Bitches & Bastards

Who: Jules and Aiden
Where: Phone/Park/Coffee Shop
When: Early Afternoon

Jules would have called Aiden that morning, but she had no clue if he was a morning person, so she kept herself safe from early rants and raving by waiting until well after one to pick up her phone and dial the man's number. It was snowing. She'd been made very aware of that when she went out that morning to grab her paper. She wanted to get out, do something fun and take advantage of the fluffy white blanket that covered everything. She dialed his number and waited for him to pick up, half wondering if he'd ignore her name on the screen.

Aiden was finishing lunch when his phone rang. He'd put in a couple calls to other hunters, seeking information on Eury's uncle, but not quite giving enough away that it would tip them off. He wasn't exactly getting paid for Eury's uncle's head, but he certainly wanted the pleasure of beheading the guy himself and letting Eury know it was taken care of. So he was a bit surprised to see the name on his caller ID, and he hesitated a moment, considering letting his voicemail pick up. At the last second however, he went against what he considered to be better judgment and answered. "Hey, Jules. How are ya?"

She'd expected it to go to voicemail. In fact, she was prepared to leave a message. So when he said hello, it took a moment for Jules to even be able to get a response out. "Oh, hey." she said, letting out a little laugh. "I wasn't expecting you to answer." she admitted. "But, since you did, are you busy today? I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me to take advantage of the snow. Go out, like leave the house and go outside, not go out like on a date. Just for clarification."

"Why wouldn't I answer?" Aiden asked with a tiny smile, though she had hit the nail on the head, as he hadn't really planned on it. "Ah, no I'm not busy today. Though I think you need to define what you mean by take advantage of the snow. You're aware that snow is cold, and wet and women usually start whinin' when they're cold and wet."

She laughed lightly. "Because I'm such an annoying tease. But, I figured you could handle seeing me if I'm bundled up and there's no cleavage or skin aside from my face showing, right? You can handle that, I'm sure. And I'm not exactly a whiner. I want to get out and do something and I figured I'd weasel you into going out in the snow with me. Unless of course you're too chicken. I mean, I could totally kick your ass in a snowball fight."

Aiden thought it through, weighing the pros and cons. Truthfully he could handle seeing her cleavage, he just chose not to torture himself with it. But like she said, she'd be bundled up in many layers, so why the hell not? "I guess if I'm bein' called a chicken, then I have to respond, otherwise you'd be proven right. I'll come pick you up, if you're ready to go right now." He didn't have much in way of a heavy coat, but he did have gloves and his hat, and that would be sufficient enough for the moment.

Jules smirked to herself at getting him to agree to going out. "I can be ready in ten minutes." she promised, already heading up the stairs to grab her new jacket, her gloves and a scarf. "See you in a few?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." He hung up and paid for his lunch before slipping from the chair and leaving the diner. He took his time and finished his cigarette before pulling up to Jules's house. He parked along the curb and got out, adjusting the hat on his head after he'd started up the driveway. It was bloody cold and it was days like this that he wished he were in his car, headed for Florida. Knocking on her door, he shoved his hands into his pockets and waited.

By the time he'd arrived, Jules was already dressed. She'd pulled on her new black jacket, zipping the thing up to hold in all the warmth she could manage. Her hot pink scarf matched her pants which were fairly tight, showing off every curve the woman owned. If she was going to be bundled up, she was still going to look sexy doing it. Snagging her cellphone and keys off the dresser and grabbing her gloves, she headed downstairs, opening the door and exiting the house. She stuffed the phone in her pocket and began to lock up as she greeted Aiden. "Hey you." she smiled.

"Hey." He smiled back and turned to lead her down toward his car. "I think my bollocks are going to freeze off, just so you know. So you better make sure I have fun." He definitely wasn't as warmly dressed, since he wore jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and a jacket. His hair was still long enough to keep the back of his neck warm, however, and his hat was tugged down over his ears. "No snowballs in the crotch, deal?"

Tucking her keys in her pocket with her cellphone, she pulled her gloves on and smile. "I suppose, but you have to agree to not stuffing any snow down my shirt or the back of my pants. I'd like to not be that cold and wet." Jules told him. "So, where should we go?" she questioned. "I need open space and tons of snow to school you on how a real snowball fight is handled."

"I promise." Though his fingers were crossed in his pockets until he opened her door for her to slip into the car. Rounding the front to get into the driver's side, Aiden immediately started the engine, thankful it was still warm. "We can go to the park. It's probably got quite a few families and kids playin' in the snow, but it's definitely enough open space. Sound good?"

Jules nodded, pulling the safety belt across her body and snapping it in place. "Sounds good to me. I just hope your fragile male ego can withstand a bunch of kids and their parents watching a girl pummel you with snowy projectiles." she teased.

Cocking his eyebrow at her, he took off down the street. "See, now I was going to go easy on you, love, what with you bein' a tiny, little woman and everythin', but now I think I'm going to have to show you what pummeling really is." And fuck, he'd like to pummel her in other ways, but this was definitely not the time or place to be thinking about that. Goddammit. "You're gonna be beggin' me to stop by the time I'm through with ya."

