One more night, one more time [Kit]

Lulu fidgeted with nervous excitement as she strolled down the street toward Kits practice. It was a few days after they had returned from their spontaneous trip to Thailand to volunteer at an elephant conservation site and a few days since Lulu had woken up in bed next to Kit with a killer hangover after a night of drinking. It was safe to say she and tequila weren't the best of friends just now, but it could be worse!

Lulu had fretted in those first few moments of waking up that she was acting like those girls she never wanted to be. She wasn't the type to have a first night stand and she was way out of her depth here. But with Kit... It was different. She saw him as a friend, sure, and Erika had told her it was more than that whenever she mentioned the healer,  but she had always waved it away. That morning as she looked at Kit, still sleeping next to her, sheets tangled around her legs and his, Lulu wasn't as ashamed of herself as she might have been if this had been any other man besides Kit. She remembered she hadn't been that drunk when he had first kissed her and she hadn't been drunk enough to stop it before it got too far, but she had wanted this. The dark thrill, the heat of his kisses, the memories of his rough hands on her body made her shiver even now as she glanced up at the overcast skies of London. She was hopeful, eager for their future and she realized she was more and more falling into daydreams about the tall, curly-haired healer.

She had the day off today and had spent the morning buying groceries, doing a few cleaning charms about the apartment, and owling out a few pieces of correspondence for Sterling. This afternoon she had set aside for something different altogether. lulu was a total knockout in a coral dress that complemented her skin tone nicely with beige kitten heels and a jacket to match.  She arrived at Kit's office and taking a deep breath pulled open the door with a bright smile.

"Is Kit in?" She asked the receptionist with a pretty smile and gestured to the white bag in her arm. "I thought I'd surprise him with lunch." Lulu had gone to a Thai restaurant across town to pick up the type of food she had noticed that he had loved while they were on their trip and she was hoping he might be free for dinner tonight too. First things first though. She glanced around with interest as the receptionist called back for Kit as this was her first time here.

@Kit Emberton

Returning back to work from a vacation was never a good time. This particular Thursday, after Kit's time in Thailand, could be more closely defined as absolute chaos. The Healer had learned swiftly that everything that could have gone wrong in his absence, had don't just that and then some. Of course he had taken trips, not unlike the one he just arrived back from, before -- but this had an entirely different outcome. With a line of patients crowding the waiting room and even more in the quarters waiting for treatment, it was safe to say that busy would be an understatement.

The first half of the morning, Kit worked furiously to clean up the mess that had miraculously been made during his three-day stint with  one of the volunteer groups in which he was a prominent member. Of course he had taken vacations like this before, for even longer periods of time even, but this particular getaway was not met with a warm welcome home. London weather was shit, and Kit's mood was not much better.

Regina, one of the Healers employees, made her way gingerly into his office one toe at time, peering from behind the tall oak door as if she was walking in on a sleeping beast. For a moment, he felt a little bad for how his temper affected those working for him, and he offered up the best half smile he could muster from above the stack of paperwork he was catching up on. "Morning, Regina," His voice was harsh. A serious lack of sleep paired with the additional stress was not masked well by the man.

'Kit it's nearly half past one,' The Irish woman politely responded, her eyes nervously flicking to the large grandfather clock ticking away in the corner of his office. Kit's green eyes followed in disbelief, sure that there had to have been some mistake. Last time he looked it was nine in the morning. 'You have a guest. She's brought..lunch...' The nurse gave a flippant shrug of her shoulders and returned to making herself busy.

The Healer was perplexed to say the least. Perhaps it was his neighbor again, he gently reminded himself, his brain too consumed to work through any other conclusion. Mrs. Telly, an elderly woman who lived one door down from his flat was constantly bringing him food and lecturing him on overworking. As he bound down the spiral staircase from his office, he was met with a figure that certainly did not belong to Mrs. Telly.

"Lulu?" He couldn't help but speak the confusion that was apparent on his face before he quickly smiled in greeting. The last he had seen of the brunette, they were in Thailand and tangled up in a bed together. "I wasn't expecting you!" He ran his hands through his mess of hair, ignoring the strange sense of unease that settled somewhere deep in his chest. "What have you got here?" The Healer attempted to peek in the mystery bag hanging from the crook of her elbow.

