Our Little Secret

Status
Not open for further replies.
Nicoli wasn't scheduled to be at work, but he dressed for it anyway. Most likely, he'd look through some paperwork while he was there. Might as well, to make the trip there more worth it.

He didn't take long to spot Sasha in the main lobby. She was wandering aimlessly and sticking out like a sore thumb. Before making his way to her, he took a look around. Nothing suspicious looking. Not yet anyway. The security in his building was expensive; expensive meant it was very nice. Even so, he was wary.

Sasha was nudged ever so gently, just to get her attention. Right after, he walked to the nearest elevator. They would need to go up to the sixth floor, where his office was. Once they got inside, he pressed the button, and stood there without a word. It was uncomfortably quiet in the elevator with her. Thankfully, the ride came to to an end.

Down the hall to the left was where his door was. It led to a large room where he had his desk, some paintings, a bathroom, a comfortable chair he liked sitting in during breaks... You could guess this was like a second home to him. His computer chair might work all right for the haircut. They could do it on the wooden floor, where it would be easy to sweep up.

Nicoli pulled open a set of blinds to let some light into the room. The sun poured in, but not too strongly. There was quite a bit of overcast as of late. Shortly after, he went to do whatever Sasha needed him to do so they could get this over with.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

The silence was killing her. He was right there, fucking talk! Tell him what's going on, ask him for help, just talk to him about it!

Instead, she was silent, setting a towel down over his chair- having figured this was probably going to be the set-up- and one for around his shoulders to keep most of the hair off of him. She went to the sink and filled up the spray bottle she had with water- no real access to a legitimate sink, still needed the hair to be wet, had to get it done somehow.

Sasha went about wetting his hair and then started trimming it up- no real time or place for a shampoo'ing but it was better than nothing. She was quick to tackle the trouble areas that the other woman messed the fuck up, making noises of surprise every now and then. What the hell had this other hairdresser DONE to his hair? HAD SHE BEEN BLIND? How dare someone fuck up his 'do, didn't they know anything?

"How in the hell... I really hope you didn't pay this person... You might have to tell me where you got your hair cut so I can pay them a visit." She remarked, there was a protective edge to her voice. She was honestly furious. "Seriously, how do you fuck this up, this is so fucking simple." She added as she trimmed. Dear lord in heaven, grant her the power to magically curse who ever did this with dull scissors, a sink that never worked, and a broken blow-dryer. How the hell could they trim up one side THAT much and then the other side was shaggy as all hell? Someone was about to get bitch-slapped with a damned paddle-brush.

She went to plug the blow-dryer in and turned it on, pausing to trim and turn him around every once in a while- without a mirror this was a little harder, but this was her job, and for fuck's sake, she hadn't been able to do it in three weeks.

Sasha couldn't lie, having her hands on his head again honestly calmed her down- she knew every curve of his head, what angle to take, everything. She could do this fucking blind. Unlike some unskilled hack who could have cut his hair better if they had INTENTIONALLY fucked up. Jesus.

His hair was almost dry. The second they were done, she was going to have to run her ass back to the club. Mark could kiss her ass, hell, this gave her a little big of strength to work with, anything was worth just this small amount of time with Nico.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Fluffy
Nicoli should have guessed that the atrocious haircut would upset her. She took pride in the work she did, and had a low tolerance for stupidity. Weirdly, it was nice to hear her rant. Her constant talking used to always annoy him but lately, the absence of her voice had him longing for it.

Being here with her felt oddly appropriate. Like he could see her being here more often, as an employee or just because she'd have the right to be anywhere she wanted. She would be his to show off and nobody would be able to do anything. They would give them hell for the age difference, but there would be others who support them.

This was but a fantasy, though. He was feeling sick, having all these ideas in his mind. The concept of love was so foreign to him, you might as well be explaining how an airplane is built. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so stressed out.

There was a bit of soothe to be had, luckily. Even though this was happening at his work, it felt like he was home. Having her fingers in his hair was always something he looked forward to from appointment to appointment. Being reunited with her skillful hands was bliss. He felt himself closing his eyes, relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever. The quiet screaming of the hair dryer is what woke him back up.

Now he was thinking about what she said to him during their lunch date. Did she really feel all those ways about him? That made this moment with her all the more confusing. It seemed like she shouldn't even care about his hair if she despised him so much. The man needed some answers. His life couldn't go on without any.

"Sasha? There's something I need to say." He spoke just loud enough to be heard over the dryer. The need to speak with her took precedence over this! There was even impatience in his voice, softly urging her to drop the act and just say something that didn't have to do with how pissed off she was at his failure of a replacement.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

'No.... No, fuck, don't talk to me, please.' She was whimpering in her head, she couldn't handle that tone in his voice. She had one hand on his head, in the middle of evening out a trim- and that hand trembled violently at his voice.

"Nico." She spoke softly, her voice wavering. She spun the chair around nearly break-neck speed and looked him in the eyes. She felt so fucking broken, she couldn't handle this. Around her neck, the offensively-colored scarf had loosened, exposing bruises and burn marks, and she hadn't noticed. Mark had gotten extremely pissed during one of their arguments and tossed his care about marking women up in obvious places.

"I can't let you talk." She said simply, turning the blow-dryer on him before turning the chair back around and going back to work, pausing every few moments to stop when she started trembling again. It wasn't fair that just his words could make her react so strongly. At one point, she almost broke down, almost gave in. Then closed her mouth again. She finished up the trim and the blow-dry. He looked fine again and she went about cleaning up the mess quickly before bagging everything up again.

What was she going to do? She had to go... and there was no way at this point that she could talk her way out of this one.

"Please. Nico. Forget I exist, I'm just a nobody- you're better off without me." She managed to murmur, her voice trembling as she bit her lip and then left his office as quickly as she could- she didn't want to hear him talk, she couldn't hear him talk, if he talked she'd break.

She rushed out of the building as quickly as her legs could take her, and then started what felt like the longest trek back to the club she had ever taken. Her eyes burned with tears and she couldn't do anything to stop it. It ached to walk away, and she couldn't stop thinking that she could just go back, she could talk to him. They could work this out, they'd be ok...

