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Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks. - Isaac Watts

Michael paced up and down the room with an undone shirt hanging down from his shoulders while he dictated what they needed to Liz, who sat indian-style on the bed and wrote everything down on a notepad. The eagle would pace to the window, stop, raise his left index finger and say something. Liz giggled when he did that for the first time, commenting on how he looked like general Custer.

"What are we having for dinner anyway? And who's cooking?" She asked, lifting her eyes from the craggy notes in front of her. "We need to see how many people we can get in here and who's available on such short notice." Michael replied and put his fist against his forehead, briefly impersonating Rodin's 'Thinker' "Any ideas? Any acquaintances you could ring up?"

"I could think of a few." Replied Liz and immediately thought of Hampton's business card that had been burning a hole in her pocket for days now "There's always the neighbours. But we shouldn't invite our next-doors. They're assholes. Or rather, she's an asshole."

Michael shrugged and sat down on the bed, supporting his weight with his wings. Liz crawled up to him and put her arms around his shoulders. She gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. He just wrapped his fingers around hers and held her hand. "I'm sitting here on your bed, undressed, and it's eleven in the morning." Michael remarked and stroked the top of her paw with his thumb "Shouldn't you have kicked me out by now and gone to work?"

"In a perfect universe, yes." She replied and put her head down on his shoulder, her eyes closing for a moment as she took him in "But you are here and I'm about to ask you what's for breakfast."

"Following that train of logic, we exist in a state of perpetual chaos."

"I know, I wouldn't have it any other way." She said in what was practically a whisper and planted the softest kiss on his neck.

***

They descended down the stairs and into the living room where they found North in his usual state, controller in hand and Coke on the table. Liz gave him a wave as she passed and Michael sat down, grabbing the free controller. "Slept well?" Michael asked. North didn't bother replying. He just cast pissed off glances at his best friend, hoping that he'd eventually get the message. He also decided to address him as 'Judas' for the rest of the day. While not as subtle, it was bound to get the eagle's attention. Casually North observed the smug smile plastered over Michael's face. Sure, smile you fucker. Observing his neck, he accidentally noticed Michael's tie. It was tied differently. He always tied it in the same intricate way. He heard Michael referring to that knot as the "Winchester" or something along those lines. North figured it was some gun thing. But this was a simpler knot. Still as neat and tidy as the other one, but simpler.

"The fuck is up with your tie?" North asked, his exposed eye still glued to the screen. "Oh, this?" Michael replied and lifted his tie "Liz tied it for me this morning." North had to stop his jaw from falling slack. Someone else touching Mike's tie? That was practically a fucking death sentence. The man owned guns, for God's sake! And there he was, all cheery and proud of that fact. If North so much as looked at his fucking tie the wrong way, the shifty little bastard would immediately notice and not-so-subtly cover it up. Something was up. Something big. A cold sweat snaked its way down North's spine and he secretly wondered if dark magics were at work.

"And you know that I harbor a weakness towards women who know their way around a tie." He added in a louder tone. "The way to a man's heart is through his collar." Liz chimed in as she walked in and handed Michael bowl of cereal. North winced at this exchange. They already started with the pleasantries. He needed to do something, and fast. Not only for his own sake, but for Michael's too. It would be best if he stepped in and saved him from the clutches of this strange woman. That way, he'd look like the hero and maybe he'd get the fair maiden for himself too. Maybe she'd prefer him and his suave, smooth-talking self over the overly-romantic eagle. North nodded to himself and imagined a scene where he stood over a crowd of zombies, the leader of which was none other than Michael, whilst he blasted the horde with a pair of fully automatic SMG's. Liz would be there too, clinging to his leg as he fought off wave after wave of the undead. He'd be the apocalypse's greatest gentleman. Of course, he'd do it all for Michael, but secretly.

"So, about the party tonight." Liz began and opened the notes she brought downstairs "We need a guest list, a cook, and some music. I've sorted your music collection when I unpacked everything. There's some good stuff in there."

"What party?" North said as he snapped out of his trance "We're having a party?"

"Yep." Michael replied and smiled "Housewarming party. We're inviting everyone we can think of."

"Like who?" North asked and paused the game, a gesture that meant he was serious "We know a grand total of maybe six people in this city. You've never gone out of your way to make friends. And neither have I."

"That's enough." Liz interjected, causing North's expression to grow unpleasant "I don't have many people I'd call my friends either. We were thinking of having a dinner party or something like that, providing we find someone who can cook."

"Fuck it, you're my friends." North added, trying his best to sound as if he wasn't agitated by these new circumstances "I'll cook. Maybe I don't seem like someone who is really shit at anything that involves pots and pans, but my mom always said I was a decent cook."

"Great. Here's the keys to the pick-up. Go fetch everything you need." Michael said and fished the car keys out of his pocket "We'll get everything else ready while you're out."

North nodded and left the house. Liz stood up and walked over to the shelf in which she put the CD's. Picking over each disk with her claw, she removed those that seemed interesting. Michael stood behind her and keenly observed her bottom as she shifted from side to side. Her tail swished about like a snake. She stood up with a stack of CD's in her arms and put them down on the table.

"There, that should do it for now. I picked out some fan favourites." Liz said and put her paws on her hips "There's some indie in there, some dance, and some light jazz. Anything else you wanna add?"

