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One appearance at Aunt’s New Years Eve party, check. One snow storm that makes it next to impossible to move, double check.

Nick had left his aunt’s party after a mandatory appearance, followed by expected flirting, smiles, and a glass of champagne. Eh, he was 18 after all. And walking. Thankfully Marie had backed off after the Christmas nightmare. He didn’t expect it to last long but now she had to plan and plot. Nick was sure she would have tried to kiss him at midnight if he had stuck around.

Now he was almost wishing he had.

The storm had come out of nowhere and Nick knew if he kept going in this mess, he either would never get there or worse: freeze.

Taking his normal turn, Nick suddenly realized the route he was on was NOT his normal direction back to Mercy’s. In fact, he didn’t have a clue where he was anymore. “s**t…” Nick mumbled, fishing for his phone in his jacket. GPSing this was ridiculous but better than being lost. However GPS only worked when he had signal and this storm had decided to knock it.

Turning around, Nick made the choice to head back to his aunt’s and call Mercy to let her know. The problem was, just as he couldn’t find his way back to Mercy’s, he now wasn’t sure which way was right back to his Aunt’s.

Left. Right. Forward. It all looked the same. All of it was covered in white and the storm was picking up. If he didn’t get inside soon…

“Oh?” Nick questioned when he took a left and saw an old cabin sitting there. Where in the world had he wandered. A quick burst of wind told him to stop questioning and get inside. Thankfully the door was open.Thankfully it seemed to be warm inside.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t alone.

“Anisley?”
---
The girl jumped, spinning around quickly as her name was spoken. She was dressed warmly though, not nearly as warmly as the weather now seemed to require. She had managed to get the wood stove going, and upon realizing who it was that had said her name, she motioned for Nick to come inside. “Place is a bit of a god send I’ll tell you what.” She blurted as she looked around. “I got lost and…. Here it was.”

And here Nick was. It was like - a post Christmas Miracle. Though, she frowned, tilting her head. “What are you doing out at this hour, shouldn’t you be at your aunts?”

Or cuddled up with that overly glitter loving hussy you call a girlfriend? Her mind supplied in a fit of spite. She shook her head and rubbed her arms with her hand. “Close the door or we’ll freeze.” She insisted, before grabbing one of the quilts and wrapping it around herself.

She’d been out patrolling - for lack of anything better to do on New Years Eve - hoping to pick off a few too overly intoxicated folks for energy draining when the storm had picked up. She’d found the cabin and powered down so as to not draw any attention to herself while she was stuck. The last thing she’d wanted to do was share the place with some White Moon where they would play out scenes from The Thing until the storm let up.
---
Shaking himself out of the surprise he stood in, Nick stepped inside the cabin and quickly shut the door behind himself. Making sure the wind wasn’t going to blow it open, he quickly crossed the room and sat down next to her. “Shift over.” Nick teased, pulling his hands out of the gloves he wore and holding them up to the fire she had gotten going. Looking at his nails told him much longer and he might have had issues. Those nail beds were blue.

“I just left my Aunts.” Nick offered as an explanation. “I slipped out when the younger models were starting to flirt with me. Since turning 18, they have decided I’m a target. I really don’t enjoy the attention.” Nick sighed, grabbing part of her blanket.
---
Ainsley scooted over, letting Nick settle in beside her, and as he grabbed for the blanket, she grabbed the end he’d been going for and threw it over his far shoulder, scooting to bump her shoulder against his. “Ah, I could understand that, they’re all so… fake pretty you know? Like someone grew them in a lab somewhere after listening to a focus group of horny teenage boys…”

She snorted. “Present company excluded, of course.”

She frowned at his hands, and reached out, taking one to rub between her own. “Body heat is better than direct heat, don’t want to suffer temperature shock,” She chided him as she rubbed his hands, telling herself she was doing this so that he wouldn’t get frostbite, not just to feel what holding his hands would be like. She wasn’t like that.

He had a girlfriend - even if Ainsley hated her guts and thought she was a blight on the earth… Speaking of….

