"Ash what the fuck are you doing?!" Marine's voice shouted as she stormed out of the bar, glaring at the tall blonde who was happily petting a cat. "Apartment Fire! No time to pet cats its time to GO GO GO GO!!" she shouted urgently, bolting over, grabbed the bigger woman by the ear then dragged her to the Fire Truck. Lights soon blazing before taking off to their next job. Indeed. They couldn't catch much of a break lately.

Featuring @BeastofDestiny, @Knight of Doom, @Viciousmarrow, & @MyCatGinger

Patience nearly screamed when the two strangers from earlier approached her from out of the blue. Drunkenly, she staggered back away from them, a bewildered expression etched into her facial features. Once she realized they weren’t here to mug her or anything, her body seemed to relax and a small, sloppy smile caressed her lips. People did care about her after all! ”Oh yes! I am fine, fine, fine! I just no can get over to da roaddd. It’s so far away and I have been cursed by a widch.” Wiping her eyes, she tried to pretend that she hadn’t been crying or anything, but the redhead wasn’t sober enough to put on a good enough act. ”I’m Pat-Pat…” She stumbled over her own name, loaded with so much alcohol she couldn’t even pronounce it right. ”Pati.” she finally got out.

Her glazed, emerald orbs ran up and down the couple before her. They appeared the most divine duo to her, perfectly matched and oh so happy! Her brain was making up things about them: how they met, how long they’d been dating, and oh… it was so wonderful! If only she could share such a romance as they! ”You two are a bery beautiful couple, you know?” A loud hiccup interrupted her spiel, but Patience didn’t seem to notice. ”I dink you should get married and have da most cutest babies ever.” Before they could even muster up a response, she had her wallet out and pulled forth an elaborate business card with her full name and contact information that she eagerly insisted they take. ”I marry people! I will do yours for free ‘cause you are bery, bery beautiful.”

_{Forty-eight to rendezvous!
I’m gonna blow a wad on you!
OH, OH, OH!
I’m comin’ in my pants, shined shoes!
It’s my best suit baby!
Gonna pick your flower, gonna be there in an hour!}

No sooner than the inebriated woman exclaimed her enamourment of their relationship, a funky beat blared from her pocket. Almost immediately, the redhead began dancing to the beat, bobbing her head and flailing her arms like a dying animal. ”I love this song!!” It didn’t take her long to realize that song was also her ring tone though. Her hands snatched the vibrating device quickly and put the speaker to her ear. ”Hello~?!” On the other line was the familiar voice of Shou, which sparked her smile to widen. She was making so many friends now! ”Shoshoooo! You gonna pick me up?! You are da shweetiest man in da whole world! I am da park with two of my beshties, mhmm. Come shoon, okay? I luh you lotsh!” The man on the phone didn’t get a chance to respond before she hung up.

On the other side of the line, the professor barked into the phone, “The park? Besties? Patience, did they get you drunk- Patience? Hello?!”
His answer was the dull beeping of the phone that signalled that this particular conversation was over. Sighing, and much more awake now, he finished buttoning up his trousers and grabbed his jacket with his free hand, using the other to give the German Shepherd a quick, reassuring pat before he almost flew through the door and skilfully (thank goodness) clambered down the stairs. One foot after the other, this wouldn’t be so hard...he paused just for a second to grab his car-keys from a neat table beside the front door, and unlocking it just as he locked the door to his quaint little house behind him, he hopped into the car with a vigour he wouldn’t show even at work (unless he was talking about, say, stem cell research for example). Internally he groaned, and his whole body scolded him with aches and pains, urging him to go back to bed. He fought sleep as he revved up the engine of the champagne green Ford Explorer, and before he knew it, he was driving down the familiar road that led into Shine City from the suburbs in which he lived.
Patience Morgan, just what have you gone and done to yourself this time…

Turning to the future bride and groom, Patience grabbed both of their hands. ”Can you lovebugsh take me to da roaddd? I no can ged dare on my own ‘cause I had like… two boddles of vodka or someding…” she asked them sweetly.

