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Kiki lets out a breath she doesn’t realize she had been holding as she blushes. “Oh, so you want me to do it then?” With a little space from Avery, her mind becomes unclouded enough to trade quips with him. She turns back to the blender and starts it to begin getting the ice finely crushed and before Avery can say anything else that might drive her mind crazy again.

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Avery laughed and nodded. ”Of course I do,” he said, loud enough that he knew she would still be able to hear him.

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Kiki shakes her head and focuses on adding all the ingredients. Once all mixed, she dips her pinky in to the blended juice to taste it. “Okay, I don’t know how you like your smoothies, but come try it to see if you want anything else added.” She tells Avery, turning around to step aside for him.

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Avery poured a bit into a cup and drank it. He smiled and nodded. ”Works for me,” he said and poured himself half before pouring the rest into another cup for her.

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Kiki grins, glad he likes it. “Does that count as a sixth thing?” She asks cheekily as she takes the other cup. “Now, am I going to find any straws in here or am I drinking this like an animal?” She eyes Avery as she takes the blender over to the sink and begins rinsing it off.

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Avery laughed loudly and nodded. ”We can officially add smoothies to the list,” he said. He wandered over to a cupboard and pulled out the box of straws. ”No obnoxious slurping,” he said, giving Kimiko a warning look.

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Grinning, Kiki takes the small victory before following Avery to where the straws are hiding. She snatches one before he can take it back and slurps happily. “Or what?” She asks in an obnoxious tone just for shits.

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Avery narrowed his eyes. ”I’ll make sure straws never enter this house again,” he said and headed for the stairs to go upstairs.

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Kiki throws her head back in laughter before following Avery out of the kitchen. “Okay, okay, I won’t be obnoxious if you tell me how I can properly get every last drop without making annoying noises.” She says, catching up to him easily.

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”A spoon,” Avery said matter of fact. He headed down the hallway to Kimiko's room, sipping his smoothie as he went. Once he was inside her room, he stopped and looked at her expectantly.

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Kiki’s confident exterior falls as she realizes what’s happening. “Oh, right.” She says before walking across the room and opening the bottommost drawer of her dresser. “I feel like this would be a great time to slurp obnoxiously.” She mutters, knowing Avery would be able to hear her.

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Avery walked over to her dresser and looked down at the open drawer, smiling in victory.

”Now now, don't be a sore loser,” he said and knelt down to take a better look. ”So many colours,” he mused.

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Kiki plops down on her bed and tries not to be embarrassed but she can’t help the blush that burns her face. She sets her smoothie down and grabs a pillow to hide behind. “Why are you like this?” She mumbles into the soft material before peeking out to watch and make sure Avery doesn’t find anything he’s not supposed to. Wait, the reason the bottom drawer was empty enough for my underwear… Her face flushes as she realizes there’s not just panties in there.

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Avery poked around, not surprised by some styles but surprised by others. He committed her size to memory and was looking at a particularly lacy pair when something caught his eye. He paused and looked at Kimiko before he grinned and pulled the items out.

He examined one of them, chuckling to himself and nodded. ”I can easily accommodate this one,” he declared, knowing she wouldn't be disappointed if this was what she liked. Truthfully, she might be overwhelmed. Most were initially. The second item Avery turned on and played with some of the settings.

”And this we can definitely have some fun with.”

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Kiki freezes as she watches Avery pull out exactly what she was hoping he wouldn’t. “Oh I would very much like to die please.” Her cheeks and ears feel like they’re on fire as she squeaks out those words. Shen he says he can easily accommodate the first item, her eyes go wide and she can’t help but bite her lip. Fucking hell, that information is not going to help me keep that promise.

At the second item, she fully hides her face in the pillows, her glasses smooshing onto her face. “I knew there was a reason I wanted to check the drawer first.” Her voice is muffled by the pillow again.

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Kimiko's reactions are priceless and exactly what Avery had been hoping for. He returned her items to the drawer before standing and closing it.

”Well that was fun,” Avery said happily. ”Did you want to come train with me in the gym or would you rather stay here and die?” His tone was lighthearted while he stood watching Kimiko. The smile never left his face even while he drank his smoothie.

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Kiki keeps her face buried. “I think I’ll take the death option.” She says into the pillow before peeking up at Avery. Her eyes narrow when she sees he’s smiling. “You’re a devilish one, you perv.” She says, but she can’t help that she’s honestly a little aroused underneath all the embarrassment.

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Avery smiled crookedly and walked closer to Kimiko. ”Yes I am. But now I can picture what you're wearing or what you're doing when you're not around me and I like that so much more.” He leaned down and kissed Kimiko's lips once.

”Remember the house is soundproof but only when your door is closed. So if you don't want me to hear anything, keep your door closed. Unless you want me to hear, but then I might come watch.” Avery winked at Kimiko before he left her bedroom to go work out the tension.

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Kiki’s mouth falls open at she stares at the door Avery just left through. “AVERY!” She shouts when she finally unfreezes. She holds her hand to her chest, feeling as if her heart is going to have seizure at any moment. She falls back on her bed and screams into her pillow.

“That man is the devil.” Kiki mumbles before she gets up, deciding a cold shower is needed.

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Avery's laugh could be heard through the house until he walked into the training room and shut the door. He turned on some music and started to go through the motions. Images of Kimiko flashed through his mind, and Avery pushed himself harder to get them to leave. It was one of the hardest workouts Avery had put himself through in a while. By the end, his arms were shaking.

Like Kimiko, he decided a cold shower was needed after that. He felt more refreshed and settled after that, and cooked breakfast for whoever wanted it. The house started to fill up with people again as everyone returned from their weekends away to get the house cleaned and ready for Caden and Nero's return.

Avery stayed out of the way but helped when he needed to or if Kimiko was busy. By the evening though, he stole her away again for their second date.

He sat at the table, leaned back in his seat after ordering his meal, smiling at Kimiko. He wore his usual attire of black on black, but left the shirt unbuttoned at the top and a bit looser.

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After Liberty Island, the boat took them back to Manhattan Island, and the car picked them up. Caden had them head into Brooklyn and to some rare bookstores. He picked up a couple of volumes for himself, some for Avery, and one for Kimiko, plus whatever Nero wanted. The bookstores were quickly followed up with a light mid-afternoon lunch, and then Caden took Nero to some museums, including The MET, MOMA, and the Natural History Museum.

At each museum, Caden was cornered by the directors since he knew them and had done business with them on several occasions. Caden either requested them to find something for him, or he gave them something he had on loan or straight-up sold it depending on what they wanted.

Over supper, Caden explained some of the items he had retrieved or loaned to various museums. ”I’ll probably send them all an updated inventory. See what piques their interest,” Caden decided while he ate his escargot.

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Unpacking seems to go by quickly despite the tension Cassi can feel with Ren and Nic. She has a bad feeling that tension is going to keep building until it explodes. At one point, Cassi received a phone call from Detective Costa, and she stepped out onto the terrace to answer it.

Apparently, there was a red cap invasion happening, and since Cassi was the resident Scots person, as well as magical contact, Costa was contacting her.

”Send me all the information you have on what’s happening and what their human form is. I’ll look it over and start on it tomorrow,” Cassi said. She talked for a few moments more before she hung up the phone and sighed.

Well, at least she would have something to do for the week while Nic was working.

After supper, Nic drove them back to Cassi's house so she could tattoo him. She left him with her cats to go and change into something more comfortable to tattoo. Cassi pulled on a dark grey tank top with a pair of green linen pants. She tied her hair back as she walked from her bedroom to the room she was using for tattooing. She turned on the bright lights and started to clean and wipe down everything before setting up.