Snowed in

Who: Aiden, Olivia and Jules
When: Morning
Where: Jules's house

Jules had called Aiden early, waking him up and asking for a favor. A favor of the errand variety in fact, and less than an hour later, he found himself driving to Jules's house with a small white bag full of cold and flu medicine. He yawned against his fist, thinking it was way too early to be up, since it was before noon. And it was snowing too, quite a lot by the time he pulled up to her house. He supposed he could have told Jules he couldn't go get her medicine, but he didn't and he wasn't a dick enough to tell her to get her own. Grabbing the bag once he parked, Aiden left his car, hurrying through the thickening flurries to Jules's door. Knocking, he glanced behind him. The snow didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon either.

Jules could have woken Olivia up, but she knew the girl barely got any sleep as it was, so she'd called Aiden instead. Asked him for a favor and a while later she heard the knock at the door. She felt like crap and she probably looked like crap too, but she brushed her hair, pulled it up into a pony tail and wrapped her bathrobe around her body, tying it and grabbing a box of tissues as she headed to the door. She pulled it open and tried to say hello but didn't get through the first syllable before she had to stop and yank a tissue from the box and press it to her face, sneezing against the cloth. She motioned for him to come in out of the cold.

"Woah, bless you," Aiden said, leaning back when she sneezed. He wiped his shoes and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door and taking her by the hand to lead her into the living room. "You look like hell," he told her, nudging her onto the couch. "You were perfectly healthy the last time I saw you. Were you dancing naked outside or something?" He reached into the paper bag to pull out her medicine. Hopefully it was the right kind.

"Thank you. And fuck you." she said with the slightest of smiles. "You know better than telling a girl that she looks like death, even if it's true." she muttered, sitting herself down and pulling her legs up onto the couch. "Thank you for getting this for me..." she said, reaching out to take the medicine from him. "I went out last night with Olivia, but I wasn't dancing naked unfortunately. I should have done that had I known I'd be so ill now."

"I'm only sayin' what you already know," Aiden pointed out. He sat down beside her and took the medicine back to open it for her. "You went out last night and did what exactly? At least tell me you were wearing layers... it's too cold to go out in next to nothing." He saw way too many girls dressed in short tops and mini skirts when it came to the bars, no matter what season.

"I had a jacket on. I think I just caught a cold or something." she told him, tucking her hair behind her ear. "We went out and drank. Went to a bar. Talked, drank, came home. Nothing to big really. Had a really awesome threesome with this guy that we picked up." she teased.

"Oh yeah?" He cocked an eyebrow and handed over a small plastic cup full of red liquid. "Sounds hot. Hopefully you didn't get him sick in the process." Aiden sighed and twisted the cap back on the medicine bottle. "Well, you picked the right day to get sick. It's snowing like mad outside. Is Olivia here?"

"Mhm." she nodded. "She's sleeping though I think." Jules said, pointing in the direction of Olivia's bedroom. "And it was hot. He's so much better than you. I thought you were good but this guy... god. He was spectacular." she teased, giving him a little smile. "I don't think he cares if he gets sick. Like he could resist m-" she said, snatching up a tissue and pressing it against her nose again to sneeze into it.

Aiden laughed. "Yeah, love, you're a hot little thing. Sneeze again baby, I got a thing for snot." He leaned over and kissed her forehead before standing up. "You want me to get you anything? Uh, I think I could manage to put together some tea if you wanted. You should be in bed."

"Ass." she muttered, wiping her nose again and scrunching up the tissue to toss it into the waste bin beside the couch. "I doubt I could make it back up the stairs again." she sighed. "Surprised I made it down them to begin with. You think I look bad... I feel worse." she muttered. "Tea would be nice though. I'd appreciate it.."

"Then I'll make you some tea," Aiden said, shrugging out of his jacket. "But you have to be nice to me... no more name calling." He smirked at her and set his jacket down before heading off to the kitchen. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

She shook her head. "Not yet." she told him. "Haven't tried to eat or drink much of anything." Jules admitted as she watched him head for the kitchen. She shrugged out of her bathrobe, still in a pair of flannel pj's and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, sliding it over her body and resting her head against the arm of the couch.

Aiden did a quick run through of her kitchen, opening cupboards, and then her fridge to find out what she had. He found the mugs and tea bags and got to making that first. He didn't drink tea, but his mom used to, so he knew what he was doing there at least. While the tea was steeping, Aiden got to making Jules some toast. If she was sick, she probably couldn't taste much anyway, but at least it would be something. Once he was finished, he dumped the tea bag into the trash and carried the mug and plate of toast out to her. "Eat," he ordered, setting the plate and mug down on the coffee table.

She raised a brow at him for that ordering tone of voice, but she wasn't about to argue with him, so she shifted a bit and leaned forward. Picking up one of the slices of toast and taking a little nibble of a bite from it. Once she'd managed to chew and swallow that bite, she looked at him again. "You know, you can be really demanding when you want to be."

"Yeah." He watched her eat and then sat down again after a glance outside. He had a feeling the snow wasn't going to stop until the whole town was completely covered. "It's the only way to make sure things get done. You've never complained about it before," Aiden pointed out.

"Well telling me to wrap my legs around you when you fuck me and telling me to eat a piece of toast are two different types of demanding, dollface." she pointed out, taking another bite of her toast and setting the rest back down on the coffee table while she picked up her mug.

"I so didn't need to hear that," Olivia groaned as she entered the room. She hadn't slept much the night before, and had heard when Aiden had come over. There was the internal debate to just hide in her room for the rest of the day until work that night, but then she figured she didn't need to hide from Aiden. It wasn't like he could do anything to her now, and hopefully he wouldn't be sticking around anyway. She was dressed and fully prepared to take off somewhere if he was. Olivia took a look at Jules and frowned. "You look awful," she said with a frown. "Are you all right?"

