Mordecai wasn't liking the annoyed looks Viktor had been giving him lately since that day in the garage, but tonight the older man looked ready to do more than glare at him. Despite what he had said, he still couldn't bring himself to tell Paloma the truth about their relationship. Something in him couldn't stand the idea of upsetting her, but he knew he had to soon before her grandfather came knocking on his door to ask when they planned to get married.

Right now she had fallen asleep in the back, his coat thrown over her for warmth as she curled up on the old leather seat, softly snoring away. Apparently she hadn't gotten much sleep at home for whatever reason, so Viktor just told her to take a nap while they drove until they reached their destination, an old lodge somewhere in the woods.

I'll tell her tonight, after we do our job. Mordecai thinks as the trees surrounding them become a bit more dense. We'll have to return to the speakeasy after this, so I'll just pull her aside into one of the empty dressing rooms to tell her. And make sure she doesn't have that gun on her too.

As of late, Paloma had not only been toting around a shotgun, but a clunky old revolver that had been strapped to her hip. Apparently, this was either the gun her grandfather used during some war in the 1800s, or one she had used in a civil war revolution that had happened in her country when she was just a child. It was a rather morbid thought, her being no older than nine or ten and being given a gun to go running off into the desert crying and screaming that unholy scream of hers before shooting someone. Apparently that earned her the nickname La Llorona, which was meant to be some sort of ghost or banshee creature from where she was from. She seemed quite proud of admitting that, even as far as showing him an old wanted poster of hers that had circulated in the towns and villages she lived near, featuring a younger version of herself with a large shotgun in her arms that looked too big for her to carry.

"We here." Viktor says as he shuts the lights of the car off as it comes to a stop and quickly turns it off as well. "Wake little dove."

Mordecai rolls his eyes but does as he is told, exiting his side of the car and opening the doors to the backseat to where Paloma was asleep. He reached forward and gave her a gentle shake, earning a tired groan from the younger woman as she tries to curl herself up under the coat.

"Dies mas minutos mama..." She mumbles before being shaken again. Her eyes blink open before she suddenly sits up. "We here? Did I miss it?"

"Relax, we just got here." Mordecai says as he takes his coat off her and slips it on before grabbing his fedora from the front seat and puts it on. "Now, you remember the plan, right?"

Paloma nods. "Pretend need help, hide gun on me. Inside, start shooting." She says and grins. "I have knife too in case."

"Good, need every weapon we have." Viktor says as he is inspecting a shotgun and slung it over one shoulder. "I give you dis inside. Remember magic word?"

"Mayonnaise!"

"Why that word?" Mordecai asks with a scoff. "It's disgusting and one of the forbidden condiments!"

"Why bad?" Paloma asks as she is checking her revolver before tucking it into a large pocket sewn into her jacket and hastily buttoning it up.

"It smells, the texture is disgusting, and the taste is just horrendous." Mordecai responds and gags. "I'll give you the list of forbidden condiments another time, go do your thing."

Paloma nods before hurrying off towards a large cabin up ahead. As the two men follow several yards behind, Viktor suddenly stopped and grabbed Mordecai by the coat.

"Oh what now?!" The younger man groans. "We have-"

"You make her upset with news, I tear you scrawny neck." The older man growls. "Be nice."

Oh for goodness sake, of all the times to remind him of that! "I plan on telling her tonight, but I can't promise to be gentle."

"Try."

"I can't-"

"Try."

Mordecai rolls his eyes. "I shouldn't have done this in the first place. But I can only hope that she won't be too upset when-"

"Mayonnaise! Mayonnaise!" They hear Paloma yelling, probably from the top of her lungs. "Mayonnaise!"

"That's our cue, let's move quickly."

They could already hear gunshots going off in the cabin as they enter to find two men already bleeding out on the floor and Paloma wrestling with a man bigger than her for an iron poker that he managed to wrestle out of her grip. As he raises it to strike Mordecai quickly aims his shotgun and fires. The man yelps as a bullet strikes his hand, forcing him to drop the poker and for Paloma to snatch it up before slamming it across his face and shoving the sharp end into his eye and through his skull.

"Where are the others?" Mordecai yells before he hears a gunshot from above. "Upstairs, now!"

