His and Hers
The rain came down in buckets. Now and then, the wind splattered it against the pane, and she had the impression of being in a gigantic car wash. Rose perched on the arm of her couch and watched. It was half past nine. She was onto her third cocktail, which was when the liquor began to seep into her limbs, making her languid and loose as a goose. A worn recording of Dean Martin's 'Ain't That a Kick in the Head?' circled the turntable. The night waited outside. All she had to do was open an umbrella and make a dash through the sidewalk puddles. She could get a cab downtown and take refuge in a bar. She could drink on someone else's tab. Later, she could hook a guy into escorting her outside, presumably to wait for a ride home, and then munch. That was how the cookie crumbled. Pretty vampires were one reason why nice guys finished last.

Three or four hours' worth of storyline played out in her imagination. Yes, she could do those things. But she wasn't in the mood.

Lately, Rose was a sourpuss. It had little to do with stormy weather, and a lot to do with her boyfriend's pack. In speaking after the encounter with Wyatt, the couple had decided to play it safe. No longer would Rose go to his house. No longer would they secretly meet on the fringe of his neighborhood. No longer would they entertain the idea of dirtying up his restaurant kitchen after hours. Gavin couldn't even see his girlfriend and his pack in the same day. The other werewolf knew her scent now. After the freedom of Texas, the restrictions fit Rose as poorly as an itchy sweater.

She set her glass on the kidney-shaped table. She felt like a social pariah. Well... even more of one than usual.

Stepping out to be met with icy water felt like a punishment. It was all in his head, and he knew it, but his head bowed until his eyes were staring at the sidewalk. Droplets of rain bounced around his feet. The leather of his shoes protested as he took his first squelching step. The entire day had tormented him. The new moon had brought out the beast in his pack, but the monster in Wyatt. Through the light hours, he had sat and listened to tales, stories meant to impress, yet with every word disgust brewed deep within Gavin. There was never a time when he had felt so incredibly alone when faced with the people he had spent his life knowing.

Everything was different now. There was no doubt in Gavin's mind that if Wyatt ever put two and two together, and he would, that even this would come to an end. And hell would be unleashed. What he struggled with the most was himself. Behind closed eyelids, images of Wyatt with his hand around Rosalyn's neck flashed. It wasn't something the werewolf was used to. Doing nothing. Not even a little thing, but literally nothing. It made his skin crawl.

Hunching into his jacket, large hands were stuffed into the pockets and his feet took him down the roads and paths he'd walked so many times in the past months. Water trickled down the short strands of his stubble, tickling, before dripping onto his collar. He focused his attention on the sound of the rain, letting it break through his thoughts. The pitter patter as it splattered against his clothes. Rushed and insistent. Almost the opposite of his slow and steady steps.

There was no guarantee that she would even be in, and perhaps it was selfish of him to hope so, but like most nights after a rough day it was always Rosalyn that he wanted to see. It just made everything else seem so insignificant when she was there. Freeing his hands, Gavin raised one to knock faintly on the door.

She straightened and looked away from the rainy window. Her eyes went to the threshold beneath the door, as if she could see the shoes of whomever stood outside. "Just a minute." Few people knew where Rosalyn lived, beyond the landlord and a trusted employee or two from Eternal Bliss, so the possibility of seeing Gavin made her slide off the couch arm. She smoothed both hands down her clothes, a sleeveless blouse and cropped pants. Clothes for lounging around and singing the blues, not seeing a boyfriend she hadn't laid eyes on in ages.

Rose pressed her eyelashes to the peephole and saw Gavin in the hallway, drenched and none too happy about it. "Aww... coming." She turned the deadbolt and opened up, putting on a sympathetic pout. "You look like a drowned puppy. Don't you have an umbrella, clyde? I'd loan you mine, but it's pink."

Gavin sighed, his large frame sagging almost as the door was pulled open. Cocking his head to the side, he was just about to believe her sympathy until she mentioned the pink umbrella. "Drowned puppy?" One of his feet eased its way past the door. "What kind of puppies have you seen that are as big as me?" Then his other foot moved, and he side stepped Rosalyn to get in. Casually his fingers plucked the door from her hand, and he closed it with a gentle click.

