[b]The night before...[/b]
A collab between [@MyCatGinger] and [@Viciousmarrow] (It's part 1, again!)


[hider=Antics at Shou's place!]

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. [color=cee4e1]“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.”[/color]

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 [i]everything[/i] 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. [color=#9a85c6]”Shquish, shquish, shquish!”[/color] 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. 

 [color=cee4e1]“G-gah!”[/color] 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-
[i]G-g-g-g-g...gaaaaaah![/i]
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.
 [color=cee4e1]“P-p-p-patience!”[/color] he stammered, eyes trained solely on the girl’s face and [i]nowhere else[/i].  [color=cee4e1]“Patience, please put something on, I...oh god, oh god. Okay, listen, I-I-I…”[/color]
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.  [color=cee4e1]“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.”[/color]
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 [i]other[/i] 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.

[/hider]