Locked Out (Milan)

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

Needless to say, locking herself out of her apartment wasn't one of Sienna's finer moments. She had left her keys at a friends house, rushing to try and beat the inevitable storm that was now raging and soaking the redhead down to the core. In the last few moments that it took to drop Sienna off at home, it had come down full power, with visibility shot on the road. Calling Anna to try and bring them back probably wouldn't happen until tomorrow, because nobody could drive in the weather, and from what the weather forecast stated, it was going to be going on all night.

Sienna tried her next door neighbors, but either they were asleep, ignoring the door, or out and about themselves. Hard to believe the latter options, but it was always possible. Either way, she could hear Holly on the other side of the door meowing, and knew that if she didn't get in soon, her cat was going to throw a fit. It was around her feeding time, and if Sienna had trained the cat to do anything, it was know when she should be fed.

In the moments before the rumble of thunder, the redhead had an idea. Milan was a busy man, but surely he could help her in this situation? He could walk through... shadows to different cities, from what she was aware of. What was stopping him from being able to get into her apartment?

Usually it would sound creepy, but Sienna was soaking and desperate at this point.

To: Milan (:
Hey

Sent: 9:53 pm

To: Milan (:
Think you can do a girl a favor? Please?

Sent: 9:53 pm

[Deleted]

Falling back in old habits was an easy thing to do. Milan rather effortlessly realized this, but at the same time he was also aware that Ella breaking his heart had juggled his life in more ways than one. While he still spend all his time working on files, loneliness struck whenever he got home. Loneliness that was never there before. Many activities that the recruiter tended to like lacked joy at this point. Perhaps because the betrayal had negatively influenced his trust issues as well. The friends that he had been able to count on one hand... Those went down to a couple of fingers. He was iffy of getting close to someone; iffy to let any personal information shine through.

It also explained why he was reluctant as blue eyes landed on the screen of his cellphone after it lit up. Unlike Sienna's attempts to establish a decent friendship... It scared him. The possibility of daring to cherish a bond - even if platonic - led to the risk of ending up hurt again. That prospect made him reason that he was better off on his own.

At the same time, however, his personality still got the upperhand. It was why a sigh slipped past his lips as he leaned back in the desk chair, using his right thumb to sweep over the screen before starting to type a reply.

To: Sienna
Good evening.

Sent: 9:56 pm

To: Sienna
What would that favor entail?

Sent: 9:57 pm

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

Unaware of the mental dilemma that was surging through Milan's head, Sienna only had to wonder why he wasn't answering in the short time that he had her waiting. Three minutes may not have seemed like a long time, but when being pelted by sideways rain when under the roof of the walkway of Sienna's apartment complex, three minutes was far too long. It seemed Holly had all but given up, as her meows went silent and Sienna knew she was in for a whacking on her part.

Finally when he responded, she pushed herself further to the wall and held herself so her back faced the rain so she could at least avoid getting her phone wet. Normally would be the time to place a somewhat sarcastic, but overall good-natured reply to his second question, but the redhead was cold and wanted to get into her apartment more.

To: Milan (:
I sort of locked myself out of my apartment.

Sent: 9:57 pm

To: Milan (:
I was wondering if you could do the whole shadow walking thing that you do and unlock my door for me? There's no alarm. It's pouring rain and I'm getting soaked.

Sent: 9:58 pm

[Deleted]

Three minutes wasn't long in Milan's opinion. If anything, he wondered if more time should have been taken to formulate his response. Walking on egg shells around people had become an habit. His confidence had taken an incredible hard blow. When Sienna answered, however, concern popped up at the surface, diminishing some of the reluctance he felt towards engaging in a social situation.

To: Sienna
Do you have a picture of your apartment's interior? I can't if I'm not able to visualize it. Doesn't have to be a detailed one. It can be on the background.

Sent: 9:59 pm

Sitting straighter on the desk chair, blue optics drifted outside. Thunder and lightening had started to join in. It definitely wasn't a smart thing for Sienna to lock herself out.

