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Despite her very warm face, Kiki can’t bring herself to look away from Avery, her chest rising and falling as she breathes heavily. “I might like that…” She finally whispers after a bit, unable to stop herself from biting her lip. Do you think the SUV he drove has tinted windows? Mentally, Kiki puts her head in her hands at that thought.

“I’m depraved…” Kiki mumbles before breaking eye contact and hiding her face in Avery’s neck and shoulder. It’s getting harder for her to deny her attraction to Avery and just how much it affects her. Surely their friendship has enough of a foothold that it won’t ruin anything if… Kiki! You have a little more self-control than that! But, she still doesn’t want to leave Avery’s lap… Or his traveling fingers.

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Cheeks still warm, Nero can’t help but grin as they think about traveling the world with Caden just to recreate memories for him and new ones for themselves. “I think you’re able to see my potential much clearer than I can, but...” Nero squeezes both of Caden’s hands three times as they wiggle in their seat.

“As long as I have you, I think I’ll have everything in my life that I could ever want or need.” They take a hand away from Caden to unbuckle their seatbelt, retaking his hand as they scoot to the edge of their seat and kiss Caden’s lips, deeply but tenderly.

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After drinking his water and stealing some granola for a little snack, Nic makes himself comfortable on Cass’ couch, making sure his right arm could rest on her coffee table without anything brushing up against the fresh tattoo. He stares at the ceiling as he runs his left hand through his hair again and again. I told her I loved her… and she said it back… He thinks wistfully. In a high tenor voice, he sings along to the song stuck in his head.

“Promise that, you want me and I want you forever more, it’s a miracle love you know.”

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Avery's eyes shift back to her lips when she bites them, before he can react, she buried her head into his neck. He laughed from her statement, and shut his eyes. Before that moment, Avery had half a mind to carry into the back of that SUV but he didn't want that for them. He wanted to have her for the first time in a place where they were comfortable and had nothing but time. Besides, if he were to ever take Kimiko in a vehicle it would be on his motorcycle, not his bosses car.

Kimiko's breath tickled along Avery's neck and he shifted her on his lap. "You're not the only depraved one. If you don't get off my lap, you'll figure out how depraved." Avery was honestly impressed with how well his self-control had lasted up until this point.

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Caden smiled, pulling Nero onto his lap once they were free of the seat belt. He kissed them for a while, simply enjoying the connection they shared.

"You have me, little imp. For the rest of this life and the next." Caden brushed his lips across Nero's while he spoke before kissing them deeply again.

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Just as Cassi stepped onto the main floor, she could hear Nic's voice carrying through the house to her. It wasn't like she lived in a large home. She only needed to walk around the corner and she would be in her living room, but she paused in the hallway.

It was Nic's voice, but it wasn't. She inched her way closer until she could confirm that he was singing. She turned the corner and stared at him.

"You need to stop that before I expel all my energy healing you so you can use that arm properly after I jump you," Cassi declared, fully serious. If she liked his voice before, she was in love with the tone it made when he sang.

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Kiki lets loose one of her strangled squeak, almost causing herself to fall out of Avery’s lap after what he said. She climbs off of it without falling and takes a deep breath, not realizing her already short dress has effectively ridden up in the back to reveal the bottom half of her panties. “As much as I think both of us would like that, it probably shouldn’t be in public, huh?” She starts to turn to face Avery again.

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Nero lets out a little squeak of delight as Caden pulls them into his lap, a smug smile curling their lips even as they kiss Caden. Their arms wrap around Caden’s neck as the kiss continues. Nero almost doesn’t listen to Caden’s words, but focuses enough to understand. As unbelievably corny as that line was, the little demon loves it and kisses back more, the smile still on their face.

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Nic sits up, surprised by Cass, and turns to look at her after that declaration. “As tempted as I am to tell you to do it, please don’t expel all your energy on me for something that’ll heal on it’s own just fine.” He can’t help but grin lopsidedly at her though.

