled liquor, she figured their bickering had always brought in more customers and that was always her main focus. Come to think of it, he didn't know if Georgie had even passed away. Whenever the two of them had quit work, him to go into training to be an auror, and Georgie to go to chemo, they had almost completely lost contact with Franny altogether. While they weren't exactly friends on a regular basis, she was good company. Whenever he had arrived here after dropping his files off in his hotel room and changing out of his work cloths he had started his search for Franny. It wasn't difficult to get into this club during the daylight hours, he always preferred to show up early and not have to worry about getting past a bouncer at any time, and this club in particular was hell to get into after dark. To his disappointment, Franny no longer had bright pink hair, now she preferred to keep it a neon green color. Ashton had decided on sight to start calling her his kiwi. They spent a short time catching up while her other employees were setting up for the night, he watched with interest at the current 7th year bartenders moved about their roles. Replacing the liquor bottles and slicing up the fruit for the night. Whenever Fanny had started asking about Georgie, was about the time that Ashton felt the need to start drinking. It wasn't that he didn't like talking about his late wife, it was that he hated it with a passion. Sliding behind the bar to help himself to a shot be poured one for the both of them, she didn't seem to mind much. After he had informed Franny of his wife's fate, she poured them both another shot. Ashton had always gotten along with Franny for just that reason, she didn't probe and that was a wonderful thing.

Another few shots down the line he had offered to bartender for her, free of charge minus the cost of drinks and she had readily accepted. Who would have turned down free experienced help?As the crowd started to pour in he set about meeting his coworkers for the night. Maybe this would help him make up his mind about weather he really wanted to get back into the business of working at a bar. His hotel bill was really starting to drain his wallet. He needed to make a decision, and soon. It was surprising how easily he was able to slip back into the world of bar tending, how easily it was to slip back into the world as it was whenever he was eighteen. The music was different, some of the drinks were different, but mostly it was all the same ol thing all over again. He distributed drinks to those who requested them, but mostly he was just listening to the random peoples conversations. It was strange how here, three years later everybody was still talking about the same things, same problems. Things were going alright until he started matching matrons drink for drink, it was on their dime so Franny didn't mind much, and his tolerance had improved some which was nice for him to know, but not much. He found his vision blurring far quicker than he would have liked, it wasn't long before he was taking less orders and consuming more drinks. He found himself sitting in a stool at the bar before he knew what was happening. He found himself with an assortment of glasses sprawled out in front of him. Various bits of fruit garnishes still on the rims of most of them. Whenever he would later ask Franny, should would say it was because he had insisted on trying one of everything on their not exactly small, drink menu. Deciding that he was hungry he began eating each of the fruit pieces with care not to bite his fingers since there were just so many of them. His favorite he had decided was the spiced whiskey and the orange slices, liked them so much he had started to make a little tower in the corner of the bar. That's whenever Franny decided to draw the line.

He had been having a jolly good time entertaining himself with his fruit, but he was going to grow belligerent if they didn't decide quickly to start giving him more drinks, he was out and they kept saying that they had 'cut him off' pouting he spun around in his chair, determined to find other ways to amuse himself. Throwing his orange peels up into the air like it was raining he grinned at the woman next to him. She shot him a more than disgusted look as the wet peels landed around her body, splashing her with left over whiskey. Frowning again whenever he spun one last time he came face to face with Franny, who, using her most calm voice began to inform him that while she was sorry for his loss and that she was trying to cut him some slack because of it, that she couldn't have him making a spectacle of himself while in the club, they were trying to bring in money after all, and that if he didn't slow down on the booze, that he was going to have to start paying for it. Out of all of this, Ashton only heard the 'pay for your own booze' bit. Motioning to his jacket pocket Franny helped by lifting the jacket to him, missing the pocket over a dozen times before Franny reached in for him and extracted some coins. Nodding profusely he was handed another drink since he was paying now.

He wasn't aware of the fact that Franny had begun digging through the pockets of his jacket, he also wasn't aware that she was texting his most recent contacts. She had done if for his own good, but in the morning he was going to be very upset with her. If he had known who she was texting specifically he would have just thrown himself onto the curb, but Franny wasn't the type to send the bouncers after him, she was the type to wait until he said something to the wrong person and got his ass into some real trouble. In fact, if they hadn't known each other so long she might have done just that. It was out of courtesy and respect that she had texted Kaydence, the wonders of modern technology being what they were, she sent it short and simple since she had no idea of who the woman was, certainly it wasn't the Kaydence that had been notorious during her school years, her and that Centara girl had been hell on everybody's liquor storage. Well, she would see if it was the same girl, and weather or not she was a friend of Ashton's, his being embarrassed was very low on her list of priorities. Franny would just have to sit back and wait to see what would happen, she returned the phone back to the pocket in his leather jacket and leaned back against the bar to wait.

Ashton had only known Kaydence a few weeks, and already he had no idea what his feelings toward her were. He had practically called her a whore and kicked her out of his room the first time they had met, and then left her again during the second time that they had met. The subsequent meetings that hey had were only a result of some rather strategic stalking on his part, he wasn't quiet sure how he had managed to do it but he had found her shopping of all things at some store in Alzubra, it had taken some smooth talking and a new dress to win back her good graces, he knew that she probably was used to being the one who did the leaving. Weather she was just in a vulnerable mood that particular day it didn't much matter to him, it was the start of an interesting partnership, they somehow managed to be around whenever the other was needing that itch scratched. It worked out wonderfully for him, so long as he wasn't asked to confront his feelings on the issue he was happy. Soon, his job would be back on track and all would be right in the world of Ashton. As far as he was concerned at the moment, things couldn't possibly get any better.

Either you come get Ashton, or I'm having him arrested - Tripp

He did not hear any difference in the roar of the club as he stumbled off of his bar stool, drink sloshing around in his hand, he was going to want to murder something in the morning, but for now he was on cloud 9. He didn't know this song or if it had a dance associated with it, but from what the blurred figures around him seemed to be doing was random from what he could figure, and he attempted to copy them, here on this floor where he had shared his first dance with his wife, only now it seemed like he was having more of a seizure than a real dance with organized steps .

[Kaydence Morgan]

It had been another boring night at home. Yawning, Kaydence nestled her head deeper into her couch pillow as she switched from channel to channel. She may have hated muggles and everything associated with them, but she was fascinated by this thing they called a television set. The screen was similar to a magical picture. The objects and people moved in it, but not by their own free will. They were acting and accommodated themselves to their roles. It had taken Kaydence while to get used to it, but now that she had she frequently found herself in front of the screen when she was at home. Tonight had been one of those nights. She had gotten quite a lot done in the past few weeks and felt worthy of ‘me’ time. She had met with old acquaintances, formed new ones, replaced two white articles of clothing she was particularly fond of and had slowly been making progress in her venture against her older brother. Kaydence had spoken to Centara just the other day and gained a wealth of information she knew would aid her greatly. Based on that meeting, she had several contacts she needed to get in touch with to set up meetings with them. There was a lot of work to do, but nothing that she couldn’t handle.

All that could wait until tomorrow. For now, Kaydence was keen on staying home, enjoying her alone time and cuddling up on the couch with a blanket and her pillow. Needless to say, she also needed the time to be alone with her thoughts. Two significant events had taken place that needed her undivided attention. The first obviously being her brother. She still had no earthly idea if Darren knew she was home. If he did, she hadn’t been woken up in the middle of the night by Isis or confronted out and about in Ilfracombe by one of his few remaining followers. A confidence had begun to shine from within her. Of course there was always the chance that he knew and just didn’t care, but Kaydence didn’t feel he would react so lightly to the news. As consequence of her family’s banishment, she was moreorless no longer welcome in the country. It was sickening. This had been the place she had grown up, made all her close friends and her reputation known. To have it all taken away from her just like that had been very hard for her to deal with.

Kaydence had it out for Darren. At this point, she knew she could cause him no harm. He was too well protected and too powerful on his own accord for her to actually do any damage to him. She was slowly but surely making friends with the right people. She hunted for anyone who had an inkling of dislike for her brother. Kaydence had always had a way with words and getting people to listen to her. She had successfully managed to nab the loyalty of several people who wanted nothing more than to see Darren Morgan lose his title. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to see her brother’s life ended, but she was always one for plaything things by ear. The thought had crossed her mind though. Kaydence Morgan…responsible for taking out her older brother and known Dark Lord, Darren Morgan. She would be infamous. The power that she yearned for would be hers in a flash. Who knew what she could do with so many people at her bidding and just the power she had in general?