“I can’t get any texts or calls out to my mom, your phone have any luck?” She asked quietly.
---
“I haven’t.” Nick offered back with an annoyed look on his face. “I was trying just before I found this place and my service seemed to have been knocked out.” With an annoyed groan, he offered her his other hand to warm.

“Seems like the sudden storm took out everything. At least phone wise. But to your first note, not all of them are fake or horrible. Some of the models are really pretty cool once you get to know them. A few of them are just in the business to make money to pay for college or other important things. Those keep more natural features at least. The ones who have decided to get overly large implants or body work are the ones to watch out for.”

Shrugging, he snuggled into the blanket again. “Sometimes it’s easy to tell just based on boob size with them. Or Chest size with guys.”
---
“Great, oh well, I’ll worry about explaining it all to her once the network come back up,” Ainsley said with a shrug of her shoulders as she worked on warming up Nick’s other hand, taking her time and rubbing his cold skin between the palms of her hands, it wasn’t like they were holding hands or anything, so her heart could stop beating a million miles a minute, thanks.

“Ah, that’s a good fact to know,” She said with a slight nod of her head. “I mean, if you’re not in it for the long haul, no reason to alter your body or anything. Makes sense! Glad to hear that they’re cool too, it’s good to know there are still sensible people out in the upper echelon of society.”

She’d grown up solidly middle class, and her mother had risen out of rural poverty to be the first person in her family to get an actual degree - and a job that wasn’t directly involved with farming the land or raising livestock - so while she’d been raised in a relatively comfortable fashion, she couldn’t dream of the levels of wealth Nick might have seen - or his girlfriend - who seemed to NEVER want for anything as far as she could tell.

A quick google search of her purses and shoes had all but given Ainsley a heart attack at the price tags.

“Well, it looks like we’re stuck here,” Ainsley said with a somewhat resigned tone. “I’m sure you had plans - but hey - at least we’re not out in that awful mess?”

Her heart was still beating a million miles a minute and she was sure there was a steady blush creeping up her features as she rambled to fill the quiet cabin with noise so that should couldn’t HEAR her heart going doki-doki-doki-doki for the young man beside her.
---
“Yea. Guess so.” Nick offered, falling silent as he turned to look back at the wood burning down. It was a slow burn but the sound was a welcomed comfort as he listened to a log shift on the fire. He hated not texting Mercy and knew she would be in a panic, especially given where he had been. If she stayed up too long, Nick feared she would make herself sick thinking one of the models got her hands into him. If only he could let her know that he was safe and with Anisley of all people. The girl had zero interest in him.

After all, when they had first met, he had tried and found a wall.

He was friend zoned so fast that Nick never allowed himself a chance to see Ainsley as anything more than a sister. One that he was pretty sure Mercy was trying to play matchmaker for.

“Anyway, at least we aren’t alone.”
--
“Yeah, being alone would SUCK,” Ainsley said, allowing herself to relax a bit and lean more against NIck. There was a comfort in that - at least she wasn’t with some stranger. If she had to be stuck, at least it was Nick. He’d been patient, and kind, and while he’d come on a bit strong when they’d first met - he’d respected her need for space and time to sort out her feelings. After all - she was a timid little wallflower - having a boy express interest in her had obviously been some sort of cosmic joke or mistake.

Little had she known that that - offer - as it had been, had, had a limited shelf life - and when she’d finally dredged up the courage to maybe, actually, try - he’d shown up with Princess Smiles-a-lot. She couldn’t BEGRUDGE him wanting to, you know, be in a relationship - but god damn did it suck to see someone who totally did not fit the scene hanging on him and acting like she was even remotely interested.

Okay, so maybe that was a little gatekeepy, but she bet the girl didn’t know the first thing about combat arms, or combined arms, or small unit tactical maneuvering. If anything, Ainsley bet she would stare blankly if Nick started talking about any of the high level game tactics that he employed in half his games that he played. She knew Nick, he was a very strategic, tactically minded player - but neither of them were remotely good at anything multiplayer so they tended to stick to single player or table top stuff. Which suited her just fine. Well aside from the time she did spend online coordinating stuff at a high level strategic and tactical level for some of her guildmates. But that was neither here nor there.

