Owner	Pose
Karrin Murphy	A brief text, almost terse, came from Karrin earlier that night: *Staying at my place a few nights. Don't worry. Talk later.* She hadn't wanted him to think something was wrong, but she also really wasn't up to having that conversation. Especially not having that conversation because a VAMPIRE told her to have it. So, that was it. The ensuing few hours was a happy hunting ground for Lash who both sensed his confusion and hurt, and was doing her best to tempt his loneliness. Little bits of 'You knew it was too good to last.' and 'She didn't deserve you anyway.' were a strange mix of the bits peppered into the conversation. Now, however, it's well after 3 am and the night has probably, finally, calmed down for Harry.
Harry Dresden	Sitting on the couch of his apartment in the dim light of the embers still glowing in the fireplace, Harry drops the empty bottle of Mac's brew onto the growing pile of glass by his side, where it clinks off one of the other five bottles and rolls under the couch. Mouse looks up, his big doggie head giving Harry a once over as he wuffles before laying his head back down. "You know what Lash," Harry slurs aloud to the empty room, "I'd tell you to just go fuck yourself, but since you are in my head it would just be telling me to go fuck myself. I think I've been fucked enough thankyouverymuch...so just shut up."
Karrin Murphy	The woman shifts through the space, unseen to anyone but him, however she moves through the room like it half belongs to her. She's getting comfortable there. She steps elegantly across from the edge of the fireplace to his side, sinking down onto the couch. It even feels like the old cushions press beneath her, and that there is a warmer body at his side once more. While his words were rough, the expression on her face is a bit softer now. "...Sorry. I shouldn't... I don't suppose it's my business. But you *do* deserve... Better. Someone who will always be here. Who wants to be a part of your life." She inches just a touch closer.
Harry Dresden	Harry sighs, rubbing at his temples. "Lady, I keep telling you that you are barking up the wrong tree here. I don't want you, and I don't know how many times I have to say it." Sure, it was this shadow's job to stick around and keep trying, but that means nothing to Harry. "It isn't your business, and while I admit that sometimes, just sometimes, you can be helpful to have around that doesn't mean I want you sharing space inside my head. At some point, somehow, I will be rid of you." The wizard stands and makes his way over towards the icebox to grab another bottle, cursing to himself when he finds it to be the last in the box. Opening it with a flip of his thumb, Harry takes a swallow as he makes his way towards the bedroom, stripping down for bed on the way and leaving a trail in his wake.
Karrin Murphy	So much for being stubborn and not letting herself get drawn down into commitment. One night off when she'd planned on staying the night, and Karrin was bit of a wreck. After watching the ceiling for hours, she finally gave up, tossed a jacket on over her t-shirt and pajama pants, and drove over to his house. Even if she just crawled into bed with his sleeping form, it'd be better than staring at the ceiling replaying the conversation with Thomas over and over. So, a little after three, the sound of very quiet footsteps on the stairs can be heard, then the turn of a familiar key in the lock. She's trying to be as quiet as humanly possible, not wanting to wake him up while he's still recovering. But, hell, she is too, moving gingerly was the name of the game with cracked ribs, and there's two animals who might not care what time of the night its. Still, Karrin's doing her best to just be a shadow as she pushes his door open and slips into the apartment.
Harry Dresden	Mouse knows who it is even before the key hits the lock, his tail thumping as she opens the door. Mister as per usual bodychecks her shins in greeting before going back to his perch, the warm spot Harry just left on the couch. Harry isn't seen in the main room, just the leftover bottles and trail of clothes that lead to the bedroom, the faint sound of running water coming from behind the semi-cracked door, along with Harry's barely audible voice. "I said enough. Let me get some rest. God sometimes you really are insatiable."
Karrin Murphy	"Shhh...shh... yes, hello, yes, you are very good." Karrin coos to Mouse gently, scratching at his ears for the three seconds she gets before there is a body check to the legs and she stumbles just a touch backwards, her hand moving from Mouse down to Mister to get right down around his chin and those happy-cat areas, "Yes...missed you too. Goodness, it's been barely a day." Her whispered voice comes affectionately. She already felt better just for being here. Karrin swings the door shut, though it's a bit harder than she planned. She's still getting used to the heavy door. The sound of water from the other room is enough to make her feel a little less guilty about it as she starts, "Harry, I..." And then he's talking. To someone else. An... insatiable... someone else. Karrin stands there, utterly silent a few moments, listening in numb shock. A thousand feelings through her and none of them are good. "...never... mind." Karrin whispers to herself, turning back to the door to go. The door definitely slams behind her this time. Lash is sitting on his bathroom sink now. Whether Harry really hears Karrin or not, there's something in his brain that did because her eyes turn to the outside room for a moment before looking back at him. "I think she's mad..."
