A Game of Cat and Mouse (potassiumboron w/ Blooming Bismuth)

[potassiumboron]

Having the day off work was a rare occurrence. It seldom happened, and when it did on past occasions, however limited they may have been, Xander had done nothing but his favourite things - sleeping, lounging around and being with his Familiar. Besides that, it was just a rejuvenating process, to get back all the early hours he had woken up at, the times chasing down criminals (even if he wasn't the fastest - he prided himself instead on tactical thinking) that had worn him out. Aside of the human aspects that took his energy, creating potions and keeping up on his magic drained him completely, so these rare days were a godsend for relaxation.

Lately, however, all his time was spent trying to track down the new murderer rampaging through the city, leaving very little evidence behind him. Each witness claimed to see a man near the crimes... but each account on appearance was seen to be different. It could be that there were multiple people, but to Xander, it just stressed him out further, and multiple criminals would only complicate matters - something he really didn't need.

On this spare day off, usually spent relaxing, he had woken early in his little downtown apartment and spent it sat in the middle of his living room floor, surrounded by papers and photographed images of the men. He was the epitome of chaos, clearly stressed and on the verge of screaming as he tried to peace everything together, though the chaos was nothing new. His apartment was eclectic - everything was packed to the brim of potions and magic, the quintessential image of someone like Xander. But this made him him. The mess, the odd bits of cluttered possessions, the way he became fiercely protective over something as menial as a feather when it was suggested he threw it away... It was typically Xander, and the pride he had in his eyes once taking his time in taking the boy around and letting him take in the apartment through touch (even if he was unaware of the other's ability to actually see through growing organs) and revealing his magic side early on in their relationship was indicative of how he was as a person.

Speaking of his boyfriend, he plopped back onto the ground with a deep pout once hearing footsteps sound from their bedroom - that was the sounding alarm for his Familiar to make a quick exit, the feline trotting out to the kitchen to avoid the shapeshifter. Unlike Kaz, Xander was head over heels in love. He fell for people easily, but Kaz? He loved him more than anything already, after only two months together. Knowing he couldn't see the mess was a comfort, though Kaz was sure to know Xander's personality by now, and mess was a big part of that. "Kaz," he groaned, his eyes lighting at the sight of the other making an appearance. "Kaz, I'm stuck. I'm stressed, tired and hungry and... you look cute today. Like, totally adorable. Bed hair is cute on you~" He beamed happily - he often spent a great deal of time trying to be affectionate and intimate with him, even if he was knocked back a few times. He was a pretty head-on person, in truth.​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

Dressed in the simple pajamas if a mere grey tank and a pair of oddly colored boxers, the man took his time to make his way before promptly flopping besides his current boyfriend and laying back against the shag carpet- only to feel and hear the crumple of papers below him. "I'm pretty sure we had carpet on the floor, Xander, not sheets of documents... " Offering a cheesy smile, he sat up a tad to try and dramatically swoop in and take Xander's hand in- only to accidentally hit his shoulder. "O-Oh, wait, are you okay?! I-I.. Shoot.."

Quickly fixing his rather clumsy mistake, he re-swooped his hand to grab the wizard's hand and offered it a gentle peck. Nice one, Kaz. Can't even fucking take someone's hand.

"Oi, what seems to be bothering you- lemme guess, the big bad killer you've been looking for?" He cooed, letting himself trail his lips down the other's hand for at least some form of comfort as his pale eyes closed. "Jeez, you honestly need to take a break for awhile. I know you're dedicated to the greater good, but I don't want my boyfriend having a heart attack before he's thirty. Honestly, you should be spending your day off carefree. Not to mention, I miss being able to have my Teddybär here home with me. You and I could plan a whole date out. We could walk to the beach, collect some seashells to add to your collection... It would be nice, right? Just you and I, the whole day..."

As he continued on, half way through his description, he had moved from the other's hand to nestle his nose along the other's neck. Offering a few kisses, he made his way straight to Xander's ear only to playfully bite it. "Come o-o-n, baby. I might just die of loneliness if you don't relax for a day..."

 

[potassiumboron]

Despite the bouts of affection that were rare these days with the stress the warlock put upon himself, and the tempting offer of the date -the beach was one of his favourite places to venture with Kaz, after all-, the warlock decided instead to carefully decline, albeit pressing close inward to return a pepper of kisses along his neck and lips playfully. He was a completely affectionate person - as a child, he had constantly been stuck to his mother's side, and revelled in hugs, and that hadn't changed now he had a boyfriend like Kaz. He loved the boy more than anything, and the easiness of their relationship was something he had grown to adore.