Her initial reaction was that of fear, but she quickly seemed to calm down and Kyle tried to help calm her down further, shushing and reaching out towards her. She seemed to recognize them as friends and that was good, but Jesus. Fucking. Christ. This woman was shitfaced beyond absolute belief and the alcohol was very, very apparent, all two bottles of it. Her speech was extremely slurred and pretty difficult to distinguish, but the part about marriage was clear as day. ”M-M-Married?!” His face heavily flushed at the comment, and just being handed the card made it worse. He turned his head to Amaya, beet red and all, a look on his face as if he wanted to say ‘I’m so sorry’. When her phone buzzed his head whipped back to face her, her drunkenness all the more apparent as she flailed her body wildly and unpredictably. He was tempted to tell her that her phone was ringing, but she seemed to realize it herself. So she knew Shou? That was name he hadn’t heard in a long while, but at least she had a good person to rely on...would he have even been up this late?

After her call she took both his and Amaya’s hands, asking for their help. Looking to Amaya he smiled sheepishly, but knowingly, before turning back to their new ‘beshtie’. ”Sure, we can take you there. Are you okay to walk?” He was certain she wasn’t, but it wasn’t like they could just leave her. He might need to give her a lift so to speak, but if Shou was coming, he’d be willing to wait for him.

Amaya found the situation a bit funny. The drunk girl thought that the two were dating. She even offered to do the two's wedding for free. If that's the case, they might have to get married. Weddings were extremely expensive. The blonde couldn't help but giggle when Kyle turned red. It was kinda cute. The drunk girl was definitely not getting anywhere without help. Amaya wasn't sure why she had drank so much, people do it for different reasons. She seemed happy enough, but it was most likely the alcohol releasing dopamine into her brain.

The phone call was a bit odd. Mostly because Amaya realized that she might know the person on the other end. Shou? That was the first name of her biology professor last year. She had gotten along fairly well with him, but it was always odd interacting with a teacher outside of school. However, it was possible for the person on the other end of her phone to be a different person. Many people share the same name. When Kyle asked if the pretty redhead could walk, Amaya realized that it might be a bit difficult, so she got a little bit closer in case she fell.

Patience seemed confused at the question, as if she didn’t understand what he was asking. ”Walk?” she inquired, tilting her head as she did. ”I… I dink so?” Her eyes went to her feet, and she began to clack her nice, suede shoes loudly against the concrete. Like a child, the drunk was having way too much fun with this, stomping harder and harder until her stomach began to tilt from the exertion. ”I no feel good…” she mumbled out as the wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. The overconsumption of alcohol was finally starting to reap its consequences. Her hands pulled them in due haste. There was a clear want to get to the road as fast as possible radiating from her, at least judging from the panic state that was dawning on the poor girl. ”Hurry, hurry!” her slurred tone urged, though she was having no luck with pulling them along. Patience was far too weak a woman for such physical tasks.

Yea...she was totally drunk, though he couldn’t help but feel she was adorable with her shoe clacking despite how others would find it annoying. When she stopped though Kyle eyed her curiously and could barely hear the words she mumbled. He tried to lean in closer to hear her, but to no avail and suddenly, desperately, she pulled on the two off them, again to no avail. She tried to rush them along, but it suddenly dawned on Kyle, ”She’s gonna puke…” he voiced out low, ”It's okay, let it out if you need to, just..not on us.”

Amaya’s blue eyes got wider when the nameless drunk pulled the two along with her. They got bit wider when Kyle said she was about to puke. Oh, gosh, would she be alright? It was possible to get alcohol poisoning. How much did she drink? The blonde began to panic a bit. Should they get her to a hospital? But Shou was coming to pick her up. They’d just have to get her to the road and wait for him.

