Aria
Seren had the bottom half of the cake on a tray, and was giving the buttercream a final stir as she approached. She had made several decisions as regards to her little revenge plan. First, she decided that since he'd tortured her repeatedly, she was going to try to maximize the effect. Second, she wasn't going to hold back. Chocolate cake was her favorite food on earth and it had been so long.

Longer then since the last time she'd gotten laid, actually. And that was a sad indictment of her life, wasn't it? But she had dressed for the occasion. She wore tight leggings, that hugged her butt, and a shirt that was just as tight, but cut low in the front.

She maybe had a really nice bra on under it, who's lace might occasionally peek out as she moved.

It was only fair, after all. The crepes, the burgers, the massage... Only fair.

She nodded, then put down the bowl, and grabbed the expensive jar of raspberry preserves, and began spreading it on the top of the current layer.

Pao
Rhys was just finishing up his run, admittedly starting to sprint near the end of it to get to the cake (and to Seren, but he tucked that thought away) that much faster. Deciding that the kitchen was probably no place for disgusting, sweat-drenched clothing he ducked inside the dorms and pulled his shirt off, picked up a new one and then ran right back out. He kept moving the entire time, minding his heart rate, and eventually ran his way to the kitchen and burst through the doors.

It didn't really occur to him that shirtless and drenched in sweat was also not the way to be dressed inside a kitchen. Granted, his thought process was that he would dry up on the run over and he could slip into the clean, dry one by the time he got there. That obviously didn't work.

"Am I late?" he asked, breathing very heavily. "Did I miss the cake?"

Aria
She looked up as he came in the door, and her brows rose quite high as she observed his level of dressed, and the heavy breathing. She suspected she'd never get enough of shirtless Rhys but it was a bit out of place in the kitchen. She just flicked her eyes up and down for a moment, an amused grin on her face, then said "No, I'm still putting it together."

She continued to work on spreading the preserves on the cake. A few times as she worked on that, the red lace of her bra peeked out, but she acted like she was entirely focused on her work. She then reached over to grab the next layer of the cake. She carefully placed it on, turning it slowly to make sure it was properly even, then repeating the spreading of the preserves.

Pao
He blinked at her for a moment, processing what she was wearing and tucking away a few select thoughts for later. The bit of red that he could brought those images out again, so he took a deep, steadying breath and looked away. He let the thoughts have their run; he couldn't just file them away anyway, given who he'd be looking at for at least half an hour, possibly even longer. So he busied himself with some cooldown stretches, choosing to stay near the door for the time being.

"Still smells good. How long ago'd you get here?"

Aria
"Um I mean. Long enough to bake three layers of cake from scratch and make the buttercream? And glad to hear it smells good." She shrugged, not sure really how long it had been. She would get focused while working alone, so it was sort of meaningless. She wished she had music she could listen to though. She then put the last layer on, again with the focused perfectionism that she'd had with the middle layer.

She then reached over and picked up the bowl with the buttercream in it. She began to carefully spread it, a slow scoop at a time. A drop spilled out, however, and landed on her chest. She didn't let on she noticed, wondering how he'd react, if he even would, and kept spreading the rest, with a calmly focused expression on her face.

Pao
He noticed, and a lot more than just the drop. But from where he was he was pretty sure he could hide at least that much from her, though he did clear his throat before going back to doing a stretch that made him look away from her. When he finally straightened out it was still there, and he blinked.

"You dropped a little somethin'," he said with a nod, eyes probably shiftier than normal. He thought he found a safe place on a counter that was closer but still a little off to the side because he was still dripping, but upon settling there and getting a better look at what she was wearing his eyes widened just a bit before he forced them on the cake that she was putting together.

"So..."

Aria
"Hmmm?" She said, in a distracted tone, and then looked down. "Oh! So I did. Thank you." She sounded perfectly normal, like she had no idea of any of the effect she might be having on him. She set the spoon she was using in the bowl, and used her index finger to carefully scoop it up, and then licked the frosting off her finger, before going back to frosting the cake as if nothing had happened.

"So how was your run? You seem to have gotten a good workout in." She said, calmly, as she turned the cake to make sure the frosting was even on all sides.

Pao
For the very first time since getting to the island, Rhys actually felt pretty damn helpless. He sort of just stood there and watched her clean up that drop in a way that he didn't think she would--he thought she'd grab a napkin or something--and he very much noticed. He took a heavy breath, amused and maybe more surprised than anything else.

