KazAlkemi

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden stepped up and sat next to Nero. ”Generally. The zoo first then,” Caden said, and told the driver. The carriage rolled a little before it was pulled tight and moved forward as the horse started to trot.

Caden smiled, remembering when this had been the only mode of transportation, aside from flying.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”They can Uber home. That way they won't have to wait around for you to drive them back after I'm done off-loading the plants. It'll take me a little while to make sure I do it right. Plus we still have to finish cleaning,” Cass said. She didn't want to tie the two of them down when they could just leave after they've helped so much.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”No, he usually keeps them in the wine cellar so they stay cool. I'll go grab one,” Avery said, and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden joined Nero once he found the right horse. Caden stood beside the carriage and offered Nero his hand to help them get into the back. ”They go around the park and sometimes on the main roads when the traffic isn’t too bad. We’ll stay in the park, though. We can take this to the zoo or the carnival. Where would you like to go first?”

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassi sat down, drinking some water while she watched Jane, Kat, and Ren talk about where some of the furniture should go. She took a sip of her water when Nic came over. She smiled at him and set her water down.

”Oh! Of course. Todd and Jason could take the truck back if you want to drive the SUV. We’ll need the room to bring the cuttings back to my house,” Cassi explained. ”We have to work, though,” she said teasingly.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery smiled and started to cover the food and put it onto the trolley. ”We can definitely eat on the patio. Do you want juice or something else to drink?”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden chuckled and grinned. ”Yes, my little imp. You can pick whichever one,” he told them, happily following behind Nero.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassi looked at Nic, holding the urge to tell him they should go now. ”Sounds fun,” she said and waited for the others to move their items in before she took the trolley back into the elevator to head down and load more boxes.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery finished the French Toast and pulled the bacon from the oven. He baked the bacon slowly with a brown sugar glaze. His mouth was practically watering from the smell.

”Do you want to take this all upstairs or just eat here?”

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden smiled and gestured to the carriages. ”Would you like to go for a carriage ride with me?”

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”Of course! And used book stores over new, film over digital,” Cassi said, going down a list of this or that as she stacked boxes.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery laughed, shaking his head, and pulled out all the fruit he could find. He laid everything out on the counter for Kimiko to pick and choose what she wanted. He closed the fridge and headed back to check on the French Toast. He passed behind Kimiko and paused. He rested a hand on her hip and kissed her cheek. ”Thank you for cooking with me,” he said before leaving her side.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”Times Square, I think, is probably my favourite. There is so much to do all within that one location,” he explains. Caden led Nero around the fountain and the pond before taking them back up to the bridge, where a line of carriages and horses sat waiting to take people around the park.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassi smiled wide, feeling a faint blush on her cheeks from the way Nic wanted to spoil her. It was far too much. She was glad she already had a tablet.

”Depends on what I’m doing, I guess. Mostly I’m designing tattoos, so graphite I find is best for that. Sometimes I paint, oil or watercolour, but that takes a lot of time and effort on my part,” she said with a laugh and started unloading boxes from the trolley.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery glanced behind himself, watching Kimiko busy herself before answering. He didn’t push the subject; just smiled and nodded. ”Perfect. We can see if a fox can outpace me,” Avery said with a competitive tone. He purposely left the word ‘wolf’ out, hoping the less he mentioned it, the better she would feel about shifting.

The first batches of French Toast were nearly completed, and the bacon was almost done in the oven. The kitchen smelled heavenly. It was only making Avery more hungry.

”Do you want some fruit? Blueberries maybe? Or strawberries or raspberries? I think there is some grapefruit, as well,” Avery said and opened up the fridge.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden walked around the fountain with Nero, looking at the pond and the tea house across the way. He glanced at Nero, and smiled at them in amusement.

”There was. There was also a TV show that filmed here quite frequently. The park and all of New York is rather iconic,” Caden said.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Nic & Ren's Apartment – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cass picked at the tape on one of the boxes randomly while in the elevator when Nic asked his question.

”I have a tablet for it, but I prefer pencil to paper. Sometimes I'll scan my designs into my laptop, but,” Cassi shrugged and smiled at Nic. ”I'm an old soul.”

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery laughed and nodded. He pulled out another pack of bacon and sausage before he started prepping and cooking. As the smell of cinnamon, brown sugar, and bacon filled the air, Avery asked Kimiko a question.

”Would you maybe want to go for a run with me? I was thinking tonight but we could do this afternoon if that would be better.” Avery didn't want to come across as insensitive, but he was itching to shift and go for a run.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel —> Central Park – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden chuckled and beamed at Nero's excitement. Half the enjoyment of planning this trip was watching Nero's enjoyment.

