They sat in silence, the waitress filled their cups again with coffee and Cord asked for table water. Tegan marvelled at his familiarity with ordering and the humans – it was all so new to her. Their food arrived and they both ate in silence, Cord didn’t touch his maple syrup and Tegan after eyeing it for a while, took it and poured it liberally over her pancakes and bacon.
“You eat like an animal,” Cord huffed in amusement as he watched her lick her fingers free from syrup.
“Shut up,” Tegan ate more eggs. They finished in silence. “You feel better?” He had colour in his face again.
“Yes, I do,” he sighed. “I’m still drained though, but I can get us out of here at least.”
“We’re leaving?” Tegan looked at the waitress as she laughed with another customer at the counter.
“Yes, wait here, I need to use the restroom.” Cord left the table as Tegan sat anxiously, worried about not paying. When he came back, he asked for the cheque and ignored Tegan’s wide eyes as he pulled out a wallet, placing the dollars in the billbook.
“Let’s go,” he said urgently as he rose.
“You stole someone’s wallet?” Tegan whispered furiously.
“Not now,” he pulled her from the diner with a cheerful wave for the waitress. As they walked hurriedly down the street and ducked into the next one, Tegan heard the yell behind them. “Run,” Cord instructed.
They both ran for the next two blocks before Cord had to stop, weaker than he wanted to be. He leaned against a wall, breathing heavily.
“You okay?” Tegan asked, glancing over her shoulder.
“I just need a minute,” he said as he leaned forward.
“Cord, can you portal?” Tegan asked, her voice tense.
“No,” he wheezed out a laugh.
“Then we have a problem,” Tegan nudged him.
Cord looked up and groaned as he saw the dark shadows dispatch from the dark alley across from them. “Oh, come on,” Cord groaned in frustration. “Are you serious right now, Velvore?” He threw an irritated look to the heavens.
Tegan cast a quick glance to the sky and then frowned at him before turning her attention to the two, maybe three, Drakhyn across the street. “Run? Or fight? I only have my boot dagger,” she looked at Cord for confirmation. “Can you protect yourself? If you can’t, I say we run.”
“We run,” Cord bit out. Grabbing her hand, he started to run up the street. They ran for longer than he was able. Tegan knew whatever strength he had gained from the food was depleting fast. They slowed down to a brisk walk when they approached a club. There were humans outside it, waiting to get in or just hanging around. “Act naturally,” he whispered to her, holding tight to her hand. He led them into the mix of humans and they were bumped and jostled as he pulled her through.
Cord walked up to the door and looked at the doorman, Tegan saw the flash of notes being handed over and then Cord was pulling her into the club.
“Where did that come from?” Tegan demanded as he led her further into the club. The music was loud and the place was already busy.
“Don’t worry about it,” Cord said as he looked around. He grabbed her hand again and led them to the back of the club.
“What are we doing?” Tegan pulled his hand to get his attention.
“I need to sit down before I fall down,” Cord said absently as he searched for a table. “Here,” he yanked her forward until they were at a small table booth. He slid in, pulling her with him, the booth was small, they were pressed up against each other. Two bottles of beer and two glasses sat on the table, both half full.
“I think someone is sitting here,” Tegan said into his ear. Cord nodded and slipped his arm around her shoulders, causing Tegan to stiffen.
Cord looked at her as she stared at him in confusion. She had no idea what to feel. This whole night had been disastrous, from the ball, to the attack, to the alley, the diner – all of it.
“Don’t hit me,” Cord whispered in her ear and then his lips were on hers.
Tegan jerked back in shock, but Cord had slipped his hand to the back of her neck and he tightened his grip, holding her in place. He pressed his lips harder to hers, a warning in his touch.
“Just leave them, baby, they don’t look like they want to be interrupted.” Tegan heard the voice and then the clinking of glass. Slowly Cord pulled away from her, she glanced at the table, the drinks were gone.
“What iswrongwith you?” Tegan pushed herself away from him.
“I need to sit, they were going to try and take the table, I haven’t the energy to stand,” Cord sighed tiredly. “Have you got the energy for an unnecessary fight?”