Ares' POV

After I have rewarded my little spitfire, I leave him to get himself together so I can take him to get some food. I walk down the hallway back towards the kitchen with a smile on my face. The way he handled both Charlie and Kenneth so beautifully without stuttering was sexy as hell. If I didn't know any better I would say that he was jealous when he saw Charlie talking to me. But of course, I do know better, though the thought makes me sigh wistfully.

I go towards the fridge, grabbing a water bottle for myself and contemplating where I should take Thomas. I'm leaning against the counter when he comes in, smacking me across the back of the head before reaching into the fridge to grab his own bottle.

"Where do you want to eat, Thomas?" I ask him, picking up my keys from the counter and heading towards the door. I hear him scoff behind me as he follows me towards the door.

"So, I'm Thomas now?" He asks, hands coming up to cross over his chest as he watches me sit on the couch to lace up my boots.

"Isn't that you're name?" I ask calmly. I hadn't intended to make my kitten upset by calling him by name, I just wasn't sure if he would like it outside the bed room. He huffs at me his eyes narrowing at me distastefully.

"No. It is not." I chuckle at his irritated expression, standing up grabbing his hand to pull him flush against my chest.

His cheeks blush red fiercely as he tries to maintain his glare without melting against me. "I'll call you what I want to, kitten. And stop being so cute before I end up bending you over the couch." I tell him kissing him on his forehead, but I quickly have to pull away laughing as he tries to hit me.

"I am not a bottom Ares. Call me that again and I'll tie you to the bed and fuck you until your legs break." He yells at me, chasing me around the room, careful to avoid furniture.

I quickly stop in my tracks turning so fast that Thomas stumbles to stop before he collides into me. "Careful what you say, love. You might just get what you want." I whisper to him, cackling at the heated and shook expression on his face. I quickly grab my keys and phone in one hand and my bratty lover in the other before exiting my apartment and heading to the ground floor, after assuring my wallet is in my pocket.

Since Thomas never gave me an answer of what he wants, I decide to take him to get pizza, the greasy food never a bad choice. I let go of his hand as I open the door for him, but the cheeky fucker pushes me out the door only to hold it himself.

"I'm not some dainty lady who can't handle a door, Ares." He tells me rolling his eyes at the mere thought.

"Oh trust me, I'm sure you can handle a lot." He goes to hit me again, but I grab it, hooking his fingers inside my belt loop as I did last night. The past twenty four hours has been the most exhausting and annoying I've ever lived in my life. And that's saying a lot. But as I walk down the street with Thomas holding my belt loop, I can't help but want to bang my head against the wall for how long I hid from him.

Despite this morning, today has turned out to be a good day. And of course I speak too soon. As we cross in front of a group of guys, some of them come to block us off from continuing our nice walk. Oh, lovely.

"Oh look at this!" One exclaim, arms spread as he comes towards us, obviously the leader of the group. I tense up, wishing I could just grab Thomas and run for the fucking hills. "It seems as if someone put big bad Ares on a fucking leash." He cackles coming around to stare at me with a wild smirk. Usually I would turn invisible and take care of these dumbasses by myself but I have extra cargo today and under no circumstances would I ever put my sassy kitten back in the situation we were in last night again.

I feel him step closer to me, his grip tightening on my loop protectively.

"What do you want?" I ask the cocky bastard.

"Tsk tsk, Ares. No one said you could speak. Bark when spoken to, doggy." He chastises and I hate it. Not because of the shit he's saying, no I could give two fucks and a suck about what he has to say. But the fact that my little spitfire is seeing me like this has my blood boiling.

"Who are you?" Thomas asks, stepping forward to stand beside me. I cringe at the thought of him getting between me and these fucktards but I don't know what to do and I hate it.

"We're Cram. If you know any of-" Before a red haired boy can finish his sentence, Thomas walks up to the leader and grabs him by the collar. His sexy ass fangs drop as his lip curls into a snarl. I know this isn't the best time, but all I can thing about is my hand around his throat fucking him into submission as he bares his fangs at me. Or the look in his eyes when he claims my throat as his. My dick jumps behind my jeans and I'm seventy percent sure my eyes glazed over but honestly, that's besides the point. I watch in awe and hunger as Thomas surprises me once again.

"Listen here, you little shit. Tell Rello that Snow caught you trying to hustle him. And the next time I see you, your ass is mine." He snarls, the whites of his eyes turning black along with his irises as he stares down the Enchanted thug.