No, she was trash, she was nobody- every fucking time something good happened, she was dragged back down- hell, she didn't even have her job anymore, her fucking passion was gone- not one bone was thrown to her. Why the fuck did Mark want her so fucking badly, even? Why did he work so fucking hard to keep her in his debt? Maybe he got off on the control. She wouldn't doubt it.

Nico was powerful- he wouldn't let anyone do anything to him, nothing seemed to get to him.

That was it, that was the last straw, a sob ripped away from her as she walked, unable to hold it in. She took a few moments to regain her composure and keep walking, wiping away tears and hopefully fixing her mascara and eyeliner a bit before continuing on.

Getting back into the club, Mark's little group parted around her like the fucking red sea- great. That was a great sign.

"Where. The hell. Were you."

"Would you get it over with and kill me if I said I fucked someone?" She asked bluntly, trying hard to keep up that composure and strength. Suddenly she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't endure one more night of this bullshit. Either she got out of here or she died trying.

"Natasha." He stated it in warning and she couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

"My name. Is Sasha. Fucking come at me, let's see if you can actually point the gun at me AND shoot the damned thing this time. I'm fucking done. I can't do this anymore. I'm done playing games. I'm sick of this." She snarled darkly, throwing the scarf and jacket off, marks and burns dotted along her arms and back, and she couldn't bother to care about anything else than finally standing the fuck up towards him. At least grow a spine, one more time. The crowd was dispersing around them, moving the hell out of the way. Smart.

That was all the man needed, he came at her and she watched him carefully before attempting to step out of his way His arm swung out and caught her in the neck, gripping at her and she sputtered before swinging her bag of styling good and got him in the back of his head. Got him to let go at the very least. He knocked the bag from her hand but she had the scissors in hand.

"I'm so fucking done, and I am so fucking tired." She explained with a chuckle. "Go ahead, grab the colt. Cock it. Do it!" She screamed, trembling with rage, and the man went for his office.

"Fucking finally." She muttered, sighing before dropping the scissors and instead picked up the paddle-brush.

"Is this what you fucking want?" He was coming back into the room, and Sasha took a deep breath before swinging her arm over-head, and then released, knocking the man in the head with a damned brush.

"YES. I want this OVER." She roared furiously.

"I swear to god, I'm going to shoot you in the goddamned knee-caps if you keep this u-"

"OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" She couldn't care anymore, she just couldn't, she grabbed for the scissors again, brandishing them as a weapon, and sprinted at him. Apparently it was enough to catch him off guard and she was on him in seconds bringing the scissors down on his shoulder, sinking them in deep before prying the gun from his hand, tossing it out of his reach. She grabbed at his throat with one hand, scrabbling to punch him in the face with the other. He managed to push her off and she went for the gun, got to it and held it up in shaking hands, cocking the hammer back, pointing it at him.

"I. Want. To. Leave now. Let me go. Don't follow me. Don't send anyone after me. Your men will see me have dinner with someone else- and they're going to walk away. And leave me alone. You will see me walking down the street- you will move aside, let me pass, and not follow me. I want my life back." She spoke, anger and hurt seeping through every word. She wanted to empty the damned gun into him. The only thing was she was too fucking frazzled to shoot at that moment, shaking and trembling with the weight of what she was doing- facing the biggest fear in her life and risking everything to do it.

"And. I need you to really... Remember this... Don't fuck with a hairdresser's job!" She snarled roughly, firing the gun, aiming for the chest, hitting him in the foot. He was still in pain, still a win, right? He was curled up on the ground and she couldn't do anything else. But she was so fucking scared, even now. She couldn't let go of the gun or say anything, dropping to her knees with the gun shaking in her hands.

"I wish Nico was here." She whimpered weakly. He'd be able to do this right. She knew he would...

Still, everyone was filing out of the room, save for a few- and Mark was cursing on the ground. Every time someone moved, she had the sense to raise the gun towards them, but there was no way she could do anything else. Still, her finger was on the trigger and it was buying time. Time for what, though?
 
Nicoli was stubborn on an extreme level. Even after receiving a blow dryer to the face, he was already getting up to follow her. Did she get satisfaction out of seeing him suffer like this? Maybe the whole reason she came here with him was so she could have a closer look at his misery. The idea was absurd, but he was desperate for an answer he could use to help make his life better.

Both hands padded around his body, feeling for where his keys, wallet, gun, and phone were. The dry cleaning could just stay here for now. A last look was given to his hair before he hurried down, hiding behind corners and objects in times he thought she might look over her shoulder. Nic would keep to his stealth until it was a decent time to snatch up her attention. She was crazy if she thought he'd let her get away. Sasha was nearly impossible to track with how well she's been hidden.

Sasha was followed to a club, one of the few places he suspected he'd end up. Information on Mark was scarce, but he did recall that he used a club as a hangout. At least it was a place where he could blend. All those bodies in one place was bound to make him uncomfortable, though. When he was younger, he reserved sections of places like this so he could control how many people crowded him. Those were interesting times in his life...

Now wasn't the time to reminisce, though. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he weaved through the crowd while keeping an eye on Sasha's hard-to-miss hairdo. All he could do was watch from a safe distance. The order of this environment shouldn't be disturbed unless an emergency called for immediate action.

Watching Sasha break down and fight back against her ex-love was not what he was expecting to see. The mood of the place wasn't lively anymore. Everything got very still because there was a woman using salon tools to hurt somebody. On top of that, she... Got a gun in her hands... Nico felt himself wince just a little when she shot her target in the foot. This was a huge disaster, but it was refreshing to see that she was fighting for her freedom rather than acting as his obedient puppet. He knew she had it in her to be strong. It was just a shame she had to find that out here, now, in this horrible place.

Nicoli cleared his throat to let surrounding club goers know he was on the move. People responded almost instantly, seeming to sense that this sharply dressed man must know what he was doing. His gaze was locked on Sasha, who was obviously lost. He should do something before she hurts someone else. They didn't need the extra blood on their hands. There were enough troubles to deal with already.

