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Cassiopeia smiled and watched Nic go before she returned to the task at hand. She bent down and gave her cats a scoop of food and some treats. She sat there for a minute and watched them eat.

”Oh kitties, it has been a day. You two be good down here, okay?” She scratched both of them before she headed up the stairs. As Cassi walked, she pulled her hair down and shook out the curls. She had some hairspray from the styling and was looking forward to washing it out of her hair. Maybe Nic would help her. He did seem to love playing with her hair.

Cassiopeia walked into her room and shut the door behind her. She could already hear the shower running and smiled, biting her lip. She stripped off her sweater and tossed it on the bed before she kicked off her pants, leaving them on the floor. She tiptoed her way to the bathroom and knocked on the door frame.

”Can I joy you?”

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Avery laughed and shook his head. He took his customary one, only strawberry and ate it happily. After he kissed Kimiko's head and focused on the TV show. It felt nice to relax and not think about much, and watching X-files was a great way to do it. Avery laughed at some of the things the characters went through as well as the creatures. He tried not to point out the irregularities but it was difficult not to.

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Nic’s gotten most of the evening off of himself by the time he hears Cassi finally enter her bedroom. Hearing her knock, he sticks out his head and flashes a grin before his eyes focus on the fact that she’s out of her clothes. It’s a welcome sight and his smile turns soft as he nods. “I would love for you to.” He says gently while reaching out a hand to help.

To be honest, if the image of the dead body from earlier wasn’t fresh in his mind, he might have reacted in a totally different manner. As it is, he still feels a twitch in response to Cassi. “How did I get so lucky to have such a beautiful girlfriend?”

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Cassiopeia laughed and looked away from Nic to hide her blush and avoid looking at him while she took her bra and underwear off. She glanced around her bathroom to look anywhere but at Nic while she walked across the bathroom floor and took his hand.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you were really good in a past life, or made some wish to be with a sorceress just once," she joked nervously.

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Nic can’t help but find Cassi adorable as she blushes and avoids eye contact, his lips quirking up in an amused smirk. “I think I should like to thank my past life then.” He says before wrapping his free arm around her waist and briefly picking her up to pull into the shower.

“Hmmm… Very lucky though.” He hums as he just holds her close for a moment and lets the warm water wash over the two of them. “Wǒ’àinǐ, wǒ de nuwū.” He whispers as he presses his forehead to Cassi’s.

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Cassiopeia gasped and grabbed onto Nic's arm when he picked her up effortlessly. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but think about how strong he really must be, to be able to pick her up again after carrying her across Caden's yard earlier, and then cleaning the floor of her shop for hours. Her stomach warmed and flipped just from the idea of it, and her hand tightened slightly on Nic's arm. He really did have great muscle definition.

Cassi had seen Nic without a shirt before and in a muscle shirt, but there was something about him not being obstructed with clothing that made his muscles pop more. Or, perhaps it was just in her head, the emotion of being skin-to-skin with him causing her mind to work in overdrive.

The shock of the temperature difference the hot water brought caused goosebumps to form on her skin, but the thrill of Nic's skin flush with hers didn't help, either. Cassi shifted in Nic's arms, wrapping her arms around him. She shut her eyes when he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered something in Mandarin. Cassi thought she recognized one of the words as love, but she wasn't thinking clearly at the moment.

"I hope that means something as sweet as it sounded." She tilted her head back, and opened her eyes to look at Nic. She smiled and reached up to kiss his lips.

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Nic smiles against her lips, a small chuckle muffled before he kisses her back. He keeps her close, their skin flush against one another before he breaks it. It’s hard to breathe while water is running down his face at the same time. “It was very sweet. Maybe one day I’ll tell you what it means.” He winks, kisses her forehead once again, and then pulls away a little as he helps the water run through her hair. His fingers rake through the strands, working to break through the hairspray still in there.

“Our children are going to have the thickest hair in the world, aren’t they?” He asks with a humorous tone, his eyes crinkling in amusement. He has to keep his concentration on something other than the naked woman before him, else he get distracted and make the wrong move. “At least they’ll be adorable if they’re anything like you.”