The second event had been the meeting of a man named Ashton. He had been a random meeting and a random hook-up. The vicious cycle repeated itself over the course of the next few weeks after the initial meeting. The second time they had ever crossed paths had ended on an incredibly sour note. Kaydence swore off any thoughts of him. The fates had decided to play a mean trick on her though that day in Alzubra Alley. She had been dress shopping in hopes to replace her white sundress stained with wine spots. He had conveniently found her, sweet-talked her and bought her a new dress. From that point forward Kaydence had been hooked. Their meetings were often confrontational, always lustful, and they never seemed to get enough of it. Nothing official had been announced, but Kaydence was fine with that. Focusing all her attention on Ashton would get in the way of her plans with Darren and she had no desire for that to happen. Plus his mood swings were often worse than hers at times. She was still learning how to handle them.

She had begun to drift off slowly when a long vibrating sound came from her countertop. Looking at the time Kaydence saw it was well past midnight. “Who is that?” she angrily mumbled, lifting herself up from the couch. A feeling from within her gut told her who it would be. There was no question about it. No one else would be texting her late at night for anything other than some bed wrestling. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes Kaydence sauntered over to the counter and picked up her cell phone. Either you come get Ashton, or I'm having him arrested – Tripp. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Since when was she Ashton’s keeper? A role like that was reserved for a girlfriend, which was not her. Kaydence tried to tell herself that the message had been sent to others beside her. Surely someone would respond. Without realizing what she was doing she grabbed her jacket and a pair of shoes from the hall closet and put them on. All she had on besides that were a black tank top and some matching yoga pants. Normally, Kaydence would refuse to be seen in such an outfit while she was out but because it was so late she really didn’t care. That and she knew how to work with what she had.

Making sure her door was locked Kaydence apparated to the familiar building. The last time she had been here had been when she and Evan had an argument of epic proportions. Funny how every place in this country had some sort of ill-fated memory with it. This building would now also be host to the memory of her first time seeing a completely inebriated Ashton. The music was loud and the lights were flashing all over the place. It took a minute or two to get used to it, but once she did Kaydence went over to the bar. It looked as if some lady with green hair standing in a pile of orange peels was expecting her. Kaydence held up her cell phone and pointed to it. The woman responded by pointing over in the direction of the dance floor. She rolled her eyes. Being called to pick up a drunk who was dancing on the dance floor was a recipe for disaster. “Thanks for the warning!” she yelled, making her way over to the direction she had been pointed to.

It took only a minute for her eyes to land on Ashton. Then again, he wasn’t hard to miss. Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ as she watched Ashton flail his arms and legs about like a madman. So much for her quiet night alone. Taking a deep breath walked over to him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt. “Ashton.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

The lights were starting to give him a headache, a small bubble had been formed around his body, no doubt in an effort to avoid any backlash from his flailing limbs. He had managed to rope in some poor unwitting female into what he thought was a form of salsa, the one dance the he had learned how to preform with some medium of class. As he dipped and swayed her frame against his, he thought that he was coming into the final pose, when really he had dropped her to the ground a while ago. His large frame didn't respond well to being alone, as drunk as he was he could still remember what it was like to dance with that slender ballerina from long ago, she had always been far more graceful the he was, a much better dancer. She had always been so happy to try and teach him the steps whenever she pulled him onto the dace floor, her patience was endless. As he stood out here, swaying by himself he couldn't remember what it was that she had done wrong, he could only think of the good, the way her hair always smelled like strawberry's, The way she could rise to her toes in an instant and spin like somebody in a movie. Taking a sloppy drink from his glass a bit of it spilled onto his grey v-neck shirt. If he was bothering the people around him he took no notice, he was in his own world now. Using his free hand to eat the orange slice he briefly wondered how many oranges it would take to sober him up, paired with his whiskey he imagined that it would be quiet a bit. "FANNY!" he hollered whenever he realized that his drink was growing low he stumbled over to the bar to request another one.

He ran into the bar hard enough to knock the wind out of his chest, his stomach had collided with the wooden ledge "Just...came outta nowhere" he mumbled to himself in reference to the bar that he could have sworn was farther away than it actually was. Had they moved it? Surely, it couldn't have been this close to the dance floor before. Requesting another he didn't notice that it was nowhere near as full as it had been whenever the evening had started. Noting the green witch seemed to be dancing behind the bar he attempted to give her a smile and a wink, but he was sure that it looked more like his face was having a spasm. Stumbling over his boots he took another drink out of his glass, it could have been anything in this glass, he wouldn't have ever tasted it. Heading have to the dance floor that seemed to have a lot less blurry figured on it than before he resumed his dance. It took a moment for it to register that somebody had placed a hand on his collar “Ashton.” Spinning around far too quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. He couldn't make out who he was looking at, or how they knew his name. Pausing he willed his eyes to focus, he desperately wanted to see who it was that he was talking to. His eyes were betraying him, so he attempted to place her voice, it couldn't possibly be Georgie, he knew that she was dead, and the height of the woman eliminated the possibility that it was Franny, that left just about every other woman in the club, but he doubted that his good looks were going to attract a woman at this point in the night, he could feel how drunk he was, and he wasn't even attempting to fight it. He was going to be in a foul enough mood in the morning.

Wrapping an arm around the mystery woman he smiled "Well, heeello" He slurred, attempting to bump his hip against hers in a vain attempt to keep dancing. He swayed along happily, placing both arms around her small frame he lifted her up and spun once before realizing just how bad of an idea that really was. If it hadn't been for her weight acting as a center of gravity for him he would have fallen over. Standing this close to her he could smell her. His eyes widened "KAY KAY!" grasping her by the shoulders he grinned in an effort to say hello. This had to be amusing for her, since she undoubtedly never seen him this happy before. Whenever he was drunk he didn't have to think about all of the negative in his life, he could just remember the good, and with Kaydence it was very easy for him to remember the good. He twirled her hair around his finger once. She was a welcome change in scenery, "You doinhere...what?" If his words came out wrong he didn't hear it, a cheesy smile was plastered to his face. Placing a wet kiss to her forehead he released her from his grip altogether and held out his cup "Yo want?" he tilted the cup toward her, a small amount of the liquid managed to slosh out and hit his boots on the toe. Glancing down at the wet spot on his shoe for far longer than was necessary he frowned, his lower lip starting to stick out. "Waste" he said as he pointed at the wet spot on his shoe. His leather jacket was starting to make him hot, and his jeans were starting to itch against his skin. He felt like it was boiling up in here. Letting his jacket fall off of his arms and to the floor he stooped over to pick it up, and it took him a few more tries than it would have had he been sober. Flinging his jacket over his shoulder he grinned, his eyes heavy. As much as he wanted to sleep, the urge to drink more was stronger.

With his jacket over one shoulder, he placed his other arm around her slender shoulders. Unaware that he was being obnoxious, or that people were laughing in his direction, even more unaware of the talk about the 'poor girl' that were leaving the mouths of some of the closer patrons. He was blissfully unaware that any eyes were on him other than Kaydence's, he could remember the look that she had given him whenever he had seen her duck into that dress shop and he had followed her. She had been more than upset with him. He didn't know why he had done it exactly, his feet had just sort of carried him in there at the sight of her. He wasn't sure if it was just his body responding to his lust, or if it had been something deeper and he hadn't given it too much thought, that damn dress he had to buy her had cost him an arm and a leg but it was worth it for the time they had spent together in the dressing rooms. They had run into each other on purpose from them on, enjoying their no-last-names, only after eleven p.m rendezvous from time to time. He wasn't sure exactly how it happened but he was very happy that it had turned into a frequent thing for the two of them. He still had never seen her house and he didn't know anything about her other than her body. Something that he was coming to learn very well, it was comfortable since the original encounters. He still had issues whenever it was over, if she would move to close, or if she wanted to stay and shower without the sex he had kicked her out. He didn't want her feeling alright cohabiting with him. Whatever this thing between them was, he was glad that he didn't need to look for other women. Although he would never admit it to her, he hadn't slept with anybody since her. Which was a first for him.

He probably would have wound up calling her at some point during the night, handy little muggle contraption that it was, to help him get to sleep he would get a hold of her and request her brief presence. He was fairly certain that he hadn't been the one to bring her here, spinning around in a circle once to try to catch his jacket that was always out of his reach before he realized it was in his other hand and placed the garment down on the bar top. Fumbling once again for his pocket he tried to find his phone "Call you? Did I?" He asked mostly to himself, looking up at her face he attempted a smirk "Came runnin!" he motioned with his fingers like they were running across an invisible road he grabbed her waist and dipped her backwards, placing a kiss on her lips, a little more passionately that he would have otherwise, snaking an arm around her waist he motioned for Franny "Dis, mygurl" It was his way of introducing her to his former boss, who looked thoroughly confused given their topic of conversation earlier was a woman that she had just found out had died, shaking her head she went back to filling drink orders, leaving Ashton to his new keeper.

