*falls down dead*

[maderr]

So it is Friday, right? Thanks you, dear gods. If there had been another working day tomorrow? I would have had to kill someone.

Also thank you to coworkers more desperate than I for money, for taking my Saturday shift tomorrow.

I could say more, and whine and complain but eh. The week is over, and unless of the two potentials decline I've only got a max of two weeks left of these 10 hour shifts. And Kristin straight up told me that if I got sick of it, to stop and we can get an FSR. So that was cool.

I want to write something, but am too tired to make the words cooperate. Still have Kidnapped on the brain. What do I have to do this weekend? The Real Thing, Sweet Rose, Geniuses...something else...oh. Midsummer's Moon (I actually started writing the next part today, so I guess that's something). And ideally Treasure. But I think by this point we all know I suck at actualy doing what I say I will/want to do.

Forgot to eat lunch today, because I bought new jeans and a couple of shirts. So had salt & vinegar chips and a snickers bar. Hopefully dinner will be more substantial.

Shutting up now.



A/N: Written in something of a hurry and in bits & pieces, so it probably needs touchd up. Comes...before the last snippet I wrote and not too long after K ends. Ciao!


So maybe he had no right to be pissed. He was the one who had snuck out of Lark's room after he'd fallen asleep. And then proceeded to avoid him the entire day.

It wasn't his fault he was a bit freaked out by it all. Bad enough he was saddled with Einn, and now Lark was looking for something Karmikel had rigorously avoided his entire life.

He was the one who was in big trouble, if the dark, angry, hurt look in Lark's eyes was any indication. There was no room for him to be upset or angry about anything.

But if the stupid bitch didn't get her claws off Lark and put several more imcrements of space between them he was going to go over there and show her just how nasty his magics could get.

A high-pitched laugh reached his ears as he glowered at the pair from several yards away. With a snarled curse Karmikel gave up any pretense of eating, slid his point card through the reader and stalked across the grand boulevard. He ignored Lark, still too...something to be able to look the man in the eyes. "Who are you?"

The woman lifted one delicate white-blonde brow, clearly unsure if she should be amused or offended. "Tell me who's asking."

"The person who is going to remove your arm if you don't remove it yourself."

Her lips twitched, "I see." She slipped her hand from Lark's arm as she looked at, sharing a look with the human. "We'll finish our conversation later. I think he wants to talk to you right now."

"Bye, 'Liza."

With a wave the woman sauntered away, vanishing into the crowd with her laughter following in her wake.

Karmikel looked at Lark, but jerked his gaze away when he acccidently collided with his eyes.

"What was that all about?" Lark asked.

"Nothng," Karmikel muttered, suddenly realizing just how damned stupid he was being. He turned to leave, but a warm, calloused, too-familiar hand latched onto his arm and yanked him back around.

Lark frowned, eyes frustrated and still faintly hurt. He hauled Karmikel to the side of a building, away from the press of the ever-crowded streets of Central Bangkok. Karmikel continued to struggle, still not meeting his eyes, and losing patience Lark pinned the Draconis between him and the wall. Loosely though, because else Karmikel would really start to protest.

"What's with you?" Lark narrowed his eyes when Karmikel looked anywhere but at him, but didn't press it. "I wake up to find you gone, then spend half the day looking for you before I realize you're doing your best not to be found by me. And now you come storming up in snit because I'm talking to someone."

"It wasn't the talking," Karmikel muttered. He didn't care who the man talked to, just so long as they didn't start get clingy. Just because he was a bit freaked out at the moment didn't mean someone else could come up and start putting in their own bids for the man. Until he said otherwise, Lark was not available.

Maybe 'a bit' was putting it too mildly. Stars, he hated this sort of thing.

"Then what was it?"

Karmikel frowned and shook his head, stubbornly refuse to admit that he'd just been jealous that someone else was touching...was touching...

Okay, fine.

Was touching what was his. Damn it.

Fingers gripped his chin, and Karmikel resisted Lark's attempts to lift his head up - but ultimately failed.

There was still a lot of hurt in Lark's eyes. He hadn't meant to do that. Guilt drove him to mutter, "She was touching you."

Lark blinked.

"What?" Karmikel asked defensively, looking away when Lark let go of his chin.

A soft laugh had him darting his eyes back. "You're laughing at me!" he glared, anger overruling everythng else.

"You're in a snit because she touched me?" Lark smirked, "You're acting like a woman again."

"Well excuse me!" Karmikel made to shove Lark back so he could move - but Lark didn't feel like letting him. He admitted maybe he deserved it if Lark told him to get lost, but he hadn't actually thought the jerk would be amenable to new company so soon. He tried again to shove the taller man away, but for his efforts only got pushed back up against the wall.

Then Lark kissed him. And damn it but Karmikel hated when he did that. Lark was all callouses and muscle and rough edges; he was shipyard and space traveller in look, in manner and in speech. But there wasn't a trace of that in his kisses. Lark kissed slowly, thoroughly, as though he'd been given a task of great importance and wanted to ensure he'd forgotten not the slightest detail.

It was heady, addictive and made Karmikel first forget and then remember why he'd fled that morning. Those kisses made him want more and more, and that made him want to run.

He pretended he wasn't disappoointed when Lark finally pulled away, and forced his thoughts to function. "Don't do that!"

"Why not?"

"We're in public!"

Lark looked at him, "Ashamed?"

"No!" Karmikel glared.

"Then why did you leave?"

Karmikel tried to reply, tried to look away, but found he could only stare back miserable and guilty.

Lark sighed softly and tangled his hand in Karmikel's soft, pale hair. He gave the Draconis another kiss, calloused hand searching for and finding the spot at the small of Karmikel's back that made the Draconis shiver. "You're an idiot."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. There was no call to sneak out while I was sleeping and then avoid me all day."

Karmikel tried to shrug, his movement limited by Lark's arms wrapped around him. "I didn't know what to do," he admitted at last.

"Next time," Lark brushed his lips softly. "Try staying."

"I'll try," Karmikel said, opening mouth for a deeper kiss, not admitting that he was happy to hear there would be a next time.

And now that stupid woman was definitely going to get it if she got too close again.