Jules laughed and shook her head, her long hair twirling about her face with the movement. "Do your worst, baby. I'm not exactly the kinda girl that'll beg for anything." she told him. "And I might be tiny, but you've yet to see me in action. There's a lot of fight packed inside me. Just you wait and see." She doubted that she'd ever beg him to stop doing anything to her. Damn it... stop thinking about that. Friends. Fun. Snowball fight. That's it she thought to herself.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see." He snickered and once they reached the park, he found a place to park. Turning off his car, he turned toward her. "Besides no snow in the pants, down the shirt or thrown at the crotch, do you want to throw down any other rules? Because once we start this, you can't start makin' up shite as you go along."

She turned her head towards him, tucking her hair behind her ear and raising a brow. "No fondling or grabbing me with the pretense of 'getting the snow off'." she said. "Unless of course you're well prepared to get grabbed yourself." She smirked at him a bit and reached down to undo the seat belt. "Anything else you wanna throw in?"

Rolling his eyes, Aiden released a quick laugh and shook his head before pushing open the car door. "Okay, no fondling or grabbing. Same rules apply for you too." He paused and reached into his jacket to pull his cigarettes out and placed them on the console between the seats. No way was he getting his smokes wet. "Come on, let's go freeze our arses off for a couple hours."

Jules nodded. "Deal." she said, taking her keys and cellphone out of her pockets and leaving them in the floorboard. It was better not to soak her phone and have to buy another one. She then climbed out of the car and shut the door behind her. "Yes, lets go." she said, walking away from him. She reached down and snagged a handful of snow, patting it down with gloved fingers and turning, launching the ball of snow at the man and hitting him in the shoulder. "Hah! Gotcha." she said as she turned away again and ran to avoid his retaliation.

This was one of the times he was thankful he was ambidextrous. He reached down to grab two handfuls of snow and threw them at her, one after the other with a laugh. "See? You're a total coward, running away like that. I thought you were going to show me what you were like in action?"

"I am not a coward." she said. "I'm making up for you being able to throw snow at me with both hands, you cheater." she countered, turning around and grabbing some more snow in her hands, packing it into a bigger ball and chucking it at him before reaching down and grabbing some more. "And you're like way taller than me, with longer legs, that's an unfair advantage." Jules laughed and threw the second ball. The first missed miserably, but the second hit him in the chest.

Aiden brushed the snow away from his chest quickly. It was bloody cold. "Oh so my having an advantage means you get to run away like a little girl?" He laughed again and reached down to grab some snow, packing it quickly before he threw it at her. It hit her stomach and he lifted both hands in victory. "You knew I was taller than you when you signed me up for this game, love. Like I said, you won't get special treatment after your so-called trash talk." Holding up both hands again, he wiggled his fingers. "Okay, show me what you got." And he was going to see what he could dodge.

"I am a little girl!" she said, though the 'girl' of her sentence was cut off with an 'oof' as the snow hit her in the stomach. She brushed it off and reached down to scoop up more snow, packing it together and walking towards him. She got close, really close, barely a foot away. "You want me to show you what I got, huh? Do you really think you're capable of handling that?" Jules asked him, shaking her head. "I don't think you can take it." She kept eye contact with him, deliberately smiling sweetly to hold his attention on her face as her hands patted the ball together. And then without warning, she smooshed the ball against his chest and turned and ran away again, half expecting him to reach out and grab her.

"Holy hell woman, that's cold." He reached out and grabbed her arm before she could get away. His reflexes had definitely been sharpened over the years. "See, I think you're a cheater. Running away, trying to play the sweet, little girl angle." He held onto her arm tightly and bent down quickly to pick up another fistful of snow. "Where should I put it? Your face? Down your pants? I'm not feeling like following the rules anymore."

Jules was jerked back around when he grabbed her arm, her other hand going up instinctively in case he had snow in his hand already. When he reached down to grab the snow she pouted a bit, biting her bottom lip and looking up at him with big blue eyes. "You wouldn't do that really, would you?" she questioned, purposely keeping her voice a little soft to make him feel guilty.

Aiden stared before he shot her a look. "Hell, yes I would." He mushed the snow onto her head quickly before grabbing her around the waist and picking her up, starting to walk as he did so. "I would also drop you in the snow, face first. That pouty thing doesn't work on me, just so you know. I already told you I'm not gonna go easy on you. I think you've realized you're all talk and no action and you've no way to save yourself."

She shook her head, squealing as the snow was smashed into the dark strands. Her legs wrapped around him, holding tight to keep from being dropped as she tried to get the snow out of her hair. "Please, please don't drop me." she pleaded. "You win, you win."

"I win?" He pulled back to look at her with an amused grin. "You give up that easily? All that fierceness." Tsking, he shook his head. "Although, I'm thinkin' if I give into your little pleas and let you down without droppin' you, you're going to turn around and throw more snow at me, as if you're clever or somethin'."

"I just don't wanna be dropped in the snow." she pleaded, arms wrapping around his neck. "Please don't drop me in the snow. And I usually don't give up this easy, but no one usually threatens me with tossing me into the snow. You're so mean, Aiden, god." And damn it, did he have to be so warm beneath her fingertips despite the cold? Fuck him.

"I'm so mean? I think I'm just competitive and I like to win," Aiden told her with a smirk. "I'll let you down without dropping you if you admit that I've won and you promise not to throw anymore snow at me. If you do, there's a penalty of a lot of snow bein' shoved down your pants, got it?"

Jules managed to cling tighter to the man. "How do I know you won't throw snow at me anyway?" she questioned. "How do I know this isn't all some ploy for me to be unsuspecting and you to like pummel me with snow?"