Jules flushed a little when Olivia heard what she said. "What's with the two of you and telling me I look like crap today. I'm aware of that." she grumbled. "I'm alright though. I asked Aiden to get me some medicine from the store so I wouldn't have to go out in the snow." she muttered. "I'm really questioning my motives for heading to the snowy north over Cali."

Olivia walked over to the door to pull it open. Yes... snow. Tons and tons of it. Aiden's car was already covered. Hopefully he could wipe all that crap off and drive off. "At least you didn't go to work," Olivia said, returning to the living room. "The streets don't look like they've been salted, which isn't a good sign." Olivia glanced at Aiden before she shifted her gaze to Jules. "Do you want me to get you anything?

"I got her toast," Aiden pointed out, motioning to the plate on the table. It was weird being around someone he once considered a 'job'. Especially a failed one.

"That's nice, but toast isn't always the best thing to eat when you're sick, unless she's nauseous," Olivia replied coolly. "She needs actual food. Do you want me to make you something, Jules?"

Jules watched the two of them, already sensing the tension between them. God this was not a fun situation to be in. "Um... I think I'm okay right now..." she told Olivia. "I'm not all that hungry and I'll be lucky to keep that down, let alone anything else. Thank you though." she said. She looked over at Aiden and then back at Olivia. "Do you guys have to be aggravated or whatever it is that you are at each other?" she questioned. "Really?"

"I'm not aggravated," Aiden said, looking at Jules. "I don't have any problem with your roommate. Other than the fact that I think she's a selfish, crazy bitch."

Olivia snorted at that, crossing her arms and glowering at him. "And I think he's a self absorbed, arrogant asshole for with no morals or remorse. So, no, I guess I'm not aggravated either."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "He is an arrogant asshole. He doesn't have morals or remorse, but at least he's honest about it." Jules sighed. "And she's not a 'crazy bitch'. She's just pissed because you don't listen to anyone." she said to Aiden. She knew better than to say it but she wasn't going to listen to them bitch at each other. "Or maybe she is a crazy bitch, but you were chasing her to take her back to where she didn't want to go for some money, can you blame her for being pissed? How bout I write you a check for whatever money you didn't get for her and you can stop being pissed about it?" she muttered, setting the mug down and getting up from the couch.

"You've got a thousand bucks just to throw away?" Aiden asked, reaching out to grab her arm to keep her on the couch. "How certain jobs 'feel' isn't my concern. My only concern is doing what I've been paid to do."

"Which includes killing anything supernatural, even if they're, at their core, good," Olivia snapped, though she tried to rein herself in for Jules's sake. She knew the woman cared about this guy, so she didn't want to make things worse.

"Look, what happened with you and I was years ago," Aiden said, shifting his heated gaze to Olivia. "Your dad's dead now, anyway, so what the fuck does it matter? You should have let me take you home to him, then maybe he'd still be alive, yeah?"

Pain. It flowed through her in torrent of mixed emotions, but she couldn't find anything to say back. If there had been something heavy nearby, Olivia probably would have tried to fling it at him. But there wasn't, so instead she turned on her heel and stormed back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Jules blinked and didn't sit as they argued, mouth dropping open at Aiden's last statement. She knew how he was. Knew he'd pick the things that'd hurt the most when he was arguing, everyone did it, but still. It was just... wrong. "Aiden..." she sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair with her free hand. "A thousand dollars. You and Olivia despise each other for a thousand dollars?" she questioned. "I've spent more than that on lingerie."

"It was a favor for her dad," Aiden muttered, still glaring in the direction Olivia had gone. "A thousand bucks was my fellow hunter discount. And he was a good guy, and it's probably her fault he got himself killed, so that pisses me off too." Plus, she'd scratched the hell out of him when he'd gotten her in his car and he still had the marks from it. "It wasn't about money," he added after a pause. "It was somethin' more personal. But it's done now, yeah? It shoudn't matter anymore. She's just got guilt from her dad that's got nothin' to do with me."

"Doesn't mean you have to rub it in more..." she sighed. "I understand where both of you are coming from, really I do. She's pissed at you because she's just as damn stubborn as you are and you tried to force her to do something she didn't want to do. Good intentions or not, Aiden, that still would have pissed you the hell off if it was the other way around." She really didn't like being in the middle of craziness, especially between a pretty good friend and the guy she was... maybe kinda sorta in love with. "Can't you please try and not annoy the piss out of her when you're here and she is? Please. For me?"

"It'd be easier if I just didn't come 'round when she was home. She's not gonna be cool with me being here," Aiden said, standing up from the couch. And he sure as hell wasn't going to apologize to the girl. "Maybe you should ask her the same thing, yeah? I can be civil if she can."

"You were the one that called her a 'selfish bitch' first." she pointed out. Of course Olivia had sort of made a comment making it seem like Aiden didn't know how to take care of a sick person, but she wasn't going to bring that up because maybe he didn't even notice. "Look, I'll talk to her about it alright... I don't want you to not be able to come over whenever just because Olivia is here. She lives here. She'll be here a lot and I'm not cutting down on my already limited Aiden-time. You'll both just have to get over it or I'm going to have to beat the both of y-" she cut off and grabbed a tissue, sneezing again. "Both of you." she grumbled, crumbling up the tissue and tossing it in the waste basket.

