Best Friends Forever, Chapter Ten (A Decade of Goodness)



It was December tenth, only a few days after Nadia and Eric had finally stopped unpacking and moved in completely, and only a few months after they had begun dating romantically. Still, he'd known her for how many years? She was twenty-five, he was twenty-six, and they'd met at ages seventeen and eighteen. He silently calculated. Eight years was a long enough time, he decided and impulsively decided he'd mention it to her sometime. For some reason his adrenaline prevented him from mentioning it, and that morning he found himself staring desolately in mother's jewelry box, knowing full well that he'd be telling his mother why the hell he was in there any second now.

"Eric?" She asked in a worried voice.

He glanced up. "Where's Gram's ring? The one she said I could have when-"

"Oh my goodness! Have you found a girl, Eric?"

He nodded and then turned back to the box, hoping to avoid the inevitable. She cheered happily and hugged him around the middle, reaching up to wipe a tear away quickly. He smiled weakly at her and she opened a small compartment on the box and pulled out an old fashioned white-gold ring with an enormous diamond on it. Taking it, he mentally measured it to her class ring. Normally he could fit that ring on his right little finger and it would easily slide off. He tried this ring on and found that it was almost the same fit, maybe tighter. He nodded decisively and then gulped carefully. She had known he was in the hospital a week ago, but that was the latest she'd heard from him.

"Well, who is it?" She asked and leaned in conspiratorially.

Eric squirmed in discomfort before relenting, "Nadia,"

His mother's face melted. "Oh! Wonderful, Eric! Such a lovely girl-"

"She's going to be getting back any second now, so I need to go home. So sorry, but really-"

"Of course, dear! Go!" She shooed him away and he nervously climbed back into his car, wiping his hands off on his jeans several times to clear his mind and rid them of the clammy feel. He parked and climbed out of the vehicle, sprinting inside to make sure the kittens hadn't tried chewing the couch apart again and panted as he gathered them up and replaced them to the box, taking careful care of Aphrodite, who mewled in a tired way as her children climbed over her in an attempt to escape again. Just as he lowered Phobos and Reebok in he heard the door close and he felt his throat close up completely. The near-silent padding of her feet echoed in his ears painfully, and he stood just in time to see her appear with a smile.

"How're my babies?" She asked, bending to check on them.

"Fine, and the couch survived another day." He choked out. Nadia pulled a clawing post from a small bag and placed it in front of the box.

"It'll live longer with that around." She smiled at him, a curious lump forming in her throat as he looked at her. She tried to cough to force it away, but it only grew worse, and before she knew it she was tugging his hand back into their bedroom, lust pouring from her pores. This time he nearly forced her to her back before pulling her top off, her dress pants, her underclothes as she pulled his shirt off and let him work his own for the rest. The warm flannel sheets closed around her and he kissed her neck softly. The world went out of focus as she let her glasses drop from her hand to the pile of clothes at the side of the bed.

"I love you," Eric said to her carefully, keeping his eyes glued to hers.

She smiled happily. "Love you too, Eric."

He propped her head up under his arm and returned to kissing her until he could almost stand it no more. When the moment finally did make itself apparent, he took full advantage of it, biting his lip in an effort to stifle the sound trying to flee him. Nadia also bit her lip and then the slow movement began, taking them both by surprise as always. It always felt like the first time, but today it was all fresh to Eric. His heart was pounding harder than normal, and his aching ankle, which had finally been considered healed, was numb with forgetfulness. Nadia murmured his name, and he had the insane urge to snap at her, tell her to shut her mouth, but the urge passed and his mouth dropped open slowly, tiredness starting to set in. She kissed him, and all movement stopped for a moment. She was panting pretty heavily, but he was really breathing hard.

A moment of rest passed between them before it began again, and Nadia let her head roll around in the pillows, arms around Eric's shoulders. French spilled from her mouth eagerly, and though she could hardly know what she was saying, every word echoed into Eric's head and he felt himself smile at her as she said to him, in French, that she loved him. He could understand her better than anyone, and found that he could almost speak fluently now, with some help from her. The few seconds his mind had wandered, Nadia had felt her shoulders straighten and her entire body tighten up. A small groan trailed out of her and then her body shook violently, goosebumps breaking out over her skin. Eric shook for a second, and then he eased himself next to her, their breaths coming out in quick, uneven intervals.

