It took Avicia a breath to realize what Kahdreg had said. Once it registered, her attention snapped to him, her eyes wide and confused. Heat flared across her cheeks, scandalized. Part of her wondered if he was mercilessly teasing her, after their vague flirtations ealrier. But, he seemed prepared for such a reaction. Raising his hands in a placating manner, he winced, "I know, we were planning to keep it on the down low for now, but Kalli is a good friend."

Avicia thought he had crossed some wires, somewhere in his brain. Perhaps he had read too much into something she said or did. Once she caught sight of his eyes, however, she knew otherwise. In that yellow gaze, there was a silent plea. It reminded her of the look she'd seen in many a person's face, while they were harassed by some interested party. Avicia had pretended to be an old school chum on too many occasions to count.

"Kahd, I didn't realize your tastes leaned toward humans." The siren's voice came out too sweet and too high-pitched. There was some prodding undertone, as if she were poking at a dead body. "They're sooo delicate, aren't they?"

The longer Kallinaera drew out the word 'so,' the more Avicia could feel a bristle of annoyance creep over her shoulders. Kahdreg's hand, gently squeezing her shoulder in warning, kept her customer service smile perfectly in place. Miss Virlee was an investor, after all.

"You'd be surprised how much I can handle," laughed Avicia, raising a hand to her lips, as if to shyly hide her smile. She couldn't mask the challenging glint in her eye. If she mentioned exactly how much she could handle, it would fringe into sexual harassment territory.

That reply drew Kallinaera's attention. The siren's head turn was sharp enough to snap vertebrae and the steely look in her eyes reminded Avicia of daggers. Regardless of all the innate body language, she still smiled easily, if coldly. "So, how'd you two meet?"

"Through work," answered Avicia immediately, tone casual and returning Kallinaera's smile. It wasn't a lie, at least. Though, she could feel Kahdreg watching her with a combination of relief and surprise.

"They allow that?" The siren's eyebrows raised, glancing toward Kahdreg as if Avicia wasn't trusted to confirm such a matter.

"I was just as surprised as you are!" Her words, speckled with giggles, came out a little too loud, as if to make it harder for Kallinaera to ignore her. A couple passing even glanced over, wondering why such a loud tone was necessary. The ploy worked, as the siren turned her eyes back to Avicia, though the look had hues of irritation. "I checked the handbook, trying to convince myself to shelf this crush. But the studio really doesn't mind workplace relationships."

Dark blue eyebrows jumped up in genuine surprise. "You pursued them?"

"It wasn't easy," sighed Avicia, scrunching her nose. She could feel Kahdreg's gaze burning down her back. As if absently, she raised a hand to her shoulder, overlaying her palm atop his. If you wanted to lie successfully, you stayed as close to the truth as possible. "I don't know if you've seen him work, but he's so focused. It's kind of scary."

Something seemed to briefly soften in the siren. She gave a nod, with a slight roll of her eyes. Apparently, she had been privy to seeing the orc work and knew just how intense he became. A curious part of Avicia's mind noted that, filing the inference away for later.

"So, how did you two get to here?" Kallinaera made a motion with her hand, silently indicating the two of them. There was a strained look on her face, as if she was fighting off a cringe.

"After work one day, the crew all went out for drinks." Now, Avicia was bridging into outright lies. The crew did go out to bars after a workday, on occasion. She never went with. Between her cam career, after-hour PA assignments for Mr. Vidaroc, and her father, getting a drink just seemed too frivolous. She didn't even know if Kahdreg ever went out with the crew, either. But, she wasn't deterred and the lie came out smoothly, as if it were truth. "I got a bit too tipsy and blabbed to one of the gaffers about my crush, not realizing Mr. Director was right next to them. Obviously, he heard."

Kahdreg loudly snorted. Was he having a hard time hiding his grin, as well? She could hear the grin on his lips as he added onto her story. "I think the whole bar heard."

"They did not," gasped Avicia, half-turning to swat at the orc behind her. A flush crawled over her cheeks. Whether it was from the heat of the room or her body reacting to the act, she wasn't certain. Or maybe it was the fond look her boss was giving her, which made her insides turn to mush. Just a little. Faintly, she wondered how good of an actor he was.

With eyes flickering to Kahdreg, Kallinaera's interest piqued. "What did you do?"

"Well..." Kahdreg's shoulders hunched a bit. Perhaps from guilt of lying, but it was easily brushed away as bashfulness. "We had the weekend to stew over our mutual embarrassment."