"Well, she is one," Aiden muttered before walking over to the window. It didn't look like he was going anywhere soon. At least not until the snow plows came through. He would have to call Shannon. Turning back to Jules, he managed a small smile. "I might like you beatin' me... we'll have to try that. And I think Olivia's gonna have to deal with me bein' here since it's comin' down hard outside. The roads are already covered, so I'm not goin' anywhere anytime soon."

Well that was lovely, in a 'great my roommate is going to want to kill me before the day is out' kind of way. Jules didn't mind Aiden being stuck there, but she knew that Olivia wouldn't be happy about it, especially if she couldn't run away somewhere else. Jules finally plopped herself down on the couch again, deciding that she wouldn't be trying for the bed. Even if she could make it up the stairs, she didn't want to stair at her less than perfect self all day. "Fine. Then come back over here and sit and behave if Olivia comes out." she muttered, patting the sofa cushion next to her. She was feeling needy and he was stuck here so he was going to make her feel better damn it.

Aiden looked back over his shoulder at her, one eyebrow cocked with amusement. "You know, you can pretty demanding when you want to be." Still, he returned to the couch and sat down, slipping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her toward him. "I'll be nice if she's nice," Aiden promised. "I hope you learned your lesson about going out to bars and picking up guys for threesomes."

"I learned from the best.." she said with a little smile as she leaned against him. "Gotta be demanding when I've got you around. Besides, where are you gonna go? Out in the snow?" she teased. "Then you'll be even sicker than me and I'll have to try and make you feel better." She let out a little sigh and moved her hand to rest lightly against his lower stomach. "Thanks for coming over." she said softly. "I'm sorry you got stuck here though."

"I'm pretty good in the snow," Aiden said with a laugh. "Just don't sneeze on me or anything. I'm not fun to be around when I'm sick." Like most men, Aiden reverted to his eight year old self and just wanted his mom to take care of him, even though she wasn't there anymore. "It's okay though, I don't mind being stuck here. Better than being stuck out there somewhere."

"I'll try not to sneeze on you." she said with a little smile, lightly tracing little circles against his shirt. "You know you like seeing me. Even if I am less than attractive at the moment. I'll have to be extra pretty next time."

Aiden couldn't help but roll his eyes. "I don't care what you look like, Jules. You're sick..." He sighed and let his fingers push through her hair by her shoulders. "Do you want me to take you upstairs to bed? You'd probably be more comfortable there."

That got a little smile. He didn't care that she looked like crap. It was sweet in a way. And then he offered to take her upstairs to bed and she figured she could avoid the mirror if she tried hard enough, so she nodded. "Please."

Aiden pulled himself away from her and stood up before bending over to take her hands and help her up off the couch. "I'll bring your tea up after, okay?" Because he knew he'd drop her, or the tea, if he tried to carry them both, and either one falling would be bad. "You're not feeling nauseous or anything, are you?"

Jules let out a little laugh and shook her head. "No, not nauseous. Stuffy, headachey, sneezy, coughy and worn out. But not nauseous." she smiled, setting her tissue box down on the table. She had another box upstairs just in case.

"Good." So he didn't have to worry about her throwing up on him. Or being pregnant, which was just a random, flitting through in his mind. Aiden led her to the stairs before bending down and slipping his arm underneath her knees. He lifted her and started up the stairs, thankful that she was a small thing. "I mean, not good that you're all those other things, but good that you're at least not nauseous."

She shook her head and gave him a little smile. "Yeah, sure. You don't care so long as I'm not throwing up on you." she teased, running a hand over the hair at the back of his neck.

"I'm not a fan of vomit," Aiden said, carrying her easily up the stairs and then down the hall to her bedroom. "So, there's somethin' new you've learned about me today." He set her on her feet once they were in her bedroom.

She nodded. "Something new. Big, strong, paranormal hunter who's not a fan of vomit. Nice." she teased, walking over to her bed and pulling the blankets back. "Are you afraid of mice too?" she joked.

"Nope." He watched her with a tiny smirk. "I'm not afraid of vomit either. I just don't like it... let me know if you can think of anyone who does." He had hated having hangovers when he was a teenager. All the throwing up and feeling miserable. Thank god he didn't get that pissed anymore. "But you ought to feel special that you're learnin' new things about me. There's a lot more where that came from."

"Maybe I feel special." she said, pulling her blankets up just a bit around her body. "A little. You want to learn some things about me?" she questioned, curious if he would or not.

Aiden walked over to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Sure... you got somethin' to share?" He could only imagine what little tidbits she would give him. And admittedly, he was curious.

"I'm blind." she said first. "Sort of. I don't think I told you that before..." She usually didn't share it with many people, they'd end up finding out on their own eventually when she started not being able to see them when they came up on a certain side of her. "In my left eye. Can't see shit."

"No shit?" He looked at her, squinting a bit as he studied her left eye. "How are you able to drive and everything without any periphials? Can't be safe. How'd that happen anyway? Were you born that way?"

"Born that way." she told him. "And I mean I can like see colors and stuff but it's so like... degraded or whatever that I can't really do anything about it, but it's not all creepy and glazed over or whatever. But yeah. And it does suck to not have the periphrials, but I'm so used to it that I guess my other eye learned to make up for it."

"Huh." He couldn't tell by looking at her that she was blind in the left eye, since she carried herself in a way that he would have never have guessed she couldn't see. Aiden grinned at her. "Okay, tell me somethin' else then."

He was curious about her. That was fun. Interesting even. "No, it's your turn. You don't like vomit and I'm blind in my left eye." she smiled. "Your turn."

Aiden laughed and shrugged. "All right... uh... you want to know somethin' about me? Or just random facts from my past?" He supposed they were both one and the same, but there was a difference between telling her about him and revealing simple likes and dislikes.