"It was good, yeah. Started lifting again," he said, eyes eventually drifting from the cake back to her, and then very gradually lower. "The scar still pulls but it's a lot..." and he paused, as if something else caught his attetion entirely. He eventually finished off the sentence, though, with a very quiet, "Better."

Aria
She had her head turned do to working on the cake, so he wouldn't see the satisfied smile on her face at the way he paused for a second, and then straightened her expression back to focused neutral as she lifted her head to turn the cake slowly, making sure everything was even. She gave a satisfied nod, then grabbed the preserves, and carefully, a little artistically, drizzled them across the top.

"Glad to hear it's getting better. Has the cream helped at all?" She capped the preserves and stuck the spoon in her mouth to suck it clean, not actually thinking about how this one thing might look, before putting it with the dishes to clean after. She walked over to the cabinet with the plates and leaned over to grab two of them, knowing that he'd get a full view, and grabbed them out. "Can you carry the cake over to a table, while I get utensils?" she asked calmly.

Pao
There was a certain point where he had to think that she was doing this on purpose, but then there was also a point where he really didn't care all that much. That first point happened when she sucked on the spoon, the second when she leaned over while grabbing plates or...something. He wasn't exactly focusing.

"Yeah, sure," he said almost absently as he walked over to the cake. It didn't require looking away until he actually had to pick up the cake though. "And yeah, the cream's helping a lot. Thanks for that. Still gotta get you a new tube."

Rhys had slipped into his shirt by the time he made it to the cake, and focusing on making sure he didn't trip and fall because of other things on his mind helped give him a little breather from the whole situation.

Aria
She smiled over her shoulder at him, his smile, and then went to grab a knife of the proper size to cut the cake, and some forks, then slowly walks towards him, the same smile on her face. Even with her plan for revenge, she still was just happy to be near him.

She set down the plates, and the forks, and began to cut the cake, leaning over to cut it, and, not so incidentally, giving him a hint of a view down her shirt. She finally plated the slices, and slid him his, before sitting down.

Pao
Rhys had taken a seat and was patiently waiting on her to get there. Now that his eyes weren't completely glued to her he tried to keep them just about anywhere else but in her general direction to keep that from happening again. When he felt her presence just nearby though, he glanced over and...well.

Mistakes were made and thoughts continued to be had.

The slice didn't go ignored, though, and when she sit down he blinked and pulled his own slice toward him. "Looks good," he said while looking down at his slice, ears burning only slightly. He reached for his fork and took a bite, too distracted to really enjoy it, regardless of how good it was. And it was pretty damn good.

Aria
She couldn't help enjoying his distraction, and the way he was fighting the urge to stare, and giving in more then once. She didn't show any of this, though. She just lifted her fork, cut a piece off, and slipped it into her mouth, chewing slowly, and letting out a soft, low moan of happiness, her eyes closed in pure bliss.

She looked lost in her cake, and was enjoying it. Every bite was accompanied by happy moans, and she was taking her time with the slice. This was savored, this was enjoyed, and it was clear she was very happy with her cake.

Pao
He just about choked on his cake when she first made that sound.

Thankfully he didn't, but the sound was even more distracting than anything else she'd done since he got there. He squirmed in his seat a little as he took large bites out of his slice, occasionally looking up and catching a glimpse of the kind of look on her face ******** me..." he muttered as he looked down again, cheeks very much tinged red.

Aria
She was aware of his reactions, or at least the sounds he made when moving, pleased, but didn't say a word, just kept eating her cake. When he spoke, she had to control the urge to go "you're wishing." She also had to control the urge to go 'yes' because they were nowhere near ready for that.

She had no idea, honestly, how to go about working on that with him. The last thing she wanted was to try and have things hurt him inside. That, however, was for a later day, when they got further down the road. If they did.

Instead, she simply said "Are you really enjoying it that much, Rhys?" in a soft voice, before taking another bite with a soft moan.

Pao
The squirming stopped when she asked the question and he looked up at the plain innocence on her face. And then that innocence was gone when she took another bite and he bit his lower lip. Stuck between a rock and a hard place was pretty much how he felt right now, torn between making up an excuse to leave and also not wanting to leave at all. He took as deep and calming breath as he could manage.

