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Kiki sighs dramatically at Avery’s answer. When he starts drinking, she can’t help but watch how his skin glistens with sweat. Why did he have to run shirtless? “Alright, no complaining that it’s boring though.” She tells Avery while trying not to smile.

“I’m going to make a smoothie - do you want one?” Hopefully the straws were back in the kitchen by now.

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Nero shrugs with a lighthearted smile. “Yes and no? I think it definitely filled in a lot of blanks for my childhood though. And you know me, I grinned and bared through it.” They smile widely to prove their point.

“Als die Schläger mich auspeitschten, gab ich keinen Laut von mir. Ich habe ihnen dieses Vergnügen nicht gegönnt.” Nero tells Caden, not remembering if they told him that detail or not. “So if that’s anything to go by, I’m sure nobody could say I didn’t try.” Their fingers trace a detail on one of the displays, their expression having fallen now.

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Nic is just walking back to where Cass is when she turns. He doesn’t have time to slip on a casual smile to fake that everything’s okay. His brow is furrowed and a frown displays on his lips. His dad’s answers practically confirmed that he knew something that could answer why the family’s blessings were revoked… Why his mother died.

Of course, when he meets Cass’ eyes, Nic’s expression softens, but he can’t help the hopelessness he’s feeling. He hands one of the sandwiches to Cass before sitting down on the floor next to her. “It’s honey ham with cheese.” He tells her with a forced smile before he unwraps his sandwich.

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Avery finished his water and nodded. ”Sure. Should I just go help myself to your underwear drawer, or would you like to be present?”

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Pride and anger swelled within Caden. He held Nero closer and kissed the side of their head. ”I am sorry you had to endure that. That you had to make that decision and your father was a waste of a man. But I am proud of you for coming out the other side of that. No matter what decision or what deal you made, you chose to survive, Nero. And you are surviving.”

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Cassi frowned when she saw Nic’s expression. It pulled on her heartstrings, and she wanted to throw her arms around him and hold him, but now wasn’t the time. Cassi glanced past Nic to look at Ren before she returned her focus to Nic, taking the sandwich from him.

She searched his face for more information before she kissed his cheek, her lips brushing the corner of his lips before she pulled back.

”Is there anything you’d like me to do?” Cassi felt this was a conversation Nic should have with his father, but she could ask Ren questions or bring on a vision.

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Kiki freezes as she has a mental debate in her head. Did she want to be there to explain anything weird he might come across? She’d probably be as red as the strawberries from last night if she were present… But on the flip side, letting him rifle through her lingerie without her there seems just as embarrassing if not worse. “Right, I would like to be present.” She finally squeaks out.

“When are we doing this?” Kiki hopes she’s still flushed from running and that she doesn’t appear too red.

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Nero’s still not sure how they feel about their father, so they take Caden’s jibes at him at face value for now. Instead, they focus on the words Caden said towards the end. Survivor. “You too.” They tell him, peering up to smile at him. In the platform shoes, Nero can actually reach Caden’s shoulders, so they only have to stretch a little to reach his cheek and kiss it.

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Nic shakes his head, but smiles gratefully at Cass. “Growing up, once he said it was final, it was final. For at least a few days or so until he forgot what he was mad about. I’ll need to let him cool off before approaching the subject again.” He speaks in a low tone before reaching over and squeezing Cass’ knee gently, wanting to use her as a grounding object for his feelings right now.

“I’ll see Kimiko tomorrow and bring up setting up a lunch, but if he does keep putting walls up and denying that he’s not okay, I will ask for your help, I promise.” Nic takes his hand off of Cass’ knee and cups her chin gently before brushing his lips against hers in a light kiss. When he pulls back, he smiles but the expression doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

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”We can get your smoothie first,” Avery informed them. He placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around to face the stairs to the kitchen. ”Lead the way, little fox.”

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Caden smiled, rubbing his thumb along the small of Nero’s back. ”And now we will survive together,” he said and turned his head to kiss Nero’s lips softly before leading them on to continue with the tour.

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Cassi’s eyes remained on Nic while he spoke. It made sense, Ren did seem like the type to hold onto things and need time to process them. Cassi wondered if Nic was the same in that regard. They had yet to have an argument, but Cassi was no fool. She knew it was only a matter of time before they had a disagreement about something.

Cassi shut her eyes, leaning into Nic’s touch when he kissed her lightly. She lifted her hand, brushed her fingers across his lips, and looked into his eyes.

”You don’t need to pretend around me,” she said, seeing how his smile didn’t quite light his eyes up like it usually did.

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“Right.” Kiki say, still a little scatterbrained still as she heads down the stairs. Trying hard not to focus on the consequences of the deal, she asks Avery, “Are you okay with protein powder in the shake? You need extra protein, right?” She glances over her shoulder to peek at Avery and almost misses the next step. Right, don’t look back while descending stairs.

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Together. Nero repeats the word to themselves. They are no longer alone - they have Caden by their side and (most of) his family, minus one curious sorceress. They lean into Caden as they tour the rest of what the island has to offer, thoroughly enjoying the time with Caden.

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“I know that,” Nic says softly, eyebrows creasing inward and up as he half-smiled. “But it’s not an easy habit to break.” He grabs her hand and kisses it. “We can definitely talk about it more tonight at your place.” He promises her.

