Bearing It All

[Ϛ Harmony and Discordia]

Living with Kenneth was a pretty enjoyable experience over all, but there were two major problems Harmony had with it. The first problem, and the one that came up the most often, was the lack of privacy. Kenneth was shameless in his dominance of the entire house, walking around like he owned the place (the fact that he actually did being the only reason she let him get away with it), and leaving little sanctuary for Harmony other than her bedroom.

Which was all well and good, except that Harmony barely used her room. It was as clean as if no one was even staying in it (an oddity for the normally disorganized demoness, but she kept it neat out of some sense of gratitude for Kenneth taking her in), and everything she owned was stowed safely in her closet. Her room was probably the last place she needed privacy; where she really wanted some private space was in the bathroom.

There was only one full bathroom for the pair of them, and all their guests, and there was no doubt it had an aura of 'boy' about it. Granted, there was a john on the first floor as well, but that didn't help when she needed to take a shower.

It was a pain in the butt when she was trying to have a nice, soothing bathroom experience, showering and primping and relaxing, only to be interrupted by Kenneth asking, "Are you almost done in there?" because he needed to deodorize, or brush his teeth, or do his hair, or use the toilet (because the one downstairs was too far, clearly).

But today was different. Kenneth was not home, and none of the other guys were over. She had actually indulged in a bath, had scrubbed her feet, whitened her teeth, dried her hair, and was standing in front of the mirror, examining her nude frame in a detached manner.

Which brought her to the second problem; Kellan.

Not that she had anything against the girl. In fact, she had decided she really had no reason to dislike her at all, rather, quite the opposite, which had led to the change she was now listlessly examining.

Originally, she had put her demonic makeup to work making herself look as good as possible, giving her skin an eerily beautiful glow, her eyes an inhumanly bright sparkle, even her chest a perkier countenance. But eventually she felt bad for doing so, and gradually she had reversed the process. Her skin, though still smooth and flawless, became lackluster, her eyes lost their life, and even her womanly curves receded slowly over time.

It was this last change in particular she was eying with distaste, prodding unhappily at herself. It had gotten to the point where she'd had to buy new, smaller undergarments, and she wasn't very pleased about any of it. But she was doing everything she could to make peace with her roommate's girlfriend, because even if she had some feelings for Kenneth deep down, he was her friend first, and she owed it to him to at least be civil with his girlfriend.

Of course, 'being civil' very often equated to 'getting the heck out of Dodge whenever Kellan came around', but that was mostly because Harmony didn't want to get in the happy couple's way, on top of not liking the feeling of muted aversion she got any time Kellan looked at her.

So lost had she been in thoughts like this, she hadn't bothered to lock the bathroom door, and the sounds of the front door opening and closing and footsteps on the stairs didn't even pierce the fog.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

Ken had gone out today; he hit up the gym, showered, locked his bag in the gym lockers, and headed off the the mall. He was out with Dorian, and there he whistled at girls for his friend's benefit. Somehow he found a seven-digit number on his napkin, but he tossed it before Dorian could see. Then they were walking past the pharmacy and Ken saw some reading glasses, and put some on for jokes. The difference in clarity was astonishing, and when Dorian told him he looked like a prat, Kenneth lovingly informed him he had a piece of lettuce in his teeth.

The two bickered for a while before heading their separate ways, and he found himself at the Why Not Diner, scoring free fries because Jon was the cook. While Harmony was relaxing and pampering herself at home, Kenneth was enjoying a full day of male companionship.

It started raining, not something unusual in Washington, and by the time he walked home (no need for the car today; everything was in walking distance anyway), his feet were soaked. So he pushed open the door, and noticed that the usual squeak was gone. The water must have greased the hinge or something. It would probably go back to squeaking the moment it dried up. He stepped out of his shoes and peeled the socks off his feet, cursing silently when he remembered that his gym bag was still at the gym. Oh well, he'd just go tomorrow after work and hope that no one removed it til then.

Casting that worry aside, he padded quietly up the stairs. It was completely silent in the house - Harmony must have gone out today too. He didn't realize how much he had to use the washroom until he was warm and dry in the house. Another shower sounded like a good idea, and he unbuckled his belt as he neared the top of the stairs. He didn't want to use the downstairs bathroom - it was too close to the kitchen to his liking, and something about its location irked him enough to put it to disuse.

He had one hand unbuttoning his jeans and the other on the bathroom door when he was greeted with naked!Harmony. Any decent guy's reaction would be to freak out and cover his eyes, running far away and likely tripping over every object possible. Ken's reaction?

"Uh... hey..." For a moment it was debatable whether or not he remembered how to blink. Then reality caught up with him and he cleared his throat, diverting his eyes to the ceiling. "Sorry!" He backed out, still staring at that spot above them, "I should've knocked! I'll be in my room if you want to kill me once you're dressed. Or if you can't wait, I don't mind if you murder me naked too... Uh... yeah... I'll be going now..." He closed the door, but instead of moving to his room like he said he would, he just stood there.

