Tipsy Talk

Arthur was lost. He was not good at comforting people. Even when his father died, Arthur could only hold his family closer without uttering anything to ease their pain. So, right now, he did not know what to do except give her an embrace.

Kathrina's arms unconsciously encircled his waist in an attempt to find peace and comfort. Fortunately, Arthur did not utter any complaint about her behavior. Instead, she felt him hugging her even more tightly.

As Kathrina basked in the warmth of his embrace, she pulled her eyelids down and closed her eyes. It felt good to be in his arms, way too good if she had to be honest. She was lulled into a dreamlike state when she felt his gentle touch on the nape of her neck.

They stayed in their position and remained silent while trying to comprehend what had transpired between them.

Arthur suddenly broke the silence. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked carefully. Based on her reaction, he was sure something he said had triggered something in her.

Kathrina took a deep breath before responding, "I don't know."

It was true. As far as Kathrina remembered, she only got anxious when she was in the bathtub or when she smelled the potent aroma of coffee.

Kathrina then realized that today it had happened twice. First in Marcella's unit and now. And before, she never saw or heard anything, but it suddenly changed. She had the feeling that her memories were starting to crawl from the darkest corners of her mind, and Kathrina was not sure she was ready for it.

Arthur did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he was thinking back on everything that had been said between the two of them ever since Kathrina had entered his apartment.

Then it hits him. Princess.

He pushed Kathrina's body softly and stared at her eyes, which were red because of her tears. He wanted to ask but stopped himself. It would only be triggering something more. He only needed to avoid using that word when he was with her.

Kathrina then rubbed her eyes and wiped all the traces of tears off her face. She knew she must be looking like a mess in front of him. He always witnessed her embarrassing moments, and she did not know what to feel about it.

In an effort to alter the mood that was prevailing around them, Arthur asked, "Are we still drinking?" Then, he stood up and extended his hands to help her stand.

"Of course, that was the plan. But if you have a change of heart, I can go home now." Kathrina took his hand as she answered him.

"No, I want to see your drunken state."

Even though Kathrina gave him a death glare, Arthur couldn't help but laugh. Then he suddenly patted her head, "I can keep you safe, so please stay like this. Being the grumpy Kathrina suits you more." The sincerity in his voice left Kathrina speechless.

Kathrina's heart was pounding so hard against her rib cage that it wanted to leap from its place out of excitement. A pink blush appeared on her cheeks, giving the impression that she had a fever.

"Oh, you are blushing." Arthur exposed her, barely bothering to play dumb.

"I am not. You've seen it wrong."

He gave her a little pinch on one of her cheeks, which, in his opinion, made her look even cuter., "Look at you, blaming me for stating the truth."

"You are spreading false information." Kathrina shook his hands from her face.

"Okay, I was wrong." Arthur raised both his hands in the air like a kid when they confessed to their parents when they made a mistake.

Kathrina could only shake her head at Arthur's antics. Finally, she decided to start walking ahead of him. She had a good memory, so she could still remember most of the things she had seen during her first visit.

It did not take her long to find the living area. She positioned herself in a relaxed position on the couch and leaned back. It felt like only yesterday Arthur helped her to clean her wound, and now she was back again.

"Wine?"

She heard Arthur ask her. "Vodka." Kathrina wanted to lose her mind completely tonight. She was physically and mentally spent.

"Are you sure?" Arthur questioned her with a look of puzzlement.

"What? You said you can keep me safe." She reminded him of his words from a while ago.

He beamed with satisfaction as he said, "I am glad you believe me."

After that, Arthur handed her a small glass filled with vodka. In contrast to her, he opted for wine. One of them must stay sane if they do not want to make a drunken mistake.

Kathrina did not hesitate to gulp the content in the glass. She could feel the burning sensation from the back of her tongue all the way down to her throat. It felt good. "Again," she demanded.

Arthur granted her wish and poured her another glass. But it did not take long for her to finish everything and ask for more. So he continued pouring, but then he stopped as he noticed the woman's eyes started to lose focus.

"Again!" She screamed.

"You are drunk." He said as he took another sip of his wine. His gaze never left Kathrina, watching all of her movement like an eagle watching its prey.

"I'm not drunk. Give me more!"

"That's something a drunk person would stay."

"Give me, or I will-"

"You will what?" Arthur cut her sentence immediately.

"I will hmmm…." Her words trailed as if she was thinking of something, then she said, "I'll shoot you?" Unexpectedly her words came out as a question instead of a statement.

"You won't be able to aim me with your state." He deliberately teased her to see if she would act on it or not.

Suddenly, Kathrina's mouth broke into a snarling grin, and a sinister glint appeared in her eyes. She boasted, "I got a perfect score on firearms training."

"So what?"

Her grin grew wider as she pulled the rifle out from her holster and marched toward Arthur's direction. But unfortunately, she slipped, so instead of standing straight with pride. She ends up sitting on his lap.

Arthur was amused by her puerile attempt to maintain her sanity. "I guess getting a perfect score cannot guarantee you can shoot with an accurate aim." He finished off the remaining wine in his glass while maintaining his fixation on the reddened complexion of her face

Without saying anything, Kathrina inched her face closer to Arthur's until their breaths mixed. Then, she suddenly placed her gun directly beneath his chin.

"Your head will burst like a firework once I pull the trigger."