This Ain't No Fairy Tale

Sometimes Kythen wished his grandfather wasn't so old fashioned. He thought he had escaped this sort of thing when he moved away from home and hadn't heard any talk of anything like this. And then he got the blasted phone call about a week ago. Despite his hopes, his grandfather had talked to his parents and together the three of them had set up an arranged marriage for him to some rich city girl whose parents weren't too young to be opposed to the old fashioned idea. He'd argued that his parents hadn't had an arranged marriage only to be informed his father had, at one point, been engaged but upon meeting his mother and falling in love, the marriage was called off since the pair had never eve met anyway.

"What about my soul mate? She's still out there somewhere. I'd like to find her some day." He'd asked, thinking perhaps that would sway them to call off the marriage.

"How many wolves do you know that have found their soul mates, pup?" His grandfather had asked. "A wolf could spend his entire life searching for his soul mate and never find her. It's time to grow up and let go of that fool dream." He'd argued then, demanded to know why wanting something that was a part of every wolf's instinct was so foolish and why shouldn't he search? If it made him happy wasn't that what mattered? And what about her? Didn't she want to find her soul mate? Nothing he'd said had had any affect and eventually he'd resorted to simply hanging up and ignoring his calls.

He continued this until his grandfather had simply shown up at his door and threatened to sleep in the hallway if Kythen didn't let him in and wouldn't that make him look bad to all his neighbors? Needless to say (though he'd been sorely tempted to ignore the man) Ky'd let him in and more arguing had ensued. His grandfather, after all, had been the one to encourage him to go out in search of his soul mate and not give up hope of finding her. Now suddenly it was a foolish puppy dream? It didn't make sense to Ky and he'd said as much.

"In deference to what we knew would be intense opposition on your part we agreed to wait until after you graduated to actually marry the two of you off. If you happen to find your soul mate between now and then the whole deal is off. But even so, she's transferring here the start of the semester and you will at least try and get to know her." And that was it, in Dallas or out of Dallas, his grandfather's word was law.

So here he was three days later waiting near the fountain for his apparent wife-to-be to arrive. His grandpa had told him he needed to be dressed nicely so he would make a good first impression. Of course, 'dressed up' in this case meant a pair of black slacks, a gray button down shirt and a dark tie. Just to be contrary, however, Kythen had also donned his black cowboy boots and hat. His grandfather hadn't been happy but thought it best not to argue and had retreated to oversee things from somewhere else. Kythen was tempted to walk away right then and there but knew that his grandpa wasn't so far off that he wouldn't put a stop to that if he tried. So instead, the young werewolf settled down on a bench near the fountain and turned his iPod up full blast, blaring country tunes to help soothe his temper and settle his nerves. Maybe he could make this girl hate him and she'd demand this whole marriage thing be called off too. If neither of them wanted to get married they couldn't be forced to be together right? It wouldn't do either of them or their families any good if they hated each other, after all.

Though he had looked uninterested, Kythen had been watching everyone that came toward the fountain. Most were human or other students he recognized. He'd just started to hope that maybe this girl wasn't going to show when a newcomer showed up, spied him and started his way. He took his time discreetly observing her but made no move to go greet her. Okay so she's hot. Not enough to make me want to agree to an arranged marriage, though. He thought to himself about the time she reached him and tipped his hat up, a motion that made him frown at her. He didn't like when people touched his hat. Especially while he was wearing it.

Personal space. Ever heard of it? He thought at her when she pulled one of the earbuds out of his ear too. Instead he turned off the iPod and considered trying to stand but since she was so close he settled for a neutral smile and tugged his earbud out of her hand. "If I told you my name was George what would you do?" He questioned before he could stop himself and sighed. "Sorry, yeah, you're right. I'm Kythen but you can call me Ky or Cowboy if you want. I'd say it's a pleasure but, with all due respect, I have no interest in an arranged marriage nor do I feel like I'm ready for a fiancee of any sort, arranged or not." His tone was polite but it was clear he really didn't care for the idea of an arranged marriage. It was nothing against Victoria. She seemed like she'd be a nice enough person if he'd met her under other circumstances but right then he was ready to try and dislike her, or at least make her dislike him. "So what now? It's my understanding that we're expected to live together. I don't know about you but that seems terribly awkward. I do, at least, have a spare room you can have if you don't want to share." Thank God for three bedroom apartments. Not that he used the spare bedroom for much but at least he had it. In his opinion, it was better than not having a spare room and needing to make one. Hopefully she'd take him up on the offer of the spare room and not expect to share his.

