When it's cold outside...

Who: Buttah and Socko
Where: Their place
When: Evening

Relatively speaking, it was a quiet night. The music was down to a low buzz even inside the walls, an unspoken concession Socko had made for Bu's sake. He'd been finding that, by and large, living with another person hadn't been too much of a shift at all. Sure, she spent more time getting ready that Socko would spend in three days, but he knew that looking that good couldn't all be natural. Shit, mos' of it still is, he thought from where he sat in the living room, glancing over at Bu as Socko went through the motions of preparing his hunting tools.

"No, mama, I don't know," Buttahfly was saying into the phone pressed to her ear. She passed a hand over her forehead as she paced a couple of times through Socko's small kitchen. What she'd seen the night before had her worried. Besides the fact that it was indescribably fucked up, it had happened here, of all places. So she was falling back to her source of information: her family. "I only caught th' ass end of it, I dunno. I didn' get a good enough look." She leaned the the doorway and cast a worried look at what Socko was doing.

Turning a stake from end to end, Socko dutifully ran a finger along the point and set it with the others. Vampires had been his main area of expertise, but he'd run afoul of other creatures in his hunts. And while the stake wasn't specifically weffective against most of them, stabbing one of those into someone's gut was always a good fallback. Satisfied with those, he reached to the ashtray for a smoldering joint, puffing it lazily and snatching up pieces of his pistol. Socko's head turned as he caught the lull n Bu's end of the phone, and he shot a scandalous wink at her meant more to lift some of the strain from her face.

It worked, a little. She wrinkled her nose up at him. It was probably arrogant of her to worry about him like that. She'd never seen him work, after all, maybe he was just as good as she was. Maybe better. Still ... she was getting fond of the goofball, it was her natural reaction to want to lock him in the bedroom and board up all the doors and windows. Ridiculous, but natural. "Well, call if y'find anythin', okay? Sure it'll hit the news out there soon, keep an eye out. Yeah. I will. Love you too." She let out a soft sigh, flicked her cell shut, and went to flop next to him on the couch. She leaned over and put her head in his lap, having found it amazingly comfortable in the past.

Socko more than gladly set the pieces of his weapon down, turning to accomodate Bu and lean back into the couch. He grinned a touch, smoothing hair back from her forehead and rubbing his fingertips lightly on her temples. "What's crackin', doll? You look like you're all chompin' at the bit," he murmured with muted concern evident in his voice. Socko had been playing something of a delicate game, reining himself in to keep from rushing what still felt, for all intents and purposes, very casual with them. He loved the closeness, loved being in near her like this, and figured it was more than mutual at this point.

"You got a boy back home or somethin'? All 'love you'," Socko teased, tracing fingertips down her cheek and lightly smoothing at a worry line in passing.

"My mama would smack you for that," she said, letting her eyes fall closed. One wouldn't think it to look at him, but Bu had found that Socko was undeniably cuddly. She just lay still for a moment and let his touch sink in. "Jus' worried is all," she told him softly. She'd told him about what she'd seen when she got home the previous night; the girl being taken down from the cross, the other girl who seemed to heal her. Bu hadn't found anything on her search of the area, and it was kind of frustrating. She would try not to dwell on it, though, she decided as she let out a sigh against his wrist. Because they were home tonight, and she honestly planned to stay there a while. "They're keepin' an ear out for me. Us. My brood back home."

"S'good to have, yeah?" Socko agreed, smiling down at her. "People lookin' out, digging for facts? My mama'd reach through the phone line and slap my face sideways if I tried talkin' to her 'bout this. My dad'd be all 'boy I thought we'd been through this PCP thing already'," he rambled, making his voice stern for a moment before it dissolved to hazy chuckles. He was worried as well, based just on hearing what she'd seen, but Socko was rarely one to labor in despair. "So what, we stayin' in 'til they call back? I shoulda rented some movies or somethin'"

Bu couldn't help but smile, though she kept her eyes closed. His parents -- the few times he mentioned them -- sounded comfortingly like her own. Down to earth and lovingly strict. "Dunno if they'll find mucha anythin'," she murmured in response. She opened one eye to look at him. "We don't have to, but ... just tonight? Jus' in case?" She didn't want to risk running into ... whatever had done that to the poor girl the night after it'd had a taste. She felt so terribly unprepared.