[Kaydence Morgan]

Kaydence was more than unprepared for what she was about to deal with. As soon as he had turned around and stared at her she knew. Instantly, she regretted answering the message. By the way he was staring at her Kaydence decided that he was trying to figure out who it was that had interrupted his dancing. She had been target to those looks several times before. Anytime she had been sent to pick up Evan or Damien, she’d play this game. Either of them would not know who she was, then be happy to see her, then want to continue drinking and then start pouting because she wouldn’t let them have anymore to drink. ”Well heeello.” Part one. His arm wrapped around her and he continued to dance happily with her, even lifting her up and spinning her at one point. Kaydence was not amused. The image of her large and very inviting pillows and feather-like bedspread was hovering in her mind, pleading with her to come back to it and go to sleep. If only it were that easy.

”KAY KAY!” Part two. Kaydence did her best to put on a smile for Ashton. From her experience, drunks could sense negative energy. A happy drunk could go to angry drunk in nanoseconds. Given that Ashton was usually angry when she saw him it was somewhat refreshing to see him so carefree. Even if he was hammered. She wrinkled her nose as he his kissed her forehead. The top of her head now smelled like whiskey. She wiped the remnants of his liquor from her forehead with the back of her hand. ”Yo want?” Kaydence shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” She used the opportunity of Ashton looking down at the spilt liquor to roll her eyes. Merlin this was going to be a long night.

As he led her to the bar, Kaydence knew it was time for part three. Ashton seemed in too good of a mood to want to stop drinking. There was a small part of her that almost wanted to buy him another drink for the road. She had no idea when his mood would sizzle out and the same grumpy, morose man that she knew would come back into the picture eventually. However, she didn’t know what to expect from him while he was drunk. They were usually too busy doing other things to drink. The two of them hadn’t reached that point in their relationship to be comfortable enough going out on dates. Kaydence hadn’t even permitted him to come to her condo yet. He hadn’t cared. As long as he got what he wanted then they could have met in the resort arcade for all she knew. Ashton didn’t ask questions and she liked that. She wasn’t ready to answer any of them.

”Call you? Did I? Came runnin’!” Kaydence sighed. He had made her sound like a damn dog. He had whistled and she had come prancing to him. If only he knew the real reason why she had come. Glaring at the green-haired witch, she gave her a look full of the utmost appreciation. Suddenly, she felt herself falling back to the ground. She felt his arm press against her back to keep her from falling, kissing her as he did so. The result was unexpected. Kaydence liked to consider herself a connoisseur of kissing. Usually, she was able to tell what a man’s kiss meant. Pecks were polite and usually used as greetings or goodbyes. Ones that lingered for an extra few seconds meant that one or the other wanted to enjoy the few extra seconds they got from being in such close company to the other. Lustful and passionate ones came when you were in the heat of the moment. The one that Ashton had given her was out of happiness. The fact that Kaydence had once again been surprised by his lingering lips was something entirely different. She just chalked it up to him being very, very drunk. She had experienced enough of his kisses to know that none of them were ever sincere.

”Dis, mygurl.” The surprises just came right after another. Quickly shaking her head to the green-haired witch Kaydence hoped that Ashton hadn’t noticed. If he were in his right state of mind, those words would have never came from his lips. It would be funny to bring it up to him tomorrow morning when he was sober though. However, she was sure it looked suspicious that she was the only one who had come to pick him up. Grabbing Ashton’s face she examined the drunken expression gazing back her. His eyes were so glazed over that he almost looked like a doll. Her brow furrowed as she saw some drool coming from his mouth. She quickly grabbed a beverage napkin and wiped at the corner of it. “You are a mess,” she told him, fighting the urge to laugh. Kaydence could sense his need to drink. Well aware that part four was next, she swiftly needed to come up with a plan. Naturally she could take him back to his hotel room. Though she strongly believed he would become defensive if he saw she was trying to leave. She would then have to calm him down with a round of sex before his inevitable passing out. Only then would she be able to leave. While she wouldn’t have normally minded, Ashton was so sloppy drunk that she was unsure of how that whole experience would pan out.

If somehow she did manage to leave her phone would be ringing off the hook with calls from him to come and keep him company all night. She could take his phone, but was certain he’d conveniently notice it’s disappearance. That would lead to also having to calm him down. Kaydence was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ashton was in no condition to be left here or anywhere for that matter, alone. She may have been cold-hearted, but in this instance she strangely did not want him to have to fend for himself. Closing her eyes and sighing, she felt Ashton’s head crane to the wall of liquor behind him. He was going to throw a hissy fit if she didn’t do it. Opening her eyes, Kaydence pulled his head back to hers.

“Do you want to go back to my place? The whiskey here doesn’t even compare to what I have back at home.”

[Ashton Wentworth]

Franny must have sent the text message to at least all ten of his recent contacts, Kaydence was the more recent of course, she was also the only non-work contact that he had been speaking with. He was going to have some serious explaining to do whenever he returned to work the following Monday morning. He was supposed to be off of his probation, but if Rutherford knew how to read text messages, then he might not be. He wasn't willing to bet on it, but he was fairly certain that Fordie didn't know how to read his texts, much less do anything but answer his phone. Most of the ministry didn't use their cell phones for much of anything since there was much more convenient methods of communication. The just had to write down the message and place a simple charm on the parchment and it would go about its merry way until it reached the intended recipient, who's head it would circle until that person was ready to read it. Ashton himself had been the victim of paper airplanes circling his head until wee hours of the night this past week or so. It was hell, he couldn't wait until he was given his first real assignment. Well, first assignment since he had been here. He head heard of a vampire coven through the grape vine that he was just dying to get his hands on. Not so much to make them file themselves with the ministry like he was supposed to, but just the actual hands on part where he would get to wrangle them together. Whenever he would find out about the messages from Franny, the two of them would not only have to have a conversation, but also he would have to have a conversation with almost a dozen surprised superiors of him who were going to grill him on his personal life, somewhere that he didn't want people mucking about.

Even if they were to ask him, he wouldn't be able to answer their questions. He could hardly discern to himself what the specifics of his personal life was, more specifically himself and Kaydence. As his lips left hers now and he righted her to her standing position he could hardly contain himself, Merlin he loved the power of alcohol. It had been ages since he had allowed himself to become quiet this intoxicated. He had drank himself unconscious for about a week solid after Georgie had passed, but since he had been in his house, locked in his own bedroom he didn't count it because the only times that he was 'awake' was to drink more alcohol, or to send for more. He did indulge in drinks very frequently, but nothing to this capacity, the sloppy drunk wasn't very pleasant. He did however love the 'i don't give a shit' mentality that came along after his seventh drink or so. He didn't much care for the depressing man that he had become, and he was working to get out of it. Moving back to Austria was proving to be a much better move than he had originally anticipated. He he thought that if he moved here, he was just going to be confronted with negative emotions and memories at every turn. While he had been confronted with some, it was much better being able to be around familiar places. That in combination with the people who were new in his life, and those old contacts were good for him. It was nice being able to have somebody around the office that he could take his frustrations out on.

He felt his face being tugged toward Kaydence's, he puckered up his lips as he was turned to her face, whenever it became apparent to him that she wasn't going to kiss him his face relaxed. His eyes were bloodshot and strained. He could hear tiny little voices calling him from the other side of the bar 'drrriinnnkk me' they said, glancing down to the glass that had been placed on the counter top he sighed. He felt something dabbing at the corners of his mouth and he didn't recognize the feeling so he just ignored it “You are a mess,” smiling he began he lean over the edge of the bar to see if he could locate another bottle of something or another, at this point he was just hoping to maintain his buzz, he wouldn't be able to take any of it anyway. Just as soon as his eyes landed on what he thought to be an open bottle fairly close to him he felt his face being turned back into the wrong direction, he found himself looking back into Kaydence's face. "Choo want?" he mumbled, eyes already attempting to find another drink. “Do you want to go back to my place? The whiskey here doesn’t even compare to what I have back at home.” His head was spinning, the full weight of her words were not registering in his mind, had he been sober he might have realized exactly what she was offering. He was going to see her home for the first time and he wouldn't even be able to fully see it, he had whiskey goggles, far more potent than beer goggles, they didn't just make ugly things appealing, they made them damned near irresistible. Nodding a couple times he grabbed his jacket from the bar and spent the next few minutes attempting to get the thing back onto his arms, not because he was cold but because he had personal items in the that he really didn't want to lose. Besides, she had promised him some more whiskey at her house, and he was all for that.

