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A note of surprise escapes Cassiopeia’s lips and flashes across her face when Nic so easily moves her onto his lap. She can’t get over how easily he can just move her. Cassi isn’t overweight for her build, but she isn’t exactly Nero or even Kimiko. She had curves, she was well-endowed, and she had muscle mass to her as well.

Nic pushes the intimate further by tilting her chin up so she has to look into his eyes. Cassi’s mouth pops open into a little ‘o’ before he kisses her, and she melts.

Cassi rested her hands on Nic’s chest while they kissed. Her mind went completely blank. All she could feel was Nic, and she didn’t mind the isolated location they were in now.

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Avery falls silent once the first round of the fight starts. It goes for the full three minutes before the fighters are split and have one minute to rest.

”If you pull apart my bike and ever want to ride with me again, don’t expect me to go slow,” he said darkly.

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Cass’ reaction in every moment leading up to the kiss replays in Nic’s mind and he can’t help but think of how adorable she could be when taken by surprise. The hand on her chin moves to hold the side of her head, his thumb rubbing over her cheek as the rest of his fingers tangle in the hair behind her ear. Nic moves his other hand from Cass’ waist to the small of her back as he deepens the kiss.

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Kimiko whips her head to turn and look at Avery, his dark tone taking her by surprise. “As long as you get the inevitable knots out of my back afterwards.” She says with a smirk.

“I still can’t believe you were able to stay as slow as you did on the way home.” She adds, turning her head back at the television.

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Cassiopeia melts forward into Nic when his hand rests on the small of her back. She leaves one hand on his chest while the other holds onto the wrist of the hand tangled in her hair. The kiss consumes her easily because of the way Nic holds her and kisses her.

The wind picks up briefly because of Cassi before it dies back down again. She doesn’t want to lose herself completely. However, she does part Nic’s lips with hers, tasting the mixture of drinks still on his tongue.

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Avery smirks when Kimiko whips her head around to look at him. He chuckles are her proposal and concentrations back on the TV for the second round. ”It was incredibly painful going that slow,” he joked.

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Taking the invitation as Cass parts both of their lips, Nic lets his tongue explore her mouth, not trying to move too fast with the kiss but at the same time, hungry for more.

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Without letting her eyes leave the television screen, Kiki smacks Avery’s thigh. “More painful than me literally crushing your chest cavity?” Her eyes go wide as one of the fighters is able to land a particularly impressive hit.

“Oooo, you have to teach me that one.” She says, still not looking away.

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The kiss is slow but passionate. Cass slides her hands to Nic’s neck, holding herself close to him while they kiss. After a moment she pulls back from the kiss to breathe, but she doesn’t stop kissing him completely. Instead, Cass places a kiss on Nic’s cheek, a kiss on his jaw, and then she tilts his head to kiss the other side of his jaw and cheek.

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Avery laughed when Kimiko smacked his leg, and his arm slipped off the back of the couch to rest on Kimiko’s shoulders. ”I can heal a broken chest cavity,” he said smirking.

The hit Kimiko wanted to learn wasn’t an easy one, but if anyone could learn it, he guessed it would be Kimiko solely because of her determination. ”I’ll ask Terrance to come over, and you can practice on him.”

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Nic catches his breath as Cass places kisses on his cheeks and jaw, letting the eyes he just opened, close again. His hand on her back starts moving up and down as he gently rubs Cass’ back with a smile.

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“Brag about it.” Kiki says, leaving her hand on his thigh for the moment. His next comment made her snort. “Gods, I would enjoy that so much though.” She turns to grin at Avery, only now realizing his arm was around her and her hand was on him. Not pointing it out because she finds she doesn’t want him to pull away, she indulges herself for as long as he’ll let her. She looks at the television again to watch the fight.

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Cassiopeia smiles from the soothing movement of Nic’s hand on her back. Her shirt is thin enough to allow her to feel the heat from his hand. Cassi shifts her lips back to Nic’s and kisses him briefly, several times over, before she pulls back and rests her forehead on his.

A smile sat on Cass’ lips while she rested her hands back on Nic’s chest, the gentle breeze caressing both of them. ”I rather enjoy kissing you,” she muses.

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Truthfully, Avery hadn’t realized his arm had slipped onto Kimiko’s shoulders. It felt comfortable, natural, that he didn’t really give it a second thought. Just like he didn’t think about how her hand rested on his thigh, completely relaxed. It just felt right, sitting with her, watching whatever was on TV. Even Avery’s wolf seemed to enjoy the mundane moment.

”Ah, well, maybe I can arrange a little run-in,” Avery suggested. He knew it would never happen. Caden was a stickler for maintaining an image, even though he was the one who put the fear of God in them only yesterday.