So she wasn't pleased with the idea either? That would make figuring out a way to break this whole thing up a lot easier. Of course, she had to follow that up by saying he wasn't her type (though he couldn't figure out why he even cared). "No offense taken. Bet your type is some soft city brat who's never known a hard day's work in his life." His tone betrayed how much disdain he felt for the spoiled rich city kids that he figured Victoria had spent her time dating. But then again, he didn't know her romantic past so he could be wrong. Maybe she liked the rough and rowdy gangster types that prowled the streets of New York City. Of course, he was neither. He worked hard for what he wanted and he treated most everyone he met with the same respect as anyone else.

He watched her as she sat and considered her words. "At least I have the spare room. Just imagine if I didn't have it." He let that thought hang in the air for a moment before waving it away. "As for this arrangement, getting out of it is easier said than done. The mastermind behind all of it is my grandfather, former Alpha of Dallas. He's stubborn as a mule and arguing with him is like trying to stop the wind. He's also watching us to make sure I obey our little agreement." He indicated the old man who was very obviously pretending to read a magazine not far off. "He'll leave us alone if we at least make it look like we're getting along, those so you don't really have to worry about him at all." He added, giving her a shrug and a roll of his eyes.

When she stood, he did the same, adjusting his hat and tucking his iPod back into his pocket since he wasn't listening to it any more. "Follow me, city girl." He told her, heading out of the University and across campus toward the upperclassmen apartments. "Don't know where you parked your car but you'll want to move it closer to home to unload whatever you've got with you. If there's anything you need now say so and we'll grab it. Unless you'd rather drive, of course. Up to you I guess." He didn't really know what all she might have with her. He didn't care one way or the other. He had to work that night so that gave her plenty of time to unpack and get settled without him around.

She didn't like him. That was obvious. But at least the feeling was mutual. He merely shrugged at the look she gave him for his comment and watched when she eyed his grandfather who seemed to sense he was being watched and gave them both a smile and a wave before moving out of their line of sight. He sighed and hoped she didn't think the man was being creepy. He was just being....well....the word irritating came to mind but she didn't know Jaisen Lyaer like he did. His grandfather was just being himself. "You're right, we're not getting much accomplished sitting here talking about how much we don't like this idea."

He snorted and nodded at her assessment of the situation if he hadn't had a spare room. He didn't disagree and waved the thought away. "I'd have slept on the couch until you got your own place, agreement or not." Of course, what he didn't say was that he'd have slept on the couch because he knew it would make her feel awkward to share a bed. He'd also have helped her find her own place if that was what she'd wanted. Why was he keeping the fact he was a nicer guy than she seemed to think he was a secret? Even he wasn't sure but considering she obviously didn't want to marry him, mush less even get to know him, it didn't seem like it mattered. He waved the topic off and shrugged. "You can still get your own place if you want. I'm not gonna force you to stay with me but somehow I doubt either of our parents would be pleased with that idea." He'd be perfectly happy if she wanted to move out but he also wasn't going to force her out if she, for whatever reason, didn't want to.

He followed her to her car and was tempted to not get in at all but knew it would be pointless to refuse and slid into the passenger seat when she prompted him to do so. He directed her where to go and it wasn't long before they'd arrived at his apartment building and he happily s. "Welcome to Conlegium Suites, my home away from home. I'm up on the second floor there." He pointed to his window, and checked the time. "Would you like help carrying your stuff in? I've got to work tonight but I can at least help get your stuff inside if you want." Of course, if she wanted to be independent and carry her own stuff in he'd let her do that too. Some people were touchy about others helping them with stuff. But it was better to offer than just assume one way or the other and piss people off. "I might have time to help you unpack a bit too or I can cook dinner before I leave, that one's up to you. You're also welcome to just warm up leftovers, cook for yourself or order pizza. Whatever you want." He wondered if he should ask if she was allergic to anything so he could refrain from cooking with it whenever he cooked for the two of them but decided to leave that topic alone for the time being. He could ask later.

"Really? Huh. My parents haven't threatened anything like that but they're more easy going, I guess." It sucked her parents had threatened to do something like that. It meant that she wouldn't be moving out of his apartment any time in the near future. It meant they'd have to get along. Which was easier said that done considering they didn't know anything about each other. At least they weren't trying to kill each other...yet. But who knew what the future would bring. "You can say that again." He couldn't help but smile at her for that. He wouldn't have wanted to sleep on the couch forever. He'd have moved them into a bigger apartment as soon as possible. Even now he was considering seeing about moving into the cottages reserved for students who were 25 or older, students with kids or married couples. Though they weren't married yet he and Victoria were technically engaged so maybe they could move there. And at least it was something he'd been thinking about anyway. But with the added consideration of a new person going to be living in the same space as him, it would give them both more space and it would be easier to divide the space between them. As it was now, 'his space' was already pretty well established in the apartment because he already had all of his stuff there and it was all arranged and spread out to his liking. How to bring the subject up was another matter entirely. It was not something he'd ask about tonight, that was for sure.