With only one arm inside of his jacket, he placed his clothed arm around her shoulders once more with ease, she was just the right height, could fit the top of her head right under his chin if he had wanted. Extending one arm out in front of his body as a grand gesture he beamed "ONWARD!" marching forward, he allowed himself to be lead out of the building and into the street.

[Kaydence Morgan]

No one had been to her home since she had been back. This had been for her own protection. Kaydence needed to stay under the radar for as long as she possibly could. The less people who knew about her, the better. Bringing Ashton back to her condo was a huge risk. If the wrong person found out she was back and began researching into her whereabouts and the people she associated with, he would be the most valuable asset to getting to her. Of course she was thinking too far into an undetermined future. Kaydence had become paranoid in her time away. Not that anyone should have been surprised. Fortunately, Ashton didn’t comprehend what she had said. All he had heard was whiskey and he had been hooked. Now she just hoped that she actually did have whiskey in her cabinets somewhere. If not, she was going to be in for a very long night.

She ran her hand down her face as she waited for Ashton to figure out how to put his coat jacket on. If he didn’t figure out how to put the bloody thing on she was going to have to do it for him. Not too much later he finally decided to just put one arm through a sleeve and use the other to drape around his shoulders. ”ONWARD!” “So glad to have gotten your permission,” she mumbled to herself. Allowing her left arm to wrap around his waist she helped him out of the club and out into the streets of Somerset a ways. He was babbling on about Merlin knew what but Kaydence was paying him no attention. He may have been hammered but walking this way with him was different. She was crazy for thinking that this felt nice, she had to be. There had been nothing about Ashton’s personality that had indicated he was one who enjoyed this type of thing. He had neither shown any interest in being in a relationship.

The further they walked, the more wobbly he became. Deciding enough time had past for them to apparate Kaydence grabbed his arm. Leaning up to his ear, she whispered, “If you close your eyes I promise it’ll be better.” Doing the same, she imagined the living room of her condo and apparated them to it.

Kaydence opened her eyes to find them in the living room. She pushed Ashton onto the back of her couch and lowered her face until it was centimeters in front of him. “Stay put,” she warned, tapping his nose with her finger, “I’ll go get you some whiskey.” Mostly she wanted him to stay where he was so she could figure out what to do if she didn’t have any whiskey in the kitchen. She made her way to the kitchen and began scouring the cabinets for any sign of alcohol. There were wine bottles galore. Her tastes had changed since her school days, but so far no sign of anything harder. Her search continued to her wall cabinets. She raised her arms above her body to open up two of them before finally finding a small gold mine. There was vodka, different flavors of rum and a bottle of gin. No whiskey. “Great.” She would make a promise to a drunk that she couldn’t fulfill. Kaydence quickly began running her through spells she knew, wondering if any of them would be able to make one of these liquors taste like whiskey. Then again, would he know if he hadn’t been given whiskey? And was that a risk she was willing to take?

“Found some!” Kaydence called, knowing he’d be wondering where his liquor was at. “I’ll bring it out in a minute!”

[Ashton Wentworth]

The air outside was cold, but it felt good on his face, the club had been too warm for his liking. While one of his arms and half of his tors felt wonderful, the arm that was uncovered felt too cold for his liking. He could feel goose flesh rising up on said arm, but he didn't mind. The heat coming from Kaydence's body was a welcome change, he had no idea what she had been doing before she had appeared at the club and come to his rescue. She could have been doing something with somebody else for all he knew. But, had that been the case she certainly wouldn't have been bringing him home with her. He knew that she had placed her arm around his torso due to the extra stability that he had found out of nowhere. Her arm was welcome to stay as long as it wanted as far as he was concerned in his inebriated state. It was a nice night, and her company was just making it all that much better. Glancing up at the sky he felt himself weaving around the alleyway bringing her along with him. As she stopped walking it took a moment to register in his mind as he stopped trying to pull her along a little further, since he didn't know where they were going he should have just followed her lead. “If you close your eyes I promise it’ll be better. Merlin was his head pounding. He felt so much better than he normally did, and was enjoying himself far more that he was going to admit. What was she talking about? What will be better? A shrinking feeling started at his toes, like he was being forced through a giant tube sock. It was not a good feeling whatsoever, he realized a moment too late what she had meant.

Squeezing his eyes shut the tube sock feeling subsided as he found the world around him return to the subtle spinning that it was back in the alley as opposed to the giant whoosh of her apparating him. In the morning he would realize just how sneaky that little move really was, that she had apparated him meant that he still had no earthy idea of where she lived or how far away they really were. He assumed it was relatively close for side-along apparation but he couldn't be sure. In the morning, whenever he realized just where he was and that he had no idea how to locate a hangover cure in another persons home would be another thing entirely. As he opened his eyes slowly he saw her body in front of his own in a room that he didn't recognize. He squinted as he attempted to make out the details of his surrounding. He appeared to be in a living room, Kaydences living room he assumed. It was all so very, clean. Even whenever he had lived with a woman he hadn't been in a living room this clean. Granted, he hadn't been insane enough to actually have white furniture. What was it with this woman and white?

“Stay put,” Wriggling as his nose was pressed he laughed. He allowed himself to be lowered onto the back of the couch with little protest, he could hear his mouth uttering something about being thirsty but even he wasn't sure that it was that he was saying.“I’ll go get you some whiskey.” As she disappeared around a corner, he watched her as long as she was in sight, but whenever she had left his immediate blurred vision he found himself rolling from the back of the couch and into the actual cushions. The tv was still on, he guessed that she hadn't been doing much before coming to get him after all. Grinning to himself he forced himself with shakey arms to return to a sitting position. Using one foot to kick off the opposite boot until they both rested on the floor he scooted away from his shoes until he had crawled into the corner seat of her couch. Even though he had just gotten to the seat that he wanted, he began feeling around like a blind man in effort to find her remote. While she hadn't exactly said that he could make himself at home, he was going to pretend that she had. He had no idea who was on the tv, it appeared to be some movie with people in strange light costumes racing around on various types of machinery. Uninterested in anything of that nature he was intent on finding the remote in order to change the channel. “Found some!”

He found his mouth starting to dry out, he had a strange longing for more orange slices. Truthfully, he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between an orange and a peach at this point. Grasping his jacket he pulled it off of his shoulder, not noticing the cell phone falling out. “I’ll bring it out in a minute!” Waving a hand in her direction he saw something silver and electronic looking on the ground. Gasping it firmly, he started to press buttons on it, hoping that there would be something interesting on sometime soon. "YOUR MOTES BOKEN!" he yelled to alert her to the fact that he couldn't change channels. Little did he know that he was pressing buttons on his cell phone.

[Kaydence Morgan]

Grabbing a bottle of dark rum Kaydence set it down on the counter in front of her. She then reached for a glass, setting it next to the bottle. Next, she took a few steps to her refrigerator. She opened the freezer door and grabbed a handful of ice cubes, dropping them into the glass as she did so. Opening the fridge door Kaydence looked for something to add the rum into. Her eyes landed on some cola. It would have to do the trick. She closed both the doors and brought the soda over to the other ingredients. It was more than likely a bad idea to keep feeding his alcohol craving, but hopefully this would be the only one he would want. Yawning, Kaydence poured the two into the glass at the same time. Merlin she hoped this would knock him out soon. Sleepiness was beginning to wash over her body. Her eyelids were heavy and she wanted nothing more than to just leave Ashton in the living room and go to bed. Knowing his drunken state and the fact that he seemed to ruin anything of hers that was white Kaydence decided against it. She would wait until he had fallen asleep himself.

She decided to make a drink for herself as well as to make sure Ashton wouldn’t feel left out. Taking a sip from hers Kaydence took both the glasses into the living room. Fortunately he was right where she left him. Smiling, she set the glass in front of him. "YOUR MOTES BOKEN!" She shook her head as she set her own glass down on the small table by the other side of the couch. “I’m right here, you don’t have to yell.” Once sitting down on the couch Kaydence slid her way next to Ashton. “Let me see it.” As soon as the *remote* was handed off to her she burst out laughing. The poor thing had grabbed his cell phone and it was now calling the number of some Rutherford. The tired and irritable sounding man’s voice spoke through the speaker. ”Hello? Hello? Who is this? What’s going on?” She pressed the END button and put it back in his pocket for him. “The remote is over here,” she said, leaning over to grab the remote off of the coffee table. She briefly focused her attention on the television screen. A man who looked remarkably like the one sitting next to her was wearing a lighted suit and throwing around a lighted disk. “What are you watching?” she asked him, taking control and changing the channel.