Forever burned into his mind was his roommate completely nude. He couldn't remember the last time he saw a girl (not on tv) completely naked. He'd never seen his girlfriend naked. The last girl he fooled around with before Kellan was Elliot, but they hadn't taken off their clothes... his memory didn't stretch any farther than that. Harmony might be critical about her body, but Kenneth, as he stood frozen in front of the door, couldn't see the imperfections she frowned at. She was fucking gorgeous, and it was physically painful to button up his jeans again.

He knew one thing: Harmony was going to be in his dreams tonight. If she let him live that long.

[Ϛ Harmony and Discordia]

Harmony still hadn't noticed anything when Kenneth opened the door, and it was only when he greeted her that she snapped out of it. She jumped, startled, and gasped with surprise as she turned her head toward the door. Upon seeing Kenneth standing there, her eyes widened with something akin to horror.

As he started backing away and apologizing, she snatched her towel from the counter and held it up in front of her like a curtain, seemingly more interested in hiding her blushing cheeks than anything else (though the towel was thankfully large enough to cover almost her whole body anyway). She then began backing away herself, toward the bath tub, and she nearly fell backwards into it when she finally got there.

After stepping backwards into the tub and pulling the curtain closed, she began shouting over his apologies. "Get out get out get out get out!" She didn't stop even after he was gone, though her tone was closer to afraid and upset than enraged, really. Eventually the shouting stopped and she slumped into the tub, eyes still wide and confusion reigning supreme.

Part of her told her she should be furious, and that she should kill him, how dare he. Had he been a stranger, that was how it would have went, but Kenneth was her friend, she had left the door unlocked, and she was really not in an angry mood. Instead, she found herself despairing, and despite her hard-coded tough-girl appearance, she began to quietly weep.

All she could think about was Kellan. Assuming she didn't just ruin Kenneth's relationship with her or something (a somewhat ridiculous thought, but she was in no logical mood), assuming she hadn't ruined their friendship as well with the awkwardness of it all, when Kellan found out she would probably demand Harmony move out. It was already bad enough; if Kellan didn't already, she would most certainly hate Harmony now. Moving out she could take, maybe, but if she couldn't hang out with Kenneth without putting stress on his relationship... she was running out of places to go.

Ethan and Ensley weren't the greatest friends, but she could at least talk to them, and now they were dead. Seamus was her only closer friend than Kenneth, but he was somewhere in Ireland now, and had been for weeks. And while she occasionally enjoyed the company of Dorian and Jon, if Kenneth was out of the question, so were they.

Everything felt like it was falling apart around her, and she couldn't help but wonder where her good luck was now.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

"Harmony?"

He was uncharacteristically quiet as he tapped on the door. He'd been waiting in his room down the hall for Harmony to come rampaging in, but when it didn't happen immediately he began to worry. Maybe she was changing first, and then would come after him. But after he gave her more than enough time to get dressed and she still hadn't come out, his worry turned into something stronger.

"Harmony are you okay? I'm really sorry. Like really, really, really sorry," He mumbled through the wooden plank. He wasn't sure what to do. "Do you have clothes in there?" He couldn't remember if there'd been any - something else was occupying his memory at the moment. "I can grab you some if you need..."

He was going to be in her debt for eternity. He was going to have to be her man slave. The image of himself in S&M gear made him blanch, and he was suddenly as miserable as Harmony. Well, maybe not quite as miserable, but he was pretty put-off.

In all seriousness though, Kenneth had no idea how he was going to make this up to Harmony. Her fears for their friendship started flickering through his own head; she was going to hate him. How could you be friends with someone who hated you? Would she move out? Would he move out?

Her answering silence made him shift uncomfortably outside the door. Kenneth had always been a chatterbox, Harmony knew this, and being quiet after awkward situations wasn't like him. He swallowed back his frustration and instead expressed his worry.

"Harmony, talk to me. Yell at me. Please do something!" He pressed his ear to the door so if she made any sound, he'd hear her. If she muttered 'get lost', he would know. But it wasn't angry mutterings he heard. Kenneth could hear his friend... crying? "Jesus!"

He couldn't stand it when girls cried. That probably contributed to the list of reasons he loved Kellan - the girl was always so strong, and she never cried when she was around him. He'd never seen Harmony cry before either, or not to his memory anyway. He always seemed to hang out with tough girls. He had no idea how Tristan handled being with Angela; that girl was a mess. He didn't even hang out with her, and half the times he saw her around, she was bawling her eyes out.

So he decided he wouldn't see Harmony cry. He didn't have any blindfolds in his room - he wasn't kinky like that - so he improvised. He pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed the ends so they landed on his shoulders. He looked ridiculous with his shirt around his face, and the moisture wasn't very appealing.

"Harmony, I'm coming in. I can't see anything, I promise," He slowly pushed the door open, slowly just in case she was there and wanted to shut it immediately. He couldn't see anything, like he promised, but he knew the layout of the bathroom. He navigated around the sink and the toilet, very slowly, and when he didn't run into her there, he knew where she must be. He fumbled with pulling the toilet cover down so he had a place to sit, and he put his t-shirt swathed head in his hands. He wasn't sure what to say, so of course an inappropriate joke came up.

