mr. brightside (lulu)

"Oi! Lulu, brush me! Big one, yeah!"

Kit Emberton was nothing short of impatient, his hand stretched through the door opening and his bare foot tapping on paper tarp. When he signed up to help give Safe Haven a makeover, he had no idea it would go well into the evening, but he wasn't complaining. Getting his hands dirty and really making a visible difference in something was too gratifying to look for any sort of negative. Kit had arrived that morning with Lulu, the woman who introduced him to the facility that catered to underprivileged people, and the duo only stopped for sneaky food breaks. As Winter came into full swing, the owners believed a little brightening up of some of the rooms was in order, so the place was full of volunteers doing just that, divided across the establishment working away.

The twenty-seven year old was looking worse for wear than he typically did, his white t-shirt and jeans that he had craftily rolled into capris were covered in pastel paint stains from a violent job. "Oi!" Kit repeated, sticking his head into the other room where Lulu and a new volunteer whose name he had already forgotten were working away to the sound of the latest wizarding boy band wailing on. "Can't hear me over this rubbish?" The chestnut haired man couldn't help but smirk, grabbing the large brush himself with a dramatic huff.

"Might get more done with some real tunes, y'know," Kit playfully stroked the end of his new brush over Lulu's arm to leave a thick line of yellowy paint. The two of them had become quite comfortable around each other after months of working together every odd weekend. It seemed that they were Safe Haven's most reliable volunteers and the owners were always very appreciative of their dedication to the cause. Kit met some of the most interesting and loving people in the shelter over the years and there wasn't a chance he was giving it up anytime soon. "Lucky I wasn't hurt in there all alone," Kit called over his shoulder as he returned to his own, considerably smaller, project of a room. The Healer smiled to himself as he climbed his ladder and got back to work near the ceiling. 

Lulu Prescott was humming along, loudly and mostly off tune, to the latest 3Spelled song that was blaring from the WWN radio she had set up in one corner. Her smile and energy was infectious and she was moving her body along to the beat as she applied more pale blue paint to the walls. It was nearing the end of a full day she had been here at Safe Haven volunteering, but she wasn't as tired as she thought she would be. A nice glass of red and lounging on her couch were in her future, but for now, she was enjoying brightening up the shelter.

She turned to Lucy, who was a new volunteer at Safe Haven that Lulu had befriended earlier that morning, and sang into the paintbrush she had in her hand. "And you charmed meeeEEEeee. My heart beats for you, belongs to youuuu!" The brunette sang along with the song just as the song built up to the chorus. She was being silly, but after inhaling paint fumes for most of the day, she didn't think much of it. She was about to belt out the chorus when Kit's booming voice interrupted her. She smiled in reaction to his catching her singing along, a bit embarrassed, but she tried not to focus on that and hoped her cheeks didn't flush too much. "It's not rubbish," she replied even as she reached out and turned the dial down, the music lowering to what she guessed Kit would consider reasonable levels. "Don't pretend like you don't know the lyrics to this song. It's on the top of the charts," Lulu said with a teasing tone. Sure 3Spelled was a band aimed at more of a teenager demographic, but it was one of her guilty pleasures. Her inner fifteen year old self still fangirled over boy bands. C'est la vie!

Lulu was turning back around, smoothing down her yellow racerback top, when a cool and wet feeling ran down her arm. She squeaked in surprise and glanced over to see that Kit had purposely painted a long line of yellow on her. Her grey blue eyes widened with surprise as she looked to him and took in his playful expression. And then with an eye of appreciation took in his nicely shaped backside as he returned to the room he had been working on. Lulu had known Kit for a few years now and while nothing had ever progressed out of the friend zone between them, she couldn't deny that he was incredibly good-looking. Tall too. Snapping out of the appreciative daze she had fallen into, Lulu grabbed a paint tray and followed him, a playful smile about her lips.

"Well, well. Let me make sure I help you," Lulu said as she snuck up on the other side of the ladder and ran her brush over his the toes of his bare feet in her pale blue paint. "You know, for your safety." She glanced up at him triumphantly, nodded once, and then turned on her heel to grab a small brush dipped in yellow to finish up some of the trim that still needed to be painted.

