stuff us in boxes that's where you want us

cardboard is boring, we brought our matches - look how it burns

Why did it feel like the pair were having two very different conversations, assumptions were made and it was quite clear that something was not adding up. Someone was lacking some vital information to this ever-forming puzzle spread out before her. Especially with the topic of her unremarkable shower that he seemed to possess a lot of interest within.

That was when he procured the note from the back pocket of his well-fitting jeans. It all came into laser focus the moment that she took it in. That insinuation to come 'fix her shower' was clear as day along with the man who wrote the damn thing. That recognition flashed across her feminine features like sudden lightning; her eyes widened for the briefest of moments at what the fairy had attempted to set up. It was a wonder that he was even here, standing outside her door with his toolkit in tow. Her mouth parted and was abruptly silenced by what she could only assume was the brash sound of disaster striking and his name was Matteo. That loud bang caused the warlock to jump back in surprise. Honestly, she probably should have done the same and yet it only sparked a tugging eagerness to find what horrors had befallen her home. The blond's blatant look of shock said all she needed to know... A sarcastic thought entering her mind that said 'welcome to my life' sang like a sarcastic blackbird.

Sly was about to wander once more into the rabbit hole, yet again. The raven-haired woman could practically see his thought process shift behind his curious blue eyes. Maybe she should have been far more concerned about the state of her bathroom that sounded like a literal bomb going off but there was little she could do about it now besides take it all in the stride. Hence the prompted joke about grenades that oddly seemed far less outlandish than it should be. The very comment, however, earned her an amused snort from the warlock at her door. His reply saying that wouldn't even surprise him given "her work". It wasn't even her actual job. No, the reference was to Syn, the ever-growing, sneering black cloud hovering above her head. "Still, somehow, here you are." There was a hint of curiousity and disbelief bloomed within her.

After all that had happened in Syn, why would he bother responding to an obscure note placed on his unconscious form? It was a question she would eventually have to ask. "So just the bar got banned.. and not me. I wondered about that." She mused out loud, before finally embracing the crazy and welcoming him inside her quaint abode. That pot was growing heavier by the moment as she moved inside with ease, looking for a place on the stove to put that hot meal, refusing to allow it to get too cold.

Sly barely made it into the warmth of her apartment before he was practically accosted by the imposing Ace who was more than a little curious of this new male visitor with his bag of tricks. He didn't seem all too worried by the devoted attention from her dog's thorough investigation before Harley came to his rescue. If you call being assaulted by that big, cool, wet nose that could find its way into anything... something to get rescued by. But by then they had already made friends, that pat to the head was enough to for Ace's tail wagging to intensify to an excited blur behind him.

The petite woman led the way, inquiring about his job while Ace trailed behind the pair, content to 'guard' her bedroom. But it was the comment that it was first time that an appointment was made by letter caused the woman to exhale a sound of amusement as she slipped into the familiar confines of her room. "There is a first time for everything." She tossed easily over her shoulder, seemingly unconcerned of what Sly could see of her bedroom. If Matteo wanted to rattle her, he would have to try a lot harder than a propositioning letter that ended up in some unexpected company. Well.. that was until she saw the state of her bathroom that she opened the door of. Its light already on, illuminating the disaster zone for what it was like a spotlight to showcase it in all its glory. No, disaster seemed... tame in comparison to the utter warzone that it was.

When she and Sly stepped forward. Sly was the first to voice his sentiments that mirrored her own as they both took in the foray of what happened there. Fuck. That one word summed it up better than any other word could. "Fuck.. that is a problem." Like the gushing flow of water was the only thing wrong.

It was like a war against bathroom fixtures, her showerhead destroyed, sliced in half as it looked like it was bleeding out water from the severed artery from where it should be. The sink wasn't spared either. The sheer amount of damage was impressive in such a short period of time. How the fuck did Matteo pull this off? She knew better to underestimate the man... but this... How the hell could Sly even fix all of this? Was it even fixable? What the fuck was a sword doing sticking out of her wall? How could he even swing that thing with enough force to make it happen? Better off. Why? The barrage of questions slammed into her mind all at once and folded in on itself. If this wasn't her own apartment in shambles she would have been impressed. Her mouth opened and closed but no words fell out, running a hand through her long raven locks, keeping her hand fisted through it as she took it all in. How... was she even going to explain this? Oh, quite obviously, she wasn't. It was official. Matteo truly left her to drown, all that hemorrhaging water would surely do the job... eventually. Slowly. Her features pinched into a frown. There was usually a method to the madness that was Matteo... but this time..

Sly's voice disrupted her thoughts and the sound of that rushing water. Her name uttered immediately captured the woman's attention, prying her gaze from that scene to the stunned expression the warlock wore. Whenever someone spoke her name like that, it typically meant she was in trouble. Or worse, some kind of lecture. Her unique purple hued eyes hardened with resolve, anticipating the wide array of things she was quite certain she had heard all before.

How must this look to him?

Her blond companion claimed he took it back.. her shower was unlike anything he had seen. She laughed, in spite of it all. If only she could take the credit for it.

"So what did it? What was the defining moment that made you change your mind?" Was it the sword? Or the beheaded fixtures? She had the give the warlock some credit, he took the whole thing in stride, proving again that he wasn't like most men. It when mention of cost that was like an instantaneous ice bath of any amusement she might have had. This was going to..... set her back... a lot. She couldn't afford a big ass bill like that every time Matteo felt like going all Shadow Warrior against her home. Really. What did it ever do to him? They needed to have a talk. But she suspected the french fairy would be nowhere to be found once this was over.

