To Love and Blood

The next day had started weird.

First, Kat couldn’t find her nice flats no matter how hard she looked, eventually settling for the cleanest sneakers and hoping no one would notice. Then when she arrived, the Gallery was almost empty, only one group was scheduled for a tour. What really stood out though, was that Steven was gone. Nowhere to be found.

When she had first arrived, she asked the security guard J.D. Whether Steven had the day off, J.D is horrible at his job since he thinks Steven's name is Scotty, but after confirming that Steven was supposed to be there, Kat began to worry.

Sure, Steven is a bit odd, but he was always on time and stuck to his schedule. Not showing up is unlike him. She had been surveying him for a month, and he had never been late. Maybe they aren't exactly friends, that would really make her job harder, but the concern over Steven was eating at her.

Kat tried to reason that she was just worried about losing sight of the target, that it was all professional concern, but when she had checked all of his well-known spots and was close to pulling out her hair, Kat has to admit it is more. The thought of Steven being possibly hurt and alone fills her with dread, ironic she knows, but he’s just so sweet and impossibly innocent that she wants nothing more than to protect this man.

‘Get it under control, Katalya.’ Kat mentally screams at herself, pacing the floor of her apartment late at night as the moon rises high in the sky with it indolent glow, ‘This is a man you will kill, not someone to care about. Do your job and forget about him.’

“Having regrets?”

“Jesus!” Kat screams, jumping back and whirling to face the goddess behind her, “You’ve got to stop doing that! You're going to give me a stroke one of these days.”

Bastet waves her hand in a nonchalant manner, batting Kats words away. Her ears twitch as a knowing smile reveals her sharp fangs and her claws gleam in the moonlight, her head brushing the top of the arching wooden roofs beams.

“You could give up, let the man live in peace.” The goddess suggests slyly, golden eyes twinkling in the light.

Kat huffs out a chuckle, running a frustrated hand through her hair, “No, gotta finish this last one.”

Bastet makes a noise between a hiss and a scoff as she rolls her eyes and turns away, a giant pouting toddler. Kat and the goddess had always been like this. They disagreed on things and would attempt to subtly influence the other, but always a current of underlying care flows in their harsher words.

“He's kind, is he not?” Bastet questions, reclining on Kats bed as if she owns it.

Kat schools her features carefully and gives the goddess what she hopes is an uncaring shrug, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her emails, “He's a mess is what he is.”

Even though she tries her best, Kat can't help the hint of fondness in her words as warmth leaks into her voice. Shaking her head she continues, “Look, if he's already dead, all the better for me. It means I don’t have to do anything.”

“And what if he is injured and needs help?”

Kat groans as her indecision flares up. The urge to find Steven just to make sure he's okay, and the resentment for that urge warring within her, “You're not helping.”

“I never said I would.” Bastet smiles smugly and Kat glares at the goddess as she fades away leaving just clear air where she had been seconds before.

Laying back with a sigh, Kat decides to sleep for tonight and if Steven is still missing by tomorrow, she will start searching for him.

***

“A pet shop?” Kat whispers to herself, her brows knit with confusion as she worries her lip between her teeth.

She is crouched on the edge of a rooftop that stands across from a little dinky pet shop squished between two brick stone storefronts. After rising from a fitful slumber, Kat had visited Stevens flat to find that he had somehow appeared there overnight. When his curly brunette head had appeared from his building, Kat had noticed that he was walking oddly and had a different air about him. But she put it off as simply a result of being wherever he had been.

She had followed him from his flat all the way to this pet shop, her confusion over his odd behavior only grew when she had realized that he kept a dead fish stored in a blender tucked under his jacket.

Now, she shivers in the misty London fog as she waits for him to appear again. Dressed in a black hoodie and dark jeans to fend off the bite of a London morning, Kat waits restlessly. While she waits, Kat lets her thoughts drift.

She thinks of her job, and her apparent inability to do it. To fail a mission would be to accept defeat, like hell she’ll let that happen. For years it had been all the same. Get a job request, ensure she wouldn’t get screwed over, find the target, slit their throat, and get paid. Wash, rinse, repeat. But now she feels enticed to drag this job out, if only to enjoy Steven's company a bit longer. It's a bad idea, she knows, but she’s had plenty of bad ideas before so what's one more?