3Spelled was surely going to be the death of him, Kit had decided as he rolled his eyes in Lulu's direction. The boy band, who couldn't be a day over thirty-five collectively, had seemingly taken over the world overnight. Their coup d'état of the wizarding realm was not lost on the older generation, either -- it seemed that even women his own age were swooning over the trio's lovestruck lyrics, hair flips, and electric guitar swings. Kit couldn't understand how on earth this had happened and couldn't be bothered to try and figure it out. Women were complicated enough as is, throwing a 3Spelled monkey wrench into the situation would, without a doubt, have a disastrous effect. His head hurt just thinking about it.

"No, but I might soon if you go on singing like that every weekend...." Kit raised his eyebrows, the grin on his face quite telling as to his less than serious demeanor. Truthfully, he sang those exact lyrics in the shower on multiple occasions, just as loudly -- not that he would ever tell Lulu in this lifetime. He watched with laughter as she squealed out in response to the cold paint from his brush grazing her arm. Knowing Lulu, retaliation wouldn't be long now.

Kit hummed the melody of the chart topper to himself smugly, biding his time until his friend came up with some way to get back at him. Right on cue, footsteps could be heard entering the room below him. "Oh aren't you lovely!" The twenty-seven year old sang out, pretending to not be phased by the tickling sensation of the tiny bristles dancing over his toes. "Always looking out for me," Kit craned his neck to watch as Lulu touched up the paint near the trim of his room. "I think you've missed a spot...." He joked before turning back around to focus on his own project. A few seconds of thought passed before Kit spoke again. "Hey, what are you getting into tonight?" The Healer paused to turn around and lean on the top of his ladder. It was Friday night after all, there was no reason they shouldn't go grab a few drinks as reward for their work. 

Lulu didn't get the chance to respond, though. A loud crash, and subsequent shrieking, had cut her off. Kit immediately went into Healer mode -- where his once carefree smile was just moments before was now a concerned, almost pained, expression. By the sound of things  someone had definitely taken quite the fall. The man nearly jumped from the top of his ladder to investigate what had happened to their new volunteer whose name he could not even recall.

"Well in that case I'll keep it up so that when we finally do karaoke, we'll have loads of great songs to choose from," she remarked with a smile in his direction. She had been volunteering at Safe Haven long before she met Kit, but she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy volunteering with him. She kind of thought it was karma at play -- she gave her time to help those in need and fate had rewarded her with a nice piece of eye candy while she did it! Thank you, Merlin~

As she snuck up to him, she grinned and shook her head. "See? I knew you like 3Spelled," commenting on the song he had been humming. She giggled, soft and bright, as she continued to paint the trim. Missed a spot? She half-turned to throw him another grin over her shoulder and lifted her paintbrush towards him, saying sweetly. "Oh, did I miss your pinky toe? Want me to come fix that?" She turned back and crouched down to the paint tray, dipping the end of her brush into the paint and moving it back and forth until it was coated evenly. His next question, though perfectly innocent, made her heart thump a little faster. With one hand, she tucked her brown hair behind one ear and was quiet for a moment. Honestly? She and Erika were probably just going to paint each others toenails and gab, complete with glasses of red wine. But the thought of maybe doing something with Kit was appealing too. "Oh, I'm probably--" she had started, but stopped suddenly.

Lulu heard the crash and her eyes flew to Kit's, her playful and joking demeanor vanishing with the dreadful anticipation that that sound inspired in her. The heartbeats of silence that followed made her heart squeeze. And then a wail of pain sounded from the other room. Whatever it was, she knew it wasn't good and it had her springing into motion after Kit. The paintbrush that had been in her hand clattered to the floor, splattering pale paint on the tarp that was soon forgotten.

She stopped short when she got into the other room, nearly running into Kit's back as she took in the scene before her. The first thing that popped into her mind was confusion. She didn't know anyone had been using dark red paint. What a weird color to choose. And then it was a moment later when she truly understood. It wasn't paint. Lulu blanched with the realization, but rushed over to Lucy's side anyway, kneeling down beside the black-haired girl. "Lucy, oh Merlin, what happened!" she said frantically. She wanted to help in some way, but as she got a better look at the injury, it became clear that she was not a healer. Her hands hovered in the air, wanting to provide comfort somehow, but not wanting to injure her any more.

"Kit..." she said, her voice wavering and unsure, the plea for help clear in her tone. She looked up at him with wide eyes, relying on him in that moment to do something, anything. It was worse than she had thought. It wasn't a scrape or a cut or small gash. Lucy's arm was lying at an odd angle and Lulu felt distinctly light-headed when she realized there was something sticking out through her skin. Something that shouldn't be sticking up at that angle. The brunette put the back of her hand to her mouth and tried to get a hold of herself.