"It's....uh. I'm enjoying something, yeah," he answered very quietly before taking another bite.

Aria
"Oh... good to hear it, Rhys." She practically breathed out his name, then took another moaning bite. She was, he might notice, almost done with her slice, given she had been focused, despite going slow... She hadn't had the distraction she was providing him. It felt so good to know that if he could affect her this way, she could do the same to him.

It was, in someways, something she'd needed, she realized. It went a bit beyond revenge, but it did feel incredibly good to know.

Pao
Rhys finished up his slice and got up to grab them some water, his head spinning. The rest of him was needing to get back under control, so the walk was good. It helped a lot, though he could still hear her finishing off the rest of her slice over the sound of the water dispenser. He brought back the glasses and set one near her plate before going back to his seat and taking a sip from his.

"All done?" Again, torn between hoping her answer was "yes" and "no."

Aria
She heard him move off, and made sure that she had one last bite to eat when he came back. She ate it slowly, one last, soft happy moan slipping out before she opened her eyes. Her pupils were actually pretty dilated, from how much she had enjoyed the cake and his reactions, and her eyes landed on him. Her expression was of some one happy and sated. "Hmmmmm. Yes. I'll have to box the rest of this up and hide it away so no one can steal it." She said, in a voice thick with pleasure, and she slowly stood, taking a sip from the cup he'd brought her.

Pao
By the time she got to sipping his water he had his answer, and he sipped his own as he watched her. Very casually, a bit calmer now that she was done and not making those sounds anymore. The sight of her was a whole other story though, but he was happy to appreciate that in silence. "Takin' it with you to the dorms?" he asked as he set his cup down and cut up a sliver for himself to properly enjoy.

Aria
"Of course. You never know what'll happen, otherwise, around here." She said, a little darkly. She didn't trust anyone not to steal her damn cake. Except him, because he was invited to steal as much as he liked. "You're welcome to take some, or come by and get some more if you want it." She walked to the shelves to find a box, hips swaying as she slowly moved, looking like some one just lost in the enjoyment they'd been having.

"Gods I needed that, though. Been way to long. Almost better then sex, and cake was longer ago then that. Over 2 years..." She said, softly, as she pulled the box out, her head tilted just enough that she could see his reaction out of the corner of her eye, but not obviously so.

Pao
"You gonna be eatin' any of it with me?" he asked, a small smile of enjoyment on his face as he worked through his new slice. He glanced up and was greeted by a really, really good view. He sort of sighed, holding the fork in his mouth and sucking up the rest of the chocolate on it as he watched sway. At some point he might leaned back and relaxed into his chair, not making any effort to hide the fact that his eyes were on her anymore.

"That good, huh?" he said as he set his fork down, smirking.

Aria
"If you want, of course." She gave him a slow smile over her shoulder, then got the cardboard box unfolded from it's flat state, and then folded into the proper state to use, and walked back over, eyes half closed, watching him through her lashes. He seemed a little different, more open about watching her and that felt quite nice.

"Mmm yes. Quite literally only one thing better in my eyes. If there IS anything better then this that isn't sex... Well I haven't found it." She set the box on the table, and transfered the cake to it, leaning a little because she didn't want to drop the cake. And incidentally giving him peeks at the red lace.

Pao
It wasn't like he knew anything about it, but he still pretended to consider it before ultimately shrugging. "Doubt anything like that exists," he said as he finished off the rest of the slice while she boxed. The view that he got while she did that got him blinking again, and then he raised a brow and forced his eyes up to meet hers.

"Y'know, if there's something more you wanna share with me besides this cake you could just say so." There was an amused smile that settled on his face as he leaned back again.

Aria
She closed the box, as he said the first bit. "Would tend to assume you're right, cause it'd be one helluva miracle if it did." She eyed the box, and wondered if there was any string in here, or at least tape, to help keep it closed, then gave a shrug. She could manage, in the long run.

His question, however, had her eyes widening and darting up to meet his gaze. She studied his expression, slowly, then she blushed, softly, and bit her lip, trying to figure out how to say something. Finally, she said "I would... not at all mind it, you know... if you... maybe would kiss me." Oh gods, now she was sounding like an idiot. Her cheeks went redder, because she had no idea how to say this smoothly. She might be able to tease and show off, to get his attention, but she had no idea how to actually flirt.

