The Cloyster - Evening - Storms
Aidan Klein
Arceus, he hoped this was going to be over soon.
It was still storming, but the conditions were no longer so bad they couldn't leave the building, and so this afternoon, the lot of them had gone home.
Well, except for Katia. She was still in his home, which was a much bigger problem than a little rain.
Aidan shook some of the water out of his hair, fitting Doc's spare key to her door and letting himself in quietly. It was the only way to do this that didn't eventually see Katia breathing down their necks. The first time he'd planned to stay at Doc's, he'd walked right from his place to hers and knocked. Katia, still lingering at his front door, had seen, and around midnight showed up asking when he planned to return.
He couldn't tell her that he didn't, because of the way it would look, so instead he'd had to go back. And then endure comments about the inappropriateness of some people being overly familiar with their bosses, thinly-veiled references that made quite clear just what she interpreted the friendship between himself and Doc to be. Of course, she'd never blame him for it, so poor Doc got the brunt of her bad opinion. At least he could handle the brunt of the commentary.
Sliding in, he closed the door softly behind him and threw the deadbolt—never could be too careful—and stepped out of his shoes in the sort entrance hallway. "Hey Doc, I'm home," he said, his tone pitched quietly but the amusement nevertheless clear. This apartment was certainly more his home than his own, right now. But he did still think to warn her he was present, lest she accidentally take him for an intruder.
Honestly, she was more likely to make the opposite mistake, which was... worrying, in a way. Doffing his wet coat, he hung it on one of the hooks, neatening the towel on the floor to catch the water and heading into the living area.
Basil was the first to greet him, trilling softly to acknowledge his presence before handing him a drink. It was routine with her; she'd always have something for him when he stayed at Doc's.
“Ah, welcome home, Aidan," Doc stated from the kitchen area. She stuck her head out and waved at him before turning back into the kitchen. “Do you want to use the shower? There's a spare towel in there and some jogging pants and a shirt if you want to," she continued. She came out of the kitchen a moment later, carrying what looked to be a chocolate drink of some sort. Maybe hot chocolate from the way it steamed a little.
“I didn't know what size you wear so I bought everything in a large or extra large. I figured it would be easier that way since you've been staying here moreso than your own place, and Mama Basil insisted," she stated, taking a seat on one of the couches.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "I'll hold off on the shower for now, but I appreciate it. Had to sneak more than a change of clothes or two past her." With a nod to the bayleef and an affectionate scratch to her head, he dropped onto the sofa with his drink in hand and propped his feet on the coffee table. Fortunately, Doc didn't mind—fucking Katia scolded him for doing it in his own apartment.
"It's ridiculous that I even have to sneak anything. She's not my damn mother." And she wasn't his boss, either. But she had a way of being more annoying when not appeased, and he knew she could turn a friendship into an HR complaint, and while he didn't give a shit about his own case, since the boss would never bother doing anything about it, Doc's reputation could take a hit. Especially if Katia made it known that she'd filed one, even if it didn't go anywhere—which it wouldn't, because there wasn't anything inappropriate about being friends with a coworker, even in the cutthroat and corporate NTR environment.
He took an irritated swig of his drink. Cream soda, because Basil was a wonderful pokémon and Doc had apparently taken to buying him food, too. He'd really have to figure out something to do to thank her when this was all over.
Doc snorted into her drink before she coughed lightly. “You have a point; it's your apartment. You shouldn't have to sneak anything out or be stuck here. Not that I don't mind you being here; I enjoy your company, but I'm sure you'd like your own space back, right?" she stated, waving a dismissive hand in front of her.
“Besides, I think Mama Basil here likes living up to her name," Doc continued, nodding her head in the bayleef's direction. “She's not leaving any time soon, though, is she?" Doc asked as she tilted her head slightly in Aidan's direction.
“Should I just buy a couch that has a bed inside of it and call it a day?" she added, grinning slightly as if she were amused at her own joke.