"Either one." she shrugged. "How bout we start with... something about you." she told him with a little smile. "And it had to be something true."

"Me?" He wasn't sure there was all that much to tell her about him. The little quirks he had probably weren't things she wanted to know. Aiden hesitated briefly before shrugging and pulling up his t-shirt to where the welted scar was on his side. He never claimed to have anything fuzzy and warm to share with her. "My da gave me that when I was seven."

Well, she hadn't expected that. Not at all. She swallowed and glanced down at the scar on his side and then slowly let her eyes trail back up to meet his. "How?" she questioned. Did he beat him? A baby. Well not really a baby, but a little boy. A child. His own child. He'd hurt him. Enough to leave a lasting scar.

"A really painful belt," Aiden explained, sliding his shirt back down to cover it up. "My dad was an arse... is an arse, which isn't really a fact about me, I 'spose. He wasn't a big fan of sin, and apparently I was the epitome of it. Your turn."

"How can a seven year old little boy have any type of sin? What could you have possibly done? Not wanted to go to bed?" The look on her face clearly said that she wasn't happy with his father, despite not knowing him. She wasn't sure what she could tell him about herself now, not that would follow up what he'd just told her. "My mother's parents disowned her when she first married my father." she said. "Which I guess isn't a fact about me. But sort of. She's white. Blonde, gorgeous, her dad is a banker and when she wanted to be with some hispanic guy, they flipped out. So, I'm not fully hispanic, just part."

"Who knows? Lyin'? Disobeyin'? It didn't matter. Hell, if I didn't wash my hands before dinner I got slapped around. It's just how it was growin' up there." Aiden glanced at her and cocked an eyebrow. "Your grandparents disowned your mother for marrying a hispanic man? That's all kinds of fucked up. Are they still together? Your parents?"

"Yes. My grandparents stopped caring that he was hispanic when he became a hotshot lawyer and started making more money than my mom's dad." She sighed and brushed her fingers through her hair. "I think it's because he was some poor hispanic guy that was going to 'ruin their daughters life' or something." She took in what he'd said about his dad and she sighed and moved closer to him, leaving her blankets behind and wrapping her arms around Aiden. "I'm sorry..." she said softly. He looked like he needed a hug and even if he didn't... well he got one anyway.

"Some people are all about the money," Aiden said. Hell, most of the time he was all about the money. Aiden blinked and tried not to tense when she leaned forward to hug him. "Don't be sorry... I don't do sympathy that well, yeah? So... it's okay." Sympathy and pity both made him uncomfortable. And he wanted to change the subject before he got sucked into talking more about his family. "I was married once." There... that ought to do it.

That had her pulling back and eying him. "What?" she questioned, blinking a little. "When? Who? I thought you didn't do the whole love and marriage thing..." Then a thought flashed through her and she tensed. "Tell me you're not married now... please."

"I don't," he explained with a small grin. "It was one of those... I had too much to drink in Vegas and getting married seemed like somethin' fun to do... apparently. Would help if I could remember that night. It was another hunter... a woman I'd known for awhile. We'd run into each other on different jobs, er, had a sort of understanding non-relationship." Which meant they were fuck buddies, more or less. "Couldn't annul since we consummated it... but... yeah, everythin's in motion for the divorce. It went pretty smoothly." Aiden ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Though we both swore never to tell another soul about it, it was that embarrassin' so... you're sworn to secrecy."

Everything was in motion for a divorce? "So you're kind of still married? Technically?" she asked him. "And a 'understanding non-relationship'? Like this..? Us?" she asked. "Not that there is an 'us' but... yeah." And he didn't do 'love'. Great. She'd be sure to never tell him about that conversation with Olivia. Too bad she hadn't sworn Olivia to secrecy. She half wondered if the girl would tell Aiden, but tried to push that thought away. And she really didn't want to think about him 'comsummating' anything with another woman. God this sucked. "Well... that's... interesting." She shook her head a little and settled herself back against the pillows. "I didn't lose my virginity til I was nineteen almost twenty." she said. That was something semi-shocking. Of course she could have said 'I love you' and really shocked him if she wanted to.

"I guess technically... though I think it should be finalized any day now. Shit takes forever. I didn't really consider us married though... that was a drunken mistake. And no, it's not like us," Aiden said, giving her a look. "Manhattan and I only enjoyed each other's company for one thing... I don't think that's the case here, is it?" He watched her fall back against the pillows before he smiled. "Nineteen? Why'd you wait so long? I lost it when I was thirteen."

"But this is an 'understanding non-relationship' too." she pointed out. "We're not together. We just happen to talk before and after we have sex." she said with a little smile. "So I can have conversations with you too and that makes it more important? And I'm sleeping with a married man. God, I'm a tramp." she teased. "And I waited that long because I wanted it to mean something and I thought it did and then... it didn't mean the same thing for him, so he left and I... fucked his best friend."

"And I didn't care much for talking to her before or after," Aiden countered. "She felt the same way about me, so yeah, it's different." He grinned and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Don't refer to me as a married man... it makes my skin crawl just thinkin' about it. So you waited so that it meant somethin', then it didn't, so you decided to just... throw caution to the wind? He ever find about his best friend?"

"Yes. Basically. And it did mean something. To me. And then I was pissed because I waited that long for some guy to break my heart. So I broke his heart back. And yes. He found out about it because I videotaped it and sent him the evidence." she explained. "So I guess I have a porn tape circulating out there somewhere. Look at me. Jules the porn star."

