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Zeke had dropped everything when Paige had messaged him. His bag from the trip was still not completely unpacked. It sat half emptied on his bed, clothing in neat piles around it, just waiting. It would be alright there for a few more hours, there were more pressing concerns for the Mist to deal with.

So he arrived at Paige's door more more than ten minutes after her last had arrived. Just enough time to swap out jeans for flannel pants. He even still had his glasses resting on his nose. He'd also grabbed a Snickers bar from his desk drawer. Promised chocolate from a few nights prior that she had never collected on. It wasn't much, but maybe he'd coax a small smile from her.

The knock was on the softer side, but loud enough that she'd hear it. Then he leaned against the wall beside it, waiting, listening for the sound of movement from within.

He'd been expecting her to be upset, so the Mist was ready when Paige grabbed his hand to drag him into her room, and when she threw herself against him seconds later.

The sobbing was utterly disarming. Zeke didn't know what to do, but he wrapped her into a tight hug and tried to be comforting.

After a few minutes of letting her cry he moved them so he was sitting on the edge of her bed with her on his lap, hands running up and down her back. "What else can you do?" His voice was soft. "You're going to have to give her space, gorgeous."

Probably not what she wanted to hear, but Zeke didn't have a damn clue what else she could do.

It was hard to place himself in her shoes, because as much as there were actually people in his life now that he gave a s**t about, there hadn't been for so long he'd actually forgotten what it felt like to have someone that mattered removed from his life. But he didn't tell her this, he just held onto her, rubbing her back, as she composed herself enough to speak somewhat normally.

It was the best he could do, really, but he was a good listener, better now, because she mattered.

"I'm sorry you're going through this. If I could fix it for you, I would." He couldn't, and he knew it. "I wish I could give you better advice, but I can't." He actually sounded sorry about it.

"I'll stay here with you though, for as long as you want me to. You don't have to be alone." A hand came up, and he touched the side of her head, nudging her down so he could press his lips to her cheek. "I'm here for you. We can talk, if you want. About anything. Or do something. Or whatever you want to do."

He frowned. "Whatever will make you feel better."

It hadn't been a joke, when He and Paige had talked about hooking up. There was genuine interest there, under the ties of friendship. A mutual desire that neither acted on, because things had just never lined up in that direction. Not with Paige pursing Cee, and not with Zeke finding a stimulating and companionable partner in Ever. Both had been content with how things were, there was no reason to shake things up.

But Cee had shaking things up for them. He stiffened when Paige turned and pressed her lips to his, startled, and heard his last words echoing back at him.

{Now what are you going to do, Boil?}

He wanted to deny he knew what the valkyrie was talking about, but he didn't, because he seldom lied, and certainly not to himself. People and things never used to matter to him, not really. They came and went, and Zeke seldom formed an sort of real attachment to anyone. Certainly he never put much thought into curbing his actions with them in mind.

Some how, being here, things began to matter. People mattered. Maybe not many, but Paige did, and of course, Ever.

His hands came up to her shoulders, resting there lightly as she kissed him, mind working beyond the temptation sitting on his lap, and what it might mean later.

He cupped her cheek, eyes closing, and for one minute tried to let everything go, just to see if he could. Her mouth was soft beneath his when he parted her lips, sweet and eager, but there was no taste of cigarettes like he'd come to expect from a kiss. It had brows creasing, and he drew back, kissed the corner of mouth, then her cheek, the edge of her jaw.

An unspoken exchange passed between them, and even Zeke didn't know exactly what, but something. There was no need for any apologies.

His hand stayed against her cheek, a warm, comforting weight as she lay her head against his shoulder again and murmured against the line of his throat. A rumble of acknowledgement followed, deep enough that she'd feel it through his chest, then he was moving with her, laying back against her bed with her still curled against his chest.

Only then would hands move, stroking down her back in long, slow lines. He didn't bother asking if she wanted him to stay, he already knew. So he paused in his reassuring petting to lift the glasses from his face, folding them up and putting them on the table beside them. The snickers bar was pulled from his pocket, and that too was set aside. If Paige wanted it, she could have it. He'd brought it for her.

Settled, he wrapped his arms around her again and pulled her up a little higher so he could murmur against her hair. "I've got your back, always."

"Naw, you didn't. I was just unpacking." It wasn't important. Ten minutes, and it would all be put away again, and his room would be back to it's neat and tidy state.

There was Ever's laptop to work on, but they hadn't gotten it back from the life techs yet.

There had been a chance--there always seemed to be a chance, these days--of paying Ever a visit, despite having just returned from their trip, but there had been no plans made, and Paige needed him. He knew where he needed to be.

"I'm not going anywhere." Though he would move enough to get the covers out from beneath them, holding them up once he was laying again so Paige could curl up against him however she wanted.

When she was comfortable he brought the blanket up around them and wrapped his arms around her again, hugging her to him as one hand trailed the tips of his fingers absently along her arm.

"It was good." He paused, considering how much to add, before just asking. "Do you want to hear about it?" He knew she cared, would normally have pestered him for every detail, but considering how ******** up things were for her, he didn't want to be inconsiderate by shoving his own happiness in her face.

Long fingers continued they absent trailing, possibly tracing the colorful whirls of color that stained pale skin. Her tattoos were pretty, bright and colorful, they suited her.

"We ended up going to Denver. A nice change of pace from tropical Deus, which was the main criteria, plus it'd be easy enough to find a computer whole saler." He shrugged, best he could laying down. An easy grin resting on tanned lips.

"Ever wanted to stay in a ********' Super 8." Still baffling to Zeke, but he'd won in the end. "Didn't get why that wasn't an option. I ended up paying, so we stayed in the Hyatt Regency." It occurred to him he should have taken pictures, but he just wasn't in the habit of it, not like the girls were.

"Got a laptop for Ever, it's off getting modded to run on runes." Hazel eyes fell closed, and a yawn cut through his recount of his trip, lengthening words for a second or two. "Then Dinner, nice steak house. Blonde drink too much, it was amusing as ********. Wanted to get ice cream, ate about a quarter of it, then wanted to go to a bar."

And that was only the first day.