He huffed a laugh, and shook his head. "No idea when she's leaving, but she can't stretch her excuse for too much longer before Gregorovich will want her actually doing things again." Come to think of it, he might just... float a request that the boss make that happen sooner. Something about Katia disrupting the work environment, maybe. She was, after all.
With a sigh that was only slightly exaggerated, Aidan took another drink and set it down on the end table. "You know she tried to give me shit for leaving? I told her not to expect me back tonight and she said some bullshit thing about being courteous to guests. When that didn't fly she tried to get me to invite her to come with." He shook his head again, vague disbelief settling onto his face. "The audacity of that woman, I swear." In the end he'd just told her he sure as fuck wasn't sleeping on a couch again, which wasn't true, but worked because Katia was a snob who would in fact think sleeping on couches was enough of an inconvenience to justify a hotel room or something.
Then he'd gone out, walked around long enough for her to get back to not watching his front door, and doubled back to sneak in. Lot of damn nuisance, but since Doc's reputation was on the line here, he was willing to do it.
Doc huffed lightly as she shook her head. “You shouldn't have to make excuses for things like that. And you're an adult, what you do on your spare time should be something you do. You're not married to the woman, so why should she care?" she stated, taking a slow sip of her drink.
“Honestly, she should have had a hotel set up for her or some other accommodation. She's imposing on you because she's here doing something for her family. If it's not NTR related, she shouldn't be bugging you. I think you've been more than courteous to her by practically giving her free range of your apartment." Basil trilled as if she were agreeing with Doc's statement, but Doc sighed softly and shook her head.
“The nerve of that woman. It sounds like she's one of those children who punches and pulls the hair of the other child they like. Although in your case, it seems like she's also slightly delusional," Doc stated as she set her cup down.
“Well, like I've said before, you're always welcome to stay here for however long you'd like. Basil always makes sure that there's room for you. She even cleared out some closet space if you want to use it," she huffed slightly in amusement. Basil nodded her head, though, as if she were proud of Doc's statement.
"Much obliged, both of you. Sorry to impose while being imposed upon." Truthfully, there was something slightly unnerving about the offer of closet space in Doc's apartment. Not because she meant anything by it, but because... he didn't hate the idea. He supposed he already knew she was good to live with. Even with separate places, they were over at each others' a lot. But then, that was just it. They had separate places.
Doc smiled and shook her head. “You're not imposing at all," she stated pursing her lips in his direction in an amused fashion. “At this point in our friendship, I think it's safe to say we're practically roomies. I mean, I'm always at your place playing the game, or we're here doing take-out and streaming silly movies."
“The only difference is, at the end of the day, we both have our separate places," she stated, furrowing her brows slightly.
"Well...not at the end of today," he noted with some amusement. "But thanks."
Gradually, he'd relaxed, and now that he wasn't feeling particularly irritated anymore, he nodded slightly towards the television. "Speaking of dumb movies, I hear a bunch of old horror films just showed up on Zebstreamr." He knew she was subscribed to that one because he'd given her his password for it. "Any interest?" His mouth curled up into a half-grin. He knew by her reaction to the haunted house that 'scary' things were not her forte, but honestly he found stuff like this more ridiculous than scary. Plus he always cheered for the villain.
At the mention of old horror films, Doc's eyes seemed to light up and she unfolded her legs from the couch. “That's actually a good idea. It might help me the next time there's a haunted house. At least with a movie it's a little more controlled. A haunted house? Not so much," she stated as she reached for the remote on the small table in front of her. She tossed it in his direction, though, and grabbed her cup.
“You pick one, and I'll go make another cup of hot chocolate. Do you want me to bring you something? Oh, and we can probably finish the bag of chips and guac from the other night," she added, standing up from her spot.