"Wow." Aiden wasn't really sure what else to say about that. He figured that was probably why she liked to sleep around. And he couldn't blame her. "Talk about a woman scorned... remind me never to piss you off, yeah?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It was just this crappy situation. He hurt me and then I didn't want to be hurt like that again so I never let anyone in for more than a fling. It was easier that way. I didn't have to worry about my feelings getting hurt." At least until now. When she'd sort of let someone in. Given someone the ability to hurt her again and he didn't even know.

"For some people that's the easiest way to live," Aiden said. "I'm sorry you were hurt, though. I doubt every guy out there is a complete bastard." He paused and smiled faintly. "I'd tell you I fucked a girl my best friend was into, but you already knew that."

"All guys are bastards." she told him, glancing over at him again. "You prove that right?" she teased. "If I fell for you, you'd totally run away and you know it." That was a way to get the answer out of him without actually admitting it, right?

Aiden shot her a look, but chuckled. "Do I look like a coward to you or somethin'?" He didn't know what he would do. He ran from Eury when those feelings started to spill in, but he never stayed away very long. He wasn't good for Jules though, he knew that much. "But I think you've learned your lesson, yeah? Don't fall for the bastards. If I fucked you over, then you'd have to sleep with Dorian, and I know how much you would be dreading that," he joked.

She bit her bottom lip and didn't say anything for a long moment. He hadn't said he'd run. He hadn't said he wouldn't. She wasn't sure what he would do. But eventually he'd figure it out. So she sighed and looked up at herself in the mirror. "I haven't learned my lesson." she muttered, mostly to herself, hoping he wouldn't hear and hoping he would all at the same time. "And I'm not fucking Dorian. I'll just buy a baseball bat and beat your car to death." she teased.

"Don't touch the car," Aiden said, reaching over to take her hand. "I'd hate to have to hit a girl... Dorian destroyed the windows when he found out about Eury. I was pretty sure I felt like someone had beaten up my baby or somethin'." He paused and then glanced at her again. "It wouldn't be the smartest thing to do to fall for me, Jules. You know that, right?"

She sighed and nodded. "I know. It's the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life." she admitted. "Doesn't mean I can just be like 'nope not doing it'." Jules explained. "Kinda too late for that..."

Aiden looked at her silently for a few moments. He didn't know what to tell her, though he knew what she probably wanted to hear. It wasn't that easy for Aiden. It never had been. So instead he stood from the bed and turned to pull the blankets up her chest a bit. "I'm goin' to go downstairs and reheat your tea, okay? You need anythin' else?"

The very real fact that he didn't say anything had Jules worrying that he was ready to run. You should have kept your big mouth shut. she thought, not saying anything to him for a moment. She bit her lip and shrugged then shook her head. "No. I'm fine." she told him.

Nodding, Aiden left the room to head back downstairs. He got her tea and went to the kitchen to heat it up again. He tried to think about things while he was alone, but it was difficult. He liked Jules... he felt protective of her, and she was gorgeous, and witty. And brilliant in bed. But he knew he wasn't going to be able to be what she probably expected him to be. Aiden returned to her bedroom several minutes later, carrying her mug. He brought her medicine with him. "You should get some sleep," he told her. "You'll probably feel better."

She shook her head. "I'm fine." she told him. "Got plenty of sleep last night and you're stuck here whether you want to be, so being with the girl that likes you is probably a lot more enjoyable than being downstairs with the one that wishes you'd burst into flames." she teased. "Thanks though, for the tea... and the medicine. And no more 'I like you' stuff. Promise." She'd learned her lesson and knew better than mention it again.

"Jules," Aiden sighed, setting her tea and medicine down. "I like you too. You don't have to... edit yourself to me. It's not like you're beggin' for marriage and babies, yeah? I know you like me, and you know I like you. There's nothin' wrong with that."

She let out a breath and shook her head. "I'd suck as a mother and I'm too young to get married." she told him. "I'm not asking for either one of those... and yeah... I like you and yes, I know you like me, but I wish there was more to it than just the... unspoken agreement. When someone asks me if I'm 'seeing anyone' I have to say no because technically we're not together. What do I say? I occasionally sleep with this guy and I really care about him, but that's about all that's ever going to happen between us? I like you. I want to be with you. Officially. And I know it's not going to happen like that. And I know I have a big mouth and you're going to freak out now because I said that. But, I might have exploded had I not said it soon. That or Olivia might have accidentally told you to freak you out and make you tread out in the snow. So there. Now you know something else about me. I'm kinda sorta in love with you. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know. Olivia thinks so." She lifted the tea and took a slow sip of it. "Good tea by the way."

He really could have handled the 'official' part, and everything else that had rambled out of her, but the minute he heard 'love'? Aiden felt everything inside of him shut down. That wasn't... smart. At all. Whether she knew or not, she'd said it. He stayed standing where he was, frustrated now that he couldn't get in his car and drive. And more than likely it would be a bad idea to try and walk too. "You're not in love with me," Aiden said gruffly. "You don't know me well enough to love me, Jules. You like me, and that's fine, but don't confuse good sex and conversation with love. That just creates unnecessary complications."

She blinked at him over her cup. She'd said that? She'd let that word come out of her mouth? In front of him? Oh dear god. "What?" she questioned, pulling the cup away. "No, no. See, I don't think I love you. I mean that Olivia thinks I love you. Or something. It's really complicated and..." she sighed and sat the cup down on her bedside table. "I'm not five. I know the difference between sex and love, Aiden. I just don't know what love feels like. I know that before you barged your asshole self into my life I was ready to go after three or four dates. A couple good nights and I was done. You're not the only one that can make me cum, but you are the only one who I wanted to see not just because of the sex. You think I'd let any other guy I've been with see me like this? There's more to this... us... than just the sex. That's unavoidable. Until now, because as soon as the snow lets up, I'm sure I can kiss seeing you goodbye." She shifted, pulling the blankets off of her body and pushing them aside as she got up from the bed in an effort to head out of the room before she let herself get upset.