"So far so good." Michael said. He picked up each CD, looked it over, and put it back down. If this wasn't enough they'd plug an iPod into the stereo and play something from there. "Do you think that the Zombie will come through with the cooking?" Liz asked and sat down next to Michael. "He's never broken a promise before. Don't see why he'd do break one now" he replied.

He put his arms around her and drew her in for a cuddle. She didn't protest. With her head against his chest, she felt his breath touch the top of her hair, falling over each strand like a waterfall. She raised herself up slightly and kissed his neck, her lips glossing over each feather, sensing every muscle that tensed up beneath his skin. Raising herself up a little more, she planted a small river of kisses on his beak, slowly ascending from his collar. Softly she undid his tie, letting it fall into two separate threads. He responded in equal measure, kissing her ear and biting it tenderly, his talon wandering down to the top of her trousers. With his right hand he made circles in the fur of her exposed midriff, each touch of his hand like a gift from Heaven. Pushing herself up further against him, she looked into his eyes, her mind for the moment lost in the twin pools of blue and green. A pair of lovely jade spheres made contact with Michael's very soul and he could contain himself no longer. Lowering his head, he pulled her in for a kiss. At no point did she resist or fail to return the gesture. Their tongues flicked against one another, moments later dropping all defences and going for the whole nine yards. Losing his steady footing, Michael fell back and Liz collapsed on top of him, lost in the kiss. Every muscle in Liz's body wanted this to go further, to drive off a cliff like a car with no brakes. Michael felt her tense up in his hands, her body engulfed by the feathers on his wings. His left hand descended down her thigh and prodded the base of her tail, causing her to almost moan. Deciding that she had enough of his teasing for now, she sat up on top of him, grabbed his collar with both her paws and dragged him up the stairs, stopping halfway to slam him against the wall and kiss him once more. He raised her left leg by the knee and held it against her calf. Moments later, they vanished into the bathroom to the sounds of a running shower.

***

An hour later they were lying in the shower together, exhausted and drenched in sweat. Liz wrapped one of Michael's feathers around her finger and let it fall back onto his chest. His chest feathers were white with a small brown streak at the very bottom. The water made them mat together, making Liz feel as if she was lying on a wet pillow. The leopard suddenly remembered that they didn't call anyone yet and that so far, no invitations to the party were sent. She put a paw under her chin and thought about who else she could invite. Maybe her cousin was in town? She had received a phone call some days ago from Susan, asking if they could at anyone point go for a coffee. Too bad that her cousin was an airhead. Michael noticed her thinking and kissed her softly on the nose. She giggled and kissed him back.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He asked and smiled. "I'm just thinking about who else to invite. Maybe my cousin Susan is in town." she replied and sat up, grabbing a towel on the way out of the tub.

"Why don't you invite her?" Michael asked, his hands behind his head, and stretched "The more the merrier."

"She's an idiot, truth be told." Liz raised one of her legs on the toilet and wiped it down, the drops of water that slid down her fur becoming smaller and smaller "We've lived together for a short while. Susan drinks a lot too. Mostly in the morning. I'm sort of worried that she's an alcoholic."

Michael turned away from her and stared at the ceiling, wondering when those cracks in the stucco appeared. Having decided that he has work to do, he turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around his waist. Hopefully North had returned by now. The supermarket wasn't all that far and Michael didn't trust him with the pick-up. But he did know that North was a damn good cook when he was in the mood. Maybe all of this wouldn't turn out to be a hideous disaster waiting to happen. If North came through with the food and everyone showed up, there would be no problems. Not to mention that he lost an hour or more. But it didn't matter. The woman he loved was presently leaning against the door, completely naked and smoking after an hour of passionate lovemaking. That's all he needed right now. The image of her with a sly smile on her face and a cigar between her fingers in a misty bathroom.

"Darling, could you hand me my smokes? They're in my trouser pocket." Michael asked and Liz threw him the packet and a lighter. He caught the packet but not the lighter, the small plastic object hitting the floor of the bathtub with a thud. Smoke drifted through the tiny bathroom, filling it to the brim, creating an atmosphere befitting of a 1940's nightclub.

"Are we a couple now?" Liz asked out of the blue, causing Michael to do a double take. Looking over to her, he saw that her smile had faded and that she had resigned herself to starting at her feet. This seems to have been bothering her for some time now. His mind shuffled all the options. He loved her and he was sure of it. But did she love him back? All those things she told him when he was unconscious could have been brought on by her depression. What if she wasn't thinking straight? Michael extinguished his cigarette in the sink and walked over to Liz, pulling her as close as he could. The towel around his waist slipped to the floor. They were embraced, bodies touching, completely naked and exposed. He placed one of his hands on her chest and parted the fur, feeling her heart beating. To be this close to her was an amazing feeling. Lowering his head slightly he moved his beak close to her ear and exhaled.

"I love you." He whispered, and kissed her "I'll have you if you'll have me." She didn't say anything. She just stood on her toes and kissed him as passionately as she could, their tongues touching once more. For a moment or maybe less, Elizabeth felt their very souls intertwining, becoming bound to one another. They pulled away and she looked into his eyes as deeply as she could.

That was a yes. Michael was sure of it.