Sly continued on, as if sensing the woman's concern. In his own way, attempting to salvage that situation, a smile once more returned to his lips, warming his expression like the very fire he wielded. That was when he mentioned her saving his life. Drawing her back to that dreadful place, Syn, and all they had survived that day. Could they just forget about that? It didn't really sit well with her having someone who felt like they owed her. It really felt more like a trainwreck she was content to survive. Content she didn't have to witness Sly's death even if it felt like he did partake in a tango with it. She still firmly believed that he didn't deserve to die like that. Why would anyone in their right mind even reply to that letter?

Sly seemed unphased with the daunting task before him, unaware of the dark thoughts that briefly scattered within her mind as he grabbed his wrench to at least do something with the running water that was being wasted by the litre down her drain. But she really needed her shower fixed and it wasn't like she had thousands of dollars stashed away to blow on something like this, she would be a moron to not accept his help now that he was willing to offer it. Besides, she had wanted to replace that shower head for months now.

"You don't owe me or anything, that was a shit show. But if you-" Anything she might have said was all but silenced as Sly unexpectedly stepped right into the shower and into the steady flow of spraying water that blasted the blond male with fervor. Her gaze widened as he ignored it like it wasn't even a minor nuisance, somehow managing to cease and tame the water completely with his handy wrench like a wizard facing a monster. The water soaked him completely, his blond hair darkening as it plastered to his face. His shirt stuck to his body showing off the man's physique. Damn, he was kind of hot. It made her wonder if this was real. Did she fall asleep in her chair at work? Was this one of 'those' kind of dreams? Because... this was not your average plumber and everything was more outrageous than usual. Surely this was not how plumbers actually worked... right? She couldn't help the way her line of sight lowered as if trying to determine if those were in fact the definition of his abs.

He didn't even make a sound when the water blasted him, or allude to how hot or cold it actually was like most would. It wasn't until after the water ceased that he mentioned that there was a main switch under her sink. Wait.. wouldn't that have been best to do before he took a shower with his clothes on? Before she could make that comment, he asked her if she knew what was weird. A sound of amusement whisked from her and lined the spitfire's sarcastic words.

"Plenty. You might have to be a bit more specific." She added, noting the frown upon his dripping features, finding herself curious of what put it there. Maybe he finally realized he was soaked and there was no way he could make it home in that cold, biting air. Instead, he seemed to reach out for the impressive sword that was impossibly sheathed into the wall of her shower which perfectly severed the pipe. That's what was weird out of everything he'd seen so far? The lack of magical signature on the sword plunged into the wall. He seemed more than a little curious as to the how rather than show even an ounce of judgement that she surely deserved at this rate.

However, it was more his disbelief that earned him her reply. "Sly. When you say 'someone' plunged this blade into the wall, do you not think the total gun show of my arms are capable of wielding that blade?" She challenged the warlock, a hint of that fire meeting her eyes as she leaned against the countertop of the bathroom sink, loosely folding her arms beneath her chest. "As for your question, you are more than welcome to try and guess. The most I can do is tell you how close you are." Curious if he would bite or what spark of ingenuity he might come up with. Let alone, what he would picture.

That fateful, cursed, pinky swear of secrecy would be the death of her... or maybe just the fairy she made it too would beat the long line of beings that would probably be her undoing.

Although, Sly's interest seemed far more focused with something on that blade. He reached in his tool kit she stood by for his hammer, his soaked arm dripping water onto the floor. Harley drew closer as he pointed to the handle for her to notice the intricately carved patterns, including the proud mythical creature that was upon that hilt.

It wasn't until Sly mentioned the mythological beast's symbolic meaning that plucked a near wry expression from her. Matteo managed to sign his work too? That crafty little fae. She could not deny that the Frenchman paid attention to detail. If only it wasn't in her apartment. Her poor broken bathroom that had to suffer even though the sword was admittedly badass. Sly then shrugged as if he didn't just sound like he had a passionate moment speaking on a topic he clearly knew a lot about.

"I'm impressed you know all of that. I would have never guessed that a Qilin is a unicorn. But why is the unicorn the symbol of the fae? Fae are basically the tricksters of the world and unicorns, symbolically speaking, seem kind of like peaceful magical hippies spreading good vibes and light. Not pandemonium and anarchy like those baffling, devilish, prankster tinkerbells fluttering around like harbingers of chaos. Mind you, I never met a unicorn in the flesh, for all I know, they can actually be crazed, flesh-eating monsters. So jury is still out on that one." Apparently, she had some opinions on the fae as a whole thanks to Matteo's recent stunt. The conversation was almost enough to distract her, until he inquired if he should start fixing it. Oh yeah. The now, very clear reason why he was here. She eyed the sopping wet warlock once more, closer than before. Her unique purple gaze following those stray droplets of water that she found utterly distracting.

He asked like it was a choice. She leaned heavily into the wall.

"Yeah let's move forward, you would be doing me a real solid and you apparently have the best rates around." She couldn't help the tug of a knowing smirk upon her lips.

Sly's own features shifted into something far more teasing, his blue eyes ensnared her own, those words catching her slightly off guard. Was he flirting?

"Hm, just dinner, huh? It would probably be better for the sake of my apartment and my wallet too. Would it be nearly as exciting as this I wonder?" She questioned as she considered something.

"Its not 'just' dinner but I am starving and the food is still hot, if you're hungry." She pushed off the wall to reach for a fresh towel, strutting toward him and pressing it boldly and playfully to his chest. She figured he would need it whether he chose to join her not. "Although, the clothes probably have to take a detour to my dryer though. Probably wouldn't be the most comfortable thing sitting in a puddle of water, as much as I enjoyed the show."

Harley Westward