“So… uhm… plans for next year? Resolutions and stuff?” She asked, knowing that if they sat in silence it would get awkward and then her brain would start running into overdrive and she’d probably do something she’d regret.
---
“Hm?” Nick mumbled, coming out of his thoughts as her voice broke the silence. Even so he could still hear the storm raging outside. “Plans? Oh, for 2019?” it dawned on him a moment later what she meant. A new year after all meant endless possibilities.

“Oh same old. I will graduate this year so it will be nice to be done with high school and the bullies.” Nick offered, pulling his legs up as he gazed up at the cabin ceiling. “My aunt wants me to go to college somewhere but I can't pick a field that interests me. And while technically she is threatening that if I don't go she will put me to work, I am eighteen now. If i wanted to get on a bus and just go, I could.”

There was a laugh in his voice. It was something he had thought about before when the bullies were at their worst. He was a nerd. A ‘freak’ to some. Some of that had changed when they caught Mercy sneaking in to see him once. Not alot though. After all, how could HE get a girlfriend with a body like that.

Shaking his head, Nick looked back down at the fire. “Say Ainsley, can I ask you something?”
---
“I mean, you could always just do your first year undeclared and get the gen-eds out of the way,” Ainsley offered to Nick’s statement of not really having a field of interest. “It’s not like you gotta pick a major or anything right away.”

She listened though and nodded her head at his question.

“Yeah, what’s up?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. “You know you can ask me anything.”

Hopefully it wasn’t something she’d regret answering but… Oh well, new year new her.
---
Nick gazed forward for a moment, his mind trying to piece together things before he said them. Truth he knew he shouldn't ask but he needed to know from a third party and Ainsley was who he trusted. Anyone else would call him an idiot.

“How do you know if you love someone or not?” The question sounded better in his head. Picking up a hand, he rested his forehead in it before continuing. “I sound like an a*****e but Mercy told me she loved me the other day and I couldn't...I can't return the words in the same meaning. I mean I care about her...ALOT. Just, is it possible to be incapable of love?”
---
Ainsley blinked, listening for a long moment as she felt her heart almost stop in her chest, before dropping into her gut and bouncing around her rib-cage for a few moments before she shook her head slowly to try and clear her own thoughts. The fact that… WOW… wow… Okay… so… That was a lot to take in all at once but Ainsley to herself she’d do her best to help Nick figure out what was going on in his head.

“Well first off, you don’t sound like an a*****e,” Ainsley countered, her voice gentle as she spoke. “I mean, LOVE is kind of a big deal you know? I mean it’s… entirely possible to be incapable of feeling it but then you’d be a sociopath and you’re no sociopath Nick, so don’t worry there.” She nudged him lightly with her shoulder.

“I mean, you like her - a lot - like you said, by your own admission you’re like… halfway there,” She continued, trying to think through the problem. “I mean, you’re a really good guy, I think, and she seems really into you. But, it could just be you’re not ready for that kind of commitment yet and that’s okay. I mean, if she’s pushy about it maybe you two need to take a break or something to get some distance and see if, you know, it’s meant to be.”

“I mean I’ve never dated anybody so your mileage may vary, but I think if she’s being clingy, that you might need to step back and reassess the relationship and see if it’s evenly balanced,” Ainsley added with a bit of a sigh. “I mean, god forbid she start forbidding you from talking to other people or going certain places and just all around trying to horde you for herself you know? Start cutting you off from family and friends so that she doesn’t have to compete for time and affection? Like if she starts doing that s**t, all I can say is cut and run man.”
---
The nudge made him smile and Nick leaned once more on his bend knees, arms being used as a chin pillow. “Thanks Ainsley. I mean, she’s awesome. She can be a bit of a stick in the mud about some things but I just…” He shot Ainsley a look and a shrug. “I worry she’s hooked on the idea of romance more than the real thing. Sure we have been dating for awhile, more seriously in the past few months but I just panic it came out of nowhere.”

“That and the idea I don’t like attaching myself so strongly to people who I could lose so quickly.” The image of his family and the game slipped into his mind. Closing his eyes, he shook the image away and let out a sigh.