"Nadia," he muttered, trying to roll over to the side of the bed to reach for his pants, "I-"

She groaned again. "Pulled a muscle in my bloody leg," she murmured and rubbed her leg.

He smiled for a moment and then sat up. "Do you suppose we've done this long enough?"

Her heart thudded. "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean we should break up, for one thing." He said firmly, and she felt a massive relief settle on her.

"Uh, then I don't know. Are you implying we do something else?" She asked, feeling very stupid for an instant.

He leaned forward and kissed her. "You wanna get married?"

She felt her throat close up again and the sudden closeness she felt with him was more close, and before she could even consider what he'd said, she heard herself say, "Yeah!"

He grinned at her and leaned over again, groping for his pants. Reaching into the pocket he pulled out the ring and placed it in her hand. "Door prize for you, Madame."

She gaped at it. "Wow, where'd you find it?"

"That was my grandmother's; she left it for my lucky lady." He kissed the side of her head. "And that's you, Love."

She turned, eyes shining. "Oh, Eric-"

He kissed her. "What?"

She wrapped him up in a tight hug, and then the tears came. They were tears she wasn't used to, heavy, wet, happy tears, and she didn't make a single move to stop them, and Eric only held her tighter when they started to fall from her face and onto the sheets. For the next few minutes she sobbed, playing with his hair and trying for a spell to stop the nervous laughter.

She pulled away then, laughing. "I have to tell my mother! Right now," and she stood, pulling on pajamas quickly. Eric laughed in a tired way, a few minutes later curling up into a tight ball on the bed, waiting for something to happen, eyes closed but mind awake.

He could hear her talking in the other room, pacing as far as the phone cord would let her, laughing now and again. About ten minutes of this went on before she burst in on him, holding the receiver out.

"She wants to talk to you," she smirked as he gave her a worried look and grabbed the phone, holding it to his ear cautiously.

"You rang?" He asked in a tired voice, and immediately he heard her excitement.

She giggled. "Zis is great, Eric! We must plan the whole thing for the chapel in Paris! Please say that is okay with you, we must have it here-"

"Of course it's fine, I wouldn't mind not having to do a thing, really."

Nadia did a little dance while he spoke.

"How soon?" He asked, shaking off the distraction of Nadia.

"Christmas of course!" Her mother responded over the bad connection.

Eric opened his mouth in surprise. "That's in two weeks-"

"Trust me, darling," she smiled, "I can get it done. You send me my daughter the day before and I'll get her dress fit and you just have to show up three hours before the wedding. Deal?" Her English was near perfect, and Eric felt himself nod.

"That's perfect, Mrs. Smart-"

"That's Mum to you now, eh?" She laughed and Eric smiled.

Nadia snatched the phone back and sat down, holding the cradle with her left hand, back to Eric as she returned to speaking French. About half an hour or so later she hung up and danced again in the bedroom, laughing as Eric rolled his eyes and stood, dressing quickly.

"Tell you the truth, Naddy, I was nervous as hell for a while there." He admitted, taking her into a hug.

Nadia laughed. "To tell you the truth, for a second there I was afraid I'd say no. I literally thought I had no control over my mouth, and then I said yes and it was alright."

He smiled at her and pulled on his shirt. "Well now, let's relax and-"

"Relax? Boy you just asked me to get married, I'm about to snap with anticipation!" She danced again for a moment, and Eric could only laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What the hell is this?" Eric asked as he lifted a heavy piece of paper, both sides littered with three columns of names.

She looked up over the test she was grading. "Invitation list; my mum invited everyone we know or bumped into on the street, pretty much."

He made a face. "This is nearly a hundred people!"

She smirked. "One hundred three, actually."

"Is the church even that big?"