His domineering presence cast a heavy shadow over Mark, who he didn't expect to do much. The look Nico had just dared the man's cronies to try something. That didn't last for long, since there was a girl at his feet who needed some guidance. "You did a fine job," he encouraged in a soft voice, appearing behind her. Both hands hooked in Sasha's underarms so he could straighten her posture. Then he set up her arms the proper way, the gun still pointing at Mark. He was aiming the weapon at the foot that wasn't shot, following each jerking motion the man's leg made. "Tell him again that you want to leave from here, forever. Demand to have your tracking device removed, or else you'll shoot him in his other foot." He was whispering the instructions in her ear as if they were romantic sweet nothings. The whole time, he had his fingers around her arms, keeping them positioned correctly while also letting her know she wasn't facing this fear alone.

The whole time he was giving her this quick lesson in torturing someone until you get what you want, he didn't at all consider that they had a small audience. People were going to go home with some weird stories to tell their families.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

Sasha trembled and shook, uncertain of what to do until the crowd was moving behind her and she looked up, her head turning towards the noise, frightened.

'The fuck? Nico?....Oh my fuck, Nico.' She was so happy to see him, it took a moment to remember the situation they were in the middle of.

He was there, and he actually praised her, and in a sick, disturbed way she felt so fucking relieved by it. She stopped trembling as he helped her out, behind her and helping her actually do this a correct way. His breath tickled her ear as he helped cue her in on what to do and she licked her lips slightly.

"I better have someone remove the tracking device on my ankle- or I'll shoot your other foot. After that, I want to leave here, forever." She paraphrased, biting her lip after that. Someone slowly approached and Sasha eyed them, ill-intent in her eyes. With Nico backing her up, honestly, she felt a little invincible. She recognized them, the person Mark had used to apply the damned thing in the first place.

"Do anything funny or set it off, and I won't be in a good mood." She spoke calmly, licking her lips again- trying not to focus on Nico's body. Right behind her. She was excited with a gun in her hand, great. The tracking device was removed and the person skittered back quickly.

"I also want my phone back. And my ID. Both of them." She demanded and someone went to collect them.

"You ungrateful little bitch." The words were seething hatred and Sasha huffed, her breathing rate increasing. "I swear if you think that I'm going to let you get away with this-" Sasha was trembling, her breathing now ragged and uneven. Anger radiated off of her.

"Why did you kidnap me?! Why did you ruin my life? Why did you repeatedly drag me down and continually send people to get me? Why couldn't you just let me go? I just wanted my life back! You held me captive until I... until I was fucked up enough to think I loved you, and then you just abused me! Why? I want to know why! I've lost years of my life to your bullshit! I want you to beg for your life, like you made me beg. Every. Fucking. Night. You'd have me beg and pray and get my last wishes and then you'd pull the trigger and the gun was empty! Why?!" She was rage incarnate, was was a goddamned hurricane of anger. "I want to kill you. So fucking badly." She snarled.

"You are never getting out of here." He spat back. "I will keep dragging you back, so go ahead, shoot."

"Nico." She stated his name, but wasn't sure at first if it was because she wanted his approval on killing the bastard, or to stop her. "This was why I left the restaurant. Our waiter was one of his guys. I was scared. I was afraid to get you involved in this. I didn't mean anything that I said back there. It hurt me to say that. I'm sorry. I know this might be bad timing- but I care about you. Quite a bit." She stated softly, then continued on. "This rat bastard's been the bane of my existence for a good portion of my life, in your opinion, should I shoot him in the fucking head?" She asked rather calmly, given the anger and rage boiling over inside her. "He owes me about five years of my life, two jobs, and he's killed two people for sleeping with me, after I tried to break up with him... Among other things. Like fucking torturing me."

"You fucking whore, I gave you a purpose!"

"I ALREADY HAD ONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP WHILE THE ADULTS TRY AND FIGURE OUT IF I'M TAKING YOUR HEAD OFF!" She snarled, then looked at Nico questioningly without moving her head, unsure of what to do, licking her lips again. For fuck's sake this was a hell of a situation, and her getting all up and excited by Nico's presence was a hell of a thing.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Fluffy
Nicoli didn't interfere too much with the exchange of words between Sasha and Mark. He kept close with supportive hands keeping the weapon straight for her. The overflow of emotional energy reached him at some point, sparking a feeling of compassion. She was reminding him of a time when he, too, reached a breaking point. When he was just a little younger than her, he snapped and separated himself from the people trying to manipulate him. That was the day he learned just how much he was capable of.

Now he could use those experiences to help someone.

Nic was composed in a triumphant fashion, beaming with pride he felt for this girl. She was standing up for herself, and boy was she letting this fool have it.

Her confession regarding the restaurant fiasco was relieving, to say the least. The obvious fact that she cared for him more than this scumbag put a hint of smugness on his face. This poor excuse for a man had no place calling her bad names, or making threats. His obsession with control reached the point of dangerous. That was too bad.

"You have mafia support at your back, darling. As far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever the hell you want." There was a cold professionalism to the way he talked, with endearing undertones that were solely meant for Sasha. He wasn't kidding. She was safe from consequences as long as she had him around. Some might voice concern for the mental well beings of the people watching them, but the kingpin couldn't care less about them. He wasn't a hero, he was just a person that did what he wanted.

"No one would miss this sorry sack of filth. Besides, I'll just snap his neck the next time I see him anyway." The dead seriousness in that promise made people shudder. Nicoli hated this Mark character and would not hesitate to exterminate him when given the chance. She might decide she doesn't want to; killing someone could be a hard memory to live with. Otherwise, he was all for Sasha just getting the revenge she deserved.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

Sasha was grinning widely as Nico pretty much gave her free reign. All the anger and frustration in her head was having a hay-day with ideas before it settled on something rather appropriate. She almost missed the "darling" in his sentence. She'd return the feelings in full later, when she was done with her current business.

"I... Don't want to shoot him in that case. I have a better plan." She spoke softly, lowering the gun and putting it in Nico's hands with a smile as she moved free of him. "I want eye-for-an-eye." She explained simply, walking towards her biggest fear- picking up her styling goods on the way- who, was in the middle of a tirade of cursing- ended with a hell of a kick from her, aimed at his stomach. "Come on. Let's have fun." She stated in a strangely warm tone as she grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and started dragging him as he groaned.

"For once, I want to enjoy playing with all the little toys in the backroom." She continued as she pulled the man past his lackeys, they made no move to stop her and she smiled at them, all teeth flashing in a disturbing grin as she finally came to the room she was searching for. Mark was making some kind of noise and she kicked him again- shut him up quickly and she was quickly starting to enjoy this new-found power and dominance.

She opened the door and pulled him inside, knowing exactly what she wanted first.

"Five years of this shit, I owe you quite a bit of payback for everything you've done to me." She stated as she ditched the body for a moment, grabbing a chain from one of the darker recesses of the room and returned, getting it around Mark's wrists before dragging him towards the center of the room, hefting him up a little so it could reach a meat-hook that hung ominously from the ceiling.

"So, Mark, I have a question I need answered. All those times you had me texting you for forgiveness, did you get off on it? Because I'm pretty sure you did. And again when you were kicking the shit out of me. And burning me. And hitting me with anything in reach- and I can understand that now." She spoke in an even cadence, completely calm. Having something to finally do about this pain in her ass was more than a little therapeutic.

"So. Guess what? Being a hair-dresser, living in a shitty part of town leads to a lot of creativity when your shit breaks." She smiled as she opened up the bag and eyed the blow-dryer.

"Like this... It's not the best blow-dryer- honestly, this is a better purpose for it." She spoke before swinging it over her head and watched as it shattered into bits as it hit the concrete floor, leaving some of the mechanical parts laying on the ground, but the prize was in her hand already- the cord.

"I found out that I really don't mind electrical shocks- fucks with my hair but, you know what, it's worth it today." She stated as she grabbed a knife from a table that gleamed in the dim light, stripping the cord. "How's that pair of scissors stuck in your chest? Hurts a bit, right?" She asked as she exposed the wiring from the cord before walking over to a table, donning a pair of gloves and then plugged the cord into a nearby outlet.

"I like those scissors a lot- all metal, very conductive." Sasha stated as she walked towards Mark. "Why don't you beg for mercy? It'll make this so much better for me." She added as she held up the cord.

"Not in the mood." He snapped and she looked at him with a hurt expression.

"Fine, have it your way." She muttered before holding the cord closer- there was a loud popping sound and a bright flash, as well as screaming. Lovely amounts of screaming, and Sasha was grinning. Sure the gloves were keeping her safe to some extent, but it was obviously getting her way too, static raising up bits of her hair and small arcs going over her skin

Finally she withdrew the cord and Mark was still.

"I think I broke him. I've taken worse shocks than that..." She muttered thoughtfully before nudging him with a foot. "Yeah, I broke him... That's a shame, guess I should have saved that for last." She added.
 
Nicoli's body tilted as he watched with mild curiosity. Sasha was dragging Mark away to make him suffer, no doubt. A quick death would be merciful, he agreed with that. His mitts ran over his coat to straighten it out, the eyes of an insomniac looking over the stunned crowd as he did. Wordlessly, he walked to where Sasha disappeared through and stood by, just waiting. She didn't need his audience, or interference. Knowing her, she might shout for help if she really did need it.

Meanwhile, people were deciding whether or not they should stay or go. Police were sure to arrive soon. Nobody called them, for fear that they'd get shot. So there was time to get away before the police caught on. Most of them seemed to be doing the smart thing of just exiting the club, talking amongst themselves or staying stuck in dead silence.

This left Nic alone for the most part, looking over the establishment with disgust. There was no denying that he considered himself too good for place like this. Sasha was too, though. If it wouldn't seem too inappropriate, he'd take her someplace classier, like an opera or a high end jazz club. These thoughts made him grunt with frustration. He shouldn't be thinking about potential date nights at this time. This girl meant a lot to him, but he didn't know what was going to happen after this. After all, she did cause him three weeks of pain.

Screaming then echoed through the halls, a sign she might have finished what she was doing. That was quick, he thought. Then again, he shouldn't have expected much. This whole ordeal was a disaster from the shot to the foot to--

"Hell." The comment was plain and simple when he walked in, blinking at the unmoving body she just finished... Electrocuting? He put all the pieces of the puzzle together in no time once he saw the gloves, the frizzy hair--all the damage amounted to some pretty gnarly results.

Nicoli spent the next few minutes getting them out of there. Sasha seemed to need a little time to calm down, so he used the time to properly dispose of evidence that connected Sasha to this event. The tools all had to be forever destroyed, which she clearly had no problem with, judging by that shattered blow dryer. She might have been under his protection, but that didn't mean they should be careless. He could tell though that she was satisfied with herself. From what he'd seen and heard, this Mark person deserved what he got, and more.

He was glad to be away from it all, though. "We shouldn't still be here when the cops arrive," he noted aloud, urging them away from the club. They would have to trek back to his employee parking spot, where his car was. He forgot that he followed her here on foot. Luckily, the walk wouldn't be far. Before too long, he would have her in his passenger seat. There would be no questions, he was driving her to the safest place next to his work building: home.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

Sasha was quick to follow Nico, uncertain of what to say. There was no doubt they were walking back to where he probably had his car holed up- but, it felt like there was so much she needed to say.... but where could she even start?

What do you say to someone who you had made to believe... The things she had said...

"Nico, stop... hold on." She spoke, stopping herself from following. This needed to be talked about, there was still too much water under the bridge and it needed to be handled. Now.

"I'm sorry. For what I said- I needed... I thought I needed to keep you out of this. I didn't want you to get involved in my problems, I was scared of... I didn't want you to..." Well she was fucking this up in a grand way, wasn't she?

"Look... I was scared of you knowing... well... this." She started, gesturing back to the club. "I mean, you definitely reacted to where I lived- sure, let's toss in the fact that I couldn't fucking grow a spine to save my own life... And I didn't want to... bother you... I mean, I was certain I was already a pain in your ass... I needed to figure out a way to keep you there. Not following me. So... I... I said those things... I didn't want to- but I still did it, and I can understand if you hold that against me." She bit her lip, uncertain of everything at that point.

"I honestly have never been happier than the time I spent with you- getting kidnapped was worth that... And I didn't know what to do without you. But I know I had to have hurt you- your reaction earlier was... more than enough proof." She was trembling, scared.

"So... If you want to hit me... or yell at me... I'd understand that..." Sasha looked up at him, completely unsure of where to go from there. "I... I missed you. I couldn't stop thinking about you... I tried to... stop... but... no matter what I tried to do... how much I drank... or drugs... I know it sounds stupid... I couldn't stop thinking of that smug look on your face... or how you looked completely relaxed when I'd fix your hair up... I honestly tried emulating you when I was going through hard times... I know that sounds weird and I'm sorry about everything- Really.... I was trying to keep you out of this because I was scared... of him... You don't scare me. He did. I... I didn't want to see you get hurt because of my own problems. And... I should have trusted you... or given you some kind of warning. Something... anything." She rubbed at her face and then looked up at him again.

"You're the first person to actually make me feel... like... a person... like I matter. And... I hurt you. And I can't get over that. So... Please... if you have anything to get off your chest or... do... to me... just... go ahead..."
 
  • Love
Reactions: Fluffy
Nicoli was briefly grouchy when she stopped him from walking. He came to an abrupt pause with an annoyed expression on his face. The weeks of misery led to a touchier temper. Her sudden need to talk to him couldn't wait? They could talk at a better place, at a better time! Fortunately for Sasha, he didn't want to be pushy. His face went neutral while she spoke to him. Looking on the positive side, at least he got to hear her voice again. No matter how lengthy her words got, he was thankful to be in her company again.

Sasha knew how she made him feel. Of course she did, she did it on purpose. For reasons that he didn't consider good enough excuses to yell at him the way she did. He understood why she did what she did... She cared about him on a deep level and preferred to be abused rather than reel him deeper into her pit of despair. When she made him realize this, he sighed and nodded. She did it to protect him, though it was unnecessary. So much damage could have been avoided if she asked his help rather than push it away. Nicoli put that fact to rest when he remembered that life's greatest lessons came through experiences, be they fortunate or unfortunate. Her mistakes probably just helped her grow today.

When she got on the subject of what she missed about him, he looked away while he scratched sheepishly at the side of his head with an index finger. Just carefully enough to not ruin his hairstyle. "Warning would have been nice," he agreed with a mumble. He didn't blame her for not telling him, though. To her, Mark wasn't just a man. He was a devil who owned her soul and tormented her in a personal hell. Now she was free of that.

Hearing that he made her feel like a person... It was amusing. A great many people in his past and present life have been victims of his fists, weapons, anger, greed, and what have you. They were people he scared so he could control him, like her Mark did. Yet here he was, making a person feel like a person... A personal goal worthy of a golden plaque.

"I'm not going to hit you for all this, Sasha. But if you talk like that again, I just might." There was a recognizable playfulness to the way he talked, however he was serious as well. He didn't like hearing her offer herself to be hurt in some way. That wasn't acceptable to him, and it was a habit he was going to break her of if she planned to be around him more often after this.

Now that that was out of the way, he should say... Something else... Like she discovered in that restaurant, he was terrible at sappy talk. "You were just...protecting me. It was brave," he said slowly, taking a few steps towards her so he could be at her side. A hand came up tenderly to set on her back, to hopefully stop her body from quaking. "I don't know why, but not having you in my life anymore really threw me off balance. I've fought hard to restore it. The progress was just so slow going, though. I kept trying to find you, and eventually had to just...give up." He shrugged, behaving as if it was no big deal. At this point, it really wasn't anymore. The past couldn't be fixed. "I guess it's like when someone says...I can't live without you?" Nicoli didn't spend a lot of time pondering this. His brain was already turning flat from processing all this. Also, he was hungry. When was the last time that happened?

"Come back home with me now, will you? I'll make us crab legs. We can try our date-thing again in my dining room." While giving her a sideways glance, there was a rare sight to behold. Though it was small, it was right there, lighting up the somber mask he was wearing for too long. A smile.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

Sasha couldn't help but smile a bit back at the man.

"I know that you scare a lot of people- but.... You make me feel safe." She murmured softly, turning towards him and leaning into his chest, just happy to be near him again, like that morning where she had hugged him. That scent was really calming to-

Ohmyjesusfuckingchristwhatthefuckwasgoingonwithhissuitwhatwasthatsmell?!

"Nico." She sounded exasperated. "What... have you been doing without me?... because from as far as I can tell- you haven't been managing-... you managed about as well as I did... Ok... I vote we go back to your place, change into clothes that... actually are clean... in some sense... Eat... and if you manage to sweet-talk me enough, I might just throw you in that stupid bubbly jetty thing in your bathroom and give you a massage because for fuck's sake you are literally like hugging a freaking statue." Jacuzzi. She was talking about the Jacuzzi. She had never seen one. Literally. She went off of what she saw of it- it was a bathtub that had spots where it looked like it redirected the water.

"And I'm stealing at least ONE of your layers so you can air-out." She stated, quickly undoing whatever she was closest to and pulling it off of him as quickly as she could, this was hers now. She backed away from him a bit, protective of her spoils. "You'll get it back when you remember to stop wearing all that shit at night. For fuck's sake, I can't stand wearing clothes when I sleep, I don't know how you obviously managed to..." She trailed off, eyes wide. Great. Fucking great. He wasn't charming her but she sure as hell was giving him plenty of information.

"Aaaand given the amount of electricity that jolted through my hair... and the dye jobs, stress and... My hair turned crunchy." She muttered softly. "I could let it grow out and deal with roots and all that shit- but I'm probably going to just.... shave. And resort to one of my wigs until I have at least more hair on my head than some jar-head in the military." She was sour about that, but that could wait.

"I... I really missed you... And... I really do like the idea of a "Date-thing", I promise I won't ask you loaded questions and fuck with your head again." She remarked, then looked up at him before kissing him on the cheek. "Thanks for finding me... I probably would have died without you- and then my dead body would have been in someone else's hands. When I had promised it to you." She grinned darkly. "I guess you get access to the living body too, if you want..... food first, though."
 
Nicoli completely forgot how neglectful he had been to hygiene. Even his stubble was suffering from a lack of its usual touch-ups. He just stopped caring about everything. The sight of him would be doubly pathetic if he didn't have such a strong will. Most people could barely get out of bed when they were depressed. Not him, though. He pushed through it all, keeping to his responsibilities and then paying the price at home every night. It was always so exhausting, aching deep in his head and his bones. Only mind numbing television, some alcohol, and high inducing pills could help him forget. What awful nights those were.