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

Of course Milan was not aware of her predicament until after he had read the second set of messages, and which was made clear by his more quickly sent messages. Luckily for Sienna, she had just sent a picture of her living room to her parents after reorganizing the room. She was proud of it. She even had gotten a cat castle for Holly to hang out on in the corner.

To: Milan (:
Open attachment
Here it is. I'm not trying to rush you but if you could hurry, that'd be fantastic .-.

Sent: 10:00 pm

At the moment she sent the picture, a flash of lightning hit somewhere in the distance, causing Sienna to cringe. "Come on, Milan," She said to herself, "Please hurry up."

[Deleted]

To say that Milan stayed somewhat reluctant was the best way to describe it. Nevertheless, he ended up getting up from the desk hair after having read the text message and after having seen the picture. While not in his usual attire that he wore at work or during social interactions, getting changed didn't sound like a good plan right now. The jogging pants and casual shirt would have to do.

No more text was sent. Instead the recruiter did what he was best at: walking through shadows, after having inspected the picture to figure out which shadow he could walk out of in her living room. Once this was a success, it did take him a couple of seconds to figure out where the light switches were. And then which direction to walk in to open up the door for Sienna.

Luckily he could follow the meowing of Holly - who seemed very cautious and distant when he man moved forward to unlock the apartment to its owner. "Watch out, kitty," the man mused while opening to door, keeping an eye on the animal to make sure it didn't rush outside.

As blue eyes landed on the redhead, a weak smirk appeared on his lips. "Welcome," a hand gestured inside. "Make yourself at home."

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

There had been, up until he had opened the door, a fear that he would not be able to do it. After all, Sienna didn't understand the mechanics of his power and how it was that he would get from point A to point B. That being said, there was also the fear in the back of her mind saying that he didn't want to see her. As it were, they spoke regularly, but hardly enough to call it 'frequently'. Ever since she had found him in the depressed state that he was a few months prior.

While she still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, she was glad he had, even if it was only slightly, begun to open back up.

When he opened up the door, relief flooded her soaking figure, and her lips curled up as she brushed past him. "I appreciate your hospitality," Sienna said as soon as she was inside and the door was closed. Holly jumped off the counter then and rubbing against the redhead's leg, but when she realized Sienna was wet, the cat backed away slightly, licking the fur that had been dampened.

"Weird, this place looks so much like mine," and with that, she offered more of a true thanks, "I really appreciate you doing this. I really didn't want to take you away from work, but it's apparently supposed to storm all night."

[Deleted]

Milan was able to relax during the beginning of their interactions. The longer he was around someone, however, the more he began to question things. This in turn tended to get him to close up to people again. Letting them in was dangerous, and he rather avoid the possible outcomes of growing fond of someone. It didn't take away that he made efforts for his friends though, just like he was doing now.

"We both have good taste then," the recruiter retorted once the door was closed. The moment of joking around soon made place for a friendly, reassuring yet weak smile though. "I probably needed a little break from work anyway. Plus, I still have a couple of hours ahead of me, so it's okay." He didn't even deny having been working. Sienna knew better than him trying to lie about it.

"Anyway, glad you made it inside safely. You should always have a spare key with you though, to avoid situations like this."

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

The difference between the man she saw then versus the man she first met at the diner as a waitress was considerably different, but she always tried not to make a big deal of it. There was something she learned about people throughout the years - the only person you could control was yourself. There was no way that Sienna could force somebody to do something they didn't want to do, and if she had in some way or another, it would do more harm than good.

His habit of working was even more prevalent in the past few months, and even though he had begun to take some more time (even if more is still a miniscule measurement), she still had to wonder if he'd ever recover.

"Well if I carried a spare around, how else would I have been able to lure you to my secret evil lair?" She asked as she directed herself to her bedroom, hoping to make a quick change out of her soaking wet attire. "It may not look so scary now, but just you wait!" And the door was closed, and although she didn't announce that she was changing, the redhead was sure he understood what she was doing.

----

A few moments later, she was back out and in a comfortable pair of black yoga pants and a grey t-shirt. It wasn't anything impressive, but it was comfortable. Her hair that was originally down when she had come in was now in a high ponytail. Holly, still unsure of the man in the living room, came trotting up to Sienna and gave a frustrated meow.

