They are buying a Christmas tree.

Dave is about ready to tear his hair out, because all of the ones he's seen are far too large for the new apartment's living room. A big tree is great, except for the fact that you do want some room to walk around it.

On the other hand, he wants to make this Christmas special. It's both his first with Violet living with him, and Arty's first as a human, and it should be memorable.

He's a bit stuck for presents for the kid. Vi is easier.

He's wearing his leather jacket - even though they didn't come on the motorcycle - and jeans and a harried expression.

Violet trails along beside him, occasionally pausing to touch the needles of this tree or that one and smiling a little the whole time. Having a real tree will be a delight - the one at home was, every year, an ugly plastic one because it wouldn't shed needles all over the carpet.
She's not going to be much help - she'd be content with any of the trees, and they all look pretty much the same to her.

Arty, for his part, is tagging along behind the pair of them, looking decidely uninterested, at least where the trees are concerned. They're trees. Big deal.
(He'll be more into it when it comes to decorating. Tinsel is just messy enough to be interesting).

"C'mon, a little help?"

He stops in front of a tree that might actually be small enough that he can wrestle it into the apartment by himself.

"What about this one?"


And, at this point, around the corner and into their aisle of trees, comes someone that they probably don't want much to do with.

What? Enrique can decorate for Christmas if he wants.

It entertains him.

He's not going to say anything, just yet.

"I don't know," Violet admits bashfully, fingering a sap-sticky branch, then tilting her head sideways to look it over. "It looks okay to me? ...I really don't know. I've never had to help choose a tree before."

Arty circles the designated tree, shrugs noncommitally, and edges off to one side. This would be when he catches a glimpse of Enrique from the corner of his eye. He pretends he hasn't noticed, and with just a trace of haste, wanders back to Dave and Violet.
He tugs on Dave's sleeve. "We should come back later."

"What? Why?"

He looks around for the source of Arty's sudden discomfort and blanches.

"Let's, ah, let's just get this one and go."


Enrique waves.

Humans are funny when they're afraid.

He is not, however, going to actually touch them. Really.

"Yeah. Let's," Arty agrees, nodding and tugging on Dave's sleeve again as if to hurry him along.

Violet looks away from the tree, spots Enrique, and gives a small huff and an if-only-looks-could-kill glare.
Does he have to ruin everything?

"Hang on, we have to pay for it and..."

He's fumbling for his wallet and looking at Enrique every few moments as if he wants to run.

This is because he does.


Slow grin.

"My treat."

He can afford it easily.

"God." Violet rolls her eyes theatrically, turning to face him. One hand is in her pocket, fingers closed around the handy little can of bear spray she acquired after meeting that vampire. "Would you just leave us alone already? Seriously. Get a hobby or something."
Grrr.

"I'm not doing anything."

He sulks at her.

"Except offering to pay for that tree."

Hmph. Offer to do them a favor and this is the thanks he gets? How rude.

Stupid humans.


"Don't want your money."

Dave is pale and looks sick.

"Arty, run 'n' find the guy who runs this place."

Arty hesitates, gaze flicking from Dave to Enrique and back before he scampers off.

Vi retreats to curl her arm around Dave's - nothing to worry about, she won't let that,... that thing hurt you - and continues glaring.
"I. Don't. Care." She gives another huff. "Your reminding me that you exist counts as doing something. Just - leave us alone, okay? I don't want to hear you. Don't want to see you, either, but apparently I can't do much about that."

Enrique folds his arms.

"I have as much right to be here as anyone else."

He does have a point. Unfortunately.

"I'm not hurting any of you. I haven't touched any of you for weeks."


Dave twines his fingers with Violet's and shoots her a grateful look.

"Just fuck off."

He's going to have nightmares tonight.

"Oh, good for you. I admire your restraint." Again, she rolls her eyes.
"That's not the point. You can be wherever you want, but I don't want to have to talk to you if we end up in the same place. In fact, I'd really like it if we just ignored each other, okay?" Pause. "Please?"
No, she is not begging. She's trying to be civil.
(Well, she hasn't tried it on him before. Maybe it'll work.)

Enrique sighs. He is put-upon.

"I can't even try to be nice to you people." How unfair is that? (not at all, but that's beside the point.)

"Anyone would think I'd done something unforgiveable."


Dave has no comment!

He squeezes his girlfriend's hand and whispers, "Forget the tree. Let's just go."

They can do something about a tree for the apartment later.

"Gosh, I wonder why."
Sigh.

She squeezes Dave's hand in return and gives a small nod.
"...We might as well."