"Obviously whatever Olivia said has begun to seep into your brain," Aiden pointed out. "Even if you claim not to know what love feels like, you've obviously had it on your mind. And I didn't barge into your life, sweetheart... I walked you home. That's not barging... that's enterin' quietly, with a gentlemanly purpose." He sighed and took a step in front of her before she could get very far from her bed. "Lay back down... you're not goin' anywhere. Why is it you always want to storm out when this starts to happen?"

"I'm not storming anywhere." she sighed. "Maybe I have to pee. Girls have to pee occasionally. It happens. You drink stuff and then you just have to go. There's nothing... I don't know..." she sighed. "It's easier for me to walk away than having to see you walk away..." She brushed her fingers through her hair and sat down on the bed again, looking at the floor, then back up at him. "And maybe that was a gentlemanly purpose. But whatever it was... you're here now and it's just... confusing the hell out of me and I know you don't want confusion, you don't want to be tied down, you don't want me like that and that's fine. It's really fine. But I can't change the fact that I do want you."

"Do you really have to go to the bathroom in the middle of this conversation?" Aiden asked, showing signs now of being exasperated. "I'm not walkin' away, all right? I'm standin' right here, tryin' to talk to you--" Which was shocking itself to him. "--and you're the one tryin' to get away. Jules..." He walked over to stand in front of her, slipping his hand underneath her chin to keep her gaze on his. "I don't want to be tied down... but that doesn't mean I don't want you. We've already pretty much said we weren't fuckin' anyone else, didn't we? And I'm here now, aren't I? Maybe there's not gonna be weddin' bells in our future, but this is good for now, isn't it? What more do you want from me?"

"If we're already practically together, then why aren't we together?" she questioned, wanting so badly to pull away, but at the same time not wanting to at all. "I like you, you like me. We want each other. We don't want to get married. Why can't it be official?" she questioned. "I'm a girl. I want that stupid little title. I want some something that says you're mine and I'm yours and..." she sighed and shrugged. "This is good... but I think it could be better..."

"So... is that what this is? You just want a title or somethin'?" Aiden squatted down until they were eye level. "Tell me what you want, okay? And I'll do my best to give it to you." He didn't mind the 'title' if that's what she was after. As long as she knew that this probably wouldn't be a long term thing. And as long as she could accept that.

She bit her bottom lip and shrugged. "I guess. Yeah. Maybe. Hell, I don't know." she sighed, reaching up to brush her hair behind her ear. "I want you. I know that. I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to be with someone but I keep thinking that I want to be with you." Jules wasn't really sure how to explain it, she doubted she could, even if she did keep trying to. "But I thought you didn't do relationships..."

"I don't. Maybe if we just avoided that word," Aiden said with a wry smile. "Tacking a title onto this doesn't change what it is. As long as we both know what it is... then I think we'll be fine. I just... you shouldn't expect much from me, Jules. If you do, you're gonna be disappointed."

"I'd rather be disappointed and get you for a little while then not get you at all." Jules told him, looking down at her hands. "So what is this to you?" she questioned. "What am I to you?"

"You're..." This was starting to tread into dangerous territory. Aiden wasn't one for discussing his feelings for anything. Or anyone. "You're beautiful, and intelligent and funny. And you're fuckin' hot in bed, Jules. That's what you are to me. I don't... I'm not good at this kind of conversation, yeah?"

She flushed a little with each compliment he gave her and once he'd finished, she swallowed and forced herself to look up at him. "You're gorgeous, and smart and funny in a jack ass kind of way. You know how you are in bed, I doubt I have to tell you. Aiden, this isn't easy for me either. I don't do relationships. I fuck. I leave. The end. No conversation. Maybe a dinner beforehand. If it's really spectacular, maybe an encore the next night, but with you... it's different. I actually care about what you say. I actually care about your feelings. I worry about you when you're not around. Do you get that? When you go off to do your thing, I worry. I'm going to worry. And you keep telling me you're going to disappoint me and well.. I'm waiting. You haven't disappointed me yet. You're setting yourself up for failure. Making yourself into this ass and maybe you are, because god you can be such a dick, but I don't care. It doesn't change how I feel about you."

She let out a breath and reached forward to take his hands, linking her fingers through his. "It's not going to be easy, but the more you say it won't work, the more I'm going to try to make it work."

He didn't really want her to try and make anything work. He just wanted her to be content with how things were then, and not trying to change anything. It was when they started to try and change him, that he took off. Hopefully she would just... stay who she was now. And then him stay who he was. Everything would be fine as long as she didn't stray from that. "You can try and make it work... but I think you're settin' yourself up for failure too." Aiden sighed and looked down at their linked hands. "Why don't we stop talkin' about this and just let things happen as they may. It'll be easier to deal with it that way."

"I don't think I have to try and make it work..." she admitted. "Somehow it just does. I'm crazy and confusing and I know I'm a pain in the ass, but there's gotta be something about me that keeps you coming back because most guys would be long gone. And for someone who doesn't want to be tied down... doesn't want a relationship... Aiden, you're my boyfriend in every aspect but the title. We see each other a lot, we're not having sex with anyone else, we care about each other, obviously or neither one of us would be here to have this conversation... so why are we so afraid to just call it like it is? If we break up, we break up, but we can't say we didn't try."

