(I'm laughing harder than I should be XD I love Evelyn)
Zeke hadn't been asleep, really. He was right in assuming he wouldn't get any, only because his own levels of paranoia would never allow it. Rather, he'd just been sort of laying there, eyes closed despite being fully conscious– the closest thing he assumed he would get to sleep.
And then of course came Evelyn, startling the living daylights out of him so that he actually jolted awake (though he wasn't technically asleep) and let out a short half-scream. He also came this close to shoving her off and teleporting across the room as a defensive reflex, but he didn't. Upon realizing that there was actually nothing dangerous going on and that Evelyn was just being… well, Evelyn, he got aggravated. Not at her so much as it was just the fact that he'd been startled. Getting startled always got under his skin because it made him feel cowardly.
"Wh– What are you doing?!" he sputtered, definitely not a morning person and probably a cranky boi from lack of sleep. He didn't know what time it was, but– it was too early for getting hug tackled, as far as he was concerned.
(She was created to give everyone a smile :D)
”I’m hugging you, that’s what!!” she answered, cuddling him and rocking a bit left and right. She gave him a cat-like grin
(think ＾• ω •＾) and continued snuggling him.
”Breakfast’s ready if you’re hungry” she stated… even though she was basically clinging onto Nightmare and perhaps absorbing the coldness in his soul from his body. Apparently, this was what she’d been wanting all her life. Just being able to live with him was a dream come true and to be able to share his bed… well, it was her bed, but that’s beside the point. The point was she got to take care of him… somewhat.
(Evelyn: EVERY TIME IS PERFECT TIME FOR HUGGIES!!!! OwO!!)
(That's the face of Evelyn if there ever was one.)
"Agh–" Zeke's body tensed. Any form of physical affection just made him reach extreme levels of flusterization (no it's not a word but I made it one), and, since he had no idea how to deal with his emotions, resulted in aggravation and therefore pouting. Though he'd be lying to say that he didn't enjoy it at least some, and his enjoyment was likely the reason he got flustered in the first place because he was embarrassed for being fond of affection.
His face grew noticeably red, and his brow furrowed a little, but she had an inescapable grip. He squirmed a little, like an angry cat that didn't want to be held by their overly affectionate owner. His attempt was useless, and he grumbled a little.
"What– did you make?" he asked quickly, for no reason other than to maybe shift her attention to anything besides making him a blushing, pouty wreck. He was not ready to emote.
”Some simple pancakes, bacon, and omelets. Though I did make the pancakes a tad bit more special” she gave a quick giggle as she looked at Nightmare. Knowing full well that he wouldn’t be so rough as pushing her off, she snuggled against his chest, her soft hair brushing against his body. She eventually pulled him up.
”Okay, break time—“ she said, taking some quick breathers ”—BREAK TIME OVER~!!” she came in for another hug, her grin was genuine and very sincere and very cute.
(shipping intensifies)
"Ack!"
Evelyn was right that Zeke didn't have it in him to shove her away, even if he felt like his face was on fire, his heart was thumping wildly, and he was all upset now. Not at her, really. Just in general. Probably because he thought that her grin was kind of cute and emotions like that scared him and he got angry when he was afraid.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the kitten sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at them. Probably telepathically staring into Zeke's soul and probing his heart to discern the true emotions hidden there that he was unable to admit, even to himself.
Okay, well, obviously not really, but that was about how Zeke felt as it looked at him with those big eyes. Which was why he couldn't keep looking at the cat and had to readvert his attention back to the woman clinging to him.
He wondered what she meant by special pancakes…
As if to make matters worse, his stomach decided to growl right about then to prove that he was indeed hungry– and there was really no way she couldn't have heard it considering their general proximity to one another. His cheeks only flushed an even deeper pink.
Evelyn giggled a bit when his stomach did growl.
”C’mon—“ she pulled him along to the dining table. Two dishes were put down on the table. One was Evelyn’s to which she sat down there but as for Zeke’s dish…
The pancake was made to the shape of a smiling chibi Evelyn with the words “Welcome~!”. She blushed a bit, her hands were shown to be a bit burnt for that matter. The thirty minutes she spent on will hopefully not be in vain. The canvas she worked on last night was also present and open, completely finished and was only waiting for it to dry.
”If you want syrup, I can go get some for you” she stated with a gleeful grin.
(When your food smiles more than you do, you might be Zeke.)
Zeke looked at Evelyn and then at the pancake as he slowly sank down into his seat. "Sure, thanks–" He wasn't sure how he felt about this. His pancake was a chibi. An Evelyn chibi. He was pretty sure grown men didn't eat chibi pancakes. Especially not a grown man that was supposed to be a feared criminal assassin.