She shook her head. "Probably not,"

"Well, I suppose I'll tell the guys today and see how many of them can show up on Christmas day in Paris." He grumbled, dreading both telling them and telling them where and when.

Nadia smiled. "You'd be surprised how many wives, girlfriends, friends, would love to go to Paris for Christmas, and a wedding only makes it better."

He shrugged. "You're forgetting how strange a breed these particular guys come from."

"Just remember you come from the same species, alright?" She shook a finger at him.

He frowned. "So, break starts tomorrow? You really get three weeks off?"

She nodded. "Art is one of those minimal absence classes, and since they only need four credits for the two semesters, I can randomly give them a week off for the semester and still give them two credits."

He smiled. "Nice,"

She eyed the clock. "You gonna be late?"

He glanced at his watch and sighed. "No, not yet, but I think you should come with me to make sure they believe me. Ever since that whole kissing thing they think I'm just putting them on."

Nadia laughed. "I could send you with a permission slip and a signed acknowledgement-"

"No, you should come with me." He said firmly, and she rolled her eyes.

Phobos and his little brother Demos purred in the other room, the dryer shaking hysterically, and the two cats atop it, faces pressed to the shaking object, were very happy. Their mother joined them, and Nadia decided it was time to get out of the house.

They were in the car and on their way to the BBC building in no time, and then they were in the BBC building early, waiting for others to show up. The first to arrive was Mike, and Helen was with him for whatever reason. She was holding a pair of scissors, and it didn't look good. Eric was convinced Mike hadn't noticed the shiny metal objects in her hand yet, and he felt a smile tug at his face until Helen noticed that Nadia, some girl she'd never seen before, was sitting carefully on Eric's lap.

"Oh, hello, I'm Helen." She extended a hand and Nadia shook it.

"I'm Nadia." She smiled at the woman, unsure why she felt the need to behave herself suddenly.

As Helen turned, Mike spied the scissors and yelped, turning to run, but she seized a handful of his hair and held it tight; he yelped again and sunk to his knees.

"Damn you, Helen, damn you!" He shook a fist as she forced him to hold a mirror in front of him. Nadia watched with a bemused _expression as the woman carefully trimmed Mike's hair, his face not very happy about it. When she was done it looked better, and Mike grumbled, brushing off his shoulders with another scowl. During this time the others had arrived, and Helen had given Eric a questioning look.

"Alright," Eric relented and knelt in front of her with the mirror. Nadia watched again as Helen carefully circled him, evening things and cutting split ends away with little snips of the scissors. It didn't take as long as Mike, but when she was done, once again Nadia had to admit he looked better.

Helen's hands itched for Nadia's head. "How about you?" She blurted and the guys stared in horror as Nadia lifted her eyebrows.

"Uh, what were you planning on doing?"

Helen touched the back of Nadia's neck, and her bangs. "Just those spots look a little shaggy. You're turning into my husband-" She smirked as Mike scowled again.

"Alright, let's do that." She followed suit and knelt, mirror in front of her. Helen crouched over Nadia and evened everything, carefully fixing the mistakes that no one ever noticed but her. Nadia felt the tickle of cut hairs on her neck, and when it was all done, she brushed it all off with a shudder, itchy for a moment. She checked the work in the mirror and thanked Helen, taking her seat on Eric's lap again.

"So, are you two dating?" Helen asked as she sat next to Mike in a folding chair.

The others smirked like they knew something not even Eric knew.

Eric smiled carefully. "As of this morning we are not."

Gray gasped theatrically. "Did you break up?"

Terry reached over and lifted Nadia's left arm up a bit. "That looks like a diamond, actually."

There was a careful pause before Eric blurted, "We're getting married."

It seemed that the simple act of those three words had created a massive uproar; non-believers believed and they were all cheering for them, smiling gently as Nadia blushed and turned away, hardly able to keep eye-contact with any of them.

"We're invited, right?" Gray asked, eyes dancing as if he was still unsure they weren't putting them all on.

Eric shrugged. "If you want to show up in Paris this Christmas."

Mike whistled. "That quick, huh?"