Of course, many did often just tease their relationship. Not only for the fact that the two were men -it wasn't generally seen in the area-, but their collection of personalities together. Xander was mocked constantly for his clumsiness and forgiving nature, not exactly helpful when being a detective, and Kaz was teased for how he was, but the warlock wasn't really one to pay it much notice, simply smiling off any remarks. As long as he had Kaz, he really didn't care how others saw them.

"I... can't. I gotta work this out. It's a puzzle," he sighed, sitting up with legs crossed as he examined a few witness reports, tears practically filling up in his eyes. Another of his faults - he was highly sensitive. "I mean, people are getting killed, baby. I... I wanna stop it. I hate it. You know what my family did, back when I was younger, and this... ugh, it's just wrong. A-And I can't do anything, I'm rubbish." he groaned, moving to carefully wrap his arms around him to try and keep the affection going, even despite his refusal for a date. He intended to stay working all day, really. "...You can help me. Just don't sit on all my papers, that's a start-- and don't sit on the couch. That's Sofia's spot, really."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

It was hard to hide his grimace, thiugh he he managed surprisingly well as he gently trailed a hand down the other's chest, relying heavily on touch when it came to Xander. He didn't want to accidentally grab something weird, so he took caution in his movements.

Resting his hand lightly on the boy's lap, he immedately flopped down across it and groaned in protest. "You know I'm not good at helping with this stuff, Xander, I'm literally useless. What I can do is try ti cheer you up, though~! Maybe I can try to cook something. I might set the apartment on fire, and it might taste disgusting, but I'd have tried, right~? I know that lesson doesn't really apply in the xop business, but I don't want to hear you cry anymore at night. You deserve to spend your day off being happy for once.

 

[potassiumboron]

"I don't cry at night," he mumbled stubbornly, silently taken aback by the sudden statement - he thought he had always been quiet enough when the other was 'asleep', but evidently, his boyfriend had heard him... and that was slightly emasculating. He did want to try and be a bit more tough, if only for his boyfriend, and crying sensitively due to the stress of work wasn't helping him. Not that Kaz would care, but to Xander, he didn't want to ever have to be heard crying like that. "It's just allergies. Feathers, in the pillow. Makes me all sneezy and weepy."

He sighed to himself at the blatant lie, not the best at coming up with excuses, which was why he was drowning at work. He had no excuses for not having any new leads when it came to the murderer, and the sight of piles of papers around him only exaggerated the hopelessness he seemed to be stuck in at the moment. Finally responding by petting his hair down softly, smiling down at him at the sight of the other's cute expression, he did struggle not to just burst into those embarrassing tears again. "...I just care about my job. I've done so well not making 'em realise I'm a warlock, babe. I-I've done so well to defy their predictions, and I'm f-fucking this up," he grimaced. He rarely swore, reacting badly whenever his lover let slip a cuss word, so the fact he was doing so himself was indicative of his stress. "...There's some guy out there who I really hope gets the death sentence for this. Not just for making me stressed, haha... and I r-really hate the death sentence, but... whatever. He's made me like this, a-and he doesn't even realise it, Kaz! H-He... He has to be found one day, right?" Tears finally slipped from his eyes, tearfully sniffling as he quickly mopped them up before they fell. "Ugh, I'm such a sissy... Let's go out, alright? To the beach~ Sofia can come too. It'll be nice."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

Immediately sitting up, he scrambled to hiss bare feet and felt around to tug the other aswell. "Good! I don't want you to be Mr. Doom n' Gloom all the time, and that ocean breeze'll definitely wash it away! Plus, you get to dress me up~! I went to the thrift shop down the street today and bought some swim trunks- don't worry, I think I washed them correctly- so you got a selection of the finest designed Badehose in all of the country! Plus I have those weird heart shaped sunglasses, they're way better than my old drabby circle ones. It'll be lovely, honestly! And I was serious about us looking for some of those seashells you like so much, hm?"

As he blabbered on, he- by accident- stepped over quite a few of the documents Xander had been working on. Hell, he literally slipped on one, faceplanting the luckily shagged carpet. Groaning in pain, he offered a pout to who he assumed was his boyfriend. "Sorry..." he whined, "I'm just really excited to be able to spend time with you again! Hn... But I'm serious about the dressing thing. You remember the last time I tried getting pants on myself, right?"

 

[potassiumboron]

Listening to his babbling, it was one of the reasons he felt they got on - they both could talk for hours on end about things other people would think useless, but for Xander, it was more interesting than anything. But they doubled well, particularly when they could listen just as much as they could talk. Smiling to himself, all while trying to clear the documents, he only really reacted and made some noise when his boyfriend of a few months fell flat on his face.

Frankly, he could have ruined each paper in doing so, and Xander wouldn't have cared. His main worry was the other as he hurriedly reached to take his face in his hands, sighing at how scared and worried he had been in fear he was hurt - that was evidence of how much he loved him, even if he hadn't said that yet. He did worry it was too early for the 'L' word, and it probably was - he was unaware that the other was taken advantage of him being a cop. Likewise, he hardly knew Kaz, if at all.