Pao
He couldn't help the smile when she asked. She actually asked, which was more amusing that it probably should have been but there it was. A sense of relief washed over him, as though there was the teeniest voice (not Zephira, she was bring very loud trying to block out his very suggestive imagery from earlier) in the back of his mind was telling him that she'd just been teasing him this whole time. Her question quashed that little voice and got him on his feet, leaning over the table much, much closer to her than he was normally used to.

"Yeah?" he asked, brows raised just a bit as he inched closer until it was just a breath between them, and then he kissed her. Short and sweet--very literally, he very happily got the faint taste of chocolate and raspberries--before he pulled back just enough so he had a good view of her expression. "How's that?"

Aria
She watched him, and his smile made her smile back, nervous but happy she'd given in to the urge to ask. She watched him stand, blue eyes focused on his green ones, a little lost in them and this unexpected moment. She had not gone into this expecting a result like this, but she definitely didn't mind the result.

"Yeah..." She breathed out, just before his lips touched hers. She shivered, softly, her eyes closing as she focused on the taste of him, and the feel of his lips against hers. The hints of the cake were a nice bonus, but the most important part was just that it was him and he was actually kissing her. When he broke the kiss, in her mind it was far, far too soon. She opened her eyes at his question, slowly, and smiled, murmuring "That was delightful... Would you like to do it again?"

Pao
His curious expression turned into a smile, the same bright one unconsciously saved just for her. He considered the question for a moment as he straightened out and moved to her side of the table, maneuvering himself so she was sandwiched between it and him. His hands had naturally settled on her waste as his eyes caught hers, curiour and questioning still. How long was the most pressing one, but he didn't ask. Instead he just leaned in and brushed his lips against hers again, testing the waters before...

The all-too familiar text-tone went off in his pocket.

Aria
She breathed out happily as he moved to her. When he had her against the table, her hands slid to rest on his shoulders, not wanting to risk anything that might upset him, not in this moment. Her waist tingled from the feeling of his hands, and she just gazed back into his eyes, hers full of quiet hope, and welcome. She didn't know how to answer his question with just her eyes, but if he'd asked, she'd have told him awhile. Some weeks, at least, she wasn't even sure when the thought first popped into her head.

His lips were greeted with a soft tilt of her head so that he had better access, and she started to kiss softly back when the phone rang. She tensed a little, eyes looking up at him, giving him the chance to take the out if he wanted it, but making it clear she was just as happy if he didn't.

Pao
He paused for a second when he heard it, considering but really barely thinking about it at all. He was glad that she did give him time to think about it though, and then he smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her so she was sitting on the table. "I'll be late," he said with a chuckle before softly kissing her again, short and sweet like the first time, but each time after that he lingered just a little bit longer, tasted just a little more of her. The text-tone went off again but he rightly ignored it this time, his focus entirely on her.

Aria
She eeped, just a little, when he lifted her, not expecting it at all, and yet kind of liking the fact that he was quite willing to take charge this way. A strange thought, to be dealt with later, but she accepted it for what it was. "Sounds good..." She whispered back, and sighed into the kiss, enjoying every second.

A little while later, she was still sitting there, a bit breathless from enjoying the kissing, her eyes on him as she pulled back a little. "Mmmm." She sighed, softly, happily, and gazed up at the tall man, a single lock of hair that had come loose across her face. "That... thank you. I've wanted to kiss you for awhile."

Pao
He followed her and stole just one last kiss before pulling back as well, smile turned a bit playful before it evened out some. He reached up and tucked that stray lock away as she spoke. "No need to thank me," he said with a little chuckle as his eyes fell from her eyes to her lips before moving back up again. "Kinda feels like it won't be the last time, so..."

He stole another kiss before finally letting one hand fall away from her waist and dig out the phone in his pocket. It didn't take more than a second to open and read that message, which was alerting him to his turn for kitchen duty, to which he snorted and showed to her.

"If I didn't need to grab a shower I wouldn't need to leave."

Aria
Each additional kiss felt like a small bit of heaven, and she closed her eyes, sighing happily. His words earned him a very sweet smile indeed, full of happiness. "I hope not..." She said, enjoying this, and how comfortable it felt to be here, in his arms in this moment.

When he let go to pull out his phone, she made a soft sigh of something between acceptance of what must be and disappointment nonetheless. She glanced down at the message, and gave a soft chuckle. "Mmm I hope you don't have to spend hours peeling potatos, or something equally awful. We really do need to start your cooking lessons soon."