But it was a cute Evelyn chibi pancake, and he liked it, whether he'd admit or not. And we all know, he would not.
That said, he wasn't about to reject it. Especially not when he noticed the burn on her hand and realized that she'd probably spent a lot of time working on making breakfast specially for him. The least he could do was show some appreciation.
He was just trying to find some middle ground here, because he still hadn't gotten over the fact that they kissed last night or the fact that her continuous affection made him feel– well, it made him feel in general, and that was the problem.
Even so, he didn't know what to say about the pancake. Finally, he settled on, "How did you manage to make it look like that?"
((For some reason I just imagined like if Zeke ever got sick, Evelyn making him alphabet soup and like trying so hard to form the letters into a little message "You're the best. Get well soon. :D" and him being internally like ._. "what are emotions and how do I make them stop" ))
((gaspssss how did you know…? XD))
Evelyn was by the cupboard, letting out a soft ‘hm’ when Zeke asked. She did, though, used a small stool to help her reach the syrup. Her size was a bit of a problem here.
”My abilities just came in handy when it came to making molds” she answered, showing him a mold she had made with the black color she’d absorbed before.
Walking back, she picked up the bag of cat food and poured them into the bowls for the kitty cats to enjoy. Usually she would have the machine do it but doing it herself seemed more natural. She set the bag down where it was and placed the syrup by Zeke.
She sort of realized what Zeke might’ve been going through, at least thought process wise. She thought of something.
”You don’t have to eat if you’re uncomfortable with it. It’s not like I put in effort into making it or anything…” she definitely wanted Zeke to feel a tad bit bad if he was going to decline. Semi-forcing, if you would call it.
She had a meeting to attend at ten and she definitely had time to do a lot of things before that comes. Heck, the meeting was with the medical hero, Wisteria, it was going to be fine she assumed. She’ll tell Nightmare about this later though. She sat down at her chair and started eating from her own plate.
Zeke's gaze flickered to the burns on her hand. "No– I don't mind." He couldn't maintain eye contact, but was able to play that off easily by preoccupying himself with the syrup. "Why would I be… uncomfortable?" He meant it more as a rhetorical question than one to be answered, hoping to imply that he had no reason to be uncomfortable. Though he had many reasons, most of them his own fault rather than anyone else's.
But now he did feel bad, because he didn't want her to feel like everything she had done for him– from letting him stay the night to now making him a special pancake– was completely unappreciated. Because it was appreciated He just didn't know how to express that without making himself feel more weird or awkward than he already felt.
"Thank you." He finished smothering the little pancake in syrup and looked at it for a moment. He may or may not have felt a teeny bit bad that he was about to destroy it with a fork, but… it was a pancake. That was sort of its purpose.
Evelyn, who had purposely got Nightmare to feel bad, silently laughed when she turned another way. How did this mad man manage to give her heart thumps she was never aware of? He was cute in his own way, perhaps mostly due to awkwardness. Seriously though, he couldn’t have been cuter. Well, at least for now.
She finished her meal quite quickly, perhaps because she’d been working all night that her body wanted everything.
She took her plate and went over to the sink.
”Do you ever do undercovers?” she asked, genuinely curious. She did have something planned for both answers.
Zeke glanced up at her as he munched on his pancake. It was probably a good thing he wasn't telepathic. His levels of awkwardness and embarrassment would spike through the roof if he knew how cute she thought he was. "What do you mean by undercovers? Like– covert missions?" He took another bite of his pancake. Poor chibi pancake Evelyn was half gone, but what was left of her was still smiling.
Evelyn came back to the table, her hands cleaned and all that.
”Well… yes. That and do you have any other clothes?” she asked. Truthfully, she wanted to go on a walk with him. Maybe take him to some places she wanted to go but had no one to go with. Though… if she was being real with herself, she just wanted to spend time with him. Whether that be in the form of traveling or whatever.
((Aight. I’mma be back in a couple of hours. My eyelids are about to shut. XD))
(Yes, you must sleep. There will be no deaths from sleep deprivation here.)
"Yeah, I've done a few." He could recall a few small side-missions here and there that he had refrained from using even his Nightmare getup to accomplish, though the majority of his work had been completed under his infamous alias. Zeke looked down at his clothes. "And– um… Not with me," he responded slowly. Sure, he had some back at his shabby apartment– but he hadn't planned to stay at anyone's house last night, and he most certainly didn't expect to need a change of clothes. "Why?"
”Well, I thought I might take you somewhere. You know, think of it as like a date” she giggled a bit when she finished as she knew Nightmare would most likely be a bit embarrassed when hearing that word. She went over to her cat bean bag and laid on it, rocking back and forth on it like a little kid.