"...I'll dress you up nice and cute, and it'll be a nice day. I'll... leave work out of my mind for a few hours," he decided promptly, reaching to turn his phone off to stop him growing distracted by it going off through the day from others in his department, either texting him about work things, and latest leads on his case, or just with social stuff... even if most of it was playful teases at his expense. Only, when reaching for his phone which had been on silent, he froze, the only indication of his mood for Kaz being the sudden swear words leaving his mouth quickly and in hushed whispers. "...They've f-found a new body. I... I have to go into work, Kaz. This is major. I-It's another body. Ugh, sorry-- we can do this on Saturday, alright? That's a promise."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

His familiar, goofy grin dropped instantly from the familiar stammering. ".... Oh. Okay. Yeah, I guess you should head out, then? I mean... I was really looking forward to this, but it's fine! I'll be here. Could you at least come home for lunch? You need to eat, Xander, you're as thin as a stick. The stress probably doesn't help either, hm?" As he spoke, he managed to sit up a bit while rubbing the reddened cheeks of his face. "I mean, honestly. I can practically wrap my arms around you, and my arms are pretty average... right?"

When no response followed, he quickly pursed his lips. The silence after his running sentences was odd, since often the two would go on for hours just listing off their thoughts or feelings. "I don't know how you could deal with this all, you know? The job, I mean. Too much pressure. But... If you really feel like you need to go, I won't stop you. I'll try to work on one of my gadgets while you're gone."

 

[potassiumboron]

"I am not thin. I'm average, and... oh, shut up, you," he giggled quietly, though only in refusal to accept how badly he was reacting to stress. Weight had dropped off him; he had developed a habit of chewing and biting his fingernails, and possibly worse, he was letting it affect all aspects of his life, especially with his lover who he did adore... even if it was the very one causing all the stress in reality.

"...If I stay, I'll just get in trouble with my chief, and I love my job. It wasn't stressful until this came along. I... I'm a good detective. i'm thin, sure. Weedy, dorky, clumsy, whatever. B-But I'm determined and I mean well, and I'll find the murderer one day," he sighed, pressing in for a kiss, only to pull away the moment his phone buzzed with a flurry of texts, to which he stood up warily. "Come on, I'll get you dressed before I go, huh? You'll just stumble over all my papers and stuff-- isn't it better to trip over papers than trip over my potions? I'm working on one that'll just burn your skin to the bone if you get it on 'ya. Dating a warlock isn't the easiest, is it...?"​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"You've got a point there, his face twisting in a grimace when he was left hanging with the kiss, having literally only been maybe a centimeter from kissing him. "... Better hurry up, then, hm? I don't want your cop friends to be mad. Dress me in something nice, alright? I wanna show off if I go to the store. Maybe Sofia could be my seeing eye cat?" He teased, though did rely on his walking cane occasionally instead of feeling his way around. "Do they eat donuts, like they say in stories? Or is that just some weird stereotype?"

 

[potassiumboron]

He promptly wrapped an arm around him, both to guide him and because he was rather needy for affection (perhaps because he just felt guilty for having to leave yet again), and flashed him a smile. Even if it couldn't be seen, it certainly came out in his voice - he was a highly expressive person, and if he wasn't happy and smiling, it would sound in his voice and how he was tonally. The happier he was, the more he tended to babble at a fast pace; sad, and he easily cracked up and drawled his words.

Carefully taking out some shorts, given the hot weather, he smiled at the bright colours he chose, his own style tending to be bright and colourful too, even if that didn't reflect in what he had to wear at the office, where darker colours ere favoured. "Oh, Sofia's not fussy," he said slowly, mostly out of deliberation on what t-shirt to choose, eventually opting for a flannel shirt he himself had bought the other at their one month anniversary - anniversaries, for him, were a big deal. He made a huge fuss about them, even if they had only had two so far. "Just don't piss her off, honey. She doesn't like you, no offence."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"I dunno why," He admitted, shimmying out of his tanktop and boxers with a soft hum. "I mean, I think she's nice. She seems to have been taking care of you, so I can't complain, can I~?" Once completely naked, he shifted his weight patiently at the usually routine dress-up activity they did. "I want you to be safe, silly, and if Sofia makes sure you don't do something dumb, I'm glad. Sorry if you have to deal with me naked, by the way. I'm probably not a pretty sight, hm? Like, blegh... I feel gross just standing here in front of you! I bet you're handsome, Xander..."