There was nothing on. She passed channel after channel of advertisements. Why couldn’t he have gotten drunk earlier in the night? At least good television would have been on. Kaydence continued to channel surf until a cartoon show with four little boys in the middle of a snow covered town appeared. As soon as they had started cussing she was hooked. Throwing the remote to him Kaydence scooted back down to her end of the couch, grabbing her blanket as she did so. Ashton could watch whatever he wanted. She had no interest in controlling the device. Nestling herself into the couch pillow she picked up her drink and sipped at it.

Her eyes wandered back over to Ashton. It was bizarre seeing him in her living room, but oddly comforting. He could barely sit up straight and still found some way to sway while he was sitting. There was no denying how cute he looked though. She was relieved that he was still in his stupor. Since she had wanted nothing more than a peaceful night at home, Kaydence preferred him this way. At least he wasn’t being moody and complicated. Alcohol tended to bring one’s true colors to light and she wondered if this was the real Ashton she was seeing. If it was Kaydence wished he would be more like this all the time. Maybe not as loud and definitely more balanced but he was much more inviting when his inhibitions were free. “So what trouble did you get yourself into tonight sir?” She was curious as to how he was so drunk and the events that had led up to it. Hopefully he hadn’t been drinking his sorrows away. If he had, hopefully he wouldn’t remember that he had been drinking his sorrows away. Kaydence didn’t want to be a psychiatrist tonight.

[Ashton Wentworth]

A few more moments of clicking away on his 'remote' he could hear something coming from the other end, scanning the room for the source of the voice he was starting to feel very worried. Shrinking back into the couch he awaited his drink. His body was aching for sleep but his mind would have none of it. He could sleep later, for now there were television shows to watch and a whole new house for him to explore, but television first. If only he could figure out why the channels weren't changing. “I’m right here, you don’t have to yell.” Turning so quickly that his neck hurt he watched her set her drink down and set down his own. With all the focus that he could muster he latched onto what he believed to be his whiskey. As a force of habit that was currently not suppressed whenever she slid in next to him, his arm automatically moved upward so that he could be closer to him. Resting his arm on the back of the couch he watched her fiddle with the remote briefly before whisking it away. “The remote is over here,” Lifting the glass carefully to his lips due to the large white couch be took a drink and smiled. Had he not been so far gone he would have noticed the difference, for now as long as he could feel something going down his throat and into his stomach he was good. “What are you watching?” At her question his eyes lifted from his glass up to the screen and he shrugged "Somefink stupid" he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the lights moving rapidly around the screen. Whoever the lead actor was he sure was a handsome devil. Swallowing another gulp he set the glass back on the table as carefully as he could. It must have looked strange to see him moving so slowly.

Why hadn't the remote worked for him? It worked for her easily enough. He watched the colors flicker as she surfed through channel after channel, not settling on anything until she had picked a cartoon with what seemed to be cursing children. He almost didn't feel the remote hitting his side and left it where it had fallen. Patting the couch cushion next to him as she slid away his lips turned down at the corners, taking another drink he sighed. “So what trouble did you get yourself into tonight sir?” Draining half of the remaining contents of his glass he placed it back down on the table in front of him. He attempted to think back to earlier in the evening, he was having trouble remembering where he had been before he was sitting here on this couch, he couldn't even remember how long he had been sitting here, it felt like it had been awhile. He could remember loud music and lots of whiskey. He could remember Franny and that her hair was no longer pink, it was green. The events from earlier today were a little more clear, his working and hoping that he never needed to finish another set of animagus tackers ever again. He knew that he had been wanting to do something, be out in public but he just couldn't remember what it was that had brought him to this location. His brow furrowed and his jaw went a little slack. "Im hurr now" was all that he managed to get out. Why had she called him sir? Had he done something official? Patting the couch next to him again more obviously he frowned whenever he wasn't noticed. The remote bounced each time he had hit the couch. Picking the thing up he turned the plastic over in his hands.

He had grown up in a muggle town, in a muggle orphanage surrounded by muggles. That however didn't help him much whenever it came to technology. Inebriation aside, he hadn't grown up with very much money and they never were able to afford things like television and cable, there were no cell phones or computers like most middle class families had. He might as well grown up in a wizarding house because of his lack of involvement in all things technological. Placing the thing back onto the arm of the couch he sighed, bits and peices of the night were coming back. Lifting his drink again he took a smaller sip, it wasn't going anywhere after all "I wann to furget" he admitted as he took another sip, talking down into the glass. It was true, he had gone into that bar to talk to Franny, to help him get some sort of closure, now it seemed like an absurd idea, he had started drinking because of the nature of their conversation, he preferred to just pretend as if his problems didn't exist, and with alcohol they didn't. Smiling he set the glass down "I wannto cyou" He didn't like to be ignored while he was sober, and he liked it even less whenever he was intoxicated. Falling over onto the couch to be closer he grasped her ankles and pulled with all the force that he could muster. He was seeing two of her so he couldn't be sure exactly which one he was grasping but she felt solid enough. Pulling her until she was laying down he pulled until she was sitting up next to him, where she had been in the first place.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he grabbed the remote, intent on finding the volume button. Had he been sober this never would have happened, he never would have been in her home much less with his shoes off making himself comfortable. It felt good to not be sober, it felt good to let himself be himself.

[Kaydence Morgan]

Somehow she should have known better than to try and ask him any questions in his state. ”I’m hurr now” was all she received in response. “True.” It had been a long time since she found herself playing babysitter. It was even odder that Ashton was the one she was sitting. She kept watching him as he fumbled around with the remote she had found for him. His cuteness factor was through the roof. It was so unfortunate that this was never his normal state when he was around her. The two would probably get along much better if he had. To know that there was this sort of persona within him Kaydence wondered was else there was that she didn’t know about him. She would have to find a way to get him drunk more often, or at least be the one that was called when he needed to be picked up. That seemed the only way to get any sort of information out of him.

She turned her attention back to the television. The cartoon children were being chased around by a school binder. She quirked an eyebrow. Muggles came up with the strangest things sometimes. Kaydence couldn’t stop watching the show though. Whenever she thought of children’s cartoons, she imagined cute and fluffy characters teaching life lessons through song and different scenarios. The fact that these children were calling someone a bastard after their friend in an orange hoodie had died was bizarre. Was this what muggle children were watching now? As funny as she found it even Kaydence wouldn’t allow her child to watch such a program until they were older. For some reason as she thought about her child, a feeling of sadness came out of nowhere. It was still such a painful thing to think about. She had done a good job of learning how to mask the memory with others, but certain things could make it reemerge without a second’s notice. In attempts to quickly drown out the pain Kaydence chugged almost half of her glass in one sitting. She had other things to keep her occupied then to let something like this take over.

”I wann to furget.” That was not what she wanted to know. Instantly regretting asking him about his night Kaydence took yet another longer sip from her glass. While the glass was in still in her hand she heard him say, ”I wannto cyou.” Before she knew what was happening, his hands wrapped around her ankles and she felt herself being pulled down the edge of the couch. As luck would have it Kaydence’s drink spilled all over. What was it with him constantly ruining anything she owned that was white? He continued to fiddle with her until she was sitting up and his arms had once again found their way around her shoulders. Her distraction from the spilled drink was momentarily detained as a feeling of comfort came over her. This was something a couple would do. Looking back over to her left Kaydence remembered about the huge stain on the edge of her couch and carpet. Groaning, she regretfully tore herself away from him. She quickly went to her bedroom and came back with her wand. Pointing the tip to the first stain Kaydence mumbled a quick stain remover charm. Thankfully it worked. She did the same on the other spot with the same results. At least it hadn’t had time to sink in.

Sighing, Kaydence allowed herself to ease back into him. It was hard not to let her head droop onto his shoulders. She was so tired and he was just so comfortable. Another yawn escaped from her mouth. Perhaps she could shut her eyes for a minute. If she could take a quick cat nap she'd have the energy she needed to deal with drunk Ashton. Allowing her eyelids to close Kaydence felt sleep come immediately. In the short span it had taken for her to fall asleep her head also found its way on his shoulder.

[Ashton Wentworth]

The cartoon on the television was strange. He couldn't have imagined that Mama O would have let him watch this sort of thing whenever he was younger, even if they had a television set to begin with. He hadn't exactly been 'jaded' due to the sort of children that came and left the house on a regular basis so he knew the ins and outs of the various 'naughty' things to be known about. He was confidant in saying that he knew 'which end was up' at a very young age. Mama O did her best to keep the children in line, since it was just here with at least a dozen children at any given time, she had to be controlling at best. Sure, she could be kind and sweet as a flower whenever she was alone with just one of them, she had a way of making one feel like they were the only one in the whole world, if even for a short while. She would listen, no matter what was said to her, she would listen and then work with you to find out the best solution. Whenever he had murdered Georgie's father, she had been the one that he had turned to after Georgie had gone into 'melt down' mode. Since Mama O had adopted him officially a long time ago, he and Warren both, still stopped in from time to time to talk, this time had been no different. It was like she had known, all the bad things had just caught up with him. "I knew those demons were going to get you some day baby" she had crooned while cleaning the sweat from his face. She was the best mother anybody could have ever asked for. If he knew where the bastard lived, he would have called Warren up, hell even Grace just to have somebody to talk to from time to time. Wasn't that just sad. Now, watching he little cursing children run across the screen he smiled, he wasn't sure what they were saying but it looked funny.

