Blessed by Night

93  Anna's Ideal Date

Malachi knocked on the door of an apartment on the east side of town. His heart was beating unusually fast for some reason, and he merely attributed that to the conversation he'd had with Luna an hour prior. She listened intently to everything that Mal had to say about Anna, and while she was a bit peeved to hear him speak so highly of another woman, she had to admit that Anna did sound lovely.

Initially she was a bit worried when she heard that Anna was human and a regular college student, as she was slightly worried about him being taken advantage of. It wouldn't be an unheard of story after all, as things like that have always occurred in relationships where people were in different economical standings. For some, it was instinctual to want to climb up from their humble beginnings on the back of another. But Luna would only allow Mal to be with women who cared about him genuinely, and whose love was no less pure than her own.

After hearing about Anna for five minutes, Luna had given her approval for Mal to pursue her, with the conditions that he wasn't allowed to have sex with her before they had their first time together. And that she would take back her approval if she ever found Anna to have impure intentions.

Mal considered both of those things to be fair, and as a result he did not pose any objections. When the door opened, Mal was greeted by the sound of blaring R&B music, and the sight of Anna in an outfit that was nearly enough to give him a nosebleed.

A simple dark black sports bra, a pair of cotton sweatpants that appeared to be dreamily soft, and splotches of what appeared t be paint on her beautiful face.

"...Why're you looking at me like that?" She asked shyly. "Come inside, you're drawing too much attention."

Mal glanced behind him and found a small crowd of older women a fair distance away, looking like they were about to risk it all and try their luck.

But Mal wasn't moved in the slightest by the attention, and even felt a bit annoyed by it.

"Come on!"

Anna grabbed Mal by the wrist and pulled him into her apartment before closing the door.

Anna's apartment was just as one would have expected, filled with black furniture and art and posters of famous bands and musicians. In the middle of the living room, there was an easel with a canvas that looked to be half completed. "What's this-"

"None of your business so don't look!"

Before Malachi could actually get a good look at the art on the canvas, Annalise leapt on top of his back and covered his eyes with her hands.

"Aww, but I was interested. The small part that I was able to see looked really good."

"...You're just saying that."

"You should know by now that I never say anything that I don't mean. Especially not to you."

Annalise fell into another red-faced silence as she slid down from Mal's back. "Then... you better not make fun of it or I'll bash your balls."

"Noted."

Now that Malachi's eyes were free, he could see that Annalise's picture was that of an eerily familiar man. It was still just an outline, but he could clearly see that this was supposed to be a man with long dreads and cat-like eyes.

"This... is me, right?"

"...Almost." Anna said shyly. She was already embarrassed beyond belief since she had started painting him without even realizing it, but now he'd actually seen it too.

Mentally, she had already begun to make plans to curl up in a hole and die. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"D-Don't you wanna leave or something? I'll go change and then we can-"

"Actually... do you wanna do this as a date instead?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

Malachi suddenly held up the canvas and smiled like he was looking in the mirror.

"I mean I've always wanted to learn how to paint and you don't really strike me as the kind of person who likes to go out, so we can just stay here. You can teach me everything you know and I'll order us some food. Cool?"

Judging by the sparkles in Anna's eyes, she was way more than okay with such a thing. She liked staying home more than anything else anyway, and she wouldn't actually go out if there weren't instances where it was demanded. "Y-Yea... that would be great."

"Got an extra easel?" Mal asked. "Yea, one second."

Anna suddenly ran to the back of her apartment to grab some extra art supplies for her date. While Mal was up front, still admiring Anna's art, he suddenly felt a pair of eyes on his back.

Turning around, he found a small chocolate brown cat with dark eyes staring up at him curiously. "I'm seeing so many cute animals today. What's your name, little dude?"

"Meow." ("Piss off, fuckboy. Annalise doesn't need any more no good men in her life.")

"..."

"..."

"...Why can I understand you?"

"Meow?" ("Wait, you can understand me?")

Both the human boy and the cat were staring at each other with clear surprise. "I'm back!"

Annalise returned carrying an extra easel and smock for Mal, and she seemed to be uncharacteristically happy. He was so caught off guard by her radiant and angelic smile that he forgot entirely about the fact that he was just speaking to a cat a few seconds ago.

'It's always amazing to me that she's not a blessed... she is so unfairly beautiful.'

"Meow! Meow! Meow!" ("Stop ogling her, motherfucker! You think I can't smell all those other bitches on you?! You ain't shit! I know you hear me!!")