”By the way, I need a name I can call you by. I couldn’t just call you ‘Nightmare’ in the middle of the streets and if you don’t really have one, I’ll just call you ‘Darling’ over and over and over again” she gave him a small teasing grin.
A date?
Darling?
Zeke froze mid-bite, the fork still in his mouth. His eyes grew wide and his face very very red. It was only by some miracle that he didn't choke right then and there. He nearly did.
But– he had other problems. How the heck was he supposed to respond? He finished the bite of pancake quickly and swallowed, clearing his throat.
"Ezekiel," he finally managed to blurt out after struggling for several agonizing seconds– each of which felt like an eternity to him. "It's– My name's Ezekiel." He paused. "Or– Or just Zeke. That works, too."
(The way to interrogate Nightmare to reveal his secret identity:)
(Interrogator: "TELL ME YOUR IDENTITY OR I'LL CALL YOU DARLING INSTEAD")
((Zeke: "OKAY OKAY IT'S EZEKIEL NIALLS AND I'LL EVEN SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU IF YOU NEED ME TO JUST HAVE MERCY OKAY"))
(I just have the feeling that Lynn will be the death of Zeke one day and I’m pretty sure about that as well XD)
Cool name…
Evelyn smiled and stood up from the bean bag, wrapping her arms around him from behind, pecking his cheek.
”I will still call you ‘Darling’ though, just not as often as I’d like to” she gave a sincere tone. She let go soon, looking at the time. 7:30? Still plenty of time to waste with Zeke.
She returned to her beanbag.
”When you finish just put the plate and utensils by the sink. While I’m washing them, you can go get your clothes—“ she rolled around a bit, ending up by the her cats ”—alright?”
Zeke tensed a little, his eyes as wide as possible, his face burning dark crimson– and it didn't look like it was going to soften anytime soon. He may or may not have appeared mildly terrified, but that was mostly because he had no idea how to respond and emotions– particularly the ones Evelyn had a knack for arousing– scared him a little. Okay, a lot.
Too flustered to reply, he finished off his pancake and promptly deposited the dishes in the sink. "Okay well, I'm going to– um– go change into–" He was so discomfited that he tripping over his own words. He had to clear his throat and recollect himself. And he still couldn't look her in the eye. "I'm going to go get the clothes."
Evelyn nodded with a smile. She closed her eyes and waved a small goodbye to the man.
”I’ve already disabled the cameras, so you’re safe until you exit the building” she mentioned while she was doing the dishes.
”Come back quickly, alright? I’ll be waiting” she stated with a gentle tone. Her mind wasn’t really going anywhere but what clothes to where that would be… suitable for a “date” with the infamous one. She was thinking of something cute her size… or might be something cool and edgy, she didn’t really know.
(Sorry, my friend! I think I went awol for a few seconds hours and vanished into the wilderness. But I be back now. ^-^)
"Ah– Right. Okay." Zeke was so shaken from all of her simple gestures he looked utterly freaked out. And he was. It was a good thing nobody around here could sense what his fears were, or he'd die of embarrassment. He was already about to as it was. "Thanks."
With that, he left, sticking to the alleys on the way to his apartment, avoiding all contact with other people. He hated how much his thoughts constantly dwelt on Evelyn– and how he couldn't bring himself to even think about ghosting her on this. He tried to consider the option, but he just didn't have it in him to do that kind of thing to someone who had been so nice to him.
He reached his apartment quickly, changed clothes. He never would've admitted that he had tried to pick out something decent to wear. Something clean and nice and unwrinkled. Possibly the best of his clothes, considering he didn't own anything too nice. And most certainly would never admit that he'd tried to do something with his untameable hair or that he'd gone through any trouble to try to make himself look presentable. Or, in more blunt terms, attractive.
But he most certainly didn't do any of those things. cough cough oh yes he most certainly did
With that finished, he headed back to Evelyn's, almost just as nervous and skittish as he'd been when left. He didn't look like Nightmare anymore– rather just some regular guy– but Evelyn would, of course, recognize his face. His very flushed face.
(Uh, that’s fine. I was just a tad bit worried as to where you might have gone XD)
With the open door, Zeke would be met with a… ”Nyan~” …a bespectacled Evelyn. Her glasses were a circular pair with thin gray frames. She was wearing a light gray hoodie with cat ears on its hood. She imitated the pose of a cat, showing her very small fangs.
”Surprise hug—” finishing, she clung onto Zeke’s neck and practically stood there for a moment or so before retreating.