Lulu tried not to let her nerves affect her so she busied herself with glancing around the lobby. It was quite busy today and she wondered if this was a good idea after all, but she was already here and there was no going back now. It did occur to her that Kit must be very good at what he did to have all these loyal patients. She smiled at the thought and then turned as she heard footsteps on the stairs behind her. Her smile grew brighter and she found herself smoothing out her skirt as she watched his shoes and then legs and then torso come into view from the spiral staircase.

His hair was mussy and curly as ever and she grinned indulgently at him. Her heart clenched at the sight of him. For one brief moment when she saw the surprise on his face, she considered apparating right back out, but then as it morphed into a smile, a sweep of pleasure went through her. “Hi Kit,” she said with a smile as she took a step towards him and glanced up at him through her lashes. “I thought I’d surprise you with lunch,” she said as she slid the bag off her arm and pulled the handles apart. A mouth-watering aroma rose from the bag and the scent transported her back to their days in Thailand. “Did you know there’s this really great Thai place just down the street?” she added as she glanced back at him.

A spluttering cough sounded just behind her and Lulu turned to look over her shoulder and then back at Kit. She realized that maybe he might be too busy to sit with her for lunch and she heard herself mentioning it even though she was really hoping that that wasn’t the case. “Unless you’re too busy, that is..?” Please say no, please say no.

The tension in the air was thick and stale, suffocating Kit as he attempted to catch his breath and get to the bottom of why Lulu's surprise visit had affected him so. The familiar smell of his favorite Thai slowly crept through the still air and reminded his grumbling stomach that it was in fact lunch time. Kit offered a small smile, his memory lingering again on the specifics of their time together, his brain furiously working out what about the situation was making him so uneasy. Green eyes snapped around the busy room hesitantly before carrying back to the leggy brunette in front of him.

"No no, I should eat, this is grand, Lulu," The Healer, sensing that she was nervous, jumped at the opportunity to make her feel comfortable. It was in his nature to do so, and he was fairly good at it by now. "I know the place, yeah," Kit led the woman back through the corridor toward his office, nodding to one of his nurses to let her know that he was taking a break. "They know me well, believe it or not," He mused, replaying the countless times he had run over for a meal.

Once in the quiet of his office, Kit flicked his wrist to make the record player in the corner of his cozy domain to start spouting out one of his favorite older albums. If there were anything that could make the situation any more awkward, it would be the silence of them trying to fill small talk. "Very sorry it's not your 3Spelled..." Kit smiled, looking up at her as he set up some plates. "This was very kind," He added, his hands keeping busy relocating the stack of paperwork he had been previously digging through. "Were you just... in the area?" Kit paused, immediately aware of how odd the question felt as it left his lips. Wrong move.

Lulu smiled prettily under his comments and she followed him as he led her through his practice towards what she presumed would be his office. Her eyes were flicking from one thing to the next as they moved down the corridors, taking in everything as this was the first time she had been here. But through it all she was very aware of the hand he had placed at her lower back. She felt a warmth spread through her and she realized she felt that much better being in his presence, her silly worries floating gently away from her. "You're a usual there, then?" she asked with a glance up at him and a gentle smile. "I should have just asked for your usual. They probably knew it by heart."

As they walked into the office, the witch clasped her hands in front of her as she wandered a bit and looked at the photos and frames that hung from his wall. His office had Kit written all over it. Messy with stacks of paperwork all over the place, but she had a feeling he would know right where to find something if he was hard-pressed to find it. At the sound of music, she turned her head, her eyes lighting at his joke and quiet laughter bubbling up from her. "This is fine though I am surprised you don't keep all of 3Spelled's records here in your office," she teased with a grin.

She set the food down on the area he had cleared and began taking out some of the containers, careful not to spill anything on his paperwork. Containers and containers came out of the bag and she realized belatedly that she had probably bought too much food, but.. if they didn't eat it all now, they could just finish it later right? "Oh, it's no problem," she told him with a smile as she brought out the napkins and leaned against the edge of his desk. She ran through the items she had gotten, pointing out different items in different things and ending with, "and I have no clue what this is, but it looked delicious, don't you think?"

