Burning Down (Kristina)

[Malachai Roen]

Thank God the shop was closed for the night.  Kai had had a hard time keeping up his normal easy-going front with the customers that evening - it'd been only a couple days after that night when he'd ran into Vanessa again and everything in his life had been tossed around and messed up, leaving him more heartbroken than he could have imagined.  Everything he was doing, he had to do with effort - even just getting up and making himself breakfast was proving increasingly difficult, especially since he had started to get used to waking up with Zach in his arms.  

I'm in love with you.  We need to end this.  Those words kept echoing in Kai's head, driving him crazy.  What if he hadn't seen Vanessa that night?  What could have happened?  Would he and Zach have become exclusive, or would something else have eventually torn them apart?  He was going mad over the what-ifs.

As he went to clock out, feet felt like they weighed a ton, dragging him down and making him slow.  On the way, he passed by that stupid jacket he'd picked out for Zach to try on that day he'd dragged him out shopping.  Something in Kai snapped, and he choked up, nearly knocking the coat off the hanger as he rushed to get somewhere where no one would see him break down.  Once the tears started flowing, he couldn't stop them; he crumpled up into the corner of the empty work room, relieved that he was one of the last people there.  Maybe he would just stay here for a while until he sobbed the pain out.  If it ever went away... 

[Kristina Novak]

It had been a few weeks since Kristina got hired at the clothing store. Overall, she was... doing alright. Her coworkers had insisted that she was doing great for being new and lacking overall experience. On the other hand, she thought differently. It was easy enough, folding clothes and keeping stock of items.. but her customer service was lacking. Kristina was still not as personable as she should be. What could she do? It was hard lying to someone when they wanted to buy something unflattering.

Right now, the Czech girl was finishing stocking up the jeans in the misses' department. She tucked the last pair of dark wash jeans on the shelf, nodding at her own work. She definitely preferred this over talking to customers. Kristina made one last round around the shop, double checking that everything was ready for the morning. Once satisfied with how everything looked.. wait. In the distance, she noticed that one of the jackets were swinging precariously, almost about to fall off the hanger. Couldn't have that happen.

She began to make her way over, frowning as she saw someone darting off in the distance. Kristina paused, only to make sure that the coat didn't fall, and followed after whomever was still here. She raised an eyebrow, looking around the shop one last time to make sure that nobody else was there. Once satisfied, Kristina followed where she had last seen that person go.

Kristina entered the work room, stepping inside to look around. "Who's sti-" she began to say, stopping at the sounds of someone sobbing. Turning around, she saw someone sitting in the corner...

Well, that was certainly the last person Kristina expected to see crying in the corner. "Kai? What's wrong?" She approached him, standing in front of him with a bewildered expression on her face.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai hadn't realized Kristina was still around. If he had, he likely would have (maybe, if he could have managed) to keep in the waterfall of tears now coursing down his face until he got home, or at least to his car. Now he was stuck - he couldn't go outside with bloodshot eyes and looking a mess. He'd have to calm himself down enough before he could do that.

But even telling himself that wasn't stopping the sobs. They continued to wrack his body despite his efforts; he felt like a child, alone and terrified, but not of a monster or anything like that... Terrified he'd ruined the one good thing that had happened to him in his life in far too long.

He jolted in horror as he heard the door open, cringing as he caught sight of Kristina. Shit! Shit shit shit! Kai desperately wiped at his eyes, but she'd already seen him crumpled up like an injured animal on the floor. "N-nothing," he obviously lied, holding his arm up to hide his face; his voice was thick with emotion. "I'll b-be fine. J-just... Nothing." Half of him wanted her to leave; the other half of him wanted to pour his emotions out onto someone, anyone that might listen. "Don't w... Worry about it. Just pl-ease don't... Tell anyone. I'll b... Be gone soon."

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina shut the door to the work room behind her, turning to face her coworker again with a confused expression. What had happened? She had worked with him tonight, and while it was no longer necessary for her to stick by his side, Kristina still saw him fairly frequently during their shifts. And he had seemed okay, maybe less flirty towards the customers. Nothing too noticeable.