Lucy was still  crying, sobbing almost, the pain evident on her face and Lulu was frazzled under the pressure of such a terrible situation. "It'll be ok, Lucy," she murmured, trying to comfort the younger girl even in spite of the fact that if she kept looking at the odd angle of her arm, Lulu was going to need some comfort herself.

The climate in the room had shifted so quickly Kit felt his head spinning, instantly making him dizzy as he rushed to the other room to see the damage that had been done. According to wailing of Safe Haven's newest volunteer, it wasn't going to be pretty.  The Healer wasted no time to assess the situation that was unfolding before his eyes - there was a substantial amount of blood, an overturned ladder and raven haired woman with a bone protruding from her skin. Welcome to the team. Kit mirrored Lulu and knelt on the other side of the woman, directing all of his attention on her. The pained expression on his face was terribly hidden by a forced smile but his expressive blue eyes betrayed his attempts.

"Oh this is nothing..." Kit gingerly took the strangers arm under one hand while the other worked to reach a spare sheet that had previously been used to avoid paint spills. "Open fracture," The Healer muttered under his breath before shooting the woman a reassuring glance. She looked like she would pass out any moment if it weren't for the dramatic shrieks and whimpers that were escaping her mouth. "Shhshh," Kit hissed, having a hard time hiding the annoyance in his tone, his ear was nearly in her mouth at this point. "Don't move it, okay?" He searched the strangers dark eyes for any sign of calm but found nothing that he could grasp. Time for a new approach.

"Look at me," He certainly wished he knew her name, that always helped bring patients who were in shock back to earth. "Right here..." Kit was pleased that the whimpers seemed to be quieting down after he directed her attention to his own gaze. He didn't dare break the contact. "Pretend I'm that I'm that Owen bloke," The man shot a cursory glance at Lulu as if to warn her not to make fun of him now. "You know..." Kit began, inwardly slapping himself for blowing his 3Spelled cover but following through nonetheless. "The one with the.. flippy hair. The singer, hey?" As he distracted the woman, Kit blindly, and quite carefully, wrapped the sheet into a makeshift splint to keep her arm in place. "You know, 'and you charmed meeee'," He spouted out lyrics like a seasoned pro, although he would argue he had a much nicer voice than that processed rubbish. Kit's attempts to busy his patient seemed to be working, a glimmer of a smile shot through her otherwise very pained expression.

"Good, very good," The brunette nodded to her with a smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Kit was so distracted he nearly forgot that Lulu was there across from him and he was happy to see that she hadn't fainted yet. "Lulu," He began, tensing his jaw for a moment as he looked up at his friend. "I need your help, can you help me?" The man asked tentatively, hoping she wouldn't crack under the pressure. There was no way he could leave this stranger now. "I need you to go to my bag... there is a compass in the front pocket. It's a portkey to my office. You need to go and tell Elsa at the front desk you need calming drought, skelegrow and a vial of the wound healer on the top shelf, okay? Have you got that?" Kit's voice was soothing and low, not even a hint of panic detectable.

Hovering, fretting, frazzled. That pretty much summed up what Lulu was in that moment and she just kept murmuring soothing words to Lucy, soothing but vague because honestly she had no idea how to help her. Kit did and she knew that and she invariably looked to him to take the lead on this. She was ready for him to impart some wisdom or cast a charm that would fix it or whatever healers did, but his first comment had her whipping her eyes to his. This was nothing?! Her eyes widened and she pursed her lips, hardly agreeing with his assessment.

But then his actions took her by surprise. The commanding way he took hold of the situation fascinated her. She found herself focusing more on Kit trying to calm Lucy rather than focusing on Lucy at all. His command had been directed at the injured girl, but Lulu found herself looking to Kit as well. He surprised her again when he mentioned on of the 3Spelled band members by first name and then looked to her. For confirmation? As a warning? Lulu wasn't sure but she nodded mutely and gave him a hint of an encouraging smile. She was absolutely delighted when he started reciting the lyrics to the 3Spelled charm. Word for word and in tune. She was floored and couldn't stop the knowing smile from gracing her features, an admiring expression on her face. Hadn't he just said he didn't like their songs? What a liar, she thought warmly.

