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It was barely a full minute before Kam’s jeep appeared, cruising slowly around a corner from the opposite direction. For once, he seemed to be mindful of the fact that he was in a suburban area and as he approached the house he had seen a hundred times before, he came to a slow, rolling stop instead of the brake screeching, dramatic halt a younger dreadhead might have displayed for attention. Through the front windshield, the smile stretched across his lips was all too easy to see - he honestly hadn’t even been sure that Ariel was going to keep their date (though he didn’t have any real reason to think she wouldn’t, either, he supposed).

It just wasn’t very.. usual for them.

The driver’s side door creaked open and a pair of dark boots hit the pavement, half laced around his denim jeans. He, too, had scrounged up a leather jacket for the day so that, suddenly, they appeared more coordinated than a pair of lovers meeting at odd hours of the day and night. The thought made his smile deepen, though his playful air was apparent in his gait the moment he shut his door and crossed the pavement to meet her.

“Hey,” he mumbled, affectionate and familiar, before his head dipped to claim her lips in what was a more usual greeting for them - he didn’t particularly care who was watching the pair and their display in front of Charlie’s house. A deep, satisfied rumble in his chest was the only sign that he might’ve been regretting his decision to spend his time with her in the presence of others, but his dark eyes immediately swung up and toward the house. He caught the way a front curtain fluttered, like someone dropping it for fear of being caught spying. It didn’t deter him at all - he knew who was spying on him and why.

“Thank you,” he managed, reaching out to offer her his hand so that she could walk up the paved path to Charlie’s front door with him once she was ready. “The last time I saw Charlie, I’m pretty sure he was ready to give up on me. I just want..” he paused, nervous suddenly in a way he rarely ever was, “I just want him to know I’m getting my s**t together.”

There was a pause as he traced her face, calming his nerves with her familiarity.

“Finally.”

The dreadhead was all too happy to let Ariel drag him up the pathway to the front door of one Mr. Charles Beaumont, watching her hips sway as she mounted the stairs and only dragging his eyes away at the sound of chimes ringing inside the house. It was mostly playful but also partly a distraction from the bit of nerves churning at the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t stand to disappoint anyone else in his life and this was his conscious effort of making sure Charles wasn’t too disappointed to give up.

As a lock turned on the other side of the door, he curled his fingers tighter into Ariel’s. It wasn’t really about her meeting his old friend so much as it was that he needed her quiet support. Even with how infrequent and short their time together was, Kam had always had the thought of her to rely on. Hver had more than implied he needed that.

“Kaaaaaaam,” a small, plump woman drew the sound of his name out in a pleased, sing song voice and dusted her hands on her apron before she held her short arms out for a hug. It meant Kam had to untangle his fingers from Ari’s but he was already smiling, split ear to ear at the sight of her and all the affection she bottled up in her petite frame. He bent so that she could lean her head into his chest, patting him on the back like he was her favorite person in the world. Charles’ wife loved people, he knew - she was always excited to see everyone but he would never take that personally because it was truly genuine, no matter how common.

“Hi Millie, thanks for dinner tonight,” as he unwound his arms from her, she swatted him playfully with her hand to dismiss the thanks and stepped back inside, beckoning the pair of them forward.

“Don’t be silly, come in, come in. Charles is on the phone with work right now but he should be down soon. I put some cucumber sandwhiches out in the front room, I need to head back to the kitchen.”

Millie Beaumont scampered back to the kitchen somewhere beyond the entryway and Kam watched her go, staring at the thick black curls that bounced in her wake. It felt weird to be back here after so long and so much but there was a strange sense of grounding, too. He roused himself from his thoughts and pressed a hand to the small of Ariel’s back so that she would enter before him. His free hand waved to the left side of the entry, to a room they could see beyond an open door. The furniture was all delicate, jade-toned velvet and most of the decorations seemed more like they had come out of a magazine shoot in the 70s than any store in this decade.

As always, Ariel's presence stirred him from his thoughts and brought an easy, playful smile to his face. He could have drawn in on himself and felt guilty all night for how infrequently he came to visit but he didn't, not when he had Ariel at his side to remind him that he was doing it now. That counted and it was all that counted, now.

"Charles pulled me out of the wreck, personally," he said gently, as if that was all the answer that Ariel needed to figure out how long they had known him and why they treated Kam, of all people, like they did. He didn't doubt that it seemed like an odd place for him to be and now, seeing Ariel and all her hard lines against Millie's soft jade couches, he realized that it must have been one of the most peculiar places he could have taken her. They neither one seemed to fit the cookie cutter family mold.

He pulled his jacket off and draped it next to hers without a thought. Unlike Ariel, however, he made a beeline for the small finger sandwiches that Mille had splayed in a circle atop a silver platter. There was even a small, delicate doily beneath them. As he picked one up it looked much too small for his dark, wide fingers but the lopsided grin on his face suddenly made him seem much softer and more at place in the traditional home.

"I love these. She sent me home with two full plates the first time I came over because I ate so many." And because he had no mom at home to make him dinner, too.

He popped it into his mouth in one overfull bite and sat, with a more respectful grace than his usual dead weight flop, on the couch next to the platter. When his eyes rose to the glowing coals of her own, he seemed all too pleased with how odd the situation seemed. Once he chewed down his food and swallowed, he patted the seat next to him.