“Do you like that song?” He asks instead of teasing her more.

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Avery was still watching Kimiko when she stood, so he received a lovely show. He took a deep breath in and stared at the ground for a moment before he stood. He stopped Kimiko from turning around, his hands gripping her hips.

”Femme, tu vas être ma mort,” he whispered into her ear before he moved his hands and untucked her dress. He stepped back and ran a hand over his face before he walked towards the SUV, needing a minute to breathe air that didn’t smell like her.

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Caden smiled on Nero’s lips as well, kissing them affectionately for a long time before he pulled back. ”Come lay down with me,” he said, brushing his fingers over their hair.

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Cassi shook her head, a smile on her face despite her best efforts not to smile, but Nic’s smile was contagious. ”I’m not familiar with the song, but I liked your voice singing it,” she answered. Cass walked into the kitchen to make herself a fresh cup of tea for bed.

She busied her hands and her mind by tending to the various plants in her house as well as feeding the cats.

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This time, Kiki’s squeak isn’t so strangled when she feels Averys hands suddenly on her hips. “Avery, wh-” Her eyebrows raise in surprise and she flushes from his whisper, unsure of where this is heading until she feels him untuck her dress. “Oh.” Kiki stays frozen for a little bit, watching Avery make his way to the SUV ahead of her. She smooths down her dress for her own sanity, looking over her shoulder to try and make sure it wasn’t still tucked anywhere.

Kiki would be lying if she said his French in her ear isn’t one of the most attractive things he’s ever done. She slaps her cool fingers to her cheeks, urging them to calm down and praying she hadn’t just sprouted ears or a tail. Watching Avery, she lets him get into the SUV first and have a moment - she needs one too anyway - before she walks away from the table, grabbing her purse on the way, and climbing into the SUV once she reaches it.

“I’m sorry - I didn’t realize…” She tells him, fidgeting. She’s been smoothing it down and trying to make sure it had settled right all evening and the one time she doesn’t just had to be right in front of Avery/

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Nero’s makes a content hum when Caden brushes his fingers through their hair, feeling like they would purr if they could. “Gladly.” They chirp in answer, hopping out of Caden’s lap and offering their hands to help him up if he wants. Not that Caden needs it. “Oh, I heard of this one movie that’s just classical music but people made cartoons to go along with the music. Would you be able to fall asleep if we watch that?”

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Nic can’t help but grin at her words. “Here,” Nic goes to stand outside the little window to her kitchen, setting his phone on the little ledge before he presses ‘play’. “It only released like a day ago but… I feel like it’s been stuck in my head forever.” He splays his fingers out on either side of the phone and starts tapping them in what he thinks are the right notes on the piano. He’d have to wait until he had one in front of him to be sure. He stays on the living room side of the wall, not wanting either of them to be tempted any further than the two of them already are.

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The time, even though it was brief, away from Kimiko was good. Avery was able to calm himself down enough for the mild erection he was getting to relax. He rubbed his hands along his legs and took a few deep breathes in before Kimiko joined him. He turned over the SUV and looked over at her when she apologized.

”It’s okay, Kiki. You did nothing wrong.” He reached over and rested a hand on her knee. ”For what it’s worth, I like that you’re matching,” he joked poorly. He pulled his hand back and drove away from the frozen yogurt shop.

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Caden unbuckled himself before he stood. He finished his glass of champagne before grabbing Nero’s untouched glass and followed them to the back of the plane.

He smiled and kissed Nero’s cheek. ”As long as you’re beside me, I’ll sleep just fine.”

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Cassi looked up from her task, smiling when she saw Nic keeping his distance but wanting to share the song with her. She returned to her task, listening to the song and started to bob her head along with the beat.

The kettle boiled and she stopped her task to ready her tea. As she prepared it, movement caught her eyes, and she watched Nic’s fingers. She paused and stared at her boyfriend.

”Don’t tell me you can play piano, too?” She recognized the finger patterns from her own knowledge of playing the piano.