When she accepted his offer of help, Kythen was only too happy to grab a couple of boxes to be carried inside. He couldn't help but peek inside the one she warned him to be careful of to see who Sir Lancelot and couldn't help but laugh a little at the worn out teddy bear looking back at him. Oh if only she knew! Well, she'd find out soon enough. He unlocked the door to the building and propped it open to make getting in and out easier before making his way up the stairs (not the the first time, he mentally cursed the place for not having an elevator) and to his door. He didn't know what Victoria was expecting when he opened the door and showed her in. If she was expecting some sort of typical messy bachelor pad she'd be pleasantly surprised to find the place clean and nicely furnished. They'd first enter a short hallway/entrance area where she'd see various pictures on the wall of Ky's family and friends before they'd enter the living room. The living room was furnished with comfortable sofa, loveseat and recliner, all facing the entertainment center where the television and stereo system were set up. A bookshelf filled with moves sat to the right of that and to the left was a medium sized curio cabinet where he kept odds and ends that were special or important to him, most notably being some of the awards he'd won over the years for his equestrian eventing and an angelic teddy bear which took up the top shelf with a photo of a kindly looking older woman and a younger version of Kythen playing some game or another. He led her past the kitchen and dining area and the in-suite laundry room to the bedroom at the far end of the apartment.

He set the boxes down near the bed and turned to Victoria (who had no doubt followed him) and indicated the room in general. "If you have furniture of your own coming I can find something to do with this stuff so you can put yours in here. The bedding is new, my sister picked it out. She said if you don't like it or don't want it that I am to give it back to her because she likes it and she'll definitely use it. That being said, you're free to rearrange in here as desired and so on. If you need more space, like shelves and stuff, let me know and we'll figure something out." He told her, letting her set her boxes down before heading back out for more.

It didn't take them as long as he'd thought to get her stuff moved in and he was left with spare time before he needed to worry about getting ready for work. Once he'd set the last of the things he'd carried in down, he turned to Victoria and considered what to do next before speaking. "There's not much else to see but I can give you the 'grand tour' if you want. Or I can leave you alone to unpack, unless you'd like some help." He didn't mind helping her unpack but he wasn't sure if she'd want him touching all of her stuff or not. "Alternately, I can cook something for dinner. Though I should probably have asked this ages ago, is there anything food-wise you're allergic to? Nuts, fruits anything like that? I'm highly allergic to strawberries myself so I don't buy them. If you like them fine but I won't buy them or use them in anything I'm cooking." He wasn't refusing to be mean, just out of an old habit really. If she wanted something strawberry she'd have to buy it or cook it herself.

(([Only admins are allowed to see this link] is the general layout of Ky's apartment that I was going with. Just in case you wanted some sort of reference. Also, [Only admins are allowed to see this link] is the bedding set that's currently on the bed in there. I like pictures. xD))

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At first, Kythen didn't say anything when she spied the teddy bear in the living room. He didn't really want to explain but after a moment's hesitation, he sighed quietly and moved a bit closer. "That's my grandmother. She died of cancer a couple months after that picture was taken. You wouldn't think she was even sick looking at her there." It was clear the boy in the picture loved his grandmother and the look of sadness that crossed Kythen's features as he spoke of her said he still missed her. When he turned away and changed the subject, he hoped Victoria would refrain from asking too many more questions. He didn't really want to discuss the more personal and private details of why there was a teddy bear and what it meant etc. Maybe some day, but not today.

He had to admit, he felt a little bad upon learning her father had told her to pack her clothes and the necessities and sent her on her way. He wouldn't have been entirely thrilled to learn his parents were sending him somewhere and he couldn't take his furniture. Not that he was particularly attached to his couch or anything like that, but some of his stuff was less than a year old. He wouldn't want to get rid of nearly brand new furniture just because his parents decided to send him off somewhere. "I wasn't worried. To be honest, aside from being told to be nice I wasn't really sure what to expect from this arrangement. So if you want to pitch in to help pay bills or buy groceries or whatever I'm fine with that. Or I can provide for you like your father expects me to." He shrugged at her words, it wasn't like he'd make her go hungry if she didn't have a job or refused to help pay for things. When she told him what to tell her father if asked about her habits he gave her a look. "That's it? Really? Just staying home or going to class? Are you not allowed to have friends and go spend time with them? I get the job thing I guess but still..." He trailed off and just nodded. If she thought it was better to please her father, at least for the time being, he'd say what needed to be said and that was that.

