"Cute huh?" I teased. I watched him blush before a scowl morphed on his face.
"I didn't say that. I wasn't thinking. Never mind." He quickly turned away, walking toward the door.
"Woof!" Uru barked happily and jumped down to follow Aki who paused in the doorway.
"You can call me Aki and the other guys whatever you like. Quillian will respond to Quil and Yoshimitsu to Yoshi. Haru and Itsuki are rather easy and Malachi said you gave him a nickname already," Aki assured.
"Hottie McHot Pants!" I announced gleefully.
Aki gave me a blank stare as if I spoke in a different language. "You two are weird," he mumbled which made me smile. "Go shower. Haru and Itsuki went to get groceries down at the market. Yoshi's surveying the area and Hottie McHot Pants is chilling with me and Quil in the living room."
"Woof!" Uru announced.
"Yes, you’re hungry aren't you? You've been a good girl watching over Crim the whole time," Aki soothed, kneeling down to pet Uru who panted happily and wagged her tail.
I smiled at the scene before me, feeling a little bit of déjà vu at Aki's kindness toward Uru. I could tell he cared a lot for the familiar and it made me wonder how the others had bonded with Urufu. It was one thing for a man to love a female, but to share such a close bond with her familiar too was something you didn't see often.
He opened the door to let Uru out and looked over at me. "You'll be okay, right? I can get Quil," he suggested.
I blushed, lifting my hands up to make an X.
"I'm good. I'll be out within thirty minutes," I reassured him.
He nodded, giving me a slight smile before he left the room, closing the door behind him.
I sighed, putting my head in my hands and tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. Cold shower, Crim. You have a lover, remember? Not lovers. A lover who doesn't even care. Ugh. I need to break up with James. But the flat...I'll just deal with it till this gets resolved. Yup. Once we figure out who killed Storm and stole the crystals, I'll talk with him. Moving will be a pain in the ass, but at least I could start a new relationship maybe?
Hmm...new relationships? No. You’re not stealing Storm's men. They're busy individuals and deserve someone who is more than just a human. Yes. Someone strong who can use magic. I'd just end up a burden to them like I am to everyone else.
I grabbed the pillow and cradled it to my chest. I have to calm down and realize this is all temporary. Eventually, they'll all leave to go on with their lives and find someone new to protect. As for James... I guess it’s time I let him go.
I shuffled off the bed and stretched, realizing how much my body ached; everything was sore. I walked over to the drawer and got out a pair of tights and a pink sports bra. I'd eat something and then meditate for a bit before I went out for a run.
Maybe that would help me organize my thoughts. But first, cold shower.
"Where did James go?" I asked, walking into the living room as I dried my hair with a towel. I'd taken a longer shower than I had originally planned, adding in a bit of time to pleasure myself. One cannot have a wet dream and then get through the day without masturbating. That would be like cheating on yourself. Though, I felt that may have just been my own personal opinion and impatience.
If I was going to end my 'relationship' with James, that would include losing my only source of sex and I didn't want to admit how sad that thought made me. I guess I'd have to find a vibrator to replace him.
Now I was standing in the living room in my running gear. I saw Quillian reading a book, Aki sketching something, and Malachi looked to be fast asleep over on the couch.
Quillian pulled his eyes away from what he was reading. "Mr. Bipolar went to his parents as usual. We're taking up his personal space and apparently he needs to do laundry so he took some of his clothes when he left."
"We have a washer and dryer," I pointed out.
Aki stopped sketching to look at me. "We know. We're washing your clothes right now actually," he revealed.
I blinked in surprise. "You guys are doing housework? Wait, you did my laundry?" I blushed at the reminder they had taken care of me the last four days.
They looked unconcerned; Malachi rolled over. "We did it for Storm sometimes. It's not as embarrassing as you might think. Don't worry about it," he mumbled in a husky voice.
"It's not your responsibility though," I whispered, looking at the door.
James was able to do his own laundry, but couldn't do mine while I was recovering? Talk about great 'husband' material.
"You are our responsibility," Aki muttered.
"And you've let us stay in your place. The least we can do is help you out," Quil pointed out.
"Aki, give her back the watch," Malachi mumbled sleepily as he took one of the cushions and hugged it.
Uru came up to me and rubbed her head against my legs. "Woof!" She went over and jumped on the couch next to Malachi. She rested across his legs and relaxed. Malachi didn't look like he had minded and remained still.
"And her phone," Quil added.
Aki sighed, putting down what looked to be a sketchbook and stood up. He walked over to the kitchen island, but I was too caught up staring at the beautiful piece of artwork on the page sketched in black pencil.
"Aki, you draw?"
"A little," Aki replied, walking back from the kitchen with a white velvet box.
"Aki has an addiction to art. He's like a collector," Quil announced.
"I'm not," Aki grumbled.
"You so are," Malachi countered.
"Woof, woof!" Uru chimed in.
I grinned and turned my attention back to Aki who stood before me. He presented me with the box.
"I think it’s best for you to keep Storm's pocket watch. It's hard for any one of us to hold it for long periods of time unless it's in this box and even so, it's not safe for us to carry it," Aki explained.
"Why is it hard to carry it?" I questioned.
I took the box from his hand and opened it. A smile formed on my lips as I stared at the watch in awe. Even after all the mess I'd been through, I didn't carry any hatred or despise the watch for changing my life. Deep within myself, I was happy. It was thanks to this whole situation that I was able to realize where I stood with my family and James.
I could literally die and they would move on and that was the sad reality I had been blinded from seeing until I picked up this watch. I took it out of the white case and allowed my thumb to brush across the front face while my eyes lingered on the pink crystal.
"This was the weapon given to Storm by her family when she was able to cast spells. Normally, this kind of weapon is given to you when you become of age at eighteen. If someone other than a family member holds it for too long, the magic begins to burn the skin," Aki explained.
"But the thief had it, didn't he? What if they wrapped it in a cloth or put it in a box?" I inquired, remembering the moment when I'd bumped into the thief in the alleyway.
"Doesn't matter what you put the item in. It will burn through within minutes. I'm assuming it got too hot for our thief and he crashed into you because he wasn't looking."
"But I can hold it just fine. Is it because of Storm's essence inside me?"
"Yes. It recognizes her magic running through you. That's why you can hold it and wear it with no issues. It’s safest with you because you can hide it with Storm’s magic if necessary," Quil explained.
"Interesting. I'm not very knowledgeable about magical weapons," I confessed, giving them a shy smile.
Quil frowned. "You should have a weapon designated for you," he pointed out.
"I'm human."
"Doesn't matter. Your parents are shifters. The moment the pregnancy is confirmed a weapon is created by a blacksmith and blessed by both the Emperor of Homatomashi and a magician of the same gender. How old are you, Crim?" Quil asked.
"I'll be twenty-three next month."