Aiden couldn't help but laugh. "Because I keep my word." Most of the time. "I promise I won't throw or pummel snow at you, love. I swear on my car, and that means somethin'. How about this, I let you down and we'll do somethin' else, like build a snowman or somethin' instead."

She slowly loosened her grasp around the mans body and nodded. "Deal." she said with a cautious smile. Letting her legs unwind themselves from the mans body, she tried to reach for the snow, but since he was still holding her, she couldn't even toe the ground. "You gotta let me go so I can reach." she laughed.

He released her and set her on the ground before stepping back and lifting both hands in mock surrender before reaching one hand out to shake hers. "Shake on it, since that's binding and you can't go back on it." The whole thing was really kind of ridiculous and silly, but it was better than being miserable and sitting at home over thinking things.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but reluctantly reached out to put her hand in his. It was almost laughable the size difference he had on her. Her hand nearly disappeared within his grasp. "So, snowman then?" she questioned. "I would say we could make snow angels, but you're about as far from an angel as you can get without taking up residence in hell." Jules grinned as she pulled her hand from his.

"Snowman," he agreed, grinning at the wary way she was studying him. "I told you, Jules, I'll keep my word! Ya gotta trust me, yeah?" He looked down at the snow and kicked a bit with his shoe. "I can be a complete angel, thank you very much, it all depends on the day and my mood. So... the snowman thing, how's it work? I've never made one before."

She grinned. "Oh it's easy. Balls. You know a lot about stuff like that." Jules chuckled, reaching down and balling up a bit of snow on the ground and rolling it a bit. "I'm sure you know what a snowman looks like. So we have to make three balls, biggest to smallest. This can be the bottom one." Jules went along, rolling the snowball bigger and bigger.

"C'mon woman, why do you have to continually diss me?" Aiden asked, though he was more amused than annoyed. He bent down and started packing some snow, lifting his gaze to watch what she was doing. "I know what a snowman looks like, but I've never made one before. I was just tryin' to get your snowman expertise. Flatter ya a little bit and all."

"Don't you know that flattery will get you nowhere?" she said with the flash of a grin in his direction as she finished up the bottom ball and stood up straight again. "And I'm not dissing you, dollface. I was simply explaining the process." Jules smiled at him as she watched him rolling his own mass of snow.

"I think flattery gets me much further than other things would," Aiden countered, wishing he had brought his cigarettes from his car. He was a bit awkward rolling his own massive snowball, but seemed to be doing okay. He certainly didn't need to be making it as big as hers. "You ought to be a snowman teacher, with how well you instruct. I might have floundered out here without ya."

"Well I'm kinda glad you're out here with me because there's no way I could lift that onto this one all by myself." she chuckled. She continued watching him with the snowball, finding the whole thing pretty hilarious. "I didn't know someone so sexy could look like such a goofball." she teased. "That's big enough, come on and help me lift it onto this one."

Aiden shot her an amused look. "I don't think I look like a goofball. I look like a hard workin' man," he countered before picking it up with a grunt and walking over to place it on the ball she had rolled. His hands were cold, even in his gloves, but he didn't mind it too much. "I expect our snowball experience to remain between you and me," he added, wiping the snow from his gloves. "If Dorian ever found out I built a snowman with someone, he'd never let me live it down. I've got a persona to protect, ya know."

"Aww. Are you afraid your masculinity would take a hit for building this snowman, dollface?" Jules questioned, stepping over to him. She reached out for his hands, knowing the snow was cold and probably freezing his fingers. Jules held one between hers. "Fingers cold?" she questioned, glancing first at the two balled snowman and then up at Aiden as she tried to warm his fingers again for a moment before the next ball was put in place. "I promise I won't broadcast your snowman building skills."

"Yes, and yes," Aiden replied, cocking an eyebrow when she took his hand between hers to warm them up. "I'm used to heading south when it starts getting cold." Unless there was a job to be done, of course, but Aiden rarely chose to live where it snowed for a long period of time. "I'm not really a snowman building kind of guy. Though I fully expect you to buy me a hot coffee once we're finished."

"Snowman building isn't any less masculine than construction." she told him with a light little laugh. She released his first hand and took the other to do the same warming rubs that she gave the first. "But I suppose I'll buy you a coffee for freezing for me for a little while. Even if you were going to ignore my phone call. Jerkface." she teased, giving him a wink.

Laughing, Aiden pulled his hand from hers and instead reversed their positions to return the favor. "You're comparin' snowman buildin' to construction? I'm sure men who work construction everywhere would probably agree with you. And I wasn't goin' to ignore your phone call," he lied, rubbing his hands over hers. "I had my mouth full of food, which is why it took me awhile to answer."

She gave him a disbelieving look and raised a brow. "You're such a liar." she told him. "And not a very good one to be honest. Real men don't lie for stupid reasons, so you might as well be honest with me. You didn't pick up the phone for so long because you were busy thinking about whether or not it was a good idea to hang out with me again and you know it."

"Who said my reason for lying was stupid?" Aiden challenged. "I lie for very good reasons, I think. And does it matter anyway? I'm here with you, aren't I? Making a snowman, who's missin's a head, I should point out."

"It does matter." she told him. "Friends don't lie to each other and we're supposed to be friends. And you just admitted you were lying." she added, pulling her hand away from his and crouching down to start the snowman's head. Jules was aggravated with him, and she couldn't even understand why. She didn't think that him lying was good at all, but at the same time, she couldn't really blame him for the lying... or even the reason he lied. Or even for almost not answering her call.