Viktor nods before tossing Paloma her shotgun as Mordecai hurried up the stairs of the cabin. This felt all too familiar, like that one incident a few years ago that ended with him getting stitches on his shoulder from an injury he sustained from getting shot and falling down the stairs. Hopefully this time won't end with any of them on Elsa's surgery table.

He hears the click of a gun and leaps back as a spray of bullets hits the step he was going to step on, almost falling backwards into Paloma. Somehow, she managed to keep them both from falling over, and quickly aimed her revolver before firing at a man who stood at the top of the stairs. He yelps as one bullet hits him in the shoulder and Mordecai shoots his own gun, hitting him square in the head.

"Good shot." He says quietly.

"You owe me proper date after this." Paloma laughs before slipping past him to hurry up the stairs.

Again with the reminder. But...he couldn't really deny as much as he had been grumbling about this situation, he somewhat enjoyed Paloma's company. She didn't try to make him take her on fancy dates to exotic restaurants or demand expensive gifts like he had heard many rich clients of the Lackadaisy speakeasy complain about as their dates were either drunk st the bar or wearing their feet and heels out on the dancefloor, instead she just spent her time with him quietly reading, asking him to explain a difficult word to her that she came across, and her whole face would light up when given a new book to try out. She was a simple woman of simple tastes, he found himself liking that about her. On top of that, she wasn't as annoying as some people around him tended to be, and some days he found himself-

"LOOK OUT!" Paloma screams, jolting Mordecai out of his thoughts. They had reached the top of the stairs and someone was aiming gun at him, at least until Paloma rushes forward and grabbed the long end of the gun, shoving it upwards as the trigger was pulled. The bullet hits the ceiling instead, giving Mordecai time to whip out one of his smaller guns from his holster and fires, downing the man as Paloma ripped the shotgun out of his grasp and slammed it several times over his head.

"Okay?" She asks, panting as she drops the gun and winces. "Forgot gloves."

"Hang on, let me check the rooms." Mordecai says softly as he edged towards one of the opened doors and peered inside. So far, no one. He checked the next few rooms, no one else was in any of them, which was good at least. He then returns to Paloma, who is flexing her hands and wincing in pain. "Give."

She shyly lifted her hands for him to grab and examined them to find that the pads were looking a bit blistered. This couldn't have been from grabbing a shotgun, right?

"I grab metal thing from fire earlier, accidentally grabbed hot sides." Paloma admits quietly before Mordecai could even ask. "It hurt to hold gun."

"Tsk, you need to wear full length gloves like I do, not those fingerless things like Viktor." Mordecai scolds. "I'll get you a pair next time I-"

Wait what was he saying?! Mordecai quickly shakes his head and dropped the younger woman's hands before hurrying to the stairs and swiftly makes his way down where Viktor is checking the pockets of the downed men.

"All good?" The older man asks.

"No one else is upstairs, as far as I could tell. Also Paloma sustained some burns from that poker she used on that man, which wouldn't have happened if she remembered to keep her gloves on hand."

Viktor frowns and takes Paloma's hands to examine them and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Keep gloves next time."

"Sorry..." Paloma murmured.

"We should have some sort of ointment back at the speakeasy, right?" Mordecai asks. "I recall Elsa and that weird horse doctor giving us some medicines and ointments so we wouldn't have to go to the hospital, we could just rub some onto her paw pads and hope it won't be so bad or noticeable."

Viktor grunts in agreement. "We leave."

Mordecai hadn't even noticed the whole floor was covered in liquid, most likely from any alcohol Viktor had gotten from the house to set it on fire. He quickly ushered Paloma outside back towards the car, now wondering if this was a good time to tell her. Viktor wasn't with them, she seemed too tired to probably pull a gun on him, it was now or never.

"Paloma, we need to talk." He finally says as they reach the car.

"Is bad?" The younger woman asks. "When someone say that in books, is always bad."

What books has she been reading? "Well it's a serious matter, and about our...relationship. Mitzi was the one who told me I had to be your boyfriend, and that's how you refer to me."

"Yes, you currently are my novio." She lets out a small laugh and smiles warmly at him. "Who would have thought? I always thought I end up with some boy from a farm I've never met before and married a week after to him. Yet I end up with you, and we not married after some time. I'm happy about that. Thank you for that."

Mordecai felt like there was a small flutter in his chest just seeing her smile at him like that, but he tried to ignore the feeling. "Well I don't intend to marry you, or anyone for that matter."

"Good, but what so important to talk about?"

