Chris figured it was for the best to allow Kuza a few moments to himself. He helped Ricky make breakfast for the house to help burn away time. They didn't need to eat much, which helped when they didn't have shit for food. Regardless, he noted that all he'd seen Kuza ingest in days was coffee. He told the others to leave some food out, then took a fresh cup of hot chocolate upstairs.

It seemed today was especially cold. It'd never get warm, of course, but some days are much worse than others. Chris opened their bedroom door quietly. He didn't want to disturb Kuza, had he been sleeping. If only. The once strong creature's walls had crumbled. He felt as vulnerable as an abused woman. His emotions had been beaten down, leaving him sensitive to the world around him. All his nerves felt as if they'd been ripped open.

Kuza kept himself in the corner of his bed, his back against the wall. His knees pressed against his chest as he sat wishing he could crawl into a hole and hide. Chris cautiously sat down beside him, offering him the hot chocolate.

"Here," He said, "You look cold."

He stared blankly for a moment. Tiredness had overtaken his mind. Kuza reached out with unsteady hands, muttering "Thanks" as he took the mug. Even the heat of the steam relaxing into his face felt relieving. He took a slow drink, letting the warm liquid wash down the taste of sin in his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Chris delicately asked.

His words processed through his head slowly. Kuza shook his head, stammering, "I-I... I've never f-felt like this before... I..."

He hesitated in responded, "You're not a... virgin, are you?"

"No, no," Kuza was quick to reply, scoffing, "God no. Far from it."

"I was just asking because you seem... Sensitive."

He shuttered, dropping his voice further, "It was so intense... I... I feel so exposed... Like, my skin's been stripped."

"Your energy is drained. It's going to make harder on your body. Merging might be good in the long run, but it takes a lot out of people." Chris explained, "Probably why Vinny and Ghost have been sleeping all day."

Kuza drew in a shaky breath, "It's only going to get worse the longer we wait."

"I know, trust me. You need some time to let your mind reset though. Go downstairs and get yourself some breakfast. Or, well, lunch at this point." He chuckled, just barely getting a smile out of Kuza. Chris set his hand on his knee and looked deep into his eyes, "It'll all be okay. I promise. I'll clean up in here, make it nice and romantic. Tonight, we'll finally get this all over with. Okay?"

Weakly, he tried to mimic his smile, "Okay."

Chris stood up to get out of his way. He started to go back to his side of the room, thinking of a place to begin. The room was rather cluttered. Up until recently, he hadn't had much of a reason to clean it. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Kuza got up alright. His heart ached to see what even a simple kiss had done to him. Truth be told, it fucked him up pretty badly too. It wasn't the first time he's felt energy like that though. His history made it so he could control himself a little better.

Once he heard Kuza shut the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. He could catch his breath again. Chris spent the next two hours reorganizing the messy room into a romantic den. He'd have to stop every now and then to recompose himself. Whether it be the uncontrollable feelings festering inside of him, or his time running short, he knew he wasn't moving as well as he used to.

He stripped down his clothes and tossed them into a hamper in the corner of the room. Chris turned on the shower, running the water hot. He let the heat cascade across his tattooed skin, relaxing his tense muscles. Though he knew he had to the be the strong one for the time being, he wasn't sure exactly how much strength he had left. Soon, the water trailing down his face became confused with streaming tears.

| | |

Ghost kept her legs intertwined with Vinny's as she sat in his lap. She couldn't keep her lips off of his. It was like a bad addiction, but she wasn't faulting herself for it. Whenever they were apart, she felt as if her veins were drained of life. With moans escaping her mouth, she started to turn her torso towards him more. She had intentions of undoing his jeans but a knock at the door stopped her.

She sighed, holding Vinny's face in her hands. Ghost kissed him a few more times before forcing herself to get up. She straightened out her dress and ran her thumb across to lip to clean up her smeared makeup. It was probably still pretty fucked up, but it's not like it was a secret things were heated in that room. Ghost opened the door, frowning when she saw the unhappiness on Kuza's face.

"Hi." He muttered. His veil of hair covered his face while he kept his head low. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting-"

"No, of course not. Vinny and I were just," She glanced over at her mate, then back at him, "Um, talking." Ghost stepped out of the way of the door to let him inside, "What's wrong, Sweetie?"

Kuza looked over at Vinny for a moment. His stare dragged back to the woman he considered a sister. She understood what he was insinuating, though she couldn't exactly find a way to tell her new hubby. Luckily, Vinny was all too familiar with what it felt like when people were uncomfortable.

"You guys wan'me to go?" He asked.

"It'll just take us a minute," She replied, "But yeah, Babe. Mike likes his privacy."

"I understand." Vinny grabbed her by the waist as he stood up. He kissed her cheek, telling her, "I'm gonna go see what everyone else's up to."

"Thanks, Babe." Ghost mused, letting him go. She sat down on her bed and pat the seat next to her, "C'mon, tell Mama Ghost all your problems."

Kuza slumped down beside her. He pulled his legs up to his chest, still keeping his head down. "So, this morning, Chris and I... Kissed." He muttered.

Her face lit up like Time Square at Christmas, "That's great! Why are you upset about that? Wait, more importantly, what kind of a kiss was it? Like peck on the lips or full thirty seconds or?"

"Um," He cleared his throat awkwardly, "It was definitely more than thirty seconds. We actually made out for a few minutes, an'... I got in his lap... and there was tongue, and some biting. We only really stopped because someone walked in the room. And, it's not bad, but it... It fucked me up, Dev."

Concern riddled her face, "What'd you mean?"

"I... I thought it'd be no big deal, I guess. When he holds me, though, I feel like another person. And as soon as it was gone, I felt sick to my stomach." He explained.

She lightheartedly laughed, "Oh, Honey, that's just the way it feels to love someone. Think of it this way. When you need water, your body makes you thirsty. So, when you need to merge already, your body is making you sick until you do."

Kuza buried his face against his arms, mumbling, "He wants to do it tonight."

"I'm sure he'll be gentle. He might've been a little... angry, when you first met him, but from what the others have told me, he's actually a very compassionate man." She traced her witchy nails down his jawline, "This isn't something to be upset about. Alright? Now, how about you let me do your makeup so you look perfect for tonight?"

He heaved a sigh, "I guess."

Ghost batted his arm, "Will you stop being such a sour puss?"

"No." He replied honestly.

Frustrated, she huffed and got up. "C'mon."

Ghost walked towards the bathroom, giving him a motherly look when he wasn't right behind her. Kuza groaned, forcing himself off the bed. He wished he could just fall asleep right there. Though he could write that off as sadness, his tiredness mostly came from his depleting energy. He may have been frustrated with the situation, and his emotions were rubbed raw, but he was out of time.