Kat dusted off the last bookshelf in the store and glanced to the clock hanging on the back wall. She would be off in just a few minutes and she was practically counting down the seconds. It had been a slow day as the weather got colder and the gusts of wind were so intense it was as if the weather was angry. That and it was Monday. Mondays were always slow which was why she resorted to dusting the bookshelves since there wasn't much else to do.

The bell over the front door chimed to inform her someone walked in and Kat sighed, making her way to the end of the bookshelf to greet the customer. "Welcome to Connie's, how can I hel-"

She paused, glancing around the store. There was no one there. It wasn't a big store so it wasn't as if there were a lot of places for someone to hide. Kat walked up to the front and checked down the aisles as she went but didn't see anyone. She frowned in confusion because she swore she heard the bell. She glanced around the store one last time then shrugged, it was completely quiet.

"Excuse me," someone said from behind her.

Kat jumped and spun around quickly, knocking into a display she set up just today. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as the books toppled to the floor. Kat hesitantly brought her eyes to the culprit: an incredibly tall and beautiful woman with black hair and eyes so dark Kat almost wondered if they were also black.

"Sorry sweetness," the woman said in a smooth voice, a wide smile forming on her face. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"No apology necessary," Kat laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there," she said, bending down to pick up the books she knocked down. "How can I help you?"

"I was just wondering where your romance section is," she said, her eyes drifting up and down Kat. "Preferably the erotic section."

Kat swallowed hard and let her hair fall in her face as her blush intensified under the woman's scrutiny. "Um, yes. Yes, we have some of those in the romance section," she said, standing with the books and setting them on the table. "Is there a specific author you're looking for?"

"Whatever you recommend, sweetness," the woman said, her eyes seeming to watch Kat's every move.

"Okay," Kat said, offering her best smile despite how uncomfortable the woman made her.

Kat led her over to the romance section and pointed her towards the ones she knew about then planned to leave the woman alone to browse but the woman grabbed her hand. The action sent a strange, unsettling sensation through Kat and she jerked back but even that didn't make the woman release her.

"Thank you, sweetness," the woman smiled, taking her time releasing Kat's hand.

Kat nodded and hurried away from her, wiping her hand against her dress as if that might take away the strange sensation she felt. Kat only glanced back once and found the one still staring so she retreated behind the safety of the counter. She briefly wondered what the woman's deal was but then decided she shouldn't be surprised, the bookstore was downtown and it wasn't the first time she encountered a strange person. It certainly wouldn't be the last. Still not as bad as the man that came in claiming to be some king that required many young wives and had graciously chosen Kat as one of them.

Thank God for the alarm button Connie, Kat's boss, installed behind the counter.

Kat pulled her phone out and glanced down at the screen, seeing a text from Nex. He'd decided shortly after the Jason incident that Kat needed a way to contact him if they dared bother her again and so resorted to getting a human phone. Kat wasn't sure why that was necessary because the truth was, he'd hardly left her side for any significant amount of time since it happened.

Nex: I'm caught up with Lucian. I'll be late but don't walk there without me.

Kat sighed and rolled her eyes, typing out a response. He apparently had a very protective side because he wasn't keen on her going anywhere without him since the incident despite the fact it'd been two weeks and she wasn't as depressed as she was at first. She wasn't sure how to take his sudden intense protectiveness over her. She'd be lying if she said part of her didn't like the way he was spending so much time with her and checking in with her when he wasn't around but she also didn't want to be a burden on him, especially given the fact she still hadn't found a way home for him.

Kat: I'm used to walking alone. Don't worry about me.

Kat's head snapped up as she heard the bell chime again but this time saw the woman walk out. Kat frowned in confusion as the woman passed by the window and gave her a small wave and smile before going past the building, out of view.

I guess we didn't have what she wanted, Kat shrugged. Her phone vibrated and she saw another message from Nex come in.

Nex: Do not walk without me, Katherine.

Kat didn't bother responding, just slipped her phone into her pocket and glanced up at the clock again, as if repeatedly checking would make the time somehow move faster. Nex was a big fan of demanding things and she decided the best way to cope with it was ignore him when he started demanding. She decided eventually he'd learn she wasn't going to do something just because he told her to.

The clock hands finally moved to closing time and Kat had already cleaned everything and closed up the register in preparation for that moment. She slipped on her coat, grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before setting the alarm and walking outside, locking the door.

Starting down the street, she only made it about two blocks before Nex appeared at her side, making her jump. "Which part of do not walk without me did you not understand?" He scowled.

"Oh my God," Kat breathed, setting her hand on her chest. "Seriously, stop just appearing next to me. What if someone saw you?"

"On this incredibly busy street?" He asked, gesturing to the practically empty street. "The only people out at this hour on this street, after dark, might I add-" he said, narrowing his eyes. "-are drug addicts and they don't know what the fuck they see or don't see."

Kat sighed and stuffed her hands in her coat pockets, continuing down the street, passing into a less friendly part of downtown. Nex kept stride next to her, his eyes darting around the run-down part of the city.