Lulu even started singing along softly, finally able to refocus on Lucy even though her thoughts were on Kit. She gently pushed the girls bangs off her forehead, which was slick with sweat, as she matched her tune to the healer's. His voice was smooth and low, and even Lulu felt herself being taken down a few notches and feeling less frazzled. She admired the way he was with Lucy in those moments. She'd always known that he was a healer, but had never seen him in action. Seeing this side of him, in that way, made her stomach flip.

When Kit asked for her help, Lulu looked to him for guidance. She would do what she could, whatever she could to help, but she was doubtful of how much help she could actually be. She didn't know anything about healing work or putting bones back underneath skin. she would much rather hand over her wand to him so he could wield two rather than have her attempt a wonky charm. Nonetheless, she stared at him with wide eyes and listened to his instructions.

"You want me to do.. what?" she asked with a shaky voice, her palms sweating already. He wanted her to go to the hospital and get supplies? She didn't even know the first thing about medicines or potions or skelegro! She shook her head at him and pleaded, "what if I stay here with Lucy while you go get the supplies?" Lulu ventured to guess that she knew wayyy more 3Spelled songs to sing to Lucy anyway even if Kit was a closet fan.

Not the reaction he had been hoping for. Kit's electric blue eyes darted from the young woman in front of him and back to Lulu. The man who was typically never short on an opinion realized that this would be a terrible time to argue the details, especially after he had only just gotten the patient to breath normally again. "Okay," He replied with a nod, offering the stranger a reassuring nod. He hated to leave her like this but with luck he wouldn't be absent for too long. "Just stay still and relax, I'll only be a moment," A small smile tugged at his lips despite how undesirable the situation looked from an outside perspective. "You two can listen to all the 3Spelled you like while I'm away," Kit tried to laugh, but was too busied by the inventory he was mentally taking in his head as he stood upright.

"Oh, for the pain...." Kit reached into the front pocket of his jeans and swiftly muttered a spell, touching the tip of his wand to her arm. He repeated the incantation and some of the blood that had soaked into the sheet had started to disappear. It was only a temporary fix all things considered but it would certainly help Lucy deal with the shock of the ordeal. The Healer watched closely as some of the pain from her eyes glazed over, making the woman look like she might fall asleep right on the spot.

Kit wasted no more time to race to his bag for the portkey to his office. He set up the network for extra precaution in the event of something just like this happening while he was away from any supplies and unable to apparate for whatever reason. It didn't take him long once he arrived to the building though -- Kit hardly spoke more than ten words to his employees as vials of potions went flying into his bag and he rummaged through bandages. In a flash, he was gone again, returning to Safe Haven with a disruptive popping noise that jolted Lucy from her trancelike state. Right on time, the injured woman remembered what had happened, her dark eyes wildly flying around the room as she took everything in for the second time. "Here we are!" Kit made it back to her side, offering Lulu a flash of a smile as he set out his supplies.

"What did you say your name was?" The man breathed out cooly as he poured a thick, dark potion into a small cup. "Ah, Lucy, right. Okay Lucy, Lulu here is going to hold your hand, right?" Kit smirked up at his newest nurse. "I want you to drink this all in one go. Pretend its an expensive shot you don't want to waste, can you do that?" The girl nodded meekly in response. "It's going to taste like feet..." He muttered placing the cup to her lips and tilting it back before she could protest. Lucy fought it at first, but got the majority of the liquid down. "This will help get everything back into place right where you left it, Lucy," Kit offered her a smile as he squeezed her other hand. By now she was certainly feeling the pain of the potion working its magic. "Lulu, how 'bout that chorus?" His eyes traveled back to his friend encouragingly in an attempt to busy his patient.

Kit began pouring a second potion into another cup, but unlike before this liquid was silvery-white and thin. The Healer sprinkled a powder from one of his vials and gave the mixture a quick shake for good measure. "Now this little number is going to ensure you aren't left with a nasty scar," He explained. "A little less feet a bit more of a... grassy taste," Kit couldn't help but smile, hoping she would understand his sense of humor. even at a time like this. "Here Lu, give this to her," He handed over the translucent cup and worked to get his wand from his pocket. After a few very focused spells muttered under his breath, the blood on her arm had started to disappear once again, this time for good. Kit moved to his bag and started unraveling the bandages. "Nurse I need your help again..." Kit grinned, hoping she might enjoy his choice of words. "Hold her arm steady and I'm going to give it a quick wrap up," The man got to his feet to remove the makeshift sheet splint to reveal a newly healed, still slightly disfigured arm.