Now, Kai was crumpled on the floor, weak and vulnerable. Kristina figured it was a side that he didn't want her, let alone anyone else, seeing. "Its okay, we're the last ones here. Well, besides the manager but they're counting the cash." she reassured him. Kneeling down in front of, Kristina awkwardly waited for a moment. Should she go and respect his wishes?

Her usual serious expression crossed her face. "No." The Czech girl said firmly, now sitting down in front of him. "You.. I know you barely know me, but you can talk to me. About... whatever happened." She rested her hands on top of her thighs, an awkward silence filling the air. "Or.. I can leave if you really want."

She would leave it up to him. Kristina waited patiently, for Kai to respond. 

[Malachai Roen]

Kai let out a heavy, shaky sigh, still hiding his face from his pretty coworker. "Yeah, at least there's that..." he mumbled, staring at the floor. At least he trusted Kristina not to laugh or tell anyone about this. "Th... Thanks for not just... Ignoring me..." he mumbled. Still, he felt self-conscious as she knelt down in front of him, and only managed a small peek up with bloodshot eyes before he hid again.

He twitched as she spoke again, surprised by the firmness of her voice. Would... Would it hurt to tell her? No, he could... Kai could tell her. It wasn't like she was going to tell Zach or something that Kai had been crying over him. She didn't know him (he hoped). "O... Okay," he agreed weakly, sniffing and wiping at his wet eyes. "It's... It's dumb, really," he mumbled. "Just a stupid break-up... No, not even a break-up, we weren't even..."

His shoulders shook and he shoved his palms against his face again, feeling his eyes tear up all over again. "Just this stupid guy and his stupid.... And then I found out..." Dare Kai tell her the other news? He'd gotten this far, hadn't he? Might as well... ".... I found out I have a kid," he said hollowly. "He's a year old and I didn't even know until a few days ago." If Kristina didn't judge him now, he would be shocked.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina nodded in agreement, settling herself down on the cold floor. "No need to thank me, it's alright." She assured him, drumming her fingers on her knee. While she wasn't the best at helping other people out, the least she could do was sit here and offer an open ear to her coworker. Kristina could try, that's all she guaranteed.

She watched Kai, crumpled and... quite honestly a mess, on the ground. Kristina waited for him to speak, frowning. A break up. She didn't try and say anything yet, wanting her coworker to say everything on his mind. And then...

"Oh shit." Kristina blurted out, her eyes widening in shock. She hadn't meant to come across as rude but, damn. "How'd you only find out a few days ago?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. "That's... heavy." The Czech added, trying her best to sound sympathetic. She was, but often, her serious expression made others think otherwise. "I'm sorry to hear that."

[Malachai Roen]

Kai was sort of thankful, in a way, that someone had found him - someone wanting to listen and help rather than mock him, at least. The Asian man was so used to keeping his emotions under control and just showing people what they wanted that he had forgotten what it was like to really break down and let people in.

He cringed slightly as Kristina blurted out a curse, wondering if he shouldn't have mentioned that part. Having a kid that he hadn't known about until now was hard to handle, of course, but it was more the former problem that was really ripping him apart. "I... The mother didn't tell me until recently," he said quietly, his voice hoarse. "It was just a one-night fling, I'd... Honestly quite forgotten about it until I ran into her again. We were both... Really drunk." Kai still only had foggy memories of that night. He gave a dry, humorless chuckle. "Nothing to apologize for. She's great, really. We'll be alright."

Kai didn't want to sound like a selfish, heartbroken idiot, but that's pretty much what he was. He rubbed his eyes and lifted his face away from his hands, resting his chin on his knees. "Have you ever been in a situation when you never realized how much someone meant to you until they were gone?" he asked quietly.

[Kristina Novak]

"I'm just sorry in general... coming off a breakup and then... then finding out your a dad? Just sounds like a lot to handle." Kristina corrected. She didn't have the right to judge Kai for his life and his mistakes. She wondered why the other woman hadn't told him sooner; had Kristina been in that situation, she would have told him immediately so they could work out a plan. Again, no place to judge. "Boy or girl?" She asked, crossing her legs as she settled.

She felt uncomfortable seeing Kai like this. Seeing him so vulnerable and afraid and heartbroken... the normally well put together Asian had a good façade. Kristina hadn't suspected a thing until she came across him crying. She kept quiet, searching for the words to say to try and assure her coworker that things were going to be okay. Her internal struggle continued as Kai asked. She played with the laces of her boots, thinking.