Well, time to break her heart. "There seems to be a misconception about us, this relationship is meant to be entirely faux simply to keep your grandfather from being too suspicious of our activities and because you lied about having one and needed someone to step in for that, which I was forced into by that woman. Mitzi and I failed to tell you this, and I am only telling you this to avoid any problems in the future, and - are you even listening to me?!"

Paloma wore a blank expression on her face, he couldn't even tell if she was upset or not. Well, it looked more like she was trying to process everything he said. He was very sure he broke it down enough for her to understand.

"What's "faux"?" She finally asks.

"You- I just- damn it!" Mordecai groans. "Did you even understand a single thing I just said?! Did you even hear anything past the word faux?!"

"I sort of spaced out trying to understand the word."

He lets out a frustrated sigh. "It means fake, not real, false. It's French!"

"I hardly know English, how am I to know French words?!"

"You done?" Viktor asks, interrupting them.

"Yes, let's go before that inferno of yours is reported and we're all seen." Mordecai says, for once feeling relieved for his companion's presence. This more or less went better than expected, but he didnt expect Paloma to just space out in the middle of a conversation. Then again, her English wasn't as good as one would expect. He'll have to continue this talk after they make it back to the city and fix her hands up.

----

After what felt like the longest drive ever, they soon made it back to the city. They made it into the garage with no problem, and no one was inside save for several of the cars used for sweeping and obtaining their illicit goods.

"We go in, come." Viktor says as he lifts the hatch leading to the downstairs area that led to the Speakeasy.

Paloma loomed uneasy about going down the stairs, but she eventually followed the older man while Mordecai brought up the rear and closed the hatch behind them. As they came down the stairs, they soon found themselves in the underground cave system before finding themselves at the door that led into the speakeasy.

"Oh good, you're here!" The doorman groans when he sees them. "There's a guest raging right now and everyone is too scared to deal with him!"

"Too drunk?" Viktor asks.

"Very, and upset because some girl - or several - wouldn't dance with him, I think he's even got a gun or a knife, and Atlas is out for the night and I'm too terrified to call him!"

"Well a good thing we came down here." Mordecai sighs as he reaches into his coat to take one of his guns out. "Open up."

The doorman nods and quickly opens the door to usher the three of them into the speakeasy. Inside, all the guests were cowering behind the gambling tables and pillars while the band stood on stage motionless while a tall pale furred man stormed about the floor screaming obscenities at everyone and waving something in the air.

"Pardon, but you shouldn't be frightening the guests." Mordecai calls out as he hides the gun behind his back. "If you do not calm down, we will have to confiscate your pin and toss you out."

"Who the fuck you think you are to tell me what to do?" The man snarls, stumbling over towards him. He's holding a knife, and obviously drunk, a dangerous combination.

"Someone you shouldn't be yelling at, lest you want to have a bullet in that thick skull of yours."

"You threatening me, little man?"

Ugh, he could smell the alcohol on the man's breath and it really agitated his nose. And he reeked of something awful too, like that cologne Atlas liked to wear but this smelled more like hog piss. Before he could say anything, someone shoves him back and gets right in front of him. Paloma now stands between them, her tail twitching in an agitated manner.

"Move." The man snarls.

"No." She responds, her ears flattening.

The man raised a fist. "You little-"

"Don't touch her!" Mordecai yells as he tries pulling her back.

"Wait her-"

WHAM!

Paloma's right fist swung and collided with the underside of the man's chin, causing him to drop his weapon and stumble back, but she didn't stop there. She keeps swinging, slamming her elbow into the man's chest and gut as he tries to get back up. His hand flailing about for something to grab and it latches onto Paloma's shirt as he falls backwards. There's a loud rip and a yelp from her as her whole front shirt was ripped now, exposing the linen bandages underneath. Mordecai immediately rushes forward,removing his coat and flung it over her, hastily buttoning it up and glaring at the guests and gang members who were staring at them.

"Get this man out of here at once! Now!" He yells before lowering his voice so only Paloma could hear. "Follow me, I think the first aid kit is where the band rests."

"Wait she's a girl?!"

"Is that even allowed?"

"Does Atlas know?"

So many questions were being asked Mordecai snatched up the cap from the floor and shoved it onto Paloma's head, trying to herd her towards the stage.

"This can't be good for the gang, what's a woman going to do?" He hears someone ask and sends a glare their way.

