I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks

It took Nick a second to realize he was back in his own bed in the Master’s Suite when he woke up the next morning. Partly because he hadn’t been expecting to.

Before he had fallen asleep the night before in the train car, one of the last thoughts to cross his mind was the realization that tomorrow- or today, as the case now was- would be his date with Rose, who had the money and intention to spend her day with him in Dream Alley again, the same way she did every week.

So for Nick to wake up not in a fantasy of her making but in his ordinary bed, was somewhat surprising to him. And notably, Vivian was still asleep beside him, curled up and holding him tightly. It was a surprising gesture of affection he didn’t expect from the heiress- he remembered when she’d slept beside him before, and greeted him with a teasing smile in the morning.

This was nothing like that. There was a strange softness to her face, a defenselessness that the innocence of sleep brought out when nothing else would. It actually struck a chord in his heart for a moment.

“Good morning!”

A cheerful voice with the faintest hint of an irish accent broke the tranquil silence of the morning, and Nick jumped. He thrashed beneath the sheets, sitting up to see Nola standing beside the bed with a bright smile on her face.

“Good morning!” She chirped again, tilting her head to the side and flashing a toothy smile. “It’s nice to see you enjoyed your date, sir! How may I be of assistance?”

“How may you-?” Nick fought back the urge to give her a tongue lashing. If Nola wanted to be of assistance, she could start by not giving him a heart attack in the morning. “Nola, what are you talking about?” He grumbled. “Why are you here? Did Dakota send you?”

As he spoke, he tried to keep his voice low, glancing down to see Vivian still asleep. Her face was scrunched up in a frustrated look that warned she might be waking up soon, though, much to his concern, and he wondered what she must have been thinking as she turned over in bed, looking irritated by his sudden shift away from her.

When he looked up again, he saw that Nola had a cute little frustrated look of her own. The leprechaun put her hands on her hips and puffed up her cheeks, and shook her head sharply.

“Weren’t you paying attention before?” She reminded him with a pout. “I told you, right now I’m working for your wife!”

Oh yeah, Nick vaguely remembered Nola telling him something like that. So much had happened on his date with Vivian that some things had fallen through the cracks.

“…Wait,” Nick mused, “I thought it was that ‘Deep Throat’ who came to help me because Mary asked her to?” He smiled slyly at Nola as the pink-haired girl froze.

She cleared her throat. “You must be mistaken, of course,” she said, quickly covering for herself. “I don’t know of whom you speak! I’m just Nola the leprechaun, most lovable assistant host in the business! Yes yes, and right now, I’m here to help you out! Last night, your wife said that you might need my help when you got back from your date, so I should listen to you and do whatever you wanted instead of asking her!”

Nick was about to respond when he heard a shuffling noise from the bed beside his. A tired Mary with bags under her eyes poked her head up from under the sheets and glared in frustration at the bouncy girl standing next to her. “…I also asked you to please keep your voice down so I could catch up on my sleep,” she grumbled, sitting up with a tired sigh. She adjusted her flannel top, which Nick noted seemed to be struggling to contain her breasts. An errant wonder about the last time she had been milked popped into his head, but he obviously didn’t ask.

Mary grew up on a farm, she’s usually up at the crack of dawn. So why does she look so tired? She should have had an easy night, not having to cook for us, right? Nick wondered.

The exhausted expression on the redhead’s face was a signal as to just how much work an assistant like Nola could actually be.

“Sorry! I forgot,” Nola apologized, pressing her hands together and winking at the redhead. She was still not lowering her voice though. Finally she dropped her tone to a whisper. “I’ll do better! I promise!” She said sincerely.

Mary sighed and tightened her lips into a grim smile. Nick was stunned. Mary really got along with just about everybody, and it was only people who intentionally tried to push her buttons like Gina or Rose that she really got irritated with. Nola, in comparison, seemed to be sincerely trying to help out.

That Mary could be irritated by such a genuine desire to help spoke volumes.

“Nick… did you enjoy your date?” Mary turned and looked at him, and her smile relaxed into a more natural expression.

He tried to return it. “It was… an experience,” he said, preferring not to disclose the specifics.

Mary could tell something had happened, but she didn’t want to press. She just nodded. “Oh, okay then… in that case… I can… go make you some breakfast, if you need…”

Honestly what Nick needed most right now was for Mary to get some rest. She looked completely wiped out.

“No, it’s fine,” he said quickly. “I can just ask Holly to help! You… you should really catch up on your sleep, Mary.”

“Nick is right!” Nola nodded in encouragement. “It’s very important for you to get your beauty sleep, Mary! You look like a mess!” There was no malice in her statement in the slightest. “It’s the duty of every woman in the master’s harem to look their best at all times, so I think it’s very important for you to get all the beauty sleep you need! I’m sure your husband feels the same way, right?”

Mary looked at Nola with a venom in her eyes Nick had seldom seen. It slipped his mind these days since she was so sweet and affectionate towards him now, but yeah… when Mary was mad at you, she got M-A-D.