"Oh? I see you met Marcelline." Anna said happily. "She usually doesn't like strangers but seeing as how there aren't any scratches on you yet, you must be the exception."

"Actually, I'm not. She called me a fuckboy." Mal said honestly.

Anna giggled and began setting up an art station for Mal to paint on when she suddenly froze and looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Wait... is this a blessed thing?? Or were you just making one of those sarcastic jokes like you always do??"

"Nah, not this time. I think this is another part of my blessing from-"

Mal didn't even get to finish his sentence before Annalise picked up the small brown cat and ran down the hallway. She tossed the furry animal into her bedroom and immediately shut the door behind her. If Malachi could talk to cats, she absolutely had to keep them apart.

Marcelline had seen far too much from living with her all this time.

Whether it was the egregious number of times she had gotten drunk alone and cried, her terrible relationship with her ex or even the fact that she traditionally walked around naked at home, she absolutely had to keep all of them a secret.

"S-So, are you ready to start?" She asked as if nothing had happened. '...Cute.'

-

Malachi and Anna were lying side by side on the floor of her apartment, with both of them holding each other's completed canvases above their heads.

"I'm jealous... the me you painted is way better looking." Malachi said.

Annalise's completed portrait of him was nothing less than touching. Every brush stroke was performed meticulously and with the utmost precision while also retaining a sense of fluidity in her movement.

The drawing itself showed a great deal of care for the subject material, as every line and detail that was present on Mal's face was also on the canvas. It was a true masterclass, almost indistinguishable from reality.

"Compared to yours, mine is..." Mal looked beside him at Annalise and his heart nearly stopped beating.

Small tears were running down the face of the beautiful young woman, as she looked at her self in a way that she had never been depicted before.

In Mal's painting, she was standing in a meadow wearing a white dress and she looked like some kind of angelic goddess of fertility. Her tattoos, though hastily drawn, were still present, and added a sense of identity to the piece. Malachi's painting wasn't nearly as well done as Anna's, but it was every bit as heartfelt. "What the hell... this is amazing."

"So you're not crying because it's insulting?" Malachi asked hesitantly.

"Hahaha! Of course not!"

In a surprising turn of events, Anna placed the portrait to the side and rolled over to give Malachi a hug. No matter how many times Mal was embraced by a beautiful woman, he didn't believe that he'd ever quite get used to it.

His heart began to thump wildly in his chest as he slipped his arms around her. "What's this for...?"

"I don't know... just shut up." "That's kind of hard for me, I think I might need your help with that." "Should I punch-"

Mal suddenly tilted Anna's face upwards and kissed her gently. Initially, the young girl felt her eyes widen in surprise. They discussed musical interests, dreams for the future, and even painful backstories. 20:32

Anna was initially embarrassed to tell him that she had never even met her parents and been raised by her uncle her whole life, but somehow the more she talked the more comfortable she became. She started to pull away, but at the last moment she recalled the last three hours they'd spent together. In addition to painting, they'd spent time opening up and getting to know each other on a deeper level.

They discussed musical interests, dreams for the future, and even painful backstories. Anna was initially embarrassed to tell him that she had never even met her parents and been raised by her uncle her whole life, but somehow the more she talked the more comfortable she became. She hadn't felt this comfortable with someone since... actually, she hadn't ever felt this comfortable with someone. The more she learned about Malachi, the more she knew that she wanted to be with him and vice versa.

Her resistances melted, Anna returned Malachi's kiss instead of rejecting it, and the two of them spent a great deal of time on the floor, each of them unwilling to pull away first.

-

Outside Anna's apartment, there was a man whom Anna would recognize rather easily. He had long dark hair, and deathly pale skin like he hadn't ever seen proper sunlight. In his hand he was carrying a bag filled with food and he wore a confused look on his face. "I knew this was her address but... it's not her name on the order. Did she move or something...?"

The young man pressed his ear up to the door, and he could hear Erykah Badu playing loudly on the speakers; Anna's favorite music to listen to while painting. "She is still here... then does that mean..." The man began to formulate conclusions within his mind, and soon his face turned ugly as he realized that there had to be a man inside.

Raising his hand, he struck the door hard like he was trying to tear it down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I have a secret that I have never told anyone until now... I listen to doja cat religiously...

I'm sorry! I can't bump EST Gee and Beartooth everyday! Doja can sing and she fine so shit really hits different bro. 

Thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest.