Some Kind of Madness [Midori]

[Midori Hawkins]

Quite honestly, Midori would have been happy to stay longer had she not been so worried about the fact she was probably worrying Eli. Yes, she’d sent him a quick text to let him know she wasn’t dead, but she still felt a little guilty about making him deal with Tory longer than originally planned. Devon’s company was a hard thing to resist, though, especially in this new capacity. It was different from how they usually spent time together, but... she honestly couldn’t say she hated it. Or that she wanted to give it up after this test run.

She giggled softly at his commentary on his cats. “Yeah, but if you didn’t you’d feel bad. Admit it.” She’d had dogs growing up at home, and her father was constantly bringing them toys and treats. Her mother had jokingly said more than once that the pets were more spoiled than the kids, which had only served to make Zach whine about how hard done by he was. But Midori was guilty of it too, bringing Eli’s dog Zero treats all the time. “And probably about six kinds of treats. Maybe some catnip.” Granted, with Bliss’ natural energy she wasn’t sure she wanted to see the kitten on catnip.

Of course she wanted to come back. They had a movie to finish, after all. And several more to go, by the sounds of it. The idea of doing this again, complete with blankets and pizza and cats, was honestly appealing. Just sans the nap. “Aww. Stay sleeping then, kittens. No bugging your Dad. That means you, Bliss.” With one last stroke each, she stood back up properly and made her way to the door with him. The fidgeting escaped her notice as she dealt with her coat, but the question made her look up at him. “Um, of course you can?” She had no idea what he was going to do, but she couldn’t imagine it was anything bad.

[Devon Wentsworth]

Devon gave a soft breath of a laugh, shrugging his narrow shoulders. “Well, maybe. Y'know I'd never hear the end of it anyway. Especially from Uno. He's usually so quiet and sulky, but you should hear it when he wants something. He makes sure the whole street knows.” Devon glanced over at the massive grey tom, sleeping soundly with all the confidence of a creature that knew exactly where it was on the chain of command in the house. Devon nodded in agreement about the extras the cats would probably want in that scenarios. “A whole sack of catnip, and probably their own koi pond to fish in.”

For as much as Devon had originally got the cats as a buffer for his own isolation, he had grown rather attached to them both. Bliss especially, of course, but he'd be lying if he said he hated Uno. The tom was a gigantic pain in the arse sometimes and had caused quite literal bloodshed on some occasions, but Devon wouldn't be able to part with him now. And that was only partially because no-one would want the great grey monster.

Devon had absolutely no idea why the thought had occurred to him, and had even less of a clue why he was intending to follow through with it. It was stupid, he realised that, and yet now it had occurred to him he was finding it oddly difficult to back down from it. When Midori confirmed that yes it was okay Devon took a deep breath, mentally and physically steeling himself, before he leaned forward and very gently booped his nose against hers, just like she had accidentally done to him hours before. “Seemed only fair, I think.”

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori had never had cats of her own, but she had heard how loud they could be when they wanted something. Watching the grey tom now, it was hard to imagine him being his sulky self, despite her knowing him better. He seemed almost sweet when he slept. “If they need their own pond, I think you might need a winning lottery ticket or two.” Still, the image of the two cats fishing was... about twelve kinds of adorable.

She still had no idea what Devon intended to give her, especially when he closed the distance between them. Briefly, she wondered if Devon was the type to kiss on the first date, and if he was, if she was one to return it. But those thoughts fled when the gentle touch came. For a fleeting moment she was confused, but her mind quickly went back to the evening, and the accidental nose touch when she’d worked to free him from his snow prison. The memory, and now this, made her smile fondly as she looked up at him. “Completely fair,” she assured him softly. It was sweet in such a new way that she honestly didn’t quite know what to do with herself now. “Devon?” She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket, finding it difficult to wipe the smile from her face. “I really am looking forward to doing this again.”

[Devon Wentsworth]

Devon nodded in agreement at the comment about the lottery tickets. “You’re not wrong there. And it still wouldn’t be enough to please them. Cats are kinda like kids that way, I think.”

Kissing (or lack thereof) on a first date hadn’t been something that Devon had ever concerned himself with because it had never been of importance to him. Kisses had always just been one step on a ladder to the main goal, and the absence of second dates for so long had rather dulled him to the thrill of it. However this wasn’t a step on a ladder, he had no end goal, and Midori certainly was worth more to him than the other girls ever had been. Her reaction to the nose touch was better than he ever could have hoped, and Devon couldn’t help but grin. “I’m really glad, ‘cos I am too.”

The soft sound of a horn outside let them know the cab was ready, and Devon’s grin faded but a warm smile remained. “Until next time, then?”

[Midori Hawkins]

It seemed that the cats really were just like kids. It seemed that every time she turned around, Tory was out of one phase and into another, and it was difficult to keep up. "It's true. Sometimes I can't keep up with what Tory likes and doesn't like, it changes so often." Cats it seemed were the same, getting bored with one toy and latching onto a new one quick as can be. Both of them clearly had a neverending battle on their hands between Tory, Bliss, and Uno.

The horn of the cab was a rude interruption, but sadly a necessary one too. Much as she knew she had to go, Midori felt an odd sense of reluctance to leave. But she had the next time to look forward to. "Yes. Next time." With a warm smile of her own, she slipped out the door and into the cool night air.