The redhead was sweating in her ill condition, and at the man’s request, she released them from her grip before she turned around, got on all fours, and tried to empty her stomach. Despite the myriad of disturbing noises that emanated from her throat, nothing actually came out, just gross lines of saliva that she spit out. This had been a recurring issue for her when she got this drunk: Patience simply couldn’t puke, for whatever reason. In essence, she was stuck with that awful churning feeling until she could get some alka seltzer down, which was something she didn’t exactly have on hand all the time. Getting onto her knees, Patience looked like hell, panting and wide-eyed as if she were a frightened doe. ”I need da aky pills!” she called out desperately, her hands clutching her stomach in vain. For a moment, the struggling woman attempted to get back onto her feet, but it didn’t look like she was going to be able to now, not with the excruciating sensation that plagued her.

”aky pills?” Kyle was confused, but if anything made sense, it was clear she wasn’t having a good time and there’s no way she was walking anywhere anytime soon. He moved closer to her and slowly began to lift up her body, ”Come on sweetie, we’ll get to you to the road.” He made sure his movements were careful, last thing he wanted was for a drunk girl to puke on him simply because she was jostled a little too heavily.

Luckily, no misfortune happened upon Kyle as the intoxicated woman was lifted into his arms. In fact, the ginger haired woman relaxed and even let out a coo. How long had it been since a man had even touched her? Oh, it had been quite some time, further than Patience could recall. Though this was not her man, she relished the sensation of being held, which was quite clear in her visage. There was a twinkle in her eyes, as if she were starstruck, and her heart, along with her stomach, fluttered. Her pert lips were slightly agape, as if in need of a prince charming to plant his own against hers. This mysterious stranger was so cute! It was a shame that he was taken… and that she probably wouldn’t remember him tomorrow. ”Tak…” she whispered in Danish, a simple way to say thank you. It was unlikely he’d know the language, but the thought didn’t cross her mind.

Her body language suddenly relaxed and almost seemed to become more...sensual as the young woman was lifted into his arms. She was so light and despite her drunken state she was actually pretty cute, though Kyle wouldn’t take advantage of such a woman in such a state as this. He was more concerned about getting her to the road and hopefully Shou would be coming along, it wasn’t exactly specified in the phone call that he was actually coming. She whispered something that Kyle couldn’t understand, maybe her speech was still slurred, but Kyle thought that maybe she was saying ‘thank you’? He wasn’t sure, but whether he was right or wrong, he simply said aloud, ”Don’t mention it,” he smiled down at the young woman before looking around to see where the nearest street was. His target in sight he turned to Amaya, ”Street’s not far off, let’s keep her company till her ride comes, yea?” He started towards the road, the young woman silently bobbing in his arms as he walked along, seeming to have fallen asleep.

Amaya felt pretty useless when Kyle started to carry the pretty girl. She looked like a helpless princess in some sort of fucked up fairytale. However, what concerned her more was the fact that the girl wasn’t throwing up properly. That usually meant that she didn’t have any food in her system, which meant that the alcohol had more affect on her. The blonde’s companion was very gentle with her as he carried her over to the street. “Yea,” Amaya half sighed. “Hopefully, it won’t take too much time for her ride to get here. I’m pretty worried about her health.”

It didn’t take horribly long for the professor to arrive at the park, his eyes bleary with sleep still but himself wide awake, searching for anything and everything that might resemble the familiar student’s bright red hair. After what seemed like an eternity of searching (which, at the most, must have been ten minutes), he stumbled across a very familiar figure standing by the main road. No, it wasn’t the figure that was standing that was incredibly familiar to him, but the figure nestled into this man’s strong arms that sent alarms off all throughout the professor’s consciousness. He breathed in sharply but kept his calm, all possible scenarios running through his head of possible abduction plans involving Patience and whatever else might be in store, but as he pulled over, tucking his car neatly into a parking space (nobody parked their cars around the park in the middle of the night, anyhow, so that wasn’t too difficult a task), he could make out better who the man holding Patience was. Ah, so it was him...Shou hadn’t seen this man in a while, it would seem. Nonetheless, the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding was released. Patience was in safe hands with this man - literally, as well as figuratively, too.

