"I... I was-" She stopped herself, pressing her lips together. The delighted glint in Kahdreg's eyes made it hard for her to piece together words. The blush wasn't helping her case either, especially as Kahdreg's grin grew wider and wider. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Avicia finally answered, "I was concerned."

"And why were you concerned?" He prompted, taking a step forward and leaning closer again. His arms had found their way around her, tugging her into an embrace against him.

"You know why!" She pushed against his chest, to find some distance from the warmth surrounding her. He held firm, though. Not that Avicia was entirely trying her hardest to struggle out of his affection.

Her squirms stilled as Kahdreg's face dipped down, until his lips were tauntingly close to hers. His low voice sent vibrations down her spine as he murmured, "Spell it out for me, Avicia."

"Because..." Her fingers curled against his chest, her palms not vacating the spot since he leaned closer. In her chest, her heart hammered wildly. The heat flaring through her almost as unbearable as Kahdreg's nearly constant grin. Her eyes flickered from his gaze to his lips and desire kindled in her core.

It wouldn't take much to just lean in. To wipe that smirk from his lips with a kiss. See if Kahdreg's mouth had some other talents than irking or embarrassing her.

Before Avicia could piece together a whole excuse suitable for the workplace - or just give into the temptation to close the distance between them - Kahdreg's pointed ears visibly twitched. Still holding her close to him, his head whipped to the side, glaring off into the direction of the set.

Following his gaze, Avicia's chest locked up as she spotted one of the many crewmembers - a satyr that held position of junior set dresser - standing in the small opening between set old or yet-to-be-used set pieces. In one hand, they grasped a clipboard. But, in the other, their cellphone was raised. Obviously taking a photo or a video.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Avicia shoved out of Kahdreg's grip, stalking toward the crew member. The previously embarrassed heat in her cheeks turned to red anger. With Avicia's complete attention focused on the interloper, she missed Kahdreg's own shock as he watched her.

The satyr's head shot up, eyes wide and shocked. They obviously didn't expect Avicia to be the one enraged and charging at them. Almost immediately, they began stuttering, "I-I just, I thought-"

When she closed the distance, Avicia's hand shot out, palm up, while she kept a steady glare on the crewmember's face."Give me your phone."

"What?" They visibly blanched, grasping their phone tightly to their chest. "No! That's my personal-"

"You lost that right when you took a picture of me without my permission!" The amount of vitriol in Avicia's tone forced the crewmember to stumble back in shock.

"I thought he was harassing you," they squawked, still holding the phone tightly to their chest.

"He wasn't," Avicia snapped, taking a step closer to them. The crewmember stumbled further back the closer she got. "Delete the godsdamn picture, or so help me, I will pry-"

The crewmember's eyes widened at her language, though their attention snapped to her side as the orc director stepped up. As Kahdreg took up a position beside Avicia, the interloper shirked further back. Their attention swung from the scowling orc to the seething human, with her demanding hand still extended.

With his arms crossed over his chest, expression dark with displeasure, Kahdreg firmly growled, "Delete the picture, Kyle."

With shoulders hunched, the satyr crewmember mumbled something under their breath and - within full view of the couple - deleted the incriminating photos.

A talk about propriety and respecting people's privacy - and an update about a set change completions - later, the crewmember skulked back to set with their tail sagging. Kahdreg and Avicia watched them the whole way, until the rest of the bustling crew swallowed them up.

After the satyr had gotten far enough away, Kahdreg leaned toward Avicia and laughed, "I think you just replaced me as the most intimidating on set, Miss Thorn."

Avicia scoffed and whipped an angry glare in Kahdreg's direction. Her arm whipped up, indicating where the satyr had disappeared into a throng of crew. "You're not upset by that behavior?"

"I knew they were there the whole time." Kahdreg gave a single-shouldered shrug as he straightened back to his full height. Though he hadn't consciously been keeping tabs on the satyr. Part of him knew they were there. A larger part of Kahdreg's attention had been on Avicia, however.

Narrowing her eyes, Avicia uttered one word. "What."

"The crew has been gossiping since that tabloid ran an article about us at the charity ball. It's been hindering production a bit, so I thought some hard proof would-" Kahdreg's words trailed off as he caught Avicia's fiery expression. He blinked and quietly mumbled, "I thought you knew."

Avicia didn't pay Kahdreg any attention as she whipped out her own phone. Her thumbs tapped against the screen, punctuating the slew of emotions churning inside her. It didn't take long to find the article, now reposted and shared on multiple sites and discussion forums. There were various photos of them: arriving, talking to Kallinaera, and when Avicia had her face pressed against Kahdreg's chest.

There were also 20+ notifications awaiting her on FacetBook, which she mainly kept up-to-date for close friends and family. Avicia barely swallowed the groan of mortification.

How was she going to keep this up with her friends and family involved, now? Why hadn't she thought of the possibility of their fake relationship being blown highly visible earlier? Would any of her Bellamy Bluebell patrons recognize her? Gods, what if her dad had seen?! Or if Aunt Bigmouth went to him to badger answers from him?

Watching as the expressions warred beneath her features, guilt swelled up in Kahdreg. It wasn't something they had discussed when agreeing to the ploy, so no wonder it took her by surprise. Even if she realized they'd be photographed, she obviously didn't understand or prepare for the ripple effects in her private life.