“…Fine,” she grunted. “In that case, I’m going back to sleep… and don’t bother me, Nola.” She glanced over at Nick, giving him a look that seemed to say “She’s your problem now!” and flopped back down onto her pillow.

Nick sighed and hung his head.

He climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom to go take a shower.

…And Nola followed him inside.

“Huh!?” Nick whirled around and looked in shock at the smiling leprechaun. “Nola-! What-? …Get out of the bathroom!”

“But I’m here to help!” Nola said, her eyes glittering with sincerity. “I can rub your back, help you soap your hair, hold your towel for you, whatever you need! …Um, I’m not so sure about touching you ‘down there’ because I think Dakota would get mad at me if I did that, but if you really need me to do that, then I guess I could try to explain the situation to her-”

Nick shoved her out of the bathroom and slammed the door in her face. He sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration.

She was trying to help, she really was. It felt wrong to get so frustrated with someone who had such good intentions. But she was so… Nola.

He heard a swift series of knocks against the door.

“What is it now?” He grumbled.

“Holly is still asleep as well, should I wake her up for breakfast?” Nola asked. “If you want, I could cook you something! I’m very good!”

“No, uh… no, that’s fine, let her sleep,” Nick said, letting Holly off the hook as well. He stripped down and walked over to go prepare his shower, only to pause right before he turned the faucet. “…Wait, Nola?”

“Yes? Did you change your mind about using my services?” The leprechaun chirped.

“…I forgot a change of clothes,” Nick said. “Can you go to my closet and get me something?”

“Of course I can!” Nola said cheerfully. Nick heard her scramble away, and while part of him was concerned about her fashion sense, he didn’t think he had anything in his closet that would be too objectionable. He turned on the shower, and let the warm, refreshing water wash away the stress that had accumulated in just a few short minutes that morning.

As Nick washed himself down, his thoughts drifted, predictably, towards Vivian. Honestly, he had been thinking about her a lot since their date last night. Things had ended on a good enough note, but that had been when it was just the two of them. What would happen now that they were back at the hotel with everyone else?

She said she was going to make an effort to be more considerate of others, and I believe her. The question is, how is that going to go? Vivian had a way about her where it seemed like she could do anything she set her mind to. It was something Nick really respected about the heiress. But at the same time, he felt an uncertainty stirring in his chest.

Vivian Carrington was a mystery to him. And not just the girl in question; his own feelings about her were a mystery themselves, as well. Out of all the women in his harem, his prospective relationship with Vivian and what he sought from it had jumped to the level of complicated that had previously only been occupied by Sylvia and Amelia. And considering the reason behind his complicated feelings involving those two, that didn’t bode well for his future with the brunette.

I want to get to know her better. And it seems like she is opening up to me gradually. But she’s being very careful about it, too. And some of the things we talked about… there are issues at play here that I just don’t know the full story about. And it’s not like I can just go prying into her life, either. So how should I go about doing this?

Nick wasn’t exactly some master of seduction. He really doubted he had the charm to make Vivian weak in the knees, the ability to sweep her off her feet and make her fall in love with him.

But that was the end game, right? He had to get her to fall, even knowing that it would be a massive ask for them both.

You know, if this was the real world and I had to deal with Vivian, I don’t know if I’d be able to do it. I might just give up and try to find a girl who was less of a hassle to deal with, no matter how fun she was. But… I don’t have that luxury.

For better or worse, Vivian was a member of his harem now. That meant they had a relationship, and would continue to have a relationship, unless she was eliminated. And he definitely didn’t want THAT, either.

So somehow, he had to make things work between them. For her sake as much as for his own peace of mind. But it wouldn’t be easy.

I can’t run away from this. I need to face her head on. Even though things are complicated. But it’s not like I can do anything about it now. So I might as well put these concerns aside and focus on my date with Rose today, he decided, finishing up his shower and toweling off. In the haze of his thoughts he had forgotten to turn off the shower, but now that he noticed he decided against it. He was already dry at this point, anyway; might as well let Nola do it. She was eager to help.

And on the topic of Nola, Nick spotted a stack of clothes next to the door; the leprechaun must have snuck in while he was distracted with the shower and left them there. An invasion of his privacy, sure, but an appreciated one.

Nick got changed and stepped out of the bathroom. Now that Vivian wasn’t occupying his thoughts, he was feeling really hungry, and wondered if Nola really was as good of a chef as she proclaimed herself to be.

But his hunger took a backseat again when he stepped into the main room and saw Vivian halfway to the front door.

Like a cat burglar caught breaking into a house, the heiress froze in place. Her head swung around and her eyes widened in stunned surprise.

A wave of genuine emotion rolled across her features, unadulterated by her usual planning and guile. Nick could tell; she had been trying to sneak out of the room before he finished his shower, and had gotten caught in the process.

They both just stared at each other, neither one quite sure what to say.