"Kitty wants food," the redhead offered towards Milan, "I hope you don't mind."

[Deleted]

Milan had merely smirked and plafully rolled his eyes. In the end he kind of did regret this because the time wasted doing so could have been used to inform Sienna that he probably should be heading home again. With her in the other room, however, it kind of felt rude to just go and disappear without an announcement. So instead he waited patiently for her to appear in his sight once more.

Once she did, the softest of smiles curled the man's lips. "No, it's alright. I quite probably should get going anyway." The fact that this statement held a certain amount of doubt, mainly in 'probably', should be enough to make it clear that it wouldn't be too difficult to make him stay. At least, if that was what the redhead wanted. The last Milan aimed for was to be a burden.

"And Holly seems to be ready to attack me if I'm not careful." With a small chuckle, his hand motioned at a random shadow. "I can let myself out."

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

Owning an animal was like owning a child, especially when the animal was a demanding cat. Holly wanted what she wanted when she wanted it, and while that was something Sienna could handle, it could be inconvenient especially in moments such as these. The redhead finally managed to get Milan to a place where they could maybe relax and talk, and he was already trying to run once again.

Withholding a sigh, Sienna attempted to dismiss his idea of leaving, “Oh, I mean, do you have to leave this soon? You sort of helped me out a lot, and I was going to make some tea.” There was a request implied in the statement, a request to stay, but if it weren’t as obvious to him while she placed the food in Holly’s food bowl, she decided to outright say it.

“Would you stay for a bit?”

[Deleted]

Sienna's objection almost made him feel relieved. In all honesty, he didn't want to leave yet. She had relied on him; he had been the one she turned to for help. While it only might have been because the redhead needed something, at least it gave his life some meaning. For a second it had made him feel important to someone again. Milan did express some doubt at first, silently thinking it over, but eventually he turned to look over at the young woman feeding the cat.

"Tea sounds good actually." A small smile curling his lips some before the unspoken tension seemed to diminish to a certain extent. Milan relaxed some, but at the same time he was not comfortable enough to roam into another room. Instead his gaze drifted to Holly, wondering if there was a chance to pet her while she ate.

"So, Holly... Is she the kind of cat I have to be afraid of? Does she attack guys who dare to venture in your secret evil lair?" Her words from before were being used. It was always a good way to prove he had been paying attention whenever she spoke.

[Sienna Reid-Estrada]

Surprised by Milan's submission, Sienna tilted her head and momentarily offered a look of confusion. That is, until his smile registered as genuine, to which her lips curved upward in response. While Holly chowed down on the food, Sienna's attention focused entirely the Irishman, intent on ensuring she gave him no reason to move. His joking seemed as the best indicator to his intention to stay, and so she relaxed some.

"Do you like peppermint tea? I'm still cold, so it helps me relax." Typically the redhead drank it directly before bed, but her body could handle a conversation before the effects truly kicked in. Plus, Milan could simply walk through a shadow and be home in a moment's notice, so she wasn't too worried about keeping him up and force him to drive home.

"I don't recommend figuring it out, especially when she has already has the taste for blood." Sienna said jokingly, although had the redhead not given the cat food in time, she probably would have been nipped at.

[Deleted]

"I do like peppermint tea." With a nod to confirm his words, Milan nonchalantly tucked hands into the pockets of his jeans. Given he had not been there before, he couldn't help her take out cups or anything else for that matter. It did make him feel a bit useless. "And thank you for reminding me why I prefer dogs over cats." Eyes momentarily lingered on Holly before he smirked some. He had no plans to find out just how aggresive the feline could react. If there had been a dog, however, he quite possibly would have felt to urge to reach out and pet it. Right now, however, there was no such temptation.

"So, what would you have done if you didn't have me to call?" Amusement snuck on his features. It felt nice to know he had been the one to 'save' her. At the same time it was also entertaining to think about how she might have ended up in awkward situations had he not been available.

Then again, surely she could have called other people. That, or she might have ended up at his door. Milan wouldn't have minded either way. Her presence was welcome. "Need any help by the way?" With the tea.