"That will work itself out over the course of the night, I swear," The man nodded his head, throwing the sheet hastily to the floor. Without explanation he was sure panic would ensue -- that, or Lulu would give him shit for a hack job.

She watched Kit with careful eyes. She didn't want to disappoint him or affect Lucy's chance of getting healed, but she was afraid of messing up what he had tasked her with. His 'okay' surprised her and had her widening her eyes. Okay?! She had expected him to tell her to buck up and get moving. Or something. His quick agreement made her realize that time really was of the essence and that Lulu had been thinking more about herself than about Lucy, who must be in serious pain. Shame washed over her and made her feel even more shaky.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. She berated herself. I should have just done it, for Lucy's sake. Kit was all busy being his kind and reassuring self so Lulu busied herself with summoning the radio closer so that if 3Spelled really did make the younger girl feel better, it would be easy to hear the music. Lulu avoided eye contact with Kit so she wouldn't have to see the shame that she thought might be there, but watched silently as he did some sort of charm for the pain and then with a whisper was gone with his portkey.

Lulu breathed in shakily as she sat beside Lucy and tried not to panic. She thought it would have been better for her to stay here with Lucy, but then it occurred to her that if anything dire happened, if anything changed with Lucy's condition that Lulu would be in no way to help. The thought made her panic and her breathing hitched and heightened. She kept glancing over her shoulder, hoping to see Kit come back as her thoughts swirled round and round. She didn't even want to think about the blood that was surely staining her clothing from where Lucy's injury had splattered onto the floor.

A loud pop made her jump, but not in fear. She smiled in relief as Kit reappeared. She didn't know him that well but she had complete faith in him that he would handle this situation. She shuddered to think what might have happened if he hadn't been at Safe Haven at all today. What if it had just been me? Those thoughts were soon pushed aside by the fact that Kit was giving her a crash course in being a nurse. With wide eyes, Lulu nodded and followed his instructions, taking Lucy's hand in her own and rubbing comforting circles on the back of the girl's hand.

She watched Kit as he went step by step through his regimen that would heal Lucy. She wished Lucy could see Kit from her eyes. That way she would know, literally, she was in good hands. Kit moved with such confidence that Lulu was fascinated by it, by him. Not wanting to disappoint further, she jumped at the chance to help in any way she could. When he asked for the chorus, Lulu gave him a quick, brief smile and began the chorus once more, hoping that it was recognizable. She really needed to work on her intonation. She was sympathetic toward Lucy and all the gross potions she had to endure. Lulu almost gagged a few times herself just watching the whole ordeal. When he handed her the cup, she swallowed nervously but nodded, silently wishing she had his sure sense of self.

Lulu shifted so that she was cradling Lucy's head and she tipped the glass gently into the girl's mouth. She went slowly with it and it was a little awkward, but when Lucy had downed the whole thing, she smiled triumphantly up at Kit. By that time, she realized he had disappeared all the blood --Thank Merlin!-- and started prepping the bandages. "Right away, doctor," Lulu replied with a slight smile, appreciating the levity that Kit brought even though the situation was stressful for her.

When Kit unwrapped Lucy's arm fully and Lulu could see what remained of the girl's injury, she winced. It was still ugly and red, but Lulu looked up at Kit and nodded when he assured her that it would be gone by the morning. It was still ugly. She was glad though that LUcy wouldn't suffer any permanent damage. At least physically. Who knew if the younger girl was ever going to come back and volunteer again.

Lulu frowned at that thought, knowing Safe Haven needed all the volunteers they could get. But then the room was aflutter again with commotion. The director of Safe Haven and one of the long-time volunteers had come in to check on the trio and were surprised to find this field healing in process. Lulu was quick with an explanation to put them at ease. "Lucy slipped and fell--" she decided to leave out the gory details "--and it was a good thing for us that Kit was here to heal her." She smiled gratefully in Kit's direction, giving him all the credit for his quick thinking and healing skills. "She'll be alright, but I think she might need somewhere to lie down and rest."