"I was going to ask you for a towel..." The werewolf's voice was low, and could have sounded menacing had his lips not twitched and gave him away. "But you look dry enough." Suddenly his arms were snaking around Rosalyn's back, and a chin dusted with stubble was being rubbed against her shoulder.

"Hey!" Rose climbed onto her tiptoes and wiggled, because his chin hairs tickled her senseless. When she pushed at his shoulders, it was a weak attempt to get away. "Gavin, you're soaked! And now I'm soaked, too." The rainwater easily seeped into her cotton shirt and plastered it to her skin. "Who ordered a wet t-shirt contest, huh?" After she was finished pretending to escape, she pivoted and put her back against his chest. She liked to wrap up in his arms, like he was a mink coat.

Rose waddled into the apartment with the werewolf attached to her back, going step-for-step with him as she dragged his weight along. She got all the way to the bathroom and let go long enough to snatch a towel from the rack. She tossed it on his head.

There was a snort before Gavin spoke, leaning into the curve of her body as she turned her back to him. "I did, didn't you get the memo?" Who was he to complain if Rosalyn's shirt went transparent? Rather than clasping his own hands, Gavin let his forearms cross until his palms were resting on the vampire's shoulders, holding her tightly while they walked in sync. Already his senses felt like they were on overload. Having missed her scents, the gentle fragrance of her shampoo, and clothes, were making his head spin.

Though he snapped out of it when the towel hit him. "You're not even going to help me?" The werewolf's shoulders slumped briefly, then shook as he chuckled. Shaking his head much like a dog would, he then peeled his jacket off and hung it on the door. Gavin's shirt was mostly dry, save for the wet ring around his neck and the bottom of his cuffs. Kicking his shoes off, he then tugged off his sodden socks and used the towel to dry his feet, throwing it back at Rosalyn afterwards.

Two fingers snatched the towel from the air. "If I helped, we'd be pretending you got caught in a monsoon," she said. Rose spun the terricloth around her index finger. "Poor thing, look, he's soaked to the bone. Off with the shirt, and the jeans... and the boxers. After all, we couldn't have you catching cold." The vampire winked and put the cloth in a laundry hamper.

"To what do I owe this surprise visit?" Because she adored nothing more than touching Gavin, she couldn't resist tugging up his shirttail and placing both palms against his stomach, where he was so warm, like a personal furnace. They didn't make men like him anymore, the raw sexuality types whose voices danced down the spine, who could send girls into squealing fits with a wink. The serious nature of what happened with Wyatt ought to taint every second with him, but Rosalyn had the hardest time remembering to be serious around him. A vampire and a werewolf, they should've been down one another's throats, but they never had been.

The faintest of rumbles echoed from Gavin's chest as Rosalyn's cool hands caressed his warm skin. There was something addictive about her touch that always made him crave more. Like his very skin needed to feel hers in order for him to breathe. "Now that you mention it... " Fingertips began walking up Rosalyn's sides, thumbs daring to brush beneath the fabric of her shirt to the smooth curve of her hips. "My shirt is wet." Leaning slightly towards her, Gavin's face lowered until he was close enough to smell the fruity mixture of what she had been drinking. "Man flu is the worst flu ever."

Hands tightened around Rosalyn's hips, cocking his head to the side Gavin took a slow, deep breath. There was lots he could say, and then some, but the deepest truth was so simple. "I wanted to come home." Hazel eyes blinked, and for a moment he thought of saying something else, but he kept it to himself.

"Is that where you are, Gav?" She crept closer until their feet touched on the thick carpet. "Home with me?" The bristles of his hair had grown long enough to manipulate with her fingertips, so Rose drew a soft pattern on the base of his skull and let the the scruff abrade her skin. At first, she looked everywhere except his eyes, but she finally zeroed in on them, blue locking onto hazel.

If she were human, perhaps her conscience would've regretted the wedge she inadvertently drove between him and his pack. It wasn't a thing she set out to do. Rose never said a bad word about them -- even Wyatt -- understanding that a man couldn't or shouldn't be manipulated that way. If there was a choice to be made, he had to make it on his own. But the conflict was there just the same, and she wasn't sorry that he loved her, too.