Enrique flips her off.

He is going to find a christmas tree now, and invite Ant and Bo to decorate it with them.

Whee fun.


Dave nods and pulls Violet off in the direction that Arty ran.

There aren't a lot of people he can say that he hates, but Enrique is one of them, and occupies a place of... honor... on the list.

Violet follows easily,but not before shooting one last glare in Enrique's direction.
She hates him. So very much.

Arty turns up not too far away, wandering between the rows and still trying to find the owner of the lot (who is, incidentally, several rows away and occupied with another customer).

"Hey, kiddo. We're getting out of here."

They can look for a Christmas tree when there's no demon there to taunt them and remind them of what he's done. Of what he's gotten away with.

Dave, after all, doesn't know about what happened to Enrique because of that little episode.

"Oh. Good."

Arty trails over to the pair of them, sticking quite a bit closer than he was before they ran into the incubus.
After looking around and finding no trace of Enrique, the boy blinks up at Violet and asks, "Did you make him go away?"

"No..." Violet frowns. "Afraid not."

"Why not?" He looks a touch upset, now. "...You could've put another curse on him or somethin', couldn't you?"

She doesn't answer.

"We're just lea--wait, what? Curse?"

Dave has not heard about a curse.

What curse?

Violet throws Arty a sharp look - this was supposed to be kept under wraps.
(He returns with a reproachful frown. He thinks he ought to have been involved in any revenge attempts.)

"Yes," Vi replies shortly. "I put a curse on him. It didn't work out quite how I wanted it to, though."

"... I didn't even know you could do that magic shit."

He's frowning.

He doesn't entirely like that Violet did something that... drastic... without telling him anything. Without even explaining that she was doing magic.

"I couldn't before - I asked Dr. Barclay to teach me. Just enough to do what I had to."

Her words are tense and clipped.
What if he thinks she's weird now?

"... I thought Dr. B was dead."

He's confused!

If he knew that Alexander came back as a ghost, he forgot. (Or pushed it to the back of his mind in order to be less weirded out.)

"He's a ghost now," Arty pipes up helpfully.

Violet sighs. This really doesn't help bring down the strangeness factor at all.

"Anyway. I had him teach me." Pause. "Keye helped. I was trying to keep that thing-" 'that thing' being Enrique, of course "-from being able to feed."

Dave blanches.

"... okay. Sure."

He runs a hand back through his hair and swallows.

"I guess... that makes sense."

"Mmhmm."

Damnit. Shouldn't have told him.
...Gods, Arty, why couldn't you keep your mouth shut?

"So... is that the only magic you do?"

Curses?

That's not reassuring.

"Yes."

And she only did it once.
Sheesh.

"... oh."

He wants to go home now.

And lie down. Or maybe watch television.

Violet is silent.
She'd like to say something like, "I was just trying to make him go away," ... but she doesn't.
She doubts that she can say anything that'll justify what she did, at this point.

It isn't that he objects, exactly, to what she did. He's just surprised and a little frightened that his girlfriend, who he thought was nice and normal and gentle, was capable of something like that.

His hand is limp in hers.

"Let's just... let's go home."

She takes her hand away.
"Yeah. Let's."

Arty, trailing just slightly behind, looks at the pair of them, puzzled.
He thinks, Shouldn't Dave be happy that Violet tried to curse the demon to death? He knows that he is, even if it didn't work.

He winces.

"Vi..."

He's not mad.

He's just... stunned.

"Mmm?"
He thinks I'm weird.

"You should curse him again, next time you see him," is Arty's contribution. "Something that'll work faster."

"I just... it's just a little... How come you didn't tell me what was going on?"

He's a bit hurt that she left him out. Did he do something wrong?

"I didn't think you'd want to know," she shrugs.
She was a bit disappointed in herself when she realized what she was going to do - it wouldn't come as a surprise that Dave would be, too.

"... I guess not."

But he still doesn't really like that she kept such a big secret from him.

It makes him wonder what else she keeps secret.

Of course she has other secrets. Everyone does.

"And that's why I didn't tell you."
So there.

There is a long pause.

"... 'kay."

It isn't okay. But arguing it would be more trouble than it's worth, and it would end up hurting both of them.

Also, he doesn't want to bring it up in front of Arty.

(Arty, with uncharacteristic good sense, says nothing.)

Vi gives a small nod, to let him know she heard him. She lets the silence go for a few seconds, and then says softly, "I just remembered, I need to borrow some notes from soneone." She stops. "I'll see you guys at home."