“Don’t worry. She’s not cutting me off from anyone. I’m the one keeping her out from things because, same reason I wouldn’t let you come to my Aunt’s...they are insane and if they see me with a girl, God save us all.”
---
Oh god, she was actually helping. On the one hand she was thrilled that Nick respected her enough to listen to her advice. On the other, her advice was actually possibly making his relationship with her secret rival BETTER. Ainsley wanted to die. Instead she just leaned against Nick, just allowing herself this moment of vulnerability and let the words flow.

“We both know I’d of dealt with the bullying, it can’t possibly be any worse than anything I’ve already had to deal with,” Ainsley countered as she watched him in the stovelight. “But, I’m glad that she’s not cutting you off from everyone - I’d be really upset if you didn’t come around the store anymore.”

There was a long pause and she sighed.

“I mean, it’s hard to get attached to people knowing they might leave - or get taken away from you - but like, we’ve only got one life to live so we might as well get what joy out of it we can you know? Like, you need to decide if she’s someone you want to be super serious with, but like, really, you’re both teenagers it’s not like it’s going to last forever. s**t my dad was in his 40s when he married my mom, she was like, half his age. It’s not like you need to be in a rush or anything.”

She rubbed at her eyes, realizing she was crying for no good goddamn reason and she sniffed, wiping her eyes and shaking her head. It was just so frustrating.

“God I’m being such a girl, sorry,” She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “Okay, so, since you asked me such a heavy question, I want to ask you something…”
---
Without even missing a beat, Nick wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “And now I have made you cry. Ainsley, way to say I’m not an a** then make me feel like one.” The words were more a joke as he gave her a soft hug. Tears. A straight man’s worst enemy. Especially the tears of a woman who he cared about. Strangely, with Mercy, he had come to expect tears when she got emotional. The woman wore her heart on her sleeve and anytime her emotions fared, the tears began. Sometimes he honestly couldn’t tell if she was sad, angry, or about to kill someone.

Ainsley was...different. She only cried when she hurt.

At least that was the only time he had seen it. “Ains, cry if you need to.” Nick’s word were soft, trying to be comforting as he listened to her. “I’m not going to judge or run away. But of course. Ask away.”
---
“Hooo boy, you might regret that,” Ainsley let out a small laugh, shaking her head as she leaned into the hug, before sighing and pulling back a bit. “So, there’s a guy I like - okay - yeah even Plainsly can get twitterpated I know, I know,” She raised a hand up to stop him from interrupting her.

“Problem is, I’m not sure I’ve got a chance, he’s got a girlfriend and I’m not really out to be a homewrecker, even if I think he and his girlfriend aren’t like - a great fit,” She made a face at that and shook her head again “Anyway - do you think I should take a chance and let him know how I feel? I mean, we’re on good terms and I’d hate to potentially ruin the good relationship that I have with him just because I pulled a dumb.”

She was hoping - banking rather - on Nick being as generally oblivious as most guys.
---
Nick didn’t respond as he lifted an eyebrow at her first comment. “One, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling yourself Plainsley? I swear I will start flicking your nose again if you keep it up.”

“And two, that is a tricky question.” Nick offered, giving her a squeeze in the hug before looking back towards the stove. “Because you are awesome and you deserve to be happy. However why would you say they aren’t a great fit? I mean if they don’t seem happy with each other then as a friend, I would say something that you are worried but you also do run the risk of causing a rift. I mean...I don’t know Ains. That’s a hard one.”

He glanced over at her, his eyes full of questions behind his glasses. “Why didn’t you say something before he got a girlfriend? Unless you are telling me you are attracted to the taken men?”
---
“Oh, he hit me up awhile ago but I wasn’t really ready yet, you know how long it takes for me to open up,” Ainsley gave him a small smile, shaking her head slowly. “And by the time I’d started to work up the courage to say anything, he showed up with his girlfriend at the shop and I figured that was it. But, he told me recently that he wasn’t super sure about things - so you know…” She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “Figured I’d get a guy’s take on it - see if I should just bite the bullet and confess.”

