what're you in for, love? (closed, o/o with @Dances_with_Shadows)

((Oh, one of her foster brothers pretty much beat her to shit with a crowbar when she was 12. Broke a bunch of bones, and he shattered her one cheekbone. It's sunken in now because of that. He's dead tho—her first kill))

Tessa huffed a laugh. "Well, isn't that where the saying came from?" She cocked her head to the side when she heard the faint sound of a door moving.

The guy casually heading down the stairs was not much older than Tess—only two years. He was tall, roughly around 6'4, and dark. His t-shirt and jeans were dark silver and black, respectively. His hair was black and fluffy, some strands falling into his dark and observant eyes. He was clearly built for stealth with a lean frame and narrow-ish shoulders. His skin had a slight tan to it but was otherwise somewhat pale.

Tessa relaxed when she saw the guy, lazily waving in his direction. "You could've answered me when I announced my presence," she said.

The guy shrugged and leaned against the staircase railing. "I wasn't aware that I had to."

((Demitri, the one that just popped up, is pining after Cinthia. Has been, actually, since the two were kids))

Tessa rolled her eyes and flipped him the bird. "Ass. It'd be nice if you announced your presence every now and again."

The guy just rolled his eyes and sighed, pushing off of the railing and heading over to the fireplace to light it. As he crouched down and grabbed the lighter, he said, "Who're you?"

((1. Cin's oblivious and too busy to really notice 2. I suck at naming places, so I have no clue what it'd be called))

"Demitri," the guy said, starting the lighter and holding it to the kindling he had put into it just before.

"He's a spy," Tessa said, turning on her side to watch Demitri out of boredom, "Probably the best, actually. Won't even know he's there until it's too late."

The fireplace was lit, and Demitri set the lighter aside and stood up, dusting off his hands. He turned to look at Nik and Tessa. "Cin and I are going to be busy tonight, so don't expect us to save your ass for the thousandth time this week." Tessa did the adult-like thing and stuck her tongue out at him. He fixed his gaze onto Nik. "Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"

Demitri nodded, then disappeared through the front door. Tessa watched him go, then crossed her arms and smirked to herself. "I'm sure they'll be plenty busy tonight."

"No, not officially," Tessa sighed dejectedly. "Demitri and Cinthia have been friends since they were kids, and he's had a crush on her for almost as long. She's oblivious, though. Kinda disappointing."

(I'm back!)

Tessa raised a brow in Nik's direction. "No, and it'd be a lost cause. A spy he may be, Demitri's loyalty and respect for Cin is unwavering. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship. Such a bum."

(I officially hate stairs, all thanks to business camp)

She hummed and tapped the couch, head angled to the side in a predatory manner. "I mean, we could give him a small push without directly being involved," she mused.

((It's alright my dude! I totally get it, as I've been doing almost the same as you as of late))

Her lips twitched up in amusement at his reaction to her statement, threatening to turn into a mischievous smirk. "We could, but only if we use discretion. Any ideas, reporter?"

Tessa quirked a brow and said flawlessly, "Sono circondato da lingue diverse ogni giorno, il mio amico. Non mi interessa che lingue si parla." She then tilted her head and tucked her legs beneath her so that she was sitting cross-legged and facing Nik. "That might actually work. The only time they really are alone together is when they're on missions, and that's not exactly the most romantic setting. Double dates would be the most harmless push to get them…" She gestured with her hands as she trailed off, indicating what she meant without words.

Tessa shrugged, then flashed him a grin. "How're you at improv?" she asked him. Improv was pretty much her way of life if she was being honest. Dance, fights, nosing into people's business—it was all made up on the fly. "But in all seriousness, you'd have to meet Cin first and earn her approval. She doesn't just hang with anyone, even if it is a double date and I've already signed off on you. My word means squat, especially considering my usual tendencies. She's the one on the other end of my leash."

((Yeah))

Tessa's eyes darted around his face for any sort of indication of what caused that half-smile. "Just stick around until they come back. She owns this place."

Tessa was slower to react, and she already knew who it was just from the pair of footsteps. "Eyyy, the shadows are back."

Demitri was the first to enter, and he went straight to his bedroom upstairs to change. Another figure silently stepped through, shorter than Demitri, female, and covered head to toe with black cloth and leather. She kicked the door closed behind her with her heel and strode in, tugging at the leather gloves covering her slim hands. Her eyes found Nik, however, and they narrowed as she stopped in her tracks. Her right eye (their left) was a pale blue, and the skin around it peppered with red marks, while the other eye was a forest green. Her hood was pulled over her face and shadowed most of her face, and from the nose down was covered with a cloth mask.

((this is what Cin's wearing: https://pin.it/dr2tpjhuj2qa6u))

Tessa lazily gestured to Nik. "Let him introduce himself. I'm just gonna say that he's a friend and you can trust him." She then gestured to the girl, turning to address Nik. "This gorgeous woman here is Cinthia, a three-year-long friend of mine and the one who's taken up the job of keeping me under wraps."

Cinthia pushed back her hood and pulled down the face mask, showing more red marks along the side of her face just before her dark mass of tightly coiled curls spilled out and over her shoulders and face. "It's a full-time job," she said, cutting an unamused look Tessa's way, then looked back at Nik, expecting a better introduction than the one Tessa gave.