Tentatively, he stepped out of the car, choosing to leave his jacket behind him. He was dressed in what would be consideredmore winter clothing than summer (being grabbed in his half-asleep daze from his closet in the dark). With confident, sleek slides, keeping his composure up in a manner reminiscent of a black cat, his silver hair contrasted heavily with his shirt, glittering in the light that the streetlamps cast down. He approached the man who cradled Patience in his arms and breathed a sigh of relief, “...Kyle Parker. It’s nice to see you.”
The pleasantry seemed unnecessary, for both parties knew what the matter at hand was. “I apologise for being so callous. It’s...well, it’s past midnight now, and orientation day at the academy begins tomorrow. This little lady had me very, very worried.” he gestured to the half-asleep Patience being carried by the younger, but definitely more toned, gentleman. “...thank you for taking good care of her, Kyle. I’m glad she didn’t get into the wrong hands.”
His eyes turning away, once he was absolutely reassured that his student was alright, finally rose to meet another very familiar face. It was his student, from the year prior! It had felt as if an eternity had passed between them seeing each other. “Miss Tsukino! You and Mister Parker are...oh my. It’s nice to see you out here, too. ...now I definitely know Patience was in good hands.”

At the sound of her dear friend’s voice, Patience fought her way out of Kyle’s arms, accidentally elbowing him in the face as she did so. The redhead didn’t seem to notice though, and toughing through the nausea, she bounded over to the silver haired gentleman. Her soft hands reached up, grabbed the back of his neck, and forcefully pulled him into her chest. ”Shouie Wowie! I knew I’d shee you tonighd! You shoooo cuuuude!” Her whimsical tone was loud and reverberated down a block or two. The poor Professor was trapped in a vice grip, slowly suffocating in Patience’s vest-clad chest, and had it not been for the shrill chirp of his peer’s phone, he might’ve remained there for an indefinite amount of time. Releasing Shou from his prison, her hand brought out her phone once more. A message from the Süper driver she had requested blipped up on the home screen, but she was far too drunk to be able to read coherently. ”Oh noooo~! I made thish pershon come all dis way for nodingg.” Her gaze flitted back and forth, from Shou to the street, back to the park, and strangely, to a tree. It took her a few moments of spinning around to actually find the Süper driver’s vehicle, which was a crummy looking van that immediately made the woman sad. ”That pershon doeshn’t have a good car! That’sh terrible…” she muttered, a few tears actually raining to the ground. ”Do you tink you guysh could get a ride from them?! I will pay! Alsho you should give them this moniesh.” Suddenly, Patience produced a wad of cash that amounted to around $200 and pushed it into Kyle’s hand! Hopefully that would help the dutiful citizen out! With a gleeful smile, she wrapped her arm around Shou’s elbow and glared at him with intent. ”Lesh goooo, Mojo Shoshooo!”

Kyle shook his head, ”Hey Shou, good to see you and really it was no trouble at all, we jus- (Shit!)” Mid explanation the girl's elbow smashed it's way into Kyle's nose, causing him to spit out a cuss in English. Rubbing the sore spot, he watched the rather unusual scene unfold before him.

Amaya was a bit surprised when she realized it was her professor from school. It seemed as though Kyle seemed to know him as well. Huh, small world. When the drunk girl noticed Shou and accidentally smashed Kyle in the nose, Amaya made sure he was okay. “Are you alright?” But it didn’t seem to be a big deal since no blood seemed to be pouring down his face. Looking back over at the other two, they seemed to be very close. Especially since he had come here at this hour to pick her up.

”Yea, I'm fine, don't worry.” his face looked pained, but he smiled reassuringly through it.