The light scritch and tickle at the base of his skull caused a knee jerk reaction. Rather than getting embarrassed, Gavin let it overcome him, and his foot thumped the ground softly a few times. Rosalyn was the only woman he could truly be himself around. With those blue eyes looking into his, the werewolf lost himself for a moment.

"Home is in your arms." It didn't matter where they were, as long as she was with him, it felt like home. It was the place he always wanted to be. His right hand raised to press against Rosalyn's cheek. The rough pad of his thumb brushed softly against her lower lip. "Unless that's a problem." Which could be a possibility, now that things had changed. Though he hoped it wasn't.

Rose locked an arm behind his neck. "You know it's not a problem for me." Her weight pressed onto him, not attempting to be sexual, but intimate, as close to the werewolf as she could get and still have on clothes. She traced his mouth with a knuckle. "But what are we gonna do, doll, hide in here forever? Put on trenchcoats and low-brimmed hats and meet in dark hotel bars?" A smile lightened the dreary prospect. "I'm just hoping he never gets a whiff of my perfume." She kissed her fingertip and tapped it on his mouth.

Then she rolled her eyes. "Ugh. I'm gonna need another drink if I don't stuff a sock in it. I'm killing my buzz." She ought to just relish seeing him and let the rest of the world go to the dogs. Most of the time, Rose was quite capable of turning off the questions that plagued women. Future worries didn't bother her much. But she got this feeling that the chemistry between them wasn't going to wear off, and the longer it lasted, the more they would want freedom in it. The thrill of sneaking around and breaking 'rules' was gone.

Lips pursed, and a subtle kiss was planted on the tip of Rosalyn's finger before it vanished. "A drink sounds good, what do you have?" Of course they should talk about it. The problem was opening up. Like it or not, things had changed for Gavin, and sooner or later it was going to show. He no longer spoke about kills to his pack. There were no stories or encouragement when they went out to keep their territory. Even the hate he felt towards vampires wasn't as deep. How could it possibly stay the same after his feelings for Rosalyn grew?

Keeping her close, Gavin slipped his hands down to her rear, and walked backwards. Slowly, he moved into the living room with her body still flush against his. "No trench coats or sleazy hotels." The werewolf paused to push her gently onto the couch, turning so he could grab her glass and the bottle to refill it. A liberal amount sloshed out, gurgling as it filled up. "I'm not ashamed to be with you." That was important, and he felt like it had to be said. Lowering his weight next to her, the drink was handed over as his free arm lifted to rest against the back of the couch.

"I know you're not ashamed." Rose got comfortable on the fluffy cushions and curled her feet beneath her. The glass was in peril, but she didn't spill. She sipped the strong liquid. "You're afraid." That was a bomb and the vampire knew it was tricky territory, accusing a man (especially a man like Gavin) of being afraid of anything. She rushed to clarify the comment. "You're afraid they'll hurt me."

She picked a piece of lint off her pants. "I dunno if you think I can hurt them. I wouldn't, not unless I had to."

Gavin's head lifted and cocked to the side, even his shoulders straightened momentarily. The rough palm of his hand scraped against the bristles on his chin. Silence continued as he lifted the bottle and took two large gulps straight from it. It wasn't that he wanted to get drunk, just the prospect of something happening to Rosalyn made his mouth dry and his skin break out in a cold sweat.

"The risk just doesn't seem worth it." Brow furrowed until thick creases formed. This was the choice Gavin knew he had to face. It couldn't be put off any longer.

After his comment, which could be taken as the opener for a break-up talk, it was a major chore not to react. Rose put her mouth on her glass and took a sip. Her teeth clacked on the rim. That time, she had trouble not spilling. "Oh yeah?" She set the drink on the coffee table and suppressed a shiver of dread. "If that's the story, what're you doing here? You don't have to play gentleman before you break my heart. I'm a big girl." She smiled and scooted to the edge of the cushion. Her toes curled into the carpet and her knees pressed together like a lady's. If Rosalyn wanted to pretend indifference, she could. The brunette could act with the best of them.

