After a moment of taking in the unforeseen situation, Kita resumes walking, a bit slower this time. Alexis doesn't notice Kita until he's almost right in front of him.

As soon as they meet eyes, Kita can tell Alexis is intoxicated. This strikes him as strange, since Alexis only really drinks when he's visiting Kita at The Remedy. He's always disciplined with the amount, as well. Never one to let his guard down.

"I need to talk to you," Alexis says from his seated position on the floor, looking up at Kita. Most of the anger Kita was feeling before drains at the sight of his best friend looking so distressed. It's replaced with worry instead.

"I do, too," Kita says, tone a bit unsure. He crouches down at Alexis' side, eyebrows pinched together. He can't help the slight worry in his tone when he tacks on, "what's wrong?"

Kita didn't notice before, but Alexis has a beer bottle in his hand. He lifts it up, downing half the remaining contents, then sets it on the floor. He rests his arm on his bent knee, wiping his mouth, before finally making eye contact with Kita. When he does, he takes pause.

"You still have your makeup on," He says slowly, examining Kita's face up and down, eyes lingering on certain areas, though Kita can't really tell where. Kita scratches his neck, averting his eyes, feeling slightly confused. He wants to hide his face, can feel it starting to color, but he has no idea why.

"...I mean, I guess." Is Kita's awkward reply. He can still feel eyes on him, studying his every move.

"It's kind of messed up, now."

Kita glances back up at him, Alexis visibly distracted. Kita doesn't understand what his endgame with this is. Does he not like Kita in makeup or something? He wasn't even wearing that much! Is it a bad look?

Kita thinks he will have to prompt Alexis, but thankfully, the guy moves on easily. Kita doesn't even have to respond to that, which is good because he doesn't know what he'd say. "Why did you pull me back?"

Kita blinks at him, surprised at that. Really? That's his question? Kita was expecting to be interrogated on why he ditched the wedding, not something that should be obvious. "What?"

Alexis just stares at him, a faraway look to his eye. "Why did you kiss me again?"

Instead of explaining something that should be self explanatory, Kita begins digging in his bag for the newspaper he saw, which he took for this exact reason. As he does so, he catches sight of the blood Evander had given him. A burst of adrenaline, as well as—of course—guilt shoots through his system at the sight. He does his best to ignore it, finding the paper and holding it in front of Alexis' face.

Alexis frowns, squinting a bit to presumably get his vision to focus. As he reads the headline, his frown deepens, looking slightly confused, as well as irritated. Most of all he just seems tired, though.

"I was trying to make it believable," Kita notifies him, watching as Alexis finally grabs the paper and begins actually reading the article. Kita just stands, arms crossed. He watches as Alexis' face begins to dawn in an irritated understanding.

"I hate the press," he mumbles, looking exhausted. Kita finds himself growing more concerned, wondering why Alexis drank so much.

"To be fair," Kita says, "most people getting married don't act like the other person has a contagious disease."

Alexis glances up at him, not seeming to appreciate something about what Kita just said. To be completely honest, Kita isn't particularly happy with this guy, due to the fact he is pretty sure Alexis is beginning to regret this. He's just acting so strange. Kita doesn't have time right now to pay much attention to the anger, though, too busy feeling concerned with Alexis' intoxicated state.

"I didn't want to push you out of your comfort zone," Alexis justifies. That is what Kita originally assumed, but as he's thought more about it all, he doubts that. This whole thing was Kita's idea, and Alexis has been so 'careful', hardly even touching him anymore. It's not like they were ever super touchy to begin with, but Alexis won't even touch him casually now.

Kita begins to grow irritated again as he thinks about this. Why would he even agree to marry Kita if he'd be so weird about it?

"Yeah, whatever," Kita says, the doubt clear in his body language and tone. Alexis' eyebrows furrow further, and then he begins to stand up. He's unsteady on his feet, tipping over a bit. Kita reflexively grabs his arm to help stabilize him, and it does not help his anger when Alexis tenses at the action. Kita's jaw clenches, but aside from that, he's able to keep his calm attitude.

Alexis is big, so Kita doesn't make much of a difference anyway. The abilities he has started developing since he was bitten do help in some aspects of his life, but not much strength-wise. If he was born into the species that would be different, which applies to a lot of the common beliefs.

All of Kita's senses are heightened, and his stamina is better. His research has shown that he's still changing, still going through new developments with his abilities, however. He probably won't be done for another couple weeks, and it's been strenuous on his body, so he's not looking forward to it.

Kita hears the sound of something shattering, which snaps him out of the trance he'd fallen into. He finds that Alexis has finished his beer, if the lack of liquid amongst the glass on the floor is anything to go by. He doesn't appear to have even noticed he dropped it, zoned out at the wall. He begins to tip over again, so Kita grabs him again, and then he tenses up. Again.

Kita decides that Alexis needs to go to bed, he's in too vulnerable a state to be out in any public spaces right now. Of course, the castle isn't exactly a public space, but still. Alexis is about to be sworn in as their emperor—Eve is going to be stepping down within the month, she's already set things in motion. Alexis does not need to be seen by any of his people in such a state.

So, Kita walks Alexis to his room, and the guy primarily relies on the wall for balance, but he does lean on Kita sometimes. Eventually they reach said bedroom, which is only one door away from Kita's. Kita helps him inside, passively noticing that a maid is already cleaning up the mess Alexis just made.