 

[potassiumboron]

"She just says that you're untrustworthy-- trust me, I yell at her for it," he murmured, though that was a little bit of an exaggeration. Xander had nothing in him to yell at people and to be cruel to anyone, especially not the Familiar who had been at his side literally since he was born, and she had left her cushy life in the village to follow him, even if they were destined to be homeless for a year and a bit. For that, he would always appreciate her.

At the other's words, he suddenly huffed, playfully nudging him in disagreement as he quietly pulled on the vibrant t-shirt for him. "You're gorgeous~! I mean, just a cute ol' dish, really. I'm just average, but you're cute as a button, and I like you a lot," he grinned - again, he had to be careful not to let slip his love for him in fear of freaking him out. "Just take the day easy, baby. I'll buy us a takeaway when I'm on the way home-- maybe I'll find the horrible murderer today? Can you imagine~? I... I'd be given awards, and respected, and nobody would dare make fun of us then, y'know. We'd be heroes~"​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"I always relax," He huffed, hands on his hips and cheeks puffed in protest once fully dressed. "I'm TOO relaxed, Xander! I wanna have fun, with you! Not alone... Maybe you should invite me to the station one day, hm? I could meet your coworkers, say Hallo to them and whatnot. But for now, you can just leave me here alone again like always... Will you at least stop by for lunch again? I'll go to the store and get something for you, if you want. I could buy some ham, if Sofia is willing to come and help me pick stuff out. Not the best with buying packaged stuff..." He went on, though quit his babble to gently reach for the other's cheek and pull him into a soft kiss. "Seriously, I miss you."

 

[potassiumboron]

"...I can't help the job I have. I like my job, Kaz, and once the guy's found, it'll be much easier. We can spend time together and be proper boyfriends, alright? I promise," he said again, deliberately making no such promises about coming back for lunch. If he did, and ultimately had to stay, it would look horrible... so making no promises and arriving if he could as a surprise seemed a much more nicer option.

Moving to scoop Sofia up into his arms affectionately, her loud purring making her presence evident, he murmured in her ear in knowing she would understand, and made sure that she would be good with Kaz, however unlikely it was. Once placing her down again, he leant into suddenly press himself as close as he could to Kaz, arms tightening around him in the sudden romantic kiss he pushed for. "...I'm sorry I'm so shitty as a boyfriend lately, haha. We... We can go on a date this weekend! My sister might come into town, so... it'll be nice."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"Do you promise?" He whispered, lightly bonking the other lightly on the head. "You promise that you'll focus on us once the person is caught? I want to build on this relationship, you know? I want to make this work, make it special... I love you, after all." He admitted... If it was only half true. He did have feelings for the man, deep rooted feelings, but he also knew that his obsession had to be filled far more than that. It was rather internally annoying. "And if you loved me, I would think you'd do the same for me."

 

[potassiumboron]

"...I love you too," he grinned happily, practically ready just to jump into bed and snuggle all day. He had been waiting to burst his love for the other, fearing that he'd just be rejected... but now the other had admitted it, the warlock was just buzzing with excitement, with no exaggeration whatsoever. "I do want the same, a-and I promised you that this'll all blow over, all this stress, when I find the murderer and--"

"You ought to look closer to home then," the cryptic murmur of Sofia drawled, the girl strolling in and out of her alternative feline form, shooting a seemingly accusation-filled glare to the warlock's lover, even if he couldn't see it. Though if she did know anything, surely she would have said something to Xander to stop causing him so much stress... right? "I'll take Kaz here to the store... lead him into the river and let 'im drown, psh."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"Why do you have to be so mean to me, Sofia?" he whispered, his cheeks igniting in frustration. "I mean, I've been a good boyfriend so far! Right, Xander?" He whimpered, "I can go to the store on my own, then, Sofia. I've done well so far on my own. If I end up on the streets, or killed by that guy, then I blame you directly."

 

[potassiumboron]

"If you got killed by that guy, it'd just be suicide," she mumbled under her breath, only really shutting up when Xander shot her a glance, the boy presumably not getting a hold of her words and just what she was accusing his boyfriend of. Even if Xander appreciated her statements, he was hardly going to believe her.

"Just stop it, you're making him feel bad," he tutted, moving to pull his boyfriend close into a quick, intimate kiss-- though couldn't necessarily go further when timing was pretty tight. "I'll pop back for lunch, maybe. i mean, I can't promise anything, but... I'll give it a go, so you and Sofia just... try to get on? You're my boyfriend; she's my best friend. It's... important to me, Kaz."​

 

[saturnia pavonia]

"I AM trying," He whimpered, his hazy eyes locked on the other. "She just keeps scoffing at me and brong rude. I've been nice, as nice as I could. I'll just not talk to her, I'll do all the things I need to do on my own. Like I said, I've done this all before."

Once the smooch hit him, his frown did disappear for even a brief moment, he let out a soft giggle. "Ah... Well, try to make it to lunch, please?"