Harry Dresden	"Huh?!" Harry says confused as he glanses the way Lash's eyes flit. "Who's mad?" Harry opens the bedroom door, grabbing a towel that he wraps around his waist as he does, and heads out into the living area of the apartment. Sotting Mouse and Mister over by the door, Harry arches a brow and moves that way to give Mouse a ruffle on the head. The mastiff, in return, noses Harry towards the door. "What's going on boy?" Then it hits him. Her scent. Murph isn't one that wears much in the way of perfumes or makeup, but the subtle ones she does wear are indelibly printed on Harry's mind. A mind that hits rewing and plays the last few minutes over in excruciating slow motion. The words said flash like neon in his brain, "Oh HELL'S BELLS! Murph!" he cries out as he pulls the door to the apartment open and rushes out, only to have the towel catch on the handle and tear away leaving him in nothing more than what God gave him.
Karrin Murphy	Fortunately, it was late at night and all the guest parking was full, so Karrin's not back in her car yet because she's having to hoof it two blocks away to get to where she ended up being able to find street parking for her car. She's also walking through tears that she refuses to call tears, but hearing him with another woman on the night she thought maybe, just maybe, her feelings for him were returned? Well, a lady is allowed a few tears on occasion. She's walking a bit too fast, though, and it's not until the outside door smacks shut that she turns aroud to see, well... Everything. *Everything, eveyrthing*. Karrin blinks watery eyes back at the very naked Dresden on his front walk, his state of dress doing no less to convince her mind that he wasn't having some wild middle of the night shower sex. She chokes out a bit of a cough and looks away again, "Dammit, Harry, just...go back in and finish who you... what... you were doing! This is public indecency!" She whisper hisses across the lawn before turning back away and starting for her car again.
Harry Dresden	Harry looks down, looks back up at Karrin and shakes his head vigorously. "No...nonononono. Nothing like that is going on!" He at least has a moment of clarity enough to cover himself with his hands. "Come back to the apartment...Hell's Bells, Murph, it's cold out here."
Karrin Murphy	That's enough to stop her. She knows the tiny window exits of the apartment well enough that she'd have seen if there was a girl climbing free somewhere. No one else has left his place. Karrin slowly turns back towards him, taking in all the glory of the too-tall, too-pale Dresden in his birthday suit before she just sighs. "...Fine. I'm not staying... but fine. Before someone calls the cops." She half smirks saying that, but follows him back towards his apartment. She tries to hide rubbing her eyes with jacket's sleeve because he doesn't need to know they weren't dry.
Harry Dresden	At least she agreed to come back to the apartment. Harry turns around, turns out there was a full moon out tonight after all, and heads down the stairs. He pushes open the door, grabbing the dropped towel and tossing it around his waist for some modicum of decency and waits, holding it open for Karrin to enter the apartment...and also making sure she doesn't turn around while his back is turned. "Coffee?" he asks, a sheepish smile on his face as he looks down at the blonde. If he notices the crying, or the drying, he is smart enough to not mention it. That would only serve to piss her off.
Karrin Murphy	"Uh... no. I...I'm not staying long. If you got a girl hiding somewhere in there... " Something clenches in Karrin to even consider that, "Wouldn't want her suffocating in the closet too long. Or him. I don't just." Karrin isn't even coming in far enough to sit down. She's standing on the edge of the living room, eyes puffy with sleeplessness and the tears she totally didn't cry upon leaving the first time. He'll recognize her pajama pants, a loose set of sweats with a Muay Thai studio's logo on them. Her blond hair is messy and slightly sticking up from where she tossed and turn on it damp. She sticks her hands into the pockets of her sweat jacket for something to simply do with them other than fidget. Her blue eyes trace over the series of bottles around the table, the bottle caps. "Looks like you were having quite a party."
Harry Dresden	"Yeah. A party of one," sighs Harry. "Stars and stones Murphy," he almost pleads, "...search the place and if you find someone shoot them because they shouldn't be here. I'm the only one in the place, that walks on two legs anyway." He doesn't move from the front door after he shuts it behind him, almost blocking the way out. "If you don't believe ME, then ask Mouse. I'm the only one here. Seriously, go check."
Karrin Murphy	Heavy silence hangs in the air as he insists that no one is there. Karrin wanted to trust him. She did trust him. Still, she stares at him now with the most wary, untrusting eyes he's seen in a long time. It hurt. It hurt a lot to think he had someone else in the shower, which probably drives Thomas' statement home all the more. "I... I don't need to... search your place. Damn, Harry..." She exhales a deep breath, shoulders dropping like some strings were cut, and moves to go collapse down on his couch. Mouse knew. He always knew. As the dog comes over and puts his big head in her lap, she buries both her fingertips into his fur, taking some centering warmth from that drooly horse of a dog. "So...if you weren't screwing someone in the shower, who is so insatiable you were talking to them in your bathroom?" It's not like he has a cellphone...