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Kiki snorts, this time putting her face in her hands as she laughs. “I might be a little obsessive over matching with my outfits.” She says before pulling her hands away from her face and leaning back in her seat with a sigh. “Or, at least, when I put an effort into an outfit.” She’s a little sad Avery taken his hand off of her knee but… it’s probably better that he did so.

Glancing out the window, Kiki can’t help but remember his whisper of French in her ear. “If… you ever want to… whisper French into my ear again… I wouldn’t mind.” She doesn’t turn to look at Avery, feeling her cheeks and ears already burning, but… she want him to know that he has just as much of an affect on her.

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Nero grins happily as they enter the back of the plane with its bed. Nero climbs into the bed before sitting up against the headboard. “Do you want to put your head in my lap?” They ask with a happy wiggle, patting their thigh.

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Nic stops his tapping and looks sheepishly up at Cass. “I think I told you my mom taught keyboard and piano, right? Well, I was her first student.” He chuckles and picks up his phone as the song ends, putting it away in his pocket. “Apparently it was something my grandpa started - making sure my mom played piano and at least one other instrument.”

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Avery didn’t speed as he drove through the city. He knows they will be early to pick up Caden and Nero, but early is best. They could take a walk if they ended up being really early.

Even though he shared the same space with Kimiko again, Avery felt more settled as he drove. Part of him wanted to touch her again, but another part was content keeping his hands to himself. Her words made him pause, however, debating on touching her again. Instead, Avery smiled, rubbing his hand across his upper lip before he relaxed.

”I’ll keep that in mind,” he said and glanced over at her.

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Caden pulled off his jacket and kicked off his shoes before he climbed onto the bed. He grinned at Nero, glancing at their offered lap before looking at them again. ”Would that be alright?” he asked.

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Cassi stood on the other side of her little kitchen window, and stared at Nic, in complete awe of him. She picked up her mug, shaking her head. ”He can sing, play the piano, drive, cook, speak multiple languages, is wicked smart, is good with animals, and is good with his hands. Tell me Nic, is there anything you can’t do?”

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Kiki can feel Avery’s eyes on her, but she avoids turning to face him, instead biting on the knuckle of her pointer finger and staring out the window. “Sounds good to me.” She tries to say nonchalantly.

“So how early are we going to be to the airport?” Kiki says after a few minutes, finally feeling calm enough to look at Avery again. She silently debates with herself on whether she should or shouldn’t do something before she just places her hand on Avery’s thigh, just above his knee.

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Nero tilts their head with an amused expression. “Of course it is.” They assure him with a smile. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to fall asleep anyway, so this is your chance.” They manage to find a remote and hold down the button with a little mic on it.

“Classical music cartoon.” Nero says into it slowly and loudly.

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Nic’s ears turn pink at this. “I-I’m not a great singer by any means…” He says, genuinely a little embarrassed now. “But, I can’t do any sort of magic for starters.” He racks his brain for anything else. “Can’t write a poem for shit either.” His cheeks join his pink ears as he remembers that he is currently trying to write a poem for Cass.

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Avery placed his focus back on the road, tightening and relaxing his hand on the steering wheel. That moment at the frozen yogurt place was by far the most intense moment they had. He understood Kimiko was worried about their relationship fizzling out after they had sex, but he didn't believe that it would. However, he didn't know what to say to convince her otherwise. But when she bit her finger like that and couldn't look at him, it really made Avery want to pull the car over and tell her to just let it go. Avery wasn't like that though and he wanted to let Kimiko make that decision when she was ready. Even if it was incredibly difficult to keep resisting her.

Avery turned the corner, one road closer to the airport when Kimiko asked how long it would take, resting her hand on his thigh. The connection was comforting and reassuring. Avery felt himself ease into the seat, and relaxed his hand on the wheel.

"About twenty minutes. We can take a bit of a walk if you want," Avery suggested.