"For one, she's a much better shot than half of you and knows when to keep her mouth shut and when to act." He snaps. "Viktor brought her in."

"So what if she's a girl? Female gangsters are a thing, aren't they?" Zib asks loudly from the stage, his voice amplified by the microphone. "Isn't there even a small gang in the city run by just women?"

"Not in Missouri, Zib!" Someone yells.

"Well, whatever the case, another member for the gang."

Mordecai rolls his eyes as they climb onto the stage and hurry behind the curtain. The medic box sat on a small table and he quickly grabbed it before setting it on a bigger table and motioned for Paloma to sit down on a chair.

"Oh wait, that's the kid I saw the other night." Mordecai hears Zib say and glances back to see the man and some of the other band members coming past the curtain. "You okay?"

"She's fine, just needs burn ointment for her paw pads."

"You should wash her hands first before adding the ointment."

"Since when are you a medical expert?"

Zib shrugs. "Mitzi burned her hands once, that's just what someone told us to do. Oh and don't break the blisters either. I'll go get some water, and find some soap upstairs. You boys head back to entertain the guests."

Mordecai rolls his eyes as the musicians left, but proceeds to take some ointment and bandages out of the box just in case.

"Do you hate me?"

Mordecai blinks in surprise and looks at Paloma. "What do you mean?"

"You, do you hate me?" Paloma repeats quietly. "For not knowing truth?"

Oh, she was talking about their conversation from earlier. "I don't, but I wish Mitzi at least told you it was fake so you wouldn't have this delusion about what we had."

Paloma nods quietly and looks away. Damn it, why did she have to make him feel so guilty now? She had every right to know, it didn't feel right to string her along like that and think they actually had something. But...what if they really did? Maybe he shouldn't indulge in such fantasies, not when he had a life like this and-

"Gotcha soap and cold water." Mordecai let's out an annoyed sigh as Zim reenters the room with a bowl in one hand with a rag hanging out of it and a bar of soap in the other. "Here, let me see-"

"I'll do it, you get back to entertaining the guests." Mordecai snaps as he takes the things.

"Geez, just trying to help." The musician mutters and looks to Paloma. "Not bad fighting you did there, no wonder the big grump and the big boss picked you. I'm Zibowski by the way, but you can call me Zib, kid."

"She's not a kid, she's an adult." Mordecai snaps as he takes the wet rag, wraps it around the bar of soap and takes Paloma's hand to start gently cleaning it.

"She can talk, can't she? You speak English, right?"

"Some." Paloma responds. "I'm getting better, Viktor is teaching me."

"Pfft, he can barely speak it well himself, but it seems like you know a lot better than him." Zib laughs. "I'm guessing this is your first time in a speakeasy?"

"Yes, I only been upstairs and do gun work."

"Well if you ever get tired of doing gun work for Atlas, talk to Mitzi. You seem like you can carry a tune, and it's been a while since we had a singer, pretty sure everyone is tired of my melodic voice and wanna hear a girl instead."

"Really, trying to poach her right in front of me?" Mordecai asks in annoyance.

Zib raised a brow. "What, you her boyfriend or something?"

"As a matter-of-fact I-"

"He's not." Paloma interrupts. "I have no novio."

Mordecai had always heard from the other gangsters how painful it felt to get stabbed in the gut or the chest, and of course he never wanted to experience it. But hearing her say that? She might as well have stabbed a wide knife into his chest. That was painful enough for him.

Zib looks between the two of them, his brow furrowed like he was trying to form a proper thought, before it relaxes and he just shrugs. "Okay, whatever floats your boats. Gotta head back, hope to see you around again miss..."

"Paloma, but Viktor, Atlas and Mitzi call me little dove."

"Ah, well then, hope you grace our humble little speakeasy with your presence soon again, little dove."

He gave her a dramatic bow, earning a small giggle from Paloma before exiting the room. Mordecai rolls his eyes before going back to the task of washing her blistered paw pads. Aside from the blisters, he realized he never noticed at least on her right hand that she had little flecks of black on her paw pads. Then again it's not like he often had his eyes on her hands and she often wore gloves too.

"You seem upset, why?" He hears Paloma say and looks up to see her looking at him. "It's not like we are actually dating. It's...faux, as you told me."

