'Til the Bittersweet End [M] ( Midoripickle & Ashen )

[Midori-Hime]

Aeryn glanced to the canvas Link pointed out with a curious gaze, wondering if it was her painting perhaps. She guided him outside to the black sedan parked on the street just infront of his apartment building. She opened the trunk for him and then helped him to load his things inside. Aeryn then followed Link back to his apartment to help. "Oh~ Good. And to think I was worried..." She laughed softly in reply, before crossing the room to get the canvas. She paused suddenly, glancing back at him before a small smile pulled at her lips. Aeryn picked it up with great care, following him back down to the car.

"I found us a place just across the way from the House of Descoteaux. It gives us enough distance to avoid being noticed, but from the roof I can get a good view of the house and any movement at the front gates." She told him, carefully loading the canvas into the backseat before getting into the driver's seat. She then waited for him to get in and drove off. "It's not much, but I think it'll serve our purpose just fine. I also got a tv for you... to keep you entertained while you work." She smirked at him a little. She asked him more about his progress on the bomb while they drove, and a little more than half an hour later, she pulled the car up to a small apartment building. "Most of the building is vacant except for the bottom two floors... but I was assured we wouldn't have any problems. The top floor is ours." She said, looking up at the 5th floor. Aeryn helped him carry the canvas up to the top floor before unlocking the door.

It was a small studio apartment, basically consisting of one big open room besides the bathroom. It was obviously old, by the cracks in the plaster walls and occasional creak of the floor boards, but otherwise well mantained. On the far end was two twin sized beds, a detail Aeryn had made sure of. And in between them, on the opposite wall was a antique dresser where the Tv sat. Other than that, the area where they first walked in seemed to be the kitchen, with a small fridge, counter space, and a sink. There was a blank spot for a stove, but at least there was a hot plate and a microwave if Link needed to cook anything. Aeryn's trunk was already there, beside the bed closest to the door. "Well... What do you think?" She asked, giving him a curious look. After all, it didn't matter much to her. She'd lived in much worse before.

[Ashen]

Link filled the silence in the car ride with talk of his bomb, of the research he'd done and the plans he had. He told her about the troubles he'd had just piecing the theory together, and he expressed light concerns with translating the theory into actuality. He was talking a lot, even for someone who had a few days worth of plotting to catch up his partner on. Link had just missed Aeryn, and now that they were reunited, he wanted to tell her everything.

Their apartment was nothing fancy. Link set his things down inside their studio and looked around. He'd lived in shabbier; he was a millennial after all. With a casual shrug he took the canvas from Aeryn and set it beside one of the two beds. "It looks homely," he said. "Quaint and quiet. Good for working on nefarious projects unnoticed." He looked to the tv in the room. "It will make good background noise, surely," he mumbled. Link grabbed the remote and turned it on, sifting through a few channels before landing on some boring documentary. "Look, I can learn about making pencils while I make a bomb. Truly home now."

He got to unpacking his bomb onto a table in the kitchen. Link wandered to the window and looked out at the night. "It is a nice place," he admitted genuinely. "And if we can keep watch over our subjects, even better. How'd you manage to get a whole floor for us?" As he spoke, he moved about the room, seemingly not knowing what to work on. He had the painting, but did he want Aeryn to see that yet? There was much work left until his bomb was working, but he'd been working on it a lot lately, and he felt he needed a break. Aeryn was here now, and he wanted to do something with her, but he couldn't make up some excuse for the two of them to hang out that didn't sound weird.

[Midori-Hime]

Aeryn's eyes followed him as he looked around their new home away from home. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or just saying that. Though slowly she smirked at his comment. "My thoughts exactly." She replied quietly, then glanced to the TV. "It's all yours..." She said, picking up some of his things and bringing them over to his side of the room. "I have no use for it." She said simply, stacking his things neatly. Her gaze then shifted over to Link and his work in progress.