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Caden smiled and crawled closer to Nero to lay down. He paused when Nero spoke into the remote and chuckled. He took the remote and pressed the mic button.

"Fantasia," Caden clarified. Two different movies popped up and Caden settled his head onto Nero's lap. "Either one is good, but 2000 is my favourite," Caden informed them. He really enjoyed the jazz one and the mother nature one.

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Cassiopeia sipped her tea, a slow smile walked across her face while Nic's face started to heat up and he stumbled over his embarrassment. She walked out of her kitchen, shutting off the light as she went and joined Nic in her living room. She set her cup down on the ledge before taking Nic's hands in hers.

"Nic, I love your voice. I was moments away from ripping your clothes off because of that voice. I replayed your voice messages over and over again last night until I couldn't keep my eyes open because of how much I love your voice. As for magic, even if you had the ability, you wouldn't be as good as me," Cassi said with a smirk.

Cassi released his hands to rested them on Nic's chest. "As for poems, I'm not sure what that is about but you have an impeccable ability for attention to detail. Poetry is just as much about detail as it is pretty words. Whatever you set your mind to, Nic, you will accomplish it. You have accomplished it. So stop trying to bad mouth my boyfriend because I will have none of it. Understand?"

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Kiki smiles when she sees and feels Avery relax a little. “A walk would probably be a good thing. Ease some tension.” Her lips tug upward in a small smirk. If she’s having issues keeping her own promise, she can only imagine how difficult it’s been for Avery. Gently squeezing his leg, Kiki turns to look at him more.

“How good are you with go-karts?” She asks him, thinking that he might enjoy a date at one of the racetracks or something. If she’s really going to ‘wine and dine him’, she wants to make a whole day of it.

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Nero smiles, glad that Caden knows what they wanted and also that he’s seen them before. “Two thousand it is, then.” Nero leans down and kisses Caden’s head as the movie starts before settling in the bed a little more. They lightly scratch their mate’s back, neck, and head in hopes of helping him fall asleep quickly, but also because they wanted to touch him.

The movie starts and Nero’s eyes sparkle as it plays. They hum softly along to some of the songs they know better, completely entranced by the animation work and how well it goes with the music.

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Nic blinks in surprise as he looks down at his wonderful and amazing girlfriend. “If I could, I’d gladly accept that as a challenge.” He tells her as she lets go of his hands. “I just really enjoy poems and feel like you need sonnets and cadences written about you.” He leans down and kisses Cass’ forehead with a smile.

“But I won’t badmouth your boyfriend anymore, I promise.” Nic gently holds her face in one of his hands. Her words repeat in his head and he mentally nods to himself. He can do this and he will.

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Avery couldn't agree more. The fresh air would do them both some good. It was difficult enough being trapped in a vehicle with Kimiko and her scent mingling with his. He looked over at her when she mentioned go-karting. He grinned and looked back at the road.

"I'm exceptional at it," Avery said smugly.

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Caden settled down with Nero, watching the opening of the movie before he eventually fell asleep. The scratching from Nero didn't help Caden stay awake long, but he was okay with it. He wanted to get some more sleep in before they got home.

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Cassi beamed at Nic, leaning in closer to him. "You could write sonnets about me. Even if they aren't Shakespearean quality, I'm certain I'll still love them," she said and kissed Nic softly.

She pulled back, grabbed her tea, and Nic's hand. "Time for bed. Someone has to be up early," she said and tugged Nic up the stairs.

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Kiki softly laughs, having guessed that much already. With her free hand, she pulls out her phone and googles around. “There’s a place that has a course for adults only and it has a lounge restaurant on location… What would you think about making spending a day there?” She asks, looking at what’s available around the track too.

“Looks like there’s some that are geared more towards competitive drivers too.” Kiki adds as she looks through an article about the different locations in the area. She might have to look up what’s nearby to see if there’s anything else to do around these places.