He could tell she was irritated with him, though he couldn't really see why. He hadn't avoided her, or lied to get out of actually seeing her. He was out in the effing cold building a bloody snowman with her, for Christ's sake. "Everybody lies," Aiden said. "And I'm pretty sure that would include you too, love. I internally debated for a few moments whether or not to take your call. Since you already knew that, and the reason why, why is it important that I admit it?"

She shrugged. "It's not important." she sighed. "Doesn't matter. Whatever." She continued to roll the last ball until she decided it was a decent size. She hoisted it, nearly dropping the heavy bastard, with an 'oomph'. She moved it to the snowman, but wasn't able to get it up entirely onto the base. "Help me...?" she asked, though that annoyed her too. She didn't like asking for help.

Oh boy. Aiden had been around enough women in his life to recognize that tone. He was in trouble, for some reason. The annoying thing was he could never figure out why. And if she was like other women, it would take prodding and poking to get it out of her, if he cared enough to do so. Walking over, he nudged her out of the way and hoisted the snowball up and onto the snowman. "I think if it weren't important, than you wouldn't be so hacked off about it, yeah? So, come on... are you that upset that I fibbed?"

"No. I'm not." she told him. "I'm upset that you had to. I'm upset that being around me is such a damn hassle for you that you have to even consider whether or not to pick up the damn phone. I'm upset that when you do decide to hang out with me, you have to lie about whether you really wanted to or not." She sighed and turned her attention towards the snowman, taking off her scarf and wrapping it around the things head before thumbing in a pair of eyes and a mouth. She frowned at the thing and thought about what she could use for it's nose.

"I think that you read too much into things," Aiden said simply, watching her decorate the snowman. They were missing the coals and carrot, unfortunately. "If I didn't want to hang out with you, or if it was a hassle, I wouldn't have picked up the phone. Or had dinner with you, or anythin' else and it's really that simple. See, you have to understand somethin', if there's something I don't want to do, I don't do it."

"Then why are there things that you do want to do that you don't do?" she challenged. "And I never said that you didn't want to see me. Just that it's such a hassle, because it is whether you want to admit it or not. The whole time you're around me, you're thinking of countless reasons why you shouldn't be. Or reasons why it complicates things or whatever." She sighed and just drew a nose on the snowman as well.

"Because that's different," Aiden said, trying not to get defensive, though it was hard, since he generally had those walls up anyway. "All that stuff shouldn't be an issue to you because it's not your issue, it's mine. I don't have countless reasons why I shouldn't be around you, I just have one. But I'm willin' to ignore it so that we can hang out because I like your company. What do you want me to do?"

"How do you honestly expect me not to think it's an issue, Aiden?" she questioned, her voice soft as she looked up at him again. "I don't know what you want me to do, because I like being around you but I feel like I'm making you uncomfortable or putting you in a position that you don't need to be in. I don't like feeling like that." She sighed and turned her attention to the snow at her feet. "I don't want me hanging out with you to be such a problem for you. Even if it is just one reason, that reason's important to you and maybe hanging out with me isn't really worth it. Because what happens if I end up being the reason that things don't work out for you guys?"

Rubbing one hand over his face, Aiden sighed and wondered why women were... well, the way they were. Nothing ever had to be as complicated as they made it out to be, right? "Look, it's not a problem for me to hang out with you. I don't think you're hearing me when I tell you if I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't do it. You're not makin' me uncomfortable and you're not puttin' me in any position I don't want to be in. I'm sorry I lied about the phone call, but the jist of it is, I answered it, and we're here now, freezin' our arses off in the snow and makin' a snowman without a proper face. I'm here because I want to be and it's as simple as that."

Jules sighed. "Fine." she said after a moment. "Let's just talk about something else. Anything else." She looked at the snowman and wrapped her arms around herself. "You just had to mention how cold it was." she said, a smile flickering over her face. "How bout that cup of coffee?" Jules offered, taking the scarf back from around the snowman's neck.

"Coffee sounds good," Aiden said, slipping his chilled hands into the pockets of his jacket. He badly needed a cigarette now. "We can talk about whatever you want to talk about." He took one last glance at the snowman and began to lead Jules back to his car. "Next time we'll have to bring the right props to give him a proper face, yeah?"

She nodded. "Guess so. Poor thing looks hideous." she said with a slight little laugh. "Ah, well..." Jules looked up at Aiden and shrugged. "Come on, coffee it is. But I'm freezing, so you have to keep me warm til we get to the car." she told him, slipping her arm through his. "Least you can do for being a pain in the ass or arse or whatever you call it." she teased.

"It doesn't look so bad," Aiden said, glancing over his shoulder at it. He didn't move away when she slipped her arm through his, but chuckled instead. "I'm just as cold as you are, and you were just as big a pain in the arse as I was... somehow I think it all evens out, doesn't it?"

Jules chuckled, resting her head against his arm. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, brat." she teased. "Not like you can get mad at me anyway, you answered the phone after all. Maybe you shouldn't have." she laughed.

"Well, my thought is that if I can't get mad at you because I answered the phone, you can't get mad at me, since you're the one who called. Again, it all evens out." He smirked at her and took his keys from his pocket to unlock the doors. He had every intention of turning the heater on full blast when they both got in. "Ya got to love it when things have a way of balancing themselves, yeah?"