"Let's just say... I have some connections." She murmured slyly. "Though mostly the other floors need some work. This place was still open and I managed to pull some strings so we could stay here with little questions asked. We shouldn't have anyone bothering us." She explained, crossing her arms. As he wandered, Aeryn moved to her things, pulling out some heavy, blackout curtains and then proceeded to hang them. Once that was down, she tossed the old, dusty curtains in a corner for now, brushing her hands off on her pants. "You can order some take out if you're hungry. There's also a small market two blocks away, around the corner." She said while moving to sit back on her bed.

She put her arms back above her head, resting her head on her palms. "Perhaps tonight we can just relax and get settled in before the real work begins?" She suggested, suddenly turning over onto her side with her head propped up with her hand. "Watch some Tv, draw, read... Whatever you want." Aeryn offered him a small smile. While they had some serious work to get done while here, she was happy to have this time with Link. It might be the last they had together, wether they succeeded or not.

[Ashen]

Link was grateful Aeryn seemed to want to take things easy for the night, too. He nodded towards her and dropped himself onto his bed. "Take out sounds good right about now," he mused. "I've got a few things to jot down in my journal, updates and all, but... I've been working on bomb-making and painting-making all week now. It might be a good time to give that a rest. Watching a movie... I think that would be a good idea."

He used his phone to look up the menu of a local pizza place. After deciding what he wanted, he glanced at Aeryn. "Want anything?" he asked. "Sorry, I feel like I should still ask." He made the call and turned his attention to the tv. "They'll be about twenty," he said. "That's enough time to pick something to watch, eh?"

As Link thumbed through the channels on the tv, his eyes suddenly caught on a particular title. A movie was playing, an old one about vampires. Horribly inaccurate, Link remembered watching it with his sister at one time when they were still little. "How about this one?" he asked Aeryn, turning to face her. "I don't know how much you know about movies, but this one is terrible. It's about vampires and vampire hunters, ironically, but the vampires are so... stupid. Like the director had never actually heard of a vampire before, he just thought up some monster and thought to call it a vampire. They drink blood, but they also get nutrients from cranberry juice, because it looks like blood... I guess. Anyway, there's a lot of really stupid things like that, and I think it could be fun to make fun of." Link didn't wait for a response; he was already changing the channel. "You're going to want to get comfortable for this one because it's almost painful how bad it is."

There was a new excitement in his voice, different than the one he'd had while talking about his project. Now, he just looked like a normal guy enjoying a date with a lady, not a vampire hunter readying to kill the only friend he'd made in ages.

[Midori-Hime]

Aeryn raised a brow at his question, knowing he was just asking out of polite habit. But she couldn't help but be amused by it. "Why? Offering me a bite?" She teased back, giving him a playful, audible snap of her teeth. Though immediately she regretted it, as it brought back the memory of the taste of Link's blood. Suddenly she turned her gaze away, sitting up in her bed.

She was lost in her thoughts, when Link spoke up suddenly. She glanced his way briefly before looking to the TV. "Heh, not much..." She admitted, though she seemed rather confused as he explained the movie further. Aeryn settled back on her bed, propped up with pillows, giving a little shrug. "Sure, why not?" She chuckled softly.

After a period of silence, Aeryn snorted and looked to Link. "You're right... This is pretty terrible." She said with a small smile before looking towards the door sharply. "Pizza is here..." She announced softly just there was a knock at the door. Aeryn was quick on her feet and was at the door before Link could even get up.

She dug through her back pocket as the young pizza delivery boy stood there and waited. Though he clearly didn't seem to mind the way he stared at Aeryn, stammering a bit as he spoke to her. "There... Keep the change." She told him, flashing him a soft smile. The boy blushed, his gestures awkward and stiff, though Aeryn didn't seem to notice as she brought the pizza to the table. "Dinner is ready~" She called out playfully, opening the box. She stared down at it curiously for a moment, trying to judge by the smell what it might taste like, before moving back to the bed to take a seat.

[Ashen]

They were only able to watch the movie for a few minutes before Link laughed out loud. "I'd forgotten just how bad this was," he remarked as the vampire on screen spoke in an extremely exaggerated Romanian accent. "Oh, wait until a scene a few minutes from now..." He looked up suddenly when Aeryn mentioned the pizza, then looked to the door when he heard the knock. "Having senses like yours sure would come in handy," he murmured. Link got up and fished a wallet out of his pocket, but Aeryn was already paying. "You don't have to do that--" he started, but by the time he finished speaking she had already paid and the teenage delivery boy was walking away with a dumb smile on his face.