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Nero smiles triumphantly when Caden falls asleep, still scratching his back lightly as the movie plays on. They make a mental note to ask Caden why this one is his favorite.

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Nic grins foolishly, letting Cass drag him along upstairs to her bedroom. “You know, you could always wake up with me.” He teases softly, unable to help but watch her butt as she climbs the stairs. He makes himself look up more towards her shoulders when he feels himself get a little too invested with how her clothes hug her curves.

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"Sure. That sounds fun," Avery said and pulled up to the hanger Caden had for his jet. He parked the car and shut the engine off. He opened up his door and removed the keys from the ignition and let his leg hang outside the door. He stretched out and yawned. "This is always the most boring part of the job. Waiting."

Avery shifted in his seat and looked back at Kimiko. "So, do you want me to hold Caden back so you can get a good hit on him?"

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Cassi feels her body heat when she thinks Nic is staring at her. It's like a crawling sensation up her spine that sets everything on fire. Even Nic's hand in hers feels more electric.

"Now that just sounds like a horrible idea," Cassi declared. She let go of Nic's hand when they walked into her bedroom. She pulled her hair out of her messy bun and ran her fingers over her scalp, and made her way to her bathroom. "How's the arm feeling?"

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Kiki unbuckles and shifts to look back at Avery. “Well, now you have someone to wait with you.” She moves her hand from his leg and grabs his closest hand instead before she snorts. She eyes Avery up and down with a small smirk. “Funny, I heard that Caden kicks your arse often. Maybe I’ll ask Nero to hold him instead.” She winks.

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Nic chuckles, amused by his girlfriend’s view of mornings. He sits on Cass’ bed as she makes her way into her bathroom, taking note of her messy hair. “It feels a bit sore, like it’s bruised, but otherwise it’s manageable.” Nic calls out to her. “Do you want me to brush your hair again?” He almost offers to braid it too.

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Avery started to laugh loudly and for a long time. "Ha! Who told you that?" He happily holds Kimiko's hand instead of having her hand on his leg. He unconsciously started to run his thumb along her knuckles.

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Cassi nods to herself, Nic's symptoms falling in line with how a fresh tattoo should feel. He was only missing a burning sensation but some people didn't get that.

"With one hand?" She pinned her hair back to wash her face, releasing it after she finished moisturizing and grabbed her brush.

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Kiki can’t help but grin. “From Cassi.” She says before trying to imitate Cass’ burr for what she says next. “‘Sometimes Avery will go to another fitness club just so he can finally beat someone else.’” She casts a sidelong look at Avery, unable to stop smirking at his expense.

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Nic thinks about it for a minute.“I should know better about which arm muscles are used while brushing her braiding someone’s hair, but I’ve never paid attention to it until now.” He lifts his arms and hands, mocking brushing and braiding Cass’ hair. His right arm starts to feel a tiny burning sensation. “Okay maybe not.”

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Avery gasped and sat up, turning completely to look at Kimiko. ”She did not! She's seen me lay Caden out on his ass,” Avery said in an effort to defend himself and look good.

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Cassi laughed and combed her hair in such a way so it wouldn't frizz up. ”You won't want to sleep on your right side either,” she warned him. She did a loose braid before she made her way to her bed.

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Kiki laughs merrily, letting her head fall back a bit onto the seat. “Was Caden sick on those days though?” She says once she’s done laughing, letter herself smirk widely at Avery still. “Or did he let you win?” She can’t help herself and keeps teasing him.

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Nic grins, chuckling to himself. “Well, do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?” He asks as he settles into her bed on his left arm. He looks ready to ask Cass to paint him like one of those French girls in this pose.

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”He was not! I'll have you know I am a boxing champion, okay? Just because dragon boy is all powerful doesn't mean he has no weaknesses,” Avery declared. He still held onto Kimiko's hand despite wanting to cross his arms and pout.

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”Honestly, I don't mind either but with your tattoo, I think it would be better if I was the big spoon. Then if either of us get too warm, I can roll away.”