Is she a good person? God no, Kat won’t even try and fool herself otherwise. She has long since been squeezed dry of her goodness. She turned her back to caring for the lives she claimed. Sure, they haunt her dreams, and regret and remorse slivers its claws into her blood every now and then, but she has hardened her heart to the sentimentality of life. But when she saw children's sweet young faces, old women knitting on the tube, couples walking hand in hand and oblivious to the rest of the world, Kat almost wishes she had chosen a different path.

But this is the life she has chosen, so when Stevens' figure emerges from the shop with a fish bag and a new live fish, Kat pulls her dark hood further down and follows from above. Her legs leaping from rooftop to rooftop at a steady pace, agilely darting around the chimneys and AC units as she goes. Her chestnut hair flies around her wildly, she had forgotten to pull it back and now is immensely regretting it as a curled strand smacks her face. A steady burn in her muscles warms kat from the inside out, fighting away the chill that seeks to settle in her bones as a steady cycle of air passes through her lungs in a familiar beat.

Knowing there is no use in further surveillance that day, Kat heads back to her empty flat after Steven returns to his building. Something in her chest unwinding as she watches the door close behind him. Despite his concerning disappearance, Steven is back and safe. Climbing down a fire escape and slipping into the busy rush of the street, Kat lets her hood fall back and tilts her head back to breathe in the misty air. The cool rush through her lungs bringing her sharply back into reality.

‘What are you thinking?’ Kat sharply scolds herself, ‘Don’t get attached, Steven is a target, an enemy! Start thinking like an assassin, not some soppy idiot.’

Drowned in her torrent of thoughts, Kat barely notices that she has walked past her building and into a darker part of town. She is familiar with the rougher areas of London, having mapped out all the twists and turns of different alleys in an effort to better be able to track anyone who thought, poorly, to run away. She knows these streets like the back of her hand now, streets where people are murdered and robbed in the darkness of night.

A shrill scream breaks through the air from the alleyway streets away until it is abruptly cut off. Being the avatar of a cat goddess comes with the added addition of some heightened senses, such as hearing which can pick up sounds from far away and a keen sense of smell. Shaking her head and clearing her thoughts, Kat smiles an almost feral grin to where Bastet sits lazily on the windowsill of the broken-down warehouse, waiting for Kats signal.

With a nod, Kat lets the familiar warmth flow over her as it takes shape in smooth fabrics settling over her shoulders. A dark plum tactical suit fitting snug against her skin, leaving her arms bare where it curves around her shoulders and fades to a high neckline. The warmth fades as cool golden cuffs circle around her biceps and her hair is pulled back into a bun holding a matching golden halo crown sharpened around the edges with two solid handles separating the head piece down the middle. Her face is left uncovered as no one who sees her will recognize her or be able to ever find her again, and she is safe with that anonymity.

Kat can feel her pupils narrow into that familiar feline slit, her eyes becoming a golden yellow with it. In her mouth she can feel her canines growing and sharpening at the point, fangs poking lightly against her lips that are drawn into a confident smirk.

“I still believe the traditional robes would be best.” Bastet complains as she slinks around Kat, viewing the tactical suit with distaste.

Kat rolls her eyes with a fond shake of her head. Bastet always says the same thing every time she dons her suit, but Kat simply cannot wear those robes. They are long and flowy and just get in the way when she fights.

“Yeah yeah, just watch my back would you?” Kat mouths back, crouching along the wall of the alleyway and creeping closer to where the shout had come from.

Carefully, she pulls the two sides of her golden halo crown down and tests their weight in her hands. Half circle blades that wrap around her fists where they rest on the handles, smooth and sharp.

Peering through the shadows that creep over the alley, Kat can just make out the shapes of two figures, one pressed roughly against the brick wall while the other figure leans unnecessarily close. The heightened senses of being Bastet's avatar unfortunately do not cover enhanced vision, an oversight in Kat's opinion as she would much rather have enhanced vision than smell. Her sentiment is solidified as the smell of blood floats down the alleyway, minimal, and Kat is sure it's only a few cuts, but enough for her to pick it up.

Kat shuffles down the alley, keeping in the protective shadows and watching the figures with rapt attention. As she gets closer, she can see that the one pressed against the wall is a woman in torn and dirt-stained clothes, her hair a bedraggled mess from where the man who holds her had pulled it loose from the ponytail that lays tangled in a few strands. Her face is bloody, a bruise sure to form around her eye and cheek.