Aeryn served the pizza and Link hesitated before grabbing a slice. "You don't have to pay for everything for me," he said softly. "You'll hurt my manhood if you pay for all our dates, sweet Aeryn." He smirked at her and took a bite of pizza. Mouth still partially full, he went on, "Contrary to popular belief, I do make money. Vampire hunting is a job, even if most people won't recognize it as one. What matters is that the mayor does, and the government hasn't missed a check yet. So let me treat sometimes, yeah? Might make me feel more like a man again." Link paused before his mind wandered. Feel like a man again... His eyes trailed Aeryn's body before he snapped them back to the tv. He'd called this a date, hadn't he? He just couldn't help it; Link was enjoying himself.

He concentrated on the movie again, back to poking fun at the director's horrible calls. He noticed Aeryn eyeing the pizza and raised a brow. "You can try it," he suggested. "It maybe won't taste like what it should, but it's something, yeah? Besides, I can't eat a whole pizza by myself." He hesitated. "Well, I probably could, but I shouldn't. So you'd just be helping me, Aer." He separated a slice from the rest of the pie and offered it to her. "Speaking of... Did you bring food with you?" Link looked to the fridge in their apartment and hesitated. If he had to open that to look at containers of blood... Or was she planning on getting live blood, perhaps from an unsuspecting roommate? Link shook his head. The movie got something right; vampires were still disgusting, bloodthirsty creatures, and that would never change.

[Midori-Hime]

She looked to the hunter and chuckled. "Date, huh? I thought maybe we were past that... Now that we're living together." She teased softly. "While that may be true, I don't see any point in you wasting your money." She said. "But fine, if it threatens your manhood then you can pay. Sometimes." Once again Aeryn found herself smiling. It seemed Link was the only thing that could make her smile again. However, it never lingered for long.

Her eyes moved back to the pizza as Link continued to offer her some. "No, it won't. It tastes like ash..." She muttered bluntly. She looked to him, and then the slice that he held out to her, part of her wanting to try it, as if this time it might be different. But she rose her hand, shaking her head. "Our stomachs can't handle food, but for some reason liquids are okay. Though even too much of that will make us ill." She explained. "But I appreciate the thought."

She then watched the way Link eyed the fridge and she could easily read the expression on his face. "I think you already know the answer to that, Link." She said darkly, crossing her arms over her chest and averting her gaze. "Don't worry, I packed them in boxes so maybe the sight of them wouldn't freak you out so much. If that's possible." She said quietly then, her emerald eyes distant as she glanced back to the pizza. "Save the rest for later..." With that she returned to her bed, taking a seat and watched the rest of the movie, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere. Aeryn only hoped Link would not regret being here with her.

[Ashen]

A smile blossomed over the young vampire hunter's face when Aeryn joked about living together. They were, even if it was for just a short amount of time, even if was strictly for business. Link hadn't lived with another woman--or anyone, really--since his sister turned. He had to admit, the company now was comforting. He thought of what it would be like after, once he and Aeryn had completed their mission, and he was to return to his quiet little home back in the city. Surrounded by the most bustling place in the country, missing the company he loved so much; Link couldn't bare the thought of returning.

He returned his attention to Aeryn when she explained that pizza would certainly just upset her stomach. He'd known that, had been studying vampires long enough to pick that up, but he wondered if Aeryn might just try anyway. The greasy forbidden fruit was taunting her, and Link expected her to grab at it anyway, to take a bite of regret and satisfaction. But the vampire did no such thing; instead, she turned his offer away and tried to return to the movie.

His question weighed on her, though. Link didn't realize how his prying into her diet would turn her eyes so dark. His lips parted as if he were going to take it back, remove the ignorant question from the air and bring the twinkle back to Aeryn's eyes, but he couldn't. He turned away at her answer, cursing himself for asking. Of course she would have had to bring something. His eyes absently crept towards the fridge, to the place where she would have to keep her supplies as long as she were here. He turned back to the pizza, barely half-eaten, his appetite lost. Link nodded weakly and moved to put the pizza on a counter by the fridge. He returned to the bed, now conscious of the tension in the room.