Nadia smiled. "My mother wanted it to happen soon, and she has connections with a chapel in France. By tomorrow she'll probably have every tiny detail worked out."

Gray slammed a fist on the nearest table. "By God I'll be there!"

"How about the rest of you?" Eric asked with an amused smile.

Mike was about to squint and think, but Helen started talking.

"Ooh! Christmas in Paris! Can't we go? We don't need to go to my parents', right?"

As if the idea of avoiding in-laws and being in Paris for Christmas was the single greatest thing ever, Mike's eyes lit up. "No, we can go! We'll be there!" He smiled at Eric.

Terry stroked his chin. "Alison'll go to Paris, no ifs ands or buts about it. We're in."

A few minutes later it was agreed, the five of them and their significant others (or better halves, whichever fit best) could all attend the event. That being settled, the end of the day flew in quickly and they returned home to their animal friends. Nadia grudgingly placed the sign in the yard.

"KITTENS FOR SALE"

She walked back in and felt Eric hug her. "Hey, they'll go to good homes, right?"

"I suppose, but I've named them all and gotten to know them! I can't just SEPARATE!" She flailed for a moment, and then dropped back into his arms. There was a knock on the door.

Eric pulled it open and peered at the woman standing there. "Yes?"

"I saw the sign, and was hoping I could get one of these for my daughter-" She smiled nervously.

Eric gaped. "That was quick."

She blinked in confusion before Nadia added, "The sign went up literally five seconds ago."

The woman laughed and was let in by Eric. Nadia led the woman to the box where all seven kittens were crawling over the other, black as night, a few with white splotches. Three of the seven had white spots somewhere on them, and the woman chose, after Nadia had removed Phobos as her own, the one with a white spot over her left eye.

"Does she have a name?" The woman asked.

Nadia smiled uncertainly. "Pirate, because of the uh, eyepatch-"

"How cute!" She interrupted and cuddled the kitten. "How much?"

Eric mentioned something about fifteen pounds, and it was a good price for the cats. The woman, Claudia, paid and left, thanking them for the perfect gift.

Nadia kept watch of the door the next few days, waiting patiently for the people to show up and take the barely old enough kittens home for the holiday season.

On the third day the sign was out, Nadia found herself talking to the animals.

"Now, I know you've all come to call this box home, but I'm sure you'll all settle in just fine in other places. Little girls love kittens, you see, and they'll love you all." She smiled gently at the kittens.

She mentally listed their names. There was Aphrodite, the mother, Phobos, her little black cat, and then there was Pirate, already gone. The remaining five included Demos, Reebok, Luna, and the two biggest, plain black cats, Merlin and Nimue. The two had been named because the female cat, Nimue, would wander around the house with Merlin at her tail, meowing pathetically as he tried to keep up, and it had reminded Nadia once again of the Arthurian lore.

There was a knock at the door, and Eric patted Nadia's back before rising to answer it. It was a little boy holding a wad of money, all one pound notes. Behind him was a shovel, and Eric remembered he'd seen this one shoveling all the walks around the block for a small fee, including their walk. He smiled and let the boy in.

"Afternoon, Nate, what brings you here?"

He smiled nervously. "I wanted to get my mum a cat. Her last one-we had to put it to sleep yesterday." He explained and smiled broadly as Nadia walked in the room.

"Nate!" She opened her arms and gently hugged her former student. "How is your mum doing?"

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess. She keeps talking about how great you were though and doesn't like the new teacher at the school."

"You're a fifth former now, aren't you?"

"Yes, Ma'm." He smiled.

"Well, I think that this is a great idea. Was she talking about getting another cat?" She asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't going to take it home and have the mother go ballistic at him.

He nodded. "She was looking all over town, but she wanted a kitten and the shelters were out because of Christmas."

Nadia grinned broadly. "Let me show you who you can choose from." She pulled him into the laundry room and pointed to the box where the five kittens were snoozing gently, Phobos sitting on the dryer with Aphrodite.

