Scent.

searching then finding

Finally, the seemingly long hours of night had clearly faded into early hours of morning, the sky, once shaded a pitch black, now painted a baby blue with hints of grey clouds in sight as the streets of Brooklyn began to bustle with cars and music. People were already making there way into their own little routines, but ending her own routine and beginning a new one, was Kiara. Her night shift of waiting tables was finally at an end and she could finally come home to take a quick shower before going out to find a new job for the tenth time this week.

As Kiara entered her puny excuse of a studio apartment, she had observed that her living space was a total mess; cups and food wrappings scattered around the room, forcing her to carefully step around the mess like she was a cat on thin ice layers. She couldn't recollect ever being the culprit of this pigsty, seeming that before she ever leaves the house, she vigorously cleans. But she knew who it was, and as her feet carry her to the bedroom, she finds the person responsible, sleeping peacefully in her bed.

"Hmph!" She huffs, her hand placed on her hip in a sassy manner, walking over to the alarm clock that rested atop the bedside stand. Her delicate hands quietly winding the device, grumbling in anger at how inconsiderate this individual, resting comfy in her home, was being. After hearing the click of it let her know it had to ring, she let the device go in which instantly set the alarm to blare loudly into the ears of the individual in her bed.

"Wake up, Leon!" She shouted, holding the clock to this man's ear as it rang angrily in his ear, forcing him to awaken from the depth of his sleep with anger built within his face.

"I'm up! I'm up, goddammit turn that thing off!" Leon arose from his position of comfort to sit up, snatching the alarm from her hands to shut it off, slamming it on the nightstand beside him before looking over to the woman with the amused look on her face.

"Morning sleeping beauty. I'm glad you got to relax all day while I was out working late trying to keep a roof over our heads and food in our mouths." She rested her hand on her hip while the other presented the mess around the apartment to Leon as he pushed the covers from over his body, revealing that he was in the buff for the entirety of when she had left all the way up until now. Had seeing this sight so many times before, Kiara watched him walk to the bathroom with a stoic expression, unfazed and waiting for him to respond.

"What's your deal, Kiara?" he growled, splashing his face with the water left in the bathroom sink overnight then drying it with a towel he found on the floor.

And Kiara looked as if that should've answered the question.

"My deal is this pigsty you created knowing damn well I hate being messy."

"Then why don't you clean it."

Kiara's deep mahogany irises trailed over the man in anger, wishing now to kill him as she felt herself growing irritable. She didn't like being told what to do by a man who didn't work to help pay the bills.

So she answered Leon's question in the most nonchalant manner that it was almost eerie.

"Unless you want to be kicked out on the streets and forced to live with those wonderful individuals across the way, who I hear aren't so fond of you since that little run in you had with them awhile back...I suggest you get to cleaning the mess you made by the time I get out of this shower."

After the young ebony's words had reached the chiseled man's ears, he started cleaning the apartment like it was clockwork as she made her way into the bathroom to shower.

•••
An hour had ticked by and the house was spotless like Kiara had expected as she walked around the apartment to get ready for her day.