She shrugged, letting her arm fall away from him when the reached their destination. "I dunno if we even out or not, dollface, but I suppose we make amends for the spots we don't." She gave a smile and once he'd unlocked the doors, climbed inside and fastened her belt. When he joined her, she turned her face towards him and gave a smile. "We'll figure out this friends thing yet." she said. "You gotta be worth my time to deal with my bitchy craziness for this long and still stick around."

"Sweetheart, you're nowhere near what I would consider bitchy craziness," Aiden assured her, starting up the car and turning on the heat. "And in all honesty, you haven't come close to scratching the surface of my own hang ups, so we'll see where we are once we arrive there, yeah?" He pulled out of the spot and started off toward the nearest coffee place. "Warmin' up?"

Jules nodded. "Yes." she said, giving him a smile. "I suppose I'll have to work harder to get all your bastardly tendencies out of you then won't I? Perhaps focus all my attention on that." She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket to help them get warmer faster. "Despite being here every damn winter, I still can't get used to the difference in temperature between Beverly and here." she noted, though it was more so to herself than him.

Aiden didn't point out that bastardly tendencies tended to never actually go away. At least not with him, no matter how hard he tried. And it wasn't as if he enjoyed his bastardly tendencies. Well, sometimes he did. "Why don't you go back to Beverly when it starts getting cold?" he asked. "What have you got here that keeps you in town?"

"Freedom." she said simply. "I don't live with my parents. I don't have them breathing down my back and keeping track of every second that I'm out of the house. I don't have to work with my father and deal with all the press and paparazzi during cases." Jules let out a little sigh and shrugged. "I blend in. It's just easier."

"Easier and colder," Aiden pointed out. He thought she was old enough to have freedom without her parents, even if she lived near them, but not every family was the way he thought they ought to be. His family have moved from Ireland for freedom, so he could relate - in a way. "But if the freedom is worth it, then you'll survive. You look cute wearin' multiple layers anyway, so you could pull off the snow bunny thing with no problem."

"Cute?" she questioned, shooting him a teasing glance, eyebrow slightly arched. "Oh, come now, love. I'm sure you can do better than that. I'd like to think I'm more than just cute." Jules was playing with him and she knew it, but she didn't much care. He was fun to tease and she wasn't being that bad. She could really be torturing him if she wanted.

"Okay, um, adorable?" He glanced at her, stifling his grin. Aiden directed the car into a space alongside the street in front of the coffee shop. He knew she was teasing, and he was okay with that. He definitely couldn't go the entire day without flirting with her, no matter what the status of their relationship. "What's a better word for cute that won't offend you? Should I pinch your cheeks? Or pat you on the head?"

"You're such a brat." she told him. "Girls don't want to be cute." Jules informed him. "They want to be hot, or sexy or desirable. Puppies and kittens are cute. I'd rather not be summed up with furry creatures, ya know." She reached up to tug her hair over one shoulder, still having traces of moisture from the snow he'd squished into it.

"I called you a snow bunny, remember? So I've already compared ya to a furry creature. I'm not in the habit of callin' furry creatures sexy or hot." His grin was obnoxious as he got out of the car. "And I noticed you're in the habit of callin' me names a lot. Brat, or what's the other one...? Jerkface. So you have to deal with me callin' you cute."

She rolled her eyes and climbed out of the car, shutting the door and folding her arms across her chest. "I also call you 'dollface'." she pointed out. "That's not bad. And you deserved being called a brat, because you're being one. You're really a pain. A horrid thorn in the side, you better be glad you're so damn pretty." Her lips twitched upwards into a grin as she headed into the coffee shop, purposely moving her hips just to tease him more. Even with the layers, she knew just how to use her body against him.

"I also call you sweetheart, and love, so... again." Aiden laughed and followed her into the coffee shop. "Don't you love how for everythin' you throw at me, I can balance it out? It's pretty damn amusin'. And I know I'm a pain, and I know I'm a thorn in the side. I was born that way sadly. I've come to accept it, so everyone else has to also, yeah?"

She managed to muster up a little bit of a growl in her throat though it wasn't very menacing. "You take pride in making excuses for everything, don't you?" she questioned, turning around as they entered the shop and reaching out to take his hands. "You're sexy, and have this amazingly enticing accent and I constantly picture you naked." she whispered. "Balance that, Aiden."

Aiden stared at her before pulling one hand from hers and lifting it to slide a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're probably picturin' a much more perfect version of myself, so that's probably for the best to keep it a mental image. Because I'm flawed, love, with plenty of scars." And he meant that both internally and externally. He gripped her other hand in his and looked away, over her shoulder at the counter. "Let's get some coffee." He knew he could play the game, or end it, but he was torn between which path to take, so he took the easy one - the one that led right up the middle where he wouldn't have to do a damn thing. He knew she was attracted to him, and he was a man, so of course the feeling was mutual, but he wasn't wanting another conversation like the one they had at the snowman.

"I win." she said simply, shrugging a bit and looking up at the counter herself. "What can I getcha?" she questioned, attention once more directed at him. "Since I owe you a cup of coffee and all." She didn't blame him for not responding to her challenge. She knew she shouldn't make it so difficult on him, but it was hard not to. The whole friend thing was more difficult than she'd originally imagined. "And as for scars, just for the sake of argument, I didn't picture you like a Greek Adonis. No one's perfect, dollface. Me for instance, my butt's too big and my boobs are too small. But that's besides the point. What kind of coffee?"