She might as well have driven the proverbial knife deeper into his chest the way she said that. This shouldn't be bothering him, they were never really dating in the first place, but something in him hated the idea of what they had not being real. Zib probably wasn't even flirting with her, then again it was kind of hard to tell when he even was, but Mordecai couldn't help but feel that unsettling feeling in his gut as Paloma smiled at the man. If this was what jealousy felt like, well, he certainly hated it.

"Well as your faux beau, I don't like seeing that." He finally says, dropping the bar of soap and rag onto the table to grab the ointment and bandages.

"You have no problem with me talking to Viktor or Atlas."

"One of them is married and the other has absolutely no romantic interest in you."

"Careful, jealousy does not look good on you."

"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Mordecai snaps, dropping the items he held onto the table. "ESPECIALLY NOT OF THAT MAN!"

"And now you are upset, your tail is all poofed up, it wiggling like a headless snake and your ears flat on head." Paloma says calmly. "You not even dating me and still get mad if another man talks. Make up mind."

Okay maybe she did have a point, but it wasn't like he was going to ever admit it. Maybe he did want this to be real, maybe he did actually want her because she was the only woman who ever made him feel all these awful emotions he was feeling and detesting so much. But did she still want it, even after what he said?

"Fine, you know what? You keep making me feel all these weird motions and I am not a fan of them!" Mordecai says, putting his hands on the armrests of the chair. "Every time you smile at me, I get this weird fluttering and fuzzy feeling in my chest. Every time you even smile like that at another man, I get this sick twisting feeling in my gut. The way you nonchalantly said you had no boyfriend, I felt like you might as well have stabbed and twisted a knife into my chest. Perhaps I do like you, or perhaps I am feeling unwell and I'm experiencing symptoms of some sort of illness, I don't even know!"

Paloma blinks in surprise. "Is this...a confession?"

"Well you didn't space out in the middle of my rambling, so interpret that how you want."

Paloma raised a brow. "So...you say you do want me. But earlier you said you did not."

"No, earlier I told you that what we had was supposed to be fake."

"So...feelings real, relationship fake."

"If that's how you interpret it."

"The fuck you two doing?" The two turn to see Viktor staring at them with the most confused expression he's ever sported. "I...should go if you need privacy."

Mordecai didn't know why the older man was looking at them like that, at least until he realized how they were positioned. He quickly shuffled away from the chair and cleared his throat. "No, we don't need privacy, we were just...talking."

"Right."

"He said he like me." Paloma blurts out.

"SHHHH!" Mordecai hisses as the older man's confused expression turned to a smirk. "Don't you start-"

"Well you do like her when spicy." Viktor laughs. "So, real date?"

"What?"

"Real date, no fake date."

"How about we do this?" Paloma says as she gets up from the chair, removing the coat and plopping it in his arms. "You take me on real date, see how you actually feel of me. Then see if you really wish to date me."

Real date, what did she mean by that? They've gone on dates before, she quite liked going to the library and spending hours reading there, right? He was just about to ask, but she was grabbing the ointment and bandages and hurrying out of the room with them, leaving Mordecai alone with Viktor.

"What did she mean by real dates? I've taken her on dates!" He exclaims. "We've spent so much time reading at the library, I'm surprised her English is still so poor!"

"Library no place for dates." Viktor scoffs. "Take her nice places, give flowers, go dancing. Do things Atlas do for wife!"

"I'm not gifting her an expensive necklace, I may be earning a lot more than the average gangster, but I can't afford expensive trinkets like that!"

"Expensive no, but you can give nice things you can afford. She'd like them."

"I give her books."

"Yes but not just books, give nice things she would like."

"I don't know what she likes, aside from books!"

Viktor smirks. "Guess the real date can help with that."

Why did he have to be right?

----

"Hold still honey, you need to look nice for this!"

Paloma squirms uncomfortably in her seat as Mitzi tries running the makeup brush over her eye to apply the dark grey powder. She could hardly believe that Mordecai had agreed to this date, just to see if he actually liked her or not. Somehow Mitzi found out (probably from Zib, who probably overheard their conversation), and now she found herself in the older woman's room being prepared for this date. She was forced to bathe and be sprayed with a flowery smelling spray, her hair and fur scrubbed vigorously and roughly dried off with a towel. On the bed was a simple green dress with a pair of simple heels laid on top of them, apparently an outfit meant for her Mitzi had bought earlier in the day.