A commercial came on the TV, bringing Avery back to the present. He felt the pressure on his leg and noted Kimiko’s hand, then his arm around her. He looked at Kimiko, wondering why she hadn’t pushed him away yet, wondering if she liked the feeling just as much as he did. This is a bad idea, Zain, Avery told himself. Maybe he should talk to Caden…

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“Well that’s a relief.” Nic says, a crooked grin appearing on his lips and one of his dimples showing because of it. “Because I rather like kissing you too.” The hand he has on her back switches to scratching movements instead of massaging.

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Kiki shakes her head, letting herself fall back, relaxing into the couch when the commercial break came on. “I really should have broken his dick while I had the chance.” She says, moving her eyes from the screen to look at Avery only to find him looking at her. She blinks, forcing herself to look away.

Why hadn’t he moved his arm or her hand? She let herself feel the tiniest sliver of hope that maybe, Avery felt something for her too. She’s tempted to throw the whole ‘one question a day’ out the window and demanding answers from him, but once again she doesn’t want the moment to end.

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A chill ran up Cassiopeia’s back when Nic switched movements. She shivered under his touch and laughed breathlessly because of it. Cass pulled back, opening her eyes to see the dimple on Nic’s face. She brushed her thumb across it.

”C'est très bien,” she said, kissing Nic again.

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Kimiko looked at Avery after her proclamation, but she didn’t look at him long. She seemed surprised that he was already looking at her, but why? It was obvious, wasn’t it?

Avery lifted his free hand, the one that wasn’t resting on her shoulder now, and turned her face to look back at him. ”You really should have,” he said, agreeing with her comment on permanently maiming Terrance. The guy was an asshole. The entire pack was.

If Caden let him, Avery would have gladly killed every single one of them. But there were rules within the werewolves, and those rules were to be followed. If they weren’t, the wolf who broke them ended up dying, regardless of the circumstances.

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He lets his eyes close again, her French a very welcome sound to his ears as she kisses him. Nic moves both hands to hold Cass’ face, kissing her back passionately before pulling away. “Très bon.” He whispers back.

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Kimiko’s eyes widen, definitely not expecting Avery to have moved her face like that. Her skin feels hot from where he touched it and she blinks a couple of times before slowly nodding. “Next time I see him, I’ll do that.” She vows, silently hoping never to run across the man again, to be honest.

“And if I can’t, you’ll do it for me?” It’s not a real request - Kiki’s sure that Caden won’t allow for that unless there is an actual reason to do so, but… It feels nice knowing that she doesn’t just have Caden willing to fight for her, but Avery now too.

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Cassiopeia smiles wide when Nic speaks French. The two simple words are whispered and nearly flawless with the right accent and tone. She shifts closer to Nic, not that they weren't close already. Her hands rest just below his collarbones and she grips the top of Nic's shirt in her hands, pulling slightly.

"Say that again," she whispers.

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Kimiko's question resonates deeply within Avery. It doesn't sound the simple, one time ask that it does. It seems more. Like Kimiko is asking if Avery will protect her. Like she is asking for him to be there for her no matter the circumstance.

Avery brushes his thumb along her jaw before letting his hand fall away and he nods. "I can do that," he says simply, but it's anything but simple.

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Nic smiles as he watches Cass’ movement. “Très bon.” He whispers, his tone shifting into more of a low growl. He places his hands on Cass’ hips as she grips his shirt in her hands. He leans forward and kisses her forehead, her cheek, her jaw, then whispers directly in her ear.

“Très bon.”

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Kimiko is acutely aware of Avery’s thumb as it brushes along her jaw. She’s about to lean into his touch when his hand falls. She’s a little disappointed, but tries not to show it. The four simple words he says make Kimiko feel warm inside. She nods, not trusting that her voice will be normal, and gently squeezes Avery’s thigh with her hand that’s still resting there.

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A little thrill whips through Cassiopeia's body from Nic's tone. His wide hands seem to encompass all of Cassiopeia, sending that warm static feeling to continue to ripple through her body. She tilts her head from side to side, following the path of Nic's gentle kisses.

She marvels out how thorough he is being, and she can't help it when her mind wanders to how thorough he might be in other areas. At that point, Nic whispers in her ear, causing Cassi to audibly sigh at the same time the wind whips around the two of them. Cass turns her head, finding Nic's lips and kisses him deeply.

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Avery has the urge to kiss Kimiko, but the squeeze to his thigh grounds Avery. He breaks eye contact with Kimiko to look at her hand before looking at the TV. During their exchange -- which must have been longer than a minute -- the fight ended with one fighter covered in blood and the other thrusting their arms up in victory.