"Do you want me to get naked too? Then we'd be even." Even under the shirt, Harmony might be able to tell he was grinning by the tone of his voice. He wasn't sure how to be the sensitive friend. Sure, when Kellan needed comforting and reassurance, he could give it to her. But with Harmony...? How did you console someone you never thought you'd have to console?

[Ϛ Harmony and Discordia]

Harmony was beyond responding to any of Kenneth's muffled comments. She barely even heard them, thanks to the door and Kenneth speaking so softly, and they certainly didn't register in her mind. She was far too busy wallowing. At least, until Kenneth decided to enter the bathroom again.

When she heard the door open, she made a half-hearted attempt at composing herself — trying in vain to wipe the tears from her eyes — but quickly gave up. She didn't even bother trying to cover up further (although the towel was doing a decent job of obscuring her body, and the drawn shower curtain turned the bath tub into her own little fortress of solitude).

She felt like she should say something, hearing Kenneth take a seat on the toilet seat just outside her 'hiding spot', but hell if she knew what. Luckily, Kenneth broke the ice for her.

She groaned softly and rolled her eyes, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but it was the former two actions that really signified she was already on the road back to her usual self. "I don't think that will help," she said, her usual low, sultry voice shaky and a little higher in pitch. In the silence following her statement, what little of her had returned slowly receded, leaving her painfully aware of what had happened and the potential consequences.

"Kellan is going to kill you," she stated, sounding for all the world as though she meant it. "Or me. Or both of us. I dunno. You know her a lot better. I never really had a chance." The last sentence she spoke was mostly muttered to herself, but the acoustics would ensure it reached Kenneth's ears.

[҉ Kenneth Lorne]

He politely ignored how un-Harmony her voice sounded. Hearing her sound so small and weak was weird, so of course he had to carry the joke on just a little longer. "You sure? You can even laugh at me if you want, although why anyone would laugh at my nakedness I have no idea. Worship is usually the first reaction..."

His voice was muffled through the damp material of his rain-drenched shirt, and its texture was making his nose itchy. He was rubbing it when Harmony spoke up again. Kellan? He hadn't even thought of her during all this. Why would Kellan kill him...? As Harmony continued, he tried understanding why his girlfriend would want to cause bodily harm to either of them. He heard her last words, but they didn't mean anything him - not yet any way. He was still processing.

"Whoa. Harmony wait. I'm not telling Kellan," Hell no! What Kellan didn't know couldn't hurt her. And it wasn't like they'd done anything wrong. Anything like Kenneth actually getting naked with her. That would merit a girlfriend's wrath. "She really doesn't need to know about this. It's not like I barged in here because you were naked. This was an accident. We live together. Stuff like this happens," He sounded like he was trying to convince them both. He was a little anxious, so of course the gossip king kept babbling, "I mean, when I'm over at Jon's or Dorian's, there's always stuff bound to happen. And at any of Eiji's parties, there's always one person who winds up naked by the end of the night. If it isn't Draco or Eiji, it's probably me, so hey I know what it's like..." He thought for a moment, "...okay maybe not exactly what it's like, but we've been in similar situations. Kind of. Sort of. . . Not really..."

His voice changed. It was slow and uncertain, "You're not going to tell her, are you?" Did Harmony feel obligated to let his girlfriend know that he'd seen her naked? No matter how involuntary it had been? What was going on through his head was; Fuuuuuuuck.

[Ϛ Harmony and Discordia]

Harmony shook her head. "Incredible. You could talk down jumpers for a living." There was sarcasm there, and it was at least a little biting, but anyone who knew Harmony would be aware of the fact that this was just how she was, and take it as another step in the direction of normalcy.

The bath tub was not the most comfortable place to be, and both the overpowering scent of soap and her towel soaking up the remnants of the water from her bath were making it even less appealing, but it still wasn't enough to convince her that moving was the thing she least wanted to do at the moment.

Her sulking was abruptly smashed by Kenneth's proclamation. He wasn't going to tell Kellan? What he said, it made a hell of a lot of sense to her, but she never would have guessed he'd keep it from her. What she doesn't know won't hurt her? Was that really what Kenneth thought? Were they safe?

"You're not... telling her?" Harmony quietly mimed, while Kenneth was still talking. He let him continue talking, her mind racing. She felt like this should make everything better, or, at the very least, help. But she still didn't feel right about it. Maybe she was just upset Kenneth had seen her?

It was quiet, and it stayed that way for a moment, until she realized Kenneth had asked her a question. "No way." A dark laugh followed the statement. "She already hates me, as if I'd give her any more reason."

There was the sound of skin sliding against wet acrylic, and a second later the shower curtain slid open, revealing a semi-modestly covered Harmony — bare shoulders and shins, but all the important bits under cover of the towel that was now wrapped around her. She looked at the shirt-faced Kenneth sitting on the toilet and announced that she was going to go get dressed. She then stepped out of the tub, as if she was going to leave the bathroom, but stopped before she'd gotten far.

"If you don't tell her, she'll be really pissed when she finds out." She didn't explain her psuedo-advice, or why she felt she needed to give it. Instead, she simply walked out of the bathroom. "I'm done in there if you want it," she called out behind her.