Hopefully now, he could break that bad streak. Actually, Sasha seemed hellbent on starting it right this very second. She stripped him of his jacket in an effort to help him with the stench. At least he had the long sleeved dress shirt, or else the cold air might not feel so good. They were farther into the season of autumn, so the temperatures got frigid towards the later hours.

Sasha was graced with an amused chuckle, but he did warn her with a look. This better not mean she would be trying to change how he dresses. He'd be open to wearing something more casual when he wasn't at work, that was reasonable. But if taking a piece of his clothing from its complete set became a regular thing, he might start some protesting. The man was OCD about all his matching clothes always staying together, on or off him. "You have funny ways of showing how much you care," Nico commented, preferring her hugs over...whatever this was. Being doted on or cared for wasn't common for him, so being massaged in a jacuzzi was just as weird to him. All the same, it sounded... Nice. For lack of a better word.

Whatever she intended to do with her hair, she could expect him to be mature about it. No matter what, she would still look pretty. Even though the word 'pretty' got him yelled at once. As she talked on, then put a kiss on his cheek, he reacted by squinting his eyes. His skin was hot where her lips were. Women kissed his face for various reasons and never got a reaction from him. Sasha was a different story, it seemed. "Can't have that happen to your corpse, can we? I must protect what's mine." Nico played along with her joke, and didn't realize just how possessive--yet endearing--that sounded.

Agreeing that they should get into comfortable attire, or none at all, and that they needed food, he continued their walk to where his car was waiting. The drive home felt like it was taking forever, even though it wasn't. He was just so anxious to hide from the rest of the world. Only this time, he wasn't alone.

The car got into park and the security to his home was activated now that they were inside. He led them up the stairs to the third floor, where lit rooms and warm air where there to greet them. Fortunately for his apartment, everything was still routinely cleaned and polished. He wasn't grooming himself, but his precious home never suffered. "Your things are in my closet, by the way," he suddenly remembered to say. Nico thought she might like to tend to that while he got a start on food. He was getting hungrier by the minute, driving him to just cook a delicious meal as quickly as possible.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

"Of course I care, for fuck's sake I spent three weeks dealing with assholes because I mistakenly thought that you'd be better off without me." She muttered. "And really, I massage your head all the time when I give you haircuts... Why not take care of the rest of you?" Sasha added softly, then blushed at his next words. Ok. She was his, or was he being a mischievous shit again? She couldn't tell... but she was a lot happier right now than she had been in a few weeks. Food sounded really... really good. And so did being at Nico's place. With him. Obviously.

The drive home was relatively quiet, and she was quietly eager just to nestle up into his bed again and smell him all over it. Was that creepy? Was that love? That was what was going on, right?

He told her where her things were and practically went straight to cooking.

Good to see he was just as eager to eat as she was. She departed from his company to go up to his bedroom and smiled, looking around. It was weird- feeling more at home at his place than she had ever felt at hers. She was quick to peel off her clothes and dig through her bag when she came across something that she most certainly hadn't intended on ended up in there.

Seriously, she hadn't grabbed that, had she? Maybe she had accidentally grabbed it while she had been going through her closet.

Maybe Nico would like it, though.

She changed quickly, not giving herself time to second-guess her choice before meekly exiting the room and heading back towards the kitchen... oh god. This was nerve-wracking, and normally she was full of confidence in these damned things, but she was curious to see what Nico's reaction would be to see her in this.

"I changed into something comfortable, hope you don't mind." She joked, standing there in one of the shortest black satin robes, that nearly gave a view of her panties without moving. No doubt the backside of this was definitely exposing some underwear-clad tush. The damned thing barely covered her. Even her chest was moderately exposed. She had exactly two articles of clothing on, and it was obvious and she was most definitely teasing and making a hell of a move.

And the blush creeping onto her cheeks was a definite sign she was nervous, if not a little eager to see what he thought.
 
The meal of the night was going to be Alaskan king crab legs with a garlic butter sauce on the side. He also had cobs of corn boiling on the stove. The way he worked in the kitchen was efficient, fast, focused... He treated it like a serious art form. Or better yet, a science. One of his many secrets was how much he used to love school. He excelled in everything, math and sciences being his main strengths. A life of solitude came with a passion for learning, then putting the newly acquired information to use. He even read car manuals for fun.

Gosh, he wondered if Sasha might find him boring after a short while.

While he was disposing of unused sections of seafood, he could hear her coming back his way. He was glad that she was reunited with her belongings. The poor dear didn't own much. While you should consider the lesson that material goods weren't everything, it didn't make it any less unfortunate to have so little. That's when he wondered if she'd allow him to spoil her. He could imagine her excitement at the offer of a shopping spree. Girls liked those, right? She deserved something nice for all she'd gone through, that's all he knew.

He was wiping his hands on a towel as he turned around to see her. The moment his eyes found her, he became still as a statue. A breath caught in his chest, stuck there as his jaw tightened to keep it from dropping. Resisting seduction came naturally to him, and thank goodness for that. Otherwise their dinner would start to burn while he ravaged her right there on the floor. Comfortable? That's what she called it? That bashfulness didn't help, either. She looked so damned cute. This wouldn't have hit him so hard if only he'd snooped through her stuff!

"I don't mind...not at all," Nico said belatedly, clearing a lump in his throat. He had to shake his head a little to rattle his thoughts back into place. That woman was such a huge distraction, damn her. He couldn't help but glance at her every so often, all the way to the end when he got their meals plated. A plate full of good food was slid to the edge of the counter for her to grab, so he could watch her walk past him.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

"Thanks for not disposing of my things, otherwise I would have to just be naked right now, and we don't want that, right?" She teased softly, noting how he had put her plate in an area she needed to walk past him to get to- ok, either he was just doing that without realizing, or he wanted to get a better look... either way, she had dressed like this on purpose...