No sooner had he wrestled her body up against his had she pulled away, he didn't want to sit here alone, he didn't know where he was. Taking the final sip from his drink he figured if he was going to sleep any time soon, that he needed to stop drinking sooner or later, and now was just as good a time as any. Sighing deeply he leaned back into the couch, it was soft enough and had it not been white, he might have considered purchasing one of his own for his house whenever he got around to having a home of his own. Glancing over at where she had disappeared to he found himself laughing as she came back with her wand, what was she going to use that for? This was the first time he had ever seen her preform magic. She seemed to be moving stains from her clothing. Had he ruined yet another personal item of hers? He didn't think he had been the reason, and if he had been the cause of something that large he should know weather or not he had been the cause. It was a rather large stain, and the fact that he could see it all was depressing to him, then it clicked "Yew spill 'iskey?" he frowned, that was a very depressing thought indeed. He started to lean over to help her, but as he did the world started to spin in small circles so he righted himself. His eyes were getting very heavy indeed. This had to be the reason that everything was so damned clean, she had to clean something up the moment it happened. Strange. Ashton would have let it sit for days, until it just became a part of the carpet as far as he was concerned. He had good personal hygiene, but the rest tended to go by the wayside.

Before he knew it her body was pressed back against his. She was so warm and smelt so good, it was wonderful. Letting his heavy eyes zone out as he stared as the TV, he twirled her hair absently with his fingers. It was nice, no strings attached he could just sit here without the worry's of her getting the wrong idea or thinking too much of his company like most women. As he felt her head softly lower to his shoulder he turned to look at her, placing a soft kiss to her forehead. So he was a friendly drunk, So what? Glancing past her at the sight of her closed eyelids he attempted to find a clock of some kind. He had the worst luck with those things, he whenever managed to be able to find them whenever he wanted to know what time it was. Without fail, no matter where he was there would be no clock whenever he needed to check the hour. Groaning he slid out from underneath her as subtly as he possibly could and staggered to his feet. Weaving around the carpet he was in search of the bedroom, not only for more to drink to keep his vision hazy, but also because if she had a microwave, that should tell the time. He knew most wizards preferred to heat their food with magic, but he was a sucker for the little gadget. Stumbling over his own feet a few times he made his way out of the living room and into the direction of what he hoped was the kitchen. Upon finding his goal he was pleased to see that the bottle of what he assumed to be whiskey was still on the counter. Smiling he used the counter tops to stabilize himself as he headed toward the bottle with glee. Pulling to contents to his body he unscrewed the cap, it was oddly shaped for a whiskey bottle but the color was about right.

Tilting the bottle back and allowing some of the contents to pour down his throat, it was sweeter than he expected, but he couldn't make out the words on the label. Shrugging he swallowed another mouthful and set it back on the counter, still open. Heading back he wanted to find the bedroom, but it could have been any of these rooms. Scratching that the top of his head absently he wobbled back to where Kaydence was. "Ssshhh" he said to nobody in particular, pressing a finger to his pursed lips. Scooping up her sleeping body with some difficulty into his arms. Stumbling backwards he sat momentarily on the table behind him and glanced at her face, she was still sleeping. Standing once more he attempted a second venture toward where he guessed the bathroom was. Swaying every which was as he walked he came to the first door, opening it with his elbow he sighed, it was dark and didn't smell like a bedroom. As he turned around to check the other door he heard a thud as he felt Kaydence's body shift in his arms. "Crap" he muttered, he must have hit her head on the door frame of the bathroom, elbowing open the other door he found the bedroom at last. Hitting her ankles on this door frame he proceeded. Once his shins found the bed frame he tossed her down, climbing on top her her he kissed her once before falling to the side of her body, leg still on top of hers.

[Kaydence Morgan]

If Kaydence had been in a less tired mood, she would have never allowed herself to be so close to Ashton. Thankfully, she was already sleeping by the time her head landed on his shoulder. The idea of being comfortable with him was hilarious. The few times she had accidentally fallen asleep in his hotel room or tried to take a shower before heading back home had resulted in him waking her up or pulling her out of the shower to usher her out of the room. Ashton was no doubt intimidated by the mere thought of getting close to someone. Kaydence was herself, but she at least felt more open to it, eventually. However, Ashton was not one who she could ever picture getting close to. He was a closed book with its pages stuck together. No matter how hard she tried to pry the pages apart they wouldn’t budge without ripping. It was impossible to expect that he would ever reveal his inner workings. Hell, it had taken him getting hammered for her to see a side that existed deep within him. Kaydence wasn’t sure if she’d want to be with someone who showed no desire to open themselves up to her. Then again, even though she wouldn’t admit it, she was almost a female version of him.

She shifted slightly as Ashton lifted her up into his arms. Although she was still very much passed out Kaydence somehow managed to settle herself into him. She began to dream. She and Ashton were standing in front of each other though several feet apart. The side he was on seemed to be lightened. Her side was darker. Looking down Kaydence noticed her wand in her hand. Ashton had his in his opposite. The two looked ready to attack each other. ”You don’t know what you’re doing Kaydence. You need to step over the line and come join me.” She had no idea what line he was referring to and why he was asking her to join him. Kaydence remained where she was, her grip tightening on her wand. ”Listen to me Kaydence, you need to come to me now. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. I’m the only one who can lead you in the direction you’re destined to go.” Yet she still didn’t move. Her disobedience angered him. He raised his arm above his head and brought it sharply back down, cursing her as he did so. She suddenly felt her head throb from the spell. Her body began moving around in reaction. Another spell went straight to her ankles. This one had been enough to wake her up.

Her eyes shot open. She was moving but not on her own. Looking up she saw Ashton’s drunk self carrying her. What the hell was he doing? And why was her head throbbing so bad? Rubbing at the tender spot on the side of her head Kaydence didn’t fully comprehend what was going on and where was she going. All of a sudden she was dropping. She landed a second later but the initial falling was enough to frighten her. Ashton’s body weight followed suit. Kaydence grunted slightly as his full weight landed on top of her. Although his kiss was nice she was having difficulty breathing. She didn’t have to worry too much longer since he quickly rolled over to her side. She sighed and pushed his leg off of her. There was no way she would be able to lug his body mass back to the living room. She could have slept on the couch herself, but this was her bedroom and this was her bed. She wasn’t going anywhere. Looking at him Kaydence decided to just leave him where he was. If she made any attempt to push him off the bed or get him to leave, resistance would ensure. She was too sluggish to defend herself.

Grabbing the covers Kaydence began to shimmy the cover from under him. “You are not…helping,” she muttered through closed teeth. He moved enough to pull the rest of the covers out. Sliding into bed she threw the covers back over the two of them. Her bed was so comfortable. Turning over on her side she watched him as he began drifting off himself. A few minutes later a low snore came from within him. She grinned. It was so unusual to see him so at peace. Every time she saw him it seemed like Ashton was fighting a neverending battle. With whom she never knew. Now, she was happy to see him without a care. He could use a drunken slumber more often, especially when she was around. Feeling a sudden urge from within her Kaydence leaned into him and planted a kiss on the top of his forehead. She had no reason for doing so, but just felt like it was something she needed to do. Recoiling back to her position Kaydence closed her eyes and let the familiar wave of sleep drag her underneath of it. She sincerely hoped that she woke up before Ashton did. If she did, she’d be able to drag him out of her bed and apparate him back to Somerset and leave him there. She wasn’t ready to show him this personal aspect of her life.