"Please tell me you don't do this regularly," he said, making a face as they passed an alleyway full of people passed out from their vices of the day. "This is dangerous. Do you have any sense of self-preservation?"

"No one down here is going to hurt me," Kat shrugged.

"You don't know that," Nex scowled.

"You need to relax," Kat sighed, giving him a side-glance. "You know, just because people have addiction problems doesn't make them horrible people. Just because someone is in a rough patch and homeless doesn't mean they're deadbeats. Some people just need a little help."

"Perhaps not but it does often make them dangerous," Nex pointed out. "And you're young and..." Beautiful. "... Look like an easy target."

"I'm telling you, most people down here wouldn't hurt me and if they tried, someone else would step in," Kat repeated. "A lot of them know me personally from volunteering at the shelters. If you weren't with me I'd probably already have an escort. Just trust me."

Nex planned a retort but then Kat stopped in front of a brick building and pulled open the creaky, wooden door. Nex sighed and glared as she walked inside, his eyes darting around the streets then up at the food bank sign. Kat held the door, looking back at him curiously.

"You don't have to come," she shrugged. "You're the one that wanted to. I didn't ask you to."

"I don't want to," Nex scowled. "I'm here because you insist on putting yourself in danger and what am I supposed to do if you die while wandering down unsavory parts of the city by yourself?"

"Are you coming in or not?" Kat sighed, setting a hand on her hip.

"I cannot believe I'm fucking doing this," he muttered, stepping up to the door and following her into the food bank.

According to Kat, plenty of people volunteered at food banks on Thanksgiving Day but they also needed help on the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, packing meal boxes closer to the holiday but also sorting through the food since people donated a lot more during holidays. It was something she used to do with her parents which was the only reason Nex backed off of trying to talk her out of it.

Nex's initial plan when she brought it up was to stay hidden and just be nearby in case something happened to her but then he discovered Kat planned to stay until she helped sort all the canned foods that were donated and if he helped, they would get out of there sooner. Which was why he was surrounded by a bunch of humans, grudgingly organizing canned food and wondering what the odds were that of all the people in the world, he would get summoned by someone like Katherine.

Normally, he would've just let her come alone. But he messed up. Leaving a mess like he did at Jason's could draw attention from higher ranked demons. He just hoped it wouldn't draw the attention of one demon in particular.

Lilith could be particularly vicious and she technically out-ranked him, that made her incredibly dangerous, especially given the fact Nex could only do so much as he was bound to Katherine for the time being.

Nex felt as if the night couldn't possibly get more tedious until some people came in looking for food. As if that wasn't bad enough, Kat walked right up to them and got them settled, even hugging some of them before finding some food leftover from earlier in the night and getting it heated up for them. Nex wasn't overly fond of the way they smiled at her, the way they seemed too comfortable around her. He didn't sense anything particularly bad about them but he couldn't be too careful.

He reasoned that was why the moment she was at his side packing boxes again, he set his hand on her waist and pulled her closer to him so they would know she wasn't alone here and she wouldn't be walking alone either.

"I must've missed the part of volunteering at a food bank where it says you're to be affectionate with the dodgy people that come in," Nex said, narrowing his eyes.

"They're harmless," Kat said, rolling her eyes. "I know which ones are dangerous and which aren't and they're not dangerous. They're just cold and hungry."

"Kitten," Nex sighed. "If you could for one single fucking day not be so naïve, that would make me less on edge."

"I'm not being naïve," Kat frowned. "I know them. I've known them a while," she said, nodding to the men at the table, eating the soup she brought them. "They just want to be treated like everyone else, Nex. Do you always judge someone after the first few seconds of seeing them? There's more to people than just appearances, you know. You don't even know them."

"And you do?" Nex asked doubtfully.

"Yes," Kat said, setting her hands on her hips and turning towards Nex. "They both happen to watch out for the young kids that end up on the streets. They weren't here for normal dinner hours because they were watching out for other people."

"You talk to them enough to know all this?" Nex asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because they're people and they're kind," Kat frowned.

"They're homeless and could be addicts for all you know," he pointed out.

"I'm careful," Kat said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I don't pay attention and the people that are dangerous, I keep a distance from. But you can't just label someone as one thing. Labels are toxic, Nex," Kat said, shaking her head and turning back to the cans. "People don't fit neatly into categories and labels have only created more division and bias than anything else. If instead we all looked at each other as people with lives and emotions just as complex as our own instead of trying to identify them by some label and judge them for something they can't control, then maybe there wouldn't be so much hate in the world. Haven't you ever been misjudged?"

Nex wasn't sure how to respond to that and so he didn't. Of course he'd been misjudged. Being a demon wasn't always easy even with the perks he had. He wasn't about to get into that so he just tried to work faster in the hopes of getting out of there sooner. Except he kept getting distracted. He couldn't stop his gaze from being drawn to her as she sorted through the cans and interacted with the other humans.