Without thinking, only seeking to comfort her, Kahdreg pressed his hand to the small of her back. The weight and warmth of his hand on her startled Avicia from her swarming, incomprehensible thoughts. She tilted her head up, shooting him a look, as he gave a sympathetic sigh. "I should've prepared you for this, I suppose. Sorry."

She frowned, brows furrowing. Clashing thoughts rounded around her head. It wasn't actually Kahdreg's fault and, if he had wanted to say something earlier, it wasn't as if he could. She had been avoiding him. But she was frustrated and angry and annoyed. And the fact he'd grabbed her and held her and leaned in close enough to kiss... well, to know it was all a ploy for the crewmember added to the roil of emotions.

Before she could retort, Kahdreg managed to say something that completely upended her rage. "That reminds me, though. My family saw the article too, so we're visiting them this weekend."

Before Avicia could even utter a full word, the director bounded back toward the set. Already, she could hear his booming voice issuing orders, his heavy footfalls gallumping around around set. She stormed after him, hands balled into fists and a stormy expression pinching her face. There was no censoring herself as her decibel raised loud enough to cut through the chaos of the suddenly churning set, "You can't just say that and run off, Kahdreg!"

Despite the distance, Avicia could see his ears twitch and a grin spread over his lips. Regardless, he didn't deign her with a look. Frustration seared hotter inside her chest. With coworkers' eyes on her - stunned at her uncharacteristic outburst - and the blush growing from ear to ear, Avicia shot a look at all nearby crewmembers. "I wasn't aware staring at me was on your list of duties!"

Turning on her heel as the crew scattered, Avicia stalked to her quasi-designated spot by the director's chair, determined to take her mind off everything by focusing on work.

What good it would do her, she realized, as she opened Kahdreg's e-mails to a flurry of inquiries about the tabloid. With a deep breath and a sigh, Avicia tried to ignore her embarrassment and got to work.

Anything to keep her mind from dwelling on meeting Kahdreg's family.

Or how the possibility made her feel.

---

The rest of the work week slid by quickly. Well, for Avicia's daylight job. Not enjoying the thought of neglecting her patrons for another weekend, she had performed a show every other night. The days in-between the shows barely gave her enough time to prepare. Though, not quite as long as her normal sessions, her fans seemed happy enough with the frequent shows, even knowing she'd be MIA for another weekend.

Needless to say, when Saturday rolled around and she found herself in Kahdreg's car, Avicia was thoroughly exhausted. Not that she could rest as they drove further out into the country. Every moment, they were getting closer to Kahdreg's family and, for whatever reason, the inevitable meeting made Avicia's skin prickle with anxiety.

"Don't worry," Kahdreg's deep voice fractured through Avicia's concerns. "It's not like my family is going to eat you or anything."

"Who said I was worried," Avicia huffed, her attention swinging to the orc.

They shrugged a massive shoulder, eyes still on the road before them. "You haven't complained once, since getting in the car."

"I don't always complain!"

At that, Kahdreg threw her a sidelong look, an unimpressed but amused scrunch to their lips as they said, "Around me, you do."

"Well, stop annoying me." Avicia's arms folded across her chest and she turned her face away from Kahdreg to glare out the window. Though, mostly, it was to hide the embarrassed flush on her cheeks.

In the reflection of the window, Avicia caught the twitch of a smile on Kahdreg's lips. That only made her glare harder at the passing greenery, much thicker and lush than the city provided. They were nearly two hours out of the city, in the middle of forests filled with giant trees. In fact, the winding road had so much canopy, it was like driving in a tube. Albeit, a rather holey tube, with plenty flashes of sunlight.

Faintly, Avicia wondered what Kahdreg's family would be like. Was it just their parents and siblings? Or was she meeting a whole clan? She wasn't sure what would be more daunting. A small intimate gathering or a whole, less formal, crowd. What sort of cultural etiquette should she be aware of?

Her gaze flicked back to Kahdreg's reflection, frowning as she thought of asking them for a lesson on orcish customs. She could already imagine their smug grin once the question was posed.

Nope, Avicia decided, staring back out the window. She'd rather sink than swim with Kahdreg's knowing smirk taunting her.

Instead, she stared out into the passing forest, quiet and moody. The blurring trees eventually made her eyelids flutter, fighting off falling asleep. Between the mental exhaustion of worry and the physical exhaustion of her busy cam life, sleep soon pulled Avicia under.

She missed Kahdreg glancing over at her, watching her sleeping form for a breath before turning their gaze back to the road. Despite the teasing reassurance they'd given Avicia, their fingers nervously tapped against the steering wheel as they drove. Their shoulders ached with tension as concerns flipped through their thoughts, barely seeing the familiar roads before them.

Kahdreg knew Avicia had little to fear from their family. They would welcome her with friendly smiles and, perhaps, a bit of teasing. Nothing the human woman couldn't deal with.

No, Kahdreg was more worried about themselves. Between their mother's offense at not being told of the relationship and their sisters insufferable need to antagonize them, Kahdreg didn't know what to expect from the visit. Nor how Avicia's opinion of them might change, for better or worse.

The thought made Kahdreg's fingers tighten around the steering wheel, until it squeaked beneath their grip.