It was Vivian who recovered first. “…Good morning!” She said, forcing her usual playful smile to her lips. “Needed a nice, long shower after waking up in bed next to a beauty like me, hmm?” She preened, even though her silky brown hair had caught a serious case of bedhead. She definitely didn’t look like her usual fashionable self, even dressed in her form-fitting silk pajamas.

No- she was far too frazzled for that.

“…Hey,” Nick croaked out, finally finding his voice. He took a step towards her, and she took a sudden step back, a reflexive action that seemed to even surprise her.

Vivian blinked at him momentarily, and her mouth twisted into a surprised “O” shape, and for the second time in as many minutes he saw that she was completely at a loss for what to do.

He could sympathize.

“So… I’m gonna head out,” she said finally, standing up straight. “Octavia’s probably worrying herself sick over me, I’m never away from her for this long.”

She was trying to downplay it, but Nick could hear the excuse oozing out of her voice. She wanted to get as far away from here as possible.

He was tempted to just let her go.

But…

“Vivian.” He took another step closer, firming up his voice. He noted the shift in her weight distribution from one leg to the other, like she was about to step back again but caught herself this time. Her instincts told her to back away, but she didn’t want to give off the impression that she was scared of him.

No luck there.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked. “That date… it was pretty intense. I said a lot of stuff, and, well…” He’d had the chance to sleep on some of the harsher things he’d said to her. “I don’t think… well… I just mean, I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea…”

“Did you mean what you said?” Vivian asked. Her voice had an unusual hardness to it that surprised him. She narrowed her eyes, studying his expression closely.

“I… …Yes, I meant it,” Nick admitted. He didn’t like saying it, but after mulling it over, he couldn’t find anything wrong with his position. Maybe the way he said it was harsher than he’d meant, but he wasn’t going to take anything back now.

Vivian pinched her lips together tightly and nodded.

Then, finally, her smile returned.

“Okay,” she said, raising her arms in a shrug and letting them fall to her sides. “Then there’s no problem.”

Really? As simple as that?

“You’re not upset?” Nick asked.

“Are you?” She fired back.

“I… uh… what?” Nick wasn’t sure what she meant.

“You were upset with me before,” Vivian said quietly. “Are you still upset?”

Oh…

“W-well, no,” Nick said, shaking his head. “I was back then, but I’ve cooled off. Don’t worry, Vivian, I’m not mad or anything…”

“Well great!” Her smile widened. “Then I’m not upset either! Why should I be?”

Nick supposed that made a strange sort of sense. She wasn’t upset if he wasn’t upset? Or was she just saying that to make him feel better? To smooth things out, so she wouldn’t have to have any real confrontation?

That was a concern.

“Vivian, I really enjoyed myself with you last night,” Nick said sincerely. “I’m glad you brought me to the train. That was my favorite part of our date.”

She looked at him, and he saw her eyes water a little. She gave the tiniest of nods. “Yeah,” she said, taking care to keep an even tone. “Mine too.”

Anything was better than the mess that had transpired in the hospital.

The two of them stood in the middle of the room, sharing the space with an awkward silence that threatened to smother them both.

Finally, Vivian shrugged again, and her smile turned a little lopsided.

“Well, uh… I think I should probably go,” she said, looking over at Mary’s bed. “Your wife’s taking a long morning, after all, I don’t think she’s up for cooking, and same with Holly over there. Octavia’s probably got something to whip up for me.”

Maybe if Mary or Holly had been in the mood to cook, she might have stayed for breakfast. Nick hoped so, anyway. But she raised a good point. Whatever Octavia made, it would probably taste better than Nola’s cooking, he figured.

“Okay then,” Nick said, nodding in assent to her departure.

Smiling gratefully at him, Vivian turned to the door. But as her fingers wrapped around the doorknob, she paused.

Vivian bit down on her lip, glad that her back was to Nick so he couldn’t see the complicated emotions that were no-doubt playing across her face. What he could see, though, was that her shoulders were raised, like she was stressing about something.

Then she relaxed and they drooped. She turned back to him with a look in her eye that could only be described as wistful.

For a second, just a second, Nick wondered if she was going to ask him something. Maybe even to join her for breakfast. It would have been a generous invitation, and if she’d asked, he would have accepted in a heartbeat.

But… she didn’t ask.

“So… yeah,” Vivian said quietly. “Going now.”

The longing look reminded him of the one he’d seen from her back at the hospital, right before she passed through that glass door and their date was totally derailed. It was the look that had spurred him on to violate her boundaries, ignore her words, and follow her up to the room with a little push from Nola.

He didn’t heed the urging of her look this time, and let her go. The door clicked shut behind her as she disappeared into the entry hall, and Nick felt a wave of regret as she closed herself off from him again, briefly wondering if he should go after her after all.

But he didn’t this time. Maybe it was the right decision. Maybe it wasn’t.

And maybe, if he had, he would have learned that after Vivian closed the door she waited expectantly on the other side of it for far longer than he ever would have expected.

But he didn’t follow her, and so he never found out. And when her heart couldn’t bear to wait any longer she turned and disappeared into the elevator, leaving the Master’s Suite behind.