"Alright, that is done. Now hold still, I have to apply this." Paloma opened her eyes to hear a click and see Mitzi holding a silver tube and twisting the bottom of it to reveal something dark red and placing it on her lips. It felt weird and sticky, what was this? "And...there! You look gorgeous!"

"I feel like a clown." Paloma mutters as she is handed a mirror to look at her reflection. This was the first time she ever was given makeup to put on, and she didn't really like it.

"Well you look far from one." The older woman chuckles. "Now what to do with your hair...can't cut it, probably should have done that yesterday. Well we are just putting a hat on you, so no need to fuss. Let me brush and braid it first."

All this fuss for a date that probably won't go well, or assuming Mordecai woud show up if his often busy schedule allowed it. This was her first actual date with him, not something like the trips to the library or bookstore where they'd be reading for a few hours and then go home. Those were fun, it allowed her to expand her limited english more, but she wished he would take her to do more date-like things, like go dancing, take walks in the park, things like that. Or, like in those cheesy romance novels she and her female cousins would giggle over, a romantic picnic or dinner somewhere private. The thought used to make her blush (and maybe it still did), but Mordecai probably wouldn't think of doing something like that, she'd be surprised if they did something that wasn't a reading date.

"What if he not show?" Paloma asks as her braid is now being twisted into a low bun.

"Oh he will, I had Atlas make sure of that." Mitzi assures her. "He was given he day off to prepare himself and plan something out, so he better show. Otherwise, I'll have Viktor track him down. Actually, he agreed to do that if Mordecai doesn't show up. There, pretty as a rose! Now get dressed."

"Is this too much?" Paloma asks as she grabbed the dress from the bed and hurries to the changing screen by the wall to change. "I feel like too much."

"Honey, it's your first real date, you should look nice for it. If it goes well, you don't have to dress up so fancy." Mitzi says as Paloma slips into the dress and grabbed the heels that are being handed to her over the screen. "That boy better show up at least."

Paloma soon steps out from behind the screen, still attempting to wiggle her feet into the heels. "There, done?"

"Just one more thing." Mitzi now held a dark green hat in hand, cloche if her memory served her right, several bright yellow and orange sunflowers sat on the brim that stood out. She then sets the hat over Paloma's head and adjusts it. "There, now don't you look so darling? Let's head downstairs to the diner, he should be coming any minute."

They headed downstairs from the apartment located atop of the Little Daisy, and much to Paloma's surprise, Mordecai was waiting in one of the booths. He was dressed in one of his usual suits, though this time he had what looked like a small colorful flower tucked into it, his hat seated neatly on the table next to him while he fiddled with his tea cup. The second he spotted them, he hastily gets up, bumping the table in the process and almost knocking the cup over.

"Well, what a surprise! You actually came!" Mitzi chuckles. "And here I thought I was going to have to call Viktor to fetch and carry you here by the scruff like some misbehaving kit."

"He's been waiting here for the past twenty minutes!" They hear Atlas yell from the kitchen. "Had to give him some tea to calm him down, he wouldn't stop fidgeting so much!"

"Sounds to me like someone's actually nervous about his first real date! Well now, here's your girl, doesn't she look pretty?"

Paloma is pushed forward and Mordecai quickly clears his throat before reaching back into the booth to produce a bouquet of red chrysanthemums and red carnations and holds them out to her. "Miss Alvarez, shall we?" He asks as he extends his free hand to her.

Paloma smiles as she accepts the bouquet, inhaling their scent before she plucks a dark red carnation from the bunch and hands the flowers to Mitzi. She then proceeds to remove the flower he had attached to his suit and replaces it with the carnation. "Perfecto." She says before taking his hand.

Once the two had exited the diner, they made their way to a nearby park. There were a few other people there, an elderly man tossing seeds at some birds and ducks that had flocked near him, a group of children playing with a ball in the open field, and a few other men and women taking a stroll.

"We don't talk much during those dates, do we?" Mordecai asks as they are walking.

"No, but this is perfect time to talk and know you better." Paloma says with a smile. "Perhaps...where did you live? You not have accent like Mitzi or Atlas or Viktor."

"Up north, New York to be precise. I've been living here for the past...four or five years, and that's also how long I've been working for Atlas. Birth date?"

"April 23rd, you?"

"March 28th. Favorite color?"