Avery looks back at Kimiko, seeing his arm wrapped around her and how easily she has just slipped into his side. It felt so natural to him that he didn't even realize until now how close they were, and that he was holding her this way. Avery swallows and looks away from Kimiko. He needs to tell her they shouldn't be sitting like this, but he can't bring himself to say the words.

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Nic smiles a little when Cass kisses him and returns it passionately. He leans back, taking Cass with him as he lays down. His hands move north a little of her hips just enough for him to rub circles into her waist with his thumbs.

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Leaning into Avery ever so slightly, Kimiko smiles to herself as she turns her attention back to the television. Another commercial break starts and Kimiko feels her eyelids start to droop, too heavy to keep open, especially while cuddling into Avery’s warm body. It’s not long until small little snores can be heard from the little fox.

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The wind dies down around them; instead, it shifts around them in slow wave-like movements. Cassiopeia releases Nic’s shirt after he lays down with her on top of him. She moves her hands into Nic’s hair instead, running light fingers through it. The smell of his shampoo greets her, greeting her as one of her new favourite scents.

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A comfortable silence fills the living room, where Avery and Kimiko continue to watch the fight. Avery eventually relaxes, feeling more settled with having the fox in his arms. Just for today, he told himself. He could handle it for the rest of the day.

Avery noticed Kimiko sinking into him more and more. He isn’t concerned by it until he hears the tell-tale deep breathing of sleep. Avery glances down to see Kimiko’s head listing to the side. He chuckles despite himself and shakes his head. From yelling at each other this morning to Kimiko falling asleep beside him. Avery wouldn’t have believed it possible.

He continues to watch the fight by himself, making sure not to make any sudden movements that would disturb Kimiko. Eventually, Avery risked moving Kimiko. He didn’t think she would want Caden and Nero to see them like this. Avery didn’t want his boss and boss’ partner to see them like this. So, Avery carefully slid an arm under Kimiko’s legs, and lifted her so that he was cradling Kimiko. He then walked down the hallway to her bedroom, opened the door and laid her down on the bed.

Avery pulled the comforter close and brushed back Kimiko’s hair to prevent it from tickling her face and waking her. He stood up, watching her sleep for a moment before he sighed and left.

Instead of returning to the living room, Avery went down to the kitchens to see if he could do anything to help out. He didn’t want Kimiko to come looking for him because he knew if they were alone again, he’d have a hard time not kissing her.

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Nic notices the shift in how the wind is playing around the two of them and smiles. He pulls away just enough to whisper, “You’re absolutely amazing.” before reclaiming her lips with his, his hands moving between her hips and her waist. He can’t decide where to place them.

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Cassiopeia smiles when Nic compliments her. He’s only really seen her work with the wind. Sure, she could flicker candles in and out of existence or stop the water running out of a fountain, but those were all parlour tricks. If only he knew, she thought to herself, before kissing him deeply.

Nic’s hands shift back and forth, trying to find a place to rest or wanting to remain in motion. Cassiopeia was in a jumpsuit, so there wasn’t much he could do without stripping her naked, and that was too soon. Cassi didn’t mind the contact, though, and she didn’t mind wandering hands.

Cass moved one of her hands away from Nic’s hair and found his hand. She guided his hand down her hip and over her ass. Leaving his hand there, Cassi reclaimed her hold in Nic’s hair.

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When Cass moves his hand to her butt, Nic almost stops the kiss just purely out of surprise, but manages to recover with a smile before nipping her bottom lip very lightly as his hand splayed over her butt cheek, softly gripping it. He doesn’t want to move too fast with Cass too soon and he definitely doesn’t want their first time to be in a public place like this. Although Cass might like the idea of it being outside. He thinks to himself as his other hand stays on her hip, his fingers just brushing her other asscheek.

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The nip to her lip causes Cassi to tighten her hands in Nic’s hair briefly before she lets go. His hand isn’t big enough to encompass even one of Cassi’s butt cheeks, but it still excites her that he left his hand there. She runs her hands down his arms, squeezing lightly to indulge herself in actually feeling Nic’s muscles and what he obviously works hard to maintain. She admires someone who looks after themselves, especially when they are so vulnerable to the diseases of the world.

The wind shifts as Cassi’s hands do, trailing up Nic’s arms, following the same path as her hands. The wind then wraps around Nic’s neck before disappearing. Cassi breaks from the kiss to replace the wind with her lips on Nic’s neck.

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Nic can’t describe the sensation he feels from Cass’ wind to her lips on his neck, but his grip on Cass tightens. A sigh leaves his lips as his hand moves slowly up her spine until he’s tangling his hand in her hair.

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