Electric blue-green eyes peered up at Lulu from where Kit was crouched, a hint of a smile playing over his lips when he noticed her reaction to the outcome of the healing. It certainly didn't look pretty, so he wasn't surprised by the familiar look hidden behind her panic. Kit had seen that very look dozens of times over the course of his career. He had full faith after another day of rest, the job would support his work ethic. After all, he didn't have so many regular patients and referrals for nothing. "You'll be all good in a few days," Kit squeezed both of Lucy's shoulders reassuringly. "Swing by my office, I'll have another look," He smiled, reaching a free hand to his pockets to look for one of his cards. The process was interrupted by an influx of horrified looking people coming to investigate. Just think if he hadn't already done some preliminary cleaning, Kit mused.

"Ahh no," The Healer shook his head in protest. "It was all Miss Prescott here," He gave a quick wink in the woman's direction. "I think I've found myself a new nurse," Kit stood up and dusted off his paint stained jeans and shirt before helping his impromptu patient to her feet. "Yes, lots of rest for you," He explained to Lucy before shooting a glance at the director of Safe Haven. "Like I said, please come see me in a couple of days," Kit finally located one of his cards and slipped it into the hand of her un-bandaged arm. A few moments of discussion later and the director was leading Lucy out of the room and to a place where she could relax for the duration of the hour.

The small room that, just moments before, been buzzing with excitement was now noticeably quiet, Kit and Lulu the lone survivors. "Well thanks," Kit tentatively reached a hand to his wavy hair that was pulled back into a small bun and splattered with paint. "Not many people can stomach that sort of thing," He didn't hide how impressed he was by this, nodding at Lulu with pursed lips. "I think I owe you a drink for subjecting you to that?" Kit shrugged his shoulders, his gaze carrying down to his less than presentable appearance. "What do you say we go scare some locals and head to a pub for one... or two?" Kit offered. Either way, he was going to need a drink, might as well have some good company to go with it. It hadn't dawned on him until then that over the course of their volunteering together, he and Lulu had yet to see each other out of that context.

Lulu stood and watched with curious eyes as Kit reassured Lucy on her way out. She wrapped her arms around herself and wondered fearfully what she would have done if he hadn't been here. She probably would have completely lost it. Panicked. Screamed for help. Probably cried a little. Kit being here was more of a blessing than she could have imagined. She smiled at his kindness toward the younger girl, admiring the way he was with his 'patient.'

She was interrupted from her wayward thoughts when Kit mentioned her name and she looked up at him in surprised disbelief, her cheeks turning pink at the thought that she deserved any of his credit. Lulu shook her head firmly, but with a smile and said, "Kit did a great job of handling the situation." She really didn't want or need any of the credit considering all she had done was panicked, almost gagged, and sang a 3Spelled song, badly mind you. It was nice of him to include her though. She gave him a smile at the thought of being a nurse. As Kit began talking with the director with Lucy in tow, Lulu glanced about the room. Other than that emergency, this room was just about completed. She eyed the ceiling, wondering what Lucy had been up to on that ladder before the ill-fated fall.

She grimaced as he thanked her and shrugged. "You did all the work. I'm really glad you were here to handle that," she said voicing her earlier thoughts. "I don't know what I would have done without you." Lulu was really trying not to imagine what would be happening to Lucy right now if she had been responsible for the healing. Bleeding out would have been a very real threat and Lulu paled at the thought.

"A drink?" she glanced over at him with an amused smile and a playful gleam in her eyes. "I think I'll need about four after all of that. I don't know how you do this every day," she said with a laugh. But then she nodded at him and smiled kindly. "Yes, that would be lovely, though." She glanced down at her shirt with a frown before looking back at him. "Think they won't serve us if we've covered in paint.. and blood?" she asked. She was trying to be funny, but the image of Lucy covered in red made her joke less fnny than she had intended. Again she tried to push those thoughts away and found herself distracted by something else slightly amusing. "...You do know that you have paint in your hair right?" she said with a giggle.

"Oh no," The Healer began to protest as he picked up his supplies hastily. "Where would I have gotten without my singer?" He flashed a quick smile up at her before sending the old sheets flying into the bin in the corner. "Ah, you would have figured it out. Who knows, maybe if I wasn't here distracting ye both with my immaculate painting skills and charm this never would have happened," Kit shrugged his shoulders cooly. He didn't particularly like to dwell on the 'what ifs' of life, so he was happy to change the subject.

"Right-o! Four it is," The wavy haired man didn't even attempt to hide the shock in his voice. Coming from rather sweet and innocent looking Lulu Prescott, the words seemed foreign. Kit hadn't a clue what she did outside of Safe Haven, but for some reason he didn't peg her as the listless party girl. "Ahh, I see how you spend your free time..." He spoke just loudly enough for her to hear, a devilish smirk playing over his features. Of course, Kit was the last person who could talk on the matter, he would try just about anything once.