"Well... at least you know you're a pain in the arse," Aiden said after a moment. He bristled internally at the 'boyfriend' label, but he didn't say anything about it. He didn't think he was boyfriend material. And what happened when he left town for good? It wasn't like he was settling down permanently. He just wanted to view this whole thing as simply as possible. They had fun together, and they weren't screwing anyone else. Simple as that. "That's fine," he told her. "I mean.. yeah, that's fine. Just..." Aiden sighed and straightened before sliding a hand through her hair. "Lay back down, okay? You need to rest for a bit. I'll stay up here with you."

"Damn it, Aiden, why do you have to be so damn stubborn it's just a word and it-... wait... what?" she questioned, having already been ready and waiting with her protests before she realized he'd agreed. "Fine?" she questioned, slowly shifting herself back onto the bed and pulling her blankets around her body. "It's fine?"

"Look, certain words make me.. twitchy. I don't like usin' 'em. If you want to? Then go ahead, but... try not to use 'em around me." Aiden sat down on the mattress once she was settled back in bed with the blankets up. "And yes, it's fine. As long as you can handle whatever comes down the road, okay? I'm not goin' to be the bastard later, when I have to leave, or somethin' happens. You know the score, so that's that."

She wanted to respond immediately, but a yank of a tissue from the box on the side table and a sneeze hindered that ability for a moment. Wiping her nose again and tossing the crumpled napkin into the waste bin by her bed, she nodded. "Okay." she said with another little nod. "But I want conditions. If I use that word around Dorian and he uses it back to you, you can't get pissed. Or anyone for that matter that I might know that you do. Olivia, whoever. And two... if you have to leave... tell me. We'll decide what to do about that when the time comes but right now... I just... really want you to come hold me..."

"Conditions... see, now this is where all the crap starts comin'," Aiden said, only half joking. "You don't need to use that word around Dorian, unless you do it just so he'll give me shite about it. And that wouldn't be very nice." He pushed off his shoes and slipped up onto the bed beside her. "And I'll let you know when I have to leave. I wouldn't take off without sayin' goodbye. So... yeah."

"I meant if I let it slip. Like if you called and he asked who it was and I said 'my boyfriend' instead of 'Aiden'. I wouldn't do it on purpose but I don't want you to like bite my head off for saying it or something." she told him as she slid her arm over his middle and rested her head against his chest. "And you better not leave me without saying goodbye." she added. "I doubt you could stay away for long. You'd miss me too much..." she teased.

"Sounds to me like you'd do it on purpose," Aiden said with a small sigh. Dorian would no doubt give him crap about hearing Jules call him her 'boyfriend'. Ugh, there was that word again. It just made him shiver, and not in a good way. "And you're right. I'd come back and visit you now and then. And you could come visit me... if you could find me."

"I won't do it on purpose. I just wish it didn't come out like you were ashamed of me." she told him. "It's like you're afraid for anyone to hear me call you that. What's the point of using the word if it bothers you so much?" she questioned. Jules let out a breath and slowly trailed her fingers in tiny little circles on the front of his shirt. "I won't use it." she told him. "If it makes you feel better."

Aiden rolled his eyes, thankful that she couldn't see it. "Christ, Jules, it's not about being ashamed of you. Don't go down that path, okay? I just don't... I've never been a 'boyfriend' and it makes me feel strange, okay? It has nothin' to do with you." He should have gotten her some drowsy cold medicine, he was finding.

"Oh." she said lamely. "Well... I guess that makes sense..." she said with a tiny little shrug. "I think I understand that a little better... I can't believe you've never been anyone's boyfriend before."

"Never been the type to do it," Aiden explained, resting his head back against her headboard. "I got in trouble too much in high school to have a steady girl... and college... well, there was too many hot girls in college to stick to just one." He missed those days... fucking around, blowing off class with Dorian... his mom still being alive and cooking for him on the weekends. Yeah.

"And what about now?" she questioned. "Still too many hot girls to stick to just one?" she teased. "Seem to be doing a pretty good job of it at the moment. Or maybe you're more of a bastard than I think and you've got like five or six girls on the side, way hotter and with way bigger boobs." she joked.

"I don't know... there aren't too many choices in such a small town," Aiden joked. "That doesn't mean I don't spread 'em around from state to state." He had some women he visited here and there, if a job took him near them. But he hadn't thought about them in quite a few months.

"Oh, I see how it is. So next time you have a job you'll go out of town and bang some random bimbo there?" she teased. "The whole man rule 'if it's not in the same zipcode it's not cheating'."

Aiden cocked an eyebrow curiously. "Is that a man rule? I've never heard of it. And seeing as how I've never been in a committed relationship, it doesn't apply to me anyway." He rubbed her shoulder with his hand. "And you're suppose to be tryin' to sleep, right? To get healthy again and all of that."

"You're just trying to get me to shut up." she teased, letting her eyes close despite her annoyance. "Too bad you don't know how to be committed. Guess that means I can take part of that rule too. Maybe I'll head over to the next town and find me a man." she joked.

"You can try, but I don't think you're goin' anywhere right now." And Aiden knew how to be committed, he just chose not to be. But he wasn't about to say that aloud. "And I'm not tryin' to get you to shut up... but you're sick, and you need rest. And if you keep teasin' about me bein' with other women, eventually you're gonna get annoyed at the conversation, then you won't be sleepin' at all."

"Well, then you should just tell me that you're not going to be with anyone else unless you end whatever this is with me first." she told him. "Then we'll both understand each other. I won't sleep with anyone else unless I tell you this... thing is over. How's that? No titles. No commitment really. You get tired of me, you tell me, we end it."

Wasn't that what they had before and she hadn't been happy with it? Aiden was getting confused again, and he tried his best not to sigh. "I thought we already talked about this," Aiden said calmly. "You wanted the title, which is what this conversation's been about. Now you're doin' an about face and confusin' me in the process."