She was also wearing short jeans. Even though they were short enough to expose her thighs, she didn’t really mind. She had long black socks on so that was clearly something.
Her hair was tied up to a messy bun but was cute nonetheless.
”Ready to go?” she asked energetically, having a purse by her side.
(I took an unplanned hiatus.)
Zeke's face turned an even deeper red, and this time it wasn't even because of anything she said. It was because she was incredibly adorable– and he couldn't help but think so.
Add that to the list of things he would never admit.
But that didn't necessarily mean anything, either, he attempted to reassure himself. The kiss and the hugs and his own thoughts and the paintings and the pancakes and her comments and the "date"– they didn't–
Okay, well, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to actually convince himself that none of those meant anything, and that made his internal panic, fear, and embarrassment levels spike, because he didn't know what to do.
Several seconds passed before he realized he hadn't answered her yet– he'd just been staring at her while his mind reeled and he tried to make sense of everything. "Y-yeah–" he finally managed to squeak out, but it was barely audible, so he cleared his throat and repeated himself. "Yeah, I'm ready."
He had to convince himself that she was thoroughly joking and that this was not a date. This was just… him going to hang out with her for… some perfectly justifiable reason that he couldn't come up with.
But it wasn't a date. He was far too terrified to call it that because the way things were going and the rapid pace at which they were indeed going scared him and he'd never felt like or done this before in his life.
(Evelyn is such a precious little spunky girl and I love her. I also love how she essentially volunteered Zeke for a date that he didn't sign up for and how he's going on it anyway because he secretly wants to while at the same time is horrified of it.)
(Oh… I thought I was the only one who does that from time to time…)
(Also, yes, Zeke, you’re not going anywhere but with Evelyn >:3)
Letting out a small giggle, Evelyn nodded and went to stand beside the man. She held onto his arm, leaning on his shoulder and thanks to their height different, she was perfectly comfortable with that pose.
Of course, she locked the door before they headed anywhere. Safety’s first of course. For both her and her cats as the feeding machine was on and scheduled.
”People don’t seem to recognize me so that’s nice…” Evelyn said casually, her hood covering her head.
They did have some time to waste before Evelyn had to give Wisteria a visit. Two hours, to be exact. Which was why she came here, the Fountain Plaza in the middle of the city. She looked around wonderingly. She’d never been able to see the Plaza in its finest form as she had always been in the middle of a crowd. This change of pace was… nice.
”Can we go there?!” she asked, pointing to a cafe that looked not so crowded but was nicely decorated. Her eyes seemed to sparkle… somehow.
Zeke hadn't really been there, either. He didn't get out much, aside from when he operated as Nightmare– but, of course, that was always during the night. He usually sulked around at home during the day and attempted to get what rest he could while mostly having unseen nervous breakdowns. Enjoying himself wasn't something he did often these days. Or ever, truth be told.
He admired the place, though being in public– even when there weren't any crowds around– had it's way of making him nervous. He didn't like being seen by people.
But Evelyn's presence secretly helped him not feel as nervous in that aspect. Then again, the way she held his arm and leaned against him made him feel exceedingly nervous in another. And the way her eyes sparkled only made it a thousand times worse.
But he nodded stiffly and managed, "Sure. Why not? I've never been."
Evelyn practically clapped her hands with glee, taking Zeke by the wrist and bringing him towards the cafe—
”Sweet, let’s g—“
BOOM!!!
An explosion occurred not faraway from the two. To be precise, it happened across the street where a park was and where number of people were. The culprit landed amidst the flames of the explosion, being a humanoid figure in a black metallic suit.
Out of instinct, Evelyn pulled Zeke along with her into a nearby alleyway to hide from the villain’s line of sight while several civilians were shouting and screaming. They ran away as quickly as they could, only to be met with sleeping gas deployed by the villain.
”Tsk. Termina…” the rogue stated in an annoyed tone. What was a sociopathic villain doing this early in the morning anyways?
”Ow…” she quietly sounded, realizing that her elbow had gotten burned due to the first explosion.
Zeke peered around the corner before spinning around to face Evelyn. He was about to say something, but it slipped his mind as his eyes landed on her injury. "Evelyn! You're hurt–" he blurted out in a harsh whisper, his concern evident. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and guided her deeper into the alleyway. "Come on. We have to get out of here." Zeke wasn't much for fleeing, but he wasn't one for fighting when he was out of control, either. Here, he was without his suit, which meant his identity would be exposed. It was daylight, so he was without the cover of night. Quite frankly, none of his abilities remotely protected him from sleeping gas.
But more than anything, he didn't feel like he could adequately protect Evelyn, and that wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