He seemed to be thinking of his mother very hard for the next few moments, and then chose the one with the white mark under his chin and on his chest, another white splotch on the very end of his tail. "That one,"

Nadia lifted the sleeping kitten gently and wrapped it in a white cloth to keep his claws from digging into Nate's hands. "His name is Demos. Do you remember what that means?"

He squinted his eye and then smiled. "Terror, right?"

"Exactly, but he's not a bad kitten, just like Phobos up there doesn't scare the bejesus outta me. I just like the Greek names. So, are you sure?" She asked, smiling gently at him again.

He held the sleeping kitten gently. "Yes, and I have twenty pounds, is that enough?"

"More than enough. Ten's enough for a good friend like you, right?" She smiled as his face lit up.

"Thanks, Miss Smart!" He gave her a quick, one-armed hug and resumed gazing at the sleeping animal.

"Now, can I give you a ride home? Wouldn't want little Demos freezing to death on the way."

Eric leaned against the doorjamb with a smile. God, he thought, she would be a great mother. For a moment he thought to himself, hey, we're getting married right? Of course, he'd heard her talking when she first went into teaching. Something along the lines of, "I'll watch your kids, but hand me my own and it'll be 'Sure, put the knife in the electrical socket' and 'I don't know, why shouldn't you eat paste? Let's find out...'" She didn't want children; she figured her teaching job would allow her to teach and have children in a different way, but she didn't mind. Not to mention the fact that she insisted she could never pull off being a good baby-sitter longer than a week or so. Raising a child was out of the question. A battle he'd probably never win, and didn't mind; maybe they weren't meant to have kids. He was a firm believer in that if it was supposed to happen, it would, and he didn't have to make it happen. So be it, he mused.

"Come on then, Nate, let's get you home." Nadia murmured and stood, pulling on her coat. She slipped her feet into a pair of boots and followed him out the door, talking quietly with him.

"Who is that man?" Nate asked quietly.

Nadia smiled. "That's my friend, Eric."

"You live with him?" Nate wrinkled his nose.

Nadia laughed. "We're getting married, actually."

His face was understanding now. "Ohhh! I get it."

Eric smiled as they left through the front door, keys dangling from one of Nadia's hands, Nate's hand in another. The boy bent and picked up his shovel with a free hand, giving Nadia Demos to hold for a moment. She cradled the kitten, now awake, and they clamored into the car together, Demos mewling weakly in the cold, his big green eyes shining at Nate curiously.

The cat and boy stared at one another for a while, silence between them. A block and a half later, Nadia let Nate out and watched him walk to the door, jumping back as his mother jerked the door open and waved happily at Nadia before she caught sight of her son, holding up the tiny black and white kitten. Mrs. Cunningham's jaw dropped and she grabbed her son in a tight hug, laughing as the tiny animal licked her ear. Satisfied, Nadia put the car in park, honked once, and drove back to her house with a heavy sigh.

"Four to go," she muttered to herself and climbed out of the car and back into her house. Eric was lying on the couch, his eyes shut, hands clasped behind his head. He didn't move when she came in, and she knew he wasn't sleeping. She wasn't sure why she knew for sure he wasn't sleeping, but she stood above him, catching her breath from the cold, and she simply knew at any second his eyes would flick open and that friendly grin she knew so well would pop up on his face, and she'd be unable to do anymore more than grin back, as always. She waited patiently.

His eyes flicked open, but no friendly grin was there to comfort her or make her smile. He had only sullen discomfort on his face, and he blinked in complete blankness as she stared. Slowly he sat up and she sat on his lap, wanting that damn grin to surface so she could feel like she hadn't done something wrong. He still stared at her like she was an alien when it was he who was acting strangely. She offered no weak smile to provoke him, and he only blinked at her more.

"I remember the very first time I wanted to kiss you." He said plainly, and Nadia wanted to drop to her knees and thank the Lord he'd finally said something.

She blinked at him. "Oh?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was after me Gran's funeral and you came with me and did that weird relaxation reflexology thing on my back. I thought you were being a sneaky pickpocket, but then I was all sleepy, and this vague thought went across my mind like a marquee. It just said, 'Aww, kiss the girl. She deserves it, damnit.'" He smiled bemusedly. "And I would've if you hadn't left me there. I hadn't even realised I was laying down until you let go of me."