"I do want the title." she sighed, confused herself. "I just... don't want to force you into it." she told him. "What's the point of having the title when you don't want one. I'm not trying to change you and force you into a relationship that you don't want to be in. I'm confused to. I don't know what I want. I want you. I don't want to freak you out or scare you off your piss you off but seems like no matter what I say I do one of the three, or feel like I do one of the three. The title doesn't matter if you're not going to use it or accept it, right? So why am I bothering with it? Just because I say I'm your girlfriend, doesn't mean you believe it."

Rather than get frustrated, like he wanted to, Aiden inhaled deeply and released a slow breath before he spoke again, keeping that calm tone and trying his hardest not to sound exasperated with her. "You need to make up your mind here, Jules. You can't keep jumpin' back and forth. I've already told you I wasn't goin' to fuck anyone else, and if you want to tell people we're together, I'm not goin' to dispute it. I don't know what else you want... I've accepted what you wanted, and I told you it was fine. You're either happy with it, or you're not."

She bit her bottom lip and didn't say anything as she shifted away from him and leaned back against her pillows. "I'm not trying to jump back and forth. I just feel like if I say one thing you're gonna say 'it's fine' and it not be fine..." she muttered. "I want to be with you. That's what I want. And you say it's fine, so I'm going to trust that it's fine. I'm happy with it. I'm glad you don't want to fuck anyone else. Really glad because just thinking about you with someone else gets my feathers all ruffled." she admitted. She shifted her body again and moved to straddle him, fingers brushing across his chest. "I know I'm a basket case. And I'm sorry. I'm must be really great in the sack if you keep coming back." she said with a flicker of a teasing smile. "So that's it. No more conversation on the topic, right? You know what I want. It's fine and dandy and we're both happy with the arrangement right?"

"If it wasn't gonna be fine, I wouldn't have said it would be fine," Aiden pointed out. He watched her straddle him, his hands coming to rest at her hips. "And yeah, you're a basket case, but somehow I'm puttin' up with it. But I think no more conversation on the topic is probably wise... we both know how things are, okay? That's all that matters right now. I'm happy with this, and so are you." He thought, anyway. She probably wanted a hell of a lot more than she was willing to admit, but he was glad she was keeping quiet on it. He didn't want this ruined just yet.

She gave him a little smile and a nod. Then she leaned forward and pressed light little kisses along his neck and upwards to his ear. "You know... you're kinda sexy when you're all exasperated." she whispered.

"Thanks." Aiden chuckled and reached up to cup her face. Instead of kissing her, he pulled her back from him, a stern look on his face before he grinned. "I know you're not tryin' to seduce me while you're sneezin' and snottin' up a storm, are you?"

"You can't catch a cold if you don't kiss me." she pointed out with a little smirk. "There are plenty of things that can be done that don't involve my mouth." Which was true, but she was fairly certain that he'd just roll his eyes at her.

"Jules." And he did roll his eyes before gripping her hips and hefting her off of him back onto the bed beside him. The woman was absolutely mad. "You need fluids, and rest... not sex. I can just picture you startin' to hack up a lung at some point, and that'd just ruin the mood, yeah? So c'mon and just try to sleep for a bit, okay?"

It was Jules's turn to roll her eyes. "I was just kidding. I don't think that sneezing looks very attractive in the middle of everything." she smiled. "But when I'm better, you better be making up for all the sex I'm not getting." She shifted enough to lean over him and take some of the medicine along with some of the tea he'd made of her, setting the cup back down again and moving to lay beside him, resting her head on his chest. "Sleep sounds... really good." she admitted.

"I think you're gonna have to make it up to me since you're the one who's sick," Aiden said. If it had been any other day, he would have let her fall asleep and gotten up to leave. But with the weather outside, he had a feeling he was going to be stuck there for awhile, so he got comfortable, content with falling asleep with her. She'd woken him up early to get her medicine, after all, so he deserved a nap.

She smiled a little at that. "Okay." she told him. "When I'm better, I'll do anything sexual you want that doesn't involve animals in any way shape or form or bleeding. Or too much pain. Everything else is open. You better come up with something good." she teased.

He laughed and nodded, his fingers sliding through her hair. No other woman had ever said that to him before. Damn. His imagination was already running wild. "Okay, that sounds fair... no animals, pain or bleeding. Gotcha. I'm sure we'll come up with something to keep ourselves entertained, sweetheart."

"I'm even open for public indecency if it wasn't so damn cold.." she whispered, those fingers running through her hair making it hard for her to stay awake. She was already drifting towards slumber. The rhythm of his heartbeat thudding against her ear and the feel of fingers trailing through her hair? Yeah, that was definitely a recipe for nap time.

"All you gotta do is park the car and steam up the windows," Aiden said. "Believe me, anythin' is possible, in any season. You just gotta know what you're doin'." He closed his own eyes, determined to relax until the plows went through to clear the roads. Who knew when that would be.

"Mmm... so true." she smiled. "But you're not going to let me have sex with you in your car. Your far too in love with it." she told him. "She'd be jealous."

Aiden grinned, not wanting to open his eyes and look at her. "She can live with it." He'd had sex in his car before... several times in fact. But that wasn't something he was going to admit. He was starting to learn what he could, and couldn't, say in front of Jules. "She's my property anyway, so she's got to accept my terms... including tolerating sex."

"Guess I gotta make sure I'm flexible enough to fuck in a car then." she smiled. "Don't think we'll have... any problems." Jules yawned lightly and snuggled up closer to him. It wouldn't be long before she fell asleep, she was sure. And it wasn't. A few minutes later and she was practically dead to the world.