Gavin's face changed, his eyebrows arched and he pulled back to look at her. "What?" The werewolf shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that." A beat, "Actually, I did. Just not the way you took it." Finger tips pushed and spread against his forehead as he tried to collect the right words. Sighing heavily, he took Rosalyn's hand and squeezed it, inching closer to her as if the space between them were miles. The couch creaked beneath him as he moved. "Being around them isn't worth risking you. At some point you became the most important thing to me. Not the pack. Most of them are good lads, and they can fend for themselves."

Teeth chewed the inside of his lip, and he fought the anxiety clawing at his stomach. "I can't keep living this double life when every waking moment my thoughts are about you. If you're alright, what you're doing, are you having a bad day, did something make you laugh, make you angry, are you safe, what if something happens and you're too afraid to call me." Gavin's hand found its way to his head, where it brushed across the short hairs furiously. "I would rather turn my back on them, than ever turn my back on you, Rosalyn." Catching her chin with his fingers, he added, "I don't want to lose you." The smallest fluttering of possessiveness washed through him, and he whispered, "You're mine."

"Of course I'm your girl." In earnest, Rose pivoted and pushed her knees against the werewolf's. He looked so large against the backdrop of her couch, a bit of a bull in a china shop. She grabbed onto Gavin underneath his thighs and squeezed his hamstrings. "The crazy thing is, if I wasn't a vampire, I'd never even know you. I'd be dead as a doornail. Wouldn't that be the pits?"

She tried to smile, but her face looked tense. "I just know how wild you are about your pack. I don't wanna take you away, unless I can give you something that makes your family worth losing. What if I can't?" The idea of him running off with Rose only to find himself miserable made her stomach dip and swirl. Rose wanted him, but if he wound up hating her guts it'd be unbearable.

The smallest of grunts made its way past Gavin's lips as her hands clutched him. More out of relief than anything else. There was a bitter smile that touched his lips fleetingly, then it was gone, like a moving shadow. "I can't handle thinking about you not being here." Fingers moved from her chin, following the delicate shape of Rosalyn's cheek bone until they pushed into the hair at the nape of her neck. Slowly the pad of his thumb stroked the shell of her ear.

With his free hand, Gavin popped the first four buttons of his shirt out, then clasped her hand. Bringing it up to slip inside his shirt, the werewolf splayed her palm across his chest until he was sure she could feel the beat. "Do you feel that?" Dark eyes sought out her blue, and held them as he spoke, "You've already given me it. I've spent enough of my life living for them. I want to live for you, with you." Then something odd happened, like Gavin's voice broke slightly, "Please don't push me away."

Rose looked at her hand. She flexed her fingers and watched her nails turn his skin white. "I would never run out on you. Not in a thousand years." As if to prove a point, she climbed onto his lap and straddled him. Always before it was done in a sexual context. At the moment, she just wanted to pin him in place and lend him her reassuring weight. She knew how it felt to feel unfettered in a bad way, to want the weight of another person grounding her, shielding her from the boogeyman. In this case, the monster in the shadows was loneliness.

"I wanted you since I saw you on the el," she said and poked his chest. "Eating my sandwich." Rose smiled. "I never saw anybody take a bite like that. Be still, my unbeating heart." The memories were favorites that featured in her mind day in and day out. Gavin learning to ice skate. Gavin magically transformed into a high school football player, asking a girl with a questionable reputation to the prom. Oh, the looks he gave her. Gavin burning dinner because he was too busy making out with Rose. On and on they went, a playlist of happy hours.

Another sound left Gavin, a rumble deep within as his arms wove around Rosalyn's small frame, pulling their bodies together tightly. Instinctively, his face buried against the crook of her pale neck. Breathing deeply, he then let the warm air tickle against her skin from his nose. There was no rational way to explain it. Holding your entire world in your arms and being so certain of it. Even now his heart thumped faster, that peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach remained, his whole being letting him know he was right.

The short hairs on his face scraped her skin as a grin tugged at his mouth. "Yeah?" The word was muffled, and warm from his lips. "So it's alright to say that knowing what you were at the time, I still found you attractive?" That was something that had caused him some internal conflict to begin with. Some part of him had hoped that they would meet again. It was almost crazy, for him. Pulling back, the werewolf's hands spread against Rosalyn's shoulder blades, keeping her close as he looked at her. "I still do."