"Really? Most women do picture me as a Greek Adonis. Huh." He scratched his stubble thoughtfully before grinning at her. "And your arse is just the right size... actually I think you're perfectly proportioned. Just coffee, black, works for me." He could have said more, could have said what he knew she wanted him to say, but he was determined to do this friend thing. He had never had a female friend he didn't fuck, and he wanted this to be different. Because he liked her beyond wanting to fuck her, and because he probably needed that connection somehow.

Jules chuckled, shaking her head a bit and tugging at his shirt a little. "Get a table, Adonis." she teased, turning around and heading for the counter to order his coffee and her own. Once she'd done that, she made her way towards the table he'd chosen, setting his coffee in front of him and giving him a smile as she sat down, crossing her legs beneath the table. "Thanks, by the way." she said, taking a sip of her coffee. "For indirectly telling me I have a nice rack." she teased.

Aiden sat and waited for her, lifting his hat long enough to run his hand through his hair before she was joining him. He took the coffee with an appreciative nod and took a sip, letting it warm his throat before he leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "You're welcome. I thought indirect was maybe more gentlemanly than saying your tits and arse are perfect the way they are. And thanks for reminding me that I'm not an Adonis. I really need to be brought back to earth every now and then."

She smiled a little at that, shaking her head. She reached up and twirled a few strands of hair around her fingertip. "I never said that you weren't an Adonis. Just that I didn't picture you that way." Jules corrected. "And since when are you anything close to gentlemanly?" she teased, uncrossing her legs long enough to lightly kick him beneath the table playfully.

"I can be exceptionally charming when I want to be. I walked you home that night we met, if you remember. That was pretty gentlemanly of me," Aiden pointed out, lifting his coffee again. "And if you didn't picture me as Adonis, I think anythin' less would be downright insultin', though probably realistic."

"For someone so attractive, you don't seem to have a very correct self-image." she assessed, taking a sip of her coffee. "And yes, I do remember that. I suppose it was fairly gentlemanly, though you teased the hell out of me with that kiss. Leave a girl wanting more and then never do it again. Pain." Jules said with a little wink.

Aiden shrugged and smirked at her. "Some women aren't into tattoos... fewer women like to look at scars. I think I have a very correct self-image. I'm realistic about myself. I don't like to pretend I'm somethin' I'm not. And I left myself wantin' more with that kiss too. Honestly I'm glad I didn't take you up on your offer, otherwise I doubt we'd be sittin' here right now." One night stands rarely led to anything more with him, and he was sure she was the same way.

"Well some women like a man who's actually been through something interesting enough to leave a scar. Besides, those are conversation pieces. As for being glad..." she said, eyes flicking up to catch his. "I'm kind of glad that you didn't either, because I do like you're company, though I wouldn't mind a repeat of that kiss."

Aiden really didn't think getting beat by his father interesting, nor was it something he wanted to bring up in conversation, but she didn't know the circumstances, so he didn't say anything more. Generally if women asked about them, he lied. Eury had been the only one who knew the truth behind them. He took a sip of his coffee, his eyes upon hers. He liked that she seemed to be relentless in getting what she wanted. It reminded him a lot of himself. She was definitely a bigger challenge than he thought she would be. "Don't know if you could handle it, if I kissed you again. I wouldn't want to put you in that position."

"I can handle it, sweetheart." she assured him. "Do you dare have so little faith in me? I've yet to once touch you inappropriately. And you and I both know if I really wanted to break you, I could have just stripped down at my house. Do you really believe you'd have been able to resist me if I was completely naked?" Jules questioned, eyebrow raised. She half wondered if she even wanted to sleep with him anymore. And yes, she might have, but it was no longer the central focus of Aiden. He was like a mystery wrapped in a riddle and he intrigued her, beyond just being an object of sexual interest. She wondered what made him tick. "Perhaps it's you that couldn't handle it. Maybe you're afraid. Pity. I thought you stronger than that."

He couldn't help but laugh. It was just like the night he met her. Her boldness had thrown him a bit, but it had also amused him, just like it was now. "I don't know, love, I think you have so little faith in me that you think I'm like every other weak willed prick out there forgettin' himself the minute he sees a pair of tits. I'm not someone to be broken, and I think it'll be better once you realize that." He set his coffee cup down. "You can think I'm afraid if you want, that doesn't bother me. Frankly, I don't believe you think I'm afraid at all. I think you're trying to provoke me so that I'll give in a kiss you to prove a point that I'm not afraid and you'll get what you want."

She shrugged. "I just want a kiss." Jules told him. "And, just for the sake of argument, you've never seen my tits." she went on. "How do you know you won't be weak willed? If you find me attractive with clothes, you have no idea what you're missing beneath them." She smirked a little at that and took a sip of her coffee. "So, perhaps I don't think you're afraid of kissing me. But you must admit, you're less than willing because of where you believe it could lead. Course, kissing me doesn't have to lead to sex."

"You can get a kiss anywhere, from anyone," Aiden pointed out before he leaned forward a touch. "If I could kiss you before and not follow you into your house when I had less complications in my life, I'm pretty sure I could kiss you now and walk away just the same. We're friends, aren't we? I generally don't make a habit of going around and kissing my friends. Though I am glad to know you're that proud and secure in your body that you feel you can break men with it," he added with a chuckle.