"Mmm...red. But i like pink too."

"I suppose I picked the perfect colors for the flowers. I suppose...red is a color I am somewhat fond of. Favorite book?"

"Oh that is the worst question you could ask!" Paloma laughs. "I've grown up reading so many, it's not funny! But if I had to choose one, I'd say the Zorro books."

Mordecai raises a brow. "And that's..."

"Oh its a collection of books that take place in the early nineteen century and focuses on a vigilante man who strike fear into the heart of corrupt nobles, but he is a noble himself! He dresses in black and carries a long blade and rides an all black horse who always comes when he whistles!"

"Sounds...quite interesting."

"It is! I even brought the collection book with me to America, but it's only in Spanish so I can't lend it to you. Unless, you like for me to teach Spanish to you?"

"Perhaps another time, when your English improves."

Before Paloma could respond, Mordecai suddenly grabbed her and yanked her to the side as if to shield from something and hears something hit the sidewalk near them. She twists her head to see it was just a brown colored ball near them, a baseball if she remembered correctly and spotted some of the kids from earlier approaching.

"Watch where you throw that, you almost hit her!" Mordecai yells as he released her.

"Sorry mister!" One of the kids yells. "Can we get the ball back?"

As Mordecai bends to pick up the ball, Paloma immediately picks it up and wound her arm back to fling it right back at the children, sending the ball flying over their heads. They yell excitedly as they run after it, continuing their game.

"Good arm." Mordecai comments as they continue to walk.

"I've had practice, baseball isn't really so big in my home country, but my cousins and siblings liked throwing a ball one of them managed to get ahold of when we weren't busy with chores as kids." Paloma says with a chuckle. "Oh the hell my aunt gave us when my twin brother broke the kitchen window, he had to scrape up pocket money we got from selling eggs to pay for the repair."

"Twin? You never mentioned having a twin."

"I forget I hardly talk about my family. Yes, I have a twin, but I'm the oldest. His name is Gabriel, we look quite similar except for our fur colors. Where mine is orange, his is white."

"Do you miss them, your family?"

"Yes, but I'm happy to live here. I have two well paying jobs, good friends, and I have you." She gives him a warm smile. "I wouldn't change anything about that at all."

"Was there anyone where you lived who you had your eye on?" Mordecai asks as they stop to sit down at a nearby bench.

"No, I never really had feelings for anyone in the village and town my family would visit to sell out eggs and crops." Paloma admits as she sits down. "A lot of the boys in the town made fun of me for the most stupid of reasons. I got teased for hair."

He bristles at the statement. "That's the most stupid reason to poke fun of someone. I suppose after you all grew up and matured they had a change of tune around you?"

"Only the one who made fun of me most, I never liked him anyway. Grandfather said he shoot him if he come to our home asking for my hand."

"Well he can't get you here. I frankly find your hair a bit odd, but not in a bad way. It's unique.

Paloma let out a chuckle. "My twin also has hair like that, but with white. Do you have siblings?"

"I...yes. Three sisters, but I don't know what became of them." Mordecai admits. "I...did Mitzi ever tell you how I got all tangled up in this?"

"She only mentioned in passing that Atlas hire you at a young age, and that you used to be so scrawny that his clothes didn't fit you properly. Oh and that until you got fitting clothes you looked like your arms were short."

"My arms are regular length! Look!" Mordecai protests as he jumped to his feet and raised his arms in several directions. "They are not short- why are you laughing?"

"It's so easy to tease you!" Paloma laughs. "Your arms are scrawny though."

"Not all of us can have a broad fit like Viktor." Mordecai scoffs.

"True, but can you lift me?"

"Why would I lift- AHH!"

Without warning, Paloma had gotten off the bench to wrap her arms around Mordecai's legs and throw him over her shoulder the way she used to carry the less heavy goats back home.

"I can do so easily!" She laughs as she bend to grab her date's hat, that had fallen to the floor. "So if you get hurt, I carry you to safety!"

"I get the point but don't do this in public!" Mordecai yells. "This is embarrassing!"

The younger woman laughs as she puts him back down on the bench, now looking a bit disheveled. "So, change your mind about feelings about me?"

"Was that supposed to get me to not like you?!" Mordecai asks as he took his hat back from her and stands up to adjust his clothes. "You...you'll have to try harder than that."

Paloma grins. "I'll take that as an admission to still liking me."