Lauren had gone to the motel and checked out bringing her meager belongings to Brennan's apartment. She kept her little corner neat and tidy, she didn't really own a lot of things, so it wasn't too hard to do. She took quickly to cleaning up after the both of them and would cook as well before going out hunting at night. She was waiting for him to introduce her to Ben so that she could get a job. She did things without much thought, figuring that she was earning her keep by keeping the apartment tidy.
She had gone out that night and staked two vampires before deciding to call it a night. She walked back to the apartment from where she'd been hunting. She hadn't gotten banged up as she had been the night that he found her. She actually looked like she was just about as clean as she had been whenever she'd left. She rode the elevator up to his floor and walked to the door. She bit her bottom lip realizing that she had forgotten the key that he'd given her. She frowned softly as she knocked on the door, waiting for him to open it for her.
He'd gotten up early that day to head to work at the bookstore he was employed at. When his shift was over by that evening, Lauren was already out hunting he gathered when he approached his apartment door. Her scent, while not strong, lingered and indicated to him that she'd left an hour or two before he arrived home.
Brennan worried a little at her safety, but considering she'd been doing this for five years there about, the wolf reassured himself that she knew what she was doing. Exhausted, Brennan had plopped down on his sofa to be lightly engulfed by Lauren's scent. A small smile broke out on his face as he kept offering to sleep on the sofa in her place, but she kept insisting that she was intruding. As the TV droned on, the wolf eventually drifted off until he was jerked awake by the sound of knocking on his door. Getting up, Brennan shuffled over to the door and opened it. He was rather surprised at seeing the blond in the hallway and looked back into the apartment with a bit of confusion on his face. "I..." He looked at her, "I gave you the spare key, right?" Considering midterms were around the corner, it was quite possible that he'd forgotten.
She looked up at him, and smiled softly as she saw the half asleep look on his face. She bit her bottom lip as she saw the confusion spread across his face. "I forgot it whenever I went out... I must have left it on the counter when I got some water..." she said softly.
She felt bad about waking him up. She stepped into the apartment. "I'm sorry that I woke you up," she said as she slid off her shoes and then toyed with her hair. She'd worn it down that night, the blond hair hung down to her shoulders in a soft cascade of straight length. "Did you find the dinner I put in the fridge for you? I figured since you had to work that I could cook for you and then you could just microwave it..." she said as she shifted from one foot to the other.
His expression brightened at the reminder and some of the groggy cobwebs lifted as he nodded, "Yes! That was really thoughtful of you, Lauren. Thank you." Relief could be heard in his voice as Brennan really wasn't much of cook and he could only think that his fridge was mixed with what he bought at the supermarket and the takeout he frequently ordered. Brennan looked the girl over and it didn't appear as if she'd had the rough night like the evening he'd first met her, which soothed the worry still in the back of his mind.
"Um, sooo...everything okay?" She smiled as his expression brightened. She really liked his smile. It set her at ease. She liked cooking, but so rarely had anyplace to cook, so taking care of him was encouraging to her. She had seen all the left over takeout and had decided right then to start cooking for him, at least a few nights a week. At least until she'd find a place of her own. Granted, a job would have to come first. She wasn't really sure what she was good at. Slaying vampires wasn't exactly a marketable skill.
She nodded her head as she looked up at him. "Everything is good, Brennan. I didn't have any problems tonight, two bad vampires out of the world, and I didn't even break a nail..." she teased.
Lauren's smile was contagious and Brennan smiled back as he asked, "You want anything?" He gestured to the kitchen that was only a few steps away, chuckling at her joke. The wolf started to head toward it and paused in the doorless entryway for her answer.
She watched him for a moment and shook her head. "No, but thank you for offering." she said as she tucked her hands into the pocket of the light hoodie she'd worn out. She leaned against the wall of the hallway. "You have a really nice smile..." she said as she looked at him.
The wolf cleared his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the frame. For a short moment, Brennan ducked his head and then stared back at her, ". . .So do you." Lauren had a lot more nice to her than just her smile, but honestly that was just a bonus for Brennan. Cute smiles and a nice pair of eyes was always what drew the wolf in first. His gaze lighted on those lips a moment, the urge to kiss rising before he shook himself back to reality and cleared his throat again, "Uh. . .I can, uh I can leave you alone in the living room if you want some time to yourself." He gestured toward his room, "I've got. . .books." Brennan nodded and thought to himself, Oh yeah. Smooth, Brennan. Real smooth.
Lauren felt her cheeks flush softly as he said that she had a nice smile as well. She had to keep her hands in her pockets to keep from reaching out to touch him. "You don't have to... I have been alone most of the evening..." she said before looking down at the floor. She closed her eyes for a moment, mentally kicking herself for being nervous over this. "Unless you want to go and read..." she said shrugging.