"Well, I should hope so!" she said, putting her hands on her hips, sassing a little. "I'd hate to think I was an acquired taste." Rose bumped noses with the werewolf. Their unlikely attraction remained a mystery, though it was an often thought-about thing. Appearance-wise, they made perfect sense together; The same was true of their personalities. Chemically, they made no sense at all. The fact that attraction did exist (and how) made Rose almost believe her soul was hanging around someplace, bonding with his.

"Are you gonna shack up with me tonight?" The rain continued to splatter the window panes. Going outside seemed a needless bother, so Rose tried to dissuade him from it. "Or are you going back out in the miserable old rain?" She rubbed her palms over the stubble on Gavin's head.

Gavin smiled, a true, toothy smile that touched him inside as he watched her act indignant. Rosalyn truly was the most incredible person he had ever met. She was someone who wasn't afraid to challenge him, and kept him on his toes. Every day together had the slightest feeling of it always being the first. The same tingle down his spine, the same light headed daze of happiness and that faint anxiety that somehow always felt good. "You're certainly not acquired."

Cocking his head to the side, as if to consider her offer, Gavin finally said, "Well that depends." The tone was mischievous, as his hands caught hers and ran them down the vampire's sides gracefully. Lifting his chin up, the werewolf's eyes twinkled, playful but cocky. "What does shacking up consist of?" Now his hands tightened on hers, keeping them locked against her hips, should the urge to slap him occur.

"Getting to keep your fingers and toes," she said, smiling even as she squeezed his hands right back in a warning. "And I would've sworn you were a gentleman." Rose shook her head, as if she couldn't believe the gall of his suggestion, a reaction that was ridiculous considering the scandalous things they often did in her apartment. "Well... I guess not. It's a good thing I like bad boys just as much." She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth. The werewolf tasted of the alcohol she'd been drinking earlier. "We'll skip Checkers this time, Gav, I promise."

When teeth met his lip, there was a tantalizing burn that throbbed, a wolfish grin was given in return. "Oh sweetheart..." The words seemed to be breathed out as he leaned up closer. Ghostly, Gavin's mouth hovered over Rosalyn's, the corners of his eyes crinkled as he held her gaze. Intentionally his hands moved to her lower back, "As bad as I am, you know I'll treat you good." There was a second when it looked as if he was about to kiss her, but he stayed just millimeters away to add teasingly, "No checkers? You know the way to a man's heart."

Two could play that game. Rose maintained the distance, though it was a tease to feel him breathing, warm and damp, near her lips. Oh, how she loved to experience that open-mouthed heat in all the places he administered it. "I know how sore you got after losing last time," she said. "I'd never seen a grown man throw a checkerboard." The vampire's hands were pinned behind her, a position she only pretended not to like. But she wasn't helpless. Loosening the muscles in her legs, Rose sank onto his lap and gave him her full weight, which she then rocked forward. "Stay with me tonight," she pleaded. Begging, while seeming submissive, could be a very effective offense. "You can limp home tomorrow."

"Well, you're a distraction, and taunting me didn't help." Of course he was just saying that, to wind her up to cover his embarrassment. It was the little things that got to him. Like the size of the pieces, fiddly because he didn't like to slide them, he liked to pick them up and put them back down on a new square. Which usually meant he pushed other pieces out of line. "Oh really?" As casual as he tried to sound, Gavin's voice was like gravel, and the muscle in his thigh twitched as she relaxed into him. Gently his hands left hers to rest on her hips, obviously not realising that he was being played right back. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Atta boy." Rose's face broke into a smile. "Coming is far better than going." Reaching behind her, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists and then slowly scraped her nails up his arms. At the biceps, her fingers dipped inside his sleeves so that her nails could continue. Then she slipped her index fingers into his armpits and tickled at him. In case he reacted strongly and tried to throw her off, she squeezed him tighter with her legs.

Gavin's mind had somewhat sunk to a level more suited for gutters. Combined with the way Rosalyn's nails felt against his skin, it almost made him dizzy. Listening to the rustle of his shirt as her hands moved, the werewolf's eyes closed to enjoy it. Only to open them seconds later in surprise and horror. With her hands inside his shirt sleeves, it restricted his own movements to shake her off, leaving him to squirm as a roar of laughter erupted from his throat. "Nooo!" The werewolf's face was turning red, shoulders twisted and turned in an attempt to wriggle free, "Stop that!" Though he was grateful, if it had been his chest his feet would be thumping.