She felt really stupid and silly, beating around the bush like this, but she didn’t dare be more direct since if she did, she was sure he’d recoil away - or worse - break their friendship entirely because she misread the feel of the moment.

Why hadn’t she just bit the bullet sooner, this sucked so bad.
---
Nick didn’t say anything for a moment as he kept his eyes on her, searching her face. Something felt off to him but he didn’t dare push it. Ainsley was a sister to him but the more she spoke, the more he had to wonder.

“Well, from a guy’s take,” Nick offered pulling his arm from around her shoulder and fishing for something in his pocket. “Unless he’s put a ring on it, there is always a chance.” He fished out a small, wrapped box in blue paper and placed it in her lap. “Because chances are, he still likes you if he did before. Guys are simple creatures. It takes us getting burned to give up on this.”

Inside the box was something he had found for her ages ago. A piece he thought she could make use of when she cosplayed as Commander Lian. Nothing fancy like what he saw around Mercy but at least something that made him think of her.

---
Ainsley took the package and frowned opening it up and staring at it for a long moment. “These are great,” She said with a small nod of her head. “They’ll be great to wear when I start up my Dark Angels army - eventually.” She wasn’t a huge Space Marine player - but with the new sets coming out they’d caught a bit more of her attention - she always liked new models..

She sat quietly for a long moment, before she turned to look at him and bit her bottom lip. “Nick, I….” She opened her mouth to spill her guts, but nothing came out. She felt the anxiety welling up in her chest, the uncertainty making it almost impossible to get her voice to make words. She wanted to be sick. After all Nick had said all those things - but like he said - nothing was set in stone but… but… but…

She turned away, tucking the earrings away in her jacket before she turned back and all but tackled Nick into a hug, throwing all of her weight into it as she hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest as she just cleaved to him her body shaking with the stress of trying to admit something she’d kept hidden for so long.

“I like you, you dork.” She muttered from his chest.
--
Nick wasn't strong in the traditional sense of the word so when she launched herself into him, Nick fell backwards onto the cabin ground. He had known who she meant. Unlike every jock out there, Nick didn't love them and leave them. If he liked someone, he really liked them...hard.

Truth was he had never stopped caring for Ainsley but when Mercy had appeared in his life, he just seemed to click. If anything she said about this Zarek character was true then there might be alot more to it. But that wasn't here nor there.

“Ains,” Nick mumbled under her. “Watch your knee…” not the most caring thing to say but ow. It was way to close for comfort.

---
“Oh s**t, sorry,” Ainsley said, moving carefully to make sure she didn’t smack him with her knee as she shifted and then flopped onto her back next to him on the cabin floor. Looking up at the roof, her face red with embarrassment she shook her head slowly. “Damnit, you can forget I said anything, I was dumb.”

She covered her face with her hands, willing the blushing to subside but knew it wasn’t about to happen. She’d gone and made a complete fool of herself and let out a low annoyed groan. “Look, promise my advice was in good faith, I’m not about to start singing that I think you need a new girlfriend and that I could do better, cause let’s be frank, I probably couldn’t.”

She wanted to curl up on herself and crawl into a hole and die now. Yeah, this had been a mistake. Big mistake.
---
If this is what being between a rock and a hard place was, he would gladly take the rock.

Rolling up to sit again, Nick turned, pulling his now smudged glasses off. “Ainsley, you expect me to forget something I hoped to hear for how long?” Nick started with a sigh. “When you told me you needed time, it hurt...alot. But i respect you way too much to force anything so I took it as friendzoned and walked away. I rather be your friend than your enemy or a stranger.”

Green eyes looked into her face. Had this been even a year ago and he would have kissed her. But he wasn't a free man. And Mercy…

“I know you don't care for Mercy. I've known for a long time. It's why I tried to not bring her around the store when I knew you would be there. I also know Ashley has been your wing woman. She started acting differently towards me when I introduced Mercy to her so I know she rather see us together...but what do you want me to do Ains? Dump my girlfriend for you?”

Stupid question.

Shifting again, Nick stood up and walked away from the fire to look out at the storm from one of the small, ice covered windows. He replaced his glasses and sighed. “I still do like you Ains. As more than a friend. But…”

But what?