“E-erk…!” the professor, no time to respond to Kyle, gulped as he was forced to fold in half, the girl of about just above five feet pulling him to her chest. He hadn’t expected the sudden jerk, and he soon found himself kneeling on the dusty pavement, his face smothered in her chest. Immediately, the blood rushed to his cheeks and he reached up, firmly grabbing the girl’s shoulders as he distanced himself from her, breathing in sweet air with an audible gasp. “P-patience, p-please…” he insisted, his face flushed a rosy pink under the streetlights. He breathed a silent thanks to the gods above when she let him go, slowly getting to his feet and dusting himself off, turning his nose up to try and hide the blush across his cheeks, though out of the corner of his eye he still watched Patience’s every move, wary of any other advances she may make. She answered her phone, and immediately Shou felt the need to pinch the bridge of his nose again. She had made someone else come to get her, and now they had to go back, and they would have troubled themselves, and Shou hadn’t wanted that at all. It was fine if Patience troubled him, but anyone else, he personally felt responsible for. It didn’t take long for him to see just who had come to get Patience, as a white van that looked rather dilapidated for lack of a better word, with the words ‘Süper driver’ scrawled over the side in...some foamy white substance, had pulled over nearby, too. Shou was about to make his way to the poor driver who had to come out so late in the night to apologise, but his eyebrows shot up at Patience handing the couple a giant wad of cash. If she kept spending like this, she would go broke! “Patience!” he scolded, reaching for his back-pocket and his wallet and pulling out a $50 note instead and handing it to the gentleman and his presumably-girlfriend, and Shou’s old student. “Kyle, I realise this is no indication for how grateful I am to you and your girlfriend, but please, accept it as a token of my thanks. I’ll even pay the Süper driver if you two are headed somewhere? Just...Patience needs that money back, and I’m not sure where she’ll spend it, but by the gods, it better not be on any more drink.” he shot an expectant glance at the young redhead before letting out a heavy sigh. Making the exchange swift between the $200 notes, which he nonchalantly stuffed into Patience’s trouser pocket, and the $50 in his own hand, he nodded his head in a curt farewell to the couple. “I apologise I cannot stay longer and ask how you have been, Kyle, Miss Tsukino, but...tomorrow is orientation day. I won’t be so busy at the academy, and you’ll have the chance to meet many new students and teachers. Drop by to say hello, the two of you?”
Being distracted from the blue-eyed brunet and his (admittedly beautiful) blue-eyed blonde, athletic companion, by a certain ginger tugging at his elbow, Shou sighed and gave the couple a warm smile in farewell, before half-walking half-dragging the drunk-out-of-her-mind-Patience to the Süper van. He knocked on the window nonchalantly and hoped for a response.
“Excuse me-” he began, only to be met by the brilliant green eyes of the woman in the van. He caught himself staring at the tanned beauty for just a handful of seconds longer before continuing, “-miss, I believe there’s been a bit of a mix-up. This lady here is the client that had requested a Süper, but I would appreciate if you could do something for the couple over there.”
Here, he gestured with his free arm to where Kyle and Amaya stood, before giving the lady a warm smile. His tired eyes shone through, showing just how exhausted this little adventure had made him, too. “I don’t know how much it will be to cover their expenses, but I’m really sorry for the trouble. I hope this...suffices.”
He produced an amount of $35, if a bit reluctantly (Shou never had to take the Süper, after all, he either commuted by driving himself or a metro that linked major destinations within the city), before doing away with it into the beautiful driver’s hands, bowing his head to her in adieu and turning away.

Patience was confused at Shou’s doings, but she didn’t protest against anything he did. He was the sober one after all. All she could do was let him take charge and talk to the white haired vixen inside the van. There was certainly doubt that questioned her judgment, but she felt like she knew that woman from somewhere! But where…? ”Shine Aca-acamy…?” she mused to herself, putting on what she felt like was thoughtful expression. Producing another business card, the redhead tossed her information towards the driver before Shou could pull her away. ”You bootiful! Call me and maybe I can halp wid a new car for youuu!” The likelihood of someone trusting a drunk woman’s word was understandably low, yet Patience wanted to help everyone, even when she was to the point where she could hardly be understood. Unfortunately for the Professor, halfway back to his vehicle, the redhead simply stopped walking, as if her knees were locked into place. Any attempts to force the girl onward would just have her whole lower half collapse on the ground. ”I can go no mooore. I doo dired, Shosho.” Her head fell against his shoulder and her hand moved down to grab his, a gesture that could be seen as romantic. ”Alsho I real hungry. I no eat today. I ‘unno why.”