Avicia pretended to hide her mouth behind her hand, as if keeping Kahdreg from seeing what she said, as she stage-whispered, "Quietest weekend as his PA ever."

"Anyway," Kahdreg sighed, redirecting the conversation after a distraction. Avicia could hear his eyes rolling, which made her grin grow. "We danced around each other for a few more days. Then Elyon locked us in a supply closet until we talked it out."

Actively trying to choke down laughter, Avicia pressed her face to her hands and turned to bury herself in Kahdreg's chest. Heat flickered at her core and up her spine, delighted at the game and at how easily they played off each other. "Gods, so embarrassing!"

Silence fell as Kallinaera mulled over the story fed to her. Kahdreg's hands had drifted to Avicia's upper back, his fingers playing across the back of her shoulders in absent strokes. Though there was a strand of tension in her body, she couldn't deny he felt nice and warm, enveloping her. She could easily see herself cuddling up to him after a long day.

"Well, nothing ever is easy with you, is it, Kahd?" Kallinaera sighed and chuckled. Avicia got the impression she was speaking from her own, frustrated, experience. Pieces of a previously unknown puzzle were beginning to take shape.

Through his chest, Avicia could feel his reply, "I suppose not."

"Though, it is interesting that she calls you by he/him." Something in Kallinaera's tone made Avicia tense. It was as if the siren was drawing back like a viper to strike at the vulnerable newborn that was this relationship. "Don't your closer relations go by neutral pronouns?"

Avicia blinked, before realizing the implication. Miss Virlee had used neutral pronouns the whole time, when referencing her boss. Kahdreg stiffened, inhaling sharply but quietly, his - their? - chest expanding, straining the fabric of his jacket. Avicia thought she could hear the buttons creak as the thread held firm.

"Oh." The word came out soft and hurt. Avicia tilted her face to look up at him, eyebrows tilted upward with concern. "You never mentioned anything."

He seemed unable to meet her gaze, his cheeks darkening. After clearing his throat, he mumbled, "We did just start dating."

"True." Her eyes stayed glued to Kahdreg's face, a new unknown facet added to her boss. Her words came out softly, almost lost in the swirl of conversation and party around them, "But I would've liked to know."

Though the rest of the charity event was bright and airy, with haughty laughter and bright lights shimmering in the background, the atmosphere around Kahdreg and Avicia darkened and cooled. Tension wrapped around them, thick and heavy like a coating of molasses. Though, perhaps not for the reasons Kallinaera intended.

Apparently satisfied with the reaction, Miss Virlee's voice buoyed through the heaviness. "Well, I need to go back to running things. If I wasn't on top of it, nothing would get done! Toodles, Kahd!"

He mumbled some departing mutual sentiments as Avicia half-turned. She managed to catch the siren's shit-eating grin, awakening a flare of annoyance in Avicia. The woman had planned to leave Kahdreg and Avicia stewing in uncertainty and hurt feelings. If they had actually been dating, her outing Kahdreg could have put a budding relationship on the path to ruin. Just as before, Kallinaera cut a line through the crowd, people around her shifting out of her way. Avicia glared after her.

"Avicia?" Kahdreg's voice broke through her agitation with hesitancy.

Turning back to him, she tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. "Yes?"

He cleared his throat, before awkwardly asking, "Are you going to step away?"

Avicia fell quiet for a moment, eyes falling to the expanse of fabric right in front of her eyes. Under her lashes, she threw a stern look up at him. This whole ordeal was something they would have to discuss later. When they weren't in the thick of high society.

"We'll talk about this later, Kahd," she muttered under her breath. Once she stepped away, Kahdreg fidgeted with the sleeves of his jacket. Though, he would surreptitiously toss a look in her direction. She could feel the uncertainty coming off him in waves, even if his expression was placid and somewhat bored.

Avicia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was already tired of being at the event, being around all these people. She certainly was tired of being around her boss and how he made her hormones fluctuate. Above it all, though, she realized "only for tonight" may be lasting longer than she originally assumed.

Throughout the night, the hefty heat between them never left. Now, it felt like nettles prickling at her skin, though.

---

After a long, and agonizingly silent, cab ride back to Kahdreg's apartment, Avicia found herself standing in his living room. As soon as she had entered, she'd kicked off her shoes and removed her gloves, turning to face him with her hands on her hips. Once he turned around, after locking the door, he wilted under her gaze. His apprehension didn't stop him from shrugging his jacket off, placing it on the coat rack, before shuffling into the living room.

Tapping her foot on the floor, Avicia issued her boss an order: "Alright, let's hear it."