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Avery reached around Kimiko’s waist and pulled her back before she biffed it down the stairs. ”Protein powder is good. I usually just take the regular amount, and then I have breakfast when I am done with my workout,” Avery explained. He usually had two to three meals before lunch, especially on a training day.

Avery released Kimiko, stepped around her on the stairs, and led the rest of the way down.

”Are you nervous about something?”

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Cassi smiled softly and nodded. ”I’m going to hold you to that promise,” she said and kissed his cheek again before she turned to her sandwich. She still didn’t have much of an appetite but she made herself eat a little bit before she started helping Nic again.

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He’s teasing me, right? “Only a tiny bit.” Kiki says with a playful glare before sidestepping Avery to get into the fridge. “Do you have any favorite fruits?” She asks as she pulls out most of the ones she can find in the fridge. Her expression turns into a pout as she realizes there’s no strawberries though.

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“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Nic tells Cass before finishing his sandwich and standing up. Most of the afternoon seems to fly by, with practically the entire downstairs finished. An added bonus is that they were able to get the upright piano into the apartment without too much hassle yesterday, so Nic is able to position it near the desk with Kiki and his mother’s things.

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Avery grabbed the blender and set it up while Kimiko pulled out fruits. ”Just berries, usually. Watermelon is good, too,” he said and looked at Kimiko. He chuckled at the expression on her face. ”Groceries will be delivered tomorrow. Do you want me to make sure they order extra strawberries?”

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Kiki sheepishly looks at Avery. “Yes, please.” She says as a smile tugs at the corner of her lips before she turns her attention back to the fridge. “I love a good watermelon, it’s just so much work to juice them… I suppose for a smoothie was can just stick in slices of it though.” She leans down and finds one hiding in the back of the fridge and pulls it out as well.

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”Consider it done.” Avery grabbed a knife and a cutting board to cut up the watermelon. He glanced at Kimiko sideways and smiled.

”I don't want you to be nervous. If you really aren't comfortable with it, I can redirect my depraved mind into some other direction."

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Kiki laughs softly, a little nervous jitter to it. “I’m not uncomfortable with it, I just think you’re going to be really disappointed when all you find are granny panties.” Of course, that’s not all she has - she has a multitude of types and colors, matched perfectly to outfits she brought, but it’s not as if she travels with the Victoria’s Secret catalog in her luggage.

“Also, did you not trust me to cut a watermelon?” She asks teasingly, grabbing the blender to fill with ice first.

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Avery chuckled and easily and quickly sliced the watermelon. ”I’m not expecting to see the entire lingerie store in your drawer. I’m simply curious. Who knows how long it’ll be until I get to see your underwear on you. At least this way, I can fantasise about it,” Avery said with a grin.

He walked over and set the cutting board of cut watermelon beside the blender. ”I do trust you. It’s called helping,” Avery said and kissed Kimiko’s cheek.

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Kiki’s face warms significantly at those words and she takes a moment to fully digest them before she looks at Avery. “You know, I kept thinking I was the depraved one with all the-” She quickly looks back at the blender and focuses on adding the watermelon and some oat milk. “Thank you for helping.” She does not have to tell Avery about all the fantasies she’d been having about him since getting to Chicago.

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Avery raised an eyebrow when Kimiko cut herself off before telling him her thoughts. He leaned against the counter, watching her with a dark smile on his face. ”Anytime,” he said.

His eyes wandered Kimiko’s body before ending on her hands. ”Should I tell you all the depraved things I think about when it comes to you?”

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Oh so he did catch that. Kiki sighs internally for letting that slip, she peeks over at Avery to see a devilish smile. “If you want to see me find the closest hole to hide in.” She manages to say, but her shaky voice gives away her nerves. There’s something about his expression though…

“O-or do I want to know?” She adds the watermelon slices to the blender, effectively filling it up for now before turning towards Avery.

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Avery grinned and stood. He closed the distance between himself and Kimiko. When she turned to face him, he rested a hand on the counter on either side of her, effectively pinning her to the counter. His eyes were locked on hers when he shrugged. His eyes slipped from hers and wandered across her body.

”I definitely think you want to know. But should you know? That is another question entirely, and I am not sure it’ll help you keep that promise to yourself.”

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From a couple feet away, Avery looms large, of course, but it’s entirely different when he traps her like this. Her lower back hits the edge of the counter and Kiki would be lying if she said her heart isn’t beating faster. So many different images play in her mind of what could happen next if she just let him do whatever he wants…

Kiki swallows hard, licking her lips before tucking in a corner of her bottom lip under her teeth, her eyes try to stay on Avery’s eyes but they keep glancing down. Stop glancing down! “Yes.” She says lamely, not really sure what it’s in response to.

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Avery’s eyes snapped back to Kimiko’s lip when she bites it. Of course, she had to do that. He can hear her heart pounding, it complimenting the pounding of his own.

”Yes, what?” He whispered, leaning in closer. He brushed his nose along hers with his lips inches from hers.

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“Um.” Kiki feels like her mind is in a fog as she tries to come up with an answer, the faint smell of mint filling her nostrils. She saw as his eyes darted to her lips and she remembers what he had said, releasing it from her bite. “S-sorry.” She mumbles, her eyes wandering to his lips.

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Avery huffed a laugh and brushed a kiss across her lips before he leaned back, giving some space and air for the two of them. ”Don’t apologize. Just because I lose it a little when you do that doesn’t mean I want you to stop doing that.” He kissed her again before pulling back and moving, so Kimiko could start the blender.