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Cassiopeia smiled when Nic started to comb through her hair. She turned around to give him better access to her hair. She tilted her head back to soak her entire head before she reached for her shampoo.

She laughed while she squeezed out the shampoo into her hand. ”They might… But our children will be just as adorable as we both are.” She stepped away from the water and started to run the shampoo through her hair, scrubbing it along her head. ”Have you ever thought of names?” she asked curiously.

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Nic pauses to think, pulling away to lather up some soap onto his washcloth before he starts to wash his legs more. He still can’t help but think of the mess back at Cassi’s shop. “Hmm, I guess I haven’t really before… Are you saying we can’t just name them all after you?” He jokes before going to wash the rest of his body.

“If we have more than one daughter, maybe we can name her Katherine or Lì…” He glances away, even if Cassi’s back is turned to him. Talking too much about his Kiki or his mom is still hard to do.

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Cassi laughed and scrubbed her hair more before she traded positions with Nic. Her shower was a little small for doubling up, but she didn't mind the close proximity. The comfort she was feeling from sharing this moment with Nic was worth shuffling back and forth.

”Why not both? Katherine Lí Wu has a nice ring to it, don't you think? As long as our other little girl has Claire as a middle name. It's sort of a family tradition.” Cass finished washing the shampoo out of her hair, and moved out of the direct stream of running water to look at Nic.

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Nic could’ve sobbed in that moment, his eyes meeting Cassi’s with a small shocked expression for a moment. As soon as she steps out from the water, Nic wraps both arms around her and pulls her close. “I love you.” He says before he kisses her deeply, one of his hands splayed on the small of her back while the other reaches up to tangle into her hair and hold her head.

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Cassiopeia smiled softly when Nic looked at her with shock. He didn't honestly think she wouldn't be okay with it, did he? Cassi laughed when he pulled her in, proclaiming how he loved her in a rather serious tone. There was no time to respond with Nic's lips instantly on hers.

Her eyes closed automatically, arms wrapping around his neck to deepen the kiss. She smiled while they kissed, pleased he was in love with the idea. It seemed like a simple thing to Cass. She knew how important Nic’s mom and sister had been to him, and she did love the name Katherine. If they could honour their memory in this way, then she would happily do it.

The kiss lingered, Nic's hands a welcome touch after the initial anger and emptiness Cassi had felt mere hours ago. She accepted his touch readily, her own hand creeping up the back of Nic’s neck to tangle in the back of his hair. She parted her lips slightly to run her tongue gently along Nic's bottom lip in a silent question.

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Nic took his time getting dressed after the shower, his gaze kept shifting over to Cassi with a small playful smile on his lips. Once clothed, he gave her forehead a swift kiss before heading downstairs to get started on some tea. He popped some bread into the toaster as well, knowing that the two of them might need some food with their drink, and started rifling through the cupboard that housed the teas Cassi owned.

As much as he felt he should be focusing on what he’d say - or more likely shouldn’t say - to Caden when they finally picked him up, his mind kept drifting back to the most recent memories made in Cassi’s shower. His ears turned a little red as he grinned to himself before he started tidying up the kitchen and getting dishes down for their little snack.

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Cassiopeia was busy drying her hair after finally getting to wash it. She didn't mind the distraction that prolonged the completion of washing her hair fully. In fact she rather enjoyed it. Her eyes kept wandering to Nic as he dressed, and she would blush every time she was caught staring.

Cass beamed when Nic kissed her forehead before he left her. Her eyes remained on his retreating form until he was gone and she sighed wistfully.

Free from distractions though, Cassi was able to dry her hair and get it to fall naturally. It wasn't completely dry, but she knew it would dry wavy and natural. After, Cassi dressed comfortably, yet professionally. She didn't want to look like she had just rolled out of bed, even though it was the middle of the night. Or was it the early morning?

Cassi suddenly felt a little bad for taking the extra time. Caden had been in jail for several hours now. He deserved it, of course, but it didn't stop her from feeling a slight bit of shame. Once she was dressed, she headed downstairs to join Nic. Along the way, Cassi had picked up Calypso and was scratching her head.

”Did you make toast?” Cassi asked, slightly amused by Nic's domestic nature.