She was sad, he knew she was still sad because he'd been around her enough. But damn, she pulled off not seeming sad so easily. If he hadn't known what happened, that she still cried occasionally, he would never know she wasn't completely happy. If he didn't sleep next to her, he wouldn't know she had nightmares almost every night about the accident with her parents. If he didn't spend every day with her, he wouldn't know how often she would stop and stare at her parent's closed bedroom door then excuse herself to go to the bathroom where she thought he couldn't hear her crying.

He realized while part of her seemed very naïve, another part of her definitely wasn't. She knew how to wear a mask, how to play the part of the cheerful young girl like she was expected to even though there was plenty to make her not happy. She didn't let it show, she barely even let it show with him. That mask was firmly in place and put up so well that no one would notice it if they weren't really paying attention.

He desperately wanted to remove that mask.

It was late by the time they left and Nex tried to convince Kat to take the bus but she wouldn't. It turned out she didn't even like riding the bus so as long as something wasn't excessively far away, she would just walk. Nex hated walking. It took so long for humans to get anywhere walking. Kat picked up on his annoyance pretty quickly and glanced over at him as they walked down the dark, nearly empty street.

"What are you huffing about?" She asked.

"This," Nex said, giving her a side-glance. "It's so fucking slow."

"No one's stopping you from going ahead," Kat shrugged. "Can't you just teleport or something?"

"I can but not over any distance," he said, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets. "We'd have to teleport more than once and I can't risk just appearing in front of someone. I would need to know ahead of time our location was empty." Even hiding just himself would be a problem, when he appeared somewhere he couldn't help the gust that came with it and after tearing apart that house, he was desperately trying to keep a low profile in the hopes no one would come looking for him.

"Wait," Kat said, stopping. Nex paused and looked back at her, surprised to see a very excited look on her face. "Oh my God, can we fly??" She asked, her eyes lighting up.

"What? Fuck no," Nex said, shaking his head and turning, walking away from her.

"Aw, come on, please?" Kat tried, following after him and grabbing his hand. "Please? I want to know what it's like. God, it must be so cool."

"It's not happening, kitten," Nex snapped, tearing his hand away from hers and picking up his pace. "And for fuck's sake, stop saying that name," he growled.

"I'll stop saying it around you if you fly with me," Kat offered, following after him. He had such longer legs it took more effort for her to keep up with him but she finally got in front of him and set her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Please, Nex?"

He stared down at her, intending to adamantly refuse. Except her bright green eyes looked up at him with so much excitement and hope, a spark that had been missing for the last two weeks, that seemed to make them even easier to get lost in. He hadn't seen her this excited since the incident and realizing how much of an affect she had on him had his fists clenching at his sides as something he never thought would happen was very obviously happening whether he liked it or not.

He was weak for her.

He was weak for her and then she did the worst thing she could possibly do and stuck out her lip in a pout that had him muttering curses and grabbing her hand, glancing around the street before taking her down an empty alley.

"Fuck," he spat. "Fine. Just for fuck's sake stop fucking looking at me like that."

"Yay!" She squealed, squeezing his hand. "Thank you, Nex."

"Whatever," he grumbled, glancing around again.

He knew for a fact there was no one around. It would be safe to change to his demon form but that didn't stop him from pausing. He'd changed in front of her once but the idea of doing it again made him tense. He felt even more attached to her now than he did before and reminding her what he really was, was not something he wanted to do.

"What's wrong?" Kat asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing," he sighed. "I just don't know why it is you need to fly. You're going to freeze."

At that, Kat reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her red scarf, securing it around her neck and shrugging. "Ready."

Nex narrowed his eyes at her for a moment before looking away again and saying nothing. Kat watched him curiously and was surprised to see how nervous he was. Just like the night he first showed her his demon side. She took a step towards him and grabbed his hand, catching his attention and making him look at her.

"I like your demon form," she assured. "I like the real you, just the way you are. You don't scare me."

"No one likes my demon form, kitten," Nex said, trying to ignore the way her soft hand felt against his face. "It scares everyone."

"I'm not scared," she shrugged.

He only allowed himself a single moment to stare at her because staring at her would lead to him doing something else to her and he decided pretty quickly to back off while she healed from the Jason incident. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, away from her touch and more into the shadows where he changed forms. His bones cracked, his skin stretched and split as his wings broke through both himself and the back of the shirt he had on. He hesitantly looked up at her but she just had a smile on her face.

"You look awesome," she said, stepping up to him and running her hand along the edge of one of his wings.

Having her so close like that was not helping his decision to keep distance from her. He couldn't take the tenderness so he grabbed her wrists and placed them behind his head, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against him. The action reminded Kat of their first kiss and had her heart stopping as she looked up into his red eyes, their lips inches apart.

"Hold on tight, kitten," he said, sliding his hands down to the back of her thighs and lifting her up, securing her legs around him. "Because I don't do slow," he said before sliding one hand up onto her back and holding her tightly against him as he lifted off the ground and took to the air.