The Cowboy and the Wizard // One on One // With Grace

(I know I said that i didn't want this to be a romance, but I want these two to be a couple now)

"That'll be 50 dollars upfront," the old lady drawled, turning her eyes over to SLate as he slipped a 100 dollar bill on the counter.

"We'll stay here for a couple of nights," he said, glancing over at Alex with a small smile as he was handed the room key.

"Room 8B," the receptionist said, goign back to typing on the computer in front of her.

"You ready?" Slate asked Alex, adjusting the bag over his shoulder.

(lol ok, that sounds like a fun change of plans)
Alex nodded, offering a small smile to the old lady who was paying no attention to them now, "Yes I am, let's head to room 8B." Most normal people might have rented two rooms, but since it was her job to keep Slate safe as well as figure out this whole scene, she could handle only one room. Plus it would be much easier to keep an eye on him.

"How come all y'all wizard folks talk like you're from the 1800's?" he asked as they headed to the elevator. "'Yes, I am. Let's head to room 8B.' Can't you just talk normal?" His voice lacked any head, showing it was just light teasing.

"It's formal, professional," She replied, scowling at the floor for a second before looking up ahead. She knew he was teasing her, but yet she was going to respond like she normally would, "Not all of us talk like this by the way, there are many who choose to speak like muggles. Why do you talk the way you do?"

"'Cause I didn't live in a sheltered household. Like I said, Dad made sure I knew how to live without magic. And speak like I'm actually from Earth." They made it to the elevator and he pressed the "Up" button, despite the fact that the stairs would be quicker.

Alex scowled again, stepping into the elevator, "I still speak like I'm from Earth, I just was taught proper grammar and how to speak without saying y'all." She had been in elevators before, but they still fascinated her, all the buttons and how it worked like magic without being magic.

He chuckled as he pressed the 2nd floor button. "If you don't say y'all, you ain't speakin' English to me. By the way, I bought two days in this shit hole to give us a rest. Feel like we've been runnin' around too much."

"I'm not speaking your southern dialect, I guess I'm not speaking english then." She replied, a small idea creeping into her mind and a tiny smirk coming to her face, "Two days will be plenty. Especially if we're being hunted."

"Wipe that fuckin' smile off your face," he said, nudging her with his shoulder. "You're the one who's gonna be sleepin' on the floor."

"Je ne fais rien de tel M. Isaac, je vais prendre le canapé," (I am doing no such thing Mr. Isaac, I'll take the couch) She replied in well practiced french, the smirk morphing into a smug grin. Alex knew damn well she probably wouldn't get any sleep, even though her body was drained from the last few nights of barely any sleep as well. She could sleep when it was safe, or when she just collapsed from exhaustion, but until then she was going to keep watch.

"I don't speak whatever language that was, but you better've said, 'Yes, Mr. Isaac, you make a really good fuckin' point. I will sleep on the damn floor,'" he said as the doors opened. Despite the aggressive words, they carried no heat to them. It was clear he was just messing with her. "After you," he said, gesturing to the open doors,

Alex nodded in thanks and walked out into the hallway, rolling her eyes as her hand slipped onto her wand, "Je parle francais et merci." (I'm speaking french, and thank you) Now they just had to reach the room, check to make sure it was safe and argue over who would sleep where. Trying to decide who would sleep where was a pointless argument but it would make them both relax a little, since Slate obviously was taking the bed while Alex took the lookout post.

Their room was about 5 meters away, on the right side of the hall. Slate slipped the little electric keycard into the slot and unlocked it. Once again, he opened the door and gestured for her to walk ahead.

She once again nodded, this time much more on guard as she walked into the room and looked around, even checking the bathroom to make sure it was clear before relaxing even slightly. The french didn't drop though as she spoke again, "C'est clair." (It's clear)

"As I stated before, I don't speak that language," he said, walking in and shutting the door behind him. Immediately, he tossed the duffel bag on the bed and laid down next to it. "So, if you refuse to speak English, I'm just gonna ignore you."

Alex laughed and rolled her eyes, a smug grin coming to her face. She wasn't going to drop speaking french, seeing it as a good way to keep herself entertained as he couldn't understand what she was saying; plus she was going to wait until he asked her nicely to speak English again. With a shrug she turned and started pacing the room.

"You're welcome to lay down as well," he said, picking up the bag and dropping it on the floor next to the bed. "You've been up longer than I have and you probably need some sleep."

She shrugged, knowing he was right on the fact as she walked over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. Alex left the rest of the bed for him though, letting him take as much of the bed as he wanted.

"I said lay down, motherfucker," Slate said, gesturing to the empty space on the bed. "If I didn't want you to lay down, I woulda left the bag where it was."

Alex huffed and glanced at him, kicking off her shoes before scooting onto the bed further and laying down. It was extremely tempting to just close her eyes and fall asleep, but she forced her eyes to stay open. Who knew what would happen if she fell asleep and left Slate to watch the room for himself. She pushed one of her arms underneath her head to add to the pillow and watched the ceiling, laying on her back and still keeping herself tucked up against the edge of the bed so he could use the rest of the room.

"Oh my God," he grumbled getting up off of the bed and standing over her, hands on his hips. "Has anyone told you that you're too considerate of other people's personal space? I'm not really sure why I gotta spell this out for you."

"Being considerate of your space is part of my job," She said, not looking over at him and purposely keeping her eyes focused on the ceiling, "That fact has been ingrained into my brain since the day I started working for the Department."

"That is some fuckshit, then," he said, laying back down on the bed and crossing his arms over his chest. "So even if I asked for you to cuddle with me, you couldn't?"

Alex's cheeks flushed slightly and she shrugged, "I mean I could, but only if you specifically said something or asked for me to. That's the rule." She glanced over at him momentarily before letting her gaze drift back up to the ceiling and trying to ignore how much she wanted to sleep or how soft the blanket was beneath her.

"So many fuckin' hoops to jump through….Well, then, c'mere," he said, gesturing for her to come closer with his hands. "You need some sleep, and I need some human contact."

"I need to keep watch over your idiotic self, I'll nap later," She protested, knowing that she did need sleep and she was just trying to fool herself as her cheeks flushed even more. It's not that she didn't want to cuddle with him, she did want to, she just didn't want a repeat of the bar incident.

"How about I watch you, for once?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You act as though I'm a defenseless baby. You forget I've already shot two assholes who tried to kill me."

Alex scowled and pointed out another fact, "You also almost got killed by someone you trusted." She did scoot a little closer to him though, leaving the edge of the bed and moving towards the center where she was closer to him.

"You are so damn stubborn," he grumbled, slipping the revolver from the waistband of his pants and slipping it underneath the pillow under his head. "There. if anyone even farts loudly out in the hall, I promise to light this fuckin' place up. Deal?"

"Deal," She replied, a very tiny smile moving onto her face at his promise, "But wake me up before you do. And wake me up at midnight as well, I'll take the watch then so you can get some sleep." Alex moved towards the center of the bed again, though she left a few inches of gap between herself and Slate. It was so stinking hard not to just close her eyes and fall asleep immediately as her head settled onto the pillow.