“Come on, Patience…” Shou mused as he continued to drag the chatty redhead away. Things seemed to be going well, she was coherent and was able to walk, at least without tripping all over, on her feet, and things were looking good a-
She stopped. Shou abruptly stopped himself, turning to his student in surprise. He was about to ask, but what she said next was an instant answer to his question. He tried to tug at her gently, noting just how firmly her little figure was stuck in place. Regaining his place by her side, he couldn’t help but let out another sigh as she leaned her head against his shoulder, and blinked down at her with half-lidded eyes, though his sigh was in relief and his eyes compassionate, as compared to the exasperated one from before. “...tired, huh? Come on then, up you go.”
He gave her hand holding his a little reassuring squeeze before angling his body carefully up against her shaky one, gently scooping up the redhead into his arms and holding her close, in an affectionate manner but also protectively, as if keeping her from any harm. “...is that alright, Patience? Are you comfortable like that?”

The woman was swept off her feet by her handsome Professor, and a cheesy yet sleepy grin spread upon her face. He was the prince, and she was the princess, being carried away to lands unknown! Normally, she wouldn’t have any interest in Shou, on account of the loss he had experienced in the past, but the liquor was warping her mind quite considerably. She held onto his neck and nuzzled herself closer with a audible coo, physically enjoying the closeness of him and her. ”I luh you, Shou…” she whispered, totally neglecting to answer his question. However, he didn’t need an answer, for it was quite apparent how she felt.

“...I know, little lady.”
Shou couldn’t help but let his lips form a tiny smile, cuddling the tired figure in his arms closer for just a split-second. It didn’t take a rocket-scientist to realise she was exhausted, but somehow, Shou felt responsible for her. It wasn’t particularly a romantic love, but after all the girl herself had only just recently faced, it was definitely some kind of love. “I love you too, Patience, you crazy little thing.”
He hoped the last part was only half-audible to the girl as he walked, one step in front of the other, back to his car. He carefully made sure to set her sleeping form in the passenger’s seat (and also to drape the jacket he had brought over her so she wouldn’t catch a cold, before going over to the driver’s side and starting up the car. He gave the couple, Kyle and Amaya, one last look, along with the parked van, before revving up the engine and letting his car purr into the night. It must have been close to 1 AM by now, for sure. Maybe he could fix something up for Patience at his house, because he had a good feeling she’d have no idea how to handle herself at her own place.

---

Kyle and Amaya, were now left to their own devices as Shou drove off with Patience. He turned to face the blonde, a bit at a loss for words, ”Well...this night has been...fun?” he shrugged before his eyes turned to the white van off in the distance. ”I think that was my bit of exhaustion I needed...do you want to take the van? I can’t exactly pass up a free ride.” especially after a ride that their new friend pointed out that probably needed the money. ”We can probably take you back to your place, and go our separate ways, but it's up to you….unless that marriage proposal was tantalizing?” He joked, laughing it off as he made his way towards the vehicle, opening the back door and allowing the young blonde to enter first with a gesture of his arm.

Amaya slowly nodded, her mind thinking of the couple that just left. However, after a moment of lingering she pulled herself together and turned to Kyle. “Haha, well you know, married couples do get benefits, and college is pretty expensive. So I thought about it.” Amaya teased. She would never actually do it, but there were many times she had thought about getting married for money. The blonde decided to accept the ride. After all, her legs were still exhausted from her run. She knew that she'd be sore in the morning. So, she slipped into the car. “Thanks,” she smiled, it felt a bit odd. She hadn't had this kind of treatment for awhile. Mainly because she hasn't dated anyone for almost a year now. After getting in the car, Amaya turned to address the driver. “Sorry for the inconvenience. It's been quite a night,” She apologized because it must be quite a hassle to deal with all these odd happenings.