"Or what?" Rose had to raise her voice to be heard over Gavin's antics. Staying seated while he twisted and tossed was like riding a mechanical bull at a rodeo bar. Preternatural strength was all that kept the vampire from being bucked off like a ragdoll. "Say uncle," she taunted, digging her nails in more. Although if he didn't, that was just as well. His belt buckle was striking her inseam in ways that weren't unpleasant. She could barely see the werewolf around her hair, which had bounced across her face. "Uncle or I keep going!" she threatened. All because he hadn't kissed her. This was what came of playing hard to get.

Between gasps of air and laughter, a bewildered, "What?" was panted. Of all the things to say, why did it have to be 'uncle'? The werewolf didn't like to give up, but there was a possibility that he'd bite a chunk out of the couch soon if she didn't stop. Not to be vicious, as an aid to keep him quiet. There was a reason tickling was used as a torture method, he was starting to realise this. "I'll go home!" Now he was starting to sound like a school boy, still laughing hysterically and thrashing. A faint sheen of sweat broke out over his skin, clammy to touch. Gavin's sides began to hurt. "Stop, stop, uncle!"

"There! That wasn't so bad, was it?" Rose gave him one more tickle for good measure, then retracted her hands. The vampire tucked her hair behind her ears and caught his sweaty face between her palms. She made Gavin look at her. "You wouldn't really go home, would you, and miss out on all the fun?" A tap of her nose against his, and then she nuzzled her way to his ear. "I was hoping we could heat up the sheets, unless you've got a better idea."

Breathing heavily, Gavin gave the vampire a look, sounding almost serious as he mumbled, "I might just to spite you after that." Truth be told, he had kind of enjoyed being tickled, and not for any perverted reasons. Maybe for the power struggle, because he knew he could trust Rosalyn, or the freedom to laugh loudly without inhibitions. The words in his ear lit a fire inside him, but he wasn't about to show that... Yet. Slowly a grin spread across his face, the kind that seemed far too calculated for it to be a good thing. "I'm just wondering what I can do to get my own back."

"What, your revenge?" Rose sat back and studied the werewolf's face from close proximity. She knew -- or rather hoped -- that he was pulling her leg; payback for tickling couldn't possibly outweigh getting laid... could it? "If you can't find a way to torment me while we're naked in bed, you're a bigger square than I thought," she teased, throwing down a gauntlet of sorts. She climbed off his lap and walked towards her bedroom, unbuttoning her shirt as she went. "Go on and have yourself a regular brainstorming session, Vine. I won't interrupt." She peeled the linen shirt off her shoulders and tossed it at the werewolf. "Later, gator."

Gavin's jaw dropped for a split second before he caught himself. The shirt landed over his knee, and when Rosalyn vanished into the bedroom, he scooped it up and rubbed his face in it. Taking a deep breath, the werewolf felt the blood pulse faster through his veins, and he stood up. "I know plenty ways to torment you in bed." His feet sank into the carpet as he strode across the room, straight into the vampire's room. "In fact..." The hand clutching her shirt lifted so he could breathe her in again, "I bet I have you begging, and only because you enjoy it." The shirt was thrown aside, "I'll show you square."

She backed towards the bed, a finger crooking in mid-air. "Only time will tell." Rose unsnapped her pants and shimmied out of them, leaving herself a pale, feminine figure in white underthings. After climbing onto the mattress and kneeling, she tucked her hands between her knees and watched him for a moment. He was right where she wanted him, in all ways. The good and undeserved fortune of it made her stupidly happy. "I really love you," she said, forgoing joking around for a moment to make sure he knew it.

It never ceased to amaze him just how tiny, and delicate, Rosalyn was. Strength not being included. Inside though, Gavin was certain that there was something pure, entangled with the demon. There had to be, because he saw it in her eyes when she looked at him, like part of who she was had never left her. Taking smaller steps, the werewolf moved to sit on the edge of the bed, one large palm lifting to caress her cheek. "I really love you, too, Rosalyn." A small smile touched his lips. "You're my one."