"Good call." Aidan caught the remote in midair and flipped it around in his hand so it was facing the right direction. "Hot chocolate sounds good, though maybe after the guac." He made a face at the thought of consuming both at the same time and flipped on the screen, scrolling through the new arrivals until he hit one called 'Ecru Chainsaw Massacre.' Snorting, he figured they might as well start with classic gore, and hit play, pausing on the first frame so Doc wouldn't miss any.
Leveling a glance at Basil, he rolled his eyes. "If she freaks, make sure you've got the knit blanket ready," he said with a tone of mock solemnity, fully expecting that Doc could, in fact, still hear him.
Basil made a soft snorting noise, but was already standing from her small bed and making her way towards the closet where Doc kept the spare blankets. “Hey, I'll have you know that I only jumped four times during the last movie, alright. That was as new record for me," Doc stated as she disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, she reappeared with the bag of chips, the guac, and another cream soda.
“Since you said hot chocolate after the guac, I brought you another one of these for the chips and guac," she stated as if she were explaining the soda. She placed the items on the small table in front of them for easier access, it seemed. “Alright, what are we watching," Doc stated as she sat back on the couch. She glanced in the direction of the television and huffed lightly.
“I've heard this one is an old cult classic. It's so bad that it's good?" she didn't seem too sure, though.
After murmuring a thanks for the soda, Aidan took his feet down off the table for now and re-opened the bag of chips, pouring them out into the weird, donut-shaped bowl that she had. The middle was like a cupholder for the guac, so once he had that all sorted out he brought it back to his lap. Since she sat next to him it was easily accessible to both of them this way, even if they both knew he'd be eating most of the chips.
"Yeah they made it like thirty years ago. Cutting edge special effects at the time, and they're not awful now. But the reason it was a cult classic instead of mainstream is because the plot's fuckin' awful and the acting is ridiculous. There's one guy who's super into it and trying hard, but the rest of them are either kids who've never done a movie before, or washed-up ex A-listers phoning it in. The best part for most people is that one of them is this singer a lot of people hated—Dustin Lieber. He dies in a very gory way, which is pretty typical for the movie. People were into it, I guess."
Doc chuckled softly as she rolled her eyes a bit. “I suppose this movie helped to jump start his career. He's not very good at either, but for some reason some people like him," she stated before grabbing a chip and dipping it into the guac. She huffed slightly as something and turned with an arched brow to face him.
“Out of the characters, who would you say is the Katia of the group?" she asked, slightly curious and amused.
He hit play, not too worried about missing important plot points while talking, since there weren't any. "The alpha bitch archetype? That's Fiona. She's played by this model who wanted to break into acting. She can do the role, but according to the rest of the cast in interviews, it's pretty much because she's just playing herself."
“I suppose that makes sense. It'd be kind of hard not to a do a good job if you're just doing what you normally do," Doc replied before stuffing the chip into her mouth. Once she was done with it she grabbed another one, but didn't eat it right away.
“Has she always been like this? I know you and her were colleagues not that long ago, but was she always this... intense about things?" she asked, keeping her attention on the movie as it started. “I mean, she's from the same family as Eryk, but he's a nice guy. Katia on the other hand seems like she's entitled to both yours and Eryk's time for whatever reason," she added.
"She wants to be in charge of the family," Aidan explained, watching as the group of protagonists finished packing for their ill-fated vacation camping trip. "But they run a pretty old-school succession style deal and she's not in the right branch. So if she wants it, she has to be the best at everything all the time, and on top of that arrange some pretty underhanded stuff to either get rid of the people in front of her or make them her allies." He rolled his eyes.
"But yeah, she's always been like that. I honestly don't know why she gives half a fuck about me, but that's the deal with Ryk, anyhow."
“Well that's a bit archaic," Doc muttered softly before taking a bite of her chip. “And I reiterate, she's like that child on the play ground who punches and pulls the hair of the other child they like. Maybe her fascination with you is because she likes you in that kind of more-than-friends way," she added, visibly shuddering at the statement.