Kat can feel the familiar rush of pure rage fill her entire being, the flash of agonizing heat before it cools into a cold empty resolve. She can hear Bastet's snarling hiss from where the goddess watches, vocalizing the anger Kat feels. It was always like this, Kat would see someone being hurt and jump into the fray without a second thought. Ironic that she protects people while killing others for money.

Now, Kat had learned to calm her rage and keep a level head before attacking. Taking a deep breath, Kat focuses on the feel of the rough brick pressing against her uncovered arms, grit scratching at her skin. Her breathing levels and quiets as she narrows her eyes and grins, jumping out of the shadows and onto the man in an instant.

The woman screams in terror as she raises her arms to protect herself from the new stranger, but she needn't worry, Kats eyes are only on the man. His face is pockmarked and scarred, a scraggly greying beard decorating his large square jaw. He smells terrible. He is a large man, towering over Kat by a few inches, but what he gains in pure force he lacks in skill.

Kat kicks at his knees and as he falls backwards, she flips her blades so she can land a solid punch, connecting with his nose and sending it askew with a sickening crunch. The man's strangled cry of pain fills Kat with dark satisfaction.

‘Good. Let him feel the pain he hurt her with.’

As soon as this thought enters her mind, Kat feels a sickness at herself but pushes it away and puts all her internal distress into her kicks that she mostly aims at his stomach.

The man stumbles up and rushes at Kat, his arms outstretched to try and cage her. Stepping aside, Kat smirks as the man runs right past her and into the opposite wall. Colliding with a pained “Oof.”

“So, you come here often?” Kat asks the shaking woman conversationally, darting under the man's fist as he swings widely at her.

The woman shakes her head with wide eyes, squeaking in alarm as the man lets out a frustrated roar and lunges at Kat again.

“Mm, pity,” Kat hums dryly, growing tired of the man's attempted attacks, “Shame, it's such a lovely ally.”

It really isn’t. The alleyway has trash littered on all sides and mold growing out of the bricks. Kat isn’t really a snob when it comes to alleyways, but this is just ridiculously poor.

The woman lets out a startled laugh that turns into a shriek as Kat grabs the man by the arm and shoves him against the wall, pressing his arm behind his back in a painful position. The man struggles underneath her, but Kat refuses to let go and instead pushes him harder against the rough bricks.

“Is this a hobby of yours?” Kat questions calmly, as if she were simply talking about the weather, “Beating up women?”

The man turns his head as far back as he can to face her and spits at the ground between her feet, his slimy smile revealing the crooked yellowed teeth beneath.

Kat pulls him back by his greying hair and slams his head again into the wall when he doesn’t answer, smiling at the coppery smell of the blood dripping down his forehead, “Hmm? Is it fun?”

The man simply laughs, a cruel and mirthless sound, “She had it coming.”

Kat glances over to the woman whose shaky hands cover her mouth and muffles her sobs. The rage rushes through her again as the woman finally looks at her, teary eyed and afraid, and Kat can see the pain in her eyes. A sense of understanding, connection, passes between them, unspoken and delicate. They both know the pain reflected in each other's eyes.

“Well then I guess you don’t mind that you have this coming.” Kat says simply, turning back to the man, tightening her grip on her blades and pressing its sharp edge against the back of his neck, a feral grin against her lips, almost deranged in its sharpness.

With a single slice deep into the muscle of his neck, the motion making a curving arc with the grace of a ballerina, Kats job is done. Kat drops the man to the ground as he curls into himself, screaming bloody Mary, but she can't bring herself to care. Wiping the blood of her blade off on her pants, the dark color masking the red stain, Kat places the blades back together and sets them into her hair where they belong.

The woman slowly backs away from Kat, eyes possessing a new fear, a fear of her. It is reasonable, smart even, to be afraid of her. But the pain that comes with knowing she made this poor woman more afraid, presses against her heart like an old bruise.

“Go.” Kat bids the woman, pointing out to the street, “Report him. Don’t.” Kat shrugs, “Either way he won't bother you again.”

The woman nods and before Kat can say anything else, she's gone. The clip of her heels echoing as she runs away.

