So Nic finished up what he was doing before going over to Laurel.

When Nic bent down to pick her up, Laurel grabbed his face and kissed him.

Nic was a little surprised. He kissed her back for awhile before pulling away to pick her up.

Laurel wrapped her arms around his neck again, "Thanks for the date... and the bubble bath," she whispered in his ear before resting on his shoulder.

So Nic carried Laurel back to her room.

Laurel motioned to be put on the bed. She then picked up Rosemary who was asleep there and seemed content enough. "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" she asked Nic.

Nic shrugged a little.

Laurel nodded, "Do you want to go in the hot tub later?" she asked, "I tried it out with James yesterday and it's really nice."

Nic seemed to zone off for awhile before coming back to himself. "... If you want," he replied.

Laurel let out a snort of annoyance before taking a deep breath, "I want to."

Nic nodded a little before starting to leave.

Laurel let him leave.

--

Kale finally went looking for Blaze.

Blaze was incredibly difficult to find, but eventually she was found reading outside.

So Kale walked up to her.

Blaze didn't notice at first, focused on what she was reading.

Kale took a seat beside her.

Blaze finally seemed to notice, but she didn't say anything.

Kale was silent for awhile before sighing, "Let me guess..." he muttered, "In order to think, you have to fight."

Blaze didn't say anything, still looking at her book.

"When you feel the need to fight... Could you please not fight Wolfe when he's already worked into a state?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice level.

Blaze continued to give Kale the silent treatment.

Kale sighed, a little irritation showing through for a moment before he squashed it. "Look, I'm sorry... I..." he paused for a moment, "overreacted. I didn't mean what I said but how is a guy supposed to react when you tell him something like that?" he defended but the question was a serious one..

Blaze seemed a little less focused on the book now, but she still didn't say anything.

"I'm not... your average guy," he muttered before falling silent. After a long moment starting talking again but his tone was different, all trace of annoyance was gone, "Everything you do seems to make me feel more inferior. Is that normal in a relationship?"

Blaze was silent for a long time before replying quietly, "Everything you say seems to make me feel like dirt."

Kale was silent for awhile before sighing, "I'm not good with people," he reminded her in a mutter.

"... I don't have long to live," Blaze reminded Kale quietly.

"Well, I'm sorry," Kale suddenly snapped, "But I'm not going to treat you differently just because of that. When you do something stupid, I'm going to tell you it's stupid."

"You don't have to make me feel stupid to do that," Blaze snapped a little back.

"I already said I'm not good with people!" Kale retorted.

"You're using that as an excuse to hide behind?" Blaze snorted.

"Look, I'd never even had an argument with someone before I meet you!" he retorted.

"A little better," Blaze retorted.

Kale let out a grunt as he put his hands on his head, "I've had more headaches since I met you..." he muttered quietly, "People can be so irritating."

Blaze didn't say anything, letting Kale blow off some more steam if he wanted to.

Kale didn't. He sat there quietly.

"Keep trying," Blaze encouraged. "Keep fishing and you might find a decent excuse."

"And you're so faultless," Kale spat back.

"And now we're back to insults," Blaze sighed.

"Stop it!" Kale exclaimed, "It's hard enough without all the snide commentary!"