Elements of Madness

-Pleasure

Chloe heard him coming this time. She was poking around in their refrigerator while she waited and greeted him with,"I fear I shall have to both feed and clothe you if we spend much more time together." as she closed the door,"If they have to put a picture on the box so you know what it is, it can't be good for you."

Luka paused in the doorway then just returned a low laugh for her snark,"You don't seem to mind the results so far." He pointed out.

"That just shows how resilient the human body can be." Chloe countered.

Luka crossed the kitchen and stepped up to her with that same soft smile on his face. She couldn't help it, he didn't even have to respond. She just fell into those eyes and her body stepped into a hug, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling in. This was hers.

He moved to return the hug at the same moment she realized something,"You need to shower." She quipped. His hands froze inches from an embrace she pulled back, poking him lightly in the chest,"You, minstrel, reek of work and sweat."

"You didn't seem to mind a little sweat during the fire." He replied. That smile, still gentle but with just a hint of a tease. How dare he be so annoyingly cute.

"Yes, well." She hedged, vague feverish recollections circling at the corners of memory,"I wasn't exactly in my right mind then. Now I am and I do not wish to cuddle a sweaty pizza oven.". She gave a little push with her finger,"I've been good. You owe me."

"Good?" Luka asked as he stepped away from her, he began walking toward the rear of the boat and Chloe followed. The passage was narrow, and someone had inexpertly scrawled murals across the walls, several in fact, completely unrelated to each other. "Does this have anything to do with Juleka sitting at the end of the gangway talking on the phone loudly enough I could almost hear her from the stage?" He glanced over his shoulder for her response.

Chloe was in fact beaming, so completely pleased with herself,"Yes!" She did a little hop as she followed after him,"I talked to her about modeling. I got her a page in one of mom's magazines." Chloe bubbled up with pride and went so far as to do a little victory step.

Luka turned to face her and.. He wasn't happy? Chloe's world fell inward, but wait, he wasn't angry either. Those eyes were looking at her, but there was fear? She froze mid celebration as he asked,"A photo shoot for a magazine? Isn't that a little sudden?"

Chloe panicked inside. Had she messed up? She tried to think through all the outcomes in a flash but her mind blanked."I-" She retreated into what she knew, trying to temper it but fighting a growing terror at the same time,"No, of course not." she flipped her ponytail,"What's a little photo shoot? One page in a magazine? Countless girls do it. I could do it if I wanted to, but I never wanted to. I'll go along and supervise if you're worried. You know you can count on me to be sure it's done right." That was it, perfectly classic Chloe. She would have melted in relief if he wasn't still watching her.

"You sure?" His eyes unfocused slightly as thoughts ran through his mind. Was he happy? Sad? Angry? Chloe needed to know. She had thought she was winning! They refocused again and he returned to that gentle smile,"Alright. I just worry about Jul. She's precious to us, and sometimes new things can be a bit much for her all at once."

He turned back around and Chloe did sag. Her terror ebbed and she ran both hands back through her hair, trying to pull herself together. This was insane. She was a Bourgeois! What was this minstrel doing to her? When she noticed he was a few steps down the hall she trotted to catch up.

Luka stopped and opened a narrow door to his right,"This is our room. You can wait here if you like." he laughed at a thought,"Go through my stuff, be properly nosey, the usual sort of thing." Luka nodded into the room,"Just don't mess with any of Jul's stuff okay?"