Did he love Mercy? Or was it just because of the sex? Or worse, did he feel like a smuck?

“Ugh...i never should have started dating. Life so was easier as the virgin nerd locked in a locker”
---
“Oh god no!” Ainsley shot up straight face pale. “I mean, no, no… I wouldn’t expect you to do that… I shouldn’t have said anything… I just… I…” Frustration was building again and she hated it. She hated making Nick upset. It would have been easier to just suffer in silence and glare daggers at his girlfriend in silence and just let Ashley berate her for being a coward. She let out a low sigh.

“Ashley… has been helping me, yeah, she stashed your christmas present for me, that’s why it wasn’t there when you showed up - I snagged it to give it to you. Then I was out this afternoon and came here cause of the storm and then BAM! Like magic, here you are, stuck in this cozy little… I don’t even know… here with me. New Years Eve… I don’t know… Life’s not an anime but damnit if flags weren’t going off since the moment you walked in.”

She stood up then, moving away from Nick to pace, the anxious energy needing to go somewhere and she didn’t dare let herself be within arms reach of him now. Knowing that he kind of felt the same way as she did - it was far too tempting to do something even MORE outrageously stupid. No, she was not some homewrecker.

“UGH, this was such a dumb idea,” She agonized, turning to face a wall and stare at it for a long moment. “I mean, I KIND of feel better for having said it - but now the complications are even worse.” She huffed and turned, crouching down to watch him from where she stood.

“God, your girlfriend is going to kill me…” She realized in horror, rubbing her face with her hands again. “I mean I don’t blame her, but god.”
---
Nick turned as he heard her footsteps. He didn’t need to hear heard mind wandering they way it was to know she was destroying herself. He had step her up, admitting the truth that he wasn’t sure about the long term commitment of his relationship, thank you dead ghost dream for that, and in return had caused someone already dear to him this much internal chaos.

Smuck. He was a smuck.

But he was a smuck that would be the one to pay for it later.

Crossing the room to grab her arm just as she sent it flying again, Nick once again found himself holding her in place with that same, odd strength that had appeared back near Christmas. “Ainsley,” His voice was strong and clear when he jerked her wrist towards him. “Ains, if anyone is going to die…” His voice dropped and he held her against him, refusing to let her go even as her body reacted in his hold. Leaning down, he didn’t give her a chance to refute. “It’s me.” The last two words were a whisper before he kissed her.
---
Ainsley stiffened, she had not expected the kiss, his strength she had chalked up to the fact that men tended to be stronger but suddenly his lips were pressing to her own and she didn’t know what to think. She thought about pushing against him. About shouting and telling him he was stupid, that she was stupid, that they were both stupid and that he had a girlfriend and that this was not okay - she did NOT want to be the other woman - the side ho.

All of that was banished within two seconds of the kiss, and she relaxed, feeling herself give into the warmth of his lips against hers, something she’d thought and dreamed about too many times to count. Her fingers worked into his shirt, and she leaned into him, her body shaking as years of pent up emotion released in a flood as she felt her eyes begin to tear up of their own accord. Happy tears. Victorious ones. She could die happy, knowing what it was like to kiss the guy she’d had a crush on for years.

But another part of her, the rational, logical part, railed against her actions. After all, this was such a stupid idea. He had a girlfriend, and there was no way this was going to end well.

(Meanwhile, a certain redhead watched the ball drop, then turned off the T.V. wrapping herself up tighter in her robe as she let out a worried sigh as she poked her phone again to send another message to Nick, hoping it would come through.)

Finally, she pulled back shaking her head, blinking the tears out of her eyes. “Wow… okay… uhm…. Now what…”
---
Three breaths was all it took for Nick to feel his heart deflate and logic come racing back into his head. Oh s**t. Oh s**t might not be enough to what he felt when he looked into her face. This was Ainsley. This was Ains. The woman who had friendzoned him long ago and broke his stupid heart. Ains who was like a sister to him. Ains who he shot the breeze with even when no one else cared.

Ains who he had just kissed when he was ‘supposed’ to be curled with Mercy...his girlfriend.