Socko's answering smile was soft at the corners, easy in it's curl as he nodded to her "Ain't nothin' out there half as interestin' anyway, doll," he purred smoothly, sneaking one more puff off the smoldering joint that sat nearby and slipping his other hand to her neck to rub softly. He hadnt been there, hadn't seen what she had, but Socko would have to be braindead to see just how real her worry was. Don' be no fool, trust her...

Buttah's eyes closed and she let out a little sigh. He was good at that. Very good. "You jus' fulla flattery, ain't you?" she drawled, sounding faintly amused. It was a relief to know that he wasn't going anywhere tonight. Which probably should've bothered her more than it did, when she thought about it more. Here was the rub of having a partner. A partner you were involved in.
McJacktySteve (10:53:35 PM): ((edit: involved with.))
LaCosaNostroid (11:04:08 PM): "Is it flattery if it's true?" he murmured in response, chuckling softly. Socko had yet to dwell on the implications of what working together would mean, but now? Knowing that she'd stumbled onto something dangerous, that they'd have to hunt? There were some real nerves there, to be sure. I got this... gift for a reason, Socko thought at her, glad her eyes were closed so she couldn't see the mix of affection and dread in his own. Nothin's gon' hurt you, babydoll.

She made a soft little amused sound. Bu wasn't stupid, nor was she blind, she knew that the guy she was currently laying on was very much into her. Otherwise she wouldn't be living with him. And the feeling was more than mutual ... she just wasn't really used to guys being sweet at her. "S'pose not," she said, smirking, but still keeping her eyes closed. " ... so you can keep doin' it." Okay, now she was full-on grinning.

Socko laughed quietly, ceasing the neckrub to smooth his hand over her hair. "Put me on the spot now," he teased in a low voice, "All I got's the urge to start singin' 'My Girl', an' imma spare you that noise." He drank in the wide, earnest smile that had crept in to replace her anxiety, relishing it while it was there. "I knew I liked that," he added vaguely, resisting the urge to trace her grin with a fingertip for the moment.

"Knew you liked 'My Girl'?" she posed, arching an eyebrow. She opened up one eye to look at him, smirking. She knew that wasn't what he meant, but she couldn't help herself. Bu caught the look in his eyes and the smirk eased a little bit. Her other eye opened and she just gazed up at him while he toyed with her hair. It was quiet moments like these that she wasn't sure she'd ever have with anyone. They were surprisingly comfortable.

"Naw, sugar," he drawled back at her, "I jus' knew I liked the way you smile 'round me." He'd smooth-talked women before, but there wasn't an ounce of deception in him in the moment. She was a comfortable anchor for him to turn to here, something Socko was treasuring more with every day. "Hope you ain't gettin' sick of me though," he went on teasingly, "Snow's comin' sooner than you know, an' you're stuck with me once it hits."

"Baby, if I was gettin' sick of you, lil snow wouldn't stop me," she said, her lips twisting to one side in an amused expression. "But I'd be gone long 'fore then, anyways, so ... don' think y'got much to worry 'bout on that score." Bu took a moment to just smile up at him, before one hand rose and slipped up behind his neck, pulling him down to her lips. "C'mere," she murmured before laying one on him. She could think of some interesting ways to spend this quiet evening at home, and had a feeling he'd be accomodating.

A thrill coursed down Socko's spine at her tiny display of possessiveness, ad he went more than readily at her insistence. The slow warmth creeping up from her lips into his seemed steady enough to hold back the entire encroaching season, and though he didn't say as much; Socko was in total agreement with her thoughts. Some nights, staying in was the best possible option. And on those nights, only a fool would try to resist the soft lure of a woman like this. Momma din' raise no fool, he thought with a grin, curling up with Bu.