She reached up, and for a moment, just brushed her fingers along his cheek, before letting her hand drop to the table. "Mmm I forgot you needed a shower, honestly."

Pao
It might have been more subconscious but he leaned a little toward her, making the small gap between them even smaller as he scrolled through his phone to get rid of the unread notices (there were five total, someone must have been bored). "Yeah, me too," he replied slowly before putting the phone away, happy to give her his undivided attention again.

He watched her, curious what was going through her mind as he felt her fingers feathered against his skin. "Doesn't mean I shouldn't take one," he chuckled, a little disappointed that the contact was so brief.

Aria
She didn't mind how close he leaned. If he had tried to sit on her, she'd have been very surprised, possible a little crushed in a literal sense, but would not at all stop him. She'd never felt quite so... willing to do what a potential partner wanted before, not even Terri, who'd been the one who showed her she liked being tied up. Then again, she'd never had to work to get some one's attention before, nor had she been trying for some one who had as horrible a background as she did, in a different way.

And it didn't matter why, either. What mattered was being here, and now, with what she was lucky enough to get while she got it. "Wont argue that it's best to be clean for kitchen duty. That said, you smell fine to me." She sighed, softly, though, not wanting this moment to be disturbed at all.

Pao
He honestly had never gotten anyone's attention before, or at the very least he didn't have the time or the energy to notice if he had. What little experience he did have was because of dares or what should probably have been considered sexual assault from fanatic high school classmates, but trying to explain how relatively new he was to all of this would probably be challenging. He seemed to be managing just fine though, at least for now, and now was really all that mattered to him.

"Could be you're just used to it 'cause we work out together and stuff," he said as he finally untangled himself from her, though he did take her hand just long enough to help her off the table. "Gotta be back here in half an hour, so."

Aria
She had no idea what was going on in his head, but she did know she found herself thinking she was damn lucky to have even this much of a chance at this beautiful, unusual man. She knew she'd fight to keep that chance, too. As far as she was concerned, he was doing wonderfully, and that was that.

She sighed and shrugged a little. "Could be. 'M glad it doesn't bother me, is all I know." She accepted his hand and slid down, then let go. She sighed and nodded, picking up the (miraculously unsquashed) cake box. "Yeah. I'll walk back with you."

Pao
The brunette shot her an almost apologetic smile before heading toward the door and holding it open for her. It was still dreary outside but luckily not raining; that seemed to be letting up some, but the clouds looked like they were getting darker so he half expected torrential rains later that night. "Looks like another shitty night of rain," he muttered, squinting up at the sky.

Aria
She smiled back, a smile full of understanding, no blame. Duty first, no matter how much she might want to just smuggle him back to her room and spend a few hours just kissing him. She put her coat on, and glanced up. "Meh. Tired of it but it could be worse. It could be sleeting. Or a blizzard." She was in too good a mood to let the stupid weather get in the way of feeling happy.

Pao
At least one of them was more chipper about the prospect than he was. Once outside he now more comfortably wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "And watch, it gets worse," he snorted, glancing down at her for a second. "Seriously ********' miss that blue sky, not gonna lie." Not that he spent a whole lot of time appreciating it when it was the norm.

To take his mind off of the irritation though, since he didn't want his mood to be completely shot by the time he got back to the kitchen, he nodded at the box she was holding. "So is there some kinda story behind this cake? Someone special gave it to you one time or somethin' like that?" There was a small smile there, to show the second question was mostly to tease her.

Aria
She smiled up at him, and leaned into him a bit this time, feeling it was safer, now, to let herself do that, though she shook her head in amusement at his words. "I doubt the gods, or whatever, are going to listen to my silly words. I'm just in a good mood." She was also glad her jacket covered as much as it did, because what she had worn to show off for him had, really, been for him and she didn't want anyone else to get the same views she had given him.

She smiled a little, keeping any sadness that might be pinging her deep deep undercover. "The first birthday cake I ever had was one of these. I got the person who made it for me to teach me how to do it, for the future. I'm glad I did."

Pao
The good mood bit got him to smile just a little bit wider as they went along at a probably too-slow pace for someone who was supposed to be rushing. He really didn't care if he was late though, his track record was pretty good all things considered and he could add a tiny blemish to it for this moment.