Kat looks down at the man, a snarling curl to her lips. He is still snivelling, and clutching at the back of his neck as blood rushes down. He will live, recovery will be horrible but he will live.

“Hey! Look at me.” Kat growls at the man, crouching down and grabbing his chin to force him to face her, “You're not gonna do that again, yeah? Cause if you do," Kat leans in close and drops her voice to a deadly whisper against his ear, “I will find you and make sure you die a very painful death.”

With that said, she gives him one final kick to the head before booking it out of the alley and down the street. When she is far enough away, Kat ducks into a hidden crooked alley and climbs up an escape ladder to the roof. Bastet sits on the edge of it, smiling cheerily and her feline eyes full of glee.

“You did well my little avatar.” The goddess praises, her smile showing her fangs that match Kats own.

“Yeah.” Kat replies shortly, not in the mood to talk just yet.

The rage that had built inside her has cooled but now is buzzing against her skin. She needs time to calm down and collect herself, cool off with a warm cup of coffee.

Breathing out, Kat lets the suit pull back from around her. The coldness of the arm cuffs is replaced by the familiar wool of the hoodie she had been wearing, her suit disappearing with them. Her pupils return to their normal roundness and her eyes settle into the familiar blue, her canines drawing back to the usual length and settling in her mouth. The halo blades disappearing from her hair that falls into its natural waves down her back.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, Kat pulls her hood back up and takes the rooftops a few blocks over to her flat, stopping for a much deserved fancy coffee on the way. The cup warms her hands and settles her buzzing nerves. Reaching her building, Kat pulls out her keys and shoves them into her lock, turning the key roughly and stumbling her way into her room.

“What bothers you little one?” Bastet asks, appearing on Kats bed as soon as Kat enters.

It had always been like this, Bastet comforting Kat when she became so deep in her thoughts. They aren’t friends, but they aren’t enemies either. It’s a caring relationship, but it is not necessarily a close one.

“Everything. Nothing. I don’t know.” Kat shrugs, moving to sit next to the goddess and ignoring the tail that wraps around her shoulders. “I'm worried about Steven I guess, it was weird for him to be gone like that.”

“I thought you didn’t care about him?”

“I don’t.” Kat answers immediately, giving Bastet a glare as the goddess lazily stretches out and takes up much of the bed.

“Then why do you worry?” The goddess asks curiously, a knowing glint in her glowing eyes.

When Kat doesn’t answer, Bastet moves on, tenderly asking, “This is not really about Steven, is it?”

Kat rolls her eyes and huffs out a sardonic laugh, “I am not having this conversation right now.”

“Then when?”

“Never!”

Kat hadn’t meant to shout, but the leftover energy buzzing through her veins needed a place to go and unfortunately the goddess was the only one there. The goddesses eyes narrow, a hiss on the tip of her tongue, and before Kat can apologize, Bastet is gone.

Kat curses into the empty apartment air, pressing her palms against her eyes as a headache forms behind them. Her coffee lays cold and forgotten on her living room table. The flat is so empty, so lonely. Left alone, she only has her guilt to keep her company, and she really doesn’t need that. Instead, Kat sighs and pads over to the mothball worn couch and settles in to watch a movie. A coldness claws at her soul, which she very much doubts she even has anymore. She hates this side of her sometimes, the violent, feral and bloodstained side, the side that reminds her of glinting blue eyes and a rough scratchy beard, the side that brings whiffs of whisky and salty sea spray to her senses and wraps around her like a cobra.

For the rest of the day, with nothing to do but distract herself, Kat watches movie after movie, curled into the warmth of the couch and ignoring the coldness in her heart. Occasionally her thoughts drift to Steven and his dorky crooked smile. She absently wonders about him, what his favorite color is, what desserts he likes, how he could possibly kill a goldfish as they are literally the easiest to keep alive.

Washing the dishes that night she gets lost in the rush of the water running over her hands. In her mind it is washing off the blood staining her fingers, but the blood always stays, always growing to cover more of her hands until she is sure it will eventually cover her whole body.

Laying back in bed, Kat stares at the ceiling as she awaits sleep to come to her. Her mind was so exhausted from its mental gymnastics that it does not take long.

***

‘What the hell is he doing?’ Kat wonders as she watches Steven stumble back to the pet shop from yesterday, his new fish back in the blender.

He was back to his clumsy normal self, if anything he seems even more clumsy- if that is even possible.

