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As the two of them settled back into the PG mimicry of domestic bliss, Levi felt the pulse throbbing in his forehead beginning to wane again, and little by little his anger dripped and drained. He chewed the piece of bacon thoughtfully as she spoke. It didn't matter that there was a tv on, or that Sly was trying to figure out how to both stay on the coffee table and steal bacon right out of Levi's lap.

All that really mattered was that they were trying to figure this out.

"Yeah, I remember," he murmured, swallowing the salty, too-crisp bacon and looking back at her. His expression was deadpan for a moment, but it cracked as soon as he started speaking again. "Because it's like you got all the ******** sass in your family."

He was laughing then as he settled back into the couch, bemused with himself and letting his bright eyes roam to the TV instead. One hand concentrated on breaking up his pancakes, prechopping them all into one sticky, sweet heap like the heathen he was, and then he popped a too large bite into his mouth to stifle his lingering amusement.

"Jus' lemme know when," he mumbled around his food.

The roll of her eyes made him smile around his pancake, even as he was busy reeling himself back in. He knew this back and forth was going to get exhausting for him eventually. Toeing a line he had already crossed felt like a peculiar sort of torture but it was harder when she seemed to want it as much as he did. Part of him wanted to sulk that Isaac would be there to interfere in this and another, wiser, new part of him was thankful.

It would be easier to figure out what they were beyond the blind, hungry passion if someone else was there.

"Mmm, I guess that depends on what time.."

Levi swallowed the sticky sweet mush and fished his phone out of his pocket. The lock screen lit up and he winced at the sight of emails and messages stacked together in neat grey boxes. There were too many, there was too much to do, and for a moment he felt the very real need to pop his inbox open and began sifting through to make sure there was nothing direly important-

But then he heard Jade shifting next to him, the sound of her fork on her plate, and he managed to resist his workaholic urge.

"Let's see," he covered with a chiming voice, playful and not at all as desperate as he had felt at the sight of the piling notifications. With a thumb on his calendar, his schedule popped to life. "I'm pretty free after eleven, actually. I just have to scout a prospect in the morning but that shouldn't take very long."

It was with a lot of effort that he dropped his phone next to him instead of opening up his inbox.

The imprint of those notifications stuck out in his mind like an angry, red blot in his vision but he was doing a good job of finishing his breakfast and ignoring it. In a few more bites, he was cleaning the lingering syrup off of his plate with the last perfect, soggy piece of pancake and then he abandoned it altogether. With a gulp of coffee to chase it down, he settled back into the couch with his fingers wrapped around the mug. It was a lot easier to resist his phone when he could hold onto something else.

"That would work for me, honestly."

And he meant it, even as he tried not to look too overly excited about the prospect of having a little alone time with her. The smile on his face still showed it, though, and he hid in another sip of his coffee.

"Sounds like a date. But, y'know, with a chaperone."

The thought made him relax a little and his head leaned back into the couch. Lime eyes watched her as her pretty nails tapped against the screen, stared at the way her teeth sank into her lower lip. It would have been a lie to say that he wanted to do this the slow way but he also wanted her to trust him again. He'd never chosen responsibility over impulse.

"Maybe if you're lucky I'll ask you to homecoming. You can wear a frilly dress and Isaac can make sure we stand three hands apart."

He was smirking, even if he sounded the tiniest bit mocking.

Levi seemed bemused by her and for a brief moment really did imagine what it might have been like had they known each other in high school. Being that she was older than him, something he of often forgot, he thought that she probably would have just written him off even if he hadn't been a complete and total snake. He remembered the days fondly, the people and the friends he'd had, but Jade didn't seem like she would have fit into that life before he became who he was as a team lead at Renegade Media - a company she now had the naming rights to.

It was funny how the world worked and how it brought the unlikely together.

It made him sigh, wistful, as he settled back into the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. He needed to work, he knew that, but he could take a few more minutes to let his food settle if it meant that he could banter with her for just a little while longer.

"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep, Siren."

It was accusatory, but he was smiling, watching her idly as his head leaned back against the plush couch cushions behind him.

The only warning he had was a soft churr from below him and then Sly was leaping up into his lap, strong paws balanced on his thighs. It seemed affectionate as he ran his side body along Levi's forearms but even without looking down he could see the feline was examining the couch for stray crumbs, bits of bacon, anything he could scavenge. Disappointed, he moved on from Levi to butt his head into Jade's elbow instead, purring.

It made the man smirk, even wider as he flopped unceremoniously against her side.

"Well, I guess Sly is going to keep you company while I work, hm?"