"This seems like a pretty trippy dream, kitten."

Kam grinned at her as he leaned forward and reached for another sandwich, grabbing two in his big mitt. There wasn’t an ounce of shame in his eyes as he leaned back into the couch with them - he had and, he assumed, always would be an endless pit. He was pretty sure that was half the reason Millie kept putting these sandwiches out for him, anyway.

“That’s not what I meant.”

The dreadhead paused and considered her before he continued, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to make a joke about being naked. He did really want to. In the end, he opted to ignore his gut instinct and let his dark eyes rest on her with a lazy appreciation of her strong features framed by the pale jades and whites that surrounded her in Millie’s parlor.

“Being here has a lot of different meanings for me.”

The heavy brows framing his dark eyes drew down with his thoughts but never left her, instead zeroing in upon the bright red of her irises. He knew, really, what it was to want something for the first time in a very, very long time. The hand not clutching two fragile sandwiches with impossible delicacy reached up to brush a stray lock of hair back and away from her face, letting him add the touch of her skin to the moment that held him enrapt.

“I don’t think I ever sat here thinking that one day I’d be back with..”

The words had begun soft and eventually faded to an unfinished sentence, drowned out by the sound of someone’s loafers clicking against the hardwood of the hall. Kam’s hand dropped slowly from her face as he leaned back and turned his attention to the arch that separated them from the man emerging from his study. Charles was a tall, well-cut man that carried the air of respect on him like clothes. Kam rose immediately out of what could only be respect, drawn up to his feet the moment the older man settled his eyes on the pair of them and holding out his hand.

“Sir,” Kam greeted, and Charles caught his hand in a strong, familiar grip. There was no missing Charles’ eyes as they ran the dreadhead down with a quick once over. Whatever assessment he made left a smile buried beneath the overhang of his mustache.

“Good to see you, kid.”

There was an undeniable fondness in him, noted by the crinkle at the edge of his eyes when he spoke. As unlikely a pair as they seemed standing there, it felt as natural as any two souls that had known each other through their best and worst of times. As their hands dropped away, Charles turned his eyes on the woman that had been at Kam’s side not seconds before. Not a thing about his seemed surprised as his eyes fell on her, but he looked at her with just as much kindness as he had the larger brute next to him.

“You must be Ariel, then.”

For the moment, Kam seemed entirely oblivious to the discomfort his date was experiencing - or maybe he had expected it given the circumstances. His eyes slid from Charles to Ariel and back again, watching their expressions and (most notably) how the older man reacted to the woman Kam had felt himself drawn to, again and again.

This was a big, if absolutely weird, moment for him. He wanted Ariel to be a staple in his life and that meant forging connections, repairing bridges to cross. He had never found a sponsor, he couldn't with a life like his, but he could build himself a foundation to stand on again.

"Sit down, sit down," the officer urged, doing his best to appear friendly - Millie really was the one with all the charisma. He made his way to an overstuffed arm chair catty-cornered to the delicate jade couch and hiked his trousers just at the hip joint so he could sit down. It caused the hem to raise enough that it displayed his dark argyle socks and that seemed to amuse the dreaded, for whatever reason. He didn't comment, whatever the mental joke was.

Kam reclined where he had been not moments before, shoveling another sandwich into his mouth as he did and looking up at Ariel where she stood next to him. The smile on his face, smug even around a mouthful of cucumber sandwich, seemed too knowing. This wasn't a situation he would have normally been terribly comforted in so he had to assume she felt the same, now.

"Kam here has been pretty sparse on some details. Getting information out of him is like breaking into a bank, especially about you." Charles smirked to himself, just visible beneath the overhand of his dark mustache. "I'm surprised he agreed to bring you by."

Both of the people in his company were stronger personalities than his own and Kam, content in a way that he could not explain had he been asked, seemed at ease with taking the backseat in this conversation. It was nice that the attention, for once, was not entirely focused upon him and what he was (or wasn't) doing with his life. Too, it was pleasing to watch Ariel under the same thoughtful gaze Charles had leveled on him time and time again.

"I can understand that need for silence completely, sometimes less is more with our lines of work," the older man's words were punctuated with a small, repetitious nod of his head before he ease back into his arm chair and brought both shoulder blades flush with the back of his chair. His elbows settled on the arms so that he could fold his hands in his lap while he studied her.

"I have to be honest though, you're the first of Kam's friends that he's ever brought by to meet us since high school. I was beginning to wonder if he had made any new ones."

Had it been anyone else and had he not punctuated the jest with a warming, hearty chuckle, Kam might have been offended at the insinuation. Instead he squared his shoulders from the slump he'd taken by instinct and swung his gaze up to Ariel's eyes instead.

"Ahh, that's just because I don't bother with the ones that you wouldn't like, Charles."

Again, that warming laugh sprung from the older officer and Kam answered Ariel's gaze with a wide, knowing smile as it did. Before either of the men could get another quip in, a high voice sang from the kitchen to let them all know that Millie had finished dinner. Charles cleared his throat as he stood and lifted his arm, palm out, for them to take the lead toward the dining room where his wife had no doubt laid out a spread for Kings.

Kam stood and waited just long enough for Ariel to stand before he guided her towards the guest chairs set at the modest table. Millie was visible in the open kitchen doorway, untying her apron and fussing with a tray of biscuits that had yet to be plated.