”Geez Amaya, don’t jump the gun just yet,” he chuckled, clambering in after her. After giving directions to the rather pretty driver, the van started moving towards their destination. ”At least let me take you out on a date first,” smiling he began to find himself more comfortable around the young blonde, she really did look quite beautiful and maybe, just maybe… Turning his head to stare out the window, watching the street lights pass them by he added, ”You know, if you’re free tomorrow night, maybe you can take me up on that offer?” He smiled silently as the park faded behind them.

If Amaya had been drinking something, she would have spat it out if surprise. Luckily, she wasn't given the opportunity to embarrass herself. So instead, she stared at the dark haired male sitting next to her. Her jaw hung a bit loose and her eyes blinked a couple times. Had she heard him right? Did he want to go on a date? Trying to think through her scrambled mind, the flabbergasted girl looked down at her lap and began to fidget with her hands. “U-Uh, sure!” Came her completely well thought out response. Kyle wasn't really looking at her, which kinda made her question the situation. She turned her red hot face away from him to gaze out the window. Maybe some good had came out of this hectic night.

The drive back somehow seemed longer, with the worried professor constantly glancing back from the road to the sleeping girl in the passenger seat. He wanted to protect her. To keep her safe, and warm, and happy, just as her parents had always wanted for her. He didn’t even put the radio on, for fear of waking her up, and when they reached his house, a quaint little villa on the city’s suburbs, he wordlessly parked the car and, met with little resistance, picked up one very tired Patience again, bringing her inside and setting her onto the couch downstairs, before flicking on the switches to give his open-kitchen a soft, orange glow. “Patience…? You were hungry? ...would you like anything to eat? I can’t cook you anything edible, but I have some ramen, and some leftovers from the rice from yesterday, but you probably won’t like that...err.”

Being brought into Shou’s home caused the redhead to stir from her short-lived slumber, still stuck in the same drunken stupor she had been all night. She was honestly not sure where she was when her eyes flitted open. All she knew was that the clothes she was wearing were entirely too uncomfortable. Compulsively, Patience threw everything off until she was as nude as the day she was born. Finally! She was complacent! The hot air didn’t bother her anymore and she could enjoy the cool draft that wafted through the home. The woman’s figure perked up when Shou’s voice resonated from the kitchen, asking what she wanted to eat. Slowly and clumsily, her feet carried her into the kitchen to fully inspect what he was talking about. However, the first thing to enter her line of sight and train of thought was the Professor’s rear. She wanted to grab it! And so she did. Both hands roughly manhandled his cheeks and she let out a girly giggle in tandem. ”Shquish, shquish, shquish!” she laughed out in her enjoyment. Not once did Patience mention what she wanted to eat and seemed to have lost all interest in her appetite.

“G-gah!” Shou was surprised yet again (this seemed to be happening too much this evening), for while he was rummaging through his cabinets for something suitable for his young houseguest to snack on, he suddenly felt...groped. In a rather uncomfortable manner, too, and he jumped in response with a sound not unlike a nervous yelp. Turning to face the source, his eyes fell upon a completely naked Patience and-
G-g-g-g-g...gaaaaaah!
Blood erupted from the young professor’s nose and he frantically grabbed for a paper towel to dab at it. It trickled and leaked down to his upper lip, and he held the woman at bay with the other hand.
“P-p-p-patience!” he stammered, eyes trained solely on the girl’s face and nowhere else. “Patience, please put something on, I...oh god, oh god. Okay, listen, I-I-I…”
Quite evidently panicking, he turned away from her again, and luckily having reached for what looked like a big packet of crisps, he tugged it down from the upper shelf of the cabinets like his life depended on it, thrusting it into the naked woman’s arms. “K-k-k-keep it. I-I’m going to bed upstairs, I-I-I...I-if you need anything, just come...a-ahaha...g-get me.”
Sidestepping out of her way (and almost tripping over his own feet at that), Shou darted for the stairs and his bedroom upstairs, only later realising that there was no lock and that he wouldn’t have locked her out even if he had wanted. Whereas the professor ran up, a tall, elegant figure made its way down, sitting obediently at the visitor’s feet and cocking his head up at her. It was none other but the alert and simple Romeo, wagging his tail as he licked the naked girl’s hand as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with this picture. Visitors were always nice! Shou needed more of them!
Meanwhile, upstairs, Shou glared at his alarm as he stripped off all of his clothes hurriedly, hoping to get in bed before much more damage could be done. He threw whatever he wore haphazardly onto the chair of his work-desk until he himself was naked, and crawled into bed, and at last to be met by Jinxie, sleepily moving up to her master’s feet as if never having missed a beat. He prayed that if he closed his eyes hard enough, this would be a dream, and that it would all go away, and everything would be f-fine…