Actually, thinking on it, all she knew was how to dress sexy and seduce... actual love... or relationships never worked out for her... School wasn't a time of romance for her- she had been entirely too focused on her plans and getting the grades to achieve them- the only set-back was that her family hadn't considered her dream-job to be something of importance. She had no time for friends either- she had designers to study and routes to travel- She had graduated a year before her peers and immediately enrolled in college- got through two years of that, took up trade school, then got herself in the lucky position of meeting some influential people. That fashion show had been what she had wanted to do- make a name for herself, and take that and put it to use. She had wanted to open her own place since she was little and to this day, her idea hadn't changed. Just over the years, her hope for it had faltered.

So through all that, she had never even really learned how to be friends with people. Oh, she could chat, and carry on conversations, but... honestly, she felt similar to Nico, just her job had her using that social muscle, so it hid it a bit better. But romance and relationships were something she crashed and burned in.

She walked past Nico, giving quite a view of the lacy black underwear she was wearing, as well as the tiniest tattoo of a black heart on her left cheek- she had been drunk during that. If Nico had been watching her closely when she approached the plate, he might have noticed her hips wiggling slightly- honestly the girl got so excited over food it was depressing.

"Nico... I am really... really jealous right now because if I tried to return the favor... I'm pretty sure you'd be calling the emergency room." She remarked, then cringed inwardly- yes, let's tell Nico how you'd accidentally poison him. "I can make coffee and tea but I've never been able to not make someone need to take the next day off from work or school." Ohmygodstopnow! Shut up! "I mean, I really try hard! I do... I kinda got myself banned from a cooking class, they thought I was not taking it seriously. Like I was joking." It was at that point that she covered her face with her hand and sighed, completely done with herself. Great. Fabulous.

"The only thing I can really say that I can't screw up is whipped cream... And that... is store bought and just needs to be put on my-" She couldn't do this. She really didn't know how to do this. "Oh my god... I... I really don't know how to do this." She muttered to herself out loud. "I never had friends- I had drinking buddies, people I tolerated, and sometimes people I eased sexual frustrations with. I don't know how to do... this... You're not alone. "Yourverypretty", too." She remarked to Nico, calling back to what he had said in the restaurant. "I can wear the clothes, sit on the edge of the bed, and I can go on dates- and I have no fucking clue what to do with people still. All I can do is just... this." She explained, gesturing to herself.

"Fucking hell, I'm a bone head too."
 
Nicoli watched her walk by with hidden satisfaction. Only then did he catch the lacy detail of her undergarment, and the slight showing of a tattoo she'd gotten. He actually was a tad surprised she didn't have more visible on her. Women with her hairstyle had a fascination with ink, from what he'd seen. That was him being ignorant on stereotypes, though. He spent so little time getting to know people that a lot of what he knew was based on assumption. Yet another reason he kept quiet most of the time. He'd get himself hit a bunch of times for the dumb things he'd say.

Speaking of which, Sasha was making a wreck of her words. Not only did she assure him he'd be hospitalized after eating a meal she prepares, she went on to talk about whipped cream and uses that did not involve sugary desserts. She was as bad as he was! The main difference was that she was clumsier than he was. On the positive side, at least she was trying. That's all he saw in this, aside from the fact that her attempts to converse were very sweet. Sasha didn't have to worry about any misjudgement.

A bitter chuckle was unleashed at the reminder of his poor complimenting at the restaurant. He took a seat so he could get a start on his plate. Nothing in life could resume until he fought away the furious hunger that was burning in his stomach. "You can't talk to people very well, you can't cook, you can't kill a man on the first shot," Nico started listing with the intention of teasing, pointing a crab leg at her. "But you can...this." He mimicked her earlier gesture to her whole, barely dressed self. With aforementioned crab leg. "Hm. Interesting." Afterwards he made a thoughtful expression and nodded, then started eating. Nicoli wasn't actually doing much thinking, though. He was only making it seem that way. Aside from that, he wanted no talking. Just eating. Wonderful, wonderful eating...

Until he was getting full enough to complete a whole thought, anyway.

"Well, at least we can be boneheads together," he said optimistically. They had more in common every time they got to talking, he swore... Like him, she was socially challenged. They would have to develop their own special way of communicating, which shouldn't be too hard. The two of them were comfortable with acting stupid in front of each other. They'd gone through enough together that...it just didn't matter. Except for his best friend Arturo, he'd never valued a human life as much as he did hers. Just look at all he'd done to get her back to the safety of his arms. Yet he was being far too cold to the idea of actually holding her like her wanted to. He wasn't usually so affectionate. Sad as it was to think about, all the sex in his life had been meaningless. He wanted to do right by this girl, he just was afraid to mess it up.

Maybe he just needed a push in the right direction. A drink, maybe? To take off the edge? Or getting washed might help. He never felt good with days' worth of filth on him. "I probably need to clean up," he remembered aloud, collecting dishes so they could be scrubbed later. There was no way he'd allow her to get near him while he was this messy.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

Sasha smiled back at Nico as he retorted to her words, then frowned at his comment on the shooting she did. "Hey. I had never dealt with that before in my life- all I knew is I had to get it out of his hands and at least get one shot off so that he knew I could pull the trigger. TO MY DEFENSE, I beaned him in the head with that brush... and stabbed him in the chest with the scissors. Give me credit for that." She shot back.

She had missed this. The stupid back and forth- and it felt like it got easier every time they talked. She sat down near him, giving him plenty of space but near enough to satisfy that stupid little voice cheering in the back of her head. What the hell was she supposed to do? Aside from eat. Eating was good. She started digging in and that was the moment that she made the most pornographic-sounding moan possible- because of food, looked at Nico, just as surprised and then continued eating, trying to ignore the fact that she had made quite a sound, due to food... that was actually food... Actually, the fact that he just happened to have fucking crab legs lying around his place was interesting. She tried not to think on it as she continued nibbling away at her food, happily making sounds of enjoyment here and there- and then his comment made her laugh as she was finishing up.

"Yeah. I'd like to have a serious sidekick to my antics." She responded. "You handle the bad guys. I'll trim hair. Totally a power-couple." She added, jokingly, then her face went entirely red. Couple... Couple? Oh.... OH, this was doing things to her stomach that she did not like. This emotion was weird and uncomfortable. Love was a weird thing.