Jules leaned forward a bit as well, sliding her cup off to the side and giving him a smile, blue eyes locked on his. "I don't doubt that you could walk away." she told him, shaking her head. "I do however, doubt that you can say you don't want to kiss me. I just find it funny, that you don't do what you don't want to do, and yet, you also don't do what you want to do." She reached out to run her finger slowly up the side of his hand. "Ah, well. You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to."

"Let me ask you something," Aiden said, turning his hand over quickly to grasp her wrist tightly. "Why do you want this so badly? I thought we were going to enjoy each other's company as friends, and yet every time I'm with you, we somehow shift down this path and I spend most of the time tryin' to explain myself to you, or resistin' what you're offerin'. You keep talkin' about what you think I want, but I'm curious as to what you want, and why. Is it because I didn't take you up on your offer the first night we met? Because I'm not available to you that way? Is it like a challenge that you've just got to get out of your system? Did you call me today because you actually wanted to spend time with me, or because you wanted to give it another go to see if you could get what you wanted."

She pulled her arm away, or at least tried to. "I don't want anything." she said softly. She hadn't expected him to grab her arm and it frightened her a bit that she couldn't get her hand free from him. She swallowed air and tried to pull away again, still failing. "I wanted to spend time with you." Jules told him. "I like you. And yes, it's different that you won't do anything with me, but it's not that it's a challenge... I want to kiss you because... because I just want to. That's what people that like each other do, isn't it?" Again she tugged at her wrist. "Let me go, please..."

Aiden released her wrist immediately and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "You can't force things, Jules. I think you need to just let things happen as they will. If I kissed you now, you wouldn't know if it was because I really wanted to, or because I was appeasing you."

"Yes, I would, actually." she said, rubbing her wrist with her other hand. "You said you don't do things if you don't want to." Jules pointed out. "You wouldn't kiss me to appease me." She picked up her coffee and got up from the table. "The fucked up thing is that you want to kiss me. You're just too afraid of actually liking someone that isn't this other girl who just abandoned you and then comes back expecting you to sit around and wait for her." She moved away from the table then, heading towards the door, more than ready to walk home despite the snow.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aiden sighed and then stood, grabbing his coffee and going after her. When he caught up to her, he reached out with his free hand to grab her arm and slow her down. "I'm not afraid of anything, got it? I've been faced with a hell of a lot more frightenin' things than women. This doesn't scare me. You don't know the whole situation, so it's easy for you to make assumptions on what I'm doin' and why. I'm doin' my best to do the right thing and not to be a bastard here, to you or her and for some reason that pisses you off."

Jules pulled her arm away from him. "It doesn't piss me off." she countered. "It confuses the hell out of me. I don't understand why you even give a fuck what she thinks about it. Why does she get a say in anything that has to do with me? Has she even once since the last time we talked about this made any inclination of wanting to be with you? It's not fair to me to have to feel like this." She sighed and rubbed her face, annoyed with the whole situation. "I don't get to know guys. I don't do this. I don't go for that connection with people. It scares the hell out of me. Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe I'm not capable of being friends with you."

"She doesn't get a say in anything that has to do with you, but she gets a say in things that have to do with her. And what I do with you, I imagine, would probably affect her, don't you think?" Aiden took a step back from her. He hadn't really spoken with Eury since agreeing to track down her uncle. He knew he was being a coward about it, but he was sure he was just afraid of where the conversation would end up when he did. "What will make it better for you, Jules? Do you want me to take you back to your place and fuck you so that you can get it out of your system? Then you won't have to worry about it anymore and you'll never have to talk to me again. Tell me what you want, and I'll do it." Because he sure as hell didn't know what he was suppose to do right now. "I don't know what you want from me right now."

"Like what you do with her doesn't effect me?!" she countered. "I don't get a say in that." Jules wasn't sure where that outburst came from but she could feel the eyes on her from around the shop. "I don't want to not talk to you anymore... I just don't want to fucking sit around and wait for you to let me in you stupid idiot." she grumbled, shoving past him and out the door of the shop. She glanced around trying to figure out exactly how far she was from home before she started the walk home. She dropped her coffee cup in the garbage, tugging her jacket tighter around her, half wondering if he cared enough to even stop her.

Aiden was definitely convinced that all women were psychotic. He didn't understand them and it was more than obvious to himself that he never would. He should have just done what his father had insisted and become a priest. Aiden walked out the door after her, dumping his own coffee into the garbage can before he caught up to her and stopped her by standing in her path. "Listen to me, okay, you don't get a say in what I do with her because we, you and I, are not sleeping together. We're supposedly 'friends' and friends don't dictate who I fuck or care about. You need to understand something, Jules, I don't suddenly open up and let people in after having only known them a couple weeks. Hell, Dorian and I have been friends since college and there's still shit he doesn't know about me. What you see is what you get with me, and you can't expect me to reveal certain things about myself to you when we've only hung out what, three times? It doesn't work that way. The people who deal with me have to be patient people, because if you're not? Then you're shit out of luck and it's probably best you deal with that and move on."