Brennan glanced toward the living room where the TV flicked light around the room, "Actually, I fell asleep to some pretty hokey disaster flicks on the Sci-Fi Channel." He shrugged and then suggested, "We could. . .watch them." The wolf then grinned, "I've got popcorn in one of the cabinets!"
She smiled as she looked at him. "That sounds good. I like cheesey sci-fi movies." she said as she bit her bottom lip. "I feel bad for waking you up..." she said as she looked at him. "You make the popcorn and I'll get drinks. What would you like, Brennan?" she asked as she stepped past him into the kitchen.
As she passed him, Brennan caught her scent again and he reached for her. His hands gently halted her by the shoulders, but he stopped himself from doing anything more. Clearing his throat again, he lifted his hands, pressing them together as a small smile curved his lips, "There's no need to apologize, Lauren. I fell asleep on the sofa and wasn't intentional."
She felt him touching her and then looked up at him. She swallowed as she looked up at him. She liked the feeling of his hands on her shoulders. She paused before she blinked a few times. "Your hair is all scrunched," she said her smile spreading. She reached up and smoothed it back.
Upon the contact, the wolf closed his eyes and pretty much leaned into the gesture. He didn't even think about it, being part of a pack made him partial to casual contact than the typical human being. Normally, however, he didn't get this way until he'd gotten to know a person or friend a little better. Yes, Lauren had been staying with him a few days, but that hardly constituted as "knowing" someone.
She watched him lean into her touch and it brought a soft smile to her lips. She liked how at ease she felt with him, as if touching was not off limits, like she kinda belonged for the first time in a very long time. She watched him as she stood in front of him, her fingers trailing softly over his cheek. She wondered what it would be like to have him kiss her, but wouldn't push much further than she thought that she was already pushing by caressing his face.
Brennan seemed to sense this from her as well, although the urge to trail his fingers along her cheeks, tuck that seemingly soft hair behind her ears, and kiss increased, the wolf cleared his throat and brushed past her. The wolf started rooting around in his cabinets, trying to remember when the last time he'd seen the box of popcorn. Clearing his throat, he tossed back behind his shoulder, "Uh, just a soda for me, thanks." Somehow, he didn't think having a beer tonight was a good idea.
She watched him brush past her and moved without another word, getting him a glass of soda and herself a glass of water. She carried them into the living room and sat them down on the coasters, before sitting down quietly on the couch, as close to one arm as she could get without sitting on it. She worried that she had done something wrong, and wrang her hands in front of her as she waited for him to come into the living room. She mindlessly watched the tv in front of her, trying to not worry that she'd messed up.
The scent of popcorn permeated the air and a few minutes later, Brennan returned to the living room carrying a bowl of freshly popped popcorn. It looked liked Lake Placid was on the TV, but it didn't seem to impress Lauren very much as she just sat there. A look of worry seemed to mar her brow and Brennan inquired softly as he set the bowl between them on the sofa, "Lauren?"
Lauren looked over at him whenever he said her name. Her eyes had always been windows to exactly what she was thinking so she looked down. "hmm?" she asked trying to push thoughts of worry out of her mind
"Are you okay?" Brennan asked, settling onto the sofa and draped his arm across the back. His sofa wasn't all that big and while it had two giant cushions for the seats, he could've easily replaced them for three if wanted to. The tips of his fingers were close enough to her shoulder that he could brush them against the material if he wanted to.
She nodded her head and then shrugged. "Just a little confused, but that's my fault. I shouldn't have touched you like that. I didn't have any right," she said as she clasped her hands in front of her and looked down at them.
"Hey," he started to say, his fingers touching her shoulder briefly to get her attention, "I'm at fault, too." Brennan paused to choose his words carefully. Lauren was a hunter and he wasn't sure what, if any, kind of training she received. He had no idea if she'd been taught or told that Werewolves were bad or anything. To err on the side of caution, he said, "My family is kind of touchy feely. I don't mind being close to people, but not everyone has that high a comfort level." A rueful smile curved his lips, "Sometimes I forget that."
She shrugged softly. "I am not used to being around people... I just kinda it was nice." she said as she stared at her hands.
Brennan shook his head and touched her shoulder again, "I won't do anything you don't want me to." Withdrawing his fingers from her shoulder, he picked up the bowl and offered it to her, "Popcorn?"
She looked over at him whenever he touched her shoulder. She listened to him. He was so sweet and understanding . It made her want to kiss him again. She squelched down that urge by takin some popcorn and sticking it in her mouth. "Thank you," she said after she chewed.
Brennan smiled back and nodded his head once at her as he took a handful for himself. He gazed her a moment longer before turning his attention to the TV and then let out some kind of exclamation as the giant croc attacked another victim. He laughed at the ridiculousness of it and shook his head.