“With her personality and the way she acts, I couldn't imagine she'd have many suitors lined up, but she is very pretty. I'll give her that." Doc finished off her chip before pursing her lips together. “I mean, she's an adult, we're all adults here. Wouldn't it just be easier to say she likes you rather than do all that mean stuff? It just seems unnecessary," she continued before rolling her eyes and folding her legs beneath her. She was careful not to bump into him, though, considering how they were sitting next to each other. She pulled the pillow closest to her and placed in her lap, hugging it towards her.
"I know that much," he admitted with a small huff. Aidan wasn't oblivious to the fact that Katia was attracted to him. She'd come onto him more than once, though always in a way she could deny was any such thing. He knew she wasn't the type to take rejection well, so he feigned obliviousness to her true intentions, which she wouldn't make any clearer because she was afraid to, and in that way they were always at a strange balancing point. "I just don't know why. I'm no use to her goal, and what's more I pretty intentionally emphasize the parts of my personality she's not supposed to like."
That had been his passive strategy for years: try to put her off him, but not so badly they couldn't continue to work together. It had rather spectacularly failed.
“I guess she's the type to want what she can't have," Doc stated with a light shrug of her shoulders. “If you're no use to her goal, and you try to make her not like you, I guess that just means she wants you more. She's a very strange woman who's more child than adult. I guess she likes you for your looks if none of those other things bother her," she added off-handedly.
“Well... if it gets to be too much for you, you can always use me as an escape gogoat," Doc stated, turning away from the movie for a moment and smiled in Aidan's direction. “I'd be glad to help in anyway I can. She's a scary woman but the worst thing she can do to me is spread some unpleasant rumor. And I'm used to rumors being spread about me about random things. Happens a lot when you're in a field like mine," she huffed softly almost as if to herself.
He didn't think she was using that idiom correctly, but he smiled anyway. "I can't say I'm surprised," he said, reaching over with one hand to ruffle her hair a bit. "Thanks, Doc. Now let's watch some idiots get murdered."
It was still storming, but the conditions were no longer so bad they couldn't leave the building, and so this afternoon, the lot of them had gone home.
Well, except for Katia. She was still in his home, which was a much bigger problem than a little rain.
Aidan shook some of the water out of his hair, fitting Doc's spare key to her door and letting himself in quietly. It was the only way to do this that didn't eventually see Katia breathing down their necks. The first time he'd planned to stay at Doc's, he'd walked right from his place to hers and knocked. Katia, still lingering at his front door, had seen, and around midnight showed up asking when he planned to return.
He couldn't tell her that he didn't, because of the way it would look, so instead he'd had to go back. And then endure comments about the inappropriateness of some people being overly familiar with their bosses, thinly-veiled references that made quite clear just what she interpreted the friendship between himself and Doc to be. Of course, she'd never blame him for it, so poor Doc got the brunt of her bad opinion. At least he could handle the brunt of the commentary.
Sliding in, he closed the door softly behind him and threw the deadbolt—never could be too careful—and stepped out of his shoes in the sort entrance hallway. "Hey Doc, I'm home," he said, his tone pitched quietly but the amusement nevertheless clear. This apartment was certainly more his home than his own, right now. But he did still think to warn her he was present, lest she accidentally take him for an intruder.
Honestly, she was more likely to make the opposite mistake, which was... worrying, in a way. Doffing his wet coat, he hung it on one of the hooks, neatening the towel on the floor to catch the water and heading into the living area.
Basil was the first to greet him, trilling softly to acknowledge his presence before handing him a drink. It was routine with her; she'd always have something for him when he stayed at Doc's.
“Ah, welcome home, Aidan," Doc stated from the kitchen area. She stuck her head out and waved at him before turning back into the kitchen. “Do you want to use the shower? There's a spare towel in there and some jogging pants and a shirt if you want to," she continued. She came out of the kitchen a moment later, carrying what looked to be a chocolate drink of some sort. Maybe hot chocolate from the way it steamed a little.