Just like the day before, he enters the shop and leaves with the same fish as before. Where Steven had been acting strangely unlike the Steven she knew yesterday, now he is back to normal but there is a shakiness to his movements, a paranoid edge.

She watches Steven until that night, when he leaves his apartment in a suit and horribly ugly tie.

Seeing Steven step out in such an outfit, Kat feels her jaw drop. He looks good, ridiculous and silly, but good. Quiet as a whisper on the wind, Kat sneaks down to get a closer look. He is dressed in a rumpled dress shirt with a dorky yellow patterned tie and suit jacket.

Kat follows him to a fancy steak restaurant where he sits on the patio at a table for two. Kat watches with concern as time passes and no one shows up to the…date? Meeting? Kat isn’t sure what it is. She almost goes to greet him before remembering that the whole point of this is to be anonymous and unnoticed.

Pulling out his phone, Steven calls someone and Kat watches as his frown only deepens. After hanging up, Steven's lips pull into an adorably depressing pout. He looks as if he’ll cry and Kat decides that enough is enough.

“Aren't you a vegan? What are you doing at a steak restaurant?” Kat asks as a way of greeting, leaning over the gate that separates the restaurant from the street and giving Steven a playful smile.

“Oh!” Steven startles, jumping in his chair and almost falling out of it.

He turns to face her and Kat can feel her sympathy grow. His greeting smile is strained and his eyes are tinged red at the edges.

“Hey’a Kat.” Steven gives her a dorky wave, his face relaxes as his smile becomes more genuine, “What are you doing here?”

“I was taking a walk and you just looked lonely.” Kat replies easily, leaving out the part that the whole reason for the walk was to follow him.

“I-uh, there was supposed to be someone here with me.” Steven rubs the back of his neck as a flush rises to his cheeks, “I guess I lost track of time and missed our…date.”

Kats eyebrows raise as she regards Steven appraisingly, “A date? Made a move on someone, loverboy?”

The affectionate teasing slips from her mouth easily, unabbiden and carefree. Around Steven she feels inexplicably relaxed, like she doesn’t need to put on any kind of mask. It’s a dangerous feeling, one that is sure to cause problems, but seeing Steven alone and depressed after a failed date, Kat can’t stop herself from offering comfort. Stevens' face blushes wildly and he begins to choke and sputter on the air, failing to formulate a reply.

“Well, she's the one missing out,” Kat says, hopping over the fence in a smooth practiced motion and sitting in the chair opposite Steven, “Both on your great company and a free meal.”

That, at least, gets a genuine laugh out of Steven and Kat feels like she is walking on air. Clenching her fists, she tamps down the silly feelings and reminds herself that this is all just work, nothing to be ecstatic about. But her eyes keep being drawn to the crinkles around Steven's eyes and the upturned quirk of his mouth as he smiles.

“Wait,” Steven pauses, remembering what she said earlier, “How did you know I'm a vegan?”

For a moment Kats brain stops working. Her mind stalling before booting back up and racing for a believable excuse.

“Must have overheard someone mention it.” She shrugs, smoothing over her face and forcing her body to relax, “So how was your weekend?”

If Steven notices her attempt at distraction, he doesn’t mention it, adapting smoothly to the change in topic, “Um well, not too bad, nothing major.”

Kat has to fight the urge to facepalm right then and there. He’s lying. Even if she hadn’t seen him that weekend, she would be able to tell just based off of his voice which had pitched higher and the way he fidgets in his seat, unable to meet her eyes.

‘Oh my god, he is so bad at this!’

“Right.” Kat nods slowly, once again wondering why anyone would want Steven dead, the man can't even tell a simple lie!

“How was your weekend?”

A laugh bursts from Kat, the pure ridiculousness of this. Here she is, sitting at a fancy restaurant and having casual conversation with her target, god she’s hopeless.

“Pretty boring to be honest,” This is not true, she had been panicked when Steven disappeared and then confused when he showed up again, not boring at all. Eventually she just can’t hold back her curiosity anymore, “Why weren’t you at work Friday?”

Steven pauses, taking on a deer in the headlights look, before stuttering, “I overslept.”

He says it more like a question, like he himself can’t believe what he was saying, and Kat is struck by how non threatening he is. Compared to her, he’s a gerbil in a stupid tie. It is then that the waiter decides to make an appearance, bringing a steak to Steven and a bottle of wine with two glasses.