"Paint, yes. Blood, no," Kit unintentionally looked Lulu up and down before taking in his own appearance. "They'll think we've just murdered someone," He spoke just above a whisper as if to not offend Lucy in her absence. His joke was certainly in bad taste, but he couldn't help himself. "Oh do I?" Kit sang out while trying, and failing, to inspect the specks of yellowy paint in his mane. "You've got some on your face, y'know?" He grinned back at her, not ashamed of how childish he might sound. The fumes had gotten to him, no doubt.

"Riiiight... here," The twenty-seven year old carefully drug his thumb over the speck which had yet to dry and watched as it smeared pastel across her cheek bone. "Whoops," Kit's hand flew over his mouth to keep from laughing. "I've made it worse..." He spoke between masked chuckles. "Well sorry Lu, looks like you're definitely not getting served today," Kit shrugged his shoulders happily. "Not even the dive bar up the road would take in that mug," He joked. Obviously, there was no truth to his teasing, Lulu was stunning, even with paint on her face.

She followed his lead and starting collecting the supplies around the room so they could jet out of there and get those much earned drinks. When he mentioned her singing, she turned around and sent him a pointed glance, lifting a paintbrush to point at him. "You can never tell anyone about that!" she said with a laugh, the faintest of blushes could be visible on her cheeks. "What happens at Safe Haven, stays at Safe Haven." She sidestepped quickly and avoided the old sheets he had sent flying into the bin and grinned back at him. "Yeah, that's what it was. Your painting skills... even though you couldn't even paint a straight line to save your life," she teased.

Lulu had her holly wand out and she was cleaning off the paint brushes, siphoning the leftover paint from them so that there was less mess. She glanced over at the healer with an amused glance, hearing his tone about the drinks. She had been exaggerating, but she certainly felt like she could knock back four drinks right about now. By the time she was at the bottom of her second, her estimation might be severely different, but oh well. She laughed and shrugged cutely. "I hear hanging out in bars is where you pick up all the cute guys," she threw back at him. If she were the type of girl that did constantly frequent bars, she might have added a wink to the end of that sentence. But she wasn't and she didn't, but she smiled anyway. His banter was refreshing after such a stressful experience. It made her feel light.

Seeing him look her up and down made her warm even though the rational side of her brain told her he was just evaluating her objectively because of her comment. She did the same thing to him, running her blue eyes up his jeans and shirt to his curly locks.. for precisely the same reason. Yep. That was the only reason. His mention of murder made her frown, a little line appearing between her brows. Apparently they both couldn't help making bad jokes and even if they were unintentional, she still felt vaguely uncomfortable.

She flicked her eyes back up to his when he mentioned paint on her face and she touched a hand to her cheek, her fingers spreading out instinctively trying to find the offending color. "Where?" she asked him just before he stepped close and touched her cheek with his thumb. It was an innocent touch but it sent her heart humming on hyperdrive and she stilled. When he was that close, she could see up close the mischief that danced in his blue-green eyes. His laughter was infectious and she was laughing along with him even as she tried to be indignant. "Hey! We're supposed to be making us look better, not worse," she told him, trying to give him another pointed glare, but it was ruined by her easy smile.

Lulu touched her cheek where his fingers had just been and pulled away to see a smatter of paint on her fingertips. That innocent touch coupled with the fact that he had called her Lu made her smile even wider even though she convinced herself that it was nothing. Obviously, she had just been single for way too long. She rolled her eyes for his benefit and shook her head. "You're worse than me," she told him as she pointed her wand at his hair. "You look like you half yellow polka dotted hair. Let me fix it for you." Hair care was right up her alley and she was happy that she could finally show her expertise in something. Without waiting for permission, she took one step up on the ladder that was nearby so that she could get a good look at his hair. He was taller than her so the extra elevation was needed.

She stood just to the side of him and rested one hand on his shoulder to steady herself as she held up her wand and pointed it at his hair. "Hold still," she murmured to him and then followed it shortly with a spell she knew well. It was easy enough, the hair cleaning spell she was using, but it took concentration and in light of Kit displaying his amazing healing skills, she didn't want to mess up something as simple as this. It was only a few moments later when she hopped down and assessed him with her head tilted. "You look.." Handsome. Cute. Hot. ".. presentable now."