Yep. He was dead. Dead twice over. Maybe three times. Book of the dead couldn’t even revive him at this point.

“Now you pick out the color flowers that will be on my casket at my funeral. Or at least at my p***s’ funeral.”
---
“Is it really going to be that bad?” Ainsley asked, taking a moment to give a bit of a shaky sigh and take a step back. “I mean, you kissed me, yeah…. That’s kind of… not great for a guy who's dating another girl to do, but it’s not like I didn’t instagate it or anything, I confessed feelings to you and that's… UGH.”

She was totally just, not a good person for doing that, and she didn’t feel like Nick should face the music alone. Shaking her head she steeled herself for the impossible task she was about to suggest. “So obviously I can’t let you face the music alone. When the storm clears we should… probably talk to your girlfriend… Or you should, with me nearby to offer support.”

She was going to die, but at least she could do so without regret.
---
“I can’t ask you to do that.” Nick spoke calmly, as if saying without questioning. “There are several things that have happened recently between Mercy and I that will make this...more likely to end up with me having a sword through my stomach.” Or saber. Did she bring that thing back with her from her last visit...Oh god what if she took him to Sabine and left him there. s**t.

“I already had one of my aunt’s clients try and take me to bed last week. Mercy was completely understanding in that awkwardness but it didn’t go anywhere past her trying to physically grab me. So now having another woman a week later admit her feelings to me...and I also have to admit to Mercy that I never stopped having feelings for you…” Nick pulled his glasses off again and rubbed his eyes. “Especially because I was supposed to be with her this evening but the storm decided I should be here instead. As you said, anime magic in the making…”

“No, I need to do this alone. She may want to meet you but if she does, it’s going to be on neutral ground. I wasn’t kidding when I said Mercy is one romance novel away from being in one herself. She doesn’t want to admit how much like her mother she is but...she is…”

Now he was rambling. Worst of all, he suddenly had a strange image in his head of Mercy and Ainsley….together….

That was not helping matters. In fact it was making him very hot under the collar.
---
Ainsley frowned and then with a nod, stepped in, grabbed nick by the shirt, and pulled him down into another kiss. This one she held for a couple beats longer than the last, before finally pulling away and letting out a small, content sigh.

“Sorry, had to see what it was like on the giving end,” She blurted, before turning to her phone, picking it up and squinting at the time, it was 12:05, and her phone had gotten three messages, all had come in at once. From her mother, asking where she was. She sent her a quick text in reply, relieved that it went through, before turning to Nick.

“Okay, if you think that’s the best course of action I’m going to follow your advice.” She said with a nod. “It looks like the storm is done, I’m able to get texts again. Mom said it looks like it was mostly wind and that the snow shouldn’t be too heavy, so if you want to try and walk me home…”

She wasn’t going to make him, but he sounded like he needed some air.
---
As if on cue, Nick felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Fishing it out, he wanted to put it away and kiss her again, show her what it was like to really kiss her instead of feeling like something was holding them back, but the name on his screen stopped him. Mercy had texted him several times since he had left his Aunts and clearly he had missed midnight with her.

He also noticed his message from before hadn’t gone through. With a long sigh, he fired one bag Got caught in the storm. Service just returned. Be there as soon as I can.

“Hey, Ains.” Nick said, with a long, slow breath. “Before we leave here, will you answer me one thing…”

He looked away, back towards the fire before looking back at her. “You aren’t pulling my leg or something? Like...this isn’t some hidden camera trick is it?”
---
“Nick, I honestly, really do like you, this isn’t a trick, and honest to god I’m not ******** with you,” She said with a small smile. “I’d trash my Sherman first.”

Nodding her head, she moved and gathered up her things, leaving the blankets and other stuff behind before she reached the door, pushing it open as she stepped out into the snow covered new year.

“Oh s**t! I know where we are,” She said, looking around. “It’s that one park downtown, you know, the one with the giant fountain in the middle? How the hell we end up here?”
---
A smile came over Nick’s face as he walked up behind her, closing his coat tightly around him. “Magic Ains. Magic.”