“I didn't know what size you wear so I bought everything in a large or extra large. I figured it would be easier that way since you've been staying here moreso than your own place, and Mama Basil insisted," she stated, taking a seat on one of the couches.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "I'll hold off on the shower for now, but I appreciate it. Had to sneak more than a change of clothes or two past her." With a nod to the bayleef and an affectionate scratch to her head, he dropped onto the sofa with his drink in hand and propped his feet on the coffee table. Fortunately, Doc didn't mind—fucking Katia scolded him for doing it in his own apartment.
"It's ridiculous that I even have to sneak anything. She's not my damn mother." And she wasn't his boss, either. But she had a way of being more annoying when not appeased, and he knew she could turn a friendship into an HR complaint, and while he didn't give a shit about his own case, since the boss would never bother doing anything about it, Doc's reputation could take a hit. Especially if Katia made it known that she'd filed one, even if it didn't go anywhere—which it wouldn't, because there wasn't anything inappropriate about being friends with a coworker, even in the cutthroat and corporate NTR environment.
He took an irritated swig of his drink. Cream soda, because Basil was a wonderful pokémon and Doc had apparently taken to buying him food, too. He'd really have to figure out something to do to thank her when this was all over.
Doc snorted into her drink before she coughed lightly. “You have a point; it's your apartment. You shouldn't have to sneak anything out or be stuck here. Not that I don't mind you being here; I enjoy your company, but I'm sure you'd like your own space back, right?" she stated, waving a dismissive hand in front of her.
“Besides, I think Mama Basil here likes living up to her name," Doc continued, nodding her head in the bayleef's direction. “She's not leaving any time soon, though, is she?" Doc asked as she tilted her head slightly in Aidan's direction.
“Should I just buy a couch that has a bed inside of it and call it a day?" she added, grinning slightly as if she were amused at her own joke.
He huffed a laugh, and shook his head. "No idea when she's leaving, but she can't stretch her excuse for too much longer before Gregorovich will want her actually doing things again." Come to think of it, he might just... float a request that the boss make that happen sooner. Something about Katia disrupting the work environment, maybe. She was, after all.
With a sigh that was only slightly exaggerated, Aidan took another drink and set it down on the end table. "You know she tried to give me shit for leaving? I told her not to expect me back tonight and she said some bullshit thing about being courteous to guests. When that didn't fly she tried to get me to invite her to come with." He shook his head again, vague disbelief settling onto his face. "The audacity of that woman, I swear." In the end he'd just told her he sure as fuck wasn't sleeping on a couch again, which wasn't true, but worked because Katia was a snob who would in fact think sleeping on couches was enough of an inconvenience to justify a hotel room or something.
Then he'd gone out, walked around long enough for her to get back to not watching his front door, and doubled back to sneak in. Lot of damn nuisance, but since Doc's reputation was on the line here, he was willing to do it.
Doc huffed lightly as she shook her head. “You shouldn't have to make excuses for things like that. And you're an adult, what you do on your spare time should be something you do. You're not married to the woman, so why should she care?" she stated, taking a slow sip of her drink.
“Honestly, she should have had a hotel set up for her or some other accommodation. She's imposing on you because she's here doing something for her family. If it's not NTR related, she shouldn't be bugging you. I think you've been more than courteous to her by practically giving her free range of your apartment." Basil trilled as if she were agreeing with Doc's statement, but Doc sighed softly and shook her head.
“The nerve of that woman. It sounds like she's one of those children who punches and pulls the hair of the other child they like. Although in your case, it seems like she's also slightly delusional," Doc stated as she set her cup down.
“Well, like I've said before, you're always welcome to stay here for however long you'd like. Basil always makes sure that there's room for you. She even cleared out some closet space if you want to use it," she huffed slightly in amusement. Basil nodded her head, though, as if she were proud of Doc's statement.