Pouring herself a glass, Kat raises her eyebrows and looks pointedly at the steak sitting in front of Steven, “Should I be concerned that you suddenly decided to eat meat?”

Steven picks up his knife and fork hesitantly, as if afraid that the steak will leap up and attack him. Slowly he starts cutting into the meat as he seems to weigh Kats' question.

“No, I don’t think so. To be honest I was a bit panicked and ordered the first thing he suggested." Steven nods to a waiter that is poorly pretending to not be casting wary glances at Steven and judgmental looks at kats casual jeans and t-shirt.

“Hmm.” Kat hums, sipping the wine and letting the bitter grape aromas settle on her tongue. She isn’t a wine snob by any standards but even she knows that this is a good bottle, “You look nice.”

It slips out of her before Kat can pull it back into her mouth. Her own eyes widen as she hurries to say something, anything to diffuse the sudden uncertain air, “Not that you don’t always look nice, no wait, I mean you usually look like a mess but a cute one, wait!”

She slaps a hand over her mouth as more and more stupid things spill out. She had meant to just say the jacket suits him and had instead started babbling like a weirdo. Kat suddenly wishes she had her blades and could just end her suffering now.

An adorable smile creeps over Steven's face, lighting it up with a tender hopefulness, “Really? I thought I looked like a knob.”

Kats internal screaming stops and instead settles as she laughs, saying, “You do, but it's not a bad thing.”

“Wow, thanks.” Steven mumbles sarcastically, but the smile still shines through as he relaxes further, finding comfort in the conversation. “Why did you choose the tour guide position, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Kat hums as she thinks over her answer. She can’t just tell Steven the truth, at least, not the full truth.

‘Oh yeah, I took the job because I need to be close to you in order to kill you and I have a giant cat goddess appearing at random that no one else can see.’ Yeah, that would go great.

Instead, she settles for a half truth, “I'm just really interested in ancient Egypt.”

“Me too!” Steven exclaims, a bright smile making him appear younger and less tired, as he excitedly asks, “What’s your favorite part?”

Kat can't help but smile too as she leans forward, propping her elbows on the table, “I really like the mythology.”

Kat ignores Bastets low chuckle as the goddess sits at a nearby empty table, and Kat instead focuses on how Steven's eyes crinkle at the sides when he smiles.

“Did you see the poster for the Enead? It's wrong and I tried to tell Donna but she doesn’t care." Steven frowns as he remembers, hurt flashing across his face as he remembers Donna's words.

Kat is really starting to hate Donna.

“Well Donna’s a twat.” Kat says, making Steven choke on a laugh much to her delight, “Seriously, she's stupid if she's not listening to you.”

Steven ducks his head, a modest smile on his face, “Thanks, cheers.”

They clink their wine glasses and continue their conversation for hours until the restaurant kicks them out. From there, they take a walk around the park, their shoulders bumping and Kat ignores how a trill runs through her each time their hands accidentally brush. Steven introduces her to a human statue painted head to toe in gold that stays still and says nothing.

Kat learns a lot about Steven as they walk. She learns he's close with his mum and calls her every day. He tells her about his fish Gus, and how Gus is now not Gus and instead a different fish, Kat has many questions about this and finds that she is still confused by the end of the story.

“Wait, so you had Gus who had one fin, then woke up to a normal two-finned fish?” Kat asks, her brows drawn in confusion as they amble along the London streets bathed in lamp light.

Steven looks away sheepishly, knowing how ridiculous the story sounds, “I know, you must think I'm crazy.”

“No no, I believe you. You're definitely not crazy, it's just hard to wrap my head around I guess.” Kat reassures him, patting his shoulder comfortingly before catching herself and quickly drawing her hand away.

After that, they sit by a fountain and Kat tells Steven what she can of her own life. The words just flow from her and for once in her life she isn’t scared of divulging information. In her line of work, information is as dangerous as a blade and to have anyone know anything about her was placing the blade in their hands.

She tells him about her time in the states, she doesn’t tell him that she was there for a job. She tells him how she would stay up late deciphering hieroglyphics, her favorite band, even what she asked for on her 11th birthday.