Her explanation was vague but it was enough to answer his question so he just nodded. "Me, too," he said, eyeing the box. "Probably my new favorite cake, but for a different reason."

Aria
She just kept her smile on, comfortable and happy and feeling like, for the moment, the world was not as terrible as it had always been. She didn't want the walk to end, and intended to enjoy every moment of this. She felt more relaxed, too, then she had in a long time. It was amazing what finally getting to kiss the man she'd been wanting for some time now could do.

His comment made her blush, red. Well she'd gotten far more out of her revenge then she'd ever expected, and she couldn't hate that. "I'm glad to hear it..." She said, softly, her voice filled with quiet joy.

Pao
If he had a choice the walk would probably go on for a lot longer than it needed to, but he could already see the dorm building looming in the distance. Still, he could at least enjoy what was happening right now. Besides, the day wasn't too far along so they could probably meet again later. Maybe.

"To be fair, the cake was pretty damn good on its own," he said with a little laugh. "Just I was too ********' distracted by you when I was eating that first slice I couldn't really taste it."

Aria
She gave the building a slightly disappointed look but accepted what was, because there was no point in arguing with reality. Instead, she kept her focus on the person who mattered here. Him.

She blushed more, and pondered silently for a long minute on how to answer that. Finally, she said "And now you know how I feel when you were eating those crepes. And that burger. Are you aware you groan?" She arched a brow at him. "I'm glad you enjoyed them but... I wasn't at all sure how to handle that, it was ******** challenging." But she then added with a pert smile "But it was nice to learn I could distract you." The words were teasing but it was lighter then normal, gentler maybe.

Pao
He could get used to her blushing, it was sort of a mind-boggling level of cute, particularly from the vantage point that he had. It had him grinning, though the more she explained the more that grin faded away. By the end he sort of just wrinkled nose at the whole thing. "No, I didn't..." he said quietly. "Someone once tried to smother me because of my snoring though, so maybe I just...naturally...make sounds?"

That came out weirder than he wanted but he left it alone. Especially when she added the alst bit, to which he shook his head. "I think I thought you might have been doin' all of that on purpose at some point. Didn't care by the time we got to the table, though. But yeah, you can distract me. Try not to when we're workin' out though?"

Aria
She looked slightly appalled at that. "I have no intention of ever trying to smother you. That's just ridiculous. And it's ok. I don't mind, in the long run. I just... Was in no way prepared for it. It's fine."

She sighed a little, then nodded. "I would never try to distract you when it matters, Rhys. Not at the gym, not in the field. Not in any situation that might hurt you." She said it with soft earnestness, her eyes on his face.

Pao
That earnestness got him to pull her closer and plant a soft little kiss in her hair. "Thanks," he replied with a little smile. "Good to know. Feel free to distract me any other time, though."

Rhys let her go as they came up on the entrance to the dorms. He sighed, defeated by the reality of the situation, and opened the door for them to file through, but he still stuck pretty close to her on the way to her room, hands in his pockets as he occassionally glanced at her. It was weird how it felt like he was trying to memorize everything he could about her right then, but that didn't stop him from doing it.

Aria
She smiled happily at those words. She might have actually cuddled in a little, if they hadn't reached the doors. She sighed with him, wishing that he didn't have to let go of her. It had felt so good. "I'll keep that in mind." She said, though, smiling at the thought.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, staying close in a way that she could do so easily. All the little details she normally saw seemed even more in focus, and she just enjoyed the feeling.

When they reached her door, she sighed softly, and pulled out her keys. "When you get off duty, if you're bored or something... I should be free, if you want." She offered, gently.

Pao
He nodded at the offer as he straightened out and just looked at her for a second. "I'll shoot you a text if anything," he said, eyes falling to her keys, and then on the door behind her. He was already late so a few extra minutes here didn't really matter all that much. He could wait at least until she went inside, and then rush until he made it to back to the kitchen.

Aria
She smiled up at him, then unlocked her door. However, before she stepped inside, she leaned way up and kissed him on the cheek, and said "Have the best shift you can, k?" With his smile, then she slipped in her door, letting him go because she had to.

Pao
The kiss got more of a smile out of him, helping the surprising set-in of not actually ever wanting to leave her. He nodded kind of dumbly as she slipped inside her room, and then after a beat he finally started walking to his room.

Walking, then fast walking, then jogging, then sprinting. It was gonna be a long shift.