She made a face as she watched the crocodile attacking people. She couldn't help but laugh as she let herself get immersed in the movie. She'd jump occasionally whenever something came out of nowhere and startled her. She glanced over at him occasionally, but made sure to not stare at him.
Whenever she jumped, Brennan unconsciously laid a reassuring hand to her shoulder until he could hear her pulse slow to a regular beat. More than a few times, his hand lingered longer than it should have, the wolf just couldn't help himself. The popcorn, of course, was gone long before the end of the movie and as the credits rolled, Brennan stood and lifted his arms to stretch. Something popped in his back and a sigh of relief was expelled as his arms flopped to his sides. The wolf turned to pick up the empty bowl and then asked, "You want a refill on your glass?"
She enjoyed the feeling of comfort and warmth his hand on her shoulder. She watched him get up whenever the movie was over. She looked at her empty glass of water and nodded her head. "With lots of ice, please." she said as she held out the glass for him to get her more water. A few times during the movie she had been tempted to cuddle closer to him, but had refrained.
Taking the empty glass and bowl, Brennan headed back into the kitchen. Dumping the bowl in the sink, he rinsed it out and suck it in the dishwasher. Stepping to the fridge, the wolf filled the glass almost entirely with ice before filling it up with water from the dispenser. He returned to the living room, sitting next to Lauren to hand over the glass, "Your water, Madame."
She smiled as he handed over the glass to her and took a sip out of it. "Thank you, Brennan," she said as she sat the glass down on her coaster. She smiled as she tucked her feet under her and shifted in her seat. "You know, you can call me Laurie..." she said as she thought about it. She was more comfortable with him than most people she met. Besides, Lauren just seemed too formal since she was staying with him. She reminded herself that it wasn't permanent, he had said until she found a place of her own.
A smile curved his lips at the invitation to call her by a more familiar name, "Yeah?" Brennan nodded once, "Then Laurie it is." The wolf couldn't put his finger on the why, but he secretly hoped that the girl wouldn't be able to find a place of her own. Most of his life growing up had been spent with Brandon by his side until he left for a while and then started college a couple of years ago.
There was no denying that Brennan enjoyed the solitude of the past few years. But visiting with Brandon had been a relief, the knowledge that he was back with the pack made his world complete again save for just one thing that would make it fuller. As he stared back at Lauren, he had to wonder if she would be the one to make his life full.
She shrugged as she looked at him, a soft smile on her lips. "I figure, I'm kinda living with you, so there's no need for you to be so formal with me..." she said as she fiddled with her hair.
She had never felt as comfortable with someone as she did with him. Part of her wished that it was permanent. That she'd be there with him, not alone again. And it wasn't even really the solitude that was hanging over her head, it was the idea that he made her feel more human, less like the hunter that had been going through the motions, living a half life, trying to avenge her mother's death. It had almost become an obsession, but Brennan kinda made her feel like she could be the girl she had been before her mother died.
"Hey," he started to say with a chuckle, "Whatever floats your boat and makes you comfortable." Brennan replied, lifting his hands a bit, and then glanced to the clock on the wall. The wolf sighed, his body language clearly saying he was reluctant about something, but tomorrow would be a long day for him full of classes and then work. He cleared this throat, "Well, I better head to bed. I've got classes and work tomorrow. Are you...gonna be okay by yourself?" Which, if he was thinking, would have been a redundant question to ask because she'd been on her own for years already.
She looked up at the clock and nodded her head softly. "I'll be alright, Brennan. I'm used to being alone..." she said as she pursed her lips and looked down at her hands. "So I guess I'm going to go and look for a job tomorrow, and I'll probably see you after I get back from hunting." she said as she shifted in her seat, pulling her knees up against her chest.
"Okay," the wolf nodded and then his fingers brushed her shoulder again, "If you need anything tomorrow, give me a call, alright?" He shifted to catch her eye and smiled.
She smiled as he touched her arm and looked at her. "I'll call you if I need anything, Brennan," she said as she watched him. She liked the casual touch. Part of her craved it, because she'd denied herself touch for so long. "Sleep tight, Brennan." she said as she looked down at the couch.
"Good," he said, his smile still on his lips. He stood and, impulsively, leaned over her to press a kiss to the top of her head, "G'night, Laurie." The wolf then moved around to the back of the couch and into the kitchen briefly to dump the last bit of his soda down the drain and tossed the can into the recycle bin next to the trash. Sleep, Brennan knew, would be difficult with the attractive blond hanging out in his living room. But honestly? The wolf wouldn't have it any other way.
Her eyes closed as he kissed the top of her head and she blinked slowly as he pulled back from her. "Good night, Brennan." She said softly as she watched him get up.
She smiled softly as she got up from the couch and got the things to make her bed, and did so. She turned the tv lower and curled up on the couch, relaxing as she waited for sleep to finally take her over.