Talking with Steven was so easy. He listened actively and asked questions that made Kat giggle and sparked new discussions. His eyes were always on her, soft and attentive as he listened. She almost even told him about her sister before stopping herself and changing the subject.

They stayed together late into the night before Kat offered to walk Steven to his flat. They had both had a bit to drink and Kat knew how often muggers would target people who looked a bit buzzed as they were, she would feel better if she made sure he got home safe.

“Would you like to come up?” Steven asks hopefully before his face drops at kats surprised look, and he hurries to say, “Not like that, not that I'm expecting anything like that. Just um, for a drink?”

Kat shakes her head fondly as she laughs, telling him, “I would, but we both have work tomorrow and I, for one, don’t want to deal with noisy children and a hangover. Bad combination.”

Kat wrinkles her nose in mock seriousness before breaking and smiling brightly at Steven.

“Oh, yeah, not a good mix huh?”

“Oh it's terrible.” Kat says, bumping his shoulder lightly with her own, “Believe me, I once had to babysit the morning after a huge house party. Worst day of my life.”

That was an overstatement. She had had many worse days. Days when she came close to bleeding out or had to dig bullets from her back with only a bottle of whisky as her companion. But here, with Steven, Kat isn’t any of that. Here she’s just a normal woman with normal woman problems, easy and simple problems where the worst is a massive headache.

Normal is boring. But sometimes, with Steven, normal is kind of nice.

“Oof sounds terrible.” Steven grimaces sympathetically, a crooked smile on his face, “Right well, best get to bed now. Like you said, work tomorrow.”

“Yep.” Kat agrees, but neither of them move.

They stand there like idiots, just grinning at each other and a fuzzy feeling floating between them. The air charged with something that beckons Kat to get closer.

Finally, Steven clears his throat, “Welp, laters gators.”

“In a while crocodile.” Kat responds automatically, the nostalgic goodbye familiar and dredging up memories of daycare and the nice teachers there that would bandage her scrapes and give her ice packs for the bruises, never asking questions.

Stevens' hand pauses halfway to the doorknob, and he turns to stare at Kat with surprise. It’s as if he hadn’t heard the tail end of the saying in so long, like no one bothers to finish it for him. Shaking himself from his pause, Steven gives Kat a dorky wave and slips inside.

Kat stays staring at the door for a few moments, trying and failing to suppress her smile. With a contented sigh, Kat turns and begins to make her way back to her own flat.

She only gets half way there before a feeling of apprehension overcomes her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing at attention like soldiers on a battlefield. Making sure to keep her composure relaxed, she scans the area around her for anything or anybody out of place.

The street is almost empty, cars sporadically passing by and few people still out walking in small groups with boisterous conversation. It’s a normal night in london. The streetlights glare through the dark, the shadows are steep but don’t seem to be hiding anything nefarious. Kat is about to dismiss it as nothing, before a man catches her eye.

He sticks out with his long grey hair and the weird cultish robes he wears, red as blood. He leans against a cane casually as he unabashedly watches her, his eyes tracking her movements and Kat carefully lets her eyes slide past him, making sure to not linger too long. The man's attention makes her skin prickle with unease and Kat knows she wants to get away as quickly as possible. She thinks he may just be the normal creep on the street, not anything to worry about unless he tries to approach her, but he doesn’t do anything. Just watches.

Keeping her head low and her attention on the man's position at all times, Kat hurries through the streets, weaving between groups of people and taking sharp turns. The man doesn’t make any attempt to follow her, but Kat takes a convoluted route anyways to shake off anyone that could be tracking her, an old habit that dies hard.

Ducking into her flat, Kat tugs off her jacket and throws it on the floor. The contentedness from before has all but left and logic has kicked back in. Frustration bubbles up in her as she yanks on her pajamas and roughly brushes out her hair before flopping into bed.

For a few minutes Kat tosses and turns, fruitlessly reaching for sleep that evades her grip. Her mind is wide awake and the idea of staying with her thoughts right now is tortuous. Instead, Kat reaches over to her bedside table and picks up the abandoned book of ancient Egyptian rituals and practices, flipping it open to her bookmarked page and beginning to read.

She is almost six chapters through when her phone buzzes loudly in the still quietness of night, lighting up with a notification. A text from an unknown number, simple and to the point.

‘Take Steven Grant out and get the information or else you will face the consequences.’