"Oh, is that what you hear?" Kit's eyes narrowed, now brimming with curiosity. Surely a young woman like Lulu was fighting off the suitors, she had the whole package. The Healer felt his gaze lingering as he made note. The woman had legs that went on for days, a sweet smile and she was the only person Kit knew who volunteered at Safe Haven more than he did - what more could a guy want? "I'd say you haven't much problem in that department," He shook his head in disbelief. If people like Lulu were struggling to find mates, he wondered just how dismal the dating scene had gotten.

Kit winced between fits of laughter, bracing himself for the proverbial slap in his direction. In his experience with females, things like getting paint on their face typically generated some sort of retaliation. "I didn't mean to!" He protested with a groan. "Honest," The man palmed his heart, his eyebrows gathering sympathetically. As much as he tried to be serious, the mischievous undertones that plagued his features betrayed him.

The smirk that he had been trying so hard to suppress finally gave way and spread broadly across his lips. "You haven't seen yourself," Kit struggled to spit out through his laughter. Apparently Lulu wasn't phased by his antics, though, she was already climbing the ladder next to him to give the man a hand with his appearance. "Okay, okay, okay," He whined. "Fix me up, nurse," Kit flicked his gaze up at Lulu happily as he awaited whatever it was she was going to do to him.

Kit peered out from behind his eyelids which had, just moments before, been forcefully closed in anticipation. "Presentable?" He repeated slowly. "What've you done to me..." He side stepped to the window overlooking the city lights to assess his reflection. Lulu hadn't tried any funny business after all, his dirty brown locks were just as he had left them, quite disheveled. His shirt had substantial amounts of paint stains, but luckily all of the blood was removed by his earlier incantation while healing Lucy.

"You're up!" Kit sang out as he made his way back over to Lulu with a newfound pep in his step. He promptly picked up a sheet and used a relatively simple spell to drown the old fabric with water so that he could fix his little mishap. "What was it you said about making us look better?" The Healer asked with a grin as he gently dabbed her cheek until it was clean of any pesky stains. He then moved to rub the dried blood from her forearms as if it was an everyday occurrence, the small smile never leaving his face. "Good as new!" Kit clapped his hands together. "So what do you say nurse, O'Brothers up the road?" He questioned, his gaze carrying out the window longingly. They had certainly earned a beverage or four. "They might even allow you in now..." Kit joked, grabbing his wand to collect his things.

She nodded with an easy grin as her mind whirred with the thrill of flirting. If nothing else, it was fun and made her feel light. Something she definitely needed after that ordeal. "Merlin knows all the prospects around here are stuffy and boring and honestly? Some of the worst hairdos I've ever seen." Lulu sighed and shrugged, doing her best deadpan possible but she couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She was obviously yanking his chain and the fact that she could joke with him did wonders for relieving the tension she felt in her shoulders.

She glanced over at him over her shoulder as she placed all the paintbrushes together and perked her brows curiously. No problems in that department? She fought off the blush she felt creeping onto her cheeks and shrugged casually. Lulu wasn't sure why he would say something like that, but she tried to downplay it. "Know any friends who might be interested?" she asked jokingly with a ridiculous wiggle of her eyebrows. "Tall. Must be a Puddlemere fan. Willing to hold my bags as I shop?" she listed off her requirements with a smile, ticking them off on her fingers.

Lulu's hands in his hair felt nice and she tried not to think too much of it, which she was prone to do. She was a bit dazzled by his eyes on hers and she studiously tried to ignore the spark she felt between them. She smiled a little when he called her nurse though and then tried not to blush when a little voice in her head admitted she would be willing to play nurse to his doctor anytime. Oh, Erika was such a great influence on her.

She grinned as he went to check out his hair and she shook his head. "Come on, I wouldn't do anything funny with your hair. I take hair care very seriously." And with that, she flipped her hair melodramatically with an impish smile. She stilled when he picked up a cloth and came closer with the intention of wiping the paint off her cheek. Again she tried not to think too much of it, but the touch still sent a thrill through her. His gentleness made her feel warm. He was so sure and strong in that moment of emergency and yet he was so gentle. She recalled how reassuring he was with Lucy, how he was considerate of her now as he erased the dried red from her arms.

"Thanks doctor," she said with a bright smile and then a nod. "O'Brothers it is! Let's go!" She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder and started toward the door, glancing back just once to make sure he was coming.