At his question, her hands stilled for a moment, before she set out utensils for him. "No, I've just been meaning to visit there and then I remembered that you said your office was here too so. Two birds, one stone sort of thing," she said with a grin as she grabbed a container and twirled her fork in some noodles. "I was thinking though, there is this really good Italian restaurant near me. Would you maybe want to grab dinner tonight? Erika mentioned they have the best desserts and I've been dying to try it out." Lulu refused to let her nerves get the best of her, but she couldn't quite keep her gaze off him.

As the scent of the Thai filled the room the Healer found himself, as he often was, distracted by the familiar and enchanting smell of a foreign land. Almost instantaneously, he was transported to another place, in the middle of a crowded market, uninterpreted voices and sounds surrounding him. It wasn't until Lulu's voice broke his train of thought that Kit was brought back to the present day. He was caught somewhere between yearning for something new and living in the exact moment he found himself in.

The twenty-seven year old shook off the odd combination of nostalgia and familiarity, instead focusing on the food that Lulu was explaining to him. "It's smells unreal," Kit commented, his gaze flicking to hers for a moment. It wasn't until that very moment that he realized how hungry he was. It was easy for the Healer to become so occupied with his work that he forgot to take care of himself.

"Thanks again," He added graciously as his practiced hands worked to open the lids of the containers, briefly pausing to flick his wand, sending two sets of tableware in their direction before landing on the wood with ease. This wasn't his first meal at his desk, clearly. "You really didn't have to do all this," He shrugged his shoulders, scrambling for any way to ease the unattainable and unexplainable tension that was rising in his chest. On the one hand, he couldn't be more happy to see Lulu, but on the other, he knew that things were on track to be even more complicated than they already were. 

As he shoveled a heap of dark colored noodles on to his plate, the Healer paused when dinner was brought into the conversation. Kit's heart leapt, quivering somewhere between happiness and fear. His fear of commitment was paralyzing as his hands reflected that, nearly dropping his spoon and fork right to the floor. "Oh yeah?" Kit questioned, maintaining composure. It was clear to him now, that he had to have some fatal personality flaw --  considering he was having second thoughts about spending more time with a woman like Lulu, there was no other explanation.

"I'll have to see," The Healer's eyes traveled to the stack of paperwork he had just before shoved aside. "I'm still catching up 'round here, I wouldn't be surprised if I don't sleep at all tonight," He added honestly before taking another bite. It was the truth that he had a lot to get done, but there was something deeper that was plaguing his consciousness.

"Have you seen Lachie since the other night?" Kit quickly changed the subject to the Irishman who had traveled with them just a few nights previous. "I'd say he was quite keen on you, you know," With ease, the wizard deflected the attention from himself as he recalled their boozy night out in Thailand in which Lachlan tried his very best to woo the leggy brunette across from him. That was, of course, before she and Kit had spent their night together, but that was beside the point.

She twirled her fork in her noodles as she felt like her breath had gotten trapped in her throat. Erika would be so proud of her right now. She had asked a guy to dinner, a really cute guy. Lulu watched the Healer, her blue eyes bright, and followed his gaze to his stacks of paperwork. The former Junior Secretary in her wanted to organize his files and put them away, but she pushed that aside because something else came over her. A frown turned down the corners of her mouth before she could stop it and she nodded a few times. "Yeah, of course," she agreed quickly to his explanation. "I didn't even think," she added. They had just both returned from a trip and with Kit owning his own practice, she knew that must mean he was busy.

Lulu perked her brows and smiled tentatively, her voice still held that hopeful tone. "Maybe next weekend would be better then?" she offered as she glanced away from the paperwork and back to Kit, her heart in her eyes. She stabbed her fork a few times at a piece of chicken, but his change in topic made her forget her food altogether. She turned her head slowly toward him with an amused expression. Lulu couldn't quite believe the meaning she had picked up on. Maybe he didn't know what he was saying? she thought as she smiled indulgently at him.

"No, I haven't," she told him with a small shake of her head, her brunette hair falling softly about her shoulders with the movement. "And I don't think he was really?" Lulu added with a careless shrug of one shoulder. She glanced back at the food before her and crossed her long legs the other way around as something came to her. She smiled impishly then, teetering on the edge of saying something so obviously revealing. And then with a flash of 'carpe diem,' Lulu spoke up, saying, "Besides there's someone else I'm pretty keen on at the moment." Then she looked right a Kit with a ballsy smile and bright eyes.