Had she? When Sofie first manifested, Kristina had missed her sister for the two years before her own manifestation. She cried, a lot. Soon, the Czech girl realized that Kai wasn't referring to a familial bond but rather, something more. Someone even. "You... you said you weren't even what? Obviously, there was something because you're upset over it." Kristina frowned, a quizzical expression crossing her face.

"And to answer your question... no, not really." Kristina admitted. She thought back to all of her relationships... a total of one. Back when she was fifteen and still at Hammel and had fallen for a girl. She remembered being confused about her sexuality, and remembered how that girl had broken her heart after a year of dating. Relationships at that age hardly counted, but Kristina was a wreck for a good month. "I mean, when I was younger yeah but... no real serious relationships." She thought back to Valerie, to Brooke, to the other nameless, fleeting girls at clubs. "I... I'm guessing that's how you feel right now?" She phrased it as a question, looking up to try and catch Kai's eyes.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai managed a thin smile towards Kristina for her sympathy. "Th... Thanks..." he croaked out. "It's.... It's been hard..." The proud man usually didn't admit to things being difficult for him, but there was only so much even he could handle. He cleared his throat. "B... Boy. He's a boy. Christian." He chuckled dryly. "He looks... Just like me." It was something he was still having a hard time wrapping his head around.

He was glad, at least, that he'd been putting up a believable act of being alright. Kai didn't want people worrying about him, or his managers thinking he wasn't fit to work over this... These stupid emotions.

"It's... It was complicated..." he mumbled vaguely, pawing his hand through his messed-up hair again. "We... We never said anything was official, and I thought he was just around for... For casual things, but...." But obviously Zach had been hiding his feelings as much as Kai had until that night at the bar. Kai sighed and pressed his palms to his face again. "He... Said he loved me. Right before he said we... We couldn't see each other anymore." It sounded weird, saying it aloud. Like he was talking about someone else. "I... I didn't treat him right, it's my fault for making him... For him leaving..." His voice cracked and Kai stopped talking. He couldn't do this.

He nodded at her question, having barely managed to listen to what Kristina had said beforehand. "I... I wish I could take it all back," he whispered. "It's just... So... Stupid...!" Why did he care about Zach so much? Why did it hurt so bad now that he was gone? "I was in love with him too," he sobbed suddenly. "I didn't know until he..." His sob turned into a harsh laugh, and he looked up with wet eyes at his coworker. "I sound like some dumb teenager going through their first breakup, don't I?" he asked sarcastically. His emotions were all over the place tonight.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina reciprocated the smile. Being here was the least she could do; it sounded like Kai desperately needed someone to listen to the thoughts that were raging through his mind. Someone... just to listen to his problems. It appeared that her coworker had the tendency to bottle everything up inside, which wasn't a healthy coping mechanism. Kristina figured it wasn't the time to scold him for that, though. She could understand where Kai was coming from, as her own reaction would be similar, if not identical.

"Understandable." She agreed with a nod. Times post breakup typically were hard to push through. A little boy? Kristina's smile widened as he talked about his son, Christian and described him to the Czech girl. "Well, he sounds adorable. Funny how genes work." The artist had no knowledge of genetics nor had the patience to learn about it. So, it remained a mystery.

Kristina didn't speak as Kai explained the situation between him and his boyfriend... no, just a guy... friends with benefits? She awkwardly reached out with a stiff harm, placing her hand on top of her coworker's knee. Was that weird? Maybe? Kristina didn't know what else to do during the situation. "I'm... I'm sure you're just being a little too hard on yourself." She finally said, giving a couple pats on Kai's knee before drawing her arm back towards her body. Kristina cleared her throat. "To... to me, it sounds like a misunderstanding."

Skeptically, she raised an eyebrow. "You were in love with him?" She asked. "Or you still are and this is why you're talking to your coworker in the back room at work?" Kristina asked. She didn't mean to sound rude or anything, but there was no point in Kai denying his feelings. Tapping her index finger on her chin, Kristina snorted at his next sentence. "No, you sound like anyone going through a breakup. They're... rough, no matter what age in life." Like she had any experience with that. Kristina just hoped she was faking it enough to reassure Kai and provide comfort to him in the time of need.