Patience didn’t understand what she had done wrong nor understand the consequences of her nakedness n! She was just having fun, and all of sudden Shou got mad or something at her and ran away. Gloominess settled upon her, even as a beautiful dog sauntered up to her. A low whine escaped her lips, a little hurt by her friend’s reaction, and, had she had any tears left, she would’ve begun another teary tirade. Patting the puppy on the head only once, the ginger went back to the living room where her sleeping arrangements were. Unfortunately, there was no blanket to toss over her or any soft pillows to nuzzle, just the abrasive fabric against her bare skin. Thoughts meandered to the bag of chips she carried with her, but she scarcely had an appetite anymore nor did she even remotely feel like eating. Instead, the intoxicated woman used the bag as an uncomfortable replacement for a pillow. A loud pop emanated as she laid her head down on it and the salty smell of the snacks inside wafted around, only adding to to the displeasurable sickness that welled in her stomach. Somberly, her green orbs closed and awaited the cold embrace of a lonely night’s sleep.

…
Was this the right decision to have made?
Shou lay awake, glancing at the digital clock by his bedside. It was almost 1:45AM. It had hardly been ten minutes that he’d left Patience all by herself downstairs. Still, something felt off. He felt...bad, he just bolted, and didn’t make any arrangements for her, or anything…? That wasn’t a very nice decision to make. Especially after the crummy day she had been having. Shou knew it better than most - he was there, after all. Shuffling a little under the covers and pulling them off, he retrieved his nightgown and tiptoed down the hallway and down the stairs, to notice a quiet, melancholy Patience, asleep on the couch and using the crisps bag as a pillow. So she hadn’t eaten it, but instead...sigh. Shou had to fix this himself. Getting closer, he felt the blood rise to his cheeks once again. Seeing a woman naked like this, so very vulnerable...it sent a twitch up his spine (and somewhere else…!) that he tried to suppress with deep, deep breaths. Carefully, after making sure she was deep asleep, he cradled her body and lifted it up into his arms, praying under his breath that she wouldn’t, for the life of him wake up. He also cursed himself. He could have just let her be, but waking up in the morning on a couch using a bag of crisps as a pillow was never a good experience. He was also thankful she was so light, and therefore, easier to carry up and down. The loyal German Shepherd had chosen to sleep at the foot of the couch, as if protecting the woman from any harm that might come to her. When his master passed by, he seemed both eager and pleased, trotting up the stairs to where his bed was set up in Shou’s room. Carefully, he angled past hallways and to his bedroom door, and after a minute or two of contemplated, sighed in defeat before putting her onto the other side of the bed. Where Alex used to sleep. Thankfully it was a large bed, there would be plenty of space between them...he hoped. After tucking her in and making sure she was safe, and warm, the professor couldn’t help but gaze upon her sleeping face with an expression of pity as well as concern, but also genuine affection. He gently parted the red hair that fell to cover her forehead to give it a tiny kiss before moving away, disrobing and checking the clock by his bedside again. 2 AM, so about roughly 5 hours of rest to get. ...perfect, sigh.
But at least Patience was safe, and if his luck was good, he’d wake up and be gone before she’d even realise it.