"Much obliged, both of you. Sorry to impose while being imposed upon." Truthfully, there was something slightly unnerving about the offer of closet space in Doc's apartment. Not because she meant anything by it, but because... he didn't hate the idea. He supposed he already knew she was good to live with. Even with separate places, they were over at each others' a lot. But then, that was just it. They had separate places.
Doc smiled and shook her head. “You're not imposing at all," she stated pursing her lips in his direction in an amused fashion. “At this point in our friendship, I think it's safe to say we're practically roomies. I mean, I'm always at your place playing the game, or we're here doing take-out and streaming silly movies."
“The only difference is, at the end of the day, we both have our separate places," she stated, furrowing her brows slightly.
"Well...not at the end of today," he noted with some amusement. "But thanks."
Gradually, he'd relaxed, and now that he wasn't feeling particularly irritated anymore, he nodded slightly towards the television. "Speaking of dumb movies, I hear a bunch of old horror films just showed up on Zebstreamr." He knew she was subscribed to that one because he'd given her his password for it. "Any interest?" His mouth curled up into a half-grin. He knew by her reaction to the haunted house that 'scary' things were not her forte, but honestly he found stuff like this more ridiculous than scary. Plus he always cheered for the villain.
At the mention of old horror films, Doc's eyes seemed to light up and she unfolded her legs from the couch. “That's actually a good idea. It might help me the next time there's a haunted house. At least with a movie it's a little more controlled. A haunted house? Not so much," she stated as she reached for the remote on the small table in front of her. She tossed it in his direction, though, and grabbed her cup.
“You pick one, and I'll go make another cup of hot chocolate. Do you want me to bring you something? Oh, and we can probably finish the bag of chips and guac from the other night," she added, standing up from her spot.
"Good call." Aidan caught the remote in midair and flipped it around in his hand so it was facing the right direction. "Hot chocolate sounds good, though maybe after the guac." He made a face at the thought of consuming both at the same time and flipped on the screen, scrolling through the new arrivals until he hit one called 'Ecru Chainsaw Massacre.' Snorting, he figured they might as well start with classic gore, and hit play, pausing on the first frame so Doc wouldn't miss any.
Leveling a glance at Basil, he rolled his eyes. "If she freaks, make sure you've got the knit blanket ready," he said with a tone of mock solemnity, fully expecting that Doc could, in fact, still hear him.
Basil made a soft snorting noise, but was already standing from her small bed and making her way towards the closet where Doc kept the spare blankets. “Hey, I'll have you know that I only jumped four times during the last movie, alright. That was as new record for me," Doc stated as she disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later, she reappeared with the bag of chips, the guac, and another cream soda.
“Since you said hot chocolate after the guac, I brought you another one of these for the chips and guac," she stated as if she were explaining the soda. She placed the items on the small table in front of them for easier access, it seemed. “Alright, what are we watching," Doc stated as she sat back on the couch. She glanced in the direction of the television and huffed lightly.
“I've heard this one is an old cult classic. It's so bad that it's good?" she didn't seem too sure, though.
After murmuring a thanks for the soda, Aidan took his feet down off the table for now and re-opened the bag of chips, pouring them out into the weird, donut-shaped bowl that she had. The middle was like a cupholder for the guac, so once he had that all sorted out he brought it back to his lap. Since she sat next to him it was easily accessible to both of them this way, even if they both knew he'd be eating most of the chips.
"Yeah they made it like thirty years ago. Cutting edge special effects at the time, and they're not awful now. But the reason it was a cult classic instead of mainstream is because the plot's fuckin' awful and the acting is ridiculous. There's one guy who's super into it and trying hard, but the rest of them are either kids who've never done a movie before, or washed-up ex A-listers phoning it in. The best part for most people is that one of them is this singer a lot of people hated—Dustin Lieber. He dies in a very gory way, which is pretty typical for the movie. People were into it, I guess."