Nadia smiled and wrapped her arms around him, feeling for the spot just below his shoulder blade that would release the calming endorphins and make him sleepy again. There were a few more spots she knew about, and a few of them she probably shouldn't mention, but she slowly ran her fingers in circles on the sensitive area, and Eric's shoulders dropped suddenly, a smile flitting onto his face evenly as if any second his leg would start thumping on the carpet.

"When was the first time you did?" Nadia asked quietly, waiting for the rise and fall of his chest as she clung to him.

He sighed and she lovingly dug into the feel of it. "I think when you were knocked out after that one match against that behemoth of a woman in Lansbury Community College; I wouldn't hear the end of it. They told me any second you'd wake up and you'd be fine, but you didn't at first and when you finally did wake up and snatch your glasses back from me, I just about cried in relief. In fact, instead of being pissed at you for almost making me cry in front of about three hundred fifty people, I kissed you all over the place until you smacked at my head and said it hurt too much." He smiled again. "But later you said you were grateful I'd been there. Mooched a ride off me later."

"Julia, this one girl in my first hour class, signed up for kickboxing. They wanted her to stay home for the tournament in Preston, but she wanted to go and the second-to-last kickboxer was out with a broken jaw, so she's going. I think she won't last five minutes, and she wants me to tutor her privately after classes. Apparently they found my record from sophomore year..." Nadia made a face. "I can't kickbox to save my life anymore!"

Eric stood and pulled her to her feet. "Come on then, show me what you got!"

She laughed. "I may be out of shape, but I can still make you cry, Eric Idle."

He lunged forward and jabbed her in the stomach, causing her to grab her piercing and stumble back, revenge already in her eyes. She cast her glasses off and lifted her hands into a fighter's crouch, feet evenly placed apart. She bounced up and down ever so slightly, and then with a sudden, graceful movement, kicked Eric squarely in the chest, heaving him backward to the floor. He laughed as soon as he regained control of his lungs.

"Out of shape my ASS." He said loudly as she leapt to his side. She bit her lip and reached forward to touch the spot she'd kicked.

"You alright?"

"Fine, I think." He muttered, sitting up. "I'd like to see us get mugged sometime, that'd be pretty funny, actually."

She smiled. "Good sketch idea. Watch the wimpy man hide behind his girlfriend while she fights the mugger for her purse."

Eric's face lit up and he disappeared, cursing as his search for a pen and paper proved fruitless for the time being. Nadia watched with mild curiosity as he hunched over a paper and began to scribble his chicken-scratch handwriting on it, pausing now and again as he stuck the end of the pen in his mouth to think. Aphrodite purred and rubbed her side to his leg, and on a whim Eric threw himself to the floor and mimicked the cat, causing Nadia to burst into uncontrollable laughter. After imitating (and pissing off) the cat, Eric returned to his seat and then finished his paper. Tucking this into his jacket pocket, he returned the pen to the jar in the kitchen and smiled at Nadia.

"Dinner anyone?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a knock at the door early the next morning. Nadia dragged her head off the pillow and glanced at the clock. She groaned as the bright face of the old-fashioned clock burned into her retinas; eight o' clock. She rolled from the bed and ignored putting on anything more respectable, leaving her gigantic silken pajama top, her plaid pajama pants, and her head band on. Upon pulling open the door, she noticed that it was Julia, and she was holding a gym bag.

"Tomorrow's the tournament-" She began, but Nadia had already fallen asleep at the door.

"Julia-" She said suddenly, and yawned, cutting herself off. "It's too early for me. I don't get up this early, ever. Come back laaaaaaater."

The girl fretted. "I can't! If I don't do this now then I can't make practice tonight, and I know you won those medals and stuff, so please help! PLEASE! I'll do extra credit, I'll wash your car-"

"My boyfriend's car-"

"OH MY GOD!" Julia shrieked and turned her eyes away, having caught sight of the ring, and then Eric shuffling around in the background with hardly anything on. He scowled at her and returned to chasing the kittens around the living room, his hair stuck in many directions. Nadia cast him an amused glance before turning back to the flaming red face of Julia.