"S-snow? You're Snow?" He stumbles clearly distressed at this turn of events. As much as I should be worried and confused, in all honesty I'm just enjoying the view of Thomas asserting his dominance knowing I could take it from him easily.

"You heard what I said, now move!" He snaps, letting go of the now scared man and pushing him away. The man and his little friend group are quick to scramble away after that and all I do is chuckle. I walk up to Thomas, smile plastered on my face, as I shake my head.

"Pizza sound good?" I ask him, completely unfazed by what just happened. The confusion in his eyes only heighten my amusement as his eyes continue to their captivating blue.

"Yeah. Pizza's my favorite." He says, a smile beginning to flit across his face.

"Come on then, let's go get some." I say, expecting him to walk beside me like he wanted to last night, but I'm pleasantly surprised when he grabs onto my belt loop, trailing behind me in contentment.

✨✨✨

After I we got our pizza, I decided to walk Thomas back to his apartment knowing that he probably wanted some fresh clothes and a shower. I watch as the day disappears in a firework of yellows and pinks, smiling as the feeling of having a loved one so close. Having the game every other night is great on times like this, though this is the first time I'm thinking so, I will admit.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Thomas asks beside me. I look up as he balances on the low brick wall that's running along the sidewalk.

I snort at him rolling my eyes. "Kitten, my thoughts are worth a million dollars. So you better pay up if you want to know something."

"Or you could tell me for free and I'll give you a kiss." He counters me and I hum in contemplation.

"You drive a hard bargain, but you have a deal." I exclaim before I sober up, looking up to the winking stars. "I was thinking about how I was a few weeks ago. Hell, how I was yesterday."

"What do you mean?" He asks hopping down off the wall to copy my strides as we walk through the night.

I sigh, trying to figure out how much to give away. Though today has been fun and close to perfect, we've only just met. And at any moment he can decide that whatever notion that's in his head is true and that I'm not good enough for him. And that solidifies my decision on what to say. "For the past couple month, things have been different, at least for me. It kind of felt like I was loosing myself. Especially knowing you were out there looking for me, ironic I know. I stopped caring about how I or anyone else would survive, mentally or physically and only cared about winning. Securing the only accomplishment I've ever held to my name." I say proudly smiling all the while as if it was all just some silly joke. But I know that smiling would never take the pain away or hide the raw honesty my words hold.

Thomas is quiet for a moment, his steps smooth and long as he thinks. "Why did you hide from me for all these months?" He asks and though there's no accusation in his tone, I'm not ready to face this conversation. Especially without something giving in return.

"Why did you react the way you did when you found me?" I counter him, the memory attempting to put a dent in my good mood but I try my best to shake it off. We finally reach his building as he turns to look at me as I stare ahead of me, focusing on the stairs as we climb them.

" Touché." Is all he answers as we reach his floor, turning his head back to face in front of us. When we reach his door we're consumed in an awkward silence that I despise but have no way of knowing how to end it. It's only then that I realize how little I know about Thomas. Apparently, not enough to start a conversation.

When he reaches for the door I stop him, slipping his phone out of his hoodie without him noticing. I put my number in there, turning my back as Thomas tries to reach for it. I laugh at his attempts, though after I add my contact, I hand it back to the fuming little kitten. "If you want to talk or need me for, like, cuddles, I guess, you can call me?" I say, not meaning to make it sound like a question, but I have never had to do small shit like this before. I rub the back of my neck awkwardly but all Thomas does is smile.

"If you want to talk, you know where I live." He says opening the door as he tucks his phone back into his pocket. I grab him before pulling him back towards me, pinning him against the wall next to his door.

"You almost forgot something, Kitten." I say, shaking my head in mock disappointment as he tries to seem oblivious.

"I did?"

"You don't remember?" I bring my hand up to his throat holding tightly enough for him to feel it as I press him harder against the wall. I raise my other hand to explore his lean strong body, loving the slight curves his clothes try to hide. I bring my lips close to his, a whisper not even able to fit in the space between our lips, but as his eyes close and his head begins to tilt in anticipation, I let him go stepping back and giving his flustered face a thousand watt smile.

"What...?" He starts but before he can finish I give him a smirk that makes his eyes narrow.

"Well if you don't remember, you must not be forgetting anything." I say as I turn to begin to walk away. "Call me." I shout over my shoulder, smiling as I call the elevator, chuckling as his door slams shut.

~~~~~
I'm ngl In kinda nervous about this chapter. Lmk what you guys think. Does this match the plot and the characters? Should I just rewrite it. Idk.

Thoughts?

Comments?

QOTD: Favorite kind of pizza?