Then he had stated getting cleaned up and she rolled her eyes slightly. He forgot, didn't he. "I wasn't joking about that massage." She reminded him lightly. "I'm a trained masseuse, Nico. I understand you need to get cleaned up- I'm not arguing with that, I probably need to, too... but... you're still holding... lemme guess... three-weeks worth of stress among everything else. That's my fault. Let me help you relax a little." She offered, stretching slightly in her seat, her robe coming so close to hinting at more of her chest, and then she relaxed back in her seat. "It's only an offer and if you don't want my help, that's fine." She added, trying to take the pressure out of the situation. If he wanted to clean up on his own, that was easy to understand.
 
Nicoli didn't forget the massage, he was just too shy to bring it up, hard as it was to tell. Professionals had given him massages before, but she was more than just a professional. Would it be weird? He was over-thinking this, probably. What she was offering happened to be very nice. He did have a lot of stress built up. No doubt, the tension in his body was partially responsible for these lapses in his self confidence.

The dishes were cleared away quickly, seeing how he only had to cook for two. He arrived at Sasha's side again, doing his damnedest to not glue his eyes on the generous amount of skin she was exposing. Sasha wasn't exactly making this easy for him. He may as well deserved it though, for that one time he nearly sweet talked her into his bedroom. That very memory made him feel smug all over again.

One of her hands was grasped into his own so he could lead them to his bathroom. They could finally have much needed relaxation now that they were nourished. "I get free haircuts and free massages. Not to mention your dead body. I just keep getting richer," he said on the way there, affectionately squeezing her fingers. Definitely worth ten-grand three week's worth of suffering. Though to him, she was worth more than all the money in the world.

Sasha was brought to the bathroom where she once washed out her dyes in his shower. They were going for the luxurious tub he had, though. Nicoli hovered over it, messing with the few controls until water came flowing from spouts hidden in the walls. The tub was obviously high tech, complete with so many unnecessary but totally heavenly features.

He left the water to get set at the right level and temperature so he could start to undress. The shirt came off first, giving his scarred flesh some much needed breathing room. The light of the room was set to a soft glow that induced a relaxing feeling in him. His bare shoulders were lowering as he breathed out, then breathed in the smell of potpourri he kept on the counter. He forgot how nice it was in here, having spent that long doing little to care for himself.

Nicoli reached out for Sasha suddenly, letting a curious finger trace along the section of robe that hid her shoulder. He loved that with the smallest effort, he could make it drop to her toes. Simply imagining it was exciting him. Though, he couldn't ignore being drawn to her for reasons beyond physical beauty. His heart was beating so quickly that it hurt. Before, he hated it. Now, he wanted to feel it all the time. This lovely young woman made him feel ways he didn't know were possible.

"You'll join me, won't you?" The invitation was seductively soft spoken, mostly for her pleasure. Of course she was going to join him. His finger gave just the lightest tug after hooking underneath the fabric, letting it push some of the robe off her shoulder. There was a slyness to the way he smiled, then he turned his back to her as he got to undoing his pants. Before too long, she would have a fair view of a muscular, well toned backside.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Hydronine

She watched as he finished up with the dishes and then he was before her again, his hand had taken up her own and she couldn't help the blush that was rising up on her cheeks as he led her away, his comment giving her a bit of a laugh, needed levity- given how tense she was from all this pent up frustration. She was still dealing with all the emotions stirring around in her head- how was she supposed to do anything when she was so overcome with these damnedable nearly-paralyzing thoughts and feelings?

They were back in that grand bathroom, and he was setting up the tub. She was watching him curiously, albeit a little shyly. Dear lord it was weird feeling shy- she never felt shy. She was brash, outspoken, sassy, and generally didn't give two and a half shits... but this was Nico... Who was shirtless now and....and then he was reaching for her and her breath stilled in her chest as his hand was on her and suddenly she was breathing again. She felt nervous. Nervous and shy and... self-conscious? What the hell was he doing to her? What was all of this doing to her? Did she really care? She wanted it. She could practically hear her blood rushing in her ears and she was solely focused on the man in front of her.

She had never done anything like this- hell, she had been a wild-child in college and done plenty of shit- but this was entirely different. She had never felt anything like this and it was somewhat of a rush. Being in love was a different high than anything she had ever experienced.

He was speaking and she licked her lips, nodding her head and taking a second to answer. Usually she was so full of rants and long-winded speeches, but nothing was coming to her at this point. He made her stumble over her words and forget to speak entirely, he made her forget her manners and do things she would never even think of risking for anyone else. Every little scar, burn, bump, and bruise she had earned in the past three weeks wouldn't have been done for anyone else- because mostly it was about the fact that she wasn't explaining everything. She never told Mark who she was with. He didn't deserve to know Nico's damned name. Nico made her feel defiant and confident, more than just sassy and opinionated. Well, right now she was shy and silent, but given this situation, it might be understandable.

He had pushed some of the robe off of her and she didn't move to stop it, it fell from her shoulder, exposing more than a swath of skin, still, it bunched up over the curvature of her breast. She watched him, motionlessly as he worked at removing his pants, licking her lips again as she got a nice view of his body. Now there was something she expected and was used to, that thrumming heat in her core, the excitement rushing through her veins as she bit her lip.

"Nicoli..." She murmured softly, it was rare she made use of his full first name, but it seemed appropriate at this point, for reasons she couldn't quite understand. She took a step towards him, and then another, while one of her hands pulled at the sash lashing her robe together, undoing it quickly and shrugging out of it, exposing her body, all save for the panties. Her hand then raised to brush over the scarred skin of his back, tracing them softly as she watched him. She thought the scars were fascinating, beautiful, even. They spoke of his life and past, tactile reminders of history that she wanted to learn.

"I wanted this... for a long time." She admitted quietly, her cheeks flushed from excitement and her heart pounding in her chest. Then, settling into that feeling, something came to mind, something that seemed so important in this situation that she had never even considered at any other time before him. "I've never kissed anyone, before... Never... seemed important... but... I would very much like... if you did." She spoke, her voice nearly a wanton whisper. "Please."
 
  • Love
Reactions: Fluffy
Status
Not open for further replies.