As soon as they enter the room, Kita is making a beeline for the bed. Alexis is completely out of commission right now, more than anything he needs to go to sleep. Kita probably should, too. It's late.

Kita needs to make sure Alexis is situated first, though. Alexis sits on the edge of the bed, Kita standing in front of him. He kneels down and starts to undo all the buckles on Alexis' boots. His clothing is always so unnecessarily complicated, so this is going to take a minute. As Kita gets started on this, he can't help but ask, "why did you drink so much?"

A few moments go by of Alexis not answering, so Kita looks up in curiosity. He finds the guy staring directly at him, and he looks kind of distracted. When they make eye contact, he snaps out of it. He gets a frown on his face, averting his eyes to the wall as he thinks about something.

"Why did you leave?"

Oh. Kita thought he didn't notice. He gives the vaguest answer possible. "Had to handle something."

Alexis doesn't request specification, thankfully. Kita finally gets his boots off and starts on his dress clothes. He's not going to take off the guy's pants or anything, but he is going to make sure he's comfortable.

Kita starts on Alexis' jacket, and he looks distracted again. He's still just staring at Kita, but there's a faraway look to his eye. Kita wonders what he's thinking about. He doesn't wonder long. "Don't pay attention to the papers. They just want a story."

Kita raises an eyebrow at him, and begins taking off his jacket. Alexis helps out absentmindedly, and pretty soon, he's just in his button down undershirt, though the top buttons are undone, and dress pants. Kita thinks there is a truth to what he just said, but they didn't get the story from nowhere. He and Alexis need to talk about how they're going to handle this in the public eye.

"Either way, you need to be more convincing."

"I don't want to make you—"

"You're not gonna make me uncomfortable," Kita snaps, tone coming out a bit harsher than he meant. He stands back to his full height, no longer leaning over Alexis. Kita stares at the guy, arms crossed. He can't hide his irritation, which is only growing.

Alexis just gives him a doubtful look. Kita's being serious, though. He cannot see a realistic situation where any part of this would make him uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, actually. He enjoyed their wedding kiss way too much, and he should seriously take a minute to consider what that means.

"I'm starting to think this wasn't a good idea. I thought I could do it, but I don't- I don't know." Alexis looks conflicted, eyebrows furrowed. Kita hasn't seen him upset like this in awhile. He doesn't think it's really warranted, and most of that didn't make much sense to him anyway. All he knows is that Alexis should have more faith in him.

Kita's frowning—no, glaring—at the guy. He knew Alexis was having second thoughts. "I asked you if it was weird, and you said no."

"It's not," Alexis reassures him, but Kita is really having a difficult time believing him right now. If he doesn't think it's weird, then why the fuck is he acting so weird? "I really don't think you understand what this marriage will entail."

"Stop telling me what I understand," Kita snaps at him, already losing his patience. "I don't think you understand. You shouldn't have agreed to this if you weren't sure."

"I am sure, I just..." Alexis defends, before trailing off. Kita just stares at him in expectation, until the guy finally finishes. "I don't know. Never mind."

Alexis is frowning, still just as distressed as he was earlier, but Kita can't tell if it's for the same reason. He's not happy with this guy, but he's also growing a bit concerned. Alexis doesn't usually allow himself to be this weak and vulnerable.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kita asks him after a few moments. He's still frustrated, still irritated with this guy, but his concern is ever-present. He's never really seen Alexis like this.

Alexis nods half-heartedly, swaying a bit where he's sitting. Kita just frowns at him, and is about to probably question him more, but then the guy begins to lean forward.

Kita's eyebrows raise, arms moving from their crossed position to the side, elbows lifted in the air as Alexis buries his face into Kita's abdomen. Alexis isn't usually affectionate like this, not after that kiss, so Kita finds himself surprised. His confusion only increases when he feels Alexis' arms encircle his waist.

Kita just stands there, frozen. Alexis' legs are on either side of him as he holds Kita, and wow this guy is heavy. It would not surprise Kita if Alexis is actively falling asleep like this, as the weight just keeps growing. Kita is unsure what to do, so after a minute he just rests his arms around Alexis' shoulders.

"You should probably sleep," Kita tells him, once it becomes clear that Alexis does not plan on letting him go anytime soon. The smell of alcohol is potent, but it's also Alexis, so Kita doesn't mind it. Alexis turns his head a bit at the suggestion, but his face is still mostly buried in Kita's abdomen.

"I don't want you to go."

His voice sounds kind of sad when he says it, and Kita can't find it in his heart to leave. So, he stands there while Alexis holds him, leaning more and more into Kita, until he falls asleep. Once he is finally asleep, Kita tentatively moves the guy back so he's lying down.

Alexis is completely passed out, now, and he looks quite peaceful, far more so than Kita's seen in awhile. His expression does still look kind of troubled, mostly around the eyebrows, but it appears as though he's feeling a bit better. Kita decides to leave him in peace, and bring up his weirdness when he hasn't been drinking all night.

Kita watches his best friend beginning to absentmindedly get comfortable, turning over in his sleep so Kita is met with just the sight of his back. Softly, Kita sends some parting words. "I love you, Alexis. Get some rest."

After that, Kita says nothing else. He just leaves, none of his questions answered, and decides to follow his best friend's example.