He nodded when she said she didn't need help unpacking and that he could start dinner. He was glad to hear she wasn't allergic to anything, he had to be careful what he cooked for Hikari thanks to her allergy to nuts but at least with Victoria he could cook what he wanted with no worries. Unless she happened to really dislike something in which case he'd try not to make that very often but otherwise he didn't have to make any major changes. "I was planning chicken and steak tacos for dinner. Been craving something a bit spicy for a week and this sounded good. Plus the leftover meats go great in a Mexican style salad." He told her, waiting only long enough to hear her response before heading for his bedroom to change clothes. Once he was changed, he headed for the kitchen, making a pit stop in the living room to turn on his laptop and switch on some music. Dinner itself wouldn't take long to cook, he tossed the seasoned chicken and steak bits into a pan to cook and set about chopping up some lettuce and tomatoes, pulling out his jar of homemade salsa and making sure he had cheese and sour cream and warming up some tortillas. When the meat was done cooking, he turned off the stove and grabbed plates, silverware and glasses down to set the table. He briefly entertained the idea of not telling Victoria dinner was ready but he wasn't that mean and so he headed down the hall and paused outside her doorway. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry." He announced (after knocking lightly on the door frame if she didn't notice him right away).

While he'd been waiting for Victoria to notice him, Kythen had taken notice of a couple things in her room. The pictures on the walls, the guitar in the corner and the teddy bears on the bed to name a few. When she joined him in the kitchen, he gave her a brief smile. "You can grab anything you want to drink out of the fridge." He told her, fixing up a plate for himself and letting her do her own thing.

Once they were both settled at the table, he couldn't help but feel the need to try and start up some sort of light conversation. He didn't want to sit there in silence. "You mentioned having a job already. Where at, if you don't mind my asking." He questioned her, genuinely curious about what she'd be doing with her time. He doubted she'd want to sit around the apartment all day. He let her answer and paused long enough to take a couple bites (also in case Victoria had anything she wanted to ask him) before selecting a new topic to talk about. "I couldn't help but notice your guitar. How long have you played? I started teaching myself to play when I was about ten." He told her, hoping to get her to open up a bit and actually talk, maybe change her opinion about him so she didn't just keep thinking of him as some country boy she didn't want to marry.

Kythen watched her curiously as she took the first bite of her dinner. He knew he was a decent cook but it was always interesting to see how people who'd never tasted his cooking before reacted to finding out he really was as good as he claimed to be. When she smiled and complimented his cooking, he smiled back at her. "Thanks. It's a hobby of sorts. I very rarely eat out or buy frozen dinners. I cook all my food myself." He was not one of those guys that lived on of a microwave dinners and fast food. Which seemed to surprise a lot of people. Apparently it was uncommon for guys to know how to cook.

"Car shop huh? Something tells me you're not just going to be sitting at a desk answering phones either. Not a job I would have guessed you'd do but people can be surprising sometimes." Kind of like him knowing how to cook. Her knowing how to fix cars was just one of those things people tended not to expect. "Decent money's all that matters if you enjoy your work right?" That was why he did the job he did. He loved the atmosphere, the people and the money wasn't bad either. Of course, she had to turn his question back on him and he gave her a secretive smile. "I'm a full-time bartender. And to prevent any awkwardness later when you hear people talking about it; I do work at the local gay bar. I am, however, very much straight. So that cannot be used as an excuse to get us out of this arrangement." Though seeing her face if she'd ever dropped in to see him at work (he didn't really expect her to but who knew?) and finding out what kind of bar it was first hand would have been quite fun.

"I don't blame you for wanting to learn. I taught myself as a sort of rebellion. Mum and dad both knew how much I wanted to learn guitar but mum insisted on piano and dad wanted me to learn violin. To make up for the piano lessons, mum took me to the gun range and taught me to shoot after my lessons. But I was determined to learn guitar so I saved up money and begged gramps to help me buy one. When I wasn't learning piano or violin, I learned guitar." He hadn't played violin in ages but he kept up with his piano and guitar playing. "Maybe we can. It'd be fun."

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((OOC- I'm sorry it's so bleh! my brain hates me it's bogged down with sick baby and dirty houses lol I promise it will get better))