[Ashton Wentworth]

Merlin was this bed comfortable, grasping the sheets in both hands he pulled until there was an amount of fabric by his cheek for him to nuzzle. Squirming around in the bed he felt like he was laying on a giant marshmallow. A soft moan of happiness left his parted lips, the only thing that would make this better was if he was in his underwear, or better yet naked. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been in a bed with this many layers of clothing on, much less a shirt. He could fathom the sleep-shorts, but he didn't quiet know how to deal with layers of clothing, plus all of the sheets. He liked the feeling of sheets on his bare skin, it was heavenly. He was all about the comfort, which is why he tended to wear the exact same cloths over and over again, being through the wash cycle that many times had a tendency to leave things very well broken in. New cloths were great and all, but the starchy itching was more than he liked to deal with on a day to day basis. Besides, he loathed shopping. Maybe he could have Kaydence go shopping for him, he still needed work cloths she seemed to love shopping. Right now snuggled up against the bedding it seemed like such a logical idea, one in the morning he was going to feel like a moron for thinking. Maybe he could just buy the clothing, wash it a couple hundred times and then wear it? It just seemed like such a waste of water. Leaving his leg on top of her he rotated his hips until he was face down in the blanket, running his hands along the fabric smiling to himself. Maybe, if she wasn't looking for long enough, he could take this back to the hotel with him, or at least have her tell him where he could find one.

“You are not…helping,” He could feel his divine blanket being tugged out from his body, he had to stop her! If only his hand - eye co-ordination had been up to par. Grasping at the air multiple times in a futile effort to return to his blissful state he groaned in displeasure. Then he found the pillow. Inch-worming his body up to the top of the bed until his head sunk into the pillow goodness he sighed, he allowed her to pull the covered up over their bodies with little complaint, until he remembered his cloths, and felt his temperature rising. Wiggling, he attempted to loosen his pants, he had no need to worry about shame or modesty, she had seen it all multiple times before after all. Grinning as dirty thoughts graced the backs of his eyelids he gave up on his pants and attempted to pull a yoga move to get the infernal thing up and over his head, somehow he managed to pull it up to his chin and off of one arm. Giving up on the shirt as well due to the intense longing for sleep he succumbed. He wasn't exactly sure whenever he had drifted into neverland, but he didn't mind. He was unaware of the kiss to his forehead, in his inebriated state it would have turned from her kiss into something more extreme. He wasn't one of those males that suffered from 'incompetence' whenever he was drunk, it was far the opposite, his lust was only magnified. The only times that his wife had ever refused him was whenever he was hammered, due to the fact that she didn't want to have to deal with marathons all night long. He could feel her body heat against his mostly bare chest, extending an arm out of habit he pulled her body as close to his as he could mange, burying his face in the tangles of her hair. His lips landed somewhere against the back of her head, his breathing heavy.

Sometime in the next couple hours his dreams roused him. His head was starting to throb as his vision threatened to stabilize, he could feel a body pressed up against his own and he recoiled out of habit. Where was he? He could see the sun starting to rise over the water in the large window that took up the better part of her room. Squinting his tongue ran across the roof of his mouth like sandpaper. Grimacing he ran a palm over his face and begun to stretch, only to find that he was hindered by his partially removed shirt. Had he tried to hook up last night? No matter, removing the shirt the rest of the way, it was obvious that he had been permitted to stay the night wherever he was, he was in no state to attempt to find his way out or out from wherever he was and try to head back to his hotel room. His room key was in his jacket either way, and he had no idea where that was at present. Undoing his zipper as that was the only thing holding his pants up, he stepped out of them as they fell to the floor and stumbled in the direction of the door. He needed to find the bathroom. Pushing out of the door that he had left open earlier in his skivvies he moved in a haze toward what he thought was the bathroom. In a state that he considered 'foggy' he could see much clearer, it was a few stages before sober and proper judgement but at least he could see what he was doing, have a better chance at rational decisions. The door in front of him felt familiar, falling into it with a loud thud the weight of his body pushed the door open. He didn't have much luck finding the light switch so he just had to go off of the halls light shining into the doorway. Trusting his shins he found the toilet and relieved himself.

Whenever he was done he attempted a step backward but his socks slid on the polished tile that was her floor and swore loudly as he fell backward. Swearing under his breath he decided not to risk standing on his feet again and moved to all fours instead, crawling out of the bathroom in search of something to eat, and with any luck to drink so that he could return back to sleep. Crawling down the short hallway he found himself in the area where the television set was still playing, at least he could use that for more decent lighting. Rising to his knees he moved in front of the television like a child, fascinated. The drinks on the table were both mostly empty, but he grabbed the glass that had been his and polished off the last drink. Pushing himself up onto the couch his nose wrinkled. This wasn't whiskey. It didn't taste bad, but it certainly was not whiskey, it tasted more like soda. Glancing in the direction he had just come from with irritation he placed the glass back on the table. She had lied to him. Had she lied about the existence of whiskey all together? Rising slowly to his feet he wandered in the direction that she had disappeared to earlier in the night, the kitchen must be back here somewhere. It was a fairly nice apartment, and had a good view out the window but it wasn't in his taste. Too light and cheery for his liking. His training made him deem the building unsafe, too many windows. Her floors were cold, he could feel it through his socks, briefly he regretting losing his cloths. He paused, reminding himself that a lack of clothing was never a bad idea. Snickering softly again under hit breath he rounded on his goal. Instantly he spotted the still open bottle on the counter. Beaming he clasped his cold hands around it and tilted it to his lips.

The contents were sweet, whenever he stopped to look at the label he frowned, rum? She had managed to trick him with rum? Just how trashed was he? What had he done? Those questions were silenced by another drink in which he could feel the haziness starting to return. Looking around himself, bottle still clasped in hand he noticed that once again, her kitchen was spotless. His eyes widened "Tres chic" he stated to nobody in particular, wiping a finger on the counter he laughed. Spotless. So polished, there had to be a reason for it. Was she OCD? Opening the fridge with his free hand he grinned whenever he saw the contents. "Jackpot" pulling out container of yogurt and closed the doors behind him, looking for her pantry, she had to have chips in here somewhere. He knew that she ate them because he had seen her eating them before. Setting the yogurt and his bottle on the counter he began opening cabinets one at a time, leaving them open as he didn't find what he was looking for. He searched the drawers even though he was sure not to find anything but silverware and utensils, he was not disappointed. Leaving them open as well he sighed. Turning on his heel he noticed a promising bag sticking out from a top of the fridge. Smiling form ear to ear he grasped the crinkly bag and pulled open the top with luster. Reaching his hand in he extracted a handful of salty pleasure and stuffed as much as he could into his mouth. Taking a seat on one of the small black bar stools that seemed to conform to his buttocks he opened the container and dunked his chip into the yogurt with glee. He just assumed that it was another type of dip, but it tasted alright to him, chasing every few chips with another swig from the bottle.

Very much enjoying his snack he began to feel his stomach become full, which was in turn making him sleepy once more. Pushing away from the bar in an effort to leave his chair he felt the floor coming up on him as he fell backwards. His chips followed suit as he had been holding them. Letting go to clasp his hands up against his ears to block out the loud crash that was his bar stool crashing into the metal legs of the other stools. Grimacing he pushed into a sitting position, for the first time in a long time glad that he had longer than normal arms and he could reach the bottle from his sitting position on the floor and resumed eating his chips from the bit that had fallen on the floor. It looked clean enough after all.

[Kaydence Morgan]

It was amazing how tired she was. Twice now Kaydence had been so close to Ashton without even realizing it. The second time he had pulled her close to him while they were laying down. If she had been able to fathom what had happened, she probably would have allowed herself to fall victim to the game he was playing with her. She would have succumbed to the affection, thinking that every touch was real. In the morning when they both had woken Kaydence would have been devastated to learn that it had all been an act. There was no piece of Ashton’s heart that held compassion for others and their feelings. He would laugh at how stupid she was for believing in something he had never shown her in other circumstances. She would have no choice but take the brunt of it. She would be stupid for allowing her heart to open so easily to someone she barely knew. That, in turn, would once again initiate the vicious cycle that had plagued her for so long. No one made a fool out of Kaydence Morgan and she would spend the rest of her time making his life Hell.

Fortunately for the both of them, she was comatose. It wasn’t until she felt the mattress moving from next to her several hours later that she stirred. Groaning, Kaydence rolled onto her stomach and allowed her face to sink into the soft cushion of her pillow. She could hear Ashton moving around the area next to her bed. She opened one eye to look out of her window. She could see the sun, but it wasn’t high enough in the sky to even be awake yet. She closed it and tried to fall back asleep. The sound of her bathroom being pushed up against hit her ears. She groaned again, grabbing the pillow that had once rested Ashton’s head on it and put it over her own. She breathed in the scent of his shampoo and found herself smiling. His hair always smelled so good. A crash from the bathroom once again alerted her ears of a disturbance. He was so loud. Pulling the pillow down over her ears Kaydence hoped it would mute any future noise he may cause trying to get to where he needed to be. From what it sounded like Ashton had woken up in the state between drunk and able to comprehend his surroundings. There was nothing to worry about from him at this point.