Doc chuckled softly as she rolled her eyes a bit. “I suppose this movie helped to jump start his career. He's not very good at either, but for some reason some people like him," she stated before grabbing a chip and dipping it into the guac. She huffed slightly as something and turned with an arched brow to face him.
“Out of the characters, who would you say is the Katia of the group?" she asked, slightly curious and amused.
He hit play, not too worried about missing important plot points while talking, since there weren't any. "The alpha bitch archetype? That's Fiona. She's played by this model who wanted to break into acting. She can do the role, but according to the rest of the cast in interviews, it's pretty much because she's just playing herself."
“I suppose that makes sense. It'd be kind of hard not to a do a good job if you're just doing what you normally do," Doc replied before stuffing the chip into her mouth. Once she was done with it she grabbed another one, but didn't eat it right away.
“Has she always been like this? I know you and her were colleagues not that long ago, but was she always this... intense about things?" she asked, keeping her attention on the movie as it started. “I mean, she's from the same family as Eryk, but he's a nice guy. Katia on the other hand seems like she's entitled to both yours and Eryk's time for whatever reason," she added.
"She wants to be in charge of the family," Aidan explained, watching as the group of protagonists finished packing for their ill-fated vacation camping trip. "But they run a pretty old-school succession style deal and she's not in the right branch. So if she wants it, she has to be the best at everything all the time, and on top of that arrange some pretty underhanded stuff to either get rid of the people in front of her or make them her allies." He rolled his eyes.
"But yeah, she's always been like that. I honestly don't know why she gives half a fuck about me, but that's the deal with Ryk, anyhow."
“Well that's a bit archaic," Doc muttered softly before taking a bite of her chip. “And I reiterate, she's like that child on the play ground who punches and pulls the hair of the other child they like. Maybe her fascination with you is because she likes you in that kind of more-than-friends way," she added, visibly shuddering at the statement.
“With her personality and the way she acts, I couldn't imagine she'd have many suitors lined up, but she is very pretty. I'll give her that." Doc finished off her chip before pursing her lips together. “I mean, she's an adult, we're all adults here. Wouldn't it just be easier to say she likes you rather than do all that mean stuff? It just seems unnecessary," she continued before rolling her eyes and folding her legs beneath her. She was careful not to bump into him, though, considering how they were sitting next to each other. She pulled the pillow closest to her and placed in her lap, hugging it towards her.
"I know that much," he admitted with a small huff. Aidan wasn't oblivious to the fact that Katia was attracted to him. She'd come onto him more than once, though always in a way she could deny was any such thing. He knew she wasn't the type to take rejection well, so he feigned obliviousness to her true intentions, which she wouldn't make any clearer because she was afraid to, and in that way they were always at a strange balancing point. "I just don't know why. I'm no use to her goal, and what's more I pretty intentionally emphasize the parts of my personality she's not supposed to like."
That had been his passive strategy for years: try to put her off him, but not so badly they couldn't continue to work together. It had rather spectacularly failed.
“I guess she's the type to want what she can't have," Doc stated with a light shrug of her shoulders. “If you're no use to her goal, and you try to make her not like you, I guess that just means she wants you more. She's a very strange woman who's more child than adult. I guess she likes you for your looks if none of those other things bother her," she added off-handedly.
“Well... if it gets to be too much for you, you can always use me as an escape gogoat," Doc stated, turning away from the movie for a moment and smiled in Aidan's direction. “I'd be glad to help in anyway I can. She's a scary woman but the worst thing she can do to me is spread some unpleasant rumor. And I'm used to rumors being spread about me about random things. Happens a lot when you're in a field like mine," she huffed softly almost as if to herself.
He didn't think she was using that idiom correctly, but he smiled anyway. "I can't say I'm surprised," he said, reaching over with one hand to ruffle her hair a bit. "Thanks, Doc. Now let's watch some idiots get murdered."