As he began to become more aware of his surroundings, Cole began to become more aware of the headache that was throbbing in his skull.  The demon hunter was careful about his consumption of alcohol whenever he was out on his jobs.  This was the first time that he had not held himself back.  He could barely remember the dancing that had taken place…if it could have been called that.  Little to no space had been allowed between the pair as they had come together once again.  A lot had been left silent when they had last parted, and that evening had made up for much of that silence.  Cole thought about the women in the past that had attempted to coax him to their bed.  From time to time he had allowed it merely to scratch an itch; Nymph was no itch.  

His lips twitched up at the edges in a smile as she nuzzled into him.  There was again no space between them as they laid there in bed.  It was comforting to have another that he wanted to be next to while in the early hours of the day.  "I will admit that I had lost count of the number of drinks that had been consumed.  You, little miss, are a bad influence."  There was a hint of humor to his voice that was only available when she was in proximity.  "My cranium feels as if it will split open any moment.  If I do not move I am sure it has the potential to stay in place."  Cole glanced down as she wrapped her arms around him in return.  Features softened as she said those words and settled herself on his chest in order to kiss him.  "I do not want you to go anywhere." He could not put anything else in to words. The hunter had not thought of himself finding anyone.  The concept had been lost to him upon the loss of his brother-in-law years ago.  Cole had witnessed and felt the devastation that his sister had endured.  

It was not easy for him to mentally allow her to leave his grasp even if it was to grab something from her pants a short distance away.  The aching man sat up and propped up slightly against the pile of pillows behind him that rested on the headboard of their bed.  With gratitude he took the vial and downed the rest of the contents.  Teeth grit tightly together as he breathed through the pain that flooded his body.  "That was not pleasant," he admitted.  Arms waited to gather Nymph back into his hold on his chest.  "That would be called addicted if you cannot stop from returning."  He chuckled slightly (though regretted it as it jostled his head), as he placed a light kiss on the top of her head.  "I guess that could be said of me towards you.  A year had passed, and yet I continued to make effort to make a connection with you."  His hand softly began to stroke her hair in a soothing pattern.  

“They all say that. Nymphaea, you are beautiful but you are a pain in the ass.” She began to mock them. She waved her hand at Cole softly with a laugh as she made a face. “Another reason that got my ass grounded in the first place.” Her heart skipped a beat when he said he didn’t want her to go. She nodded at him and silently agreed not to go anywhere unless he went.

Now they were sitting up and nursing their hangovers. “Yeah, but it is the best stuff you can get for a hangover. Aunt Angela makes it herself. When I got locked in the city with nowhere to go I started to come to this place and get myself in trouble. I was going stir crazy between this and training in the city with Lotus.”

He was so warm around her as she looped her arms around his back. Her head snuggled into his shoulder as they spoke. She could feel the kiss he placed on the top of her head and it calmed her down even more so than she was. “We’ve had that connection for a long time I suppose. I found myself waiting for your messages to have a connection to the outside world… but after a while, it was just waiting for you and screw the outside. I couldn’t make the journey to see you because of everything… so it was the closest thing I had. I tried to court someone and it didn’t work. I just didn’t have my heart in it.”

Her hand slid up from his back and over his heart as she gave a smile. “Call it stupid if you want but I was always hoping you would come back. That’s why I was so ecstatic when I saw you. Probably the only person alive who could even put up with me… Let alone be with me like this with no regrets.” She paused for a moment and looked up at him concerned. “Right? There are none? You aren’t going to regret spending this time with me are you?” Others had.

"In my line of work, I believe having slight access to the healing goddess herself for some antidotes will do well," he joked in regards to the medicine being made by the Mother.  "Though, maybe now that you are not locked in you can find entertainment other places?"  Cole was not going to tell her what she could or could not do.  She was an independent person, but he did hope that her frequency of such locations would reduce.  The people seemed to know who she was, but he only concerned himself with those that would be new.  Would they see passed the front she put up to protect herself?  Would they want to get to know her better?  Cole still had his duties to maintain.  He could not ask Nymph to leave her family to come on his missions.  Besides leaving her family, the hunter would worry too much about her being put in danger alongside him.  

He remained quiet as she looped her arms around his frame.  As she spoke he could not see her face.  A soft expression graced his features as he listened to how she had waited to hear from him.  At least it had not just been him waiting for any sign from the other.  A year had passed with them not seeing one another.  Cole was not the kind to become attached in the least bit.  His work kept him on an almost constant move.  Remembering their first meeting he had been greatly annoyed with the thought that another demon hunter had been hired for his mission.  He was even more annoyed that he had had to take the other, less experienced hunter home to be healed from her wounds.  It was not long that he had been dragged into her family's odd dynamics.  Now, he wanted to be brought in…though he did worry about the Jiyu Clan and the elders.  They were particular about matching their hunters.  Cole would be an even more extreme situation because of his rank.  

His mind came back to Nymph as she admitted the attempt to court another.  When she mentioned that it had not worked about because her heart hadn't been in it, he squeezed her a little tighter with a gentle laugh.  Eyes widened as she paused abruptly to look back at him squarely.  A small sigh escaped him as he placed a gentle hand on her cheek in a caress.  "No regrets."  The response was simple and to the point.  He was pleased that others had not seen what he was able to see.  That allowed him to have the chance to be with her instead of the others.  "Though we were inebriated, my actions are never made lightly.  I know what I was doing.  What we did was not alcohol driven on my part.  I want to be with you.  I am here because I want to be here….with you.  I would not have made the trip back if that was not what I wanted.  I had to push hard to get the time away.  This night was not exactly planned, but it went in a direction I was hoping for eventually.  Do not worry when there is no need to."  Cole smiled as he pushed away some strain strands of her hair.