She had somehow managed to begin drifting off once more before Ashton made his presence known in her kitchen. Cursing, Kaydence tore her pillow from her head and slammed it on her bed. He clearly did not know how loud he was being. That or he didn’t care. She peered angrily at her open bedroom door. While she understood his need to eat it was a little ridiculous that he had no idea of the noise he was making. If the roles had been reversed Kaydence was sure he’d of already been out there cursing up a storm at her. Or he’d try to make noise even louder than her own to show her the extent of the irritation she was causing him. Why was it fair for him? She turned her face back into the pillow and pushed into it. She felt like screaming. She was still so tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. The thought of Ashton’s reaction to fully realizing where he was at in a few hours from now was pushed from her mind. Her mind began to race with thoughts of how to get him to go back to sleep, or at least shut up long enough for her to lock her door and fall back into a deep slumber.

The idea hit her after a few moments of thinking. She was very tired, but perhaps this would put the both of them at ease and exhaust them enough to put them back to sleep. Pushing herself from the bed Kaydence slid her tank top over her head. She then stepped out of her yoga pants and let them fall to the floor. She had not chosen the color of her bra and panties on purpose, but given Ashton’s rebellion of all things white, she hoped the black would have a different sort of effect on him. Yawning, she stood up from her bed and moved slowly towards her bedroom door. It was hard for her eyelids to remain open as she walked through the door and into her hallway. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes as best as she could, she was close to the kitchen. Out of nowhere, another large crash echoed through the apartment. What the hell was wrong with him? Bracing herself for the image she’d stumbled upon Kaydence just hoped it wasn’t that vase she adored in her living room. She’d kill him if anything happened to that thing. What greeted her though was Ashton, on the floor, eating potato chips. Maybe she had underestimated his level of inebriation.

She propped herself up against the wall of her hallway with her shoulder. She stood watching him for a few minutes longer as he continued to eat the floor chips. Kaydence was slightly OCD in the fact that she kept everything pristine. While it was guaranteed that there was not a single speck of dirt on her floor she briefly reconsidered her proposition to get Ashton to come back to bed. Clearing her throat, Kaydence waited for him to turn and acknowledge her. “You’re very loud you know.” He made motion to respond but she didn’t let him. “And I can’t go back to sleep so you owe me.” Turning her back to him, she began walking back to her bedroom. “You better not keep me waiting,” she called back to him over her shoulder. “It’s a win/win for the both of us.” She might as well make use of the little time she had with fun Ashton before he left her for good.

[Ashton Wentworth]

Talk about hitting the spot. While the salt from the chips was only adding to the dehydration that he was starting to feel, he could pretend that the liquor was quenching his thirst even if it was impossible. It was like his own little nirvana on the tile flooring of Kaydence's apartment. He considered taking a picture of crumbs on her floor to tease her with, and reconsidered based off of how absurd it sounded on a second thought. Had he bee sober, he couldn't have imagined a situation in where he would be doing what he was doing now. He would have to know where she lived, and he comfortable enough with her in order to raid her kitchen and help himself to her food. Sitting around in his underwear could have happened anywhere at any time in her presence. The disarray of her kitchen was all his fault, and he had no intentions of helping clean it. He assumed that she would bite his hand if he tried, she tended to get touchy over little things like that. Crunching away he let the chips drown out some of his more negative thoughts at focused all of his energy on the present. Had the roles been reversed he never would have come to get her, and even if he had he would have insisted on taking her back to her own house and setting her up in an upright position to ensure her health and safeness and left her there. Not because he didn't want to take the time to look after her, but because he couldn't risk her remembering his actions. He was so afraid of her seeing him in a positive light, he didn't want her to have feelings for him, they could only lead to bad things. He would just break her heart and she didn't deserve that, nobody did. He had experienced first hand more loss than he had been prepared to handle and survived, against all better judgement.

Maybe it wasn't her that he was protecting, maybe he was just being selfish again, attempting to guard himself like he had been doing his entire life. He had left very few people get very close to him in his life and they had all left, one right after the other. First Warren had succumbed to the pressures of romance and that awful little wisp of a woman who had betrayed them all those years ago. Then in school to the girl who would go on to be his first, and the girl who had sparked his internal flame. He had been quiet the Lothario in his younger years and made no effort to hide that fact, he wanted women to know his reputation so they knew exactly what they were going to be getting themselves into. He wasn't going to call them, there would be no roses or professions of undying love. He was honest in that respect, he would give them his undivided attention for a night, and that would be the end of it, if they were lucky he could serve as a reference on their proverbial resume. Then had come Georgie, he had tried to be upfront with her, at that point in his life he was fairly certain it would have been impossible for him to commit and be faithful to her. He wasn't for so long, but she had persevered and worn him down. She had weaseled her way into the folds of his lungs and made a home there. Being with her had been like breathing, harder whenever she wasn't around. He had only assumed that it had been love between them, what else could it have been? It had been a longing, a need to be around her, to smell her hair, to touch her skin, to hold her small body against his. Toward the end, that all faded away whenever she wasn't herself, he had been so bitter that he had tried to kidnap a few healers to bring them to the house and force them to fix her but she had refused at every chance. He didn't realize that he had fallen out of love with Georgie long before she had ever passed away, how could he breath for her whenever she refused to even exist for him?

Their marriage had died with their child, he had just been to blind to see it at the time. It would take him hours of therapy to come to that conclusion, or days of drinking. He had sat in that house for days, just hoping that she would end up knocking on the door, berating him for something or another, he had ached more than he had thought physically possible. He had set off to London to be with his brother for a short while, he was the only person in the world that Ashton could have imagined feeling the same way that he had. Warren had listened, something that he had always been very good at, and then Ashton had listened as Warren reasoned with him, asked a few questions. Then the two of them drank for a good long while, and Ashton had been called into duty while he was visiting and had left early, his grieving cut short. In retrospect it was for the better that he hadn't been permitted to fully wallow because his grief turned into anger, one that was still very much alive and he was still doing everything in his power to forget, the quicker the better. The woman that he didn't know was standing behind him, watching as he munched on her food was helping him more than she knew, her very presence, her lack of patience, her unwillingness to put up with his crap, the fact that she put up a fight and wasn't afraid to fight dirty if it meant that she got her way, the infuriating woman was wonderful for him. He needed that little push that she gave him, and they still hardly knew each other. It had been weeks that they had been doing their song and dance and he still didn't even really know her age, last name how she paid for this spotless apartment of hers. He had refrained from asking because he felt that if he got the answers, she would feel closer to him, like he had an interest in her as a person and not just a warm body.

Was it the worst thing if she did? Because if he was honest with himself, something that he couldn't have been without the help of the bottle in his hand he did care for her as more than a warm body. He could see himself sitting on that couch on a frequent basis, he couldn't yet see accompanying her out in public on errands but he could see himself with a pass to her house. He didn't have a home for her to come to, but whenever he did he could see her there already, more than he could see the house he could see her. “You’re very loud you know.” Interrupting his chain of thought he turned far too quickly to see who was behind him, he hadn't even heard her coming. A sharp pain shot from the base of his neck and into the base of his skull, his hand flew to massage the offending area. She hadn't let him talk anyway “And I can’t go back to sleep so you owe me.” Arching a brow he nodded once even though he wasn't sure what exactly it was that she was saying. His eyes were glued to her frame, it was the first time the he could clearly remember where she wasn't wearing white as a main wardrobe color. It was a refreshing change. He wasn't sure if he was salivating from a lust for more chips or her. “You better not keep me waiting,” As she turned to walk away he took the time to notice her as she was retreating. It took a few more minutes for what she had said to really sink in, but as it did he left the chips behind and started the process of standing. Working to finish the few bits of food that were still in his mouth he polished off the last of the bottle, hangover be damned. “It’s a win/win for the both of us.”

What was that supposed to mean? Was she referring to his skills? Or was she being a woman and had a deeper meaning to what she said. Brushing himself off he rose to his wobbly feet, and headed in the direction that he thought that she had come from, it seemed that the apartment was growing larger every second he was in it, like a never ending maze that he didn't know how to navigate. It was a wonder he found the bedroom at all. When he did he found he waiting for him. Grinning he dropped his remaining clothing before clamoring back into that marvelous bed of hers and pulling her body close to him once more. Moving her legs until she was on his lap, legs on either side. His fingers delicately working to unclasp her bra. He was softer now, more attuned willing his hands to be gentle to start. He had to focus to keep from shaking with cold and anticipation. This was something he could do no matter what level of intoxication he was at. Focused on her he let his lips press against her navel, his warm breath causing the skin to grow taut. Gazing into what he thought were her eyes for a moment to really see her he repositioned her body and captured her mouth with his own. X