The pair walked from the hotel and down the street to Central Park. There were several walking trails and paths they could take to see all sorts of sites. The park itself spanned nearly three and a half kilometers, making it a lot of ground to cover.

Caden stopped at a coffee and snack cart to get himself something and whatever Nero wanted before leading way under some of the bridges to the fountains.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Ren's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

”Oh, definitely. I've made my own planters over the years, so we could design something that would fit your space. If you want flowers, I've always liked some of the creative objects and planters people use or what you get from garden centres,” Cass said.

She happily followed Nic through the house and back to the others before getting into the SUV and headed to the new place.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”We could definitely ask,” Avery said and rummaged around until he found brown sugar. He looked up quickly at Kimiko when she offered to cook the bacon, too, and he shook his head.

”No no. I have a special way to cook it,” he said. ”How much do you want? I usually eat an entire pack of bacon, sausage, and half a bag of bread to myself,” Avery explained.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel – New York City, New York
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Caden took some extra time getting ready, adding a nice watch and necklace to his ensemble before slipping on his rings. He fixed his hair and sprayed on some cologne before walking back to the dining and living room area.

”Ready when you are, my little imp,” Caden said, standing next to the patio door.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Ren's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassiopeia laughed and giggled as Nic twirled her. She felt the ground under her feet again, and pulled her head from his chest to look at him. Cass’ stomach tightened and she was sure she stopped breathing. Was he going to say he loved her?

Cass tried not to let her face fall when Nic said he really liked her. Of course, now that she thought about it, Cassi wasn't sure she could tell him the same. Not that she didn't feel that way, but because she was scared she did.

”I'm really glad I met you, too, Nic.” She reached up and kissed him softly. ”I'll get the boys to swing by my house after we unpack everything, so I can get my gardening tools.” Cassi was looking forward to ending her day playing in the dirt.

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”No, I think the chef has frozen them though. Do you want to thaw them for supper?” Avery asked. It had been a while since he prepared game, but Avery was sure he could make a nice stew.

Avery pulled out a couple loaves of bread, a couple packages of sausage and bacon, and some eggs and cinnamon.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel – New York City, New York
Skills:

---

---

”Well, I'll get dressed and we can get going then. That way we'll have the most amount of time before we have to return and get ready for the evening,” Caden said. He kissed Nero softly before heading inside to get ready.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Ren's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassiopeia tilts her head to the side, smiling at Nic, and shaking her head. How could he think she wouldn't do that for him? He embraced her, and Cassi held onto him tightly.

”Of course I would do that for you, Nic.” She already did that a lot for her own plants, it would be nothing to add more to her collection that she'd need to care for.

Cassi looked into Nic's eyes deeply and smiled. ”Nic, any excuse I can have for being in my garden and growing plants, I'll always take it. I have the time, trust me.”

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

”Oh, okay. Well, good.” Avery smiled, no longer feeling worried. He took Kimiko's hand in his, leading her from the room and down to the kitchens so they could make breakfast.

Chicago After Hours -- Paused (indefinitely)

---

---

Caden

---

---

Location: Mandarin Oriental Hotel – New York City, New York
Skills:

---

---

Caden looked over Nero's outfit, and smiled at their choice. He slid a arm around Nero's waist, resting his hand on their hip and nodded at the park.

”That's central park. We'll start our day there. They have fountains, carriage rides, a tea house, a zoo, and a year round carnival,” Caden informed them. ”After that I'm taking you shopping again.” Caden kissed the top of Nero's head.

---

---

Cassiopeia Claire Alistair

---

---

Location: Ren's House – Chicago, IL
Skills:

---

---

Cassi happily followed Nic through his old home. Some of the stories made her laugh, the others shocked her, and others had her standing a little closer to Nic.

She couldn't believe their place had been robbed, but it warmed her that Nic always seemed to have this protective nature within him. It endeared him further to her.

Outside a different story was told. Cassi wandered away from Nic, looking over all the different plants and how loved and cared for they were.

”If you want. I can take cuttings off your mom's plants and grow them until they can be transplanted for you and your dad. You have a lot of room on that balcony. We could easily create a garden there.”

---

---

Avery Zain

---

---

Location: Caden’s House – Chicago, IL
Skills:
Fit

---

---

Avery happily accepted the hug from Kimiko, returning her hug until she pulled back. He looked at her with bewilderment before laughing.

”I'm not sure. Is it okay? I can go grab some deodorant or put cologne on if it's bothersome.”