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden snorts at the question, shoulders easing up a bit as Karrin moves to go sit over at the couch. Seeing her sit and start to ruffle Mouse, Harry moves towards the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Staying or not, she will want some. "Myself. I was talking to myself. I haven't been able to get my brain to shut the hell up all night since you texted." It's not a lie. It might not be the entire truth, but it is not a lie. Setting the pot onto the wood stove, Harry makes his way over to sit in his chair, leaving Karrin her space for now. He tries to sit enough to keep his modesty intact, but it is just a towel. "The beers were because I was trying to drown it out, or pass out. One or the other. Neither worked." He looks at Murphy for a while, quiet, before he looks away and sighs, "So...what did I do this time?"
Karrin Murphy	A single, skeptical brow arches in his direction as he admits he was talking to himself and not an inch of it seems a lie. Karrin listens quietly, her eyes more on Mouse than on Harry, but as he asks about what he did, her expression jerks back up in his direction. She sighs deeply, shaking her head, "Nothing. Honestly, Harry, you... you didn't do anything." That is completely true, her eyes a bit pinched in guilt at him thinking he did. "I just thought... I don't know. Maybe space was a... good idea. Been a long week." That's not so much the truth or, well, only a tiny slice of it, as she looks back down to Mouse's ears which she cups in her fingertips and stretches out, long and lovingly. "I've been here a lot...lately. Didn't want either of us thinking... we were... Stuck, or something. You know."
Harry Dresden	As the coffee percolates Harry leans back into the chair, smoothing the towel down as best he can. "Is that what you feel? Stuck?" Harry says with a slight edge of anger to his voice, "I knew it. You hate it out here over in Bludhaven and want to go back over the bridge, don't you? Well assuming the NYPD takes you back, which they should because you are a damn good cop,your house is still over here regardless of if you stay with me or not." He stands abruptly, pacing back towards the kitchen, "Unless you plan on selling your place and getting somewhere over in the boroughs somewhere. Is that what you are doing? Moving on? Well fine, don't let me stop you."
Karrin Murphy	The scent of coffee through the air is as reassuring as his words were quietly infuriating. But he keeps talking, putting words and assumptions in her mouth which had never crossed her mind once before. "Harry, no... I..." And he's still talking. Now she's getting just a bit mad, sitting up straighter on the couch and pausing in her attentions for Mouse as she just stares at him across the apartment. Even being naked wasn't distracting her now. "God, no...Harry! Stop! Just *stop*. Hell. I never said that. Not once. I'm the one shoving into your space, staying here every night... Joining you on cases. I just... I wanted... If you wanted some of your own space and life back, I didn't want us getting... in... Too deep. Or... hell, I don't know." She sighs and moves to stand. "I should go. I...talked to Thomas tonight. You should talk to him. He... cares about you. A whole lot." And she's moving for the door.
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden stops. Finally. His mouth still open to say something equally as stupid as the rest of his drunken ranting has been, but he stops. Slowly it closes, and he reaches a hand up to his head to rub at his forehead. "Hell's bells, Murph, don't you think I would say something if I didn't want you here?! I *want* you here. I *want* you in on the cases, and even if *I* didn't, Buffy would drag you in anyway and you are way to stubborn to stay away. Trust me, I've TRIED to keep you out of things, and that ended up with me in jail more often than not."
Karrin Murphy	That's enough to stop her. He might be drunk, but he's honest. She knows that anger in his voice, and the disbelief too. There's no way Harry Dresden was making up a single inch of what he said. She takes one step closer to him and then just leans forward, her head against his chest, just leaning there without really hugging, but touching. She takes a deep breath against his skin, slow and deep. Steadying. This felt more like home than anything and, with Thomas' words echoing in her head from earlier in the night, it all made sense. It made a terrifying amount of sense. She doesn't dare look up, but he might feel a brush of moisture from her eyelashes as she whispers quietly, "I... want to be here too. And that's... terrifying." At least she said it out loud. Two divorces later, she can admit it's all terrifying again. She presses a bit closer to him, "...can we just go to bed?"
Harry Dresden	Harry Dresden places his arms around Karrin, giving her a hug as he drops his head down to rest on top of hers. "Yes." It is a simple reply to her question as he turns her around and leads her over towards the bedroom area. They get about three steps towards the door before the towel falls off.