Link watched the movie again, but he kept sneaking glances at Aeryn. She was now bothered, aware of her nature, and it was his fault. Link looked to the distant pizza box, and he wondered if she might ever taste again. A vampirism cure... The idea crawled into his mind, stealing his attention. If he could develop a bomb, why couldn't he figure out a way to cure his companion's terrifying disease? True he was no chemist, but if it was to bring her taste buds back, to bring a smile back to her face, Link reasoned he had to at least try.

Frustrated at how often he was getting distracted, Link forced his focus back to the film. On screen was the part he had referenced only moments ago, the bizarre and stupid part that had always gotten him to laugh when he saw it as a kid. Looking back to Aeryn, he said, "Here, watch this, watch how the actress here has no honest idea how to portray her character... Oh, I think I have another idea for a film after this, too."

[Midori-Hime]

Aeryn wasn't obvlious to Link's movements, noticing the half eatten slice left on the counter. It felt like there was a knife being twisted in her gut then, wondering if he felt too disgusted to eat anymore. Aeryn dropped her gaze away from him as he returned, eyes unfocused on the Tv screen. It was only their first night here together and yet it seemed like the mood had already turned sour. And it was her fault.

After a short while, she attempted to simply focus on the movie and forget about the tense interaction just a few minutes ago. And it seemed to work, until Aeryn almost jumped when Link spoke suddenly. She turned her eyes to him sharply before she looked back at the screen, perhaps looking a little embarassed that she'd been caught so off guard. "Oh yeah? What might that be?" She asked curiously. She then watched the part he wanted to show her, a small smile tugging at her lips, before she let out a little snort. "So ridiculous..." She murmured, finding it amusing.

It was strange how sitting here like this, watching a movie with Link felt so oddly natural. Was this what normal people did? Watching vampire horror movies while lounging in bed, snacking on pizza. Being here like this, with Link, made her wonder if this was what life could be like... if she were human. But she was not, she reminded herself... and she would never be again, and she felt a pang in her chest. But she didn't let her inner turmoil show, not wanting to upset Link any further.

[Ashen]

Aeryn was smiling at the terrible film. That, at least, made Link breathe a little more easily. Even if his dumb question had ruined the mood, it seemed that Aeryn was still able to enjoy something. He let the scene completely unfold before shaking his head, chuckling. "The movie's a bit aged, this one, but I wonder how even years ago this was considered good entertainment. Unironically I mean." He shrugged. "The next one... It's a romance film, sort of a chick flick--don't judge me, I was raised by my mom and sister--about this guy who falls in love with a girl, only to find out she's a vampire. It's another terribly inaccurate one, though clearly not as bad as this. I figure that would be fun to rip into because chick flicks often are."

Link focused on the screen again when he noticed the on-screen vampire was licking his lips at an unsuspecting woman. Link remembered the club, at all the humans following their vampires like dogs. He cleared his throat. "You'll hate it," he said, going back to the movie he'd been talking about. "But it's more enjoyable that way." Link had another reason for showing Aeryn such a movie, however. He remembered the end, how the man found some cure for his love, and how they were able to live together for the rest of their mortal days. If Aeryn saw that, would she think it stupid, too? Or would she, like Link, wonder what if?

With the tension slowly dissipating, Link and Aeryn were able to finish their movie, taking every chance to tear into it. The film provided ample opportunity to, and by the time it ended Link commented on having lost several brain cells, and being willing to do it all again with her. He started looking for the romance movie then without regard to what Aeryn might have used in protest. He knew they were in need of a laugh, and he knew the movies to help with that. When he found it, he collapsed on the bed again. He looked over to her. There was a tugging inside him, a desire for more than his assigned seat in a separate bed. "You know," he started, trying to make it seem like he was joking, "if this is really going to be a rom-com date night, cuddling up in the same bed would be more fitting." Too forward? Maybe, but it was out there, and there was no going back now.