"Care to come in? We can clear some couches out of the way if I don't kill a few of my pets in the process..." She mumbled, letting the girl in. Eric had disappeared, and had now reappeared, mostly dressed. He was still yanking his shirt on when Julia sat herself down to do stretches. He nearly tripped on a cat and then a couch, but remained his dignity as he caught the kitchen counter and bent to retrieve a teakettle. He brewed the tea while watching Nadia bend over her leg, impossibly close to the ground as she did so. Julia did the best she could to imitate Nadia, but only bend about three quarters of the way Nadia did, and then had to let go, huffing and puffing in annoyance. After a long stretching session, Julia exited to the bathroom to change into her more athletic wear, and Nadia did the same, changing into some ancient fighter's garb she hadn't taken out in years. The tank top was tight, almost a sports bra. It bared her stomach and most of her back, leaving everything else to be free of all bonds. The boxing gloves in the box were dusty, and she wiped them off with a damp rag while Julia changed.

"What was your nickname?" Frowned Julia as she appeared. "Blackie McBlackBlack?"

Eric snorted. "The Black Widow, actually."

Nadia smirked at him and lifted the black glove to blow the last of the dust off. One was black, the other red and black. Together she was once again rather morbid looking, but she didn't mind.

Taking off her glasses and putting in a mouth guard and gloves, she stood and beckoned Julia. She followed suit and then took a slouching crouch, which Nadia fixed, then instructed the girl to hit her as hard as she could. Nadia hardly moved as the blow hit her in the left arm. Nadia returned with a blow of her own, which knocked the girl back to the couch. Nadia spit her mouth guard into an open palm, gloves on her shoulders.

"Stance is everything. Make your stance, keep one hand in defense, the other in a fist at all times, by your side. Whenever a move comes for you, use the fist to block, the defense to nail them. Never fails. Also, try a left hook, that'll kill 'em-" She cut herself off by returning her mouthguard again. For a moment they sparred, and out of nowhere Julia's foot lifted and brushed Nadia's ear as she ducked and returned to a regular stance, returning with a kick of her own, which once again seemed stronger and faster than the younger girl's. Leaving gloves and all behind, Nadia instructed Julia to land as many hits as possible on Nadia. They circled, and Julia attempted to kick at Nadia, but she blocked and ducked every blow. When she stopped the girl, Nadia could only smile in desperation.

"You know what you're gonna do, that's great. Now, think what I think you're gonna do, and then do the opposite. Instead of being taken in by a weak spot, fake it. Go for it, then hit 'em while they aren't looking. Try it." She mimicked making her left side open, and she faked a kick for it, which Nadia instinctively blocked before the padded glove smacked her right shoulder and made it rip backwards. She regained her balance and instinct caused her left foot to lift and knock Julia's shoulder back in the same fashion, using her own momentum to throw her off. By pushing the opposite shoulder of the arm that had punched her, she continued a spin and turned her one hundred and eighty degrees around.

Eric watched for a few moments longer until he caught sight of his watch and picked up Nimue and Merlin, who had started rolling around on the couch next to him, trying to bite the other's tail, and returned them to the box with thier sleeping brother, sister, and mother.

"I gotta go now, Naddy-" He started, taking his coat out of the closet.

Nadia was shaking Julia's hand with a good luck, and she looked ready to go. "I'm going too." She said simply, and he felt himself smile as she tugged her shoes on, bent over a cat. She glanced up and smiled, her glasses slipping off her face as she struggled with a leather boot, and then she fell back with the thing on, tied it, and bounced up, ready to go. Eric shook his head and put his arm on her shoulder.

"Sometimes I think we were made for each other, Naddy. And other times I wish I didn't know why we know each other." He said in a bemused way.

Nadia laughed. "Sometimes I think we're all fleas and we don't know it. I don't want to know, though. Happy?"

He smiled. "Hell yeah."