"I never said you could or couldn't sleep with her." Jules told him, shaking her head and looking down at the ground. "You just can't sit there and expect it not to effect me." she pointed out. "I can't tell you not to care about her. I can't tell you to do or not to do anything. I can't help it that I flirt. I can't help it that this is how I am. You knew that from the beginning. And every single time I say anything remotely flirtatious you assume that I'm trying to sleep with you. I don't want to sleep with you, Aiden. I don't. Not anymore. I don't want to get caught up in this big mess. I don't want to be in the middle of this confusion." She sighed and looked up at him. "I don't know how to be around you and not want to do more." she admitted. "It's really hard for me to not get what I want. And despite only hanging out with you a couple times, I do like you. I want to hang out with you, I want to be your friend. I want to spend time with you, but I don't know how. You think you're fucked up? You think you've got things people don't know about? You don't know one tiny little detail about me or my life. I'm not a patient person... I like knowing what I'm getting myself into ahead of time. I just... I don't know what to do with you. I don't know how to hang around with you because I feel like when I'm me, the person I am with everyone else, it just complicates things for you." She looked up at him and frowned. "Aiden, I want to be your friend and I want that to work out, but if you're going to think that every little flirt, every little glance, every little snide remark I make is me trying to get you in bed with me, I can't be your friend. I don't want to sleep with you because I don't want to put you into an even worse situation than you're already in. I don't want to complicate things. But you need to tell me what you want me to do." She sighed and shook her head, stepping around him again.

He let her go by, not one to continually stop a woman if she's truly intent on leaving. Still Aiden turned to look at her. "I've made it clear that I want us to be friends, Jules. If you don't want to sleep with me, then I don't see that there is a problem anymore, is there? You can be who you are, I never said you couldn't. But you can't expect me to respond to who you are the way you're used to people respondin'. I'm sorry it's hard for you to not get what you want. I don't like it when I don't get what I want either, but sometimes you gotta deal with it."

Jules stopped and sighed, knowing if she left she'd probably never even hear from the guy again. She turned around and looked at him. "Aiden, can we just go back to before we even had this damn conversation. I'm really just not wanting to even think about it anymore. If you can deal with me flirting and not ask me if I'm trying to sleep with you, we'll be just spectacular. I don't want anything from you but a friend. That's it. At least until you figure out what the hell is going on with whatever the girl's name is. That's fair, right?" she questioned, taking a few steps towards him. "Now, I'm freezing my ass off and not looking forward to walking... take me home?" she asked, putting on a little pout and batting her eyelashes. "And stop bein' a pain in me arse." she added on, giving him a little wink.

He didn't believe for a second that she could just switch moods just like that. Women, when they were pissed, tended to stay that way for awhile. Or at least until he was able to fix it, and he doubted he had done that here. Somehow this had all become his fault, the entire conversation, but Aiden was pretty sure she shared the blame. But women never wanted to do that, now did they? "Yeah, that's fair. C'mon, I'll take you home." Turning, he headed toward his car, unlocking the doors before he climbed in. And he reached immediately for his cigarettes to light up.

"You're still annoyed aren't you?" she questioned as she climbed in the car. He immediately lit up his cigarette, so she assumed he was aggravated. "Look, I'm sorry okay." she said, glancing over at him. "Told you I could be just as much of a bitch as you could be a bastard. So how bout we just start over, because I'd like this not to be the last time I ever see ya, ya know?"

Aiden took a long drag from his cigarette, exhaling after he'd started up the car and started off toward her house. "Well, I'm takin' you home, so I guess it is like startin' over." After a pause, he glanced at her. "I liked spendin' time with you because there was no drama. No yellin', no fightin', no complications. I'm knee deep in complication shite, Jules, I don't need anymore of it. If we can do this without... whatever that was back there, then I'm okay with that. If not, I don't know if being 'friends' is a good idea."

She nodded, understanding what he meant. "Alright." Jules said softly. "I think I have it out of my system anyway. I only blow up every once in a while, so I think you're good for awhile. If you still want to try and make this 'friends' shit work. I just think too much about too much sometimes and open my big mouth because I'm a girl... so... sorry okay? Start over?"

Aiden glanced at her again and drove in silence for a few minutes before he finally nodded. "Okay. I think it's probably wisest for the both of us to just stay away from certain subjects. At least for now. Next time you feel like you might blow up, give me some warnin' so I can prepare, yeah?" He smiled faintly in her direction before slipping his cigarette back between his lips.

"Okay." she said with a nod. "So... no sex talk and... yeah, think that about covers it." she said, returning his smile. "And I suppose I'll give you a warning before I explode." she grinned. "Like a flashing red light that says 'change the subject' or something." Jules teased.

"Yeah, I think that's right," Aiden said, speaking around his cigarette as he turned down the street to her house. "I'll be fine with flashin' red lights. Anythin' that'll tip me off is sufficient enough, trust me."

Once they pulled up in front of her house, she grabbed her things and reached for the door handle. "Despite whatever that thing was... I did have fun. Even if our snowman was retarded." Jules said giving the guy a smile. "You wanna come in for a little while? Maybe watch a movie or something? No sex, promise." she teased.

"I've got to get home and check on my sister," Aiden told her with a small smile. It wasn't really a lie, since he did need to talk to Shannon about him leaving town for awhile. But he also felt it was best to get some space between he and Jules after what had happened earlier. "But I had fun too."

Jules sighed, mostly because she felt like he was lying, but she nodded. "I'll see you later, Aiden." she said, climbing out of the car and straightening her jacket. "Be good." She shut the door behind her and headed up the walk to her house, more than ready for a long hot bath and silence.